Liam was still on the hunt for Mary or any news of her, and hearing nothing. He holed up in a hotel nearby her most recent location and waited for what she wrote him next. He heard nothing all day, and then, as night fell, he heard a furious scratching and knocking on his hotel room door as if the person on the other side was desperate to get in. But once he reached the door, stopped. He waited a little while longer, then unlocked the door. There was a trail of drying blood going down the door and a note on the floor. He picked it up, shut the door, and sat on his bed to read it, gasping and feeling like he'd been punched in the gut.

Liam, it's happened. My curse has been enacted. And it's more horrible than I imagined. Edele, she's turned me into a horrible beast that kills children. I left a trail of bodies in my wake. You'll probably see it on the news. I remember it all. I was going to tell you in person, but I was too afraid of how you'd look at me once you knew the truth. The only upside is that I don't have to be like that all the time. I get the daylight hours to contemplate the horror of what I've done. It's only been one night, and I hurt so much. Now you know why I've always run away from you.

Mary

Liam called her number, but got the voicemail. "You don't have to be afraid," he told her. "This isn't your fault. It's Edele's. When you're finally ready to talk, I'll be ready to listen, Mary. I've always been your friend, and it won't stop now." After leaving the message that he hoped would be some comfort to her, he shut off his phone and tried to get some sleep, even though, he had to admit, it was difficult.

Even though it took some coaxing (actually a lot) of coaxing from Christine, Eva finally agreed to go with her to Roxie's on Ladies' Night. They walked in the door and a bunch of eyes were on them immediately.

"See?" Christine whispered. "Isn't this better than waiting around for some loser warlock who can't make a commitment?"

"He's not a loser," Eva said defensively. "Granted, he's not at his most shining moment right now, but he's not a loser."

"Well, all right, fine!" Christine sighed. "He's not a loser. But look at all the guys around. You're pretty. You can have any one of them."

"I don't want to," Eva said firmly. "I will go on dates with them, I will kiss them, I will show that I'm no pushover, but I will not be having any of them and they will not be having me. I know you'll probably think that this makes me an idiot, but I want Sean to be my first, no one else. Okay?"

"All right," Christine sighed. "If you say so."

Eva nodded and found one of the less threatening looking werewolf boys and talked with him. She then took a picture of them with her phone and sent it to Sean with the caption: "I can have other male friends besides you. See?"

Then, when the music started, she asked the boy for a dance and laughed as she thought of the look on Sean's face when he saw the picture.

"You okay?" Sarah asked as Sean stared at the picture of Eva and the boy on his phone. "What's the matter?"

"N-nothing," Sean replied. "Just got a surprising message is all."

"Is it something about your sister?" Sarah pressed.

"No, it's about Eva," Sean sighed. "She…she sent me a picture of herself and another guy."

"Well, that's good!" Sarah exclaimed. "You're finally free of her!"

"That's the thing though," Sean replied. "I know you'll probably think I'm crazy, but…I don't really wanna be free of her. I love her."

"Is that so?" Sarah asked, feeling perturbed. She'd got a message from Edele about Mary's curse being enacted so she'd have to keep a closer eye on Sean, but so far, he wasn't responding to her.

"It's…it's a real shame about your sister's curse being enacted, huh?" She said at last. "And how she's killing all those innocent little children? What can I do to keep your mind off of that?"

Sean heard her words and his eyes widened. "Mary's doing what while she's under her curse?"

"Killing children," Sarah replied. "Poor girl can't help herself."

"Oh, god, Mary!" Sean cried and got up, running to get his coat. "I have to…I have to help her! She shouldn't have to handle that alone!"

"And how do you expect to be able to help her?" Sarah cried, running to block the door. "It's not like you can remove the spell, so you might as well do what's best for your own health and do what you can to forget. Do you understand me? Tell me what I can do?"

"How do you know all this?" Sean asked. "How do you know about my sister?"

"What does that matter?" Sarah wanted to know. "If I told you, it would just upset you and that's exactly what we don't want." She began undressing. "Why don't you come to bed with me and we'll see if we can't get you relaxed?"

"No, thank you," Sean replied. "If someone can help me relax, it's not you. But you're right. All I need to do is be with her and I'll feel much better." He then put on his coat and darted to his car, shutting himself in while he called Eva and hoped and prayed that she'd want to see him. Luckily, when he asked, she told him to come right over, and that she'd be waiting for him, seeming eager and willing as usual.

"I'm so glad you wanted to speak to me," Sean told Eva as she invited him into her room. "I wanted to talk to you about that picture you sent me. And I need something to keep my mind off Mary and her curse."

"Oh, the picture? That thing?" Eva asked with a smile. "I just wanted to show you that I was sorry for my previous behavior with your girlfriend and that I wish you the best of luck."

"Well, thank you," Sean replied. He then paused as he noticed Eva was stripping, his jaw dropping a little as he took a few steps toward her and reached out to put a hand on one of her breasts. "But I don't like her that much."

Eva breathed in quickly and without any hesitation, she pulled him forward to kiss him deeply, her fingers threading through his hair as his hands continued to knead her breasts. He then picked her up and lay her down on her bed before leaning down to gently suck on her nipples, glorying in her cries. He then looked down at her thin pink panties and reached out to touch them. They were soaked, as he'd expected.

"Wanna go all the way?" Eva asked, her voice husky. "I wouldn't mind."

Sean smiled and just barely shook his head before he took her in his arms, their warm, nearly bare bodies pressed tightly against one another. He kissed her neck and she breathed in deeply. The smell of her hair brought him into a state of arousal and after nibbling on Eva's earlobe, he whispered, "You know, maybe going all the way won't be such a bad idea after all."

"Really?" Eva asked with a smile.

"Yes," Sean nodded, smiling back as he put a hand on her cheek. He got out of bed and removed his boxers, standing before her, entirely naked.

"I know this probably isn't a good time to suggest this," Eva said then, staring at him intently and not being able to look away. "But I think…I think an occasion like this calls for a drink, don't you? There's a bottle of red wine in the kitchen that I think would be really fitting. No one is here except me, so if you dashed to the kitchen and back, no one would catch you, even in your present state."

"Well, all right," Sean replied. "I'll be back in a jiffy!" He left the room and once the door had closed behind him, Eva changed her underwear, put on new clothes, and shut the door, putting a spell on it and the room so Sean would be stuck outside and couldn't come in, either magically or otherwise. She also held onto his clothes, and, giggling to herself, waited for him to come back.

Eventually, she heard the rattle of the doorknob, and then swearing. "Eva?" Sean called as she laughed out loud. "I don't seem to be able to get in. Will you help me?"

"Sure, I'll help you!" Eva replied. She zapped him home, and didn't send his clothes after him until he called her and begged her for them. That would teach him to keep her at arms' length when he very clearly wanted her.

Several days had passed since his phone call to Mary and Liam had heard nothing. Finally though one day, just before sundown, she called him.

"I-I assume you saw all that I've done?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah," Liam said quietly. "I have."

"Well, now you know why I have to run," she said. "Why I can't stay in one place long enough to wait for you, even though I wish I could. It's too dangerous."

"But you say you only kill children," Liam replied. "I'm not a child. You're no danger to me."

"There's just too much risk," Mary replied. "You're sweet to look for me like this, but…I can't let you find me. I care about you too much to let that happen." She paused and when she said her next words, her voice broke. "Please…please tell my mom and dad that I'm all right." She sniffled. "Even if that's not the truth, it's better than them knowing what a monster I've turned into. I've already lost one set of parents. I can't stand to lose another."

"Don't worry," Liam replied, even though he didn't like the thought of lying to Jonathan and Savannah. "I'll tell them. You can trust me. And Mary, everything's going to be all right."

"I doubt it," Mary replied. "But when I hear you say it, I can almost believe that it's possible."

"Well, that's better than nothing," Liam replied. Feeling like he was going to cry himself, he kept her on the phone until sundown, and when the call ended, He shut his eyes and prayed for her, an innocent who, because of a woman's petty jealousy, was being made to do terrible, terrible things.