Returning to school after the Blaine incident was… different, to say the least. Roxy suddenly found herself to be somewhat of a celebrity on her first day back, the news of what happened having spread throughout the student body like wildfire. People were crowding her, asking questions left and right and it was all Roxy could do to stop herself from snapping at them. Things got better when her friends arrived and shooed them all off, though.

She spent Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon finishing up her homework in Sam’s hospital room, patiently waiting for her to wake up. Thankfully, that didn’t take long and things quickly returned to some semblance of normalcy.

As soon as her shoulder was healed enough, Roxy threw herself back into her MMA training, even spending extra time at the gym after the classes were over just so she could continue working out. Her instructor, Clarissa, always stayed back with her to help her out and give her tips. There was one instance, however, when Clarissa suddenly froze while they were sparring, enabling Roxy to throw a right hook that promptly put the older woman on her ass. When asked about why, she responded by smirking at Roxy with a very knowing look and saying that they should move on, which only really succeeded in confusing Roxy even more.

Now, with only one week of school left before the end of her junior year and the ever-approaching promise of summer vacation, Roxy found herself filled with an inexplicable sense of hope. With exams and everything else that had happened in this incredibly eventful semester behind her, she was excited for the fresh start, despite the ever-looming threat of the hunters and the rest of this dark underworld she’d been unwittingly thrown into.

If only she knew of what awaited her and her friends that summer. If only she knew of the ever-encroaching darkness that would leave them all forever scarred.

—

“I can’t believe I failed geography! I studied so hard for that!”

Roxy snorted. “Leif, when exactly did you do any studying? Because I can’t recall. I’d be surprised if you could point out Canada on a map.”

“Oh, you’re so fucking funny, Kindley.” Leif deadpanned. “I studied with you and Sam at her house, remember?”

Roxy hummed. “If by study, you mean ‘distracted Sam by throwing a ball around the whole time,’ then yes, you did study, and I am surprised that you failed.”

Leif grumbled. Lukas, who had by now become a regular resident of their lunch table, chimed up. “Sam was that distracted by someone throwing a ball around?”

“I can believe that. Dunno if you’ve noticed, but the girl is ADHD to the max. Look, she’s not even tuned in right now!” Ross replied, somewhat to Roxy’s second-hand defensiveness at the not-entirely-inaccurate description of her girlfriend. 

Roxy turned and, sure enough, Sam was on another planet entirely. Blank faced, thousand-yard stare aimed straight at the table. It would have been mildly funny if it wasn’t for the fact that Roxy had found her like this more times than she wanted to count in the past few weeks since… Well, anyway. She had a tendency to cry out and flinch away from whatever ended up snapping her out of it, so in order to ensure that she didn’t have a panic attack in the middle of the school cafeteria again, this situation required an expert’s touch.

Roxy slipped her hand into Sam’s, gently squeezing as she stroked it with her thumb. Sure enough, Sam blinked a few times and slowly turned her head, life returning to her sky-blue eyes.

“S-sorry, were you saying something?”

Roxy smiled gently. “No, you’re alright.”

With Sam tuned back into the world around her, the conversation continued as normal. Jokes flew and people laughed and Sam even threw a few barbs of her own in response to Ross’s earlier accusation of her having ADHD, Which, to be fair, may very well not be wrong. Roxy didn’t really know how much variation there was between werewolf and human brains, but it would make a fair amount of sense. The only one missing from their group was Ava, but that wasn’t really uncommon, as she sat with her other friends most of the time anyway.

“Um, excuse me?”

The conversation drew to a halt as everyone turned their heads to find Brooke standing at the end of their table.

“Hey, Brooke. What’s up?” Leif asked.

“Would you guys mind if I sat with you?”

“Sure, that’s fine!” the green-haired girl responded in an oddly high-pitched tone. She scooted over to make room for the spectacled girl on her bench, despite the fact that there was far more room for her on Sam and Roxy’s side.

“Out of curiosity, what was wrong with where you were sitting before?” Ross asked, thankfully relieving Roxy of the need to ask the question herself.

“Well, I was sitting with Leon and Kim and all that,” Brooke started as she sat down next to Leif, causing the green-haired girl to tense up in a way that made Roxy raise an eyebrow. “But recently, Kimberly has become way more… bitchy, I guess. More so than she already was, anyway. She was saying some pretty horrible stuff about Leif and I just didn’t want to hear it anymore, so I left.”

“Better late than never, I guess. Welcome to the club.” Roxy replied. “Are you already friends with Leif, then?”

“Yep,” Brooke responded, putting an arm around Leif’s shoulders, much to the girl’s apparent… discomfort? Roxy couldn’t place it. “We were partnered up for an assignment and we bonded a bit. Got to talking a little and she told me about her experience transitioning and I gave her a bunch of my old clothes. After that we just kept talking, I guess.”

Leif laughed a very high-pitched giggle and avoided meeting anyone’s gaze. Roxy raised an eyebrow and looked to the oddly stiff girl. “Did she now?” 

Leif was acting very out of character and an idea as to why was steadily taking shape in Roxy’s head. Suddenly, Sam burst out laughing, full bellied giggles spilling from her mouth as she practically doubled over. Leif’s face grew red.

“Sam,” she said through gritted teeth. “Don’t.”

The rest of the table was sufficiently confused at the seemingly random outburst, but it seemed that the three girls who knew about Sam being a werewolf were on the same wavelength. If Roxy had to guess, she would say that Leif’s heart was probably beating a mile a minute right now, and Sam, being able to hear that with her heightened senses, likely just put together the same thing as Roxy. Sam’s contagious giggling caught Roxy right in the chest and she started laughing too.

Leif had a little crush, it seemed. Oh, how the tables had turned.

—

“So, Leif. What was that all about?” Sam cheekily asked, putting an arm around the girl’s shoulders and ruffling her hair as the group made their way through the corridors of their school, headed for the exit.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, mutt.” Leif flatly responded, pushing the blonde away.

“Aww, don’t be like that. Your heart was beating so fast!”

“Huh?” Ross interrupted from behind them. “How would you even be able to tell that from across the table?”

“Go and lick your own ass, dog girl. I’m not admitting to anything.” Leif replied, ignoring Ross completely.

Sam exaggeratedly feigned hurt at the low-brow insult. Thankfully, Roxy stepped in to back her up. Mostly.

“C’mon, Leify. You can’t hide it. Your face was almost as red as Sam’s when she tried my dad’s khow suey without asking for less spice.” Roxy smirked.

“Hey, I wasn’t that bad!” Sam defended.

“Dude. You literally started crying at the dinner table. Stop trying to impress my dad or you’re going to put yourself in the hospital. It’s not even a hassle, my mom doesn’t like spicy stuff either.”

Sam threw her hands up defensively “Hey, why did the focus shift to me?! Leif’s the one with the crush!”

Leif whirled around, suddenly red in the face. “I do NOT have a crush, you mutt!”

Ross just looked confused. “What’s with all the dog based nicknames? Did I miss something about Sam and a dog?”

“Stop calling my girlfriend a mutt!” Roxy shouted in half-feigned anger.

“Stop trying to insinuate that I have a crush! I don’t have a crush!” Leif shot back.

“Sorry, Leif, but you totally do.” Ross butt in, finally being noticed. “Seriously though, why do you keep calling Sam a mutt?”

“Yeah, Leif. Why do you keep calling me that, huh? Care to explain?” Sam raised a playful eyebrow. Leif seemed to take it the wrong way and her already light complexion paled considerably.

“Uh, sorry, is… is that like a slur to you guys or something?”

“What? No! Ava calls me that all the time.”

“Oh, thank god.” Leif breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought I was being speciesist or something.”

“Leif! How about we watch what we say in public, yeah?” Roxy interrupted, shooting an unsubtle side-eye to Ross, whose face was scrunched up in confusion.

“Okay, seriously. What’s going on with you three? Speciesist? Why is Leif acting like Sam’s not human or something?”

The green-haired girl immediately started gaping like a fish, having realised her mistake. Sam’s heart rate spiked briefly as a shot of panic surged through her chest at the idea of Ross finding out. It wasn’t that she didn’t think she could trust him, it was more that the less people who knew about her, the better. The last thing she needed right now was her identity getting accidentally leaked to the hunters.

Thankfully, ever-vigilant Roxy was much quicker on the up-take. “Leif’s just being an idiot, she’s making a joke because Sam acts like a dog.”

Ross wasn’t entirely convinced. “I don’t know, it still feels like there’s something going on here. You guys are acting really weird.”

Roxy just waved him off dismissively. “Look, don’t worry about it, okay? It’s a girl thing.”

“A girl thing?”

Sam backed her up. “Yep, a girl thing. You wouldn’t get it.”

Ross was silent for a moment before his face contorted in disgust. “Oh god. Please don’t tell me this is some sort of weird sex roleplay thing. We’re at school, guys.”

All three girls blanched. 

“WHAT?! NO!” 

“Jesus christ, Ross, what the fuck?!

“And why is Leif a part of it?! Are you guys having a threesome?! Is Roxy being cucked?!”

“No, Ross! Where the fuck did that come from?!” Leif shouted, desperately trying to protect her and her friends’ dignity.

“I don’t know! You guys are acting weird! You’ve got a secret! What was I supposed to think?”

“Something normal?! Why did your mind immediately go there?!” Roxy shouted.

Ross’s face grew red and he started sputtering. “D-don’t change the subject! Why are you being so defensive about it if it isn’t true?!”

Sam could only watch helplessly as her friends argued over what was, frankly, one of the most ridiculous things she’d ever had the displeasure of thinking about. Thankfully, it didn’t last much longer.

“Ross!” Ava shouted as she approached. “Leave them alone, dude. They’re not having a threesome. Trust me, it’s bad enough having two of the horny idiots under one roof, I wouldn’t sit around and let them get a third.”

Okay, not exactly the defence she was hoping for, but still better than Ross believing that.

“They have a secret! I swear to god, they’re hiding something, but they won’t tell me what it is!” Ross complained.

Ava raised an eyebrow. “And that’s what you came up with? Sure you aren’t projecting or something?”

Ross grew red once again. “What? N-no!”

The brunette waved a hand. “Who even cares? Let them have their little secret.” A devious smirk grew across her face. “Or, is it that you feel left out?”

The boy crossed his arms and frowned. “N-no, I don’t really care. I-I’m just curious, is all.”

It was obvious he was lying. Sam immediately felt guilty. Ross was her friend just as much as Leif was. If Leif knew, it didn’t feel fair to keep it from him. Even still, her chest was tight with fear of what could happen if the wrong person found out. 

“Ross, I…” she started. He looked up at her. “I do have a secret, you’re right. B-but… I don’t think I can tell you just yet. I didn’t even tell Roxy or Leif, they ended up figuring it out themselves and they’ve both promised not to tell anyone. You’re really smart, I mean, you got into the school with a fully paid scholarship, for god’s sake. I’m sure you’ll figure it out someday, even if I don’t work up the courage to tell you outright. You’re still my friend, dude. We don’t want to keep anything from you.”

Ross looked down for a moment before scoffing and looking back up with a smile. “Yeah, alright. If dumb and dumber over there could figure it out, I’m sure I can manage.”

Sam smiled back. Roxy elbowed Leif in the ribs. “You’re totally dumber.”

Leif smirked back. “As if. Even with all of the evidence staring you in the face for weeks, I still figured it out first after just a day. You’re dumber.”

Roxy just shrugged, her own devious smirk on full display. “Whatever. You still totally have a crush on Brooke, though.”

Leif buried her face in her hands and groaned. “Oh my god.”

—

“Alright, everything’s packed away. Anything else you need me to do?”

“Ah, you’re a lifesaver, Leif. Thank you,” her P.E. teacher responded as she finished packing away her own box of equipment. “This would have taken twice as long without your help. You can head to your next class now. Who’s your teacher? I’ll send them an email to let them know why you were late.”

“Mr. Henderson, thank you, miss.”

“No problem. Have a good summer!”

Leif nodded and headed back to the changerooms with a smile. It was the last day of school and her body was brimming with excitement for the future. She had plans to hang out with all of her friends that night and then she wouldn’t have to worry about anything school-related for another three months, not to mention that Roxy’s birthday was coming up in July, something that Leif religiously looked forward to. They had known each other since the start of elementary school and, being each other’s first friend, had stuck together like glue . Other friends would come and go, but Roxy and Leif stayed the same throughout it all. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Roxy was basically a slightly younger sister to her. That was why she always made a point of ensuring that Roxy’s birthdays were the best they possibly could be, to pay her back for her unwavering friendship throughout Leif’s life, especially her tumultuous early adolescence, right as she started to question why looking in the mirror and seeing the changes puberty brought made her feel like dirt.

Leif still had fond memories of Roxy’s thirteenth birthday, where they both told their parents that they’d be staying at the other’s house, when in actuality they snuck into an abandoned house at the edge of town and stayed up telling each other ghost stories. Sure, they both had nightmares for weeks afterwards and got into deep trouble when their parents found out, but it was certainly fun in the moment.  

With the girl turning seventeen in just over a month, Leif would have to pick up her pace in deciding on the perfect birthday plan for her. Ordinarily, one would wonder why Roxy didn’t just think of something herself, but the girl had repeatedly said that she much preferred it when Leif took charge, as she apparently often struggled to think of things to do on her own. Roxy still had input, of course, but this dynamic generally served them much better.

Leif occupied her mind with thoughts of birthday plans as she made her way into the changeroom and began stripping out of her P.E. gear to change back into her regular uniform. About halfway through the process, she heard the door open, though she didn’t pay it any mind. That was a mistake.

An arm snaked its way around her throat and Leif suddenly found herself in a chokehold. She gagged as she was pulled away from the wall and into the centre of the room, kicking her legs and thrashing about, trying to dislodge herself from whoever had a hold on her. Remembering what she’d learnt from her MMA classes, she threw her head back and heard a yelp as it made contact with something solid.

Released from the chokehold, Leif stumbled forward and turned around, only mildly surprised to find Kimberly and her friends sneering at her, one of whom was nursing a slightly bloody nose.

“Kimberly? What the fuck is wrong with you?!” she shouted, rubbing her neck gingerly.

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you, freak? Don’t you know this is the girl’s change room? You don’t belong here.” Kimberly spat. Oh, so that’s what this was. Well, Leif wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

“Man, I must really live in your head rent free, huh? Honestly, it would almost be funny if it wasn’t so sad. Cuz you wanna know the truth? I don’t think about you at all unless you’re directly in my line of sight. You’re fucking pathetic, Kimberly. Get a fucking life and leave me alone.”

Leif would have laughed at the face Kimberly made if the situation truthfully didn’t scare her as much as it did. She was half naked, trapped in a change room by half a dozen people who hated her, with the only person who knew where she was no doubt already chilling in the staff room by now. Sure, it was no deranged murder cultist, but that didn’t really make things much better.

“I’m done with this shit. Someone gag this freak so we can get started already. With any luck, the cunt will starve before anyone can find him.” Kimberly smirked, prompting unsettling laughter from her friends.

…Huh?

At once, everyone in the room started crowding around her. Someone grabbed her arm and Leif tried to pull away, but she only succeeded in getting her other arm caught as she fell into another person. 

“NO! GET OFF’A ME! LET ME G- hrk”

Leif’s cries were quickly cut short when a fist sunk into her abdomen, knocking the air from her lungs. Her arms were painfully wrenched behind her back as she coughed and wheezed. She was starting to tear up, half from the coughing and half from the awful fear that was bubbling up in her chest. Just what the hell were these psychos planning to do with her?

Someone shoved something soft into her mouth and she felt something tighten around her head, right before someone tied her hands behind her back with a similar material to the gag. Her heart pounded as she desperately tried to thrash her way free of her bonds, to no avail.

Her assaulters roughly threw her down to the floor where her head cracked against the tile painfully. She was pushed onto her back with a kick before Kimberly planted her foot right on Leif’s chest. She could only look up helplessly at the brunette’s sadistic sneer as the first few tears fell from her eyes.

“Oh, this is gonna be fun.”

—

“Okay, this is getting ridiculous, where is she?” Ava moaned in frustration.

Roxy huffed and tapped her foot impatiently. Their group (minus Ross, who was going on a date with Lukas instead) was supposed to meet up as soon as school finished so that they could hang out and celebrate the last day, but they’d all been waiting for the past thirty minutes for Leif to show up. 

Come to think of it, Leif hadn’t shown up to their last class together, either, not to mention her absence at lunch. A small bead of dread settled in the pit of her stomach. While the odds were low, it wasn’t entirely improbable that the hunters had come after her. She was in their crosshairs, after all, thanks to the stunt that she and Roxy pulled with the stalker. Why they would choose to go after her now, though, was anyone’s guess. 

Roxy shook her head. She was getting ahead of herself. There wasn’t any proof that Leif was even missing yet, let alone that the hunters had anything to do with it. 

“When was the last time you guys saw her?” Roxy asked Sam and Ava. 

The brunette shrugged. “She’s in my english class, though I can’t remember if she was there today.”

“She was here in phys ed. I got to throw a dodgeball at her head. It was pretty funny.” Sam smiled at the memory. “I think she stayed back to help the teacher pack up. After that, I have no idea.” She shrugged as well.

Roxy huffed, pulling out her phone. “I’m gonna call her. I’m starting to get worried.”

She found the green-haired girl’s contact and called, bringing the phone up to her ear. It rang out without an answer. 

“She didn’t pick up.” Roxy said gravely.

The two sisters shared a worried look. It seemed they were starting to think along the same lines as Roxy. Leif was never far from her phone. 

Ava spoke up, attempting to reassure the group. “Maybe she just went home sick and forgot to tell us?”

Sam shook her head. “Not unless she was faking it. She looked and smelled fine in P.E.”

Roxy raised an eyebrow. “You can smell when someone’s sick?”

The blonde nodded. “Yeah, your scent changes when you get sick. Most humans can’t really tell, but it’s super obvious to us.”

“Huh,” Roxy muttered, lost in thought for a second. She shook her head. “I’ll try her home phone. Even if she isn’t sick, she might have forgotten we were meeting up and gone home.” She focused back on her phone and started inputting the number.

“You know her home number off by heart?” Ava questioned, slightly dumbfounded.

“We’ve been friends for like a decade. That used to be the only way we could talk outside of school when we were kids.”

“Huh, neat.”

Once again, Roxy brought the phone to her ear. It rang twice before Leif’s mother picked up at the other end.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mrs. Townsend. It’s Roxy.”

“Oh, Roxy! You know you don’t have to call me that, it’s just Sandra, dear.”

Roxy laughed nervously. “Right… Um, can I ask, is Leif at home right now?”

“Leif? I thought she was with you tonight?” 

The once small bead of dread quickly grew into something that threatened to swallow Roxy whole. “Uh… Actually, wait, nevermind, here she comes. Sorry to bother you, miss.”

“You’re never a bother, Roxy! Have fun tonight! And no abandoned houses!”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

Roxy hung up the phone. She and Sam shared a grave look.

“What?” Ava asked.

“She’s not at home, either.” Sam answered for Roxy.

“You don’t think she’s still inside, do you?”

The three girls looked towards the school building that they were waiting outside of. Sam turned her nose up and began testing the air. After a few seconds, her eyes shot open. “She’s still here. The breeze is too strong for me to get a good lock on where, but she’s definitely still in the area. She’s…” She sniffed at the air again, her expression steadily growing more and more concerned. “I-I think she’s scared.”

Roxy’s heart lurched. She immediately took off towards the building that was, thankfully, still open. “Well, what are we waiting for? Come on!”

Sam was right on her tail, quickly followed by Ava. “I think we should check the changeroom first. I last saw her in P.E., so we’ll be able to tell if she ever went to her next class by seeing if her uniform is still there.”

“Great idea, let’s go.”

They rushed through the halls as fast as they could, Sam speeding ahead of the group until they reached their destination. Bursting through the doors of the changeroom, they found nothing amiss at first glance, although Sam was immediately on edge.

“Something happened here. There’s a couple of other scents lingering around, but Leif’s is almost overpowering. Something happened here that scared her really badly. I… I can’t smell any blood, so I don’t think she was hurt much, at least.” Her voice was shaking, eyes darting around manically as she spoke, as if she was searching for a threat that might still be present.

There was a bag of belongings sitting on one of the benches, one that Roxy immediately recognised as her friend’s. The shirt and shorts of a discarded P.E. uniform were strewn around it haphazardly, as though she had been halfway through changing when something interrupted her. A quick inspection of the bag found Leif’s regular uniform sitting inside, untouched. 

A lump formed in Roxy’s throat. If both of Leif’s uniforms were here, then what was she wearing? She whirled around to her friends.

“Sam, I know you have a good nose, but can you track a scent?”

The blonde startled a bit from her anxious rumination. “U-uh, yeah, I can. It should be pretty easy now that we have a starting spot.”

Roxy nodded firmly. “Good. Let’s not waste anymore time. The faster we find her, the faster we can make sure she’s safe.” Realistically, she knew that, wherever she was, Leif definitely wasn’t safe, but she was trying to keep her mind positive. 

She packed Leif’s P.E. uniform away in her bag and took it with her as the three left the changeroom, following Sam’s nose as it led them through the halls. The werewolf picked up speed as she got closer to her target, forcing the two humans following her to jog in order to keep up.

Sam was so engrossed in her search that she wasn’t paying any attention to what was ahead of her, as evidenced by the way she turned a corner and immediately barrelled into the principal, who appeared to be making his way out of the building.

They both fell to the floor, but Sam barely even seemed to notice, quickly getting up and continuing on her way.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, sir.” Roxy said, helping the principal back to his feet.

“Samantha! Get back here!” His shout echoed through the hallway, startling the blonde and causing her to trip up and fall to the ground again. She looked back at the group with something akin to surprise on her face.

“What on earth are you three doing?! School ended forty minutes ago! Why on earth are you still here, running around like a bunch of headless chickens, no less?”

“Uh, w-we’re looking for Leif, sir. She was supposed to meet us, but she isn’t answering her phone and she’s not at home either. We think something might have happened to her, as we found her uniform still just sitting in the changeroom and as far as we can tell, she hasn’t been to any classes since.” Roxy explained. A concerned look flashed across the older man’s face as Sam came running up to them.

“C’mon, she’s definitely this way!” The girl was practically vibrating with anxiety, her eyes sharp with worry.

“Not so fast!” Mr. Ericson shouted as he grabbed Sam’s wrist before she could run away again. There was no way that he would realistically be able to actually restrain the girl, but she was surprised enough by the action that she stopped moving anyway. “I was aware of Leif’s absence from her classes, and I’ll admit, your story does concern me. I’ll help you look for her, on the condition that you-” he gave Sam a hard look. “Stop running. You’re liable to slip and break your neck.”

The blonde frantically nodded. “Y-yes, sir.”

The principal huffed and the group set off, albeit at a much slower pace than before. The intensity radiating off of Sam was almost palpable, the girl no doubt struggling with the urge to run off so that she could make sure her friend was alright. Despite the situation, it made Roxy immensely happy to see how much she cared about Leif. The two had grown far closer in the past few weeks, to the point where Sam had started treating Leif the same way she would treat Roxy and her family, slightly overbearing amount of physical touch and all. The noise that Leif had made the first time Sam lifted her off the ground with a hug had been hilarious.

“How does she know where to go?” Mr. Ericson asked, tearing Roxy from her thoughts. A fair question, to be sure, but not at all one Roxy was prepared to answer.

“U-uh… Good instincts?” she tried, very convincingly.

The man raised an eyebrow at her but otherwise didn’t respond. They continued through the halls for another few minutes until Sam walked past an unmarked door, stopped, turned around, and started frantically trying to open it. It was clearly locked, but that didn’t stop Sam from shaking the handle so hard that the entire door rattled and letting out a desperate whine when it didn’t work.

“What are you doing? You’re going to break it!” The principal shouted.

“She- She’s through here! I-I-I can’t get it open!”

“That’s the maintenance staircase to the roof. Only staff have the keys, there’s no way she’s in there.”

“No no no no, She is! You have to open it! Please!” Sam was practically begging, sounding like she was on the verge of tears. Knowing the girl, she likely wasn’t far off.

Mr. Ericson sighed, pulling out his keys and picking out the right one. “Fine, but if she’s not up there, we’ll be having-”

He didn’t even get to finish his sentence. As soon as he unlocked the door, Sam bounded past him with enough force to knock him down. Roxy followed quickly behind, watching as her werewolf zoomed up the stairs on all fours and smashed her way through the door at the top. They were close, they had-

Roxy’s heart burned with a horrible cocktail of emotion. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to kill.

Leif, her best friend, her confidant, her sister, was crying. Leif had only ever cried once in the entire time Roxy had known her, on that fateful night when she’d turned to Roxy with tears in her eyes and told her that she didn’t want to be a boy anymore. Now, someone had made her cry again. Someone who, very soon, wouldn’t be able to walk, as long as Roxy had any say in it.

The poor girl was, as Roxy suspected back in the changeroom, in nothing but her underwear, gagged and tied to a post in such a way that it was impossible for her to sit down, or even move anything beyond her fingers and toes. Her body looked like it had been used as a punching bag, and someone had written a whole dictionary’s worth of hateful slurs and mean-spirited words across her skin with what looked like permanent marker. Not even her face was spared, the words ‘dick-girl’ scribbled across her bright red cheeks, though if the shade was due to embarrassment or sunburn, it was hard to tell.

Roxy ran towards her friend, her chest burning with building emotion. Sam still hadn’t moved from the moment she burst through the door, completely frozen in shock. Leif sobbed as Roxy approached, hazel eyes pleading as tears fell down her cheeks. She put a gentle hand on the girl’s cheek as she made her way behind the post to undo the excessive restraints. There was even one around her neck, for god’s sake. 

“I-it’s gonna be okay, Leif. We’re here, no one’s gonna hurt you anymore.” Roxy whispered, desperately trying not to curse as she struggled to undo the stubborn knots in the cloth. The girl just continued to sob. 

“Samantha! SAMANTHA! I swear to god if you broke that door you’re gonna be paying-” The principal stopped in his tracks once he reached the top of the stairs and took in the sight before him. Leif thrashed against her bindings, muffled cries slipping out from behind her gag. Roxy recognised what was happening immediately.

“Don’t look at her!” She shouted. Thankfully, Mr. Ericson immediately heeded her words and turned around. Sam, on the other hand, was still just standing there, fists clenched, eyes flickering between blue and red as her entire body trembled. 

“Sam! Get over here and help me with this!”

The blonde startled a little as she was torn out of her trance. She quickly made her way over, cutting apart the cloth bindings with her claws in no time. No longer held up by her constraints, Leif collapsed to the ground and immediately curled in on herself, her sunburnt shoulders bouncing with each heaving sob.

Roxy dropped to her knees and embraced the crying girl, tucking her head against the crook of her neck as she wailed, gently shushing her and stroking a hand through her hair. 

“Who did this, Leif? Who hurt you?” She asked, her voice quivering with the effort it took to keep her emotions in check. Leif didn’t respond, just shaking her head against Roxy’s shoulder, but it didn’t matter. Roxy didn’t need her to say anything. It was obvious. There was only one person who would target Leif like this, only one person who could commit  such an unimaginably cruel and hateful act and laugh about it to her friends afterwards. Kimberly had seemed louder than usual at lunch, after all.

She continued to console her crying friend as Sam came over and draped a P.E. jacket across Leif’s shoulders, joining in on the embrace and actually crying a little herself, if Roxy wasn’t mistaken. She didn’t blame her. Roxy likely would have cried as well if it wasn’t for the deep pit of rage that was boiling in her gut.

Kimberly was gonna pay for this. Roxy would make sure of it.

—

Leif turned off the scalding water and stepped out of the shower. Her skin stung from the force with which she had scrubbed it, desperate to get those horrible words to disappear. The make-up remover that Ava had given her had only been marginally effective, but the soap and hot water combined with her frantic scrubbing seemed to have finished the job. Her muscles ached from being forced to stay in the same position for so long and every time she moved her face or her shoulders, her sunburn sent fire tingling along her nerves. She was, reasonably, miserable.

She grabbed a towel off of the rack and dried her hair off before wrapping it around her waist. She looked into the mirror of the unfamiliar bathroom, eyeing the girl she saw within. Her damp hair hung limply, framing her freckled face. She could see her brown roots growing out. Should she dye it again or let it grow out? She couldn’t decide. Her left eye was bruised, complimenting the array of purple and yellow that painted her torso, and there were clear abrasions on her wrists and neck where the restraints had been tied. Looking for too long was starting to make her belly churn with uncomfortable emotions, as it so often did, so Leif looked away. 

There was writing on the right side of the mirror that caught her eye, written in red whiteboard marker; reminders of some sort.

May 10th - One month with Roxy! Don’t forget!

May 21st - Exam week! Remember to study! (ugh - ava)

June 9th - Last day of junior year!!

The list continued on for a surprising amount of time, reaching past Roxy’s birthday in the middle of July to the start date of their senior year. Leif wouldn’t have expected Sam to be so thorough, but given how forgetful she could be, she supposed it made sense that she would want to keep track of important dates. 

Leif finished drying herself and started changing into the clothes that Sam had left for her. They were a bit big, to be sure, but the only other option was Ava’s, who’s clothes would definitely be too small. Roxy’s probably would have been ideal, as Leif had fit into most of her clothes just fine when she was helping her experiment with styles, but the girl only had a handful of clothes at Sam’s house, none of which were really what she was looking for.

Honestly, thinking about it, perhaps Sam’s almost-oversized sweatshirt and pyjama pants combo was perfect, given the situation. There was nothing quite like the comfort of oversized clothing, and the fact that it was Sam’s meant that it would no doubt carry that same scent of pine that Leif had started finding so calming lately. 

Her heart lurched for a second. Wait, why did she suddenly start finding Sam’s scent so comforting? When did she? Did she have a crush on her best friend’s girlfriend or something?? No, no, no, that wouldn’t make sense. Leif had never felt anything even remotely romantic for Sam. Nothing like what she felt when her and Brooke’s hands accidentally brushed together in the hallway that one time, anyway.

Aw, man. I just admitted it to myself. Oh well, doesn’t count unless I say it out loud!

Leif shook her head and continued dressing, only stopping to chuckle slightly when she noticed a bottle of dog shampoo sitting next to the bathtub. The girl was making it way too easy to make jokes, honestly.

Once she was done, Leif walked out of the bathroom and down the stairs, into the living room where Sam’s parents (or maybe Ava’s? Leif didn’t really know the whole situation there, but she was pretty sure they weren’t werewolves) were watching TV. Her friends were waiting for her in the basement, so she continued through the room towards the door leading downstairs.

After everything that had happened, the group decided it was best that they scrapped their ideas for a night out for another time. Leif knew that she was in no state to go out, anyway. Sam was the one who suggested that they all just head back to hers to binge some movies and eat too much junk food until they all pass out. The idea sounded pretty great to Leif, who was definitely yearning for some positive physical contact after the day she’d had.

Lost in thought as she was, Leif didn’t notice Mrs. Walker calling out to her until she was right in her face. The girl startled and jumped back, causing Carol to get startled as well.

“Oh my goodness! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you!” The older woman said.

“I-it’s okay,” Leif replied.

“I was just wondering if you wanted some balm for your face. You’ve got one hell of a sunburn there.”

Leif self-consciously touched her burnt cheek as she considered the request. “Y-yeah, I would appreciate that. Th-thank you, miss.”

There was a slight lurch in her stomach as her own voice registered too deeply in her ears, but Mrs. Walker didn’t seem to notice, just nodding and heading to the kitchen, motioning for Leif to follow.

“I swear, it feels like at least once a month I get one of you kids coming in here needing first aid. Not counting that awful business with those murders that poor Sam and Roxy dealt with, I had to patch up Roxy’s feet after she went running through the woods chased by that lunatic werewolf. At least your sunburn is a normal injury. I hate seeing all this werewolf business getting y’all seriously hurt. Sammie once even got herself stuck in a beartrap, for christ’s sake! It breaks a mother’s heart, I swear. I might not have birthed her, but she’s just as much mine as Ava is.” 

Carol sighed, interrupting her muttering as she looked for the burn balm. Leif remained silent as she spoke. Clearly, the woman had a few pent up worries that she needed to vent. It must’ve been pretty hard trying to raise a werewolf as a human, Leif thought, especially one as hyperactive as Sam. 

“I’m just glad the girl has finally made some good friends. Poor thing has spent too much of her life alone. She talks about y’all a lot, y’know? …Aha! Here it is!”

Carol turned around, holding a little red tube of something. She instructed Leif to sit down at one of the kitchen chairs and began applying the balm to her face as she continued spilling her mind.

“It was so hard for her to break out of her shell after her parents died. She didn’t even turn back into a human for months. Not that it changed much after she did, mind you. The poor girl was too meek and shy to talk to any of the other kids at school, and Ava wasn’t always around to try and look after her. The amount of times I got called into the school because she bit some kid that was giving her a hard time, I wouldn’t even be able to count.

“It wasn’t until middle school that she really started trying with the other kids again. She was so lively when she was young, before everything happened, so it was nice to see a bit of that life return after so long. Still, I think she was a bit too… different for the other kids to really relate to. She had a few friends, but they never lasted long. Always found her to be ‘too loud’ or ‘too weird.’ Once, I even got called to pick her up from a sleepover because the silly girl got herself stuck behind a couch while trying to hide from a vacuum cleaner!” She chuckled. “Don’t tell her I told you that one, though.”

“I think it got harder when she found out she liked girls, as well. Sammie has never been good at hiding her feelings, and she always struggled to keep her eyes to herself. I don’t think it was long before the whole school knew which way she swung, and let me tell you, kids can truly be cruel when they want to be.” Carol sighed again. Leif held back a sniffle. She knew that all too well.

“Thankfully, the bullying stopped by high school. That last growth spurt of hers no doubt had a hand in that, I like to think. Scared all of the little bastards off. Big, like her mother was. I swear, that woman was like a mountain.” Carol shook her head, laughing softly to herself. “At that point, I think the idea that she wouldn’t really be able to make lasting friendships had settled itself in her head, so she pulled herself back from people for a while there. She would spend full weekends or even weeks in the woods, roaming around and doing god-knows-what as a wolf. Yet, despite all that, she would still make time for us, the sweetheart. I don’t think it’s possible for her to love someone without putting her entire heart into it.” She smiled softly, pausing her ministrations on Leif’s face for a moment. “So much like her mother,” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

Carol shook her head again and wiped her eyes, finishing up with the balm on Leif’s face. “It wasn’t until you all came along that she really got herself out of that bubble of hers. I swear, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so happy. I think that she’s always yearned for a real connection of some kind, something of her own design, not that of her family. It’s in her nature, I suppose. You all gave her that, and as the one who raised her, I can’t thank you enough. You’ve made a true difference in that girl’s life, whether you realise it or not. So, Thank you, Leif.”

The woman put a hand on her shoulder as she looked her in the eye. It irritated her sunburn, but Leif pretended not to notice, just like she pretended not to notice the tears forming in her own eyes. She nodded.

“Wh-while obviously, I’m not as close to her as Roxy is, she’s still one of my closest friends. I was in a similar situation for most of my life. Aside from Roxy, I didn’t really have many other friends. We’ve both been… rejected in some way for being who we are, and I think we could see a bit of that in Sam when she first sat down at our table. The way she just instantly clicked with us definitely said a lot, at the very least.” Leif, realising she’d looked away at some point, re-made eye contact. “I don’t think I need to tell you that Sam means the world to us, as well. You don’t need to thank us for being her friends. I… I think it was always meant to end up like this, anyway. Sam’s one of us. That’s never gonna change.”

Carol smiled at her and shifted her hand slightly, prompting Leif to wince. “Uh… I hate to ask this at such an emotional moment, but do you think you could get my shoulders as well?”

The older woman chuckled and nodded. “Of course, sweetheart.”

—

Leif opened the door to the basement and made her way down the stairs before promptly stopping in her tracks. There was a giant fucking wolf, just sorta chilling in the basement with everyone. It took a few seconds for her mind to catch up and realise that it was probably just Sam. She hadn’t ever seen her wolf form in person before, but no one told her that she was that huge.

The couch had been pushed back further into the room to make space for the gargantuan beast and her equally-as-large pet bed. Roxy was currently cooing and showering the wolf with affection while Ava sat on the other end of the couch, staring at her phone and mindlessly running her foot back and forth along Sam’s coat as her tail rhythmically thumped against the floor.

Leif cleared her throat and caught the attention of everyone in the room, prompting Sam to quickly jump up and make her way over, tail wagging at potentially dangerous speeds. The girl unconsciously backed away as she approached because holy god she’s as tall as me. Sam was having none of it, however, and quickly circled Leif, nudging her towards the couch with her snout.

She flopped down next to Roxy, who carefully put an arm around her shoulders and silently pulled her close. The wolf sat down directly in front of her before laying down and placing her head in Leif’s lap, looking up at her with bright red puppy dog eyes.

“Y-you’re… really big.” Leif muttered. Sam let out a whine and Roxy snorted a little.

“Don’t you know it’s rude to say that about a lady?”

Leif looked at her in bewilderment before she started laughing herself. She looked back at Sam. “I’m sorry, mutt, did I offend you?” she cooed, scratching the wolf behind her ears. One of them was flopping about lamely. It was pretty cute, she thought.

Roxy clicked her tongue. “I told you not to call her that,” she complained jokingly.

“You do realise that, by definition, she is a mutt, right? Only her mom was a direwolf. Pretty sure her dad was an arctic grey or something. That’s where the little white bits in her hair came from.” Ava spoke up, her face softening as she turned her attention to Leif. “You feeling better?”

The girl in question kept her gaze locked on the wolf in her lap. “Y-yeah, I am. Thanks for helping me. I… I don’t know what I would’ve done if you guys hadn’t found me.” She chuckled mirthlessly. “Probably starve, to be honest.”

Sam growled suddenly, startling Leif enough that she quickly drew her hands back defensively. Roxy laughed at her apprehension. 

“Sam, stop teasing her,” she chided. Sam stopped growling and let out another whine before lifting her head up and licking Leif right across the face. The girl squealed and Roxy laughed again. “She was really worried about you. If it had taken any longer to find you, she probably would have started crying, she was that worked up. She really cares about you, so unless you wanna get aggressively licked until you feel better, I wouldn’t talk like that around her.”

Leif regarded the wolf with a newfound appreciation. “You really care about me that much?”

“Of course she does. You’re her pack, now,” Ava said. Leif and Roxy both looked at her in confusion. “She really didn’t tell you? Christ, she’s a dumbass.” She sighed, rubbing her face exasperatedly. “Have either of you ever noticed that you feel weirdly calm whenever you’re close to her? Or the fact that she’s like, always touching you? I can understand Roxy just assuming it’s because you’re gay for each other or whatever, but I would’ve thought you’d have noticed something, Leif.”

Leif didn’t have to think for long to know what Ava was talking about. A weird sense of relief filled her. “That was because I’m in her pack?! Oh, thank god, I thought I was starting to crush on her or something.” 

Roxy and Ava both guffawed, laughing their asses off. Sam let out an amused sounding huff before continuing to attack Leif’s face with her tongue. Ava wiped her eyes. “Yep, welcome to the family, sister.” 

Roxy hugged her from behind and pulled her on top of herself, still laughing all the way. Leif slowly started to giggle as well, something warm building in her chest. Sam barked along to the melodious sound as it filled the room, her paws excitedly tip-tapping along the floor as she hopped about playfully. It wasn’t long before Leif realised what she was feeling, surrounded by the people that loved and cared for her more than anybody else.

Belonging. After a lifetime of not knowing where she fit in the world or who she was supposed to be, she finally felt like she was where she belonged, here, in this dorky werewolf’s pack. As a single tear fell from her eye, Leif smiled.

Jesus, my life is weird.