What a crazy past couple of months it has been. I would like to thank you guys for reading and supporting my work, even if it takes forever to update this silly thing. I try not to get to personal on here, but on Christmas Eve, my good friend of 9 years; my old study hall buddy and the love of my life of 2 years, proposed to me. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my last year as a single woman!

Since that is out there, you should also know that updating will be very hard and few. I hope you guys can be patient...

Still feel free to drop a review, even if you are unhappy, I do like to hear feedback!

-Jane

Ava's mother didn't show up that week or the next, but her Uncle tried to reassure her that they knew where she was and that she would come back break was what Ava needed.

Esme received her official homeschooling curriculum and the approved books. When Ava was done with work in the mornings, she would spend her time in various spots, enjoying the personal time and having some type of stability in her strange life. One day she found herself doing a weeks' worth of work because she found the book to be enjoyable to read and writing the paper was just as enjoyable.

But after a while, the simple bliss rubbed away and Ava became extremely lonely. Even surrounded by pack members and occasional guests, she felt like an outsider and on her own. She wondered if she needed to interact with them more, so she tried taking up on some of Axel's offers and hung out with the Five and Vivian, but she found that worse than being alone. Axel threw sexual puns at her and every girl he came across, Rafe and Vivian were always attached to each other, while the other's bantered and found even more lewd things to do.

She had no one to talk to. Well, any one she wanted to talk to. Even though they were older, Gabriel, Jean, and Bucky seemed to have better things than to hit on girls and make out. Bucky continued to work on her car while Gabriel welded in the back of the barn/shop area. Jean just seemed to drift between the two and adding his two bits now and then. Even though she didn't trust them, they were easier to handle.

After work, she did her usual homework and then grabbed her sketch pad and a pencil and sat in the loft area in the barn, enjoying the quiet and she dug her toes into the hay, smiling as it slightly crushed. The full moon had passed and her body didn't feel the dying need to change into the swift creature of the night. She would be able to sleep tonight, even though now she felt drowsy.

After a few lines to a sketch with no real purpose, she found her spot to comfortable. She would get covered in hay, but that was not the worst thing she had been covered in. The next thing she knew something was itching her nose.

"You are not supposed to be up here, kiddo."

The smell of car grease, cigarettes, and men's bar soap told Ava that Bucky was interrupting her small nap. She sneezed when she felt the piece of hay go up her nose and he chuckled as her eyes fluttered open. He was grinning at her and he was filthy. His arms, shirt, and the thighs of his pants were smeared in grease. Strangely, she found herself attracted to his messy appearance.

"What time is it?" She yawned and stretched, groaning happily as her joints popped in relief. She would run well tonight.

"Time for you to get up. I have a gift for you." He held out his hand to her to help her up but she shook her head and stood on her own. Bucky plucked a hay steam from her hair and then proceeded toward the stairs. "I didn't know you were an artist."

She bent down and picked up her book quickly, hugging it to her chest like a life line.

"No, it's just a hobby." She followed him down to the shop area, where he was standing proudly by her little car. She kept her book close to her chest and looked at him, waiting for him to talk.

"Well my sweet puppy dog, I have fixed your ride, or as you kids say: 'pimped'." He grinned, as if laughing at his own joke. She raised her brow and nodded. He may be older than her, but the way he said that made him seem way much older.

"That would be great, if I had a license." She shrugged one shoulder and tilted her head. "But thank you." She had to thank him; he did fix her car after all.

He rolled his eyes and patted the top of the car. "Well good thing this thing is an automatic and not a stick shift woman or this would be impossible." He tossed a flash of silver at her and she dropped her book as she tried to catch them, realizing that they were the keys.

"What is 'this'?" She picked up her book and set it on a stool near the work bench. She then proceeded to stare at him with as much annoyance as she could. Maybe she did need to work on her people skills.

His smile widened and nodded at the car. "Your Uncle wants me to teach you to drive down to town so you can run errands. We can't trust the Five anymore and Esme is getting busy with the wedding season starting soon. Our gardens need extra tending."

She raised her eyebrows and pressed her lips together. "So, you are going to teach me how to drive."

"Yes."

"And eventually I will be driving in town."

"Yes."

She chewed on her lip and crossed her arms across her chest. "And what makes you qualified to teach me the fundamentals on how to drive."

"Well Albert Einstein, not to brag but I taught the Five and I used to drive the only taxi that was in town." He walked over to her side, which was thepassenger's side and opened the door and slid in. "So, since we have wasted daylight, I suggest getting your little ass into the car." He ended the sentencewith closing the door.

She stood there for a moment and contemplated on growing her claws and slashing the tires. Then she wouldn't have to get in the death contraption. But at the same time, Bucky and her Uncle did fix the car and this actually was a sign of trust and that her Uncle believed that she could take on some responsibility.

She sniffed and walked to the other side of the car, praying to the moon goddess that she would not kill or harm anything with a heartbeat.

Bucky's POV

He had never seen such a timid girl but then again he had never met anyone like her. And he supposed that timid was the wrong term for her, as cautious was the more appropriate word.

She was just so tense. But he had to admit, she was a natural when it came to driving. Her only problem was that Bucky made the break work...to well. For the sixth time in 5 minutes, he prevented slamming into the dash board of the little 85' Audi Quattro. He was lucky he had supernatural reflexes or he would have been part of the car.

"For Moon's sake..." He grumbled, watching her mortified face. "It is a twig, not a deer, you don't have to stop or slam on the break because a 12" stick is in the road." They hadn't made it very far because of her braking problem. It was like she believed the tires were made of balloons.

She blinked and shook her head looking at him with wide eyes. "I don't want to pop the tires."

He rubbed his face and motioned a half circle with his hand. "Drive around it then, but please, for the sake of the brake pads, do not hit the brake that hard unless you are stopping for a good reason." He sat back and sighed. This was impossible. But Ivan firmly believed his niece was capable to run errands to town. Bucky and the other adults were getting ready for wedding season. The summer was busy around there, since they had all those beautiful trees and Esme's garden-

"Damn it kiddo!"

She hit that break again. He was seconds away from swatting her for each time she thought that break was the answer for everything. She gripped the steering wheel and bit her lip. If she wasn't so cute...

That is where he drew his line. It was thoughts like those that would lead him down that dark path and in the wrong lane with the alpha. He liked the home he was in now.

He had been thinking those thoughts for a while now and he heard the males in the pack talking. The older ones were talking about how they had to watch the young ones and the young ones were trying to figure out how to outsmart the old ones. Ava was no Vivian, but that did not mean she was not beautiful. And after she was 16, by pack law, any male could have her. The thing was that she was terribly young and was too fragile. He could never get her to joke with him or smile and she looked mortified by what most of the pack did. But it wasn't her fault...

He truly hoped her mother never came home.

"I'm sorry! I just feel like I am going to ruin the car by running over everything!" She pointed at the extremely sharp rock in the middle of the dirt road. He had to admit to himself, the tires would have not passed that test. She sighed and parked the car. "Bucky...let's face it, this is a terrible idea."

Agreed. "No, you are fine, you just...you just..." He leaned back into the seat and looked out toward the dead road. She just needed to quit being scared of everything.

"I just need to run away." She said, as if talking to herself, forgetting he was there. She sounded so old but she was saying such a juvenile thing.

He frowned and looked at her with confusion. "What the hell made you say that?"

She must not have realized she was talking out loud because she looked shocked that he heard her. "Nothing, I was just thinking out loud and it was a stupid thought anyway." She went for the gear and gripped it.

"Do you want to run away?" He asked her softly, wondering if that was really what she wanted. People, not even loup-garou, said things unless they really meant them.

She looked ashamed and it made Bucky sorry for asking, but really he wanted her to trust him. With her mother MIA, her father back in Maryland, and her other family constantly busy with the inn (not to mention she was not right with Vivian and the Five), she was on her own. No one to talk to. It made him sad to see a pack member to alienated, even if sometimes it was on purpose.

She shrugged. "I got my home schooling all far ahead and my job is good and not to demanding. I don't have a bad life here at all. This is a good home. I shouldn't complain." She began to run her fingers through that long, dark hair.

Bucky turned in his seat and draped his arm over the back of the seat. "Ava, you are most selfless creature I have ever stumbled upon, you know that? And so far I have yet to determine if it is a bad thing or not."

Her brows knitted together and she puffed up slightly. "How is it bad? Explain yourself oh wise one how not constantly thinking about myself is a bad thing."

He looked behind them to see if the road was still clear and seeing that the coast was clear, reached over and cut the engine, despite the questioning look on her face. "Well for starters, you do not take care of yourself. Do you even have friends back home?"

The resigned look on her face told him no. "Do books and the neighbor's cat count?"

He shook his head and pursed his lips, thinking. "So I guess you don't date either."

"Boys are like a bunch of white crayons to me. Useless." She smacked her lips. "Dating isn't something I really go out of my way for since really you have to be friends first. My social skills extend and end at 'hi' and then casual glances every now and then. I mean, look at the dweebs that I have to look forward to as potential mates if I stay here. I'll just die a bitter, angry virgin who casts hexes on people. All I need to do to achieve that is hang around Aunt Persia."

Bucky started to laugh. She was witty and absolutely ridiculous. Where did this girl come from? But she was right; her pickings for future mates were pretty pathetic. "Ok, you win. The Five are pretty terrible." He wanted to show her that maybe life here wasn't so horrible. He cleared his throat and nodded at the steering wheel. "So you can either let me get in the driver's seat or drive into town. I wanna show you something."

He didn't have to ask twice. She was out of the driver's seat in seconds and his larger body replaced her's and he started the car when she was in her seat. "Ok, you can take me to town but if you murder me, please send my teeth to my daddy." She sent him a dry look.

"Oh don't worry your pretty little face. Murder isn't one of my hobbies."

As was expected, the library was closed. It being a small town, the library was the size of a small house. Bucky parked the car in the ally way and led her to one of the windows that was higher up than the others. Bucky was not as tall as Gabriel, who was unnaturally tall, but he easy could reach it. She looked around and then at him with a confused face. "You brought me here to break into the library? What are you gonna do? Pee in the corners?"

He scoffed. "No, the High School kids beat me to it. I want to show you something else." He tapped the window and like he knew it would, it budged slightly. "The kids broke this window a couple of years ago and the library has extremely poor funding, so they haven't been able to fix the latch. I offered to fix it and I did, until I broke it again, but only you and I now know that." He pushed the window open and reached inside for the ruler he had set on the shelf by it. He propped the window open and looked at Ava. "Ladies first."

She shook her head and looked around nervously again. "Seriously, what are we doing?"

He held out his hand toward her and raised his eyebrows. "You will never know if you don't go through that window."

She stood there a moment, her face hard in thought. "If we get caught, I am telling aunt Esme you drugged me and threw me in there." She took his hand and let him lift her up into the window seal. Once she made it through the window, he lifted himself inside and landed quietly on the squeaky floor boards that were covered in terrible green carpet. It smelt like old books and powdery perfume, which was from the little old lady who kept the library. He shut the window and watched as Ava began to flip through some of the categories.

"Marie Antoinette. No presidential books, but there are 4 books about Marie Antoinette." She shook her head and kept looking.

He tapped her shoulder and waved her a sign to follow him further in. She obliged and abandoned the sad collection of books. The library was 2 stories, the one they were in now the lower one. The 2nd story consisted of a study room, 1 computer, and an old film projector. The walls were decorated with old wall paper that was adorned with tacky yellow flowers. The pictures of people in history and famous art works were dusty and some of them were cricked.

"When I was fixing the window, I went upstairs to talk to Mrs. Betthauer and she and her granddaughter were using the old film projector up here." He said to her as the kept climbing the stairs, passing more pictures and posters about how reading was good for the mind and soul. "It was a Charlie Chapman movie." He stepped into the room and pointed to the chairs on the other side of the room, where the table with the old projector on it. He pulled down the white canvas.

"A silent movie?" She looked at him like he was lying. He didn't blame her. Usually men took girls to see their hot rods or near the bar to hang with their rowdy friends around her and sometimes in general. Bucky admitted he was one of them, but he didn't want to impress Ava. She didn't seem type.

He turned around and looked at her. "You remember that story I told you about my dad and my mom?"

She nodded, her shoulders going slightly ridged, but she remained silent. He continued with his story. "Well, before all that, my mom told me she used to watch silent movies with my dad, before they got hitched and had kids. She took me to a couple after we left the pack we were with back home." He sat next to her and worked the contraption just as his mother used to. "This is the closest I get to home some times."

Her face softened and as the movie flickered on to the projection screen, she relaxed and Bucky knew she was thinking. After many silent moments of watching people silently play out a script, she spoke. "My dad told me mom wants to kill herself. I'm here because she wants me to be and I guess they didn't want me alone with her. Less chance of me finding her you know."

Bucky took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He missed his mother and his kid siblings, but he couldn't go back to that life. They were with other family now any way, safe. He could relate with the suicide. His mother couldn't live with herself. Killing the one she loved, even to defend herself, was too much.

"I just want to go back to school, try to live my life...and I can't." He opened his eyes and looked over to see silent tears going down her face. "And the worst of it is that my dad can't do anything to save us both. I get mad at him but really...I wouldn't be able to do anything either if I was him."

He couldn't help it. It was insensitive of him and perhaps it was downright mean, but he began to laugh. It was so sad to see someone suffering and it was wrong of him to laugh at her, but what a pair they made. "We are about as pathetic as they come, huh kiddo?"

He expected her to be angry to curse him and feel sorry for even sharing her feeling with him, but she began to smile and chuckled softly, wiping her face clean of those tears. "Yeah, pathetic. I have been looking for a word to describe what I am. That is a good one."

"I think there are a lot of words to describe you but I don't think pathetic is an actual definition." He switched off the silent movie and sat back, staring at the empty projection screen. They seemed to sit in silence forever and strangely it was comfortable. He didn't feel obligated to talk or make an expression of any sort. It was nice for once, to be himself. Sure, he had friends and he liked to hang out with them, but if he had shown them what he just showed Ava, they would ask if he needed a tampon.

"You know, I would say we should hang out more often, but some people might think that is super creepy." Ava broke their silence and sighed. "Figures."

He smiled and nodded. "Oh yeah, because I am super creepy after all."

She rolled her eyes and stood up, slowly making her way toward the stairway. "I want ice cream, so get up you creepy old man."

After ice cream Bucky drove them back home, explaining to Ivan that Ava wasn't ready to drive just yet. When they had pulled up, a couple of the visitors of the inn looked at them oddly and Bucky had to bit the urge to growl at them. He didn't like be questioned. His motives were pure. Ivan on the other hand didn't find anything wrong with the trip and didn't question Bucky. He was probably glad that Ava was able to relax for a while.

They made their separate ways after that, seeing as night was going to replace the sunshine soon. He could already feel his blood boil, his bones ache, for that sweet change. He wanted to hunt tonight, howl at the moon, and sing to the moon goddess, but not now.

He put the car back in the barn, not liking how it shifted when he was driving. He would work on it later.

"Yo, Bucky, where did you go?"

He turned around to see Gabriel standing there, beer in hand and in the other an unopened one. It seemed like they drank a lot, but really, they were rarely drunk. "Ah, well the little pip squeak needed some lessons on how to operate a vehicle."

Gabriel smiled broadly. He was something to behold at times. He was young, very young, but he was already taller than the tallest men in the pack, with shoulders as wide as a door way. He was good looking to and he knew it. He had a strong jaw line and tan skin, dark, thick hair. His eyes were almost an unnatural shade of blue. Some of the pack women had already made their way behind a bush with him once or twice. Bucky used to think he was all brawn and no brain, but he surprised him when he was around his younger sisters, acting like a father, helping his mother with her personal bills and anything else. "Was there success?"

Bucky scoffed. "Hardly. She thinks the tires are going to pop on everything." He stole the beer from Gabriel's hand and leaned against the side of the car. "How was the city today?"

Gabriel chuckled and sucked in some air. "I will be howling for other reasons tonight, that is for sure. I went into a strip club."

Bucky wasn't sure if he was jealous or disgusted. He wasn't particularly fond of humans, no matter how attractive they could be. Usually humans told stories about werewolves, vampires, witches and other super natural beings to scare their children into behaving; monsters under the bed, demons. But Bucky always believed that humans were and always will be the true monsters. And he sure didn't condone Gabriel going to strip clubs, only to enjoy the sites, but to actually enjoy a woman of their species? He would bring death to them. In the past months, Gabriel had claimed to have been in many of these clubs. He hoped his friend understood what the consequences could be.

He let it go. "You are going to catch a disease."

Gabriel took a chug of beer, the smile never leaving his face. "Oh I hope it is a good one than, because it was worth it."

After a couple hours with his friend, Bucky made it toward the woods, the moon making an appearance. He didn't want to come back until the sun was coming over the mountains. He wanted the night, all of it and all it had to offer. The scents, the sounds, the change.

When he was out of sight of the inn, he peeled off his clothes with claws that refused to wait for his command. His pelt already sprung on his belly and was making way all over. His mouth was barely a snout before he took off, a deep bay in his throat.

Tonight he would be a predator.

Sorry that took so long guys. I don't have a computer of my own so I have to wait until someone will let me on theirs. Boo. Anyway, I hope you like it and hope that is wasn't to down in the dumps.

Madeline

Beta-ed by: ItaSaku1