A/N: Well, hello everyone. I know that I said I had hoped the updates would come more quickly once I sorted out my muse. And I've been promising this update for a while now. I got into a major car accident and was using all of my free time dealing with that, then I lost my job about two months ago and my whole everything got put on hold as I hastily moved about six hours and two states away. I just recently tied up all the loose ends with the car wreck and I'm trying to get things sorted and in order down here. It's slow going. I also hoped to get this posted on Halloween, but my great grandfather died the day before it and my family has been in a cluster fuck of busy since then.

Isis is such a great story for me to write because so much research has gone into it and the mythology I've built up around it. It's been a truly wonderful journey and I'm sure it will continue to be so. I really hope that you all can forgive me the ridiculous and unacceptable time frame it has taken me to get anywhere in this fic and continue to hang on for the ride. I promise to keep working on this, and get the next chapter up as soon as I can. You guys are the best!

The Pieces to Your Puzzle are Missing

As she bounced through foster homes and, subsequently, numerous schools Emma managed to take ancient history at least seven times. More than enough to commit the stock curriculum to memory about this world's kingdoms of old. The teachers and students alike talked about the ancients with a tone of superstition that wavered between reverence and mockery. It was a tone she never understood. Perhaps it was because she knew other worlds existed, but she consistently questioned why magic couldn't have existed in this world once. As she grew older she learned to keep these questions to herself, but surely the gods of Egypt, Greece, and Rome were not an imagination gone viral. During her thesis studies in graduate school, she had found a few like-minded students who poured over the scholarly texts in the great libraries of the world to quench their lust for knowledge, the same drab pictures staring back at them book after book. Fewer traveled to the direct sources of their passions. And none, save Emma Swan, questioned the illegitimacy of the religions they studied, erstwhile doggedly grasping at their own spiritual salvation. None imagined that there could be more to the mixed up legends they spent months deciphering. They were delighted in the surface they never broke, staring at a reflection the masses adored, sated in a way she never was.

Emma did not have time for them.

At first her fellow students consoled her fruitless search for hidden answers when her frustration drove her to cursing and setting things on fire. More and more quickly they abandoned her to morose stares out of her tent on the edge of their dig sites. But without fail, each and every one commented on the elegance and detail incorporated into her tattoos and asked towards the artist. She gave a different answer every time. Her quest was laughable enough in their eyes; no one would believe the truth. Not in a world without magic.

She traveled the wonders of the world, and some places a little less famous but just as wondrous, in order to piece together the legends that surrounded them with the truth of her world. She mused that if the realms could be crossed so could the magic. And what was real in her world may also have been real in this one. This world was older than her own. She knew of mermaids and kelpies; she held no doubts as to the origins of Atlantis, or its existence. In ancient Indian, Chinese, and Japanese manuscripts she found mentions of fantastical creatures held within princely menageries. But upon asking, she found even locals had chocked the mentions up to rumors and imagination. No one cared about a giant wolfling creature enough to try to force a monarch to let them dig up their royal grounds in pursuit of bones.

The theories around Dracula were extensive and fantastical and sometimes ridiculous, but her time in Romania proved to her one important thing. It may not have been Vlad drinking the blood, but there was underlying truth to those fanatical rumors. And too many of Romania's vampires claimed to be his kin. Though that was probably just pride.

In the ruins littering Colombia she found signs that pointed to Midas and his golden touch in the legends of El Dorado. Surely a golden city could only be the work of the same gift. The more she learned of the myths surrounding El Dorado, the more certain she became that there was once magic in this world and the golden touch had turned a city to solid metal the color of the sun in greed, but it was long ago. Before the conquistadors and the time of the Muisca people. That was why they placated their goddess with gold and jewels and a gilded prince. But she was not a treasure hunter; the gods had not designed her to track down wealth, only monsters. And so when she had rid South America of a nasty but obvious coven of vampires, she returned to the one place she had always found more questions towards her purpose. Egypt.

There were stories of people who got lost in the pyramids. Their bones were found years later, their screams echoed in tunnels no one knew existed. Innocents diverted from tour groups, treasure hunters, grave robbers, the disastrously unlucky. Emma made it her mission to become unlucky. She found the bones, hands still clutching gold. But she wasn't interested in gold.

She wanted secrets.

She copied hieroglyphs from the walls and spent hours translating them by the dying batteries of her flashlight. She searched walls for hidden panels, but most held only more treasure. She stole scraps of scrolls and later claimed she pulled them from tour path cracks when she got caught. She sketched the likeness of images remarkably intact. Once, she found the entrance to previously undiscovered tunnels in the walls of the great sphinx that led deep inside to catacombs that she didn't get to explore because the batteries in her flashlight gave out plunging her into complete darkness. That happened a lot. She should have learned earlier to invest in more batteries when they stopped in town. But she wasn't afraid of the dark. If anything, the dark should be afraid of her.

It had been over ten years since Emma had ridden in a police car, sirens screaming. Back then she'd been read her rights and put in the back seat, in handcuffs. Now Graham was shoving a spare pair of into her hands and regretting the fact that he hadn't given her a gun. She rolled her ankle against the flat silver blade inside her boot. A badge was just a badge, and she didn't even have one of those yet. She never went unarmed. The years she had spent as a bounty hunter had trained her instincts, and dressing habits. And if Graham was really as great a Sheriff as he claimed to be, he'd have noticed that she did have a gun; not that she was in any hurry to divulge where it was on her person. In all her bounty hunting, she'd wished she could move as fast on wheels as she could on foot in the forest or open fields. Her job usually landed her in metropolitan areas, and vehicles became more hindrance than help. Sometimes being supernatural negated the need for them. When Graham had flipped the sirens on and raced for the hospital, she'd thought her wish would come true. Cops in Boston would fly through the streets. Graham hit maybe 55 mph. When they rolled to a stop and clambered out, Emma threw him a look.

"Next time, I'm driving."

Ruby chuckled behind her. The blonde hadn't had time to evaluate the presence of the waitress, or why her request to join them had been granted, but she supposed extra bodies would be useful if they had to do a town wide search. Not that she was actively complaining, and Graham certainly had a crush on the brunette too if the looks he kept shooting her way were any indication.

He ignored her, turned, and led them through automatic sliding doors into the hospital. Stark whiteness assaulted Emma's senses and her eyes narrowed at the costumes the nurses were wearing. If she hadn't already deduced the 'frozen in time' thing, those would have tipped her off. She needed to enlighten these people on modern scrubs. The little red cross paper hats had to go. They continued to follow Graham through a short maze of halls, Emma at his heels and Ruby falling behind to converse with the hospital staff. It seemed that everyone wanted to know why she was tagging along with the Sheriff and his new associate.

"Dr. Whale," Graham called.

A middle aged man looked up from a clipboard in his hands. His blonde hair was balding a little at the top and Emma wasn't quite sure that she trusted the look in his eyes. Something about him seemed off. Two women were standing in front of him, glaring at each other; but they begrudgingly turned at the sound of the Sheriff's voice. Emma wasn't surprised to see Mary Margaret. Her new roommate had explained her Saturday routine that morning. But the other woman —

"Regina?" Emma blurted in confusion, feeling her head tilt to one side. "Why are you here?"

"Surely one glass of cider hasn't made you so familiar, Ms. Swan. It's Madame Mayor," Regina's gaze fell coolly on her. "Or Ms. Mills."

Emma's confusion scrunched her brow and she leaned back as if the blow had been physical. Hadn't this woman kissed her the night before? She was losing track of the game.

"And if you must know," Regina hissed. "I'm John Doe's emergency contact."

Dr. Whale stepped in at Regina's defense, regaling them with the tale of her heroic efforts. After, Graham started doing his usual detective work of asking questions that led practically nowhere and getting answers that got them just about as far. In the end they learned as much as they had known before, that their John Doe was missing.

"Regina," Graham turned to the mayor, "You have nothing else on him?"

"No. That night was-"

"Twenty two years ago," Emma mumbled. She had been circling the group; listening, remembering. Apparently Graham was on very familiar terms with Madame Mayor. And there were things that she was not privy to going on here, passing between the citizens of this town with looks that she could not decipher. There was undeniable tension between Regina and Mary Margaret. Ruby had finally joined them and seemed to be siding with the latter, but there was some underlying desire in her gazes aimed at the mayor. Dr. Whale had turned a lecherous eye on Mary Margaret once Graham had entertained his story. And Graham looked like he would rather be anywhere else. But when the information spilled from her lips, Regina's glare turned once again towards her.

"And how would you know that?" As dark as her tone was, Emma saw a glaze of fear in her eyes.

"The good doctor is holding his chart," Emma snapped. "And I can read. A better is question is why you don't remember anything else from the night you rescued a stranger who you've maintained ties with."

"I-it looked as if he had dragged himself from somewhere in the forest. There were marks, and blood. But I don't remember where exactly I found him," Regina had the decency to look admonished.

Emma turned to Mary Margaret. "And you didn't say anything to him?"

Her eyes told the short haired woman that they didn't have time to play the game they'd played the night before. She swallowed. "I told him that I was sure he had someone looking for him, waiting for him."

"And no one saw him leave?" Emma smacked an open palm against the wall, incredulous that a comatose patient got up and walked out of an occupied hospital in the middle of the day without anyone seeing him.

"It's a long term ward; they - erm - sleep most of the time?" Ruby offered with a shrug. She had about as many detective skills as a goldfish and Emma was beginning to think that allowing her to come had been a mistake.

With a frustrated growl, Emma took to scuffing her boot against the floor. They were standing in what amounted to a janitor's closest that led to the back security office where the footage was stored, waiting for either a janitor or a guard to come let them in. The hospital had been searched top to bottom before their arrival, and Graham was doing a secondary sweep to ensure their zombie hadn't gotten lost and found a cozy spot to hide in. Emma's route, checking security footage, was arguably faster; albeit the noticeable lack of someone with keys. "It's not like someone could be dying or anything."

"What's with you and Her Majesty?" Ruby asked so suddenly it almost gave Emma whiplash. The blonde gaped at the use of title before Ruby said, "Regina? The mayor? We like to pretend she's some royal queen so we can explain her sense of entitlement. But your eyes and hers were screaming some familiarity back there."

"Oh. I don't know. Maybe she just decided that she really didn't like me."

"But she let you try her cider - oh my god, something happened between you two? I had no idea-" Ruby would have jumped up and down with unadulterated glee had the janitor not arrived in that moment, tabling their conversation.

Emma silently praised his timing. He was the short man she'd seen Graham herd out of The Rabbit Hole that first day, went by the name of Leroy. But the bounty hunter had half a mind to call him Grumpy after her mother's fabled friends. His answers came in gruff barks and eye rolls and his face maintained a permanent scowl but he brought up the security tapes nonetheless.

"The back door? Where does that lead?"

"Where everything leads, sister," Leroy took a drink from a water bottle that reeked of vodka. "To the woods."

They met back up with Graham in the ward, where Regina and Mary Margaret were back to having a rather one-sided spat. Emma could almost see the venom falling from Regina's lips from across the room. She told Ruby to report to Graham and grabbed Regina by the arm when they got close, pulling her away.

"What do you think you're doing? Unhand me."

Emma did, after dragging her into an empty storage room. "Okay, I thought we had a decent time last night, but maybe I misread that kiss you gave me," Emma snapped. "Someone is missing and there is a killer on the loose, do you really think now is the time to be terrorizing people? It may start to look suspicious."

"Are you threatening me, Ms. Swan?" Regina's eyes narrowed to serpentine slits. "Please stick to things you claim to know about. As you have so far failed to apprehend this killer in my town -"

"It's been twenty four hours!"

"- perhaps you can prove yourself with finding a missing comatose man. I should think that won't prove too difficult for you."

Emma had moved a pawn the night before and Regina had just thrown out a tempting gambit, but Emma could see through her deflection. There was a hidden battle plan she had yet to discover within this woman. She remembered they were playing a game, and their kiss had been part of it. "Depends."

Regina frowned at the shrug in the blonde's shoulders. She'd had her for a minute, wiggling like a hooked fish. "On?"

"You got my help with your killer for a glass of cider. And you got your answer for a kiss," Emma let a smirk play on her lips. "You shouldn't have given up your leverage so easily, Madame Mayor."

Regina leveled her with a malicious stare. "You want another kiss, bounty hunter?"

Emma surged forward, a forearm to Regina's neck, forced her backwards and kissed her hard. She bit a red lip with a growl before her tongue slid over it and past pearly perfect teeth. She sucked the breath from the mayor's lungs and kept kissing, the opposing tongue relenting in submission. She relished the tremor she felt rushing through Regina's bones. And then she pulled back, green eyes ablaze with determination. "I can steal a kiss just as easily as you can. So if you want me to save your precious John Doe, then we'll just say that you owe me one."

"Hardly."

"Well, then, Ms. Mills. I guess it's your move."

Emma left a sidelined Regina Mills griping the rust off the lockers and returned to her search party. "So what's the plan?"

No one asked where the mayor was, or why Emma had dragged her off. Ruby was throwing her amused sidelong glances and the back of her hand swiped over her lips as Graham split them into two groups to circle the tree line before plunging into the thick of the forest. She'd been given her new roommate as a partner.

She'd just as soon go alone.

"Hopefully, he didn't get very far."

"Charming!" Snow White lunged forward and caught his tunic as he fell from their horse, causing them to both topple to the ground. The breath rushed from their lungs as their bodies compacted against the hard earth. "Charming!"

His jaw clenched, his hands pressing tightly against his side. Red was quickly staining his hands and spreading across his battle torn tunic. She pulled him off the road, to a tree where he could sit up. Kneeling, she pushed the tunics and boiled leather and mail out of the way to reveal a deep gorge between his ribs. The leather was barely holding together, the mail rent asunder from the slash of a broadsword that had gotten around his shield. "Go, Snow."

"No," she tried to quiet him. "I won't leave you."

"She is more important." He bit each word out with effort.

"Regina has -"

"Emma!" He forced his eyes open to look at her through the pain. "You have to save her. You have to get back to her."

"But you-"

"Go, Snow."

He was right. Emma was foretold. She would balance the realms. She would bring peace.

"I'll come back," she said, knowing full well that she may not. And if she did, he may not be there. Her horse whinnied and she looked up to see it pawing at the ground by the bridge they had been racing towards. "This is where we fell in love."

"Then you'll know exactly where to find me. I'm not going anywhere." His words died in a growl of pain.

"I can't lose you," Snow White said. She kissed him desperately. "I love you."

"And I love you," the taste of wild roses lingered on his lips as he leaned back heavily against the tree. "Save our daughter, and love her more."

Without looking back, Snow swung into the saddle and kicked her horse into a canter quickly. They flew over the bridge and plunged back into the woods. She begged more speed and gave the horse her head as she surged into a gallop. Dust left a trail behind her that quickly settled back into the earth, a rear guard that didn't stay too far gone.

When they neared the caves, Snow slowed the lathered horse and found a suitable tree to leave her by before continuing on foot. The vampire witch queen would know she was coming, but she wouldn't know she had company and the guise of surprise would still be an aide. She tested her bow before stringing an arrow and raising it into her sights. The silver head gleamed with twilight; the raven feathers tickled her cheek. Stepping carefully over rocks and roots, she neared the mouth of a dark cave, body tense, blood rushing through her ears.

"Lose something dear?" the laughing voice caused her to jump slightly.

She swung her eyesight and arrow both toward twin pools of gold floating in a cave's mouth, forcing herself to not look up. A few more steps forward. The Queen came out to meet her, jeweled dress of rich velvets ripped and soaked with blood. The smile on her face revealed blood stained teeth. Those golden eyes didn't blink at the silver aimed for her heart. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, I don't see him. Or hear him. I hear your horse though, poor thing, you've nearly ridden it to death."

Snow glowered, inwardly relieved that Red had been right about the cloaking. "Maybe you just aren't listening hard enough, Regina."

The Queen frowned. "My legion is on its way."

"Your legion was demolished at the Forks. And those left of them are sprinting the other way. Even vampires know better than to run into curses. I think you're alone."

"So sure of yourself, Snow White," the Queen chuckled darkly. "But in the latter you're right, of course. I've been alone since the day I rescued you from that bloody horse."

"Always the same argument with you."

"You killed Daniel." Her calm was unsettling.

"I was a child! And one trying to help you at that."

"You couldn't keep your mouth shut and I paid the price," Regina snarled.

"So that gives you leave to murder thousands and raise monsters from the pits of hell? I didn't do this to you, Regina."

"Oh, but you did, Princess. Or don't you remember? The man that tried to kill you the night you rode alone from the palace after your father forbade it. You insolent child. I came after you. If I hadn't caught up with you, you'd be dead. Or worse, you would have become this. A beast."

"Is that how you describe yourself now, Regina?"

"I am what you made me, Snow."

Four feet landed behind the Queen, who had stepped out of the protection of her cave. Regina turned her head to see the hulking werewolf growling at her. She laughed and walked closer to Snow and the trees.

"Your prince is dying. And you brought a werewolf to corner a cornered woman. How clever."

Snow's finger twitched. Red herded the vampire against a huge redwood.

"The curse you're trying to prevent has already been cast. You're too late."

Then she noticed the purple haze spilling from the cave. Her face fell.

"All this to save a brat you'll never see again."

Purple haze rolled towards them, touching the redwood.

Snow let the arrow fly, and blinked.

Regina was gone. So was Ruby.

An arrow quivered in the trunk of redwood.

And the haze fell over her even as she turned to run.

"Graham! Ruby!" Emma called into the walkie talkie. Graham had unearthed it from the trunk of his squad car for her, so they could keep in touch. But Emma could hear them tromping through the woods half a mile northwest. She could hear Graham's answer drop from his lips seconds before the walkie's static relayed it. They'd only been separated for ten minutes, sticking close to the edge of the forest and heading in opposite directions. Mary Margaret was staring at what Emma had found, her face as white as her last name suggested. A hospital band lay discarded, ripped, on a low branch of evergreen with blood congealing on its surface, the earth beneath it dark and damp. A deep breath had filled her lungs with the warm musk of earth, the shrill festering of her partner's anxiety, and the metallic tang of blood. It had taken her eyes seconds to pinpoint its location. She could see more dark patches of earth ahead, a blood trail she could easily follow on her own. But her companion would quickly raise questions; if she didn't faint first. Emma's mother was a vampire hunter, much like herself. It was staggering how this Mary Margaret reacted to the sight of blood. Like they weren't even the same people. Maybe I was wrong.

The crushing of underbrush pulled her attention to the right and her internal clock counted down to Ruby emerging from behind a rather large bit of shubbery, leaves in her hair. Graham was a few steps behind and Emma realized he was limping slightly. "Hurt yourself already?"

He looked at her, confused, until she indicated his leg. "Oh, I just dropped something on it the other day. No big deal."

She was skeptical, not having noticed it before, but let it go. It wasn't really her place to care.

"We thought you found him!" Ruby pouted, a hand on her hip.

"Blood trail, next best thing," Emma fingered the littered branch. "And I don't think Mary Margaret is as up to this investigation as she thought."

All eyes were on the blanched woman.

"So, she's going to head back to the hospital," Emma gave her a nudge, "and wait in case John Doe comes back while we're out here. We're gonna follow this."

Graham looked a little chagrined at her commandeering of the situation, but soon fell into step at Emma's side, Ruby happily forging ahead of them. Every now and then she would stop and Emma could almost feel her intake of breath. Werewolves. She wondered if the brunette was aware of what she was doing. Emma kept her senses heightened. It was bad enough that a practically dead man was suddenly missing, but there were things in these woods that she hadn't fully discovered and did not want to face in mixed company. There was a reason that everyone in this town was who they were, and why they didn't remember who they used to be. She needed to be careful to not trigger anything until she found that reason out. And stopped the vampires. All while keeping the mayor occupied.

Nothing is ever easy when it comes to monsters.

"Ruby?" Graham called. "Ruby?"

She hadn't even noticed that the brunette was out of sigh. Her breaths were heavy in Emma's ears. The sound of running water was getting closer. They must be nearing the quarry. Ruby shouted something back; they carried on with silence weighing heavily between them. Asking Graham questions about the town could be as insightful as asking anyone else, but he was the Sheriff and that may lead her to some unexpected knowledge. She finally said, "So what's with this town?"

"What do you mean?"

Tread carefully. "It's so secluded, and a little stuck in the times," Emma shrugged. "I haven't come across many like it." If any at all.

"It's just always been this way. We fashion ourselves a quaint little town, but we've actually grown quite large over the years. We've cut the forest back in places to accommodate. The hospital has only been fully functioning for the past 25 years or so. Modernization has come slowly. People are just used to the quiet little town life," he explained. "Every-"

"Everyone knows everyone," Emma nodded. "So I've heard. It's just - that person who broke into Mary Margaret's, she said she saw his face, but that she didn't recognize him, she didn't know him. How does that make sense?"

"You know it's just an expression, right? About knowing everyone?"

"Of course," Emma shrugged. "It just seemed like people here meant it a little more seriously."

"Well," he paused. "I was actually going to ask you something. If you thought that you might be staying for a little while. I know you only promised Regina that you'd be here temporarily, but if you wanted to stay, I could use some help at the station."

"What? Like your deputy?" Emma laughed.

"Exactly."

Emma stopped. "You're serious about this?"

"I think you're a perfect fit."

"And what about Regina?"

"I can handle Regina."

She considered it for a moment. Figuring out what was going on here was going to take time. It would give her a legitimate reason for being here, but she would lose her leverage with the mayor.

Ruby came trotting back into view, interrupting her thoughts. "I think I found him."

"Where?" Talking to Graham had distracted her. They had a missing person to find. "Where is he?"

"The bridge." Ruby shuffled nervously, "But I think there is someone with him."

With a look between them, and Emma's strange behavior momentarily forgotten, the three of them took off at a job towards the old vandalized toll bridge. She was careful to keep her strides even with her companions, forcing herself to appear appropriately winded when they reached the dilapidated structure. Ruby had been right, almost. There were definitely two somethings in the area. As they crept closer, Graham pulled out his gun and motioned for the two women to stay behind him. Emma rolled her eyes a little harder than necessary and ignored his cautious footsteps, striding purposefully up the dusty path.

No one greeted them at the bridge, but steep embankments feel away to either side, leading down to the river rushing swiftly from the depths of the quarry out to the sea. Emma knew long before she heard the whine coming from the left what she was up against.

"Woah!" Ruby looked like a kid in a candy store, eyes wide with excitement sparkling from her irises. A huge white she-wolf stood over a body. The hospital gown clung to its form, soaked through. The wolf raised her head when Emma stepped closer towards the descent, her deep amber eyes meeting Emma's jade. When Graham stepped up behind them, the wolf's attention shifted. But not before Emma saw an almost human emotion deep in its eyes. She's sad.

The Sheriff took a step back, lowering his gun to train it on the beast. Hackles raised sharply on the wolf's back, her ears flattened, and a curdling snarl escaped her bared teeth.

"Graham, don't!" Ruby pleaded.

"He's attacking!"

"No!" Emma put a hand on the barrel of the gun, pushing it down and away. "She's protecting him. Her fur is wet, look, she pulled him out of the water."

Emma slid down the embankment carefully, slowly, maintaining eye contact with the she-wolf. Ruby came down behind her despite Graham's protestations. On level ground, the wolf's head came almost to Emma's chest. Ruby will be bigger, the thought whizzed through Emma's head. They inched closer together, but Ruby was the first to crouch down to her knees and bowed her head slightly. With a wave of her hand to tell Emma to do the same, she held her palms out for the wolf to sniff. A warm huff of air bathed the blonde's face and she looked up, directly into bright eyes. Her hand went out instinctively, coming to a rest between the wolf's ears. A white light flashed in her eyes and her left elbow grew warmer and warmer. The wolf was a friend. Then she could see Graham running through the forest, but it wasn't Graham, it was a different Graham. Before she could place what she was seeing the vision shifted and she was bounding through a dark forest, rushing to get to a man up ahead. Happiness and excitement flowed through her; she hadn't seen him in so long. But when he turned his eyes were a sinister yellow and she backed away growling, muscles bunching. The same sadness she'd seen in the wolf's eyes replaced the excitement. He reached out to touch her but couldn't. He couldn't get closer than ten feet to her, staring back at her with an equal sadness, a heavy 'I'm sorry' escaping him.

The white flashed again and Emma fell back.

"Emma, are you okay?" Ruby was asking.

The wolf was growling again. Graham was starting down the hill. Emotional pain that wasn't her own swirled through her veins looking for an escape. "Graham, just stay up there!"

"But the-"

Emma looked back at the wolf, and nodded to her.

The she-wolf grinned. And then she was gone, bounding up an impossibly steep slope to disappear over the crest of the hill. The warmth fled Emma's elbow instantly and she fought the temptation to check her tattoos. This had never happened to her before. And there were no wolves in Maine.

"Emma," the voice was distant.

"He's okay," she heard Ruby say.

"Call an ambulance," Graham directed, leaving Emma to collect herself.

"The wolf didn't hurt him," she found herself saying. She was suddenly aware of everything. Graham's blood was rushing faster and slower than it should be. Ruby was too cold, her breaths too shallow. She could feel the war waging in their cells. Not Graham.

Wolves were the natural enemies of vampires, keeping the supernatural creatures at bay from person and place until their werewolf companions could join the fight. Natural creatures stood no chance against the supernatural. It usually took a pack to keep an area well-guarded. But the white wolf, this white wolf, seemed to hold deeper abilities to compel. A deep look of betrayal had flashed across Graham's face when she had begun growling at him, so brief his subconscious probably wasn't even aware of it. The memories given to her by the she-wolf brought back a story her Gram had told her of the Queen's huntsman, raised by wolves and seduced by Her Majesty and forced to turn his back on his pack. Had the Queen changed him? Was that the sadness in the she-wolf?

Did I chase Graham through the woods the other day? Is that why he's limping?

If it was Graham, he wasn't aware of it. Yet. Her memory jumped to the clock tower's hand surging into motion as if they had shuddered off the weight of a hundred thousand rusted chains. Then to Ella's ravished body. At the Sheriff's station, after Emma had volunteered her expertise, Graham had explained that there had never been a murder in the town's history. He'd vocalized thoughts of calling in outside help and she'd convinced him not to. That would only endanger everyone involved even more. She had heard tales through her travels that certain species of vampires could appear human for long periods of time, forcing their blood lust into dormancy, if they had feasted heavily before. Almost like a hibernation. But for twenty years?

What if I woke them up?