Fire burned through her veins as Victoria twitched in the bed. Now cold soup sat on the nightstand, and Amber sat in a rocking chair next to her mother across the room. Every few minutes, they would exchange the cold damp towels on her head for fresh ones, doing anything they could to reduce the heat. Four fans pointed at Victoria, but even from where they sat across the room they could feel the heat rising. Julia was beginning to worry the fever would kill her before she even had a chance.

Baekhyun hadn't come home. After Julia and Tanner left the pack hospital and got her to the house, Amber took her father's place so he could get back to work. Chanyeol came into the room periodically, for the most part was looking for his brother. He had checked the hospital, but the doctor had said he left not long after Victoria did. He checked the lake, the woods, even the bar but didn't find him.

Eventually night fell. Amber and Julia decided to take shifts to watch Victoria. In the middle of the night, Victoria’s fever began to drop, and Amber rushed to get her mother before the girl woke. As the two women, now in tow with Tanner, Andrew, and Chanyeol, entered the room, they found Victoria sitting up in bed and looking around the room.

When she noticed them, Victoria's cheeks lit up pink. “I'm sorry,” she mumbled. Her voice was shallow and raspy. The four of them stared at her in shock as they met bright blue eyes. Victoria didn't seem to notice as she took in the room. It was a different one then she had slept in the night before.

Julia slowly approached the bed and sat on the end. Victoria turned to her with a blank expression. “It's alright, dear. You were in a lot of pain.” Reaching out, Julia placed her hand against Victoria's forehead. Her temperature had gone down drastically, but Julia was worried it wasn't Victoria they were speaking to. Still, she smiled at the girl. “You must be starving,” she said. “How about a cold shower and by the time you're out I’ll have something fresh in the kitchen for you.”

After getting a nod from her, Julia smiled and stood, leaving the room and heading for the kitchen. Amber nodded. “Okay, well let's get you some clothes.”

As she walked over to the desker and began digging through it, Victoria turned to the boys. “Where is Baekhyun?” She asked and looked between them.

Chanyeol awkwardly cleared his throat while Tanner shook his head. “He's around, I'm sure,” Tanner stated. “Let's get you well first.”

After gathering some clothes, Amber helped Victoria to her feet and led her to the bathroom. While she began running the water, Victoria stared at her reflection in the mirror. The crystal blue eyes stared back at her, but it was like seeing two reflections. One was herself, paler and dirtier, but the person she was used to seeing. The other was the snout of a black beast staring back through the same blue eyes.

“Do you always see this?” She turned away from the reflection to Amber. The girl looked back at her confused. “The wolf in the mirror?”

“Oh,” Amber nodded and turned back to the water. “Yeah, you get used to it, learn how to tune her out when you're doing your makeup or hair.” Once the water was the right temperature, she turned back to Victoria and smiled. “You should try talking to her. She had taken over for a while at the hospital, I heard. For now, she'll be pretty instinctual, but she'll get better.” A final nod to Victoria, and Amber was out the door. “Don't forget to lock it!”

The door shut quietly behind Amber, and Victoria stumbled over to lock it before she turned back to the reflection. Looking past herself, she look at the animal hiding behind her eyes. Despite the massive size and sharp canines, the wolf looked almost harmless. The pink tongue barely poked out of its mouth as it blinked at her curiously. Victoria reached out and touched the mirror, and the animal turned its head to the side, looking at the door.

“Who are you?” Victoria whispered and caught the wolf's attention again. It blinked its blue eyes at her and shook out its fur. “I am you.” It whispered back. “And you are me.” The voice was soft and sounded like hers only a pitch too low. Victoria almost expected the wolf's mouth to move when it spoke. “But what do I call you?” “Whatever suits you.”

After showering, Victoria dressed and headed down the steps to the kitchen. Her eyes had faded back to their natural green after speaking with her wolf, and the wolf has been dormant since. The way everyone talked about them, Victoria had assumed it would be a voice always going in her head, giving opinions and advice, but now it was more of an uncomfortable feeling of sharing her mind and body with something else.

As she walking into the kitchen, Amber and Julia looked up at her and smiled. “Feel better?” Amber asked and patted the seat next to her.

“A bit,” she admitted. If she was being honest, she didn't remember much from the hospital till she woke up. Her limbs were sore, and she was hungry but nothing else. “I talked to the wolf. She seems nice.”

Julia giggled as she set a bowl of soup in front of her. “Well, what will you call her?”

“What do you mean?” Victoria asked as she blew on the steaming soup.

Amber answered. “Mine didn't want a name. She considers it “too human.” I just call her most of the time.”

Where Julia rolled her eyes, Victoria snorted. “You call her ?”

“She's rude,” Amber explained with a laugh. “Like if I didn’t ask your opinion don't give it.”

While Victoria ate, the two women spoke more about their wolves. Julia's apparently worried a lot about her children, and often nagged about Baekhyun's recent behavior. Amber's argued with her a lot about basically anything. As they spoke about them, Victoria noticed that they seemed to be advanced versions of themselves. Julia's worried about her children, just as Julia often seemed too, and Amber's arguing just like she seemed want to do. Victoria found herself wondering if the wolves choose the emotions or simply enhanced them.

Soon Julia decided it was time for bed. Everyone had been on their toes since Victoria was infected, and could happily do with a nights sleep. Since Amber was home tonight and Baekhyun was not, Julia told Victoria to sleep there despite her arguing.

After Julia shut the door, Victoria was left alone in Baekhyun's room. His walls were painted a deep blue that matched his bedding, and the furniture had been stained dark. His bed was unmade, and there was clothing thrown around the floor. Sighing, she walked over and sat down on the bed. The salty scent in the air hit her like a truck and almost knocked her backwards. It was everywhere, all around in every piece of the room. Baekhyun's scent.

“He's going to be so mad,” she mumbled to herself. Laying back on the sheets, she stared up at the ceiling. “Why doesn't mate like us?” Her wolf's voice seemed to echo through the silence. “I thought it was because we were human,” Victoria answered. “But now we are not, and he doesn't seem happy about it.”

Her wolf was silent for a while before she spoke up again. “Is he going to come back?” Closing her eyes, Victoria rolled over to face the window. “I don't know.”