(Edit 11/23 Hey so you might have already seen this chapter but there were some issued with formatting again. Idk what's been going on but I've tried to fix it a few times without taking down the chapter and putting it back up but it's looking like that's what I'm going to have to do. Sorry for any inconvenience. I'm working on chapter 7 right now and that should be done in two weeks. Happy Thanksgiving! I'm very thankful for my readers!)

Hey! It's been hot minute since I posted last. But I'm getting better, six months is better than two years, right? I'm sorry it takes so long. I'm just incredibly busy with school and life and everything in between. Before you read the chapter I would like to say something to the people who comment. You guys don't know how much you mean to me. When I'm having a hard time writing, finishing a chapter or even a really rough day I look back on your comments and they really do help me keep at it. They always make me smile, without fail. Your comments are invaluable to me as a writer and I cannot express enough gratitude towards you guys. From the bottom of my heart I want to thank you for all that you do. I would not be here finishing this story if it were not for you wonderful people. Now, without further ado, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry for those who saw the earlier upload. was being a real bitch today, but I finally figured it out and fixed it. Let me know if any more issues with the format come up. :)

Wally found himself frozen under the beast's unnaturally human gaze. The mountain lion on top of him seemed to be just as bewildered as he was. In this brief moment of mutual confusion Wally decided now would be the best time to make his move and head for the bushes. He managed to kick his legs up underneath the cat's underside and made a valiant effort to throw the creature off of himself. The beast was momentarily caught off guard, but it was more than enough for Wally to slip out from underneath its paws. The mountain lion, or at least what he assumed to be a mountain lion despite the creature's unusually large size, recovered quite quickly and made another swipe for his hindquarters as he tried to flee. Wally, continuing the pattern of poor life choices for that evening, decided to turn around and face the beast once more instead of getting as far away from the little clearing as possible as any sane individual with half a sense of self preservation would do. He flashed his teeth at the creature and crouched down on his haunches, ready to lash out and defend his pack's territory from this outsider.

The big cat, to it's credit, kept its aggressive posture but did not lunge at Wally. Instead it just glared at him. He would say that the creature was perplexed, but there was definite aggressiveness within its unusual blue eyes. He could feel as the beast took in every inch of his figure illuminated under the light of the full moon. The low growl he emitted from this throat did not seem to bother it one bit. He was smart enough to know that this creature could rip him to pieces if it chose to do so. Though the fact that it chose not to in the first place was more perplexing to him. Wild animals like don't show the restraint like the one in front of him did. It left a sick feeling in the pitt of his stomach. The last thing he wanted was a rogue shifter on his hands. Well, on the pack's hands. He would not be alone in dealing with this.

Wally wasn't really sure what to do next. He wanted to make the first move, but was not sure which would be wiser. Attacking the creature might as well be him signing his death certificate. While he was faster than the creature, its quick reflexes and sharp claws did more than enough to even the playing field between the two of them. Running from the creature would leave him vulnerable as well. Wally figured he had more than enough puncture wounds in his ass for the night. He was more than certain he'd reached his quota for the foreseeable future in that department after his encounter with this beast. Left with his dilemma of whether to flee or fight the beast, Wally decided to wait it out and see what cat chose to do next, and hoped that his choice would not come to bite him in the ass.

He did not have to wait long, the creature seemed to stare him down for an eternity before it finally decided to make its move. The cat let out one final hiss of displeasure before leaping off into the night. As he watched the beast disappear into the night he got a better look of the beast. One of its back legs was stained red with blood, though it did not seem to impede its mobility. He also noticed that there was what looked to be a scar from claw marks across its back. He had seen a similar injury before but could not place where he he had seen it, it left him with an unsettling sense of familiarity.

Wally decided that following the intruder would not be in his best interests that evening, despite what his instincts screamed at him. He had enough of his wits about him to know that there was more to this encounter. There was so much more to this creature he had come across.

Artemis sprinted through the woods as fast as her paws would carry her. Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest as she flew through bushes. She could not believe what had happened. She didn't expect to run into anything except a deer and maybe a few bunnies that evening, this wolf was not even on her radar of expectations. And if her hunch was correct, the creature she encountered was not even a wolf at all. Well, at least not all the time. While she had never come across a wolf shifter before, and knew very little about them, she was pretty sure that wolves did not have green eyes. She was in a panic. She needed to get out of this town as soon as possible, Artemis knew she could not afford another slip up if she wanted to stay hidden from her father.

She made it to the gravel parking lot in record time, despite her poor shape. Her injured back leg screamed in protest as she bolted through the brush. It took every fiber of her being to concentrate enough to revert back into her human form. Her instincts told her to remain on all fours until the danger passed, but this kind of danger she faced would best be dealt with by reverting back into her human form. At least the wolf didn't know what she looked like. Her scent was different in human form. She strongly suspected that he knew what she was, her species was not exactly native to Rhode Island. Artemis' hands shook as she tried to pull her clothes back on to her body. She was aware that she was bleeding, especially her calf, but at the moment nothing was more important than getting as far away as possible. Though in the back of her mind, Artemis knew that the fact that the wounds had not healed during her shift was pretty much a conformation that the wolf she had encountered in the woods was of the supernatural variety.

Artemis wasted no time snatching her bike out of the bushes and hopping on it. Her hands shook with fear as she tried to steer the bike onto the road. She peddled the bike as fast as her legs would allow. Her injured calf throbbed as blood ran down her leg and into her shoe. She tried to focus all of her attention on the journey back to her apartment, but she could not help but wonder if the wolf had followed her and the implications of this encounter. She knew the rules that wolves had. The wolf seemed too confident to be a lone wolf, which meant that as soon as they catch word of the encounter she would have to deal with the whole pack. Given her family history and species track record Artemis figured that no matter how noble her intentions were it would not be a good idea to stick around to see what this pack had in store for her.

Though as soon as she decided that it would be in her best interest to get the hell out of dodge, Artemis had calmed down enough to realize that she could not leave yet, despite how much she wanted to. She probably had $200 to her name at this point and her truck was still in the shop and would be until the end of the next week. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. While she wanted to leave, despite these things, it would make the most sense for her to stay until then. At least until her truck was fixed and she got her next paycheck. Hopefully she would survive until then. At least that was what she told herself. She wanted to get out of Happy Harbor, it was what made the most sense. Yet, out of all the places she had lived these past few years she had spent on the run she had never felt more at home than she had on this little island. She felt herself wonder what could happen if she stayed, despite the wolves and the danger they posed to her continuing her existence. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she had become attached to this tiny seaside town and. It was something she never allowed herself to do before, however this time it felt right though at the same time she had a sinking feeling that it could also be her undoing. And while many things remained uncertain, there was one thing Artemis was sure of. She was not alone in these woods.

Wally wasn't sure what to think as he loped back to the parking lot after he was confident that the mountain lion, whoever they were, had the chance to clear the area. He did not want another encounter with the beast that evening. He wasn't sure what he was going to do or say to the pack, but he wanted to investigate further before he mentioned anything to anyone, despite Bruce's strict rules on the matter. His gut instinct told him that there was more to this encounter and he wanted to get to the bottom of his suspicions before he raised any red flags. Out of everything he had witnessed that evening the creature's blue eyes haunted him the most. They were oddly familiar to him. That, combined with the strangely familiar scar that he was sure he had seen before, he was sure that he knew this person. Though he didn't even dare to think her name, he didn't want it to be her. Well at least part of him didn't. It would mean that she would have to leave, or worse, and he was not ready for that. So he decided to make a rare move and reserve his judgment until he further investigated the situation. He had to be absolutely sure about his discovery. And how he hoped he was wrong. Bruce was not going to be happy about a unknown and possibly rogue shifter in the pack's territory, and Wally hated to think of what they would do if they decided to do something about the mountain lion.

He did not get much sleep after the encounter. After returning home and seeing that the scratches had not healed his mind was reeling. Wally knew those eyes, he had seen the same piercing glare that the cat had given him many times before in the bar. He didn't know how to describe it, but the gaze was almost identical to the one Artemis used when she was truly pissed. That was not the only evidence he had to support his theory. The four long claw marks that ran across the mountain lion's back looked oddly familiar to the one he had seen on her back. Wally had also made note that Artemis was pretty keen on hiding this scar, especially from her co-workers. The fact that Artemis might be a shifter could also explain her strange scent. She smelled like no human Wally had ever encountered before, and while Dick and Kal said her scent didn't burn their noses like it seemed to burn Wally's, they did note that it was unlike any human they had ever encountered. He also recalled her strange behavior on the night of the full moon. She seemed on edge, well at least a lot more than she usually was. As it all came together, Wally was left with an uneasy feeling.

He called in sick the next day. He was in no condition to be seen in public. Ollie wasn't very happy about it, but at this point Wally couldn't have cared less, he had much more important things to deal with at the moment. The scratches that the big cat left on his face and chest did not heal after he shifted back into his human form, further cementing his suspicions that the creature he had encountered was no wild animal. At least the ones on his face were not as deep as the ones that ran across his chest. Wally was lucky enough that Dick was still out of town. There was no way he could avoid telling him the truth of what happened, and Wally was not prepared for such a thing to come to light, despite the strict pack rules on the matter. He wasn't stupid, there were too many coincidences that lined up, and things were not looking good for Happy Harbor's newest resident. However he wasn't going to say a thing until he was absolutely, one hundred percent sure that Artemis was the shifter he had encountered. Bruce and Ollie might put him through the wringer for it later, but something inside him told him that he needed to wait and see. And he wasn't ready to lose Artemis quite yet, she had grown on him during her short time in the little beach town. She had become a friend, and before his strange encounter in the woods he had considered that there was a possibility that their friendship might become something else in the future. Though, now all bets were off, and Wally needed to get to the bottom of this before things got out of hand, or the higher ups in the pack got wind of this.

Wally was really not sure what to do in his situation. While the fact that Artemis might be a shifter scared him quite a bit, he was also very curious. It was rare that the pack encountered any other shifter, let alone another species. He had never seen anything like the beast he had encountered in the woods and he wanted to know more.

The next morning his face seemed to look a lot better, the scratches were not quite gone and they itched like no other, but they were definitely a lot less obvious than they were the day before. By the time Wally's evening shift came around he looked almost normal. He arrived at the bar thirty minutes before his shift so he could investigate some of his suspicions before getting to work. It was an unusually busy day, and while Artemis gave him a brief wave as he walked in, she had not had the time to stop by and say hello. Wally didn't mind. She was scheduled to close with him that evening. He knew he would eventually get the chance to talk with her. It was an unusually warm day in Happy Harbor, probably the warmest it had been all month, and he immediately noticed that Artemis was the only member of the wait staff wearing jeans. It was definitely different from her normal pair of cut-off shorts. Not that he spent time staring at her legs or anything, it was just a change in routine, one that anyone would notice. As he sat at the bar, waiting for Kal's shift to end he also noticed that Artemis sported a slight limp. She was definitely favoring one leg over the other. It was another bit of evidence that he had against her, as he recalled giving the big cat a rather nasty bit in the leg during their encounter.

It was a normal day at the bar. Artemis was trying to return to her routine and put the night in the woods behind her for the time being. She did her best to keep her fears in the back of her mind. Now was not the time to work herself up into an anxious mess. She decided that she needed to focus on getting everything in order so that when her truck was finally fixed she could leave town. She was somewhat upset about leaving Happy Harbor, unlike many of the places she had lived before during her time on the run she felt welcome. She was even making some friends. Despite her desperate desire to avoid planting roots, the little seaside town was growing on her.

Artemis had not noticed anything different after her encounter with the wolf as she went about her daily routine. Part of her hoped it was an isolated incident with a lone shifter, because if there was a pack in the area she was sure that she would have been contacted by now. She had not had many experiences with wolf shifters, but she knew that the packs could be very protective of their land, and while she fared well against that lone shifter she knew she was no match for a group of them. While she had not noticed anything out of the ordinary, Artemis did make sure she was extra diligent with looking over her shoulder. She had been on edge since she saw the other shifter and did not want to be caught off guard.

Her calf had been bothering her, especially at work. Artemis was not one to complain, but the deep puncture wounds in her calf were exhaustively painful after a long shift at the bar. The stinging sensation that radiated from the injury reminded of the wounds her sister used to give her when they would spar. The wolf's bite seemed to be taking it's own sweet time to heal itself. And the fact that her injuries were talking so long to heal meant that they came from a shifter. Artemis couldn't help but wonder who the shifter could be. Their scent was not completely unfamiliar to her, but did possess some completely unfamiliar and overpowering notes that prevented her from placing it. She hoped that wolf shifters kept their human eye color the same way cat shifters did. The only thing she had to go off of was the shifter's unnaturally green eyes, because the last time she checked wolves did not usually come with green eyes. The only person she knew in Happy Harbor that had green eyes was Wally. Though she did not even consider that he was the shifter. She just couldn't see him being one. He was much to oblivious to be anything but human.

She did her best to conceal her slight limp, despite the pain it had put her in during her shift. Artemis noticed that Ollie had an eye on her that afternoon, and she did not want to draw any more attention to herself. She knew that Oliver worried about her, none of her previous bosses had looked out for her like he did. She did appreciate it, but it also made her feel guilty because she knew when it came down to it she would be nothing more than a disappointment to him once her truck was fixed.

While she was aware of her boss' concerned gaze, Artemis was oblivious to Wally's curious stare for most of the evening. He tried to be careful, but she finally caught his eye at the end of the evening. She made a face at him, but didn't think much else of it, chalking it up to Wally just being weird. Artemis tried to push her concerns about her boss to the back of her mind and focused on finishing the rest of her shift.

Oliver knew he had a problem on his hands when the last shift of the night started. He had his suspicions that something had occurred when West called in sick a few days after the full moon. While Wally was chronically tardy, the kid was never sick. Ollie thought it was suspicious at the time, but didn't think much about it until Artemis showed up the next day sporting a limp. He'd known what she was since the moment she stepped into his office for a job interview. Her scent was unmistakable. It didn't take much to figure out her background, Bruce made a few calls and they figured out her parentage. The shifter community was not a big one, and with the right tools it wasn't much of a challenge to figure out her history. He knew of her father and the crew he ran with, though it was very apparent to Ollie and Bruce that Artemis was not like her family. Ollie liked to say that he was a good judge of character, and he knew Artemis was a good kid. That's why he offered her a job in the first place. Bruce, who was not as trusting, instructed him to keep an eye on her and Ollie saw no reason to consider her a threat. Well, that was until Wally called in sick, and Artemis showed up with a limp. Oliver decided to stick around that evening and watch the two. His gut told him that he needed to get to the bottom of this before things got out of hand, or Bruce got a whiff of trouble.

After the kitchen closed most of the bar cleared out. It was a weeknight so only a few regulars stuck around until closing. Artemis usually rolled her silverware in the kitchen but this evening the barstools were pretty much empty so she decided to keep Wally company, seeing as the remaining stragglers didn't want much to do with him as they carried on their conversation.

"Mind if I join you?"

Artemis nearly startled Wally as she set down a bucket of silverware and napkins on the bar. He had been lost in his thoughts as he waited for the last few customers to leave.

"No, not at all," he smiled and hoped his cheeks didn't look as red as they felt as the heat of the slight embarrassment crept up his neck. "How's your evening going?"

She shrugged, "Same as usual. A little slow, but I don't expect much on a Tuesday night. Are you feeling better? Kal said you were sick yesterday."

"Yeah, it was nothing a little orange juice and a good night's sleep couldn't take care of."

"That's good to hear," she mused as she skillfully rolled a napkin around silverware and stacked it in the quickly growing pile of completed rolls.

Wally nodded. He wasn't sure what to say to her, he didn't want to seem tense or strange to her, but he didn't want to sit in an awkward silence either because he knew

Artemis well enough to know she wouldn't be the one to carry on the conversation all by herself.

"What happened to you leg?" He couldn't think of anything else to say. And perhaps he could gauge her reaction. Besides being a little more jumpy than usual, Wally didn't notice much of a change to her behavior. Either she was a better actress than he thought, or she did not have the same suspicions. Or, even better yet, he was wrong and she wasn't that shifter in the woods. Wally hoped it was the latter, but knew better than to hold his breath.

Artemis looked confused, "My leg?"

"You've been favoring the other one all night. Are you okay?" He tried not to look too intent, he didn't want to spook her or sound like a creep. It was an honest observation.

To his surprise and slight confusion, she laughed.

Artemis had spent the whole evening crafting a story to explain her limp after seeing Ollie's concern. However, she did not expect Wally to ask her about it. "It's nothing. I rolled my ankle the other night on my way home."

Wally knew she was lying. She'd worn jeans instead of her usual cutoff short that day. And while he was not one to question her pant choice or use a simple wardrobe choice as the only evidence to back his theory, given the circumstances he suspected she was trying to conceal something, especially with the heat wave they were having.

"Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. Did you bike to work today?"

She smiled and waved him off, "It's nothing more than a little sprain. I'll be fine, Wallman."

He wasn't convinced. He'd seen how it had bothered her through the night. "I can give you a ride home after work. No need to aggravate it any more. You've been on your feet all day."

Artemis' nose wrinkled in annoyance. She shook her head, "I said I'm fine! I can get home on my own."

Wally crossed his arms. Why was she so stubborn all the time? "I didn't say that you couldn't. I was just offering, jeez."

She scoffed, rolled her eyes and returned to her silverware bundles. He needed to stop worrying about her. She could take care of herself.

Wally shook his head and went back to wiping down the bar. Maybe one day she would take the olive branch. The last call had been fifteen minutes before, now all that was left was to wait for the three remaining patrons to disperse into the night.

Ollie watched Wally and Artemis talk at the bar from the kitchen. He did his best to stay out of sight, not wanting to raise any suspicion on their part. It was a half an hour before closing time and there were only a few stragglers remaining in the bar. Usually he would get on his employees for socializing on the clock, as there was always work to be done, but he let it pass this evening. At least Artemis was being somewhat productive rolling up silverware. He needed to figure out if there was anything going on between the two. He'd seen the way Wally had looked at her all that evening, and it was not the usual annoying lovesick stare. The kid was looking for something. Artemis, on the other hand, didn't seem to have the same interest in West, though Oliver did notice she spent more time looking over her shoulder than she usually did. Despite her efforts to seem like nothing was out of the ordinary, he could tell that she was on high alert. From what he could gather their conversation consisted of nothing more than small talk and perhaps a little bickering, but that was the norm with those two. When the clock struck two Oliver slipped into his office after the kids separated to complete their closing duties.

As soon as the clock struck two Artemis hopped off of her bar stool and went to go lock the door. She wasn't in any particular rush to leave that evening like she had been a few nights prior, but she wanted to get off of her feet sooner rather than later. During the course of the night the dull stinging pain in her calf had transformed into an annoying throbbing sensation that she could no longer ignore. She wasted no time wiping down the tables and stacking the chairs.

Wally had already finished cleaning the bar area when they reached closing time. When he walked over to the back hallway to get the broom he was surprised to see that the light was on in Ollie's office. He couldn't remember the last time his boss stuck around for closing. Something wasn't right.

He didn't bother knocking. Wally knew Ollie could hear him outside the door.

Oliver didn't bother to look up from the paperwork he was pretending to work on, "Can I help you, West?"

"Why are you here this late?"

"Paperwork," Ollie looked up from his folder of expense reports. He didn't bother with smalltalk and cut to the chase, "You going to tell me why you called in sick yesterday? We both know you didn't have the flu."

Wally shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was sick."

Oliver raised one of his eyebrows. He knew something was going on, but didn't anticipate that the kid would try to keep it from him. That was not Wally's style. "Have it your way. It shouldn't happen again, West."

"It won't." Wally wondered if Oliver knew more than he let on. Surely he would tell the pack if he thought that there was a stray shifter in their territory. He decided to change tactics.

"How was the night of the full moon? Anything out of the ordinary?" Oliver already knew that Artemis left early from what the kitchen staff told him, but he wanted to see how Wally would answer.

The young man shrugged and did his best to act nonchalant. "It was a pretty normal night? Why do you ask?"

"Bruce wanted to know. Are you sure you didn't notice anything strange? It doesn't matter how small it was."

Wally shook his head, "Nothing happened. Everyone was pretty normal. Artemis and I closed up and then we both went home." It was a strange request, even for Bruce. He wondered if Ollie shared his suspicions that Artemis was more than human, but he did not want to tip him off until he confirmed his theory. He wanted to protect Artemis and give her the benefit of the doubt as long as his possibly could.

Oliver studied the redhead for a moment. In the harsh fluorescent light of his office he could make out the faint outline of scratch marks across Wally's face, but he said nothing about his observation. Something was fishy, Ollie could feel it in his gut. Either West was the most unobservant ignoramus out there, or he was hiding something. Though Ollie couldn't understand why he would keep something like this from the pack.

"Is there anything else that I can help you with?" Wally stood in the doorway, unsure if Ollie was going to say anything else. As much as he wanted to get out from under the man's gaze he didn't want to raise any further suspicion. It seemed like an eternity before Oliver he spoke.

"You can go." Oliver bit his tongue. He wanted to observe a little more before he said something to the kid. He was missing something.

"Alright. See you later, boss." Wally wasn't going to take any more chances. He got out of Ollie's sight before he changed his mind. He really didn't want to tip off the pack yet.

Oliver knew that Bruce would have his neck if he knew that he was letting Wally off of the hook like this, but he wanted to see how this all played out. He wasn't completely sure that Wally suspected Artemis, and didn't want to tip him off. Oliver really hoped that this was not going to come back and bite him in the ass.

Artemis was hauling her bucket of silverware rolls to the kitchen when Wally practically bolted out of Oliver's office. While he had caught her off guard she did her best to swerve out of his way, but her efforts were in vain as she collided with his chest and half of the rolls in the bucket crashed down to the floor. Wally managed to grab onto her shoulders and steady her before she lost her balance as well. He tried not to wince as she braced herself against his injured chest.

"Wally!"

"Oh I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there."

She rolled her eyes, "Clearly."

Artemis bent down and started to pick up the fallen rolls, they would have to be redone now that the napkins were dirty. All she wanted to do was go home, and now she would have to fix this before she left. Usually she would have just brushed off the napkins and called it good, but there was no way Ollie didn't hear it and he would give her hell if she left the dirty rolls as they were.

Wally joined her on the floor and started piling the discarded rolls in his arms, "Let me make it up to you. I'll fix them."

"No, it's fine," she tried to wave him off, "You need to finish your stuff."

"It's my fault, at least me help you." Wally didn't want her to have to stay any longer because of his mistake.

It was late. Artemis really didn't want to argue with him so she relented, "Alright, go get some new napkins."

"Yes Ma'am," He flashed her a grin and headed back to the supply closet for clean napkins.

When he returned with an armful of fresh napkins he found Artemis sitting at one of the tables with a pile of silverware in front of her and the old napkins discarded on an empty chair. She didn't look as mad as she did in the hallway, but Wally knew better than most that looks could be deceiving.

He set the stack of clean napkins in between them and got to work. Artemis didn't say anything to him as she grabbed a handful of silverware. For the first few minutes they worked in silence. It quickly became apparent that Artemis was much better at rolling silverware than Wally. By the time he had finished one roll she had finished three.

"You're pretty good at this," he finally spoke. He knew she was tired and didn't want to talk, but the silence was driving him nuts.

She didn't look up from her work. "I've had a lot of practice."

He had assumed that she did with the way her fingers made quick work of the napkins. "Hey, look, I'm sorry for running into you. It won't happen again." He really did feel bad.

Her posture softened slightly, Artemis knew that he didn't mean to run into her and decided to cut him a little slack. She smirked, "Don't make promises you can't keep, Wally. It's okay. Things happen. We're almost done."

"I'll try not to make a habit of it." He smiled bashfully. At least he didn't give her a black eye this time. He had been so concerned with his conversation with Ollie he didn't see her until it was too late.

"Good to know."

"Hey, do you want to do something after work?" He had been gathering the courage to ask her all day.

Artemis looked surprised. "Wally it's two thirty in the morning."

"No, no, not now. Just sometime after work? Maybe on your day off?" Good thing most of the lights were off, because he was pretty sure he was as red as a tomato.

"Are you asking me on a date?"

Date was a pretty strong word, and not one Wally wanted to touch with a ten foot pole. He tried not to seem so flustered. Artemis, on the other hand, was doing her best to hide her smirk. "We could maybe grab a bite to eat, see where it goes?"

She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, "Dinner isn't my style." She knew better than to agree to something like this. The last thing she needed was to plant any more roots in this town, though for some reason she couldn't resist.

"What about a hike?" Wally had gotten further than he thought he would and now he wasn't going to give up so easily.

She considered it for a brief moment before she relaxed in her chair and uncrossed her arms. "Alright, I'll bite. You have a plan?"

He nodded, "It's nothing too challenging, but the view is worth the trip."

She knew she was going to regret this, but at the moment she didn't care. Artemis got up from her seat and grabbed the fresh pile of silverware rolls. "I'm free Thursday morning. Pick me up at 11:30."

"I'll be there!"

Wally sat at the table for a moment. He was almost stunned. He almost couldn't believe his ears. She said yes. He got up and followed her into the hallway where she was gathering her things from her cubby.

"See you later, Baywatch." Artemis didn't want to stick around any longer in fear that she might change her mind.

"Are you sure you don't want a ride home?" He thought he should offer one more time.

"Yep! Goodnight Wally!" Artemis made a point of maintaining an even stride as she walked toward the exit. She didn't give him a chance to say anything else before she slammed the door behind her.

Her stomach was in knots as she pedaled home. Artemis found herself between a rock and a hard place. She shouldn't have said yes. It was against all last thing she needed was another reason to stay. Though, at the same time she figured that this could be the perfect thing to get her mind off of the wolf in the woods, at least for a little while. Despite the fact that he sometimes annoyed her to no end, Artemis knew that Wally was a good guy, but he was a human. He didn't deserve to get caught up in the mess of her life. He wouldn't survive it, if she wasn't careful. Despite her many apprehensions there was something about Wally that just put her at ease. She didn't like it, it scared her. She didn't need to have these kind of feelings, especially given her current situation. Yet, at the same time, she hat reached the point where they were unavoidable. She couldn't ignore it anymore and she wasn't quite sure what to do. Though one thing was for certain, she knew if she allowed a place in her heart for Wally, it could be her undoing.

Thanks for reading. I apologize that it took so long for me to update. I'm really trying to be a little better about it, but so far it hasn't been going as well as I hoped. (Honestly if it's more than 6 months I sometimes forget and wouldn't mind friendly reminders in my ask box. I'm all over the place tbh and sometimes this just slips my mind) I've finished the story outline (it only took 3 years lol) but this story will have a total of 13 chapters. I also post on Ao3 under the name TheColdestGinger and you can find me on tumblr under that name as well (if you have any questions, comments, concerns or maybe just want to say hi that's the best place to contact me) I've revised the earlier chapters so what I have posted on Ao3 is a little more current. If you read some of my other stuff I'm happy to say I've finally updated the Tigress AU oneshot series. So feel free to check that out. Again, I would like to thank the people who comment from the bottom of my heart. Reviews are always appreciated (unless you're rude, that just makes me sad :/) Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story through the years. I promise I'll finish it. It's going to take time but I'll finish it. I've started on the next chapter. It's my favorite so far so I'm really excited about it. My goal is to finish it before the end of the year. Thanks again for reading, hopefully I'll see you guys soon!

(Edit 11/23. Sorry again for the repost. Hopefully there won't be any more issues. Have a happy holiday!)