One of the things Kate Freelander had to get used to after taking a job at the Sanctuary was the whole idea of being part of a team. As a mercenary, she'd been the definition of a lone wolf (amusing, especially considering one of her teammates was literally a Werewolf). At the Sanctuary, everyone practically lived in each others pockets.

So, she really had no choice. She had to get to know her colleagues.

First there was Magnus, the boss, the HBIC. Hell, that term was probably coined by someone who knew her. Supremely competent, more than a little scary and very mama bear protective of her own, Kate was damn glad to be on the older woman's side.

Bigfoot was an awesome surprise. Initially, he'd just been this gruff, vaguely disapproving presence…then, little by little, other aspects of his personality leaked out. He was, without a doubt, the best cook Kate had ever met and they shared a fondness for bad Ghost Hunter type TV shows. Watching the show together and eating way too much popcorn had become their thing.

Will was smart as hell, still innocent enough to be shocked by some things and, from a purely female POV, more than a little adorable. She often did things just to drive him crazy, which she knew was a bit grade school, but it was sooo much fun. One of these days, something was going to happen, she just had a feeling…and, if he needed a clue, she was more than willing to give him a shove in the right direction.

Then there was Hank…or rather Henry, but if anyone needed a nickname, it was the Werewolf technician. Boy was wound tighter than a Swiss watch. He rarely left the Sanctuary, except for missions, a trip to ComicCon with the Big Guy and a vacation Magnus had insisted he take. If you needed to find him, he'd invariably find him lurking around his lab, being a sweet, geeky hot but anti-social guy.

At least, that's how he'd been before Ashley Magnus had returned to the fold.

Tesla, of all people, had stumbled across the Cabal lab where the girl was being held. Though not usually the most altruistic of Abnormals, the ex-vampire did have a certain fondness for Magnus, and had thus come up with a brilliant (and absolutely freaking bats hit insane) plan and freed the girl.

When the two of them had shown up on the doorstep, Ashley, Helen, Henry and the Big Guy had all cried. Even Will was looking a little misty eyed. After finally releasing her death grip on her daughter, Magnus had planted a kiss on Tesla that left the man smirking for days.

For a few weeks, everyone was on the edge of ridiculously happy, but then things began to settle down. And that was when the Hank and Ashley show, as Kate liked to call it, began.

Both were clearly great at what they did and tended to spend most of their time working, but Ashley clearly knew the secret to prying the Werewolf from his lab.

In the last month, she'd seen the pair of them playing laser tag in the archives with Steve, doing something suspicious with a Slip 'n Slide on the grand staircase, inexplicably climbing up the outside wall of the tower and disappearing off into Old City at random times. Their conversations were littered with references to things neither Will or Kate understood, though that seemed unintentional.

Frankly, some of the stuff was a little weird, even for the Sanctuary. Like the other day, when Ashley had asked, "Hey, Henry, you got the number for Mort? You know, the little dude that owns the rib joint/strip club down by the docks?"

Hanks reply had been a simple, "Mort's out of the arms game. We're getting product from Django."

"Sewer dude?"

"Yup."

That was the sort of conversation the two of them would have over steak and eggs.

Plus, Hank built things for Ashley. Really cool gadgets and weapons that made her grin and drag him off to try her new toy. Not that Kate was jealous or anything, but Hank didn't design cool, specially modified guns for her…

Okay, maybe she was a little jealous.

"Hey, Kate," Will's voice held a clear questioning tone as he entered the den. "Any idea how the John Deere and a flock of rubber duckies ended up in the pool?"

She blinked. "No," she replied, hopping up from her chair. "But now I have to find out!"

This was definitely gonna be an interesting story.

The rush of blood. Pounding through her body, echoing the sound of her foes rapidly thumping heart. The sharp tang in the air, she could taste it, taste the fear, taste her own excitement. The sharp talons that sprung from the ends of her fingers slashed and a warm spray of blood splattered her features….

Ashley sat up, gasping for air, desperately trying to throw off the vestiges of the nightmare (dream? Memory?). Ever since she'd returned to the Sanctuary, to her family and friends, she had been dealing with the after affects of what had been done to her by the Cabal. Some of them were more disconcerting than others and she had a hard time talking about them, even to her mother or Will.

Thing was, she had always been a hunter, had always enjoyed the rush of the chase. The Cabal had augmented her abilities, taken away her inhibitions and allowed her to wallow in a kind of darkness she had never known. It was both restricting and freeing and it terrified her in more ways than she was able to explain.

Climbing out of bed, she left her room, running down the hall at full speed, no destination in mind. Maybe she couldn't outrun her demons, but she could damn well try. During the day, she could put on a smile and pretend things were fine, but at night….

As she rounded a corner on one of the lower levels, she crashed bodily into someone coming from the opposite direction.

"Ash!" Henry exclaimed as they tumbled to the ground in an untidy pile. The combination of breathless surprise and disgruntlement made Ashley smile and she collapsed on the floor, breathing hard and laughing.

Henry, in sweats, was peering at her as he continued, "Out for a midnight stroll?"

"More like 3am sprint," she gasped, then looked over at him. "What're you doing up?"

His mouth opened and closed silently, then he flopped down beside her. "Sometimes," he muttered, "the pills aren't enough."

It hit her then that maybe Henry, a werewolf raised human, knew something about what she was feeling. "I'm different, Henry," she said, voice a bit bleak as she tried to find the words to express how she felt. "You know I was always kick ass at my job, but now it's like I have these extra instincts and I feel like…"

"A predator," he concluded quietly and she let out a shuddering breath. That was a word she hadn't wanted to use, but really, it was the closest to describing her.

"Yeah." Her voice wavered a little and she rolled her head to the side to meet Henry's gaze. "I'm not sure I'm safe to be around anymore."

He sighed heavily. "The fact that you're considering that makes me think you are," he said, then licked his lips and looked away from her. "I've been around humans most of my life, so my reactions are generally human, but the wolf is always, always, there and it wants to come out to play. When we're out on a mission and someone gets hurt, bleeds, doesn't matter who, the adrenaline just…it's all I can do to keep it from breaking free and taking down the wounded animal…person, and it really scares me."

She listened quietly, knowing Henry rarely spoke of any aspect of his abnormal nature. Honestly, she considered herself far more dangerous than Henry, even before the whole thing with the Cabal. It was kind of nice to be able to talk about this. "I'll make you a deal," she said, letting a hand drift across the space between them to wrap around his wrist. "We tell each other if we think we're gonna go all Grrrr! Okay?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Apparently, they were both true wolves in sheep's clothing. Despite her mood, that thought made her snort with laughter.

"What?" Henry asked, shaking himself out of his funk to peer at her.

Grinning, she offered, "We give new meaning to the saying 'Wolves in sheep's clothing', don't we?"

For a moment, he looked a little annoyed, then the funny hit and he joined her in laughing until they gasped for air.

Which was how Kate and Will stumbled over them several minutes later, clearly coming home from a fast food run, clutching greasy bags of artery clogging foods in their hands. The former mercenary simply gave them a bemused look while Will asked, "So…what're you two doing on the floor?"

"Contemplating the dichotomous aspects of life," Henry said in a serious voice, which caused Ashley to burst out laughing again. Lack of sleep had always made her punchy.

Shaking his head, Will followed Kate down the hall. As they rounded the corner, Henry shouted after them, "Those burgers…not a trace of beef in them!"

There was no response, so Ashley said, "What was it?"

"I'm not sure, but I know what most meats smell like and that was not it."

Ew. But now she was hungry. "Want to go raid the kitchen?"

"There's still half a roast beef from dinner last night," Henry replied as they rolled to their feet and set off for the kitchen.

Maybe life wasn't perfect. Maybe she was different and dangerous and scared of herself, but Ashley felt a bit better knowing she was not alone.

Comments, pretty please?