Last chapter before the Epilogue! Enjoy!

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Lillian thought she was imagining things.

After Blazius had left, the witch loaded her with so much silver Lillian could barely feel her neck anymore. She'd lost track of how many silver shots the witch had stabbed in her neck.

Flashes of hot and cold racked her body, and the burn in her cheek where Blazius had slapped her with his magic itched like crazy.

She'd stopped feeling her legs long ago, the trickle of blood had formed a pond around her chair. Blazius had stabbed her in a way that kept her awake but weak, and that was scarier than him stabbing her in the first place.

The scent of her own blood was thick in the air, and the sluggish beat of her heart rang in her ears.

Her head lolled to the side. She just wanted to rest, sleep, but the throbbing pain and the noise were too much.

Noise?

Lillian blinked her eyes open and looked around, her breathing was heavy and loud, but under it all she could clearly hear the sound of... explosions? What in the world was happening out there?

Then the door burst inward, flying out of its hinges. Noah.

Lillian blinked hard. Was she imagining things? She took a deep breath, and beneath the blood and silver and pain, she could clearly smell Noah. Her heart picked up.

He was running inside towards her, his face a mask of calm before the storm.

"Noah?" Lillian whispered, still unable to believe her senses.

He crouched in front of her, his hands hovering and his eyes flickering all over her body, lingering on her cheek and her neck and her legs. He took a deep breath. His eyes glowing an angry amber.

"You're alive. You'll be fine," he muttered, more to himself than to her. His hair was ruffled and messy, the scars standing out more than usual in his face.

"The twins?" She asked, her throat dry.

"Safe, the twins are safe," he said.

Lillian's chest shook with a relieved breath, her shoulders slumped. Thank God.

Harvey and another vampire, Lillian remembered her from the Senator's house, dragged the guards who'd been posted outside her door into the room.

Noah took hold of the chains binding her to the chair. His skin hissed against the silver, but he didn't seem to care. He pulled, his arms straining and muscles bulging from the effort.

"They're silver," Lillian said. "Stop."

Harvey was looking through the dead guards' clothes. He glanced their way. "They're made to withstand shapeshifter strength, Noah. Wait, we'll find the key-"

Crack.

The chain broke into two.

Harvey and Salma looked at Noah with wide eyes. "Well. Never mind the keys, then," Harvey mumbled.

Noah pulled the chains off of her. As soon as her arms were free, Lillian hugged him, burying her face in his neck. Tears sprang to her eyes. He smelled like home.

"I'm sorry, baby," he rubbed her back and kissed her hair. Pulling back, he looked at her thighs.

"Should we take them out?" Salma asked, coming closer. "The wounds won't heal quickly because of the silver, and the knives might be the only thing keeping the wounds from bleeding profusely."

"They'll heal," Lillian said. "Silver doesn't affect me as it does a normal immortal."

The three stared at her. Lillian smiled a little. "Blazius is very happy about it. But the bones are broken, I think. I won't be able to walk."

Noah closed his eyes. His wolf pushed forward, and despite the silver, Lillian could almost feel a wave of crushing fury. He shook his head, opened his eyes, and looked at the daggers.

"Wait," Salma said, running to take the t-shirt of one of the dead vampires. She ripped it in two, coming to stand over Lillian, and nodded at Noah. "Go."

Noah took the two daggers, his face tightening, and pulled out. Lillian grunted in pain. Blood poured out of her legs. It seemed like every drop left in her body gushed there.

Salma pressed the two lengths of clothes to the wounds, stemming the bleeding. The fabric instantly darkened with blood. Lillian hung her head, dizzy and faint.

Noah brushed back her hair, his hand a soothing balm on her skin. After a few minutes, the pain subsided and she opened her eyes, looking at the wounds.

"I think it's stopped," she said.

The three all looked doubtful, but Salma removed the makeshift bandages. Noah wiped the blood away. The wounds had stopped bleeding. They weren't healed, the wound was still glaring, the muscle beneath it torn and the bones broken, but it had stopped bleeding.

"Well," Salma said, her brows raised. "You're quite a successful experiment."

Noah growled. Lillian put her hand on his. Salma winced. "No offense."

Lillian smiled at her. "None taken."

Lillian's legs were still numb. Noah picked her up, cradling her to his chest. Lillian sighed. How come she instantly felt safe with him even when they were still in the lion's den?

The ground shook. Harvey groaned. "That must be Arthur. Let's go before Blazius comes to get his hostage."

They went out. The hallway outside was empty.

"Wait," Lillian said, squeezing Noah's shoulders. "What about the other children?"

"We'll get them," Harvey said. "Let's get you out of here first. Ezra said something about a boy and a girl?"

"Them, too," Lillian said, making Harvey frown. "But there are others, babies, I don't know how we'll be able to get them out of here."

"Where?"

Lillian pointed to a door down the hallway, the opposite direction of where they were going.

Harvey and Salma ran there. They stood at the open doorway and stared, wide-eyed.

"My God," Salma whispered, her hand covering her mouth.

Harvey's face thundered. He looked at Noah. "You go. We'll take care of the rest."

Noah nodded and ran, pushing through the door on the other end.

"But the children-"

"They'll get everyone, baby," Noah said. "Let's just get you to safety first."

Lillian tightened her arms around his neck. The sound of fighting was loud in the night. Police sirens rang in the distance, and the ground shook every so often. Lillian felt flares of dark and powerful magic in sync with the earth tremors. Arthur.

Noah darted through the dark woods. Wind blew past them, trees blurred and scents mingled. Lillian drew in a deep breath. Grateful for being alive and outside again.

"No security perimeter?" Lillian asked, wind swallowing her words.

"Blazius must have pulled everyone back to base. There's no use in a security perimeter when the location is compromised and the enemy is Arthur," Noah said. "His best ticket was taking you hostage to force Arthur's hand to let him go. But now you're out."

Lillian bit her lip. "The other children."

"Harvey will get them," Noah said. "Don't worry."

But she did worry. No child deserved to live through something like this. There was nothing she could do, however. She rested her head on Noah's shoulder. She should believe the others would get them out.

Lillian didn't know how long Noah ran, but her legs felt slightly better, and her body was burning off the silver so fast she could smell it in her sweat.

They met three of Arthur's vampires and Elle down at the bottom of a hill. Elle pointed to a boulder, and Noah set Lillian there. Elle slipped off her jacket and wrapped it around Lillian. The tank top Elle wore underneath revealed a gnarled, old scar on her arm. Lillian wondered how she got it.

"Mato?" Noah asked Elle.

Elle looked over her shoulder, her eye glowing. "He's coming."

Noah hovered over Lillian. She took his hand and squeezed. "I'm fine. You should go." She looked at Elle. "You, too. They might need you."

Noah pursed his lips. He glanced behind him as another tremor shook the ground.

"Go," Lillian said firmly. He wanted to stay with her, but he also wanted to make sure the other children would make it out safely. That was why she loved him. "Get the other kids out of there."

He growled, frustrated, and kissed her. Giving the vampires a warning look, he ran out. Elle unstrapped one of her daggers and gave it to Lillian. Lillian held the weapon. Even though she had no idea how to use it, it was comforting. "We'll be back."

The two disappeared. Two vampires stood over her, scanning their surroundings, and a third disappeared in the trees, but Lillian could still smell him close by.

Her hand tightened on the dagger, and she prayed Noah would be back safe and sound.

Noah's POV

Noah and Elle were in the old hospital in minutes. Tracking Harvey's scent, Noah led the way through the hallway, walking past the room Lillian had indicated earlier. He peeked inside and froze.

Babies. Hundreds of babies lining the wall behind thick glass.

"What the..." Elle whispered next to him, her face illuminated by the glow of the pale blue liquid in which the babies floated in their separate glass boxes.

"How in the world will we get them out of here?" She asked, taking a step into the room. Spells were drawn in dark red on the surface of the glass. And Noah's wolf picked up on a hint of a dark, unpleasant energy. Some form of blood magic.

Elle's hand tightened around the hilt of her sword. "Why did she have to leave this kind of legacy?" She whispered, referring to her mother.

Noah shook his head. "Let's go. We can do nothing for them now."

They went around the hallway. A few vampires and witches laid dead on their way. Two doors. One led to another part of the ground floor. Noah peeked through the glass panel. There were dozens of immortals, all armed and coming in and out through the front door. Noah tracked Harvey's scent to the other door, this one led to the second floor. The sound of fighting traveled down. Elle and Noah dashed up the steps.

Salma and Harvey were pressed against the wall of a hallway that curved to the left. Salma peeked around the hallway, and a bolt of red magic flew past her head, missing her by a glance. Elle and Noah pressed against the wall next to the two vampires. The red bolt whizzed out of existence as it hit the wall, leaving behind a hole that was slowly expanding, as if acid was eating at the wall.

"Good timing," Harvey whispered, blood trickling down one arm. "We could use some of your fire, Elle. Do you need line of sight?"

"Are there allies there?" Elle asked. Harvey shook his head. "Not in the hallway, but the rooms might have the children."

"That's fine. I'll only fill the hallway."

"Fill it with what?" Salma asked.

Elle's magic flared and an explosion of blue fire spread in the corridor around the corner. Noah turned his head away, feeling the heat of Elle's flames. Screams were quieted down as Elle's fire died.

"Right. She'll fill it with fire," Salma mumbled. "Why did I even ask?"

She peeked at the quiet hallway. "All clear," she said, stepping into it. She hissed. "It's still hot."

"It'll cool down," Elle said, following her.

They ventured into the steaming hallway. Sweat beaded Noah's face and trickled down his back. Surprisingly, the floor and the walls looked untouched except for some spots darkened with soot. Elle's control had gotten a lot better, it seemed.

Piles of ashes littered the hallway. A chill ran down Noah's spine. To think that only seconds ago that pile was a living, breathing person.

They pushed open doors as they walked on. The rooms were empty except for beds and some hospital machines. Harvey, ahead of Noah, cursed as he looked into a room. "Cages."

Noah joined him. The room's walls were lined with silver cages from floor to ceiling. He smelled the twins' faint scent, and over it the smell of two young lives. The smell was confusing, they weren't human nor witch nor vampire, but an odd mixture of the three.

"The children must have been here," Noah said.

"Damn it," Harvey said. "They got them before us."

They separated again and checked all the rooms on the floor, but there was no trace of the kids.

"Should we check the other floors?" Salma said, coming out of another empty room.

Elle sucked in a sharp breath, standing in the middle of the hallway. "There's no need," she said, her face outraged. "They're with Blazius, outside."

She spun around and strode back the way they'd come from. Harvey and Noah shared a look and followed her. She looked the angriest Noah had ever seen her, her magic was almost a pillar of heat around her.

They went down the way they'd come up, except they found more people down on the ground floor. Elle swiped her sword, never breaking stride, sending an arc of blue fire forward. It cut through the witches before they even had the chance to move.

Elle paused and shook her head.

"You're overextending yourself," Harvey said, walking beside Elle, his eyes on her.

"I'm fine," she gritted out. They went out through the backdoor and around the building. Vehicles were turned over, smoke coming out of their engines. Broken crates filled the ground along with lifeless bodies. Noah wrinkled his nose against the stink of smoke and death.

As they rounded to the front of the building, they froze.

Light spilled from the hospital windows and the gaping front door, illuminating the flat area and the unfolding scene.

Blazius stood near the front door of the hospital, surrounded by two rings of immortals. At least fifty armed vampires and witches. Next to Blazius, inside the circle of immortals, was a female witch Noah vaguely recognized.

"Is that Poline?" Elle asked, slowly walking towards Arthur and his people, standing in a half circle around the enemy. "That bitch."

Immortals lay broken here and there, some unconscious, most of them dead. But Arthur and his people stood still, not making any move towards Blazius. As Noah got closer, he saw why.

Through the circles of immortals, Noah saw that Blazius was holding a little girl to his chest, her legs dangling. His hand, glowing a pale yellow, was an inch from the girl's head. She couldn't be older than two, dressed in a straight white dress, her hair a mass of corkscrew curls and her skin a deep brown. The little girl simply looked confused.

She was some kind of immortal, but Noah didn't know what, exactly. Maybe with the many scents around him he couldn't pinpoint her race, but he had a feeling she wasn't anything ordinary.

Poline, right behind Blazius, had her hand on a boy's shoulder, her other hand holding a dagger to his neck. The boy was human, but odd. He was maybe nine or ten, and Noah wondered just how long had the boy been under Blazius' mercy. His skin was pale and his features hinted at East Asian origins.

"If you put a hand on me or my guards, I will end the little girl," Blazius shouted, the glow of his hand intensified. "Just let us go in peace. I don't want to harm her."

"Why can't he target him with his magic?" Noah asked Elle in a whisper as they joined Arthur's people surrounding Blazius.

"Blazius is basically hiding behind his men," Elle replied. "Arthur needs a clear line of sight, otherwise he might hurt the kids."

Arthur took a deep breath. A tremor shook the ground.

"You gave up any claims of peace the moment you touched our young, Blazius," Arthur said, his voice echoing. "And you still haven't learned your lesson yet, it seems."

Blazius smiled a little through the throngs of his people. "You must understand, Arthur. What I'm doing is for the good of our people. Don't you wish there was a way to save your own child? Here! All this research and decades of experiments might enable us to make immortals stronger, to spare us the pain of losing-"

"Shut the hell up, Blazius," Elle snarled. "Let go of the children, and you might have some mercy."

Blazius laughed. Noah caught a glimpse of the little boy's face through the crowd of Blazius' people. His eyes weren't those of a child. Whatever he'd gone through as Blazius' captive had made him mature too soon. The boy's dark eyes were fixed i-on Blazius' neck with an intensity that made Noah's wolf take notice.

"That is rich, coming from the person whose mother started all this," Blazius said. "Your mother left a legacy, your highness, and it won't-"

Several things happened at once. Noah's eyes caught everything as if it happened in slow motion. The boy turned his head and bit Poline's hand. She screamed, dropping the blade. Blazius turned his head in time to see the boy jump on his back, hang onto him like a monkey and bite down on his neck.

Arthur's magic flung Blazius' people away from Blazius, and then Poline. Blazius' glowing hand touched the girl's neck as he tried to shake off the boy biting his neck. Arthur's magic plucked the little girl off Blazius' hands. Elle caught her off the air and handed her to Salma.

Then Blazius' men came to their feet, scattered as they were. Arthur's people were already fighting them off. But the enemy had the numbers over them.

Noah's wolf tore out of him with a loud growl, lunging at a vampire who was heading towards Salma. The vampire spotted him and braced, and they both rolled on the ground. Noah's jaws found the vampire's shoulder, cracking bones and tearing flesh. He felt a burning stab in his side. Another vampire. But Noah didn't let go of his prey. He shook his head as the vampire punched his ears. Noah shook his head and pulled away, tearing apart the vampire's arm. He howled in pain.

Noah glanced over his shoulder at his other opponent, but she was fighting off a tall, wiry figure. Hoya. The troll grabbed his opponent's sword as it swung down towards him with his bare hand. With that much force, the sword should've cut through his hand. Instead, it only bled. It was as if Hoya's hand was made of stones. He jerked the sword from her grip and hit her with a thorn embedded club with enough force to send her flying backward, her eyes wide and her sword glinting with crimson under the moonlight.

Noah and Hoya finished off their prey. Noah stayed close to Salma and the child, protecting them from anyone who got closer. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted Arthur wrapping an arm around the boy's small frame and dragging him off Blazius. Blood sprayed from the little boy's mouth and Blazius' neck. The boy's eyes caught the light. They were a glowing scarlet.

Then Elle was there, sinking her sword in Blazius' gut and dragging it upward, slicing through him like butter. Blazius staggered, sending a ring of yellow magic with a wave of his hand outward.

"Down!" Arthur called. He and Elle dropped down to avoid it, several people as well, but the ring managed to slice several immortals in half, both friends and foe. Blazius didn't care who he hurt as long as he saved his own hide.

One of his hands grabbed his bleeding neck. He spun, the other hand sending another wave of magic tainting the night a sickly yellow. No one was getting close to him now. Arthur, still holding the struggling boy, slammed his hand on the ground. It split, the crack extending toward Blazius in a blink. Blazius sank in the chasm, his scream echoing in the night.

"Hoya!" Arthur called. Hoya jumped, sailing over heads as if riding an invisible current, and landed right next to the chasm in the ground. He put his hands in it, mumbling something, and the earth stitched itself together, swallowing Blazius and his screams.

With Blazius out of sight and Arthur and Elle's magic, the fight soon tipped to their favor. Most of the enemy soldiers surrendered when they saw the writing on the wall.

Harvey and his people gathered the enemy soldiers. Noah went to Arthur and Elle after making sure Salma and the child were safe. The couple were crouching over the boy, Arthur holding him down to immobilize him.

The boy's eyes wore a crazy red film, his teeth stained with blood and his face gleaming with sweat. Arthur was kneeling on the child's legs, his hands retraining the kid's arms. The vampire lord looked almost scared, his eyes wild. Noah had never seen him this way before.

"Focus, kid!" Elle said, hovering over the kid's face. The boy didn't seem to hear her.

Noah was reminded of dominant juveniles losing control over their wolves. He knew how to deal with him. Noah's wolf shoved Arthur aside and sat on the boy, making sure his head was visible.

Arthur stood aside, his haunted eyes on the boy who was starting to go red in the face.

"What are you doing?" Elle said, looking between Noah and the boy. "He can't breathe."

Noah barked once. Arthur shook his head, as if coming out of a trance, and took a shuddering breath.

"That's good," he told Elle. "Now he'll focus on breathing other than his blood lust."

"Will it work?" Elle asked, frowning at the little boy as he struggled for breath, her face filled with sympathy.

"If he's not too far gone, it will work," Arthur said. "Otherwise..."

Otherwise, they'd have to take more drastic measures. Noah kept an ear to the boy's pulse. He'd been in his shoes several times before.

When dominant werewolves enter their teenage years, their wolves become more erratic as they become stronger and develop their power. This was one of the ways to deal with werewolves who lose control of their wolves. Wait it out and give them something more vital to focus on, like breathing. The trick was not to choke them to death, but to suppress their intake of air. Loose enough to keep them conscious but tight enough to make it difficult.

"Why didn't you try this with me when I lost control?" Elle asked. Noah had a feeling she was trying to pull Arthur from wherever his head was taking him.

"You would've just burnt us to a crisp," Arthur replied absently. "This works with smaller individuals better, individuals who can't attack without their bodies."

Slowly, the boy beneath Noah focused on his breathing. His heart rate decreased, and the smell of anger and fear mellowed.

"He's coming back," Elle said.

Arthur leaned his hands on his knees, his face hidden from view. Elle put a hand on his back. She gave Noah a shaky smile.

Arthur rose and without looking at the boy, turned. "I'll go check things inside," he said and walked away. Elle stared after him, a heavy sigh escaping her lips.

Harvey and some of his people were leading the stragglers in the building outside to join their comrades in kneeling on the ground with their hands behind their heads. They found a large stock of silver in the old hospital and began dosing them up.

The boy under Noah stopped struggling. Noah looked down, meeting his eyes. Dark brown filled with mistrust and fear.

Noah couldn't resist. He gave the boy's cheek a lick, and the boy gave him a weirded out look. Noah's wolf grinned and eased his weight off the kid, sitting up.

The boy slowly sat up, watching Noah warily, as if waiting for him to scold him for moving. Elle crouched next to them. "What's your name?"

The boy didn't answer. Elle smiled. "I'm Elle. The big wolf is Noah."

He glanced between Noah and Elle, then looked away, scanning the crowd.

"Looking for the little girl?" Elle asked. He glowered at her. Elle just grinned and stood up. "Come on, I'll take you to her."

She held out her hand. He ignored it and stood on his own, wiping blood off his face. Elle chuckled. "I think you and I will get along very well."

He followed her, and they disappeared in the busy night. Noah took a deep breath, the scent of death and magic was clogging.

"Noah, you can go if you want," Harvey called out from a window on the second floor of the old building. "We got things under control here."

Noah gave a bark and took off. As he ran through the dark woods, he raised his head to the sky and howled. A second later, two twin howls echoed in the air, slightly wobbly. Noah grinned and pumped his paws faster, becoming a blur of black fur.

He found Lillian right where he left her, still sitting on the rock and surrounded by Arthur's vampires. Her hands disappeared in the fur of the two pups on either side of her. The three looked up, and Lillian smiled. Relief written all over her face. Her cheek was burnt, her neck was bruised and she bled from several spots. But as she raised her head and the moonlight caught her blue eyes, she was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen.

Noah licked her face and then the twins, who tried to crawl away from him as usual. Noah grinned and pinned them down with his paws. The twins growled but stayed still, and Lillian laughed. Noah's heart was at peace.

He was home.

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Aaaaand we're here! Finally! 

There's still the epilogue left, so don't worry! I'll see you again the day after tomorrow insha'Allah!

Love you all!

Much love <3 <3 <3

M.B.