📎A/N. WARNING WARNING WARNING.... THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER.

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Parker tapped her earpiece and attempted to keep her face devoid of emotion. They needed her to be strong. No matter how much she was dying inside.

"Are they done?" asked Jay. He, along with Zeke, had just finished dismantling and packing up the drones.

She held back the tears, hauled in a shaky breath and nodded. The effort to stay focused was killing her.

It was nearly dawn, and Daniel had just checked in to let her know the last bodies were now on their way back to their packs. He and the teams left behind would head to the religious retreat to regroup and plan their next step.

A sharp ache ripped at her chest, and she broke out in a cold sweat. She needed him right now just as much as he needed her. They were both in so much pain.

Alice rubbed her hand up and down Parker's arm. "You okay?"

She bit her lip and stared at the stack of laptops, ready to be taken out to the car. They had supplied her with front row seat to give them advance warning and to allow her, Jay and Zeke to deliver their payload. It had also allowed them to bear witness to one tragedy after another.

Morgan's death had ripped her soul raw. He was like a father to her. To witness it the way she did... She squeezed her eyes shut.

Daniel, I need you.

There was a tug at her other arm. "Here, love, this might help."

She opened them again to discover Marie beside her. A cup of tea in one hand and a shot of whiskey in the other.

Joe's waitress was sweet, but it was far too late for tea. She grabbed the shot glass and downed it in a single gulp.

"Leave her the fucking bottle, she looks like she needs it," called out Michelle from across the room.

Marie rolled her eyes the same way Parker's mother used to and wandered back to the small kitchen off the bar.

Alice pushed her hands into her coat pockets. Her eyes were full of sorrow. Not only for the loss of Morgan but for each life she failed to save. "Are you sure you don't want a sedative?"

She shook her head. They still needed to be vigilant. Elise was still out there. Daniel and the others were too late. By the time they stormed the hospital's east wing, Elise was gone. Leaving behind chaos and nearly a dozen women chained and bound. It would take time to work out what exactly had occurred in the bowels of the hospital. Parker suspected none of them were quite prepared for the horror that would undoubtedly unfold with each of the woman's stories.

Daniel's fury at the discovery was felt for miles. Elise had again been one step ahead. She didn't need to be able to communicate telepathically to understand the source of his fury. There were more traitors in their midst. How else could she have gotten away without a trace?

"Have you heard from the retreat?" Parker asked, changing the subject.

She pushed her grief to the darkest corner of her mind and gave it a gentle caress before she locked the door on it. They would mourn later. Once they had secured their people and ensured they were no longer at risk.

Alice's worry lines became more predominant. "They've been using the leftover silver water to clean the wounds. It looks like it's working, but we won't know for sure for a while. Most of the wounded are in a comatose state. Ernest is just loading up the last of the walking triage patients now, and we'll head back to the retreat to work out what we do next."

Parker reached over and hugged Alice. "Go see John first. You need each other right now. The patients and the prisoners can wait a few minutes."

Alice's mate had managed to come through the battle unscathed. He was one of the lucky ones. Unfortunately, the luck didn't extend to the rest of his family. His younger brother was killed in the first wave of Elise's attack. His father was one of those wounded by the Lycan.

"How did it come to this?" asked Alice as she pulled away. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "Was it worth it? We've lost so many tonight...on both sides. Glenn was so young...how are we going to break it to Maude?"

Parker understood the pain Alice was going through. However, like the rest, they needed to put duty first before they could mourn properly. Her heart ached for Alice. While John was alive and safe at the retreat, they would not have the luxury of spending too much time together, if any. John, along with the rest of the enforcers, were on guard duty. In addition to the high volume of wounded, they also had captured a significant number of prisoners. Something, they hadn't anticipated. This now meant they needed to house the prisoners at the retreat until the alliance council could work out what to do with them.

Parker shook her head. "I don't think we'll ever make sense of war. It's brutal, and no one wins. But sometimes we have no choice."

***

Zeke glanced around the table and scratched the back of his head. "I think that's about it."

"You've checked the roof?" asked Parker.

"I did," said Jay, "it's all clear."

Zeke grabbed his backpack and nodded to Jay. "It was a total clusterfuck man," he said as they ambled out to the cars.

Jay caught up to him. Parker didn't hear his response. Although, if she had to guess they would both be trying to make sense of the destruction. For days and weeks to come they would be second-guessing themselves. Working out if there was something else they could have done to make things turn out differently. What if they'd come in earlier, what if they'd used more. It would be the same question they would all ask themselves. Elise, the slippery bitch, was still free, while her army was decimated. They had that victory at least, hollow as it was.

She clenched her fists. So many on both sides had died. All because an insane bitch wanted it so.

Realising something was different, she looked around. The pub was quiet. The complete opposite of the chaos from a few hours ago.

Alice had not long left with her stabilized patients, leaving Parker, Jay, Zeke, and her two minders Daniel had insisted guard her like a hawk. They too were now ready to head out. She was itching to go, the desire to see and touch Daniel had become an aching need. She needed to see for herself he was okay.

A commotion at the back of the pub caught her attention.

"Joe, what's going on?" she called out.

Once the last of the wounded had been carted out, Joe began the long clean-up job of his pub. Blood soaked through the floorboards and the smell of death hung heavy in the musty air. Near her, Marie cleared up the rags and gauzes that had been used to tend to the wounded, while Michelle helped push tables and chair back into place. Daniel had already arranged for a clean-up crew, but Joe insisted on starting the job himself.

He craned his neck to see through to the small door that led to the small annex at the back. "It's just that F.B.I Shelia wanting in. Lock on the doors a bit shonky. Toby's having a problem with it."

Parker raised a brow. Kaitlyn was the last person she'd expected to see. "What are you doing here?" she asked, once Kaitlyn joined them. "I thought you were headed back to the retreat."

Kaitlyn scanned the pub as if looking for something. "I was, but I've lost my Taser. I think I might have left it here. Daniel told me to catch a lift back with you."

Joe stopped mopping and leaned on the mop. "Taser? You mean that Star Trek looking thing with the claw?"

Kaitlyn's eyes lit up. "That's the one. Do you have it?"

Joe shook his head and resumed his mopping. "Nah, Simon took it. He was whinging about weirdo gifts and fake mates."

Kaitlyn swore. "I'll get that hippy immigrant if it's the last thing I do."

Parker rubbed her forehead. Somethings never change. She let out a deep sigh. "How's Petra?"

Kaitlyn's smile faded. "There's some swelling of the brain, so it's a waiting game until it comes down."

After the battle at the hospital, they had another hour wait to find out the fate of Murphy's team. The remote part of Pennsylvania provided a complete black hole for cell phones and left them at their wit's end until Murphy contacted Daniel to give him a situation update. "She's in good hands. I checked, and they have one of the top neurosurgeons there. What about your Grandfather, how's he coping?"

"Joshua refuses to leave her, so once Murphy and the others are finished, we'll head to the hospital to wait with him."

It was a shallow victory, but Murphy and his team had managed to stop Elise's men from killing another pack. However, like the battle at the hospital, nearly half had lost their lives.

"And how are you?" asked Parker.

It can't have been easy for Kaitlyn not knowing what was happening half a state away. At least she knew every step where Daniel was, and how he was faring. Painful as it was, it did provide a measure of comfort.

Kaitlyn hesitated and looked away. Her face hardened and took on a bland expression.

Clearly, she's been learning from Murphy.

She reached out, took Kaitlyn's hand and squeezed. "He's okay. It's perfectly fine to feel relief. You've been through something that no average human ever has, or ever will. This wall you are hiding behind is not safe. You need to let it out."

Kaitlyn cleared her throat. "Does it get easier? The secrets? The hiding? The constant danger?"

Parker let out a deep sigh. "If it does, you'll be the first to know."

They fell quiet for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts.

Kaitlyn pulled off her dark beanie and looked around. "So what needs to be done? Daniel seemed a little antsy for you to get out of here. I think it was killing him not to be able to get away to see you."

Parker smiled. That pretty much mimicked their private conversation not long ago. He was stubborn, proud, and took too much weight on his shoulders. But no matter what, he would be there for her when she needed him. Right now, others needed him more. She pointed to a stack of boxes. "We need to get those loaded in the cars. Everything else is done."

Kaitlyn picked up the nearest one and hesitated. "You know, if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here for you as well." Without saying another word, she strode out the back.

She watched Kaitlyn disappear through the door and recalled her earlier conversation with Daniel. He had given her a brief rundown on what the drones video feed hadn't picked up. Much to his, and the others surprise, Kaitlyn had played a significant part in their victory. Something he, nor the others would ever forget. She truly was an Amazon, and they were all thankful for it. Parker only hoped that once Kaitlyn got her Taser back, she let Simon live.

Now ready to leave, she snapped the clips on her case shut and glanced over at Michelle. "Are you sure you won't come back with us?"

Michelle scrunched up her nose. The metal that adorned it became more pronounced. "What? And see more dead bodies? No fucking way. Going to get this bar fixed up, then drink myself into next fucking week."

Joe pushed his mop back into the water bucket. "You'd better have enough moolah to pay for that, cause I 'ain't no blimin charity."

Michelle raised an eyebrow. "I fucking nearly lost my life tonight. You owe me cocksuker."

Joe threw his hands up in the air. "One time. Once time I drive on the left. It's not my fault you bloody yanks drive on the wrong side. Besides, he was oozing goo all over the back, we needed to get him back here pronto. He didn't seem to mind what side of the road we were on."

Parker ignored the banter. Money wasn't an issue, and both Joe and Michelle knew it. This was their way of coping. Daniel was bankrolling the pub until Joe could get it up and running again. This included a complete restock of furniture and fittings. Joe wanted back his human customers. If a paint job, new tables, and chairs was the price, it was a small one for the risk he and the others had taken.

Marie shook her head, held a hand to her stomach and looked down. "You ignore their bad language honey." She slyly glanced towards Joe and Michelle. "They just need to get a room."

Michelle opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. Instead, she flipped Marie the bird and mouthed out expletives that would make a fishmongers wife blush.

Marie grinned and tied a clip around a full bag of rubbish.

Joe, for his part, focused on the floor as if he'd not heard.

Whether Michelle had run out of swear words to mouth, or she was just tired, Parker wasn't sure, but she threw her dirty rag at the table, stormed over to the countertop and jumped over it in a single fluid motion. She stared at the top shelf littered with bottles in all shapes and sizes. "Fuck this for a joke, I'm tired, and I need a drink. Where's your fucking Johnny Walker Blue."

Marie planted her hands on her hips again. "Don't you think you should eat something first? How about I whip us all up some pancakes?"

Michelle spun around and narrowed her eyes. "What kind?"

Marie squinted, and her eyes flew upwards. "I think we have some blueberries left over."

Joe grinned and popped a blueberry in his mouth. "Not anymore we don't."

Parker held back a smile. This trio would get through this. Together. She'd also been watching Joe and Michelle and agreed with Marie's assessment. There was a spark. Whether they admitted it or not, it wouldn't take much to ignite it.

She grabbed her bag and headed towards the door. They'd already said their goodbyes. While they all were returning to their lives, they each came away with the realization that things needed to change. There was far too much hate festering, and it needed to be stopped. All Were's like Joe, Michelle, and Marie wanted to do was live in peace. It was people like them they needed to focus on now.

Parker closed the back door of the pub and headed towards the car which would get her to the only place she wanted to be. Safe in Daniel's arms.

The last thing she heard before she locked the door broke her heart causing the tears she had managed to hold at bay to finally fall.

"Look you bogan, get your grubby mitts off the Glenmorangie."

It was Morgan's favorite.

The end... for now.

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📎A/N. Now, before you hunt me down with pitchforks.... 

This is the end of this story, but not the end of the series. The bitch has escaped.... again... Petra is in a coma, Bradley the bully is running around free... and Kaitlyn may or may not kill Simon when she gets back her Taser.

I will be looking to start Joshua and Petra's story once I am fully recovered (this will be a novella that will center on them and probably not include any of the other Masked universe characters). I'll post messages closer to the time. 

In the meantime, thank you so very much for your continued support. With everything else that is going on, it provides me with the incentive to continue to tell my stories.

Take care,

With all my love ❤ ℳ