Vanessa wondered what was going on below her. She could hear the muffled sound of yelling and she had heard what sounded like gunshots. Was she going to get lucky and someone had come to kill Vincent? They would find her and set her free and she could go back to her daughter and to Kayleb. Or what if whoever was attacking Vincent was no better than Vincent and he or she would continue where Vincent had left off with her.

Vanessa jumped to her feet and backed against the wall when she heard shouts coming from behind the thick wooden door to her room.

"Get the hell off of me, you stinky bastard!" She recognized Angela's voice and there was a loud thud before the door burst open and both Angela and Joey came inside. They were covered in blood and cuts and bruises but they were smiling and Angela shouted with relief when she saw Vanessa.

"You're alive!" she exclaimed. "We were so worried! You were very stupid to run off like that."

"I..."

"Don't try to justify it. Either way it was stupid. We are family now and we have to stick together. No self sacrificing. Your mate has been going absolutely crazy."

"Kayleb? Where is he?" Vanessa asked. Joey walked over and grabbed the chain holding her to the wall with both hands. She snapped it apart as if it was a stick and Vanessa's eyes widened.

"When I mated to Lane I got werewolf strength." Joey said in response to her unspoken question. "And the men and Kaylee are downstairs with the rest of the sub demons and Vincent."

Vanessa looked over at Angela, who was standing by the door and screamed a warning as a sub demon crept up behind her. Angela rolled her eyes and delivered a back kick to the subs stomach before turning and slicing her knife across its neck, nearly severing its head.

"I hate those things." she said. "Now come on and let's get back downstairs." Vanessa followed after Angela and Joey brought up the rear. Vanessa felt her stomach turn and if she had had any food in it, she would have thrown it back up at the sight and smell of the many dead subs along the hallway.

When they entered the main room, bodies were everywhere. Some were headless, others just bloody messes, and some were even charred and burnt. And then she caught sight of her mate and family locked in a deadly battle with Vincent.

She did not recognize the blond man that was holding Kaylee in his arms as she bled freely. She was shocked when the man seemed to glow as he kissed Kaylee's pale forehead and Vanessa could see his energy flowing into her. She wondered if maybe he was an angel since that is what he looked like.

Hunter, Jake, Lane and Kayleb were circling Vincent. Vincent was looking scared and desperate as he hissed at all of them. Vanessa was relieved to see that while Kayleb was bloody and covered in wounds, he looked okay. Lane lunged at Vincent and was quickly sent flying backward and his head cracked against the stone wall with so much force it cracked.

"Lane!" Joey screamed and she ran to him where he lay bleeding from his ears and nose. He managed a smile.

"I'm fine slayer. Just a broken head... There wasn't anything too important up there to damage."

Vanessa heard Angela scream behind her and turned to see three sub demons trying to drag her away. Jake instantly turned away from Vincent and leapt at the subs. Vanessa turned back to Vincent just in time to see Hunter go flying through the air and land with a thud against the far wall.

This left Kayleb alone facing Vincent.

"I bit her, Kayleb. I marked her." Vincent hissed. Vanessa saw Kayleb's features contort with rage at Vincent's words. She understood the animalistic light that came into his brown eyes. The wolf in him was clearly very angry that Vincent had bitten her. Kayleb lunged at Vincent and Vanessa watched in horror as the two of them battled. Vincent's nails ripped Kayleb's flesh as Kayleb turned to his wolf form and his teeth tore into Vincent.

Kayleb let out a pain filled yelp and Vanessa saw Vincent close his hand around his neck. Terror filled her as she realized Kayleb was about to die. She had to save him. She saw a wooden stake lying on the ground and quickly picked it up. She ran as fast as she could and sunk it deep into Vincent's back, suddenly happy that she had taken several anatomy classes in college so she knew right where to drive it deep into his heart.

And suddenly it was all over. Vincent turned to ash and his remains drifted to the floor. Vanessa and Kayleb fell together and Vanessa wrapped her arms tight around his neck and buried her face in his bloody fur.

"I love you. I love you. I love you." she murmured against his fur. She felt him change back to a man and as skin replaced fur and hands replaced paws he wrapped his arms tight around her and clung to her desperately.

"You stupid stupid woman." he whispered gently. "I was two seconds away from killing him." He heard Vanessa give a tear filled snort of amusement as she cried against his bare shoulder.

"Yeah it definitely looked like you were winning." she replied. Kayleb breathed in deeply, savoring her scent and letting it fill his senses.

"Why would you leave me like that?" he asked as he pulled away from her and put his hands on her cheeks as he looked deep into her big green eyes. "I told you I would keep you safe."

"I couldn't stand the thought of him hurting any more of you trying to get to me." she replied. He pressed a gentle, feather light kiss to her soft lips and shook his head.

"Do you know how I felt knowing you were gone? I don't do helpless well, Vanessa, and I felt helpless... And hungry because you never did bring me my apple." Vanessa laughed but it was more from adrenaline and relief than it was humor at his words.

Kayleb stood and pulled her up with him. Everyone gathered around them. Jake was holding Angela tightly, Joey was helping support Lane's weight as he limped over and Damien stood several feet behind Kaylee looking just as spotless in his crisp white shirt and dark jeans as he had before the fight except for the bright red stain of Kaylee's blood on his stomach.

"Looks like we got us another kick ass woman in the family." Lane said and he gave Vanessa a grin. Kayleb looked at her closely for the first time and he growled low in his throat at the bloody cuts on her cheeks, the bite marks on her shoulders and the bruises and scrapes on the rest of her barely covered body.

"You should have let me kill the bastard." he said. Jake shook his head.

"Just be happy he's dead."

"Oh shut-up Jake. You pouted just as hard when the grandson of Dracula here killed Saraphine." Lane said with a laugh and then he whimpered in pain when Jake slapped him on the back of his broken head.

"Dammit Jake, that wasn't funny." Lane whined.

"It made me smile." Jake replied and sure enough he was smiling. Kaylee rolled her eyes.

"I cannot look at my brother naked anymore." she said as she walked around everyone and grabbed one of Vincent's long coats off the ground. She handed it to Kayleb who pulled away from Vanessa just long enough to put the coat on and then wrapped his arms back around her and pulled her under the coat with him to warm her shivering body.

"I'm ready to go home." she whispered to him and Kayleb nodded.

"Let's go on home." he said to everyone. "Unless you guys are into the whole cold stone palace with charred sub demon interior thing."

"Home it is." Angela said quickly.

The waiting adult family members let out happy exclamations when the eight bloody warriors suddenly appeared in the kitchen just as dawn was breaking.

"Thank goodness you all made it back!" Rebecca exclaimed as Laney ran to Hunter and he wrapped her tight in his arms. "Lane, your head." Rebecca said as she tried to run her hand over Lane's face.

"Quit fussing over me woman." Lane said, swatting her hand away. "We're all hurt." Angela limped over to Vanessa, as her own fatigue and weariness set in and laid a hand on her shoulder. Vanessa felt that same strange sensation again as Angela's energy flowed into her and she felt her wounds healing and her own soreness fade away.

Angela's knees nearly buckled as she pulled away but she managed to hold herself up and then reached for Lane but Jake growled loudly and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the rock hard embrace of his arms. His golden eyes filled with love and exasperation as he looked down at her.

"Lane will heal." he said.

"Yeah little sister, it's just my head." Lane replied. "Nothing important." he added.

"I'm going to take Vanessa upstairs to clean up and get some clothes." Kayleb said and he led Vanessa from the room. Kaylee looked around and realized that Damien was gone.

She sniffed the air and caught his smoky scent coming from out on the porch. She slipped away from the family and walked outside. He was standing against the porch banister watching the sunrise.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Damien nodded and held his arm out and she walked to him and he pulled her into his side and they both watched the sky turning from black to red.

"Knowing my grandma, she is going to be cooking a huge breakfast. Come in and eat with me."

"No." Damien replied. "Your family does not want me here."

"You just helped save Vanessa.... They will accept you here for breakfast."

"Kaylee, I did that for you, not for Vanessa or acceptance." Kaylee heard a coldness in his voice that was not normally there. She realized that though she had known him for nearly twenty years she really knew nothing about him other than the fact that he always seemed to show up when she needed him.

"You're leaving again then?" she asked. Damien nodded as he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and pulled away from her.

"I have to Kaylee. I am not welcome here." He also had no idea how to go about living in a family. His heart was cold and he cared for nothing and no one... Only Kaylee... She was the only creature to ever bring out any emotion in him other than indifference.

"Thank you for helping. And thank you for healing me...."

"Do not thank me." Damien said while shaking his head. "Of course I healed you." He pressed another gentle kiss to her forehead and then walked off the porch.

"Damien....." He stopped and turned to face her, his blue eyes shining in the sunrise.

"Yes?"

"I..." she lost her nerve. She wanted to tell him she loved him but what good would that do? Her mate could show up any day and the wolf in her would force her to say goodbye to her demon.

"Goodbye my angel... If you need me just call and I will hear you." Kaylee felt her heart break, just the way it always did when he left and then she quickly dashed herself to her bedroom to avoid any questions about her tear filled eyes.