I sat on my bed, turning the key over and over in my hand. I still couldn't believe it. This was the key to my house – my house. I had a house. My brain still struggled to absorb that this was real. It would have taken years and years of work for me and Luke to build up enough money to move out, and Ava had erased all that in one act of extraordinary generosity.

The bedroom door opened and Luke came in. "There you are. I was looking for you." He stopped when he saw my face, still wet with tears. "What's wrong?" He was at my side in an instant, sitting on the bed with me.

Choked with emotion, all I could do was hold up the key. Luke stared at it, uncomprehending.

"My mum bought us a house."

He started to laugh.

"No, really," I said.

Shock and disbelief spread across his face. "You – you're serious."

A laugh broke out of my throat, the sheer enormity of this slamming into me.

Luke jumped up, pulling me into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he spun us in a dizzying circle, our mouths meeting in a blaze of passion.

"I can't believe this," he whispered, his eyes shining.

He kissed me again, and there was something almost frantic about it, as if we were trying to drink each other down. I closed my eyes and sank into him. This was something I'd never tire of; tasting the softness of Luke's lips, the occasional tiny prick of his fangs, the solid strength of his arms around me –

Something soft hit my back and I realised we'd fallen onto the bed. Luke gazed down at me and the absolute love in his eyes stole the breath from my lungs. I was his sun and I lit up his world. I could see it all in the way that he looked at me.

Luke's hand trailed down my ribs and along my hip, but I caught it before it went any further.

"No," I whispered. "Not now."

He managed to smile and groan at the same time, resting his forehead on mine. "This really sucks, you know that?"

I grinned cheekily at him. "Coming from a vampire?"

He nibbled my lip in response. "It's okay, I can wait." His thumb glided along my cheekbone. "I could wait forever for you."

And he meant it. We both knew the day would come when we would be together in every way, but it wasn't now. There were too many people downstairs and the moment just wasn't right. It wasn't special.

I thought of my house and a blissful smile curved my lips. Now that we had that, we had all the time in the world.

Once we'd dealt with this final threat.

About half an hour later Clara and Ava returned, weighed down by a selection of knifes.

"Did Noah give you any trouble?" I asked.

Clara smiled thinly. "Nothing I can't handle."

I didn't press for details. For all I knew, Clara's defying Noah would lead to him kicking her out of the team and out of the house. Well, trying to kick her out. I couldn't see him actually managing it. Whether Clara and Ava's defiance would have any repercussions remained to be seen.

Beneath a battered jacket, Clara was armed to the teeth; knives were slotted into her belt and the strap that ran across her chest, the blades gleaming against her black tank top.She looked lethal, and the cold smile that curled her lips suggested she was rather looking forward to facing Rachel again.

The afternoon sun hung low in the sky, edging towards the horizon. Anticipation prickled my skin. As soon as it got dark, this fight was truly on.

"You'd better be careful out there," Riley told Ethan. She'd tried to be strong for him ever since it had been decided that he'd go with Leon and the women to take up position in the woods, but now her voice trembled and frightened tears filled her eyes.

Ethan folded her hands between his, and stroked a strand of red and purple hair behind her ear. "I will be," he promised, and bent his head to kiss her. It was probably meant to be short and chaste since we were all clustered around them, but Riley threw her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, not caring about the spectators.

Clara clapped Ethan on the shoulder, breaking the kiss. "Sorry, kid, time to go."

I didn't miss the look that passed between Ethan and Riley, the gaze that was warm and gentle, yet blazing with passion at the same time. That was a look of pure love, whether or not they fully realised it yet.

Riley and I stood in the doorway, watching the others head off, and Riley leaned her head on my shoulder. "He'll be okay, won't he?"

I slid my arm around her waist. "He'll be fine. Ethan's tough."

She nodded, but a couple of tears spilled down her cheeks.

When Ethan and the others had finally disappeared from view, I closed the front door and guided Riley through to the kitchen where Luke and his parents were waiting, safely away from the sunlight that crept into the house while the front door was open.

"What did your mum want to talk to you about?" Riley asked once she was ensconced in a chair with a steaming coffee in her hand. The vampires were all on their second mug of blood, building their strength for the night.

I hadn't realised she'd even noticed Ava following me into the living room. A smile spread across my face. "She bought me a house."

Riley almost dropped her coffee. "Are you kidding me?"

"A house?" Elena echoed.

I nodded, a ridiculous feeling of happiness pushing against my ribs. "Yep. She said she wanted to give me and Luke a future, so she used all the money she's saved over the years to buy us a place to live."

"Well, shit," said Riley with feeling. "That was a pretty awesome thing to do."

It really was.

Elena smiled at me, but there was something troubled in her eyes. "So...you and Luke will be moving out."

My happiness dimmed. Luke was Elena's son and, unlike my family, they'd always been close. All parents knew that their kids had to move out someday, but it must come as a shock to realise it was going to happen so suddenly.

Samuel smiled warmly at me, and clapped Luke on the shoulder. "Congratulations. It's certainly unexpected."

Elena bit her lip. "I'm happy for you, but...don't you think this is a bit sudden? You're both still so young."

She didn't add that, objectively, Luke and I also hadn't actually been together for long, but I wouldn't blame her for thinking it. Most people would think it, but it hadn't even occurred to me. Luke and I loved each other. In light of that, it didn't matter if we'd together for a couple of months or a couple of decades. Yes, we were young. Yes, this was happening fast, but we weren't going to put the brakes on our life just because of our age. We were ready to live together – we were ready for everything. I'd heard other people talk about soulmates before and I'd never paid much attention to it, but that's exactly what Luke was – the other half of my soul.

Luke and I exchanged a look, and he gave me a shrug and a smile. "We love each other," I said. It didn't answer Elena's question, but at the same time it was the only thing I could say. Four simple words to sum up exactly why our age and the length of our relationship didn't matter.

"I know you do, sweetheart." Elena gazed around the house, and the troubled look in her eyes melted into sadness as they rested on her son. "It's going to be a bit lonely around here."

She wasn't trying to make me feel guilty, but I did anyway. When I'd first met Luke, there were seven vampires in this clan. With Madeleine dead, Nolan, Anna and Alice off starting a new life somewhere, and Luke planning to move out, there would only be two. And it was my fault. I'd killed Madeleine, my presence had driven the others out, and it was because of me that Luke was leaving. Elena didn't blame me for any of that, but I still couldn't quite shake the guilt. It felt like I was systemically tearing apart her whole family.

Then she looked back at me and affection shone in her eyes. She might be sad that she and Samuel would soon be the only people left in the house, but she didn't blame me. "You and that boy of mine had better take care of each other." Much as she'd miss us when we were gone, she'd support us every step of the way.

I realised then just how much I loved all these people who'd come together to build a family around me.

And how fiercely I'd fight to protect them.