There are many interpretations of how the world will eventually end, I just didn't expect to be the one to set things in motion.

The apocalypse that could eventually wipe out all of humanity was started by my former friend and vampire Will Jackson as the bastard used my blood to release Lucifer from hell.

A lot of things had changed that day. I lost my dad, my brother was forced into becoming a vampire, and I learned that everything that had happened to me since I was attacked by the werewolf Jonathan Cayhill was just part of a ritual sacrifice that I was never meant to survive.

Thank fuck Kian had been there. If he hadn't intervened then I would definitely be dead and Lucifer would have been released from hell a whole lot earlier than he had been.

Huh. Small victories, I guess... even though I had accidentally kickstarted the apocalypse, it still felt like it was entirely my fault.

As I stood in the kitchen of the shack that me and Kian had made our home, I poured myself a drink from an almost empty bottle of vodka. Kian would be back any minute from his latest training session with my brother Dylan.

I still hadn't been assigned a new recruit to train from The Council, and I was hoping that I wouldn't have to end up working for them at all, but despite everything, tonight we were going to celebrate.

It was a new year, and there had still been no signs from Lucifer or The House Of The Apocalypse. Also, Dylan had been making great progress according to Kian. At least we could try and make the best of the crappy situation we had been dealt with. Knocking back my drink I sighed and looked at the clock on the wall.

They were five minutes later than what we had agreed... shit.

I knew that I shouldn't be worrying and that Kian would make sure Dylan was okay, but, my brain was still going to that place.

Then I could hear voices outside before the door suddenly opened to reveal Dylan and Kian, who was in the middle of a story, as they came into the shack.

"Oh, he was in complete denial..." Kian laughed, stopping as he saw me waiting for them.

"You're late," I said as Dylan shut the door behind them.

"Sorry, it was my fault, I lost track of the time," Kian replied sheepishly "We got a good session in today though. I think that Dylan will be trained up in no time."

Dylan looked down at the floor but looked up hopefully as Kian said how well he was doing.

Honestly, I was proud of him. I was. He had taken being turned into a vampire better than I had taken being turned into a werewolf, but, there were moments where I still couldn't look him in the eye. The image of him biting into our dad's neck still haunted me, and it was something that I knew hurt him more than he would ever let me see.

"Let's just try and make the most of this time, eh?" I said changing the subject "The others will be here soon."

"Good point," Kian said heading to the fridge. He grabbed a bag of blood, and two glasses, and then poured some vodka into his glass before handing the other to Dylan.

"Don't I get vodka in mine?" Dylan asked looking at his glass of blood.

"Don't push your luck," I said cutting him off "You might be immortal now, but you're still only thirteen."

"Your brother is right," Kian said slightly reluctantly "He's just looking out for you."

Dylan looked at me and stuck out his tongue, I caught a glimpse of his fangs as he did, before a knock on the door stopped any chance I had to retort.

"I'll get it," Kian said as he quickly dashed over to the door.

He pulled it open to reveal Victoria, my mum and Harry Jekyll. Michael stood just behind them, having refused to go back to Heaven while Lucifer was still free on Earth.

"Hey," Victoria said, "We're not too early are we?"

"No, you're right on time," Kian said happily as they all walked in "Let's get this party going then?"

Dylan took one last annoyed look at me before walking over to sit on the bean bags in front of the TV.

He had such a fucking attitude lately...

I had come to the conclusion that Will had told him a load of bullshit to get him to hate me, but he still wouldn't talk about whatever Will had told him before our fight in the R&R Club. Not to me, or to Kian. As well as he seemed to be doing in his training, I was still worried about him.

My mum was a different problem altogether. After talking to Michael over Christmas and finding out that he was an angel, she seemed to have latched onto him, and she had thrown herself headfirst into helping me and Kian plan our wedding.

She hadn't talked about Dad, and she was still having trouble looking at Dylan and relaxing in his presence. It was like she expected him to attack her at any moment.

Yeah, this party was going to be a bloody disaster...

"How are you, Alec?" Victoria asked as she joined me in the kitchen area.

"I've been better," I admitted "After everything that happened..."

"You've just got to give it time," Victoria continued "You're never going to get over it, but, you will learn to live with the pain."

"Maybe I don't want to live with it," I replied "Dylan definitely shouldn't have to live with what he went through. It's not fair."

"Well, life is rarely fair," Victoria said with a sad smile "As I recall, you managed to cope with being turned into a werewolf. I'm sure Dylan is just as strong as you are."

Still, it shouldn't be this bloody way...

"Yeah, well, life is shit..."

Victoria pulled me into a brief hug before I heard Kian's voice call out. As we broke the hug, I saw that Kian had his glass of bloody vodka held up and a massive smile on his face that showed off his fangs.

"Okay, now that everyone is here, me and Alec have an announcement to make."

"You're not going to propose again, are you?" Dylan asked, having turned his attention away from the TV.

"No," Kian replied "I'm not going to propose again..."

Suddenly I heard my mum scream.

Quickly turning to see her cowering in the corner behind Michael, the transparent figure of Grace was reaching out an non-existent arm out to pat my mum's shoulder.

"Grace!" I smiled "What are you doing here?"

Grace turned to face me, her face split into a wide grin and she sped across the room before coming to a stop just in front of me.

"This is a great party," Grace said looking around at everyone "Could do with some music though..."

I raised my eyebrows at her, and she seemed to realise that everyone was looking at her.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"No," I replied with a sigh.

"Actually, I was going to say something pretty important..." Kian began before seeing the look on my face "It can wait."

Grace smiled and began to spin wildly around the room before she stopped in front of my mum.

"Sorry if I scared you," she said "I'm Grace, The Ghost Of Moonstone Park."

"Oh, I see," my mum replied "And is it a nice place to haunt?"

Bloody hell...

At least she was trying to get involved with the new side of her life. Most humans are blissfully unaware of the supernatural side of Moonstone, as both her sons were now deeply involved in that world, she'd had to get used to it pretty quickly.

"Not really," Grace said, a sad expression darkening her face "It's pretty lonely a lot of the time."

"Poor thing," my mum replied "I just wish I could give you a hug."

"You could, but it wouldn't be very pleasant," Michael added "Ghosts are spirits trapped between worlds, unable to move on to the afterlife. The form you can see in this plane of existence is like a projection. A sort of imprint, like when you stare at the sun and then close your eyes, you can still see the image afterwards."

"I see," my mum smiled sadly at Grace "Well, you are right about one thing, we could do with some music."

"Well, before we do that..." Kian cut in "Alec and I have to tell you something. We are going to move in together."

"Your moving out?" Dylan asked, turning his attention away from the TV "Why didn't you tell me?"

Oh crap... I might have known that this would blow up in our faces.

Why couldn't you just bloody wait?

Kian looked at me apologetically.

Sorry.

His voice entered my mind and I couldn't help but forgive him. There was no way I could stay mad at him.

"We wanted to tell everyone at the same time," I replied to Dylan, who looked furious "It's not a big deal."

"Well, you've practically moved in here already," mum said "I'm happy for you two. To be honest, I saw this coming. You need your own space."

Huh, she was taking this well...

Dylan was still staring at me, the anger evident in his eyes.

"Well, I guess this is for you moving in together then," Victoria said, picking up a bottle of wine and a glass from the kitchen worktop "Lucifer has disappeared without a trace, and the world hasn't ended yet. I'd say that's a cause for celebration."

She poured out a glass of the wine before holding it up.

"Here's to Alec and Kian!" she exclaimed before downing it in one gulp.

I watched concerned as Dylan picked up his own drink and downed it just as quick.

Something wasn't right... I just couldn't put my finger on what it was.

Suddenly I felt an arm wrap around my waist, pulling me out of my daze.

"Are you okay?" Kian asked as he followed my gaze.

"I worry about him," I admitted.

"He'll be fine," Victoria said, trying to assure me "He's a strong kid."

"That's what I worry about,"

I sighed. I couldn't help but feel responsible for his situation. If it hadn't been for me, none of this shit would be happening. Dad's death, Lucifer being free... it was all on me.

I should have been able to prevent him from being turned, but I couldn't save him. He was so angry with me, and I knew that he had every right to be. What was I supposed to do? I had failed him.

The sound of laughter filled the air, bringing me out of my thoughts. It was Michael and my mum. They were talking to Harry Jekyll. He was laughing along with them, his eyes shining brightly.

Was everything going to be alright?

I was afraid to even ask myself that question. Yeah, the world hadn't ended yet, but Lucifer, Will and The House Of The Apocalypse were still out there.

Kian had noticed the way I tensed up
"Everything's going to be alright,"
he said as he placed a hand gently onto mine before pressing a soft kiss against my lips.

I couldn't believe how much I loved him. Even after everything that we had been through, he had always remained by my side. He cared about me. He loved me. In that moment, it felt like nothing else mattered.

Things were about to change, but, in this moment, it felt like time was standing still, just for us.

Then, suddenly, I could hear Dylan speaking, his voice filled with fear.

"What the fuck?"

I looked over just in time to see Dylan looking out of the window, the look on his face frozen in horror, before the door to the cabin burst off its hinges, sending pieces of wood flying everywhere.

"Oh, crap..."

The entire cabin was then engulfed in flames, smoke filling the air as flames roared in through the doorway.