This is it folks! The final chapter before the Epilogue! Everything boils down to this!
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I don't think I've ever felt my body burn this hot, the rage boiling my blood like nothing I've ever experienced before.

"Come on Astrea, nothing else to say?" He sneers, and the sound of his voice makes me sick.

This man...this man was my father's best friend, his partner, his brother in every way but blood...for Goddesses sake, my dad named him as me and my brothers Godfather...he was Uncle Xavier...he was family...I trusted him.

How could he do something like this?

"You traitor." I hiss, steadying the shaking in my hand, not wanting him to see the gun shake in my grasp.

"That's it? I know you're a functioning mute, but I honestly expected more rage from you Sweetheart."

He has no idea. No fucking idea how enraged I am. He'll find out soon enough.

"Why? Why would you do this? All those innocent humans? Your own agents?" I bite out, struggling to find a reason to why he would spill so much blood. Innocent blood.

"Hah, simple really. I grew bored with being the 'hero' all the time. Honestly Astrea, I'm a vampire, the hunt, the bloodshed, that's what vampires are made for! It's what we crave! It's what separates us from the the other pathetic supernatural creatures! We're the top of the food chain, and yet here we are, doing grunt work and protecting weaklings for less than we are worth!"

The look in his eyes is different from how I've ever seen him...deranged, wild...like a rabid animal.

"So, I cut my leash...and had some fun. And to be honest, it was the best fun I've ever had."

A disgusting smile twists his face, and I can't stop the shudder that goes through my body.

"You've lost your mind." I murmur, and he laughs.

"You know...your father said the exact same thing."

My blood runs cold at those words, any thoughts going through my head screeching to halt.

What....what did he just say?

"You know, I've been doing this for a long time. And I had to cover my tracks a lot...which consisted of picking a random name from our database and framing them for the carnage I left in my wake. And it was working fine until your father started sticking his nose where it didn't belong."

He grins at me, and my mind begins to spin.

"He caught me one day, blood on my hands, my mouth...everywhere really." He pauses, a sinister look in his eyes. Realization clicks in me, and I immediately rip off my eyepatch, allowing myself a good look at him, for the first time.

His mind is a jumbled mess of gory, disturbing memories of torturing and slaughtering people, but I find the one I'm looking for...and everything seems to go quiet as the memory plays out in silence.

No...no...

"So it really is true, you do have the ability to see into people's darkest memories. I had my doubts but..." He trails off, enjoying the anguish on my face. I pull myself together, a snarl ripping through my clenched teeth.

"You're a monster! You killed him!" I scream at him, and he doesn't even seem fazed.

"Both true, by all accounts."

"I won't let you get away with this!" I continue, and that twisted little smile returns.

"You know sweetheart, that's the last thing your father said to me...before I killed him!"

A bullet barely misses my head as I move away from him, and it draws my attention to the roof above. I look up just in time to see the person disappear, and I curse when I look back to see Xavier is gone.

Shit!

"Xavier! Get back here!" I yell, sprinting out of the alley, only to stop when I see half a dozen agents surrounding him, guns drawn and aimed at me, and I grit my teeth. Shit, I'm outnumbered.

"Keep her busy until reinforcements arrive, she'll be a difficult one to take down." Xavier says to them, and I take a steadying breath as I realize I need to do something I hate.

Use the Siren Song.

I take another steadying breath as I close my eyes.

"Caught in the middle of your web, now your hands are red, every word you've said feels hollow~"

The agents stop, startled by my voice. And I continue on, moving towards them slowly.

"All of the promises you've made, are dead and washed away, your smoke and mirrors won't change what I know~"

Their bodies begin to shake as the song triggers their greatest fears, their guns lowering to point at the ground.

"I know your secrets, I know your lies, I see the darkness living inside, there's nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide~"

They all drop to their knees, completely paralyzed by fear. I approach the final two feet and use my magic to freeze them in ice.

"Cause I know your secrets, and I know your lies~"

I go silent, seeing no point in continuing the song now that they are immobilized. I scan over the now empty street, whether the few on it ran off because of the gunfire or not doesn't really concern me at the moment, just relieves me that there won't be any innocents caught in the crossfire.

I narrow my eyes as continue my pursuit of Xavier, only to groan in exasperation as more 'agents' appear around me, but before I can continue singing again, an angry growl echoes behind me. I turn in time to see a familiar bear knocking down one of my adversaries, up on his back legs and baring his huge teeth towards the rest.

~Thane?~

He glances at me, expression softening.

~You honestly didn't think I'd stay back and not fight by your side, did you Snowdrop?~ He chuckles, only to turn back to the other agents in our way. I hiss as they all aim towards him, and I immediately freeze them up to their necks in more ice. Bastards.

"Don't even think about it." I spit out, and Thane huffs as even more start showing up. The sound of shots being fired turns my gaze to the left, where the sight of blue smoke makes me remember Nesryn...and her knockout gas rounds.

Praise the goddess for her sniper skills.

~We've got your back baby, so go get that bastard!~ Thane yells, knocking down another agent. I nod and begin following the bastards scent through the now ghost town, the sounds of gunfire and yelling growing faint as I move further away from them.

~Be Careful Beloved.~ I murmur through the link.

~You too Snowdrop.~

I clear a sharp turn into a more deserted part of town, my senses on high alert as I follow his trail. It's too quiet.

"Xavier! No more running! Stop being a coward and come out with your hands up!" I yell out, my eyes scanning the empty street. The sound of movement instantly has me turning on my heel and raising my gun a little more.

"Xavier! Get out here and face me you bastard!"

A laugh echoes through the empty street, and I immediately turn again. He appears out of the shadows of a nearby alley, a sadistic smile on his face as he approaches me.

"You know Astrea, I always expected you to be the one who uncovered me. Considering how much you take after your father-"

"Don't you dare speak of him!" I hiss, and he chuckles.

"Oh come now dear, he was my friend. You honestly think I wanted to kill him?"

"It doesn't change the fact that you killed him without hesitation, and friends don't kill each other!" I growl.

"Like I was saying....I expected you to figure it out, I just didn't expect you and that boy to be mates...I mean, what are the odds of that?" He chuckles, almost talking to himself instead of me. I lower my gun back to point at the ground, cause as much as I would want to put a bullet between his eyes, he can only clear us alive.

Our lives are worth more than my vengeance.

"It's over Xavier, put your hands up and come in quietly."

He looks up at me, a confused expression on his face.

"You're not going to shoot me? Really? I've killed your father, separated you from your family, and nearly killed your mate and best friend...and you don't want to kill me?"

I grit my teeth as I holster my gun, ready to fight with my fists instead. No killing. Not yet.

"You're no good to me dead right now...and you don't deserve a quick one either."

He laughs, an unhinged sound that repulses me.

"Too bad, I was hoping for a fight."

Within a split second he draws a gun from his coat, and before I can even reach for mine it fires. I brace for the bullet, only to feel myself slammed to the ground. A flash of pain rips through my side, and I look to see Thane on the ground in human form, blood staining his white shirt as he groans in pain.

"Thane!" I scream, flitting to him on instinct. The sound of Xavier laughing fills me with rage, and I put myself between him and Thane as I glare at him, my hand on my holstered gun.

"Young love, so cute...how unfortunate it has to end."

He aims again, and I draw mine and aim quick, but a shot rings out before I can pull the trigger.

I brace for pain...but instead, I watch Xavier fall back onto the pavement, limp and unmoving.

What?

"You guys okay?!" A familiar voice calls, and I turn my head to see Nes drop down from the roof of a building a few blocks away. I swallow thickly, holstering my weapon again.

"Yeah." I start, only to drop to ground as Thane groans again.

"Thane! Are you okay?" I ask, pressing a hand over his bleeding side.

"Yeah baby, I'm okay...it's just a scratch." He grunts out, taking in a shaky breath. "Is it over?"

I sigh, brushing my other hand over his cheek.

"Yeah...Nes killed him."

"No I didn't."

I look up at her in disbelief, and she rolls her eyes before pushing his limp body over on his stomach with her foot. I notice something sticking out of the back of his neck, and I blink in surprise.

"High dosage tranquilizer, hit him in the artery that goes directly to his brain. He was out in seconds." She explains smugly, a smirk on her face. "My best shot so far. You honestly didn't think I'd kill the only person who could clear our names, did you? I'm not a rookie, or an idiot."

I sigh, shaking my head.

"No, but you are." I say, turning back to Thane, and he chuckles a little.

"What, I couldn't just let you get shot again. Besides, as many times as you've saved my ass the past few weeks, I have to return the favor."

"We are even now, so don't you dare try to do that again." I say with narrowed eyes, "or I'll hurt you myself for scaring the hell out of me."

~~~~~~~

Two hours of interrogations, phone calls, and debriefing later, I finally manage to get away from the Agency council and go towards the hospital room where Thane is being looked at. This is the first I've seen him since we contacted the agency and they hauled us off to the hospital, and I've been antsy since we were separated.

It's finally over.

They called in a vampire agent who can read minds through physical contact in to deal with Xavier when he refused to speak...as well as go through our heads as well for confirmation. So with that, and the phone I took off Tripp, the one on Xavier, and Tripp's confession, our names have been cleared.

Finally, no more running. I can finally just be with my beloved without the fear of being caught and killed.

Just us.

I sigh as I push open the door to his room, smiling softly at the sight of him snoring as he lays in the hospital bed. No wires hooked up to him at all, just bandages wrapped around his stomach. I go to his side, softly running a hand through his hair.

"My angel, have you come to take me to heaven?" He murmurs as he opens his eyes, and I scoff, rolling my eyes at him.

"You are ridiculous."

"Maybe...but you love it." He chuckles, his eyes sparkling with mischief. I smile, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"Yeah, I do."

He brings up a hand to cup my cheek, a questioning look in eyes.

"Is it over?"

I sigh, nodding.

"Yeah, its over. We don't have to run anymore."

"Thank goddess." He murmurs before pulling me down for a kiss, and I sigh into the gentle caress of his lips. He pulls away after a moment, just enough to leave only our foreheads touching.

"So, everything is going back to normal? What does that mean for us?" He murmurs, no doubt wondering how we'll manage to be together when we'll be in two different areas, especially now that he'll be the next Chief of his Unit. But, I'm not worried.

"Well, there won't be an issue...since we'll be living together."

He tilts his head in confusion, and I smile.

"I've talked it over with Nes, and then the agency council...and I've decided to retire early."

His eyes widen in shock, and I sigh.

"Astrea..."

"Thane, I've experienced enough bloodshed to last three lifetimes, and I'm so tired of the constant gore and violence. I want to really live for the first time in years, I want to reconnect with my brother and his family...and I want to be by your side, and just be happy for once." I explain, holding his gaze. "I have too much in my life now to let it take a sideline, I want to be happy...to be with you."

My heart pounds in my chest as he smiles, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

"How the hell am I supposed to argue with that?"

"You're not, that's the point. Besides, somebody's got to keep you from getting hurt." I chuckle, and he grins.

"I'm fine baby, tis but a flesh wound."

"You ever say that again, and I will be the next one to shoot you." I groan.

"So violent~" He pouts, and I shake my head.

"Maybe, but you love it."

"I do...and I love you." He murmurs, and feel the blush heating my cheeks.

"I...love you too." I whisper, and he immediately pulls me down for another kiss.

Who knew I'd ever enjoy feeling so warm?