Well this is it! I'm bittersweet about this ending, since I think I may be continuing on with a sequel.

I hope you guys like it!!

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Tyler was staring me down with something I'd never seen in his eyes before, pure hatred. His hands were fists on either hips as his lips twitched, pulling down on the sides in a frown. Both eyebrows were furrowed so deeply, his eyes seemed to be hallowed, each in their own depths of hate.

"Tyler," I barely whisper.

His entire façade faltered at my voice, his eyes darting to mine; the source of the sound. I felt so small behind Derek's shoulder. But Tyler's eyes bore into mine as whole new myriad of emotions marred his features.

"Alexis?" his voice cracked.

I bite my lip and step around Derek, only I'm stopped when Derek's right arm holds me back defensively. He shifted his stance as he held me by the waist, pushing me back behind him again. "Derek," I try to tell him it was ok, but am stopped when I hear it.

Tyler's growl audibly echoes in the small hallway we were in. I close my eyes, silently praying they wouldn't begin attacking one another.

"You think I would hurt her?" His voice was strained, he was attempting to hold himself back.

Derek's hold on me loosens, until his arm finally returns to his side, forming a fist. I step around him, watching him carefully. He seemed as angry as Tyler had before, or maybe I just hadn't seen him then. My eyes darts to Tyler's, whose gaze was fleeting back and forth between Derek and I. I place my hand on Derek's forearm, squeezing it to reassure him. But Tyler reacts automatically, pushing Derek against the door we had just left out of.

"Tyler!" I can't help the short scream that escapes my lips in defense as I grab Tyler by the shoulders. "Let him go!"

"What is this, Alexis?" he demands, retracting his hold on Derek before pushing him back up, more forcefully on the door. It creaks under the renewed pressure as Derek swings a fist that connects with Tyler's face.

Stepping back to get out of the way, I watch as the two start a fight before I begin shouting at them to stop. "Both of you! Stop!" I throw myself onto one of them and grab the pair of hands in front of me as I feel another pair slide onto my waist. I'm hoisted up, this time next to Tyler as Derek jumps up across from us. I act on impulse upon seeing Derek's murderous look, holding each of my hands out to their chests.

"Stop," I say not with more volume, but with more conviction. Taking a deep breath, I look at each of them, "Both of you, calm down. Please."

"But he's-"

"He can't be-"

They start shouting over each other. "Omg! Just. Stop." I face Tyler, "I have to explain, I know. But Derek wouldn't hurt me." Then I turn to Derek, "Tyler wouldn't hurt me either, Derek." I let out a sigh. "Now will you please both let me talk? There's not a lot of time-"

"Time? Time for what?" Tyler yells at me, confused.

"I-I'm getting out of here tonight, Tyler." I turn to face him, leading him further away from Derek. Then I look up at his devilishly blue eyes and the dark hair that had grown and now hung over his eyes. "I can't be held here any longer. As happy as I have become with you, I've known an even happier life. With my family. That I need to get back to."

He seemed to take in my words slowly, still processing them several moments after I had finished. "So... He is helping you out?"

I bite my lip again, hating how this would be the last time I would see him. "Yes," I finally answer him.

I watch as a pained look forms before going blank, hard. Something clicks inside him and he looks back to Derek. "Alright, then she's right. There's not much time. If you want out... I can help you, but we have to act fast."

Behind me, I feel a hand on my back. "Ok...Thank you. Where to?"

It was hard to believe the two had been fighting moments ago at how matter of fact they now were. Tyler motioned directions from corner after corner as we followed him. Across one long stretch of hall, Derek even picked me up to move faster. No lingering. That was the rule Tyler made clear, that we had to keep moving to remain mostly unseen. It was oddly like a dream, or a video game that while I wanted to be successful, wouldn't matter if I failed. What was it that I really wanted again?

I was knocked into action when guards came into view. Two of them were walking in opposite directions just ahead of us. All it took was for the one to see us when the other turned around and still another came around the corner. It wasn't Derek or Tyler I was worried about, it was myself. Even after all the training I had completed I had been unable to defeat Ross once he turned. I didnt allow the doubts to linger though when he came charging at me with his mideival looking spear.

My small tool would do little to block his first hit so I had to think fast. The tip of the blade was moving back and forth as he ran towards me, his towering figure plenty intimidating. Around us, Tyler and Derek had sped towards their targets and were already in battle. With his supernatural abilities, strength would not be my asset, my mind would be.

He takes his last step, raising the blade above his head, ready to deliver the blow just as I tumble down and to the side, stabbing the small blade into his foot. I have little time before he reacts and swings about, the spear now pointed over my head. Grunting, I crawl back and bring my feet up blocking his hands from moving any further. But my resolve was waning fast as his strength seemed to increase.

With a smirk, I reach to pull the blade off of the spear. Not after my first try, but after several tries, I hold the pointed end in my hands. The guard seems taken aback by my choice of tactic and steps back quickly, breaking the wooden spear on his knee.

Eyeing the small weapons in my hand, I welcome the distance he put between us and shift my stance. One foot to the side, hips wide, arms up, I throw first my makeshift weapon from his spear. It hits his chest and he grunts in surprise. Without wasting another second, I swing forward again, smiling when it hits my target; his heart. The wood from the handle of the tool may not kill him but it certainly would slow him down. That's when I take the risk of running forward and grabbing the broken spear from his falling form and push it fully through his chest. The blood that pours out of his mouth does little to assuage my fears as the adrenaline continues to pump through my veins from my first kill.

"Are you ok?" Someone asks me, as a hand is placed softly on my shoulder. My instincts react before my mind has time, as I pull the hand around in a snap. I turn to see Derek's wide eyes, as he holds his wrist, carefully snapping it back into place.

"Sorry," I say, numb.

He says nothing, only nods his head in understanding. Then he looks back to Tyler as my eyes follow his. Tyler wears an anxious and angry expression before he shakes his head and looks down briefly.

"Well, Alexis. How do you feel?" Tyler asks me matter of factly.

"I..." the adrenaline was still in my sytem, that much I knew. Thing is, I wasn't confident on much else. "I feel like we need to keep moving." I speak with more conviction as I step around Tyler, picking my pace up into a jog.

Tyler breezes past me easily, ahead of me within miliseconds. I vaguely hear Derek beside me, however the sound of the blood pumping in my head was worse, ringing through my ears, getting louder with each step I took.

I just killed someone.

I killed a vampire. They were monsters; the enemy; he deserved to die. But did it have to be at my own hands?

I could have died.

Eleven months ago, I would have never had thoughts like this. Never would have been forced to think and act so quickly, to kill without hesitation. Never been able to kill someone.

But maybe thats what was good about this place. I would have never learned so much; about myself and my abilites. To throw knives, fight with a sword, even things I'd done before, like kickboxing and archery. I would have never met Tyler, or Derek; my heart and mind twisting at the thought of them both.

Before tonight, I had never truly experienced adrenaline. My bodys foreign reaction to it now was evidence to that.

Tyler had stopped ahead of us, turning around and running backwards, nodding his head towards the dead end we would come up on. Cold wind blew onto my cheeks as I took in the broken window just beyond. Tyler rolled his sleeve down and rammed his elbow into the remaining shards of glass. I could barely think twice as Derek and Tyler nodded before he jumped out the window.

"What-I, what is going on?" I couldn't help but whisper scream at Tyler.

"You're getting out Alexis. He will help you find safety once you are, and-you'll be out. Just like you wanted."

"But," I shook my head, holding it in my hands, breathing heavy. Is this what I wanted? Did I want to leave? Yes. Of course, I wanted to go home and see my family. But I did I want to leave Tyler? I wasn't so sure. Or maybe the effects of my last kill were still shrouding my decisions.

"You have to go, Alexis." He spoke softly yet urgently, approaching me he grabbed my hands and lowered them. His hand lifted my chin, sparking a recent memory that only made my chest hurt. "You were right. You need to be with your family. I get that now. It was...fun," he forced a laugh without humor. "But you have to go. Now."

He urged me to go as he led me closer to the window. Still facing him, I laughed back forcibly, "it was fun." I raised my hands to my face when I noticed hot tears trailed down my cheeks. I made a move to wipe at them but his hand caught them as our hands met and we held them together. "Tyler, I don't know if I can. I-I don't know that I can leave you." I was openly sobbing now, realizing how much I cared for him, now that I would be forced away from him.

He said nothing as he pulled me into his arms, holding me against him. But he pulls away from me too quickly, his hands holding mine. "Alexis, you have to go. Now, please. You know that you do."

Just then, his lips crash down on mine unexpectedly, but not unwelcomed. I return the kiss with fervor, wrapping my hands around his neck. I run my hands through his hair as he holds me firmly against him. He opens our kiss as our tongues dance together, one last time. Once again, it ends too soon. "You can be strong, I know it."

His hand caresses my cheek, and our eyes meet. I'm studying his form, trying to memorize everything in front of me within the fleeting seconds we had left. "I love you, Alexis."

I don't have time to process his words as he picks me up and holds me near the window. "Tyl-"

"It's for your own good," then he pushes me out and I'm falling. I don't scream because I'm not scared, although I should be. Strong arms catch me at the bottom as I grunt involuntarily at the force of the fall, even broken from Derek's arms. He lowers me slowly to the ground, making sure my feet hit the grass. Then his arms release me and I stand on my own, looking back up at the Castle that held my life for the past months, and sculpted my future.

"Run!" Derek's scream reaches my ears as I react, my feet hitting the ground, determined.

Bound after bound, stride after stride, brings me further and further away.

Finally.

I'm free.

*

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Or was I?  

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What did you think?!

Was it too much? Too dramatic? Not enough? I personally love the cliffhanger here, mainly because I'm still not sure where I want the storyline to go.

But I really want to know what you guys thought of it! Vote, comment, or message me! :)