1st Person POV

I felt the same fear I'd felt before crawling down my spine as I faced the woman. Around us, the battle raged on. A quick scan told me that the boys were safe, still fighting.

For a moment, that was all that mattered.

Although Cassius looked beyond broken and another quick glance revealed the cause of it as his dead brother, lying at the vile woman's feet. Most of my care for Raphael had stemmed from my love for Cassius. Seeing him hurt only renewed my hatred for the cold woman standing before me.

She might have been good once but right now, she was death incarnate.

"You finally came," she mused.

"You said you wouldn't hurt any humans," I replied.

Rafia was scrambling back up to her feet behind me to reinforce the dwindling wards. Azriel went to help her and Cassius seemed to have stirred from his shock enough as he defended them while they worked. Desmond and Leila fought a good distance away, but they were tiring.

And I could tell that the Countess knew she was winning this battle as a small, practiced smile covered her face.

"I said I wouldn't hurt the humans if I had another choice," she said.

She sounded like she was discussing the weather, and not the slaughter of over a hundred people.

"You do. You can still walk away from all of this," I pleaded.

"And you'll change those people's minds, reverse the decision made at the meeting," she asked.

I wanted to agree but I bit my tongue. Those people inside had been willing to die for this and had told me as much. I had to respect that.

Even if I didn't want to die now that I was actually standing before this woman.

"Why are you doing this," I asked breathlessly.

She could tell I was stalling but she still replied, knowing she had the upper hand.

"You know why I'm doing this," she replied coolly.

"I mean why do you care so much about that particular motion? It doesn't instantly reverse the damage you did," I argued.

And then it clicked. Until then, I'd thought the cure was something of fantasy, something we'd invent maybe ten years down the line when it was too late despite the doctor's claims at the meeting. The motion had been more about making a statement but it had rattled her more than I'd ever anticipated.

Because she knew the cure wasn't that hard to make, because she'd already made it.

"You know how to make the cure," I said aloud.

She stepped closer, blue eyes gleaming alarmingly. She hadn't expected me to puzzle that out. She still had the upper hand but just for a second, I'd caught her off guard.

If I hadn't been practically quaking with fear, I would have patted myself on the back for that one.

"I'll give it to you if you let me pass. I could give you your old life back. You won't have to cower behind their backs anymore. You can fight by their side like you were always meant to," she whispered.

She stepped even closer and I stood there frozen, partly in fear but partly because of something else as well, something I didn't even want to acknowledge. Her words were poison but I couldn't stop myself from listening to them for just one moment. I couldn't stop myself from dreaming of how much better it would be, if I could transform into even a damned fly and fly up this woman's nose to piss her off.

"I'll find a way to wipe that sentence off of your head. You'll live out the rest of your days with the boys you love," she pressed.

And I wanted that more than anything. I wanted the life I'd dreamed of having before everything had gone to hell. I wanted to spend my life with them instead of rotting away in a jail cell for a crime I didn't even commit.

I was angry at her, I hated her even but a part of me hated the system in this supernatural world too that had cast me aside without a care.

"You're angry. You're fighting for them but they won't even help you. They don't deserve you Catherine," she hissed.

Maybe I did deserve to live my life outside of a prison cell, but I couldn't have it this way. For the first time, people were counting on me, relying on me to stay strong against this woman's mind games. I couldn't fail them now.

Even if it was the most tempted I'd been, the most I'd wanted anything in my whole life.

"You already knew I wouldn't agree to this or you have already offered me this deal," I said lowly.

She stepped back a bit, but remained close enough for me to know that she could kill me in seconds. She clucked disapprovingly. One painted nail came up to trace the side of my face.

I was once again frozen as those cold, heartless eyes locked with mine.

"I can only give you so many chances doll," she said.

And when she said that I expected a chance to fight back. I didn't know why I expected to have a chance against a vampire but I thought I would. She moved faster than I could have ever anticipated, even if I'd still been able to shapeshift.

Without my ability, I was basically a fly to her anyway but in the all the wrong ways.

She simply batted my to the side with a crushing blow to my ribs. For a second I was airborne and then I landed with a thud, cracking another rib in the process. It was a miracle that I even kept my eyes open as she stormed towards the house.

Rafia met her head on first but she'd depleted most of her strength to fortify the wards. A few more creatures converged behind the Countess to take Rafia down and she was losing. Cassius was at her side while Azriel desperately held up the wards with what little strength he had left.

But it wouldn't be enough.

Tears dripped down my face as I fought against the agony coursing through me body. I was still practically motionless, the only reason nobody had bothered to finish me off yet. I watched, able to do nothing but watch, as the last of Rafia's energy faded.

I saw it coming before it even happened.

Within a blur of motion, Rafia was on the ground, deathly still, eyes blankly staring up at the sky.

"Stop! Stop," I croaked out.

But it was far too late.

Rafia, who'd put us together on our first mission, who'd stood by my side through every trial since then and who wouldn't even be in this damn mess if we hadn't dragged her into it, was now dead at the Countess' feet. And actual fear cloyed my senses, had me moving to stand with three broken ribs as Cassius faced her alone with a determined look on his face.

It was the look of someone when they made their final stand.

Just as she moved in closer to make her kill, a voice shouted for her to stop, followed by several others. Then there were bands of magic wrapping around the Countess, trapping her in place. I could barely turn but what I saw had me weeping even harder. Reinforcements had finally arrived.

I fell back to the ground.

Flashback

The plan had been simple but its execution required a significant level of treachery. I bit my nails as a woman I'd come to know as Janelle talked on the phone with a rapid, high pitched, hysterical voice. Then she passed on the phone to another who did the same.

The message was easy enough to convey.

"We've been taken hostage by Catherine Aldaine and Raphael Thaddeus at Rafia Hamilton's residence. Please come save us. Please."

The line soon disconnected. Hopefully that would inspire enough alarm to get people here. Telling them the oldest vampire in existence had come to attack them wouldn't be believable. Granted, all of this would probably worsen my lifelong sentence in prison, but they already had a horrible impression of me.

It made this ploy much easier to believe.

"Now we wait," I said.

They nodded in fearful silence as the battle raged on outside.

A few reinforcements converged towards me when they spotted me first. Most went after the Countess and even she knew she wasn't powerful enough to hold up against over two-dozen fighters. Her eyes drifted to me, a snarl curling her lips. It was the first break I'd seen a crack in her icy façade, to let me know that I'd really pissed her off.

And then she vanished between one moment and the next, slipping right through the fingers of a dozen fighters like she'd never even been there.

Sensing the battle was over; people came storming out of the house to see if their loved ones had made it through the night. I attempted to stand so as to not be run over when a strong hand jerked me up and off the ground. I clenched my teeth in an effort to not cry out from the pain racing through the side of my body.

"Catherine Aldaine you're under arrest," the man said.

He then began listing my offenses as he dragged me towards a car. I scanned the crowd, trying to find my boys. They'd find a way to get me out, but just in case things went south, I needed to say goodbye.

But I was shoved into the car roughly before I could so much as spot any of them.

3rd Person POV

Cassius caught Azriel as he swayed before releasing his hold on the fragile wards that still stood around the house. People began to race out, reuniting with the people they cared about. Cassius scanned the crowd, barely having enough time to brace himself as Desmond flung himself at both of them.

When he drew back, Desmond's face was contorted with anger and frustration.

"You don't stand your ground in front of one of the oldest vampires in the world. Were you trying to get yourself killed," Desmond ranted.

"Des if she got in it would have all been over," Cassius replied.

"And you think your dead body would have provided some major hindrance to that happening," Desmond snapped.

"Boys we don't have time for this right now. Where's Catherine," Azriel interjected.

They scanned the crowd. The last Cassius remembered, she'd still been alive, hurt but alive, when the Countess had batted her to the side. He'd felt like he'd lost ten years of his lifetime when he'd seen that happen. He started off the in the direction he'd last seen her in with the other two on his heels.

Leila came rushing up to them before they even got there with wide, anxious eyes.

"What's wrong," Cassius asked.

"Catherine got arrested. She pretended that she and Raphael were holding everyone else hostage so reinforcements would arrive," Leila explained.

Cassius heard a faint buzz in his ears. If only he hadn't delayed, if he'd gotten to her first, he could have taken her away from here. She'd been injured heavily the last time he'd seen her.

"We'll get her out Cass. We've faced far worse," Desmond said grimly.

And yet somehow, every single time, she ended up paying the price for everyone else.

1st Person POV

Once my wounds had been bandaged, I was marched into an empty room and seated in a ridiculously uncomfortable chair before I was left alone once again. A few seconds later, another door to my left opened and Theo came through, followed by Maia and Alex. I couldn't contain my excitement as I barreled towards Theo, whose eyes were shining with tears as he lifted me off the ground in a tight hug.

"Ow," I grumbled.

He quickly released me, fingers darting over my side before clasping my wrists.

"I thought, I thought something terrible happened to you. They wouldn't tell me what happened to you," he said shakily.

"It's a long story but it's over now," I replied.

I drew back to pull Alex into a hug as well and then Maia, who refused to let go.

"Is everything really over," Alex asked.

He'd had a growth spurt and I hadn't even noticed. He now stood close to Maia's height and he was talking again. His eyes weren't as shadowed, as tormented as they'd been before.

And I didn't want to reverse any of that.

"It's not our concern anymore," I said.

It wasn't exactly the answer he needed. Still, something like relief sparked in his eyes and for the first time since I'd known him, he smiled. Really smiled. 

Maia began to cry in earnest against my shoulder. Theo and Alex joined our little hug and I couldn't help but tear up as well. These bonds had been made at a crucial time; at a time I'd needed them just to stay sane.

God knows where I'd be without them.

I drew back just as two men entered the room with papers in hand. They didn't wait for us to sit before they started taking turns talking in a monotonous voice.

"After receiving testimonies of over a hundred people as to what truly happened the night of the Countess' attack at Rafia Hamilton's residence, we find no reason to punish any of you for crimes you didn't commit. We've also reversed the motion that forbade contact between the injected and the supernatural world. You are free to go," they said.

I couldn't believe my ears. Theo gave out joyous shout before pulling us towards him once more. I was utterly paralyzed in shock.

This was more than I'd ever even dared to hope for.

"But I was supposed to, we started a," I stammered incoherently.

"You also brought down the operation. If anything, you deserve a reward," Theo said firmly.

And through my shock, the first traces of happiness finally registered. At least for now, the battle was over. The whole operation was behind bars.

Well, almost the whole operation. I still remembered the rage twisting the Countess features and I knew then, that she would be back. But I wouldn't let that ruin this moment.

That would be tomorrow's problem.

"It's really over," I whispered.

I clung on to the people around me just a little bit tighter as the realization slowly sunk in. I could see the people I loved whenever I wished to. I could be a part of this world, my home again.

I was free.  

The final chapter is up! Well, there's one more but it's more of an epilogue than anything. You're probably wondering how it's over considering the Countess is still out there. 

It's the end of Book 1! That's right, I'm going to make it a series. I haven't even started planning out the second book yet, that'll be my job over winter break, but it will be coming out sometime early next year. Until then, reread this book, share it with your friends, and let me know what you want to see in the next one. Thank you so so much to each and every one of you that's stuck with me through this. This was initially supposed to be just one book but seeing all of your support, I couldn't bring myself to leave this world behind just yet. 

If you liked this chapter, this book, don't forget to vote and comment down below. We've still got an epilogue that will be out soon. If you have any questions about the sequel or about this book, let me know in the comments below and I'll answer them when I post the epilogue. Until then, 

LOVE, 

ASH

Additional question, do you guys want a bit of a cliffhanger of an ending for this book or a softer, fluffier reunion? 

Perhaps even a sexier reunion (; 

Let me know!