Copyright: Nope I have no rights by way of the Dark Series. They belong purely to Christine Feehan.

I am merely writing my own ending 'cos its taking too damn long.

Chapter 8

Its not possible

No one can be that strong…Shannon shook with fear and anxiety as she gazed upon the now solidified shadow. She had never seen such power.

"It can't be" she whispered in disbelief. The shadow advanced to within a few steps from where Shannon now sat in the centre of her bed. It towered over Shannon as she gazed up at the sight which caused her hair on the back of her neck to rise.

Rage, pure unadulterated RAGE…. It was all he could think, see or feel. He could feel the fear that emanated from her and despite his need to contain her within his arms he could not trust himself with the proximity. They stayed where they were, neither wanting to acknowledge the confrontation that was sure to follow. Both Shannon and Angelus battled with their own emotions before they could utter a word. Angelus fumed whilst Shannon trembled.

"A-Angel…" was all she could manage for the moment. He was so much more than he had been before. At the mansion he had been towering strength and secret amusement but there was nothing to differentiate the emanating strength that vibrated in and around him at this moment.

He was just focused completely and utterly on Shannon. He had streamed across the sky and half way across the world in order to claim his wayward lifemate. The beast, which she has initially calmed and suppressed, gazed through Angelus' eyes, promising retaliation for daring to escape him. It was the beast she gazed upon. Not Angelus.

Shannon started to slide, ever so slightly to the edge of her bed. She couldn't stay under his gaze for much longer. Unknowingly the intensity of his gaze was already causing her eyes to shed unheeded tears. She managed to stand off the side of the bed before Angelus glided over to scoop her up into his arms. He then proceeded to launch himself skyward. Shannon had never felt so small. He was taller, stronger to her dismay. She realised that he had harnessed his power and strength completely. Evident by the fact that they were currently flying over the forest. Considering her current position - a few hundred feet in the air suspended and supported by Angelus' arms and chest- Shannon decided that she would go along with where he was taking her. There had to be a reason why he was here.

After finding a clearing in the forest on a elevated slop miles away from any kind of civilisation, Angelus proceeded to descend. As Shannon's feet touched the floor she proceeded to put a few paces distance from the now imminent threat to her freedom. The time had come.

"I'm listening Angel" Shannon offered

" Make sure you are," Angelus began. He needed to make her understand her situation. He knew it would be hard for her to accept it but he knew that this had been her destiny and they would have to deal with it together.

"Shannon… for centuries now there has been a battle between the species of this world. Like it or not you are destined to play a key role as the battles reach their climax. I can see the power that you hold inside of you. Much of it you are unaware of its existence and capability although over the years you have been able to do things without realising it."

Shannon wasn't stupid. She sensed the power within Angelus when she had first met him and knew that it would be wasting time to pursue the denial route.

Unwilling to anger Angelus further yet realising that this needed to be concluded, Shannon turned to Angelus and looked directly into his obsidian eyes.

"I would have thought that my actions back at the mansion would have demonstrated that I have no wish or inclination to participate in this battle. I may not know the ins and outs or whose side is more worthy but I have no desire to be drawn into it."

He shook with the force of his emotion as he remembered the other day when he had awakened from his induced trance to find Shannon gone and sensing that she had managed to put quite a distance between them while he had been out of it. He did not relish the realisation that she was able to do what she had done nor the fact that during that period of separation anything could have happened that he would have been powerless to stop. Frankly after a 3000 year wait for her, it was just not good enough.

Angelus glided up to Shannon before she realised what his intent was. He grasped her arms and pulled her to him so that she could not look away. She had no choice but to look him in the eye whilst he stated simply,

" Never be so wreckless with your life as there are those who would have no problem and a great deal of relish taking it from you."

He didn't feel it coming but a wave of power was built and flung at Angelus causing him release his hold on Shannon for fear of taking her with him. Despite the resolve to distance themselves, Shannon had only managed to move Angelus a mere three paces away from her.

"How dare you!" She raged at him. "How dare you lecture me on the harsh realities of life. Saving me does not give you the ownership of my life nor the ability to take my freedom from me. You may be able to sense the power within me but you know nothing about me!"

Surprised as he was he couldn't afford for her to see that he was not immune to her passionate cry. He could see that there was a well of hurt as well as a strong resolve that could only have been forged through years of battle. Angelus wasn't archaic enough to think that they only method of battle was through physical confrontation. He may have been raised and survived from a very traditional background but the key in survival for any warrior was the ability to adapt to his or her surroundings. Whether it was a change of battle or a change in time the ability to do so was the difference between life and death. Angelus knew a fellow warrior when he saw one.

As promised this story has been updated within a week. Stayed tuned and I'll upload another chapter next wkend also.

R'n'R please!!!