June walked to her room with the splint and thought about what she was going to do. She was beyond frightened at this point. Fredrick's anger had caught her off guard, his jealousy more than just infatuation with June but more of a necessary to control not only her but everyone around him. Serena had somehow turned caring towards June, which spooked her out a bit, having spent so much time trying to avoid the female vampire she was beginning to understand her well enough. She loved her son, and would do anything for him, even if it meant him leaving this house with a human girl. And Nico... Serena had said Nico was in love with her. She had never known love, had thought it almost impossible to have since the Order rose up and took power. A relationship seemed like a distant memory, her last boyfriend being as far back as college. Could she have a relationship? It was possible, if she survived Serena's attempts to feed Nico and Fredrick's raging jealousy. Anything after all was possible...

And where was she stuck in all this? Compromised between a man who was obsessed with her, his unyielding lust for someone she was not, and between freedom with someone she genuinely cared for...

Could she run away? Would she run away? Would Fredrick come after her and kill her if she did? Would she be able to fight him off? And what of Sarah and Luke? Would they be compromised as well if she just fled from this house and made for the rebellion? What about Nico? What would happen to him if she did leave? How far could she actually make it if she were to run out of this house now, injured wrist or not...

June made it back to her room, her opposite hand cradling her wrist as she tried to keep from crying again. There was too much at stake, too many what if's and she couldn't afford to risk it. If it was just her fate on the table, yes she would be running for the hills. It wasn't just her though, it was everyone she cared about that was at risk if she made a rash decision. She had to think of the greater good, no matter how much she suffered at Fredrick's hands. She would get her freedom, she just had to bide her time to get there.

June sat on her bed and thought about what she needed to do. It all seemed so hopeless, thinking if the Rebellion didn't achieve what they wanted. She would die here, and Nico would be miserable, he might even leave her...a thought that sent dread into her heart.

Quickly she threw the thought to the side. No, she would not be helpless if that were to happen. She would get through whatever walls she had to if it meant getting back Sarah. She would go, she would fight. She would not end up like Lucy and she would not roll over like so many Bloodmaids before her. She was June, and she would die June.

"He fucking did that to you didn't he?" Nico suddenly said appearing in her room like a ghost. June stood up and went to him, already seeing the rage in his eyes at her bandaged wrist. She held him still, watching as his fangs sneered as he inspected her. His touch was gentle when holding her wrist, but June could feel the heat coming off his body in waves.

"I'll fucking get him for this!" Nico finally spat out, his feet heading straight for the door.

"Shhh!" June hissed at him, grabbing him away from the entrance "It's fine! Your mother fixed it!"

"I'll kill him!" Nico said his face getting red, turning to her "I'll slit his throat for hurting you!"

"No you won't!" she hissed at him again, making him look into her eyes "You just need to calm down and think straight for a moment. Nothing good will come from you going and starting something. The more Fredrick suspects the more he might hurt me, or worse you. And I won't let you do that!"

"I won't let him near you until Mayday" Nico said grabbing her shoulders "I'll guard outside your door if I have to. He can't be trusted, not after today. You saw what happened to Lucy, I'll be damned if I let him do the same to you."

"You can't risk your life for me" June said shaking her head "I'm not worth it, there are so many others that need the Rebellion's help. You can't give up if something happens to me."

"No" he said sternly "You are wrong."

"No I'm not Nico!" she said getting upset "People can't just give up. To give up is to die! You can't do that to everyone who's counting on you. You can't do that to Luke, or the Rebellion, and especially not me!"

"You are worth it" he said holding her face now.

"I don't know why you keep saying that" June said letting the tears fall hot on his skin "I haven't done anything to deserve this. I was a coward Nico, I let them take Sarah. I wasn't strong enough..."

"You are strong" he said, his eyes bearing into hers "You are a survivor. You came here and you've survived Fredrick and my mother. That may not seem like much to you, but I have watched time and time again humans come into this house and barely last a few days. You've managed to last months. To someone who's had to watch on the side lines, that fact alone makes you incredible in my eyes. I wish you could see that."

"I think I do" she said looking down away from him "But I'm not sure how to feel anymore. I'm so confused, I don't have time to feel anything except what my next move is to get through another night. I hear you say all these things and it makes me feel...I don't know..."

"You can feel June" he said now growing tender in tone "You can let go once this is all over. You can be free to feel however you want. About your future, even about me. Either way I'll still feel the same about you."

"And what am I to you?" she whispered, her heart faintly beating inside her chest as she looked up at him. She wanted to know, she needed to know. She could die for him and she would never know if how he felt was true.

"You are June, and nothing else. You are you and that's why I care for you" he said burying his head into her hair "I knew that the first moment I saw you, even if I didn't know your name. You looked up at me that first night and I didn't see some scared little girl. I saw hatred, I saw fire. I saw that you were going to fight no matter what. It woke something up in me that I can't explain and I've been feeling that same fire ever since."

"Nico" June said softly "Do you..."

"Yes" he said knowing her question before she even finished "I love you."

"Nico we need to escape" she whispered "Fredrick is going to kill me or kill you. I can't watch you die. We need to get out of here, is there any way we can leave sooner?"

"Tomorrow night" he said now looking into her eyes "Tomorrow we leave, I'll grab a van. You meet me outside in the gardens when the cameras turn off. We will run for the border after we grab Sarah. I'll keep you safe."

"You promise?" she said her eyes sparkling at the thought of being free sooner than she thought.

"I promise" he said and kissed her deeply. June let his arms wrap around her body and she melted against him. She was never one to swoon, never thinking she needed someone to help her out. She could do it by herself, but Nico was handing her the key without any stipulations. He loved her, and he didn't require her to love him back. She did though, in between the chaos and the fear she had lived in for so long, she did love him...

Suddenly they heard footsteps and before Nico could disappear Fredrick stood at the door, his eyes burning with fire. Nico pushed June back behind him, his fangs bared as a guttural hiss escaped from both him and Fredrick.

"You will not have her!" his voice thundered as he walked into the room, his eyes wide and crazed as he stared at the two. His hair was pulled back as his clothes looked disheveled, a spot of blood from the feeding earlier that night splattering against the sleeves of his white shirt.

"You don't own her Fredrick! She isn't a thing!" Nico sneered at him "You'll have to go through me before I let you touch her again!"

"Insolent boy! I'll kill you for even looking at her! Arista is mine!" Fredrick thundered and hurtled towards Nico. June gasped as Nico pushed her on the bed, letting Fredrick take his rage out on him.

Nico moved like a soldier would, his reflexes strong and accurate as Fredrick swung fist after fist at him, bearing his teeth and roaring. Nico landed punches in Fredrick's ribs, the crack of bones echoing out in the air. But his few shots were all that the young vampire could get as Fredrick soon tackled him to the ground, his rage fueling his strength as he chomped and bit in the air to try and tear at Nico's flesh. June stood up and tried to pull Fredrick off of Nico but he only hurtled her away from him and slammed her body into the wall. June gasped as pain shot up her arm, her wrist stabbing pain up her body. June gritted her teeth and got back up, her hand grabbing at anything to try and get Fredrick off of Nico.

Nico grunted and hissed, trying to kick out from the weight of Fredrick, his nails digging into his flesh causing dark blood to start dripping down Fredrick's white shirt. June could see Fredrick's nails doing the same on Nico's shoulders, the pressure sending blood oozing onto the floor. June began screaming, her words deaf against the two males as the tumbled and tore at one another. Fredrick once again turned, his eyes nearly black from his rage as he threw June to the side, her head hitting the pole of the bedpost hard as she flopped to the floor, pin pricks forming at the corners of her vision as she tried to stand once again.

"What is going on?!" Serena screamed entering the fighting scene. Fredrick and Nico had wrestled enough on the floor that Nico's blood was smeared over the wood, the room looking bloodied and barbaric from the once pristine area it was. June tried to pull herself up against the bedpost, feeling the hot warmth of her own blood start trickling down the back of her neck.

Serena quickly went to June and looked into her eyes, June seeing two of the scared female as her voice rung out against the roars of the other two "Only you can stop this! Only you can calm him down!" she yelled over the smacking of flesh.

June stood up, trying to regain her balance when suddenly Fredrick got a hold of Nico, his arms finally pulling the young man up to his fangs as he bit down hard on Nico's shoulder. Blood flew through the air as Fredrick's ravaged Nico's flesh, his blood making a sickening sound of splatter as it gushed to the floor. Nico screamed from the pain, his hands desperately trying to push Fredrick off of him. But the old vampire knew a fatal blow when he had one and sunk down deeper, letting Nico's blood pool around their bodies covering them both.

"Nicholiah!" Serena screamed and ran for Fredrick. Her panicked screams were shrill as the female beat her fists against Fredrick's back demanding he release her son. June got up then, her heart rapid as she saw Nico's once beige flesh turn gray from the loss of blood.

"Let him go!" June screamed at Fredrick, her voice cracking and high "I choose you! I choose you! Let him go!"

Fredrick let Nico's body drop to the floor at her words. He looked at June with almost a savage animal gaze as he smirked, knowing he had won the battle. Serena screamed out for Cora and Rita as she tried to stop the bleeding from Nico's throat. June tried to run for Nico as well but Fredrick was quick to grab her by her wrist, the pain blinding her for minute as he drug her out of the room and out towards the stairs.

"Fredrick!" she screamed "Fredrick please!"

Fredrick ignored her pleas, his eyes dark as he continued down the hallway towards the stairs.

"Fredrick you are hurting me please let go!" she yelled, the pain surging up into her shoulders now, afraid he might hurt her further in his rage.

Fredrick stopped and quickly turned to her, letting her wrist go before quickly snatching her by the back of the neck, his hold strong on her pressure growled and then led her downstairs into the Ceremony room. June could hear Serena's screams as she knew that this moment was either going to be the last time she saw Nico...

Or the last thing she heard before she died.