Hey guys! Thanks again for reading, and once again I'm so sorry about how short the last chapter was. Hopefully this one can make it up! So, hope you guys enjoy!

Calex:

Her long, jet black hair was braided neatly and trailing down the left side of the altar. Her eyes were closed, but even then I knew what beautiful colours they held. The build, the silent and lethal strength that seemed to radiate through every room, everything about her was familiar to me.

I sighed, knowing what little time I had before someone came looking for me, and I stepped off to the right. When I was ready and stable footed, I began to slowly and patiently rouse Kadea from her unconscious state.

Kadea:

Darkness. Everlasting darkness was everywhere I looked. It seemed to have no beginning, and no ending, and it felt like I was completely submerged in the dark. I was entirely wrapped, in almost a blanket of shadows.

Somewhere in the back of my mind though, I felt an ever so slight pressure, like someone had laid a hand on my shoulder. The pressure turned into a light pull, and I began to follow after it. Through and through the darkness it took me. With each tiny pull I followed, I felt a small amount of strength flow through my body, blood and veins. With each ounce of my strength returning to me, I followed the tugs faster, until I felt like I was nearly flying after the pulls. Finally, after what seemed like an age of darkness, I passed a lighter section of the shadows. Then I passed another, and another and another, until I reached the end of the darkness.

The light shimmered in front of me, seeming like a hand reaching out to gasp my own, but I paused at the border between the two, and glanced back in hesitation. Behind me, the light seemed growl at me, as if it demanded my attention, demanding for me to enter its grasp. The darkness was quiet and patient, but as I went to go back into the comforting shadows, a shape seemed to form out of it. It was a woman, with loose, flowing, knee length brown hair, with matching brown almond shaped eyes. By the look of her small figure, she had Asian blood in her, but I couldn't tell which country. Her small mouth curved into a soft, compassionate smile.

"Go, young pup. You are needed by many. This is not your time yet to come here."

I nodded mutely at her, and she stepped forward. Her presence was both warm and cool, but as she reached out to turn me around, her hand was tender and caring. I was just about to move into the light, when she brought her lips up to my ear and whispered.

"There will be a battle soon, young pup, and you must be ready. But most importantly, you must be ready to make certain sacrifices, and prepare to say goodbye to one you love more than anything."

My heart rose up into my throat, but before I could do anything, she kissed my cheek, and pushed me into the light. My eyes flew open, and found myself staring up at a dark ceiling, in a room wrapped in shadows. There was a faint light that illuminated the room, but it did barely anything. I could feel sweat slowly slipping over my skin, and cold stone was pressing harshly into my back. I sucked in a small breath, cherishing the air in my lungs, before I released it, and a rising pain rushed to the front of my mind.

Hissing, I looked to my left and saw my wrist was encased in a steel chain, with silver lining the inside. I found the same on my right, and I strained to look at my ankles, as majority of the pain was coming from down there. I only saw a glint of light reflecting off the silver in the dim room I was currently trapped in, but I didn't need to look around to know what the light source was from. I could already smell it, hear it slowly passing through the floor, and I could taste it in the air. It was Molten silver.

I calmed my racing mind, and a smile curved the corners of my lips up as I heard a little flicker bounce through the room.

"Hello Azazel. Hello Calex. How are we both at the moment?"

A chuckle sounded from the left, but I kept my eyes on the roof, and the smile still on my face. There were no footsteps that sounded in the room, but I could sense his cold, and yet hauntingly familiar presence as he moved to my side. His hand came up, and stroked my cheek lovingly.

"Oh Kadea," My eyes met his black and poison green splotched ones, and despite myself, I relaxed slightly at his familiar touch. "You were always my favourite, for so many reasons, my dear."

"Oh? And what might a few of those reasons have been?"

Another chuckle, this one more hoarse than the last. "There were – and still are – too many for me to possibly say at the moment." The cool, almost silky skin of Azazel as he slithered over my bare stomach make goosebumps trace over my arms, and I shivered. Calex smiled at him, and his hand that rested on my cheek still began to stroke my skin there. "He was always so needy, this one. But he would never settle for any snake." Those black eyes met mine again. "He would only settle for you, Dea."

I couldn't stop the shudder that skimmed it's fingers over my spine. "Are you still talking about Az, or is there another 'boy' you're talking about now, Lex?"

"I would be lying if I told you that it was just one of them, Dea." His eyes flicked to a scar just under my collarbone that was covered by the short shirt I wore. Calex's eyes started to simmer with unshed heat. "You know that already."

I sighed, and returned my gaze to the ceiling again, lost in memories. There was one single memory that I was thinking of, and I was almost certain that I wasn't the only one who was remembering that night.

"I tried, Cal," I whispered, my voice breaking with emotion.

My oldest friend was silent for a few seconds. "I know," He whispered back.

I closed my eyes, stopping the tears from slipping out of the corners, and I felt a forked tongue flicker over and up my cheek. I saw in my mind's eye, Calex move quietly to the end of the slab of stone I was chained down onto, and plant his hands beside my left leg, and bow his head, eyes clenched shut as he went through the memory.

"I never knew that was going to happen, Lex. I thought it would just be like every other time we walked to your house."

Calex didn't answer me, and I opened my eyes to look at the roof again, feeling Azazel wrap himself comfortingly around my head and neck. I thought back to the night, and lost myself in the memory.

Seven years ago...

It was eight thirty at night, and I was walking Lex home after his football training. The noise of his studded boots hitting the ground with each step were familiar, and as we walked, we talked about the days events. Calex was currently telling me about one of the girls in his science class, and how her experiment had nearly burnt down the lab. He was waving his arms around, and making explosion noises, just being the plain old goofy Calex I knew. When we reached the bottom of his gravel driveway, Lex fell silent for a moment, as if he was thinking.

"Do you want to come inside for a few minutes? Mum's home, but she's most likely upstairs in her study, and dad's out working tonight. He got called in for a second shift because Harry is apparently sick again."

I snorted, and we both laughed. "Yeah, is it possible for me to come in for a moment please? I haven't seen your mum in ages, and it would be nice to say hello again."

Calex's poison green eyes glowed with something I didn't recognise, and he nodded with a smile. "Sure. Come on up."

Together, we walked up the long gravel driveway, and I looked up, watching the DeAndre's house come closer with every footstep. It was a small, three storey brickwork house, with three cement pillars out the front, seeming to support the large deck hanging over the garage. There was a flourishing healthy garden out the front, with Magnolia trees, some neatly trimmed bushes, a few rose bushes, and down the bottom was a little, waterfall type of feature, with some small, glazed stones and rocks that seemed to glow in the moonlight that reflected off the water.

The letterbox had painted handprints that Calex reflexively reached out and touched as he passed, and I smiled to myself. There was a white, steel fence that was placed around the border of the house's land, and a few tall trees hung over the side, casting long but still shadows over the garden. As we came up the the front door, the sensor light came on, and a sparkle caught my eye. I glanced at it from the corner of my eye, and I didn't need to look too closely at it before I could smell the metallic tang. Blood. Human blood; and it was fresh.

I looked at Calex in alarm, and turned my head around to see if I could pick up any strange noises. A faint scuffle sounded from inside, and I spun around. Calex looked at me strangely, but when he saw my serious gaze, he went still.

"What is it, Dea?" I had told him by accident years ago that I had heightened senses, but I had never mentioned to him that I was a Wolf.

"Someone's here. Take your boots off, and stay behind me." I went to the pillar behind us, and rubbed my thumb down the rough corner. A small hiss reverberated out of it, and a belt appeared in the side. I hastily put it on, and rubbed my thumb up the corner, closing the hidden slot.

I stepped back over to Calex, and he looked up at me, eyes flooding with surprise. I guess it would have been weird to see your best friend one moment, and then have someone who looked exactly like her but with more weapons obviously on her. The belt I now wore, had four daggers, a retracting bō staff, two pairs of brass knuckles and a pair of twin swords. I pulled on a pair of black studded gauntlets, and twitched my wrists slightly, making sure that the hidden stilettos still slid out.

The gleaming iron and silver blades seemed to purr for blood, and I smiled as I twitched my wrists again and the slid into their hidden slots. I met Calex's eyes again, and his face was drained of colour, but he still wore a nervous smile.

"I'm hella glad that I'm on your good side,"

I had to softly laugh. "I'm glad that I will never have to fight you, Lex. But come on. He need to get inside and see if your mum is okay."

His eyes steeled, and he nodded. With his boots beside the door, Calex got his house keys out of his pocket, and unlocked the door, letting it open slowly, before stepping back. I mutely handed him a dagger, and he took it without a word, though his eyes widened and his face turned ash grey. I stepped inside quietly, letting my advanced night vision settle into place, and walked around with my knees bent, ready to spring or move at any slight shift of light. Moving into Calex's parents bedroom, I looked around with narrowed eyes, and found evidence of a scuffle, or someone doing a poor attempt of a robbery.

Clothes were thrown over every inch of soft, grey carpet, and the fan slowly spun from the wind coming through the open windows. No sign of life came from this room, though I could smell a strange scent in the room that Mr Hallivard was trying to currently teach me about. I kept note of that, and glanced in the bathroom and walk-in robe, and found the same things. Things strewn everywhere, bottles smashed, towels and shoes thrown everywhere. A white piece of clothing caught my eye in the walk-in robe, and I picked it up gingerly.

When I saw what it was, my breath caught in my throat and I choked back my sob. It was Mrs DeAndre's wedding dress, or what remained of it. The dress had been torn to shreds, the beautiful material left in ribbons by what looked like sharply clawed hands. I laid it down gingerly, and walked out of Calex's parents room, and upstairs to the middle level. This was where the study and Calex's art studio (placed on the left), Calex's bedroom and a spare bedroom were placed parallel to the study and studio. In the middle of the four rooms, was a living space, leading out to a small back deck, clothes line, and back yard.

I did a quick check with my hearing, and felt Calex stop behind me with a quick breath. The lounges had been torn apart, all the stuffing in the cushions had been thrown all over the room, and from what I could see, all the books in the study had been tossed carelessly off the shelves, the desks in splinters, and the fan looked like it had two of the blades broken off. I couldn't bare to let Calex see what might have happened to his art room, so I nudged him and pointed to the bedrooms and signed to him that he had to look through them.

He shook his head stubbornly, and walked in front of me, straight into the study. I surged after him, and tugged at his shirt. Calex turned to me in surprise, his eyes sparking with that strange emotion again, before he was bowled over by a dark blur. I screamed, and stumbled back in surprise, before I recovered myself, and ran into the room, stilettos slipping out. Calex was on the ground, stunned, and there was a darkly dressed person straddling his chest and leaning close to his neck. I stepped forward and jabbed one of my stilettos into the person's back, just underneath the shoulder.

The person threw back their head and screamed horribly, and in a mix of mute horror and fear, I watched as the street light outside the study window flashed across the long, needle sharp fangs. The Vampire spun around and launched itself at me, hissing and spitting like a cat, and I rolled to the left, pushing my right arm up and slashing through the Vampire's thin black jacket, and cleanly through the dark grey shirt underneath. It released another bloodcurdling scream, and flung an arm out at me.

I ducked under it, and roundhouse kicked the Vampire in the chest. I watched it fly backwards, and I clenched my hands into fists to hold back the shift. I could feel the tingling in my hands and nails, and the faint itch behind my eyes. I closed my eyes, and opened them just as a second Vampire punched me in the side of the face. I spun through the air, and landed heavily on the splintered desk, biting back my cry of pain as some of the splinters lodged themselves in my side.

The second Vampire stalked quietly up to me, and grabbed my face harshly, forcing me to look up into their eyes. It was a powerful male Vampire, this one. His eyes were violet-blue coloured, and his hair was an unnaturally light blonde colour. He was familiar for some reason, but I couldn't remember why. He hissed in another language, and the first Vampire I had fought limped in. I saw it was a female, and she was an exact twin to the male in front of me. She grinned at me, her fangs evident, and straddled Calex again, her head lowering to his neck.

A snarl ripped its way through my throat as the fangs pierced his skin, and I gripped the male's wrist tightly with both hands and jerked it around in a circle. The crack echoed through the house, and the roar that came after it made my ears ring. I dodged the oncoming blow towards my face, and head butted him, hard. The Vampire's head was thrown back, his eyes rolling back into his skull as he dropped unconscious. I slashed his throat open, and crash tackled the feeding Vampress off Calex. We rolled out of the room, and she landed on top of me.

Calex's blood dribbled down her fangs and onto my face, and I punched at her with the stilettos still out in disgust. The first punch she only just dodged at the last moment, causing the blade to open up the flap of skin covering her cheek. She hissed and racked her nails down the right side of my face and neck. The second punch I threw though, went straight through the middle of her eyes. As I drew back my hand, she jerked on my chest, before going still, and slipping of me, slumping on the ground lifelessly.

Gagging against the rush of blood that had splashed on my face and neck, I scrambled up and back into the study. Calex was laying dead still, and I dropped to my knees beside him.

"Cal," I whispered. "Cal, please stay with me."

His eyelids fluttered and opened up slightly, and I slumped against him in relief.

"Dea? Dea, is that you?"

"Yes, yes it's me, Lex. I'm right here." I took his hand, and pressed it to my cheek, unable to stop the tears from slipping out of my eyes. "I'm always here, Lex. Always."

Blinking, I looked back up at the ceiling of the room we were still in, with my wrists and ankles still bound, the molten silver still lazily moving past. Azazel still was wrapped around my head and neck, and I could feel Calex's hand on my wrist, his fingers lightly splayed on my pulse.

"You couldn't feel it then, could you?" His voice was still hoarse, but the raw emotion I heard when he spoke made me turn my head to him. "You couldn't feel my pulse, couldn't hear my heart beating anymore."

I shook my head quietly. "No. I was too late to save you."

"You saved me from losing my sanity, when you stayed with me through all those nights when you snuck out of your house to be with me. You saved me when it came to the Hunger. When it came to anything for me when I Turned, you saved me with whatever I needed." His eyes left my wrist, and met mine. "And I never once thanked you."

"Not feeding from me was thank you enough, Lex," I laughed weakly. At his silence, I sobered again. "You didn't leave because you were ashamed of killing those people like you said, did you?"

He shook his head.

"Why?"

"Because I loved you – and still do. Because I didn't want to hurt you. Then, or now."

I was silent for a moment, taking it all in. "What about Layla?"

Calex's eyes glowed predatorily. "Layla is only to keep me from hunting you down each night, and taking you away to be with me like you rightfully should. You have always been mine, Dea. You have never been that mutt's."

A feeling of anger rose up, but I didn't let my thoughts be spoken. "If you loved me, then why did you never tell me?"

"Because I knew you didn't love me back. But now, I know you do. That's why you willingly let me take you, isn't it?" Hope and excitement made his voice raise. "After all these years, of loving you from a distance, after trying but failing to let you go, you finally love me back."

"Cal – " He didn't let me finish as his mouth came down on mine.

Surprise cascaded down on me, but a sense of wrongness pushed greedily in front. I thrashed against him in my chains, but his mouth was hard and demanding against mine. He put his hands on my shoulders and forced me to stay still as he tried to deepen the kiss, but I growled and threw my head off to the side. My breathing was ragged, and I kept my eyes on the opposite side of the room, hatred making my body and chains tremble. Calex laughed cruelly beside me.

"Seems like you're still the same then, Miss Ashryver Galathynius. Shame, because if you had of changed in these past few years, then maybe I would have been willing to let you see your friends one last time before they leave this world tonight." I jerked in the chains, straining against them as I growled and spat curses at him. Calex brought his mouth down next to my ear and whispered. "Forever."

His deep and promising laugh reverberated around the room as he walked away from me, and still continued to echo, even minutes after he had disappeared.