We stayed with the pack for another two nights, working out ideas and plans to send the younger ones away to another reserve. Old Quil wasn't happy, but Lia didn't really give him a choice.

"Listen here you old mutt," She snarled softly after taking his crap for a little too long. "This deranged woman will be attacking your people just as much as she will be attacking mine. Yours is a diversion tactic for her which means it will be nothin' but a slaughter. The second her vamps get close enough, your children will erupt into wolves and there goes their lives. Those who don't turn will be ripped apart limb by limb." She stepped closer until they were nose to nose. "If you don't have anything productive to add to this conversation, I suggest you shut the hell up before I do it for you. We are savin' lives, old man. We don't got time for your petty bullshit."

We waited on baited hooks until Old Quil surprised everyone by laughing.

"Well look at you. You do have a personality behind that false goodness." He barked stepping away from her. Lia sighed and rolled her eyes. Billy made an audible sigh behind him. He was clearly done with Old Quill's shit too.

"Men. I swear it don't matter what bred they are, idiots. The lot of them." She whispered. I snorted and she flashed me a quick smirk. Things were going… ok between us. There was no yelling at least. We weren't talkin', not about anything besides battle plans, but I guess the no yellin' was a blessin'. Right now, we were preparing to head back to our clans and inform them of the plans with the wolves. I also wanted to check in with Alice and see if she had seen anything worthwhile. Seth volunteered to join me and my family while, to everyone's surprise, Sam offered to go with Lia. After realising she wasn't a bloodthirsty monster or a pain in the ass (his words, not mine) type of vampire, Sam seemed to get along quite well with Lia. I think it was the fact that sometimes you just forgot she was a vampire. I wasn't jealous… much. The plan was to regroup again in two days on the eve of the predicted attack. It was going to get very real, very quickly.

"Do you think you will be okay?" I asked, pulling her aside when everyone else was busy. She huffed and raised an eyebrow.

"Will I be okay heading back to my clan that's not really that far away especially with someone who can break the record for running?" Her sarcasm was thick. I felt like an idiot asking honestly, but I was worried… and a little hesitant to let her go. She sighed, seeming to understand. "We will meet again ok?"

"I know. This battle isn't going to fight itself after all."

"Maybe… maybe after it, we can talk?" She said it so softly that if I were still human, I may not have heard it.

"You want to talk?" I had to have her repeat it just in case I heard it wrong. I had offered it when we last spoke but her answer of maybe didn't really fill me with much hope.

Lia wrung her hands together, looking significantly uncomfortable. "It was brought to my attention that I haven't been treating you fair and although said nosy person understands where I am coming from and why I am so angry, I should at least let you have your say to explain why you left me to die on the ground with no cares in the world." It was one big jumble of words but that time, I understood her completely. I also had a sneaky suspicion that 'said nosy person' was Seth. I made a mental note to ask him about it on the way home and away from prying ears. I may buy the kid a car if this all works out for the best. Hell, I'd offer to buy him the world if it meant I got my Lia back.

"Don't feel pressure to talk to me if you don't want to." I said softly. "I do want to talk to you. Hell, darlin' if I am being honest, I wouldn't leave your side again. But don't talk to me out of guilt. Talk to me because you want to. If you don't…" I shrugged. "I won't hold it against you." I would be so angry though, at myself and the situation that is. All I wanted was a chance to explain myself and the reasoning behind my abandoning her. I wanted her to know that not once since I left her for war did, she ever leave my mind. It felt like a lifetime before she looked up and nodded.

"If we win this, we can talk. I don't trust you Jasper and I don't know if I ever can, but I should give you a chance to explain at least. I guess I owe the old us that."

"That's all I can ask for darlin'." I reached out to grab her hand, but she moved away quickly, doing up her cloak. My heart fell a little. So close yet so far. She sighed deeply before reaching out to grab my hand. The cold touch shocked me.

"One hundred and fifty years is a really long time to be angry at someone for. It's a really long time to search for someone." She looked up at me. "One hundred and fifty years is a really, really long time when you are alone with your thoughts. I need you to understand that when I went looking for you, I went looking for my husband. The man I gave everything to. Who I had loved and held close to my heart for as long as I could remember. I looked for that man 'cause I was worried about him." Her gripped tightened but I stayed quiet. It was clear she needed to get this off her chest. "What I found was something that blew away everythin' I had ever believed in. I found monsters who shouldn't exist. I found hell on earth. And the man I wanted to find was nothing but a cold statue. There was nothing left of the man I had given my heart to." Lia shook her head. "The man I loved watched and agreed with a monster who ripped me apart. The man I loved turned his back on me as I lay dying in the snow and left without a care in the world." She pulled her hand away and I could feel what was left of my heart go with her. I didn't need to be an empath to feel the hurt that radiated from her. "I need you to understand Jasper, that I have spent one hundred and fifty years remembering that moment and feeling that betrayal. That doesn't disappear in a few days. You deserve your chance to explain but please, understand how hard it is for me." The tent flap opened, and Sam and Seth walked out. Lia shrugged. "I just needed to let you know." She turned from me and I couldn't stop myself from grabbing her arm.

"It wasn't like that," I whispered, desperation coating my words. I needed her to know the truth. Battle be damned. "You need to know that what you thought isn't the truth."

"You…"

"I was tricked. I know you won't believe me but please, Lia, you know me better. If I knew for a second what I was seein' was real, I wouldn't have left you." I all but begged. She frowned and tugged her arm. I refused to let go. If this was my chance to clear my name I would. I couldn't let her think me a monster for a minute more after hearing her confession.

"Emalia?" Sam called. "We need to go."

"Jasper…"

"No Lia. Listen." I grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at me. "Maria lied to me. I didn't know it was really you bleedin' out. I didn't know until years later and I thought I was too late." I forced all the sincerity and love I had to her. I didn't even care if she couldn't feel it. I needed her to know. "Please baby. Believe me. I didn't know it was you." She slowed moved away.

"I don't know if I can believe you, Jasper." She whispered softly. "I just told I don't trust you."

"Baby girl, you were…are my everythin' Just… think about it. Please. Think about what you know about her and what you know about me. Please."

"That's the thing Jazz. I don't know you anymore." She turned and moved to Sam.

"Everything okay?" I heard the dark man ask. Lia nodded.

"It will be," I growled in frustration and pulled my hair. It couldn't end like this. Not now. Not after she had told me how she felt. How was I supposed to go on knowing I had all but killed her repeatedly for one hundred and fifty years?

"I went home," I yelled, forgetting the others around us. She stopped, back still to me. "I went home to find you 'cause I thought you were alive. I saw your mama cryin' at your grave. One hundred and fifty years I have been carryin' around the guilty of knowin' I am the one who killed you!" Lia was in front of me within seconds, hands gripped my jaw tightly. Her amber eyes were dark with anger. All at once, I could feel every ounce of pain and suffering she had gone through. I saw flashes of her life, watching me go, attending the house, crying. I saw her get a letter and tear off into the forest, thoughts only on saving me. I felt her fear when she ran into Maria's guards. The sheer terror upon meeting Maria. I felt her elation and love at seeing me again which turned to disbelief and sadness. I felt the second her heart broke because of me. The pain was crippling. I grabbed her wrists, but she held steady, never breaking eye contact. Was this her power? I saw and felt her get bitten, her throat ripped out. Unbelievable pain exploded through my body. I felt her beg for death and I felt her utter despair as she watched me walk away with her murderer. I could feel the second her heart broke into a million pieces.

"That grave my mama cried over is empty Jasper Whitlock 'cause they never found a body. Their daughter was murdered, and her husband didn't give a shit." She hissed, tightening her grip. "You don't get to play the victim here." With one last push of the worst feelings I have ever felt, she let go. I fell to my knees and took a shuddering breath. I could feel my body shaking and every nerve on edge. I felt like when I had been turned but a million times over. I could feel tears well up in my eyes as I felt sick and broken. I felt Seth run over and crouched next to me. My senses were in overdrive and all I wanted to do was throw up.

"What did you do to him?" He asked.

"I showed him the pain he caused."