I bet you guys are mad at me b/c of that last chapter . . . hehehehe. I know, I'm cruel. This one *definitely* makes up for it, I swear! Anyway, since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl tonight (Woo Hoo!!!!!! Ronde Barber and John Lynch are hot! Okay, girly stuff done), I have dedicated myself to putting out not only a long chapter, but a few of them. I hope you enjoy!

Emmanuelle: I had to do that in Chapter 11, I felt it was needed. I hope you understand. =) And thanks so much for the compliment. It could probably be better, in my opinion, but I love to make you guys happy with fast updates. Not to mention, if I take too long, I'll never get around to finishing. Hell, I tried that with 'Discovery,' and I stopped working on it for almost four whole months! Never again will I make that mistake.

Zabella: A person of many words, I see. Hehehe. Don't worry, I didn't plan on making everyone wait too long for what happened.

Adelaide E: I'm telling ya, I love to portray men as idiots. Fortunately, unlike the real world, I write them getting smarter eventually. Especially this chapter. You have to love dawning realization. It's like a refreshing slap to the face. As for the reviews, I'm not really that concerned, either. I have you and my few others that are completely devoted to this story, and that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. =) Thanks for the continual support!

Blaise: I hope you're satisfied with this chapter. It'll help clear up some of that Monroe nonsense that he's been dragging around. Thanks for the review!

plot-less: I wanted to make it a warm-and-happy-family-fuzzy-feeling. I hope I succeeded! I'm not sure how many chapters it will be. I imagine at least another six to ten, but there's no telling! Enjoy this chapter. I'm trying to keep that fuzzy feeling going. =)



*Chapter 12*



Tumbling head over feet out of the fire, Tala felt a searing pain on her left hind leg. Something was batting at it viciously. She glanced back to see Monroe putting out mild flames on her fur.

Faintly, she could feel the soulmate bond begin, the power of it and the heat of the inferno behind her being too much for her to handle. She saw Vesta running out of the house with a fire extinguisher, and then everything went black.



*Ow!* Tala jerked up, seeing a friendly face with hair the color of Hellewise's, a cooling cloth coming at her. Or at least it looked like a cooling cloth. Strong scents of chamomile and jasmine floated to her senses as the moist towel was set on her forehead.

"What brings you to this neck of the woods, Thea?" Tala tried to sit up, noticing her completely human state, but the pain was unbearable.

The Harman looked at her with kind brown eyes. "Eric and I were vacationing on Miami Beach when Thierry paged us to come here quickly. You're badly burned, but the healing process is coming along quite nicely."

"Oh Goddess." Tala closed her eyes. "I'm so sorry you had to come here."

The other girl shook her head. "It's okay, Tala. It's well worth it, especially since I get to meet that gem of a witch out there. I can't believe her power!"

Shaking her head, Tala remembered the fire. "I can't believe I didn't realize it. The fire that filled the house when we saved her should have been a clue."

Thea was gathering her healing materials. "Everything's always clearer in hindsight. You should get some rest." The girl walked out of the room.

Tala barely noticed the vampire standing at the door. She couldn't feel his mental presence, but the horrible pain coursing through her body took up most of her attention. She started when he sat beside her.

"Are you okay?" Monroe's eyes were swirling with dark passion, concern seeping from every part of his face.

She closed her eyes again. "I'm fine, just painful. I'll live, unfortunate for you. That's the last time I save your ass, that's for sure."

She heard him chuckle. "Yes, you did save my life. And I can't thank you enough."

She turned her head quickly toward him. Well, as quickly as the pain would let her. She looked him up and down. "You called Thierry because I passed out?"

He nodded. "I had no clue what to do. I was so worried, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Putting her hand to her head, she sighed. "Okay, let me get this straight. Yesterday you hate me, today you insult me, and now you care about my well-being? Did that child hypnotize you or something?"

"No, Tala, you're my soulmate. I just-"

He had reached for her hand. She jerked it back, sucking in a breath. "And I'm a wolf. You can't stand what I am and I'm not just going to sit around, letting my feelings grow for you, so you can remember that the next time I change in front of you! I will not be loved because some supernatural bond is forcing the other person." She rolled on her side, carefully, away from him. "Just because you're too blind to see who I am rather than what species I am is not a fault in me, it's a flaw in you."

"Tala, I'm trying to make it up, I swear." He wasn't getting mad. Instead, she felt him lean over the bed, near her face. His voice was light and apologetic. "I promise. I'll find a way to prove it to you." With that said, a gentle spark touched her cheek. As quickly as it had come, it was gone. She turned to watch him leave the room.

The tears she had been holding back spilled over her cheeks. A hushed sob escaped her throat, and then she couldn't stop it. One after the other, the gasps of pain, emotional and physical, came from her mouth.

She hadn't expected him to kiss her. And what's more, he kissed the exact spot on her jaw where she knew a bruise was forming from his accidental kick. He had sent that feeling to her in their one brief second of connection, his sorrow and disappointment in himself for having gotten out of control and hitting her like he had.

Her sobs hadn't gone unheard. A small hand began to run through her hair, and a tiny weight came onto the bed. "It's okay," Vesta whispered. "Let it out. Everyone needs a good cry now and then."

So Tala did. She cried on end, letting out all of her grief and anguish. The little girl sat there comforting her until well after she had fallen to sleep.



Monroe paced the kitchen. He felt the sobbing in the mental connection, whether she knew it or not. He was glad when she fell asleep. He didn't want to have to feel that pain anymore.

All he wanted was to make it better. In one spontaneous second, she had proved that his years of hatred and prejudice had been ill-spent. He had held a ten year grudge against a species for no reason, and despite that, a wolf saved him.

The wolf that he loved.

The thought making him stop walking, he looked at the calendar right in front of him. Tomorrow was Christmas. It hadn't been a celebrated holiday for him in over a decade.

Then he knew what to do. Maybe it wouldn't convince her that he loved her, but it would show her that he was trying to change . . . for her.

He grabbed his cell phone, dialing the number for the Daybreak hospice by memory. "Thierry? It's Pierson. Is Lupe anywhere around there?"



"Come on puppy breath. Time to get up." Tala heard a voice from somewhere, but she really didn't want to reply.

Suddenly a charge went through her arm. She sat up quickly, awaken from her unbelievably great slumber. She looked at Monroe's extended hand next to her arm. "Goddess! Does that ever go away?"

He smiled sarcastically. "I don't know. I've never had a soulmate before. Maybe you should call Hannah and ask her."

She rolled her eyes, beginning to nestle into her warm spot. She wanted to go back to sleep.

"I don't think so." She felt a cool breeze and glanced up to see that Monroe had taken the sheet away from her. Still, he held a grin on his face.

"What the Hell are you so happy for?" She began to move herself to the edge of the bed. Lifting up onto her feet, she felt amazingly refreshed, with barely any pain at all.

"It's Christmas, and I have a surprise for you."

"If it's a chew toy or dog biscuits, I swear I'll rip your throat out this time." She made her way toward the shower. A set of clothes were already set out for her. "What's this?"

"Hurry up and get ready." That was his only response before he headed out of the room.

She shook her head, turning on the warm water. She climbed into the fiberglass tub, letting the steam clear her lungs. What had Thea given her? She felt fantastic. The heat stung at her bruise slightly.

Stepping out and wrapping a towel around herself, she wiped away the condensation from the mirror and looked at herself. The purple on her jaw wasn't that bad. It hurt a lot worse than it looked.

She walked out to the living room to be attacked by Vesta. "Merry Christmas!" The little girl clung on to her.

Tala ruffled her hair. "You, too, kiddo."

Suddenly something went over her eyes. Her body started to react in defense, but arms went around.

"Calm down," Monroe said in her ear. The voice sent chills through her body. He chuckled. "This is for your Christmas surprise."

"Are you going to kill me? Because you could have let the fire do that yesterday." She felt herself being lead outside. "I thought witches didn't celebrate Christmas. You guys do Yule or something, right?"

"We celebrate whatever we want."

She was being guided into a seat in her car. "Hey, who said you could drive my car?"

"I'm trying to do something nice for you, so shut up already. Just sit back and enjoy the ride."

Tala mumbled something unintelligible. "I hate surprises."

"You'll like this one." He said it with finality, ending the conversation. He turned the radio up as he pulled out of the driveway. The words of Enya filled the car.

*Who can say where the road goes, where the day flows? Only time.*

*And who can say if your heart grows, as your heart chose? Only time.*

She laughed, thinking how sweetly ironic the words were. She let her mind drift away as the lyrics sank into her soul. She ignored Monroe's mental presence and let the darkness the blindfold provided guide her into a light slumber.



Something smelled familiar. Tala knew she hadn't been asleep long, but she could taste something in the air. Something . . . known . . .

There it was. *Home.* She was almost jerked back by the seatbelt as she tried to get closer to it. A hand smacked her own as she made for the tie of the kerchief over her eyes.

"Not yet, cheater," Vesta said playfully.

She reached out with her hand, looking for Monroe. She caught his sleeve, grasping tightly. "Monroe, are we . . ." She left the question hanging in the air. She was beyond stunned.

She felt the car slow to a stop. "Go ahead. Take it off."

Throwing the cloth from her head, tears were already brimming her eyes. The quiet neighborhood, the quaint little blue house with tacky green shutters . . . and just outside the door stood Lupe and her mother.

She was running as fast as she could. Within seconds she was in her mother's arms, crying almost hysterically. Tala hadn't seen her in almost a year because of how busy she'd been with school and Circle Daybreak. She felt her mother's sobs vibrating her body.

They eventually detached, only for her to repeat the episode with her father. He held her protectively. "My little girl."

Withdrawing, her cousin gave her a sarcastic smile. "Merry Christmas."

Tala wiped the tears from her cheeks. "What's that look for?"

"Nothing," Lupe giggled, trotting into the house.

Turning, Tala saw Monroe and Vesta coming up the walk. Before she could realize what she was doing, she had pulled him to her, hugging him close. Their bond flared, but she didn't care. "Thank you so much. You don't know what this means to me."

She wasn't surprised to feel him arms wrap around her gently. "I think I do."

Pulling away, she immediately missed his warmth. She turned her head quickly so that he couldn't see her smile, pretty sure that he already knew what she was thinking. Picking up Vesta, she began to carry her into the house. "Come on, cutie. I've got some important people for you to meet."

"I'm coming," Monroe chuckled from behind her.

She shook her head, taking his arm with her free one. She lead them into the house for a massive introduction to the family.