All in ch.1

The whole table was quiet. Hawk looked at Ash, but said nothing. Marie's lips were pursed, and she squeezed herself tighter into the corner. The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Then Marie straightened up, strode over to her soulmate, and promptly kicked him hard in the shins.

"Oh my god Ash! Was that the best cover you could think of? 'we screwed around when I was in France a few summers ago?' I thought you knew me better then that!"

Ash, who was now massaging his shin and moaning, shot Kestrel an evil glare. I thought you cured her of that habit in therapy, he thought to her angrily.

Kestrel just grinned back. I didn't think I'd need to. The way she acted during our sessions made me think she'd never want to kick you ever again.

Ash looked up at Marie, who was looking at him again. "Listen sweetheart, the only reason why I said what I said was because that was the kind of person I thought you were as Marie."

Marie sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry."

Finally, Ash had the strength to look his father in the eyes. But it was his mother who spoke. "Ash, honey, who is this girl really?"

Ash took Marie's hand in his and told his parents the story that had lain inside of him for four long months.

"Her name is Mary-Lynnette Carter. She lives next door to the girls. When we first met, we didn't like each other very much, and it seemed like all we ever did was fight. Then, one of Aunt Opal's goats got killed in the same way as Uncle Hodge had been killed. The girls and I figured out that a Night person had done it, so we set out to look for them.

"Now at this point, Aunt Opal was already dead. We figured that the same person that offed her offed the goat too.

There was this oddball guy named Jeremy Lovett who lived in a trailer in the woods. Like I already told you, I knew he was a werewolf, and Mare found out eventually. Then, one night when we were still trying to figure out the identity of the murderer, Mare told us she wanted to go stargazing. I went with her because I thought it would be easier for two people to fight off a psycho killer then one.

"We got into her old station wagon and drove out to the woods. We took a walk, had a talk, and exchanged blood-"

At this, Hawk looked about to explode, but Doe held him back. The girls' expressions were troubled, and they were tightly clutching each other's hands. Marie was listening intently and muttering words of encouragement. Ash continued quietly.

"We exchanged blood. Then, as we were walking back to the car, we noticed something odd. We smelled smoke and burning rubber. When we arrived at the place where the car had been parked, we saw that it was on fire. I don't remember much after that, just waking up once to see Jeremy the evil werewolf trying to hurt Mare."

Doe looked like she was about to cry. The girls still couldn't speak. Hawk was looking livid.

"You let yourself get knocked out by a werewolf?" he yelled incredulously. Mare felt it was time to put a stop to his rambling.

"It wasn't his fault Mr. Redfern. Jeremy Lovett was insane. There was no way that any one person could have stopped him. Besides, he got Ash with hard sapwood. There would have been no way he could have stayed conscious."

Hawk gaped at her. A human girl was telling him off and not afraid? She was really something.

"Anyway," she continued, "Jeremy grabbed me after he knocked Ash out and tied me to a tree. He wouldn't let me go until after Ash was dead he told me. He told me that after Ash was dead, he would make me "understand" him. He was gonna turn me into a werewolf." Mare could feel Ash's hand tense under hers, and she could feel his anger and the protectiveness he felt toward her like a tsunami flooding her mind. She continued. "The car was still on fire, and while Jeremy spent his time telling me all that he was gonna do, I pulled myself free of the ropes. Then, while Jeremy was occupied after Ash woke up again, I was able to make my way to the car. Although it was smoking, and there were flames everywhere, I managed to find the silver fruit knife that Mrs. Burdock had lent me to get my gas cap off with. Just as I was about to come back, Jeremy sprung at me, preparing to kill me. Right before he could though, I put the knife right through his ribs. This threw off his lunge, and, writhing with pain, he backed into my flaming car. I pulled myself away.

"By the time I got back to Ash, he'd woken up. I took Jeremy's clothes and used them to help wipe away the extensive bleeding. Then, I saw my car, and the realization of what I'd done hit me full force. I'd killed someone. That wasn't something I could process lightly, and the next thing I knew, I was crying. I cried for a long time. Then we went home."

The room was silent once again. Tears were running down Doe's cheeks, and the girls' faces were white. Hawk was frowning.

"So what you're basically saying is that you lied to me." He said quietly. "All that shit you fed to me about you killing the werewolf yourself was never true. You let a human girl kill a werewolf, and then you lied about it. You're a disgrace. And unless you let her go, I'm never letting you come home again. You can go to hell for all I care. But if you give her up and marry Crystal like we want you to, then I will reconsider." He stood up and stalked out of the room.

Ash nodded, not having the strength to do much else.

"Who's Crystal?" Marie asked him.

Ash breathed deeply. His voice was shaky, and he sounded on the verge of tears. "Crystal Loch is a member of another prominent Lamia family. We were about to be married before I met you. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, and travels with a crowd of nine other girls. They made up my fan club back home."

Marie grinned in spite of herself.

"I don't see anything funny about the fact that I have to give you up and marry a bitch if I ever want to see my family again."

"No, I'm smiling because it's going to be kind of hard for you to marry her since she and her cronies are now a big pile of ashes buried in the woods next to your Aunt Opal."

Ash pushed her away from himself and stared at her. Doe and the girls gasped. Hawk poked his head out from the kitchen where he had been hiding out. He was no longer angry. Now he was openly gaping.

"Mare, are you saying you killed my entire fan club?"

"Yes." She giggled evily.

"How?"

"Well, late one night about a week after you left, I woke up to see my bedroom curtains enveloped in flames. I managed to hurl myself out my bedroom window. Now that I was out of the house, I saw smoke pouring from every window. On the roof, I noticed the silhouette of a girl holding a container of gasoline. Another girl had matches. Somehow, I managed to get myself onto the roof where I saw eight more. The one holding the gasoline put it down and grabbed my wrist. I could tell from the strength of the grip that I was dealing with a vampire. She dragged me in front of another girl. When I was real close to her, the girl who I was being displayed to, Crystal, I assume, hissed at me "surrender Ash Redfern or die you bitch. He belongs to me."

"Then, the girl holding on to me broke my wrist, causing all the others to laugh uproariously. Gritting my teeth and trying not to think about the pain, I realized that no one was watching the gas, and that the matches were right beside me. Putting the matches in my PJ pocket, I dragged myself over and grabbed the gas with my good hand. I walked back to the crowd who were still laughing like idiots, pleased with what they had done and not paying attention to anything else. That's when I opened the gas and poured a ring around them. Then I dropped the match. There was fire everywhere, and I'm lucky there aren't any neighbors real close by because the screaming would have woken them up for sure. As they burned, I climbed off the roof and went into the kitchen to get a garbage sack. By the time I came back, the screams had subsided, and all that was left was a huge pile of ashes. I scooped them up, put them in the sack, and then went out to the woods to bury it.

"After I finished, I got in my car and drove to the hospital to see what they could do about my wrist. I told them I fell down the stairs. Then I went back to the girls' house to call the fire department. They came, but I spent the night with the girls anyway. Thank god Mark was spending the night at Ben's house." She breathed. "I've never told this to anyone before."

When she finished, she looked up. Everyone was gaping now. Hawk cleared his throat, and Doe smiled. "So honey," she said to Hawk, her voice filled with glee, "What do you think of the human now?"

"Well, technically, I'm a psychic." Marie broke in.

"Oh, really?" Doe was really giving it to Hawk now.

"Yes."

Finally, Hawk relented. "I guess since you're a Night Person as well as a really tough cookie, I should allow Ash to keep seeing you. Welcome to the family."

Doe and the girls cheered. Ash gave Marie a hug. As he did this, Draco Malfoy and his family strode into the dining room, seeing and hearing everything.

Mouseeee- So whaddya think? I love the questions you put at the end of your reviews. They give me direction. Thanks for your support!

Angel- THANK YOU!!!!!! Hope you like the update!