Hello, everyone. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to you all. I had to take a break and devote my time to my studies, but I found myself taking much more time than I wanted to. I have been trying to write this chapter for a long while now, but I found myself in trouble with how difficult it was to write. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but my will to write is not what it used to be. Ideas aren't really coming all that quickly like they used to and it's affecting how much I update. I sincerely apologize for this massive "hiatus", I guess you could call it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, the Mummy (2017), Dracula Untold, Frankenstein, or any of the franchises that appear in this story. The only character I own are my OCs, all others belong to their respective owners.

Author Note: The contents of some of this chapter is not supposed to be a representation of what really happens in the military. I mainly draw from movies, books, and other exaggerated sources. Just thought I should write that.

The Light's Shadow Ch. 3

Nick took a draw from his canteen before splashing some of the water onto his hand, reaching up and rubbing it along his neck while the sun beat down on him, dry wind blowing against his skin. A few feet away, Vail fanned himself in the shade with sunglasses over his eyes, groaning once before he spoke "God, why the fuck did you have to make a patch of Earth that has nothing except for sand... sand... and more fucking sand."

Nick sighed, a smirk on his lips as he spoke "Are you ever going to stop complaining, Vail."

Chris shrugged "I'm a slacker. I can whine however much I want. Besides, I'm not the only guy here who would rather this place be a beach."

Nick chuckled "Can't argue with that."

Chris laughed with him, but stopped short when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, lowering his glasses a little before he snapped up to his feet "Nick, get your shit together. Greenway's on his way."

Nick looked over and quickly grabbed his jacket when he saw the older man approaching, his face keeping his seemingly permanent scowl in place with his eyes focused on the two of them already. A young woman followed closely behind Greenway, her hair tied in a bun underneath her cap. Nick pulled his jacket on while Chris threw his glasses and fan into his bag seconds before the Captain came to a stop in front of the two of them, his voice already booming "Vail, Morton! If I catch the two of you slacking off again, I will make you wish that your grandparents hadn't even met by the time I'm through with you."

Nick would've rolled his eyes but he still nodded sharply while Vail apologized, Greenway growling slightly until he spoke again "Maybe this transfer will inspire the two of you to shape up... but I highly doubt it. Gentlemen, this is Specialist Isabella Swan. From now on, she will be joining your... squad."

Nick noted the sour undertone in his commanding officers voice at the word and it was for a pretty good reason. Greenway turned to Swan "Good luck, Swan."

She winced slightly at the words, but nodded curtly as he walked away in a brisk fashion, leaving the three of them. Nick just turned to look at the brunette and said "Well, now that the party pooper is gone-"

Before he could even get the rest of it out, Swan cut him off sharply "You can stop jerking yourself off, Ken Doll. I'm not interested."

just shoved past him, her stone cold gaze shutting his mouth down pretty quickly, all while Vail watched with an amused smile. When she had gone inside of the tent to pack, Chris just laughed loudly while Nick tried to shake off being shut down so suddenly "Damn! Right out of the gate and she isn't taking your shit. She might just last around here."

Nick simply flicked his friend on the nose in annoyance and started to move into the tent, the dream already fading as he did.

Just as it ended, Nick woke up in his cot with a groan, raising his hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Moving to sit up as the dream faded back into his head, Nick blurrily tried to keep his eyes open... right up until he heard the blazing sirens start as his room was lit up in neon red. Jumping from his bed, he grabbed and slipped his boots on before doing the same with his jacket, grabbing his rifle from his closet and running out of his room. Around him as sirens rang out overhead, other Prodigium operatives ran through the corridor, some of them with their clothes rugged and unkept after being woken the same way he had been. As he ran, he pulled up his radio and shouted into it "Henry, Jenny, what the hell is going on?!"

Static came through the other side before Vail's voice made it through "Nick, it's Vail! We got a perimeter breach near the front entrance!"

Ducking into a corridor as the radio started crackling again, Nick ran through with the other soldiers and eventually came out in the central hall, taking cover behind an upturned table. Pulling his rifle's scope up to his eye, he aimed the barrel for the main doors as the entrance shook on their hinges with a massive impact, the crack of thunder soon following it. His head turned back and caught sight of Vail taking cover a few meters behind him, crouched behind a stone pillar. Vail nodded to Nick with bated breath, both of them turning back as another impact shook the heavy doors. Seconds went by almost silently, the only sound being the booming thuds... until one of the doors was practically knocked off of it's hinges, the other soldiers diving out of the way as it fell towards them. Nick had barely seen the shadow of whoever it was when he heard Malik shout "Open fire!"

Squeezing the trigger in bursts with the shocks going along his arms, the sound of rifles firing was deafening in the hall, but the figure wasn't falling. About half-way through his magazine, Nick saw two grenades get thrown into the air and land at the shadow's feet, ducking down beneath the table while reloading just as an explosion rocked the ground beneath him. Securing the magazine into place, Nick slowly stood up with the barrel fixed on the cloud of smoke. Then, without any warning, hundreds of bats flew out of the smoke like they had come from hell itself. Before anyone could fire a single bullet, the small creatures swarming around them with their teeth biting along any exposed skin, pushing him along with every other mercenary in the room back into the stone wall and the heavy metal doors leading to the library.

Groaning as he tried to get up from the floor, Nick turned his eyes back to the door and watched as the bats flew back to the doorway, the smoke clearing enough to let him see them disappear while a shadow stepped through the veil. Lightning cracked in the sky again as the figure lowered it's hood, revealing itself to be a man that Nick would've assumed belonged in Hollywood, his eyes flashing red for a moment. Almost immediately, the man focused his gaze on Nick and stormed over, the soldier scrambling back and reaching for a knife, but the man stopped his advance. Holding his hands up in a calming gesture, the man tried "Wait, wait. I just want to know something."

Nick laid there dumbfounded for a moment, carefully climbing up to his feet while asking "Then why didn't you just ask?"

The man chuckled "If this place is what I think it is, I don't think you would be so earnest to tell me anything. This is Prodigium, correct?"

Nick blinked twice, his mind not even comprehending what was happening, before he asked "Who are you?"

The man sighed, adjusting his jacket once while he answered "I've gone by a few names. Prince, Dracula, but my real name is Vlad and I'm afraid that I have come to ask you for a little help."

Ahmanet sprinted through the woods as her skin started to turn pale, her eyes focused on the ground where a clear path of broken branches and massive footprints led her along, all while she called out into the night "Bella! Where are you?!"

She stopped for a moment and used a rock face to brace herself, her breathing steadying as the tattoos started to appear along her body, her amber irises starting to split just when she heard something in the distance. Quirking her head, Ahmanet started to recognize it as someone running... coming up behind her. Thinking fast, Ahmanet scrambled up the rock face and hid herself at the top, watching the forest path intently and waited. The second she saw movement, she leapt down from her perch and landed atop of the figure, grabbing them by the neck and shoving them against the rock. Her teeth bared, she had her hand up and ready to tear the throat out of a mugger, only for her expression to soften slightly when she saw it was a girl. Keeping her guard up, Ahmanet growled out "Why are you following me?"

The girl's hands tried to pry at her grip, but Ahmanet was too strong for her, so she only managed to say "Don't bother with the acting class. Just end it already."

Ahmanet's grip on her neck tightened slightly as she asked "What are you talking about? You were following me."

The girl growled out "I know what you are. Your eyes... same as the others. Always the same."

Ahmanet shook her head, her mind trying to unravel what the girl was saying, but she was shaken from her thoughts when she heard a scream echo out in the distance. Her eyes widening in horror, she looked between the girl and the direction where the scream came from before she said "I don't have time for this. Get out of here."

She dropped the girl to the ground and started running to the scream, praying that she would get there in time. Behind her, Eve gasped for air with her fingers clenching at the dirt underneath her, her mind still trying to process what had happened. In all of her life, she had never seen one that would just... shrug her off, as if it couldn't care less to them. Her hand going to her throat, Eve lightly rubbed the sore skin before turning her eyes to where the creature had sped off. Her hand clenching into a fist, she climbed to her feet and shook her head, green flames flickering to life over her hands.

Leah swayed a little as the vampires came to a stop, Jane keeping a light hold on her hips for a little whole longer, a purr emanating from the smaller girl's chest before it turned into a growl when the blonde saw the small smirk on Demetri's face. She spoke with the deadly, ice-cold tone that she had used with the Cullens "Something you want to say, Demetri?"

"Nope." The guard moved further ahead to where Felix was keeping an eye on the humans preparing the plane.

Leah watched the rest of the guard move to prepare the jet to leave while Jane turned away from Aro, the King following the guard, but not before casting a curious glance towards Leah and his favored Guard. Jane walked back over to Leah and the shifter could see the slight tells of nervousness on the girl's younger features before the blonde started "You know... you don't have to this, Leah. I could try- I can't just ask you to up and leave your family when you've just met me. Aro-"

Leah, her heart pounding in her chest as she watched her imprint try to speak, reached up to caress her cheek "Jane, I'm not going to lie. Part of me... does feel like everything is going so fast. And ever since I shifted, the pack has really been the only place where I feel like I fit in. Family is all that I've had for a while after Sam."

She smiled lightly when she heard Jane growl at the name, but Leah pulled the small vampire closer before she continued "But now... I have you, just when I was starting to really think that I never would. I'm not saying it'll be easy, living with vampires all the time, but I'm willing to try for you."

Jane purred as she moved her nose closer to Leah's neck, her red eyes darkening before she spoke with a suggestive tone "I'll be sure to repay you for this chance. Every. Single. Chance that I get."

The dark-haired girl gulped as her pupils dilated in lust, wetness pooling... just as her mate gave her an evil smirk with an deliberate intake of breath, before she moved to the plane towards the others. Leah's wolf growled deep inside her from it's imprints tease, the girl barely resisting it's urge to grab her and claim her while speaking through gritted teeth "I am so going to make regret that when we land."

Hours later, they were standing outside of the smoking ruins of the Volturi Castle, every memory of the earlier promise now completely buried in both girl's minds. Aro stood at the center of the square, a few feet away from the fountain while his guards started urging the humans back to their homes, his eyes completely black with fury while Leah held onto her mate's hand with a slight squeeze. The two of them were moving to the car when Jane's spoke slowly "How... how is this possible? All of them are... who could've this?"

Leah gently tried "Jane, I- I'm so sorry. I can't imagine-"

Just then, Jane stopped herself a few feet from the car, turning in time to see figures moving around in the shadows and out of the rubble. The blonde motioned to her mate and Leah turned just as the figures stepped out, revealing themselves to be several guards, the two Queens, and Caius being carried out on a makeshift stretcher. The other guards throughout the square quickly made their way to the survivors, Aro embracing Sulpicia without hesitation while she whispered sweet nothings in his ear. Jane moved to Caius and looked over his injuries with a critical eye, maintaining a distance as Athenadora gave her a look of death if she got too close. Caius took her hand gently, rubbing it with his fingers gently when Jane asked "My king, what happened here? Where is Marcus?"

Caius growled in discomfort with the cracks attempting to heal, looking to Aro's questioning gaze before he managed to say "We were awaiting your return when we were alerted of a visitor by Chelsea. He came... and all I felt when I met those eyes was the instinct to run. He was ancient, far older than any being that I've ever come across. I had asked why he had come, what his purpose was for coming here. His only response was that he "wanted to fix a mistake". He- he started slaughtering the guard. They tried everything and I moved to help, but he was simply too powerful. The things he was able to do... we knew before long that it was a lost cause, that he would kill every last one of us. Most of the guard attempted to hold them off. Chelsea and Afton took me and Marcus down to the catacombs. Sulpicia and Athenadora met us down there along with four other guards, Heidi among them."

Aro stepped forward cautiously, asking gently "Brother, what of Marcus? What happened to him?"

Caius looked away for a moment before meeting the other King's eyes "The guard wasn't able to hold off the creature for long. We sensed that he was coming after us so we tried to move faster. Marcus... Marcus stayed behind. When we noticed, I wanted to turn back for him, but I- dust and rubble exploded from the tunnels behind us. Chelsea told me that he was gone, that she couldn't feel his emotional ties anymore. From what I can figure, I believe he may have collapsed the supports to either buy us some time... or to end his own."

Aro's eyes glowed with fury, but Jane could see the contained sorrow in her King's eyes before he looked back to the castle. With a harsh shift in his voice, Aro spoke once more "We need to leave. Whoever it was could come back and we can't stay out in the open. Felix, help them with Caius."

That had been months ago now. Afterwards, most of the remaining Volturi had split up into different teams, selling whatever they could for cashand setting themselves in different safe houses around the globe, most of the remaining guard having gone with Aro and the other Royals.

Climbing up from the bed, Leah huffed and looked out the window, grabbing a robe from the chair. Outside, trees stretched towards the sky with freshly fallen snow sitting atop their branches. Slipping her arms into the holes of the robe, she tied it closed to cover her bare body. Just then, a very nude Jane came from behind and pressed her cold figure against Leah, hugging her from behind. Smiling, Leah leaned her head back as the vampire nuzzled her neck before she said "I never thought this would be possible."

"What?"

Leah tilted her head a little, giving a small laugh before she confessed "After... shifting for the first time, I always thought that I would be alone. That I had gotten the worst luck in the world because I would never find my imprint. That I would have to live in Forks for the rest of my life. But now... I'm here. With you."

She turned her head as Jane's hands roamed along her body "Are you okay? You got up late last night and you didn't come back for a while."

Jane turned her eyes down before she answered softly "I needed to think about some things and I didn't want to wake you up. You know, there are times that I'm jealous of you and the humans. You can sleep and dream all of your thoughts away until you wake up. All of that is gone for me. There was a communication sent from one of the cells while I was out there, though. Another coven in France is getting cocky. I guess they didn't learn the lesson we taught to the other one and think they can just run around after Volterra."

Leah groaned "Just when I got the taste of snail out of my mouth."

Jane snickered "I did tell you that you wouldn't like it."

"It was Paris and I've lived in Washington for my entire life. I was feeling adventurous."

Jane nodded, her hand rubbing along her mate's stomach lovingly "Yes, you were and I think your curiosity killed your tongue, right?"

Growling softly, Leah simply replied "Well, I've learned my lesson. I am staying away from the snails for the rest of my existence. Besides, I'd hate to deprive you of the services that my tongue provides."

Her eyes darkening, the blonde vampire managed "I will not have you teasing me the entire trip again."

Leah turned to her mate and whispered "Then why don't you do something about it?"

Before her mate could trap her in an embrace, Leah slipped out of the robe and ran outside, Jane's arms closing around the fabric until she realized what just happened. Smirking, she ran outside just in time to see Leah shift and start running into the trees, the blonde giving chase into the Russian wilderness.

Ahmanet crept along the forest path, her eyes scanning for any movement in the trees, having lost the trail a mile or two back. Just as she let a sigh of exhaustion escape, the former princess saw some light peering through the woods at the bottom of the hill. Running towards it, Ahmanet stopped short of the clearing and waited for any sign of movement... until she saw a figure lying on the ground. Her "unusual" features fading under her original ones, she quietly moved over to the figure, her eyes widening in alarm just when enough of the headlight's glare had dimmed to let her see a mauled corpse. Standing to her full height, she started to back away from whoever it had once been when something stopped her from moving back further. One of her hands moved and gently patted whatever was standing behind her, a low growl rumbling through her entire body. Turning around, her eyes widened when she saw the white fur and the pale eyes staring back into hers, blood dripping from black claws. Ahmanet stared to move back until another growl from the creature stopped her in her tracks. Turning her eyes up to meet Bella's, Ahmanet timidly tried "Bella, are you... still in there? It's me."

The massive figure only released a gentle rumble as it's hands gently took hold of her arm, leaning in close to the woman's neck and taking a sharp breath of her scent, pulling away with it's teeth bared slightly. The pale eyes narrowed as it growled once again before it started grunting slightly "M-m-ma-mate. M-mine."

Ahmanet could barely process what she had heard, the voice being a little deeper than Bella's when she shifted with a more... sultry tone underlying it. The former princess could feel her hairs starting to stand on end as she started to understand what was happening, her instincts telling every cell of her being to run while she could. Instead, she gently took hold of her Chosen's arm and tried "Bella, please-"

The creature growled at the name, it's hands taking hold of her in a gentle grip while it's white tail brushed up against her leg. After a moment of silence, Ahmanet watched as the pale eyes cleared for a moment to an almost crystal white, the wolf's ears perking up after a moment before the voice spoke again in a softer tone "Oh my mate. So... beautiful. Almost makes me shed a tear knowing Bella doesn't quite see you the way I do."

The words made Ahmanet's heart almost freeze, the former princess whispering "Wha-what do you mean by 'I'?"

Before the wolf could speak again, she caught another scent and her maw curled into a snarl, turning around in a flash while coiling her tail around Ahmanet. Before long, Ahmanet saw exactly what put the wolf on edge as the girl from earlier stepped into view, her eyes focused on the two women with her fists clenched tightly. The brunette shouted "You need to get out of here! Please, just run!"

The girl simply shook her head as her eyes almost seemed to glow a poisonous green "You're not getting away from me that easily. Neither of you are."

Both of them watched as green flames flickered to life in her palms, her murderous gaze fixed on both of them as the night wind blew through her hair. As they watched though, none of the three felt the intense gaze watching from the shadows around them. It was practically begging them to fight, barely holding control over the raging hunger that glowed in it's eyes, begging to be sated.

Vlad paced slightly in the room while he listened to the humans talk back and forth at the desk around the man named "Jekyll". Before long, the doctor spoke with caution to the vampire "Vlad, is it?"

Vlad rolled his eyes slightly, but he nodded while turning completely to the others. Nick could see Jenny fidgeting slightly, still processing the newcomer, while Chris was still holding an ice pack to his side. Nick sighed before he asked the obvious question "So... wait, you're the vampire from that priest's journal?"

Vlad's eyes narrowed slightly, confusion on his face before he guessed "Do you mean Lucian, perhaps?"

Jenny nodded rapidly while saying, a fearful quiver in her voice as she did "Yes. His journal described what happened when you first became a vampire. As well as it could, I suppose."

Vlad nodded thoughtfully, though he was still trying to understand it in his mind. In truth, he had thought that perhaps Lucian had refused to make an account of what had happened those long days and nights. That the priest and Ingeras had simply chosen to let the monster fade away after it had served its purpose. The thought of his son nearly grabbed hold of Vlad, but he shook it off, refusing to be dragged back to their goodbye. Vlad merely nodded as he turned back to the humans "I suppose that it makes sense that Lucian would've made a record. Yes, that would be me; to answer your question. Why?"

Nick shrugged "Just wondering. So why do you want your help? I mean, isn't our reputation kind of the thing that wards off things like you?"

Vlad shrugged "Honestly, I wouldn't have come if I had another choice. Plus, I've been around long enough to run into Prodigeum a few times myself. Not really much of a threat. More like that annoying person that won't take no for an answer before the prom, you know?"

Chris coughed slightly to cover up a laugh while Jekyll's fingers tapped against his desk. Jenny cleared her throat before she tried "Is there anything you can tell us about the vampire who turned you?"

Vlad hummed at the question "I don't know much. All I really know for sure is that he's very old and very powerful. He plays the long game, but he's... honest, if anything. When I met him, he didn't tell a single lie as far as I know. Not sure if that really constitutes as anything. Everything else is just speculation. I tried to find him a while back, but no luck. I shifted my focus on simply trying to make the most out of this existence. I... found something a little while back when I realized that he had been there. I've been trying to track him down for a couple of years now. With surveillance, it's a little easier to find his "footprints", but he's still like a ghost to me. He only showed himself because he wanted me to know he was there. I need help, any you can give me."

Jekyll turned in his chair and let out a breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose before saying "I'm afraid I can't help you. My men... they're not expendable and going after that man, your creator is a suicide mission for every one of them. And you... you are one of the very things that they hunt. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you are absolutely confident they would follow."

Vlad sighed "I wasn't expecting them to. I don't want your men. I need people like me. Creatures. Monsters."

It almost seemed like the man had slapped Prodigium's leader across the face and asked for a beer afterwards with how wide Jekyll's eyes got before he said "You cannot be serious."

Nick jumped in "It's not the first time we've worked with people like him. Bella and Ahmanet-"

Jenny interrupted as he started "Bella and Ahmanet were different. We didn't really have a choice and they disappeared soon afterwards. It's not the same, but... I'm afraid that Nick has a point, sir."

Vlad could feel the tension rising in the room as he marked the names in his mind, thankful for even the smallest lead, and he spoke "Listen, we can't afford to be enemies. If I know anything about him, it's that I can't defeat him alone and he doesn't hesitate to go through on a threat. Don't do this for me. Do it for your men. If we don't stop what he's doing, he might very well kill them and their families."

They watched Henry as he thought it through before he answered "I'm afraid to say that I can't endorse this endeavor. This isn't how this organization works and I'm not the only leader of Prodigium. Many of my soldiers are quite... prejudiced and if any of the other leaders were to hear of my releasing information or prisoners, I would be subject to trial and execution. I only managed to convince them with Bella and Ahmanet after excluding a few details. I'm afraid that you all are on your own."

Standing up from his seat, Jekyll brushed his jacket off and moved to the doors, pushing them open before closing them behind him with a heavy thud. Nick simply turned to the others with an eyebrow raised slightly "Everyone noticed that oh-so-subtle hint that just happened just now, right?"

Chris nodded while chuckling "Well, no one said he was the most discreet man in the world, did they?"

Vlad looked between the two of them with a furrowed brow "Sorry, what are the two of you talking about?"

Jenny looked to the vampire for a moment before letting out a sigh, shaking her head before she moved over to Nick "We'll need to move fast. You go ahead and get Cain out of his cell. I'll grab some files that the three of you will need. Meet me in the garage as soon as you can."

Nick nodded simply while Jenny moved out of the room, turning to Vlad while he said "Well, I guess we got to pick up Mr. Stitch. We won't have long once we do though."

Chris shrugged "Eh, people were too uptight around here anyways. Come on, we can go this way."

I hope you enjoyed this chapter everyone and I hope to update as soon as I can.