Oh God. Maes hadn't anticipated so much blood. It was so much worse than he had read up on. Every river of blood that ran down her neck felt as though it was choking him.

When he and Gracia had become serious, Maes had researched humans. Being isolated from society, both Maes and his brother were never really taught that much about humans. Maes' parents were from a Human Feeding clan and once they left, they wanted to raise their children to respect the species. So Maes and his brother never learned about their blood. He was raised on animal blood so didn't question drinking human blood. In his mind, it would be like drinking the blood of his own kind. The thought had made him turn up his nose in disgust. But as it spilled out of the love of his life's throat, it looked like water slowly draining away onto the floor beneath her.

It was so much worse than he imagined.

Gracia's eyes were slowly fading as she turned to look at him. A smile graced her features. She looked… at peace.

No!

"Maes," she breathed. A bloodied hand cupped his cheek. He swallowed thickly against the pressure in his throat. She looked so pale and grey.

No. This is not how it ends. I refuse to believe this is how it ends.

Gracia's eyes closed, her breathing slowing.

"Mom!" Elicia cried out, her tears falling thick and fast down her cheeks.

Maes gripped the hand that had been on his face, catching it as it fell towards the ground. Bringing his wife's cooling wrist to his mouth, Maes bit down without another thought.

Two wolves thundered through the trees, trying to drag Hunter attention their way. Riza glanced to her left, spotting Roy sprinting through the trees. They ran about five metres apart, towards the valley where they regularly trained. Upon an attack, Grumman had advised them all to gather in that spot. It was open and out of the forest and everyone knew the terrain well.

Her heart ached at the thought of her grandfather, but she pushed that aside for the moment. She had been at his bedside and there was nothing Riza could do for him now. So she put her faith in Pinako to heal him, and Berthold to protect them both as they worked.

Instead, Riza focussed on something she could do. Like dealing with the current threat. Something flickered to her right, out of the corner of her eye. Dipping her muzzle with ease, she dodged the crossbow bolt that flew across the top of her head. the training they had carried out with Breda had really helped. Thinking back to when she had been pursued by Hunters before, when she thought she had murdered Roy's parents, she had been clumsy and unaware of what was going on around her. Now, it was like a second nature. Veering to her right, she sprang from side to side to dodge the Hunter's fire. Within ten seconds she was on top of him, ripping the crossbow from his hands with her jaws. Upon Riza's approach his fire had become panicked and desperate. Now she was standing over him, teeth dripping with saliva, he went white. Behind her, she heard Roy approach slowly. The Hunter's eyes flicked to him, removing his attention from Riza's jaws.

Suddenly, his mouth twisted and he reached behind his back to a weapon no doubt held on his belt. Reflexively, Riza lunged at him, knocking the man to the ground. Pinned underneath her massive paws, he struggled for a few minutes, wheezing, then went still.

The forest was silent around them. It was as if the animals and birds could sense the tension and danger in the air between these two warring factions. The only sound Riza could hear was of the trees gently blowing in the wind and the waterfall not too far off in the mountains to the north.

"Riza…" Roy began, his voice low.

She lifted her paws from the man's body trying not to think about the life she had just taken. "Let' go." Before Roy could reply Riza took off at a run. Her stomach constricted and she swallowed down the bile in her throat.

That man had tried to kill her. He was on the side who wanted to kill everyone she held dear at the settlement.

But she would never forget his face.

"You did what you had to do," Roy stated gravely. Riza didn't reply, afraid of what would leave her "mouth" upon doing so.

Breaking through the trees, the pair came across a large gathering of wolves. However, Riza managed to pick out humanoid figures lingering in the midst of all the fur. Each looked on edge and no wonder. The sound of gunfire that had filled the forest had ceased a few minutes ago and Riza was sure that wasn't a good sign.

"Riza! Roy!" Havoc shouted over to them, his blonde wolf standing at the front of the large group. He yipped, jerking his head to the side to indicate he wanted them to join him.

"What's the situation?" Roy asked as soon as they approached. He was all business and Riza was grateful for that. She needed action and direction, not waiting around for the Hunters to come to them.

"I want you two at the back. The Commanders will take the front line with our units behind us. I don't want any arguments," he added, giving them each a pointed look.

"Understood," Riza replied.

"There is still a… situation at the bunker. You two know Hughes so if anything comes through from the scouting party I sent up there, I want you two to see to it. I need somebody to get away if we are overwhelmed."

Riza's breath caught as she remembered the last time she had seen Gracia. Images of blood running through her fingers burned into her memory.

"We will," Roy answered for them both, his own voice was set with determination.

She knew he was itching to go and see his friend now, so was Riza. It was because of her that Gracia had ended up in this mess, her life draining out of her. If only she hadn't let herself become distracted. Then there was the vision she experienced while Kimblee had attacked Gracia. Had it been a vision? It had felt so real, like it was really happening. And then it had gone. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. She knew some vampires had access to special abilities. Had another been present to project that into her mind in order to get to the humans? Had it been Kimblee or the female? Havoc's words drew her out of her musings before she could dwell on it any longer.

"We make a stand here people!" he called out after changing into his human form. Riza followed suit upon spotting Rebecca's brown wolf appear to the right of her. The brunette changed as Riza reached her, smiling, but there was a hint of sadness to it. Riza pulled her into a fierce hug.

"I'm sorry about all of this," she whispered. "I got you into this mess."

Rebecca chuckled. "And I turned out better for it," she replied, pulling away and glancing at Havoc who was dishing out orders. "Remember, if I didn't want to travel with you, I wouldn't have tagged along." Her words took her back to sometime last year, before everything seemed so complicated.

"Thank you, I couldn't have done it all without you."

"Yes you could have," Rebecca grinned, giving her arm a light punch. "You are a badass all on your own. I'm just… a hype woman."

Riza raised an eyebrow. "Hype woman?"

"Yeah. I get you fired up and ready to kick some Hunter butt." Both woman laughed quietly before falling silent. Rebecca must have caught the look in her eye. She pulled her friend back into a hug with a warning. "Don't cry because if you do I am totally going to be joining you." Rebecca's grip on Riza tightened. "Thank you," she whispered. "If anything happens…"

Something unspoken passed between them. It was the promise to take care of those each other cared about, should they meet their demise.

"It has been a pleasure, Rebecca Catalina," Riza stated, grasping her friends forearm.

"Likewise," Rebecca grinned, but the set of her mouth wavered as she took a deep breath.

"Get ready!" Havoc called out, shifting into his wolf form. Various cracks sounded as others joined him. Both women did the same, Riza's eyes lingering on Rebecca's retreating wolf as she approached Havoc. The two shared a private moment, Rebecca nuzzling Havoc's face. The blonde wolf licked Rebecca's muzzle and Riza turned away.

Roy was already at the back of the group when Riza arrived. He had been searching for her approach because his head had darted in every direction, trying to spot the blonde wolf. Upon seeing her, he loped over.

One thing Riza noticed was the quiet murmur that sounded in her head, as if she had walked into a room where everyone was deep in conversation. However, it was muted somewhat. As she passed two wolves to her left and focussed, their conversation about the "Hunter bastards" flooded her mind. Shifting her attention away, it faded into the chatter of voices.

"Hey," Roy called softly. "Here we go, huh?"

A sharp feeling of anticipation shot through her before settling. Her stomach fluttered nervously. There was no way of knowing how this fight would go. Riza just had to put her faith in those around her.

"I love you," she whispered in her mind, eyes meeting his directly.

"I know," Roy replied. He walked closer and licked her muzzle affectionately. Riza leaned towards him, wishing she could feel her hands on his body and hold him one last time. If this was going to be it, that would be one thing she regretted. "You turned my life upside down when you showed up last year Riza," he added, chuckling to himself. "But I wouldn't have had it any other way."

With the threat imminent, Riza opted to press her wolf's body against his, relishing in the contact and warmth her provided. Their heads were side by side now. Riza was still the larger wolf by a couple of inches, so she lowered her head to rub it against his.

"I love you," he finally stated.

The murmur died down and eventually ceased as Havoc barked once from the front. Regretfully, Riza lifted her head away from Roy's. Peering to the front, she spotted Havoc, Breda, and Falman standing side by side. The two kids she had almost met the other day were there also on his left, shoulders set and arms by their side ready to fight. To the far right stood a woman, a vampire by the scent of her. Her blonde hair moved as the breeze caught it, shifting strands to the east. Her body language spoke volumes, telling everyone that she could be just as ferocious as one of the wolves. Even from this distance, Riza could feel the anger radiating off of her, shoulders set and stance ready for a fight.

There was the sound of movement from within the trees and the Hunter's stepped out and into the sun, crossbows and guns raised and aimed at the wolves. One person strode forwards, undeterred, while other's stopped and looked at the group with both awe and fear. Riza didn't recognise the man.

The gathering in front of both Roy and Riza shifted, fanning out. Three lines, at least fifteen or so beings long, formed at the front, a mixture of both vampires, wolves, and witches. Behind them, the group became smaller, bunched up together until tapering off at the back where Riza currently stood.

"Your kind have plagued us for too long," the man at the front announced, lifting his gun to aim it at Havoc. Riza's heart jumped into her throat. Directly in front of her, however, a blue glow emitted from someone. It was subtle, a soft light shrouding the outline of the person. Looking at the reason for it, she spotted a witch standing with arms open to his side. Cleverly, he was shielded by those in front of him, completely blocked from the view of the Hunters. He was short so he was perfectly placed. Riza guessed he was a teenager. With a flick of his wrists, Riza heard a very distant but quiet swish. Eyes scanning the group of Hunters she tried to pinpoint exactly what the witch had done, but there was no reaction from their end. Her heart rate picked up as the man spoke once more, his finger inching towards the trigger on his handgun. "It is time for the world to be rid of you. We shouldn't have to live in fear of you anymore."

"We haven't harmed any of your kind!" the child to Havoc's left shouted angrily. His brother placed a hand on his shoulder, but the boy in the red jacket shrugged it off. "We have kept to ourselves for thousands of years!"

The Hunter's gaze turned angrily towards the child. "Your kind have sought out humans killed them," he hissed, eyes flashing and trigger finger twitching. Riza watched the exchange with baited breath wanting nothing more than to run forward and knock the gun out of his hands and away from Havoc.

"Our kind, as you so pleasantly put it," the boy raged, his ponytail bouncing as he shook his head. "Have done regretful things. But that isn't us. You can't lump us all together!"

"Your very existence is a threat to us all," the Hunter replied, the anger leaving his voice. "You must be stopped."

He pulled the trigger and Riza's heart stopped.

But Havoc didn't flinch.

In fact, there was no gunshot at all.

The Hunter looked down at the gun, clicking the trigger again. Before Riza, the same witch along with two others began to glow blue. Various swishes sounded in quick succession of one another. This time, the Hunters did react. They looked down at their own guns in confusion.

"What did you do?" the head Hunter hissed, raising his gun once more in fear.

"Protected ourselves," a vampire announced, stepping forward. The man was huge. With his bald head and size, Riza was surprised she didn't pick him out sooner. He stepped forwards into the front line next to the female vampire. One golden curl bounced in the wind, dancing with the breeze. He was all muscle. There was no other way to describe it. The man was a behemoth.

The Hunter snarled, drawing another weapon but that was just as useless. Then it clicked.

The witches had wet the gunpowder in the Hunter's guns.

Riza exhaled through her nose, both impressed and relieved.

They might come out of this alive after all.

The front line took a step forward in unison, approaching the Hunters slowly. The enemy tensed. After another few steps, Havoc picked up the pace at the front of the pack, loping up the slope. It was another two hundred metres before they reached the treeline. Havoc would be able to reach them in under ten seconds. But Riza understood his plan. This was intimidation. They wanted to scare the Hunters away, not kill them. And some did turn tail. The ones at the back, still under the cover of the trees, dropped whatever weapon they were holding and bolted. Wolves from the back of the pack split off east and west, looping round the back of the Hunter's line of defence and into the forest, no doubt to ensure they kept running.

Havoc was bounding up the slope now and that was when crossbow bolts started to fly. With a snarl and almost in unison, the three wolves pounced, with Havoc focussing his attention on the Hunter's leader. As they reached the group, Riza and Roy had just started to move forwards.

That was when the screaming started. It was mixed in with the sounds of wolves barking and snarling, teeth snapping. Some screams ended abruptly as the battle raged on. Vampires flashed here and there, using their speed to disable the Hunters. Spells flew in every direction as the two groups mixed. Flurries of sparks, balls of flames, and green vines shot towards the Humans, either restraining them or removing them from the fight.

Riza understood Havoc's attempt at intimidation now. This would be an easier fight now that guns were taken out of the equation. Crossbow bolts could still kill the wolves, as already evident from two or three wolves writhing on the ground in pain. But breaking it down, it was just a fight between humans and supernatural beings. The humans already hated us. We didn't need to give them any more excuses to by killing them.

However, when something or someone threatened to kill everything you held dear, nobody would sit idly by and let it happen.

Riza's resolve hardening, she started forwards.

Only to be pulled up short by someone shouting her name.

Whipping behind her she spotted a wolf barrelling down the slope of the mountain from the direction of the bunker. And on its back… Fuery?

"Riza! We need your help! Hughes needs you!" he called frantically. The wolf skidded to a stop, panting hard.

Riza took a step to follow him, but froze. She whipped back around to face Roy.

As she looked at the man who had helped her without question and who had saved her from herself time and time again, she felt her heart tear in two. Yes, this may have been an easy fight, but the danger was still present. Even now, more Hunters pressed through the trees, firing bolts into the fray. She wanted to whisk her love away from it all, fearing that if he died, it would be the last straw and it would kill her once and for all.

"Go," he urged softly. "I'll be fine."

She strode over, closing the distance in two strides. "Be careful."

"I always am." Riza could hear the grin in his voice. She leaned forward and licked his muzzle.

"I love you." Roy yipped in response, turning and bounding into the fray. The sight created a pressure in her throat, but she had more pressing tings to attend to.

He would be fine.

He had to be.

"Elicia, make sure she is lying flat," Maes commanded, easing his wife's head off of his knees. She had been still for too long. Her pulse continued to beat, but it was weak. He was afraid he had been too late. She is still alive, though. Remember that. "When she starts to move, just let her do it." His voice wobbled, betraying the fact of how much this had affected him. "Don't restrain her. It will just make things worse." He had learned very quickly how to school his features and emotions after his parents died. Then, when he met… Maes sighed, closing his eyes briefly. After that meeting he had done it again for years out of fear. Fear, of how she may react. But now, all those years of practice did nothing for the cocktail of emotions that was like a hurricane within him.

He had to be strong for Elicia.

That had become a mantra in his head. Over and over it repeated. He hadn't even spared the girl a glance. He couldn't. Not if he wanted to maintain this collected exterior. Because once that was gone everything would go to shit. Maes was already barely holding it together.

The sound of fabric rustling together caught his attention, but he couldn't draw his attention away from his wife. Elicia gasped and an excited murmur filled the cave. Riza knelt beside him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked.

No bullshit. No panic. Just business. That was what Maes needed right now. He was grateful for her calm.

He explained the situation and how the transformation worked. Riza didn't react, simply nodded in understanding. Elicia however flinched. Unable to maintain it any longer, Maes reached out and grasped her hand. Lifting his gaze, he met her own. Terror stared right back at him and he almost broke there and then. Almost.

"Is there anything we can do?" Fuery asked. A chorus of agreement sounded in the cave, others looking on and ready to help. Maes shook his head.

Elicia stiffened across from him.

"She'll be all right," he managed to choke out. "We just need to wait." The look Elicia gave him told Maes that she didn't believe his lie one bit. However, she played along and nodded, her eyes returning to her mother. Without a word, Riza stood and moved around to beside Elicia and upon Maes reaching out to his daughter, she stood and walked around to him, settling close by his side.

It was a waiting game now and with Elicia hugging his side he felt a tiny bit better.