Here, right here
Right now, right now
Stand my ground and never back down
I know what I believe inside
I'm awake and I'm alive

I'm at war with the world cause I
Ain't never gonna sell my soul
I've already made up my mind
No matter what I can't be bought or sold

When my faith is getting weak
And I feel like giving in
You breathe into me again

Awake and Alive, by Skillet, from the album Awake, released in 2009

There was something satisfying about the Cullen's current state that greatly enthused Victoria. It was a common belief amongst many of their kind that having any part of their body burnt would kill them instantly. But that was simply false. Through some testing of her own, she'd found that out, and it brought a sardonic smile to her face.

Killing Edward- as he had been spitting out ever since she'd given the girl permission to lax on her powers- was not vengeful enough for her, no, this would be the ultimate punishment. Looking over at her army, who were almost, almost ready for the war that she was about to initiate, she looked over to where Edward was, on the floor.

He seemed to have lost a little bit of himself. Victoria was not one for humour, finding no place for it in the world, but even she found it amusing. The situation he was in was quite dire after all.. and it saved her from having someone to watch her. Because how could he escape if he had no body?

With those short tempers that those Mutts had, there was no doubt that this would drive her over the edge. Edward's eyes, black and looking like he was twisted in mental agony, looked to her with a scowl plastered firmly there.

"She has no love for me any more. Your plan will never work."

A grin fixed itself upon Victoria's face as she bared her teeth in a mocking gesture, turning her eyes away from his as she fixed them upon her army. Powers of all shapes and sizes, of all abilities, were gathered here, and with her army of 100, it was more than enough to take them down. It was regrettable that she was unable to turn more to her cause, but the humans were gaining suspicion, and it would do her no good to draw the attention of the Volturi now.

"She will not be saying that once I present you to her. She will be so angered that she will be unable to resist lunging for me, and it is then we will strike."

No matter how much he would needle, he would never find out more of her plans. That was a quick way to get your plans gate-crashed, and she was nowhere near stupid enough to fall for that.

Turning away, she looked over at the naive Riley, who was quickly becoming her trusted- well not quite trusted- but most loyal ally out of them all, too blinded by their 'love' to ever question it. Loyal to a fault, and stupid enough to not realise she didn't love him- he was the perfect kind of person to manipulate into doing her bidding.

"That may be so. But it will hurt her either way- and that's what I'm aiming for. It's not like you can do anything."

He averted his eyes as far down as he could, before looking up and glaring at her. She may or may not have been fantasising about how satisfying it had been to tear off and burn his limbs, and what it would be like doing that to Bella. He spat at her, which hit her knee since he wasn't tall enough any more to get it near her.

"She will make you pay. There is no love there for me anymore, and I do not blame her for holding hatred for me after what I have done, but she will make you pay for what you did to Harry."

"I look forward to it."

"So what you're saying is that your daughter has imprinted on Seth, but he hasn't on her, yet."

I nodded in the affirmative. Loyal stuck her head out once again, her eyes matching Bella's and Jacob's as Bella crouched down. Bella's form was carefully controlled, not appearing as dominating or aggressive, just as a concerned party.

"Hello, little one. Is it okay if I call you that? I hear you've Imprinted on someone very special."

She ducked her head shyly, tugging on my sleeve- I'd had the sense to bring one change of clothes for all of us, to prepare for a worst-case scenario- before fixing her bright blue eyes on Bella's. Nodding slowly, she outstretched her paw- her hand- which Bella took slowly, shaking it up and down.

Her eyes subverted a little before she looked around a little, and she got that look where she was wanting to disappear. While I don't think she was intending to be disrespectful to the Alpha, I nudged her gently to draw her attention back to the conversation at hand. There was something amusing about Bella referring to my daughter, who was several millennia older than her, 'little one' but if we went by her human form, then she did look very young.

"She doesn't talk much does she?"

Jacob remarked, before getting elbowed by Bella in a gesture which caused him some physical pain. His face twisted in response to the pain, before he looked at her again, this time wisely staying silent, for the fear of incurring Bella's wrath.

"Not that it matters. Now, Shadow- we need to introduce them at some point.. but we can't do it now for the sake of Seth and his family. So, here's my plan.."

A few days had passed since the remembrance of Timber's father, and it was a few days I'd spent doing some things I hadn't been able to do for a long time. The first thing I did was go hunting with my eldest quadruplets. It would take more than I could hunt myself to feed all of us, and I did not wish to rely on the human-borns too much.

Hunting was a past time we did a lot when they were young, but when I had travelled away... well, it had become a sorrowful one for me. But for now, I had high hopes that it would become an enjoyable experience yet again. The rest of my pups were entertaining themselves, old enough to do so, despite their physical appearance.

We looked like a band of brothers rather than a pack. We had travelled north to hunt, but not so far as to have to drag our prey home a long distance. Ember, like his name-sake, still had some underlying anger towards me and my actions, and I could not fault him for that. I had hurt him and his siblings a lot, and I did not deserve their forgiveness.

The fact that he was willing to talk to me at all was reward enough for me. He need not forgive me just because I was his kin- for even kin could hurt. Bright looked at me as we walked, golden eyes lingering between me and her brother. They did not stay that way for long, because she then turned to face her sister, who was walking with a prideful air. Being firstborn, and also being expected to look after your siblings from a young age would do that to someone.

"What were you doing when you left us, Papa?"

That was a tough question, and not in the sense that I didn't know. However much displeasure I had about discussing the topic, I knew it wasn't equal to anything in exchange for what my pups no doubt felt when I suddenly left them one day.

They were old enough then, yes, to look after themselves, but I should not have left them so soon after the death of Breeze. With no kin of mine to look after them, the quadruplets were forced to look after the others. I sighed, stilling for a brief moment as the four pups of mind turned to look at me.

Whisper, with her eyes like mine, vibrant yet serious, and her lighter-then-sky fur; Torrent, with his dark-sky-grey fur, with bright sky-like blue eyes; Bright, golden eyes to go with her sandy coloured fur, which she got from her mother's side; and finally, Ember, his sable-russet fur burning like the red-hot, his dark-sunlike eyes being his defining feature. With a heavy reluctance, and knowing that they did need to know what I did for all those years, I got to telling my tale.

"I... I went after the people who made your mother stop being-walking. Anger clouded my heart, along with the vengeance of a thousand wolves."

"Is that all?"

Bright remarked, looking at me with a tilted head. Her sense of humour could be dire sometimes, but I could tell she was trying to make us feel light-hearted. Or at least, more so. Ember snapped at her emptily, as Bright neatly side-stepped, looking at her brother with a heavy look. I held my tongue in response to his antagonising attitude and shook my head. No, that hadn't been all I'd done that day. I'd done far, far worse, to the extent where I could remember it in vivid detail.

"No.. what I did.. it bares something indescribable. To this day, I have regrets, that it should not have gone down the way it did."

"You have regrets about avenging our MOTHER?"

Ember snapped, his hot-headed nature rearing its head yet again. We had no idea who he had gotten that particular trait from, considering I'd always had a fairly even nature, and Breeze was even easier going, but it didn't make much difference in the ways of things.

"No, I do not. You may forget, but she was my Mate. I loved her then, and I always will. No, I regret the way I went about it... I was a demon in a wolf's skin."

Anger lingered throughout my body like a blaze of fur. My Mate's dying words had set me off into an indescribable rage I hadn't felt since I was but a pup. The humans who persecuted us had no mercy, no mercy for a mother wolf simply trying to protect her kin, and they slaughtered her without a hint of remorse.

They attacked us even quicker than the last time, the attack sudden and non-suspect, and with no Arthur and Amelia to save us this time, we were unprepared. Saving our pups was no easy task, not with how efficiently they had trapped us in our Den.

Since I was the most efficient at tunnelling, my Mate had used her no-nonsense tone of voice to force me to start tunnelling. My oldest pups helped me, while also keeping the rest of their siblings as calm as they could be, so they didn't run around panicking, into the hands of a suspecting human with sharp claw-like weapons. I used small projectiles of my shadows to blow small holes into the tunnel, making it smaller and easier to break into.

The rock was solid, and it took a fair few swipes and blasts for it to break, but the fear of losing what was left of my kin was enough to spur me into action. It took me far longer than I would've liked to break through the rubble, almost enough for the sun-turn to meld into the moon-turn, but by the time they did, I was just about ready to hurtle back through the tunnels, intent on aiding my Mate and making it safe for my pups.

I turned to Whisper, her lighter-then-sky fur coated with a cloud of fine brown dust, before giving her instructions as I turned to bolt down the tunnel and to the top, which I hoped would still be uncovered.

"Get your siblings far, far away from here! I'm going to help your mother!"

She picked up one of her siblings by the scruff of their neck- I had no time to turn and see- and began to order them all up the makeshift tunnel, and out into something that would be a safer area. She would make a good Alpha one day, with how effectively she managed to coerce and cajole her siblings. I sprinted down the tunnel, paws pushing into the ground and my chest panting with exertion, as I attempted to find her.

The bond was faint, and I could feel her tiredness yet resilience leak through in small bursts, and I did not wish to distract her with my own emotions. Moving out of the tunnel and into the large dugout we had called our walking-area for not very long, I ignored the strewn bits of fur and instead made for the exit, which wasn't too far from where I was.

Bursting out of the hole with a furious aura, I saw my Mate not too far dancing with a group of about six humans, with countless more emerging from the dense woodland. Accompanying their sullied and bloody scent was the smell of Vampire, two scents I had learned to despise when mixed.

Each on their own was bad enough, but when the two species merged, chaos and murder would take place. I barrelled into the side of a human who was trying to attack Breeze- well, one of many I suppose- and bit deeply into their side, drawing some of their life-essence. This group, despite having the surprise advantage and more numbers, were a lot easier to take down, since they lacked that thick-skin that the other's had.

I snarled warningly, my fur bristling of its own accord as my shadows leapt and lurched around me, wrapping themselves around me and my Mate, before sending several spikes out, nearly catching a few unsuspecting humans as they circled us.

"Are the pups?!.."

I cut off her sentence with a brief nod, before firing a ball of shadow at one of the humans. I had no idea where the Vampire was, but I was doing my best to watch, to make sure they didn't get the drop on us. Not that it made much difference in the end.

I ducked as one attempted to strike me with his bare hands, before lurching and clamping down on the hand, eliciting a scream of pain from the owner. Discarding it quickly, I turned to one who was attempting to slash Breeze, before slamming my paws down on the ground and channelling my shadows to spike him through the chest.

He fell, just as I quickly moved to the side to dodge another strike, this kind armed with some kind of detachable claw thing, which managed to catch my side, drawing blood. I hissed in pain, before snarling, lunging at him with a leap and wrapping my jaws around his jugular, crushing it with one good bite.

I swallowed down the taste of blood, spitting out the bit of his flesh, as I turned to Breeze her again, her normally splodged fur being coated in a red and crimson haze. Her fangs were much the same, eyes narrowed and with a hard glint. Though generally a compassionate creature, in this case, when it came to her family, Breeze held no bars.

We continued fighting like that until it was just a few humans left, and I falsely assumed we had one, and everything would be fine after all. I let myself indulge in that one bit of naivety, and I paid the price for it. I heard an ungodly screech of pain, along with the harsh throbbing sensation of agony being sent through the bond, and I immediately wasted no time in decapitating the human I was currently mauling and turned towards my mate in anxiety.

The two humans were dead, bite marks evident as heir cause of death, but my mate was limp, twitching, her back legs spasming and the grass around her becoming flooded with blood. Dashing over to her, I saw nothing but the imprints of pain in her eyes, clouded and foggy as they were, as her screeches cut off into whined and whimpers.

I'd never seen her like this ever, and it scared me more than I could describe. I licked her on her muzzle, and for the briefest moment, her eyes cleared, matching mine. I tried to figure out what the cause of her fatal injury was, in hopes I could heal it with my mother's powers or do something to help, but that was until I licked away some of the blood, which revealed a very small, but very evident, bite wound.

And it was no bite wound of a human, and there was only one thing that could incapacitate and cause as much agony as she was currently in- a Vampire's bite.

"Shadow- no, Whisper."

Her voice sounded old and tired, weary and pain-filled with every sentence uttered. I judged her, hoping to exhibit some physical response other than the mental one I was currently getting.

For a brief moment, I thought that she was simply confused- but then I realised she meant my actual name. My birth name, the one I had been given and had forgotten so long ago. Everybody, even the pups knew me as Shadow, and only Breeze was the one to know about my backstory, about why my firstborn was named the way she was.

"Yes, my Heart?"

There was a choked chuckle coming from her, as she raised her eyes a little to match mine, even as her heartbeat began to slow. They narrowed in unspeakable pain- the agony indescribable- before she managed to force them back open.

"You and I both know that isn't true, but I appreciate the gesture. Listen, look after our kin- they will need the shelter and warmth- and please, don't shut your heart back up again. I know-"

She spluttered, her form convulsing for one brief moment before going still her again, and her tongue lolled and pale. I nudged her, despite knowing that she was doomed the minute she got bit and the poison got into her bloodstream. I could still hope though.

"It will be difficult, and you will want revenge, I do not begrudge you that. But don't become closed off Whisper- you are still able to move past me. Cherish the memories we have instead of the wolf you lost. And finally.."

Her voice was quiet, soft, and hesitant. It was a tone she used when she didn't want to tell me something. I softened my eyes as they leaked water, not bothering to hide the emotion for my mate.

"Please could you put me out of my misery Alpha"

I coughed and looked at her. I didn't want to do this! But she never called me Alpha, and she would never ask me to do something like that if she wasn't in a deadly situation. The poison would linger, staying in her veins, and it would be an agonisingly slow death. Feeling a churning pool in my stomach, I carefully placed my jaw around her neck, dampening her feelings with my powers.

"I love you, Whisper."

"And I, you Breeze. You brought out the best in me."

I bowed my head, and with a heavy heart and equally heavy dread, closed my jaw. The sad thing was that I couldn't even keep to what she had asked me to do- and even as I killed her by my own paw, I betrayed all I promised to her. And that would hurt more than her actual death.

Life-essence - blood

Author's Note

Hi guys! I'm actually writing this ahead since by the time I will be posting it, I will be at a winter ball.

And doubly so, I've got to write this quick since I have to get ready. So, Uhm, I'll reply to all of your reviews hopefully tomorrow, and since I won't see you until boxing day, I'll wish it here now.

HAVE A GOOD CHRISTMAS!

QOTW: What is your favourite thing about Christmas?

See you all on boxing day!

Edit: My ball actually got shut down, so I'm home far more earlier then I intended to be. Such is the life of s teenager apparently.

~A festive bookworm