Author's Note: Oops, prereaders got this back to me almost a week ago and I forgot to post. That's what two sick kiddos will get you :) Fair warning…I am down to the last month before deadline for my novel, so don't expect any new updates for a while unless I need to break up a little writer's block. I'm really hoping that doesn't end up happening because I really want to wrap it up so then I can wrap this up! Thanks to Sherrie and Nichole for their prereading and my WC friends for their input.

Chapter 20

"I don't want to get out of this bed," I whimpered, as I faced the ceiling from my comfy Damon pillow while playing with his fingers which were twined with mine.

"Then don't," Damon replied, nuzzling my hair. "I say we blow off the wolves, I call up your principal, and we'll just stay here for the next few weeks."

I snorted. "We can't do that, Damon. First of all, if you compel poor Mr. Wilkinson again, his head might implode. I'm sure he's wondering how the heck I convinced him to give me a week off so soon after being hired. I want to, at the very least, finish out this last month or so of school for them before I disappear on them. Secondly, I think we need to deal with the wolf situation head on. I already put them off this long. They're going to be ticked and want answers, and I don't know if whatever influence I had over them would still apply when they are in human form. They might not be wolves the rest of the month, but that doesn't mean that they aren't still dangerous, or should I remind you of the ambushes that last pack pulled on you all before I came?"

Damon groaned. "Who told you about that?"

I chuckled, rolling over on top of him and pushing up on his shoulders to hover above him. "Doesn't matter. All that does matter is that they kicked YOUR ass, and if they can do that, then who knows what they might do to me."

Damon frowned. "Your ring will protect you, though."

I shook my head and frowned back. "No. The power isn't limitless. Emily warned me not to squander it and I have a feeling I will need all the power I can get when the time comes. I'd rather try to stave off disaster by dealing with this. Who knows? Maybe the wolves will turn out to be our allies."

Damon scoffed and shook his head before reaching up to push my curtain of hair behind my ear and over my shoulder. "Always the optimist." Cupping my chin, he pulled me down for a soft kiss before wrapping his arms around me and holding me tight.

"I just don't like putting you in the path of danger…either of you."

I sighed against his chest. "I know, but the choice is danger now with you and Stefan by my side, or danger later when we might risk the power of the ring to protect me. I'd rather deal with things now."

Damon grumbled under his breath before kissing my forehead. "Fine, but any one of them even reaches in your direction they are going to lose an appendage before they can blink! Let's get this over with before I change my mind again."

I smiled at him as he helped me up and into the bathroom where we took a relatively quick shower before dressing and moving downstairs to find Stefan. Half an hour later we were standing in the clearing I had chosen for our meeting, waiting for the individuals now in human form to show themselves. It was several long minutes before Damon growled against my back and shouted out toward the edge of the grassy area.

"I really wouldn't suggest that. Not only do you sound like a herd of buffalo moving in on us, but you don't want to tick me or more importantly, my wife off!"

From out of the slight shade of the underbrush a ring of people carrying weapons stepped out, equally spaced so that they completely surrounded us. Before us, a man dressed in flannel with big yellow hiking boots stepped further forward to identify himself as the leader and spokesperson for the pack.

"We know what you are and we know what you plan to do. We're not going to allow it to happen." The man groused, moving his large shotgun from one hand to the other as other people around us shifted their own weapons with small clatter of metal on metal.

I stepped forward. Damon gripped my arm, trying to keep me from stepping out. I shot a pleading look back over my shoulder at him. His brows crumpled and his breathing grew a little more labored, but eventually he released me, but I could feel that he had repositioned himself not very far away from my new, more vulnerable location.

"I know you aren't going to like my choices, but they are better than the alternative. I don't want my niece, an innocent teenage vampire, an innocent teenage werewolf, and an innocent teenage witch to die, which is what Klaus, the powerful Original we should all be focusing on, will do. When he does, he'll do it in a way that releases the vampires on the world to mutilate it and leaves you trapped under your curse of the moon. If I release you, then they will wipe us all out, plus all of you, and half of the human population as vengeance, which would essentially be the same result. If I release you both then it becomes a race to turn as many people as each of you can, in an attempt to win a war that everyone will lose and wipe out humanity in the process. This leaves me with one other option. I can solidify the curse."

Grumbles echoed off the trees as weapons were raised and aimed. I lifted my hands in surrender. "Wait! Please, wait. I am doing research, trying to figure out how to do it. Odds are, the Vampires will still rampage, but it will be less open and I believe that the revenge will be focused on me and those I care about. I don't like that, but it's better than all of humanity being wiped out in a feud between Lycanthropes and Vampires. Do you want to be released so badly that you would risk everyone you've ever cared about? Every parent? Sibling? Lover? It's not the ideal solution, but it's better than the alternative. I am risking everything for this. I have a husband and a future that I do not want to give up. If I can find another way, then I will, but until then, I have to proceed as I have planned."

The leader's nostrils flared a few times as he fisted the shotgun in his hand. "What if we defended the humans if you released us? We could shift on demand instead of being hobbled by the moon, the curse of being forced to change and then inconvenience of not being able to when we need it other times."

Damon scoffed, but I turned a rested my hand on his arm, shaking my head. I didn't need his less than subtle approach to life blowing my progress. He pursed his lips, but didn't continue.

"Please tell me," I paused waiting for the man to offer his name. When he did, I nodded in response.

"Please call me, Bekah. Now, please tell me, Roger, from what I understand of your wolf nature, you have no control over your impulses when you are in your wolf form. Is that true?"

He groused. "No, it is not true, but considering your source of information I can understand why you would believe that. We have enough control not to attack innocents, what we lack is the control to abstain from going after our mortal enemy when we cross one while in wolf state."

"And how do I know that wouldn't change if you were free to transform whenever you wished, when the animal became strong enough to morph at will? How do I know that I wouldn't be unleashing an even worse problem without the restriction of the full moon? Apparently your ancestors were causing a great deal of problems if the witches sought to restrain your kind by the cycle of the moon, otherwise they would have only penalized the Vampires and let the Werewolves live their lives."

The restraint Roger had been practicing disappeared as he lunged at me. Damon growled, but stopped when he noticed that the man had frozen mid step, his eyes wide.

"How do you do that?" he ground out between stiff, barely moving lips.

"Well, apparently it works when you're in human forms just as well as in your wolf forms. Everyone lower your weapons and then set them slowly on the ground and kick them toward me."

As a group, they all watched in terror as their bodies followed my orders.

"Please forgive me. I feel awful for doing this to anybody. It's entirely wrong for anyone to remove an individual's free will, but I must keep myself and my family safe. As long as you do not attempt to attack or get your weapons, you are free to move about as you wish, but if you make one tiny act of aggression, you shall all be forced to do as I ask again. Are we agreed?"

Whimpered agreements came from all around me, so with a silent prayer that they didn't test me, I released them all again. "You may want to take a seat; this might take a while to explain. If you want to move a little closer so I don't have to shout, I'd be grateful, just remember what I said about the aggressing thing."

With worried eyes, the group moved closer to their leader, some choosing to sit in the grass while others crouched or shifted restlessly from foot to foot in the back of the group.

"Hmmm…now where to start…" I looked over at Damon who smiled at me before nodding in encouragement. The expressions on their faces were a mixture of confusion and fear as I laid it all out on the table for them…who I was, what I was, our theory as to how I could exert control over them. I held nothing back except my pregnancy, which I feared could be used against me at some point. The leader was the hardest to convince, his face never fading from the stony anger as he paced in front of the group, teeth grinding hard enough for me to hear with my slightly more acute hearing, hands fisting and releasing with each step. Finally, he stopped and turned toward me, his eyes burning with his anger.

"This still doesn't explain why we shouldn't kill you all right now."

Damon tensed and growled, but I flung my arm out in his direction in a weakly restraining gesture before leveling my gaze in his direction. "I dare you to try."

He paced two more times before he turned to attack and fell straight to the ground, his head held in his hands as he screamed in silence. It was difficult to watch his face contort in pain, his mouth gaping open, his eyes squeezed tight, and yet not the slightest sound escaped his throat. I couldn't bear to let it continue more than a few seconds and even those would be engrained on my mind forever. I felt a tear streak down my cheek as I released him and looked back to his pack.

"I told you I didn't want to do this, but what is at stake here is more than you, me, or my family, and I WILL do whatever it takes to do the right thing here…even hurt someone in a way that I never wanted to do and never want to do again. Think of the families you left behind out of necessity when you were pulled into this world…into this pack. Do you want them to suffer at the hands of the vampires or even others of your own out of their mind with vengeance and hunger for power? Please don't make yourselves another enemy that I have to confront, because I literally have the whole world on my shoulders right now. I would much rather you be my ally than my foe, but if I must…" I gestured to the man making slow attempt to rise from his place on the ground, his pack mates moving to assist him.

"I will leave you to discuss what you wish to do, but I highly suggest either you help us or you leave, but don't make the mistake of staying to fight me, because you may not live to regret it. If you wish to contact me, call this number. Do not go on our land or approach myself or my family and friends when we are not scheduled to meet and in protective numbers. In this case I am not leaving it the chance of letting you chose, so that is an order."

I grabbed out a business card, handing it to a scared looking girl that looked far too young to be dealing with all of this. She couldn't have been more than fifteen or sixteen. My heart ached for her as her scared eyes darted to the pack alpha then back to me before taking the card with a dirty, trembling hand.

I smiled down at her, nodding in thanks. "There is no need to be afraid of me unless you plan to go against my orders. I will never hurt anyone who doesn't threaten my family or this mission."

She smiled weakly as she swallowed nodding in return. I turned and walked away from the group, feeling Damon and Stefan following me, both tense. I chuckled. "Relax boys, they're not going to come after us now…either they'll help, leave, or find a way around my orders, but for now we're fine. Let's go enjoy the last of my Sunday before I have to go back to work tomorrow."

Damon was helping me into the car when I heard a young girl's voice calling out for me as she ran toward the car. Damon tensed, but I put my hand over his and moved to stand again to face her. She was slightly out of breath when she reached me, holding out a dirty napkin.

"Roger asked me to give you this. It's his cell phone number. He said that he accepts your authority and understands that you are trying to do what is best even if he doesn't agree with your decision. He will be calling you soon with our decision to stay or leave, but until then this is a show of good faith so you can reach him if necessary."

"Thank you…um…"

She smiled, her beautiful hazel eyes glimmering. "Chloe…I'm Chloe."

I smiled back. "It's very nice to meet you, Chloe. I'm Bekah. This is my husband, Damon, and his brother Stefan. Assure Roger that you can all trust the three of us. I know that most vampires are not ones that you can trust, but I give my word that these two you can."

She smiled again, nodding before turning to run back into the forest from whence she came. Damon eyed me as he held the door for me.

"You really think you can trust him?"

I smirked. "No, but this is better than nothing. Don't worry, my husband, I'm not as naïve as I might appear after agreeing to marry you."

He rolled his eyes but smirked in spite of himself as he closed the door and crossed to climb in behind the steering wheel, flinging gravel as he shot down the narrow access road that led back to the blacktop that led back into town.