A Wolf's Cry

by Serenity Angel14

A perilous Immortal War. The sake of all mankind. The burdened waning soul of an Immortal warrior Lycaon prince. Everything rests in the hands of one mortal girl who wants only to live a normal life.

15. Chapter 13 Heart of the Wolfmate

Merry Christmas everybody!

Thankyou to everyone who has stuck with me!

This story has turned into a disaster, but I AM NOT GIVING UP! It WILL be finished, one way or the other.

I am having so much trouble with this last chapter, and it has ended up longer than I ever expected so once again it will be halved, cut into 2 chapters.

AGAIN!

The spelling and grammar in this chapter is a nightmare but if I re-read it one more time my head is going to explode from the sheer frustration.

But please enjoy!

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Chapter 13 – Heart of the Wolfmate

---

Pushing all thoughts of Rei to the back of her mind was one of the hardest things Serena had ever had to do; Rei was so close to being gone forever that Serena could already feel the mournful tears that would wet her eyes when she finally let herself feel.

But Serena had no choice but to focus on Darien and Diamond. Rei was in the best hands she could possibly be. Rei was Jadeite's wife and wolfmate; if there was a way to save Rei's life then Jadeite would find it.

Rei was his everything and Jadeite would never stop.

A war was being fought, a war that would determine the fate of the entire world and as hard as it was for Serena to admit, fighting this one battle was more important than the life of one – even if that one was a Princess. Rei understood that. Rei believed that Serena herself was key to the end of her people's suffering and maybe even this war. It was why Rei had sacrificed herself for her over and over again.

But honestly, Serena didn't know if anyone was worth the sacrifice of so many lives.

But by the Goddess, whether Rei lived or died, her sacrifice would never be forgotten and it damn well would never be in vain. Serena was going to help Darien end Diamond once and for all. No matter what it took, no matter what it cost Serena, Diamond's final day on this earth had finally come at long last.

All around the trashed throne room two sides – good and evil – clashed against each other again and again. The evil bloodthirsty Damned fought savagely against the vastly outnumbered Immortals who fought desperately to defend their home and protect those they loved. The Immortal Lycaon and Anami kind, although different in so many ways, fought together as one with the harmonization of those who had been born to stand together. The two races that had once been enemies now fought together on the same side against the same enemy for the same reasons.

Watching them work and fight together now, Serena could hardly believe that the two Immortal Races had ever been enemies at all.

On the dais that was covered with shards of shattered glistening glass and chunks of other various pieces of debris that had once made up the mostly glass wall, Darien lay on the floor flat on his stomach as Diamond stood over him with bloody hands and a chilling gleeful murderous look in his soulless eyes.

Serena, in her pale golden Lycaon wolf form, released a furious growl at Diamond that was a clear lethal warning; her thirst for revenge in Rei's name was burning hot in her, flooding her veins with the scorching heat of pure fury.

Which Diamond realized, judging from the way he backed up a step. Either that or he hadn't expected her to re-join the fight after being so effortlessly foiled by him the last time. Either way, alarm filled his black eyes and he took a cautious step back.

Being careful of her footing, Serena moved cautiously forward until she was standing protectively over Darien, effectively shielding him with her larger furry body.

Serena had had enough of watching Diamond hurt the people she loved. Tonight would be the last time Diamond would ever threatened anyone she cared about or even knew. Diamond did not think much of women – of any species – but he was going to learn a woman's power, a woman's might, but most of all Diamond was going to learn the truth to the old saying that there was nothing more terrifying that a scorned woman's wrath.

And Serena felt very very scorned.

---

Darien knew very well who stood over him in her glorious wolf form, and if the situation hadn't been what it was he would have beat his head against the cool marble floor beneath him.

Serena never listened, not even to him. Hell, especially to him. Here Serena was once again very foolishly, and without ANY regard for herself, standing between him and Diamond with the obvious intention of facing the King of the Damned in battle. What was it going to take to make Serena understand that she stood absolutely no chance at all against Diamond in battle?

For a moment, in his battered and weakened state, Darien entertained the thought of shaking some sense into her even knowing that he would never do such a thing. His hands never could and never would do anything to cause her any harm; Serena would only ever know tenderness in his touch.

Against the cold hard marble floor, Darien's hands curled into fists.

Darien was so weak, so mentally and physically exhausted, that all he wanted to do was lie there and let his battered body rest, but he couldn't. Serena was trying her damnedest to get herself killed – again – and he had to intervene.

Again.

By the Goddess, Darien loved her. He loved her inner strength and her fierce drive to have her own way. He loved her brave and courageous heart and he loved the way Serena loved so completely, so selflessly, that she cared nothing about her own life as long as she was doing everything she could for those she loved. He loved that even though Serena was so physically small she possessed the strength and will of someone twelve feet tall. She never backed down, no matter what, no matter who she was warring against.

Serena was the most selfless, courageous, loving, infuriating stubborn woman Darien had ever met, mortal or Immortal, and the world would never know a stronger or better Queen. Serena didn't even know it, but she had all the traits of a true Queen, of a woman born to lead and inspire and protect. The Moon Goddess could not have picked a better match for him had she searched for the remainder of eternity.

If only Serena would listen to him once in a while, or at the very least show the tinniest shred of self-preservation.

It would be one of the many things she would have to learn. As royalty it was not just their duty to protect and to lead but to also survive. There always had to be someone on the throne, for the sake of the preservation of life and peace. It was a hard burden to bear but sometimes the lives of others had to be sacrificed so that those who lead could live. He had witnessed such noble sacrificesmany times during his long life.

Darien did not like it in the least as it was his nature to always protect others, but as a crown prince of a dying race it was something that he had accepted a long time ago.

Off to the side, Darien was well aware that Jadeite was fighting for Rei's life and as much as Darien wanted to go to his sister who very likely had sacrificed her life for Serena's this dark night, he could not. He had to save Serena from Diamond – again – so that Rei's sacrifice would not have been made in vain.

First Darien would make Diamond pay for what he had done to Rei and then he would mourn his brave fallen sister as he had never mourned any other.

But NEVER would Rei's sacrifice be one made in vain. Darien would spend the rest of his life keeping Serena forever out of harm's way. Maybe he would take her to the Royal Court. The life would not suit her – at least not at first – but inside of his parent's stronghold she would be well protected. The modern Lycaon stronghold had never been breached.

'If you think you're going to lock me away like some precious gem you had better think again!' Serena growled into his mind at hearing his thoughts.

Darien didn't reply. It would be something they would deal with later. If there was a later for them.

Clinching his teeth tightly, Darien forced his exhausted limbs into motion, pulling his arms and his legs beneath him and lifting himself up into a crouching position. He did not know if he had the strength to make it to his feet but he had to try. He had to fight, not just for himself but for his people who continued to fight even though each and every one had to be as exhausted and battered he was.

Serena remained still and alert, keeping her eyes firmly glued to Diamond, as Darien grasped hold of a handful of the fur that covered her side and used his grip on her to hull himself to his feet, where he leaned weakly against her side.

At the sight of Darien in his weakened condition, Diamond smirked with evil triumph.

Rage surged though Serena at the sight of the cold delighted smirk that Diamond wore on his thin pale lips and Serena raised her lip, baring her sharp canine teeth and she growled menacingly to complete the wordless threat.

If Diamond thought he had his victory then he was going to be very disappointed. Serena was going to see to it personally.

She was so over Diamond and his narcissistic attitude. Diamond believed that everything Darien had was owed to him, that he was the rightful king of the entire world and Serena was going to relish in teaching Diamond just how wrong he was. And Diamond was going to learn that lesson through blood and pain, and eventually his own defeat.

"Really, Darien." Diamond purred, darkly amused. "You could not make this easier for me if you tried. You could at least attempt to keep this interesting."

Not that Serena needed it, but the flippant way Diamond dismissed her as any possible threat only fuelled her fury. Who was Diamond to dismiss her as he would a fly? He so completely underestimated her that it only made Serena want to fight him all the more.

Serena had never been a violent person – and that was not due to her ordinarily small size – but Serena had never hesitated to stand up to defend or protect someone she loved, or even someone who was weaker or less assertive than herself. Of course she had never gotten into an actual fight before – Lita had always taken care of the physical fight if it was called for – but she hadn't been able to turn into a lean mean fighting machine with sharp teeth and claws before either.

"You would watch your words more carefully Diamond if you could hear her thoughts." Darien exhaustedly remarked to Diamond, indicating his head towards her. "Serena may be small and inexperienced-."

Serena gave a low warning growl in the back of her throat, making her displeasure at his choice of words very clear.

"- but Serena has a way of getting exactly what she wants. And right now what she wants most is for you not to see another dawn." Darien ended with a small affectionate smile. One that said that he found this particular trait of hers a little irritating but loved her all the more for it regardless.

Diamond's smile waned, and his eyes took on a deadly glint. "We shall see just what this miracle of yours truly is. By day's dawning, everyone shall see this puny human for what she truly is. She is nothing but a pathetic mortal, an anomaly that will fall as quickly as she rose. I will show all that she is no miracle!"

Both Darien and Serena growled furiously in union.

Diamond grinned with evil anticipation and, without another word, lunged at them with his teeth bared and his claws outstretched.

---

Jadeite's entire being was so focused on Rei and the systematic motions of CPR that he was aware of nothing else. The roar of the battle that raged around him fell unnoticed on his deaf ears, the battling men and women who fought around him went completely unnoticed by his eyes that were fixed on his wife. He saw nothing but Rei's still form beneath his continuously pumping hands. He felt nothing. Nothing but his wife's cooling flesh beneath his hands and his mouth as he breathed air into her lungs that refused to draw breath. There was nothing else but Rei and his fight to save her.

Jadeite could not recall a moment in which Rei had not been in his life, had not been his life, the entirety of his very being. He had existed before Rei had been born into this world but not one moment of the time that he had existed before he had known his wolfmate mattered to him at all. As far as Jadeite was concerned, his life had not started until Rei had been born and he had known with all the certainty he possessed that Rei would grow to be his wolfmate.

He had watched over Rei, had been there for her from the very instant she had been born. He had fought to protect her and he had risen to her defence each and every time it had been called for. He had been there as her big brother when she had fallen over her own skirts as a young child and had picked her up and seen to any wounds. He had been there to dance with her at her first ball, he had been there watching over her when she had left the safe castle grounds, and he had been there for her in every capacity he had been capable of until she had become of age and they had married and then he had been there for her in all ways.

He had been everything for her and always would. His entire life centred so completely on her that he would not – could not – live a single hour without her.

The moment his efforts were deemed futile, Jadeite would follow his love into death rather than continue to bare this soul-shredding agony.

Jadeite had fought in countless wars and been injured many a time, he had come close to death more times than could be recalled and he had acted with complete disregard for his own life on a regular basis, but never had he known such agony. Before Rei there had been only endless darkness and hollow loneliness, but never this! Never had every cell of his insides felt like they had been shredded and torn from the inside out.

And on top of it all, he was to blame for this! He hadn't been there to protect her as he had always sworn that he would be. Jadeite had long ago pledged before the Lycaon King, Queen and Crown Prince that he would give his own life before he would ever let anything happen to Rei, their darling princess with spitfire eyes.

That had been the day Jadeite had asked Rei's family – his King, Queen and Crown Prince – for her hand in marriage, declaring brazenly before the entire Lycaon Court that Rei was his wolfmate.

That day and the day that had followed had been days of celebration throughout the Lycaon world as their Princess had found her wolfmate and had promptly wed him.

It was one of the happiest days of his life, the highly treasured memories held within his heart and frequently called upon so they would never grow dim in the sands of time.

And now the day had come that he had failed in his most sacred duty; he had broken his vow to never allow harm to come to the Lycaon Princess in any form.

Even if Rei lived, how could he live with the shame and disgrace of his monumental failure? He had failed his King and Queen, he had failed his Crown Prince and Alpha, but most of all he had failed the woman he loved, the woman who was his wife and wolfmate, his one and only. He had failed her and now she may very well be lost forever.

'Please, Rei. My love, my precious princess. Please come back to me, don't leave me! Not like this, not this day! Please. Please, Moon Goddess, I beseech you, do not take her! Take my life, ask anything you wish of me, but please spare her!'

Jadeite was so far gone that he did not even notice the tears streaming down his face. He was so focused on his task that he did not even notice when the two fingers of Rei's right hand twitched.

---

"Would you please get off of me?"

Mina made no attempt to conceal her building irritation towards the woman dressed completely in black who was hovering right above and over her and had been for a few minutes now.

Mina was trapped low and awkwardly in the driver's seat, and between the steering wheel and Trista, she couldn't shift more than an inch or so in any direction. To say that her current position was awkward would be the understatement of her life. This woman, who was a complete stranger to her, seemed completely unaware that her tightly clad breasts were barely an inch above Mina's blushing face.

And to top it all off, Mina was starting to cramp up in various places, including her neck and back, and her uncomfortable position was becoming harder and harder to ignore.

"You heard her, get off her." Lita warned icily from the back seat. There was no question that it was a warning, and knowing Lita it would be the only warning Trista would get before Lita acted.

Normally, when Lita used that threatening tone people obeyed the modern day Amazon warrior without much hesitation, but Trista remained where she was, motionless and alert as she continued to stare into the darkness as if she could actually see through it.

Lita had had enough. In one swift gracefully move Lita opened her door and stepped out into the night. About a minute and a half ago everything around them had once again fallen silent, leaving only the still darkness of night.

Lita didn't let herself think about the danger that might be waiting in the blackness; she had to deal with this strange woman who was still literally hovering very protectively over Mina.

Lita didn't understand why this strange woman was so obviously overprotective of Mina, and right now she didn't really care. Mina wanted to be free of this strange – and quite possibly unstable – woman and Lita was going to see to it.

Mina didn't hesitate. The moment Lita yanked open the driver's side door, Mina threw herself through the opening. It wasn't the wisest – or the most ladylike – choice, but Trista was really starting to freak her out with her overprotective behaviour and she just wanted to get some space between them.

Mina expected such overprotective behaviour from her friends and family but not a total stranger. A stranger who was getting way too familiar with her.

Mina had never considered herself someone who valued her personal space but this woman had invaded it big time and right now Mina just wanted a lot of space around her. Or more to the point, Mina wanted as much space as possible between Trista and herself.

In her desperation to put some space between them, Mina leapt before she had looked. As a result Mina landed unceremoniously on her back with a soft feminine grunt on the cool damp compacted dirt of the track they'd been driving along before all audible hell had broken loose around them.

On the ground where she had landed in the V formed by the open door Mina took a moment to reflect on how weird her night had become. Here she was lying on the cool hard ground in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere with a complete stranger – who was more than a little weird – staring down at her from where she remained arched protectively above the driver's seat. Her strangely coloured eyes stared down at her with open fascination and something that seemed strangely like reverence.

But Mina had to be mistaken about that. Right? Here she was lying on the ground with her feet still in the car and in the perfect position to look up Lita's skirt – figuratively speaking of course as Lita was wearing pants – while the Gothic woman continued to look at her like she was her much cherished Queen.

It was a lesser version of the look Andrew had worn when he had first stepped out of the darkness . . .

What on earth was going on? Who were these people?!

And why was she still lying on the cold ground like a stunned baby bird?

"Do you require assistance rising?" Trista asked her kindly, without any trace of sarcasm or humour in her voice.

"No, she doesn't." Lita snapped before Mina could say a word, and then promptly made a liar out of herself by bending down, sliding her hands under Mina's arms and lifting her up onto her feet.

Mina idly wondered if Lita saw the irony in what had just happened.

And then Mina's eyes fell on the interior of the opposite side of the car and grimaced.

Leaving Lita and Trista to their glaring match, Mina hurried around to the other side of her car and groaned again, the sound drawn-out and pained.

Her parents were going to kill her.

How was she going to explain THIS?! It looked like she'd hit a tree, except there were no scratches or any of the marks in the paint you'd expect to find after hitting something – anything - solid.

But she hadn't hit anything, something had hit her!

Serena had better be in real trouble or Mina was going to kill her herself.

Through the badly cracked windows, Mina noticed that Amy had moved into the back seat and was sliding smoothly across the back seat towards the opposite open back door as it was her only unblocked exit from the car short of crawling out through her broken window.

Mina was not at all surprised that Amy hadn't even tried to open either door on the damaged side of the car. The entire side of the cabin was bowed inward, the abused and contorted metal made it obvious to everyone that neither of the two doors would open for anything less than the Jaws of Life.

Mina sensed movement to her right and turned to see Amy now standing beside her, staring with wide eyes at the damage.

After a full minute of silence, Amy turned to her and enquired almost casually, "How are you going to explain this to your insurance company?"

Mina groaned again and buried her face in her hands so she didn't have to look at her totalled car any more. There was no saving the car, not with this amount of damage, at least not without spending more on it than it would cost to replace it.

What would she do if the insurance company refused to cover it? It wasn't as if she could tell the insurance evaluator what had really happened. Not without ending up in a straitjacket.

Mina could just hear herself now, explaining this to the insurance evaluator. 'Oh, what happened? Oh, that's simple. I was out late one night, following this strange woman's directions, when all of a sudden I was in the middle of a war I couldn't see, and out of nowhere this man rambled into the side of the car, imploding it as you see here. What? Oh no, he didn't seem hurt at all. As far as I could tell, he just got up and jumped back into the fray.'

Yeah, that would go over real well. And of course he would believe her when she told him that it had been the impact of a man that had virtually halved the size of the vehicle.

Not.

"Did a bear ram us?" Amy asked doubtfully as she surveyed the damage in the poor light.

Mina knew it hadn't been a bear, although they had been hit with the force of one. "No," Mina replied, her words slightly muffled as her face was still buried in her hands. "It wasn't a bear."

At least Mina knew that much. She didn't know exactly what happened, but she did know that it hadn't been an animal that had hit them, at least not an animal you'd find on Animal Planet.

That was it! Mina had had enough of all of this! She was fed up with not having any answers! She was sick and tired of being left out of things, left with only questions and worry. She was going to get some answers, and she was going to get them now.

Mina lowered her hands from her face and looked over the top of the car to see that Trista had joined them outside the car and was standing near the front of the car with her eyes focused intently on her, as if ready to jump on top of her again to protect her from an enemy only she could see coming.

How had Trista seen that man coming towards the car in the pitch black of night?

Just one more question to add to her growing collection.

With her exasperation giving her courage, Mina put on a hard determined face and stepped around Amy to make her way over to Trista.

Trista was standing in the beam of light from the headlights and every one of her features was light up like a model on a New York runway.

And what Mina saw hardly seemed human.

"The danger has passed." Trista said serenely, as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened. "We are not far from our destination. When you are ready young miss, we can resume our journey."

The three girls looked at her incredulously. Was this woman really that crazy or was something going on, something that they couldn't piece together with how little information they had been given?

Lita was the first to regain her senses. "What in the hell is going on?" She demanded hotly as she glared through narrowed eyes at the woman. "What is our friend involved in?"

"Your answers you will have but I am not the best person to provide them," The woman said with calm politeness. "Your friend is only minutes away. I am sure Lady Serena would be the best one to give you all your answers."

Lady Serena?! Since when had Serena been Lady Serena?!

Lita had had enough, partially with this woman who was as cryptic as she was strange. "Listen here, we're not moving an inch until you tell us what the hell is going on! What happened just now? What danger is there and who were you talking too before?!"

"Again, I am not the most suitable person to give you the answers you seek. But what I will tell you is that I am here to protect all three of you. I would sacrifice my life to save any of you because of what young miss Mina is to my prince and my people. It is clear how much it would hurt her to see harm come to either of you."

Mina's jaw dropped. "And just what am I to your prince? What are you talking about, what prince?"

The young woman looked straight into Mina's eyes with such immense significance in her eyes that it left Mina speechless. "You, young miss, are the salvation or the destruction of the prince I serve; the prince who will one day be our king. I would protect you at the cost of my very soul. You cannot yet comprehend what you are in my world, in the world you and your friends have stumbled into too, but know that you have never been safer than you are from this night onwards."

Lita shook her head. She had heard enough. She had to get Amy and Mina out of there and away from this nutcase.

Before anyone could say another word, Lita stepped in front of Mina, effectively putting herself between the two smaller girls and the woman in black. Lita was tense and ready for anything, but unless Trista became violent Lita was not going to show any aggression that might set Trista off. The thing about crazy people was that they were unpredictable and there was no telling what they were capable of and that made them one of the worst kinds of dangerous.

"I think we should get going now." Lita said with a fake chirpy tone, although she didn't even try to fake a smile as in the current situation it was beyond her. She was hiding it from the others but she was severely freaked out. She stepped back forcing Amy and Mina back a step as well. "We'll take it from here. Thanks for the directions."

Mina didn't hesitate; any chance to get away from the woman in black who wouldn't stop watching her like she was tasked with protecting Mina's life.

Mina turned and instantly froze.

They were surrounded.

How?! When?! WHAT?! HOW were they surrounded?! There was at least a dozen men surrounding them – all tall – standing in a perfect circle around them on the lights edge, all spaced out evenly around them. Every one of them stood perfectly still and every one of them were noticeably pale, just like Trista was.

And just like Trista, their eyes were glued on Mina.

Lita tensed, ready to fight their way out even as outnumbered as they were.

Amy noticed Lita tense and she instinctively knew what Lita was going to attempt to do. Lita was highly protective of those she loved and would not hesitate to fight to protect if the occasion called for it. And most of the time Lita with her Amazonian build and fierce warrior's spirit had a more than fair chance of victory but Amy instinctively knew that against these men Lita did not stand a chance. Amy was no warrior, but she was observant, and there was something about Trista and those around them that screamed combat ability and danger.

They scared her. No, that wasn't a powerful enough word. Terrified. That was the word. These men terrified her. Amy just knew with all certainty that these men were capable of murder. And the way they were all watching Mina was unnerving her greatly, so much so that Amy feared more for Mina than herself.

And her worry and concern gave Amy more courage than she normally would have had in such a situation.

Amy reached out and wrapped her hand around Lita's forearm, wordlessly telling her not to attack without provocation. "Lita," Amy whispered softly, moving her lips as little as possible as she finally spoke the suspicion she'd had for the last twenty minutes or so. "I think they've been taking us in circles."

Lita's eyes flickered in her direction before she turned and looked Trista straight in the eye. In true Lita fashion, the Amazon showed no fear in her narrowed accusing eyes. It was a look that promised pain if she threatened those Lita saw it as her duty to protect.

Lita has always had strong protective instincts, and she never hesitated to protect someone weaker than herself – which with Lita's Amazonian build was most of the people in her life.

If Lita's intimidating and threatening demeanour worried Trista at all then she concealed it well. In fact the woman in black seemed downright nonchalant.

Mina looked back and forth between Lita and Trista, studying their expressions. Things were rapidly getting out of hand. Way out of hand. Mina had no idea what was happening here and she didn't understand why it all seemed to be focused on her, but they had to find a way out of their current predicament without resorting to violence as Mina knew that this was one fight that Lita had no hope of winning.

"We don't have time for this!" Mina exclaimed loudly. "We need to get to Serena! You promised you'd take us to her but instead you've been taking us in circles!"

Mina did not doubt that Amy was right about them being taken in circles. Amy was very rarely wrong. About anything. The girl had off the scales intelligence and a healthy dose of common sense to boot. Sometimes Amy's mind was more terrifying that Lita's threatening Amazonian demeanour.

"You need not worry for your friend," Trista assured Mina in a reassuring but placating tone. "Aid has been sent. The Lycoan Prince's mate will be protected at any cost, as our Prince has commanded."

Not one of the three girls failed to notice that Trista had in no way denied intentionally taking them out of their way.

Mina wanted to scream in sheer frustration. She was so over not understanding a single thing that was going on or what she was told! Lycaon Prince?! What the hell was a Lycaon anyway? And why was everyone they met some form of royalty? Were these people acting out some weird story or something, or were they all just plain nuts?!

Enough was enough. Whatever was going on Mina wanted to know, even if it did not bode well for them. Mina wanted to know exactly what situation they were trapped in. She was so tired of being in the dark, first with Serena and now with these pale strangers!

Mina pushed passed Lita and glared at Trista, ignoring everything and everyone else and focusing only on making sense of this nonsense.

The best way to do that was to ask straight simple questions and demand straight simple answers.

"Who are you?"

For a long moment Trista was as silent and as still as a statue, and Mina feared that Trista wasn't going to answer her, but then Trista crossed her arm across her stomach and bowed her head to her like something out of a Jane Aston novel.

"I am Trista of the Anami Crown Prince's Clan." Trista declared proudly, her head still bowed. "First among his proud Warriors and Second in command of the Clan's Security Forces. I am henceforth your personal bodyguard and first amongst your Ladies." She looked up into Mina's eyes but did not rise from her bow. "I am yours to command, my Lady."

Three pairs of wide shocked eyes stared at her dumbfounded.

Mina caught movement out of the corner of her eye and she turned to see every one of the men that surrounded them in a near perfect circle bowing to her on bended knee.

Mina gasped in astonishment. All of the men were identical in their bowed positions, and not one of them had their eyes open. They looked like marble statues that someone had dressed in out-dated clothing.

Mina turned back to Trista to find her standing tall and proud once again. "As for what you are Mina," Trista said gently with a small gentle smile on her blood red lips. "You are more to us than you could ever truly understand. You are the destined mate of our Crown Prince, the only one who can ease his suffering and drive back the Darkness within him. You are his light in the darkness, his reason to hope, his purpose for living."

Trista looked around at the men in the circle with a strange sadness in her strangely coloured eyes. "But you are so much more than that. You are hope for our people, hope we have only recently tasted in the Lycaon Prince's mate, but now we have our own gift from the Moon Goddess." Trista looked directly into her eyes, the unyielding reverence back in her gaze. "In you."

Mina shrank back in fear, not fear of harm but fear of the reverent intensity in Trista's eyes. Trista believed everything she was saying with a startling conviction.

"Can you say, with all honesty young Mina, that you did not feel it?" Trista challenged her with her eerie steadfast gaze. "The instant and powerful connection between yourself and our crown prince? Have you been able to banish him from your thoughts for even a moment since you saw his face?"

Deep heart-twisting sorrow filled her maroon eyes. "I do not know it myself, the peace and serenity a mate brings as I have not yet found my mate. I have been alone for centuries, fighting my own Darkness for my sanity and my humanity. I have travelled far and wide in hope that I would find him, in hope that I can bring peace to one of my own who waits for me as I wait for him. But my search has thus far been in vain. It terrifies me that he has fallen to the Darkness, that I will never know him and will eventually follow him into his fate. All I have had for so long is my duty. My duty to my prince and my people. And then I heard the miracle that is the Lycaon Prince's mate and I felt a hope that I have not known since my adolescence. There is new hope for us all who dwell in the night, and that is why I would gladly give my life for Lady Serena or yourself. The two of you, who we all pray are only the first two found of your kind, are our future. Because the two of you exist our people will have a future, with the hope that the two of you alone will grant our people we will last this millennium whereas before we wouldn't have lasted the century."

Mina blinked. Once. Twice.

"Oh." Mina mumbled tonelessly and then she turned, leaned over with one arm resting on the hood of her car to keep her on her feet.

And then she promptly threw up.

---

Serena made no move to avoid Diamond's blow, instead choosing to stand her ground. She refused to be moved from her defensive position and leave Darien unprotected in his weakened state. She would never call Darien defenceless – especially not aloud – but in his state he wouldn't be capable of putting up any sort of fight.

With her newly enhanced Lycaon eyes Serena could see Diamond coming at her whereas before she had changed she never would have been able to see him attacking.

And right at this very moment a large part of her wished that she still couldn't. Diamond's clawed hands were outstretched towards her neck and he his face was so twisted with evil bloodlust that he truly did look like the monster everyone knew him to be.

Serena fought her instinctive urge to jump out of Diamond's path – as Diamond obviously expected her to do – but she stubbornly held her ground. She would defend her love as doggedly as he had defended her from the very first moment they had met – a moment that seemed to have been so very long ago.

'No. NO!'

Serena winced at Darien's sudden loud mentally cried outburst a split moment before she became aware of movement beneath her.

What was Darien doing?

Darien did not care how weak and battered his body was after fighting a battle against an enemy that greatly outnumbered him and his own, Diamond WAS NOT going to lay so much as a finger on Serena EVER again. Not knowingwhere within him the strength came from, Darien forced his body its feet in one surging motion and caught Diamond's hands in mid-air that were aimed for Serena even as the room spun nauseatingly around him like he was on a carousel that was spinning too fast.

For a single moment in which time itself seemed to come to a standstill, the two foes glared into each other's eyes with age-old hatred and raging fury.

And for that single moment Serena saw the two great Princes for what they truly were. Darien was a noble Prince and leader fighting to protect his newly found mate whom he had come to love and need so much in so little amount of time.

While Diamond was a mighty fallen warrior who fought to avenge the mate that had been taken from him before he'd even had the chance to know her.

Serena felt a small measure of pity for the man Diamond had once been. Without her in his life this is what Darien would have become. Without her, this is what Darien would be.

Ending Diamond's life would be a kindness to the man Diamond had once been as only death could truly set him free.

And then the moment ended. For all three of them.

Diamond wretched his hands from Darien's grasp with an irritated warning growl and Darien swayed dizzily on his feet as he forced himself to remain standing defensively in-between Serena and the Damned King who had dared to try to attack her. Had Darien had even half his normal strength, Diamond would have already been dead at his feet.

But Darien wasn't at full strength. Darien doubted he even had one third of his usual strength and he was experienced enough to know that that did not bode well for him or his people. All around him his people, nearly all of whom were some variation of weak and/or injured continued to fight against the Damned who most of which were not beyond their endurance by half. A fact that did not stop any of his own from fighting and that made Darien proud and appreciative of his pack and his family. They were fighting so hard, refusing to give in even though they faced such overwhelming odds, that Darien would have given his life to stop what he knew was to come.

His people were going to lose in a crushing defeat. Darien had fought in too many wars, too many battles, not to know the outcome of this one. The Damned outnumbered them greatly and it would be those greater numbers that would grant Diamond victory this day.

It all seemed so surreal. After so long, after fighting so many battles, this was how it ended; with the complete and crushing defeat of his pack. It made all those long centuries seem . . . wasted.

Had it all truly been for nothing? All the suffering, all the fighting and loss and sacrifice. What was the point of it all?

'Alright, that's enough of THAT!' Serena snapped irritably into his mind, having heard every thought and felt his dejection and despair.

At his back, Darien could sense her shifting her weight forward until he could feel her astonishingly soft fur brush his back, turning her position from that of on being defended into one of someone intent on defending.

'What are you doing?' Darien asked even as he reached into her mind, searching for the answer himself. It should have surprised Darien how strong and deep their matelink was, that he was so easily able to reach into her untainted loving mind deeper than he ever had any other, but it didn't. He had learned over his brief time of knowing her that where Serena was concerned NOTHING was impossible or beyond her reach.

Serena's inner strength and force of will was stronger than that of anyone he had ever known in all his long lonely immortal lifetime. Her strength was more than enough to save both of the immortal races from despair and extinction.

'We ARE NOT going to lose, do you hear me Darien?! Not to Diamond. Not today, not ever.' Serena told him with iron determination flowing how through her veins like liquid fire. 'Whether you like it or not, I am part of this now, part of this world, the good and the bad. The happy times and the hard times. This fight is just as much mine to fight it as it is yours and I will not run from it!'

And with that Serena once again lunged at Diamond determined that this time the outcome would be much different than the first.

---

The first thing to pierce the empty blackness was the pain. A pain that weighed so heavily on his consciousness, Zoicite feared it was going to crush him.

There were only two places Zoicite knew. The blackness that was empty; it was a nothingness and because of that it was peaceful. And then there was the darkness. It was different than the blackness because in the darkness he was semi aware. In the darkness that held him in a grip so tight that it was all Zoicite could do not to let himself fall back into the peaceful dark oblivion of the blackness that he had just barely managed to partly pull himself out of, there was the pain and there was fear.

The fear of both the pain and that if Zoicite let himself fall back into that peaceful painless blackness then he would never find his way back out. In some far-off distant corner of his clouded consciousness there was a voice whispering that the pain was good; if he could feel pain then he was alive.

The tempting peaceful oblivion he knew as the blackness was the path to his death. Zoicite knew it as sure as he knew anything. And death was tempting, the peace the oblivion offered was such Zoicite had never known. It promised no pain, no loneliness, no Beast savagely clawing at his insides thirsty for life's blood that was always there. Always trying to tempt him to betray all he loved and become one of the Damned.

In death there was no war or loss, no betrayal or pain, there was just peace.

Peace Zoicite had not known since his boyhood that had ended centuries ago.

And then there was another voice, a voice that was nagging at him, drawing him away from the peace that death promised. This voice beseeched him to fight so he may live; it was important that he lived.

There was something left unfinished that he had to do.

But what? What was it he had left to do that he could not leave unfinished?

Zoicite couldn't remember, his mind was too cloudy, too deeply buried beneath the pain and the sweetly tempting darkness that still tried to seduce him forward. Why couldn't he remember? What was so important that he had to deny himself peace just to see it done?

For so long Zoicite had secretly yearned for peace, true peace. And he was so tired, more so than he had ever been. He just wanted to rest. He wanted to bask in this peace. He didn't care if he couldn't go back to the life he knew.

Zoicite just wanted to know peace. He wanted to know light and warmth again, the kind he had known as a small child before the burden of his Beast and the endless weight of immortality that had plagued him for so long.

Why was dying a sin? Why did it feel so wrong when it felt so right?

Because those he loved were in terrible danger.

The answer came abruptly out of the darkness in a rush of clarity that pulled him further away from the blackness, from the brink that was death. That was right, that was what he had been trying to remember! There was a battle, a war being fought and everyone he loved, everyone he called family, were fighting for their lives.

And was an important part of it because he had to protect Serena. That was the task entrusted to him by his prince, his Alpha. His brother. And it was the most important task of all.

His life did not matter, but hers did. More than any other.

Serena. Everything that mattered revolved around this one extraordinary being.

Serena, the mortal girl with life and laughter and love in her depthless beautiful eyes who was the embodiment of renewed hope for all his kind, was in terrible danger.

Serena wasn't his wolfmate, she wasn't his to have but he loved her regardless. He loved her because of what she was to his Alpha, his brother. She made Darien laugh and live again. The small delicate golden beauty had brought his brother back from the brink and had brought him to life in a way he had never been. Zoicite loved Serena as his Queen and as the mate of his Alpha. He loved her because of what she was to his people and his most lived and cherished brother.

That was why he had to live. Zoicite wanted to live to see Serena become Queen. He wanted to bow before her, to see her laugh and smile at Darien. He wanted to see them marry and he wanted to see her blossom into the woman he knew she would become with just a little more time. He wanted to make her laugh again and he wanted to hear her voice echo through the halls as she once again tore Darien a new one because he was trying to prevent her from getting her way.

He wanted to be there for the Queen-to-be when she needed someone other than Darien to confide in; just as she had done that night she had come to this very room in search of something he had only remotely been able to understand.

Zoicite wanted all of this because it gave him real hope that one day he might watch as his own wolfmate as she laughed in his arms. And even if he never found his own wolfmate, seeing what Serena gave his brother was more than enough for him.

Only when Serena was safe, only when Serena stood beside her love as his wedded wife could Zoicite rest, could he find peace in the oblivion of death.

It took Zoicite everything he had to embrace the pain and force away the blackness of death that promised him peace, forcing himself back into the body that was his and to take control of it once again.

But finally, after what seemed like hours, Zoicite was awake enough to open his eyes and became aware of that that was outside his own mind.

The light that greeted him was not warm or peaceful or welcoming; it was cold, noisy and excruciatingly painful. His entire body felt too heavy, as if it was made of lead, and he ached in every muscle, and as he returned more and more to the world of the conscious Zoicite became more and more aware of the pain from his injuries and his badly battered body. And he wanted so badly to close his eyes and return to the warm peaceful painless oblivion, but he stubbornly fought it.

He had too. There was no other choice, not for him, because he wanted something more. He wanted the survival of those he loved and that was far more important to him than even his own life.

Zoicite turned his focus from his own body to what was happening around him. And what was happening all around him was a bloody violent war – something that was not an unfamiliar sight to him.

The floor was covered in blood, scattered debris and broken glass and amongst it all lay the crumbled bodies of the dead, the dying, the gravely injured and the unconscious. Some of who were being trampled by those that still had the strength to remain on their feet to fight.

It took Zoicite only a few moments to realise that very few of the bodies that littered the floor were Damned.

The Damned were winning this fight.

No. NO! It couldn't be. Not this battle, not the battle that would determine Serena's fate, and in turn the fate of all life, mortal and Immortal alike.

Drawing strength from that chilling thought Zoicite forced his body to move, battling against the pain and the severe fatigue to rise himself up onto his elbows, but even that cost him greatly.

Locks of familiar long forest brown hair on the floor not two feet from him caught Zoicite's eye. Hair that was normally neatly kept was now marred with grass, mud and drying blood.

Zoicite weakly, and with a great deal of pain, turned his body until he lay on his stomach and then he weakly and awkwardly slithered across the filthy floor, pulling and pushing himself along until he reached Nephlite, who was still and pale in his unconscious state.

Over the racket of the battle that raged around him Zoicite could just barely hear Nephlite's slow heartbeat.

Nephlite was covered in blood, mud and pieces of varied vegetation that Zoicite strongly suspected had once been part of the perfectly manicured lawn and beautiful gardens of the grounds that now lay in ruins.

But what really caught Zoicite's attention were the five long slashes across Nephlite's chest that Zoicite automatically identified to be injuries made from enemy Lycaon claws. Congealed blood was slowly oozing from the cuts, and even though Zoicite knew the wound would be as painful as hell, it was not life-threatening. Nothing crucial had been severed.

Unfortunately, Zoicite knew that like him Nephlite was done for this battle. Neither of them would be in any shape to fight – if they lived of course – for the next couple of days. At least.

As if he had sensed that he was no longer alone, Nephlite stirred. A low drawn-out moan escaped from his parted pale lips and a moment later his eyes slowly opened.

Zoicite sighed in relief and he moved back a little as Nephlite slowly sat up, wincing as he did. Supporting his weight on his outstretched arms, Nephlite looked around.

"By the Goddess." Nephlite gasped weakly as he took in the battle that was raging on around them that neither of them had the capability of re-joining.

Zoicite nodded, wordlessly conveying his own angst.

And that was when the two of them simultaneously laid eyes on their commanding Beta, but it was not Jadeite that had their eyes widening in absolute horror.

Nephlite was on his hands and knees, his back to them but the two of them could still clearly tell what he was doing to the beautiful woman with long black hair who lay on the floor as white and as still as death.

Without another moment lost, the two Beta's scrambled across the floor, crawling most of the way, as fast as their wounded and battered blood covered bodies were capable of moving. Neither of them noticed that they left long smears of blood and dirt on the floor behind them as all of their attention was on the Lycaon Princess as Jadeite desperately performed CPR on her.

Just as they reached them, Zoicite and Nephlite heard a faint and weak heartbeat.

Their eyes flared wide as they dared to hope for their princess whom they had feared was forever lost.

---

Movement beneath his hands brought Jadeite out of the trance he had unknowingly been trapped within. There had been nothing else but his one purpose; to bring Rei back to him. That was all that mattered to him now.

For the seemingly endless minutes that his wife had been gone Jadeite had essentially been as dead as his wife had been. He had felt nothing, thought nothing, had been aware of nothing but the heart beneath his hands that he was determined on forcing to beat again, to bring his wolfmate back to him.

Without Rei he was lost. Without Rei he might as well be dead because she was his everything. Living even a moment without her would have been completely and utterly unbearable.

"Jadeite!"

The familiar voice that thundered in his ear returned him to the land of the living, in all meanings of the expression, and all at once Jadeite realised that his efforts had rewarded him.

Rei was coughing.

Rei was alive. Rei was alive. Rei was alive.

He could hear her heartbeat. He could feel her presence once again through their matelink.

Rei was alive. Rei lived. Rei had returned to him. Rei was alive. She had come back from the dead. Rei was alive.

May the Moon Goddess praise the mortals, for they had been the one who had invented the method that had brought his mate back to him!

Tears of joy ran freely down his face, but Jadeite scarcely noticed as he leaned down over his wife, gently cupped his wife's precious head in his shaking hands and rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and listening to the steadying beat of her heart.

Rei had come back to him. Rei was alive. The centre of his being, the very essence of his soul, would live.

They would both live.

Never in all his centuries had Jadeite been so terrified, nor so close to his own death. He had fought in countless wars, he had been gravely injured more times than he could ever hope to recall, but never had he been so close to the abyss, for if his wolfmate had truly died then he would have promptly followed. He could not, nor would he, ever know life without her. Rei was what mattered most to him, more than his pack and his loyalty to his prince which Jadeite had long considered his purpose for living, his duty and his burden.

Jadeite loved Rei with all the love his had to give; she was everything good in him and in his world. Rei was his sun, his moon, his stars, his air, his water and his everything else. He could do without anything else but Rei. His existence before Rei had been born had been dreary and hollow. He had been born the day Rei had and he would die the moment Rei did, the day she was beyond saving.

But thank the Goddess, today was not that day. Rei was alive. Her heart was beating and she was drawing breath. The terror still remained in him, only now it no longer paralysed him, because she had not yet woken, but now Jadeite could feel her mind and he was confident that she would wake, once her weakened and exhausted body had rested.

That was what had woken him; the severing of their matelink as Rei had died had wretched him violently from his unconscious state.

But now it was all back, the matelink between them was just as strong as it had ever been. He could feel her as she slumbered. He could feel her peace and her love for him that had always been there since the moment they had linked, it was the very foundation of their link. No matter what else they were feeling, beneath it at the link's core there was love and trust.

Rei lived. She had come back to him.

---

The pain in Zoicite's throat told him that he still did not have his voice back; the damage to his larynx must have been a lot worse than had originally thought. He would have his voice back soon enough but it would not be soon enough. Zoicite wanted to offer words of reassurance to Jadeite, promising that Rei would be okay, that her heart was already beating strongly considering her weakened condition and long moments trapped in death.

Zoicite wanted so desperately to remind Jadeite, who lay over his love desperately holding onto her as he wept freely with joy, that Rei was the strongest woman he knew and she would live to rage her temper against him again.

But the best Zoicite could do in his muted state was reach out and place his hand on his brother's shoulder, silently offering what comfort he could.

For a long moment neither man moved, but as the moments turned into a minute Zoicite became more and more aware of the battle in which they were quite literally in the middle of.

But unfortunately, now that Rei lived, there were more pressing matters that needed attending too.

Such as the battle they were literally right in the middle of.

Once certain that Jadeite had had all the time to hold his wife that they could spare right now, Zoicite tightened his grip on his commanding Beta's shoulder and pulled him up into a sitting position.

Jadeite turned to him questioningly – he was clearly still more than a little out of it – and Zoicite unable to explain, nodded in their Prince's direction.

Jadeite's gaze lifted, following Zoicite's nod, to see their weak and injured prince and his combat-inexperienced wolfmate battling Diamond.

A battle they were very obviously losing.

They needed aid but the rest of the pack were engaged in their own battles against an enemy that greatly outnumbered them; there was no one to spare to help the royal couple. No one but the one Beta still capable of rising to his feet.

"Go. Your mate lives, now do your duty." Nephlite's usually hard voice was gentle with understanding and fierce promise. "We will watch over her. No more harm will come to her."

Jadeite hesitated. He knew his brother Beta's were right but he just could not leave Rei. Not when he had very nearly lost her forever, not when she had just come back to him, and especially not when even the slightest possibility remained that she could slip away again.

"Your mate lives," Nephlite repeated, his tone now much harder with urgency and the weight of duty. "Now go tend to your duty so that your mate's near sacrifice will not have been in vain. Rei was willing to die to save those two, are going to deny her what very nearly was her dying wish?"

Jadeite's heart lurched, and even though he felt downright nauseous from his lingering terror at the near loss of his wife, Jadeite knew that Nephlite was right. Rei had been willing to give her life so that her brother and his mate might live and claim victory. How could he do any less than re-join the fight to protect the prince Jadeite had spent centuries serving?

For Rei. For the future they WOULD ALL have.

Jadeite turned back to his wolfmate, kissed her gently on her warming but still pale lips and then slowly, weakly, rose to his feet. He was exhausted and wounded, but he was the strongest of the three Betas and Nephlite was right. He had to trust his wolfmate to his brothers and join the fight or else all of this would be for nothing.

It was his mate's wish that Darien and Serena survived this day and survive it with their freedom, and Rei's wish was his command.

Darien was prince, Alpha and brother to both Rei and himself. Jadeite had allowed himself to forsake his sworn duty to his Alpha for the sake of his wolfmate, but now that Rei lived once again he could forsake his duty no longer.

Jaeite knew it was Diamond who had very nearly ended the life of his wolfmate – Diamond's scent on Rei's bruised and swollen throat was unmistakeable – and deep within a burning hot rage hungered for revenge for the pain and harm Diamond had caused not just Rei and himself, but also those he called family.

Diamond had hurt and killed so many this night, the pain and suffering the Damned King had brought down upon them would last well beyond the hours of this night. The time had come for Diamond to suffer before he joined his fellow fallen Damned writhing in the deepest pits of Hell.

---

Serena had never fought in a real fight in her life and she had especially never fought one on four legs with a tail, and if it hadn't been for Darien constantly shouting orders into her head and diverting Diamond's attention from her she would no doubt be dead or dying.

Each time she recklessly attacked Diamond – knowing what she was doing was reckless did not keep her from the fight – Darien was right there to keep Diamond's attention – along with his teeth and claws – off of her.

But Serena had no experience in battle and even less in attacking as a Lycaon. She had no idea what she was doing and was mainly acting and reacting on instinct and Darien's orders. As a result, Serena had done almost no damage to Diamond.

And Darien was too busy keeping Diamond from hurting her that he'd no chance to cause any damage himself.

However Diamond was under no such disadvantage; he had ample chances to cause Darien even more injuries.

Serena feared that Darien would not be able to last much longer and facing Diamond alone in a fight Serena knew that she would not last long against him.

There had to be something she could do!

'Serena, focus!'

Serena's sharpened gaze flickered to her wolf mate while Darien's reprimand was still echoing around her skull in time to see that Darien's single moment of distraction had cost him.

Diamond lashed out with his clawed hands and caught Darien across the shoulder, and Darien cried out in pain as sharp claws sliced through skin, flesh and muscle.

Instinctively, Darien leapt back away from Diamond and took a more defensive stance, noting right away a weakness in his arm that hadn't been there moments ago.

Damn! With each new injury Darien slowed down at little more. Eventually Diamond would stop playing with him and go for the kill.

Literally.

Without a single thought for herself, Serena leapt in front of Darien, the front half of her massive Lycaon body held low in a rigid offensive stance, ready to spring at any moment, and growled threateningly through her razor sharp teeth.

Right now Serena was not a woman protecting the man she loved, but a fierce creature protecting her injured mate from danger.

That was the last time Serena was going to let Diamond hurt Darien and it was absolutely the last time that Darien would get himself hurt because she was distracting him.

Diamond grinned with cruel anticipation at her as he tensed his own body. "Such a temper for such a small thing. I seeing him hurt distresses you then allow me to ease your suffering."

Serena tensed every muscle in her wolf body, waiting warily for the attach she knew was coming. Her entire being was focused on Diamond, so much so that she couldn't even hear Darien screaming at her in her head not to try to take Diamond alone.

Diamond lunged at her.

But before Serena could lunge at Diamond, a large fiery red and white blur caught Diamond by surprise from the side, catching Diamond in mid-lunge.

Serena's ears perked up as she recognised the pelt of the Lycaon who had taken Diamond by surprise and was now savagely attacking Diamond with murderous vigour as they tumbled across the floor, each trying to regain their footing while at the same time trying to kill the other.

Or in Jadeite's case, trying to tear Diamond into pieces with his savagely snarling snapping jaws that were slick with dripping saliva that was going in all directions.

No. It couldn't be . . .

If Jadeite was there fighting Diamond, did that mean that Rei was . . .

No! Jadeite would never give up on Rei.

Serena spun her head around and zeroed in on Rei who still lay where she had fallen, to see Nephlite and Zoicite on their hands and knees, kneeling protectively over Rei as they kept her from harm in the middle of the inside battlefield.

Rei was alive. Serena could see the colour that had returned to her once lifeless face.

Rei was alive. REI WAS ALIVE!

'Easy Serena!' Darien snapped, although his mental tone was one of relief and a hint of joy. 'Rememeber I'm in here too.'

Serena rolled her eyes, as she felt a wave of Darien's love for his sister and joy that she lived. 'Like I could forget.'

Unfortunately, the moment ended and they both returned their attention to Diamond and Jadeite to see that they two had managed to find their feet and separate; they now stood feet apart, Diamond hissing at Jadeite while Jadeite snarled and growled back as they circled each other looking for an opening.

Serena turned her massive furry head and looked Darien in the eye with one ear perked in question. 'Can you still fight?'

Darien gave her the smallest of loving smiles as his eyes twinkled with love and lingering joy. 'With you by my side, my sweet Serena, I can do anything.'

Serena couldn't returned his smile – she didn't know how – so instead Serena sent a wave of warm love through their matelink, allowing him to feel her love for him.

'Then lets go kick Diamond's ass!'

And the two hurriedly joined Jadeite, the three of them – Jadeite and Serena in Lycaon form and Darien in human form – faced Diamond, ready to do battle together and put an end to Diamond once and for all.

Serena was very satisfied at the sight of Diamond's scowling expression; his sadistic grin was no where to be seen.

Faced with all three of them, Serena could practically see the wheels in Diamond's twisted mind turning. Darien was dangerously weak and injured, Jadeite was not much better and Serena herself was inexperienced in combat and with her new Lycaon abilities while Diamond was for the most part uninjured and was still strong enough to fight.

However it was still three against one and Serena knew that Diamond had to know that his chances of winning against three-to-one-odds were not as favourable as they had been before Jadeite had joined the battle.

Serena saw it in his black eyes the moment Diamond made his decision and she knew what that decision was, just as Darien did.

Darien knew Diamond better than anyone alive and Darien knew well that Diamond had not survived so much for so long by taking chances with his life.

In short, Diamond was a coward and there was one thing all cowards did when the odds were not tipped in their favour.

Diamond took a small step backwards.

"You may have won this battle prince!" Diamond snarled so viciously that his voice didn't even sound human, his face contorted with such evil rage and loathing that his face matched that of human legend – without any humanity at all. "But the war WILL BE MINE!"

And with his snarled menacing warning, Diamond turned on his heel and like a flash was gone.

With her new improved Lycaon eyes though, this time he did not disappear into thin air. Serena saw a flash of him as he leapt over what was left of the manor's surrounding walls and disappeared amongst the trees beyond.

Diamond was fleeing, leaving those left of his army to fight on without him and cover his escape.

Serena couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let Diamond get away to threaten them another day, to hurt and even kill more of her people! She was one of them now; she had the power, the strength to fight for others. So many had died for her and so many others had been prepared to die for her – they still were. How could she be prepared to do, to give, any less for them?

She had been given this amazing gift that she in no way deserved – although Darien did – and Serena had to do everything she could to be worthy of it. She was scared but she wasn't alone any more, she was a part of something that was so much greater than herself and she would throw herself wholeheartedly into it for the rest of her life whoever long that was. She would become everything Darien and their pack needed her to be.

And without any more hesitation, Serena willed her new larger body forward, running on all four paws to the fence where she leapt into the air and was awed at how far and how high she so effortlessly went.

And with a flash of her golden tail, Serena too disappeared amongst the trees right were Diamond had disappeared only moments before.

---

Ignoring the nauseating smell of vomit, Lita smoothly stepped in front of Mina, glaring threateningly at Trista, warning her to keep her distance from her ill sister at her back. These people were crazy and Lita knew enough from years of training in various forms of combat to know that each and every one of these people were dangerous.

More so than anyone Lita had ever met. She could read it in the way they stood, in the way they moved and in the way they watched. They were very well trained; no they were more than that. These were men that had spent their entire lives guarding something that they had dedicated their lives to protecting. Guarding something that they would die to protect.

And that made these men – and Trista too – very dangerous and very unpredictable.

"Back off," Lita snapped at Trista but her words were for them all.

Lita loved her friends more than anyone else in her life and she would never let anything happen to any of them, no matter what she had to do. She had always been the protector of their group and not just because she was combat proficient, but because all three of the girls – Mina, Amy and Serena especially – were not only unable to protect themselves from an attacher in the least – all three of them were on the small side – they were also naive to the evils in the world.

Which was the one thing Lita envied of them. Sadly it was the cost of spending her life training so she would be able to protect herself and those she loved.

And Lita would protect her sisters no matter what, from harm and from said evils of the world, she would protect their innocent hearts for as long as she possibly could. And Lita was determined to do so not out of some sense of obligation because of her Amazonian build, but because they were her family and they always had and always would be there for her whether she needed them or not. They were more than her friends; they were her family.

Lita tensed, ready to fight all of them if need be to protect her family at her back.

"I know this is hard to understand," Trista said soothingly, holding up her hands in a non-threatening gesture. "But I have spoken nothing but the truth, to all of you. All of you are in danger, as you will always be for the rest of your lives. I'm sorry, but none of you can return to the lives you had, not without being a constant target of the Damned. Such was the lesson learned by the Lycaon prince in regards to his own mortal mate."

Lita said nothing. What could she say to that, especially when she didn't understand any of it?

Just what delusion were these people so reverent of?

Amy reached out and took hold of Lita's elbow, pulling back ever-so-slightly.

Lita understood Amy's unspoken plea. Amy did not want her to start anything, to act before thinking.

Lita took no offence. She knew Amy as well as she knew any of her sisters and she knew that Amy was fearful for Mina and Lita herself before her own well-being. No doubt Amy's highly intelligent brain had already calculated Lita's very slim chance against such unfavourable odds.

But what other choice did Lita have? These people were dangerous and it was very clear that they were not going to let them go voluntarily.

To make matters even worse the three of them were trapped in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night with no functioning vehicle.

Mina wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she straightened, ignoring the bad taste in her mouth, the burning in her throat and her still queasy stomach.

The entire situation felt so surreal, like a dream, except Mina knew that despite the absurdness of the situation, there was no waking up from this. How could their lives have changed so dramatically in a matter of hours?

Who was Mina kidding? Her life had been changed forever in a single moment. The very moment Mina had felt that . . . connection with Andrew, Mina had instinctively known that her life would never be the same again.

Whatever situation they had been pulled into, whoever Andrew was, Mina could not deny what she felt so strongly.

There was something there, something between Andrew and herself that she felt compelled to explore, to embrace.

But Mina had no time for that right now. No time to reflect on any of this, not until Mina knew that Serena was alive and safe. Not until Mina saw that Serena was alright for herself could she spare another thought about anything else.

They had come to find Serena, and that was what they were going to do. Everything else could wait until then.

It had too. It was too much, too complicated, for Mina to absorb right now, and Mina felt more than a little guilty that she was using Serena as an excuse to delay in facing whatever this was, with Andrew and those who followed him.

"Lita," Mina spoke barely louder than a whisper, beseeching her to stand down, and then Mna leaned to the right, poking her head out from behind Lita until she could meet Trista's eyes. "I want to see Serena. I need to know she's safe."

Mina saw the relief in Trista's penetrating eyes in the brief moment before the taller woman bowed her head and placed her fisted hand over her heart. "As you wish."

Trista straightened and reached into her almost skin-tight bodice and pulled out a black flip cell phone. She flipped it open but before she pressed even a single button, the cell phone slipped from Trista's fingers and fell unnoticed to the ground with a soft plastic clatter.

And then, as if they were all well-rehearsed actors in a play, all of the men surrounding them spun around on their toes until they were facing the darkness that surrounded them.

For long silent moments there was nothing. Everything was silent and still, there was absolutely no sound, none of the usual sounds of the night. No crickets chirped, no night birds called. Even the wind and the trees were silent, as if Mother Nature herself was on alert along with those guarding them.

It felt . . . unnatural and it scared the hell out of Mina so much so that every instinct she had was screaming at her to run and it was all Mina to do to remain where she was.

Unconsciously, Mina took a step closer to the wrecked car at her back, instinctively putting something at her back.

Mina's mind was dazed and she felt so mentally exhausted that all she wanted to do was sleep to rest her mind as well as her body, despite the adrenaline flooding her veins.

Something had put these men on alert and not knowing what it was did not help any at all.

Mina was so fed up with this whole night. So much had happened tonight and she was so over it, she didn't want to face any more, she just wanted to find Serena and return to their normal safe lives. Things had become very strange as of a matter of hour ago, beginning with Serena's call – no scratch that, things had been strange since before Serena had disappeared weeks ago without a single word of warning – and since then things had continued to get stranger until about fifteen minutes ago when they had left strange behind and had driven straight into bizarre and taken a sharp left into creepy.

And it all had something to do with Serena and the blond male with the haunting gorgeous eyes that stole her breath and held her bewitched.

"To arms!" Trista abruptly shouted authoritatively, her entire body rigid as she stared with hard alert eyes into the darkness in front of them. "Prepare once again for battle! Do not forget what it is you fight for!"

Lita, with the grace and swiftness of someone who had spent most of her life training her body for physical combat, twirled around on the toes of one foot and planted herself firmly in front of her two smaller sisters.

A seasoned dancer would have envied her grace, especially for a young woman who had an Amazonian build.

Mina shook her head, both physically and mentally, dislodging the ill-timed thoughts formed out of the fear she was struggling to keep under control.

Beside her, Mina noticed Amy wrap her arms around herself and needing comfort as much as she needed to give the smallest of the three of them comfort, Mina closed the tiny space between them and wrapped her arms around her protectively.

Again acting as one, the men that circled them took long steps backwards, shrinking the circle until they were virtually shoulder to shoulder.

"Oh my god." Lita breathed in near terror, and she took another step back, bumping into the two of them and pushing them against the bumper of the car.

Still holding Amy close, Mina fought down her fear and dread at Lita's reaction to what she had seen, and against her better judgement, Mina followed Lita's gaze to see what had Lita so terrified.

Mina's breath caught in her throat.

It was a wolf. But this was no ordinary wolf. It looked like something straight out of Stephen King's nightmares.

This wolf was three times the size of her car – before it had been totalled. Its feet were larger than those of an elephant and it had to stand at least four feet higher than Lita! Its fur was scruffy and the colour of rotting hay. Its eyes were black, blacker than any black Mina had ever seen, blacker than even the deepest darkness around them.

And its teeth. Oh god, its teeth! They could hardly be called teeth! They were longer than her hand and its mouth was FULL of them!

And it was snarling savagely, intentionally displaying ALL of its teeth.

Mina whimpered in terror as she shrank back against the cold metal of her car. She didn't need to fight the urge to run any more. She was frozen in terror.

Trista was suddenly in front of all three of them – she had somehow moved so fast that they hadn't actually seen her move – her arm pointing at the impossibly large wolf, her eyes blazing with cold hard purpose. "Kill them!" Trista commanded loudly. "Protect the women at all costs! Surrender your very lives if need be but no Damned shall break the circle!"

At her words, every second man in the circle that surrounded them stepped forward and out of the circle while those who remained stepped back once again forming a smaller protective circle around them.

Unbelievably the men of the front line started advancing on the wolf.

Not one of them seemed to be armed with anything other than their bare hands. Not one of them seemed alarmed that they were facing a massive wolf unarmed!

Mina tightened her hold on Amy. Regardless of her fear Mina still felt the need to protect the smallest of her sisters. Like her, Amy was pale and her eyes were firmly fixed on the dark grey wolf with black eyes that was bigger than the car at their backs. It was as big as a damn Hummer!

"What the hell is that?!" Lita demanded of Trista, fear making her voice uncharacteristically high pitched, like a terrified blonde in a horror movie that was about to get gruesomely sliced up.

"That-," Trista answered sharply, her focus on the impossibly huge savage wolf. "-is a Lycaon Damned. One of the very monsters we are here to protect you from."

For the first time, one of those who stood in the protective circle between Trista and those advancing on the wolf with lethal intent, turned and looked at the three of them, his confident expression showed no signs of fear or doubt. "Fear not, my ladies. We will not let any harm befall you. If need be we all will lay down our lives for you."

Inside of Mina's embrace, Amy whimpered softly and wrapped her arms around Mina, but instead of holding her tight as Mina expected her too, Amy yanked her back until Amy was standing in front of Mina by Lita's side, her stance was timidly protective.

Amy did not understand what was going on but in her logical mind she knew without a single doubt that it was all focused on Mina . . . and quite possibly Serena as well, and she was going to do what little she could to keep them from getting hurt. Unlike Lita, a true reincarnated Amazonian warrior, Amy had no battle skills or greater than average womanly strength, but she had her determination and her need to protect her friends who had always protected her from everything that could possibly cause her harm.

Last year when a boy – he had been twenty old in years but his level of maturity had been closer to that of an eight yaer-old – Amy had been tutoring had become disturbingly attached to her, it had been Lita, Mina and Serena who had ended the situation before it had evolved into something dangerous. He had started stalking her, and having always been a good girl who'd had limited experiences with the opposite sex, Amy had been ill-equipped to deal with the situation.

But her friends hadn't been. Lita and Mina had made it very clear that he needed to back off and stay away from Amy while Serena had organised a girls night in with ice-cream and chocolate and popcorn and the next morning all the three of them had started taking self-defence classes from Lita that Serena had suggested and arranged.

Lita had been surprisingly very knowledgeable on the topic, especially with how to incapacitate a male attacker. Quite frankly, it had made Amy suspect that Lita had had more than one unpleasant situation with a pushy date – who had no doubt promptly felt VERY sorry for his wrong-doings.

Amy remembered that day of their first self-defence lesson in the park by campus. Standing on the cool lush grass in the park in amongst some trees they had used for some privacy Amy had been reminded of how lucky she was to have such dear friends who cared about her, who put each other before themselves.

Amy hadn't let herself forget that again, and even though she was more terrified than she have ever been in her entire life, Amy wouldn't back down. She was going to protect Mina just as tenaciously as Lita intended and there was nothing that was going to make her back down.

Not even a wolf that was more than five times the size it should have been. It was three times the size of the extinct sabre-toothed tiger that had once roamed the earth and its teeth were twice as long. All the exaggerated wolves Amy had ever seen in horror movies were teddy bears compared to this monster of a beast.

Amy swallowed and closed her trembling hands into fists. She was small and mostly unskilled in combat but she had all the strength and will that real love granted those who put others before themselves.

Mina's heart swelled even despite her horror. She loved her friends so much; they were her family, family who loved her in return. They both stood protectively in front of her, ready to defend her from a monstrous wolf that they would not last two seconds against.

Without hesitating, Mina stepped forward and took up Lita's other side. If this was how it ended, then the three of them would stand together.

Trista looked over her shoulder at the three young mortal women who stood shoulder to shoulder side by side as a united force and despite the threat they were facing, Trista allowed herself to smile a small proud smile that was only a little sad.

The young women were so brave. Her Prince had found a rare jewel in his mortal mate, one who had strength and a good true heart and who knew loyalty. Trista was happy for her prince and was proud to be the one chosen to protect his most precious treasure.

Mina gave her hope that she would find her own mate someday, but in some deep shielded part of her soul Trista envied her prince just a little at finding such a special mate.

Secretly, Trista had long ago come to believe that all the good qualities that had made their Immortal ancestors cherish the human race were long gone. For far too long Trista had witnessed only greed, hatred and corruption in the mortal race, but in one moment these three young mortals had altered her perception forever. There was still good in the mortal race and one day, as had been so long ago, the Immortal races would step back into the sun – metaphorically speaking in regards to the Anami race of course – and become the teachers and the guides of the mortal race once again.

Movement drew Trista's eye back to the Damned Lycaon in time to see two more Damned Lycaons step out of the darkness, the two even larger than the first. It was not a surprise; after Trista and the unit had heard the first they had reached out with their senses and had detected the two lurking in the trees one hundred yards up the road who had been moving towards them at a mortal pace.

But it mattered not. The three Damned were going to fall just as easily as their counterparts had. Trista doubted any of the Damned that had attacked them tonight knew the importance of the golden haired mortal they were escorting to the Lycaon Manor, and it had most likely mattered very little to them other than they had seen a target to attack.

They had no idea just how fiercely they would fight to protect the three mortal women with them; likely all three of the Damned considered Mina and her friends to be nothing more than tasty snacks they could delight themselves in while they no doubt guarded Diamond's back.

And they were going to die for their impertinence.

Trista grinned like a demoness. A grin that if the three Damned were smart would have had them backing up in fear, but they weren't smart and so they continued to advance with their eyes on the three mortal women.

"Take them out." Trista said in a voice so low that the mortals at her back would not be capable of hearing but the Immortals around her heard as clearly as if she had shouted the order.

That was all her advancing offensive line needed. The six men, two for each Damned Lycaon, rushed forth and just like that their second battle of the night had begun. They had lost no man in the first attack and they wouldn't lose one in the second either, Trista was sure of it.

Hopefully, Prince Andrew was facing much more favourable odds at the Lycaon manor.

---

'SERENA! What the hell are you doing?! Come back to the manor immediately!'

Serena winced at Darien's shouted words that exploded through her mind with a thick wave of anger and fear and immediately swerved to avoid running head long into a tree as she ran in the pursuit of a fleeing Diamond.

It was so strange to have someone else in her head and she knew it was going to take her a very long time to get used to it. She could feel Darien's heart-gripping fear for her safety and his desperation for her to return. She could also feel his rage at both his own inability to follow after her as quickly as he normally would have due to his injured and dangerously weakened state and at Serena herself for being foolish enough – Darien's phrasing, not her own – to pursue Diamond alone.

'I can't.' Serena calmly answered him, again thinking of how strange it was to be having a conversation with someone else inside of her own head. 'This has to end. Diamond must be stopped and you are in no condition to take him on, Darien. I can feel how exhausted you are. Let me do this, believe in me.'

Serena could actually feel Darien struggling against his urge to argue with her, to continue to push his point – as he usually did – and his warm endless love for her that demanded that she always be kept safe. Darien wanted her to be safe but at the same time he did not want her to think for even a moment that he had no faith in her.

'Serena, my love, my sweet miracle.' Darien reassured her gently.'I believe in you more than I believe in my own Goddess who brought you to me. At your command I would forsake my Goddess for always and worship at your feet, and yours alone.'

The sincerity in Darien's charming words humbled Serena more than she even she could express. He spoke with truth, limitless love and eternal devotion. How could such a man exist below the clouds of heaven? Darien was more than this world could ever deserve in a guardian and so much more than she could ever possibly deserve.

'Do no put me on a pedestal, my love.' Darien cautioned at hearing her thoughts. 'Come back to the manor. PLEASE. I know Diamond, and I know what he's capable of. Now that he cannot have you as his own he WILL kill you just to kill me in the most agonising way an Immortal can die.'

'Darien, do you think for a moment that I would let Diamond kill me after this taste of being a Lycaon? Or this bliss now that I am your bonded mate?'

Serena pulled her attention back to the physical world and put her muzzle to the ground. Serena was new at this but it wasn't hard to follow Diamond's scent; it was so think and distinctive that it was almost visible. The disgusting sickening scent of rot, blood, death and something that was distinctly Diamond that sickened her more than anything else was thick and fresh, it was almost too easy to follow.

Serena could smell the scents of the woods, of nature, of animals that had crossed her path in recent days and as much as she wanted to investigate each one, to learn and explore with her new abilities, Serena forced herself to ignore them. There would be time for that later.

Deep in her mind where Serena had felt Darien's presence since the moment they had forged their Wolflink, she heard him decide to switch tactics.

'At least wait for me!' Darien's pleaded her, his words accompanied by a wave of his fear for her safety.

Serena reached deeper into the link – Serena was pleasantly surprised how naturally using their Wolflink came to her, maybe she would master their link faster than she'd thought – to learn that Darien was struggling in vain to catch up with her. He was still in human form and limping urgently through the trees barely one hundred feet from the manor's wall as he followed her scent trail. The link was so powerful that Serena could feel the bite of the course bark of the tree Darien was at this very moment leaning against, trying to catch his breath for a single moment before continuing on after her.

Serena did not waste her time telling Darien not to follow her, mental or otherwise, as she knew he would not listen to her. Besides, Darien was moving too slowly to catch up with her any time soon.

In response to her thought, Serena sensed Darien quicken his pace, pushing himself harder than he ever had before in an effort to prove her wrong.

Had Darien had the strength Serena had no doubt that Darien would have growled at her in warning of her candid underestimation of him.

Serena mentally shook her head at him, the man could teach stubborn to a mule.

All of a sudden Serena skidded to a halt, her head spinning a little at the sudden halt after moving so fast, but it took only a moment for the disorientation to pass, a singled moment in which Serena simultaneously realised two things.

Firstly, she was standing in a clearing with a single tree in the middle. The same clearing in which Darien had been forced to kill his Damned brother Malachite to save her life.

And secondly, Diamond's scent had disappeared. It ended where she now stood, only a few feet inside of the clearing.

Serena looked around, confused. Where had Diamond disappeared too? How had he managed to cut off his scent just like that?

And why hadn't he done so sooner if Diamond had that ability?

Serena looked upwards into the tree, eyeing each branch with her now superhuman sight. With her new Lycaon eyes, Serena could see all the way up into the tree to its uppermost branches – branches which were empty and held no trace of Diamond.

Deciding to put her new canine nose to the test, Serena lowered her muzzle to the ground and inhaled deeply.

It was astounding all the things Serena could smell. She could smell the scents of nature – the damp rich scenting earth, the damp thriving grass and the scent of decaying foliage from the dead dry leaves and twigs that did well to keep the earth damp – and the animals that lived in the forest. In fact, if Serena wasn't mistaken a small creature had scampered through the clearing only a short while ago before continuing on it's way.

And on top of all of that Serena could also smell evidence of the violence the clearing had witnessed only a number of days ago. The smell of old rotting blood which even after many days still carried two separate scents, one of which Serena recognised as Darien's.

And the other, this one stronger as there was more blood to smell, was Malachite's as he had died here. Strange, even days after his death part of Malachite still lingered here.

But the only trace of Diamond in the clearing was days old, no doubt from that very night that life's blood had been spilt here.

As Serena had seen countless dogs do countless time, Serena took her head forever as she moved her nose back and forth along the ground, searching for a fresh scent of Diamond.

Deep in her own mind, Serena felt Darien's anxiety spike.

In response the hairs on the back of Serena's neck stood up as her newly acquired Lycaon instincts screamed a warning of danger at her.

'Serena! Get out of there!'

Serena lifted her head –.

All a moment too late.

'Sere-!'

With a ferocious earthshaking roar, Diamond exploded from the trees behind her and rammed into her back end, sinking his extended Anami claws into the muscles and tendons of her hind left leg.

With a wolfish scream of pain, the back half of Serena's Lycaon body dropped to the ground with Darien's warning becoming a roar of rage and pain mid-way through thundering through her mind.

And just as quickly as he had appeared, Diamond was gone.

---

This WILL BE finished and uploaded by 2015 if I have to literally glue my hands to my keyboard!