Oh man, the day I was going to update and my internet gets all janked up. It took almost three days to get it up and running again but now I'm back online. Yay for me and all you people waiting! Enjoy!

~Jade~

Everything we found in those files, everything that was happening all the way up to this very moment, was all a part of this crazy deranged psychopath's plan to bring vampires and wolves together. Or at least, in a way he thinks will work. I personally knew this was doing the complete opposite. He was proving that this already heated topic would cause nothing but disorder among us. If he did become our next leader what else would he have in mind for a 'better' society? I really didn't want to know and I wouldn't let that happen.

"Shut up, St. Claire! All you've done is torn apart the balance of this world. Your views are doing nothing but causing unrest. You're hurting your cause," I told him, trying to make him question his motives. He laughed and shook his head.

"I know what I believe, newborn. Make no mistake about that. My question to you though; how does it feel to be Bonded to a wolf, hm? Is it powerful? Do you feel every single emotion from her? It's gained strength relatively quickly, hasn't it?" he interrogated me in interest.

"How has your relationship been when she was still human? How does that compare to now?" he inquired of Tori, walking over to us slowly. I growled a warning. As much as I didn't like it, his questions reluctantly sounded correct. Tori and I didn't have the best friendship back when I was still human. How long would it have taken to reach this point we were at now had I not been turned?

"The level our Bond is at wouldn't have been this strong had she remained human. It wouldn't even be this strong yet between two vampires or two wolves," I heard Tori mutter quietly. Her statement made St. Claire grin victoriously.

"You see? It's better. Vampire and wolf unions are better," he agreed, gesturing at Tori with a nod. She looked down and away, unwilling to further agree with him.

"Which is the reason it was banned," she shot back, her gold eyes locking on him. He sneered and waved a dismissive hand.

"That won't matter when I take over," he said certainly.

"You'll never be leader. The patrol will be back, and when they do, you'll be sentenced to death," Tori retorted fiercely.

"I wonder if David knows just how many backstabbers he has here," St. Claire pondered in mock thought, tapping his chin before shrugging.

"Let's ask him shall we?" he questioned, walking over to yank Tori's father to his feet. The other wolves growled at him but they couldn't do anything more. St. Claire unlocked the collar around his neck and tossed it. Then he reached down to grab a simple cloth that he draped over his head.

"I think I can manage at least some decency," he said uncaringly. He was acting like he was high and mighty for sparing an ant from getting stepped on just for walking by him. I watched as David Vega changed back into his human form. He let out a tired groan and fell to his knees, the cloth draped over his shoulders pooled around him on the floor.

"Father!" Tori cried out, running forward and shoving me away before I could intervene.

"Tori, wait!" I yelled at her, desperate to get her back. She couldn't just run at St. Claire. I caught the grin taking over his features before he blurred forward and slammed a fist into Tori's stomach. She took it straight on with a heavy grunt and fell to her knees. She coughed, forced herself back up, and tried again. St. Claire floored her with a solid punch to the face. She hit the floor and had some trouble getting up this time. I darted forward and leaped at him but he swung out to stop me. I maneuvered over his swinging arm and landed behind him. I grabbed him in a chokehold and moved to break his neck but a powerful jab to my side shattered bone and had me crying out in pain. He slipped from my hold and spun around to grab me by the throat.

"You're a very strong newborn. A great Bond mate if I ever saw one. It would be a shame to kill such a fine example of my work," he speculated, looking at me from all angles like I was a fucking piece of art. I swiped at him but he deflected the blow easily.

"Put, her, down," Tori snarled, getting back on her feet. I could see the wolf reflected in her eyes, wild and unleashed. She was close to shifting. St. Claire lowered me to the floor but didn't let me go.

"What will you do, mongrel?" he asked, unaffected by the fury rolling off Tori in waves.

"Tori…get out of here," her father gasped. My eyes flicked over to him. He was a mess. That collar seemed to keep him in his wolf form, but now that it was off and it was just bare skin, the wounds and injuries stood out sharply. The shackles on his wrists were no longer digging into him as much so that less blood flowed. I glanced at Tori who shook her head and faced St. Claire defiantly.

"Let her go," she demanded evenly.

"Have it your way," he replied, tossing me instead of simply letting me go. I hit the floor on my side but quickly scrambled to my feet just in time to see St. Claire collide with Tori. They fell backwards, the force of their fall cracking the smooth tile. His teeth snapped at her before she landed a punch that kept him away followed by cutting a gash across his face. He pulled back and Tori took the opening to kick him off her. She hastily yanked off her clothes to take on her wolf form. She let out a roar and galloped after him, her claws tearing into his chest before smacking him aside. He hit the wall and slid down, motionless. I forced myself to walk over, my hand on my side where my bones were busy rearranging themselves back into the correct order.

Tori jumped at the prone figure by the wall, meaning to land the necessary fatal blow, but was easily brought to a stop. Faster than any of us saw, St. Claire had launched off the floor and rammed his whole body into Tori's torso. She yelped and flew back, hitting the floor and rolling over just in time to receive a swipe to her stomach. I ran at him as fast as I could, catching him around the middle and continuing until I slammed him into a wall and held him there. Tori followed after us. I fought off his struggling until Tori reached us, her teeth aiming for his neck. He grabbed me at the last minute and threw me right at Tori. We collided forcefully and fell to the floor.

"Fuck. We almost had him," I growled, pushing off Tori to stand. St. Claire circled us before stopping by Tori's father. The sound of metal sliding against a surface caught my attention. A silver dagger shone in the light. St. Claire held it up before his eyes fell on Tori's father.

"No!" I screamed, jumping up and knocking the blade from his hand before he could strike. He lashed out with a snarl, catching my arm when I blocked a strike to my face and then received a blow to my side, his fingers and nails gouging with enough force to carve into me effortlessly. I screamed in pain and fell to my hands and knees, blood spilling over my hands gripping at the deep injury. I hoped I healed fast or there would be a problem. I felt Tori's fury rise again. She charged and knocked St. Claire over before he could retrieve the dropped dagger. She bit into his shoulder, having missed his neck when he tried to evade. They wrestled and grappled on the floor, Tori fighting hard, but I could tell she was still receiving too much damage and soon she would give out. I pushed off the floor and quickly set to work prying Tori's mother, father, and sister out of their restraints. I started with Trina whose chocolate brown streaked with light brown fur bristled at my approach.

"No complaining, Vega," I warned her before reaching out and grabbing a hold of the collar. I tried looking for a release mechanism but I found none so I muscled it open. It required prolonged exposure to the silver but I didn't give a flying fuck at this point. The collar snapped off finally and I moved to free her wrists of the shackles. As soon as she was out she darted over to help Tori. She got in a good bite to St. Claire's side while he wasn't paying attention. She tossed her head a few times before throwing him to the ground like a ragdoll. Shit, Trina was actually capable of something cool for once. I moved on to Tori's mother next. When she was free she stood and shook out her light brown fur before turning and busting Tori's father out without hesitance. She whimpered and licked his face.

"I know. I will," he responded, obviously answering something that only he heard through their shared connection.

"Jade, help Tori. I'll try and get in a word with the patrol. I'm the only one who can communicate with the elite. It's the reason he was trying to keep me in pain and stuck in my wolf form. We still might think like a human but in that form everything is intense and too hard to handle emotionally," he explained. I nodded and let Tori's mother watch over him while I rejoined the fray. Tori was currently grounded and licking her wounds carefully yet efficiently. Trina was still fighting but she looked worse than Tori. I slipped into the fight and dodged the blow St. Claire tried to aim at me when I did.

His attack set him up for Trina who struck, tearing at his arm. He screamed and tossed her off, but the damage was done. His arm was mangled. She came running back but St. Claire stopped her with a throwing knife to the gut. She let out a growling yelp and skid off balance to fall over and drive the knife deeper. She howled in pain and slowly shifted back, her hands shaking but still trying to get the deeply driven knife out. I turned back to face St. Claire but he was already on the move. Tori's mother ran after him.

"You coward!" I shouted at him, knowing it was stupid to draw him back into a fight we might not win, but at the same time, we had to end this now. We couldn't afford to let him get away. Plus, if he was running, than he felt overpowered. We had the upper hand. Tori's mother reached him, her claws digging into his back, before he spun and sent a fast uppercut to her muzzle. It made her flinch and it was the opening he needed. He lashed out at her neck, aiming to tear it out, but I reached them just in time to relocate it as I tackled him. The gash instead ran down the base of her neck and onto her chest. She yelped and struggled to put some distance between him and her. I grabbed him by the neck and forcefully smashed my fist into his face before grabbing at his now dirtied button up to slam him back into the floor multiple times.

He lashed out at my stomach but missed and then landed a hit across my face before tossing me off him. I caught myself on my feet and prepared to rush at him again but he was gone. Suddenly, an icy vice grip grabbed me by the arm from behind and yanked me back. Before I knew it, his teeth met my skin. They dug into my hands, legs, middle, tearing mercilessly as we fought to one up the other. Our wrestling match ended abruptly when Tori jumped in, her claws determined to disembowel him. St. Claire kicked me away and then rolled out of the way of Tori's attack, only to pop up on his feet and lash out at her leg with another knife. She snarled and almost fell, her legs shaking from the pain. Tori's mother sprang forward again but St. Claire effortlessly knocked her away with a forceful arm sweep. She flew back and hit the stairs, tumbling down the rest of the way. Tori swayed and then finally fell over to return to her human form.

"Mother!" she screamed out in pain. She looked exhausted and her steps were unbalanced when she tried to stand. She stumbled tiredly and eventually fell to her knees once more.

"I've given up too much for this! I will not allow you to get in my way!" St. Claire yelled, lunging at Tori with his dagger drawn. I ran forward just as Tori's father jumped over his daughter to land protectively in front of her. I realized, now that he was standing, that he was much bigger and more heavily built. His black fur was such a contrast to his family's fur, which were all a variation of brown. Tori's dark shaded hazelnut colored fur was the closest out of all of them to match her father. He struck out at St. Clair with a mighty claw, catching him across the torso. Nails bit into bone with a jarring, sickening sound, flinging St. Claire a few feet away. He hit the ground and it shattered on impact. Blood spread under him and he was having a hard time getting up.

The black wolf turned, striking wise gold eyes studying me. He glanced behind him at Tori who was struggling to stand again but not gaining much progress. He helped her up, nudging her to her feet with his muzzle to help stabilize her footing. Tori smiled weakly, her fingers buried in his fur for further balance. The moment would have been touching if it wasn't for the still present danger that returned in the form of a dagger digging into his side. He roared and pushed Tori away before rounding on St. Claire who yanked the dagger out just to strike again. We both jumped at him at the same time. I did the honors of tearing the rest of his arm free that Trina had started on while Tori's father disabled his leg. He fell over again, a bloody mess kneeling at his leader's feet.

"Stay where you belong," I cautioned him. He looked up at me, hate seething like poison in his flashing blue-gray eyes. I heard a cry of pain at that moment and Tori's father perked his ears in the direction of his mate who had made the sound. As soon as he did so St. Claire tried one last time. He had dropped the dagger but now he held it firmly in his hand. He shot forward quickly, and it was like slow motion. I knew in that moment I was the only one close enough to stop him. He was aiming high, right for the heart. I jumped at him, determined to get in the way. I heard Tori scream my name but I had already made my decision. I kept my eyes locked on St. Claire, seeing his shock when he realized he had lost again. I gave him a smug smirk before my teeth met his throat and tore, his blade breaking skin and skidding off bone to slide deeper in return. I pulled away and clenched my teeth together against the sharp burning pain that seemed to paralyze me the moment the dagger hit hilt deep in my chest. I sucked in a strangled gasp, before my body collapsed under me. I fell to my knees and looked up just in time to see a powerful black claw tear off St. Claire's dumbstruck face, finishing him off. His head now missing, his body slumped over, useless.

His body hitting the floor seemed to trigger noise, sound, and motion again. The pain picked up with forceful vengeance in my veins. I held back an agonized whimper before finally falling to the floor. Tremors wracked my body without mercy, making me shudder. The pain was like nothing I had ever felt before. I didn't need to breath yet I was hyperventilating, my breaths sucking in and shooting out laboriously. Tori skid over to a halt next to me, clutching the cloth her father wore previously as she leaned over me to gently move me onto my back. I thought she was calling my name but it was getting hard to hear. Everything seemed muffled now and the pain just kept getting worse. I tried to reach out to my mate but I only managed to weakly lift my hand no higher than my body before it fell to the floor again at my side. Tears escaped my eyes and further blurred my vision. Tori's emotional pain, panic, and desperation was mixed in there. I could feel it, along with her love. I let my eyes close and just concentrated on that warm feeling, the dark void taking me away to a place I didn't know if I would return from. As long as Tori was safe that was all that mattered to me. My only regret was that I wouldn't be there for her anymore. I'm sorry, Tori. I'm so sorry.

~Tori~

I reached out a shaking hand and let it fall on Jade's cheek. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. I knew that feeling for a pulse would never work so I checked the Bond. She was fading away. If we waited any longer she would be gone forever, taking my soul with her. I couldn't live without her, and I sure as hell wouldn't let it happen. I shot to my feet and got dressed hastily. I ignored my father's attempts to talk to me, my mind set on one thing, keeping Jade alive. I heard him sigh heavily before he draped the discarded cloth back over his shoulders and moved to check on Trina. My mother slowly made her way up the stairs not too long later, holding her heavily bruised side. She locked eyes with me before rushing over. Without a word she knelt and dislodged the dagger from my mate. It came out with a sound that made me gag. More blood flowed as my mother pressed a hand over the wound.

"It might have hit her heart which could be fatal. Tori, we need to get her to the infirmary. Her heart can't heal on its own. She needs fresh blood. Even if her heart heals in time she'll still need more blood to recuperate. If she bleeds out her body will shut down," she warned me.

"Let's get going then. We'll need some help getting that knife out of Trina," my father added grimly. We both nodded our understanding. I scooped up Jade and held her close, almost a repeat of events. When all this first began I held her like this the night she was turned. Now, at the end, I was carrying her in my arms once again. My father held Trina and we all hurried to the infirmary. My mother and father slipped into scrubs and then got to work. My father worked on Trina and my mother on Jade. I set her down gently on a bed and then stayed out of the way, curled up in the corner, my head in my hands. I was busy monitoring our Bond. Please hold on Jade. I need you.

"Did you alert the others?" my mother asked my father.

"Yes. They're on their way back. They killed off all the followers. We'll have to search for any more but that can be taken care of at a later time. I also alerted the others up in the manor so they're on their way too," he answered. I had forgotten that the majority of the Council slept at night, seeing as they were wolves. The vampires who had a place here opted to take the time for themselves so that meant no one was here during nightfall.

"Good. I called in some of the best doctors," she informed him. They fell silent after that, only a clink of metal any indicator that Trina would be okay. Her breathing had evened out so I knew the knife was safely removed. Meanwhile, my mother was working tirelessly to douse Jade's wound in a solution that contained a combination of wolf and vampire saliva as well as other things that would encourage faster healing. She had Jade hooked up to an IV to get more blood into her too. My mother's words rang in my head suddenly. Packs of blood would do nothing if she didn't have fresh blood. I stood abruptly, dodging my father who came in with scrubs for Trina. I knew what I had to do. My mother sighed and left Jade's side to take a seat in a squeaky chair.

"That's all I can do right now, honey," she addressed me softly. I ran a hand over Jade's pitch black hair and let a purple streak slip through my tan fingers. I pressed my palm to her cheek next, my thumb smoothing under her bottom lip. I gasped when she began breathing shallowly. Her body was trying to find its natural order again. Her lips parted under my finger and I grinned. The grave conversation between my family members sitting together in the back corner of the room did nothing to dampen my rise in happiness which blossomed into an idea. I carefully removed the IV and then leaned in to press my lips to Jade's, my tongue seeking out her fangs without hesitation. She had warned me against it in the past, worried that she would hurt me. I was kind of counting on that reaction now. My tongue pressed into the tip of one, and instantly, blood flowed. Her eyes flew open, winter blue, sharp and focused. Her hands gripped my shoulders until her nails pierced skin. I winced but continued to drag my tongue over hers. Her eyes locked on mine, eerily lacking emotion. Her blank expression made me shiver uneasily, but soon, her mouth came alive under my own.

She kissed back, her tongue slipping around mine to collect any and all blood until there wasn't a trace of it left. My tongue had healed all too quickly. I knew what her next plan of action would be and welcomed it as a sign that she was going to be all right. She shoved me back and then climbed out of bed to further force me back until I was trapped against the wall under her tight grip. Our swift movements had caught my family's attention. As soon as a rumbling growl tore from Jade's lips they all stood. I shot them a look that told them to stay put. Trina looked the most worried, and she kept fidgeting, but she eventually nodded. Jade's hand gripped my jaw firmly and forced my head to tilt so that my neck was exposed. I was breathing heavily, scared despite practically asking for this. For the first time I was unsure what Jade would do. What if she really did try to kill me for my blood? She was serious when she told me not to tempt her. It was for a reason. I couldn't go back now though. I pushed the thoughts aside and concentrated on the Bond that was strangely pulsing wildly with electricity, like it was an unbalanced circuit shooting out sparks. I was sure once Jade was fully healed it would balance out.

Unfortunately, with it unbalanced I couldn't quite get a read on her. Her lips met skin, teeth hidden just under them, making me flinch slightly in anticipation. A moment later they sank roughly into my jugular, her hands tightening possessively on me. I rested my head back on the wall, feeling my body grow weak slowly but surely. A snarl from Jade made my eyes snap open again to see my father had taken a few steps forward. His expression screamed protective, his body tense and ready to take action. When he caught my eye though he backed away reluctantly, knowing it had to play out without interference. Jade's fangs suddenly dug into me deeper before she pulled away. Her mouth remained though, tongue passing over a few times to collect more blood. Her fast and efficient movements were unyielding until she had her fill. From there I could feel the change in her actions. She had slowed down and was gentler. I knew she was fully in control when she pressed a kiss to the now healed area she had bitten into. Her hands relaxed, sliding down my body to rest on my waist. Her face nuzzled under my jaw with care, her nose skimming my chin as she inhaled and let it out in a long sigh. I could feel her mind clear and the Bond mellow out.

"Tori," she whispered simply. I smiled and pulled her in closer so that her body was flush against mine. My arms wrapped around her, thanking the Maker over and over again that she was alright. I felt like I was going to cry I was so thankful.

"Hey, you," I whispered back tiredly after taking the time to force down the crack in my voice.

"I thought I was…" Jade said, letting the sentence fade.

"I would never allow that. You're stuck with me, remember?" I replied quietly. She laughed warily and then pulled back just enough so that she could look at me. Her eyes were a warm blue-green again.

"Like gum to the bottom of my boot," she confirmed, reaching up to cup my face in her hands. The Bond smoldered warmly like a fire in our hearts. I leaned in and met her halfway. The kiss was tender and slow. She broke it off to rest her forehead against mine.

"I told you we could do it you big baby," she teased quietly. I loved hearing the affection laced in every word she spoke.

"I believed you," I responded. She smiled my favorite crooked smile and then pulled me in for another kiss that went on longer than the last. I fell into it, my joy surely blazing like the sun. Jade would most definitely chew me out for not mentioning my family was right behind us, currently witnessing this rare but touching moment with a very vulnerable and loving Jade. It was an insult to her reputation after all. I smiled into the kiss, and gave a mental shrug. Oh well. I'd deal with that when it came. For now, I was over the moon at the fact that I still had my Bond mate. Life was officially complete. And so was I.

So, this may seem like an ending but I assure you it's not. I have a few loose ends I need to tie up before that happens.