Thanks for your reviews, guys! Here's the next chapter. But before I start it…

IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE ALERT: This story IS coming to a close. Would you like a sequel? PLEASE tell in a review.

Here it is…

Chad.

xXx

My whole body shook violently. I sat on her bed and watched as she threw a few other pairs of clothes into a small suitcase. Her words repeated throughout my brain, and I came to a flashback.

"Chad!" He screamed my name. "Run, boy, run!"

"I'm not leaving you!" I objected, beheading yet another bloodsucker. "Don't stop fighting! Don't give up!"

His voice in my brain was desperate and tired. My heart raced as I was almost overcome with dozens of vampires. I fought them all off desperately, sloppily ending their dead lives. Tears streamed down my face as his thoughts in my head became doubtful as he trembled in fear. Vampire after vampire emerged from behind the first few dozens. The rest of the pack had fled. But then I noticed he wasn't scared for his life, he was scared for mine.

"Keep fighting," I ordered. What was the point? He was the alpha. "Don't stop defending yourself!"

"Chad," His voice was low in my mind. "Run. Now."

"No!" I said, but it was no use. My feet were moving despite myself, and I was shocked that he had actually taken control- of me. Despair washed through me as I was forced to sprint away from each and every one of the disgusting things, hitting them out of my way and successfully making it out alive. I continued to run, watching the scene from his point of view as I ran away from death.

And I watched him die. I watched then torture him through his thoughts, no matter how hard I tried to not focus on his mind. I saw them laugh and break each and every one of his bones before finishing him off.

I got the desperate message out before he slid into unconsciousness forever:

"I love you, Dad. Goodbye."

And it scarred me forever.

I tried to forget about it, or at least not think about it constantly. And I had succeeded. After three years the thought drifted into the back of my mind, I never really recalled it. The death of my father had never come up- or my father himself. I remember the look in their eyes as the Malexia smirked in victory as the leader of the strongest pack in the east was destroyed- slowly, cruelly. And the only thing I could do was watch.

I shook even harder, my hands clenched into fists as I recalled that horrid day. The hatred I had felt for those nasty suckers erupted once again and I growled with rage.

Even before the growl, Sonny had noticed my discomfort. I could feel the breeze as she flashed over to me and the bed shift as she sat down next to me in a rush. Her freezing hand softly lay on my own, and my hands relaxed. I opened my eyes from the memory and was snapped back into reality.

"Chad," She whispered, touching my chin with her fingers and making me look at her. "Are you okay?"

The feel of the cold hands recalled the flashback once more, and I held back a furious hiss. I remembered one of the bloodsuckers grabbing my face, attempting to snap it. My hands twitched as I recalled backhanding the enemy, its face coming off. At the reflex, Sonny flinched and pulled away.

"I'm sorry," She apologized immediately.

"No," I shook my head, sighing. "I am. I just…had a flashback."

Sonny was silent for a moment. "Okay." Nodding, she put her hand on my thigh. "And let's just get this straight- you're not coming." And with that she stood and began to pack some more.

"What are you talking about?" I laughed, unsure of what she was saying.

"You're not coming." She shrugged as if it were that simple.

"Excuse me?" I raised my eyebrows.

The love of my life turned around and put a hand on her hip. "You're excused- from coming. That's that."

"Oh," I chuckled darkly, standing up. "Sorry, mom, but I think I am."

"Why would you want to come? You'd get killed immediately."

"You don't even know who they are or what they do or why they do it."

"Yeah." She rolled her eyes at me in the mirror. "So what?"

"So what?" I asked incredulously. "You need me."

She twisted her mouth to the side. "Maybe in some cases, but you're not coming- it's too dangerous."

"Okay, no. I'm coming, and you can't say anything about it." I ended the conversation immediately.

She turned on me, and her eyes flashed with anger. I put my hands behind my head victoriously and laid back. She flashed over to me dangerously and pinned me onto her bed.

"You are not coming." Her eyes flashed furiously and she dared me to object to her by squeezing my wrists dangerously in warning.

"What is your problem." I stated in a sigh.

"You're just not coming!" She said exasperatedly, standing up from my body and grabbing her phone. Nodding into the mirror, she bit her lip.

"You're scared." I stated simply. "You think you're going to die."

She shook her head, "No. I haven't done anything wrong." She looked at me innocently.

"Ha!" I laughed obnoxiously. She glared and motioned down the hall and mouthing Lucy. "Sonny, you've done plenty of things wrong."

I stood as she fixed her hair in the mirror. Wrapping my arms around her waist, she sighed, dropping her hands and watching me in the reflection. I let my nose skim her hair and took a deep breath, smelling her cinnamon scent. I brought my head down and gently kissed her earlobe and then down her neck. She shivered.

"For one wrong thing- you've had an exclusive relationship with a werewolf- your blood enemy, and didn't try and kill him when you had the chance."

"When did I have the chance?" She whispered, not denying my statement. I smirked and kissed her freezing jaw.

"Any time I touched you," I whispered in her ear, gently stroking the skin that shown from her uplifting shirt. I grazed my fingertips along her stomach, around her waist and down her back. She closed her eyes bit reopened them. I was catching her-easily. "With every sign of affection," I pressed my lips to her temple, and kissed down her cheek until I was so close to her lips. "You could have easily ended my life."

She placed her hand on my cheek and slightly turned in my arms so that she could turn her head and face me. "I would never, ever purposefully put you in danger, Chad." She let her fingertips trace my face before placing them on my lips. I smiled under them. "Never."

I nodded and her fingers moved back to my cheek as she traced my features. "As I would never, ever purposefully put you in danger, Sonny."

She nodded, and we both leaned in, touching our lips to the others lightly. Sonny didn't pull away, and kissed me with a longing, a passion that I'd never felt before. She held onto me as if she were holding onto her dear life. I frowned at the irony of it.

"Hmm," She pulled away. "I love you too much to ever hurt you." She put a finger to my lips as I tried to reply. Her expression became pleading, and she stroked my cheek softly. "And that is exactly why you are not coming."

"Sonny-" I groaned.

"No." She said simply, shaking her head. She let go of me, but I didn't let go of her. She reached for a blue, velvet jewelry box and stared at it with a smile before lifting the lid.

I watched as the diamond hung loosely on to the sides of the box. Sonny carefully pulled it out and lifted her hand so the diamond was directly in front of her eyes. We both studied it, she with a smile and I with a thoughtful expression as I remember the day she told me about Connie finding this around her neck when she was deserted in a Wisconsin park. I bit my lip and reached out, grabbing the silver chain and stroking her hair with my other hand. She watched me, confused, but then understood when she took her hands and lifted her hair from her neck. Hesitantly, I pulled the chain around her neck and clasped it together. Her chestnut locks dropped to her shoulders once more.

We both stared at the beautiful diamond with a thoughtful expression. Sonny bit her lip hesitantly and let her fingers stray near the shining jewelry.

Thought after thought flew through my mind but only one really stood out as I stared at the beautiful girl in my arms through the mirror. Did this diamond have more to do with Sonny Monroe that I thought it had?