A/N: Can't believe it's been a few months! Time is going by so quickly! Hope you all had a great spring break. That was when this was suppose to be posted but some friends surprised me here in Austin. But enough of my babbling. I don't like to name or describe my chapters before hand (anymore) but this one...this one I can't help. To me, this is where sh*t hits the fan. :D Enjoy!

Claire stared at him for a moment, barely comprehending it for a long second, before speaking. "F-Finale? Big finale? What do you mean?"

"It's time for this to end."

"Why am I needed for that?" Claire questioned.

"Because, sweet little Claire, you helped me start this war: it's only fitting you're here when it ends!" He started to move around the desk but Claire moved away.

"That's not a good enough reason. You said it yourself: it's end game. So why not tell me the truth?" He kept on moving closer but she made sure to keep her distance and keep the stake out of his sight.

"If you insist. That bracelet that Amelie still has you wearing, even after all of your heroics this year, alerts you to when she is in danger, it can also alert her when you are in danger."

Claire was confused. "Wouldn't she have known, then, when you…?"

"You had only had the bracelet on for a short while, it was relatively weak. It has been a little more than two years: it is more powerful, more potent. So she will feel your fear, taste your panic." Claire's heart started to beat faster as the distance between them kept getting smaller and smaller and he was getting closer and closer.

"My fear during what?" She nearly jumped out of her skin when he was instantly in front of her. She backed up against the desk as he learned forward. There was almost no room between them and he had her pressing into the desk as he put his nose against her neck and inhaled deeply.

"Your fear as I take you and your blood."

She saw an opportunity and, with all her strength, swung the stake at his chest. The stake had enough force to go through his shirt but barely enough force to scratch the surface of his skin. Before Claire could curse her weakness, try again, or even push at the stake harder in hopes of it sinking in, Oliver moved.

In the blink of an eye, Oliver had thrown the stake across the room and had her spun around and pushed against the desk even harder.

"Almost, little Claire, almost."

He then wound his hand in her hair and pulled her upright against his chest. She gasped in pain as her scalp exploded in tiny bursts of agony from his pulling but didn't struggle any further because she knew there was nothing more she could do: he had her.

"I had to try." She breathed.

"Very commendable, but you failed." His hand tugged her head to the side, baring her neck to him, and she barely repressed the tremors that ran up and down her spine as she felt the wetness of his tongue up the length of her neck. "I will enjoy having you as I have in the past."

She didn't want him to do this again. It had taken her so long to get over it the first few times.

"Please! You-"

"I do like it when you beg."

She ignored that comment. "You don't have to do this! You don't!"

"Oh, but I do." He murmured as his hands wrapped around her and tore off her shirt. His sudden coolness at her back made her panic but she tried to reign it in since her fear was what he wanted and needed to draw Amelie out.

"No." She stated as calmly as she could. "You don't. I am a human. We are not a part of this war! I'm just a bystander!"

"As you said: this is war. Innocents and bystanders are often casualties of war: you are such." Her backside was suddenly bare and she flinched.

"But I don't have to be. I can just be another human waiting for the victor."

"You're not going to just be another bystander: you'll be the key to me winning this war." His hands moved to cup her breasts in her bra before he ripped that off too. "And I do intend to win."

Striding into the room, Amelie was greeted by the sight of her enemy. Oliver was seated behind a desk looking quite smug. Amelie wondered why this was. They were still in the midst of war, although checkmate was very close in the foreseeable future, and she had the slight upper hand. She opened her mouth to address Oliver in a way suited for a usurper as himself when the scent of blood confronted her senses. Turning, she spotted the source.

Huddled in a corner sat Claire.

Wrapped in what appeared to be a man's suit jacket, it was clear for all to see that the girl was bare. It was also quite clear to see the blood all over her neck.

Amelie glided over to the corner to see the extent of Oliver's damage on the poor girl. Checking for the girl's pulse, she was somewhat relieved to find that it was there, slow but there, and the girl appeared to be unconscious and not dead. Standing, Amelie spun toward Oliver, eye ablazed.

"What are you? An animal? We are evolved enough to realize that there is no need for such uncivilized actions! No need to rape and pillage!"

Oliver stood and snarled. "There is need! We are not equals! We are not humans! They are beneath us!" He accented his words by pointing in Claire's direction. "They must learn and know that we are stronger! We are faster! We are their predators and they are our prey. We are the rulers not them!"

"We must learn to live in peace. If we oppress and treat the humans as second class citizens or food they will one day rise against us and revolt. History has taught us this and those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it!" Amelie answered calmly though her eyes were still burning with rage and contempt. "We can oppress them but they will revolt. Maybe not now but in decade or a century or a millennium! They will and there are more of them than there are of us. We may be stronger and faster but are we strong enough to survive them if they do?"

Oliver grunted in disgust. "Do you think we are so weak?! We can crush them. They will fear us too greatly to think of fighting back! The truth here is that you are the weak one! You, our supposed leader. You, the oldest of our kind. You, the one who is causing us to be what we are not!"

Claire's eyes cracked open around this time. She'd been drifting in and out of consciousness for a while, listening to the heated conversation. Oliver had taken enough blood to make her feel weak and heavy without killing her and all she could do was sit and watch what was going down. She'd checked in just in time to see Amelie grasp Oliver by his neck and force him to his knees.

"I do what I have always done: I protect our people. I do what I believe is best for our people regardless of if it appears to be weak or not. If we are to survive as a people we must evolve with the times."

"You are pathetic." Oliver spat as he continually held his head up in defiance. "We must exert complete and utter control over these humans otherwise they'll feel bold and empowered. Bold enough, empowered enough to take over us, to rule over us! I will not allow for our kind to degrade to that! When I rule, I will be sure to change that from your sympathizing rule!" Faster than Claire's struggling eyes could keep up, Oliver moved.

Amelie was just as fast.

In seconds, Oliver had her lying on the desk, fangs bared.

Seconds later, Amelie had him flat on the floor, fangs also out.

Half a second later, Oliver pushed against her again only to end up on his knees...again.

"I will break you under my will as I should have done when you first entered my town." Amelie stated calmly, coldly, as she stared him down. Claire couldn't see Oliver's face but she could hear his labored breathing as even she felt the force of Amelie's words and presence. Claire struggled to breath normally and put a hand to her neck as she watched as Oliver fought. Her eyes felt heavy but she saw Oliver go down to all fours.

"You...should have…" Oliver panted. "And that...was your mistake!"

If she hadn't been looking, Claire would have missed it. She would have missed Oliver grabbing something off the floor and thrusting it up at Amelie.

There was a small noise of surprise before complete silence.

Claire's eyes were blurring a little so she squinted before making a surprise noise herself.

The stake that was originally meant for Oliver was now sticking out of Amelie's back. This surprised and horrified Claire. She was so sure that Amelie had him, that Amelie had been so close but...but…

"Checkmate."

Oliver had won.

A/N: *GASP* Hopefully I still have some loyal readers out there! Lol. I'm sorry, but kind of not sorry, for this outcome. I was two ways on it but the chapter had to be written the way it was meant to be because it's essential to what's to come. Thanks for reading. Please review and tell me what you think and your predictions of what might happen next. I love hearing them.

R&R Please
Bre