In the pouring rain, Jane disappeared into the scuffle as I imagined she would. I wanted to go after her, but I know that I was needed on the ground. Every body counted.

They were coming at us from all corners of the field. Every time I turned around, it felt like more and more were coming out of the woodwork.

To my left, Travis and Reese had partnered with Paul and Embry, tearing apart these newborns with ease. Behind me, Wyatt and Nate were handling business as a team; Nate held down one vampire as Wyatt finished it off. Bodies were piling up; they were littering the field. I saw my father launch himself over a boulder as he caught one vampire coming for the hind legs of one of the werecoyotes.

On your left, little Lee, Uncle Paul warned me. I reared up and slammed a young college girl with red hair to the ground. She snarled and hissed at me ferociously. Pinning her arms, it took less than a minute flat to disconnect her head from her body.

My mother flew over my head as another vampire tried to charge me. Keep your eyes up, Paul reminded all of us. Big Lee, Little Lee, you've got four coming your way.

Big? My mother repeated with sarcastic disapproval in her voice. Her sharp claws shredded a newborn before she could even think to put some muscle behind it.

Not big like big, Paul tried to correct. He scoffed, You know what I mean.

Uncle Quil laughed, She's gonna get your ass for that later, bro.

I did wonder if the others got to be in each other's heads like we could. It was always my favorite thing to hear how they could still play with each other while they fight. You could always tell how good of a team they were together. The junior pack was the same way. Across the field, Hunter and Gabriel had made this entire thing a game. First one to fifteen bodies doesn't have to patrol for a week, Hunter wagered.

Dude, you're on. I'm already at seven; you better catch up! Gabe answered, a disemboweled leg hanging from his jaws.

Mama and I stood back to back as a small circle of red eyed blood suckers surrounded us. We could use some extra help over here, I projected.

Just then, a blur of a figure came from behind two of the vampires…and soon the two bodies were limp on the ground. A man with golden eyes and honey blond hair made eye contact with us, gave us a crooked smile and a nod before blurring to another part of the field. Jasper? Mom thought.

Then we saw them. The tiny one with the short dark hair. Alice. She did a cartwheel before climbing the back of one the size of a linebacker. She snapped his neck, then landed flawlessly on her feet.

Rosalie, with her immovably perfect curled blonde hair, was fending off three vampires by herself, right before the big one—Emmett—came to finish them off.

I had just thrown one of the newborns into a tree when Carlisle Cullen appeared in front of us. We locked eyes. He was still perfectly coiffed as the good doctor always was, but somehow, in his designer sweat suit, I was tickled by his presence. He winked at me and my mother before joining in the fight with his wife.

Battle is a haze. All you know is the red that you see behind your eyes and whatever's in front of you. At some point, I stopped hearing everyone in my head and was just tearing limbs apart, snapping my jaws at people, making death. There was a moment where I was slipping further away from my own humanity; even when I heard my human voice screaming at me to stay present, I still couldn't bring myself back.

Travis and I had taken down a group of 25 without a thought and I didn't even notice. The power that was coursing through my body was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. The way that Travis and I bounced off of each other—two shifters without any way to communicate with one another. But we were right there the whole time, feeding off of the enegy that the mirror was giving us. I wondered if he saw red the way I did. Was he getting lost in the animal of it all? Or was he able to hold onto who he was?

I had no idea how long I'd blacked out. The next thing I remember was feeling wolf jowls around my neck like a protective lion carrying their cub. I worked hard to get away from it, but it kept holding me down until I calmed down. Come back, Hadley, I finally heard a voice. My dad's voice. It's ok, bug. Relax. I've got you.

He had taken me just inside the tree line, away from the battle. I felt myself gasping back into my consciousness, terrified. What just happened? I asked.

Dad nuzzled me tenderly for a second. You just got caught up in the moment for a second there, he said. It was probably the easiest way for him to explain it. Are you ok?

I nodded. I'm alright, I answered as honestly as I could. Did I hurt anyone?

He chuckled as his wolf head nodded. Not anyone on our team, he joked. Come on. Stick with me for a while, kid.

When we went back out there, I felt like I was on pins and needles to keep my wolf in check. She's an aggressive bitch (no pun intended) and, if I let her take over again, I could really put people in danger. So, I stayed close to my dad, my uncle Paul, and Wyatt. The four of us worked through the mob. Looking up, I spotted Jane watching from the top of the hill, a smug smirk on her face. I need to get up there, I told them.

Paul's energy switched to apprehensive really quickly. You sure about that? he asked.

I'm done playing this game with Jane. I'm finishing this, I decided.

It's not going to be so easy as just walking up there, Ace, Wyatt pointed out. She's going to have those other Volturi goons waiting like the nine circles of hell.

Have my back then, I said simply. Dad stepped in front of me for just a second. I've got it, I told him privately. You trust me?

I guess I'm going to have to, great Quileute Descendent, he said in a playful tone. Go get her, bug.

Wyatt and I dodged and weaved through the masses. Shifters were tackling every newborn that came our way. And just like Wyatt said, there were levels to getting to Jane. The three she'd brought on as her personal henchmen were nothing to take down. But when we got to the other members of the guard, that's when things got tricky. Chelsea stepped out of the shadows with murder in her eyes and blood caked on her mouth. "You dogs just don't know when to quit," she sneered.

Now, we'd read up on Chelsea. She didn't have any special powers or anything, but she was still one of the strongest vampires…in history. Wyatt wasted no time; he pounced fiercely and yelled at me to go on without him. I ran forward, and when I looked back, Chelsea was holding Wyatt by his jaws. They somehow got knocked to the ground and they began to roll.

Next thing I know, I'm flying through the air. I landed on my feet, skidding to a stop right before I smash into yet another tree. Alec was crouched defensively in front of me. He didn't speak. He didn't need to. His intense glare was enough of an invite for a fight.

Growling, I stepped forward and waited for him to make a move. He began swinging at me brutally with every ounce of super speed he could. I blocked and swiped and snapped my jaws at him. I gave him everything I got. It was only when I bit from his elbow down clean off that he backhanded me and I went flying again. This time, I hit a boulder. And that shit hurt so bad that I phased back human and didn't even realize it. I groaned at the pain as I held my shoulder, feeling where it dislocated. I scrambled to my feet as I popped my shoulder back into place.

Alec stood in place, quietly, as a dark, menacing vapor started pouring out of his remaining hand. My heart started racing as it billowed toward me. Everything started going dark and…I couldn't hear anything. Not the rain, not the fight, definitely not the pack mind. Sensory deprivation, I remembered. Shit, shit, shit, how do you battle sensory deprivation? I felt paralyzed. In an instant, my entire world had gone completely black and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I fell to my knees to feel…something. Even my ability to touch was leaving me. But what I could feel after a minute of crawling around was the ice-cold hand around my throat. And as quickly as it was there was as quickly as it was gone. The first thing I felt was the rain on my skin again as I blinked my eyes until I could see again. The dark vapor was evaporating around me and Alec was nowhere to be found.

H, are you good? Nate asked once I was starting to come to. His voice was muffled and I could only barely make out his wolf a yard away from me. He and Travis, phased, were taking on Alec full force.

I found just enough energy to run over. I flipped over Alec, grabbing his head to break it clean off as I landed. Then I rolled onto my back as his body dropped two feet from me. My eyesight was still blurry and my ears were ringing. The waterdrops on my face were helping, but not fast enough. "Thank you…" I whispered to the boys with my eyes closed. When I opened them again, I could make out their bodies better. I sat up and repeated, "Thank you."

Travis as his wolf nodded. Nate projected, Three Musketeers?

I grinned at him. Petting between his eyes, I said, "All for one and one for all."

Searching for Jane again, I saw her starting to move hastily from her spot. I started running toward her with everything I had as I pulled on a t shirt. She had no more defenses. I was still a little shaky, but I was ready for this. She'd threatened my family, she'd hurt Nathan and Cameron, she tried to take everything from me.

I made a dive for her feet, knocking them out from under her. She made a noise of surprise as she hit the ground and then we started rolling down the hill. Somewhere along the way down, I'd hit my head, but it wasn't enough to make me stop. She spun on her heel and threw a roundhouse kick to my head. I dodged it before kicking her feet out from under her. She fell on her back, but only for a second. Jane was quick. She was on her feet in an instant.

What did we say was rule number 4 in wolf to vampire combat? Vampires don't play fair. I played defense for a while. Block. Block. Duck. Parry. Block. Duck. I never kept my eyes off of her for a second and as soon as she hesitated for even a second, I gave her a swift kick to the chest, sending her soaring through the air. I rushed at her, grabbed her swiftly, and tossed her toward a tree. She hit the tree and collapsed to the ground.

If looks could kill, Jane's bloodred eyes would have made me drop dead right there. "Alright," she breathed heavily. "If that's how we're going to play it, that's how we'll play it."

We fought further and further away from the battlefield. Jane grabbed me by the shirt and threw me far like I weighed nothing. And she didn't stop. She picked me up again and threw me again. As if I was a ragdoll. I rolled until I was stopped by a log. Jane blurred to me and suddenly had a fistful of my hair in her hand. She looked down at me with an evilly playful glint in her eyes and that same annoying smirk on her face. "You know, I didn't want to have to do it like this. It would have been so much easier if you'd just submit," she said.

"You'll have to kill me first," I said through clenched teeth.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't want to have to kill you, Hadley Black. You're the talent."

"You're psychotic."

"Mmm, I like to call it realistic," she said. "A few hundred years of being oppressed by idiot men who'd rather kill first and ask questions later really makes you see life—whatever that is—a little differently. You learn to identify real strength and weakness fairly quickly. And you, Hadley, have done nothing but prove my point: that you can be the leader of all of these dogs without even breaking a sweat."

The searing ache in my scalp was making my body shake as she gripped my hair tighter and tighter. "So, what now, Jane? How far are you willing to take this?"

She studied my face as her eyebrow raised slowly. "As far as it takes," she said before her voice dropped into a whisper. "Pain."

I don't think I've ever screamed that loud in my life. My entire body erupted in the most unbearable pain I've ever experienced. It felt like I was being stabbed over and over again; this sharp pain shooting through every single part of my body. "Agghhhhhh!"

It didn't take long for the flood of concern, fear, and alarm from the pack to overwhelm my mind as my every muscle contracted with another wave hit me of imaginary knives penetrating my skin. Hadley?! my mother cried out.

Ace, where are you?

Hadley needs help!

What do we do?!

"I gave you a chance to be on our side. To know real power," Jane gloated as I writhed in pain. "Those other dogs are nothing. They're brainless followers. But you…you're so much stronger than them."

I could hear the frantic calls of my name from my family, my friends. Wyatt was in my head saying, We're coming, Ace, just hold on. Why was this different? How was this different? This isn't real pain. There's no way it's real pain.

"Get up," Jane ordered, kicking me in the ribs. I let out an anguishing groan. "Are you strong, Hadley? Or are you weak just like the others? Get. Up."

Weak. There was that word again. I hadn't felt this weak since…since Matthew. Since that day in the bunker. I was weak. I had convinced myself countless times that there was no way I was anything other than that that day. Only in your mentality, little wolf whispered in the back of my head.

The last time I'd encountered Jane, what was different? Well, I wasn't getting my ass beat, for one. Wait…that's it. I was on a high from a fresh kill, feeling confident, feeling powerful. Feeling complete. My worth is not in whether I'm winning or not. It's in my own self. I wasn't weak in the bunker because I couldn't do it. I was weak because I let myself believe I was weak. It hurts because I let it hurt.

So, I gritted my teeth as I stood up, breathing through the pain. Jane's eyes lit up as she smirked, "Very good."

"I'm not going to let you hurt my family," I said through a clenched jaw.

"We won't hurt them," she said, her velvet voice cutting like a knife. "We just want to keep them as pets."

Think quick, girl, what's your move? I could ambush. It wouldn't go well. There was a 50/50 chance I'd actually win. "We're all just pawns in your game, huh?" I said as we started to circle each other. "What happens if I say no? No, I won't be your sick little lap dog for the rest of eternity."

She shrugged her tiny, dainty shoulders. "You're smarter than that," she commented. "Say that word and we will start picking your family members off one by one until you agree."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Now who should we start with? Your mom or your boyfriend? You were probably going to outlive them anyway. Unless you do something foolish. Which you wouldn't…would you, Hadley?"

As the rain pounded down around us, I had a moment where I found myself exactly where I'd seen myself in my dreams for so many nights. Wyatt and Nate's wolves skirted to a stop on one side of me, and Travis was human on the other. And I was right there in the middle, but not why I thought. They were ready to jump in for me and I realized that I wanted to finish this so they wouldn't have to keep fighting my battles for me. For so long, I thought those dreams meant that I would have to pick between my family—my team—and being one half of two that the universe would consider whole. I expected this dream to be some kind of message that I needed to choose. And it's not. It was a message to tell me that they were proof that we accomplished the one thing that would make me feel like I fulfilled a purpose in this life. I helped to bridge the gap between shifters. I helped make community. Unity. Solidarity.

And so here we all were—quite literally standing at the edge of a cliff. It was only when there was a break in the rain that I understood what my only option was. Jane's pale skin began to sparkle in the sun along the horizon. Out over the ocean. The only way out…was down. I whispered, "Never say die," as I ran us both off of the cliff. Hadley, don't! Wyatt roared at me.

Jane punched and scratched and snapped her jaw at me as much as she could. I remember phasing in the air to cushion the blow of the rocks down the cliff. But every single tumble and cut was excruciating. Every blow to my body felt worse than the last. As we sailed through the air, I felt the crack of her bones between my teeth as I ripped away one of her hands before we finally hit the water. High tides, choppy water, incredible waves…god, help me.

5 minutes. That's all the time I had left. I swam after her with my target locked on her neck. Just one bite and it would be over. The deeper we went underwater, the harder it was to ignore my heart pounding in my chest. But this needed to be done. Forever. The crack of her neck was so sick, it turned my stomach to feel it in my jaw. 2 minutes. Her body went limp instantly. I used the rest of my pent-up rage to tear Jane to pieces until she was absolutely nothing. And then her severed parts just sank to the bottom, into the darkness.

30 seconds. Good riddance. But I couldn't swim back to the surface fast enough. We were deeper than I thought. I phased back, hoping that it would get me to air quicker. God, if I had just had a second longer…

I was close, but not close enough. I broke the surface right as a massive wave crashed over me, knocking me back into the water. I love you…I thought as I started to lose consciousness.

3…2…1…