Let me just say, flying is fucking fun. It's an amazingly useful skill to have but it takes a great amount of concentration to utilize it properly. It is not, however, conducive to carrying a perpetually horny meta-demon who can't keep her hands to herself. I was only lucky that after the first time she tried to bite at my neck in an effort to leave a mark and I damn near dropped us from the sky that she decided being alive was more important than satiating her hunger...for now, at least. Who knew how long her restraint would last?

I landed in the wooded tree line just before First Beach, reluctant to put Bella down despite the coming battle. It wasn't so long ago that she and I were here chatting it up like normal teenage girls. Now I was a Witch with so many souls bound to her she could hardly keep track, whose partial transformation into a Lilitu Wight hounded her every step. Bella had gone from a clumsy, accident-prone human with questionable self-preservation instincts, to a partially-realized demon whose powers grew stronger by the hour. Who knew what she would be capable of as a full-fledged demon? I trembled in both fear and shared arousal as my heart-mates and Alice finally caught up with us at the tree line.

Alice immediately attached herself to Bella's arm the moment I put her on her feet, while Sam moved up on my left in human form. "The Pack is ready and waiting. I have the two youngest, Collin and Brady, running patrol up and down the shoreline in case any try to get the drop on us. We did a quick scout through the Rez but didn't pick up any foreign scents."

I sighed in relief, happy to know my Clan's families were safe. "Edward," I called out, the boy's head appearing from down the line of defenders. "You have permission to use your gift at your discretion. I want you to search these newborns' minds for any hesitation or guilt, anything that might be worth saving. Otherwise, guide our people as best you can."

"As you ask, I will do my best, sister."

I blinked at his relaxed demeanor before nodding, reaching out to the abundance of natural energy that existed on the Quileute lands and let it sing through me. I could feel the ancient powers that resided here, but I didn't bother disturbing them. These were not my magicks to claim nor use. No, I was looking for something else, and I found it in the rippling disturbances in the ocean floor. "They're here. They will make landfall in a few minutes. Remember, they are after Bella but I doubt they know about her change of scent or Edward's defection."

Jasper spoke up from Alice's right, his voice tight with tension. "These newborns are likely to appear young, as those would be the easiest targets to lure off alone to turn. Do not let your guard down and do not take it easy on them. No mercy, only a quick death."

I sighed, nodding as the weight of Victoria's crimes fell heavily upon my shoulders. "Keep your bonds open and your thoughts as one. I will hold the connection for our souls but you must trust one another fully if you are to draw on the power we share."

"And for fuck's sake," Leah growled from behind Sam, "keep it PG. If one of us has to explain why Colin and Brady are asking about lesbian sex, I'm biting someone's genitals off."

"What did I tell you about threatening us with a good time," I couldn't help but fire back, sending the leggy woman a wink. The toothy grin she sent back shot heat straight to my core as my three wolf heart-mates all began stripping right in front of us. Fuck! They were so not playing fair! Every inch of their glorious bodies were toned to perfection, their curves and copper skin causing my mouth and panties to water once again. I swore to the Goddess right then and there we were fucking this out after the battle because I was goddamned done with teasing, especially with Bella's raw sexual energy sending a static pulse up my spine at the same time a high-pitched squeal from Alice split the air.

Luckily the wolves phased into their fur because I damn near said 'fuck it' and just blasted the entire ocean with annihilation magick and called it done. But I already could sense the four vampires hiding several miles away inside the forest. I assumed them to be the Volturi, though it bothered me that they would allow such a blatant flouting of their law to go unchecked in the first place. Was it just to let Victoria get her revenge before they justified her murder? Or was there another motive that I had yet to think of.

Before I could contemplate it further, several heads began to appear across the surface of the placid waves brushing the beach. One, ten, twenty, their numbers kept rising until I had counted at least forty-five vampires making their way out of the ocean and onto the beach below. They paused as they each began to notice they were not alone, our forces spread out amongst the tree line, both sides waiting for a signal.

Carlisle, ever the paragon of peace, took a step forward and opened his arms in a gesture of good-will. "Please, we do not have to fight. Whatever you've been told, we live our lives here in peace. It can be so for you all as well, as soon as you're taught to control your thirst."

Apparently, this was the signal they were looking for as the entire brigade blurred forward at incredible speeds. I opened my magick to my Clan, infusing them in the same ways I used my enhancement spells, reinforcing their vampire and wolf bodies as much as possible while maintaining my focus on the wards I had cast around myself and Bella. Though reluctant to leave Bella's side, Alice had entered the fray quickly, using her gift to begin quickly dispatching newborns.

For all their numbers and newborn strength, we appeared to be easily outmatching these newborns. Slowly but surely their numbers were dwindling as my Clan began side-stepping neutralized bodies as the well-oiled machine that was our fighting force tore through vampire after vampire while barely taking scratches themselves. Surely my magick wasn't such a significant game-changer that we were decimating Victoria's newborn army within minutes. It was almost too easy...

A twinge on my awareness and Alice's foresight had me gripping every soul I was connected to, casting physical shields of magick around them just before a set of horrifying explosions began going off all around the beach. I knew there hadn't been a single trace of anything foreign in the area, otherwise one of us would have smelled it with all of our heightened senses. And the vampires couldn't have been carrying it on them because we would have smelled it as soon as the newborns surfaced.

"That crazy bitch," I whispered as I began checking the vitals of my Clan while reaching out with my senses. "She hid explosives inside their bodies! It's why we couldn't smell them over the scent of the ocean. Regroup on me!"

Each soul sounded off their affirmative, save for one. I had to physically grab Bella as she snarled the most inhuman sound I'd heard her make to this day. She rounded on me, and I felt everything in me still as the black lines began splitting her skin, a gray tint taking over her normally pale complexion. She was bearing twin rows of evenly serrated teeth, a light fog of her shadowed energy misting from the corners of her eyes. The hands that reached for mine that held her still were a matching gray tint, turning black at the tips where razor-sharp claws had grown out in place of her nails. She was nearly fully transformed and if I didn't get through to her somehow then anyone who got in her way was likely to die to her hunger.

"We'll find her, Isabella," I spoke aloud and into her mind and soul, knowing she needed grounding now more than ever. "Even if I have to pull her very soul from the ferryman myself I will not let her leave us, but you have to control yourself before we lose you both!"

The added emotions from our heart-mates and the rest of the Clan as they all began to gather around us en masse, seemed to slowly be bringing my mate to her senses, though her demon aspect didn't retract even an inch. "Fiiiiind. Heaaart."

Her voice was lethal, with a mixture of the sensual smolder we had come to experience when she went demon on us, and a new, far more powerful element that sent a pulse of dominance and command that damn near overrode my own control of the Clan ties.

I nodded, pulsing our bond with a positive response in case she wasn't interpreting her human interactions properly. Now that we were all close together and away from the potential landmines of leftover bodies, I was able shield us all properly. I could still feel Alice's soul on this side of the Veil, so she wasn't completely dead but it did mean she was incapacitated in some way. Perhaps she'd sustained more damage than I'd been able to protect her from, but my guilt would have to wait for a later date as the woman of the hour herself walked out of a nearby patch of woods to our collective right.

Victoria clapped slowly, smirk in place as she held something beneath her arm that was kept just out of sight. "I was certain that I would have taken out nearly your entire coven with that surprise! Imagine my surprise when I not only found far more strength in your warriors but that your entire menagerie of freaks were rather quick to put down my army. Even with Edward's questionable assistance and expected betrayal, I was certain my newborns would have lasted long enough to have spread out enough to deal more damage than taking down a single vampire."

She turned to face us then, and I had to use every bit of my will to reign Bella in when Victoria revealed Alice's severed head held casually beneath her arm. Victoria obviously thought she held more cards than she did but one wrong move was likely to set my unstable mate off and end the redhead's existence.

"What do you want, Victoria?" I demanded, stepping forward to keep her attention on me while maintaining my wards around my Clan. I was quickly tapping my magick out and if this went on for much longer then I was going to have to tap into my Wight magick and that was dangerous under the best of circumstances.

The woman looked at me with a curious glance, her brows furrowed as she sneered. "Nothing from you, Witch. I expect your life expectancy will be shortened exponentially when the Volturi learn of your existence. No, I'm here for one reason and one reason alone. Give me the human, Bella, and you get your little seer back. I'm sure you'll even manage to piece enough of her back together to revive her."

"Okay," came Bella's human human voice from behind me, and I turned to see glistening brown eyes glancing at me before she walked forward with purpose. "My friends and family walk away from this unharmed, including Alice, and you get me. Alone and uninterrupted, with no interference from the Witch or her Clan."

We all heard her words, but what Victoria did not hear was the implicit command to back off and let her have this one. That Victoria's death belonged to her after everything she and James had put her through. We all felt anxiety over this deal but none of us could find it in ourselves to deny the young demon her vengeance. So we all went against every instinct we possessed and backed up several yards, giving Bella plenty of room to move out into the open as I quietly lowered my wards.

No sooner did we move than another blur flashed through the clearing, grabbing Bella and pulling her over to Victoria's side with his hand wrapped around her vulnerable throat. Every instinct in me demanded retribution. How dare he think himself worthy of laying a hand on my mate! It took the combined strength of my entire Clan to restrain me from lashing out with every ounce of magick I possessed to unmake him where he stood!

"Release the seeress," I hissed, knowing Bella would be unable to act until she was certain Alice was safe.

"Hmm," Victoria considered the head in her hands before sighing longingly. "I had considered destroying her simply because she was the only other victim to ever escape my James. It would have been fitting to finish both of his last hunts all in one go."

"We had a deal," Bella ground out through clenched teeth. She was quickly losing the battle with her demon as the edges of her brown eyes began to blacken.

Victoria sneered, not bothering to turn her gaze towards the weak, vulnerable human. "As if I have any honor left in me to consider keeping true to deals. However," she had no idea how close that one statement had been to pushing Bella into a full demon transformation. I could feel it from where I stood even without our bond. "I do know the Volturi value the life of this vampire for her unique gift, and if I survive this I want at least one bargaining chip on my side. Sparing Aro's prized doll should go a long way in ensuring my own survival."

She tossed Alice's head across the space between us, Rosalie the first to snatch the precious body part from the air and cradling it close to her chest. "I'm sure your Witch here can help you track down the rest of her body, that is if the explosives didn't incinerate her first. For now, I must take my prize elsewhere where I can extract my vengeance in private."

Unseen by Victoria, the moment Alice's head was back in our protective arms, Bella's previous demon form quickly took over her body. She had made silent and swift work of twisting out of Riley's grasp until she was suddenly behind him, his head coming off with a sound like the screeching of metal. This drew Victoria's surprised gaze to the sight of the demon holding Riley's head in her hand with a vicious, serrated-tooth grin as she began licking at the venom leaking from his neckline before tossing the head aside.

"You threatened my family." She took a step towards Victoria. "You brought harm to my Heart." She took another step, her feet echoing in the silence of the still air. "But worst of all, you threatened my mate." She took one final step that put her within reach of the paralyzed redhead. "For either one of these, you deserve to die a slow and painful death. But for each as one, I will deny the ferryman and take your soul for myself."

I'm not sure what she did next exactly, but the next thing I knew she had Victoria's face in the palm of her hand, dark energy manifesting from her palm and wrist, pouring into the woman through every available orifice until her eyes and mouth were glowing with black shadows. With a silent scream forever etched onto the woman's face, Bella slowly began withdrawing her hand, the dark mist-like substance flowing out of Victoria's body and into Bella's through her mouth as she brought her hand to her lips, inhaling deeply. As soon as the entirety of the energy was consumed, Bella let out a shuddering groan that had me clenching despite the horror of what I had just witnessed. What she had begun with Edward she had completed with Victoria. She had torn apart and consumed the woman's soul in its entirety in a matter of seconds and I didn't know whether to be terrified or turned-on.

A slight shove from Bella had Victoria's statue-still body falling over, crumbling to pieces as she hit the ground. We all watched as the empty husk slowly decayed into dust until nothing remained of the vampire. Even her flaming red hair disintegrated into nothingness. All in all, it was a frighteningly effective display of power and I don't think it was going to take much for us to talk our heart-mates out of their imposed chastity. But first came Alice and piecing her back together.

"This way," Bella was already turning and blurring into the woods. I sent a thought to the rest of the Clan to be careful in disposing of the bodies and not to approach anything as large as a torso in case there were any explosives left. Myself, Jasper, and my heart-mates quickly followed after Bella. I wasn't sure why she was leading us so far from the battle until she came to a stop in a grove of trees still deep within Quileute lands.

"I'm sorry, Sam," Bella murmured as she turned and took Alice's head from Rosalie's careful grip. "But I need your ancestors' magic and I don't care whose Spirits I anger in the process. As Pack Alpha, you are Chief. Do I have your permission to use these sacred lands to resurrect my Heart?"

"Bella-" I began, only to be cut short by Sam's near immediate reply.

"I, Samantha Uley, Alpha of the Quileute Pack, grant your request on behalf of the Spirits."

My heart ached as I realized what Bella was telling us. Alice's body had been destroyed beyond repair, only her head remained unscathed and vampires cannot magically regenerate full limbs, let alone an entire body. So my demoness was going to create one using whatever means necessary, her own soul be damned.

I joined Bella and gestured for our four heart-mates to stand several feet away, one each for the cardinal directions. They would act as conduits for our magick while holding the circle I was about to create. With a burst of magick, I cleansed the area and used my will to cut a circle around us all, allowing Jasper to remain within, for his mate-bond with Alice would be crucial to making memory into reality.

The cracks that were a part of Bella's transformation were now sealed blood-red lines of ancient sigils that even I wasn't able to interpret. Her skin was no longer pallid and gray, but a pale blue that made her look almost like a drowning victim, save for the blackened lines that struck through her face. She was now in the final stage before her full demon transformation and I didn't know what she would become the next time she shifted.

As soon as my circle was fully formed, Bella placed Alice's head face-up near the north end, turning to me as she gestured me over. "I'm sorry, my love, but I will need the Wight's magick to manifest what must be done."

I sighed, already having guessed as much by the way Bella herself was calling up her deepest magick. Already the ancient Spirit magicks were heeding her forceful call. I could feel the life-force of the land cry out in protest despite Sam's offer to the contrary. "I give you all that I am, that you might bring her back to us."

I allowed the screams of the Wight to rise up in me, feeling the burning in my left eye as I once again began to transform into the darkest part of a Witch. Kneeling on the opposite side across from Bella, I offered her my hand even as my hair paled in loose curls around my shoulders, feeling the ice-cold essence of Bella's demonic energy wash through me as she laced our fingers together. She was still growing more and more powerful as time passed and I knew we were almost out of time to contact the Goddess.

Bella's voice reached out, a dark and dangerous language pouring from her lips as she began chanting as her spare hand began weaving foreign symbols in the air over where Alice's body should be. Then, before I could question her otherwise, she was leaning down over Alice's head, licking at the venom still dripping from her open neck. When she pulled back her eyes were closed and a rumbling purr vibrated up from her chest.

"Jasper," she intoned, voice deep and resonant. "Will you entrust her heart to me? Do you give to me all that she is so that I may return her to you someday?"

I watched as the man swallowed, his black eyes hollow as he nodded. "I will give up my own life if it will return her to us. You have all that I possess of her, in the hopes she will be ours again some day."

I felt a chime go off in our connection as Jasper quite literally gave all of his love for Alice to Bella to hold, entrusting the former-human with his most sacred gift, his matebond. I felt a phantom thud from my still heart and promised to redouble my studies so that something like this would never happen again, even if it meant accepting and conquering the Wight in me.

"Rosalie, Leah, Samantha, Emily," she looked at each woman in turn, getting nods of acknowledgement. "I am entrusting the heart of my most precious into our connection. Do you accept Mary Alice Brandon Lockwell as one of us, to love and cherish her for all time?"

Each woman gave an affirmative without hesitation and I had never felt more proud of my heart-mates than I did in that moment.

"Then we must all prove ourselves worthy and offer a part of ourselves to bring about this resurrection. I will go first." A black blade nearly the length of my forearm appeared from the shadowy mist of Bella's energy into her left hand. It looked as though it were made of black stained glass but I knew instinctively that it was sharper even than vampire teeth.

Bella brought the blade to her wrist above where our hands were joined and slashed it open without hesitation, her black blood pouring over the open end of Alice's neck, and before our eyes the skin began to knit in upon itself, growing outward even as Bella passed the knife to me. I brought the blade to my own wrist and opened it without hesitation, the pain forgotten even as the pale white of my blood damned me more than I thought it would. I would never be fully free of my Wight aspect, but I was willing to embrace it if it saved this precious woman.

Rosalie was next and she also didn't hesitate, cutting almost halfway through her wrist as she let her venom pour out over her sister's wound. This was another scar the blonde beauty would bear, this time for the love of another and I knew she'd rip herself to shreds if it meant saving Alice.

Leah was next to be handed the blade, holding out her wrist while carving a symbol into the skin there in the shape of a jagged lightning bolt without flinching. "This is the sigil for transformation," she explained as she bled for Alice. "I found it in one of your books while you were in your coma, Angela."

She passed the blade to Sam, who chose to cut deep into the Pack tattoo on her own arm. "The time for separation from Pack and Clan ends today. Today, on these sacred lands, we are one with all, and all are one within us."

As she let her blood join the rest of ours, she hesitated only a moment before passing the blade to her imprint. We all knew what the young wolf might offer but it was her choice in the end. "I am one with my wolf within," she said aloud, smiling lovingly at the rest of us before bowing over Alice. "So I offer my absolution so that this little one may reside in our hearts where she belongs." And then she brought the blade from her left temple down across her cheek in a deep gash that ended at her chin and we knew this wound would not heal immediately.

As her blood splashed over the rest of our offerings, a blinding flash went off, fading quickly as dark energy filled the circle with its cloying ashen scent. Everyone seemed blinded except Bella, save for my left eye, and I watched on in fascination as Bella began to maneuver her free hand into various shapes over the slowly forming body. She was using every piece of our blood and sacrifices to shape our little darling and it was the most fascinating thing I've ever seen. Inch after inch of flesh and venom and blood alike rippled like bubbling froth outward from Alice's extremities even as her torso finished forming. It took only a few more minutes of her movements before Bella went still and the darkness began to recede back into her, revealing our newly regenerated heart-mate.

Of course, there were no clothes since those had been incinerated most likely, leaving her beautiful little petite body on display. Bella was panting as her demon side retreated until only her black eyes and streaked lines remained. With one deep breath, she released my hand and leaned over Alice's upper body, her voice deep and resonant. "Awaken, Corculum, and join us in everlasting love."

Alice's eyes flashed open instantly, and I think we all gasped at the same time because the eyes staring up at Bella were comprised of every color within that circle. It was like we were seeing a starburst constantly exploding in iridescence, my white and violet, Bella's black and brown, wolf gold and amber, even dark brown.

We all knew what would happen next and we were in the process of taking bets mentally when Alice lunged for Bella, pulling her down until their lips were crushed together, and in that one blissful moment, Mary Alice Brandon Lockwell's essence chimed in our hearts and we all could feel their kiss resonate through our bond.

When Bella finally managed to pull away, her cheeks were stained black with her tears. What was more shocking was that Alice had tears pouring down her own cheeks, but instead of black, or red and white like mine, she was crying silver. And she had never looked so beautiful in all the time I had known her. Her spiky black hair was now run through with strands of white, and I concluded with a jolt through our bonds that she had taken on each of our essences. Alice Cullen the vampire was no more, now a hybrid of sorts existed in her place. A magnificent creature to be sure, but an unknown that we would have to guide and guard as the treasure she was.

There were affirmative reinforcements of my thoughts, before Alice's giggle interrupted us. "Is she always this serious or am I the exception?"

Bella's laughter filled the clearing as she pulled the pixie into her arms, pure love overflowing from the two and into the rest of us until we all gathered in close and joined the hug in any way we could. It became so strongly connected at one point that I couldn't be sure where I began and they ended. At least until someone pinched my ass, Leah's voice teasing over the top of us. "Well, that's definitely where you end. Have I mentioned how amazing your ass looks in those jeans you're always wearing?"

Rosalie's head popped up beside her mate's, a Cheshire grin flashing razor sharp teeth. "Don't forget, we know what she hides behind those frumpy sweaters now."

I rolled my eyes as the reminder of my unintentional flashing, then grinned at my intentional striptease. "Are you girls ready to admit defeat on this jailbait thing yet? We are the age of consent in Washington state. Or is anyone here still actually worried about the humans getting involved?"

All four of my original heart-mates burst out laughing, but it was Sam who managed to answer through her own chuckles. "Oh, we gave up on that when we had to literally pry Bella's fingers out of her little pixie's dripping cunt while you took a stroll through Jasper's soul."

Oh, thank the fucking goddess! I was about to pounce on the nearest body and hope to find Bella in the pile when a gasp and a pulse of shock from Alice had us all on high alert.

"The Volturi are moving in. They want to see how we fared against the newborn army. It's too late to get the Pack out of there but have them shift back to human form. It should confuse the Guards until we can get there."

We were on our feet instantly, and with a wave of my hand I healed as much of the self-inflicted wounds as I could, knowing we could not afford to allow these Volturi to scent our different blood. With a quick cleansing spell, I not only dispersed any stagnant energy, but also washed away the blood from our bodies. There was, in fact, one small problem and she was standing butt-naked between us. Fortunately, Alice was tiny and her temporarily revoked mate dwarfed her, so his shirt naturally fit her like a dress as she tied off the loose ends to keep the material from riding up over her hips. So with that settled, we all took off at our fastest speeds, which were pretty evenly paced now. Our bonds were so strong now that I was naturally channeling my energy into my heart-mates, strengthening them, even the wolves in human form. Maybe that can be a way to offset my growing untapped core's energy. It was an interesting thought, but one for yet another time as we arrived on the scene to find quite an odd lineup.

To our right was the rest of our Clan, with Carlisle and Esme standing protectively around Armando in his youthful human disguise. Beside them to their left were Emmett and Seth, both looking as if they were trying to out-flex each other. To Esme's right stood Edward, cradling what looked like a teenage girl, though her red eyes gave away her newborn status, and beside Edward stood another unknown newborn young man who was standing very close to Edward and the girl. Around and behind them stood the rest of the wolves in human forms, knowing smirks being sent our way when they saw Alice's state of dress. A glare from me had them swallowing hard, and I realized belatedly that I was still partially in my Wight transformation. Too late to do anything about it now.

"I step away for less than half an hour, and what do I find?" I turned my glare on the four individuals to my left. A rather large man with muscles bigger than Emmett's didn't even blink at our appearance from the woods, most likely having heard us coming. To his left was a shorter but no less 'intimidating' man, both dressed in crimson robes. They were of no consequence, anyway. The twins, however...

I reached out to gently probe their souls, finding true resistance for the first time. They held me off in equal measure but I had learned what I needed from their energies anyway. "You two must be the Witch Twins."

Their eyes flickered with hatred as they focused their joint abilities on me. I simply arched a brow as their energy petered out before it could reach us, one hand reaching over to lovingly stroke my demon's hair. "You'll have to forgive my mate here. She doesn't take kindly when others try to harm me or those she loves. Now, you will answer a simple question. Why are you here, Volturi rats?"

This, at least, got a rise out of the big man as he turned on me with a growl. I stepped forward casually, allowing more of my hair to glow white as I loosed a feral screech that had the vampire crying out as he cupped his hands over his ears in a futile attempt to hold back the sound that was piercing his very soul.

The other man attempted to rush at me as I kept up my Wight screech, watching as Alice of all our mates spiraled through the air only to land with her legs wrapped sideways around his shoulders. Her momentum continued until a sound like the screech of metal split the air, the Guard's head falling to the ground nearby as Alice literally did a pirouette off his body, prancing her merry way over to stand between Bella and I. Not once did her shirt/dress fly up, damn.

Eventually, the large man couldn't take the pain anymore, literally digging his own ears out of his skull in a gruesome display of vampire strength that left him laying flat on the ground staring up at the cloudy sky. With a gesture, I severed the man's head with a blade of wind, causing it to roll several paces away from his body.

I returned my attention back to the twins finding them staring at us with wide, fearful eyes. "I'll ask one last time. Why are you here if not to intervene and preserve your secrecy?"

It was the boy who attempted to reply, the lie trembling from his lips in stuttering hesitancy. "W-We were too late to be of any assistance. We thought it best not to interfere-"

I grabbed the boy by his soul, the jagged claws of my Wight manifesting as a pale mist around his throat. "I have no time nor use for fools or sycophants! You are both as ancient as the soil you stand upon! Do not trifle with a Witch with naught but her Clan to protect!"

"Stop! Please stop!"

I blinked as I withdrew at the desperate sound of the blonde child beside her brother. The boy's hair had begun to turn white as snow, his red eyes fading to a dull fuchsia the longer I held possession of his soul. The moment I released him he fell to his knees, gasping for a breath he no longer needed. I was tapping too far into my Wight aspect, I was losing all sense of morality when I could literally hold the lives of others in the palms of my hands. I had wanted to erase his soul, tear it asunder and feed it to my mate like a freshly peeled pomegranate.

Then I felt them, the presence of my Clan once more pulling me back from a precipice I wasn't ready to cross. I felt my Wight retreat beneath the avalanche of love and understanding being lathered over my soul like a soothing balm. When I next opened my eyes, I had to blink through pale white tears as my body cleansed itself of the remnant Wight possession. It was only then I realized the condition I'd left the twins in, one staring blankly into nothing, his eyes and hair still pale but slowly regaining their natural hues, while his sister glared up at me with watery hatred burning in her eyes.

"What are you?!" the little blonde demanded, voice harsh with a combination of rage and a healthy dose of fear.

Taking a deep, unnecessary breath, I let the last of my Wight essence pour out of me until I felt my control return fully. "I am the culmination of betrayal, of solitude, and possibly the last of my kind, and the only reason you still live is because of the love of my Clan. I am a Witch of the Order of Lilitu."

The girl's eyes furrowed, black eyes returning to her brother as he began to stir. "That's impossible, there wasn't supposed to be any of your Order left. Caius assured us that he had finished your kind off with the Children of the Moon."

I grinned, all teeth and viciousness as I felt the anger of my Clan rise up within me. "You missed one."