"Julian you can't do this!" All the color had drained from Annabelle's face. "You don't know what you could be bringing back. You don't know what she could become, or what will happen if Devon finds out you did this."

"I know what will happen if I don't do this!" he snarled as he nodded toward the window. "The only thing that will stop him is her. If I don't do this then we will lose them both. Do you have a better idea Annabelle?"

Even if she did have a better idea, she wasn't going to get the chance to say it as Julian tilted Cassie's head back and pressed his bleeding wrist into her mouth. "Julian," Annabelle breathed. "She could kill us all."

"We're dead no matter what, from either Devon or The Elders. She may very well be our only hope and that's a chance I am willing to take. Get over here Chris!" Julian commanded.

Annabelle looked back at Chris with watery eyes and a trembling lower lip. He focused on Cassie again, his heart shredded into a million pieces at the sight of her unseeing eyes. She was his best friend, the person that had been closer than a sister ever could have been to him. They'd been together their entire lives; they'd fought and survived together, until now.

Now she was gone and Julian was trying to bring back something that may never be what Cassie had always been to him. His heart clenched, his insides felt as if they were being flayed open. Julian needed his help, he just wasn't sure he was willing to give it. Another ferocious bellow ripped through the night and shook the windows. Chris felt hollow as he turned toward the windows, he couldn't see Devon out there, but he didn't have to see him to know that it was bad. It was taking everything he had to keep himself separated from the fury radiating from the creature outside.

"Chris!" Julian barked.

Blinking back his tears, his head bowed as for a moment his own grief swelled over Devon's wrath. His hands were shaking, his heart thumped heavily in his chest. Devon was as good as dead without her, he knew that, but was he willing to unleash a monster on this earth in order to save him? Was he willing to help turn Cassie into a creature that could destroy them all?

Or she could save them all, and though Chris was frightened about what might happen; he also had a lot more faith in his friend than she'd ever had in herself. She harbored darkness inside her, he knew that, but he also knew that she was inherently good and she was in love with Devon. He and Devon may have become friends over the past few months, Julian and Devon may share a bond, and Devon may love Annabelle, but those relationships were nothing compared to his relationship with Cassie. The Devon he'd become friends with would have despised himself if he had hurt them, but there was nothing left of that Devon.

This could be the worst decision of his life, but he honestly didn't see what choice he had. He could only pray that if this worked, his best friend wouldn't rise up and drain him dry shortly thereafter. One way or another, things would be resolved tonight, and he was fearful that he wouldn't survive to see the end of it.

He didn't know how he felt about that. He wasn't ready to die, but a part of him had always suspected that his time would come far sooner than he hoped it would. He'd always denied it, especially to Cassie as he'd sensed her anxiety and resentment over the knowledge of what they were, and he'd tried to be strong for her. Ultimately Cassie had been right, a fact that had just been hammered home with her untimely, vile death. It was probably his fate now too. He didn't know how they would escape The Elders, the monster Halflings hunting them, and Devon. It seemed an impossible feat.

Julian and Annabelle were both staring at him. In the moonlight their eyes were unblinking and as hostile as a hungry coyote. Chris couldn't help the shudder that raced through him. They looked so primitive, untamed, and lethal. But they were nowhere near as lethal as Devon, they could never compare to him in the state that he was in, and he had Cassie's powerful Hunter blood fueling him.

He briefly contemplated running. He didn't. If there was even a glimmer of hope that they could get through to Devon, then he was determined to try. For Cassie. Julian's eyes were those of a predator as Chris hesitatingly approached them.

Dropping down by Cassie's side, Chris ignored the blood coating her body as he took hold of her hand. It was smooth and still warm in his grasp. It was difficult to believe that she was gone, that she would no longer laugh and talk with him. No longer smile and fight and play with him. Tears burned his eyes; he swallowed the lump that had formed in his chest.

He squeezed her hand as he enveloped it in both of his. "I love you." He focused his attention on Julian. "What do I have to do?"

"If this works, she'll require blood, fresh blood." Chris hid the shudder of revulsion that slid through him but he couldn't stop the cold chill that crept up his spine. Julian's eyes relentlessly held his, Chris finally broke the stare as he nodded and turned away. He tried not to focus on the gash in her midsection, but his gaze was irresistibly drawn back to it. There was no fixing that, no matter what Julian believed. But Chris found himself hoping that he was right, that Julian's blood would somehow magically fix the damage that had been done to her.

He couldn't stand the spectacle of her unblinking eyes anymore, they should be closed. She should be at peace, she deserved that much. He was leaning forward, his fingers just mere inches from her eyelids when her eyes snapped open. Chris fell back; a startled yelp escaped him at the same time that a scream tore from Cassie.

CHAPTER 2

Julian burst into motion as Cassie bolted upright and knocked Chris back with her swinging fists. She opened her mouth to scream again but he slid his hand over her mouth to cover the sounds. She shook her head vehemently as she fought to break free of his grasp. She shrieked against his hand as she kicked and swung her arms against his hold. Wrapping his arm around her ribcage, Julian pulled her against his chest and held her firmly. Her slender body bucked against his, her fingers clawed at his hand as her body convulsed.

Blood spilled from the deep gashes she ripped into his arm but he didn't care. It was the most exquisite thing he'd ever felt as it meant she was alive, or if not alive in the human sense, at least she was with them again. He was seized with the urge to cry as he held her against him. At one time he'd been concerned about what she might become; he couldn't seem to find that concern now. He didn't ever want to let her go, but she wasn't his to keep, she never had been. She was his to see through this though, and he was determined to make sure she survived.

"Annabelle!" he called.

Annabelle was frozen by the window, but his barked command propelled her into action as she raced across the store to them. "What is going on?" Chris demanded. His eyes were locked on Cassie as she continued to buck and convulse against him. Annabelle grasped hold of Cassie's legs and pinned them to the ground as her cries increased in intensity. "Is this normal!?"




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