The soldiers and hunters disappeared, leaving me, the werewolf and vampires out in the desert's dark night. I faced the clan I've just met. The clan that includes the little vampire girl who has the power to give people nightmares with her touch, and two twin brothers with different colored hairs.

"I know Idris told you that if you help, you will get a cure but I stand with my statement. I can't give it to you if you will only harm humans." I said to Ulysses and his clan. Eleanor and Idris' clan are next to the group, along with other vampires from the east such as Bob the giant vampire. Several vampires looked disappointed about not being rewarded with the cure, including the young vampires. "Thank you for your help though. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't..." My eyes wandered to Lysander and my chest hurt. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for your friends who lost tonight."

"Why don't you give us the cure as a thank you?" One vampire asked with obnoxiously. "We saved the dog who killed our friends. It's the least we could get in return."

I shook my head, feeling defeated. "Look. I can't just give it to you. Not unless you promise to be like Idris."

"And how are we supposed to survive without blood?"

"With my help." We all turned to see the vampire wearing all black, his black hair tousled while his exposed skin is covered with blood. Not his blood. "Evening, friends. Look at this nice gathering. If only we could get together like this once in a while, it would be so lovely." He received a few glares from the vampire crowd. "My clan and I, we have been drinking blood from animals and dead humans for years now. We only kill humans unless necessary. Like tonight. Not unless our lives are literally on the line. Our human friend here has succeeded with the cure. I've tried it and it worked and I must say, it felt absolutely ecstatic to walk during the day without getting burned at every second. It is freedom. But we have to earn that freedom. We must not use the cure for wrong reasons. We must not follow these greedy humans' examples. We cannot abuse our power for our own good. We have to play fair. Equal. For freedom."

I nodded, sending the vampire a small smile.

"I will help you if you have difficulties converting from living human blood to a dead one, or animals - which by the way, also must be treated equally. We can do this."

At first, not a response came from the group, until Ulysses stepped forward and offered a hand. "I'm with you, old friend." Idris shook his hand before immediately wiping his hand on his blazer, then shoving them in his pants' pockets. Idris smirked at the rest of the vampires.

"If you want the cure and you agree to the conditions, you will come find me. But if not, then I suppose you can stay in the dark."

The vampires left, clan by clan. Some had already agreed on Idris' deal, but most had left contemplating. At the end, Idris' clan was the last to stay. I said goodbye to Eleanor and the rest of them, though the woman knew we will see each other again very soon. Idris disappeared for a moment and returned with the beaten up viper car.

Then, he gave Lysander a nod and a handshake before turning to me with his eyes full of uncertainty. Not exactly sad as I saw earlier, but there's curiousity, nervousness and a tad of excitement.

"I think it's safe to say you and I have made quite a team these past few days." The vampire leaned on the hood of the car. "But I hate to say it." My stomach dropped with worry. "This is not the last time you'll be seeing me. As a matter of fact, you'll be seeing me a lot more often now."

"What do you mean?"

Idris fixed his tie and blazer. "Things are changing, Andromeda. You've caused a lot of changes. Vampires walking during the day. A living werewolf who was supposed to be a weapon by now. Among other things. These are good changes and I want to thank you for everything. You may not see everything you've done, but you've changed a few things around, for the better, so give yourself some credit and pat yourself in the back for being a great young scientist."

I shook my head, not understanding his sudden mood. "Idris. Nothing is fine. Nothing is good. Rami is dead and his body is still - "

Idris bit his lower lip. "Yes. He is. Quite a funny human he was. I will miss the human hobbit."

My eyes watered again. "I'm sorry."

The vampire smiled slightly. "Let's not think or talk anymore for now. We will see each other again, like I said. I suggest a proper rest. A good, long sleep. I will be getting that real soon." He turned to Lysander again. "Have a good night, werewolf. Please take care of this lady. She's been through a lot within the past few days."

"I will." The deep voice replied promisingly, making the vampire smile wider.

"One last thing." At this point, Idris' clan had already left. Idris turned to be with bright eyes. "Blueberry muffins are my favorite."

"What?"

The vampire ran off without another word, leaving me and the werewolf confused.

"What?"

***

After refilling the fuel of the car, I drove for about an hour in the desert of Nevada, then I stopped. I felt so weak, so tired, so done with everything. I feel like I just lost so much. I got Lysander back, but lost another dear person to me. It isn't fair. Why can't I save anybody?

Tears stormed out from my eyes that's already pink from crying so much. As I did, I was pulled in the comforting warmth of the werewolf. This feels like Lysander. I can feel the warmth, the comfort, the passion, the caring. I can feel him. I don't know how or what happened but this is my Lysander. Still, a part of me still see Rami's blood on his hands and I probably will always remember it.

As I cried in his arms, without even looking at him, I could feel the remorse from him. It's as if I'm feeling what he's feeling and it's breaking me. He is blaming himself for Rami's death, just like I did before. It wasn't him. It was Tarver. It was the scientist. It was the government. It was his body, but not him. He was used like an object but it wasn't him.

"Lysander."

He looked at me with guilt in his eyes. "I'm sorry Drew." He frowned, lowering his dead. "I'm sorry. I couldn't control it. I couldn't do anything. I felt like I couldn't control my own thoughts and body. I couldn't recognize anything. I could barely recognize you, my own mate. I hurt my own mate." His voice cracked as he closed his eyes.

I put my arms around him, bringing his face to my neck.

"I felt your pain." He mumbled hoarsely. "The moment Rami fell to the ground, I felt your pain and I saw the way you looked at me. And I couldn't.. I couldn't... You looked at me like I was nothing but an experiment. That I was nothing but 17 and I couldn't take the pain. That pain woke me up. It was so strong and I felt it." He pulled away to look at me. I could see his eyes shining with tears. "I couldn't feel anything but I felt pain. It brought me back my humanity."

My fingers wiped the tears that escaped from his sad grey eyes. "I didn't mean that, Lysander. You are not an experiment to me. I wouldn't have done all I've done for an experiment. I did everything for you because you're someone that I'm helplessly in love with."

***

Lysander and I got back in California after driving nonstop for hours. I drove from midnight to sunrise until we arrived back at Redwoods. It almost felt strange to come back after everything. Just days ago, Lysander and I were taken by hunters. Rami had risked his life to save us and now, we returned without him.

Lysander froze all so suddenly. We were almost at the wolf cave when he stopped completely. Then, his hands held my mine, his eyes wide open. And then...

And then, a figure ran straight to a giant tree in front of us. Black jeans, yellow shirt, covered in blood. Curly hair, no glasses for those bright red eyes and blood stained teeth to match.

"Fuck." He kicked the trunk of the old tree and it crumbled slightly. "It will take me a while to get used to these vampire powers." He flashed us his sharp fangs. "Sorry I'm late. I had to drink some of those dead soldiers blood. It's bitter and warm but so is coffee, so I think I can get used to it. I cannot believe you didn't wait for me. I wanted to drive the viper car back."

My throat dried up. My heart raced. My head pounded as they all tried to make sense of what I am currently seeing.

"What the fuck."

The last thing I saw was one yellow blur running towards me, yet my body still hit the ground and I blacked out.