After all the pack warriors left, we rounded up the children and took them down into the basement. There were a few other women that had stayed behind to help protect the children. They were well trained in self-defense and always left behind in battles to protect the children. They were the back line, there in case any enemy wolves broke the battle line and headed here.

They also stayed in the basement with the children, playing games and keeping their minds off the fact that their parents were gone. Alice and I stayed upstairs. Jackson had wanted me downstairs with the defense line and children, but I insisted on staying upstairs with Alice. If any wolves got it, we were supposed to go down and alert the women guarding the children, so it didn't make a whole lot of difference where I waited out the battle.

On top of that, Alice was an open connection to the battle and I knew she'd answer my questions about what was going on. She was reclining on the couch, trying to appear relaxed but I could see the tension streaming through her body. Not that I had any room to talk. I couldn't even sit down. I was pacing around the living room, biting my nails and alternating between staring at the clock and looking out the windows as I passed them. Each second ticked by like an hour and it was driving me crazy.

And I was driving Alice crazy. "Ceci, would you please sit down and relax?" she asked, most of her annoyance covered. "They just got to the interception point and they're waiting for Drabek to arrive. Lisa is keeping Eli updated on their approach. Everything is going to be fine."

"But what if someone gets hurt?" I asked, turning to face her, but not sitting down.

Alice sighed. "People are going to get hurt," she told me flatly. "It's a battle and very few will come out of this without injury. We have a pack hospital five minutes away from the pack house and the doctors and nurses are in there getting everything ready for after the battle."

That information didn't help. I didn't care that they had doctors, or that they were ready for incoming injured. Doctors could only do so much and there were only so many of them. I just couldn't sit still. I was too nervous and high strung. I didn't want anyone getting hurt because of me. Not only was the pack out there fighting for me, but so was the coven.

Ignoring Alice's advice, I continued to pace.

After about ten minutes, I could hear howling. The fighting had begun and my worry just ratcheted up even more. Jackson was out there, and he was determined to take Bane down on his own. I knew that he could do it one-on-one, but I'm almost positive that Bane wasn't going to be fighting this battle fair.

Alice's gasp of shock pulled me towards her like a string. "What?" I asked worriedly, gripping her hands tightly as I begged for news. "What is it? Jackson? Eli?"

"No," Alice breathed in disbelief. "The entire coven of vampires just showed up. And they're helping us."

I breathed a sigh of relief that nothing was wrong.

"How did they even know what was going on?" she wondered aloud. Then her eyes opened and she turned to me, her eyes widening. "What did you do, Cecilia?" she questioned, her voice showing her anger.

It raised my hackles. I was only trying to protect everyone and that was the only thing I could have done. "I told them what was going on," I told her. "They were already planning to try to help, I just gave them the knowledge to do it a little easier."

"Why would you do that?" Alice asked in dismay, rising to her feet. "Don't you know how much our kinds hate each other?"

"I do know that, Alice!" I retorted, getting angry. "I know because I'm mated to a werewolf and related to a vampire. No one is more informed of the idiocy of you guys hating each other! You have no reason to hate each other. They offered to help! I wasn't going to turn them down when I knew that they could help in this battle. Bane would never have expected you to have vampires on your side!"

"And that's for a good reason!" Alice yelled. "The coven is going to distract our wolves! They aren't prepared for vampires to join this battle and they won't know who's side they're on!"

I shook my head. "Jackson will," I told her, sure of it. "He's met just about all of them and so have most of the pack when they came to my graduation party."

"You don't understand, Ceci," Alice growled, starting to pace. "They're wolves will have taken over for the battle. They're not going to recognize the vampires as readily as you think they will!"

"Even if the rest of you pack doesn't, I know that Jackson will," I told her. "The coven will help more than they'll hinder. They knew their arrival was going to be a complete surprise and they'll have planned around that!"

Alice sighed, shaking her head. "I can't argue with you about this right now, Ceci. I'm going up to my room."

I watched Alice walk away. Eventually, they were going to have to learn to get over their prejudice towards the vampires. Even if it was the last thing I did, I'd make sure it happened. I would organize events where they'd both have to be present and get used to each other. I wasn't going to deal with their prejudice if I was going to live with them.

However, the longer that Alice was gone, the more antsy I became. By myself, I had no idea what was going on out there. At least when Alice was down here, I had a connection to the battle and could make sure that Jackson was still doing okay. All I had now was horrible visions about what could be happening and none of them were good. What was worse was that I was just sitting at home, completely useless, while everyone was out there fighting a battle that I should have been able to fight on my own.

Not only was I worried about all of them, but I felt guilty because they were all out there because of me. Jackson's repetitive assurances that none of this was my fault didn't sink in. They were vampires and werewolves, all out there fighting and protecting me, the little human that they were all so protective of. And so, I continued to pace the living room, doing the only thing that I could: hoping and praying that Jackson and everyone else was okay.

It felt like I had been alone forever, but when I looked up at the clock I realized that it had only been five minutes since Alice had gone upstairs, angry with my interference, and only twenty minutes since the battle had begun. I wanted to go upstairs and ask her how things were going, but I knew that she was still too mad to talk to me.

I couldn't take it anymore. I had to know what was happening and if I couldn't get Alice to tell me, I would just have to find out for myself. I looked around the room, making sure that I was really alone. I didn't see anybody and when I stood really still and listened, I couldn't hear anyone, either. I slid quietly to the back door and opened it slowly, trying not to make any noise. I knew that if anyone knew what I was up to, they'd try to stop me, but I couldn't handle not knowing what was going on.

I had promised everyone that I would stay in the pack house where I was safe, but I couldn't stand it. I needed to know what was going on and that everyone I cared about was still safe. I had my phone on me and if I ran into any problems on the way there, I could call Xavier. I'd just have to stay on the path I knew they'd take to the pack house if I called.

Taking a deep breath, I slipped through the crack I'd made and turned the doorknob before closing the door slowly behind me so that it didn't make a sound. I sighed in relief when I got it closed with no one the wiser. I turned and headed for the forest.

I could still hear the growls, howls and snarls of the fight and I knew I could find my way there without a problem. The only thing I didn't know, was how close they were. I was pretty sure that Eli wanted the battle at least a mile from the pack house, but I didn't know how much farther than that they had gone.

I started running. I was in good shape and at a fast pace, I should be able to make it to the clearing in six minutes. I had to keep my breathing under control though, so that it didn't give me away when I got there. I didn't want to distract them, I just wanted to check and make sure they were all doing okay. If I'd had a mind-link with the pack like Alice, I probably could've handled staying at the pack house, but I had no connection to the battle what-so-ever, especially after Alice went upstairs.

I knew I was close when the sounds of panting, snapping sticks and crunching dead leaves reached my ears. The sounds of the fighting were much louder than before as well, so I slowed down and crept to a bush, peering between the branches.

The sight that met my eyes was even more graphic than I had been expecting. Wolves of all shapes, sizes and colors were fighting ferociously, the vampires fighting right alongside them. They were working incredibly well together, giving me hope that one day they could always be like this, and something to bring up when I was getting scolded for coming out here. The ground was littered with wolf bodies, but I didn't see a single vampire down and from what I could tell, no wolves that I recognized were down either. At least I knew that we were winning.

However, I was looking for one wolf in particular and I scanned the clearing until my eyes landed on him, fighting a huge black wolf that I recognized as Bane. They seemed pretty even at the moment, though Bane was weeping blood from quite a few more injuries than Jackson.

The relief that flooded my body made me sag for a moment, before I started inching my way closer to Jackson. I kept behind the bushes and made sure not to get any closer to the empty space they were fighting in. I crept around the clearing until I had an unimpeded view of Jackson and Bane fighting each other.

I knew the importance of staying quiet in this moment. There was no way that Jackson could even suspect that I was out here. It would only distract him from the fight in front of him and risk his safety. I just wanted to watch. I needed to make sure that nothing happened to him, though what I could do to help him, I didn't know. I just had to be here.

I settled back and surveyed the fight, impressed with the way the pack and the coven were fighting together. Xavier was hovering on the outskirts of the fight, about twenty feet from Jackson and I was so happy that I'd finally gotten eyes on him to make sure that he was okay.

When my gaze returned to Jackson, I froze in horror. Another wolf from Bane's pack had leaped into the fray, landing directly on Jackson's back. He was focused on getting the new wolf off him and didn't see Bane moving in. I knew that he was going to kill him and only one thought was going through my mind as time slowed to a crawl. I couldn't let Jackson die; I had to protect him.

"NO!" I screamed, sprinting from my cover in the bushes. I skidded to a stop in front of Jackson just in time for Bane's thick, razor-sharp claws to slice through my side and stomach at the same time his teeth latched deeply into my shoulder.

Over a horribly, pain-filled scream, I heard a furious growl that I recognized as Jackson. Through semi-blurred vision, I watched as every wolf from Jackson's pack that was in a ten foot radius pounced on Bane the second he released me.

I fell heavily to the ground, the impact jarring the injuries in my side, stomach and shoulder as I looked around for Jackson. I needed to see him. I was losing blood fast and I knew that I was never going to make it back to the doctors at the pack house. The pain was already fading, my body becoming numb, but I had saved Jackson and that was what I really wanted.

My lips lifted in a smile when Jackson's terrified face loomed above me, fading in and out of focus. "Stay with me, baby, please," he begged.

I lifted my hand with the little strength that I had left, knowing that I couldn't stay right now but I would always come back to him. I only hoped he could find it in him to forgive me when I did. There was only one thing I needed him to know before I went. "I love you," I whispered to him, staring into his beautiful hazel eyes as my vision darkened and my arm fell. The last thing I heard was a mournful wail that just about broke my heart.

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