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Click hereFor a moment she thought he was crying in the middle of a houseful of Weres but then he raised his head and she saw he was laughing, an expression of total disbelief on his face. "Can I have that in writing?" Demetri laughed. "Because I know damned well you're going to deny all knowledge of ever uttering those words to me."
Mara rolled her eyes and shook her head but she smiled at him and gave him a soft kiss before she swung her legs to the floor and let Demetri help her up carefully. She took a few steps and straightened completely. "All better," she sighed with relief. "Let's find Caleb and Annie." She felt in the way with all that the Weres had been through. They didn't make her feel that way but she did. The pack was grieving and their presence may not be as welcome as they thought.
People moved about constantly into the night until silence began to descend on the compound. The vampires had removed all of Graves' crew, the buses had rolled in from the evacuation site and families were reunited in the community hall. In total thirty one Weres lost their lives and four vampires. The losses seemed pretty low considering the odds stacked against the pack but it was still a crushing blow to Jared. People had lost their mates, their sons and daughters, their brothers and sisters.
The Alpha's house was empty of most of the pack now. Demetri had taken Mara home and Andrei and Alexei had disappeared not long afterwards. The only vampires to remain in the compound were Caleb and his woman and he was only there because Rhianna didn't want to leave her family. She moved from one to the other, hugging them, whispering words of comfort, crying with them when their grief spilled over.
"Take her home, Caleb," Jared said quietly moving to stand beside his friend. "She's exhausting herself trying to comfort everyone."
"I know," Caleb sighed wearily. "Every time I try to she looks at me with big pleading eyes and I can't make myself force her to leave."
"Then let me help," Jared answered softly. "We will forever be in your debt, Caleb. I know some of the pack have looked at you with unfriendly eyes tonight but it will pass. You will always be welcome here."
"Thank you, Jared," he said quietly, watching as the Alpha strode over to his woman who was sitting with her arms around Millie.
"Come, Rhianna, it is time for you to go home," Jared said firmly. "I need to get Millie to bed so she can rest and look after our babies. We all need to get some rest. You can come back tomorrow and fuss over us then."
Rhianna swallowed hard, looking up at Jared, seeing the determination in his eyes. She bowed her head and bit her lip, feeling Millie squeeze her waist gently. "We'll be fine, Annie," her sister sighed softly. "We are strong and resilient. We will recover from this. Go home, sweetie. Get some rest. We will need your strength tomorrow and in the coming days."
Nodding numbly, Rhianna hugged her and then Jared, stopping at Lacey and Rafe and kissing their cheeks as she gave them harder hugs. She turned from her family walking into Caleb's strong embrace, allowing him to lead her from the house.
"We're going to head to bed," Rafe said quietly, pulling Lacey with him as he escorted her from the house. Their Alphas needed the house to themselves tonight. They would stay at Rafe's small cabin.
Finally alone with his mate, Jared sank down to the floor, wrapping his arms around Millie, resting his head against her stomach as she leaned forward to rest her cheek on top of his head. Silently he began to weep, feeling Millie's tears fall on the back of his neck. "So many, Millie," he whispered. "So many brave people lost their lives tonight. I keep asking myself if there was something else I could have done that could have saved more people."
"You did your best, love," Millie breathed tearfully. "The odds were against us right from the start. We stood on the brink of annihilation but you secured strong, powerful allies. We fought and we won and yes, we lost many good people, but the pack stands strong. We will recover, love," she whispered softly.
Jared nodded, his hand coming up to touch her stomach reverently. "I know we will, Mills. It's just going to be so tough the next few weeks, but I know life goes on and so will the pack," he sighed softly.
Rising, he gathered his mate into his arms and cradled her gently against his chest. "Time to get some rest, baby," he said quietly. "Tomorrow will be a very long day."
To be continued...
This is the penultimate chapter in this part of the story. One more to go. Hope you all enoy the conclusion as much as you have enjoyed the rollercoater ride to get to the end :-)
Many thanks to WorldHistoryBuff for editing for me as always. You're the best! And to my little ray of Sunshine :-)
- COMMENTS
Read her stories multiple times, love them all. Maybe in time she will be able to Add More! Please?
Loved this story!!!! I can’t wait to read how the Romanov brothers deal with Weres as their mates. 😈
Loving all of your characters. Especially Alexei, Andrei and Nors. They have so much to look forward to, and they don't even realise it. Bummer!! only one more chapter to go. :)
Four times I've read this storyline and it seems I discover the thrill and enjoyment each and every damn time! I think I will print them all out and keep them in a safe place for when I can't get to my internet connection in order to re-read again and again and again!!! LOL!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You have a wicked and vivid imagination and I REALLLY appreciate it. More pease!!!!!! Your universe...just a Peeping Tom here passing through!
I cried I cheered I laughed. Im in love with all your characters.im so glad 3 vampires found their mates in werewolves but don't know it yet. This story I can relate to everything except the justice I unfortunately havnt found my justice from the wrongs done to me. Thank you for this story
I cried and cried. I ccheered knowing that 3 vamps found their mates in werre but dont realize it yet. You are a great writer and cant wait to read more. I would love to see you published.
V.Cotton
And I've found mine in this chapter! Nors. Love it. Seriously enjoying this series! Only one more chapter to go, and then I can start on the next series! Awesome.
well told. Thank you.
One little nit pick: One rings a bell but wrings a wet cloth, I think.
I literaly found myself fighting back tears as i read this chapter. I even got choked up when Jared talked of Bill's death. I see a fundamental change coming in the historical relationship between the vampires and weres, especialy with the Nors/Ashleigh, Alexis/Cedar, and Andrei/Loretta dynamics. You have done such a wonderful job of creating two seperate cultures for your vamps and weres, and then having those cultures come into conflict even among allies. Now their hearts are forcing those cultures to intermingle in ways they never thought possible. It will be interesting to see how their seperate cultures evolve now.
You really outdid yourself with this one! I look forward to reading all the stories your fertile imagination and impressive talent choose to create. Thanks again for taking to time to share with us. :)
What a delightful story. You've got real talent & i think you should start looking for an agent, I'd certainly pay to read your work! Well done:)
i havnt been online for a while; i just got the internet up and running again. and i honestly have to say THANK YOU; yuh are incredible jazz. and i agree with pennlady <3 yuh just set yuhrself up for some good sequals.. i def wanna know about thee twins =] and emily hahah keep it upp =]
I've actually created an account to review this story as it is that amazing, probably one of the better ones I've read on this site. I didn't want it to be just Anonymous either, hence the account creation. I quite enjoyed the action sequences and the fact that you had some slightly major characters die (Shephard, Ben, etc.), as that is a realistic fact of war. I am slightly disappointed about the Graves vs. Demetri fight, however, since it seemed Demetri won out fairly easily, but that's just a minor flaw. Overall another amazing chapter, and I can't wait for the conclusion!
Nice way to wrap it up, Jaz. I especially liked that Rafe kept true to himself. You realize, of course, that you've set yourself up for about four sequels here. ;) I hope you get to write at least some of them. Best of luck, and I await the next chapter/epilogue.
wow. read it, loved it, want more. magnificent writing, hope you put the next chapter up soon, and hope that's not the last. other characters seemed very promising and intriguing. hope to read more form you
I am really glad that isn't the end for all these characters. I love them all so much. And if you can help me love Demetri, lol...
It was worth the wait till tonight when I got to it finally. I loved the way Graves died. It was so great to hear D pull off parts for the different people, then for him to turn him over to Rafe. It was really powerful to choose to have Rafe do what he did since his sweet nature has been as much a part of him and the story as Rhianna's nature to pull people in. It was amusing to see how she has affected so many of the hard vamps. I love the scene with Nors and Ashleigh. Huh...does he feel fatherly toward her or something more?
You teased us with Ch. 12 so you know you now have to write more since you didn't mention the twins in reference to their possible mates. I am still unsure what all the things Caleb said to Andrei mean. I was happy you used that scene to make Caleb more of a challenge/tougher again. He was just as intimidating in the beginning as the other elders, but then his personality was softented by Rhianna as much as Demetri, Andrei and Alexei were showed as being tough guys. I like that you showed his strength as an elder/foe. I love that Mara agreed to be turned. You are so good at opening up new routes for new stories to be told...you leave us demanding you tell the stories you hint at. I can't wait for the closing. Thanks so much for your writing, Jaz.
of the three vamps and were's i think nors and ash are going to be the most interesting because he seems to have a great deal of humanity left to him and she is going to be a little fragile for a while
I had tears and i cant wait for the other installments this is going to be crazy who would have thought that the three werewolf hating vamps would fall in love with their mates being werewolfs ont top of it one of them is going to be on the council ha love it.
Fantastic Chapter Jazz you've had me smiling and in tears. I so can't wait for the next one hun and I guess then you will be working on Cedars story too :)
Keep em coming hun your doing ace xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sol (jazz' Groupie ) xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
yay Go Demetri and Rafe! As always I LOVE this chapter!
I didn't see the Nors/asleigh thing coming but i <3 it
I really needed my WWC fix and I got it, amazing!
I see that Morningdawn has canceled the hit ... YAY!!... that leaves you with less stress to continue on and write us some more.
Love Love Love Love Love this chapter and the series to date!!
Okay so I have been trying to figure out what to say regarding this installment...
Firstly - Argggghhhh!!! Now I want to know what happens with Cedar, Loretta AND Ashleigh - the suspense is going to kill me lol. Actually I thought it was clever that you gave the Ashleigh/Nors story a distant starting point... it will help us less patient fans to keep in check ;)
Secondly, thank you for maintaining in the end Rafe's & Dem's personality with the killing of Graves. It would have been easier to make it a massacre but the honor and dignity that was there is more suited for the characters and remind us how much Dem has changed.
Lastly, I loved how it ended, the simplicity and the emotions without restraint all mixed in with a touch of hope and faith. Jared and Millie are so wonderful.
Thank you so much... you can breathe easy now knowing that there are no more major death threats against you and you only have one more chapter of this saga to go.
Each scene of the battle brings the Weres and Vampires closer to understanding, love, and personal growth. Nicely done. Now, if we could get Muslims, Christians, Jews, etc. to form an alliance to stop the extremist killers from multiple religions and learn from each other...
I tried to be nice and offer the possible dropping of the lawsuit but nooooo you had to go and cause me to have heart palpatations with this chapter!!!! Stop messing with my emotions girl!!!! My husband made me stop reading because I screamed and scared the crap outta him!!!! So now you have two people with mental anguish all because of you!!!! Hope your happy little miss jazzy!!!! I await the next chapter!
I cried like a baby over the losses but it was a great story and look forward to more from these characters.
No words can describe how much I loved this chapter, this series. All I can say is Gush, Gush gush, gush gush gush, gush gush gush gush, gush gush gush gush gush, gush gush gush gush gush gush, gush gush gush gush gush gush gush, gush gush gush gush gush gush gush gush, gush gush gush gush gush gush gush gush gush, gush gush gush gush gush gush gush gush gush gush, well I think you get my point.
I was bawling and bubbling and sobbing... I liked the Ben character too, well his connection to Rafe was endearing. And that old wolf, that was sad too... This was a really hard chapter and that just makes this story even better... I'm waiting for the next... Great job!!!
I thought this was great and I look forward to reading the next chapter. I also hope that you write something about the twins, Cedar, and Loretta. That seems very interesting as well. Thanks for the great stories.
So glad that Graves is dead, lol, and that most people survived.
I really hope you write more after this!!
Just wondering, are you still continuing the story of the Siochan?
(I still love WWC, TA, and FTI most, but the Siochan isn't half-bad, haha)
I'm thinking that the twins could get in trouble with the Council, but because of the whole mate thing, then perhaps the Weres help to defend them? Or something like that.
Your stories are tons better than Twilight(they remind me of twilight, for some reason), and I love your characters more.
Best series ever on this site(that I have read)
So glad that you give us the privelege to read your stories!!!
Thanks!
<p>Thank-you for a very good chapter. For letting Rafe decide on mercy. For helping Ashleigh over the death of her family. For all the hints of possible future stories. For pre-empting Rhianna's feelings of guilt (I'm not sure I could stand seeing her go though such guilt). Most of all, thank-you for there being another chapter to come!</p>
<p>On vampire psychology.<br/>
It is interesting to see how interacting with the Were has affected a number of vampires. It seems to me that they go into a kind of shock from living too long and loosing too many friends. It manifests as a form of indifference to the world and those in it, particularly the short-lived humans. Most interesting to see them come out of their shells when interacting with the wolves. Do vampire's powers start growing again when they've broken through this barrier? Maybe we won't ever know.</p>
<p>On physiology: you've told us that Vampires can't reproduce with humans or other vampires. Has there ever been a Vampire-Were relationship? <br/>
Also, I can't seem to remember how long a typical were lives for... Cedar seemed to imply long life in her comments to the twin, but the turnover among were seems to be a lot higher!</p>
<p>That's all for now, thanks for this chapter again, I await the next with anticipation.</p>
<p>
-- <br/>
-ShadowedDreams</p>