AUTHOR'S POV
The shattered front doors groaned behind Roman as he step out of the mansion. The battle inside the grand hall faded into distant snarls, that it has been replaced by the hush of the night. Roman descended the stone steps with haste. He was certain, rushing. He didn't had to wait for Scott, for he has one goal in his head, even if he do it alone. Kill the original vampire, whatever it takes.
The moonlight flooded the front yard.
The cypress trees bordering the long driveway swayed gently at the soft breeze. None of them carried their earthy scents. The wind simply wafted what he came out for. Death. He paced farther the driveway, where a long line of premium automobiles and grand tourers are parked. Further down, his and his pack's motorcycles lay carelessly tilted on the side, the ride where he will take his Luna out of this mess. And there, the screams began again. Only, Kate's screams hauled yells of agony.
Roman didn't slowed down, even a tiny bit.
He reached the theater of war unafraid, despite sensing more vampires than he can count in that lawn of a histrionic view of the abductors and their captive. Kate knelt on the cold grass nearby the fountain surrounded by hedges, clinging to her broken limb. Every breath sent another wave of agony across her face. Behind her is the night that seemed to belong to Claudia, and her children of different eras. One wore a Napoleonic officer uniform, smoking tobacco rolled in a paper. Another stood like a Victorian gentleman, with his tailored suit impossibly pristine. A woman dressed in a white wedding gown, smiling with bloodied yellow fangs. And the twin girls in a dark plaid school uniform spinning in circles with their hands together. Six possible attack angles on the fragile woman who needed to walk out alive, and Roman isn't utterly worried.
"Curious", Claudia watched Roman slow his steps. A smile grew in her lips. "She was summoning a Luna. So why has a dog answered instead?"
"We meet again."
Richard whispers to Claudia, with eyes focused on Roman. Delight sparkled in her crimson eyes. "Ahhh.. The Alpha", recognition lit her face. "How fortunate it is to see Lestat's killer", she tilts her head on one side, crossing her arms. "But you have to wait in line."
"I knew I saw you somewhere.", Roman gave her a lopsided grin. "I should've killed you beside him. Your creator would be enjoying hell even better."
Claudia laughed. It carried no humor, neither grief or rage. "I've always dreamed of returning the favor", anticipation gritted in her teeth.
Meanwhile, Scott disappeared in Roman's tail. He took one careful step after another. He vanished in the darkness of the trees, hid closely behind the hedges under Roman's scent who has been arousing the vampires. He reached closer, that when Kate lifted her head she almost gasped spotting him. In a sweep, Scott lunged from the hedges and a blur crashed into him. "You nearly had us", Richard grinned, claws digging into Scott's back shoulders. In a swift spin, Scott freed himself landing a knee on the vampire's chin.
Everyone watched.
Claudia was proud of her favorite creation who learned well from her. The twins kept playing, humming even. And there's Kate, hopeful but scared. Richard fought with centuries of experience, and Scott answered with raw Alpha strength. Two immaculate predators exchanged massive collisions that was found entertaining by everyone there. The distraction made Roman attack Claudia, instead of taking Kate out of being caught in the middle. The vampire in a white wedding dress caught the opportunity and shielded Claudia with her body. "Not today", she breathed.
Just then, a sickening crack echoed across the lawn.
The twins stopped dancing. The cigarette fell from the other vampire's mouth. All red eyes shifted to Richard, whom they thought he had it. They watched how Scott ripped off Richard's head from his back, tearing its flesh as it separate from his body. And for one suspended heartbeat, Richard's headless body remained standing before ash consumed him.
The wind scattered his dusts into nothing.
Richard who found little joy in bloodshed, and content in the silence instead of conquest. The immortal who questioned Claudia's obsession on Diana, thinking that the girl is not worth another tiring war. The loyal child who only answered to his master's call because she had asked. The vampire who opposed crossing the wolves' territory. Now have succumbed to his death that was never promised to him.
And then there was silence.
Claudia stared with eyes wide unblinking, fracturing her perfect collectedness. Her eyes searched in disbelief. Richard has returned to the earth as dusts. Her neck turned rigid. Her jaw locked so hard, it trembled. Her gloved hands curled slowly into fists. "No..", her lips pressed into a thin bloodless line until there were no more ashes floating in the air. Her shoulders shook, as a squeal of fury and grief escaped her. "You!", she swallowed the pain as he her eyes settled on Scott. First Lestat, who gifted her with a more bearable existence where no one would ever look down on her. And now Richard, the one who didn't entirely replaced her creator, but he who is something quieter, patient, and steady. Both taken from her by Alphas. "You'll never get away from this!"
A soft hiss from the balcony pierced the night. Movements spewed from above catching the eyes of everyone on the ground. The Alphas need not to look but the voices coming from the mansion caught Scott's attention. "Scott!", Reina struggled while a sharpened finger is buried against her neck. Beside her was Stanley being held dangerously near the edge of the balcony. Scott's jaw clenched. Now there are three hostages.
"There", Claudia spread her arms. "I'll teach you mercy", she looked almost amused changing her mind finding Scott's death would be rather unsatisfying as she decides to make their losses equal. "Give me the girl, and I'll spare one life."
'That's on you. She will still kill them all', Roman placed the hard decision on Scott's shoulder in mindtalk, knowing he care less on the other lives at risk.
Scott shifted his gaze from Kate to Stanley and Reina. They all shared a look that gave him an answer. "If one dies, so be it.", he shrugged. "Diana does not leave the mansion.", his breathing became shallow.
Claudia chuckled lowly. It was something she expected from an Alpha who is bound to his Luna. She slowly waved her hand, a signal that made the vampires holding Reina and Stanley snarl in delight. They have been holding in the urge for blood for too long. However a halt caught their fangs. Another sound of a woman disrupted the lawn. All heads turned to the two shadows furiously coming out of the mansion. "Let me go!", the voice of a woman yelled.
Scott drained of color. Roman's jaw twitched. They both slowly turned and hoped their instincts were wrong. Nevertheless, the double heartbeat racing through that lawn had a scent they both perfectly know. Lily stumbled out first. Blood speckled her forehead, and stained her dress. Her blonde hair that was fixed in a careful style had come loose, as though she have struggled. Her hand gripped Diana's injured arm so tightly, that fresh blood ran between her fingers. As they did, they were both dangerously walking into the newborn's valley of death. Diana fought her every step, but Lily was too strong that she is being dragged effortlessly.
"No...", Kate uttered under her breath seeing Diana, panicking with lighter sobs.
"Well... how unexpected", Claudia sheered herself with fascination in a slow smile. Now that the Luna has arrived, all vampires were gestured not to make a move. "Who is this?"
"Lily! Please don't do this!", Diana plead. However, Lily continued to drag Diana. While Diana's blood water the mouths of the vampires nearby, Claudia cringed at the dripping poison on the Luna's arm. And all that demented her mind is her strong will to strike her down.
Meanwhile, that voice woke everything in Scott. Their eyes met, and everything in him fixed into something that made him lunge for Lily like an instinct. From a different direction, Roman have also lurched forward. Lily screamed, as she violently yanked Diana backward, hands on her fragile neck ready to snap it like glass. "Don't you dare come near me!!", Lily bursted, with ragged breaths and reddened eyes. "One more step, she-she dies!".
The Alphas had no choice but to stop, gritting their teeth at Lily's sheer recklessness. "You miserable bitch!!", Kate stood from the ground with her trembling knees, forgetting the pain brought about her broken limb.
One of the twins caught her arm. "Don't interrupt them, food", the other twin said, lowering her head on Kate's broken arm.
"What the fuck are you doing, Lily?", Scott roared. His pulse exploded seeing Diana one second away from death. As he stood there, he could feel the newborns shifting their weights in the dark, preparing to pounce. Every blood that drips from that arm is an invitation, and he wouldn't want every vampire there drinking from that laceration.
"Let her go", Roman stepped closer carefully, extending his hand. His eyes were fixed on Diana as a strange helplessness settled in his bones. All he saw was her. The Alpha who feared nothing as soon as he stepped in that lawn wished he could bargain with fate. "Please", he almost begged, wishing to take anything from him instead, and not his luna.
"I said stop!", Lily's cried out, tightening her arm grip around Diana's neck. Diana could only twist and turn from that strong arm, as she stare at Scott.
"What are you waiting for, Lily?", Claudia gazed at how wonderfully useful Lily is. With a satisfied curve on Claudia's lips, she taunted how laughably fragile Lily is to destroy themselves for love. She almost pity her, but then again, fortune favored her tonight. "Hand her to me"
"Shut up!! Everyone shut up!!", Lily tensed every muscle in her body, tightening her grip on Diana. "I tried", Lily's voice shook violently, that she almost couldn't speak. "I tried to be patient, I waited...", she swallowed hard, moving farther from Scott and Roman at every word. "I waited for you to love me", she looks at Scott, blinded with her affection despite having her eyes wide open.
Scott drew nearer as Lily continue to drift farther with Diana. "Leave Diana out of this", he looks at her with far worse than anger.
"No!! You stay right there!!", Lily's entire body trembled. Diana cried, whimpering at the tightening grip around her neck. Dragging Diana backward towards Claudia, Lily nodded rapidly through her tears. Then a fragile heartbreaking smile stirred her lips. "You'll forgive me, I know you will", Lily turns to Claudia, with half a smile. "I hope she dies screaming", Lily shoves Diana, as she stumble forward into Claudia's reach.
"Lily, no!!", Scott pitched forward as soon as Lily turned her back, along with Roman who have emptied his head with unnecessary thoughts. Only one thing occurred to them, let Diana live.
Everything unravelled from there.
A brawl ignited in the balcony where Reina and Stanley were being held up. As Reina outsmarts Claudia's teenage creations, she tossed one down the balcony and freed her father from the claws of another. Facing a couple more vampire, rescue arrived just in time. Two wolves driven by rage stepped out of the balcony growling in slow steps.
Back to the lawn, Scott and Roman were already moving, too fast for everyone's eyes. Scott reaches Diana before Claudia's claws get to her. Claudia snarls with her fangs out. And right on the original vampires blind side, Roman had come. Claudia's senses rapidly made herself vanish. One instant she's behind Lily, then next she blurred through the moonlight with fingers outstretched toward Diana. Scott threw himself forward, slamming his shoulder into Diana's waist. The force knocked both of them sideway that Claudia's hand sliced through empty air.
Scott hits the grass first, land Diana landed against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her before their momentum carried them into a roll across the lawn. They tumbled on a hedge, as his hand covers her head. "Are you hurt?", he asked.
Diana nodded. "I'm... I'm alright."
"Where are your marbles?", Scott asked.
"She--she tossed them in the room."
Scott pulled her behind him as he rose, and locked his eyes onto Claudia. "You'll never gonna get her."
Roman never reached them. A blur intercepted him. The vampire clad in faded Napoleonic officer's uniform met him head-on. Unlike the newborns, he fought like a soldier. Measured and discipline. He carried a polished blade gleaming silver. Roman barely ducked in time as the sword whistled over his head. The officer pivoted sharply stepping around the strike with practiced footwork learned battlefields centuries ago. And then he slashed again. Roman caught the blade between his hands. With a savage twist, he snapped the saber in half. The vampire didn't hesitate. He drove the broken hilt towards Roman's throat. Roman caught his wrist and the two slammed into one another, trading blows, elbows and crushing kicks.
Neither gave ground.
Nearby, Scott collided with Claudia. She fought unlike any vampire he had ever encountered. There was no wasted movement. Every strike flowed into next with terrifying grace. He blocked, she spun. He clawed, she reached for Diana. Always keeping one step closer to his Luna. Thus, he intercepted every attempt. Landed hits, and hoped he'd rip that marbled neck.
Behind the duel among the Alphas, there was the sharpest exhale and patience wearing thin. The vampire in a wedding dress, who has been going unhinged at the smell of blood all over Lily, surrendered to her bloodlust. Her nostrils flared, her appetite grew even if she just recently fed on her groom. She whimpered with her fangs out. And slowly, her restraints shattered. With an animalistic shriek, she launched herself at Lily. Her fangs pierced her flesh deeply. Lily couldn't even escape her fate. She licked greedily at every dried smear of blood on Lily's skin.
Another pair of crimson eyes lifted.
The twins, who were still holding Kate moments before, have abandoned their meal. One claimed Kate is for dessert. Kate collapsed onto the grass as the twins fell upon Lily from opposite sides, clawing desperately at her arms and face, licking every bloodstain they could find. Like starving beasts fighting over scraps.
Lily couldn't even scream as three vampires devour her blood, crawling over her like rabid animals. The horrifying sight made Diana stumble on the cold grass. She knew that Lily never hurt herself when she found her in the receiving room. It was her blood all over her when Lily wounded her arm, wanting to test if the magic of her blood could really turn vampires back into humans.
And then it happened.
The bride stopped first. She recoiled violently. Her body convulsed, and her choking gasp escaped her lips. The twins staggered backward. Each clutched at their own throat. Their crimson eyes flickered once. And then, it shifted into dark brown. Their fangs withdrew, as color returned to their lifeless skin. "How...", confusion hit the bride.
Claudia caught on, and understood what just happened hearing the pulses throbbing on her creations from a distance away. Just then, the newborns hiding from the shadows reacted instantly. The scent of the living blood invited a frenzy bursting from the darkness. A dozen of newborns crashing towards the three newly human immortals, ravished their bodies for the sweet blood flowing in their veins. Some have finished the job killing Lily as her destiny becomes sealed with more deadly bites draining her blood.
The Napoleonic soldier retreated towards Claudia. He was in complete awe seeing his kind tear his sisters who were... vampires. The helpless screams of the dying became gurgles. Pleading words came out between their choking sobs. And there was unimaginable fear in their eyes. It was a sight he never expected from the apex of vampire kind there is.
It was the perfect time for Diana ran to Kate. Kate met Diana halfway and they both melted in each other's cold embrace. They cried without words, comforted each other with their tightening arms despite the pain shooting their limbs. Behind them, were the Alphas shielding them both facing the feeding grounds of the newborns.
When Scott looked up the balcony, he nodded at Lucas and Cory who have taken over the situation involving his family. Through the broken windows of the mansion, Allen, Austin and David appeared breathless. Roman's pack came down from the roof, and from the side doors of the mansion walking steadfast towards the lawn. Now everything has been under control, there is one last thing they should take care of.
"Claudia, I do not have plans to die today. Might as well have a better plan, or we'll meet our doom", the vampire in Napoleonic officer's uniform uttered, as he lean towards her ear.
Claudia was unimpressed of his cowardice. Her hand straightened like blade, and cut his head off. As the vampires finish off their meal, they crouch on the grass with their bloody chins lifted. "Stand your guard", Claudia ordered her children as she hiss crinkling her nose in fury while the wolves slowly come forth.
"It's over, Claudia", Scott said. "Let's finish this."
"You can all die here too", Roman says.
"Over?", Claudia brows arched. Her hands spread as she turn. "Did all saw that? That woman, whatever she is, is a threat to our being.", she says, as she remember the weakness that crawled through her veins. "Do you wish to fear death? Do you wish to beg for mercy", she took another step towards her rabid newborns, fangs dripping with blood. "Do you wish to become weak?", she stares at the bodies of her creations, who died with eyes open. "To feel pain, bleed.. and die?", her lip curled, as her eyes burn in crimson. "That woman strips away everything that makes you superior.", her finger never left Diana. Her eyes swept across the two packs of wolves standing in front of their Luna. "You should all be ashamed to keep her. She is a threat to your kind too", Claudia gave an eerie grin before turning her head up. "Kill her", the words rang like a commandment as the newborns roared as one.
The Alphas drew a line. Scott took a single step forward, just as Roman matched him. "One last dance", Roman says as the battlefield exploded amongst 12 wolves against 12 newborns. Ash bursted in every kill. Claws ripped the wolves' skin. Roman fought like a storm, every strike was brutal enough to shatter bones. Scott never drifted from Diana. He met every newborn that slipped toward her, meeting his claws.
Claudia watched everything. She barely engaged, but she waited. Her eyes was fixed on her, already thinking of the terrible ways to empty out her blood through all the openings in her body. And then the eastern horizon brightened in blue. Her time was running out. Panic came upon her, as she bursted forward while the Alpha wolves were locked against two enormous vampires holding them back with sheer weight and relentless blows.
Claudia slipped through, twisted between combatants with impossible speed. Her dress flowed like smoke as she race for Diana. "Cory!!", Scott shouted for aid, as he hold back one large newborn. Roman grunts on the heavy weight holding him down the ground, unable to free himself while his world slow down seeing Claudia makes her way to Diana.
"On it!!", Cory answered, while still being pinned by the fountain.
Kate couldn't wait for anyone to block the original vampire rushing on full tilt towards them. Scott and Roman, and all the members of their packs fought above average against the last stand of newborns unyielding to their strengths. It was as if the newborns were specifically chosen for the concluding war of tonight's battle. Kate grabbed Diana's wrist, and ran towards the driveway. "Diana, come on!"
The two women sprinted away. Their breaths narrowed sharply as their bare feet pounded on the grass. Kate staggered at every stride, but Diana caught her before she fell. "Keep going", her breaths came in broken gasps.
Neither dared looked back. Soon, the lawn gave way to the loose gravel, and every sharp stones bit into the soles of their feet. "Almost there", Kate rolled her tongue on her dry lips as they reach rows of luxury cars stretched on the driveway. "Open it!"
Diana yanked the handle of the nearest sedan. But it was locked. She ran to another and pulled. Again, nothing. She came onto another after another, but every door was locked. "Please..", her breathing became frantic.
The first pale of streaks of sunlight bursted out of the thick clouds. Their desperation pleaded on the faster time for the sun to rise, and any open cars that they can drive in. "Please", Kate whispered desperately, as she grab the handle of the next car. Still it wouldn't open. Their nightmare had narrowed, and the air could barely reach their lungs. As Kate hand swung the handle of the driver's car door inward, her eyes widen when it clicked open. "Diana!! I found one!", hope dawned on them.
"Don't", Claudia's cold voice cut through. The two women were on hair's breadth from their haven, and minutes away from sun's protection as Claudia stood a few stride from them. Smoke curled from her edges, yet she kept coming. "Come here", her crimson eyes burned with hatred.
Diana's body moved before any thought. She stepped away from the open car. "I'm here. Just don't hurt Kate."
"Diana, no..", Kate whispered, grabbing Diana's hand. Then, everything happened within a heartbeat. Kate slammed Diana's shoulders, that the force crashed her onto the rough asphalt. Claudia reaches a hand and pulls it away, vanishing in the remaining dim of the dawn.
"No!! Kate!!", Diana pulled herself up as she widened her eyes in shock.