Alayna came rushing to us first. She threw her arms around me while tears streamed from her eyes. “I know you promised, but I still worried this would never happen.” She sniffled. “Thank you for being a man of your word.” She glanced at Ash, standing quietly beside me. “I wish you much happiness. Both of you.”

I bowed my head. “Thank you. This means so much coming from you.” Laying a hand on her shoulder, I grew serious. “I know you said you’d never leave the hive, but I need you to consider that Scarlett will never leave you.” I watched as the weight of my words hit her.

She looked over at her daughter. “Is this true, Scarlett?”

Her daughter moved to stand beside her. “You’re the only family I have, the only person I have left in this world. Don’t ask me to leave you. I’m not strong enough.” She shook her head. I knew she meant it.

“You’ll need to be brave now, Alayna. You need to leave with Scarlett. You can start over together. The way you were supposed to live from the beginning. Go build a life in the sunlight.” I smiled warmly at them. “I’ll miss you, but you know this is the right thing to do.”

Taking a few deep breaths, Alayna nodded. “You’re right.” She reached out and held her daughter’s hand. “We have nothing. Ready to build a life of something?”

Scarlett hesitated for the briefest of moments. “Of course.”

“Then we’ll go.” The older woman squeezed my hand and together they began to back away and move off into the forest. They’d made it all of three steps when there was a crashing sound less than ten feet away.

“Wait,” I ordered in a hushed tone.

They came scampering back, hoping I’d provide some safety. Ash pulled her stakes from her inside pockets and held one in each hand. Together, we covered the witches. The brush near us began to move and I realized a vampire was returning to the hive. Without thinking, I shifted to protect Ash too.

Suddenly, Ash’s mother broke through the trees and underbrush…with Vhorg on her back. “What the hell?” I reached out a hand and kept my hunter from impulsively rushing toward her. “Stop. Let’s see what’s up before you make a single move.” I raised a brow until she acquiesced.

Mrs. Norman all but ripped Vhorg off her back. “Off,” she growled. Vhorg jumped and then unclamped her hands from the vampire’s neck and dropped to the ground.

“Relax, Ashley. I know you’re hungry and cranky.” She held up her hands and slowly backed away.

“Where is he?” The irritated vamp scanned the area. “He daggered me. He’ll pay.” She took another step toward Ash, but I stepped in between them.

“You’re too upset to go near your daughter, Mrs. Norman. I need you to calm down.” I watched as she stood there fuming. “I understand your anger. Now, explain what’s going on.”

The new vampire kept scanning the area as if expecting to see the source of her rage lurking in the shadows. When it became obvious she was too distracted to speak, Vhorg stepped in. “So, after you and Mol—Ash left Shadowborne the other night, I hopped in the car with Frank. He was certain she’d be returning to her childhood home and he seemed in a panic about it.” She frowned. “It didn’t make much sense. I rode with him thinking I could calm him down.” Vhorg sighed. “When we arrived at the house, he ordered me to stay in the car. I did, at first. Then he took so long in returning, I feared you two truly were inside and had attacked him.” She glanced at me sadly. “I only meant to help.”

“I know.” I nodded and hoped my words offered some comfort. The professor had proven herself to be a good person with a kind heart.

“Needless to say, when I walked in, I began to explore carefully, quietly. I didn’t want to give away my position.” She licked her lips as she recalled the night in question. “I stopped in his office, since it was the first door once inside the house.”

I reached out to wrap an arm around Ash’s shoulders. Her eyes closed for a moment and she breathed deeply while Vhorg spoke. Clearly, she was struggling to remain even tempered in this situation.

“Naturally, the moment I walked into the room, I found Ashley daggered on the couch. I was shocked, since I’d attended her funeral months before. Yet there she was perfectly preserved and, obviously, a vampire.” Vhorg shook her head in dismay. “Before I could confront him, I was knocked unconscious. When I woke, I was tied up and on the floor of the office.” She looked at me slyly. “I wasn’t going to go down this easily. I’m a hunter too.” She drew her shoulders back proudly. “So, I used the dagger to cut the ropes. In doing so, I accidentally undaggered Ashley, who was pretty furious with her husband.”

“He wanted us both dead,” Ash murmured.

Vhorg’s eyes widened. “What? That can’t possibly be correct.”

Scarlett spoke up. “It is. He made a deal with the queen. He wanted his family dead.” She frowned and glanced at me.

“What are we going to do?” Vhorg stared first at me, then at Ash.

“Well, I don’t know what you’re planning, but I had hoped to kill the queen tonight.” Ash stuck her stakes back in their pockets. Slowly she moved towards her mother. “Unfortunately, there’s a complication. I can’t be responsible for your death, mom.” She bit her cheek as she took a few more steps towards the woman who had given her life.

Finally, her mother stopped searching the woods and focused on her daughter. She tilted her head. “You’re so beautiful, so grown up. I barely recognized you.”

These were the most lucid words she’d spoken. I could already feel Ash’s resolve slipping away. “Do you want to live your life as a vampire, Mrs. Norman?”

The woman stiffened. “This is no life. I’m supposed to be dead. I’ve made peace with the idea. Now, I just want to take Frank with me.” Her hands fisted at her sides.

“I believe that can be arranged.” I nodded and moved to stand beside Ash again. “You heard her, right? She doesn’t want to be a vampire. You can end my mother without an ounce of guilt.” I squeezed her tightly.

“What are you talking about. I’ll have all the guilt, especially if the potion didn’t take, especially if you die too. I don’t want to be alone in the world.” She stared up at me with pleading eyes. “I won’t do it. I’ve made peace with it. The queen didn’t kill my mother.”

Mrs. Norman stiffened. “How can you say that? I’m the living dead now. This is worse than being in the ground.” She shook her head, then reached out to take Ash’s hands in hers. “If you get the chance to kill her, take it, because I sure will.”

There was another rumbling in the brush coming from the direction of the school. Immediately, we were all on our guard. This could only mean one thing. The vampires were returning from hunting. The time for conversations had ended. The time for action had arrived.

Frank burst through the trees into the clearing moments before the queen. Ash and Vhorg gasped. Judging from his speed and the anger in his eyes, the man was a recently turned vampire. At first he’d been moving toward the hive entrance, but seeing his wife and daughter had him changing direction.

“You!” He sneered at Ash. “Do you have any idea the trouble you’ve caused?”

“Just sticking to what I’m good at,” Ash retorted.

“Because of you, I’m in this mess, and I’m finally immortal.” He scowled.

“You worked really hard for this. You should be happy about it. So, what gives?” While she spoke, Ash reached into her inside pocket.

“I never wanted to be a vampire.” Frank shook his head. “Still, the queen has promised to teach me to control myself so I can still run the council.” He smiled and laughed maniacally. “It’s a great plan, actually.”

“Oh, I’m sure. Too bad it will never work.” I crossed my arms over my chest. I’d never fear a newly turned vampire. They could never best me since they were too erratic, too unaccustomed to their powers. This time, however, the baby vamp was a trained hunter, which might actually level the playing field.

Frank flexed his fingers and cracked his knuckles. “This will work. I simply need to tie up a few loose ends first.” He shifted his position until he stood in a fighting stance. “Ash, you’re first, little girl.”

I stepped in between them. “I’m afraid you’ll have to go through me first.”

“Not if you’re busy with me,” my mother snarled.

I glanced behind me. Sure enough, she’d used her many years of practice to sneak up on me. “Mother, so good to see you again.”

“Don’t ever call me that again, Dexter. You stopped being my son when you chose her over me.” She jerked her thumb at Ash. “Why couldn’t you be interested in a nice witch like Scarlett?” She batted her lashes at me.

“Did you encourage Scarlett to chase after me?” So much made sense now.

My mother shrugged. “And what if I did? I’m queen. What I say goes.”

“Not always. Not when you’re making decisions for me. I choose Ash.” I glared at her. “And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

My mother laughed, then dove at Ash. In a flash, she had my hunter in a headlock. Instead of being scared, my girl wore a determined look on her face. I knew what she’d do, since I’d seen this move in Master Lin’s class. My mother would have no idea how to counter her.

“Don’t hurt her!” Mrs. Norman screamed. “This is my baby.”

My mother snarled. “Yes, well I’m your queen, the queen you’ve failed to acknowledge from the moment of your change.” She licked her lips. “If you’d have shown up here after you turned like everyone else, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“He daggered me.” She pointed an accusing finger toward Frank. “He’s the one who kept me from fulfilling your wish. You should go after him.”

Shaking her head, my mother smiled. “I don’t care. I’m perfectly happy with the way things are. “Dead or immortal. You decide. It’s going to be one or the other for her.” She stood with her fangs bared, ready to rip out Ash’s jugular.

“Do whatever you want to me. Let Ash live. She has found love. Let them be together.” Her hands were clasped in front of her heart while she spoke. At first, Mrs. Norman seemed like she was going to add something to her argument, but instead, she dropped to the ground with a dagger sticking out of her back.