Devon kept Cassie on his lap and the blanket wrapped snuggly around her. Though she had showered, she was still chilled, and her skin was abnormally pale. It was not the lingering effects of the snow that held her within its grasp though, but the remnants of pain. He pulled her more firmly against him as he cradled her. She rested her head in the hollow of his neck as a small shiver worked its way through her.

Kissing the top of her head, he rubbed her arms as he attempted to return some heat to her body. She wiggled against him as she tried to get closer. He didn't think that would last once she heard what he and Luther had to say. He glanced up at Luther, uncertain where to start, or if they should start at all. They had all been traumatized tonight. Chris and Melissa continued to jerk involuntarily once in a while from the lasting effects of Isla's electrical current. Dani looked like she had seen a ghost as she glanced rapidly between him and Cassie and then around the room.

Luther was still distraught over the boy, who thankfully hadn't sustained enough blood loss to warrant a hospital, but whose parents had been frantic when they'd been called. Isla's body had been hidden until the sun found it in the morning, and turned it to cinder. Devon was surprised to find himself still beyond the level of strength he was used to feeling, especially after exerting his will over Cassie and the boy. Cassie's blood in his veins had kept him stronger than he would have been at any other point in time.

Chris's right hand jerked on the armrest of the loveseat. He scowled down at the offending extremity as he slapped hold of it with his other hand. "How long are the effects going to last?" he muttered miserably.

"Probably till tomorrow," Luther answered absently.

Chris's scowl deepened as he gave Luther a disgruntled look. "Wonderful."

Melissa fisted her hands as she tried to keep herself still. She was fighting a losing battle. "Are you going to tell us what happened out there?" she demanded.

Luther glanced at him and Devon gave a brief nod. Luther knew more about what was going on than he did. Luther paced over to the fireplace mantel and rested his arm on top of it. "A few weeks ago Devon came to me with some doubts and concerns." Cassie's forehead furrowed questioningly as she glanced up at him. "I agreed there were some things we should look into where you're concerned."

"What kind of doubts and questions?" Cassie inquired.

Devon hated to do this to her, but it had to be done. "I had some questions about you."

Her delicate hands fisted in her lap. "I don't understand," she whispered.

"Devon had some questions about the Hunter line, specifically questions about Hunters with your abilities," Luther qualified.

"I don't have any abilities."

"I have told you many times your enhanced speed, hearing, sight, and strength are all abilities."

"Ok fine," Cassie relented. "But why would there be any questions about that?"

"Because," Devon said. "Your abilities are so very close to mine, and to other vampires."

Cassie jolted but her face was still marred with confusion. Chris and Melissa looked just as baffled; Dani still radiated a peculiar alarm. "All of us have enhanced speed, hearing, and sight, so what are you saying?" Chris demanded, not at all in the mood to be patient.

"The day Cassie's grandmother died, Cassie was so angry at me when she turned on me her eyes flashed red," Devon said as Cassie became rigid against him. "That was when I went to Luther."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered.

"You weren't exactly talking to me at the time." Her fingers picked at the blanket.

"We decided to do some research," Luther continued. "We began to look for information about the Hunters who had been like Cassie, but there was little to find as there hasn't been one in the past three hundred years. I had to turn to some of my Guardian friends for help. One of them possessed a book that was of great interest to me, and helped to answer some questions, but also raised more."

Luther frowned thoughtfully as he thought over his next words. "Please stop speaking in riddles and just tell us what is going on," Cassie demanded.

Luther met her gaze as he nodded. "The last Hunter like you, that was actually recorded, was three hundred years ago. Her name was Gertrude, and during a large battle Gertrude became so infuriated and blood thirsty she began to change into a vampire."

Cassie's mouth dropped as her gaze flitted between Devon and Luther. Devon remained perfectly still, terrified she would turn against him as soon as this was all over. "Wait, wait." Chris held up a hand. "Are you saying this woman actually became a vampire?"

Luther tugged at his hair. "No, she didn't have enough vampire blood in her to make the change successfully. She was caught in between."

Cassie's hands clasped the blanket in her lap. "She became one of those things, those monsters that get stuck in between?" she croaked out.

"Yes," Devon answered.

"Are you saying I could do the same?"

"Yes." Devon winced at the horrified look filling her eyes. Chris and Melissa gasped; Dani became as still as stone. "That's what happened to you outside, and it's also how you were able to defeat Isla. Your powers increased when your fury became so intense that it allowed your vampire DNA to take hold of you."

The room became so still he could hear the subtle crackling of the power lines outside. Cassie was as unmoving as a cement block as she absorbed everything. "This woman, Gertrude, what happened to her?" she inquired in a strangled voice.

"Unfortunately, she had to be destroyed. She couldn't be allowed to survive," Luther told her.

Chris's breath exploded from him as he leapt to his feet. He ran his hand through his hair, tugging at the singed shaggy blond strands as he cursed viciously. "Are you kidding me?" Melissa demanded. "That's bull! I don't understand why that would happen; we were all created the same way!"

Luther pulled his glasses off to clean them. "I'm not one hundred percent certain, but I believe that when a Hunter has an ability the vampire blood in them is more dispersed in order to help fuel the gift the Hunter possesses. When a Hunter doesn't have a gift, the vampire blood in them is more concentrated. They are stronger and faster, with better senses. More like a vampire themselves."

They continued to gawk at Luther while Cassie remained unmoving. Devon heard the increased beat of her heart and felt the chill that washed over her skin. Her eyes were tumultuous and lost as she turned back to him. He yearned to do something to ease the torment radiating from her, but there was nothing. All he could do was be here for her, and try to comfort her.

"I... I don't understand, what does all this mean? Am I a danger? Am I going to turn into one of these things at a moment's notice? Or will it take something more, like Isla telling me she killed my grandmother?"

Devon's hands constricted on her. "Isla killed your grandmother?"

"Yes, she told me that tonight. That was when..." she broke off as her voice failed her for a minute. "That was when I lost control, when the rage took over. It was awful."

He rubbed her back as he tried to comfort her. He'd never considered that Isla had been the one who killed her grandmother; they had all just assumed it was Julian. Anger boiled through him, but he kept it hidden from her.

"But I don't understand," Cassie mused. "Wouldn't I still be weaker than a vampire? I mean I'm not fully one of them, so wouldn't they still be able to beat me? Shouldn't Isla have still won?"

This was the one thing Devon had hoped she wouldn't question. He met Luther's gaze, but he knew Luther wouldn't be the one to explain this. "No Cassie," Devon told her. "You would think so, but the things that get stuck in the middle, they're mindless. A vampire may be more powerful, but they still have a survival instinct, these things..." He trailed off simply because this was the part he didn't like to think about. "These things don't. All they crave is the kill; all they experience is the bloodlust. They care nothing for their own lives, all they aim to do is destroy and massacre."

Cassie's eyes swirled with confusion as she stared at him. Then the color drained out of her face. He thought she was going to fall over. He tightened his hold on her as he tried to keep her from withdrawing from him again.

"Cassie..."

"I'm a monster," she breathed.

"No..."

She jerked away from him and launched to her feet with startling grace and speed. He tried to reach for her again, but she had already moved beyond his grasp as she paced to the doorway. Her hands were shaking; her skin was so white now he could see the small blue veins running through her porcelain complexion. Her lips had turned nearly as white as the rest of her.

"I really am a monster," she whispered.

"Cassie no..."

Chris broke off as she turned on him. "I'm not even like you guys," she said flatly. "I'm nothing. I'm a walking threat to this planet..."

"That is not true!" Luther cut in brusquely. "There were other Hunters like you before Gertrude who never had any problems. Gertrude was a one in a million occurrence, the rest were fine."

Devon rose as Cassie turned away from them. Though it looked as if she were about to leave, she remained where she was. "But it's already happened to me. It will happen again."

"You don't know that!" Chris protested.

Though she still looked shell shocked, a cold acceptance had settled around her. Devon felt his stomach drop as he realized the Cassie he’d wanted back was gone. That Cassie, though she'd had a difficult life and had lost a lot, had still maintained some of her innocence. This Cassie was still the same, and yet she was so very different. She was more resilient and more knowing. This Cassie wouldn't turn against him and she wouldn't try to block out the world by hiding behind a wall. This Cassie would face it head on and beat it down with her bare fists if she had to.

He’d sought to keep her sheltered from this harsh reality of her life, but he knew now it had been inevitable. She knew far more of the cruelty of the world than most people, but it wouldn't destroy her. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, he watched as she became more mature, more solid, an adult, a woman.

"I do know that Chris," she said forcefully. "I know what is inside of me now; I know what is just beneath the surface. I felt that hatred and frenzy and it is something you can never understand, and I don't want you to." There was a sad acceptance in her eyes as she turned to him. For the first time she truly understood him and what it was he went through daily. "And now that it has been released I will have to constantly struggle to keep it suppressed. I know that."

It wasn't a struggle he’d wished for her to go through, but there was nothing he could do to change it. He could only stand by her, and do what he could to make sure she didn't step over that precipice for good.

"It's ok though," she continued as she turned her attention back to Chris, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Cassie," Melissa said softly, unable to keep the heartache from her voice.

"No, it really is ok. It makes things easier."

"Excuse me?" Luther inquired.

Her eyes found Devon's again. "It makes the choice so much easier, it really does."

Devon froze as hope nearly drowned him in its suffocating, pounding waves. "Do you mean?" he barely managed to squeeze the words out through the sudden constriction in his chest. He had dreamed of this moment, and now that it was finally here, he didn't want to hear the words. Because they were words he was afraid he couldn't fulfill.

Her smile grew, and although she was still unnaturally pale, there was a glow about her. "Yes," she breathed. "I can't get stuck in between if I'm already all the way over. I'll join you, Devon."