Cassie could barely breathe against the two rigid bodies pressed against her. But then she thought she wouldn't be able to breathe anyway. She was no dummy; she knew who these people were, knew what they represented. She knew what they had come here for, and what they would do to all of them. Devon and Julian may be Elders, and there may be two other vampires, four Hunters, and a Guardian present, but she knew they wouldn't be a match against eight Elders.

They were no match against eight of the monsters that had killed her parents. Hatred tore through her; she trembled with the ferocity of it. Ever since she'd learned the truth of what she was, and that The Elder's had organized a large group of vampires to destroy the Hunter line, she'd craved revenge. Now was finally her chance, but there were so many of them, and they were so powerful. At least they would be able to take a few of them out, because she would be sure to do so, before they were completely overrun.

"Delicious."

Cassie's eyes narrowed on the one who had uttered the word with such reverence. She studied the man carefully. He radiated power and maliciousness even more so than the others. He also sported a bit of a tan. She recalled Devon telling her that he'd known one other vampire who could walk about in the sun; this was most definitely that man.

His eyes were an ochre brown, so light they appeared almost golden in the moonlight, like honey. His dark blond hair was streaked with natural paler blond highlights. He looked like a Californian golden boy with his wavy hair falling over his forehead and his clean cut good looks. He wasn't as tall as the other men about him, but he bore an aura of power that made him appear larger, more formidable, and intimidating.

"Zane," Devon murmured his beautiful eyes hooded and dark as he stared severely at the other man.

Zane, somehow that name fit the man perfectly. He appeared a little older than Devon, as if he had been turned in his mid to late twenties, maybe even early thirties instead. Not like it mattered when they had been turned, they were all over five hundred years old now.

Devon's gaze was drawn toward the others as they shifted amongst the shadows. They moved together like one eerily smooth, flowing unit. They had been together for so many years, they didn't have to speak in order to communicate with each other, but simply picked up on the others motions and movements. Cassie's skin began to crawl, but she would not give them the satisfaction of knowing they had unnerved her. Cassie met their gazes, refusing to back down from their ravenous, nerve racking stares.

"Devon." Zane's full mouth curved into a half smile and his fangs flashed in the dim moonlight. Cassie briefly wondered where all the Halflings had disappeared to; they almost would have been handy to have around right now. She had a feeling they would go after this crew with a vengeance.

A cool breeze drifted through the trees, the clicking of their skeletal branches was spine-chilling in the oddly hushed night. No one moved as each group sized the other up. "Sleeping with the enemy?" Zane inquired.

Devon's muscles rippled as he bristled with anger. "You know I won't let you near her."

"Then we have a problem," Zane said. "Their kind kills ours. Their kind was never meant to walk this earth; they’re an abomination that should have been eliminated years ago. It is only fate and misfortune that spared a small percentage of them." Zane's head tilted to the side as he studied her like a bug. "We cannot continue to allow these creatures to roam the earth."

Cassie's breath froze in her lungs. Julian's hand brushed reassuringly against her waist. "It doesn't matter what you want Zane. It never has, not to me, not to us, in case you have forgotten. You never ruled over us."

A red flash briefly encircled Zane's honey eyes. "You think you're all grown up, but you forget you're playing with the big boys again now."

"You think there aren't enough of us to take you down, Zane?"

Zane's gaze slid disdainfully over everyone. "No."

Cassie's pride prickled, her shoulders straightened. She went to step out from around Devon, but Julian grabbed her shoulder and held her firmly in place. "Stay," he commanded in a low voice.

She turned to glare at him, but he wouldn't meet her gaze as he remained focused upon the strangers still half hidden within the shadows of the forest. "You know there is a good chance I can take you, and we will take at least some of you with us. Are you willing to risk losing a few of your cronies?" Devon demanded.

Zane's mouth quirked in a small smile. "Temper, temper Devon, you never learn. You would think a half a millennium might have tempered that tendency a little. It will get you killed one day."

Cassie bristled over his words. No one was going to take Devon from her. No one. "What do you want, Zane?" Julian inquired.

"I would like them all dead, like they deserve to be, but we are not here to fight you. Not unless or until, it becomes necessary." Zane's gaze came back to Cassie, his head tilted to the side as he studied her carefully. "Without her, there is no you."

Devon's hand snaked back; he seized hold of her arm so fast she didn't see him until he had already grasped her. She blinked at his broad back, the only thing she could see now that her nose was smashed against him. "You'll never touch her!" His tone was so vicious, the hairs on Cassie's neck stood up at the same time her blood turned to ice.

A trembling took hold of her. She wasn't frightened for herself, or even for her friends right now, she was scared Devon would crack and do something reckless. "Devon," she whispered. Her fingers curled into his shirt as if that would stop him from attacking Zane.

His only acknowledgement of her was a small tensing upon her arm. "Easy Devon," another murmured from the shadows. "Though Zane is not making it clear, we are not here for that."

Cassie turned toward the man who had spoken. She could only imagine what people had thought about him back in his human lifetime as this man was massive! He stood over six and a half feet tall, with shoulders so broad they blocked out the trees behind him. His legs were the size of full grown tree trunks, his arms nearly as big.

His unruly brown hair curled around his broad, heavily bearded face. Though his hair was brown, his beard was red. His eyes were some strange mixture of his hair and beard, a deep brownish red that shone in the moon. Those eyes looked almost kind and impish. Though she knew what he was, and what his presence here meant, she couldn't envision him being cruel. If that hair and beard ever went gray, and despite his massive size, she could easily picture children sitting on his lap telling him what they would like for Christmas.

"Then what are you here for?" Devon demanded.

The giant of a man glanced at Zane disapprovingly. "To make sure the Halflings within this town do not escape, and they do not become known to the rest of the world. They'll endanger us all if they do."

"We are also here for the girl," Zane interjected as he shot the giant a dark look. Cassie's fingers dug into Devon's shirt, but she knew she couldn't stop him if he went after them.

"Zane!" the giant said brusquely.

"Enough Bernard," Zane ordered briskly. "Devon must know the whole reason why we are here, and what must be done."

Devon's one hand fisted, and though he still held her arm, she was able to twist herself away from his back. His eyes were a fiery red as he glanced toward her while trying to push her behind him again. Before Devon could successfully shove her aside, she managed to turn and meet Zane's amused expression head on.

"And what must be done?" she demanded.

He grinned at her. "You must be changed, of course."

Cassie's breath exploded out of her; she nearly fell over as her legs went weak. The quiet that followed was so profound she could hear one of the few rabbits left in the woods scurry back into its hole. Even Devon, who had seemed so close to the edge, remained paralyzed by the words Zane had just issued.

Cassie was the first to recover enough to respond. "Ok."

Whereas Zane's words had stunned everyone into silence, her single word caused an explosion of reaction so intense she almost covered her ears to block out their protests. The only ones who didn't start shouting their disapproval were Julian and Devon. They remained wordless as they stared at her like she were some alien from the Planet Jupiter.

The Elders watched as everyone who had been standing near the store completely forgot about The Elders and stalked forward. Their voices jumbled loudly together in their urge to be heard over everyone else. The only one who held back was Luther. His gray eyes were sad; the expression he wore was resolved.

Cassie couldn't tear her eyes away from his. She couldn't look away from the man who had been like a father to her for the past four years. He looked as if he'd lost her, or was terrified he was about to. Cassie knew what her decision meant, knew what the consequences of it could be, but she didn't care.

She had always known they would come to a crossroad, that one day the choice would be forced upon them. Lately she'd begun to think it would happen because Devon couldn’t control himself and took her by force. If that happened he would always hate himself, even if she did come through the transformation unscathed. But if the choice was taken from them, if they were forced into it, then he couldn't blame himself and the instability he'd been living with would be eased.

It would be ok, she would be ok. She firmly believed that, no matter what anyone else said. She had survived far worse, and she was still intact. She would make it through this.

"It is settled then," Zane declared. He folded his hands before him as his eyes gleamed with approval.

"No, it isn't!" Devon exploded.

Cassie flinched from his flash of anger, but she didn't back down from it. "Devon…"

"This will not happen!" he interrupted fiercely.

"This will happen!" she retorted. "It has to happen Devon. It finally has to happen. The choice has been taken from us. We can do this, I can survive this."

His black hair fell across his forehead in a tumbled mess as he shook his head. "No, I will not take the chance…"

"The chance you will snap and do it by force. The chance I’ll be killed and it will destroy you anyway? The chance I’ll just grow old and die? What chance are you unwilling to take, Devon?"

"The chance I will turn you into a monster!" he shouted.

Cassie's heart broke, pieces of it scattered about her feet. She understood his anguish, but he didn't understand this must be done now. She turned toward Zane, hating the smug look on his face. "If this happens, will you leave us all alone?"

"Of course," he purred.

"You can't trust him, Cassie," Devon told her.

She knew that, she wasn't a fool. She also knew The Elders would need them as much as they needed The Elders, if they were going to take down the Halflings. No matter how powerful The Elder's thought they were, they would not all survive the creatures in this town. They would lose a few of their own in the process, and that was a chance Cassie didn't think they were willing to take.

"I know that," she whispered. "But we can't trust you anymore either." Devon looked as if she'd slapped him. She hated to hurt him by driving the knife deeper in order to get her own way, but it had to be done. He had to realize this was the end of the road, there was nowhere else for them to go. "You can't keep taking off whenever you feel yourself unraveling. I need you Devon, and if this continues on, I am going to lose you."

His eyes flickered, but she saw an easing in his features. "Cassie…"

"There is no choice, the decision has been made," Zane said firmly. "She will join us."

Cassie shot Zane a brutal look as resentment flitted over Devon's features. She'd just been starting to get through to him, but now she could feel his stubborn streak surging to life to deny Zane's words. She wanted to tell him she would never be on their side, but she bit her tongue.

"Wait…"

"There are details to iron out of course," Zane continued over Devon's protest. "We will have to make a decision on what will happen to her if the change is not successful. We also must discuss what our relationship amongst each other will be when this is done. There must be a truce struck."

"I will not let this happen," Devon grated.

"If it does not happen we will fight, because she cannot remain the way she is. We cannot allow a Hunter to exist who can turn into a monster. Apparently her kind used to have the decency to take care of them, but that doesn't happen now."

"Zane," Devon hissed.

"Why would you want to change me, and not kill me?" Cassie ignored Devon's censuring look.

Zane's head tilted back and forth like an owl scoping its' prey as he studied her. Though she was a trembling mass of nerves inside, she kept her shoulders thrust back and her chin lifted defiantly. "A battle would be fun, but some of us would unfortunately be lost in the process. You also know most of you will not survive. Is that a chance you're willing to take?"

"No," Cassie answered when Devon remained quiet and brooding. "No, but you must promise you will not hurt them."

"Of course I won't," Zane murmured.

"Cassie," Chris whispered.

She disliked the sadness and resignation in his eyes. "It will be ok," she promised.

"Their promises mean nothing," Julian informed her in a low, disgruntled voice. "Nothing, Princess, do you understand that?"

She swallowed heavily before nodding. "Do we have a choice?"

"We have a choice," Devon told her.

"Do we?" she whispered as her hand entwined with his. "Do we?"

Devon pulled her against him. His hands wrapped around her face and his lips descended upon hers. She could feel his fangs against her lips, but she didn't care as his tongue plummeted into her mouth with a desperation that left her breathless and shaken. Melting against him, she forgot about every rotten, evil thing surrounding them.

She needed this moment and this man, no matter how short lived it may be. He pulled away and kissed her lips, nose, and finally her forehead. "It will be ok," she vowed.

His eyes were emerald once more as he met her gaze. His fingers stroked her face before he bent to kiss her once more. He didn't turn to look at the others before speaking again. "We will go inside and discuss this," he said bluntly.

"Magnificent!" Zane announced happily.

Cassie closed her eyes against Zane's joy; she knew her time as a human was running short, but she wasn't terrified by the prospect. Not if it meant spending eternity with the one person she loved most in her life.

Anger flashed across Devon's gorgeous features, but he took hold of her hand and turned toward the store. His gaze briefly met Julian's, who hung back, waiting for The Elders to come forward. Cassie held her head high as Devon led her past the others, but she could feel the sadness radiating from them.