Heaven's Eclipse: Star-crossed Fate.

Chapter Eighteen: The Aftermath.

Nia.

A week came and went and everyone at the college went about their lives as undisturbed as ever; not knowing about the epic battle that had been fought within the college's very boundary. Everyone was safe for now, but for how long I didn't know.

Samantha had suffered no lasting physical damage, that couldn't be healed without plenty of raw meat and rest, but she was still under lock and key in a private room; in the basement infirmary. No one knew how badly she had been broken and the toll it had taken on her mentally. Her dominant wolf meant that she had a fighting chance of making a full recovery, unlike a subordinate wolf, who would have been left a crazed and savage beast. I'd read reports of primalupuses ending up insane, from the process of being broken.

Some hunters had conducted a series of experiments in the nineteen-seventies, to learn how to break a primalupus. They'd wanted to use them as personal hunting dogs. When the organisation had found out, they'd deemed it immoral and had shut the experiments down. They believed in culling them, not torturing them.

I knew Sam's pack would be around her, helping her every step of the way and even her mum had taken up a temporary residence at the college for now. No doubt there would be talks about Sam's original pack and her own past; once she was back to her usual self. Primalupuses were always stronger in packs, but there was also a reason why her mum had taken her and fled from their own pack and why she'd had Sam's wolf locked up and subdued for so many years. It was only the contact with me, as Sam's soul-mate, over the years that had slowly worn down whatever cast her mum had placed on her and set her wolf free; awakened by my presence as her mate.

As for me? I was currently standing on the college roof, letting the dusk breeze whip through my hair and feathers. I was watching the skies horizon turn from orange to pink, before finally fading to the cool dark blue of the approaching night. I felt an old connection with this place. Not with the buildings, but with the very land itself, it was like I had called this place home at a time before the college even existed, but not matter what connection I felt to this place; I knew I couldn't stay.

A gargoyle statue crawled up the side of the building, stone grinding over bricks as it pulled itself over the ledge and sat on its haunches next to me, brought to life by my divine presence and seeking attention like a puppy. The hard stone eyes almost looked sentient, as it swished its tail behind it, grating it against the brickwork of the ledge. I reached out a hand to pet the beak, that was set into a lion's face. It tilted its head to one side, enjoying my touch, but no sound could come from its permanently slightly open mouth.

"Leaving?" I didn't need to turn around, to know it was Alec who was behind me. The gargoyle turned to her and I knew if it could, it would hiss at the intrusion. I continued to move my hand over his smooth and weathered head; slowly soothing the creature. I saw Kody watching Alec from the roof exit. Looking back to Alec, I noted that she had definitely become more stealthy, since completing the change, but we both knew she had a long way to go; before she would be completely in control of this new part of her.

Those turned, rather than born always had a harder time controlling their instincts. It wasn't a natural part of them, especially for primorphs and it often lead to them being the more wild among their species.

In the beginning it had only been those bitten that hunters had targeted, leaving the ones born into this, in their packs. They weren't the ones who caused problems, by preying on humans as rogues, unable to assimilate to pack life and so didn't have to be executed.

I didn't answer her question with words, but instead nodded. She came and sat down on the wall next to me, one leg hanging over the edge. The fall wouldn't kill her anymore, if she even fell at all, with the new preternatural grace and balance, she'd developed.

"I know I've been an idiot for years, when it came to you, but I just wanted to apologise." I stopped looking out into the horizon and instead focused on her. I found that she was staring at my neck, yellow colouring starting to slip into her irises.

"Alec, my eyes are up here." She snapped out of it and met my gaze, blushing and guilty looking.

"Sorry, its still fascinating to see the mapping of all the arteries and veins through everyone's body; when I'm hungry its like an addiction." I shrugged. We'd all had a lot to adapt to lately, nothing seemed out of the ordinary anymore.

"Don't worry about it. You wouldn't get anything from me anyway. I don't have any blood." She smirked. That tell-tale confident Alec smirk and for a moment it was good to see a bit of her old self shine through.

"So I've heard. There's a lot of chatter going around the college." Taking a deep breathe, she looked ashamed.

"I came up here to apologise to you. For years I wanted you to have the feelings for me, that I had for you. I was arrogant and jealous. I guess it took me nearly dying, when I was transforming to realise that I was way out of line. I'm sorry." I stopped her.

"You might have been all of that, but you're also one of the few constant things that have been in my life, for as long as I can remember. I've always known I could count on you, even when I've wanted to choke you the life out of your arrogant arse at times."

"At least like this, we've both escaped our pre-planned fates of becoming hunters. Since I've stopped being a hunter, its opened by eyes to a lot of the bad and wrong things we were doing." I frowned and looked up at Alec.

"My parents had said that it was never that bad in the beginning. It only came about, after a new leader had taken over the organisation. What do you remember?" I doubt she'd remember much like me.

"All I remember is that there weren't as many hunts. Looking back, I guess those were the times when we only went for the rogues." Made sense. That was before the new leadership, when suddenly we'd been inundated with hunts a few times a week, rather than every few months or so. It was like we were trying to eliminate all of the species of primorphs and vampyres. Those that had questioned it, had soon been retired. Nobody who was retired was heard from again.

"Once I know everything is over with Maara, I intend to return to the college and I'd like to know that both you and Sam will be here. Her as my soul-mate, but you as my best friend. You both have your own places in my heart." Her eyes started to well with tears, so she just nodded. I pulled her in for a quick hug, before I pulled away and turned back towards the edge of the college roof. Without another word Alec left the roof, through the fire escape door again.

The battle was far from over. Maara was up to something, I knew she had a plan to send humanity back to the dark ages and that she somehow needed me for it to work. After all the carnage that I'd seen myself cause over the centuries in my visions of memories, whilst standing by her side, I knew that I needed to kill her to have any chance at atoning for my sins and to protect all life on earth. I also needed answers to my past and although I hated the idea, Maara seemed to have known me for a very long time and probably had the answers I wanted.

I sat there until the first star came out in the night sky and watched it burn brightly, visible on earth from the millions of miles away where it shone in the heavens. The place that had once been my home. I usually wasn't one for wishing on a star, but lately a lot had happened and I was ready to try and have a little faith.

'Please let me get through this, so that I can get back to Sam.'

I opened out my fifteen foot wing span and sighed at the release of stretching my cramped and aching muscles and then I shutting my eyes, fell forward off the tower roof and down. The squall tangled my hair and my eyes streamed salty tears down my rosy cheeks, as the airstream chilled me and whipped my clothes in to a frenzied mess; the flapping filling my ears.

It's funny how things come back around, my story had started with me falling, only now I wasn't afraid to fall anymore. Meters from the asphalt, I snapped open my wings and catching the wind, jolted upwards. I took a deep breath and without looking back, soared out in to the limitless, darkening sky. Once all was done with the task the serephim had originally sent me to earth to complete, I would return to Sam, but I couldn't continue be around her and put her in danger.

Maybe one day we could truly be together.