|Siren for Luna|

|iv|

A/N:

Hi, there! I know it's been such a long time since I posted to this story, and I'm so sorry for the delay. Let's just say life's gotten a little crazy, and now I have the inspiration to continue this beloved story. Hopefully, this string of creativity will last to post more frequently. I hope you guys like this chapter!

Ximena

Ximena couldn't register much past a strange coldness. It wasn't painful or irritating either; instead, it was rather calming. However, the numbness did unnerve her slightly. Then again, she was dead, so what the hell could she expect?

Regarding death or the afterlife, she never gave much thought to it. She was raised Catholic, baptized and all, but after the events that occurred eleven years ago, she had lost whatever faith she had, and simply focused on surviving. Technically speaking, she was probably agnostic, mainly due to a disinterest in having a religion.

So...this must have been death. Just nothingness. It seemed mildly tedious, just to be stuck with her thoughts for eternity, but if that was it, that was it. It wasn't as if she had regrets.

She successfully spread the word about Angel's betrayal and had alerted Gabriel of the hits. Hopefully, he got to them in time. Her duty had been fulfilled.

She did have some lingering emotions: yearning and confusion. She wished she had a chance to see her sisters one more time; she hadn't seen them in a while, and she knew they'd be devastated to hear about her death...that is if they found out about it. The only people who had witnessed her falling was Angel, the Yakuza, and Aleks...

That was another person that kept her mind busy; who the hell was her friend? Clearly, he wasn't human, with his ability to turn into a wolf. But regardless of that, she'd be lying if she said she was afraid of him. Or whether he had lost her trust. It was simply confusing and weird. But then again, her relationship with Aleks was fairly unorthodox. Despite their tight friendship, she had to admit she had developed feelings for him at some point. It was to be expected; he was her closest male confidant that wasn't Gabriel or Angel or her father. When he announced he was leaving for Ireland when they were fourteen, she had been heartbroken. Her uncle had defected, her cousin had abandoned them, and her mother had been killed. Those events merely snowballed into a shift that changed her life forever, and she needed Aleks to be there to steady her. That was when she finally confessed her feelings, sobbing at him in her room. He looked stricken at the confession and had swiftly rejected her, citing that they had too many differences. That she wasn't his. The blow had been heart-shattering, only compounded by his absence.

By the time he returned when they were both nineteen, her feelings had been almost completely obliterated, Ximena feeling like a shell of herself. Such had been the consequences of her initiation into the Mob and rift from Demetrio. It had taken four brutal years to destroy Ximena from the inside-out, turning her into the perfect gunner. Aleks had been horrified by the change and had been the sole reason she was able to feel again. However, she was never quite the same; her sense of humanity had lessened viciously, turning her into a morally ambiguous individual. Only Aleks and her family could trigger that former sense of compassion.

Interestingly enough, initiating a sexual relationship with Aleks had been the key. Simple friendship had not been enough at allowing herself to open up to him; he frustrated himself and her with quality time and late night excursions only to grow afraid that his former best friend was gone. How it happened was a blur, but it was a happy accident. Having that sort of intimacy with someone she could absolutely trust allowed the true Ximena to appear once again. Thankfully, her feelings for him had disappeared, only to be replaced with a tight camaraderie. They grew closer than ever and managed to fulfill their physical needs. She could easily say that she loved Aleksander, but the moment he announced he had found someone to romantically love, she would let him go immediately. It was no longer a necessity to keep herself somewhat human; it was now a matter of convenience.