The window clicked shut as Lyne sat crunched on the bed against its frame, tucked in the bedsheets. The smell of freshly cooked meal lay on the table before her but she just lost interest in eating anything. Zeidan sighed and came to sit beside her.

"I think I now know why Gabe was missing," Zeidan muttered and she looked at him.

"Why?" Lyne asked as she brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I don't think there are other reasons apart from kidnapping Gabe to hurt you. Or that we have several other spies in the palace that needs to be fished out."

"But you heard him. He said I'm not the Father of Gabe. That means, if they know that someone was after their son's life, they would surely come to take him themselves for safety. Dean must have threatened to kill their son and they came to take him."

"If that is so, then someone must have helped them to kidnap or take Gabe to them, right?"

"Right." He sobered, sitting up. "The perpetrator is still in the palace. The person must be fished out."

"How can you do that when you don't even know who it is?" Lyne asked, eyeing him. 

Instead, he kissed her forehead and slipped under the sheets beside her.

"Let's think about that tomorrow."

"Okay."

Lyne could not sleep. She had always known coming back to Vampire city would spell trouble but she didn't think it would be this complicated. Zeidan had a kid and her getting heartbroken about it, only to find out the kid hadn't been his all this time. Then, her daughter being vulnerable to attack as they may have some enemies within the palace. Also, Dean had been about seeking revenge, and Chloe, her aunt and best friend was dead and the killer is still out there. Her heart squeezed at the thought.

She had come a long way in these few years that seemed like a century. She didn't dream of getting married some years ago, talk of becoming this strong against a storm as deadly as this one. Then, she had gotten married to someone she grew to love and even had a child with him. The most valuable gift she has ever had. Aurora.

She could have had a brother if life hadn't been cruel. Brady would have been living his best life by now, void of pain and everlasting scar. He would have outgrown his sadness and grown into a strong man as she did. She was the reason why he died but she had been trying to avoid owning up to the blame. Images of that day flashed before her eyes again. 

A stormy and rainy day when she had fought Shelbrooke and fallen from her horse. She wheezed squinting her eyes to see who was before her blurry view but something smacked her face and she fell to the ground. 

Heart beating, head throbbing, and blood rushing. Her adrenaline pumped hard coupled with the pain she felt. But where was her Wolf when she needed her? 

She tried to shift but it was useless. She was too weak to provoke her Wolf. 

A hand gripped her hair and through the rain that fell on her face and blurry sight, she could make out a scarred face with two fangs out. He wanted to sink into her neck when she heard a loud bang. 

"Ow." He dropped her and she managed to run when she saw who had hit his head with a long stick.

"Brady?"

"Run, Princess. Run!" 

She jolted from the images as his voice ran in her head, leaping right to when he had been crying in pain. She began to weep, her heart squeezing at the thought of failing to protect Brady. She had promised to protect him but she failed. Was that not an indication that she would do the same for Aurora? The same thing is about to happen to Gabe and she won't be able to do anything about it.

She felt a strong arm hold her arm and his warm breath filled her face.

"Are you okay?" Zeidan asked but she turned and buried her face in his chest.

"I failed!" She cried, her voice muffled against him. He rubbed his hand over her hair.

"I failed to protect him!"

"Gabe will be fine." He encouraged but she shook her head.

"No! I mean, Brady. He didn't deserve to die." She wheezed, sniffling in the process and she knew she just had to let it all out. 

She was the reason why he died.

"He died because of me. I killed him!"

"No!" Zeidan pulled her face to look into her eyes. "Look, Lyne, you didn't kill him. Shelbrooke did and he'll pay for it. Brady was a hero and he died leaving a legacy that will forever be written in our hearts."

"He didn't deserve to die."

"I know." His brows furrowed in pity. "But someone was responsible for it and that wasn't you the last time I checked."

"But I failed. At some point I did."

He simply pulled her head against his chest, and she cried in his arms while he rocked her to sleep. 

★★★★★★★★★★

Zeidan held a glass of water as he stood before the tall window overlooking his Kingdom. The sun was just rising. He sighed as he remembered Lyne and what she said the previous night. Coming back to Vampire City, she had been badly broken and he had been unable to do anything about it. He wasn't there when she tried to heal. And he felt bad about it every single day. 

He remembered when his Father was on his death bed and he'd ask why his Father cannot self-heal so he can live further. Instead, Hail laughed and touched his arm. He could never forget his words.

"Sometimes, choosing death is better than choosing the pain we will forever live with. I've gotten to the brim of living till the age I want and I'm still not satisfied. I'm not God so instead of seeking to live more, I'll rather quench the thirst for immortality and go to rest. The only thing this world brings is pain." He coughed and squeezed his hand tighter. "Whether in the beginning or at the end."

Zeidan downed the rest of the liquid in his glass, trying to feel refreshed but the anger he felt towards Shelbrooke kept increasing and he won't rest until he sees the end of Shelbrooke. His worst enemy. But first, he has to make sure Lyne herself is ready to fight this war. Unlike before, she must be fully equipped. Finally deciding to train Lyne, he dropped the glass cup on the table and stepped out only to see Amber and a few other guards with Gabe. The little boy he had grown so fond of ran to him and only one thing came to mind. To take him to Lyne.