A/N: Okay, I'm so so so sorry that I haven't updated in a million years. And if you have to re-read everything to know what's happening in this chapter, I'm sorry for that too. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. There are only about two chapters left so I can see the finish line! If any of you are reading this and haven't given up on me yet: Thank you so much. Please review! Also, there is one use of semi-expletive language in this chapter so if that offends you, I'm sorry. It just seemed necessary for the context.

Chapter 16

SAMANTHA

"Miss Miller?" I heard a familiar voice say across the din of the crowd.

I turned. The hotel room I'd rented had finally wasted my last nerve (honestly a coffin would have been more comfortable and probably wouldn't have reeked of BO either) so I'd decided to wander around on the streets for a bit. It was nearing one in the morning but nobody outside seemed aware of the fact… or cared if they did. The streets were still crowded with cars and pedestrians. If I'd thought my cheap hotel room had been oppressive it was nothing compared to this, being outside alone in a crowded, unfamiliar, city was ten times worse than being alone in a small dingy hotel room and a million times worse when I remembered where I could be right now. Snuggling down in a huge, warm, clean,bed or wrapped in a large blanket watching movies with Alex on the couch…. Talking, laughing… and if it wasn't clear enough that the universe wouldn't let me forget what I was missing out on-how I'd run away like a child only a few hours before- the damn butler shows up to do the job.

I turned around to look at Jonathan, already feeling guilty. It was funny, seeing him out in the real world like this, wearing a blue polo shirt and jeans instead of the trim black suit and tie he usually had on, like seeing a teacher out of school. He was still looking at me incredulously, like he'd just seen me float ten feet off the ground and start spitting fire.

"Jonathan," I said, trying to hide my guilt. And what was there to be guilty about even? He doesn't know why I'm here. It's not like I'm an escaped convict or anything. I'm just taking a walk. People can do that, take walks. "What… what are you doing here?" I say, because he's still staring at me like he can't really believe what he's seeing.

"It's my day off Miss Miller. I was just coming back from visiting friends. But more importantly," he took a few steps towards me and looked at me with genuine concern on his face, "What are you doing here?"

And suddenly I'm crying, bawling my eyes out in the middle of a crowded street in a strange city at one in the morning. I'm crying so hard I can't even see. But I can feel people staring. Even at this time of night some social etiquette still stands. Huh, maybe someone should mention that to the couple I passed a few blocks away.

If I'd been alone I probably would've just stayed in the middle of the sidewalk, tears falling down my face as I tried (unsuccessfully) to stop my nose from running. But Jonathan, patron saint of calm that he is, gently takes my elbow and guides me into the nearest building, some sort of nightclub judging from the generous use of strobe lighting and dubstep blaring from the speakers, and into a dimly lit bathroom before bolting the door behind him. Taking a handkerchief out of his pocket (of course he would have one, probably monogrammed and everything) he handed it to me before giving me some space to clean my face up a little bit. After the sobbing boiled down to a some hiccups every few minutes Jonathan finally spoke.

"Now tell me what happened." and he says it in that way that only parents know how to say things: calm and serious and sympathetic and no-nonsense all at once. And suddenly I'm telling him everything. Everything that happened tonight, everything that's been building (or seems to have building up to that night, this night), how I got scared and ran away, how I was staying in a cheap motel room five blocks away.

"And I just… I don't know what to do." I finally finished.

Jonathan, thankfully, didn't look like he was at such a loss for words, but the silence went on for a few more minutes before he finally asked, "And do you love him back?"

I stared at him stupidly, not sure how to react from his extremely direct question. All I can think to say is, "What?"

"It's a simple enough question Samantha. Do you love him as he loves you?"

Yes. It's the first word that pops into my head. Before Jonathan even had a chance to repeat the question the answer is already there, completely obvious, like someone's just asked me what two plus two equal. I don't even have to think about it, the answer's in my head. Four, duh the voice says. Do you love him? Yeah, duh. Jonathan is still looking at me, waiting for an answer.

But I'm not ready to make it that easy, because it's not. If it was I wouldn't be standing in a bathroom that only a hazmat team should be allowed into. If it was that easy I wouldn't have left in the first place and I tell Jonathan so.

But he won't let go of the whole "be-as-direct-as-possible" thing and asks another simple question. "And why not?"

I didn't have such a quick answer for that one. Well, I did, but that was part of the problem. It would've been easier, maybe, if I didn't know the answer. At least then I wouldn't be aware of my reason for running away. I wouldn't understand what I was avoiding. But I did know. And I hated myself for it. Hated that I was this shallow. Because, in the end, it did matter that Alex was…was a beast. It mattered that we would never do the things "normal" couples did. Go out, grab drinks, hang out with friends, be so disgustingly sweet with one another that no one could stand to be around us. The way things stood now, that would never happen. We would be trapped. Together, yes, but still trapped. Jonathan knew what I was about to say. I could see it reflected in his eyes, but he doesn't say it either. He wasn't going to make this easy.

"You surprise me Miss Miller," he said, his voice growing cold. "I thought you were better than that. I can assure you that Alexander did. But if that's all this was, some silly flight of fancy," he said, sliding the bolt out and opening the door. "Then perhaps it was good that you left when you did." And with that, Jonathan disappeared into the pulsing crowd of heat and noise.

ALEXANDER

I slowly stepped away from Aleisha until I felt my back hit the door-frame. Grabbing it for support with one hand I threw the other out in front of me. Palm out, fingers spread.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her, trying to keep my voice steady. She flashed me a bright smile. She would have been beautiful if the look in her eyes wasn't so cold and hard.

"I came back for you." She said, her voice gentle, condescending. "I'll always come back for you Alexander." I flinched as she reached her hand up to caress my face. Suddenly her smile disappeared. "Unlike that little brat you've been keeping with you." Her hand left my face only to return moments later in a stinging slap that made my cheek and neck ache with the force of it. "What did you think would happen, Alex? When you told her you loved her, I mean. That she'd jump into your arms and smile. Ecstatic to know that she'd found a handsome animal to fall in love with her?"

My eyes widened. "How did you know about that?" I asked.

"Please." She scoffed, moving away from me to slowly wander through the room. "You think I'd honestly leave you alone to your own devices all this time without checking in on you once in a while? The only reason I allowed this silly experiment to last for as long as it did was so I could prove to you how idiotic it really was. And was I wrong?" She said, her voice laced with mocking sympathy. "You're no better off now than you were when I turned you. Worse in fact, because the person you care about, who you thought cared about you, has abandoned you. And now you have no one." For a second Aleisha's shoulders slumped, her face grim, and I almost felt like comforting her. But before I could do anything she had given herself a shake and the unhappy look was replaced with one of complete hate.

"So I'm here to offer a proposal of my own."

"I don't want to hear it." I said, disgusted. Leaving the room I walked quickly through the hallway and down the stairs. Before reaching the bottom I heard Aleisha say, "Oh, I think you do." Feeling a cold wind fly past me I turned to ask what she was up to but stopped when I saw the hand gripping the banister. It was my hand. My human hand. No claws, no fur, just skin and nails. I'd never wished so hard for a mirror in my entire life, but there weren't any around, only paintings and bare walls. In the blink of an eye Aleisha was standing beside me and the empty space I was staring at had turned into a pane of clear glass.

"Just be with me." She whispered softly into my ear. Stroking the back of my neck with the tips of her fingers. "That's all you need to do, Alex." I turned away from my reflection to look at her. "You and I, we know what it's like to be lonely, to have no one to depend on but ourselves. Be with me Alex, chose me. I won't abandon you like she did. I'll stay with you and neither of us will have to be lonely again."

I stared at the mirror again, knowing I'd never be able to go back after I made this decision. Part of me hated myself for what I was about to say. But I said it anyway.

"Until when, Aleisha?" I asked her, finally looking away from my reflection to stare at her. "Until I do something else you think is wrong? Make another mistake? When you finally get tired of having me around?" As I spoke I could feel my teeth and nails growing longer and sharper again, hear the bones in my arms and legs grinding against one another as I changed back, but I didn't care. "Yeah Sam left. I told her how I felt and…and she didn't feel the same way. But at least I always knew where I stood with her. At least she never forced me to play these stupid, idiotic, mind games like you. I could say what I wanted and I didn't have to worry about getting hexed because of it. Well forget it." I said, shoving her hand away and walking down the last few steps. "I'd rather be a beast for the rest of my life than be with you for another five minutes."

That's when the fight began. Grabbing me by the shoulder Aleisha turned me around and slammed her fist into my jaw. Before I had time to react she had grabbed me by the neck and had lifted me up into the air.

"God you're dumb." She growled as her fingers contracted around my throat. "I was planning on killing your little bitch, but now," Aleisha cocked her head, eyes narrowing. "I think I'm going to settle for you."

With force she threw me across the room and I felt my back slam into a wall. Pain burst all over as I fell to the ground, knowing that this was only the beginning.

A/N: So what did you think? Let me know!