Selena's POV:

"-ena? Selena? Can you hear me? Thank goodness she's okay."

My eyes were still adjusting to the light. I groaned, covering my eyes.

"Go away. I wanna sleep."

Even though it felt like I had been asleep for two days, I wanted to sleep more. Sheesh, when did I get that lazy? But no, Alexis here, won't let me rest in peace. Cue the groans.

"No, you have to wake up. Everyone is waiting for you."
"Waiting for me? Why?"

Then it clicked me. I was fighting with them. I challenged them, and won. Wilson fled, but Catherine- no way in the gooey almond caramel goodness of chocolate, I killed her. I FREAKING KILLED SOMEONE FOR THE FREAKING FIRST TIME IN MY FREAKING LIFE!

Now, this would be considered a mistake from my side. I tried to stand up in all of the bandages wrapped around me. I felt like a mummy. Oh wait, I'm not a mummy so I can't know how it feels like. Good thing my brain is functioning properly. Oh wait, it isn't. I should having a trauma right now, at this minute, at this very second. Why am I being dramatic?

"Easy, girl. Take my hand, I'll support you."

"Thanks."

Slowly, but steadily, I managed to walk out from my house. As I stepped by, I saw new faces. Some were recognizable, while some were not. Wow. It's like they really had it pre-planned. Many of the Wantors and Fetchers were here. As I smiled past them, they stood up. With every step I took, one by one, they stoop up, their heads held high up.

As always, Nathan popped out of the blue and hugged me, more like suffocated me. When we moved back, a huge smile appeared on his face. I felt a hand slip in mine. I gave him a questioning look. He nodded and then...

Both of our entwined hands rise up in the air. The crowd went rowdier and rowdier by the second. All were celebrating our victory. Lilac pushed through the crowd and jumped on me for a bear hug. I would've said that it was cute, but unfortunately that pushed me down to the ground, making me land on my butt, and having my backbone affected.

"Get- off- me! C-can't breathe!"
"Oh, sorry. Hehe."

Finally, she got off of me. Boy, she needs to reduce her weight.

"You doing well, Chubs?"
"Yep. I'm perfectly fine."

And I knew he didn't buy it. Nathan seemed unconvinced after my reply. I wasn't fine, the truth be told. That thing was continuously bothering me. The death of Catherine and her stabbing him. Speaking of which, where the hell is he?

I swallowed a lump in my throat. What if he's hurt bad? What if, when I was unconscious, he- no, no, no! Keep that thought to yourself. Don't even think about it.

"Hey, Nate? Where's Jake?"
"Dying to see the lover boy, aren't we?"

Oh, how I wish I could rip off that smug look off of his oh-so-child-like face. I blushed.

"Shut up."
"Lat time I saw him getting out. Ask Alex. She might know where he is. She is in-charge of inspection of all the injured."
"Kay, thanks. See ya!"

At least he's fine, I guess. I sprinted to find Alexis, the queen shipper. I know I was making myself fall into a trap, but I let it go. Besides, I desperately needed to see if he's well. His health's my concern, okay? I mean, he's the First-in-Command and stuff and all. Never mind.

"Hey, Alex! Wait up!"

On hearing my voice, she turned around and smiled.

"What's up?"
"Have you seen Jacob around?"
"Jacob? Someone is desperate to see 'someone', huh?"

I face-palmed. I guess she was the one who lulled Nathan to think we can be a couple. He loves another girl, not me.

Snap out of it and find him.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I saw him going in the woods. He might be in the rotten graveyard."
"Thanks."
"Hey, wait up!"

Too late Alex. I was already half way to the woods.

As I made my way to the graveyard, I recalled everything that had happened the last few months. My enemy became my best friend. I found my brother. We mended the broken bonds together. We laughed and cried and smiled together, sharing bits of happiness and sadness here and there. I found light in the dark that devoured me completely. I found my true self, my strong side, and the one thing I will always cherish, my new-found family.

My feet took me to someone's grave while I thought about that. That someone's grave was...

No. Fucking. Way.

It was Karen's.

My heart was torn into pieces. There was not only Karen's gravestone planted on the ground, there were others too, and I knew most of them.

They died for a cause. They are the real victors.

At a distance, I saw a guy standing, gazing upon the horizon. My feet took me to him without my permission. I wanted to hug him, and at the same time, slap him so hard that he looses his jaw. He could've told me about the plan.

Yep, it was Jacob.

I turned around to walk away, suddenly not feeling well.

"Wait."

I spun around. He was still standing there, at the same place in the same position.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-
"Don't."

Something was not right. There was this- thing I felt. I don't know if it was his voice or his posture that made me feel like it.

"You doing well?"
"Um, yeah. What-
"Good."

He interrupted me. These one word answers were making me cringe. He was never like that before. Not even once.

"Listen."

He sighed and spoke to me.

"I want to apologise for the mess I have caused. You didn't deserve it. Nobody deserved it."
"What do you mean?"
"The fight? That was me. When he said that we had planned it, we both knew what was coming. You were the one who made it successful."
"Me? How-
"Yes, you. You would be blaming it on yourself, we knew that. Better than anyone else. How you made it successful? That's up to you to figure out. I'm done here. I have nothing else to do."
"I don't understand."
"I'm leaving."
"What?"

I raised my brow in confusion? He was leaving?

"Leaving?"
"Yes. Leaving the group and all of you guys."

I slapped him. Hard.

"If you're going to say that it was a joke, that wasn't funny."

He still looked down after the hit. I was on the verge of crying.

"It wasn't. I really am. I don't want to be the cause of more deaths. I'm sorry."

When you jump from high up to make a perfect dive and go in the water, your body feels numb, your head spins and your ears don't work perfectly. That's what I was feeling. Deaf. Breathless. Numb.

"You c-can't do that. That's not a good joke, Jake. Don't fool around. You weren't the cause of their deaths. They died with smile on their faces. They knew they'd be free. They didn't die in vain. They died giving us the freedom we were desperate for all these years. Their death was meant to be. It was their fate, and we, we are meant to live, for them. So, don't even dare think of quitting."

And all of a sudden, I pulled him to me by his collar, and kissed him hard.

Wait.

I kissed him.

I really did.

I jerked him away from me, clutching his arms.

"We need you here. I need you here. If you go, I will find you and kill you and condemn you to hell."
"You-
"Yes, you asshole. I kissed you, on your lips. I love you, and I don't really care if you love someone else, because-

Guess what? He shut me up with his lips. My eyes were about to come out of their sockets. Pulling away, he grinned.

"Shut up. That girl was you. Why do you think I'll ask? I wanted to give you a hint, but I guess I made you jealous."
"Fuck off, Haynesworth."

And we laughed. Hysterically.

We returned panting hard. Basically we decided to race back after a short make out session. Even though we were not fit, we still did, stopping once in a while. Out of breath, we fell to the ground, laughing hard.

"Lockhart!"

Aiden came running to us, a genuine grin plastered on his face. Besides me, I felt Jake clenching.

"Hey, beautiful."
"Hi. What's up?"
"Just wanted to congratulate you for the success."
"Can I thank you by giving you something? You really deserve it."
"Yeah, sure."

Gosh, he was so desperate. He thought it might be a gift, but it wasn't. I stepped forward, and slapped him very hard, making him loose his balance and eventually, fall down.

"Thanks for not telling me what the fucking plan was."

Then again, Nathan popped out of the blue and clutched his stomach, laughing. We couldn't help but laugh with him too. His face was priceless. I helped him stand up, and he went without a word.

"That. Was. Off. The. Hook! You made him fall with just a slap! Damn it!"

Lilac started fangirling. Nathan joined the party too, and I laughed it off. My concentration wasn't fully on them. Sure I replied and laughed here and there, but I actually focused on the hand that was trying to slip in mine. From the corner of my eye, I was observing him stealing glances and me, his fingers hovering above mine. He still hesitated doing that publicly. He trusted me, I never said that he didn't, but I knew he feared that I'd reject him. So, I cut the chase and held his hand, squeezing in reassurance. He flinched and looked at me while I simply smiled the shyness away. Oh, just to remind you, we were blushing furiously.

"Oh my god! Nathan look! They're holding hands!"

Lilac find that amusing somehow, and Nathan, don't ask. He was having this goofy grin that I wished I could hug him.

"Yep. Guess what, you guys? We're together now."

I was shocked to hear that. Neither he nor me ever decided that. He held my hand up and kissed me square on the lips. He pulled away and winked.

"Since when was it decided?"
"Since now, babe."

At a distance, I saw Alex fainting. Lilac squealed and jumped on Nathan. On the other hand, I kept my head low, trying my best to keep the blushing to minimum. Jacob laughed and pulled me closer to him, grabbing me by my waist. He swiftly tucked my strand of hair behind my hair and pecked me on my temple.

"Can I ask you to be mine, Miss Selena Jean Lockhart, the best assassin and warrior I've ever seen."
"Shut up."

I punched him playfully, enjoying the moment.

"Jacob?"
"What?"
"You're still leaving after this?"
"Hm. Good news for you, I changed my mind."
"So you're staying, aren't you?"
"Yep. I'm not going anywhere, not after what just happened."
"You mean after you made me mine?"
"You never answered that question."
"Yes."
"Yes what?"
"Yes, I'm yours. I'm forever yours."

He grinned so wide that for a moment I thought his lips will tear out. I blushed and kissed him on his cheek. His cheek turned into a deep shade of red, like a ripe tomato. I howled at his cuteness.

At that moment, being different felt so great that it is undescribable. I have no words to explain these feelings. I felt like I'm the happiest girl alive. I felt complete. I felt like I was made to live. Till this day, I never thought I'll fall in love, but I did. Life gives you shock at every step, doesn't it? Mine gave me Jacob and Nathan, my boyfriend and brother, my family. This is the day when a new sun rose from the horizon, marking a new beginning for me, for all of us, for all the birds who fly in the skies, tasting the flavors of freedom, and the fruits of their successful flight. This is the day, when I was reborn as:

Selena Jean Lockhart, a warrior and assassin of The Talons.

..........xxxx END OF PART 1 xxxx...........

Word count: 2085 (only for the part above)

Hey, fellow readers, I'm back!
So, after all this time, I managed to complete the chapter just for Sharingan_Girl because it's her birthday! Happy birthday dear partner-in-crime!
I want to thank all of you for your tolerance and patience in spite of my continuous procrastination. Trust me, I'm too lazy to type the chapter, but I managed to do it anyways.
So, I need to give a few credits to some people:
First of all, thanks to God Almighty for making my laziness go away.
Secondly, thank you Sharingan_Girl, famayy and iswahbalouch. Without your persistence, I would've never completed it.
Thank you rebruising, CAshaziaali Zagony, Riddhi01, tasha_2811, FairyLove12345, QueenofLazyTown, Melody_Yui_Dragneel, ameeee--, AmalNaseem and nilsuki. Trust me, you guys were an inspiration for me. Thank you so much for being my friend and tolerating my craziness.
Last but not least, thanks to everyone out there supporting this book by reading and voting and recommending. You guys are the best!