Lincoln's P.O.V

At some point in this long life of mine, I'd started believing that true happiness was a myth.

After all I'd seen and lost, I'd concluded that that sort of unfiltered joy was something that may have existed once upon a time but was lost like all the other good things of this world. I believed that any scraps of bliss we got in life were nothing more than broken remnants.

That had all changed when I met Kalem.

The moment he told me his name in a whisper and beamed at me when I told him it was lovely, that dismal belief had started to crumble. Little by little, with each freely given hug and precious smile, Kalem chipped at those thick barriers until they all came crashing down when I made finally him mine.

As it turned out, true happiness wasn't a myth. It was a lost treasure that Kalem had led me to by his light.

"Lincoln, I'm trying to focus, and you're going to make me explode!" Kalem exclaims suddenly, his cheeks brightening until he appears feverish, "you're happy feelings are too good!"

I chuckle at his outburst, laughing even harder when I spot his serious glare. He would've looked angry if it wasn't for the grin tugging at his lips. Distracted as we already are, I take the opportunity to pause Kalem's careful examination of my scar by pulling him into my lap and snuggling close.

"I would say sorry, but I can feel that you love it," I whisper while I palm his cheek, grinning when his wings flutter happily at his back. "In all my lifetimes, I have never felt this happy."

"Lincoln!" Kalem squeals as he carries us down.

Squeezing me as tightly as he can manage, Kalem hugs me until we're practically glued together, and I'm left laughing freely for him. While Kalem grumbles aimlessly, I kiss every inch of him I can, lathering him with all the affection his gracious heart could ever desire.

Since the night of our bonding, Kalem and I had been inseparable. It was like our earliest days together, when our greatest concerns had only been spending time with one other. We did that now, as we used to, not parting for even a second.

Like a pair of lovesick fools, I hand-fed Kalem the fruits from the nearby trees around our haven, and at night, I kept him in my lap when I told him stories under the stars.

When we fell into bed again, I brought him to his peak time and time again whilst greedily feeding from his most sensitive places. We made love until he was shaking all over and screaming my name, and then I did it all over again.

'Our honeymoon', Kalem called it. We were on our honeymoon, which easily made it the best week of my life.

I didn't doubt that we would've remained so for the rest of eternity, hidden away in our untouched heaven. But all honeymoons had an end, and so did ours.

In reality, we had a life with a clan to lead and friends waiting for us; we couldn't stay forever. I'd known that from the start, but I'd also meant every vow I'd made to Kalem; he came first in all things and always would. I would not repeat my former mistakes, and if Kalem wasn't ready to return to the castle, we wouldn't.

Surprisingly, it had been Kalem who'd been the one to bring up returning home.

Following Zhoron's visit and the bite, his worries steadily dwindled to a small thing that only circulated my health now. As Kalem put it, until he was sure I was in perfect condition, we weren't allowed to go anywhere - hence my current medical examination.

"So, have I passed your tests?" I ask as I part from his neck and sit up.

Kalem's frown deepens into something accusatory, "I don't know, Master! You keep distracting me before I can finish."

"I'm sorry, love," I reply, not meaning it in the slightest, "I will try and keep my thoughts away from you so you can finish."

Kalem gnaws his bottom lip, "I never said you have to do that."

Laughing freely, I pull my love up from the bed so he can continue his checkup. The quicker he finished, the faster I'd be allowed to have my fill of him, and I planned to get every drop.

"Lincoln!"

Hands in the air, I remain perfectly still, directing my thoughts towards the elf while Kalem gets to work. Kalem shakes his head with a giggle before he gingerly passes his fingers over my chest again. It doesn't take long for his smile to slip away.

I peer down at the scar and find myself frowning as well. I wasn't used to not healing perfectly, and seeing the jagged skin over my heart was admittedly disconcerting.

"It doesn't hurt," I promise Kalem, not for the first time or the last.

Kalem hums absentmindedly as he gives the scar a hesitant poke before his eyes immediately jump up to mine, "Did that hurt?"

I shake my head, and Kalem gives it another more insistent poke, "I don't feel a thing, doc."

Blushing, Kalem ducks his head, trying to hide, but I could feel his blooming embarrassment as if it were my own. Thanks to our bond, I now felt Kalem's every worry and hope, as well as the weight of his love which was just as heady as it had been the first time.

I'd often heard how wonderful the binding could be between two who truly cared for one another but experiencing it was something else entirely different.

Feeling and seeing the way Kalem had loved me from the beginning when I thought he didn't understand what he wanted was all I never knew I needed. I'd doubted him for so long, but the truth was, even when Kalem's mind was at its worse, he'd always trusted me, wanted me, and cared for me.

Kalem cleaned not only because he loved to but because he wanted to make me happy and comfortable in our home. Ours because that's how he saw it from the very first day. When I bit him, I felt how hard he worked to make me smile because my smile somehow lit up his world, just as his did for mine.

I'd always thought it was just me, but the binding had showed me that just as he'd become my world within in the blink of an eye, I'd become his.

"Gods, I love you," I whisper as it all swells inside me once more.

Kalem blinks up at me, "I love you too, Master," he replies without hesitation before narrowing his pale eyes, "you're trying to get naughty again."

"Kalem," I start in a low whisper, "I think we both know that if I wanted to get 'naughty' again, I'd already be between your legs."

Kalem's face turns beet red again as he falls into helpless stammers, his eyes darting all over my body as if he wanted nothing more.

I tsk, "You are a very easily distracted doctor,"

"You're the worst patient ever," he retorts with a pointed finger that I don't hesitate to suck. Gasping, Kalem snatches it away, "I-I'm going to have to punish you once we get home."

That sounded like a beautiful promise, but my mind focused first on his last words, "You want to go home?"

"I think you're all better again," Kalem says while he eyes my scar. "You look better, and you're stronger too. Plus, I'm super strong, so nobody will hurt you again. I promise, Lincoln."

"I know," I lean closer, nuzzling his cheek, "you wouldn't ever let them, would you love?"

"Never," Kalem swears as he pulls me in for a kiss that makes me groan. I ready for more, only to land flatly on the mattress as Kalem pulls away and gets to his feet, "but we can't go until I return everything I stole."

The last part comes as a whisper since his shame remained present even all these days later. But that particular matter could wait.

I cast my gaze over the mattress and blankets as well, my nose wrinkling. Kalem may have spent each morning cleaning them, but the scent and evidence of our sex were surely ingrained in them forever.

"It's good that you want to do the right thing, Kalem, but nobody is going to want them back," I assure him as carefully as I can.

"That's for them to decide, Master," Kalem retorts, already folding the blankets up. "I have to give them back and leave a note saying sorry! They have to know it was for an emergency."

"An emergency?" I question, amused.

"Yes," Kalem replies firmly, "the person I love the very most needed to be comfortable while they healed. I'm sure they'll understand."

I stare at Kalem's earnest expression, and my chest threatens to burst.

It had been my greatest worry that in the midst of the war, Kalem might lose the most precious piece of himself with all he'd been through. That innocent part of him that was fuelled by a need to do good everywhere he went, to help and show compassion to all, but he hadn't.

It was still here, bright as day, and I knew then that it always would be.

"Very well," I reply as I roll over, "as you wish, my love. We'll return the dirty contraband, and then, we'll go home."

Kalem shakes his head, but he still gifts me an open smile that makes me melt under his gaze.

This, every moment with him, every second I received his love, was, without a doubt... true happiness.

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I'd often witnessed Kalem use his magic, but for the first time, it surged between us as if I were also channelling it.

As Kalem tightened his grip on my fingers and called on the life around us, I felt the way energy surged up from the planet's core, freely giving itself over to Kalem, who morphed into the single destination in his mind.

From there, it's a quick trip, a split-second change that passes under a bright light that takes us from one place to another – home.

Instantly, a stillness settles over me. This place had been the only place I'd ever truly claimed as my own. From the moment I'd seen the high black walls, with their sleek, pointed edges and pristine windows, I'd felt something click inside me.

It was a feeling of rightness and belonging, and that same feeling rippled through me now as I opened my eyes and spotted the familiar archways of the castle's design. We were home.

Facing Kalem, I take in his gleaming smile, his excitement as bright as mine as Lyrra stirs to life within me. It takes no effort for the bond to snap back in place, instantly linking me to all the vampires who resided inside the castle.

I could feel them react to my presence, already heading this way, but two reach us before any others.

Malcolm and Wequie push two heavy doors wide open and frantically rush inside, gazes unfocused until they settle on me.

They're on me as fast as they can manage, both of them making me groan as they crash into me for a hug I would usually dodge. I don't with this one; I don't dare do a thing besides wrapping my arms around them in turn so I can hold them close.

There was no use pretending that I didn't feel the same unease as them; that there wasn't a raging storm inside of me that fed on the fear of never seeing one another again after an eternity together.

We'd made a family, the three of us. So with care, I settle a hand on Malcolm's head, allowing him to burrow close, and when I feel scarcely shed tears wetting my skin, I hold him even closer. I do the same for Wequie, who was no better, rubbing his back to stop the way he was shaking like a leaf as he clung to my chest.

Maybe the words would never leave my mouth, the consequences too dire if I were to admit it out loud, but I'd feared for them the very same way, and if I'd lost either, I knew I would never be the same.

"I thought you died!" Wequie shouts as he suddenly pushes me away, "everything was going to shit, and then it wasn't! There was this black sexy demon flying around, killing everyone like it was fucking judgement day! Then! The sky turned black! Total apocalypse shit! So we went to you, and we saw you with that s-spear in your chest-"

Wequie stops himself as he bites into his wobbling bottom lip, his anger deflating like the rest of him.

"I'm alright," I reply as I squeeze his hand, "I survived it."

"I thought you wouldn't," Wequie's voice cracks as his tail falls limply behind him. Pain seizes me at the sight; he looked far too much like the abandoned incubus he'd once been, defeated by so much loss.

"Wequie," I start, but he shakes his head.

"I thought I was going to lose my family again," he croaks, "and I can't do that again. I can't lose you, Lincoln."

"You didn't," I promise as I press his small hand against my chest, "I am healed and well. I'm still here."

Wequie pokes at the sealed skin, pressing harder than Kalem ever dared to. He keeps prodding it, each touch making Kalem twitch, but he doesn't stop until he's satisfied.

"I won't break," I promise as he drops his hand and lets out a heavy breath, "I'm okay, Wequie."

Wequie finally smiles, his entire body flooding with palpable relief, "Good," he grumbles while he rubs at his eyes, "I can't believe I'm this happy to see you when you're so fucking depressing."

I smile at the foolish incubus, "Were you not crying just a moment ago?"

"That's because I really thought I was going to lose your pasty ass!" Wequie exclaims, making me laugh so loudly that it echoes around us.

"I'm not so easy to get rid of."

"Good," he grumbles, his fists clenched as if he wanted to punch me, but instead, he hugs me again. "You're not allowed to die before me."

"Deal," I mumble over the head of his curls.

Allowed a moment of respite, I look to Malcolm only to feel the remnants of my heart splinter inside me when I spot the open mess he'd become. Malcolm looked lost in a way I hadn't seen since the first day we met. It'd been a long time since I'd seen Malcolm look so scared, longer still since he'd shed tears so freely.

Malcolm was emotive and honest, but he never cried. Tears were the one thing he refused to give, and yet, his face was wet and his eyes full.

"I saw you die," he whispers, words so quiet they almost felt like a curse. "I-I saw you die, and I thought... I thought you- I thought it-it was the end for us, Lincoln."

I shake my head, hating to hear the tremor in his voice, "There's no end yet," I promise as I offer a hand to him, pulling him close again. The affections were foreign for us, or rather me, but I knew he needed it, and truthfully I wanted nothing more at this moment.

"I'm okay, Malcolm."

"I saw-" he starts again, tears flowing faster.

"I would not leave you alone, Malcolm," I vow in a whisper for him.

In this world, there would only ever be one person I would call my greatest companion, my most cherished friend, and that was Malcolm. Gods knew he drove me insane, and half the time, I wished he were dead, but I was nothing without him.

We were a pair; there could never be one without the other. Malcolm had seen to that.

"I would never do that to you," I promise, and slowly, the tension in Malcolm's body slips away as he lets himself believe it to be true instead of the visions that had probably plagued him.

He'd tried to warn me of it before the battle, but I'd been too concerned with helping Kalem's safety to take note of the pain etched in his eyes. I saw it now, and knowing I was the cause hurt more than I ever knew it could. More than likely, the gremlin probably had a million ideas on how he planned to torture me for upsetting his pisen.

At the thought, I look around for the ever-present elf, eyes scanning for where he was tucked away, glaring from a distance. I found him near the doorway, but instead of a glare, there was a strange, unreadable expression on his face that I couldn't understand. It most definitely wasn't joy or relief at seeing me, nothing of the sort, but something far frailer.

I follow his sharp gaze to Kalem, frowning when I spot him staring at Aias with a look so cold it made me stiffen.

Kalem loved Aias. Besides myself, he was the person he'd always been closest to, his best friend. He should've already been at his side, ecstatic to be reunited, not looking at Aias with the heavy mistrust that engulfed our bond.

It was beyond odd. It was worrying, as was the way Aias quietly peeled away from the room when Wequie launched himself at Kalem.

"Look at you!" He bellows, oblivious to everything else but Kalem's elven form, "all big and sexy and shit! What happened to demons sticking together? You're a total angel now, flower! You even have wings, you sneaky bastard!"

Kalem preens, his dark mood easing, but I still feel its remains even though Aias was long gone. While Wequie fawns over Kalem, I look at Malcolm, whose gaze returns from the spot Aias had filled. He tries for a smile when he catches my attention on him, but it's far too forced.

"He's fine," he says too quickly, "the fight just took a lot out of him."

Even without knowing what Malcolm sounded like lying, I knew it wasn't the truth. I doubted that battle had been more than a tickle for the elf, which meant something was very wrong.

"But I'm glad you're back, and okay," Malcolm presses, noticeably trying to reroute the subject. "You look even better than before."

I glance at Kalem, smiling despite myself, "I've been well looked after."

"Well, that's definitely going to make everyone feel better," he replies, and as if summoned, the open doorway is quickly flooded by all the vampires rushing inside.

The clan fills the room as much as they can manage, surrounding us with gleeful smiles and obvious relief that I felt burning through Lyrra like a brand. I'd been hesitant to expect as much, but they'd worried for me, for us. I could feel it as true and undeniable as my worry for them.

Amongst the hundreds, a few former pylens step out from the crowd, Luciel at the head of them all as he bows without fault, leaning low.

"We are glad to see you are well, Pylen," he says when he straightens with an honest smile, "it was a hard-fought battle."

"We lost many," Karios adds at his side, expression solemn.

Alexander's blank stare flashes before my eyes, and I nod slowly, sharing in the pain that shadowed us all. We'd lost almost half our original numbers, and I still felt each one. I remembered every face and name as my power felt the holes where life used to be.

"They did not die in vain," I assure them all as I pass my gaze over those I can, "no vampire, not a single one, will be forgotten for the part they played in this war."

Sterling steps forward, his beard sliced at the side where a blade must've stuck, "I know I speak for all we lost when I say they would give their lives again, several times over if they knew it would mean our victory. Just as all of us would give our lives right now if it were necessary."

"Agreed," Fae says with a nod that spreads throughout the clan.

"We lost many, but more will live because of what we've done," Luciel confirms as he looks at me, "because of what you've done."

What I'd done....

I started this for Kalem, but with each clan we visited, every fight, every vampire we took under our care, it had become something far greater than either of us. Now, as I looked around the room, not spotting even a single look of doubt or regret, I knew every person understood that.

It hadn't been easy, but it was worth it. Every sacrifice had been worth it because it led us here, to where our species could finally have another chance - the right chance.

We got to start over again, which meant there would be no more cruelty, wickedness, or suffering. No more. There would be no more of it because we had won.

It had been such a distant goal for so long that it still felt like a dream, even now. But it wasn't. It was our reality.

"We won," I breathe out as the realisation takes root inside me, my joy the same as the one flooding Lyrra.

"We won," Malcolm repeats at my side, sounding so proud it was almost my undoing.

"Every vampire standing in this castle is the last of our kind, and thankfully, they're the best of us as well," Luciel says as the crowd around us begins to part, "And from this day forth, we will follow you in anything, Pylen."

My gaze follows the opening path until it reveals the gleaming silver throne waiting above thick marble steps. It's then that I take note of exactly where Kalem had brought us back to the castle - the throne room.

It had always been a space I'd avoided, never feeling right in the monumental room on my own, but I wasn't anymore. This ample space, with its finely carved stone arches and daunting presence, was now filled with those closest to me, dearest to me, and every soul who'd chosen me to lead them.

I wasn't alone, not anymore.

My gaze lingers on the awaiting throne, imposing as ever as it silently challenged anyone to even look upon it, let alone sit on it, and I step towards it.

I make my way through the parted bodies, each of whom bows their heads while Lyrra thrums with their dedication, their respect. It makes me stronger; every bid of trust in me makes each step I take feel more sure than the last until I climb up the thick marble steps.

I look upon the throne, passing my fingers over its sleek, pristine edges.

I'd only touched it once before, during my first days within the castle when I'd looked upon it. At the time, I wondered what type of person could ever deserve something so beautiful, who would be worthy of it, truly. Not in name or bloodline, but because those under it wanted to see them sit upon it.

I never even once thought it could be me. I never thought I would deserve it, but I did now.

Turning, I face my clan before I sit upon my throne.

Without prompt or demand, every vampire falls to one knee, the movement like a wave that I follow all the way out of the throne room, for as far as my eyes could see. Their joy ripples through the link that had never felt as strong or right as it does now.

My next breaths are heavy, almost strained, as I try to cope with the trust being placed entirely on me. I shift my gaze to Kalem, finding him practically dancing on his toes. Beaming up at me, my love sends me two thumbs up, and I don't try to fight the feelings that rush up inside of me.

There was no reason to be afraid of being happy.

There was no one left who threatened this; no Diablos, no witches, no one.
This was mine.

After all these years, I was finally where I was meant to be.

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Nah, this chapter actually made me emotional cause I realised this book is coming to an end

Thoughts?????????

Thoughts on the reunion? Thoughts on Aias and Malcolm being weird?? Thoughts on the final scene???

I got most emotional with Malcolm, shit fucked me right up, and the next chapters are going to be even worse. Anywaysssssss, we've got 3 more chapters I think SOBS, but I'm going to try super hard to finish Master this month!!!

Next up on the update chart is an AM Rewrite Chapter on Patreon, and the Q&A for Mekhi here on Wattpad.

Until next time,
Byeeeeeeeee humanssssssssssss