Those Eyes

Epilogue

Hello All,

I apologize for the long, long wait. I've actually had this story finished for a very long time but kept going back and forth on whether an epilogue was needed. I went with a yes, obviously. Anywho, please offer feedback and (constructive) criticism.

Thank you to archangel for editing chapter 12.

If there are errors in the epilogue, I apologize.

Best,

SRB

-Santana-

She visited me every chance she got. She didn't say much, just sat there, watching me. Words weren't really needed. Her mask of stone and apathy fell in those moments. She watched me with so many emotions showing across her perfect face, sadness, anger, regret, longing. They were all so clear.

I was to stay in the cage until I turned back into my human form. Doctor's orders. She begged me with her eyes, begged me to change back. I wished that I could oblige her. I desperately longed to be out of the small cage, able to stretch, to bend, and to get back to Alex.

"Aara?" Audrienne's sudden appearance broke our intense staring match. The emotionless visage returned immediately as Aara's gaze moved from me to that that of our blonde sister. "Your lesson begins soon, I was sent to remind you." Without a glance in my direction, Aara stood and left the room.

"Hi, Santana." Audrienne's melodic voice broke the brief silence. I barked by way of greeting. Audrienne seemed uncomfortable in my presence, often opening her mouth as if she wanted to speak but couldn't find the words. "He let Stephen leave yesterday evening. He seemed a little confused but I'm glad that he's not here any longer, he didn't belong here."

None of them belonged here. None of us belonged here.

"Zach misses the presence of testosterone in the pod and Carmendi misses her mini-me," she said, confirming what I had realized on my own. Carmendi and Stephen were full siblings, the matching olive skin and bright red hair gave it away.

"I... I don't think we ever thanked you," she said, running her elegant fingers through her long, white-blonde hair. I tilted my head in confusion, unsure of why she would feel the need to thank me. Understanding she clarified. "...for coming back with us without a fight. For helping us save our little brother. I...I know that you probably feel as if we're nothing to you, just strangers with the same colored eyes and you came anyway. So, thank you." She extended her hand and touched the bars of the cage briefly before leaving the room.

She was so wrong.

It has been five days since we'd arrived back at the compound. Five long days, spent in this cage. Randomly, I would feel Alex. He'd send his love through our bond, his affection and his determination. I knew he was coming for me.

***

Not for the first time since arriving in Rhode Island did Epic realize how much colder it was here than at his home in South Carolina. Pulling his coat closer to his body, he watched the compound. It was so well hidden that Epic knew that, without the mate connection felt by the Carlisle males, it wouldn't have been discovered so soon.

Epic desperately hated reconnaissance. He preferred the attack. The love of the kill had been bred into him and his men by the former alpha of the Otto pack, his father. His father had controlled the pack with an iron hand, forcing the art of fighting on each and every member and eliminating those lacking the propensity for destruction including Epic's sweet natured mother.

That was why Epic agreed to help the Carlisle family. The idea of this "doctor" controlling those hybrids and using them at his whim hit too close to home. The doctor was a tyrant and all tyrants deserved to fall.

He and his men had been out here for four days, watching, gathering information, going unnoticed by the very human guards. With the aid of his stealthy, technologically savvy betas, the perimeter, the exterior, and interior of the compound was now fully mapped out. They were ready for the attack. He smiled as he dialed Alex Carlisle's cell phone number. Now the fun was beginning.

-Alex-

I watched the young alpha and his even younger team of betas enter the conference room. They had been outside of the compound, mapping out entrances, pinpointing weaknesses and guard posts, and placing in a few moles continuously for the past few days without sleep. The expressions were serious, their stances disciplined.

Epic approached the table and sat, meeting the gazes of the other seated individuals. "The guards are all human, but they're heavily armed. If my team goes in first, we can surely take out a good number of them before the alarms go off. What I'm afraid of, however, is the hybrids. We don't know where their loyalties lie; we don't know what they're capable of. My team has done all we can but in that regard, we're essentially going in blind."

I nodded wishing in that moment that I could warn Santana. I looked around at the gathering of vampires and werewolves assembled to ensure that my brother and I got our mates back. "I appreciate the presence of each and every one of you but I would understand if you wanted to back out and leave now. He's right, these hybrids are enigmas. Yeah, we know where the guards are located and the layout of the facility but we truly do not know what we're about to walk into. Many of you have no ties to me or my family so, if you got up and walked out of this conference room right now, I would understand- We would understand."

I leaned back in my chair, watching the different packs and covens whisper and argue before me. I felt Aislyn's hand reach for mine beneath the table and was thankful for the support in that moment. I did my best to keep my anxiety down. They could all leave right now, leave it up to just me and my family to get Santana and Aara back and I'd have to be understanding; I had promised to be understanding.

A woman with long, flowing brown hair and laugh lines around her eyes stood. I recognized her immediately as Evangeline, the oldest of our kind. I leaned forward, curious to what she had to say. "Allisar," she began looking straight at my father. "You know that I am your friend, that you and I have so much history," the older female vampire spoke, her voice poured out like rich honey. She sighed deeply, remorse in her whiskey colored eyes. "...but my coven is small; we cannot take the risk of losing even one member for a cause that is not our own. We are old, the oldest of our kind. We have fought too many battles, shed and lost too much blood. Some of our members feel that these hybrids that you speak of are unnatural and do not deserve our aid." She paused then, her expression becoming more apologetic. " I am sorry, but I must do what is right for my coven. I wish you and your family the best," she said in an unrecognizable accent right before she and five others exited the room.

"Does anyone else wish to leave?" I heard Aaron ask from behind me, in a cold tone. No one stood or spoke. "Good. Epic please proceed with the plan."

Hours later, I sat on the large bed of the hotel room, staring at the ceiling. My life had changed so drastically in such a short period of time. Meeting Santana was like being hit by lightning or suddenly realizing that what you thought was living before that moment was merely a ghost of the real thing. I had gone twenty-five years without her and I'd been just fine but after meeting her, going five days without her was torture. I ached for her, to feel her soft body molding into mine as we slept, her sweet laugh, her huge smile. I missed everything with such intensity that it hurt.

I knew that she could feel what I was feeling right now. She knew exactly how much I loved her and needed her, and she felt my determination to get her back.

I'd have her back by the end of the day tomorrow.

-Santana-

I woke up suddenly, torn from my fitful slumber in the too-small cage. What had woken me? The room was still cast in darkness, the prompt 6:00am alarm had yet to go off. I suddenly felt anxious, like I was waiting for something. The anxiety danced with motivation and a hardness I had never felt before. I realized then that these were not my own emotions but those of my mate.

Suddenly an alarm different from those I had heard before sounded. This wasn't a wake-up call. This was danger, there was something wrong. I strained my ears, pushing to hear more than I ever had before. I heard the boots of the guards running through the halls towards what, I wasn't sure. Muffled orders were being called.

I jumped as I heard the first signs of gunfire and what sounded like snarls and growls. The hardness I had felt from Alex intensified. Deep down, I knew what was happening, the lab was under attack. He was there to get me back.

Out of nowhere, the knob of the door began to shake and the door was pulled off of its hinges. Moving further back into my cage, I began whimpering. The light was blinding as the shadowed figure moved forward into the room. The bars of the cage dug into my back painfully. The figure kneeled and placed his hands on door of the cage, pulling swiftly until the door was no longer in place but in his hands.

"Let's go," was all the shadow said. He voice deep and demanding. I didn't move, afraid of what would follow next. "I'm not going to hurt you, little wolf." He backed away and went to the entrance of the hall.

I moved slowly, leaving the small cage that I had spent five days in, and walked to the hall. I stretched slightly, attempting to relieve the aches and pains all over my body. In the hall, I could now see the features of my savior. He was young, no older than 19, with medium brown skin and gray eyes. Had I not been so alarmed at the situation, I would have taken a moment to take in his strong, handsome features, but this was not the time for that.

"Can you change back?" he asked, looking at me with concern in his eyes. I shook my head, no. "Well, I hope you can fight in this form." He said over his shoulder as he began moving down the hall towards the growls, snarls, and gunfire.

***

Zach woke up the moment the alarms sounded. He looked around the pod and his siblings jumped up also, panic on each of their faces. The noises in the hall alluded to the impending war.

Moving to the door, Zach placed his ear against the cold steel. The doors to the pods didn't open until the six a.m. alarm sounded. There was a battle being fought and they were locked away in their suite.

She felt him; his presence was almost as tangible as her own. He was near, there somewhere in the facility. Before she could stop herself, get her emotions under control, Aara was banging on the steel door of the suite. Banging so hard that she broke her skin and blood smeared the reflective surface of the door. There were dents but she had made no real headway.

"Aara! What are you doing?!" Audrienne screamed as Aara picked up the dining table. "We've received no orders to leave our pods!"

"Fuck the orders." she replied in a cool, calm voice right before heaving the table at the door. The metal buckled but not enough to pull it away from the wall.

Staring at her failed attempt, she fell to the floor. "He's here." she whispered. "He came for me."

***

The orders were clear. Don't kill any human unless it's necessary. Epic scoffed as he punched an approaching guard hard enough to knock him out. He looked down at the small wolf, checking on her. She followed him obediently; the fear that he'd seen in her eyes at first had bled into hard determination.

"Don't kill anyone. We disarm and take down, but we leave them breathing," he said, making sure she knew the orders. The look she gave him made him worry. This little wolf was out for blood.

They made their way through the hall, Epic taking out guards left and right, not trusting the wolf to leave them alive. She alerted him to their positions, warned him of any approaching danger. She leapt, scratched, bit, distracting them long enough for Epic to disarm and incapacitate them.

They passed other weres, some in wolf form, others in their human forms. They passed vampires. The scene was quite phenomenal. It looked like a battle between angels, gods and soldiers. Blood stained the walls and floor. In more macabre scenes, body parts littered the ground. This was war; this was what Epic was made for.

He moved swiftly, delivering a swift punch to the gut of a particularly scrappy guard. Distracted by a banging sound coming from behind a metal panel, he created the perfect opportunity for the guard to strike him in the jaw. Faster than the guard could have ever anticipated, Epic snapped his arm, cleanly breaking the bone.

The whimpering cries appeased the beast within. "Stay, or I break the other one and a leg. I could do a lot of damage and still keep you alive, asshole."

Satisfied that the guard wasn't going to move, Epic turned to see the small, black wolf staring at the metal panel, the one that the banging was coming from. She pawed the door and nudged it with her shoulders. She rested her head against the cool metal briefly then stared him dead in the eyes, begging for something he didn't understand.

He heard more guards coming; he didn't have time to move at the whims of some wolf who didn't even know how to control the change. Looking over his shoulder, he listened. They'd be there in less than two minutes.

"We need to go, wolf," he said, moving towards the approaching opposition. His movements halted as he heard her whimper. Sighing he turned back towards her. "We don't have time for this." His anger was rising then immediately dissipated.

He felt it, sunshine breaking through the clouds on a chilly day. That's what it felt like. Whatever caused that feeling was behind that dented metal panel.

There, a button on the wall beside the panel. Without thinking, he pushed it and stepped back just as a bullet whizzed past him. Turning, he grabbed the end of the closest gun and shoved back into the body of the guard holding it, cracking bones. The guard fell to the ground.

Looking to his left, following the sound of the barking wolf, his gaze met an emerald one. He only had time to notice the bright eyes and flaming red hair before the stomping of boots alerted him to at least six guards turning the corner.

It was the gust of wind that halted his advance. Something fast had just moved past him. Shaking away the confusion, he watched what looked like an angel disarm seven guards in a matter of seconds. The men were blatantly muddled but before their confusion could wear away, a flash of red hair was all that could be seen before the men began falling one by one.

Epic stared at the pile of unconscious men in awe. He was impressed. Taking down that many men in such a short amount of time wasn't even possible for his betas and they were the best.

Feeling a presence behind him, he turned swiftly, only to gasp. She was right there, so close. Her green eyes stared up into his own slate-colored ones. He used that moment to look at her, really look at her. She was amazing. It was the only word he could think to describe the masterpiece standing before him. She stared at him like she knew exactly who he was.

The intimacy of their eye contact made him a little uneasy and he looked past her, to see a petite, dark haired woman stroking the fur of the raven-toned wolf. He looked beyond that scene to a golden hued man. He looked angry, confused but angry and he stared at the angelic one with open hostility.

"What the fuck was that Audrienne?" He asked in an even tone.

"That was our chance." It wasn't the one who resembled an angel who spoke but the dark haired one. She continued to speak, not looking up from the wolf. "This. This is our chance to be free. She..." she said, gesturing to the wolf. "She brought this to us. Don't you understand, Zach? We need to fight for our freedom. It's time to change back now, Santana."

-Santana-

Feeling Aara's small hands snake through my fur was comforting. I looked towards the man who had saved me and released my siblings, wishing that I could speak. He was a wolf; I could sense it on him. As if reading my mind, Carmendi spoke.

"Tell her how, mate. Tell her how to change back."

He stared at her and smirked, her words not seeming to shock him. "Epic. My name is Epic." I watched the shy smile spread across the face of my youngest sister.

"Carmendi." was her short reply. They looked at each other like the whole world had suddenly opened up. I knew that feeling and longed to feel it again.

"Okay. Now that introductions have been made, care to tell Santana here how to change back? She's been like this for days now." It was Aara who broke the moment. She stopped stroking me and moved back, giving me room for whatever was about to happen.

Slowly turning his gaze away from that of his new mate, he looked straight into mine. I couldn't help but be happy for Carmdendi; he was quite beautiful and obviously a skilled fighter.

"Santana?' he asked, stepping forward, I nodded the best that I could. "You're Alex's mate. You must be pretty spectacular for him to call in so many favors, to arrange all of this just to get you back." He looked back towards Carmendi. "I guess a mate is worth all of this." I nodded once more, believing with all of my heart that a mate was worth all of this. I'd do this in a heartbeat for Alex.

"You need to think about something you can only do in your human form. Block everything out but that thought, that's how you'll turn back." He looked at Audrienne. "Angel-face, will you go grab some clothes for her? She'll be naked when she changes back." I heard Audrienne move behind me but didn't look back, I simply racked my brain to find that perfect thought.

It was holding Alex, and having him hold me while we slept. I thought about molding to his body, lying in his arms, kissing him on his chest right before falling asleep. I thought about the noises he made in his sleep, the sighs of contentment like he couldn't possibly be any happier than he was in that moment. I wondered if I made those same sounds because I couldn't possibly be any happier than I was when sleeping in his arms.

Tingling began all over my body then slowly receded. I felt something being draped over my shoulders. I was still on all fours; peering down at my arms, I now saw that brown skin had replaced the dark fur. Looking up, I saw that everyone had turned to give me privacy. I stood and quickly slipped on the shirt Audrienne had placed over my shoulders. I looked towards her as she extended her hands behind her, a pair of sweats in one and a pair of sneakers in the other. I took the items gratefully and finished dressing.

"You guys ready?" I asked. They all turned to face me once more, huge smiles on each of their faces except for Zach's. I looked in the direction of Epic; who seemed to be keeping an eye on Carmendi and the other on the curve ahead in the hallway.

There was someone coming, but this time the stomping of boots didn't precede their approach. These weren't guards. It was HIM.

I moved around Epic in time to see Alex turn the corner, followed by Aislyn and Aaron. Each had seen better days. Blood splattered their clothing and skin, and Aislyn had a gash below her right eye, marring her perfect face. Aaron held his side as if he'd been injured. I had never seen a more glorious sight.

He stopped when he saw me. I subconsciously ran my fingers through my hair, trying to relieve some of the matting and tangles. I knew I looked a mess; blood covered my neck and limbs from the earlier fighting. I held my hand out for him and he moved towards me without hesitation.

The second our hands touched, electricity danced through my body. No big scene was necessary. No crying and excessive kissing needed. "You ready to go home, Ana?" He asked me, kissing my forehead. I nodded and we made to move.