The final chapter: Demons

**Important announcement at the end!**
Pacing.
It was the instinctively habitual attempt at finding a way to calm one's nerves when one was facing a crisis. Mine: potentially losing the man I once considered, and still did consider, my brother.
"Could you stop pacing?" Oliver uttered out next to me.
I turned towards him, ready to murder him and growled out, "Don't fucking tell me what to do!"
He scoffed and set his feet onto the coffee table before reclining further into his seat. I hated him, I honestly did, but could not deny that, like all of the Michaels family (Ambrose excluded), there was still a little shred of goodness within him. And, as always, my curiosity regarding this goodness grew, and I began using it as a tactic to distract me from my raging nerves.
"Why do you care so much about Lucien?" I asked, leaning against the doorpost, across from Jennifer, whom I now discovered was mute.
Oliver sighed deeply before turning towards me and saying, "I'd say it's none of your business, but I have no strength left to be impolite. Lucien is... well he is someone important to me. Without him, I fall to ruin."
"So," I began, trying to make sense of it all, "he saved you too, then?"
Oliver tilted his head to the side, thought for a moment, and then began nodding, "Yes, sure, something like that. Let's just say that if he's dead, I lose my sense of purpose."
I nodded slowly and then began pacing again, much to Oliver's annoyance. I stopped, however, when I saw Kyle exiting the corridor, covered in blood and exhausted from the hours he’d spent trying to save Lucien. I tried to inspect his face and find on it any information regarding Lucien's current state. But his face was as neutral as ever. And so, I resorted to asking, "Is he going to make it?"
Kyle looked up into my concerned eyes and his own softened for a moment. "I'm not too sure. He's lost a lot of blood, but I've managed to counteract the wolfsbane thanks to that wolfsbane sample that Oliver gave me. Now, it's all up to him, whether he wants to continue to fight, or whether he wants to give in." He uttered.
I nodded in understanding and then asked if I could go and sit with him. Kyle agreed after much careful consideration and convincing from Oliver.
"If there's anyone who can get him through this, it's Jasmine."
I hoped that what he had said was true, and as I began nearing the back room, I kept on repeating the phrase over and over again in my head, in an attempt at convincing myself that today would not end in tears of grief.

Lucien remained motionless on the table, save for the light rising and falling of his chest. I neared him carefully and took his hand in mine. By now, the skin was icy cold to the touch, frightening me out of my mind. I took another shaky hand and began stroking it through his hair, feeling the softness of his locks against the surface of my own rough skin.
"Stay with me Lucien." I uttered softly, bringing his hand to my lips.
"I should be jealous, but I doubt this is the right time or place." I heard a familiar voice say from behind me. Slowly, I turned around, meeting a familiar pair of hazel brown eyes.
"Damon, you're back. Is everyone-"
"Everyone is safe. Lucien was telling the truth. Landon, Loren, Cory, Yuki's sister and Rene's father are all safe now." He uttered, and then fell silent for a moment. His face fell slightly at the sight of his unconscious brother and he asked, softly, "Do you think he'll make it?"
"The wolfsbane is out, he just needs to-"
"I'm not talking about making it through this. Do you think he can make it afterwards? Will he be able to cope... mentally?" Damon asked.
I hesitated a moment, glanced back to Lucien's soft, handsome face, and then returned my gaze to Damon.
"I think it's a matter of forgiveness. That's the only way we move past this, forgiveness."
And as I said this, Lucien's hand squeezed onto mine a little tighter, and immediately I stared down at his hand, and then up to his face where his eyes began fluttering open slightly.
"... Am I dead yet?" He asked.
Damon immediately came to my side and smiled down at his brother, "No, not yet it seems."
I couldn't help the joy surging through my veins as I stared at him, and immediately, I sobbed out, happy that Lucien was able to speak.
"Waterworks again. You shouldn't cry so much, Jasmine." Lucien uttered before bringing his shaky fingers to my cheeks and grazing at the soft skin. Damon growled lowly and pushed his hand away, gently, rather than the rough motion I was expecting.
"Just because you almost died, it doesn't mean that you can now be all over *my* mate." He said.
I laughed softly and wrapped my arm around Damon's as a soft, subtle reassurance.
It was silent in the room for a while, more silent than it had been before. But the silence was comforting and reassuring. It was, however broken when, suddenly, Lucien looked at the both of us, hesitated and then said, "I'm sorry, Damon, Jasmine. I know I've hurt you beyond... anything. I have no excuses for myself anymore. What I did... it was unforgivable."
I looked up at Damon and he looked down at me.
Forgiveness.
It was a difficult concept to grasp- to forgive one for the things they'd done to you. It was easier said, than done and yet sometimes done easier than said. And so, knowing my fragile heart, I allowed Damon to respond to him, knowing that his was much more shielded, logical and wiser than mine was.
"You are right," he began, "What you did was unforgiveable. You dragged us into your game and made us into your little pawns. You tricked us, used us and toyed with us. On the other hand, what you did was all because of your deep emotional scars, ones that were inflicted years ago and had time to manifest into the darkness you dragged us into. I would be lying if I said I didn't understand. And I'd be lying if I said I hadn't done the same. Because the truth is, that just as Jasmine was a victim of yours, she was a victim of mine as well. And so, I have no right to forgive you, or refuse to do so. Unlike what Jasmine had said before, this is a matter of redemption. It’s only after you’ve been redeemed that you can be forgiven."
Lucien paused for a moment, pondered and then asked, "Do you think I'm worthy of redemption… of forgiveness?"
It was a question Damon had hinted before Lucien had awoken, and now, I wondered if he'd truly be able to answer his brother. However, I saw the uncertainty in Damon's eyes as he gazed down at Lucien and, instead of waiting for an answer even I was uncertain of, I said, "Yes."
Damon looked up at me with raised eyebrows, questioning my answer. And so, I chose to explain further. "To deny your redemption would be hypocritical on my part as well. The truth is, Lucien, that all three of us are monsters in this room. It's fair enough to say that none of us are worthy of redemption. We've killed our fair share of people, hurt our fair share of people, made our fair share of mistakes. So perhaps there is no redeeming of ourselves. Perhaps we’re on a path already set in stone, one leading directly to hell. But I'd be damned if I didn't at least try to right my wrongs in this lifetime… " I then paused, pondered and continued, “I think the most important question is whether *you* think you’re worthy of redemption.”
Lucien stayed silent, unsure. "I-I don't know..." He uttered, and then looked back up at me, with a small smile on his face, "But I'd be damned if I didn't try to right my wrongs in this lifetime either."
It was a smile that carried no malice, no tricks. Instead, it was a subtle reassurance, one that reassured me that there was no longer a reason to be afraid of Lucien.
Damon gave his brother a light-hearted punch against the shoulder, one to which Lucien smiled softly. "And so, the boring lives of Damon and Jasmine begin."
"Now, featuring Lucien, the annoying third wheel." Damon said teasingly.
Lucien raised his brow and then said, "Oh I'm sure you won't need to worry about me any longer."
Immediately a feeling of panic arose in me, "What do you mean? You aren't going to try to die again, are you?"
Lucien chuckled and tisked. "Calm down. Goodness, you are such a walking bag of stress. No, I am not going to try and die again. I just think it would be better for me to... leave for a while. I just don't think I can truly start over if I'm trapped here, haunted by the things I've done. Yes, I know the past is an important aspect of my life which I should face... but I am not ready to face it yet, and until I am, I refuse to return home."
My face contorted into a look of sadness and confusion, and so did Damon’s. "Y-you aren't staying?"
"I'm afraid not. But I promise you... I will return, and this time, hopefully, I'll be the man you both once cherished, a man worthy of redemption, of forgiveness."
There was a bitter sweetness to this ending. But it was bitter sweetness I savoured, rolled around in my tongue and swished around across my tastebuds.
For a moment, just a moment, time froze for us all, capturing us in this moment of small smiles, snarky comments, soft tears of relief. The air was lighter, and the promises the small whispers tomorrow would bring were now endless. It was finished. We had conquered our demons, slayed them and now gone into that state of repair and redemption. Everything hereafter would be better, brighter and perhaps I'd finally be able to move past the demons of my past.
At least, that was what I thought. If only I'd have known then that the battle between not only my own, but Damon and Lucien's demons had not reached its closure. In fact, this was only the beginning. And nothing, nothing possibly fathomable could have prepared us for what lay in waiting...
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The end? Those ellipses say otherwise! And so I bring forth a surprise! There *will* be a sequel! The sequel will include Damon and Jasmine as they will be extremely crucial characters, however, I will shift my primary focus to Lucien and a new, surprise character. I am also going to change the narrative point of views to include more characters' narrative point of views. There are so many more surprises in store and I can't wait to present them to you all. The sequel will be titled **"Seducing Lucien"** and, like this one it will be a werewolf erotica (perhaps even more erotic than this one). The first chapter or so will be released on Wednesday (I will announce it in the comments section of this novel), and teasers of the cover and blurb will be put up on my instagram account, thenightingale_01 which you can find using the following link: https://www.instagram.com/thenightingale_01/ . I will be putting the cover and blurb teasers up by this coming Sunday. I would like to take this time to thank you all for your unbelievable support, love, lovely comments, patience and all-in-all, for being the best readers in the world! We've been through one hell of a journey and I've loved every single chapter of it. Now I ask that you do it all over again with me in my sequel.
Stay safe, stay healthy, sending my love, and a very Happy New Year to all of you!