1 PROLOGUE

" You know you broke the rules " a stern voice spoke rendering the atmosphere cold.

" I . . . I'm sorry. I was distracted, it's not my fault " another man said as beads of sweat trickled down his head.

" Then whose fault is it Mark?! " The man yelled as he turned fully to face the man he was talking to with his hands still firmly clenched behind him.

" You know what the consequences are " he continued.

" Please I'm sorry, don't do anything to hurt my daughter or wife " Mark pleaded already trembling as the other man walked past him like he didn't hear him. Just before he could leave, he looked over his shoulders and said " I'm sorry Mark ".

. . . . . .

Alice waited patiently just like her husband had asked her to before he raced out of the apartment. She was a bit worried as he had not returned yet even after a long time. She really hoped it did not have to do with their marriage because she remembered Mark telling her something about not reproducing since he was a werewolf. Having her baby was not a mistake or a thing to regret for her but it surely was a bad thing to every werewolf as it was followed as a rule from the beginning of times that they were not to reproduce with humans.

Still lost in her line of thoughts she heard a sound that jerked her fully into reality. She immediately took up a pistol, tucked her baby in it's sitter and told her to keep silent like she was wise enough to obey orders. Slowly tiptoeing, she went to the door fully guarded and opened it slowly. Before she could retreat to act, Mark stormed in.

" It's just me, okay " he said as she heaved a sigh of relief.

" Alice . . . You have to listen to me now and please don't try to argue with me " he said as his gaze steadied in her eyes while his thumb brushed her cheeks.

" Pack your things and leave now . . . with her " he said as his gaze shifted to their baby. She always knew it from the start that they would never be happy together as a family. But she pushed that thought aside each time it came to her mind now here she was and Mark telling her to leave with the baby.

" They are after us, and I can't loose either one of you . . . Please " he said as his grip tightened on her shoulders.

In a swift she grabbed the baby and retracted to the door. She glanced back at Mark still in the apartment and asked

" What about you? "

" Don't worry about me, I'll be fine "

" But . . . "

" I said I'll be fine, just leave " he interrupted her before she could finish the sentence. She took a step out fo the apartment and looked back once again.

" Mark . . . " she said as she ran towards him and planted a soothing but painful kiss on his lips.

" I never believed we would say goodbye this way " she said as a few drops of tears rolled down her face.

" I love you Mark "

" I love you too " he said as he wiped the tears off her face with his thumb. Then he planted a soft kiss on her forehead and carried his daughter in his arms for a few seconds and then placed her back in the sitter.

" Goodbye, Alice "

" Goodbye, Mark "

. . . . . .

Alice ran as fast as her legs could carry. Just as she thought she had run a long distance, she heard a loud bang almost as fast as the time she felt a sting of pain in her stomach. She realized she had been shot. She prayed silently that Mark should be okay though she knew they were both going to die that day. 'She needed to protect her daughter' 'She needed to live'.

As she grimaced in pain, she looked at her daughter and was thankful she was not harmed. She looked ahead and saw a building. She crawled and kept her at the door post of the house, rang the bell and quickly moved to the side of the house.

She watched as a lady came out of the house looked around and was about to go back inside, when the baby made a noise. She turned around a bit startled then crouched to the level of the sitter and picked it up. 'Who would have kept this poor thing here?' she thought as she looked around for the second time then carried her inside the house. Satisfied, Alice went deeper into the bushy area and laid down silently as the looming darkness hovering over her claimed her.

At the apartment . . .

Mark had already turned on one of the baby's song tape, turned off the lights and carried an object rocking it like it was a baby.

" He is there with the baby " a voice sounded behind the bushes in his front yard.

" I can see he is with the baby but where is his wife? " another voice spoke.

" Don't worry about it, I saw her running off so I shot her. She must be dead already "

" Ok, let's do what we came here for ".

Mark had already seen them approaching. He was ready for whatever was his fate. He smiled as he remembered Alice. 'Even though they couldn't be together here maybe they would in the world beyond'. he thought as fire consumed everything in the apartment.