TS growled and planted himself in front of us, as Nathaniel came toward us. I clutched my stake and my wand, watching in terror. As soon as he finished with TS, Nathaniel would kill Mariana and Dani. And me. I looked past Nathaniel to where Thomas was still trying to free himself. Nathaniel would kill him, too. Charlie was in no shape to fight or even run. I shook, but I couldn't stop myself. We were all going to die.

"Jen," Mariana gasped. "Help me!"

She had Dani halfway up off of the deck and on the rails. She was going to throw him overboard! I rushed forward to help, and together, we managed to get him up and over.

Nathaniel hissed in rage and lunged for us, but TS slammed into him, and they tumbled across the deck.

"Jump!" I yelled to Mariana.

She hesitated and looked at Nathaniel and TS, then back to me with tears in her eyes. "Jen, come with me! I can keep you above the water!"

The storm was starting to let up. The rain was lighter, and the wind had died down, but the waves below us still raged. Mariana wouldn't be able to help me for long, especially if she was busy with Dani. And if Dani... I knew the water was too cold and too rough for me to stay in it for an extended amount of time. Even with Mariana's help, I'd have to get back on the ship quickly.

"You go," I said. I'd rather stay and try something than sit helplessly in the water, waiting to drown. Maybe I could get Thomas free or help Charlie.

Mariana hugged me and dove off of the ship. I hoped that, if nothing else, Dani was alive and healing. The two of them would survive, at least. And maybe, if we were very, very lucky, Dani would heal fast enough to come back before we were all killed.

TS and Nathaniel were still fighting, so I ran to Thomas. Nathaniel had twisted the rails around Thomas' arm as easily as if they were just ropes. Thomas was desperately tugging on it with his free hand, but it was hardly bending. He had obviously been using his weight against it, too; his arm was raw and bruised where it was trapped by the rail. I grabbed the rail with both hands and started yanking, but I wasn't strong enough either.

"Jen, get out of here!" Thomas cried. "There's nothing you can do! Get back to the room while you still can!"

I ignored him and tried to move the rail from a different angle. He grabbed me and pulled me in front of him.

"You only have a couple of minutes, before..." He trailed off and looked behind me.

I turned to follow his gaze and my breath caught in horror. The horizon was getting brighter. The sun was rising. Thomas would get even weaker, and TS would become human. Nathaniel would be weaker, too, but I knew that neither one would be a match for him, even during the day. I stared at Thomas and felt a tear fall. I didn't know what to do or what to say. How could I possibly just run away and leave him here to die? And then, he pulled me closer and kissed me. For a moment, my brain screeched to a halt. This couldn't be happening. This was the wrong time, the worst possible time, for a kiss. The guy I had been trying to keep from developing a huge crush on was kissing me, and we were both about to die. It was a firm, chaste, desperate kiss.

And all too soon, Thomas pulled away and rested his forehead against mine.

"Please, Jen. Go," he whispered. I heard a yelp of pain, and Thomas shoved me away from him. "Go!" he screamed.

I stumbled and rushed away from him, turning to see TS and Nathaniel, as I did. They circled each other. TS limped and Nathaniel laughed. I flung myself down next to Charlie and tried to get him to his feet. I couldn't save Thomas or TS, but I wasn't going to run away and only save myself. Charlie felt abnormally cold and was still shivering. He couldn't hold himself up and collapsed before he was fully standing.

"Come on! Get up!" I pleaded.

"C-can't. Just go." He gave me a weak push. "Save y-yourself."

"Charlie, please!"

"Oh God..." he whispered, looking past me.

The sun was up. TS stood facing Nathaniel, stake in hand. He snarled and bared his teeth, but it wasn't nearly as threatening as it was when he was a wolf. Nathaniel just laughed. And then, he sighed.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"I think I've had about as much fun as you'll give me." Then, Nathaniel smiled. A chill went up my spine at the sight. "Then again, I think there might be one more little game we can play. Drop the stake and get on your knees."

"Make me," TS said. He readied his stake and snarled again.

"Drop the stake. And get on your knees," Nathaniel repeated. His grin widened, and he nodded in Thomas’ direction. "Or I kill him."

TS went rigid.

Nathaniel laughed. "I thought so."

Thomas froze and stared at Nathaniel, eyes wide with horror. I probably had the same expression. Nathaniel knew that Thomas was TS’s soul-packmate. I could hardly breathe, as I waited for TS to react. My heart pounded as his voice echoed in my head, telling me about soul-packmates. He had to have been exaggerating about the lengths werewolves were compelled to go for their soul-packmates. He had to. Nobody moved, not even Nathaniel. TS clutched his stake so tightly that his knuckles turned white. It looked like he was shaking.

"Very well," Nathaniel said, breaking the awful, tense silence. He casually crossed the deck toward Thomas.

"Fine!" The word burst from TS like an anguished bark. He looked like he couldn't believe what he was doing, as he dropped the stake. He lowered his head and choked out a second, defeated, "Fine."

"No!" Thomas’ cry came out a cross between a scream and the loudest, fiercest hiss I had ever heard. Somehow, it chilled my blood more than any other vampire hiss had. "You bastard! Your fight is with me!"

He threw himself against the rails, screaming taunts and curses at Nathaniel. But Nathaniel ignored him and started back to TS. I still had trouble thinking of Thomas as a true vampire. He was so different from Nathaniel and the others that it was hard to believe they were all vampires. But I would never make that mistake again. There was a gut-wrenching, positively inhuman quality in Thomas’ screams of rage.

Nathaniel stopped a few feet away from TS with a grin. "I believe I said on your knees." I could hardly hear him over the sound of Thomas cursing.

TS looked like he was ready to lunge and tear Nathaniel's throat out. For one brief second, I thought that he would. Maybe he had been exaggerating. TS couldn't possibly be compelled to completely give up just because the life of his soul-packmate was threatened. How could a bond that cruel possibly exist?

"If I have to bother walking over there again, he's dead. He's getting irritating anyway."

A look of pure anguish crossed over TS’s face, and he dropped onto his knees with a growl that sounded like, "Fuck you."

Nathaniel laughed. This couldn't be happening. Against all odds, we'd taken out almost all of them. It was four against one, and the only one of us capable of fighting was being forced to give up. My legs gave out, and I sank down next to Charlie. I was too overwhelmed to even cry. I just stared, waiting with growing dread.

"I do have fun with werewolves and soul-packmates," Nathaniel said. "It's amazing what you beasts can be forced to do." As he spoke, he circled around behind TS. "You do realize that I'll just kill him after you're dead, right?"

TS didn't answer, but it was clear that he had already known. Apparently, it didn't matter. The instinct or whatever it was controlling him was too strong to fight. He winced in pain and rolled his shoulders. I looked over at Thomas, and my breath caught. He was still hurling himself against the rails, and blood ran freely down his trapped arm.

"Sometimes I wish I had a pet werewolf," Nathaniel continued. "Well, you can't always get what you want." He reached up and picked at a scab on his arm from where he'd been hit with a stake. "Dear, but I am a bit bruised. Nothing a bit of blood won't fix." Without another word he lunged forward and sank his fangs into TS’s neck.

TS screamed in agony, and Thomas echoed him. Now, I was crying. TS thrashed, and Nathaniel locked an arm around his shoulders and held him still. Thomas’ curses turned into almost incoherent sobs. He sagged against the rails, helpless. Nathaniel had pinned his arm just high enough that Thomas’ knees couldn't quite reach the ground. Using his arm to support his weight must have been painful, but Thomas hung there anyway.

Nathaniel lifted his head, and TS cried out again. I gasped in horror. Instead of two neat punctures, there were two rips in TS’s neck. Blood started to trickle out of them.

"You taste pretty good for an animal," Nathaniel said. He looked over at Thomas and smiled. "Relax, enjoy the show." He sank in fangs back into TS, but bit into a different place.

There was still time for me to run. Maybe. But for all I knew, Nathaniel would catch me before I got far enough to be safe. But I couldn't sit here and watch TS die. And I couldn't leave. I knew I was helpless, useless, but I stood anyway and aimed my wand at Nathaniel.

"Mar!" I screamed.

The tiny sparks flickered, and then, miraculously, burst into flames. Nathaniel hissed in shock and looked at me. But, before I could dare to hope, the flames died out. Charlie dropped his hand and slumped down onto the deck, gasping and trembling. He'd hardly had the strength to sit up. I knew he wouldn't be strong enough to do it again.

Nathaniel shoved TS away from him. TS hit the ground and clamped both hands over his neck. But I could see the blood running through his fingers. His face was almost gray. If he didn't stop bleeding soon, he'd die.

"I was done with him, anyway," Nathaniel snarled. "Time for the main course."

He stalked toward me, and I backed away. There was nowhere to run. Charlie desperately struggled to push himself up to help me, but couldn't. I could hear Thomas yelling, but didn't dare look away from Nathaniel. I realized that he was enjoying the slow chase, and I forced myself to stop. Nathaniel chuckled and then, fast as lightening, grabbed me. He dragged me out from under the roof, away from Charlie. The rain had slowed to a light drizzle, but it would still be enough to keep Charlie at bay. Not that he was strong enough to follow. Nathaniel pushed me, and I stumbled. He laughed, as I regained my balance. I fought to keep my tears from falling and stood to face him. He forced me back, until I was pressed against the rails with nowhere to go but down into the ocean. Even if I survived the fall, I doubted that Mariana or Dani would find me in time to save me.