"No!" Ranelle screamed, using her vampire speed to get between them. Her back fell into Logan's front just as he went to pull his secondary weapon from his jacket, a pistol loaded with wooden bullets. She brought up both her hands, catching Hadrian's wrists inches before the stake found her. Her feet skidded on the smooth floor as his body weight forced her to bend, her stance widening with the intensity.

"Finally, the Red Rose shows her true colors," Hadrian breathed, sneering down at her. He threw a second amount of force into his downward motion, causing her grip to break. He snatched her by the throat, his fingers clenching down on her windpipe. The fledgling made a soft squeak as the breath was smothered from her lungs. "Your weakness has shown itself again after all these years, petal. Perhaps this time I will break you of it for good."

Hadrian lifted her off the ground single-handedly before tossing her out of the way.

Logan drew his gun. Before he could fire off a shot, the grand elder knocked his hand sideways, sending the bullet into the wall as the gun fell from his hand. When the man took another stab at him with the wooden stake, Logan used his elbow to shove the man's strike off-target. He jumped up and delivered a hard kick into Hadrian's chest, sending him back several feet. Logan turned to reach for the knife and pistol where they laid on the ground. Just as he snatched the firearm, Hadrian spoke again:

"Not so fast, Blood Warrior," Hadrian said from behind him, and the blonde-haired man looked up quickly.

Logan froze, feeling like he was caught in a moment of déjà vu. Hadrian stood just feet away, holding Ranelle in front of him. The stake was pressed firmly to her chest, just above her heart. Her smaller form was tucked tightly into her maker's, her arms constricted by his.

Ranelle closed her eyes, wincing.

Logan straightened, leaving the gun on the floor. He held up his hands in a show of submission despite the anger that burned in his chest. "Let her go, Hadrian. Your fight is with me."

"Still protecting what isn't yours, eh, Blood Warrior? I wonder what your wife would say. Perhaps she ran from you because she knows about my property and your obsession."

"Progenies are not property. If you treated yours with half the respect she deserves, I wouldn't have found myself at odds with you all those centuries ago. Let go of her."

Hadrian grinned again, blood dripping over his top lip and onto his teeth. "Give me the boy and leave this coven. Never return. And in a week, I'll release her and she can be yours."

"I'm not leaving here without my son," Logan snapped at him, his emerald green eyes going back and forth between Ranelle and Hadrian. "Let her go."

"Not until I get what I want," Hadrian fired back. "Ranelle, call the boy."

The petite woman glanced towards Avalon where he had gone back to his hiding place. "No. I don't want to be part of this anymore. I won't let you take that child."

Hadrian pressed the stake harder to her ribcage, and Logan grimaced when he heard her bone weaken beneath its force. "Call the boy, Ranelle. Your sins are beyond you now. Call him or I kill both you and the Blood Warrior." When she faltered, he growled in his throat. "Do it!"

Ranelle looked at Logan, her expression apologetic as her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered hoarsely. "I'm sorry, Logan." Please trust me, she thought silently in hopes he would understand. Her eyes shot over to Avalon, finding him watching her carefully.

"Darling, come here, please," the woman said, her voice soft. She blinked back her tears.

"Ranelle," Logan warned, drawing out her name.

"Stay where you are!" Hadrian commanded when Logan shifted to take a step towards the gun again.

Avalon glanced at the newcomer before looking back to his guardian. He shook his head.

Hadrian made a rumbling sound deep in his chest again, pressing the stake down. "Do it, Ranelle."

The woman inhaled a short, shaky breath as her body cringed when the wood marred her chest. "Please, darling... Come here."

Avalon glanced at both men before meeting her eyes once more. He slowly crawled out from behind the toy box and began to move forward towards her in slow, uneven steps. The fear in his eyes was obvious as he looked to his caregiver for reassurance.

Hadrian grinned at the toddler. "That's a sweet child. So obedient, unlike the two of you," he crooned at Avalon. He let go of his fledgling, moving in on the little boy.

Just as he pushed past her, Ranelle grasped his hand holding the stake and yanked hard. Before he could turn on the woman, she struck with all of the immortal strength within her body. She shoved the wooden object forcefully into her maker's back, one hand on the shaft of the stake and the other's palm pressed into its base as she stabbed through his ribs and into his heart.

The grand elder bellowed in pain the second the sickening crack of his ribs sounded throughout the room. He dropped forward onto one knee, his head bowing down, and continued to holler as the wood punctured his heart.

Ranelle drove the stake harder into his body with all of her vampire strength, blood spraying up to coat the forearms of her jacket and fleck her cheeks.

"This is for all the centuries of your inflicted pain, for my family, and for Anna Faire-Linhall. You will never haunt us again," she declared, watching Hadrian struggle to breathe as his heart and lungs collapsed within his once-immortal chest. His skin began to turn yellow and gray, his body slowly falling flat to the floor.

When he was down entirely and no longer moving, Logan breathed a sigh of relief in the same moment Ranelle did. He looked over at the woman, seeing the dread on her expression and her skin pale as her world turned over. "Ranelle," he said at last, "thank you."

She nodded shallowly, not focused on the sound of his voice. She looked over to Avalon as the little boy began to sniffle and cry. She walked towards him, ignoring Logan. She crouched down in front of her charge and opened her arms to him.

Avalon continued to whimper and fell into her torso, talking in baby babble.

"I'm so sorry, my love," she breathed. "I didn't mean to scare you. It's all over now," she comforted.

Logan stepped over Hadrian's quickly-decaying body to join the pair. When she stood up to her full height, bringing Avalon up onto her hip as she did so, the Blood Warrior reached out and touched the back of Avalon's head. He could feel his son shaking within her arms.

"Ranelle," he began again, "I mean it. Thank you. Thank you for reuniting me with my family. I owe you a debt."

She nodded again, still refusing to look at him. She stroked the toddler's back as she stared into the ground. "He shouldn't have threatened an innocent child," she whispered. She continued to console Avalon, knowing that the mere act comforted her in return.

Avalon mumbled something inaudible from her neck, making her eyes shift to look down at him. She sighed, feeling like the burden upon her shoulders had only altered instead of lifting. "It's getting late and the sun will be rising in a couple hours," she finally added. "We'll have to keep both of you out of sight until I can talk to Nathaniel. He'll need to decide the best course of action now that Hadrian is gone."

Logan exhaled out of his mouth in a soft sound of frustration. It wasn't over yet. "You could be blamed for this," he warned. "I know the Shadow laws around the murders of grand elders. I want to help you."

She shook her head once more. "No, this is of my consequence. Those of us who know about Avalon will understand that my actions were to protect the Dark Child at all costs."

Logan frowned, not understanding why she was dismissing his olive branch.

"Take my rooms for the day," she continued. "I'll clean up this mess and alert Nathaniel and Marcius."

"Thank you," the Blood Warrior murmured again to her, nodding.

Ranelle glanced down at the little boy in her arms. "Dark Child, I want you to go with this man. I promise, I will see you in the evening," she told Avalon.

"No," he whined. "I don't want you to."

"I know, my darling. But, I promise, this man isn't going to hurt you. He's here to protect you," she soothed. She glanced at Logan and nodded before extending his son to him. "My room is just across the hall with the red door," she finished as they traded off holding Avalon.

"Thank you," Logan said for what felt like the millionth time. And even if it was, it wouldn't be enough. He settled Avalon on his hip as the little boy leaned his forehead into his chest. Logan bowed his head down to smell the top of his hair, unable to resist the smile that found him. He finally had a piece of his family back.