*Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or make any money off this story.

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Previous:


“I am talking about mates, Katara.” Nick said quietly. He saw the realization hit her eyes and swirled around in her blue depths.

“I haven’t found a mate.” Katara said harshly. Nick didn’t blame her for her harshness at all. Nick knew that Katara was mad for multiple reasons and he didn’t blame her…1)He had just suggested that she had a mate and she didn’t think she had one. 2)He questioned her ability to find her mate. 3)He questioned her ability to recognize her mate after meeting him. 4)He suggested that she had already met her mate. These were all good reasons to be mad.

“You have chosen to be blind to the connection. Whether it was because you marked him off already or you hate him, you chose to ignore the bond.” Nick spoke.

Katara lay there quietly and thought about what Nick had said. He suggested that she already met him. Katara had met many males in her life, that didn’t narrow it down. Nick also suggested that she didn’t think of him as a mate. That didn’t narrow the list down at all, since she didn’t think any male she met was her mate. Nick lastly suggested that her mate could be someone who she didn’t think too highly of. That also didn’t help.

Katara thought harder and a few faces popped up in her head. Jet was the first face that came up. His strong face and deep blue eyes shone with glint. His brown hair was always messed up as if he just got out of bed. He was a flirt and had a charm about him. However once you got to know him and went against his beliefs, he turned into a completely different person. He would turn violent and show his darker side to anyone if you went against him. Jet couldn’t be her mate and she was sure of it.

The second face that came to her mind was Nick. He was her friend growing up and was there to comfort her when she was down. His soft eyes made her feel happy and made her think about her choices before she made them. On the other hand, she noticed more of…love…relationship between Nick and Jin. But, you don’t get to choose your mate; fate chose your mate for you. Katara also remember that Nick said him and Jin couldn’t bare the weight.

The third face in her mind was the scariest and made her worried. Golden eyes pierced her soul. Jet black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. His face was strong and showed no emotion. The pale skin shined in the light and this scared Katara. He was a vampire and she was a lycan…well not a full lycan. She couldn’t believe that she thought of Zuko, a royal member of the vampire family. However, Katara stopped and thought about what Nick had said.

Katara had met Zuko already, Katara didn’t think as Zuko as her mate, and Katara didn’t like Zuko. So far, Zuko met Nick’s standards. This scared Katara to death. How could he be her mate? He and her could never get along together…could they? He was so different from her, how could they ever get along?

“Zuko?” Katara whispered so quietly that Nick almost didn’t hear it. Nick blinked a few times and stared at Katara. His straight face broke into a smile. Nick knew Katara would figure it out, if she was pushed into the right direction. Nick leaned down and kissed her forehead. Katara smiled and Nick was happy to see her smile again.

Nick got up and walked back to his tent to hopefully get some sleep. Katara sighed and knew that no one had been sleeping since she wasn’t sleeping. Guilt was rushing through her and shook it from her system. Zuko was her mate. Somehow, it was still a little hard to process and swallow. Katara closed her eyes and cleared her mind. This dream, unlike her normal ones which were filled with blood and death, was instead full of lust and sex.

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Now:

They had been riding for 4 days straight. The horses were panting and exhausted from the pace they were running at. The rider in the front slowed the pace down until they came to a stop. The rider dismounted and looked around at their surroundings.

The forest was thicker than what she remembered. The tall trees seemed to bend over the path as if to block the sun. Everything seemed still and peaceful. The sounds of the forest blended in with the panting of the horses and the breathing of the riders.

“Why did we stop?” a voice said with annoyance. The rider shifted her weight from foot to foot, standing there with her arms cross.

The head rider said nothing as she started removing the packs from the horse. She lifted each bundle and placed it on the ground. She heard the other rider sigh with annoyance and follow her example. They work in silence was they removed everything from the horses.

“They are probably moving their camp right now.” Another voice said.

“No…it’s not a camp.” The head rider said slowly. “It’s a village filled with children and adults. The village is well protected and guarded by her people. The village will not move because her roots will not allow her and her people will protect her.”

“You speak in too many riddles, mother.” The daughter said finally. She knew her mother spoke in riddles and proverbs most of the time, but after a while, it tended to annoy a person.

“What do you mean by roots, Ursa?” the man asked his wife. He understood that this village had lycans and vampires that would protect it. He couldn’t understand why the village’s roots would be deep here.

“There has always been a rebellion and people who have suffered from the war. For us, we don’t see how it effects the lives of the commanders. We only see how it affects our soldiers and higher class vampires. We fail to see that this war goes to the front steps of people homes.” Ursa said in a low voice.

“All of those people in that village are survivors of war and are the victims. Their lives have been uprooted and many have lost loved ones. Most of the children are parentless and some were forced to see their parents slaughtered. Vampires and lycans put their differences behind them and live together in peace.” Ursa continued slowly.

“Vampires and lycans….they work together…they fight beside each other…they protect each other…they laugh together…” Ursa slowly spoke as if she couldn’t believe what she was saying.

“You are avoiding the question, my dear.” The man stated to Ursa. Ursa looked up to see his face staring back at her. She knew that he knew the answer, so she couldn’t figure out why he want her to say it out loud. She turned her gaze towards her daughter and knew the reason. Her children how no idea and Ozai wanted them to know.

“These forests were called Forbidden for a reason. There is a prophecy that surrounds this forest and this scared many vampires. The elder vampires declared that no one should enter this forest for no reason.” Ursa spoke finally. She was leaving key details outs because she didn’t know if Azula could handle the truth.

“What was with those stories that all the elders talked about?” Azula asked out of sheer curiosity.

“The elders made up stories to scare young curious vampires away from the forest. It was the prefect plan; scare vampires so much that they wouldn’t find out the truth.” Ozai answered for his wife. He felt partway guilty since he was one of the vampires who gave the elders the idea.

“What’s the prophecy?” Azula asked, but it wasn’t for her benefit. She could sense someone near by and knew that he or she could hear them talking.

“There have always been prophecies in our world. However, this prophecy is perhaps the most important of all. You know the first part of the prophecy, Azula. For the first part of the prophecy, there must be a bond between a vampire and a lycan with unique blood. However what most people don’t know is that there is second part of the prophecy.” Ursa said.

“What’s the second part?” Azula asked with an uneasy voice. She knew the first part, but she had no idea that there was a second part of the prophecy. She wondered if her brother knew that there was a second part.

“Not tonight Azula. We must rest and let the horses take a break.” Ozai and Ursa said at the same time. They both looked at each other with confused faces. Ursa thought Ozai didn’t want Azula to know and Ozai thought Ursa didn’t want Azula to know.

Azula went out a growl and walked over to the nearest tree. She pushed her back against the bark and slid down until she sat on the dirt. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

Her eyes snapped open quickly and looked up in the trees. She eyes moved quickly over the trees looking for someone. She had caught a scent, just a little of it but she was sure that she smelled someone. What made her more concern was the fact that the scent she caught was similar to her brothers.

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He took off running through the forest. He had to warn everyone that the vampires were coming to kill them all. He knew what they were after but he wasn’t going to let them take his mate. Grant it, she didn’t know that he was her mate yet, but he wasn’t going to let some vampire take her.

He let the lycan take over his body as he shaped into a wolf. His brown body moved quickly through the forest. He quickened his pace when he smelled a vampire coming closer to him. He knew right away that it was one of the royal vampires.

He was pushing his limit when he reached the cliff. He had to keep going to warn them, to save them all. If he made it, then everyone would regarded him as a hero and she had to look at him. He wanted Katara as his mate and would do anything to have her.

He felt his body slam into a tree after howling. He lifted his body up slowly and looked at the vampire. He was panting hard and had a hard time staying up right. He felt blood seep through the cut on his shoulder.

The vampire’s black hair was a mess as if he just woke up. His eyes shone with confusion and fear. The tattoo on his wrist was shining brightly against the sun. The fire behind the dragon seemed to move when the vampire clenched his hands.

The wolf growled when he realize that this vampire was Prince Zuko of the Royal Vampires. This vampire was going to take Katara away from him and make her his play toy. The wolf bared his teeth and his ears lay back as he glared at the vampire.

“I can’t speak with you if stay in the wolf form.” The vampire said to the wolf. He held his hands up as if to show the wolf that he wasn’t going to harm the wolf.

The wolf shook his head slowly at the vampire. He wasn’t going to change into a human and let him have the advantage over him. He knew that he could stand his ground for a bit but he would lose in the end. All he had to do was wait for others to come, he knew that they would since he howled.

“Fine then; I need to find Katara. Do you know where she is?” the vampire asked. His face and tone was serious but his eyes were shining with desperation.

The wolf growl louder and his blue eyes shine with anger. He felt his fangs extend more while the rage filled his body. He could feel his inner demon coming out and he knew that he should try to stop it, but he wasn’t going to lose Katara.

The wolf let his inner demon take over his body and welcomed it. He could feel his eyes glow blue, a sign that he was letting his inner demon take control. He could feel his claws grow in length. His inner demon took control when his eyes snapped open.

Zuko stood still with confusion and fear. He had no idea why this wolf was losing his temper with him. True he slammed him into a tree, but it was to get him to stop running. His howl seemed to be filled with longing and anger. Zuko stood there rooted in his place, not knowing what do to. If he tried to fight back, then he would hurt the wolf and would make Katara angry. If he did nothing, then he would be hurt or even dead.

Zuko watched the wolf lean back on his hind legs and leap forward. His claws were reaching for him while his fangs were extended. He meant to kill Zuko and Zuko didn’t move. Zuko close his eyes waiting for the pain to take him.

He snapped his eyes open when he heard another wolf move quickly through the forest. In a flash, a white wolf slammed into the grey wolf. Zuko watched them fall on the ground and tangle themselves with each other. The impact was a hard on both wolves as they slowly got to their feet. The white wolf stood between Zuko and the other wolf.

Zuko looked at the wolf near him and had a feeling that this wolf was powerful. Her pure white coat was the obvious sign that Zuko first saw. Zuko knew a little about lycans and most of it he learned from his mother. She had strong legs and large paws. The claws were starting to come out but not enough to cause damage, which made Zuko, think that the white wolf didn’t want to hurt the other wolf. Her white tail hung loosely, swinging back and forth occasionally.

The grey wolf didn’t hold back his inner demon. He leaped towards the wolf, but the white wolf dodged the attack. The grey wolf kept striking out towards the white wolf, but the white wolf only dodge the attacks and didn’t return them.

Zuko watched the two wolves move. It looked like a deadly dance they were doing. His focus turned to the white wolf and saw the wolf for the first time from the front. The golden eyes stood out against her pure white coat. They shone brightly but not from her inner demon.

“Katara?” Zuko asked quietly. His heart sped up knowing that the wolf who saved him might be Katara.

The wolf picked her ears up and looked at Zuko. She looked at him with emotions in her eyes; happiness, longing, caring, and guilt. Zuko didn’t know why she would guilty since it was his fault not hers.

Neither was paying attention to anything but each other, which was their mistake. Katara turned her head in time to see the wolf attack her. However, this time she didn’t have time to fight back. The grey wolf sank his fangs into her neck and his claws into her shoulder.

Katara howled out in pain and tried to fight back, but she couldn’t reach him. Zuko was stunned and couldn’t move. One moment they were happy and looking into each other eyes and now Katara was howling in pain.

The grey wolf tossed Katara to the side and started panting. He licked the blood from his lips and looked towards Zuko. Zuko bent his knees and growled. His fangs were fully extended and his eyes shone with rage.

Before Zuko could move to attack, a wolf slammed into the grey wolf. A brown wolf had the grey wolf by his throat. Five other wolfs ran out and circled the grey wolf. They had rage and hatred in their eyes.

“Calm down, Zuko.” A voice commanded. Zuko turned his head to see Jin walking out of the tree line. He also noticed a male with grey eyes follow her out. Zuko looked at the male with anger, he smelled like Katara. Her scent was all over him; his mate’s scent was on another male.

Zuko turned his attention away from the male and Jin to the bleeding wolf that lay on the ground. Zuko hurried to her side and kneeled next to her. He stroked her head and muzzle, waiting to see a reaction. The only reaction Zuko got was a whimper from Katara.

“We need to get her back to the village so we can heal her.” Jin stated loudly. It was meant for everyone to hear and to understand that Katara was seriously injured. The male moved to pick Katara up and Zuko growled.

The two males looked at each other; one with anger and rage towards the other and one with understanding towards the other. Zuko was not going to let any male touch her; he didn’t care what anyone said. Katara was the one he loved and he wasn’t going to let her go.

Wait…did he just say he loved Katara? Zuko’s mind froze in an instant. He had barely known her for 12 days, he felt like he had known her longer. How can you love someone when you have only known them for 12 days?

“I won’t hurt her, Zuko.” The male said to Zuko. Zuko was brought out of his thoughts when his name was called. He looked at the male and questions filled his head.

“Lead the way to the village and I will carry her there.” Zuko spoke after a moment of silence. He was not going to let her out of his sight.

The male nodded his head and stood up. Zuko looked at Katara again and felt his heart rip in two. Her wolf body was not moving, only a faint breathing could be seen. Her face, neck, shoulders, and front legs were covered in blood…her blood. Zuko realized that Katara was losing too much blood.

Zuko put his arms under her body. He would stop every time she whimpered in pain. He finally picked her wolf body up and cradled her against his chest. He turned and looked at the male.

“Take her, I will deal with him.” Jin spoke in a harsh voice. Her eyes were boring into the grey wolf’s eyes.

The male looked between the two before he spoke, “Don’t do anything too rash, my lady.”

Jin looked back at the male with anger in her eyes. She wanted to kill the wolf, which was apparent to Zuko. Jin nodded her head back to the male and walked towards the grey wolf.

The male took off running with Zuko following him closely. He had been this way before, that night he truly fall in love with Katara. Katara whimpered in pain and buried her muzzle into his chest. Zuko increased his speed, wanting to get there now.

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Katara barely opened her eyes before she shut them quickly to keep the blinding light out. She opened them again and saw the trees moving by fast. Someone was carrying her and Katara felt weaker. Her eyelids felt like massive stones upon her eyes, begging her to close them. The weight was too much to bear and Katara slowly closed her eyes as the trees went by faster.

The pain wrapped around her like a blanket of ice-cold water. She could feel her blood seeping through her body. Her bones ache; they felt like they had been broken in four different ways. The cold seeped into her bones…her joints…her blood…her heart. Katara could feel her life crawling away from her, leaving her body empty.

She could hear her name being called but it sounded far away. Her body felt so light and cold. She closed her eyes, wanting the pain to go away. She just wanted to die so that pain would go away.

“You cannot die yet, my dear child.” A voice said gently. The voice sounded like it was right in front of her, but she knew that wasn’t true. However, Katara still opened her eyes and gasped when she saw a women standing in front of her.

Her deep dark brown (dark than any lycan’s color) hair was lying down and the ends stop above her elbows. Her green almost yellow green, eyes were shining bright against her skin. Her body was wrapped in a purple color dress. The dress was strapless and trailed down to ground. A dragon was stitched into the dress. The dragon was stitched on with gold thread and covered the entire dress.

“Who are you?” Katara asked in a trembling voice. Her body was still weak and all she wanted to do was go to sleep and not wake up.

“I am you.” The woman said to Katara.

Katara looked at the woman as if she was crazy. They didn’t look the same at all, so there was no way that she was this woman. The woman’s hair was darker than her own and she had yellow green eyes.

“I’m not you but I am your ancestor. I’m a part of you, Katara.” The woman said.

“I don’t understand.” Katara whined as she tired to think. Her mind was begging for rest and sleep.

“You are special, a hybrid between lycan and vampire. Your journey will not be easy for you.” The woman said as she looked at Katara with concern eyes.

“I already know that!” Katara yelled with anger. She had enough of this woman and just wanted to go to sleep. Katara knew that she was a hybrid, was special, and had a long journey ahead of her.

“I know all of that already; I don’t need you to tell that. I have watched my parents be killed in front of my eyes in order to protect me. I had to become an adult when I was 8 summers old; 8 summers old! I was a child when my world was taken from me. I had to tell my baby sister that everything was going to be ok every night. I had to be strong when I knew the truth and I could never let her see my doubt.” Katara screamed to the women. The pain and sleep began to take their toll on Katara. She felt her body shutting down, her throat becoming dry and closing.

Katara kneeled to the ground holding her neck. Her breaths were barely coming out and she felt her vision spotting. Katara could feel and hear her bones breaking, her arm and shoulder tearing in half. She looked up at the woman and fear took her body over. The pain was nothing Katara had felt before and the coldness was overbearing.

“Help me.” Katara whimpered as she felt her knees weaken and give out. Katara arched her back off the ground as she felt her neck rip open. Her eyes became to glaze over before she looked back at the woman.

“I cannot help you, my dear.” The woman said quietly as she moved closer to the broken body.

“Why?” Katara cried out in pain. Here she was; crying out in pain and this woman wasn’t going to help her.

“If you are truly the one who will we save us, then you can save yourself.” The woman said with a serious voice. She folded her hands in front of her as she took a step back.

“What are you talking about? I can’t do this alone!” Katara howled.

“You are never alone, Katara.” Insisted the woman before she turned around and walked away from Katara.

“No! Don’t leave me here to die!” Katara shrieked as her back ripped open. She watched as the woman faded out from sight, leaving Katara alone.

Her whole body cried out in agony as Katara tried to move. Katara closed her eyes, wishing the pain would go away. Katara slowly started to feel less and less pain the deeper Katara went to sleep. She was done fighting for her life and felt it slipping away.

The warmth and light was leaving Katara’s body quickly. Katara smiled and felt the numbness take over. She was never going to feel pain or sorrow again. And with that last thought, Katara went unconscious.  

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I want to thank everyone who was reviewed or added this story…

Mathqueen2, Zutaraness, Peanut26, Avalon’s Mists, FireChildSlytherin5, Z1ZYX, VampireAle-Pokerchica15, SunSetsFlashOfGreen, LatinaSk8er, Hj, 1994omi, Zuataraalltheway, Mimikurume, and Caweesh.

I would also love to hear from you guys about the story! I know that I’m making mistakes and I would love to hear your ideas! Please review!!!!!!!!  THANK YOU!