With one final look to his dorm room, and two extra sweeps to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, or at least anything he couldn’t live without for the next four weeks, Mark pulled up the handle on his suitcase and rolled it to the door.

Stuffed into his coat pocket he had his final scores from all his classes, and he couldn’t wait to match them up and compare them to his friend’s scores. Technically school had ended a week previous for the younger students, and most of the them, including Jackson and JB and his other friends, were long gone. But Mark had stayed after to finish the class work he’d missed after his uncle had … after Mark had almost died. There had been a few tests to take, aptitude assessments, and paperwork to clear up.

However, now he was clear and free and more than ready to get away for the break between semesters. He needed it, too, not only to start throwing himself into the business end of the family he now represented, but also to relax with some of the few people he still trusted. That list was embarrassingly short.

He was just out into the hallway, closing his door behind him when he heard Kyuhyun offer, “Need help?”

Mark hoisted his backpack up over one shoulder and shook his head. “I’ve only got one suitcase. One of these days I’m going to be surprised that I don’t have more stuff.”

Kyuhyun strolled over to him, out of his uniform finally, with the upper level students having finished at almost the same time Mark had.

“This is it for you, isn’t it?” Mark asked, struck by the idea that come January he wouldn’t see Kyuhyun anymore--at least on school grounds. He wouldn’t see a lot of the upper division students that he’d gotten to know over the months. They were moving on, graduating, and while Mark would see some of them later on, he wouldn’t see them all. “This was your last semester?”

“It’s been a long time coming,” Kyuhyun said, not without relief. “And even I have to admit the timing is perfect. Graduating from Hawthorne and taking on full time responsibilities as the head of my family is going to make things much easier.”

Mark groaned. He didn’t even want to think about the coming work load his future had in store for him. Since his uncle’s passing Mark had been accosted by lawyers and arbiters and a whole truckload of people who managed his family’s finances and legalities. His uncle, no matter what, had kept the family afloat quite prosperously, and with a great deal of work. Now it all fell on Mark, from the business deals, to the property management, to every little detail. The next few years would be chalk full of him learning the ropes, and in particular this summer, he’d be taking crash courses in business and economics and management. It was all very overwhelming. Several of his older cousins and family members had already stepped up to help while he found his footing, but the task at hand was daunting.

“I may need your advice,” Mark admitted, pushing at the hair across his forehead. “Once you get this heir business down, can I call on you?”

Kyuhyun gave him the kindest smile Mark had ever seen from the older boy. “You and I, Mark, we’re family. You can call upon me for anything.”

Mark grinned back. “Thanks.” They were sort of like brothers. They’d bonded enough to call each other that.

“But I suspect,” Kyuhyun said, “that you have more of a knack for this than you give yourself credit for. Especially with your recent propositions to the council.”

Mark leaned back a little against his closed door. “I cast my vote not to change the treaty because I knew that if it was revoked, we’d be essentially going to war with the humans. I cast it back then knowing that my uncle was going to go after everyone I loved because of my decision, and I felt so guilty. But I knew it was the right choice.”

“But?”

“But,” Mark sighed, “we also need to take a long hard look on how we’re constantly in danger of invalidating the treaty with the way we treat the humans. We shut them out. We don’t cooperate with them. I’m not saying we have to be friends, but we need to learn how to communicate with them properly. There are so few of us left, Kyuhyun. We need them. We need to work with them.”

Kyuhyun laughed, “That’s rather progressive of you, Mark.”

“Desperate, you mean.” Mark started edging his way towards the nearby stairwell. “In spite of all the terrible things that my uncle did, the unforgivable things, he exposed the weakness in the treaty for what it is. We got lucky this time that it was a manufactured strike by the humans, and not the real thing. Next time, if we let there be a next time, it will be real.”

Mark took the stairs easily, lifting his case with him, feeling only a twinge of pain in his knee as he walked. His uncle, right before the end, had shattered the bones in his knee. Even with his accelerated healing, it had taken almost six weeks to walk without a limp.

“Like I said,” Kyuhyun replied, right behind him, “I think you have more of a place on the council than you give yourself credit for. You have intuition for these things, Mark. Not many council members can claim that.”

“At least I won’t have to think about the council for the next several weeks. Or school. I just want to relax and enjoy myself,” Mark called over his shoulder.

They were almost down on the ground level by the time Kyuhyun asked, “Will you be staying with friends? Despite how busy you’re about to become, you will always be welcome in my home, Mark.”

“Jackson,” Mark said, blushing a little. “I’m staying with Jackson. My boyfriend. He invited me to spend the winter break with him. Almost all my direct family is gone, and his, well, they don’t really pay attention to him at all. So we’re going to keep each other company.”

“Conveniently without parental supervision,” Kyuhyun chuckled. “That’s a sixteen year old’s dream.”

It struck Mark in one horrible second that Kyuhyun was in a similar situation. The older vampire’s mother was long dead, and Mark’s uncle had helped killed his sister. Kyuhyun had his father, but by all accounts he was hardly there anymore. Plus, Grace and Kyuhyun had always made time for each other around the winter holidays. This would be the first year he didn’t have her to wish him a merry Christmas and happy new year.

“Do you,” Mark said carefully, not wanting to upset him, “have somewhere to go? Someone to stay with? Because if not I can make a quick call to Jackson and--”

Kyuhyun held up a hand. “I’m going to be staying with Changmin and his family. But thank you for the offer. Not that I think, had I taken you up on it, that your boyfriend would be nearly as thankful.”

They walked along the deserted hallway, towards the front entrance to the dormitory building, and Mark tried not to imagine how the school would seem just a bit more lonely next term without Kyuhyun there.

“You might, however, consider extending your offer to your cousin.”

Mark look to Kyuhyun with a frown. “Henry?”

“Are you still avoiding him?”

Mark gave a strong exhale. “I’m not avoiding him. I was just giving him some space. Things are strained between us, but I’m not avoiding him.”

“Are you certain he knows that?” Kyuhyun questioned. “You were suspiciously absent when it came time for the council’s ruling on the matter of his involvement with your uncle’s actions. And there was a marked difference in your relationship after his full testimony.”

Mark made a face. “Suspicious? Come on, you know I couldn’t have helped decide. He’s my cousin and I love him. He’s apologized a million times and I’ve forgiven him a million times. I’d skew the decision if I got involved with anything related to the matter. And it’s not as if I blame him. What he said to the council didn’t make me think differently of him, because I do understand the circumstances.”

Kyuhyun held the front door open for Mark and said, “I guarantee you that he still feels like there’s bad blood between you two. I spoke to him during the ruling and he thought for certain that your lack of presence told him everything he needed to know.”

“That’s just crazy,” Mark remarked.

“Then go tell him that,” Kyuhyun said, giving Mark a push.

Just ahead, seated almost lonely on a bench, was Henry.

“I’ll see you around,” Kyuhyun said as a parting. “And have a good winter break.”

“Wait,” Mark called out, voice going thin.

“Yes?” Kyuhyun asked.

Mark fumbled for a moment, then said, “I … I’ll be looking through my family’s records over this break. Intensely. I hope to find some personal records of the sort. For posterity’s sake, of course.”

Kyuhyun gave pause, head tilting, then offered, “That’s quite the coincidence. I’ll be looking through records myself. I’d like to familiarize myself with the financial records of the council and the system in which they’re recorded. Grace often chided me about being neglectful in the more technical aspects of the council.”

With a firm nod, Mark told him, “I wish you all the luck in the world.”

“I don’t need luck,” Kyuhyun insisted. “I have motivation.”

There was no guarantee that either of them, nor Taekwoon or Sooyoung would find anything relating to the underground group of vampires who were conspiring against the fragile peace they had. And it was less likely that they’d discover any hard proof about the woman orchestrating it all. But it was their current mission, as if there weren’t enough demands on them already.

Mark, after spending quality time with Jackson and getting started on learning how to run his family, was personally going to tear through everything that had belonged to his uncle. Mark was determined to find something--anything, and he knew Kyuhyun was too.

“I’ll see you, Kyuhyun,” Mark called to him.

“You will,” Kyuhyun returned, then set off opposite of Mark.

It wasn’t long before Mark, making his way toward one of the school’s parking lots, spotted the very cousin that he and Kyuhyun had spoken of.

Mark had half a mind to duck away before Henry saw him, the air already feeling thin between them. But instead he took in the way Henry looked so dejected sitting on a nearby bench and Mark’s heart went out to him right away.

“Henry!” he called, puling his suitcase after him as he walked.

“Mark.” Henry got to his feet right away, a cautious look on his face.

“Henry,” Mark repeated, forcing a pleasant look to his face. “I would have thought you’d left already.”

“I’m waiting for Amber,” Henry said, nodding towards the direction of the girl’s dorm. “She stopped to talk to some friends of hers and get the last of her summer assignments.” Henry gave him a once over. “Where’s Zhou Mi? Or Hoya and Dongwoo? You shouldn’t be out without any of them watching after you.”

“Zhou Mi is waiting with the car,” Mark said easily. “He’s going to take me to the airport right after that. I’m staying with Jackson for winter break. Remember? Hoya and Dongwoo are going to meet me at the airport.”

“I do remember,” Henry said gently. “I got the email you sent me a few days ago.”

Mark tried not to wince. Maybe an impersonal email wasn’t the best way to have broken the news to Henry, who probably had expected Mark to accompany him for the winter break. And it did make him seem like he was punishing Henry in some way … which wasn’t fair. Henry had been punished enough.

Henry’s father was dead. This was something that clouded Mark’s thoughts several times a day, but he was just now beginning to realize what it meant for other people. Henry’s father was dead now, just like his mom, and he didn’t have anyone else. He didn’t have any family left or anywhere to go. He had a box of ashes containing a vampire who, as far as vampire society was concerned, could never be acknowledged, remembered or even spoken of again. And that was it.

“I can stay,” Mark said on a whim, thinking back to the few rare winter holidays that he’d stayed with his uncle, playing with Henry for days on end, building forts out of sheets and pillows, playing in the snow, and just being best friends. “I can spend the winter break with you. Or you can come with me to Santa Monica.”

Weakly, Henry said, “I’m going to be okay, Mark. I’m going to stay with Amber’s family, actually. But maybe after? I know I can’t … help you with any business aspects of our family personally, not now with my restrictions, but I’m always here for advice. I’m always here just to listen if you need me. If you ever want me.”

“Henry.” Mark took him by the hand and tugged him back down onto the bench. “I hate this. I hate what’s happened to our relationship. Tiptoeing around each other. It’s ridiculous.”

“It’s not,” Henry said, clenching his eyes shut, head bowing down. “And it’s all my fault. I deserve this. This is what I get. And you can’t feel bad at all. This is on me.”

“I’ve forgiven you.”

“I can’t forgive myself.”

“Henry.” Mark put his hand on Henry’s shoulder.

“How could I forgive myself?

“Because it wasn’t your fault?” Mark offered. “Not really. Not deliberately.”

Henry gave a choked laugh, thin and angry sounding. “I knew something was wrong. For months before, Mark, I knew. I knew my father was having shady meetings with mysterious people, and coveting secrets and gearing up for something huge. And then my father came to me and he said we were going to visit you and your family, and I was supposed to take you way from the house no matter what. I was under his orders to take you far away and not let you come back until just before sunrise. I gave him and his men the opening to do that to Joey and Tammy. Their blood is on my hands. My cousins.”

Mark had heard this before. He’d heard the whole story. The entire council had.

“Henry,” Mark reasoned, “your father threatened you. He threatened Amber, if you didn’t do what he said. And that was before he even knew about the baby.”

Henry gave a shaky nod. “He said he’d terminate the match if I didn’t do exactly what he said, or if I failed. He didn’t need your mother’s permission to do it, either. Not in this instance.”

Because Mark knew now the deepest secret that Amber, Henry and Zhou Mi had been hiding, the kind that could ruin them all. He knew the secret that was more precious than the baby who would end up being Mark’s second cousin and temporary heir.

Amber had human blood in her line. She wasn’t as pureblood as her family purported to be. Amber’s blood was diluted by a sixteenth and it was enough to get a match called off. And the baby invalidated. And a whole other slew of unfair, archaic and horrible things.

“I will not hold you accountable for protecting Amber, no matter what happened from it,” Mark declared. “Especially since you didn’t know what you father planned. You’re not to blame for being manipulated out of fear.” It wasn’t the same as Siwon, who’d done things for greedy and indulging reasons.

“But I knew afterwards,” Henry said, shoulders slumping. “How could I not? I was told to take you away specifically, and it just happened to be the moment that your parents and Grace were killed and the fire was set. I knew it was my father’s fault. I knew it was him, but I let myself pretend like it wasn’t because I knew it would break us all if I didn’t. I believed that because he’d been hurt in the attack too, that maybe he was innocent, and that I was just being too hard on him--I hadn’t exactly been a model son.”

“I suppose then,” Mark said slowly, “that you’ll want me to blame you for everything that happened afterwards?”

“Yes.”

There was no denying that Mark had spent weeks after hearing the full confession from Henry, just being angry. He’d kept his distance from his cousin, even giving him the cold shoulder, and he hadn’t wanted to believe that his whole family was filled with people like Henry and his uncle. But eventually, time had dulled the pain, and he’d started to rationalize the situation.

The anger was gone now. Only the disappointment remained. The kind that would linger for decades.

“You can’t be serious,” Mark said.

Henry shrugged. “On my father’s orders I deliberately looked the other way the day the slur was written on your door, and ignored the vampire I knew he hired to try and manipulate your feelings with the threat. And I’m the one who got the keycard to your room for the vampire that broke in and trashed it, trying to provoke you again. I did all that, Mark. I did it and it was cowardly. I should have just … I should have …”

“Hey.” Mark wrapped his older, trembling cousin up into a tight hug. “I love you, okay? You did some pretty crappy things, but you didn’t mean to hurt me. You were trying to keep Amber safe, and I don’t blame you, no matter how much you blame yourself. I’m forgiving you. It’s time for you to forgive yourself.”

Henry gave another shudder. “I deserve the punishment I got. I deserve worse. I hurt you so badly, Mark. I love you. I’m so sorry.”

Mark Henry’s back. “I know you are. I know.”

From across the courtyard he could see Amber making her way towards them. The curve of her stomach was much more pronounced now, clearly indicating a pregnancy, and she wasn’t attempting to hide it anymore. Mark didn’t know for certain if she or Henry would be back for another semester at Hawthorne, but he hoped they were. He’d gladly take babysitting duty if it meant getting to keep them close to them.

“Everything okay here?” Amber asked softly, dragging her fingers through her hair. She’d worn it short for as long as Mark could remember, what felt like forever, but it was starting to grow out now, curling at the edges. “Henry? Mark?”

“We’re fine,” Mark said, giving Henry’s back one more round of patting. Then he was reaching out for her, letting his fingers brush over the material stretched across her stomach. “How’s my niece or nephew?”

“Hungry,” Amber said decisively. She pressed Mark’s hand more firmly against the swell. “Feel that?”

The flutter of movement was something that was incredibly recent, but Mark felt it as often as he could, still as amazed by it as Henry seemed to be. Amber always just looked indifferent to the movement, other than when she claimed it tickled.

“Hungry,” she said again.

With wet eyes, Henry doing his best to wipe away the evidence, he stood and said, “Then I should get you two something to eat.”

Mark looked back down to her stomach. It would be months more before the baby came and any of them knew whether it was a girl or a boy, but regardless the baby was something monumentally important to the fourth family. Because this baby, this precious baby, was Mark’s heir. The last of his line. Especially in light of Henry being removed from the line of inheritance and forbidden from having an association with the council as his punishment.

Maybe one day Mark would have children of his own, and the line of succession would change. But for the moment this baby was the future of the fourth family, and Mark couldn’t wait to spoil it and love it and make sure it understood how much it was wanted. He couldn’t wait until the baby was old enough to learn about all the family members who would have loved it, and hear all the stories about them that Mark had to tell.

“--after Henry’s mother.”

“Huh?”

“Is your brain working?” Amber teased, knocking her knuckles gently against Mark’s head. “I said, we decided we’re going to name the baby Sam. After Henry’s mother. Well, if it’s a boy it’ll be Samuel, but if it’s a girl, it’ll be Samantha, just like her. Sam for short.”

Another namesake. Mark didn’t know how he felt about that.

No. He took it back. He had a much better feeling about this one. This baby, Sam, would be a fine reminder of Henry’s mother. Not all namesake needed to have bad associations with them.

“Do you want us to walk you to your car?” Henry asked, his arm slipping around Amber’s waist.

“No, no,” Mark waved them off. “I can make it just fine on my own. And don’t you two have your own plane to catch?”

Henry gave a nod. “To Massachusetts.”

“Then go,” Mark shooed good naturedly. “We all have winter holidays to get ready for.” Mark gave a pause, then turned to Henry and said, “We’ll see each other afterwards, okay? Because we’re family, and we love each other. We make mistakes and we sometimes do regretful things, but we’re all we have left. We will get through this.”

Mark had to endure being smothered by hugs for a few more seconds, then Henry and Amber were heading off in one direction and Mark was going in the other.

“We’re running behind schedule,” Zhou Mi lectured the moment Mark was close enough. He worked quickly to lift Mark’s suitcase into the trunk as Mark got in the car.

If Mark had spent the past five weeks avoiding Henry, then he’d spent the same amount of time being overshadowed by Zhou Mi who seemed to be convinced that some of his uncle’s old associates were lurking around corners and under his bed, laying in wait to attack. For the most part Hoya and Dongwoo had hung back, following him but keeping their distance. Zhou Mi was boarding on being a bit too suffocating.

But fear did that kind of thing, and Mark didn’t know how long it would take for all of them not to be so scared.

The guilt that Zhou Mi apparently felt for letting Mark be cornered by his uncle and snatched away while the council had been under attack, was so suffocating sometimes Mark wondered how Zhou Mi managed to breathe at all. It hadn’t been Zhou Mi’s fault in the least, but unwarranted guilt seemed to be a thing going around.

“It’s a private jet,” Mark reminded when Zhou Mi was behind the driver’s wheel and starting the car. “It can’t exactly leave without me.”

Zhou Mi gave him a displeased look. “Your timetable is not a recommendation.”

As the car drew through the underground parking lot, Mark wondered, “Are you my match or my assistant?”

With a straight face, Zhou Mi said, “Both, apparently.”

Mark slumped in his seat. “That’s another thing we need to work on soon. I promised Jackson that I’d end my match with you as quickly as possible. But I’m not going to do anything to endanger you or your sister. There has to be a solution in here somewhere. I just have to find it.”

Zhou Mi said quickly, “I believe you very much when you say that. You’ve been very clear and I accept your decision. A solution will present itself. I trust you.

“It’s not that I think being matched to you is so horrible,” Mark corrected, “you know I like you a lot. I just mean …” He broke off with a wince. “Whether I choose to explore these feelings I have for you or not, and whether they mean something or not, has nothing to do with us being matched. I just don’t want that hanging over me, threatening to hurt the both of us. Give me just a little time, okay? Give me freedom and time and I will work this out.”

He knew he’d said something unexpected by the way Zhou Mi’s head cocked. “You do realize this shouldn’t solely be on your shoulders, correct? You just turned sixteen.”

Mark confessed, “I’m the head of my family. You know what that means. Plus, I don’t feel like I’m alone in this. You and I are going to work together to find a solution. We’ll figure it out, and fast. Nothing will happen to your sister, Zhou Mi. Her or her happiness. You have my word, and my word is good.”

“It is,” Zhou Mi agreed gently. “And thank you.”

Mark had made a vow, on the day he’d become the head of his family, never to make claims he didn’t intend to keep. His word would mean everything, and he’d make sure it wasn’t compromised in any way. Other vampires would come to respect his mere word. This was just the start.

They drove for a while longer, the airport not that far away, and when they were close enough to see the signs indicating the passenger drop off zone, Zhou Mi said, “I have to say one last time, I wish you would reconsider the match remaining between us. It would be incredibly beneficial to you for the next few decades, to say the least. And we live very long lives, Mark. You need not be tied to me forever. Especially not once you’re situated and strong as the head of the fourth family.”

Mark shook his head. “I just promised you--”

“I believe you on that,” Zhou Mi said quickly. “I’m speaking about the relationship we have in relation to the benefits for your bloodline. And if you … if you choose to have a more personal, even romantic relationship on the side, I could come to accept that.”

“Zhou Mi,” Mark eased out, feeling his palms sweat. “I … couldn’t do that to you. To you or anyone else. Not knowing that you care for me in a romantic way.”

“I am very much in love with you,” Zhou Mi corrected openly. “What I feel for you is what I have always hoped to feel for the person I planned to marry. Regardless of the status of our match, I wish you would reconsider us. You could come to love me. Many matched couples do.”

“I have Jackson,” Mark said gingerly. “And I can’t say I love him, not in the way you so easily say you love me, but I care for him. I like him. I want to be with him. I know that hurts you, and I’m so sorry that it does, but whether or not we’re matched, he’s the one I want. I value you so much, as a friend and as a confidant and as the most loyal person I have ever met in my life. You are indescribable and irreplaceable. And yes, I have some kind of feelings for you, the kind that are confusing to say the least. But there’s nothing confusing about what I feel for Jackson. Nothing right now.”

The loading zone was just up ahead, and Zhou Mi pulled in expertly.

Zhou Mi’s voice was deceptively even as he questioned, “Right now?”

“Of course,” Mark said, reached out for him. “I don’t know what the future is going to bring. I only know that I want to be in control of it. Years from now I could be so desperately in love with Jackson I’ll want to marry him. Or … I could feel that way about you. Like I said, I can’t see the future from where I’m standing. But I’m going to pick the path I walk. I’m going to choose the relationships I have. I will be in control.”

Zhou Mi leaned over suddenly and pressed his mouth against Mark’s. It was a chaste kiss, no heat behind it, but instead what felt like a promise.

“One year from now,” Zhou Mi said, “or one hundred, I will be here for you. I will be waiting for you.”

“I can’t ask--”

“I, like you, Mark, have chosen to be in control of my own future as well. I choose to wait for you, at least until you return my affections or I find another calling in life. No matter what, I will be the one choosing what I do.”

Then Zhou Mi was kissing him again, much harder, and Mark fell into it. It was an amazing kiss. The kind that Mark had been sure only Jackson was capable of. The type that had Mark kissing back desperately, determined to consume every bit that Zhou Mi had to offer, pulling at his shirt and forsaking all need for oxygen.

When they broke apart, a car horn startling them, Zhou Mi said, “I will not be sorry for kissing you.”

Mark felt like he was seconds from heatstroke despite the gloomy, cold weather. “But I …”

“Neither,” Zhou Mi said, pushing the button on the center consul to pop the trunk, “will I kiss you again. Not until you ask me to.”

Mark tore himself from the car, dashing back to the trunk on unsteady feet. A few seconds later he was standing clear of the car, suitcase in front of him. From the corner of his eye he could already see Dongwoo in his periphery, waiting patiently.

A car was honking again but Mark couldn’t look away from Zhou Mi who was staring back.

“What if I never ask?” Mark called to him through the lowered window. Cold air pushed so harshly at him he was almost taken off his feet.

Zhou Mi slid the car into park and called back to Mark, “Then the never ending wait will be a sweet one nonetheless. Enjoy your vacation, Mark.”

Mark watched him drive away and had never felt more confused about his heart in his life.

“Prince Mark?” Dongwoo called, moving to his side. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Mark said, feeling breathless from the kiss and the absurdity of how it had made him feel. “Where’s … ah, where’s Hoya?”

Dongwoo thumbed towards the direction of the tarmac. “He’s with the pilot, going over the flight itinerary. Santa Monica’s getting hit by a pretty bad storm right now. It should pass mostly by the time touch down, but we might hit the tail end of it. It’s probably going to be pretty bumpy getting to your boy.”

Mark felt his chest seize up as he turned fully to Dongwoo. “I need you not to say that.” Of the two of them, Dongwoo was far more playful than Hoya. He liked to joke around, and be less formal. Hoya was the stickler for propriety. But Mark was still very aware of how bad things could go for himself and Zhou Mi if anyone ever truly got wind of how serious Mark’s relationship with Jackson was, at least while a match was still in place. “Jackson is … not my match …”

“Hey,” Dongwoo said in a sober way, head bowing. “Prince Mark. I will never judge you on your choices, or criticize you, or anything like that. You have my absolute loyalty.”

“Okay,” Mark breathed out. Letting Dongwoo take his suitcase.

It was certainly unexpected when Dongwoo added, “Also, Prince Mark? My job, my only purpose in life as of right now, is to keep you safe. That means not only your life, but your feelings and reputation as well. Anything you do or say around me, is protected. The same goes for Hoya.”

This time Mark gave him a full smile, and said genuinely, “Thank you, Dongwoo.”

“Come on,” Dongwoo said, nudging him. “We’re supposed to leave any second now.”

The flight to Santa Monica was a relatively short, but certainly not smooth one, in which Mark couldn’t help feeling absolutely claustrophobic despite the near empty plane. Part of him wanted to turn back right away and figure out his feelings for Zhou Mi. But the other part of him, the one that he valued just as much, told him that his feelings for Jackson were no joke. They were very real.

For the most part Dongwoo and Hoya gave him space, talking with each other quietly while Mark gazed out the plane window absently and mused.

Was it possible to love two people at once? Mark doubted he loved either male at the moment, but it was possible he was slowly falling in love with both of them. They each had admirable, incredibly attractive qualities, both were loyal and reliable, and both were easy to care for.

By the time the plane was touching down, and Hoya was relaying to Mark the information of the hotel he and Dongwoo would be staying at nearby, Mark still hadn’t come to any kind of determination with how his heart was leaning.

The beach house that Jackson’s parents owned was a three story, pale yellow building with floor to ceiling windows on the first two levels that must have been absolutely brilliant in the summer. For right now it was just one house among many on a frigidly cold stretch of beach.

Mark likely stood on the front door’s porch for almost ten minutes, shivering in the cold as he tried to work up the courage to ring the doorbell. He hesitated because of the kiss he’d shared with Zhou Mi. That was cheating, right? Not that Zhou Mi had kissed him, but that Mark had kissed back. How could he face Jackson as a cheater? A very confused cheater at that. He’d sworn never again after their previously shared kissed, and still he’d allowed it to happen.

He felt like trash over the whole matter.

When he did finally ring the doorbell it was more due to the weather, and less about having made a decision.

Jackson threw it open with a huge grin and nearly shouted, “You’re here!” He swept Mark up and off his feat so easily that Mark felt weightless. He locked his arms around Jackson’s neck as they spun, the wind batting around them, the clouds threatening to drop rain at any moment.

“I said I’d come, didn’t I?”

Jackson wasted no time reaching forward to frame Mark’s face with his hands before leaning in for a deep kiss.

Jackson’s kiss felt no different from Zhou Mi’s. Just as enjoyable. Just as knee shaking. So Mark kissed back, truly enjoying it, Zhou Mi almost slipping from his mind.

“Get out of the ty weather!” Jackson declared, dragging Mark in and slamming the door behind him. “I’ve got the heater cranked up and I just ordered food. It’ll be here soon.” Jackson lifted Mark’s suitcase and demanded, “Do you have everything you own in here? Why is this thing so heavy?”

Technically, he wasn’t wrong, but Mark said instead, “Too heavy for you? I can carry it myself, then.”

“No!” Jackson made a show of hefting the large suitcase over his head. “See! You can feel free to refer to me as Superman from now on.”

Mark pecked him on the cheek and moved pass. “Sure thing, Superman.”

In moments like these, with Mark torn between the irrational love he was starting to feel for two very different people, he would have given anything to have his mom to talk to. Or his dad, who probably would make less of a deal about it than his mother would. Maybe they wouldn’t have had answers for him, but they’d have been able to steer him in the right direction towards making the right decision.

“I ordered Thai,” Jackson called, heading up the stairs with Mark’s suitcase. “You like Thai, right? Great flavors. If you’re eating for taste and only taste, you gotta prioritize the taste.”

Mark missed his family so much. He missed everything about them.

“Thai is fine,” Mark answered, his voice cracking a little.

But he’d be okay without them.

He was a survivor.

He would make it.

And whoever the woman was, the one truly responsible for everything that had happened, and for whatever reason, Mark was coming for her. He couldn’t have killed is uncle, his own family, and kept his soul. But the woman in power? He could kill her--would kill her, and he would have his revenge. Then everyone she’d hurt, including his family, could rest easy. Mark wouldn’t stop until it happened. No matter what it took.

_____________________________________

That’s it. Seriously. After months of edits, rewrites, posting, fixing, comment replying, gushing my thanks for all the support, and an endless amount of patience on both sides, this story is done. At least for now. There is a sequel planned, it is outlined though because I’ve committed to a secret-Santa type event, it hasn’t been written yet. But I know exactly how this story wraps up, and if you’re made it this far, I hope you want all the last answers as much as I do. Several more stories I’ve already written and edited are slated to go up before it, so look for the second part to this story starting in the new year.

But mostly this is the part where I say thank you. Thank you everyone. I kind of have this personal vendetta against stories that force you to subscribe/follow/friend whatever, to read. And I will NEVER do that to readers. Read if you want. Ditch out if you’re not feeling it. Comments are nice and appreciated, but definitively not required. So thank you to everyone who followed this story’s progress, commented when they felt like it, and showed their support in any way. Thank you to the people who’s user names I began to recognize chapter after chapter, and thank you to even the people who just lurked around. Lurking is cool too.

Therefore, because this is the end, this is the only time I will ever ask for feedback. This is the only time I will ask readers to leave comments letting me know what they thought. Because I do want to know, now that the picture is much more clear, what’s going through your minds. Hated something? Loved something? What did you think of the politics? The romance? The mystery? I don’t care what you’re thoughts are, just tell them to me. And will you be coming back for the sequel? Let me know.

As always, I am humbled and appreciative of each and every one of you. I write these stories for fun, for myself, and not for any kind of praise or recognition. But when even one person lets me know they’re enjoying, and wants more, it’s all the motivation in the world. See you guys next time!