43: Blast

Warning! Contains scenes of a sensitive nature.

       A loud uproar was heard throughout the woods as Derek ordered Rocky to temporarily give up his bedroom to the visiting vampire guests. Nate also wasn't happy since that further proved that they weren't going after Gabriella immediately.

       "I can't stand it! How can he just sit around while that monster has her? How can he expect me to just accept his decision! I need their help! Now!" Nate complained to Marge.
        "He knows this."
      "Then why can't we just leave already!" he yelled. Then he actually stopped and looked at Marge's anxious expression, and he put his head in his hand. He knew Marge was just as worried, and he hated feeling helpless.
       "Nate, he's right. If we go in there now, it's suicide ... at least from everything August told me about them." Marge said. She'd confirmed his suspicions earlier when he asked her about their maker's whereabouts. Gus was hanging out in the woods surrounding the house, not wishing to join the temporary alliance, yet curious all the same.
         "I'm going to go stir crazy!" Nate exclaimed as he sped around the room while he 'paced'.

       He stopped for a few moments to say to her, "What am I going to do? I can hear everything, and no matter how much it tortures me, I can't tune it out. I told her I wouldn't, plus I miss her so damn much!" He paced around again, and a worn spot began to show on the carpet. "How can I just sit here? This is killing me!"
       "You'll do nobody any good if you show up, guns blazing, to that compound." she said, trying to calm him down just a little.
        "Guns.... that thing you do with your hand ... Marge! If we go in there together we can fight them all off. How often can you do that thing? We could kill or injure enough of them to get them to hand over Gabriella!"
     

        No matter how unhappy she was with him, she hated the look of desperation on his face. "I can do it over and over again. It's nothing but a spell."
        "Then we could..."
        "No."
        "What?!" he nearly yelled.
       "What would we do if they should find a way to stop me? And besides ... we can't get into the house."
      Nate reached up to try and pull his hair out by the roots, an impossible thing, but he tried nonetheless. "I can't just sit here!" he yelled. "I'll go crazy if I do!"
        "I have an idea." Marge offered.

         "What." Nate snapped his question.
        "You mentioning the blasting spell made me think of it. I can knock you out. Then, at least, you won't have to listen and time will seem faster." she explained.
         Nate looked at her, horrified. "That's the chicken shit way out." he said quickly. "No, I have to figure out a way to convince that alpha to go after her tonight!"
          "I'm sorry, Nate." Marge said, and before Nate could ask her what she meant exactly, she hit him with the spell again. Nate slammed onto the floor. "Sucks to have your choices taken from you, doesn't it?" he heard her say just before he passed out.

       Like a mother putting a child to bed, she pulled back the covers and lifted Nate onto the mattress. At least he'll be comfortable when he wakes up, which hopefully won't be for a while. He's going to be furious with me, but I'm not worried about him. I'm more worried about the mess he could make of everything.
        I hate that Gabriella's kidnapped, but Nate doesn't understand the force we're up against. Right now, they have the upper hand, and a huge one at that. He thinks he can just go in there and play Rambo until they hand-deliver him my daughter.
        Gabriella, please keep your head on your shoulders and do not do something stupid.

       Marge could smell her, hear her fluttering heartbeat, but she was more interested in the tome in her hands. Sure, the fairy smelled delicious, but she was here to make friends, not the other way around.
      However, Arabella had no idea of this. She'd let her guard down when she'd exited Derek's room a few minutes ago. She'd thought the vampires had gone home. She'd been asleep when they'd arrived, and she'd wakened when Derek hadn't returned to bed. Seeing the vampire witch lady sitting in the living room scared her out of her wits!
     "Hello." Marge said calmly as she placed the book on the coffee table for now. She'd found Derek's collection of books simply marvelous, and she wanted to glean as much new information as she could.
       "What are you doing here?!" Bella accused.
       "I'll be here a few days before we make an attempt at rescuing my daughter." Marge explained.
       "No! No no no! You can't be here!"
       "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to get close to you, just in case, but I'm not going to hurt you."
       "Where is the other one?"
       "You mean Nathaniel?" Marge asked.
       "No! The other other one. The ancient one."
       "Not wishing to disturb our little party."
       "You mean he's afraid of Derek's pack! He should be."
       "I doubt that's the reason." Marge snapped.
       Sensing the vampiress's anger, Bella suddenly said, "I need to get out of here. Stay away from me!"
      "Fine." Marge said, her eyebrows raised as if to say that that's exactly what she'd planned on doing anyway.
         Arabella went outside to escape into her little house, listening out for Derek's return.

     Marge wandered the house some more. Jeanine snarled at her in the kitchen, so she went upstairs again to more closely study something she found earlier but didn't have a chance to peruse.
      This is fantastic! Who was this person that wrote this? She carefully turned to the back page to see if there was any inscription, signature, anything. She found a name: Claudius. No other description was available. Plus, the book appeared to stop in the middle of a recorded experiment. I guess it failed since he wasn't around to record his findings. Better not test that one.
      The book is so very old, I'm worried about turning the pages. Why has no one made a copy of it? She found a particularly interesting recipe and proceeded to try it out with the materials available to her.

      Robert returned home from his run, and on the way up to his room, his eye caught the sight of Marge's red hair in the candlelight near the window. He took a few steps in her direction and stopped to ponder the situation before him.
       He could kill her. Right now. Rip her head from her body. How is it that she was still around when his Caitlin wasn't? Just more proof of the old cliche "life's not fair". Well, neither is death.

       Marge spoke to his reflection in the glass, "What's it going to be, Robert?"
       He jumped a little at the sound of his name.
       "Are you going to attack me or not? I must warn you not to underestimate me." she continued.
      "I don't. I think I'm the only one around here that doesn't. You seem to have my brother fooled, but I'm not falling for it." he answered, irritated that she didn't even have the decency to turn around when he spoke to her.
      "I'm sure I have no idea what you mean." Marge quipped and rubbed the next ingredient on the list between her fingers to crush it as it fell into the cauldron.
       "Don't bullshit me." Rob snapped. "You're in league with the ancient one, sent to spy on us since he has a grudge against Derek."
        "His grudge isn't mine." she explained.
        "Doesn't matter since he controls you."
        She sighed, and her shoulders drooped a little. "And I hate that he does. He told me I could go and join in with Nate to rescue Gabby. I know that doesn't mean I'm eternally free. Of course, you could be right, and he could be sending me in as a spy, only to ask me questions afterwards. So, I'm learning as little as possible about all of you."
         "You already know too much."
         "I'm sure everything I know he already knows."

         "So, he just let you go. Does he know about your little plan to use and give the stone to us?" Robert asked.
          "Yes." she answered. "He's curious to watch it work. I don't know how he feels about my idea to give it to you afterwards. I came up with that part on the spot. The stone is of no use to me. It isn't even mine. My daughter died to protect it for you. Why would I go against her wishes?"
         "Because Gus will order you to." he answered her rhetorical question as he walked towards her.
        "You have no idea how I wish I could call him that." Marge said with a smile. Wary of him, she turned around. The cauldron had received all the ingredients it required. Now it needed to simmer for a few minutes.

        "Why are you here?" he asked point-blank.
      "To rescue my daughter. In the meantime, I'm thoroughly enjoying your brother's collection of books. There must have been someone to collect all this."
        "My step-mother. Most of it was handed down to her through her family." Robert told her, then he wished he hadn't. After all, she'd told him the less she knew, the better.
       "I was unaware of any other magical family in the vicinity other than my late husband's, and they've died out." she pointed out.
         "I'm not telling you any more." he said, clamming up.
         Marge nodded and took a step over to gather the vial of bliss she'd concocted.

        "Alright. Fair enough. I'd just wondered for a moment if I could've been related to her ... by marriage, of course." she said as she lightly smiled. She felt delighted at how uncomfortable she made him. I must say, Caitlin had good taste. I hate that she couldn't tell me she had a boyfriend.
          Robert's mind whirled around in circles. I should walk away. I'd told myself I'd avoid her. She's Caitlin's mom for Pete's sake. Ew. ... Even if I do have a good fifty or so years on her and she doesn't look the age she was when she was turned I'm guessing. Nope, in fact she looks damn good. ... I should walk away. ... Why can't I walk away? What the hell is wrong with me? This is so wrong on so many levels. My deceased girlfriend's mom.... well that's usually weird because of an age thing... but I'm actually the older one. So does that make that part not apply? ... Then there's the whole vampire verses werewolf thing. It ... is not ... in my nature ... to ...
         She interrupted his thoughts by saying, "You really should go to bed, Robert. Don't worry about me. I won't do something stupid to destroy our truce. I need you." Marge had chosen her words carefully, knowing instinctively just what to say to effect him just the way she intended to. I'm getting a little too good at this. It's almost unconsciously done. I suppose it couldn't hurt to have him support me should the need arise, and it might. I sense danger towards me from his brother. Not to mention he's cute. Like a little puppy.

           "Bed ... need you" Marge's words echoed in Robert's mind in a most cruel manner. He knew he had to break the momentary silence before he did something stupid. "I ... yes, need to go get some sleep. Even though someone should watch you. I don't trust you."

        Marge shrugged her delicate shoulders and said, "Fine. I'll go to bed too. I am a little tired after all. What harm can I cause while sleeping?" She watched him as he looked to be contemplating inviting her upstairs to his bed, and she wanted to see if he would. His eyes focused on her lips as a small smile formed on them.

         I should walk away, Robert thought quickly, but the notion lacked the strong conviction it had earlier.

         I don't need to overdo it, Marge thought before she said, "Goodnight, Robert."

       "Pleasant dreams." she continued as she walked towards the room she and Nate were allowed to borrow.

        She's a fucking vampire! Pull yourself together! Rob tried to snap himself out of it. "Marge." he said before he could stop himself. His head turned towards her as she spun around on one toe to see what he wanted. He quickly changed his mind on what to say. "Behave yourself."

       "Or what?" she asked coyly. Before he could choose whichever answer he stood there and debated giving her, she said, "Don't worry about me, Robert. I'm the one that needs you and your help. Remember that." She turned back towards the bedroom door and slowly walked towards it, wondering how far he'd allow himself to go.

       No, don't! Rob thought. What the hell is wrong with me? Damn it, woman! Walk faster! He turned his head away and walked over to the window to stare down at Arabella's little house, taking several deep breaths. This is not good. ... She closed the door, finally. He turned and made his way up to his room for a few hours of tortured sleep.

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        Arabella sensed Derek's return and dashed out of her house right towards him. Mildly surprised and a little confused at her exuberance, Derek opened his arms as she crashed into him. She was shaking.

        "Where did you go? Why didn't you tell me the vampires were staying? I have been so afraid." she accused him while laying her head on his shoulder.

        His arms curled around her shivering frame, and he held her to him, relishing the perfume of her hair. "If you missed me that much, why didn't you come and find me?" he asked. He'd not invited her to go with him on purpose. He wanted to go scout the area, and he didn't need a chatty fairy with glowing wings to follow him. He could smell Gus around the nearby hills and not near Gabriella's house. The vampire eluded him, however. He'd had no idea his absence would affect Bella like this, but then again he failed to think that he never told her of Nate and Marge.

       "I couldn't go with you! I can smell the ancient one that hates you. I'm terrified of him." she cried. "And what were you doing going out alone like that?!"

       "Robert had gone off to have a temper tantrum, and I had to leave Rocky and Jeanine here to keep an eye on Marge and Nate." he explained. He too had worried over his own safety, but he had to go searching for any trace he could find. It felt so nice to be back home with Arabella in his arms. He felt like it had been ages since he last held her.

         "How on earth would I be able to go on without you? Did you think of that?! Hm?" she snapped at him while clinging to him at the same time.

        He chuckled lightly and said, "Nothing's going to happen to me, my love."

        "Derek, you're not immortal. Almost. But you --"

       He shut her up the best way he knew how. She acted aggravated with him, but he refused to quit kissing her. I'm fine. You're fine. They won't hurt you, not if they want to stay on my good side. The sudden thought of Nathaniel using Bella as leverage to force him to leave for an attempt that would fail to rescue Gabriella ran through his mind, and he held onto her tighter.

        When she gently pulled away, she told him, "I won't go upstairs with you, but I'm so scared I can't stand it! They're all around me! I want to stay in my little house, but..."

         "Then do it to me." he said and watched her shocked yet happy expression. He knew she knew he hated it when she'd shrink him so that he could visit her in her little house. It made perfect sense to him why he hated it. His power came from physical strength, hers from her magic. Magic doesn't require a full-sized body. He hated feeling powerless.

         "You mean it?!" she asked happily. If he did, then he was definitely out of the doghouse for leaving her like he did.

        He gave her a true smile as he said, "Of course. You won't come up, and I don't want to be without you for what's left of the night."

     "You got new sheets." he said, pointing to her bed once they were inside.

     "Mhm. Silk. Do you like them?" she asked, a fist lightly resting on her cocked hip, one eyebrow raised suggestively.

     "They need breaking in." he said, grinning and picking her up before carrying her to the new sheets.

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     Warm. So warm, Gabriella dreamily thought as a very pleasant sensation made her moan in her almost-sleep. Warm... and rough... and... good. 

     She moaned again as she felt coarse hands sliding up and down her thighs, pulling them further apart as they did. As the rough warmth became more demanding of her attention, her whole body tensed in shock, causing her thighs to clamp together upon a large head between them. Those same hands reached up to pull her legs back apart with a little more strength as consciousness quickly returned to her.

     "No!" she gasped breathlessly as her eyes flew open and she found herself in Julian's bed. He said he wouldn't touch me tonight! she thought as she looked up and saw the first lights of the morning brighten the ceiling above her. Nighttime had ended.

     Realizing all of this only dimly went on in the back of her mind as she couldn't help but be more focused on what Julian did to her underneath the sheets. She tried to gather enough of herself to make an attempt to move away, but she was paralyzed with pleasure. Her body betrayed her, and it wanted the fantastic experience to continue. "No." she moaned, not sure if she told that to Julian or her own body. Julian ignored her.

     Gabriella realized her nakedness as she felt his very warm hands travel up her sides to her breasts, his merciless tongue never ceasing. How could it be that he got her this way without her waking up? "Oh!" she gasped as his thumbs and index fingers started to tweak and toy with her nipples. Her hands flew on top of the covers to where his were, hoping to stop this madness overtaking her.

     "Julian.... please." she whispered, and she herself couldn't tell if she asked him to stop or to give her more than what he gave her presently. His hands left her breasts for her hips, and, tilting them upwards, he switched his tongue's location further down. She gasped again as she felt him enter her occasionally as he stroked the front wall of her vagina with his coarse, dextrous tongue.

     Madness. It's all madness, she thought as she felt the never-ending tumult of sensations consume her. Her breathing sounded alarmingly shaky and ragged as she desperately tried to remember why it was that she wanted him to stop. A high-pitched whine escaped her as she could feel the pleasure mounting until she felt ready to scream.

     She wasn't given the chance to scream. Instead, her body convulsed as the world tilted on its axis. She felt Julian's fingers enter her and press upon her, making her experience her climax again and again until her body was spent. She lay limply on the bed, dimly aware of Julian's mouth slowly working its way up her stomach.

      When he'd traveled up to her neck, his body crouched over her and he said low into her ear, "I wanted to give you a feel," he chuckled lightly to himself, "of what it's like to have me for a lover." 

       He ran his tongue down her jaw and hovered over her mouth for a few seconds before lightly touching his lips to hers, causing Gabriella to become more aware of what happened around her again. Her hands shot up to push against his broad shoulders with all her strength. He rocked his body from side to side as first one of her hands was captured, then the other, before he laid his weight upon her. Both hands pinned now up at her ears, he pressed his jaw against hers and forced her mouth to open and accept his tongue.

     She could feel just how aroused he was as he lay on top of her.

     Nate. Nate Nate Nate.

     She angrily jerked her head to the side to separate their mouths. "No." she said sternly. "I don't want this."

       His deep voice echoed in her head as he responded, "You didn't seem to mind it a few minutes ago."

     She futilely struggled to get out from underneath him and get her hands free as he lazily kissed her neck. "I didn't have a choice!" she argued as she wiggled back and forth, hoping to find the right leverage. He seemed to instinctively know what she was up to because he was sure to intertwine his legs with hers.

     He sighed almost sadly and agreed, "No. You don't have a choice. Honestly, I wish I didn't have to do this this way, Gabriella, but I haven't time to do this the way it should be done."

      Gabriella didn't bother with asking him what he meant by 'should be'. He'd started working on parting her thighs with his legs, and she began to panic when she saw very little hope of her getting out of this.

     Her voice took on a desperate tone to it as she begged, "No. No no. Please don't. There has to be another way." She fought with all her strength to get free, but he held her down easily.

     "There isn't." he said plainly. "And try to relax. This will be easier for you if you do."

     "No!!!" she screamed as a familiar light shot out from her midsection and blasted Julian off of her. His dumbfounded expression as he slid down the wall into a crumpled heap was the last thing she saw before she passed out.