Karen was in the midst of washing her hands when a trio of college-aged girls entered the restroom.

"Oh my god, what a total hunk!" a petite blonde gasped.

"Tall, dark, and handsome. Just my type," a taller blonde stated.

"He also wore a ring on his left hand," a brunette said. "Or didn't you notice that small detail?"

"Oh, she noticed," the short blonde smirked. "She just doesn't care."

"Damn right, I don't," the tall blonde confirmed. "It's a known fact that most husbands cheat on their wives. And you have to bet a man that good looking has a few mistresses on the side. I wouldn't mind being one of them. He's got to be an amazing lover."

"Trust me, he is," Karen interjected as she reached for a paper towel. All three girls looked at her; however, Karen's attention was solely focused on her new nemesis. "But I'm afraid you're not his type. He's not into sluts."

"Oh, yeah?" the blonde sneered. "Well, I'm sure I'd be a better lay than you would be. Prude."

Karen's expression darkened. "I'll let you in on a little secret, Blondie." She dropped her voice and said, "That man out there is a killer, and knowing him, he would find great pleasure in making you suffer."

The blonde sniggered. "A killer, huh? That's a good one."

"I'm warning you, stay away from him," Karen said. "You have no idea how dangerous he can be. And I would know..." She held up her left hand, flaunting her two rings. "I'm his wife."

The shorter blonde and the brunette instantly backed away from Karen.

"Look, we don't want any trouble," the brunette said.

"I know you two don't, but apparently your friend here does."

"You must feel pretty insecure in your marriage to be threatened by me," taunted the tall blonde girl. "Oh, and just for the record, your husband does have a wandering eye. He was definitely checking me out while I was pumping gas across from him."

Karen frowned. "Contrary to your belief, that is not a good sign. If you value your life at all, I would hurry up in here and leave."

With that, the teenager walked out of the restroom. Mitchell was waiting for her right outside the doorway. He was clearly on the prowl. "Your girlfriend's in there," she joshed.

"So I heard," he lowly replied.

"She's not worth your time."

Mitchell's eyebrows lifted. "No?"

"No," Karen confirmed. "Besides, you'd probably catch some type of STD from her, anyway."

"I wouldn't, but someone else most certainly will." He firmly grasped her hand in his. "Come, sweetness, let's go before I change my mind."

"Right," the teenager muttered.

She and Mitchell returned to her car. As they sat down, she asked, "So, how long do you think it will take to reach Altoona?"

"Not more than a few hours."

"Just don't get caught," Karen warned as her husband started the engine.

"I never do."

Smirking, she leaned back in her seat. Just as Mitchell turned the Camaro around, the three girls from the restroom sauntered out of the station. The teenager recalled what the Boogeyman had done to Tawny and imagined him doing something similar to the tall blonde.

"Karen…" her husband voiced, catching her attention.

"Sorry," she said, directing her gaze to him. "I was just thinking."

"Yes, and I know exactly what you were thinking."

She sighed softly. "The Boogeyman could have killed her."

"Easily," Mitchell agreed.

"She was such a bitch."

"No offense, sweetness, but I'm sure she thought the same about you."

"Yeah, probably. I just don't understand people like her."

"I assume you're referring to their promiscuous lifestyles."

Karen nodded. "You said Judith acted the same way."

"Yes. It got especially bad the year before I killed her. It seemed like every week she was with someone new."

"And your parents were okay with that?" Karen asked, aghast.

"They didn't know. Judith only brought boys over when they went out, which was at least once a week."

"So, instead of watching you, she was busy having sex."

Mitchell's expression darkened. "It got tiresome, but that's not why I killed her. On that particular Halloween, for reasons I cannot explain, I simply wanted her dead."

"I can feel your rage when you speak of your siblings," Karen said. "It's unusually strong considering their only offense against you was being born into your family."

"I do not fully understand it myself, sweetness. As I have told you, I didn't feel that same hatred towards my parents. Although I didn't love them, I still respected them."

"What about Laurie? She had to have been very young at that time."

"She was two years old," Mitchell said. "My loathing for her didn't develop until much later. It sizzled within me for a few years before I felt ready to hunt her down."

"Sounds oddly familiar," Karen replied.

"Yes, very," he agreed. "I have an innate sense of timing. Soon you will have it as well."

"It's funny; you are so adamant that I am stronger than you, yet you transformed into the Boogeyman on your own, whereas I needed help from you to obtain my supernatural powers. So, in that regard, I will always be your inferior," the teenager said.

"What? No." Mitchell turned his head to briefly face her. "Karen, trust me, no one could have survived the daily abuse you endured, especially not for ten years. You may have succumbed to your father's drug at night, but the fact that you were still able to function and do so well in school is truly a testament of your strength. Had your body not been forced to combat that drug on a near nightly basis, your transformation would have been as natural as mine."

"But without your intervention, I would have died," Karen disputed. "You saved my life, Michael Myers, and not even you can deny otherwise."

"It's your damn stubbornness that saved your life," the killer countered, his anger rising. "All I did was forge a bond with you. Your fate ultimately depended on your will to survive, and that is the damn truth."

"I could never leave you, Michael," Karen softly voiced. "I love you too much."

His anger instantly ebbed. "I love you just as much, sweetness."

The newlyweds stopped speaking after that. Karen kept herself occupied by staring out her window. At the speed in which the car was traveling, the scenery was all a blur. Right now that was how she viewed her future. However, she hoped Mitchell could help define it better. "Have you given any thought as to where you might want to live after my father is dealt with?" she asked him.

Without looking at her, Mitchell said, "I belong in Haddonfield, Karen. That is my origin - my domain. It's also where you and I met. I cannot permanently leave it behind."

The finality of his statement made the teenager's heart sink. She knew her soulmate felt it - how could he not? - but it had absolutely no effect on his answer. On this matter, he had spoken. Leaving Haddonfield for good was simply not in her cards, and she just had to accept that. "All right, Haddonfield it is, then," she finally said.

Mitchell mutely nodded, which caused Karen to frown.

"What?" she wondered. "Did you want me to put up a fight?"

"No, but I don't want you to be unhappy either."

"Once this is all over, I won't be," said Karen with as much conviction as she could muster. "You've done so much for me, Michael, that I can certainly live in Haddonfield for you." And that was not a lie. She owed the killer more than she could ever repay him.

"I just want you to be happy," he reiterated, his tone sincere.

"Yeah, I know," the teenager assured him. "Don't worry about it." Mitchell remained silent, and this time she left him to his thoughts.

Since the car was moving at such a fast speed, the radio no longer worked, so Karen resorted to resting with her eyes closed. Her gut instinct told her she would need all her strength and then some to confront whatever it was that awaited her in Altoona.

A gentle breeze rustled the colorful leaves above Karen's head. The woods in which she was standing held an air of familiarity to it, yet she couldn't say as to why.

"You don't recognize this place, do you?" a ghostly voice asked.

Startled, Karen jumped and spun around, but all that met her was empty air. "No, but I feel like I should," she answered.

"I'm not surprised," the invisible person said. "You were very distraught when you passed through here on your way to meet Michael."

That voice. Karen knew that voice. '"Mom,' she breathed, hardly believing her ears. "Mom, I know it's you. Where are you? Please…"

"Here. I am here."

Karen looked down where a dead tree branch lay. Around its branches hung her mother's cross necklace. "No!" She dropped to her knees and pressed her palms on the earth in front of her. "This is where you are?" she shrieked. "Here!? "

"Yes. Welcome to my final resting place."

"No!" Karen gasped. "No! Who put you here?"

"Dearest, you already know the answer to that question. You've known since the day I disappeared. You just didn't want to believe he would stoop that low. Truthfully, neither did I.

"I loved him, Karen. I really did. That's why I let him talk me into leaving Brookside. He swore he would protect you from the Boogeyman, and I believed him. But I was wrong. Oh so wrong. I'm sorry, Karen. I failed you. I failed you in so many ways."

Tears started streaming down Karen's cheeks. "How d-did he k-kill you, M-Mom?" she wondered. "How d-did you d-die?"

"Your father strangled me, dearest."

"W-why?"

"I found a bunch of photographs that he had taken of you. Some were innocent. Others were not. He kept them in an old shoebox in our closet. So many more have been added to it, as you know. I wish I could have stopped him, Karen, but I wasn't strong enough."

The teenager wiped away her tears and rose to her full height. "I wasn't either."

"But you are now."

Karen nodded. "Yes. I want to kill him. Now more than ever."

"I know. And it's only going to get worse. Much worse. Lean on Michael, dearest. He is your true soulmate. Unlike me, he will never forsake you."

Then, Holly Miller and the dreamscape vanished, leaving the younger alone in silent darkness.

"Karen, wake up. Wake up now."

Mitchell.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was still driving, but they were no longer on the toll road.

"Are you all right?" he demanded. "What the hell were you dreaming about? I could feel your distress."

"My mom," Karen uttered. "It was my mom, Mitchell."

The killer's expression softened. "Have you ever dreamt of her before?"

The teenager shook her head. "No. And it was more than just a dream. She spoke to me at her grave. She's buried in the woods close to where you and I met. The spot is marked by her necklace."

"I know," he quietly said. "I found it on the same day I brought you to Waukegan. I believe your mother led me there. I never would have found it otherwise."

Karen stared at her husband. "So all this time you knew she was dead?"

He nodded. "Yes, as did you, sweetness. You just didn't want to believe it."

"Well, I believe it now," she mournfully said. "Someday you'll have to take me to her grave."

"I will," Mitchell promised. "When the time is right."

Karen wiped a stray tear from her cheek. "Thank you."

He gave her a minute to compose herself before continuing their conversation."Sweetness, you said Holly spoke to you. What did she say?"

The teenager told him, not leaving any details out.

"Those damn photos," Mitchell muttered.

"I have to find them now for sure," she adamantly said. "They cost my mom her life. She deserves justice."

"As do you, Karen. Your father has much to atone for."

"And it's not over. My mom warned me that it's only going to get worse and to lean on you."

"I hope you heed her advice," saiid Mitchell. "You have a tendency to push me away when you need me most."

"I know," Karen quietly replied. "It's just that I hate crying in front of you. I really do. It makes me feel so weak."

Mitchell parked the Camaro in front of a large house. "Karen, you have to stop thinking that way. Expressing your pain does not make you weak nor does it make you my inferior. I am your husband, your soulmate. I'm the one who's supposed to comfort you. Hell, I want to comfort you. It's what I'm here to do, so use me."

"Okay," she agreed. She turned her attention to her grandparents' house.

"Remember, let your necklace break the ice," Mitchell said.

The newlyweds left the car and walked up to the front door. Karen took a deep breath as she rang the bell. A moment later a girl's voice rang out from within the house.

"I'll get it!"

For some reason, hearing the girl's voice heightened Karen's anxiety. Mitchell placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, but it did little to calm her nerves.

The door soon opened, revealing a very pretty girl with light brown hair and dark brown eyes, who looked to be about the same age as Karen. The two girls looked so similar to each other that they could have easily been mistaken for sisters or even fraternal twins.

"Karen, who is it?" asked a woman's voice from somewhere within the house.

Karen? Karen!? What the hell -? Then, it dawned on Karen. "Nooo…!" she breathed. She now understood how her father had managed to keep her grandparents away all those years. He had found a lookalike to take her place in their lives, and a very convincing one at that.

Karen suddenly felt very light-headed. Mitchell promptly wrapped an arm around her waist to help keep her steady on her feet.

The other teenager held Karen's stare without any hint of recognition in her expression, though she appeared quite confused as well. "I don't know..." she answered. She stepped aside to make room for an older couple, who were clearly Karen's grandparents: Benjamin and Deborah Holmes.

Deborah's sharp caramel eyes instantly landed on Karen's gold cross pendant. Then, they flew up to her face. "Who are you?" she wanted to know. "And where did you get that necklace?"

Karen knew becoming unhinged now was not going to do anybody any good, so she dug deep within herself to maintain her composure. "I am Karen Martin," she truthfully said, "and my mother gave me this necklace on my fifth birthday."

"Martin?" Benjamin implored.

"Yes, I just got married this past weekend." She gestured to her soulmate. "This is my husband Mitchell."

Benjamin piercing indigo eyes lingered on the killer for a long moment before returning to Karen. "What is your maiden name?"

"Miller."

"You lie!" Deborah exclaimed.

Benjamin shook his head. "The necklace doesn't lie, Debbie," he gently told her. "This girl is who she says."

"Impossible!" The poor woman looked as though she was about to faint as well. "You are not Karen Miller!" Indignant, she pointed to the other teenager. "This is Karen Miller!"

Karen pursed her lips together, completely unsure of what to say. Did her father's cruelty have no bounds? By showing up, she had just ruined another set of lives. It wasn't fair. Not at all. However, it was just about to get much worse, just like she had been warned.

"For crying out loud, what's going on?"

Karen started, hard. That was her mother's voice! Only this time it wasn't in a dream. It was real.

The body belonging to the familiar voice joined the others in the doorway, and Karen's heart stopped. Had it not been for Michael's presence inside of it, she would have certainly gone into cardiac arrest. Her legs buckled as the world around her darkened. He hastily hoisted her up into his arms before she struck the ground.

"Quickly, bring her inside," she heard Benjamin say. "Lay her on the couch."

Mitchell did as instructed. Within seconds Karen's heart started beating on its own again. She quickly sat up, making room for him to join her on the sofa. She propped her head on his shoulder and locked eyes with the woman who looked and sounded identical to Holly Miller. "You are not my mother," she muttered.

All eyes turned to the woman pretending to be Holly. At first she appeared confused, but then her face visibly paled, obviously aware that her perverse rouse was up.

"Holly, what the hell is going on?" Benjamin demanded. "How is it that there are two Karen Millers? Why were you hiding our real granddaughter from us?"

The woman sighed. "They are both your real granddaughters," she said. "David Miller fathered them both."

"WHAT?!" Karen shrieked. "Oh, fuck, no!" Irate, she jumped to her feet, not really sure of her intentions. Her father hadn't just found a lookalike. He had made one with whom she presumed was her mother's identical twin sister. Disgusting! Absolutely vile!

Mitchell instantly grabbed Karen by the waist, preventing her from leaving or possibly causing harm to anyone.

"I don't want to hear this!" she seethed.

"I know, sweetness," he empathized, "but you must. It's why we came here." He guided Karen to a loveseat and urged her to sit back down with him.

Meanwhile, the Holmes and their other granddaughter made themselves comfortable on the sofa, opposite of them. 'Holly' chose to sit on a chair close to the sofa.

Karen's half-sister kept her eyes on Mitchell, showing obvious interest in him. Her instant attraction to him really irked Karen, more so than even the blonde's at the gas station, because she instinctively felt threatened by this girl. If there was one person who could steal Michael Myers away from her, she knew without a doubt it was her half-sister. Karen reached for his hand, wordlessly telling her foe to back off.

"This is all so confusing," Deborah complained. She directed her attention to Karen. "So, if you're David's daughter, who's your mother?"

The teenager glared at the woman sitting in the chair. "Holly Miller. The real Holly Miller, not this imposter."

Deborah faced the woman whom she knew as her daughter. "You're not really Holly?" she quietly asked.

"Technically no," the woman replied, "but I've been living as her for so long now that I may as well be her."

"How long?" questioned Mitchell.

"Sixteen years," the woman told him. "Karen and I moved to Altoona two years after she was born. It was David's idea. He and Holly had a falling out with her parents, so he asked me to impersonate her to permanently keep them from interfering in their lives."

"And you agreed? Just like that?" Karen scorned, incredulous.

"Sure. I was living in the slums of Chicago when David found me. He promised me a better life as long as I did whatever he asked. I agreed, and he delivered, so here I am with his second daughter Karen Miller, who was born on December twenty-eight, nineteen seventy-nine. David was so excited when I gave birth to a girl. He said it was Fate."

Karen was fuming by this point, but she let the woman continue her narrative without interruption.

"He still doted on Holly, who was my estranged twin sister, but he always made sure I was well taken care of. Once he learned I was pregnant, he paid for me to move into a very nice apartment in Springfield so that he could visit me more frequently.

"After I gave birth, David insisted that I leave him off the birth certificate, but he asked me to name our daughter Karen. He took care of legally changing my first name and our surnames just before we moved here. Since I had no attachment to my previous name, I didn't object."

Karen Miller stared at her mother in stunned silence; however, Karen Martin couldn't contain her rage any longer.

"Well, maybe you should have!" she yelled. "You knowingly had an affair with a married man, gave birth to his daughter, and then purposely deceived your sister's parents? What kind of person are you?!"

"I was a desperate one, all right? Holly lived in a foster home with good decent people and then was adopted by good decent people. I didn't get so lucky. You have no idea what my life was like before I met your father. He gave me the chance to improve my life, and I took it. You would have done the same had you been in my position. David saved me. He was my hero."

Karen scoffed at the woman's proclamation. "My father asked you to impersonate my mother so that he could eventually kill her, sexually abuse me for years, and keep my grandparents from helping me. How is that heroic?"

"Holly's dead?" Deborah uttered.

Karen had been so consumed by her anger, she hadn't realized what she said until now. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell you. Not like that."

"But it's true," her grandmother softly voiced.

The teenager reluctantly nodded. "Mitchell found her grave, and I truly believe my father killed her to get at me. I'm so sorry."

"When did she die?" Benjamin asked.

"Ten years ago. The abuse started soon after."

"Karen, if we had known -"

"I know," she assured him. "I know you would have come for me. Unfortunately, he knew, too."

Deborah pinned Holly under a rageful stare. "Sixteeen years…for sixteen years, I loved you as my daughter. Now I find out that Holly's been dead for ten, and because of your deception, she died thinking we hated her."

Deborah wiped tears from her eyes. "Excuse me, I need some space." She rose from the sofa and hurried upstairs. A moment later, a door slammed closed.

Karen also stood up. "I think Mitchell and I should leave, too," she told her grandfather.

She regretted this trip in so many ways. She wanted to find her grandparents to possibly develop a relationship with them. However, despite the family connection, she was a stranger to them - a stranger who had just succeeded in flipping their entire world upside down. Not only that, but they had been loving another granddaughter for sixteen years. Karen couldn't complete with that. Resigned, she waited for Mitchell by the front door.

"Wait," Benjamin commanded. "Please, I know this visit didn't go well -"

"It was a disaster," Karen quipped.

"Yes, well, even so, you are still our granddaughter, and I would really like to know you better. Will you please consider returning tomorrow?"

Karen glanced up at Mitchell. He gave a head a short nod. "Sure," she replied, "if that's what you want. What time?"

"Come for breakfast. We usually eat around nine."

"All right, we'll see you then." The teenager opened the door.

"Oh, and, Karen, I'm really sorry."

"Yeah," she said. "So am I."

She and Mitchell walked down the front steps to the Camaro. As soon as they were buckled in, he pulled away from the curb. They didn't travel but a mile up the road before he pulled into a park. "Being cooped up in a hotel room isn't going to do you any good right now," he said to Karen's unasked question. He swung his door open. "Come, take a walk with me."

She nodded, grateful that Mitchell understood her needs.

The couple hiked down a dirt path towards the play equipment. Since it was well past dark, the park was empty, which suited her just fine. She liked the fact she could speak freely to her husband without the fear of her words being overheard.

"Why couldn't she have been a boy?" Karen wondered aloud. "Why was Fate so cruel to me?"

"To make you stronger."

"That's not a sufficient answer," she snapped.

"It's the only one I have, sweetness," Mitchell said. "You may not like it, but it's your suffering that has made you stronger than me. I've always been the predator, never the victim. In that sense, I cannot relate to the pain you are feeling right now."

"I'm very angry," she stated.

"Yes, I know, and, again, it's completely justified. Your father is a monster, Karen. He truly is. He started lusting for you when you were only two months old. That's just plain sick."

"Why me, though? Why not the other Karen?"

"Your half-sister, you mean."

The teenager made a face at her husband. "Yeah, her. Why not her?"

"Probably because you were born first," he assumed. "Your father had several weeks to bond with you before she came along, during which time his feelings for you developed."

That was not the answer Karen wanted to hear. "So, what you're saying is that she is like me?"

"I believe she has the potential to be, yes," Mitchell truthfully replied.

"Great, so if she had been born first, my father would have chosen her instead."

"Quite possibly."

Karen frowned. "Does that hold true for you, too, Mitchell?" she asked. "If you had met her first, then you'd be with her right now?"

He stopped moving and tightly gripped her shoulders. "Karen, stop. What could have happened doesn't matter. I fell in love with you. I love you."

Tears stung Karen's eyes. "But what if it does matter, Mitchell? She is clearly attracted to you, and I have a feeling your wedding band won't deter her from pursuing you. If she's like me, you may be tempted to indulge her."

Never!" barked the killer. "You are my everything, Karen. I would never hurt you like that."

"She could pique your curiosity, though," the teenager disputed, not standing down. "I'm afraid you might want to sleep with her to validate your choice."

"Your fear is completely unfounded," Mitchell growled. "The love I have for you validates my choice."

"Yes, I suppose it does," Karen relented, ending the argument. However, he continued to observe her thoughtfully.

"I'm not the one that needs validation of my choice," he said at last. "It's you."

"I know you love me, Mitchell," Karen said while drying her eyes on her shirt sleeve.

"But it's not enough, especially now. You need the assurance that I made the right choice. You feel threatened by your sister."

"Half-sister," she spat. "And, yes, if she's like me, then I'm afraid you are going to feel drawn to her at some point and that you"ll desire to bond with her, too. I don't want to share your affections with anyone, Mitchael. Ever. I want to know that you will be mine forever. I do not want to end up like my poor mother."

Mitchell stared at Karen. "Do you really think I'd treat you in such a way?" When she didn't respond, he said, "Karen, my love for you prevents me from being unfaithful to you. Your half-sister may be attracted to me, but I'm not to her."

"But you could be," Karen insisted. "You even said that the potential is there."

"I can change that," Mitchell confidently told her, "I can vanquish her powers and at the same time give you the validation you desire. It's just going to require a lot of trust on your part."

Karen's eyes narrowed. "You're going to sleep with her, aren't you?"

"Unless you want me to try to kill her," he countered

"No, I don't want her dead," Karen confessed. "None of this is her fault. She's a victim of my father just like I am. Other than her being attracted to you, I feel no ill will towards her."

"That's what I thought."

Karen sat down on a log. A moment later, her husband joined ber. They sat shoulder to shoulder holding hands. "Sleeping with her could be risky," she cautioned. "If you find pleasure with her, you could strengthen her powers by mistake."

"Even if I do enjoy my time with her, I will be acting on lust, not love. Your body has always responded positively to my seed, because in my heart, I wanted to help you. I have no such feeling for your half-sister."

"Just please don't get her pregnant," Karen said. "You obviously can't wear a condom, and I doubt she's on any birth control." Suddenly enraged, she kicked a stone with the toe of her shoe and watched it mark a tree trunk across the way. "Looks like you might get your virgin after all."

Mitchell cupped her chin so that he could stare deeply into her eyes. "Karen, I don't want a virgin," he sincerely said. "I want only you."

The anger in her heart melted as his lips found hers. Minutes later Karen found herself on the ground with Mitchell moving deep within her.

"Speaking of birth control, you didn't take yours this evening, did you?" he asked between kisses.

"No, I totally forgot."

Mitchell abruptly pulled out of Karen's wet core and brought his manhood to her mouth. "You're close to ovulating," he declared. "Open up."

She eagerly accepted his seed, savoring the taste of him. "Mmm...so good…" she raved.

"Yes, I thought you would like that."

"I'm sorry I forgot to take my pill," Karen apologized while she and her husband pulled up their jeans.

"It's partly my fault," he said. "I should have reminded you."

"I'll take it tomorrow. I promise."

Mitchell simply nodded and took Karen's hand. Together they looped around the playground and returned to the Camaro. Once they were on the road again, he said, "Just to ease your mind, there's no chance of me getting her pregnant right now."

"Well, that's good at least," Karen ruefully replied.

Mitchell glanced at her. "Sweetness, if there was any other way -"

"I know, but there's not," she firmly stated. "She wants you, and nothing else will stop her. She'll become an obsessed stalker. I'm sure you know the type."

"Unfortunately, yes. But speaking of stalking, if I do this with your half-sister, I am not sleeping with Aniyah."

"Michael, you do this, and you can kill Aniyah for all I care," Karen bluntly stated.

The killer smirked. "Deal. So, do you need something to eat before we find a place to stay tonight?"

'Yeah, but can we get take-out? I just want to get to a hotel and relax with you - maybe even watch some TV or something."

"I like the 'or something'," said Mitchell.

Karen laughed. "Of course you do."

"Hey, this is our honeymoon, remember? Having sex is a given."

"Oh, is it?" she teased

Mitchell cocked his head. "Are you going to play hard to get, sweetness? - because I'd really enjoy that."

"Naw, I'm too tired to fight you off tonight, Mr. Martin," Karen admitted, "but I'll tuck that away for future reference."

His sepia eyes glinted at her. "Be sure that you do."

After ordering two meals through a fast food drive-thru, Mitchell drove to a nearby motel. It wasn't anything fancy, but it would suffice for a couple of nights.

Karen was never happier to see a bed. She grabbed her bag of food and plopped down on her side of the queen-size mattress. She took out her fries first so she could eat them while they were still hot. "Now to gain ten pounds…" she flippantly said.

"Don't worry, I'll work it off you," Mitchell assured her, his expression full of passion. Ignoring his food, he sat down to her. He dipped a hand between her crisscrossed legs and gently massaged her already aroused nub through her jeans.

"Hey, let me eat," she complained.

He nuzzled the side of her neck with his lips. "I'm not stopping you, sweetness," he voiced into her skin.

'Yeah, well, you're making it rather difficult at the moment."

"Difficult, but not impossible."

"You're impossible," Karen bantered.

Mitchell added more pressure behind his touch. "That I am."

Karen continued munching on her food, determined to finish her food before succumbing to her husband's seduction. It took a lot of will-piwer on her part, but she managed to eat all her fries and more than half her cheeseburger before finally giving into him and orgasming.

"I'm impressed," he praised. "You lasted a lot longer than I thought you would." Mitchell unzipped Karen's fly and promptly slid three fingers directly into slick folds.

"Hey, that's not fair!"" she scolded.

"All is fair in love and war," he shot back.

Karen quickly ate the rest of her food. She swiped the empty bag onto the floor and then parted her legs, completely submitted herself to her soulmate. He yanked off her clothes so that he could sink his entire hand into her wet depths.

Karen was beside herself in pleasure. He always knew exactly where to touch her to induce the strongest orgasms. She loved him for that. "Mitchell, please…" she moaned. "I want you…"

Since the risk was too great for them to have vaginal sex, he unzipped his jeans and pushed his erection into her netherhole.

"Oh, god," she breathed. "Mitchell…"

"I know" he huskily replied as he reamed her.

Between that and his hand, Karen came extremely hard. After spending himself inside of her, Mitchell left the bed to unpack her vibrator. He spread her legs wide open, completely exposing her two stretch openings. He turned on the toy and shoved it none too gently into her vagina. She writhed on the mattress as the toy worked it's magic.

A few minutes later Mitchell held a sated Karen securely in his arms. "Did you get enough?" she asked him.

"For now." He kissed her on the cheek. "Try to get some sleep, sweetness."

"Okay. Good night, Mitchell."

"Pleasant dreams, Karen."


Mitchell waited for his wife to drift off to sleep before leaving the bed to eat. He sat in a chair watching her while he absently munched his cold food. He wasn't particularly hungry, but at least it kept him occupied. The days' events weighed heavily on his mind. He was just as surprised to learn she had a half-sister as she was.

However, Fate had been preparing him all day for their meeting. That was why Karen had suddenly looked so gorgeous to him from the gas station on. Fate had given him tunnel vision to bolster his desire for her to prevent him from being seduced by her half-sister's aura. It all made sense now.

Karen Miller's powers were still very raw, but given a few more years to develop, she could transform into a being like them - could being the operative word. There was no guarantee that she'd become as powerful as his wife, but he wouldn't take that chance.

His Karen's confidence in herself was too fragile to allow her half-sister's powers time to strengthen. Besides, he didn't need or want the drama of dealing with an obsessed lovesick girl whose affections he could never reciprocate, who also had the potential to live forever. No, he had to nip this in the bud now, which meant sleeping with her was unavoidable. Damn.

Karen murmured something in her sleep and tears formed underneath her closed eyelids. Mitchell instantly abandoned the chair to rejoin her in bed. He gently stroked her head in an attempt to comfort her. He had never seen her in the throes of a nightmare before, but one sure had ahold of her now.

"M-Michael," she quietly sobbed, though still not wakeful.

"Shh," he soothed, "I'm here."

"P-Please don't ch-chose her."

His soulmate's desperate plea tore right through him. Despite everything they had gone through and shared together, she still feared losing him to her half-sister. Mitchell suspected that deep within her subconscious mind, Karen had always been aware of her half-sister's existence. That would explain her insecurities and why she kept wondering if there was another girl who he was secretly pining for.

"P-Please…"

"I won't betray you, Karen," Mitchell firmly assured her. "Never. You are my life." And that was the truth. Divorcing Karen wouldn't be too difficult, but there was no reversing the bond they had forged. Their souls were fused together, permanently.

At long last his wife relaxed in his arms as she slipped into a deeper sleep. Mitchell continued to hold her, refusing to let her go. He used a corner of the bedsheet to clean her face. She didn't stir, not even a little. Her nightmare was over, but it was his mission to keep it from haunting her ever again.