Delusional. That is exactly what Lorenzo had become since he first met Elizabeth. He had thought the human woman was his entire world. She gave him so much to look forward to and once he embraced her she would be a part of him for eternity. He was completely insane to believe that she, after being embraced by a rival clan, could ever truly be his, like he had dreamed many times before. He never took into account the corrosive biting taste of his enemies blood, but instead focused all of his attention on being inside her, feeling her, and making her his.

She felt his jagged nails stabbing through the delicate skin around her neck, his hot breath burned her as if he were shooting flames and his two knifelike fangs grazed her lips. Blood seemed to ooze from his fiery eyes, he was going to kill her, she knew it, she could sense his hatred and fury and for the first time since they met, Lorenzo frightened her. This was not the man she had fallen in love with.

The sound of cracking bone plucked her back into reality. At the base of her neck, she could feel the pressure of his grip as one tiny bone after another began to fracture under the weight of his hold. He was killing her, albeit slowly, for a vampire cannot die just from broken bones and she instinctively knew that. She was quite aware of how he was going to take her life and send her corpse straight back to hell, where all vampires were laid to rest. He could bleed her dry by ripping her neck and leaving her to slowly fade away, feeling the loss of every drop of blood in her body. It would be painful beyond words; or he could show mercy and take his spiked nails and sever her head, she would die instantly…no pain.

But Elizabeth didn't want to die. She came to him willingly so they could talk and do much, much more. She never thought, especially after the way he welcomed her into his home, that Lorenzo would be the monster that was inches away from killing her. She needed to look beyond the beast and find the man, the love of her life.

"P…pl…please," she uttered painfully as the lack of oxygen began to take it's toll. Her eyes bore directly into his in an attempt to make contact with the one she loved. He wasn't lost to her; he was in there somewhere, underneath the hate and madness.

"How dare you come to my home, you Gangrel BITCH! I should rip your fucking head off." In that moment, he made the decision to send her shredded body back to her clan. As he disengaged his jaw to provide him a bigger and better bite, the Ventru leader sunk his razor-like teeth into her flesh.

A rush of fire soared through her body. She could feel her flesh slowly being torn from her body and a rush of warm blood escaping through. She needed to do something, anything, before he killed her.

"LORENZO!" she screamed before she swiftly rammed her knee into his groin. For some unknown reason his shaft was fully erect as if killing her brought him some sort of primal pleasure. He roared from the combustible pain she inflicted forcing him to release his hold on her neck.

Elizabeth crumbled down onto the floor gripping the side of her neck as flesh and blood seeped through her fingers. She gurgled while trying to breath. She didn't have much time, but she needed to reach him before he came back at her again. Her dimmed eyes saw him stumble backward holding himself. He was in agony, but she needed to buy herself some time. Lorenzo bumped into the edge of a credenza, while he wailed from the piercing jolts that rocked every nerve, every muscle, right down to his bones.

She had to concentrate hard in order to reach him. Somehow she knew that at some deeper level he would hear her. Elizabeth closed her eyes, calmed her breathing and called out to him repeatedly, each time she uttered his name it would be softer until she finally was able to do it without opening her mouth.

"Lorenzo my love, hear me."

Her voice seemed to resonate as a stilled calm came upon him. His fangs retracted as did his nails, the dead red eyes slowly changed back to the beloved blue she remembered.

"Look at me," she cried in a whisper. She could tell that they had reconnected, that he could finally hear her. Elizabeth shoulders began to relax and a wisp of a smile caressed her face as her Lorenzo returned. His head slowly rose until their eyes met. He remembered.

Lorenzo ignored the suffering and pushed himself upward to a standing position. She continued to speak to him, in his head with her sweet melodic voice. For the first time since he had tasted her blood, Lorenzo saw his beloved. She was bleeding badly, her body racked with torment from his vicious bite. He rushed to her side and knelt down before her.

"What have I done," he wailed as he took in her dying form. "Oh god Elizabeth, my Elizabeth." The panic and horror in his tone was of a man who hurt the woman he loved. She gasped for air as more of her blood drained out onto the floor, but she managed to raise her other blood soaked hand to his face.

"I….I'm so sor…sorry."

He smelled it again and he could feel the beast stir within him. Gangrel blood was smeared on his face and it took every ounce of control for him to keep the beast at bay while he tended to Elizabeth. She grew weaker by the second and Lorenzo knew if he didn't act fast, there would be nothing he could do to save her and the thought of losing her forever was something he would not allow himself to entertain. He can't live without her…there would be no point.

"Don't be afraid my sweet," he whispered to her. "I will save you, you won't die."

Lorenzo planted his arms around her upper back and under her knees before lifting her. He carried her soft body to the couch gently placing her down. Her tiny form began to jerk and twitch from the loss of blood and the now impeding hunger for the elixir it had lost. She needed to feed so her body could rejuvenate and heal.

Time seemed to stand still. She could hear him moving about in the room, the fierce beating of her heart to pump more blood, the rush of air filtering through the vents, muffled voices out in the hallway, and…. and him. Jason.

Pain…so much pain. He was hurt and somehow she knew that he was aware of her situation. He was talking to her…very low, breathing…hard…labored. Elizabeth sensed him as if he were in the room with her, as if he were inside of her.

"Eliz…a…beth."

Her eyes widened, his voice came through so clearly. As Lorenzo gathered bottles and bottles on a tray she replied telepathically, "Jason."

"I…I'm…co…coming for you. Stay." He was hurting; she could feel it…but somehow she understood that what he was experiencing was because he sensed and felt her attack. The thought of him hurting because of what happened to her, added to her own suffering, causing her mind and body to begin to shutdown. Even for a vampire, there was only so much her body could absorb before it needed to cleanse and heal.

"Hurry Jason…please…hu…rry." The communication ended with her final word. She was gone.

Lorenzo didn't notice her; he was too busy finding bottles of O Negative blood, as it was the purest form. It would heal her quickly as long as she had enough in her body to sustain the restoration process. He had to make her well, he needed to or he might as well die with her.

When he turned and walked toward Elizabeth, he saw the bluish color of her lips, eyelids and fingernails. She laid so still, so lifeless, Lorenzo almost dropped the tray. He had to hurry but he realized that she would not be able to feed from the bottles. She was unconscious, lingering in that dark universe between life and death. He rushed to her side and placed the tray on the rectangular glass table next to the couch. He needed to get blood into her system quickly.

"MAURICE!" his voice boomed while he waited for his guard to enter.

The stocky guard flung the door open and quickly bolted to his master. Before he could answer Lorenzo, his boss ordered, "Go and bring me the IV." The guard paused for a split second wondering what had happened to the feisty, loud-mouthed brunette that pushed her way through earlier.

"NOW!" Lorenzo yelled and the guard jolted out of the room. He returned less than two minutes later with an IV stand holding two large pouches of the red serum. It was kept in a walk-in refrigerator hidden behind a wall in the kitchen. This was the backup system used when vampires were injured too badly to feed on their own. It allowed the blood to instantaneously enter through a vein flooding the body with what it needed for survival.

The leader took a hold of the long thin needle attached to the clear plastic line where the blood would flow and punctured the large thick vein on the inside of her wrist. He rose to his feet and released a small, almost invisible valve just under the pouches allowing the liquid to course directly into her body. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, sorrow and regret filled his thoughts. He did this to her, Elizabeth…but he would make it all better. He reassured himself that she would be fine and by the time she woke up, Jason would be dead and she would be his.

With his vampire form in full effect, Jason tugged the front door of his penthouse open and slammed it against the wall, the knob impaled into the drywall. He was livid beyond words and he wanted to make someone hurt, like he did. He could still hear her whimper in his head, her soft moans of pleasure burned in his memory. Faint murmurs of her racing heartbeat ignited his own. He could taste her on the tip of his tongue, her sweetness dripping into him like hot wax off a candle. Jason needed to get to her fast and he was willing to do or kill anyone who stood in his way. He would find her and bring her home…to him.

He stomped down the long corridor outside his penthouse heading for the stairs. Two of his guards waddled behind him making sure they kept their distance. Their boss was furious the likes of which they had never seen and it was safer for them to just hang back. Jason shoved the metal door to the stairwell and flew down each flight, barely allowing his feet to touch the steps. His body pulsed with vengeance as he descended down to the main floor.

When he reached the tenth floor, a cold rush swept through his body. It was so powerful he stopped at the base of the stairs. He immediately began to hyperventilate as if air was being constricted around his throat and his body worked furiously to draw in oxygen. The tightness against his neck felt like a vice. He could feel puffs of air venting out of his mouth as he gasped.

His loyal guards edged closer to see what was happening to their leader. Never had they seen him like this and neither of them wanted to do anything to upset him. One of his men, a medium build redhead came to stand behind Jason as he lay hunched over the railing. His labored breaths were slowing and the guard, named Henry, knew that it was not a good sign. When he came around Jason and looked at his face, he could see the beginning hints of an eerie bluish hue in his skin, especially on his lips and the tips of his fingers.

Concern and fear were expressed on Henry's hardened face. He flashed the other guard a look that noted the urgency in getting Jason help, so both men placed their strong hands on their leader and quickly began to guide him down the stairs. Jason's body heaved and twitched in their hands, he looked like he was in the throws of choking…the air slowly siphoned out of him.

When they finally reached the main floor, the guards were practically dragging him across the marble floor when a loud boom rattled the building. At that precise moment, Jason took a much-needed gulp of air before he screamed like a dying animal. He bellowed so loudly, the men on either side of him loosened their hold and covered their ears as the piercing cry infiltrated their eardrums.

The pain was indescribable. He stumbled and then fell to his knees as a wretched ache roasted him from the inside. The feeling was like nothing he had ever experienced. He felt the ragged sharpness of teeth ravaging his neck, the stripping of flesh from his bone, the gush of blood flowing like a waterfall. He felt all of it, but when he looked down at his hands and the floor beneath him…there was nothing. No blood, no evidence that this was really happening.

Another powerful boom drummed throughout the building. Henry and his partner Lou had no idea what was causing the sound or the rumble but when the screeching screams of people sailing down the stairs and barging through the door behind them met their ringing ears they knew something was very wrong. Before they could even comprehend the severity of the situation, chunks of marble and stone began to fall around them. The paintings on the wall, along with the light fixtures crashed onto the floor. The entire building seemed to quake and shift.

Completely unaware of what was happening around him; Jason internally reacted to something, a softness, a familiar scent, a pleading that he recognized as…

He called her name, fumbling the word as it physically pained him to say it. It was her…she was the one who was hurting…dying. Then he heard her call out his own name, her strained breathing, she was struggling for air…for life. She seemed calmer, her heart wasn't thundering any longer, but still it throbbed to survive. She needed him so badly and he had to go to her, help her, heal her, his sire, his woman…Elizabeth.

"I…I'm…co…coming for you. Stay," he ordered and knew she would comply because she was too weak to move.

As the fog of her torment began to lift away from him, Jason felt strong arms lifting him and rushing toward the double doors leading outside. His eyes shifted from side to side as clouds of dust plumed around them. People rushed by him urgently as the building swayed. Blocks and blocks of concrete littered the floor and more seemed to crash as if…as if…

"It's coming down!" Henry yelled.

All three men pushed through the falling rubble as did masses of former occupants of Harborview Towers. When they reached outside, the flow of bodies led them down the sidewalk heading uptown. The sound of the once regal building as it crashed onto the busy and bustling street of East Forty-Fifth was deafening. Voices of fear and panic littered the area; the emphatic noise of crushing metal as concrete and stone fell upon the vehicles scattered on the street…pure chaos. Lives were lost.

Jason watched in horror as his home was decimated before his eyes. The Gangrel sanctuary that was once the elite Harborview Towers was now destroyed; reduced to nothing of what it used to be. As emergency personnel came onto the scene, the three men forged ahead bypassing onlookers and news reporters, heading to safety. This was not an accident, but a planned attack on the clan. The first move was made upon the Gangrel, so their only retaliation was to go after those who wronged them, those who committed mass murder against their clan, and those who held a petite young woman hostage.

They entered the two-story structure on the corner of West Fifty-Second and Third. It housed a bookstore and café and much more. The men sped by the customers and employees and walked steadily toward the rear. They entered the kitchen and continued forward to a heavy steel door that required an optic scan for entry. Jason stepped in front of the small device encased in the wall and allowed the computer to run a laser across his retina. The loud click alerted them to open the door.

At the far end of the long dimly lit corridor was a set of stairs that led down to another steel door. Like the one previous, an optical scan was initiated and they walked into the room. Dozens of eyes raked over them as Jason and his two guards trudged through a sea of high-tech surveillance equipment and fellow Gangrel that worked with them. Rarely did Jason visit this facility, so they understood that this visit was unplanned. Many of them had watched helplessly on cameras as their home and safe haven imploded. They had lost brothers and sisters that day, so their determination to inflict their special brand of revenge helped them stay focused.

Johnny walked toward him inspecting his leader's appearance. As head of security for the clan, Johnny's concern for Jason's safety was evident.

"I didn't think you'd make it," he chimed before embracing Jason in a hug. When they released, Johnny nodded to Henry and Lou grateful they all escaped without injury.

"Elizabeth is hurt." Jason offered his friend a biting look, fury rolled off of him in waves. "I need to get her away from Alcazar."

He walked away leaving them all with their mouths agape. Johnny's concern turned to rage. It was all her fault, all of this. How the hell did she end up at Alcazar's? He turned on his heels and followed Jason into a secluded room. Francis, Henry and Lou followed.

"What the hell is going on?" Johnny questioned bitterly. "I mean we all know this was Alcazar's doing with a little help from the fucking Brujah."

Jason plopped onto a leather chair and leaned his head back. He was unusually cool for someone who barely escaped death. He knew it wasn't because of him it was because of Elizabeth. He felt her once again but this time her turbulent emotions rescinded. There was a sense of serenity and peace. Her body was cool but not cold, her eyes closed…tired, but not dead. There was still life in her but he didn't know for how long. He had to go and bring her back. She would be safe with him.

In a mumbled but stern tone he responded, "I'm going to get Elizabeth. She needs me." He sprang to his feet, still a little wobbly but maintained his footing.

"You? She brought this on herself man. What the fuck…" Johnny was rudely interrupted by Jason's claw as it wrapped around his neck, lifted him up and slammed him onto a small metal table.

"You ever talk about her like that O'Brien and I will fucking rip your throat out. Do. You. Hear. Me?" The creature in him came to life.

"Jason?" Francis pleaded from behind him. "Let him go, this won't help." Francis laid his hand on Jason's shoulder. The seething leader released Johnny reluctantly, his teeth still fully extended and an evil snarl marked his face.

"You ever say anything like that again Johnny," he warned, "You will die."

Johnny rubbed the burning skin of his neck to alleviate the pain of Jason's hold. He had never witnessed his oldest friend like this…like an animal protecting its young. He didn't realize the young wispy Elizabeth Webber meant so much to Jason. The sire had a power over him and Jason did nothing to stop it or fight it. There was a bond between them that went beyond the embrace; it was as if they were linked physically, emotionally and mentally, almost as if they were becoming one being. Johnny owed Jason his life and they had gone through hell and back over the last century for their friendship and brotherhood to be dissolved over a woman. He would make this right…for all of them.

The mood in the room was a threatening mix of rage and sorrow. Death in the Gangrel clan reached all members, everyone experienced it and each sought to end the pain by going after whoever caused it. They were a tight knit group, a family of diverse individuals from every walk of life who would kill for one another without a second thought.

Johnny cleared his throat, forcing everyone to look his way. "What do you need us to do?" his question clearly directed to Jason. He decided that Elizabeth was important to Jason, so she was now important to him as well.

"We bring her home." His jaw tightened and his fists were clenched. "Then I kill Alcazar."