Hey guys! Sorry it's been a bit since I last updated, but here ya go! Again, you wonderful souls reviewing my story...I don't know how to thank you for giving me your beautiful jewels of reviews. I value you guys beyond words.

Be prepared to pull out the tissues for this one. Just a warning...

Enjoy!

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"Bloodlust" – Chapter 5

Phoebe stood staring at the exact space where Cole's face had been. She wanted to cry, to scream, but her body wouldn't respond. She swayed in her spot, feeling dizzy from the emotions tearing up her insides. Swallowing many times and taking deep, choking breaths, Phoebe tried desperately to keep herself from falling apart.

"Phoebe…?" Piper asked softly and cautiously from behind her. It sounded muffled to Phoebe's ears, which were preoccupied with the pounding of her heart in her head.

Phoebe turned to face Piper with glassy, far away eyes. Tears were building up in her eyes so quickly that she could hardly focus on her sisters and Leo, who were staring at her, at a loss as to what to do.

"We can talk later…" Piper told her with the same tone as before, obviously retracting what she had to say.

Not responding to her sister this time, Phoebe simply looked towards the stairs and walked slowly out of the room and upstairs. She didn't have the energy or heart to talk to her sisters about anything right now. With each step she took down the hallway to her room, she lost more and more of her composure until she finally collapsed to her knees in front of the bathroom door. She gasped for air through the despair gripping her chest and throat. The tears she'd been holding back began to roll down her cheeks.

Something on the floor just inside the bathroom caught her eye. Through clouded vision, she realized they were Cole's clothes from the night before. She reached for them and pulled them into her lap. Gasping sobs escaped her as she laid her face gently on the soft fabric of his ripped shirt. Cole's scent enveloped her, embracing her like his warm arms used to. But he wasn't there to do it, and that tore Phoebe's heart even more.

Twisting herself, she gently rested her body in a prone position on the hardwood floor and hugged Cole's clothing tightly in her arms. As Cole's had in the mausoleum, Phoebe's tears cascaded into a tiny pool by her face as she curling her knees up to her chest. He really was gone. She'd thought for so long that that was what she wanted. But the prospect of never seeing his face, hearing his voice, feeling his breath was making her heart reel. She made a desperate attempt to keep his presence resting in every inch of her body, but she could feel his soul slipping away from her.

Anger began to mingle with her despair. Why had he agreed to never see her again? Didn't he love her like he said he did? This was always happening. Their relationship was thrown into the raging winds more than anyone in world. But now it was over for real. She would never see him again. A new wave of desperate emotion washed over Phoebe and she began to sob harder. She cried until a fitful sleep overtook her.

Moments after leaving Phoebe, Cole found himself in a dark, but beautiful bedroom. The walls were dark red and were adorned with old ornate paintings. A large chandelier dripping with crystals illuminated the room. There was a cushioned, blood red chaise to one side of the room and a piano to the other. A huge four-poster bed stood in the middle of the room covered in shiny black silk sheets with matching curtains. By the head of the bed was small night table which held several small vials filled with red liquid.

Lucius walked towards the table. "This is your room, my darling Cole," he said with a twisted happiness, then indicated the vials. "This blood will hold you over until you make your first kill with me and Silvia."

"Who the hell is Silvia?" Cole asked gruffly.

"Well that's not very nice…" a deep, fluid female's voice spoke from behind Cole. He turned to find a willowy blonde with eyes as green as Lucius's sashaying in his direction. When she reached him, she rested her forearms on his shoulders and entwined her fingers in Cole's short hair. Her lacquered red lips contrasted sharply with her pale skin and played with a smile as she glanced up at Cole with a seductive expression under her lashes.

"This is Silvia," Lucius clarified. "She's here to do whatever you like with her. Trust me, she's no disappointment."

Any other man would have been water in Silvia's hands, but Cole could only think of Phoebe and the difference of her touch compared to this woman. Gently but firmly, he gripped Silvia's arms, pulled them off of him and placed them at her sides. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

Silvia pouted. "Of course you can…you're beautiful, I'm beautiful…we fit so well together. What's this blood on your shirt? Is it hers? Is her scent making you think about her? I'll help you take it off and forget about that little twerp."

"She is not a twerp!" Cole shouted.

Silvia jumped back in surprise with a small gasp. She looked to Lucius for help. Lucius walked over to Cole and stroked his face, trying to soothe him as he would an angry lion. For the second time, Cole slapped Lucius hand away. "I thought I told you not to touch me," he deadpanned.

Lucius drew the hand Cole slapped to his mouth as if to make it better. He was starting to lose his patience. "You know Cole…you were the one who agreed to come with me. It would do you well to play a little nice."

"I had to agree. You threatened Phoebe and I couldn't let you touch the only thing I have left."

"Be that as it may…maybe you should sleep. You need rest; you're not strong enough right now. And get rid of that shirt. I don't want you having any reminders of that girl. I'll have some clothes brought for you. Come Silvia, let's let him sleep."

"But Lucius…" Silvia whined in a tone Cole found extremely irritating. "I wanted to play with him."

"You will. Don't worry. When he wakes up…" Lucius reassured her, and then looked to Cole. "Don't even think about shifting…I can smell your blood and know if it's still here. Now, sleep well, sweet Cole."

Lucius and Silvia disappeared together. Cole noticed there were no doors to lead out of the room, nor any windows. He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off. Lying down on the bed, he couldn't bring himself to let go of the shirt. The scent from the bloodstain on it was strangely comforting at the same time as it was intoxicating. He wouldn't let go. Ever. Carefully, he ripped away the part of the shirt that held Phoebe's blood and threw the rest on the floor. It was a small dark red piece of cloth, but it held the only piece he had left of her. Cole folded the cloth and slipped it into his pocket.

As he stared up at the silky black canopy of the bed, all he could picture was Phoebe's face and tear-filled eyes just before he left her. He swallowed hard, trying to keep his own tears back. Was he really never going to see Phoebe again and exist only to kill others in order to feed his monstrous hunger for blood? Before he could dwell on this question for long, a heavy sleep fell on him.

"Cole…"

Phoebe voice rang in his head as he hurdled through a dark forest. There was a small clearing illuminated by moonlight not far ahead of him. She stood in the middle of it, waiting for him in a silvery white dress so sheer he could the delicate contours of her body.

"Cole…" she called him again. He was so close to her, he could see the beautiful smile that she hadn't reserved for him in so long.

As he entered the clearing, the moonlight turned into sunlight and he felt himself fading away. Racing quickly towards Phoebe and catching her in his arms, he suddenly felt human again. He wasn't fading away and the sunlight felt amazing. Phoebe looked up at him from his embrace and smiled again. "You're here…" she told him, happiness etched into her voice. She buried her face into his chest and kissed him just over his heart. Then leaning her head against him, she sighed contentedly and said, "I can hear your heart again."

Cole almost cried with happiness. He wasn't evil. He wasn't a monster. He was just…Cole…and Phoebe loved him, and he loved her.

Suddenly something grabbed him by the arms violently and pulled him away from Phoebe. She reached for him but something was pulling her as well except in the opposite direction. "Cole!" she cried desperately. He fought frantically to break free, but it was futile. As he was drawn further and further away from Phoebe, Cole could feel his incisors lengthen and his thirst for blood become almost unbearable.

Looking back to see what held him, he was met with Lucius's sinister face. "You're not going anywhere…not until you given in to that hunger," he whispered into Cole's ear. "Just look…" He pointed in Phoebe direction.

Cole turned to see himself grabbing Phoebe's delicate body and sinking his teeth deep into her throat and drinking voraciously as blood ran down from her wound, staining her pure white dress. "Phoebe!" he screamed as Lucius let go of him and he fell to his knees. But he saw she didn't even make a sound under his grip. No screaming, no cries. She simply touched his chest lightly with shaking hands and her eyes were like a doll's; far away and lifeless. They glittered with unshed tears and her mouth trembled. The last thing she whispered before he saw himself drop her lithe form was, "I love you, Cole…" When she fell to the ground like a worn rag doll, she didn't move at all, but her mouth was in an oddly peaceful smile and the tears that were drowning her beautiful brown eyes before were finally shed. They rolled off her porcelain face like pretty crystals.

"Now you will a vampire forever…" Lucius voice cooed with perverse joy. "Because you killed her…"

With a gasp, Cole jolted awake. He sat breathing heavily in bed. His throat and chest were on fire, burning with each breath he took. A thin sheen of perspiration covered his face and upper body. Cole passed his hand over his eyes and took a deep breath, sending a silent thank you to the high powers that it had only been a dream.

Even still, he couldn't let Phoebe get hurt. Whether it had been only a dream or a sort of deathly premonition, he knew that Phoebe was his salvation as well as the one he had to protect. He couldn't just leave her and hope for the best. Whatever it took, he was going to find a way back to her and find a way for them to be together.

Cole concentrated and let his incisors grow. Then he lifted a hand and pierced his palm with one of his sharp teeth. He dragged it down his wrist into his skin and stopped mid-forearm, making sure the gash was large enough to bleed substantially before it healed too quickly.

Once he'd helped the blood cover a good amount of the pillow and sheets, it healed. He fingered the stained cloth in his pocket and renewed his determination.

"Phoebe…Phoebe…wake up sweetheart…"

Phoebe felt like she was being pulled out of a thick bog of confusion. Her eyes fluttered open to find her sisters crouched down next to her, staring at her worriedly. Every muscle in her body felt stiff as she realized she was lying on the hard floor of the upstairs hallway. For a moment, she wasn't sure how she'd gotten there, and then it came crashing down on her all at once. Cole. Tears began to well up in her eyes again as she looked up at her sisters.

"Honey, don't cry," Piper soothed, stroking her sister's face softly.

"Come here, sweetie," Paige added, helping Phoebe to a sitting position and she and Piper pulled her into a tight hug.

Phoebe coughed, choking back a sob. And then she pulled away from her sisters and spilled everything to them about the previous night.

Piper and Paige were silent for some time. They looked at each and chose not to lecture her when they saw that she was close to breaking down again. "Shh…" her sisters whispered. "It's okay."

"No it's not…" Phoebe managed to say through her tears. "He's gone."

Paige sighed. "Why don't you get into bed? You've been sleeping here all day."

"Take a shower first. I'm sure you're stiff as hell," Piper told her with a feeble attempt to make her laugh.

Phoebe didn't say anything, but nodded softly. Her sisters helped her to her feet and into the bathroom. "You'll be okay from here, right?" Paige asked, concerned.

Phoebe nodded again.

"I'll take those for you," Piper suggested, tugging gently at Cole's clothes that Phoebe was still cradling in her arms.

"No!" Phoebe whispered sharply with fear, pulling the clothes away from Piper's grasp.

Piper exhaled and then tried again in a coaxing tone. "At least put them down here on the counter. You can't take them with you in the shower. They'll get wet and then they won't smell like Cole anymore, hmm?"

She waited until finally, Phoebe gently placed Cole's clothes on the sink counter. Both Piper and Paige kissed Phoebe on her forehead and left.

With tired hands, Phoebe slowly removed her clothes. She stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water. Closing her eyes, she let the water pound down on her. Though it physically relaxed her a little, she couldn't keep her emotions calm. As she looked down and watched the water spiral down the drain, Phoebe felt pieces of her soul wash away with it. She closed her eyes again and could only see Cole's face. This sent her into another fit of sobs. Her tears mingled with the water from that shower that raced down her cheeks. She fought desperately to keep her knees from giving.

Then, she felt a cold but strong and supporting arm circle around her middle. A hand rested on her stomach, the fingers slightly pressing in. "Shh…no tears…" a comforting voice whispered into her ear. Phoebe drew in a sharp breath. She knew this touch. She knew that voice.

Whirling around, she came face to face with Cole.

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Oh...my...god. So, let us examine this situation here. Cole is half naked and Phoebe is totally naked. They're in front of each other in a hot shower. Gee, I wonder what'll happen... ;)

Until next time my little buddies...