Here is another chapter, I suppose I was hasty in rating the last chapter NC-17, because really, it was nothing more than R at best, this one isn't all that bad, but to be on the safe side, I will rate it R as well. I hope that you are continuing to enjoy this story and I honestly hope that the next few chapters grab you and hold you. (So to speak) Enjoy and thanks again for the great replies, you guys are the reason this story continues.

Chapter Forty-Five

It is truly amazing what one person can live through, Elizabeth pondered as she lay naked in Jason's arms. Jason was heaven sent, he gave her everything she needed, but that isn't to say she needed much. Money mattered little to her , if he had it or didn't, it didn't make a difference to her.

What mattered to her was the way that he managed to make her feel like more of a woman than anyone before him and there really was no question, because there was going to be no one after him.

He trusted her without question, he gave his most precious gift to her and that was his love. Jason wasn't quick to trust or love, the fact that she had both without question warmed her heart. It allowed her a blessedly uncomplicated view of her life. With Jason she knew happiness, love and kindness, among many other things. Before Jason, she knew nothing of true happiness or of love.

Lucky had claimed to love her and maybe before he was kidnapped by Helena, he had. But that had been the love of the young and innocent. Her innocence had been torn from her, but she had found some of it again, being with Lucky allowed her to heal. But the Lucky who came back, he knew nothing of love. It was a matter of possession, he wanted not to have someone who cared and loved him, he needed to control, to extract, pain, hate, love, it made no matter. His addiction was no less demanding than that of the way a junkie needs a fix.

Except what Lucky didn't understand, perhaps couldn't understand, was that he had lost her. Using his fists and quick tongue, only caused her to retreat more, and while Elizabeth had played the fool and stayed, she was only a shell when around him.

But Life had changed, and so far, it seemed it was changing for the better, so if this was a Brother's Grimm tale, she could possibly be Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, because, with Jason beside her, encompassing her in his strong, loving arms, she felt like a Fairytale princess. But the question remained, would this end like most Fairytales? Could her love story end with a bittersweet love and survive the challenges ahead, or was she doomed to lose everything she held dear. Was there anyway for her to guarantee her success?

The weather wasn't cooperating, it was truculent, wanting nothing more than to tear the house down around them, destroy the mere moments that they were being granted to share with one another.

Thunder had begun to rumbled to the west, when Jason had looked out the window, numerous bolts of lightning illuminated the small room and the world beyond. The dark clouds held promise of a downpour, and while storms didn't frighten her anymore, there was something about this storm that had her nerves vibrating, sadly, it wasn't the after effects of great love making. It was almost like she could feel the malevolence of the storm in her very bones. Jason must have felt something too, his body was rigid as he stood in front of the window, his normally calm demeanor was cracking, his eyes scooped the view he was granted from the small window, never alighting anywhere for long, constantly searching, for Something or Someone.

"Jase, why don't you…" Elizabeth began, meaning to finish the sentence with, come to bed, but as she began to speak, the world seemed to shatter. Thunder crashed overhead, the floors of the house vibrating with the noise. The lights flickered, then went out completely. A small scream escaped her lips before she even realized it. The room seemed to waver in unreality, it didn't seem possible for thunder to be able to shake the very foundation of the house, shake it till it felt like it was going to collapse upon them.

Jason quickly made his way over to the bed, cursing once, very loudly as his toe encountered the nightstand. Sitting on the side of the bed, Jason rubbed his sore toe, he knew it wasn't broken, but it sure did throb.

No sooner did his weight depress on the bed, than Elizabeth was at his side. Jason's free arm snaked around her waist, pulling her onto his lap, in a swift motion. With her secured in his arms, Jason reached for the nightstand and the phone that was situated at the back of the stand.

And while storms of any caliber didn't bother him, there was something about this storm that had his skin prickling with gooseflesh and the tiny hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. It almost felt like something cataclysmic was either beginning to start or coming to a head, whatever it was, the feeling was one Jason didn't care for, not at all.

Placing the phone receiver to his ear, Jason snarled something incoherent before slamming the phone back down. "We have no phone or power! Where's your cell phone?" He asked, knowing he was probably overreacting, but he had grown use to listening to his instincts, and at this point in time, his instincts were screaming at him to act. His own cell phone sitting docile and useless beside his bed at the motel.

A voice, a traitorous voice from somewhere deep inside himself whispered, "It's too late, you are going to lose everything you hold dear."

Disgusted with himself, annoyed that such a dark, ignorant little voice resided inside, Jason quickly stood up, placing Elizabeth on her feet, but not letting go of her hand, he couldn't, he needed the contact as much as her, possibly even more. For that voice, whether he wanted to admit it or not, was speaking the fears he thought on a daily basis. He loved her, more than anything or anyone in the world, and the fear of losing her and their unborn child was a daily factor that weighed heavily on his mind and heart. And while he knew he should end things, if for nothing else than to keep her safe, but he couldn't do that, she was such a part of his life, his soul, that without her, he could not live.

Elizabeth understood that Jason was worried, and even though she had her own misgivings, she wasn't ready to jump to conclusions, at least not yet. Jason had taught her to assess the situation and act when the time required her to, and while they hadn't been dating that long, that information she held dear, because he gave it with love. She knew he loved her, so she would be his rock, even if he didn't really need her to be, because that was what he always offered her.

Jason led the way down the hall and down the stairs. Keeping his body forever in front of hers, not willing to allow any harm to come to her. Wouldn't he be surprised to know, that the threat didn't come from in front of them, it was silently stalking his prey, from behind. And while rational thought didn't play a role in their stalkers motives, a single pulsing thought reverberated throughout his shattered mind. "Elizabeth" The name almost slipped from the stalkers lips, except at the last moment, perhaps base instinct demanded he remain silent. So before the name left his lips, he bitten them back, inadvertently biting his tongue, a rush of coppery tasting blood, flooded his mouth, and with that taste lingering, he smiled devilishly, delighting in the possibilities that this night might provide.

Jason wasn't on full alert, hence his lackadaisical concern for the rear. Because, as of yet, they had not been given a reason to believe something was really going on. So on that misguided assumption, Jason was guarding Elizabeth from the wrong direction. The storm was a possible reason for his jumpy nerves, and while he wanted to protect his family. As of yet, he didn't know if there was really a danger that required him to do so, this instant. A storm was just a storm, monsters didn't exist at least not the ones that reside in Fire and Brimstone, but there were plenty of the human variety. And it was those monsters, that worried Jason more.

Elizabeth and Jason made their way through the small living room. Elizabeth stopped at the coffee table, grabbing her purse and blindly rifling through the contents. Her fingers touched briefly at the object that she was looking for, but a sudden crash of thunder caused her to drop it and the purse. A small squeaky yip escaping her lips, followed by a string of curses as she heard her purse hit the floor, emptying the contents helter-skelter.

Jason stooped down beside her, trying to offer his help in the search of the cell phone. Five minutes of searching still had yielded nothing, thankfully though, before either could begin to worry, the object in question began to shrill.

Both Jason and Elizabeth were beginning to feel the first edges of panic, when the phone began to ring, both of them let out a little gasp of surprise, followed by a moment of not quite sane laughter. Sanity is a loose concept when fear is allowed room to breed, but no sooner did the relieved laughter start than it stopped. A sound from the sane world was enough to give them their bearings.

Elizabeth's hand found the phone and snatched it up, quickly flipping the phone open and pressing it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Elizabeth?" Sonny said into his phone.

No sooner did she hear Sonny's voice than another barrage of thunder sounded, rattling the windows in there frames, what sounded like a vase or something, shattered off to her left, obviously the vibrations from the malevolent thunder had been strong enough to dislodge the object from its previous safe haven.

"Sonny, what is it?" Elizabeth yelled into the phone, trying to speak over the cacophony of the storm.

"Luck…Not…Get…Well…" Sonny said into his phone, wondering if anything he was saying was being heard.

"Sonny, what was that, I couldn't understand…" Elizabeth yelled into the phone, the static raising in volume, obliterating anything Sonny had tried to say. Elizabeth pulled the phone from her ear, looking at the lighted screen, cursing silently. There were no longer any bars to indicate that there was a connection and shortly after that, the entire thing went dead. She stared at her hand, at the phone, not comprehending that the thing was of no use. She had forgotten to charge it, and the few moments it had worked, had left her feeling a deeper unease.

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He moved from room to room, not because he was lost, but because he was searching out her scent. It had become obvious to him that she hadn't been here long. There was nowhere her scent lingered, except in the master bedroom. It was a shell that had yet been untouched. That was fine though, he could fix that problem. Before he was done, every room would stink of her.

A animalistic snarl sounded from deep within his chest. No longer did this thing resemble a human being. A sick and twisted lust had wiped his mind clean or cleaner than before, leaving only the remnants of an animal, it thought with no logical capabilities, it was determined to find its mate, the longer he spent in this downward spiral the less he resembled anything. Animal instincts were what he used, obliterating the last vestiges of the human he used to be. A mere break in sanity, perhaps, but it seemed like something else was going on as well. Not to him, he no longer had a care, just an incorrigible desire for one thing and one thing only. That was more than enough to keep him on track. No longer did he have the thought process that reminded him he needed to be quiet, it was now instinct that directed his motives, and with those motives, he began to stalk his prey again.

Like a cat playing with a mouse, he allowed them to roam free, for the time being, but soon, everything was going to… Explode!

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