Before I begin this chapter, I want to digress for a moment. I've been asked to write a fanfic based upon original characters I presented in the two fanfics I wrote about Deidre. I've developed a pretty solid idea for this story and would be happy to write it. But before I start, I want everybody's input on when I should do it. I can write both that fanfic and this one at the same time, but I can't update them at the same time. If I were to start the new story now, I would be updating both stories every other week. So updates for this story wouldn't be once a week, but once every two weeks.

I only point this out because Dark Release is looking to be a very long fanfic, and so it would be a long time before I start this new story. I've posted a poll on my user page that I will run until January 16th. I'll follow whatever the results of the poll stipulate.

Well, now on with the new chapter.

Chapter Fourteen

"Be faithful to that which exists nowhere but in yourself - and thus make yourself indispensable."

- Andre Gide

___

Shea's brow furrowed in confusion. She looked into the microscope, and then looked at the image on the screen. "That's odd…" she ran a hand through her red hair. "What does this mean?"

"Shea."

Shea looked up, a smile jumping to her lips as Jacques materialized in the room, carrying Stefan in his arms. "What's wrong?"

"I could ask you the same," he answered. "I felt your distress." He looked at the screen. "Whose blood is this?"

"That's the thing," Shea said, taking her son from Jacques. She played with him idly as she looked at the blood sample once more. "I don't know whose blood that is."

"You don't know where the sample came from?"

"That's what's odd, Jacques; I do know."

Jacques gave her a sideways glance. "I don't understand."

"This sample." She motioned to the screen. "Was what I was using in an experiment. Or rather, the product of the experiment."

Jacques still looked confused, and he looked at the screen again. More confusion leapt into his face. "The cells look odd."

"Yes, their shape is completely wrong. I've never seen anything like them before." She shook her head, although that gave Stefan the opportunity to grab a few strands and start chewing on them. "I thought I could get all of the answers with this, but it only opened more questions."

"You're wearing yourself thin," Jacques said. He knelt down so that he was at her level and pulled her into a hug. "With Gary injured, and Gabrielle helping him, it's left you with all the work. Take a break every once and a while, okay?"

"I'll be all right." But Shea couldn't help but bask in the feel of his comfort and love. "You should know having a baby around won't ever allow us a break, wild man."

Jacques chuckled a little, and the sound warmed her heart. He still wasn't easy to laughter, but the birth of Stefan, and his subsequent healing, helped to soften him in ways not even Shea could dream of. "Being a full-time parent isn't quite such a hassle."

Stefan let loose a loud squawk, and Shea noticed her hair was just a little wet. She handed him back to Jacques. "I'll take a break in a moment, after I figure this out."

Jacques sighed, but he nodded and cuddled Stefan close to him. "Where did the blood come from?"

"There was more than one sample." Shea typed into the computer. "One of them came from Izzy."

___

Marach slowly opened the door to the bedroom. He could materialize in there with ease, but he wanted to give his lifemate her idea of normalcy for the moment. A quick touch though revealed that she was deeply asleep, but he still proceeded soundlessly.

Serenity was still stretched out on the bed, still in that deep sleep Gregori had locked her into. His heart ached with a measure of guilt over this. She hadn't been awake in days, and while it kept everyone safe for the time being, it didn't solve their problems. He remembered Parn in Izzy's memory, the way he handled his lost lifemate. He didn't know what to think about it all, but he couldn't ignore the threat that the vampire stood against them.

Or especially the mage he was associated with.

He looked at Izzy. His lifemate was curled at her sister's side like a child; her head nestled into Serenity's shoulder. She'd been so strong throughout yesterday's ordeal, and yet he could see her unrest even in her sleep. The bruises had faded, and a quick touch of her shoulder confirmed that was healed as well. His guilt grew, knowing that his careless exchange of blood had diluted her regenerative abilities. She had them her whole life, and she wasn't use to such slow healing.

Marach suddenly heard a soft humming. He looked down at Izzy's shorts and saw that her pocket was vibrating. He reached inside and withdrew her phone. A quick check of the caller-I.D. simply displayed 'Dad'.

Uh oh. Marach hesitated for a moment, not sure what he could say to his lifemate's father. But he knew Izzy would resent him if he did nothing. He slowly flipped open the phone as he reached for his lifemate. "Iubita mea, your father is calling."

Izzy stirred awake in an instant as Marach began speaking. "Hello?"

"Where is Isabel, I want to talk to her right now." The voice was very rough, and commanded full cooperation.

"Isabel is fine—" Marach began.

"Put my daughter on this instant or I'll make you very sorry!" Mr. Crane bellowed on the other line.

Marach felt a slight headache come on, even as his ear rang a little. "Isabel?" he said softly.

Izzy sat up, trying to shake the sleep from her head. "I'm here, Marach." She took the phone from him. This was what she was waiting for, but she was still afraid as she spoke. "Hi, Dad."

"Hi Dad?! That's how you answer me after scaring the life out of us?! Where are you?!"

"I…" Izzy looked at Marach briefly before she answered. "Didn't you get my voicemail?"

"Of course I got it! Do you really expect me to believe that cock-and-bull story?!" his tone dipped again, worry and fury evident. "Have you been kidnapped, sweetheart? Do they want a ransom? I'll pay anything they want to get you two home!"

"…What?" Izzy asked blandly. She looked up at Marach. His expression was blank, but a mahogany eyebrow was raised ever so slightly, indicating that he could hear was Mr. Crane was saying.

"Is Serenity there too, or they only allowing you to talk?" Mr. Crane continued desperately. "How long do I have?"

"Dad, we weren't kidnapped. It's how I told you, we found a doctor who's working very hard to save Serenity."

"Then why was some man answering YOUR phone?!"

"Some man?" Marach asked plainly, though a smile came to his lips. "Dragă, kindly tell your father I am not 'some man'."

Izzy ignored him. "I was asleep, Dad, that's why he answered my phone. I would've missed this call if it weren't for him, and you'd be going on believing we were kidnapped."

"How am I suppose to believe you weren't kidnapped?! We haven't heard from you in DAYS! That idiot woman who was supposed to guide you gave us NO information! Do you have ANY idea how worried we are?! You two girls are our only children! If anything happened to either of you, I…" Mr. Crane trailed off, and Izzy's heart twisted. She could hear the tears in his voice.

"…Perhaps I should've given Francoise a better story," said Marach. "I'm not use to people prodding for information like this."

"My parents love me, and they love Serenity. It would hurt them to lose us."

"Forgive me for my lack of foresight, Isabel. I'm much too use to converted women whose families care nothing for them. Raven, Mikhail's lifemate, was converted over fifty years ago and she had parents in the United States. Neither of them bothered to look for her when she never returned home."

"That's terrible, Marach! How could someone do that to their own child?!"

"It is a bane, iubita mea, for so many of these women."

"…Then I really am lucky."

"Isabel?!" Mr. Crane shouted on the other line.

"I'm here, Dad." "I'm not use to hearing him so upset. Mom's the one who can hardly control her emotions."

"It only shows that he loves you, Isabel."

"I know."

"Isabel." Mr. Crane sounded like he was struggling to remain calm. "I don't like this. I don't like that we've been cut off from you. I can wire you money, please take the next flight out of Romania and back home! I know that you're an adult, both of you are, but I'm your father. And I…I feel an omen, honey."

"You don't believe in omens, Dad."

"Isabel, I've had this terrible feeling ever since the two of you left. Just this morning it was so powerful…please, you have to come home."

"Dad…" Izzy stiffened as Marach slid over, leaning against the headboard. He pulled Izzy into his lap, enfolding her in a comforting hug. Such a simple gesture gave Izzy the strength to continue. "We can come now. Not right now, anyways."

"Why not?!"

"Because Serenity needs help. And Gr—this specialist…he's the only one who can help her."

"Can I speak to Serenity, Isabel?"

Izzy paused. "Marach, is it possible to wake Serenity up, even for a moment, just to reassure my dad?"

"No, iubita mea." He nuzzled her hair trying to soothe and comfort her. "It's too risky, and Mikhail won't agree to it. We don't know what to do with Serenity, but she does speak to Parn whenever she's awake. That brings danger to us."

"Dad, Serenity's been sedated for right now," Izzy said, the lie almost burning her throat. "There's been…complications, and the specialist feels that she needs constant supervision so that she's no longer a threat to herself."

"How's that any different to the treatment she's been getting HERE?!"

Izzy faltered, unsure of what more she could say. Marach suddenly held out his hand. "Let me talk to him."

"Are you sure?" Izzy asked quietly.

"Isabel, who are you talking to?" Mr. Crane asked on the other line.

Izzy reluctantly handed the phone over. "Mr. Crane, it's a pleasure to be able to talk to you."

"Who are you, and what kind of garbage are you feeding my daughter?! What have you done with Serenity?!"

"Mr. Crane, Serenity has suffered a severe spiritual trauma," he said. He lowered his tone of voice to almost a soothing, compelling one. "This is different from regular trauma because it inflicts both the mind and the body."

Mr. Crane had never heard such garbage in his life. But, he couldn't find it in him to object to his man. Even through a telephone line, this unknown individual seemed so much like the doctor Izzy was describing. His tone of voice and phraseology seemed to illustrate a doctor. "Have you doped my daughter up?" he asked slowly.

"Mr. Crane, Serenity is a fragile woman, though she doesn't appear to be. This…trauma has been too much for her to handle and this is the reason she keeps attempting suicide. Her behavior is erratic and unpredictable. Everything that is being done is both for her sake and for the sakes of those around her."

He didn't like this. This didn't sound like Serenity at all. Serenity was a strong person, sweet and very well-liked. She made realistic aspirations and she kept her promises.

But…he couldn't deny the change in his daughter. The numerous suicide attempts attested to a young woman he didn't recognize as his own child. He was at his rope's end, unable to help her and helpless to stop it all from happening.

"Mr. Crane." He tensed as the man continued, though he was strangely calm. "This isn't your fault. What has happened to your daughter is a great travesty. But you're going to have to trust me when I say we're working hard to save her. I don't like keeping her sedated, but she's come to a point that she's a danger both to herself and those around her. But trust me. We know what's wrong and we're working very hard to save her. You have my word we have the best intentions."

Mr. Crane's throat felt dry. He spoke his next words slowly. "Who are you?"

"You may call me Marach, Mr. Crane." Marach looked at Izzy intently. "And I wish to tell you that Isabel is everything to me."

"…What?"

"It's as I say, sir. Isabel has brought meaning to my life and I can't live without her."

"Um, Marach—" Izzy began.

"Put my daughter back on." Mr. Crane's tone was now harsh.

Marach handed the phone back to Izzy. "Your father wishes to speak to you, iubita mea."

"Gee, thanks a lot," Izzy snapped sarcastically, ripping the phone out of Marach's hand. Marach quietly excused him, but he could hear Mr. Crane yelling at his daughter. Who was this weirdo? Was she tramping around with some guy she just met? Did she trust this stranger with her sister's life because she slept with him?

Such strange questions to ask a daughter.

Izzy's attempts to calm him down met with failure. Marach leaned against the wall outside the room, waiting for this tide to roll over. He wasn't a coward; or rather he didn't think himself to be. He simply had no experience dealing with a father's wrath.

"You're going to be dealing with MY wrath if you don't get back here!" Izzy screamed in his head.

Marach sighed, though he couldn't help but smile. "Your wish is my command, dragă." He sauntered back into the room, and noticed the immediate change in Izzy. She was speaking in a soothing, more relieved tone. He knew that Mrs. Crane had gotten the phone away from her husband and was talking to her daughter.

"A doctor marrying a doctor! It's a match made in heaven!" Mrs. Crane gushed.

"Mom, er—" Izzy glanced up at Marach again. "Marach's not a—"

"And he's helping Serenity, too! Oh, this man sounds like an angel! Can I speak to him, Isabel?"

Izzy could hear Mr. Crane yelling in the background, but she obligingly handed the phone over to Marach. "Have fun."

Marach took the phone back, and Izzy took great pleasure in seeing him in discomfort. She could hear her mother's absolute glee on the other line, and more often than not Marach's face twisted up as though he were in pain.

Worth it. So, so worth it…

"Isabel, I shall spank you when this is over." "Mrs. Crane, I—" he kept being interrupted, unable to put the same compulsion on her as he did Mr. Crane. "Yes, I would love to marry her. Now about Sere—my age? Er—"

"We're not getting married!" Izzy shouted.

Serenity stirred beside her. It was so unexpected that Izzy screamed and fell out of bed.

Marach saw the slight movement as well. "Mrs. Crane, I'll have to get back to you. We'll call you back." He flipped the phone shut and pulled Izzy back on the bed. "Are you all right?"

"Serenity moved!" Izzy cried. She crawled over to her sister. "She reacted when I yelled at you!"

"Yes, I saw it too." He leaned over Serenity, looking down at her face. She still looked asleep, unresponsive. But she'd reacted to Izzy as though she were sleeping normally. "Gregori, is Serenity breaking free?"

"Hold on, I'll be right up to check up on her. She seems to be still under the sleep compulsion, but I felt her fight it right then."

"Is Parn aiding her?"

"I don't know, but I intend that she not wake up until we can come up with a safe solution."

Marach took Izzy's arm and gently pulled her off the bed. "Gregori will be up shortly to reinforce the sleep command. There's no telling whether or not it's grown weak, or if Parn's trying to remove it with Neve's help."

"But…" Izzy looked down at Serenity.

"Iubita mea." Marach cupped her chin and turned her face towards him. "You told your parents that you trust us, and they should trust us as well. That hasn't changed, has it?"

Izzy closed her eyes and quickly nodded. "I trust you. I know you guys are doing what you can to save her."

"I'm glad to hear it." He kissed her quickly on the lips and let her go. "Here, let's leave Gregori to do his work."

Gregori entered the room just as they were leaving. Izzy didn't hear him come in, and that in turn scared her slightly, but she managed to turn and speak shortly to him. "Thank you."

Gregori responded with a slight wave.

"He should work everything out with Serenity for right now," Marach said as they closed the door. "Once Parn is out of the picture, she can be healed more properly."

Izzy still didn't know how she felt about that, but her phone began to hum before she responded. Marach lifted the phone up, read the caller-I.D., and quickly handed it to Izzy. "It's your mother."

___

Marach calmly waited for Izzy to hang up the cell phone before he made his move. She'd talk to both of her parents for nearly forty-five minutes. While the first fifteen had been very hectic, she managed to end it on a light and most importantly positive note.

Still, Izzy had a very wistful look on her face as she closed her phone, and Marach could feel her pain. Though she managed to completely reassure her parents—without Marach using a compulsion this time—she missed them terribly, and she was still very worried about Serenity.

Marach intended to ease her discomfort.

He took her by her arm and steered her towards the front door. "I think you would look beautiful bathed in moonlight, dragă."

Izzy quickly looked at him, a slight blush rushing to her face. "Marach—"

"Wait."

Both of them paused at the door. Marach turned around, and Izzy was forced to do so as well because of his hold on her. Shea stood there in one of the archways, Jacques at her shoulder. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No," Shea said. Her green eyes turned towards Izzy. "But I want to…" she hesitated before she continued. "Izzy, would you mind if I…try something with you?"

Marach was immediately suspicious and took a step in front of his lifemate. "What does that mean?"

Jacques immediately stepped forward, snarling slightly, but Shea put a hand on his arm. "I know that Gregori made you a promise. I don't intend to experiment on you, Izzy. But…I want to try a test. It's very important that I understand this."

"Understand what?" Izzy asked, walking around Marach.

"Well, I tested your blood—"

"You have been experimenting!" Marach snapped. Jacques bared his teeth at him and snarled like an animal.

Shea shrugged. "I took a blood sample off a tissue. You threw it away anyways."

"Um, okay," Izzy said, unsure of how she should feel about this. "And what exactly did you find?"

"What you probably already know; that your blood cells and blood structure are different from other people and even from Carpathians. It's actually quite perfect; nothing can hurt these cells. The T cells are the strongest I've ever seen of a living species, and they regenerate at astounding speeds. I haven't preserved the blood at all; it's been sitting in a petri dish in my lab, and yet the cells are as viable as they were when they exited your body. They simply can't die."

"But I'm not immortal," Izzy said. "Nobody in my family is. They all died naturally."

"It could be because the strength of the cells wanes over time, or they all died of unnatural causes. But if these blood cells are like this, then I imagine that every cell in your body is the same."

"My blood has diluted, though, because of the Carpathian blood. If you want to test me now, my blood isn't the same as before."

Something odd flickered across Shea's face. But she relaxed again and stepped forward. "I don't mind. If you would let me, I would still like to try."

"You—" Marach said.

"Try what?" Izzy interrupted.

Shea reached into her coat and produced a corked test tube filled with a minute amount of red fluid. It only took a few seconds for Izzy to realize what it was. "That's blood!"

"Vampire blood," Marach supplied. He stepped forward again. "I won't allow you to use vampire blood on her."

"I don't wish to harm her, either," Shea said plainly. "But as you may know, vampire blood cannot hurt her. She rejects it as she would any poison."

Marach remembered something else of Izzy's memories. When one of the vampires bit Serenity and drank her blood. He reacted to it like it was a deadly poison. His curiosity was piqued, but not enough to make Izzy suffer.

"Do you want me to drink it?" Izzy asked.

"No," Shea said. "I want to test it against your skin."

"But—" Marach said.

"Fine." Izzy stepped around him again and walked towards Shea. She closed a fist and held it out to her facedown. "Do it now before I change my mind."

"Isabel, you do not need to do this!" Marach said, rushing over to her. "They require nothing of you!"

"You're a doctor, correct?" Izzy asked Shea.

Shea nodded. "I am."

"Then I'll trust you. Serenity's blood is probably purer than mine at this point, but I would rather she not be tested."

"Iubita—"

Izzy gave Marach a sideways glance. "Trust me, Marach. You told to put my trust in you people. That is what I'm doing." "Besides, I'll let you take me on a moonlight tour if you get off Shea's back."

"Moonlight…" the implications behind these words was profound. And, it distracted Marach enough so that he didn't protest when Shea uncorked the test tube and poured a tiny amount of blood over the back of Izzy's hand.

Izzy hissed in pain and involuntarily drew back. Marach grabbed her, and almost bent to lick her burn.

"Marach, no," Shea said. "Let her body heal on its own." She produced a tissue, but Jacques took it from her and cleaned the vampire blood off Izzy's hand. The tissue began to shrivel instantly, and he shoved it back into the test tube.

All four of them watched, waiting patiently for Izzy's burn to heal. It still took a little longer than usual for it to heal, but it did heal. The burn became concentrated onto one spot, and blood seeped out of the pores. Before either Izzy or Marach could reacted, Shea stepped forward with an empty test tube. She used it to wipe up the small amount of blood and calmly corked it. "Thank you, Izzy."

"What does this prove?" Izzy asked, accepting another tissue to wipe off the rest of the blood.

"…I don't know," Shea admitted softly. "But I hope I get some answers from this." She nodded to both of them and smiled. "Thank you for cooperating with me."

"Next time, just ask my permission for my blood," Izzy said.

Shea laughed, and Jacques and she disappeared into the air.

Izzy stared at the empty entryway for a moment before a pair of hands rubbed over her shoulders. "As I recall," Marach said in a husky voice. "You just promised me a moonlight tour."

Before Izzy could respond, Marach swept her up into his arms and flew out the front door. They were met with the crisp summer night air. Oh, it was a beautiful night. Clear skies littered with stars, and an amazingly large full moon. Izzy's heart hammered with anticipation and her body tightened with need. How could she be so suddenly in want when just moments ago she'd suffered a vampire blood burn and she'd been so worried about her family?

Marach seemed to take it all away.

A quick scan of the forest and Marach found what he was looking for. It wasn't a clearing, but it was a private bed of grass underneath a massive tree. No animals were running around, and neither were people. It provided the necessary privacy.

"I didn't imagine we'd ever have sex outside," Izzy said blandly as he flew towards the ground.

Marach chuckled in her ear. "Trust me; I'll make sure you can't get enough of it."

The surrounding trees were parted enough to bathe the bed of grass completely in moonlight. Marach lay Izzy down, even as she jumped slightly at the feel of the soft but cool grass. He couldn't afford to be patient; with a simple thought her shirt and bra were gone and laying on the grass next to her head as he came atop her. His mouth quickly found her breasts, kissing and tantalizing them swiftly as he thought away his own shirt and fumbled with the clasp of her shorts.

He'd only started touching her and she forgot the cool air and cool ground. Her body was engulfed in a wonderful, sensual heat but an undeniable ache. She was nearly naked, but she didn't notice. His mouth, his tongue ran over the curve of her breasts and over her nipples, and her flesh grew so sensitive. She was then aware of her nakedness and his own as he discarded his pants, but she didn't care. She wanted him, and the intensity was still so surprising to her.

What it really so possible to want someone so much and from so little effort? Oh…one could go mad from this…

Marach wrapped her legs high around his body, right around his torso, and quickly pushed inside her. Massive pulses of pleasure ripped through her and she cried out, her voice echoing in the forest and her body tightened around. He'd only started, there was still more to come, but he had already brought her to her peak with one simple thrust.

And he wasn't done. Not yet.

Neglectful of the night air, pushing problems and sorrow aside, they loved each other fiercely in that quiet patch of forest. He pushed her over the edge again, and even a third time, and each time was far more intense than the last. Tears leaked from her eyes and she dug her fingernails deep into his back, bit at his shoulder. Even in the raptures of ecstasy, all of this was surreal…and frightening. To bring so much pleasure from her body, he held so much power over her. He could make her do anything, all he would have to do is just give her an iota of this pleasure…and she was at his mercy.

"Iubita mea…" the endearment came as a soft groan in her ear. "Te iubesc. You are my life. And it is I who is at your mercy…"

It was a longtime later before they exhausted their bodies beyond belief. Marach produced a blanket out of thin air and swirled it around themselves as they curled up together. The forest was still silent, only the sounds of their heavy breathing could be heard. Izzy was so sore from it all, but it was refreshing, too. Marach could bring so much out of her, and yet she could see it had the same effect on him. Somehow, that touched her even deeper than the sex did.

"Isabel…" Marach nuzzled the top of her head. "This is truly my greatest blessing…"

Izzy laughed a little, though she buried her face into his chest. "When you throw endearments around like that, it makes you sound like you're faking it for sex…"

"Oh, I don't need to fake anything." Marach rolled over suddenly, so that he was right on top of her again. "And either do you."

"Not again," she groaned, though she laughed a little. "I need a break."

"You'll never have a break from me, dragă, and neither I from you." he leaned over and brushed his lips over her own. "And I was serious when I told your mother that."

"That?"

"That I would like to marry you."

Izzy opened her eyes. "Marach—"

"I wasn't that to appease your mother, Isabel." He cupped a hand against her cheek. "You are my lifemate, iubita mea. There is no one for me but you. It's only natural in addition to spending the rest of my life with you that I would marry you."

"But—"

"Shh." He pressed a thumb to her bottom lip, before he rubbed it gently. "It's okay, Isabel. I will give you time to think about it, of course. But I—"

Before Marach could finish, he was off her and flying through the air. Izzy watched with horrified eyes as he slammed hard into a nearby tree, snapping the trunk clean in half with his body.

"MARACH!" she shrieked, sitting straight up.

A shadow fell over Izzy and she screamed, but the sound was abruptly cut off by the powerful hand closing around her throat. In an instant she was flying through the air and slamming hard into a tree, but the hold remained the whole time. Bright patches filled her vision and her body ached with pain. She'd thought she'd heard something 'snap', and it wasn't the tree.

The hand snapped her head back against the tree, forcing her to look up. She could barely breathe, or even force her eyes open to look at her assailant. When she saw the man, recognized him and the blazing eyes that glared at her, she understood what this was all about.

"My lifemate," Parn sneered, pressing his face against Izzy's. "Where is she?!"