Stef woke again to the sounds of Phobos in the shower. Did she seriously pass out? Then the memory of why she passed out hit her. Oh God! Fuck that, Oh PHOBOS!. He was… she did not even have words to describe just how amazing he had been. Her body was still weak and trembling from it.

She was so weak that she wanted to just roll over and sleep. But, she needed to clean herself up. And Zeth would not be there to meet her in her dreams.

Then a grin slid up her lips. She did not have a lot of strength, but damn it, she was not going to let him go without her pleasing him too.

So, Stef gathered herself together enough to walk on her very wobbly legs, into the bathroom. Phobos was surprised when she opened the shower curtain and climbed in with him.

"Stef, you can barely stand." He tried to pick her up and take her out. But, she stopped him.

"I don't need to stand." Then she lowered herself to her knees and took his now softened cock into her mouth while the shower poured water all around them.

He moaned as she enveloped the entire length of his cock with her mouth. He started to harden again instantly. Yet, she held him inside, licking and sucking on it while it grew, until he was too large for her to keep him there like that. That had to have been the most erotic sensation he had ever experienced. She was more than his wildest fantasy could have hoped for.

He cupped the back of her head as she began to use her mouth to explore every crevice and curve. She even dropped lower to lick and suck at his sac. Then she ran one long, slow lick through his sac and up the length of him to the tip, then dropped to suck him deep into her mouth, all the way to the hairs at the base. All as one fluid motion. That nearly dropped him to his knees.

Stef looked up at him, with the shower at his back, keeping the water from pelting her in the face. He was truly a gorgeous man. And she could not believe that he was hers. The love she felt for him transcended everything that she had ever imagined love to feel like. He was her entire world. And she wanted to prove that to him.

As she continued to suck at his body, Stef used one hand to help increase the pleasure on his shaft while the other caressed his sac at the same time. He murmured in his ecstasy with one arm behind him bracing him against the shower wall while she increased speed and tightness of her grip. His grip in her wet hair tightened as he approached his orgasm. And when it hit, she held herself there to drain him of every drop of his release.

His breathing was ragged as he pulled her up and into his arms. He kissed her, softly, sweetly, and with so much love.

"I love you Stephanie. You know that I can't live without you. You have my heart. You protect my soul." He leaned his forehead against hers as he took a breath. Then he knelt down in the shower, in front of her and conjured a ring. "Will you marry me?"

She nodded as she started to cry. "Yes, of course I will marry you. Did you really think that I would say no?"

He looked a little sheepish at that, but stood again to hug her close. The water was starting to loose its heat. She chuckled. "I suppose we should finish this shower." Phobos used his powers to warm the water again.

They washed each other, both fighting tears and smiling together at the same time. Stef explored all of his scars as she washed him. Her heart clenched at how much pain her god of fear had experience in his life. She wanted to sooth his battered soul, though she knew that she could not protect him from future injuries. That was the hardest part that she had to come to terms with. It was not his violent past, but rather knowing that she could not change him and his violent future.

But, she loved him. And she trusted him to fight hard to not throw his life away. That was all that she could ask for.

As they finished and got dressed, Stef's phone rang. She looked at it. "It's Essie." She showed him the caller ID. "Go ahead on down, I will catch up."

Phobos kissed her and headed for the kitchen.

Phobos grabbed an apple and took a bite as Deimos walked up next to him.

"When did you come back?" Phobos asked.

Deimos laughed at him. "It's nearly noon! Damn brother, learn to put up some shields." Then he smacked Phobos on the shoulder and walked over to sit with Styxx, Urian and Vane at the dining table.

Phobos frowned. "What are you talking about?"

They all roared with laughter.

"Man, everyone heard you and Stef this morning. I mean, everyone. Zeth even stopped by, got two seconds in, turned beet red and left again cursing." Urian said through his laughter. "Watching him squirm is way too much fun."

Phobos's jaw went slack. "Shit. Don't say anything to Stephanie. Damn, she'll be mortified." His own embarrassment was enough as he blushed in front of everyone.

But, the embarrassment was short lived.

Jenna waddled into the kitchen on the phone with Amanda. "Sure thing, I will let Stef know that Essie lost her phone last night. Send me a text with the new number. Thank you."

Phobos was frozen. If Essie lost her phone yesterday, then who in the hell called Stef a few minutes ago. Fear washed through him and he flashed to his room. Shit. She wasn't there. Not in the bathroom. Then he saw her ring and dreamcatcher necklace on the dresser top. He ran out into the hall and down the stairs.

"Stephanie!" He called.

"What is wrong?" Deimos asked.

Phobos's mind was racing. How did they get in? How did she get out? "When I left Stephanie, she had just gotten a call from Essie, so she stayed behind to talk to her."

"But, Essie doesn't have her phone." Jenna gasped.

"Where could she have gone? We have been watching all the doors." Vane questioned.

Phobos shook his head. "She unlocked her powers last night. She could flash out." And he had no idea where she would have gone. Why would she have gone? Why would she leave him and not ask for his help?

His heart was shredding as tears started to fill his eyes.

Then he heard the notification on his phone that he received a voice message.

He played it on speaker for everyone to hear.

"Hey baby, I am so sorry. You know that I never want to hurt you. But, Kol called me. He said he has Essie. I tried to call Amanda and could not reach her. I, I- I can't keep living or hiding in fear and let everyone around get hurt because of me. First Jenna yesterday, then everyone last night. You were all lucky you were not hurt worse. The next time may not be in our favor. This can't last forever. We all know that." She took a breath. "So, I have to do this. I have to go and try to save my friend. But, I am trusting you to follow your plans and come for me." There was a pause. "Shit, I really hope that I am doing the right thing here. But, I don't know another way. Kol is watching to make sure that I come alone. Otherwise I would have talked to you first. But, I knew that if I told you, you wouldn't let me come at all. It is time that I faced my fears and my past. I have to do this." She sniffed back her tears. "It's kind of funny that a god of fear has given me something to live for and strength to fight those fears with. I love you with every part of my being. And, I really hope that I see you soon. We still have a wedding to plan for, remember." Everyone could hear her cry as she ended the call.

Everyone went into battle mode, calling for the reinforcements that they had already listed in their battle plans during the week.

But Phobos stood there, lost in his grief. His heart splintered into a thousand pieces.

Jenna pulled his head down to hers. "You can't grieve for her now. You haven't lost her yet. But right now, she needs you to be angry, really, really angry."

Phobos ground his teeth together as he let his rage take over. Jenna was right. Stef's only hope was for him to shred Skoll into pieces.

Once everyone was gathered, everyone flashed over to Minnesota where a former Dark Hunter named Wulf had offered his home as a staging area for any attack on The Holt.