Chapter Two: Stark

Oh Goddess, how could I have let this happen to Zoey? My mind was screaming in agony. I was still crying and thinking the truth only made me cry harder. This is all my fault; I should never have left her.

"I didn't see this! Oh Goddess, NO!" Aphrodite sobbed. Darius came up and held her in his lap. I could barely hear Darius over the screaming in my head and the broken sobs of Aphrodite, the Twins, Damien and Jack.

"Stark, you must let go of her. She needs to be taken inside." Darius was saying. I could hear him, barely, but it took a while for the words to soak in. And when they did my mouth spoke, but of its own accord.

"I can't do that. I have to protect her, I can't let her go." My voice broke and I was crying again.

"You can carry her inside," Said Erin. She was crying silently, but steadily. As usual Shaunee finished the sentence for her 'Twin'.

"Yeah, c'mon. We'll all help you. You don't have to do it alone, you know?"

As she said that, I felt the brush of spirit across my soul, and I knew then that Zoey was going to come back. I didn't know how or when but I knew it was going to happen. I then found the strength I needed to protect my Lady. I shook of the Twins as they tried to help me up. "No, it's okay. I've got her." I said as I scooped up Zoey, and, carrying her like a baby, took her to her room.

It didn't take long for us to reach Zoey's room. I didn't see Darius as we walked in, so I assumed that he was talking to someone about what happened. On the way there I tried to think about what my life would be like without Zoey, and it actually caused me physical pain.

I got up on the bed with her and sat against the head board, with her in my lap. I cradled her against my chest, holding her tightly.

Darius walked in then, with a sympathetic look on his face when he saw me on the bed with Zoey.

"I have told Erce about the ah – incident. She has made sure the High Council has been notified." He said. He sat down next to Aphrodite, who snuggled into his arms, and he held her tightly.

Oh Goddess, I prayed, Please let Zoey come back to me. I wasn't expecting an answer, so it shocked me when I heard the words brush across my mind: She will be back soon, young Stark, let her recover. But remember, the power of one's feelings can recover, not only destroy. Wow. My feelings. For Zoey. Well she made me crazy. I love her personality. I love the fact that she listens to other people. She makes me feel whole, and when we're not together I feel empty. I love her hair. I just love her.

I almost forgot everyone was here, and the only thing that reminded me was Darius saying "Stark?". Everyone was looking at me, as if they were expecting an answer.

"Huh?" I said.

Aphrodite sighed, and it sounded long suffering. "Darius said that he needs to go talk to Lenobia, and we all need to either sleep, or in me and the Twins cases, shop. We should all go on about or day as normal, until Zoey gets better." She said, with a sniffle at the end.

"Oh, uh, I think I'll just stay here, if that's okay with you." I said. I needed to tell Zoey my feelings when we were alone.

The all made sounds of approval and filed out of the room. Okay, now I can think. But remember, the power of one's feelings can recover, not only destroy. If that means what I think it means, and I'm pretty sure it does, then I have to confess my feelings for Zoey, to Zoey. I sighed. Okay, well here goes.

"Zoey, I love you, so much. You make me feel whole, and when we're not together I feel empty. I love the fact that you listen to people. I love your personality. I love your hair. You have a part of my heart, forever. Even though I have only known you for like, one and a half weeks, I can't imagine my life without you. I am so, so, so sorry about everything. I should never have left you," I was crying. Again. "Goddess, you mean the world to me Zoey. We need you to come back. I need you to come back. I don't know what I'd do without you. I love you."

I felt wet spots on my arms, and I looked down to see Zoey crying steadily. I think my mouth was flapping open like a fish. She had all her tattoos back. When she realized that I was gawking at her she looked up, smiled and said: "I love you, too.".

And then I was kissing her. And she was kissing me back. I held her gently. I don't know which one of us broke the kiss. I think we did it at the same time. We were both breathing hard.

And then everyone walking in the room. And stopped like they had hit a brick wall.

"Um…Hi guys." She said into the increasingly weird and awkward silence. I say weird because everyone's eyes were swiveling between us like it was a tennis rally. And I say awkward because everyone's mouth, and I do mean everyone's (even Darius) mouth, was flapping open and closed.

Aphrodite was the first one to thaw. She moved so quickly that, in a second, she was on the bed, punching every inch of Zoey she could reach, also getting me a few times.

"ZOEY REDBIRD! Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again!" she screeched. She enunciated each word with a punch, and it wasn't until Darius overcame his shock, that he pulled her off of us, and held her in his lap, while she cried and gave us dirty looks.

Then there was a squeak, and a thump. Jack had fainted. Everyone crowded around Jack, apart from Zoey and I. I looked at her the same time she looked at me. We grinned at each other and I kissed her head. She snuggled deeper into my arms.

"I love you" She whispered. And then Aphrodite ruined it by saying "Stop flirting! Goddess."

After everything died down, and everyone had let Zoey breathe, she told us what happened.

"Well, Kalona lied." She said. As if we didn't know that. I kept my mouth shut, though, Zoey had just came back and she didn't need that shit from me. But Aphrodite voiced my opinion for me.

"No shit, Z? Not to be disrespectful, but we told you that." She said.

"Are you going to let me tell you what happened, or not?" she asked

Aphrodite muttered something that I didn't quite catch, and Zoey continued on with her story.

"Anyway, as I was saying, He lied about everything. And Neferet killed Prof. Nolan and Loren, because they 'got in her way'" she said. She made little air quotes around the 'Got in her way' part. I wondered, not for the first time, what Zoey had with Loren Blake, Vamyre Poet Laureate. Whenever she mentions him she gets all uncomfortable. I hope it wasn't what I thought it was. And judging by the look on everyone's face, I guessed that it was bad.

"So that's why, Kalona killed Heath." She paused for a few seconds. The emotions through the bond told me that she was upset. Very upset. She continued. "Because he overheard Kalona and Neferet's conversation. Kalona said that soon I would come to him willingly. But after everything he has put me through I'm not going to let that happen though." She said, and I was proud of her.

***

After everyone left for their own rooms, I was able to actually able to talk to Zoey. We were lying in bed, and Zoey was curled up on my side with her head resting on my chest. I was stroking her hair.

"Zoey, you know I meant everything I said before, right?" I asked her. She shifted her position so that she was looking into my eyes.

"Of course. And you know that I meant everything I said before?"

"With all of my heart." And I did.

We laid in a comfortable silence for a while.

"You know, you scared me back there." I said

"I scared myself, too" She said. And she sounded it too. I held her tightly against me, and instantly she started to relax.

"I thought I had lost you forever." I said. " I tried to imagine my life without you, and I hurt… so, so much. It actually caused me physical pain." I said.

"I could never leave my Warrior… Stark, I'm so sorry about what I said before, about you and Becca. I shouldn't have said it. It was stupid and wrong. I know you have changed, which makes it even worse that I said it because I was the reason you changed," She broke off then, looking embarrassed. "Well, at least I think I was the reason you changed." She was red in the face now.

I pulled her chin up so that she could look at me in the eyes. "Zoey. How can you doubt that?" I asked, truly shocked that she didn't know for sure.

"I – I…" she stammered.

"Zoey, I love you more than anything. Of course you're the reason I changed. I thought you knew that." I said.

And suddenly, she was crying. Tears formed in her eyes and leaked over, streaming down towards her ears, because she was lying down. The tears landed on my chest.

"Hey – don't cry." I said. And I sat up, and cradled her in my lap, rubbing circles on her back. I rocked her while she cried silently, but steadily. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm just glad you're my Warrior." She said. And then I was kissing her. The kiss exploded in my mouth, and a liquid desire ran through my body, warming up the top of my head to the tips of my toes. And then I realized what was going on. Zoey's lip was bleeding. I pulled away, gasping.

"Zoey!" I said.

"What? You were the one who made it start bleeding." She said.

"I told you I wasn't going to drink from you." I said.

She looked upset again. "Sorry," She said. "Let's just go to sleep, okay?"

"Zoey," I said. She had her head turned away from me so I tugged on her shoulder, so she would face me. "I've told you. We will do it. Just not now, okay? Not with Kalona and Neferet so close. I don't want to lose you again." I said.

"Yeah, I know, I know. But I still want you to do it." She said. There was an age old sadness in her eyes. "Please? Just this once.?" She asked. There was a hopelessness in her voice and face that broke me.

"Ugh. Fine. Only this once." I reluctantly agreed.

She looked so surprised. "Are you serious?" she asked.

"Sadly, yes." I said. But I wasn't sad. I was excited. And annoyed, at myself, for giving in.

She got into a better position. Once comfortable, she tiled her neck back, giving me a clear view of her jangular. I bent down and bit her. There was a gasp of pain from her, before the pleasure kicked in. The taste exploded in my mouth I moaned in desire. Zoey held herself closer to me. She lifted my hand, which was near her lower back, and guided it up her shirt, to cup her boob, which was bare except her bra. She moaned in pure desire. What made it every bit better was that I could feel everything she was feeling. Zoey's blood made warmth slam in – Zoey's blood. I pulled back, and stopped sucking. I was still holding her tightly, and still had my hand up her shirt.

"Wow." Said Zoey, who was gasping for breath.

"Yeah." I said, in total agreement. "But we can't do it again. Not after Neferet and Kalona are gone." I said.

"I know… Thank you." She said.

"It was my pleasure. Literally." I said, and pulled her down with me as I lied down. I had almost forgotten about the Loren Blake thing. I didn't know how she was going to take it, but I had to ask.

"Zoey?" I asked, timidly.

"Yeah?"

I blew out a big breath and rushed on. "What happened with you and Loren Blake?".

I felt her stiffen at my side. She took a few deep breaths and answered me with a question.

"You know how when you first came, my friends were being horrible to me?"

"Yeah" I said.

"Well that was because I didn't tell them about Stevie Rae, or Loren. At the time, like a few days before you came, I was dating Erik. And Loren he," She was crying again. There were a lot of tears going on tonight. "He made me think that he loved me." She gave a harsh laugh. "Actually, Neferet made him, make me think that he loved me. Anyway I was sneaking around with him, and then the night Erik became a vamp, I was really upset, and I was stupid enough to have sex with Loren. And, of course Neferet, the puppeteer that she is, made sure Erik walked in on us. And so when Aphrodite found me crying under the tree, she got everyone together, and not knowing, she brought Erik along too. Basically he called me a slut to my face, and announced to everyone that I was going around behind his back and having sex with Loren Blake. And, because I have such great luck," She added sarcastically, "Stevie Rae decided to pop through the trap door, right at that moment. So adding the 'Stevie Rae is alive and Zoey didn't tell us' disaster to the 'Zoey was sneaking around with Loren Blake' bomb and we have a very pissed off group of people." She finished.

Whoa. That's a lot to take in, I thought. We sat in silence for a bit, while I thought.

"Stark, say something, please." She begged me.

"So, you're not a virgin?" I asked. Yep, really intelligent question.

"No…I thought you would've hated me." She said.

I laughed, long and loud. I think she was a bit freaked out by it, to be honest. "Zoey," I said, still chuckling. "You really don't get how much I love you, do you?" I asked.

"Stark, are you... A virgin, I mean?" She asked, nervous.

"Yes. Whenever I was with a girl, it just didn't feel right, you know?" I asked. "I think Nyx was telling me to wait for you." I said, with a little smile.

"I wish she had told me to wait," She said. "If I had known I was going to meet you, I would have waited a thousand years." She said quietly. She silently started to cry. Again.

"Hey, you can't change anything now. What's done is done. It's what makes you who you are today. It's what makes you the girl I'm in love with." I said sweetly.

"But I still wish you were my first." She said.

"So do I, but like I said, we can't change anything." I said

"Oh, and by the way, I love you too. She said.

***

I woke up the next day spooning Zoey, with my arms around her waist. I lied there content for a while. Zoey woke up about half an hour after I did. She sighed and snuggled deeper into my arms.

"Hmm, morning sleepy head." I said

"Morning. What's the time?" She asked

"Nine forty five. Shall we shower and then get something to eat?" I asked

"Sure… You wanna wash my back?" She asked

"What do you think? Of course I do." I said, jokingly.

"Cool. C'mon." She said. Oh Goddess. She is serious.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes… I don't want to be alone."

"Oh… Well, okay, but only cause you asked nicely." I said jokingly, and I flashed her favorite cocky grin.

"Okay."

So we went into the bathroom. I had just started to undress, when I thought of something.

"Z, do you have tattoos on your body? Like where they used to be?" I asked

"Um… Yeah. And what do you mean 'Used to be'?" she asked.

"Well, um, your tattoos kind of disappeared when you were…Um, not with us." I said. I wasn't sure how she was going to react.

"Oh…" She said, as understanding became clear on her face.

"What?" I asked, apprehensive.

"When I was in the other world, before I left, Heath and Nyx both kissed me on the forehead. When Heath kissed me, I felt a tingling on my forehead,, but when Nyx kissed my forehead, I felt the tingling all over my torso. You want to look at them?" She asked.

"Sure. I'd always like to see you – I mean them." I said. The last bit was a joke, but I totally would like to see her.

Zoey came and stood in front of me. She was completely naked. Her tattoos were beautiful. I had only seen them once before. I reached out to touch them. "Do you mind?" I asked. She shook her head.

I stroked them. The ones on her stomach, the ones along the scar, which was still really red, the ones down her arms. I bend my head and softly kissed the one above her scar. She kissed the part of my neck that was facing her. She ran her hands along my bear chest making my shiver with desire. She trailed them down to my boxers, and pulled them down. I was kissing her mouth now. We both stood there naked, and sucking face. I cupped her butt, and she moved my hand up to her boob. I pulled away, and asked her "Are you sure?" And she nodded her head. There was no going back now. I took her into the bedroom, and laid her down on the bed, and lowered myself down, trying not to put any of my weight on her. She pulled me closer.