Sorry, as always, for the long delay between chapters. This chapter is most definitely rated ~M~ explicit sexual content - consent is... ambiguous at best. I know I should really write more Plot-oriented chapters, but this idea just wouldn't leave me alone. I promise more plot explanation in the next chapter!

If you ever wondered what I meant by "vampire sex - love is a battlefield" ... well, now you'll see.

Please Review! Let me know how this chapter worked!

Enjoy~

~TLD

Part Twenty-Seven: If I die before I wake

Gomez sat in the darkness of the bedroom he shared with his wife. The night was cool. A dampness seeped through the creaky old house, mingling with the ashy remnants from the fire, creating a stale, sour smell that the Addams' would have enjoyed in better times. But as it was, Gomez stared morosely at the motionless body of his one true love, begging the fates to take him instead or cast him down with her so that he might never be parted from her. His heart pounded loudly in his ears as he counted each of Morticia's breaths.

As such, he didn't hear the commotion in the kitchen downstairs.

Pugsley recognized the strange, compelling voice whispering through the kitchen door, and a cold, albeit brief, wave of dread coursed through him. Not one to look before he leaps, Pugsley barreled into the kitchen, the door slamming heavily behind him. He skidded to a stop when he saw her.

Her spectral form hovered over Mama's shoulder, blue eyes sparkling dangerously. Lilith.

"You!" Pugsley exclaimed. Without a second thought, Pugsley threw himself at Lilith in a flying tackle that should have brought her to the ground. Instead, his fists closed around air and he crashed heavily on the floor across the room. He pushed himself up with a groan as Lilith's cackling laughter filled the room.

Mama continued rambling in her ancient tongue, her eyes unfocused, her hands automatically stirring a bubbling concoction in the cauldron.

"Focus, Witch!" Lilith demanded, her attention completely returned to Mama. "Yes…" she cooed as Mama's chanting grew louder and more intense.

Pugsley jumped from the floor and ran to Mama's side. "Mama!" he shouted, "Stop!" He shook her roughly, trying to break her from her trance. But Mama's chant filled the kitchen and Lilith circled hungrily around her.

Gomez felt as though his heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. The silence of his darkened room was deafening as every second ticked away without his beloved stirring. He didn't know if he'd ever see those long, sharp eyes pierce him again. He searched her face, her high, angular cheekbones, her aristocratic nose, her pale, glowing skin, her soft, red lips. Wake up, my love, his thoughts begged, Come back, cara mia! He sighed, a helplessness like he'd never known filling him completely.

Suddenly her dark eyes shot open.

"Cara!" Gomez shouted. But Morticia's horrorstruck expression silenced him.

"Gomez!" she cried, "She's here!" He tried to interrupt, but Morticia screamed, "Pugsley! Gomez, save Pugsley!" And with a final scream, she fell back into unconsciousness.

Gomez wasted no time. He jumped from Morticia's side and barreled into the hallway, nearly running over Pubert.

"Pubert!" Gomez gasped. "Where, where is Pugsley?" his breathing raced. Pubert's swollen eyes found his face.

"Downstairs, I think," Pubert responded, morosely. Gomez nodded hard, about to run down the stairs, but he froze, suddenly afraid to leave his wife so unprotected.

"Pubert, go sit with your mother until I return. Okay, son?" he asked when Pubert didn't respond.

Pubert's eyes welled with tears. "I… I can't, Father," he whimpered. "I… I failed you. I failed her… I…"

But Gomez interrupted him, "Pubert, please. Your mother needs you. I need you."

Pubert's lower lip trembled, but he nodded hard and raced into his parent's room. Gomez's brow knit in concern, but Pubert's pain would have to wait. Suddenly he heard a shattering crash from the kitchen, and he raced like a bat out of Hell down the stairs.

When he threw open the kitchen door, the sight before him nearly stopped his heart. Mama huddled over a boiling cauldron, her eyes white and unfocused, muttering to herself in a language Gomez couldn't discern. Lilith hovered in the far corner of the room, seeming to drink in every word that slipped through Mama's clenched teeth. And Pugsley, partially hidden behind the stove, hurled pots and pans at Lilith's spectral form, dodging the knives and debris that Lilith hurled back at him.

They didn't look up at him when he entered and he wasn't particularly sure how to end this fight. The helplessness that had been pressing down on him since his wife was injured peaked as he watched his son fighting an impossible battle and his mother locked in her own world. The wave of helplessness threatened to swallow him whole, but, in a sudden surge, Gomez felt his helplessness replaced by sheer, unbridled rage.

"Enough!" he shouted, temporarily freezing everyone in their place.

Lilith's red lips curled up into a seductive pout. "Ah, Gomez," she cooed. "So nice of you to join us."

Gomez stood his ground, his expression souring into a disgusted grimace. "It's time for you to leave, vampire," he sneered. Lilith floated toward him, her attention temporarily diverted from Mama.

"Oh, but I'm afraid I'm not quite finished here," she crooned. "And your home is quite lovely. Do pass my compliments on to Mrs. Addams," she paused, "Forgive me," she mocked, "the late Mrs. Addams."

Gomez struggled to keep the rage off his face, and in a quick glance away from Lilith's mocking glare, Gomez noticed Mama's eyes flicker back into focus. He smiled slightly.

"Actually," he replied smoothly, nodding slightly to Mama, "you'll have to forgive me. You see, it is time for you to leave, whether you're ready or not." He smiled widely, and added, "Mama?"

Lilith turned startled eyes back to Mama just in time for Mama to shout, "Specter, be gone!" and weave a powerful warding spell, dispelling Lilith's image from the kitchen and ridding the Addams' home of her spirit. As her image faded, only the sounds of her shrieks remained, echoing through the empty corridors.

Slumping to the floor, Mama released a heavy breath. Pugsley and Gomez were quickly by her side, and led her, slowly, to the sitting room to rest. Finally, Gomez spoke, his voice low and concerned, "Mama, what was that all about?"

Mama's voice was brittle and hollow, "Bad news, Gomez. I'm afraid I've given her what just she needed the most…"

Back in his cell, Joel curled up in the corner of the room, unable to look at the cold, white body of the girl whose blood now mended him. Though his body was healing, Joel's mind could no longer bear the strain of his guilt, of his heartache, and of his fear. But, as Joel slipped into unconsciousness, he found himself falling, falling into a dream, into a memory that he hoped he'd never relive again.

It had been nearly a year ago, somewhere between the time that he'd gradually grown dissatisfied with Lilith's control and the day he tried to destroy them all. It was only a little over two years since he'd been changed, but the transformation was complete. No longer the scrawny, nervous boy, Joel had become a strong, angular, confident, and altogether fearsome creature. He'd learned Lilith's ways. He'd fought, injured, given and taken his share of the reckless, unapologetic violence of his kind, all the while hating himself and his 'siblings' with a growing, seething ire. But above all, he hated her. And she knew it.

Joel knew she saw it, knew she felt the fire of his hatred for her. She'd smile, her eyes sparkling with lust, and he knew she fed off his hate. She loved her control. She'd exert her will over her minions at horrible times, like this day, when, in combat practice before a blow, she'd frozen Ethan in place so he'd have to stand motionless and watch the blade fall. She loved to watch rebellion and obedience war in their eyes.

And so it was that after one of Joel's outbursts, his cutting words challenging her control, her order, that Lilith smiled seductively, and, running a soft hand across his shoulders, whispered in his ear, "Come to me tonight, my pet. After curfew," she commanded, "come to my rooms."

Joel had tensed under her touch and her command, feeling his entire being freeze under the weight of it. He kept the fierce glare locked on his face, not wanting her to see how her command made his stomach drop and his pulse race with fear and dread. It wasn't to be a treat, he knew. Not a reward. He'd dipped his chin in acknowledgement of her wishes and then as the darkened hallways flickered with half-light, he'd found his way to her rooms.

"Come in," she called in a soft voice before Joel had even knocked. He pushed open the door, and there she was, her soft, pale form enveloped in shimmering white fabric that wrapped her naked body in a translucent glow. Joel locked his features, trapping his expression in a display of interest, but none of the panic, anger, or arousal that coursed through him. He moved, wordlessly, to stand before her, noticing with a strange sense of satisfaction that he was taller than her. Without her signature heels, she fell an inch or two short of his six-one. He almost smirked. And then her piercing glare stabbed into him.

Her cool hands pressed into his chest, trailing goosebumps down his stomach until she reached the bottom edge of his shirt. And then her hands were on his flesh and he bit back a shiver. And she was pulling his shirt up and off, the fabric and her fingers brushing lightly against his skin, and he locked his jaw to keep from trembling.

"Ah," she sighed, staring hungrily at his exposed chest, her eyes glinting with desire. "Joel," she breathed, running her hands down the sharp contour of his clenched jaw, smoothing her fingertips across his collarbone, and down the panes of his sculpted chest. Against his will, Joel felt a tightening in his belly.

Her hands rubbed into the hard flesh of his shoulders, stroking down the lengths of his arms, wrists, hands. She lifted his hands, slowly, and, her lips pursed in amusement, laid them on her chest, right above the closure to her gown. Joel struggled to keep his expression neutral and his hands steady as he unclasped the tiny closure and watched as the shimmering material fell off her alabaster skin and pooled around her feet. In that instant, her blonde hair curling around her face, her blue eyes sparkling in the dim light, and her glorious body glowing white, emerging from the shining fabric on the floor, she was Venus rising out of the sea, and Joel was lost momentarily in her beauty.

His hands moved of their own accord, tracing the contours of her throat, the hollow at her collarbone, the smooth, silky mounds of her breasts, rubbing, tasting, sliding his fingers gently over the soft, trembling flesh, until she was breathing heavily, her gasping breaths caressing his skin and raising the hairs on the back of his neck. She shivered delicately, and suddenly her hands were on his shoulders.

Her grip was strong and hard, and Joel's eyes flicked to her face. Her pale skin was flushed slightly, but there was a wicked grin on her face. Joel felt the pressure increase on his shoulders. And suddenly he knew what she wanted. He stood his ground for a second, his natural inclination for rebellion flaring up, but a slight flash in Lilith's eyes startled him and he allowed her to push him down to his knees before her.

His fingers raised goose flesh down her sides as he knelt before her. His body obeyed her but his rebellion burned in his eyes. His hands paused on her curvaceous hips as he took in the sight before him, her smooth supple skin giving way to short, soft blonde hairs barely concealing her womanhood from him. Despite himself, he was mesmerized by the sight and feel of her. His fingers found her, tracing ever so slowly over her flesh, over her entrance, tickling and teasing the wetness from her. She shuddered, her clawed hand digging into Joel's shoulder. And suddenly, Joel couldn't hold back the desire that was building in him, and with a gasp, his mouth found her. His tongue traced her sensitive nub and he kissed and sucked, the feel and flavor of her making him moan. He was feral, his need was growing with each passing second, and finally his tongue entered her and he felt a sharp pang of pleasure stab through him. The taste, the warmth, the wetness of her unhinged him and he was sucking and fondling, the pleasure so intense, his need so acute that, in a swift move, he gripped her buttocks sharply and pulled her tighter against his mouth.

She was panting heavily, her pleasure mounting to a painful high and with a sudden surge, her clawed hand gripped Joel's hair – hard. He winced in pain and in that instant lost hold of the beast within him. With a hiss, his fangs stabbed into the soft skin above her nub. She screamed and Joel moaned in ecstasy as her blood mingled with her flowing wetness, the flavors exploding on his tongue and making his body shudder.

After a moment, her body stilled and she pushed Joel away. He fell heavily back on his heels, his hard bulge pressing painfully against his pants. She smiled as he wiped her blood and juices from his face. His hazel eyes swam with flashes of red as her blood affected him and the monster swam precariously close to the surface. Slowly, steadily, he rose, his eyes hard and direct.

He thought he saw an inkling of fear cross her features as he approached her, his hands automatically removing his belt. But then she smirked.

"That will be all," she commanded, freezing Joel in place. His need and lust now swirled painfully. "You are dismissed." Joel felt his body rebel against her command. His muscles strained in stillness, struggled against the restraint. His eyes swirled in a sickening red-brown haze as his rage peaked.

"We're not done here," he growled. His fists opened and closed, his body fighting against her control.

She cocked an eyebrow, her blue eyes sparkling with condescension. "Yes. We are," her soft voice commanded, with the sound of ice cracking. His body was cooling, stilling, he could feel it. NO! he thought, No! the beast shouted within. And his rage burned, his heart racing as his hatred and his lust and his rebellion pounded him from the inside. Building. Burning. Breaking. And suddenly, his rage peaked and her hold broke.

He took a small, deliberate step toward her, his eyes flashing dangerously. Slowly, he undid his pants, letting them fall to the floor. Her eyes widened in surprise and shock as she took in his imposing manhood. He took another step toward her and grasped her wrist, hard.

"No. We're not," he growled. And with a fearsome thrust, tossed her effortlessly on the bed. Before she could get up, or even move to stop him, he was there, his hips forcing her thighs open, his hands forcing her shoulders down on the bed, his fangs glinting devilishly in his mouth. His fiery eyes flashed into hers, a wicked expression contorting his face, and with a sudden, sharp thrust, he sheathed himself inside her.

She cried out in shock and pain and lust and Joel growled low in his throat, the pleasure of her warmth feeding the fire within him. He pounded her with reckless abandon, her rippling moans pouring out and her body struggling against his power. She pushed against his hold and he pounded into her harder, making her cry out. The sound of her pain was intoxicating.

A sudden urge gripped him and with a ferocious growl, Joel plunged his fangs into her soft neck. The flavor, the warmth, the sensation sent shivers down his spine and for a brief instant, Joel felt that he might tumble over the edge into blissful oblivion. But before his pleasure could climax, she shoved him back with renewed vigor, a feral growl ripping through her chest. Her strength suddenly magnified, she pushed him off of her, and rolled him on his back.

He breathed heavily before her clawed hand crashed heavily down on his throat, cutting off his air. He struggled, bucking up wildly beneath her, causing her to hiss in pain. But then she was rocking into him, grinding him at breakneck speed. He gasped for the air he couldn't reach, his body racing for the top, his lungs screaming. Tears leaked out of his eyes as he flirted with unconsciousness, the blackness creeping into his vision. Finally, at the last second, her grip released and Joel gasped in a deep breath. And then she pounded herself into him and Joel lost the air he'd sucked in with a sharp moan.

His hands reached for her. Needing to push her off or pull her down harder against him, he wasn't sure. But before he touched her, she leaned into him, her supple breasts dangling inches from his face. He longed to bring his mouth to them, but then her fingers were in his hair. Her pace increased and Joel found himself shaking beneath the forceful agony of his pending release. She was pushing him to climax. Her fingers curled in his hair, but then, with a hard jerk, she pulled his hair back, forcing his neck to arch toward her. He was so close, his body reaching for the top. She sucked in a deep breath and then, without warning, plunged her razor sharp fangs into his throat. She ground into him HARD, sucking his sweet blood in the same moment and Joel was falling, dying, spilling all that was in him, and she rode him high. He felt her walls tightening around him and her lips tighten on his throat and he knew she was coming with him.

The moment stretched and then she released him, collapsing heavily onto the bed beside him.

Joel stood, wiping the blood from him with her white sheets. He dressed in silence, his back to Lilith, lounging on the bed. He could feel her eyes on him. He knew she could kill him. Might very well kill him for disobeying her. Kill him for taking and ravaging her. But he kept his fear out of his posture. Let her try, he thought. Better to die fighting than to live as her slave. He pulled his shirt over his head and moved toward the door.

As he reached the threshold, he heard her voice in his head, "Well done, my pet," she crooned, "I see I've trained you well." Without looking back, Joel slammed the door behind him, rushing down the hallway to be away from her, away from her control. But her voice followed him.

"Sleep well, dear pet," she crooned, "And never forget... You are mine…"

Joel woke with a start, panic racing his heart just as it had that night as he'd run from her voice, from her, and from the monster she'd turned him into.

His eyes blinked fiercely, trying to dispel the final remnants of his dream. And suddenly, as if by some miracle… or some horrible twist of fate, he saw her. Standing before him. Her dark hair tangled around her pale face, her dark eyes searching in her stoic expression, her still body tight with concern and anticipation.

He blinked again and pushed himself up into a seated position, forcing his eyes and his mind to stop playing tricks on him. But, even as the mists cleared, there she stood. In his cell. Waiting for him to wake.

"Wednesday?" he croaked, still not believing his eyes.

But then he saw it. Behind her, Melody and Veronica hovered, holding the door for Ethan to drag the girl's lifeless body from the cell. And, in the darkness of the threshold… Lilith, her blue eyes glinting with triumph.

Joel swallowed heavily, standing to face what could only be impending doom. Without a moment's hesitation, Wednesday closed the distance between them in two large strides, her black eyes burning Hellfire. She stood before him for a brief second before turning to face the vampires across the room.

Joel wrapped her small hand in his own and the two stared down their captors with an expression of defiance that both inflamed Joel's heart and scared him to death. Here we go, he thought.

And he knew that the final battle for power… for control… had begun.