I know...I promised a quicker update and it didn't happen. First off I would like to thank all of my faithful readers for sticking with this story and secondly, I would like to once again thank my brilliant son in helping me get past the writer's block that has plagued me this month. So please enjoy!

Chapter 28: Screaming out Loud

"What does that mean, Victor?" Denz asked, confused by Victor's mood change as he dropped his hand from her chin.

"It means that we are done with this hunt, Denz; she's one of the Cullen's gifted offspring." Victor said smiling to his partner, and then ordered. "Go inside and get her some clothes, we can't have her traveling all the back to Europe half naked, can we?"

Denz lasciviously looks down at the woman he's holding, still anticipating spending time alone with her, before Victor's order finally sinks in and he returns his attention back to his partner.

"But…Victor," whined Denz, "That's not fair! You said I could play with her, after she gave us what we needed."

"Sorry, Denz." Victor said with an amused expression on his face. "That was before I found out that she's what we needed. The client won't pay for damaged goods and you my big friend tend to break your playthings. Now hurry up and get her some clothes!"

"Fine." Denz huffed and reluctantly removed his arms from around her waist and hands her over to Victor before stomping toward the trailer. Shaking his head at his partner's childish behavior, he returns his attention back to the young woman now in his arms.

Pulling her closer, he puts his mouth right next to Lexie's ear and whispers, "I agree with Denz, it's not fair. I would love to see you with much less on, but our client would be most displeased to have you presented to him in your current attire." He gives her a soft kiss on her neck and chuckles when he feels her shudder at his touch. "He's so old fashioned; it would bother his refined sensibilities."

Feeling him loosen his hold on her body, she pulled away and turned to face him, "Why don't you just call him by his real name? We both know you're going to sell me to Aro." She challenged and Victor smiles at her spirit.

"Oh, Aro's going to have fun with you." He says and gestures down at Mark's prone body. "Don't try to run and you can say goodbye to your pet." The he turns away to walk toward the cars parked in front of the trailer.

Finally free, Lexie kneeled down to where Mark lay and began to examine his injuries. It didn't take her long to assess that he had a concussion by his uneven pupil dilation.

"Mark," she whispered; gathering him up until his head lay on her knees. "Can you hear me?" He moaned softly and forced his eyes open.

"Lexie?" he mumbled "Wha 'appened?" he asked.

"Shh, keep still. You have a concussion from getting hit onto the porch." She said quietly, nervously watching Victor walk back and forth making his plans, while inside the trailer she could hear
Denz taking out his frustration by ripping the place apart. Hearing a crash come from inside, Mark struggled to sit up, but she held him down.

"Lemme up… gotta pro….pro...tect you." He slurred still struggling in her arms.

"Mark, I'm okay. Please don't try to move, you're going to make your injuries worse." She said, lightly stoking his forehead in the hopes of keeping him calm.

"Those guys….were hur..tin you…whyrr they here?" he slurred while trying to focus on her face."There is a very powerful Immortal in Europe, who likes to collect others of our kind with unique gifts for his army. These two are here to get him what he wants by capturing one of the gifted members of my new family." She said softly, wondering if she had time to heal him.

Although, Mark was struggling to stay conscious, he could understand what she was saying and knew that because of her gifts, she had sacrificed herself to protect not only him but her new family as well.

"Nooo," he moans, but she silences him by giving him a kiss and zapping him unconscious, so she can quickly focus her energy on healing him.

Meanwhile, coming out of the trailers shredded bedroom carrying a travel bag, Denz is about to walk outside, when he spies a phone laying on the floor, that looks like it's still connected to someone. Picking it up, he puts it to his ear and listens to the silence on the other end, but then as if sensing his presence he hears an intake of breath and a whispered, "Lexie?" From outside, he hears Victor shout for him to hurry up and he curses before throwing the phone against the wall to destroy it. Grabbing a set of car keys off the table, he heads outside and makes his way over to Victor. Seeing the worried expression on his partners face, Victor asks, "What's wrong?"

"Her phone…..they've been listening….the Cullen's know that we've captured her and they're coming." Denz explained in a rush.

"Dammit! Then their pet wolves will be here any minute to destroy us." Victor said, nervously looking into the dark woods, before his eyes narrow on the unconscious man lying on the ground. "We need to get out of here." Looking back at Denz, he quietly orders, "Kill him, while I get her into the car."

Nodding in understanding, Denz smiles wickedly as they approach the couple. Reaching down, Victor grabs her by the arm to lift her off the ground then wraps his arm around her waist and begins to partially carry the struggling woman toward the car. Looking back at Denz standing over Mark, she begins to fight Victor's grasp around her waist.

"NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she screamed hysterically, knowing by Denz's expression what he was planning, "DON'T TOUCH HIM! NO! DON'T…" she didn't get to finish before Denz crouched down like an animal over Mark and violently bit down on his neck to rip his throat out. His blood began gushing out of the wound and his body began convulsing as it went into shock from the trauma of sudden blood loss.

Lexie went still in Victor's arms as she numbly watched Denz stand up and happily suck on the warm red fluid dripping off his fingers as he moved away…Mark's blood. Returning her gaze to the now still body of the man she loved…her soul mate; she felt a deep burning in the pit of her stomach as an unstoppable wave of anger began to boil up inside her. Now she remembered….this power was triggered by anger, not the quick passing kind made by being annoyed, but the deep smoldering kind filled with rage and hatred. She concentrates on Denz and gives her own evil smirk, when she feels her power surge toward the unsuspecting immortal like a wave.

Sensing an unnatural shift in the air, Victor releases Lexie and sees Denz walking toward them. Still licking the blood off his fingers, he remained unaware that a wave of shimmering energy raced toward him, until an unbearable pain causes him to freeze mid-step and clutches his chest. Doubling over, the sound of cracking stone can be heard coming from his body, as he tears off his shirt to reveal his splintering torso.

"What the hell!" Victor shouts, watching in shock as the cracks continue to spread throughout Denz's torso until they reach the rest of his extremities including his head. With his face contorted in a deep mask of pain, Denz can no longer control his agony and let's out a scream that echoes deep into the surrounding forest. Suddenly Denz stops in mid-scream and without warning he explodes into a shower of dust, splintered stones and empty clothes.

Victor stared in shock at his partner's remains, before looking over to the woman who now faced him with an unnatural glow in her eyes.

"What have you done?" he asked truly fearing something for the first time in over 500 years.

"I've given him a merciful death, compared to what my friends are going to go to you." She said, with barely contained loathing. Hearing a low growl, he looked over his shoulder to see three massive wolves, with glowing eyes sizing up their prey as they stealthily came up behind him.

Instinctively Victor takes off running in the opposite direction through the forest trying to escape his impending death from a woman with unimaginable power and her pet wolves.

"Have fun, boys." She said, smiling wickedly as the three wolves howled then rushed off after him. It wasn't long before she hears his screams as they catch up and tear him to pieces, ending the existence of yet another cruel and twisted immortal.

Rushing over and collapsing next to the lifeless body lying in a pool of his own blood; Lexie gathers him into her arms as she closes her eyes to let the anger drain away, only to be filled with an overwhelming sadness because she knows from past experience in using her healing powers, that a person cannot be saved if they have lost most of their blood volume.

"Mark…. Please….oh God…no!" she begins to sob, while touching his pale still face. "It's my fault… please…no….don't leave me….I can't... I just can't live….not without you." She whispers and lies down next to him to lay her head over his heart just so that she can be closer to the man who owned her soul and wish for her own death, when she hears a slow thump of a heartbeat.

Startled, she sits up and wipes away the tears from her wet face before turning his face toward her so she could examine the torn and bloody wound caused by Denz's vicious attack, but was shocked to see that his blood had clotted around the injury and was slowly healing. This confuses her for a moment until she realizes that some of her healing energy must have still been in his body after she had fixed his head injury and it stopped him from bleeding out.

"You're not dead." She whispers reverently, but knows that he's going to need a blood transfusion to increase his platelets in order to survive. Gently picking him up she began walking toward the cars, when the now transformed and dressed Quileute's; Sam, Leah and Seth came out of the woods carrying Victor's remains.

"He's alive….help me get him to the hospital." She said, but was stopped when Sam put his hand around her shoulder.

"You can't." he began, just as Mark began to hoarsely moan and twitch in pain.

"He's been bitten… the venom is already in his system and has begun the change." Sam said somberly and hears her soft intake of breath because she knows he's telling the truth. Closing her eyes for a moment, she feels an overwhelming sense of guilt at how her return to Seattle has caused Mark's life to be changed forever and wishes that she could redo everything, so that the events leading up to this night never happened.

"Sam, I know of the Cullen's agreement with your tribe and ask permission for you to allow, Doctor Sloan and I to return to their home, so that I can help with his transformation from a human to an Immortal." She asks and watches as Sam's eyes flit from her face to Mark's, still hesitant in giving his approval to having a new vampire so close to home.

"He's a good man, Sam…. And I know with Carlisle's guidance, he will remain the same once his transformation is complete. Please….let me help him…..I can't lose him now." She said softly begging him.

"I'll grant your request, Lexie. Because I trust you and I know you will teach him how to live among humans like you do." Sam said and took Mark out of her arms so that she could open the car door while he placed him in the back seat.

Almost done with next chapter, it will be up by this weekend. ;)