Two years passed with no word from Lizzie. Tom, Kerry and Jeff searched for her for a time, but she was gone. They realized at some point that she did not want to be found.
Oz had not told them about how she had appeared on his doorstep broken and battered. By the time she had arrived, he knew that her power was unlocked. It was also then that he realized she should be kept as far from Kerry and Jeff as possible. They were her mates and the likely key to her demise. So, he kept silent.
Lizzie spent months at Oz's mending physically and learning how to sleep again without seeing either of her mates in her mind. He worked with her on shooting as Jeff had before and even helped her with her fighting techniques. They grew close during those months. When she was ready, Oz told her the information they had from Gabriel. That left her knowing that she really could turn to no one, especially after discovering that Gabriel had lied to her for so long. And when she was done healing and learning, she and Oz both knew that she needed to move on and try to live her life. So, after 6 months, Lizzie left with a promise to keep in touch and a classic car freshly painted blue thanks to the old man.
Her life didn't return to normal from there, though. Lizzie tried working as an attorney again, but ended up drifting towards more and more morose personal injury cases. When she had a few large settlements, she just couldn't take it anymore and she bailed. The next few months had gone by with her hopping motel to motel or friends' houses, trying desperately to stay away from anywhere that she could be found. It was hard until she decided to take a break from it all for a while. The last big check for 3 million was what solidified her decision. That was it, no more cases. She just wanted a quiet life of safety.
Oz had been in contact with her constantly through that time, telling her every tidbit of research they had discovered. Now that she was fully able to defend herself, the information seemed less important though, as if she could avoid the world if she wanted. Even that first heat cycle alone again hadn't proved too dangerous. She had found a small cabin in the woods and bought it turning it into her new home. There her heat seemed lowered, but then again she had spent the last few months acquiring tattoos, which were wardings against a whole lot of beings. Oz had been more than happy to provide her with the patterns, hoping that if nothing could touch her, then nothing would kill her. On the other side of that first cycle, everything seemed like it was going to be okay.
Lizzie started to venture out little by little, although she found plenty to occupy her at the cabin. She even started taking on new legal work after a few more months. It was all able to be done remotely, so she didn't have to think about leaving and could just be there in her own peaceful part of the world.
When her next heat cycle started her second after her ungating, she wasn't even worried. Her cabin was remote and she had tattoos on her body to cover nearly anything that might sense her. As she unpacked the last of the provisions she would need for the month, the quiet was suddenly broken up by her phone. She ran over in time to see Oz's name pop up. A few minutes of the phone call and Lizzie was hopping in the Charger heading towards Oz's house. It would take her a few hours, but Oz had said this was important and she had to come in person.
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"Hey Oz, what's up?" Lizzie said it normally after Oz answered his door.
"Lizzie! So incredible to see you little lady. I'd hug you, but I can smell you from here."
"Sorry, I came as soon as you called, but my heat started yesterday. You said it was important, though." Lizzie smiled at him.
"It is. Me and the boys, we found someone who can help." Oz noted the tattoos that now adorned parts of Lizzie's arms and the large anti-possession tattoo that she now sported on the top of her chest. She looked different than he remembered, harder somehow.
"The boys? Oz, are you hiding something?" Lizzie locked her jaw looking at him.
"Look, you know I've been using every resource to get rid of this curse you have, which includes my best agents."
"Fine, well tell me who can help me and I'll make my way there. First, I need a drink though, and don't worry about my heat I took care of it earlier. It should be tolerable until morning." She shook her head walking past Oz into his house.
When she got to the doorway into Oz's living room she stopped dead in her tracks. Two sets of eyes met hers that she hadn't been faced with in almost 2 years.
"Hey Lizzie." Kerry spoke up smiling. Jeff was silent, casting his gaze down immediately.
"No fucking way Oz, no fucking way." Lizzie turned back to head for the door and Oz's hands seized her arms and then he dropped them immediately feeling his body respond to the touch in a way he was completely uncomfortable with.
"Just wait little lady. They found a lady that might be able to break the curse and you can't go there alone. "
"I can take care of my damn self. I have been training for years now, and I'm fine alone. Give me the name and address and I'll go there." She huffed, pissed off to even be near the two bastards that cursed her.
"You can't go alone. The men you are mated with have to go with you." He looked at her with a level gaze.
"You know very well what they did to me, and you expect me to trust them?" Lizzie was fuming as she looked into his eyes.
"Now you and I both know that was some hoodoo that caused that. Those boys in there love you, and they never would have done that if not under a spell. They have searched for two years to find anything to fix it. So, take your pigheaded self in there and talk it out with them." Oz took on the father tone with her that she hated.
"Fine." One word was all she had as she turned to walk back into Oz's living room and sat across from them. The room was thick with tension as she sat down on his favorite chair.
"It's good to see you Lizzie." Kerry was soft as he spoke. His heart was racing at seeing her again. She looked different in many ways. She had tattoos on her, some of which he recognized from the dungeon in the bunker. She now wore black eyeliner and mascara around her eyes and red lipstick, which made his body respond instantly. The small tank top she had on hugged her and she was much more muscular now than he remembered. He looked into her face and still saw the woman he fell in love with though. His mind flooded with memories.
"I wish I could say the same. When are we leaving?" Lizzie muttered at him, her eyes caught Kerry's and saw the pain and regret painted there.
"Is that it? Two years and we didn't even know you were okay, and you ask when we are leaving." Jeff looked at her with hurt written on his features. His smoldering green eyes reflected pain and not the anger that he used to hide it.
"Yeah Jeff that's it. You assholes raped me and marked me, why the hell would you care if I was okay? So, yea after two years I kind of got over you both and now we should get going so I never have to see either of you again." She was steely in her gaze back at him, not willing to yield anything to him emotionally.
"Lizzie, listen, I know you understand that we wouldn't have hurt you if we had a choice in the matter. We love you, and we just want to reclose the gates so you can be happy." Kerry gave her that puppy dog look that she remembered all too well.
"I understand it all Kerry, but it still took a good part of a year to get the images out of my brain, so you'll forgive me if I don't jump up and hug you." She sighed not sure what else to say to him.
"It was the same for us, but we never stopped trying to make it right. Are you doing okay now?" Kerry asked her while Jeff scowled off to his side. He was taking in her appearance and how much he still cared about her. Jeff didn't know how he could ever make it better after what happened between them, but he knew that being in the same room with her made him ache to just hold her.
"Kerry, it happened, so there's no real going back. I'm trying now to just deal with it. If you guys really do love me then help me reclose the gates so I can be free again." She softened trying to convey more than her words with how she was looking at him.
"It's this uh witch in Louisiana. Your mother gave her the spell to rescind the contract Gabriel signed. Supposedly, she is the only one that can use it and it will reclose the gates. It's about two days of driving, unless we stay at hotels." Jeff spoke sniffling a little under his breath as he grazed a hand under his eye wiping away any potential remnants of the tear that he felt.
"I have my bag packed in the trunk, 'cause Oz said he might need me to stay a few days. So we can leave when you're ready." She looked up at Oz with a death glare.
"Alright, grab it and we'll take Stella." Jeff stood up, ready to get on the road.
"No way. I'm not riding in that car." Lizzie was firm.
"Well, it doesn't make sense for us to take separate cars; it won't work if we trade off driving. We can take yours." Jeff offered.
"I'm not letting you touch Henry. So, fuck it...we'll take the Torino and I'll deal with it." Jeff smiled a little to himself. He knew Oz had fixed up a nice classic for Lizzie, but her naming it was so perfect. It was a nice thing to hear from her mouth.
The four of them walked out to where Lizzie had parked and Jeff leaned admiring Henry. The beautiful car was painted a perfect blue with black stripes. He took a special moment to look it over and even walked to the side to note the way the hood scoop perfectly complimented it.
"Hey, stop eyeing my ride. You can't fuck him Jeff." Lizzie snapped at him making Jeff look at her with a glare.
Lizzie grabbed her bag from the trunk and headed towards the Torino. She hadn't expected the gut wrenching feeling as she made her way past the trunk where Kerry had broken that gate years before. Looking up she caught Kerry's eyes and they communicated with no words the regret and guilt that he felt about that night. She had forgiven Kerry first in her heart. It was a horrible thing, but they were already messing around and she knew he didn't mean for it to happen.
Jeff had been another thing, and taken her much longer to forgive. She had to in order to move past it, but still it hurt that he came to her room drunk, knowing what had happened. Her mind had never fully grasped what he had done to her while she was unconscious, and the feeling of being violated like that when she thought he was there to provide comfort just burned inside.
After situating herself in the back so Jeff couldn't see her in the rearview mirror, Lizzie settled down in the seat and put her headphones on playing music from her phone. She had no desire to participate in small talk with the two guys. She must have drifted off at some point around midnight, because she was waking up at a drive thru the next thing she knew. It was a seedy little joint, and that's when she realized it was already starting to get light outside.
