It had been another week before Avalon dared to wander farther than his bedroom or the prison cell downstairs. No one spoke to him beyond his father and Seren, who had come to simply check if he was healing from his bite wounds. Logan had made him meditate in order to understand the difference between the lycan instincts and his vampire instincts. But in his embarrassment and despair, Avalon had spent his free time in his room working on how to fix his new state of being. His bedroom had become covered in open spell books and witchcraft paraphernalia as he continued to experiment.

He was tired of seeing a monster in the mirror rather than himself. And there had been one way to remedy that.

It took him three nights to properly formulate the spell. Using the new moon and the pull of the tide, he had concocted a potion and incantation to lock away the new part of him that threatened everyone and everything he cared for. The potion had contained a number of roots, a flower from the wolfsbane plant, a melted silver nitrate capsule, and the ashes of an oak branch for strength, witch-hazel, a leaf from the star of Bethlehem plant for atonement, and Eglantine rose for healing. The first two doses hadn't taken, and he found himself throwing up both within seconds of ingestion. But after grinding and melding the plants together into a single liquid, he boiled it before drinking it down like a shot for the third time in a row. The disgusting taste still hung heavy in his mouth. He'd recited the words and felt his soul tear and rearrange within him, enough to make him drop to the ground as he continued chanting in Latin to finish setting up mental thresholds that would keep the lycan within him buried deep.

After completion, he laid on the floor in a cold sweat, gasping. Feeling as though he had somehow cut apart of himself out of his flesh, he slowly got back to his feet and gripped the desk to stay steady. Once he had regained his balance, he sat in the desk chair. He breathed heavily, fighting back the need to vomit. A cold chill raced down his limbs and spine before being replaced with a hot flash. He shivered.

"That should do it," he breathed to himself, as if that would be enough to convince his stomach. Avalon inhaled a short breath and felt the potion gurgle, threatening to dislodge itself back into his throat. "Nope, nope," he breathed, trying to shake away the nausea. He got to his feet and quickly grabbed his key beside the door. "Gods-damnit."

Avalon stepped into the hall and checked both directions quickly. He looked up towards the third floor above and listened in to see if anyone was upstairs. All seemed quiet in the room he had in question and he quickly rushed to the servant stair after shutting his door. He made it up the steps and to the corner before pausing when he heard another door close. He stuck his head around to look down the hall to the coven elite floor, but no one was there. He sighed heavily in relief and raced to the second door on the right, locating Seren's upstairs office. He pushed the door open and hoped to be in and out once he procured a few ginger roots.

He paused when he closed the door behind him, realizing he wasn't alone.

The woman spun around to face the doorway, shock on her face. It was quickly replaced by a twinge of pain from moving too quickly. She grunted and held her shoulder, pushing it back into place from where it was hunched forward. She was dressed in only a pair of leggings and a loose-fitting tank-top that showed the bandages beneath from across her chest to her right forearm. Elizabeth winced when she resettled her injury, looking at him for another second before looking away. A bottle remained in her other hand.

"Hi," she said at last.

"Hi," he answered, staring at her. He looked down from her face to the noticeable white gauze that covered her injuries. Memory replayed in his mind of her on the ground, covered in blood. He looked at her again when she still refused to meet his eyes.

"I just...came to find something for muscle stiffness," she said after a moment, staring at the ground. "Seems I'm not quite back to normal."

Avalon chewed his bottom lip for a moment, nodding. His nausea was forgotten as he now stood there, watching her. "Umm, you should try chamomile and C-B-D oils on top of a muscle relaxer," he said slowly. "Here," he added, moving around the opposite side of Seren's desk for the collection of bottles and jars on a bookshelf. He plucked the container in question from one of the shelves. He turned to hand it to her, but found she'd moved to keep the desk between them.

He sighed slowly. "Elizabeth, I'm so, so sorry... I hope you know that I didn't mean to," he started, watching her cringe from his words. "I never meant to hurt you, or anyone else. I promise, it won't happen again."

"I know you didn't mean it," she answered, her voice soft. "It wasn't your fault."

"I won't let it happen to us again, I promise," he repeated, taking a slow step towards her. When she didn't immediately move away, he was able to smile slightly. "I, uh, I was able to figure the magic out. I won't turn again unless I consciously choose to."

She finally looked up at him, her eyes widening in panic.

"But I won't," he continued, taking another step. "I can't let that happen again. When my father told me, how badly I... I won't ever let it happen again, especially to you."

Elizabeth inhaled a deep breath, her lungs shaking with the effort. She kept her gaze lifted to his. She could see the honesty on his face. He had the same facial expression as Ranelle when she was telling the truth. "I could feel you tear me to pieces," she whispered.

"I'm sorry," he breathed, unable to stop himself. "I'm so sorry."

When he took another step towards her, she swallowed, as if that would strengthen her resolve. Part of her wanted to cry and tell him every stitch and dose of medication she'd been forced to endure to survive; and yet, the other part of her couldn't acknowledge the monster, only the man who had kissed and worshipped every inch of her body and whispered how much he wanted her.

He got closer to her and she steeled herself when he finally reached out to give her the bottle. But he changed his mind last minute and instead ran his hand down her arm, careful not to let his touch linger too long. But she didn't pull away, instead her weight leaning into his warmer hand. He could tell she felt cold from her body fighting to heal itself and regain immortal vitality. While elders healed quickly, Avalon knew she and himself were still within their first fifty years of life; it would take them much longer to recover from any traumatic injury.

"I could feel you tear me to pieces," she said again, her voice still quiet. She looked up at him. "But... I still don't see the monster that everyone else does. Just you."

Avalon frowned, surprised by her words. He sat the bottle in his hand down on the desk and then used his fingers to caress her cheek. A bruise rested on one cheekbone and he stroked around it carefully. He tucked a loose piece of her dark hair behind her ear and then touched her neck, his thumb resting on her chin. "I'm sorry," he said again.

She closed her eyes when he ran his hand back over her hair. She didn't know what else to say. Maybe there wasn't anything else to be said. They'd both survived and she had made it clear there were to be no forms of revenge against either Mezdor that had stayed in the States. Keeping her coven in check was her responsibility.

"I'm sorry," Avalon said again, taking her silence for disbelief. He stroked the side of her face again, watching her eyes open. He met her gaze and they stood there, staring at one another. "I promise, I won't let that beast rear its ugly head ever again and hurt you. I'm so sorry."

"I know... I trust you," she answered.

He reached down and lifted her hands to his mouth, kissing her fingers in thanks. They were cold against his lips and he breathed hot air on them before looking up at her. He could sense her weakness in her physical body, but there was emotional hurt on her face. He drew her into him gently, careful not to move too fast in case she wanted to pull away. But she didn't fight back, leaning her torso into his. He was mindful not to wrap his arm around her bad shoulder and instead kept it looped across her lower back whilst his other hand rubbed up and down her spine, trying to stimulate heat on her cool skin. His newly heightened senses could feel her joints move stiffly, her blood-flow sluggish. When she pressed her nose into his buttoned shirt atop his collarbone, he turned his head to rest his cheek against the side of her head.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, unable to stop the words from repeating.

Elizabeth nodded slightly, making her chin and nose bump against his chest. Her fingers of her good hand gripped his shirt, the other cradled between them. When he lifted his head, she looked up, expecting him to say something else.

Avalon leaned his mouth down to hers, kissing her again for the first time in over two weeks. She didn't shy away, letting her mouth open under his slowly. He inhaled sharply through his nose. His hand wandered up to her neck where his fingers buried themselves in her black hair. He moved his mouth in time with hers, hurting with the need to touch her, to take away whatever pain she was feeling. He'd caused her enough.

She whimpered when he gripped her too tightly and then sighed as he lessened the pressure on her neck and shoulder. She grasped his shirt tighter, her stomach arching into his with the effort. His lips left hers and trailed down to her tender neck, kissing along the curve of her throat.

"I'm sorry," he continued to whisper as he kissed her bandages and his hands wandered down to her thighs. "I'm so sorry, Elizabeth." He lowered himself down onto one knee when he then kissed her stomach, pressing his nose there as he lowered down to his other knee, ready to beg for her forgiveness. He gripped her thighs with both hands. "I'm sorry. I am."

She sighed heavily, her head drifting back with each movement of his lips against her skin in the forms of kisses and apologies. She ran her fingers through his long, blonde hair and drew in another deep breath through her mouth as a shiver ran through her. She could feel her chest try to expand with her next inhale, but it still hurt. Her injuries had included damage to both lungs, torn muscles, and fractured ribs. Breathing was hard, even two weeks after the incident. "I know," she said at last once she regained her breath. "I know, Avalon."

Avalon pressed his forehead into her abs gently, holding back the need to cry. He kissed her stomach again and worked his way back up to her. His hands remained gentle, but possessive, wanting nothing more than to hold her. He kissed back up her neck before kissing both of her cheeks and then her mouth again. The favorable noise she made caused him to groan, and he kissed her harder. He ran his hands up her sides again, careful of the bandages around her ribs before his fingers found her hair.

She arched into him again, her arm going up to grasp his uninjured shoulder. Her toes pointed as she rose up to keep her mouth closer to his once he was standing at his full height. She whimpered when he picked her up off the ground again. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her backward to the work table against the wall. Her bottom rested upon it as he lowered her slowly onto the flat surface, sitting her at the right height to keep her hips and torso lined up with his. His hands rushed to push the materials for mixing substances and elixirs away from their bodies, making the glass jars and metal tools clink into each other. She grasped his shirt again tightly, attempting to use her damaged hand to hold onto the soft cloth. She sighed heavily when he broke their kiss to find her neck again. Both pain and pleasure coursed through her body, and she wasn't sure which one would win as her muscles tried to handle the adrenaline that pressed at her heart and throat with physical need.

"I know you didn't mean to," she breathed, hoping he understood that she couldn't hold his differences against him. She couldn't blame him for something that was forced on him. He didn't choose his new existence.

"I'm sorry," Avalon said softly again, unable to stop saying those two words. He kissed the uninjured side of her neck and shoulder, his arm wrapping around her waist as his opposite hand grasped one of her knees, keeping it against his hip. "Tell me what to do, tell me how to fix it," he begged, his voice hoarse.

She whimpered, reaching down between them to his shirt's buttons. Her fingers shook as she tried to undo them, desperate to feel his body heat against her cold and clammy skin. Once she had the shirt undone, she slipped her hands around his back, pulling her body to his. He was warm, filling her with excited contentment. "Take it away, please," she answered softly. "I want you to make me forget."

Avalon sighed heavily, his head bowing down to kiss the uninjured side of her neck. He let his tongue touch the fragile skin there, his lips gliding across her flesh. She smelled delicious to his strengthened senses; and even though he was certain his lycan instincts were locked down, he couldn't resist the need to touch her. When she pushed his shirt down, he stepped back just enough to slide out of it before coming back to her. He gripped her hips gently, pulling her into his body as his mouth met hers again. He grasped the waist of the leggings, pressing his hips to hers firmly. He heard her whimper again and he pulled, determined to keep her close to him. Heat flared in his abs, matching hers as they tried to occupy the same space for just a brief moment.

"Oh god, Avalon," she whispered softly, her voice a raspy sob. She felt him slide the workout pants and her underwear down. Once they were removed, she quickly began to undo his belt and button, frantic. Her bad hand burned and tingled from the excruciating work, but she didn't let it deter her. As soon as they and the zipper were undone, she pushed them down.

Avalon came back up to kiss her on the mouth, also moving hurriedly. He scooped her around her hips and drug her forward so her thighs met his. He sighed heavily when he felt her bare flesh against his, a soft groan sounding from his throat.