Chapter One
They were always the wealthy ones. The sophisticated ones. They had festive parties routinely and lots of fine foods and drink. They were painstakingly trained to the pinnacle of their abilities. We had to rely on animal instinct and the shadows of the underground chambers of the sewer and subway...the chambers we called home. They were admired by all, human and beast alike while we were the underbelly, the scum, the dirt and grime...we were werewolves.
I was the bastard son of some Lycan bitch and my father.who knows who or where (or what) he is. My name is Merrick. I run with Silver (Lucian's daughter who took his place after he was killed) and the Lycans who are closer to her than the rest of the pack. There's thirty of us in total. Sometimes I find myself looking at Lycans I've never seen before in my life but somehow have always been part of the pack.
Silver was beautiful. Her hair was long, blond and streaked only once with a fine line of silver dye. I loved her very much. She was the most intelligent person I knew, and above all, very sophisticated. She saw me as a brother. I had admitted my intimate feelings to her once and she was flattered but admitted she didn't feel the same way about me. I hid my face from the pack for a month out of embarrassment. It's not so bad anymore.
I wasn't sophisticated in the least, and not entirely intelligent either. I didn't even consider myself even slightly good-looking. I didn't look in the mirror very often so I sometimes forget what I look like, but I can safely report I'm nothing near handsome. I have shaggy black hair that sticks up all over in little cowlicks and brown eyes with flecks of green and amber. Those are my best features. My only good ones at that.
Tonight Silver and I were going to invade the vampire mansion. It was their headquarters, their home. I'd been in it once before. It was then I'd formed my opinion on the vampires. Snobs. Socialites. Rich heirs and heiresses who fought and murdered us in order to keep a trim waist. I hated them. Blood-suckers in their fine velvet and silk garments...God, I hated them.
Our mission was to hunt down Selene and Michael. Selene had killed Lucian. The few who survived the Final Walk of Lucian knew the story well. She, Kraven and Viktor had ambushed Lucian and beat him down mercilessly till his blood ran no more.
Michael was no threat to us. He was weak. Useless. But he had been a werewolf, bitten by Lucian. And then the vampires claimed him. He disgusted us. Down in the Underworld, we didn't call him Michael. We called him the Traitor.
We entered through the cellar doors, slinking our way through the fine wine selection up to the doors that led to the main floor. They were mingling quietly amongst themselves, sipping from tall wine glasses and listening to fine music. I bared my teeth at them, but Silver shook her head at me. We were not here for them. We were here for the Traitor and Selene. Silver and I went upstairs silently, quiet as cats. Long, dark hallways extended before us.
"You take the right side, I'll take the left," Silver whispered to me. I nodded and began sniffing out the right place. Silver popped her head into one or two rooms, mostly just because she wanted to steal some computer program or file or photographs they had. I stuck to the Traitor and Selene.
I reached the last door and stopped. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. They were in here. A growl rose from my throat and my lip curled back. My hand slipped to my side and my fingers touched the cold steel of my gun. It was fully loaded, to match my hatred.
I rammed the door with my shoulder and it fell in. I raised my guns and fired twice into the darkness, relying on my hypersensitive sense of smell to direct my aim. There was a scream I recognized as male. Someone knocked me to the ground. A single scent told me it was Selene. I blew her brains out without much difficulty and switched on the lights. The two of them were dead. Why anyone had bothered to call them so powerful was beyond me. Of course, these were supposed to be some new kind of bullet. The bullet's effects on a vampire surpassed those of the silver nitrate on a Lycan. With these bullets, vampires were reduced to the scum I saw them as.
Silver came up behind me. "Both of them?"
I nodded.
She grinned and put a hand on my shoulder. "Good job, Merrick."
There was a third scent suddenly. It came from the open window. It smelled of both Selene, Michael and.and somebody else...
"Do you smell that?" I whispered.
Silver closed her eyes as she concentrated on the smell. "Yeah." She opened her eyes. She was glaring. "They have a child. Female...young...not a child..."
I took a step into the room. "Why don't we let the girl rest with her parents then?" I sneered.
Silver held me back. "Merrick. She can wait. Right now we need to clean up and get out."
I raised an eyebrow. "None of the vampires heard the gunshots?"
She shook her head. "If they had they'd be up here by now and we'd be dead or taken hostage."
I looked down at the ground. Why was she letting Selene's daughter get away? The Traitor might have been a weakling, but Selene wasn't and therefore their child was a huge threat. She'd know who'd killed her parents and no doubt she'd go seeking out the Lycans. She could take a few down before being taken prisoner. Even if it was only a few.they were the pack.my family. Even if I didn't know all of them, I loved them all. If she killed them.
Silver stroked my hair, as though she could sense my thoughts and was trying to soothe me. "Merrick, trust me. She won't hurt anybody. We'll kill her tomorrow, I swear it." She kissed my cheek lightly. "Come on. Let's get going."
They were always the wealthy ones. The sophisticated ones. They had festive parties routinely and lots of fine foods and drink. They were painstakingly trained to the pinnacle of their abilities. We had to rely on animal instinct and the shadows of the underground chambers of the sewer and subway...the chambers we called home. They were admired by all, human and beast alike while we were the underbelly, the scum, the dirt and grime...we were werewolves.
I was the bastard son of some Lycan bitch and my father.who knows who or where (or what) he is. My name is Merrick. I run with Silver (Lucian's daughter who took his place after he was killed) and the Lycans who are closer to her than the rest of the pack. There's thirty of us in total. Sometimes I find myself looking at Lycans I've never seen before in my life but somehow have always been part of the pack.
Silver was beautiful. Her hair was long, blond and streaked only once with a fine line of silver dye. I loved her very much. She was the most intelligent person I knew, and above all, very sophisticated. She saw me as a brother. I had admitted my intimate feelings to her once and she was flattered but admitted she didn't feel the same way about me. I hid my face from the pack for a month out of embarrassment. It's not so bad anymore.
I wasn't sophisticated in the least, and not entirely intelligent either. I didn't even consider myself even slightly good-looking. I didn't look in the mirror very often so I sometimes forget what I look like, but I can safely report I'm nothing near handsome. I have shaggy black hair that sticks up all over in little cowlicks and brown eyes with flecks of green and amber. Those are my best features. My only good ones at that.
Tonight Silver and I were going to invade the vampire mansion. It was their headquarters, their home. I'd been in it once before. It was then I'd formed my opinion on the vampires. Snobs. Socialites. Rich heirs and heiresses who fought and murdered us in order to keep a trim waist. I hated them. Blood-suckers in their fine velvet and silk garments...God, I hated them.
Our mission was to hunt down Selene and Michael. Selene had killed Lucian. The few who survived the Final Walk of Lucian knew the story well. She, Kraven and Viktor had ambushed Lucian and beat him down mercilessly till his blood ran no more.
Michael was no threat to us. He was weak. Useless. But he had been a werewolf, bitten by Lucian. And then the vampires claimed him. He disgusted us. Down in the Underworld, we didn't call him Michael. We called him the Traitor.
We entered through the cellar doors, slinking our way through the fine wine selection up to the doors that led to the main floor. They were mingling quietly amongst themselves, sipping from tall wine glasses and listening to fine music. I bared my teeth at them, but Silver shook her head at me. We were not here for them. We were here for the Traitor and Selene. Silver and I went upstairs silently, quiet as cats. Long, dark hallways extended before us.
"You take the right side, I'll take the left," Silver whispered to me. I nodded and began sniffing out the right place. Silver popped her head into one or two rooms, mostly just because she wanted to steal some computer program or file or photographs they had. I stuck to the Traitor and Selene.
I reached the last door and stopped. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. They were in here. A growl rose from my throat and my lip curled back. My hand slipped to my side and my fingers touched the cold steel of my gun. It was fully loaded, to match my hatred.
I rammed the door with my shoulder and it fell in. I raised my guns and fired twice into the darkness, relying on my hypersensitive sense of smell to direct my aim. There was a scream I recognized as male. Someone knocked me to the ground. A single scent told me it was Selene. I blew her brains out without much difficulty and switched on the lights. The two of them were dead. Why anyone had bothered to call them so powerful was beyond me. Of course, these were supposed to be some new kind of bullet. The bullet's effects on a vampire surpassed those of the silver nitrate on a Lycan. With these bullets, vampires were reduced to the scum I saw them as.
Silver came up behind me. "Both of them?"
I nodded.
She grinned and put a hand on my shoulder. "Good job, Merrick."
There was a third scent suddenly. It came from the open window. It smelled of both Selene, Michael and.and somebody else...
"Do you smell that?" I whispered.
Silver closed her eyes as she concentrated on the smell. "Yeah." She opened her eyes. She was glaring. "They have a child. Female...young...not a child..."
I took a step into the room. "Why don't we let the girl rest with her parents then?" I sneered.
Silver held me back. "Merrick. She can wait. Right now we need to clean up and get out."
I raised an eyebrow. "None of the vampires heard the gunshots?"
She shook her head. "If they had they'd be up here by now and we'd be dead or taken hostage."
I looked down at the ground. Why was she letting Selene's daughter get away? The Traitor might have been a weakling, but Selene wasn't and therefore their child was a huge threat. She'd know who'd killed her parents and no doubt she'd go seeking out the Lycans. She could take a few down before being taken prisoner. Even if it was only a few.they were the pack.my family. Even if I didn't know all of them, I loved them all. If she killed them.
Silver stroked my hair, as though she could sense my thoughts and was trying to soothe me. "Merrick, trust me. She won't hurt anybody. We'll kill her tomorrow, I swear it." She kissed my cheek lightly. "Come on. Let's get going."