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Singe sat in the back of the truck amid the bags of supplies feeling as exhausted as he'd ever felt but somehow sleep wouldn't come. It was past dawn and the sun was fully up now but the inside of the van was dark as the windows had been blacked out to protect Selene. Still, the female vampire lay huddled against Michael wrapped in a thick blanket to ward off any stray beam.

It was laughable to be vulnerable to something as simple as light. True, it was a form of radiation, but a creature so affected by it that they burned to ashes at its touch was obviously defective. It amazed Singe that the vampires had ever gotten the upper hand. Silver may be toxic to Lycans but it had to get into the blood and flesh in order to kill and it wasn't that common. Light was everywhere for half the day. Selene was a hardened killer, a feared legend among Lycans. And yet, here she was, helpless and dependant on those she would have killed without a single thought only a day earlier. And all because of the light that made life on Earth possible.

Michael looked even more helpless. The young man was restless where he sat across from Singe but he wouldn't leave Selene's side. His whole demeanor was so much like that of a puppy trailing his mother that Singe might have laughed if the whole situation were not so dire.

Marcus would not be as helpless. The hybrid could be out there even now, flying above them and ready to swoop down and kill all of them. Who knew what purpose an insane, immortal hybrid might undertake? The scientist wondered how much influence his own memories would have on the hybrid. Marcus was the first vampire, the eldest, and he made Lucian seem young. How much had he been changed by Singe's blood and would it be to the Lycans benefit or not?

Singe hated vampires and according to Selene, Marcus had reason to hate the coven. Would the hybrid spend his time hunting down every last Blood and destroying them? That would be wonderful if it happened that way but he doubted it. Marcus could just as easily include hunting Lycans in whatever mad plan he was following and wipe out both species. Which ironically, might make Marcus a threat that could unite both groups of immortals in order to achieve the peace that Lucian dreamed of.

In some weird way, it felt as though Marcus were Singe's child since the scientist had unknowingly contributed half of the genes that made him a hybrid. Singe had never turned a human into a Lycan although he'd studied the process extensively. The Lycan virus altered the thinking of those who were exposed to it as did the vampire one. Those who were turned still had their own personality and individuality but the virus increased aggression and influenced the way they thought and reacted, in both Lycans and vampires.

He doubted that his blood would have any large effect on Marcus. The Elder was too strong, both mentally and physically, to be swayed by the memories and emotions of a Lycan who was young by the standards of immortals. Not that he felt young at the moment. All these thoughts of vampires made his mind drift back to the first one he'd ever seen.

Western Czechoslovakia

June, 1952

The past six weeks had seemed to fly by as Singe had conducted his research. Lucian had arranged for him to receive whatever lab equipment he might need and he had a nice little set-up now. Various members of the Pack had contributed blood, tissue, hair, and urine samples from both their human and Lycan forms so he could compare the two.

Raze and Anton were his biggest donors. Singe was more used to the beta Lycan now. Raze could still be intimidating, but he'd also proven to be quite intelligent and had even helped Singe by answering his questions when Anton or Lucian wasn't available. Lucian was unavailable much of the time, especially lately.

He had some sort of master plan to defeat the vampires and achieve peace and he was often gone for days, putting pieces into play for a plan that wouldn't be completed for over half-a-century. Singe was a part of that plan but he was unaware of most aspects of it besides what he was responsible for. His mission was to study the biological and chemical make-up of Lycans and vampires in order to either find a way to combine them or, at least, find a way to weaken the vampires and strengthen the Lycans.

Singe understood what it meant to be a Lycan much more intimately now, having suffered through his first Change just two weeks ago. Lucian and Anton had driven him an hour away into the woods around the town. The pain as the moonlight washed over him had made his reaction to the virus seem small. Nothing had ever hurt as much.

Unlike the virus exposure which was largely a blur, he remembered every agonizing moment of the Change as his body transformed. Muscle, bone, and skin had expanded, growing outward, twisting within him to become a new configuration. Lucian had been there, talking him through the whole horrific experience and he'd been grateful for the alpha's presence. Lucian had seen thousands of first Changes and he knew what to say to reassure the terrified scientist.

Afterwards, in Lycan form for the first time, Singe had marveled at the power he'd felt. He was on the small side for a Lycan but still far more powerful than any human he might encounter. His senses were even more acute than before. He howled in triumph as he finally understood what Raze and some of the other Lycans had told him about preferring their animal forms. Being a Lycan was man and animal combined, the intellect with the power coming together to form a perfect being.

He'd hunted with Anton, downing a deer with little effort and gorging himself on it's raw flesh. Lucian hadn't joined them, preferring to keep watch. Singe thought it strange but didn't bother to question his alpha. Near dawn, he'd changed back, which was still painful but less so. It would get easier every time.

Back in human form, Singe shuddered as the events of the night replayed themselves in his head. The pull of the beast was strong. He would never get any work done if he let that feeling of power and ferocity rule his life. So now, in addition to his biological studies, he was attempting to create a serum from wolfsbane that would block the Change completely. Only Lucian knew of it as some of the others, Raze especially, might see it as a betrayal of their true selves.

The night was half over when Singe heard the commotion outside. He opened the door to his lab and peered out. There was the smell of blood in the air and another scent that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It smelled like death and decay. He made his way out to the common room, seeing only the two armory guards who were never supposed to leave their posts.

In the main room nearly the whole pack was there and the air was tense. In the center of the room was a small group of Lycans who had gone out on patrol earlier. There had been six who had gone out but only four had returned and all of them were injured. Singe could smell the stench of silver in their wounds. It made his stomach turn but it was the creature with them that he'd stared at the most. Held captive between two grim Lycans, unconscious and bound, was a young blond woman. Except that it wasn't a woman. Singe had never seen a vampire in person but he knew their smell from Lucian's memories and there was no doubt what this thing was.

"What is going on here?" Lucian emerged from the door to the underground tunnels followed by Raze. The alpha saw the vampire and stopped dead in his tracks. Raze let out a small growl of disgust at the sight of it. "What happened? Gregori?"

"Sir, we were on patrol on the northern edge of town. We saw the vampires just before they saw us and we attacked first. There were three of them. They killed Sergei and Kerwin before we killed them. We disposed of the other two and brought this one back for Singe so he could get some samples."

The tall, Russian-born Lycan who had headed the patrol answered his alpha promptly despite the wound in his leg that had to be painful. He wasn't the worst off either, as one of the others had been shot in the chest and was being supported by his pack mates.

"What were they doing here? Were there more?"

"I don't know. They parked a car outside the tavern and got out. They seemed surprised to see us. I don't think they knew we were here. We checked the area before we came back and didn't find any trace of other Bloods. I think it was just a random encounter, sir."

"Perhaps, but their disappearance will not go unnoticed. Raze, get everyone prepared to evacuate. The four of you, come with us and bring her." Lucian headed towards Singe, nodding at the biochemist to follow as the others fell into place behind them. Singe felt odd, knowing there was a vampire right behind him, even if it was unconscious.

They reached Singe's lab and the vampire was placed in the corner and chained to the pipes there. The Lycan with the chest wound was put on the cot. Singe started towards the vampire but Lucian stopped him.

"I want you to treat them first."

"I'm not a medical doctor. I don't know what to do for them."

"You're the closest thing we have to a physician and you're going to need to learn how to do this at some point. You've taken samples; you know how to wield a scalpel. Figure it out."

He had no choice but to agree. He examined the chest wound, wrinkling his nose a bit at the smell of silver that emanated from it. The Lycan was clearly in pain, drenched in sweat and muttering to himself in Russian as the poison addled his senses. Singe used forceps to fish around in the wound while Lucian and Gregori held the thrashing warrior down. At last, he found the bullet and extracted it carefully. It was still smoking as it came out of the wound and he dropped it in a bowl as the Lycan settled down a bit. With some rest, he would recover as his body healed from the silver exposure.

Singe treated the other three with more ease and soon they were all silver-free. This wasn't too difficult after all. He turned to the prisoner and froze when he found the vampire was awake and looking in Lucian's direction. The Blood's eyes were as luminescent blue as any Lycan which Singe found vaguely offensive. He didn't want to have anything in common with these creatures.

"I don't suppose you'd care to tell us your name and what you were doing here before we kill you?" Lucian regarded the vampire coolly but all he got in return was a glare. This Blood likely had no idea she was talking to Lucian, the infamous Lycan Alpha, long thought dead. But she knew who the leader was without a doubt as her attention was largely focused on the long-haired man. If she were loose, she'd take Lucian out first as the biggest threat but all the female Blood could do now was glare impotently.

"Suit yourself. Gregori, Antonio." The two Lycans grinned and seized the vampire. She struggled in their grasp, even baring her fangs as though trying to bite at them but chained and wounded as she was, she was no match for the two big Lycans. They held her upright against the wall in such a tight grip that she couldn't move an inch.

"Singe, take whatever samples you need." There was an odd tone in Lucian's voice as he stared at the captive vampire and Singe hastened to obey. It was quite intimidating to be up close to the Blood. The blue eyes turned to him, measuring him and finding him wanting. Singe didn't care about the opinion of this parasite. Only the Pack mattered now.

The scientist took great pleasure in taking his blood, flesh and hair samples from the captive. There was no before and after with vampires. They were able to hide their fangs and their eyes from humans but that was it. Carefully, he put the samples aside for future analysis. Finally the vampire spoke.

"So you mutts are pretending to be civilized enough to practice science? You lot can't understand anything except how to kill. We'll have peace when all of you beasts are gone."

"Perhaps, but you won't be alive to see it." Lucian nodded at Gregori and the Russian Lycan snapped the vampire's neck in a split second. Gregori and Antonio let the body drop to hang limply from the chains. The other Lycans went out, leaving Singe alone with his alpha.

"You've got samples for comparison now. I expect you'll be able to make quite a bit of progress now but you'll have to do it elsewhere. Take whatever you can. We're leaving." He still seemed odd, guarded somehow in a way Singe couldn't understand at the time. Now, in the present, he knew it was because the captive woman reminded Lucian of Sonja in some small way. Still, the alpha never hesitated to kill when it was necessary.

"Where will we go?" Singe asked, already planning how best to pack everything. Lucian actually smiled and looked almost relieved.

"Sanctuary."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Singe had nodded off in the back of the truck but a sudden hard turn jolted him awake. Michael was asleep also, with his head against the side of the truck and his arms wrapped around the bundled Selene. The young man had been through so much this past day that it was no wonder he was exhausted. When Singe had time, he wanted to take samples from Michael and Lucian to study the differences between the two hybrids. But that could wait.

He mulled over the memory of that first vampire. She had been nothing special. Singe had used close to a dozen captured vampires as lab subjects since then but that first one had been the key to everything. Singe had learned so much from those samples that had shaped the direction of his research. And what he had learned at Sanctuary had done so even more.

It was only a short time later that the truck rumbled to a stop. Lucian pulled back the curtain separating the front of the truck from the back. Selene flinched under the blankets but no light came through the windshield. Singe peered forward into the dark. He thought they were in a building but it was difficult to make out any details in the near blackness. The air smelled stale and old.

Lucian motioned the scientist to come forward. Outside, someone switched on a powerful flashlight and the beam played over thick concrete walls. Lucian climbed out of the truck and Singe followed. They appeared to be in a windowless bunker of some sort. All the trucks were parked in a garage but ahead was a bank of windows and as the light passed it, he could see computers and lab equipment.

"Where are we?" They'd been driving for about two hours so they couldn't be too far from Budapest. He didn't recognize this place at all but as he sniffed the air, he realized that there was a faint scent of vampires and immediately came on alert. It was an old, degraded scent but if the vampires had been here before, they could return.

"Selene's deserted vampire compound." Lucian was directing the others a bit, mainly with looks and gestures but he didn't need to do much. Every one of the soldiers was well trained. They established a perimeter, cradling rifles in their arms.

Selene and Michael emerged hesitantly from the back of the truck. Selene still had the blanket wrapped around herself, prepared to flip it over her head if need be. But this section of the compound was windowless and she had little to fear. Raze joined them, pointedly ignoring Selene which made Singe grin briefly. At least he wasn't the only one shunning her presence.

"Lead the way." Lucian gestured to Selene who nodded and then headed for the computer room at the far end. "Gregori, keep watch." The big Russian Lycan nodded and took up watch near the door of the room. He was one of the few Lycans who was still here from the time when Singe had joined the pack and ranked just below Raze in the Pack hierarchy.

Singe went along with Lucian's little group. There might be something of use in the lab. If nothing else, he'd like to see more of their scientific setup. Selene flipped the light on and Singe looked around. There were banks of computers along one wall as well as a small lab. The cabinets nearest him proved to be stocked with neat rows of chemicals. It was a far cry from the dark, dirty hole he'd set up in the sewers.

"What do these monitors show? Are they for exterior security only or can they connect to other safehouses?" Lucian was examining the computers which were powered down. One whole panel was set with six blank screens which Lucian was regarding with a thoughtful expression.

"All of the safehouses are linked and on motion detectors." Selene seemed wary. "Why do you want to know?"

"If Marcus knows about the safehouses, he may have taken refuge in one. Or if some of your former kindred escaped the fire, they may show up on these monitors. It would be interesting to see if there are any survivors who can tell us for sure what happened and what Marcus's motivations may be."

"I won't help you hunt down other vampires. I'll fight them if they attack us but I won't actively try to kill them." Selene's eyes flashed defiantly and there was a warning edge to her voice.

"I wouldn't ask such a thing of you. Actually, I'm proposing a truce. Marcus is a threat to all so it only makes sense that we should face him together."

There was utter stillness in the room. Lucian couldn't seriously believe that the vampires would go along with his idea, did he? Singe saw Raze's hands clench into fists and then relax. The beta wouldn't show his disgust at the idea so openly but Singe couldn't help himself.

"Lucian, the Bloods can't be trusted. Even if they agree to a truce, they would likely turn on us the minute it was convenient to them."

"If there are survivors and they agree to this, they will keep their word. I'll make sure they do." Selene gave him an irritated look, obviously not happy with his criticism of her kind.

"The question is moot if those safehouses are empty. I suggest we try the monitors first." Lucian seemed more amused by their verbal sparring than annoyed which was good for Singe. He knew there would be more times when he just couldn't go without expressing his opinion. It was one of the reasons Lucian relied on his judgment. Most members were too afraid of going against their Alpha to question or criticize his decisions but Singe was not. Even Raze didn't openly disagree with Lucian even when he hated his decisions as he clearly did with Selene.

Selene powered the computers up which took several minutes. Singe took the opportunity to check out several of the other cabinets. He found several useful compounds but left them where they were. He couldn't afford to be weighed down by extra supplies.

"They're on. Let me see what I can get." Selene typed in commands and the monitors flickered on. "I'm going to check and see if any are active."

They all crowded around to look. Six images appeared on the screen. In four of them, there were no movement but to everyone's surprise, two were inhabited. One showed a room much like this one and inside were four vampires, two males and two females. Three of them were probably Death Dealers judging from their attire and demeanor. The other female was blond and elegantly dressed. She was pacing back and forth with her arms wrapped around herself, obviously stressed.

One of the Death Dealers were slumped against the wall, either sleeping or injured, and the other two were loading weapons. They all looked as though they had been through hell. Gone was the usual arrogance and there was a distinct look of fear on their faces.

In the second monitor were two vampires, a male and a female, who were wearing fancy clothes and looked like they had gone through hell. Both of them huddled together against a back wall and looked to be in shock. The woman looked to have burns on her face and hands. She was ingesting blood but she'd need a lot of it to heal her wounds. Her male companion had his head on her shoulder and looked exhausted.

"Those are some of Kraven's people. They would be good in a fight but they're less trustworthy than Kahn's men. The woman is Erika, Kraven's little pet. She's useless unless you want to know what color dress goes best with your complexion. Same with those two. They'd be pretty much useless in a fight. I can contact the Death Dealers. They'd be the most useful if you want more soldiers but I doubt they'd agree to any kind of deal. They're more of the shoot-first, ask-questions-later types."

"We still have to try. Selene, my dear, would you be so kind as to call your former friends? We have a lot to talk about."