Chapter 14: Origins, Evolution

"ENOUGH!" The large man at the gate cracks again, silencing his Lycan brothers, even making one of them turn back to their human form. "This is NOT how we treat our guests, especially one of, Hybrid nature."
Michael slowly changes back to his human form, staring at the leader as his eyes change back to blue. The leader reminds him of somebody, somebody he looked up to, somebody he knew was kind, but at the same time, broken; Lucien. Selene swings open the door on her side of the jeep, slowly bringing herself out of the vehicle, her shotgun ready to blast some skulls.
"I see you've gotten yourself into one of our vehicles, Facility Twenty-Four if I'm not wrong? I guess Azrael gave you one hell of a fight-"
"He certainly did," Michael interrupts, smirking at the Lycan. "Ezra, right? Ezra Wright? Celtic Leader of your Celtic Lycan Clan, and the brother of the disgusting creature THAT TRIED TO RIP OUT THE THROAT OF MY LITTLE GIRL!"
Selene jumps at his sudden bursts of Michael's rage, and notices the glowing red in his dark Hybrid eyes, immediately misting beside him, her hand on his wrist.
"Stop," Selene begs her lover through a soft whisper, her eyes becoming glassy. "Please. Maybe he can help us."
"He's the one who made him what he is-"
"I can hear you, you know!" Ezra chuckles loudly. "I know my brother has caused you harm, so let'me assure you, this facility can be a resting ground if you please to it to be. You need medical, food, weapons, we will give you them."
"Our friend and daughter, they've been bitten by your brother," Selene says to Ezra, her voice trembling before him in desperation. "We got the venom out, and they healed completely, but they still need blood to sustain their energy, please, help us."
"Gentlemen! Open the gates! We have some guests."

Michael places Eve down on a medical table, watching David do the same with Lena, listening to both of their heart-beats simultaneously. Ezra's Lycan doctor, Alex, stands with Selene, four blood bags in his hands, with a medical chart strapped to his belt.
"They vitals seem one-hundred percent," the doctor smiles. "But as you said, they both need blood to get some energy back, after that, they'll be as fresh as new."
"How do you know that?" Michael sharply asks her, staring into her pale, blind eyes.
"Due to my, condition, my other working senses have been, heightened. I can hear, smell, taste and touch things sharper than when I could see. At least I have a chance at doing something, Ezra has provided that," she smiles again, inhaling sharply. "Speaking of Ezra, he's organising a meeting with the 'pure one and the Hybrid'. To me, it sounds like he respects every single one of you, the stories about you two have made you legends, a fear for both immortals and humans."
"When does he want this meeting?" David asks her, caressing Lena's pale white cheek.
"Now."

Ezra walks into the medical room as soon as Alexander finishes saying that, walking in proud and strong, just like Lucien used to.
"Is everything okay with the women? Vitals?" He asks.
"Everything is one-hundred," Alexander explains, sitting beside Eve, placing her fingers on the edge of her palm. "This one is unique, a beautiful type of unique, the Hybrid child to be exact. The one that Quint and Jacob were after, I'm glad they didn't get her."
"You knew them?" Selene asks her.
"She was one of the scientists that supported and raised your daughter during her life as an infant, but because she saw too much of what she was growing into-"
"Quint took my eyes from me, that was when the original Antigen forces, those who felt betrayed by Lanes, left Antigen. That's when we found Ezra, a lone Lycan, and we asked for him to turn us, to create a pack by his rule."
"But, sadly," Ezra walks towards Alex, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs, then kissing her forehead. "The transformation didn't heal her eyes."
"Yeah," Alex sighs, a short smile appearing on her face. "You should tell them about the meeting, we're already running out of time."
"Of course," Ezra clears his croaky throat. "Selene and Michael, would you follow me please?"

Michael nods and follows him into the dark hallway, Selene following him comfortably.
"You're daughter," Ezra begins, already making Michael and Selene nervous. "She's beautiful, unique, one of a kind, you two really created a miracle."
"Well, it didn't exactly happen like that, we didn't raise her," Selene explains. "She hadn't even fed on blood until she was twelve years old, but even then, she had enough power to rip one of the Antigen Lycan's head in two. Since her return, I've begun training her with all types of weapons,and helped her tame her own abilities."
"Smart move," Ezra smirks. "What about you Michael? Who taught you how to fight?"
"Nobody, which was my downfall; I've been 'killed' twice," Michael laughs a little, something that makes Selene cross her arms. "First time is when Marcus Corvinus impaled my heart on a pipe, second was when Marius, cut my throat and drained my life from me. It took me a few hours to heal from Marcus' attack, and three years for my throat to heal and all of my blood to regenerate."
"So, in other words?" Ezra asks, sitting in his office chair.
"Maybe the only way to take me down is to cut off my head-"
"Michael!" Selene cracks. "I hate when you talk like that, can we just, sit down and listen. Please?"

Michael nods sadly and sits in the chair in front of him, he hates making her feel upset, bringing back his past deaths. But Ezra had to know, as much as it pains Michael to remember times so deathly, it's made him who he is, what he is, and how powerful he has become. But now wasn't the time for over-thinking, it was a time for discretion, for listening, for learning.
"Thank you for meeting with me on this occasion, it's always a pleasure to speak to the founders of the 'New World', that's what people are calling you. Well, this meeting is to do with, information about my brother. What exactly do you wanna' know?"
"What exactly, is your brother?" Selene asks, her eyes staring at the Lycan.
Michael and Selene watch Ezra as he sighs sharply, his nostrils flaring as he takes in a large breath.
"Azrael was a monster before he became what he did. He literally put his hand up and begged Antigen to let him hunt the Vampires and Lycans. Then I was bit by one of the Lycans, then suddenly, I was the enemy. I escaped and turned my sons and daughter, but that wouldn't stop him from wanting to us to the edge of hell, all we could do was survive. We lived happily for a while, until he returned, this time with half an army, simply for a family of four, he murdered my sons, his nephews."

There's silence between the three, and a deep glittering sadness in Ezra's eyes, he's clearly pained by his explanation of the events that probably tore his heart from its fleshy host. But he keeps talking, like he has no choice.
"He also kidnapped my daughter, left me for dead, but then I got my pack. I hunted him, found him, tortured him for information on her, but he already destroyed her. He raped- Tortured- and murdered my daughter, so I returned the favour."
"And instead of killing him like your little experiment was supposed to, you created something else, something that refuses to die," Michael snarls in dispute. "What exactly did you cross breed? Why exactly didn't the experiment kill him, like it did so many others?!"
"He was human, I think that was key reason it worked," Ezra explains. "I'd tried it with Vampires, and even other Lycans that threatened the pack. We were trying to create an apex guardian for all immortals, something to protect us all from future threats. Azrael, however, became this creature, a cross-breed of one-third Lycan, one-third Vampire, and one-third Corvinus."
"And the only thing that allowed him to become what he is-"
"Was his original, human form."

"But how do we kill something like your brother?! He's been shot to pieces, crushed against a wall by a god damn van, even took a fucking shield to the spine and was then crushed by upcoming cars. If I was to be honest, he's probably on his way now!" Selene snaps, hitting the desk with her fist. "He wants my daughter, he wants her blood, it seems everybody wants my daughter's fucking blood, so how do we kill him!"
"The thing about The Shadow, is he evolves every time he 'dies', which makes it harder for him to be killed. But, maybe he's like you, Michael?" Ezra stares at him. "Perhaps the only way to really way to take him down permanently-"
"Is to remove his head from his shoulders," Michael states.
"Exactly," Ezra snickers at him, a smirk covering his mouth. "That will be all. Get some more rest, all of you, make sure your David friend gets some too."
"David is family," Michael says as he makes his way towards the door. "Not a friend."