Author's Note: So it's almost a new year and I hope everyone has a good one. It has been a very long time since I started writing this fic and I just want to thank everyone who has read, commented, and followed it on its journey so far and as a special bonus this chapter is going to be from Vilkas's Point Of View Tell me if you like it so that I will know whether to write more chapters from other characters POVs. Have a great New Year!

Bonus Chapter: Vilkas

Both Nords that held Vilkas were a head shorter than him. One with copper hair smelled of the poultices he knew magic users favored to restore their energy and the other had dark hair with a long braided beard. Though they were there to make sure he would not attempt escape, they and he both knew that wouldn't be possible the way his calf had been torn by the arrow. The leader, a man they called Cairne, led them at a brisk pace though Vilkas made sure to make the trip as difficult for his captors as possible, dragging heavily at times to exaggerate the serious injury that had doomed him and his shield sister to rot in a vampire stronghold.

They led him down a path of winding cave halls, which Vilkas had realized some time ago were familiar to him. Long ago, in his early days as a Companion he and his brother had been sent here to clean the place out of spiders and other wild beasts that had been escaping into the fields at night and destroying nearby livestock. He knew this could aid him if they gave them the slightest opportunity to escape. Though how likely that opportunity would be was of great doubt.

Finally they reached a small open chamber. In the center was a rectangular cage, tall enough for him to stand in and with length about twice his own though the width was a little confining. One corner of the cage contained a chamber pot and there was a small slot on the door for food to be passed through. So they were smart enough to know better than to let him out once they'd put him in.

Cairne opened the door and the two Nords practically dragged him the rest of the way. When they let go he lifted his chained wrists to grasp bars nearest to him, keeping himself on his feet. They shut the door behind him, seemingly surprised he made no attempt at escape despite his vulnerable state and the fact that his companion was currently at their disposal. He quickly pushed that from his mind. She would be fine, she had to be.

"Come dog and I will remove the chains, but try anything and there will be an arrow planted in the back of your skull. My marksman are good enough to get through the bars and you'd be dead before you so much as touched me," Cairne said.

Vilkas noted the man had the same tone a young hopeful had had months before when he had come to join the Companions: exhilarated, arrogant, and overcompensating. If he were to guess, he'd say that this Cairne was newly promoted and the job of capturing two Companions, one of whom had the Blood and was a Circle member, was like nothing he had ever done before. He knew when the vampire would tell the tale to his fellows he would exaggerate his part in it.

Still, the Companion complied, remaining still as Carine's thin hands reached through the bars, something Vilkas would not have been able to manage himself, and unlock the silver chains along his arms. He made sure not to give the man any sign that they had hurt but the burn marks that glared up at him once the metal had fallen away did that for him. The vampire smirked, keeping his eyes on Vilkas who watched him steadily as Cairne reached through the bars once more and pulled the chain free from the cage.

Once the man stood up he flashed Vilkas a thin twisted smile that spoke volumes as he said, "Now that the dog's locked up, it's time I head to dinner. What do you think she'll taste like, beast? Have you tried her? She smells...divine. But I could see by the way you looked at her that you already knew that. It must drive you mad on full moons, the memory of her smell, the way her hips move when she walks -"

Vilkas knew the man was baiting him but he couldn't help but be pulled into the rage that had up until that moment just existed along the edges of his mind. The thought of Cairne's thin lips, sneering as he lowered them to the Breton's neck, brushing aside a lock of her dark hair to sink his fangs into her -

He threw his arms, slamming his hands around the bars nearest Cairne, his grip tight around the steel. Cairne simply smiled.

"Down boy," he said, gleefully. "Weren't you ever told not to bite the hand of your owners? And here I am, the one who owns you."

Vilkas growled low in his throat but Cairne simply laughed and turned his back on him.

Would they really allow some lackey to feed on Everlee? Surely there was some higher-up they were waiting for because they talked as if they planned to keep them some time. If too many drank from her, or some little nobody lost control, there'd be nothing left of her to present to the man or woman in charge.

Vilkas tried to shake the thought of Cairne...feeding, but it was difficult. His mind could only conjure the vampire or his shield-sister the last time he'd seen her. Even in the dim light of the tunnel it was obvious that the Breton was paler than the day before. He'd noticed it, of course, the way she'd been slower to rise, how she had woken less and less in the night despite being a light sleeper. He could seem to smell...something off with her. But she had said nothing to him about what was ailing her, simply put on a stiff upper lip when he had inquired about whether she was ready for their upcoming battles and he's foolishly let it slide. Let her be stubborn and deal with it alone if that's what she wants.

But now...alone and cut off from any aid, there would be nothing he could do to help her. If she was ill, would the vampires take the time to treat her? Would they even notice? And what would happen to them once the person they awaited arrived? Not to mention he was aware of the very real possibility that they would both be tortured for information, punishment, or entertainment.

Minutes passed into what felt an eternity as he paced in his cage to the mocking of his captors.

"Look at the trapped wolf, I bet he'll lose his mind, if he has one," the copper-haired fellow said.

"More like rabid dog."

Finally he didn't think he could take it any longer when a new face entered, that of short wold elf in dark leathers. He tapped copper-hair on the shoulder and nodded back the way he came. The Nord smiled and left his post as the wood elf took his place.

"Where is she?" he demanded finally, unable to keep quiet. He didn't expect an answer.

"The snack is in use right now, pup," the wood elf said with a surprisingly deep voice. "Hardly a satisfying portion but I'm sure there will be some left for you when we're done."

Vilkas let out a shout of frustration, throwing his hands at the bars once more but the steel did not give way at all. His guards laughed.

Surely he couldn't be telling the truth, they couldn't all be feeding from her, no matter how small the blood drawn. He'd estimated at least three dozen of them earlier. She was going to die.

He had to sit down. The rage burning in his chest felt like was going to burst from him but he knew he had to contain it, had to keep it under the surface lest it rip out of him literally. He sat against the bars, head tilted up, and tried to focus on relaxing his rigid muscles, of not thinking about anything but easing the tension from his body.

It wasn't long before copper-hair returned and relieved the other Nord. All Vilkas's muscles tightened at once at the disruption and he had to begin the practice of relaxing them all over again.

The next time someone came Vilkas took a deep breath and looked up from where he'd been staring at his legs in deep concentration. To his surprise, it wasn't the dark-haired Nord but Cairne and in his arms he carried a small form he recognized.

Vilkas leapt to his feet. Her eyes were shut and she was so pale that he was afraid she was dead until he focused on the subtle rise and fall of her chest.

Quickly copper-hair readied himself at the cage door.

"Back up beast," Cairne demanded.

Vilkas growled but was anxious to check on his shield-sister so he obeyed. He backed to the far side of the cage as copper-hair took the key from Cairne's belt and opened the door before putting it back on his belt. Cairne then walked in, bent just slightly, and dumped Everlee on the floor as if she were garbage before slamming the door shut with a loud metallic bang.

Vilkas rushed to her, quickly getting on his knees. Her skin was pale and there was a look of pain on her damp face even as she lie there, unconscious. There were no visible marks though there was an odd...metallic scent to her that seemed off. Life-drain. They had used life-drain on her, one of the most painful spells ever cast on another and only known by vampires and certain blood-cults.

"Pity I didn't drink from her but the way she screamed was simply delicious. Too bad the sound was muffled by that gag Benovere put on her because the sound of her pain was quite...arousing," Cairne said.

Vilkas stood, stiff, and shaking with anger. No words or sound came forth from his chest as he shook violently, the edges of his vision darkening as he glared at the vampire. There was no heartbeat from this man to indicate nearby prey, to dance in his ears and entice him to hunt but the impulse to tear out his throat with his teeth was overpowering.

The only sound he could hear was a soft thudding from just before his feet. His eyes turned down, the yellow in them alight as he took in the form before him. Weak, vulnerable, sick - easy prey. Hair broke up from his skin as nails turned razor sharp. Prey, he needed to kill, to rip, to tear out his enemy's heart and lap up its juices.

No!

Vilkas threw his body violently back, to the opposite side of the cage. No he couldn't turn, not here, not now. He couldn't lose control, not with her so close. His shield-sister was the only person he would get a hold of, the only victim he would take if he failed to keep the wolf chained within. He bent over, trying to stop the transformation, to ease the misdirected rage.

Cairne laughed. "Something the matter pup? Are you getting a craving for young female blood? She's right there, we left some for you."

Vilkas roared, and barely stopped a full transformation as his body convulsed hard once. He wanted to yell at Cairne, to tell the filthy bloodsucker to shut up before he ripped out his throat, but his mouth was more canine than Nord now.

"Taste her. Go on, she's right there."

Vilkas shook violently, a half-human half-beast roar escaping his lips, "No!"

"Cairne!" a stern reply from a smooth-sounding voice. Part of Vilkas recognized the leader, Brenovere, in that command. "Do not bait our guest. We do not need to tempt such a wild dog to feast."

Vilkas looked up, watching the man, panting and trying to stop the last bits of his transformation. Most of his bone structure was still human, his arms which ended in long claws, were thrown out to grab either side of the cage. He gripped the bars tightly, trying to keep himself back, knowing that as long as he could hold them there that he was still human, that he was still Vilkas, that he wouldn't murder his own.

Brenovere slowly walked up to the bars, his deep eyes holding Vilkas's.

"Let us see how much willpower this beast has," Brenovere said. "To hold back half-transformed...he must not be too much of a 'pup' as you called him."

Vilkas shut his eyes, trying to tune out the vampires' conversation but without their words all he could hear was the sound of the only beating heart in the room besides his own. It was faint, even fainter than before. A quiet, sad sound. The once-vibrant girl he had known now weak and defenseless before him.

He pictured her the first day they'd come across her, fighting a giant with nothing more than her traveling clothes and an old finely-crafted bow. He could picture clearly the way her lips tightened slightly when he'd gruffly lectured her, the pang of embarrassment from almost being used as a cushion still fresh. He could see her eyes light up as they battled, the world around them a blur as their swords clanged again and again. He remembered the thrill that had coursed through him then, the first time he had felt alive in years outside of his wolf form, and written on her face was he assurance that the same adrenalin that shot through his veins was coursing through hers. He thought of the night of her joining their order, how her eyes had widened at his revelations to her, how some of the girl's youth and naivety still shone through so clearly at times it made him ache because despite his own limited years, he could not remember a time when he had been so young. That night he remembered the anger laced with something he couldn't place at the time but would later come to realize was fear as he'd spoken to her and how despite that, his eyes couldn't seem to stop traveling to her hair and how it looked in the moonlight.

When Vilkas opened his eyes again, the surreal light in them had faded. He stood still, quietly breathing in and out as his gaze rested on his fellow Companion still sprawled on the floor, still completely unaware of him. The realization that he had stopped himself mid-transformation washed over him as did the weight of feelings brought back by those memories. He thought of shoving them away, burying them deeper than where he'd found them but the thought of doing so exhausted him. And what was more, they had kept him from becoming a monster. He wanted to hold on to them, for just a little while.

Brenovere made a noise of approval, "Interesting. Our master may find you worth studying beast."

Cairne laughed, "At least for a little while."

With that the leader gracefully strode from the room and Cairne waved off copper-hair, keeping wood elf as backup as he took a seat along the far wall and opened a book.

Vilkas breathed in once deeply before walking over to Everlee. Slowly he sank to his knees beside her. Watching her he knew that she ran the risk of dying in her sleep-like state now more than ever. In the event that soft thudding of her heart gave out, he wanted to be there, awake and ready to make sure it began again.

He looked for something to prop her head upon but knew that he wouldn't find anything. Gently he lifted her up and put her head upon his lap as he kept sentinel above her.