Chapter I: The Scent of Blood

The lair reeked of vampires and silver. Many of the other female lycans covered their noses with blood-soaked cloths in an attempt to drown out the stench, but my nose remained clean and uncovered; I needed some way to know what was going on behind these concrete walls. Every fiber in my body twitched with the instinct to kill, kill, kill, but yet I remained crouched by the door watching lycan after lycan run past to confront the vampires.

The only reason that I was still hidden in the shadows was because Lucian had asked me that should something go wrong, I would remain with the other females to protect them. Lucian knows how much I wanted to see the changing of Michael, to finally see his cause realized...and I know he wouldn't have asked this of me unless he truly thought that the pack was in danger.

I glanced around the cold room and observed some of the younger lycans. They were shivering and drawing close to their mothers, and for a moment a sneer captured my face. No wonder they needed protection. All female lycans should be trained in battle, mothers included...but it was too late to worry about that.

An explosion wracked the lair, and I jumped away from the wall. With my senses in the heightened state of excitement that they were in, every breath sounded like a tornado. The scent of blood assaulted my nostrils and I growled lowly upon recognizing the lycan taint. My brothers were dying out there.

"Melina," a desperate whisper reached my ears and I turned towards the far wall. The other females stared at me fearfully, unable to identify the blood source due to the scent of the blood shoved up their noses. These mothers had no place in a battle.

"It is ours," I whispered back, trying to wedge some compassion into my voice. I know that later I will mourn these deaths; I smelled Rigel's blood in the air, and he was a dear friend of mine. Whimpers filled the chamber, and I turn around to hush them. A few of my female friends stand up and begin to make the rounds, calming the young and comforting the weak. This wasn't the first time that we had been in a battle - after all, this was a war - so everybody knew that even though I was there physically my mind was out fighting with the vampires. I was only there with them for Lucian.

Suddenly the air was full of the stench of silver, and I recoiled from the doorway. Bile rose in my throat at the intensity of the smell and I crouched on all fours, gagging. It took a few moments for my head to clear and identify the weapon; silver nitrate. Since when had the vampires fought with silver nitrate?

The thought had barely crossed my mind when another scent began to mingle through the silver. I smelled blood, mixing with the silver like a copper streak. My entire body went rigid, my muscles snapping to attention and my spine arching. I recognized that scent as if it was my own.

That was Lucian's blood.

I was on my feet and out of the door before any of the others could stop me. Fuck protecting the females, all that I cared about at that moment was Lucian. I followed the scent of his blood like it was a trail of smoke snaking it's way through the corridors. The smell of vampires grew stronger and stronger until I could no longer distinguish their individual scent. I knew that I was running right into what could be the bloodiest conflict of our war, but Lucian was somewhere in the lair pumped full of silver nitrate, probably dying slowly and painfully.

I forced my senses to tone down a bit so that I wouldn't be knocked out by the scents coming from this section of the lair as I skidded to a halt by the laboratory. Lucian lay prone in the corner, eyes closed and silver bleeding out of his chest.

"No!" My scream echoed through the laboratory before I could stop myself, and I scrambled over to his body. My hand went straight to his face and at my touch, his eyes opened.

"Melina?" his voice was groggy and choked, but the confusion was evident. "I told you..."

"I smelled your blood," I whispered back, crouching in front of him. Cradling his unshaven cheek in my hand, I peered into his eyes. The irises had a silver tint, and I closed my eyes and turned my head away. I knew that Lucian would die; no lycan could survive that amount of silver in their bloodstream, not even one as old as he was. In the self-inflicted darkness I tried to search out the scent of the vampire that had shot him, but there were too many intermingling scents for me to distinguish any one vampire.

"Melina," Lucian croaked out my name again and I turned back to him. "I need you to find out where Raze is," he commanded weakly, and I recoiled my hand slightly. For a second I felt a twinge of resentment, but then I noticed the wetness of his eyes.

"Oh God," I whispered. "Michael is still a lycan," I realized out loud, and Lucian simply turned his head towards the laboratory. Through a small hole blown in the wall I could see Michael struggling against his restraints. He was still very much a mere lycan.

"Go," Lucian commanded, and I gave him a gentle smile.

"Even on your deathbed you are still a leader," I whispered, cradling his face once more. He returned my bittersweet smile, and I kissed his forehead lightly. "I'll find Raze," I promised him, standing up and taking a few steps back. His eyes followed my movements but he didn't attempt words. I forced myself to turn my back on Lucian and flee the room; I never saw him close his eyes.

Raze's scent was faint, but I was beginning to be able to distinguish the vampires again. Loki was the first that I scented, merely a corridor away from me. My first instinct was to change and attack, but I knew that would simply delay my finding Raze. I forced myself to continue running, trying to keep my footfalls to the quietest padding possible. Anthony, Fara, Othen, Kraven, Roland, Gavin...vampires assaulted my senses one after another.

I turned my head towards the south entrance, suddenly catching a drift of Raze. Had it taken him this long to return with Amelia's blood? I sprinted towards the entrance and nearly collided with Raze as he turned the corner.

"Melina," he said in surprise, staring at me oddly.

"Lucian's been shot," I gasped, slightly out of breath from running. "We need to get Amelia's blood to Michael, he's still a lycan, and I think we're under attack by vampires," I explained in a rush. Raze's eyes grew dark, and he emitted a low, guttural growl.

"Alright. You take this and go straight to the laboratory. Where's Lucian?" he demanded, handing me a vial of Amelia's blood but keeping three vials tucked into his bag.

"In the room next to the laboratory," I said, and Raze turned and was sprinting away before I could say anything else. I wasn't sure if Lucian was even still alive, and Raze had no idea about the silver nitrate, but I suppose he was about to find out. Forcing those thoughts out of my mind, I turned and began to hurry towards the laboratory. Tucking Amelia's blood away in one of my jacket pockets, I was about to break into a lycan run when I stopped in my tracks.

"Oh no," the words slipped past my mouth before I could stop them. It wasn't possible...it just wasn't...

I smelled Viktor, my blood enemy for six centuries. I didn't know why he was in our lair, or how he was even awake, but getting the blood to Michael was pushed out of my mind. The other females would have no way of identifying Viktor's scent, having been born or turned after Amelia was awoken and the ones that did know his scent would be hindered by the blood cloths that the mothers and children clung dearly too.

"Shit," I hissed, standing indecisively in the center of the corridor. I wanted desperately to run to Michael and pump him full of vampire blood, but my survival instinct for the pack took over. If I went to Michael first, the others may not have time to escape. To some I may seem fearless, but I fear the demise of our species quite violently.

Gunshots rang through the corridor and the cement exploded next to my head, startling me. A bullet pierced my arm and with a cry I ducked around the corner and disappeared into the darkness, my lycan speed taking me away from the vampires. Running away was not my style, but I would settle my score later.

Climbing through the door to where the females were, I groaned and ripped off my sleeve. Vyran ran to me, but I pushed her away roughly. I was glad that the bullet was not one of the silver nitrate bullets that Lucian had been shot with, but even these regular bullets burned like hell sometimes. Cringing, I pushed the bullet out of my skin. It fell to the floor with a clang, and every lycan in the room fell silent. I opened my eyes again and focused my sight on Vyran, my friend of many centuries.

"Lucian has fallen," I whispered, and she closed her eyes. "It gets worse," I said louder, and she looked back at me through her tangled mess of hair. "Viktor is awake...and here."

A hushed panic rose in the room, and Vyran took a step away from me as if she had been burned. "That's not possible," a blond lycan named Alexia said loudly, and I turned towards her.

"Then go tell that to Viktor," I spat, and she fell silent. Turning my head back to Vyran, I reached out and put my hand gently on her arm. "You need to take the females and go to Lucinda's," I told her, and Vyran's eyes grew dark.

"Is it that bad?" she asked in a hushed whisper, and I nodded. "Then I'll go...but what about you?"

"Michael is still a lycan. If he can be changed then perhaps Viktor can be defeated. With Lucian wounded or..." my voice trailed off, unable to bring the word 'dead' to my tongue. "With Lucian wounded, I need to get Amelia's blood into him myself," I continued as I indicated to my pocket, and Vyran nodded. She had known me long enough to know that I would not abandon Lucian's cause.

"And if we are attacked?" she asked.

"Scatter. Anyone who can change, have them change. Otherwise take the mothers and children into any safe hiding that you can find. You must get to Lucinda's."

"Will you meet us there?"

"Yes. Whoever survives the night will go there," I responded. A brief image of Raze and myself carrying Lucian's body to Lucinda's house crossed my vision, and I cringed. "Whoever doesn't survive will be brought there as well...if possible," I whispered. Vyran nodded although tears were in her eyes; I knew that she loved Raze dearly and feared for his life.

Before I could say anything, Vyran turned and began rounding up the female lycans. I cast one long look upon my friend before turning and fleeing down the hallways, back towards the laboratory. The sound of gunshots echoed through the lair, far off but slowly coming closer. For a second I thought I caught Selene's scent, but she was rather unfamiliar to me.

I heard footsteps growing nearer to me, and I recognized them as belonging to Loki. God, I hated that vampire with a passion. He was a cocky son of a bitch that had killed many of my friends. If I had any intention of surviving and any hope of killing him, I would need to change.

One of the great advantages to being a lycan for seven centuries is that you develop the ability to transform at will. Shedding my coat and shirt, I stood protectively over them. Lycans go through many sets of clothes and have no problem with nudity, but I still had Amelia's blood hidden in there.

My bones began to pop and spread, and hair sprouted from all parts of my body. A changed female lycan looks essentially exactly the same as a changed male lycan, although we are lacking a certain part of their anatomy. Aside from that, it is impossible to tell a female and male changed lycan apart. Changing used to be painful but after six centuries of pain, you begin to not care about it anymore. I stood tall in the corridor as Loki approached, my breaths coming in short, growling pants.

Apparently not hearing me, Loki turned the corner and I immediately pounced on him. He wasn't a particularly old or strong vampire, and I knocked him straight to the ground. The element of surprise gave me an advantage, and I dug my claws into his chest. Loki screamed out in agony, and I fought the temptation to drag out his death like I wanted to. Plunging my claw through his flesh, I felt the crack of ribs around my skin and grasped his heart in my hand. Usually I prefer to kill by piercing the jugular, but I hate the taste of vampire blood; though powerful, it tastes like moldy fire to me.

I squeezed the vampire's heart until I felt something pop, and Loki stopped screaming. I pulled my claw out of his chest and stood upright, falling silent as I listened and smelled for others. Selene was still nearby, but I didn't need to track her down; I knew where she was going, and I had to get there first.

Without bothering to change back, I ripped the pocket containing Amelia's blood right off of my jack and hurried towards the laboratory. My footsteps slowed as I approached, and I cocked my head uneasily. I could still smelled Lucian alive in the other room. Peering through the plastic curtain towards Michael, I growled in indecision. Raze should've taken Lucian away by now...

My moments pause was interrupted as bullets suddenly pierced the air. In my distraction I hadn't noticed Selene enter the room. Had I not been in my changed form I would've tried to explain the situation to her, but I doubt that it would've made much of a difference.

Bullet after bullet pierced my chest, and I screamed out. The vial of blood fell from my hand and shattered on the ground as I fell backwards into the laboratory. I never saw Lucian peering through the hole in the wall; I never heard his weak whisper as I fell; I never knew that he saw the blood fall from my hand and lie wasted. The last thing that I saw before blackness overtook me was Selene standing over me, and then the barrel of her gun.