Chapter II: The History of Lucian and Melina

My veins were laced with fire when I awoke. I knew instantly that my body had instinctively pushed the bullets out, and that they hadn't been silver nitrate or even high concentrate. Having been shot countless times before, my body had developed a form of muscle memory that made rejecting the bullets something that I didn't always have to think about.

The memory of the fight in the lair was fading from my dreams, and I breathed in deeply through my nose. Although I smelled blood in the air, I no longer smelled the silver. I raised a hand to my face, smelling Lucian's scent on my palm. He must be dead by now.

With that thought I sat up slowly, allowing the feeling of motion to go away before opening my eyes. I was in a darkly lit room with a fireplace, which I instantly recognized as one of Lucinda's rooms. *So they made it here after al*l I thought to myself, turning towards the window.

Vyran was perched on the windowsill, gazing out at the moon. From my viewpoint on the bed I could see that her face was traced with blood and tears, and I knew that Raze hadn't survived the battle. My own eyes misted up at the realization, for Raze had been my friend since he was born. I hoped that he met an honorable and worthy death. My thoughts strayed again to Lucian, but I was interrupted by Vyran's voice.

"Viktor's dead," she said in a cold voice. "Michael fought him and Selene killed him," Vyran continued, turning to face me.

"So Raze got Amelia's blood to him in time," I said, and Vyran's gaze darkened.

"No," she whispered, looking down. "Michael was bitten by Selene...Kraven shot him, and she did it to save him. But he is now a hybrid, Amelia's blood or not. Raze was killed by Viktor," Vyran explained. I fell silent, processing this information.

"Where's Lucian?" I finally asked, and Vyran looked down.

"He is in one of the upstairs rooms with the others," she replied, and I looked away. My blood surged with a sudden fury, and I sprang to my feet.

"I need to see Michael," I declared, and Vyran looked up.

"Why?"

"He saw who shot Lucian. I need to know," I replied sharply, and Vyran nodded after a moment.

"He is with Lucinda and Selene in the library. Lucinda will be glad to see you awake," Vyran whispered, but I barely heard the end of her sentence. Turning my back on her, I pushed through the doors and headed towards the library. As I walked through the mansion I saw many lycans that I recognized, and many of them bowed their heads to me. I wondered briefly if Lucinda and I were the two oldest lycans left now.

I pushed the library door open and stood in the doorway, letting the door slam against the wall. Michael and Selene jumped, but Lucinda merely looked calmly up at me. "Melina," she said warmly, "I'm glad to see that you made it through."

"Thank you Lucinda," I replied gently. All of the fury in the world could not replace my devotion to and love for Lucinda, my own mother. I walked towards her and kissed her cheek, and she took my hand.

"I have been trying to explain to these two the entire history of the war, but it's so difficult," Lucinda told me, sighing. "They of course know why it started and the like, but there's just so much about our history that still needs to be explained."

"For example, and not to be rude here, but who are you?" Michael asked, and I focused my gaze on him. I didn't reply for a moment, captivated by the realization that I was standing before a hybrid.

"She is my daughter, and Lucian's dearest friend," Lucinda explained, and my gaze hardened.

"Was. I was his dearest friend," I snapped, and Lucinda's eyes grew thoughtful.

"Of course," she said, looking towards Michael. "Why don't you tell them about yourself and Lucian?" my mother suggested, and I suppressed an inward groan. All that I wanted to do was to find out who shot Lucian so that I could take what they took from him, but I would not deny my mother her request.

I went to perch myself on top of the fireplace, but thought better of it; lycans were no vampires, and had none of their agility or grace. Instead I climbed to the ground in front of it, feeling the heat burn my scars slightly where the bullets had pierced them. I sent a cold glare towards Selene.

"You shot me," I said, and she blinked. Her mouth dropped slightly, and she glanced at Lucinda.

"Oh," Selene stammered, visibly ashamed. Lucinda and the other lycans had given her refuge, but yet Selene was still surprised to feel the twinge of guilt in her gut.

"I was trying to turn your Michael into a hybrid with Amelia's blood, but I suppose you took care of that yourself," I said breezily, and Lucinda shot me a warning look. Letting my breath out in a short sigh, I looked down at my hands. I could feel Selene and Michael's eyes on me, but I didn't want them to see the emotions that would be drudged up by these memories. Closing my eyes, I let my mind wander back as I started to speak.

"Lucian and I were born within a few months of each other, almost seven centuries ago. At the time lycan births were considerably rare, so for us to be born so close to each other was near miraculous. Of course we were born into servitude, so we were both trained together. Lucian became one of the daytime guards for the vampires, and I became an assistant to one of the daughters of royalty there. We grew up together, and we were inseparable. Raze, who was born a year after us, became our friend also but there were no more lycan children for nearly a dozen years after us. The vampires would call it a dry spell, but I knew that they were castrating many of the older males in fear that our species would grow too much.

"Life went on in normal servitude for half a century. Raze, Lucian and myself had stopped growing physically at the age of twenty-five, as most lycans do. Lucian was promoted from a simple daytime protector to a castle guard, yet I was still assigned to the daughter of royalty. Although friendships between vampires and their servants were essentially prohibited, she always treated me like an equal. I told Lucian about how wonderful she was, and of course he grew curious; lycans were usually treated like scum by most vampires.

"I suppose you can see where this is going," I laughed quietly, opening my eyes. Michael and Selene were staring at me intently, but Michael was cringing slightly. I suspected that I was seeing many of Lucian's memories as I was describing them. "Yes, I served Sonja. I asked her if she would be willing to meet my friend Lucian and she agreed. It all went downhill from there," my voice broke for a moment, and I closed my eyes again.

"I never thought that they would fall in love. A romance between a vampire and a lycan slave had been unheard of before. I helped them keep it a secret; I feared for both of their lives, but they truly loved each other. Sonja made Lucian so happy. After she died...he never did smile the same way again.

"I loved Lucian too, but not like Sonja did. I loved him as a brother, as a best friend, as a soul mate. I was content to love him the way he loved me, and I would and still will give my life for Lucian. After they were discovered, I was also forced to watch the ceremony. I was not beaten like Lucian was because in Viktor's eyes I had not committed as evil of a crime as Lucian and Sonja had, but I was still forced to watch one beloved friend get beaten and then another one get burned alive. I don't know what was worse...Sonja's screams, or Lucian's."

I looked up again, pausing in my story as their screams echoed through my head. Michael had taken Selene's hand, who appeared to be oddly moved by the story. I knew that she must've heard it before from my mother, but I guess she was finally realizing the similarities between Sonja and herself. Clearing my throat slightly, I glanced at my mother before looking away again.

"After Lucian escaped, Raze and I were the first ones to rebel. We killed a few dozen vampires that night before running off into the woods in search of Lucian. Lucinda and many of the others followed suit, and we all quickly found refuge; the vampire's wrath would be swift and violent. The war had begun.

Lucinda and a few of the elders has managed to grab onto a privileged and guarded life, as you can tell; a rarity for us lycans. One by one they were killed off, but my mother has managed to survive. Raze, Lucian and myself traveled from one gutter to another. Lucian wasn't the same lycan that he had been before Sonja died. He no longer laughed, he rarely smiled, and he trusted only in us. Lucian hated, Lucian loathed, Lucian cried...he had never done those before.

"He loved me the way that I loved him, but I could not replace Sonja. He was terrified of losing me too though...we made a blood bond with each other, which was something usually reserved for mates. I became his mate in the eyes of the pack, but Lucian and I never actually mated. I simply chose a life without mating because I could not betray Lucian. I loved him too much to devote myself to another lycan, and leave Lucian hurting in silence. The pack viewed him as a warrior, but they never knew the Lucian I knew. They never saw his tears. The first time that Lucian ever cried in front of me, I swore that I would make his search for revenge my own.

"Lucian was so angry with Viktor that he felt that the best method of revenge would be to create what Viktor feared so much; a hybrid. We all knew that only a hybrid would be able to kill Viktor," I said, glancing at Michael. He swallowed deeply, tilting his head and peering at me from beneath strands of blond hair.

"The rest, I suppose, is history. Lucian allied with Kraven in an attempt to save our species and eventually end the war, although it did not end quite how he expected it. It's over now, though. Even is Marcus is awoken, it won't matter. He won't be able to challenge Michael himself, and I believe that many of the vampires will start to question their loyalty once they discover the truth about the origin of the war. Or maybe they won't. We'll see," I said, looking up at Selene. She glanced at Lucinda before looking back at me.

"A small band of vampires have discovered what we know," Selene told me, her words sharp and cut in a way that seemed to fit her. "Only a handful of them agree with us, but they are here in the mansion. The rest have remained with the covenant," she explained. I held her gaze for a few moments, before finally blinking.

"It doesn't matter right now," I said, climbing to my feet and waving my hand. "I don't care," I said, and Lucinda looked up at me. "All that I want to know is who killed Lucian," I demanded.

The room fell silent, and I suddenly leapt forwards and grabbed Michael by the shoulders. Selene leapt to her feet, but neither her nor Michael made an advance when they realized that I was not threatening him. Michael let out a low growl, but it faded as I stared deep into his eyes.

"You saw who killed Lucian. I intend on tracking him down and bringing his heart back on a platter," I demanded. Michael swallowed, and his gaze softened slightly.

"Kraven," he said. "It was Kraven."

Lucinda moved to say something to me, but Selene raised her hand and silenced her. I was out of the room before anybody could do anything more.

----------------------------------------------------

As soon as Melina was gone, Selene sighed. Lucinda looked up at the vampire and raised her eyebrows.

"Why did you let her go?" Lucinda asked, a hint of confusion leaking into her voice.

"Because he deserves to die," Selene replied coldly. "I wanted to kill him myself, but Melina deserves to kill him more than I do. She needs to settle her score," Selene said, and Michael nodded slightly. Lucinda paused, opening her mouth slightly, before cringing and looking at the vampire and lycan.

"But Lucian isn't dead."