Author's note: Wow, I am so happy with all these reviews!!! Thanks so much for them, they've really meant a lot to me!!! Oh, and special thanks to livingdeadgirl for the pimpage in her fic (which is good, as long as you like Freddy Krueger, Samara Morgan, and their franchises, so, very good fic, read it). I'll try to catch up on that story this weekend! And many thanks to those who wished my mom well with her surgery. My muse has decided that I am to spend my writing with Underworld and specifically this story. Which is why you get an update so quickly. Warning, this chapter contains sap. Much sap. But next chapter gets into action scenes near the end. Oh, and to those who suspect Kraven will do something to Leila, wait and see. Wait and see. As always, hope you enjoy and please review!!!!

Disclaimer: Ok, I'm tired and don't want to do a long disclaimer so here: go read a previous chapter, and you'll know where I stand. Savvy?

********************

CHAPTER 11: PROMISES

She was so soft, he loved to just simply stroke her, his fingertips brushing her pale, smooth skin. Her hair was like silken strands, he loved to bury his face in it, taking in her scent. He loved everything about her, everything about her was special and unique.

Lucian smiled when he heard his princess moan as he grazed his lips against her shoulder. He knew the expression was felt by her, at the sharp intake of breath she made. He moved down to her abdomen, not yet swollen with life, though it would be soon. He met her eyes, then pressed his ear against her stomach.

Sonja laughed softly. "What do you expect to hear, this soon?" she asked him. "It's too small now, to young."

The lycan glared at her petulantly. "Would you please let me indulge myself for a moment? I would like to spend a moment with my child, if you don't mind."

"Well, I do mind," Sonja replied, pulling him upwards yet again. "I want you for myself right now. You can spend time with him later," she said before kissing Lucian. "And yes, before you ask, I am almost positive it's a boy."

Lucian smiled down at her. "And how are you so sure?" When Sonja merely shrugged and smiled secretively at him, he moved to nibbled at her nape. "And what will he looks like? Blond and fair and beautiful like you?" He lightly kissed her throat. "Or dark and rough like his father?"

"A mixture of both." Sonja ran her fingers through Lucian's own mess of hair. "You're eyes, beautiful gray eyes. My hair, but not as wavy," she described their son with a smile. But there was sadness in her eyes.

Lucian knew why.

He sat up, pulling his beloved onto his lap. "I know, Sonja, I know," he whispered, and his princess laid her head on his shoulder, holding him tightly.

Then she broke away, staring at him. "Let's run away, far away from here," she pleaded. My father does not return from this last trip to the northern regions for another moon cycle."

The lycan shook his head. "No, not yet, my love," he told her. "In two months time, your father will awaken Amelia, and he will sleep. Once he slumbers, then we will flee," Lucian assured her. "You won't show for at least two months, and it will be slight at that time anyway."

Sonja nodded. "You are right. Father would hunt us down if we left before he went into his slumber." She sighed. "I just want to be with you, without looking over our shoulders, praying we will not be discovered."

Lucian kissed her, gentle and reassuring warmth to her frigid worry. "I know, my love, I want us to be free as well. And I want our child born in freedom as well. And he will be, we all will be free soon enough."

***

Lucian opened his eyes, sitting up from his spot on the floor he had to call a bed. He closed his eyes, clutching the pendant fiercely, as if it was the only thing keeping him alive. At the moment, he believed it was.

He rose from the floor, swiftly leaving the room. He had to get outside, he needed the sun, the open air. Just to get away from that room and those memories. He couldn't bare to think of them again, not again. He couldn't take the guilt of remembering their lost chance.

***

Leila jerked up from the sofa, tears in her eyes. She placed a hand over her pounding heart, surprised it hadn't beat its way out of her chest. She blinked, fighting the tears that started to fall. That had been the worst one. Worse than the one last night, when she, Sonja, her dream self, had died. This one, she didn't know how to describe it.

Bittersweet, perhaps. Heart-wrenching, that was for certain. Whatever it would be called, however described, it haunted her now. The dreams were now coherent and stayed with her when she woke, at least these last two.

She got off the sofa, hurrying to get ready. She had to get back to the hospital, she had several appointments.

"Why, why didn't they run?" she asked, wiping her eyes. She knew why, but seeing their future, it gave a completely different perspective. "I have to stop this, I have to stop living this life in my dreams." It just wasn't sane. And it was wearing her down quickly.

***

Michael woke abruptly, though he didn't open his eyes or move away from Selene's frozen embrace. Like hers. He was comfortable here, content here. Just as Lucian had been with Sonja. And their child. The child that would have been the first hybrid. Instead it was killed, its life snuffed by its own grandfather.

And now he had taken its place as the first hybrid. The only others of his kind were the lycan leader that had wanted to become a hybrid for so long - and had helped Michael to live and become this creature - , and a vampire Elder that probably wanted them both dead. But he was still the first. And for a small while, he had thought the only. Sometimes he wondered which he preferred. He feared what Marcus could and most likely would do. Lucian, on the other hand, he knew well mostly from memories and the part of the alpha inside his mind, and he trusted the lycan-turned-hybrid.

Selene moved slightly, her grip on him loosening as she did. Michael carefully slipped away, making sure he did not wake her. He needed to go and talk to Lucian, but he didn't want to keep Selene from getting her own rest.

***

Erika lie on top of Marcus, her body held tightly against his. As far as she could tell, he was asleep, peaceful for the moment. She sighed softly, letting her mind drift back to the incident with Anya. Marcus had nearly exposed himself, Erika could smell the lycan scent growing stronger and then fading as he had embraced her in the hall.

He would have killed Anya. She knew that. If he had lost control enough to change, he would not have had any thought of letting her live. Thankfully, he hadn't. Not yet. When would he though? He was losing his control, the more things happen, the more he lost his grip. And what would the covens do when they found out? Who would suffer the wrath of a Elder turned hybrid creature?

She knew Marcus would be in danger if he was found out, she was certain at least some of the joined coven would reject him when they learned of his "tainted" blood. No matter who he was, there were too many that had hated lycans too strongly for too long a period of time.

Erika's thoughts drifted to Selene. She thought she could understand the female Death Dealer's, ex-Death Dealer's motivation for saving Michael now. And she couldn't blame her.

"Something troubles you," Marcus whispered, startling her. His arms tightened around her and pulled her up closer to his face. "What?"

She looked up at him, her expression worried. "The covens can't know," she told him. "You can't tell them what you are, they'll reject you. Most of them have hated lycan blood too long for them to accept that you now have it in your veins."

Marcus looked away for a moment. "Must you remind me?" he pleaded. "I know how they feel, I hate myself now." He slid away, getting off the bed. "But the change, it's almost subconscious. When I first awoke, and ordered everyone to leave me be for the first few days, it was more because I kept changing without meaning to. So many memories and warring thoughts," he whispered hoarsely."

Erika looked at him with sympathy. "Then leave, go away and change for a while, maybe it will help," she suggested. "It seems that your anger fuels it, and with everything happening, you're only get more and more angered. Sooner or later, you'll change, and there will be witnesses."

"I can't leave, not with everything going on!" he declared. "Kraven, Anya, the Death Dealers' incompetence. There must be a leader here, someone who can actually make sure things are run properly. And besides, I hate the change," he added wearily.

Erika got up and walked toward him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from underneath his own arms. "I don't care what you are, and you must accept it. You can't change it, and if you keep on hating it, you will only make everything so much harder," she told him. "Just, please be careful."

Marcus unwrapped her arms, only long enough to turn around, pulling her against him. She rested her forehead on his chest. "I promise you, nothing will tear me from you, ever."

She nodded, but clung to him tighter all the same.

***

In the largest room in the old fortress, most of the male lycans, from both sects of the pack, had congregated and were now playing cards, fighting, and/or making bets on the card games or sparring matches.

Rudolf, Erik, Diana, Zahra, Avery, and Xander though, had all gathered at one table, discussing what had happened with each clan. Xander told of the battle the fateful night the hybrids had come into being. And why they now had an ex-Death Dealer in their midst. Rudolf, since he was well known to most of the lycans in the Hungarian based sect, told of what had happened since Lucian had left the small yet growing group of lycans in England.

Rudolf of course had been saddened by the news of Raze's death, remembering the huge lycan that had been only a few years younger fondly. Zahra had remained silent throughout the conversation.

"So, what do you think Marcus is thinking, now that he has lycan blood running through him?" Xander asked, smiling slightly. "I know this might make thing worse, but I think he deserves it, after all the only person who hated our kind more was Viktor. At least he had something resembling a legitimate reason though."

Zahra nodded, but remained silent still, watching the younger - other than Rudolf at least - lycans discuss the current situation. Avery laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I agree, although this does make things a lot more complicated," Rudolf stated. "Lucian's right, we need to find a way to defeat Marcus, and fast, before they can gather up their strength again."

"Quiet," Zahra finally spoke of, whispering, watching one of the entrances. Lucian strode briskly through the room, paying attention only to whatever was directly in front of him as he went outside in the afternoon air. "He must be thinking of her," she said softly after he was gone.

Silence had descended upon the pack member in the room. They could all sense Lucian's troubled thoughts, and they mourned for their leader's loss, though many did not even know what it was.

***

Michael walked around the outside wall of the fortress. The sun was drawing closer and closer to the trees and mountains, soon to fall behind them. Soon after dusk, they would leave. He had mixed feelings still about this mission, but Lucian and Selene were right. They needed something to use against Marcus.

"You too," he heard a familiar voice say from behind, and he turned to see Lucian coming out of the old castle. Apparently, the alpha was suffering from what he had given Michael two weeks ago. "What is your reason?"

"Most likely the same as yours," Michael replied. "Memories. Yours."

Lucian met his eyes, nodding in understanding. "Yes, that would be the same as mine own reason. Strange how I can remember the first two centuries of my life with more clarity then the last five." He looked away, staring straight at the sun for a moment before turning away and staring at the faintly visible, Gibbous moon lower in the sky at the other side.

"What would you have named the child?" Michael heard himself ask, and mentally slapped himself for asking such a stupid and painful question. But the older male didn't seem to mind too much. Though he did seem slightly surprised at the mention of the lost child.

"We never decided, though we had many ideas. But we were going to wait until he was born before naming him. Sonja said she wanted to look at him, see his eyes first," Lucian explained, his voice tight, barely audible over the wind.

Michael nodded. He didn't have all of Lucian's memories, at least not yet anyway, and he could not recall anything about naming the child. He slowly approached Lucian and stood slightly behind and at his side. He was a good head and shoulders taller than the alpha, yet he knew he would stand no chance if he should ever fight Lucian. But that would never happen, for Lucian was just, and as long as he lead them, Michael would stay loyal.

"I'm sorry."

"I think she would have liked the name Michael," Lucian stated, out of the blue.

***

Kahn and Mason headed for one of the rooms on the top floor, where only a few Death Dealers stayed. Including Brian, who had been found alive and chained up in his room. It was obvious that Kraven had been freed by someone, because the retired Death Dealer, then regent, then traitor could never have gotten a Death Dealer all the way to the top floor without being noticed. Even if the warrior was young and unconscious. Someone would have seen the coward.

But who would help Kraven? Not even Erika was pining for the traitorous bastard any longer. Even before Marcus announced her as his consort. There was no one that had ever been all that close to the ex-regent, and Soren was dead, that was for certain.

Kahn and Mason turned to see Alexis standing outside Brian's door. She waited for Kahn to approach before speaking softly.

"He says someone came up from his side, quickly and before he could react. They grabbed his neck, knocking him out, and that's all he knows," she informed them. She looked skeptical, but Kahn could believe the story.

Brian was a good Death Dealer, but they were not trained to be wary of their own kind, and he was a young vampire, younger than Selene. And with a much less powerful sire, though Anya was now the oldest female with Amelia's tragic murder.

Kahn turned to Mason. "Go and alert Lord Marcus that we have found Brian alive but without much information, only that there is another traitor in our midst," he instructed, and Mason hurried to do so. Kahn then turned to Alexis. "Wait here, I need to speak with Brian."

She nodded and stepped back, allowing him to get inside the small, bare room the young male slept in. Said male was sitting on the bed, rubbing his unchained wrists.

"How are you feeling, Brian?" Kahn asked, startling the younger vampire.

He shrugged. "Like a failure." He sighed. "I'm over a hundred years old, and I can't even guard properly." He looked up at Kahn. "And I didn't even get a good look at the man, or woman, who did it. It's unacceptable."

***

A moan came from Erika's mouth as Marcus kissed her and stroked her sides with his hands. His wandering fingers came up to her shoulders, then grazed down her arms to her elbows, tickling her slightly. He rolled over so that she was on top, straddling his chest. Her blood was intoxicating as he kissed her neck, but he resisted the urge to feed on her. He had no idea what effect it would have now that he carried the lycan's blood.

Marcus groaned under Erika when they heard someone knock on the door, breaking away at the sound.. "Why does everyone around here have such horrible timing?" Marcus sighed as Erika pulled away from him to give him room to get up. He reluctantly left her side, sliding into his pants before answering the door.

"My Lord, forgive the intrusion," the Death Dealer Mason said when the door opened, and he noticed Marcus' state of undress, "but we have found the Death Dealer that was posted at Kraven's room, he is alive, and has told us someone helped the traitor escape, though he does not know who."

Marcus suddenly become the Elder ruler again, standing up straighter and nodding. "Good, I'll be out in a moment." He then closed the door and sent Erika a longing, reluctant glance. Then he grabbed his shirt and threw it on, buttoning it.

"Just, remember your promise," Erika stated simply, understanding and worry in her eyes. Her golden hair was a mess, wild and framing her face.

Marcus smiled confidently at her. "Of course, I could never forget," he reassured her, kissing her swiftly and passionately before leaving the room. Once he was out, he sighed. He knew she was well aware of how strong the temptation to change was becoming, and he knew he could not fool her.

But he would not lose control. He would not change into that beast. And he would not break his promise.