Underworld - The Turning

Written by
Wendy Dale Smith
st7ci-at-hotmail.com

TO READERS: RATED-R FOR SEXUAL CONTENT.



Chapter 10

Michael moved quickly about the bathroom. He had returned from the infirmary a full sixteen hours later, nearly dead on his feet, only to find Selene had already left their room for parts unknown. It had been one hell of a day. Delivering that lycan child into the world required every ounce of training he possessed. He felt a sense of satisfaction that mother and child had both survived. From the way the entire den had treated him afterwards, he knew he made large strides today toward winning their approval. At least they seemed much less afraid of him.

He smoothed over the sweater he just pulled on, hearing Selene now moving about the bedchamber. She had returned sometime during his shower. As tired as he was, he was still more excited about the successful delivery, and was anxious to share what had happened with her. Pulling damp hair out of his face, he opened the bathroom door, and stopped short when he saw Selene.

She was buckling on her black boots, fully clad as a Death Dealer. The last time he'd seen her, she had been in a ball gown. Looking at the table, he saw her favorite weapons lying neatly, side by side. Next to them was a stack of ammunition and several empty magazines. Michael felt his stomach clench.

"What are you doing?" He tried to sound calm.

"I'm going back. You can have the farmhouse, if you'd like. You know all my accounts. You may have them as well." She barely spared him a glance as she hurriedly moved about the room.

"Back… What do you mean?" Michael's heart started pounding.

"I'm going back to Hungary, to the mansion. I don't belong here." At his dumbfounded silence, she looked up at his innocent face. Her eyes were haunted. "And I certainly don't belong with you," she scoffed quietly, almost to herself.

That got him shaking his head. His heart was constricting in panic. "Selene…" Michael took a breath. The growing suspicion of her anguish was becoming frighteningly realized. Remaining calm, he tried reason. "You can't go back to the castle. They'll kill you."

"Probably." It was matter-of-fact, her voice, her demeanor. But he'd spent nearly every waking moment in her presence since she turned him into what he was. The countless instances of her pain over the last few days had not been nearly the surprise he would have expected them to be. Somewhere down the line, he had figured her out. He knew her, he realized with a start…as intimately as he knew himself. He knew she was finally breaking inside.

He walked slowly up to her as she stood next to the dresser table. He went to touch her, but she jerked her head toward him, eyes blazing. "Don't," she said.

Swallowing, he dropped his hand, but did not move away. He could not comprehend the pain she was going through. He wouldn't insult her by trying. But he wasn't going to stand by and let her commit suicide. And it was suicide, what she was thinking of doing. As surely as if she put the gun to her head. As with anything that tried to harm Selene, her actions infuriated him. "You won't find absolution by killing yourself." His anger was evident.

Ignoring him, she de-cocked her P99, ejected the magazine and slammed the slide twice for good measure. She began to refill half a dozen magazines with the 9mm ammunition.

"You want me to think you're a killer. Fine. Just don't go there to prove it to me. You won't make it through the front gate!" The desperation in his voice was making it difficult for Selene to disregard him.

"I told you this is who I am, my place." She refused to look at him.

"Bullshit! You're not going back there because it's your place," he growled.

"What are you talking ab..."

"It's guilt! You're trying to make up for Viktor! What he did to you was not your fault, Selene! You know that!" he pleaded.

She slammed the gun down on the table. "Enough!" The look she gave him was deadly. "Understand this, Michael. Regardless of what he did to my family, Viktor didn't kill those lycans. I did!" She spat with venom, but it wasn't directed at Michael. "And not just dozens of them…or even hundreds…but thousands." Her walls cracked at that statement. She gritted her teeth, fangs standing out clearly, as she fought with all her strength to keep her heart from breaking away completely. What she once said with pride now stuck in her throat like bile. "Scores of families to my one. Slaughtered." she whispered fiercely.

In her mind's eyes, the image of murdering entire dens came rushing back like tormenting ghosts. She had never viewed their dens as families. It was easier that way. Easier to commit genocide. When she realized Viktor's betrayal, she had tried to bury its implications. She thought she had succeeded. But what she witnessed under Vivienne's shelter could not be refuted or denied. The truth was even more unbearable than Viktor's betrayal. She had slaughtered innocents. She was no better. Tears came unbidden, and she let them fall.

Hiding his shock at her confession, Michael's heart twisted painfully. Though he knew this moment would come, he could not stand to see her this way, was not prepared for it. The self-condemnation in her voice sounded like a death knell. For her sake, Michael tried not to give into the anguish of her pain. "Your death won't bring them back."

Turning away from his earnest face, she continued to check her weapons. Her lashes where wet. She swiped at them impatiently. Of all the times to lose control, she thought furiously. Why did I have to see them? Why did I have to see those lycans, now of all times? Her face skewed up in pain at the thought. Tears flowed freely. She was trying to load a magazine into her handgun, but she shook so badly she could hardly manage the simple task.

Michael snapped.

With lightening speed, he snatched the gun from her hands and flung it behind him. He seized her by the upper arms and shoved her roughly back was against the wall, trapping her there. He looked directly into her eyes, and ordered her. "You are NOT going."

"You cannot stop me, Michael. You have no right!"

"I have every right," he growled. "I won't let you do this. I can't."

"Why?" she pleaded.

"Because I love you!" he whispered, the terror he felt letting slip the one thing he never dared admit to her. His brows furrowed in pain. Michael let her go abruptly, turning from the sudden incredulity he saw in her eyes. He could not take it if she dismissed his feelings again.

She shrank against the wall, staring at him in disbelief. "How can you love…me?" she whispered, her self-loathing pouring from the words.

He looked back at her in surprise, not at all expecting that response to his declaration. It gave him pause.

He didn't reply immediately, knowing intuitively that his answer to that question meant everything. As he looked into her pain-stricken face, he thought about what she had just said to him, about the lycans she had slain. He thought about the lycans they had seen under Vivienne's gentle care. He saw the way Selene clamped down on her torment in their company, how she visibly flinched as all the prejudices she ever harbored against them were decimated one by one. And although those lycans had sensed her distress as well as he, only Michael knew the real depth of her suffering. He saw it in her eyes, sensed it from her as she moved to stand more closely to him, unconsciously seeking protection from the torment. Her actions had been a revelation to him, for Selene had never before given him any indication that she needed shelter from anything. As soon as she was out of their presence, she immediately took back control of those wayward emotions. She hid them so well in fact, that he doubted the veracity of what his own five senses were telling him. That she was in agony.

Michael then thought over the months they spent together, how she had taken care of him, watched over him, and put up with him…a lycan, a hybrid, an abomination, the embodiment of all she had been taught was evil. Her compassion for his plight, and her need to do right by him, was unshakable. And over the months, as he had been adjusting to his change, she had been adjusting to hers. With the clarity of truth, Michael realized what he felt for Selene when they first met, when she was a Death Dealer, failed to compare with the love he was feeling for the person she had become.

"I know you," he replied simply. "You're not a killer, Selene. You're not that person anymore. I'm not the only one who's changed." He felt anger that the person she was now had to pay the price for those past deeds. He looked into her eyes. What he saw there made his heart catch and beat faster. He'd never seen her so vulnerable. For once he could look into those beautiful amber spheres and read her mind as clearly as if she had spoken the words aloud.

Show me. Show me what to do. I'm lost.

And it shattered him.

Michael moved slowly toward her and bent down on his knees. He began to remove her boots, first one, and then the other. She watched silently, letting him. He stood up and pulled her gently from the wall. He walked around her and removed her overcoat, and then her heavy corset. His actions were slow and deliberate. She said not a word as he moved back around to face her. Without ceremony, he undid the collar, the wrist guards, and the ankles. He kept nearly constant eye contact with her, needing to know that she trusted him, that she wasn't afraid. Careful not to damage her skin, he slowly brought the main zipper down the length of her torso. He moved behind her and, gripping the collar, slowly peeled the rest of her clothing away.

He stood behind her and quickly removed his own clothing. She stood before him, achingly beautiful and unmoving, trusting him completely. Michael walked up behind Selene and gently enclosed her in his embrace.

Selene gasped as strong, warm arms enveloped her, instantly amazed at the heat of his skin along the length of her. Closing her eyes with a sharp intake of breath, she clutched his arms tightly as her head fell back. Michael brought his mouth to the curve of her exposed neck, deeply breathing in her scent. That wondrous sensation was enough to bring her out of her passivity.

Bending her face to his, Selene sought and found his mouth as she slowly turned in his arms. She felt more than heard his deep rumbling growl as she brought her chest in contact with his. The sensation was breathtaking. Michael brought a hand up to the side of her face. Burying his fingers in her hair, he slanted his mouth across hers passionately, willing her to understand what he wanted. When she opened and let him enter, she reveled in the taste of him, eagerly matching his movements. Her mind darted from one contact point to the next, astonished at each unique feeling, and amazed that he could wait so long to show her something so wonderful.

Her hands slowly moved around his upper body, exploring him, learning him. Her fingers moved down to feel his ribcage and sides, and Michael jumped. Selene smiled slightly as she kissed him, realizing her hybrid was quite ticklish. Suddenly, his warm hand shot down and cupped her backside, grinding her into to his very obvious erection. Shock exploded from between her legs to her brain, and back again. She broke contact with his mouth and looked at him. He was watching her knowingly, a small smile in his languid gaze. Realizing two should play at this game, she ground her hips into him even harder, knowing instinctively what brought more pleasure. With a quick growl, he broke contact completely, much to her consternation.

Wrapping an arm about her, he lifted her tenderly, and carried her to the immense bed. He captured her gaze with unabashed adoration as his declaration repeated in her mind. Cradling her upper body, he slowly lowered Selene to the soft down, and began to worship her.

With his gentle mouth never once ceasing its journey, Selene came alive under Michael's touch. The pleasure was excruciating to her cold-blooded immortal body. She couldn't focus, only feel. With the lightest touch, he drew his fingers up and down the softness of her arms and side as she gripped the sheets above her. All the while his mouth nipped and licked, tasted and savored, every inch he could reach. The tip of his tongue suddenly on her nipple wrenched a gasp from her, made a shock of electricity ignite the primordial instinct to open her body to him. His teeth gently upon her suddenly sensitive breasts had her gripping him fiercely to her, thrusting her hips, seeking.

She was acutely conscious of his lower body writhing slowly on the bed next to her, his body shouting his innate need to join hers despite his achingly slow exploration. She could smell it, his sex, mingling with her own. Yet he wouldn't give into his body's desire, never once letting her know just how aroused he had become. Selene would have none of that. She wanted to know, wanted to see and feel all of him.

When Michael finally brought his fingers to her apex, she gripped his upper arm so tightly she drew blood. She kissed him with a passion that had him growling with feral need. Instinctively, she knew she was close. She was ready. She pulsed with more than a century of unfulfilled emptiness, and she wasn't willing to wait for him to decide when he could enter her safely. She didn't need or want the perfect first time. She just wanted him.

When she pushed him over to wrap her legs about him, her eyes were electric blue with the purest lust. She looked down on his adoring face, her fangs elongated and bared. She reveled in the solid length of him against her, thrusting her hips against him, completely saturated and agonizingly sensitive. Selene closed her eyes. She was so close.

With a sudden growl at her teasing, he pushed her backward and brought himself up with her. The movement placed her hips higher, putting her naturally into the proper position. He gripped her hips tightly as she straddled him, and he slowly guided her down, joining them together completely.

Michael was in agony. He focused entirely on her pleasure just so he would not lose control. If she had made any sudden movements, he would have. He gripped her hips almost cruelly, keeping her still against his painfully quivering body. He watched as her eyes close tightly, whether from pain, or pleasure, or both, he wasn't quite sure. She's so tight. He growled low again, not moving, trying not to take so much pleasure in the way she gripped him so severely. She could not have been comfortable. He had to fight down the urge to rapidly thrust her hips the three or four times it took for his completion. She opened her eyes to look at him, her ice blue eyes languid. Her mouth opened slowly, revealing alabaster fangs as she stared straight into him, panting. Transfixed, he watched her tongue slip out to run along her teeth. She drew her own blood as she gasped and jerked once involuntarily. Suddenly, he felt it stirring.

Michael's eyes widened in shock, his mind stunned. Holy shit. She was suddenly clinching around him violently, deep in the throws of an orgasm. She began to shake with it. She opened her mouth wider and bent to nudge his cheek softly with her own. Lowering her head further, she began to instinctively thrust her hips as she viciously clamped down on his neck, biting deeply, instantly drawing his blood.

Michael barked out a gasp as his control abandoned him. He dug his fingers into her skin brutally, jerking involuntarily as his own orgasm took over. He bent his head down, smelling his own blood, smelling hers through the thin soft veneer of her porcelain neck. Eyes blackening, he opened his mouth. With a will he did not know he possessed, he clamped his burgeoning fangs together till he thought they would crack. He instead rested his brow in the place where her jugular pulsed the cruelest temptation he would ever endure.

He would not, could not, bite her. He loved her too much to do that.

She stopped sucking his blood as soon as she regained some semblance of awareness. The powerful spasms slowly subsided as Selene road the wave downward, knowing she would die if lasted much longer. Michael was gripping her hips tightly still, almost crushing her as he contracted violently with each lingering spasm from her. She smiled into his neck, reveling in the sensation, and wrapped her arms tenderly around him. Now she understood why sexual lust and blood lust were so integral to immortals. There was absolutely no pleasure that could compare to it.

Slowly, he fell backward against the bed, bringing Selene with him. She finally got a good look at his face. She almost gasped. His eyes, half closed, were solid black. His mouth was opened as he panted, revealing his full hybrid fangs. Otherwise, he was still human. He had not changed fully. She was surprised at the regret she felt. Instantly, she knew why, and reached to touch her unmarked neck. He did not bite her. For some reason, he held back, would not share himself completely. Looking at the blood smeared on his neck, at the neat punctures she created, Selene winced. She looked up into his eyes and caught him watching her, and thought of the implication if he had bitten her. She would become a hybrid as well.

Michael did not want her to change, she realized. He wanted her to remain a vampire. Slowly, her face began to fall. She could not control the hurt that unexpectedly coursed through her. Selene knew at that moment something fundamental had vanished within her. She no longer had the reason, or the will, to be what she was. How well you do know me, she thought in awe. Better than I know myself. Selene realized she hated what she was, had come to despise her own kind. She wanted him to make her a hybrid, if only to escape the revulsion that was suddenly crushing her. Ashamed of the blood that covered her mouth, she lowered her head, trying to hide it from Michael. He was watching her so very intently as his eyes faded back to their beautiful jade. She awkwardly rolled away, breaking their bond. She sat up and away from him to hurriedly wipe the blood from her face.

If Michael hadn't been so completely spent and exhausted, he would have wept in frustration at his own predicament. He now knew, without doubt, she had been a virgin. It was not in Selene's nature to be so passive, so hesitant. But she had been, heartbreakingly so. Well, until the end, he amended as he tried to touch his still oozing neck. She bit the hell out of him in her orgasm. It felt completely natural that she marked him. The shock of it caused him to give into his own completion. He couldn't recall ever feeling such intense pleasure before.

But now he panted with the effort it took just to remain awake. He turned his head to stare at her. She was stiff, hurt. He wanted to pull her back into his arms, but he didn't have the strength. Goddamn it! His mind panicked. And he knew why he was so weakened. He was supposed to bite her back. He knew that now. It was instinct. Cringing with shame, he realized she wasn't the only virgin here.

He didn't bite her. He had resisted, somehow. And now he was drained beyond mere satiation. She must have drunk at least a quart from him. Coupled with the blood loss he had suffered just a day earlier, he was physically devastated. From the humiliation she was failing to hide, he figured Selene knew it too. Suddenly, he could see the dark halo forming around his vision. Fuck! I'm going to faint.

"Selene…I'm sorry." he whispered, unable to say more. He closed his eyes. The first time was difficult enough. How was he going to make up for this? He couldn't tell her the truth. That he must never bite her.

Then Michael lost all thought.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hours later, Michael awoke, alone.

.

.