A/N: I've converted to the radio. Oldies, and alternative rock stations. We'll see how that goes. I love Rachel. Once again, if you are in unhappy mode because I can't write ch 13 fast enough go read some really good fics...

Of course I have to put my Adalon (aka Phobia mwahahaha) in here: Adalon Ithilriel: Far From Over

Nightslash (the 1st three get ready to laugh your ass off): Underworld Outtakes Why Lycans should not host TV shows Parody Script (for Underworld) Eternal Song of War

Punx-Death-Dealer: Battle of the Hybrids

For the one who really started it all Jess J. / Jess L. J.: Hybrid war, and all the other little fics that go along side it. VERY GOOD!

And of course my attempted humor fic: If Lycans and Vampyres went to school.

~*~ Chapter Twelve: ~*~

Gavin suggested they go on the subway, "It would be a hell of a lot quicker."

"Shit no. I don't care if it takes us till daytime to reach the den. Unless by some chance you've turned into a vampyre. Then I'll go at a faster pace." Charli had regained her voice. It was raspy, but understandable.

The ends of Gavin mouth curled. He enjoyed her presence once again.

Gavin motioned to another bench. Every fifteen minutes or so they had taken a break. Charli always insisted they go on, but Gavin wouldn't hear of it.

"You know we probably would have made it back to the den by now if we didn't make all these breaks." Charli said a bit annoyed that they were taking their time.

"I don't care. What I saw scared me shitless. I can't lose you again."

Charli smiled. She was glad he was back here again, with her. "I know you can't."

He put an arm around her, pulling her close to his heart. He rested his head on hers. She could feel him fall asleep. Poor Gavin. He had probably been up all day and night. Now he was making the trip to the manor only to find out he would be stressed again because Lucian would ask him so many questions.

They had to make it back fast, but Gavin wanted to enjoy this moment while he could. He knew that Lucian and the others would be bombarding him with questions though he was falling asleep.

Charli looked up at Gavin who, in the sudden movement, looked back at her. "I think I'm ready to go." She knew she was ready. She had been ready since they sat down.

Gavin nodded, kissing her briefly.

It was almost half an hour until dawn when the two arrived at the lycan den. Gavin unlocked the door; lycans were never too careful. He held onto Charli's waist as she clung to his shoulder. He would make sure she got to sleep in a comfortable bed the second they walked in.

Lucian was the first to react as if he was waiting for this all night. Which he probably was.

"What happened?" He looked at both the bleeding animals, "Charli what the hell happened?" It was like he had always lived being a father.

Charli groaned, knowing this was coming, but before she could make an excuse, Gavin interrupted, "She needs rest. She can tell you the story afterwards."

She was ever so grateful. Nodding she added, "And Gavin needs it more than I, and I'd appreciate it if I could sleep in another bed than the one in medical room."

Lucian nodded in understanding. He led them to a quiet tunnel. He opened a door to their left and mentioning that Michael and Selene's room was on the opposite side. It was a secluded section. More so then Charli needed it to be.

Gavin helped Charli to the bed. Reddish and black comforters lured her to sleep. Lucian walked out shutting the door behind him. He didn't know whether it was because he couldn't stand being in the same room with her since he was still deciphering what the hell was going on or that lycan instincts told him that Gavin needed to be alone with her.

Gavin moved wisps of Charli's hair away from her face. She smiled, and slipped into the covers not bothering to change. She was way too tired.

"Would you have left again?" Charli asked her head sunk into the pillow. There were a million and one questions buzzing in her mind.

"Probably." Charli looked a bit hurt by the answer. "I couldn't stay here knowing that you didn't remember me. I left to give you a life."

"And do you know what you put me through." Charli's eyes were glassy. Why the hell was she about to cry? She had taught herself crying only made her weak. "Dark years Gavin. I was completely lost without you. And by the time I realized you were never coming back, I had already learned to void myself of any emotion!" She raised her voice. How could she tell him how much he had hurt her?

"Then why are you about to cry?"

She looked away from him, but he moved a knuckle under her chin and made her look at him.

She held a stern face, "Gavin," she didn't know how she was going to make him understand. "After you left, everything changed. After Marcus's reign and I was put to sleep then it was Marcus's reign again and after that I went to live in States; then about a century later I left for Egypt and Africa again. I learned all I could there. I made it back up to Europe about twenty years back to look for Lucian." She slowed herself down. She didn't want to start rambling on. "Gavin I've changed. I decided I wasn't going to be that girl you once knew. I've not looked at a normal life at all nor any man for that matter. I wasn't waiting for you Gavin." Charli searched her mind. What the hell was she talking about? "Maybe when you first left, but I learned not to care. Not to love."

"That changed though." Gavin weakly said not believing that the girl he kissed good night no longer loved for anything. "When you saw your father. When you saw me. You loved again."

Charli knew he was right. She did begin to love again, but she couldn't. Love was a wasted emotion, but she couldn't help feeling that emotion. Especially towards Gavin. He had made her feel whole and complete. His eyes bored into her looking at her soul. She breathed heavily. Might as well ask some more questions that had been bothering her. "Did you find anyone else?"

Surprised Gavin looked at her warily. "No. I never found anyone. Though there were many that would have been more than pleased..." he smiled jokingly. "What about you?"

"No. Dated once or twice, but it was all bullshit. Besides, every time I kissed someone I thought of you."

He smiled pleased with himself. No need to tell the entire truth about what he had done without her. He had to ask straight forward. To tell himself he was not worthy of her. "Do you love me?"

Charli looked at him astounded, "God knows I love you too much." She smiled and brought him closer to her lightly brushing her lips against his.

He then kissed her intensely. Her hands embraced his neck and his hands slipped to her shoulder. He moved himself on top of her during their passionate kiss. She broke away hesitantly.

"What about...?" Gavin asked coming for air.

"Screw whatever the hell I said." Charli said kissing him again. She started to cough again. A little blood spilt form her mouth and into his. He swallowed the rich tangy blood. He had already tasted it before. She smiled wiping her mouth, "Sorry." Her blood was addicting and he reached for her again licking whatever blood she had forgotten.

"We should really get some rest." He reluctantly started to move when Charli's hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

"Please stay here. I..." she paused, "I don't want to be alone."

Gavin nodded, but gave her an odd look; "You said that before in the medical room. Why is it you don't want to be alone?"

She knew this was going to come up, but she had rather risked it then being alone. "No reason. I just wanted to be with you."

Gavin knew she was lying. She was an excellent liar, but Gavin knew her all too well. "What happened?"

Her eyes had turned shiny again. He became worried. It wasn't something he had said he knew. Something happened to her. He put a hand on her cheek and brushed it softly. She almost flinched at his touch, which made his worry grow. "Charli what happened?"

Her throat was dry. She had never told anyone about that night. It had happened at the beginning of Amelia's reign.

Gavin wanted to know. She had flinched at his touch. He looked into her eyes into her soul. She was scared. Like kissing her brought on another memory. He knew.

Gavin whispered fearing the answer he knew would leave her pale lips. "Who did it...Who raped you?"

~*~

Elyse showed Corrine and JJ to her apartment. It wasn't the best place in town, but it did the job. Elyse was extremely happy to have her sister here. She was even glad to see JJ who used to get on her nerves until she grew up. But something was bothering Elyse. Corrine was smart. She wouldn't just show up for the hell of it. Besides Corrine was the only person who knew that Elyse was working under cover here in Budapest.

Corrine seemed to know what was going on in Elyse's head. She always seemed to have a gift, or curse, for reading people's minds or emotions. Maybe that's why Oxford had accepted her. "It's Michael."

Elyse turned around. They were walking from the car to her apartment. Michael was their brother. Or he was their half brother. Nobody really noticed or acknowledged the difference. He was a medical student at Baylor University in Texas. Michael always wanted to save people's lives. Maybe it was because their entire family was deceased, and because his fiancé died as well. As they rode the elevator up to the fifth floor Corrine explained about Michael.

"Some cop calls me about two days ago. He asks me if I've seen Michael or have made contact with him. I say that it's my second year at Oxford, and that I haven't seen him since summer when he was visiting." Elyse nodded, remembering last summer. It was only a few months ago. Elyse and Michael visited Corrine to see how her first year went. Michael was going to his senior year at Baylor. Then he said he would travel to New York to visit Elyse during Christmas.

"Anyways the cop tells me that Michael has gone missing. So I ask him to check out some of the local places Michael told me he hung around..."

*** (Conversation Corrine has with cop) ***

"You might want to check out Austin and Houston. He may have left for the weekend." Corrine told trying to be helpful. It wasn't the first time Michael had gone off and the cops called. He usually came strolling in the next day or the next week depending on how his mood went.

"I'm sorry, but we are speaking about Michael Corvin?" The cop asked confused.

"Yes the one who goes to Baylor University. He's a med. Student there." Corrine said annoyed. Was this cop an idiot or something?"

"Umm I'm afraid Corvin no longer lives in the state of Texas. He transferred to a hospital in Budapest." The cop said looking through Michael's records.

"Budapest? Budapest, Hungary?" Corrine almost screamed her pants off. What the hell was Michael doing in Europe?

"That's what it says here ma'am. That's where I'm calling. He owned an apartment here and was a trainee at St. John's Hospital. It seems you haven't been in contact with him for a while because his apartment has been rented out since September. Anyways there was some kind of attack on the complex, guns and canines it seems. We think he was taken as a hostage because he hasn't returned and no one has seen him. Thanks for your help ma'am. If we hear anything about it we'll be sure to contact you right away." At that she said goodbye and the phone clicked on the other line.

*** (Back to scene with Elyse. They have reached the apartment.) ***

"Holy shit! So he's been here the entire time?" Elyse couldn't suppress her surprise. She was a bit angry because her and Michael had been tighter than any knot known to man. They shared everything together. They had both cried with each other, laughed together, and had fights together. None of that had recently happened since Elyse had been transferred here to Budapest. She hadn't told Michael about that, but there was no way he knew she was in Budapest unless... "You never told him?"

"No I swore I wouldn't tell a soul, well for the exception of JJ." She pointed at JJ and nodded."

Elyse had trouble getting the key into the slot of her door. Finally, she had the key fit nicely into the keyhole and opened the door letting Corrine and JJ put their baggage in the room.

"Thanks for letting us use your apartment. We were planning on getting a hotel." JJ said putting her stuff neatly in a corner. JJ was quite the neat freak.

"No problem at all! I'm actually happy to see familiar faces that won't kill me when I talk." Elyse smiled thinking of Daved Smith. Thoughts of that disgusting replacement for a human made her smile turn to a frown.

The apartment had two rooms. The smaller one in the back had a bedroom with a desk and had Elyse's laptop. In the bigger room there was a couch, TV, and a kitchen. It was nicely furnished for an apartment.

"Nice," Corrine muttered looking at the leather couch and plasma TV. The cookware was just as good looking.

"Compliments of the CIA. They believe we work better in a better environment." Elyse said. It was true. The government paid for all of this because somehow their project was "special class" and deserved better than the normal groups. The apartment complex was filled with other agents in her department. Bryant included. If fact he even got the room next to Elyse's. She had thought he might have had something to do with that coincidence. The smile was put back on her face at the thought of Bryant's kiss.

"You can pull out the couch. You're probably exhausted. I'll get some sheets." Elyse walked into her room, smelling the aroma of her vanilla candle. Every week she had a different candle. Strong smells made everything around her go away. She reached at the top of her closet. Grabbing light blue and orange polka dot sheets she had bought in the States, and two extra pillows she kept stashed in the back.

As she was walking out she noticed the pictures on top of her black steel dresser. There were pictures of her dead family, Corrine, JJ, her best friend Rachel, and Michael. There were even some pictures of Michael and his fiancée Samantha who also was killed in a car accident. They were both med students at Baylor in Michael's junior year. In a few days it will have been a year since the awful day. "What the hell is wrong with you Michael?" She muttered to herself.

By the time Elyse came out with fresh bed sheet, Corrine and JJ had pulled our the couch into a full sized bed and they had started making sandwiches. Elyse smiled. She was happy to have some life back into her life if that made any sense. Her investigations were amazing and they were getting so far, but it was nice to jump away from reality once in a while.

"We're making PB&J's. Want one?" Corrine asked.

"Sure." Elyse laughed and started making the bed. JJ turned, put a CD in the radio. Knowing JJ, it was bound to be something rock type. She blared the radio up. Elyse didn't mind. Tristan Merrick occupied the apartment next door. He was also an agent, but he worked the night shift, and as for Bryant she didn't know if he was working night shift or not. A mix of different rock artist played as they munched on their sandwiches.

"So where the hell do you think he is?" Corrine asked, trying to continue a conversation.

"I don't know. I could try to get a team up there. Could have been vampyres." Elyse said.

Corrine knew her line of work. "Why would vampyres want Michael?"

"Vampyres don't tend to go after a specific person. They see someone and they feed. Actually according to some inside info. They seem to have a law against feeding on humans, so it may not be them at all."

"What else could it have been?" JJ asked, also knowing the line of work.

"Well lycans. As you've indicated it was a mess. Lycans are not the neat freak we wish they were." Elyse remembered the plenty of messes she had to clean up hoping the local cops wouldn't think it was weird the way they destroy everything. "I'm not so sure. It may not be anything at all. It could just be one of Michael's tantrums."

Corrine knew that Michael did throw a lot of fits, but she shook her head, "Something tells me this is different."

"I hope you're wrong."

"Me too." Corrine said glanced at JJ, who nodded in agreement. She didn't know Michael so well, but she had heard enough to know him just as well as Corrine.

~*~

Michael finally moved from the position he had been in for over two hours. Someone had come in to tell him that Gavin and Charli had made it back in one piece more or less.

Selene kept shaking and stirring. Not her usual stone still sleeping pose. Her face was sweating mildly, but her skin was burning hot now. Once or twice she mumbled something Michael couldn't make out, but that was it. A soft sound was made at the door. Michael stood up cautiously, and made his way to the door. When he opened it he was met face to face with Keith, or part of Keith.

He had a tray full of items. Michael moved aside to let the lycan in. Keith took the invitation, setting the tray on the small table in the corner of the room. He took two of the coffees and handed one to Michael.

"Thought you might be hungry." Keith pointed to some Starbucks scones. "Charli says the pumpkin scones are the best."

It was true. Michael was hungry, but he was afraid if he ate anything he would immediately throw it up. Instead he took the warm drink that Keith had offered. "I'm not that hungry, but thanks."

"Ah, I didn't think you'd eat anything now. You're probably feeling hungry. You just don't want to vomit it all, just in case." Keith smiled.

Michael looked at him odd, "Exactly. How'd you know?"

"Experience. I've seen too many close ones die." Keith said simply. It had happened a long time ago.

"Well I'm not leaving until she gets up, and that doesn't look like it will be any time soon. How come you seem to be the only one OK with the mixing of the bloods?" Michael meant him and Selene and Keith knew it. Michael was curious. If he was still taking role in this life he wanted to know as much as he could. Better to be prepared.

"Well I was in servitude of Viktor." The name was spat out like a five year old eating his broccoli. "Lorelei, my sister, was a maid in the kitchen. Hell of a cook she was. Delilah, my other sister, helped clean the house along with other younger lycans. The day when we were freed was also one of the worst days of my life." Keith closed his eyes remembering it all. "Delilah was the first to be killed. Obviously since she cleaned the rooms of the Elders. When alarm rang through the house Lorelei didn't respond quickly enough. Instead a vampyre knocked her out so they could drink her dry. Drew saved her, and they ran away."

It didn't seem to answer Michael's question, but Keith continued, "Drew was a vampyre. He was an ex-death dealer, and a powerful one too. He gave up everything he knew for my sister. A lycan. Someone he was meant to slaughter, but they fell in love. After that he they both didn't want anything to do with the war. They moved to Spain where they are currently residing. My sister and I both know that they can't run away from the war forever, but I'd rather know she's safe then running around saving everyone's ass." Another smile came upon Keith's face. Michael remembered his own family.

"Do you ever see her?"

"Last time I saw her was in the fifties. They were fine. She didn't mind living a life in the dark. So you see I personally don't mind having Selene around because I know they aren't all here to destroy us. In her case she saved us."

Michael understood. No vampyre would want to drink from a lycan. It was disgusting and dirty for them. Michael suddenly felt more relaxed, and he reached for one of the brown paper bags breaking off a piece of the pumpkin scone.

Charli was right. They were delicious.

~*~

Marcus had been grateful that Erika hadn't interrupted the story. She had sat patiently and listened to everything that Marcus had to say. When he had finished Erika looked down.

"So Selene thought that we were killing innocents?" Erika asked weakly. How could so much of her history had been a lie? It was just because of that stupid Viktor.

"Yes, but also the fact that Viktor killed her family. It wasn't the lycans." Marcus said simply. He put a hand on Erika's cheek.

"I'm sorry that you and the covenant have been lied to. With Viktor around no one knew about the past except for the Elders and a few of us who were around back then. We all swore to Viktor the covenant would never find out.

Marcus winced. During his story Erika had patched up all his wounds. Some of the cuts on his arm were deep and the alcohol used for it stung.

"At least I know the truth." Erika hadn't been expecting another life's history when she asked him what was wrong, but she was glad she knew what it was all the same. I mean she couldn't have honestly thought that after the kiss he would still want her? He was rumored to be a player, but that girl. Charli had told her that Marcus felt something true for her.

There was a quiet moment between the two for a while. Erika wanted more with Marcus. She wanted more than this talk, but Marcus couldn't be rushed, and he was an Elder. She stumbled on her words, "I better get going." She got up from the bed and headed for the door when Marcus's hand pulled her back.

She whirled around and looked straight into his dark eyes. She looked a bit confused, "Marcus..."

"I love you Erika." Marcus thought about what he was saying. Could that be true? He loved her? It had to be. He never felt these feelings around any other person. Even if she had not felt the same way he had to tell her. Marcus wasn't the blunt type, but he had to know where he stood.

Erika was taken aback. Heat rose into her cheeks and she could feel it. Did she love him too? Or did he really love her? She had to know for herself. "I met Charli after you talked with her. She told me about you."

Marcus looked at her doubtfully. "What did she say?"

"That you truly cared for me. That you had these feelings for me." Erika said it almost like a question.

Marcus reminded himself to have a little talk with Charli later. "She's right." Marcus put his hands to his sides in a somewhat defeated position. "I can't stop thinking about you and every time I see you my stomach feels all different and it's hard to form words. I have never known an emotion like this. I mean this really isn't how an Elder is supposed-"Marcus was shortly cut off by Erika's kiss. He enfolded his arms around her petite waist.

Erika reached at the tips of Marcus's hair and lightly pulled at them. His embrace tightened and the kiss deepened. Erika knew she wouldn't let herself get too far. She had changed. She wasn't going to be the girl who waited around for a man and throw herself at him. She had become much more determined and willed when Kraven was killed.

Marcus groaned the feeling inside his stomach had gone away. His hands slid down to her waist again and pulled her closer. Erika's arms circled around his neck. She held on tightly and brought herself away from the kiss. She leaned her head on his chest. He placed his chin on her soft blonde hair. This was defiantly what she wanted, but she wasn't going to let herself get that so easily. She stood in his arms for a while, and then she gave Marcus a light kiss on the cheek. "Sleep well. You need your rest." With that she walked away.

He gave a smile as the door closed behind her. He knew that she had been trying to resist him. At least she had felt the same way. And that maybe she was right to walk away now before things had gotten too far.