Selene speaks:
No longer do I walk the halls of the Coven in the safe knowledge that I am the favored child or the desired bride. It's been fifty long years since Viktor, Kraven, and the world of lies that once made up my world to me disappeared with the eternal kiss I laid on Michael's neck. I've wandered from place to place, biding my time in hiding until I can finally see him again. I am not even certain if he is alive, for we parted shortly after fleeing to Moscow to regroup. I am now the hunted, sought by my coven for the murder of my sire, and once-beloved lord, Viktor. I can't be sure if Michael is alive, for I've seen no sign of him in a long while, but his vow of love for me has kept me sane for all this time. My travels have brought me back to Europe, back to the city where the changes in my life began. Though many things have changed since my last visit, there are still several things that will never change; the ageless ancient grace of a long-lived culture.
Selene walked with her head held high, despite the looming threat of discovery. Her senses extended out beyond her like sonar, picking up every little detail. In the three weeks she had been back, she hadn't seen a single Diseased, Vampire or Lycan. The obvious silence that filled the very center of her soul with fear was not unfounded. For the Coven to remain so quiet, particularly with the Death Dealers around, was purely unexpected. Marcus Corvinus was not one to lie idle when the ideals of the Covenant had been broken. Selene tossed her head, jaw-length, wavy hair blowing back from her alabaster skin. The fog that plumed around her in swirling tendrils left beads of water on her tight, raven corset and matching leather pants. She tensed every muscle, fingering her pistol as she caught the sound of unfamiliar footsteps. It was a Lycan, a large, black man. His hunched shoulders made him seem impressively huge, but he didn't seem to be actively stalking her. In fact, she had come across several Lycans in her travels, and the reaction had been odd. They had not actively pursued her, but they had not directly welcomed her. She wondered to herself if it was what she had done to her sire, or their fear of Michael which drove them to such behavior. Still, she had counted her blessings that they had kept their distance. "Stop," he called. His voice was deep and rasping, not unlike poorly-oiled gears. She turned coolly to face him, hand resting readily on her weapon. "I served Lucian." His offer of explanation was vague at best, but she remained still for him to approach her. "My name is Raze," he continued. "You bit Michael Corvin, didn't you?" Selene did nothing to dissuade him of his notion. She said nothing, waiting for him to finish. "Where is he?"
"I haven't seen him since the night I killed Viktor," she replied icily. "What do you want of him?" She knew that her timeline was slightly off, but the demanding nature of this Lycan needed no exact figures.
"Marcus has been wreaking havoc on our species. The Coven, your family, they have been forced to greater measures than we ever could have imagined."
"What do you mean?" she asked, and by way of disassociation added, "And they're no longer my family. I am the hunted now."
"Marcus Corvinus has acquired the…genetic mutation," he explained lamely. "He's bullied the Vampires to seek us out. All of us. This time, he is not killing us. That stakes are far higher. We have become experimental test subjects." Selene glanced up sharply, lust-blued eyes brilliant in the moonlight.
"What do you mean?"
"He's dissecting us, injecting us with foreign viruses and the blood of your kind. The information about the bloodline fusion died with Viktor and Lucian. Now you and Michael are the only ones who truly know the secret. Our scientist died at the hands of your murderous father, and we have nothing, nothing to explain what happened to Marcus." Selene frowned, her brow furrowing with a mixture of understanding and the thousands of new questions filling her mind. "I am lucky to have escaped thus far. We have to find Michael." Her compassion for the Lycans had grown since Viktor had admitted his betrayal to her the night he died. Despite the age-old instinct to hate her distant cousins, she was suddenly faced with the idea of setting her differences with them aside.
"Your kind cannot like or trust me. Why are you asking this of me?"
"Because without you, the world as we know it, the whole existence we have tried so hard to maintain, will come to an end. Marcus will see us destroyed and finish Viktor's work. He believes it is a curse to carry our illness in his veins."
"The Vampires want me dead. I killed an elder, and the one that created me at that. I cannot get in any closer than I presently am. I am trying to survive as well." Selene turned to go.
"I have a place. A safe haven. Lucian admitted to me that he trusted you to do the right thing. Lucian was a good judge of character." She nodded slowly, taking in all the information she'd just been fed.
"I'm not well-liked."
"No, but you are respected." Selene released her death grip on her gun and nodded. With the help of the Lycans, she might be able to find Michael sooner than she had hoped. Raze gestured her to follow him, and she matched his pace. The absence of Death Dealers was now easily explained. If Marcus had used his new abilities to frighten the Vampires to aid his cause, she may have been all but forgotten in the mix. She relied on this bit of information to comfort her as she followed Raze through a maze of streets and down a back alley. He descended a set of metal fire escape stairs, knocking an intricate tattoo on the door. It was answered by a young woman, barely old enough to pass as an adult. She had unruly red hair and disturbing green eyes.
"Who is this?" she inquired roughly.
"A ward of mine. Let us pass, Catarina." She was intimidated by his snarling voice. She eyed Selene with a mixture of curiosity and hatred. "There are few havens left now, since you and your Death Dealers cracked the secrets of the tunnels. Lucian left me in charge here." Shadows of several figures fell across their path, receding into the darkness as she walked past. "What is your name?"
"Selene," she replied calmly. She looked every inch a royal on parade as she was led past the members of this hidden pack. She knew as long as they lived on her legend, she could bank on being safe, for the time being.
"Where did you see Michael last?" he inquired carefully, passing her a glass of wine he had uncorked before her. He gestured to one of the many men standing in the passage, and a chair was brought for her to sit. The room itself was actually an old meat locker, refrigeration unit long since broken, lengths of chain suspended from the ceiling like metal snakes. A cot was set up in the corner, blankets twisted from unsettled sleep.
"Moscow, Russia. We fled there to protect me. Michael was more concerned that I would be hunted down than of being pursued himself for examination. We agreed to meet up eventually, but I haven't seen him in nearly fifty years." Selene tried not to let it out, but a definite quaver of emotion escaped in her voice. Raze eyed her curiously.
"You love him? As Sonja loved Lucian?" he inquired, picking her bare.
"I do," she admitted softly. Selene had buried that thought deep inside for so long, it was almost a betrayal of herself to admit it aloud. Still, hearing her admission on her own lips filled her with a new desire. She wanted, moreover, had to find Michael.