CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: On The Run

Lucian & Alex:

As they walked out of the office building, and onto the street, Alex was trying hard not to be bitter. It suddenly hit her that she was literally leaving her life behind. She was no longer a human agent working hard to keep the world safe from the monsters. Now, she was one of the monsters, a werewolf. And already she could feel small changes in her body, separating her even further from the humans.

The weakness she had felt, upon waking, had dissipated. Now she could literally feel the blood racing through her veins. It was like a massive adrenaline rush, without the adrenaline. And she felt strong, like she could pick up a car. It also seemed as if her hearing and sense of smell were evolving at that very moment. She could hear snippets of conversation when there was no one within five feet of them. And she caught the smell of cooking sausage, a faint whisper of lavender and.....gun oil.

Without looking, she knew her team was close by. She concentrated really hard and could faintly make out Daniel's voice as he reported in to Malcolm.

"We have company", she whispered to Lucian. She had to give him credit; he didn't turn around or make any suspicious moves. He was cool as a cucumber.

"And who would that be, my dear", he asked pleasantly?

"It looks as if my team has caught up with us; well part of my team anyway. But they've called in for backup so the rest of them should be arriving soon", she told him.

She thought they were heading back to the subway, which could either be the best place to hide or the worst, depending upon the vampires.

"Well", he said glancing at her, "let's see if we can lose them."

He quickly picked up the pace, and she stayed by his side. She didn't want to shoot Daniel, nor any of the other guys. But she didn't want them shooting her either.

"If you expect to outdistance them, we need to move at a faster pace than this", she told Lucian.

Without saying a word, he broke into a run. Momentarily taken by surprise, Alex hesitated only a moment before she put on a burst of speed herself and caught up with him. Hey, it appeared she had superhuman speed as well, cool!

They quickly left her former team members behind. But she had no doubt they knew where she and Lucian were going. She had to put her faith into Lucian, and hope the man pulled a rabbit out of his hat.

They had made it to the subway and headed down the stairs into the throng of people waiting for a train to take them to their destination of choice.

Wanting to blend in, Lucian slowed down, knowing Alex would follow his lead. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along in the direction he wanted to take. She tried to pull her hand out of his grasp, but he held on firmly. He liked the way her small hand felt in his larger one. It was small, but strong, with long tapered fingers. He had to remember that this hand was used to both holding and capably handling weapons of destruction.

They rounded the corner, not to far from where Raze and the others had tracked down Michael. Lucian threw a quick glance over his shoulder, but saw no sign of the humans that were after them. He gave a reassuring grin to Alex then jumped off the platform and headed into the dark tunnel; pulling her along with him.

Alex knew where they were going. They were headed back into the tunnels where she had found Lucian and been bitten.

"I thought you said we were going to the lycans secondary lair", she whispered harshly. She noticed she could see even better in the dark than she had out in the light. Another sign of her lost humanity.

"I assure you, we are", she heard Lucian reply.

"Then why are we going back into the tunnels", she asked?

"Because this is the only way to access the other lair", he told her.

"Now why would you make a second home so close to your first one? I thought this was supposed to be a safehouse of sorts", she said with a snort of disgust.

"Alexandra, are you going to question every move I make, every word I say", Lucian asked coming to an abrupt stop.

She hadn't anticipated him stopping so fast; therefore, she ran right into him. She felt him grab her shoulders, as he kept her from falling on her butt. She glared up at him and jerked her arms free of his grasp.

"I might", she retorted. "Especially when some of your decisions and comments seem rather lame!" she finished.

By God she was stubborn! Lucian grabbed her hand again and closed the rest of the distance between them and the underground tunnels. When they made it to the manhole leading into the subterranean chambers, he gestured for her to go down first.

"Quite the gentleman aren't you", she spat out sarcastically. "You could at least give me a weapon, ya know in order to protect myself", she said. "I mean there could be death dealers down there looking for you", she added.

He had reached the end of his patience. "Use your senses, I know they have awakened already. Do you feel, hear, or smell anything in the chamber below you", he asked in a tightly controlled voice?

She had already determined no one was waiting for them in the room; she was just being a bitch. She hated feeling out of control, and everything that was going on with her body and mind made her feel like she was caught up in a mad whirl of emotions and sensations.

"No", she replied sullenly. "But, I would feel better having my gun", she told admitted quietly and honestly.

Lucian watched her bring her emotions into check. She was suffering and this was the first time she had let him see how hard this was for her. Going against his better judgment, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the Glock semi-automatic handgun he had removed from her person earlier.

"I'm expecting you to make good decisions Princess", he said handing the weapon over to her. "I've reloaded it with the ultraviolet ammunition. So, if you were to shoot me or another lycan, it wouldn't kill us", he said letting her know he didn't completely trust her.

She grabbed for her gun before he could change his mind; then started quickly down the ladder. But before she had completely disappeared down the manhole, she looked up into his eyes, "Thank you", she said simply; then finished her descent.

Looking into those jewel colored eyes, Lucian felt the ice surrounding his heart begin to melt.