CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:

Alex easily cleared the four foot jump; but then Lucian new she would. He watched her land gracefully beside him and then grinned when she flashed him a dirty look.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" he questioned her.

"Bite me!" she shot over her shoulder deciding she was going to ignore him. Instead, she walked over to Michael and Selene.

"Mr. Corvin, may I say it is good to see you", she informed him.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Michael asked. He looked the American woman over, trying to place her. She wouldn't be an easy person to forget; she was beautiful, and her voice was damn sexy. But he couldn't ever remember having met her.

"No, you've never seen me, before today. But you're the reason I'm here in Budapest", she explained. "Ah, but that's a story for another day. Right now it appears that Lucian is anxious to be reunited with his family."

And he was. Lucian needed to see for himself how many had survived the attack and what their numbers had been reduced to. He was also concerned with how his old clan would react to the newest members of their group.

Michael should fit in well enough. The other lycans had known of Lucian's intent to cross breed the vampires and lycans. And they knew Michael was the key to that lifelong dream. So most, if not all, had participated in some way in capturing Michael. They all knew who and what he was.

But Alexandra was an unexpected member of the party. Not only was she one of the new breed, she was also a woman. His lycans had been predominantly male, and the females that were there, had been kept for sexual purposes. They weren't considered strong fighters. Because of her affiliation with the Council; as well as leading the team that had found him in the tunnels; he assumed she must be a competent fighter. She also seemed to be intelligent and was definitely strong willed. Alex presented a complex twist to the problems that lie ahead. At least none of his followers were aware of the fact that she was part of the Council. If they did, then she wouldn't be treated any better than Selene was going to be.

Selene, well, she was an entirely different problem. She was a death dealer, and was responsible for more lycan deaths than any other vampire in recent history. His shapeshifters would not tolerate her presence well.

Knowing there wasn't an easy way to do this, Lucian would do what he did best. He would be a leader, and tell the lycans that the three individuals with him were great assets and would all play major roles in ending this war. And he would expect them all to work and live together. There would be no other way.

"Come", he told the three of them. "The sooner we get this over with the better", he said as he began walking down the passageway that led to the secondary home of the lycans.

Alex had never willingly walked into a room full of lycans, at least not without back up and lots of weapons. Now, she had only one gun and she wasn't expected to use it. Not a comfortable situation. But she wouldn't let them see she was nervous, maybe even scared. She would show them nerves of steel and nothing less. Resolve settled over her features. She stood tall and proud as she followed Lucian down the passage.

Selene was even more unsure than Alex. She had systematically eradicated as many of these lycans as she could. That had been her job, her passion for so long. How could she expect them to accept her into their inner sanctum? She didn't. It would only be a matter of time before one of them tried to kill her. But if Michael wanted to stay, she would make the best of the situation. She had nothing else left in her life. She steeled herself for rejection as she made to follow the other woman.

Michael saw the doubt and fear wash overSelene's features; she was frightened. But she was facing these creatures, for him. Touched beyond belief, he reached out to catch her and pulled her back into his embrace. He held her against his chest for a brief moment, smelling her hair and letting it fill his senses. She was an amazing woman. "I won't let them hurt you", he promised her in a whisper.

Selene closed her eyes and let his strength wash over her. He was naïve, but she didn't doubt his sincerity. He hadn't faced these creatures in battle, nor had he ever truly faced the vampires. He had no idea what would happen when the lycans chose not to accept her. But it didn't matter, she was here to achieve one thing: Michael's safety. If she were going to die, she would do so protecting him.

"I know you'll keep me safe", she lied to him. Honestly, she didn't think it was possible. Michael was a healer, not a killer.

"Then let's face them together", he suggested. He thought they could defeat anything, together. Selene knew it was a nice sentiment, but not realistic. But she didn't want to be the one to burst his bubble.

"Fine", she agreed and walked with him hand in hand towards the lycans' lair.

Raze had gone on ahead to let everyone know their leader was alive and well. It was apparent the lycans were happy with the news, because howling soon filled the cavern. It was music to Lucian's ears, but set the women's nerves even more on edge.

Lucian had always been proud of his lineage, his heritage. Shame had never been a factor in his attempts to create a new species. Anger, betrayal, and revenge were the motivations for his creation.

He had led his people for hundreds of years; and most of that time had been in hiding. Now that the vampires knew of their existence, it was a new game. And he had a trick or two up his sleeve.

There were three of them now; well at least he thought there were three. He hadn't had the opportunity to change forms yet, but he could feel slight differences in himself that weren't there when he was simply lycan. And thoughhe wasn't one hundred percent sure,he was fairly confident that the changes in his makeup would have infected Alex when he bit her. Which meant that she herself would become what he was.

Michael was the only known successful crossbreed. Soon, he would need to speak with Michael. He wanted to know how his body had changed and what kind of strengths and weaknesses he had witnessed during the fight with Viktor. Soon.

He would also need to tell Alexandra of her true form. She wasn't aware of the fact that she was no mere lycan. In fact, it appeared that the entire Council was in the dark about his project. And it seemed that the vampires had no idea of what he had accomplished either. Which considering everything that had occurred, this was probably the only thing they had going for them.

So, for now, he would keep Alexandra in the dark a little while longer. They had quite a few things that needed to be discussed between them. Once he learned more about her involvement with the Council and what they were doing here, maybe then he explain to her just what she was.

Right now, they were about to face their first challenge and they all needed to show a united front.

He had reached the doorway and gazed into the open room. The scene unfolding in front of him brought both warmth and sadness to his soul. The surviving lycans had congregated in the large chamber. They were excited by the news of his survival; but their numbers were few. So many had been lost during the death dealer's attack.

Alex stepped up behind him and looked over his shoulder. "Hey ol timer, whatcha waiting for", she asked.

He waited a moment before he answered, "I was waiting for you and the others to catch up. I thought it would be best if we all entered together", he explained.

"Yeah, well I don't think Selene is quite as anxious as you are to greet her new family", Alex informed him.

"No, I can't imagine she is. But Selene is a warrior, and she knows that aligning with the lycans may be her only hope of survival. Besides, she and Michael appear to be fairly close, I have a feeling they will be partners in whatever they decide to do. He will help her through this rough period", Lucian mused outloud.

He was insightful, she had to give him that. But he still irritated the hell out of her. And Alex hated it when anyone could affect her enough to feel that type of emotion.

"So, what's the game plan?" she asked Lucian while they waited for the other two to show up.

"We will go in and I will let the lycans know that you, Michael and Selene will now be working on our side. Then we will ascertain our numbers and formulate a plan to try and stop this war", he surmised.

"Is this what all of this has been about? You've been attempting to stop the war between the species? It seems to me that with all that has happened over the last few days, you've managed to feed the ongoing feud instead of stopping it", Alex commented.

"You aren't aware of everything, Alexandra", Lucian informed her.

"No, you're right about that. But I was brought here to figure out what was going on. And the Council may know more than you give us credit for", she told him.

At that he turned to her and looked her in the eye. "Is that why you're here? The Council sent you on a reconnaissance mission?" he asked.

"Look, we obviously don't have time to go into the details of my assingment", she told him, "notthat I would entrust those details to you anyway.Not to mention the fact that I haveseveral questions that I need answered myself. But here is neither the time nor the place. I want your complete attention when this discussion happens. Right now, you have other concerns. Let's get this over with and then we can swap stories", Alex finished as Michael and Selene walked up.

"Be assured Alexandra, that I have many questions for you, and I am expecting to get those answers tonight", Lucian promised her.

"You'll get answers from me, if and only if, you provide me with adequate answers to the questions I have for you, Lucian", she warned him.

The small hallway was thick with tension, as sparks seemed to fly off both Alex and Lucian. They each stood their ground, neither one willing to give an inch.

Clearing his throat, Michael broke the silence, "I believe the natives are getting restless", he said pointing to the growing number of lycans trying to catch a glimpse of their resurrected leader. "I suggest we go in and let them satisfy their curiosity before they come out here.

With one last glance at the headstrong woman in front of him, Lucian looked over to Michael. "Yes, perhaps we should. Are you all ready?" he asked.

Selene kept silent, her façade of nonchalance firmly in place. Alex glared at Lucian, not responding out of sheer stubbornness. Michael once again found himself the only one out of their strange little group, willing to respond.

"I guess so", he said with a shrug.

Lucian sighed before he stepped into the room. He was looking forward to being surrounded by those that were actually happy with his state of well-being. Alexandra and Selene were wearing him down. Now he remembered why he avoided females as a whole.