CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: Revelations
Lycan Headquarters
Once Alex settled back onto the bed, Michael began checking out her wounds. Selene stood over to the side, trying to stay out of the way.
Lucian watched for a few moments; then began getting ready, knowing he needed some time away from Alexandra. There were also some things he needed to take care, one of which being the need to speak with his pack.
"Well, it looks as if you have things under control", he said to Michael as he getting another shirt out of his dresser. Grabbing socks and his boots, he finished dressing and stood up to leave. "I guess Alexandra is in good hands, so I will give you three some time alone."
Selene looked up in surprise. "You trust us enough to leave us here?" she asked.
"Contrary to popular belief, I am not a tyrant, Selene", Lucian responded. "I have the utmost confidence in your abilities to make wise decisions. Besides, I don't believe Alexandra is going anywhere anytime soon. Isn't that right Princess?"
Alex looked over her shoulder and glared at the infuriating man. "You got that right, old guy. I still have a few things to talk over with you", she told him. She could actually see him cringe when she mentioned the "age thing". She loved messing with him. He could be so uptight some times.
Lucian hated it when she called him old; he thought he looked pretty damn good for his age. He was letting her get to him…again. But, it was easier to deal with the prickly Alexandra, rather than the trying to handle the mostly naked Alexandra, so he let her comment pass.
"Well…we will try to get to that discussion, soon", he assured her, though he had no intentions of keeping that promise anytime in the near future.
"Yeah, I'm sure we will", Alex shot back.
"Behave yourself Alexandra. Don't give Michael any problems", Lucian said giving her a final warning before he left.
"Is he this condescending with everyone, or does he just save it for me?" she asked.
Michael laughed, "No, I believe he spreads it around fairly evenly. But, I will say that you seem to bring out the best in him. Now, let me get a closer look at that back", he said making her life flat on the bed.
After closely examining her wounds, Michael said, "They're looking pretty good, especially if you factor in all the movement you've been doing this morning"
"Oh yeah, about that…." Alex said, trailing off when her stomach suddenly growled loudly. "Oops, sorry", she murmured. "You know, I can't remember when I last ate", she confided in them. She was feeling ansty, she wasn't used to all this inactivity. Bound and determined she wasn't going to spend the rest of the day lying in bed, she made herself get up, dragging Lucian's shirt along with her. Then she walked over to her bag, and rummaged through it until she came up with her hairbrush.Then she made her way back over to the bed, where she slowly sat down and began the arduous task of trying to brush out her hair.
Selene watched Alex's attempts to run a brush through her hair, and noticed she wasn't having an easy time of it. She walked over to her and took the brush from her hands. She then sat down in front of Alex and began brushing out the tangles. Trying to act as if it was no big deal, she said, "We could get you some blood, Alex. It may even help you recover faster."
Taken back by the female vampires help, she sat still for a few moments before she reminded the normally aloof woman, "Blood only works for vampires."
"We're not sure what will work best for us", Michael told her. "We haven't really had a chance to test any of Lucian's theories out yet. The last couple of days, have been um, pretty hectic", he said with a grin.
"What do you mean?" Alex asked confused.
"Well, Lucian told us that he wasn't real sure just what our kind are capable of, or what may or may not affect us. We're going to have to figure things out by trial and error", Michael explained.
"What in the hell are you talking about?", Alex asked.
"We three are the only kind of our species", Michael said trying to clarify the situation for her. "None of us know really know what to expect."
Selene had stopped brushing Alex's hair and saw the look of confusion on the younger woman's face. "Michael, I don't believe she's aware of all the facts", Selene said.
"That would be an understatement", Alex muttered. "So, what's say ya'll enlighten me a little?" she said encouraging them to spill the beans.
Michael and Selene looked at each other, surprised that Lucian hadn't told Alex anything about what she had become.
"Lucian hasn't said anything to you", Selene asked Alex.
"Hell no!" Alex said with emphatically. She sat there a moment, thinking over everything that had happened since the moment she found Lucian in the tunnels. If she were to be logical about it, Lucian really hadn't had much of a chance to explain anything. They had been on the run so to speak, at least until they had gotten to the lycans secondary home. And then the whole fight with Raze and the lashing thing happened. What little time there had been in between, they had only managed to argue. That about summed up the whole experience. Well, except for the shower. Yeah, they could have probably traded secrets in there, but there had been other things on her mind.
With a sigh, she elaborated on her answer. "But to be honest, we haven't had a whole lot of time to really talk about anything", she admitted.
"So what, the three of us are some kind of super lycans?" she asked curiously.
"The three of us aren't anything", Selene said.
"You, me and Lucian are the special ones", Michael told her, "And no, we aren't just some kind of super lycan", he said with a grin. "Throughout the last few hundred years, Lucian has been trying to crossbreed the lycans and vampires. We are the result of this little experiment."
"How is that even possible?" Alex asked.
"It seems that the lycans and vampires share a common gene. One originating from the Corvinus line", Selene began explaining. "Lucian and his buddy Sinje have been literally making there way through every descendant of this name, trying to find a match in the blood."
Putting two and two together, Alex figured out the rest for herself. "Which brought Michael Corvin to their attention", she said. "And let me guess, you were the match they had been looking for", she asked.
"You got it", Michael replied.
"So what are we?" she asked in awe.
"Exactly what Lucian had wanted; we're a cross between both species", Michael said. "Lucian bit me, infecting me with the lycan gene; and then, when I was shot by Kraven, with silver nitrate, Lucian told Selene to bite me. It not only saved my life, but it also completed the transformation. As for Lucian, I know he had injected himself with my blood, a direct descendant of the Corvinus line, and once Raze had returned from the vampires, I assume he must have also injected himself with the blood one of the vampire elders."
"Which explains how he was able to survive the massive amount of silver that had been pumped into him", Alex remarked vaguely.
"Yeah, that and your blood", Michael reminded her. "So, we are all assuming, that by biting you, you will become one of the new breed."
"Is there some sort of name for this "New Breed"? Alex asked.
"Not that I'm aware of. Until we found you and Lucian in the tunnels, we thought I was the only surviving member of this club", Michael told her.
"Lycanpires, or maybe Vampans, God there's no cool way of combining the two names", Alex complained.
"You're taking this fairly well", Selene remarked skeptically.
"Well, I look at it this way. At first I thought I was a lycan, which really didn't appeal to me, what with the furry stuff and all. Now, I find out, I'm not some coyote on steroids, Yeh! Instead I'm some kinda super being that I'm guessing has the best of both worlds with fewer oddities, am I right", she asked turning to Michael.
"Basically. We don't know much, but what we do know is this. Daylight doesn't affect us like it does the vampire. We can stay awake with no problem during the daytime and even go outside. But we have noted that our skin and eyes are fairly sensitive to the sun's rays.
"Yeah, I noticed that. When Lucian and I went over to get my bags and then went into the subway, I kinda had a tingling sensation running along my skin. I just figured it was all part of the transformation", Alex remembered. "Do I have to drink blood in order to continue living, cause no offense Selene, but that idea really doesn't float my boat."
"No, you don't have to drink blood. I've been able to eat a steak without any problems, but I will warn you that the rare steak felt better to me than the well done one", Michael told her. Then he returned back to the topic, "Now, we are stronger than both the vampires and lycans. I was able to fight Viktor, and he was an elder. Granted he was kicking my ass, but for my first official fight as a new breed, I don't think I did too bad."
"So then, you killed Viktor?" Alex asked, knowing now she had been right about him being the victim she had found in the water.
"No, that was my honor", Selene stated somberly.
"Whoa, that can't be a good thing", Alex noted.
"It's not. I know there will be a price on my head, if there's not one already", Selene said agreeing with her.
Realizing this was a touchy subject; Alex began asking more questions, in order to allow Selene time to ponder the situation. "So, what else do we know?
Michael had reached out and placed a hand on Selene's shoulder, offering her consolation. Selene shrugged him off and picked up the brush, then she began working on Alex's hair some more.
"Both species heal at an accelerated rate, when compared to humans. But, judging from my own injuries, Lucian's wounds and now first hand experience with your lacerations, I can verify that we heal even faster than the vampires and lycans. We know that as a lycan, if you were to shift into wolf form, you can heal more easily and faster, right?" Alex shook her head yes. "And the vampires can heal faster if they take blood and/or during the day sleep, correct?" he asked looking to Selene for confirmation. She nodded yes to his question. "Well, what we don't know is how we may be able to speed up the healing process for our species", he told Alex, looking closely at her.
"Oh no, doc", she told him shaking her head emphatically. "We aren't even going there. I'm not anyone's guinea pig", she told him firmly.
"Hold still", Selene said reprimanding her for moving while she was trying to straighten out the mess her hair was in. "And even though he hasn't said anything, I know what Michael is thinking, and yes, this is a perfect opportunity to learn more of what your kind is capable of doing. How can you pass up this chance?' Selene admonished.
"Look, I have already told Lucian that I have no intentions of ever changing. I didn't ask to be turned, and I sure as hell don't want to become one of them. I spent the last few years trying to keep the human population safe from these monstrosities. You can't just expect me to be all gung ho about the situation", she replied angrily.
"You took the news well enough, I thought maybe you had gotten over that little phobia", Selene told her.
"Do I look like a monster", Michael asked her quietly. "And what about Lucian and Selene, are they evil beings?"
Alex stopped short, knowing that Michael had her there. After pausing for a moment, she answered. "No, but you are talking about maybe handful of them are decent otherworldly beings. I have traveled all over the world and seen first hand the destruction and havoc these creatures wreak."
"How are those situations any different than the ones humans themselves create?" Selene asked, anger present in her voice. "Wars, disease, drugs, famine, all of these are manmade atrocities, perpetrated by the human race against their fellow man. What makes humans any better than the rest of us?" Selene said questioning her logic.
Alex hesitated before she spoke. Selene was right. Humans were no different than the lycans, or vampires. There was good and bad in each race. But her fight against the other species had clouded her judgment. She took a deep breath, ignored the pulling sensation in her back and said, "You're right. I have no business judging any race based solely upon the bad things I have witnessed."
He and Selene had both had their illusions shattered, many times, over the last several days. Michael knew this was hard for Alex to accept. But it was necessary, especially if she were to help them in the fight against the vampires.
"What are your plans?" he asked her.
"Originally, when Lucian first bit me, I had every intention of killing as many lycans as I could before I took my own life. Then I realized I was in a position to find out things about the lycans, that we never knew. Which in turn, meant I would have a bargaining chip with the Council. I was hoping I could convince them that I was able to control myself and that I could still be an asset to them", she said, remorse tingeing her voice. "Now, I'm not sure what I want", she admitted honestly.
"Lucian said there were two reasons why the Council had sent a team here", Selene began, "One, being Michael. What was the second?"
Alex looked them both over a while, before she answered. "The Council had been developing a new weapon for us to use against the vampires"
"The ultraviolet ammunition", Selene commented.
"Yes, and as far as we knew, there was no other organization in the world that had the technology or funding to make this long sought after weapon a reality. Until the Council decided it was a worthwhile effort", Alex told them. "We had been using this new weapon for approximately 2 months, when we received a report from our Budapest office that the lycans had been seen using this same ammunition in the gunfight between them and the vampires in the subway. Needless to say, it sent red flags up throughout the Council. I was called in and asked to put together a team. Our primary mission was to locate Michael Corvin and to find out why the lycans wanted him so badly. But our secondary mission was to find out if the lycans were using our weapon and if so, how they had come to have it. We do not sell our technology. What we develop is strictly for our use in what we considered our war against the supernatural. So, the Council was concerned that there may be a traitor in their midst's. Someone greedy enough to be selling out our weapons; therefore, putting our agents in the field, at risk. It was my job to find this information out."
"Which is what you went to talk to Raze about?" Michael theorized.
"Yeah, but let's just say he wasn't real receptive to the idea", Alex said attempting to joke about what had happened.
Michael saw that the Council agent used sarcasm and a quick wit to try and hide her real emotions. He figured it was necessary in her line of work. "So now what?" he asked to no one in particular.
Selene had finally managed to tame Alex's hair out of the tangled mess she had had it in. She put the brush down and looked at Alex. "That would be up to you", she told the wounded woman.
Alex thought about everything she had learned from this conversation and about everything that had occurred since she had made that fateful trip to Budapest. Then coming to the only decision that made any sense she reluctantly replied, "Go find me some damn blood. I guess I'll have to at least attempt a change and see if I can fix this mess."
Michael was pleased. This would not only allow him the opportunity to experience what he considered a miracle in healing, but would also hopefully help Alex as well. "You're making the right choice", he told her.
"Yeah, yeah…we'll have to wait and see about that", she retorted.
"Well, since my presence seems to provoke the least amount of animosity around here; I guess I'll be the one to try and hunt down some blood" he told both women, walking towards the door.
"Well, you better make damn sure that stuff is at least room temperature. There ain't no way I'm drinking it cold", Alex warned him.
"I'll see what I can come up with", he said with a grin, closing the door behind him.