Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Underworld or it's characters, so don't sue. The other characters and subsequent storylines are mine, so don't infringe. Many Thanks.
Chapter 7 - Hunted Turns Hunter
They were moving again. Selene was tired of always running away, looking over her shoulder to see who was creeping up behind her. The moon was almost full again, gazing down on them like an all knowing eye. Michael was learning to control the lycan part of himself better with each passing day, but her nerves were still raw as Hell when it came time to face the full moon. That one night...with a shiver, she pushed it from her mind. She didn't want to think of it, of what might have happened.
"Have you noticed it?" Michael's voice drifted to her through the fog.
"The vampyre's, you mean?" Over the past three weeks, the number of vampyre's following them had decreased. She didn't understand why, but it was a welcome relief. Especially since the lycan's were still hot on their trail.
"Yeah. What do you think it means?"
She felt him move up behind her and had to suppress the instinct to turn and fight. She'd spent too many years having to watch her back. "I don't know, but there's no sense worrying over it, is there? Maybe they've lost our track."
"Maybe. But the other's haven't. I can smell them." She heard him sniff the air. "They're not far behind. Two, maybe three of them."
"Should we question them, do you think?" Selene wasn't worried about being outnumbered. They were talking about mere lycan's after all and she'd spent three centuries hunting and killing that particular species. Old habits die hard.
Michael stopped and looked around the glade. "I think we should. Who knows when we'll have better odds. No vamps around and there's only a few of the lycan's. We can handle them."
"And maybe one of them will have the information we need, right?"
"Among other things." Michael's answer was nonchalant. Too much so.
"Getting a bit bored, are you?"
"Just a bit." He grinned at her. Causing barely a ripple in the mist, he disappeared.
"Show off..." Selene muttered. When she heard his chuckle waver towards her, she grinned despite herself as she stepped back under the overhanging branches of a willow.
She saw them then, though they hadn't yet spotted her. There were three of them and she knew they had scented her. They were wary, taking their time, searching for the ambush. Luckily, they were still in their human form. It wouldn't have done Michael and her any good if they'd been changed. There was no reasoning with a lycan in that state. She raised her beretta's and let out a slow breath.
"Don't take another step." Selene spoke quietly, her eyes half closed as adrenaline flooded her system. God, how she missed the hunt!
She caught sight of Michael then. He had changed and his darkened skin was glowing in the moonlight, eyes like twin pools of oil. He grabbed one of the lycan's by the throat, holding him above the ground as though he weighed no more than a child. The lycan's legs flailed out and he tried to change. Sensing this, Michael quickly dropped him and backed off with a feral growl. Selene stepped forward, guns at the ready.
"We won't hurt you." She said, keeping an eye on the abused lycan laying at Michael's feet. If he so much as twitched, she was going to pump him full of silver. "We just want information."
"Why are you following us?" Michael asked, hands curled into fists.
One of the others, a tall, dark haired man, looked at Michael as though he were daft. "Seen any mirror's lately?"
Selene rolled her eyes, "Give over. He's a hybrid, a high commodity...we know that. What we want to know is, are you friend or foe?"
"You're not dead, are you?"
"Your name." Michael took a step towards him.
Dark curls glistened in the moonlight as the man bowed, a sarcastic glint in his eye. "Drake, at your service. My companions, Emma and Caz." The latter still sat on the ground, rubbing his throat.
"Tell us..." Selene's gaze flicked between the three. "Where's Lucian these days?"
A guarded look stole into Drake's eyes, "Dead."
"No, he's not." Michael stated flatly, taking another step closer. "Where is he?"
Emma spoke up then, her voice tinkling through the night air. "What makes you think he survived Kraven's cowardice? As far as the Underworld is concerned, Lucian died in the sewers...along with Viktor." She gave Selene a pointed look.
"Right, but we know better and we need to contact him." Michael didn't like the look on Selene's face. They needed answers and answers were hard to get from dead bodies.
"Oh, just tell them for Christ's sake!" Caz grumbled, making no move to get to his feet.
Drake looked the two of them over, lip curling in disgust at Selene. "I don't deal with vampyre's."
"And I kill your kind." Selene hissed, eyes luminescent.
"Forgive him. He's male. It's the testosterone, you know." Emma said, stepping between them, seemingly not offended by Selene's comment. "We were sent to guard you. To make sure you survived the aftermath."
"And it hasn't been easy. Those damn Death Dealer's have been all over you like shit on a pig." Caz interrupted.
"Have being the operative word. Where are they now?" Michael asked.
Drake snorted, glancing slyly at Selene. "You still have friends within the coven, it seems. They've been sent on a wild goose chase for the time being."
"Yes, they're busy chasing phantoms now." Emma grinned. "Gives us time to get you out of the country."
Michael and Selene exchanged a glance. This was going much smoother than either of them had anticipated. Was it a trap? Or a genuine offer of help?
"Don't look so worried. Much as I detest your kind, I'd never go against his wishes." Drake laughed harshly. "He'd have me drawn and quartered."
"That's twice now you've mentioned your mysterious benefactor." Selene said, "I don't suppose you're speaking of Lucian?"
The three lycan's glanced at each other, words unspoken, but they all seemed to reach the same conclusion. Drake bowed to Michael again, formally this time.
"Lucian very much wants to see you again. If you agree, we were told to bring you to him."
And so the next stage of their journey began.
