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.
Author's Note: Okay, here ya go. I started writing this chapter last week, but it just wasn't working so I tossed it out and started over…and I'm so glad I did. Though this was meant to be an Angsty Lucian chapter, it turned into something so much more than that. Plus, it's really long, so hopefully this will tide you all over until I can get the next one up!
Chapter Sixteen - Not Again
They found him just after midnight. His skin, darker than the evening sky, glistened with sweat and blood. Raze had somehow managed to drag himself halfway back to the caves before collapsing, his seemingly endless supply of strength drained from the effort it had taken to expel the silver bullets from his massive body. Relief flowed through him as he recognized Lucian kneeling beside him on the frozen ground.
"I'm sorry…I tried…" Raze clenched his jaws to keep his teeth from rattling in their moorings.
"Hush, old friend. Don't try to speak just yet."
When Raze and Olivia hadn't returned from the city, Lucian had quickly formed a search party and insisted on leading them himself. He'd refused to stay in the relative safety of the lair while other's searched for those dearest to his heart. When his eyes had lit on the battered form of Raze, half hidden beneath the overhanging branches of an evergreen, Lucian had immediately feared the worst.
Falling to his knees beside the giant Lycan, dread had gripped his chest like an iron band until he'd spotted the tell-tale rise of Raze's chest. Then he'd realized that Olivia was nowhere to be found. That was one possibility he'd not allowed himself to dwell on during the search, but the truth of it hit him then, washing over him with blunt force. Joy and sorrow raged a war within him. Raze was alive and for that, Lucian was immensely grateful, but Olivia was gone…and his soul shied away from the knowledge.
"Lucian, I must tell…" Raze coughed, blood spraying from between his dry, cracked lips, painting the moonlit ground in bright shades of crimson.
"You must rest now. Allow yourself time to heal." Lucian all but demanded that the other man keep his words to himself.
Michael crouched opposite Lucian, ignoring the warning that flashed in the other's eyes. If Lucian would not ask, he would. Olivia was his cousin, his blood, and he needed to know even if Lucian didn't want to. "Where is she, Raze?"
"They took her…" Raze gasped against a wave of pain, struggling to get the words out. Lucian needed to know that it wasn't too late, that Olivia wasn't dead. He clutched his leader's hand, feeling the bone's grind together as he summoned all the strength he could to force the words out. "She is alive, Lucian."
The shock of Raze's statement caused a sudden cessation of movement from the pack of Lycan's. For one insane moment, Lucian thought he'd imagined the words. That his overwrought heart had heard what it wanted to hear, rather than the truth. Then everyone began to speak at once, throwing a myriad of questions at Raze until Lucian could bear it no more.
"Enough!" Lucian demanded, the quiet tone of his voice brooked no argument and silence fell quickly. "Raze. Explain as best you can."
It took an agonizingly long time for Raze to complete his story and Lucian's tension mounted with every passing minute. His body screamed at him to run, to find Olivia before it was too late, but his mind overrode his basic instinct. Lucian knew it would do no good to rush headlong into the situation without first garnering every bit of knowledge he could. So he forced himself to wait and to listen, until Raze had finished speaking.
Raze closed his eyes, Olivia's screams ringing in his ears. Guilt washed over him as he remembered seeing her thrown into the car against her will, arms tied behind her back with coarse rope. He could almost feel the bite of that rope as it rubbed against her slender wrists. She was so small and yet…
"She fought them, Lucian. She fought them as a Lycan would fight." Raze said, pride in Olivia making his voice stronger than it had been for the whole of his tale.
Lucian stood then and called to his men, issuing orders for Raze to be taken back to the lair and cared for. Jonas and a few others would accompany him in his quest to rescue Olivia from those that had dared to take what was his.
"Michael and I will go with you as well, Lucian." Selene spoke for the first time that night. She pulled out her weapons, making sure a round was chambered in each, though the gesture was more habit than anything. Her guns were always primed and loaded.
"The sun will be up in a few hours…" Lucian began, but she made an impatient gesture with her hand, cutting him off.
"That's no matter. We'll find her long before sunrise."
"Very well." Lucian nodded his thanks before turning back to Raze, who was being lifted by four strong Lycans. "Thank you, old friend."
"I only wish…that your thanks were not necessary, Lucian. I should have done more…"
"No." Lucian shook his head, "You did more than I could have hoped for."
"We will bring her back." Michael said, his hands curled into fists, eyes narrowed dangerously as he looked towards the town. "And whoever took her will pay for every scratch she's suffered, every bruise she's received."
The thought of the small, fiery tempered woman, Lucian's mate, being in the hands of the Vampyres boiled the blood of the those that followed Lucian down the mountain. His pace was quick. Lucian ran as though pursued by demons, his anger mounting with every step as past memories rose to the surface of his mind. Memories of another time, another place…another woman stolen from his grasp. He would not allow it to happen again. He could not allow it. If he had to kill every last Vampyre on the face of the earth, he would bring Olivia home to stand by his side, where she belonged.
They entered the dreaming town with quiet steps, shadows moving silently through the frost gilded landscape. Houses slept, their thin walls giving the inhabitants the illusion of safety, though in reality it was scant protection from those that stalked through the narrow, tidy streets that night. The scent of Vampyres was strong and Lucian followed it, his soul seething with barely controlled rage; a rage that almost boiled over when they neared the shadowed parking garage. Olivia's fear was strong here, the scent of it almost overwhelming and Michael reached out to Lucian with a placating hand.
"It's being watched." Michael pointed with his chin towards the police cruiser parked near the entrance to the garage.
"You think I care about those mortals?"
"No, but it would be better to do this without calling attention to ourselves. You go barging in there, you're going to bring the whole of this town's police department down on our heads." Michael's golden hair gleamed as a ray of moonlight struck it. "It'll just make picking up Olivia's scent that much harder."
Lucian took a calming breath. The boy was right, though it irked him to admit it. He was letting his anger cloud his judgment.
"Jonas, take your men and set up a perimeter. Watch for any Vampyres." Lucian's voice was brisk, to the point. "If you find any…kill them." He wouldn't need to question them. Olivia's scent would be easy to follow, her fear and anger creating a muskiness that Lucian would always recognize as hers.
Jonas gave a brief nod of assent, maneuvering his men with methodical skill while Lucian gestured for Michael and Selene to follow him. They stuck to the shadows, moving swiftly around to the opposite side of the building from the humans. With a fluid grace, the three of them scaled the outer barrier, climbing to the fourth floor of the garage where Raze had told them the attack took place.
Wind rushed past them, singing an eerie tune in the now vacant garage and sending the yellow police tape whipping in the night air. The coppery reek of blood filled Lucian's nostrils and he strove to identify its owners: Raze, an assortment of Vampyres…and Olivia.
"She was injured here." Selene remarked quietly, scanning the area with her weapons drawn.
"But not grievously." Lucian answered, crouching to run his finger lightly along the pavement. The one remaining light sent an amber glow sparking off the remnants of shattered, bloodied glass. "Her blood doesn't stain the ground as Raze's does."
Michael picked up a twisted ball of silver, rolling it through his fingers. "At least they didn't use silver nitrate."
Selene saw the shudder that ran through both men as memories of the deadly substance assaulted them. "Well, there's no one left to manufacture it now. We've all had to go back to using the old ways."
A half-smile played across Lucian's aristocratic features as he remarked wryly, "You say old ways, Selene, but I still remember the days when wars were fought using swords. Ancient weapons passed down with pride from father to son...or daughter."
Lucian rose, surprised to realize that his boiling rage had cooled into a calculating hardness while he'd been making idle talk with them. "I thought we would pick up Kraven's scent here."
"You're not the only one." Selene murmured, brow creasing in confusion.
"Wherever he is, I expect that's where Olivia is." Michael added, moving towards the wall. "And the longer we stand around here, the farther away they both get."
Within moments, the three of them met back up with the others and as they followed the trail that Olivia's emotions had left for them, their pace quickened until they were no more than passing blurs. Indeed, if anyone had happened to glance out their window as the preternatural group passed, they would have seen nothing more than a fleeting night shadow.
The airport loomed up suddenly from the valley floor, cradled within the hills like a child held closely to its mother's breast. Lucian had been expecting to come upon one of the timbered dwellings that humans seemed so fond of erecting and then abandoning in these silent mountains. The sight of the tarmac runway ending at a small hangar and the one, lone watchtower drew him up short. He stared in utter disbelief, the excitement of his expected reunion with Olivia drowning in a tidal wave of blood chilling dread. The shock was akin to being doused with a bucket of cold water during the height of love-play, not a pleasant feeling at all.
"What is this?" Jonas whispered. "How could they have this place here, not twenty miles from our own lair, and we never knew about it?"
"There are no Vampyre's here, Lucian." Selene said, fighting the impulse to draw her weapons when his glowing eyes fell on her.
"But there are humans." He answered, a low growl behind the words. Lucian took a purposeful step towards the tower. "Humans that better hope they can answer my questions."
"Wait. You can't…" Michael began, that small part of his own humanity still left to him cried out against the violence radiating from the Lycan leader. His words died off, however, at Lucian's look and Michael knew if he interfered now, Lucian would tear him limb from limb with no hesitation.
Once again, Jonas took his men to set up a perimeter. Only this time, Lucian wanted hostages brought to him alive. He would question every mortal here until he had the answers he sought. The rage pounded through him as he advanced on the tower.
"Selene, Michael." The words were clipped as he gestured towards the front entrance. "Bring any you find to the top floor."
Within the blink of an eye, Lucian was scaling the outer wall, confident that his orders would be followed, even by those that weren't Lycan. Michael looked at Selene. She was standing next to him with her guns drawn, excitement rolling from her in waves. This was what she lived for, the hunt, and whatever protests Michael had been about to make died on his lips when she tilted her head and gave him a cocky grin.
"You want to lead?" She asked. At his negative motion, she moved forward and he obediently followed, but seconds before she burst through the entrance, he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"No, wait!" He struggled for a moment, trying to find the right words. "What does he expect to find out from them? Humans won't have the answers he needs. They don't even know about any of us, about the Underworld…the war."
Selene's guns dropped a centimeter as she studied him. "Sometimes I forget that you're new to all this, Michael."
She glanced up towards Lucian, now crouched on the roof of the tower. A stray breeze caught a lock of his hair and it twirled a moment, before coming to rest on his tensely held shoulder. "He's a good leader, you know. Hell, even I'm following his orders. I mean, really? Me? Following a Lycan?" A self deprecating laugh whispered from her, but Michael didn't react. He only stared at her, needing to know what she knew. Needing to know that what they were about to do wasn't just senseless, mindless vengeance. Because he feared that none of the humans they encountered tonight were going to live out the hour.
A sigh escaped her, "Michael, as long as there have been Vampyres and Lycans, there have also been humans willing to do whatever was asked of them by us."
"Why? What could they possibly hope to gain…" The answer came a split second after the words left his throat. "You don't turn them, do you? I mean, you told me that the viruses you transmit are deadly."
"Not to all humans, just most of them. We can sense the ones that will survive." Selene explained, "Still, more often than not, the humans are only led to believe they'll be granted everlasting life."
"So these humans here, they work for the Vampyres, for Kraven?"
Selene nodded, "And that means we have a good chance of finding out where Olivia's been taken."
"They're all going to die."
"Yes, but it was they're own choice. They wanted to be part of this world, they sought us out. We never go looking for them, Michael, and they understand the risks."
"I won't kill them. I can't, not even for Olivia. I'll help take them to Lucian, but I won't…"
"I know you won't." Selene pressed her lips to his, lightly tracing his tense jaw line with the barrel of her gun and she saw the desire flare in his eyes, his hands grasping her hips to pull her in closer.
The sudden crash of shattering glass drew them abruptly apart and Selene didn't hesitate. In one fluid motion, she turned and kicked open the door, throwing herself inside the entranceway, guns held rigidly in front of her body. Michael followed and without conscious thought, found himself holding a startled mortal body. The man's feet were dangling above the floor, Michael's hand grasping his throat. Selene had another one held at gunpoint, a woman whose tears shimmered in the harsh florescent lighting.
"It's you! The Hybrid…" The woman fainted dead away and Selene rolled her eyes.
"Do you see why we don't change them?" She remarked in disgust, throwing the inert form over her shoulder. "Honestly, can you imagine? A Vampyre that faints at the first sign of danger?"
The corner of Michael's mouth twitched in reply as he set his own captive back down. "Follow her…and if you try anything…"
The man shook his head, face a pasty dough color. "No, don't worry, I'll cooperate…whatever you want…just don't kill me…"
"Lycans!"
The high pitched screaming and ferocious growls from up top drove Michael to disregard the order he'd given the man and copying Selene, he tossed the man over his shoulder. They charged up the stairs faster than any human could ever hope to duplicate, Michael's heart pounding double time in his chest. He hadn't known what to expect when they reached Lucian, but it definitely wasn't the sight that greeted his eyes.
There were three of them, two men and a woman, huddled together beneath a table. The look on Lucian's face was almost comical. His head tilted to the side as he peered quizzically at the humans.
"Well, I admit I expected you to show fear." Lucian remarked, "I just didn't think you would cower from me in quite this way."
"We brought you two more, Lucian." Selene said, letting her captive slide to the floor. The woman still had yet to regain consciousness and Michael took a moment to check her pulse, his medical school training kicking in on its own.
"It's the traitor…"
"And her lover…"
"Abomination…"
The whispered comments reached Michael's ears easily, yet he chose to ignore them, reaching out to grasp Selene's wrist when she moved towards the humans. Lucian had been about to defend them himself when he caught Michael's movement. He was surprised, yet didn't allow the emotion to reflect in his face as he inquired after the prone woman who was starting to issue mewling sounds as she came back around.
"She'll live." Michael said tersely.
"For now." Was the quiet reply.
The men locked eyes, but whatever would have happened then was interrupted by Jonas. He filled the doorway, flinging a gangling youth into the room.
"We found him in the hangar."
Lucian faced the newest captive, who had just managed to keep himself from falling. He was no more than sixteen, all arms and legs, but he faced them defiantly despite his youth. Blood dripped from his smashed nose onto the tiled floor and one eye was beginning to swell shut, yet he held himself rigidly erect.
Though his body had yet to finish growing into itself, his voice was that of a man. "You don't belong here, Lycan!"
"You brought me a brave one, Jonas."
"Brainless is more like it. He fought us." Jonas scoffed, "As though a human could defeat an immortal."
"Your name?" Lucian demanded as he studied the young man.
"Gabriel."
"Tell me, Gabriel…" Lucian took a step towards him. "Why are you not cowering from me like your friends."
Gabriel glanced at his counterparts with disgust and spat a mouthful of blood and saliva in their direction. "They're not my friends and I've never understood why they were allowed to be here. They're unworthy of the Master's gift"
Selene smirked, "And you think you are?"
"Yes." It was one word, but spoken in a tone of voice that dared any to deny it.
"Will you answer my questions?" Lucian asked quietly.
"No."
"Very well." Lucian moved so fast that not even Michael, with his Hybrid powers, could have stopped him.
The table under which the three humans were still hiding flew through the broken window. Lucian had his fangs imbedded in the woman's throat, her gurgling screams unnaturally loud in the sudden silence, her fists pushing uselessly against Lucian's chest. Michael's shoulder throbbed in remembrance. It wasn't so long ago that he'd been held in that vise-like grip, feeling the sharpened teeth tearing into his own flesh. He rose, but knew it was too late to help as Lucian threw the woman from him. Her body slammed into the wall with a sickening thud and had barely come to rest before he snatched up one of the men. The other man crawled quickly to the woman's side, in hopes of helping her, but it was too late.
"If you won't tell me, Gabriel, I'm sure someone else will." Lucian's tongue ran across his lower lip and he tasted the woman's blood; fresh and warm. He maddened gaze fell on his next victim. "You'll talk, won't you?"
The man resisted. "I won't tell you…I can't…" Michael could sense his reluctance to talk, but even so, the man's pale eyes kept straying towards the woman's body, towards the gaping hole in her throat.
"Where…is…Olivia?" Lucian asked, stressing each word carefully. "Tell me now or join your lady friend."
"No…please." The captive started crying then. Great heaving sobs that sent his belly shaking like a bowl of jell-o and the sharp stench of urine filled the room.
"Oh, for Christ's sake!" Gabriel muttered disgustedly. "Just put him out of his misery."
Lucian set the man back on his feet and stepped quickly away. "Yes, well. I think we'll save you for last then."
"You." Lucian pointed towards the pasty faced man Michael had brought upstairs. The man's knees were shaking so badly he could barely stand, let alone walk.
"No." The word was out before Michael could stop to think about it.
He had expected a violent outburst from Lucian, but it didn't come. Instead, the Lycan turned slowly towards him, his eyes twin holes of icy-hot flame that threatened to burn him to ashes if Michael stared too long. The tension in the room was an almost physical presence, pushing down on the occupants.
"Michael…" Selene's indrawn breath was ragged.
He ignored her, his brave lover, and though her sudden fear for him was like a spike being driven through his heart, he didn't back down when Lucian stood before him. There was only one way to resolve the situation and Michael wouldn't let himself stop now, though his soul shrank from what he was about to suggest.
"If my methods offend you, Michael, then perhaps you should leave."
"You're methods aren't working, Lucian." Michael replied quietly.
"What do you propose I do then? Just leave? Forget about Olivia and find a new mate?" The growl was low, intense. "I won't leave this place until I know where they've taken her. I don't care how long it takes or how many of them have to bleed, I will get what I came for."
"Look at them." Michael gestured. "They're all so scared of you, they can't even think coherently! How do you expect to get any information from them? Humans aren't like us, Lucian. You can't treat them they way you would a Vampyre or even a disobedient Lycan. Besides, do you really think the Vampyres were trust any human with their secrets?"
"They know where she is, damn you!" Lucian roared, "They have to know!" But even as he said the words, he knew what Michael said was true. The woman's memories held no vital information, nothing he could use and he feared that it would be the same with the others as well.
"If any of them know's anything, it's him." Michael pointed to Gabriel, whose face was an immobile mask even though fear was leaking from every pore in the boy's skin. "He's too proud, too sure of himself. He knows something."
"Very well. I'll work on him then."
Lucian started to turn, but Michael stopped him. "No. He's not frightened of you. To him, you're just a Lycan. Nor would he be frightened of Selene."
"Then what…" Lucian's eyes gleamed with sudden knowledge. "Of course. I never knew you were so cunning, Michael."
"I think it's something I inherited from my…Sire." The last word was spoken reluctantly, tainted with anger and remorse.
"Michael, you can't…" Selene stopped, her eyes flicked to Lucian for a brief moment as she caught herself.
"You have the tranq with you, right?" At her nod, he continued, "Then you know what to do if things…go wrong."
"Wait." Lucian turned a concerned face to Michael. He didn't like what their words, spoken and otherwise, had implied.
Michael paused a moment before answering the question in Lucian's eyes. He felt that curious tug of war that occurred inside himself whenever he thought of just who Lucian was to him. A part of him hated Lucian, for making him what he now was, for taking his life from him, but there was still another part of him that wanted to please Lucian, his creator.
"I can't always control myself…when I change. One of the many drawbacks to being the first of a new species, I suppose." Michael turned away before any more could be said. Before he could stop and think about what he was going to do.
Gabriel fairly reeked of fear as Michael stalked towards him, but the kid kept his cool. His expression was unreadable and he stood his ground when Michael came to a stop just in front of him. The silence in the room was deafening.
"I won't tell you anything." Gabriel's chin went up a notch. "So, c'mon and do your worst, you filthy Lycan!"
"You think I'm a Lycan?" A startled laugh flew from Michael before he could stop it. He peered into Gabriel's defiant eyes and decided to use this new information to his advantage. "Take a closer look, child. I'm much more than that."
Gabriel's reaction to the change in Michael's eyes was swift. He drew in a harsh breath and moved back, his feet catching on an over-turned chair. Gabriel scrambled to catch himself, but Michael didn't give him the chance. Instead, he grabbed the front of Gabriel's shirt, lifting him clear of the obstruction, holding the boy in mid-air as he fought to keep control over the beast within himself.
His senses sharpened, the taint of spilled blood driving his Hybrid-self to the surface. The pain of his transformation was almost overwhelming, it came on him so quickly. He'd never changed that fast before. Gabriel's hands were tearing frantically at Michael's hand now, his puny feet kicking out and Michael finally understood what Selene had said earlier. They really could sense which human would survive a bite. It was there, just beneath the surface…the scent of it almost diluted in the midst of Gabriel's panic, but it was still there.
"Do you know who I am? Do you know what I am?" Michael growled, "Do you want to become like me?"
"No…yes…I mean…" Gabriel's voice broke. "I know who you are! You're an atrocity! A blemish on the bloodlines!"
"Where's the girl?" The words were mere whispers in the cool breeze blowing through the shattered window, but Gabriel heard them.
"I'll not tell you." He answered, reigning his panic in. "I can't tell you!"
"If you don't tell me now, I will change you Gabriel." Michael threatened. "You'll spend eternity like I am. Tell me now! Where did Kraven take my cousin?"
Gabriel's stunned laughter was like a slap in the face. "Kraven? That whining, sniveling worm? Do you really think I would sell my soul to the likes of him?"
Michael dropped the boy and stepped back. The Hybrid was raging inside him and he could feel his control slipping away inch by inch. "If Kraven doesn't have her, then who does?"
"Answer me when I speak to you!" Michael kicked out, sending the human sliding across the floor. Gabriel's head smashed into a metal file cabinet, the dull clang ringing hollowly amidst the frantic sobbing of the other captives.
"My Lord has her!" Gabriel groaned, holding his bleeding skull between his hands. "Markus!"
Behind him, Michael heard the quick denial that came from Lucian's lips, but he didn't acknowledge it. Instead, he yanked Gabriel roughly to his feet and slammed him against the wall. "You lie, human!"
"No, I swear it! Markus wants her for himself." Gabriel had long since given up his tough-guy act. His teenaged body was trembling beneath Michael's claws, but the fear only added to the Hybrid's desire for flesh.
"You wanted to be immortal, you young fool. I'll show you what Hell you've consigned yourself to." Michael lowered his bared fangs to the fragile neck, intent on taking what the Hybrid wanted, as he could no longer control the urge.
Selene didn't think; she reacted. The tranquilizer dart caught Michael in the neck and dropped him instantly. Gabriel stood frozen in wide eyed terror as Selene hurried over to Michael's side, examining his once-again-human body.
"How long will he be out?" Lucian asked quietly.
"About thirty minutes."
"The sun will be up shortly. We need to get you back to the caves." Lucian called for Jonas. "My men will carry Michael for you."
"And what about you?" Selene asked. She finally looked up at him and wished she hadn't as the pain she saw reflected there damn near tore her heart from her chest.
"I'll be along shortly." Lucian answered, watching as Jonas lifted Michael's inert form over his own shoulders. "I have some planning to do."
"What about Kahn?" Selene remarked suddenly, "Maybe he can keep Olivia safe until we get there…"
Lucian's hand passed tiredly over his eyes. "Dammit. I had meant to speak with you earlier…"
A chill raced over Selene's skin. "About what?"
"Kahn. He's missing." He held up a hand to forestall the rush of questions he knew she was about to throw at him. "Drake only just passed the information on to me this afternoon. They've been out of contact with Kahn for almost two months now."
"What!" She exclaimed, "And you're only just now hearing of it?"
"They thought he was only keeping a low profile at first, since you and Michael were finally safe. It was only recently that they were worried enough to investigate. He hasn't been anywhere near Ordoghaz for weeks. The Vampyre's that are still there believe he snuck off to join Kraven."
"As most of them have already done, I imagine."
"Quite right." Lucian sighed, "I have them searching for him, Selene, but Kahn isn't my top priority now."
Selene was quiet for a few moments before answering. "I understand. But once we get there, which I assume will be as quickly as possible, you need to understand that I won't leave again until I know what's become of him."
"Help me find Olivia first, Selene. Please."
She closed her eyes and nodded her assent before turning to follow the others from the room. Lucian stood watching in the open window as Jonas led them back towards the caves. They hadn't wanted to leave him behind, he knew that, but no one had tried to stop him. Lucian glanced around the demolished watchtower, his eyes coming to rest on the humans. They had gathered together, like weaker species do, forming a pitiful circle around the lone female. Only Gabriel stood apart from them, shaking with shock from his close encounter with the Hybrid.
"I don't understand." Gabriel turned his glazed eyes toward Lucian. "Why did you…" He faltered, unable to give voice to his thoughts.
"Why what? Why did we stop him?" Lucian shook his head. "Pitiful human. Do you truly believe we need your kind in order to survive? Vampyres and Lycans will be here long after your bones have turned to dust."
"And him? The Hybrid?" Gabriel's color was returning, along with his false bravado. "Do you really think that half-breed will be allowed to live? My Master…"
There was no warning. One moment, Lucian was standing on the opposite side of the room from the boy. In the next, his fangs were bared and Gabriel's tender skin parted easily beneath them. When he finished, the calculating gleam had returned to his eyes. "I am your Master now, Gabriel, so be wary of how you speak of Michael."
"Why do you care so much for him!" Gabriel shrieked, clutching at the punctures marking the hollow space between his throat and shoulder. "Why does his life matter so much to you? He should be destroyed, as should you."
"You want to know why, Gabriel? I'll tell you why." Lucian's voice was low as he climbed onto the windowsill. "Michael is my son, as are you now, and I protect what is mine."
Lucian jumped, his feet landing softly on the rocky ground. He could still hear Gabriel's cries, now intermingled with the curses of the humans who were withdrawing from the boy in horror. Lucian allowed himself a moment of self incrimination. Flinching with the knowledge that Michael would never understand why he'd marked the boy. Perhaps he shouldn't have done it, but even he had his limits and Gabriel had pushed him beyond his with his overwhelming arrogance.
Lucian walked towards the woods, images of Olivia flashing through his mind: the way her eyes sparkled with impish delight as she laughed at him, the way her hair was always a tousled mess in the early morning hours, the way the firelight had glinted on her naked skin during their first joining. Pain squeezed his chest, hampered his breathing, as he imaged Markus touching his lover, defiling her small, defenseless body with his own. Lucian couldn't lose her. He wouldn't allow her to be ripped from him. He wouldn't survive it. The thought drove him to his knees, the scent of pine needles wafting up around him.
"Please God, if you truly exist…don't let this happen." He prayed quietly to himself. "Please…not again."
As the tears coursed down his face, his head fell back, eyes on the horizon where dawn was just beginning to make herself known. The mournful howl that escaped him reverberated through the hills, causing creatures great and small to pause in what they were doing as though they, too, felt his pain.
