A small twitch in her finger made her aware she was waking up. She couldn't open her eyes yet or move her muscles, but her awareness was spreading. Her thoughts were still groggy. She just lay there, and it felt like darkness was surrounding her.

Slowly some feeling came back to her body and she felt a pressure on her chest. She tried to take in a deeper breath, but pain followed. A soft whimper escaped her mouth and she heard movement to her right in reaction. When she focused on the sounds, she heard breathing and a heartbeat to her right as well.

'Mom?'

It was only a whisper. The grogginess in her head cleared a bit and she knew she heard her daughter. Selene tried to open her eyes. Her eyelids were very heavy, and it took her a lot of effort to finally open them.

'Mom!' Eve exclaimed. Selene could hear the joy in her voice, although she had no idea why.

Her eyes needed some time to adjust to the light. She slowly blinked a few times before the world was clear again. The first thing she saw were her daughters' eyes. They sparkled with joy. Are those tears?

Selene tried to move her hand to touch her daughters' cheek, but it wouldn't move very far. Her muscles were sore and stiff. Even the slightest movement caused pain to shoot up her arm or in her side.

Selene focused past her daughter's face and she recognized her own chambers at the coven. Her memory was fuzzy, not knowing how she got to the coven. She slowly moved her head towards the sound of heartbeats and noticed Michael and Varga. They looked very tense.

Selene smiled half a smile, apparently the only muscles in her body that didn't hurt. But neither Michael nor Varga relaxed one bit. She tried to speak, but her voice came out all raspy. Coughing slightly made the pain irradiate through her whole body.

'What… Happ…ened?' Selene managed to get out.

Michael looked like he was in shock and Varga turned into a statue. Nobody spoke for a few minutes until Eve made a move. Eve put her hand around Selene's and squeezed lightly. That simple gesture somehow woke Michael and Varga.

'Are you ok?' Varga responded first.

'Do you remember anything from last night?' Michael asked.

Selene put her mind to work to lift the grogginess. Flashes of the fight started to come back. The random order made the memories chaotic. She closed her eyes to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

'That guy.' Her voice was soft but holding quite steady. 'Knife. Poison.'

Selene opened her eyes and moved her free hand to her side. She ignored the pain of the movement and placed her hand on her hip. She regretted the move immediately as pain shot through her side.

'Auch.' Her body was battered from the battle and whatever toxin they used; it was still running through her veins.

'Stop staring at me.' Two hybrids and a vampire were watching her every move as her thoughts and memory were waking up more and more.

Only Varga seemed to listen. Michael studied her as if she would die if he averted his eyes for a second. She looked at Eve again. There was a hint of sadness in her beautiful face. Selene moved her hand from her hip to cup her daughters' cheek. She ignored the pain to try to comfort Eve, her smile finally reached her eyes.

'Are you ok?' Eve asked with a small voice.

'Yes, Eve.' But Eve raised an eyebrow giving away she didn't believe her at all. 'I will be sweetheart.'

Eve seemed satisfied with that answer and lay down next to her.

They lay there for almost an hour with Eve doing most of the talking. Michael kept being on edge, keeping his eyes on her. Varga joined the conversation, but there was still tension in his whole body. Selene felt reluctant with the people watching her but ignored it for once.

But slowly the pain was getting unbearable, as if her insides were on fire. She kept holding on, not willing to break down in front of her daughter. Selene locked eyes with Varga and hoped he would understand to get Eve out of the room. He saw the strain in her eyes and moved immediately.

'Eve, you up for some fencing?' Varga asked as he walked to the other side of the bed and reached for her hand.

'If you don't mind, I'd rather stay here.'

'Your parents need some alone time.' Varga whispered as he moved closer to Eve and gave her a subtle wink. She understood, put her hand in his and got off the bed.

Selene was happy to see her daughter respond to Varga. She nodded a thank you as he left the room. From his chair, Michael looked at the silent conversation with a raised eyebrow. They both waited till they heard the living area door close.

'What was…' But Michael couldn't finish his sentence.

Selene gripped the sheets, arched her back and closed her eye in agony. 'Shit!' Michael was at her side in a split second. 'Selene!'

She could barely open her eyes. The pain was too intense.

'Where does it hurt?'

She tried to focus on his voice, and it helped. 'Every… where…' She managed to say with a strained voice. Despite the pain, she could feel Michael touching her face lightly before leaving.

In the background she heard some noises. Selene opened her eyes and saw Michael rummaging in a bag. He came back to her side and injected something in her IV. After what felt like an eternity, the pain dulled and her grip on the sheets lessened. Selene let out a sigh of relief.

'I'm not sure how long this will help.' Michael said.

'Thank you.' Selene whispered. 'What was it?'

'It's a very strong sedative for humans. For vampires it's a pain killer. Normal vampires burn it off within ten minutes due to their healing, you heal even quicker so normally it would only last a couple of minutes. Hopefully, the toxin will prevent you from burning it off too quickly though.'

Selene carefully tried to move her arms and legs. The pain was almost gone. 'Help me sit up.'

'No, I won't. You might not feel the pain, but that doesn't mean the injuries aren't there.'

Michael looked at her with determination in his eyes. He wouldn't give in, but neither would she. Selene moved to push herself on her hands to sit up, but was held back by a firm hand.

'Just lay down, Selene. You'll rip your stitches and I have to start all over again.' Michael suddenly sounded tired.

The sad look in his eyes made Selene stop moving. He'd been through hell and back and she was just being stubborn. She placed her hand on his face and pulled him gently down to kiss him. When they broke off the kiss, she kept their foreheads together and her eyes closed.

'Don't ever leave me.' It was only a whisper.

'I'm sorry.' Selene meant it, she hated to make Michael worry about her.

They sat there for a bit when Michael moved away to look into her eyes. Sadness, happiness, worry and fatigue were battling inside Michael and flashed before his eyes.

'Lie next to me and tell me what happened.' Selene said with a soft voice.

Michael followed her advice and walked around the bed to lie down next to her. 'What is the last thing you remember?' He asked.

'I remember feeling faint and sliding down a wall somewhere in the city.' The details in her memory were getting better, but there were still some gaps. 'I tried to call you, but that was the point my vision turned black. I could feel your warmth and focused on it until it was replaced by cold and pain. After that, I woke up in the coven.'

'The cold you felt was probably the table in the safe house. I had to carry you there, you were barely conscious. The bullet wounds weren't healing and you had lost almost half your blood volume by then. So, I stitched them up and, in the meantime, Eve managed to let you drink a full bag of blood. When I finished, I sent her outside to wait by the car.

'At that point I needed to make a decision about the blade. Keep it in and you would die, get it out and you might not die. I chose to remove it. I could feel the blade and started to get the damn thing out…'

Selene realized Michael had been telling the story from a medical point of view. But as he went on with the story, she could see the conflict in his face. Selene had seen it before. Whenever Michael needed to focus on treatment, he went into his zone. She called it his medical zone and he would push all emotions away to focus on the job at hand. When he finished, the emotions would surface again and he sometimes doubted his decisions. In this case, it involved Selene and his conscience was waging a war.

Michael took a couple of breaths to steady himself before he continued. 'I got the blade out and stitched the wound. Eve was waiting by the car and sat with you in the back. I might have broken some traffic laws and speed limits while driving here. Once at the coven, I placed the IVs and we waited for you to wake up.'

The way he talked Michael sounded like a robot. Normally she didn't mind Michael being a medic, but he shouldn't close himself off from her and Eve. Selene also noticed that while Michael was talking, he kept a firm gaze at the ceiling. She looked at him, but he wouldn't meet her eyes. Selene moved to lay on her side, placed a hand on his face and forced him to look at her. Even then, Michael avoided all eye contact.

'Michael, please. Look at me.' Selene pleaded.

Slowly, Michael met her gaze. Selene was startled to see the sadness and conflict in his eyes. His eyes were glistening with tears he held back.

'Tell me what you're feeling.'

Michael sighed. 'I… I… ' He started when a sob escaped. 'You were dying!' He exclaimed. 'I could have killed you! You… You… I hurt you, you were… screaming.' Michael was panting. 'Screaming! Selene, you were screaming! Because of me! And Eve heard everything! I made her force blood down your throat and she heard me hurting her own mother! Who does that to his own daughter!'

Selene was too shocked to respond. She wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't this. She had been a vampire for so long, she honestly didn't know what to say or do to make him feel better. Michael looked at her with expectation in his eyes. Did he really expect her to be mad for saving her life? For unwillingly involving Eve to do so?

'You did what you had to. Eve knows that.' Selene soothed him. 'Our daughter is a very strong and smart woman. She gets that from you.' Selene took his hand in hers and squeezed.

'How can you still look at me? I hurt you and I hurt Eve!' Michael ranted. 'David knew what our daughter needed. David! Of all people! What the hell kind of father am I!'

'Stop that right now!' Selene got angry. 'Eve and I love you with all our hearts and we know you would never intentionally hurt us! You saved my life! You saved your daughter from a lot of grief. Never ever tell yourself otherwise.'

'How can you still love me?' Michael sat up and kept his eyes away from Selene. 'How can Eve?' His voice filled with devastation.

'Without thinking I cut you open. I knew you had already lost too much blood and I cut you open anyway. I could have killed you then and there.' Michael's voice was unsteady. 'I could have lost you.'

Selene made herself sit up to force Michael to look at her again. 'But you didn't. I am still here.'

The only thing she could think of was to get closer to Michael and put an arm around him to comfort him. Michael tried to refuse Selene, but she wouldn't take no for an answer.

His breathing was heavy and Selene could hear his heart pounding in his chest. It eased up the longer they sat together. Michael moved and hugged Selene tightly. Before she realized, a soft whimper escaped her lips and Michael immediately let her go.

'Shit! You shouldn't sit up like that.' Michael gently pushed her down and Selene accepted the help.

Instead of laying on her back, she laid down on her side and took Michael with her.

Michael was more exhausted than she initially thought. After just a few minutes his eyes started to close and he was out like a light. The last of his energy had burned off while he was talking. Selene just lay there watching her love sleep. He had been so confused, all because of her. If she would have been more careful, neither of them would be in this situation.

Selene hated to see her loved ones worry about her. Before she became an elder, nobody had to worry about her roaming around as Death Dealer. The only person that had a bit too much interest was Kraven, but Selene couldn't care less about his opinion. Now, she didn't just have a mate who loved her, but together they had a beautiful daughter as well.

Selene was lost in her thoughts about meeting Michael and Eve when she heard a sound on the other side of the door.

'You can come in, Varga.' She whispered not to wake Michael.

Varga opened the door quietly and walked around the bed. Selene lay with her back towards him and tried to move. The sedative was clearly wearing off. 'Help me move.'

Selene felt Varga hesitate before he gently helped her lay on her back. Clearly, he was not used to her asking for help. Selene couldn't blame him, she never asked him for help outside coven matters.

'How are you? In any pain?'

'Michael gave me a sedative, but it's wearing off.'

'Do you want me to wake him?' Varga asked, looking at the sleeping form next to her.

'No, let him sleep. The pain is still manageable.' Selene admitted. 'Where is Eve? Is she ok?'

'After we finished fencing, I brought her to her room to get some rest. There is a guard at her door at all times.'

'She must have liked that.' Selene mused.

'Well, not at first.' Varga smirked. 'Until she saw who the guard was and started giggling.'

Selene smiled. Her adult daughter might have a crush on half the coven by the looks of it.

'What's that?' Varga asked.

Selene wanted to respond, but Varga held up his hand. He moved closer and breathed in through his nose. 'I smell blood.'

Without hesitation, Varga moved next to Selene and sniffed again. 'You're bleeding. Can I…'

But before he could finish his sentence, Selene already removed the blanket herself. She lifted her top to expose her hip and saw a bloody bandage.

'Must have happened when I sat up. You have to check it.'

Varga carefully removed the bandage. Selene prepared for the worst when she looked at Vargas' face. She tried to see for herself, but Varga prevented her from sitting.

'It's a mess Selene. Don't know for sure, but you probably ripped a stitch. Let me wake up Michael so he can have a look.'

'No, you won't. Get his second in command to do it.' Selene ordered. Even though Varga never responded to her ordering him around, it didn't hurt to try.

'Connar's gone on a mission.'

Selene raised an eyebrow. She didn't know of any missions he could have been on. Theirs was the last one planned.

Varga sighed. 'Michael asked me to send a cleanup crew to the safe house. Since he mentioned bringing back the blade, I thought it best to send Connar and his crew.'

'It's up to you. Put a new bandage on it and we'll wait for Michael to wake up.'

Varga straightened up and crossed his arms.

'Don't look at me like that. Just do as you're told.'

'You know that's not how this works.'

They both stared without moving, too stubborn to give in. Selene knew she shouldn't act like this. By ruling the coven for far too many years she had gotten used to getting yes for an answer. The only one who could change her mind was sound asleep next to her.

'Fine!' Varga threw his hands in the air and turned around to get the bandage. 'You really are the worst you know.'

'Is that a way of talking to your queen?' Selene smirked.

'So now you are my queen. Good to know.' Varga said, pretending to be annoyed. He replaced the bandage and sat in the chair.

'So did he tell you what happened?'

'Yes. What bothers me is how they knew where we were. Any thoughts?'

'I've been thinking about that too. We might have a leak somewhere in the coven.'

'Any new recruits come in in the last month?'

'Not that I know off. We have been training the same group for half a year now. Unfortunately, there aren't that many new vampires around. You want me to ask the senior staff for any unusual behavior?' Varga asked.

'I'd rather you check it out yourself. If we do have a leak, better to not let anyone know we are onto them. Start with the recruits.'

Varga got a gleam in his eyes. He loved pushing his recruits to their breaking point.

'And Varga, please try not to kill them. As you said, we don't have enough recruits as it is.'

'As always, no promises.' Varga smirked. 'What are you planning to do when you find the leak?'

'Bringing down the humans comes to mind. My gut tells me Antigen is behind all this.'

'Antigen? Didn't you blow up their building with everyone in it last time around?'

'Not the Antigen from back then. I have a feeling the lycans are not involved this time. We really need that leak to figure it out.'

Selene gave him a suggestive look to start, but he didn't buy it.

'You're not getting rid of me that easily. Stand up without collapsing and I'm gone.' Varga challenged her.

It crossed her mind to take him up on the challenge, but Varga would probably knock her unconscious before she could even lift her leg. Her body also started hurting more and more. She knew she had to wake up Michael soon, but he needed his rest.

'Are you sure you don't want to wake up Michael? You are getting pale again.'

'Give him a few minutes extra. I'll live.'

Selene moved to try and relieve the pain a bit, but it had the opposite effect. There was a stabbing pain in her side. Varga was by her side in a second and pushed her down. This time he didn't hesitate to lift the blanket and her shirt to expose her skin. She heard him rip the bandage.

'Fuck!' Varga exclaimed.

Next to Selene, Michael jolted awake. He looked one second at the scene next to him and he hurried to the other side of the bed. Varga kept his hand on her chest to keep her down but gave Michael room to work.

'Why didn't you wake me sooner?' He exclaimed to Varga. But before Varga could answer, Michael aimed his frustration at her. 'Why didn't you?'

'I'm…' Selene started but she was immediately cut off by Michael.

'Stop pretending you're fine!'

She never heard him talk to her this way. She held back a snide comment and let him do his job. Selene looked at Varga and he had the same look on his face. Michael had moved the bag with medical supplies to his side. As Michael inspected the wound, Selene let out a muffled growl.

'You ripped your stitches.' Michael said in a gentler voice. 'I know you hate it, but we have to move to the infirmary.'

Selene sighed. 'Very well.'

Michael turned to Varga. 'Go to the infirmary and make sure everyone is cleared out by my orders. We will be there in ten minutes.'

Varga nodded. As soon as he left the room, they heard knocking on the door.

'Get rid of them.' Michael ordered.

Michael was running around the room to collect all his supplies as Selene just lay there. She felt useless and it made her uneasy. She was usually the person making the plan.

'My Lord, a minute?' It was Vargas' official tone. Something was wrong.

Michael looked up and exchanged glances with Varga. They moved to the other room, followed by a whispered conversation. Selene tried to listen in, but they were speaking too softly. She was getting frustrated she was kept out of the loop, which was strengthened when Michael came in with a nervous look on his face.

'Tell me!'

'Connar returned from the safe house with the blade. The tip of the blade is missing. They flipped the place upside down to find it, without luck.' Michael said in a hurry.

'It's still in there.' Selene sighed.

'Based on your impaired healing, yes. Connar is on his way to the infirmary and Varga will be back here.' Michael took her hand. 'I will get it out, I swear. Can you stand?'

'Give me more of that drug and I can.'

Michael got a sad look in his eyes. 'Despite the pain, there are still high levels in your system. If I give you more, I will be putting you in a coma.'

They both knew what this meant but refused to say it. She would deal with it when needed.

'Help me get up.' Selene replied.