The time had flown by too quickly, Selene could not believe they were already preparing to go back to the coven. She had enjoyed every minute of her time with Michael, and she felt reluctant to trade a blanket for clothes again. She was currently sitting on the table waiting for Michael to draw her blood for the next step of their plan.

'Drink this before we start.' Michael said as he handed her blood. 'I need to take a liter of blood, which may make you a bit dizzy. This will prevent that hopefully. Afterwards, you need to drink a second one.'

Selene looked at the bag with reluctance. Michael already made her drink more than she normally did. He was scared that drawing too much blood and not enough feeding would have an impact on Black Dusk. To please Michael, she opened the bag anyway and started drinking. Halfway through she had to stop, even her body was rejecting the blood.

'I really can't.' Selene said.

Michael turned around and opened his mouth to say something. He stopped when he saw her sitting with her hand on her mouth. The blood had made her nauseous, if she would continue, she would throw it all up.

'I think you already made me drink about a week's worth of blood anyway.' Selene said.

'Just let me know when you start to feel faint so I can stop.' Michael said. 'You can lay down on the table.'

Selene laid down and watched Michael put the needle in her arm. She watched as blood poured steadily into the bag. Normally she would get hungry seeing it, but she already had too much blood in her system. Michael retracted the needle as soon as both bags where filled.

'Press this on the wound.' Michael said and he handed her a piece of gauze. 'Humor me.' Michael added when he saw the look on her face.

Selene knew the wound would start healing the second the needle left her vein. Before she could put the gauze on, the puncture mark was gone and only a tiny drop of blood marked where the needle had been. 'No need. It already closed.'

Selene sat up and jumped off the table a bit too quickly. She had to grab the table to stabilize herself and realized too late Michael was watching her. He supported her arm until the black dots in her vision disappeared.

'You ok?' Michael asked.

'Yes, just a bit dizzy. I might be able to finish that bag now.'

Michael handled her the bag, but Selene immediately got nauseous from just seeing it.

'Never mind, I am good.' Selene said. 'Are we all set?'

'Yes, with these and my blood, we are good to go. What's next?' Michael asked.

'We need to connect the cameras again before we leave. Varga wanted to show the recruits how to handle emergencies.'

'Real ones or the fake one we are planning?' Michael smirked.

'Depends on your performance.' Selene winked. 'As long as we are convincing when we arrive back at the coven and scare the recruit into confessing. The rest is secondary.'

'Will you be changing into your Death Dealer outfit?'

'I thought about it, but the thought of being carried half naked through the coven is not very appealing. Not even when I am unconscious.' Selene winced. 'A similar outfit as I was wearing previous time will do.'

'To be honest, that is a relief. You know I love the skintight leather on you, but to be convincing I indeed had to remove it.' Michael said. 'I do not like to share you with the rest of the coven that way.'

He grabbed her by her waist and kissed her passionately. Selene completely forgot what she was doing until they both needed air. She looked at him with longing eyes.

'You know we don't have time for this.' Michael said, trying to convince himself to stop.

'I know.' Selene sighed.

They both sighed and changed into their fighting outfits before reconnecting the cameras. Selene checked the video feed in the control room and signaled Danny the safe house was live again.

'Ready?' She asked Michael and picked up her gear.

'Let's do this.'

To avoid the perimeter cameras, they decided to hike for at least a kilometer away from the safe house. Michael put down the blood bags he was hiding in his coat together with the weapons.

'You want to get rid of those as well?' He asked and pointed to her Berretta's.

'I prefer them at my side.' Selene said. 'You ready for a fight?'

Michael was already on his way to attack her. It wasn't the fight they were used to in the arena, they had to keep it down not to be discovered.

'I think we're good.' Michael said after an hour. 'We certainly look like we just had a big fight.'

'Too bad, I could go on for another few rounds.' Selene smiled.

'You know we have to get back to the coven soon.' Michael replied.

'Can't blame a woman for trying.' Selene sighed. 'We should go away more often. Just the two of us.'

'We should.'

This time it was Selene who grabbed Michael to kiss. They went at it until they were both gasping for breath. Selene opened her eyes and looked into Michael's. Both were caught in the moment and held on to each other. Michael had the gleam in his eyes he had been wearing the past two days.

'We should, uhm…' Michael started.

'Continue?' Selene hesitated.

They both sighed as they let go of each other. The past day really brought them closer together and Selene finally started to feel like she had a life again, one of her own instead of being lived by the people in the coven.

Michael walked up to his gear and picked up the gun. A flash of reluctance crossed his face before he stood up with a straight face. Selene felt his reluctance and thought back about how they got the gun.

Varga had asked them to come to the training area during the day. He had closed his office when they entered to make sure no one could be listening in on their conversation. Varga had put a different type of gun in the table.

'You will be needing this.' Varga had said.

Selene picked it up and immediately noticed the weight of the weapon. 'It's made of plastic.'

'Crude but effective. It looks and works like a real gun but fires special bullets. We use these during training to familiarize the recruits with shooting at actual people.' Varga explained. 'Some of them are reluctant to take a life and with these they can practice on each other without killing someone.'

Varga opened the magazine and showed them the bullets. They consisted of 2 parts with a ring in between. They had the size of a normal bullet but appeared to be hollow.

'Both sides can be filled with a dye, so you can see where the person is shot. The first chamber will break on impact, preventing the bullet from getting in too deep like a normal bullet does. The second chamber can be broken by hand if needed. Only the first chamber is filled for training, but you will be filling the second one as well.'

'What are we filling these with?' Michael asked. 'Do we have a dye that resembles blood?'

'They will be filled with blood.' Varga answered and turned to Selene. 'Yours to be exact. Vampires standing close will smell the difference if you use a dye. For these bullets you don't need that much as we do for the rest of the plan.'

'How does it work exactly? Will the bullets be implanted underneath her skin?'

'You need to fire the bullets. Let me demonstrate.' Varga added when he saw Michaels' face.

Varga gave the gun to Selene and took a few steps back.

'There are 2 colors dye in the bullet. Fire the first round and hit my arm.' Varga said as he removed his coat.

Selene pointed the gun and shot as asked. Where the bullet had hit his arm, a purple dye started coming out.

'As you can see, the first chamber opened on impact and the dye is coming out. The ring is just beneath my skin and the first dye prevents you from seeing the second chamber. Now when I push on the bullet, the second chamber will open.' Varga did as said and a red dye started pouring out as well.

'As you can see, it is the perfect bullet to fake a wound. The first chamber together with some extra blood will be used to make the bullet wound look real. The second one will be broken when you put the bandage on in the safe house.' Varga explained.

'Wait, let's take a step back. You want me to shoot Selene?'

'Multiple times to be exact, but these bullets don't hurt. They pierce the skin just enough for the bullet to stick. It's just a small pinch.' Varga said. 'If both of you are ok with it, it might be best if you start practicing with these guns.'

After a short discussion, Michael had agreed and was off to the shooting range. Selene sensed Varga had something else to say to her.

'You will be needing your poker face. Despite what I just told Michael the bullets hurt when you get hit by them. Not as much as normal ones since they don't travel as deep. However, in a fight you are protected from the pain by adrenaline, which will not be the case at the safe house.' Varga said in a whisper. 'You want to try? We can use the ones filled with a saline solution I got from Connar.'

'I see you came prepared. I do not say this often but go ahead and shoot me.' Selene had replied.

Selene remembered the shot and didn't look forward to Michael shooting her again. Varga had been right. The bullet only pierced her skin, but the lack of adrenaline made sure she felt the impact. She knew she had to keep a straight face, otherwise Michael would not pull the trigger again after the first shot.

After they left Vargas' office, Michael and Selene had a lengthy discussion. Selene had to bring up the argument of shooting Varga a couple of times and felt bad for lying to him. Eventually, Michael had agreed to shooting her, but he felt reluctant. Now that he was standing with the gun in his hand he looked quite confident.

'Hit the trigger quickly and pretend I am the enemy. It will make it easier if you don't have time to think about it.' Selene suggested.

'Here goes.' Michael said and he immediately shot the five rounds as planned.

She had to suppress her instincts and force herself to keep herself grounded. The bullets hit her fast, one after the other. When the last one hit, Selene felt pain irradiating from all sides. They had their wanted effect. The blood was pouring out of the bullets and draining her clothes.

'Did it work?' Michael asked as he walked back to Selene.

'It did.' Selene said. 'Quite the confidence in your shooting.'

'I did as you said, just shoot without thinking. Makes it easier the bullets don't hurt. Right?' Michael put emphasis on the last word and raised an eyebrow.

'What?'

'I saw your face when I shot you, they did hurt. But then you already knew that.' Michael said. 'David told me.'

'I'm sorry, but I didn't want to talk you out of it.' Selene sighed.

'It's ok, David convinced me it would be fine. Let me have a look at your arm.' Michael changed the subject. 'So far so good. The second chamber seems to be intact. It really resembles a normal shot wound.'

'We still need to make it look a lot worse.'

She grabbed the blood bags filled with her own blood and gave them to Michael. He worked fast to soak the rest of her clothes. He also grabbed the bags filled with his own blood and started to splatter it on his clothes as well.

'Here, take a small sip and cough it into you hand. Repeat it a few times so both your hands and your chin are covered.'

Selene took a sip and her own memories played in front of her. They took her back to a time she was still eager to work for Viktor killing off all lycans that crossed her path. She spat out her own blood, trying to get rid of the memories.

'Something wrong?' Michael sounded worried.

'It's fine. Bad memories.'

The next memories weren't better, but she was prepared and chose to ignore them to finish the job. Selene looked down on herself, she looked awful. Almost every inch of her clothes and skin were covered in blood.

'I look hideous. This will never work.'

'You look beautiful.' Michael kissed her. 'Very convincing. Maybe one more time since I just kissed your lips.'

She took another sip and coughed it up. 'Better?'

'Perfect. Are you ready to be swooped off your feet?' Michael winked.

'You'd better catch me before I fall for you.'

'I just need to glue that knife to your side, and we are good to go.'

But Selene had other plans. Michael had turned around, heading to the rest of the supplies. Selene got out a knife and positioned herself against a tree. She put her free hand on her mouth and stabbed herself at the same spot as before. The knife sliced through her skin like butter. Selene let out a muffles cry and Michael turned around.

'Selene!' Michael called.

He ran towards her but stopped when he saw her holding the knife. His face turned from worry to anger in a split second.

'What the hell! You said you agreed with the fake knife! Did Varga put you up to this?'

'All my idea.' Selene said when she could speak again.

Michael stood there and looking at her for far too long. Selene felt more guilty by the second as she watched the anger wash over his face. In the end she couldn't look at him anymore and her eyes dropped to the ground.

'I will yell at you later.' Michael promised when he finally broke the silence. 'Right now, we need to get back to the safe house and play our parts.'

Michael swooped her in his arms and started running towards the safe house. She was aware of her surroundings and knew Michael was nearing the safe house. Just before they would be in view for the cameras, Selene pretended to be barely conscious and lay limp in his arms. When he shifted her weight in his hands to open the door, she moaned a little playing her part.

He carried her in and put her on the table. She had practiced being limp and her arm fell in a weird angle outside the table. Selene tried not to think about it and focused on Michael. He was already running around the room to gather materials.

She couldn't help but think this was what he had done weeks ago. All their actions were planned this time, but Selene knew Michael was going to be reminded of the hell he went through. All his actions would flash before his eyes.

Michael had told her to stir a few times when he touched the wounds. Eventually she had to let out a cry and pretend to have lost consciousness. He started with the knife and the stirring came natural. At one point he secured the knife with gauze and by doing so, he pushed it further in. Involuntarily, Selene let out a cry. She knew this had to be it and stopped moving.

'Selene!' She heard Michael cry, but she didn't respond. 'Shit!' He exclaimed.

So far so good. Michael picked up his pace and tended to her fake bullet wounds. Whenever he put a bandage on the wound, he would subtly press the chamber and it would pop open. When he finished, he sighed out loud. There were some sounds of supplies crashing in bins and Selene almost moved when Michael put a hand on her cheek.

'Please stay alive.' He whispered, knowing the cameras could pick up sound. 'I love you.'

As Michael left the room to contact the coven for their arrival, Selene got a warm feeling inside. He truly loved her as she loved him. A few decades ago, she would never have imaged loving someone else the way she loved Michael. When this is all over, the three of us will run away for at least a decade.

From the control room she could hear Michael loudly grunt at Danny with urgency in his voice. Michael turned out to be quite the actor. He rushed back in and collected their gear to put it in the car.

Selene was relieved when he finally picked her up, her arm was getting numb from dangling in an angle. He carried her to the car and put her in the back seat. They were at least five minutes away from the safe house before Michael spoke.

'Are you ok?'

'Yes. How long until we reach the coven?' Selene asked.

'About half an hour, but I can shorten it if you want.' Michael replied. 'Is that knife still in the same place?'

'You secured it very tightly, do not worry. Just drive like you did last time and tell me when to stop moving again.'

Michael seemed to be in a hurry. He hit the gas and they reached the mansion after only ten minutes. She played her unconscious part again and waited till Michael skidded to a stop on the front lawn.

He stormed outside and ran into the mansion. Selene heard Michael yell, followed by a lot of commotion. When he was back at the car, Michael expertly put the needle in her arm and injected the Black Dusk. Selene could feel the cold spreading before the darkness embraced her.