She could feel Azriel leaning against her as she withdrew from her wrist. Azriel's heavy breath warmed her ear with each puff the Dragonborn exhaled. The last of Azriel's fiery blood rolled down her throat, heating her cold body. Azriel's right hand rested on the back of her neck, her fingers twirled in her hair.

Serana had caught Aela's heated stare before she had run off as the wolf. She wouldn't have cared had she not have seen Azriel's memories through her blood. But, now she understood. The werewolf cared for the Dragonborn a great deal and the Dragonborn reciprocated her feelings, it was unquestionable.

Serana picked up a handful of snow and wiped the remaining blood from Azriel's hand carefully. The cut on her wrist blazed angrily, even though the wound itself wasn't more than a scratch.

She gently let Azriel's hand down and lifted her gaze to Azriel's pained face. Azriel's eyes were shut tightly and her jaw was clenched rigidly. Serana smoothed her wind-blown hair and hooked it behind her ear. She wasn't sure what to say to Azriel. She was torn between confronting her or keeping quiet of her new found knowledge.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Azriel whispered, her eyes were still closed and her face had a pained look to it.

"Tell you…? Tell you what?" Serana was confused by her question.

"How hard it is getting for you…?" Azriel finished opening her eyes to look at her, her hesitant words still whispered. "Why didn't you tell me that you crave my blood as much as you do…?"

Her questions made Serana take a deep breath. It had taken all of her composure to be close to Azriel over the last day. Her thirst, even after feeding from the two hunters, wasn't truly satisfied. And in a way, drinking from them had made her hunger taxing. Mortal blood had become less desirable since her first drink from Azriel.

Yet at the same time, remaining close to the woman was becoming more difficult because of it. During their sweltering night together, Serana's thirst begged to be sated by the Dragonborn's molten blood. The constant ache had started at the first drink, gnawing at her ceaselessly, clawing at her throat and her mind mercilessly. Azriel's potent blood was an addiction that she needed to feed, whether she wanted to or not. A guilty pleasure she desired and reserved only for her. The rush it gave her was only slightly less salubrious than the fact it freed her from her thirst for a time.

After their night together, her thirst was almost an unbearable throe. After feeding from the soldiers, it hadn't dampened in the slightest. Their blood had lack the magmatic burn of the Dragonborn's, the almost unbearable fire that devastated her senses.

Serana stood, her thoughts still on the fresh blood memories and Azriel's question. Now as her thirst eased, she was positive of the effects of Azriel's blood and the strength it gave her.

Azriel stood next to her. "Serana, if you need my blood I'll give it you. I don't want you to suffer because of me."

Serana looked away from her to where the werewolf had run off into the blowing snow. The Aela's animosity, coupled with her blood visions, gave Serana means to not answer her. "You'd better go after her."

Azriel furrowed her brow with surprise at the suggestion. "Yeah… no. When Aela's pissed off, it's healthier to just let her be for a while. She'll find us eventually and Aela can take care of herself. I'm worried about you and how your thirst affects us being close." Azriel held Serana's warm hand between her own and smiled. "So stop avoiding my question and answer me. I've told you countless times tell me what you want and I'll give it to you. You're my mate and…"

"Is that why you told her we were traveling together?" They were finally alone and Serana wanted an explanation. "Why didn't you tell her that?"

Azriel groaned, but didn't answer. Instead, she looked away, trying to come up with a good explanation.

"What's with you two? You told me you were just friends. Watching the two of you together and seeing her jealousy… it's pretty obvious you're not just friends, Azriel." Serana pulled her hand from Azriel's.

Azriel shuffled in place, looking at her bleeding wrist. "It's… complicated." She didn't bother denying it. It was complicated and it had been drawn out for a long time. The truth of the matter struck Azriel each time she had thought about it. She would have given in to Aela a long time ago if she knew she wasn't going to disappoint her eventually. Then when Serana came along, it made things twice as hard.

Serana didn't bother keeping her anger in check. "Complicated? You think that's complicated…? No, complicated is when you're just starting a relationship with someone and neglect to tell them you're already with someone else. That's complicated! I feel betrayed Azriel. You deceived me and you did it on purpose. I don't mean a damn thing to you, do I?"

"How can you say that? I didn't share my soul with anyone, not even her! Serana, I…"

"So what, you didn't think you could be with her… so you settled for me? I don't want to be you're second choice, Azriel!" Serana's heated words poured from her mouth.

"We're not together, Serana! We never have been. You aren't a second choice!" Azriel's distress colored her words. "I haven't deceived you at all! I…"

"That's not how either of you are acting, Azriel. And it's not what I saw in your blood!" Serana was furious. "Everything about this… about us… is just a fucking mistake!"

Azriel put her hand on Serana's arm and Serana turned quickly, shoving her away hard. "Don't touch me. Just leave me alone!"

Her strength and the viciousness of the act surprised Azriel as she fell in the snow. Azriel's head slammed against ice covered rocks and she yelped in pain. She gripped her head in her hands, rolling on her side trying not to vomit from the dizziness.

Serana was stunned by her own actions and for a second, she didn't move. She hadn't wanted to hurt Azriel and she was astonished at how hard she had actually pushed her lover. "Azriel, I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you away like that. I didn't mean..."

"You meant it, Serana. I can feel your loathing of me. You meant every bit of it." Azriel glared at her as she stood shakily, not bothering to brush the snow away from herself.

Her hand had blood on it and Serana took a step back, mortified she had hurt her. Serana watched the color drain from Azriel's face as she began to pull away from her.

"I'm sorry you feel as though I lied to about a relationship that never existed. I won't lie to you… I do care for her. I told you I did, but never how much. We've never slept together and I…" Azriel looked from her hand to Serana's face, seeing her look of disbelief.

"…Fuck it. It doesn't matter. I can see you don't believe me and you're too pissed off to care. So I won't bother trying to explain something you don't care to hear. You have your own ideas, I'm sure it's better than any explanation I could ever make up."

"I'll leave you alone and I won't touch you again." Azriel kept her voice passive, but her tone was harsh. She rubbed the back of her bleeding head. "I'll help you with your father then I will leave you in peace. You deserve better than the likes of me anyways."

The comment shocked her back to reality. The intensity in Azriel's eyes that told Serana she meant every word she said.

The vampire's ocher eyes burned furiously and her face became a mask once more. "So you'll just walk out of my life? That just proves…" Serana snarled.

"I am in love you and I'd do anything you asked me to, anything at all Serana. But, you don't believe that, do you? You still forget I had a life before I opened your prison." Azriel took a shuttered breath. "I wondered how long it would take for you to regret being with me."

Serana could feel the despair welling in Azriel. Serana wished she could take the cruelty of her words and the violence of shoving Azriel back.

"I'm sorry I can't change who I am or what I feel, but caring about Aela doesn't change my feelings for you. You want me to leave you alone and I will. When we finish this, I'll take my leave. I promise, you will never see me again. Until then, I will do my best not to disappoint you further. Nor will I trouble you with anything again." Azriel slunk past her, picking up her dagger and walked away.

Serana didn't try to stop her. She was too ashamed of herself. She had lost control of herself in her blinding jealousy. In the process, she had injured Azriel reprehensibly. She started walking several paces behind Azriel, but didn't try to catch up.

It was three hours after sunset and they were still walking. Azriel's silence was harsher than the freezing alpine winds of the blizzard that raged. Serana was still pondering how to approach Azriel in a more civil manner and ask her forgiveness. The more she thought, the colder she could feel herself getting. An icy chill ran down her spine that had nothing to do with the cutting wind.

Serana tried to understand Azriel's feelings when Aela had run off. Her focus on the two had driven the memories to reveal themselves. Azriel had been trying to help her, not start another conflict.

Even if the two Companions were never together, her vision spoke volumes for the way Azriel felt for the woman. She could feel everything Azriel felt, she knew the woman wasn't lying, but she'd be damned if it didn't infuriate her that Azriel couldn't have been honest with her. She had resented the fact Azriel was hiding the depth of her feelings for the werewolf from her, relationship or not. She had seen it in her memories and she couldn't forget the sting of it. She wanted Azriel to herself, but she had single handedly succeeded in driving a wedge between herself and Azriel.

Serana had fallen into her own viciousness by harming the one person that showed her love and kindness in sea of loneliness. Azriel's withdrawal from her left her feeling desolate. She didn't just feel her emotions withdraw, but everything about Azriel was becoming colder, even her body heat seemed to diminish. Azriel closed down and shut herself off completely from Serana.

Azriel didn't look back once at her and the one time she had caught up to her and tried to help Azriel over an icy embankment, Azriel had pulled away from her. Serana had cursed herself time and again after that. The warmth the Dragonborn's soul filled her with had become as cold as the snow that blew endlessly around them.

She'd be damned if she was going to let another person she cared about walk out of her life. Even if this time was her fault.

Her accusations about Aela boiled in her mind. Blood memories only showed fragments, not whole pictures. She had gotten so angry that she let her damnable aggression take over. Father would be so proud… the asshole. The last thing I've ever wanted to be was like him. Well done, Serana. You managed to royally fuck up the best thing that has ever happened to you… just like Father.

Serana heard a sound that distracted her thoughts. On instinct she was next to Azriel, pulling her down with her finger over her lips in a sign to be silent. Serana heard the sound again, but Azriel gave no indication of hearing anything. It was so faint, the first time she had thought she imagined it.

Serana inched forward, scanning the snow. The sound she heard almost sounded like an animal whimpering. She looked back and Azriel was right on her heels, but wasn't looking at her. Serana mouthed to her. 'Did you hear that?'

Azriel shook her head and looked around, avoiding further eye contact.

Serana looked out to where the wind was blowing around the rocks. She crept forward with her dagger drawn. She kept low along the outcrop.

"Help!" The small cry floated to Serana's ears.

Serana slinked faster and she could hear Azriel's heart beat quicken at the sound.

"Please… someone… anyone… Help!" Serana could smell blood.

She moved quickly to the source of the plea with Azriel right next to her. Within a couple of minutes they had found the source of the whimpering near some rocks. They dug through the snow and rolled the blond girl over.

"Sabrine, why are you out here? What happened to you?"

The girl opened her startling blue-green eyes. "Thank Talos! Dovahkiin it's you…"

Her neck and arm were bleeding heavily and Azriel looked at the wounds. Serana's voice caught her attention, but she didn't dare look at her as she knelt. "When were you bitten?"

Sabrine looked at the vampire and back to Azriel. "Erikka is still on the ridge! Please… you have to help my sister. She was fighting them when I fell!"

"You know I'll help you. But, let me see your wounds. I need to make sure you're safe to leave." Azriel wiped the blood from her wounds and saw the vicious bite marks. The girl's left leg was broken and Azriel slipped a reassuring hand over Sabrine's.

"Young one, when were you bitten?" Serana asked a second time.

"When we were first attacked, they took us by surprise. Please Dovahkiin, Erikka is still up there!" Azriel's eyes scanned the ridge further up.

"You're not rejecting their infection." Serana knelt next to her, speaking softly.

Azriel looked back down at the girl, noting the bleeding was already slowing down. It would still take almost three days for her to turn. "Where were you on the ridge?"

The wolf in her mind was waiting on edge as Azriel heard the distant call of the werewolf. All three looked at the ridge and Azriel jumped to her feet, knowing Aela was up there. "We must be quick if we're going to help Erikka. Sabrine, I'm going to carry you up. I can heal your leg later."

Azriel's feet hit the top of the ridge, the snow was stained red with blood. Azriel stood still, letting her wolf pace and sniffed the air. Aela was close, but the blizzard was nearly a whiteout. It was impossible to see anything, let alone find two people. She was fed up with the storm and the chance to change something felt good.

"LOK VAH KOOR!"

The shout punched through the storm and split the whiteness, revealing the stars hidden behind the snowfall. Azriel waited as the storm dissipated and the glow of the heavens lit the landscape. She could hear the slight awed sound that came from behind her as it escaped the vampire's lips.

Through the clearing snow, Azriel saw Aela leaning over a form and walked to her.

Aela looked up at her as though nothing had ever happened between them. "Her injuries are severe." Aela said, keeping her voice low.

Azriel set Sabrine next to her and moved next to the girl on the opposite side of Aela. Serana followed and knelt down, observing both in silence.

Sabrine rolled on her side, her hand finding her sister's and Erikka opened her eyes slowly.

The two Nord girls were identical in every way. Both had astonishing blue-green eyes, pale skin, and chestnut-blonde hair. Their only difference was the small scar above Erikka's right eye. It's the only thing Azriel could ever tell them apart by.

The two girl's eyes flicked back and forth as they looked at one another. Azriel had guessed that they had their own way of communicating. It wasn't something she understood, but she let them go, knowing they'd eventually speak to them.

Serana cleared her throat before she spoke. She opened her mouth and closed it, not making a sound.

"You have something to say, vampire?" Aela's growled.

"The other is rejecting the blood." Serana answered softly.

"We don't usually carry any potions to cure disease." Aela's growl deepened and for the first time, there nothing she could say other than that. She had tried to stop the girl's bleeding, but nothing had worked. She had made her as comfortable as possible before others had turned up. She had already known the girl was dying.

Azriel stroked Erikka's hair tenderly. The girl was sweating profusely and occasionally whimpered. Aela was right, neither of them had a need to carry any kind of disease curing potions since being a werewolf naturally protected them.

Azriel had been watching the girls, thinking. She looked at Aela, her eyes held a single question and Aela nodded in agreement.

"Erikka, your body is rejecting the vampire's disease. I know a means to cure it, but I have no potion to do so. I can't cure this with magic… Your Father, Aela, and I all are werewolves. To save your life I can give you my blood. You would become a werewolf, to which there is no cure." Azriel took a deep breath. "Erikka, I'm offering you a choice. Do you want to become a werewolf like us?"

Both of the girls looked at Azriel. Erikka held her stomach tighter and winced as she started to shiver.

Sabrine didn't hesitate to answer. "Yes…"

"…if Sabrine becomes one too." Erikka finished her statement, her voice tinging with obvious discomfort.

Azriel had expected that they would wish to remain together and both take the blood offer. "The change will be immediate. Your blood will feel like it's boiling. Don't worry, it's normal and it will pass. We'll follow you wherever you go. Are you ready?"

Both girls nodded.

Aela pulled her dagger and offered it to Azriel. Without looking at Serana she added, "When they change they may try to attack you. Stay behind us."

Azriel looked at Aela and watched her change to her beast form. Azriel drew the dagger over her wrist and offered it to Erikka first. "Drink it."

Erikka took her wrist feebly, drinking deeply from the wound. Her body began to convulse after a few seconds and Azriel pulled her wrist free.

Serana was transfixed on the events as they played out. The act was similar in a way to creating another vampire and she had never watched werewolves share their lycanthropy before.

The change was almost immediate. As the two diseases mingled in the girl she started to scream.

Serana could hear the girl's bones breaking and reforming as she sprouted sandy brown hair.

In moments, the young werewolf rose looking panicked and took off.

"Aela, go!" As Aela bounded after the girl, Azriel turned to her sister. "Are you sure…?"

"We do things together, always." Sabrine calmly answered as though Azriel had just offered her tea.

Azriel smirked and held out her wrist. "Go on, drink. I'll follow you and keep you safe."

Sabrine gingerly took her wrist and held it to her mouth.

Azriel glanced at Serana, keeping her eyes low and avoiding eye contact. She did the best she could to keep her face stony, but inside she was falling apart. "We won't be coming back here. Follow us, if you wish."

Sabrine transformed just as quickly as her sister and took off, following the same path the other two wolves had taken. Azriel jumped to her feet and started to run, letting the wolf inside of her free.