Disclaimer: Everything you recognise from the film series isn't mine.

Feedback: Always appreciated.

The Lone Wolf

Michael couldn't believe that his life had reached this point as he stood in the main hall of the manor once again, unable to keep his eyes off the doors leading down to the chamber they'd just visited. He still wondered how people could actually choose to end up in that kind of state that he'd seen earlier, and the notion that anyone would let people lead them when they basically spent a third of their existences in some kind of suspended animation…

He was reminded of something he'd read or heard somewhere, which had people observing that so many things in the world were basically done that way just because everyone was used to doing it that way by now, but he still had to wonder how something this complicated had even started. He'd keep his questions to himself for the moment, since the upcoming trial was clearly the more pressing issue than satisfying one guy's curiosity about something that everyone here thought of as normal, but he hoped that Selene or someone would give him some answers later.

As it was, he felt some comfort in the fact that nobody present seemed to know exactly what to do with themselves. Since the Awakening had apparently been completed, only a few previously-chosen vampires had been allowed to remain in the chamber to do whatever had to be done to help Amelia get the other Elders in a suitable condition for the upcoming… again, Michael wasn't sure what the appropriate term would be. From everything Lucian had told him, it sounded like this Viktor guy had been the main catalyst for everything that had happened between the two species, but Michael also had to remind himself that he'd only really heard one side of that particular story. 'Trial' was the obvious term that came to mind for what was about to happen, but he still felt reluctant to actually label everything that way… did he even have the right to have a say in anything when he felt like he was the only person in this room who wouldn't be dead if they were all only human?

That's fucking morbid… and I probably need to think about how I'm going to deal with that issue soon anyway…

"Does it bother you?"

"Huh?" Michael turned around to find Lucian standing a respectful distance from him.

"The knowledge that you were only being kept around as a… I admit I'm not sure what term would be most appropriate, but-"

"Michael was not being 'kept' in any sense," Selene cut in, her tone defensive as she walked over to look firmly at the lycan leader. "I took my time to confirm that he wasn't in contact with any other lycans before I met with him directly, but I only offered him my help in keeping himself contained during his transformation."

"And I needed that," Michael cut in, anticipating what Lucian might say next and wanting to stop that particular argument before it could start, appreciating how Selene was standing beside him to show support without being too near or far either way. "I don't know how long it takes for you all to get control of the wolf or if I just had some kind of problem from the start, but I was basically just an animal whenever I changed at the start. I was wasting money renting storage lockers and trying to find places to hide so I wouldn't hurt anyone else for the last few full moons before Selene found me, and the first thing she offered was somewhere I could lock myself up safely without having to worry about any of that crap."

"You honestly believe that was only offered out of the kindness of her heart?" Lucian studied Michael with a probing gaze that the younger man wasn't sure how to interpret. "Did you ever think that-?"

"And has it occurred to you that I was fucking freaking out?" Michael cut Lucian off, only just remembering to keep his voice low as he walked up to stand close to Lucian, keeping his voice low. He wasn't sure how sharp other immortals' senses were in human form, as he'd never actively tried to listen to other peoples' conversations when he was in human form, but he hoped that everyone else would at least have enough taste not to eavesdrop on a private conversation. "I'd spent the last few months terrified I'd read some news report that would prove I'd been eating people the previous night; Selene was the first person to give me any actual help dealing with what I'd become."

"We would have helped-"

"Yeah, it's easy to talk about what you would have done, but none of your lycans even knew I was… like you," Michael countered, still keeping his voice low as he glared at the older wolf. "You basically just stumbled into me when you were doing something else; how many people like me are left behind because you let wolves go out and do whatever?"

"I have done my best to ensure that my people know that they are not to attack or hurt humans-"

"Which doesn't work since I ended up like this and nobody ever stepped in to help-!"

Michael wasn't even sure where he was going with this particular argument any more, but it ultimately ended when the door to the underground chamber opened and Amelia walked out. The elder vampire looked solemnly around the room for a moment, taking in the way the various vampires and lycans were scattered around the hall. Even Michael could see that the rest of the people in the room were tense, finding it hard to relax even as they were all clearly making an effort to avoid doing anything that might provoke some new conflict.

"Viktor and Marcus are ready to meet with us," she said, her tone authoritative and her gaze making it clear that nobody was allowed to object. "Those previously chosen to attend will join us."

With that instruction given, Michael followed Selene back down in the chamber, accompanied by Lucian, Kahn, and a few other previously-chosen vampires and lycans. The thought suddenly crossed Michael's mind that he should have made more of an effort, considering that he was just wearing a coat Selene had given him over his usual clothes, but looking over at the lycans assured him that he wasn't that out of place. The Death Dealers and the lycans might each wear black leather as their dominant attire, but the Death Dealers at least looked like they had a kind of uniform; the lycans gave the impression of mostly being attendees at some kind of punk rock concert or whatever the term was…

Thoughts of gatherings in the human world were basically forgotten when he joined the group back in the underground chamber and found two skeletal figures sitting in large thrones set up above the place where the coffins had emerged from the floor earlier. Both figures were still pale and basically skeletal, but if Michael ignored their greyish skintone he could assume that he was just looking at two people who had been starving themselves for a while rather than people who had basically been corpses just a few hours ago.

One figure was bald and wore a red robe trimmed with gold, while the other had a faint trace of stubble on his chin and was wearing a simpler robe in blue with no trim. Both still wore dark trousers, but their chests were bare under the robes, and thin tubes led into their bodies from the two thrones. Even in the dim light, it wasn't hard to guess that the tubes were feeding blood to the sitting Elders to continue their restoration to peak health. The bald figure was taking in everything around him with a pointed stare while the other gave the impression that he was currently content to take in everything around him.

"Amelia?" the bald figure said, fixing his pointed stare on the female vampire. "What… is the reason… for these lycans…?"

"That would be me," Lucian said, stepping forward to stand in front of the thrones as he gave Viktor a mocking glare. "Hello, Viktor."

"You?" Viktor glared at Lucian with renewed outrage, actually trying to stand up before the tubes in his back forced him back into the throne.

"Me," Lucian nodded, holding up his hands with a cool smile. "You can relax; I've promised Amelia that I won't do anything-"

"And we should… believe-?"

"You can believe that every vampire here will act to stop the first lycan who tries to do anything against you," Selene cut in, moving forward to stand close to Lucian as she faced Viktor.

"Selene?" the withered vampire actually seemed sad as he looked at her. "You would… side with these-"

"I am seeking an option that means we don't have to continue sacrificing vampire lives to settle a feud that has defined our lives for almost a millennia," Selene cut her sire off, her tone the cool professional one that Michael had come to recognise as her being particularly focused on her chosen goal. "If they have committed genuine crimes against my people, I will act… but I will not punish a species if their only crime is to exist."

"They were… animals… and they… turned on us…"

"When you kept us as nothing but slaves even when we proved ourselves your equals," Lucian glared at Viktor. "I risked my life to save a vampire's, and your idea of mercy was whipping me for hours on end before killing me instead of just killing me straight away."

"You should have… been more lenient… Viktor," the other withered figure spoke up, a wistful smile on his face. "I always told you… you underestimated them…"

"You would take… the word of an animal… over the word… of your fellow?" Viktor glared over at the other vampire. "I accepted… your pleas… but do not assume… that you can trust this beast…"

"This from the man who would break his own rules and slaughter humans for a snack?"

Michael was briefly confused when he recognised the voice as the one person he hadn't expected to speak, but a glance around soon revealed the source. The vampire who had been previously identified to him as Kraven was standing in a corner of the room with his arms bound behind his back and two Death Dealers on either side, but he must have been invited to serve as a witness at some point in this trial.

"What are you-?" Amelia looked over at Kraven with a sceptical expression.

"He lies!" Viktor cut in, but the sudden strength in the skeletal vampire's words somehow did more to convince Michael that this was a lie than anything he'd heard so far.

"If I'm going down for this mess, I might as well make sure you're going down with me," Kraven countered with a glare at Viktor before he looked at Selene. "You might like to ask your dark father who was really responsible for the murder of your family."

Michael could tell he wasn't the only one surprised that this particular topic had suddenly come up, but the way Selene looked at Viktor with new intensity was enough to make Michael realise that there was something in those words. Selene might have spent centuries believing that it had been the lycans who had killed her family, but judging by the expression on her face, once the idea that it had been Viktor was brought up, she couldn't shake the suggestion off so easily.

"You did that?" Amelia looked at Viktor with an even more critical glare. "You broke our own rules?"

"It was a brief indulgence… centuries ago; what does… it matter now…?" Viktor said.

"It matters," Selene cut him off, walking over to stand in front of Viktor with a harsher stare. "They were my family… my nieces had barely even started their lives… my brother-in-law likely never knew what happened to us… and that was all because you decided that you wanted something that tasted good?"

"I have given you… so much in return…"

"And I would give away almost all of that if it would bring them back," Selene interjected, as though refusing to give Viktor the chance to finish his sentence. "Forget this trial for a moment, and answer me one question, here and now; is that true?"

Michael wondered if he was being overly optimistic to think that the old vampire actually looked ashamed when Selene glared at him as she asked that question.

"…Is this immortality… this purpose… not fair compensation?" Viktor said at last, his tone sounding so sickeningly sad that Selene didn't immediately say 'Yes' that Michael felt he truly wanted to hit the vampire for daring to even ask that question.

Selene didn't even reply herself, but the sheer contempt on her face as she turned away from Viktor said it all even before she made her way to the chamber exit. Michael briefly moved to follow her, but Selene turned back and gave him a brief smile even as she shook her head.

As much as Michael wanted to be with her, he knew enough about Selene to recognise that she wanted some time alone to process what she had just learnt about the man who had apparently been her mentor figure since she originally became a vampire.

And there was me thinking that this trial was going to be shocking enough for what it would reveal about the lycan side of things…