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Chapter Text

When Michael woke up, he found himself suspended in the air, hanging upside down from his feet with chains from the ceiling and a familiar face in front of him. Despite his shattered jaw and the burning pain in his back, he smiled mockingly at his captor.

“Well, good morning to you, Marius,” Michael said, voice hoarse from weakness.

The lycan leader crossed his arms, a deep scowl on his face. “Tell me where Subject Two is, Corvin.”

Michael rolled his eyes. Always on business. “Still don’t know who that is. Still wouldn’t tell you if I did.”

Pain exploded in his head when Marius suddenly punched him in the center of his face, breaking his nose for the fourth time since his capture ten days ago (or what he believed was ten days ago). Michael spat out a glob of blood onto the floor that landed at Marius’ feet. “Where is Selene?” the lycan growled.

Michael managed to smile even as blood from his broken nose dripped down his face and obscured his vision. “No fucking clue. How about you ask her?”

The excruciating sting of a barbed whip pierced the skin of his back and Michael tried to bite back a scream. Days of torture and only being given the bare minimum to heal his wounds had taken its toll on his body, his back a mess of torn muscle and blood. The lycan behind him wielding the whip lashed Michael a few more times before Marius stepped forward and grabbed a fistful of Michael’s hair, forcing his head back and pressing something sharp against his throat.

“I grow weary of these foolish mind games,” Marius seethed, eyes wild with anger and frustration. “I know you must have some idea of where the vampire bitch is. You are just making it harder on yourself for not telling me.”

Michael licked his parched lips, pretending to consider Marius’ words for a moment. “You’re right,” Michael said after a few seconds. “Let me tell you a secret.” Marius moved closer, a glint in his eye at the possibility that Michael was finally done being stubborn, even as a smile tugged at the corner of his lips at the thought of pissing off Marius even more. “Fuck you,” Michael whispered in the lycan’s ear with as much vitriol as he could muster after a few seconds of silence.

Michael laughed as Marius pulled back to look at the hybrid with rage in his eyes. He laughed as Marius barked out an order to a nearby lycan. He laughed as someone came in and placed a large tin bucket under his head, he laughed as Marius punched him in the face several more times in anger, shattering the bones of his skull with the force of the hits, and he laughed when Marius pressed a knife to his exposed neck before slitting his throat. Still, Michael’s shoulders shook with mirth even as the only sound he could make was a vague gurgling as his blood poured out from his severed carotid arteries into the wastebin below.

The only thing he regretted about the entire situation, about him dying a violent death after days of excruciating torture, was not seeing his love one last time before meeting his demise.

But when Michael closed his eyes as the end came for him and his consciousness faded away, the only thing that he saw in the back of his mind as he died was the color of Selene’s eyes.

I really need to stop waking up like this.

Awareness came to Michael gradually, feeling the condensation of his breath on the surface above him even as his eyes remain closed. Trying to move his limbs, he is stopped when his hand brushes against what felt like fabric on either side of his body.

Especially in a body bag.

All the easier to escape, then, right? Michael thinks to himself. At least they didn’t put me in a coffin.

Nails elongating into sharp claws, he shreds through the plastic of the body bag, opening it up from the inside before sitting up. He’s laying down on an observation table in what looked like a morgue, with three other empty examination tables in a room bathed in flickering blue light. He tries to get to his feet only for his legs to give out underneath him, muscles weak from a long time of unuse.

How long has it been since I died?

As Michael lies on the floor waiting for feeling to return to his limbs properly, he can’t help but recall the last time he found himself on the floor of an unfamiliar place, dazed and confused. He doesn’t know how long it has been since he escaped the lab, but at least there he didn’t have to claw his way out. He had woken up surrounded by shattered glass and nitrogen gas, covered in ice crystals and shivering from the cold.

Have to play it safe if I want to avoid doing this again. Michael lifts a hand to his throat as if the wound that killed him were still there, but found only smooth skin in its place.

I need to get out of here…wherever here is.

Thankfully, the only door in the room does not seem to have a lock on it. Trying to remain as quiet as possible, he slowly opens the door as to not make a sound, peering down a dark and empty hallway void of any nearby presence, lycan or otherwise.

Was this place abandoned?

Michael cautiously begins walking down the hall in hopes of finding out where he is, keeping an eye and ear out for anything that might indicate he’s not the only person in the building. Passing a door that’s been left ajar, Michael gently pushes it open to find an empty room with nothing of note inside.

Odd. This place was crawling with lycans the last time I was here. If this is the same place where I died.

The next room Michael encounters is more interesting than the last. A desk sits over near the back wall in some mockery of an office setup, while the chair lies tipped over on its side, desk drawers haphazardly left open, The only thing of note in the room is a crumpled piece of paper lying on the desk. Picking it up, Michael unfolds the note, his eyes briefly scanning over the words written in print.

Marius —
As requested I have been tracking the target for some time and I have reason to believe that she has sought refuge at the Nordic Coven in Norway. Attached are the estimated coordinates for the location. The vampires of the Nordic Coven are less likely to fight back as hard as the Eastern Coven as they are rumored to be mostly peaceful, so resistance will most likely be minimal.
We still have no news on the whereabouts of the hybrid child, but I am confident that Selene knows more than she is willing to confess.
— Alexia

Michael nearly drops the letter at the mention of his vampire lover. He’d been looking for her when Marius and a group of lycans ambushed him shortly after escaping the lab, trying to find the docks where they last saw each other. He flips the paper over, hoping that he’ll be lucky and the coordinates had been written on the back, but sighs in disappointment when he’s met with a blank surface.

Of course it’s never that easy.

Folding up the letter, Michael tucks it in the waistband of his boxer shorts courtesy of the lycans allowing him at least some small illusion of decency. He closes the door to the makeshift office gently as he exits, methodically going through the rest of the rooms in the building. Clothes, empty weapons, and other items with a fine layer of dust lie discarded on the floor and over furniture surfaces, as if whoever lived here had left in a hurry and only took the bare necessities out with them. Michael wrinkles his nose as he pulls on the cleanest pair of pants and shirt he can find, the clothes still smelling like lycan even with them being fairly unblemished in comparison to the rest of the clothes here.

Guess I’ll have to wait to find something better.

He’s disappointed but not quite surprised to find the armory mostly empty, a single pistol left behind with a magazine filled with normal bullets. Walther P99, Michael muses to himself. Just like the ones Selene uses. Clicking the safety on, he tucks it into his waistband before turning on his heel and leaving the building through a broken window.

Now how do I find this Nordic Coven?

Michael struggled against the restraints holding him in place for what seemed like the umpteenth time since arriving at the lycan den. Unsurprisingly it was no use; no progress was made against the chains, but what else was he supposed to do, sit there and wait for a lycan or Death Dealer to come kill him?

He knew the sound of gunfire and lycan roars when he heard it. Neither were sounds he thought he’d ever forget.

A growl from nearby caught his attention, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw the silhouette of a transformed lycan through the makeshift curtain of the infirmary as it stalked in his direction. Michael started pulling at the restraints with more urgency than before, until the sound of gunshots and a pained roar of fury filled the air. Michael looked up in time to see the lycan’s blood being spilled on the curtain, its body falling through it shortly after with a familiar face standing behind the monster. Relief filled him at the sight of Selene in her catsuit and smoking gun in hand as she glanced up at him before returning her attention to the dying lycan on the floor. He watched silently, eyes wide as Selene walked over to shoot the lycan in the head three more times, shell casings falling to the ground with barely audible clinks, before her blue eyes met his and she finally moved over towards him.

She took his left arm by the wrist, holding his arm out before shooting through the chains and freeing him. “I have to get you out of here,” Selene said, glancing up at Michael as she did the same to his other chained arm. “Viktor’s on his way and he won’t be satisfied until every lycan’s dead.”

Michael removed the rope around his neck before stepping down from the examination stand in front of the vampire. “They’ll kill you too, just for helping me,” he pointed out.

But Selene didn’t seem too bothered by the notion, merely replying, “I know.”

Michael looked at her for a second before he leaned in towards her, Selene meeting him halfway when they kissed for the second time. Her lips were soft unlike the rest of her, and he placed a hand on her lower back to brace them together. Unlike their first kiss, this one was slow and sweet, and Michael couldn’t help but think about the memories he saw of Lucian and Sonja, and how the war really started. How a forbidden love between the two species ripped them apart and set them on a violent warpath for centuries. He’s self-aware enough to realize how history was repeating itself, with his and Selene’s relationship as the modern day equivalent of the love affair between Lucian and Sonja. Michael could only hope that their situation would not end in tragedy for them both, even as the looming threat of Viktor hung over them both like a guillotine blade ready to come crashing down on him.

It was ironic, really, how both of Viktor’s daughters fell in love with the enemy and thus risked his wrath. Though Selene might never voice her feelings outright, her actions revealed her true allegiance, and choosing her feelings for him — a lycan — over the man she saw as a father is enough for him.

To Michael’s surprise, he was the one who pulled away first but he lingered in her space for a while longer before he moved away. Searching her eyes for any sign that she might have regretted the kiss and satisfied to find none, he decided to tell her about Lucian’s memories.

“I know what started the war.”

Michael wipes the blood off of his face and chin before dragging the carcass of the deer he just killed under a nearby brush, looking around as if worried that someone might find him here, in the middle of the woods, crouched over the body of a dead animal. He already feels so much stronger than when he first left the lycan hideout where he was left to rot, but is still no closer to finding out how to get to the Nordic Coven where Selene is allegedly staying at.

He pulls out the letter from his coat pocket, unfolding it to look at the writing once more, eyes lingering on the words Eastern Coven. He remembers Selene mentioning it in passing some time ago, when he’d been a wide-eyed newcomer to her world and had no idea the kinds of people who would be hunting them down.

It’s in the Czech Republic. Twenty minutes north of the Hluboká Castle, near the Vltava River, she had said.

Michael frowns and strains his senses, trying to hear any nearby car engines to hopefully find a road. The faint sound of cars and trucks from the southwest draws his attention, and within minutes he’s standing on the side of a small road. A blue car heading towards him starts to slow down as it approaches, stopping right next to him as the driver rolls down the window.

“Where are you headed?” the old man in the driver’s seat asks in Hungarian. Michael looks around but finds no road signs nearby to indicate where exactly he is.

“Uh, České Budějovice,” he answers, “or as close as you can get me to Hluboká Castle.”

The old man tsks. “That’s at least a four hour drive, son,” he says.

“I’m trying to find someone,” Michael answers. “I think there might be people nearby who can tell me where to find them.”

The old man holds his gaze with Michael for about five seconds before shrugging. “Come in, then,” he says, gesturing towards the back door. “Make yourself comfortable, we have a long trip ahead of us.”

Michael thanks the man and climbs into the backseat, almost immediately falling into a restless sleep, only waking up hours later when the car hits a rather large pothole, startling him awake.

The old man apologizes as Michael blinks himself awake. “We’re about twenty minutes out from Hluboká Castle,” he says, adjusting his rearview mirror.

Michael quietly thanks the old man, staring out the window at the darkening sky. I hope the Eastern Coven is still there…and that the residents don’t shoot me on sight. The two ride in silence until the car stops in front of a rather large hotel, with the looming shape of Hluboká Castle not more than half a kilometer away. He thanks the man and gets out of the car, watching him drive away before he melts back into the shadows of the treeline, sniffing the air for the smell of freshwater and heading in the direction of what he hopes is the Vltava River.

About ten minutes after finding the river he smells it. Vampires have been close by. Heart jumping in his throat at the possibility of being one step closer to finding Selene, he breaks out into a run to follow the scent, eventually finding himself staring up at the large, sprawling castle-like structure that is the Eastern Coven.

Unlike Ördögház, the coven doesn’t seem to have an intercom system in front of the main gate to the castle, so Michael goes up to what looks like the front door and prays that he won’t be immediately killed on sight when he raises a fist and knocks on the door. A few seconds later a slide on the door opens and Michael finds himself staring into unfamiliar green eyes.

“Introduce yourself or state your business here,” the person says.

Michael swallows hard. “I want to speak with Selene…or someone who knows where she is.”

The eyes narrow. “One moment, please,” the person says, before the slide is quickly closed. Michael sighs in mild irritation. At least they didn’t shoot me right then and there.

A few more uncomfortable, silent minutes pass before he hears the door being unlocked, and it opens to reveal a young man in his late 20s to early 30s in a long coat. His brown eyes widen when his gaze lands on the guest outside the coven’s door.

“Michael Corvin?” the young man — vampire, Michael assumes — asks with slight incredulity in his voice.

Michael frowns. “How did you…”

“Selene told me about you. I’ve seen her memories as well.” He opens the door wider to offer a hand. “I’m David. I’m the ruler of this coven…and one of the new Elders.”

Michael takes the hand that David offers with a bit of cautiousness. “You know Selene?”

David nods. “I found her…well, she found me after she escaped Antigen. We kind of helped each other survive, until she and I were named Elders.”

Michael dug out the paper in his coat pocket and handed it to David. “Is she still at the Nordic Coven? What happened to Marius? Is she okay?”

The young vampire Elder glances down at the note, then back to Michael, then back to the note. “Come inside,” David says eventually. “There are a few things you need to know.”

When Michael came back to the shipping container with the first aid box he ripped from the wall of the bathroom in hand, he found Selene standing in the middle, holding a light stick above her head. The inside was awash with soft orange light from the various light sticks she had placed on boxes around the “room,” and she turned to face him when the door screeched open. Stepping into the storage container, Michael closed the door behind him before he placed the first aid box on a crate next to Selene.

“All right, let me see,” he said softly, taking her injured hand in both of his and lifting it up so he could inspect the burn. Michael raised his eyebrows in surprise when he looked down at her flawless skin, tilting his head to the side as if to confirm that what he was seeing was indeed real. He glanced up at Selene with what he could only imagine was a dumbfounded expression.

“See?” the vampiress said. Michael pulled her ruined glove off her hand and confirmed that yes, what would have been a third-degree burn had healed completely. “No need.”

Michael sustained eye contact with her for a second before looking back down at her hand. Not even a scar. He reached for her face and brushed her hair back with a gentle but firm touch. Selene let out a quiet huff of mild irritation and rolled her eyes at his persistence, but nevertheless she turned her head the other way so he could check the burn on the side of her face. As expected, the scorched flesh where the sunlight had made contact with her skin had also healed over, and Michael shook his head in amusement over his chivalrous attempt to take care of her.

His hand still cupping the side of her face, Selene reached up to gently place her hand over Michael’s, even as he began to slowly stroke his thumb over her cheekbone. Her warm brown eyes searched his, a kind of vulnerability in them that Michael had never seen before. She tilted her head up ever so slightly when he began to lean in, and their lips met half a second later in a slow kiss that left Michael wanting more. Selene pulled back after stealing one more kiss to look at him, her gaze darting from his lips and back up to his eyes a few times before she kissed him again with more passion this time. Michael responded with an equal amount of enthusiasm, the hand that was still cupping the side of her face dropping lower to gently push her trench coat off her shoulders. Their lips never left each other’s, continuing the heated kisses even as Michael reached around to her back and pulled down the zipper of her leather corset, letting it fall to the floor when it was completely unzipped.

Selene pulled away to look up at him with cautious yet accepting eyes. She gave him a small nod as consent for him to go further, and Michael reached out to gently pull the zipper of her catsuit down far enough for him to move it down her shoulders, her helping to shrug the suit off. Closing her eyes as she leaned in to kiss him again, Selene’s hands moved over to Michael’s own shoulders to push the coat he was wearing off his chest. He lifted a hand up to the side of her face when the coat hit the floor next to her corset, holding her close as they continued to exchange passionate kisses. After a moment of hesitation, Selene placed a hand on his back to hold him close to her.

Michael guided her to lay down on their makeshift bed of clothes, tarp, and blanket, pulling the rest of her suit off her body and positioning himself between her legs. Selene let out a quiet, barely audible whimper when he ground his still-clothed hips down on her, a sound that made his blood boil with nearly uncontrollable desire, but Michael managed to restrain the recently awoken beast in him. The raven-haired beauty beneath him deserved care and attention, and he refused to let the darker side of himself emerge as they shared this new feeling together. He chuckled against her lips when he felt her tugging at the waistband of his pants and helped her guide them off of his lower body. Though he longed to be within her, Michael put aside his own needs to reach down between Selene’s legs and brush his fingertips past sensitive flesh while his mouth latched on to her breast. He smiled against her skin when he heard her let out a noise of surprise that quickly faded into a low moan, sliding the tip of his index finger inside of her and finding her more than ready for him.

“I’ve barely touched you and you’re already this wet?” Michael whispered, his voice lower than normal as the lycan in him stirred.

Selene dug her fingernails into the back of his neck just hard enough to be uncomfortable. “Shut up,” she responded, but there was no bite in her tone.

I have a better idea. Michael shifted his hips and smiled to himself when Selene jerked her hips up as she felt the length of him brush against the inside of her thigh. He moved further upwards, gently thrusting himself against the smooth skin of her abdomen as he leaned down to continue kissing her. He shifted his hips against her a few more times before he pulled away, her arms wrapping around his shoulders to keep him close even as the heat of his body retreated. Selene tilted her head back when Michael slipped another finger inside of her and he had to force back the sudden urge to sink his teeth into the flawless skin of her neck. He wasn’t sure if she knew of the lycan part of his brain that was set ablaze when she exposed her throat like that to him, but he fought to restrain himself regardless. Still, he indulged his inner lycan a bit when he leaned down to kiss the side of her neck before returning back to her lips. Selene’s hands moved from his shoulders to grip his upper arm, pressing a gentle kiss to his shoulder when he pulled back to breathe. She leaned her head back to look him in the eyes as she bit her lip and whispered “please.”

And that was the moment that Michael realized that he was completely and utterly screwed. Because he just knew that he would never be able to say no to her when those warm brown eyes met his, when that damned word slipped past lips swollen with his kisses.

But the look on Selene’s face when he finally slipped inside of her made the sudden realization of how much sway this woman had over his actions worth it. She drew her leg up to allow him to sink deeper into her body and Michael almost lost control of himself, but managed to hold on to his humanity as he started to make love to her. Pulling back from her lips, Michael smiled a bit when he stared down into electric blue irises and caught a glimpse of her fangs. He didn’t exactly consider himself to be an expert on all things Selene, but he did know that her eyes only turned blue like this during a period of heightened emotion or adrenaline.

Michael reached down between their bodies and chuckled a bit when she let out an excited gasp after he brushed his fingertips past her most sensitive area. The way Selene’s body was jerking underneath his told him that she wasn’t very far from riding the waves of euphoria, and a small part of him was immensely proud of how quickly he could get her to fall apart. Michael watched her face as her soft whimpers grew louder until she finally came with a cry of his name. He felt his own fangs starting to elongate in his mouth and he desperately held on to his humanity even as he watched Selene’s eyes roll into the back of her head from the intense wave of pleasure.

“S-Selene,” he grunted, trying not to let go of himself too soon, but the slight pain of her fingernails digging into the skin of his forearms and the expression of pure euphoria on her beautiful face was not doing any favors for his control. He squeezed his eyes shut to keep himself from looking down at her, but was unable — and unwilling — to tune out the mewls and whimpers slipping out of her mouth, only opening his eyes when her sounds of pleasure had quieted down to labored breathing.

Michael let out a surprised grunt when he felt her legs wrap tightly around his waist and he suddenly found himself staring up at Selene. He moved his hands down to her waist to stabilize her body above him, but then Selene was fucking riding him and his entire mind went blank. She leaned down to kiss him, letting her breasts press up against his bare chest and Selene was riding him what the fuck was he supposed to do.

Michael leaned his head back, letting out a harsh exhale as she moved against him. She made a quiet sound above him when his fingernails became claws against his will, and he nearly lost his goddamned mind when he felt her lean her head down next to him, her hair brushing against his face.

“Mich — unh! — Michael,” Selene panted into his ear, grinding her hips down onto him, and between the sound of her voice and the wild look in her ice blue eyes and the heat surrounding him on all sides, his entire universe exploded behind his eyes. Panting hard and holding her close to him, Michael let go of himself completely, calling out her name between clenched teeth as he fell off the edge with her.

And despite the mental exhaustion of the past few days, neither of them got much sleep afterwards.

“Twelve years?”

David nods as he pours a glass of blood from a Ziodex pack before handing it to Michael. “Yes. You and Selene were captured in late 2004. She escaped about twelve years afterwards. From what she’s told me, she found your cryogenic chamber but didn’t have enough time to personally free you, so she compromised the structural integrity of your chamber so you could also escape. But by the time we came back to get you, you were already gone.”

“Oh.” Michael puts his glass down on the table. “But…there’s more than that, isn’t there?”

“When did Marius kill you?” David asks.

“Uh…little over a week after Antigen, give or take a few days.”

David places his own glass down, a solemn look on his face. “You’ve been dead for three years, Michael.”

Michael’s jaw goes slack at that. He takes a moment for it to sink in, for him to truly grasp the situation he’s in, before — “Selene thinks I’ve been dead for three years?”

“Essentially. She said you had revived after fighting Marcus which meant that maybe you could revive after Marius killed you, but after a year passed and you still didn’t come back, she lost hope.”

“Jesus Christ.” Michael runs a hand through his hair and lets out a shaky breath. “Is she still at the Nordic Coven? How do I get there?”

David turns to take a book off of the shelf behind him, grabbing a piece of paper as well. “The Nordic Coven is pretty secretive with its location. Most vampires thought it to be a myth, but they do exist. And Selene is still there, from the last time I talked to her about a week ago.” David flips open the book to a map of Norway before writing down numbers and letters onto the blank piece of paper before handing it to Michael. “These are the coordinates for the Coven. It’s located in the middle of an ice sheet off official Coven maps, so you’ll need a GPS if you want to not get lost on the way there.”

Michael takes the paper. “I don’t suppose you have something that can just fly me there?”

David shakes his head. “Norway has bad weather for aircraft at this time of year. You’ll have to go on foot.” He opens a desk drawer, retrieving a small box and sliding it across the table to Michael. “Punch the coordinates into this and it will give you directions to the Coven. I assume you know how a GPS works.”

Michael nods as he takes the GPS and puts it in his pocket along with the scrap of paper. “Thank you. Truly.” He gets up to shake David’s hand once more and heads out towards the door, but stops before turning the knob to look back at David. “Is she…will she accept me back into her life, even after all this time?”

An uncomfortably long pause follows where both men stare at each other before David speaks again. “She hasn’t taken another lover since being captured, if that’s what you’re asking. I would tell you more, but it’s not my place to talk about it.”

“I just don’t want to walk back into her life if she’s moved on from me. I want her to be happy above all else, and if that means I can’t be in her life anymore…” Michael trails off, unable to voice the notion that the world, that Selene, might have moved on without him.

“She loves you,” David says in a hoarse, somewhat strained voice. And not me, Michael knows he means, because despite the young vampire’s best efforts to hide it, Michael can see the softness in his eyes when he talks about Selene even as he knows his feelings would never be reciprocated.

Michael remembers asking Selene about that a few weeks before they were captured.

"From what I have seen, vampires and lycans do not take more than one life mate, even centuries after one dies. Why do you think Viktor never took another lover after the death of his wife? Why do you think Lucian continued to mourn Sonja six hundred years after her death? Vampires, and lycans even more so, are exclusively monogamous. We have one partner for life, and we never take another if they die. Not all vampires settle down with one partner for the rest of their immortal life, but for those that do, it's a bond that is unbreakable."

"What about you? Have you ever had a...connection like that?"

"I have never been interested in romantic pursuits, much less the idea of sharing my life with one person as much as a life mate would require." There was a long pause. "Then I met you."

Michael had known exactly what she was implying. No matter the depth of his feelings of admiration towards the former Death Dealer, David never stood a chance with Selene, who had already long been mated to Michael before the young vampire met her after Antigen.

Michael’s worries about Selene moving on from him seem a bit silly now that he thinks about it.

“I watched over her and fought alongside her since she broke out of Antigen,” David continues, bringing Michael back to reality, “but it was always you.”

Michael remains quiet for a moment, before he nods in solemn acknowledgement towards the vampire elder and leaves.

The boards of the dock snapped in half under Michael’s weight as he fell through the docks and into the water below. Fighting for the surface, Michael gasped for air when his head breached the water surface, but before he could find somewhere to pull himself up he felt clawed hands on his head dragging him onto the surface of a lower dock.

Marcus threw Michael into the wall and punched him in the face when he tried to stand up to face the hybrid Elder. Marcus managed to hit Michael in the face once more, but as he moved to punch him again Michael grabbed the Elder by the wrist to stop him, hissing as he felt his body shift and change. Marcus answered with a hiss of his own, before bashing his head against Michael’s face, causing him to take an involuntary step back. He felt claws rake across his face before Marcus grabbed him by the back of his jacket, lifted him in the air, and slammed Michael down onto an iron bar supporting the old dock.

Michael could do nothing more than let out a weak gasp as the iron bar impaled him through the chest, his consciousness already starting to slip away. He tried to reach for the pendant around his neck he now knew held the key to William’s prison, but Marcus simply caught Michael’s arm by the wrist and slammed it down onto a nearby piece of jagged metal, before grabbing the key off his chest.

“Soon, brother,” Marcus said under his breath as Michael’s groans of agony grew silent.

Gunfire erupted into the night when Selene jumped down through the hole in the dock, taking aim at Marcus and firing the UMP she took from the dead body of the Cleaner in Alexander’s office. Marcus let out a shrill screech of pain as the bullets pierced his skin, diving into the water to approach her on the other side. She followed his movements with the gun but was blindsided when he erupted out of the water, one of his wing talons spearing through her wrist and the other impaling her leg as Marcus pinned her against the wooden support beams of the dock. Selene tried to grab at his throat but the Elder vampire simply wrenched her wrist away from him, looking more annoyed than enraged at her attempt to fight him off.

Selene glanced up at the wrist that Marcus had pierced, realizing her folly as her blood dripped down her arm and Marcus’ wing talon, allowing him free access to her memories and therefore the location of William’s prison. “No!” she cried out as Marcus tasted her blood and got everything he needed from her. Looking around to try finding something that could help her fight off the vastly powerful vampire, she reached above her head to grab at the holstered Walther P99 of a dead Cleaner above her, only barely managing to retrieve the weapon. Marcus screeched in pain as she unloaded the magazine directly into his face, abruptly letting go of her to take flight and leave, dropping her into the water below. Fighting for the surface, Selene found herself opposite where she had been pinned down, breathing hard as she hoisted herself up and onto the dock.

Abruptly she remembered Michael lying above her and dropped the pistol, turning her head to face his body only to find him completely unresponsive. Getting to her feet, she stumbled over to his side.

“No. No, Michael,” Selene whimpered, holding the back of his head up and off the wood. “Look at me!” she demanded, her other hand going to the side of his face and gently stroking his bloodied cheek with her thumb. “Michael!” She tried shaking his shoulder as one might when trying to wake someone up even as the hardened soldier in her knew it was for naught. She had seen the results of penetrating trauma injuries to the chest of both vampire and lycan alike, and very rarely did they survive. She’d caused more than a few deaths this way. It should have been clear from the start how Michael was beyond saving.

So then why was she trying to revive him anyway? Why were her eyes welling up with tears?

Selene glanced over at the iron bar he had been impaled on, streaked with gore. “Shit,” she whispered before gently lifting him off the metal splinter that Marcus had stabbed his hand with and taking hold of the iron bar.

She tried not to think about how she was touching the shredded pieces of what was left of Michael’s heart as she pulled at the bar with what little strength she had left following Marcus’ attack. It took far too long for her to wrench the metal out from its attachments, grunting with how much effort it took to pry the bar out from Michael’s chest, but the nails finally gave way and she was able to remove the bar. Selene tore open his shirt to get a better look at his wound and immediately regretted it when she laid eyes on his ruined chest cavity, a clean hole in the middle of his chest and shattered pieces of his sternum visible around his torn flesh. For a moment she hesitated at the ugly injury, but forged on even as tears began to blur her vision.

Selene opened her gauntlet to let blood from her wrist injury drip into Michael’s open chest wound, holding her wrist above it even as she used her other hand to cradle the back of his head. She looked back at her wrist; the blood flow already slowing down as her healing factor kicked in. Still he showed no response to the blood she was giving him. “Please,” she whimpered as if Michael could hear her now, as if asking for him to wake up would be able to magically revive him. “Please.”

The blood stopped flowing from her wrist and still Michael did not respond. In desperation, she tapped the side of his face. “Come on, come on,” Selene begged, at first meaning to be gentle with it and not wanting to injure him any further. But as the truth of the situation sank into her and she finally accepted that Michael was beyond saving, the tears began to fall. She hit his shoulder multiple times in despair and frustration before collapsing at his side with a loud curse.

“Fuck!”

Selene could count on one hand the amount of times she had cried over the last few centuries since the slaying of her family at Viktor’s hand. Yet she could not stop the sobs from wracking her body as she reached out to Michael, cupping his face in her hand.

Was this her punishment for breaking the Covenant? Was her effort to save Michael from the silver nitrate coursing through his blood a few days ago all for nothing? Was she doomed to spend the next few centuries mourning for Michael, just as Lucian had spent the last 600 years grieving for Sonja?

Where was she supposed to go from here, after the death of the man who brought back a part of herself she thought had died the night of her family’s slaughter?

Selene had no answers to any of the questions running through her mind, so she did what she had done the night she left her former life behind: she took her despair and turned it into anger. Turned it into fuel for revenge. Promised herself that she would do whatever it took to make the culprit pay for their crime.

This time, it would be Marcus, not the lycans, who would pay for taking away someone she held dear.

I definitely should have worn something better than this.

Michael continues running from the pack of lycans after him through way more snow than he was built for. His only consolation in the abysmal speed at which he’s eluding the lycans is that they were not built for travelling through thick layers of snow either. Even with his higher body temperature and the jacket he’s wearing, the chill of the air bites through the fabric and at his skin. Lucky bastards with fur all over their bodies. A shot rings out into the night and Michael’s shoulder explodes with pain, but he continues running from the pack, with no idea on how they found him. In his condition, facing off six lycans at this time would be utter suicide. He might stand a better chance against one or two, but fighting the whole pack is out of the question.

Michael exits the treeline of the wooded forest he’d been in when the pack tried to ambush him and doesn’t even waste time to discover whether or not the stream he’s approaching has completely frozen over, instead choosing to leap for the other side and only barely managing to make it across the riverbank. He turns in time to see one lycan who is farther ahead than the others make the same jump, transforming in midair before it’s on him, jaws snapping at his exposed throat and claws digging into his skin. Michael holds back the lycan’s claws with both hands while he feels his own transformation taking hold. His fangs start to elongate, nails sharpening into claws intimidating enough to match his attacker’s own, eyes becoming pitch black and skin darkening as the bones in his face rearrange to form a short muzzle.

The lycan growls lowly in irritation at the increased resistance its would-be prey was now exhibiting. Michael growls right back at the lycan on top of him before slamming his head into its face, hearing a satisfying crack of bone and a sound of enraged agony coming out between rows of razor sharp teeth. Its claws dig into his skin to leave long, ugly gashes in his side, but Michael forces his way through the pain to tighten his grip around the lycan’s wrists until the bones crack under his strength. His adversary yelps and he takes advantage of its momentary distraction to reach forward and snap the lycan’s neck, killing it instantly just as another lycan makes the jump across the river.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, Michael swears internally as he lets the dead body fall to the ground and only barely manages to avoid being disembowelled by the second lycan’s claws, catching a brief glimpse of the other members of the pack appear out of the treeline. The second lycan tackles him into an ungodly amount of snow and ice, with Michael choosing to sacrifice his left arm to hold back its jaws as he fumbles for the gun at his waist. Pressing the barrel against the beast’s stomach, Michael fires three times, throwing aside the dying lycan’s body to wrap his hands on jaws that were so close to tearing his throat out and ripping out its bottom jaw. He climbs to his feet to see the other four lycans approach the riverbank, but they hesitate at the sight of two bodies on the ground at Michael’s feet. Letting out what he hopes is an intimidating roar, Michael tosses the dead lycan’s jaw to them, all four backing up in uncertainty when it lands in front of them.

He doesn’t stop to see if the remaining lycans decide whether or not to chase him, he just turns and keeps running. Still, he sighs in relief when he no longer senses their presence. He melts back into his human form only to nearly collapse at the pain in his side where the lycan had clawed at him. The deep gouges and the excruciating pain that shoots through his body every time he moves hinder his movement until he’s stumbling through the snow like a drunkard, blood seeping through the makeshift bandage he makes out of his shirt and vision going hazy.

Michael laughs to himself despite the searing pain in his chest and abdomen. Just like what I used to bandage Selene up after Lucian stabbed her in the shoulder. He almost trips and falls into the snow, but regains his footing at the last second. At least the cold is beginning to numb the pain…He pulls out the GPS that David had given him to glance at its display.

1.5 km to destination

But between the exhaustion, grave wounds, and with the beginning stages of hypothermia setting in, Michael is only able to take a few more steps before his exhausted body gives out on him and he collapses into the snow. Still Michael tries to force his way forward, resorting to crawling through the snow and ice. I can’t give up now. Not when I’m so close…

He’s able to crawl a few meters forward before he gives out, body unable to go any further, and he resigns himself to his fate. Michael turns himself over with great difficulty, moving onto his back so he can look up at the moon and stars. He hopes that it’s the same moon and stars that Selene — the woman who was named after the Greek goddess of the moon and the vampire he fell in love with — is looking at now…wherever she is.

He takes in a shuddering breath, bloodied lips parting as Michael whispers his last words into the snow falling all around him.

“I’m sorry, Selene.”

Michael changed back into his human form as he ran through the corridors of William’s former prison, trying to find a way to get up towards the bridge where Selene had been facing Marcus. He didn’t know how close it was to daylight, and he would rather not watch helplessly as Selene crumbled into ash in front of his eyes. To his horror, daylight had already began to shine down into the courtyard of the prison, but what he saw next took his breath away entirely as he finally reached the entrance to the bridge where Selene was.

Selene was standing there with her back to him, surrounded by daylight, staring down at her hand that was outstretched to the sun’s rays.

And she wasn’t burning.

Michael stopped for a moment to watch her, sighing in relief as her flawless skin was bathed in the light of the sun and didn’t start blistering like it had after they fought Marcus for the first time, before the warehouse. Selene started to turn her body towards him, stepping fully into the light and glancing up at the sky as if checking to make sure it was actually the sun that was shining down on her and not artificial lighting. The expression of childlike wonder on a face normally hardened by constant war made his heart melt, and he looked up towards the rising sun as well before returning his gaze to Selene. Even from where he was standing he could see her eyes welling up with tears, whether from seeing him alive and well or standing in the sun without fear of spontaneous combustion for the first time in more than six hundred years.

Her brown eyes locked with his and she took in a shaky breath, watching him even as he approached her slowly. The hole in her suit and dried blood around a potential wound in the center of her chest worried him somewhat, but it didn’t seem to be bleeding anymore and Selene wasn’t too concerned with it, so he continued onward until he was standing right in front of her. He could tell that she was at a complete loss for words, mouth opening and closing a few times as she tried to find the right words to say to express how much the moment meant to her. She kept looking between his eyes and the center of his chest where the iron bar had impaled him less than a day before. He glanced down at the wetness on her cheek and was overcome with the impulse to take care of her, to reassure her that he was okay.

Michael reached forward and cupped the side of her face in one hand. Her lips parted in anticipation and he leaned in, Selene tilting her head up towards him as he cradled her face in his hands and kissed her gently, feeling one of her tears against his skin as her lips moved against his. Her hand moved up to his shoulder as he wound an arm around her waist as they continued to kiss, Selene letting out a sigh into his mouth when he pulled away to breathe and leaning her head against his.

“Michael,” she whispered, brown eyes searching his, “what…”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “I woke up on a helicopter. Someone was talking about you being in danger and I just… transformed.” He ran a hand through her hair, glancing up at the sky. “How did this happen ?”

“Alexander had me drink his blood,” Selene breathed, glancing up at the sky again. “But he didn’t say what would happen to me.” Another tear rolled down her face as she stared longingly at the sun and Michael caught it with his hand, brushing his thumb past her cheek. “It has been six hundred years…”

“I know,” he murmured. “But now you don’t have to fear the sun anymore.”

“We will still be on the run. I have now killed two of our three Elders,” Selene said with a grave expression. “The Vampire Council will most certainly want me dead…”

“We can worry about that later,” Michael whispered to her. “For now…” He looked up at the hole in the ceiling of the courtyard before leaping for the wall, fingernails elongating into claws to cling onto the old bricks better as he climbed up towards the opening. Reaching the top, he hauled himself over the bricks and stood up on the roof, helping to pull Selene up out of the hole as she followed him. Michael gathered her into his arms as they stood on the roof of the castle that was William’s prison, smiling to himself when she relaxed in his arms and sagged against his chest.

Michael put his chin on her shoulder, nuzzling into her neck and breathing in her scent. He moved his head so he could whisper in her ear.

“Let’s just watch the sun rise.”

I really need to stop waking up like this.

Fingers twitching at his sides, Michael struggles to open his eyes only to immediately squeeze them shut at the blinding lights above him. Groaning, Michael tries to sit up only for a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Easy now,” a voice says from behind him as he lies back down. “You’re still healing.”

Michael licks his chapped lips before asking in a voice hoarse from misuse, “where am I?”

“A nearby hunting party found you in the snow on their way back. They brought you here.” A pause. “You are at the Nordic Coven.”

Relief fills Michael’s body at the words. “Nordic Coven, huh?” He opens his eyes again, managing to keep them open this time, and turns his head towards the voice to find a woman with blue eyes and hair as white as the snow he collapsed in sitting next to him. “Must’ve been close then.”

The woman nods. “You’ve been in the infirmary for three days. You almost died… again.”

Michael’s face falls. “Oh. So you know about all the other times.”

“Selene hoped it would be the case for a few months after learning what Marius did to you,” she nods. “But when a year passed and there was still no sign of you, she began to lose hope.”

Michael’s eyes widen at the name of his lover. “S-Selene told you about me?” he asks, before trying to get to his feet again. “Where is she? Is she here? Do you know where — “

“She is,” the woman says as she helps him sit up in what he assumes to be an infirmary bed. “But she does not know that you are here. Patient recovery isn’t exactly one of her strong suits.”

He frowns. “Why didn’t you tell her I was here?” He pauses. “And who even are — ”

“Lady Selene’s domain here at the Nordic Coven is security,” the woman answers. “The war with the lycans may be over, but the humans are still a threat. I am Lena, one of the three Elders. I am the leader of this coven.”

Michael blinks as he swings his legs around to sit up on the infirmary bed. “I thought the Elders were all dead.”

“The Vampire Council appointed three new Elders a few years ago,” Lena answers. “As it happens, Selene is one of them and is here to help rebuild after Marius’ attack nearly decimated us.”

“Oh,” he breathes out, before looking down at his abdomen only to find no trace of the wound the lycan gave him that almost killed him. Before he can say anything else, the infirmary door opens and someone enters the room.

“Lena? Have you seen Varga anywhere in the past hour? I can’t — ”

To Michael, the entire world had stopped at the sound of her voice, and he can’t turn his head to look at her fast enough. Despite having the highest rank a vampire can possibly have, she doesn’t seem to have outgrown her fondness for the standard issue Death Dealer outfit, sleek catsuit with the leather corset and all.

Selene immediately stops talking when their eyes meet, and it’s like the whole world fades away when the two lay eyes on each other for the first time in nearly two decades.

Her lips part. “Michael?” she asks in a whisper so quiet he almost misses it.

“Selene,” he breathes as he gets up on his feet.

There’s a blur as Michael assumes she crossed the room — even his enhanced hybrid eyesight didn’t see much other than a blur of black, because God forbid she wear anything other than the catsuit that is surely like a second skin to her — before he’s suddenly wrapped in Selene’s embrace as she holds him so tightly his ribs ache. He’s about to protest how strong her grip is which would not bode well with how his entire body aches like he was just ran over by a bus when he feels it against his neck.

Tears.

Six hundred and thirty-five years of conditioning to not feel anything other than rage and revenge don’t just go away overnight, but Michael is still surprised when he feels her tears on his skin and her body starting to tremble in his arms ever so slightly. She doesn’t sob, doesn’t wail or weep, but her breathing is labored and her heart is racing, and that’s all he needs to know. Michael closes his eyes, burying his face in her hair and breathing in her scent as he returns her embrace. He hears the door click shut and opens one eye to find the room empty other than him and Selene.

“I missed you,” he mumbles into her hair, chuckling to himself a bit when her grip tightens even more around his shoulders. The two stay like that for a moment before she pulls back, Michael only getting a few seconds of looking into her brown eyes before she’s kissing him and everything else falls away. He holds her face in his hands as he kisses her back without hesitation, only pulling away when the need for oxygen is too great. Even still, he leans his head against hers to stay as close to her as possible.

“I thought you were dead,” Selene says eventually, and Michael nods.

“I was. But then I just…woke up.”

She leans back to glare at him. “Michael Corvin, if you ever die on me again — ”

Michael interrupts her when he presses his lips to hers again and she kisses him back without hesitation. He’s smiling by the time they separate again. “I wouldn’t dare to piss you off,” he says, before his gaze softens. “Selene, what happened? All I remember is you running towards me…then waking up on the floor of a lab…then Marius — ” He stops talking when she places a finger over his lips.

“The humans put us in cryogenesis. To study us, I suppose. We were asleep for twelve years before someone helped me break out. At first I couldn’t find you…but when I found your chamber I shot the glass to help you escape,” Selene says. “Something — someone — needed my immediate attention, and I couldn’t stop to wait for you to recover. And by the time I got back, you were already gone.”

He blinks. “Who was — ”

A knock on the door interrupts him, and Selene retreats from his arms with a knowing look on her face and turns her head away from him to face the infirmary door. “You can come in now, Eve,” she calls out, ignoring Michael’s inquisitive stare.

The door opens and Michael meets the gaze of the girl standing in the doorway who looks to be no older than sixteen. His heart catches in his throat as the girl — who looks so much like Selene — approaches his bedside. Michael glances over at Selene in confusion, but before he can ask anything she continues.

“Michael, this is Eve,” she says with a softness in her eyes that he’s never seen her show before. “Eve Corvin. Our daughter.”

Michael looks over to the girl in shock. His mouth opens, closes, opens again as he tries to find his voice again. “When…”

“She was born at Antigen, the people who captured us,” Selene answers, looking back at him with regret. “I must have been pregnant when they put us in cryogenesis.”

Michael looks back over at Eve. I have a daughter. With Selene. “Did they at least…”

“No,” Selene answers, the fire in her eyes more than familiar to him. “They said her parents were dead. Used her for experiments. They wanted to extract the pure Corvinus strain from her blood.”

Michael clenches his teeth in anger even as he feels his canines sharpen in his mouth. “Are they — ”

“Dead,” Selene answers ferociously. “I killed them all.”

A part of him wishes that some of the scientists were alive so that he could get his hands on them for treating his daughter like a guinea pig for twelve years, but he is more than confident that Selene already doled out their punishment. A fucking child. What kind of monster does that?

He looks over at Eve, who had gone from staring at her father in awe to staring at the floor nervously. Michael holds out a hand. “Eve.” She looks up at him with apprehension in her eyes, but Michael waves her over anyway. “Come here.” He wraps his daughter in a warm and firm embrace in his arms, quickly discovering that Eve cries like her mother does — subdued and quiet, but not without feeling. Michael’s not too proud to admit that he sheds a few tears himself as he holds his daughter in his arms.

And when Michael opens his eyes to look over at the woman he fell in love with, he smiles at the look of adoration and love on her face. It makes him realize that for the first time in six centuries, Selene finally has what she had lost from her past life; something she had believed for the longest time she would never be able to have again.

A family.

Waking up like this, limbs tangled with Selene’s under cool sheets and their bodies pressed together, was probably the only good thing about being on the run from lycan and vampire alike. Michael smiled to himself when he awoke to the smell of rosemary and gunmetal, nuzzling into her hair and holding her tight. The two were spooning, Michael’s chest pressed against her bare back and his arms wrapped around her abdomen. Sighing, he felt Selene shift in his arms a bit before she laid a hand over his, and he moved his head to start pressing gentle kisses to her exposed shoulder.

“What are you doing?” she asked, and Michael could almost imagine the hints of a smile on her lips.

“Just saying hello,” he murmured against her skin. Selene let out a contented hum even as his fingertips brushed past the smooth skin of her abdomen. She shivered a bit at his touch, and Michael smiled.

He almost can’t believe that it’s been four months since they first met. Michael had never believed in love at first sight, but on that fateful night that the underworld collided with his own, when he locked eyes with a mysterious woman dressed in head to toe in leather leaning against a pillar, he had felt a magnetism towards her that he could not deny. Even now after being on the run with her for months, he can’t help but be pulled into her orbit every time he looked into those brown eyes that hid so much pain and longing.

He’s never felt this much affection and love in his life. The emotions that his late fiancee had evoked from him are nothing like the burning desire and love he feels for the former Death Dealer in his arms.

And it scares him.

Michael rolled onto his back, pulling Selene with him until she was tucked into his side, reaching down to lift her chin before kissing her. She sighed into his mouth as she responded, fingers brushing against the two puncture marks her fangs had left in his skin when she bit him to save his life all those moons ago. Michael tangled a hand through her hair as they continued to kiss, smiling to himself when he pulled back to gently nip at Selene’s bottom lip and she made a noise of surprise into his mouth.

And that’s when Michael’s impulsive tendencies when it came to everything Selene seized control of his rational mind, and he said the words that he had been avoiding for the all the times he found himself pressing against her body for the past few months.

“I love you.”

Selene froze completely in his arms, his lust-addled brain taking far too long to realize what exactly he’d said until she was already pulling away. He reached out and gently grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her from leaving the bed entirely, but she still avoided meeting his eyes.

Have I ruined everything? Michael despaired. Am I going to lose her forever because I couldn’t keep my damn mouth shut?

Sure, Michael’s only known Selene for less than a year, but is he completely imagining the chemistry between them, the mutual — or so he hoped — feelings of attraction towards each other? Is he the only one who catches himself watching Selene do everyday things like clean her weapons or watch the sun rise with a childlike wonder in her eyes, and wishing he could do this with her, stay with her forever?

Did Selene also look at him with the same amount of longing that he was staring at her now with, or did he see attraction — devotion — in her eyes when there was none?

“Selene,” Michael starts, but she turns her head away. “Selene, look at me.”

He shouldn’t have been surprised to see the practiced, stoic expression he finds himself faced with when she finally does turn to look him in the eye. Still, Michael can’t help but feel disappointed that even when they’re this close, when they’ve seen each other naked in every sense of the word, when they’ve been there for each other during the worst days of their lives, Selene always pulled away from him.

He sat up in the bed, the sheets falling away from him as he moved closer to her. The lycan in him stirred at the sight of her soft curves, her smooth and flawless skin, but he forced down his growing feelings of lust. Now is not the time. They stared each other down for a few seconds before Michael asked, “what are we, Selene?”

“We are allies,” she said with a flat tone, and Michael had to hold back an exasperated sigh. “And I trust you.”

He reached out to the stoic Death Dealer, placing a hand on the side of her face and silently rejoicing when she didn’t pull away. “I think you know that’s not enough,” he said quietly, searching her brown eyes.

Instead of looking angry or disgusted by his implied challenge, something he would have expected, Selene exhaled heavily. “What do you want me to tell you, Michael?” she asked with resignation in her voice. “That we are lovers? Mates? Meant to be? Because we are not. We might never be. Not while we remain the hunted.”

Michael imagined the hurt that he felt in his heart that reached out towards someone who might never be able to give it to him back was plainly visible in his expression when he quietly said, “I just…wanted to know that you cared.”

Brown eyes searched his own for a moment before Selene’s expression softened ever so slightly, and she moved closer to place her lips on his. She pulled away slowly, just like she did the first time they kissed in the safe house interrogation room. She was silent for a few seconds, holding his gaze before she pulled away and broke eye contact with him, but not before Michael heard her whisper something under her breath.

“I care more than you will ever know, Michael.”

“Marius told me he killed you,” Selene whispers quietly to him later that night when introductions and reunions are over, when they’re left alone in her bedchambers. He gathers her in his arms at her words, the warmth of his body surrounding her on all sides. “His memories did, anyway.”

Michael runs a gentle finger through her hair, now with platinum highlights since the last time he saw her. “He did,” Michael says simply, leaving it at that. She doesn’t need to know about the torture he put me through. The mere fact that it took three years for me to regenerate all the missing tissue and blood cells…

“I tried to find your body at the very least,” Selene adds, interrupting his grim thoughts. “But if there were any lycans who knew exactly where you were, I never found them.”

He closes his eyes. “I’m sorry that I fled when I woke up at Antigen,” Michael says. “If I had known that you were the one who freed me…”

Selene pulls away from his embrace to look him in the eye. “No, Michael. That’s not your fault. What Marius did to you was not your fault.”

“If you say so,” he replies. She looks like she’s about to argue with him some more, so he adds, “I trust that he received a violent death for it?”

The spark of defiance and determination in her eyes that he’s seen on more than one occasion crosses her face. “I ripped out his spine.”

Michael whistles lowly. “Remind me not to get on your bad side,” he chuckles, holding her face in one hand as he leans down to kiss her only to be stopped with her hand on his chest. He pulls back to look at her in concern. “You okay?”

Selene nods, averting her eyes. “I just…I have something I want to say.” Michael nods, so she continues. “A few years ago, when I first met Eve…I had no idea where you were. I thought you were dead then, too.” She takes a deep breath, steeling herself for what she’s about to say. “I told her that I had been with you the night Antigen captured us. That when I woke up after twelve years of being asleep, I found a girl who looked like her mother, but had eyes just like her father - the only man I've ever truly loved.”

Michael feels his heart nearly stop at her words, but Selene continues, looking up at him with those beautiful brown eyes that had captivated and hypnotized him the first time he saw them at the subway station all those years ago.

“And I know that I’m not good with feelings. That I don’t always show how much I care,” she says. “But I never told you before, and it was one of my greatest regrets for the past three years. So I want to tell you now, before — if — I lose you again.”

Michael knows what’s coming, but that still doesn’t stop the rush of emotions in his heart that he feels when she holds his face in her hands, a rare level of deep vulnerability in her eyes when she says, “I love you, Michael.”

He reaches out towards Selene, who has saved his life more times that he can count, who gave him something to live for after he thought he’d lost it, the mother of his child and the love of his life. Michael smiles at her, brushing his thumb past her cheek and watching her close her eyes in bliss as she inhales shakily.

“I love you too, Selene,” he whispers.

And the world is right again.

Chapter Text

Selene activated the closing sequence on the caged arena, slamming the pommel of the knife she took from Marius into the control module with enough force to crack the tempered glass. She rolled under the lowering cage and got to her feet just as Marius approached the arena. Bringing the blade up, she watched Marius stop in front of the cage and stare at her with annoyance and hate in his eyes. Paying him no mind, Selene dragged her tongue against the flat edge of the blade, still covered with his blood, as the memories she was looking for flashed before —

in the lab frozen in ice the chamber is empty a dark street watching a dazed confused man try to find his way home guns screaming he fights back but is far too weak to truly stand a chance against a pack of lycans at full strength thrown onto a table held down by several lycans as he struggles to free himself blades guns he won’t die from the silver but that doesn’t mean it won’t hurt like hell they strung him up like he was nothing more than a pig carcass at a butcher’s shop more blades the flash of a whip so much blood tell me where selene is i don’t know and even if i did i wouldn’t tell you so much blood as she watches the light in his eyes fade away they used him for experiments just like they did for eve —

Selene gasped for breath as the memories abruptly ended, feeling as though her whole world collapsed in on itself at the sight of everything her lover went through. She glared at Marius, the venom in her fangs paling in comparison to the venom in her eyes.

“You killed Michael,” she whispered.

Marius pulled something out from one of the many pockets of his vest, whatever was inside sloshing around as he brought  it up for Selene to see. A small vial, filled with what she immediately knew was Michael’s blood.

Some vampires say that you never forget the smell of your progeny’s blood.

“This is the last of him,” Marius said, watching her reaction.

Selene moved forward to grasp onto the bars of the cage, breathing heavily and on the brink of tears as Marius came closer with the vial. Just as she was about to reach out and take what was left of the man she loved, Marius pulled his hand back, shooting her a self-satisfied smirk before popping the lid off of the vial. Selene could do nothing more than stare in abject horror, a few tears rolling down her face as Marius downed the entire vial down in one gulp. He tilted his head back as he let the transformation take hold of his body, letting out a guttural roar as muscle and bone reformed themselves.

Selene turned away from Marius as his body continued to shift forms and sank her fangs into her own wrist, the coppery taste of blood immediately flooding her mouth as she sorted through her own blood memories —

she unintentionally locks gazes with a young man dripping with water from the rain outside the burn on her face is gone all that remains is the ghost of his touch there he smiles up at the sun that can no longer harm her but whose warmth still pales in comparison to him

Selene was vaguely aware of the screeching sound of metal behind her as a fully transformed Marius used the strength that he took from Michael to bend the steel cage to his will. She paid him no mind as the memories continued to flash by in her mind.

his coat falls to the floor so do they his body is warm around her in the woods hunting together his concerned face as he pulls a bullet out from her shoulder wound his fangs sinking into her skin marking her as they drink from each other

Hearing a growl from behind her, Selene turned just in time to catch a glimpse of Marius before he took her by the shoulder and slammed her against the opposite side of the cage. The force of his blows were strong enough to knock the air out of her lungs, but the pain of the hits was nothing compared to the pain of everything she had lost.

Michael was gone. There was no doubt about that. She saw — through Marius — him being bled dry so that the lycan could take his blood and use it to hopefully get his grimy hands on her daughter. Overwhelmed and brought to tears at the sight of everything Michael went through before his murder, she almost gives up on what’s left of her cruel and punishing existence, not for the first time since waking up on the floor of an unfamiliar place surrounded by nitrogen gas.

Michael had been the only constant in her life for seven months after she turned her back on Viktor, the vampire Elder who raised her to be nothing more than a killing machine. She had found camaraderie, trust, and love in him, had been searching for him for the past few months, only to now know her efforts were for naught. The shock and pain of witnessing his death almost makes her want to face death with open arms like she had on the ice sheets outside the Nordic Coven.

But just as she was about to accept her fate and allow Marius to kill her, a different face replaced Michael’s in her mind, one that gave her the strength to continue fighting.

Eve .

Michael might be lost to her forever. The world might have taken from her the man she loved, who saw her as more than a loyal soldier or an object of desire. But he left Selene with a small piece of himself in their daughter.

Selene looked up as Marius wound his fist back for another blow to her already bruised body. She used her newfound speed to duck out of the way of his swing, appearing behind him as Marius’ arm was caught in between the bars in his attempt to strike her once more. Before Marius could turn to face her, she thrust her hand through his back, piercing through muscle and skin to grab hold of his spinal column. Marius roared in agony as Selene pulled back with enough force to break off the ribs, taking a majority of his spine with her on the way back. Marius could do little more than let out a death rattle as his body fell to the ground.

When David arrived to provide aid in a battle that had already been won, he found Selene standing in the center of the cage, looking down at the mutilated body of the lycan who had been hunting her for months, holding a spine still covered in blood and muscle. Selene turned to face him, tears in her eyes.

Marius had spent months sending his men after Selene in hopes that she would know where her daughter was. He had slaughtered countless vampires to get his hands on Eve’s blood, all in the name of using it to wipe the vampire race out — just as the Death Dealers had killed hundreds of thousands of lycans for a war caused by reasons no one seemed to remember anymore. He had threatened Eve, killed Selene once already, and bled her hybrid lover dry just to give himself the power to achieve everything he had done thus far.

The battle was over for now. Michael had been avenged and Selene had taken out the greatest threat to her daughter’s safety. She should have felt grateful. Relieved. Vindicated, even.

But as she watched the lycan army Marius led into battle against the Eastern Coven retreat at the sight of their leader’s head in David’s hand, all she felt was emptiness.

“I came over here to move on. To forget. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“And have you? Moved on?”

How apt her situation is; she, a vampire soldier who has been at war for six hundred years, who kills lycans and is so good at it that she has forgotten what it means to be alive, how it feels to be human. He, a newborn lycan, who wanted to spent his human life saving others as a trauma surgeon, who would risk becoming collateral damage in a gunfight to save an injured bystander, who refused to leave her to die even though she had just kidnapped him at gunpoint. Both driven by what they’ve lost, both trying to bury that pain and move on.

“Have you?”

Selene wakes with a start when she hears the bedroom door creak open ever so slightly. Brain still halfway between the dreaming and waking world, she pulls out the gun she keeps under her pillow, clicking the safety off and aiming it at the doorway on pure instinct. She lowers the gun, however, when the door opens further and she sees Eve standing in the doorway. Sighing, Selene clicks the safety back on before placing the gun down on her nightstand. For her part, Eve is entirely unfazed by her half-awake mother pointing a gun on her at four in the morning.

The first time Selene pulled a gun on her daughter, she had to spend the next fifteen minutes explaining to a confused Eve that it was just a habit, a holdover from her days as a Death Dealer, and that Eve did nothing wrong. That a few months in which she lacked the need to point a gun at a potential intruder aren’t enough to break a 600 year old habit.

“I’m sorry if I woke you,” Selene says, combing her fingers through her hair as Eve approaches her bedside.

“You didn’t,” she replies.

It’s a lie, and they both know it, but neither wants to address it. Bad enough that Eve sometimes experiences her mother’s dreams. They don’t need to talk about the times that Selene wakes in a cold sweat, tears running down her face at reliving the vivid imagery of Michael’s death. She wishes that she could stop dreaming at all, if only to spare her daughter from also seeing Michael impaled on a pier pipe or being tortured for days before Marius killed him.

Eve sits on the edge of the bed and hugs her mother, while Selene holds onto her like she is the only thing keeping her tethered to reality. In some way, she may as well be.

It took seventeen years for Selene to stop dreaming about the night her family was slain by Viktor’s hand. Over time their memory began to gradually fade until she couldn’t recall the color of her mother’s hair, or the sound of her niece’s laughter as they played. Still, their presence is always felt in her life, because the pain of loss never truly goes away, just lies dormant until something triggers a memory no matter how faded. Selene desperately clings to her memories of Michael even as she knows that she will eventually forget the feeling of his arms around her or his smile or the gentle way that he touched her as if she hadn’t been a soldier for thirty-five human generations.

The day that Selene forgets his name will be the day that she loses him a second time.

Eve is the one who pulls away first; despite the past few years turning Selene’s world upside down, some things never change, and her discomfort at being so close to someone else is a difficult habit to break. Still, the love she feels for her daughter is true, and Eve is one of the very few people with whom Selene lets the walls that guard her heart fall away. She reaches forward and brushes some of Eve’s hair out of her face with a soft expression.

“Varga said he’s taking some of the recruits for a training exercise on the ice,” Eve says. “He wants me to train with you for today,” she adds, grumbling the last part because no one — not even the one person in the coven who is strong enough to overpower her —  ever willingly spars with Selene, unless they want to walk away with aches and pains in places where it didn’t seem possible to have aches and pains in.

Selene smiles to herself ever so slightly. “Have you fed yet?” she asks, glancing out the shaded window, the sky still dark outside. Eve shakes her head. “Go eat, then , and get yourself ready. I have to talk with David first and then I’ll come to the training room in about half an hour.”

With that, Eve gets up off the edge of the bed and leaves. Selene lets out a breath when she can no longer hear the girl’s footsteps; Eve was most likely still sleeping when she unintentionally experienced her mother’s dream about her lost mate. Selene finds herself picking up the pendant that lies against her sternum and circling the green switch in the center with her thumb, an unconscious habit she’d picked up ever since learning of Michael’s fate. She had worn Sonja’s pendant on the night of their capture, and had found it with the rest of her equipment after awaking from cryosleep.

She’s never thought of it as the key to William’s prison even after learning of its true purpose. To four people, it will always be a symbol of the doomed yet eternal love between two members of opposite factions. History repeats itself, Selene muses as she recalls everything this seemingly indescript chunk of metal has seen throughout the centuries. Given to Sonja and Michael, but worn by Lucian and Selene after their deaths as a reminder — a symbol — of their love.

So this is how Lucian felt…

It was about two hours since the two had left the ruins of William’s prison when Selene noticed how sluggish Michael’s movements had become. At first he waved it off, saying he was a bit tired from the fight with William, but after another hour she couldn’t ignore the issue any longer.

She stopped and turned to face him. “Michael.”

“‘M fine,” he said, not very convincingly.

She raised a brow. “Yes, and you were fine when you ignored my advice and almost bled out on the forest floor a few days ago.”

He met her gaze for a few seconds before averting his eyes. “Okay, so maybe I’m not feeling completely fine.”

Selene crossed her arms. “I know that you’re adverse to the idea…but you need to feed. As do I. But you are still new to this, and if you hold off on your cravings for much longer, you could go into a bloodlust.”

He looked back over at her, skepticism in his eyes. She continued. “You will crave blood so much that you will do anything to get it. Even if that means attacking me.” She felt a slight twinge of guilt at manipulating his emotions like she did, but she had to make him see reason.

Michael blanched and took a step back from her. “I can’t…I won’t drink blood from a human. I can’t.”

“I never said it had to be from a human,” she said. “Animal blood will work just fine. Lycans have a carnivorous diet, and vampires lived off of the blood of livestock for centuries without issue.”

He still looked unsure. “I’m still trying to come to terms with what I’ve become…how will I even know what to do?”

Right. Michael may have just ripped apart the skull of the first werewolf in history with ease a few hours ago, but he was still barely a week old in immortal time. “You have instincts, Michael. Use them. The lycan in you will know what to do.” She paused. “Trust me.”

Michael let out a breath before changing into his hybrid form, bones cracking to form a short muzzle with razor-sharp teeth and a slightly extended ribcage. Selene watched as the hybrid dashed into the treeline, letting out a low growl that was uniquely his. Not quite lycan, but not quite vampire either. She smiled a bit at its enthusiasm before heading the other direction to find prey of her own.

Though she disliked the taste of animal blood, the fox that she hunted would be enough to sustain her until they could get to a nearby safe house. The sound of a nearby stream caught her attention, and she took the opportunity to wash the blood off her suit, sighing in disappointment when she confirmed that the hole left by Marcus’ wing talon was irreparable. As for the wound that would have killed her if she suffered it a few days ago, Corvinus’ blood seemed to allow her to survive the injury.

Selene looked up at the sound of leaves rustling behind her and she found Michael dragging the body of a large elk behind him. He was still in hybrid form, and she watched as he dropped the body at the shore a few meters away from her suit. He made a strange grunting sound at her while Selene watched him carefully.

Studying lycan behavior was an integral part of Death Dealer training, and quite a few stray cats tended to linger around Ördögház, so Selene had an inkling of what Michael’s hybrid was doing. She pursed her lips at the offering; he still had not fed yet despite killing the animal between them. “I’ve already fed, Michael. This isn’t necessary.”

The hybrid entered the water and approached her while Selene watched, unmoving. I am going to murder him when he returns to human form. “Drink, Michael. You need it more than I do.”

The hybrid didn’t listen, moving behind her and nuzzling affectionately into her shoulder. He purred, attempting to nudge her towards the animal he had killed.

It occurred to Selene that Michael could have seen her blood memories when he fed from her, just before their first encounter with Marcus. She didn’t know how else he would have known that elk used to be her preferred prey back before the age of synthetic blood. Selene sighed and moved towards the dead animal, hoping that he would finally feed once he was satisfied that she had her fill. Michael rumbled in satisfaction when she sank her fangs into the elk’s neck, finally joining her and taking his fill of the animal’s blood.

Selene pulled back and wiped her bloodstained lips with the tip of her finger. She’d read accounts of lycans bringing food to their loved ones as a form of courtship, but she had never seen it happen. “Is there a reason why you’re doing this?” she asked Michael even though she knew he couldn’t answer. The hybrid simply purred at her and continued drinking from the elk, watching her with ink black eyes.

“Right. Well, I’m going back to what I was doing before you insisted on being stubborn.” She ignored the louder, more intense purr that followed, wading back into the stream to finish washing the blood and dirt off her skin.

She tried to convince herself that the strange feeling in her chest was because of the blood she had just drank, and not because she was at all affected by the idea that even the hybrid placed her wellbeing above its own. A six-hundred year old Death Dealer such as herself was not concerned with the opinions of others, and she certainly didn’t have growing feelings towards a man she betrayed her own coven for. Even so, she couldn’t deny that there was a deep connection between her and Michael.

She just hoped that she wouldn’t have regrets about it in the future.

“Selene.”

“David. What does the council want from me now?”

The young vampire sighs into the phone. “They’re still trying to ask me to convince you into setting up a new coven.”

“Not interested,” Selene deadpans, looking through the paperwork that had been dropped off earlier that morning. “I already have my hands full overseeing training of the new recruits.”

“Cassius seems to be under the impression that many will follow if you were to establish a new coven. You are one of the greatest Death Dealers who ever lived,” David continues as if he hadn’t heard her.

She ignored his compliment. “Cassius seems to be under the impression that diplomacy is anything that I would be good at,” Selene retorts, sitting down at her desk and grabbing a pen with which to sign the training paperwork. “I am a soldier, David. Not a diplomat. Cassius said as much when you told him your conditions for becoming an Elder.”

David sighs into the phone again. “He thinks so, and that’s all the council cares about. You know how much power and influence he has.”

“I don’t care what Cassius thinks, I’m not interested in leading a coven.”

David doesn’t answer for a long time, and Selene is just about to say her goodbyes and hang up when he speaks once more, this time slowly and with caution. “There are also talks among the council of finding you a consort.”

The pen Selene was writing with snaps as she unconsciously applies too much pressure at his words. She sighs deeply at the explosion of ink across the mahogany desk, but says nothing.

“You’ll have to tell them, sooner or later,” David points out.

“I don’t owe them anything,” Selene grits her teeth, “much less an heir.”

“But they will continue to insist on finding you a suitor until you tell the truth.”

“Do you think the council, or the vampire nation as a whole, would rest easy at the fact that one of their Elders bears the mark of a lycan?” Selene says, her tone ice cold and harsh. “My daughter already gets enough judgement and suspicion even with a majority believing that she was created in a lab, even with the protection of the Covenant. Do you think they would take news of her being conceived by a vampire and the first hybrid well?”

“It’s either you tell them about him, or they will continue to try setting you up with suitors,” David fires back.

“I owe them nothing,” Selene reiterates. “I only wanted to live with my daughter in peace. The reason I agreed to become an Elder was to have the means and resources to keep her safe. I will be their consultant for security. I will oversee training of the new Death Dealers. But the council has gone senile if they believe they can force me into their aristocracy. Who I choose as a mate should not concern them.” (1)

“They don’t share your opinions,” David says. “And I can only hold them off for so long.”

“They need to learn that this isn’t the world they knew. We were nearly driven to extinction because of our refusal to change our ways with the times. They cannot live in luxury like they once did.” Selene takes a deep breath to wrangle her fury into a more manageable level. “I will not break my promise to Michael because of what they want. I would sooner see him in whatever afterlife there is than accept a suitor sent by the council because they want to secure a line of power.”

“That day may come sooner than you think,” David says softly.

Selene frowns and raises a brow. “Pardon?”

“So we have a few more recruits that will be sent to Norway,” David says as if he never said his previous statement. “I will call when they have started the journey. Five of them passed basic and expressed a desire to become Death Dealers. Expect them to arrive by the end of the week.”

“David, what did you just — ”

“Send my regards to Eve. I’ll talk to Cassius and try getting him to get off your case, but I can’t promise he will.”

“David — !” Selene begins, but the dial tone is the only thing that greets her on the other side. She sighs deeply.

“Csúszós kibaszott szemétláda,” Selene swears in her native tongue. (2)

Selene would have let out a sigh of relief at the howl that broke the night if she could, startling the three Death Dealers who were advancing on her prone form with weapons drawn. They called to each other in confusion just as a figure burst out from the shadows with claws extended and fangs sinking into flesh. From her limited perspective where she lay on the ground, she watched as the hybrid tore her attackers to pieces, shrugging off silver nitrate rounds with only a low growl giving any indication that the bullets hurt at all. The battle, if it could be called that, was over in seconds. The three Death Dealers never stood a chance against the enraged hybrid.

By the time he reached her side and knelt down next to her, Michael had already returned to human form. His pitch black eyes, always the last part of him that reverted to normalcy, were filled with worry as he looked down at her. He placed the back of his hand against her cheek. “Selene?”

Willing her body into following her commands, she finally was able to move her jaw a little bit. “Paralyzing agent,” she slurred with great difficulty as if her entire face was numb. “Special rounds for powerful enemies.”

Michael cursed under his breath and gently turned her over onto her back. “How long?” he asked.

Selene blinked slowly, following his movements with her brown eyes. “Lowest dose is a few hours. Might be less because of Corvinus’ blood.” Her breath caught in her throat when Michael reached forward to wipe the blood off her temple with a soft touch. “Take the bullet out. Can’t heal with it still inside.”

His uncertain eyes, having finally returned to normal, met hers. “Selene…” he started, clearly not liking the idea.

“Hate feeling useless,” she responded. “Can’t dig it out myself. One in my right shoulder. Others just grazed.”

Michael looked away from her. “Fuck,” he cursed under his breath again, before sliding his arms under her body and lifting her in a bridal carry. Selene’s eyes fluttered shut as he carried her back into the safe house, head leaning against his warm shoulder. Carrying her into the office, he flipped on the lights and laid her down on the desk before leaving to grab a few materials. He was gone for barely thirty seconds before he was back with a steel bowl, medical kit, and a blood bag. Selene watched as he unzipped her catsuit down far enough to expose her wounded shoulder. He tsked at the sight.

“Care to tell me why you left the house by yourself to fight three Death Dealers on your own?” he asked with a note of irritation in his voice.

Selene closed her eyes against the light as he cleaned the area with antiseptic. “I could’ve taken them down if they didn’t bring tranq rounds.”

Above her, Michael let out an exasperated sigh. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed. And for what? Trying to protect me?” He took a scalpel in hand and cut into the flesh of her shoulder as gently as he could, though she still winced in pain.

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Selene pointed out. Michael scoffed, but she opened her eyes to look at him as she continued. “You’re a good man, Michael. I know you hate taking the lives of others — ” Selene let out a gasp of pain as she felt the wound being opened further by a pair of forceps, “ — and the last thing I want is for you to lose your compassion in a world where there is none.”

Michael said nothing, pulling on a surgical glove and going in to retrieve the bullet. Selene bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, trying hold back her grunts of pain. A minute later, she heard a clink as Michael retrieved the bullet from her shoulder and dropped it into the steel bowl, before he helped her sit upright, bringing the bag of blood to her lips.

“I do hate having to kill people,” Michael admitted as Selene fed. She looked back at him, finally being able to move a bit as the toxin was flushed out of her system, only to find him watching her with an unreadable yet intense expression on his face. “But I’d kill a dozen people if it meant that I could keep you safe,” he added gruffly.

“I don’t need saving,” Selene replied, placing the empty bag down next to her.

Despite her defensive tone, Michael brushed his thumb past her bloodstained lips to wipe the crimson off her skin. He smiled at her.

“I know.”

She kept her eyes on his for a few more seconds before she leaned forward and kissed him. Michael responded eagerly to the contact, stepping between her legs to get closer to her and gently placing his hands on her hips. He pulled her closer to him when she wrapped her arms around his shoulders until their bodies were flush against each other. Michael groaned at the contact, his arms wrapping around her body as he carefully lifted her off the desk. Selene felt a pang run through her abdomen at the intense ferocity he was matching her with, making a sound at the back of his throat that made her shiver. She kept her lips on his as Michael stumbled his way back to her bedroom, letting out a sigh when he pressed her into the mattress.

Michael pulled away far too soon for her liking, and she opened her eyes to see him staring back at her with a storm of emotion in his eyes. He gave her a half smile. “As much as I enjoy where this is going,” he said, brushing her hair out of her face, “I just dug a bullet out of your shoulder with no anesthetic, and you need to rest.”

Selene bit her lip in mild frustration; she knew he was right, but that didn’t mean she was happy about it. They hadn’t had sex since the night after they fought Marcus and William, and a part of her wasn’t too proud to admit that she wanted him.

What a strange, unfamiliar situation to be in. Part of the reason why they hadn’t been intimate was because she knew of Michael’s growing affections towards her — how could she not? — but most of it was because of her own reservations. She’s spent so long being nothing more than a loyal soldier of the vampire clan that she has almost completely forgotten that she used to be human, with human emotions and desires.

She wondered if she could ever indulge in the possibility of a life for her outside of constant war and killing with Michael. She knows she feels something for him, but the emotions are so alien to her, so completely unnatural, that she can’t put a name to it.

Or she doesn’t want to put a name to it, in fear of what it will mean for her future.

Selene was snapped out of her inner thoughts when she felt the heat of Michael’s body start to move away. “You should stay here and rest for a while. Don’t run off at the first sign of trouble and get shot by tranquilizers strong enough to put down a horse,” he told her in a firm voice, but the softness in his eyes betrayed how concerned he actually was. “Next time, before you go charging into a fight with three vampire assassins, at least tell me before you leave so I can go with you.”

Selene offered him a ghost of a smile. “I will keep that in mind,” she replied, watching as he turned to leave the room, flicking off the lights.

She didn’t even realize she had called his name until Michael had turned around with a raised brow. “What is it, Selene?” he asked.

It was the look of adoration and affection in his eyes that gave her the strength to voice what she wanted. Swallowing her pride, she asked, “can you stay?”

Surprise flickered across his features, and she didn’t exactly blame him; Selene requesting physical contact was about as likely as the last direct descendant of the Corvinus Clan being in the same city as Lucian. Nevertheless, his surprise wore off quickly, and Michael nodded.

“Of course. Anything.”

Selene closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh as Michael approached her again, settling back onto the pillows as he slid under the sheets and pulled her close to him. Neither of them said a word even as she curled into him, the heat of his body calling to her and coaxing her into the throes of a restful slumber.

I’ve never done this before, but…I trust you. I hope you realize that.

Selene fell asleep to the feel of Michael’s arms around her and the steady rise and fall of his chest.

“Remind me again why spending an hour being beaten up by my own mother is necessary?”

Selene purses her lips at Eve’s question. “I’ve told you why no less than a dozen times before.”

Eve rolls her eyes. “Maybe it’ll make more sense this time.”

Selene pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs. Of all the things she thought she would have to do for her daughter, dealing with a teenage attitude was not one that she had anticipated — though she remembers Michael also giving her a hard time about combat training. She tries to ignore the pang in her heart at the thought of her deceased love. “You are the strongest immortal alive right now, but brute strength will only get you so far. Basic combat training can improve how well you fight. Joseph, close the arena.” The Death Dealer manning the command module gives her a thumbs up and activates the lowering sequence of the cage.

“Let’s see how Varga has been honing your defense. Stop me from hitting you,” Selene instructs, before crossing the distance between her and Eve in less than a second and striking at the side of Eve’s face. The movement is so quick and smooth that Eve barely has enough time to deflect the blow with her forearm, and by that time Selene has already followed up with a jab to the kidney. She blocks the second hit a bit easier, and moves closer for a counterattack. In the blink of an eye, Selene has taken her by the arm, pulled her in, and used the momentum to flip Eve over her shoulder, who lets out an involuntary harsh exhale when her back hits the mat.

Eve quickly got to her feet and manages to evade the next few attacks from Selene until she kicks out at the girl’s legs, sending her crashing to the ground. Before Eve can get back up for the second time in less than five seconds, Selene has already pinned her to the ground, pressing her forearm into Eve’s throat and a knee digging into her stomach to keep her immobilized. Eve thrashes around to try knocking her mother off-balance, but Selene’s grip holds firm until Joseph calls time.

“Better,” Selene says as she rolls off her daughter’s prone body and helps her up. “You lasted longer this time. Your skills are improving, but your technique could use some work.“

Eve sighs as she watches the caged arena lift up into the ceiling. She walks over to the command module and looks down at it. “If by ‘lasted longer’ you mean ten seconds, sure.”

Selene retrieves her knife from the table next to the command module, slipping it back into the sheath on her boot. “Ten seconds is more than enough time to mean the difference between life or death. I want you to be at a level where you can pin down an intermediate level trainee in less than five minutes. Right now, you’re still far from getting there.” Eve’s face falls at her mother’s criticism, but Selene continues. “I see some improvement from the last time we sparred. You have the strength and the speed to apply yourself. You just need practice.”

“Varga tells me that every day,” Eve grumbles.

“Varga knows what he is doing and what to look for. Colluding with Semira aside, he is one of the best trainers we have,” Selene says. “You would be wise to follow his instruction.”

Eve makes a face. “Didn’t he poison you with nightshade and frame you for murder?”

The corner of Selene’s mouth turns upward in a smile. “Yes, and his repentance requires he answer to me. Varga knows he could not beat me in a straight fight. He had to use trickery to get what he wanted. Having to move here and train the new recruits was his punishment, courtesy of David.” Selene looks over at the digital clock hanging on the wall of the dojo. “He should be back from the hunting party now. I will consult with him on your next steps.”

“I haven’t seen him since he left with the new kids a few hours ago, but Lena was in the infirmary last time I heard. She’d know,” Joseph says, not looking up from the command module.

Selene nods in acknowledgement, though the Death Dealer isn’t looking at her. “Come with me and we’ll talk to him,” Selene says to Eve, turning and heading for the door without turning to see if she is following.

“Do you think now he’ll decide to start training me with firearms?” Eve asks with a hint of interest in her voice.

“Not until you can remain in the arena with me for at least a minute,” Selene answers, suppressing an amused laugh at Eve’s groan of frustration.

The sheer reluctance with which Michael dragged himself out of bed and got himself ready for a few hours of pain amused her to no end, even as he stepped onto the mat with a grimace in anticipation for what was to come.

“Before we start, let me just remind you that this was your idea,” Selene said, pulling on a pair of leather gloves.

“Doesn’t mean it was something I wanted to do,” he grumbled under his breath, which Selene ignored as she turned to face him.

“We’ll start with a performance evaluation. Do whatever you can to beat me.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “We both know that you’d kick my ass two ways to Sunday without breaking a sweat. There’s no way I’ll beat you on the first day.”

She couldn’t help but smirk a little. “Then just try to hit me. As hard as you can.”

Michael shrugged. “If you say so,” he said, before testing the waters with a jab to Selene’s face. She blocked and redirected his movements easily, sending Michael stumbling back on the mat a few steps.

“Well, you at least know how to punch correctly,” she nodded at him. “We won’t have to start at the beginning.”

“The Marine Corps has a martial arts program that’s built into basic training,” Michael said as he brought his fists up in a simple boxing stance. “I was required to at least earn a tan belt. Which is the lowest possible belt to get, but still. I’m not too hopeless.”

The corner of Selene’s lip turned upwards. “And what did they train you in?” she asked, ignoring his feint and blocking the open palm strike aimed just below her ribs.

Michael gave her a crooked smile as they circled each other on the mat. He tilted his head to the side as if searching for an opening in her defenses. “Bunch of different styles. Brazilian jiu-jitsu, taekwondo, karate, Sambo, you get the idea. Nowhere near as complicated or efficient as the things I’ve seen you do.”

When Michael went in for another jab at her, Selene stepped back to upset his balance before grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards her. With one hand on his shoulder and the other firmly locked onto his wrist, she turned and threw him to the ground. Michael hit the ground hard, the impact of the blow knocking the air out of his lungs. He scrambled to his feet quickly, resuming his circling around her like he was a predator stalking its prey.

He grinned. “You’re quite fond of the throws, aren’t you?”

She smirked back at him, the exhilaration of sparring making her more playful than usual. “When fighting hand to hand against larger and stronger opponents, physics does the hard work for you.”

Michael didn’t answer and instead tried out a few strikes his combat trainer in the Marines had taught him so long ago, managing to catch the side of Selene’s jaw when she moved in too close. She rolled with the punch, but even then there was some blood on her lip when she faced him again. Despite her cut lip, she was smiling.

“Good,” she said, wiping off the blood with her fingertip. “Fast and unpredictable. A necessity when fighting against immortals hundreds of years older than you.”

A spark of mischief surfaced in Michael’s eye and before she could react, Selene was on the ground, Michael having lunged at her. He tackled her to the floor and tried to wrestle himself into an advantageous position. Selene was about to strike out at Michael’s shins when he pressed a knee into her stomach and pinned both of her wrists above her head with one hand.

He leaned down so they were face to face. “Hundreds of years, huh?” he asked, a smile tugging at his lips. “Any tips for how a newbie like me could stand a chance against, say, a 600 year old soldier who could kick my ass in two seconds?”

Selene matched his smile when she stopped struggling against his weight. “Just one.”

Before Michael could do or say anything more, Selene had kicked out at his knee planted on the floor, causing him to lose his balance, and shifted their weight to reverse their position. Straddling his waist to keep him from moving, Selene pressed her forearm down against Michael’s throat. She smiled down at him, a hint of playfulness in her eyes when she leaned down to whisper in his ear. “Never assume you’ve won just because you’re on top.”

Michael chuckled, blowing his hair out of his face. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” he breathed out, affection clear in his eyes.

Selene met his gaze directly, and for a moment there was silence as none of them moved. Other than the gentle rise and fall of his chest, Michael remained still, looking up at her. His smile grew a little softer and he reached up to brush her hair behind her ear. Selene stayed completely still, even as he pushed himself up on his forearms and leaned closer to her. For a second she was reminded of the first time they were this close to each other at the warehouse, when Michael had been so focused on her wounds. Selene was the first to lean in, softly pressing her lips against his. Michael slid a hand into her hair as they kissed and she shivered, moving closer to his warm body.

This thing that she and Michael have…it is entirely new and beautiful. They’d been through absolute hell together, had saved each other’s lives multiple times within the first few weeks of knowing each other. He’d done everything he could to make sure she was safe and unharmed, and she’d been devastated when she thought Marcus had killed him.

Selene chased the thoughts away. It was still a raw wound for her; stumbling to his side and seeing his blank, half-lidded eyes staring up at nothing.

Shifting on top of him, Selene let her hands slip under his shirt, the heat of his skin contrasting against her cold hands. Michael let out a purr into her mouth when she touched him, coaxing a smile out of her at the sound. She leaned her head against his when they separated, gaze locked onto his blue eyes.

Michael gave her a half-smile. “Well, this seems familiar,” he said as he moved his hand to the base of her spine.

Selene’s first instinct was to let out a huff of annoyance, but the hungry look in Michael’s eyes entranced her. She let out a sound that he was beginning to learn was her version of a laugh. Subtle and fleeting, but present nonetheless. “Yes, it does,” she whispered, giving him a smile that was simultaneously sweet, mocking, and predatory. She leaned down to whisper in his ear, “so what are you going to do about it?”

Michael growled, a sound that wasn’t vampire nor lycan but purely him, before he surged forward to meet her lips. She kissed him back, feeling the muscles in his arms shift when he reached up to hold her face still. Though she responded to him with enthusiasm and held him close to her, on the inside she was uncertain.

The last time Selene let him past her walls in this way was the night after William and Marcus were killed, almost two months ago. It wasn’t his fault; she had never exposed so much of herself with anyone in her life. Of course, she’d shared her body with other vampires before meeting Michael, but even then she was in control, refusing to allow anyone to get past the stone walls around her heart. She doesn’t even remember the last time she shared her blood — and by extension her memories — with anyone.

Selene wondered if Michael knew about her reservations, if he knew just how unfamiliar these feelings were. He’d often described his late fiancée as being like the sun. Warm, inviting, full of light, and familiar. She used to be like that, long ago. But grief and centuries of war had sapped the light out of Selene. A fitting name for a fitting disposition.

She opened her eyes to find Michael studying her, the whites of his eyes starting to recede. Unable to speak, he gave a low, soothing rumble in his chest, brushing her hair back from her face with a gentle touch. She understood the gravity of the moment — and so did he, it seemed — and that what she chose to do next would set the precedent for their relationship going forward.

Biting her lip in apprehension, Selene slid her hands under his shirt, feeling the hard muscles underneath even as Michael began to tug at the zipper of her catsuit. Selene let out a noise of desire into his mouth, deepening the kiss and stepping out of the suit when it was completely unzipped. Michael lifted her then, both hands on the back of her thighs as he stumbled over to the wall and pressed her against it. She mewled when he began kissing at her sensitive neck, wrapping her legs around his waist and leaning her head back against the wall to grant him more access. He started trailing kisses down her chest, taking his hands off her to pull his shirt over his head and toss it to the floor next to her suit. She exhaled softly when she felt his warm chest come into contact with her skin and helped him undo his belt, letting his pants and boxers fall to the floor.

Selene moaned his name when his lips closed around a nipple, feeling his hands running up and down her body. She could already feel the heat of his erection against her, and longed for him to be inside her, completely surrounded by his warmth that was in stark contrast to how cold her body always was. Vampires were suited for the cold, their bodies running a few degrees lower than a normal human, while lycans were always warmer. The other vampires she had shared a bed with over the centuries had a body and soul as cold as hers was. In contrast, the heat of Michael’s body called to her in a way that nothing else did — not even the sun that could no longer harm her.

She didn’t realize they were moving until Michael laid her down on her bed. Selene let out a noise of pure pleasure when she felt the tip of his erection brush against the inside of her thigh and whimpered, a sound almost entirely unlike her. But she was so aroused and so needy that she didn’t care how vulnerable she was being. She wanted him inside her and she wanted it to happen now , begging him like it was the only thing keeping her tethered to reality.

Selene let out a choked sob when he finally sank into her, pressing her into the mattress as he pushed every inch of himself deeper. She dug her nails into his shoulders, kissing his neck before placing her lips on top of his. Michael started moving almost immediately, holding her still with both hands on her hips. She met the gaze of black, inky eyes as he moved against her roughly, knowing that her eyes had also changed to their vampiric blue. She moaned his name, and he rolled over so his back was against the sheets and she was above him.

The first time they did this, they had made love as humans did, with gentle touches and soft words. This time, it was rougher, though not quite as primal as vampires usually got during sex. Michael tangled his claw-tipped fingers in her hair as he thrust against her, his skin darkening as the hybrid side of him started to emerge. He scented over her neck when she leaned her head back in pleasure, exposing her vulnerable throat to him. To a lycan, it was gesture of submission. To her, it was a declaration of trust.

In previous sexual encounters, Selene had only ever done so to seek release and nothing more. With Michael, however, Selene just wanted him — his mind, body, and soul.

It was exhilarating. It was new. It was dangerous. It went against everything she had been taught as a Death Dealer, as a vampire.

And it was frighteningly beautiful.

A particularly deep thrust coaxed a cry of pleasure out of Selene, and she dug her nails into Michael’s skin as if he was her anchor. The feeling, the sensation of him being around her, beneath her, inside her was all too much and not enough. She could feel the pressure in her abdomen rising and his black eyes were staring up at her with lust, she was so close and he was growling and it was too much too much too much. Selene cried out when her body exploded into sparks of pleasure, and she did the only thing she had the mental capacity to do. She leaned down and sank her fangs into Michael’s neck.

Immediately the taste of his blood hit her tongue, the violence and ferocity mixing with the orgasmic pleasure to create an intoxicating mixture that she almost couldn’t get enough of. Her jaw clamped down on his skin, leaving two puncture marks just below the scars her bite gave him when he was dying in her arms. She was aware enough to not instinctually inject her venom into the wound, even if there was a part of her that longed to do so. To leave her mark on his flesh, to ensure that her blood ran in his veins. (3)

Beneath her, Michael roared when she bit him, claws digging into her flesh and leaving his own marks on her fair skin. Selene whimpered when she felt him spill inside of her, fangs still buried in his skin. Pulling back when his rough, frantic thrusts died down, she bit her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood before leaning down and placing her lips on his. She shivered at the rumble in Michael’s chest when he kissed her back and tasted her blood.

When his claws reverted back to fingertips stroking along her hipbones and the once-frantic kisses turned sweet and lazy, Selene lifted herself off of him with a sigh before collapsing at his side. She curled herself into his heat, watching his body return to normal. Michael panted hard as he came down from his own high, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. He kissed her temple, his heart pounding.

No words were spoken. No words needed to be spoken. She knew how this would change everything, how this encounter couldn’t be handwaved away like the other times using the relief of having survived almost certain death as an excuse. There was no point in Selene continuing to resist growing closer to him. He’d taken down her walls, endeared himself to her, and wormed his way into her heart so subtly that she didn’t even notice it at first.

Perhaps it was time to stop lying to herself. To stop pretending that she didn’t want him at her side. She’d crossed so many lines for him already — what was one more to the ways Michael had etched himself onto her heart?

Selene doesn’t think she’ll ever get used to the gestures of respect that the other vampires in the coven give her whenever she traverses the halls of Vahr Dor. It was unsettling in the days following her coronation as an Elder, and it continues to be unsettling three years after the fact.

Though bowed heads and half-kneels may be relatively new to both Lena and David, as the children of a coven leader it was to be assumed that they would take charge of their covens one day. The only respect that Selene garnered from the vampires at the Old World coven, despite her status as Viktor’s favorite and adopted daughter, had been from her fellow Death Dealers, Most other civilian vampires had quickly learned that her cool facade as a soldier wasn’t limited to field missions. Indeed, she had been one of the finest Death Dealers the covens had ever seen, but well-liked among the civilian population she was not.

Perhaps that is why the kneels and bowed heads that follow her as she makes her way to the coven infirmary makes her so uncomfortable. She is not used to others treating her with reverence.

Eve, walking beside Selene, also seems to be apprehensive at the attention that her mother — and therefore her by extension — receives. Her tensed shoulders only relax slightly when they step into the empty hallway just outside of the infirmary. When they’re about halfway down the hall Eve stops in her tracks, a perplexed expression on her face.

Selene, noticing that Eve is no longer at her side, stops a few paces away. “What is it?”

It takes a moment for the slightly glazed look in Eve’s eyes to retreat. Her strange behavior alone would be enough to concern Selene, and Eve’s answer only serves to elevate her uneasiness. “It’s nothing,” she says, falling back into pace with Selene. “I just…thought I saw something.”

Selene furrows her brow but acquiesces the point, resuming their journey to the infirmary. Eve’s behavior is worrying, to say the least, and Selene’s confusion on the matter only grows when they stop in front of the infirmary door, and Eve catches her by the wrist when she reaches out to the door.

“I’ll…wait out here,” Eve says casually. A little too casually. They both know that Eve is hiding something , but as she had apparently inherited her stubborness from her mother Eve still refuses to elaborate on what exactly is making her so nervous.

Selene lets out a sigh but opens the infirmary door anyway, finding Lena sitting next to someone whose back is facing the doorway. “Lena?” she asks, letting go of the door so it closes behind her as she steps further into the room. “Have you seen Varga in the past hour? I can’t — ”

The words in Selene’s mouth stop short when the person Lena had been treating whips around to face her. Selene’s entire world grinds to a halt when she lays eyes on the face that has haunted her dreams for the past few years.

It’s not possible. It shouldn’t be, she didn’t think this could happen given how long he’s been gone for. She’d long since given up hope of her life ever becoming truly whole again. She’d seen Marius’ memories, saw the light in his eyes fade away, saw the horrific injuries and the moments leading up to and including his death. Marius had been all too eager to confirm what she had seen. This should have been impossible.

And yet…

She says his name in a voice so quiet that even she would have had a hard time hearing herself.

“Michael?”

“Selene,” he says as he gets to his feet.

She closes the distance between them in less than half a second and wraps her arms around him. Tears prick at the corner of her eyes and she lets them fall, pressing her forehead in the space between his neck and shoulder until she’s entirely surrounded by him. The heat of his body, the steady sound of his heartbeat, and the smell of him is just as it was the day they were separated. Though Michael had initially been completely still when she wrapped her arms around him, his surprise eventually fades away as he returns her embrace, burying his face in her hair. The familiarity of his arms around her is overwhelming and she can’t stop the flow of her tears even if she wanted to.

“I missed you,” she hears him say, voice muffled against her hair, and she tightens her embrace even more in response. Her breath catches in her throat when he laughs softly, the walls around her broken heart slowly crumbling the longer she remains in his embrace. After a few seconds Selene pulls back to look at him, tears running down her face. Before Michael can react further, Selene places her lips on his and oh, it is like coming home as she feels him hold both sides of her face in his hands just like he always used to. She barely manages to choke back a broken sob at the maelstrom of emotions flowing through her, as two souls forever bound by blood reunite for the first time in fifteen years.

Time to an immortal is a curious concept. A decade and a half lasts for all but a blink of the eye to someone who has lived as long as her, but the three years she spent believing Michael to be dead and thinking she would never see her lover again were grueling. It took her so long to realize what she felt for Michael was love, and when she finally admitted aloud that she truly loved Michael, it seemed to be too little, too late.

They separate only when they need to stop and breathe, but even still they hold each other close, Michael leaning his forehead against her own. Selene closes her eyes and exhales shakily.

“I thought you were dead.”

“I was,” Michael answers. “But then I just…woke up.”

Selene pulls back, breaking the embrace to glare at him. “Michael Corvin, if you ever die on me again…”

She’s cut off when he surges forward and presses their lips together again, something she’s not at all bothered by. She wishes that they could stay like this for hours, to revel in the fact that they had found each other again, even as she knows there are things to discuss, people to introduce, explanations to be given and council members to convince. But as she catches a glimpse of Michael’s smile when he pulls back from her, Selene pushes those thoughts aside.

She could deal with the council’s questioning and debates on what Michael’s place in the coven was later. For now, she just wanted to hold on to this moment, these feelings, as long as she could.

Against all odds, Michael had finally come home.

She watched from out the window as a group of armed soldiers passed by a group of young adults several stories below them. The usual interrogation shortly followed as it was nearing curfew, and Selene watched as the clearly terrified teenagers complied with the soldier’s orders.

For several tense minutes she watched as the interrogation continued, until the soldiers were satisfied with whatever the kids told them and sent them on their way with only a warning about following curfew.

She heard a rustling behind her, and a pair of warm arms wrapped around her waist a few seconds later. “How many times have I told you not to stress yourself out over that?” Michael asked, his voice low and hoarse with sleep.

Selene closed her eyes and leaned into his embrace. “I was waiting for you to wake up.” She pauses, then adds, “we have a little over an hour before we have to leave for the pier.”

Michael hummed, running his finger over the collar of her suit. “And here I was thinking we’d be able to have a little more fun before we left the city.”

“We will have plenty of time for that where we are going,” Selene says, stepping away from his embrace and tossing him his clothes. “If we move quickly we might be able to avoid detection.”

He caught his clothes before turning away to put them on, and Selene’s eyes lingered on the dichotomy of the three scars on his shoulder and neck. The jagged, uneven marks of Lucian’s bite, the two small pinpricks left by Selene’s fangs that saved his life, and a second, thicker version of Selene’s bite just under the first. She sported a similar scar on her neck as well, solidifying their bond as chosen mates. Their blood now ran in each other’s veins, and it only had taken six long months for Selene to admit what she was feeling towards Michael was indeed love.

Even now, the revelation scares her. She has not felt a love like this since before her family was slaughtered, and six hundred years is a very long time to not feel any kind of love towards another person other than what she felt with Viktor, which she now knows was a case of blind loyalty.

“You should go down to the pier and make sure everything is ready,” Selene said as she watched Michael pull his shirt over his head. “They don’t have your picture yet; you shouldn’t arouse suspicion as much as I would.”

He stopped to look over at her. “And what will you be doing?”

“I will draw their attention to me. You shouldn’t have too much trouble getting to the pier and making sure everything is ready to go,” she answered, moving over to the table her weapons are laying on.

When she looked back at him after a moment of silence, he seemed amused. “And how exactly are you going to draw the attention of as many soldiers as you can to an abandoned building?” he asked.

“Do you remember Tanis and his explosive discs?” When Michael nodded, Selene held up a few of them. “I may have saved a few for a special occasion.”

Michael’s face broke out into a smile. “Yeah, I think that’s definitely going to grab their attention,” he chuckled.

Selene smiled back at him, though hers was much more subtle and barely noticeable. She slipped the disc into her belt. “I’ll get these set up across the street and set them to blow. That will draw at least one soldier to inspect the area for suspicious activity. I’ll draw their attention and get back to you as soon as I can.”

Michael stepped forward and cradled her face in both of his hands. “ That sounds dangerous,” he teased.

Selene let out a sound of amusement. “I’ve done far more dangerous tasks than this. I’ll be fine.”

He leaned his forehead against hers. “I know you will,” he said, before leaning his head in to kiss her gently, a contrast to the ferocity with which he kissed her not more than an hour ago. Surprisingly, Michael was the one who pulled away first, though she quickly discovered why when his hand went down to the chain around his neck.

“Michael — ” Selene started when he took Sonja’s pendant off and slipped it over her head, only for him to gently interrupt her.

“For luck,” he said simply, giving her a warm smile. “You probably won’t need it, but think of it as making sure you come back.”

“I’ll always come back for you,” Selene breathed.

Michael tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The warm adoration in his eyes clearly meant for her was almost enough to make her shift in discomfort. “Then it shouldn’t be too hard to return it.”

Selene nodded before pulling away from his warmth and heading to the nearest window. Opening it, she was about to jump out when a thought occurred to her. She turned to face her lover… her mate.

“Michael?”

He looked up from where he was getting his own things ready. “Yeah?”

I love you , she almost said, but hesitated. It wasn’t that she wouldn’t be telling the truth, but…wouldn’t it be better for her to tell him when they were safe and out of harm? She would have time to tell him later. He didn’t deserve it like this, not in the middle of a warzone where anything could go wrong at any time.

(Later, more than ten years down the line, she will regret not telling him when she had the chance. She will regret the last words she said to him, dwell on what she should’ve said, before everything went south.)

Her lips parted. “Be careful,” she implored him softly, before jumping out of the window.

She half expects it to be gone when she wakes up a few hours later.

It was the same with her mortal family, too. Though her memories of them are blurry and faded with time, she can recall a few times when she dreamed about that night being nothing more than a vivid nightmare, only for the pain of their loss to resurface once she woke up. The feeling of despair when she woke up after dreaming of him and realized that he was gone had left her with a heavy heart full of sorrow that would linger for hours.

He’s on his side facing her when she opens her eyes, head propped up by his hand and simply looking at her with a peaceful and loving expression on his face. He reaches out with his other hand to brush her hair out of her face and gives her a soft smile.

Selene closes her eyes again but returns his smile ever so slightly. “I was afraid it was just another dream.”

She imagines him raising a brow at her confession. “You often dream about me?” he teases.

“Since knowing that Marius killed you? Yes,” she responds.

Michael puts his arm around her back and pulls her closer, something she accepts without question. The heat of his body is something that she had missed dearly about him. She had spent so long being so close to him during those six months after Marcus that she simply craved it. Even with her relatively new ability to walk in the sun without burning, its heat never brought as much comfort to her as he did.

“I never would have imagined you’d be willing to become an Elder,” he says, pressing a kiss to her temple. “What changed?”

Selene closes her eyes. “David is Amelia’s son and therefore heir to the title of Elder,” she says. “One of his conditions for taking the throne was that I would become an Elder as well.” She smiles sardonically. “I have no interest in the business of leading a coven or the vampire nation as a whole. But having such a high position ensures that Eve is safe here.” Selene moves her head over to the center of Michael’s chest, where the soothing sound of his heartbeat is the strongest. “I have the resources and power to keep Eve safe, and that’s all I care about. The new Covenant protects the family members of the Elders by law. No one can hurt her without the retaliation of the Death Dealers and I.” She swallows hard. “That protection extends to the mates of the Elders as well. You would be safe too.”

He’s quiet for a moment, long enough for Selene to simply embrace the comfort his closeness gives her, before she feels his fingers brush against her shoulder and collarbone. Selene opens her eyes again to watch him with a peaceful expression, but her face softens when Michael picks up the pendant lying against her sternum.

His eyes meet hers. “You kept it,” he whispers.

Her brows furrow in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Michael blows out a breath. “I don’t know, I just…” He sighs. “I never would have taken you to be the sentimental type.”

Selene reaches up to tangle her fingers in his hair. She gives him a soft smile.

“People can change even when it seems too late for them,” she whispers. “You taught me that.”

Their lips brush against each other’s before Selene moves closer and kisses him firmly, and she can’t help but smile against his lips when he brushes his thumb over the mark on her neck. This is something she’s missed, being so close to her love, wrapped in his arms and surrounded by his scent. When they separate after a few seconds, Selene lays her head back down against his chest, turning her head to face the curtained window. The sun has started to rise above the mountains surrounding the coven, streaks of red and orange in the sky peeking out through the edge of the curtain.

Michael glances over at the small beam of sunlight that slips through the curtains. He looks back at Selene. “The sunrise…have you…?”

Selene shakes her head. “No. Not since Antigen…and after Marius I couldn’t bring myself to share it alone.”

Michael tilts his head to the side. “You have Eve, though.”

She can’t help but smile at the name of her — of their — daughter. “Yes, of course. But the sunrise was always something that was ours. We always shared it together. I don’t think it would have felt the same way with anyone else.” Selene looks down at the sheets as if to avoid his gaze. “Though she is so much like you, I don’t think she really understands what the sunrise means to me. To us. It felt like a betrayal to share it with anyone else.”

“Alright, okay,” Michael says, raising his hands in acquiescence. “I believe you.”

His smile becomes softer when she looks out at the sliver of light through the curtain with an expression of longing before looking back at him. He reaches forward to pick up the pendant lying against her collarbone again, his fingertips brushing her skin. He nods towards the window. “Want to go watch?”

“I…yes,” Selene answers. She watches Michael throw the sheets off his body and get to his feet, taking the hand he offers her without hesitation. Michael lays his hand on the knob of the double doors leading out to the balcony attached to Selene’s room, but stops. He turns to look back at her.

“I know we don’t say it very often,” he begins slowly, “but I love you.”

There remains a part of Selene’s mind that still isn’t quite able to accept that all of this is real. That Michael is alive and standing in front of her. She isn’t used to getting second chances, let alone a third, and a part of her fears waking up to find herself alone in a bed that feels too empty and cold. She’s afraid that this is a dream conjured up by her tortured mind to shatter an already broken heart. But the smile that Michael gives her when she replies, “I love you too” chases those doubts away for just a moment.

He presses a quick kiss to her temple. “You ready?” Michael asks.

Selene nods. “Yes,” she answers, her voice breaking slightly.

Michael smiles at her before he opens the door and lets in the sunlight.