The end in sight.

[Pablo]

Something akin to panic began to settle in the lycan. If Catherine took him, he’d never see Lucia again, or his friends. Pablo tried to step forward, the vampire wrapping her arm around his chest, reaffirming her grip. Lucia… if Catherine wouldn’t return him, she would come with them? He looked at the girl, pleading with his eyes. Alena seemed adamant to keep him. Thank you.
“Lucia.” The vampire’s voice was smooth and calm now, her annoyance fading “I was protecting you. If you had left, Dane would have put you done. Claiming you was the only way to keep you safe.” She said, holding the girl’s gaze. Looking at Lucia, the sadness in her voice and eyes tugged at something in her chest. “But now, we can leave together. Think of the fun we can have. I don’t want to take Pablo from you, I want to take him with us.” She said, a hint of remorse in her voice. What in Lucia’s right mind would make her want to return with Alena. When Marcus argued for her case, Catherine smiled at her lover. As Alena spoke she watched the lycan. Even in her current state, the sight of Alena was appealing, crested in blood. Clean her up and she may have been as beautiful as Raven liked to claim. How she wanted to bury her teeth in the beast and silence her. She could practically taste the potency of her blood, Catherine licked her lips.

Marcus sighed as Alena spoke. Of course he hadn’t seen an issue then, he hadn’t consulted with Catherine. These were the exact circumstances he had wanted to avoid. “Alena, you know more than anybody how difficult it can to placate one’s lover. But now that you recount our conditions, I do believe them fair.” He said throwing a knowing look at Catherine, who seemed to be carefully observing Alena. “However, Alena you must consider, Catherine has become rather taken with your kind. It seems unfair to rid her of her only pet.”

“Quite unfair.” Catherine added, glancing between Lucia and Marcus. The longer they lingered here, the more the terms of their arrangement mattered less. In truth fighting to death tonight was not an appealing aspect. Marcus had come to these terms for her sake, but she desperately wanted to keep the lycan.
“She’ll require a replacement in the coming days.” He eyed his lover, that seemed to at least appease her. “Do not interfere. Not everyone of your children are so valuable are they? I’m certain there are even a few you would like to be rid of. Are these conditions acceptable?”

Catherine reluctantly nodded her head. Sliding the hand that held Pablo possessively up to his shoulder. The moment her grip loosened he stumbled forward into Lucia’s hand. The absence of his heat was noticeable, something again struck deep in her chest. He was just one of many, he could be replaced as Marcus said, but why did the prospect hurt? “Lucia, none of this matters if you come with me.” She said, the remorse in her voice genuine.
“Tell me.” Marcus said to Alena.

[Adele Holst]

"Addy, now's not a good time."

The young woman stopped in her tracks when her friend replied with an update. Guilt filled her; was he upset with her? She couldn't blame him if he was. How many nights had passed since she'd left Pablo in that cave to get help? Had he been here that entire time? And as if that weren't punishment enough, the vampire, Catherine, had given her a chance to come along freely, lest she make Pablo suffer for every second of her resistance. And she had resisted at first... And then, again, when Okello got the drop on the vampire. How much was he forced to endure?

A cold, heavy pit formed in her stomach; but Adele grit her teeth and set her sights on the warehouse again. She had the power to end her friend's suffering; or at least, a chance to try. But how? The task ahead seemed daunting; she had the will, but felt inexperienced in determining the best course of action. What would Szander do if he were here? She groaned inwardly. It still felt unfathomable that he'd been killed. Yet she believed she knew what he'd do.

The streets outside the warehouse seemed fairly quiet; from what Adele could tell, most if not all of the threat on the nearby rooftops had been silenced. There was no gunfire coming her way in any case. The young woman sprinted over to the door at the back of the warehouse, wincing as slight pain traveled up her thigh.

Her hands were reaching for the door to test if it was locked as Pablo spoke into her mind once more. A spark of hope seemed to lighten the weight on her shoulders; Alena was still alive, and Pablo was with her. From the sounds of it, he'd run into the pair of wolves who'd been charged with getting to the lycan queen after the main threats had been taken care of or at least distracted. If Alena was still alive and Pablo was there with her, there was a chance everything would be alright. Right? Gods, hope was dangerous. "Understood."

Adele gripped the doorknob placing her other on the door as she tried to open it; but the handle would not budge. Locked. "Verdammt nochmal..." She wanted to hold off shifting if at all possible, but more importantly, she didn't want to make a loud entrance.

Sticking close to the side of the building, Adele crept quickly toward the alleyway on the other end, flinching as she heard gunfire from within the warehouse. Reaching for the desert eagle, the young woman gripped it with both hands as she turned the corner into the alley. All was quiet down here. Her eyes focused on a window a few meters away that appeared to be open partially. That would be her way in.

Tucking the UV gun into her waistband again, the lycan crept toward the closest dumpster. It wasn't quite close enough for her to reach the window, so Adele pushed, throwing her weight into the metal to slowly inch it closer. The still-healing wounds behind her shoulders sent pain throughout her, but Adele pushed on, until the dumpster was underneath the opened window. She prayed that the sounds of gunfire and fighting would drown out any noise moving the trash bin had created, but quickly pulled herself onto the dumpster's lid.

Peering in carefully through the window, Adele nearly gagged as the smell of garbage beneath her hit. This window appeared to lead to an office; the light was on, the door going out of the office open halfway, but there was no one visible inside the room. Slowly lifting the window higher, Adele stuck her head through, double-checking that there was no one nearby before lifting one of her legs through the window, to climb through. Letting herself down carefully, Adele hung for a moment by her hands, her feet dangling a few inches above the floor, before she let go.

As her feet hit the ground, the young woman stumbled back, wincing as she tried to catch herself. Reaching again for the gun, Adele glanced quickly about the room before creeping toward the door to peer out. Now, where the hell was she in relation to the basement? There were sounds of conflict coming from the right...

[Lucia Drusa Severa]

Averting her gaze to the floor as Catherine spoke, Lucia nodded quietly. She did understand that the vampiress had only been trying to help her; but it felt so difficult telling friend from foe at the moment. Still, the way she worded Dane's intent, that he would have 'put her down', like she was some deplorable mutt; it stung. Meeting Catherine's eyes as she offered once more for Lucia to leave with her, the girl bit her lip, glancing at Pablo. The vampire's offer was appealing, much more than leaving with her mother; but she'd promised Pablo countless times over the last week or so that she would help him free Alena. And he sounded like he missed his friends, dearly. She needed to do this first, despite how much she dreaded having to face her mother after they'd gotten clear of this place.

She didn't turn to look at her mother when she spoke, but hoped she would demand to keep Pablo. After all, he hadn't had a choice in most of what happened. Holding one of her arms self-consciously, the hybrid flinched a little as more gunfire rang out and something heavy hit the ground, shaking the building.

There was some small amount of relief when her mother stood firm on keeping Pablo, and Marcus and Catherine reluctantly agreed. Lucia was ready to help support the lycan if he needed as Catherine released her grip, and as he drew closer, she pulled him into a tight embrace. "Thank you, Catherine." When the vampiress offered a last time for Lucia to leave with her, the girl looked down at Pablo. She didn't know what to do. "Catherine, I... I'll seek you out." Meeting her eyes, Lucia offered a weak smile. Catherine had been such a dear friend to her.

[Dane]

The vampire grunted as the lycan’s teeth grazed his skin. Dane threw a closed fist to the beast head, hitting him back as he shook free. The beast had a particular pair of golden eyes. This was one of Perrin’s pups. Lucia’s words ran clear through his mind. One bore his power was his heir, the other his son, they were both of importance to Alena, and potentially potent. If he could he would spare this one, save him from what wounds he had when it was all said and over. His head whipped back in the direction of the larger lycan, the only truly dangerous one. He was coming in quick, and low. Dane lunged up and over the beast, kicking hard back against the lycan’s spin, sending him sprawling forward.

Swarming him had been a mistake. While initially his subjects withheld firing in their direction, now that he was momentarily clear of the enemy, they let loose on the batch of lycans. He twirled his dagger in his fingers, flinging it towards the leg of one as they moved to avoid the gunfire. Dane reached for another of his knives.

[Alena Wulf]

Marcus' first words in response brought a quiet, but genuine laugh to the werewolf queen. She kept her gaze on him as he spoke, watching as he looked to his lover, and then warned her not to interfere in Catherine's future endeavor to acquire a replacement 'pet'. She looked over to see the woman hesitantly nod before finally letting Pablo go.

As Lucia wrapped her arms around Pablo, the lycan queen returned her full attention to Marcus, "What a considerate lover you must be, Marcus." She gave him a predatory smile before pulling slightly on the vampire's arm to urge them forward again. Pain flared through her as they moved, after having been stationery for a moment, but the mother of lycanthropy kept her stride as even as she could. Although my daughter appears unaware of this fact, a hybrid's bite can have a certain influence over their prey. Alena spoke into Marcus' mind, watching him for any subtle reactions. It can lead to a surviving victim feeling and displaying something akin to affection toward the hybrid who's marked them; yet the bond goes deeper than that and can become dependent, obsessed or thoroughly enamored. Have you noticed the way Pablo looks at Lucia? How he speaks of her? To her? Perhaps some of it is genuine. Alena smiled quietly to the vampire beside her. Yet this was a pup who was loyal to the pack; loyal to a fault. Dane slaughtered a den of his brethren and brought him to the brink of death, and when Pablo had recovered enough to regain consciousness, he found himself under the care and supervision of my loving, doting daughter. The things he's been put through have happened still so recently, and he is young. Yet, look as he clings to the girl. Lucia shares this trait with her brothers. She watched the vampire and paused for a moment. Did he see where she was going with this? I wonder; has your Catherine shared bites with my daughter?

It was still more difficult than she liked to even just walk; the prospect of scaling the stairs was unpleasant. Yet she pressed on, trying to keep aware of Catherine's presence and location as they moved. The queen of lycanthropy had struck a deal with Marcus, but they were vampires. Alena wouldn't put it passed either of them to shoot her in the back in front of her daughter.

[Pablo]

The fear, the prospect of being lost to Lucia forever vanished the moment she wrapped her arms around him. Pablo sighed softly, even with a battle raging above them he felt an incredible comfort in her arms. He looked up at the hybrid as she answered Catherine. There was a measure of sadness in Lucia’s voice, and in Catherine’s eyes. But what concerned him was that they would lead the den again too quickly. He’d go anywhere Lucia went. Even if it meant to her. Still he’d rather stay as long as possible among his pack.

Something stung in Catherine’s core as Lucia spoke. Why would the girl wish to return with her mother? She was losing them both wasn’t she. The Lycan Queen seemed intent in letting her obtain another pet, but that hardly seemed like a consolation prize. She slowly nodded her head. “Go then.” She said, taking a small step towards Lucia. She reached out, caressing the girl’s cheek. “Before I change my mind, and keep you.” Catherine said with a weak smile. Why was this so difficult? Despite her desire for the girl’s rare physical attributes, Catherine felt a connection to the hybrid that went beyond attraction. It was unique, not quite the love she felt for Marcus, but why? Was it the lies they’d both suffered at Dane’s hands? Did she see herself in Lucia.

Marcus smiled a toothy grin at Alena. “Not just considerate, but generous. There’s nothing I wouldn’t share with her.” He said, glancing at Catherine momentarily. Scowling as Alena’s voice entered his mind, Marcus reaffirmed his hold on the lycan. He glanced again at Catherine, at the mention of the subtle influence, but said nothing. It was difficult what to make out of Alena’s words. He wouldn’t describe Catherine’s behavior towards Lucia, as dependent, obsessed or thoroughly enamored. She simply enjoyed the… presence of youth. Lucia clearly reminded Catherine of herself too at a younger, and yet the tone of her voice. He could not truly say if the sadness was feigned. He could not claim to have heard such true emotion from her, that outside of her disdain for particular lycan. Lycan… more than anything the boy was to blame. “It’s your damn pup.” He said in a quiet voice. “She’s taken by your heat, blood. Like a few others we know.” This was a phase, as soon as the novelty of a new pleasure faded away. Marcus held tight to Alena as they ascended the stairs, supporting her every step. His eyes followed the lycan, glancing behind them, Catherine stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching their every move.

[Nero]

Cutting through two more vampires on the rooftop, Nero scanned the nearby area. There were no signs of any immediate threats outside the building; either those that remained had fled, or they were exceptionally skilled at remaining undetected. In either case, he could hear the conflict within escalating. The werewolves seemed to stand their ground; he could make out some of the snarls and growls from here, but it would only be a matter of time before they'd be overwhelmed. Flying high into the air, the hybrid folded his wings to descend upon the roof of the warehouse a final time, collapsing another part of the roof and leaving wreckage in his wake.

Stepping off the edge of the roof, Nero landed easily on the sidewalk below. Amidst it all, he could make out the sound of Reece snapping at the air, growling. It seemed his mother's lover left one of the front doors intact. That wouldn't do. In a blur, Nero disappeared from the sidewalk, the remaining door, now in his grip, had been ripped off its hinges like leaves of paper from a notebook. Upon entering the building, the hybrid hurled the door toward the nearest sound of concentration firepower; the stairs leading up. He didn't expect this attack to kill any of the vampires; instead he aimed to scatter them, give them enough of an obstacle to distract them for even a moment. He wasted no time charging into the lobby, toward the sound of Reece's snarls.

Seemingly, although sloppily, encircled by a smaller pack of werewolves, a lone vampire fought; one of the few brazen enough to meet their immortal enemy in melee combat.
Wielding a silver knife in one hand and a pistol in another, Nero could only assume this man was Dane. A quick glance at his features as he turned confirmed this theory.

Speeding toward the vampire, the hybrid approached him head on, bringing and arm up to shove Dane back a step, before swiping at the hand holding the firearm. Nero's features conveyed slight boredom, but no hate. This endeavor was, if anything, a slight inconvenience. He felt no animosity toward the particular vampires here, nor any terrible fondness toward the lycans he was aiding; he was here for Alena. It seemed his mother had yet to make an appearance, however.

[Alena Wulf]

Lifting an eyebrow, Alena smiled to herself when Marcus spoke of his generosity. Vampires and their fucking generosity. If she didn't know better, she'd swear that was the first thing a sire taught his fledgling. Life in the pack could be difficult, and some lessons were often learned the hard way; but at the end of the night, they were still pack. Family. This practice did not appear to be common among vampires. Little had changed within the coven, it seemed.

Each step upward, they were ever closer to getting out of here, she hoped. The pain was easy enough to push beyond, but the mother of lycanthropy still felt far too light-headed. There were stairs Alena felt almost overcome with dizziness; yet she'd pause ever so briefly to regain her bearings, trying to rely less on the aid of the vampire beside her.

When Marcus spoke quietly to her, Alena couldn't restrain the smile forming on her lips. "Ah," she spoke softly in return, "is that it? My mistake." Again, the lycan queen was tempted to say more, to show Marcus how close Dane had been to freeing her and damning himself. Yet she remained silent as they reached the top of the staircase.

Releasing her grip on the vampire, Alena stepped to the side, gazing behind her to see her daughter aiding Pablo, stopped within arm's reach. "Lucia." She spoke firm; she wanted to caution her daughter; to tell her not to take unnecessary risks by letting any hate or anger toward Dane get the better of her as they left. Yet Alena knew that this very advice might be what pushed the girl into doing something reckless. Instead, she held out a hand, palm up, looking into the girl's eyes, "The key."

When the hybrid placed the key to her collar in the palm of her hand, Alena spoke quietly, projecting an image of Reece into Lucia's mind, "Reece will take you home; keep Pablo with you." Reaching out to cup the girl's chin, the wolf mother forced her daughter to meet her gaze. If something happens, go with your brother. He is here; you will know him by his eyes.

Pulling away, Alena gazed down at Pablo, before turning toward the cellar door. Silently glancing at Marcus, the queen of werewolves opened the door and stepped slowly out, onto the main floor. Trying to stay low and to the side, Alena gazed out into the madness consuming the lobby of the old Oslo den.

[Lucia Drusa Severa]

Catherine's words and her soft, soothing caress across Lucia's cheek nearly made the girl break down, sobbing. Her bottom lip quivered as she attempted to compose herself, but the hybrid found herself looking down and away as a few heavy tears fell down her cheeks.

Wiping her eyes hastily, the girl gathered Pablo into her arms, cradling him as she followed Marcus and her mother up the stairs to the main floor. With each step, the sounds of battle grew ever louder. The shouting and snarling, the gunfire and heavy impacts shaking the warehouse, it all seemed to rouse something in the hybrid. Gripping Pablo tighter, Lucia gazed ahead as if seeing through the door. It sounded like a hunt; that prospect, the thrill was exciting, made her muscles itch. But instead of pure excitement, she felt her sorrow turn to frustration before crawling closer to rage.

She barely registered the soft words spoken between Marcus and Alena, and by the time they reached the top of the stairs, Lucia was ready to push passed them to get to the door.

Her mother's voice brought Lucia's attention back. When Alena demanded the key to her collar, she placed Pablo down carefully, throwing one of his arms over her shoulder to support him that way while she procured the key to her mother's freedom. Wordlessly handing the key over, Lucia was about to step up to open the door when an image of a man and his wolfish counterpart flooded her mind. Bringing her free hand up to her forehead, the girl rubbed momentarily at her temples, listening to her mother's words. "Yes, Mother." Her eyes to the floor, Lucia again wanted to step forward when Alena grabbed her chin to meet her eyes. For as weakened as the queen of werewolves looked, her grip on her daughter's chin felt surprisingly rough. Lucia was forced to meet her mother's gaze; how cold it felt.

When Alena was finished with her mental intrusion, the hybrid pulled her face away, inadvertently meeting Marcus' eyes before glancing away. "Yes, Mother." Her free hand curled into a tight fist at her side; she only looked up to watch as the lycan queen disappeared beyond the other side of the door. Was this what she was returning to? The girl grit her teeth; yet the warm presence of Pablo beside her softened her distaste enough to relax a little. She was going back for him; so he could see him friends again and have his life back. She rested her head against Pablo's momentarily before reaffirming her grip on him and climbing the stairs passed Marcus to enter the warehouse lobby.

Taking the opposite side as Alena, Lucia helped Pablo slide into a nearby hallway, hoping to stay out of side of any who might find them easy targets. Her mother had said the pack would take her 'home', which implied that they wouldn't attack her. At least not here; but what about Pablo? Would they attack him? And how would the vampires treat her? As their queen, or an imposter?

In the girl's periphery, a shiny glint of silver flying across the room caught her attention; a thrown knife. It wasn't coming their way, but it was enough for Lucia to glance up and follow the trajectory back to the source; Dane. Heat flared in her chest, anger and pain, and her teeth ached; and then he was the only thing she could see. Helping Pablo rest against the closest wall, Lucia's crimson gaze was locked on the vampire across the lobby. "I'll be right back." She spoke quietly to the lycan through clenched teeth, before disappearing from his side.

The heat in her chest felt overwhelming, her mind roared, and it seemed to her that her vision became clouded slightly. Tears had formed again; but angry tears. Sprinting toward the vampire she thought had loved her, Lucia opened her mouth to ask 'why'? Yet all that came out was an enraged scream as she drove her fists into Dane's chest. She wanted nothing more than for him to wrap his arms around her and explain that this was all somehow a grave misunderstanding; that he reciprocated her love for him and had never wished to hurt her.

[Pablo]

Alena’s subtle smile was not loss upon Marcus. She believed herself clever, didn’t she? He would admit that Alena knew more on the topic than he, but what guaranteed she spoke not just lies? It begged some amount of caution at the least, he would provide Catherine some amount of warning. There were other matters at the moment that demanded his attention. “This is where we’ll go our separate paths. I’ll follow shortly behind.” Marcus said, it would be nigh impossible to walk out with Alena now and avoid being noticed. “If my assistance is needed, Alena, you shall have it. Now go.” He said, glancing at Lucia and smiling at the girl. With her finally gone, and the beasts, perhaps life here would finally return to something resembling normalcy. He watched as they left, glancing back down the stairs, a pair of red eyes glaring up at him. Or perhaps things would never be normal again.

Pablo held tight to Lucia’s arm as she removed the collar from around Alena’s neck. The click of the lock coming undone sent a jolt to his heart, this was actually happening, they were finally leaving this hell hole. Something in his chest fluttered, this was a happy day, or it should have been, but Lucia seemed anything but happy. As she rested her head against his, he smiled weakly. “It’ll be alright, Lucia.” He leaned, heavily on the girl for support. He felt capable of standing on his own, and even maybe moving, but if they planned on leaving in a timely manner, he would need her.

Stepping out in the main hall was one of the single most frustrating moments of Pablo’s life. It was madness, but he was built for this, the cries of battle, gunfire, spilling vampire blood, it all called to the primal part of him. The part that reveled at even the thought of a fight. How long had it been since he let himself loose? Only when alone with Lucia, and with well…. he wouldn’t have to worry about the vampire again. But regardless it had not been the same. He’d lost himself, but it never ended on his terms.

The sounds of battle scratched at the primal force in his chest. He wanted to shift so bad, but the thought of it hurt his bones and muscles. Lucia’s presence granted him the only reprieve, but even that was short lasting as she suddenly placed him against the wall. “Lucia.” He said incredulously, reaching out for her hand. “Please don’t go, not now.” What was she doing? The moment she turned away his heart began to race. She was leaving him, she wanted to stay. His eyes followed the girl, he’d assume the worse, she was heading towards the midst of battle. Pablo sighed, there was a flash of movement, nearly too quick for his human eyes to fight. There was a fight between Dane, and… Raven? That couldn’t be right. Opponent aside that was definitely Dane, and she was going to him, he’d fucking kill her, what was she doing? LUCIA, DON’T, STAY, PLEASE. He grit his teeth, gathered his strength and stepped forward towards the fray. Something heavy slammed against the back of his head as his vision suddenly went black.