Animal Instinct

Chapter 1

About an hour after the slaughter, Singe had returned to the den. His face, chest, and arms were doused in deep red. Some lycans that he passed did not even look at him. They did not want to risk the chance of looking into his eyes. The only one who could look him straight in the eye anymore was Lucian. Just the man he needed to see.

The taste of the vampire's heart still lingered in his mouth. It had been a real treat; the boy was just as tasty as he'd looked.

"What is happening?" he asked his Sire when they met in the lab.

Lucian's eyes passed over Singe's still bloodstained clothing and hands. Maybe he had some around his mouth, too. The vampire's scent was most certainly still all over him. Not that any of it mattered.

"Kraven wants to set a meeting. He says he has something valuable for me. But he wouldn't say what it was. Only that I ought to send several of my most capable soldiers."

The Austrian grinned again. He was not exactly a "soldier", but this mission had already sparked his interest.

"Where?" Singe asked, gently sucking the blood from his fingers.

"The usual place..." Lucian tried to ignore the way his scientist licked the red nectar from his hands. He had to admit that Singe was never going to be the same, not after what happened so many decades ago. Singe's brilliance was still there, and he was well on his way to unlocking the formula to create a hybrid... but otherwise he was not the same... not after those Death Dealers had gotten a hold of him. Lucian was lucky to have found him when he did.

"May I be of assistance?" the Austrian requested, looking over his notes with a quiet knowing grace.

"I gather," his Sire answered. "In case Kraven becomes... uncooperative."

Singe wanted nothing more than tear the rat for a regent apart, one limb at a time, while listening to Kraven's desperate cries and pleas. The mere thought made his member harden in his pants.

"Who else are coming?" he asked Lucian.

"I'm sending Pierce and Taylor, along with Ahvram." Lucian turned to the scientist, the look in his steel-grey eyes grim. "Remember, Singe, no tricks. Let Pierce handle this. The last thing we need now is a reason for Kraven to betray me." The leader, of course, knew of Singe's blood thirst and hatred towards the vampires, but strategy at this point was more important than revenge.

"Oh, yes, I'll stay out of their way," Singe said smoothly and wiped his bloodied hands on his equally bloodied shirt.

"And change your clothes, too."

Singe had occupied himself with looking at an insect climbing the wall as he leant against the other building. He hated waiting like this when he would rather be in his lab... or using some "thing" for a dissection experiment... but his orders were clear, to make sure things went smoothly. He glanced at his compatriots and Ahvram nervously cleared his throat.

A few minutes later, the group heard a car, and so Pierce went out to investigate. The familiar black Bentley belonged to Kraven, and his errand boy Soren stepped out of the driver's side door. Kraven followed as usual, but the back seat was strangely occupied. What was the little coward planning now?

Soren opened the door and out came Viktor, current vampire elder.

"What is this?" the elder asked in disdain. "Why have we stopped here?"

Pierce could not believe it, and judging by the look of his fellow lycans, they couldn't either. Kraven had brought them Viktor himself! None of the vampires had spotted them yet; Viktor was already getting aggravated and had started hailing questions and demands over the regent and his lapdog.

Now suddenly Pierce understood why Kraven had asked some of Lucian's most powerful soldiers to meet them. He wanted them to be able to handle Viktor! The tall, dark lycan and his two smaller compatriots stepped forth, heavily armed with Uzis and hand grenades.

Kraven gave his Sire a fanged grin when he saw them. "You have two choices. You can go quietly..." He laughed at Viktor's horrified expression. "...or not."

"Kraven, I'll have you beheaded"-- the vengeful elder said upon realization of what was happening. But he said no more when Soren lifted a gun and nodded for Viktor to stand back.

Viktor could hardly believe what was happening. He barely turned around when Pierce clubbed him in the face. Staggering, he would not go down without a fight, and he snarled, trying to dodge the taller man. Taylor stepped in as well and made a swing for the vampire. Unarmed now, and dazed from the punch, Viktor tried to block the attacks, but with two aware lycans at both sides, they had hardly any trouble in taking him down. He was unconscious in a matter of minutes.

"Lucian will want him alive, I presume," Kraven said, sneering at the group of lycans as Taylor and Ahvram began to bind the arms and legs of their new prize.

"I'll... let him know what you did for us..." Pierce replied. "Perhaps you're not so useless after all."

Singe did not move, but he allowed himself a giggle from his position in the shadows.

Kraven gave them a challenging smirk. "Don't believe for a minute that I did this from the goodness of my heart."

Pierce's eyes narrowed. "I assume you want something in return?"

"You assumed correctly."

"What?"

"That is something I will only discuss with Lucian," Kraven said.

"You sound sure of yourself, you prissy lil' shit!" Ahvram snorted. "What makes you so sure we won't plug you and your lil' lapdog along with him and throw you in the back of our van?"

Kraven replied with a snort of his own. "Because I have more than a dozen men loyal to me at Ordoghaz who knew where I was going and why. If I don't come back, they will give the Death Dealers the coordinates to your den and have it leveled with the ground. Is that reason enough?"

"If you think you can start blackmailing us..." Pierce began but was silenced by Kraven. Soren, as usual, kept a strict and vigilant eye on all three lycans.

"Who said anything about blackmailing? I'm doing business, that's all."

The regent heard laughing in the darkness a few feet away. His steely gaze flickered for a moment.

"That's not who I think it is back there, is it?"

Pierce smirked. "It is. He'll make sure you don't see your elder ever again."

Kraven was not sure whether to be assured or disturbed by the words which he knew were true. "I will speak with Lucian again soon."

Pierce nodded and gestured for his group to follow him into the darkness. Kraven heard the laughter fade as he got into the car, but in the silence he still heard it in his mind.

"Get me the hell out of here," he muttered and Soren began to drive. Turning to glance behind him, Kraven jumped when he saw that Singe was standing right behind the car, staring at him.

"God damn it," the regent said as they drove off into the night. "That... thing... he scares the hell out of me."

Singe watched as Viktor's restrained and unconscious body was placed in the back of the van, and climbed in there with him. Pierce opened his mouth to object but closed it again before saying anything. Singe couldn't help smirking in his mind. It was rather funny that someone like Pierce actually seemed to fear him. Singe was neither old nor strong for a lycan, and yet he managed to cause unease in so many.

"Just remember, Lucian will want him alive... and in one piece," the tall lycan said. "So try and keep your hands to yourself."

Singe did not reply; instead he looked almost longingly at the elder's lax features. He could hardly wait for Viktor to wake up and realize the hell he was in...


TBC...