Two Can Play

Title: Two Can Play

Author: Henrika (henrika_amanda@yahoo.se)

Rating: NC-17 for explicit sex, BDSM, and some violence.

Pairing: Viktor/Lucian, Lucian/Sonja, and vaguely Viktor/Kraven

Summary: Viktor is tired of being insulted by Lucian and decides to give the insolent Lycan a lesson in manners.

Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters, and I’m making no money from this story.

Archive. My personal site at http://www.geocities.com/henrika_amanda/Index Anyone else, please ask first.

Feedback! Please! Just don’t flame me.

A/N: This story takes place before the war between the Vampires and Lycans actually started. Sonja is still alive, and Viktor doesn’t know of her relationship with Lucian.

Warnings: Slash, het, BDSM, graphic sex… the usual. :)


Chapter 1

Viktor sighed. The damned Lycan was whistling again. Again. The Vampire Lord had believed that his body language and the fact that he had scolded him so many times in the past would make Lucian realize what he could and could not do around Viktor, but no. The obnoxious slave never seemed to learn.

“Lucian, stop your whistling,” the Elder said calmly, not wanting anyone to see how much Lucian’s behaviour really got on his nerves.

The Lycan didn’t stop, though. Instead of obeying the Elder, he continued his whistling even more cheerfully than before. He got a mischievous glint in his eyes when he watched Viktor clench his teeth so hard that his facial muscles flexed under his pale skin. A thick wrinkle formed between his brows, clearly revealing how hard he was fighting not to lose his temper and yell - and God knew what else - at the simple Lycan servant. Lucian had to suppress a chuckle. Provoking Viktor was always so fun, because he knew exactly how to infuriate the Elder. Whistling cheerfully while waiting at his table was a very efficient method. Lucian even kept track of how long it took before Viktor lost his temper. The current record was little over five minutes, and it would obviously not be broken today.

“Stop whistling at once, you filthy, mangy animal!” the Vampire Elder snarled, turning to glare at Lucian with unnatural blue eyes. It was a sign of his fury. Viktor looked like he was ready to bounce up and break the Lycan’s neck with his bare hands. Lucian was pleased with himself. He had done it yet again.

“What should I stop?” he asked.

“Is growing up truly that goddamned difficult?!” the Vampire snapped in reply. “I asked you once - nicely. Why can you not just do as I say, Lucian? Why must you behave in this obnoxious and childish way?”

//Because it gets on your nerves// Lucian wanted to say, but he didn’t. Viktor should be clever enough to have figured that out by himself. Lucian had made a game out of infuriating the Elder, but he knew that he was playing with fire. One day Viktor would truly explode and really punish him.

Reds spots had appeared on the Elder’s cheeks, and his eyes were still flashing. Lucian moved his gaze from Viktor to his daughter - Sonja - who was sitting to his right. The beautiful female Vampire looked back at the Lycan with concern and perhaps even fear in her eyes. Lucian could almost hear her thoughts, her plea. //Don’t provoke Father, Lucian. You have no idea what he can do with you.//

He returned Sonja’s anxious gaze with a confident one of his own and gave her a soft smile. He was in control of this situation - so far. Viktor, although enraged, would not start chasing a simple Lycan around the dining table with so many other vampires watching. It was below him.

Lucian spun around, shaking his head, and headed for the exit at high speed. “Lucian!” Viktor shouted after him. “Come back, Lycan! I am not finished with---”

But Lucian didn’t listen now either, of course. The insolent dog was gone already before Viktor could finish his sentence. The Vampire Lord’s hands were shaking when he brought them up to rub his temples. “Give me a break…” he snarled quietly but loud enough for everyone to hear. “I don’t understand!” he then said, raising his head to glare at the other vampires seated around the long table. “Why don’t you do anything to support me? How can you just let that… lowly creature behave that way? He is harassing me, damn it!”

“You perceive it as harassment?” Sonja carefully asked her father.

“Well, isn’t that pretty obvious?” Viktor snapped back, surprised that his own daughter would question him.

“But it is his character,” Sonja tried vainly, fearing that Lucian had indeed gone too far this time.

“Are you saying that you approve of it?”

“I never said that, but the real question is what you choose to make of it. If you ignore him, he won’t succeed in… whatever he is attempting.”

“This is outrageous!” Viktor growled. “I will show that Lycan who makes the rules here… and what happens to the likes of him if they dare cross me… Right now!”

Viktor ignored his daughter’s pleading eyes and rose from his seat at the table’s short end. Sonja was too compassionate and soft-hearted a Vampire. What the insolent Lycan needed was discipline, not coddling.

“And you… wipe that grin off your face!” he hissed at one of the younger vampires - Kraven - who had the nerve to actually smile at him. Who could possibly find this amusing?

*~*~*

Viktor did not know where Lucian had gone, but he guessed that the Lycan had gone down to the slave quarters where his kind lived, and therefore went to look for him there. The Elder did not often mix with the Lycan slaves: if he required something of them, he would send someone else to take care of his business. This time he felt that he was forced to intervene, though. He had to show Lucian that he was serious.

The Lycans lived in shed-like wooden houses with ground floors and a hearth in the middle. The mere thought of spending time there was repulsive, but he would not give in before he found Lucian and had made sure the Lycan understood his message. The outside air was cold, and Viktor regretted not bringing an overcoat. The thin shirt and beautifully embroidered vest were not sufficient to keep the cold at bay, and the Elder was beginning to freeze. He had to find the Lycan quickly so that he could return to the warmth and comfort of the mansion.

“Lucian!” he called out, knowing that the Lycan’s keen hearing would be able to grasp it. Viktor had no idea in which shed the young Lycan slept. He heard a rustling of leaves and the sound of twigs breaking to his left, and Lucian stepped forth from behind a tree.

“What do you want?” the Lycan asked in a not too friendly voice and even avoided eye-contact with the Vampire.

“Sit down, Lucian. I came here to have a talk with you,” Viktor said sternly, pointing to a rickety-looking stool outside the shed. He did not like Lucian’s pacing while he talked, and besides he wanted to be able to look down at the Lycan.

“I’m not sitting down,” Lucian refused simply and still didn’t even look at Viktor.

The Elder was first too flabbergasted to even think straight. He could only gasp. Lucian had just disobeyed a direct command! And in a quite an insolent way, to be honest.

“Now you sit down, or I will get the keys to the pillory and let you hang there the rest of the night!” he snarled threateningly, his fury growing when Lucian seemed to ignore him once more. The Lycan simply dismissed Viktor’s command with a wave of his hand. He knew that it was a hollow threat.

“You dumb woodlouse!” he called to the Vampire Elder. “Go and do something useful instead of standing there clucking in my ear! It’s not like you belong down here anyway! You could even get lice from being near me and my kind!”

“What?!” Had the Lycan just called him “dumb woodlouse”? “I am not clucking---”

“Yes, you are! That is exactly what you’re doing, Viktor! You cluck like a hen! The sad thing is that you don’t even notice it yourself! Your brain is working too slowly. Have you realized that?”

“Realized what? Lucian, I came here to talk to you about your behaviour, and you have the nerve to insult me? You are to call me Lord Viktor! I am your Master and I can decide your fate anytime I wish! Have you realized that, you dirty beast for a man?!” By now Viktor was so angry that he practically spat out the words. He had to get Lucian’s attention and teach him the lesson he had come here for.

Lucian was starting to get aggravated as well. Viktor’s presence and his angry shouting were not pleasant anymore. It only proved that the Elder was indeed as slow on the uptake as he’d suspected all along, but if Viktor kept persisting… Lucian felt that standing out in the cold bandying words with the Elder was a waste of both their time. Sighing, he finally looked Viktor clean in the eye and approached him until they were less than six feet apart.

“Have you realized that?” he repeated, keeping his voice calm and slow this time.

“Realized what?” Viktor exclaimed, a dumbstruck look on his face.

“That you cannot control each and every situation around you? God, you are so spoiled, Viktor! Have you ever lacked anything at all, or has everything always been delivered to you on a silver platter? Do you even notice anything past the point of your own selfish existence?”

Viktor couldn’t believe what was happening. The Lycan was insulting him, questioning him, virtually driving him into a corner. He had come down here to question Lucian, and now the Lycan - his slave - was questioning him! He could not - would not - tolerate it! He was an Elder, a Vampire Lord, and Lucian was a simple, filthy animal! Although Viktor had to confess that he was at a loss for words and that he’d had no idea that a Lycan could be so… verbal and striking in his statements. Lucian had called him spoiled. Viktor didn’t think of himself in such terms. He had been lucky, that was all. Privileged. He had worked hard to get where he was now. Being a Vampire Elder and Ruler was not so easy a task as the Lycan seemed to imagine.

He did not feel like explaining this to Lucian, however, so he simply raised his hand to cuff Lucian across the face. Although the Lycan dodged his slap. When their eyes met again, Lucian’s were wary and scheming. He clearly expected Viktor to lash out again and prepared to either dodge or parry the blow.

The Vampire Elder snorted. This was ridiculous! He would not spend one more minute arguing with the beast out here in the cold. It was below him. He knew that he could easily overpower the young Lycan, and even slay him, but Lucian’s dodging his cuff had been a bit of a surprise.

Without a word, Viktor spun around and started making his way back to the mansion. He was shaking from the cold by now, and as he withdrew, he could feel Lucian’s gaze in his neck. The Elder was even more furious now than he’d been when he went to confront Lucian. He was also angry with himself for letting the Lycan insult him like that. He should have coerced Lucian into submission! But the dog had not given him a chance to talk, and Viktor had been so dumbfounded that he could only stare. Enraged, he began to suspect if not the Lycan was right about one thing - maybe his brain was indeed working too slowly?

No! Lucian was an animal! He could not possibly outsmart any vampire; especially not a powerful Elder, like Viktor. This time the Lycan had exceeded his previous limits, though. He had insulted Viktor directly, called him names, and not shown a scrap of respect. Viktor could not let such behaviour go unpunished. The next time he got his hands on Lucian…

When he returned to the mansion, Sonja was instantly there to receive him. The look on his daughter’s face told Viktor that Sonja was concerned. The Elder really didn’t feel like answering a lot of questions now, so he motioned to her that he wanted to be left alone.

Sonja ignored her father’s command and went to stand before him. “Wait, Father,” he said softly. “You look aggravated. What happened?”

“What happened? I will tell you what happened!” Viktor snapped, not able to calm himself even when Sonja cringed from his obvious anger. “I went there to talk with that Lycan, actually believing that I could have a civilized conversation with the beast, and he called me “dumb woodlouse”! That is what happened, my dear Sonja. I truly can’t understand your obvious sympathy for those rude, filthy, brutal animals!”

The red spots appeared on Viktor’s cheeks again, and he was practically foaming with rage. Sonja sighed ruefully and placed her slim, pale hand on her father’s left cheek. “That is not excusable, of course,” he said in a low voice. “Rudeness never is. Lucian should learn to respect you. Maybe if I went there to talk to him, perhaps he would listen to me…”

Viktor’s eyes snapped open in pure terror. “What?! Sonja, that is out of question! There is no way in hell I would let you go down there! Not for any reason! Do you understand me?”

The mere thought of what those crude beasts could do with his beautiful, pure daughter - his only child - if she went there alone and unprotected… It was too horrible to even imagine. He had to make Sonja realize that he was serious. He grabbed her chin and tilted her head up, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Do you understand me, Sonja?” he repeated, clenching his teeth.

Sonja lowered her gaze and nodded timidly. “Yes, Father,” she whispered.

Viktor’s gaze and voice were still stern. “Good. You should go to bed. Dawn will come in a couple of hours.”

The Vampiress nodded again. “Yes, Father.”

Viktor even gave her a strained smile. “That’s my lass,” he said, kissing her cheek and stepping aside to pass her. Even though it would soon be dawn, Viktor was not headed to his chambers. The Lycan’s insolence had left him with a lot of suppressed anger, and he needed to give vent to it. Perhaps an intense training session in the dojo could help him calm down.

Sonja waited until her father was out of earshot. He had told her to go to bed, but Sonja had completely other plans.

*~*~*

Lucian was still aggravated half an hour after Viktor’s visit to the slave quarters. While it was amusing to infuriate the Vampire Elder, Viktor’s arrogant, pompous nature had gotten on his nerves. Viktor had come down here to teach him a lesson. He had even threatened to put Lucian in the pillory! The Lycan smiled when he thought back to the childish threat. Viktor had never been able to control his anger, and if something did not go his way, the great and powerful Elder began to act like a child still in the obstinate age.

He thought of going back inside to his sleeping place, but the filthy cottage was already filled with other Lycans, and Lucian did not feel like socializing now. Had any of the others heard his quarrel with Viktor? Probably. He knew that he could amuse his fellow werewolves greatly by telling them about this night’s events, but he did not feel like doing that either. Wrapping his cheap, tattered clothes closer to his body, he started to wander further away from the slave quarters. It’s not like it was much warmer inside the poorhouse anyway. Granted, there was a hearth, but the walls were full of holes and what warmth the fire emitted seemed to escape through those cracks.

“Lucian?”

Lucian spun around when he heard his name being called. And he recognized the voice, feeling both terror and excitement. “Sonja?”

The Vampiress was standing some thirty feet from him, and Lucian was surprised that he had not caught her scent or heard her approach. He’d been too deep in thought, probably.

“Sonja, what are you doing here?” he called back in a low, husky voice. “Has anyone seen you? Did Viktor or anyone else see you leave the mansion?”

Sonja shook her head. “No, Father believes that I am in my chamber.” She approached Lucian. “I… I wanted to see you,” she confessed to her lover. “When I heard about your argument with my father, I…”

When they were close enough to touch, Lucian enveloped the slender female in his arms and held her tightly. He had missed Sonja too, of course. He missed her every second they spent apart. Still, he was concerned. Sonja should not simply show up like this. It was not safe. Even if none of the Vampires saw her exit the mansion, a Lycan might spot, smell, or hear her if she came down here unannounced.

Sonja was cold. Lucian could feel it. She was only wearing a thin, elegant dressing gown and a cloak wrapped around her shoulders, looking awfully misplaced in Lucian’s grubby arms. He kissed her gently, enjoying the sensation of her soft, full lips against his.

“You shouldn’t be here…” he whispered, tracing the curve of her mouth with his finger. “Not now… The sun will rise soon.”

“Not quite yet… Say, Lucian…” She kissed his jaw, enjoying the feeling of his coarse stubble against her cheek. “Is there any place where we can be alone?”

Lucian couldn’t suppress a smile. “You are serious?” he asked.

“You know me, my love. I am always serious,” the Vampiress replied, and she was.

“The stables. Come!”

The two secret lovers quickly sneaked through the shielding darkness toward the stables. Lucian trusted his own hearing and keen sense of smell to make sure that no one spotted or followed them. Once they reached there and slipped inside, some of the horses started tramping and snorting nervously in their stalls. Lucian knew why. Horses were always restless near Lycans.

They continued into a smaller room where the horses’ forage was kept, and as soon as they were inside - and safe - their mouths met in a passionate kiss, and Lucian grabbed Sonja, almost lifting her off the ground, and pushed her up against the wall, letting his eager hands roam her delicate, firm, shapely body.

“Ahh… Lucian…” Sonja gasped between the ardent kisses. She could already feel his hardness against her lower abdomen and knew that it wouldn’t take long before he’d sink it into her wanton heat. She looked forward to that. She did it every time. No one could love her like Lucian did. He was so ferocious, so animal… and still so gentle and caring. He had never harmed her in any way, even in the throes of passion, and only he could make her feel… full, satiated.

“Turn around…” he breathed in her ear a short time later, and she happily complies, placing her hands against the solid wall. Lucian’s fingers started working on the laces of her gown and deftly undid them, baring her back to the rather chilly air. Sonja barely noticed it, though. She was not cold anymore. Lucian’s closeness was enough to keep her hot.

The garment slid down her shoulders and the Lycan gently passed it over her narrow waist and slender hips. Soon Lucian’s hands were on her breasts, squeezing, pinching, rolling her sensitive nipples and making them harden. She moaned faintly when he swept her long, blonde hair back, getting access to her neck, and started placing tender, wet kisses on the side of her throat. His warm breath against her bare skin was unbelievably erotic.

“Lucian… please, don’t keep me waiting…” she pleaded as the Lycan nibbled on her skin. A Lycan bite could have easily killed her, but she trusted him with her life and did not for one second think of the damage his sharp, lethal canines could cause.

Lucian’s hands slid lower, past her belly and hips, and in between her thighs. He could both smell and feel her arousal, which increased his own even more.

“Do you like this…?” he whispered, using his hand to stroke her slick folds and rub the bud right above her nether opening.

“Yes, I do, but… I want the real thing…” Sonja panted in reply, thrusting back against him to really show how desperate she was becoming.

It took Lucian two seconds to remove his own pants and free his throbbing erection. He gave it a brief squeeze and spread the leaking pre-come over the head to ease the entry. He was quite generously endowed, and he did not want Sonja to feel any discomfort, although judging from her body, she was quite ready for their union.

“Alright, my love, are you ready?” he asked, placing himself in a position to enter her.

Sonja’s only reply was an almost imperceptible nod. Lucian did not even have to bend his knees when he finally sheathed himself within her. Sonja was tall; almost his height, and while Lucian was not the tallest of men, he was not short either. Sonja was tall and graceful, just like… her father.

Not wanting thoughts of Viktor to intrude this loving, passionate moment, Lucian forced the image of the Elder from his head. He thrust into the Vampiress, stroking, caressing, and fondling her body with his hands. Sonja was a very responsive lover, and Lucian loved that part of her. His mouth sought out her neck again, and he kissed her soft, unmarked skin tenderly, not wanting to leave any marks.

They came together in a joint climax and moaned their pleasure into each other’s mouths, afraid of being too vocal in case someone was close enough to hear them. Lucian emptied himself within Sonja’s depths and continued to thrust until no more of his essence remained to be spilled. He leaned heavily against Sonja’s equally drained body and withdrew himself from her when he had regained enough strength to stand up steadily.

“Oh, Lucian… That was wonderful… You are wonderful…” Sonja sighed happily and turned around to look her Lycan lover in the eye.

“Wonderful, yes…” Lucian replied, not referring to himself. “What can I have done to have deserved you, Sonja?”

“You love me, and I love you. That is all that matters,” the Vampiress smiled and leaned forward to kiss Lucian. “But I have to go. The sun will rise soon, and…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “…and besides, Father might want to visit me. Oh, Lucian, I fear for you, sometimes. Have you any idea what he might do to you if he found out about us?”

“Oh, I am not that ignorant!” Lucian grinned in reply. “Viktor would surely demand my head on a silver platter!”

“I am serious.” Sonja’s tone was sad.

The Lycan nodded. “Yes, I know,” he admitted, no longer smiling. “But he will never find out, so stop worrying. Viktor is too self-absorbed to notice. Trust me.”

“Did you actually call my father “dumb woodlouse”?” Sonja asked dubiously.

Lucian failed to suppress a snort. “Did he say that?”

“Yes, he did.”

“Oh, well… I may have called him something like that… He came down there to “discipline” me. I suppose that…”

“You could at least try, Lucian,” Sonja suggested, placing her finger over Lucian’s lips and silencing him. “I know how you feel about Viktor, but he is my father, and I love him.”

“I know…” the Lycan sighed. //And I hate to admit it, but the two of you are strikingly similar in some ways.//

Sonja noticed Lucian’s obvious discomfort. “Please, Lucian, help me get dressed,” the vampiress asked, bending down to pick up her gown from the cold floor. Some dirt had stuck to it, but she brushed it off with her hand absentmindedly, not really caring about the garment. She was not exactly short of expensive gowns, and Lucian knew that as well. He helped Sonja by lacing together the back of the dress, having done it so many times in the past that he was now moderately skilled with her clothing.

How fortunate that Vampires do not have the Lycans’ keen sense of smell! Lucian thought as he kissed Sonja one last time before letting her go. The Vampiress insisted on heading back to the mansion by herself, since she feared that Viktor might have discovered that she had disappeared and sent someone to look for her. The sun would rise in just half an hour, so most Vampires were probably asleep, but neither Sonja nor Lucian wanted to take unnecessary risks.

When Sonja had left the stables, Lucian did not want to go back to the cottages just yet. He wanted some time for himself, and this little storage room was the excellent place for some solitude. Luckily there was also a large pile of hay, and the young Lycan settled onto it, enjoying the silence for once. Stretching out his legs and folding his hands under his head, Lucian closed his eyes. Thoughts of both Sonja and Viktor circled in his mind before he finally dozed off to sleep.

*~*~*

Viktor had disposed of his regal-looking clothes and put on his training outfit: tight, black trousers that clung to his hips and his long legs; slim but well-muscled. His boots were black also, and made of soft leather to allow him as much flexibility as possible. The Elder was shirtless.

He could have asked - or ordered - one of the lesser vampires to spar with him in the dojo, but he had chosen to come alone. Viktor was still enraged after the silly quarrel with the insolent Lycan, and he seriously believed that he might go too far and wound - or even kill - his sparring partner, if he had one. It was safest this way. The only one he actually *wanted* to fight was Lucian.

When it was time to choose a weapon, Viktor chose a pair of three-pronged daggers of Japanese design, called Sais. He twirled them in his hands, quite sure that no living being in this world was more skilled than he. The metal felt cool and soothing against the heated skin of his palms. Viktor crouched in a fighting stance, picturing Lucian’s shape standing before him. His hold on the weapons hardened slightly. Now… The Elder lashed out against his imaginary opponent, suddenly regretting that he had not brought anyone here with him.

*~*~*

Kraven watched as the Elder exercised in the dojo, his eyes widening when he followed the older Vampire’s flashing movements. What he saw made his mouth go dry, and he unconsciously licked his lips. Viktor was truly a lethal synthesis of power, grace, and agility. Lean muscles and sinews flexed under smooth, porcelain skin when the Vampire Lord fought like mad against an invisible enemy. It was not difficult to see that Viktor was enraged. Kraven had learned that it was not a good idea to be around the Elder when he was like that, but despite this he could simply not take his eyes off Viktor. Pretty certain that Viktor had not spotted him, the young Vampire sneaked closer to his Sire. He was not going to reveal his presence; he just wanted to watch the Elder… for yet another while.

Suddenly Viktor spun around in a flash of movements, and a fraction of a second later one of his Sais pierced the wall only a good inch left of Kraven’s head. The young Vampire was first too shocked to do anything. He did not even notice the weapon before it whistled past his head and hit the wall with a sharp clang. Had Viktor just…?

Breath still caught in his throat, Kraven lifted his gaze. The Elder was facing him with his right arm still outstretched. Viktor was smirking.

“You should know better than trying to sneak up on me, Kraven,” he said. “I thought it was obvious that I came here because I wanted some time for myself. Now, why are you here?”

Kraven opened his mouth to reply, but he couldn’t think of a proper answer. Should he tell Viktor the truth; that he had seen the Elder head for the dojo and followed him just to… watch him? No, that wouldn’t do. Still, he definitely owed Viktor an explanation.

“I… I…”

Viktor snorted patronizingly. “You should be happy that my aim is nearly perfect.”

Kraven swallowed. It was true: a few inches to the right, and the Sai would have pierced his forehead instead. Viktor began to advance toward the nervous, younger Vampire, casually spinning the remaining Sai in his hand.

//Oh, no - he is coming towards me!// Kraven almost panicked. He tried to come up with a reasonably good excuse to leave, but he already sensed that Viktor would probably not let him do that in any case.

A thin sheen of sweat from the exertion covered the Elder’s bare upper body, and when he approached, his scent became obvious. The usually neatly combed, blond hair now hung in unruly tresses around his face. Kraven tried to avert his eyes before Viktor caught him staring as well. The black trousers hung low on Viktor’s hips, displaying a flat stomach with well-defined abs.

“So, Kraven…” the Elder spoke, “…since you are here, would you mind sparring with me?”

The young Vampire believed that his heart would stop there and then. Had Viktor just asked Kraven to spar with him? That… he couldn’t do it! It was plain suicide! Even if he would survive the match, he would not get away without at least a few broken bones and countless bruises.

“Umm, my Lord…” he stuttered, his face redder than the excited Elder’s. “I don’t think that… well, I am not a warrior, like you…”

“Oh, come on…” Viktor pressed. He pulled his Sai from the wall and inspected it to make sure the metal had not been damaged. “I won’t be too harsh… unless that is what you want?”

Kraven tried to control his ragged breathing. Was that an… innuendo? The younger Vampire couldn’t be sure. Was Viktor merely teasing him, or…?

“Now, come on,” the Elder repeated sternly. The playfulness was totally gone from his voice, and Kraven realized that Viktor was not making a request but a demand. He had to do as his Lord said.

“Alright… I will spar with you, Lord Viktor…” the younger Vampire almost whimpered, unsuccessfully trying not to shake when he went to get himself a weapon. What he chose would not matter. His chances to win this match were equal to zero. Assuming that the most conventional of weapons - a plain sword - would do, he approached his sire with slumped shoulders. Kraven was not a fighter at heart, and he only had a rudimentary knowledge of martial arts. Weapons had never interested him in the first place. Now Viktor would maul him. It was so unfair…

The two duellists positioned themselves in a combat stance. The young Vampire’s half-hearted attempts at fighting both amused and irritated Viktor. He disarmed Kraven with a quick flash of his Sais without the slightest effort, and an accurate and well-directed kick to the chest sent the pale, raven-haired beauty headlong into the wall. Placing the pointy tip of his weapon under Kraven’s chin, Viktor forced the younger vampire to meet his gaze. He smiled triumphantly, even though this had not even been a real fight.

“You really should practice some more, Kraven,” Viktor said, clicking his tongue. “That was a poor performance. I expected more from you.”

Kraven groaned from the pain in his ribs. After beating him nearly unconscious, Viktor was disappointed in his lack of fighting skills? “My Lord… I am no warrior…” he whined miserably, hoping that the Elder would take pity on him and let him go.

“No, I can surely see that!” Viktor laughed. “This “match” was laughable!”

They were very close now, and Kraven could feel the heat of Viktor’s tall, slim frame against his own. The Elder’s warm breath washed over his face. This was a very bad occasion to become aroused, and he knew that. The young Vampire had desired the powerful and haughty Elder for some time now, although he had not dared to reveal his feelings since he feared Viktor’s reaction. He was one of the lesser Vampires and not worthy of an Elder’s touch. Besides, he was considered hedonistic by many, and Viktor would surely not want a lover who had been touched by so many others.

“What is the real reason you came here this night, Kraven?” the Elder asked with a sharp edge to his voice. He could feel that the younger Vampire had the beginnings of an erection, which confirmed his long-time suspicions. Kraven desired him - Viktor - sexually.

“I… I… I came here to… watch you…” Kraven stuttered, not daring to meet the Elder’s icy gaze. Viktor needed no more hints, did he?

“I see,” the Vampire Lord replied curtly. “Well, if you desire me, I certainly can’t blame you for your tastes…” He grinned. “…but despite your favourable appearance and rumoured skills between the sheets, you are not much of a challenge… anywhere,” the Elder pointed out condescendingly. “And I am rather fond of challenges.”

Kraven tried to swallow his grief and disappointment. Viktor did not want him. He was clearly too… uninteresting.

“Then who would be a challenge, my Lord?” he asked quietly, hoping that Viktor would not take offence.

//Lucian//

“Mind your own business,” the Elder hissed coldly, finally dropping the Sai he had been holding to Kraven’s chin. Although not wanting to admit it, he realized that Kraven had touched a sore spot. He exited the dojo, leaving the hapless and dumbfounded younger Vampire behind. He did not even look over his shoulder. Kraven was simple-minded snob, and while the boy was beautiful, he failed to hold Viktor’s interest. Lucian would be a true challenge. Both inside the dojo and in the bedchamber.

Viktor wiped his sweaty body with a damp cloth and changed back into his regular clothes. What he needed right now was a relaxing, hot bath. He really needed to focus on other things than Lucian right now.


TBC