The Animal In Me

Liliya cried out, pulling on her arms, struggling to free herself from him. But his grip was strong. Grunting, the girl pulled her feet up, put them on his chest, and pushed. Hard. The force of her legs and her pulling on her arms allowed her to free herself and she fell to the cage floor. Rolling to her side, she moved to the other side of the cage.

"Lex, please! You can fight this! Don't let him control you!" Liliya pleaded with her monstrous ally, trying to avoid hurting him, and getting hurt, which was harder than it looked. "Remember you told me... You were going to kill him yourself. Remember everything he's done to you!"

Lex reeled backward, hitting the side of the cage but unperturbed. The maneuver had succeeded into buying Liliya some time and breaking his grip. He started toward the downed girl again, though a tad slower than before, more clumsy. His brow furrowed as he looked upon Liliya's panicked face, bringing about flashes of memory that collided with the brainwashing that had been forced upon him before. Terrified expressions in the eyes of... men, and one woman. But while the men were bathed in red, her's was not.

A brief eye twitch and a grunt and the images faded. Reaching toward Liliya, he gripped her throat firmly and began to press her to the floor. His grip was not enough to strangle her, but knowing his unnatural strength, a flex from his powerful hand could collapse her windpipe and end her completely.

Grunting, Liliya began to panic for a moment. He could kill her without a thought, without breaking a sweat, and he'd never know what he'd done. Not until it was too late. She had to knock him out of whatever it was the doctor had done to him. Forcing her panicked thoughts away, she focused. How to get out of it? Calming herself down, Liliya slammed her right hand into the crook of his elbow loosening his grip, then using her left hand, she pushed against his chest. Using the few seconds she had, she once again rolled away.

"If you can't fight off his control Alexandre then you're weak!" Liliya shouted, trying to change tactics. "Weak and pathetic! You'll never achieve your freedom now. Never!"

Roaring in frustration, Lex backed up a few steps, pushed off by Liliya. Anger was beginning to grow within the monster, though it was tempered by the Huntress' berating comments. It all sounded so familiar; the name calling, the words, the blood coursing through his veins... all of it. Again the world was red except for Liliya, whose visage took on a shade of blue. Soft at first, but quickly becoming blindingly bright.

Alexandre scowled and growled, his eyes set on Liliya. Stalking toward her, his hand reared back and fist clenched. However, the blow did not come. Not immediately, anyway. For a moment, the world became clear, as if someone had opened the shutters, then closed them quickly. But in that brief moment, Lex knew that Liliya's words were true. He was being controlled and he needed to fight back.

Squinting hard, his memories began to return, though one lingered in his mind longer than the rest; Liliya's protective actions against her own blood relatives. He recalled how she stood between them, ready to kill or be killed for his sake. All became clear again. But the doctor's commands still echoed inside his mind.

"Please understand..."

Lex's fist came forward, slamming into Liliya's stomach, though with much less power than he had displayed before. If he was going to fool the doctor and Oleksy, it had to be convincing. Again his hand went to her throat. He applied no pressure to her windpipe, but instead choked the arteries supplying blood to her brain, hoping to cause her to pass out and appear dead.

Even though the blow had hit her with less force than originally intended, it still hit pretty hard and Lili grunted, biting back the pain. It wasn't working. She couldn't break him out of it, she failed him. His hand on her throat, she began to lose consciousness staring up at him. Liliya wasn't fighting back anymore. To fight back would hurt him, and she was done hurting people. She was done fighting.

"Deja vu." She thought, the world seeming to slow. This was how it was the night they met. The rain had been coming down, her ribs broken, the monster man above her, about to deliver the final fatal blow. But he wouldn't stop this time. He wouldn't feel remorse, or pity and spare her. Alexandre was really going to kill her. "This was how I was meant to go. By his hand. With none to love or bury me."

Liliya closed her eyes, a tear sneaking it's way down her cheek, becoming lost in her hair. The night in the rain, her tear had been hidden. Then, however, it was not.

Alexandre could feel Liliya slipping into unconsciousness, her muscles relaxing systematically. Her eyes were rolling back into her head, but not before the single tear streaked down her cheek, leaving a trail that glistened, even in the dim light. Lex could feel his heart shatter into tiny pieces. So badly he wanted to let go, to scoop her up and protect her as he did before, to save her from a future of death and silence. But if he did, the doctor and Oleksy would know that he was no longer under their control, and would certainly kill him.

"No..." he whispered, his grip relaxing before Liliya's consciousness could slip away completely, his own eyes shining with moisture. Tears began to fall on her face, trailing down her cheeks as if they searched for the tear she'd already shed. His hand turned over, stroking her head softly, his eyes locked on her's. "You are worth more than this. Live, and remember me."

Straightening out, Lex took one final look at Liliya, certain that he was about to walk into the wolf's den and be torn to shreds. He no longer cared about revenge, or living a peaceful life. He cared only about Liliya. He then turned toward the baffled, bloated doctor and the Wolf patriarch, his face calm but angry.

"You have both committed the most heinous crime imaginable. I find you guilty of destroying life, and will offer you no mercy." Reaching out to the bars, Lex roared his terrible roar and pulled, parting the bars enough for a person to slip through. It took several seconds, however, plenty of time for his opponents to prepare for his final showdown.

Liliya lay on the floor of the cage somewhere between awake and out cold. Her ears were ringing, and her head was pounding. Rolling to her side, she coughed and gasped trying to figure out what had happened. Lex had been just about to kill her, but he wasn't. Had she managed to get to him after all?

Wheezing, and trying to get her bearings, she pushed herself up. The world spun around her and she struggled to stay upright. Alexandre was going to go at the doctor and Oleksy alone.

"You are an idiot, monster. To think you can best me, when my own daughter could not? Foolish." Oleksy pulled his favorite barbed bullwhip from its holster on his hip and flicked it. A loud resounding crack echoed in the room, and Liliya flinched. She knew how that felt coming down on her bare back over and over. She couldn't let it touch Lex.

But she needed the element of surprise. Lying back down in the cage, she feigned losing consciousness.

"Perhaps," Lex replied to Oleksy. "But then again I wouldn't expect you to understand. I may be stitched together, but you are the most monstrous being alive." The monster-man did not waver, even at the sight of barbed whip. The doctor, however, was obviously surprised by the turn of events, staring wide-eyed as he backed away from Alexandre. Knowing Volkov to be the most dangerous threat in the room, Lex ignored the doctor completely, launching himself instead at Oleksy, hoping that closing the distance would negate the use of the whip. Grabbing a chair as he rushed forward, he swung the makeshift weapon toward the Hunter, knowing full well the attack would fail, but succeed at engaging his attention.

"Keep his focus on me. Watch him... anticipate his moves..."

Oleksy flicked his wrist, the barbed extension of his arm snapped the chair into splinters, as he effortlessly moved out of the monsters path. "You compliment me, monster. I take great joy in watching my prey suffer in agony. You will die, and my daughter will follow."

While all of the attention was on Lex and the bigger Wolf, Liliya snuck out of the cage, slithering through the shadows like a viper after its next meal. Her target: the doctor. She wasn't going to kill him, just incapacitate him and toss his nasty arse in the cage to wait for Lex. She crept up behind him, then jumped on his back, locking her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

Grinning, Alexandre clenched his fist as hard as he could, his fingers curled tightly around the tips of Oleksy's whip. The ploy had worked beautifully. As soon as the chair was destroyed, he managed to grab the barbed edges of the weapon and held on tightly. A flick of his wrist wrapped the non-bladed bits around his hand, which he then jerked toward him as he planted his feet. Lex banked on his unnatural strength to either bring the Wolf too him or disarm him. Either result would be a victory if he succeeded. If not, the worst he would sustain would be a hand sliced open, certainly a better outcome than what the fight would have been like with Oleksy still armed.

Across the room, the doctor was in a panic. Liliya was not only alive, but possessed enough vigor to fight. He was not a fighter himself, so his actions were random and clumsy, but still somewhat effective. He backed up quickly, sending them to a table covered with glass bottles and clay pots, hoping that breaking them on Liliya's back would cause enough damage to release him. But she was a Volkov, despite her father's disowning. She was unusually tough.

Liliya tightened her grip, grunting despite the pain the broken glass brought her. The doctor was trying to get her to let go, but she nearly died multiple times trying to get to that man and she wasn't going to let go. "You're gonna have to do better than that." She hissed into his ear, tensing her muscles. All she needed was for him to pass out and she could help Lex with her father.

Meanwhile, Oleksy let go of his whip, but he was not weaponless. No, not even close. He just favored the whip. "Grin, little abomination. But you forget, whatever that pissant taught you, I taught her. I know the tricks. I know the moves. You will regret rising against me." If the monster thought that he was going to take down the greatest Hunter to walk the earth he was out of his mind; but, he would let him think that there was no more weapons. Then, he'd deliver the last killing blow and enjoy his surprised expression as the life faded from his eyes. Oleksy was a strong Hunter, a fast Hunter.

But Oleksy had one fatal flaw. Pride.

Flailing wildly, the doctor continued to pound Liliya into anything he could reach, but found no success in breaking her hold. His muscles slowly began to give out, sending the both of them to the floor. Feebly the doctor grasped at Liliya's grip, but soon passed out. He hit the floor face first, completely out cold.

Across the room, the fight between Oleksy and Alexandre continued. He tossed the captured whip through an open window so it could not be used against him again. His hand bled profusely, having been bitten by the long razor-sharp edges embedded in the whip's tails. Drop after drop the crimson fluid hit the floor; if it weren't for their present situation, he would have found it interesting that he was bleeding at all, as he thought it impossible, given his physiology.

"You have no idea what she taught me. She has grown since the days of your abuse. You may kill me, but you'll never kill her." Shaking his hands to get loose, Lex stalked forward, not rushing ahead but not lolly-gagging either. His attention was drawn; it was just a matter of keeping it. Alexandre wanted to appear inferior, to play to Oleksy's ego to gain an upper hand. He knew that there would be pain getting to that point. All he had to do was last until the right moment came. With his fists raised, Lex prepared for melee combat, hoping desperately that he could last until Liliya was finished with the doctor.

Feeling the crazed medical man relax in her grip, Liliya sighed and released her hold. Her back was matted with blood, and she knew moving the doctor across the room could make her lose more blood, but she didn't care. Hooking her arms under his, she heaved him into the cage, locking him inside. Again, she spit on the man, disgust written across her face. "I am going to rejoice when you finally die." She snarled at his unconscious body before turning to face Oleksy and Lex.

Oleksy merely smirked as Lex came at him with his hands, as if melee combat gave him a better advantage than distance weapons. "Perhaps I won't kill you. Not until I end that girl, make you watch, then end your miserable existence." Then he did just as Liliya predicted. He feigned a punch, and went for a kick; his moves almost mirroring exactly what Liliya had taught the monster. Fake-outs. Oleksys trick.

This time, Lex was ready.

His body moved remarkably similarly to Liliya's, or vice versa. Either way, as soon as he started the maneuver, Lex knew what was coming. He brought up one hand as if he planned to block the punch, then shifted and caught Oleksy's foot. With a smirk on his face, and without giving the Wolf time to react, the monster-man twisted about and flung hard upward, hoping to up-end the experienced Hunter and put him at a disadvantage. Whether or not the move succeeded, Lex was still feeling optimistic. The doctor was in the cage, and Liliya was on the move. Lex hoped she understood what he'd done and didn't hold it against him.

Oleksy tumbled back a look of obvious surprise on his face. His eyes, glaring and full of hatred, locked on Liliya as she stepped up next to Lex. Her eyes matched his own, but her face lacked emotion.

"Pissant, hm? You're going to end me? Are you sure? Take a look at yourself, old man. You are the one that will die here." Liliya flipped a dagger in her hand, her voice void of emotion. She was acting the same way she had when she dealt with the male Hunter who aimed to tear her innocence from her. Coldly and without remorse.

"You think the two of you can take me?" Oleksy pushed himself to his feet, his body tense, and ready.

"No. I know we can. And when you're finally dead, I'm going to feed your body to the pigs. You will get no Hunters burial. You are a liar, a coward, and no father of mine." With slow and deliberate steps, she moved toward her father. "You are the shame to the Volkov name."

"Silence, wench!" Oleksy moved fast, going to strike the girl, but she barely moved, grabbing his wrist and snapping it, bringing the man to his knees.

Liliya Volkov had flipped the switch and turned into the famed Volkov Huntress. She felt nothing. "Are you ready to die?"

Lex stood still, watching the scene unfold. It was readily clear to him that Liliya had surpassed her father, or the man that gave birth to her. It was her victory to savor, but there was a degree of pride in Lex's heart, for he had helped her obtain that victory, just as she had helped him defeat his creator.

"Now you see, the Pup has surpassed the Den leader. Your own lineage will be your demise, Oleksy. What words do you have, now that your own daughter has defeated you, and become the greatest Volkov ever born?"

With victory all but assured, Lex turned his attention to the doctor, who was starting to stir inside the cage. Disoriented and weak, the grotesque man shook his head and took a look around. Fear began to creep into his heart when he realized there was no where to run. His eyes fell upon Oleksy, finding him on the floor, dashing away any further hopes of making it out of their situation alive.

"All your hard work. All your genius, yet here you are, about to die inside a cage. You've no hope left."

Indignant, the doctor stood up and straightened out his clothes. "You may kill me, but you'll never be rid of me."

Liliya barely registered that Lex had left, her hues locked on her father.

"You won't kill me, little girl. You are weak." Oleksy backed away from her, never letting his eyes drift away from her.

"Oh, I don't know." Liliya looked at the dagger in her hand, then back to the elder wolf. "After years of being tortured by your hand, I think I have a thick enough skin to be unaffected."

"You will go to hell."

"I'm already in hell!" Liliya snapped, throwing the dagger with such force, that it easily bit through his shoulder, embedding itself deeply into his muscle and bone. "This is the hell you gave me! I live it!"

"Bitch." Oleksy hissed. He moved to pull the dagger out, but another throw from Liliya and it pierced his hand.

"Go ahead. Remove it. I've sliced two arteries. You'll bleed out in minutes. Kill yourself." Liliya spoke so darkly, she hardly recognized her own voice. "Pull it out, and bleed to death, or watch me gut you and choke on your own blood."

"I will not be defeated by the likes of you." Oleksy huffed, finding it difficult to breathe through the pain and loss of blood.

"You already have." Liliya leaned down, grasped the handles of her daggers, and yanked them both out, tearing the wounds apart even further. It would only be a minute or so before he bled out. The Huntress was free.

"You forgot about me, Little Lili." A dark voice whispered in her ear, as pain sliced through her chest.

Alexandre hissed at the doctor, amazed that he could still be so smug even in the face of his torturous demise. "You seem to think that i'll remember you after this. You will be nothing more than a bad dream when this is over. I won't remember you any more easily than i'll remember the taste of my mother's milk in my mouth. You are a plague that is about to be snuffed out." So engrossed was he in trying to intimidate the doctor, Lex did not notice that someone else had slipped into the room. Someone sinister. Someone just as evil as the father wolf, if not more.

The doctor, however, watched as he crept up on his sister, blade in hand, ready to end her life. "Your revenge blinds you, Alexandre. You think you are going to win. But my friends are resourceful... and numerous." Before he could respond, Lex's heart stopped, his breath caught in his chest as he heard the familiar sound of blade slicing through flesh and sinew. Whirling around, Lex could only watch in horror as Liliya's brother struck. Like a cobra, his aim is true. At a loss for words, he could only roar, blind rage overtaking him as he charged forward, intent on crushing the life from the one taking the life of the woman he loved, even if he did not yet realize the depth of his feelings.

The doctor laughed, relishing in the pain in Lex's voice.

Liliyas world slowed to almost a complete stop. She felt the cold blade in her chest, blinking slowly, she focused on Nikolai who now looked terrified, as he yanked the knife from her chest. The huntress stumbled forward, falling to her knees, blood pouring from the open wound. Coughing, blood pooled in her hand, a dangerous sign. Liliya was dying.

"N-Nik..." She stammered, struggled to remain conscious. Her breaths were ragged, full of moisture. "You... Fucking twat..." Another cough tore through her, blood now leaking from between her lips like a faucet, running down her chin, mixing with the blood on her chest. Liliya slumped to the side, falling, but never hitting the ground.

A man, identical to Nikolai in every way, grasped the dying girl pulling her into his lap. He wasted no time and tore her shirt open, cleaning and packing the gash, ointment on his fingers and the gauze.

"Eli..?"

"Hush, Lili-bird." The man spoke, his voice nowhere near as cold as Nikolai. "Focus on me now. Open your eyes!"

Inhaling sharply, painfully, Liliya pried open her eyes, staring up at her brother, and Nikolais' twin, Elijah. "Is it... My time?" Her voice was soft, far away, like she was fading.

The intense ringing in Lex's ears prevented him from hearing anything except the pounding of his own heart, something he hadn't heard since his undead existence began. Death, it seemed made him feel more alive than he had since the reanimation. But those thoughts were lost upon Lex as he charged forward. Nikolai's attention had been diverted just long enough for him to close the distance; by the time he saw Alexandre coming, it was too late.

Nikolai, the blood dagger still clutched tightly in his hand, turned to face the stampeding man of many parts. With on hand on his throat, Lex lifted the hunter off his feet and slammed him into the wall behind him. Panicked, Nikolai flipped the dagger in his hand and thrust it into Lex's stomach, but there was no reaction. Again he stabbed, only to find the results identical to the last attempt. His life quickly slipping away, he changed tactics and aimed the blade for Lex's skull.

Before the blow fell, the hunter suddenly found himself on his back. Lex gripped his hair, turning him hard to the side so that his fist had a clean shot at his victim's temple. The strike came swiftly and powerfully, crushing Nikolai's skull and caving in the cranial cavity. Nikolai's blade, now covered in the blood of the pair, clanged to the floor sharply, symbolizing the death of another Wolf.

Standing above the bloody, unrecognizable mess, Lex turned and stumbled toward Eli, his blood-lust temporarily sated. He might have attacked the other brother, for it was another person that resembled the family, and in his experience only Liliya was worthy of life. He paused, however, recognizing immediately that he was trying to help her. Lex rushed as best he could to her side, falling to his knees as he watched the brother work.

"No." Elijah finished packing her wound, and grabbed Lexs hand, pressing it against her chest. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a vial of clear liquid, though the more he moved, the more the vial showed different colors.

"But I.. I want to... See Mama.." Liliya stared up at Elijah, her vision blurring. "I miss... Mama..."

"It's not time to see Mother. Now, hush and drink this." Elijah lifted her into a sitting position and put his vial to her lips.

The dying huntress drank the liquid, and coughed again, choking on her own blood. "But I'm done... Fighting. I'm tired... I don't... Want to... Fight anymore.."

"You don't have to fight, Lili." Elijah held his baby sister tightly, moving Lexs hand off her wound. Pulling back the gauze he saw the bleeding had stopped, the corners of the wound already beginning to close. "You don't have to fight anymore." Liliya fought the urge to sleep, but whatever Elijah had given her knocked her out cold.

Shifting her gently, the only remaining make Volkov stood, towering over Alexandres crouched form. "You touch my baby sister with intent to harm, you hurt one hair on her head, and I will renounce my vow to never hurt a soul and I will gut you. Do you understand?" Even though Elijah had turned against hunting, it did not mean he was incapable. There was the same power in him as was in Liliya.

Staring up at Eli, Lex held the female Hunter protectively in his arms. His own body bled from several injuries, but he ignored them, finding them to be secondary to Liliya's safety and well-being. He took the threat seriously, but the softness in his eyes could have given the impression that he may have not been completely listening. Of course he hung onto every word, but his focus was not on the man, but on Liliya.

"As long as I breath, no harm will come to her without going through me first. If I fail, I will not run from you. I will wait for your judgement." Overcome with relief that Liliya was going to live, Lex felt tears beginning to form. He did not fight them, but instead let the roll down his cheek. He brushed the hair out of Liliya's face, tucking it behind her ear while he marveled at her natural beauty. Even covered in blood and bruises from battle, she was still the closest thing to an angel that Lex had ever seen.

"Perhaps it means nothing to you, but thank you for saving her. I don't pretend that you do it for me, but I am grateful still. If there is ever any way I can repay you, find me."

Elijah stared down at the monster holding tightly to his kin, his face impassive. For a long moment he remained silent, before his gaze moved to the doctor still cowering behind the bars of his cage. If he had any say the former Hunter would rip that man apart limb from limb, but his vows stopped him. It was also not his right to do so.

"You are a man of many parts. I am a doctor. When the time comes for you to replace what is dying do not kill for it. Come and find me. I will get you what you need." Elijah turned and headed for the door, but paused. He pulled a small bag of herbs from his pocket and tossed it to the pair. "That will heal you very quickly. Take only a portion. My sister will be sore when she awakens.. Take care of her. She cares for you a great deal."

With those words he turned and left.

"Thank you," Lex said quietly, well after Elijah left. The room was silent, but for the worried noises the doctor made as he began to realize that he was, in fact, about to die. Alexandre's mind was on Liliya, but slowly the reality of the situation began to reform once he realized that she was going to be okay. Cradling the unconscious girl in his arms, Lex forced himself to his feet, the pain of his wounds causing him to wince and grunt and bleed. Still, he did not falter. Liliya had been so strong for him; he would be strong for her.

"I suppose I should kill you now, Father." The last word dripped with venom. In a sick way, the doctor was his father and only family. But just like Liliya, they didn't get to pick their parents.

"Please don't... I beg you! Please don't hurt me! I only wanted you to be great!" The doctor's pleas for mercy fell upon Lex's ears, though his expression did not change. He was neither moved nor sickened by the begging. I fact, Lex found some degree of pleasure in his creator's desperate cry to spare his pathetic life.

"I have thought long and hard about this moment... how I would finally handle it when the time came. I had planned on killing you quickly in the beginning in the most terrifying way I could imagine. But now that I am here, knowing what you have done, i've chosen to spare you that death. I am not going to kill you."

Disbelief overtook the doctor's face, replaced slowly by relief as Lex moved away from the cage. That relief was short-lived, however, as he watched Lex carry his dear Liliya across the room, where the torches illuminated the room. He took one from the wall and slowly, calmly, set it under the curtains and tapestries. "No! NO!"

"Goodbye doctor. Save a place for me in Hell... i'll be seeing you there soon enough." With that, Lex left the room as the wood within the structure began to catch. Temperatures elevated quickly and smoke began to collect inside the enclosed area. The doctor began to cough and panic, desperately shaking the cage, looking for a weak spot through which he could escape. There was no point, however, for the cage had been designed to hold up against his strongest monster's strength.

By the time Liliya and Lex reached the door the entire upper floors were alight, and the only sound he heard was the terrified screams of his creator as the flames began to strip him of his flesh.

Liliya did not awaken for quite some time. Her body needed time to recover from the shock of nearly dying, and the amount of blood lost kept her unconscious. Her breathing had evened out, and though she still looked sickly pale, a bit of color was coming back to her face. The wound in her chest had closed completely, any damage done was gone. The only evidence of her near death was a think pink scar.

When the huntress began to wake up, she groaned, her whole body tensing as pain exploded through her chest. Though the wound had healed that did not mean there would not be pain, and she was not fond of the feeling. It was so intense that when she opened her eyes the whole world was blurry, and covered in dancing white spots.

"Fuck..." Liliya gasped, closing her eyes once more.