Chapter Text
There were two things every child in Thedas knew. Never linger beneath a full moon, and never open your door to strangers in crimson cloth after sunset.
The Venatori. Cursed generations ago, with a thirst for blood and an aversion to daylight, immortal, they called themselves enlightened. The rest of Thedas called them vampires.
For centuries, werewolves and vampires have been at war. Neither side remembered how it began, only that it never ended.
Lucanis Dellamorte had been born into that conflict
An Alpha, heir to the Dellamorte line, his destiny had been written long before he learned to shift. One day, he would inherit the mantle of First Talon from his grandmother, Caterina Dellamorte, and with it the burden of leadership.
It was a great honour. But it is also a target on your back, a death sentence, some might say. The Venatori had already tried once. Years before, they had marched on the Crows, believing numbers and magic would break them. They failed.
The Crows remained, but with victory came a heavy price.
The Dellamortes had been nearly decimated in the attack.
Lucanis remembered the smell of smoke. The screams. His mother's blood. His father's final stand. By dawn, nearly everyone bearing the Dellamorte name was dead. Only three remained, Caterina. His cousin, Illario. And Lucanis himself.
Since that night, every hunt was an act of vengeance. Every contract. Every kill. Every drop of vampire blood spilled beneath his claws was an act of defiance.
But far beyond Antiva's borders, hidden beneath the waves, where the sunlight couldn’t reach, in the Ossuary, was Zara Renata. She cared little for conquest. She wanted power, yes, but also knowledge.
Years earlier, she had stolen away an orphan girl. Infecting her with the werewolf curse in the hopes of understanding it, Lily survived, but only as a Beta, or so Zara believed.
The girl possessed neither the overwhelming strength of an Alpha nor any remarkable talents. She was ordinary, useful only for the blood coursing through her veins.
When every experiment failed, and her blood rituals that should have shattered her mind left her unchanged; Zara reached the only logical conclusion. The fault was not her rituals. It was in the test subject. If a Beta was no good, then surely an Alpha, the pinnacle of the werewolf bloodline, would provide her better results, but there was only one Alpha she truly wanted.
Lucanis Dellamorte.
Today is the day, all her plotting and preparing had been leading to this moment.
Tonight, Lucanis Dellamorte would be hers, an Alpha, the perfect test subject for her experiments.
She paces, the anticipation curled a sinister smile on her lips as she straps Lily to the table. She would need blood, Lucanis would not be a willing test subject, no, he would need to be subdued first.
For that, she would need werewolf blood. Once he was captured and she had his blood, he would be a lot more manageable.
She knew how much he hated Venatori, he would be dangerous until she made him more pliant. She plays with Lily’s white hair and chuckles. Lily was useless save for her ability to recover from blood loss faster than a human, she made a good blood donor.
Lily knows it is useless to resist. At least when it came to Zara taking her blood. The more cooperative she is, the more Zara loosens her leash, and the sooner she can get out of this hell hole.
Though 8 years of waiting and still no luck was beginning to weigh on her. She isn’t sure why Zara is so excited but it certainly spells bad news for some poor soul.
"Such a good pet" Zara coos, her long nails trailing down Lily’s neck before she collects the vials of blood and seals the wounds.
This should be enough blood to subdue him, she thinks to herself.
She sets them aside and unties Lily from the bed.
"Come here." She orders, curling a finger at her, she is hungry, the ever-present thirst clawing in her throat.
She would need a clear head for what was to come, she would need her strength.
Lily steps forward obediently, tilting her head to the side. She tries to keep her face neutral as Zara sinks her fangs into her neck, the sharp pain no longer registering to her. She is used to it.
Zara drinks deeply, biting down painfully, her fangs tearing into Lily’s flesh, her bite vicious.
She is never gentle, she gorges herself on Lily's blood until Lily felt lightheaded, then Zara shoves her away as if she offends her. As if it were her fault, she craved blood.
"Go to your corner, I have much to prepare for." She snaps, going over her notes, and making sure everything is ready.
Lily stumbles to the corner, a hand over the wound on her neck. She watches quietly as Zara continued her preparations, feeling the bite close under her fingers. She has to get out of here.
Calivan had assured Zara he would have her new test subject soon.
The plan had been simple enough, a little bait and deception. A few rumours whispered in right ears, to convince the Crows it would be the perfect opportunity to land a blow against the Venatori.
A high-ranking member of the Venatori out in the open, the Demon of Vyrantium would be unable to resist.
She chuckles to herself, soon that name would prove ironic. She smirks.
Several hours pass with Zara obsessing over documents, measuring out blood, carving magic circles in the floor, and painting sigils with blood, before there is a sound of a fight down the hall.
A deafening roar is followed by the howl of a wolf that sends a shiver down Lily’s spine, she can feel the power of it even from here, Maker, who had they captured.
There is shouting, followed by snarls and screams.
Zara looks up from her notes and smirked. It sounded like her new test subject has arrived.
After a few more screams, there is the sound of claws on stone, something is coming. Another crash followed by a scream of agony, the sound of claws ripping through flesh and more shouting followed by a wounded howl that turns into a vicious snarl.
A huge black wolfman looms in the doorway, a tattered cloth that had probably been trousers at one point stretched over muscular thighs, his massive claws curling around the door before flinging it across the room and into the wall, smashing several jars of preserved organs.
The creature is massive, its dark fur iridescent like crow feathers, golden eyes glowing, the pupils slits, as he narrows his gaze on Zara and steps closer.
She steps back towards the circles, as if she is luring the beast.
His maw opens wide, rows upon rows of sharp teeth, he is huge, oozing power, his presence nearly overwhelming Lily. The urge to warn him of the trap he was walking into is nearly overwhelming. As Zara steps back again, the beast follows, his muscles rippling under fur as he stalks his prey.
"What’s the matter, beast? You're not afraid of little old me, are you?" She taunts, her nails lengthening as she bares her fangs at him with a hiss.
The beast growls low and menacing before he roars, launching himself at Zara, only to hit a wall of pain, the sigils on the floor lighting up, the trap sprung.
He howls, clawing at his throat as a collar of red magic wraps around his throat, his entire body convulsing as white-hot agony courses through his body, his spine arches and he howls.
"Come here, girl, I need more blood." Zara snaps as the beast fights against her hold, the sigils flickering.
Lily hurries to Zara’s side, holding out her arm. There are several cuts and bruises dotting her pale skin from Zara’s continual usage of her blood.
Zara claws Lily’s arm, weaving a spell and drawing the blood from her veins. It circles the beast, and the beast's head turns sharply, smelling the blood.
He snarls, a werewolf, helping Venatori. He roars in fury and tries to take a step towards Lily to strike her down, but the moment Lily’s blood reaches the sigils on his neck, the world begins to fade as the beast slumped to the floor.
Bones pop, flesh rippling as he convulses, his form reverting as fur becomes bronze skin, and golden eyes fade to chocolate brown, full of hate directed at Lily and Zara moments before those eyes roll back and the now man falls prone, out cold.
"Excellent,” Zara chuckles, shoving Lily aside to assess her prize. She tilts the man's head back. He is handsome, with high cheekbones, full lips, long dark lashes and a well-kept beard, with shoulder-length raven black hair. He is muscled, a body honed for the kill, athletic. A fine specimen indeed.
Zara claps her hands, and two men in armour appear in the doorway and stand to attention
“Yes Mistress,” Nonus says.
“What do you command?” Decimus asks
"Get him in irons, and put him in a cell. I must prepare for my next experiment." She hands them some enchanted chains and an iron collar.
"Do not disappoint me, and do not let him escape." She barks, and both men salute and drag the man away, his feet dragging behind them, limp and unmoving.
Lily watches them drag him off, applying pressure to her wounds. The hate in his eyes had stung. It made sense of course, she was helping the enemy. But something about it hurt. She didn’t know what Zara had planned but it wouldn’t be anything good.
Lucanis wakes in a cell and groans, his head pounding. He sits up, and the sound of chains echoes.
His eyes go wide, and he grabs at the chains, his muscles bulging as he attempts to tear them from the wall. The chains hold, a painful pulse of magic shocks him, and he falls on his ass, gritting his teeth until the pain passes.
Where the hell was he? Then he remembers, Calivan, he had been hunting him, he had hidden beneath the waves, he had followed, a trap.
Maker, it had been a trap, and he had walked right into it.
Think, Lucanis, think.
He needs to get out of here, needs to escape. He examines the room. There were no windows, no landmarks to ascertain his location, the air smells familiar though, brine and blood.
He is in the same place at least, they hadn't moved him, the Ossuary, a Venatori stronghold. And that woman helping that witch, a traitor to his kind.
Why was she helping that woman? She hadn't smelt like a wolf at first, it was only when Zara took her blood that he knew she shared his gift. Was she being controlled? She seemed meek, a beta perhaps.
That could prove useful. He is alive, that witch clearly wants him for something, which means she would keep him that way. Whatever she wants from him, he is sure as hell not going to give it to her. No, the next time he would command that beta to help him.
He would not be kept like a pet, he would escape.
Zara chuckles to herself, the arrogant fool had walked right into her trap, his lust for Venatori blood, his need for vengeance had been the perfect weakness to exploit, soon she would understand the werewolf curse, but first she needs his blood
She had dismissed Lily back into her corner and proceeded to act like she was part of the furniture as she turns to the people gathered at her table.
"You have done well," She smirks.
"Of course, I told you my plan would work." Calivan chuckles. He knew Lucanis would not be able to resist coming after him, not after what he did to his mother.
What a glorious night that had been, bathing in their blood, such a pity those two pups and that old hag survived the attack.
"When you're finished with your new plaything, can I have his entrails?" Portia grins, fangs shining in the candlelight as she cackles.
"I will never understand what you can see in someone's innards, but of course, dear, but only when im finished with him," Zara chuckles.
Lily stands quietly in the corner, listening to their chattering. She feels bad for the werewolf. She wants to help him. Maybe he could help her? He was powerful. If she offered information would he take her with him?
"What exactly do you hope to accomplish with that beast anyway?" Faustus asks, sipping from a goblet of blood
"To defeat the werewolves, we need to understand their power. Blood magic alone is not enough to dominate them, but that's going to change soon," Zara smirks. "Demons are the answer." She chuckles as if it were that simple.
"Demons, of course." Faustus smiles at Zara, making the others roll their eyes. Everyone knew Faustus would agree with Zara, he always does, so desperate for her approval.
“Demons?” Portia asks, curious but cautious.
"We can’t control the wolves with blood magic, we can weaken them, yes, but the strongest resist, but we can control demons,” Zara laughs, taking a sip from her own goblet.
"That is all well and good, but you have spent months trying to use demons on that pet of yours, and it has never worked." Calivan says, shaking his head. "What makes you think it will be any different with that runt in the cells?" He asks.
"Such little faith, my rituals are perfect, the girl is just weak, useless, a good blood bag, but of no real consequence, but him, no, he is an Alpha, a strong test subject, I think this time will be different." Zara smirks. "For now, we keep him contained and alive until I can find the perfect demon for him."
"He's already killed several guards, our little fledglings are scared to go near him." Calivan chuckles. "If you want him alive, you need to feed him, but I doubt any of ours will volunteer." He smirks.
"Why not make your pet useful? She can feed him." Portia chuckles. “After all, if he kills her, it would be no loss.”
"That’s a good idea, I am growing tired of her taste," Zara chuckles, talking about Lily as if she isn’t even there.
Lily’s ears twitch at the mention of feeding the wolf. That would be the perfect time to talk to him. Assuming he doesn’t kill her on sight.
"I must return to my work, take her with you, have her feed him, if he kills her, use one of the other test subjects, if he doesn't…" Zara trails off with a smirk. "Well, we will have solved our problem of keeping him from starving to death." She chuckles, waving her hand dismissively.
"Of course." Faustus smirks, his gaze landing on Lily in the corner, such a pretty thing.
"Not you, Faustus." Zara frowns. He can’t be trusted to keep his hands to himself.
"I will take care of it." Calivan says, standing up and smirking at Faustus, who is pouting like a child.
"Come on, Faustus, you can come play with the test subjects with me, I need more bones for my readings," Portia giggles.
"I do like to play." Faustus grins, following her out of the room.
"I will never understand why you keep that one around." Calivan says, shaking his head as Faustus leaves with Portia.
He turns to Lily and ushers her closer.
"Come along, you scrawny thing." He orders, before turning and heading out of the room, eyeing the damaged door with a raised eyebrow. He hopes Zara knows what she is doing, keeping such a dangerous beast around. If he ever escapes, there will be trouble.
Lily follows, heart racing. One way or another she is getting out of here. Either the prisoner would kill her or she’d help him escape. She stares at the ground as they walk, knowing better than to look up at anyone.
"At least you're better behaved than most of Zara's pets." He comments as he walks the halls of the Ossuary towards the holding cells.
The bars of various cells rattle as prisoners claw through the bars, trying to touch them as they walk past. A low growl echoes down the end of the hall a moment later, a warning to anyone who came close. The power in it resonates, but stutters like something is making it weaker.
"Oh dear, he doesn't sound very pleased to be one of Zara's guests,” Calivan chuckles, gathering some food, a piece of raw meat.
‘Beasts don’t cook their food after all,’ he thinks with a smirk.
"Here." Calivan says, shoving the plate into Lily's hands, "I would wish you luck, but I don’t very much care what he does to you." He sneers.
"I will be back in an hour. If you live long enough, I might let you out." He jokes, opening the door.
As soon as the door opens, and Lucanis sees Calivan, he hurls himself at him, only for his chains to jerk him back a few feet from the door.
He snarls angrily, gnashing his teeth at Calivan, his target, he will kill him, one way or another.
"I will have your head," Lucanis growls threateningly.
"Ahh, but you can’t, can you, mangy dog?" He smirks, enjoying tormenting him. He turns to Lily and shoves her into the cell with Lucanis.
"I'll be back." Calivan laughs, slamming the door behind him, leaving Lily alone with a very angry-looking man. He snarls angrily as the door closes.
She holds the meat in front of her. “Here,” she says, trying to steady her hands and voice. “I won’t hurt you.”
When she speaks, he moves, the chains tugging him back as he shifts his hands into claws and tries to tear into her.
If he wasn't trying to kill her, she might have been impressed that he had such control over his transformation.
"Get away from me, traitor." He snarls, eyeing the food.
It isn't even cooked.
He curls his lip in distaste and becomes still, eerily so.
He is not some dog to be fed scraps, and he is certainly not eating something offered by Venatori, which was probably poisoned. Then again, why would they keep him alive only to poison him?
"How can you work for them?" He spits, refusing to look at her or the food, even as his stomach growls. He had not eaten for two days, too focused on his hunt for Calivan, a foolish mistake his grandmother will scold him for if he ever gets out of here.
She quietly heats her hands, filling the cage with smell of seared meat. She feels dizzy and sits back against the door, just out of reach.
“I don’t have a choice. But we can get out of here. If you help me,” she replies. “We’ll have to work together.”
She studies him for a moment, tossing the meat his way. The movement makes her head spin and she leans against the wall.
He eyes her with suspicion and anger as she tosses the meat onto the floor. Did she think he would eat off the floor like some animal?
"Your master speaks freely around you?" He asks, which seems unlikely, unless she was indeed in league with that witch. But perhaps she could be useful if he could trick her into giving him information, but she was a mage, he couldn't trust her, could he?
She seems weak, certainly not a threat in her current state, but Zara didn’t need her strong, did she? She just needed her blood.
"Why should I trust you? You’re the reason they captured me, you let her use your blood, let her treat you like a pet." He spits.
“They left me in here with you. You think they care about me?” She replies. “I’m nothing but a power source. I want out.”
He frowns scenting the air. He can’t tell what rank she is, he didn’t recognize her as a crow.
"What are you?" He frowns. "Where is your wolf?" He asks, stepping as close as the chains would allow.
“My wolf?” She tilts her head. “I don’t- I don’t have… one?” She thinks for a moment, about Zara’s discussions and the potions she’s made to take each morning.
“Zara infected me with wolf blood… is that what you’re talking about?” She asks, sitting up.
"She did what?" He snarls angrily.
Whose blood did she use?
How did she get hold of it?
What the hell was Zara doing here?
His kind were gifted, they were not some disease to be passed around. How dare she?
His eyes flash a brilliant gold, the pupils slitted like that hulking wolfman he had been when she first saw him.
COME HERE
He demands, his alpha voice resonating in her head, she feels her legs moving before she can stop herself, unable to resist.
Before she knows it, she is standing well within his reach. He could kill her, but instead, he simply stares at her, his golden eyes were beautiful, she thinks, before the compulsion fades.
“What the fuck?” She stumbles back. “What did you do to me?!” She gasps
"A beta, I thought so." He chuckles, an alpha or an omega would have been able to resist him.
"You truly have no idea what we are?" He tilts his head curiously, only for his head to snap up, hearing footsteps.
He growls, stepping back against the wall away from her, his chains going slack as he sits down, ignoring the meat on the floor.
"Our time is up." He says, closing his eyes, he is hungry, but if he meditates and doesn’t move, he can conserve energy. He will not eat meat from the floor like a dog.
The door opens, and Calivan chuckles.
"Was the food not to your liking, dog?" He smirks, grabbing Lily’s wrist and dragging her from the cell when Lucanis didn’t react.
"Looks like you get to keep your job as his feeder, though maybe next time, actually get him to eat it, he's no use to Zara half dead from starvation." He says sarcastically, like he really didn’t care.
"Go back to Zara, she needs more blood." He orders before walking off. Some might think it foolish to give her free rein, but it wasn't like she could go anywhere, as pathetic as she was, so meek and obedient. He shakes his head as he returns to his duties.
Lily winces, still weak from her magic use and shuffles off to Zara’s lab.
A beta? What did that mean? Why is he so convinced she is like him? She needs to talk to him again. She takes a deep breath and steps into Zara’s office.
"Still alive, I see. Calivan informs me he didn’t eat, do better next time," She says, sounding bored. She turns and frowns as she gets closer.
"You used magic." She says angrily, grabbing her wrist. "Why?" She growls. "What are you up to?" She snarls, backhanding her when she doesn’t respond immediately.
Lily yelps instinctively, cupping her face. “I- I was trying to make the food more… appetizing,” she replies, staring at the floor. “That’s all.”
"And he still didn’t eat it, did he?" Zara frowns, standing over her. She snatches her wrist and drags her to her feet, pushing her into a seat.
"Drink this." Zara orders, handing her a blood replenishment potion. She needs more wolf blood for her plan.
“No, He didn’t,” Lily mutters, drinking the potion. It doesn’t taste like anything anymore. She can feel the heat of the potion work through her and her strength, as much of it as she really has, returns.
Zara doesn't reply, simply grabs a knife and cuts into Lily’s wrist, drawing her blood out with magic and filling another vial.
"You may go, " Zara dismisses her. "Sleep, I expect you to get him to eat tomorrow," She says before examining the blood.
Lily nods, clasping her bloody wrist and retreating to her room.
It’s small. A bed and a chamber pot and not much else. She lays back on her bed, mind racing. The werewolf knows things about her. Maybe they could help each other. She knows he wants out. Her eyes drift close as she thinks, her wrist scabbing over.
Lucanis doesn’t know what to make of that woman who had been sent to feed him. Was she sent to gain his trust, to glean information about the Crows from him?
Surely they knew he won’t talk. He stares at the door to his cell, as if it might give him some answers.
He sighs, he needs to rest, but he doesn’t trust this place, doesn’t know what they might do if he sleeps, so he digs his claws into his thighs and doesn’t sleep He won’t break, he won’t give them the satisfaction.
Something stirs curiously in the Fade, it watches this wolf, his defiance is fascinating.
Zara smirks to herself. Her plan is working.