Emilia Feronia was furious, although no one noticed since her flawless features still retained their trademark icy expressionlessness. After leaving the meeting, she marched along the hallway to her room to start packing for the trip to London, where the witches had many residences. The werewolf castle was in ruins and very much uninhabitable, which presumably meant the wolves would have to relocate as well for the time being.

Outwardly, she appeared the epitome of glacial calm, but inwardly, her emotions were a boiling cauldron of poisonous thoughts, brewing into an overflowing swirling mess. The source of all her turmoil? A human! A young, useless human. A troublesome human who raised his otherwise gentle voice at her, how dare he?!

He was nothing more than a child, not even a half-century in age! Unremarkable, just like any other human. Excluding perhaps, his looks. The man was a handsome one, with hair the colour of honey and blue eyes that matched a calm ocean surface, except when he was staring furiously at her, in which case their colour matched the raging sea, swirling with emotions. He, who could smile so sincerely at that stupid human friend of his, but if looks could kill, would have ended Emilia's life on the spot with his glare!

The sulking witch stepped through the unlocked door and reached beneath the bed to pull out her luggage bag. Emilia began haphazardly throwing whatever items that were within reach into the open suitcase, too distracted to organise her belongings into their rightful compartments. The irritating human brought out the worst in her and, in turn, made her want to anger him and make him lose control in retaliation. In fact, she'd just succeeded, but the victory wasn't as sweet as she thought it would feel.

She was angered by the human, but more than that, she was infuriated with herself for noticing every single detail about said human, especially those that were utterly pointless. Like the way his short locks held a slight wave, making it catch the sunlight at each bend of those glossy strands. Or the fact that he wasn't a fan of ironing his daily wear clothes but knew how to look stunning in a suit. Or the nervous smile he wore while trying to engage her in conversation, followed by the shell-shocked, deer caught in the headlights look, when she rebuffed his attempt with cold contempt.

Emilia's hand stilled over the bag while still clutching a hair comb. She reluctantly recalled her reactions from the night before. Why had her frozen heart fluttered suddenly in regret when his hopeful blue eyes had widened in shock at her rebuff?

Why couldn't she stop staring at him for the rest of the night, discreet glances trailing over to the table he was seated at? Perhaps the question she hated asking herself the most was why did her chest burn whenever he leaned in close to the other human, sharing a smile, a laugh?

Emilia slammed her suitcase shut with a loud bang before throwing her hands up in the air in anger, frustration and a host of other emotions she could not identify at the moment engulfing her mind like a raging inferno. 'Deep breaths, Feronia, don't lose it!', she chanted inwardly whilst breathing deeply until she had calmed herself down somewhat. Then, she reached down and opened the suitcase once more. "Damn it, what the hell is this?" She cursed out loud while staring at the piled-up mess in her bag.

Sighing, she knelt beside the bag and began to reorganise its contents. As she struggled to reshuffle the items in her bag, a small timeworn black jewellery box made from hardwood slipped out and landed with a soft thud on the floor. Emilia stared at the box for long moments, transfixed by the worn-out box with its multitude of scratches and scuff marks, having seen better days. The box was a trigger to her already emotional disposition. Suddenly engulfed in memories of a time long past, Emilia slowly reached out to hold the small box in the palm of one hand before carefully placing it deep within a zipper compartment, out of view.

*****

Unsurprisingly, the two leaders of the supernaturals made the order to withdraw to London. Everyone at the castle spent the sombre day preparing for the evacuation. Emerie, Tyler and some of the elders were preoccupied with destroying any sensitive information lying around, lest it fell into the wrong hands. Gavin and whoever remained of the security crew continued their patrols, even exhausted as they were.

The remaining clan members packed and cleaned up as best they could, with the two humans helping. The witches made their retreat in the afternoon, Paul bidding a simple farewell to Emerie before their group drove off swiftly. Aidan didn't bother watching them leave and headed back to continue with the clean-up.

"They didn't even bother to help," Hailey sniffed in disdain. Gavin stood beside her, watching the cars shoot off. "That's just how the witches are, only offering a hand if it's not inconveniencing in any way. There's a shallow limit to their hospitality, a line they won't cross, even if it means losing an ally. Do you know what their nickname is amongst the wolves?"

Hailey shook her head. Gavin smiled sardonically, "The frosty bunch."

"Seriously? Well, heck, you won't need enemies when you have allies like that. Why did the wolves even bother joining the war if witches were such unfriendly asses?"

"I heard that they weren't always like that. It's something they've inculcated over time."

Hailey gave another sniff of disdain.

It was already dark by the time the wolves were ready to embark. They headed back to the small airport where a handful of private jets awaited, prepped to take their passengers to various clan strongholds worldwide. Aidan and Hailey joined Gavin, Tyler, Emerie and a few others on the plane heading to the capital of England.

The flight to London took less than an hour before landing at another private airport. The group of survivors was whisked away quickly into multiple vehicles and made their way through the congested traffic of the large city. Aidan stared out the window in curiosity, noticing the vibe of the metropolis was a stark contrast to the countryside castle.

The city was a mixture of old interspersed with the new. Older architecture blending in with shiny tall buildings. Classic cobblestoned walkways right beside rows of parking boxes equipped with electric vehicle charging stations. Where the countryside was a place to bask in quiet serenity, the city was its antithesis, vibrant and fast-paced, flowing with the sounds of rumbling motor engines, the polyphony of pedestrian voices, and the thumping of feet on wide walk paths.

The cacophony of sounds was part of the orderly chaos of the metropolitan city, acting like a figurative heartbeat that was a testament that the city was well and thriving. It would be impossible to imagine the transference of quietness encompassing the castle to the city unless, of course, in the event of an apocalypse of some sort.

The black vehicles moved further away from streets that were chock-full of people and cars, heading to a quieter residential area of spotless red-brick mansions with neat hedges and high privacy walls. Tucked away at the end of a discreet cul-de-sac street stood an obscure three-story red brick house surrounded by a well-maintained lawn. At first glance, it seemed unremarkable save for the newly installed surveillance cameras dotting the perimeter walls.

The vehicles entered the automatic gates before pulling up in front of the porch. Several household retainers in charge of upkeeping the place greeted them in the foyer before quickly leading each person to their rooms. Aidan glanced about while following a tall woman with blond hair tucked into a tight hair bun who led the way. The mansion's interior was modern and sleek, drastically different to their earlier abode.

The woman showed him to his room on the first floor, asked if he needed anything, and then reminded him that supper would be served in the main dining room before politely excusing herself, leaving Aidan alone.

He mechanically took a shower and headed down to eat with the rest. It was a quiet meal, with everyone lost in their thoughts, still suffering from disbelief over the events of the past twenty-four hours. Even Emerie seemed distracted as she lethargically pushed food around the plate in front of her. After the sombre meal, there was nothing to do but return to his room. Aidan paced about for a while before flopping down on the sofa and turning on the tv, trying desperately to distract himself from the suspicious thoughts that had begun manifesting in his mind after arguing with Emilia.

He stared unseeing at the screen as an episode from a reality show about finding love on an island continued playing. It took a good ten minutes for his mind to react to what his eyes were visually absorbing. With a groan, he switched the screen off before diving under the bed's covers, intent on trying to sleep his worries away. Unsurprisingly, and much to Aidan's frustration, he was still wide awake one hour later. Sighing heavily, he dragged himself from under the comforter before heading out. When he reached the ground floor, the blond woman from before appeared from an adjacent hallway, staring at him in surprise.

"Ah, Mr Summers, I had thought you were gone to bed."

"Please, call me Aidan," he quickly told her. "I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd try and get some reading done. Is there a library available by any chance?"

The blond woman smiled. "Follow me." Aidan obediently fell in step with her as they headed down the same hallway she had just exited. She led him to large double doors and entered, revealing a vast library, big enough to rival the well-funded community library near his home that Aidan often frequented as a child. He stared open-mouthed for a few seconds before turning back to grin at the woman. "I feel like Belle right after the Beast shows her his awesome library."

The blond woman chuckled, "Somehow, I knew you'd say that."

Aidan chuckled as well before realising something. "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name earlier."

"I'm Olivia." She smiled warmly at him. "I'm on night duty today, so if you need anything, just roam the hallways. You'll be bound to bump into me or someone else on night duty."

"Thank you, Olivia," Aidan said sincerely. Alone once more, Aidan began walking amongst the aisles, looking at the designated signages on the bookshelves indicating the contents of each section. He walked past rows of general fiction before finding the non-fiction area. Soon enough, he found what he was looking for.

Under the 'vampires' section, Aidan began randomly pulling out books from the stack, leafing through them before returning them to place. One book, in particular, caught his attention enough that he carried it to a nearby reading table; A Brief History of Vampire Monarchy: Absolute Power. It was fairly thick and, judging by the yellowing of its pages, at least a few decades old, if not more. Aidan sat down and began to read.

The following morning, Gavin went searching for his brother when Aidan did not show up for breakfast. After knocking on the door for a considerable amount of time, he entered the unlocked room to find it empty. The bed was unmade, Aidan's clothes lay in a messy pile on the floor, and a towel hung haphazardly on the back of the vanity chair. Assuming his brother had woken up early, Gavin headed down in search of Aidan, and eventually found him in a corner of the library, slumped on a reading desk with his head cradled in his arms. Beside him lay an opened book.

Gavin peeked at it to find that it was a vampire book about the royals and that Aidan had been reading about Lannetta Bloodreign's ascension to the throne after the previous king's death during the Portal Wars. Immediately, Gavin's heart sank as his gaze shifted between Aidan and the book. Why was his brother reading up on the vampire Queen, especially during a time when the witches were pointing accusing fingers his way? He should have been doing everything he could to avoid all things vampiric!

He picked up the book and returned it to the vampire section, hoping no one else had noticed Aidan's reading choice. Even if it was simple curiosity on Aidan's part, there was no need to stir up more suspicion amongst some very flustered supernaturals.

Returning to Aidan, he gently patted the man on the shoulder. Aidan shot up straight, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. He blinked furiously, disorientation muddling his mind. It took him a while to realise where he was and with whom. Aidan also noticed the missing book but said nothing. "Gavin, hey. What time is it?" Aidan vigorously rubbed at his eyes with both hands. Gavin grabbed his wrists. "Stop rubbing your eyes. You'll only make it worse."

"Sorry, old habits die hard."

"I know. I've been telling you not to do this since you were twelve." Gavin studied his brother's pale face and bloodshot eyes. "Did you get any actual sleep last night?"

Aidan sighed. "Not really."

Gavin pulled out the chair next to Aidan's to sit. "What's wrong?" He asked gently.

Aidan glanced about the library quickly before lowering his voice to barely above a whisper, a nervous quiver adding a touch of vulnerability to his words. "I think I might have figured something out, but I don't know what to make of it." Gavin was surprised at the look of wariness that his brother gave him. Was Aidan scared to tell him something? He hoped his younger brother hadn't done something stupid such as making a deal with the vampire queen.

Aidan forced a weak smile and asked softly, "Can we go out? Maybe do a little sightseeing? I need to get my nerves under control." He ran a hand through his messy strands. "Maybe we can talk privately at a Starbucks or something?" Gavin nodded wordlessly.

The brothers left after getting approval from Emerie, who didn't think it would be a safety issue to go out during the day. After all, the city had a reasonably large population of wolves. Unexpectedly, though, they did get a firm lecture from Tyler about returning well before sunset, just to be safe, which the brothers promised they would do.

Both men sat silently in the backseat of a cab as they made their way to the shopping district since Gavin had never gotten the hang of driving on the left lane. When they reached their destination, Aidan used the excuse of wanting to shop for some clothes to delay the inevitable talk with his brother. Gavin watched as Aidan aimlessly entered random clothes stores, half-heartedly selecting clothes off the racks to try on. Eventually, after two hours of haphazard clothes shopping, Gavin could no longer take it.

With an exasperated huff, he cornered his brother before the younger man flitted into a nearby shoe store. "Aidan, stop. You've spent all this time buying nothing!"

Gavin dragged a reluctant Aidan to a nearby cafe and pushed the door open, the half dozen or so bells hanging from the door causing such a ruckus that both men froze momentarily at the entrance before Gavin gingerly shut the door. He glanced around and chose a table, forcing his brother to take a seat before heading to the counter to order their drinks.

The smell of coffee drew Aidan back to his conversation with Alfie. 'I'm dripping in coffee money,' the charismatic wolf had joked. Aidan couldn't muster a smile, the memories bittersweet, just like the drink.

The cafe was empty, save for the two staff members behind the counter. A couple of minutes later, he returned with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

Aidan studied the mugs, then gave his brother an incredulous look, "I need coffee, not cocoa."

"No, you don't. You're high-strung enough as it is. Besides, you used to love hot chocolate. It was the only thing that could get you to stop crying when you were sad."

Aidan's lips pulled downwards in a sulk. He gave Gavin a challenging stare. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not five anymore, Gavin."

"Then stop acting like a child," the older man replied calmly, meeting his gaze. The brothers waged a silent battle, neither one willing to look away first. Finally, Aidan admitted defeat, lowering his eyes to the still-steaming mug before him before lifting it to his lips for a sip. Gavin decided it was best to handle his brother as delicately as possible, or else Aidan would close up tighter than a clam. He tried comforting, "Aidan, I've always been there for you, haven't I?"

The younger man nodded without hesitation, "Always."

"Then rest assured that no matter what's got you so worked up, I'll be there to help you figure it out, okay?" Gavin gently prodded, reaching out to lay a hand on Aidan's shoulder. "I'll never stop protecting you."

Aidan continued staring blankly at his drink, eyes unfocused, but his breathing became noticeably heavier. "Promise you won't leave."

Those words hurt more than a knife wound to the heart. "I promise. Never again," Gavin swore, the swirling emotions in his eyes revealing his steely resolve.

Aidan believed him. Gavin would never abandon him, ever. Not even after learning the truth. He inhaled deeply before beginning, "On the night we were attacked, one of the vampires tried to kill me with a dagger that had an insignia on it. I remember seeing it in my memories, almost like it had meaning to me. According to the book I was reading, it's a family crest that belongs to a duke, although there's hardly any other info about him besides his name. That's not the biggest issue, though."

Aidan inhaled deeply as memories of the vampire standing above him with a gun pointed at his head took centre stage in his mind. "Another vampire that tried to kill me said something peculiar. Got you now, you unworthy piece of trash."

Gavin's forehead scrunched in a confused frown as he listened to his brother. Aidan continued, "It's almost as if the vampire knew something about me... like there was some personal vendetta against me." Gavin looked like he was about to say something, but Aidan quickly interjected, "I think Emilia Feronia was right. I was the reason why those vampires were sent to the castle."

Aidan hated to admit it, but the witch was right to blame him for the attack. Regret and guilt shrouded his tormented heart. "It's because of me that all those people were killed. Alfie and Anita. They were so good to me but... it's all my fault."

His brother agitatedly tried to rubbish his claims, "You don't know that. All I see is you jumping to some vague assumptions based on random bits of your past life that you can't even make head or tail of."

When Aidan hesitated, Gavin had a sinking feeling there was more to the story than his brother had revealed. "I haven't told you something. Please don't be pissed at me for keeping this from you. I don't even know why I didn't tell you," Aidan confessed, his eyes looking everywhere but at his brother's increasingly worried face.

"It's about the day I was kidnapped by the vampires. Lannetta Bloodreign told me that she has a... Talent, I think it's called? Anyway, her Talent is the ability to recognise souls. She said she knew me in my past life. She said she's been waiting for me for seven hundred years."

Gavin didn't know whether to scream at the top of his lungs in frustration, thoroughly shake his brother like a ragdoll and hope the stupidity would be dislodged from that supposedly brilliant brain of his, or just strangle Aidan for his extremely poor judgement call. "You should have told me!"

"I'm sorry," his brother answered pitifully, looking very much like a kicked puppy.

Gavin sighed before tiredly waving away the issue, focusing instead on Lannetta's revelations. "Seven hundred years. That would have been towards the end of the Portal Wars, and she would have been kind of young for a supernatural being."

"What are the chances of a vampire Queen befriending any other supernatural besides a vampire in that era?"

Gavin grimaced, "Probably nil?"

Aidan slumped in his chair, "My thoughts exactly."

"This means you couldn't have been a werewolf in the past." Gavin quickly put two and two together. "Crap. So, this makes you an ancient vampire's soul, reborn as a human-wolf hybrid."

"Uh-uh. And not just any vampire. Someone important enough for others to want me dead," the younger man replied dully.

"Perhaps you were Lannetta Bloodreign's lover?" Gavin thought curiously. "Maybe her current partner wants you dead?"

Aidan remembered the dream where he'd been secretly meeting a woman only to dive under the bed in a panic. "Oh," he said, mouth hanging open. Was Lannetta the mystery woman? Could the duke be her partner? Perhaps he was the psychotic jealous type? He had to be if he was willing to sacrifice hundreds of vampire lives just to kill one measly human. Had Aidan somehow been dragged into a love triangle rivalling the script of a B-grade telenovela?

Gavin chuckled, traces of his former easy-going attitude showing through. "Okay. I see why you were so antsy about this."

"Antsy?!" Aidan glowered irritably at his brother. After figuring things out, he had every right to be more than just antsy!

His brother quickly soothed, "Hey, I'm not saying you don't have a right to be stressed out. It's quite a lot to handle."

The dreams of being chased by wolves made even more sense now. They were chasing a vampire, their natural enemy. Aidan couldn't help feeling deflated. Not too long ago, his biggest worries were whether his research article was satisfactory for publication in a good journal or if the laboratory received extra funding for the year.

Now though, he was forced to think of ways of not getting killed by humans and vampires, with other supernaturals probably joining the fray should his past come to light. Aidan winced, "If the wolves and witches find out the truth, I'm a dead man. Gavin, what do I do?"