"Did you know that Wales is the country with the most castles in all of Europe?" Hailey recited while reading the little information booklet she had picked up from the private airstrip they landed at.

"That's because it was a highly contested land back in the day," Gavin lazily replied. "When countless others are fighting for turf, you've got to defend yourself, and what better way than to hole up in a castle?"

"What I'm curious to know is, how did we bypass customs and immigration?" Aidan's question was met with a few chuckles by the wolves. Tyler said casually, "I told you, wolves and witches have immense power in this part of the world. There's not much we can't do here."

'If it means not having to deal with long queues and the like, I'm all for it. Keep it up, wolfies!' Aidan inwardly rejoiced. The four of them were seated in the backseat of a luxury sport utility vehicle with the other two werewolves in the front, headed from the airstrip to headquarters.

"Where exactly are we headed to now?" Aidan was staring at the unfolded tourist map in his lap, struggling in his mind to pronounce the uniquely native Welsh names of various places dotting the leaflet. "Hopefully, it's somewhere with a name I can pronounce."

Gavin leaned over to look at the map. "Here," he pointed at a spot, "is where the wolf headquarters are. It's located close to where the portal to the werewolf homeworld, Freskalran, once stood. We'll be reaching in about fifteen." Aidan studied the name on the map. 'Hiraeth Castle. That's a nice-sounding, pronounceable name,' he mused.

When they pulled up the carriage driveway and reached their destination, Hailey was not disappointed. "Oh, wow..." she said and rushed to open the car door, dashing away in excitement. Aidan followed at a slower pace, carefully soaking in the rugged beauty of the building before him.

The main entrance gateway of the castle was old but still standing. However, most of the perimeter walls and towers it was attached to were in ruin; only the remnants of its stone foundations were left as a reminder of what was now a distant memory. The two surviving towers, flanking the keep, rose domineeringly to stand four stories high, inclusive of their turrets. The original keep was a large but simple, square-shaped stone building, although a modern annexe extension twice its size lengthwise had been added to the structure, transforming the overall building into an L-shape.

It wasn't just the castle that was breathtaking; the backdrop view against which it stood was spectacular. Amidst a dusky orange sky of the setting sun, several mountainous peaks rose, casting gentle shadows on the lands below. It made Aidan think of a fantasy world of elves and men, after which he made a mental note to ask Tyler if elves actually existed.

"Welcome to Hiraeth Castle. Okay, gawking time is over, so come on, you two, and get inside. I'm starving," Gavin called out to them as he headed over to the large wooden doors of the keep, the others already out of sight. Aidan and Hailey gave each other excited grins before hurrying after Gavin.

As they pushed past the front door, a chorus of laughter could be heard from the floor above them, carrying down through the staircase. By the sounds of it, there were at least a dozen or so wolves gathered to meet them. Aidan glanced around. The inside of the old castle keep was in pristine condition, having been returned to its former glory with historically accurate restoration.

The first thing that caught Aidan's eye was the tall arched stained-glass windows, set ten feet apart on either side of the keep's walls, permitting the remnants of sunlight through into what seemed to be a foyer. Once he got over its beauty, he was then mesmerised by the ceiling and arches, which were covered in intricate and complex carvings of a mix of floral and geometric patterns.

Tucked inconspicuously to one end was a plain dark wood door that Aidan assumed must lead to the newer extension building. Ahead of them lay a winding stairway which they ascended to what must have once been the Great Hall but was now a dining and kitchen area.

The large room was a perfect balance of old and new. The kitchen, separated from the dining area by full glass panelling, looked state of the art, fully equipped with steel appliances and beautiful quartz countertops. This was in contrast to the other part of the hall, which still retained its rustic feel of wood and stone. The winding stairway continued up to another floor above, but Aidan didn't have a chance to find out what was up there.

In the middle of the room stood a massive dining table set spanning more than twenty feet, capable of seating at least twenty. Most of the seats were already taken, their occupants sending curious glances Aidan and Hailey's way. Tyler, seated near the head of the table, stood up to make introductions.

"Everyone, I would like to introduce you to our human guests, Aidan Summers and Hailey Morita. They'll be staying with us for the time being." A succession of nods and smiles of acknowledgement followed suit before Gavin led them to the three empty seats in the middle of the table.

"Good to see you back in one piece, Summers!" One of the nearby wolves, a woman with streaks of pinkish-purple in her long black curls, called out.

"Hope you didn't miss me too much," Gavin laughingly joked in reply.

"The only thing she missed having was a sparring partner worth her time who can kick ass," the man seated beside her, a brunet with a full sleeve tattoo on his right arm, yelled back amidst chortling laughter. From the accent, Aidan guessed the man was a local. Gavin introduced the duo, clan warriors in charge of the castle security, as Anita and Alfie.

"Anything interesting happened while I was gone?" Gavin asked the two warriors while biting into some roast lamb. "When does anything ever happen here, in the middle of nothing but farmland?" Alfie said with hints of disdain, "The attack of the killer-secretly-unfriendly sheep? Honestly, I can't wait for my stint here to be over. I'll be hopping on the first ride back to London!"

"Oh, shut it, you utter git," Anita shot him a fearsome glare before doing a 180 degrees and giving the humans a bright smile, "Ignore him. He's a bit of a party freak and currently suffering from hangover-withdrawal symptoms." She leaned back lazily in her seat, "It's blissfully peaceful here. I've had some of the best sleep in forever since being stationed at the castle."

Alfie snorted in reply, "Yep, it's so peaceful that you don't even need walls to guard the place." Anita smacked the back of his head, making Alfie howl in complaint while everyone else burst out laughing, "Tsk, shut up and eat your food!"

After dinner, Aidan and Hailey followed Tyler down and through the inconspicuous door, which, it turned out, did lead to the annexe building, as Aidan had suspected.

"Living quarters and guest rooms are all here," Tyler said, leading them up a flight of stairs to their rooms on the first floor.

They sent Hailey to her room and said their goodbyes before heading to Aidan's room down the hallway. At the door, Tyler hesitated. "Aidan, tomorrow's going to be... a bit of a long day for you."

Aidan looked at him, confusion written clearly on his face.

"The Clan Chieftain, along with the witches' Committee Leader, will be arriving tomorrow morning. They'll have questions about the research facility," he paused, "and probably your intentions of becoming a werewolf." He quickly added, "Or not," when Aidan's brows furrowed into a deep frown of apprehension.

Aidan was about to question the tall man further when he noticed how rigid in stature the normally relaxed and fluid man had become and quickly rewound what Tyler had just said in his head, trying to read between the lines. He continued staring blankly before widening his eyes in sudden realisation. "Am I going to be interrogated?!"

"No, no. That's not it at all." Tyler tried to sound unconcerned, but his stiff body belied his words. "I'm just saying... it may come off as a little intimidating, coming face to face with two powerful leaders, and I wanted to give you a heads up. You have nothing to worry about."

"Okay." Aidan nodded quickly, his nervous reaction making him look like a bobbing head on a car dashboard. He said goodnight to the tall wolf, entered his room and headed straight for the bed, collapsing face-down on the clean white sheets, feet sticking off the side. 'It still sounds like an interrogation to me,' he fretted. With those last thoughts, he quickly drifted off to sleep.

"You are terribly late," someone behind him said in a petulant accusing tone. A woman's voice. Dream-Aidan turned around to look at her, but as was often the case in his dreams, her face was hidden behind a blurry smudge, almost as if enveloped in a dark misty cloud. Even the rest of her body appeared obscure, no matter how much he tried to focus his eyes.

"I could not excuse myself from that dreadful meeting," he heard himself say while walking over to the woman, "but now my time is only for you."

Aidan briefly noticed they were in a dim, luxuriously decorated bedroom with all its curtains drawn. He stood not far from a dresser, atop which several books were neatly stacked. The large four-poster bed, which occupied much of the room, was neatly made with four pillows fluffed up and arranged in perfect symmetry against the headrest. He reached out to hug the woman, who immediately melted into his arms without hesitation. 'Is she my past self's significant other?', Aidan wondered, his curiosity immediately piqued. Nestled comfortably in his arms, the woman sighed deeply. "I have missed you."

Without warning, there came the sound of footsteps outside the door. The unlocked door. Both dream-Aidan and the woman immediately panicked. "Hide!" The woman hissed, and although Aidan couldn't see her expression, the terror in her quavering voice told him they were in serious trouble. 'Oh boy, was I the other man in my past life?! Maybe that explains why some wolves literally wanted to take a bite out of me! Maybe the grey werewolf that bit me in one of my dreams is this woman's husband?!'

A slew of possibilities popped into his mind even as his dream-self frantically looked around the room, still panicking away. Aidan mentally facepalmed when his previous self dove under the bed, incredulous at the lack of creativity in choosing a hiding spot!

Knock knock.

KNOCK KNOCK.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Aidan blearily opened his eyes to the annoying sound of continuous knocking on the room door that grew steadily louder as the seconds ticked by. Dream abruptly interrupted, he yelled an angry "What?!", although it came off sounding sullen and undeniably whiny.

Gavin's voice carried back through the door, sounding muffled by the hardwood, although his irritation was still clearly perceivable, "Time to get your lazy ass out of bed and go grab some food! The Chieftain will be here in an hour, tops."

Aidan groaned, struggling to drag his exhausted body out of bed. 'Stupid, assholitic past life.' Oh, how he hated the damn dreams, which left him exhausted instead of refreshed. This time, it was a new dream, a new flashback, but right now, he had no time to make sense of it, or else he'd have to forgo breakfast, which he wanted to avoid doing because all of a sudden, he was starving.

He barely managed to shower and down a helping of food before a line of cars began the climb up the long carriage driveway. Werewolves had continuously arrived throughout the night in anticipation of the meeting of both leaders, and there was now a sizable number of people gathered outside, squinting at the fancy cars as the morning sun reflected off their metal surfaces.

Aidan politely squeezed his way through the crowd to stand beside Gavin and Hailey, off to the side. No way was he going to greet the two powerful supernatural leaders on his own, not when he felt uncomfortably vulnerable. Hell, he would love to not meet them at all! Too bad he wasn't given a choice.

Tyler, who was standing at the forefront of the gathering, walked to the first car to open the back passenger door. Aidan hadn't known the tall wolf for long, but he felt as if Tyler was wearing a layer of false calm, like a cloak of protection, but against what Aidan wasn't sure of. Looking around at the others, he only detected excitement and generally lively energy from the other werewolves, somewhat contradictory to Tyler's behaviour. Aidan pushed away his confusion while reminding himself to ask Gavin about it later.

The ageless beauty that stepped out of the car emanated an aura that sent the humans off kilter. Hailey subconsciously moved to shield herself behind Gavin, while Aidan found himself shifting from one foot to the other uneasily. It wasn't a bone-crushing power that demanded servitude or submission; instead, it was a power that declared to the world that the person wielding it was not one to be trifled with should you be stupid enough to mess with her. She stood tall, only slightly shorter than Tyler, dark hair spilling over her shoulders in layers of tight curls. She wore a simple burgundy dress that complimented her deeper skin tone, with stacks of gold bangles on both wrists to top off the look.

"Welcome home, Chieftain," Tyler intoned neutrally, his face expressionless. The woman studied Tyler curiously before saying, "You look well, Tyler. I'm glad no irreversible harm was dealt towards you during your imprisonment." Tyler bowed his head in acknowledgement but said nothing more. The Chieftain looked ready to say something but stopped herself, turning her attention to the others.

Warm walnut brown eyes that held years of wisdom and experience scanned the group before her, settling longer on Aidan than the rest before moving on. Her full lips quirked up in a smile at the small crowd of fawning werewolves, nodding at some she knew personally, but otherwise, the Chieftain said nothing.

Tyler had already moved to the second car, helping two others, a man and woman, out of the back seat. They came to stand beside the Chieftain while their dozen or so personnel hovered nearby. The duo had golden blond hair and greyish-blue eyes, with warm, sun-kissed tan skin. The man was as tall as the Chieftain, but the woman was much smaller in build, with delicate features on a heart-shaped face. Like the Chieftain and Lannetta Bloodreign, they exuded an agelessness that was hard for mere mortals to comprehend.

When Aidan caught a glimpse of the golden-haired woman, an unfamiliar feeling overcame him, washing over his body and permeating his mind. It felt like comfort and warmth, like being enveloped in loving arms. The warm feeling inside his chest began morphing into a sense of home, of rightness, of feeling whole, as if he had found the part of him that was lost without even realising that something was missing until this very moment. It flooded his mind, leaving him floating in a sea of wonder. The warmth continued to grow until it was bordering on physical pain. Aidan stifled a gasp and leaned against Gavin while struggling not to reach out with his hands to claw at his shirt.

His mind was overloaded with cascading stimuli that Aidan zoned out entirely from the world. The moment only lasted five seconds or so, but it felt like the five longest seconds of his existence, and by the time it passed, and he had come back to his surroundings again, the Chieftain was already speaking.

"— welcome the Witches Committee Leader Paul Feronia and his daughter Emilia to Hiraeth Castle for our official decennial visit as a symbol of our long-lasting ties and partnership between werewolves and witches and the strengthening of an alliance dating back centuries." The crowd broke into enthusiastic applause.

Once the crowd quieted down, the werewolf Chieftain Emerie invited the witches in for a meal. Immediately the crowd obediently parted to allow the delegation to pass into the entrance of the keep. Aidan released a breath he hadn't realised he was holding.

Beside him, Hailey ran a hand over her forehead, remarking, "Wow, that was intense." Aidan grunted in reply. He was still befuddled.

'What the hell was that? Why did seeing that woman trigger whatever it was that just happened?' As he thought about it, something the vampire Lannetta said began playing in his head. She had wanted him to find someone named Emi. 'Wait a minute, wasn't her name Emilia? Could she be... Emi?!'

By now, most of the crowd were dispersing to carry out their daily duties or go sightseeing, leaving only the humans, Gavin and Tyler. "I'll give you a call once the delegation finishes breakfast. The Chieftain and Committee Leader will want to speak with the both of you—"

"I'd like to be there with them," Gavin interjected. Tyler smiled wryly, "Yes, the Chieftain figured you'd want to be there. She has given permission."

Tyler left to join the Chieftain, while Hailey claimed the weather was too good to spend indoors and unilaterally decided it was the perfect time to explore the lands surrounding the castle. The stonemasons in charge of building the stronghold had an eye for beautiful scenery, having chosen a hill overlooking farmlands in the east and mountainous peaks to the west.

Not far from the castle was a small grove of trees, which caught Hailey's attention. She walked ahead with an undeniable swing in her step while Aidan dragged his feet over the hilly terrain, Gavin snickering beside him. "You need to get out more," he told his younger brother, earning a sullen glare in response.

Aidan suddenly remembered what he had wanted to ask Gavin earlier, "Hey, is it my imagination, or does Tyler seem to be the only wolf on edge over the arrival of the Chieftain?"

"Uh, you noticed, huh?" Gavin made a face. "Chieftain Emerie Livingstone is Tyler's mom."

Aidan blinked. "Huh."

Gavin seemed to be struggling with how to word things delicately. "She's a great Chieftain, one of the best to lead in recent times, but as a parent, she's one tough woman to please. Tyler's always afraid of not living up to expectations."

"I see. They don't bear much resemblance, save for the height."

"Yeah, Tyler looks more like his dad."

"I didn't see the Chieftain arrive with anyone."

"The Chieftain and Tyler's father aren't together. I won't go into the messy details, but Tyler was raised by his father." Gavin paused before saying, "I heard Emerie Livingstone was married many years ago, but her husband was killed by a vampire. She never got over his loss."

Just then, Gavin's phone rang. "Well, speak of the devil." It was Tyler on the line, telling them to return to the keep, where the Chieftain's private office was located. They hurried back and headed up the winding stairway, past the dining area to the floor above it. The sizeable open space had been turned into the Chieftain's office suite, with thick glass acting as a soundproof barrier to keep out the noise from the floor below. Aidan could see Emerie seated on a plush grey two-seater sofa, Paul and Emilia sitting across from her. Tyler stood beside Emerie. Gavin pushed open the glass door and led the way in, the two humans trailing behind.

Emerie and the witches stood to greet them. To Aidan's surprise, the Chieftain was very welcoming, smiling warmly at them and gesturing for them to sit, almost to the point that Aidan wondered if she was worried about scaring the humans. 'Or perhaps she's luring us into a false sense of security,' he thought while glancing at Tyler's expressionless face. Unlike the Chieftain, the witches appeared rather frigid, not offering even a shadow of a smile.

Once the humans were seated on another two-seater with Gavin standing behind them, the questioning began. They began with Hailey, whose account was short and uninformative for the most part. As she spoke, Aidan snuck a glance at the stony-faced Emilia Feronia, but none of the feelings he had endured earlier was rekindled. 'Could I have just been overwhelmed by their power or something?' he wondered thoughtfully. The two leaders nodded to Hailey once she had finished before asking Aidan to start.

As he told them of the discovery of a tropical plant that was detrimental to supernaturals, Paul shook his head indignantly, a noticeable tick going off on his jawline. "We cannot afford to reveal weaknesses to those that greatly outnumber us."

Aidan struggled to school his expression. 'Those that outnumber them. In other words, humans.' Seated beside Paul, his daughter Emilia merely stared expressionlessly at Aidan with her large grey-blue eyes, and it took every ounce of mental strength in him not to squirm like a slippery eel. Emerie sighed before asking him to continue. He recounted all that had happened up until the moment the three of them had fled with Gavin.

Emerie lifted a curved brow at him when he stopped talking. "I heard you were kidnapped by vampires." Aidan mentally cursed. He had hoped to skip over that part of the story, but it seemed the werewolf Chieftain was a very thorough woman. "Ah yes, well, I was taken to a little hut in the middle of nowhere and interrogated about the Unified Research Centre. They asked the same questions you did, and I told them everything I've told you."

Emerie pursed her lips in mild disapproval before Aidan belatedly realised that he had suggested his current session with the two leaders was akin to that of the interrogation with the vampires. An insulting choice of words. Aidan snapped his mouth shut, berating himself for being an idiot.

"How many vampires were with you?" Paul asked, staring intensely at Aidan, grey-blue eyes narrowed.

"Four."

"Did you learn their names?"

'Oh boy, how much to tell?' He hesitated a couple of seconds, which was enough to make Paul impatiently raise his voice, a tinge of anger seeping through, "Child, what were their names?!"

"Uh, I'm not a hundred per cent sure. It just... it happened so fast!" Aidan stammered a reply, wide-eyed with shock at the man's sudden temper. He felt Gavin placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "It's alright, Aidan," his brother said in a soothing tone, "just take a deep breath and try to recall anything you can."

Aidan nodded listlessly before venturing a reply, "I think one of them was called Byron. He was the one who carried me—"

Paul interrupted him, "Black hair, dark eyes?"

"Y-Yes."

Emilia then spoke, soft but firm, "Describe the other three."

Aidan felt too overwhelmed to even think of lying and blurted out the truth. "A guy with blondish-brown hair and eyes. Another guy with long pale blond hair, and a woman with long brown hair and light blue eyes."

"By the light of the sun! We almost had them. We almost had those filthy blood-sucking vampires!" Paul Feronia stared in aghast at Emerie.

The Chieftain looked grim as she held Paul's gaze for a long while before turning to hold Aidan's, "What happened next?"

"Gavin came to save me, and the vampires didn't want to bother with a fight, so they let me go." As he answered her, Aidan felt a sinking feeling in his chest that he had inadvertently gotten Tyler into trouble.

Sure enough, Emerie turned her piercing gaze to Tyler, fuming behind her expressionless mask. "And was it you who decided not to inquire about the identities of these vampires? Even if you did not know who they were, why did you let them live when you had the obvious advantage?"

Tyler openly accepted the blame, offering no justification. "I accept responsibility for my actions. It was my call alone, Chieftain."

Emerie huffed, "A bad one, but why am I not surprised?" Tyler went as still as a statue.

Hailey was staring from Emerie to Paul in open bewilderment. What had gotten them so riled up? Or rather, perhaps the better question should be: who were these vampires? "I-I don't understand...."

Emerie and Paul remained silent, but Emilia spoke again, her features still set in an indifferent look, "The three men are known henchmen of vampire royalty. The woman you described is Lannetta Bloodreign, the reigning queen of the vampires."