"Well, that about sums it all up." Tyler looked pleased at having covered everything of relevance in such a short span of time. Gavin, however, gave him a look that said he'd missed something big.

"Haven't you forgotten the most important rule born out of the civil war?" Gavin drawled, lazily reminding Tyler.

The tall man rubbed his head, suddenly recalling it. "Uh yeah. No werewolf may kill another werewolf for reasons other than self-defence. We can't afford to let our numbers fall."

"Just out of curiosity," Hailey asked, "is the witches Committee similar to the Clan Executive Board?"

Gavin answered, "Nope, witches generally do not stay together in large groups like the wolves. Their reclusive behaviour makes it unnecessary to have multiple clan leaders. Their Committee is only made up of twenty-five Members, all democratically elected by voting within the general population, once every five hundred years. Pretty much anyone can become a Member, unlike in werewolf society where only Clan Heads are chosen by birthright."

Tyler nodded before adding, "The Witch Committee Leader doesn't have absolute power either. He or she can only influence the other Members but never force a decision. This is why many Leaders are charismatic, eloquent and kind of manipulative because those are the characteristics needed to sway others to agree with their views."

"Sounds like your everyday politician to me," Hailey quipped, earning snickers from Gavin and Tyler.

Aidan subconsciously tilted his head while deep in thought before he hesitantly asked, "And vampires?"

Tyler replied, "Theirs is an absolute monarchy. As you know, the current Queen is Lannetta Bloodreign, and she's reigned for the past seven hundred years after the death of the previous ruler. Directly below the royal family are the dukes, who share blood ties to the monarchy. I'm not sure what comes after."

Thinking of Lannetta and the three other vampires, Aidan continued to ask, "Do werewolves still engage in all-out battles with the vampires?"

The tall wolf replied, "For centuries, the three races have managed to avoid large-scale conflict, but that's changed in recent years. Vampires have begun openly attacking once more." The room lapsed into a short silence. Aidan was torn over the fact that Lannetta Bloodreign, who seemed decent in person, was, in reality, stoking the flames and inciting clashes between the wolves and vampires.

"Why did the vampire population grow faster than the other supernaturals?" Hailey asked, finding it peculiar.

"It isn't easy for wolves or witches to conceive. The vampire birth rate is high, averaging about five to eight children per household, compared with less than four for wolves or witches," Gavin explained, "and there's also the bit about vampires turning humans by biting them, which is real by the way, although only a fraction of people survive the transformation."

Tyler nodded before adding, "I'm told it usually ends badly."

Hailey winced, "They make it look so easy in movies."

Aidan thought back to the vampire king who stole the witch's powers. "This whole war began when a vampire stole a witch's powers. But how did he do it?"

"That part of history will forever remain a mystery," Tyler replied with a shrug. "Nobody knows how it was done. At least, it wasn't written down."

Aidan's curiosity fell to the actual power itself. "How do a witch's powers work, and are they all the same? I know that one of the captives in the Unified Research Centre was a witch with fire capabilities. What about the rest of them?"

Tyler nodded enthusiastically, "That's a good question. A witch's powers are unique to the individual and vary accordingly. A few witches, like the one you saw at the prison, have some form of pyrokinesis. Some are healers, or have telekinesis. But it can be pretty much anything. The witches call their unique powers Talents," Tyler said, catching Aidan by surprise.

'Talent. That's what Lannetta called her ability to recognise souls. She must be directly descended from Lucius Bloodreign to have inherited a Talent.'

The tall wolf continued, "Sometimes, witches are gifted more than one Talent."

"They kinda sound indestructible," Hailey mused.

Tyler was quick to refute, "It's not to say that witches don't have weaknesses. For one thing, unlike vampires and wolves, witches aren't very different physically from humans. They need to rely solely on their Talent for protection, and not all of them have powers that are useful for offensive attacks or defensive manoeuvres. Some are pretty useless. I know of a witch who can breathe underwater. Which is cool, but not very helpful if you're on land and trying to fight off a horde of vampires."

Hailey choked back a laugh at the absurdity of such a situation and sincerely hoped the witch in question would never have to face such a reality.

Lips pursed, Tyler added, "There's also the issue of them running out of energy. You see, when using their Talent, they need to tap into a reservoir of inner energy which will eventually be drained. Once that happens, they can't use their powers until the reservoir is replenished. It's like using a reusable battery. When it's out of juice, you've got to wait while it recharges until full. Trying to use their Talent while depleted of energy can be deadly since their life force itself would be drained."

"Freaky." Hailey suddenly seemed to think of something, "Say, what about werewolves and silver?"

Gavin gave a light chuckle before saying, "False. Silver isn't different from any other metal. But werewolves can die from extreme injuries if we can't heal fast enough. One knife wound wouldn't kill, but a hundred? Or a beheading? We aren't immortal after all, just strong and really long-lived. The same goes for vampires."

After a few more rounds of questioning, the two humans began looking rather spaced out, busy absorbing and digesting everything they'd learned from the impromptu supernatural history class.

Tyler decided the time was right to draw the spur-of-the-moment history lesson to a close. "That's pretty much it. Any more questions?"

Hailey bit her lip before asking, "I have one. I hope I'm not being too rude or anything, but...How old are the leaders of the supernatural world? There's this odd agelessness to them that I can't quite get over. It's simultaneously freaky and stupefying."

Tyler grinned broadly, "Gosh, Gavin asked me the same thing years ago," he told her before answering, "Emerie and Paul are around the nine hundred mark, while Emilia is seven hundred-ish, and so is Queen Lannetta."

Hailey was shocked into silence. Aidan wasn't as surprised since he already knew Lannetta was several centuries old. After recovering, Hailey narrowed her eyes as she studied Tyler. "What about you?"

"Me? I'm twenty-eight," he said, laughing at the relieved look on their faces.

Sometime in the afternoon, while lying in bed and feeling a little deflated, Aidan received a surprise visit from the castle's security personnel, Anita, who told him the Chieftain wanted to have a personal talk.

His earlier interrupted dream had been bothering him, and he was in the process of thinking up a few plausible scenarios when Anita knocked on the door. After hearing the request, Aidan stared at Anita with pathetic puppy dog eyes, prompting giggles from the woman as she flicked strands of black and purple-pink hair over her shoulder.

"Aww, silly, don't be scared. She won't bite," was the unsympathetic reply he received. Without much choice, Aidan found himself seated once more in the spacious office, facing the ageless beauty before him, the only barrier between them a coffee table holding a couple of teacups and one large teapot, reminding him suddenly of Mrs Potts and Chip from his favourite Disney animation.

'Does that make Emerie the Beast?' Aidan's mind uncontrollably wandered and he had to bite his tongue to stop a chuckle. The Chieftain continued to study him intensely, a polite smile in place, before leaning forward to pick up her cup of tea.

Emerie took a dainty sip from her cup before beginning, "I wanted to discuss something of a delicate nature with you. It has to do with your mother's bloodline."

Aidan drew a sharp breath, already figuring out what Emerie wanted. His reaction did not escape her notice, but she remained reticent and continued, "I'm sure Gavin has informed you about the unacceptable way his transformation was done. As the leader of all wolves, I have made it very clear that forced changes are illegal."

The Chieftain's sharp gaze locked with his own, the authority and power within them so controlling that he could not look away. "Having said that, our wolf numbers are small, while vampire numbers are on the uptrend. Tyler must have told you already that the vampires have begun ramping up attacks over the past fifty years."

She continued after Aidan nodded, "Initially, there was an unspoken truce, where neither leadership allowed for an all-out attack, and if minor instances escalated, those in authority would intervene to prevent all-out war."

Emerie elegantly took another sip of tea. "But I'm afraid the vampire situation seems to have changed. We know not their end game, but one thing is for sure: they no longer seek a peaceful existence. Right now, every wolf counts. As such, I hope you will consider joining your brother and his clan as one of our own."

When Aidan finally tore away his gaze, he could only offer a non-committal shrug, focusing his eyes on the tightly clasped hands in his lap. "I'll think about it," he finally blurted out under the unblinking gaze of the Chieftain.

*****

Lannetta Bloodreign sat pillion on a decrepit stolen motorcycle, glancing behind her every few minutes. "Can't this thing go any faster?" She shouted her question over the loud rumble of the exhaust to Maxim, who was in control.

"No."

Lannetta roughly squeezed the muscular waist in front of her in frustration, earning an angry growl from the pale-haired man. At this rate, they would likely be unable to avoid their pursuers. Next time, she'd be the one doing the stealing, she decided.

As if reading her mind, Maxim shouted over the noise, "You know, it wasn't like there was a Ferrari parked in the middle of the rural heartland, just waiting to be stolen."

Lannetta continued to grumble silently. Actually, their pursuers were not the only reason the vampire queen was in a bad mood.

She needed to make an important call, but the caller was spectacularly avoiding her. Lannetta wasn't even sure how to get in touch since getting a hold of their phone number was equivalent to touching the lottery. In annoyance, the high-strung vampire subconsciously used her pent-up energy to squeeze Maxim again, earning another pained growl from the long-suffering vampire.

The motorcycle's wheels kicked up a storm of dirt as the two vampires continued on their nighttime journey along the winding road, surrounded by silence save for the mechanical rumble of a tired exhaust that was well past its prime.