Nothing could prepare Aidan for the carnage that greeted him when he exited the front entrance and walked out onto the driveway. Bodies lay on the ground, turning the surrounding soil bloody. At first, he assumed that some of the dead were vampires until he saw a werewolf tossing one of the vampire corpses out from one of the windows. It combusted the moment it touched sunlight, leaving behind nothing but ashes.

None of the dead bodies lying in the sun belonged to vampires.

Only then did Aidan realise the losses suffered by the wolves and witches. A throbbing ache spread over his chest at the realisation that some of the dead were people he had mingled with during the dinner just hours before.

"Oh, thank heavens, Aidan!" Hailey came crashing into him, pulling him into a tight hug as a sob escaped her. "I thought you were right behind me when we escaped the rooftop. I didn't even realise you were gone until I'd made it to the keep!" Aidan felt pained at the guilt and anguish pouring forth from his friend as Hailey spoke, her voice trembling.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm totally fine, without even a scratch to show," Aidan cooed gently while rocking Hailey in his arms in a comforting manner. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Gavin, walking towards them slowly. He had gone to wash the dried blood off and was now wearing a change of clothes. Hailey looked up at Aidan through teary eyes and gave an equally watery smile. When Gavin came to stand beside him, Hailey let go of him to latch onto his brother, who hugged her back tightly.

The dead were laid respectfully within the foyer before further preparations for their funerals could be made. Aidan reluctantly followed Gavin and Hailey into the foyer, fearing who he might find amongst the dead. The loss and pain came swiftly. Aidan gasped in shock when Alfie's body was brought in. Before it had time to sink in, a splash of purple-pink caught his eye and his heart fell to the floor. Two wolves entered the foyer and gently placed Anita beside Alfie. Lying side by side without any noticeable injuries, they could have easily been asleep.

Aidan thought to himself that it was easier that way, to imagine that they were simply in a deep slumber. He desperately wished it were so, even though it was pointless to escape reality. Denial would only lessen a sorrowful blow by a tiny fraction, something Aidan knew from the painful loss of his parents.

Hailey's tears, which the young woman had managed to barely hold back, began free-flowing once more. Aidan understood her grief. He hadn't known them long, but they were good people with whom he had formed the warm bonds of friendship, a bond he imagined would have lasted his lifetime had it been given a chance to grow.

Sensing unspoken anguish, Aidan reached out and placed an arm around Gavin's shoulder as his brother bowed his head in mourning while leaning heavily against Aidan. Gavin had known them far longer, the loss so much more profound.

In total, dozens of wolves and witches were slain by the vampires. Grief and sorrow quickly turned into anger and hatred, as was seen that afternoon when the survivors gathered in the hall for an emergency meeting.

"I know many of you are in mourning for the loss of your loved ones. My heart goes out to you. Your loss is the Clan's loss, and your grief is the collective grief and mourning of every living werewolf," Clan Chieftain Emerie began addressing the solemn crowd.

"I share my deepest condolences with our witch allies, who have lost many of their own. This attack on werewolf headquarters is unprecedented and indicative of the growing brazenness of the vampires. We cannot take this lying down," she said, a cold intensity filling her gaze. "Those that dare attack us will face the consequences." A loud chorus of agreement followed. All around him, Aidan could see determination and cold resolve on the faces of the wolves and witches, the vengeful atmosphere sending a cold shiver down his back. The last thing he wanted was to be in the middle of a bloody war between powerful beings.

The Chieftain and Witch Committee Leader took turns addressing the crowd for a quarter of an hour before calling the meeting to an end. Aidan said quick goodbyes to Gavin and Hailey before going to pack whatever belongings he could salvage, but before he could head to his room, someone touched his shoulder, startling him. Turning, he caught sight of Tyler, looking grim. "The Chieftain and Committee Leader want a word with you." Aidan stared at the tall man before slowly nodding and following Tyler up the stairs to Emerie's office. The Chieftain was seated with three other werewolves to one side of the office, while Paul and his daughter occupied the opposite seat.

"You've been too lax, Emerie. You assumed that no one would dare attack the heartland of werewolf territory. Tsk, a castle without walls. This was a disaster waiting to happen." Aidan and Tyler walked in just in time to hear Paul's raised voice directed at Emerie. The three men seated with her did not hide their displeasure at Paul's tone. Although they had the youthful appearance typical of many supernaturals, Aidan could feel rather than see the culmination of time these three men possessed. 'They must be the clan elders I've heard about,' Aidan surmised correctly. The men shared a resemblance, being of similar build, with hazel eyes and golden-brown hair, all greying slightly at the temples.

Tyler led Aidan to stand before the group, but the wolf elders and Paul were engrossed in glaring at each other to notice his insignificant presence. Emerie barely held her tongue, lips pressed together in a thin line.

Emilia seemed relaxed and content to sit by while the four men continued with their silent and furious eye-staring contest. While waiting to be noticed, Aidan felt a strange warmth trickle into his chest as he stared at the beautiful golden-haired beauty. He looked away, brows drawn together in befuddlement at the confusing signals his body was giving off, especially while the memory of her cold-shoulder treatment at the dinner remained fresh in his mind.

Having several powerful supernaturals together in the same room could leave one feeling uncomfortable, but combined with their anger, it was downright oppressive. To Aidan, it felt like a heavy load was pressing down on him to the point that his lungs were starting to labour at sucking in air.

Perhaps time moved differently for supernaturals, but for Aidan, it felt like an entire lifetime had passed him by, with the atmosphere growing frostier by the minute. Finally, unable to stand silently any longer, he ventured to ask, "Sorry to intrude on ...whatever this is, but why am I here, exactly?"

His voice finally broke the tension in the air, followed by the sounds of shifting and rustling on the couch as the group turned their focus to him. "Right," Paul said in a brusque manner, a piercing look thrown at the human. "Emilia has brought to my attention that you may know more about this vampire attack than we think."

"I...what?" Aidan felt himself floundering, confused by his words.

Emilia spoke, "You must admit, such an unexpected attack shortly after your interactions with high-ranking vampires can only be looked upon with suspicion." Her voice was soft, but the words held underlying animosity, barely concealing the blame, the loss of life, that she had already deemed was his fault.

'What in the flaming lamb chops is she saying!' Aidan was rendered speechless for a moment before recovering. "I had nothing to do with this!" Aidan angrily retorted, shaking his head frantically. "I wasn't even told about the location of werewolf headquarters until I landed here! Ask any of the werewolves present during the trip if you don't believe me!"

Emilia calmly replied, "I do not imply that you purposely or maliciously revealed information regarding your stay here, but perhaps there was more than what you initially told us when you were in contact with them."

Aidan clamped his mouth shut, staring back at her in fake fury while his mind frantically ran through his meeting with Lannetta. Although he was indeed holding back information, he couldn't see how it could have anything to do with the attack. Lannetta wasn't his enemy; she never had been, which was why he was still alive and standing here, instead of dead, his corpse rotting in a rundown cottage in the middle of nowhere. It made no sense for her to let him live only to send vampires to kill him at the castle.

After a long silence, he curtly said, "There is none."

"The attack on the castle was a suicide mission since none of the vampires tried to flee before dawn. Quite a few targeted you exclusively, taking the effort to reach your rooftop hideaway. Does that not seem peculiar to you, Aidan?" Emilia once again asked.

He tilted his head to stare at her, studying the cold look in her eyes. "It only proves that I am not in cohorts with them since they prefer me dead, don't you think?"

Emilia was expecting his answer and used it to cast doubt on him again. "But why? You are an insignificant human, after all." Her voice took on an enquiring tone when she asked, "Unless there's something you've hidden regarding your involvement with the research facility that might warrant the vampires wanting you dead so badly?" Aidan stared at her, speechless. She had led him on with her questions, and he'd taken the bait. Now, not only would others doubt his innocence concerning the vampires, but even his association with the Unified Research Centre was being called to question again.

Aidan let out a choked laugh. This woman was just unbelievable! "I've told you the truth! Multiple witnesses at the facility saw what happened that night." He looked to Tyler for affirmation, to which the tall man nodded. When he glanced back at the group, he was dismayed to see the three elders studying him intently. Their interest was piqued by the witch's insinuations.

Anger and bitterness welled up in his chest. Aidan was certain by now that Emilia was his least favourite person in the entire world, leapfrogging even his ex-boss Robert. That was a tough spot to beat, but hurrah, Emilia had done it!

"You know what, I'm not going to stand here and be interrogated like some lowly criminal just because I'm a human." Aidan pointed a trembling finger at Emilia, "You guys are the invaders to my world, and you'd better remember that. So don't go around acting like we humans are vermin. You guys are the invasive species." Anger fuelling his bravery, Aidan turned around and stomped out of the office in a huff.

One of the elders let out a light chuckle. "Snarky little one, isn't he?" Another elder mildly pointed out, "The boy seems to have forgotten that he is part wolf which makes him a member of the invasive species."

Paul, however, wasn't amused. "That boy is hiding something," he said darkly.

Emerie ignored Paul's comment and pursed her lips in thought, a slight frown wrinkling her otherwise smooth skin. She ran through several scenarios, carefully combing through them with the meticulousness of a wizened leader, before expressing her thoughts, "Without a doubt, the suicide attack was targeting someone. Judging from the number of vampires and how well equipped they were, theirs was a rushed but planned attack that would have required no small effort to prepare.

"The details of the witches' official visit were kept a deeply guarded secret until the night before arrival. I doubt the vampires could have arranged to have their members flown in from overseas and onto our turf in large numbers under such short notice. This points to the target being someone other than the witches, and the decennial visit merely coincided with the vampire's pre-planned attack."

Tyler looked at his mother thoughtfully. "You know, it's not difficult to figure out where our headquarters is located. The vampires have probably known this for ages, but they've never attacked us before. The thing is, why attack now? If you were the target," Tyler said to his mother, "then why was it necessary for them to choose this particular point in time to attack? What is the motive for sending all these vampires on a suicide mission that ultimately achieved nothing for them? We may have lost dozens of our own, but the vampires have lost more than two hundred of theirs."

He did a mental calculation before adding, "Not to mention the amount of time and money it would have taken just to get these many vampires to this side of the world, where their influence is almost at zero."

Emerie answered, "I am certain it was not me they were targeting. I dealt with a handful of vampires today, but for the most part, they seemed keen on avoiding me."

Tyler reluctantly said, "I did notice vampires scaling the walls to get to the rooftop, where the Summers brothers were."

Paul leaned forward in his seat, an angry tick going off along his jaw. "The boy is an outlier, no matter how you look at it. It has to be him. He needs to be locked up and interrogated. We need him to confess his involvement with the vampires. Who knows what other covert plans he's hiding from us?"

Being much more level headed, Emerie sternly objected. "I urge caution before jumping to conclusions. Think of it logically, Paul. If the boy was working for the vampires, why would they want him dead? We have no proof or motive for the attack," she advised the Committee Leader, who looked unconvinced. Turning to Tyler, Paul asked, "How long would you estimate it took the vampires to organise themselves for the attack?"

The tall werewolf pursed his lips, knowing where this was going. Reluctantly, he answered, "Perhaps three to four days at the minimum."

"And how long has it been since the human interacted with those vampires?"

Tyler remained expressionless, even while silently grumbling at the Committee Leader's ability to twist things his way. "About five days."

Paul's brows raised to an almost comical high on his forehead while his eyes widened to give him a bug-eyed look. "Am I the only one who thinks this is more than just a coincidence? That boy is the key, for sure!"

Emerie refused to budge. "This is still pure conjecture. Until we can prove otherwise, the boy is not to be harmed." The three elder wolves agreed with Emerie, while Emelia did not bother giving an opinion, sitting stone-faced on the sofa. A short while later, the elders and the two witches bade stiff farewells, leaving Tyler alone with Emerie.

The Chieftain approached Tyler and stood before her son, searching the young man's expression. "You've studied the human and gotten to know him over the past few days. Tell me honestly, Tyler. What do you make of Aidan Summers?"

Tyler replied truthfully, "I haven't caught him in a lie." He hesitated a moment, sighing deeply before replying, "So far, I can't see how the attack is tied to him, but I hate to admit that I agree with Paul on one thing. I get the feeling that Aidan is hiding something."

Back in the living quarters, the object of everyone's speculation was seated dazedly on a small section of the bed that wasn't covered in glass or other debris. Aidan glanced listlessly at the neatly folded clothes belonging to Alfie that were still where he had left them the night before. It hit him with a pang how he would never be able to return them or thank the man for going above and beyond just so that Aidan could attend a dinner. Aidan took a deep, shaky breath.

For now, loved ones were lost, and emotions ran high. Unfortunately, Emilia, and likely Paul, were pointing the blame at him. He could only hope that they were the exception and not the rule. Just thinking about Emilia made his stomach roil.

Although Aidan was angry with Emelia, the truth was that once he had calmed down sufficiently from his earlier outburst, he had doubts of his own. His thoughts were all over the place as he tried to make sense of things, replaying the vampire attack in his mind. The more he thought about it, the greater his certainty that somehow, he may have been the main target of the attack. The words of the first vampire that attacked him on the rooftop kept playing in his head.

Got you now, you unworthy piece of trash.

Unworthy. Aidan doubted it would be something a vampire would randomly say to a human. The problem was, he needed to know the context behind the vampire's words to analyse it further. And then there was the issue of the dagger and the barrage of old memories that had flooded his mind with insane intensity.

The familiarity of the design on the dagger was a mystery Aidan wasn't looking forward to solving. Lannetta was another enigma, but her sudden appearance in his life and interest in him regaining his old memories suggested something so painful that Aidan was unwilling to think of its implication. Try as he might, he couldn't deny the mushrooming doubts about his identity as a wolf in his previous life.