Acting clan chief Cedric stared unseeing out the window of his plush office in one of the floors of the skyscraper with the best views of the city. Normally, he enjoyed the feeling that came with looking down upon the endless flow of humans trudging along on their day to day activities, nothing more than tiny specs on the ground far below who were completely oblivious of how fragile and meaningless their short lives were.

Today, however, nothing seemed capable of lifting the elder werewolf's mood above chronic malevolence. He. Was. Angry. Try as he might, the fiery rage that came with being betrayed by one of his own was not something that could be snuffed out like a candle on a birthday cake. Cedric's nostrils flared at the mere thought, making him want to turn around and smash everything within a ten foot radius to smithereens.

But he was an elder with a reputation to uphold, and elders did not go on rampages. Cedric adjusted his tie before checking his cufflinks. Such violent behaviour was unbecoming of one of his stature. Thus, he could do nothing else but to endure. At least, not until he got his hands on those pathetic rogue wolves. It wouldn't be long now. After all, he had every available member of the White Oak Clan's elite force in Vegas doing their job.

'Soon,' he thought. Soon he would show them and anyone else who dared to go against him what it truly meant to face the wrath of Cedric Livingstone.

*****

"Oh, how I love technology," Orsan drawled as he watched the live view of Clan Chief Cedric's wolves tracking down Lannetta and her group from the eyes of a drone. "It's the only thing I'll give humans credit for." He was seated in his office where a series of monitors were set up along one entire wall. The biggest of them all was displaying a birds eye view of a convoy of vehicles travelling through a noticeably quiet street with no one else around, being so late at night.

Standing beside him, his right hand man nodded enthusiastically, very much gleeful at how successful the plan had worked out. The duke smiled sardonically while keeping his eyes glued to the large screen before him. If the wolves don't screw up, soon Lannetta and Mathias Bloodreign and their entire entourage will be dead, and he will finally be able to unite the vampires against the other supernaturals.

The duke's gaze never left the screen as he muttered out loud, "So don't screw up, you bloody dogs."

*****

The first thing that struck Aidan as he emerged back from the past was how bright the lighting in the basement was, compared to candle light. For a moment, it felt jarring to be back in a place with modern amenities after spending what felt like a lifetime buried in thousand-year-old memories.

Aidan looked around to find Hailey half-collapsed on the floor, Gavin's crouched body beside her the only support keeping her upright. Not far from the couple, both Charlie and Byron sat with elbows resting on their knees, looking like they were seconds from throwing up. Andy and Brandon were still standing, although they too, looked rather green-faced. Lannetta, Maxim and Flint were looking about rather disorientedly, trying to blink away the discomfort. Emilia and Samaira were the only ones to have weathered the memories fairly well, but their mood was far from jovial.

Aidan could understand why. The big reveal was finally over and it didn't disappoint. Aidan subconsciously rubbed a hand over his chest while thinking, 'Holey macaroni!' He was running high on anxiety while asking the first thing that popped into his head, "Are curses reversible?"

Looking like he'd run a marathon, John shakily moved towards the nearest chair, sitting on it with a loud huff. Replaying multiple memories to such a large group was an energy-sapping feat. Exhausted from his hard work, he mutedly answered, "I can't say for sure since I haven't found any memories of anyone cancelling a curse once it was done. Theoretically, I'd say yes, although the only one who can reverse it is probably the one who placed the curse in the first place."

Off to one side, another conversation was concurrently taking place. "Well, well, well. I think you owe me an apology, Emi." Lannetta began ticking off prior accusations on her fingers, "For calling my ancestor a victim-blaming scumbag who wanted power and prestige, bringing misfortune on himself and the entire vampire race, and being the instigator of a thousand-year war."

Fiery emotion burning in her eyes, she spat, "Not to mention, blaming the deaths at Onirique on vampires when you witches brought it upon yourselves! Hah!"

Emilia vehemently refused to apologise, "If Lucius Bloodreign hadn't cheated on her, this wouldn't have happened in the first place. And he did cheat on her by marrying someone else and keeping it a secret. Not sleeping with his wife doesn't count for anything!"

Lanetta's temper looked about a hair's breadth away from snapping. It was a good thing Aidan noticed the growing tension in the air and rushed over to placate both women before a shouting match could ensue. Personally, he felt that both sides had wronged the other, but the repercussions of Nina Forst's actions were far more devastating than anything Lucius Bloodreign had ever done.

Charlie, still seated on the floor, side-eyed John and muttered, "When you said it was like a Shakespearean tragedy, you failed to mention that Juliet kinda sorta stabbed Romeo in the back."

"I think I've found my most hated person in the universe," Seated beside Charlie, Byron's face was scrunched up in anger.

John didn't see it that way, "I think you're being too harsh on poor-old Nina. My opinion might not be a popular one, but I really think she had no clue just how powerful a curse could be. You know she had nothing but regret at the end of it all."

Flint angrily spat a mocking reply, "Yeah, boo hoo for her. Poor little witch, all upset and remorseful because half the population of Tilrigen died in agony thanks to her. Hah!"

Byron chimed in, "She can kiss my sun-sensitive ass if she thinks she'll get any sympathy from me. She needs to die."

"We don't even know if she's still alive," Maxim said somberly, "but you'd better hope she is."

John's focus narrowed on Maxim as the spymaster's instincts automatically kicked in and he began deciphering the vampire's words. His expression went from curious uncertainty to understanding before settling on disbelief, "Don't tell me..."

Maxim confirmed his speculation, "We need her to reverse the curse of the sun. It's the least she can do after the mess she's made."

This time, John huffed in exasperation. "That's going to be difficult since Nina Forst has been missing for a thousand years. I have spent years trying to trace her whereabouts but nothing. Zilch. Not even a whisper of her existence. Most witches believe she's dead. Killed in the aftermath of one war or another."

Meanwhile, Samaira was thoughtful, asking John, "What happened to Frida and her family?"

The redhead gave a dramatic sigh, "I'm afraid it wasn't a happily ever after story for the Camrans." His words caught everyone's attention, even drawing Lannetta and Emilia out of their silent catfight. After having lived through their memories, it was only natural for everyone to want to know what fate they'd met.

"They were caught in the middle of a nasty battle in the forest. It was an ambush, and Frida didn't have time to use her powers to save Merida and Fergus. The only one to make it out was Kella, Frida's daughter."

Sadness washed over Aidan, the others in the group equally affected. The Camrans were only trying to live a quiet, peaceful life which was something Aidan could relate to with all his heart. What made it even sadder was the fact that their tragic end was not unique, as is the case with any sort of war. Thousands of families just like theirs had perished. It was why he strived so badly for peace, back then and now.

John looked at their downcast faces before continuing, "Kella had a daughter named Delphine, who also had a Dark Talent, the ability to manipulate human memories. It was she who wiped out the memories of the humans after the end of the Portal Wars. Of course, she had to make it seem like a plague was the reason half the human population was wiped out in the process."

Hailey and Aidan stared in open-mouthed horror at John before sharing wide-eyed looks of understanding. If Robert Wallace and those behind him knew this, then it would explain their fear and hatred of supernaturals. And even now, knowing the truth, Aidan wasn't sure how to feel about the whole thing either.

Unperturbed by the last part of John's story, Maxim asked the witch, "Where is Delphine now? We could use her help getting the humans off our backs once more."

John could only give a sad shake of the head, eyes gently misting over as he answered, "My mother's been gone for nearly two centuries now. I'm afraid ill health runs in our family, sometimes cutting our lifespans short."

"My deepest condolences, John," Maxim said awkwardly, regretting the question.

Silence fell as everyone withdrew to their own thoughts, until Hailey suddenly asked, "So now what?"

Lannetta, Gavin and Emilia turned their gazes almost in unison to Aidan.

Truth be told, Aidan wondered the same. What were they supposed to do now that their desperate attempt at winning over the vampires had hit a massive, no, colossal wall? "I don't know," he admitted.

Right after he'd uttered those words, Aidan realised he'd made a mistake. John had on an intense look, likely scrutinising everything he'd said and done from all angles. Once again, the spymaster's sharp intuition had kicked in. "You're more than just the human brother of Gavin Summers, aren't you?"

John had a twinkle of excitement in his eyes as he abruptly moved to stand uncomfortably close to Aidan. "Everyone looks to you for answers," John's eyes darted momentarily to Lannetta, "including the queen of the vampires." His eyes refocused on Aidan, "You, my dear fellow, are a mystery to be solved, a hidden gem waiting to be unearthed, a well-kept secret."

John acted like a cat about to pounce on its prey, leaning in closer and forcing Aidan to bend backwards, "And I hate not knowing the secrets others keep."

"Uh, you're kinda creeping me out," Aidan replied evasively. Just then, an alarm sounded somewhere above them, forcing the redhead to switch his attention as he strode over to a nearby monitor. Aidan visibly sighed in relief. 'Salty edamame! Talk about being saved by the bell!'

His relief was short-lived when John said, "Looks like Cedric Livingstone's lap dogs have shown up to the party unannounced." Aidan hurried over to have a look, with the others crowding around John anxiously. It was dark out, and at first, Aidan saw nothing, but then a flicker of movement down the road caught his eye.

At least two dozen wolves were advancing down the block, not even bothering to hide among the surrounding shadows since at this time of night no human would be out and about in this particular part of the town. John furiously typed on the keyboard, and a second later reinforced shutters began sealing off the entire building and turning it into a metal fortress.

"We'll need to use the secret tunnel system to escape while my people engage the wolves." John didn't seem perturbed by the advancing enemy. He tapped on the monitor and the screen split to show three exit points. One led to an alleyway, the other faced the desert and the last seemed to lead to some sort of storage facility.

All three had a very glaring problem.

"What the... how in the world did the wolves find all three of our exits?!" John said aghast, his calm composure instantly ruffled. Within view of each exit were multiple humvees, headlights on high and their doors opened wide to shield those who stood behind them.

"Those aren't wolves," Aidan breathed, "they're humans, with guns."