Eerie, awkward silence. There was no other way to describe the atmosphere in the room once Aidan finished talking. He looked first to his brother, who didn't seem bothered by the revelations. Gavin had the advantage of knowing of his possible vampiric soul from their earlier conversation at the cafe shortly before their run in with the vampires but all in all, him being vampire royalty didn't make a difference to the older Summers. His brother gave him a huge grin and a nod, sending relief washing through Aidan's system.

He turned his gaze to the other four wolves, and felt his rising spirits hit a plateau. Andy sat with his fists in his lap, the muscles of his arms bulging. 'Oh boy.' Aidan felt his throat run dry. Beside the furious wolf, Charlie was staring dumbly at Aidan, while Brandon had deep frown lines etched on his forehead. Tyler had his head bowed low, obscuring his features.

When Andy's leg muscles began twitching, Aidan knew he had to try and diffuse the situation. The words tumbled out of his mouth as he rushed out, "Before any of you say or do anything, I would like to make it clear that I want nothing more than for peace to return to the supernatural realm. I wished for it then, and it is still my goal now. Just give me a chance."

Brandon was the first to speak up, "What you're saying is that you're the vampire king reborn, and that you want to stop the vampires who've usurped your sister's power from attacking wolves and witches. Not only that, you want the three supernatural races to sign a peace treaty. And to do that you need our help to get things done."

Aidan humbly corrected, "I'm technically the vampire prince reborn, but yeah, what you said."

"Are you sure you're vampire royalty? I mean, look at you," Charlie doubtfully asked while gesturing at the human, who glanced down at himself. Aidan was dressed in a hoodie two sizes too large and baggy sweatpants that were bunched at the ankles. Without a doubt, his outfit was beyond unflattering, but they were the only men's clothes Samaira had managed to dig out of the depths of her closet.

Aidan's narrowed blue eyes settled back on Charlie. "Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome," the werewolf cheekily replied in a sing-song voice. Beside him, Andy finally loosened his fists, gripping his knees instead. He looked at Aidan for a split second before turning away. "Okay. If it's peace you're truly after, I'll help. But one false move and I won't hesitate to end you, even if you're Gavin's brother."

"Relax. You're making a fuss over nothing," Gavin spoke up for Aidan, an easy-going smile on his face, "my brother won't betray you."

Aidan bobbed his head in earnest.

Tyler had remained unmoving as the others spoke, but now he straightened in his seat with a murderous look on his face. His voice shook in never before heard fury as he said, "So the attack on werewolf headquarters was all because of you?"

The colour drained from Aidan's face as he looked at the tall werewolf. The attack at Hiraeth Castle had indeed been targeted at Aidan, he just hadn't a clue back then. A chill ran down his spine looking at the gentle giant's features, currently twisted into an unfamiliar and fearsome mask of anger. Aidan began to apologise, "Tyler, I'm sorry. I didn't know—"

Tyler lashed out, voice booming, "BUT YOU DID KNOW!! Deep down you knew something was up when Lannetta Bloodreign told you that she knew you!"

"I swear, it never occurred to me..." Aidan was flustered, "The entire supernatural thing was thrown in my lap and I never thought things could go so wrong. I had no idea about the history and the wars—"

"And what about when I taught you our history, huh?! What about then? Something must have clicked! You could have come clean at any time!"

Aidan faltered, "I..."

"Your silence had consequences. All those lives lost that night are on you." Seething in anger, Tyler stood up and strode out. Everyone jumped in their seats when the front door slammed shut, rattling the entire house structure. Samaira winced before striding off to check the door for damage. Aidan sat rigidly in his seat, eyes wide and face whiter than a snowy sheet. A worried Emilia stood to approach but Gavin beat her to it, pulling Aidan up from his seat and asking Emilia to point him in the direction of the backyard.

The night air was cool and carried with it a mild dewiness that settled lightly on Aidan's skin. He stood gazing at the night sky in hopes of a glimpse of stars, although nothing could be seen with all the light pollution the city produced. Beside him, Gavin fidgeted about, running his hand over the day-old stubble on his chin as he tried to think of what to say to ease his brother's heart.

"Listen Aidan, about what Tyler said, there was no way you could have known what would happen."

"Yeah, I know."

"Seriously, it was impossible for you to kn- wait, what?" Gavin was shocked at Aidan's unexpected words of agreement.

Aidan had a faraway look as he said, "At that point in time, ignorant as I was, there was no way I could have understood the danger I posed to everyone, even to you. Does it lessen my guilt? Not in the least. But I will move on, because that's the only thing I can do to change the future. If I am to be a good leader, I can't let myself wallow in self-pity."

Gavin stared at Aidan for a long while, digesting the overnight changes in his brother. The Aidan of old would have fallen apart, but the man before him knew how to deal with emotional turmoil with far greater efficiency. It would have never even occurred to the old Aidan to take on the role of a leader, at least not without reluctance, and yet here he was, talking about it openly. "Yeah. You're right," Gavin finally said.

The brothers headed back to the living room, where the others still sat waiting. An uneasy quiet settled over the group, broken only when Brandon spoke up, "You want our help, and you've got it. But what's your plan?"

"I need to meet Lannetta Bloodreign and find out who runs the show now that she's been ousted. After that, we'll need to brainstorm ways to regain her rightful place as the heir to the Bloodreign throne. Only then can Lannetta call a truce and hopefully we'll get a peace treaty of some sort signed."

The werewolf nodded thoughtfully, "And you know where to find her?"

Emilia spoke up, "I've been in contact with her. She's back in America, so we'll need to make travel preparations."

At Emilia's reply, Charlie groaned in exaggerated suffering, a hand rubbing his forehead. "But we just got here! I haven't even had time to process my jetlag!"

Andy stood up and stretched his tired arms as he unsympathetically replied, "Isn't that a good thing? You'll be back home before your body realises it left in the first place."

The group planned their trip well into the night. Emilia began by cooking up an excuse to her father, telling him she intended to follow some leads on a case she was working on before chartering a private jet using Committee funding. The group left Samaira's place and went their separate ways, the witches heading to Emilia's place and the wolves and Aidan returning to the clan mansion, with the intention of meeting up at the private airfield in the outskirts of the city in a few hours. Aidan and Emilia were anxious to part, clinging to each other and desperately kissing while the others displayed varying looks of exasperation and comic disbelief.

As Andy drove them, Gavin was busy texting on his phone. The reason why became clear as they reached the mansion. A petite figure stood near the gate, beside a very tall man. Aidan blinked in surprise as the car door opened and in hopped his best friend Hailey, carrying three backpacks with her. "I took the bare essentials, like you asked," she said to Gavin.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Initially shocked, Aidan was starting to feel his anger rise. "This isn't a holiday trip! Hailey shouldn't be here!"

"She's safer with us than in the hands of the clans," Andy said, looking back at Aidan through the rearview mirror.

"We're going to vampire territory! It's the last place she should be, considering that she'd make quite a tasty snack!"

Andy squinted at the agitated human's reflection, "Look, when news spreads of your secret identity, which will eventually happen, what do you think will happen to Hailey if she's in the hands of the clans?"

Aidan was rendered silent for a moment.

"Shit!" He ran his hands through honey-blond hair, messing it up. If the clans found out the truth, Hailey would end up imprisoned by Chieftain Emerie, or worse. An innocent bystander caught in the crossfire, deemed guilty by association.

Hailey reached over to pat her friend on the back. "You're stuck with me, Oh Royal One," she chirped. Obviously, Gavin hadn't let a second tick by before spilling the beans to his new favourite person. Aidan glared at his brother, who gave an apologetic grin.

Just then, Tyler's massive frame bent until he was able to look at Aidan through the open door. The wolf no longer had a furious look on his face, but neither was it pleasant. The two men stared at each other as the undercurrent in the vehicle turned tense. Unsure of what else to do, Aidan was on the verge of breaking the silence with another pitiful apology when Tyler spoke first. "Aidan Summers, this peace deal of yours. Make it happen."

The unexpected words had the air gushing out of Aidan's lungs, leaving him momentarily breathless. He forced a deep intake of air. "I will, or die trying. Again."