Recuperating the loss from losing one thing that motivated the Nosferatu to move; irked the youngest male Hearne.

"We had him, Mikael! That damned woman was too..." he can't even describe how bizarre the outcome was. She chose to stab herself in the most delicate of places. "We can still recapture her. We found her the last time, and we will do so again," the older Hearne replied, feeling quite agitated.

"We found her because she was human and your wife frequented at the bookshop. With the damage she took, who's to say she didn't get turned?"

Silence befell the brothers as they contemplated their next move. Nosferatu wasn't wrong when he described their vengeance as their downfall. He was even more on point when he pointed out that he wasn't their parent's killer. Both knew it was the truth. It was his friend, Caius, that killed their parents. The messed up part-the vampire attacked their parents in a drunk stupor over the Emery estate.

Caius needed help maintaining the mansion and employed hunters to protect it. How does that make any sense?

The Hearnes were a mix of witches and hunters making their services of physical protection from intruders and magical concealment a profitable business.

However, in a moment of weakness, their parents didn't account for drunkness correlating to a lack of self-control in a vampire. How do immortals even get drunk after drinking six cans of beer? Can they even get drunk?

"It was a mistake taking and maiming Nosferatu's bride. She's turned by now. You forget that we are supposed to protect humans from such circumstances and not cause them, Henry." Mikael rubbed a hand across his face in exasperation. They only took her as leverage to get information on Caius, but low and behold, Nosferatu seemed to be searching for the bastard too and they just had to get an innocent involved.

Their lead was gone. Henry glared at his elder brother. "You can't seriously pin this on me."

"Who tortured her even after Lilac and myself warned them not to?" Henry bit the inside of his cheek in annoyance. He didn't know what came over him during the weeks they had the woman in captivity. The persistence and strength behind her eyes prompted a carnal desire to see her reaction to his violence.

"You saw her. You knew her effect on me. How can a human think to protect a vampire?"

"Because the immortal protected her at her lowest, a factor you seem to always forget." Mikael was exhausted having to deal with a revenge hungry sibling. All he wanted was justice for their parents, maybe even live in peace with his wife away from this life. Yet, it seemingly turned into a declaration of war against the Nosferatu, a hunting season for both species.

Three loud knocks broke Mikael from his train of thought. The siblings eyed each other and grabbed the nearest weapon they can wield. The older had a pan while the younger spun his hunting knife on his index.

'Really?' Henry mouthed, amused that his brother took the pan instead of the butcher knife on the counter. The new hideout was located in a remote area by the slums, far from any prying eyes which means this was an attack or courtesy call.

Mikael neared the door and peeked through the eyehole to barely avoid claws reaching for his neck. He hissed swatting it with the pan.

"Ow! Hey, I thought it'd be funny to at least frighten one of you. I'm new to these stuff." The voice of Nosferatu's bride confused the older hunter. He reached for the knob and twisted, opening the door to reveal the grey-headed female they recently tortured and Nosferatu himself, checking on her injured hand.

"Frey, can we please make this quick? I can't believe you convinced me to get dragged here too. Look at this place, it's a dirty shithole. I'd rather go home." A familiar blonde immortal hissed beside the female.

"Everette Malfoy."

All three looked at the eldest Hearne. "I see you still remember me. How's that brother of yours? Still kickin'?"

"Fuck off," growled the youngest Hearne.

What the fuck was happening? Three vampires at the doorstep of famous hunters in the middle of the night. What a turn of events!

"Freya, explain our purpose here so we may go home. I do share sentiments with Malfoy for this one." The female pouted and turned her attention back to her former assilants. "I heard you're looking for a certain vampire named Caius?"

Mikael stiffed as he gripped the pan tighter, feeling rage upon hearing its name. "What of him?"

"Can we come in? It's better to talk while sitting down, you know? Also, how's Lilac? You didn't harm her did you?"

"What is taking so lo-" Henry stopped in his tracks. His heart rate rose seeing the martyr either due to fear or adrenaline. The three vampires smelt attraction, fear, and curiosity fill the air. Ambrose growled at Henry as Everette shieled Freya behind his tall frame.

"Ah, still alive then, boy?" Everette taunted, baring his fangs.

The Hearnes were responsible for the death of Everette's last coven over three decades ago. He was a coward then, hence why he chose to lay low and run a coffeeshop. Their parents killed the coven upon orders of the High Guild of Hunters. No matter the dispostition, a group of vampires, a coven, will always be seen as a threat.

But for Everette, his beef with Henry Hearne runs deeper. He had killed the immortal's precious daughter, only a year old. A child saved from the abuse of her fomer family and as she was thoroughly enjoying her new life, they burned her alive to never allow her to revive.

"Enough. Look, I'm not as patient as I once was, can you guys invite us in and let us discuss our proposition?" Freya seethed as the only female Hearne joined them.

"Mika, what's going on?" Lilac sauntered into the room. Sensing the tension, she slowly turned towards the door. "Hey, Lilac. Can we come in?" The witch was baffled at what to do.

Lilac's purplr orbs travelled between her husband, brother-in-law, and the immortals by the door. Gulping, "State your business or I'll be forced to make you leave."

Freya grinned, peeking behind Everette's shoulder. "Well, a little birdy told me about your beef with Caius. And we have our own beef with him too." The female vampire's eyes glowed, a sign of highthened bloodlust, "He's currently being protected by the Lupins, a famous ruthless, mercenary pack I'm sure you've heard of them. And we need your expertise to penetrate their defenses."

The Hearnes processed the information. Ambrose spoke this time, "He stole my Nosferatu insignia that grants me immunity from all courts. I need it to protect aella," Everette scoffed at the pet name earning him a smack on the shoulder from Freya. Ambrose eyed the siblings. His eyes landed on Henry and his eyes glowed. Freya reached for his hand to curb his bloodlust.

"Without it, she gets burned at the steak by the end of this month. Avoiding that is my priority and I intend to invoke contrapasso on Caius."

Everyone but Freya knew what that meant. In the human and supernatural institutions, invoking Contrapasso was one of the actions that wasn't restricted by law. You play, you pay. The offender forfeits their life and has to pay 10 fold the agreement.

"The choice is yours. You can have revenge on the being that wrecked your family while getting the bounty on Lupin's head. And we get to protect our own. It's a win-win situation."

Everette sweetened their proposition by throwing a roll of parchment paper through the door. Lilac picked it up and walked back to Mikael, unrolling it. The paper depicted Cillian Lupin's head amounting to 1.5B in any currency. Emblems of all supernatural courts and human guilds was the background of the bounty meaning that they all agreed on the extermination of one Cillian Lupin for extortion, mutilation, rape, human trafficing...

"Let's say we get to Caius and we've dealt with the horrendous pack. What's next? We go back to being enemies, hunting each other?" Mikael was skeptic of the offer despite the autheticity.

"We're also proposing a temporary truce. We won't come after you if you don't come after us." Mikael frowned at the term.

"Temporary truce?"

"It's temporary only if any of us decides to attack the other. If no such action happens, the truce stands," Ambrose explained, letting Freya squirm out to grin at the Hearnes.

"Like Ever said, it's a win-win. I'd also rather not create more enemies than we already have. We need allies, despite who strong these two are. Pretty sure you'll need our help too, sooner or later."

The eldest Hearne eyed the newly turned immortal and glaced at his wife and younger sibling who both gave him a curt nod.

"Truce accepted. What's the plan?" Freya pouted once again lifting her hand, touching the invisible barrier of the door. "Can you at least let us come in so we can discuss better? It's the first sign of trust we can share."

Before Henry can spout an insult, "You may come in," Lilac mumbled standing lacing her fingers with Mikael's in an attempt to calm both their nerves. Again, the new immortal smiled and stepped in, followed by the older ones.

Freya walked towards the dusty, collapsed sofa and plopped herself on it causing dust to dispearse. Everyone coughed as Noseferatu narrowed his eyes at her, scolding her. The female sat up and offered everyone an apologetic smile.

Everette said their proposition. "As we were saying, Caius is in the wolf's den. To easily infultrate them, we propose that you capture the old man here with the addition of myself and his rumored bride over there. We've each got high bounties on our head which may attract Cillian to agree to an exchange."

Mikael absorbed the information shared. He glanced at Lilac who shot him a knowing look. "A ruse to exchange you for Caius?"

Henry was the one that connected the dots for them. "You keep Lupin and his forces at bay while we nab Caius and search for your Insignia?"

Ambrose smirked. "Yes. We'd be divided into two groups, destruction and search and capture. We propose that Malfoy, myself, and your witch would be destruction while Freya, accompanied by you Hearne siblings are search and capture."

"You are taking my wife with you to the front lines. How sure am I that you won't let any harm befall her?"

"You'll accompany our precious friend, who's to say you don't try and kill her again?" Everette's orbs glowed as his glare intensified.

The air thinned as Lilac commaned, "Stop." The authority in her voice caused the vampires to steel themselves. Mikael squeezed his wife's hand reassuringly, and coaxed her to calm down with every caress of his thumb.

"And that's exactly why she'll be in team destruction," Freya murmured, unfazed by the thick atmosphere of hostility. "She's powerful and I can only wish to reach her level of magic." The Hearnes frowned at Freya's remark.

"What do you mean 'reach her level of magic'? Vampires don't have magic potential," Henry pointed out. "Yes well, Eibhlin saw otherwise."

The witch's name seemed to ease Lilac's anger and the tension in the room released. "You know Eibhlin?" Her voice filled with sorrow and astonishment.

"Yep, you know her?" Freya smiled at Lilac. "She was my mentor before she died...how is she?" Mikael wrapped his arm around his wife, pecking her cheek to try and ease her sadness.

"She's found a new conduit...topic of her and magic aside, do we have a truce?" Ambrose extended a hand towards Mikael. He eyed it suspisciously before shaking it.

"Great, now can we leave? I want to wash the grime and stentch of this place off me," Everette complained heading out the door.

The heads of each side let go. Nosferatu started to follow the other immortal. Freya frowned and stood up, pulling on his coat's sleeve. The older immortal sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'd like to offer my home as a temporary shelter for tonight. You may use our facilities to freshen up and sleep in comfort before preparing for our plan."

Whipped.

The one word all three Hearnes thought at that exact moment. Mikael glanced at his wife and sibling again to confirm their decision. They nodded, "That would be great. We'd be out of your hair by the crack of dawn. Wouldn't want suspicion to rise against us."

"Wonderful, this is our location. Burn it with magic after getting the information," Ambrose handed them a piece of blank paper and led himself and Freya out the door before dashing away.

Lilac hovered her hand on the paper and the location appeared.