Kayne and I were relaxing on the couch waiting for Jazlyn to show up. My legs were across his lap and my head was tilted back on the armrest to study the ceiling absently. My oh so pleasant little encounter with him had been cut short as my phone went off. Groaning as we pulled apart, I reluctantly answered. I'd inwardly been cursing Jaz but after we heard what she had to say Kayne had quickly phased us back here.

After the way the meeting with the council had gone I'd only been more curious as to who the hell it was that had everyone on edge. We all had done our individual research; trying to piece things together. I had spent a lot of time in Madina's library, flipping through old books that relayed the history of this dimension but to no avail. All those hours in there and I had only come across vague hints as to who he was. Kayne had access to the vampires' castle and had been poking around there. However anything on the subject there was either nonexistent or hidden. I would bet on the latter.

Jazlyn apparently had more luck. At first she would go down to ask around Fairhaven; her strategy was normally to get the guy drunk enough to admit or say anything. She brought back tons of stories that had us cracking up on the floor. Funny as it was, the strategy itself was failing miserably. We'd decided to go out on a limb and trust Riley, the werewolf Jaz had met at the bar. They were going out now, much to Madina's dissatisfaction, and Riley had promised to ask around and look through the archives. Apparently, he had been successful.

Meanwhile, to pass the time as we waited for Jazlyn, we were now continuing where we left off at the clearing. His velvet soft lips were making my head spin and I ignored the jingle of keys as Jaz walked in.

"Woah! No no no no no. There will be absolutely no PDAs in front of me ok?" Jazlyn said with a reprimanding tone that sounded suspiciously like Madina. Kayne and I burst out laughing suddenly and she formed a face that was nearly a replica of her mother's.

"What so funny?" she demanded, outraged. I was doubled over laughing with tears nearly coming out of my eyes but I managed to respond.

"You...you should have...should have heard yourself..." I giggled. "You sounded...and look...like Madina!" I gasped. Kayne had gotten a hold on himself and sent an amused glance in her direction.

"Not how you talk obviously. The thought of Madina attempting to speak like a teenager has me horrified. But I think her influence is rubbing off on you," he teased. Jazlyn looked horrified.

"Ok ok! I take it back! Do whatever you want! I don't care!" she said desperately and I fought back another urge to giggle. Kayne raised a questioning eyebrow. It simply screamed that the next thing he said would require a smack from me.

"Anything we want?" he asked suggestively. With an unladylike snort that I'm ashamed of, and a muttered 'in your dreams', I hit him on the arm. I might like the guy but I wasn't about to have sex with him the day we got together. If I hadn't known he was joking I would have knocked him into next week. Kayne always said things like that though so I payed it no mind.

"Chill Jaz, we're just messing with you," I reassured her. She stuck her tongue out at me but then looked between us and wiggled her eyebrows. Now that had me choking back laughter and Kayne bit his lip, holding back another inappropriate comment. He shook his head and he was distracted as he looked over to the doorway where Riley was coming in. Jazlyn smiled triumphantly at me and winked. I smiled mischievously back and she responded with a look that said she would torture me later unless she got details.

Jaz sank down into the chair across from us and Riley sat down in the other one with a friendly 'hey'. He was tan with shaggy brown-blond hair and forest green eyes. Riley was charismatic and sweet and everyone liked him. I doubt there was a person on earth who wouldn't like Riley. His easy-going nature made it hard for even Madina to disapprove, despite her prejudice against other supernaturals. He was a perfect match for Jazlyn. When he saw me leaning against Kayne he gave a little knowing smile but didn't say anything.

I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees and my chin on my hands. "So let's hear it," I suggested. Better to get the bad news done and over with. Riley's eyes turned somber.

"All right...but you're not going to like this," he warned. "His name is Alastair. He's one of the original Shape-shifters. The first Shape-Shifter actually. He hasn't been seen here in so long that no one except for the council remember what his second form even is."

"Geez the dude's ancient. And actually...so is my mom..." Jaz muttered.

We ignored her and Riley continued. "Alastair was also the first king of the Shifters. He created order out of the chaos that was forged as the different shifter tribes fought; he was hailed as a hero. He established the uneasy alliance between all the supernaturals and formed the council. For centuries everything was great...then the woman he loved was killed by a rogue vampire."

Kayne's eyes darkened in thought. That meant that Alastair might target the vampires more than others.

"So he went around the bend?" Jaz guessed.

"Yeah. Pretty much. Alastair was out of his mind with grief at first, but then he seemed to regain control. Everyone assumed he had come to accept it; they were sympathetic and kind. No one really knew the truth. For centuries he continued to lead the Shifters and helped bridge the gap between our races. In the meantime, there were...disappearances. Supernaturals missing without a trace. Alastair promised to put all his best people on the case and everyone was satisfied that he would find the culprit."

"It was him wasn't it," I whispered. On the news you hear about all these serial killers who seem like friendly people. Their neighbors never suspect a thing and are horrified when they finally discover the truth. Or there's the scenario where the "nice man" offers the little girl candy to get in his van. One of life's most horrible, and unfortunately true, cliches.

Riley nodded. "Alastair had gone dark side. He was completely psychotic. He communed with demons in the dark; Held gruesome sacrifices in order to summon ones like Barbas, Dante, and Rakdos. They were, and still are, some of the worst of their kind; now they're his generals."

"But, a shapeshifter wouldn't survive in the demon dimension. Even if the demons permitted him to remain there and not rip him to shreds, which is highly unlikely by the way, his essence would slowly dissolve. No one survives there for very long," Kayne supplied. Riley held up his index finger, telling Kayne to be patient.

"I'm getting there. So the demons whispered to him constantly. They promised him power and complete control over the rest of the supernaturals. And they promised the power to bring his wife back. He held rituals; all sorts of dark, nasty blood sacrifices and became some new creature. Not all demon...but not all shapeshifter. He became more demented as the demon blood took control. On the outside he was cool and collected but on the inside he was murderous and insane."

"God. no wonder Zane doesn't want to believe that Alastair's back. He used to be one of them," I concluded, horrified. It must give Zane a horrible reputation too. Although he's innocent the suspicion must hang over him like a giant cloud. Riley made to speak again and we all gazed at him intently. The story was tragic but it held a sense of rapture in its twisted plot.

"Well it get's better. Apparently he got even more powerful than the three demons. He performed acts that even they wouldn't consider and became impossibly ruthless. Alastair planned an all out attack with a demon army to take over. He needed the blood of very powerful supernaturals to bring Kaida, that was his wife, back. To him the council was the obvious choice. It didn't matter to him that they had once been friends because he was consumed with the drive to resurrect her. Barbas, Dante, and Rakdos were made his generals; they were too terrified and admired him too much to refuse. Besides, demons love power and being next to Alastair was the most powerful they would be able to get," Riley explained.

"Obviously they didn't succeed with their plan," Kayne concluded.

Riley shook his head. "It was close. Vannier discovered his plan before it could be put into action. The supernaturals were horrified. They had all loved and trusted Alastair. The idea that he had sank to this was beyond belief. It took all of the leaders to kill him; They nearly died in the process. However the demon blood had seeped so far into him that it rescued him from death and corrupted his entire being. He was turned into a full demon, the most powerful the worlds have ever known, but retained the ability to shift."

I gave a low whistle. "Damn, I see why they're worried...this guy cannot get out."

"So what happened after that?" Jaz encouraged.

"The council managed to drive him through the demon portal and sealed it together so that Alastair could never get out. You know that the less powerful demons slip out sometimes. Their power isn't enough to trigger the wards so we have to hunt them down individually if they get past the guards. But there was never any chance that Alastair could get out."

"Until now," I guessed. "The wards are weakening and the council doesn't know how to fix them. It was a one time thing. Plus as much as they don't want to admit it...it was probably Alastair that kept them all together. Now they don't want to trust one another because they're afraid it will happen again."

Kayne looked thoughtful. "Now he has a plan; a way to get out of the demon dimension. He's had enough time to think up an escape. Once he gets out he'll want his revenge. He's going to try again to take over and then he'll kill the council to raise Kaida."

"That's kind of romantic...you now...in a sick, twisted way..." Jaz conceded.

We all glanced her way and she quailed under our identical looks of exasperation. Then there was a moment of silence as everything sunk in.

"Hell, we're screwed."

A/N: right so I finally got around to giving you guys an explanation. I hope it answered your questions!

I already have the next 2 chapters written so if I get 10 reviews I'll post one immediately

Tell me what you think of Alastair's story :)