Vargas' head was aching from getting smashed into a wall, Selene really had done a number on him. Michael and Connar would only make a fuss, making sure Varga didn't say anything.

Varga's first stop was his own chambers for some much needed blood. He wanted nothing more than to stay there to sleep but unfortunately there was work to be done. He drained two bags before he went on his way to the training area. The training area was still under lockdown as he had ordered the guards.

The attention of the recruits was immediately focused on Varga the moment he walked in. They gathered around and stood at attention without being ordered. Despite the situation, Varga was proud of his recruits.

'The coven is currently under lockdown.' Varga announced. 'During a mission, Elder Selene and Lord Michael have been attacked by humans. Our Elder was stabbed during the fight with what turned out to be a poisoned knife. After expelling the bullets, Elder Selene collapsed and Lord Michael had to perform emergency surgery on her in a safe house. She is currently in the infirmary fighting for her life and the medics do not know if she will make it.'

Varga had been walking through the room while he was speaking. After that final sentence, he knew for sure who knew more about what the humans were up to.

'The reason I am telling you the details is because this is what our training is all about. This is why you are pushed beyond your limits. Be the best of the best and you might have a shot at protecting our Elders in battle.' Varga continued.

Varga moved back to the front of the group and scanned their faces for their reactions. Most of them looked shocked, a few determined and the one Varga had his eyes on was different. He expected to see a smirk or some sort of smugness, but instead he saw fear and guilt written on her face.

'As the coven is under lockdown, do not speak of what you heard today and go directly to your chambers. Tomorrow you will come here and wait for further instructions. Dismissed.'

Varga walked up to the recruit whose heart had been pounding during his speech. 'A word in my office.'

Jo snapped to attention, nodded and went into his office. Varga was about to follow when one of the guards approached him.

'What is going on?' Logan asked.

'You heard my words.' Varga replied.

'You don't fool me.' Logan raised his eyebrow. 'What aren't you telling me? Is Selene really in danger?'

'She is, we all are. That's all I am at liberty to say. Please find David for further instructions.' Varga ended the conversation.

By the time he reached his office, the training area had cleared out. Jo snapped to attention the moment he walked in and she tried to look as neutral as possible. He could hear her heart rate go up and her breathing was stuck in her throat.

'Please sit.' Varga said as he walked around the table. 'You know more about what is happening.'

'I… yes.' Jo whispered. 'I do.'

'Start at the beginning.' Varga said with a gentle voice.

Jo was hesitant at first, but she never tried to deny anything. It took her almost an hour to relay the story to Varga, at the end a few silent tears left streaks on her cheeks. Varga rounded the desk to give her some tissues and touched her shoulder in comfort before sitting back down.

'Thank you for telling me.' Varga said. 'Unfortunately, protocol dictates me to incarcerate you. I will have to call on some guards to take you away.'

Jo gasped. A world of worry crossed her eyes before she straightened up and seemed to decide to take whatever was coming for her. Varga admired her strength and knew she would be great one day given the chance.

'You will have to face either the council or the Elders.' Varga continued. 'Answer their questions like you did mine, speak nothing but the truth.'

Varga didn't want to make her feel worse but he had no choice according to protocol. He knew Selene would want to talk to her and fully understand what happened to her. Jo had nothing to fear at all, but she couldn't know that yet. He reached for the phone and asked for Logan. A minute later, Logan appeared.

'You called for me?' Logan said with an official voice.

'Yes. Please escort this recruit to a detention cell.' Varga said, trying not to show any emotion.

As soon as Logan and Jo left the training area, Varga let out a sigh. He put his head in his hands and closed his eyes for a minute. He needed some time to regroup his thoughts. What happened in the infirmary in combination with Jo her story had a draining effect on Varga. Unfortunately, Varga didn't have a lot of time to recover before David walked into the training area.

'How did it go?'

'The plan worked, I found the recruit.' Varga said, looking up from his hands.

Varga told David a short version of Jo her story. 'I was just about to go to the infirmary and update Selene and Michael. Jo is taken to a detention cell for further questioning by Selene.'

'Her story is not one I wish on anyone.' David sighed. 'Let me know how it went and when Selene finished questioning her.'

Varga nodded in response. While David left the training area, Varga walked to the fridge with emergency rations and drained two bags. The blood would temporarily take the edge of his exhaustion in order to update Selene.

The sight in the infirmary had changed since he left. Eve was reading in Michael's office and Michael lay next to Selene. He looked up when Varga entered and signaled for Varga to come over.

'Did it work?' Michael whispered.

'Yes, I found the person responsible, but it's different from what we expected.' Varga replied.

'Where is the recruit now?'

'Protocol stated I needed to incarcerate her as a possible threat to the coven. However, I am confident she is not. Until I have spoken with Selene, I cannot disclose any more information to you, David can update you if you'd like.' Varga said. 'How is she?'

'Asleep and she will be for a couple of hours. Take the other bed.' Michael ordered. 'You look like hell.'

Varga took his advice and was asleep soon after.

He shot up when he felt something on his shoulder. He rolled out of bed and immediately assumed a fighting stance to fend off an attacker. His eyes focused on the person on the other side of the bed.

'Easy.' Logan said with his hands up in surrender.

Varga blinked a few times and straightened up. He looked around the room. All eyes were on him, following his every move. He noticed Selene standing next to the bed, with Michael behind her.

'Are you alright?' Logan asked.

'Yes… Yes, I am fine.' Varga replied. 'What time is it?'

'Just after dawn.' Selene said. 'Michael said you found the recruit responsible.'

'Let him rest before you put him back to work Selene.' Michael warned.

'It's fine. I found the recruit, but her story is not as expected.' Varga answered. 'How are you?'

'Cleared. If you are ready, let's get this over with.' Selene stated.

'Her name is Josephine, Jo for short.' Varga explained on their way to the detention cells. 'She has been at the coven for almost six years and a recruit for a year. She shows great promise.'

'How did she get involved?' Selene asked.

'She will tell her own tale. Just be civil, will you?'

Before Selene could reach for the door, Varga gently put a hand on her arm. He locked eyes with Selene for a few seconds to make sure she saw he was serious.

'Take it easy on her, she is not to blame.' Varga said as he removed his hand.

Selene opened the door and stood in the doorway. From behind Selene, Varga could see fear crossing Jo's face the moment she recognized Selene. She scrambled up, scraping the chair over the floor, and backed into the wall.

Selene sat down on the opposite side of the table without saying a word. Varga felt sorry for Jo but couldn't show it. He closed the door and stood beside it with his arms behind his back. For a few seconds nobody moved or spoke.

'My… my Q-Queen?' Jo whispered. 'I-I thought… Varga said… You are a-alive?'

'We will discuss that later. Please sit.' Selene gestured to the seat Jo just vacated.

Before she moved, Jo looked at Varga. He nodded for her to sit as well. Slowly, Jo moved to the seat and sat down. Varga saw she only sat on the tip of the seat, ready to jump at any time.

'Start with your name.' Selene started the interrogation.

'J-Jo, ma'am. I… I mean Josephine.' Jo stammered. 'Everybody calls me Jo.'

'Josephine, how long have you been with this coven?'

'Six years ma'am.'

Selene continued her basic questioning while Vargas' irritation level rose. Jo was getting more nervous by the second, knowing the more intimidating questions were yet to come. After another empty question, Varga stepped forward.

'My queen, may I suggest moving on to the more important questions? As you know, your time is limited.' Varga tried.

'Very well.' Selene replied. 'Josephine, has Varga informed you on what has happened in the last 24 hours?'

'Yes, ma'am.'

'He tells me you are in some way responsible. Please tell me your side.'

'I… uh… don't know where to start.' Jo hesitated.

'Just tell our Elder what you told me.' Varga said before Selene could open her mouth.

'I was turned by the man I loved, we lived a happy life. We fled the country shortly after the purge started. We heard about the defeat of Marius and the new elders of the Eastern coven.' Jo started quietly. 'We were not ready to join the coven but were aching to come back so we moved back home.

'Although our lives were simple, we were happy until I met an old friend. I recognized him but something was off. My love and I ignored it, glad to see a familiar face. When he invited us to join him and a few others for a get together, we willingly accepted. That's when it all turned south fast.' Jo swallowed.

Jo looked down at her hands, fighting the drowning feeling of her memories. Despite hearing the story for the second time and knowing what was still to come, it wasn't any easier. Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything. He had to be there in an official capacity, which meant he was not allowed to comfort her during the interrogation.

'We entered a small alley and were ambushed.' Jo said, finding the strength to continue and looking Selene in the eye. 'I never saw them coming and they knew we were vampires. The fight was short, if you can even call it a fight. We were taken to holding cells, UV light preventing us from escaping.'

'Were you the only ones?' Selene interrupted.

'No, ma'am. I counted at least ten vampires, including us.' Jo answered.

'Who captured you?'

'I didn't know them. I only know that the people holding us were humans. I even heard one of them brag they had captured lycans as well.'

'Can you tell me what happened after you got captured?' Selene asked.

'I-I…' Jo stammered.

'We will take a small break.' Selene suddenly suggested.

Varga was surprised to see Selene get up and ask the guards to bring some blood. Jo took a few sips, while Varga looked for signs of distress. She let out a sigh, looked up and continued with her story. Varga did notice her distancing herself from her emotions seen during training.

'Starvation was part of keeping us in control. After that the experimentation began. In the beginning they would take us up one at the time, injecting us with something. As the time progressed, we were too weak, and they would come downstairs.' Jo continued. 'I can't tell you how long I was there, but it didn't take long before some of us started dying. My love and I were one of the strongest and lasted the longest.

'After a final round of injections, my world turned black, and I was sure my heart was going to stop. But I wasn't given the chance to die. I was barely conscious when they loaded some of us on a van and drove us to the woods. Out there, they dumped our bodies. The drugs were slowly wearing off and when they went back to get the rest, I rolled toward some bushes and hit underneath them. They dumped the rest on the pile and set them on fire. The last thing I saw was my love's empty eyes.'

'I wasn't able to move for a few hours and was just in time before the sunrise. To this day, I don't know why I choose safety over dying.'

Jo was trembling as she finished her story, tears were streaming down her face and Varga couldn't bear to stay put. He walked toward the table and put a hand on her shoulder to comfort. She hadn't told him the last part of her story when they had spoken earlier.

'Your coven was the only place I knew to go and be safe.' Jo said after she calmed down a bit. 'Varga was the one who literally opened the doors to the coven for me and made sure I was looked after. Until a year ago, I refused to become a recruit, not wanting the coven to be my home. But I could not forget my past and wanted to defend the place that took me in, defend my home.'

'Josephine, Jo. Thank you for opening up. I wish I could have prevented this from happening. I think I know the answer, but I need to ask.' Selene continued in a gentle voice. 'Have you been disclosing information to these people, intentional or unintentional?'

'No, ma'am, I would never. Not after what they did to me. I would rather walk in the sun.' Jo said resolutely. 'I am sorry ma'am, for betraying you and the coven. I did not wish to bring harm to any of you.'

'I thought as much. Please know you are not to blame for the actions of these humans. Guards.' Selene added. 'Please escort Jo to my guest chambers, she is due some much needed rest. Make sure my servants see to her every need and please a guard at the door for her safety, she is free to go wherever she wants.'

'Ma'am?' Jo said with disbelief in her eyes. 'I couldn't, not after keeping the information for so long and therefore endangering you and the coven.'

'Rest, we will talk later.' Selene ended the interrogation.

Varga watched Jo leave the room with trembling hands, a sad and confused look on her face. He turned to Selene and for the first time he had no idea what she was thinking. She was looking at the wall in front of her, avoiding contact.

'Tell me what you are thinking.' Varga said after a while.

Before Selene could answer, there was a knock on the door. When Selene didn't react, Varga let them in. 'Sorry to interrupt my Queen. Lord Michael is here and wishes to enter.'

'Let him in.' Varga answered.

'Selene, what's going on?' Michael asked. 'You left the infirmary an hour ago and the guards returned to our chambers without you.'

Selene turned her head to answer, but instead she doubled over.