"The news ran the story a few times, but the public has lost interest, you know humans and their short attention spans. The local police are clueless, but as of now all the deaths have been listed as suspicious and the fire is labeled as intentional arson. It won't be long before they figure out it was murder and it becomes a whole headache," Klaus straightened his glasses.

"Who cares what the humans do," Jolene paced behind her desk while Klaus sat calm and collected in his chair. Tiphus sat beside him, slouched and with his arms crossed, also annoyed with the update about humans. "I need the mutant."

"She escaped and there is no sign of her," Klaus recited.

"Obviously," Tiphus sat forward in a huff. "It took us this long to find her only for Javier to blow it all up!"

"Javier was my mistake. I should never have trusted him with this! Now the mutant will be expecting us at every turn!," Jolene was ready to rip out her hair. Nothing was going according to her plan.

"Don't sound like we're doomed, Jolene. Javier was reckless and juvenile. Klaus will be able to get the girl," Tiphus reassured her.

"It's not just the girl! It's everything! I don't think you understand the company is sinking! I'm barely keeping us afloat!"

"What does the accountant say?," Klaus asked.

Jolene fell into her chair," He says we have less than 6 months until we'll have to declare bankruptcy. I'm not even sure if the merger will be enough to keep us alive," her head fell into her hands. "Without the girl this was all for nothing! All I've been working towards is falling apart!"

"Worry no more, my alpha. I will succeed where Javier failed and I will return with mutant. Death is not an option. I've fought by your side too long to not see the glorious future you will bring to us."

"It won't be long now, Jolene. Soon we'll be unstoppable- no vampire or human will dare even look at us," Tiphus joined.

"I plan to eradicate them all," Jolene lifted her head.

Klaus and Tiphus shared a glance between one another. They knew Jolene was ambitious but she had been careful to never mention her master plan to anyone, until she was certain of its success. Now she was too worn down by failure to notice.

"Once we have the girl, we will all be transformed. We will be the greatest race of Lycans to exist, unstoppable, undefeated. No Vampire will survive and no humans will remain. I see a word that is only Lycan. A world we thrive in, we won't hide anymore. We get to rule as the true conquerors we are. It is the only future I'll accept, anything less will be failure and I refuse it."

"I knew you had a plan, Jolene but... fuck...," Tiphus was shocked by her revelation.

Klaus stood and rounded the desk, he knelt beside her and bowed his head.

"I knew you were the only true alpha to lead us," Klaus raised his head to look at Jolene. "I vow to bring you that girl and make your future our reality."

"Words are free, Klaus. Javier also made promises of bringing the mutant to me."

Klaus' perfect skin found a small wrinkle as his eyes narrowed," Never compare me to such a failure."

Klaus was the image of perfection, at least to Jolene. He was strong and gorgeous with his blonde waves and cold discerning eyes. He had a frosty approach, he was all business which Jolene admired all the more. Klaus had an expensive style, only wearing the best suits and shoes, always dressed to impress. She needed someone who was a man of his word and delivered on his promises, this was the final hour for her.

She leaned closer to Klaus, she could smell his musky cologne, it smelled like smoke and herbs.

"Prove me wrong."

"This will be the only time I will gain pleasure from discrediting your word, Jolene."

"This will be one of the only times I allow it."

An animal spark zapped between them. Jolene had only once broken her rule to not mate with the others, once years ago right after she was transformed. It had been with her platoon leader, the very same man who had bite her. It felt like eons ago, too much had happened since then and trivial things like love had no place in her world. It was passionate fling, but it was best to push it out of her mind and forget that time, she had no space for distractions.

Tiphus coughed breaking the tension," What do you need from me, Jolene?"

"I need you to mobilize our army. I won't waste a second longer coexisting with those bloodsuckers. We strike them now."

"It would be an honor to lead your army," Tiphus nodded.

"Good. Then we proceed. I'll try to scrape us along, at least until this blasted merger. I'll check with Dr. Iobo, we need to make sure he has everything because he is our next phase."

"It will be done," Tiphus stood.

"Then it all falls to you Klaus," Jolene turned to him once more. "If you fail to bring me the mutant, we will have nothing left."

Klaus nodded, accepting the weight to be placed on his shoulders. He was the type to thrive under the pressure of high intensity situations and was ready to claim victory for his pack. He stood and left with Tiphus, leaving Jolene to sit alone in her peach toned coffin that was her office. She felt no relief of her swelling anxiety, yes she did trust Tiphus and Klaus but there were too many unknowns at the moment.

"Ms. Sheen?," the door slowly opened to reveal Melody's head peeking in.

"Not now, Melody."

"Please... I just have to know," Melody's voice broke. "Is it true? Was Javier killed?"

Jolene raised her head to meet Melody's gaze, the girl's eyes were red and water filled. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a messy bun and her makeup was smeared around her eyes despite her attempts to fix it throughout the day. It was clear to Jolene that this girl was disheveled by the rumors of Javier's death.

"Yes. Javier is dead."

Melody sucked in a shallow breath, the news she had been expecting to hear was much more traumatic to accept.

"Oh my god," she gasped, tears escaping the corners of her eyes. Her shaky hand lifted to cover her mouth, as if at any moment she might just scream. Jolene had seen it before, the complete and utter shock of losing someone. She tried not to diminish the poor girl's feelings, but in reality Javier was no more than a pack member to her. Perhaps a friend and maybe as far as a crush, but the boy never once looked at her.

"Is that all, Melody?"

The girl staggered and gripped the doorway for balance. "Y-Yes, Ms. Sheen. Thank y-you."

Jolene ruffled her hair, she did not have the patience to be tender and she needed everyone to be on their A-game.

"Make sure the files are in order for the stockholder meeting Friday. I want the special wine that Mr. Dosier like to be flown in from Greece to celebrate the merger. I need a manicure scheduled and a salon visit before Monday. Tiphus will be indisposed soon, so I need someone else to take over payment of bills; I think you have a level head and are dependable enough for the job. Oh, and I need you to proof read all the notes checking to make sure everything is in order before we send out the company ledger."

Melody was frantically scribbling Jolene's words in her small pocket notebook. "Anything else?"

"Yes, I'd love latte with extra espresso and oat milk."

"Of course, I'll get that right away," Melody bolted from the room.

As the door shut Jolene's head fell to her desk, it was exhausting to be in charge of everything all the time.

The room was dark when she first opened her eyes, only a small source of light was tucked away in a corner. She could hear beeping machines but her eyes were struggling to adjust to her environment. She was laying in a bed, she tried to lift her head but it was too heavy.

"Karl?," Evelyn croaked, her mouth was so dry, and her words was barely above a whisper.

"Evelyn!," Karl suddenly appeared by her side. "Oh god, Evelyn," his voice caught and his eyes filled with tears.

"Water... please...," Evelyn asked.

Karl brought a straw to her lips and she drank too quickly, choking and sputtering.

"Easy," Karl sat her up to help her clear it all out. "Just take slow breaths."

Everything hurt. Evelyn's throat was sore and her lungs burned, but she also had a drumming headache and felt nauseous. It was an overload to feel it all at once, she was dizzy and fell back into Karl's arm that was supporting her.

"Hey, it's alright. You're okay," He pulled her into his chest, stroking her hair.

Evelyn couldn't stop herself from crying, she was so overwhelmed by everything. Karl just held her until she calmed down and sat up by herself.

"I feel sick," she covered her mouth and started to gag.

Karl got a trash can just in time as she emptied her stomach, her whole body heaving until she was done. She laid back down, exhausted by her brief stent of consciousness.

"How long have I been out?"

"A little over a day now," Karl gave her a half smile.

"What happened?"

"Lycans," Karl kept her from trying to sit up again.

"I remember that part. I'm talking about me. I don't remember being attacked."

"It was in the smoke, Evelyn. I didn't have time to grab a sample, but I'm guessing they engineered some bio-weapon and aerosolized it. I could feel it inside me as well, it must have had elements to attack both Vampires and Lycans."

"Oh god... is it going to kill me?!"

"No, no," Karl reassured her. "It would have done so by now. I think it was to weaken you and knock you out so they could take you back with them. I had to sleep off the effects it had on me too."

"No one can defeat the great Kwanele," Evelyn smiled but when into a coughing fit after.

Karl rolled his eyes at her use of his old name, his first name, the name he had been born with. It was centuries since anyone had called him that, and it stirred mixed emotions within him. He had told Evelyn his entire life story after she had asked for it, it was a sign of trusting her and getting her to also trust him. She was shocked by the tale of his life and how many twists and turns there were.

He looked down at the girl before him, she was shaking so he grabbed some thick blankets and tucked her in. She was precious to him, like his own daughter and he would protect her until his last breath if necessary. Never would he ever let those Lycan scum take her away.

"Get some rest now," he told her softly and her eyes closed.

Karl left her to go back to his research, he was trying to calculate their next move. Evelyn was still sick and couldn't travel, but this safe house wasn't meant for a long stay. They hadn't made it far from Brussels, only about 50 kilometers east in a small village. It was a two room shack created into a safe house for them in case of emergencies and this was a big emergency. He had stocked it with food, supplies, and medicine, but it wouldn't last. He had never planned to stay here more than a day at the most.

Karl knew the Lycans would now have her in their scope, they nearly got her. He involuntarily clenched his hands into a fist, he had been careless and it almost cost Evelyn her life. Lucky for him, this had been his life now for years, living in the shadows and blending in with humanity. He was an expert escape artist, but he worried most about Evelyn. She had adapted quickly to their new life in Brussels but now she was going to lose everything they had built. She would never see her friends again and probably for the next year or two not be able to go back to school. They would need to live off the grid for a while to lose the Lycan's tail.

"Oh Selene," he leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling and closed his eyes.

Selene. Evelyn's mother. Even though Evelyn didn't speak about her often, Karl could see the longing look in Evelyn's eyes when she missed her mother. There were times when Evelyn would slip away from reality and into an alternate plane entirely, visiting her mother from a great distance. Karl had told her to stop doing that, he didn't know what risks were involved or if it would become a beacon for others to find Evelyn. It was not even a week since Evelyn reported that she had seen her mother, but this time her mother had found her. Karl thought it was odd, this had never happened before and it made him believe that Selene was searching for her daughter.

"I bet you're on the way to her right now," Karl chuckled. "Kicking ass and taking names the whole way."

Karl looked over his shoulder to where Evelyn lay sleeping softly and sighed," I hope you find us before the Lycans do."

Then a thought struck him, if Selene was really coming to find Eve, she might already be in Belgium. Karl turned to his computer and went to his old security cameras, most of the ones at the home were gone from the fire but he had others spread across the city. He flipped through, speeding up the footage but after a few hours he was starting to think maybe she hadn't yet arrived. It wasn't until he went to Evelyn's school that he caught his first glimpse, he almost missed it and had to back up the video. He leaned into the screen, analyzing the woman wearing all black who stopped briefly in front of the school, it was the blonde hair that made him waver temporarily but then he saw it was her. Selene.

Karl froze the screen and smiled in disbelief, it was really her. Selene. It had been nearly twenty years since he had last seen her, a blink of an eye for their shared immortality, yet it felt like lifetimes. So much had happened since Karl had last seen Selene, she believed him to be dead, killed by a Lycan. Now he sits here with her daughter, he laughed under his breath thinking of how their reunion will go.

"She might just kill me," he laughed again.