"It's okay now, you're safe," She kissed him on the lips.

"I feel faint," Daniel complained, pulling away from the kiss.

"Don't worry, it's the drug. They're going to treat you so you would feel better, don't fight it, alright?" She informed and hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder while her non-injured arm wrapped around his neck.

"Don't worry, it's the drug,"

"Don't worry, it's the drug..."

Daniel woke up with a startle, he looked around to discover he was back at that hell hole. The memory resurfaced in his head, it was faint yet it felt real.

He looked down on the area of his skin where he had etched the name on his skin, "LIA," Was that the girl's name? Was she somebody important to him?

Daniel looked down at the other names he had carved into his body with his claws.

"Asher", "Hailey", "Hazel", "Ryan",

"Judith", "Phoebe", he traced the names with his fingers. Even without being told, he instinctively knew that these people mattered to him else he wouldn't go through the pain of engraving them on his body - he was forgetting.

Daniel couldn't tell how long he has been here but it was like being trapped in an endless void of darkness and reliving his worst memories over and over again. He has lost track of time and memory, all he knew was that each time, he woke to a new name he had subconsciously added to his body.

He was never at rest here, there were times he would hear shrieks - screams that would make one's hair stand on edge and even the bravest of men scurry off from fear. But he was already used to it yet the fear was raw.

Each time his torture began, he could remember everything clearly and Daniel guessed that was when he used the opportunity to carve those names on himself - as a way to remember. His body was full of scars - the ones he imprinted on himself and the whips from the demons.

He felt the need to remember. But then, Why did this place want him to forget? Was he not supposed to be here in the first place? All Daniel knew that people who came here did really bad things which were why they were being punished. He couldn't help but wonder what crime he had committed?

There was an incident he remembered clearly, a girl had called out to him once - she was real or seemed to be. The girl had blonde hair and blue eyes; she shared some similarities with him and had called him "dad". That must have been an illusion.

Illusions were a pretty common trick around here since one of the tortures included trapping that individual in a never-ending nightmare. It was about time it began all over again - if only he could understand everything at the end of this session. Was there an end to this nothingness? He was afraid this darkness was beginning to break him.

***

His side of his bed was empty, Lia discovered when she reached out for him. She was still reeling from the effects of their lovemaking but the wild thoughts disappeared from her head when she saw Asher by the window side, lost in thought.

Quickly, she dressed up and went to meet Asher, hugging him from behind as she rested her head on his back affectionately.

"You're here but your mind's slipping away," she said, rubbing circles on his firm back absentmindedly.

"There're so many things to think about," Asher said to her without turning around.

Understanding the vampire's hint, Lia let go of him with a deep sigh and squeezed herself to his front, "What did you find out?"

Asher didn't reply nor did he meet her gaze.

"Asher," Lia turned his face back around to meet her own, "Tell me the result of your mission," she insisted, keeping his face in place with her palms.

"We still have to sacrifice Ashton," Asher dropped the news.

Lia blanched with shock, her hands leaving Asher's face to fall by her side in resignation. She exhaled roughly, then threw her head back, staring at the roof questioningly.

They had to sacrifice Ashton's demon side just as the council did to hers. This was the reason they hadn't taken any further step and had been waiting for the vampire's return from his quest.

Lia had almost brought on an apocalypse thanks to the manipulation of the dark witches and though Ashton wouldn't be unfairly killed - with a purpose this time- they still weren't sure what would happen afterward. The plan was too risky and full of blank spots.

"That is to say our efforts were all for nothing," Tears of frustration began to run down her face which she wiped off furiously.

"It wasn't all that fruitless, I discovered something else," Asher disclosed.

A glimmer of hope flickered across her gaze, "What is it?"

"We can't just take Daniel from hell; he needs a replacement so the balance in there doesn't topple over. Just like nature needs balance, the same needs to be restored in hell too,"

"There's a werewolf sentenced to death down there in the pack prison, we could use him," Lia came up with a solution.

That werewolf has committed a huge crime and after an investigation panel was established to look into the matter, it turned out to be true. The werewolf was using others' life to elongate his.

It was no secret that vampires had a much longer lifespan than werewolves who age faster as soon as they stop shifting. Most werewolves lived within the limit of two hundred years before death followed. The werewolf who ever lived was five hundred years and the stupid werewolf had been trying to follow that footstep, albeit in a dark way.

"We would need Sabrina too. She needs to cast a spell to steer Ashton in the right direction so he doesn't just grab the wrong person and our effort comes to nothing," he informed her.

"Sure," Lia merely nodded.

Asher upon sighting the anxious look on her face came closer and rubbed the length of her arm with his smooth palm, assuringly.

"You don't have to worry about Ashton. Unlike your past negative experience, we'd give him the right orientation so he doesn't go awry down there, alright?" he added, "We'll bring Daniel home this time,"

Lia gave him a wry smile and Asher brought her close to him, resting her head on his chest. But the moment Lia was about to relish this feeling, her eyes popped open and she pulled away instantly.

"What is it?" he was surprised by the side change of demeanor.

"It's the kids. I can feel it, something's wrong," Though Lia didn't tap into the pack's mind link, she shared a mother-child relationship with them and sensed it through that bond. Werewolves worked a lot with their intuition and she learned to trust them over the years.

"Where are they?" Asher had already entered battle mode. Though Trevor and his childhood sweetheart, Williams, were trying to change the traditional mindset of the hunters, there has been recent news of some rogue hunters shooting down some supernaturals. If that was the case, he'd tear them from limb to limb once he lays his hand on them till nothing remains on their miserable corpse.

"At a party," Lia gulped, this stingy vampire would go pretty mad when he hears their location - and yes, Hazel told her.

"Where?" Asher asked, ready to punch some faces. His body was throbbing with the need to hunt as the predatory creature he was.

"At your place,"