The dungeon was huge, very dark and for the lack of a better word, densely populated.

As I looked around, hesitantly, I wasn't even sure who the creature were, captured and kept in a cell. They looked like vampires; they should have been vampires, but they smelt and felt...different.

These were not the vampires I knew all along.

There were so many of them, in cramped small cells, and I was sure they were living in horrible conditions - it was quite evident with the stench that was making me dizzy. Along with that stench, though, I could smell so many other scents that I couldn't count how many they were - but I knew they had to be almost twice of the entire vampire kingdom's population - the ones outside the dungeon.

Yes. The number was huge and the scene was horrifying. I almost couldn't take in the scene and wanted to run away from here and never come back here again

But my gut instinct told me to here, and that I deserved to know what the hell this was and why I was here.

I deserved the truth.

The underlying smell of fresh blood confused me - the vampires I had known all along smelt more...rotten - like, period blood, maybe? And while Aiden had always smelt wonderful to me, being my mate, it had taken me some time to get used to the scent of others. If these people were vampires, why didn't they have the underlying scent of stale blood? Why were these so different?

What exactly was this place?

I took in a deep breath, and then almost wanted to vomit. This was worse than I had imagined, I knew none of them deserved to live in such terrible conditions. They were not prisoners, and that was definite. None of the people in the cells looked like they had ever committed murder, except for maybe killing in war.

There were children here, for Goddess's sake!

"So you finally did come here."

I jumped slightly.

The voice that just echoed in my head didn't resemble my dream's voice at all, but it was familiar. It was so familiar that I had almost stopped breathing when I turned my head around. My eyes popped out of their sockets when I found that middle-aged woman - who I had thought was dead - in a small cell at my right.

The woman who had warned me all that time ago, and was said to be killed the next day.

I had known even then that there was something fishy there.

She looked dirty, and not like the woman whom I had met that day. But this time, I noticed that there was a different air around her, almost making me feel like she was royalty. She fit in here - not in the dungeon - but among the people here. Her eyes were full of fire, and not tired as she was looking on the outside. She was holding a man's hand, whose eyes were barely open. He looked weaker than her, and barely conscious.

I gulped, looking away from the couple.

Most important of all, I knew she was happy to see me here - I could see it in the way hope lit up in her eyes as she took in my sight. At the same time, I knew that she had known I was going to come here someday.

To me, it felt like everyone knew everything except for me.

But then, she was not the one to call me here.

How did you end up here? And how are you mind-linking me? I asked her, slightly afraid of what I was going to learn.

My life has been a werewolf-vampire novella, full of drama and was an amazing learning experience. It wouldn't hurt to learn more, right?

Like how my mate was a handsome-as-hell lying bastard. Or that I had been living a life full of lies since the past couple of months. Or that, the man I had given my body to, the one whom I was going to give my soul, had cheated me in the worst way possible.

I really hoped that that was not the case.

"Real, pure vampires are no different than werewolves; we can mind-link, too. But those vampires who you have been with are tainted with a PureBlood's blood."

Now what the fuck was that?

I thought to myself; Wow, there are some new twists everywhere I go and I have no clue about how to really solve them. Some day, I would have to just take some time out alone and attend the schools here to know what the hell goes on in here. Maybe, I should get a walking encyclopedia that would give me the right information each time I learned something new. Just tells me how little I know about my heritage.

I don't know what you mean. I told her. Those 'tainted' vampires were the only vampires I knew, and now that all of them were full of lies, I didn't know how to feel. It was all a trap, just to make me feel comfortable.

It was surprising how I believed everything the woman told me, blindly. It could have been that I was fooled really easily - the past few months were a solid proof, but then I remembered that I had really started trusting the people of the Kingdom only after Adrian had confirmed that Jaxon had killed Cassandra.

Maybe, I had always been biased against the 'tainted' vampires. And I was right to do so.

"I'll tell you everything later." She looked quite eager to send me away, and I realised that maybe I hadn't uncovered the entire truth and she wanted me to show something else, again, another thing I wasn't sure if I was ready to face but I had to. The thought of having to learn about something worse than this made me want to...I don't know.

Perhaps, I wanted to punch Aiden for making me fall in love with him.

"Right now, go ahead, and take a left. There is something you might want to see. Be careful, though, he must not know that you are here. Use your Luna Queen instincts so that no one can feel your presence here."

The words 'Luna Queen' made me miss Adrian a little and he was the last person I wanted to think about, right now.

I nodded, and Celeste worked her magic. Both of them were quiet inside me, and just like me, they were weary about what they were going to find out. I did have a niggling feeling that they knew more than I did, which was weird, to be honest, but I knew they would have told me long before, if they really wanted to tell me. Something changed and I felt the loss of my own scent. I took slow steps, looking at the misery of those in the cells surrounding me and controlled the urge to gag. This was not what they deserved, I knew that.

I took the left where I needed to take one, my heart thudding in my chest. I was trembling slightly and that was when I heard familiar voices,

"You wretched bitch!"

I winced, my heart burning with the bitter feeling of betrayal. Along with that, so many mixed emotions filled me that I didn't know how to react. A part of me wanted to reveal myself and punch the living daylights of the owner of those words, and at the same time, I wanted to beg the Moon Goddess for it all to be a lie.

"I should have known you would try to contact her! Now you ruined everything for yourself - because no matter how much you try to call her, you know what?" his furious tone became sinister, "I'll take you away from her before she can ever find you. You'll be so far away that she will never even know of your existence. You fucking bitch! If I didn't have any use of your precious husband, I would have killed you long ago."

My heart lurched, the pang of betrayal so strong that I wanted to vomit all over his face.

"She will come save us, and you better be prepared, because she will avenge us, she will destroy you, no matter what you mean to her!"

My world stopped for that moment.

It was the same woman who was calling me and now I knew who she was. I could feel who she was - who she was to me.

I shut my eyes tightly, and took in a deep breath to compose myself, but failed.

I slid down the wall I had been hiding behind, trying to hold in the sob that threatened to burst out.

He laughed at her, hard, "That is what you think. I will convince her for the blood rituals tomorrow morning, and she will say yes, without doubt. Once she's completely mine, she'll never be able to reach you. I really do love her, and if you fuck up even a single thing for me, she will face the consequences. You have three hours; bid farewell to your neighbors before you will be moved far, far away." He laughed again, making my heart clench, and then I heard his footsteps coming closer.

Aiden walked right past me and didn't feel my presence. It was better that way because I didn't want to see his face - the face of the lying asshole who loved me so dearly but betrayed me so fucking deeply. I was disgusted with myself in that moment, for the second time in my life, and this was so much worse than how cheap Adrian had made me feel.

I wanted to scrub my skin off my body, where he had touched me, where his scent still lingered. Like hell I would ever complete the mating rituals with him; no matter how much he loved me, he deserved the worst for doing this to me.

I was so fucking naive.

The sob still lodged in my throat, I was almost scared to turn around and see the person whom I had followed here. My heart clenched, a part of it wanting it to be a dream and a part of me wanting it to be the truth.

"I know you are there." She said, gently, "Please come here," her voice cracked a little, "We are dying to see you."

My heart was in pain as I stood up, trying to reign in my sobs. I never thought this day would come - it was something I had only dreamt of and always knew that a dream was all it was going to be. My entire body trembled, afraid and not believing that this was true. Suddenly, I was wishing that this wasn't some dream sequence.

And then I turned so I was facing her straight on.

I lost all control.

I let out a cry, and ran towards the small, shabby cell where she sat, with that serene smile on her face that only made me cry more. I wished that I hadn't met her here, but somewhere and some time better when fury wouldn't be flaming inside me.

"Oh, my baby girl, you've grown up so much," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes, "I knew you would come for us someday..."

I nodded my head, hurriedly gripped the bars that were keeping me away from her arms and pushed them apart. I knew this much; nothing was poison for me. So even if it was silver, or mercury, it was not going to affect me.

But she looked shocked.

When I stumbled inside the cell, it was only then I saw the unconscious figure of a weak man, lying with his arms chained at his sides. Looking at him, my tears stopped.

"Papa..." I could only let out one weak whisper as I cried.

I could feel it - the bond that one shared with family, the feeling of coming home. And this was somehow stronger than how my mates had ever made me feel. This was deeper and more unconditional than what I felt towards them.

I couldn't believe that I didn't feel their presence here all this time.

Or maybe Cynthia and Celeste had an idea all along. Maybe it was their presence that had made me feel comfortable here.

Comfortable when they were in so much pain.

All I could feel was rage...burning rage or any way you could describe anger so fierce, you wanted to take someone's life. I had never felt so angry in my entire existence - it was burning inside me.

Cynthia and Celeste were thirsty for revenge and so was I. At the same time, we wanted to get them out of this dungeon, this kingdom, so they could be in someplace safe, in the Were Kingdom. I didn't want anyone to be able to touch or hurt a single hair on their body, or they would have me to answer for.

My parents; my mother and my father had been trapped by those bastards and they had the nerve to fucking keep me in the kingdom as a trophy - they had won me with their lies and I would rather die than believe in them again.

"Darling, come here," my mother, who had been observing me silently for some time, said to me, and I melted in her arms for a moment, seeking comfort.

I tried giving her the strength her weak body needed and her hold around me grew stronger.

Both of them looked horrible and it brought tears in my eyes - my mother, whose features I had taken, had sunken cheeks and tired eyes. She was skinny, and dirty, but still had strength. Unlike my father.

It looked like he had been sucked dry.

They were going to pay for doing this to my parents, for doing this to the vampires who I knew were their victims.

They all were going to rue the day they were born and I was going to make sure that they were killed just as mercilessly as they had treated my parents.

"We only have three hours, Mom." I murmured, remembering what Aiden had said, "We have to get out of here before he takes you away."

I didn't wonder why there were no guards here; I didn't have any time for that.

I looked around frantically and found just what I needed.

A sharp object.

"What are you doing, Cynthia?" Mom called out, her octaves rising, "Don't use your PureBlood Healing here! There are so many in need here and they will all drain your energy!"

"It's alright, Mom, I can use the help."

I then sliced the skin on my palm before she could protest further.

My heart stopped slightly with the sudden flurry of white and red light that ran across my eyes. It was nothing short of an explosion - what happened in the dungeon in the next moment. The roof had blown out, and I knew I had alerted the people in the castles. I did the only thing I knew I could do before hell broke.

I sent a silent call to Adrian. I knew he would help me.

I had faith in him; he would ensure my safety by all means possible. He would keep my parents safe.

I had to stop thinking about him.

I looked around again, to look at the result of my attempt at PureBlood Healing, again. A lot of people had used up my energy and I could feel that, but my adrenaline was making up for it.

All the Vampires looked like they had been woken up from a long, deep sleep. Most of them looked around confused, as if they couldn't believe what had just happened all of a sudden. They all looked like they had healed, completely, and were ready for war and revenge.

That was exactly what I wanted.

I didn't care if I had helped the worst of delinquents and murderers of the Kingdom - I was never going to set foot in here ever again and they could deal with the mess they made in whichever way they liked.

I wanted to get out of here with my mother - who now looked as if she was my elder sister - and my father who looked slightly better but was yet not conscious.

They really were going to pay for this. The 'tainted' vampires were just going to remain that - a taint to the vampires' history. They didn't deserve to live, nor did they deserve an easy death.

Even if one of them was a man I deeply loved.

I looked at my mother and I realised that I never knew I could feel such a deep bond, such a deep love for people I had never seen in my life. This bond had no pride, no ego and was purely unconditional. Just like what I had with Grandma, only deeper and more binding because we were supernatural. It was love-at-first-sight for me and I hugged my mother again just for the hell of it.

But it was time to go, now.

So much energy had led to the shattering of the walls and metals here, and everyone was free to move. All the chains had shattered too, along with the cell bars. A feeling of gratitude and awe flowed in the room for a moment, and it filled me with pride and content for the moment.

Never did I know in my entire life that one day I would be saving so many lives.

I was filled with adrenaline, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible, when the same middle-aged woman came near our cell, with a man right next to her who was holding another unconscious man.

Something inside me knew that they were highly respectful people, and when I saw other people bowing down to them, my eyes widened and I realised they were the rightful Vampire King and Vampire Queen, the unconscious man and the woman.

Oh Goddess, what had really happened during the war?

Maybe someday I'd be hearing the story of how all events came to this, but now was not the time to think about it.

"I wish I had the time to explain everything to you," She said, "But we need to get out of the dungeon before the guards and the High-Rankers arrive. Their men are already on their way as we speak. A war-like situation might arise, and we must be prepared for a fight. We are larger in numbers, and can easily overpower them." She then looked at me, "I hope you have called the Werewolves for help."

I nodded at her. "We'll be able to over power them." I assured her, "There's no way we are letting them win this time. I hope you all feel better now." I gave her a small smile.

Simultaneously, everyone stretched out their bodies and I heard the creaks of unused joints. I had never heard so many creaking bone joints together and it made me let out an amused smile. I frowned on the inside, remembering the conditions I had found them in.

"We might have not trained for years, but we still have the ability to get them all down." A man came forward with a proud grin, and it changed the air in the room.

Everyone was motivated now, and my heart beat furiously in my chest. Just thinking of what was to come made me slightly nervous.

Something shifted in the air, again, and then something similar to a battle cry erupted from all the Vampires around me. I had goosebumps down my arms feeling the sensations that vibrated inside me at the sounds the battle cries made. It was as majestic as the howls of the werewolves.

My mother howled next to me and I soon noticed that she had shifted into an incredibly beautiful, large and strong wolf.

I carefully placed my father on her back and we both jumped out of the dungeon, all of the vampires following suit.

It was going to be a long night.

And I had to admit, I was very, very scared.