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DAMON'S POV

"So? What do we do?" Colton asks impatiently as soon as the last person walks out the door.

I let out a deep sigh and take a seat, massaging my forehead.

"What do we do Damon?" Colton insists irritating me a little.

"I don't know Colton." I say sounding defeated. "I'm trying to think."

"Well while you're trying to think, the vampires who attacked us must have arrived at their hideout by now. They have humans now and they won't be stupid enough to kill them. They'll keep them alive to feed from them which means they have an unlimited supply of blood now. And if the Vampire lord is still alive, I hope you see the problem this poses for us Damon." He asserts.

"Don't you think I know that Colton?" I reply uninterestedly as I keep massaging my forehead trying to think of a way to solve this mess.

"I say we attack. We shouldn't wait for the vampire Lord to get strong enough to attack us first. I say we take the fight to him and defeat him. Just like last time. We even have the serum to strengthen us. They don't stand a chance. Let's wipe them off the face of the earth once and for all brother."

I hear what he's saying and he's right. Now is the time to attack and end this war once and for all. I didn't think I would have to use the serum this soon. Colton and Ryder both stare at me expectantly waiting for my reply, waiting to know the decision I've taken.

If only you were here father. You wouldn't hesitate. You would know what to do. You always knew what to do.

"Damon?" Ryder calls in a calm tone drawing me out of my thoughts. "It would be best if you took a decision now. We need to handle this fast."

"Fine." I say abruptly standing up. "You're right Colton, we should attack them first. The only problem here is, we don't know where they are. They could be anywhere. If we're going to attack them, we need to come up with a plan first and that entails finding out where they are." I pace back and forth in the throne room, as I think.

"Till then, we need to ready our men. As many as possible. Many vampires escaped that day and if they have humans now, they'll be at full strength again."

I turn towards my brothers and place my hands on their shoulders. "They will not be victorious brothers. Not on our watch. For now, you both get some sleep while I think on the issue some more."

They nod their heads in acceptance and I'm surprised Colton didn't object. Knowing him, he would want to start planning their downfall right this instant. He must be exhausted then. Plus, I need to think.

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MORGANA'S POV

I couldn't sleep of course. Not after what the Alpha told me and the awful images of my parents he planted in my head. I've been awake since he left his room and the only time I almost fell asleep, the stupid bells woke me up.

Who in their right mind rings a bell at fucking midnight? Maybe something went wrong.

I stand and walk out of my cage to make my way to the bathroom when he suddenly barges in looking stressed as I have never seen him before. As he walks in, he locks eyes with me. I don't bow my head. I don't even greet him like I normally do.

A bold and deadly risk I'm taking here but fuck it. He was a jerk. I keep staring at him, not moving from my spot as he walks towards me.

He looks me deep in the eyes, a ferocious look I have never seen on his face before. He looks like he wants to kill someone. Hungry for blood. He looks angry. But I am angrier which is why he can't intimidate me in this particular moment.

He moves his body closer to mine but I don't take a step back, I stay planted in my spot as his chest becomes impossibly close to my face and he towers over me. I keep my head up, holding eye contact with him as if he was my equal. Why he hasn't slapped me yet, I have no idea.

I can feel the heat emanating off his skin. He smells like freshly cut grass and burnt wood, the scent intoxicating me.

He grabs a handful of my hair and pulls my head backwards, not hard enough to make me hurt but enough to hold me in place, making me get a good view of his face. He's beautiful. In another world he would have been admirable if he weren't a cold-blooded murderer.

"I had a bad day." He simply states. His jaw moves in a satisfying way when he talks. Being this close to him I'm noticing things about his face I shouldn't. I'm looking for flaws but there aren't any.

They say demons have the prettiest faces. He must be the ruler of all demons then. And why is he telling me he had a bad day. Am I supposed to care? Or provide him with comfort? I couldn't give two shits if his entire world fell apart.

In fact, that would make me the happiest girl in the world.

"You remember the slavery organization, don't you?" He loosens the grip he has on my hair, and grabs my face. His hands are so big they could cover my entire face.

He chooses to remind me of that shithole now? My memories of the slavery organization are terrible. Why would he bring that up now? To taunt me some more?

"The vampires attacked it. They were successful. They escaped with fifteen humans. They took Reece too."

His eyes soften at the mention of Reece's name. Like I care. I hope they kill the fucker. The only thing that makes me sad is the fact that I'm not killing him myself.

Did he just say the vampires attacked? And they took fifteen humans? My eyes grow wide with fear and anger and frustration. Memories of my life in the vampire nation flashing in my mind. My heartbeat raises as sweat forms around my forehead. My breathing escalates as my eyes water. They took humans. I can't even imagine what they'll do to them.

They'll feed on them, use them as blood bags. My fear is replaced with anger. I feel frustrated. I thought I would only have to deal with the werewolves for now. Now the vampires are making their presence known again. Why now after all this time?

"I suspect the vampire Lord is still alive." Damon speaks again as if reading my mind. The vampire lord? Alive? That would mean hell for us all, all over again.

"No.." I whimper softly. I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack.

"Don't worry. He'll be dead soon enough. The only one allowed to have you as a slave is me."

There he goes again with the mockery.

"Why are you telling me all this?" I ask, my voice coming out strong. I have never questioned him before but right now, I don't care.

"I don't know." He simply says. The look in his eyes is unreadable this time. It almost looks like they softened a little. The monster in them disappearing for a split second before he lets go off my face and moves backwards.

"I need a massage." His voice is normal again, the harshness I'm used to revealing itself again.

"And Morgana?" He calls. "Don't question me ever again."