[ Gabriel ]

Gabriel didn't sit at the table as the others and instead leaned against the kitchen island. He preferred standing to seated, even though they were not his enemies; this was a position to protect himself from any 'assassination attempts'. He almost chuckled at himself, he was the most powerful being on earth, and still, people tried to take his throne. The only person who could take him on was Cassius and possibly Aila. But standing in the clear from others was a habit of his. It was a nuisance dealing with attempts on his life.

With his hands resting against the countertop, he listened to Aila and Chase explain their plan about attacking the hunter's compound and killing Silas, along with finding any documentation that would show anyone of a higher status than that of Chase' father. Aila also planned on searching for Robert, the scientist/ doctor who experimented on them. He was the one who took her blood, so it was either him or Silas who would have it under lock and key.

Even before Aila asked, he knew what she would ask of him. It was his intention to seek revenge against the hunters but not so soon. He preferred to plan meticulously and wanted to wipe all the hunters out at once, but he would need a bigger army than the one he had at the tip of his fingers. It also seemed a waste only to be attacking one compound when there were many.

The hunters had been growing for some time; he could not pinpoint when they came about because his and the other creature's attentions were not on the humans but each other throughout the early stages of history onwards. It was only the 18th century when peace was made official between the creatures, and they soon realised these so-called hunters were. Though, at first, they were called vampire hunters.

It became apparent that his kind roaming the earth and the association formed and began to hunt them. It was not long until they became fully aware that the vampires were not the only 'magical' creature to walk the earth. He had not particularly cared for them. At first, the association was small and kept their existence a secret, but now after being experimented on and kept weak for ten years, he yearned for vengeance.

The sweet taste of vengeance couldn't be cooked up in a little plan this small group made up. Gabriel looked down while he continued to listen to Aila's mind. Although she had not been kidnapped for long, nor gone through nearly as much as him or the others, she too sought some vengeance. It wasn't just about keeping her pack and the creatures safe. Though, he could sense that she wasn't aware of her true feelings just yet.

He nodded his head in agreement. He could see why. They were the ones to murder her parents and although her memories were still clouded, from what he could tell was that the previous Alpha King and Queen's murder was a blood bath, and her mind was protecting her from what she saw.

Gabriel licked his lips as his throat and mouth suddenly became extremely dry. The thought of vengeance was making him thirsty, and so he pulled his smartphone out and sent a message to Vinnie and Luther.

[ 11:40am To: Vinnie ]

Bring Katarina to my office. Then come to the dining room.

[ 11:40am To: Luther ]

Come to the dining room.

[ 11:40am From: Vinnie ]

Why not the bar?

[ 11:40am To: Vinnie ]

I have guests.

.

A blood bag just wouldn't do, when he craved for blood through the acts of violence, he needed sustenance straight from the source. Gabriel eyed Aila warily, though to anyone looking at him, they would see his usual stoic features. She had only seen him drinking from a glass, and although he did not normally care about such things, he wanted a bit of privacy. He looked up then, and Luther appeared, Finn and that feisty Gamma stood up protectively.

"Luther will not hurt anyone," Gabriel calmly said and watched Luther smirk and lock eyes with Aila.

"Hello again, beautiful," He winked at her making Gabriel, along with others in the room to glare at him. Damon growled, his eyes shining luminously like two full moons, and the easy-going vampire held his hands up, "Easy, I never touched your missus. Actually.. she is the one who attacked me."

Gabriel blinked back in surprise and looked at Aila again. "Did she now?" He watched as Aila's cheeks turned pink.

"Well, when a group of vampires surround me and my friends-"

"What?" Gabriel snapped his head in Luther's direction, who stopped walking towards him.

"I was in the wrong crowd that night.." He murmured, then spoke louder, "Plus, it was a boring night until you guys showed up. The little she-wolf here was the life of the party! It was a lot of fun."

"Me kicking you into the wall was fun?" Aila asked dryly with her brow raised.

Luther grinned broadly, putting his hands in his trouser pockets. Like Gabriel, his right hand preferred to wear suits, though he only wore a waistcoat today like him, his attire was all black with a green tie that matched the colour of his eyes. "Well, I like a woman who can fight," He winked and smirked when he saw Damon's glare. "But I must say I am happy that you did not stab me with a broken bottle."

Aila's face did not look bothered at all by Luther's looks, which caused a stir even within vampire society. But Gabriel should not be surprised. He unintentionally compared her to Amelia, who had taken to him the moment they met. Luther was loyal to him, though, and never showed an ounce of interest in Amelia. Maybe he could tell how much of a snake she was.

Damon looked at Aila in question, and she shrugged it off, "I kinda lost it for a bit.." She said nonchalantly, but the vampire could see her mate was not happy with her comment.

Luther smirked again and looked at Gabriel, waiting for his command. "What did his highness wish to discuss with me in a room full of werewolves, a shapeshifter and a human?" He asked playfully, though he was anything but joking. The pair knew each other well, and Luther was intrigued with the situation and took everything more seriously than anyone would ever know.

"We are going hunting."

Not long after Luther arrived at the dining room did Gabriel's assistant, Vinnie, arrive. Though he was his butler/assistant, he was also his henchman that took on more brutal jobs when Gabriel did not have time to punish the vampires who disobeyed the laws he implemented. There were not too many occasions where he would need to show his face, but when a criminal had an audience with the Vampire King himself, they would wish for death a million times over.

With the three vampires in the room, Gabriel went over the plan with the others. To keep Damon's mind at ease along with a few others, he was not going to bring any other vampires into the mission. They didn't need to really; he could go by himself, but he would never hear the end of it from Luther, so it was best to bring his two closest men along with them.

But that wasn't his only reasoning for bringing extra 'muscle' onto the mission. It was also because of how close-knitted everyone seemed to be. Over the many years of his life and the many packs he had come across, even some of the previous members of the Silver Crescent pack in the 1800s did not have such strong relationships with one another.

Their thoughts were also consumed with keeping one person safe: Aila.

She was the one the hunters were after. From the brief flashes of their memories, he could see that they already had created these monsters purely meant to destroy the creatures. She was the key to that. His eyes flickered to Aila, who was being scolded by Damon about her recklessness. This seemed to be a hot topic between them at the moment.

However he wasn't listening to them but, moreover, her thoughts. Aila could control those creatures, though she wasn't 100% sure because it only happened once. But if this was the case, then she could control them like how Amelia did in the past. Gabriel marched out of the room, leaving the others behind, their little meeting was done, and they would attack the compound the next day. But he needed time to think in his office along with having a drink, and he couldn't do that with Aila there.

Gabriel opened his office door and found Katarina already lying on the dark red leather couch, wearing a revealing dress. Gabriel was next to her in an instant. His lips on the inside of her thigh; he sunk his fangs into the femoral artery, inciting a throaty gasp from Katarina. The beauty beneath him was lost in a bliss of pleasure from him feeding on her while he was lost in his thoughts.

If Aila could control the creatures like Amelia did in the past, then was his brother planning to use this to his advantage? He was not sure how many the hunters had created so far, but if it was big enough for an army, and Cassius had Aila, then they could rule over more than just the vampires.

The only flaw in Cassius' plan is that Aila already had a mate and would not be falling for his charms any time soon.