It had been a while since Margarete had gone out on a hunt with her sons. She generally stayed in the castle to protect their home, but this was an emergency. This was something that she had to see herself and make sure that she was overreacting. She hoped she was overreacting. 

The seven vampires dashed between the trees, stopping once in a while to get their bearings. Margarete grew impatient, wondering what the disturbance could be, and stopped less. She needed to know, and she needed to know now. 

It wasn't long after before she heard the signal from Emil, and everyone bounded over. They had mastered walking in the forest without a sound, careful to alert prey nearby. Margarete peeked around a tree and saw two men on horseback. She recognized one cloak with a royal crest on it, meaning that man was a part of the royal family. She briefly wondered what he was doing as she noticed his counterpart.

She knew Wilhelm extremely well, and Margarete wished that she didn't. He was a renowned monster hunter, and he considered her and her family monsters. Wilhelm had been a thorn in her side for the past twenty years, and she was getting tired of it. He had tried on several accounts to take down Margarete's clan, but he was never successful. He had only been able to catch glimpses of Margarete and her sons. He didn't even have any proof that they lived in the castle other than the strange bloodless carcasses that would appear around the fortress.

Margarete stood with her back against the tree again, glancing at her sons. She wondered if she should attack, or if she needed to wait. This wasn't the threat that she was looking for, but it was definitely the one that Gunter had warned them about. To take out a hunter was a feat in itself, but with the royal right there made it difficult. If he were to show up missing, Margarete would have a bigger problem than a hunter in her forest.

Just as she was going to signal for her sons to scatter and meet back at the castle, Margarete overheard something that shocked her. She remained still in hopes of hearing the conversation.

"Do you think that witch was telling the truth?" the royal asked.

"I would expect so. If not, we'll go back and interrogate her a little more harshly," the hunter answered. Margarete bit her lip nervously.

"Do you really believe that vampires live in the forest? In a castle?" the first man scoffed, hardly believing that such creatures even existed. That gave Margarete at least some hope.

"I do believe that because that's my job. Besides, I know exactly which one she's talking about. I've been trying to take down that clan for years now, but they are slippery and clever. You need to be careful," the hunter informed harshly, thinking that the royal was taking this too lightly. "What else do you think killed your father?"

"A thief or an assassin that retreated into the forest. I don't believe that we need to resort to magic and myth to explain his death," the royal pressed, making Margarete nervous. A royal dying wasn't good news, especially if the hunter was so quick to blame vampires. The only thing was that no one had attacked a person in over thirty years. She had made a point not to hurt people and to only hunt animals.

"Regardless, I think it would be smart to check out this castle. Even if it was as mundane as you're suggesting, the castle would be a perfect hideout. Who knows, maybe we'll find out a huge criminal ring and bring them to justice," Wilhelm suggested, ignoring his companion's disbelief. Margarete heard the strain in his voice, suggesting that the royal was someone he didn't want to upset.

"Fine, let's find out if this Greta knows what she's talking about," the royal suggested as Margarete's body ran cold. That name had meaning, and that was what she was looking for. The name meant that danger was coming, and if she knew where Margarete was, then she knew the castle. She signaled for her sons to turn back. They had to get home, and the quicker the better. No one was safe, and Margarete needed to get to Annalena.