A/N: I feel bad about the lack of updates so here is another chapter :)

They were met by two mean and hungry looking Rottweilers, who were snarling at them directly below the window. Riley felt the wolf inside her react to the threat, a growl tearing itself from her throat, low and menacing. It prickled along Gabriel's spine as he felt her body tense, muscles coiling and shifting. The dogs barked but backed up a few steps, sensing her as a threat bigger than themselves.

"Riley" Gabriel nudged her shoulder in alarm. She made a small sound of acknowledgement but her eyes remained firmly locked onto the dogs as she continued to growl.

"We need to get out of here now" He nudged her harder this time and when she looked at him he wasn't sure what to make of it, almost falling off the ledge they were precariously balanced on. But whatever he had seen in her eyes was gone almost as soon as it came. He swallowed and pointed to across the warehouse. It had been emptied out and she followed his line of sight to a series of wires and coils, packed onto a solid object: a bomb.

"Crap" she mumbled. "Can you hack the timer with the chip?"

"No can do, its old school"

"Just our luck. Let's move" Before he could stop her she jumped off the ledge, landing gracefully. Thanks to the cuffs he was pulled down after her, landing a lot harder than he would have liked. The dogs immediately closed in and in a moment of panic he tried to drag her away but Riley stayed put. Gabriel wasn't entirely sure what happened next but she growled again, shoulders hunching as she glared at the dogs. They whimpered, halting their forwards progress. She edged around them, keeping herself between them and Gabriel as she made her way out as fast as she dared. Wolf was mad, wolf wanted to fight, to tear into their flesh and show them he was hers and she barely kept control over herself, feeling her instincts fighting against her.

The second they were free of the doors she grabbed his hand and bolted for the tree line, barely ducking behind and covering him before the blast hit, knocking both of them over. She could feel the heat on her back, small objects hitting her and burning through her flesh. Thankfully the wounds were only shallow and healed in a matter of seconds. She was breathing heavily and thankfully he was breathing under her. It was then she noticed just how close they were and shifted, climbing off him whilst telling herself not to be too disappointed.

"Riley" he mumbled, sounding a lot quieter than she should, his tone alarming her.

"Are you ok?" she asked gently, kneeling beside him.

"I…I can't see anything"

"What were you thinking?" Lillian's tone was sharp and it sent shivers down her spine. She held back a whimper, swallowing and with some reluctance meeting her boss's eyes. Lillian was in charge, she was authority and it was intimidating.

"I tried to stop him but you know how stubborn he can be" She managed to keep her tone even but had to tear her eyes away from Lillian's scrutinizing gaze.

"You are here to protect him and that's exactly what I expect you to do"

"I know Lillian" She looked down in shame, not knowing what else to say. Lillian almost felt bad for her, after all she really had tried but sometimes Gabriel's stubbornness got the better of him and pulled those around him down. He had been better since Riley had been recruited, she couldn't be faulted there.

"Like it or not it happened Riley, let's move forewords and learn from our mistakes. Gabriel is going to be fine, Doctor Cassidy said that the blindness is only temporary and is a direct result of him looking at the explosion. The chip hasn't been affected and there was no way you could have prevented that, it's on him. Now no doubt he is going to be a pain in the ass until he can see again, which according to Cassidy should be within a couple of days so in the meantime he is to stay with you and you are to keep a close eye on him, are we clear?" her tone left no room for argument and Riley swallowed thickly.

"Is there a problem?" Lillian asked after Riley remained silent. Her tone had taken on the sharp tone again and she shrunk back.

"Well Lillian, I…" she trailed off as the rest of the sentence refused to come out. None of her other bosses had been this intimidating but over their time together Lillian had become part of her pack, the hierarchy and she was angry, in a wolf pack that meant a fight, possibly to the death and though she knew Lillian wasn't a wolf and would never do that she couldn't help the fear that came along with it.

"I am well aware of your requirements Agent Neil but right now Gabriel needs you" Riley had no choice but to agree. The moon was in less than two days and there was no way he could be anywhere near her when she changed. What was she going to do?

Seeing no other option she followed Lillian's orders and took Gabriel home with her. It took some manoeuvring and quite a bit of teamwork to lead him carefully to the car and then to her doorway but they managed it, Gabriel giving her his full trust. Once they were inside getting Gabriel settled into the guest room was surprisingly easy, save for a few minor mishaps. He let go of her elbow and felt the edge of the bed, gingerly sitting down. It was clear he was miserable though whether it was because he couldn't see or a result of the thorough scolding Lillian gave him earlier she wasn't sure but one thing she did know: misery loves company.

"Beer?" she offered. He nodded and she left to grab the requested object, returning moments later with 2 bottles, nudging his elbow to lead him into the lounge room.

"Riley?" he said once they were comfortably seated across from one another.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry. I backed you into a corner and if it wasn't for me none of this would have happened" his tone was full of apology. She shook her head, realising a moment later he couldn't see it she said "I know Gabriel, its ok. I should have stopped you"

"Well I didn't give you much of a say"

"No you didn't" They laughed and she clicked their bottles together. "I can't say I ever want to be handcuffed to you again"

"Am I really that bad?" he sent her a wounded look but she only laughed.

"Yes. Would it kill you to take a shower now and again?" She was only joking, after all he smelled kind of nice, better than nice actually. Fantastic. Not that she was ever going to tell him that.

"I will have you know I shower daily"

"Do you use any soap?"

"Yes as a matter of fact" She had been kind of hoping he would tell her what kind. It smelled kind of spicy and went well with his natural scent.

"You know in a way you're lucky you can't see?"

"Really, how so?"

"You were spared from seeing the look Jameson gave us when he undid the cuffs"

"Was it really that bad?"

"Oh yes"

Their laughter filled the room and for a moment Riley could almost forget about the upcoming full moon.