Hosts

A sudden rapping of knuckles against the door behind him broke Dean from his train of thought. He quickly took the journal and shoved it into the waistband of his jeans. Shifting the back of his shirt to cover it, he turned to see a three pronged candlestick standing on the middle of the large arch doorway. Its candlewicks were quite low, as if it had just been burning.

Had someone left that for him?

"You must be Dean,"

Dean turned to the voice, hoping to see someone. But he didn't see anything accept the candlestick. Was someone watching him? Was there a camera in the room? Then he saw the candlestick jump over the threshold and into the room all on its own. Dean stumbled back onto the table, watching the inanimate object animate itself as it hopped closer to him.

"My name isAnna," the candlestick said, the clink, clink, clink sound of her metal base hitting the marble tiled ground. "Everyone is waiting in the dining hall,"

Holy fuck, it talked! Dean's eyes widened, but he nodded. He cleared his throat and straightened himself out, his fingers brushing the journal in his waistband. The small bulge made him somewhat relaxed. Like he was meant to have it. It was a strange feeling.

He followed the candlestick out of the room, following its clinking feet as it hopped through the long corridors and meandered the grounds, hopping up the steps with practiced ease. The rain poured a lot harder now, and the grounds looked almost flooded with water. But Dean followed, mesmerised by Anna. How did she work? Was she a robot? A machine? How was she moving? How was she sentient? He didn't think artificial intelligence could move so fast and so far.

He tried to memorise the hallways, but after the first few turns, he was completely lost once again. Anna was confident in where she was going, so taking her confidence, he followed, keeping up with her hopping strides. They soon reached the grand staircase and Dean let out a sigh of relief, recognising the area. The tapping of his feet on marble echoed through the large foyer. Still, Anna made her way over the reflective marble floors and into one of the rooms to the side.

It was a huge dining hall. Different to the one they had been in last night. This looked like one that was for prestigious guests. There was a table that stretched out from one end of the grand hall to the other. Exalted wooden chairs stood on both sides, their backs carved with roses and flowers of all sorts. The table was done up in the same way.

Magnificent.

Sam and Gabriel sat at one end of the dining table. Sam had his cast leg up on another chair, watching Gabriel pilling his plate up with the extraordinary amount of food that was presented before them.

"Dean-o," Gabriel said, placing Sam's plate down in front of him, "Come have some breakfast, made by yours truly,"

"It's really good," Sam said, a buttered slice of toast in his mouth. He motioned him over and Dean followed as Anna sat on the table before them, brightening up in the lit room.

Glad to finally have something proper to eat, Dean settled next to his brother and filled his plate. There was all sorts of breakfast food set up like a feast in front of them, pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon, and it all looked so delicious.

"You doing alright?" He said, turning to his brother.

Sam nodded, "Yeah, it doesn't hurt as much any more, thanks to Gabriel,"

Dean nodded, unsure what to say. This was a weird situation they had both found themselves in. With Sam injured, and the weather looking like it was only getting worse, Dean wasn't sure when they were going to leave. Thankfully the beautiful beast like host had let them stay for the night, and Dean hoped he didn't have to trudge Sam through the mud and flood back to the pickup. He'd be ready to do it if he needed to, but...

His gaze darted up to the waterfall of rain showering down on the large windows and doors, a streak of lightening flashing across the skies, followed by a low rumble of thunder. He really didn't want to drive in that. The pick up truck was not built for this kind of terrain. They'd just get stuck out there, and with Sam unable to walk. He didn't want to think about that.

It was good to see Gabriel helping Sam out in his time of need. Dean was a little jealous, because he was always the one who took care of his baby brother. And Sam was hurt, he was in pain. But Dean saw how pale Sam looked as he took a forkful of eggs with shaky hands, only for Gabriel to rush straight in and help him.

He couldn't help but be glad that Gabriel was there.

The doors to the side of the dining room open, and Castiel walked in. He was wearing a blazer and a tie, his furry head spiky, as if he had been running his fingers through it. His pale face was bright, and his horns looked polished as they shone in the lamplight. It was odd to see him so dressed up when everyone else was still dressed in their pyjamas.

"I did not properly introduce myself last night," He said, his voice was low and grainy. Dean watched, entranced as he walked up to the table and settling down in the seat opposite him. "My name is Castiel, I welcome you to Seraph Manor."

Dean couldn't help but stare as Castiel reached forward and filled his plate with food. He felt all of his thoughts vanish into thin air. Castiel's pouted mouth moved, his voice was like a low hum, like a growl. Dean was fixated on him. He knew he should be scared of the beast, the large claws, the fangs, the bear like body. But all Dean could wonder was how the fur would feel on his fingertips, if those husk like wings would be soft on his skin, if that mouth on him would make him melt. What would he feel like? What would he taste like?

Shaking the thoughts from his head, his gaze dropped down to the table, to Castiel's pale silk white hands that were gripped around the cutlery. He had no fur on his body, other than his head, ears and tail, and his whiskers twitched.

It was bad enough that Dean caught himself staring at that mouth, but when he began to find even the beasts hands sexy, then he knew he was really in trouble. His rational self was screaming at him that this was a bad idea. He didn't know what that beast was, was he some kind of lab experiment gone wrong? Or had he modified himself?

...was he a werewolf?

But he was a beautiful beast. And Dean knew he had to keep his attraction to himself. Like his deepest, darkest secret, and as long as he didn't stare too much at the beast, then he could make it through the day. No one needed to know he had a massive crush on Castiel.

Of course, this resolution just drove him crazy.

"You are free to stay here for as long as you need, but I have a few rules," Castiel said, reaching for the stack of toasts and biting into one, he swallowed and looked up to Dean. "I ask of you to follow them, it'll be better for you and the others,"

"There are others here?" Sam asked.

Castiel nodded. "The other residents of this house,"

Sam narrowed his gaze, looking at Dean. They had never seen anyone enter or leave the manor. And they passed it once a week on simultaneous days. "I thought this house was empty."

"Empty can be taken in a lot of different forms," Gabriel piped in, slathering a pool of golden honey onto his stack of pancakes. "But the other residents will behave, they know better."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, leaning forward as Gabriel fed him. It was embarrassing for him, but there was nothing else they could do. His arm and leg was in a cast and he didn't know the house, or its other residents. But he was intrigued, they had been here for a night, and yet the only people he had seen was Gabriel and Castiel.

Castiel didn't answer. Instead he placed his spoon back on his plate, stood up and walked over to the wall by the door. The cupboard opened on its own, as if knowing just what Castiel wanted. The beast reached down and took out a large white box and placed it onto the wood of the dining table with a thump. The two brothers stared at the box inquisitively. Castiel ripped at the tape and pulled the box open. They leaned in to see the contents.

Castiel pulled out a small black rectangle and handed it to Dean. It looked like a phone. He took the contraption with wonder. It was small, with a black screen taking over the face with a few small buttons below.

"If you wanted my number, you only had to ask," He said, holding the gadget up. It beeped in his hands.

"Think of it as a GPS of the house, since it's so easy to get lost here," Castiel handed Sam the same gadget. "The buttons below move the map around, and tell you where everyone is." He pressed on the middle circle button and four little pulsating dots appeared on the screen, above was the words 'the dining room' he used the d-pad and showed them the rest of the house. "The red button lets out an emergency signal; it makes a horrific noise, but it alerts everyone else where you are."

Sam turned the GPS and saw a small red button next to the on and off switch. He pressed the button and a screeching siren woke the room up. The two brothers slammed their hands to their heads, covering their ears.

"Turn it off!" Dean yelled, glaring at the his brother.

Gabriel smiled, taking the contraption from Sam and pressed the button once again. "If you look on the screen, one of the dots is pulsating red."

"We want you two to feel safe here," Gabriel said, giving Sam the contraption back.

"I urge you to get a layout of the property," Castiel said, peering out through the large windows to the hurricane winds and showers of rain pelting on the doors and windows. "I don't think you'll be leaving anytime soon,"