Rayven felt her eyes widen and her jaw practically hit the bar. "What?" She quickly stood up and ran over to her calendar that hung on a nail that her ex had expertly placed into the wall. She always crossed off the days that would go by and when she saw that the 30th wasn't crossed off she nearly fainted.

"But…how? How can that be?" She looked down at her sweater. It was still burnt so yesterday had happened. She looked around her apartment again and then realized why she hadn't remembered it was hers. It was still in one piece. She turned back to Alec. "How the hell did you do it?"

"Rayven…" Alec walked up to her and grabbed her hand again, pulling her toward the couch she awoke on. "Sit down, sweetheart, we need to talk."

Rayven sat down and Alec sat across from her on the coffee table. "You aren't about to like tell me that you're fro the future or some crazy shit like that are you?"

Alec smiled and shook his head. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped between his legs. "No...Nothing like that. Is there anything you'd like to ask before we start?"

Rayven opened her mouth to speak, but a door closed down the hall, cutting her off. She looked down the hall and almost fainted for the second time that…morning? Evening? Afternoon? She didn't even know what time it was.

Coming down the hall was her. In the same sweater and jeans that she wore now, but they weren't burnt and shredded. "Tha-That's me isn't it?" She looked back at Alec who nodded slowly. "Why can't she—I—see us?"

"Because as far as that you knows, we aren't here." Alec said solemnly, starring at the old Rayven.

"But I do know we're here." Rayven said, staring at Alec's solemn face, starting to freak out.

Alec looked back at her, his eyes glazed over, like he wasn't all there. Rayven smiled, feeling a little more than kind of crazy. Alec isn't all there…that's for sure.

"You know we are. But the old you doesn't…" Alec blinked slowly and looked back at old Rayven, who was casually fixing herself some cereal.

Rayven shook her head. "Alec, that makes no sense…I'm so confused." Rayven's head dropped into her hands and she began to cry out of pure confusion. She felt so lost and so alone. No matter how close Alec was. She began to shake her head, ready to give up, but then she felt someone's arms wrap around her and she was pulled into Alec's chest. His was very cold, but she didn't care, she just wanted comfort. Someone to tell her it was going to be alright, even if it was just a lie.

After a few moments and the disappearance of the old Rayven, she felt Alec pulled away, his hands placed firmly on Rayven's shoulders. She wiped her eyes and looked up at him, smiling slightly. "Thank you."

He smiled back. "Anything for you, my love." He kissed her forehead and Rayven felt an electric shock. Then something like ice cool her entire body. He pulled away and she could see he felt it too, even though he tried to hide it. He couldn't mask his eyes. Most actors never could. Rayven puzzled for a second…how did she know he was an actor?

"Alec…I do have a question." She paused and he stared into her eyes, waiting for her to continue. "Are you an actor?"

Alec chuckled. "I used to be…long, long ago. However I'm pleased you remembered."

Rayven stared at him in confusion and he smiled that charming smile of his that seemed to make everything okay. "I think I should start explaining."

"Please," Rayven's voice was barely a whisper.

"Alright, my dear." Alec shifted slightly and Rayven rested her head on his shoulder, his arm securely placed around hers. She reached her arms up and laced her fingers loosely with his. His fingers weren't cold anymore and Rayven wondered why, but Alec's voice cut across her thoughts, "It all started about…1000 years ago, in the 1920's with your great-great-grandmother. Her name was Dimitra like your mother. Her last name was Nikitin. Now it was still the custom in most parts of world to take the last name of the man you married, correct?"

Rayven nodded and closed her eyes, letting herself get washed away in the story.

"Well, much like you, Dimitra Nikitin was a strong willed woman who would let no one stand in her way. Because of this, she was Chosen, meaning that any man she married had to receive her last name. Thus the tradition was to be passed down every time a Nikitin woman married. Well, unfortunately your grandmother took after you're great-grandmother's sister and didn't receive that strong-willed personality type."

"So why, didn't the gift get passed onto another daughter?" Rayven wasn't aware she had sad anything until the words came out of her mouth and was confused as to what she had even said.

Alec smiled and squeezed her hand softly. "Your great-grandmother only had one daughter. The rest were sons."

Rayven pulled her hand from Alec's and straightened up, turning to face him. "So why wasn't the gift given to one of her sons?"

"The gift is too strong for a male to control and comprehend." Alec said like it was the most obvious thing ever and Rayven laughed.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Alec smiled and was about to continue his story when a scream sounded from the garage. Both their heads whipped around to see what it was. The sound of tires screeching pieced their ears and a second later a car crashed thought the wall. Alec grabbed Rayven and pushed her to the floor as the walls came alight with fire and the roof began to cave in. Rayven screamed and covered her head with her arms, feeling Alec's cold weight on top of her. Another car flew through the opening and they both crashed through the other wall and out onto the street.

Glass flew across the room and Rayven felt a sharp pain in her side, then the roof was on top of them and she couldn't breathe. She heard something crack and thought that this was the death she had escaped the other day. Cold air filled her longs and she felt someone pulled her upward. She knew it was Alec by how freezing his hands were. Her eyes flew open and she looked around. They were outside and her house was on fire. She sat in snow, but she couldn't feel any coldness but that which radiated from Alec.

"Come on..." He pulled her up and quickly pulled her into an alley a few feet from her house. Rayven quickly glanced at the sun before they turned the corner and saw that it had to be almost six. She remembered that yesterday she had drove for hours into the lower part of Russia before her crash.

Alec pulled her into the alley and pushed her roughly against the cold brick wall, holding her there with strength she didn't know he had. "Listen to me, extrememly carefully."

Rayven nodded quickly.

Alec started speaking as quickly as Rayven had nodded her head. "You have the Gift. Everyone thought your mother was going to have it, but when your grandmother moved to the United States and gave up her name it apparently skipped a generation, meaning that your and your grandmother never went to the Temple to cleanse the world. Now you have two choices you can either come with me, and go to the temple or you can stay here and let your heart lead you into a death trap."

Rayven shook her head quickly, her eyes closed and her nails digging into Alec's arms. "Alec, what the hell is going on? Why am I gonna end up in a death trap? Who's trying to kill me? What is the Gift anyway?"

"The Gift is an amazing thing. But you have to have a strong mind, heart, and body to contain it. Which you do. All you have to do is close your eyes, hold your breath and wish for anything you want to happen and it will. But there are things to watch for. Be careful what you wish for, it might not work out how you want. Never tell anyone that you have the Gift. And above all else, never, ever listen to what your heart says. That's why I'm here, love, to lead you in the right direction." Alec moved his hands to Rayven's face and on side was cold, one warm. His thumbs stroked the tears off of Rayven's cheeks. "Rayven…look at me."

Rayven whimpered and bit her lip, pulling her hands from Alec's arms and slowly looking up at him. He smiled down at her and she smiled back despite herself.

"You have to trust me. Do you trust me, Rayven?"

She didn't hesitate, Rayven nodded and pulled closer to Alec. Alec ran his lips over Rayven's ear, and she shivered, but they both knew it wasn't from the cold.

"I love you, Rayven." Rayven heard his fingers snap and everything went black again.