DPOV

I was twitchy and far more irritable than normal when overseeing the evaluation of the newer guards. I stood next to Felix with my eyes closed, the bridge of my nose pinched between two fingers. This was pointless, and for more than just the fact I couldn't really pay attention to what was going on. I groaned when I heard yet another call for corners.

Felix snorted next to me. "Well, this is fun."

I growled low and lifted my head, crossing my arms and glaring at the field below us. "They are all a bunch of backyard wrestling halfwit rejects. Not a single one of them would last against even the lowest level of guards."

He chuckled a little. "Don't you think you're being just a little over critical?" He pointed to one on the other side of the field from us. "That one could at least take Santiago."

I set a hand on the railing and looked to where he was pointing and saw a little larger than normal vampire, I would say was about three or so, facing off with a giant. "Anyone can learn to fight, Felix. It's a matter of it being worth the headache to teach them. At the moment, I am not seeing a single one that would be."

He turned his back to the field and leaned against the railing with his arms crossed. "What is it, exactly, you're not seeing, Dem? Is it you really don't see anyone that would be worth the time to properly train to take the places of the three you mutilated the other day? Or is it more you don't see anyone worth cutting into the time needed to properly raise your mate? There is a difference and there is a solution. If it's the former, then we can leave this alone for now and let them spend more time in basic training and if it's the latter, tell me who it is and I'll see to it they are moved to advanced fighting and have them overseen by someone that is not an idiot so you can focus on your girl. Besides, it's not like moving a few of these guys out of basic is a guaranteed placement higher up. That shit won't go down without your say so. But, the Masters are going to want those three from the other day replaced and soon."

I cocked my head to the side as an idea popped into my head to do just that. Looking over at Felix with a smirk, "I suppose the only way we will ever know just how well anyone would do in that high of a rank, is to see it happen. I want…"

Before I was able to finish the order there was a shriek of clear and absolute agony from the hall. I whipped around with a growl before I darted from the overlook, Felix right behind me. That noise came from my mate and it seemed that someone else was about to die. How wonderful... another guard to fucking replace. Fantastic.

I slowed as I turned the final corner that separated us, eyes narrowed and teeth barred. There was a group of lesser guards in the hall, every one of them talking at once but all I heard was my mate's whimpers and, surprisingly, Luna's snarls. Since they didn't seem to want to heed Luna's warning, let see if they will listen to mine.

I growled deep in my chest before I spoke in a normal volume voice. "Get, away from them." You really do get better results when others know you're pissed off, but you do not yell. As the guards in the hall scrambled to back away from Isabella and Luna, and I mean they parted like the Red fucking Sea, I was able to get a glimpse of the two and I was not a fan of what I saw.

Isabella was down on the ground, curled into a ball with her head tucked to her chest and her fingers in her hair as she grabbed her head and Luna was crouched in front of her in an attack position. For as small as Luna is, the little demon can certainly fuck someone up if she got it in her head to do so.

I approached the pair it was with cautious steps. I wouldn't get pissed off if I was growled at, or Hell, even snapped at, because Luna was trying to defend my mate against a large group of males. I would, however, get a little testy if I got bit. When she lunged, I half expected it, so I was able to dodge it for the most part. However, her nails caught the fabric of my fucking jacket. Rounding on her and seeing the slash marks, I growled at her. "Luna! Are you out of your Goddamn mind?"

When she slid across the floor, she rounded back and blinked, her eyes widening in horror. "Master Demetri, I am so sorry. I didn't… I mean…"

I just waved a hand at her. "Enough, Luna." Turning back and closing the distance to my mate, I glared at everyone still in the halls as I called over my shoulder. "Do you want to tell me what happened here?"

I crouched by Isabella's head as Luna came up behind me, her voice confused and low. "I don't know, Master Demetri. She was fine while we were in the washroom for the most part, but…"

I set a hand on my mates head but looked over my shoulder at Luna, a brow cocked. "For the most part?"

She bit her lip and nodded. "Yes. There was a very odd thing that happened while she was in the tub after I rinsed her hair. When she looked at me, her face told of pain and her eyes were pink. It didn't last long before her eyes went back to the right color, but it was peculiar and she said it hurt, but not what or where. After that, everything was fine so I didn't call on you since she said not to. Nothing else amiss happened until we got close to these men. She tensed and then this."

I narrowed my eyes a little at that, humming as I looked back at Isabella. I think I have an idea as to what is going on. "What did she do right before her eyes changed during her bath?"

I heard Luna hum before she clicked her tongue. "She sniffled after she came above water."

I cocked my head to the side. "Before she cried out, did she breathe? I do not mean the intake of air to scream. I mean before that."

"I am unsure, Master Demetri."

I nodded and reached under Isabella's head, lifting it with a crooked finger under her chin, completely unsurprised to see pink eyes looking back at me. Glancing to the faces of those that were watching the goings on, I looked back to my mate. "This is going to sound like a really stupid question, but I still need you to answer it. Does your head hurt?" When Isabella nodded once, I pushed against the base of her skull to the left of her neck. "Here?" When she shook her head, I did the same to the other side. "Here then?"

When she whined, I nodded. "Bingo." Clamping my hand over her nose, I locked my eyes on hers. "Breathe through your nose." When I felt her take a hit of my scent, I turned to Felix. "Clear the halls and find Alec. I have a job for you two."

Felix had a bewildered look on his face as he stared at my mate and I. He nodded but pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "But what about…"

I cut him off. "Fuck 'em. This is far more important than a bunch of piss poor fighters and their piss poor ability to impress me. I will deal with replacements later."

He gave me a nod and began to clear the hall we were in. I just kept kneeling in front of Isabella with my hand over her nose for the time being. For the moment, it was a question on how to remove her from the area and not have this happen again until a permanent solution could be worked out.

When he was standing next to me, Felix looked down at us. "So, what's going on?"

I pursed my lips and glanced up at him. "It would seem that Isabella here has inherited part of my gift." When she whimpered into my hand, I looked back at her, placing my other hand back on her skull and rubbing the area that the pain was at. "I know how bad this hurts, Gatáki, but it will pass in a few moments. Just be still for now."

Felix cocked his head and crossed his arms. "Which part?"

I shook my head with a sigh. "Right now, all I knew for sure she got from me is the ability to retain and recall. That's the reason for the stabbing pain in the back of the skull. It takes a while to get used to it and it hurts like a mother fucker. I don't know if she can track over the same distance as I can or not and there is only one way to find that out. The rest of it, I don't know if she got it from me or not." I looked over at Felix and cocked a brow. "She's a scent based tracker, I'm not. However, we do know who is."

He looked confused for a moment before you saw it click. "The nomad."

I nodded at him. I wasn't the first tracker to bite Isabella and it seemed that there was still at least a little of his venom left in her system and she took on the qualities of both of us. It wasn't her fault and chances are she would have gained the abilities of a hunter regardless of the fact that she had the venom of two in her blood at time simply because of how powerful and honed my gift was. Her ability is just geared more towards scent because the nomad was a scent based hunter and my gift works with it too. It would be no different than any other that was turned by more than one vampire.

If you want to get really technical, she has two sires for the simple fact that there are two different sets of venom that contributed to her change.

When she was bitten by the nomad, no matter the fact it was awhile ago, there was absolutely no chance of getting it all out. The change had already started meaning the venom had already changed her DNA make up. Cullen only pulled enough out to stop the change from happening, but unless he drained her of every last drop of blood, there was no way to get it all. Master Aro was laughing as he told me of the blood transfusion she underwent because of all the blood lost, leaving the Cullens to think her system was completely flushed and clean. They were idiots. Muscles, organ tissue, the lining of her veins, it all contained hints and traces of the nomad's venom, just not enough to be noticed.

Because of the similar traits that I shared with him as a fellow tracker, when my venom was introduced into her system, instead of destroying it, it mixed with what was there. It didn't in anyway take over the overall makeup of her new DNA, there wasn't enough of it. What it did do, was add to it and enhance certain aspects of my venom and the result was a newborn vampire with probably the most sensitive nose in history.

I didn't know enough about the nomad or his gift to be able to say for sure what Isabella got from either of us outside of my inherited ability to retain the scent and recall it at any time. However, I DID know where I could scrounge up the information.

Felix wrinkled his nose a little for a moment, looking at Isabella before looking back at me. "And, what is it exactly you want me and Alec to do?"

I smirked and he gulped. "I am not going to allow this to happen every time she catches a new scent. It takes decades to get used to the pain caused by what she got from me and I cannot imagine what it feels like to have to feel it for more than one new person at a time. My gift works on one person at a time and I wouldn't make eye contact with anyone for over two years when we figured out that's how my connections were made. This clearly shows she catalogs every scent she comes across, no matter how many there are. I want you two to figure out a way to dull her sense of smell for the time being."

Felix grunted a little, rolling his head on his shoulders a few times before he nodded slowly once. "Alright. Give us a couple of hours and we'll come up with something."

I nodded at him and repositioned myself next to my mate. Before I was able to do more than that, Luna spoke up. "Is there anything I can do, Master Demetri?"

I glanced at her for a moment, about to say not right now when something popped into my head. "Yeah, there is one thing I want you to do." I shrugged out of my jacket, and held it out to her. "You get to fix this."

She looked a little sheepish when she took it and folded it over her arm. "Right. I'll see to it right away."

Nodding to her, I turned back to my mate, slipping an arm under her knees and behind her back. "Alright, Sýntrofos, up we go."

She slowly lifted her head and looked at me. Her eyes were ruby red again but there was no denying she was in some serious pain right now.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and shoved her nose into my throat, a quiet whine sounding from hers. Standing with my mate in my arms, I dipped my head and nuzzled my nose into her hair. "I told you I would carry you after your bath." Lifting my head again, I looked over at Felix. "We will be in my chambers when you have something figured out since it is the easiestly controlled environment."

I turned to leave and Felix cleared his throat which sounded a little uncomfortable. "Um, not to be the asshole here, Dem, but Master Caius is going to want to physically see that she's changed. Not to mention Master Aro is going to be interested in the fact she's gifted."

I turned back halfway and cocked a brow. "If my absence is not enough for Caius, he can come to my rooms and see for himself. As for Aro, he can lick my dick. I don't rightly care if he is interested in my mate or not. If he wants her in robes, he better have a very good, convincing reason as to why I should allow it." Then I turned and headed to my rooms. "His own laws clearly state my mate, my choice."

*X*

Even after Isabella and I were in my rooms, it still took me a decent amount of time to talk her out of my neck. Truthfully, I could not blame her. I knew what she was feeling felt like and it wasn't pleasant. I wasn't kidding when I told Felix I didn't make eye contact with anyone for over two years to avoid it. It had felt like the back of my skull was being ripped in half from the inside out. It was perfectly possible for a vampire to get a migraine and I didn't hold her fear of what happened before happening again against her.

However, finally, I was able to convince her that there were no other scents in here but mine and now hers. She was slow in her movements, but she did pull back a little, giving a light sniff of the air, her body relaxing when she found out I was right. When she loosened her grip around my neck, I lowered her legs so she could stand on her own but I didn't release her completely. With the arm that was still behind her back I pulled her closer to my chest, the hand that was under her legs lifting up and crooking under her chin.

Tilting her head back so I could see her face, I tilted my head a little to the side and just looked at her, taking in the changes to her features. She hardly looked anything like she used too. She was a beautiful human too. Now, she was a stunning vampiress. She just looked back at me, her red eyes shining and a small upturn to the corners of her mouth.

I dipped my head and butted her nose before setting my forehead to hers. "I have to make a call. Do you think you can behave for a little while and not break anything or do I need to go ahead and tie you to the bed now?"

Her mouth turned up into a wider smile and she giggled a little. "That depends on your definition of 'behave'."

A rough sounding purr came from my chest at her words as I smirked at her. "You are going to make the next couple of days extremely difficult for me, aren't you?" When all she did was giggle again, it took more than I thought I had not to groan. Pulling back from her, I again tilted her head back with the side of my finger. "Let me put it this way, Gatáki. You let me make this call with no interruptions and I won't beat your little ass. How does that sound?"

She bit into her bottom lip a little before looking up at me through her lashes. "Like a challenge." That time I did groan which did nothing but make her giggle again. "Alright, Demetri. I'll be good."

I rolled my eyes up to the ceiling and grinned a little. "Wonderful. Have a look around and get acquainted with the room. It is yours now as well. But, I meant what I said. Don't break anything, or at least try not to."

When she nodded to me, I pecked the tip of her nose, let her go and went over to my bedside table to get my phone. This wasn't the ideal place to get the information I needed about the nomad that bit Isabella a year ago, but as everyone in the coven was currently dead, it was the only option there was.

Taking a seat in a chair by the fireplace, I kicked my feet up on the stool and opened my phone. Dialing a number that I don't believe I have ever used, I put the phone to my ear and waited for the other end to pick up.