RPOV

I was up much earlier than I usually was. I had turned into someone who got up at nine in the morning, and I hadn't been up before the sun a long time! Not even when Gabriel wanted me to run with him. But this morning, I was waiting for him.

He always felt best after a phase, and that meant prime workout time.

I heard his footsteps on the stairs, and I stood up straight, uncrossing my arms. Gabriel had his arm bent over his head in a stretch as he came into the kitchen, stretching with a yawn.

"I need to talk to you," I rushed, gripping his shirt and dragging him towards the back door.

"Why are you up?" he asked through the yawn, barely slipping his feet into his shoes. I shut the door quietly behind me and pulled him down the stairs.

"Slow down, will you? I'm going to break my ankles because my shoes aren't on. I heal fast, but I'd rather not feel that!" Gabriel complained as we made it to the beach. I huffed and ran my fingers through my hair before tying it up in a bun.

"Now, since I didn't even get a chance to have my morning coffee, what is the matter?"

"He is exactly like I remember him, and that is terrifying!"

Gabriel smiled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"He?"

"Shut it," I grumbled and kicked some sand.

"What happened last night that freaked you out?"

"I slept walked into my bed last night, and practically climbed on top of him! And he didn't even care! He just let it happen and told me that meeting me was the most important thing that's ever happened to him. And then! He kissed my head last night when he thought I was asleep!"

"That's because he's a big dummy who loves you," Ivan gloated behind me.

"SHUT UP, IVAN!" I shrieked, spinning to look at him, but he bolted before I could fully see him. I heard the ghost of his laugh and turned back to Gabriel, who had the dignity to try and cover his smirk.

"Don't laugh at me."

"Do you think that it's a possibility that you and him are the exact same? Because that man was willing to finish out this exercise without telling you that he is still in love with you, all while you are trying to hide the fact that you are in love with him too."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Let's just run," I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. I didn't want to admit he was right, but it was scary how well he knew me. He said it was because of being mates, but he was very in tune with everyone he met. It was also like he had another gift entirely.

As we ran I couldn't help but shake my head.

"Did Croft talk to you?" I asked.

"Yeah. He caught me and Martin and Sheila the day they arrived. He's hoping that we can keep any knowledge of Spirit to ourselves."

"I wonder what he knows to ask us to hide this information for him?" I mused quietly.

Gabriel cleared his throat. "He asked Emily a favour."

"What kind of favour?"

Gabriel came to a stop. We were far enough from the house that we wouldn't be overheard, we had been running for at least thirty minutes.

"He asked Emily to listen in on a conversation amongst the Royals," he said as he ran his hand through his hair, "Gave her the blueprints to the Palace and everything."

I pursed my lips. "He knows something," I said, "That's not a debate anymore. For Hans Croft to do something like that…What could they be up to?"

"You know them better than I do," Gabriel pointed out and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Okay, I want your honest opinion because you just seem to understand people so easily."

"Hit me."

I smacked his shoulder gently with a smile.

"Do you think that if Dimitri wanted to try things again, that it would it would work? That he wouldn't hurt me again? Because I don't even want to think about the possibility that he would hurt me again."

Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you want to hear what you want to hear, or do you want the honest truth?" he asked.

"The truth?" I said hesitantly.

Gabriel gripped my shoulders gently.

"What you two had, it wasn't very healthy. You moved from being friends to lovers in a split second and you didn't even have a chance to grieve him when he was turned. You went onto autopilot mode and you never took a moment to just breath. You've had time away, you've got perspective. You've learned from Sheila and Martin what is healthy. I think that if the two of you took it slow, and learned who you both are now after all the trauma. If you want to try again, just take It slowly," he said, "And I will support you. But if he hurts you again, I will wolf out on him. And I can't make any promises that he won't be intact after I'm done with him.

I smiled at him and leaned into him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Anything for you," he whispered, resting his head on my head. After a moment I pulled away and smiled at Gabriel.

"I told him about Derek and Beatrice," I said with a grin.

"Hey, you told him about Beatrice. That's saying something. But is he going to understand the nature of your gift? It's one thing for him to say he understands, but it's another thing for him to truly understand and respect it."

I smiled at him. "He knew before anyone else did. Sure, he didn't believe me at first, but I know he does now," I said and started running again. I could hear Gabriel's laughter before he caught up with me, poking me in the side and making me stumble before righting myself again.

By the time we got back, we did a bit of spar work, and I was soaked in sweat. I hadn't had a workout like this in forever and I needed it. It helped me work out some of my stress and I felt reenergized.

"What's going on in here?" I asked as I came in the back door, finding everyone in the kitchen and the smell of breakfast in the air.

"I wouldn't be all that hospitable if I didn't make our guests breakfast at least once," Sheila said with a smirk from the flat top, flipping bacon and sausage with a smile.

Michael spoke but the words were foreign to me, and a few people looked at each other.

"Mike, try again in English," Bryce said with a grin and Dimitri answered. Hearing Dimitri speak, I recognized it as Russian. Michael and him spoke for a few minutes, and I could see that being able to speak to someone in another language, while he was trying to navigate his gift was amazing.

"I would have thought that it was Ukrainian," Emily said with a smile.

"I guess I should have figured out that you would speak Russian, considering your accent," Martin said as he poured orange juice into glasses.

"Morning, Rose," Tilda said with a smile. I smiled at her and she gestured her head to the side. I followed her into the living room.

"I was able to secure these from an old friend. They aren't exactly FDA approved because the FDA isn't involved in medications for people like us," she said as she slipped a bottle into my hands, "It's just until you can get a handle on everything. It'll help you tell the difference between reality and not."

I nodded. "How many times has it been tested?"

"It was used in a clinical study on young adults diagnosed with schizophrenia but are actually like you," she explained, "There were an incredible response with the medication."

I nodded and slipped the bottle into my pocket before heading back into the kitchen. Dimitri pushed a chair out from under the island towards me, a soft smile on his face. I sat down and took a cup of coffee from Martian and got comfortable in my chair.

"How'd you sleep?" Dimitri whispered.

I smirked to myself. "Perfect. How did you sleep?" I whispered back.

"What are you two whispering about?" Tyson asked and I rolled my eyes at him.

"None of your business, frankly," I retorted. He was always a dick to me when I was working in the filing, and he was still a dick.

"So how exactly did Belikov swing not sleeping in the boathouse? I mean, not that I'm complaining, but I'm sure the main house is much better."

"Because aside from Eddie and Croft, I don't trust any of you," I retorted with a smile.

"Yeah, but where is he sleeping?" someone else asked.

"Rose and I are bunking together. Rose offered him her room," Gabriel interjected, tossing back an Advil and then some orange juice.

"Are we sure you two are just bunking up?" Tyson asked rudely.

I rolled my eyes again and pinched a piece of bacon off the hotplate, shoving it in my mouth despite the grease burning my tongue.

"Yes. But like Rose said, she doesn't trust any of you. And I know I can trust him not to invade her privacy while being in her room. And frankly, I'm over being polite with you. You speak crudely to my pack, and if you continue to step over the line, I will do something about it," Gabriel bit out, his eyes flashing for a moment.

I gripped his arm as he passed by, squeezing it gently. He was getting worked up, and I wanted him to take a breath. Even if he felt the best after a phase, he was also more 'hormonal' in a sense. It was the same closer to rut or any other phase.

He took a deep breath and nodded, closing his eyes for a moment. He nodded again when he opened his eyes and kissed the top of my head.

"I'm going to shower. Don't wait for me," he said kindly to Sheila. She nodded and as he passed Dimitri, Dimitri clapped Gabriel on the shoulder sympathetically.

"I guess freaks are cool with other freaks," Tyson whispered to a Guardian I wasn't familiar with. Four separate bodies moved; Gabriel, Dimitri, Eddie and Croft. Gabriel got to Tyson first and had him out of the chair by the collar of his shirt. I got up too to try and intervene, but Dimitri stopped me.

"I have warned you," Gabriel growled, an actual growl coming out of his chest. I nodded at Dimitri and slipped past them.

"Mikey; go upstairs," Gabriel commanded. He didn't have much control over us and rarely used any of his Alpha's power on us. But things were about to get ugly. I nodded at Michael, encouraging him to go. Gabriel wouldn't want him to see the outcome, regardless of what it was. Michael scuttled out of the kitchen, Emily following behind him to ensure he didn't come back down.

Once Michael was out of the room, Gabriel dragged Tyon outside, both of them stumbling down the stairs. We all followed them outside, me staying close to Gabriel. A part of me needed to allow him to assert himself as an Alpha, to protect his pack, but I didn't want him to go too far.

"Gabriel," I whispered but he already snapped his fist back, clocking Tyson square in the face.

"You are not welcome in my home. You have disrespected my family and you have been warned more than once. This is the final warning. Because if I have to tell you again, you'll be leaving in a body bag," he spat and slipped between them, resting my hands on his chest.

"Gabe," I whispered, a nickname that he only ever allowed his mother to use for him. I whispered it a few times until his eyes down to mine. I knew that even through the rage and instinct, I would be the only thing that would stop him. And I knew that he wouldn't hurt me.

After a moment his shoulders relaxed and he stepped backwards, heading back into the house. I looked at Dimitri and he gestured for me to hang back, and he followed Gabriel into the house. A few of the guardians picked Tyson up from the sand, and a part of me was smug that Gabriel knocked him flat.

"That was entertaining, and kinda hot," Eddie whispered as we walked back into the house.

"Careful Eddie, everyone will know you swing for both teams if you keep talking like that," I teased, bumping him with my hip.

"Whatever. But seriously, you never went there with him?"

I shook my head. "He's like the male version of Lissa, before she turned ultra Royal," I laughed, "But he's been good to me. My dad likes him."

"Yeah?"

I nodded and smiled at him as he opened the door for me, but stopped me before everyone else caught.

"You noticed that this whole thing is weird, right?"

I nodded. "Something is definitely going on."

DPOV

Our week here was almost done and we hadn't learned much that the Queen wanted. We learned a lot of interesting things about the participants of the program. I was impressed with Rose in particular. She had learned how to do incredible things with her abilities.

As strange as it was, watching her bring a recently deceased cat back to life was fascinating.

"Can you tell what killed the cat?" I asked.

She nodded. "He ate something he wasn't supposed to," she said as she stroked the cat's back, "I'll going to call him Nacho."

I snorted a laugh and was surprised when the cat rubbed against my leg.

"I'm surprised that he isn't hissing at us," I chuckled.

"It's actually not us that animals hate, it's the magic that surrounds us from the Moroi. As Guardians, we are constantly around their magic. Out here, there is so little of it," Rose explained, "Sheila and Martin have a dog. He's at the kennel. I wasn't sure about him being around a bunch of people who and dripping with magic."

I nodded to myself. "Good idea. But animals like the Moroi?"

"It's the differences in our genetic makeup that makes them squirrely when around magic," Rose smiled and stood up, scooping the cat up in her arms. Unlike I had seen before, the cat curled into her arms, purring and rubbing his little face against her cheek.

"Yeah, now you know not to eat things you aren't supposed to," Rose cooed softly as we walked back to the house. Jerry was proud of her development, being able to focus directly on pulling the soul back to the cat instead of awakening the notice of any other spirit around us.

"You're improving considerably," Jerry commented as we walked, "I didn't realize that the son had gone down so quickly."

Rose and I both chuckled before Rose stilled, her face paling.

"Roza? What is it?"

"Strigoi," she whispered, taking off towards the house. I followed after her, Jerry trying to keep up. Once we got to the house, we could hear the fight inside. Once I got inside, the first sight I saw was Gabriel backing towards a corner, his body in front of Sheila, Martin and Michael. Rose dropped the cat and he bolted up the stairs and moved into the house, her stake drawn. I went for Gabriel but stopped when the Strigoi went down.

Where Gabriel's nails would have been were talons instead. His nails went clean through the Strigoi's neck, decapitating it. Once the body hit the floor, he nodded at me and ushered the three of them upstairs.

In total, there were seven Strigoi in the house. Usually, it wouldn't have been a problem, but with eight 'civilians' in the house, we had to try to keep them safe and kill the Strigoi. Rose snuck up behind a Strigoi and staked them in the back, pulling her stake out in time to intercept another. I told Jerry to go upstairs and I helped Croft take down another.

It was relatively easy to take down the rest as each person funnelled upstairs, Gabriel staying near the stairs. Once we took care of the rest of them, Sheila started checking all of us over, making sure we weren't injured. Rose called an Alchemist friend who was nearby to come and take care of the situation.

Michael was shaken up, and I was happy to see the softer side of Gabriel, the side that really only Roe saw. While Martin and Sheila were cleaning up, Gabriel comforted Michael. He looked much younger under Gabriel's arm, but he spoke quietly to him.

"I guess he isn't just a big body of testosterone," a Guardian whispered to me, Rosner I think.

"Give the man some props, he decapitated a Strigoi with his bare hands," I muttered as I swept up some glass, "Michael is the youngest of the pack. Pack structure is the same as family structure. He's comforting the youngest out of instinct, and because he cares. Remember the first time you saw a Strigoi? You knew your whole lives about Strigoi, seen footage of them. Michael never has. It's terrifying," I said as I dumped the glass into the bin.

"How is he?" I asked Gabriel when he stood up and came into the kitchen.

"Freaked out. He's an innocent kid. He doesn't even like horror movies. The poor kid is still anxious to sleep in the dark," Gabriel said as he got a glass of water, "Tilda is going to try and get him to sleep."

I nodded and watched him walk back out.

"How is Tilda going to get him to sleep?" Guardian Fillips asked.

"Tilda is kind of like a Spirit user. She can influence emotions, which means she can calm him down enough to go to sleep," I explained, "We've been here for how long and you don't know that?"

A few people shrugged while Castiel and Croft shook their heads. Rose was speaking to Emily when the bell rang, gesturing for her to wait. When she opened the door, I was stunned.

Not by the Alchemist that I had seen trailing after Rose while she was in Russia, but by the man who followed her in.

"Rose," Abe Mazur said fondly as he embraced her, rubbing his hand over her shoulder affectionately.

"I'm fine," she reassured him. Gabriel came over as well and shook his hand before gesturing for him to come further into the house, his Guardian following him into the house.

"Sydney told me what happened, are you all okay?" Abe asked as he reached Sheila.

"Shaken, but we're okay," she whispered with a forced smile. Abe surveyed the house, mentioning things to his Guardian.

"These damages aren't something you'll be able to put through your home insurance. I'll take care of them," Abe mentioned to Sheila, "And I'll have the carpet replaced."

"That's too much Abe," Martin said but Abe raised his hand.

"You've done my family more than I can possibly thank you for. Let me take care of this. I can have this taken care of quickly," Abe said gently, "Please. Let me."

Sheila glanced towards me, but her eyes were lower, at Rose before she looked back to Abe.

"Okay," she whispered with a small smile. Abe nodded to himself and then looked at Rose and me.

"Any ideas on how the Strigoi got through the wards?"

"I noticed one of the stakes one knocked over. It could have been the neighbour's lawn mover for all we know," Rose said tiredly. I glanced towards where the Alchemist was working on the bodies.

Michael was still shaken up and I watched Rose go towards him, sitting between him and Gabriel, taking him into her arms and stroking his head gently.

"What is the connection to you and Abe?" I asked Martin, "Do you know his reputation? He's not the man to owe a favour to."

I had known who Abe Mazur was my whole life. But I knew him by a different name; Zmey. He was a man to be feared. If you could afford him, you owed him a favour. And that was worse than needing his services. He did everything; loans, arms deals, drugs, essentially everything aside from trafficking people.

Martin cocked his head. "That's for him to tell you. It's not my place," Martin said, "But you could ask Rose."

I looked at Rose again and bit my lip, watching her comfort Michael as best as she could.

Hope you guys like it so far! :)