Ever walk into a room and have everyone stop what they're doing to stare at you? Well, that's exactly what happened when I walked into the Last Drop. The band went silent as soon as I walked through the door and one by one the whole room turned to look at me. So, I gave them a one finger salute and made my way to the bar, thankful the music started as soon as my ass hit the leather of the bar stool. Signalling to the vampire behind the bar, he needed to get over here pronto and serve me.

"I got this." Leo appeared out of no where and waved the vamp away as he got down a bottle of vodka. He looked unusually happy, which kind of made me want to murder him so much more. "One day, I'm going to sit down and work out how much you owe me."

To shut him up, I pulled a twenty out of my pocket and slapped it on the counter. "Bourbon and cola."

Instantly he frowned, putting the lid back on the bottle and did as I asked.

"I was kidding, you don't have to pay."

I didn't answer, taking my drink once it was made and went to hide in a booth in the back. The music wasn't bad with the band covering various eighties rock hits and thankfully the abundance of vampire wait staff stopped me from having to go up to the bar again. Despite that, I could feel him constantly looking my way and there was a certain presence in the room that didn't come from a leopard shifter. No, that came from something else - which was soon sitting opposite me.

"You okay? I thought you might come here to make sure there were no hard feelings from where you're Tracker attacked me."

I look up at him, almost tempted to smile at that. Jordan had told me about how Logan 'lost his shit' at Leo and while I didn't blame him, it could have ended badly. Luckily this Leo version of Cain didn't seem set on holding grudges so I said to the first thing to come to mind.

"Fuck. Off."

"Have you been crying?" He asks distractedly and I quickly look away - was it that obvious?

"I came here for a drink. Now go, bartend or whatever it is you are meant to do here!"

"Elise, what-"

"We're not friends. You don't get to pretend you care. I'm just your fucking pawn in what ever fucked up game your playing with all your stupid gods. Now piss off, before I decide killing you is in my best interest." I sit Apollo's dagger on the table beside my drink, glaring at him in a silent challenge.

After a minute, he holds his hands up in surrender and leaves me alone. The bottle of bourbon that finds it way to me soon after is clearly meant to be some kind of peace maker, but instead I decide it's time to go. I should have just stayed home - put up with Mums hovering and Alfie's stupid sad face, while telling them both I'm fine and not to worry about me. Problem with that is, they both know when I'm lying and I'm not fine.

I walk the longest way possible back home and my stomach sinks as Logan's bike isn't back in the garage. Slowly I go and stand in its spot, trying to hold everything in yet I fail at that as the tears start to come hot and fast. Taking out my phone, there are no messages or missed calls and rather than go inside, I go up to the main building. Buluc was an idiot to think blowing it up was something new that had the ability to hurt me. I'd seen it happen before, yet as I got closer, the screams from inside stayed with me.

"Not, real. That wasn't real." I mumble under my breath.

I barely make it to the cafeteria when Tom appears and rolling my eyes, I'm not in the mood to deal with him tonight.

"How are you?" He asks minus any jerkness.

"Fine. You?"

"Good. Look, I am hoping we can move on from our past. You saved not just my ass, but my brothers too, again, by sending us back. Thank you." He offered me his hand, and with a shrug, we called truce. "You do make a great leader Bunting. I'm, sorry."

This was too weird. "Okay. I'm just, gonna go now."

"Have a good night!" He called out after me and I only offer him a wave as I go into the dining hall.

Maybe all of this isn't real, and when I wake up Logan will be beside me, Tom will still be Tom and 'Leo' will know better than to act like everything is fine between us. So, until I do manage to go back to reality, I'm going to eat my weight in junk food and not feel bad about it. It's nearly ten o'clock and most of the kids will be in their rooms by now, which explains how empty the kitchens are. No one is here to witness me pulling out Vesna's hidden tub of ice cream from the back of the freezer and getting out a spoon, I end up on top of the counter.

I sit there eating double choc cookie chunk until my stomach aches as much as the rest of me. Maybe this isn't as much of a dream as I hope, because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be feeling like this. The ice cream is put away before I start to check the cupboards for chocolate and coming up empty, slam the door shut and sit in the corner defeated. It becomes clear than I'm definitely not dreaming or hallucinating anything because if I was, I'm pretty sure those cupboards would be rivaling Wonkers Chocolate Factory right now.

Then again, Tom had been nice to me - but surely stranger things have happened and closing my eyes, I try to push everything aside and focus on what's next. Was there any point in even trying to talk to Cain, but more than that - who would be the best to approach in working out what next. You don't just kill a god for no good reason; unless your Cain because hey, who knows what the hell is doing, ever!

"Bunny?" Logan asks cautiously; the soft thud of his steps on the tiles making my eyes snap open. He's definitely standing there now, and glancing over his shoulder the time on the counter tells me its gone midnight now. How had I fallen asleep down here?

I stiffly get up and cringe as pins and needles travel up my legs to my numb butt. It really makes standing up hard.

"I've been looking for you." Logan starts, taking a few more steps closer so now he's by the counter opposite me.

"Why?" I cough to clear my throat and quickly wipe my mouth in case there was any evidence of my ice cream massacre left there.

"Why do you think?" He sighs, and closes the distance between us.

"Is this it? Are you, are we, are you breaking up with me?"

Even saying those words makes my chest tighten and I can't look at him as I'm scared I'd see the truth on his face and completely fall apart. I'm not one of those girls, I've survived apocalypses so I can survive this. Three, near hyperventilating breaths later I got my answer as Logan shook his head as wrapped his around me. I held onto him as if he was about to disappear and pressed my cheek against his chest. He kissed my forehead, holding me even tighter as I began to relax against him.

"No, gods no. You drive me crazy sometimes, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm so sorry for letting you think that!"

"When you said you were done, and then, you just left - I'm sorry too!" I took a couple of deep breaths before stepping back, to wipe my eyes.

I didn't get a chance to as Logan's hands were that, gently wiping them from my cheeks before he kissed the tip of my nose. "I know, that was harsh and stupid. Four days Bunny, you were gone for four days and no one could locate any of you. Then you reappear, looking how you did, and don't explain?"

"I know, but it wasn't as bad as it looked!" Already I felt myself getting defensive again.

"I'm not going to argue about this anymore, pretty sure I said everything already." He sighed, pulling me back in for a hug. "I really underestimated what I was getting myself into when I promised you that I was yours for as long as you wanted me. You do still want me, right?"

"You're an idiot Logey." Looking up I managed to smile. "But you're my idiot."

"Did we just have our first, real, couple fight?" He asks grinning right back.

"We did, but lets not do that again."

"Never, but you really can't keep doing that. We're in this, together. Any time you want to run off on your own, stop for a second, just one second, and think how it would feel the other way around."

"It's not that simple, I thought about that. Honest. Then I thought about what would happen if you, or Jordan or CJ ended up dead and if you did leave me because of it, I'd be okay with that because you were still alive." I knew now that was a lie, because these last few hours of thinking that was it - sucked. I would eventually be okay with it. Probably.

"That's why I found you in here eating ice-cream?" He teased.

"I wasn't in here-" Logan licked the pad of his thumb and then wiped it over my chin, going just under my jaw. Damn it!

"You taste like chocolate." He kissed me once more as if to make a point. "Bunny, I could have died when I was out for a ride tonight. I could end up as a chew toy to the next werewolf I come across. I get you want us safe, but that's all we want for you too. Danger is a part of this life, no matter who you are, God Killer."

"What?"

"I went to the Last Drop and everyone was talking about their special visitor."

"Oh, so that's kind of sticking is it?" I frown.

"You've killed two, which is more than anyone else has done!" He tells me and if I didn't know better, I'd think he was proud of that fact. "Anyway, what I'm trying to get you to understand is, if something is going to happen, it's going to no matter what you do. Don't underestimate us Bunny, we've all managed to survive this long on our own."

"I saved Jordan's ass. Cain even saved yours or did you forget about that Mr. Can Survive On My Own. Please just let me do what I need to do to keep you safe!" I'm going in for an argument again, I know it.

"No. Elise, what's really going on?"

"What do you mean?" I thought that was kind of obvious.

"This whole, safe thing. You let others help you with Jordan, do you forget how we got even got together? Well, besides, you know. When Drac was after you, you didn't completely shut us all out. We were all there to face the Warlocks. Elise, we saw you die. You. Died. If I could get away with it, I'd lock you up in a padded cell far, far away from all of everything to stop that from happening again!" He ranted, letting me go as he roughly ran his hand through his hair.

"So, I got a sore neck and Jordan got himself in the shit. Look at the big picture, you're the one in the most danger, like all the time - not us. So, what's really going on? I can't let you be a one woman army on a suicide mission, that is why I got so upset and why I can't just let this go. Tell me, because if I have to go through another four days of not knowing what the hell is going on with you after being forced away, I - just, don't let it come to that. Again."

"I just love you guys, is that so wrong?" I snap.

"Yeah, but it's more than that."

I look at him closely, and Logan doesn't flinch or show any signs of backing off. "I don't want to tell you. Can you just, drop it?"

"I wish I could. Help me understand, no secrets - remember?" He held up his wrist, where Hazels magic band I'd given him when I needed to offload about Cain, remains. Just thinking about how much better I had felt after doing that made me realise that Logan could be onto something.

"You worry because you saw me die, once. You know what helped me defeat that Buluc guy? He showed me what he, the god of war and destruction and violence, could do - to my world. I saw him destroy the academy and slaughter all of you. One by one, you were all killed."

"Bunny, that. None of it was real." Logan tells me softly.

"I know! But these, things, they fuck with your head. When it happens, you think it  really is. I had it with Dracula and the Lord Alpha and anyone who has these, abilities, goes straight to where I am weakest. It hurts, so much Logan. How do you think I feel, that I see everyone I love, die over and over and over until I am now numb to it? That is how I manage to still fight back! You should see Amelia, she is still suffering the side affects and she only got a glimpse of it!"

Logan didn't say anything, but I didn't really expect him to. If I had just been told that, I'd probably start walking slowly towards the nearest exit and then run. To his credit he didn't and the look on his face told me he was really thinking deep about this.

"Your dreams, the ones you had before that you thought were tests. That happened in them too?" He asks, surprising me more than anything.

"I left it out, I didn't want to keep thinking about how I failed you all; I can never save you in time. But I try, so hard!" Annoyingly a few stray tears manage to appear and I quickly wipe them away.

"So, every night, you had to see that? Us, being killed?" I give a slight nod and end up being crushed in his embrace again. "Why couldn't you have said something sooner? All this time, Elise!"

"I can't risk that happening for real, so I keep you away to prevent it. So you get it now, right?"

"I do, but the burden you're carrying isn't yours. I hate they have turned us into your weakness, when we should be your strength. You are not alone and you don't have to act like you are either. You are not responsible for saving us, just how you were not responsible for Reece."

"Reece?" I hadn't expected Logan to bring him up.

"How long did you blame yourself for that? You're doing the same thing now, for something that hasn't even happened. I can't imagine how you've been made to suffer with this, but stop focusing on what could be, and focus what is. You're the most amazing person I know and you can get through this, because we will be at your side fighting too."

I must have actually listened to Logan, because that night when the dreams came, my loved ones did what I hadn't been able to do and saved themselves.

Then they saved me.

) O (

"Morning." Logan smiled from beside me; that stupid half smile which made stomach flip in pure happiness. "How did you sleep?"

Closing my eyes, I snuggled in closer to his side and as my arm went over his chest, his closed around me for a moment of perfect morning bliss. He leaned forward slightly, kissing my forehead before settling back down; our legs entwining as neither one of us seem to be making a move to get up.

"Good. Great, actually." I smile up at him.

"Good. Great." He repeated. Before I knew what was happening, Logan managed to roll me over so I was now laying on him; his hands running up and down my back, sending a shiver along my spine. "I love you."

"I love-"

The knocking on the door halted both of us, and instinctively, we pulled the blanket up to cover us completely should anyone dare walk in. God help them if they did.

"Breakfast is ready, Elliphant!" Jordan declared, the thud of his steps disappearing just as quickly as he came.

"I miss being alone." Logan sighed, rubbing his eyes lazily while I made a move to get up in case the next warning came with someone barging in. I didn't get far as Logan sat up, and with his hands on my waist I was suddenly positioned underneath him. "I miss our mornings in Fiji..."

His kisses started at my neck, then my collarbone, moving lower as memories of those tropical mornings came back to me with every one of his caresses.

"Me too." I agreed wistfully, freezing in the same second Logan did as footsteps came to my door.

"Seriously Murphy, if you're in there too-" Jordan called out and Logan groaned, resting his head on my stomach.

"Go away Jord!" I glared at the door, willing him to leave. "We'll be there in a sec!"

"Yeah, yeah!" He huffs, but thankfully goes.

"Come on lover boy, breakfast awaits." I tap Logan on the back and after sending me into a fit of giggles from blowing raspberries on my stomach, he gets up. Finding his pants, I simply roll onto my side and make no move in getting up. "You know what I miss about Fiji mornings? Breakfast in bed."

"Really? That's all that you miss?" He teases, and after doing the button his jeans, he slips on a t-shirt before turning his attention back my way.

I get up and reach for some clothes of my own. "You can't deny that we didn't have some great breakfasts."

"Oh we had great something!" He winks before leaving me to finish getting dressed.

"You two have obviously made up." Chris greets before shoving a spoonful of scrambled eggs in his mouth.

Dad is thankfully missing for that part of the conversation, and from the kitchen Mum comes in with two plates matching Chris's. The smell of buttered toast has my stomach growling and she passes one to me before taking a seat. We all dig in and the discussion of Logan and I's relationship is forgotten.

"So now all is right in the world, CJ and I have decided to keep it simple for a bit and got signed on for demon duty. Apparently there is a thing out there who considers himself a bit of a jewellery thief and has no problem in taking out civilians in the process." Jordan tells us. "We leave this afternoon."

"Please be careful!" Mum frowns looking between the pair of them, but doesn't say anything to try and stop them from leaving.

"Always!" Jordan grins.

"What about you Elli, what are your plans now?" She asks.

I look at Logan who only shrugs, but meeting his gaze, I know exactly what he is thinking; where you go, I go. "I don't think anything major is going to happen right now, so Logan and I are thinking of checking in on some of the packs he used to manage."

"You are?" Jordan adds, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Yeah, we are." Logan answers firmly.

"Is you, going out and running around such a good idea?" He asks, sounding a lot like Dad. "Hiding out here may be a better plan?"

"Everyone who is a threat knows where I am." As soon as I say it, I wish I hadn't as Mum drops her fork and everyone goes awkwardly quiet. "Did you seriously not realise that?"

"Well, no. I just, this is home for us now. Your with us and safe, and-" she pauses, going back to eating her breakfast with a tiny giggle. "There was a massive battle barely a hundred meters from here that could have ended the world as we know it. I guess it's really not that safe here after all."

The guys all nod and we keep eating in silence. Jordan and CJ are first to leave the table since they have things to organise for their new mission. Logan next, as he explains with unnecessary detail he needs to take a shower, and will be in his room after if anyone needs him, not mine because he has no reason to be in there anyway. Mum only shook her head and let him disappear. I help Mum with the dishes and once we're done, she makes us a coffee and we go sit outside in the sun with my snakes who barely even acknowledge our arrival.

"He loves you, you know." She soon muses.

I pat Alfie, feeling his muscles tighten and relax under my hand. "I know. I love him too!"

"Logan, Elise. Not Alfie, though he loves you too. He was fretting last night before you came home."

"I know, I felt it. I feel guilty for making him worry." Looking at her now I smile. "Alfie, not Logan."

"He was fretting too. When he came back and you weren't here, he was scared you'd left!"

"The feeling was mutual." I mumble dryly. "We're okay now though."

"I would hope so considering your sleeping arrangements last night. Did you want to talk about it?" She offers.

"No, we had a few issues to sort out and we talked about it." I assure her.

"I'm glad. He's a good guy, I've always thought that since the day he first appeared on our doorstep!" Mum gets that look in her eye, like she wants to say more, but instead will just leave me guessing. "But you're so young. Who knows how everything will work out!"

"Yeah, who knows." I agree.

It's not long before Logan sneaks out to go to the gym, but I'm happy where I am laying on Alfie in the sun and spending some time alone with my Mum. Not thinking about everything turned out to be surprisingly easy to as she told me about some of the kids in her classes and a book she was reading. It was after our debate over her love of using a bow and mine of a sword, that our talk changed again back to our life.

"It's nice to have one place to call home. I almost forgot what it was like after so many years of constantly moving, especially when Jord went missing." She sighs. "You two are all grown up and don't need us like you used to. We have no reason to leave here."

"You wouldn't, I don't know. Go back to where you lived as a kid one day?"

I thought about the small town we'd gone back to when I had been barely ten and she had wanted to show Jordan and I where she'd originally come from. Her mother had been buried there, and it couldn't have been more different to the city she'd ended up finding out her parentage wasn't as normal as you'd think. It was easy to remember the house she'd lived in as a child, I'd been enchanted with it's story book styling and was the kind of place I wished they end up spending their final fays in - though I couldn't actually see my parents settling for the easy, civilian life, ever. It would be perfect though, a fairy tale in itself with a small cottage surrounded by rose gardens that would be filled with tiny pixies that would drive Dad crazy and Mum would spoil by leaving sweet treats out for them.

"No, there isn't anything for me to go back to. I'd follow your father to end of the world, and I can't imagine that would end with retiring to a place so, peaceful. You and your father are the same that way, this is as simple as our life will ever be and that's fine with me! Besides, we're getting old. If we're not at an Academy, we'll probably look at something within the council."

"Do you wish things were different?"

"Sometimes, but there is no point in stressing over things you can't change. I learnt the hard way that you can't escape whats in your blood." She takes my hand and gives it a light squeeze. "You sure your okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to go off the rails again and disappear for a year. I was just, thinking." I lean over and give her a hug. "I love you."

"I love you too, so very much." It's then Alfie decides to get involved, moving his tail so he wraps around the pair of us. "And we love you Alfie!"

"Don't forget Anni!" I laugh as her head pops up behind us.

Mum pushes Alfie back and gives her a scratch in that oh so sensitive spot under Anni's chin. Jealous, Alfie nudges me so he gets the same treatment and that's when it hits me.

"Oh my god!" I gasp.

"What?" Mum instantly looks worried.

How could something so obvious, only just occur to me now?

"I think I have a plan!" I didn't appreciate how worried she looked at that or how Alfie dropped his head in the same manner Dad did when he was about to give in to what ever it was that I wanted. "Why would you go back, when there is nothing there for you anymore!"

"I don't understand Elise." She frowns.

"Thanks for the chat Mum!" I give her another a hug, and leave her standing there completely confused.

This was it, this was how I could fix everything. That is, if it was actually going to work.