3rd Person POV

The ride back to the Academy was completed in dead silence. Everyone was thinking the same thing though as nervous glances were exchanged. If the operation had known they were coming, there was a traitor in their midst.

The only people who'd known about this mission were the ten people involved and Rafia of course.

Piling out of the car, the ten of them went straight to Rafia's office. Her tiny office was suddenly overcrowded but she didn't seem to mind, as she looked at each of them in turn, waiting for an explanation. It was Talia that stepped forward finally and explained everything they'd seen, and what it meant.

If Rafia was alarmed that there was a traitor in the room, she didn't show it.

"Lock the unconscious guard up in the cells. I'll look through his memories. You all can return to your dorms," she said.

Desmond stepped forward then before anybody could leave.

"You're just letting everyone here leave. One of the people in this room right now is a traitor and is dangerous," Desmond argued.

Rafia looked unaffected by Desmond's outburst, though Emily shifted uncomfortably at the blatant lack of respect.

"The rest of you may leave. Desmond and Cassius stay," Rafia ordered.

Before Desmond could argue any further, everyone filed out leaving Cassius and Desmond alone. Desmond looked beyond pissed as he stared at the woman. Cassius didn't know what to feel.

There were traitors in their midst but it wasn't a particularly shocking revelation. The Academy was huge and its students easily influenced. This had been inevitable.

"I can't believe you let them all go," Desmond snapped.

"What did you suggest I do? Find one traitor amongst dozens that are probably hidden all over the Academy," she retorted.

Desmond plopped himself down in one of the seats before her desk with a heavy sigh. Rafia didn't tell either of them to leave, sensing their distress. Every plan they took, the operation seemed one step ahead.

"What are we going to do," Cassius asked.

Rafia rubbed her forehead as a frown marred her face. For the first time, Cassius could see how weary she was. She really didn't have a plan to proceed and that scared the hell out of him.

They were so many lives hanging in the balance.

"We don't crack. We find the location of the next compound, pick a different team, and attack," Rafia said solemnly.

"What if that's empty too," Cassius asked.

"Then we try again, with another compound," Rafia pressed.

Cassius already had a retort at his lips but Rafia got out of her seat and leaned over the edge of the desk. Her eyes flashed, warning him not to press her any further. Cassius gulped and stared down at his shoes.

Desmond didn't back down so easily though.

"So you're hoping if we keep attacking more compounds, finding more clues, it'll lead us to a source of some sort," Desmond said.

Rafia heaved out a sigh and sat down once again.

"That's the plan, and somewhere along the way hopefully we can find a cure," she said.

Desmond opened and closed his mouth several times but for once he didn't speak his mind. Both of them could see how tired Rafia was. Pressing her any further was just cruel.

Desmond walked towards the door with Cassius in tow. He stopped just as he reached it. He looked almost nervous as he turned to face Rafia once again, like he was genuinely afraid that he'd hurt her by saying what he was going to say.

"You know what really ends all of this right," he asked in a low voice.

She didn't reply but Cassius could tell she knew what he was talking about. Desmond clarified it anyway. Surprisingly, Rafia didn't stop him.

"Finding the people who were infected doesn't matter if we don't find the people who made the chemicals in the first place and shut them down," Desmond said ominously.

"Those people might be the least of our worries once all this is over," she replied.

Desmond and Cassius and looked at her with identical questioning looks.

"They've created distrust and effectively set us back over a hundred years," she said vaguely.

Still, Cassius didn't quite understand what she was getting at. She elaborated in a hushed voice, like if she said it too loud it would happen sooner. Chills ran down Cassius' back as she spoke in a voice that held more depth and Cassius could ever wrap his head around.

"I've been around since before this tentative peace existed between the different parts of the supernatural world. It doesn't take much to go back to the way things were," she said.

It sounded like a threat and in a way it was. Cassius had heard the stories, passed on through the generations. Violent tales where werewolves and vampires went to war for no reason, where warlocks were hunted as they were considered the most mysterious of the supernatural creatures and where shapeshifters had been almost completely wiped out by the other species. Cassius had never once thought he'd have to live through such an age.

It had been the naivety of a boy who'd believed peace couldn't be undone.

Rafia didn't say anything further. There wasn't really anything further to say that could do more damage to Cassius' world. He followed Desmond out the door; deep in thought about a future that he might not even live to see.

For once, he couldn't look at the bigger picture so he focused on the smaller details first.

"Want to call Azriel," Cassius asked.

Desmond looked like he'd fallen asleep and had just woken up. His whole face was paler than usual, eyes wide with fear. Cassius reached out and took the vampire's hand in his.

"One day at a time Desmond. One day at a time," Cassius said soothingly.

Desmond took deep breaths and slowly the fear dissipated.

"Let's call Azriel," Desmond said roughly.

Cassius let Desmond lead him back to his room, keeping their hands entwined.

Azriel didn't pick up but Raphael sent a message saying that their father had let Azriel into the territory to help. Azriel had, of course, worked himself into exhaustion. Raphael, Laura and a couple others were staying at the pack's guest quarters temporarily.

Their father had made it clear that none of them were welcome into the pack once this mess was behind them.

Once Cassius had read out the message to Desmond, he was about to leave. He'd turned to the door, feeling the intense gaze of the vampire at his back. Those dark eyes were unreadable and Cassius couldn't bring himself to walk away.

Desmond wasn't going to ask him to stay and Cassius didn't know how to ask him if he could.

Making a split second decision, Cassius turned and took a step closer to the bed. Desmond looked down at his feet before meeting his eyes once again. There was mischievous humor in its depths as Desmond shifted over slightly on the bed.

Cassius crossed the distance between them and that humor vanished.

Desmond rolled onto his side and Cassius slid under the sheets, heart hammering in his ears. It had been different with Azriel. He'd wanted to comfort him, a far more innocent intention than the one going through his mind now.

He didn't say a word as they lay there quietly, keeping distance between their bodies.

Cassius turned to his side, back facing Desmond and let his eyes drift shut. Exhaustion from everything that had happened in the day had him finding sleep easily despite the tension of sharing a bed with Desmond. He woke up later than he usually did the following morning, the reason behind which he deduced seconds later.

Desmond's arm was under his head, his hand wrapped around Cassius' waist. Warm breath hit the back of Cassius' neck and he almost shivered. Almost instinctively, he pressed a little closer and Desmond's arm tightened in response.

That's when the alarm on Desmond's phone finally went off.

All traces of sleep vanished and he shot up to a seated position, moving back to his side of the bed. He jolted Desmond out of his sleep in the process and he shot up as well, eyes scanning the room for a threat before landing on Cassius. Cassius didn't know how long they would have stared at each other with shock, alarm, and traces of something far more delicate if Cassius' phone hadn't rung.

Cassius picked it up in a hurry, expecting Azriel. Instead, it was Raphael and Cassius felt a small pang of disappointment. He put the phone on speaker and Desmond shifted closer. Cassius noticed how carefully he kept space between their arms but he didn't comment.

"What's wrong," Cassius asked immediately.

It was Laura's voice that came through the phone, high-pitched with worry and concern.

"Oh god we were so wrong about everything," she exclaimed.

"Laura what's wrong? Where's Raphael," Cassius asked hurriedly.

That's when Desmond reached out and wrapped a hand around Cassius's arm, a silent show of support.

"Azriel called us last night saying that something really weird had happened. Before he could elaborate, someone, I think it was Michel, grabbed his phone and told him he couldn't communicate with us while he was on pack territory as a guest. The phone cut off after that and Raphael got worried," Laura explained.

"Don't tell me he snuck onto the territory," Desmond snapped.

There was a moment of silence and Cassius feared the worst. Sneaking onto wolf's territory was punishable by death. It was why they'd taken so many precautions during their first mission.

"No he didn't. Azriel didn't sound particularly alarmed on the phone so Raphael didn't risk it," Laura appeased.

Cassius felt the tightly coiled breath in his chest whoosh out of him.

"This morning around 7 though we woke up to noises outside," Laura said slowly.

"Laura tell the story faster," Desmond pressed.

Cassius shot Desmond a warning glare to not push the woman. She was clearly distressed, but not distressed enough for anything to have happened to Raphael or even Azriel. Still, Cassius braced himself for her next words.

"It was Alex. Standing there, scowling at us," Laura said slowly.

It took Cassius a minute to even recall who Alex was. Desmond was way ahead of him. The hand around Cassius' arm tightened reflexively.

"So his insanity was cured? How? Did you find a cure? Did Azriel heal him," Cassius asked urgently.

"That's not all Cass," Desmond said slowly.

Cassius looked at him quizzically. Laura was completely silent. For the life of him, Cassius couldn't remember a key detail that he was clearly missing out on.

"It was 7am, past sunrise. He's a vampire," Desmond explained.

Cassius reeled back at that, mind trying to process the impossible.

"So you're saying that, what, he's not a vampire anymore," Cassius choked out.

This couldn't be happening. You couldn't just transform one species into another. Surely the world wasn't that advanced yet.

"He still doesn't have a heartbeat so he's still immortal and reliant on blood but he no longer has the speed and strength of a vampire, or the aversion to sunlight," Laura explained.

Before Cassius could come to terms with that, Laura pressed on.

"He's almost completely human and I think that's actually what the injection does. They market it by saying that the drug will make you stronger and faster, but it ultimately eliminates the threat you pose," she explained.

Who would do such a thing? Rafia's words came echoing back. Each part of the supernatural world would blame another for attempting to neutralize their strengths. What would happen to the other species that had been injected?

Catherine would wake up human.

Cassius didn't know whether to be relieved by the fact that Catherine's insanity wasn't permanent, or to dread her reaction when she woke up. Being a shifter was a part of who he was, just as Catherine's shapeshifting abilities were a vital part of her. She was going to be devastated.

"Laura we'll call you back," Desmond said quietly.

He cut the call but Cassius hardly registered it, mind reeling at the implications of what they'd just discovered. 

New chapter! So the plot thickens. The action's coming up soon and Catherine will make a reappearance at some point in the near future, for everyone that's missing her. I'll admit that she's my favorite too. 

We're at 11K reads now! Thank you so much guys. Let me know what your favorite part of this chapter was in the comment section below and don't forget to click the vote button. I'll be updating soon! 

LOVE, 

ASH

Also a little heads up for the next chapter. I think you guys will like it. It's a good one (;