~Owen's POV~

Before they met Sang:

As I drove down the road heading to the address Luke had sent us I could feel my heart thundering inside my chest.

I was worried. Of course I was worried. It wasn't every day that you found out vampires and werewolves existed.

Much less that they lived so close to you without you ever noticing.

I prized myself at being perceptive, and yet a whole race of people had slipped by my notice for my whole life.

It was tremendously... disconcerting.

Of course, he was never going to admit to such a thing to Sean Green or show his best friend how scared he truly was.

Such a thing would only result in endless teasing and awkward situations.

Much like when he'd admitted, while completely drunk, to his best friend that he was still a virgin.

Oh, the horror following that admission.

Sean had never mentioned it to anyone, but he still teased him mercilessly, forcing him to watch a class about Sex Education and buying him books that were supposed to be "helpfully informative".

Trying to distract myself from my thoughts I focus my mind at the problem at hand.

"Phil." I say, using his first name as is his preference, "What can you tell us about vampires?"

"Well," He began saying, causing Sean to perk up from the backseat. "We don't really know a lot about vampires."

I frowned a little at that, I didn't like going into a situation uniformed, but considering the circumstances I knew we had no choices.

"You see, the truth is that there are very few of them, and they are all very different. Except for a single detail, they all need blood to survive." Phil continued with his explanation and I began to cataloging every bit of information he imparted to us.

"Some vampires, that we've met and recorded about, demonstrated having certain gifts, mind-control, shape-shifting, control over the elements, magic use. It is magic that allows for a werewolf to shape-shift, and for witches and wizards to create their potions and spells and so on. In the end our specialists have defined the vampire as a creature who is a living manifestation of the magic in our world, and thus they are very powerful."

Dr. Roberts had been moving his hands around to emphasize his point while he spoke "What we still don't understand is the apparent difference between the level of power and kinds of powers among vampires. We've taken notice that not all of them have the same abilities or capacity to use them for a certain amount of time." Then he added, "They are, even to this day, a mystery." His voice low and musing in the confines of the car, making me think that he was speaking more to himself than to us at the end.

A mystery was something that interested me, something that had always tugged at me and Sean both.

Neither of us could ever resist a mystery.

I glanced at him through the rearview mirror, meeting his eyes, and knew that our fate was sealed. We were going to meet this vampire.

~North's POV~

For the next half hour all ten of us sat and listened as Luke reported about his and Gabriel's discovery.

Gabe remained uncharacteristically silent during my brother's recounting, and the others were just as silent.

I could practically feel the annoyance and disbelief rolling off of a few of them, and I felt my own anger rising at every word out of my brother's mouth.

I couldn't believe that Luke had dragged us all out, including Dr. Roberts and a strange girl, to this run down house for another one of his pranks.

By the time he told us about the second vampiress apparition and the storm I had lost it and strode over to him, intending to slap the back of his head and shout at him about being serious and stopping acting like a child.

I was standing in front of him, raising my arm with violent intent when a small hand grabbed my wrist.

I had a split-second to comprehend that Sang was the one who had risen and grabbed me before she was twisting and pulling and I was suddenly flying and hitting the ground, the air being completely knocked out of my lungs at the speed and suddenness of her attack.

Shouting immediately issued and I glanced up to see Luke and Gabe standing beside Sang, their faces scowling as they shouted and argued with the rest of our brothers.

A glance at the other side showed that Silas seemed extremely amused by the situation, the fucker, Nate was both confused and annoyed as he shouted at Luke, Kota was trying to calm everyone down while Victor stared at Sang open-mouthed.

The most worrying, thought, were Mr. Blackbourne who stood completely silent studying Sang, Dr. Green who seemed visibly anxious and Dr. Roberts who was as serious as I'd ever seen him before.

I rose from the floor with a groan and pulled in a deep breath before opening my mouth and roaring loudly.

Everyone shut up and stared at me.

Kota fixed his glasses briefly and smiled at me, "Thanks, North." He said.

I nodded at him and moved back to my place against the wall, my eyes going to our leaders for an explanation.

Everyone seemed to follow suit, taking notice for the first time that our elders were not speaking during the chaos that ensued.

"Well," Dr. Roberts began to say, "Now that I have all of your attention I would like to say that nothing of what Luke's said was a lie."

The blood in my veins turned to ice at those words and my eyes flew back to Sang, who was once again sitting at the bed beside Luke and Gabriel, an uncomfortable expression on her face.

"How can that be true?" Nate asked, disbelief dripping from his tone.

But I knew it couldn't be a lie, Dr. Roberts wouldn't lie to us about something so important.

And the way Sang's eyes suddenly changed from a normal, beautiful green to an iridescent color that gleamed like a rainbow proved my theory to be true.

"Holy shit!" Nate curse and I could hear that Kota had begun counting silently and Victor was humming under his breath.

I glanced over at Silas and was surprised to see that he didn't seem too shocked at the news.

He glanced over at me and smiled before saying in Greek, "I knew there was something different about her the moment I entered this room. She is special. Us, Greeks, know to value what is special."

I gulped. I wasn't so sure about this, a vampire fed on blood which meant she probably killed people.

But as I looked back at Sang I found it hard to think of her as a monster even though I knew she was very powerful from Luke's report.

The thing is, aside from her frail and pretty appearance she also seemed to be a good person.

She had only used her powers to protect my brothers; even a few minutes back, when she'd flipped me to the ground, she'd done so to protect Luke and she hadn't hurt me as much as I thought she could if she wanted.

I straightened my spine and folded my arms over my chest.

"Sang." I called for her attention and she looked up at me when before she'd been intently studying the carpet.

Her eyes hit me like a thousand of pounds. They were open and showed exactly who she was without hiding a thing. She was a dangerous predator full of darkness, a brave fighter, a wise woman with thousands of years of knowledge, a lonely and vulnerable little girl.

The complete contradiction that she was froze me in my tracks and I took a moment to compose myself before talking again, "Thank you for protecting my brothers." I said and could see that I had shocked her.

She didn't expect to be thanked by her efforts when it had clearly cost her.

I felt myself melting a little more for her.

This was right, I could feel it. She had a good heart and didn't deserve to be judged by people who didn't know a thing about her.

She opened and closed her mouth several times before murmuring a "You are welcome" to me.

I nodded to show that I had heard and looked back at Luke.

The idiot had a ridiculously pleased expression on his face and winked at me, waggling his eyebrows while he tilted his head toward Sang and smirked.

I glared at him for his antics and returned my attention to Dr. Roberts.

The older man smiled and dropped the next bomb.

"You should also know that Sang isn't the only one who isn't a human in this room."

~Nathan's POV~

I looked over at Dr. Roberts and sent a prayer thanking God for my predilection for horror movies; otherwise I would have screamed like a little girl at the freakish yellow color of his usually blue eyes.

As it was, I felt a shiver of apprehension run down my spine.

This situation wasn't like anything we had dealt with before, and now that our eyes had been opened I was afraid that my brothers and I would be going through life-changing events with no hope of turning back.

I glanced over at Sang again, seeing that she had her face lowered staring at the carpet once more; her eyes were now a mixture of light blue, grass green and light purple. She was a truly beautiful girl, but very shy and a little strange.

Now her strangeness made sense, she wasn't exactly human, and from what Luke said she'd been weak and locked at this tower when they found her.

I wondered what had caused her imprisonment and if I should be worried for my brothers safety because of it, but pushed that thought away immediately.

She seemed to be a good girl and she'd defended my brothers with great cost to herself.

For her actions she had earned our loyalty.

At least, until she proved herself undeserving, which I had a suspicion wasn't going to happen.

She raised her head and stared out the window, her eyes changing to light pink, orange and yellow, kind of like the color of the sky at sunset.

"I am a werewolf." Dr. Roberts was saying and I snapped my attention back to him immediately. "So are many others Academy members. We usually prefer to stick to our kind, thought, forming small packs of wolfs or other creatures."

Sang glanced over at him, her eyes curious. "What is the Academy?" she asked and we all stiffened.

Doc smiled at her and, surprisingly, answered her question. "We are a group of people, some would say an organization. Our main objective is to help those in need, starting by the people who live around us before expanding to other areas. Some of the paranormal community has also dedicated their lives to keeping our existence as a secret from most humans."

That was news even to us, but made a lot of sense.

If a part of the academy was made up of werewolves and... other creatures, of course they would use the resources of the Academy to keep their existence a secret, especially nowadays with the high technology and etc.

"Ah... you began as the "Institute", didn't you?" she suddenly asked, her eyes swirling with thoughts I couldn't decipher.

She was hard to read when her eyes were changing colors so fast.

Dr. Roberts had raised his eyebrows in surprise while my brothers and I looked at each other trying to decipher what she meant.

"You are definitely older than you appear, little bird. We haven't used that name in at least a hundred of years."

My jaw fell open at that bit of information and my eyes flew to Sang.

She looked uncomfortable again but straightened her shoulders and said, "I was born in 1750, during the colonial period." I almost choked at her revelation; she didn't look one year older than sixteen. "In 1836 I suffered an attack from my sister, Marie, and have been in a state of semi-profound sleep since then." She finished saying blandly, as if simply explaining about how it was going to rain the next day.

I was astounded. She'd been... sleeping for almost two hundred of years?

Why? Why did her sister do that to her?

Gabriel asked the question before I could. "Oy, Trouble! What the fuck do you mean she attacked you and made you sleep? Why the hell did she do that?" he looked outraged in Sang's behalf and I could see that Luke and him really liked the little vampire.

If I was sincere with myself, there was something about her beside her beauty that attracted me too.

I just didn't know what to do about it.

Sang looked over at Gabriel, her eyes a dull green and dark blue reflecting what I thought to be sadness and betrayal. "She never liked me. Marie and I are half-sisters and I was born in the wrong side of the blankets." She was blushing in shame now, "My existence, a bastard in the family, was a reason for great shame. Her mother, our father's wife, tried to kill me more than a few times, but a vampire isn't easy to kill."

I felt my anger rising at that. Those people had tried to kill and hurt her just because the man couldn't keep it in his pants?

Bloody bastards, er... idiots.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Luke said, his face showing his confusion, "You are saying that vampires are born, not made?" He questioned while pouting a little and I wanted to smack the idiot in the head.

North growled from beside me and Luke stopped with his puppy-dog eyes while Sang answered, "Yes, we are born, though it is extremely rare for a vampire to be able to procreate. My father was a vampire, but his wife was human and so was my mother, I think."

"You think?" I asked her, curious about her history.

She looked up at me from under her thick lashes, her cheeks still a little red, "I never met my mother and my father refused to tell me about her. I suppose she could be anything, but I think she was human."

"Oy! Trouble, that goddamn bitch that attacked me and Luke before, was she your sister?" Gabriel suddenly asked, his blue eyes narrowing at Sang.

She nodded her head timidly in confirmation, "I am sorry about that, Gabriel. I swear to you that I will deal with my sister as soon as I've regained a little more of my power." She promised looking at him pleadingly.

He put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her to lean against his side and rested his cheek against her temple. "Don't you worry that pretty head of yours, Trouble. It wasn't your fault that the bitch was around when Luke and I came exploring. It should teach us not to invade other people houses without at least alerting the rest of the team." The last he'd said with a glare directed at Luke who just smiled sheepishly back at him.

"Miss Sorenson," Mr. Blackbourne called for her attention, speaking for the first time since the beginning of this meeting. "What I want to know is, will Marie prove to be a problem for my family?"

She flinched a little at his words but nodded in confirmation and my heart dropped at the thought of being stalked by a vampire.

How does one defend himself against that? Luke had said he and Gabriel had been unable to move when Marie tried to attack them.

Sang took a deep breath and straightened from Gabriel's embrace "She might try to go after Luke and Gabriel again, it appears she knows I am awake again thanks to them and she will want revenge. You don't need to worry, though." She added hurriedly. "I will keep you all safe."

Dr. Roberts rose from his chair then and took a step forward, standing a little in front of us. "And what do you want in exchange for that protection, little vampiress?" he asked, his tone of voice serious and a little grim.

Sang's eyes flashed with emotions too quick for me to comprehend what she was thinking before her face became a blank mask.

"For the price of my power and protection I demand their stay at my side. For eternity."

Well, fuck.

~Sang's POV~

My heart thundered in my chest and my fingers trembled while my stomach twisted in knots.

I hated giving them an ultimatum as this one, I knew they wouldn't be happy and truth be said, I didn't really mean it.

I would help them even if they hated me and didn't want me around, because that side of my personality that relied strictly in instincts told me that they were mine and thus my responsibility.

It was my job to care for them; it was the reason why I had been born.

But the selfish side of me also wanted their presence, their hugs and warm touches.

And so I offered a devil's bargain.

My protection for their presence in my life.

I felt like throwing up.

Gabriel had stiffened beside me and I didn't dare looking at him or try to get a feel for his emotions.

The link that connected me to him and Luke was firmly closed.

He lifted a hand to my face and I had to stop myself from flinching away from his unexpected touch.

His fingers ran delicately over my cheek, shocking me at his gentleness and he directed me to lift my head and meet his eyes.

I did so with trepidation, thinking I would find anger or maybe disgust in his blue eyes, but what I found was hope and a well of understanding that made me want to cry.

I bit my lip to stop the tears.

He leaned his forehead against mine and murmured for my ears alone "Does that mean you actually want us around you, Trouble? I will warn you, we are a rough bunch."

I gulped and murmured back at him, "I do, because, God help you, I really like you boys."

His smile at that proclamation was stunning, his blue eyes shining with happiness and satisfaction.

Luke had begun bouncing in his place on the bed and I turned my head to look at him.

He gave me a wide smile and a wink and I felt relief course through me at their apparent happiness at my proposition.

Glancing up, however, I could see that not all of the boys seemed as happy at the possibility.

Silas had a satisfied smile on his face albeit his friend, North, was scowling at Luke again.

Nathan still looked shell-shocked, Victor was looking between Mr. Blackbourne and Kota repeatedly, an expectant expression on his face while the two boys stared silently at each other.

Sean looked like he was trying to make sense of everything, his brow furrowed in thought while he looked at everyone in the room, taking in the other's reaction and my own.

Dr. Roberts looked expressionless, still standing before me, waiting for the boys' decision.

Finally after a few more moments of silent communication between Mr. Blackbourne and Kota, the older boy addressed me.

"Miss Sorenson, if you don't mind, me and my brothers would like a little more of time to consider our options before we make a decision." He said breezily.

I suspected he wanted the time to talk privately with the old wolf, find out how dangerous Marie could really be and what their academy could do to help them.

The truth was, there was not much the academy could do.

Vampires were loners by nature, though I didn't like it myself, so I doubted there was another one in the organization. And vampires were also too powerful for a pack of wolves to fight alone.

The boys would need my protection or that of another vampire, but there was no other strongest than me when I was in my full power.

The old wolf seemed at least a bit aware of that and by the calculating glint in his eye I knew he'd push the boys to accept my offer.

He'd recognized my attachment to the boys and a vampire in the organization would be a great asset for their Academy.

I nodded my head at Mr. Blackbourne, "As you wish, Mr. Blackbourne, you have a week to make your decision, but until then you all must stay with me. I don't want Marie killing you before you can decide." I said crisply.

He agreed with my demand and ordered his team to prepare for a week-long stay on his house. They couldn't stay on my mansion because it was completely destroyed, but there was space on his house for all ten of us.

With that the boys began walking down the stairs, Mr. Blackbourne immediately questioning Dr. Roberts about the situation while Gabriel and Luke helped me to pack my things.

There wasn't a lot I could take with me, Gabriel said my clothes were too outdated for me to use, though he could make a few adjustments in some of them for me to go shopping with them.

Luke gave me an amused smirk at the mention of shopping, which I couldn't understand, so I ignored it.

Silas was the one to carry my trunk downstairs, not even breaking into a sweat from walking down four flights of stairs with a wooden trunk filled with books, clothing and some other things I couldn't do without.

It was an impressive display of strength for a human and I felt butterflies rise in my belly at the way how his back muscles moved under his shirt.

Luke and Gabriel snickered behind me, no doubt taking notice of my ogling their friend and the resulting blush of the action.

Luke led me over to the black contraption that he called a "Jeep" and I recognized it as a recent version of the automobiles that were just being invented in my time.

He helped me inside and buckled me in when I fumbled with the seat belt. He got in along with me on the backseat, North taking the heel and Silas the front passenger seat.

Once we were all settled we drove off, following behind the other cars as we headed to Mr. Blackbourne's home.

AN: So... lots of shocking revelations at this chapter, huh? Mr. B, a virgin? *giggles* I know it is completely unexpected but I wanted to try something a little different since in most stories he is usually seen as experienced and even dominant. I hope this don't put you off ;)