Chapter 9

"Lesson 1. Under no circumstance must you tell any human what we are, what we do or where we are." Gisele announced as she barged into my room unceremoniously.

Since my walk with Finn we had gone up to my room to talk and muse over how we were going to tell mum and dad about all this. Surely they must be wondering where we were. We had to put their minds at ease before they sent out a search party to find us.

We had decided not to tell them anything about this place and Nana until we had found her and we hadn't made any progress in 3 months, we could tell them. But then again there was the issue of school. I was in my last year and Finn still had two more years so we really didn't know what to do about school.

The thing that scared me was that at this point, nothing else seemed to matter and in just a few hours or lives had taken a completely different turn. For once in my life I felt like I was doing something right and I sure as hell want about to quit.

Finn seemed to feel the same way I did about it. Finn had found this purpose a long time before I did which is why he probably was nonchalant about the incessant bullying at school. Nonetheless we needed solutions to our current dilemmas.

We were deliberating this when Gisele barged into my room.

"Do you know how to knock?" I snapped.

"This is my house. I don't knock."

Wait, what?

"Your house?" I asked incredulously.

"That is the thing I said." She responded eying me drily.

I was still working my mind around this being her house.

"Your house?"

She sighed exasperatedly. "I cannot work with dumb people" she retorted.

"Sorry. I was just a little surprised." I muttered saying a silent 'wow' in my head.

"Yeah no kidding, Santana." Cedric smirked clearly amused as he leaned against the wall.

I pouted a faint colour washing over my cheeks. "You still can't barge in here unannounced."

She merely rolled her eyes. "Your training starts today. And rule number one is 'Do not bring strangers to my house.' Do you understand?" She said harshly bending down to be on the same level with me as I was sitting on my bed. "You will blow our cover and the whole operation will be compromised. Got that?"

I looked up at her my eyes wide. "She followed us here. I didn't tell her anything."

Giselle held up a hand to silence me. "I don't care. It must never happen again. Do you know what happened the last time mortals" she said the word line it disgusted her "found us?"

Finn and I just stared at her waiting for her to continue.

"Do you?" She asked again straightening to glare at poor Finn.

"I thought that was rhetorical." He muttered.

"They massacred nine families. Brutally. With no regard at all as to the fact that they were living breathing creatures." Her eyes had grown hard and and her expression unfathomable.

I wondered if someone she knew had been murdered at that time. "When did this happen?" I asked.

"About four years ago." Cedric responded quietly looking at a spot above my head. "That's why we never stay in a place for too long. It's dangerous. So it's better that we stay a secret."

"I don't care about you but there are people here that I care about and would like to keep safe. So think before you act. Understand?" Giselle put in coldly. I nodded. "This isn't the place for you to be a brat.

With that she turned and left the room closing the door behind her. After she left our eyes immediately trained on Cedric.

"First lesson is over apparently." He muttered kicking himself off the wall.

"And it is learnt." I replied with a nervous laugh.

"She is a bit harsh but she's not as mean as she seems. Her bark is way worse than her bite, trust me." Cedric said waving a hand dismissively.

"Did something happen to someone she knows?" Finn asked clearly he had also noticed her attitude.

Cedric's gaze wavered and he nodded. "Her family. Her parents and her sister were killed after that her brother joined the hunters." He spoke in a hushed voice.

My mouth dropped open and I felt sympathy grip my heart. "Oh my God..."

"Yeah she was very traumatized by everything. Don't tell her I told you. She will literally kill me." Cedric told us.

"I'm going to be nicer to her from now on." I reflected. I felt bad now for the way I had been talking to her and my evil thoughts about her. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost my whole family.

"Me too, man." Finn agreed biting his lip.

"I doubt she will be nicer to your though, Santana." Cedric said with a chuckle.

"I don't care. I will speak politely to her." I hardened my resolve.

"Oh my God ,Santana, your patience will snap in a second like a little rubber band. " Finn pointed out.

I shoved him lightly. "I will snap you like a rubber band."

"Are you guys hungry? It's almost supper time." Mr McLain told us.

"Oh, do we have to go downstairs?" I asked. I was actually hungry because I had skipped lunch. Today was probably the most weird day in my life. Things I had never imagined possible were now possible and things I had never even imagined. It was beyond incredible. I sighed.

"No you can eat here if you want but you could go downstairs. Let's go downstairs." Cedric decided. "And afterwards I will take you for a real tour. I'll show you all the haunted rooms." He said with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Haunted rooms? What is this place, Hogwarts?" Finn, the secret geek sassed getting up from the bed.

I laughed as I also got up from the bed. "I want to see haunted rooms!" Not really I didn't really want to but I would bet five bucks that's Cedric was messing with us.

"I already had a tour of the house and I didn't see any haunted rooms." Finn told us as we all moved towards the door.

"Not every one knows them, Finn." Cedric said with a small smile. We all filed out of the room and I closed the door behind us.

"And when did you tour the house?" I asked him raising my eyebrow as we started down the dimly lit corridor.

"Santana, you were in Gabriel's office for a long time." Cedric glanced at me with a wicked smile. "Are you sure all you did was talk?"

I blushed at his insinuation. Did he think Gabriel and I had...? "Hey!" I smacked his hand. "Yes all we did was talk! What the hell is wrong with you, you little perve."

Finn just laughed at me. And Cedric had his bewildered expression.

"What? I was thinking maybe you exchanged a few blows. Wait what were you thinking?" His eyes filled with humor. "You're wicked."

Finn laughed harder. "Even I saw that coming, Santana. "

"Urgh! Whatever!" I put my hand in their faces and walked ahead of them downstairs to the dining room.

I was actually half expecting to find it full of people but there were only three women in maid uniforms setting the table. Did they always set it so extravagantly?

I stood in the doorway admiring their handiwork. They even put long elegant candles on the tables. I had a thing for candles, I thought their glow was just so magical. Sometimes when I was sad, I lit candles to help lift my mood. I smiled happily as I tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear.

"Are you just going to keep standing there?"

I whipped around only to see one of the guys I had seen in Gabriel's office, Liam standing behind me holding a small canister in his hand. I moved to allow him passage.

"I was just admiring the- all this." I said gesturing my hands over the room with a smile. "Do they always make it up like this?"

" Yeah, pretty much." He smiled kindly. "Don't worry you will get used to it." He walked past me into the room.

He put his canister down on the table then he drew a chair. Turning to me, he said "Come sit."

"Um.." I shifted on my feet nervously. He was trying to charm me, wasn't he? I didn't know how to react.

He smiled then he walked towards me and he took my hand then he walked me to the chair.

I sat down and he pushed me in. I knew my face was burning. I had never been treated like that before, it was weird.

"Are you comfortable?" He asked sitting beside me.

Physically or mentally? I wanted to ask but I merely nodded with an answering smile.

"You are like royalty, you should be treated as such." He told me then he suddenly reached over and my hair slightly with his fingers.

My eyes were probably open really wide like a doe. He was creeping me out a little, okay a lot. I remembered the way he had looked at me in Gabriel's office and I shifted slightly away from him.

Much to my relief someone cleared their throat from the doorway. We turned.

I cringed in embarrassment when I realized saw Gabriel standing there with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm I interrupting something?" He asked walking in slowly his expression unreadable.

"No." I said too quickly causing Liam to eye me with a frown. I cleared my throat. "No," I repeated. "Did you see Cedric and Finn on your way here?" I asked.

"Do I look like your secretary?" He snapped glaring and me then he glared at Liam before he walked past us to the kitchen.

Liam cleared his throat then me moved away from me sitting up straighter than a board. He looked very tense sitting there not saying anything. He looked like he was listening to something very attentively.

I opened my mouth to ask If he was alright but Cedric and Finn entered.

"Hey, what happened to you guys?" I asked them with a frown.

"Nothing. What's going on in here? What's with him?" Finn said pointing at Liam who was still acting very strange.

I shrugged.

"Is Gabriel near by?" Cedric asked as he drew a chair next to Finn who was sitting on my other side.

"He's in the kitchen, why?" I asked.

"Hmm that explains it."

"What?" Finn and I said in unison.

"He is probably using his mindlink to talk to him." Cedric explained but it only added to my confusion.

"You mean like werewolves do?" Finn asked surprising me yet again.

"Yeah but only werewolves in the same pack. Guardians can do it too with anyone. But its hard to reply them. They can talk to you but you probably won't be able to access their minds to respond. It's another of their special gifts." He further clarified.

"So you mean we can read anyone's mind?" I asked incredulously suddenly feeling violated. Did Gabriel read my mind?

"Not really. You cant read minds if that's what you are asking but you can access our minds. " he replied.

"But shouldn't that be illegal?" I asked.

"No." He replied simply.

"But how exactly is it done?" I insisted.

"Geez girl, I'm not a Guardian. You better ask Gabe." Cedric said in frustration.

I scrowled at him. I found it really disturbing that Guardians could prey into people's minds like that. I wondered if Gabriel had been in my head and that would be really embarrassing if he had. He would know that i thought he was ridiculously good looking and oh my god, he would know that i had never been kissed! He would also know about my momentary crush on Mr McLain.

Oh, the embarrassment!

It wasn't fair how could he be able to access the privacy of my mind - the one thing that's private in my life!

I swear the minute I learn how to read minds, I was entering that perverted mind of his!

"Excuse me." Liam suddenly spoke up surprising all of us as he stood and exited the room.

"What exactly were you doing before Gabriel came in?" Finn asked me while he was still staring after Liam.

I flushed. "Nothing."

"Something?" Finn prompted.

"Nothing."

"Something." They both said in unison.

"Oh, mind your own beeswax!" I snapped.

"Oh, come on! Disclose!" Cedric said with a grin.

Just then three maids came in holding casserole dishes and a plater. And close behind them was Gabriel.

Naturally we feel silent when we saw him and he in turn didn't say anything as he walked through the dining room to the table and he poured himself a glass of wine. The tension was palpable and I bet he knew we had been talking about him.

After he poured his glass, he left the room presumably heading for his room or office maybe.

Our silence finally broke after the maids went back in the kitchen.

"Well, that was tense." Fin remarked.

"Does he ever smile?" I asked vaguely remembering his small grimace-smile earlier in his office. "Like a genuine full on smile?"

Cedric smiled. "You'll see it. Maybe. I'm famished, shall we eat?"

He changed the subject as he opened one of the casserole dishes. After that we dedicated our time to eating as more people came in to eat.

"Are you ready for your tour?" Cedric grinned at me as the table was being cleared after dessert.

"Oh dear god, I don't think I can move an inch." I said lazily leaning back on my chair as I patted my flat stomach which was now laden with food and drink and cake.

"You only had like two bites!" Cedric exclaimed.

"She doesn't eat much." Finn explained with a shrug.

"What? I ate so much! I'm gonna need a treadmill." I announced sitting up in my chair.

"Trust me, you won't." Cedric remarked. "Come on, lets go."

"You guys can go on ahead. I have some work to do." Finn said winking at a girl across the table.

"What about the twins?" I asked standing up.

"I'm not committing! I'm spreading my winds. You should try it, its refreshing." He grinned at me then he stood up as well and headed  towards the girl.

Cedric gave me a smirk. "Spread your wings Santana." He said mocking Finn's voice.

"Oh, shut up." I mocked in an English accent.

"Touché."

I grinned. "Come on."

We walked out of the dining room and he led me down through rooms I hadn't been in yet.

"We are going to start from the bottomest floor and go up." Cedric announced.

"How do I know you are not going to behead me?" I asked feeling suddenly nervous.

He laughed. "There is no way of knowing." He responded and I smacked him on the arm.

"Hey!" He exclaimed. "I'm kidding! My job is to keep you safe. Why would I bring you here only to behead you?"

I scrowled at him still feeling a little nervous. "Okay so where are we headed?"

"You'll see."

"Oh so mysterious." I whispered.

We trudged down a stairway that I hadn't been down before. I follow him obediently.

"So if anything happens to me its your ass on the line?" I asked.

"Yeah, though technically you are the one who should be keeping me safe." He pointed out with a slight smirk.

I laughed. "Yeah well, you better keep me safe so I can reciprocate later."

He chuckled. "You better remember that." He said as continued to lead me down an endless fight off stairs.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" I blurted out without thinking.

He stopped walking and turned back to look at me saying nothing.

"Or boyfriend? Maybe?" I prompted and I finally got a reaction out him.

His jaw dropped. "I'm not gay! Do I look gay to you?" His shock turned to humour when he noticed that I was laughing at him.

"Yeah a little bit." I tilted my head to the side and squinted my eyes at him.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not gay, Santana." Then he frowned. "Are you?"

It was my turn to laugh incredulously. I mean I was inexperienced in every possible way but I was sure I liked guys.

"That would be a no then?" He grinned at me as I nodded vigorously. "That's a relief." He muttered as he turned to continue our path down the stairs.

"So is it like the way it is in the twilight series that you imprint on a girl, you know?" I asked curiously.

He laughed lightly. "It's not quite as dramatic as that but we do have mates and by fate, if you believe in that sort of thing, you could meet your mate and" he turned to took at me again "when you meet her, you will be hit by a love so strong, you won't be able to let go." He was looking so intently in my eyes I shivered.

"So have you...have you umm found your mate." I asked awkwardly shifting on my feet trying to break to weird eye contact.

He sighed and resumed walking. "Not yet. Some wolves never find theirs." He sounded a bit...resigned.

"So what happens to them?" I asked .

"Well they can still fall in love with other wolves or other supernaturals but it will definitely complicate matters if their mates show up later." Now he sounded amused. I really couldn't tell how he felt about the whole thing.

"I can imagine." I mumbled as we reached a landing and turned left. "What about Guardians?"

He glanced at me then looked straight ahead. "I'm not too sure. You should ask Gabriel."

I frowned suspiciously. His face was not that of a guy who wasn't sure. "Cedric..." I drawled persuasively.

"I know nothing! Seriously, talk to Gabe about this." He grinned as he lifted his hands in resignation.

"Oh would you just-"

"We're here." He announced cutting me off.

We were standing in front of a an arch way that led into a rather big empty white room. We walked in slowly and at the far right corner of the white room was a steel door. We walked towards it.

"What is this?" I whispered.

Cedric didn't answer until he had reached the steel door. "This, Santana is a room we like to call Fresh Hell or Fresh pain. They are interchangeable."

Fresh Hell?! What!

I swallowed hard. "What's in there?"

"Oh don't worry it's not that scary. Just a few ghosts. Most of them are friendly." He waved a hand dismissively.

"You are joking, right?" Of course he was. I didn't believe in ghosts. You didn't believe in werewolves and vampires either, a voice in my head whispered.

"Not even close." He put his hand on the handle. "Ready?"

My eyes were open wide.

He turned it. It didn't budge. He tried again and it didn't move.

"Bloody hell." He swore under his breath. "Wait here. I'll run up and get the keys."

"What? No!" But he had already jogged out of the room.

As his footsteps echoed on the floor and rapidly faded, my fear mounted. Were there really ghosts there?

I shivered. Why would he scare me then leave me alone? Did he plan this? Or was it a genuine coincidence? Either way the possibility of ghosts was terrifying.

Is that why there was a steel door? To keep them locked in? But what if they could see me and could hear me. I felt a scream build up in me and I started backing away from the door.

Footsteps coming from upstairs stilled me. I was sure whether to be afraid or to relax because Cedric was coming back.

So I just froze.

The footsteps stopped as soon as I heard them echoing on the room floor.

"Dont tell me ghost stories scare you." Gabriel's amused voice made me turn around.

"What... I...er... What are you doing here?" I stammered trying to regain my composure.

"It's a free country isn't it?"   He shrugged. "Where's Ced?"

I rolled my eyes in annoyance at Cedric. "He forgot the keys."

He smirked. "Well that's convenient." He remarked dryly.

What does that mean? I frowned wondering i should ask him about ghosts. Mmmm better not, he will probably laugh at me.

"This place is strange." I remarked.

"You will get used to it." He snapped.

"Are you planning on keeping me here forever? Our parents will be looking for us you know." I told him feeling rather irritated.

"They won't. That was taken care of." He mumbled and started pacing the room.

My eyes widened  in alarm. "What do you  mean by that?" I almost yelled.

He glanced at me sharply. "Do not raise your voice at me." He ordered his voice cold.

He was glaring at me as if trying to intimidate me but I held my own and glared back at him.

"Well? I asked you a question. " I snapped my voice equally cold.

He remained stoic causing my panic to rise. What had they done to mum and dad? Oh my God...

"What did you do to them?!" I was yelling again.

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "If you don't trust me that much then what the fuck are you doing here?" He yelled back at me his eyes blazing.

He was right. I didn't completely trust them yet here I was. My instincts trusted but my mind needed more convincing. My instincts we're usually spot on but right now at this moment, I was a little shaky and didn't know what to believe because the thought of anyone hurting my parents was more than I could handle.

I took a deep breath.  "What did you tell my parents?" I rephrased.

His gaze locked with mine for a few seconds then he ran his hand through his hair. "We just called as the school to tell them you went for an impromptu trip."

"And they just believed you? No questions asked?" I raised my eyebrows.

"You underestimate my power as a Guardian. "Gabriel stated. "After a few days of training you will understand that Guardians can do anything with their minds. Your parents are happily sleeping at home firmly believing that you are in Washington. "

I sighed. "Okay but I still don't understand why I can't tell them the truth."

"This matter is closed for now. We can revisit it some other time but for now we are done." He stated.

"What? Why?" What the hell was wrong with his guy? And why was everything so complicated?

"After four days of training we will talk about it." He told me.

I opened my mouth to argue but he was faster.

"Not another word, Santana. " he snapped.

I sighed again then I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. "So when does this training start?" I asked feeling emotionally drained.

"Tomorrow. In there." He pointed at the closed steel door.

"In the ghost room?" I blurted without thinking.

His face suddenly went very straight like he was fighting laughter!

"Whats so funny?" I asked feeling my lips tugging upwards into a smile. I resisted.

"Who is laughing? " Gabriel asked his lips suddenly stretching into a  smile. A real full on smile.

I melted. It was probably the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. His face looked so relaxed and for the first time ever since I met him I actually felt like I could like him as a person. I couldn't help the answering smile I gave him. My toes were all tingly. So was my tummy.

"Well yes, in the ghost room. " he smirked. "At 6am. Don't be late." He was all business again.

"6am! Is this the military? I'd have to wake up at 5:30." I mused.

"You won't have time for breakfast." He stated.

"I don't usually eat breakfast. " I told him.

"You are going to need it." He advised quietly.

"Do you eat breakfast? " I asked him curiously.

"I told you before, don't make the mistake of believing you and I are in the same level. We are not." Aaaaand the coldness was back.

"Right." I mumbled.

Silence descended in the white room and it was suddenly cold. I rubbed my arms. "I don't think Cedric is coming back." I told Gabriel.

Just as I was saying that we both heard footsteps nearing the white room so we automatically both turned to the entrance.

When Cedric emerged, he paused in surprise when he saw Gabriel. Then he grinned. "What are you doing here, man?"

"Just talking with Santana. " Gabriel replied with a tiny smile. Which reminded me off his huge smile from before. My tummy did the tingle thing again.

"You mean you were trying to intimidate her. The atmosphere in this room! Bloody hell!" Cedric exclaimed but he was still grinning.

"I can't be intimidated. " I defended my honour.

"Yeah right." Cedric scoffed. Then he walked to the door. "Are you ready for the ghosts?" He asked turning to me.

From the corner of my eye saw Gabriel stifling a laugh. This was a hoax, wasn't it? But I decided to play along.

I glanced fearfully at Gabriel then back at Cedric. "Do we have to?" I asked in a small voice.

"Of course the ghosts need to meet you too." Cedric replied his voice breaking into a small laugh at the end which he attempted to cover with a cough.

I narrowed my eyes at him inwardly but outwardly I shuddered. "Alright. Lets do it."

Cedric glanced at Gabriel before he unlocked the door and waved me in. "Ladies first. "

Shakily I made my way into the room.

My jaw dropped.

I had never been in a gym before but this was astounding.

The colors of the room were blue and silver. There was so many gym equipment and the only thing I could name was the treadmill. There was gyming equipment at the entrance of the room then an empty space flagged by several wooden  chairs and a table after that more gym equipment then a series of large blue mats which I guessed we're for some kind of wrestling. There was another segment of the room that was at the far end that I  couldn't quite see. I started to walk further in the room for better view but a cool hand on my arm stopped me.

"Do you see them yet?" Cedric whispered eerily.

"Oh cut the crap, McLain. I know you are trying to hoax me. Like this  is boarding school or something." I mumbled the last part.

"When did you figure it was a hoax?" Cedric sounded surprised. I felt pleased by my acting skills.

I turned to glance at Gabriel but he wasn't there. "Where did...?"

"He left. He had something to do. Wait. Is he the one who told you about the hoax?"

What? He had left? Just like that? I tried not to pout. "Er...no I'm very intuitive." I mumbled in answer to his question. "Actually he was snickering a lot and so were you. It wasn't too hard to figure it out."

"I'm losing my touch!" Cedric exclaimed dramatically.

I grinned at him. "Maybe." I looked around the gym again. "This place is amazing. I love everything about it." I said to him.

He took my hand then led me out. "Good coz you will be spending a lot of time in here over the next few days." He locked the door then we crossed the white room then started back up the stairs.

"Are you nervous?"

"Er...yeah I guess. But it's fine I can handle it. But I'm not too sure I can handle Gabriel." I confided worriedly.

"You will be fine he's a good teacher. You'll see. Though he does become very grumpy. If you like I could come with you and stay for a few hours or so." He offered giving me a small glance.

"Umm thanks but I'd better learn to stand on my own. " I did not need anyone watching me as I make a fool of myself in front of Gabriel. Though I was really looking forward to it.

We climbed up in silence until we reached a familiar landing. I went in the direction of the stairs that went up to my room.

"Do you want to go for  a ride?" Cedric suddenly said.

"What?"

"On my back." He laughed at the expression on my face. "Wolf back, Santana. " he clarified.

I laughed at my crazy thoughts. "Ohh. Can I take a rain check? I have a very early morning and it's been a looong day." It has been a rather long straining day.

His face fell. "Oh okay yeah you must be beat, huh?"

I smiled apologetically and nodded. "Walk me to my room though. I might get lost." I said pulling him by the arm.

"Yeah right." He scoffed but he allowed me to drag him.

"I've never ridden a wolf before." I remarked. Of course I had a horse but it was hardly the same was it?

"We have a lot of fur so it's actually really soft and better than horse riding. " he explained.

"Have you, a wolf, ridden a wolf before?" I asked.

"Of course. When I was younger.  I started shifting when I was fifteen so before that I used to ride on my parent's or friend's backs."

"Your parents?" I had never heard him talk about his parents.

"Yeah my dad died a while back and my mum is in Europe. "

"Oh I'm sorry." Aw Cedric... my heart went out to him.

"Its alright. Its been almost seven years." He waved a hand.

We reached the floor where my bedroom was and we silently walked into the corridor. I knew I had to ask.

"Ced, whose room is that?" I pointed at the room in which I had seen the dream closet.

When he saw the room I was pointing at he glanced at me sharply. "Santana, that room was your grandmother's." he told me softly carefully looking at me for my reaction.

I felt color draining from my face. Nana's room? What? How?

I was sure I had never been in this house before but why did I dream of this closet? What the hell? My thoughts we're racing but none of them made any sense.

"Santana? Hey,are you alright? " he looked worriedly my into my eyes.

I tried to pull myself together. "Er...yeah I'm just tired." I resumed walking toward my room and Cedric followed quietly behind me. When I reached my door I turned to him and forced a smile. "Thanks Ced. Really."

Before I could bail, he pulled me into a warm tight hug. "I know it's a lot to take in but I'm here for you. " he whispered in my ear.

I gently pulled away from the embrace. I had tears in my eyes. "Thank you. I'll remember that. Goodnight." I smiled at him again before I escaped in my room.

It was then that the tirade of tears was released. What a day! Nana is alive and I was very confused about my dreams now. Also my best friend hated me. And my parents think I'm on a trip. I hastily changed into my nightdress and collapsed on my bed to find solace on my pillow.

The pillow wasn't even my own. Life as I knew it had ended.

I cried until I fell into an exhausted sleep.