It was quiet. Very quiet.

For the first time since David had come to live with Kai, he felt well-rested. He sat up slowly, unsure if he was still dreaming or not. The billowing breeze from the window pushed the curtains to the side to show that the sun was well in the sky. He scratched his head, confused as to why Kai had allowed him to sleep in. "What time is it?"

His eyes nearly bulged out of his head when he saw that it was 1:37. "What the hell!?".

For the past few days, Kai had been waking him up at the ass crack of dawn to eat the already made breakfast before his training was to begin. He quickly threw off the covers and ran out of his room, sliding thought the halls and down the stairs to the kitchen.

The first time that he had stepped foot into Kai's home, he had been floored. On the outside, it looked to be a small little thing. He had guessed a one-bedroom with hardly any room for a kitchen. But when he entered he had nearly swallowed his tongue. The home itself wasn't all that grand, but it was none the less breathtaking. The furniture was a mixture of brown leathers and wood. The cushions, rugs, and drapes were a bend of whites and cream colors. There were two large couches and an armchair in front of a large stone fireplace, while twinkling lights, lanterns, and candles illuminated the open spaces. Each archway and doorframe was made of vines and branches that twisted and turned into itself. The whole aesthetic was comforting. It felt like a real home, full of love, and with a sense of security. The rest of the house was just as impressive.

The home had an open floor plan. The living room, sitting room, dining room, and kitchen were all connected. The only rooms on the first floor that had doors were the bedrooms, library, and obviously the bathroom. There were a total of eighteen bedrooms, four on the first floor, and the remaining fourteen on the second. All of the rooms were relatively similar in size and decoration, but there were some rooms that had belongings or small personal touches from past residents. The second floor also had a nursery and to David's shock, a fully furnished medical room. Inside was a cabinet filled with all kinds of medical supplies, an operating table, surgical instruments, a heart monitor, IV drip, and a freezer with blood bags.

The blood had been a surprise to find. "During my travels, I am used to finding people in need of medical help. Some are in such critical health that they tend to need blood transfusions. It's better to be safe than sorry. It is also common courtesy to keep blood in the house just in case I have guests who would prefer it over water." he had told him with a smile on his face.

When Kai had given him the grand tour, he had told him that he was welcome to any room in the house, except one. There was only one room int the house that was locked.

Kai's office.

Located on the second floor, at the end of the hall. Whenever he passed by the locked room a chill would run up his spine and an eerie feeling would wash over him. He was more than glad to stay away and pretend that the room didn't exist, but at the moment he didn't have that luxury.

After he had slid into the empty kitchen, he had gone into each and every room in the whole house, including outside, trying to find his host. The longer he looked the more he was certain; Kai was missing. The last place that he had yet to check was his office. It had taken all his courage to even stand in front of the door but the thought of touching it was unsettling. The longer he stood in front of the door the stronger the dismaying feeling grew. Even Gin refused to get near the door.

David audibly gulped, "What if he's not even in there. Maybe we passed him accidentally. We should try the library again."

Gin scoffed, "We didn't pass him, and this is the only room we haven't checked." David took a shaky breath. Every part of him was screaming to turn around and run as fast as he could. He raised his hand, ready to knock only for a dangerous hair raising chill to sweep over his body. "You know what, if he's in there he's probably busy. Let's just wait till he's done."

"I thought you wanted to talk to him? Just knock already, it's not like the doors gonna jump out and bite you."

Dave took offense to that. He knew Gin was just as afraid of the room as he was. "How about you knock then!"

"How about no? I'm not the one looking for him, plus, I don't have hands." Gin crossed his wings over his chest. "That door is giving off some serious get the fuck away from me vibes that I would prefer not to subject myself to." David glared at his familiar but Gin rolled his eyes in response. He continued, "What can I say, I'm a curious bird. If you knocked and Kia is inside, then we could get a peek of what's inside too. I don't think it's a coincidence that even getting near this room makes us uneasy. The whole cabin is enchanted so it's obvious that this room also has some kind of spell on it to keep everyone away.

Inside may not even be anything bad. For all we know, it could just be a regular office or personal library, it could hold sensitive documents, or hell, it could even be a sex dungeon! Wouldn't that be something." David's nose scrunched up as he laughed along with Gin. He turned back to the creepy door, still nervous, but now for a whole other reason. "But we'll never know unless you stop pussyfooting around and knock already."

David nodded in agreement. Slowly, David's hand raised. Fist clenched so tightly that his fingernails were making crescent indentations into his palm. The closer his hand got to the door the more he fought with his mind to keep his feet in place. Goosebumps rose all over his body. He watched as his hand ascended in almost slow motion as he held his breath. His hand was almost there. Just a few more inches. His knuckles were only a hair away...

"What are you doing?"

David screamed in terror as Gin cawed loudly and flapped around aimlessly. Instantly flames erupted from his arm and launched in the direction of the voice.

"Woah! Watch it fire roach!"

David grabbed at his chest. His heart was going a mile a minute. "Cora?" he said breathlessly.

Standing to his side was the brown and white owl, and just a few inches in front of her was a large scorch mark. She looked up from the large black spot right at David, "Well, lucky for me, Kai hasn't started you on aiming practice."

David exhaled a heavy breath. "I am so sorry Cora. Oh god, you scared me." Cora raised her eyebrow as she took notice of the door he stood in front of, "Why so jumpy? Trying to break into Kai's study?" she asked jokingly.

David's eyes widened considerably. he shook his head and waved his hands vigorously, "No! no, no, I wasn't- I didn't" he cleared his throat, "I-I was just looking for Kai. Do you know where he is?" Cora found his fluttering adorable. She made a mental note to tease him more often. "Ah yes, I'm sorry, it totally slipped my mind to tell you. Kai isn't home."

"What! Where did he go?"

"Oh you don't need to worry about that, he just had a few errands to run. He should be back anytime now."

"Oh, well, ok." David turned to head back to his room, but Cora spoke once again. "Where do you think you're going?" David gulped at the stern voice Cora used. It reminded him of his mother's voice whenever she scolded him. "My room?" he said questioningly. Cora shook her head and folded her wings in front of her chest, "Don't you think for one second that just because Kai isn't here that you get to get out of training young man. I bet you didn't even do your morning warm-ups, have you?"

"I.... forgot?" David wanted to smack himself. He didn't know why he had phrased it as a question. He really did forget. He had been so engrossed in finding Kai that he hadn't even stopped to eat breakfast.

Cora shook her head. "Whatever Kai makes you do in the mornings, double it. Thirty sit-ups just turned into sixty. Fifty jumping jacks is now one hundred. Twenty-five burpees is now fifty. So on and so forth. Think of this as punishment for sleeping in and "forgetting"."

David looked at her in shock. His morning routine always left him resting on his knees gasping for breath. He wasn't athletic in the slightest. Doubling it would kill him for sure. "But I did just forget!"

"No buts. Outside. I want you to count loud enough that the wolves in Alpha Sebastian's pack can hear you. If it helps, you can also think of this as punishment for almost scorching me fire roach. Now Go! Go! Go!"