Flicking my hand in the direction of the fire place as I enter the living room, a bright flame immediately sparks and then blazes inside of it, casting a soft warm glow over it's surroundings. There are still a few misplaced pieces of furniture and a broken vase from the demons struggle, which was only an hour or two ago. I opt to leave them there for now and instead focus on staring at the flickering orange and red flames as they spread, consuming the wood and dancing over it elegantly.

It's fascinating how something so beautiful can be so destructive.

I raise my hand and mindlessly toy with the small angelic wings that are still strung around my neck while the others trickle into the living room. Alpha Gage, Cayden, and Noah choose to sit on the couch that's placed on the opposite side of the coffee table from me. Gabriel instead decides to stand stiffly on my right, near the side of the table. Zeke follows behind the others, the last one to join us, his green gaze staying glued to my frame as soon as he passes the threshold of the living room and even while he apprehensively sits on the armrest of the chair closest to me. I don't pay him any attention, despite his persistent eyes, or the others for that matter, and continue to stare into the fire. The silence in the room stretches on while Gabriel gathers his thoughts. The air feels heavy and sullen, as we prepare to tell them everything we've spent years keeping a secret. I just hope that we don't come to regret this.

Gabriel eventually clears his throat, shifting on his feet.

"This is going to be very hard to digest and difficult to understand, but everything we say is the truth." Gabriel sighs. "As you already know, the man who attacked all of you was in fact a demon."

Gabriel's voice is hesitant and tentative as if he's telling a five year old that Santa Claus doesn't exist, making me roll my eyes silently.

"C'mon Gabriel, just rip the band aid off. They're big boys, they can take it." I grumble as I turn around to face them, growing impatient.

Gabriel quickly shoots me a hard look before his eyes land on them again. His lips part to speak, but he doesn't utter a word before he ultimately decides against whatever he was going to say and closes his mouth again.

"Oh, for heavens sake," I mumble in annoyance.

"Yes, demons are real, as well as angels, and they both come from either heaven or hell." I announce curtly. "Gabriel is actually one of the seven princes of heaven, an archangel."

"Victoria," Gabriel hisses in a scolding tone, eyes widening with disbelief.

"What? You wanted to tell them!" I say in exasperation.

"Not like that!" he exclaims. "I wanted to ease into it, not just dump it on them at once."

Alpha Gage's eyes flicker between Gabriel and me, looking at us like we're absolutely insane, and honestly, I don't blame him. Noah looks like he's seconds away from passing out and Cayden barks out a laugh, but when he notices our serious expressions, he sobers up quickly, his face falling.

Zeke shakes his head suddenly, his eyes aren't wide like the others. He looks unconvinced and slightly annoyed, as if we're somehow wasting his time.

"An archangel? That's impossible." Zeke scoffs.

"Says the one who turns into an oversized dog," I snark, looking at him over my shoulder.

His head whips toward me and he glares daggers, but I simply roll my eyes in response, looking back to Gabriel.

"Show them, Gabe. It's the only way they're gonna believe you." I say, folding my arms over my chest.

The others look between us with confusion, a stark contrast to the realization that flashes through Gabriel's eyes. He scans over my face, and his bright blue eyes light up as he looks at them again.

"Just don't break anything," I add quickly.

Gabriel chuckles lightly, but nods nonetheless. He cracks his neck from side to side, rolling his head against his shoulders, before letting his eyelids drift shut.

"What is-," Zeke starts to say, but his words are abruptly cut off.

Suddenly, massive, blinding white wings rip through the back of Gabriel's shirt with a sound that's similar to a whip cracking. They're almost hard to look at due to the bright luminescent glow that surrounds them like a protective bubble. They snap out at his sides and the silky feathers ruffle slightly when he shakes them, stretching his back and rolling his shoulders. It's been a while since he's used them, so I'm sure that he needs a moment to get comfortable with them again.

The longest, pointed feathers on the bottom, brush against the wooden floor, and the wings themselves stretch out at least fifteen-feet across, but I know that they aren't fully spread out to avoid causing any damage. My eyes run over each and every long, elegant feather. They're absolutely captivating as Gabriel stands proudly, taking in the others expressions.

"Holy shit." Cayden gasps, jolting back slightly.

Noah's face turns frighteningly pales as he stares at the wings and he mumbles, "I think i'm gonna be sick."

"What the hell," Zeke shouts, jumping to his feet.

Alpha Gage is stuck in a stunned silence as he gapes at the wings, his hand keeping a death grip on the armrest of the couch.

"See, they're taking it well," I mutter casually, lazily gesturing to them.

Gabriel shoots me another pointed look before folding his wings tightly against his back, the longest feathers still brushing delicately across the floor.

"I know that it's quite shocking and I'll answer any questions you have," Gabriel says unsurely.

It takes a few minutes for them to do anything except gawk at him, but eventually Noah breaks the silence.

"S- So you're actually an archangel?" Noah sputters out hesitantly.

"Yes, I am," Gabriel answers confidently.

"And there actually is a heaven?" Alpha Gage asks, hitching a thick eyebrow.

"Yes, there is a heaven and a hell." Gabriel nods.

"Wow," Cayden mumbles dumbly, eyes still fixated on Gabriel's wings.

I let out a snort of amusement, looking over their stunned expressions. Zeke's eyes flicker between Gabriel and me, his shock being replaced by confusion as he clears his throat.

"I don't understand what this has to do with the demon that attacked us," Zeke says lowly.

"To understand that, we'd have to start at the very beginning," Gabriel says, glancing at me uncertainly.

I sigh, losing any trace of amusement, and nod my head lightly.