When the cabin finally comes into view, after another continuous half hour of driving, the sun is just starting to set, leaving a light orange hue over the sky, glowing against wisps of white clouds. Stepping out of the car, I stare in wonder, taking in every detail I possibly can. It's much more modern than I expected, standing two stories high. Smooth stone steps, decorated with potted plants lead up to double glass doors. The outside walls of the cabin are a balance between charcoal gray and smooth, dark wood.

"I knew you would like it." Gabriel grins, noticing the look of astonishment and awe on my face.

"Here," he says, throwing the keys to me over the roof of the car.

Walking up the stone steps, I unlock the door and step into the home. My eyes first fall on the wooden stairs, lined with glass leading to the second floor. On my right is a large open living room already fully decorated with a long dark gray couch to match the stone, gray fireplace. Almost every wall in the house is covered in large windows that allow plenty of natural light.

Gabriel strides in while I pass the stairs and make my way into the kitchen. The kitchen follows the same modern theme as the living room with gray marble countertops, a wide island in the center, and dark wooden cabinets. There's a glass door directly beside the kitchen that leads to an inviting, large wooden porch, laced with small, white twinkling lights.

Past the kitchen is a spacious dining room, with a long glass table under a crystal chandelier. Off to the right, there is a narrow, short hallway that leads to a bedroom decorated simply with dark green and slate gray tones and a bathroom to match.

My eyes wander over every decoration and every piece of furniture, knowing that my mother was the last person here. She decorated this whole cabin with the intention of giving it to me one day. I just always thought she would be here when I saw it for the first time.

"You should check out the upstairs," Gabriel suggests. "I'm sure that's where you'll want your room to be."

I nod and make my way upstairs where there's immediately a wide view of the living room down below. The first room I come across is to my left and mostly bare with only a bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and a desk. It's plain decor makes me assume that it's Gabriel's room, since he'll barely be using it.

Deeper in the hallway, I found the third and last bedroom on the right. It's a large room with a wall made entirely out of glass facing the dark forest and double doors lead to a balcony with an extraordinary view.

The mountains, in the distance, blend into the darkening sky above a lush, green landscape covered in tall trees and vegetation.

After a few minutes of analyzing the scenery, I reluctantly step away from the windows and my avert my eyes to a large rectangular desk and then the opposite wall which catches my attention. This wall is covered in built-in book shelves that are only about half full. Getting closer, I scan over the title's and trace the spine of a worn, leather-bound book with my fingertips.

"They're all your mother's. She wanted you to have them." Gabriel's voice cuts through the silence, interrupting my thoughts.

"This was her room?" I ask.

Gabriel nods while I turn and walk to the other side of the room, toward the bed. It's a small twin bed covered in a thick, white blanket that I delicately run my hand over.

"She didn't sleep much either," Gabriel mutters in deep thought, a frown etched onto his face.

I nod in understanding. I hardly ever sleep, only doing so when it's completely necessary. I rarely get tired and when I do fall asleep, it's often plagued with nightmares that I would rather forget about.

"Speaking of that, when was the last time you slept?" Gabriel asks, snapping out of his thoughts.

"It doesn't matter. I feel fine." I say.

Truthfully, I can't remember the last time I slept but I do know its been a while. I'm sure Gabriel also knows that without me even having to say it.

He sighs. "If you are not going to sleep, will you at least eat?"

I hesitate, but one look into Gabriel's pleading blue eyes and I nod.

"Only if you cook," I concede.

"Fine by me." He shrugs, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"I'll be down in a few minutes," I reply.

I listen to Gabriel's retreating footsteps before I start toward the bookshelf again. With a snap of my fingers, all of the many books that I've collected over the years materialize and slide into empty slots, quickly filling up the shelves. Many of the books contain valuable information about angels, demons, and nephilims, information that humans rarely have access too, but a few are about the other creatures that lurk in the shadows.

I finger through them until I find one titled "Shape Shifter" in Latin. The cover of the book is black, decorated in elegant gold letters. I take note of how thin and fragile the pages are as I flip through them. Setting that book on the desk, I once again search through the others. Another, covered in leather, and wrapped in a black strip of material, titled "The Origin of Werewolves" catches my attention. I pull it out to join the first one before making my way downstairs for dinner.