The weight of one of the problems got off Stefan's back. Acquiring a new building for the headquarters wasn't only about getting rid of an obstacle, it meant a new beginning for the Protectors. They recovered their union place, and that's the symbol the resistance needed at that moment.

Stefan could feel the threads that gathered the members as one, unraveled little by little. The discreet suspicious glances and the weak voices spreading rumors didn't go unnoticed by the leader. Pressure got added to the pot and he was afraid of not being able to cool it down.

As he observed the entrance of the new building that morning he let his head rest for a second. The gullible side of his mind hoped that behind the wall covered with vines, the relationship of the members would heal; and once they'd crossed the metal door a new connection would arise.

In order to raise the resistance, strong bases were fundamental. With that thought in mind, the leader called his more trustable members to a reunion. Geller's house was the location of the gathering as Lorcan couldn't leave the place yet.

"The universe heard my prayers!" exclaimed Bertram after he opened the door to the man. "Please talk to Lorcan, he's been down since yesterday and he won't tell us why."

The oldest didn't get to answer before the teenager pushed him up the stairs in the direction of the room. In a blink of an eye, Stefan was left alone in front of the entrance. He knocked twice and waited for an answer that never came, so he entered the room anyway.

Weak cries reached his ear as he closed the door. His hands closed into fists while he reduced the distance with the bed.

"Let it go," he whispered after patting the back of the young man.

Lorcan's sobs became louder. His body trembled as he sat against the headboard, he made sure to maintain his head down to hide his face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Asked Stefan, sitting next to him.

"It's nothing, don't worry," Lorcan answered as he brushed away his tears with his hands.

"If it matters enough for you to cry then it's something. I won't force you to talk but I want you to understand that your feelings are valuable, don't dismiss your pain only because of what others may think."

"Agatha is dating Ellis, I found out yesterday." The young man confessed. "Am I being too selfish? She said she's happy so I shouldn't feel this sadness, this anger. Why can't I be happy for her?"

"Sometimes it isn't wrong to be selfish, you can't be thinking about others all the time. As long as you respect her decision you aren't doing anything bad. You have all the right in the world to feel sad, it's part of being a human being."

"Thanks, I needed that."

"Don't mention it," said the leader, then he took a handkerchief from his pants pocket and offered it to Lorcan. "Here. I imagine you wouldn't want the others to see you in this state when they arrive."

The youngest wiped his face and fixed his hair. The conversation helped him to get rid of a part of his guilt, besides, it was beneficial for him to let his feelings flow.

Fifteen minutes later, when the rest of the members joined them, he had recovered his calmness.

"Thanks for coming," Stefan welcomed the members, who had accommodated themselves in the chairs that the owner of the house offered them. "We have some news and most of it isn't good. As you already know, today we'll have a reunion at the new headquarters with all the members and I'll be sharing part of this information. I wanted you to hear it first."

"Is it that bad?" Stella asked.

"Even worse than you imagine," said the leader, a somber tone accompanied his words. "Momotaro interrogated Casimir, according to him there are more traitors inside the group."

"He also said that our powers are connected to the darkness and will corrupt us if we don't control them." Added the tattooed young man.

"Then we have what Flora, Clio, and Noah found." Stefan continued. "There's a war coming in two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Bertram screamed.

"Yes, two weeks, that's what he said. Are you deaf?" Noah answered with his loud voice.

"Calm down," Gellert warned the redhead.

"We found a notebook written by one of the elders, there it explains that the demons will attack in two weeks to kill a third of the population." Flora explained. To her right, Clio nodded to confirm what her friend said while she twirled her daggers.

"The time to prepare is short and we have to keep an eye on everyone. In the meantime we'll have to look for the light they keep mentioning. We can't let the other members know about the reason for the training, if one of them is a traitor then they'll tell the demons." said Stefan.

"What about the rest of the population? Shouldn't they prepare for the attack? we can't protect everyone" Genevieve talked for the first time.

"Maybe we can convince them somehow to train, we can tell them that is important because the demon attacks are getting worse," suggested Gellert.

"Can't Father Zenkin help with that?" Lorcan added to the man's idea.

"We can try, it's not like we have a better option," accepted the leader. "I'll talk with him. Flora, Clio, and Noah, focus on looking for the light. Stella, I'll need you to keep an eye on the members, especially the new ones, if you see any suspicious movement let me know. Gellert and Momotaro we'll work on a new training schedule. Lorcan, once you're fully recovered, you'll be joining as a trainer. And Bertram, from now on I'll let you be in charge of helping the new members to train their powers. If you don't have any questions, it is time for the opening of the headquarters."

A chorus of affirmative answers filled the room. Stefan stood from his seat feeling lighter, having the support of his people freed him of some of his burdens.

Except for Lorcan, they made it to the new building in time for the event.

All the members joined in the reunion room, they waited for Stefan to start his speech. The place was full of people. If it wasn't for the difference in height of the small stage, the leader wouldn't have been visible to everyone.

The only light on was illuminating  the figure of the leader who went up on stage and stood in the middle of the space, away from the windows. Genevieve and Gellert joined him, their presence gave Stefan support.

The presents listened to what the man had to say. The expression on their faces changed in concordance with the message. Some showed discomfort with the announcement of the new training, but the major reaction followed the news of Casimir's treason.

"What if there's someone else like him?" One member screamed.

"He's right. I won't risk my life for a traitor," said another one.

"What do you want to do? Start a traitor hunt?" Celina joined the discussion. "Are we going to destroy each other now?"

"It's better than being sold to those monsters," the first one retorted.

An avalanche of voices conquered the room, as time passed, the tone of the discussion grew, to the point of becoming wild screams. The heat of the situation reached elevated temperatures, they had to be cooled down before it couldn't be controlled anymore.

"Silence!" Stefan yelled, the anger in his voice scared the present. "We are stronger than this. Are you trying to show the demons that they're right? You will let a single person destroy our family? I was hoping you wouldn't be this easy to manipulate. They want us to fight each other so they can finish the job easily, but I won't let them control me. Will you?"

"No!" Most of the members answered.

The leader smiled and proceeded with his speech.

"Then prepare yourself to fight. They murdered our people and we won't stay here with our arms crossed. I want to see every single one of you training at your maximum, be ready to hit back."