⭐️ Alessia's P.O.V.⭐️

We drove for hours to get back home. Kai goofed off a little extra, flooring the pedal to jump a sand dune. I loved the rush of adrenaline it gave me. When we arrived back on base, we headed straight for the garage. After Kai had parked and gotten the side by side situated, I got out to look at the time. My watch said 11:50. My eyes wandered over to where it said the date. It's the 15! Today is June 15! I'm finally 16. It didn't seem as exciting to me as it did back home, but I still wanted to tell Kai. Once he was done with the vehicle, he came to my side.

"Well, guess what?" I slung my arm around his. He grinned.

"Well, I never quite know what's happening in that smart brain of yours." He kissed my forehead, right in between my eyebrows. I could get used to this real quickly.

"So, you can just tell me."

"Well, yours truly here just got a year older. You better be good with that, otherwise, speak now or forever hold your peace." I said, playfully bouncing on my toes. He was still a bit taller than me, by half a foot, so it took a little bit to reach him.

"Oh, so you're mine now are you?" His eyes twinkled as he kissed the tip of my nose.

"As long as you can be mine." I giggled.

"I would be proud to be yours." He puffed his chest up with pride. His face brushed my cheek as he buried his head in my shoulder with a hug. I hope he didn't hear me sigh at how much I loved his touch. He was gentle and sensitive, treating me as if I would break if he didn't touch me light enough or in the right way. He slid one of his arms around my waist while his other hand came around my neck, getting lost in my hair. He pulled my mouth to his, parting my lips. He was over being scared to kiss me now, I think we got over that back at the lake. My hands traveled down to his chest. His strong structure could be intimidating, but I think I am almost over that too. He drew back and rested his forehead against mine. I could feel his warm breath against my lips as we breathed the same air. Yep. He's going to be the end of me. This is going to go farther than I have ever let anything go before and that fact kind of scares me, but I can't prevent it. Who knows where this will go? It feels like something that is totally out of my control, but, at the same time, I am okay with that. As long as it goes slow. He's like an escape in the middle of all of this. He's the only sanity in the midst of this mad world. I heard voices coming from outside of the garage.

"People are going to be wondering where we are." I smiled against him.

"Well, let's let them wonder for a while longer." He sighed. "I don't know what you think, but nobody should know we're doing this. It's against the rules. Instructors and initiates must never be together." I could hear the pain in his voice. If people knew we were getting together, would they think he has been favoring me through training? I don't want people to think I am cheating or simply just using him.

"Good thing for us, it looks like we both like to break rules, so we can break 'em together. We can let them wonder." I pulled back just enough to look into his eyes. "People don't need to know until necessary. One, I don't want to get into trouble quite yet, and two, I don't want them to think you are showing me any favor during training just because I'm your 'special friend'."

"Yeah, I'll just have to push you extra hard then." I could hear the tease in his whisper. He drew back and pushed a piece of hair behind my hair. "Let's head to lunch." He grabbed my hand and I laced my fingers in his.

He pushed open the huge door and sunlight hit me. It was hot and mirages already rose from the pavement. We made our way to the Dining Hall and some people looked our way. I let go of Kai's hand, not wanting them to see. He got the message because he didn't protest.

He opened the Dining hall door for me, as usual, and I saw Summer sitting with her sister. Cody, Chase, and Maddox were also with her. She spotted me and I went over to sit with her. I noticed that Kai didn't follow. I turned to see him heading over to another table where Mason and Ajax sat. I shrugged it off and went to sit by Summer. She looked like she was about to burst.

"What was happening back there? You've been spending so much time with Poseidon lately! Has it finally happened?!" And she burst. I breathed out.

"I've just been spending a lot of time with him because he is basically my personal trainer now. Also, we have to work extra hard so I can be ready to go on the rescue mission to save my father, which I assume you know about." She shook her head as I frowned. What is happening to him right now? I knew I didn't convince her, but she just shrugged it off.

I looked at the line forming for food. I suddenly realized how hungry I was since I didn't eat breakfast. I decided to wait though. I didn't like getting in line with so many people at a time. I tapped my fingers on the table, impatient to see Kai again. I heard Chase talking about something real quiet at the end of the table, even though the noise was overwhelming in here. I inched a little farther down the table until I could just barely make out what he was saying.

"I heard a rumor that there is going to be a mission soon. A rescue mission. I have no idea who's getting picked, but we're going to find out soon." I instantly knew what he was talking about as Summer and I exchanged looks. Good thing none of the others heard us talking. But then Chase continued on in a different subject.

"Do any of you know why Gunner was arrested this morning?" He looked around the table. The others shook their heads. Except for Maddox. I guess I didn't think about lying in time because Chase looked questioningly at me.

"Do you, Alessia?"

All heads turned towards me. I could feel the heat rising to my face. I bit my lip. Maddox gives the slightest shake of his head. I knew what he was signaling.

"Um, not really. I just heard he broke into somebody's room last night because he was drunk and out of control." I hated lying, but it wasn't a complete lie. I told the truth, just skipping the details about me, but the others seemed satisfied. I saw the food line dwindle down, so I stood up.

"Hey, since you're going up, would you mind grabbing me a Coke?" Summer handed a dollar bill to me.

"Sure, no problem." I walked up to the line grabbing a tray. I held in a gasp as I heard a familiar whisper in my ear.

"Meet me in between our rooms after?" I felt the heat rise in my neck as Kai's breath hit my neck. I didn't want to draw too much attention, so I didn't turn around. Oh, how I wanted to get lost in his deep brown eyes, though! But I forced myself to just give a slight nod of my head. I hurried through the line as fast as I could, grabbing a pre-made salad and a container of dressing. I showed my ID card to the lunch lady then headed over to the soda machine to get Summer's soda. I put the bill in the machine, impatiently tapping my foot on the ground, waiting. I heard a thud as a bottle dropped into the bottom. I picked up the cold bottle and headed back to where Summer was waiting for me. I put the bottle down in front of her as I set my tray down.

"Thanks." I just nodded. I ate my meal in silence until I saw Blaire rushing towards me. She looked excited, but not the happy kind.

"Alessia, you have to come with me now!"

"Why, what's wrong?" I looked at her in confusion.

"No questions, just come. Maddox won't mind clearing your tray for you, will he now?" Blaire shot a look at him. I saw Maddox gulp and respond with just a shake of his head. I obeyed Blaire and just left my tray where it was, without asking questions.

As I walked out of the Dining Hall, my eyes met Kai's for just a second. I looked down. He had to understand I wouldn't be meeting him right after. I walked out the door as Blaire headed out, no idea what was going to happen next.

🌊 Kai's P.O.V.🌊

I was worried about why Blaire had come in here in a rush and took Alessia somewhere, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"Do you know why Blaire came in here to get, Alessia?" I turned to the guys at my table, which consisted of Mason and Ajax. They shook their heads.

"It may be something about her dog, Boomer. Blaire may have figured out what's wrong with him." Ajax suggested.

"Maybe." But I wasn't all too sure.

"Poseidon, has your sister talked to you lately?" Mason was the one asking questions now.

"Uh, yes last night actually. Why?" Mason frowned before answering.

"We think," he said, motioning to himself and Ajax. "Including Blaire, that we will have to proceed in our mission a lot sooner than we originally anticipated. Your sister hasn't been able to hack the K.A.I. database like we expected, so now we have no idea what information they have and what they don't. I just know we need to get there before Priore lets go." Mason was looking pretty regretful.

"And I'm afraid if Alessia can't be prepared enough in two month's time then she will not be able to proceed in this mission, even if it would mean it's the last time she would be able to see her father alive." Mason put his forehead in his hands.

"We just can't risk another life for nothing, I wouldn't want her blood on my hands. She's only been here three days." Ajax nodded as if agreeing.

"You are going to have to focus even more on her more than ever, Poseidon." Well, that part will be easy. "You will have to pay attention to her strengths as well as weaknesses during every training session. I will take over the other initiates, as I said before, while you train just Alessia. " I nodded my head at him.

"I will go with her on the mission and be by her side every step of the way. I don't want her to get hurt either." I looked down. "It's the only way I feel I can repay her father, I owe it to him." Both Mason and Ajax nodded their approval now.

"Today is Wednesday and Alessia just got here on Sunday. We leave two months from tomorrow. You have until that Wednesday to have her ready, otherwise, she will not be going. Got it?" I gulped. I really hoped she did have the potential I thought she did just yesterday.

"Got it. I'm going to go over to the W.A. now. We good here?" They nodded. I got up and walked away from the table. There isn't much time now. I knew the date would end up being a lot sooner. It always is. I inwardly shook my head as I walked out of the Dining Hall and continued towards the W.A. I made it to the building and headed towards one of the back rooms.

I decided I would take her to a totally different room with no people. Except for the two of us. I flipped on a light switch and made sure everything was in there that we needed to work with. I nodded my head in satisfaction. She would be skipping over parts of training, but who cared anymore? As long as it would keep her safe inside the K.A.I. that's all I was concerned about.

I hated the idea of her going at all, but I could see how much it meant to her and I couldn't deny her this one thing. It meant so much to her to be able to see her father. I guess it's basically how I feel about my sister. Sure, she is my twin, but also she's the only family I have left. Same situation with Alessia and her father. I just know that I can't lose her over something like this. Then I corrected myself. I can't let myself lose her ever.

I started walking back to the Bunker to wait in between our rooms, just like I had said. I understood she wouldn't be there as fast as I would've liked, but she would still come eventually.

⭐️ Alessia's P.O.V.⭐️

I noticed that Blaire was leading me towards the Lab. I just shrugged it off as she opened the door and we both walked inside. She led me to an elevator and jammed the fifth-floor button as the doors closed. We got out after a few minutes in silence and walked down a hall. The next moment, I found myself in a room and I gasped when I saw Boomer on an examination table. I ran over to him and stroked his head as he struggled to lift it to me. I turned towards Blaire to see her cross her arms.

"What's wrong with him?" I demanded. I could feel the anger rising in me. Blaire held her hands up.

"We haven't done anything to him, don't worry. We have just run tests on him. We believe he was drugged, though, with some sort of serum." Blaire looked at me with a knowing look. "I know what happened last night. Between you and Gunner. I have a feeling that Gunner himself may have had something to do with Boomer's condition." I looked down at him.

"A vial of serum has recently gone missing and I have suspicions that Gunner is responsible." I didn't know how to respond. Memories from last night filled my head. Gunner clutching at my waist, trying to tear my shirt off. I saw Gunner's crazed face as he tried to kiss me. I tried to shake the thoughts out of my head as Blaire continued.

"The vial is for temporary paralysis and makes you very tired. I believe Gunner could have used it on Boomer. Because if he can get through Boomer, it's easy for him to get to you." She walked over and checked an IV hooked up to Boomer. "He's getting better now. Most of the paralysis happened overnight so he's mostly recovered. He should be recovered tomorrow. Alessia, I'm so sorry. You have been through so much and now all this has happened to you..." She just looked at me. "I don't even know what to say."

I just bit my lip and looked down. I stroked Boomer's head some more.

"What is going to happen to Gunner, anyway?" I gulped, scared of how Blaire would answer this.

"He will be interrogated and further decisions with him will be based on that. We have set the date for three days max. We're trying, Alessia, we really are." For once, I actually saw Blaire as helpless. She looked tired and had dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was falling out of her bun and her Lab coat was wrinkled. I walked up to her and put my hands on her shoulders.

"It's okay, you can't do everything. You have been such a mother to me here and I am so grateful for that." I pulled her into a hug. "Thank you so very much." The tears welled up in my eyes.

"It has been my pleasure. You had such an amazing family, Alessia. I'm sorry things had to change." I pulled away from her and stood at arm's length.

"No offense, but you look exhausted. You really should go back to your room and get some sleep. You deserve it." She looked at me gratefully as if waiting for me to tell her that. She just nodded at me.

"I think I will. I can't remember the last time I had a break." Now it was my turn to nod.

"I have to get back to K-." I caught myself. "I have to get back to Poseidon anyways. We have a lot of work ahead of us."

"You do indeed. I'll find someone trustworthy to take care of Boomer while I'm gone." I nodded my head at her and thanked her.

I walked out of the room, desperate to get back to Kai. With all that had happened here in only three days, I no longer felt safe. I stepped into the elevator. I hit the 'floor' button as the doors shut. As I was about to step out of the elevator, and the doors opened, someone ran into me, knocking me over. The breath was knocked from my lungs. Once I recovered, I looked up at the body on top of me. I groaned. It was a man and he looked familiar...

"Maddox?!" Now it was his turn to groan.

"Could you please get off me. Can't. Breathe." I gasped as the air wouldn't come back in my lungs. He sat up almost immediately.

"I'm so sorry!" He rubbed the back of his head. I couldn't help but groan again as I rubbed my own head.

"You in a rush or something?" I asked kind of impatiently. Maddox blushed sheepishly. I couldn't help, but tease him now. I smirked.

"You goin' to see a girl?" I asked. I was an expert when it came to crushes and I could spot them almost anywhere. His blush deepened and his eyes opened in surprise.

"How did you-."

I cut him off.

"Oh, it's pretty obvious. You're in a rush, you're a little more dressed up than normal," I said, noticing he was wearing a nice button-up shirt and dark jeans. But, oh, I didn't stop there.

"Also, you're smiling like a fool and-." I sniffed the air. My smile just got even bigger. "Is that cologne I smell? Oh, Maddox, what girl has your heart?"

I winked at him as I just saw his jaw drop in non-belief. I couldn't help, but laugh now. I had to hold my stomach with the deceiving feeling that I would gain a six-pack if I kept laughing. I had to wipe a tear away as Maddox got up and offered me a hand up.

"Well, I see there is absolutely no way I can convince you that I don't like anyone, huh?" His eyes bore into mine.

"Nope." I emphasized the 'p' quite a bit playfully.

"Ugh. You know you're in the wrong place, right? I think you belong in the FBI profiling unit instead." Maddox dragged his hand down his face. I heard the elevator beep as the doors shut.

"No, no, no." I tried to slide my hands in between the doors, but it was too late. I huffed. I folded my arms across my chest and leaned on the wall. I turned my attention back to Maddox who still seemed to be in shock. I smirked at him again.

"Well, looks like you're stuck with me. Now you have to tell me who the lucky girl is. Besides, you ran me over. And made me miss my destination. You owe me." Maddox glared at me.

"You're evil."

I giggled, but only because he was kidding.

"Oh, come on. You can trust me. I don't tell secrets." I put my index finger to my lips. He groaned.

"Fine." He pulled on his shirt collar. "I don't know if you know her, but her name is Kairi. She works here in the Lab."

"Ooooh." I couldn't help myself. I gave a little giggle. I realized I sounded just like Summer now. It was only when Maddox shot me daggers from his eyes I stopped. I cleared my throat, swallowing the other laugh that threatened to escape.

"Poseidon's sister right? Sorry, continue."

"Well, she's my sister's best friend, also." That always helps. I inwardly rolled my eyes.

"I've liked her ever since she arrived six months ago." I silently 'awwwed' in my head. He rubbed his neck again as he continued.

"Well, I was planning on confessing my feelings to her today... right now."

"Oh, so she doesn't even know yet, huh?" I started thinking. I thought about how Kai had decided to tell me about his feelings earlier. I smiled to myself. He was so sweet...The sound of Maddox clearing his throat made me turn my attention back to him.

"What?"

"You're the one blushing now, Alessia." Oops. Thinking about Kai always makes me blush. Well, honestly, anything about him makes me blush. I was kicking myself inwardly.

"I'd say if I didn't know any better you like someone as well." His eyes danced. Now it was my turn to drag my hand down my face.

"That's not important. But I do have some advice for you." Well, I tried to avoid it.

"Oh, really? You a love expert?"

"Pretty much. All of my friends came to me and even people I didn't know from my school even came to me for advice, so trust me, I got you." I winked at him. He just shook his head in defeat.

"Fine. I could really use any advice right now. So, what is it?" I thought about it for a few seconds. Then the elevator dinged and opened. Damn it, elevator. Maddox was about to walk off.

"Nuh-uh." I grabbed his arm and pulled him back in.

"What the he-." But I cut him off.

"You can't just go up to her while she's working and fess up. You want to do it somewhere memorable, somewhere with privacy."

The elevator doors shut again and I hit the floor button once again.

"Listen. You should ask her out to go do something. Ask her to take a walk with you or take her on a ride." I remembered this morning and butterflies fluttered in my stomach once again. Maddox seemed to really think about it.

"Yeah, you're right. I should. When should I do it, though?"

"Hmm. How 'bout after dinner? Do you ever sit with her?"

"Yeah, I do! You're right I'll do that. Thanks so much, Alessia!" I smirked at him.

"Yeah, of course. It's what I'm here for." I laughed.

"So, about why you were blushing earlier. Is it because of-."

Ding! The elevator doors opened. Oh, thank God! Saved by the elevator! Who woulda thought?

"Uh, sorry. Gotta go!" I dashed out of the elevator as fast as possible.

"Alessia!"

I giggled. It was like when you watch Alvin and the Chipmunks. Alvin! Got outta that one. Dangg, that was close.

I made it out of the Lab and headed towards the Bunker. I slowed down in the heat. It was almost unbearable. I shielded my face with my hand. It must be at least a hundred degrees. I regretted leaving my hair down now, but who could've known? I walked on the hot asphalt and made my way to the Bunker. As I opened the heavy door, cool air rushed to greet me. Ohhh, yes, thank the Lord... relief.

I walked through the halls and found my room. But, I also found Kai leaning up against his door. I suddenly got butterflies and my heart started to beat faster. Has he stood here all this time? I felt like if this was a movie it would've been one of those 'awww' moments, you know? I walked up to him and his back was to me. I slipped my hands around his waist and he jumped which made me jump.

"You okay?" I giggled. He turned around to face me. He let out a sigh and I saw relief cross his face.

"I am now."

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to his chest.

"This is going to be hard to keep a secret," He whispered in my ear.

"I know."

I pulled away and kissed him, running my hand through his hair. He kissed me back as he took my face in his strong, warm hands. When he finally pulled away, he pushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear yet again.

"Have you been standing here this whole time?" I looked up into his brown eyes.

"Yeah. I knew you would come eventually. And I have good news, too, so I wasn't gonna leave." He smiled. I love that smile.

"Okay, let's hear it."

"Well, since I have to train you extra hard, Mason told me he would train the others in the group while I focus solely on you." He winked at me. "Which shouldn't be hard." I blushed, not caring anymore.

"Well, let's get to it shall we? It can count as our 'bonding' time." It was my turn to wink at him. He kissed my temple as I laced my fingers with his. I was so glad nobody was ever in the Bunker this time of day. We took our time, not wanting our time together like this to end. But, eventually we reached the heavy metal door and I let out a sigh. Kai turned to kiss my forehead before letting go of my hand to push open the door. We walked out, once again, into the heat. I could see the mirage waves lift from the asphalt and into the air.

We walked towards the W.A. Building, excited to get back to work. Kai opened the door for me, but this time I used a smile to thank him. I started walking towards the room that I trained in yesterday, but Kai caught my arm. I turned around, surprised.

"We're going to go to a different room with some different equipment. It'll be just us."

"Oh, okay."

"We won't be bothered there, which will be nice." He said in a whisper. I just nodded and followed him.

The room was towards the back of the building, so it was very secluded and for some reason unused. I can trust him, I can trust him. I was hoping I wasn't wrong about him. Now is not the time to get second thoughts, I scolded myself.

He grabbed my hand as we walked into a pitch-black room. I couldn't see anything and I was starting to panic when Kai closed the door, shutting out any remaining light. I gripped his hand harder and he seemed to get the message. He felt around for a light switch as fast as possible and flipped it on. I let up my grip on his hand. When I let it go, I could see where my nails had dug into his skin leaving it so red. I clasped my hand over my mouth.

"I am so sorry!"

Kai looked down at his hand as if he had just noticed. He waved it off.

"I'll survive. I'm just glad they're your marks and not another girl's." He laughed. He could always succeed in making me blush, that's for sure, in which I know I've mentioned a million times.

I turned my attention to the room around me. The room was dark gray, lit with LED lights. Is every light here LED? I saw a bench press, overhead press, and other workout machines. I saw dumbbells and other weights in the same area. Then, I saw uniforms hanging from hooks on one wall and I saw huge wooden crates stacked on one another labeled 'weapons'. I walked over to the uniforms. There were men's uniforms as well as women's.

The men's involved black pants with a bulletproof vest to go over a dark gray long sleeve shirt. The women's, however, consisted of black, skin-tight pants with an attached ammo belt. They also had long-sleeved, black shirts that were low cut and had a bulletproof vest as well.

"Oh, yeah, I can see you in one of those now." Kai chuckled. "Perfect suit to fit all of your curves, although you might draw some attention from other guys besides me. That won't end well for them. I don't understand why the Lab makes the women's uniforms so flashy."

"Oh, stop it. I'll just look like Black Widow minus the red hair." I playfully punched him in the arm. He feigned a pain-filled expression. "I've never drawn so much attention until now. I'll be fine." I leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.

"Whatever. You can pick out your size and have your name embroidered somewhere."

I wandered to the rest of the room seeing punching bags, boxing rings, and targets for any weapon.

"This is going to suck, isn't it?" I ran my hand over a punching bag, studying the worn black material. Kai rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

"Unfortunately, yes."

I turned to him with a smirk and a twinkle in my eyes.

"So, where do I start?"