"Congrats, Denny," Scott says, grinning. "Finally found your mate."

Raiden nods, smiling."Yeah... She's beautiful, I'm glad I waited... And Rei's back too. Dad wants to see her, we have to make time for that..."

"What is it?" I ask, concerned at his thinking expression.

"I don't trust them," Raiden murmurs, thinking. "And it's not just because we don't know them real well. They're hiding something."

"What makes you think that?" Dean asks.

"They just have this dangerous air," Raiden replies. "Like they're always on guard and observing everything around them. I just get this feeling that they're a lot more dangerous than we think, even Rei. She's not the same. I never expected her to be, no, but I didn't think she'd be so... cold-seeming."

"They are rogues," I say pointedly. "But they seem like no genuine threat. Zaine seems like a great guy and so does Killian."

"And Clove," Raiden adds with a dreamy-ish smile. "The younger twins, Chase and Rhea, they're too young to be a threat, right?"

I nod in agreement. "So innocent until proven guilty?"

"Sounds good," Scott says.

Dean and Raiden agree.

Raiden scowls slightly. "Come on, we should probably get ready for school."

"I don't wanna go," I whine.

"You can see Rei," Scott says.

I groan. "I hate how that's enough motivation. Fine, fine. Let's go."

You made a good choice, Lyria's voice echoes in my head.

You really think so? I ask.

Going back and giving Asher another chance will be one of the best decisions you've ever made, she replies. I can see it.

I feel a push in my mind, another spirit wanting to talk to me. I can tell it's Leon, Asher's dad, the man who abused me not just to keep his affair a secret but because he enjoyed hitting me. I ignore the push and block him out. Why should I talk to him at all?

Rei, Lyria says. Thank you, for taking care of my family.

I should be thanking you all for taking care of me, I reply. You took me in, a complete stranger. You saved me.

A sudden and sharp stab of pain hits me, making me hiss. Damn, I can't keep the connection much longer.

This is the end of this conversation, for now, Lyria says. I'll talk to you again soon, Rei.

Bye Lyria, I whisper.

I feel her presence fade from my mind and stop using my power. A small smile plays on my lips as I stare up at the bedroom ceiling. I barely knew Lyria when she lived yet talking with her always makes me smile. There's just a calming feeling about her and her voice.

"Reina!" Killian's voice shots from downstairs. "You coming or what?! We can and will leave without you!"

I smile fondly and get up, grabbing my bag and heading down the steps. Chase and Rhea were picked up by a pack caretaker half an hour ago. Killian, Clove and Zaine, who's in his normal male form, are waiting for me by the front door.

I put on my coat and boots quickly and we leave, stepping outside into the cold winter air. There's no snow on the ground but it's supposed to snow tonight.

Clove breathes out, watching her breath come out in a frosty puff. Killian has his arm around Zaine's waist, holding his body close to keep him warm. Zaine is smiling at Killian's worry and kisses him on the cheek. Clove and I send each other happy smiles, knowing the two of them aren't going to let anything else ever come between them.

"You wanna race there?" Killian asks.

"Ugh, no," Clove replies. "You always cheat, Flash."

"I promise I won't use my power," Killian tries.

"You always do anyway," I chime in.

"Please," Killian whines, making his best puppy eyes. "I swear, I won't this time."

"Aw," Zaine coos. He grins, squishing his boyfriend's cheeks and moving Killian's head so he's looking at Clove and I. "How can you say no to that face."

"Easily," I reply, "I'm not smitten with him. But fine, I'll run."

Clove groans but nods. "Fine, I will too."

Killian grins and starts counting down. "3... 2... 1... Go!"

All four of us take off running. We split up a little to doge trees but we all stay within eyesight of each other. I hear Zaine laughing and whooping as he runs, jumping over bushes and such. Killian is in the lead, even without using his power to enhance his speed (I can tell he's not because he's running at an acceptable pace, not the speed of lightning). Then Clove, Zaine and I are pretty much even with each other, right on Killian's tail.

My backpack is bouncing crazily with my running, its weight going all over and annoying me. There's nothing I can really do about it though so I do my best to ignore it.

Knowing we're almost to the school, I push myself to run faster. In the last moments of the race, I manage to pass Killian but just by a foot. I slow and start walking, letting my heart beat go down. My friends do the same, all of us breathing heavily.

I notice a few of the other students watching us as they arrive and head inside. I ignore them, I don't care what they think.

Nice, Reina, Clove says.

Thanks. We all did well, I reply.

For our role in the Royals, yeah, we did, Killian adds. I'm one of the best warriors, speed is key in battle. Clove is a techie but a warrior too. And Zaine, the spy and again, also a fighter. And of course, her majesty, the queen.

I roll my eyes but smile. Bow down bitches.

Bow down bitches, bow-bow down bitches, Zaine sings, smiling tiredly. Ladies tell 'em I woke up like this, I woke up like this... Bitch, I'm flawless.

You sure are, Killian says, kissing Zaine's cheek and making his smile widen.

"Alright, I'm cold, let's go in," Clove grumbles.

Chuckling, I start walking towards the school doors with the others walking beside me. When we step in, we're met with a small rush of warm air. Clove sighs in content and her slight shivering ceases.

We head upstairs to our lockers and I see Asher, Scott, Dean, Raiden and unfortunately Kia standing close by, Raiden getting stuff out of I'm guessing his locker, which is apparently right beside Killian's. Asher's eyes meet mine as we approach and he smiles.

Following his gaze, my brother looks over at us walking towards them and smiles as well, walking over to give me a quick kiss on the cheek like our usual greeting from before the whole banishing thing happened. I smile, returning the greeting. Clove scowls playfully before demanding a kiss too which Raiden happily provides and Clove returns.

I hold back a growl as I notice Kia eyeing Killian. Zaine must notice too because he latches himself onto Killian's arm, glaring daggers at Kia. I catch Asher glaring at Kia as well, disgust obvious in his blue eyes.

My friends and I put our stuff in our lockers, however before we can get our binders and that out, Kia comes marching right up to Killian, flirtatiously twirling her red hair despite the rejection that took place last night.

"Hey babe," she coos.

Beside me, Clove pretends to dramatically throw up, not caring if Kia sees. Asher, Scott and Dean all smirk behind Kia's back at Clove's actions while Raiden snickers, leaning on Clove's shoulder.

"The hell do you want?" Killian hisses.

"I want to know if you've thought about being with me."

Unable to hold it back, I let out a harsh laugh. Clove's eyes widen in disbelief while Zaine and Killian both glare at Kia. The sheer audacity of this bitch.

"Yeah, I thought about it," Killian says coldly.

"And?" Kia asks, her voice sweet.

Killian raises an eyebrow. "And what? What do you think I fucking decided? You lost any tiny-ass chance you ever had of ever being with me when you decided to open your fucking legs last night."

Dean's jaw drops in shock. Scott is staring wide-eyed at Kia while Raiden is glaring daggers at her. I can see Asher's shock, which quickly turns to empathy as he looks at Killian, probably from knowing the pain of a cheating mate. Kia looks surprised but her shock quickly melts into anger.

"You're one to say anything about cheating," Kia spits. "What happened to the hoe you had yesterday? Moving on a little fast, aren't you?"

Killian growls, a sound quite impressive for him not being a werewolf and wraps his arm around Zaine's shoulders. "Say anything even remotely insulting about my boyfriend and I swear I will rip your tail off and shove it down your throat. I bet you'd like that, huh whore? Maybe you should get a taste of a real crown..."

Clove and I both grin, knowing he means he'd let me attack her. I've been itching to pummel Kia ever since we got here and the Royals know it.

"What does that even mean?" Scott asks, confused.

"It means she won't be lookin' pretty anymore," Zaine says, chuckling evilly. "And as for 'moving on fast,' he hasn't moved on at all."

Before Kia can say anything, Zaine's eyes glow and his body starts shifting. A few seconds later, Regina is standing in front of us, smirking coldly. Kia's eyes widen.

"No one told you, huh?" Zaine asks.

He pulls away from Killian, stepping closer to Kia. There's something in his tone and in his posture, that says he's not messing around. Even the aura he's giving off isn't his normal carefree one. It's... darker, colder. I've never seen Zaine like this before and honestly, it's a little unnerving. I notice now that instead of Regina's normally blue eyes, his eyes are black like Raiden's and like how my eyes used to be.

Killian is watching his boyfriend, wide-eyed but ready to stop him if needed. Clove is staring at Zaine, surprised but grinning, probably from seeing he's not gonna let Kia take Killian again. Asher and his friends are all watching, clearly intrigued and wanting to know what's going to happen.

"He's mine," Zaine hisses dangerously.

Despite his intimidating aura, Kia stands her ground. Stupid bitch deson't know what she's facing. It's like picking a pretty, delicate-looking flower only to find out it's full of poison.

"He's mine," she spits back. "He's my mate. You even said he'd be happier with me."

Zaine sneers, laughing harshly. "I did but now I see I was wrong, like Rei and Asher both said. Killian isn't your mate, not anymore. You're the one who accepted the rejection last night. And if anything, you should be thanking me. If it wasn't for me, you would've been rejected the minute he knew you two were mates."

Asher has come over to stand beside Clove, Raiden and I, his arm wrapping around my shoulders. When I look at him, he gives me a cheeky smile before turning his attention back to Zaine and Kia. I roll my eyes but don't push his arm away; I said I'll give him a chance and I will. The warmth his touch gives me feels amazing too, helping to chase away the last of the chill from the winter air outside.

Kia hasn't said anything, glaring at Zaine hatefully. Zaine is smirking triumphantly, seeing she can't come up with a snappy reply.

The bell rings, telling us we have five minutes to get to first class. With one last heated glare at Zaine, Kia turns and storms off down the hall. As soon as she's out of sight, blocked from view by other students heading to class, Zaine's mood does a complete 180, going back to his usual aura.

He shifts back to his normal form as Killian wraps his arms around Zaine.

"You're sexy when you get possessive," Killian murmurs.

Zaine grins. "Bitch please, I am always sexy. I'm flawless."

I sense Asher's surprise at Zaine's mood swing. He doesn't comment though, instead remaining silent and observing.

"Come on," I say, "Let's get to class."