13

After all that, spending the entire afternoon figuring out the tablet, eating supper, and giving Naomi a bunch of temporary tattoos, Rayna is exhausted. The clock reads 9:19 P.M. She's laying in bed with the TV on, but she doesn't listen to it. Harley walks in from the bathroom dressed in a white muscle shirt and grey sweatpants. His hair is wet, showing that he just showered.

"You seem tired," he observes out loud. She numbly nods. "You should get ready for bed."

She sits up and walks over to the closet without a word. She swayed a bit as she walked, her legs ready to give out. She grabs a pair of pajamas from the closet before walking into the bathroom. She takes a quick shower, not bothering with her hair, and gets dressed. She brushes her teeth, ties back her hair, and steps out, throwing her clothes into the hamper in the bathroom—which had a shower, bathtub, and two sink counter.

She crawls back into bed, utterly exhausted. Harley notices. He turns off his phone, the TV, and then his lamp, crawling under the covers even though he wasn't all too tired. She lazily turns off her lamp and plugs in her phone before resting her head on the pillow.

The clock reads 10:42 P.M. before Rayna knows it, and she still hasn't been able to fall asleep.

She groans quietly and sits up, moving slowly as to not wake Harley. She walks around the bed to the bedroom door and leaves the room. Maybe some fresh air will tire her. She walks down the stairs to where the balcony is. She steps out and shivers as the cold night air wraps around her. It wouldn't affect most werewolves with their amazing body heat, but Rayna isn't as strong as most werewolves. She was only wearing her hoodie, a sports bra, underwear, and pajama shorts. No socks or shirt or pants.

The balcony was a square. There was a grill, a couch, some chairs, a table. Rayna takes a chair and pulls it up to the side of the balcony. She sits down, breathing in deeply and looking out at the treetops that she was now eye-level with. Some wolves howl in the distance, seemingly having gotten a catch.

Rayna just sits there for a few minutes, staring into space and thinking.

She's brought out of her thoughts when the door to the balcony opens. She turns, and Harley is there. He calmly walks over and pulls up a chair next to Rayna.

"What are you doing out here?" he asks.

"I can't sleep," she whispers.

"Do you have insomnia?"

She shakes her head.

They're silent for a few moments. Rayna sighs.

"I miss my mom," she mumbles. Harley reaches over and holds her hand. She clutches onto him.

"Would you like to talk about her?" he asks softly.

"She's the one who saved me. She found me. She brought me into the family. She loved me . . ."

Rayna gulps harshly.

"I- I was fourteen. Th- The two of us were on a walk, l- like we always took, b- b- but that time . . . something went wrong."

She looks up at Harley with tears in her eyes.

"There were rogues.

And they killed her."

She goes numb. Tears stream down her face, but she doesn't move or make a sound. Harley moves her onto his lap, where he rubs her back and whispers sweet things in her ear.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

"I watched her die. I watched them kill her. She fought them off and told me to run. I should've done something. It should've been me!"

She starts to yell, covering up her sadness, guilt, remorse, and regret with anger.

"Hey, hey," Harley interjects before she can go farther. "She was protecting you. She wanted you to live. It isn't your fault. She was showing how much she loved you. I'm not saying she should have died, but you can't change the past, Rayna."

Slowly, she calms down, but as she does, she starts to sob. She holds onto Harley.

"I miss her so much," she whispers, sniffling. "If she were here . . ."

"I know, I know. She isn't here, but that doesn't mean you don't have her. She's still protecting you and loving you."

Rayna sniffles again and nods. She rests her head on Harleys chest as he holds her in his lap.

"I've never had anyone to hold me before," she tells him numbly.

He holds her tighter and tentatively kisses her forehead.

"Now you do."

*~*~*~*

After another half an hour of sitting on the balcony, the two head back inside and in bed. Rayna was struggling to keep her eyes open. Harley spoons her, and it only takes a few moments with her head on the pillow, Harley's arms wrapped around her, and the warm comforter tugged up to her shoulders for her to fall fast asleep. Harley does, too.

*~*~*~*

When Rayna wakes up, the clock reads 8:22 A.M.

She quickly remembers where she is. She feels well-rested for once, but with all that happened yesterday, she bets she'll need a day of relaxation to recover. The curtains over the bay window were closed, but the sun still shone through a bit.

She's alone.

She bets that Harley just had work to do, so she doesn't think much of it. She gets out of bed and walks over to the closet. She sleepily grabs an outfit and heads into the bathroom. She gets dressed and ready for the day. She comes out wearing a pair of black athletic shorts with a white tank top under her hoodie. She tied her still damp hair back in a cute messy bun.

She walks out of the room and downstairs to the Leader Commons. Of course, there are two Omegas/maids in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Hello," Rayna greets. The two--one middle-aged, the other maybe a few years older than Rayna--turn to face her.

"You must be the Queen," the older one whispers. The two quickly bow. Rayna feels her cheeks heat up, and she takes a quick step back.

"Oh, uhm . . . Y- You c- c- can just c- c- call me Rayna," she stutters.

"Oh, my apologies. I wouldn't think you'd be used to such a role after a day," the same one says with a warm smile. "My name is Jeanie McClain. You can call me Mrs. McClain. This here is my daughter, Jade."

The resemblance becomes clear. They have the same thick auburn hair and bright green eyes. They were both dressed in any standard uniform for a maid, though theirs have the Royal symbol in the right shoulder.

"N- Nice to meet you," Rayna says with a nod.

"Nice to meet you," Mrs. McClain emphasizes. Jade stays silent the entire interaction, though she gives Rayna a nod and a smile. Rayna starts rocking back and forth on her feet.

"Would . . . you two like any help?" she asks. Mrs. McClain chuckles.

"Oh, no, dear. You just sit down, enjoy yourself, and we'll cook something up for you," Mrs. McClain assures her.

That's when the alarms start going off in Raynas head. "You just sit down, enjoy yourself." No one has ever said that to her. Is this a test? If she doesn't help, someone's gonna beat her, right? She isn't supposed to have people work for her. She's supposed to be working.

"No, no, please. I- I'm really good at cooking," she argues. "Let me help."

The two other women share a glance. They seem to mind-link.

"Okay," Mrs. McClain says, though hesitantly. Rayna smiles. She walks over.

"What are you making?"

"French toast," Mrs. McClain tells her.

"What can I do?" Rayna asks eagerly.

"Uhm-" Mrs. McClain starts, but she's cut off by loud approaching footsteps.

Rayna turns around to see Harley. For some reason it took her this long to realize his strong scent of maple.

"Rayna." Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. He seems upset at her, b- but she's cooking, like she should, right? "What are you doing?" he asks, his arms crossed and his back straight.

"Uhm, c- cooking?" she replies.

"That's Mrs. McClain and Jade's job. Not yours. Come here," he orders.

Her heart starts to beat faster.

"Wh- What? Wh- Wh- Why?" she asks, confused and scared.

"Rayna," he repeats, his tone turning even more authoritative.

She starts to slightly shake, but she obediently takes a few hesitant steps towards him.

"Let them do their job," he says, his tone turning softer now. He reaches out his hand.

"N- No one's gonna beat me?" she asks, unable to grasp the fact that she doesn't have to make breakfast after doing so for nearly every day for over the past four years. Everyone else in the room freezes at her question.

"Beat you?" Harley asks, tense.

Rayna opens her mouth to respond but quickly closes it when she realizes the reaction she got.

After a few still moments, Harley turns and walks out.

Rayna watches, frozen in place.

"Did I mess up?" she asks softly, looking back at the McClain's.

"No, no, dear. He's just upset that you think someone would beat you. First off, we don't do that here. That is not okay. Second off, you're the queen. Anyone who dare lay a hand on you would be a fool," Mrs. McClain tells her.

"O- Okay . . ."

*~*~*~*

Harley comes back half an hour later, just as Rayna is ready to give up on the large amount of French toast Mrs. McClain gave her.

He bends down next to her.

"No one is going to beat you ever again. I won't let anyone hurt a hair on your head. I promise."

He kisses her hand, holding it tightly. She doesn't know what to say, so she simply pats his hair and nods. He stands up, and they get a good look at each other. He's wearing a light blue muscle shirt under a black sweatshirt with a pair of black basketball shorts. His has his hair tied back to the best of his ability.

"Are you okay?" he asks, worried.

She nods. "Y- Yeah."

"Would you like to go on a run?" Harley asks.

Rayna panics again and shakes her head. Harley is now the confused one, but he dismisses it.

"Okay. Why don't you finish your french toast?"

She pokes it again with her fork. She wants to gag at the sight of more food.

"Okay."

Harley walks into another room, and the McClain's had left without her realizing when Harley walked back in.

She sits there for a minute before standing up and throwing the rest of her breakfast away. She sets the plate and fork in the sink just as Naomi walks in with someone else.

"Rayna!" Naomi exclaims, making her turn.

"Naomi," she greets with a smile. The two girls hug.

"Rayna, this is Savvy. She's the gammas mate," Naomi explains. "Savvy, meet Rayna."

"It's a pleasure to meet the Luna Queen," Savvy says, bowing.

"Oh, that's right. I'm best friends with the fucking Luna Queen!" Naomi exclaims again.

"I'm still the same person," Rayna reminds her. "P- Please don't bow," she requests from Savvy. "Just c- call me Rayna."

"Okay," Savvy says, giggling and playfully rolling her eyes.

She was well built and taller than Rayna and Naomi at 5'9. Her skin was a few shades darker than Raynas. Her eyes were a pretty light brown, and her hair was shaved on one side and pretty short. It was naturally dark brown, but she had it dyed black, fading to a bright purple.

"So, like, I was thinking we could go shopping," Naomi suggests.

"But we did that two days ago," Rayna reminds her.

"I know, but you're gonna need an entirely new wardrobe."

Harley walks back in. Rayna gives him a distressed look. She doesn't think she can handle going out again. Harley notices her silent cry for help.

"What's up?" he asks.

"I wanna take her shopping. She needs new clothes," Naomi tells him. Savvy nods, backing her new friend up.

Harley looks at Rayna, who's shrinking a bit.

"C'mon, Harley," Savvy starts. "You even said that she doesn't have shit."

Harley lightly rolls his eyes and pulls a black credit card out of his pocket.

He doesn't understand why Rayna looks even more distressed when he looks back down at her.