22

Rayna was the first one awake the next morning. She studies Harley, slowly remembering everything that happened last night. Once she sees the mark on his neck, the Mark of the Queen, she smiles. She blushes deeply when she remembers what her wolf had her do, but she brushes it off.

She gives Harley a kiss on the forehead, making him smile in his sleep. She gets out of bed and walks into the bathroom. She does her business, strips, ties her hair up, and steps into the shower. After cleaning herself. She steps out to realize she didn't bring any clean clothes to change into. She huffs.

Harley's still asleep. It should be fine.

She wraps a towel around herself to be safe and opens the bathroom door. She walks into the bedroom to see Harley awake, sitting on the side of the bed and rubbing his neck. She goes bright red and walks past him and around the bed.

"Good morning," he greets, his eyes following her. "What happened last night?"

She pauses. That's right . . . She didn't remember being marked, so neither does he.

"What do you remember?" she asks, holding the towel tightly around her.

"Everyone had supper together, Keane and Naomi are mates, and then . . . we started drinking," he tells her.

"Yeah. Uhm . . . We played truth or dare, and I was dared to mark you," Rayna reminds him. "You gave me permission, so I did."

His eyes widen, and his hand rubs the mark again.

Rayna scurries into the closet and gets dressed. She puts on a tank top, sports bra, underwear, and kinda short shorts. It's warm out, and she likes this outfit. When she's done, Harley is in the bathroom. She walks closer, and he's checking out the mark.

She hugs him from the side, and he smiles down at her. Then, she reaches up and touches the mark.

Harley sucks in a breath and grips the bathroom counter. "Mhm," he hums, his eyes closing. Rayna quickly pulls her hand away.

"S- Sorry," she stutters.

"It's okay," Harley whispers, catching his breath.

Suddenly, Rayna remembers what he said when they were walking up the stairs last night. "I can't wait until we can mate."

Blushing, she turns to walk out of the bathroom and away from Harley. He growls, pulling her back into his chest.

"Mine," he growls. She shivers and gets that weird feeling in her core.

She gets an approaching possessive and needy feeling, which she realizes are Harley's emotions. She has to be careful about this, because if his feelings become hers, things might get intimate, and she doesn't think she's just quite ready for that yet. He doesn't know everything . . .

She picks up another feeling from Harley.

Horny.

'Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope."

She turns even redder. That's that odd feeling she keeps getting.

"H- Harley," she stutters, not liking this. He leans down and nibbles on her mark, making her knees weak. "Harley," she repeats, slightly growling now. He whimpers and pulls away. She turns around to face him.

Her heart starts to beat really fast. Harley is the Alpha King, for goddess sake. It's no surprise he'd have a different reaction to be marked, but she doesn't know what to do.

"Don't be scared, baby," he whispers, pulling her into a gentle hug. She holds onto him tightly. She thinks through her options, and she knows what she should do.

"Why don't you go get dressed into clean clothes?" she suggests, pulling away. Harley grumbles and nods, walking away from her to the closet.

Rayna is going to go talk to Keane about this and figure out what she should do.

Harley walks out of the closet wearing a t-shirt and pants. He quickly wraps her in his arms again.

"We're gonna go talk to Keane, okay?"

He growls. "You aren't going anywhere dressed like that."

Looking down at her clothes, she huffs. "Fine."

She walks over to the closet and grabs one of Harley's hoodies. She throws it on, and it easily goes down to her knees.

"Is this okay?" she asks him, rolling up the sleeves.

He nods.

She takes his hand, and they walk through the halls to the Beta Wing where Keane's office is. She knocks on the door.

"Come in."

Rayna open the door to reveal him at his desk working. He looks up at them in surprise.

"Oh. Rayna, Harley. What's up?" he asks, eyeing the two.

"Uhm . . . You know how I marked Harley last night?" Rayna asks, walking inside with Harley not far behind her.

"Yeah?"

"H- He's having side effects and I- I don't know what to do."

His eyes widen. "Oh, yeah. Sit down."

Rayna takes a seat in the chair across from Keanes desk.

"King's get really possessive after they're marked, though I bet you already figured that out. Hm . . . A lot of people think that the Alpha King is the strongest werewolf in the world. That isn't true. The King's mate can make him do virtually anything with a few simple words. Sure, the Queen may not be that strong before they get their title, but they are the only being who can control the King," Keane explains.

Rayna's eyes widen.

"Y- You're saying . . . That I'm stronger than Harley?"

"Basically, yes. His power, his strength—it means nothing when it comes to you. He's basically like your obedient puppy dog. Sadly, past Queens have used that power to do harm, but I can tell you won't abuse that knowledge."

Rayna is dumbfounded. She turns to Harley, who was standing behind her.

"Is that true? That I'm . . . s- stronger than you?"

He nods.

"He doesn't like to admit it," Keane says. "Anyways, my only advice is to stay away from any unmated males, 'cause he definitely won't like that. Regardless, if he's doing something you don't like, you can just tell him off."

"Okay . . . Thanks."

"No problem."

Rayna walks out with Harley in front of her. She closes the door and turns around the face him.

"What do you wanna do?" she asks him.

"You," he says with a mischievous smirk, grabbing her hips.

"No," she tells him firmly, though blushing. "We aren't gonna do anything . . . like that."

He pouts. "Okay."

"What else do you wanna do?"

"Can I paint with you?"

*~* The Next Day *~*

Luckily, Harley's side effects had worn off by the next morning, and he was back to catch up on the work he missed. Rayna was spending her day making a present for Harley in her art studio. It's something new that she's never tried before, so she hopes he likes it.

She was walking back to her art studio from a bathroom break turned snack break when she sees someone unfamiliar in the Alpha Wing. She takes a breath and puts on her Luna façade.

"Hello," she greets, walking up to the person. They appeared female with tanned skin somewhat similar to Rayna's and bleached blonde hair. She turns towards Rayna. "Can I help you?"

"Hello," she says, confused. "Who are you?"

Rayna pushes her hair back for a moment to show the Mark of the King. "My name is Rayna. I'm . . . the Luna."

The person smirks and stands to her full height, a good half a foot taller than Rayna, and puts a hand on her hip. Rayna recognizes that she's sizing her up.

"You're the Kings mate?" she asks, looking her up and down. "You look like an omega."

Rayna is taken aback. She's always known she was short for a werewolf, but damn. She feels her old habits start to rise, but her wolf does as well to push them back.

'Stand your ground, Rayna. This bitch doesn't have any right to speak to us like that.'

"Excuse me?" Rayna asks. She isn't necessarily confrontational, but it's better than saying nothing.

"You're excused."

Rayna's eyebrows furrow.

"Who the hell are you?" she questions, her fists balling.

She scoffs. "The name's Izzie. Remember it, because I'll be the one taking the place of Luna. You're marked, so what? I bet you and the King haven't even mated yet. We have, so get out of my way, sweetheart."

"Izzie" walks last Rayna, shoving her into the wall with her shoulder.

Rayna watches her go with her mouth slightly open, dumbfounded. Then, her words sink in. So, she's one of the girls Harley used to fuck.

He had terrible taste.

Rayna does her best to shake it off and walks back to her art studio.

She really tries to forget about the encounter, but Izzies words really get to her. She doesn't mind that Harley didn't wait for her, but the fact she and Harley haven't mated yet makes her feel like she isn't good enough for him.

She curls up into a ball and holds herself, her heart hurting.

All the while, her wolf is growling as she paces, coming up with a revenge plan.

'Can you come to my office, baby?' Harley mind-links her.

'Oh, yeah. Sure. I'll be right there.'

Rayna takes a few deep breaths and gets up. She exits her studio and walks down the hall to Harley's office.

"What is it?" she asks.

"C'mere," he says, holding his hands out to her like a little child. She smiles and walks across the room to him. He pulls her into his lap, holding her tightly.

"Did you just want a hug?" she asks, pulling away and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I can tell you're sad. What's up, baby?" he asks, concerned. Rayna's head drops, so Harley places his fingers under her chin to make her eyes meet his. "Rayna, baby. You can tell me."

"Uhm . . . I was walking through the halls and there was a person. I- I tried to be nice to her but then she got all bitchy and made fun of me and said she was gonna be Luna and that you and her mated." Rayna had slightly raised her voice and then started trailing off.

She feels a slight rumble come from Harley's chest, and he pulls her in tightly.

"Who was it?" he asks in a low voice.

"Sh- She said her name is Izzie."

Harley growls loudly, burying his face into Rayna neck.

"Mine," he growls louder, his entire body starting to shake.

"Hey, hey, babe," Rayna says instinctively, placing her hands on his chest and looking him in the eyes. She turns pink when she realizes she just called him babe for the first time but brushes it off. "Please, calm down. I'm okay."

"What did she say to you?" he questions.

She doesn't want to say it out, but the conversation replays in her head, and Harley's knows what happened. He growls again.

"What do you wanna do about it?" he asks.

"M- My wolf actually has a plan . . ."

*~*~*~*

There's a knock on the door to Harley's office.

"Come in."

The door opens to reveal bleached blonde hair.

"You called, Alpha?" Izzie purrs.

"Yes, I did. Please, have a seat."

Izzie struts across the room, and instead of sitting in one of the two seats that Harley motioned to on the other side of his desk, she has the audacity to sit on his desk. She wore a very low v-neck crop top and a short skirt. She was too caught up in trying to have sex to notice the fuming queen behind her.

"Uhm," Harley stutters, uncomfortable. He wants to yell at her and command her to sit in a chair, but he doesn't.

"Is something wrong, Alpha?" Izzie asks in a fake innocent tone, leaning forward to show her cleavage. He looks anywhere but there.

"Yes." He regains his composure. "I called you here to discuss your attitude towards some other pack higher ups."

"Is that so?" she asks, moving closer. Harley notices his mate doing the same. "Or did you call me here for . . . a different reason?" She looks him up and down.

He plays dumb at her attempts to be seductive.

"What do you mean?"

Inside, Hollow was dying to watch the life leave her eyes.

"Do you wanna have some fun like we used to?"

"If you can't see, I'm marked. I've met my mate, Izzie."

"So what? I bet she can't please you like I do?"

'She's already pleased me more than you ever have, and I haven't even seen her naked.'

Izzie slips off the desk, her skirt riding up, and steps closer to Harley. Suddenly, Rayna is right behind her. Izzie gasps when her knees buckle and she falls onto her hands and knees. She looks over her shoulder to see Rayna standing over her. One of her eyes is completely black, and the other is glowing blue.

Rayna growls as she grabs Izzies hair and pulls her up onto her knees.

"Let go of me, you bitch!" she screams.

Rayna leans down, her lips by Izzies ear.

"Bye bye."

With at that, Rayna places her hands on either side of Izzies head and with a quick, upwards motion, she snaps Izzies neck, killing her.

Harley watches in surprise as his mate throws Izzies dead body onto the ground. She looks down at the body, and slowly, her eyes go back to normal, and she relaxes.

Then, Rayna's eyes widen as she realizes what she did, and she breaks into tears.

Harley stand up, stepping over Izzies body, and wraps his arms around Rayna.

"Hey. Shh, shh. It's okay, baby," he whispers to her. He picks her up bridle style and carries her to their bedroom.

Her places her on the bed and holds her as she sobs. It takes a few minutes before she's able to speak.

"A- Am I in -n tr- trouble?" she asks, shaking.

"Oh, no, baby. You aren't in trouble," Harley assures her.

"But I killed someone!" she exclaims, tears still streaming down her face.

"I know, baby, but it'll be okay," he reassures her.

She continues to sob for another few good minutes.

"Wh- What's gonna happen?" she asks.

"Well, Izzies family will be notified of her death, and they'll decide what they want to do. A note will be sent to the Werewolf Council to inform them of it, and they'll decide what to do. With you being the Queen, and Izzie having disrespected you and tried to seduce me, I have no doubt that they'll dismiss it and nothing's gonna happen to you," he explains.

"O- Okay . . ."

She turns to Harley for more comfort and they lay down together.

"Wh- Who did she have? F- For family?"

"As far as I know, her parents disowned her a while ago. When they found out about her 'lifestyle', they knew she was going to get herself killed one day. They were right. She had a mate, and they were together for a while. They even had a son, but then she rejected him to continue sleeping around. He has full custody and is happy with a second chance mate. Other than that, no one," Harley tells her.

They're silent for a few moments.

"That's sad . . ." Rayna mumbles.

"Yeah."

"C- Can we just st- stay here today?" she asks, looking up at him.

"Of course, baby," he tells her, kissing her forehead. She smiles, and they get into cuddle position.