23

Later that day, around 9 P.M., Harley has a question for Rayna.

They're sitting in the Alpha Wing living room together, cuddling on the couch. Rayna was forcing Harley to watch more of Criminal Minds back from 2007 with her, but he was okay with it.

She had already showed him her gift for him earlier in the day. It's a small piece of abstract art for him to keep in his office. Of course, now it's sitting on his desk. He thanked her, and it makes him feel nice that she cares enough to make him things.

They're switching in between two episodes when he speaks up.

"Hey, baby?" Harley asks softly, looking down at her.

"Mhm?" Rayna hums, looking up at him, pausing the next episode from playing. He was sitting on the end of the couch, and she was sprawled across it wrapped in a blanket, her head resting on his lap.

"I have a question for you," he tells her, his heart speeding up.

"What is it?" she asks, sitting up, getting nervous.

"Rayna . . . will you go on a date with me?"

She pauses, surprised. She wasn't expecting that. When she comprehends his question, her cheeks go pink, and she pulls the blanket up to her face to hide it. Harley chuckles and pulls the blanket away to reveal her smiling.

"So?" he asks.

"Of course I'll go on a date with you," she tells him. He smiles and kisses her softly.

*~* The Next Day *~*

Harley and Rayna ended up unintentionally avoiding each other the next day.

When Rayna woke up, all she had was a note on the pillow next to her saying to be ready for their date at 7:30 and to stay out of their bedroom in the mean time. So, Rayna had Naomi and Savvy come to help her figure out grab what she needed to grab before leaving.

Harley spent the day heading around the castle, talking to people and asking for a few ideas or solutions to problems. He was also in his office a good deal, still having work and making a few calls.

Rayna spent it with the girls in the Castle Spa (an edition Harley's mother made). They gave her a mani-pedi, helped her get ready, and kept her calm. Harley was even more nervous, but he had Calum to help him.

Eventually, 7:30 rolls around.

Rayna was dressed in a beautiful light blue dress. It was strapless, off the shoulders, and reached just past mid-thigh. Underneath, she wore a white lace strapless bra and white lace underwear. Savvy had insisted that she wear it, as it might be important. Rayna was completely red when she put it on. On her feet, she wore white ankle socks and light blue flats.

For jewelry, all she had on was a white lace choker, though she does still want to get her ears pierced. For makeup, she had on blue and white eyeshadow, a light blush, some highlight, and blush colored lipstick. Her long brown hair was clipped back on one side, curled at the ends, and left down in waves.

Harley was dressed in a long sleeved, plain white shirt underneath a black vest. With it he wore a black tie, black slacks, and his signature black combat boots. His dirty blonde hair was slicked back, and his face was freshly shaved. He rolls up his sleeves as he looks at himself in the mirror, hyping himself up.

Harley exits his and Rayna's bedroom, walking through the castle to Naomi's room where his mate was waiting for him. He knocks on the door, and she opens it.

Both of them are blown away by the others appearance, and Rayna blushes while Harley's neck heats up.

He holds his hand out to her. "You ready?"

She smiles and takes his hand, nodding.

They walk through the halls to the back door of the Leader Commons. They step outside together, breathing in the fresh, evening air.

"From here, I'm gonna have to blindfold you," Harley says, pulling out a blindfold from a pocket.

"Okay . . ." Rayna says skeptically.

"Don't worry. I'll never let anything bad happen to you."

He ties the blindfold over her eyes. She smiles and nods again. He walks her a few paces into the forest before lifting her up bridle style. She giggles, and he gives her a soft kiss on the cheek.

After a few minutes, she can distinctly hear the sound of rushing water. She figures that they're close to the river, though it's more like a stream, but then it gets louder. Harley sets her down, and Rayna gets used to her feet again.

"Stand right . . . here," Harley instructs, facing her the direction he wants.

"Okay," Rayna responds.

"Prepare to be amazed in three . . ."

He begins untying the blindfold.

"Two . . . One!"

He pulls away, taking the blindfold off, and she opens her eyes.

Rayna is in complete awe and utter amazement as she takes everything in.

In front of her was a beautiful waterfall. It had a small pool of water at the bottom, and then it carries onto the river. Just a few feet behind Harley was a cute picnic set up. A large blanket in the shade of a tree, wine bottles, wine glasses, a little picnic basket, a present sandwiches already laid out, and an assortment of fruits and vegetables peaking out of the basket.

"Harley . . ." she whispers.

He smiles, walking over and hugging her. She holds him tightly, staring at everything he set up for her.p and the beautiful scenery.

"This is amazing . . . Thank you so much."

"Of course. You deserve it."

The two sit down on the picnic blanket. They start enjoying the food and talking more. Even with their messed up pasts, they reminisce over food past memories. Most of Rayna's include her mother, Rose, or Naomi, though there was one with Jamie. She talks about her art a bit as well. Harley talks more about his siblings, Luke and Leigh. Luke goes by he/him pronouns and is sixteen, and Leigh goes by they/them pronouns and is fifteen.

An hour easily rolls by before the sun starts to set.

They've shared an entire bottle of wine by now, but with their werewolf metabolism, they're still sober.

The two watched the sunset together until nine when Harley leans over and kisses Rayna passionately on the lips. She responds quickly, passionate as well, and they start making out. Their lips move in unison, and soon, he's on top of her.

Suddenly, Harley pauses. His eyes fog over, and Rayna's eyebrows furrow, wondering

why someone would be mind-linking him right now and also a bit annoyed. He growls lowly, and then groans as his eyes go back to normal.

"Rogues are on pack territory. It probably isn't that big of a deal, but I need to go check it out. I need you to shift and run back to the castle. You can follow our scent trail," Harley explains and orders.

Rayna's eyes widen.

"R- Rogues?" she whimpers.

Harley pulls her into his chest.

"It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna be back at the castle only a few minutes after you, but I really need you to shift and get back there."

They start tying their clothes to their ankles and wrists again when Harley's eyes fog over again.

"Fuck," he growls.

"What is it?" Rayna asks.

"They're close. You need to go. Now," Harley orders in a growl. His alpha voice was slipping through out of fear, but it doesn't work on Rayna regardless.

"B- But what if-" she stutters, hundreds of thoughts racing through her mind at once.

"I will be fine. Shift and go!" Harley starts yelling.

Rayna whimpers and does as told, her body morphing into a large, majestic wolf. Harley stares in awe at her blue colored wolf for a few moments and notices the mark on her leg.

A flower wolf.

Rayna starts sprinting towards the castle. Harley shakes it off, knowing he can talk about it later, and shifts himself, heading off towards where the rogues were reported.

Rayna follows their scent trail like Harley told her to, quickly making it back to the castle. She doesn't even shift back, she just runs up to the door and starts barking. After a minute, Mrs. McClain comes to the door.

She opens it, confused.

"What-" she nearly asks, but she gets pushed aside when Rayna runs inside. She quickly heads up to the Alpha Wing and into their bedroom, shifting back and locking the door behind her. Her heart beats a mile a minute.

She gets dressed into one of Harley's shirt and a pair of shorts, as when she shifted, she became naked, destroying her clothes. She doesn't worry much about him seeing her wolf, but she was freaking out about the possibility of him getting hurt.

*~* One Hour Later *~*

It was another hour until Harley got back to their bedroom. Rayna was pacing, but she did eventually unlock the door. Naomi tried to check on her, but she was too agitated to listen. All she did for an entire hour was pace in that bedroom.

When Harley got to the rogues, pack warriors were already fighting them. He was also attacked, so he joined the fight. It took half an hour before he was able to get safe enough to shift into human form and Alpha Command the rogues. As they aren't apart of any packs, it only fazed them, and they continued their attack. The pack quickly defeated them from there, and Harley was in the infirmary to get his few wounds patched up.

Sadly, one warrior was killed.

Harley knocks on the bedroom door before opening it, and he was taken a bit by surprise when Rayna flung herself into his arms, holding him like a koala to a tree.

They're silent for a few minutes as he holds her and sits down on the bed.

"I was so worried," she whispers.

"I know, baby. I could tell," he whispers back.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, baby. I would've gotten back sooner but I had to get patched up."

She nods.

He sighs.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"That you're the Dahlia Wolf."