25

As the days passed, Harley's self restraint was tested time and time again as Rayna's fell away. Regardless, he kept his promise, and they didn't mate. Luckily, her heat was short and ended after only three days.

*~*~*~*

Harley is now working at his desk while Rayna lounges in the couch.

It has surprised him how easily he can keep on track with work even with all of the time he has been missing. He's also realized that he hasn't buried himself in work at all, and his mental health has gotten a lot better.

Oddly, they haven't yet gotten any word back from the council on their recent letter, so Rayna has been doing her own research. Her powers should've surfaced when she turned eighteen, well over a year ago, but she was probably too weak for such a thing to happen. She's getting healthier now, so there's a good chance her powers will surface soon.

Out of no where, Harley groans aloud. Rayna looks over at him with a concerned expression.

"What is it?" she asks softly.

"My mother contacted me. She demanded that we set up a time for them to come over and meet you within the next week," he explains, leaning over his desk with his head in his hands.

Rayna stands up and walks over to Harley, setting what she was reading aside, wrapping her arms around him. She kisses the back of his head.

"Them?" she questions quietly.

"Her, my father, and Luke and Leigh," he clarifies for her. She nods.

"Well . . . Why don't they come over?"

Harley looks up at her with a slightly surprised look.

"You think you're ready?"

Rayna shrugs, pulling away from him.

"Your mother can teach me to her queen, and they're your family, so . . . why not?"

"You don't get it-" he starts.

"Harley," she interrupts, standing tall and crossing her arms. "I want to. I'm ready." Her lower lip trembles. "Why don't you believe in me?"

Harley's look softens, and he stands up, pulling Rayna into a hug.

"I- I do, baby. I do believe in you," he assures her. "I'm- I'm just scared. You don't know my mother like I do, and I don't want her to hurt you," he admits.

She wraps her arms around him, hugging him back.

"I'll be okay."

*~*~*~*

"They'll be coming over on Saturday around noon," Harley informs Rayna as he joins her in the Alpha Wing kitchen.

"Okay."

She wanted to make supper for the two of them tonight, so that's what she's doing. Some nice chicken, mashed potatoes, and a mix of vegetables. He walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist, kissing the top of her head. She smiles and leans her head back, trying to kiss whatever she can, which happens to be his jaw.

"Dinner'll be ready soon. You can go sit down," she tells him, focusing back on her cooking. He nods, kissing her once more on the cheek, and then walks over to the kitchen table.

After a few more minutes, Rayna walks over to the table with two plates of food—one with more on it than the other. She hands Harley the one with more food and then sits down, placing hers in front of her.

"Thank you, baby," Harley says, taking Rayna's hand and squeezing it. She only smiles and nods, anxiously waiting for him to take his first bite.

Once the food touches his tongue, his eyes widen.

"This is amazing, baby," he compliments genuinely, making her blush.

"Thank you."

*~* Wednesday *~*

It's around one in the afternoon, and Rayna and Harley are lounging around his office, still in their pajamas. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. Neither of them pay much attention to it, comfortable and relaxed.

"Come in," Harley says.

Keane walks in, which is when they turn their heads.

"What's up?" Harley asks.

"Your family's here," Keane tells them, rubbing the back of his neck. Rayna's heart skips a beat, and Harley's eyes widen.

"What?" he growls. "They aren't supposed to be here until Saturday."

"I know that, but they're here. Right now. Ophelia is demanding to see you."

Rayna recognizes the name as Harley's mother back from when he told her about his family. Harley growls again and stands up.

"Where are they?" he asks, annoyed.

"The Commons."

"Have them moved to the Leader Commons. Tell them we'll be down in a few minutes. Make sure my mother is supervised at all times."

Keane nods and exits the office quickly.

"C'mon, baby," Harley calls, also exiting the office. She gets up and follows him to their bedroom. "You can take a shower first," he tells her, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.

She nods, staying quiet, and walks into the bathroom. She comes back out not long after with her hair tied up as to not get it wet and wrapped in a towel. Harley's walks in after she leaves to take his turn. She gets dressed into a cute white sweat dress, black leggings, and a pair of white flats. She brushes out her hair, leaving it down.

When Harley's finished with his shower, he gets dressed into the t-shirt and pants he had brought into the bathroom with him and brushes and dries his hair. He sighs through his nose, deeply annoyed that his mother came unannounced when they had already scheduled a time. Not to mention Luke and Leigh go to an all year around school, meaning she probably pulled them out of class for this.

Stepping back into the bedroom, Harley is shocked to see Rayna curled up into a ball in the bay window, crying.

"Baby?" he asks softly, walking over. He can see her entire body shake and hear her sniffles. He sits down next to her and brushes the hair out of her face. "Hey, baby. C'mere."

Harley pulls Rayna into his lap, and she holds him tightly, crying onto his shirt. He doesn't mind. He rubs her back and kisses the top of her head. Slowly, she calms down as he starts whispering sweet things in her ear.

"Why're you crying, baby?" he asks in a whisper.

"What's she gonna think of me?" she asks in a shaky voice.

"I don't know, baby," he tells her honestly.

Rayna calms down, but neither of them know what to say or do.

"Look at me," he whispers, she pulls away and looks up at him, meeting his eyes, "I believe in you, and everything will be okay."

She smiles, wiping away the last tear running down her face.

"Thank you, Kitty."

He smiles. "Anytime, sweetheart."

He kisses both of her cheeks, making her giggle.

"You ready?" he asks.

"As I'll ever be."

*~*~*~*

Harley and Rayna walk down the stairs leading into the Leader Commons living room together, putting on her best confident Queen facade and succeeding, feeling the strength run through her. Harley, Hollow, and her wolf were very proud of her.

"Finally," a female voice groans.

Below the staircase sitting on the pieces of furniture in the living room at a man, woman, and two teenagers.

The woman, who had groaned, is Harley's mother: Ophelia King. She's a lot taller than Rayna at 5'10 with long, light brown hair, fair skin, and brownish green eyes. She wore an elegant black dress with a v-neck, short sleeves, a pencil skirt like bottom.

The man is Harley's father, Frank King. He's tall, just like his first son, and a full foot taller than his mate at 6'10. His skin is fair, and he has short dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a simple dark red suit. He smiled up at the couple, giving a small wave.

The first teen is Luke King, Harley's little brother. As he's still growing, he's 6' with fair skin, shaggy blonde hair, and green eyes. He wore what appeared to be a school uniform. The top is a black t-shirt with a dark blue tie, and the bottoms were black pants with black dress shoes.

The second teen is Leigh King, Harley's little sibling. They're just a little taller than Rayna at 5'6 with fair skin, short black hair, and blue eyes. They also wore a school uniform, theirs consisting of a similar black top and dark blue tie, then a dark blue skirt and black dress shoes. They wore black leggings underneath it.

"You'd think your son would be faster to greet his own family," Ophelia comments, standing up. Frank follows her lead, which prompts Luke and Leigh to stand up as well. "Harley. What do you have to say to your mother?" she asks, holding out her arms, expecting an apology and a hug.

"Nothing," Harley blatantly tells her, not moving from where he stood at the bottom of the stairs. "Mother, we agreed on Saturday. Why are you here?"

"That is no way to talk to your mother," she growls. "And, for your information, I just couldn't wait to meet your mate." She spits out the word 'mate' with a venomous tone, side eyeing Rayna, who stayed silent and stands her ground next to Harley.

Harley sighs, rubbing his temple.

"Not even a greeting?" She pulls Luke and Leigh in front of her harshly by their wrists. "What about for your little brother and sister?" she asks.

"For the last time, I am not a girl!" Leigh growls, tugging their hand out of Ophelias death grip. The woman just scoffs and rolls her eyes.

Harley holds his arms out to his siblings, who instantly run over to him—Ophelia luckily letting go of Luke's wrist to do so. They share a hug, making Rayna smile.

"Hey, guys. We'll catch up in a bit, okay?"

They nod.

"Okay."

They all pull away from each other.

"You guys can go up to your rooms and change," Harley tells them. They nod and head up the stairs.

"So . . ." Ophelia starts, motioning towards Rayna. "This is your mate?" she asks.

"Yes," Harley tells her confidently, smiling down at Rayna. "Mother, Father, meet my mate, Rayna. Rayna, meet Ophelia and Frank, my mother and father."

Rayna gives them a smile and nod. "Nice to meet you," she says, trying to be nice. Ophelia just rolls her eyes.

"You, too," Frank starts, but Ophelia shoots him daggers, causing him to step back and look down at the ground.

"Cut the bullshit, little girl. I know what you want," she starts. "You just want the title, don't you? You want to use my son to get fame."

Rayna furrows her eyebrows and frowns, faltering and taking a small step back. Harley growls.

"You will not speak to my mate that way," he tells her sternly. She yet again scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"I am your mother. I demand your respect," Ophelia snaps, her queen aura surrounding her as she walks closer to the couple. Unfortunately for her, she isn't the queen anymore, so it's weak and doesn't work on either Harley or Rayna.

"No," Harley growls, starting to shake, his alpha voice slipping through. "I am your King. I demand your respect."

There's no doubt that Ophelia felt the pain of not obeying his demand, but she doesn't stop. She walks closer, going on and on about him being her son so she's knows him best and Rayna is just using him and tons of other nonsense.

She's scared of a new queen to taking her spotlight. Rayna knows this somehow.

Eventually, Ophelia gets too close for comfort, and Rayna snaps.

"Enough," she growls, her queen aura rising up around her and Harley, sending Ophelia stumbling backwards into Frank,

"How dare y-" Ophelia starts, but Rayna simply lifts up her hand and the woman's mouth shuts, preventing her from talking.

"How dare you?" she asks, wanting to go on. Instead, she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, letting her aura fade away. Ophelia is able to open her mouth again, but she doesn't dare speak. "I have one question for you, and depending on your answer, our business here is done, or you have to learn some respect."

Ophelia continues on with her attitude and rolls her eyes.

"As you know, I need training to become the next queen. Will you teach me?" Rayna asks.

Ophelia pauses for a moment, and then she bursts out laughing.

"Why the hell would I teach you?" she asks. "You're not worthy of being Queen."

Rayna tightens her fists and growls, squeezing her eyes shut.

"You like having power and attention, and you'll do anything to get it, which includes hurting those around you. You don't like that I'm going to take the spotlight for you, so you're trying to discourage Harley and I," Rayna says aloud, interpreting Ophelias thoughts.

Harley, Frank, and Ophelia are all stunned and speechless.

"Th- That is not true!" Ophelia screeches. She tries to walk towards the two again, but Rayna simply puts her aura up again, knocking Ophelia onto the floor. "Fine! I'm leaving!"

Without thinking of anyone but herself, Ophelia storms out of the Leader Commons, making her way to the front of the castle. Harley already knows that she's going to be complaining to anyone she can in the castle all about how the new queen is disrespectful and any other kiss she can come up with, but she doesn't have anyone's attention or respect, nor did she ever.

He mind-links this to Rayna to assure her nothing bad will come from her, as Rayna could read Ophelias devilish plans.

Frank gave an awkward smile and wave before following Ophelia.

It's dead silent for a few moments.

"I get it now," Rayna says. "Oh well," she shrugs.

"She would've been a terrible teacher anyways."