We enter the library, and he locks the door behind us. The last time he did that, it was the day Alec arrived, and we learned that our pack could be a target for attacks. And it appeared to be true.

"What's going on, Elijah?" I ask, as I can feel he is tense.

"There were some intruders last night, again. No actual fight, but they keep on entering our territory. You gotta be careful, sis. Every time they enter, they come closer to the packhouse. We can't figure out how they can hide so well. It's almost like they are...."Before he can end his sentence, Selene and I finish it for him.

"Lycans." Selene's voice mixes with mine. Eli sighs. He is perturbed and exhausted. I can feel it. I take his hand and try to comfort him.

"Julie is safe?" I ask. Eli nods. He seems to relax a bit.

"Yes. She will stay in the safe room with the kids and two lycans whenever we are attacked. This situation can't last long. We need to stop this." Even if I feel he calms down, he still seems nervous. Our twin-bond allows me to feel he would like to tell me something, but he does not for some unknown reason. I sense that he finally decides to be quiet about it. What the hell are you hiding, Elijah?

"Alec and Amber are working on it together. I hope they will find out a solution soon."

I growl when I hear this.

I hate the idea of them being alone together. My heart tightens as I imagine Amber against Alec. Maybe on his lap. I feel my canines growing.

Eli feels he may not have made the best choice. I'm sure I can smell Jackson behind the door, ready to stop me if I explode.

Liv, what's going on? Where are you?

Alec enters my mind. For some reason, it does not make me feel better. It makes me only angrier. Selene growls inside me, and she tries to come out.

I close my eyes to try to talk to her, but she is just crazy right now.

I can feel my fangs and my claws growing again. Damn, that hurts.

"Liv, focus on me. He loves you. He'll never let you down. You two are his life."

I barely listen to him. I'm focused on my mate being away with the woman I hate the most. Selene howls.

In the distance, I can hear someone knocking on the door.

Eli tries to get me out of my thoughts. He takes my jaws in his hands, and I have no choice but to look into his eyes.

"Read my mind if you want, but you have to trust Alec. He loves you. You'll be under Jackson's protection. You will be the Queen and mother of the future heir of the Crown. He will defend you with his life." I don't understand what he is talking about, and he gets into my mind as he keeps on.

You two have to calm down. Now. You can't lose control. You could hurt someone. Or kill them.

As soon as he says that, Selene stops and focuses.

I'm sorry, Liv. I didn't mean to hurt us.

Selene murmurs. I feel like she tries to cuddle me. That's the strangest sensation I've ever felt, but it feels fantastic.

That's fine. I feel as angry as you.

I feel my fangs and claws turn back to teeth and nails. Elijah holds me lovingly.

"Jackson will train you when Alec works with Amber. Jackson is strong; you will be fine. You need to get stronger to face what's ahead." I sigh. I would have preferred Alec, but well... I guess that I'm lucky to have Jackson, anyway.

"What about you? You must train harder, too." I sound a little bit too authoritative with my Alpha brother. He smiles.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to order you anything."

"You've always been an authoritative sister when it concerns my safety. And I'm grateful I have you. Alec is lucky to have you as a mate and future Queen." I feel like he is too emotional. He must be terrified even if he hides it as a good Alpha.

"Just be careful and train. I don't want you to be hurt, nor to worry... You know, Alpha power and stuff like that. I can face some crazy wolves. Plus, I will be with Alec most of the time. We will stop this together."

I feel a little dizzy and suddenly terribly tired.

We need to rest. Selene says in my head.

I move towards the sofa. Eli holds my waist and sits with me. I lie, my head on his lap. We talk about our childhood. I know he relaxes when I remind him of our years, just the two of us. I did it when he mated with Julie. And days before he became an Alpha. I will do it every time he needs me to.

Sometimes, we just need our twins' bubble, just the two of us, like nothing else mattered. Like nothing wrong or scary was happening around us. After some minutes of silence, I decide to break it.

"Eli? Do you think our pups could meet enough to love each other just like we do? I want us to never lose one another. I want us to be a family forever." Some tears appear in my eyes.

"I wonder if I can be a good Queen. And what if I'm the worst mother ever because I'm too weak to raise a Prince?"

"You'll be a great Queen. You acted like a real Alpha even when you thought you had no wolf. Everybody respected you as an Alpha, even after we announced I would take the role. You'll be perfect."

He caresses my hair.

"And how could you be a terrible mother when you've always acted like a mother with the kids and even adults who needed help? You are more than ready to be a mother. If he had doubts, Alec wouldn't take any risk. You smell more and more like him, so I'm pretty sure you... share fluids." I hit his torso with my elbow.

"Gross, Eli. Really." I look at him, and we burst into laughter.

"I'll miss this when I'm gone to the Capitale." I almost whisper.

"I'll miss you too, Liv. But we'll find a way to see each other as much as possible," he whispers back.

He stays quiet for an hour, like the two kiddos we were years ago. Then we finally leave the library. Eli walks with me to the stairs.

"I've got to go to work. Jackson will meet you soon to take you for training. So just get prepared and wait for him."

He kisses my forehead before he leaves me.

I slowly walk to my room.

When I enter my room, Kate is there. She's already prepared to train. She hugs me, and then I quietly go into my closet to take some training clothes and put them on.

When I get out, Jackson is in the room. He and Kate turn to me.

"Ready to train, Princess?" He asks with a smile?

"Kate can train with us?" Kate takes my hand and walks out of the room.

"Of course. Why do you think I wear these clothes? They're definitely not my favorite ones. Come on, coach. I don't want to stay like this for hours." She screams at Jackson, even if he is just behind us.

We talk all the way to the gym. Then, when we get there, we go to one corner to train with no one around us. I'm thankful for that.

"Okay, Princess, we start with you," Jackson says with a smile.

"Let's play some game with the big baby wolf," he adds, as if he wanted to make me mad. He moves his hand to call me for a fight.

My whole body turns into hunting mode as Selene takes complete control. I can feel that Selene's presence changes everything. I am stronger and faster. I'm a real predator by now. I can see every beating artery, hear every pulse. I pounce, aiming for his legs so he could fall. I almost touch him, but he avoids me. I slide and just get prepared again.

"You're really fast, Jackson." He is on me before I can say more, and I can just kick his arm, so he doesn't grab me. I try to stop him with my arm, but he blocks me back.

"Not that bad too for a baby wolf, Princess," he answers with a smirk.

I am now a hundred percent sure he wants to get on my nerves. Is that training also a way to test my nerves and the risk I shift inadvertently? No matter.

As I get out of my thoughts, I can just turn, so my leg grabs his waist with some ninja move coming out of nowhere. Selene is a badass wolf, that's for sure.

He falls on his back with me still wrapped around him, above him.

"You said, Mr. Beta?" I look at him, his deep blue eyes looking into mine. We both feel a bit troubled as we realize how weird this situation is.

"Good job, baby wolf," he says with a sweet voice.

I get up, and I tend my hand so he can get up. I feel some jealousy in the air. And so does Jackson, as he drops my hand quickly.

I turn and see Alec, who comes in with Amber.

What are you doing, Olivia?

He sounds almost angry. He is really unbelievable. He is jealous of his faithful Beta when he dares spend all days with his ex-girlfriend, who clearly still loves him.

I hope you're not jealous. That would be inappropriate looking at who is standing by your side.

If he wants to play the jealous type, I can too. This bitch seems so happy about the situation. I hate her. I can feel rage growing up inside me.

"You really think this a queen? You'll change your mind, Alec...."

Before that crazy bitch ends her sentence, I'm already moving to Alec's side, growling furiously.

As I come closer, I see he starts to turn, but everything goes in slow motion. His arms move so slowly that I don't need to make much effort to avoid him. Instinctively, I push his ribcage with my hands and push him away.

I know I am clearly not responsible for it. Selene decides to deal with her before I can even think of it.

I'm about to jump on her when I hear it, right in my head.

You have to stop, mates. Don't waste your time with her. I'll do.

Ares. Ares talks to me, to us. Nevertheless, the very fact that this woman lives gets on my nerves. Selene paces inside me, angry. She's torn between listening to her mate and getting rid of her once and for all.

Soft hands touch my chin, and I realize I'm straddling Amber's body, each of my hands around one of her wrists, maintaining them on the ground.

"Olivia, princess. Look at me." Alec almost murmurs, turning my head softly.

I meet his beautiful gaze: his shiny green eyes are so beautiful. Still, I'm like the spectator of the entire scene.

"Let Olivia in control, Selene. You know you can't lose control like that. We're here. If you don't trust us, Olivia won't either." A growl escapes my lips, and I feel a sharp pain in my upper jaw.

I haven't noticed, but my canines must have turned into fangs again when I lost control. As I feel I can rule over my body again, I loosen my grip on Amber. Alex helps me to get up.

"Nice to have you back, beautiful mate." He kisses my lips tenderly, then he turns to Jackson, who slightly nods.

"You go home with Jackson and Kate. You're done for today. I want you to rest."

Jackson approaches me, puts his hand on my back, and leads me back to the packhouse, Kate holding one of my hands.

"You're surprising, Liv and Selene. I'm really impressed." Jackson says with a smile. He seems to be more relaxed. Selene is pleased with the compliment.

"Well, Alec should have let you kick her ass for good, but I suppose it's not okay for a future Queen to kill a stupid bitch. Not that Jaci would mind, I suppose."

I did not think Jackson could show that much displeasure towards someone.

I smile back. His reaction makes me happy: I'm not the only one disliking her, and that's a relief.

"Thanks, Jackson. By the way: Who is Jaci? Ares mentioned her before, but..." He stops me.

"She's Alec's mother's wolf. You'll meet her soon enough, trust me. I think she'll love you." He puts a quick smack on my forehead.

"Alec's demand. Don't punch me." He quickly adds as I look at him weirdly.

As soon as we are back at the packhouse, Kate and I go to my room to shower. Then, we put some nice clothes on.

We spend the rest of the day with Julie. We watch a movie and play some board games. Suddenly, Kate stops and looks at me. Then I turn to Julie.

"Oh yeah!" she answers before she gets up and runs to take one of our favorite games. That's twister time.

We may be werewolves, we clearly can't fight the crazy postures of this creation of the devil. We fall like clumsy kids after a few minutes.

"Damn, why do we like this game? No one can win. We can only fall together." As I lay under Kate and Julie, my stomach growls.

"Okay, food time, girls, or I'll end up eating one of you." We laugh and slowly walk out of the room to the kitchen.

We take one frozen pizza in the freezer and put it in the oven. We talk about our mates and their many flaws.

Although they might be powerful wolves, they are far from perfect.

After the longest fifteen minutes of my life, I can finally devour this pizza. I look like some kind of starving ogre.

As we end our early dinner, the boys come back home and join us in the kitchen. I can smell them before they enter the corridor. My knuckles whiten as I grab the counter and growl. There's a fire burning in my bones.

The girls look at me, and I can see they understand the problem.

I take my stuff and put it in the dishwasher. Then I get out of the room, the girls following me nervously. Selene goes mad as we face the boys.

This time, Selene and I scream together.

"Are you fucking kidding us?"