Elijah, Caleb, Jackson, and Alec are in the hallway. It would be perfect if there was no Amber to ruin everything.

The simple view of her makes me angry. I step towards them, furious.

Eli wants to come to help me calm me down, but Alec puts his hand in front of him to stop him.

"Let me deal with it, Eli. It would be best if you weren't involved in it," Alec answers. He is on his nerves, and I can assume he hates the situation. He should hate it.

He walks towards me, allowing some steps between us.

"Liv, Princess. You have to relax. I can..." Before he can speak his new lies, I stop him.

"You can just shut your mouth, Alec!" Selene is ready to intervene any time I need her.

"How dare you act like that in my house? How can you do that to your mate?" My whole soul seems to be set on fire. Of course, I've been angry in my life before. But it is nothing compared to today.

"Liv, listen to Alec, please," my brother says, a little upset. He is upset?! Really?! They must be kidding me, all of them!

I pass in front of Alec, straight to my brother.

"You!" I point his face, my finger only an inch away from his nose.

"You agreed to take her inside our walls?! What's your excuse? Do you hate the fact that Alec is my mate so much that you let him take her here?" I point at Amber.

My eyes fill with tears, but there is no sadness in my heart. Instead, this is pure rage: nothing but a wild urge to make them pay for their betrayal.

"Liv, honey. Come with me. You should not get that upset. That's not good for both of you." Alec puts his hand on my waist, his torso touching my back. The touch creates sparks over my body, but it does not turn me softer. I want to hurt them as much as they hurt me.

"Alec, darling. You should let her go. She is crazy! You should get rid of her," Amber's voice screams. My head turns to face her.

"What did you say?" Selene growls through me.

Behind Amber, a smile appears on Jackson's lips.

"So cute. The little puppy is moody, that's...." My right hand is around Amber's neck before she can finish what she wants to say.

A violent wave of power takes over me. My nails enter her soft skin, and I pick this bitch like an old tissue with me. I drag her through the corridor. Her hands tighten around my arms, her claws piercing my skin. Blood covers my forearm, but I can't suffer pain. I'm too enraged to take care of it.

Once we are in the hall, I throw Amber on the floor, her head colliding with the tiling.

"This will be my sole piece of advice. Take your ass out of my house, or I kill you. Clear?" I snarl at Amber.

Elijah, Julie, Caleb, and Kate are in the doorway between the hall and the corridor. Jackson and Alec are forward, staring at us. Jackson seems satisfied at the sight of Amber's bloody neck and head. Alec's face does not let any emotion show.

I start to walk to the stairs when my instincts tell me to be vigilant.

"You'll be soon dead, stupid wolf." I turn, shifting into my wolf. When I'm facing Amber, a large dark brown lycan confronts me. Nevertheless, she is shorter than me.

Than us.

Selene rectifies with her proud voice.

I'll deal with that, Olivia. Just look. She'll know who the future Queen is.

I watch as Selene paces in front of Amber, who stays still.

Amber bares her teeth, probably hoping that I will back off. I'm the one meant to rule by Alec's side. I won't let an insane lycan steal what's mine.

I groan as a final warning.

As an answer, this stupid girl bounces to bite me. Her fangs sink into my right front paw. I growl in pain. But the feeling quickly turns into fury.

I turn and catch the back of her neck between my jaws.

Don't kill her, Liv.

Alec enters my mind. He seems relaxed and not displeased at all. He almost sounds kind to me, as if he agreed with my anger.

This man is a lunatic.

I throw Amber through the hall, so she hits the wall behind Alec.

Take your bitchy soldier out of here before we change our mind.

I shout mentally at him. I'm raging, but I don't want to embarrass my brother with a dead lycan sent by the King. I shift into my human body.

"Never bring her back into these walls. If you do, I'll kill her, and you'll move back to the Capitale with a dead body and no fucking Princess." My words sound bitter.

As I walk away, naked, my eyes detect Amber, moving angrily towards me. Before I can shift, three wolves stand between Amber and me.

I recognize the nice brownie and gingerbread smells. Eva and Joey are on both sides of another big lycan. He's one of Alec's strongest men, but I've never asked for his name. The three of them growl angrily at Amber.

I make my way between Eva and the other wolf.

"Shift!" I groan to Amber.

She takes a few steps back and keeps on baring her fangs. What a stupid bitch!

An urge to finish her runs through my veins.

"One last chance," I say furiously as I pass the wolves to reach her.

Before I can grab her, Alec catches me.

Easy, you two. You don't want to hurt yourself, nor anybody else.

Alec enters my mind again. Amber shifts. She looks strange, with a weird, unreadable emotion in her eyes. And then it is all crystal clear. It is chock.

"What the fuck is wrong with her eyes? Alec, do something!"

Alex unbuttons his shirt, takes it off, and puts it on my naked body. He takes me in his arms, then turns to Jackson.

"Make sure she stays out of the packhouse and away from my mate," Alec says serenely. Then he turns to the three lycans still in their wolves' forms. I smile at them, and they bow.

Alec makes his way to the stairs, and we walk to our chamber in silence. Once we're inside, he places me on the couch and goes back to the door to close it.

"Can you explain yourself, Liv?"

He asks as he stands, leaning against the wall. I don't want to look at him.

I feel my heart is not angry anymore, but deeply sad. Like desperate.

I tighten my fists, my nails entering my palms.

"Liv, talk to me. I can't read what you feel. You closed your mind, so I can't understand what you think," he says with a soft voice as he comes to sit beside me. His right hand delicately takes my chin and lifts my head so that I can glance into his eyes.

"Please, Liv. Don't keep it for yourself." Alec takes my hands and looks at my palms.

"You're hurting yourself, little wolf," he says. He gets up, goes to the bathroom, and returns with a soft washcloth warmed with hot water. He passes it on my hands to clean the blood.

There's not a single trace of the wounds on my palms.

I think he is questioning Ares as he looks thoughtful. Then he takes my right arm and looks at the already drying blood on it. He cleans it and inspects where Amber bit me a few minutes ago.

The holes that her teeth pierced in my flesh are nothing but small pinky scars.

"Well, I suppose I don't have to worry about you being badly injured. Selene does a great job when it comes to healing you. That's good news," he smiles at me.

He affectionately kisses my forehead.

"Now, would you mind telling me what's in your lycan's brain? I need you to help me with that."

After a few minutes of silence, I take a deep breath and finally open my mouth.

"I can't stand her, Alec. She is constantly with you. And you bring her to my home? Like she was welcome?" I sniff his body and am about to vomit.

Alec's calm face turns to a concerned one.

"Are you okay, Liv? Are you in pain?" Alec asks worriedly.

"You stink with her odor." My face shows disgust as I say those words.

"You can't imagine how painful it is, every day since she's arrived. I wish she were not here." I move away from him and go to sit on the bed, my legs against my chest.

Damn, the only thing that comes to my mind is how hurt I am. I should scream at him, but the only thing I want to do is cry.

Alec stands up and goes to the bathroom. I hear water running. Is he seriously relaxing in the shower? What is wrong with him?

He goes out after a few minutes, totally naked. He lies down on the bed. He pulls me against him softly. My head finds some comfort against his bare chest. His beating heart calls mine to follow its lead, and it works. All enraged emotions are slowly fading away from my body and my mind.

"No more odor on me, Miss Evans. You can cover me with your scent so everyone understands I'm yours. Is that better?" He says it with an amused tone.

"That's not funny, Alec," I say with a sad voice. He irritates me by acting like it was no big deal. I feel like he does not realize how heartbreaking it is.

Men can be douchebags, that's a fact. But he could be the King of douchebags.

"Maybe not funny. But surprisingly cute, for sure." I look at him, surprised.

His mate being in pain is cute? Excellent, I'm mated to a psychopath!

"I'm not a psycho, Liv. But nice to find out you don't keep everything to yourself anymore," he says as he pushes me so I can face him. Then he kisses my lips.

Damn, he has no right to do that. He stops and then speaks again.

"Liv, a couple of weeks ago, you told me that we couldn't be mates. And today, I feel like we cannot live one without another." His eyes are shining. He has a smile on his face. Not one to mock me. The one you get when you are more than happy; more than in love with someone.

"And you're adorable when you're jealous." He turns me over, so I lie on my back, and he looks at me, right above me.

"You don't know how refreshing you are, little pup. I'm older than you, Liv. And I don't remember I've felt this way for anybody before you entered my life. I know you are my life, Olivia Evans-Grayson."

He kisses my forehead. I know a smile appears on my face as joy engulfs my body. Then, I kiss him slowly.

"When you're looking at me, I've never felt so alive and free."

"Thank you," I add, snuggling into his arms.

"I'll always love you," Alec says before kissing my forehead.

"Now we go to clean your body."

He moves next to the bed and gives me his hand. I take it and follow him into the bathroom.

He goes to the shower and turns the water on. He takes his shirt off my body and leads me under the warm rain. Definitely, my muscles needed this to relax.

After a few minutes, Alec's muscular arms embrace me.

"You were great downstairs. I'm so proud of you," Alec murmurs in my ear before he attacks my neck with his soft lips.

"She jumped on me and bit me. Not really a success," I answer him. I wish I could have escaped her attack, but I was not fast enough. I need to work on it soon.

"You caught her by her neck. That was a brilliant move. And you controlled your anger. That's impressive for a young wolf," he adds, kissing my neck again as he finishes his words.

"Without Eva, Joey, and the other wolf, she could have killed me easily," I whisper. My body reacts to Alec's kisses and touches. Millions of sparks turn me on.

"They were protecting their future Queen. Eva, Joey, and Taylor showed they would give their life to the one they consider as their ruler. They admire and love you." He stops and turns me over so I can look at him. He pushes me kindly against the wall of the shower.

"That's the greatest sign of respect they could offer. And you earned it even before we marked each other. I've never heard of a similar thing before. So never doubt your worth, little wolf." Alec's eyes turn dark green.

"Hey, Ares. I thought you were smarter than Alec and that you would stop him from bringing her here," I speak to Ares. My voice is full of reproaches.

"We thought about having her at sight. She is acting strange towards you. We can't take any risk with your recent changes. You have to go easy, mates," Ares says before letting Alec back in control.

As soon as Ares is gone, I understand Selene closes the link between us.

"They are arguing, right?" I ask Alec.

"Yeah, it will happen sometimes. Even real mates can fight—even the wolves' parts," Alec answers.

He takes the shampoo and washes my hair while I soap my body. Once we're done, he rinses my body, then gets out.

He wraps himself in a large towel before he takes one to cover me with it. I comb my hair quickly and braid it.

Alec goes out of the bathroom, and I hear noises in our bedroom. When I join him, a large tray is on the bed, full of candies and a large popcorn bowl.

I thought you'd like some popcorn while we watch a movie or some episodes of the show you want.

I love this idea. And I'm again hungry enough to eat the whole large bowl on my own.

Thank you, Alec. I answer before I slip under the sheets.

I am half sitting, half lying on the mattress. I put the bowl on my stomach, ready to eat the totality of the tasteful sugar corn.

"What do you want to watch, Princess?" Alec asks, taking the remote control and joining me under the sheets.

"Teen Wolf. Season 1 Episode 1," I answer, a smirk on my face.

"You kidding, Liv, right?" Alec looks at my face, and I shake no slowly.

"Come on. You live with werewolves, Liv. You are a werewolf! They do not even look like real werewolves," he complains.

"So you know it." My big bad wolf knows about Teen Wolf. So funny.

"I've seen one or two episodes. I like to know how humans imagine the legendary beasts we are," he murmurs.

"And I don't like this one. Even their Twilight movie is a better picture of us," he grumbles.

"You prefer Twilight movies, then. That's fine with me too," I answer, my smirk getting wider.

"Come on, Liv. Choose something else. You've got hundreds of movies available." He looks at me with pleading eyes.

"I want one of them. There's nothing to discuss." My little personal revenge. I can imagine how a 148-year-old wolf probably hates these two choices of mine.

"Let's go for the vampires, then. Your torture will be shorter," he sighs.

He looks for the movie and plays it. Then, he turns off the light and steals the popcorn bowl.

"Hey, what the hell?" I scream at him. He puts the bowl on his bedside table.

He pulls me against him, my head against his chest.

Then he puts the bowl back on his leg.

"I want you against me. You're supposed to cover me with your smell, little wolf. You forgot?" He says, his face relaxing with a smile on it.

"Thank you, Alec," I breathe.

"It's only because I love you and don't want to upset you. Next time I choose." Alec caresses my back, his warm body comforting me.

My eyes slowly close, and I fall asleep in the loving arms of my mate.

Peace does not last for long as I hear a woman's voice in my head.

They'll come for her, Olivia. You've got to hide her at all costs.