*************STORY START****************

"So how old are you, Alicia?" a Lycan councilman named Adolph asked at breakfast. Like before, he looked to be middle-aged and in his prime, but of course he was immortal somehow I knew he was probably way older than that. I just didn't know which exact title Adolph had because even though he looked intimidating, he was pretty easy to talk to.

"I just turned twenty a couple days ago actually," I answered after swallowing my food. I stared at the donuts across the table in envy. There was a breakfast for my introduction to the head councilman since Chase insisted I would stay here. Though the Council and associated royalty was set up like a twisted British monarchy with mixed heads of state and heads of government, the living arrangements were odd. This golden palace was home to any of the dozen Lycan councilmen and women, lords, princes, and the Lycan king along with their respective mates. They came and went as they pleased because it wasn't like there was a shortage of room or space. Apparently there were two varied estates for the Vampyr and Sorceror's Tier that suited their needs as well.

"Oh you're just a baby then," he laughed. Huh?

"You're awfully young to be traveling so far from home," his wife Elle commented. She wasn't as nearly as easy to talk to as her husband was. "...it's especially foolish to leave your group and stay behind with a near-stranger in a country you don't know."

"Chase and I aren't strangers. We went to high school together," I reminded immediately. Elle almost coughed up her food and I knew it had to be due to the fact that I didn't address Chase with his title.

"I think it's good to travel while you're young and you still have time," Adolph smiled as if he wasn't a werewolf with a longer than normal lifespan. "Life is too short."

"And the world is small," Elle added with her resting bitch face. "It's incredible timing for Sir Chase to stumble upon you when he did. He was to be wed yesterday if it wasn't for the objections. They would've made a lovely couple."

"Really?" I played dumb. I had a fake look of amazement and a big smile and I looked to Chase. "What'd you do?" I asked. I knew Chase wanted to laugh at my taunting, but he only flashed his eyes and slightly raised his eyebrows informing me that I'd hear about this later—hopefully in a flirtatious tone.

"We had a conflict of interest," Chase only muttered and kept his smile to himself. "But whatever, we were too young anyways."

"Wait so twenty is too young to travel but old enough to get married?" I asked Elle, causing her demeanor to somehow harden even more. Now I was the one trying to contain my laughter. Adolph was finally catching on that his wife was less tolerant and was steered towards being more annoyed at me and my presence. I turned to Chase though. "But you're young. I'm sure you can go out and meet a girl the good old fashioned way."

"You're right, I could but it wouldn't be genuine," Chase said. "I've already met—"

"Sir Chase is under the impression that the girl he's meant for deserves to be with him and throne—rather than my niece," Elle said and then it was all I needed to know that she was just harboring resentment because she was Francesca's aunt and was unhappy with the suspension of marriage between her and Chase. She was probably a strong advocate for him marrying off to someone other than his mate in the first place.

"And what's wrong with that?" I asked curiously. I gestured to Chase. "He said there was a conflict of interest and he wasn't ready to be married. Maybe they just weren't compatible."

"If he's so certain about this girl and their relationship that never happened, they would have no need to be apart from each other this whole time. It's obvious to everyone but him. He is obviously mistaken towards this girl and his feelings," Elle clarified. Chase stood up.

"Says the person in charge for wanting me to have an arranged marriage," he muttered before grabbing another slice of bacon and leaving. There was an awkward silence at the table.

"I think that if Sir Chase feels strongly about this girl that you should give her a chance," I voiced respectfully. I glanced at Adolph who was looking at me like he was studying all the collegiate pages I was surely behind on. "After all, life is short so we should want to spend it with who we want." His composure changed as if my words resonated and revealed the truth about me and Chase being mates, but he wouldn't get a word out because his wife had it with me at that point.

"The issue of a future-prince's affairs is nothing to be of the concern of a peasant not of this land," the councilwoman said before leaving. Years ago that'd hurt just like when Wes or Dane or even Chase had put me down, but at this point, I didn't care. Elle's husband followed her out and I was left alone. I took a donut and was surprisingly calm and secure in a den of werewolves.

"What's up with him?" I heard a voice say.

"Who cares?" another voice said as footsteps approached. And then I saw as two boys stepped into the dining room.

One of them was tall with short black hair and a smirk playing on his lips as a basketball rested on his hip. The other was taller and tanner than the first and he had dark, unidentified hair color that was messy. He wore no shirt and was built like a werewolf who just finished a workout. I looked up to his face and trailed up from the silver lip piercing to his eyes that were blocked by his hair...well until he flipped his tussled hair to reveal smoky gray eyes with dark rims.

"Who are you?" the first guy asked with an accent that sounded European somehow.

"Uh..." I mumbled. For the first time since meeting the Group in high school, I was taken aback by male attractiveness.

"'Uh...'? What a weird name," the same guy joked. My attraction had ended and I regarded him as another Jerk-face like Wes initially was. I stood up and started to leave, but then I unexpectedly ran into someone—Chase.

"Sorry," he grumbled.

"You know her?" the first guy asked.

"Yeah. I know her from high school and brought her here to catch up," Chase answered absent-mindedly.

"I'm pretty sure that's called kidnapping," he joked, bouncing the basketball.

"Well the king's okay with it and so is the Council so it's whatever," Chase shrugged. The king? Who was the king? "She's staying here for a while. Do me a favor and leave her alone."

"Maybe," the guy shrugged as the smoky-eyed one just stood there as if he was staring into space.

"Um no," I commented. Jerk-face 2.0 walked over to me.

"We're royalty, sweetheart. You'll do whatever we say to," he whispered. I glared at him. I wasn't scared of him. Not after dealing with Wes and Dane.

"Well I'm not from this land, so I'd like to see you make me," I retorted with a scoff.

"Maybe I will," he said. I rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms. He looked above me to Chase.

"No twentieth-in-line-for-crown idiot is gonna control her," the other guy said, making me think maybe he wasn't a douche like his friend. It was surprising that he had more of an American accent with a hint of something else. He looked at Chase with a simple gaze. "We'll leave her alone."

"Sir Chase," a familiar voice said. We turned to see Hernandez at the door. "King Adolph would like to see you now."

So he was the Lycan king? Interesting. Even though he seemed benevolent in contrast to his queen, Chase still growled in his departure after touching my lower back once.

"Have fun," the first guy called after.

"As soon-to-be fifth in line, if you touch her, I will personally convict you...or worse," Chase said before officially leaving. Hernandez shot a look to the guys as well. The guy looked down to me and scoffed once they rounded the corner.

"Lucky you," he cooed, "you have little Chase looking out for you."

"Only because I'm his responsibility," I mumbled.

"And what if I want you to be my responsibility?" he whispered in my ear.

"Then I'll smack you until you get the picture," I sneered with a sarcastic smile. He smirked and then walked away. "F*cking jerk," I commented before I retired to what was my guest room.

***

"Stay away from those guys," Chase said when we met up in the corridors' intersection on the other side of the estate it seemed like.

"Yeah. Because they're so welcoming," I humored. "Who are they?"

"Nobody. Just some distant cousins of mine," Chase muttered. Chase gave me a look as he swallowed and I knew what it was.

"Well, you know how it worked out with me and your last cousin," I joked because I was just teasing him. I was sure he'd make a comment about me and Wes, but he didn't. He still had a sullen look on his face that was a mixture of a few things. "What?"

"Nothing," he lied.

"Are you...jealous?" I asked with a smile.

"What? No! I'm just...I'm just getting way too protective over someone I just met back up with apparently," he feigned while covering up his real envy. He reached over to kiss my forehead because it was him who needed the reassurance for some reason. He lingered close to my face though. "But I don't know why, I mean in a few days, you'll be on your way back home."

"Maybe," I flirted before pulling away and exiting his room to leave him lingering with his yearning emotions. All it did was make me realize that I was doing all of this because I loved Chase and he was pathetic. Therefore, it made me pathetic too.

Especially when I was the peasant foreigner who ran straight into someone in the halls. "I'm sorry," I stammered up at the guy from earlier with smoky eyes. "I am so sorry."

"I bet you are," he mumbled before walking around me. What was with this guy? He didn't look like the kind that would mood swing or not converse with people, but then again, if he was a distant cousin of Chase's maybe it ran in the family. He looked like he always wanted to say something, but didn't for some reason.

"Hey," I called after him. With his thumbs pressed into the pockets of his jeans he now wore, he turned to face me and I noticed that he had a stream of silver hair on strands of his layered hair, matching his eyes. When he flipped his hair, the streak disappeared as he stared past me. "What's your name?" He smirked and then turned around with a devious but intrigued smirk. "Aren't you going to answer me?" I asked. He shrugged as he continued down the hall. Okay, whatever.

I walked down the several hallways and across the property to my room and was shocked to see Dane sitting on the couch with a tricky look. I narrowed my eyes as I crossed my arms. Soon enough I heard the door close and the other unknown jerk guy from earlier showed up. Holy crap...

"Cut the crap, Alicia," Dane said.

"What crap?" I asked, confused. And I truly was. Was he supposed to act as if we didn't know each other or not? Let alone with some other jerk in the room.

"I know that you know about Chase and the rest of us," the guy said. I turned to him.

"Um no. I actually don't," I replied. Dane scoffed.

"Look, you don't have to play along as someone you're not anymore," Dane started, walking near me. "If you pack up and go home, it'd be perfectly fine. You don't have to pacify another one of Chase's schemes."

"And don't worry. In a matter of a few months, Chase will be there too," the other guy added. I spun around to him. "After all, you're the reason he moved and transferred to school there, right?"

"I haven't seen Chase since high school. I certainly didn't influence his choice in college," I forced a laugh. He gained a smug look on his face. What was going on here?

"I'm not an idiot. I know you two are soul mates; I see how you look at each other," he announced. I gulped. I almost would've preferred if he had found out through Dane because if he claimed to see something between me and Chase, then obviously anyone else could've connected the dots too. "So it's either you go home now or I make things really hard for the both of you."

"Hard how? Go against the law by killing a human—especially one that's mated to a prince?" I mocked. He was bluffing. He had to be.

"Chase isn't a prince yet," he immediately corrected. "And sweetheart, I can do a lot worse than that."

"So what's it gonna be?" Dane asked impatiently. I looked to him. I couldn't believe him. It had been four years. I thought maybe the wedding objection had signified that he was finally done holding a grudge for Chase, but I guess not.

"Dane, you know how much it'd hurt Chase if I left—"

"Hurt him? Are you kidding? All these years here he's hooked up with any girl he wanted. The only reason he wants you now is to get the throne—sure, the Council said they'd ascend him to a prince status, but after that he'll be looking to be King. He can't do that without you. And in a matter of time, it'll be you wanting to leave. So might as well leave now before you start drama with Council as some illusion, before we make it a lot more challenging," Dane reasoned, but I was stuck on the fact that he was accusing Chase of hooking up with girls who weren't me even though he and Wes had told me otherwise. I had believed Chase because there was no inklings of doubt, but now it was like Dane's words knew what insecurities to hit at to cause doubts.

No. This was Dane. He was lying.

"He's telling the truth," the other guy said and I looked to him. I got lost in his now-swirling eyes as he talked. "Any relationship you had with Chase was a lie. Any current relationship you have means he's just using you for his own pleasure. We both know you don't want to go through all this drama. So why should you? You're a beautiful twenty year old girl in college—you shouldn't be crossing into immortal worlds and such or be dealing with imprinting with a shady werewolf who doesn't know what he wants. Just live your own life. Graduate. Travel to human places. Fall in love with someone who can love you right from the start. Forget Chase and anything else within the last four years."

What he said made sense. What was I doing here? I no longer knew. I should be at my dorm studying my ass off. But instead I was here, chasing some guy that didn't have the decency to chase me like his name and this bond should've dictated.

"Why don't you just sleep on it for the night and in the morning, you can decide what you want to do? It's all up to you," his voice cajoled lightly. I felt hypnotized and relaxed that once they mysteriously left the room, I crashed immediately on the soft bed, unable to remember anything that happened that day.

***

I had dreams of spirals. Never ending spirals. Well...until I was being shaken awake.

"Ali...It's time to wake up" a boy's voice said. "Come on, you've been asleep all day—" I opened my eyes to see a handsome young man with light brown eyes with purely green rims. He had short, dark hair that went with his tanned skin tone and a wide nose in contrast to his angular eyes. He was the most attractive boy I'd ever seen. He searched my face as his hands were placed on either of my arms. I jerked out of his grip.

"Get off of me!" I ordered, rolling off the bed. I looked around and saw that I was in a huge room with sunshine coming from the golden draped windows.

"What?" the guy's deep voice asked with a confused expression. "What's wrong?"

"Where am I and who the hell are you?" I asked. Why was some guy waking me up in an unknown place? Why am I not in my dorm? Where's my best friend Jasmine or my sister Zoey? Where was anything I could recognize?!

"What? Alicia. You don't have to act here. It's just us," the handsome boy said, taking a step towards me.

"I don't even know who you are. How do you know my name?"

He gave me a confused look and then took more steps towards me. I tried to step back, but I hit the tacky golden drapes and stumbled backwards. He immediately caught me by the closest wrist and pulled me towards him. Even though I had wanted to put distance between me and the beautiful stranger, something made me gravitate into him as his interesting eyes quivered between mine. I wanted to know who he was because he seemed familiar, but I knew I could never forget a face like his. And then suddenly, instead of studying my expression any longer, an epiphany slapped across his face hard enough to darken his eyes and he let go of me.

"Come with me," he said. I acted on my weird yearning to know him and followed. But not without asking questions. "My name is Chase. We're friends from high school," was all he told me while he kept taking big strides with his long legs. So I knew him?

"Then why don't I recognize you? Do I have amnesia or something?" I asked. He really didn't answer me or any more of my questions as he soon took a hold of my arm and pulled me through the magnificent palace. Where was I? This place was certainly too grand for Connecticut and too big and empty for New York.

"Good morning you two," a middle aged gentleman greeted with a pure smile and broken accent that managed to indicate that I was no stranger to him either. Chase pulled me away before I could return the greeting. He led me into some sort of meeting room and sat me down in a comfy chair.

"Stay," he ordered. He left me there, but he also turned on music. Your Call, by Secondhand Serenade was playing. Though the song was calming, it only speed up my heart rate and firing neurons because my memory was trying to recollect where I had heard it from in association with Chase, who I apparently knew.

Minutes later, Chase came back with three other people—three other attractive guys let me add. Did I go to high school with all of them? One resembled Chase, but older with black eyes, long eye lashes, and shorter gelled hair with a beard. The other two looked to be near our age. One had short black hair and a cute physique with incredible height. The other had more muscles than the other guy, but he was playing with his lip ring as his dark highlighted hair was in his eyes. He flipped his hair to the side to reveal the most beautiful gray eyes I've ever seen in my life.

"What?" one of them asked.

"I know what you did," Chase accused.

All three of them looked at Chase as if he was crazy. The hot guy with the piercing walked over and sat by me lazily. He looked at the other guys.