The house is silent as I walk inside slowly. 

"Emily? Is that you?" I hear Mom's voice from the living room. I walk towards it to see Dad and Mom sitting on the couch with Oli and Eliza. Alec was sitting on another couch with Liam, Nat and Cam sat next to him. Hunter was sitting on another couch by himself. 

He smiles at me as I walk into the room. 

You think I can do this? I mindlink Miles. 

I think you underestimate yourself. Give them a piece of your mind, Em. Let them watch you become stronger and confident. He answers me back immediately. I smile. 

Em. The name he had given me when we had recently became friends. He said he wanted to have his own name for me so we were young and I was Em and he was Mi. Em and Mi forever and ever. 

"What's wrong?" Alec asks me. 

"There is something I need to tell you guys." I say to them as I walk into the room and face all of them. I let out a deep breath. 

"I am going to be living in the castle." I start off saying as I turn to my parents. "I am the child of Rosaline and Albert, the King and Queen of the supernatural world. Which makes me the princess or a queen." I shrug my shoulders as Dad grins.

"I want to be happy, daddy," I whisper to him softly.  

Ever fear I would tell him when I was young. When I would have my nightmares, he would hold me tightly, telling me nothing could ever harm me because he was with me always. When the wolves in our pack did not accept me because I was the only vampire in school, he would spend extra time with me after school, teaching Oli and I everything we needed to know about the difficulties the world would throw at us. At me for being a vampire in a wolf pack. He had changed it for me and vowed to always make me happy. 

"You deserve it." He smiles at me. Both of them do. 

I turn to Hunter who smiles at me. "You are kind and I think in another world, it would have been lovely to be your mate, but I am not ready for that yet. I think i need to take everything one step at a time. I am sorry-" 

"Do not apologise to me. I understand." He says, winking at me. "In another world, I would fight for you, but I am engaged to a beautiful woman right now." He explains to me and I smile. 

"I think it would be lovely to meet her one day." I say to him and he smiles,nodding his head. 

"Would you like me to say it?" He asks and I nod my head, having no idea what the official words were. 

"I Hunter Evans, reject you Emily Rose Perry Gray as my mate." He says the words. 

I feel a slight sting in my heart but that was it. Nothing else. 

"You just have to accept," he tells me and I nod my head. 

"I, Emily Rose Perry Gray accept your rejection, Hunter Evans." I say the words as he closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath. 

"I feel it breaking." he mumbles. 

"You alright?" Oli asks him as Hunter opens his eyes and nods his head. 

"Can I come over tomorrow? I have to go home right now." He stands up slowly. 

Dad nods and Hunter smiles at me. 

"Another world, your majesty." He bows down to me before he flashes himself out of the house. 

One down. Another to go. 

Luisa's voice dances around in the room as if she was floating from corner to another. 

"Are you not planning to stay here?" Nat asks me as I turn to them. 

"No. I think it would be best for me to stay at the castle. Learn everything about it." I tell her just as I hear the door open. 

I listen to Miles walk inside and he leans against the doorway, smiling at me. 

"Hi Miles," Eliza waves at him. 

"Hey dude."Oli says to him. "I forgot to tell you earlier but I ate the lasagna you made." 

He faces them as I watch him. His eyes shine as he smiles at my family. 

"No problem. I'll just make some more." He shrugs his shoulders. 

"You're in a good mood.." Eliza's narrow at him and he chuckles as he turns to me. 

"Want to sneak away with me?" He holds his hand out to me. 

I hear Alec growl a little as I grin at Miles. 

"Oh. My. God." Eliza whispers softly as I nod my head at Miles and take a step towards him. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, I will bring your Queen back in the morning." Miles winks at Eliza as he holds my hand as she shrieks behind us. 

"What the fuck?" Alec growls as I hear him stand up. 

For some reason, it did not matter what anyone thought. All I could see was a happily ever after with Miles. 

"Emily." Alec calls my name out and I turn around to look at him as Miles holds my hand against his chest. It felt so normal to touch him. 

"I will see you all in the morning." I smile at them all as Miles pulls me out of the living room. 

I told you, Oli! They would get together! 

What the fuck is happening? 

Is she going to have sex with him? 

What do they mean morning? 

"Leave the door open!" I hear Dad's laughter as we run upstairs and to the room I was staying in. 

I close the door and turn to look at him. 

"Fort time!" I clap my hands and he grins at me. 

Miles and I spend our time pulling the mattress off the bed and putting the duvet and other covers over the little pillow fort we made. 

I climb inside slowly, the darkness welcoming me safely because I was with him. Miles follows behind me. 

"We can stay up all night and talk about whatever you want." I say to him and he nods. 

"I was sitting on the cliff and all I could think was, we could travel. We could travel anywhere we want. Imagine the world at your feet, Emily." 

"At our feet. Remember we are in this together." I say to him. 

"I'm not really a King though." He shrugs his shoulders. 

"Hey," I hold onto his chin like he would do to me. I turn it so he is looking at me. "We take this step together forever and ever. Whatever you're feeling, I want to hear it. Always. We don't lie, we don't hide. We're in this together." I smile at him as he grins. 

"Can I do something crazy?" He asks softly and I nod my head. 

He leans down closer to me and I freeze up. "Push me away any second." he whispers as I feel his hand slowly tilting my chin up. "You are beautiful." His finger traces the outline of my lips. 

It feels like an instinct to lean up and kiss him softly. His eyes widened for a second as I pull away from him quickly. 

"Sorry." I quickly try to apologise just as I feel his lips on mine again. 

Don't ever apologise to me. He mindlink me. 

*** 

I groan as I feel the pillows on my body. The fort had fallen. 

I open my eyes slowly, noticing the empty room. 

Where was Miles?

I crawl out of the broken fort to find a note on the door. I'm making you breakfast. 

I smile at it as I stretch my body. 

We had talked for hours and hours until we could see the sun peaking in through the windows. Miles had promised me a date and I had promised him a tour of the castle. I had read the Royal Crystal Pack book to him and he told me he loved the traditions. He said he would love it if I made a tradition where we would check up on every pack, once a year to see how they were. To make sure they were not mistreating anyone. 

I loved the idea. I told him I had not rejected Alec yet but today I was going to do it. I was going to be honest with him. 

I quickly walk to the bathroom to have a shower and clean myself up. Once I'm done, I pull down on my little black dress and push my feet into black shoes. I walk out of the room to see Nat walking upstairs. 

"Good morning," I smile at her as she looks at me warily. 

"Is everything okay with you?" Shs asks me. 

I frown, nodding my head. "Yes? Why?" 

"You went to another room with another male right in front of your mate. Alec was pissed." She sighs at me as she stands a step below me. 

I sigh. "I will talk to him today."I tell her just as I see Eliza grinning at me from the bottom of the steps. 

"I hope you're okay, Emily." Nat mumbles quietly as she walks past me. 

I frown at her. 

"I need details!" Eliza whispers in a hushed voice at me as she urges me to walk towards her. I walk down the stairs and she pulls me into the empty  living room and closes the door.

"Tell me everything!" She asks in a quiet voice so no one else would hear. 

"We talked." I shrug my shoulders, feeling a blush on my face. 

"Do you know how long I have been waiting for this?" She says to me as she sits down on the couch. "When he ended things with Amanda- it was a week before he came to meet you here, at the party." 

That long. He had told me last night that he was trying to keep it all inside but it felt better to talk about it and move on. 

"He looked devastated. Breaking a mate bond after a while can be hard. I told him to go and enjoy his time with you." She smiles looking up at me. "He came back, Emily and you should have seen the smile on his face. It was the first time he had smiled like that after you left." She giggles as I raise an eyebrow at her. "I told him what was the first thing he felt when he thought about you? Do you know this answer?" 

I shake my head as she stands up and holds my hands tightly. "He said he felt happy. The instant your name was mentioned, he felt at peace. He said you were the strongest woman he had ever met." 

I feel a blush rising on my face slowly. "I told him to take a chance with you. Maybe that was something you both needed. If the moon goddess had made you mates, you would always think you had a bond and that was why you love each other. But now?" She smiles. 

There was no bond between us. It was all true. Whatever we were feeling was real. 

"He said to me that he would wait for me. In this world, in the Afterworld. In every world, he would wait and pray that I was his, forever and ever." I say to Eliza as she grins widely. 

"You guys are so cute! I knew this was going to happen. Have you guys kissed?" She gasps as I blush a little. 

We didn't take it far. 

Miles pulled away. "I want you to know that I would never force you to do anything. Whatever happens, we both agree to it." He pushes a strand of my hair behind my ear. 

"What if I'm not pretty enough?" I mumble softly. 

He had seen every inch of my body many times before but I had new scars. Scars that were deeper than the others. 

"Hey hey," he tilts my head up so I was looking at him. "You are beautiful to me now, tomorrow, the next year. Forever and ever." He smiles as he notices me rolling my eyes at him. 

"Emily Rose Perry Gray, did you just roll your eyes at me?" He gaps at me as I shrug my shoulders. 

A giggle leaves my lips as he starts to tickle me. 

The door opens, pulling me away from my thoughts. I turn around to see Oli popping in his head. 

"Hey, has Miles woken up? Dad wants to talk to him about something to do with the pack bills at home." Oli asks, shrugging his shoulders as I smile. 

"He's in the kitchen, making me breakfast," I tell them. 

Oli frowns. "No he's not. I've been awake since three am. The beds are uncomfortable here. I haven't seen him?" He shrugs his shoulders as I frown. 

What?

Miles? I call out in our mindlink but it's silent. As if it was never there. 

"Where's Miles?" I ask as I walk out of the room. "Miles!" I shout out his name as I see Liam and Nat walking down the stairs. 

"What's wrong?" Liam asks as Alec walks out of his office and my parents walk out of the kitchen. 

"M-"

Rogues! 

I hear a voice float through Liam's mind. 

"I need to find Miles." I run towards the door and I pull it open. 

"Emily wait!" Alec calls behind me as I run out. 

Where are you? I call out to him as I see people running into the safe house and the pack warriors urging them inside. 

"What's wrong?" Dad runs in front of me and stands in my way. 

"Rogues. I need to find Miles." I try to tell him to make him understand that Miles had to be found. 

Dad nods as he tells me, he will look for him. I watch him run around the people calling out his name. 

Miles? Tell me where you are? I mindlink him but it's silent. 

The wind stops whistling around me as fear starts to crawl inside of me. I see Cameron walk out of the forest, his hand wrapped around Miles's neck, his claws inches away from kill him. 

The world freezes around me as I shut out the words Alec says beside me. Or my mom. Whoever. 

Are you okay? I ask Miles. Give me a sign.  

He doesn't answer me back as he stares at me. 

"Emily,"Cameron calls out to me, rogues circling the pack. 

I take a step forward. "Don't do it,"I whisper, staring at Miles. "I'll do anything, Cameron. I will come back with you, just let him go." I plead to him as I notice his hands tightening on Miles. 

Cameron chuckles. "If I knew it was this easy to get you back, I would have taken him before," he grins at me. 

Are you okay? Give me a sign. I will kill him. I say to Miles. Anything. 

He watches me, a small smile on his face. 

"Emily, step back." Alec says behind me and I ignore him as I take a step forward. 

"Take me, Cameron. I won't hurt you ever. I'm sorry." My voice comes out softly. 

"Maybe I don't need you anymore. Maybe I will hurt you one last time." 

I love you. Forever and ever. 

The world stops breathing. 

I hear his words in my mind as my eyes widen. It happens too slow. The world fills with my scream, echoing around me as I watch ever so slowly Cameron dig his claws into Miles's neck and rip him apart. Miles's eyes widen as he drops to the ground. 

My knees weaken as it plays in my head over and over again. 

I let out a scream. The trees shake around me as I completely let go of my magic. Every drop of my magic hits him. Cameron laughs as his body turns into mist with every rogue following his way. Mist. 

In seconds silence fills the world as I watch them stare at me. 

"Emily-" I feel Alec's hand on my shoulder. 

"Don't touch me!" I scream at him as I pull away from his hand and run towards Miles. 

"No no no no" I cry as I pull him towards me. 

"Wake up." I place his head in my lap and I hold my hand above him. "I can heal you." I let the golden light flicker through my fingers but nothing happens as I watch him. 

"Please don't leave me." I hold onto him tightly, his blood covering my hands and body. 

This wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to live in a castle and be happy forever. 

"Don't leave me." I cry. "Wake up."  I rest him on the ground,and try to heal him again. The golden light does nothing. 

"Wake up Miles!" I scream at him. 

"Emily,"I hear dad as he kneels next to me. 

"He's gone." I turn around and hug him tightly as I cry. "They took him away from me." I whisper, crying at the pain I feel. 

I feel my heart shattering into a thousand pieces, laughing at me for the happiness I truly wanted. 

"He's gone, he's gone." I cry as dad hugs me tightly. 

"Emily-" Alec says my name behind me. "We should bury him here." 

"No!" I shout as I rip away from dad and look up at him. "He's not staying here. I'm going to bury him in my home." The castle. Where he belonged. 

"I'm just trying to help-" he tries to say but I shake my head trying to shut out his words as I stare at Miles. 

He needed to find peace and he needed to be buried. He was going to wait for me in the Afterworld and for that he needed to find peace in this world. 

I stand up on shaking legs as I see the dust scattered around us all. They were staring at me, as if I was someone new they had never met. His pack stared. 

Luisa did not say a single world. Nor did Ava. 

There is an echoing silence in my mind as I stare at Alec. 

I don't want to wait for the Afterworld. 

I love you, forever and ever. 

The words echo in my mind over and over again. 

"We can-" 

I place my hand up, staring at Miles as Alec quietens down. 

You and I, we will learn how to get stronger. To use our voice, to not fear the world or anyone. To know we are stronger than anyone. 

You think I'm strong? 

I feel the tears falling down my face slowly as I think of what he said to me last night. You are beautiful, strong, and the most wonderful woman I have ever met.

You are stronger than anyone I know. 

"I, Emily Rose Perry Gray, reject you Alec King as my mate." I say the words I was supposed to say weeks ago. When he locked me in a room and terrified me. When he didn't want me. 

"What?!" Nat exclaims. 

"What are you doing, Emily?" I hear Alec's voice somewhere far away in a distance. 

I don't feel the pain of the bond as I stare at Miles. 

I turn to look at dad who stares at me, confused. "Can you pick him up please? I want him to find peace. We need to go to the castle." I tell him and he nods as Oli helps him in silence. 

It starts to rain as I wipe my tears away from my face. I was strong. I was strong. 

The world was crying for Miles. For a beautiful soul that deserved happiness. 

"I'm not accepting it." Alec says behind me as mom walks towards me. 

"Have you thought this through?" She asks me softly as she wipes my eyes gently. I nod my head and she leans down and kisses me on my forehead. "I'll get the car ready." She says and I nod my head in silence as she walks away from me. 

I turn to look at Alec. Nat, Liam and Cam stand behind him. 

"I'm not accepting it." Alec repeats as he stares at me. "We can work this out." He takes a step towards me. 

I take a step back. "I was going to reject you last night." I tell him truthfully and he frowns at me.

"What should I say go Alec in the morning?" I ask Miles as I rest my head on his shoulder as we close our eyes. We had been talking for hours and hours about our future. 

"You can stand in front of him, with your head held high," his fingers curl around mine gently. "And you tell him, 'you do not deserve me as a mate.' " 

"Is that all?" I ask, confusion clear in my voice. 

"Sometimes saying less is more powerful." He tells me and I smile. 

"And if he asks me something else?" 

"Then walk away from him." 

"Last night? Why?" He growls taking a step towards me again. 

"You do not deserve me as a mate." 

Alec frowns as he stares at me. "What is that supposed to mean? Emily we can work this out. Don't give up on us." 

I turn around and start to walk away from him, towards the car my dad was waiting near. 

"Emily!" Alec calls out to me and I ignore him until I feel him grab by arm and spin me around. 

"You're not leaving me." He growls, his hand tightening around me. I hear dad growling as he walks towards us. 

I let out a deep breath, unleashing the tight hold I had on my magic as I let my body heat up slowly. Alec hisses as his hand burns and he lets me quickly. 

"Touch me again and I will burn your pack to the ground." I turn around ignoring his wide eyes as my dad grins at me. 

I was going to make Miles proud. 

●●●●●

I will love you forever and ever, Miles.