We walk into the living room, and both Brie and Logan sit there looking at me. I smile as Clay grabs my waist and hugs me tight. "I'm so glad you're back!" Brie says, standing up to give me a hug. Logan nods in agreement, a smile on his face. I feel a sense of warmth and comfort being surrounded by my closest friends. It feels good to be back.

"I'm so sorry, Brie." I hug her tightly as tears come down my face. I never wanted to hurt her. "Shh, it's okay. It's not your fault." She tries to reassure me.

"Yeah, she's right; it's those damn dogs' fault." Clay spews. Logan laughs at the words that come out of Clay's mouth. Clay pulls me into his arms, and I let the feeling of any problems slip away.

"What do we do now?" Brie asks softly. "If they find out it didn't work, a war will break out between them and us," Logan states. I nod in agreement with him; he's right.

"That's why we have to be careful. We can't be seen together at all, well, we can. I just need to be..." Clay cuts me off. "Wild Raven?"

"Yeah. Lycans are all around campus now, watching!" I tell them, "Jamie will do anything to see if there is anything between us." I look at Clay, whose jaw is clenched, it makes him look sexy, but back to reality, I can't be thinking about that now. I shake my head, getting back to the conversation.

"How many are still around that follow Abel's word? The war 14 years ago wiped out a lot of our supernatural existence." Logan looks at me for answers, but I don't have any.

"About thirty, not many." We look up to see Lia and Brie's grandma.

"What are you doing here?" I ask. Anger flickering in my eyes.

"We've come to help." Brie's grandma says with a determined look.

"Help! You came to help? After what you did!" I shout at her, and Clay grabs my waist and pulls me back into his chest.

"Raven, dear, Lia had told me all about you and Clay. I was the first person she called when she found out about you two. I was the one to sway those elders to give you that choice because I knew that you and Clay would find your way to each other. What you have is powerful, and no spell could change that. I had a feeling if this young man got through to you and made his way into your heart, it must be real," she calmly tells me.

"You lied! You turned my humanity off. That's worse than wiping my memories." I shout.

"Breath, babe." Clay whispers. I roll my eyes and grit my teeth. "How many packs are we looking at?" I ask them.

"One, five adults, nine children around your age—they are the only ones left who still follow Abel's word," Lia tells us. "I'm the only one of them who does not."

"How many witches follow the word?" Brie asks.

"None, you, Brie, Ms. Danielson, and Mr. Michaels are the only ones left."

"How many vampires?" Clay asks. The room goes quiet as he speaks. Lia looks down and whispers, "There are only 50 of them left in this world, including their children. From my understanding, your father, Clay, doesn't follow Abel's word, and neither do Logan's parents, I believe," Ms. Danielson states.

"You need to talk to your dad and explain everything. We need to find out who is on our side and who is our enemy!" I tell Clay, looking up at him, and he nods.

"I'll call him right now, but it's been a year since they've spoken to me," Clay reminds me.

"You have to try," I beg him. He nods and leaves with Logan to make the phone call. I move in a pacing manner. Even though the curse has been lifted, the Lycans will still be keeping watch, according to Lia and Ms. Danielson. They'll be armed and watching my every move. They insist that I must manipulate Jamie's feelings for me. The idea makes me shudder. Since none of Abel's followers are aware that I have reactivated my humanity, we have an advantage here.

When Logan and Clay return, they tell us that his father has secret plans to bring each of us together, but he isn't permitted to explain how. All we need to do is trust that his plan will succeed and keep us all safe.

Knock Knock

We all freeze, staring at the door. "Who's that?" I whisper.

"Raven? It's Jamie." He knocks again. I run into my room, and Clay follows.

"You have to go," I quietly tell him. "I love you." He kisses me. "I love you." I walk back into the living room to see Jamie sitting on the couch.

"Jamie! What brings you to my place?" I ask him. He stands up and walks towards me, "Hoping maybe you could give us another chance." He hugs me.

Just kill me now.

I cooperate as instructed, but it makes me feel so disgusted. I know Clay must also comply, but it just feels awful. I follow him outside, make sure he has left, and then ascend the stairs.

⁂

Once I'm back in my apartment, I make my way to my room. I close the door and take a deep breath. I sit on my bed looking at my phone. I consider calling Clay.

"Hello?" he says, and my heart begins to beat faster.

"Hey!" I say softly.

"Is everything okay?" Clay asks, concern in his voice. "No, not really," I reply hesitantly. "I hate not having you here. I can't spend the weekend away from you and then have to go to school Monday to see girls all over you."

He starts to laugh, and I turn red. "Stop!" I laugh.

"Are you jealous?" He questions me.

"No, yes. Fine, yes, I'm jealous. I fear losing you through all this; it scares me," I admit to him.

"Open your balcony door." I get up and unlock the door, swinging it open. Clay stands there with a smile on his face. He puts his phone in his pocket and says, "My place is, and will always be, beside you."

He moves toward me and kisses me. I'm lost in our dream world. We make our way back to my bed, and he lays me down. "Stay the night?"

"Of course, I will." He kisses my forehead. He locks my bedroom door and then does the same to the balcony. He strips down to his boxers and climbs under the covers.

"I hate not having you in my bed. The house feels empty without you. I want you to come home."

I turn to face him and say, "You can't live without me." I smile.

"I don't want to try, not because I can't live without you, but simply because I don't want to. The best damn thing I've ever done, baby, was find you." My lips brush up against his.

"I love you more than anything, Clay." He leans in and kisses me. Our bodies entwine, and I feel his warmth enveloping me. In this moment, nothing else matters but the love we share.

⁂

I'm already dreading Monday when it finally arrives. How am I supposed to function in this world? I long to see Clay, feel his kisses, and be held by him. I get up, get ready, and go to the living room to meet Brie; she can see I'm upset. She gets to be with her boyfriend, at least because Logan is seated at the table. "Are you ready for today?" Logan asks me

"No, but I don't have a choice, do I?" I give him a snarky look. "Raven, calm down. We will get this sorted out soon." Brie tries to reassure me. I roll my eyes, drink my coffee, and head out the door.

"I'll see you around campus." I shut the door behind me and start walking. I miss the faint roar of his car approaching from behind. Now that I have my humanity back, I don't like this sensation too much. He gets to have girls swoon all over him once more, while I have to be clever and heartless toward everyone. My heart briefly stops as I get closer to campus and spot his Camaro. I can't bear to think of what or who will be swarming around him.

⁂

As I round the corner into my classroom building, I spot him among Jamie, Adrian, and other individuals. I hate that I have to do this. Maybe it can be fun, but I don't want to hurt Clay with anything I say. I see girls all over Clay. One girl tries her hardest to catch Clay's and Jamie's attention. I grab gum out of my bag and chew it.

Callous Raven, here I come.

I walk, and Clay spots me. I give him a playful smile and walk toward them. "Raven," Clay says, nodding his head.

"Hello, boys." I smile. "So, Jade, which one of these guys do you like more?" I question the girl. She stands there, not knowing what to say. "Don't be shy." I tease. "It's okay to date both. I did." Popping my gum, I smile at her.

Clay stands in front of me. "What the hell is your problem, Raven?" He tries to cover his smile with his hand.

"Oh, don't act like you don't like the attention from all these girls." I look over at Jade. "Jade, if you want his full attention, all you have to do is this." I grab the collar of Clay's jacket, and I push my lips against him, and his tongue parts our mouths. I pull away, and he smiles as he chews on my gum. I look at Jamie, and he's shocked. "Don't cry like a baby." I laugh.

I turn to face Jade once more. "Here's a list of positives to help with your choice. Clay likes to fight but will never fight for you; Jamie loves to lie. Clay will never tell you where he is, and Jamie will enjoy making you cry. Clay's a player, and Jamie doesn't know how to act like a man."

"Those aren't positives. Those are negatives." Jade quietly says.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well, at least now you can spot the bad ones coming." I laugh and walk away.

"Raven, what the fuck?" Clay shouts. I stop and turn to face them. We've accumulated a tiny audience, including Brie and Logan. "I forgot to mention that if you date either of these idiots, their spirals and anger issues require more than an overnight bag." I turn on my heel and walk away, inhaling and exhaling deeply. With each step, my pace gets faster and faster until I'm far from them. I lean against the stair railing and try to compose myself before heading to my class.

This is going to be harder than I thought.