Author's Note: I want to give out a special shout out to my new Beta; Alice-Roza.

She will be helping me edit chapters from now on.

And thank you to all the readers for sticking with this story despite its not scheduled posting,

despite how many times I try to get a schedule going, life decides to throw me lemons and

apples.

When I reached the door to the study, it was slightly ajar, so I pushed it completely open to reveal Atali kneeling on the floor, adding the final touches to the Sigil on the floor.

"How is it coming along?" I asked as I walked in the room and shut the door behind me.

Atali stood up and went to check her Grimoire that was on the desk on the right side of the room. "Just about done actually. We just need the blood to use as the ink for the spell to use," She confirmed.

"Hm." Acknowledging her answer, I moved to the center of the room and stood right before the markings on the floor, watching it start to glow.

"Does it matter how the blood is given?" I asked.

"Not to my knowledge, but here is a knife you can use. Just make sure that the blood falls in the center of the circle so that it can be activated properly," she encouraged.

I grabbed the hilt of the knife and extended my left arm so that my hand was directly above the center circle. Atali began to chant in a language I didn't understand, and the sigils glowed brighter as she spoke. After a couple minutes she flicked her eyes to me and nodded her head or me to start the offering.

I pressed the blade to the palm of my hand and quickly sliced it downward, hissing at the slight sting of pain. I fisted my hand to press out more blood to fall on the floor before my body started to self-heal the cut. Once the last bit of blood left my hand, I stepped back and put the blade on the desk. Looking at Atali and seeing that her eyes were closed in concentration, I left the room and quietly shut the door behind me. I walked back to my room and seeing that it was empty, I went to the adjoined bathroom and washed my hands in the sink.

After catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I decided a shower was very much needed. Turning on the faucet and waiting till the water was hot before undressing and stepping in, letting the water pelt on my skin always induced a therapeutic effect on me to the point where I basked in the moment where every one of my senses dulled, calmed and allowed me to find

beautiful equilibrium.

Once I felt cleansed and relaxed, I stepped out grabbing one of the hanging towels on the rack.

I wrapped myself in the towel before stepping into my room and did a double take at the new object on my bed. I carefully walked to my bed that now had a duffle bag on it, and sniffed the air.

Christian.

That was sweet of him, but he should have known better than to come in here while I was showering. Or at least gave me a warning when entering.

I opened the bag and pull out a few outfits, a magically enhanced colour changing jumpsuit, hygiene products, a few books, and a pair of running shoes. Maybe there is a hiking trail around here where I can jog on. Pulling out a pair of thongs, spandex shorts and a grey hoodie, I quickly got dressed and brushed my hair out. I checked the time on my cell phone, realizing that I still had five hours till sunrise.

I checked through my phone, trying to kill time and see if anything would catch my interest. Finding nothing, I pocketed my phone and started heading downstairs. I walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge, noticing that it was fully stocked. I searched through it to see if I could find anything good. Took me a few minutes but I was able to find something familiar, a 6 pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade, otherwise known as Christian's bitch beer. I took one. I closed the fridge and turned towards the pantry to find some food when I noticed two boxes of pizza on the counter.

Those jerks had pizza without me, what the hell?!

I lifted the lids and started to inspect the food: Pepperoni and a Combo.

I am kicking their asses for not informing me about this. I grabbed a plate from the cabinet and yanked two pepperoni slices out the box and onto my plate. Leaving the kitchen and heading straight to the living room, where I saw Erik, Christian, Tasha, Dimitri, and Adrian gathered around having a heated conversation.

"I know what I saw, and I refuse to be- "

"Hey Rose, why don't you come join us?" Christian spoke over Tasha's shrill voice and patted the seat next to him on the couch.

The whole room went silent as I walked further into it and sat down. I kicked up my feet on the coffee table and twisted the cap off the bottle before taking a swig.

"Please, don't let me interrupt, go back to what you were talking about. I am sure it was an interesting topic." I taunted, smirking towards Tasha when I glanced in her direction. Her whole body tensed, and she looked at me with a glare, if looks could kill, too bad for her that they don't. I shrugged my shoulders and picked up one of my pizza slices and started eating.

"We were discussing your place here, Rose. Some of us believe that you're a threat to the rest of us and should be sent on your way," Tasha admitted with venom in her voice.

"You are more than welcome to leave anytime Tasha. No one is forcing you to stay here," Adrian calmly stated.

"She and Lissa are the only ones who have a problem with you, Rose. You know that you are more than welcomed here," Sydney assured as she walked into the room and sat on Adrian's lap. "Declan is asleep in our room," she whispered to Adrian as she kissed his cheek.

"Do I really need to repeat myself?! Did you not see what happened at the Court?! Everything was fine before she came back into our lives. Lissa is due to be married and is training to become the new Queen! Now look what has happened, all because of her!" Tasha accused and looked at me like I was a stain that needed to be wiped away off the earth.

"You may think what you want Tasha, but if I recall correctly, I helped you all escape. Who

knows what would have happened to you if I had just left you there, come to think of it, you'd be dead," I added into the conversation after swallowing the last bit of my pizza.

When no one spoke up to counter what I had said, the scowl on her face deepened before she quickly changed it into one of sorrow. "Well, if I am not wanted, I guess I will just go then. I have some stuff to pack and a few goodbyes to make," she whimpered as she stood up and walked towards the exit of the living room, stopping at the last second to turn to look at us.

"Dimitri, maybe you should come pack as well. Just in case Lissa decides to leave as well," She suggested sweetly, a little too sweetly.

I didn't dare look at Dimitri, instead I lifted my hand to my face and inspected my claws, making sure that they were clean and if they needed to be filed.

"That is not for you to decide Tasha," Dimitri stated, the tone of his voice insinuated that it was not up for discussion.