I own none of the original.

Ren is gone when I wake again. I sigh blissfully, feeling fully rested for the first time since the Cross incident. Showering and examining my less-bloodshot eyes after, I blink at how much I have changed. A girl with light brown hair, blonde highlights, and the silver-and-white she-wolf's golden eyes, stares back at me in the mirror. My throat begins to close as I remember Mom's golden irises, the exact picture for where I got mine.

Heading for the kitchen, a growl rips from my chest before I even recognize the scent. Nick. Laced with… Jazz?

"You know, your beta is a great storyteller." Nick materializes out of the shadows, his eyes gleaming as they graze the length of me. I try not to shudder.

My fangs appear when I open my mouth to talk. "Really? What did she tell you?"

"Pack history." He shrugs. "Quite interesting, actually. I might want to hang out with her more." His grin nearly makes me cringe, but I freeze my body into place. "Although, to be perfectly honest, I would rather hang out with a gem instead of a flower."

"How about you hang out with neither?" I keep my voice icily calm. "If you hurt her, boy, you'll have the whole pack to deal with. Don't forget that I'm leading a patrol to kill you." I flash a smile full of knives. "Of course, I might just handle it myself and see where it leads. I don't think you'd last very long either way, but I'm curious as to which is more fun."

The depths glint cruelly. "Why don't you find out?" he offers in a silky tone.

I fold my arms over my chest. "Because that's about to happen," I scoff, rolling my eyes to add to the sarcasm.

"Hmm… I wonder if an alpha is more elegant… or a beta?" Nick taps his chin thoughtfully, jokingly. "I certainly know which is more modest."

My blood runs cold. "What are you talking about?"

"You know precisely what I'm talking about, Aquamarine." His façade crumbles, revealing someone infested with magic. Oddly enough, he still looks like the same Nick, but I know better. "Thing is, will you have the strength to stop Bosque a second time? Will you be able to break apart the Elemental Cross and seal off the Netherworld forever?" He laughs; I never thought anything can sound so bitter. "The Harbinger and the Scion will both be destroyed if you do. I figured you should know what your father is getting into." He melts back into darkness, a trail of dark magic and laughter in his wake.

I found who I should beware… yet why does it have to be Jasmine?

In sort of a daze, I walk into the kitchen and grab a bagel. My mouth and throat are suddenly dry, so I down a full bottle of water before I even attempt to eat. My stomach clenches as if I have put a rock into it instead of mere bread. Only Jazz's scent brings me out of my trance.

"Everyone's meeting in Haldis Tactical, Aqua."

I barely look up. "Even us young wolves?" I breathe, trying to control the abrupt rush of anger that thaws and boils my blood.

Jazz tilts her head to the side. "Even us young wolves," she echoes, a quizzical note to her voice. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine." I push away from the table. "But I can't meet with the others. I have too much on my mind." I leave her standing open-mouthed in favor of the garden.

A jasmine flower symbolizes modesty, grace, and elegance. How could I have been so stupid? I halfheartedly pick pedals from a lily, my head reeling with flower meanings that I never thought I would know. The innocence-after-death might not be so true after all. Nick was born in June. The two birthstones are a pearl and a moonstone… innocence of power. What the hell was I doing to not notice this!

Calla appears before me – or, rather, her ghost. "What's wrong, little crystal?"

I shiver. "Mom, you wouldn't believe how hard things are." I bury my face in my hands.

She touches my shoulder lightly, the eerie sensation sending a flood of comforting warmth through my veins. "Being an alpha is never easy," she reminds me. "Being a new Chosen is worse. Just be glad that you have everyone here on your side." She pauses to think that over and adds, "Except Nick. You have two Guardian Angels with you, too, and I mean Guardian," she repeats with emphasis.

"You and the old Ren," I sigh. "I know."

"You'll find out what you need soon. Please be patient, impulsive little pup." When she leaves, a breeze stirs and ruffles my hair. "I love you, Aqua."

"I love you, too, Mom." I close my eyes and lean back against a tree. The breeze stays, cooling off my burning skin and racing nerves. Only when I am truly calm does it die away. Every thought in my brain stops circling and just leaves me alone. "Do you have anything to say to me, Ren?"

"Be careful with my almost-reincarnate." The past alpha's eyes shine in my mind. "Otherwise, just be you."

I smile to myself, left in peace, yet knowing I have to go back in. Calla and Ren both want me to accept matters as they had. Shay will be there for me, anyway, if the others all turn on me. I doubt that Brady and my Ren would ever do that, but still. Hesitantly getting to my feet, I look around at the garden. When I head back in, I walk in on chaos.

Utterly, horribly-true chaos.