"I wish you had told me earlier," Clarisse complained as she leaned against her desk. Reyna didn't answer. The werewolf sat in Clarisse's chair and had her knees pulled to her chest. It normally would have resulted in a lecture, but Reyna looked like she had been through hell the last week. Her eyes had bags under them, and there was a haunted look resting in her pupils.
Reyna just shrugged and didn't say anything else. She rested her head on her knees and exhaled deeply. Clarisse spoke, "Do you want to stay at my place to try and sleep?"
"I don't want to drag you into this," Reyna muttered. She sounded distressed and exhausted. Clarisse studied the werewolf.
"We've already established that I don't give a shit about that. I would love for Circe to try me," Clarisse declared. Reyna slowly turned her head to look at Clarisse but didn't lift her head from her knees.
"Chris almost died because of me," Reyna muttered. She closed her eyes. "You blamed me, and it was my fault. I'm sorry. That's why I can't let you be involved in this."
"There's a big difference," Clarisse retorted as she placed her hand to Reyna's back. "You chose to attack Ma Gasket's kids. You didn't have a choice in this Circe bitch hunting you down, so I don't blame you for it. I'm not going to let you handle this by yourself."
"It doesn't matter," Reyna muttered. A knock at the door caused Clarisse to turn her head. Chiron looked into the office and studied them.
"Piper called me and told me to come immediately," Chiron began.
"Close the door," Clarisse said. Chiron walked into the office. He looked confused but closed the door behind him. "We need to talk."
"What happened?" Chiron asked. Reyna's muscles completely tensed underneath Clarisse's hand, and it felt like she was shaking.
"Look, Chiron. This isn't going to be easy to hear, but you need to believe us," Clarisse began. Chiron looked between them, and a small frown touched his face. "Your friend Circe is a fucking monster."
If Reyna wasn't tense before, she was now. Her muscles felt like they were shaking. She shrunk in on herself even more as she tightened her grip on her knees. Clarisse felt her heart breaking. She wished Reyna had gone to her sooner.
Chiron looked between them, and a small frown came to his face. He slowly spoke, "What do you mean?"
"We don't have to do this," Reyna whispered desperately as she buried her face into her knees.
"We do," Clarisse stated. She looked back at Chiron. "Circe is a monster. She's the Succubus who... marked Reyna."
Chiron stared at her. The expression on his face turned from confusion and then slowly into horror. He shook his head and looked down, "Circe wouldn't."
"She did," Clarisse insisted.
"I told you he wouldn't believe us," Reyna mumbled.
"No, dear. It's not that I don't believe you. I just..." Chiron trailed off and looked like he was trying to find the words.
"It's not an easy thing to hear that your friend is a monster," Clarisse stated. Reyna slowly raised her head and looked at Chiron. Fresh tears were trickling down her face, and she wiped them away.
"She came to my house, Chiron. She walked right in when I was sleeping. I was so exhausted from staying up and keeping an eye out for her that I didn't wake up when a stranger entered my house. And when I woke up, she threatened to hurt everyone here if I didn't do what she wanted. And she..."
Reyna trailed off and wiped her eyes again. She buried her face back in her knees. Clarisse rubbed her back again. Chiron slowly moved closer. Reyna took shaky breaths.
"You have to believe me," Reyna muttered softly.
"We believe you," Clarisse said again, and she gave Chiron a stern look. He nodded and inched closer.
"Reyna, I remember how jumpy you were when you first came to my house. You wouldn't even want me to be near you. I completely believe you," Chiron said. Reyna slowly lifted her head and wiped her eyes once again.
"What do I do?" Reyna whispered. She sounded so scared and heartbroken that it filled Clarisse with rage. "Circe is going to hurt all of you. I can't let her do that."
"She won't be able to," Clarisse promised. "We can go to the police."
Reyna shook her head quickly. She buried her face back into her knees. Chiron spoke, "Reyna, we should go back to my place. You can sleep and rest."
"My place," Clarisse cut in. "Circe doesn't know where I live."
"I don't want anyone to be hurt because of me," Reyna repeated like it was a mantra.
"We know that," Clarisse said softly. "But, we are your friends. You are not going to be alone in this. Got it? Now, we're going to call Hylla-"
"Fuck," Reyna whispered.
"-and let her know what happened. Look, I know it's hard," Clarisse continued.
"I don't," Reyna began. She shook her head. "I can't, Clarisse. I can't tell Hylla about it. She'll blame herself and come here and..."
"Nothing bad is going to happen," Clarisse assured. "Your friends are going to help you, so you need to relax. One woman, one monster, can't do shit to all of your friends. Got it?"
Reyna didn't answer. Clarisse looked at Chiron, "Can you cover while I take her back to my place?"
"Of course," Chiron replied. Reyna didn't stand, so Clarisse grabbed her arm and gently hauled her to her feet. Before they could go anywhere, she heard a knock on the door. It opened, and Clarisse watched Circe walk into the room.
"Chiron," Circe greeted with a smile on her face. Reyn tensed underneath Clarisse's grip, and Clarisse barely resisted the urge to walk in front of her and tell Circe to get the fuck out.
"Circe," Chiron replied with a tight smile. He gently brushed past the two and made his way to Circe's side. "What can I do for you?"
"Oh, I just wanted to plan our next event at the galla," Circe returned with an alluring smile. She tucked her arm under Chiron's and turned to face him. As she did, she seemed to make eye contact with Reyna. It caused the werewolf to tense even more, and she looked ready to vomit.
"We should get going," Clarisse said as she wrapped an arm around Reyna. What she really wanted to do was wrap both of her hands around Circe's throat and strangle her. Instead, she just led Reyna out of the room.
"It's going to be okay," Clarisse promised as she led Reyna down the hall.
"Easy for you to say," Reyna muttered.
"Look, Circe can threaten you all she wants. It's not going to change the fact that she won't be able to follow through on all of the threats. She isn't that powerful. There is no one to protect her. No Exterminata. We could go to the Hunters."
"No," Reyna declined. "This is embarrassing enough."
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Clarisse reprimanded. Reyna shook her head but otherwise remained silent.
"Thank you," Reyna said softly as they made it to Clarisse's car. Tears came to her eyes. "I'm so tired, Clarisse. I don't know what to do."
"You don't have to know," Clarisse said as she pulled Reyna into a hug. The werewolf hugged her tightly. Then, she buried her face into Clarisse's shirt. There was no doubt that tears were trickling from her eyes. "Because you have friends. We're not going to let that bitch hurt you and get away with it."
Reyna nodded. She didn't pull away. Reyna spoke, "How is Hylla going to react?"
"She's going to be concerned," Clarisse stated. "But, it's okay. Just breathe."
"I wish I just shot her," Reyna muttered. She pulled away and wiped the fresh tear that leaked out of her eyes. "I should have."
"Don't dwell on that now. Just try to get some sleep," Clarisse said as she led Reyna to her car. As they sat inside, Clarisse focused on the bar. She really hoped that Circe would try something stupid. If she did, the Succubus would pay.
