"Kai, before you and Roni head that way, I wanted to ask you something. I've been curious about this since it happened, why was your lip busted if Jake didn't do it?"

"Um..." I start, taking a deep breath before continuing, "The same reason why I hadn't eaten since last night, Trenton." I say before I can think, turning around and quickly walking away with Roni on my heels since we share our next class.

Roni doesn't question what I said and I'm eternally grateful for it.

As we walk through the halls, I feel safe enough with Roni to not worry about hiding from Jake and we just make our way through the normal hallways. We begin a conversation about our homework for this class as we walk. I am definitely more relaxed around Roni because she doesn't make me feel the same intense emotions that Trenton does.

The conversation Roni and I were having gets rudely interrupted by someone roughly shoving me against a wall. I glance up in time to see Jake flying across the hall from Roni throwing him off of me.

Roni grabs my hand and takes me into the closest empty classroom with an exasperated expression on her face before Jake can recover from that blow and try to come at me again. She locks the door behind her and turns around to face me, now wearing an unreadable expression.

"Roni, what's up? Thanks for that by the way." I give her a small smile before my expression turns concerned at the vexed one Roni wears.

"Yeah, yeah no problem. Jake is an ass!" Roni exclaims, but she looks as if she's thinking of something else.

"Roni, are you okay?" I hesitantly ask her. Seeing her this way is new to me. She's always calm and laid back, so seeing her this angry? frustrated? overwhelmed? is different.

"Am I okay? Are you okay? You were just shoved against a wall by your personal school bully, you definitely shouldn't be asking me that question."

"I'm fine, Roni. Now, are you okay?" I ask again, slowly making my way toward her and resting a hand on her shoulder.

She looks at me for a minute with an unreadable expression, then her eyes soften and she gives me a small smile.

"The Moon Goddess knew what she was doing. You will be a great Luna, Kai." She says, completely shocking me where I stand.

"Huh...?" I squeak, stepping back a bit and giving her a shocked, and flustered, expression.

"Whatever, I don't care. Just tell me what's up with you, Roni!" I change the subject, not wanting her to elaborate further on her claim.

"Um... okay, okay fine! Can I tell you something that no one knows yet? Promise not to freak out." Roni pleads, the desperation clear in her voice and obvious on her face.

"Yes, Roni. Who am I going to tell, anyway?" I reassure her. She dismisses my comment and continues with her confession.

"My mate is Derek." Roni tells me with uncertainty in her tone.

"Who's Derek?" I ask.

"What do you mean 'Who's Derek?' He's one of your bullies! The one with dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes?" She replies.

"OH! You mean Goon 1?" I say as more of a statement than a question.

"Goon 1?" She asks, confusion written on her features.

The realization of what this means comes crashing down on me causing me to completely ignore Roni's question and intake a sharp breath in utter horror.

"Oh shit... Goon 1 is your mate. Oh shit!" I say, as if she wasn't aware of this information herself. I stare at her with my eyes wide open and my jaw dropped to the floor.

"Okay, I'm not even going to question why you're calling Derek 'Goon 1'. Yes, he's my mate, Kai." She says rolling her eyes at my reaction.

"His name is Derek? Oh, Roni, why?! Of all people you get stuck with that jerk!" I exclaim, trying to stress the extent of the horror in this situation.

"I know, Kai! I know." Roni screams, effectively bringing me out of my anxieties and actually paying attention to how this makes Roni feel, not me.

"Roni... what are you going to do?" I ask her gently, letting her know I'm here to listen.

"I... I don't know. He's a human but I know that he knows of werewolves and mates, I just don't know what to do with that information. He doesn't seem like a very good person, unless Jake is convincing him that there's good reason to bully you. I just- do I tell him? What if he's really not a good person... do I reject him? Goddess, Kai, I don't want to reject him. I feel as though I already love him regardless of what he's done. I don't know what to do!" Roni rambles, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Hey, hey! We'll figure it out, okay? I'm here with you and I'll help you with this. I may not like Darren—."

"Derek." Roni cuts me off.

"Derek... but I can see how much he means to you and if the Moon Goddess is anything like what my sister explained, then she must have known what she was doing when she paired you with him, right?" I give her a reassuring smile.

"Your sister?" Roni asks and that's when I realize my mistake.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just, I'll help you Roni, okay?"

"Thank you Kai. You're really amazing and I'm so happy the Moon Goddess chose you for Renny. He deserves someone just as amazing as you are." Roni declares, throwing her arms around me in a tight embrace. I tense up at the physical contact, but eventually relax into her embrace. I don't get hugged like this often... I think to myself as I wrap my arms around her torso. The hug is awkward considering our height difference, but nice nonetheless.

Pulling away from her, I give her a smile.

"Now, let's get to class. I'm sure Jake has left the halls by now, right?" I say, diverting the heavy atmosphere to a calmer one by changing topics.

"Right, don't want to be late. And, thanks again Kai." Roni smiles at me gratefully.

"Of course." I smile back and we make our way to class with, hopefully, a little less weight on Roni's shoulders.