Saturday night, I was dressed and ready to go to Clara's party while Mark was still upstairs. I paced the living room, glad Mom wasn't there to question me about my nerves.

She'd left an hour ago to meet Bea and Hedera for dinner and shopping. None of them needed anything; it was to help Hedera get used to being in crowds. She wasn't ready to join us for the party, that kind of atmosphere would be too overwhelming.

Although big parties weren't my favorite thing, my tension was for a completely different reason. The disconnect I felt with Clara was starting to bother me.

We'd always told each other everything. Well, except for some of the faerie stuff. But I told her what I could, and the stuff we were keeping from her was for her own safety. I didn't want to pull her into this mess.

I was anxious enough about going back through the mist. Of course, I couldn't tell Ash that. I'm sure he knew, but if I said it out loud, they'd try to talk us out of going again. That wasn't happening. Mark and I agreed, we were all going together in a few days. Whatever happened, we'd be there for each other, the four of us.

A quiet knock halted my pacing. Taking a deep breath, I glanced at myself in the mirror one last time before opening the door.

Ash's eyes widened when he saw me. "You look beautiful, love."

"Thank you!" I ran my hands down my short dress as though I could lengthen it. I wasn't totally comfortable in so little material, but I wanted to dress up, and I thought it looked pretty good. Judging by the way Ash was gaping at me, I was right.

He looked good too. Dark jeans and a black button-down that was open at the collar. The butterflies in my stomach went wild as he pulled me in for a kiss, and the familiar scent of him surrounded me. A throat cleared behind Ash, and I realized Tate was there waiting for Mark.

With a giggle, I turned to yell, "Mark! They're here! You're hot enough. Let's go!"

"I'm sure she's right," Tate yelled and gave me a wink.

Mark came rushing down the stairs wearing a deep-red polo that looked great with his dark hair. He stopped in front of Tate, and they stared at each other like it had been weeks rather than hours since they'd been together.

Ash leaned down to my ear while they were distracted. "Is everything alright? I could feel how worried you were when we arrived."

"I'm fine. Everything's awesome." I could tell he wasn't buying it and tried to be more excited, "We're going to a party! Plus, we all look amazing!" I smiled and pulled out my phone, announcing, "I need a picture. It's not often we're all out of t-shirts at the same time."

Tate grinned and leaned over to peck Mark's neck before straightening and running his hand down his navy henley. "We are exceptionally attractive tonight."

"I think it's your modesty I love the most." Mark chuckled and rolled his eyes.

Tate put his arm around him, "Oh, I know what you love the most," he winked, making Mark blush and snicker.

After taking several pictures, we piled in the car and drove to Clara's. Her long driveway was already overflowing with cars. The street and her lawn were covered. We parked on the road past her house and walked up the sidewalk and through her gate.

The bass thumping from the house grew stronger as we got closer, and the music poured from the open front door. Clara was standing there greeting her guests, and as we got closer, I realized she was leaning back against a guy. All I could see was his arm around her waist; the doorway hid the rest of him.

Just before we got close enough for me to finally see this guy, Ash's grip on my hand tightened. I looked up and he seemed angry. Maybe the crowd was too much for him.

I glanced back at Mark and Tate in time to see both of their faces change. Tate took an aggressive step forward, but Mark stopped him with the back of his hand on his chest.

I turned to see what I was missing. Clara had a sparkling, blissful smile; until she saw us, and it lost some of its happiness. She looked away to beam at her new boyfriend. I froze in place, making Mark bump into me.

This wasn't possible. I had to be seeing things. My stomach turned at the sight of the familiar white-blonde hair as eyes of the lightest blue looked over my head to Tate.

"Lochlan," Tate growled.

Without turning around, I reached back for Mark. He set a reassuring hand on my shoulder, but I knew he had to be freaking out too. What the hell was this jerk doing here?

When I thought of everything he did, of what could have happened, my hands started to shake. My pulse raced, and my chest heaved like it was trying to escape the stupid dress. Ash gave my hand another squeeze before dropping it and angling himself in front of me.

A group of people bumped past us into the house, yelling their greetings to Clara as they waved at their friends inside. Watching them reminded me of where we were. This wasn't the time to start a fight.

Lochlan chose that second to acknowledge my existence and grin at me. Before I could stop myself, I was diving toward him with my fingers curled into claws, ready to remove his eyes. He didn't flinch as Ash grabbed me around the waist and stood me back on the ground.

Clara didn't move, except to put her hands up to block me. She was trying to protect him from me. Betrayal pinched my heart, but then I realized she didn't know. She had no idea who he was or what he did.

"Clara, he's not safe. Come here," I reached for her, and she smacked my hand away.

"Are you joking? You think I could spend this much time with someone and not know who they are?" She crossed her arms and huffed angrily.

"People are watching," Ash said quietly as he retook my hand, probably to keep me from attacking.

Looking back at her party, Clara sighed and gestured toward the yard, "Let's talk over there."

We backed up without taking our eyes off Lochlan. He seemed to think it was funny, smiling down at Clara as they followed us across the yard, "It's alright, Ladybug. I told you they'd react this way."

We stopped, and she shook her head, looking up at him, "I know. I thought they'd at least listen though."

"Ladybug?" I was definitely going to puke. "Clara, I don't know what you think you know about him, but-"

"I know he's fae. I know you guys weren't guests of the Queen. You were prisoners. All because Ash didn't want to do his job."

My mouth fell open in shock. That was so twisted; I didn't even know how to respond. Lochlan's distorted truth and the way he was rubbing her arm like he was trying to comfort her was making me see red.

"He blamed Ash! Are you freaking kidding me? Clara, you don't know shit. You should have told us about him. He's been feeding you lies!" Mark and Tate had switched roles. Now, Tate was holding Mark back from getting in Lochlan's face.

Clara's lips pulled to the side, "You know they don't tell lies. You know how I know that? Because he told me everything. Not you guys, him. He explained it all because he wants me to know the real him. He trusts me with the truth."

"Yeah, right. Did he tell you he spit on me while we were all caged? Did he tell you he volunteered me to fight a freaking giant?"

She frowned at Mark, "He did tell me. And I hated to hear it. You must have been so scared. But you're fine now, and he regrets it. Don't you, baby?" She turned back to pet his cheek, and he nodded.

"I wish I hadn't chosen Mark." His face was so full of regret; if I didn't know better, if I hadn't been there to witness the hatred, I might have believed him.

"See? He feels bad about it," Clara wrapped herself around his arm and kissed his shoulder.

"That's not what he said," Ash spoke quietly.

"Of course not. He doesn't feel bad. He regrets that his plan backfired." Tate moved toward Lochlan, and Clara stepped in front of him.

"He does feel bad. You don't know anything," she poked Tate on the chest and leaned in angrily. "Just because you're supposed to be some kind of magical fighter doesn't mean you can be a bully!"

Mark stepped between Clara and Tate. "Lochlan's the bully! You have no idea how hateful he is, Clara. You know Tate and Ash, you like them. I almost died because of him!" He pointed at Lochlan, who continued to look down sadly.

I couldn't seem to get any words past the lump in my throat. My eyes burned as Ash wrapped his arms around me and took a step back, pulling us away from the group. "There are too many people here," he whispered.

"Almost, Mark, but you didn't. You're being a little dramatic. Lochlan loves me, and I love him. If you guys can't give him a chance, for me, then you need to leave." Clara held her head high.

"Let's go," Ash tugged me backward. "No one's going to concede tonight."

I watched as Lochlan took Clara's hand and led her away from us back to the party. She stomped and didn't look back, but he did. He smirked before leaning down to kiss her cheek.

Mark scoffed, "She said I was being dramatic."

"Faeries are real. Does that mean pod people are real? Because that wasn't Clara." I looked up at Ash, hoping he'd agree, that he'd say that wasn't her.

"I'm sorry, love. She was angry, but that was Clara. I couldn't feel his emotions, but she loves him."

"I feel sick," Mark mumbled.

Tate put his arm around him, "Come on, my favorite. Let's go home."

Thank you for reading!!

Who guessed it was Lochlan?