chapter 9: .......

La and Zara go back to their room, still dealing with their conflicting emotions. La is still feeling flustered after the Queen's touch, while Zara is feeling jealous that the Queen wants La for herself. The two girls settle in for the night, trying to sort out their feelings and their upcoming school ordeal.

La tries to break the silence, being the first to speak. "Ummm, I guess we'll be sleeping together, yay," she says sarcastically. Zara looks at her with that infamous look that she makes when someone pisses her off. It's almost like she's glaring straight through La's soul.

Zara asks, "Why did you make that face when the Queen used healing magic on you?"

La responds with humor in her voice, "Maybe it's a side effect to her spell. Besides, weren't you the one who wanted to cut off your tongue just to return home? What stopped you?"

La's irritated stare makes Zara back off a bit, and she's starting to regret her snarky comment.

Zara and La both realize they have to sleep somewhere, but there is only one bed. They are both thinking the same thing: "Can this get any worse?"

La breaks the silence, proposing a solution in which she gets the bed and Zara can sleep somewhere else. Zara is taken aback by La's response, thinking it was rather rude and surprising. She's offended by it, saying, "What? Why? Can't we just share the bed? It's not that big of a hassle, is it?"

La replies with an abrupt statement, "Yes! isn't it obvious," she says angrily.

La and Zara find themselves caught in a tense moment when their bantering gets out of hand. La's harsh tone seems to have taken control and Zara begins to feel sorry for being so judgmental. Despite this, though, she manages to turn the situation around and proposes that La take the bed while she sleeps on the couch. This act of selflessness shows a new side to Zara's character and reveals her kindness and generosity.

In a surprising turn of events, La leans in to kiss Zara as an apology. Zara responds positively by kissing her back. They both begin to take off each other's clothes piece by piece, but La stops Zara mid-way. She explains, "Baby, we shouldn't do this; it will be my first time, I'm not sure I want my first time with you." She also mentions an important detail from her previous conversation with the queen; she is considered an Omega, which means she can only mate with one alpha.

Zara tries to respect La's wishes and is about to leave the bedroom but La stops her. She implores her to stay, saying, "Sleep with me; I might get lonely. I don't mean to offend you, really I don't..."

Zara cuts off her protests with a kiss, saying, "I understand; don't worry."

They both settle down and sleep peacefully together after that.