The walk back to the house was silent. Hunter ran ahead, beginning the preparations to move back. I couldn't bring myself to talk anymore, and I think Connor realised that.

My brother renounced his title. What could have possibly happened that he would give up his title? Greyson is a lot of things, but a quitter isn't one of them. Just thinking about it is upsetting.

We reach the house, Connor following me to our room. It's still daylight out, but I can't be around other people. I have half a mind to kick Connor out.

"Come here." His arms wrap around me, cradling my head against his chest. "We'll get through this." Then again, he really does know how to make me feel better. Maybe I should keep him around, just in case.

I close my eyes and wrap my arms around his torso. Neither of us speaks and eventually we lie down on our bed. The bed we've shared for three years. The bed we won't sleep in ever again. I knew this would come, but I thought we'd be making the decision to leave. Instead, I'm being forced to leave, not that I blame my family. I feel terrible for not being there when all of this started.

Tears start to slip out of my eyes. Why did I have to be this mythical tiger? Why did I have to almost die? I should've been home, helping everywhere I could.

You don't mean that Sophie... Solis whispers in my head.

No, I don't regret accepting her, I just wish things had been different, that I could've been able to help my family, and pack. I haven't been there for the past three years. Things change in three years, and I haven't had any contact with werewolves since I left, besides my mate and guards. I know absolutely nothing. How will my pack accept me as their Alpha? I don't have a wolf, Alphas are wolves, not a tigress.

"Stop that." Connor whispers softly. I look up at him and he wipes away a tear. "I know what you're thinking, and I want you to stop. Your pack needs you right now. They need stability, someone willing to get the job done, even if it's hard." His soft lips kiss my cheek. "Besides, you have me, Lily, Trish, and Hunter to help you. There's no way we'll let you do anything by yourself." His large hand runs up and down my side, those euphoric tingles sending waves of calm through my body. Every part of me knows that I can't live without him. I would be a helpless mess, I'd break down and lose all control over myself.

My eyes slowly close and I press myself into him. Forcing every part of me to mould to him. "I'm scared." Yes, for the first time ever, I admit that I am scared. It isn't because I'm returning, nor is it because my family is in trouble. No, I'm scared because, for the first time in my life, I have to be responsible for someone other than myself, and not just one someone, an entire pack full of someones.

Connor shushes me and places a long kiss in my hair. "If there's anyone that can do this, it's you. Just take everything one step at a time." I nod my head and he slowly massages my scalp with one hand, and runs his other along my side in a hypnotic rhythm.

Everything is going so fast, and something feels so wrong. I can't place my finger on what it is, but I can sense it.

Connor and I lay in silence, neither of us disrupting the delicate beauty of it. Time passes, minutes, seconds, hours, I have no idea. All I can hear is our hearts beating and our breathing.

My head is silent. Not even it is willing to disturb the perfection I'm living in right now.

I feel warmth and comfort, despite the situation I'm in. I should be worried and frantic, but that's not possible with Connor around. He'll never let me worry, ever.

I let out a content sigh, snuggling further into my amazing mate and boyfriend. "Sophie." His deep voice rumbles through his chest, causing me to feel those little butterflies flip straight from my stomach down to my toes and back up again.

"I know. We can't stay like this forever." I pout to myself, but seconds later he chuckles.

"I was going to say that I love you, silly tiger." I look up at him and give him a mock glare, then nip at his nose.

"Well I love you too, wolfy." He simply laughs before pressing his lips to my own.

"You need to eat something. We've been up here for hours." He says, pressing his forehead against mine.

I groan and pout. "But I don't want to get up. If I get up, then I have to do stuff."

"Is that any way for someone meant to run Alphas to speak?" I glare at him and he laughs loudly. "Alright, alright, I'll have Hunter send someone up with some food for us." I smile and nod, burying my face back into his chest.

When the door opens, I immediately smell Hunter. He's probably looking for answers, and I groan, knowing he really does need to know. "Am I disrupting anything?" Hunter's voice pushes into the room, confirming that he's really the one at the door.

I roll onto my back and sigh, then sit up to look at him. "No." I give him a soft smile. "Come in." He glances to Connor, but Connor just leans against the head board, one hand behind his head and the other gently resting on my side.

He places the tray on the dresser, then turns to look at me. I gesture for him to sit down and he sits on the ottoman in front of the closet Connor and I share. "I wanted to talk about our trip back." I nod, expecting it. "Is our trip going to be short, or will we be staying a while?"

Connor sits up, kissing my cheek, then stands. "Let's just say that we can expect to be there for the long run." I sigh and close my eyes. "I have been called, no, demanded by the Senate to become Alpha of Midnight Moon."

The shock on Hunter's face is clear. Just like me, he thought no one knew I was alive, besides close family. "How did they find us?" He looks to Connor, who's putting food onto a small plate.

"My dad told them that I am still alive. Apparently it's that desperate of a situation that he would risk taking me out of hiding." Connor brings me the plate, handing it off to me. I take it and he climbs in beside me, snatching a grape.

"What could have happened to cause your dad to allow them to force you to come back?" Hunter shakes his head and stands. "I don't like it."

"Neither do I." He balks and I give him a stern look. "Sit down." He does and I look to Connor, asking for any kind of help, or input.

"None of us like this, but it has to be done." Connor says, allowing me to feel some relief. He understands. "Sophie needs all the help she can get, because I feel that when we get back, we're going to have a hell of a situation on our hands." Hunter dips his head.

"Anything the two of you need, we are at your disposal." I have so much respect for this man. I've offered him payment thousands of times, but he won't take it, along with every other guard. They protect me, expecting nothing in return.

For generations, the tigress has been hidden away, never to take part in politics. There was always too much fear of how they would be taken. An omega, claiming to hold such a power, to be able to control Alphas, it's unheard of.

I am the first ever tigress to not only have alpha blood running in my veins, but to also be mated to a full blooded alpha. If I were to claim, to the public, that I am the tigress, there would be an uproar. So many people asking questions, so many people looking for any way to take me down.

Hunter has somehow learned all of this, I believe from his dead grandmother. He knows the dangers that I will possibly encounter, and he has pledged to serve me until the day he is no longer capable of doing so, which he has said will be his death.

Whatever is going on with my pack, I'm going to do my best to resolve it and, if possible, convince my brother to take back his title. I have no desire to be Alpha, but I will for the sake of my pack.

Connor takes my hand, then speaks to Hunter. "We will be leaving tomorrow morning. There's no need to hide in the shadows anymore. I'll call my parents, tell them I'm requesting a private jet. They'll send it to wherever I ask them to. Do you have a pilot?"

Hunter nods. "I believe I do, but why not use the pilot that brings the jet?"

Connor shakes his head. "My dad isn't very fond of Sophie. Once he finds out that I've been hiding out with her for the past three years, he'll be even more cold towards the idea of her. He's not below killing, even when it comes to his son's own mate. I'd much prefer someone I can trust. Someone that you trust with Sophie's life." Hunter's eyes fill with pride and a wide smile forms on his face.

"Yes sir." He bows his head. "You will not be disappointed." With that, he rushes out of our room. I can hear him calling out orders.

I turn to Connor, a land line in his hand. "Do you really think your dad would send someone with the intent to kill me?"

He starts to dial numbers. "I wouldn't put it past him. I'd rather not tempt fate, love." I nod and hear the phone dial.

He puts it on speaker phone so I can hear. "Alpha Thompson." His dad's voice comes over the phone, sounding bored and dejected.

"Dad." Connor only says the one word, but it holds so much. I know he used to love his dad, but something happened between them. I'm not sure what, and he won't tell me. It hurts, knowing my mate is hiding something from me, but it also hurts seeing him in so much pain when I bring it up. I'd much rather him be happy, forgetting about his pain, even if I don't know why he's hurting.

"Connor?" The shock in his dad's tone turns to excitement. "Are you calling to come home son? Have you finally gotten over the Desperte bitch?" Ouch, that hurt.

Connor's throat rips into a growl. "Don't speak about her like that." I place my hand on his arm, and he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before speaking again. "I've called to ask for a favor."

"Uh, whatever you need son." His dad sounds so apologetic, but it's obvious that his dad still doesn't like me, even though he thinks I'm dead.

"I need a jet. A private jet." Connor's eyes are still closed, and his hand is wrapped around my waist. I can feel his wolf on edge. It seems like there's something worse going through his head than his dad only calling me a bitch.

His dad immediately calls for someone. "Where am I sending it to? When does it need to be there? How many people are going to be on this flight?" He starts listing off questions and Connor grips me tighter. It's almost like his dad's voice is enough to piss him off.

He takes a deep sniff of my neck, trying to calm himself with my scent. "Send it to Portland, Oregon." I'm going to miss this place.

"Oregon? What on earth are you doing in Portland, Oregon?" His dad sounds almost angry, thinking his son shouldn't be anywhere near here.

"To protect my mate. Speaking of which, there will be, how many people are in the guard honey?" He asks me, his eyes opening for the first time.

I know the honey was a jab at his dad, but I let him get away with it. "Roughly forty men, but Hunter will probably send some ahead, to set up extra protection for my arrival. Let's go with fifteen for now."

He nods, kissing my forehead. "Alright fifteen, plus the six that live in the house, so we'll say twenty odd people. We'll need it tomorrow morning, roughly nine in the morning. Send it to the Rose Garden Heliport."

His dad stutters over the line. "S-Sophie? But, we all thought you were dead? Your parents, they held a funeral? Connor, you left because she died?"

I stay quiet, trying not to disturb this. "I left to go into hiding with her. Her death was a fake, to keep her safe. Her parents held the funeral to protect her."

He's right. The first week we had left, Connor went back. He attended my funeral. He made a scene of tearing apart his room and telling his family he needed to go, to get away from everything that reminded him of me. After that, he came to stay with me, to be with me. I don't know why he did it, or what happened there, considering he never spoke of it, but it was all a part of the plan. He was the nail in my coffin, figuratively. For an alpha to lose his mate, it can drive them to the brink of insanity. If he didn't, then people would've wondered. He had to make them think he had lost it, so that's exactly what he did.

"I-I don't believe it." His dad sounds so shell shocked.

"Is that too much for you to handle dad?" I give Connor a glare meant to keep him from disrespecting his dad.

"The plans have been made." His dad clears his throat, and if I were there to see him, he probably straightened himself up and shook his head.

Connor hangs up after I force him to thank his dad. His arms leave me and he places both hands on the dresser. He's growling, and I know this isn't normal for him. He's always so calm and comforting. To be honest, he's very unlike all of the other Alphas that I've ever met. They're all very quick to anger, but Connor, he's something different entirely. Connor has a calm presence, one that I feed off of.

I wrap my arms around his waist, his back to my front. "I love you." My arms tighten around him, telling him that I mean it.

In an instant, he's holding me to his chest, his chest rising and falling in a quick pace. He's really angry. "I love you too." He retreats from me, slowly letting me go. "I'll be back. I need to go for a run."

"I'll go with you." He shakes his head.

"I won't be long. I just need to be alone." Connor kisses my cheek, then rushes out of the house. I can hear the front door close quickly as he leaves.

Seeing him like this, it breaks my heart. What has him so angry that he doesn't want the comfort of his mate?

A/N

So little old Connor is hiding some stuff. What do you guys think it is? This is so exciting :) I have so much planned, and it's just starting to get good. ;)