After hours of being pulled in and out of my own head, I finally plop down on the couch in the living room.

Lily, Trish, Desmond and Hunter were all sitting around, chatting, when Connor and I finally finished with Edna, and now we're all just talking.

"I never thought that there were small packs like you guys." Desmond says thoughtfully.

Connor shrugs and he puts his arm around me. "We never really meant to separate ourselves. It was really a means of protection. Not just for Sophie, but for the girls too."

Lily smiles at Desmond. "I wasn't always a cheetah. I used to be a russet colored wolf."

Trish nods. "I was almost golden."

"I like my cheetah more though." Lily says, frowning slightly. "My wolf was so small, and weak."

Trish scoffs. "Yours? The best thing I could do was track. Now I'm a predator, ready to pounce." She shows sharp teeth, courtesy of her panther. "I'm deadly." A proud smirk crosses her face and she leans back, arms intertwined over her chest.

There's a moment of silence. "Will I turn into some big cat? Or am I going to stay a wolf?" 

Connor and I glance at each other before I turn to look at Desmond. "I honestly have no clue. Connor's still the same, but I have a feeling that's because I'm different." Desmond nods, then looks down at Lily. She's cuddling into him, fitting comfortably in his side.

"I'm only curious. I'm honestly still a little stunned with how open you all are. I mean, I was a rogue only a few days ago, and you all just accepted me." Desmond looks around at all of us. "I'm extremely grateful for that."

Connor stands, walking behind the couch to place his hands on Desmond's shoulders. "As long as you don't hurt our Lily, you're safe." Desmond tenses and I give Connor a look. He chuckles and pats Desmond softly. "You'll be just fine." Connor lifts me off of the couch, causing a shriek of surprise from me. "Now, I've got a tired mate to get to bed." The room laughs and tells us goodnight.

Only now do I realize that I have no idea where we're sleeping. "Connor, where are you taking me?"

"To bed, I thought that was pretty obvious from what I said downstairs." He chuckles kissing my cheek. "Silly tiger."

I mock glare at him and wipe my cheek. "I meant, what room are you taking me to?"

He doesn't say anything and we continue to walk. A short bit of walking on his part, and lots of snuggling on mine, he stops to open a door. Connor doesn't even jostle me as he carefully opens it. "I thought you'd like to sleep in your old room." He says, setting me down on my feet. "I had Hunter send our clothes to your room, so you'd feel comfortable."

I nod, kissing his cheek tenderly. "The big bad wolf is a big teddy bear."

Connor pulls me to him gently, nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck. "Things here don't feel right Sophie. I know that there's all of this magic, but I can just feel that there's something else, something that I should be weary of. Promise me that everywhere you go, I'll be right there with you." I nod my head and he smiles at me, making me feel relaxed.

"I think we should get some sleep. Tomorrow I need to figure out what I'm going to say to the Senate, and hopefully not make a fool out of myself." I say, chuckling slightly, knowing I'll probably do just that.

Connor and I dress for bed. I'm dressed in one of his shirts, and a pair of my shorts. I turn off the lights then join him, snuggling into his warm chest.

Sleep isn't hard to come by and soon I'm surrounded by darkness.

A quiet, repetitive pattering sound permeates through my consciousness, and Connor's warmth is nonexistent. My eyes open and I quickly stand to my feet. My clothes are soaked, and the faint scent of blood trickles through the scent of the damp woods. The moon struggles to glow through the heavy cloud cover.

I can just barely hear breathing, and I rush towards it. What greats me is a boy, no older than sixteen, bleeding out, on the forest floor.

I rush to help him, but my attempt is cut short. The scent of my own blood mixes in with everything else and I fall to the forest floor. A hand reaches out, pressing down on my throat. I thrash out, trying to knock the hand away, only to fail.

"You're such a beautiful young woman. It's almost a shame just to ruin that face." The pressure increases and I see black dots form around my vision as my face is pressed harder into the ground.

"Sophelia." The voice calls out for me in a mocking tone. "Whatever made you think that you even had a chance, Sophelia? Wake up."

"Wake up!" I feel someone shaking my shoulders and my eyes fly open. My hands immediately shoot out to fend off my attacker. "Sophie, calm down, it's me!" My vision clears and I see Connor above me. His eyes are worried and he's got my hands pinned on either side of my face.

"It was just a dream." I sigh out in relief, closing my eyes and dropping my head on my pillow.

"What just happened?" He asks, slowly letting me go. Connor's fingers brush the hair off of my face, and he holds himself above me, careful not to crush me.

I open my eyes and try to level my breathing. "I was having a nightmare. It's alright, I'm alright. I promise." He nods, staying above me.

"What was it about?" His eyes move over my face, assessing my reaction.

I can't hide it from him, but I know that the only thing it will accomplish is upsetting him. My hands lift from the bed and cup his cheeks. I gently pull his face down to mine, closing my eyes just as our lips meet. His slightly chapped lips move against mine, calming my still racing heart. It's a soft and tender kiss, and when we finally pull back for air, he places his forehead against mine, his eyes still closed. I take a moment to admire him. His long eyelashes rest on his cheeks, his lips slightly parted as he breathes.

"Please tell me, I have to know." His voice is so soft, almost childlike in its vulnerability. I couldn't possibly keep this from him, but I don't want him to worry.

After a minute of thought, I sigh in defeat. I need to talk to someone about it, and if it's going to be anyone, it should be him. "I was in the woods. My clothes were drenched from rain, and it was pitch black out. I smelt blood and faint breathing, so I went for it. Except I was attacked just as I moved to help. My face was pressed into the ground, so I couldn't see my attacker. That was when I woke up. I thought you were him for a moment until I realized I was awake."

Connor grumbles quietly, lifting me off of the bed and flipping us over so I'm on his chest. "Did you know his voice?" I shake my head. The voice had sounded generic, almost as if that voice didn't belong to that body. It was almost as if they were two separate things. He groans pulling me tighter to his chest. "I just want to hide you from the world. Somewhere no one can get to you. Somewhere I don't have to worry about your safety." I nod my head, biting my lip. We weren't as ready as we'd thought we were to come back. We'd needed more time, but we weren't allowed more time.

Just as I begin to feel upset, my eyes widen and I sit up. "Connor, do you realize what this means?" He watches me, a confused expression on his face. "I saw that on my own, no coaxing from Edna. Plus, I'd only seen the past with her. This hasn't happened, and we can put up preventative measures to keep it from happening that way." Connor's eyes widen. He kisses my cheeks, gently laying me down on the bed.

"Baby, you're amazing. I'll be right back. I'm only going to instruct Hunter to put a two man detail on you at all times." He leans down, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips. "We'll be ready for anything and everything." Connor rushes out of the room, closing the door as quietly as he can behind him, which means it slams shut with a loud bang.

I laugh at him, because I don't think he's awake enough to realize he can just mindlink Hunter, but oh well. I guess exercise isn't that bad.

It's only six in the morning, but I have a feeling I won't be going back to sleep, not after that, so I get up and step into the shower.

The water won't get hot enough, so I end up turning the water as hot as it can go, and steam fills the bathroom. The door opens to the bedroom and I hear Connor digging around for clothes. A minute later he steps into the bathroom.

"Sophie, are you trying to create a sauna?" He asks, laughing. The glass door slides open partially and he goes to step in. "Are you cold?" Connor gets in, but his skin turns red almost immediately.

"The water wouldn't get hot enough, so I just turned on the hot water to max." I say, rinsing my hair. I swear, it's still not hot enough. "How many others are awake? Is everyone taking a shower?"

Connor raises a brow, then shakes his head, getting soap. "No, this is actually very hot."

"No, it's not." Connor steps out, then steps back in, a thermometer on his hand.

He holds it under the water, and it beeps not too much later. "120°F, I'd say that's pretty hot Sophie."

I snatch it from him, shocked. "No way, this thing doesn't work. How could it possibly be 120? Why aren't we both burning?"

He laughs. "Well I don't know about you, but I'm barely handling this." I stare at him, then back at the thermometer.

"This is nuts." I turn off the water, stepping out of the shower.

Connor takes a towel rubbing his hair. I look at his shoulders, and they're beat red. It's not the only place that's red though. He turns, and his entire back is the same color. My eyes turn to the mirror, inspecting myself. My skin is still it's normal tone, and I'm so confused.

"How?..." I breathe out, turning to look at my back. There's no red there either.

Connor purses his lips, a crease forming between his brows. "Well..." He wraps the towel around his waist, thinking. "You were created by the sun goddess. Maybe that's got something to do with this."

I wrap a towel around myself, unsure. "I've never taken that hot of a shower before. So this is something completely new."

Connor nods and looks up at me. "Well, whatever is going on, we should ask Edna. She knows the most about the tigress."

I nod my head in agreement and we both get dressed and ready for the day, after Connor takes a shower he can handle. That leaves me with some time alone to think. What's going on with me? Why am I changing so much now?

*******

A/N

Hi everyone, sorry for the late post. I just got over the flu. Yay.

Anyways, this chapter is a bit longer to make up for the lack of update.

What do you guys think about Sophie? She's changing a lot. And that nightmare though. Who was the boy? ;P

I hope you enjoy this chapter, cause I am enjoying writing this book.

Thanks for reading ^-^,

RD