I can feel how nervous he is, and he's just as nervous as me. What is waiting for us behind this door? Is it the same man we left three years ago, or has he lost his mind with trying to fix things?

Hesitantly, I lift my hand and knock on the door. There's movement on the other side of it and I hear him gasp before it flies open. I'm pulled into a ferocious hug. "My little Sophie is back!" He sounds so happy, and I wish I could be too, but everything here seems so wrong.

"Dad, it's nice to see you again, and after all this time." I give him a gentle squeeze. "What happened here?" It's almost like everything is covered in a gray cloud.

He pulls away, groaning and shaking his head. "Something that never should've happened. I let myself believe he was ready, that he could handle everything, but I didn't prepare him for this. I never could have."

"Dad, what's happened?" I watch as he walks to his desk.

"What happened is a warlock happened. One that spun everything here out of proportion." He shakes his head, his eyes meeting mine. "I hate to bring you back here on such conditions, but there's nothing else I could do. I have a witch casting spells on the house, keeping the curse off of me, but everyone else, they aren't themselves anymore." He closes his eyes, his hands clenched into fists.

I look to Connor, finally seeing something besides discomfort in him. "Warlock, you mean, like the one that almost killed Sophie?" He moves closer, looking all around for any sign of the man.

"The very same kind." My dad sits down, running his hands through his hair.

"If the curse is outside the house, why aren't we affected?" Connor asks, looking at my tired father.

"There may be no more threat, but I wasn't going to risk it."

"But you'd risk bringing us here?" Connor's voice rises. "You'd put your own daughter at risk. She could have become what you fear, your last hope turned against you." I place a hand on his chest, stepping in front of him.

"Hey, I'm fine. Yes, it was a risk, but it was necessary." He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When his eyes open again, he leans down to kiss me.

"As long as you're safe, that's all that matters." He pulls me into his chest and I listen to his heart beat.

Seconds later, I turn to my dad. "What can I do to help?"

Dad stands, holding out a folder. "I've set a meeting with the Senate, two days from now. I'm asking for their support, but they need a rightful Alpha to come before them. I gave my title to Greyson. Technically, he's still Alpha, but because he's up and disappeared, he's out of the question. Meaning I need a legitimate Alpha, that's you honey." I take the manila folder, flipping it open.

Inside is a typical request for the Senate's help. The Senate is a group of supernatural beings, all created by the moon goddess. Vampires, wolves, witches and warlocks, elves, everything born of the moon and darkness. "What makes you think they'll help me? I'm not a wolf, nor am I anything else that sits on this council."

"That doesn't matter. Besides, they don't know that. You are a full blooded alpha, and you're even mated to an alpha. Your title is legitimate, and without your brother to contest it, you can do this in his stead." Dad looks at me, hope in his eyes.

"What are they even going to do? This doesn't seem like an easy fix. They can't just wave their hand and fix it. This is deep seeded magic. I wouldn't even know where to start in reversing this curse." I can feel the darkness in the magic, and this is no simple party trick. He rushes towards me, grabbing my biceps.

"Sophie, this is the last chance I have." His eyes are desperate, something I've never seen in him before.

"Why is this your last chance?" Connor steps forward, gently pulling me from my dad. "What aren't you telling us?"

Dad looks up, glaring at Connor. "You have no right to speak. I'm not talking to you." A look of regret washes over him, and I know he didn't mean to lash out at Connor.

"Fine, then let me ask. What aren't you telling us dad? What has you, the greatest alpha alive, risking everything he has on a slight chance?" His shoulders slump forward.

He reaches towards his desk, grabbing a tablet. When he turns it to me, I see my mother. There's no sound, but she's obviously screaming. She's tied to something, struggling to free herself. Every now and again, she'll turn to the camera, crying at it, screaming to be set free. Even without sound, I can see her pain.

"It gets worse every day. At first she'd only cry periodically. Now, she's almost gone." He sounds so broken.

My parents, that perfect couple I remember. My mom fitting into my dad's side, him promising to protect her and our family every day. That seems so distant now. Now I understand. He can't help her. He's brought a witch, tried to fix her. Knowing him, he's done everything he possibly can. This really is his last chance.

I look away from it, nodding my head. "I'll go." My father sighs in relief. "But you have to take me to her." My eyes meet his and he shakes his head. "I may be able to help." I say quietly. "Numb some of the pain." I can't promise anything, but something is better than nothing.

Dad looks at me, shocked. He nods his head and walks to a bookshelf. Gently, he pulls on one of the books, opening a secret passage. I thought I had found all of those, but apparently not. "Follow me." I nod, but Connor grabs my hand.

"What if you can't do anything?"

I look to the opening then back to him. "I have to try. She's my mom." He nods, taking my hand as we walk in together. Dad is stopped a little ahead, a single light right above him.

"She's in here." He opens the door, stepping in before me. "Honey, Sophie's back, she's here to help you." My mom has passed out, her head lulled to the side, eyes closed, breathing ragged.

I quickly pull up my sleeves, take a shaky breath, and place my hands on my mother's chest. The warmth surrounds me, then enters my body. It pulses in me for a few seconds, then rushes towards my hands and into my mother. I do this a couple times, until I hear her cough. "Connor, water." He nods and disappears. "Mom." I put a hand on her cheek. She looks at me, completely exhausted.

"Sophie?" She croaks out. I smile and nod, tears falling from my eyes. "Where's your father?" She searches for him, her eyes landing on him. Her head falls back to the bed. I can tell he tried to make her as comfortable as he possibly could.

Dad kneels beside her, brushing her hair out of her face. Her eyes close, but she's still awake. "I'm right here." His voice breaks, tears falling down his face. "I'm so sorry. I'm too weak to protect you." Mom's eyes open.

"You stop right there. You're doing all you can." She sounds weak, but she's still the strong willed woman I used to know.

Connor shows up with a glass of water, handing it to me. I gently tilt it to my mom, letting her sip as she pleases. "Sophie's here to help me." Dad gently rubs mom's head, smiling softly down at her.

Mom's eyes turn to me. "My baby." A small smile crosses her face and my heart clenches. I missed her so much.

I cry and Connor wraps his arms around me, cradling my head and body in his own. I watch my parents. Even now, they're so in love. It's kind of incredible.

My eyes look to Connor, but I find him already staring at me. I blush, looking away from him. His fingers gently turn my chin so I'm looking up at him. "Every time I think I've seen everything you can do, you shock me again." He gently claims my lips with a small kiss. "I think we should leave them to have some time of their own. Their wolves could use it." I nod and Connor guides me out.

I glance once more at my parents. My mom looks so fragile, but so does my dad. If something were to happen to mom, he wouldn't be able to handle it. I can't let him get broken. He is a proud Alpha. No one should be able to strip him of that title. No one.

We leave my dad's office, walking back towards the crowd in the living room. "Ah, you're back." The old lady claps, standing. "Fantastic." She grabs my hand, leading me into the kitchen. "Now we can start."

I watch her move away from me, pulling out random books. "Start what? If you don't mind me asking." The old lady looks at me, placing a hand on her hip.

"Why, to start teaching you magic, obviously. Who better to teach you than a witch, and a damn good one if I don't say so myself." She goes back to the books, flipping pages. "Uh huh." She looks at me, then back to the book. "Just as I thought."

"What?" I ask, trying to look at the book.

She slams it closed, wagging a finger at me. "Never look in a witch's book without her permission. It's just plain rude." I nod my head, looking at the table. "Give me your hands." She sits down, beckoning me to do so too. I place my hands in front of her and she glances up at me before pulling them close to her face. "I'm an old lady, as you keep reminding me." My eyes widen, she can read thoughts. "It's called being a witch honey. I can pull memories out of your head, even seconds after they've happened. I can pull out a memory of what you've just said in your head."

Okay. That's just creepy. "Can every witch do that?" She shushes me, looking closely at my hands.

"Interesting." She pulls out a notepad, writing something down. I look down at my hand. I don't see anything interesting. To be honest, it's just a bunch of lines. "A bunch of lines to you, is a vision to me. Now be quiet." Again, she grabs my hand. I look to Connor, who's watching closely from the doorway. She runs a finger across a line, causing me to shiver. She does it again, and again I shiver. She does it a third time, but this time I don't shiver. "Hm." Again, she scribbles something down, then returns to my hands. "You have very interesting palms."

"I do?" She nods, peering quite closely at them.

She scowls and scoffs at my hand, looking to Connor. "Come here." She waves him over, looking very angry. "Hand." He looks to me, then places his palm towards her. She quickly takes it, scrutinizing it just like mine. "Now this is very, very interesting." She once again writes on her pad. Her small fingers tracing Connor's hand. When she finishes, she smiles at me. "Let me introduce myself. I am Edna, a very old witch, one that has lived to see a few tigresses, but none as divine as yourself. You really are one of a kind."

I look to Connor, then to Edna. "Did my father tell you?"

She waves her hands. "No, but I had my suspicions. It was when I suggested you come out of hiding, he began to panic."

"It was your idea?" She nods her head. "Why?"

Edna looks at me, a flat look in her eyes. "Honey, this is a dire situation. For Midnight Moon to go down in one foul swoop, and by one of my own kind, I knew only one thing could fix this. The power of Solis herself. Her power is the opposite of Lunae's. They're a balance. Who better to fix this than the daughter of Solis? Better yet, the daughter of an Alpha."

"Fix this? You don't mean to just put everything the way it was, cause that's absurd. This is powerful magic." I argue, feeling the amount of power this curse has.

"One man placed it, one woman can lift it." She says, moving to her book.

"Then you lift it. Obviously you can perform magic better than I can. Why not just do it yourself?" Connor stays silent, staring at the pad she had left on the table.

"Because I'm not the balancing power. You are." She doesn't look up at me, so I turn to Connor.

"What do you think?" I ask him. He stays silent, still staring at that pad of paper. His face is pale white. "What?" His eyes flicker to mine, and I don't feel like speaking.

"It says that you die three times."