When Connor reappears, we head downstairs. It being so early, no one's awake, or so we thought. I sit at the table and prop my head up with my hand. Connor grabs two bowls and makes us some cereal.

He sits down beside me, sliding the bowl and spoon towards me. "Thanks." I mutter, still stuck on what happened in the shower. Connor watches me closely, and I know he's worried. I honestly feel bad for him. Every second of every day, he's worried that I'll get hurt, or that someone will try to kill me. I know it bothers him not to be able to control the situation. He's an alpha. Control is in his blood.

"Well don't the two of you look depressed." Trish pops up in the doorway, eyeing us carefully. "So what's the problem now?"

Connor glances to me and I nod my head. Trish is one of the most caring people I've ever know. She may be brash, and have a bit of an attitude, but she cares deeply for all of us, and I know she'd do anything to keep us safe. "Sophie had a..." He stops, unsure what to call it.

"A vision." I say, moving my cereal around with my spoon. "I saw a possibility of the future."

Trish stays still for a second, then nods and sits beside Connor. "Four years ago, I would've said you were insane. Now, there's no way that I don't believe you." She says, looking at me. "What did you see?"

I sigh, giving up on food. "I was attacked in the woods." My eyes lift to look between them. "But that's honestly not what's bothering me." Trish nods, beckoning me to go on. I go to explain it, but my words get caught in my throat. I don't know how to explain it. I can't get hot? Is that it?

Trish gives me a knowing look. "It's alright. You'll know what to say when you're ready." She stands, walking to the fridge. "You better eat though. We drive to the Senate today, and you speak to them tomorrow. You need to keep your energy up. Plus, your meditation. We don't want you shifting in front of an entire room filled with possible threats, now would we?"

I don't really have problems with my anger anymore. The problem is my urge to protect. I get this insane feeling, like I have to shift and protect anyone and everyone. It's crazy, because there's no way that I can protect everyone. That's literally impossible. So, instead of allowing me to just break down my trained abilities not to shift, Trish suggested that I meditate, learn to keep calm. The more I think things through, and consider my actions, the better I can control my urge, and I completely agree. Hence meditation.

I nod my head at her and pull my bowl back to me. Trish has always been like the mother bear figure, to both Lily and I. She's worried about not meeting her mate, but I know she'll find him, and that he'll be amazing.

The room falls into a comfortable silence, the three of us now eating.

The wonderful thing about being mates, is you can feel exactly how your mate is feeling. It's also possibly the worst thing about having a mate. Especially when your mate's urge to go run, becomes your own. "Connor and I are going to go for a quick run. We'll be back in time to leave." Trish nods, and Connor and I both rush outside. We hide our clothes in the trees, then take off into the woods.

We can't stay out here long. We leave for the Senate in about an hour. Connor reminds me, like I could possibly forget.

I feel the weight lift off of me, my worries about this morning drift away, and the exhilarating feel of wind in my hair and dirt in my paws takes over, making me forget everything. I let out a loud roar and Connor howls along with me. The mix sounds so raw, and dangerous. It's exciting, and I do it again, causing him to laugh. We reach the edge of the valley top, staring down at Blue Valley territory. This is my all time favorite place. Nowhere beats this view. No where at all.

I know it's time to head back, but I don't want to. I just want to stare out at the beautiful greens of the grass, and the blues of the river. I want to watch the violets sway as the wind blows downhill. Nothing bad happens here. Blue Valley is a place of peace. In all of its history, there has never been a battle, a rogue attack, an uprising, nor a death besides old age. It is considered the safest pack to ever exist. You would think that they were trapped, but actually, they're heavily protected. Around the Valley, there are seven packs. Each are an ally of Blue Valley. Their first defense is their allies. Never once have they ever had an ally challenge them. Mostly because if one took claim of the land, they'd be at war with six other packs. The other reason is that my father and Lily's dad are best friends. They've been best friends since childhood. If you pick on Blue Valley, you deal with Midnight Moon, and my dad is not someone any pack wants against them.

Connor nudges me, pulling me out of my daze. We should head back. They'll be leaving soon, and we really shouldn't be late. I nod, and we both head straight back. We shift and pull our clothes on before walking out of the trees. There are four black vehicles. All of them look identical, even the plate numbers. I'm sure that's illegal, but we're talking about Hunter here. Since when has he cared if something is illegal? Especially when it's for my safety?

"I'm glad you made it." Hunter says, smirking at the two of us. "Have fun out in the woods did you?"

I stick my tongue out at him and he laughs, causing me to laugh. "Just tell me which one I'm in, before I dismember you."

He feigns fear, placing a hand over his mouth. "Ooh, I'm sooooo scared." Hunter smirks, then points at the second car. "The group is in that one. I'll be driving separately. Hopefully if anyone decides to try and attack you, they'll think you're in the car I am, considering I'm your head guard."

"You just don't want to hear Lily rave about the Senate building." I say, joking, if only half. "You're lucky that I'm hoping they blow you up first." Hunter chuckles, then turns to Connor. "I've got two people driving you. They'll also be her protectors for this trip. They both volunteered."

Connor nods, pulling me into his side. "Hopefully they won't be necessary."

Hunter nods right before checking the time. "We best get going. It's a twenty hour drive to the Senate." I groan, ready to get leg cramps and to be incredibly uncomfortable, but instead of feeling bad for myself, I look to the men already shifted into their wolves. Some will be running along side us, and others will run ahead. Running for twenty hours won't be easy. It also won't be fun. They'll have to take a break at some point, meaning we will too. Maybe they'll swap out halfway through. I'm not quite sure, but I've learned to trust Hunter.

Connor and I get in the car and are greeted by our friends. Everyone smiles and says good morning. It feels slightly off in here, but it's probably just the nerves from actually going to the Senate.

I may not have mentioned this before, but this is an extremely rare occurrence. Only one Wolf Shifter takes part in the Senate vote. That used to be my father, but I had never been to the Senate before. He always left on his own. No one went with him, and no one ever came back with him. The only thing we knew was that the Senate discussed the state of the world and made decisions geared to protect it. Everything else was left to the imagination. Yes, I've seen proposals to the Senate, but only because they were sent to my dad to be taken to the Senate. No other alpha Wolf has ever set foot on Senate grounds before. When we arrive, it will be a first to have so many people there.

I doze off every now and again, waking up to play part of a road trip game that I'm guessing Lily had started, only to nod off yet again. My sleep is blank and dreamless, thankfully.

"Sophie." A calm voice calls me and I move towards it, snuggling into a warm pillow. Something resembling a purr is heard and I take a deep breath. Connor. There's only one scent like that in the world. "It's time to eat baby."

I nod, still keeping my eyes closed. "Carry me." My head buries deeper into his neck and he pauses.

"You want me to carry you into the resraurant?" I nod and he chuckles. "Alright."

My eyes slowly open as he walks and I see an IHOP. I swear, Hunter loves me. "Pancakes!" I almost jump out of Connor's arms and rush towards the door. The aroma inside makes my mouth water and I don't even care that it's lunch time. It's always time for pancakes.

There's a teenage girl at the greeting podium and she smiles at me. "How many?"

Connor follows me, his jingling laugh echoing in my ears. "We're a part of the massive party. She was asleep and refused to wake up." The girl's eyes widen as she stares at Connor. Her mouth slightly parts and she looks frozen. When Connor notices, he waves a hand in front of her. "Um, okay then. We'll just go take a seat."

He eyes her curiously, but doesn't say anything more to her. I giggle to myself and let him keep being ignorant. The less he knows, the better off his already inflated ego will be.

I sit down beside Lily, and Connor slides in beside me, his arm laying behind me as we both stare down at the same menu. "I was thinking of getting an omelette, but I want pancakes too." I groan, unsure what to get.

"Just get both." Connor says. "That's what I'm going to do."

I roll my eyes and laugh at him. "Wolves and their appetites."

He pats his stomach. "Hey, I gotta feed these monsters something. There are eight of them and they all love food." Connor is referring to his abs, like they're people.

I raise a brow at him then turn back to the menu. "Alright. I'll get both. Besides, whatever I don't finish, you'll eat for me." I jest, lightly elbowing him in the side.

My decision made, I look up and glance around. For a second, my eyes widen. My mom and dad are sitting with Hunter. Dad, he's not such a surprise, but my mom? The last time I saw her she was tired and weak, barely able to move.

In a clumsy rush, I climb over Connor. He yelps in surprise, but I ignore him. The moment I'm close enough, I stop short in front of their table. "Mom?" Her gentle eyes look up at me and I kneel down beside her, wrapping my arms around her waist. In retrospect, IHOP may not be the best place to embrace someone in public, but anyone who is heartless enough to even think to separate a mother and daughter can kiss my ass. I'm going to hug my mom, and there's nothing anyone can say or do about it. "But, you were so weak." I look up at her and look closely. There's only a trace of the tiredness in her face, but her eyes. They're so full of life, hope.

"Sophelia." Mom breathes out, collecting me in her arms. We hug for another few minutes, then she pulls back. "Why are you crying honey?" She wipes a tear off of my cheek and I let out a sniffle and a wobbly lipped smile.

"I'm so glad you're okay." I manage to get out. A soft smile forms on her face, and I can't believe how much I've missed that smile. It's a smile that only your mother can give you. One that makes you realize that everything will be okay, and that there's nothing to worry about.

"All these tears over me?" She asks, teary eyed. I nod and she half laughs, half cries. "You'll always be my sweet little baby."

She gives me another firm hug and I look to my dad, still emotional. "What did Edna do for her? Maybe we can collect everyone and have her do it again, but for the members of the pack."

Mom laughs quietly. "Oh honey." I look to her, confused. "Honey, Edna is a lovely woman, but she didn't heal me. That credit is due to you. Ever since you, well I don't know what you did, but I've been gaining back my strength and energy. Enough to make this trip. I couldn't miss going to the Senate building, now, could I?"

I stare at her, my mouth slightly open and my eyes not really focusing on anything. I had done this? Me? My mind reels. But how? I can't seem to grasp it. What I did healed my mother, how? I've never reversed any curse before, and, yet, here's proof that I can.

My mind starts to pick into my conversations with Edna a couple of days ago. Could I really reverse this curse on my old pack? If so, where and how would I even start? I haven't seen anyone besides my mom and dad. If everyone is cursed, where did they go?

A headache starts to form and I close my eyes. "Sophie, calm down honey. Everything will work out." Her soothing voice breaks through and I breathe. She's right. Whatever we're going to do, we need the Senate's help. That much is for sure. Besides, I can't look at things like I'm supposed to fix it. I'm only one person, tigress or not.

I nod my head slowly and I search for Connor. He's standing right beside me, his hand rests on my shoulder. I stand up and I turn to my mom. "I'm really glad you're here. It gives me hope that we can fix this." I give her another squeeze and give my dad a tight hug too.

Connor guides me back to our table and lets me sit down before sliding in beside me. Maybe I can figure this out. If I can reverse whatever curse was on my mother, then that's something. It's a beginning.

A/N

I'M BACK!!!

Are you all excited? I am!!

I had so much fun, and now I'm all wired up to write and post stuff!!! Two full length chapters with groundbreaking news in the next one. ;)

Noooo, I won't tell! You have to read the next one to find out! :D

I hope you enjoy,

Renegade Druid

P.s. I'm really excited, if you can't tell :P