A little relaxation is perfect. Just me, a punching bag, and some music. It's kind of been hard to let off steam lately. Connor's been over protective, even more so than usual, and I just need a little me time. Good old Sophie time.

I get into a good rhythm, just moving and working my muscles. It feels like ages since I've worked out, and that's odd for me.

While practicing my roundhouse, I begin to think of my family. I want to know how they're all doing. I know they're all fine, but I want to know how their day is. How the pack is doing. Despite being a part of my own little pack, I still care for my old pack, very deeply. They are family, and I just want to know they're all safe.

The music stops and I stand up straight. "What did that punching bag ever do to you?" Connor asks, being funny.

"It flirted with my mate. I had to teach it a lesson." He laughs and walks over to me.

"You know, it's been a minute since we went toe to toe. Would you like to take a swing at me?" Connor smiles cheeky. Jokes on him, I've got a couple new tricks.

"Sure, I'd love to." I give him a flirty smile and step onto the raised mat. He follows me up and looks me up and down.

"You already look tired out." He says, smirking at me and getting into a defensive stance.

"I can still take you on, Alpha." I get into a similar position and he laughs quietly, watching me with practiced eyes.

We watch each other, slowly circling around the mat. "You look amazing right now." He says, giving me that smile that makes me weak at the knees.

"Nice try Connor." I flash him a grin, showing my sharp teeth. He snickers, showing me his.

He charges at me, grabbing below my hips and throwing me over his shoulder. I quickly grab his waist, bringing him down with me.

Connor quickly rolls off of me, staying crouched down. I swiftly throw myself off the ground and land on my feet, not even two feet away from him. He runs towards me, and I immediately flip over him.

"You're just not having a good day, are you?" I ask, slightly smirking.

His eyebrows squint in confusion. "I'm the one that landed an attack on you."

I see a break in his defense and throw my legs around his waist, throwing him to the ground while I'm still wrapped around him. "And now I've landed one on you."

His signature smile appears on his face and I stop caring about the fight. Connor unwinds my legs from his waist, only to pick me up and place me on his lap. "So do you want to tell me what's gotten you so worked up?" His soft lips rub against my ear as he presses a kiss behind it. A shiver runs down my spine and I sigh in delight.

He looks at me, allowing me to talk. "I just miss them."

"Them? As in your family?" He asks, even though I think he already knows.

I nod. "Yeah, I just can't stop thinking about them recently. Like, I need to talk to them, or at least see that they're doing alright." A small sigh leaves me. "They may not be my clowder, but they're still family."

"I know, trust me." I smile at him and place my hands on his cheeks.

"Thank you." I give him a small kiss on the lips and he gives me a broad toothy grin. "You didn't have to come with me, and I know that."

A small growl leaves him. "I couldn't let you disappear, not from me. Never." He grips my hips, careful not to hurt me, even though we both know I'm not fragile, by any means. "Besides, our bond has grown stronger, and I wouldn't trade that for anything." His eyes are soft, love and affection shining through them. He lifts my hand from his cheek and kisses my palm. "And I mean that." He's the only man I know that can make my cheeks tinge red and my face heat up.

I look down at his hand holding mine, a small smile on my lips. "I wouldn't be able to let you go, not when you mean so much to me." I'm not as good at all this, proclaiming love, stuff, as he is, and he knows it.

"Good." His wolf flashes me his eyes and I smile, knowing that both of them agree.

My mate is amazing, have I ever said that? I snuggle into his arms, my head on his chest. My hands pressed against his chest, and his arms around my waist. I can never seem to pull myself away from him when we're like this. He's a magnet, I swear.

"You want to go for a run? We've got a few hours before dinner." Today's Saturday, hence my ability to relax.

I nod on his chest. "That sounds amazing right now." Connor stands up, picking me up in the process.

He uses his speed to take us outside, then places me on my feet. We strip down to our underwear. After stowing our clothes in a tree, we both shift, he into his wolf, and me into my tigress. I shake out my fur then take a deep breath. Hunter made sure that our house would be in the woods, that way we would all have access to it at any time, and could freely run whenever we needed to. Another reason Hunter is one of my favorite people in the world.

Connor brushes his side against me, causing me to feel those addictive little sparks, even through my lustrous fur. He is my weakness, my one true vulnerability, but that's just fine, because even if I'm unable to protect him, he's just as strong as me, and I have every faith in him, that he can take care of himself.

Connor and I take our time. We weave our way through the trees, chasing each other, or just racing the wind. I feel free and light, like I always do when I let Solis run. She loves the sunshine, and the warmth. Just as we slow down to a stop, Connor growls. His ears are down, and his body is tense. I can smell the rogue, he's not that far away. The creature slowly approaches, watching us skeptically. I stand still, also watching it.

The rogue pays more attention to Connor, scared more of the angry wolf than what it doesn't understand. It's terrified, maybe nothing more than a teenager. I'm going to try to talk to it, calm down. There's no threat here, you over protective butt. I take a slow step towards it, careful not to move too fast so it doesn't run off. Hello, my name is Sophie. My mate won't hurt you, he's just trying to protect me. I speak in a calm tone, trying to show it that I mean no harm, whatsoever.

The rogue looks at me for a second, contemplating something. I'm Desmond. His voice is small and scared, resembling that of a scared child.

I nod, giving him my best smile. Nice to meet you Desmond.

His head turns to Connor. I didn't know that I was on pack land. If I did, I never would've crossed. I just, I had to. His voice becomes more sure the longer he speaks. It won't happen again.

He goes to run back into the woods, but I stop him. You're not on pack land. My mate and a couple of friends and I are merely staying here for a while. We don't technically own the land. Desmond stares at me, confused. Why did you say you had to come?

Desmond shakes his wolf head. I thought I had-

I can feel her coming before she's here, but when she skids to a stop in the middle of the clearing, then I understand.

Lily stares directly at the rogue, her eyes wide, and her mouth slightly open. She hasn't shifted, but she's an extremely gifted runner. "Mate." The word is light and airy as it comes out of her mouth, as if she doesn't believe it.

Desmond openly stares at her, his sentence completely forgotten. He shifts and I avert my eyes. Connor is the only man I should ever see naked.

"Mate." Desmond certainly doesn't sound like a teenager. I hear shuffling and I assume he's put on clothes. When I turn my head back to them, I see he has on a pair of sweatpants. Desmond and Lily stare at each other, unmoving. Luckily, Connor and I ran into Desmond in an area we normally like to stop. That means that we have clothes here. I run over to my clothes and shift before changing into them. Connor follows my lead and we walk back to the couple.

When I notice that neither of them has any plans to move, I clear my throat. Lily immediately blushes and backs away from him. I can see the disappointment on his face from her reaction, but he's going to have to learn that she's shy. "It's nice to meet you Desmond." I hold out my hand and he briefly looks at it to shake it. "This is my mate, Connor. We're the Alpha's of this small pack." He nods, trying to get Lily to look at him. "This," I take her hand, "is Lily, my Beta."

"Lily. What a beautiful name." Lily blushes a deeper shade of red and I laugh in my chest. She's adorable, and I'm not her mate.

"We'll leave you two to talk. Lily, feel free to bring him by the house. Okay?" She nods and I turn to Connor and smile. He picks me up and we get to the house seconds later. I'll always be amazed by that.

Connor walks in the house, with me still in his arms. "I can walk Connor."

"But you don't have to." He carries me to the table and places me on a chair before sitting beside me.

Hunter walks in, smiling. "Evening guys. Where's Lily?"

Connor and I share a small smile and I turn back to Hunter. "We should start eating. She won't mind."

He gives me a curious look but nods. "Let me just go get Trish." He heads out of the room and comes back a minute later with her. "Well, I guess let's eat. I'll set some aside for Lily so she can eat when she gets back."

Connor nods. "Good idea, set aside two servings." He takes a bite of his food and nods. "This is really good."

"Two servings?" Hunter just looks very confused.

I nod, starting to eat as well. "Our Lily has found her mate." Trish starts to cough, then stares at me with wide eyes.

"When, where, how, who is he?" She starts rattling off questions, obviously she wanted to be there when she met him.

"In the clearing, the one close to the stream. She ran to us just as we saw a rogue. Quite peaceful. He didn't try to attack or anything. I think he smelt her." I give Trish a smile. "You're the only one left, now we need to find your mate."

Trish looks back to her food. "Yeah." I give her a curious look, and I almost ask what's wrong, but Connor places his hand on my knee and shakes his head no. So I leave it alone, for now. Anything that bothers my friends, bothers me.

*Picture is not my own, got it from Google*