The intercom sounds and we all look up. "Flight 180-B, now boarding. Flight 180-B, now boarding."

Unfortunately, we'll have to talk on the bird instead of here. I try to shake my mates awake, but they're still out cold. Alexei was injected with silver so she'll be out for a bit, but I'm starting to worry about Rory. Whatever spell Cytherea cast is doing a number on him, one that's not good, seemingly.

Alexei and Rory leave my sides as they are lifted by my warriors. There's a total of five of them: Elijah, Stefan, Oggy, Fin, and George. They're my fleet now, my commanders. Together, all of us, we make a team.

We board the plane after giving our tickets and avoiding questions regarding my unconscious mates. All of our seats are next to each other and we take up three rows in total. Ours are in the middle of the airplane. Six of us sit on the same side while two are opposite us on the opposite end. Elijah has me set in the middle of him and Stefan. In front of us, Oggy and Fin sandwich my poor Rory between them. On the other side sits George and Alexei. Seeing my mates in distress causes my heart to ache.

Stefan whimpers next to me and he clutches at his chest. Looking over at him, I give him a strange look, raising my eyebrow in question.

"What's wrong?" I ask softly, keeping my voice low for the humans.

"Pain, your pain, Goddess." It seems they're determined to keep the title goddess attached to me.

"You can feel my pain?" I repeat his words, pressing my hand to my own chest. "How?"

Elijah clears his throat, causing me to look at him. "Alphas and their subordinates are automatically connected once the bond has formed between packs. Occasionally, we can feel the alphas emotions if they're strong enough," he tells me, waving his hand with his explanation. "It seems you give off very powerful emotions."

"How can you tell?" I wonder further. This is all too new and it'll take a lot of getting used to.

"Ever since your mark appeared on me, I'd been feeling everything you feel," he admits, turning his eyes forward.

I want to ask more, but the captain of the plane begins speaking. He lets us know to fasten our seatbelts because the plane is about to take off. Grabbing at the straps, I clip the safety belt and pull it tight so it has a good hold on me. After about five minutes, the plane begins to move. It backs away from the building and rounds. Past Elijah, I stare out the tiny window. Outside, the sky is clear and blue, looking beautiful. One day, I'll experience this country without problems on my back to weigh me down. For now, I have to return to Georgia where I will face a nightmare head on.

Before I know it, my body is pressed to the seat as the machine picks up speed to take off. It lifts into the air, rolling my stomach as we ascend. Outside, I watch as the land disappears from under us and the scenery becomes nothing but the sky. Letting out a breath, I turn and look over at my mate. For the first time, her eyes have opened and she's gracing me with her beautiful greens.

"Alexei," I whisper as our eyes connect.

She springs up groggily, confusion clouding her features. The seat belt digs into her stomach as she lifts up. All the eyes of my personnel turn to face her as she moves about sluggishly.

"Alexei, please calm down," I speak across Stefan, leaning over him to properly see her. "It's okay, you're okay."

Her fangs extend as her panic starts to grow. Gasping, I watch as she thrashes around. People begin to look our way, their eyes annoyed and nosy. With all this ruckus, we've gotten the flight attendants' attention. Groaning, I motion to my mouth so someone can get her under control. George nods before pressing his hand to her mouth to cover her pointy killers. Mutters and whispers meet my ears and I watch as the flight attendant gets up from her seat and slowly makes her way over.

"Is everything okay?" she asks, eyeballing Alexei who is fighting against George. "Do we have a situation?"

"Fine, everything is fine." I unclip my seat belt just as the airplane begins shaking from heavy turbulence. "She gets anxious on flights and our stupid seats got screwed up. I should've sat with her anyways, I'm sorry." Lying has never been my strong suit since I hardly do it.

"Mm," the attendant hums. She quickly grabs onto the seat as another wave of heavy wind causes her to stumble. "Please just keep her down, okay? She's disturbing the other passengers."

Not waiting for a reply, she turns and walks away. Watching, I wait for her to fully get to her seat before I hurry over Stefan. Nearly falling, I force myself up and into the chair with Alexei and George. Luckily, no one took up the window seat of this row so it's free for me to sit and console my mate.

"Alexei, please calm down." I turn her so that she's facing me. Grabbing her face, I force her to keep her head in my direction. "It's okay, it's okay."

I can't help wondering why she's even conscious now. If anything, she should be out until later tomorrow. At least, that's what I'm guessing. The dosage of silver seemed like a lot, and it's only been about an hour since she was injected with it.

Her trembling stops for now and she allows me to pull her closer and cradle her. With her head on my chest, I stroke her ebony tresses. They're a knotted mess from her being incapacitated, but they still feel silky. Combing my fingers through, I feel her calm in my arms, relaxing into me.

"Blood," she whispers, one of her hands falling on my thigh. Giving a firm squeeze, she lifts her head and stares at me. "I need blood, Sophia-Grace."

"Uh." I glance around nervously, biting my bottom lip. There's no chance any of these humans would be willing to help my mate out. Not when we're just myths and fun stories to them.

Sighing, I look around once again to make sure no one is still looking after her episode. Drawing away from her, I lay against the seat and try my best to relax, though I'm scared for her fangs to puncture my neck.

"Feed from me," I say, my tone hushed. "Come on."

Alexei hesitates until her bloodlust becomes too much. She needs this to heal properly and expel the silver from her body. At a snail's pace, she inches forward, opening her mouth. Throwing her arm around my torso, she gives the guise of her just normally laying on me. With her fangs already extended, it takes only a couple seconds for her to find a spot and sink her teeth in. The pain takes a second to register before my body processes that unnatural items are shoved in my neck. Alexei sucks, and my blood sinks into her mouth. The action causes me to shiver with disgust as I can feel the fluid leaving me.

My neck burns with each draw she takes from my neck. My lips curl into a grimace and I want to pull away from her, but I can't. She needs this and I have to help my mate. As she continues, I start to feel lightheaded from the blood loss. Spots dance around in my eyes and my tight grip on the arm rest loosens until I'm barely gripping it.

"Alexei," I whisper, trying to catch her attention. "Stop now."

But she doesn't. The cold hands of deception start to tickle at me and doubt forces its way into my mind. If she can't stop her bloodlust, how will I ever trust her? She should feel my energy seeping away into her own body. Weakness claws at me and drowsiness is the only thing I feel, but I try to fight it away. I try to keep my eyes open.

"Vampire," Elijah hisses from across the seats. His voice sounds muffled, like he's far away, but I recognize the authoritative tone. "The only reason George hasn't pulled you off is because of our goddess."

Somehow, that seems to draw her out of the stupor. Alexei's fangs painfully extract from my neck with a distinct 'pop'. I close my eyes and allow my body to sag with relief. Now I can pass out in peace knowing that I'm going to remain with my life.

"No." Someone taps at my cheeks with a light force. It seems I won't be able to sleep after all. "I'm so sorry, Sophia-Grace. Stay awake."

There's a ding that penetrates my concentration. "Alright, folks, you're more than welcome to take off your seatbelts. Our attendants are on standby to answer any needs you may have. Thank you for flying," the captain speaks from his intercom before clicking off. Now that I'm not focusing on that, I tune back into what Alexei is saying.

"She needs food," George grunts from next to us. He and my mate are silent for a moment. "Ma'am, our companion is a little sick, do you have any juice and cookies to get her blood levels right again?"

"Oh, poor thing. My uncle is diabetic, I'll be right back with something for her," a woman answers and I assume she hurries away.

It's not long before a cup is being pressed to my lips. Sweet liquid rims my mouth before trickling in. A bit dribbles down my cheek, creating an uncomfortable trail of orange juice that'll dry and become sticky. Managing to swallow the juice, I wait for more to come.

It settles into my stomach with a rumble, reminding me that I haven't eaten in a while. Slowly opening my eyes, I see a blurry outline of the vampire before me. My vision starts to clear enough for me to make out her shameful gaze. As our eyes connect, she looks down in guilt, her face set in a frown.

"It's okay, I forgive you," I tell her, weakly reaching out to touch her cheek. The skin is cold, a contrast to the usual warmth she carries.

"I could have killed you." She shakes her head. "I heard you tell me to stop and I just couldn't. It was like something was forcing me to carry on."

Now that she mentions it, it is quite odd for her to not be able to stop. Alexei is a seasoned vampire, so she's had a lot of time to perfect her bloodlust and control it. It must have been the mate bond that caused her to forget any type of discipline.

Shaking my head, I shift in the seat for a more comfortable position. "Let's not dwell on that. The moment has passed and we have bigger fish to fry." Sighing, I close my eyes and tilt my head to the side. "I'm not upset with you, Alexei. If it weren't for me, you'd not have been injected with silver."

"That's not your fault." Her hand touches my face and I lean into her soft palm. "This is no one's fault. But there's one thing I'd like to know... are we being escorted to our capture?"

Opening my eyes, I regard her with a small smile. She doesn't look defeated or resigned. Instead, her eyes hold only curiosity and acceptance. I see she wouldn't have fought if we were to be captured and I can't blame her for feeling that way. We've been running for so long now.

"No," I answer, shaking my head. "They are my warriors."

Alexei raises an eyebrow and glances behind her to the men who only look forward. "Where's Rory?"

"He's still asleep." My voice takes on a worried tone. It doesn't feel like he'll wake up any time soon and I'm only growing more anxious of the outcome.

Again, Alexei looks down to hide the guilt she feels. "I should have believed you, I should have known. When Cytherea had control of me, I could hear and feel everything, but it was like I was all the way in the back of my mind. I was like an outsider looking in. I only wish I was stronger to take back control."

"You couldn't have known she would betray us."

"No? I've known Cytherea for a lifetime. My biggest regret is not realizing that time can change people," she hisses, scoffing and shaking her head. Her green eyes squint as she looks away from me. "I invited danger with open arms."

Pursing my lips, I scoot over until I rest my head on Alexei's shoulder. Drowsiness still pulls at me, but I force the need to sleep away. I reach for her hand and pull it into my chest, cradling it there.

"We've all been getting screwed for a while," I say, closing my eyes once again. "I think it's about time to do a bit of the screwing."

Before I can hear her reply, I fall asleep, letting my mate's aura calm me. The hum of the airplane lulls me to a world far away.