When I wake up, I'm surrounded by everyone: Rory, Alexei, and Cytherea. Rory looks concerned with his wide eyes and his bottom lip held between his teeth. Alexei looks much better than she did before. Seems like the silver filtered from her body nicely. Cytherea doesn't appear the least bit worried. She just stares at me, a frown marring her features and making her come across older than she actually is.

"I was there again," I say, mainly addressing Rory since he's the only one who knows about where I go. "Aimilios is his name."

The three of them share looks with each other. Maybe they think I've gone crazy since I'm talking about it. Maybe they can't see me as a logical person anymore and will choose to leave me out of things. But I'm not crazy, far from it. My eyes have never been so open before and all I really am is confused.

Ignoring their looks, I lift up from the bed. Immediately, they all move over and start fretting over me. Rory grabs my shoulders, trying to push me back down. Alexei lays a hand on my forehead and I assume she's feeling for a fever of some sort. I can tell she thinks I'm delirious. Cytherea has a stethoscope in her hands, one that came out of nowhere it seems.

"Off, get off. I'm fine." Pushing at their hands almost seems futile since the three of them overpower me. They continue to check over my body that's completely fine, completely disregarding my groans of annoyance.

When they all finally pull away, I breathe a sigh of relief. They each take a step back and I roll my eyes at them.

"What happened?" Alexei asks and I still can't seem to get over how well she looks. The color has returned to her skin and it seems she's showered and cleaned up well. I bet if I could still see her aura, it would be a bright red instead of the dull it was before. "Sophia-Grace?"

I close my eyes to clear the daze before opening them and steeling them with my gaze. "I need you guys to listen." At their nods, I continue, choosing to start with the Timothy situation. "Timothy has been telling our pack that Rory kidnapped me. Everyone thinks he's a traitor."

There's a silence until Cytherea breaks it. "Why does that matter? Have you forgotten there's a bloodthirsty vampire looking for your neck?" She crosses her arms over her chest, allowing me to notice that she's no longer wearing a long dress. Instead she's wearing a loose, red pantsuit.

"Of course I haven't forgotten. Have you forgotten that I'm alpha to a whole pack? Everyone seems to be omitting that fact from their thoughts." I can't help but snap at her, at them. It's not only their faults though, I've not been worrying about the right things either. The pack should have been on my mind from the start.

Again, they let silence linger in the air. It's starting to annoy me now because I need to know that they believe me. They need to show me that they understand what I'm saying. Without the support and backup of my mates, I'm basically nothing. If they won't come with me to save our pack then I'd have to depart from my mates and head back myself.

"Fine," I mutter when they still remain silent. With a shake of my head, I scoot off the bed, dragging the cover with me. It falls limply like my heart. "Will you send me back, Cytherea?"

She raises an eyebrow and glances at Alexei. Their eyes connect and ever so slightly, Alexei shakes her head. "Sorry, Sophia-Grace, I can't do that."

Growling, I face away from them. It takes me a moment to regulate my angry breathing. It's short enough that I feel hands on my shoulders. They tug me back until I meet a chest, one with breasts that press against my spine, molding against it. Alexei wraps her arms around my waist and presses her head into my neck.

Her breath fans softly against my nape. "We can't let you go, Sophia-Grace."

"My pack needs me, Timothy is going to destroy it," I tell her, my voice a whisper.

"Why don't you come back and explain to us how you know?"

I turn to face her, giving her a blank look while I'm at it. "You guys keep looking at each other like I'm crazy. Why should I explain anything to you when you don't want to listen?"

"We'll listen," she assures. "I promise, just come over and explain. Come on."

I let Alexei lead me back to the bed. She pushes me softly onto the surface and I sink into it. The atmosphere is different now. No longer do I feel crazy because each of their eyes are trained on me instead of each other. It feels more urgent now, less like I'm crazy and more like I'm a force to be reckoned with.

I meet eyes with Alexei and she gives me a reassuring nod. "Last night, I had a dream that I was back at my pack, in my father's office. Timothy was there and he was in charge, he sat in my father's seat. I was there, he could see me too. He could touch me." I lift my hands to my neck, remembering that he choked me, tried to kill me.

Their eyes dart to where I'm rubbing. I'm not sure if anything is there, but the way their sockets widen, there must be. Alexei reaches out and runs her fingers against my neck, causing me to flinch away. I hadn't expected for it to feel so tender, but it does. There are definitely bruises there.

"Where did these come from?" Rory asks as he steps closer. He kneels down in front of me. "This came from your dream? A dream?"

Nodding, I start explaining just what happened. My recollection of events scares me. Timothy was roguish in my dream, quite literally. When wolves become rogues, they're like rabid dogs. It becomes hard to control emotions, especially anger. That was clearly shown with the way Timothy snapped at me and even David. He is losing control and eventually, my whole pack will cease to exist. Timothy will do nothing but ravage our lands.

"Timothy is turning into a rogue," I state firmly, setting my lips into a thin line. "I'm afraid he doesn't have long. He's already showing signs and it's becoming hard for him to control his beast."

Rory sighs and closes his eyes. Though neither of us particularly care for Timothy, to become a rogue is to give up everything and everyone you love.

"How can we go back without vampires coming after us? We still have them to worry about and they're more lethal." Rory rubs his smooth chin.

He's right. The vampires are sneakier than any other creature around. Their steps are non-existent and they can sneak up without their prey ever knowing. Not until it's too late.

"I don't know," I mumble, knowing it's the truth. I haven't thought of it until now, but we do need to come up with a plan.

From the corner of my eye, I see Cytherea step forward. "What if you didn't have to leave?" she asks, looking at me.

"What do you mean?"

"You got there by sleeping, right? Well, if you can do it again, then we won't have to leave my cottage. You can do everything you need to do from here." The look on her face is determination. A small smile causes her lips to quirk up slightly and one of her eyebrows is raised.

"That's not a bad idea," Alexei speaks up, crossing her arms. "If you said this Timothy guy was able to see you, what's stopping everyone else from it too?"

I shake my head. It's not a bad idea, but I was only seen for a short amount of time before I disappeared. If I fade in front of my whole pack, they'll probably think I'm some kind of witch or something. That won't be good because it'll give Timothy the upperhand. Wolves naturally keep to themselves so if they believe a witch is among them, I'll be cast as a traitor or enemy. Either way, I'm already seen as a traitor by Timothy, so he'll absolutely play on that.

"I wasn't there for long. I materialized, then I was gone and waking up," I tell them, popping a hole in their plan.

"Okay, but what about for information? You can find out everything that's happening there then report back to us. It'll give us some kind of head start against them," Alexei offers, dropping her arms from her chest. "That way we can plan around everything else and get there as soon as possible."

A frustrated groan leaves me, making me feel like some sort of diva. "We still have to fight around the vampires who are after us."

We all remain silent for a moment, mulling over what to do. Cytherea marches her way to the wall so she can lean against it comfortably. Rory is still kneeling in front of me, his hands clutched around my own. Alexei is pacing now, flexing her hands as if getting ready for a fight.

"Okay," Cytherea starts, clapping her hands. "Sophia-Grace, do you have any idea how you got there in the first place?"

Jutting out my bottom lip, I shake my head again. "I was just there. I'm not sure what caused me to go there, but I think it was because I had to be."

Cytherea nods and glances away for a moment. "Right, so, I think if we can figure out how you go different places, you can maybe go to Ameri. If you can get there then you can see what their plans are against the three of you."

This is actually the most logical course of action we can take. If I'm somehow able to materialize to the palace, then I can see just what they're up to. Perhaps it'll give us something to work with. Looking at Cytherea, I nod my head and stand from the bed.

"That makes the most sense," I agree, placing my hands on my hips. "I think it's the better option, but how do I get there?"

"Just... do what you normally do. I think your mind and soul will take you to where you need to be. Just like you said."

Taking a moment to look around at my companions, I breathe, really breathe. It feels good to allow my shoulders to slouch and to let my guard down. For days, I've been tense, save for when I'm in Elysium. With this plan on the table, I can breathe easy and take a break from fear.