I wake with a gasping breath. Next to me, Rory stirs and wakes soon after, squinting and rubbing his eyes. Light shines through the blinds, but it's dull and barely there. There's still a dark shadow over our room.

"What's wrong?" he asks, sitting up and scooting backward until his back hits the headboard of the bed. "You look scared, what happened?"

At the sound of Rory's voice taking on a more frantic tone, I relax. It's better to let this out now than hide it. We'll need everyone to figure out what to do about Timothy. If he's been telling the pack that Rory kidnapped me then he's got a target on his back. If there's even a chance that they're looking for us, Rory will be deemed a rogue and they'll either kill him or lock him away. Either way, he's a dead man walking which isn't good because we've still got Ameri to worry about.

"Timothy is in charge," I start, though maybe coming off lighter would've been better. His eyebrows furrow, confusion clouding his eyes. "The ceremony wasn't complete. I'm still alpha, but because my father wanted me to mate with Timothy, he's in charge now."

"What do you mean? How do you know?" Rory's tone becomes inconsistent, his voice wavering and shaking. "How do you know, Sophia-Grace?"

My only reply to him is a shrug as a beat of silence covers the small room Cytherea set us up in. I bite my bottom lip harshly and metallic fills my mouth. Moving my gaze from Rory, I focus on something else; the cream colored lamp on a bedside table. Rory grabs my head and turns me to face him.

"Please tell me what's going on," he pleads, his eyes wide and his face scared. Looking at my mate in distress hurts my heart more than I expected it too.

Nodding my head, I lean my body forward until my forehead is pressed to his shoulder. "I had a dream... what I thought was a dream. I was in my father's office and Timothy was there. He was sitting in his chair."

Rory's warm body tenses under my hold. His arms come up to wrap around me and we press closer to each other. Feeling his chest, his heart is beating faster now. His breaths fan the top of my head with each puff that leaves his mouth. I can detect his emotions which feel new. Inside my body, I can sense his pain, his anger, his sadness. Everything he's experiencing is what I'm enduring, but they aren't my feelings. They're his.

"I don't know what's happening, Rory." A lone tear escapes my eye and slides down my cheek. My nose fills until I have to breathe from my mouth. "Something is wrong with me. I'm not normal, I'm not normal."

Rory shifts us and suddenly we're laying down, facing each other. His hand comes to the back of my head and he cradles it against his chest, holding me there. My body quivers against him as I cry silently into his chest. I don't want to risk waking up Alexei when she's so hurt. Cytherea doesn't need to see my weakness either. I have a feeling she'd deem me as unworthy in that case.

"It's okay," Rory whispers, hushing me. "Don't cry, we're going to figure this out."

I shake my head and lift it up, tearing from his arms. "No! Rory, that's not all. Before, when I passed out on the cliff, I dreamed then too. But I was somewhere else, somewhere different." I'm not sure if my words make any sense, but that doesn't matter right now. "I woke up in the sky, in some kind of heaven."

"Heaven?"

"Yes, I was laying on clouds or something, but that's not the point. Someone was there with me and he called me Asta, like he was confusing me with someone else, but he was sure I was her," I tell him, shaking my head. "I know it doesn't make sense—"

"Nothing has made sense in a while, doll," Rory interrupts. "I hate to break it to you, but we're not normal people. We haven't been since the days we were born and that's not something we can change. All we can do is look toward a better tomorrow."

His words are meant to calm me down, I know that. But it's no good right now. We have too much to sit and figure out before I can rest easy, before any of us can rest easy. With all of the thoughts racing through my head, I can't breathe or think properly. Rory, Alexei, and I still don't even really know each other. We don't even have the chance to get used to the mate bond or think about how we're going to balance this relationship. My pack, my family, they've never been there for me. Now, I want more than anything to go back and save them from the wrath of Timothy. I shouldn't, but alpha's don't leave their packs behind.

"Doll," Rory calls out to me, but I'm far away. I see nothing but darkness starting to close in. It takes over my sight in spots until I have nothing but tunnel vision. "Sophia-Grace!"

I pass out once again, but this time it's different. I'm falling backwards and there's nothing to catch me. Free falling causes me to feel weightless and my arms wave around slowly. Air does nothing to carry me down leisurely, no. I'm falling fast, yet I'm not scared. This feels like that heaven I was in before. Perhaps that's where I'm being summoned to. I think of the man as I stare into the void of darkness above me.

Then I land on a softness. It envelops me as warmth hugs my body. Any bad feeling I had before disappears completely. My body slouches down, my muscles relaxing against the clouds below me. Weightless, happy, light. Only good things fill me as the smell of flowers permeates the air. This is new. Last time there was no smell, only feeling.

"Sorry to have convoked you so abruptly, Asta." It's the same guy from before, but I still don't know his name. It feels like I should know it, like I should know him but I don't. My mind just comes up empty. Before, I'd be frustrated, but this place doesn't let me. "You were beginning to have a panic attack, so I figured it would be best to bring you here before you hyperventilated and passed out. This way saves you a headache though I reckon your significant others are a bit more worried this way."

"Name?" Like last time, I sound slow. It's like my ears are stuffed, though, which isn't normal. At least it doesn't seem normal.

Meeting his blue eyes, the mysterious man gives me a small smile. He breathes a laugh, it sounds like, before he crosses his arms behind his back. At a lazy pace, he steps towards where my body lays. His being is so open, so loving, so welcoming. His chest appears as a pillow to me and I want to sink into it. When he finally reaches me, he kneels down next to where I lay.

"I go by Aimilios," he says softly, calmly. The smile remains on his face and he stares at me lovingly. "It's nice to properly meet you, Asta."

Whatever this is breaks. A moment or possible lack of judgement, it's gone now. I want to be confused and upset that I'm here again, but I mentally can't. This place blocks my mind from anything bad.

I lift from the cloud below me so that I'm sitting. Aimilios moves back some before settling down on his bottom and throwing his arms over his legs. His hair, pearly and seemingly thick, blows with the imaginary breeze. Seeing my gaze on it, he passes a hand through the light locks. Then he laughs quietly and snaps his fingers. A breeze forms and blows gently against us. I didn't realize it before, but the temperature here is odd. It feels like nothing, just normal, even with the light wind.

"Why did you bring me here again?" I ask him, cocking my head to the side. "Where is this?"

"You're so curious, it reminds me of when you were a child." His words strike me as odd for a moment before it disappears. "We're in Elysium. This place is above everything else. Below is the plain you've lived on all your life. Below the living plain is the underworld."

Shaking my head, I subconsciously press a hand to his shoulder. When I realize what I've done, I pull my hand away harshly as if he burned me. But that doesn't worry me. Touching him feels familiar. I feel like we've known each other for longer than now. A memory, I think, tugs at the back of my head, constantly knocking against my skull. Still, I can't recall.

"Within time, sister," Aimilios says and reaches out to pat my hand. He then grabs it and stands before pulling me up. "Please, walk with me."

"Walk? But I need to get back now, Aimilios. There's so much I need to tell Rory and Alexei something isn't right with my pack." I'm rambling, but he doesn't seem annoyed. That same smile is on his face. "I can't lollygag here."

A boisterous laugh leaves him while tilting his head pack and rubbing his flat stomach. I stare as he rights himself, shaking his head and wiping a non-existent tear. Looking at him is weird because I can actually see resemblances between us. I didn't want to believe that we were siblings because it would only pile onto the mess that my life already is. It would mean so much more than how or why things are the way they are. I don't think I'm remotely ready to face what this all is and what it means.

Something in the light, starry sky rumbles. The clouds below us shake, feeling like a tremor, like a small earthquake. Holding my hands out, I look around me in confusion. This place didn't seem like it would be unstable, not here.

Looking towards Aimilios, I wait for an explanation. The smile is gone from his face for the first time. A sigh leaves him and he reaches for my shoulders. Once I'm clutched in his hands, he stares down at me intensely.

"You need to calm down, Asta, okay?" Aimilios gives me the lightest of shakes. "I need you to let the negative thoughts go. Allow the good vibes to fill you and take away your pain. Let this place calm you."

"What's happening? What is this, why is there an earthquake?" My voice comes out frantic and afraid, everything this place is seemingly against.

"You need to calm down right now!" Aimilios commands more sternly. I dart my eyes to the ground below us then back to him. "Take a deep breath, you need to breathe."

I do as he says, figuring this isn't anything good. Listening is clearly what I need to do if Aimilios took on a stricter tone to get his point across to me. Breathing in and out, my heart starts to regulate from its fast pace. Without thinking, I lift my hands to hold onto Aimilios' arms, squeezing them as if they're my lifeline. Just why does he make me feel this way? Why is this so familiar?

"Okay, you're okay," Aimilios says and his words manage to calm me down enough to realize the shaking has stopped. "You need to remain calm, Asta, please."

When I finally get my heart regulated, I nail him with my own stern look. Though I'm not sure how effective it is. "Please tell me what that was, Aimilios. I'm so confused and something doesn't feel right." I don't want to leave anymore. Instead, I want to find answers.

He doesn't respond, letting my plea linger in the air. We stare at each other silently. Aimilios finally gives me a smile, but this one is soft and sad. For whatever reason, I feel like this will be the last time I see him for a while. I still have so many questions to ask him. My whole core feels sad to see him like this, not happy, not calm.

"What?" I whisper my question, afraid that I'll set something off, maybe him.

"Asta, it's been a pleasure as always, but it's time for you to go." Aimilios stares down at me, his crystal-like eyes reflecting nothing but determination now. It seems like he's trying to hide something important, something I should know.

Shaking my head, I grab onto his shoulder. "You can't send me back yet. There's something happening that you're not telling me. What is it?"

Aimilios plasters on another smile, one that falsifies his mood. This one seems so happy and okay now, but his eyes are still dejected. They don't reflect the same as his smile, not like he wants I assume. He shakes his head, his blonde hair flowing with the movement, bouncing against his forehead. A sigh leaves him and he shrugs as if he's trying to shake away nerves.

"There are things I can't reveal to you yet, Asta." So there is something? "For now, you must go back. Soon, things will change. I need you to be ready for what's to come, Asta. Do not trust all you see or all you meet, do you understand me?"

Trust? That doesn't even tell me all I need to know. We haven't encountered anyone but Cythrea and I highly doubt she would turn up as a traitor. Not to Alexei, especially because she's still in love with my mate. I could smell it a mile away, so why would she betray her like that? Rory is my mate. Hurting me would mean hurting him which also means he can't hurt Alexei. Speaking of, she betrayed her whole coven for me, her queen. No, she did it for us, all three of us.

That only leaves Aimilios himself, but why would he warn me about himself? It doesn't make any sense.

"What does that mean?"

He purses his lips before he touches my forehead. "Be careful, sweet Asta."

With slight pressure, my eyes roll to the back of my head and I fall again.