The journey continued as if there had been no stop in its progress. Sansa stared at the map, its crumbled figure still showing the hole that Tryton had torn in it months ago. She had marked the spot of her original destination- towards the soothsayer.

Legends.

That was what she was after. And after meeting Nova, she knew more about what she might be looking for. What she might be hoping to find.

She was close to the soothsayer.

It had been weeks of nonstop travel, of burying her emotions of loneliness and isolation down to forget not only him... but also the new friends she was forcing herself to leave behind.

Sansa felt numb. Each day seemed to be a long battle in her mind of fighting to continue on her search and to not give up.

Had Nova given up? Sansa thought often of her actions. Of how Nova was isolated within the woods, mourning a single night that had changed her life forever. Of a man she had only one real connection with.

But it was different for Sansa. She...she knew him. He was and had always been a part of her life.

She often reflected on her choice of seeking him out and finding him. Some days the decision seemed like the obvious one, something that her heart knew for sure was the right choice.

And then other days...other days Sansa felt tired.

She felt tired of holding onto nothing but a memory and going from pack to pack, asking discreetly about his description, to only be met with laughter.

She was almost there. Less than a day's walk away from her was the soothsayer. She had been traveling for months, only staying at a pack for a handful of days before moving on. Each pack though had something special. Something unique to them that helped Sansa smile again and move forward with her journey.

Sansa stared at the cloudy sky, looking at the thin sliver of the moon. It was dark. The light of the object was not able to shine past the obstruction. She felt herself shiver, even though the air was warm in the mid-summer months.

Slowly, Sansa laid her head down, still staring at what was above her, before closing her eyes.

*   *   *

Hands touched her arms.

She recognized these hands.

The scent. The scent hit her, something that would alarm others, but there was a comforting side to it that seemed to wrap around Sansa as her head slowly moved closer to take it in.

The hands that were wrapped around her wrists slowly moved up, softly touching as the fingers trailed along her skin. She felt herself gasp as the simple sensation.

She kept her eyes closed, not daring to open them. It was as if a veil had been placed over her mind. She was caught in a web of darkness that made her body seem paralyzed, open to sensation, but unable to act upon it. She could not move in response to the hands. She could not open her eyes to see- to confirm.

The hands stopped in their movement and left her skin.

A sudden pain flared in her chest but was quickly soothed as warmth came to her hips, the soft fabric of her shirt being lifted just slightly for the contact to be made.

And then lips.

Lips pressing against the hollow dent of her throat, going up along with the hands, both slowly searching as a pressure leaned against Sansa.

His body wrapped around her, chest going to lay upon her own, his lips making a half circle to follow the vein of her neck, before landing on the corner of her lips.

And her name whispered through those lips, in his voice, softly- low. "Sansa."

As the pressure in his hands became stronger and the force of his kiss swallowed out anything he could say-that she could say.

She felt her body come up to meet his and something close to pain and relief was building inside her when-

She opened her eyes.

Sansa could not move, her whole mind unable to process the dream. A warmth was slowly leaving her body, as a painful longing filled her chest.

And then she heard a rustling noise.

But she could barely register it, as she realized that tears were coming down her face. Slowly falling and salting the earth.

Her hand sluggishly came up to press against her chest, as a low cry left her.

It was something she had never experienced, and the sudden level of pure unfiltered pain caught her completely by surprise.

"Are you okay?"

The words of a stranger barely registered to her.

She looked to the side, seeing an unfamiliar male stare down at her.

He wore nothing but loose pants, telling Sansa that he had probably just shifted back, from fur to skin.

"You..." he hesitantly stepped closer, his face showing uncertainty as he looked cautiously around.

Sansa for some reason could find no words. Nothing seemed to be registering to her. Something about the dream had made her mind snap. And within a few seconds, her crying was growing louder, her sobs coming in full unfiltered force.

The male looked alarmed, but slowly continued to advance on her.

"Where are you injured?"

Sansa shook her head and did nothing but point to her chest.

She caught his eyes, and for a few moments, they did nothing but stare at each other. He flinched against her pain, seeing something within her that caused him to take a step forward.

"Tell me to stop if you don't want me to," he whispered. Slowly he leaned down, picking her up to cradle her within his arms.

Without thinking, Sansa tucked her head into the corner of his neck, breathing deeply his unfamiliar scent, and trying to let it push away the one that had invaded her dreams.

She sensed in the back of her mind, him moving to collect her bag. He moved forward with her still in his arms, and Sansa found herself wondering if sense would kick in soon to allow her to tell him to stop. But it never did. The only thing that consumed her mind was the hurt.

"I'm sorry," the male whispered.

Over and over, this kind stranger said those words to her. Over and over he apologized for a pain that was not even his own.

Sansa found his words comforting for some reason.

And slowly, with her heart still breaking, her chest still hurting, and her mind numb to all other thoughts, she drifted away in his arms.

*   *   *

Sansa woke up with a headache.

Her eyes felt heavy and swollen as she stared blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling.

Slowly she registered the presence of another person with her. Turning to face them, she found the male from last night sitting in a chair, sleeping.

His hands were crossed, tucked under his arms as his chin touched his chest in sleep. Occasionally, his leg would twitch, a movement that made Sansa smile. She slowly rose, looking around at the room and realizing, that it must be the males.

It was covered in his scent.

She did not notice that he was awake, watching her. Not until she turned around to meet his eyes.

He stared at her silently, and Sansa felt a slow blush form on her face from pure embarrassment.

"I..." she cleared her throat, coughing suddenly at how much it hurt.

"Wait a second." The male stood abruptly and left the room. Within a few seconds he was back, holding a glass of water.

Sansa took it gratefully. She saw her bag in the corner of the room and pointed to it. Without question he carried it to her. She opened it, finding the right herb that she needed to soothe her irritated throat.

He watched her with raised eyebrows.

"So you're a healer."

Sansa drank the water, consuming the whole glass before setting it down on the bedside table and nodding.

"I..." Sansa looked up at the male but found that she was no longer able to meet his eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Oh..." he seemed embarrassed also as he stared at the ceiling, "I didn't know what else to do."

Sansa smiled and slowly sat upon the edge of the bed.

"If you don't feel good-,"

"I'm fine," she whispered, "I just- I'm sorry about last night."

The male slowly sat back down in his chair, staring hard at her.

"I...I think I have an idea- and I won't ask. But you can stay for as long as you need to...to recover."

"I'm a stranger," Sansa said.

"You're in pain," the male responded, "and you need rest. How long have you been traveling out there?"

Sansa could not think of the exact month or time. She only shrugged sheepishly at the male.

"I'm Sansa," she whispered, realizing she had never introduced herself.

The male smiled at her, "I'm Esmond."

"Thank you for...taking care of me last night," Sansa felt another blush come over her face and saw that Esmond's own cheeks were turning slightly pink as he looked away.

"Ah...about that...It was the middle of the night and we were close to m-the pack." He gave a long sigh after that, to which Sansa felt some small guilt enter her.

"I'll be leaving soon."

"At least have breakfast before you go," he said. 

She rose slowly, Esmond hovering slightly around her. Sansa laughed, causing him to smile at his own actions of worrying.

It seemed to be past the early morning hours. Sansa caught a glimpse of the sun within one of the windows, realizing it was closer to noon.

As they descended the stairs, a slow thought was starting to form in Sansa's mind. She took in the grandness of the inside of the building, at the different pictures of what seemed to be older males in their late 40s lining up the wall. Slowly this thought began to grow more solid and solid as she and Esmond continued walking.

At the end of the stairs, she heard small whispers stop. Sansa looked up at Esmond to see his eyes narrowed, and a sudden change in his posture.

That's when it clicked to Sansa of who he really was.

They entered the kitchen area, some pack members sitting there enjoying their lunch. All the males at the table rose in respect as Esmond entered the room.

Sansa felt her eyes widen slightly as Esmond took her arm and led her slowly to the head of the table.

He sat her down on his right, a position that caused all eyes to look at her. Sansa felt her face fall forward, her hair that she had not washed in days moving to cover her burning cheeks.

Esmond said nothing as he handed her a plate and moved some of the food closer to be within reach.

Until the silence was broken as he said in a normal tone, "this is Sansa. She is a traveling healer and will be joining us for Lunch. Please make her feel welcomed."

The other pack members slowly nodded their heads to her, small confusion still showing upon their faces, but a level of clearness coming at the same time.

Sansa ate in silence, thoughtful now as she took Esmond in.

"I could not tell you were an Alpha."

Esmond seemed to choke on the water he was drinking when he heard her words.

"Oh...really?" He coughed in between his words, glaring at the male who sat on his left as sudden laughter left him.

"Well, it's probably because I'm not. For now. My father is still Alpha but is in a negotiation trip. I was left in charge in his place." Esmond sent another glare at the male on his left before turning back to face Sansa.

"I can tell you have...maybe some Alpha?"

"Uh..." Sansa hesitated. It was the first time anyone had really pointed out that they could tell something like that from her.

"Maybe..." she said. Her vague words caused Esmond to narrow his eyes thoughtfully before going back to eating.

Sansa felt the other pack members' eyes on her as they continued eating.

The male who sat across from her suddenly spoke.

"Are you on your search?"

Sansa paused, her head jerking to look up. He was genuinely curious. Nothing out of the ordinary with his question. There should have been nothing strange about it.

Sansa could feel Esmond's eyes on her. She could feel the whole pack's eyes on her as she nodded in response.

"We can show you around the pack after lunch- maybe he's here?"

"I'm actually...looking for a soothsayer..." Sansa felt tired after her long search. She did not want to waste any more time or delays in stopping.

"A soothsayer? We have one. The only one for miles on miles, so you must have been looking for us."

Sansa turned slowly to Esmond, a question in her eyes.

He smiled down at her, "It's true. She calls herself Epione. Many people travel all over to come and listen to her though...." Here he seemed to hesitate before continuing, "she's not really...stable..."

"Why do you want to talk to her? If you think she can help you in finding your mate, it would probably just be easier to travel pack to pack. She might send you in the wrong direction. That happened once."

Sansa smiled at the male, his eyes widening slightly in response, "Thank you," she whispered, "but if it's okay...I would still like to meet her."

There was a moment of silence before Esmond interrupted her, "yes, of course you can. I'll introduce you when you're done with lunch."

*waves* long time no see? Hope you enjoyed the update ♥