I sat on a couch in the living room with a book in my hands a while later with Michael and Avery at the main pack house and Alex in her bedroom taking a nap. I stared blankly at the page, reading but not reading while my mind was blank and numb.

Alexia was in the room with me, sitting in a different chair. She was silent while she watched me try to read, not saying a word, even though there was a part of her that wanted to talk to me, to ask questions and see what was going on in my mind, even though she never did.

There was a knock on the wall beside the living room, and we both looked that way with me closing the book to see Samuel standing there with a tight smile on his face. He didn't say a word while he stared at me, and I could tell that he wanted to talk to me about something, even though he didn't know how to bring it up.

"Samuel," I greeted, breaking the silence first and setting the book down while I stood with furrowed brows. Concern filled my body while I stared at the younger male, not sure what was going on with him and hoping that he was ok. "Are you ok?" I asked, and Sam bit back a small snort while he slowly nodded.

"I am," he said before he cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "Do you mind if I come in?" he asked and cocked his head while he stared at me with a raised eyebrow.

I bit back a small smile and shook my head, amused. "Yes," I said. "I mean, this is the living room. I don't know why you are asking if you can come in."

Sam shrugged and grimaced while he slowly started to walk into the living room. "Well, you are seeming to be in a state of shock or something," he said. He cleared his throat and moved a hand through his hair. "And, I don't want you to feel like I am barging in or something."

I snorted and shook my head. "You aren't," I said before I gestured to the book that was still on the couch behind me. "I was just reading, so you aren't bothering me."

"Or at least trying to read," Alexia said, and I had to glance at her before I looked at Sam to see that he was scowling at me.

"What?" I asked and furrowed my brows while I cocked my head and stared at him, pressing my lips into a thin line. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"What are you looking at?" he asked while he cocked his head and studied me with a raised eyebrow while he stopped in front of the chair. "I saw that glance as if you were looking at something and then looking away as if you didn't want me to see that you were glancing at something."

Shit...

I held back an eye roll and pressed my lips into a thinner line. "I don't know what you mean," I said, playing it off. I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet while I gestured to him and the seat. "Are you going to sit?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

"After you," he said and bowed his head a little, "Your Highness."

I held back an eye roll while I pressed my lips into a thin line. "Samuel," I warned, earning a cheeky grin from Samuel. "Go ahead and s-"

"Don't start, Anastasia," he said with a shake of his head. "Sit." He paused and grimaced while I gave him a pointed look and raised an eyebrow in question. "Please?"

I held back an eye roll but did what I was told to do before I sat down on the couch again with a small sigh, and Samuel sat in the seat across from me.

"So," he said and cleared his throat while he cocked his head and studied me, raising an eyebrow in question. "What happened? Are you ok?"

I sighed and shook my head while I moved a hand through my hair. "I'm ok," I said and cleared my throat while I shifted in my seat, growing serious too. "I am just tired, is all. It's just been a long day, and it's not even bedtime yet."

"I could make it bedtime," Isen said from wherever he was hiding himself, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes and scowl, earning a raised eyebrow from Sam.

"Isen told me that he could make it bedtime for me," I said and folded my arms across my chest, biting back an annoyed sigh. "He's somewhere in the room, but I don't know where."

"Liar," Isen said, biting back a small laugh. "You know exactly where I am at."

Samuel slowly nodded and looked around the room before he looked at me. "Are you worried about Isen?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

I bit back a small laugh and shook my head. "No," I said. "I am not worried about Isen. He's a dumbass and won't do anything to hurt me." I ignored Isen, earning a small snicker from him.

Samuel slowly nodded and furrowed his brows, pressing his lips into a thin line. "Where is he?" he asked and cocked his head while he studied me. "Is he nearby?"

I bit back a small laugh and nodded. "He is," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat, growing serious. "He's trying to be sneaky and move from where he is at," I said and looked in the direction that Isen had been in before I looked at him.

Samuel scowled and narrowed his eyes, amused. "Go ahead and show me where he is at, please. Will he appear?"

"No," I said and did what I was told to do and pointed toward Isen, who was leaning against the back wall near the last window with nothing else around him. "He's right there, anyway."

Samuel looked that way before he looked at me with a blank look on his face. He didn't say a word while he stared at me, and I could tell that he believed me but didn't believe me.

I held back an eye roll and pressed my lips into a thin line. "He's not going to appear from the corner," I said. "I don't know why you are looking at me like that."

He shrugged and grimaced. "I don't know either," he said with a small shake of his head before he cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "Now, what happened? Are you ok?" he asked, changing the subject. "Why is Avery so cold to you?"

I bit back an annoyed sigh while I moved a hand through my hair and cleared my throat. "Which question do you want me to answer first, Samuel?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question. I was amused and wasn't angry at all of the questions he had given me at once.

"What happened?" Samuel asked while he cocked his head and studied me. "Are you able to answer that question, first?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

I bit back a small sigh and slowly nodded. "Yes," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I can answer that question first." I paused and licked my lips before I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat, looking at my hands. "And the thing that happened is that my sister, Alexia, is back." I looked at him with a blank look on my face. "Alexia is back from the grave as a ghost and is in the room with us."