Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
That night, I searched for Sophia in my dreams.
Finding her wasn’t easy. Navigating my way through a world I didn’t know, even in the form of insubstantial energy, was difficult. Traveling by force of will only made it harder. Without some tangible place I’d been to before to anchor onto, I could only guess where Lash’s old village might be.
Again and again, I made random guesses, popping here, there, and everywhere in a ferus territory that stretched all the way up the coast.
It didn’t take me long to realize I was never going to find Lash’s old village this way.
So, settling myself down, I tried another way.
I might not have any idea where Sophia was, but I knew her.
Closing my eyes again, I brought up an image of her in my mind and focused all my energy on it.
Within seconds, I felt something. Not much, but something—a weak and distant pull.
I followed the sensation, slowly at first, then gaining confidence as the feeling grew inside me. Soon, my belly was swirling as my energy rushed through the forest.
And then, suddenly, it stopped.
When I opened my eyes, I was in a strange, dark room.
What the hell was this place? Like an old medieval structure, everything was constructed from timber and stone.
The floors were hard and the walls thick.
Richly colored curtains and tapestries hung from every corner to keep back the chill in the chamber.
Every piece of furniture looked as if it were expertly carved from solid wood.
It felt like I’d been catapulted hundreds of years back in time. Was this what all the interiors of those fairy-tale buildings from Hannah’s photographs looked like?
Probably. After all, it wasn’t as if Lash’s old pack could run down to IKEA when they wanted to freshen up the place.
But I wasn’t here to admire the decor. I needed to find Sophia.
I found her fast asleep in the center of the massive mattress, fresh, cozy bedding tucked around her. She looked like a damn princess. In all our years together, I’d never seen her expression so content or serene.
And it wasn’t hard to guess why.
Next to her on the pillow was the hulking alpha who’d found her in the forest.
Kyre—that’s what she’d called him.
Her slender arm was draped over his bare chest, rising and falling with every breath he took. Her tousled hair was splayed over his shoulder. Even in sleep, the corners of her lips were pulled up in an easy smile.
So, she had gotten laid after all.
Good for her.
It warmed my heart to see her so happy.
Too bad I was about to roll in the storm clouds to rain on her parade.
Reaching out my hand, I laid my fingers on her forearm.
My head swirled as the dizzy feeling crashed over me again.
At least this time, I was prepared for it and managed to hold back the wave of hot acid burbling up in my throat.
Breathing through the sudden sense of nausea and shielding my eyes from the blinding light, I waited for the discomfort to pass, wondering where in the world I’d end up this time.
I never would have guessed it would be back in the cave where I was currently sleeping.
But sure enough, there I was…and stretched out on the floor like she had been in the bed was Sophia.
I said her name, but she didn’t answer. She didn’t react. Not at all.
Walking around to face her, I saw that her eyes were closed. She was still asleep.
Asleep in a dream? I guessed that was possible. After all, a person didn’t spend their entire night dreaming. They drifted in and out of different sleep cycles through the night.
I must have caught her in one of those in-between spaces.
“Sophia,” I said again, trying to pull her consciousness into this space with me. “Open your eyes.”
Just like we were back at home, she grumbled sleepily at me, then rolled over.
I should have known I wouldn’t be able to do this the easy way.
With my toe, I nudged her in the belly. “Damn it, Sophia. Get the hell up!”
In a flash, her eyes popped open. “What the hell, Felicity!”
I did my best to hold back a laugh as her voice echoed off the cave walls. “God, you’re hard to wake up,” I said. “Even in a dream.”
Sophia blinked a couple of times, her sleep-soaked brain taking a few seconds to orient itself. But once she finally got her bearings, her eyes lit up like diamonds, and she shot up from the floor. In an instant, her arms wrapped around me, squeezing me tight.
“Felicity! You’re okay,” she cried. “You wouldn’t believe how worried I’ve been.”
“Betcha’ I would.”
Sophia pulled back, looking me up and down, concern written all over her face.
“Where are we?” she asked. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t really know how to answer either of those questions,” I admitted. “But I can show you.”
Draping my arm over her shoulder, I led her toward the opening of the cave, letting her look out over the view. For several silent seconds, she stared out over the magnificent vista in wonder.
“A cave?” She sounded confused. “How long have you been here?”
“In this cave? Just one night,” I said. “Every night we have to find somewhere new. Lash says no one will be able to track us as long as we stay high. But we need to keep moving, just in case.”
Her expression tightened at the mention of Lash’s name. “Please tell me he hasn’t hurt you.”
“He hasn’t. And I know this might be hard to believe, but he won’t.”
“Damn straight, he won’t,” she agreed, sounding like her typical over-protective self. “Because we’re getting the hell out of here. Right now.”
I shook my head. “No, Sophia. We’re not.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This is a dream,” I tried to explain. “We’re not really together.”
Confusion swam in her eyes as she looked around the cave again.”So this isn’t real?”
“No, it’s real,” she assured me. “As real as any other dream you’ve had about this place. Right now, I’m asleep in this cave, just like you’re asleep in Kyre’s bed.”
Her eyes widened. “How did you know about that?”
“Because I’m seeing it in my dream, the same way you’re seeing this,” I told her. “While you’re here with me, I’m there with you.”
“That’s crazy.”
“It’s confusing, I know.” There was no point trying to pretend otherwise. “I don’t really understand either.”
“But you’re really alive?”
“I am, and I’m so happy you are too.” I gave her hands a squeeze. “Though I’m also totally pissed off that you followed me into the Wilds. What were you thinking, girl? You could have gotten yourself killed.”
“What else could I do?” She didn’t sound the least bit repentant. “There was no way I was going home without you.”
“Home? LA, you mean?”
“Yeah, of course. Where else?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “It’s just that you seem pretty cozy where you are now.”
“You have to be kidding.”
“Sophia, I’ve never seen you this relaxed before.
” It was true. It was like I was staring at a brand new person.
Someone far more confident than the shy, mousy girl I’d always known.
“Back in LA, you were barely treading water, but now you’re standing up for yourself with alphas three times your size.
You’re asking for what you want. You’re finally getting laid. ”
“There’s more to life than sex, you know.” She rolled her eyes…then narrowed them. “Wait. How do you know what the sex is like? Did that son of a bitch touch you? Because if he did, I’ll?—“
“Sophia, I’m fine,” I assured her. “I told you, Lash hasn’t hurt me. I swear it.”
“Not yet, at least,” she said. “Which is why we need to find you as soon as possible and get you out of here.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
“What are you talking about?” I couldn’t believe my ears. “Of course, it is.”
“Sophia, listen to me.” Locking eyes with me, Felicity let out a sharp sigh. “I know the ferus you’re with are obsessed with capturing Lash, but he isn’t the one they need to worry about. It’s this other lady—Nelissa. She’s the real dangerous one.”
Sophia’s eyes widened. “I know who that is. She killed the last pack leader in the village.”
“And now she’s hoping to kill the new one.” I quickly filled her in on Nelissa’s plans.
“How do you know all this?” Sophia asked.
“That’s not important.” The only important thing was what happened next. “I just really need you to trust me on this.”
“Of course,” she said. “I’ll always trust you.”
“Good, then the second you wake up from this, you need to go and talk to the pack leader,” I said. “Tell her everything I told you. Your lives depend on it.”
She promised she would. “But what about you? You know I can’t just leave you out there in the Wilds with a madman. I have to keep looking for you.”
“Don’t! Nelissa will just follow anyone you send to find me. Right now, I need you to be patient. If all goes to plan, I’ll come to you.”
“But—“
“Just trust me,” I pleaded. “Just this once, please.”
“Okay.” She gave a reluctant nod. “But when are you coming?”
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “A few days, maybe.”
“How many is a few? Two? Three? More?”
“I don’t know.” I didn’t even try to hold back my laughter. She’d always been the one who wanted firm plans and strict timelines. “But it won’t be long. And I’m going to need your help once I get there.”
“What kind of help?”
I didn’t dare tell her. Not now. Not with the angry way she was talking about Lash.
To her, he was still just the monster who had stolen me away in the night. I knew I would be able to sway her opinion about him with a few words. She would need to see how much he had changed for herself. She needed to see us together with her own eyes.
“You’ll know when the time comes,” I told her. “I promise.”
“What the hell does that mean?” she demanded.
How could I answer that when I wasn’t exactly sure myself?
So instead of saying a word, I started pulling my hand away from her real shoulder in her real bed. Slowly, I drifted out of the dream within a dream and back to Felicity’s new bedroom…
…where I witnessed a very frustrated alpha trying to shake her awake.
I smiled at the sight. Some things about Sophia might have changed, but others were still exactly the same.