The blankets are soft against my skin. Light pours in through the closed shutters, giving a dim warmth to the room, and I feel his arms around me. I feel his shallow breaths just reach the back of my neck. I feel like another version of myself, one that I've never met, but one that takes away the anxiety and sadness that clouded my mind before. I'm still Rae, but I'm Content Rae. I'm Satisfied Rae. I'm Rae who just might be okay in the end.Right here, in this spot, I feel happy. It's a light, cozy happiness that kisses your cheek in the morning and again before you fall asleep. It's breathless and smells like home. It's a cracked but lush sidewalk, filling up the holes with color and life. It's summer days and nights on the beach, hearing nothing but the waves. Happiness is me and my one true partner acting as a team and not as enemies. It's experiencing my lowest point then my highest,

Many strangers greet us as we make our way inside. Though I am familiar with the building from the gathering, it looks completely transformed. Sure, it was dressed up before, but everything is switched around now. There are fewer tables and instead more room for standing and chatting or whatever leaders do. As my eyes scan the area, I see most people standing with a drink, in groups of two to five people. And unlike the gathering, there are guards at the doors outside and inside. Coincidentally, I spot Theodore with one other guard towards the back, and I immediately make plans in my head to see him.James places his hand lightly on my back, reeling me back to the current situation. Knowing that we'll have to welcome everyone, his movements towards the grouped people don't surprise me. I take a quick breath before we reach the first one, a set of three.

I sit in the dirt, against a tree, the bark scratching my bare back, and I stay curled up. A thin fog gathers around me, the air frigid. My fingers lose color and I feel as if these are the sensations of death. Everything is cold, so painfully and relentlessly cold. The feeling in my toes fade and I contemplate shifting again to stay alive. I can't be too far, I can't be off of pack land. I should go back but I'm scared that his father will grab me again, that he'll choke me and cut me as he did his wife.'You didn't finish the diary, did you?'A harsh shiver overcomes me and I hold my bare body tighter, ready to shift even though my wolf is exhausted. This is what I get for not letting her out enough, she grows weak.I need to go back, I need to find James, he needs to know the truth