Vibrations cascaded down my body, as a deep harmonious purr sounded near by. It was all so serene. I could stay like this forever. My consciousness tugs me towards the surface away from sleep. Something beside me shifts. Addie must've climbed into bed with me during the night. Turning to hug her closer to me, I come into contact with a big furry pillow. No. It's a warm furry pillow. There's only one thing wrong with this.

I don't own a warm, furry pillow. As I slowly open my eyes, I am met with the coolest blue eyes I've ever seen in my life. They remind me of the arctic ice blended with the clearest blue ocean water. The eyes are blue crystals staring back at me. Its head tilts to the side in wonder. Gaining the rest of my senses, I look closer and let out a scream as I fall out of bed.

Jumping to my feet, I look around for the door and run to it yanking at the knob. It doesn't budge. It's locked. I begin to bang on the door.

"Help! Help! Somebody help!" I hear a thud behind me, followed by the tremble of the floor beneath me.

"I'm gonna die." My heart picks up pace and hammers in my chest. My limbs begin to shake. I can feel it getting closer and closer, as it closes the distance between us.

"Thump thump thump." The floor shakes with every step. I try my best to stand completely still. The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention as I feel it's breath on my back. A deep rumbling purr sounds from behind me. I don't move. I hear the rumble again. I don't move. Moments later, it sounds again. This time, I feel something cool bump my hand, and my heart nearly explodes. Seconds pass. No one moves. I dare not take my eyes off the door in front of me.The crickets outside the window, play their music in the night. I wonder if I can make it to the window. No way, I'd be dead before I take my first step.

"I would never hurt you." Shocked, I whirl around in search of the voice. Yet, all I see are big blue eyes staring back at me. These rich blue eyes belong to the enormous white lioness standing in front of me. The color of her fur is the purest of all whites. The glow of the dim light chases the shadows along her body. Seconds tick by in silence while we continue to watch one another. Suddenly the lioness turns away, leaps back onto the bed and makes herself comfortable. She takes one last look at me before closing her eyes and falling asleep. Surely she isn't asleep.

"No I'm not, but if it makes you less afraid of me, I will pretend." The voice is coming from inside my head. I can't seem to find my voice to speak.

"My name is Saadia. You are safe here." The only thing I am capable of doing in this moment is try my hardest not to faint. What is going on here? Where is here? Where am I? How did I get here?

"You are in danger. We are in Zaneva. You were brought here for protection." Saadia continues to lay in her pretend state of sleep. While her eyes are closed, I take in my surroundings. I'm in a bedroom that clearly isn't my own.

I'm in danger? Oh no. Jonas finally found me. He will try to take Addie away from me. Suddenly, I hear a rolling growl sound from the bed followed by a thud, and Saadia is once again standing in front of me.

"Who is Jonas?" Wait. What?

"Who is Jonas?" Saadia continues to stand in front of me, but the voice I hear is coming from someone else. I feel him before I see him. Saadia patiently waits for me to answer. Her blue eyes are tainted with an unmistakable threat. I didn't hear him enter the room. His foot steps take him over to a seat near the windows. This room was full of floor to ceiling windows. Through one of the windows, I see a lake in the distance.

"Who is Jonas, Natasha?" My professor is here with me in this unfamiliar room asking me questions about my past. There is a lion right here and Professor Haven doesn't seem to be fazed one bit. I must be dreaming.

"This is not a dream Natasha." There he was, in my head again.

"How are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" I sense a bit of humor in his eyes?

"That! You just did it again. How are you in my head?"

"Well, if you're dreaming, this isn't real. Everything would be in your head, including my voice." I just stare blankly at him. "Who is Jonas, Natasha?"

"That is none of your business. Besides, if I am dreaming, you're only a figment of my imagination. Therefore, there is nothing you can do about it." I must have hit my head very hard in class, because I feel like I'm losing my mind. "Why am I here, Professor Haven?"

"Natasha..." His voice has taken on a warning tone now as he steps closer to me. I take a step back to maintain our distance when all of a sudden a bright light flashes and I feel a sharp pain in my head as memories begin to flood me at once. Wincing, I fall to my knees. Then it's over before it even started. My breathing is heavy as I try to pull myself together. I remember it all. I feel a wave of anger and anxiety roll through my body as I slowly lift my head to glare in his direction. Before I can make a move, Saadia purrs and rubs her head into my neck. Her movements knock me on to my bottom. She stretches her upper body across my lap, licks my face and continues to nuzzle into my side as she purrs. I feel my anger slipping away. Saadia's warmth soothes me and pulls me away from my anger.

Shocked by the exchange, I reach out to touch her and stop myself halfway. This is a lion for crying out loud. She watches me in amusement and angles her head in an invitation to continue. My fingertips connect with the fur of her head, followed closely by the palm of my hand. Immediately warmth flows down the length of my arm and expands throughout my body. Our eyes lock and I get lost in the depths of the blue ocean in front of me. The ice crystals dance and begin to glow a vibrant blue.

I don't know how long we stay like this. Time seems to stand still in this moment. Saadia pulls away and my hand falls to my lap. I feel completely exhausted. What was that? Saadia purrs into my side once more.

"You need to rest now." I look up into her eyes knowing that she is right. I don't want to go to sleep. I still have to kick his ass.

"Another day, child. Right now you need rest." Saadia turns to Professor Haven and purrs at him. Letting out a sigh, he stands and walks to me. I walk backwards avoiding closing the distance. My response gains a frustrated look. He stops trying to get closer.

"We will discuss this in the morning, and I expect your full cooperation." His words commanded so much authority. I guess he expects me to obey him. As if. This is not the professor I remember. Heck I don't even know my professor.

"In the morning? I don't think so. If you will excuse me, I need to get home. I need to get to my daughter." I move towards the door, but I am stopped by Saadia.

"Addie is safe Natasha. Don't worry. It's best if you stay here for now."

"How would you know what's best for me or my daughter? We were attacked. I need to get to her!" The anxiety rises in my voice. Saadia walks up to me, and I take a few steps back. "You will not do that again. If I am angry, let me be angry. Don't try taking away my feelings. I need to get to Addie." There was urgency in my voice. Saadia stares into my eyes contemplating my words. She turns to walk away and in the blink of an eye, she pounces on me.

"Ahhh!" My scream stems more from surprise than fear, though the fear soon begins to build.

"Saadia, don't!" Professor Haven steps forward to intervene.

"She needs to know Adi. The longer she remains like this, the more danger she puts herself in." There was pain mixed with desperation in her words.

"Not now, Saadia."

"Adi..."

"Not now!" Saadia flinches away at his words and bows her head in submission. As she backs away from my body, I slowly rise to my elbows. Who is this man that a lion bows to him? Professor Haven, or should I say Adi, extends his hand to help me to my feet. Letting go of my hand, he looks into my eyes.

"We will discuss this tomorrow. You will not see Addie or your mother tonight, nonnegotiable. They are both safe and so are you." Once again, my blood begins to boil.

"Who do you think you are? You can't tell me who I can and can not see! You can't tell me anything!" My voice is rising with each sentence. "I'm leaving. I'm going to my daughter and my mom. If you value your life, you will get the fuck out of my way." The muscle in the side of his face twitches. Saadia walks to stand at my side. Using her head to lift my arm, she nuzzles into my side and purrs. I take to rubbing her head in response. Professor Haven watches our exchange before turning towards the door. Watching him retreat, I realize that he's going to lock me in again. Instantly, I follow after him. Instead of closing the door as I suspected he would, he leaves it open. I look down at Saadia who nudges me forward.

"Are you coming or not Natasha?" He has made it a ways down the hall by now. I proceed to follow him, doing my best to keep up. Well that was easy. I thought that surely he would put up a bigger fight. Professor Haven isn't as tough as he put on. As we turn the corner, I sneak a glance at his face. The tone of his skin has a golden hue to it. It's almost unreal. I don't remember him looking quite so...ethereal? As we continue to wherever he is taking us, I notice the floor beneath my feet. It's white stone marble with flakes of gold throughout. The walls around us are gold also. Looking up towards the ceiling, I am met with twinkling lights of the night sky.

"Is that...?"

"Glass? Yes. The ceilings on this floor, minus the bedrooms, are all glass." Professor Haven didn't look my way when he answered. Instead, his focus is on the path ahead of us. The look he was giving made him look as though he was angry at something. We'd reached the stairs and began to descend. A house with glass ceilings, interesting. At the bottom of the stairs, to the right were large double doors. This seems to be where we are heading. Saadia paws ahead of us and the doors swing open immediately. Beyond the doors is an emaculate dining room that houses an enormous dining  table that could seat twenty or more people. This room didn't have floor to ceiling windows. Instead, it opened out to an astonishing garden. The sight in front of me completely took my breath away. There were fluorescent lights that lit a pathway throughout the garden at night. A waterfall in the distance glowed blue. Thinking of Saadia's eyes, I couldn't tell if there were blue lights behind the waterfall causing the beautiful glow or if the water was actually glowing blue. I was so lost in awe of the view that I didn't notice the audience watching me.

Saadia purrs into my side to get my attention. Once she has it, she walks away and sits next to an occupied chair at the table. Professor Haven is still standing with me. It's at this moment that I realize that we aren't alone. My eyes quickly leave Saadia to land on the person occupying the seat. My breath catches in my throat as we lock eyes. She is stunning. Her golden locs shimmer down past her shoulders under the lights of the chandelier. Her skin has that same golden hue as Professor Haven. Looking into her eyes, they are the color of melted gold. As she takes in my appearance also, her eyes dance with the lights coming from the garden. She seems a bit surprised to see me as well. What am I doing here? Glancing around, I notice that there are more people at the table. With a closer look, I see that there is no food on the table. The woman stands and walks towards me. Saadia follows closely by her side. As she walks, power emits from her presence. If anyone was in control, it was definitely this woman. There was something familiar about her, but I can't seem to place it. How can I? If I'd ever met someone like her, it would be impossible to forget.

As she gets closer, I get the urge to take a step back. Before I can do just that, Professor Haven places his hand on the small of my back as if to keep me in place. I look at him, but he refuses to meet my eyes. I seek out Saadia, but her loyalty clearly lies with the woman.

"I am loyal to you also, child." Saadia's eyes are trained on me before her attention is placed on the grooming of her paws. The woman stops in her tracks looking from Saadia to me. Can she hear my thoughts too? I wouldn't doubt it. If this woman is the alpha that I feel she is, she can probably do more than hear thoughts. At that, she smiles.

"I can, but it's nothing you should be concerned about Natasha." Standing in front of me. She continues to stare at me as if I'm the one with the gold hair and eyes.

"You don't have gold hair but blue does fit you well. Maybe one day gold will also." Huh? At my puzzled expression, the woman gestures to her right. On the wall to her right is a floor to ceiling mirror. I peer into the mirror and what I see staring back at me leaves me speechless. I slowly walked to the mirror, as I stare at the woman looking back at me. She isn't me. How—? Everything is different. My skin, my hair, my eyes and my body have all changed. My caramel complexion is no longer the creamy color it once was. I mean it is, but it has become something more. The golden hue that is present in Professor Haven and the woman's skin is now present in my skin. I lift my hand to touch my hair. My hair flows down my back in blue locs the color is Saadia's eyes. What is this? I focus on my very own eyes and they match perfectly with Saadia's icy oceanic depths. What has happened to me?

The floor beneath my feet begins to slip away as the room fades away into darkness. The last thing I hear is her voice as arms wrap around me.

"It's okay Natasha. You're with me now."

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"What I don't understand is why you insisted on meeting her tonight!" The red haired lady proclaimed to the queen.

"You will lower your voice Nia! I understand your concerns, but she belongs to me. She is mine to protect."

"Yael, she is all of ours to protect." Haim, my husband reaches down to grab my hand and pulls it to his lips. Looking up into his eyes, all I could see was love. Sighing, I nod and stand to leave the dining room. There were only a few people lingering now.

"I just hope she doesn't destroy this house, heck the whole kingdom once she learns the truth."

"Nia, that's enough!" Adi has returned.

"It's okay, Adi. Your sister is right. There is no easy way to do this. We chose this path, and now we have to accept the consequences, good or bad. Feel free to stay the night here. It doesn't make any sense for the both of you to travel tonight."

"I wasn't planning on leaving." Adi was determined not to let Natasha too far out of his presence.

"I know." Smiling, I squeeze Adi's shoulder as I walk towards the stairs that lead to the upper left wing of the estate. I wanted to see Natasha once more before I retreated to bed for the night. Haim walked by my side. As we entered the room, I could see Saadia's figure snuggled closely next to Natasha. She was sleeping, but I could feel anxiety immediately upon entering the room. I walk to her side to get a closer look. Reaching down, I glide my fingers along her forehead. A soft purr comes from Saadia.

"Shhh...I'm just helping her sleep better." Haim peered over my shoulder as I finished easing the lines out of her forehead.

"Do you think we've made the best decision in bringing her here?"

"We had no other choice, Yael. No matter how much danger she is in, we can not keep her from being who she was created to be. We have to let her decide." Haim was right.

"She's going to be angry."

"Yes, but it's nothing we can't handle."

"I hope so. She's much more powerful than I expected her to be so soon." Haim pulls me into his arms and we proceed to leave and let Natasha sleep in peace. Tomorrow will be an unforgettable day.

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I was asleep, but I could hear their voices. How is that possible? In the hospital I could hear Professor Haven and the nurse speaking as well. I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling. Tomorrow was most certainly going to be an unforgettable day. With this thought, I drift off back to sleep. Saadia snuggles closer to me and I embrace her warmth.