I was engulfed in darkness. . . .

The cold embrace of the air chilled me to the bone.

My knees were sinking into muddy water, it felt almost like tar.

I struggled but I couldn't move.

A howl echoed in the distance and I froze.

I looked up and met the eyes of the white wolf.

"I need to have a little chat with you," she smiled.

I tensed, "What are you?"

"A part of you," she answered.

Then I remembered an old story Grandma told me, of the two wolves that live in everyone.

One wolf was good.

The other was bad.

"Which wolf are you?"

She smiled as if she knew what I was thinking, "Neither."

Before I could question her farther, the tar began to grip and pull.

I clawed at the ground, trying to pull myself up.

But my hands and arms would sink along with my legs.

"Stop fighting Amy," the wolf spoke calmly. "You're only making it harder for yourself."

I continued to struggle and the wolf shook her head.

"You can't go back."

I gripped on to any solid surface that I could find.

"Let go!" the wolf shouted.

The solid surfaces disappeared and the earth swallowed me whole.

I gasped and rose from the bed. Sweat ran down my back and chest and my hair was sticking to my face. I took deep breaths as I wrapped my hands around myself and rubbed my arms. I glanced to the windows to find the morning sun shining through and sighed. "Everything's okay," I whispered and fell back to bed. "Just a dream, just a dream," I soothed myself.

A knock came from the door and I groaned as I rose from the bed. "Coming," I called out. When I opened the door, I had Arthur, Francis, Matthew, and Kumajirou standing in the hall. I crossed my arms, "What's up?"

Francis held up a room service menu, "We were wondering if you would like to have breakfast with us."

"Whatever." I shrugged, "Come in." I didn't bother to wait for them to enter. I walked back to my room and picked out a pair of jeans and a graphic tee to wear.

Arthur knocked at the door connecting the bed room to the small living area. I turned to him, "What?"

He sighed, "You don't have to be rude. I was just wondering what you would like for us to order for you."

I rolled my eyes, "Pancakes, chocolate chip, with a bacon and mushroom omelet and orange juice." After I answered, I gathered my clothes and locked myself in the bathroom.

When Amy walked away, Arthur sighed in frustration and Francis wanted to proclaim that Arthur had no one to blame but himself in this situation. Till he saw the dejected look on Arthur's face as he sat himself in the armchair.

Francis bit back his comment and turned to Matthew, "Should we call?"

"It will take them a while," he sat down Kumajirou on the couch and picked up the phone. Matthew gave a quick glance to Francis and he nodded. Matthew walked into the hallway with the hotel phone, leaving them alone.

Francis turned to Arthur, "What is eating you Angleterre?"

"Don't call me that," he muttered as he massaged the bridge of his nose.

He smiled, "You never complained when we were younger."

"That was centuries ago, you old sentimental frog," Arthur said annoyed.

"Yes, centuries; just the amount of time that I've known you," Francis proclaimed.

Arthur sighed, "I failed to protect her. Those humans had her for seventeen years and they were able to protect her from us. While we had her for a week, and she was nearly crushed by walls, dropped through trap doors, attacked by an animal and she was assaulted by Russia. And you don't need to say it; I know I'm the reason she was put through all that."

Francis nodded, "True, you were," Arthur glared at him but Francis raised his hand, "Let me finish. I know you had good intentions for Amy, and that the only reason you did what you did was to protect her."

Arthur shook his head, "She certainly didn't see it. Did you see her face when she looked at me? She looked like she was going to kill me." He closed his eyes, "She hates me."

"No, she doesn't," Francis tried to comfort him with the thought.

"Yes, she does. I see it; she actually likes you and Matthew. She can't stand me," he snorted, "like everyone else."

"That is true," Francis remarked.

"If you're trying to comfort me, you're not doing a very good job of it."

"Arthur let me finish. It's true some countries can't stand you, but you seem to forget about Matthieu and me. Matthieu cares for you and I may not say it all the time, but I care for you." He placed a hand on Arthur's cheek. He tensed at first but he relaxed into Francis's hand. "You have to give her time, she can't just drop seventeen years from her life and run off with us, no questions asked. Arthur, she has a life, a family and she was willing to share it with us."

"And I screwed it up," Arthur moved away from Francis's hand. "I should have told her about Russia."

"No shit." Amy walked in, wearing clean clothes and a towel over her head.

Arthur's eyes widened in surprise and Francis couldn't help but grin to Arthur's embarrassment.

"How long have you been there?" Arthur asked.

"I came in around the part where you were filling sorry for yourself and being a baby on how no one likes you." she said bluntly.

"Amy that's a little harsh," said Francis.

"How about you let me finish," she proclaimed and walked to sit on the coffee table so she could be in front of Arthur. "I don't hate you."

Arthur glanced to her and she continued, "I'm mad at you and a little hurt that you couldn't tell me this."

"I was afraid you wouldn't come," Arthur explained.

"And risk Russia coming to my house and endangering my family. Hell no. I would've stayed at the party so I would've been surrounded by witnesses." She said with a bit of sass in her voice.

Francis smiled, "You don't give her much credit," he told Arthur.

Amy turned to Arthur and Francis with all the seriousness she possessed, "You guys gotta make me a promise. No more lies. No more secrets. I am tired of finding out things from other people, from now on you will tell me everything I need to know. Got it?"

Francis and Arthur glanced to one another and nodded.

Matthew opened the door, "Is it safe?"

Amy smiled, "Yeah, get in here; we're having a," she stopped, almost unsure of what to say. "Family moment."

When the bell hop brought up our food, we ate in the living room and passed around stories about last night.

"And I punched the wall and it worked, I really thought Ludwig had gone crazy for a second," I said as I bit into my omelet.

Matthew sipped his water, "I'm not surprised; Alfred had crazy strength."

"The fool didn't even know how to control it half of the time," Arthur said with a smile.

"Then Ludwig, Feliciano and Japan were sucked in through a quicksand wall," I added.

"I bet Feliciano was screaming the entire time," Francis smirked.

"Yes, yes he was," I proclaimed.

I recapped my story with Vash and the falling floors and of the wolf attack. I skipped the parts of Russia and the wolf talking. I moved ahead to Heracles, Gupta and Sadik.

"Greece kissed you," Arthur knitted his brows in confusion.

I shrugged, "he thought I was one of his lovers."

"See," Arthur turned to Francis, "this is why I told you to give the title of pervert to Greece."

"What?" Matthew and I asked in sync.

Arthur threw up his hands, "You tell them," he said to Francis.

Francis rolled his eyes playfully and explained. "When I was tired of carrying the title of pervert of the world, I decided to give it to Arthur."

"And I told you to give it to Greece!"

"But you were the one that made that condom survey."

"Yes, but Greece was the one that used them more."

Matthew and I started laughing. "I can't breathe," I choked out.

"My gut is hurting, but I can't stop laughing," Matthew laughed harder.

Arthur covered his face and Francis grinned.

Later that day, we packed up our luggage and caught the three o'clock flight back to Summerland. I counted the hours in my head and determined I'll be home by five to six o'clock in the evening. I was eager to return home and to see the family.

"Would you please stop jumping in your seat," Arthur lectured and I decided to tap my foot instead. It wasn't long till Arthur raised his brow at me, "Amy."

"I know, I know," I stopped my foot, "I'm just excited to see the rest of my family."

Matthew asked curiosity, "What are they like?"

I took out my phone and scrolled through my photos. I stopped at my mom's brother, Alejandro Kama and his wife Emily. "This is Uncle Alex and Aunt Emily," the photo showed them together. Uncle Alex had the same coloring as Mom, with dark eyes and hair with tanned skin. But he had almond shaped eyes, just like his father, Makani Kama. Aunt Emily was light skinned with dirty blonde hair and dark eyes. "Uncle Alex works as a landscaper and Aunt Emily is a pediatric. Uncle Alex is also part of a mariachi band," I grinned, "You guys are gonna be in for a treat at the wedding."

"You want us to be there?" Arthur asked, surprised.

"Yeah, why not?" I didn't expect an answer and continued. I slid through my touch screen to my three older cousins, "These three beautiful ladies are their daughters. The one on the left is the oldest, Sofia," she had Uncle Alex's dark hair and eyes while she had Aunt Emily's light skin. "She's a school teacher and has three kids." I pointed to the tallest woman in the middle. She had dark almond shaped eyes, dirty blonde hair and light skin. "This is Mia; she works at an office for the city she lives in. I think she deals with taxes of something." Then I pointed at the last woman, "This is Josefina," she had the same coloring as Uncle Alex. "She's a romance novelist; Melissa owns a copy of everything she wrote. Those two are so close."

Then I slid to a photo of a man with Sofia, "That's her husband, Rafael Garcia." He was a tall man with short dark hair and hazel eyes. I continued to slide through the photos, "This is Mia and her husband, Eduardo Herrera." He was just as tall as her and had brown hair and eyes. The next photo was of Josefina and her husband, Aaron Johnson; he had ginger hair and green eyes.

"Please tell me these people have no idea that you're a country," said Arthur.

"Nope, Uncle Alex and his family have no idea what I am; they think I'm a normal teenage girl, like I thought I was, till three weeks ago."

I made sure my voice was filled with good humor and slid on to the next photo. The photo displayed three children, "These sweet little angels are Sofia's kids, the oldest on the right is Alyce; she's about ten and the first grandchild of Uncle Alex. She's very kind and loves being the big sister, mostly because she's a little bossy." Alyce was tall for her age and super thin, like a twig. She had dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes and light fair skin. I pointed to the little boy with dark almond shaped eyes, dark hair and light skin. "The boy, Gael, in the middle is the youngest, about six. He's a little trouble maker, just like his sister," I pointed to the other girl on the left. She was petite compared to her sister; she had dark hair and eyes with natural tan skin. "Valencia, she's eight, the same age as Blair and Blake. Valencia and Blair are so close, and they love to pull pranks, so watch out."

The next photo was of Mia's kids, "The oldest here," I pointed to the boy with dirty blonde hair, dark eyes and light tanned skin. "Is Roman, he's a year younger than Blake but he's tall for his age so people always think Blake is younger. The girl next to Roman is his younger sister Lali, she's about five and she's just so sweet." She only came up to my knee the last time I saw her. She had dark hair, green eyes and light skin.

"Oh," Francis smiled, "They're all so adorable."

"I know," I grinned.

"What about Josefina?" Matthew asked. "Doesn't she have any kids?"

"Her and Aaron are trying," I crossed my fingers, "gotta keep thinking positive."

Then I slid to the last photo of Grandpa Makani and Grandma Jessie, but me and the kids call them, Kupunakane and Kupunawahine. "This is Makani and Jessamine Kama." In the photo, my grandparents on my mother's side were standing in front of their home in Kapaa, Hawaii. The same home I lived in during the year I was with them. Kupunawahine had dark hair and eyes with natural tanned skin. Kupunakane's skin was a shade darker with dark hair and almond shaped eyes.

"Why is your grandmother's name and mother's name so similar?" Francis asked.

I shrugged, "It's a family tradition to pass down names, in boys and in girls."

"Do these two know that you're a country?" Matthew asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, but don't worry they won't say anything. I'm sure they're excited to meet you guys."

Arthur thought for a moment, "What do we tell your other family members?"

My eyes widened, "Oh right, we need to come up with a back story." The thought came to me and clapped my hands, "I got it, you guys are my biological half siblings," I pointed to Matthew and Arthur. Before they could say anything, I continued, "Just hear me out. Alfred would be our daddy; he traveled the world as a reporter and met your mothers during that time." I pointed to Arthur, "Your mama's name will be Beatrice Kirkland, and you took after her looks." I turned to Matthew, "Your mom will be Naomi Williams, but you're like me, we look like Alfred."

"What about me?" Francis asked.

"Your Arthur's partner," I proclaimed.

Around that time Arthur was drinking from his cup and he choked on his tea.

"Aw, he's blushing," Francis smirked, "are you secretly happy about this."

"No." he glared at Francis and then turned to me, "You can't be serious."

"Of course, you guys already a bicker like a married couple."

"Can't you make him one of Alfred's sons?"

"And make Alfred look like he's a good for nothing dead beat that walked out on four different kids." I shook my head, "that's just cold."

"And three is okay?"

"He died never knowing you two were his kids. Naomi was a model, so she was financially stable enough to raise Matthew. Beatrice's parents were loaded, so you spent a lot of time with your grandparents. Also, they were able to put you through private school and that is where you met Francis and became good friends with him. Are you happy now?"

Arthur nodded, "its better."

I rolled my eyes, "Then, only a few months ago, when you and Francis went out drinking you decided it was time to find out who your father was. With Francis' help you were able to find out about his career and colleagues. You also learned about Naomi through one of Alfred's associates. That is how you discovered Matthew. Then the both of you wondered if there were any more kids, so you tracked down more of Alfred's friends and found out about Justine, my birth mother. The love of Alfred's life, but then you quickly discovered that they both died in a car accident. Then, you tracked me down with the help of my grandfather, and we've been bonding ever since."

They were silent, till Matthew spoke, "You thought about this beforehand, haven't you."

I smiled, "Yeah, also you guys have to follow my story, because I already told Mom to tell our extended family and friends this tale. I believe it was about two days ago when I told her this."

Arthur's eyes widened, "You didn't."

I grinned evilly, "Think of it as good old fashion pay back. I pronounce you husband," I gestured to Francis, "and wife." I turned to Arthur, who grew paler by the second. "You may kiss the bride."

Francis gave a quick kiss on Arthur's cheek, "This will be fun."

Arthur continued to carry a stunned expression as Francis and I high fived and Matthew grinned.

After the flight Arthur was lecturing me on why I shouldn't make up back stories without consoling him first. We were all sitting in a rental car with Francis at the wheel and Matthew right beside him. I was left to sit next to Arthur as he ranted about him being married to Francis.

"If you made a marriage certificate in our names, I swear to God Amy I will end you!"

I sighed, "Again, you two are not married. I told Mom to tell the family, that you and Francis have been dating for two years. I only said the whole husband and wife thing just to mess with you."

Arthur groaned as he buried his face in his hands, "Why would you do this to me?!"

"Number one: to see that look on your face, number two: to explain Francis and why he's here, and the most important, number three: cause this fucking hilarious."

Francis grinned from the rear view mirror, "Don't worry Angleterre, I'll take good care of you," he winks.

Arthur paled and I sang, "Someone's getting lucky tonight." Matthew and I burst into laughter as Francis' grin grew wider.

"I despise all you," Arthur muttered.

"We love you too, Arthur," we all countered in sync.

When Francis pulled up on the drive way, I jumped over him and honked the horn. I leaped out the car and yelled, "I'm home!"

Blair came running out with Valencia right behind her and both of them screamed, "Auntie Amy!" The other kids quickly followed suite.

Gael called out, "Dog pile!"

Alyce and Roman were the fastest ones of the group, so they were the ones that tackled me to the ground. Blair and Valencia leaped on to Alyce and Roman's backs. Gael landed in the middle of those two and Blake picked up Lali and jumped to sit on the top of the pile.

"We missed you Aunt Amy," Alyce greeted.

"Kupunakane wanted us to ask if you will do the hula with us during the wedding." Valencia said.

"Can we sleep over in your room tonight?" Blair asked.

"We can make a fort!" Gael exclaimed.

"And watch scary movies all night long!" Roman said excitedly.

"Lali has a question," Blake called out and everyone fell silent.

"Can I ride Midnight?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Okay," I choked out, losing breath. "In order, I missed you guys too. Yes, yes, if you get permission from your parents. We'll make the most awesome fort ever. No cause the little kids will get scared, and Lali yes, you can ride Midnight, but I have to be there and you need to ask your mommy first." I inhaled a shaky breath, "I know you guys love me and all, but all of you are crushing me."

They all rolled off me and I rose to my feet. I glanced to nations and gestured the kids together. "Guys this is Arthur and Matthew, they're my biological half-brothers."

"What does bi-log-i-cali, mean?" Gael asked.

"It means they share the same blood as me," I explained, "They're my family."

"Are you gonna go live with them now?" Roman asked.

"No." I said quickly, "We're just getting to know each other."

Alyce walked over and gave her hand to them, "I'm Alyce; it's nice to meet you."

Arthur smiled and shook her hand, "I'm Arthur, a pleasure."

"You sound familiar," Gael questioned.

"Like Daniel Craig?" Alyce asked.

"Nah, like that lizard from the Geico commercials," he exclaimed

The kids laughed and Roman said, "Yeah, I hear it now."

Arthur had a tight smile, and I grinned, "Guys that's not funny." But we all shared the same smile, knowing it was a little funny. The kids continued to greet Francis and Matthew.

"Can I hold Kumajirou," Blair held up her arms for the bear that was in his arms.

Matthew shook his head, "Not now."

"Please!" Blair begged.

He sighed, "Okay." Kumajirou stayed perfectly still as Blair cuddled him into her chest and Valencia scratched him behind his ears.

"Is he a real baby polar bear!?" Gael exclaimed as he stared into Kumajirou's eyes.

The nations and I shared a look, "Yeah," I smiled, "let's go with that."

"He can also-" I knew what she was about to say, so I wrapped my hand around her mouth and whispered in her ear. "The bear does not talk, got it."

Blair nodded and said, "He can also . . . do tricks."

"Can he dance on a ball, like a circus bear?" Roman asked.

"No," Matthew answered.

Gael jumped up and down, "We can teach him!"

"Let's go get a ball!" Valencia exclaimed and the kids ran back into the house.

Matthew called out, "Wait; hold on, he might bite you!" He ran after them.

Blake and Lali stood behind and Lali threw up her arms for me to carry her. I bent down and swung her to my waist with my arm under her bottom.

"Oh, she's so cute," Francis cooed and turned to Arthur, "Can we have one?"

"No." he glared.

Lali stared at Francis, "You sound funny."

Francis smiled sweetly to her innocent statement, "It's because I am French, bien-aimée."

"Is that where that pointy thingy is?"

"It's called the Eiffel Tower, and yes it's in Paris, France," I answered.

When we walked through the front door, we were met with laughter, excited shouts and music. Kupunakane, Uncle Alex, Johnny and Sofia made a small band in the living room. Kupunakane played his small dark brown ukulele as Sofia played the key broad behind him. Uncle Alex played the guitar, Johnny handled the drums and Celine and Aunt Emily sang a duet. Melissa, Sanjay, Kupunawahine and Grandma Aponi sat on the couch and love seats, clapping their hands to the beat. Couples were dancing, which were Mia and Eduardo, Josefina and Aaron and Mom and Dad. Rafael watched over the kids and Kumajirou at a close distance, with Matthew right beside him. Lady was nearby and began to play with Kumajirou and the kids, till she saw me. She came running and placed her front paws on my hip. I scratched her behind the ears.

"Hey Kiddo," Dad grinned, "welcome home."

I smiled, "It's good to be back."

Everyone quickly followed his example and I was greeted with hugs and kisses on the cheek. I formally introduced Arthur, Matthew and Francis to the family and everyone greeted them politely. Awkward silence filled the room right after; no one had a clue what to say. Till Johnny slammed his drumstick on cymbal, "What's everyone standing around for? It's our dinner rehearsal, we should be celebrating. We get to add four members into the family instead of one."

"This is a dinner rehearsal?" Arthur asked.

I shrugged, "It is in our family."

"Its good luck for the two families to come together before the uniting of the two households," Kupunakane announced, "It's a century long tradition."

"Oh, where are your parents Celine?" Matthew asked.

Celine gave a small smile, "They passed away when I was in college, but they're here with us in spirit." She gestured to a picture frame on the table with a couple displayed in the photo. The woman looked so much like Celine, with her pale green eyes and light brown curls. The man next to her had dark hair and kind eyes.

I smiled and glanced to Grandpa's ring, you better be here Gramps.

Johnny quickly changed the subject, "Amy, handle the drums," he tossed the sticks at me and I grabbed them with one hand. "I need to sing a song to my beloved bride."

Arthur, Francis and Matthew gave me questionable looks and I answered, "It's also tradition to sing to your bride." I sat down Lali and walked behind the drum set. Sofia whispered the song in my ear and I nodded.

I clicked the drumsticks together to lay down the beat, Kupunakane strummed his ukulele and began the song, 'Hey, Soul Sister.'

Johnny sang the lyrics with a husky tone but he made it work. Sofia abandoned the key broad and picked up the maracas. Uncle Alex slowed the guitar and I played the spare drums with smooth taps.

The family begins to dance into pairs or into three's and I was able to catch the nations being pulled into dancing by the kids. I smiled at the image of Francis allowing Lali to stand on his feet as he swayed from side to side. Matthew twirled Alyce in a circle and Roman and Gael showed Arthur how to shuffle his feet to the beat, which he failed a couple of times, but the boys kept encouraging him to continue. Blair danced with Kumajirou in her arms as Blake and Valencia danced together.

My smile grew wider as I tapped harder to the beat and I lost myself into the music.

Later that evening after we ate and celebrated as much as we could, people began to leave. Kupunakane and Kupunawahine were staying with Melissa and Sanjay. Uncle Alex, Aunt Emily, Johnny and Celine were staying with Grandma Aponi. But our house was much larger so Sofia, Mia, and Josefina's families stayed with us.

"Can we sleep over?" Blair asked with Blake by her side.

"Blair, the house is already so full," said Sanjay.

"Please Daddy! Amy said we can sleep in her room!" she begged, "Please!"

Melissa and Sanjay shared a look, "It is Saturday," Sanjay shrugged his shoulders.

Melissa turned to Mom, "Is it okay?"

"Of course, what's the point of having a big house if we can't fill it up with people," she said.

Blair shouted excitedly and grabbed Blake by the hand and ran after the kids up to my room. We could hear them toss around pillows and blankets as Lady barked and jumped around.

Matthew glanced at me, "are you okay with that," he nodded towards my room.

"They know that they can mess with my bed and pillows, but anything on my shelves and vanity mirror are off limits." I explained.

Mom, Dad and I continued to say our farewells to our extended family. When the last car drove away, Arthur handed me back my carry-on from their rental car, "we should get going."

"Aw, you guys aren't staying, we were planning to put you guys in the stables," I proclaimed.

Arthur shook his head, "as tempting as that sounds," he said sarcastically. "We need to get to our hotel."

I swung the carry on strap over my shoulder and grinned, "So you guys are staying for the wedding, good, you guys will have a lot of fun."

Francis winked, "We wouldn't miss it for the world."

Matthew gave me a one arm hug, for Kumajirou was out cold in his other arm. The kids really pushed him to his limit. "Goodnight Amy."

"Night Matt," I hugged him back.

I hugged Francis and Arthur goodbye and waved farewell as they drove away.

I walked back to the house and quickly ran up the stairs to my room. The kids draped blankets across my bed and made little forts around the room. Blair and Valencia had their fort and mattress near the TV. Roman and Gael had made their fort shaped like castle with blankets connecting to the other forts. Alyce made her fort around the tower windows with Lady lying on the red valet seats. Lastly, Blake and Lali draped a large blanket over my bed and stretched it so two of its corners connected to my head broad and the last two were tied to the forts on the floor.

"You guys have out done yourselves, feels like I've entered a gypsy camp," I said as I closed the door.

"Auntie Amy could you read us a story?" Valencia asked.

"Sure," I nodded as I closed myself in my closet to change into my Batman pj's. When I walked out, Alyce handed me her Kindle, "Mom uploaded a bunch of books on it."

"I remembered when I was kid we actually read paper books."

"Paper books," Lali cocked her head to the side in question.

"You haven't seen one?"

"She's in kindergarten." Roman explained, "Our school won't let the younger kids check out books, only a child proof device tablet."

I shook my head, "I was her age when I held a book and nothing happened to it." I gave Alyce back her Kindle and checked my selves beside my bed and next to the closet. "What do you guys feel like reading?"

"I want something with adventure," Valencia proclaimed.

"With fighting," Gael exclaimed.

"And magic," Blair added.

I snapped my fingers, "Got it!" I pulled out a blue colored hard cover book, "Have you guys heard of The Golden Compass?"

They all shook their heads and Alyce asked, "What's it about?"

I grinned and made my voice dramatic, "It's about a young girl named Lyra who travels north to fight child snatchers with the help of gypsies and witches and a giant armored polar bear."

"That sounds cool," Roman grinned.

I smiled and sat myself on my bed with my back on the head broad. Lali sat between me and the book with Blake and Gael on my sides. Roman, Alyce, Valencia and Blair squeezed themselves at the foot of the bed and Lady stayed in the middle.

I opened the book, "Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening hall. . ."

I found myself in a forest with skinny trees that towered over my head. Green leafs and grass blended with the brown of the bark and the dirt. The air was clean and crisp with the scent of moss, wild flowers and animals mixed in the wind. Sunlight beamed through the trees as the call of a golden eagle resounded above. I was bare foot and wore nothing more than a deer skin dress that stopped an inch above my knees.

A wolf howled and I turned to find a normal size gray wolf, not the white wolf I saw before. The wolf stared at me with brown eyes, which should have caused me to feel some type of anxiety. Instead I felt nothing more than a familiar affection towards the animal and the feeling was mutual. The wolf nodded his head to the right and dashed off into the woods.

I grinned and chased after him, for some reason this was something we did regularly. I caught up with the gray wolf with no difficulty and quickly discovered that the pack was running along with us. The fur coats of the wolves ranged from various shades of blond, cream, and orange-red to grays, browns, and blacks. Some of the females carried redder coats than the males, making them look like massive foxes. They slid around trees and leaped up and down mini cliffs that took shape through the forest. I followed them around the trees, up through the cliffs into the open fields and across small creeks. I laughed with a joyous glee as the wind blew through my hair. I sprinted through the grassy fields and forest, loving the feel of the soft dirt under my toes. We were like dancers, gracefully moving through the land as we sang together in a sequence of echoing howls.

I forgotten how long we were running, and personally I would've cared less. My muscles tingled with an amazing sensation of freedom and excitement, and I never wanted that feeling to go away.

When the pack and I stopped to rest, I clutched down to a pond to take a sip of water. I found my reflection in the surface of the pond, but it wasn't me. The reflection was of a young woman with smooth copper skin and high cheek bones. She had beautiful dark eyes the color of a midnight sky, and light pink lips that were full and soft. Her hair fell to her thighs and was the color of a raven's feather.

I swallowed the fearful lump in my throat and splashed my hand across the surface. The water rippled and when it settled the image of the woman was still there. She smiled and I knew perfectly well I wasn't smiling.

"Now are you ready to talk?" she asked.

I gasped and found myself in bed with Lali and Blake sleeping beside me. The Golden Compass was on my nightstand and the rest of the kids were sleeping in their forts. I took deep breaths and laid back into bed. "You're okay Amy," I whispered to myself. "Just a dream, just a dream," I repeated that phase in a soft tone till I fell into a dreamless sleep.

Translations:

French: bien-aimée (sweetheart)

Hawaiian: Kupunakane (Grandfather)

Hawaiian: Kupunawahine (Grandmother)