Sophia’s POV
“Sophie!” Mike screamed as he ran toward me.
A huge smile spread across my face. I missed him so much. He picked me up and hugged me tightly.
“I missed you so much,” he said excitedly.
I smiled and hugged him back as tightly as I could.
“I missed you too, Mike,” I said. “How are you?”
Mike put me down but kept his hands on my shoulders.
“Better now that I am finally home,” he said, grinning widely.
“I expected you to say hi to your brother first,” Mason said, faking hurt.
Mike rolled his eyes and went to hug his brother and Lex. I looked behind him and smiled brightly.
“Sophie!” Both Hazel and Halley ran to me and hugged me tightly.
I was so happy to see them. I missed them both so much. I could swear that both of them had grown a bit as well.
“Oh, I missed you,” I mumbled as I leaned my head on Hazel’s. “I missed you guys so much.”
Hazel tightened her arms around me and sighed contently.
“We missed you too, Soph,” Halley said. “Can we hang out tonight? Just the three of us?”
She looked up at me and smiled. I gave her a small nod.
“Of course,” I said. “We have a lot to catch up on.”
Hazel looked up at me and grinned widely. I caressed her cheek and smiled. These girls meant the world to me. We grew up together and I considered them my sisters.
“Hi, kid,” Mason said as he pulled Halley from me. “I missed you.”
“I’m not a kid,” she mumbled, frowning and rolling her eyes at Mason.
He just laughed and ruffled her hair, pulling her into a tight hug. Mason loved Hayden and Halley so much and I knew that he wished they were around more often. Amy and Drake came to our pack very often, but I knew that wasn’t enough for Mason. He was very attached to our family and loved spending time with all of us.
I hugged Danny and Hayden next. I missed them so much as well. I missed everyone and I felt like it had been years since I last saw them.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages,” I said as I rubbed Hayden’s back.
“That’s because you didn’t,” Danny said, making me roll my eyes playfully.
“Did you grow?” Hayden said, smirking at me. “It looks like you grew.”
He was younger than me, but he had outgrown me already. He always loved teasing me about that. I just rolled my eyes at him and he laughed.
My eyes fell on Harry and Janet. They were talking to my aunt Daisy, Uncle Andrew, Amy, and Drake.
I gave another quick hug to the boys and walked over to Harry and Janet. Harry looked at me as I approached them. He smiled and hugged me tightly.
“Hi, Soph,” he said, rubbing my back. “How are you?”
“I’m okay,” I said, giving him a small smile. “What is going on?”
“Oh, nothing,” Harry said, giving me a small smile. “Just catching up. When is my brother coming back?”
“Tomorrow,” I said, feeling my heart clench. “He wanted to come back tonight, but he still has some work to do.”
I missed him so much already. I didn’t know how I would be able to sleep without him tonight. I would probably have to go annoy Lex. Maybe I could make him watch a movie with me. He would probably just fall asleep, but it didn’t matter. I just didn’t want to be alone.
“Oh, good,” Harry said, grinning widely. “I missed his ugly face.”
I chuckled and shook my head.
“He missed you too,” I said. “And he doesn’t have an ugly face.”
Harry snorted and rolled his eyes.
“He does,” he said. “You just don’t see it because you are his mate.”
“She doesn’t see what?” Janet asked as she pulled me into a hug. “Hi, sweetie.”
I didn’t even realize that she approached us. I was still chuckling and shaking my head at Harry.
“Hi, Janet,” I said as I hugged her back.
“She doesn’t see how ugly Hunter is,” Harry said. “She is blinded by the mate bond.”
Harry sighed dramatically, making both Janet and me laugh. I loved how playful Harry and Hunter were.
“Well, you look a lot like your brother, Harry,” Mike said as he approached us. “You are ugly too, then.”
Mike wrapped an arm around my shoulders and smirked at Harry. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing. Harry gasped and placed a hand on his chest.
“Michael!” he exclaimed, faking hurt. “Did Hunter pay you to say that? I look nothing like him.”
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing this time. Harry looked exactly like Hunter. He was his exact copy. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that they were twins.
“Okay, enough,” Amy exclaimed as she pulled me from Mike. “Leave the banter for when Hunter returns. Poor guy can’t even stand up for himself.”
Aunt Amy hugged me tightly. She kissed the top of my head and rubbed my back.
“How are you, sweetie?” she asked quietly.
I looked up at her and took a deep breath. All the playfulness suddenly disappeared and my thoughts went back to my mom. I felt my heart clench and my stomach twisted.
“I don’t know,” I said, sighing quietly. “I try to stay positive and focus on something else, but it’s hard. I can’t stop thinking about her being trapped somewhere.”
Amy took in a shaky breath and gave me a small nod.
“She is so strong,” Amy said. “I know that she will be okay. She will come back to us. She has to.”
Drake approached us just as she finished speaking. He gave me a small smile and hugged me.
“Daisy said that we can go see her now,” Drake said, looking at Amy.
Amy nodded and looked around.
“Should we wait for Rosie?” she asked. “Where is she anyway?”
I furrowed my eyebrows and looked around as well. I didn’t even realize that I hadn’t seen her until now. Everyone else was here. Danny, Hayden, Hazel, and Halley were talking to Lex and Mason. Mike, Harry, Janet, and my aunt and uncle were standing close to us and laughing at something Mike had said. Everyone was here, but Rosie.
“She is with Jake,” Drake said, making me look back at them. “He didn’t take what happened to Emma well. He hasn’t even seen her since she…”
Drake stopped talking and furrowed his eyebrows. He was struggling to find a word to describe what happened to my mom. We were all struggling to find words.
“Anyway,” Drake mumbled, sighing. “Rosie is trying to convince him to go see her.”
Amy nodded and took a deep breath. She looked at me and tried to give me a small smile. She didn’t really succeed. All I saw on her face was worry.
We were all worried. We were all helpless. My mom was stuck somewhere and there was no way for us to help her.
