"RELAX SOPHIE," the voice tried to soothe her.

Her mind was a chaotic mess of jumbled thoughts and panic. It was hard to concentrate through the dazed fog that continued to plague her. If she could breathe properly, Sophie knew she would be hyperventilating.

Part of her suspected that she had just finally succumbed to all the stress. All of the events from the past several days had built up inside her. The shock piled against the wall that kept her crazy straight, until it just couldn't take it anymore. This creepy-mind voice was just her way of coping.

The other part of her --a small, very unliked part of her mind-- suggested that she might have just been insane all along.

The voice seemed to wait until the mess inside her mind died down.

As she started to breathe right again, the voice spoke inside her head again. "Please calm down," it urged. "You're not crazy, I promise."

Her jaw clenched. The voice was familiar, very familiar. She just couldn't place a name or face to it.

"I don't understand," she thought back. "What's going on? Why are you in my head? Who are you?"

The voice remained silent for a moment. Something passed through the back of her head; a feeling, an emotion that Sophie couldn't comprehend. It vanished just as quickly as it came.

"I've always been here," the voice answered. It was warm and gentle. It reminded her of smooth butter. "Our...unfortunate situations have just increased the strength of our link."

"Our link?" Sophie tried to frown. The jelly that she was suspended in made that impossible. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

The voice paused. When it finally responded, it seemed somewhat resigned. "I know that you've felt it before. Our communication wouldn't be possible without a bond between us."

"What kind of link do we have?"

"We have..." The voice trailed off. It seemed at a loss for words, and Sophie realized that she could feel the owner's emotions. The voice was a bit frustrated, and hurt. And in pain --so much pain. It mirrored within her own body; the nerves inside her wrist splintered, agony climbing toward her elbow.

The voice interrupted the pain, and pulled it away. "Stop. Don't think about that. Don't focus on what I feel. You'll hurt yourself," it warned.

Sophie remained silent.

The voice continued. It was hesitant. "I'm sorry, Sophie," it finally said.

"What are you sorry for?" she asked it.

"I imprinted on you."

Sophie didn't understand that. The voice obviously felt her confusion, and a warm chuckle floated within her mind. A sudden realization slammed into her like a freight train. She recognized that voice.

She recognized that familar, tugging sensation.

"Wolfe."

"I'm sorry," he apologized again. His voice was hardly a whisper in her head.

"I just don't understand," she mentally murmured back. Her thoughts spun. Eli had told her that it was some sort of special bond --but nothing romantic. But she couldn't help but ask, "What in the world is an imprint? Is that like mating?"

He laughed again. "No. It's not like mating, not really. An imprint is a connection. It links our minds and emotions together. It doesn't have to be romantic, unless both parties consent to viewing it like that. It is usually forged between two werewolves. Occasionally it happens between a werewolf and a human. That's what happened to us."

"But I'm not human."

"Not completely," Wolfe agreed. "I believe I imprinted with your human side. Your vampire side has tried to destroy the imprint, but I don't think it is strong enough. Yet."

The more Sophie thought about it, the more it made sense. The tugging sensation was always strongest when she thought about Wolfe, or was around him. But when she was with Eli...The senations were weaker. It didn't bother her as much, and she hadn't even noticed it at times. Especially in the days leading up to Eli's death.

The thought stirred flashbacks of Eli's body, laying limp in her arms. The memories slammed into her hard. Sophie actually flinched, despite the jelly.

Wolfe seemed to be there in an instant. "Calm down, Sophie. Calm down," he soothed. His voice was like a sweet caress inside her mind.

But she could hardly comprehend it.

Her heart raced. Blood rushed through her head, behind her ears. It thundered around her like a waterfall. It was hard to see past the visions.

She realized she had started to cry again. The jelly made it impossible for her to feel the tears streaming down her face. But her eyes stung so bad, she just knew she was crying.

"Stop, Sophie."

She inhaled. The pure oxygen that streamed inside her burned her esophagus. The pain distracted her, and the mental image started to fade.

A strange feeling bubbled in the back of her head. It was almost like a sense of certainty. A thought rushed forward to the front of her mind: Eli isn't dead. It didn't make sense. She relived the memories again. Eli's glassy gaze haunted her; the image was burned into the back of her eyelids. It was then that she realized that the thought wasn't her own. And that Wolfe was trying to hide this information from her.

"He's alive," she pressed.

Wolfe remained quiet. Moments dragged on, and Sophie's heart pounded. "Don't you dare lie to me," she mentally hissed. "Not about this."

He answered, uncertain. "I don't know for sure..."

"Yes, you do."

Dangerously hot anger burned inside her chest. She seethed, and tried hard not to scream. Eli was alive. Eli was alright and Wolfe didn't want her to know. How dare he not tell her. He could feel just how horribly the memories effected her. Why would he want her to remain in such pain?!

"I thought I saw him when I was brought here," Wolfe snapped inside her head. His voice was ice cold. It sliced through her anger like a knife. "I'm fairly certain that he's locked away in a pod like you are now. It doesn't change anything, Sophie. You still can't see him. I'm locked up in this stupid chamber, and you're trapped inside an changing-pod."

Sophie paused.

She tried to force her eyes open, to look around. The jelly refused to let her. "Why am I in an changing-pod?" she wondered.

"I don't really know," Wolfe answered honestly. "I didn't even know about this place until now."

"What place?" Panic rushed through Sophie. "Where are we? In some underground lab or something?"

Wolfe couldn't answer, and it didn't take long for Sophie to realize why. Once she managed to get past the blistering pain in his wrists and abdomen, she found he was suspended like her. Only instead of being trapped inside a pod of jelly, Wolfe was locked inside some chamber of water.

His memories played out across her mind's eye.

She could see paramedics loading her body into a cylindrical glass pod. The sound of her own strangled cries were cut short --blocked by heavy headphones that were placed over Wolfe's ears. Then an oxygen mask was placed over his nose. In the memory, Wolfe was shoved back, into a chamber, and landed with a splash. 

Almost immediately, all of his senses went completely numb. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear anything. He couldn't feel anything --not even the water against his skin. The water desensitized him.

And, as the memory faded, Sophie realized, it drove him crazy. The prolonged exposure to the desensitization had destroyed any physical connections that Wolfe had to his body. All he had left was his mind.

Which made their imprint stronger. Strong enough to communicate mentally.

Sophie's jaw clenched. "I'm the only thing keeping you sane right now," she concluded in horror.