Charlie came up to Sue and whispered that he was called into work. He kissed her gently before taking off.

Old Quil, being the senior member of the tribe, began telling the legend of their people, how they were descended and could shift into wolves. Billy took over and told the legend of the cold people, and about Chief Taha Aki and the Third Wife.

"Taha Aki turned into an old gray wolf with the strength given by his anger alone. He began fighting the Cold Woman, when his third wife came to a conclusion. She had just seen her son killed and now her husband ran a terrible danger, along with the rest of her sons and tribe. She heard every word the witnesses told the council and heard Yaha Uta's version of events the night the other one was beaten. She knew that his brother's divergence had saved him. She grabbed a knife from one of her sons, ran towards the blood drinker and stabbed herself in the heart. The Cold Woman could not turn away from the fresh blood and gave in to the thirst. Taha Aki bit her throat and finished her off along with two of his sons who felt such rage at seeing their mother dead that they turned into wolves. After that, Taha Aki never returned to his human self, staying to protect his wife's body and leaving to the forest never to return to the tribe." Billy said solemnly.

Billy frowned when he looked over the young people at the fire and saw that Layla sat silently, tears rolling down her face.

"Sam." Billy said, motioning at Layla.

Within a second, Sam pulled Layla to him, fearing she was hurt or scared. He wiped her tears gently with his thumbs and tilted her head up to look at him.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" Sam asked.

Layla shook her head and sniffled pathetically, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"S-she watched her ch-children be killed and her husband about to be k-killed and she loved him and her people that s-s-she sacrificed her own life to save them and-and-and it did save them because love…" Layla stuttered out between hiccuping and sniffling.

Sam's heart both ached and blossomed inside of him, feeling his Imprint's raw emotion as if it were his own. He turned Layla to face him and pulled her even closer so she could experience them without everyone staring. Layla buried her face against Sam's neck and cried quietly, each tear marking Sam inside and out.

"For an outsider, one not by birth belonging to our tribe…" Old Quil whispered, touching his chest where his heart was.

Everyone nodded, knowing what the rest of the unfinished sentence would be. To break the quiet, Sue picked up her guitar and began strumming one of their tribal songs. Billy chanted softly and Old Quil sang in their native language. One by one, those around the fire joined in. Sam hummed along quietly, his deep baritone near bass voice providing a steady rhythm. He felt the tears slow down and eventually stop. Her soft, even breaths and lack of movement told him that his little Imprint had fallen asleep in his arms and on his chest.

"She's wore herself out." Leah commented after the singing had stopped. "With all the yawning Bella is doing, it looks like she's not far behind.

"Jake, will you drive Bella and Layla home? I would ask Sam but he's going to have a time getting Layla to the truck and keeping her from falling over. Then you boys can run home." Billy asked.

"Sure. Come on, Stinkerbella." Jake teased.

"I'm fine to drive, Billy." Bella said.

"How are you planning on getting her out of the truck and up to get bedroom?" Billy asked.

Bella looked blank.

"That's where Sam comes in. Let Jake drive and Sam will make sure Layla gets to her bed. They can stay at your house until Charlie gets back." Billy said. "Humor an old man."

Bella relented and gave Jake her keys. Jake kissed Leah before following Bella. Sam stood slowly as not to jostle or wake Layla. He walked as slow as he could, loving the way his Imprint felt in his arms, loving how she felt safe enough around him to fall asleep. The truck ride to the Swan house was entirely too quick for Sam's liking.

"Her bedroom is in the attic. Dad brought a heater up there but it's not been set up yet." Bella said quietly.

Sam nodded and gently got out of the truck, readjusting his hold on Layla. She whined softly but didn't wake up, instead pressing her face tighter against his neck at the brightness of the house lights. Sam smiled but hid it by pressing his face gently into Layla's hair as he climbed the steps. Sam pulled the quilts back and, as much as he hated to, laid Layla on the bed. He slipped her shoes off and covered her up. He pulled the heater out of the box and set it up to blow heat onto Layla to keep her warm. He sat on the side of her bed, brushing her hair out of her face. Layla turned and followed his hand in her sleep. He moved to stand and let Layla sleep in peace even though all Sam wanted to do was crawl in bed beside of her and pull her as close as he could. He shook his head and made sure Layla was warm enough before he headed downstairs to find Jake.

"So you finally Imprinted." Jake said, smiling.

Sam smiled as he thought of Layla. "Yeah. I see why Leah broke up with me the second she shifted and laid her eyes on you. I get it. Damn… the ache to go back upstairs and crawl beside her in bed is so heavy." He said.

"No hard feelings?" Jake asked, holding his hand out.

"Never, brother. At first I was mad… but I totally get it now. Nothing stronger to you than your Imprint." Sam said, shaking his hand.

They heard a rumble of thunder in the distance and flashes of lightning, indicating a storm was heading this way. Jake went through the house and pulled out the candles he knew Charlie kept for power outages. No sooner did Jake find the matches did the electricity go out, leaving the house in darkness. Jake chuckled and lit the candles and two hurricane lamps he found. Lightning lit the outside up seconds before the thunder rumbled. Thunder shook the house and made the windows rattle. Layla sat up in bed, feeling the thunder vibrate her walls and make a terrible loud noise. Her heart was beating out of her chest. Rain began pouring down just before lightning once again lit the sky and another room of thunder made itself known. There was absolutely no way she was staying up in the attic, so Layla made her way downstairs to the living room, intent on waiting the storm out before going back to her bedroom.

"Layla? What are you up? I thought you were asleep." Jake asked.

"The storm… very loud. Scared me awake. Don't wanna be up there." Layla said, ending on a yawn.

"Sam will be back in a second. He went to the bathroom." Jake said.

"Okay?" Layla said.

She wondered why Jake thought that was relevant enough to bring Sam into the conversation. Layla walked into the kitchen and found a box of cereal and decided to have a bowl. She found the cabinet with the bowls inside and climbed up to stand on the countertops to reach one.

"A bit too high, huh?" Sam asked, chuckling when he saw Layla on the counter.

Sam's sudden comment startled Layla, making her jump slightly and nearly topple backwards off the counter. Before she could do more than tip backwards, Sam was there. He grabbed her and the bowl and kept them both from falling.

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to startle you, Layla. Jake told me you were in here." Sam said.

"It's okay. You kept me from falling… thank you." Layla said.

Sam smiled brightly.

"Do you want some cereal too?" Layla asked.

Sam shook his head. "If I do, I'll just snag your spoon." He teased.

Layla smiled, hearing his light and easy tone. She poured extra cereal in her bowl and covered it in milk before hopping up on the counter near the candle so she could see to eat. Sam watched her eat a few bites before walking over to her and leaning against the counter between her knees. Layla smiled and held a bite out to him in question. Sam looked up at her, his wolf rumbling in happiness that his Imprint was offering to feed him her food from her own hand. Sam took the bite and chewed, watching as Layla didn't hesitate in taking a bite herself, not wiping the spoon off at all.

"Sam, dude…" Jake whined, walking in. "Now I'm going to smell like you."

Before Sam could growl and tell Jake to kindly piss off, Layla replied first.

"Well at least you'll smell good now!" Layla said, giggling softly.

"You saying I stink, shorty?" Jake laughed.

"You said it, not me." Layla said sweetly, holding another spoonful of cereal out to Sam.

"Better watch your back, you little gnome." Jake said, grinning.

"Better watch your ankles, Sasquatch. I'm so short you'll never see me coming until it's too late!" Layla said.

"The sass! Oh, the sass on this one, Sam. I like her." Jake said.

Sam smiled proudly. Already his Imprint was getting along with the pack. He knew she won over the Elders with her emotional response to their legends. To his knowledge, no one had ever cried when they heard the legends. It was just something that you'd been told since infancy. She had won over his pack by voluntarily giving up her food to the pack Alpha so he wouldn't be without. None of the rest of his pack had ever done that before.

He smiled proudly. His Imprint was perfect.

...

yay another new chapter! So i like this one its like tugging hardcore at my heart shrubs. But so far out of everything I've written, chapter 7 is like my favorite.

Thank you all so much for my comments! They make me so so so happy okay? I love comments! Let me know whatcha thunk of this chapter and let me know if there's any sub plot or anything Hagen I this fic you'd like to see okay? Always open to suggestions.