Hey guys! So here it is! The third chapter to the story with the familiar faces! I almost didn't post this chapter today but I had a chance to edit it a little more so I think it's good to go. Hopefully you guys like it! Thanks again to those of you who read and review this story. It really means a lot to me. Anyway, enjoy! ;)

Chapter 3

The sun was setting, the deep orange, crimson, and maroon hues that painted the sky were all the more beautiful given there was no man-made light, or menacing metal buildings obstructing the view. Accompanying the darkening sky came the pleasant breeze that the locals knew all too well would soon become a deathly chill. The cheerful sounds of children laughing and playing floated on the breeze. This was Kat's second favorite time of the day.

"You don't have to come with me, Xavier," Kat told her boyfriend as they casually walked through the village. They were holding hands upon Xavier's request and Kat rolled her eyes at the threatening glares Xavier gave to the many men whose eyes lingered a moment too long on Katalina. "I am only going to retrieve my father."

"I know and if it weren't for the late hour, I would feel more comfortable with you going alone," Xavier replied, his hand absentmindedly gripping Kat's soft caramel colored hand tighter in a show of his need to protect her, from threats both real and imaginary.

He had stopped by to deliver the elms his mother had conjured up for Mariel to help her with her difficult pregnancy. Mariel was a strong believer of the supernatural and after her second miscarriage about a year ago, she enlisted the help of the tribe's infamous medicine woman to ensure this birth had a happier outcome.

"It is barely dusk and it is not like I haven't traveled alone at night before. I have no fear of the dark and I can take care of myself."

This information of her solo journeys into the desert during the cover of nightfall was news to Xavier and he slightly cringed at the thought of his Kat venturing alone in the desert at night. Not privy to her conversation with what she believed to be a demon mere hours earlier, he believed she had no fear and that terrified him. "You are almost too honest, dear. You know you are entitled to secrets."

Kat's heart rate picked up at his declaration. "Oh, yes I know. I have recently accumulated quite a few actually."

A frown formed on her face and she stared ahead of them. Xavier saw the distant look in her eyes and just strolled idly by her side as she thought. Little did he know of the horrid red-eyes embedded in her memory that she was currently viewing in vivid detail.

"I think that if no one was afraid of being judged or felt shame in anything they did, secrets would cease to exist," Kat said in her dream-induced voice. It was a quiet and thoughtful tone she reserved for uttering her most private thoughts out loud and one she only used with Xavier. "Don't you agree?"

Xavier looked to his left to see Kat's hazel eyes looking at him in anticipation and another emotion he couldn't quite place.

"Well yes, to some extent. But you forget about the secrets that are used in order to protect."

"But secrets are essentially lies. They are the omission of the truth. Maybe it is just me but I want the choice of being protected and I do not wish to be protected by way of dishonesty."

Kat was aware of how hypocritical she was being, but she needed to gauge his reaction to justify her silence in relation to the creature. She herself didn't tell Mariel, or anyone else for that matter, about the red-eyed creature but that was more based on the fact that she didn't know how to tell anyone what she had seen in a way she felt would be believable and not have the entire village take her for even more of a crazy woman. She was already frowned upon for the sour taste her expected duties left in her mouth; she didn't need any more reason to exile herself, at least not without indisputable merit. Regardless, she had in fact been fiercely debating with herself whether or not she should tell Xavier about her horrifying encounter today. He wasn't just her boyfriend but her best friend and she told him everything. She knew she could trust him and that he wouldn't think of her as mental, but something within her made it impossible for her to utter a word about the creature. She'd open her mouth to tell him but only silence ensued. A part of Kat (a more primal part) yelled to her that this was her fight. However, unable to shake the feeling that the woman was dangerous, she swore to herself that if she were to ever see the creature again, she'd scream her findings from the top of the highest plateau.

Claims of insanity be damned.

Feeling the tension of the unknown internal battle within Kat and seeing her gaze begin to drift back into those other realms in which he wasn't invited to go, Xavier quickly reclaimed Kat's attention.

"Is this your way of telling me not fuss about your late night strolls into the desert? Because I already have a rant prepared."

Kat giggled, though it was extremely forced. "Take from it what you will. I love you very much but your fussing has no effect on me, but do not worry. This is true for everyone who disapproves of the things I find joy in."

"I highly doubt getting lost in the desert is a joyful experience."

"That is why it is joyful for me. I never get lost," Kat admitted cockily with a smirk playing on her lips.

"Whatever you say, dear."

The couple walked further into village laughing and aimlessly chatting. Once they reached the outskirts of the village, they saw a pair of old women sitting Indian style on the ground. As they moved closer to the women, one of them looked up from the clay pot she was molding and took notice of them.

"Xavier! Come, come!" the smaller of the two women called out to them. Her hand was covered in slimy red clay and she waved it viciously from side-to-side to reinforce her demand.

Kat sighed. The Tsosie Twins were two of the oldest women in the Navajo tribe. They were strict in their traditions and never strayed from the way of life established by the very first Navajo people. They were sticklers for the rules and they made no attempts to hide their distaste for Kat and her blatant disregard for those things they found to be sacred. Unfortunately, Xavier was a well-liked boy in the village and the Tsosie Twins were quite fond of him and his charms. He halted his steps, thus causing Kat to stop walking as well as he used his free hand to return the wave.

"It will just be for a minute. You can stay here if you like. I will return shortly," Xavier said quietly to Kat. He knew that she was well aware of the daggers the twins were sending her way and he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.

"No, no. It's fine. Maybe if I go with you, they will grow weary of such rebellion in such close proximity to them and we won't have to endure their mindless gossip for too long," Kat replied, trying her best to smile through her barely contained annoyance.

The twins didn't like her and the feeling was mutual.

After asking Kat if she was sure more times than she would have liked, he finally tugged on her hand and pulled her behind him toward the women.

"Hello ladies. Hard at work I see."

"Ah yes. All in a day's work for a real Navajo woman," the youngest twin said pointedly at Kat though it came out with a slight lisp given her missing teeth.

"Nice to see you as well, Ms. Tsosie," Kat said through gritted teeth, all of which were intact and present.

The older woman grunted in response and just as Kat opened her mouth in rebuttal, Xavier squeezed her hand once and began to speak.

"Those are some very beautiful pots you two have there," Xavier complimented with a bright smile.

His change of subject worked and the women turned their attention and softer expressions onto him.

"Such a sweet young man you are, Xavier."

"Yes, very sweet in deed and so handsome."

"Oh yes, very handsome." The twins seemed to only be communicating with each other and Kat stared at them with scrunched brows. The twins were eerie old women and the way they interacted with each other resembled that of an insane person talking to themself. It never failed to disturb Kat.

"These pots are special. They are for our granddaughter, Hannie. She and the Mooks boy are getting married on the next full moon."

"This will be the last granddaughter we will have to mold wedding pots for but we still have a great-niece whom is unwed! You just must meet her when she visits!" the oldest twin gushed to Xavier as if Kat wasn't standing right by his side, witnessing first hand their attempt to convince Xavier to leave her for their niece.

Kat's blood boiled. "Excuse me!" she began but Xavier abruptly cut her off by wrapping his arm around her waist and tucking her into his side before deliberately and sweetly placing a kiss on her lips to silence her.

He looked her in the eyes and she saw the apologies and slight humor there. His plead for her to just let the petty matter go wasn't lost on Kat and although it physically pained her to do so, she nodded slightly. Still, it was implied that her glare upon the twins would remain a deadly one.

When the couple ended their private, silent conversation, they looked back at the twins and came in on their gossiping about the tribe's recent scandals.

"It is a shame."

"Yes, such a shame. The whole family gone. Just disappeared."

"Such a nice family they were. Such good boys they had," the oldest twin said sadly with a tsk.

Kat was barely registering the twins' exchange, writing all of their chatter off as trifling blather but at the mention of the disappearance, her interest was piqued. "Disappearance? Who has disappeared?"

The youngest twin sighed in annoyance but she couldn't resist the opportunity to spread the details of someone else's life. "Elijah, Evelyn and the boys. No one has seen them since the crescent moon."

"It is as if they vanished into thin air."

Kat's eyes immediately widened in horror. Elijah, Evelyn and their two sons, Zachary and Samuel, were a well-respected family amongst the tribe. Elijah was thought to be the most genuine of the Elders. He always had the well-being of the tribe in mind and he wasn't afraid to challenge tradition if it meant bettering the Navajo people. His wife Evelyn was a beautiful woman who loved every member of the tribe as if she carried them all in her own womb. Zachary and Samuel were a couple of years younger than Kat and she often offered her services of watching over them when their parents' duties caused them to take leave from the village. The three had become close friends over the years and when Kat overlooked Zachary's immense crush on her, they could be thought of as close siblings. This was terrible news and Kat swore she could feel her heart shattering piece by piece.

"The last crescent moon?" Zachary asked to no one in particular, his eyes squinted in thought. "That was the same night of the horrid screaming."

"You don't think…" Kat began as she looked up at Xavier with pleading eyes. She had already come to the conclusion that the missing family and the terrible screams were related but she was reaching for any hope that could disprove this theory.

Xavier looked at her with sad eyes and Kat knew that he couldn't give her this satisfaction.

Something terrible had happened to her friends.

"Well why is no one searching for them then?! An entire family has vanished and not one soul has made an effort to bring them home!"

"Hold your tongue, you rude child!" the oldest twin demanded and Kat's anger began to shake her entire frame. "There was a search party assembled but in light of the new body found out yonder the Szihing dunes, fear has entered the hearts of even our bravest warriors and the council has voted against the search effort."

"Another body? But that would make this the third one this month," Xavier exclaimed in shock.

"That is no reason to cower! Tourist lose their way and parish from dehydration every year out in the desert!" Kat yelled. "Four of our own are gone without any trace of their whereabouts and here you sit, idly molding your insignificant bowls! We must do something!"

"Kat-" Xavier began but Kat was deaf to anything other than solutions in finding the missing members.

Snatching her hand out of the confines of Xavier's grasp, she took off in the opposite direction of her previously intended destination.

"Katalina! Where are you going?" Xavier asked Kat as he struggled to keep up with the determined strides of his girlfriend. "The council building is the other way!"

"Damn the council! If they won't do anything then I will do it myself!"

"I understand your worry but what can you do, Kat?"

For this, she had no answer. She honestly didn't have a plan of action. She was once again acting on impulse as she always did. She was at a lost but her pace did not waver in the slightest.

"I do not know. Look for evidence of where they might have gone off to. Anything other than merely sitting around doing nothing!"

She was running now and with a frustrated sigh, Xavier started right on her heels. Once they reached the abandoned hut, Kat gasped. For a moment, she thought she had made a wrong turn for the home before her resembled nothing of the place she remembered. It was just so bleak and an unnerving silence lurked all around. There were no longer any sounds of laughter and the smell of Evelyn's renowned cooking was only a distant memory.

Kat regained what was left of her composure and slowly walked toward the hut as if not to disturb any living thing that may have taken up residence in the home. She peeked her head inside of the doorway, her long dark hair pooling over her shoulder and hanging well past her waist. She eventually entered the home and began looking for any clues as to where they may have gone, but there was nothing there.

"Kat," Xavier said as he approached where his love stood still as stone in the middle of the room and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go. There is nothing here. Maybe they have just taken a vacation. It is really none of our business what they choose to do with their time or where they choose to go."

"You do not honestly believe that, Xavier. How could you when the truth is staring you so blatantly in the face?" Kat challenged him. Though she knew he meant well, his attempts at pacifying her only caused her to project her anger onto him. She did not want to be comforted, she wanted answers.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kat caught sight of piece of wood on the ground. Extracting Xavier's hand from her shoulder, she slowly walked over to the corner of the room and kneeled down, her knees immediately becoming embedded with the tiny, sharp particles of sand. Reaching out, she grabbed the piece of wood. Taking in the details, she realized that it wasn't a stick but instead the early carvings of a flute that had been abandoned prior to completion. She immediately thought of Zachary and his hobby of crafting. She could picture him sitting right in this very corner with his knife in hand, chopping away precisely at the bark with an artistic touch, manipulating it into the shapes he desired. This memory refueled Kat's determined fire. Clutching the flute tightly in her hands, she jumped to her feet and sprinted out of the home.

As she ran, she was aware of Xavier's presence behind her and she was thankful he made no attempts to question or stop her.

As the red, worn council building loomed in sight, Kat's pace slowed until she stood before the large, menacing door. She pounded relentlessly on the shabby door, receiving a few painful splinters in doing so.

"Kat?! What do you think you are doing? Have you lost your damn mind?" Xavier's older brother, Jackson, questioned as he slightly opened the door and peeked his head out. Xavier was in his mid-twenties and thus the youngest elder in Navajo history, assuming the role after the death of their father six years ago. Though a very carefree and fun-loving young man, he took his job as an elder very seriously and disrupting a council gathering was a means of punishment.

"I must speak to the council," Kat demanded, breathlessly.

"Well I am sorry but your concern will have to wait. The council is attending to a very pressing matter at the moment."

"Jackson, do you know anything further about the disappearance of Elijah and his family?" Xavier prompted, finally speaking for the first time.

"That is none of your concern, little brother. If that is what you wish to discuss with the council Kat, then I suggest you not worry your pretty, little head over it any longer," Jackson taunted as he patted Kat's head, trying to alleviate the tension. "We have everything under control."

"Oh do you now? Since when does dismembering a search party's efforts to do the noble thing constitute as having everything under control?" Kat asked, her anger seething.

Frustrated, Kat didn't allow Jackson to answer before she took him by surprise and pushed her way past him and into the council building.

"Kat! Come back here!" Jackson yelled out to her in a harsh whisper as not to alert the other elders of her uninvited presence. She ignored him and he swore under his breath before chasing after her.

He caught up to her and grabbed her arm but not before the other elders in the room noticed her presence.

"Jackson, Katalina, what may I ask is going on here?" the elder, Rollan, questioned as he prevented Kat from proceeding any further into the room by standing in her way.

"I am very sorry, Rollan. I will escort Ms. Yates out now."

"You will do no such thing!" Kat roared, snatching her arm out of Jackson's hand and turning to face Rollan. "Why have you not done anything to find Elijah's family?! They have been gone for a day now and I've only been alerted to this by way of the gossip reel! We must find them! They could be hurt…or worse!"

"The whereabouts of the Goodwind family is of no concern to you, Katalina. You know better than to come bursting into the council building without invitation, especially when a meeting is in session."

"For argument's sake, let us pretend I am ignorant to that fact," Kat dared as she countered Rollan's glare with one of her own. "How can you say that the vanishing of the Goodwinds does not concern me?! They are my people! We are a tribe! That means we are one, or have you forgotten that in your recent rise to power?"

Rollan had just recently become the head of the Navajo elders when his father fell ill a little less than four months ago. The old man was turning ninety this year and Xavier's mother didn't give him much longer to live.

"Katalina!" an enraged voice called out.

Kat knew this voice all too well. She looked past Rollan's overweight frame and instantly locked eyes with those of Joham. To her surprise, he looked more exhausted than angry, but the fury was still hard to miss.

"You were raised better than this. You do not use that tone with your elders."

"But Papa! The Goodwinds…"

"Are fine," Joham informed her.

Kat looked at her father with confusion. His clothes were damp with sweat (which was strange considering the rapidly decreasing temperature) and his usually tame hair was sprawled out wildly on his head. "I do not understand."

"No. You do not understand and yet, you are here. Why do you love to embarrass me so, mi hija?"

Father and daughter stood there just staring at each other. It was as though they were the only two inhabitants in the room. Suddenly, the creaking sound of a door opening erupted throughout the large room, pulling them out of their trance. Kat saw her father mouth to her to leave, but she ignored his plea and looked away from him to where the sound emitted.

Confusion once again made its way onto Kat's face as she saw one of the tribe's elders enter the room followed by two men she had never seen before. The strangers were huge, standing well above 6' 8''. They looked like kin with their short, cropped black hair, rich copper skin, sculpted facial features and matching attire of nothing but khaki shorts. All three of the men were sporting guarded expressions and the strangers seemed to be on high alert, their dark eyes constantly taking in the unfamiliar surroundings.

Rollan gave Jackson a look and he nodded his head before gently but firmly placing his hand on Kat's shoulder. Had she not been so engulfed in the strange show before her, she would've knocked his hand away. Instead, she just watched as Rollan turned his back to her, shooing her away as though she were nothing more than some bothersome insect, and made his way toward the group of men.

"Ah. Mr. Black, Mr. Uley. I hope you have good news for us?"

One of the strangers nodded his head. "Yes, it took longer than expected but both boys are finally back to normal."

The other stranger, who was a bit taller than his comrade yet had a more youthful face, scoffed. "And by that he means they're normal enough, yah know, given the circumstances."

"Jacob," the shorter man warned.

"Sam," the one named Jacob replied in an irritated voice, much like that of an annoyed teenager though he appeared to be in his mid-twenties.

Sam shook his head and rubbed his hand over his face once while Jacob had an anxious energy about him like he had somewhere else he'd really rather be at the moment.

"Well then, thank you very much for your assistance. This is all very new to us. I hope this was not too much trouble for you," Rollan replied, awkwardly reaching out to shake hands with both men.

Kat felt she missed something when Sam looked at Jacob with a fierce glare and Jacob returned the gesture with just as much intensity. Sighing once again, Sam looked back at Rollan and forced a smile onto his face.

"It was no problem at all."

"Yeah, don't mention it," Jacob replied. It seemed half-hearted but Kat couldn't tell whether it was due to bitterness or just plain exhaustion. All of the men looked beat.

Still confused, Kat continued to observe the new faces. When the Jacob one raised his arm to run his hand through his hair, she finally caught sight of the large tattoo that adorned his muscular bicep. Sam had identical body art on the exact same arm. Kat knew she was staring but she couldn't help herself. Her curiosity was getting the best of her. Apparently her staring was fierce enough that Jacob seemed to sense eyes upon him and turned his head, instantly locking his dark eyes with Kat's bright ones. His mouth gaped a little at the sight of her but he quickly recovered and tore his eyes away from hers when Joham cleared his throat.

"I know there is some bad blood that still lingers between our tribes, but you have done us a great justice, so please do not hesitate to call upon us to return the favor."

"The Quileute tribe thanks you," Sam said.

Upon hearing this, Kat's mouth fell to the floor and her eyes nearly escaped from her head.

"Quileute?!" she spat through clenched teeth. "Four of our people have gone missing and instead of insuring their safe return home, you people are making nice with our enemy tribe! Please tell me what makes the appearance of the Quileute graver than a loss of the Navajo?!"

"Katalina!" Joham yelled. "I apologize for my daughter. She-"

"Hey listen, lady! We didn't come here to talk diplomats. Your elders invited us here to help your people!" Jacob countered. "I can think of ten much more important ways I could be spending my time right now!"

"Well then go! Your kind should not have even been allowed to step foot onto our land in the first place, you traitors!"

"Wow! Talk about ungrateful," Jacob replied with a glare.

"I do not know what noble deed you think you have done for us and frankly I could not care less. What I do know, however, is that I do not care for your tone."

Jacob bellowed a sarcastic laugh. "Well yours isn't exactly all rainbows and gumdrops either, sweetheart."

"What did you just call me?!" Kat yelled at the condescending name and her whole body began to shake. Upon seeing this, a look of bafflement shown on Jacob's face and he quickly looked at Sam. Sam looked equally as dumbfounded but he said nothing, only shrugging his shoulders before returning his attention back to the raging woman. At that same moment, Kat made a motion to move towards Jacob but she didn't get far. Fighting to see through the red haze that tinted her sight, she looked down at her arm to see Xavier's hand wrapped tightly around it.

"Kat! Stop this nonsense! We're already in enough trouble as it is," he cautioned her. She knew he was right and begrudgingly, she blew out a breath to calm herself down. Her violent shaking stopped.

She looked up and when she saw her father's disappointed face, she hung her head in shame.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the natives in the room, emphasizing the extreme tension between the feuding tribes.

Sam cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "Well, on that note, it's getting late and we have been away from our friends and family long enough. Sorry if we caused you any trouble. We'll be leaving now."

With a pointed look at Jacob (which he blatantly ignored), Sam said his individual goodbyes and Rollan thanked him one more time before offering to walk them out. Jacob soon followed his lead and Kat could hear the exchanging of apologies between Jacob and her father for Kat's rude outburst.

"It's no problem. It's been a long day," Jacob said carefree as if there hadn't just been a screaming match in which he had been a key player in only moments ago. He patted Joham once on the shoulder before he began making his way towards the door. As he reached Kat, he stopped. Kat lifted her head and looked at his awaiting face. She couldn't stop the glare that instantly tugged at her eyes.

Her guard was up.

"Look, I'm really sorry about yelling at you. I didn't mean to."

Kat stared at him blankly waiting for him to say something she deemed relevant. He groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. It was evident this was painful for him.

"I think we got off to a really bad start. Truce?" he asked. With a surprisingly genuine grin that was somewhat disarming to Kat, he extended his hand out to her.

Xavier took on a protective stance at her side, looking at Jacob with an expression of unease.

She just stared at his hand for a moment in contemplation.

"Katalina," Joham warned his daughter.

With an irritate sigh, Katalina took Jacob's hand in hers. His large hand practically swallowed hers whole and the heat radiating from his palm caused Kat to gasp at the contact. Jacob smirked at her reaction and she looked at him in puzzlement and the still present annoyance.

"Hi. I'm Jacob Black," he introduced himself before Kat could question him about his unnatural body temperature.

"Katalina Yates," she replied begrudgingly while searching his eyes for any signs of animosity. She could see none there but she didn't allow herself to relax. He was still the enemy.

"It was very…nice meeting you, Katalina."

An amused yet somewhat harsh scoff escaped from Kat's lips. "I beg to differ."

Jacob let out a bellowing laugh, obviously not hearing the twinge of harshness or simply finding her effort at anger humorous.

"Is something funny?" she questioned with a glare at him.

Jacob simply smiled brightly at her. It was somewhat contagious and if she weren't so emotionally exhausted at the moment, she would've smiled back. "Nah. Well, I guess I'll see you around then."

He most certainly would not be "seeing her around." They were from rival tribes and the possibility that their paths would ever cross again was highly unlikely and if they ever were to meet again, it certainly wouldn't be under positive circumstances. She looked at him in guarded bafflement.

He raised his eyebrow and smirked at her. "It's just an expression, Navajo."

"Oh. Yes, well in that case. Not if I can help it, Quileute," she replied, standing to her full height now that the tension had lessened and the weight of her father's words had started to lose their sting, if only slightly.

He laughed yet again before releasing Kat's hand from his and winking at her. She could sense Xavier become tense at her side but she ignored him. His jealousy was unnecessary and it knew no bounds.

Jacob then nodded a goodbye to Xavier before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking backwards away from them. He waved one final goodbye to the elders before turning around and exiting the building. The door closed loudly behind him.

Little did any of them know that this would be the last time they'd see each other for four, long years.

Author's Note: Well, that's it! Just FYI, Jacob is seventeen at this point in the story. Next chapter is chop full of wolf boys so look out for that. Thanks for reading! :D