"It talks in tongues and quiet sighs,

And prayers and proclamations

In the grand days of great men and the smallest of gestures

And short shallow gasps."

- All This and Heaven Too, Florence + The Machine

()()()

The boys left the room quickly after that, looking around at each other, a few of them sniggering lightly. I was about to get roasted, they knew that much.

Only one of them - I think his name was Seth - gave me a sympathetic look before exiting the room. He was the last one out.

Sam gestured towards the living room couches and Emily came to perch beside him, ready to mediate between us. He looked at me with dark eyes - disgruntled, but not yet accusing - and motioned for me to begin.

"What do you want to know first?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing my legs.

"What do you know about us, Serena?"

"Everything," I said teasingly, a glimmer in my eyes. Sam started to smile too, but restrained himself quickly.

"I want specifics." He shook his head.

"Mom told me all about it when I was younger - about you shapeshifting, about protecting the town from danger, even about imprinting. She acted like they were bedtime stories but she swore to me they were true, and for the longest time I didn't believe her. I hadn't thought about those stories since Ivy was born, not until today." I bit my lip. "She told me, but she didn't tell Ivy. She didn't tell Ivy anything. She named her and then she passed her off."

I left out the part about the powers, still unsure as to how Sam would react. The last thing I wanted was for him and Emily to kick us out, especially when Ivy was so excited about this place.

"Why'd she tell you, and not your sister?"

"Sam," Emily warned, knowing this was a bit of a sore subject for me.

"It's okay, Mom's his sister, too." I sighed. "For me, Mom was the best parent she could be. By the time she had Ivy, she was a little sick of it all. She was almost never around for her, never home. I took care of Ivy the best I could."

"You were what, six when Ivy was born? How could you have possibly...?"

"It's not like I didn't have help - her dad, Kurt, was around a lot when she was a baby. Mom didn't know about it, but he would come around when she was out and check on her, on us. He was a really nice guy - probably the last nice guy she brought home. He was killed by a drunk driver when I was Ivy's age. She doesn't remember him." I sighed. "Look, I'm not sure you want to hear all of this about Mom. I mean, she was your sister, I don't want to tarnish whatever image you have of her."

Emily smiled at me, reaching over and patting my leg. Sam, however, didn't seem bothered.

"It's alright, Serena." He smiled. "I remember Alina that way - she had her ups and her downs. She'd have these great, amazing years followed by months of sadness and depression. I was so young, though - I always figured I just imagined things being that way. I was only twelve when she left, you know? She was nineteen and so omniscient, so headstrong. I always wondered if maybe there was too much going on inside her head, to the point where she couldn't take it anymore."

I bit my lip, grateful that Sam had seen what I had - at least parts of it. He had described her so brilliantly, so eloquently, that it nearly made me cry.

And then I remembered what she did - abandoned us even before she killed herself - and my tears dried again. I hadn't cried for her yet, I certainly wouldn't do it now.

I gave Sam a moment to collect himself as well, then turned to ask him a question.

"I want to know who the Cullens are, and why they would plan on attacking, before I decide whether or not this is a safe place for my sister to be."

Fear appeared in his eyes, and in Emily's, and I fought the urge to comfort them. I had to know their honest answers before I decided to keep her here.

Sam sucked in a breath, a long one, and Emily took the chance to speak.

"Please, Serena. You and your sister are safe and welcome here - La Push is sacred ground, and not only does a treaty protect us, but the pack does as well. Sam and his boys will do everything in their power to ensure that no harm ever comes to you and Ivy." Emily smiled, reaching over to take my hand. "That's what Jacob and the others are doing tonight, Serena. They patrol the area, keeping it safe from threats, as they do every night."

"You can trust Jacob to keep you and Ivy safe," Sam added.

"You can trust every single one of those boys," Emily said pointedly, looking towards Sam as he nodded. Without missing a beat, she smiled at me. "But, you can trust Jacob especially."

"This doesn't answer my question." I sighed, looking at my feet and hoping I wouldn't offend them. It was only my second night here, after all.

"The Cullens are vampires." Sam sighed, anxious to be discussing this.

"And you allow them to live here?"

I avoided slapping my hand to my forehead - this had to be the reason Mom didn't want us in La Push. Just as vampires and shape shifters were natural enemies, so were vampires and witches. Vampires were proud creatures, ones who believed they were above humans - they didn't like that we had power over them, could cast a spell upon them just as we would any other human.

As far as I knew, a witch's powers were good on any kind of being - supernatural or otherwise.

"Let me finish." Sam rolled his eyes. "They don't live in La Push, they're in Forks, which isn't part of the reservation. They're self-proclaimed vegetarians, meaning they feed on animals, not humans. We have an ancient treaty with them, put in place decades ago. They do not come onto our land, they do not feed on our land, and, if they kill a human, the treaty is broken and we may attack."

"And Bella?"

"Bella is a human. She's fallen in love with one of the Cullens, Edward, and is likely to be made a vampire." Sam watched as I visibly cringed, imagining the pain that would come with a transformation such as that. "The Cullens realize that, if she is to be transformed, the treaty will be broken. Because of that we are always anticipating a possible attack from them - rather be safe than sorry."

I nodded quietly, choosing my next words carefully.

"And what does Jacob have to do with all this?"

"Earlier this year, Edward and the Cullens left Forks, and left Bella. She was torn up and, as it seems, Jacob and Bella had been friends since they were kids. The two grew closer again." Sam bit his lip. "Jacob had feelings for her. Nothing as strong as imprinting, I can tell you that, but he wanted to be with her."

I clenched my fists, annoyed and hurt, while Emily came to my side. I nodded at Sam to continue as I tried not to conjure up a windstorm to drag Jacob away from here, away from me.

"But Bella chose Edward. She went to save him from suicide at the hands of the Volturi - an ancient vampire court - and they gave the Cullens an ultimatum. They want her turned, soon. Bella, she's willing to do it; she wants to do it, Serena."

"So, it's a waiting game." I sighed, leaning against Emily, shutting my eyes. "I can't believe Jacob loved her."

"No," Sam said, shaking his head. "I've been inside his head, Serena. He never loved her - he only thought he did. Until he met you, Jacob didn't know what love was."

"I don't love Jacob," I said, trying to brush it off, to rationalize my feelings. "I've only known him today. You don't fall in love with someone on first sight."

"Normal people don't," Emily nodded, backing me up. "But Quileutes aren't exactly normal people, Serena."

"Believe me," I groaned. "I know."

"But Serena," Sam said, his brows furrowing. "Jacob walked out of that room like he'd just won the lottery. If you turned him down..."

"I didn't turn him down, per say." I blushed lightly. If an imprintee turns down the imprinter, the imprinter can feel physical pain - same goes if the imprinter tries to turn away from his imprint. Spending too much time away from the imprintee can also cause this feeling. Basically, Jacob got the bad end of the stick. "I know how the imprint works, and I don't have any reason to cause Jacob pain, just yet. I told him he could take me out on a date."

"A date?" Sam sputtered.

"Why does everyone act like that's such a big deal?"

"Oh, honey," Emily laughed. "When Sam told me he was hopelessly in love with me, and only me, I nearly jumped into his arms then and there. As far as I know the same thing happened with the other imprints. You're the first I've known to turn down a tall, broad, shirtless Quileute boy."

From the other couch, Sam growled.

"I think it's good." Sam nodded. "It'll teach Jacob Black some respect, some discipline. Lord knows that boy needs it."