A/N – Hi everyone. Sorry, sorry, sorry again for the very long time between updates! I have no excuse other than that the day job has really been kicking my butt these last few months.

Firstly, a special thank you to my dear friend NinkyBaby for lending a much needed helping hand in refining the angel/devil banter scene in this chapter, and to Beaches of La Push for her very astute observations and letting me weave some of them into this tale! Thanks to Writer-in-the-making16 for, well, pretty much everything to do with this story! And, as always, a HUGE thank you to everyone for reading, fav'ing and reviewing!

And BTW, it's almost a year to the day since I started writing fanfics, so this chapter marks a bit of an 'anniversary' of sorts for me :) Yayyyy! *waves arms in the air wildly like Kermit the Frog* :D

All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Of halos, horns & promises (mis)construed

"For the strength of the pack is the wolf;
And the strength of the wolf is the pack."
~ Rudyard Kipling

Jacob pushed open the balcony doors and entered his bedroom, the droplets of rain running off his bare skin and tanned leather breeches leaving a trail of wet footsteps behind him.

He sat himself down on the wooden bench next to one of the large bay windows. Reaching for a nearby towel to dry himself off, he realised he'd been holding his breath. A silent sigh of relief escaped his lips now that he was in the privacy of his own quarters. Closing his eyes, the prince allowed himself the stillness of the moment to gather his thoughts.

He ran through the events of the last few moments in his mind, the adrenalin still coursing through his veins intensifying every memory with heightened clarity. As far as he could tell, Nessie hadn't made the connection between his wolf and human selves, and so his identity was still a secret. She hadn't seen his face—of that he was fairly certain—the waning moon was only a sliver in the sky tonight. He'd remained hidden in the shadows and had been careful to hold her with her back to him so that she was facing away.

But, he remembered—and his heart began to involuntarily race as he recalled the delicious touch of her skin against his own, the scent of her arousal still wonderfully disorienting his senses—she had instinctively leaned into him, the way that she often did in their dreams. Had she recognised him? Or was it the pull of the imprint, drawing them towards each other like some inexplicable force? The softness of her body against his, how she had shuddered pleasurably at their closeness and the undeniable scent of her need for him had combined deliciously to rouse the wolf simmering beneath his human surface. Unable to hold back any longer, he'd placed a burning kiss on the soft paleness of his imprint's neck, the wolf's need to mark her as his own overwhelming the man's need to reason. But then the man had wrested back control, forcing himself to break away from their embrace and fleeing into the darkness of the night.

Ahhrr fuck, Jacob suddenly remembered—he'd left her on the balcony, cold, wet and alone. A moment of panic made his heart wince, but then the Alpha regained control once more. Jacob stood up and removed the tanned leather breeches he was wearing in one deft movement, the air around him shimmering as he phased to become the majestic russet wolf.

As his wolf form took shape, Jacob felt the presences of Embry and Collin on the edge of his consciousness. Ah good, he thought to himself, taking a deep breath as he closed off the telepathic link between himself and the Pack down to only what he wanted them to see. He was glad it was Embry who was on patrol tonight. At least Embry could be relied on not to ask too many questions.

Emb, Jacob telegraphed out to his friend. Are you close by the castle?

Hey, Jake, came Embry's response. I'm just past the gardens between the North and East wings. What's up?

I need to ask a favour, Jacob replied, trying to keep his voice as even as possible so as not to betray the anxiety coursing through his veins. Can you go and tell Leah to phase to wolf and check up on Ness… Just to make sure that she's not frightened by the storm.

Sure, no problem, Embry answered. On my way now—Gimme a few minutes… Embry's voice trailed off as he turned from his patrol route and towards the dining room, where he knew the Pack would still be finishing off their evening meal. Jacob felt the air against his face, no—not his face, against Embry's face—as the mottled grey wolf sprinted towards the castle's Northern wing.

Jacob stood in silence as he watched the branches of the old sycamore tree outside his bedroom window twist and bend in the stormy winds. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the heavy raindrops battering against the castle's ancient stone walls, waiting impatiently for Leah to check in. Goddammit, what was taking so long? He was just about to go and see for himself what the hell the delay was, when—

Jacob, Leah's voice finally echoed in his mind, Renesmee's fine. She seems a bit confused though, but she's otherwise okay.

What the hell took you so long? The Alpha demanded.

Don't get your panties in a knot, Jake, the she-wolf admonished. I found her on the balcony, standing in the rain. I figured that Renesmee's well-being was the immediate priority, and your impatient ass could wait a few minutes while I saw to that.

Uh, sure Leah, Jacob answered a bit sheepishly. He winced at the thought of Nessie on that balcony, cold and confused. Why the fuck was Leah always right?

Jacob, Leah began, concern evident in her voice, Renesmee was just standing there in the rain, staring out into the night. Look, I don't know what happened tonight but I get the feeling that something pretty major went down—

I don't want to talk about it, Jacob snapped, cutting her off.

Touchy, touchy, the she-wolf sniffed. Then she decided to change tact—pissing off the Alpha wasn't going to get anyone very far. So how about I stay with Renesmee tonight, just to be safe, she suggested. And don't you worry your pretty little head about anything-I'll send word if anything changes.

Thanks Leah, Jacob answered, pointedly ignoring his cousin's attempt to bait him with the 'pretty little head' comment.

Jacob opened the telepathic link up slightly, and saw through Leah's eyes that Nessie had changed into dry nightclothes and was now tucked up in bed.

And with the knowledge that his imprint was safe and sound, the Alpha finally allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief as he phased back to human and staggered over to the inviting softness of his own enormous bed, falling into an exhausted dreamless sleep.

.

.

"A-a-atchoo!" Renesmee sniffled as she covered her nose with a soft silk handkerchief.

Claire eyed her mistress curiously as she poured her a cup of hot tea. When she had entered Renesmee's chambers this morning, to her surprise Claire had found Leah curled up on the couch next to one of the windows. On the floor near the balcony doors was a pile of damp and muddy nightclothes. Claire had looked from one to the other, trying to work out how this curious scene had unfolded. From her spot on the couch, the she-wolf had opened one sleepy eye and shot her a look as if to say 'Don't ask, I'll explain later,' and the younger girl had discreetly nodded her understanding.

The fresh after-rain scent of the morning air roused Renesmee to wakefulness; the sound of birds chirping merrily in the gardens below drifted up through the windows and open balcony doors, enticing her to cast her gaze out towards them. The morning sun was shining brightly, and she mused how efficiently the clouds had emptied themselves after last night's storm to reveal this beautiful, clear morning sky. However, unlike the clear, blue sky outside her window, the events of last night were still very much a jumbled mess in Renesmee's mind.

She remembered how the distant sound of thunder had awoken her in the middle of the night and how she had wandered out to the balcony, initially with the intention of just closing the doors, but had instead ended up remaining out there watching the approaching rainstorm. Upon realising that the storm was almost upon the castle, she had turned around to go back inside—and that was when things had gotten interesting.

She remembered feeling aware of another presence close by, although in the darkness she could see nothing to confirm this. She had stood, rooted to the spot and unable to move—not by fear, though her brain told her that she should have been afraid. If she had to describe it, it would have been that she had felt captivated more than anything else. It was almost as if the presence hidden in the shadows of the balcony had pulled at something within her soul, beckoning her, and she had allowed herself to be drawn towards it.

Recognising the sensation as being one and the same as when she had encountered her wolf in the gallery the previous day, Renesmee had half expected to find him hidden in the shadows. And so she had reached out to touch him, and to her surprise had felt warm skin under her fingertips instead of the soft velvety fur to which she had become accustomed.

Her brain almost hadn't had time to register this startling turn of events, because the hidden figure had grabbed her suddenly, holding her with her back against his warm, muscular chest. He had whispered to her not to be afraid—she shuddered involuntarily at the pleasurable memory of his breath hot against her cheek—and then swift as the stormy wind, he had disappeared.

Renesmee remembered how she had remained there on the balcony, unable—or unwilling—to leave, peering into the darkness as she tried to make some sense of what had just transpired. She didn't know how, but in her heart she knew the man in whose arms she had just been held was one and the same as the one who had held her night after night in that hazy dream world. And then in the middle of it all, she had heard Leah's voice in her room, breaking through the confused din in her mind—

Renesmee, are you all right? The she-wolf had called out as she bounded out towards the balcony. Oh my God, look at you! What are you doing out there? Come back inside now!

Renesmee had stood there, still unable to move and confusion still raging through her heart and mind. Indeed, what was she doing there? If the man she had encountered was indeed her dream lover, then she must have been asleep. But Renesmee had found herself not in her bed, but wide awake and standing in the midst of a rainstorm, the memory of that strange pull she had felt still tugging in the empty ache of her heart. Everything had felt so real—had it not been a dream after all? Of course it had been a dream, she reasoned to herself—anything else would have been impossible. The only explanation that she could come up with that made any sense was that she must have been sleepwalking. Yet somewhere in the depths of her soul, she wondered if the truth lay not in the reasoned explanations her mind gave her, but rather in her own heart's hazy suspicions.

In the meantime, Leah had decided to take Renesmee's confused silence as acquiescence and had managed to nudge the Alpha's imprint out of the rain and back into the warmth and shelter of her bedroom. She had handed her a towel with one giant muzzle and then pawed through the armoire for dry nightclothes. Like an automaton, Renesmee had dried herself and then changed into the nightgown Leah found for her, and then she had climbed into bed and fallen into a dreamless, exhausted sleep.

Lying now in her bed, the events of the previous night still a jumbled mess in her mind, Renesmee watched as Claire finished pouring her the usual morning cup of hot tea. Out of the corner of her eye, Renesmee noticed that Leah was watching her with that same unwavering gaze from their first few encounters, and just like it had done then, the she-wolf's steely gaze still unnerved her now. To make matters worse, she remembered that Leah had found her standing in the rain, probably babbling incoherently about God-knows-what. No wonder she was being looked at so strangely, Renesmee reasoned—Leah must think she's crazy. Renesmee cleared her throat as she began to attempt an explanation for the previous night's circumstances, but she suddenly felt a tickle in her nose—

"A-a-atzhutt!" came her muffled sneeze, accompanied by another sniffle.

You okay? Leah asked, lifting her head to look more closely at the Alpha's imprint. Renesmee's large brown eyes peered back at the she-wolf from beneath the mass of downy blankets on the enormous four-poster bed as she choked back another tickle in her nose.

"At-atzhutt!" came another muffled sneeze.

Looks like someone's caught a cold, Leah observed wryly.

"No kidding," Renesmee snorted in reply. Leah's ears perked up, and for a moment she thought the Alpha's imprint might have been mocking her. But when she searched Renesmee's face for signs of disparagement she was instead greeted with a look of amusement. To Leah's surprise, the twinkle of laughter in the younger girl's eyes found its way south as the corners of her lips twitched and then curved upwards into a smile before she erupted into full blown giggles. The mirth was contagious and the she-wolf couldn't help herself, a low lupine sound rumbling in her throat and then exploding into laughter as they both doubled over in hysterics.

"What's so funny?" Claire asked, a bit annoyed that she'd missed out on the joke.

"Nothing," Renesmee giggled, catching her breath and still smiling at Leah. When the she-wolf had found her last night, she'd been standing out in the rain for God knows how long and was pretty much drenched to the core. She would have probably stood there all night if Leah hadn't intervened and brought her back inside. Judging by the redness of her nose and the non-stop sniffling, the fact that Renesmee now had a cold would have to pretty much be the understatement of the year. And for some strange reason, they both found the observation hilarious.

"Fine," Claire pouted. "I know when I'm being held on the outer."

"Oh sweetie, don't be like that," Renesmee coaxed. "It really is nothing—I just got caught out in the rain last night, and Leah sort of rescued me."

"Oh my goodness!" Claire exclaimed, her previous annoyance now overtaken by concern, and the pile of damp and muddy nightclothes on the floor now suddenly making sense. "In that storm? What were you doing? Are you all right? You should have called me or Aunt Emily."

It's all right, Leah said. I was…uh, patrolling nearby and umm, saw Renesmee on the balcony so I came over.

"You patrol inside the castle too?" Renesmee asked.

Huh? Leah gulped, caught off guard by the question.

"You entered through the bedroom, not the balcony," Renesmee offered by way of explanation.

Uh, yeah, sure—we patrol everywhere, just in case, Leah fibbed as she made a mental note to be more careful in future. In her attempt to cover up the fact that Jacob had instructed her to come and check on Renesmee, Leah had almost let the wolf out of the bag. The Alpha's imprint was very clever indeed and could very easily catch them out if they were careless, she reminded herself.

On the issue of Jacob's strange request from the previous night, Leah's thoughts drifted to how Embry had come to tell her that the Alpha wanted her to go and check on his imprint in case she was afraid of the storm. That, in and of itself, was not a strange request since Emily, Claire and Kim would have been asleep and Leah was the only female likely to still be awake; it made sense that Jake wouldn't want a guy in his imprint's bedroom. What was strange, however, was what Leah had found when she'd pushed open the doors to Renesmee's quarters.

She had expected to find the girl fast asleep or at worst hiding under the blankets if she was indeed afraid of the storm. Instead, she had found the Alpha's imprint standing on the balcony, peering out into the darkness and seemingly dazed, confused and not noticing the gale that was raging around her. And then when Leah had reported to Jacob the state in which she'd found Renesmee, to her surprise the Alpha had snapped at her. Normally, he would have been all over it, wanting to know what had happened, but instead he'd dismissed the issue by declaring that he didn't want to talk about it. In a word (or three), the she-wolf contemplated—What the fuck?

Leah suspected that there was definitely more going on here than met the eye, and began to wonder whether Jacob had indeed 'seized the night' after all, especially after the pep talk she had tried to give him at dinner, but her thoughts were interrupted by Claire—

"Well, still…" Claire pouted at Renesmee, as she placed the cup of steaming hot tea on her mistress' nightstand. "Aunt Emmy's going to be so worried when she finds out. And oh goodness, wait till the master hears of this…" Claire's voice drifted off as she fussed about the room, tut-tutting to herself.

Yes indeed, Leah thought to herself—Wait till Jacob hears about this, although she was fairly certain that he already knew more than he was letting on.

.

.

It was already late afternoon, and Renesmee hadn't heard a peep from Jacob all day. Well, maybe that wasn't entirely true. She'd seen him at breakfast, but he had been so quiet at first she had wondered if he was unwell—which was ironic really, considering that she was the one with the cold.

The only semblance of alertness the russet wolf seemed to have was his excessive concern about her sniffles—the way he was carrying on, Renesmee mused, you'd have thought that it was all his fault somehow.

When she'd made it clear to him that she was fine and that the sniffles had already begun to clear up, Jacob had seemed relieved beyond belief. That said, he had continued to fuss and carry on until Renesmee was so annoyed she'd threatened to kiss him so that he could catch her cold and judge for himself how bad (or not) it really was. That had pretty much shut Jacob up, Renesmee recalled as her lips curved upwards into an amused smile—if a wolf could blush, he would have been a bright shade of beet red. It was so strange though, Renesmee mused at the memory of it—she couldn't work out if she thought he'd looked more embarrassed or more like a small child who'd been caught out doing something that he shouldn't have. And she couldn't quite work out why.

Her wolf hadn't said much else during the remainder of breakfast, other than seeming to alternate between overt worry and detached coyness, as though he was riding some bipolar emotional runaway carriage. And then every now and then, she'd catch sight of him watching her, his dark onyx eyes causing the butterflies in her stomach to start up their fluttering again every time they met hers. Renesmee had looked over to Leah, who had joined them in the courtyard, to see if she might be able to shed some light on Jacob's strange behaviour, but the she-wolf had just cocked an ear curiously and then resumed munching happily on the delicious morsels Emily had plated for her as she continued laying on the daybed.

After breakfast, Jacob had beat a seemingly hasty retreat from the garden parlour, followed out closely by Leah. Renesmee recalled how the she-wolf had looked like she wanted to talk, their newfound camaraderie strengthening pleasantly since the laughter they had shared this morning—but then seemed to have changed her mind at the last minute, instead following hot on the Alpha's heels as if she sensed that the younger girl could use some time to herself to sort through the myriad of thoughts dancing in her mind.

And so Renesmee had spent the rest of the day exploring the castle on her own. The sun was now beginning its journey back down towards the horizon, and allthough Renesmee had enjoyed some alone time to think about all that had happened, she was now beginning to yearn for some company. Her thoughts drifted to her family back home, the memory of the portrait that she'd found in the gallery the previous day awakening feelings of wistfulness for her loved ones. She wish that she could somehow share the wonders of this castle and their intriguing wolfy inhabitants with them, but then she snapped herself back to reality—there was no point in mooning. She was here, they were there, and she'd just have to deal with it. Renesmee choked back the salty tears that had begun to well up in her eyes, when she noticed that her sniffles from this morning had pretty much cleared up—Oh good, she smiled a little to herself, thankful for small mercies.

She had been so lost in her thoughts, Renesmee hadn't realised that she'd wandered to the threshold of the Northern wing.

She stood there, staring at the enormous oak doors, flanked on either side by massive marble statues of Quileute warriors who stood like stone sentries guarding the entrance to some elusive vault of secrets. She had wondered about the Northern wing ever since her arrival at this wondrous place, but it had been a slow simmering curiosity up to this moment. Now that she was actually standing there at the threshold, it was a completely different story. Her heart began to thump erratically at what she knew she was about to do.

Gingerly, she pressed down on the door handle, and to her surprise found it unlocked.

She quickly drew her hand back, unsure of what to do next. She looked at the doors, then up at the enormous marble statues, their empty eyes seeming to watching her every move.

"Don't judge me," she sniffed at the stone sentinels. The statues' answering silence echoed in the air around her as they stood there, stoic and unmoving, and Renesmee sighed quietly to herself as she realised she was berating a bunch of inanimate objects.

Renesmee looked at the doors again. It would be so easy—all she had to do was push them open—no-one would ever know. But she'd promised Jacob. Well, actually, no she hadn't exactly. She recalled the conversation that day with him—he had asked her to promise that she wouldn't venture past the locked doors to the Northern wing, and she had responded 'Okay, fine. I won't go into the Northern wing.' And there it was—Not a sign of the word 'promise' in sight, not literally at least from her side of the conversation. Renesmee knew that she was splitting hairs, but the curiosity burning inside her kept egging her on. It was almost like she could picture both her angel and her devil selves perched on her shoulders, arguing.

He asked you to promise that you wouldn't go in there, and you said yes, angel Ness reminded her.

No, she didn't, devil Ness replied. All she said was 'fine, I won't go in there'. She didn't promise that she wouldn't. Anyway, what she actually agreed was to not go beyond the locked doors. And the doors aren't locked now, devil Ness tempted her.

Her inner devil won, and Renesmee pushed open the enormous oak panels.

.

.

"Man, Emily's muffins are amaaaazing," Seth chirped enthusiastically as he reached for another handful of buttery blueberry goodness.

All heads along the length of the dinner-cum-meeting table turned in unison to look at Sam as he coughed and spluttered, having choked on his mug of tea upon hearing Seth's pronouncement.

"Watch it, pup!" the Beta growled. "You're treading on thin ice already after your and Quil's little stunt the other day. Don't push me."

"Uh, sorry Sam," Seth lowered his head sheepishly. He'd been lucky to only get off with a figurative slap on the wrist the other day and he really didn't want to push his luck. "I didn't mean anything by it. I just meant that Em's a great cook."

Leah rolled her eyes at her brother's wet-behind-the-ears commentary and Sam's melodramatic overreaction. Typical, she thought—stupid males running off at the mouth, being territorial and making a big deal out of nothing. What a bunch of silly boys, she snorted to no-one in particular, not-so-secretly hoping that they'd all heard her.

The younger wolves' ears had perked up at the interaction between Sam and Seth, but Paul and Jared were already pissing themselves laughing.

"Cut him some slack, Sam," Paul was trying desperately to contain his guffawing. "The pup was just trying to express his appreciation of Emily's….ah, muffins!" he snorted in hysterics, wiggling his eyebrows as he deftly dodged a swipe from the Beta. The next blow, however, found its mark and the Third found himself flat on his back staring at the ceiling. "Urnghhh…" he moaned, pushing his dislocated jaw back into place.

"All right, all right, everyone settle down," Jacob's deep voice broke through the melee, resonating around the room as he closed the doors and took in the scene unfolding in front of him. "Everyone's on edge at the moment, so let's try not to kill each other if we can help it, okay?"

Everyone took that as their cue to disperse from the scuffle and made their way back to their seats. Sam held out a hand to Paul, helping him up off the floor, a gesture which the Third accepted gratefully as he nursed a bruised jaw that, thanks to super-wolf healing powers, had already started to repair itself. Sam grinned at his cousin—the ass-wipe had deserved that little clobbering, but at the end of the day they were Pack and Sam was a maybe little bit sorry that he'd hit his cousin so hard. Maybe.

"Sam, Paul—Are we cool?" Jacob barked at the captain of his guard and his lieutenant. Having the younger wolves witness two senior Pack members squabbling like this wasn't doing anyone any favours.

"Yeah, we're cool," Paul smirked, adding "… as long as Emily's muffins—" he put unnecessary emphasis on the word and chuckled at the double entendre "—stay part of the deal."

Sam was winding himself back up to wipe that shit-eating grin off Paul's face, but a growl from his Alpha stopped him cold.

"Sorry," the Beta mumbled.

"It's okay, Sam," Jacob reassured him. Next to Jacob, Sam had the best control of all the wolves. For him to react like this was very out of the ordinary—although, Jacob reminded himself, nothing about these past weeks, nor the ones looming on the horizon, was ordinary. It was understandable that the Beta was edgy. Recalling the role that Paul had played in goading Sam into the scuffle of a few moments ago, Jacob turned to his brother-in-law, a low growl rumbling dangerously in his chest.

"And you, Paul—Can it, or I'll stuff those muffins so far down your throat, your ass will be tasting blueberries for a month," the Alpha warned.

"Sure, Jake," Paul grinned, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"I mean it, Paul—or I'll make sure Rachel hears about this."

"Uh, sure Jake," his brother-in-law answered again, a little less enthusiastically this time.

Jacob knew that it wasn't just Sam who was on edge—they all were. It would be the dark night of no moon tomorrow, which meant that there was at most only a couple of weeks remaining until the dreaded deadline to break the curse would be upon them. It would either be happily ever after or an eternity of feral chaos, and everyone was feeling the strain. Add to that, the constant reminder in the form of the four youngest wolves—Owen, Tom, Shaun and as of yesterday, Jeremy—who had since lost the ability to phase back to human and who were slowly losing their grip on their humanity, snarling through the walls of the apartments next to Jacob's, and the result was that the spectre of the curse loomed even more menacingly with every passing day. Tensions were running high, and who could blame any of them for needing to blow off some steam.

And to top it all off, amongst all of this Jacob was still harbouring his own secrets—his little excursions to Nessie's room last night and the night before, not to mention the increasingly explicit dream-dating expeditions, were playing on his mind and driving him almost to distraction. He'd tried to play it cool at breakfast this morning, but between Leah's curious and seemingly knowing gaze and his own guilt over having caused Nessie's sniffles, he had pretty much failed miserably. And the icing on the cake was when Nessie had threatened to kiss him so he could experience her cold for himself—he'd been ecstatic, then embarrassed, and then mortified and back to embarrassed again—the memory of the kisses that he'd stolen from her surfacing in all their deliciousness. She made him crazy, there was no doubt about it—this constant yearning, wanting, longing, need for her. He loved her with every fibre of his being and with all of his heart and soul, and though the ache of wanting her pulled painfully at his heartstrings, he cherished that too because it was proof that what he felt for her was undeniably real.

Jacob forced himself back to the present. He needed to focus if they were to deal successfully with the matter at hand.

"All right," Jacob continued, looking around the room and seeing that the Pack's eyes were all focussed on their Alpha. "Now that I have everyone's attention, I want you to listen carefully to what I have to say."

Knowing how tetchy everyone was already feeling, Jacob really didn't want to rub salt in the wound by telling his Pack the reason he'd called them here for this urgent meeting, but he knew it had to be done. They needed to know, so they could be ready for whatever it was that was looming on the horizon. Taking a deep breath, he spoke—

"I've just received word from Rachel," Jacob began. "The Children of the Moon have ravaged some of the nearby towns. Three villagers are already dead, and a number of others have been injured."

The silence in the room was deafening. The air hung heavy as the significance of the information that had just been imparted sank in.

Jared spoke up, voicing that which was on the minds of everyone at the table. "But that doesn't make sense," he countered. "The Children of the Moon don't hunt in the towns."

"That's right," Leah agreed. "Their modus operandi is to pick off targets who have wandered into the forest. Attacking the towns makes them too vulnerable."

"Exactly," Jacob answered. "There has to be a reason for this seemingly erratic behaviour. Something is afoot here, but we don't yet know what. While it's possible that it could all be a co-incidence, the fact that it's all happening so close to the curse's deadline is disconcerting. For twenty years, they've behaved predictably and then suddenly there's a change in the weeks leading up to the day of reckoning? It's a little too convenient for my liking," the Alpha pronounced, a low growl rumbling again in his chest.

"Something just occurred to me," Embry volunteered. "On our patrols this last week, there's been less activity on the outskirts of the castle grounds. Do you think that's why they haven't been around here? They're targeting the towns?"

"It's possible that these events could be linked," Sam mused as he rubbed his chin, a mannerism he tended towards whenever he was deep in thought. "There's normally at least one or two lurking in the forests around here, watching the castle grounds—watching us—but you're right Embry, the lack of activity has been very conspicuous. Combined with what's been happening in the towns, I might even go so far as to describe it as painfully obvious."

"There's more," Jacob continued. "Edward Cullen's story has circulated around the villages, and many townsfolk are growing more anxious. They seem unable to differentiate between us and the Children of the Moon, and rumours have begun circulating that the wolves who demanded Cullen's daughter are the ones now directing their attentions at the towns, and that it's only a matter of time until Forks is laid to waste."

"But that's crazy," Brady and Collin protested in unison, with Collin then continuing "Can't they tell the difference between a bunch of crazy-ass slobbering werewolves and real wolves like us?"

"Apparently not," Leah drawled. What she really wanted to say was stupid townspeople, don't they realise who's been protecting them all these years? but that wouldn't have been particularly constructive at this point in time, so instead she asked "So Jake, what are our orders?"

"Yeah, so are we going to take these fuckers down or what?" Paul joined in. He'd been gunning for a fight, and it was time these assholes got what was coming to them. If he couldn't get his claws on their Shaman, the Children of the Moon would do for now.

Jacob was silent for a moment. "We need to be smart about this," he said. "Something is in the wind—of that I am certain—and we must be vigilant. No point in rushing in blind." He paused before continuing, "Here's the plan... As of tonight, to be on the safe side we'll patrol in threes instead of pairs, and in shorter shifts but around the clock. The quicker shifts should at least help in alleviating some of the inevitable fatigue. Sam—" he turned to his Beta, "Run recon to the towns each day and night—draw up the roster, a younger wolf always paired with a more experienced one. Until we can work out what's going on, information will be our best defence. In the meantime—"

Jacob stopped short. He felt the tugging in his chest even before his super-sensitive wolf hearing had picked up the sound of footsteps in the adjoining room. His heart skipped a beat as he realised to whom the soft footfalls belonged—

Nessie.