"Where were you yesterday?" Quil turned in his seat to look back at her.

"I was at- uhh," Alex cut herself off nervously. "I was sick."

Jacob snorted. "Really? Because when we came to get you, Kitty said you weren't in bed."

Alex panicked. "Oh, that's-that's weird."

Dammit.

Jacob levelled her a piercing look through the mirror, and for a moment, something shifted behind his pretty chocolate eyes. Alex felt pinned, stuck in place, unable to break his gaze through a sudden heavy guilt. Then, he blinked, rolled his eyes and scowled out of the window away from her. "Yeah, whatever."

Alex rolled her own eyes, and thumped back in her seat, irrationally angry too. She knew she was in the wrong; she should have called them, should probably apologize, but whatever bad mood had settled over her made her unwilling to cave.

Her and Jacob's irritation with each other and the world in general carried through the day – and Alex felt a little bad as Quil tried to hide his relieved expression when she told him she'd get her own way home. It would save him dealing with Alex and Jacob, and the slightly bitter bickering that had taken place during the day.

Alex didn't know what it was about Jacob that was getting under her skin these days, but it sucked.

Well, he sucked.

She chewed viciously on the now-flavourless piece of gum she'd wheedled out of a classmate, and headed doggedly towards Paul's beat-up truck that was waiting for her in the parking lot. She could make out her sister's small form next to the hulking wolf, and resisted the urge to turn right back around to skip out on the inevitable lecture.

Sure enough, the second she got into the back and had closed the door, Kitty twisted around in her seat with a furious glare on her pretty face. "You skipped school to hang out with Embry?"

Alex crossed her arms, and muttered "whipped" so quietly that only Paul could hear it. He grumbled something, but neither sister spared him a look. "So, what, Kitty? He needed me! He's going through something."

Kitty made a frustrated noise. "You can't just skip out on your education for your boyfriend! It's very important to do well, and that starts early, Alex – not to mention lying to mom and dad-"

"You did." Alex interrupted mulishly. Kitty blinked, and looked a little taken aback. "You did all of that first, big sis – I'm just following your shining example." It was mean, and Kitty sunk back around, back not before Alex saw the hurt on her face. Paul let out a growl, and shot Alex a quick look in the mirror that said stop. But it seemed like Alex was on a particularly cruel roll today, because she didn't stop; "Why can't I do the same?"

"You know it's different, Alex-" Paul tried, but Alex pounced on his statement like it was prey.

"Why? Because you guys are Imprinted? Because you guys have your little bond that means you're above all criticism?" Alex snorted. "Just because Embry and I aren't tied together doesn't mean he means any less to me. He's my best friend, and I have just as much a right to be there as anyone else."

"Alex, enough." Paul said, and there was a weight behind his voice that made her stomach twist itself in knots, but wasn't enough to stop herself from going. Wow – she was really going for the kill today, wasn't she? She thought in self-disgust.

"What? Don't like me talking about your oh so holy bond? Newsflash – it's unnatural, and honestly, a little creepy, so I won't-"

Paul slammed on the breaks, and Alex shut up as she noticed his trembling hands. It was as if she was faraway for a moment, as if the anger swirling in her gut – fighting at the weight of Paul's words, and her own guilt – was not her own. "Out, Alex." Paul said quietly, and Alex noticed that Kitty was very still and very pale, and Paul's eyes didn't leave her sister's form. "Out." He said again, with that same weight, and Alex got out of the truck.

Paul hadn't left her in the middle of nowhere or anything, in fact she was only a few hundred meters from Emily and Sam's driveway – but the sick feeling that settled over her as the truck drove off made her feel just as bad as if she had been dumped in the gutter hundreds of miles away. Burning with shame, she slowly made her way towards the house, pausing at the lip of the gravel driveway. She really didn't want to go in there.

She was angry, guilty, and tired – and honestly wasn't sure why.

Alex didn't want to see all the hurt and disappointment she had caused, and because she was a fucking coward, she kept walking along the road, until she found a slightly cleared way into the dense trees. She tramped through the forest, unable to appreciate the peace of it all, and it was only after she tripped up on her second root, or rock, or whatever- did she finally stop, sit, and take stock.

This patch of the woods wasn't unfamiliar to her, and she thought she could still find her way back to the house without going back to the road. It was quiet; the constant presence of so many large predators did a pretty good job of scaring off a good majority of forest fauna. The birds still sang, however, and they were launching into their evening sonnet with vigour. Alex closed her eyes and just listened.

The birds were always noisy, but around the day's last light, they always grew more feverous – eager to sing one last time. To her, it seemed louder than usual this time, her ears sensitive; sensitive to pick up on the other sounds of the forest.

Running felt good. It felt so good, that she wasn't sure how she had ever gone without it; without it like this. Her body felt different, acing in places she wasn't used to aching, but it was stronger. And it grew stronger.

Alex hasn't made it inside.

The voice was not her own, and though it was startling that it was from inside her head, she recognised it. Sam.

Can you find her?

She was confused. She was here, and yet she was not; because a sudden determination and worry had filled her that was not her own – and she had picked up a pace that was impossible, the earth blurring beneath her paws.

Of course I can.

She could smell… smell herself. Smell herself in a way that was impossible; because the scent was complex in a way that couldn't be simply due to the deodorant she used, or her brand of shampoo, but those things were helpful – and she had wheeled around suddenly, and was following the scent that was her and yet not her in a way she recognised.

She slowed, quieted her footsteps, because the scent of herself was stronger now, and when she entered a small clearing, walked around the side of a smooth boulder – she looked down-

She looked down on her own body, and a sudden sensation of wrongness and nausea flooded her not body, because how could she be here and there at the same time, and the her on the forest floor twitched and stirred-

Alex woke up looking into her own eyes, and screamed.

Embry flinched back, dancing away from her with a whine, and lowering himself to the ground – ears flattening against his head, eyes panicked.

Alex was too busy retching into the grass to reassure him, because she was sick and confused and horrified-

"Alex, hey, what's wrong?" A large hand was suddenly between her shoulder blades, and Alex gagged again at the faint smell of boy that told her it was Embry, the reminder of the intense scents she had just been living too much. "Alex, please tell me what's happening! Y-you're freaking me out…" Embry's voice stuttered, and Alex closed her eyes, trying to get herself under control.

It was real. It had all been real.

That was the only coherent thought bouncing around in her brain. Embry finding her in the forest, Paul shifting in the woods behind Jacob's house, the Volturi-

Embry whined again, and pulled her closer. "I can tell you're scared, Al, baby, please…"

Alex wiped her mouth shakily, and turned to face him. "Em, I need you." She whispered, barely able to string a sentence together. Embry was only half-dressed, the obvious panic to get over to her after he had Unphased evident in his unbuttoned shorts and worried eyes. She took a deep breath, pressing into his loose grip. "I need you to take me to Sam, and I need you to ask him to call Billy Black."

Embry nodded silently, and stood, backing away with his eyes on her until he had to duck behind a tree. A second later, a whimpering Embry moved towards her on all fours, massive head bent low as he snuffled at her worriedly. She forced herself to her feet, forced a smile onto her face, and wrapped her arms around his neck as best she could. He let her embrace him for a moment, before he took a step back and knelt before her, obviously eager to get back to Sam, back to the Alpha who would know what to do.

Sam watched Alex slide off Embry's back and keep pace smoothly. She looked wan, sick, and even from here he could smell that she had been. She looked small next to Embry – and again, he felt the same pseudo pride and fear rise in him. She had never shown any anxiety around the wolves, and though it just displayed her trust, it was also a mark of her own foolishness. They were dangerous, no matter what the Imprints said, no matter what Alex did.

Sam nodded to Embry, who split dutifully from Alex's side and ran off to Unphase. Good. Embry was rational, steady – and even with the panic that had flooded the pack mind when he had found Alex, when he had relayed her message – he was controlled. Truthfully, though he would never admit as such; Alex was beginning to worry him more than his newest pup.

"Billy's on the phone, Alex." Sam told her, as she began to crest the stairs. He followed her inside, stifling the questions he had as the tall girl made her way to the awaiting phone. She had no eyes for the others in the room, all just as worried as he.

Alex was strong; and not just in a traditional sense, though Sam could see that too – despite her bout in the hospital – he could feel it from her. He couldn't explain it, just like he couldn't explain the pack hierarchy, his own power beyond the obvious. Perhaps it was why she didn't fear the wolves as she should, perhaps why, innately he wasn't truly worried for her when she played and ran amongst them. But she was too rigid in her strength, and Sam was fearful that she was snapping.

"Alexandra – what's wrong, child?"

He settled against the kitchen island to listen, absently drawing Emily into his arms, feeling her own distress as keenly as his own. "I've been having dreams, and Billy, I know it sounds crazy – but I don't think they were dreams. Do you remember what you told me about…" she trailed off, and curled, almost self-consciously around the phone. But they couldn't afford privacy, not when it concerned one of their own.

One of their own.

Sam wondered when he had stopped making the distinction between Alex being an Imprint's sister, to Alex being a friend of the Pack, to Alex being Pack. He supposed it didn't really matter, not when his subconscious had clearly decided some time ago. His wolf; usually dormant, in a state of meditation, yawned in agreement. Yes, the Young One was Pack. He told Sam, and returned again to his slumber.

"About the Dream Walkers?" Alex whispered, and Sam's head snapped up.

That was old legend. Very old. The last Dream Walker had died before Taha Aki; his first wife's passing seemingly marking an end to the line of Quileute Dream Walkers. Sam knew though, that such an ability couldn't have been tied to only their Tribe; near every culture, every religion had their own ideals and beliefs about dream walking. It didn't explain why Alex, a girl with no apparent ties to the Quileute, was asking about it.

"Yes, I do." Billy said, patient, always patient. "What have you been dreaming about, Alex?"

"I've seen- I mean," Alex turned to look at them, and there was a flush of embarrassment on her cheeks. "It doesn't happen all the time, I swear!"

"You can tell me, child."

Alex was flushing, though she still looked afraid. "I've been inside their heads." She admitted finally. They were all silent. "At first I thought I was just… dreaming. I've dreamt about the forest, about running before – but not like this." She had closed her eyes. "At first, I mean, that dream about…about the Volturi. That I think started it all. And then it got stranger, because I was Paul. It was just in the afternoon, outside your house. You guys were talking about the Cullens destroying those leeches that had been causing trouble. I think-"

"You said my name." Paul interrupted her, giving up any illusion of privacy. "I knew that something weird happened." A slow mischief was spreading across his face. "Y'know, I was naked-"

Alex let out a whimper, and Sam sent Paul a killing look. "Paul." Paul snapped his mouth shut, and sunk back into the couch, into Kitty.

"And today?" Billy asked.

"Today, I was Embry. Or, I don't know, I saw through his eyes – but I could feel everything too. Like it was my body, but then I – I mean he found me. My real body. And then I woke up, and he was standing over me." Alex said. Embry, who had entered a short while ago, looked distressed.

"Alex, try not to worry." Billy assured her, but Sam thought Billy was the one who sounded worried. "The Council will have a meeting, and work out the best course of action."

Alex let out another small sound. "I'm not in trouble, am I?" she asked in a small voice, and it was very hard for Sam to not take a step towards her, and from the looks on the other wolves, they were struggling too.

"Of course not." Now, Billy was back to his normal assurance. "We just need to…be careful. Gather some information. But you are not in trouble."

Alex nodded, though Billy couldn't see it. "Thank you, Billy." She whispered.

"I'll be in touch, soon, Alexandra. Stay safe." Billy hung up first, but Alex held onto the phone for a moment longer before she hung up, and Sam could tell she was steeling herself to face them.

When she finally faced the room, she looked distraught, humiliated and fearful. It was a distressing look on the usually acerbic girl. "I'm really sorry." She said at large, and looked down, blinking hard. "I didn't think it was-" Emily had already taken a step towards the girl, but Embry was faster, and he had Alex in his arms – cutting her off.

"It's okay." He mumbled, and Sam watched as Alex clung to Embry desperately. "You don't need to apologise. We'll work it out." Alex made a noise, and Embry tightened his grip.

"Embry's right, Alex." Sam said finally, and Alex stiffened, keeping her face buried. "We just want to help."

"You're not mad?" Alex asked, face peaking out from under Embry's armpit.

Sam shook his head with a smile. "Not at you. I mean, knowing about all this might have been-" Emily elbowed him, and he winced. "No."

Paul coughed. "But yes, we're still mad about earlier." He piped up from the couch. Alex's face drooped again.

"I'm sorry, Kitty." She said, and her sister looked at her. Sam knew the sisters were about as similar as chalk and cheese, but the small soft look that Alex got when she thought no one was looking was her sister's, through and through. Kitty smiled at her sister gently.

"It's okay, Alex."

Paul coughed. "And what about me? I'm the one who Imprinted."

Sam didn't particularly want more context to whatever argument had started this whole thing, but Paul's comment was enough to make him sigh and shake his head. "You're the one who benefitted, you mean?" Alex bit back, sounding a little more like her old self.

"You-" Paul began, but Kitty's quiet throat-clearing made him drop back with a beatific smile. "Yes. You're perfectly right."

Sam let Embry and Alex sneak out when they thought the room was preoccupied, keeping an ear out for the pair as they walked hand in hand away from the house. They made an odd couple, Sam thought, one cool and one hot; but they seemed content. Sam would have to have been deaf, blind and stupid to miss the friendship between them – and a romantic relationship with that to build off had to have been not half bad. Sure, Embry did think about Alex a lot – but he had no ground to stand on, nor did the other wolves, what with their Imprints taking up a majority of their own consciousness.

Sam hugged Emily a little closer, pressing a kiss to her questioning mouth.

He wouldn't have it any other way.