A/N: Happy Lunar New Year and Happy Valentine's Day! For those of you who are feeling festive and looking for a cutesy Valentine's chapter… Well this here ain't it. Sorry all. Maybe reread chapter 10 instead? Or chapter 17? Or if Galentine's Day is your jam maybe reread chapter 20? You can come back and tackle this one later. I didn't plan this by the way. This particular chapter just happened to fall on Valentine's Day by sheer, ironic twist of fate. Though if any of you really hate Valentine's day, maybe it's perfect? Anyway thank you all for reading and reviewing! I love reading your reactions and predictions. We're nearing the end and it's been a ride!

"Relax. I'm just here to talk."

Bullshit, Paul thought, wrinkling his nose against the smell.

Bella stood on her side of the border, perfectly still except for her bright red eyes, which darted from Sam, to Leah, to me. I shuddered when our eyes met. When she looked at Jacob, there was just the faintest movement on her otherwise expressionless face, just the slightest admission of pain, but a fleeting one that was gone before we knew if it was real or not. Jacob's misery drowned out almost everything else. He wanted to tear his eyes away from her, to keep the memory of her as a human in his mind, but he couldn't seem to. He stared at her even though it caused him pain, like he was staring into the sun, or at a star as it died.

"We're leaving." Her voice was cold and hard. "Something is happening to Alice. Some...fissures have been widening in her vision. She's seeing less and less, and she can't see anything at all after the next six days. The others think you are planning on launching an attack. They-they wouldn't approve of me being here, but I had to come, in case they were wrong." Her eyes drifted towards the trees. "If you were planning on attacking us, just know that it's not necessary anymore. If not, well, just be careful, ok? If Alice's vision is disappearing for a different reason, it probably means something bad is coming."

I almost sighed. Something bad was already here. How did the Cullens not know?

"I know you probably don't want to hear my advice-"

No shit, bloodsucker, Leah thought, a growl tugging at her lip, exposing her teeth.

"-but you might want to run while you can. Take what you can, and who you can, and get out of town."

Sam laughed at her absurd words, though this too manifested as a growl. He wasn't the only one laughing. I was baffled by how easy it was for her to tune out the rest of the world. I wondered how it was possible to have senses as strong as a bloodsucker's, and still be able to turn a blind eye to everyone's lives but your own. To have no connection at all to a place. No loyalties. To be able to shrug off any obligations that aren't to yourself. I growled too.

"Just thought you had a right to know." She glanced at Jacob one last time, and this time the pain on her face was plain and lasting. "Bye," she said, just to Jacob, her voice barely above a whisper. She turned and ran, disappearing in an instant without a sound. Jacob whimpered. The rest of us sighed. Usually his pain would have affected us more, but now we were too worn to feel much sympathy. Tempers were short and tension was high. And now we had twice as much land to watch.

Do the Cullens really not know what's happening? Quil asked. What rock were they living under?

What coffins are they sleeping in? Embry joked.

Quil yawned. Sleep. Remember what that was like?

The pack was running ragged. Three more people had been killed in La Push after Lydia. Two hikers, tourists whose scents we did not recognize, and Natalie, a girl in Seth's year at school. We'd found her bike deep in the woods, reeking of leech, with some of her blood staining the streamers that trailed from the handles. Leah had spotted her mom, crying as she affixed fliers onto telephone poles and store windows. Natalie smiled in the grainy photos above the word MISSING. Only the pack and the council knew that she would never be found.

New vampire scents were appearing. We'd counted four. They kept managing to slip by us. We eventually realized that they'd been driving in and out. We ran nearly constant patrols around the border and never once crossed a scent trail, but they cropped up at odd places in town, at trailheads and municipal buildings. They were right under our noses and somehow always just out of our grasp.

Sam probably would have had us run nonstop if he could. We only breaked for food and sleep. Emily cooked constantly and we filed in and out of her house, one at a time, never staying for more than fifteen minutes. Sometimes we slept as wolves. It really wasn't worth phasing back when you were only given an hour to rest at a time.

Jacob and I had almost gotten used to being the miserable ones, but now everyone was miserable, frustrated by our lack of progress and wondering how much longer we could keep this pace. Kim's condition weighed on me most, but Quil was starting to lose hope, and Leah was really feeling her absence. And somehow, in spite of her never once expressing any thoughts or emotions, Kim seemed to be getting restless.

I'd been sleep deprived even before Sam ramped up the shifts, because whenever I would drift off with Kim in my arms, she would slip out and sneak off. I would wake up, heart racing when she wasn't with me in the bed. Then, I would phase and track her down. Last week, I found her eating chips at Sue's corner store around three am. We never figured out how she got inside. The front and back doors were still locked when I got there, and the windows were far too narrow for someone to crawl through, so I had to get Leah to borrow her mom's keys. The next night, I found her in Forks, in the woods outside Bella's house, even though Bella wasn't living there anymore. She was sitting on the same stump that she had sat on during her solo stakeout, staring up at her dark window. There were tears on her face and I might never know why. The night after, I found her in Canada over two hundred miles north of La Push. She couldn't be left alone, even for a second.

When Sam increased the shifts, he helped me recruit Emily to help. Her house had become our unofficial base of operations. She had help from Sue, Billy, Quil's parents, and now Rachel, who was home from college and had recently rocked Paul's world. Now that Paul had imprinted, Rachel was in on the secret, and Paul was constantly distracted, either complaining that he couldn't spend more time with her, or rehearsing what to say and do to impress her in the fifteen minutes he was permitted to see her as he ate his meals. Sam sometimes told him to focus, but not often. It seemed Paul was the only one among us capable of optimism right now, and most often, we welcomed the distraction.

Even Emily, Rachel, Sue, Quil, Tina, and Billy were wearing down, as they took turns watching Kim and cooking enough food to feed our tiny army. They were stir crazy. We didn't want them going outside. The thought of losing one of them was too much to bear.

So what do we do? Seth asked, mulling on Bella's warning to get out of town.

We stay, Sam thought. We have an obligation that comes with our powers.

Protect the tribe, a few of us echoed, though with far less energy than usual.

What if it's more than vampires? Seth wondered, mostly to himself.

More? Embry asked. Seth tried not to let on how much Bella's words scared him. None of us held it against him. What was scarier than an ominous prophecy delivered by a literal monster? Jacob cringed at my thoughts.

I think it's your turn to grab food, Jared, Sam thought, trying to keep the peace.

Ok. I ran toward Sam and Emily's house, trying not to compare Kim and Bella, or my situation with Jacob's. At least Kim wasn't a bloodsucker. Jacob howled. Sorry. I was relieved when I was close enough to the house to phase back, for the few precious minutes I would have my mind to myself.

"Sorry, I'm falling behind!" Emily called from the kitchen. "PB and J ok?"

"Anything!" I called back. I was distracted by Rachel who clung to one of Kim's wrists, and Kim who was struggling against her grip. I sat down on the couch next to them and pulled Kim into my lap, wrapping my arms around her. "Kim? Kim?" She kept struggling for a moment, then gradually fell still.

Rachel sighed. She looked almost as tired as I felt. "She keeps trying to go outside."

"Food isn't distracting her?"

"She won't eat."

That was concerning but not new. It was getting harder and harder to get her to eat. "Is it just you and Emily today? Where are Billy and Sue? And Quil and Tina?"

"The council is a little preoccupied right now."

I frowned. "With what?"

"You didn't hear?" Rachel asked.

"Hear what?"

"Have you heard of the company Crimson?" Rachel asked. I froze. We had researched Crimson early on, after the woman at the courthouse told us the mystery bloodsucker had claimed she worked there. It seemed like a normal energy company. We'd assumed it was a cover. Rachel did not notice my apprehension. "Word is they want to drill around here. They pulled some documents from the courthouse and applied for an easement over land that, according to them, isn't documented." Rachel rolled her eyes and then glanced at me. "I know right? Total bullshit. The council is planning on suing."

"They-the council is meeting with Crimson?"

"That's what Sue said."

"Where?"

"They didn't say." Rachel frowned. "Jesus, are you ok?"

"I have to go." I set Kim down next to Rachel, who watched me, eyes wide. "Watch her? Please."

I ran out the door and phased as soon as I was past the tree line. We have a problem, I thought. I replayed the conversation I'd just had with Rachel.

Shit!

Where are they meeting?

She said she didn't know, I answered. Why would the council meet with them? Did you tell them about the bloodsucker in the library and the courthouse?

Of course I did, Sam snapped.

And you mentioned Crimson?

I-I may have forgotten-

How could you forget?!

Guys! Quil snapped. We have to find them now!

We were already running, but now we were thinking about strategy. Quil, Leah, Seth, and Jacob wanted to split up. Their parents were on the council. Sam wouldn't let them though. There were at least four leeches. Splitting up was too risky. We ran the loop around town, investigating all the most likely places. Leah's frustration at our pace was palpable, but Sam wouldn't let her run ahead. We grew more nervous as the buildings we were checking were empty.

What if they're meeting off the Rez?

How will we find them then?

Eventually the combined stench of the four bloodsuckers we'd been tracking assaulted our senses. I felt a growing excitement at the thought of a concrete problem that I could fight through, but my excitement vanished when I realized where we were.

Why are they meeting in the school?

Leah crept around the back of the building, ignoring Sam's plea for caution. The rest of us stayed crouched in the trees. Leah peaked through the window into the atrium, and all of our hearts sank at once as we saw through her eyes. The room was packed. There were folding chairs set up filling the bulk of the space, but more people stood around the edges of the room, leaning against the walls. There were kids in the room too, some sitting on the floor. Leah spotted her mother sitting at the front of the room. The long, brown haired leech that had evaded us so long sat right next to her. She did look like Bella. Three other leeches sat with her, all men. Billy and Quil's father, mother, and grandfather all sat at the same table. Their eyes were wide with terror.

We have to get in there! Leah's words were as close as thoughts get to screaming.

No! Sam ordered. It's too risky.

Risky?! Quil wailed. My parents are in there!

Sam was right. Innocent humans that we had sworn to protect were packed in there, shoulder to shoulder with ruthless monsters. We had no way of taking out the bloodsuckers inside without risking the lives of our people. Our hands were tied.

Leah, see if you can hear what they are saying, I asked.

Stay out of sight though, Sam cautioned.

She ducked low beneath the window, perking her ears.

"Of course safety is the number one priority," a cold, clear voice said. It probably belonged to one of the male leeches. "We will meticulously follow all state and national regulations."

"What if there's a spill?" A woman asked. It sounded like Mrs. Gibson, one of the teachers at school. "What then?"

"Then we will clean it," the same bloodsucker said. I could almost picture him smiling at the crowd like some kind of a smarmy, used-car salesman. "And economic retributions will be issued to anyone affected."

"What does that mean?" This questioner sounded young.

"It means you will be paid," a clear, female voice said. Jacob shuddered beside me. We guessed that it was the brown haired leech. Her voice was cold and clear, like a leech, but at least that was distinct from Bella's. It was deep for a woman. There was a rumble of chatter following that remark, most of which sounded positive. I gritted my teeth.

"Why was the tribe not consulted when you were running your initial surveys?" Mrs. Gibson asked.

"The initial surveys were just to test the potential of the project," the smarmy leech said. "We have full intention of consulting the tribe before plans are finalized."

"That's good to hear," Mrs. Gibson said. "Because currently you've marked off multiple sacred and historical sites for construction." A lot of chatter followed this comment too, sounding angry this time. It died down slowly.

"We were not aware of this fact," the female said, deep voice level and almost soothing. None of us were fooled. "We will not destroy any sacred or historical sites. Any plans that we make will be signed off on by community members, or they will be changed until an agreement can be reached." The room fell silent. Leah perked her ears and glanced up at the window, wondering if she should chance another look, but the female continued talking.

"What we are trying to offer here is an incredible economic opportunity. This project will produce several, high-paying jobs. Additionally, we at Crimson believe in investing in local communities and intend to continue that practice here in La Push. The benefits are numerous and concrete."

"What about the risks?" Mrs. Gibson asked.

It went back and forth like this for a while. The leeches kept toting the economic prospects. Mrs. Gibson was the most vocal dissenter, though there were several others. Sue, Quil, Tina, and Billy were all silent, probably because they were the only ones who knew what was in the room with them. When it looked like the meeting was drawing to a close, Leah crept away from the building and joined us to watch from the woods. The sun was starting to set.

What now?

Should we follow the leeches? They stepped out into the light rain along with the rest of the town. A blonde leech who was built like a football player, who I guessed was the smarmy, car-salesman type voice, reached out to shake Sue's hand, smiling. She took his hand tentatively, though her eyes were wide and her lips were thin.

Mom! Seth's thoughts were broken with panic. He nearly whined but Sam shushed him. We all sighed with relief when the leech dropped her hand. The leeches climbed into two cars, a white Mercedes and a silver Tesla.

Typical, Paul thought. We memorized the license plates and followed the cars carefully from behind the treeline, but lost them when they reached the highway.

What do we do? Jacob asked.

Kill them, Paul thought.

Yeah no shit, Jacob thought. How?

How about a trap? A plan was materializing in Leah's mind.

Not bad.

Will it work?

Worth a shot.

I don't understand how this is happening, Quil thought, shaking his head, trying to forget the fear of seeing his parents feet away from the leeches. Or why this is happening. Why would a bloodsucker want an oil well? Or money, even?

I don't know. The Cullens always seemed to have unlimited money.

Money's never unlimited, Jacob thought. The more you have the more you want. It's the same way with blood for them. He was remembering something Bella told him. When Jasper was explaining newborn armies to her he talked about the greed of it. The gluttony. The more turf a bloodsucker had the more they could feed. It was an addiction. It was human nature to want more money than you could ever spend, and bloodsucker-nature to want more blood than they could drink. The blurred lines were so unsettling I tried to push them out of my mind. We all shuddered as we ran.

So they're staking out La Push? Embry asked. As their territory? We all growled.

It looks like they already have, Seth thought, miserable. He was thinking about Natalie. He didn't know her well, but one time when they were in second grade, she split her sandwich with him when he forgot his lunch.

We will kill them, Sam thought, resolute. Leah's plan is a good one. We will have a council meeting at my house. Quil, Seth, Leah, Jacob, make sure that your parents get there safe. The rest of you, come with me.

We followed Sam to his house. Inside, Emily and Rachel sat on the little yellow couch on either side of Kim. They each held one of her arms down as she wrestled against them, so violently that she made little grunting sounds. Sam was already there, trying to help. I managed to get my arms around her. She kicked my shins a few times as she tried to break my grip, but eventually she settled. Sam watched us, face pinched with concern. I met his eyes. Kim was getting worse. It wasn't really fair to make the others keep watching her but I didn't know what else to do. Every time I would loosen my grip a bit she would start struggling again. I thought about when she first joined the pack, and I would wrestle with her and pin her little body beneath mine as she slowly gained control over her powers. It was teasing then, fun even, but everything was different now. I clung to her, as if I was clinging to a wayward star that didn't even know it ruled my life, wanting only to shoot across the sky.

The senior council members filed in one by one. Billy noticed Kim struggling in my arms and put a hand on each of our shoulders. Sam asked if everyone was ok. Tina started to cry. Quil looked away.

"We have a plan," Sam said. "Leah came up with an idea. Do any of you happen to have any way of contacting any of the leeches?"

Sue pulled out a business card which was branded with the crescent moon logo for Crimson. "The blond one gave me this."

"Great. Thank you Sue." Sam squinted at the card and his mouth fell open. "His name is Chris Columbus?!" Embry peered over his shoulder and laughed, a slightly hysterical sound. I shook my head at the irony, which Kim must have perceived as a sign of weakness, because she stomped on my foot and tried to squirm out of my arms. "The plan is for one of you to call the bloodsuckers and request a meeting. Tomorrow if possible. It can be about the project plan. You can say that you have a map of sacred sites that you can show them, but you say you can only show them in person. Don't take no for an answer. We'll be waiting to ambush them." They were silent.

"I'll do it," Billy eventually offered. Sam nodded.

"We-it will be suspicious won't it?" Tina asked. "If they all disappear right after announcing this… mining plan?"

Sam heaved a sigh. "We don't have a choice. We'll have to address that later. Come up with a plan… No one will be able to trace it anyways. There won't be bodies to find." Quil and Sue nodded in agreement.

"Tomorrow," Billy said. "First thing. Where should I tell them to come?"

"Your house would work," Sam said. "Or mine. We can put the girls somewhere else for the day." Paul nodded, looking more serious than he ever had before, while Leah rolled her eyes so emphatically that I thought they would pop out of her head. Kim would have rolled her eyes too, if she could hear. Actually Kim would probably perform a little alpha-impersonation: hide your women and grab your pitchforks and torches! The devil's a comin! And Sam would have been mortified, playing it over in his head for weeks. Instead she sat trapped in my arms, feebly trying to get free.

"My house works," Billy said.

"Alright," Sam said. "We'll lighten patrols tonight so we can catch up on sleep a bit. We can run in pairs. I'll take the first shift. Who's with me." No one met his eyes. "Seth? Do you think you can run for a little more?"

"I'm not missing tomorrow!" Seth said. "I'm the only one who hasn't gotten to fight yet!"

"You'll be there tomorrow, I'm just asking if you can also help tonight."

"Oh. Yes." Seth looked up at Sam, eyes shining.

"Thank you. Who will lead the second shift?" There was another long pause.

"Midnight?" Jacob asked. "I'll do it."

"Good. Who's with Jacob." Everyone avoided Sam's eyes like before. He sighed. "Come on, it's like I'm pulling teeth."

"I'll go," Leah said.

"Thank you." Sam said. "Seth you're with me, everyone else, sleep with your window open. Come if you hear howling. Otherwise we'll meet up at dawn."

We filed out one by one. Emily turned to me. "Can you take her tonight?" She asked. "I-I'm not strong enough to hold her on my own and…" she trailed off and looked around the room. Everyone looked exhausted.

I nodded. "Yeah I've got her," I said. "Thanks for everything, Emily."

It was a wrestling match, trying to get Kim into the car. Twice she unbuckled herself, got out of the car, and started to run before I could get in the driver side. In the end, Quil had to hold her down while I got in the driver's seat. I drove with my left hand only, using my right hand to hold the seatbelt down. She fought me the whole way, nails scratching away at my arms.

I called out to my parents when I got home, but no one answered. I found a note they'd left on the counter. They were out of town for the weekend. I'd forgotten. I swore. I was hoping to recruit them for help so I could get a few hours of sleep.

I tried to get Kim to eat. I opened a yogurt cup and tried to spoon some in her mouth, but she wouldn't unclench her jaw, or stop fighting me, so I gave up. I was so frustrated I started to shake for a minute, but I was so tired that the shaking stopped on its own without any effort on my part. I took Kim up to my room and shoved my dresser in front of the door, barricading ourselves inside. Remembering Sam's order, I opened the window, just a crack. I locked it there, so it wouldn't open further. Finally, I put Kim on the bed and wrapped my arms around her. She wouldn't stop squirming.

"Go to sleep," I begged. "Please? Kim, go to sleep." I stroked her hair. Eventually she slowed down. "Good. Good job, Kim, go to sleep."

I tried to force myself to keep my eyes open. When that became too hard, I let them close, just for a few seconds at a time. Every time she moved my eyes snapped open again, just for a second before they drifted shut again.

Then there was a dull grating sound. I woke with a start, panicking when I found my bed empty, but then I saw Kim on the other side of the room, tugging at the dresser. She wailed when I grabbed her, just one soft sound, before I had her back in the bed again.

"Please go to sleep," I begged. Eventually she stopped squirming. Her eyes fell shut.

The next thing I remember was another flash of panic at finding my bed empty once more. I swore. I must have fallen asleep. I sat up, looking in shock at the open bedroom door. What confused me most was that the dresser wasn't there. It wasn't anywhere in my room. The clothes that had been inside it were strewn around the floor. How? I didn't stop to think about it. I just sprinted out of the room, phasing as soon as I stepped outside. I followed her freshest scent. She was headed towards the beach.

Everything ok? Sam asked. He and Seth were on the far side of the outer perimeter past the Cullen's place.

Fell asleep, I winced. It's ok, I'll find her. I tried to ignore Sam's pity. I'd felt enough of the pack's pity lately.

Sorry, Sam thought. Let me know if you need help.

Kim's trail led straight through the woods and out onto the rocky shore. Straight into the water. I sniffed around the spot where the scent trail met the sea, not quite grasping what I was seeing. I looked out over the waves but couldn't see her anywhere. I stood frozen for a moment, then raced down the shoreline, looking for another scent trail to mark where she left the sea. I doubled back up, to check the other side. Then I doubled back again, running several miles south, then several miles north of where she'd entered the water.

Sam and Seth cut away from their path around the border, running for the beach to help. We combed the beaches for an hour, covering hundreds of miles. As far as we ran, we couldn't find a path where she left the sea. Frustration gave way to panic.

Each time I turned I tried to imagine where we would find her next, in Sue's corner store, in the Cullen's crypt, or somewhere in Canada, but the images were hard to conjure. She'd been restless. And I'd been trying very hard not to imagine what she might be restless for.

The next time I crossed her trail, the one that led resolutely into the waves, I followed it directly into the sea. Before the waves reached my chest, the pain pulled me under. One moment, I vaguely heard Sam's thoughts over my own fear, the reassuring thoughts he'd conjured that he didn't even believe. The next moment, I was human and alone.

I was used to being overwhelmed by anger and exploding into a wolf each time. It had been happening less and less since I first joined the pack almost four years ago. But this was the first time I'd felt the opposite, an overwhelming despair, so powerful that it drowned out all other emotions so fully that there was no room for anger. It was the kind of grief only humans could feel.

Before, I was never jealous of what Sam had. I never craved a relationship like the one he had with Emily, not that I had objected to the idea, I just never made a habit of thinking about the future. That changed when I saw Kim on the beach that first time, as she watched me, wary but curious from across the fire. I started thinking about the future then, dreaming up detailed fantasies that Paul teased me for. Long walks on the beach. Sex. Dates, romantic and casual. And then the fantasies became more elaborate. A wedding on a beach. Toddlers playing on this same beach. I knew at that point that everything had changed. I knew then that I would follow her forever, anywhere I could.

I couldn't follow her here. I stepped out of the waves.

Kim never really was mine. I'd never really caught up to her. She was always just out of reach, just over an arm's length away. Maybe I'd been losing her slowly, bit by bit since the day we met two years ago on this same beach. Kim used to tease me for believing in destiny. It sounded hokey, sure, but I never backed down. I told her we were destined to be together forever. But maybe I was only destined to suffer.

I wandered back and stood at the point where the last trace of her disappeared, failing to grapple with what I'd lost, too numb to shake or scream. The remnants of hope I clung to shuddered and died as I searched for her in the waves. There was nothing in the water, no head peaking out above the waves. No trace, fragment, or memory. I'd have as much luck searching for her in the stars.