"Did we or did we not specifically tell you to leave Paul alone when he got back?" Dad asked Sam, pacing back and forth. He was pissed. More than pissed. He was furious.

"Deep breaths, sweetie," Mom told me. I was sitting on the floor, breathing into a brown paper bag, eyes trained on Paul's wolf body in front of me. He was still panicking, running around in circles as he tried to understand what was happening. I didn't even know what was happening. Every time I started to think about it too hard, I started to hyperventilate. "Just take a deep breath."

Jared was trying so hard to get Paul to…turn human again, I guess? After Paul burst into a giant animal, I passed out and I woke up to my mom fanning me with a piece of paper and Dad shouting at Sam and Jared. The living room just felt a little smaller, a little more claustrophobic. Everyone was talking and saying nothing at the same time; I was just so confused and freaked out.

"It was going to happen eventually. I just sped up the process," Sam was so pleased with himself. I could hear the smugness in his voice.

"That was not your call to make, Samuel," Harry scolded sternly.

"I'm the Alpha of this pack. I don't have to take orders from the Council."

"You do when other people's lives and well-being are at stake. What you did was irresponsible, spiteful, and dangerous. Leah could have gotten hurt!"

"I had it under control," Sam rolled his eyes at my father.

"Does this look like things are under control, Sam?!" Dad boomed, gesturing around the room.

I was reeling at the thought that both of my parents were well aware of what was happening. They knew Paul was going to transform into this huge animal. They knew that Sam was part of it. And they kept it a secret from me. And Jared. He tried to warn me. Did he know that Sam would try to force Paul to become this thing just to spite me.? Why would Sam do that?

The more I thought about it, the more worked up I was getting. But with that, every time I got worked up, I could see Paul's wolf fighting against Jared's attempts to get him to calm down. There were too many voices in this small house; with every person talking, the sound would just bounce off the walls and it felt like it was more than just the six of us in the room. I lowered the bag from my face as my eyes squeezed shut, trying so hard to block out the noise. It was so loud. "Please…" I whispered. "Please stop…"

Mom placed a firm hand on my shoulder when I tried to stand up. "You need to relax, honey," she said to me.

I shook my head, shrugging her off, "He's scared," I breathed out. "I have to help him."

Seeing Paul hurt was heart breaking. I managed to cross the room, ignoring all of the pleas and objections. He's dangerous, Dad said. No, he's not. He's not stable, Jared said as he held his arm out to stop me. Well, no fucking duh. If I had just turned into a literal animal, I would be losing my mind. But we weren't going to get anywhere if they just kept screaming around him.

With every step I took closer to him, Paul backed up until he was pressed against the corner. He whined and growled and yapped, shaking his head. His eyes were wild as they darted all around the room. As my hand unconsciously reached for him, I could feel my heart beating faster and faster. As I was about to make contact, the hairs on the back of my neck rose quickly as I felt a hot body approach. I whirled around, eyes blazing as Sam came to take me away again. "Don't you dare touch me," I snarled.

"You need to leave before you get yourself killed," he said, grabbing my wrist.

I snatched my hand away and jabbed my finger into his hard chest. "We wouldn't be in this goddamn mess if it weren't for you," I gritted. "Stay the hell away. It's the least you could do."

"Leah, I swear to God—" Paul started.

"Back the fuck up, Sam!" I yelled. I heard Paul's menacing growl behind me. It was so feral and aggressive. But it didn't scare me. I knew, even in all of this chaos, he was protecting me.

Jared stepped in, putting a hand on Sam's chest. "It's been over an hour. Maybe Leah can help," he tried.

Sam's nostrils flared as he exhaled, frustrated. He stared me down and it almost felt like he was daring me to yell at him again. I'm not fucking afraid of him. I wasn't just going to let this—whatever it is—happen and not do anything. Instead of arguing, Sam allowed Jared to push him a few steps back. When I turned to look at Paul again, he was crouched defensively, teeth bared, growling from his chest. Eyes directed fixed on Sam. It was a risk, but I reached out again to touch him. He immediately backed himself right into the corner again. He barked and whined as he shook his large head at me. "You won't hurt me…" I said gently. "Right?"

He whimpered as he nodded.

"Leah…" I heard Dad say in a warning tone. I realized that everyone else had fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.

"I've got it," I reassured him. As soon as my hand made contact with Paul's head, he immediately leaned into it. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding and just started to rake my fingers through his fur. He was so soft. But underneath all of the fur, his body was shaking in fear. God, I could feel my heart breaking for him. I dropped to my knees and threw my arms around his neck, tears stinging my eyes. He buried his muzzle into my hair.

"Lee, you have to get him relax him enough to feel human again," Jared said.

"Shush," Mom hushed from across the room. "Let her do it."

He still smelled like vanilla and cake batter, somehow. Paul's body eventually stopped shaking as I held him. "I love you, Paul," I whispered. "You're going to be alright. I'll be right here, ok? I'm not going anywhere."

I was trying so hard not to think about what this meant. What happens next. We didn't even get a chance to come down from the high of our incredible trip to New York. It all came crashing down; our suitcases weren't even unpacked yet. This should have been a normal day, a day of rest. The other version of our life, we would be cooking dinner in peace, talking about if we wanted to get a rescue cat.

We were almost there.

We were almost out.

I don't know…maybe we could still go. I wasn't ready to give up the idea that we could have a future together. That's all I wanted. A future. With Paul. Was that so hard?

We stayed on the ground for hours. My throat was dry from just talking to him. There were points where I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince myself that everything was going to be ok or if I was still trying to convince him. Eventually, we were both lying on the ground in the dark. I was stroking behind his ear, listening to him breath in and out. "Come back to me…" I whispered, feeling my tears fall sideways down my face. "Please, baby…please come back to me."

My eyes fluttered closed for a second. I was exhausted, but I refused to move until my Paul was back. I had told everyone to leave us alone. They verbally agreed, but I could hear Jared pacing the porch in case something happened to me. But nothing happened. Nothing was happening.

Suddenly, fur was replaced by bare skin. My eyes popped open to see Paul gasping as he stretched his whole body. "Oh my god!" I exclaimed as I watched him sit up. He stared at his hands before touching all over his body and sighing in relief. "You're back!" I hurled my body on his, burying my face into his human chest.

He groaned a little bit as we made contact. Paul wrapped an arm around my waist. "Oof, be careful, Lee."

"God, I was so scared you'd be stuck like that forever," my voice was muffled but I didn't care. His skin felt so hot.

"Yeah? Me too." He buried his face in my hair again before placing a kiss in the same spot. We sat silent for a few minutes, just soaking it all in. "Thank you for staying," he said quietly. He was still scared, but for a different reason now. We both were.

"I told you I'm never leaving you." When I said it, I meant it.

XXXXXXXXX

It felt like everyone in the world knew that thing was going to happen except for us. My parents whisked me away that night, promising that we would all talk about it the next day. It was almost like I was being punished the way they locked me into my bedroom for the night without another word.

It was the first time I had been in my bedroom for more than five minutes since Sam and Emily defiled it. My stomach kind of turned as I looked at the dirty pink sheets and comforter. "Gross," I muttered to myself before pushing my bed into the corner, grabbing a couple of clean blankets from the closet, and opting to sleep on the floor.

There was a small problem with that though. I had been sleeping next to Paul for months now. It's like I couldn't get comfortable enough without his arms around me. Without his light dozing in my ear. It was too quiet in here. Seth went to sleep to his tv blaring South Park. He still had no idea what happened. Good, he didn't need to know.

I missed Paul. I was already missing our life before this mess. Sam's feverish need to be in control of everything at all times has gone way too far. Why? Why did he do this? Other than to get back at me for some reason. I don't get it.

My cell phone vibrated on my desk, the light illuminating the ceiling. I swipe it as I'm about to sit down on my makeshift palette on the floor. "Hello?" I answered softly without checking the caller ID.

"Do you miss me?"

A wide smile broke out on my face. "Duh," I told Paul. "I don't understand why I couldn't stay the night."

"They're probably worried I'll burst into a dog again while we're sleeping and that I'll eat you," he joked. I heard him rustling around; he was about as uncomfortable as I was. "It's alright though."

"It is?" I stared at the ceiling. The floor was so hard under me, but anything was better than being in that bed. "Did we experience the same thing today? Because I'm still kind of convinced it was a fever dream."

He chuckled, "I wish it was a fever dream," he said, "but this shit is crazy. Everything is heightened. I can hear and smell and see everything a thousand times better than before. Like I can hear you and your brother and your parents all the way from here."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You can?" I stood up and walked over to the window. Pulling back my curtains, I glanced over at Paul's house. The lights in the living room were off; he must have been in his bedroom.

"Yup, see hold on." Suddenly, the living room light cut on and he came to the window. He gave me a small wave. "I heard you get up. From my bedroom."

"That's insane." Paul was more impressed by this. I was concerned. That feeling in my gut was just filled with dread.

"Lee," he said, assured. "This isn't going to change anything."

It's like he was in my head. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "How do you know that?" I asked.

"Because I will make sure it doesn't. Do you trust me?" He was looking directly at me when he asked.

"You know I do." I was trying to put on a brave face, but I was surely failing.

"Do you love me?" he said, playfully. He wiggled his eyebrows at me and smiled.

"Don't," I giggled. "Stop trying to be cute. I can't worry when you're being cute."

Paul slipped his free hand into the pocket on his sweatpants and shrugged, "I never want you to worry. Everything will be fine, I promise you, Leah."

I didn't say anything. I just nodded my head. I stepped away from the window and made myself comfortable on the floor again. I asked him to stay on the phone with me until I fell asleep. It was the closest thing I would get to being in his arms that night.

I woke up the next morning, Paul was still asleep on the other line. I got up as quietly as I could to hop in the shower. It was the first time in about 12 hours that I felt my muscles relax even a little bit. Paul wasn't freaking out so maybe I shouldn't either. That makes sense; just follow his lead. And then we can put all of this behind us and start a life for ourselves in New York. No secrets, no lies, no Sam. Heaven.

When I came back to my room, I instantly went to the window to see if there was any movement on the other side. I couldn't see through the entire house, of course, but from this angle, sometimes I could see feet going back and forth from the kitchen.

He was dragging his feet this morning, no doubt from the lack of rest. I lightly tapped on my window as I wanted to test the bounds of this 'super hearing.' He stopped in his tracks, but didn't move. I tapped again. Paul made his way to the window, rubbing his eyes. His hair was all over his head; I wanted to fix it like I always did in the morning. "Good morning," I said, soundlessly.

He waved back and mouthed, "Good morning."

"I'm coming over, ok?"

He nodded. I smiled and turned to my closet. Paul knocked on his window, catching my attention. He held up a finger, telling me to hold on. Then Paul—my Paul, resident tough guy—blew his breath onto the window and made the shape of a heart with his finger.

I giggled as he grinned at me. He was just so normal about it. I hurried to grab a Sharpie from my desk and carefully drew a heart in the upper corner. Then I blew him a kiss before running down the stairs. Seth was running up the stairs in his boxers eating cereal when I got downstairs and Mom and Dad were in the kitchen, making coffee. "…she deserves to know. This affects her too now," I heard Mom say in a hushed tone.

"And have her keep that secret from Seth?" Dad asked.

"It's two months, Harry, before she leaves for college. If she still wants to leave for college. If we don't tell her after everything she's seen, she'll hate us and she won't come back," Mom argued.

I cleared my throat, letting them know I was there. "I'm going to Paul's," I announced, heading for the back door.

"Freeze!" Mom called right as I reached for the door handle. I stopped and rolled my eyes. It was stupid to think it would be that easy.

I pivoted on my heel and gave them a tight smile, "What's up?"

"Well," Mom crossed over to get to me, guiding me back to the kitchen by my elbow, "I was hoping we could have a nice morning at home to discuss some things about yesterday."

"What's there to discuss?" I asked, pulling away. "My boyfriend magically morphed into a giant dog and then you guys locked me in my bedroom without a why or a how or a what. Now I'm hungry and I'm sure Paul is making pancakes next door."

"Leah, sit down. Now." Dad had his stern voice out. I let out a bratty huff before plopping down in a chair at the kitchen table. "We will not accept this attitude from you, young lady."

"What attitude, Dad?" I asked, exasperated. "I'm confused, I'm tired, and I'm frustrated. 24 hours ago, I was feeling so good about my future and Paul's. And now…I don't know what to do. You guys are keeping secrets from me. That's not fair."

Dad rubbed his hand down his face, frustrated. "This isn't about what's fair, Leah. This is about what's going to keep you safe."

"How can I trust you to keep me safe if you won't tell me what I'm seeing with my own eyes?" I snapped. "The only person who's not afraid of being honest, besides my clueless little brother, is Paul. What's going on? What does Sam have to do with it? Why is it happening?"

Mom and Dad looked at each other, apprehensively. I slammed my hand on the table to get their attention.

"Hello? No. Don't look at each other. Look at me. Talk to me," I demanded.

Mom sighed, "This will all make more sense soon, honey. The Council wants to sit down with you and Paul this evening about what you saw yesterday."

I shook my head. I looked down and started picking at my cuticles. "Will Sam be there?" I asked.

"Yes," Dad answered, "and Emily."

"Emily?"

Seth's quick footsteps came bounding down the stairs. The three of us fell silent as he hummed happily and rinsed his cereal bowl in the sink. I was still staring down at my nails as he cluelessly went from the sink to the fridge to grab juice. Then he stopped. "What's with the weird vibe?" he asked.

I shot up from my chair, the wood of the chair scraping against the hardwood floors. "There's no vibe, Bub," I answered. "I'm going to Bex and Rachel's. Call me if you need me."

"Aileah, we're not done," Dad was trying to keep his voice as firm as possible.

"I'm done," I said, rushing out of the back door before they could get to me.

XXXXXXXXX

18 years and I've never spoken to my parents that way. I was struggling with that. It was unnatural; I felt guilty.

Instead of hiding at the twins' house, I hiked all the way up to the cliffs to think. It was freezing outside, but I just couldn't go back. Not yet. I wondered how long they had been keeping things from me. I wondered, if I hadn't been there to see Paul transform like that, if they would have continued to keep secrets from me. My own parents. My flesh and blood.

My feelings were bruised; I think that's the easiest way to say it. I pulled my knees to my chest as the waves crashed against the cliff down below. Slowly but surely my safety net was disintegrating. Sam. Emily. My parents. I'd always had this unmovable village of people around me. And, up until a month ago, I had always had this terrible feeling that I would be the one to hurt them. For a year, I'd be fighting myself, trying to figure out if I wanted to venture out on my own or stay here in the bubble. Imagining the sad looks on my family and friends' faces was always on my mind.

The wind persisted, making me shiver. I should have grabbed a jacket. Standing up, I slowly started walking back down the hill. Dad's voice was always in my head when I wandered off by myself. "You be careful in the woods, baby girl. You never know what's out there," he'd always say. I would always roll my eyes and say 'yeah, ok whatever, Dad' before Bex and I would get up to trouble.

The rustle of the leaves on the trees were so loud, but not loud enough to mask a few dozen twig snaps behind me. I sped up my steps, careful not to trip over my feet. In the distance, I heard a howl. A pair of hands grabbed me around the torso and my feet felt the ground. I felt my heart drop as I let out of shriek. I was pinned to a tree and a hand came over my mouth. "Shh, shh, I need you to be quiet," he whispered.

I looked up to see Jared, checking around the tree behind me with intense eyes. Then it was so fast! One blur then two then three passed us. Whatever was chasing that first blur was so much larger; one of them was pitch black and the other one was gray. They were moving at the speed of light, shaking the ground with every step. Jared kept a strong arm around me with his hand over my mouth even after they passed. I swatted at his hand, my protests completely muffled.

He moved his hand but stayed close to me. "What the hell are you doing out here?" he scolded. "It's dangerous in the woods."

"What am I doing? What are you doing?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"Saving your ass, obviously!"

"What was that?" I asked as Jared continued to take surveillance. When he turned around fully, I realized— "Jesus, Jared, why are you naked?"

I held up my hand to block the view of his front right as he faced me again. He glanced down before covering himself, blushing. "Oh…shit, sorry. I lost my shorts."

I suppressed a laugh. "How?"

"When we phase, our clothes shred; it's kind of—wait, no. I shouldn't even be talking to you about this." He grabbed my hand and started pulling me back to the trail. "I need to get you home."

He was so strong, I couldn't even fight him off. "So that's what happened to Paul? He…phased?" I tried to word. It felt foreign almost to say. "This is what you were warning me about, wasn't it? Paul turning into a wolf. You do it too. And Sam. That makes so much sense. Why you guys are just following him around. He made you guys into wolves."

I honestly hated playing detective. Secrets were too much of a hassle to keep; they were even more of a hassle when people tried harder to dance around them than be honest. "That's not…" Jared sighed loudly, "That's not how it works."

"Then tell me how it works," I was just short of begging. There was another howl in the distance. My head whipped toward where it came from and saw dark smoke billowing into the sky.

"I would if I could," Jared answered as he continued to drag me down the trail. I tripped over a tree branch and exclaimed an 'ow!' He muttered an apology and slowed down just a little. "Everything will make sense tonight at the Council meeting."

Why did people keep saying that to me? It's so dumb that there had to be a formal Council meeting for me to get some answers. I gritted my teeth at his vague answer. "You know this isn't fair, right?"

He nodded, glancing back at me with sad eyes, "Yeah, I do."

XXXXXXXXX

Sam has always had a punchable face. As he stood with his chest puffed with the Council members, I noticed how smug he looked. Meanwhile, Dad looked dejected and tired. He just kept stressfully rubbing his forehead as Sam talked at him, my mom, Billy Black, and Old Quil Ateara about whatever. The Council had their own tiny office off the main road, but it was very rare that they invited people in for meetings.

I guess this was a special occasion. Shifting uncomfortably in my wooden chair, I watched the door. Paul wasn't here yet. He was the last person we needed to be here to get these meeting started. Emily was huddled in the corner with some girl I knew from my physics class last year. Kim, I think was her name. Emily was dressed like the sweetest little sociopath you'd ever meet. Her hair was in a perfect ballet bun and her white dress was spotless. It was the first time I'd seen her since she outed me to my parents, and she knew better than to try to talk to me.

Jared slid in next to me and bumped my shoulder, "You doing alright?" he asked.

"I kind of feel like I wanna throw up," I said, matter of factly.

He chuckled, "That's fair."

The office door swung open and Paul walked in, looking mean and focused. Now that I was looking at him closely, I could see how quickly he had grown over the past few weeks. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on me. He took a visible breath of relief and crossed the room over to me and Jared. We both stood up as he approached. I immediately slipped my arms through his to hug him. He popped a kiss on top of my head. "Let's get this over with," he muttered.

"Welcome, brother," Jared said, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'm glad I won't have to keep this secret from you anymore."

Paul huffed a little, "Yeah, we gotta catch up, don't we?"

Mom rang a little bell to get everyone's attention. We all sat down, tension hanging heavy in the air. Paul and I were incidentally in the middle of everything. Jared and Embry and everyone else pointedly sat behind us. Far behind us. In front of us, there was this long table where the Council would sit. Dad pushed Billy to the end before taking a seat right between him and Old Quil. Mom stood off to the side, wringing her hands anxiously.

Billy Black, in any other situation, was this joking, laughing, full of life man. He had to be. After his wife died, he had three kids to take care of and a new life to adjust to. He did everything he could to make things easier for Rach, Bex, and Jacob. They really all came together to make a new normal. The whole community did. Billy Black was like a second dad to me and one of my dad's best friends.

But right now, his face was stone. He folded his arms on top of the table and started to speak, "I never thought we would have to be in a position to do this. The sanctity of the pack has been tarnished and I, along with the rest of the Council, am very disappointed in the events that took place yesterday."

"We will give everyone a chance to speak," Dad continued, making eye contact with me. "But, first, we owe Paul and Leah a long overdue explanation."

Billy launched into the entire legend of our people. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. We had heard this story a million times. We've always been a small tribe and Billy says that we've always had magic in our blood, whatever that means. He tells the story of the spirit warriors who, according to legend, could shapeshift into wolves to protect the tribe by any means.

I knew the story of the Third Wife and the Cold Ones. A man, cold as ice and hard as stone, had killed some of our tribe's children in cold blood. The first shapeshifters exploded with rage at the sight and tore the Cold One to shreds before it was completely destroyed by fire. The man's lover took her anger out on the entire village, killing everything in her sight, including some of the spirit warriors, while everyone ran for their lives. Taha Aki was the only spirit warrior left and he fought valiantly against the woman.

Then, the Third Wife, full of courage, sacrificed herself to save the village. She stabbed herself to distract the Cold woman long enough for her to be destroyed.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Leah, what does this story have to do with anything? I get it. I was thinking the same thing. I've heard this story at least once a month for the past 18 years. Billy told his story at every bonfire, every family birthday, Christmas. I just thought he liked it a lot. Maybe it was his party trick. We all knew this story.

"Our magic awakens when Cold Ones are near. And we sense it now. We are preparing for something terrible to happen. Our boys have been protecting our tribe like heroes," Billy continued, "and more of our boys will experience the same fate."

"We'd been monitoring Paul for weeks. After Sam and Jared phased for the first time, we knew it was only a matter of time before it happened to Paul too," Dad explained. "However, after careful consideration and deliberation, the Council had concluded that once Paul expressed interest in leaving La Push, we would grant him that."

I glanced over at Paul to see how he was taking all of this in. His expression was unreadable. I reached for his hand; he instinctively intertwined our hands, resting them on the arm chair.

"The pack was instructed specifically to let Paul leave with Leah in peace. We believe it would have been best for him; it would have given a chance for him to leave behind the rough relationship he's had with his family," Billy's voice was almost bouncing off the walls. "Whatever bad blood there is between Samuel, our acting Alpha, and Paul should have never been a factor in Paul's potential phasing. But it seems that wasn't the case."

"Vindictiveness and spitefulness have no place in this pack," Dad declared. "Especially from anyone in a leadership position. So Samuel will be reprimanded accordingly."

I heard Sam scoff behind me. "Bullshit…" he muttered under his breath. Paul's hand tightened a little bit in response to Sam's immature behavior. Sam spoke a little louder, "I didn't do anything wrong. It was going to happen regardless."

"You provoked me, you piece of shit!" Paul snapped, whipping around to glare at Sam. If looks could kill…

"I didn't provoke you," Sam rolled his eyes like a child.

Paul growled and tried to shoot up from his seat. I grabbed his arm to calm him down. "Stop," I said softly. He met my eye, his jaw clenched tight. "It's ok," I reassured him.

He took a deep breath before settling in his seat again.

"If we are done with the theatrics, we can get into the specifics of what happened yesterday," Dad stated. "Paul, you have the floor."

Paul stood up, strong and focused. He was still holding onto my hand for support. The room fell completely silent as we all waited for him to begin speaking. I squeezed his hand affectionately. "I knew something was up when Sam started acting like a total dick and Jared was still following him around. To be honest, I thought he was just jacked up on steroids, but this…this feels worse now that I've experienced it.

"When Leah and I got together, we both knew it would be a sore spot for him. He's always been territorial even when he's in the wrong. While we were in Boston, Sam was blowing up my phone, demanding to know where I was and why I had left with Leah," he continued. That was new information. I had no idea that was happening. "But I ignored it. I was with my girl and making moves for my future. It wasn't worth it to entertain high school bullshit anymore. But then, when we got back from New York, something felt weird. I was getting a weird vibe from everyone, like everyone was in on this big secret. I caught one of Sam's little cronies watching me from the street while I was walking back to my house.

"Then, all of a sudden, I get a knock on my door and Sam damn near shoves his arrogant ass into my house. He starts spewing this shit about how it was a mistake for me to leave La Push and that I was going to be stuck here for the rest of my life. Telling me Leah was going to leave me just like everyone else in my life. Telling me that I'm nothing but a Rez rat and that's all I'll ever be. I'll never amount to anything and I'll end up just like my parents. Really twisting the knife in, just because he could. Jared can attest to that, if he's feeling brave. He was there." Paul swallowed hard. I could feel him shaking with anger.

"Yeah…" was all Jared said.

I looked back at Sam with disgust. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" I asked. "Why would you say that to him? You don't always have to be an asshole."

"Don't talk to him like that," Emily sniped.

"I'm sorry, was I speaking to you?" I glared at her.

"Enough!" Billy's voice boomed. "Let Paul speak."

I sulked down in my seat a little, feeling frustrated. I was powerless in all of this. Paul started to speak again, "I was trying to ignore him, I really was. But he kept going and going and going. And then he pushed me when I started to get angry. I hate that I reacted the way I did; I swung my fist at him and then…" he paused, looking down at the ground. "and then he shoved me until I flew back into the wall. Everything started to blur. I remember Leah coming in and feeling like something was clawing its way out of my body. It hurt so fucking bad. And then Sam grabbed Leah…I couldn't control whatever was in my body because I couldn't protect her from him. Then I was on four legs. That's it…that's what happened."

Dad sighed loudly after waiting a beat. With every passing second, it felt like the tension in the room was thickening. "Samuel, do you have anything to say for yourself?" Dad asked.

Sam stood up. "Isn't my job supposed to be to do what's best for the pack? Paul's one of the strongest on the reservation. Shouldn't you be thanking me for adding more strong people to our pack?"

"What a crock of shit!" I exclaimed, shooting up. "You did this because you're pissed that Paul and I are together and actually getting out of this place."

"That's not true," Sam lied with a smug look on his face.

"Are you saying that this provocation had absolutely nothing to do with Leah?" Billy asked.

"Yes, that's right," Sam nodded. Entitled asshole.

"So I shouldn't play the voicemail you left me while we were out of town then?" I retorted. "And I shouldn't bring up when you told me you missed me when we came back to town? Or still calling me Lee Lee like you used to when we were dating? Or Rachel and Rebecca telling me that you went on a goddamn rampage when Seth told you that Paul and I left town? I shouldn't bring any of that up, right?"

Emily looked up at Sam with hurt eyes, but Sam kept his on me. "You have no idea what you're talking about," he snarled.

"You can be pissed at me, Sam. That's fine. I'm giving you that pass. You were going through something and I couldn't be there for you the way you needed it. But the reality is…being angry with Paul isn't going to make you feel better. Paul didn't do anything wrong. He had way too much respect for you to even entertain the idea of going behind your back to get to me," I told him. "I kissed him that night. I let him touch me. I told him that it was over between you and me. And, you know what? I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Because he makes me feel good and he makes me feel loved. It never mattered if we were friends or more than that, he was giving me something you couldn't because you weren't there."

"You fucked my best friend and I'm just supposed to let that go?!" Sam roared.

"You're not the goddamn victim, Sam!" I yelled. "This isn't a competition! I'm not trying to hurt you. But you are clearly trying to hurt me. So much so, that you're willing to hurt your life long best friend. This is real fucking life, Sam. It's not a game. You're fucking with people's lives, for god's sake."

Sam and I stared each other down for I don't even know how long. It felt like forever. I didn't know I was holding my breath until I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. It was his fault. It was Sam's fault. Why? All we could do is sit and let all of the tension stew. Paul didn't move. He just stood there, staring at the ground. I could feel his hurt and frustration and confusion. "Um…" he rasped. "Excuse me. I need to step out for a minute."

The second he let go of my hand, I knew he was trying not to show everyone how pissed off he really was. Sam's words cut deep; he knew just what buttons to push. Paul's worst fear was being just like his father, his second was being stuck. I knew, eventually, Paul was going to feel the weight of what happened. Sam Uley singlehandedly changed Paul Lahote's life and didn't even feel sorry about it. My mouth opened to speak, but I didn't even know what I had to say. The door clicked closed as Paul walked out. I shook my head before standing up. I turned around and spoke to all of Sam's little posse of kids. "If you can find any way to justify Sam's actions yesterday…you're out of your mind," I stated before walking out after him.

When I got outside, Paul was wandering in the middle of the road with his hands on his head. He stopped and bent down at the waist, dropping his head. "Fuck!" he screamed before standing up again. He was looking for something, anything to help dissipate the anger that was boiling over inside of him. His fist connected to a tree before he let out a loud groan. He slid his back down the tree and let his head fall back. I walked over to sit next to him, not saying a word. I carefully grabbed the hand he punched the tree with to examine it. To my surprise, there were no injury, just dried-up blood on his knuckles. "Fast healing. Isn't that crazy?" he spoke, his voice gravelly.

I rubbed his knuckles clean before placing a kiss there. "I'm sorry if I upset you in there," I said, caressing his hand in my lap.

He shook his head, "It wasn't you, baby. It just started to feel really, really small in there."

"I didn't make it better," I was kicking myself, mentally.

"No, no, no, you said what needed to be said. Sam's selfish bullshit is what got us into this mess. He knew what he was doing and he did it on purpose. I mean…shapeshifters? Cold Ones? We should have known this shit was real a long time ago. Maybe we would have known to avoid it. I could have led a normal life. I wouldn't have to feel this weird thing pacing inside of me every second of the day." He just looked so troubled.

The sun was starting to set over the horizon. This was the longest day of my life. Probably his too. "What even is a Cold One anyway?" I asked.

"I think it's a vampire. Remember that part of the story where they find the kids dead?" he asked. I nodded. "One time, Billy told us that the Cold One sucked the blood out of the children and left them to die. It scared the shit out of us so he stopped telling that part. But I guess it makes sense. Werewolves and vampires being natural enemies and us needing to protect our land and stuff."

"It's kind of unfair to put that responsibility on a bunch of teenagers though," I said.

"We're growing up, kid," Paul shrugged. "We have to deal with this."

I laid my head on his shoulder, "We'll do it together, right?"

"Of course," he said. Paul held my face with both hands so I could look him in the eye. He kissed my nose. "We'll always do it together."

I sighed as I accepted his words. "Or we could just run away from this place."

He chuckled, "That plan is already in motion, baby."

We walked back into the Council's office, hand in hand. Dad, Old Quil, and Billy were deep in discussion while the rest of the pack were carrying their own conversation. What I did notice though was that Sam and Emily were missing. "What's going on?" I asked out loud.

Dad looked up at me, a strangely triumphant look on his face. He rose to his feet and gestured to our chairs. "Please take a seat, both of you."

We sat down as everyone still chattered around us. Paul put his arm around the back of my chair and started to run his hand up and down my arm, affectionately. Billy spoke, "Alright, settle down, everyone. Let's wrap this up."

The rest of the pack fell silent as we began to focus on the Council once again. Dad looked out to all of us before clearing his throat and speaking in a loud, clear voice, "It is to our understanding that Paul's phasing was not properly handled. Unfortunately, Sam's actions were of revenge and that will not stand. We've decided that Sam will be put on suspension as Alpha until further notice. He's already been notified of this."

"In addition to Sam's suspension, Jared will take place as an interim," Billy added.

"What about me?" Paul asked.

"Well, Paul, it seems you have a choice to make. You don't have to make it now, by any means. You can stay and be part of the pack or you can continue to pursue your goals elsewhere. That decision is completely yours," Dad said. "However, you will need to train with the pack until you can get your phasing under control. We don't need anyone getting hurt."

By 'anyone,' he meant me. Council member or not, my dad is still my dad. He is a concerned parent first and a member of the Quileute Council second. And, for the first time in months, I actually felt like he had my back again. Dad met my eye and smiled a little. I nodded my head and mouthed, "Thank you."

"Are there any questions?" Billy asked. No one spoke. Paul let out a huge sigh of relief next to me. "Alright, this meeting is adjourned."

XXXXXXXXX

One of the conditions of the Council's decision was that I had to start sleeping at home again as a safety precaution. Well, it was more of a Dad condition than a Council condition, but nevertheless, I now had a curfew and a parent's watchful eye on me at all times.

That was fine. I wasn't going to fight him too hard on it.

I was getting ready for bed that night when I felt eyes on me from the door. I looked up in the mirror and saw my dad leaning against the doorframe. "I just came to say goodnight, baby girl. I won't hold you up."

I finished putting my hair up before turning to him, "Actually, I was going to come find you. I wanted to apologize for this morning."

Dad made his way into my bedroom and sat on my bed. He pat the spot next to him. I sat down and watched his face closely. "You have no idea how hard it's been to keep this from you," he shook his head. "I knew exactly what it was when you came home that day and said Sam was acting strangely. I was so worried about you getting hurt when I could have just been honest with you. For that, I owe you an apology, Leah."

"You've always been on my team, no matter what. I should have trusted you more," I admitted. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled my dad close. "I love you, Daddy. I'm sorry."

Dad squeezed me tight. He always gave the best hugs. "I love you more, baby girl. I'll move the world for you."

"I don't need you to move the world. I just need you to stay in mine forever."

"I'll do my best," Dad said before kissing my forehead. "Get some rest. Tomorrow's a new day."

He was right. Tomorrow is a brand-new day. A new chance for new choices. Dad left my room, shutting the door behind him. I took a second to breathe. It felt like the first time I had a chance to since this whole mess started. Tomorrow was not today. Tomorrow would be better than today.

Just when I was about to turn in for the night, I heard a small tap at my window. Then another. I bit my lip to suppress a smile before walking to my window. Paul stood at the bottom, hands in his pockets. "What are you doing here?" I asked with a laugh.

He waved his hand. "Come down," he whisper-yelled.

"I can't," I told him. "They'll hear me go down the stairs."

He shrugged. "Then jump."

"You're insane," I giggled.

"Come on, I'll catch you. I want you in my arms tonight."

It wasn't a smart idea. But hell. You're only young once, right? I contemplated it for a second. Then I said, "What the hell."

Love is about making choices. And, as I swung my legs out of my bedroom window and flew through the air to land into Paul's arms, I knew that I would always make the right one betting on him.