Leah:

"How much do you know about the legends of your tribe?" Edward asked, his eyes still boring into mine intensely.

"Uhm a lot actually, my Dad is a council member." I said, confused about the direction this was heading.

"Okay so you know about the shifting wolfmen and their treaty with the Cold Ones?"

"Yes, but how do you know about that? That one isn't exactly in the tourism guide."

"I know because I've seen the wolfmen." Edward said quietly. My first instinct was to laugh, but he looked so sincere that the sound caught in my throat. He took a deep breath and looked down at our hands, nervously tracing circles with his fingertips on my upturned palm.

"I know this story is going to be really hard to wrap your mind around but you need to hear it and I need you to believe me." He took a deep breath and looked back into my eyes, a pleading look on his face. Begging me to understand. "I can read minds. I don't know how or why it's just something I've always been able to do. I can read every thought everyone around me is having the moment they have it. Except yours."

My eyes narrowed slightly. "That's a little convenient, how will I make you prove it now?" I joked halfheartedly. He gave me a look and gestured across the pond at the mother's with their strollers.

"The woman in the white sweater is about to stop and tie her shoe." He said flatly.

Low and behold the second the words left his lips the woman squatted down, fiddling with the laces of her black tennis shoe. I looked at him stunned and he raised his eyebrows at me as if to say - see?

"When my family and I were out camping about a month ago I suddenly picked up on some really panicked sounding thoughts nearby. Someone was lost, angry, and very afraid. I told my Father and he, my brother Emmett, and I all went to find the person in case they needed our help. I kept listening as we went and I heard the stories of your tribe flowing through his mind. Specifically the ones about the Cold Ones, and the wolf protectors that were born from the conflict to protect your tribe from carnage." His eyes glazed over slightly, clearly immersed in the memory. It made it impossible to doubt him.

"When we came to the edge of a clearing I saw him first. He was huge, with long jet black fur draping all the way down to the ground. I have never been able to read an animal's mind so I knew then that this was definitely no regular animal. This was the source of the distraught thoughts calling out to me. And he was now a part of the very stories he had spent his lifetime doubting."

He hung his head, clearly wishing he could somehow avoid this next part of the story. "I warned my father and brother to go back but I waited in the thick edge of the clearing, entranced by his thoughts. They turned to the girl he loved, how much he wished he could still be good enough for her. How afraid he was to be anywhere near her and accidentally lose his temper."

I immediately went rigid. He looked up at my shocked expression and his face turned grim.

"I didn't see your face in his thoughts but Leah, I really think the Wolfman was your Sam."

I sat there stunned for a few minutes, letting myself process what he just told me. I hated how much it made sense. The timelines matched up, Sam's inexplicable behavior, his haggard appearance at the beach. Even his sudden rapid growth spurt that made him look 25 now instead of 19. The only thing it didn't explain was the beach. What did Emily have to do with all of this? Why hadn't he told me? Why on earth would he keep this from me? I could have understood, I could have helped him through it instead of just resenting him for it every step of the way.

Hot tears flowed down my cheeks and I took my hands from Edward to wipe them away. Guilt welled up in my throat until I felt like I was choking on it. This was it, this was the puzzle piece I had been desperately searching for and now that I had it, it was clicking into place in my memories, sealing the gaps and painting one large hideous picture.

Sam was hurting. This entire time he was in pain.

And I had just abandoned him.

My shock was interrupted by a buzzing in my pocket. I mechanically pulled it out and flipped it open bringing the speaker to my ear.

It was my mom and she was hysterical. I couldn't make sense of what she was saying. I immediately stood up, fishing my keys out of my pocket and walking towards my car. I saw Edward follow silently in my peripheral vision.

"Mom, slow down, I can't understand you."

"Emily… was attacked… by a bear." My mom said, her sentence breaking around her sobs. My head started swirling fasted now and I stumbled, catching myself with a hand on the hood of my car. It was too much coming from too many directions. The last thing I remembered was watching my phone hit the pavement and the feeling of Edward's arms wrapping around me.