I closed the door quietly to Nate's bedroom where Cam was resting. "Well, Cam made a cocky comment about kicking my ass in the race and made a pass at me at the same time so he's feeling somewhat better," I commented as I walked into the living room. "Anything?"

"The Volturi guard," Nate announced, dropping a book in front of me as soon I sat on the couch. "They're some of the strongest vampires in all of Volterra, if not the world."

"Great," Wyatt sighed. "So, they're here."

"Based on what I read, they always send their guard first before the actual heads come." Nate's jaw ticked as his hands gripped into fists before he folded his arms over his chest. "We just went up against the Volturi. How are we not dead?"

"They're assessing our strength," I said simply, but saying to myself, "But why?" I flipped through the pages until I found a portrait of all of the Volturi. So pale, so eerie. Their eyes looked even redder and more menacing than any other vampire I'd ever seen. I'd heard a rumor once that they sometimes eat weaker vampires for fun. I think I expected them to be more unsuspecting as to not stand out. But as I looked at these three white guys with long hair, dressed like they'd stepped out of the 1800s, it made more sense to me that they wanted to be so much more different than the creatures they ruled over.

And in that same portrait, right in the back, were two of the three guards we just met. I dug out my phone and snapped a quick picture before texting my brother, can you find out the names of these two?

"We should have crushed them," Wyatt shook his head. "We could've. Ripped them apart and burned the pieces."

"Ok, 'Hulk, smash', relax," Nate muttered.

"The last thing we want to do is shoot now and ask questions later," I told Wyatt. "Under normal circumstances, yes, but as soon as the blonde did that thing to Cameron, killing them wasn't the priority. I didn't need them hurting more of you."

"I…" Wyatt trailed off before sighing. "That's fair."

My phone buzzed in my hand. Will said, it's gonna cost you

I rolled my eyes. $50, it's important

He text back immediately, deal

Nate collapsed onto the couch next to me and blew out a harsh breath. "So much for a night off," he grumbled.

"Yeah," Wyatt agreed. "I'm going to stop by Jacob and Leah's to let them know what's going on. We'll need to double up on patrols…widen the perimeters…someone's gotta call Sue and the other nurses so they can be on call."

Find out why they're here, I heard in the back of my head. "They probably haven't gone far," my voice spoke before I realized what I was going to say. "I bet we could find them."

Nate shook his head, "Nah, I have a feeling that they make it known when they want to or don't want to be found."

"So what do you suggest?" I asked, turning to him.

"We need to go to the bar!" Cameron yelled from the other room. The three of us looked at each other, confused at Cam's sudden outburst. His slow steps grew closer as Nate's bedroom door creaked open. He was still a little weak, but he looked a hundred times better than he did 20 minutes ago. "We said we're gonna go out so we're going out."

I immediately started to protest, "No way, and let you get hurt again? Absolutely not."

"No, no, no, hear me out," Cam said before dropping into the recliner. "If they're watching us, they're too smart to get too close to the Rez, right? So if we hit the bars in Port Angeles, we'll either have a good time or we'll have the perfect cover for a confrontation. Think about it. They'll think we're just out for fun; we have home court advantage."

It wasn't a bad idea.

"Come on, when's the last time the whole pack got to go out and get fucked up and have fun?" Cam asked. "I'm all better now. Look."

He jumped up and wiggled his hips with a goofy smile on his face. I laughed a little before looking at Wyatt and Nate. Wyatt was amused; Nate was pensive, serious. "It's not a good idea," he said definitively.

"I think we have a shot to be on the offensive right now instead of waiting for something to happen," Wyatt argued.

"I say let's give it a shot," I shrugged. "I need a shot of tequila and an excuse to get cute."

"Fuck yeah!" Cam whooped. "Guys?"

The boys glanced at each other. Wyatt shrugged in a 'why not' kind of way which made Nate furrow his brows like 'are all of you nuts.' "All in favor?" I asked. Cam's hand shot up as I raised mine and Wyatt his. "All opposed?" Nate started to raise his hand before letting it drop.

"I'll round up the troops," Cam was practically jumping with excitement. "Let's gooo!"

He rushed out of the house in a blur. Wyatt got up from the couch and said he was going to get a shower first. Nate stayed on the couch, popping his knuckles before he looked up at me. "Is this a good idea?" he asked.

"It's not…a bad idea," I assured him. "I'll talk to my mom first. Don't worry your pretty little head."

XXXXXXXXX

Wyatt whistled low as he watched me adjust myself in the mirror in our bedroom. Pulling down the tight, black skirt until it hit mid thigh and running hands through my freshly curled hair, I caught his eye behind me. He was in a pair of dark jeans with no shirt on, all of his tattoos exposed. They covered his arms and across his chest and rib cage. "The view from back here…" he commented with an approving nod.

"You are the horniest person I've ever met," I said with a small laugh. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. My entire body relaxed into him, feeling his warmth. "We're doing the right thing?" I asked.

He nodded without question. "Our choices are to live or to freeze," he said. Wyatt's dimples showed themselves as he smiled. "And, if they don't show up, we have the night out that we've already been planning."

If something like this would have happened 5 years ago, it would have been a completely different scenario. We'd be scattered, scared, unorganized. But now that we've all had a chance to grow—especially me—it was easier to organize and prioritize. Once I learned that fighting afraid wasn't going to get me anywhere, everything about the way I was a wolf was completely different.

The pack started to fill our tiny house with their loud voices and boundless energy. Nate came to the door, "Come on, guys, we gotta go," he said and stopped hard when he saw me. "Whoa," his eyebrows flew up. "You actually look good, Lee."

"Why do you sound surprised by that?" I asked, fake offended.

"I just forget you can look like a girl sometimes," he chuckled. "Did you talk to Leah?"

I nodded. "Yeah, we got the go ahead," I told him, shrugging. "It was honestly a little too easy, all things considered. I'm not going to question it."

"Maybe it's a sign of faith that we can handle it," Wyatt grinned.

"Or it's a test," Nate snorted.

"It is definitely a test," I pursed my lips. "I think the fact that the blonde one's pain thing didn't work on me makes her feel better about it."

"Do we have names yet for these bloodsuckers?" Wyatt asked.

I shook my head, "Not yet, I'm working on it. Let's get out of here though; we're losing moonlight."

Wyatt threw on a tight black t shirt before we all filed out of our bedroom. The guys were more excited about a night out than they were excitable about what happened. While we were running back to the res earlier, I heard one of them say "So much for a night off" in their head. Of course, they were worried about Cam, but I get it. They work so hard and then they're hit with these super fast, super old vampires who can cause inconsolable pain with one word, don't get a kill, and their one night off gets called off? It was a lot. So, this way, Nate, Wyatt, and I can handle business, and they get to dance all night.

"Alright, listen up," Wyatt gave a small Alpha order. The babbling noises died down immediately. "The goal is to not draw too much attention to ourselves tonight, alright?"

"We have reason to believe that the vampires we encountered earlier were part of the Volturi," I told them. Hunter and Gabriel shouted 'WHAT' and they all started to get riled up again. "Hush!" It was my turn to pull out an Alpha order. "We will not panic about this. We think they're analyzing us; seeing how strong we are. We don't know why, but I'm hoping we can find that out tonight."

"We should kick their asses!" I heard from the back. August poked his head from the crowd with a comically serious look on his face.

"I thought I told you to stay home, Aug," Wyatt said in a stern voice. His eyes were hard, but I could see right behind them was concern. He could try to hide it all he wanted. Anyone with eyes could see that his brothers were his soft spot. Wyatt didn't feel concerned about himself going to see the Volturi. He was worried that one of his brothers—especially the youngest—would experience that pain.

August rolled his eyes. "I think I'm old enough to hang with the pack at the bars."

"Oh, are you all of a sudden 18?" Wyatt crossed his arms over his chest.

"No, but—,"

"You 21 and I didn't know it?"

August rolled his eyes. "No…"

"Out," Wyatt shook his head.

"Oh, come on!"

"He's right, Aug, you're way too young," I told him. "You gotta sit this one out, bud."

August was so ready to hang with the big dogs, I don't think he always thought through how dangerous things could actually be. He was still learning, still green. He's excitable in that way that could get him hurt and I just didn't want that to ever happen. So, as he sulked out of the house, I chased closely behind him. You can't keep babying him, Lee, Wyatt said.

Just give me a sec, I told him as I grabbed August's arm. He didn't look sad, just annoyed. I was usually the one to help the communication between Wyatt and August. Because it wasn't just Alpha to pack. Or brother to brother. Wyatt helped raise August. It was deeper. "Hold up, August. Not so fast."

"It's fine, Hadley—," he started to pull away from me.

"No, no, no, no, no," I protested, pulling him toward me so I could wrap an arm around his shoulders. I led him to the porch swing and made him sit next to me. "Talk to me, August River."

August's jaw was clenched as he stared straight ahead. "He just keeps treating me like I'm a kid," he finally said. "Like I'm still 10 years old or something."

I rubbed his shoulders as he took a deep breath. To be fair, sometimes I forget he's not 10 years old still too. He and Will were the same age, but when your younger siblings grow up for real, it doesn't feel…well, real. "You're his baby brother," I reminded him.

"I know that, but that doesn't mean he has to…" August groaned a little. Then he turned to me. "I'm a wolf now. Just like you guys. I'm strong, I'm fast…maybe not as strong and fast as you, but I hold my own pretty good, don't I?"

"Of course you do, Aug," I nodded.

"So…if it's work hard, play hard, why can't I play too?"

"Well, you're only 16, first of all," I giggled. "So try to lighten up a little. Second of all, this is more work than play. You saw what happened to Cam today; Wyatt wouldn't—," I paused, "we all wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if you got hurt too. This is real shit; the Volturi won't spare you because you're young. They don't care that you're Wyatt's kid brother. But I do. I care that you're safe."

August looked dejected for a second before he finally nodded in understanding. He still had the same sweet face and kind eyes he's always had. "I get it, I guess," he sighed. "But can you talk to him? I'm not 5 years old."

"I will talk to him, I promise," I agreed as we stood up. I told him to get home safe. "Let me know when you get back, ok?"

"Ok, Lee."

"Love you, Aug," I slipped in for good measure, smirking as he brightened a little.

"More than Wyatt?"

"Way more," I joked.

He flashed a grin at me. It was that same smile that Wyatt would flash at me when he's just gotten his way. "Love you too, Lee."

So we all started packing ourselves (no pun intended) into our cars to go back to Port Angeles. It was a Saturday night. The strip of bars was jam packed with college students and locals and anyone else in desperate need of a break. Wyatt came around to my side of the car as I was sliding out, offering me his arm. He pressed a kiss to my temple as we all gathered. "You're so gorgeous," he rasped in my ear. My heart fluttered a little.

"Let's try to have fun tonight," I told the guys, leaning on Wyatt a little. "There's 10 bars; go wherever you want, just keep an eye out."

"These vamps are the most dangerous so please, for the love of god, don't try to be a hero," Wyatt added.

They all started going their separate ways. "I need a shot and a beer," Cam declared as he, Gabriel, and Hunter split off toward a bar that was blasting EDM. Cam turned back. "Nate, you coming?"

"Yeah, I'm right behind you," he called.

I looked up at him and pouted a little. "Wait, you're not coming with us?" I asked. "Three Musketeers?"

Nate shrugged and bumped me. "You know it's alright that we're not all together all the time, right?"

"Well yeah but—," I started then shut myself up. I wondered if Nate was getting tired of being a third wheel to us sometimes. It had always been the three of us, but now that Wyatt and I were together, I worried that the dynamic changed and I just didn't notice. But I hoped it hadn't changed too much; that wouldn't be great for my plan. I almost missed that subtle look between Wyatt and Nate, not thinking too much of it. It wouldn't hurt to switch things up, I guess. "You're right," I ended up saying. "Go have fun. We'll keep you updated."

"Try to have a good time, kiddos," he said before shoving his hands in his jeans pockets and walking off.

My phone vibrated in my little clutch purse. I pulled it out to see a text from my brother. Yo sis, these vamps are no joke. Their names are Jane and Alec. Twins. They have vamp powers, H. You gotta be careful.

I told Wyatt to give me a second while I text Will back. What kind of powers?

Like pain illusion and sensory deprivation. Real shit. Not like reading minds or something. They do damage.

Alright, thanks, Will.

Wyatt held out a hand to me, "After you," he said as we started toward another bar. It was more chill, mood lighting, the whole nine. My heels clicked with every step with the beat of the music. We went straight to the bar, finding a spot between a group of sorority girls who were trying to take pictures with each other and a couple of guys who looked to be waiting for their dates.

I flagged the bartender, a brunette girl with full floral tattoo sleeves and a double nose piercing. "What can I get for ya?" she asked.

"Two shots of tequila," I started.

"And whatever's on draft for me. A vodka soda for her," Wyatt finished.

"Lemon or lime?" she asked as she started pulling glasses.

"Both," Wyatt answered before I could. My cheeks flushed a little; even the little things about him give me butterflies.

The bartender nodded. "Easy enough. Starting a tab?"

Wyatt put his card down before we grabbed our drinks and found a booth in the back. He rested his arm across the back of the booth, settling himself. Crowds of people were still filing into the bar and they all looked so carefree. I saw a couple of girls look over at Wyatt with bedroom eyes and at me with daggers as we slipped into our booth. But as soon as we were in the booth, everything and everyone felt so far away.

The thing about Wyatt though is that he never notices when people want him. It's not the first time I've caught girls staring at him. And it won't be the last, of course, look at him. But he truly doesn't care. He just took a sip from his beer before moving my hair away from my neck. "It's about time we get some time alone," he commented, playing with my hair.

"What do you mean?" I asked, smiling at him. "We're alone all the time."

"Not like this, not for a while," he told me. He leaned in and ran his nose along the length of my neck. I gasped a little at the contact, feeling my arms start to raise goosebumps. "I know it's not a proper date, but I'll take every second I can get."

I smirked, "Is that why you sent Nathan away?"

"Nate'll be fine," he said nonchalantly before placing tender kisses on my neck. First pretty innocent…then hotter, open mouthed kisses. "Take your shot."

I noticed my hands were shaking a little as I reached for the shot glass on the table. The liquor was strong, warming my entire body from the inside as Wyatt pulled my legs into his lap. The glass hit the wood a little harder than I intended. Only because I was hyper aware of Wyatt's hands sliding up the outside of my thighs as he sucked on the spot behind my ear. "Wyatt…" I whispered.

He shushed me quietly before turning my head to capture my lips. There's something incredible about the way he makes everything quiet for me. Everything. From the bass of the music to the thoughts in my head. With every pass of his tongue, his hand crept up a little higher. Under my skirt. Onto my bare hip. He growled a little. "No panties?"

"Surprised?" I managed to say.

"I shouldn't be," he breathed. "Try to keep quiet."

I just nodded as I swallowed hard. He very slowly opened my legs and when I felt his fingers touch my core, I jumped a little at the contact. I don't know how it always happens like this. Like we're in our own little bubble all the time. His touches were so slow and deliberate over my clit as he started kissing my neck again. My back arched toward him as my breath caught. "I miss you," I heard myself saying.

Huh, maybe he was right. Maybe we hadn't been alone in a while, not really. His fingers moved quicker, with more intensity before he slipped them into me. "Oh my god," I sighed before my head dropped on his shoulder.

"When this is over," he whispered in my ear, "I want us to go somewhere. Just the two of us. Just me and you, Ace."

I couldn't stop the noises from coming out of my mouth. As his other arm wrapped around my waist to bring me closer, I felt myself climbing. "Fuck…" I moaned.

"Take a drink, Ace. Keep your voice down," he ordered. I tried to protest through ragged breaths, but he interrupted me, saying, "Do what I said, Hadley."

I looked over at my vodka soda and managed to gain my composure enough to pick it up and bring it to my lips. It spilled a little, sliding down my chest. But I drank, and kept drinking until I was down to the ice. My eyes squeezed shut as I got closer to climax as I set my glass down. "Wyatt," I moaned. "Please don't stop."

"I feel you, baby," he said. Then he curled his fingers just enough to make me explode. He crashed his lips to mine to quiet me down. My entire body tensed in the most delicious way, shaking and shuttering as I came, then relaxed as I came down. "Good girl."

"Holy shit," I sighed. I kissed him over and over again before resting my head on his shoulder again for a quick second. "That is not what I was expecting," I found myself laughing.

"Honestly, me either," he chuckled then shrugged. "But when the mood strikes…"

I couldn't disagree with that. My eyes wandered back to the table to find my closed fist around shattered glass. I unclenched, seeing a small amount of blood and a couple of shards in my palm. "Ugh, damn…" I said, moving my legs from Wyatt's lap. "I must have crushed it while I was…" I trailed off before shaking my head. "I'll be back."

I pecked his lips before sliding out of the booth. I made my way through the crowd of people toward the bathroom. A few of those sorority girls from the bar were pouring out of the bathroom, all giggles and stumbling in their heels. One of them stopped me and said "Oh my god, you're like goddess gorgeous!" and then walked away.

It's pretty rare that you're the only one in the bathroom at a crowded bar on a Saturday night so when I walked in and didn't see, hear, or smell any humans, I took advantage of the time. Walking over to the sink which sat in front of a windowI started to run the cold water. There was a pretty big shard of glass in my hand; I pulled it out with ease, watching the blood run down and fall into the sink. I cleaned my hand as I tried not to smile about what just happened.

A blur caught my eye in the window right as all of my signals started going off. I knew it wouldn't take much for them to come out. Cutting myself like this wasn't necessarily my plan, but I knew our combined wolf 'stench' would be enough to bring them out. Cutting my hand was just the icing on the cake. Fresh blood? Good. Fresh supernatural blood? Better. Fresh enemy supernatural blood? Cake.

The blur passed again the opposite way. I steeled myself to the sink, waiting. Patiently. A pair of blood red eyes stared at me menacingly through the window right as a draft blew my hair into my face a little. The eyes in the window were attached to a dark headed guy…and the presence behind me belonged to a petite little blonde. I turned around coolly and gave a little smile, "Hi Jane."

She had a very collected look on her face, her mouth settled in an unmoving smirk. "Well, someone's done their research," she commented. She was still dressed in her black robes as if it was completely normal. "It's about time we met."

"I agree, it's long overdue," I said sarcastically. "You gonna call off your guard leech?"

"As soon as you call off your attack dog," she shrugged. I knew Wyatt was close by, I could feel it. Tense. Ready to burst in any second. Hell no, I'm not leaving, he projected to me immediately. "I'd hate to do to your little boyfriend what I did to your friend."

"It's a good thing we bounce back fast," I quipped. I'll let you know the second something's wrong. Just get somewhere safer, I told him. He tried to protest, but I shut my wall too quick for him to get another word in. "Your little trick was cute though. Pain illusion. I'd never seen that before from one of you."

She didn't say anything. She just made a small hum sound as she looked me up and down. Like she scanned my entire body from the tiny hairs on top of my head down to my toes. She waved a hand to dismiss Alec from the window. Jane was almost unshakable. It was a little intimidating. But I can play unshakable too. "Looks like we're both one of a kind then," she said in her velvet voice. She hasn't blinked once. Not one single time. "Relax, I'm not here to hurt you."

"Somehow, I find that hard to believe."

Jane looked around the restroom for a second as she said, "If that was the intention, it would have been done," she stated.

"That's feeling hard to believe too, Jane," I threw back at her. "Your little power didn't work on me, remember?"

"Yes, I remember very well," she said, almost an impressive twinkle in her eye. "Now, are we going to have a real chat or are we just going to keep doing this back and forth? I bore easily."

I pursed my lips as my eyebrow raised, defiantly. "Why are you here?"

She clasped her hands in front of her. "To see you."

"You know me." It wasn't a question.

"Of course." She stepped forward and I could hear her shoes clack on the hardwood floors. "I knew your parents too, once. Your mother was the dog with the attitude problem and your father was the idiot who took on a newborn by himself to save her."

I'd seen that memory before. Half of Dad's body got crushed by that newborn and Carlisle Cullen had to come break all of his bones to reset them. My least favorite part of being able to see people's memories? Feeling the way they remember excruciating pain. "And now they're two of the most powerful shapeshifters in the world. What's your point?"

The corners of her mouth twitched upward. "But not as powerful as you," she said. "Isn't that right?"

I didn't say anything. What could I say to that?

"I'm sure I'm not the first person to say that we've been watching you for a while," she started. "Your, uh, existence has caused quite a stir for my kind. They think you're some kind of oversized monster. But when I first saw you, you were just a normal girl, putting on your lipgloss in a rear view mirror and…laughing. I didn't think monsters laughed. Isn't that interesting?"

"Do you laugh, Jane?" I asked, leaning into the implication hard.

She just smirked. "Rarely."

"What do you want?"

"I have a proposition for you," she said as she circled me.

I snorted. "What could we possibly do for each other?"

Jane stopped in front of me, her stench burning my nose, and mine no doubt burning hers. But one of us has to breathe and the other doesn't. "There's been something of a shift in power as of late in Volterra. Aro and those other idiots wouldn't know a good idea if it lit them on fire. Working for them is growing tiresome. Like I said, I bore easily."

…what the fuck is happening?

"If you would like to know, they are currently, very clumsily, crafting a plan of attack to take out half of the shapeshifters in the world. Someone let those morons get a hold of those idiotic Marvel movies. Go figure." She rolled her eyes. "It'll be something of a World War III."

"That's…horrible," I said, a little caught off guard. "That can't happen. Wait, you work for the Volturi; what do you need me for?"

"Their plan is so ill-advised, my counterparts and I refuse to take part in it. What he doesn't understand is that if he continues to throw our own kind at shapeshifters, we will lose more of our kind than yours." Did she just admit that shapeshifters are stronger than vampires? "Actually, I've made the decision to overthrow Aro and anyone else under his thumb. They'll be dead within the month.

"I've been envisioning a new future for all of us. One that isn't so bleak or blood stained. One where we can all…work together." The twinkled in her eye was making me uneasy.

"Work together?" I repeated.

"Yes, of course," she nodded. "I can offer you something you can't refuse."

"And what's that?"

"Power," she said simply. "Your power can transcend the waters—the lands—the skies. You can work for me, Hadley Black. I want you and your pack of dogs to come be the fiercest soldiers of the new era of the Volturi. You could rule with an iron fist. Free to kill any vampire that dares step out of line. It'll be revolutionary."

I stepped back in shock, but tried not to move my face. "You can't be serious."

Jane locked eyes with me and said, "Oh, I'm very serious. We're not here on Volturi business. We're here to build the muscle to overthrow them."

XXXXXXXXX

I was following my mom around the house while she cleaned up. She was in a quiet fury, I knew she was cleaning to stop herself from hunting Jane down herself. "She has this whole plan to use us to kill the actual Volturi and take over in their place," I told her, panicked.

"What else did she say, honey?" Dad asked. He was white knuckle gripping the back of a kitchen chair.

"I-I told her that I absolutely refuse to be any part of that kind of sick plan. And she told me I'd regret that. Like super ominous."

Mom shook her head, "God, I can't believe this is happening again," she muttered under her breath. "What does that mean 'regret'?"

I could hear Jane's voice clear as day in my head. It's very simple, Hadley. If you refuse, we have very effective ways to make you. I shuddered. "When I asked her what ways, she just did that creepy smile and she blurred out," I told them. Mom let out a harsh breath as she scrubbed the table a little too hard. "Mama," I said as I grabbed her hand to make her look at me. "They have done nothing but study their superiors and then study us to see if they can pull this off. And they're willing to do anything to make this happen. And when they're done, they want to own us like pets."

The front door swung open and Wyatt and Nate came in with a look of concern on their faces. "You guys need to see this," Wyatt said, shaking his head.

They walked into the living room. Wyatt turned on the television and flipped until it reached the news.

"It's a rough day for Peninsula College today. Five college students go missing after a seemingly normal night out on the town," the blonde news reporter announced. "The five teens were last seen on the Port Angeles strip late last night. After missing sorority curfew and a few unanswered calls, the Peninsula College administration made the decision to file a missing persons report for Owen Adams, Landon Rich, Emma Cox, Diana Waters, and Pete Wilkinson. If anyone has any information on any of these students, please call the number you see below."

"Wait for it," Nate said.

"In other news for the university, two students found after a vicious animal attack!" We all stood up straighter. I told Wyatt to turn the volume up. "Chloe White and Jack Rudder were found on the campus football field with extensive injuries. They've been rushed to the hospital and are currently on life support. Now let's jump to Walter with the weather…"

Wyatt turned the tv off and set the remote down as the dreadful realization washed over all of us. "It's starting," I said.

"So what do we do? Do we kill them?" Mama asked Dad. "We'd have to track them, ambush—."

"No, that's not—," I started.

"I mean…maybe. It's definitely an option. Round up the strongest we've got and—." Dad started to ramble.

"Guys!" I exclaimed to get their attention. "We're not risking any of our family for this right now, ok? We don't know the ammunition they've got. There could be some kind of domino effect in place where we kill them and their kind come for us ten times harder. We don't need that right now."

"Shit, you're right," Mama said, running a hand through her hair. "Shit, shit, shit…"

Dad sighed. "I mean…we knew they were coming."

"Not like this, Jacob. This isn't just natural enemy territory anymore. This is…" Mama paused. "This is diabolical."

Dad started to massage Mama's shoulders affectionately. He shot me a sympathetic look before guiding her out of the room. Definitely not out of ear shot at all. He just kept telling her over and over again that it would be alright. "No, Jacob, the Volturi guard just cornered our kid and told her they want to enslave us. And now they're starting to turn—and feed on—innocent people. Are they building a newborn army? Are we having to do this again?! Nothing about this is ok!"

"Yes, you're right, it's not ok," Dad agreed. "But Hadley has her head on straight. She's thinking this through. Kaya told us years ago that she would be the one to march us forward when this happened. We need to let her take the lead on it."

"'Take the lead'?! She's—"

"An adult, Lee," Dad finished for her.

Mama sighed and I could smell the salt from her tears immediately. "She's our baby, Jacob," Mama said with a strained voice. "Running the pack is cake for her, but this?"

"It's what she was born to do, baby," he said.

"God, I hate when you say that," she huffed. "She was not born to be a martyr; she's our daughter. Human first, remember?"

Wyatt popped a kiss on top of my head. I couldn't stop staring at the closed door though. "I understand why you're upset, honey," Dad said, lowering his voice. "But the problem is here. We can't just ignore it away. We have to let her do this her way. Because, like it or not, Hadley's the strongest we've got."

They were really quiet for a long time. Then the door opened; I felt my back straighten as my parents walked back into the kitchen. Mom's eyes were a little red and glassy from crying. Dad held a hand on her lower waist with a serious look on his face. He met each of our eye before speaking. "We're trusting you guys to head this charge," he said. "We know Hadley's strength and we know how well the three of you work together. So we will step in when we feel we need to. But, for now, we're all ears. What do you got?"

I glanced at the boys and they both nodded. We had spent the rest of the night talking about it. As soon as I left that bar bathroom, we rushed home to safe land, wired on the energy. Wyatt was all for an ambush, to be expected. Nate and I had to bring him back to something more tactical.

So I looked at my parents and said, "There's strength in numbers. I think if we can show Jane and her leeches that we won't just take this lying down, then we can get them to back off. If they want to go to war, then we'll be ready."

"If we can spread the word enough, we could have close to 150 to 200 shifters between here and Georgia," Nate chimes in.

"Will's already mapped out every single pack across the country," Wyatt added. "We were thinking about visiting a few in the next few days, but, with these missing students and…'animal attacks,' I'm thinking we need to leave tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, I agree," I nodded, turning to him. "We can get to Georgia in maybe 4 or 5 days, turn and burn."

"Georgia?" Mama asked, before she realized. "Travis."

I shrugged, "It's about time we put this mirror thing to the test, don't you think?"

"Now or never," she sighed, rubbing her face. "Alright, guys…you have two weeks. Any longer than that, we will find you and bring you home. What can we do while you're gone?"

"Just hold down the fort," I told her, giving her a small sad smile. And as afraid as she looked, I knew she trusted we'd come back.

XXXXXXXXX

"That seems dangerous, Hadley bug," Grandma said.

Mom insisted that I let the Council know what was going on and our plan. Actually, I had asked Mama if she could go with me for an extra safety net and she said that we didn't need it.

"We've already coordinated with the senior pack to make sure everything is taken care of while we're gone," I told her. I was willing myself to only speak in statements, not questions. Keep your ground. I was standing behind a sitting Wyatt, my hands gripping the back of the chair to keep them from drumming nervously.

"Who will be going?" she asked.

"Just us three," Wyatt said, gesturing to me and Nate. "Jacob and Leah will look over the rest of the junior pack while we're gone."

"I don't know how I feel about this. I still think you're too young to go out on your own," Grandpa shook his head.

"That's why we're not asking you…" I stated with all of the confidence in my voice, "we're telling you. We leave first thing in the morning whether you approve or not."

I didn't think I would get that little twinkle of approval from Grandpa. I expected for him to become a complete stone and put his foot down the way he always had. But, instead, I saw him look at me with something like admiration. Was that the key to all of this this whole time? Doing and not asking? Making the decisions that I knew were right and not taking no for an answer? Asking forgiveness instead of permission?

If all of this frustration and back and forth could have been resolved by me just putting forth my own decisions instead of asking for permission like a 10 year old, I would have done it years ago. "You'll need money," was all Grandpa said, "for food, hotel rooms; a map; do you need a car; protection—how will you protect yours—?"

"Grandpa," I said softly. My heart was squeezing as I watched him try to make sense of what was going on. This was serious, the real deal. We weren't just little kids anymore who needed to be saved from the big bad world. We needed to take the world and use it the way we needed to. "You've prepared us for this. We're ready."

He sighed, "I just feel a little out of my league here," he said.

"Never," I shook my head. "I would trust no one else to keep us safe the way you have."

"You're our babies," Grandma Sue said as she came to hug me. I leaned into her; she smelled like roses and vanilla. "We're supposed to protect you forever."

"I think it's about time that we protect you," Wyatt chimed in. "It is our job."

I nodded in agreement before remembering something, "Speaking of our job," I said, turning to the boys, "can I have a second with Grandma and Grandpa? I'll meet you guys at the house?"

"Sure," Nate said, ruffling my hair before they both left.

I led my grandparents to the living room, pushing Grandpa to his favorite spot. I sat on the couch next to Grandma Sue and entwined our hands. I thanked them for trying to understand what we were trying to do and for realizing how important this was for all of us. "I know it's not easy," I said, "and I don't want you all to think that we're disregarding your feelings about it. And I wanted to know how you felt about something that I've been sitting on for a while."

"What's up, love bug?" Grandma pressed.

I took a deep breath. It would be the first time I'd be saying it out loud. Kaya knew, but even she didn't say it out loud when she was here. No one else had a clue. But I felt it so deep in my soul that it was the best thing we could do for the future of our pack. "I want me, Wyatt, and Nate to Blood Bond when we come back," I announced. And in the words of Taylor Swift: I'd never heard silence quite this loud.