Disclaimer: The Twilight book series and all recognizable characters and situations belong to Stephanie Meyer I don't own any of that. But I do so love her stage.

**Please see the authors note at the end of this chapter for info and acknowledgements*****

Anything written in italics is a flashback, random thought, or text message depending on the context.

What once was lost now is found.

Leah's Pov

One week later

William R. Fairchild
International Airport
Port Angeles Washington

It was almost dark when I got into Port Angeles. I checked my cell phone as I walked off of the airplane, two missed texts, from Seth and Dario.

Seth: Sis, Collin's picking you up He has my truck.

Dario: Hi doc text me when you get this no matter how late.

I tapped a few keys and hit send.

Me: Hey you I just got off the plane.

Dario: Guess who's in your area?

Me: Santa Claus?

Dario: Coinin!

Yea like I'm going to fall for that!

Me: That's cruel teasing me like that!

Dario: No He's really in Forks. Want his number? I can text you're going to look him up.

Dario: you two could meet up. Maybe you'll use those black lacy things!

He was never going to let me live that down! To him our misadventures in bed became a big joke.

Me: What did you tell him about me?

Dario: Nothing yet I'm going to let you sweat. Not really haven't talked to him, he left town in a hurry.

Me: You don't know what this means to me!

Dario: Yes I do! Here's his number 555-0174.

I went to the baggage claim and collected my luggage before making my way outside. A silver Jeep Gladiator with custom chrome hubcaps pulled up next to me. I saw Collin lean over and push the passenger door open.

He looked stocky even for a shifter, his hair was in tight curls that reminded me of an Afro. I threw my luggage in the back and climbed into the cab. Collin one arm hugged me. "Leah welcome back," he said.

"Look at you all grown up." I teased.

"I hope you had a good flight," he said maneuvering into the traffic.

"Yes I did," I said.

He turned on the radio and started to flip through the channels.

"Do you know what this is all about?" I asked quietly.

"All I know is Jake called called this urgent meeting with the elders. Quil and Brady are involved. Sam won't let them patrol with anyone because he's worried they will let something slip. Jake was supposed to stay in New Hampshire for another month," he mumbled.

"It's weird for them to be so secretive," I said.

He sighed, "It gets worse Sam and Jacob spent all day Monday down at the Makah reservation. Now a group of Makah's are coming to the cookout tomorrow."

"Wait, I thought this was pack business," I said.

"It's supposed to be, I don't know how the Makah fit into it," he replied.

This was starting to get frustrating. "Well I guess we'll find out tomorrow," I said.

"I'm dropping you off at your new place right?" He asked.

I looked at my watch, "Yes I want to unwind a bit and see everything."

Shortly after the Volturi confrontation, Jacob purchased a winning lottery ticket. He used his jackpot to help Sam start a company, "Uley & Brothers Construction" to employ the pack. He also set up college funds for all of us. I know the Cullens secretly contributed to that.

We drove past a familiar sign, "The Quileute Tribe Welcomes You to La Push." Collin started pointing out the new development in town including a large three story building, the Carlisle R Cullen Community Center. Just across the street was the remodeled and expanded tribal council complex.

Collin headed to a residential area. He turned onto a partial dirt road leading to a small complex with several duplexes in various stages of renovation. It was adjacent to a family park with new picnic tables and barbeque pits.

Last year the tribal council voted to restore these apartments to house the pack. Collin parked in front of a completed unit with my old Dodge Neon in the driveway. Some empty paint cans had been placed on the side of the porch near the door. "This is nice," I said looking around.

"Yea, business is booming for Uley & Brothers. They're doing a great job with these," he said.

He walked around to the back of the truck and reached for my luggage. "I can smell your mother's cooking from out here," he said. As if on cue the door opened and my mom came out walking over to hug me. Seth joined us dressed in shorts and flip flops with paint splatters on his skin. "Hi Lee," He gave me a hug.

"Oh honey let your brother do that," my mom said pointing to my luggage. She wrapped an arm around me and led me inside.

My apartment was medium sized. It opened directly into the living room with an eat-in kitchen to the left. Someone had placed a Fulton covered with a handmade quilt against the wall. The only other furniture was a big screen TV and a fold out card table in the kitchen area.

All neutral colors and big windows made the room seem larger. My boxes of belongings shipped from Arizona were neatly stacked in the empty bedroom. The place was perfect for me. "We have been working hard all day to finish things," my mom said proudly.

Quil stayed for dinner. Mom served my favorite chicken soup, crusty garlic bread and dark beer. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching TV.

Morning arrived and I was almost late for the meeting. I drove along the deserted road leading to the "Uley & Brothers warehouse located on the edge of La Push. Several trucks and a couple of cars were parked on either side of the street in front of the building. I parked behind Seth's jeep. I heard the bustle of people as I walked across the small parking lot, pulled open the side door and stepped in.

The small warehouse was almost empty. On one side of the space several rolls of chairs were arranged in a semi-circle. A long table piled with refreshments stood near the wall. Across the space a shelving unit stacked with shorts, tank tops and flip flops stood near the open industrial bay doors.

People mingled in small groups. My mom, the imprints and Billy were huddled near the table whispering. Quil and Brady were standing a little apart from the rest of the pack. I waved at everyone before looking around for a seat.

Quil saw me and nudged Brady who craned his neck to look at me. I walked over to them.

Brady smirked at me, "Don't try to pump us for information Leah we're not talking."

"Hum...good morning to you too. This is an interesting place," I replied.

Brady winked at me, "Sam keeps it almost empty in case someone phases!"

I thought he was joking at first but soon realized he was serious.

"What!?" I said.

Quil said, "There's enough room in here if someone gets angry and phases." He waved his hand around.

Brady said, "Yea Emily got tired of us wrecking her furniture. We still meet at their house to eat and hang out sometimes. But when the twins were born Sam moved our official pack meetings here."

"Is this meeting likely to cause us to phase?" I asked fishing for answers.

Both of them stared at me in silence.

Paul walked in pocketing his cell phone before addressing us, "Good morning Black-Uley pack. Please be seated we will be starting soon".

"Check out Paul acting all professional," I teased.

Most of the pack started snickering.

Paul rolled his eyes "I'm just being a good beta," he retorted.

If Jacob decided to take over as Alpha, Sam would drop to beta. That would leave the second beta position open for Paul and me to fight over.

Collin started whistling the showdown tune from that western, "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly". Even the elders laughed. Billy cleared his throat, "We better get to our places. The room was quiet, each of us focused on our own thoughts when Sam entered.

"It's about time you got here! Everyone's been beside themselves with questions. It's all I've been hearing about for the last few days," Paul announced loudly.

Sam stopped and faced everyone. He said, "Good Morning, We invited you here today for some important announcements which affect all of us. I am pleased to say our family has grown. Not because the kids of La Push have started phasing again, or one of us has imprinted; but rather we have met others like us shape shifters, protectors for each other and humanity."

The room grew silent, the tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. My pack brothers began scanning the room.

"Others like Children of The moon?" Paul asked with a slight frown.

Sam said, "No, no, these are shape shifters like us. We have learned there are other packs all over the world."

"Well, I'll be dammed," Embry sighed.

Jared voiced what most of us were thinking, "What? How? What happened?"

Sam said, "When a shifter first phases he instinctively joins the nearest pack. That's what happened here. It's just a coincidence that he phased in our territory." He set his eyes on me expectantly and said with a smile, "Everyone meet Coinin Hemming."

Wait, who? He's a shifter? Time seemed to slow and I watched Jacob walk through the door followed by Old Quil, Coinin and two unfamiliar men. My previous conversation with Brady and Quil began to make more sense. "Don't try to pump us for information Leah we're not talking." Is this what he meant?

I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Leah! You can't pursue him! His imprint is out there somewhere! All eyes were on me with expressions ranging from anticipation to worry. I plopped back down on the chair, hopefully the look of disbelief painted on my face hid my true emotions.

I closed my eyes tightly trying to regain my bearings. Remember your yoga training! Breath in and out, center yourself. I opened my eyes again surprised to find Jacob, Seth, Embry and Collin had formed a wall of muscle around me.

Jacob stooped down to my eye level. "Leah I know this is a lot to take in right now. But, promise me you'll be OK, he said. I smiled at him and nodded. He stood and reached down to help me up, "Come meet Coinin."

"We already met," I whispered even though every shifter in the room could hear me.

Jacob gave me a knowing look, as he pulled me to my feet.

Now that reality hit me in the face, I realized how close to opening myself to heartbreak I had actually come. The chemistry between Coinin and I felt phenomenal. Now my greatest fear was whether I could force myself to stay away from him.

"Jacob, I've had a lot of excitement lately, graduation, visiting New York, moving. I felt overwhelmed for a minute there. I'll be fine," I explained.

"I understand just take it slow," he advised.

The atmosphere markedly lightened as the pack brothers broke apart and Coinin stepped up. I was acutely aware that Jacob stayed glued to my side.

"Hi Coinin," I said quietly. His face broke out into a playful grin. "Hi Leah would you care for some coffee?" he asked. And just like that the tension was broken. I tried to act natural ignoring the hornet's nest in the room, Imprinting.

Sam cleared his throat, "Everyone meet our guest."

I hadn't really paid attention to the unfamiliar men who had entered with Jacob. I was startled to realize they also were shifters.

Sam introduced Earl Bishop Alpha of the Makah pack, who stood a little taller than Jacob. He was wearing black jeans and motorcycle boots. His short dark hair was spiked up with gel, his arms covered in tribal tattoos. He was cute. If he wasn't wearing that imprinted look, I may have looked twice.

Jacob introduced Adam Lightfoot First Beta of Pack Hemming, who looked to be in his late twenty's. His piercing brown eyes scanned the crowd resting briefly on my mom before moving on past. They stopped and went right back to her. Those eyes lit up and he looked startled before blinking rapidly. All of this happened so fast I would have missed it if I wasn't staring right at him.

"Are there many female shifters?" I blurted out excited at the prospect of having girl friends that I could relate to.

Jacob hesitated and said, "No, our guests will be happy to answer all of your questions. But, right now let's be seated. I want to turn the floor over to the elders who have prepared a statement".

Old Quil stood up, "On behalf of the elders, we are pleased to welcome our guests. Alpha's Uley and Black, Protectors, we support all decisions and alliances you make for the benefit of our people. Beta Lightfoot you have the floor."

Adam stepped forward. His eyes slid over to my mom and he smiled at her. She blushed. Are they flirting?

He started to speak with a European accent, "Hello Black-Uley Pack. We are honored to stand before you to present an overview of our society. Alpha Bishop will start with us the Canis shifters.

Earl Bishop said, "Most packs consist of four to eight shifters with an alpha on top, followed by his beta and third. The alpha is supported by a council, tribal or otherwise who advises him. These councils balance the power of the alpha. They monitor fair usage of the Jeroise Pact of 2005, which is a shifter bill of rights. They also record and maintain the history of the pack."

Jacob said, "This can be handy when a pack goes dormant like ours. Our elders recognized the signs and knew we were about to start phasing again."

Earl Bishop said, "In larger countries pack territories are divided in to regions overseen by an elected group of True Alpha's. These are our law enforcement. They mediate disputes between different packs. They mobilize reinforcement teams to areas experiencing high vampire activity. They reign in rogue alpha's who override their councils. They report directly to the First Alpha of their jurisdiction."

Jacob added, "A First Alpha is the shifter who represents his country at The Round Table, an alliance of Canis shifters from around the world. They are our Parliament. They report to the Council of Four."

Adam said, "The Council of Four is the top ruling body of the shifter world. It's made up of four individuals. The Alpha Rex, The Felidae Rex, The Aves Rex, and one elected member currently Dr. Julia Andrews. They are ultimately responsible for all of us."

"Wow we have kings?" asked Seth.

Adam replied, "Yes currently our Alpha Rex is Matthew Hemming."

Emily gasped, "Wait isn't he the King of Lucacini?"

Rachel said, "Oh yea he's that recluse who's rarely photographed because of some deformity. I remember him wearing a mask for his coronation, what three years ago?"

Adam laughed a pleasing sound, "The Council of Four Insisted on the mask. High Alpha Hemming didn't agree with it. But, we can't have the whole world realize the king doesn't age now can we?" he asked.

Seth asked, "Is the whole royal family shifters?"

Earl Bishop said, "Most but not all of them are. Pack Hemming is the shifter branch of the royal family. If the heir to the throne does not phase, he or she may elect to relinquish the crown to the next shifter in the line of succession. This is always a High Alpha but more often a Rex."

"A Rex Alpha?" I asked.

"The Rex or King Alpha is descended from the first shifters. He or she if it's a Regina is born to rule all shifters. If a Rex or Regina emerges outside of the Hemming line of succession, he or she rules the shifter packs, not the country as an uncrowned monarch," Adam replied.

"Why do you call Matthew Hemming High Alpha instead of Rex?" asked Jacob.

Adam said, "In the absence of a True Rex the High Alpha reigns as king. In these cases the Rex is a courtesy title. High Alpha Hemming may still emerge as the next True Rex. However, there are other contenders. True Alpha Cevin Eryin is one. Interestingly enough there is an outsider who has a minuscule chance of emerging as Rex."

"Who is this outsider?" I asked.

Adam locked eyes with me. "Ipsa domina Lupus, or the she-wolf such as yourself are ultra-rare among the Canis shifters. So rare in fact most Packs live out their lives without ever meeting one. Miss Clearwater you inherited wolf genes from both of your parents. So has every other Regina in our history. You have a chance of emerging as a contender," he replied.

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. It just makes my day to hear from you. Also thanks to everyone who is reading, favoring, and following this story. I appreciate each and every one of you.

Next Chapter:(Diplomatic Relations) Drama unfolds when the La Push wolves meet the Makah Pack, Hard decisions are announced, and the La Pushed wolves will be shocked to learn the truth about imprinting.

Disclaimer: I goggled the welcome to La Push sign so credit goes to whoever designed the sign. I just thought it would be cool to add some authentic flavor to this. The original sign had other stuff on it like Oceanside resort and marina to much to put in here. Also the title of this chapter is a play on the song "Amazing Grace".