A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.

Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!

Thanks everyone who reviewed, I love you guys!

As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, and twihardcaligurl. They are fantastic worth taking the time to read.

On a different note, I watched the Transformers sequel tonight and for those of you that don't know, the girl that Krista's image comes from is in it. I don't think I caught anything that was going on in the film because the whole time I just kept thinking, damn…if Krista really were like that, she would eat Levi alive! I swear, his reaction would rival preteen Randy's when he saw Soli at the Halloween party dressed as a cat.

Anyways, thanks yay4shangai for being so fabulously fashionable and basically the best beta ever!

Advice and Should Have Been

22 June 2041

One foot. That's all the farther I got. I had one foot on the driveway, the other still in the street, when the front door crashed open and I was faced with my furious sister. She was a sight to behold. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides, below the shorts I assumed she inherited from Soli, and her eyes flayed me where I stood frozen. All communication between my brain and lower limbs ceased. Electricity seemed to crackle around her. The sun was just beginning to set and the intense purples and pinks only served to enhance the impression.

"What the hell?! Where have you been?" She was screaming as she signed, stomping the full length of the driveway to meet me when I didn't approach her position in the doorway fast enough.

I cringed seeing that she was shouting; she only ever directed a yell my way when she was worried or too excited not to. Somehow, be it the questions or her appearance, I doubted it was the second option. It didn't matter that I could not hear the volume she used, it was the fact that she used it. I really hadn't meant to worry her. I just didn't want to take time away from watching Krista or have to answer the questions Melody was sure to ask.

She was directly in front of me now and the air around her really did seem to sizzle. Standing this close I could see that her expression wasn't anger, but fear. Her eyes were too rounded and her mouth too shaped like a frown to express rage. I leaned away slightly furrowing my brow further when she took a deep breath; apparently, she wasn't through hollering at me yet.

"Well? It's been over a week since I've seen you. What have you been doing?" She jabbed me in the chest twice when she was done, hard. Then, before I could react, started right back in again, 'I stopped by the house for dinner three different times and you weren't there. I've been worried sick.' She was calmer now, only signing the last part, but taking very deliberate measured breaths. Her stance was still close enough that I felt each exhale of warm air wash over my face. My eyes didn't leave her hands, waiting for more, but none came—my turn then.

'I've been around,' I signed evasively, not quite ready to tell her. I looked up in time to see her eyes flare; she didn't like that answer. I didn't have to wait long to find out why.

'That more than dad would tell me when I asked and mom wouldn't say a word about it—I'm not buying it. I want some answers,' putting her hands on her hips after she was done and tapping her foot pointedly.

She still looked a little scared and I knew how much she hated to show any fear. We both clung to the other more since loosing Devlin and often jumped to the worst conclusions imaginable that only the physical presence of the other could reassure. It made me feel horrible that I had let my activities and insecurities prevent me from visiting Melody sooner and as a result caused the fear she had endured, but I still didn't want to have this discussion outside.

'Inside…please,' I signed to her with a pleading look. She looked me over before nodding, then without preamble turned and marched back into Taylor's house.

I followed her into his brightly lit family room and took a seat in one of the matching overstuffed chairs across from the couch where Mel stiffly sat down next to Taylor. He immediately began rubbing soothing circles on her back and gave me a small smile and nod hello which I returned. Melody just watched me, waiting. Her expression was blank, but I could sense relief and anxiety warring within her, just below the surface. Massaging the back of my neck, here goes nothing, I thought before exhaling a heavy sigh.

'I imprinted.' The direct approach worked with our parents, so I figured it was my best bet with her too. Tay's smile was instantaneous, but Mel just sat there assessing me for a minute.

'What's wrong? What happened?' She finally signed looking concerned. This reaction shocked me entirely.

I shouldn't have been so surprised. I was expecting her to be angry I hadn't told her right away, to feel betrayed. I was anticipating excitement, perhaps followed by an inquisition. I was imagining how painful it was going to be telling her how scared I was and crushing her enthusiasm because there was nothing to be happy about and might never be. That was how I assumed this conversation would go, but I shouldn't have.

Sometimes I forgot just how well Melody knew me. I just recalled that a minute ago when I realized I had scared her, but somehow I didn't remember it when I envisioned this moment. How protective she was, and as a result, how she always put my feelings above her own. She always had, but since Devlin died I doubted there was anything I could do that would make her angrier at me than be worried about me. And she always seemed to be able to read my mind, like now for instance.

'Did you think I would be angry at you for not telling me right away like I told you?' She signed trying to lighten things up after realizing I could not get into the real problem just yet. Taylor reclined back to let us have this time and enjoy the show. Mel leaned somewhat towards me then crossed her legs before daintily folding her hands in her lap trying, and failing, to look innocent and inquisitive.

'Excuse me? I'm not sure it happened that way,' I signed back with a raised brow and slightly inclined head. Mel waved my words away like they had left a foul odor in the air between us.

'I don't know what you're talking about, of course it did,' she signed back adapting an expression of mixed confusion and righteousness that actually managed to hid her grin—for about five whole seconds.

'As I recall, it was Devlin that told me—you were too busy kissing and staring at Taylor,' signed back making both occupants of the couch blush and smile widely at the very accurate account.

I might have been the oldest and first triplet to phase that night, but I had the hardest time phasing back afterwards. It had been overwhelming to suddenly hear other's voices in my head and confusing to try and make sense of the words right away. So while I was trying to adjust, Dev managed to phase back followed shortly by Mel. Taylor was there instantly to take care of her.

Devlin refused to leave me, but watched as Tay carried Mel away from the annual New Year's party at the Uley house planning to take her home. It was just before sunrise at this point and they did not get very far before it happened. From his position in the yard, Dev saw the whole thing and raced back to my side recounting it for me.

Unlike most brothers were after an imprint involving their sister, we were as thrilled as we could be while dealing with the aches and pains that came with the initial transformation. We had grown up seeing firsthand how devoted Taylor was and how much he loved Melody and this made her happy so we were ok with it. She was dealing with enough other physical changes that we didn't want to make things harder for her by being the overprotective older brothers. It did get harder to keep that up after sharing a mind with them the first time, being so disgustingly lovey dovey and all.

I came crashing back to the present in Taylor's living room when Mel suddenly understood and questioned, 'And you haven't been. That's the problem isn't it?'

'I haven't even met her yet,' I confessed, watching my hands as I signed instead of who I was addressing. I was too ashamed to look up right away, but when I did, they were looking at each other, conversing in their private language with looks in lieu of words. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and they looked back at me when they noticed my movement.

'Have you tried,' Tay slowly, and perhaps a little timidly, inquired.

'I can't. I don't think she knows sign language,' I signed letting them know with a wince. I had prepared myself for that question, but I hated it all the same. I felt more pathetic by the second. I was a failure. Fate was having a joke at my expense, because no other wolf had the problem where it wasn't even possible to talk to their imprint.

'Are you going to try so you know for sure?' I had prepared myself for his follow up question as well. No, of course not. I am currently beating myself up because I plan on spending the rest of my days pining away for the one person a mystical wolfie force has determined I'll ever be able to love on the off chance she does know how to sign… but I was too chicken shit to find out. I was already so frustrated with myself about everything that, that was the sarcastic retort I had to clench my fists, until I felt the biting sting of my nails digging into my palms, in order to prevent forming. I suppose my expression or posture said it for me because Tay held his hands up in mock defense before him then signed, 'sorry—just checking.'

Mel must have been thinking along the same line as me because she rolled her eyes and pushed Tay back into the sofa cushions again then came back with, 'so what's your game plan?'

'I don't know…I, well I…,' there were so many ways I wanted to end that sentence, so many possibilities and I didn't seem to be capable of revealing a single one. Instead, I dropped my face into hands with my elbows propped on my thighs. Why couldn't things just be easy for once? I'm not sure how much time past, but I doubt it was even a minute before I felt Melody pry my hands away so I could see her kneeling on the rug in the space between me and the coffee table.

'Levi…talk to me. Please tell me what you're thinking—what's really worrying you,' she signed, her eyes imploring me to confide in her. She and Taylor were the only two I felt comfortable spilling my guts to like this, so taking a few deep breaths of her reassuring summer sun scent, I went for it.

'I don't even know where to start…I want to know her, I want her to know me, but how? I can just imagine how disturbing that would be for her—some random guy making crude hand gestures in her face…she wouldn't even get it. Any attempt to communicate would just get too frustrating and things won't work out…then what?

'And no, no translator. That's the worst. What's that going to make her think? Hi, I want you to fall in love with me, but I still need help talking. Can you tell her I want to try a relationship between the three of us? Yep…that's right. I can't even tell you myself that I'm interested. That is just so completely awkward. You know I don't do small talk…and she's shy, so what—we just stand there? I already know her well enough to know she won't like that—it'll embarrass her too much.

'Oh god…what if she did actually go for it—just out of pity? How could I know she didn't just feel sorry for me? Pathetic me that just stands there, no clue what to say…watching her getting to know one of you guys? That would be torture…like staring at a glass of water when you're dying of thirst…

'How can you actually get to know someone like that anyways? There is always a middle man that way—things could get lost or mixed up…then it's ruined. Nothing would be private or intimate. You'd be telling a secret that someone is listening in on…how can you form a bond like that? It's…it's like having a chaperone. Why would she want that…when she could so easily have something normal?' It was a jumbled mess, like word vomit, full of incomplete thoughts and fragmented sentences that hopped around. The worst part was I knew there was more, but I was panting as if I had actually just verbalized all of that and I was too drained to continue.

I'm not sure if they caught it all or not, I just had to release it and they let me. Actually, it was highly unlikely that they did catch it all, even with heightened senses, but I know they got the gist of it.

I watched Taylor and Melody as they processed what I just revealed, positive it would take a minute for them to sort through all of it. At first I was worried I would regret sharing that, but I ended up being so grateful when neither of them looked at me with pity or even sympathy, they merely looked thoughtful. I was certain they were trying to configure an alternative solution to having a translator and I loved them so much for it.

I did acknowledge one other thing, sort of irrelevant at this point, but even with all that and how complicated it was making things, I didn't resent being deaf, nor did I wish I wasn't. I wished for an easy solution, but not to be able to hear, I never had and never would and that was okay with me.

Melody's waving hand brought my attention back to her, then signed, 'so I know…I mean, I doubt you'll want to, but what about just telling her then letting her choose? You know, seeing if she wants to try a translator or wants to learn sign language?' She finally concluded looking very unsure of my reaction, but hopeful nonetheless.

'What if she doesn't think I'm worth the effort?' I didn't pause to think before asking, just let my hand form the words and shared the question that I recognized as a central basis for my fears and as the root of my earlier meltdown.

'She won't think that.' Mel looked so confident when she signed that and Tay nodded in agreement. When I looked back to Mel, she seemed hesitant, so I raised a brow at her in question making her sigh before delving into her response, 'I get why you feel that way and why you're worried, I do…but are you sure this isn't really about anything else?'

'No, why?'

'Because…are you sure this has nothing to do with Dev?' Mel asked and I was caught off guard by the question. Did it? I hadn't really thought of it like that before, but I guess on some unconscious reasoning plane it did. On a very fundamental level, accepting someone's help to communicate felt like the equivalent of betraying his memory, as if I would be disappointing him by doing that.

'Maybe a little,' I shrugged and didn't elaborate.

'He wouldn't want you to feel that way, but I understand.' And I knew she did. We all just sat there lost in our individual musings for a spell.

It was more than a little if I was honest with myself. And for so many more reasons than the one that surfaced immediately; I knew the majority didn't make sense, but that knowledge didn't help avert the feelings. It should be him I'm having this talk with, it was supposed to be, and it would have been. He should have been here to see her and give me advice. He should have gotten the chance to imprint and figure things out then fall in love.

If he were here he would have been the first to offer to translate, ironic since he wouldn't for any pack members, but this is different. He also would have been secretly teaching her sign language and spending the time building me up until he had her convinced I was perfect or something equally ridiculous like that. I bet he also would have been dating her friend, just so we still hung out all the time. It should have been him for a lot of things, it was supposed to be, but life's full of what might have beens.

'Well what about writing her a letter?' Taylor questioned, this time to get us past the lingering sadness caused by the previous topic.

I couldn't do that though, not yet. She didn't even know who I was and again doing something like that might scare her. Besides, what would I even write?

'Or maybe I could—,' Melody started to sign, but I cut her off already shaking my head.

'I don't want to freak her out, so promise you won't interfere—please Mel?' I pleaded, honestly hoping she would listen to me about this. She was avoiding eye contact so I knew she didn't plan on it. I stared her down and eventually snared her gaze, giving her a look that promised dire consequences if she disregarded my wishes. She huffed and fell back against Taylor pouting a little.

'Ok, I won't,' extracting that vague promise was like pulling teeth. I knew she just wanted to help, but this was something I needed to do on my own.

It was pointless to continue dwelling on this further now anyways. It was too soon, I needed time to get things sorted out a little more first. I might only get one shot, so I needed to get it right.

It was already dark when we left the house to walk down to the beach for Chloe's birthday party. Tay went on a little ahead of us so Mel and I could talk privately some more. It was nice. I really missed having her around all the time and didn't realize how much I needed to tell her about everything, how much I needed to unload some of this on the person I was closest to in world. Now that the bad parts were out of the way, I was excited that I could share some of the good parts with her too.

We walked slow, immersed in our conversation and fell farther behind, but that was ok. Melody prompted me to tell her about Krista and because it was Mel, I found myself describing her appearance in detail; everything from her long wavy sun-lightened hair to her shy smile that just barely exposed her teeth and suggested she had dimples. I told her about Krista's sun-kissed golden tan and willowy build that had just enough curves that I couldn't help thinking about her… like that. She watched my hands intently, not missing a single word and smiling at each new one I formed, never interrupting.

When I stopped, she looked up and I could see her affection and elation for me in her eyes and her smile was stretched as far as it could go. She encouraged me to tell her more so I didn't hesitate to tell her about how she periodically checks on her little sister when they're at the beach and how she spends most of her time with her best friend who she helped recolor her blue highlights last night. Then I told her about the staring and how she always seemed to know and how indescribable it felt to lock eyes.

Just talking about her was whipping up my anticipation to see her again. We cut through the trees to get there, maneuvering a direct path there by hopping over roots and ducking under branches instead of walking around and through the parking lot. I signed the whole way and when we got there I shooed her off, telling her that she was free to go find Taylor now.

'Come with me. We don't get to hang out enough anymore,' she signed, urging me to follow her.

I didn't respond because it was then that I noticed it wasn't remembering her scent that had me smelling it, because I was feeling the pull stronger than I should have right then; she was here. I looked across the fire, towards the parking lot and saw her. Seconds later her eyes snapped to mine. I drank in the sight of her, loving how big her eyes looked tonight and the way that dress outlined her curves. She was mesmerizing.

I didn't even notice when Mel left; not until Krista looked away. Then I saw who she was standing next to—Taylor…and now Melody. Unbelievable, I couldn't believe my luck. Karma and I were officially not friends. I turned away feeling completely defeated. Well, so much for that promise.

I took a few deep breaths to stay calm and caught a thoroughly intermingled frosty and musky scent that had a little ginger thrown in to spice things up stronger than any other scent—my uncles. I looked up to see Mark and Jordan approaching. Jordan was looking past my shoulder in a very calculating manner, but Mark was focused on me with a friendly smile.

'What are you doing over here alone instead of with your sister and Taylor?' Mark asked with a quick glance at where I knew Krista was. Real subtle Mark. I glared at him for asking. He laughed and came back with, 'well this would be a great opportunity to meet her.'

Jordan was focused on me now as well, evaluating my reaction. He gave me a long searching look and I resisted fidgeting. When Jordan reached into his back pocket, Mark grabbed his hand to stop him and Jordan let him with nothing more than a little sigh.

Jordan still carried around a little flip spiral notebook at all times, always the observant writer. Growing up he had never been that bad about taking notes in the middle of conversations with Mel, Dev, and me or with Eli, but my parents and especially Mark liked to tease him about how annoying it used to be and how it made him feel like he was in a zoo.

Mark nudged Jordan then, obviously encouraging him to talk to me or give me advice. I'd had about as much advice as I could stomach this evening, but Jordan's words were always worth paying attention to. He considered the girl in the distance for a long moment before looking back at me again.

'It's not my place to tell you what to do, but you should know that you're probably agonizing over nothing. She is your other half, so it is extremely unlikely that she will reject you outright. You are already in love with her and she will grow to love you if you let her, but until you do something, nothing will change.' Mark leaned in to give Jordan a sweet kiss when he was done.

I took in what he said despite my reluctance just a minute ago and turned to look at her again. She returned my stare almost instantly. What if this ended up being my only shot? When she turned away I decided why the hell not try and see if Jordan was right. I would do this now; make my move I guess you could say, but I honestly had no idea how to proceed, so I looked back to my uncles seeking advice, because let's face it—I needed help.

'Good luck. You'll figure out what to do,' Mark signed before I could ask for help in the first place, or ask something a little better and preferably less vague, because they left me alone right after that.

I closed my eyes counting to ten, trying to gather my courage and prepare to face her. I took one more deep breath and noticed something was off. I couldn't smell her like before, just a faint diluted whiff being dispersed by the wind. Panicking I spun around only to discover that I was too late and she was gone.

I sunk to my knees in the sand when my legs gave out; my eyes never left the spot she was supposed to be in. It took a full minute to comprehend what I knew to be true, that I waited too long and missed out.

Sitting back with my legs bent at the knee; I rested my arms on them and hung my head down fisting my hair. I did not see my feet even though I stared directly at them. I concentrated on staying calm and not letting this get to me, just inhaling and exhaling. At this rate all I'll ever end up with are missed opportunities and it will be a while before I'm up to trying again.

I registered a warm arm wrapping around my shoulders. I'm not sure if she is really warmer or if it is just an illusion generated because my sister smells like sunshine. Turning my head, I rested my chin on my shoulder to take in her concerned appearance. She pulled back to sign, 'Are you ok?' I nodded, so she followed that with an impish look and, 'Are you mad at me?'

Honestly, I was too numb at this point. I wanted to be mad at her, but I just could not seem to expend the energy necessary to call forth that emotion. I had experienced too many negative ones tonight as it was, so the only response her impertinent question received was a shrug.

'Do you want to know what we talked about?' It was a peace offering, but I was too scared to know for sure what was said. I didn't need to obsess more than I currently was then dissect and overanalyze each word.

'No,' I signed to make sure she knew I meant it, but I needn't have worried. Melody is great about not pushing me directly when I really don't want to be and perceptive enough to always know when that is.

'Let's stay on the beach tonight, maybe Freddie and Maribel will too. What'd ya say?' That actually sounded like a great idea. It had been a while since we last did that and I was too disappointed to stay at Krista's tonight. It was also my last night off before getting back to the regular patrolling schedule.

Freddie and Maribel had returned just after Dev's death and as the new Alpha Freddie was officially the youngest in history. Freddie was part vampire and though he looked older than me, fully grown, he was not even a teenager yet, not in human years. His imprint Maribel was young too, Krista's age and a little behind in English. She came from Ecuador and though she knew little sign language she was extremely nice. The five of us stayed and spent the next few hours playing frisbee, wrestling, and just goofing off in general until exhaustion won out and we passed out under the stars. It was one of those relaxing good times you always have with a group of close friends.

Almost two more weeks past much the same as the last ones, except no beach since it rained almost every day; I spent more time in my tree instead. The other differences included patrolling a few shifts a week again and Mel being adamant that I attend the Fourth of July bonfire tomorrow even though I hadn't planned on missing it. Mel's insistence combined with Taylor's sudden desire to drag me out camping tonight so we can meditate, not that I mind camping and he's probably right about this helping me rid my frustration, makes me think she's up to something. I just fervently hope it doesn't end badly for me.

~*~ ∞ ~*~