"A sacrifice is best refuted by accepting it."

Wilhelm Steinitz

It wasn't until I caught Red leaving Old Mrs. Ateara's house that I hadn't really asked her how her second reparation was going. I knew what she was doing - documenting the wolves' phases individually - but I had no idea how she was going about it.

"What are you doing here?" I was happy, if not curious to see her. I unloaded the firewood bundles into the box beside Old Mrs. Ateara's back door as she watched.

Red beamed, rocking on her toes. "I've been learning Quileute. Lana teaches me every Wednesday afternoon, after anger management with Paul and before I do Seth's tutoring. She said when I'm ready, she'll help me start transcribing all the old archives, since no one ever bothered. It'll be a big job, but I'm kind of excited."

I blinked, confused and shocked and many other things. "Who's Lana?"

Laughing out right, Red gave me an incredulous look. "Old Mrs. Ateara, of course. Who else would I be talking about?"

"Red, no one calls her by her first name. She's been 'Mrs. Ateara' and 'Old Mrs. Ateara' for as long as anyone can remember. Billy doesn't even call her by her first name. I didn't even know it." Tossing the last bundle into the box, I couldn't help but grin. "She told you to call her Lana?"

Snorting, Red nodded. "Yeah, that's putting it lightly. She hit me with a spoon every time I didn't call her Lana." Probably, I thought with a strange thrill, because they were both imprints. But Old Mrs. Ateara wouldn't spill my secret. More like she was awaiting the impending drama.

I winced in sympathy. "Ah, yes. The spoon. She used that when I was learning Quileute as well. Wow, Red. I can't believe you're willing to go through all this. It's not an easy language."

With a soft smile, Red just shrugged. "I want to do right by the Pack. And plus...I don't know, it feels like it's something I should know. Something I'll um...maybe want to pass on one day." She blushed, and I felt my heart stutter in my chest. "Maybe. Anyway, I'm nowhere near being good enough to read through the archives but I'm getting there."

Pulling her into a tight hug, I couldn't help but kiss her silly. I knew without a doubt Lana was watching at the window, but that didn't matter. "You're kind of amazing, you know that?"

"I do what I gotta do," Red replied with a deprecating head shake. "Anyway, I have to get to Seth's, and you look like you're not quite done."

The truck was still more full than not with bundles of wood, and I sighed. "Nope, not even close. Snow storm's coming tonight, I just want to get everyone ready. First one of the year and all; no one's ever really prepared."

Red grinned, pulling me down into a kiss. "You're kind of amazing, you know that?" She echoed, stepping off the back porch.

"Well that's why we're perfect."

December burned out what little warmth lingered, coating our little world in white. Red still came like clockwork, her truck huffing along the 101, snow tires tearing up the slushy roads. On bad nights she'd stay, so the bad nights were the best in my book.

Tonight she was curled up on my couch watching her usual run of trashy TV with a mug of tea in hand. "What did you see?"

Lips pursed as she blew over the steam, she paused. "What?"

I turned off the TV, too curious to be distracted now. "The night of the summer festival. When you woke up the next morning, you said you saw something but you didn't say what. What did you see?"

Inexplicably, a blush burst across her cheeks. "I...I don't remember."

"Well, your face says you're lying," I reeled, incredulous. She hadn't bothered to lie to me in a really long time. If it had been the lip bite, or the scowl, I would have been worried. But blushing meant one thing; she was embarrassed. "Seriously, it can't be that bad. It was probably just a hallucination or something. Have I apologized for that, by the way? I ripped Old Quil a new one for pulling that on you." She sputtered, eyes going wide. "What?"

Red's gaze fell to her ankles where they were propped in my lap, my palm curled over the leather there. "It uh...wow. I didn't even...I don't think it was a hallucination. Um. Because uh..." Her teeth clenched, and I took her tea from her hands before she could spill it.

"It can't be that bad, Red. Come on, spit it out. I'm kind of curious now." Kind of was putting it loosely. I was more or less dying to know what had her so rattled.

"Iwashavingsexagainstatree." It came out in one garbled mess, and I could do nothing more than simply stare blankly at her until she reiterated. "Uh. I saw us...I saw us having sex against a tree. Just like we did. Everything was the same; you were on your knees, and I had my foot in your lap. You were holding my calf in both hands and you even said it, Sam. Just like you did."

"I'm going to fuck you against this tree now?" I squirmed where I sat. Now was probably not the right time to spring a boner. Red looked pretty freaked out. "Are you telling me you had a vision of our wedd-"

"Ah-ah-ah," she lurched forward abruptly, slapping her hand over my mouth. "What did I say about calling it that? No. No, we're not calling it that. I don't care what it is. It's the night we decided to be together forever. That's what we're calling it."

"Bit of a mouthful, don't you think?" I asked, after she lowered her hand. "Fine, fine. Call it whatever you want. You had a dream about our night we decided to be together forever. That's...kind of adorable."

"It wasn't a dream," she told me, sounding just as bewildered as I felt. "I think it was like...shit. Is it weird that I want to say I don't believe in visions when I believe in Vampires and Werewolves. I mean..."

"Visions are real," I confirmed, though I'd never been totally sure of it. "At least, they're recognized as truth to this Tribe. Red, if you had an actual vision, one that came true, I have to tell the Elders."

"What!"

I laughed, really there was nothing else to do for it. Our relationship seemed to play out in a series of random, horribly awkward occasions. "I'm sorry. All visions have to be documented. If I know about it, I'm obligated to archive it."

"People will read it!"

"Well yeah, that's why we keep archived." I understood her hesitation. She'd had a sex dream, for fucks sake, and I was asking if I could make a note about it in our history books. "You don't have to go into detail or anything. I just need to put it down that you saw us getting mar-committing to each other."

"I didn't know what it was then." No, then she'd only known that I made her want to scream. And probably not in the sense I'd made her scream that night. I shifted her feet out of my lap before she noticed my erection. She'd get pissed, I was almost sure of it. "It really freaked me out, given that...well, you and I were still all kinds of hatey. And then..."

Right. And then. "Then we had that weird moment in the kitchen and I took off for a week and a half to brood about my shitty father like a bitch." Not my finest moment.

"And I burnt down a house." She made the same face she always did when it came to mentioning that particular incident. Embarrassed and contrite all at once. It made me smile.

"Rough week, that." Digging my thumbs into the soles of her feet, I watched her sink back against the arm of the chair with a little groan. "It's just more proof that we're meant to be." It slipped out so absently, I didn't realize what I'd said. Red shrugged, slipping carelessly down the couch.

"Too bad the gods don't agree," she murmured, sleepily. Her feet curled and she poked me in the stomach with her toes when my hands froze. "Hey."

Too bad the gods don't agree. "I love you," I murmured quietly, looking down at her feet, at the leather cuff wrapped around her ankle. "I love you and it has nothing to do with the gods. I just want you to know that."

"I know. And I love you more for it." Shit, but that hurt to hear. "Lana though...she's been telling me more about imprinting. I think offended her, or something. She insists I understand, even if it doesn't matter."

"Oh?" Keeping my voice as relaxed as possible, I returned to rubbing her feet. "What does she have to say on it?"

"Well she just...she's been explaining that imprinting doesn't really make you love your imprint. Well, it does, but kind of in an empty manner. Like, I guess it's because the wolf knows he should love his imprint, he does. But the actual love part...that's real. That happens more slowly. She said that her husband adored her from the moment that he saw her, but he didn't really love her until later. Until he learned about her and all the things about her that he loved. Lana says imprinting can't do that. Only time can. The imprint just leads the wolf to his soul mate. It's up to them what they do with it."

"She's very smart." Fingering the cuff again, I felt resolve settle low in my stomach. I had to tell her. I had to. This was the moment. Right now, with Lana's words emboldening me, I could tell her. And maybe she'd understand. Maybe. "Red I have to te-"

To my unending irritation, the kitchen door slammed open.

"Sam," Jacob breathed out slowly, his expression grim. "We scented a leech."

Red was upright instantly. "What?" Her heart beat wildly in her chest. "Jake, it's not-"

"No, not a Cullen. It's no one we recognize. But she's...she's very aggressive. She got Quil pretty bad while we were patrolling. He's with Old Quil as we speak, getting patched up We were the only ones on patrol, but we took her out-"

"She's dead?" I cut him off, wanting to be sure. When he nodded, I couldn't help but feel relieved. "Good job Jake."

Jake did his best not to preen, but you could tell it was killing him. "Quil helped a lot. He's a stealthy little bitch, isn't he? You wouldn't think it from the way he bumbles his way around in human form, but...well. I couldn't have done it without him. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that. It was definitely a human-feeder, but we think that maybe it wasn't always. Her eyes weren't nearly as red as the red-head. They were orange; nothing we've really seen."

Red hummed, swinging her feet off my lap. She was frowning, brows pulled together as she worried her lip. "The Cullen's told me that it could take up to a year for eyes to change from red to gold, even on a steady diet. If they took in another Vampire, it could have been in the process of converting. If she was a newborn, she might not have fed-"

"Shit." Jacob's eyes went worried. "Do you think we offed a Cullen? Shit. The treaty-"

"No," I cut him off firmly, taking Red's hand in my own. She was shaking like a wet kitten. "No, even if she was a Cullen, they're obligated by the treaty to inform us not only of their return, but of any new members they bring."

"They wouldn't violate the treaty," Red murmured, forever thinking the best of those bastards. "I mean, I don't think they would. Have they ever before?"

"No," I conceded. "When they returned this time, they not only informed the tribe ahead of time, but they were honest about their newcomers. The little dark haired one, and her husband, I think? They didn't come with the Cullens before."

"Alice and Jasper." She sighed, pushing up off the couch. "I'll need to see her. Have you burned her already? I know it's not a slow process."

"What? No. Red-"

"Sam, I need to see, but I think I might know. You'll be there, and Jake will be there, and what harm can a dead vampire do?" She lifted her brow at me with a pointed look, before pushing past Jake and slipping on her shoes. "If she's already burning, we need to hurry up."

It wasn't the first severed vampire head Red had ever seen, of course. This time she seemed to keep the contents of her stomach where they belonged, but it didn't keep her from flinching violently at the head's sluggish snapping, or the absent roll of her red-gold eyes as the fire took her slowly. It wasn't a fast process, just as Red had said. It would take a solid hour before she was gone.

"I think it could be a cousin," she murmured, biting her lip hard. "That's what the Cullen's called them; they're a clan from Alaska who don't drink from humans. Edward told me that the sisters were all blonde. Laurent, he was the vampire with the dreadlocks, he went to the Denali's for a while. I heard he was converting."

"Not when we saw him," Jacob reminded her, kicking an arm as it tried to crawl off. "His eyes were red. None of this half-assed shit."

Red nodded, not disseminating. "No, I know. I'm just saying...if he spent time with the Denali's, if he got close to them, if he was with one of their daughters..."

"You think this could have been his mate?"

"I don't know! I'm speculating!" She threw her hands up in the air, and sighed nosily. "I'm just saying. If this was his mate, and he disappeared, it would explain what she was doing here."

"But not why she was feeding from humans." I looked at the vampires twitching remains, as fire licked across her face. "We don't have a treaty with these Denali vampires. They attack us, we attack them." Red needed to understand that.

She gave me an annoyed look. "I know that! I'm not defending them. I'm just saying that she won't be the last. Chances are, now that Laurent and this one have gone missing, others will come looking."

I hadn't thought of that, but Red was right. "Good to know. Alright, we need to get the guys together and let them know we might have a few curious vampires on the way."

"Are you going to attack them?" She sounded more curious than accusatory, and for that I was thankful.

"Only if they attack us first, or come with red eyes. Other than that... we'll give them the Cullen benefit of the doubt. I don't want to start a war." Looking to Jacob, I caught his nod of agreement. "Can you rally the guys and let them know the new orders? I have to inform the council. Up the patrol numbers from two at all times to three, and spread out the perimeter a little wider. As of yet, there's not threat, but at the first sight of danger...you know what to do."

"You know, it's pretty big of you not to attack first and ask questions later," she commented later that night, curled up against my side. We'd called it an early night; I had patrols first thing in the morning.

"I don't want to start a fight, or endanger my pack or tribe for no reason. Do you think that this clan will mean to harm us? We did kill one of their own." It felt weird to be asking her for this, information on vampires. But if anyone knew, it would be her.

Rolling onto her stomach, she propped herself on her shoulders. "I've been thinking about that, actually. If it is one of the Denali sisters - there are three of them by the way, Tanya, Irina and Kate - I don't think they knew her intentions. They're like the Cullens, they run in a family-unit. They would have never let her come alone."

"The Pack didn't pick up any other scents," I replied, confirming her theories. "Which means she came alone, without the support of her family. She went rogue."

"They're probably looking for her." Red frowned again; she'd been doing that too much lately. "I don't think they'll be unreasonable. Chance are, they'll know she's gone rogue. I think if you can keep your boys calm, they'll listen. I don't know how they'll take the news though. I just...I don't know."

"You know more than enough." Kissing her quickly, I pulled her close 'til her forehead bumped mine. "Red, you've given us information we couldn't dream of having, and we're stronger for it."

She sighed, peppermint breath cool against my lips. "Is it wrong that it still feels like a betrayal? Like I'm telling secrets that aren't mine to share?"

"It's not wrong, not really. You loved them." I'd long since accepted that, even though it pained me. "But they betrayed you first. And the secrets you're sharing are for your own safety."

"Not just mine." Her expression as serious. "It's for you. I told you what I know for you and the guys. I couldn't live with myself if one of you got hurt, and I could have prevented it by being a little more forthcoming. I can't allow that. Everything I know, you know."

Hugging her close, I pulled her back down against me. "I know it's hard for you. I'm grateful."

"Yes well, I'm pretty sure I'd do anything for you." She burrowed into my arm, wiggling 'til she was comfortable. "I think you deserve that much; one person you know who would do anything for you. You do so much for everyone else, I just want to be that person for you."

"This is an incredibly emotional moment we're having here Red," I teased, laughing when she scowled. "Thank you though; it means a lot to me. I'd never ask for anything you couldn't give me though."

She laughed, throwing her leg up over mine. "That's because you're a stupid perfect jerk."

It wasn't until much later that I realized that the perfect moment to tell her had passed, taking with it my nerve.

tbc