"It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles."

Niccolo Machiavelli

"I feel vaguely embarrassed and my mouth taste like my body decided to start crapping backwards."

I snorted from the en-suit bathroom where I stood brushing my teeth. "That sounds about right. You remember much?" It wouldn't surprise me if she didn't. The girl could hold her liquor, but she certainly couldn't handle it.

Red made a face, shifty and disgruntled. "Do I want to remember?"

Pulling my tooth brush back out of my mouth, I grinned. "No, but I'm sure the boys -and Leah- will be all to happy to remind you."

She sighed heavily, falling back against the bed, and hauling the covers back over her head. "Leah." Snorting, she peeked at me from beneath the quilt. "Did I accuse you of sleeping with Leah? Or something like that? Because I know you did. I'm not stupid."

Spitting the last of the toothpaste from my mouth, I flashed her a minty smile. "Even better. You accused me of checking her out and then proudly declared unlike her, you were totally down with facials."

"Facials?" She propped herself up on her arms, and blinked at me. "What?"

Staring her for a long moment -was she fucking with me?- I raised a brow. "Seriously? You know what a pearl necklace is, but you don't know about facials?"

Her face flashed red faster then her eyes could widen. "Oh my God. Tell me I didn't."

Wiping my mouth off on the back of my hand, I dropped my toothbrush in the cup on the sink. That there was a cup on the sink at all made me smile. Red had really made this house our home -all the small things in their place every before we were in our place. "I can't remember if that was before or after you loudly declared my dick a weapon of ass destruction. And then demanded Leah confirm this. That happened after you mind-fucked me into admitting I'd had sex with her, and told the whole Pack how you stuck your hands down Jacob's pants. You had a busy night. Apparently, liquor you up good enough and start spilling like a dixie cup."

"I can't believe...oh God." She flushed, and scrubbed a hand across her face. "They're all down stairs, aren't they?"

"Yeah." I could hear them as they protested the morning in general, in a litany of grunts and groans. "Smells like their making breakfast too."

"Ugh." She grimaced, and paled visibly. I took a moment to feel bad about her poor, human metabolism. Throwing her legs over the edge of the bed, she stretched and winced, her mouth falling open. "Jesus Christ, did we have sex?"

"You don't remember?" I feigned hurt, clutching my hand to my chest. "Two rounds of loud, bendy, squelching wet, drunk sex, which I might add you insisted on."

Her mouth fell open more, if it was possible. "You could have told me no! You could have, I don't know, pinned me down or something."

Leering, I winked. "Oh believe me baby girl, I did. Anyway, if you want to get on my dick, who am I to tell you no?" Really, she'd all but mounted me. Lesser mortals would have caved faster than I did. It was our first night in our new house. Of course I wanted to christian it.

"Sam!" She was flushed down her chest now, pink and splotchy. She covered her face in her hands, but I knew without a doubt she was glaring. "Oh my god."

"You're too damn cute. Run your mouth like that, and then blush about it in the morning. " Striding across the room, I plopped down hard on the mattress, sending her bouncing. She flailed, and laughed, elbowing me in the stomach. "I could kiss you right now but...well, you're breath really is bad."

Red huffed right on my face, and laughed. "We really live here." She looked up at the ceiling above our bed, painted the same smooth gray. "I don't know. I'm ready, but I feel like I shouldn't be. I mean, I'm only twenty."

That she could doubt it made me pause. I knew she was ready, ready to get on with life as it should be. We'd fought for this, in our own way. We'd earned it. But there were hang ups and issues we're never be done handling. We both had our baggage, after all. Mine, I could handle with her. But hers...that was up to her. Tentatively, I spoke. "You were ready to die at seventeen. All I'm asking is that you live. You know, here. With me."

She rolled to her side, messy hair spilling over her neck and chest and across the bed, tips tickling my arm. "My shit's here, isn't it? And you've already looted my house. I think I'm in it for the long haul Sam." Pausing, she ran her down my arm before lacing our fingers. "I didn't realize how much I wanted this, until I was here. But that's you, you know? You seem to know what I need before I even know it, and I don't know what I'd do without you. I can trust you. You won't let me lose my shit, or forget myself. I need that." Slapping my cheek with her other hand, she grinned. "So stop being an insecure little freak. My ass is yours. With love."

"With love," I echoed, laughing. "Go brush your skuzzy teeth so we can make out."

Breakfast was as semi-awkward affair. My boys managed to keep most their snickers smothered. And myself, well I tried not to look too terribly smug. But as it was, it was hard not to feel a little proud. Red wasn't exactly a lady in the streets, but she was kind of a freak in bed. As a man, well, I couldn't help but grin a little.

"I'll cut every single one of you," Red threatened, as she laid her head on the cool surface of the kitchen table. "Seriously. Stop making eating sounds."

Jared made the mistake of laughing. "Or what?"

"Sam make them stop," Red whined, not bothering to lift her head. I made the same mistake of laughing, but unlike Jared, she could make me suffer. To prove just how horrible and human she was feeling, she shrugged weakly and sighed. "Fine. Be that way. No more kitchen blo-"

"You heard the girl. Stop making eating sounds." Really, they could have stood to learn some manners. Blow jobs were totally worth the cacophony of whip-cracking sounds that followed my order.

"Pff," Paul said from the counter. "Like I'd want to eat here anyway, seriously. Do you guys just bone everywhere." The comment would have sounded more serious had he not been shoving his face full of egg sandwich right off the counter top. "Is that table even safe?"

Mouth still muffled against the table, Red replied before I could. "The table is. The counter's not." Peeking out from the bend of her elbow, I caught sight of her little smirk, and laughed.

Paul gave his sandwich baleful look before handing it to Quil who apparently had no qualms about the questionable hygiene of our counter-tops. "I'm out of here. Great party B, we should do this more often."

"Suck a dick," Red groaned, waving a hand at him.

Paul laughed. "Think you got that covered."

The rest of the pack made their exits with similar amused crack-shots and good-natured ribbing. Red took it well, snapping back with her usual wit, if not a little more surly than usual. Just as Jacob was taking his leave, however, Charlies cruiser pulled up.

"Oh no," Red groaned, making a face. "Shit, the beer bottles-"

"Boys took care of it," I assured her. They'd done alright on the clean up, I'd give them that. I didn't' doubt it was at Leah's strict instruction, either. She'd be getting a weekend off, I think, even if she did sell me out the night before. "Although, he's going to take one look at you and know."

Red snorted, and smoothed her hair out the best she could as I fixed her a cup of coffee. "We're don't-ask, don't-tell kind of people. Well, mostly. He's still pretty miffed about the Cullen thing. But I think he'd rather not write his daughter up, you know, again."

I laughed as I strode to the door, Charlies firm knocks rapping across the wood even as I pulled it open. "Hey Sam," he said, with a rough grunt, a potted plant of some sort tucked into the crook of his arm. "My kid around?"

"That way." I nodded my head toward the kitchen arch, and shut the door. Charlies eyes lingered over the mirror above the mantle.

He smiled. "That looks good there. Like what you've done with the place. It's very...homey." Laughing to himself, Charlie shook his head. "Sorry, I don't know what I was imagining. Bachelor den? Wasn't this. You did good, Sam."

"Red helped," I admitted, stepping into the kitchen. "Hell, she tiled the kitchen, did you know?"

The Turkish tiles were shining, their colors bright and freshly swept. Charlie grinned down at them, and then up at his disgruntled daughter, who was hiding behind her giant mug. "They look good. You look a little green around the gills. Flu?"

"Maybe," Red grunted. She and Charlie started at each other for a long minute before both looking away and clearing their throats. "What's that?" She asked, jutting her chin towards his potted parcel.

Charlie lifted the little plant and set it on the counter between them. The terracotta pot was new, the white price sticker still plastered to the base. "Oh uh...well. You remember that little aloe plant I have sitting on the window in the kitchen?"

Red snorted. "Yeah Dad, I remember. I did live there you know...yesterday. You've had that thing forever. I remember it when I was little. "

"Were you still living there yesterday? I hadn't noticed," Charlie drawled, lifting a brow. "Anyway, it was actually a house warming gift. Your grandmother, Renee's mother, bought it for us. Well, for your momma. She ain't much of a cook, as you know. Always burning herself. Practical gifts, your grandmother was fond of them. I uh...this is an off-shoot of that. I potted it up for you, thought you might like to keep it in your own kitchen. You're a better cook than your momma, but...well. There good to have around." He finished with an awkward shrug, pushing the pot closer to Red, but looking at me. "She's all yours."

Red didn't notice though, distracted by the plant. She brushed her thumb over one of the plump aloe leaves. "Thanks dad."

It was more than a plant, than a gift. This was Charlies final okay. His blessing. Swinging an arm over Red's narrow shoulders, I gave Charlie a firm nod, and a soft smile. "Thank you Charlie."

It wasn't until the third, well past the holidays, that I remembered my fathers gift. Red had went out searching for a second job -hours were sparse at the resort in the winter- in Forks. I had enough of a nest egg squared away that we wouldn't want for much. Winter months were hard on the Rez. Construction was shut down, the wind was to bitter and the snow to cold. Sure, my pack was fine to work in a snow storm, but it made up only a small part of my crew. We'd finish off the jobs we had, and that would be it until March, at the earliest. The boys got by with what repair jobs I could rustle up, the dinners I'd provide, and what little cash they'd managed to save. That and the freezers full of fish Billy had tucked away. We'd all manage.

I'd only just shrugged my coat on -necessary for looking normal- when I felt the paper rustle in my pocket. It was crinkled, and worn at the corners. I'd all but forgot about it since Christmas. Without thinking, I tore it open, opening the thrice-folded paper.

What I found nearly made me drop the damn letter. But it wasn't a letter. It was a contract. A big one, set for early March in Neah Bay. A very, very big contract with a very, very big number attached. At first, I thought the quote was a misprint. Surely that was to many zeros. But reading further, I knew it wasn't. Josh had got us a contract for five two-story condos on shore-line Neah Bay.

Shit. Fuck. Shit.

Money couldn't buy happiness. It couldn't buy respect. It certainly couldn't buy forgiveness. But...it could buy opportunity, and those were few and far between. Right now, I hated Joshua Uley a little less, as a man.

As a father, well. That was a fish of a different color.

I was out the door before I could put my shoes on, sprinting through the back yards of Red Clay Drive, to Embry's house. By the time I reached it, my socks were soaked, and I still couldn't form words. Michelle answered and she seemed to understand my shell-shocked silence to point me towards Embry's room. I pushed open the door without knocking -there was little I hadn't seen in person or in the poor boy's head, privacy was a joke- and found him face down on his mattress, dead to the world.

"Embry," I choked, and he jumped to attention, springing up at once, eyes wide and hair wild. "Fuck."

"What?" Embry blinked at me, shaking his head. "What? What is it? Vampire? Red? The girls? What?"

I threw the paper at him, now crumpled and wet, and managed to grunt, "it's Josh."

Embry snatched the paper out of the air, smoothing in his hands. His head snapped up, probably at the number quoted, and his mouth fell open. "Is he for real? Oh my God, he's totally for real. Sam...Sam...shit. This is...this is huge. This is fucking huge. Do we even have enough men for this job."

"No," I choked again, laughing. "Not nearly. We can hire more. A lot more. And pay them more than what I pay them now. Christ. I don't...I can't even...Fuck. Do you know how long this job will take? I doubt we'll be able to take another job for months. If at all." Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself by sheer force of will. "This is a huge opportunity." For every one. For the pack, the Tribe. Red wouldn't have to get another job. Hell, she didn't have to work at all. She could go back to school. We could afford it now.

Embry flicked the paper and grinned. "Wolf Pack Contracting. I like it. Are you going to take the job? I mean..."

I scratched the back of my neck and looked up at the ceiling, awkward and torn. It was Josh, and it felt so much like a buy-out. But at the same time, he wasn't handing me money. He was handing me a chance. "Yeah, I'm going to. I mean, I'd be stupid not to, right?" Sighing, I looked at Embry. "He still sucks as a dad. That won't ever change for me. But uh...for a Quiluete..this is a pretty good step towards making amends."

"Pretty good?" Embry snorted. "The Elders are going to flip their shit. Josh just bought his ticket back in, dude."

And he had. Money was a damn good motivator, and Josh had tacked it on the back end of an enormous opportunity to better our community. I would be stupid to turn it down, but I'd be stupider if I believed it wouldn't change anything. "I'm still Alpha, though. But I'd be a bad Alpha if I let an old grudge hold our tribe back. So yeah, I'm going to take the contract. Shit, how did he even swing this?"

Embry snorted, and pushed himself up off the bed. "Well, there's no denying he gets around. I'm not surprised he's made friends. Come on, we should go talk to him." He slipped his feet into a pair of ratty too-small sneakers. "You can wear my work boots."

Josh was home, looking tired and gruff as he answered the door. I could smell coffee, so I knew he'd been up before we knocked. "I was wondering when you two'd be by. I thought maybe you'd decided to not take the offer."

"Were taking it," I said at once, happy to just have that out of the way. Accepting his gift was like pulling off a bandied, before the sore was really healed. It hurt, and I wasn't ready, but it had to be done. "Just...just came by to make sure you were serious."

Josh gave them a grave look. "One-hundred percent serious. I have a good friend who owns a bunch of condos in Callalm Bay. He and a few buddies had been talking about expanding the business. When he told me about it, I told him about you. They do a lot of high-class stuff, real pricey corporate condos and vacation homes for rich folk. Pricey places. I know it's not your usual gig, but I sort of...well, I've been showing him some of your stuff. Lots of your cabinetry, and the house you built in the hallow, Sam. He loved it. I've been working out the details for a few months now. Since I got back, really. I have the full contract, if you want to see it. You get twenty percent upfront when you sign to assemble your team and start ordering what you'll need."

"Twenty percent," Embry echoed. I did the math in my head, and had to sit down. It was more than we'd make with one finished house. And it was just for materials. Shit.

Josh cleared his throat. "You do this, these five condos, and there will be more contracts in it for you. Your houses are sturdy and your work is beautiful. Eric, that's the friend, said that if you finish this job out by the dead line, he'll have more. Houses in Clallam Bay or townhouses in Sequim. I don't know. I just know there will be more. Enough to keep you busy" He paused, shrugging. "This could be really good for you. Both of you."

Scrubbing my hand down my face, I jumped a little when Embry curled his hand over the back of my neck. That was embarrassing, even though Josh couldn't understand the connotations. I was acting like a freaking puppy, emotional, excitable, ridiculous. Embry gave me a squeeze, and let his hand slide to my shoulder.

"It's really good for the Tribe," I said as firm as I could manage. "Don't undersell yourself Josh. This isn't just about Embry or I. This benefits the whole tribe."

Josh nodded. "I was hoping, yeah." He looked a little chagrined, a little embarrassed. He didn't look a damn thing like the father I knew.

"It doesn't change...us." It came out stilted, and slow. It came out of Embry's mouth, and my mind. "Things are still the same, Josh. But...look. You're a shitty father. Or at least you were. You do alright by the girls. You were a shitty father to us, and that won't ever change. But...as a Quiluete..."

"You're not so bad," I finished, sighing. "We'll take the job. Call your friend. Let's get something set up. We have three months to get things ready. I need to hire a bigger crew." Making a face, I could almost hear Red in my head, whispering 'just fucking do it already'. "We'll need people in charge. Captains. Managers. Whatever. People who know their shit. So I hope you need a job in the spring."

Josh blinked, and looked at me with an expression that bordered on comically surprised. "Me?"

Snorting, I nodded. "Yeah, you. We both know we're pretty good with wood work. Actually, Embry ain't to bad himself. Maybe it's genetic. Fact is though, Embry and I have bigger fish to fry. So, I don't know. Show up in the spring wearing a white hard-hat and you've got the job."

"What bigger fish do I have to fry?" Embry asked, looking almost as bewildered as Josh. "I'm your freaking secretary."

That was true. Embry practically ran my damn business. Which was why he had bigger shit to worry about. "Actually, no. If she wants the job, Red's my secretary. You're my partner. You do half my work anyway, you should get paid the same."

Embry sat down. "Sam, I can't. I'm...you know, I'm just a grunt. Field work. Whatever. "

"Dude, you already do. You order all our materials, you organize shifts, you do pay-roll. You take care of all our tax shit, and you still manage to get your hands dirty on site. You do more than any of my crew, and you're first to pick up an extra shift if it's needed. When it comes to work, Embry, you've always been my second, you know? Besides, this?" I waved the contract behind us. "It was given to the both of us. So this job, it's ours. Partner. I'll even get you a special name tag."

"Damn," Embry breathed, looking a thousand years away now. "I could get mom's car fixed."

Slugging him on the arm, I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. Shit was looking up, not for me but for my whole damn tribe. And all because of Josh. I'd dissect that fact later. Probably when Red was there to keep me rational about it. "You can buy your mom a new damn car."

Two weeks later saw us celebrating not only the official signing of the contract, but my twenty-fifth birthday as well. At twenty-five, I wasn't the youngest chief, but I was by far the most prosperous.

My official birthday wasn't until the following day, but that had been claimed in it's entirety by Red. I'd have forgone any kind of party, but she was insistent. It was, without a doubt, a pack party, but the Elders were included, as was any one else in-the-know; Charlie, Josh, Michelle and my mother.

"A toast!" Billy cried, clinking his beer bottle against charlies. "To chief Uley! I always sort of thought it would be my Jacob sitting in your place Sam. But the Fates made their choice, and it was the right one. No offensive Jake, but you wouldn't have made half as great a chief as Sam here.

"None taken," Jake said, with a congenial laugh. "Sam's made a great chief, and a great Alpha. I'll be lucky if I can do half as good a job when it's my time."

Billy grinned, and looked me in the eye. "I'm proud to call you chief, Sam."

From there, it turned into Sam-Hour, much to my awkward acceptance. I'd never been great at accepting praise. Sure, I'd craved it, but accepting it was another matter. The boys said their piece, how I'd been there for them, and suffered for them. How I'd done right by them. I was glad to hear they thought well of me, but truth be told, I only ever wanted what was best for my boys.

My mother got teary, much to my horror. "Sam's always been the man of my house, even when he was just a boy. I couldn't have asked for a better son. He's a great man, but I never expected less from my baby."

"Mom," I groaned, but I let her ruffle my hair.

Sue hugged me, and Harry gave me a gruff pat on the back. "You've done good by your tribe, Sam. Not just with this contract, with this opportunity." His eyes skittered to my father, who stayed silent and took no credit, though the credit was known. "Even before you were chief Sam, before you were taken by our ancestors blessing, you've been an asset to our tribe. And since then, you've done nothing but shed your sweat and blood for your people. You've brought peace, and prosperity to our people. And to my pride, you've brought back our old customs. I'm proud to call you chief, Sam.."

To my surprise, Old Mr. Altera spoke next. To be fair, I was surprised he'd come at all. He wasn't exactly my biggest supporter. Me, not of the chief line, me with my pale-face imprint. Me with my different opinions on the Cullen's. Me with my power.

"Cheifling," he said, though it sounded fond now. He stood, and I could only do the same. "I've known you since you were Sammy, you know? Sammy, Sam, Samuel. Young but not the youngest. Tall but not the tallest. Strong, but not the strongest. Proud, but not the proudest. You are humble, and giving. You are firm, but yielding. I am proud to call you chief." He passed a look to Billy, and that was when I realized what they apparently had planned without my notice.

"Wait," I broke the circle, wide eyed and embarrassed. "This is...you can't do this. It's not time. It's for the ten year-"

"You've done in one year what many chiefs never accomplished, let alone in ten years," Billy argued. "And frankly, as prior chief, it's my decision." He gave me a pointed look, one I wouldn't ignore. If this was what Billy wanted, there was little I could do about it.

It was a blessing, an old custom, one I'd be bringing back apparently, though against my will. Usually it was given as a ceremony amongst the people, but I had a feeling Billy and the others knew I'd never allow it. More than a blessing, it was an honor. The people of the tribe stood up and shouted their pride. Chief, friend, provider; all the things were heralded. Usually such ceremonies were saved for the tenth year of a peaceful reign. Considering my single year had yielded more nomadic vampires then any chief for several decades, I could hardly consider it peaceful.

But it was an honor, and one I couldn't neigh-say. Nodding, I accepted it, happy to have Red's hand curled in my own.

My mother stood next, and to her obvious surprise Josh and Charlie did as well. "We're..." My mother began, laughing when Josh and Charlie echoed her. "We're proud to call you son."

"In-law," Charlie added, grinning a little. "I'd figured Jake would be sitting in your place as we well, but I'm happy it's you."

"All of you suck," Jake fake-pouted. "I'm proud to call you Alpha," he intoned, his voice oddly formal.

Paul and Jared went next. "We're proud to call you friend."

"We're proud to call you our confidant," Leah, Seth and Quill followed, in practiced unison.

Embry gave me a wide smile from the other side of the table, eyes shifting for half a second to our father. "I'm proud to call you my brother." Though the truth was far out of the bag, it was the first time since the trial that it had been announced so shamelessly.

It sort of made me proud to call him brother. Not that I never had been.

Red looked up at me, from her place at my side and blushed as every eye landed on us. "I'm proud to call you my Alpha, my chief, my friend, my confident, and my..." She made a face, and blushed deeper. "My husband."

It should have been imprint, but 'husband' sounded like fucking angel trumpets and rainbows and start-shine and a bunch of other magical shit to me, from her mouth.

I kissed her of course, to a chorus of clapping, laughter, and not a few cat calls. "I'm proud to be your chief," I declared, as was the rite. "Your son, your alpha, your friend, you confident, your brother, and your husband. But seriously, I'm just proud to call you family."

In that room, I had everything I never realized I wanted. I had a tribe who looked to me with pride. I had a brother I could claim. I had my pack. I had Red.

I had it all. Things were good. Things were great, even.

Which is why I should have seen it coming.

tbc