"Hey, Jake."

"So you can see," Jacob observed, shutting the door behind him. His dark brown eyes flickered to the hall. "Then, maybe you want to explain why the hell Sam's chomping at the bit to get rid of your imprint? Paul keeps saying you're 'blinded,' whatever that means."

"We already resolved that. We're good now."

"Hardly," he snorted. "Sam called me this morning as we were passing through."

Seth's hands tightened into fists at his side. What was with Uley?

With a mental note to pay the irritating wolf a visit, Seth changed the subject. He jerked his chin at the blood on Jacob's neck. "Been out hunting with Nessie or something?"

Jacob wiped at his neck, unaware, and his eyes darted back to the hallway. "Sam was right to be concerned, you know, which is why he asked me to see what I could track since we were in the area. I ran into one nasty looking coyote headed this way. If Sam hadn't called me, the bastard could've made it here."

Seth heard Annalise's low humming pause before she continued the quiet tune. "Did you kill him?" Seth asked, picking up on her signal.

Jacob's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "He attacked me. Would you rather I held his hand and sang kumbaya?"

Seth rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant, and you know it," he muttered, stepping aside so Jacob could sit at the kitchen table. "Where?"

If Jacob had run into Damian, maybe this was it. They could stop worrying about every little what-if and focus on building the packs' trust with Annalise.

The hopeful that had been fleeting at best. If experience had taught him anything, when it came to enemies, it was never this easy to get rid of them.

"Not too far from Port Angeles." Jacob ran his hands through his hair. "Dammit, Seth. This is getting a little out of hand. You want to fill me in or what?"

"You mean more than Sam already has?" He quipped. Jacob raised an eyebrow. "No offense, but you aren't exactly on my speed dial if things get ugly. Distance and all, I mean."

A lapse of silence fell between them.

Five years was a long time to be gone and still expect the same trust. Though he'd never admit it out loud, being left to deal with the fallout when Jacob left felt like a a betrayal. It had taken some time but, recent events aside, everyone had started to find a good rhythm.

"Tell me something. If the only way to keep her safe was to leave your friends and family behind, would you?" Jacob asked quietly, rubbing the scruff on his face.

Seth sat back and really looked at his old friend, noticing the lines in Jacob's face that hadn't been there before. Barely noticeable to anyone without their supernatural vision, those lines betrayed the idea Seth and the others had conjured up. To them, Jacob had been living it up in New York or wherever the Cullens had settled this time. But, between the lines and days of scruff on his face, Seth was getting a different message.

Their kind aged rather slowly so long as they kept phasing. Either Jacob hadn't been phasing or life was seriously kicking his ass right now.

"In a heartbeat," Seth answered.

Jacob nodded. "And that's only knowing her for a few days. Imagine being there her whole life with people itching for a reason to get rid of her."

The face-off with Volturi 12 years ago could have destroyed them all and it had painted a giant map of both the Cullens and shapeshifters' locations for every curious, red-eyed cold one out there. They'd fought off vamps for weeks.

As much as it had sucked, it had made sense for Jacob, Renesmee, and the Cullens to bail as soon as they could—as soon as they could be sure no more stray vampires would come sniffing around Forks. It had taken years for randoms to stop "visiting."

Judging by Jacob's face, apparently, that hadn't stopped the persistent ones.

"I'm sorry, man. None of us knew."

Jacob shrugged. "S'okay. It's better now that Ness is an adult and strong enough to fight back."

The water in the bathroom cut off, the sound of the shower curtain sliding open putting an end to their current conversation. "How long are you here for?"

Jacob smiled. "We'd been planning to move to Victoria soon anyway—fake names of course—so I'll be sticking around. At least for the next 10 years."

"We? As in the Cullens too?" Seth asked, shocked.

Jacob nodded. "Dad's getting older, things here are...heating up. It makes sense." He stood suddenly, heading for the front door. "Bring her out to my dad's place by 7 tomorrow night. We need to call the council together."

Seth watched him disappear into the misty night before locking the front door. The bathroom door opened immediately after, a cloud of steam rolling into the dimly lit hallway.

"How much of that did you pay attention to?" Seth asked, making his way toward her. Annalise leaned in the doorway, her hair wrapped up in a towel, her skin tinged red from the heat of the shower.

She gave him a sad smile, an emotion dancing across her face that tugged at something inside him. She was looking at him like the last anchor keeping her from drifting out to sea. "Enough to know we're already running out of time—and we haven't even started yet."

He pulled her into his arms, unsure of what to say. Seth tasted the guilt creeping inside him. Had he been the one to find her, it might have gone differently. At the very least, his tribe wouldn't be at risk.

"It's gonna work out," he mumbled. I don't know how, but it will.

Annalise stepped back. "The shifter your friend killed…Tony's the only one Damian would trust on a scouting mission. If he's dead, Damian's only going to use that to his advantage. Justify vengeance instead of pretending he's out to rescue me."

"If he was sent out for recon, this Damian guy shouldn't expect him back for awhile, right? You stay in your animal forms for the most part?"

"Yeah, but they'll still have a check-in system or somethin', Seth. Don't underestimate him."

"Give us some credit, will you? There are seven wolves and one coyote on this reservation at any time, with a whole family of vampires on speed-dial and eight other wolves between here and Seattle."

Shit. Seth realized. River, Tyler, Levi, Colin, Brady, and Jesse were all in the direction. Leah too. It was any wonder the coyote hadn't caught their scents.

He thought back to Jacob's warning. Maybe that was why Sam was still pissed.

He honestly couldn't blame him. Or Jacob at this point.

Annalise snorted, dropping her forehead against his chest. "When you put it like that…"

Seth nodded, careful to keep his expression and tone light despite the growing knot in his chest. He hadn't even considered that. How could he have been so – so stupid?

Even allied the way they were, if this Damian guy was as nuts as it sounded, who knew what could happen?

"Besides," he lied, hoping to take her mind off things. "Port Angeles is far enough away that it could be a coincidence. If I were you, I would start stretching though. We're probably going to be pulling double patrols for the next few weeks after this."

She grinned, "You gonna help stretch me out, sweetness?"

For a moment, he was too stunned to deliver a witty comeback.

Trying— and failing—to hide her laughter, Annalise gave his cheek a pat. "What's the matter, coyote got your tongue?"

"No," he managed, stuck between embarrassed and turned on. "But she could."

He didn't miss her dropped jaw or the challenge in her eyes as he shuffled past her into the bathroom.

In the time it took to shower, dress, and all the other night rituals, Seth's mind was back on the now-dead coyote, the pieces starting to move around them, gearing up for the inevitable.

Jacob was back, permanently, and Embry wouldn't hesitate to give up his leadership. Hell, the second Jacob popped over to his place, Embry would probably beg him to be alpha again.

By now, Jacob would've clued Sam in on the run-in with Tony, and the group chat was sure to start going off any second. The only question now was what next.

They only had two options here: hunt Damian or be hunted.

Seth eyed the raggedy backpack she kept next to the base of the sink. There was a third option, one that had only a half-shot at succeeding. He and Annalise could flee, draw her old pack's attention away from Washington.

Apparently, it didn't take much. She'd only brought a backpack with her when she'd fled—one change of clothes, a wad of cash, and a small Mason jar with what might have been a salve or lotion that smelled strongly of honeysuckle.

He smiled. Annalise had said Zel taught her about herbs and plants, and here was the source of the sweet scent that drove him wild.

I was gathering aconite...to kill him.

Seth's gut twisted. He'd had never planned to kill anyone—except when they had to hunt predatory vamps and even that had always been out of necessity to protect those who had no idea about the predators around them.

For Annalise, it had been survival.

He left the backpack there and went to find Annalise. Like last night and the night before that, she was sprawled out on his bed like she owned the place.

Annalise eyed the towel wrapped around his waist with a smirk. "Taking me up on my offer?" she teased, rising to a kneel on the bed.

He reached out, hands traveling along her thighs, slow and curious. She wouldn't need to ask him twice. He paused to catch her eye.

The coquettish smirk was replaced by the same, heart-stopping stare of adoration from her earlier, "Seth," she whispered. "I'm glad it was you."

Seth tensed at the mist gathering in her eyes. Had he misread the situation? "You okay?"

Without warning, the levee broke. Annalise crumbled in front of him, her hands reaching out until they locked onto him. Climbing into bed next to her, Seth gathered her up in his arms.

Well, he'd never had that happen before.

Her breaths came out ragged and sharp as she tried to blink back the steady stream of tears. She laughed a weak, haphazard sound. "S-sorry, I don't know what's happening. I'm just—"

"S'okay," Seth murmured, stroking her hair. "Bed's all wet but it's okay."

She choked out another laugh through the strangled sobs. "I should not be crying right now. Ugh, I'm just so fucking tired of looking over my shoulder. I didn't mean to put your tribe in danger. I just—I needed—" Annalise exhaled through pursed lips.

"A break?" he offered.

Annalise pushed herself upright and crossed her legs between them, the tears slowing, replaced by confusion, a thin handle on anger that bubbled just beneath the surface. "I know we're half animal but the shit Damian has done, that's not instinct. The shit we — I — let him get away with. If I was stronger, maybe I could've broken his alpha order. I could've fought harder. Now, who knows what he's doing, and to who. Gods, if he touches Yara, I swear I'll gut that motherfu—"

Seth sat up. "Hey, look at me. Being what we are is not why he's like that and it is not your responsibility to protect everyone. You were busy trying to stay alive, Annie, so that you could fight another day."

She rolled her eyes. "Right, fat load of good that's done me. I'm hiding out, just waiting for him or Val or who else to find me and drag me back. Or kill me. And what if they kill you? Or Embry? Or Leah or, hell, even Paul?"

"Listen, when—if he comes, we'll be ready. You'll be ready. You are safe here."

She shook her head. "You're saying that because of the imprint. If you knew what I'd done…"

Seth couldn't deny that the imprint had played a major factor. At first. But now, things were different. Or, starting to be different. "Tell me. I can take it."

Annalise laughed bitterly. "Seth, no offense, but you are too sweet, too kind, and too trusting. You see the world with these rose-colored glasses—even when I busted a body-sized hole through your house, you didn't once yell at me. You didn't even ask me to help pay to fix it. One of your best friends is a vampire for fuck's sake." She rubbed at her temples. "I'm not...I'm not a good person."

It was Seth's turn to roll his eyes. "Please. I'm not as dumb as I might look, you know. And you're not as bad as you think. I've got a sixth sense for these things, trust me."

Annalise fixed him with a stare so cold the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, a shiver crawled its way down his spine. "I've robbed people, hurt people. I left my brother to die, Seth. I've thought of a thousand different ways to kill Damian and anyone who stood in my way if I ever got the gall to leave. I tried to slit his throat, Seth, while he slept, and I'd do it again if given the chance. That's who I am."

Seth shook his head, "I don't think that's true."

She scoffed. "Seth, come on—even that Jacob guy knows it and he's never even met me. Your whole pack knows it."

He continued, ignoring that comment. "I don't think it's true because I've seen who you are, in here." Seth gave her forehead a gentle tap. "And I know that, despite all the bullshit you had to go through to survive the last six years, you're still a good person. A few battle scars, sure, but we've all got our pasts."

Annalise sighed, rubbing her face as if annoyed, but the small smile betrayed her. "You're stubborn, you know."

Seth grinned, shrugging. "Some call it stubborn. I prefer...endearingly persistent?"

She snorted before taking his face into her hands. "You know, I wish I would've met you back then. I was a totally different person."

"Yeah, well, ain't no sense dwellin' in the past," he answered, laying on his best southern impersonation.

Annalise cringed laughing. "Babe, don't ever do that again." She looked down between them at the damp towel still wrapped around his waist, "You, uh, gonna put some pants on or…?"

Seth chuckled, wagging his eyebrows. "Depends. Weren't you just asking me to, what was it, 'stretch you out'?"

She gaped, landing a smack on his chest that actually stung a little. "Fair," she mumbled, averting her eyes as a light pink dusted her cheeks. "Guess my bark was bigger than my bite this time."

"Are you blushing?" he teased, thumbing the apples of her cheeks. "It's cute."

"I am not cute," she grumbled. "I'm vicious."

He nodded. "Okay, vicious."

Annalise narrowed her eyes at his sarcasm. "You makin' fun of me, Clearwater? You think I'm soft after all that boo-hooing, huh?"

Seth froze, floundering for words as she flipped him onto his back, her hands pinning his wrists to the bed. She leaned forward until their noses touched, her eyes alight. With mischief, he realized, seeing the slow, crooked smile play on her lips. "For a wolf, you're not very strong."

He growled, easily breaking the hold she had on his wrists. With one arm around her waist, he turned the tables. She laughed beneath him, a breathy sound, as she craned her neck to kiss him.

"I stand corrected," she whispered. "You'll need to be faster than that though."

He blinked, she was gone, and he was falling face down on the bed. Her ghostly laughter echoed down the hall. He tossed the towel and quickly slid on a pair of boxers before darting out of the room. "Not fair!" he called out. "It's cheating if you play dirty."

The house was small and he highly doubted she'd venture outside in nothing but a shirt.

He thought back to the first day she phased in front of his pack and frowned. Okay, maybe she might, but he hadn't heard the door open.

He trained his ears, listening for the sound of her footsteps as he crept into the liminal space between the living room and kitchen.

"Gotcha!" Annalise's voice rang out as he spun around. She crashed into him, sending them scattering to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

"How did you do that?"

"A lady never tells her secrets," she said, moving to straddle his hips. "Besides, life wouldn't be any fun if you didn't play dirty sometimes."

He stared up at her, taking in the smile on her lips, the wicked glimmer in her eyes. The blue butterfly clip pulling her wavy locks back from her small, heart-shaped face. "You're beautiful, you know that?"

"Yeah, well, you ain't so bad yourself," she said, sitting back on his lap and giving his stomach a pat.

Seth shook his head, "I mean it, Annie," he repeated as he sat up carefully on the floor. She adjusted in his lap, letting her arms drape lazily around his neck. "I've never met someone like you."

"Count yourself lucky, sweetness. I am one hot mess."

Though Annalise laughed, Seth frowned, wrapping his arms around her waist to draw her closer. "Annalise, I'm saying that I'm glad it was you, too."

"Seth—"

The words were coming out faster than he could stop them, and part of him was terrified. There were a thousand ways this could end poorly, but right now, wrapped up with her on the floor of this little blue house…"What if we didn't focus so much on the bad? Okay, the pack is in their feelings right now and there's a murderous alpha with a hate-on for wolves, but I don't want this to be some halfway house where you're waiting to be killed. I like you. And I want to show you there's more to life than just surviving."

Annalise swallowed, the smile disappearing from her face. "Seth, right now, surviving is what we should be focusing on. Besides, you don't know what you're asking. Even if you've been inside my head, you barely know me."

"Then let me. Get to know you, I mean."

"I don't want a relationship, Seth. I've got way too much messed up shit ramblin' around in my head right now."

"Fair, no titles and no strings then. You can't sit there and tell me this is all just about the imprint, can you? That the only reason you've stuck around is because nature tells us to protect each other?"

Annalise smiled sadly. "Seth, you know the answer to that. Is this what you meant by wanting to 'do this right'?" Sensing he wasn't going to answer, she continued. "You're putting too much trust in me, sweetness."

"You won't betray that."

"You mean I can't, but even with the imprint, there's no telling what else I'm capable of when it comes down to it. You understand that? Even I don't know what I'll do sometimes. Sometimes my body takes the lead and I'm left to clean up the mess."

There was a long, empty pause as she met his gaze. He should have some comforting response, that he knew, but nothing would come out. While it was no secret he was physically attracted to her, the morning's events as evidence, he'd just confessed something else entirely.

Standing up against an army of vamps hadn't been as nerve-wracking as this. At least then, he knew what was next. With Annalise…

"I like you too, you know." She gnawed on her lower lip. "Nothing too serious unless I say so? What I say goes?"

He nodded, knowing he was getting himself into a situation with the potential to leave him worse off than Angela had. And he was wholeheartedly ready to marry her. An imprint added a whole new layer of complicated he and Annalise hadn't even began to peel back.

In a sick kind of way , Seth was almost thankful Angela had done a complete 180.

There would have been no way to deny Annalise anything she asked of him anyway. Part of him hated that fact, felt trapped, but he'd seen the memories when Sam had tried to fight it and that was an even worse fate and altogether futile.

"What is it you want, Annie?" he asked, reaching up to caress her soft cheek.

"I want you to stop giving yourself to me so freely. You're not a thing to be bartered and sold, Seth."

What? The thought must have been written on his face because she shook her head, sighing.

"What do you want, Seth? Really and truly?"

She'd asked this question before and he hadn't been ready to answer. It felt strange coming out of his mouth, but he couldn't redirect twice. "I want to be happy," he answered with a heavy sigh. "I don't want to wake up one day and not recognize the person I'm with. Even if it's not good, I want to know where I stand."

Annalise frowned, "They sure did a number on us, huh?" Her eyes left his. "I'm not the best with this kind of thing, but I can try. You gotta know though...I need freedom. I won't be forced into anything, imprint or not. As much as I want to see you happy, I refuse to put myself last again like when I joined your pack. I don't care what the imprint makes me feel, even if it hurts like hell to fight it."

That was fair. Though the situation had been tough, her hand had been forced and there was nothing Seth could do to change that.

"I never apologized for that, did I? I am, you know. There were other ways to handle that and I should have protected you. You won't be put in that position again, I promise that."

Annalise shook her head before smiling. "I don't blame you. Your hands were tied. But you're right, it won't happen again." She sighed. "I sure hope Nature knows what she's doing here."

Seth laughed, pressing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Either way, we're here."

She heaved a heavy sigh and rose to her feet, holding her hand out to help haul him off the floor. "I'd say let's go to bed but it's all wet and not for the good reasons either. Didn't your mama teach you how to dry off, Clearwater?"

And she's back.


Billy Black's yard was full when they arrived the next evening, a roaring fire blazing in the center of the yard. Annalise tensed in the passenger seat, her eyes wide as all members of both packs crowded around the bonfire.

Seth felt a swell of pride rising as an undercurrent to his own shock. While he hadn't known everyone—even Leah and the guys who had been off to college—would be here, it felt good to have everyone in one place like old times.

Even if they were gathered there for dire reasons.

"I'm going to apologize in advance for anything they say to you," Seth whispered.

Annalise cast a wary glance his way as they pulled to a stop and cut the engine. They'd barely made it out of the truck before Norah and Emma Cameron came rushing toward his legs. At five and four years old, they were tornadoes of energy, their jet-black hair flying back as they ran.

"Uncle Seth!" They screamed in delight, laughing as they ran into his legs, wrapping their little arms around each one.

"What's up, shorties?" He greeted, careful as he waddled over to the bonfire.

"Daddy said you got a girlfriend," Norah cooed and the two of them dissolved into giggles. They babbled on about a game they'd been playing earlier, squealing each time they almost fell to the dirt.

Seth's face reddened, his hand reaching out of its own accord to find Annalise. She gave his hand a small squeeze before letting it drop.

As they neared the fire, the conversation and laughter died down. All eyes turned to them. Kim, Jared's wife, gave Seth an apologetic smile as she ushered her daughters back toward the other kids.

Seth cleared his throat, wrapping one arm protectively around Annalise's waist. Last time he'd tried this, she almost bit his head off. Now, she seemed to welcome it, using the curtain of her hair as a shield as she leaned into him.

"Everyone, this is Annalise Montgomery."

Her grip on his waist tightened as they came up to the old log Leah occupied. The small crowd appraised her silently, the children carrying on their hand-clapping games completely unaware.

"Sam, I think you've gone soft," Collin Littlesea joked, breaking the tension enough to elicit a few chuckles. "She doesn't look so tough."

"Careful," River Young said with a shameless grin. "I heard she bites."

Seth stiffened at the double entendre, the growl out of his throat before he realized what he'd done. River's eyes widened before he burst into laughter. "Whoa, shit. OK, off limits. Gotcha."

"That's his imprint, stupid, of course she's off limits," Embry muttered.

Leah cleared her spot on the old log for them, taking a seat next to Embry. "Good to see you're doing better," she offered, nodding to Annalise.

Paul sucked his teeth. "I'm the one who had a concussion, you know."

Seth tensed as Annalise took in Paul's presence for the first time. Her lip curled back over her teeth, a warning rumbling low in her chest as she jerked her chin up, defiant. "Yeah, well, your guts were still tucked nice and neat inside your body—unlike mine—so you're welcome."

Paul sneered, taking a few steps away from his wife, Rachel, who was busying making faces as their two-year-old. She gave his leg a quick smack. "Relax. It's about time someone besides Sam gave you a taste of your own personality, babe."

If Seth didn't know any better, he'd have thought they'd been sucked into some Bizarro World as laughter broke out. Hadn't Jacob told them about the now-dead shapeshifter just miles from here? Just a few days ago, there'd been a kill-order on Annalise's head. Yet, even Sam seemed a bit at ease. As at-ease as he could get anyway.

"All right, what gives?" Seth asked, a thick coat of frustration on each word.

Sam and Jacob glanced at each other for a moment before the former cleared his throat. "Maybe we should get started then?"

The two men eyed Billy Black, who, until this point, had silently taken in the conversation from his seat. Older now and grey-haired, the man had an air about him every bit as supernatural as the wolves though his body was entirely human.

Billy Black cleared his throat, his rich voice bringing the chatter to a hush with ease.

"Since the pack has a new member, perhaps we should begin with our stories," Billy said, dark eyes trained on Seth as he spoke. "So that we have a fair trade of information."

Seth turned to Annalise to see if she'd understood. Tribal stories weren't shared with just anyone. In as much power as any alpha, Billy Black was ordering the truth out into the open, the entire truth in front of everyone.

Sam and Jacob, who sat on either side of Billy Black, watched them, mirror images of each other in their guarded observation.

"It's your choice," Seth reminded her in a whisper, more for her benefit than secrecy. Jacob and Sam both raised an eyebrow at his words. Regardless of whatever unspoken power play was happening right now, he intended to keep his promise.

"Can't guarantee it's kid-friendly," Annalise said, her voice even in the same way it had been all those weeks ago in the forest, at odds with the anxious wave seeping from her skin. "But you have my word."

Billy nodded slowly and squared his shoulders, ready to begin.

Eyes reluctantly left Annalise to focus their attention on the elder. Jacob held Seth's gaze, a stark warning—though, for what, Seth had no clue.


A/N: Thank you to BookLuvr9802 for showing some love! Things are starting get a little intense in La Push. Well, see y'all next week! In the meantime, you should check out the completed Edward Cullen story (The Wild) on my page if vampires are your thing :D Stay safe, y'all! 3