Mama wouldn't let me go that next morning. She just kept hugging me tighter and rocking me back and forth. "You better call me the second you need me, you hear me?" she said. She kept stroking my hair. "If I hear from the boys that you guys are in trouble and I didn't hear from you first—and you're not dead—, I will have your head, Hadley Sarah-Violet. Do you understand?"

I tried not to laugh. "I thought this hug was supposed to be comforting," I commented. She held me out at arm's length and gave me that signature Leah Clearwater look. "Yes, Mama, I promise I will keep you guys updated."

Surprisingly, Kim was taking it very well. She was standing on the other side of the yard with Wyatt, and they were speaking in hushed tones. So hushed that my super ears couldn't pick up what they were saying. She handed him something small before pulling him into a tight hug. She looked close to tears. I saw Wyatt say, "I love you, Ma."

"I love you too, Grey," she said as she wiped her tears. Jared was coming back from his patrol to say bye. He wasn't a really affectionate dad, but he took his sons' safety very seriously. So he gave Wyatt a talk with a stern look on his face before pulling him into an embrace. Wyatt was shocked for a second before settling into it.

On the other side, Nate was saying bye to his parents and siblings. When Luna wouldn't let go of his neck, Nate just very patiently rocked her back and forth while his father spoke to him. Sam and Emily both looked nervous to see Nate off on his own. "You call us as soon as you get to Georgia," Sam said. "We gave you as much money as we could; it should last you until you get back."

"But, if it doesn't, we'll find a way to get you more," Emily added as she wrung her hands nervously.

"Mom, Dad, we'll be fine," Nate reassured them. "Two weeks, you won't even notice we're gone."

I turned my focus back to my mom, who was trying to sneak more cash into my wallet. "Mama," I scolded, gently grabbing her hand. "I have enough. We don't need any more money."

"Fine, fine, fine," she sighed. Melody and Will came out of the house behind Mama. Melody immediately threw her whole body into mine and buried her face in my stomach. Will lingered for a second before coming around and draping an arm around my shoulder. "Aww…" Mama crooned as she reached for her phone, "my babies. Let me get a picture."

"Alright…that's enough…" Will started to move away from me. I strong armed around his waist to keep him close. He sighed before inevitably resting his cheek on the top of my head. Melody turned around reluctantly; she held onto my other arm really tight. We let Mama snap a few pictures, watching her get a little more teary eyed with every click. Will stayed a second longer than I thought he would; I couldn't help but notice he was emitting the slightest amount of dread. Then he very quietly says to me, "I…I know I don't say this a lot, but" he sighed, "I love you, H."

I looked up at him in surprise right as Mama snapped another picture. Will was a little guarded behind the eyes, but he still gave me a small smile. "I love you too, Will," I grinned.

He was still smiling as he rolled his eyes. "Don't get sappy," he said as he left my side to go back to Mom. "And don't die or whatever. But mostly, don't get sappy."

"It's too late, you already showed me emotion. No take backs," I called back to him as I leaned down to hug my baby sister. She was pouting. I squatted down to her level and squished her little cheeks together. "Smile, Mel, for me."

"Why do you have to go?" she asked, looking at me with my mom's hazel eyes. "Why can't you stay?"

I pushed her raven hair out of her face as I tried to think of the right words to say. Melody had never phased, so she only understands so much of why we're doing what we do. "Do you remember when you were really little and you, me, and Will would have those weekends together where we would make pancakes and watch Moana and play Barbie Animal Rescue?" She nodded. "Sometimes, we had those weekends because Mama and Daddy had to take care of wolf business. You know that, right?" She nodded again. "So now it's my turn to take care of wolf business. Wyatt, Nate, and I have to make sure that everyone here at home is safe."

"But why can't you just go patrol like Mama and Daddy do?" Melody asked.

"Well…because this needs something a little more than a patrol, little love," I told her, "which means I need you to be extra brave for when I come back."

She was thoughtful for a second. Then she held out her pinky. "Pinky promise, you'll come back."

I hooked my pinky in hers. "I'll be back in a blink," I told her before kissing her nose. Wyatt and Nate were walking up to the house with their families and I watched as Wyatt scooped Melody up into his arms, making her laugh out loud. I stood up and looked at my mom. "Where's Dad?"

"He'll be here in a minute," she said. "He's running a little late."

My brother was nice enough to map everything out for us…for free. Probably because Nate asked instead of me. We were gearing up fast for this trip and I think it was really starting to hit that this was real. The Volturi coming wasn't just a hypothetical anymore; they were here. And they were rapidly building something of an army. Just in the 24 hours that it took for us to prepare to leave, 2 more people had gone missing, outside of the college campus this time. So, we, as a collective, had agreed to two weeks, but every second counted. Could we make it faster?

After I told my grandparents that I wanted to somehow do a three-way Bond with Wyatt and Nate, I was practically buzzing. Grandma Sue was fully on board; she laughed for a really long time before making a crack that she knew I wouldn't do things the easy way. It took a bit for Grandpa to break, but when he did, he said something along the lines of "I never would have thought of that…but I should have seen this coming." By the time we get back, they'll have figured out how to perform the Blood Bond ritual so that all three of us can be Alphas. The way it should be. We can't be one without the other without the other.

I was still waiting for the right time to talk to the boys about it. I can't think of any scenario when they wouldn't want to Bond. This trip was going to show that we could work as well as a team off of the reservation as we do on it. It's about communication, teamwork, our rhythm. It's the perfect plan, I know it.

I felt the little tug inside as my dad jogged back to the house. "Shit! I'm late," Dad announced, "I'm sorry, I'm here!"

When he made it to the group of us, he was fiddling with an envelope in his hands. He was giving me this look that he was so proud of me—or of us. "You guys have everything?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yup, we've double- and triple-checked. We all have physical maps in case we get separated for some reason, we have enough cash to roll in, changes of clothes…everything. We're good to go."

"Good," he nodded as he looked down at the paper in his hands again. Mama ushered everyone away so we could have a private moment. Dad wrapped his arms around me and squeezed tight. Jacob Black is very rarely at a loss for words. He was wondering if there was anything else he could say that would stick with me before we leave. I could feel that he felt like there was nothing else he could teach me.

"You've given me everything I need, Daddy," I said quietly. His whole body relaxed as he rubbed and patted my back. He quickly wiped away a tear before finally handing me what was in his hand. "What is this?"

"Uh, let's call it emergency currency," he said.

"We seriously don't need any more money," I let out a little laugh. "I caught Mama sticking a few twenty-dollar bills in my extra bra."

A silly grin spread across his face as he chuckled, "No, not that kind of currency, honey." He put his hand on top of mine. "We're trusting you to make the right call with this one. If you feel like we don't have enough ammo, you use this. But only if you feel like we need it. Do you understand?"

I nodded with wide eyes. I looked at the envelope before looking back up at him. "Is this what I think it is?"

He didn't answer me. He just said, "Keep it somewhere safe."

Mama, Wyatt, and Nate came out of the house. "Ace, you ready? We gotta hit the road," Wyatt said.

I didn't take my eyes off of my father as he silently affirmed that what he just gave me was what I thought he gave me. Breaking contact, I folded it up tight and stuck it in the small front pocket of my shorts. "Yeah, let's do it," I said to the boys. I gave my parents one last hug and showered them with my love. Dad gave me a knowing nod before they sent us on about our way.

Out to the world, here we go…

XXXXXXXXX

It was pretty cool to run free for miles and miles. The breeze felt so good blowing through my fur with absolutely no worry that someone would see. Wyatt had a Mac Miller song stuck in his head as we made our way across Washington State and into Oregon while Nate was thoughtfully quiet on the other side of Wyatt. Our first stop was in Idaho, somewhere in the middle of Boise National Forest. We'd make it there by noon at the latest.

I can't keep on losing you

Over complications

Gone too soon

Wait!

We was just hangin…

It was like having a little radio station in your head. I could even hear Nate humming along a little. It took us a while to get a groove going, but once we got comfortable, we were doing tricks off of trees and enjoying the scenery. We were about 150 miles out from our first target when we stopped at Lake Cascade for a swim.

Phasing back human, I stretched way up and felt my spine cracking like a glow stick. "I haven't run like that in so long. Maybe we need to do this more often," I said with a smile on my face.

"God, that was exhilarating. I don't even feel like we need to stop," Nate commented.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving," Wyatt added. "I keep thinking about a steak. Medium rare."

"Ooh, with mashed potatoes," Nate nodded. "Green beans. A1 sauce."

"And Ma's world famous s'mores cookies for dessert," Wyatt finished as he slipped into the lake. He disappeared under water before breaking the surface and running a hand through his hair. His tattooed biceps were dripping with water as he waded through the water.

Nate stood a solid two or three inches taller than Wyatt and was built a little leaner. Don't get me wrong, he was still rock solid, but he wasn't spending his free time at the boxing gym like Wyatt was. He also was not as brazen about being naked as Wyatt. Nate stepped into a pair of boxers before front flipping into the water.

I slipped in next, shivering at how chilled the water is. I'd never been to Idaho before, but, as I floated on my back, I could see up in the trees and saw how beautiful it was. I'd never seen the sky look so blue, cloudless. The greatness sat in how quiet it is out here. "Hey," I heard to my left. Nate was wading beside me. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"You've been in my head for almost four hours. Was that not enough?" I joked as I started to wade with him.

"I can see those wheels turning in your head," he said. "Even when we were running, I could tell you were trying to distract yourself. And I'm never wrong."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "That's not true."

Nate splashed me a little. "Come on, talk to me."

I studied his face a little as Wyatt swam up to us. "I will when it's time," I decided, cryptically. "For now, we need to focus on getting where we need to be."

"Can we just enjoy the sunshine before we go into serious talk?" Wyatt asked, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. "When have we ever seen a day this clear ever?"

He was right. So we just enjoyed the time we had without anyone around. It reminded me of when we were kids and we'd spend hours at the beach talking about what was out there in the world. What was waiting for us when it was time. We had big dreams for a bunch of 12 year olds. We had no idea what the world would make of us. Or even what we would make of ourselves. So, we savored that half an hour of relaxation before we started to run again.

The group we were heading toward, as far as we knew, lived in the middle of Boise National Forest. There was very little to be found out about them. They were a quiet bunch of people, I'm assuming for a reason.

Do you see that? Wyatt asked. We were nearing what looked like a camping site. A group of triangular camping huts were just ahead, sitting under four tree houses connected by wooden plank bridges. I think that's it!

I felt a wave of nausea as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I managed to push through it because now I knew what it meant. We were around new shifters; I did a little happy dance in my head. We slowed down our stride when a blaring noise started to sound. Ahh, what the hell is that? Nate asked.

We must have tripped an alarm, I said, looking around for something. Anything that would send a signal. I spotted a small laser up in a tree that was pointed down to the ground right where we were standing.

Hey, head's up. Company's coming and they look hostile, Wyatt projected. A group of large fur covered beasts came barreling toward us with glowing blue eyes and nasty snarls. They looked like coyotes. Werecoyotes? Cool. Well…not so cool that seven of them looked ready to rip our throats out.

Wyatt, take the three on the right. Nathan, you got two on the left. I'll handle the two in the middle. Remember, we're not here to fight. Defense, not offense. Go. They weren't as big as us, but they looked mighty vicious.

It was like seeing two lions fight over a scrap of meat. They lunged at us right as we reared up. All of that training was coming to help though. Uncle Paul always told us that if we wanted to know our opponent's next move, you look in their eyes. And I could see that they were just human enough to be read. They were coming for the throats of the intruders—us.

I fought them off fairly easily, although I have to give them props for stamina. With every swipe of my paw, they came back with a snap at my neck. Wyatt, on one side of me, was handling their offense like a pro. He already had two down for the count, with one more he had just put his jaws around the neck of the last one. When that one was on its ass, Wyatt jumped over to the other side to help Nate.

I bit down on one of the coyotes tails and spun it around to knock it into the other one. They both flew into a tree before righting themselves and coming back at me. Jesus, they're scrappy, I commented.

I know that'll be a good thing when they help us, but it's a little bit of a bitch right now, Wyatt said. Eyes up, Lee!

It was only then that I realized what I had to do. We could keep fighting, assert our dominance over them. That wouldn't make aligning with them easier. So I quickly dodged the coyotes as they gained on me again and then I phased human.

Holding my hands up in surrender, I understood how vulnerable I was making myself. Naked. Open. "Stop! We're here for help," I said, bracing myself for impact. But they skirted to a stop. The shifters that Wyatt had fought were starting to come to and growl at us again. My jaw clenched as I dropped down to my knees.

What is she doing? Wyatt asked.

Playing it right, Nate said, a little impressed.

I watched as, right in front of me, the glowing light in the coyote's eyes dimmed. And then slowly, I watched it transform into a man standing right in front of me. "Who are you? Where did you come from? And why are you trespassing?"

"My name is Hadley Black," I stated. "We are of the Quileute tribe in La Push, Washington. And we need help."

The man, standing at a strong 5'11" was as pale as they come, with long dirty blond hair and piercing blue eyes. His face was motionless, but I did see a flicker of recognition in his eyes when I said what tribe we come from. "Quileute," he repeated. "As in…" he trailed off.

"Yes," I finished for him. Sometimes, my parents reputation was enough. I carefully poked to the boys. "I brought two of my pack members with me. Wyatt Cameron and Nathaniel Uley."

"What's your business?" he asked, motioning for me to stand up.

I stood slowly. "We have been made privy to certain information that the Volturi is looking to go to war," I told him.

The man searched my face for anything that read less than the truth. Before he snapped his fingers and said to two of the shifted animals, "Take her to Eric."

"Wait, who's Eric?" I tried to ask before my body was scooped up and I was riding on the back of a coyote as it ran toward the huts. I looked back and saw the boys being held back by the rest of the shifters. "Wait, guys?! Wyatt! Nathan!"

The inside of their village of huts was littered in people. They were all gathered in small groups and watching closely to see who the intruders were. I'm just glad my hair at that time was long enough to cover my nipples or I'd be so embarrassed. I couldn't just reach over and untie my baggy T shirt from the wire around my ankle.

What I didn't expect was to be walked into a hut without a word and a shut door before I could even say 'thank you' or 'what's going on' or 'can you please tell me who Eric is." There was a tapestry separating the area in front of the door with the rest of the hut. It was one of those Mandala tapestries that I desperately wanted to get from Urban Outfitters when I was 15. "Hello?" I called as I knelt down to grab my shirt. Pulling it over my head, I starting to push the tapestry to the side to go further into the hut. "Um…Eric?" I called hesitantly.

"Come in, come in, little lady," I heard from inside. "Welcome!"

His voice sounded familiar, this type of deep and rich tone that immediately sent me on red alert. And when he came into view, with his back to me, I realized why. His hair was just brushing his shoulders, but it was the same salt and pepper color that has haunted my dreams for five years. There was light music playing and he was whimsically moving his hips in his white linen pants and matching linen shirt. There's no way.

The man spun around on his heels with two glasses in his hand. My gaze met those strange grey irises and felt myself audibly gasp as I stumbled backward. I was looking at Matthew's face right now and it wasn't a bad dream. "No…" my voice shook.

"You must be what set off our alarms," he smiled as he invited me to sit. "I was not expecting a young lady so beautiful. Welcome to our little piece of land."

My mouth was wide open, probably. There wasn't any indication in his tone or his body language or the way he was looking at me that he had any idea who I was. But there's no denying that I was looking at the man who kidnapped me. He just had long hair.

"Come sit! Let's chat!" He motioned for me to sit again as he folded his legs under him onto a floor pillow. "Sangria?"

I was stunned to silence, my heart pounding in my ears. "M-Matthew…?" I managed to choke out.

He froze immediately as he had lifted his glass to his lips. He set the glass down in front of him and furrowed his brow. "Excuse me?"

"If this is a joke…" I tried to control my breathing, but my whole body was shaking. Exit points. Where are my exit points?

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" he asked. "How do you know my brother? Is he alive? Do you know where he is?"

There were very few differences between the man standing in front of me and the man who visited me in my dreams every other night. He didn't have those deep dark circles under his eyes like Matthew did or the harsh wrinkles in his forehead. This man—Eric—looked much more at peace, so much more youthful. Of course his hair was longer, but even his smile was brighter. It reached his eyes. "You're not Matthew…" I concluded.

"No, ma'am, my name is Eric Holt," he answered. "Matthew is my twin brother. And you are?"

I convinced myself to sit on the floor pillow, careful to keep my T shirt tucked between my legs. Getting my bearings, I took a deep breath and said once again, "My name is Hadley. Hadley Black."

His eyes widened as he sat straight up. "Hadley Black as in…as in the Quileute Descendant." He shook his head in disbelief. He looked down at his glass. "I didn't think you existed. This fruity shit ain't gonna cut it. You want something stronger? Vodka? Bourbon?"

Eric stood up again and started rummaging through his dresser drawers. "No, I'm alright, thank you," I said quietly. "I need your help, Mat—Eric."

"One of the strongest beings to ever grace this Earth needs my help," he chuckled. He poured himself a glass of Bourbon on the rocks. "What can I help you with, little lady?"

I turned to him. "The Volturi guard—they are plotting to take down the Volturi leaders in some grand revolution to establish a new Order for all supernaturals."

Eric took the entire shot of bourbon to the face before filling up another glassful. He nodded as if he understood. "Ah, this sounds very familiar. My brother spoke obsessively about the revolution before he left." He paused. "If I'm being honest, the way he spoke about your tribe and the revolution were the reason we separated. The last I heard he was in Georgia taking care of a couple of kids."

"Matthew became a Child of the Moon," I told him. "And he turned both of those kids into Children of the Moon too. And then he came to La Push and tried to turn me. He…" I felt myself getting choked up. "He kidnapped me 5 years ago; he held me in their bunker and told me everything he thought he knew about the revolution."

Eric shifted his full attention to me with sad eyes. He came and sat down in front of me. He carefully reached out and held my hands in his. They were strong like Matthew's. I remembered the searing pain of that hand around my ankle, those glowing eyes looking up at me. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Black. Matt had always been…troubled. He struggled with keeping a grip on reality. You did not deserve to be on the other end of that. And I'm sorry if seeing his face is mine is bringing back something awful for you."

His eyes were kinder and his words felt sincere. "I appreciate that. But I'm afraid the reality of what this revolution will be is already gearing to be not far off than what Matthew predicted," I admitted. "The guard have been watching my pack. They approached me a couple of days ago to propose that we help them overthrow the Volturi and then work for them as supernatural soldiers."

"Well, you told them no, obviously."

"I did," I nodded. "But, as a result, they've started turning innocent people to build an army. They say if we don't side with them voluntarily, they'll take us by force. And it won't just be us. They'll start to take other packs by force. Until we're all slaves in the new Order."

"So you think if you band together a bunch of shifters, you can take on their army and keep the peace for us shifters," he finished for me.

I pursed my lips. "Does that sound insane?" I asked.

Voices were nearing the hut and I felt a little tug behind my navel as I always do when Wyatt is close. "…not bad at all," Wyatt chuckled. "If you train with us, you could handle anything."

"I'd love to get my hands on that system to study," Nate was saying as they walked in. They were entering with a couple of other shifters, including the pale guy with the blond hair from earlier.

When they pulled the tapestry, just imagine their shocked faces when they took in the scene in front of them. "What. The actual fuck. Is this." Wyatt asked.

I scrambled to my feet as he started to advance; he had switched instantly to punch now, ask questions later. I put my hands on his chest and forced him to look at me. "I know this looks insane, but I promise it's not. This is Eric Holt," I motioned behind me. "Matthew's twin brother."

"Welcome," Eric gave a friendly smile behind me. "Hadley and I were just discussing your predicament. We'd love to help."

I whirled around. "Really?"

He nodded. "Any resources—any shifters—we can extend, you've got it. No questions asked. I…feel awful about what my brother put you through."

I let out a breath of relief. "Oh my gosh, thank you so much. This means more than you know," I told him, extending my hand to shake. He just squeezed it between both of his hands, giving me a small smile.

"We can discuss the details tomorrow morning. Until then, you are welcome to exist with us peacefully," he looked just behind me to the blond man. "Can you take them to pod H please and get them some fresh towels and water?"

They led us back outside where the crowds of people were now whispering and pointing at us. I took Wyatt's hand as we walked, feeling a little giddy, almost amped up that this is actually working. Nate rubbed the back of his neck a little uncomfortable with all of the eyes on us. "People are staring," Wyatt mumbled.

"We don't get visitors very often," Blond Guy responded. Hmm, I wonder why. He gestured to the cabin as he met my eye. "I'm Nick, by the way. Let me know if you guys need anything. And, Wyatt, we'd love to get you guys on the field later, if you're up for it. Maybe lead a training session?"

"Actually, Hadley and I lead training together. She taught me everything I know," Wyatt winked at me.

Nick's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, for sure! I just assumed…because you're…"

"He's very big and very scary, yes," I laughed. "And he's damn good at fighting. We can definitely show you some stuff. It's the least we can do for your hospitality."

Nick smiled at us. "I'll have someone send over supplies. Enjoy."

Wyatt, Nate, and I got ourselves settled into the little cabin, which was equipped with two tiny beds, a desk, a mini fridge, and a toilet behind another door. I had noticed a shower outside and a little area behind the hut that had a fire pit and a couple of chairs. "Alright, you know the rules," Nate announced. "No funny business, no fucking, no unnecessary nudity. Got it?"

Right then, a small knock came at the door. A girl about our age slipped in with a handful of towels and a basket filled with essentials. She was beautiful; she had this dark chocolate brown hair that was down to her waist and olive skin. She had full hips and full lips, exactly Nate's type. And he noticed her right away. She noticed him too. She hesitated for a second as her cheeks flushed. Then she set the supplies down and left without a word. Nate had that look in his eye. Wyatt snorted and shook his head, amused.

I resisted a laugh as I sat on the bed. "Same goes for you, playboy."

We settled in as best as we could. These shifters definitely weren't as big as we were, so the quarters were tight. Nate had slipped out to go find 'food' and I thought maybe Wyatt and I could have a quiet second. I was lying on his chest, listening to his heart beat. His breath was even, calm. He started to run his hands through my hair. "Can you warn me next time you're about to surrender in the middle of a fight?" he asked quietly. "I would have had to rip their heads off if they hurt you."

"You know I can handle myself," I told him. "But I know you're always there to save me if I need you."

"I know you don't need me though, Ace…" he said.

I looked up at him with concern. "What?"

"All I mean is that you are this sexy, strong, brilliant woman, and I want to protect you. But I know you don't need me to protect you."

"That's not true."

He didn't answer. He just looked at me with a certain love in his eyes, still playing with my hair. Then he opened his mouth right as I started to talk. "Ace, I—."

"I think we—." I shook my head and laughed. "I'm sorry, sweetie. You first."

"No, go ahead," he said with a smile.

I shifted until I could see him better. "I've just been thinking for a while…" I started. Wanting to test the waters, I back tracked a little. "Have you thought about the Bond at all?"

His eyebrow raised. "Are you proposing?" he joked.

I shrugged playfully. "Maybe," I giggled. "I wanted to know how you felt about—."

There was a knock at the door. Nick, the blond guy, popped his head in. He flashed a smile. "Sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting," he said. "I just wanted to check and make sure you're all doing alright."

Wyatt and I both sat up in bed. "We're doing great, thank you, Nick," I replied.

"Awesome. Glad to hear it," he nodded. "A group of us are about to go to the field, if you guys want to come. We usually train for about an hour and then go to the tree houses for dinner right after."

"We'll be right out," Wyatt said. Nick nodded again before dipping back out. Wyatt brushed my hair away from my neck and kissed my shoulder. "So what were you saying?"

I caressed his cheek before standing up. It was a little scratchy from his beard growing in. "We can talk about it later. Come on."

XXXXXXXXX

The next morning, the three of us went up to the tree houses for breakfast. Wyatt ended up sleeping on the floor next to me because the bed was so small. Now he was holding his back, but careful not to complain because he didn't want to seem ungrateful. Nate had notably shown back up in time for dinner last night, absolutely starving. And then when I jokingly said, "I thought you went to find food," he just shrugged and said "I got distracted." And then that girl happened to show up like a few minutes later, with a healthy glow in her cheeks.

So when we sat down after grabbing some food, I asked him, "So what's her name?"

"Who?"

I nodded toward the girl; she was sitting on the other side of the room with a woman who looked exactly like her, just older. He shrugged it off. "So you're just going to collect bodies on this trip then," Wyatt noted.

"And gather intel on how to make the Rez more secure. Sex is not the intention," he smirked, "but if it happens that way, then who am I to say no?"

"Man, I can't wait for the day you imprint," I teased, shaking my head.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," he said with a chuckle before taking a bite of his toast. "Pass the eggs."

Eric walked into the room with a certain exuberance. He greeted every single person in the room with a bright smile and a spring in his step. It was still so weird to see Matthew's face in this way. He was hugging women and kissing babies and clapping the men on the back. Then he came to our table. "Good morning!" he said brightly. "I trust you were comfortable last night."

"Yes, thank you so much for allowing us to stay, Eric. This means the world to us." I said.

"No problem at all," he winked. "You ready?"

I nodded. "Let's do it."

He and I made our way to the front of the room and it was crazy to see how many people were living in this small village. Nick had a full family, a wife and 3 daughters. People were sitting with their parents and own created families. Little boys, little girls, teenagers. How did they stay under the radar for so long?

"Can I have everyone's attention? Eyes on me!" Eric's voice boomed in the small room. Everyone in the room instantly quieted. The respect they had for Eric was palpable; they were at the ready for his words. "As you may have noticed, we have a few guests that came to join us last night from good ol' Washington State."

They all started to clap. Eric continued, "Now, Hadley, Wyatt, and Nathaniel are here on pretty serious business so please give Ms. Black your full attention."

Eric stepped away to let me have the floor. I all of a sudden felt a little shy. Clasping my hands in front of me, I took it all in. All of their faces. "Hi everyone, good morning," I started. "I'm Hadley…and I'm a shapeshifter, just like many of you. In fact, I am the first child in the world born of two shapeshifters."

I watched as their faces started to register who I was and what that meant. So I kept going, "If I can be fully transparent for a second, I have had a bounty on my head since I was five years old. It's terrifying, but I've always been protected by my friends and family who are invaluable to me. But now I have the chance to extend to them the same security they've always given me. And hopefully to all of you and even more shifters and supernaturals alike.

"We're here with you today because the Volturi are here," I declared. The room erupted into a panic. Everyone started talking at once, fear set in their eyes. "I know this is scary!" I tried to yell over top of them. I waited until they started to settle. "We are trying to get ahead of whatever they're planning. From what we know, they are creating an army so they can start to displace shapeshifters for their new agenda. I will not let that happen." I paused for a second as the words that I was about to say even surprised me. "I would give my life to make sure that that doesn't happen."

Wyatt's face slipped into shock at my words, but I knew better than to look at him at that moment. My entire life he'd always shake it off when I talked about what it would mean for me to die as a result of who I am. He always said that we shouldn't have to worry about that; he said that we will have a full life ahead of us. "Now, what we need from you right now is something like an alliance. They are wanting to go to war soon and we need all of the bodies and brains we can get. How many of you are shifters in this room?" I raised my hand to prompt them to follow. A solid half of the room raised their hands. All men. "Wow, that's so many. And how many are trained in medicine?" A handful of the shifters kept their hands raised and then a large amount of women did too. I felt a little jolt of joy. "Amazing, this is incredible. We'll need all hands on deck. Our tribe will provide protection for your little ones; we are a reservation full of caretakers, teachers, doulas, anything you need. And in return for your incredible strength and bravery, we will be at your call for whatever you need in the future. Whether that's asylum or reciprocity of protection or even a hug or a babysitter—," a few chuckles came about, "we want to be able to have that kind of relationship with all of you. Not just for the sake of fighting against vampires, but because I believe in all of my heart that shifters shouldn't have to live separate from each other. I want all of us to exist with and for each other."

Eric stepped back up. "I will be here to answer any questions you may have. Although, I think Hadley has done an incredible job at covering the basics," he said as he patted me on the back. "This is what we've trained for; this is what we're made for. We are here to make a safer world. I hope everyone is on board. You can return to your meals and we will have a bigger discussion about this later."

It was like the entire room burst into conversations about us right at that moment. Husbands comforting wives, siblings hugging each other, mothers holding their babies extra tight. And they were all talking about us and the Volturi and what was to come. I walked back to our table and took my seat in between Wyatt and Nathan. Eric gave me an impressed smile before saying, "Is there anything else we need to know before you go to your next destination?"

"Just that we have measures in place to keep this battle centralized just outside of La Push," I said.

"The three of us will be back in Washington in, hopefully, a little less than two weeks. We have an important ally in Georgia to pick up," Wyatt added.

"And, if we can keep this contained, we can finish this as quickly and painlessly as possible," Nate continued.

"Other than that, all you need to know are the names Jacob Black and Leah Clearwater. If you get to the reservation before us, ask for them, they'll know what to do," I finished.

Eric nodded in understanding. "You three make a great team; you're lucky to have each other," he commented. "I trust you know what you're doing."

"Your trust is probably the most important factor here," I told him. "And your willingness to listen to a bunch of intruders in your space."

He glanced between the three of us, still impressed. "Safe travels. I'll see you on the battlefield," was all he said before grabbing his own breakfast and leaving the treehouse.

We left not long after. Nate showed me the map and where we were headed next. Up into the mountains in Colorado. And then we were off again.