"So let me get this straight…" Travis said as we started walking toward Meridian. "It was the Volturi that started the fire to extinguish our kind all those years ago? And now they're back—but not all of them, just their guards—and they want to build an army of shapeshifters to overthrow the royals?"

I nodded. "In a nutshell? Yeah."

"Well shit," he said. His southern accent made it sound like "Wail she-it."

"You know I wouldn't be here if it wasn't important," I mentioned.

"No, definitely. This is probably the most important," he agreed. "It would have been nice to run into you in a more casual setting, but I'm happy to see y'all nonetheless."

I smiled at him. "It's good to see you, Trav."

"It's been too long," he nodded, pulling me into a side hug. Wyatt and Nate were following behind but hanging back to let me talk to Travis. "I thought about reaching out a lot over the years, but it's been a whirlwind since we got back. There's so much to tell you."

His wheelbarrow got caught on a stump and caused one of the dead deer to tumble out. Travis shook his head and bent over to pick it up with one hand. I scrunched up my face in faux aversion. "I don't know what's more shocking—the deer or how…" I laughed as I searched for a word. "large you are."

Travis smirked, "I only hunt the deer; someone else does the hard parts like sectioning it off and parceling it out. We've kind of adopted the whole 'use every part of the buffalo' mindset. It's a lot of physical labor on the commune."

"You live on a commune." My eyebrows raised in surprise.

"I know what you're thinking," he chuckled. "It's not a cult."

"That is exactly what someone in a cult would say," I teased.

"You got me there. But I mean it," he said. He nodded his head forward. "Check it out for yourself."

We walked just out of the tree line to this…sanctuary. They lived in this gorgeous green field, only a gravel road connecting them to any other human traffic. There was a large fire pit in the middle of the whole space and it was surrounded by these perfectly built, tiny, wooden houses with massive windows and planted flowers. In between the houses, you could see the community gardens and where they hung their laundry out to dry. And it was right on the water, this little river that fed out into the ocean. It looked so peaceful. So…euphoric. "Whoa," I breathed.

"This is where you live?" Wyatt asked when he and Nate caught up to us. "This is so nice."

Travis grinned. "Welcome to Meridian. Follow me."

He rolled his wheelbarrow full of deer toward a shed in the back of one of the houses. A couple walked past as we were approaching, and they waved. "Hey Travis," the woman smiled at me.

"Hey Fallon, Carter, how's the baby doing?" Travis asked.

"Oh, she's so good," the woman swooned. "Sittin' up on her own and everything now."

"Come over for dinner soon, Trav. And bring the girls," the man said before they walked off.

Travis dropped the deer off in the shed and turned back to us. "See? It's not so different than your reservation."

"It might be nicer than our reservation," Nate mumbled. Wyatt elbowed him and glared. "What? It's true."

A door opened behind us. When we all turned, a curly headed strawberry blonde woman stepped out of a sunroom, leaning against the door frame. She almost wasn't recognizable until I saw the snake tattoo on her foot and the flower tattoo on her right shoulder. She was standing in a pair of soft shorts and a tank top. The woman met my gaze and her eyes twinkled in mischievous recognition. I felt myself smile. "Hi Reese," I waved.

"Hadley Black," she said, "and company. What a surprise."

"How are you, Reese?" I asked. I couldn't express how layered that question was.

"Sober," she answered honestly. "You're a little far from home, aren't you?"

"Special circumstance."

She nodded in understanding, then waved us in. "Come on in."

It was like walking into the fanciest cabin in the woods you've ever seen. The sun room was perfectly tempered, decorated with a beautiful red rug and lounging chairs. Then when we got into the house, it was like a state of the art tiny home with tall ceilings and picture windows. The kitchen was small with a little island that sat a few people, the fridge and oven in the wall to make space, and floating shelves to hold their plates and pots and stuff. And the living room was enough to feel cozy on the loveseats with a tv mounted on the wall and books flanking either side of it. And there were plants and flowers everywhere. This place was magnificent.

Travis brushed past me to get to the kitchen. He looked even bigger in this small house, but he maneuvered it so comfortably like he didn't even notice. He started to wash his hands. "Sorry y'all had to run into me while I was huntin'. Usually, I don't have to worry about nobody bein' in those parts this time of day."

"How often do you guys hunt?" Nate asked, fiddling with one of the plants on a nearby wall.

"Every couple of weeks," Travis answered. "Y'all got good timing, that's for sure."

Reese offered us water and a seat. Nate and I fit on one loveseat while Wyatt stood at my side. She looked so different, so much more at peace. Still as reserved as she used to be, but she didn't look like she was battling things as hard as she was 5 years ago. Her hair wasn't dyed anymore, she didn't look irritated by my presence for once, and it seemed like this life made more sense for her. "Jesus, how long has it been? Five years? It doesn't even feel like we left that long ago," Reese commented. She pulled her knees to her chest in the other loveseat as she studied all of us. "That one got taller, this one looks meaner with more muscles and tattoos, and you…" she stopped as she scanned me up and down, "time looks really good on you, Hadley."

"Thank you?" I was a little shocked. 10 minutes and no 'princess?' No wise cracks? Who is this person?

"Yeah, you've really leaned into the whole Disney hair thing. It's very Pocahontas." There it is. "I'm kidding," she smirked. "Don't worry, first and last princess joke, I promise."

"You look really good too, Reese," I said genuinely.

She tried not to smile. Travis joined us, "Y'all hungry? Tired? You came a hell of a long way."

Reese stood up, "Montana should be here soon with the rest of what we'll make for dinner. I'm assumin' y'all are stayin' for a couple of days?"

"If you weren't plannin' on it, you should now," Travis said with a welcoming smile. "Nate, you can stay in my room, man."

"And I'll put the lovebirds up in the loft," Reese nodded. "Follow me."

We all stood up to follow them. "Southern hospitality is a little aggressive," Wyatt muttered. I shushed him as we walked up the stairs with Reese to the second floor. Wait, did you tell Cass we'd be coming here? Wyatt asked.

I cringed a little, thinking about Cass. Yeah, I talked to her the night before we left.

It was only fair for me to talk to Cassie about potentially seeing Reese.

Cassie was quiet as she folded the remainder of her clothes and placed them neatly inside of her dresser. I was sitting on the bed. All I could do was wait for her to say something. When she didn't, I told her, "If it's too hard for you, I don't have to bring her back here."

She shook her head. "No, no, it's fine," she said. Cass turned to me and flashed one of her brilliant smiles. I knew it was a front, she knew it too. "I'm over it. Really."

I took her hand to pull her to sit. "It's ok if you're not, Cass. Reese was important to you."

She shrugged it off. "That was a long time ago. We're both grown up now," she insisted. "I think I can handle being in the same room with an ex for the sake of the world, H. It's fine, I promise. That part of my life…it's over. Reese is wherever she is, doing whatever, and I'm here. I'm happy."

We both knew that Reese was more than an ex for Cassie. She was her first real love. Over the past couple of years, Cassie was fully in the sorority scene and she was dedicated to finishing college. She had gotten the sparkle in her eyes back. But she mentioned Reese a lot when we talked. "Have you heard from her?" I asked cautiously.

"No," she said quickly. A little too quickly. Then she stood up abruptly. "Ready for family dinner? I'm starving." And then she rushed out of the room.

Reese cleared her throat as she waved us into the loft. It was a light and airy space decorated in neutral tones and fluffy rugs and blankets. "The walls are thin," she warned. "But you guys have your own bathroom up here. It's the most private in the house. This is usually where Montana sleeps, but we'll all rearrange ourselves for y'all."

"Montana," I repeated. "Girlfriend?"

"Sister," she corrected with a slight nod. "Your ghost ancestor lady was right; we came home to a hell of a lot of family and more people waiting on us that we could ever imagine. It was really a blessing." Reese looked so earnest. Then she shook it off. "Anyway, towels, wash clothes, extra blankets, everything you need is in that closet over there."

"Thanks, Reese," I said, sincerely.

"Yeah, we really appreciate it," Wyatt added on. "We know this is all so out of the blue."

Reese shrugged, "Eh, it's not the strangest thing that's happened."

The door opened downstairs. "Well, it's hotter'n a blister bug in a pepper patch out there!" It was a young woman's voice. "Hello! Can I get some help with these bags?"

"And there's my sister," Reese said as she headed for the stairs. "Come on, I'll introduce y'all. She loooves visitors," she mimicked her sister's high tone.

You know how they say life works in mysterious ways? Call it fate or the work of our ancestors or anything else. There was something buzzing about that day, something in the air. And I'm so mad that I didn't see it coming from a mile away.

Like we came 2,880 miles from La Push to Meridian for a moment that will forever change all of our lives. As we were coming downstairs, Travis was coming back inside with reusable produce bags in his hands. "She went overboard," Travis told Reese. "Almost like she knew we'd have guests."

From outside, we heard a bunch of little thumps on the ground and then, "Oh shoot! God, I knew I'd fumble that…" Montana muttered.

"Oh, let me help you." That was Nate.

When I came out of the door, all I saw was a mass of curly brown hair, sun kissed skin in a flowery sundress, and a pair of flip flops as she crouched down to pick up some apples and peaches that she had dropped. Nathan bent at the knees to help her. "Thanks so much," she said, grabbing as many as she could with her hands. "Usually, it's only Trav and my sister home so I don't have to worry about embarrassing myself in front of strangers."

Nate chuckled as he held open the other produce bag for her. "No need to be embarrassed. It happens."

"At least it wasn't the eggs," she joked. "Last time, I dropped 'em before I even left the coop. Poor chickens were prob'ly traumatized." And then she looked up. "I'm Montana."

Then Nate looked up. "I'm…" he trailed off as their eyes locked. And even I felt the ground move as his face paled and his breath stilled. You could hear his heart skip a beat. Nate was completely frozen where he stood. For a brief minute, the walls of his mind were completely bare; I saw everything. From the first kiss to the wedding day to the little babies running around to the old people in their rocking chairs on the front porch. Every wave of purpose and love and desire flowed through me and Wyatt as we both processed what was happening.

Nathaniel Uley just imprinted.

"Holy shit," Wyatt laughed. "It finally happened. You've got to be kidding."

I elbowed him before rushing down to help. Montana seemed to snap out of it first as I reached for the bags out of her hands. "Here, let me take that from you. Hi Montana," I grinned. "I'm Hadley. It's so nice to meet you."

"You too," she smiled back a little dazed.

I pointed behind her. "That's my boyfriend, Wyatt, and this here is—" I not so subtly punched Nate in the arm to wake up.

"I'm Nate," he blurted. "Well…Nathaniel. But you can call me Nate. Most people call me Nate. Or you can call me Nathan. Some people call me that. Actually, only Hadley calls me Nathan. But you can call me whatever you want. Nate, Nathan, Nathaniel. Whatever you want, whatever you like." He was rambling. I punched him again. Montana's sparkling brown eyes darted between the two of us before just landing on Nate.

"Nathan," she tried dreamily. Nate's whole body seemed to deflate as he began to breathe again. They stared at each other again for a strong beat before she blinked back to reality. "And Hadley, so nice to meet you too."

"You said that already," I reminded her lightly.

She palmed her forehead. "I did, I'm so sorry. Wow…I don't…I don't know what that was. I'm in a little tizzy." She fanned herself a little before placing her hands on her hips with a sigh. "I hope y'all are hungry. I have quite the menu planned for tonight."

"You cook?" Nate asked eagerly, gathering up the rest of the bags and following closely beside her.

She blushed a little. "Yeah, I can't rely on these two jokers to not burn the house down," she giggled as she passed Reese and Travis who were looking on with questions in their eyes. "Y'all are Trav and Reesie's friends from Washington? They told us all about you guys when they came back. Isn't that right, y'all?"

Reese stopped me as I started to walk into the house. "What just happened?" she said so only I could hear.

"I'll explain later, I promise," I whispered.

"I'm thinking I'll fry some chicken, and make mashed potatoes, kale greens, and cornbread. How does that sound?" Montana was already busying herself in the kitchen as we all watched Nate helplessly and hopelessly watch her. "I was gonna use those peaches for breakfast tomorrow, but they're damn bruised now. So I might as well make a cobbler or somethin'."

"Wow, that sounds amazing," Nate said, stars in his eyes. "Do you need help? I can help you."

Wyatt stepped in quickly. "Actually, let's go for a walk, brother." Nate started to protest, but Wyatt hooked a strong arm around his neck and pulled him to the back door. "Nope, trust me. Let's take a breather. We'll be back."

They disappeared out of the door and the rest of us just watched as Montana fluttered around the kitchen, singing to herself. Then she very quietly swooned, "Nathan," as she twirled to the fridge.

I gasped as Reese grabbed me by the arm and pulled me in the same direction toward the back door into the sun room. Travis followed closely behind. He shut the door tightly before putting his hands on his hips in concern. "What the fuck is happening?" Reese asked ever so bluntly. "Y'all have been here for 10 minutes and my sister is acting like a…" she trailed off, looking for words, "like a brainless schoolgirl."

"Look, Montana is usually really bubbly; that part is normal," Travis explained. "But you gotta fill us in, Hadley."

I held up my hands to signal them to calm down. "I know this is really strange. And I'll explain," I said. "I just…I need to explain it to her first."

"Absolutely not, Hadley. Tell me right now." Reese wasn't kidding around. She had that rage in her eye that I was used to.

I sighed. "Ok, ok," I nodded. "So…there's a part of Quileute magic that we didn't really talk about a lot when you guys were around. Our pack was still new and it's fairly rare for this to happen. Actually…it's the first time this has happened for the new pack…"

"'This, this,' what is 'this?' Spit it out!"

"It's called imprinting," I blurted. "You can think of it as a very intense love at first sight. When a shifter meets his soulmate, he becomes infinitely and unconditionally bound to that person. He will be whatever she needs at whatever pace she needs him to move. I've only seen it happen in memories, ok? I've never seen it in person. But when their eyes met, I felt something shift in him that I've never felt before. An imprint is the only explanation."

Reese stared at me like I had three heads…and like she was ready to rip every single one of them off. Her hands were clenching at her sides as said through a tight jaw, "You fix this, Black. Right now. Soulmates and shifter magic? Montana isn't as exposed to this stuff as we are. Now you're telling me she's tied to the tall one forever?"

I winced. "I can't really fix it," I told her.

"And why not?" she snapped.

Travis put a hand on her shoulder. "Take it easy, Reese."

"It's not something I can undo," I explained. "They have to figure out what they want to be for each other. If Montana says she doesn't want anything to do with Nate, then he will leave her alone, ok? But we can't influence that; they have to feel each other out. It could be good for both of them."

Travis resigned with a sigh, "Nate is a good guy," he told Reese.

"He's the best guy I know. She will be protected, she'll be loved, she'll be respected. That I can promise you without a doubt in my mind," I finished. "If he hurts her, he'll have to deal with me."

Reese still looked like she wanted to kill me. Then she took a deep breath. "You are so lucky I've been working on my rage," she muttered.

"We have bigger fish to fry than a magic crush," Travis said lightly, squeezing her shoulder. "Let's just enjoy tonight. Good food, good company, good vibesss."

Reese suppressed a laugh right as a giggle escaped my mouth. He did a little dance when he said "vibesss." Trav put his arms around both of us with a bright grin. "Alright, I'll keep it chill," Reese agreed with a laugh, "only if you never say vibes like that ever again."

Travis held up three fingers. "Scout's honor," he promised.

"You weren't a scout," she argued.

"I wanted to be. I got kidnapped," he shrugged before opening the door to let us back inside.

Reese snorted before looking at me. "We can laugh about it now." We were about to go back inside when Reese stopped me. "You really trust Nate?" she asked.

"With my life."

She searched my face for a long time. "That's my sister," she said. "She's the only person who didn't treat us like we rose from the dead when we came back. She's the purest heart I've ever met; I want to keep it that way."

"Have I given you a reason not to trust me?" I asked honestly. She thought about it for a second before resigning. I told her, "I've never met an imprint that was unhappy. I'll make sure he's good to her."

XXXXXXXXX

I wondered if the imprint would make the conversation about Bonding more difficult. Did I wait too long to have this conversation with the boys? Would Nate be scared away now because he had an imprint to take care of now?

I hoped that it would be the opposite. Like maybe now that Nate has imprinted, he'll jump at the chance because he could better protect Montana. My brain kept flip flopping between that being totally reasonable and understanding that maybe I was just being hopeful. We'd always been a team, the three of us. I have no doubt in my mind that we were meant to be here so this could happen.

So why did I feel nervous about asking now?

If he says no, that wouldn't make us any less of a team, right? If he says no, Wyatt and I could entertain a mating Bond. We could truly follow in my parents' footsteps. We could be Jacob and Leah 2.0. Isn't that supposed to be the goal?

…but did I want that?

No, I wouldn't make Nate's imprinting about the Bond or my parents or anything that wasn't Nathan and Montana. This was something to celebrate. My best friend met his soulmate. What could be better?

I was pacing upstairs in the loft when my phone rang. You can imagine the sigh of relief when I saw my mom's face pop up. "Hi Mama," I answered quickly.

"Hi baby," she sounded happy. "How are you, honey? I miss you."

"I miss you more," I said as I sat on the bed. "You could have just projected, Mama. You didn't have to call."

"I know," she sighed. I could hear her rustling papers in the background. She must have been in her office. "I just figure you're getting older now. You probably don't want your mom popping into your head while you're out on a mission."

"You're welcome in my head all the time," I told her, pulling my knees to my chest. "How's everything out there? I hope we're not taking too long."

"It's nothing we can't handle. The Volturi is working hard, but we've managed to save a few handfuls of people from being turned. Your boys are really good," she said. "We wouldn't have been able to help so many people without them."

This made me smile. "That makes me happy to hear, but I'm sad I'm missing all the action."

"There will be plenty of action in the weeks coming, trust me," she sighed. "How are the boys?"

Downstairs, I could hear Wyatt and Nate coming back inside. I shot up to make sure the door was closed. They could hear me anyway, but it was nice to at least have a little privacy. "Well…" I started. "You're the first to hear officially, but Nate imprinted today."

Mama gasped. "Oh my god! You're kidding. On who?" I imagined her abandoning whatever email she had been looking at to pay attention to this call like we were gossiping.

"Reese's sister, if you can believe it." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "We'll probably have to stay a couple more days while they adjust to this. Nate's a little overwhelmed by how it's all happening; Wyatt practically had to drag him out of here for air."

"Yeah, that sounds familiar. Your uncle Paul with Rachel, Embry with Bianca, even Sam with Emily." Mama paused. "Is she pretty?"

"She's gorgeous," I said. "Bright smile, beautiful brown eyes, curly hair. I don't think I ever figured out what Nate's type would be, but she feels like exactly what it should be. She's warm like Bebe or Holly, just with a country accent."

Mama laughed, "Then it sounds like she'll blend right in." A knock came at the door. "So what does this mean for your Bond idea? Have you talked to the boys about it?"

My eyes widened in shock. "Wait, how did you…?"

"It's my job to know, baby girl," she said. "Grandma and Grandpa are really into the idea. Dad and I are on board."

Wyatt knocked again. "Hey Ace, you good?"

I glanced at the door quickly as it opened. "No, we haven't had a chance to talk about it yet," I said quickly. "Wyatt's here, I'll call you back later, Mama. I love you."

Hanging up, I stood as Wyatt came through the door of the loft. He smiled at me as he came up to wrap his arms around my waist. "How is he?" I asked.

"He's alright," Wyatt answered. "Just a little wound up."

"Thanks for taking care of it."

He shrugged good-naturedly. "It's my job," he grinned. He pulled me toward the bed. I sat on his lap with my arms around his neck. Wyatt kissed me on the forehead before looking around. "What do you think about this place?"

"The house or Meridian?"

"Either."

I glanced around too. "Well, I love the house," I told him. "It's so beautiful. It feels like a real home. Why do you ask?"

We found ourselves cuddled on the bed, facing each other. Wyatt was stroking my hair away from my face and gazing into my eyes. "I have something in the works," he told me.

"Oh really?"

He nodded. "I've been thinking about it a lot while we were running. This whole thing with the Volturi has gotten me in head about what comes next. And now that Nate's imprinted…it feels like we're even closer to a real future, I think." He was nervous about something. I could hear his heart beating a little fast.

"Are you proposing?" I joked, repeating his words from our first stop in Idaho.

"I'm going to build a house on our spot back home," he said instead. "Paul and Dad have been helping me with the blue prints. Once this is over, I'm thinking you and me can settle down for a while."

I couldn't stop the smile that came to my face. "Are you serious?"

He pressed his forehead to mine. "Let me show you…"

Wyatt showed me the first time he went to his dad to talk about building a house. One of Jared and Paul's side gigs was home contracting. They were damn good at it, but between pack business, the garage, and being parents, they didn't have time for it all the time. "I want to build a house for Hadley…is that crazy?"

Wyatt and Jared weren't that close. It was no one's fault; I think it was just a personality thing. Jared was an incredible provider for the family, but I think it was one of those manly men 'I'm only a provider' type of things. Wyatt was always closer to Kim; he maintained a healthy respect for Jared though, always. In his memory, Jared just smiled at him and went, "No, I think that's a great idea, son."

That next day, Jared took Wyatt to see Paul at the Lahote house. Little Audrey had run straight for Wyatt when they entered the house. And remained in his lap as they all talked about what they would need to do to start building a house. Cutting down the trees around the land, mowing the wild grass down, creating the foundation. They talked for hours until Paul pulled out vellum paper to actually map out what the house would look like.

Then it turned into Wyatt's vision of what he wanted the house to be. It was a little white cottage with grey shutters and an elevated porch with beautiful big windows. There was a trellis on the side of the house that was covered in vines and flowers. He envisioned the house being shrouded by tall trees with a garden of flowers in the front yard.

He imagined us coming home for the first time. He picked me up bridal style to carry me over the threshold. We would cuddle up in the living room near the fireplace and have home cooked meals in the kitchen we built. And then in flashes, I saw everything he wanted for us. I saw my smiling face as I showed our friends and family a beautiful oval cut engagement ring. The moment we both sat I do and he dips me for our first kiss as husband and wife. Little babies running around in the backyard.

I didn't even realize I was crying until I felt Wyatt wipe a tear away from my cheek. I leaned into the warmth of his hand, letting my eyes close. "It's perfect," I whispered.

It was more perfect than perfect.

"Is that really what you see for us?" I asked.

"I have so many plans for us, Hadley, you have no idea," he said to me.

I propped myself up on my elbow as a small dread filled me. "Wyatt…" I said.

"What's up, Ace?"

"How do you feel so confident in us?" I asked. His eyebrow flew up. "I mean…Nate just imprinted. Don't you worry that it'll happen to you?"

"Do you?"

"Yes," I admitted.

He leaned up to capture my lips with his. That never failed to give me butterflies. My entire body relaxed under his touch, feeling his strong hands caress my sides. I was breathless when he broke away from me. "I don't need an imprint to tell me who my soulmate is. I've known who she is since I was 3 years old," Wyatt said. "I don't want you to worry about me imprinting."

I kissed him again. "I want you for the rest of my life," I told him. I hugged tight around his neck. "I want the life you just showed me, nothing less. Like I want that so bad, I almost want us to run home right now to get started sooner than soon!"

Wyatt threw his head back and laughed. I admired his brilliantly beautiful smile and those dimples I loved so much, and wondered if those babies I saw in his vision would get them too. Would they be shifters like us? Or maybe, just maybe, would they be mortal like Melody?

"Yo, come down for dinner!" Nate called from downstairs.

"We'll be right there," Wyatt yelled back. But he didn't budge an inch. He was just looking at me with those twinkling eyes. "We have the rest of our lives. We don't need to rush it. Right?"

I nodded. "You're right."

He kissed my forehead before entwining our hands so we could go downstairs. Nate was hanging out near the kitchen as Montana plated the food. "I'll carry that for you," he said quickly when she tried to pick it up. Their fingers brushed ever so slightly, making them both gasp.

Montana and Nate locked eyes again before she found herself blushing. "Thank you, Nathan," she beamed.

"You're welcome, Montana," Nate said. He looked like he was savoring her name in his mouth. They lingered there for a second longer before he finally managed to pivot away from her. When he saw me and Wyatt standing there with smirks on our faces, he stopped in his tracks. He glared at us, "Shut up," he warned before taking the food outside.

I stole a glance at Wyatt. "Oh, he's got it bad."

Wyatt's smirk deepened. "This is the best gift ever."

XXXXXXXXX

Our first night in Meridian was so much more fun than I expected. You know how in movies, the group of friends from college all come together again and they have wine by the bottle and laugh and talk for hours under the ambient lighting? It was kind of like that in the backyard that night.

Crazy, right? Reese and I were genuinely having a good time together. Wyatt was finding common ground with Travis. Nate and Montana were catching each other's eye from across the table every couple of minutes. "Wait, so these New Mexico shifters actually bowed down to you guys?" Travis asked, fascinated, as everyone laughed around us.

I nodded, sheepishly as I took a sip of my wine a little embarrassed. "It was surreal," Wyatt said, shaking his head. "We walked into the church and they had a mosaic of Lee right there."

"She was their great prophecy," Nate added sarcastically.

"If I remember correctly, there were three people painted on that canvas," I laughed.

"But only one of us named after a god," Nate corrected. "One goddess, two anonymous warriors."

"That's insane," Reese commented, picking up her empty glass. "The commitment is kind of admirable though, if you think about it."

"Do you want more wine, Sav?" Montana asked Reese. She picked up the bottle and leaned over to fill her glass.

"Just a little more; I don't want to go overboard," Reese said. She ran a hand through her curls.

"Sav?" I repeated.

She glanced at me and shrugged. "Savannah Reese Underwood," she explained. She pointed at Montana. "Our father thought it would be cute to name us after our birthplaces. My mama thought Georgia was ugly so they settled on Savannah. Doesn't really fit; sounds like I was supposed to be a pageant girl instead of a wolf girl."

I tried not to smile. "Sav and Trav?" I teased.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Ha ha, very funny," she ended up chuckling. She turned to her sister. "Speaking of our father, do you care if we set up for the night over there so our lovely guests can stay here?"

"Of course not," Montana replied emphatically. "As long as they're comfortable, we'll make do."

"Thanks so much again for letting us stay," I said to both of them. "And for this dinner. It was delicious."

"It's my pleasure, sugar," Montana grinned at me. Then she stood up. "Oh, I need to check on the cobbler."

Nate shot up. "I'll help you."

She waved for him to sit. "No, please, just relax and enjoy the time. I don't mind."

The mood started to settle. You could hear the crickets and frogs making music in the night and people chatting amongst themselves as they made their way home. Travis folded his napkin in his lap as he cleared his throat. "So…I guess we really have to figure out this mirror thing now," he said as he met my eye.

I nodded solemnly. "It's time."

He blew out a breath. "I kind of thought we would never have to," he told me. "I don't know why, but I just never thought we'd get to this place."

"You can start with something nice and easy like a training session," Wyatt suggested. I put my hand on his knee under the table to let him know how much I appreciated how chill he was being. "You guys need to find out how well you fight together. That way we have a fair shot at accessing that mirror strength and power."

"We're just trying to access every single power point that we have so that we can all go home to peace," I said to Travis. "The sooner we end this, the sooner we can go back to normal life."

"And you're sure this'll work?" Reese asked.

I nodded. "Staking my life on it," I shrugged. Wyatt gave me that look again. That 'stop saying that' look. I don't know why I kept saying that considering how high the stakes were. It just felt…how do I say this? It was just what I was feeling in my gut.

"We'll start first thing in the morning then," Travis said, standing up. "I'm usually up around 5:30, but I don't expect you to be awake that early. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

"What about dessert, Trav?" Reese stopped him.

"Cobbler and ice cream in bed sounds like a dream," he said before popping a kiss on top of her head. "Goodnight, y'all," he waved to us.

Reese sighed as she checked the time on the clock above my head. "He might have the right idea," she said. "Are y'all good? Do you need anything?"

"No, we're fine," Nate said. "I should check on Montana. She might need help."

"Or you can chill here," Reese dictated. She rose from her chair and started to gather everyone's plates.

"Yeah, actually, Nathan, I have to talk to you and Wyatt about something," I jumped in. "It's important. Pack business."

"Then that's my cue to go." Reese left us the rest of the wine in the bottle for us before going inside. You could hear her and her sister talking inside as they cleaned up.

Then it was just the three of us, looking at one another. I wondered if they had any idea what I'd been cooking up. I feel like there's no way they don't know, but maybe I'm wrong. "Since we're talking about power," I started, "I think it's long overdue that we talk about the Bond."

Nate and Wyatt didn't say anything, they just looked at each other for an answer to the unspoken question. Nate's face was furrowed in confusion. "Shouldn't this be a conversation between you two? Bonds usually happen between couples, right?" he asked.

"Historically, yeah," I shrugged. "But I think it's time we shake things up, don't you?"

"Shake them up how?" Wyatt asked.

I sat up in my chair and rested my forearms on the wooden table. "I talked to the Council about the three of us performing a blood Bond and they're on board."

I expected the silence. The shock. The totally white faces of the boys as they took in the information. I took a sip of my wine as I waited for them to come to. "Whoa," Wyatt breathed. "That's not what I was expecting at all."

"Are you nuts?" Nate yelled. "A three-way Bond? There's no way that works!"

"Actually, there's no way it doesn't," I retorted. "A Bond should only be between the descendent(s) of an Alpha and/or a sitting Alpha, male or female. There are two descendants of an Alpha sitting at this table and one sitting Alpha. Do you see what I'm saying?"

"No," Nate shook his head feverishly. "No shot, Hadley. 'Between' the descendant and a sitting Alpha. Between means two people, not three. If it was meant for more than two people, it would have said 'among.'"

"Are you seriously arguing semantics right now?" Wyatt shot at him.

"Did you know about this?"

"No, but it makes sense. Whether it was his birthright or not, Sam was an Alpha for a long time, which means that it can now be your birthright. The Bond was going to go to the first boy who phased anyway. We phased at the same time; that has to be some kind of sign."

"We can't do this without you," I added. "There's a reason I said the three of us would be taking this trip cross country. We've been handling this pack together. That's not because anyone told us we had to, Nathan; we're a team. Anytime the Council or anyone else tried to force something on us, it never worked. But you know what did? When we came together and figured out what was best for the pack, for all of us. We could shake up the way our packs are run for the rest of time."

"What about tradition? Things have always been by the book." Nate countered. He looked right on the edge of agreeing. He knew I was right. Something was scaring him.

"Fuck tradition!"

"We've never cared about tradition," Wyatt argued. "They're still writing the book. The rules aren't set. Three Alphas for one pack would be legendary."

"Revolutionary," I agreed. "The work we're doing is already that. Let's set it in stone."

Nate's foot was tapping up and down like it always did when he was nervous. I glanced at Wyatt, he was cool as a cucumber. He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. I leaned forward and attempted my tried and true. "I mean…you are just so much smarter than all of us. How could we not want you to be part of our leadership?"

Wyatt snorted. "Nice," he muttered toward me.

I shushed him as I waited for Nathan to work through his thoughts. My lips pursed harder the longer he took. "I don't know, Lee…" he sighed.

I nodded. "Fair…that's fair."

"Come on, man," Wyatt rolled his eyes.

Inside, I heard Montana laughing at something Reese said. And it got me thinking… "What about your new imprint, Nathan? Bonding means added strength for you which is more protection for her. You already have an innate need to keep her safe; imagine how much safer she'd be on a reservation with a pack run by, not one, not two, but three powerful Alphas. The most powerful Alphas our people have ever seen."

It clicked for him right in that second. He perked up as the door swung open again and Montana and Reese stepped out. His eyes cut at me, half serious. "You play dirty," he said.

Wyatt raised his hand and I met it in a high five.

"I haven't agreed to anything yet," Nate hissed as they approached.

Montana stood at the head of the table. "I left dessert on three plates for y'all on the counter. There's ice cream in the freezer. Travis is an old man; he's practically asleep already. And we're right across the way, if y'all need anything."

"Get some rest, guys," Reese said to all of us. She grabbed her sister's hand softly but Montana resisted just a little.

"Oh, let me check my strawberries first and I'll be right in," she begged Reese. Reese shrugged before waving to us and walking across the dirt path to another small house.

Nate gazed after Montana as she stepped into the garden a few of yards away. Then he looked back at me and Wyatt. Then back at her as she rifled through her gardens. He cursed under his breath, "I don't know…" he kept whispering.

"You don't have to answer right now, Nate," I told him. "We have time to figure this out."

"Goodnight, y'all!" Montana called as she passed. She blushed as she smiled at Nate. "Goodnight Nathan."

Nate's shoulders relaxed again as he met her eye. "Goodnight," he said desperately. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear coyly before she walked toward her family's house. Nathan waited until she completely disappeared inside the house. Then he turned back in his seat toward us, a little dazed. Then he snapped out of it. "Alright, I'll do it."