One thing that Wyatt and I could never sync up on was waking up in the morning. I'm usually up at first light, he liked to sleep in as late as he could. At least, that's usually how mornings go with Wyatt. It was almost like pulling teeth trying to get him awake before noon. But he was somehow up and out of bed before me.

It was about 6:30 am. I actually woke up almost two hours earlier and somehow fell back asleep, listening to the serene sounds of the South and Wyatt's snoozing beside me.

A pot of coffee was already brewing downstairs with three empty mugs sitting on the counter next to a half full one. The smell of the beans was filling the whole house. I poured myself a cup before finding some half and half in the fridge. There was this constant thunk noise coming from outside. So I took my coffee and made my way to the front porch.

Travis had headphones in and a focused look on his face as serious as a heart attack. He was chopping wood like it was nothing. I watched for a few minutes as he would reach into his pile of stumps, set them up, ax them in one shot, then throw them into his other pile. Travis lifted up his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face. And…I'm not blind, ok? He looked good in that lumberjack kind of way. Like if Chris Hemsworth had dark hair and liked to chop wood at the crack of dawn.

He didn't see me right away. And then he glanced behind him right as I looked over him, alerted at the sound of footsteps. Jesus. Wyatt was carrying five large stumps without even breaking a sweat. His black tank top was hugging his torso in all of the right places, and I could see his look of concentration on his face. He was so focused, his dimples were showing. My heart fluttered a little. God, he's gorgeous. "There are still a few back in the woods. I just grabbed what I could," he said to Travis.

"This might be enough, honestly," Travis said, wiping sweat with the back of his arm. It was strange seeing them interact like this. So civil. "How many more are left back there?"

"Six or seven more," Wyatt told him before glancing to the porch. When he saw me, he smiled and winked. "Good morning, sunshine," he called.

Travis looked over too and grinned as he waved.

"Morning, guys," I called out. I started walking toward them. "How long have you been up?"

"Long enough to get a head start on some chores," Travis said. "Sorry if I woke y'all up. I'm usually awake as soon the sun is up."

"So is Hadley," Wyatt commented casually. "I'm surprised I'm out of bed before her, actually."

"Yeah, me too," I smirked. "Wyatt wouldn't wake up if there was a tornado on a normal day."

Wyatt playfully messed with my hair. "Well, since you're both up, we can get started on your mirror training. How does that sound?"

I nodded, "After coffee."

"I could do another cup too, actually," Travis said as he set down his ax.

As the three of us walked back to the house, more and more people were walking out of their houses and starting their days. I sat on the porch railing as Travis went inside to grab more coffee. Wyatt stood next to me, pressing his lips into my hair.

There were so many young people in this community, around our age. We watched quietly as they tended to their gardens and picked their laundry from the drying lines. The men were large and muscular like Travis (he did say it was a lot of physical labor) and the woman looked toned like they did nothing but weight training and Pilates. But, most importantly, they all looked so happy to be here. They greeted each other with enthusiasm.

Being here reminded me of home. Since we've been gone, I think about what I would be doing every morning. Getting pastries from Holly to take to Mom and Bebe, maybe a pack run on the beach, or breakfast in bed with Wyatt. I lived for slow mornings and missed them.

When Nate joined us on the porch following behind Travis, he looked sleepy with bedhead and his hands in his sweats. "God, it's so early," he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. He propped himself up on the railing next to me. "Does everyone around here get up before 8 am?"

"Usually," Travis shrugged good naturedly. "Sorry, man. You get used to it though."

Across the way, Reese and Montana came out of their family home with a cat following close behind them. Reese's favorite flannel finally made an appearance; it was falling off of her shoulder as she closed their front door and picked up the little gray cat. Montana had her curls swept up into a bun on top of her head, dressed in a pair of army green shorts and a white tank top. Nate nearly fell off of the porch railing when he spotted her, eyes wide. "Shit," he whispered. He started to mess with his hair and wipe at his face, as if he could wipe away the sleep from it.

I tried not to laugh. "Come here," I said, reaching for him. I fixed the mess on top of his head and pinched his cheeks for dramatic good measure. "You look fine," I told him.

His eyes trailed her for a second before he looked at me and Wyatt. "How do people do this?" he huffed. "How do you guys look at each other in the morning? I feel disgusting! I haven't shaved in days or had a proper shower in over a week."

Travis chuckled as he sipped from his coffee cup. Nate glared at him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh."

"This shit is intense," Nate complained. "I feel like I need to impress her, but I don't even know how to do that."

"Montana doesn't care about grand gestures," Travis told him. "She's very simple; she's a quality time kind of girl and she loves flowers."

"Flowers," Nate repeated with a self assured nod. He whirled to look at me. "Should I ask her out?"

"Do you want to, Nathan?" I asked.

It was my turn to get a death glare. "Duh."

"You're thinking about this way too hard, man," Wyatt commented. "You pull girls all the time. Why is this different?"

"Maybe because she's literally my soulma—"

Reese and Montana came up to the porch, shutting Nate up immediately. "Good mornin', y'all," Montana beamed at all of us. "I hope y'all slept well last night. It can get a little hot in there, but I know y'all have like super heat or whatever."

"It was great, Montana," I smiled. "Thanks for letting us invade your space."

"Invade away," she shrugged happily. "Should I get started on breakfast now or in a couple hours?"

Reese rolled her eyes a little. "I told her she didn't have to make breakfast."

"I want to," she insisted. I couldn't help but notice that she was glancing at Nate every few seconds, her face flushing. "I was thinking blueberry pancakes. How does that sound?"

"That sounds amazing," Nate said in a dreamy voice. He blinked and straightened up, mumbling an apology and messing with his hair again.

Montana bit her lip and blushed. "What about the rest of y'all?"

"Sounds good to me," Reese shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm down for that," Wyatt chimed in.

"Great!" Montana grinned. "Hadley? Trav? Blueberry pancakes?"

"Oh, I actually don't like blueberries, I'm sorry," Travis and I said at the same time. We glanced at each other in confusion for a second. "We're gonna go out to the field here in a little bit so y'all can have breakfast, if you're hungry. We'll be back in a couple of hours though," Travis continued, brushing it off.

"Ok," Montana nodded. "I'm gonna go check on my berries. Maybe I'll make regular pancakes and strawberry syrup instead…"

Nate waited until she went around to the back of the house to her garden before he whipped around. "What do I do?" Nate asked in a harsh whisper.

"Talk to her…" I said slowly.

"Talk to her," he repeated as if he was trying to process my words. "What do I say?"

"Maybe start with 'hi'," Wyatt suggested, smirking at his best friend.

Nate's eyebrows flew up as he realized it might be that easy. Reese watched with an amused look on her face. She set the cat down on the ground, who scampered off down the dirt road. "She likes sunflowers," she told Nathan. "There happens to be a sunflower patch at the other end of the commune. Come on, I'll show you."

It was a step in the right direction. I was relieved that Reese wasn't harboring anything negative toward Nate about the imprint. The idea of an imprint is still hard to grapple with, even when you know that it's possible. Imagine being thrown into it—or watching your close family member be thrown into it.

Wyatt chuckled under his breath as Nate followed Reese to the sunflowers. "He's definitely a goner," he said.

"It's kind of cute," I laughed as I got up. "I'm going to shower and change and then we can go."

"Why would you shower if we're about to train?" Travis asked, genuinely a little confused. "You'll just get dirty again."

Wyatt shook his head. "She doesn't like getting new dirt on top of old dirt. It's really weird."

"It's not," I argued, opening the front door.

"A little bit," Travis agreed.

You know what you appreciate more when you don't have regular access to it? A hot shower. Like a real hot shower, not that lukewarm shower we took at that rest stop.

I felt fresh and ready to go, dressed in the sports bra and shorts that Reese had so kindly lent me. I piled my wet hair on top of my head and found Wyatt again outside. "Hey babe," I greeted him as I kissed him for the first time of the day. He placed a hand around my waist and smiled down at me before looking above my head.

His face settled into a satisfied smirk. "Look," he nodded over to the gardens.

And there was Montana and Nate. She was holding a bunch of newly picked sunflowers in one hand and staring up at him with twinkles in her eyes. He, however, was struggling to get words out. "…just thought you should have some—they looked really pretty so I just picked a few. For you. And you're really—I mean, you look really pr—uh…" he sighed.

"Thank you?" Montana smiled.

"I'm sorry," Nate rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm usually a lot more chill. You just have me a little…"

"Flustered?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"That's ok," she giggled as she bit her lip. "Do you like movies, Nathan?"

"I love movies," he smiled at her. Good job. "I'd love to take you out for one, if that—if you'd like—do you want to?"

Montana stepped a little closer to Nate and we watched his whole body tense up. "I do," she said before she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm gonna put these in water. They're beautiful, thank you, Nathan."

"You're welcome," he said a second too late after she'd already gone inside. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands before turning to look at us, questions written all over his face. "What just happened?" he asked out loud but only so we could hear. We both flashed him big encouraging smiles and two thumbs up for good effort. We're making progress, y'all!

XXXXXXXXX

To an outside person, it probably looked strange to see a 22 year old girl going blow for blow with a couple of almost 7 foot tall men, but this was just a normal Tuesday.

Wyatt is a product of Uncle Paul's training. Everything we know, we learned from Paul. It made sparring with him more fun because we knew the same tricks; it was all a matter of who could get to theirs quicker. "There are five rules to controlled two feet combat," Wyatt said to Travis, coming at me. I ducked as he swung his fist toward me full force. "Never push your full weight toward your opponent."

Travis was standing on the sideline; he looked a little scared, but mostly mesmerized by the show. Yes, it's a show. Wyatt always put me on defense first, which was fine, but it requires so much more concentration than being on offense. "Always watch your opponent's eyes," I continued, blocking a kick. I spun and knocked Wyatt's legs from under him.

"Always look for an access point—," Wyatt added. He took a quick jab to my torso which was wide open.

I groaned a little. "But only if you're sure that you're blocking your own."

"And rule number 4—," Wyatt huffed. I hated this rule, "vampires don't play fair. They'll use every ounce of strength and speed against you, so know how to use it against them."

I blocked every single one of Wyatt's tricks as he increased his motion speed by 100%. Roundhouse kick? Dodged. Capture of the wrist? Break at the thumbs. Speedy maneuver to get behind me? Knock him on his ass. He reared up and I found his perfect access point: a foot right to the square of his chest. He went back flying, but controlled his landing. He looked impressed. "Wow," Travis said. "That was impressive."

"Thanks," I grinned. Wyatt came up next to me, draping an arm over my shoulder. "We've been at it for a while."

"Wait, that was only four rules. What's the fifth?"

Right as Wyatt was about to put me in a chokehold, I grabbed his wrist and flipped him on his back. He laughed as he caught his wind.

"Rule number 5: never assume the fight is over," I told Travis. I held out my hand for Wyatt to grab. "Nice maneuver," I complimented him as I helped him stand.

"Nice deflection," he winked at me. "Yes, she's right. Never ever assume the fight is over. Especially with a vampire. But you know that; it's not over until they're up in smoke."

"Right…" Travis said, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyebrows were drawn together tight.

"You look worried," I said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothin'," he shook his head. "It's just been a while since I've had to fight a vampire. Feels more complicated this way."

"Well, this way, we can maximize the mirror. See how you guys fight together so that when we go against the guard, we're using every single ounce that we have," Wyatt explained. He pointed to the spot in front of me. "We'll start off easy. Stand right here in front of Lee."

We stood in front of each other, feet apart. Wyatt told us to just feel each other out. I went easy on him, throwing soft punches so he could understand what we meant by access points and how to block yourself. He caught on really fast. "Ok, that's not so bad," he nodded. "Shouldn't we be training phased though?"

"When you're phased, you're going off of pure instinct," I said. "But what happens when one of them has special powers that somehow prevents you from phasing? What do you do?"

"Ah…"

"We'll have enough bodies on the field; we need to make sure there's enough of us on two feet to take out the big guns, if need be," Wyatt said.

"Ok…" Travis said. "How do we do this?"

"Lee's going to go on offense. Just keep your dukes up, don't think about it too hard. From what I've learned, the energy of the mirror should start to generate the more you two interact," Wyatt instructed as he took a step back.

At first, Travis was apprehensive of fighting me. I don't know if it's because I'm a girl or because he knows me. He fended me off well enough, but looked like he was holding back.

So when I knocked him on his ass a couple of times, I think he started to realize that I wasn't going to go easy on him. Travis looked at me for confirmation and I gave him a nod. "Don't let me win," I reminded him lightly.

"I would never," he gave me a small smile.

When we started up again, it was a little more serious, a little more intense. And it only took a minute to realize that we were matching each other blow for blow. Punches met punches, swipes met swipes, every single maneuver was exactly the same. Not only that, but I felt like I was tapping into something I'd never felt before. Something stronger. Way stronger.

I remember jumping up and our feet connected almost like a stair step and then, when we kicked away from each other, the blast force was enough to send both of us flying backward. Far. "Shit!" I cursed as I collided with a tree. I heard it splinter from the impact.

"Hadley!" Wyatt called, running to me.

"I'm ok!" I told him. He helped me stand up. Travis was a ways away, rolling on the ground. "Travis?"

"I'm alright!" Travis waved a hand as he sat up. "What was that?" he whispered to himself.

"That's only a taste of how strong you guys could be," Wyatt said to me. "It only gets stronger the more you interact with each other."

I looked at him and then back at Travis. "What's the catch?"

Wyatt pursed his lips as he tried to phrase his next words. He was our resident expert on this whole mirror thing. He'd spent weeks meditating and researching the mirrors and how we could use them. "Mirrors can accumulate too much power if they're in each other's presence for too long," Wyatt said. "Which will be great for battle, but potentially dangerous for everyday life."

"How dangerous?"

"Universe dynamic shifting dangerous…"

I pushed the hair away from my face with a frustrated sigh. I stood up and glared at him. "Why are you just now telling me this?"

"Because we need all the help we can get," he explained.

"Jesus…" I shook my head as I started walking toward the center of the field.

"Look, listen," he grabbed my arm. "I've been taking inventory of everyone in Meridian. There are 9 shifters our age on the commune. 9. Same as us. That's not counting the 10 active shifters that are our parents' age. That's not a coincidence. We could actually put all of this to rest if we access all of the mirrors. You felt that power, didn't you? The rest of us might not feel that much strength because you and Travis are the strongest, but I need you to trust me."

"And I need you to give me all of the pieces of information that I need instead of giving me bits and pieces," I shot back at him. Travis started walking back toward us. I sighed. "It's fine. We'll talk about it later."

"Ace—"

"Not right now, ok? Please?"

I wasn't upset with Wyatt as much as I was upset that I was only finding out about it this late. Travis deserves peace after everything that he's gone through. To be one half of a potentially 'universe dynamic shifting' mirror is just another thing that he's already being roped into that he didn't sign up for.

But, on the other hand, maybe after the dust settles, he'll have a real shot at living the life that he wants. Maybe we all will.

But that would also mean that we could never exist in the same space again for long periods of time…

I didn't like that.

"Let's go again," Travis said. He looked confident now. Ready for a challenge.

I didn't say anything. Wyatt just nodded and started pacing backward. "Alright, 2 vs 1. Give me all you've got."

Travis rubbed my shoulder. "You ok?" he asked.

I looked up at him and flashed a smile. "Yeah, all good. Let's do this."

XXXXXXXXX

You guys are coming to the movies with us, Nate projected to me as he passed us with the plates for breakfast.

Wait, what? I asked, my head whipping toward him. Wyatt put his hand on my waist and glanced between me and Nate. When I looked up at him, I said, He wants us to go on his date with Montana.

I can't do it by myself; you guys have to come with us, Nate begged as he passed by again. Please, H. I'm dying over here.

"What's he saying?" Wyatt asked.

"He's being ridiculous," I shook my head. Before he could pass again, I grabbed Nate's arm and pulled him outside where the three of us could talk. "We can't go on your first date with you, Nathaniel."

"Yes, you can," he argued. "You know, I think Travis and Reese should come too. It'll be fun!"

"It won't be a date then; it'll just be a group hang. And we can group hang here at the house," Wyatt pointed out.

"I'm sweating over this, guys. Help." Nate looked terrified. We had never seen him this way; he was always so suave and unbothered by these women that were coming in and out of his life. But now, I could really see how it was all affecting him. How much he wanted to be different than Sam. How much he wanted to do the right thing. "This isn't just a date…" he sighed. "I want this girl for the rest of my life. She's unlike anyone I've ever met. Come on, guys, I never ask you for anything. Do this for me."

"Where are you guys even going?"

"To the drive in."

"Fine," I said. "We're taking separate cars, though."

"But—"

"No buts. That's the only condition." I paused. "Wait…are you going to tell her tonight?"

Nate reached and rubbed the back of his neck. "Shouldn't I? We're kind of running out of time."

Wyatt and I looked at each other. "Are you ready for that?" Wyatt asked.

Nate nodded. "She's perfect."

So we agreed to crashing Nathaniel's first date with his soulmate. He looked so relieved when we went back inside. Montana had made chocolate chip pancakes for us and very casually sat next to Nate at the table. The way they moved with each other was so magical. Like it looked like they'd been together for years and like they were two teenagers who'd just held hands for the first time simultaneously, the way that they interacted.

Their shoulders would brush ever so slightly. They would glance at one another every few seconds and smile; I watched Montana put fruit on Nate's plate as she talked to her sister; and then I saw Nate place a tender hand on her knee as he reached for the salt and pepper. But he was still the same nervous as he'd been when he woke up this morning. He was a little fidgety, but every time he shifted in his seat, she was adjusting herself closer to him.

They looked like the perfect fit.

"So how long have y'all been together?" Montana asked me and Wyatt.

"Five years," I answered.

"They've been in love practically their whole lives," Nate joked. "They were holding hands at 2."

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Montana swooned. "I love how close all y'all are. I bet growing up together was so fun."

"We had fun," I smiled. "These boys always keep things interesting on the Rez."

"And once you meet Cam and Cass—," Wyatt started before he stopped. The entire table except for Montana froze. And then four sets of eyes drifted over to Reese. No one had mentioned Cassie by name the entire time we'd been here. On purpose.

Reese's jaw was clenched as she pushed food around on her plate. "It's alright," she said. "How is Cassie?"

Montana leaned over to Nate and whispered, "Who's Cassie?"

"She's doing good," I answered. "She's in school, working hard. She doesn't come home as often, but when she does, it's like how it used to be. She lights up the room, you know?"

Reese's lips ghosted a smile before settling. "Cassie…" she said quietly under her breath. "That one is special."

"Reese," Travis started.

"I'm fine," she assured him. "I…I saw Cass not too long ago."

"What?" I asked.

She nodded. "Right before Christmas." She paused. "Right before I got sober again. She's the reason I quit using."

Travis stood up from the table. "We should give y'all some time to talk," he said as he motioned for everyone to get up. Wyatt put a hand over mine to silently ask me if I was alright. I nodded and kissed him on the cheek. Montana looked a little confused as to what was happening but got up anyway when Nathan did.

The look on Reese's face was reminiscent of the guarded girl I'd met five years ago. "I need a cigarette…" she muttered, shifting in her seat. She opted for chewing on her plastic straw instead.

"Where did you see Cass?" I asked, cautiously.

"I went to go see her at school," Reese told me. "I'd just broken two years of sobriety on a really stupid bender. And I found this old photo of the two of us; it really fucked me up. I was so goddamn miserable back then and…I don't think I ever appreciated how much she made me better. I thought seeing her one more time would get my head on straight. I ran for like two days, burning off whatever the hell was in my system and trying to get a clear enough mind to see her again."

"What happened?"

Reese sighed. "I saw her with her sorority sisters outside of some frat house. She looked so happy and like carefree, you know? And I was trying to leave because I didn't want to ruin her night, but it was too late. She saw me from across the street. It was like she saw a ghost and not in the Casper friendly way."

"Did you talk to her?"

She nodded. "For a few minutes. She'd asked me to meet her at this bar on that strip in Port Angeles. And she told me that she wouldn't deal with me if I was still using. She…she said she didn't want to see me destroy myself anymore."

When I'd talked to Cass before she left, she'd shut down the conversation so quickly when I asked if she'd seen Reese. Is this why? And right before Christmas? Right before she came home…right before she hooked up with Nate. I know Cassie; she did it to try to forget about Reese.

"So I got clean…again," Reese continued. "Started going to NA. I stopped smoking, I only drink wine occasionally, I haven't touched a pill or anything hard in 7 months. I only phase during the full moon which helps my mental state so much. We eat clean out here. It's hard, but it works for me. Being here works for me. I got clean for Cassidy, but I'm staying clean for me. I get if she doesn't want to see me again; I probably made things hard for her."

I shook my head. "No, Cass misses you, Reese. I can still see it in her eyes. She hasn't even looked at another person the way she looked at you," I told her. "I know things were rocky for us all those years ago, but I'd have to be blind if I couldn't see how much you two loved each other."

"I still love her."

"She still loves you."

"Hadley, you don't have to say that to appease me. I'm not going to kick you out of the house."

"I mean it." I paused for a second. "I can't hear in her head like I can the others, but I know Cass better than most people. You were special to her from that first day."

Reese didn't speak for a long time; she just studied me with an unmoving face. "I guess we'll see soon enough, huh?" was all she said before she got up from the table and went inside.

Reese was so different now. I didn't know how to describe it. She was softer, more thoughtful. It made sense why she still felt a need to guard herself; after years of running and hiding, she'd never had a soft place to land. Until Cass. And even then, she'd had to run again.

In my head, everything will go according to plan, and we can all live happily ever after. The boys and I will Bond, Montana and Nate will start their life together, Wyatt and I will find our own little piece of peace. Maybe it'll mean that Reese and Cassie will get a second chance. Maybe Travis will become a vet like he'd always talked about before.

But before I got too far ahead of myself, I needed to make sure we were on the right track to take down the Volturi guard. Getting up from the table, I cleaned up everyone's dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher. I could hear the boys in the loft and Travis and Montana somewhere outside. "Oh, thank you for helpin' clean up, darlin'," Montana said. "It's so nice having some extra friendly faces around."

"I almost wish we didn't have to leave," I admitted to her. And because I am one of the best friends Nate could ever have, I said, "We'd love to have you on the reservation sometime. Nathaniel could show you around, take you out."

She hummed a little with a smile on her face. "That would be nice," she sighed. She piddled around the kitchen for a minute before turning to me fully. "So what's the deal?"

"With what?"

"With Nathaniel. He's single, right?"

I smirked as I heard the boys get suspiciously quiet upstairs. "Yeah, he's single," I answered.

"Like…real deal single? Or has someone possibly waiting back home for him-slash-situationship type single?"

Laughing, I told her, "No, he's completely unattached."

Montana bit her lip as she thought about it. She was innocently folding dish towels. "That's good to know…" she said quietly.

I nodded coyly. "Yeah, and he's really excited to spend some time with you tonight," I added. "He's a little nervous though so go easy on him."

Seriously? Nate projected to me.

Montana giggled though. "He is very cute when he's all flustered and stutter-y." She blushed, tucking her curly hair behind her ear. "Is it…is it crazy that I feel like…"

"Like you might already have feelings for him?" I asked carefully. She nodded, blushing even deeper. Montana covered her face for a second. "Not at all. Honestly, I think you two could be the real thing."

I shrugged at her before jogging upstairs to the loft. Nate looked at me right as I walked in. "Thank you," he whispered.

I squeezed his shoulder. "You're right, Nate. She is perfect."

His whole body deflated in relief at my words. Then he snapped into action. "Alright, we have 6 hours until my first date with Montana. What needs to be done?"

"We need to do a headcount," Wyatt said. "Ace, can you pull up an image?"

XXXXXXXXX

The good news was that we covered some great ground since we've been away from home. The bad news is that we're still under 200 shifters to help fight in this war. We really needed that pack in New Orleans and anyone else willing to jump in. I wanted to have at least 250 shifters by the time we were on our way back to La Push.

But I agreed with the boys that we would brainstorm and talk about it after the movie. Here's the thing—there was only one car. The four of us piled into the sensible Toyota Camry that seemed much less daunting than the Ford F150 they used to drive with Matthew. It was the only car we had access to.

I spotted the concessions stand in a little hut off the parking lot. "We're going to grab some popcorn and stuff. Do you guys want anything?" I asked Nate and Montana in the front seat.

"I'm alright," Montana answered.

"Yeah, I'm good too. Thanks, Lee," Nate said.

I nodded as I climbed out of the car, waving for Wyatt to come with me. He entwined our hands as we weaved through the cars to get to the hut. Standing in line, Wyatt wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and kissed my cheek. His cologne was intoxicating. I felt myself smile; I loved doing these normal couple things with him. I ordered a medium popcorn with extra butter and Wyatt ordered a slushy that was half blue, half red. It was our usual order when we were back on the Rez.

"Let's go sit over there," Wyatt suggested, pointing to a patch of grass just off the lot. He laid his jacket on the ground for us to sit on and waited until I was settled before handing me the bucket of popcorn. We could still see the giant screen from here just as the title card came on. "I can't believe he convinced us to crash his first date."

I giggled as I shook my head. "I never thought I'd see the day when Nathaniel Uley imprints and settles down." The black and white movie played quietly ahead of us. "I'm happy that he's happy."

"Me too," Wyatt agreed, leaning into me. He kissed my cheek then down my neck. It was those kind of affectionate kisses, tokens of appreciation. Turning my head, I capture his lips once before looking back to the screen. "Ace," Wyatt brushed my hair away from my shoulder.

"Yes, baby?" I shifted my attention back to him.

"You mad at me about earlier?"

"No, sweetie, of course not."

"I know I should have told you sooner," he admitted.

"I wish you would have," I shrugged. It wasn't very often that I was cold in any way toward Wyatt, but this just felt different for some reason. "If you're still feeling angry or upset with me and Travis about that kiss…"

"No, Ace, it's not that," he said. "That was so long ago."

"Then what?"

Wyatt sighed heavily. He turned toward me, keeping a hand on my leg at every second. "I may not have been the most excited about you and Travis being friends back then, but I know how much his friendship meant to you. I needed more time to figure out if there was a way for mirrors to be around each other without altering the dynamics of universal power. And there is…for normal mirrors. For you two, it's just different."

Story of my life… "Let me guess," I started. "Because we're the first two people born of shapeshifters."

"Not the first," Wyatt corrected. "The only."

Wait, what?

"No one else has ever spawned a child that is a full shifter. Only halves. And there likely won't be another full shifter until the next generation."

"The next generation," I repeated. "Meaning…" We locked eyes. I laughed a little. "Wow, no pressure."

He chuckled. "It's not like we haven't talked about having babies before," he shrugged. "I think we have a real shot at making sure that whoever comes after us won't be burdened with death hovering over them like you've had to your whole life. We can make things better for the day that Nate and Montana announce that they're having a baby or when Cam or Hunter or someone else imprints. And I'm hoping, along the way, we can figure out how you and Travis can keep every balanced instead of out of whack. You're stronger together, that's crystal clear. We just need to figure out how you guys can exist together safely."

"Everything that you're saying is contingent on the idea that we'll defeat the guard. We don't have enough bodies yet."

"We'll grab more on the way back," he said easily. "Don't get all doomsday on me now, Ace. Jane and her cronies don't stand a chance."

"I hope you're right," I said, trying to ignore the pit in my stomach. It had been there for days, and I couldn't shake it.

"I know I'm right," he winked. He pulled me close to him, planting a kiss on top of my head. I leaned into him fully and let my body relax. I hope he's right I hope he's right I hope he's right

I had had that dream again the night before. You remember the one? Travis on one side, Nate and Wyatt on the other. But this time, Jane was standing in front of me with her bloodred eyes and evil smirk. And then the ground crumbled below me. But I always wake up before I know what happens next.

It's never a nightmare though; that's the part that freaks me out. I always feel this very strange peace right before I wake up.

"What's on your mind?" Wyatt asked, running a hand up and down my arm.

I just want an actual future with you, I thought. "I'm just happy to be here with you," I said instead. I snuggled in closer. "Just don't let go of me, ok?"

"Never."

When the movie was over, Montana and Nate were being weirdly quiet in the car. Outside, Nathan was just pensive and tense; on the inside though? God, I should have just kissed her, he was ranting. She gave me the move and I completely fumbled it. Why didn't I kiss her?

It's not a big deal, Nathan, I tried to reassure him from the back seat. It's not like it'll be your last chance.

I'm an idiot.

Usually, I'd say yes, but I think you're overreacting.

I'm gonna die alone, aren't I?

Ok, that's enough dramatics. Have you told her yet?

He sighed out loud. I'm going to tonight. I just need a quiet space for us to talk.

We pulled up to the commune and it was the quietest I'd ever seen it. Everyone felt content in their homes, children sound asleep in their beds. Nate parked the car between Reese and Travis' little house and Reese and Montana's family's house. The lovebirds trailed so far behind us as Wyatt and I made our way to the front door. I heard Nate say to Montana, "Actually, do you want to take a walk with me?"

"Of course," she said with a smile in her voice.

I climbed up the little steps with my head down, before whirling to Wyatt who was right behind me. He smiled at me, the dimple in his right cheek showing itself. "What's up, Ace?"

I threw my arms around his shoulders and kissed him hard. "I need you to promise me something."

"Anything."

I played with the hairs on the back of his neck. If there was anything I knew to be true of myself was that it I was getting too good at shoving everything down until I felt like it was safe to come up for air. I didn't want to tell him how scared I really was of what was to come. He didn't deserve that. Neither of the boys did. If even one of us was uncertain, soon enough, all of us would be uncertain. "Promise me that, when this is over, we can lock ourselves inside for days and days. Just the two of us."

I feel like he knew on some level that I was worried. He took my face in his hands and tilted it down until he was able to kiss my forehead. "When this is over, we can do whatever you want for however long you want. How does that sound?"

I pursed my lips. "Too good to be true…" I mumbled before turning around. And my heart dropped into my stomach. There was a folded note on the door, held there by a dagger. "What is that?" I asked out loud.

The first thing I noticed was the wax seal emblem holding it together. It was a crest in the middle of a V with a red oval heading the top and a red diamond at the bottom. Where had I seen that before? Think, girl, think.

All of those years of studying, every single time I had stayed up too late reading Kaya's journals and every text. Where had I seen that crest before? My mind tracked every single nomad I'd ever encountered, every single shifter group we'd met in the past week. Everything. I'd seen it before. I'd seen it more than once. That red. It was the most familiar. It was a daunting red. A threatening red. Blood red.

Jane.

She'd been wearing it on a pendant when we met in the bathroom. Taking the dagger out of the note, it fell in my hand, the papyrus felt grainy.

To Hadley Black—

We know who you are. We know you're here. We know what you're planning. If you join our treasonous guard in attempt to overthrow us, we will send our armies to destroy your kind once and for all.

This serves as your only warning.

V.

"Someone was here," I told Wyatt. "Where's Nate and Montana? We need to get them inside."

"I'll go find them and we can run the perimeter."

"Hurry," I told him before rushing inside. "Travis! Reese! Where are you guys?!"

Reese came down the stairs from the loft right as Travis came out of his bedroom. The looks on their faces were of pure confusion. "What's wrong?" Travis asked.

"Did you hear anything while we were gone?" I asked, looking at the note again. The dagger rested in my other hand. I realized at that moment that the tip of the dagger had the same emblem on it. The crest. The Volturi crest.

Reese shook her head. "It's been quiet all night."

We've ran the perimeter twice, Lee. There's no new vampire scent anywhere, Wyatt projected.

I immediately rushed to the back door to lock it and checked all of the windows without another word. "What's going on?" Travis asked. Montana came into the house, equally as confused as the others.

"Lock that door and don't open it unless it's Wyatt and Nate," I told her. She nodded without a question and did what I told her to.

"Hadley," Reese said sternly. "What's happening?"

I held up the note. "I don't know how, but the Volturi were here. We need to leave tonight."