"Sam?"

The young man turned automatically. His gaze wasn't angry or sad. Just empty. His dark eyes, always purposeful and intense, were now voids. He stood guard over Seth's body all night not allowing anyone to touch the boy. In the aftermath whole counting their losses, he had searched for the boy. Seth had returned to human form in death, his sightless eyes gazing at the heavens. His neck was distorted from the rest of his naked form, and even in Alice Cullen's own deep grief, the young wolf's death did something to her that the death of her family didn't.

She had been the first to find Seth, only moments before a deep howl shook her and the black coated alpha rushed past her, phasing as he ran, sliding in and collapsing on top of Seth, and pulling him to his chest. Human again, his howls of pain were still inhuman before subsiding into soft, keening sobs, muffled for burying his face in the boy's neck.

Jared and Embry phased in one fluid motion, coming from the other end of the open field. "I'm going to Paul," Embry said rushing past to the other fallen wolf, currently writhing on the ground in pain, covered by the sweater Emmett had stripped off in and lain over him. Jared knew Paul would be dead by morning. Garrett shrugged out of his heavy jacket and gingerly draped it over Sam who barely noticed. The vampire gave Jared a nod but remained silent. He'd seen the death of too many comrades, young ones, to be moved but he understood.

Jared nodded gratefully. "Sam," he whispered. "Let me."

Sam snarled and Garrett and Alice took a step back, but Jared only crouched. "He has to be taken home."

Sam pulled away. "Where's Leah?"

Jared's eyes flitted to Alice nervously, but his hand squeezed Sam's shoulder. "She's gone. We can't reach her."

Sam gently laid Seth back on the ground and stroked his cheek. He stood and shoved between Alice and Garrett, letting the coat drop. He was headed for the fissure. "Sam, no." Jared chased and jumped in front of him. "No."

Sam shoved him again, but Jared dug his heels in and grasped both arms. "Think of Sue, think of the tribe, think of Emily."

That stopped him, but his eyes looked through Jared. He merely turned and went back to Seth, dropping to his knees beside him. He had stayed there, for hours, a dusting of snow falling on his shoulders and hair, now clutching Garrett's jacket tightly around his body. All the movements around him, the piles of burning vampire bodies hadn't cause him to move until now.

Alice crouched next to him whispered, "Sam, I'm so sorry."

He looked over his shoulder to the crack in the earth, where Leah was gone, far from his reach. "Why am I here? Why am I back here?"

The dark haired vampire clasped her hands together. "I don't know. But I believe there's a trial on the way for you."

Sam snapped awake, gasping. He was home. In bed. Emily still sleeping soundly at his side. He relaxed, laying back against the pillows. He didn't have to look at the clock to know the time. For the past three nights the same dream had woken him at 2:00 am. Silently slipping out of bed, he crept across the hardwood floor to the steps. He hadn't had the dream in ten years, since their confrontation with the Volturi. At the time, he took it as just that, a dream; a culmination of battle jitters and the drama unfolding in his personal life.

Now he feared it was so much more.

Or perhaps bad dreams were only rearing their ugly heads now that his mother was gone. His eyes burned, and he wiped at them furiously, battling the grief. Her sudden loss had rocked him. He slid the door open to the porch and stepped out, exhaling deeply. The night was humid, but it was still cooler outside. He peered through the trees intently, listening hard. All was quiet. His heartbeat had returned to normal, but the crushing grief was still there, under his ribcage, for his mother and for the Clearwaters.

They were home.

Sue had moved in with Charlie Swan years ago, but Seth still lived in the little house as a member of the tribal police force. Leah was living in Spokane, working as a nurse. Paul and Rachel had moved there several years ago as well. He knew she was home the moment she stepped foot on the rez earlier in the evening, but that was an aspect of pack leader he kept to himself, not wanting the wolves to feel invaded. He knew though, and it had stopped him in his tracks and caused him to turn and look for her.

He hadn't really spoken to her in years. The last time was…well, the confrontation with the Volturi. Maybe that was what was triggering the dreams. It was August, but the same cold was seeping into his bones.

The bonfire was subdued. There was no moon, and the clouds hid the starts. It was just the pack. Sam had sent Emily back to Neah Bay and the other boys followed his lead. Most of them wanted loved ones out of the crossfire, and they'd left, but hesitantly. Sue Clearwater had been the hardest to move, knowing that something was coming, and refused to leave her children for a fishing trip with Charlie Swan. It had taken Sam.

"I don't know what's going on, but if you can't convince me to go."

"Sue, I love you, but if you don't go, I will tie you up myself and put you in Charlie's truck."

"My son is fifteen!"

"I know." He did indeed. "But do this for him. This is truly out of your hands. You can't help them with this."

She finally relented, clasping Leah's hands desperately the morning after Christmas. "Take care of my children," she told him, standing off to the side.

Now, Leah sat alone on a piece of driftwood apart from the rest of them, long legs stretched out, back straight. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, protecting her against the cold she no longer felt. Sam and followed her gaze to Paul and Rachel earlier in the day, while they said their goodbye. Rachel had shivered and Paul pulled her close and shed his jacket they he wore for more appearance than anything else. Leah had winced when he'd put it around Rachel's shoulders and rubbed her arms. She missed being a woman, being a human with someone who wanted her, and it isolated her even more from the other wolves.

Sam stood and Jared watched warily, but it was Paul who spoke, "Leave her be."

Sam turned and eyes glowed. "This is business."

"It's never just business."

"It is when we've got a horde of vampires heading our direction. The world doesn't stop spinning."

Paul said no more, but Sam knew he was listening. He lowered himself down on the log next to her. And knew she'd just come back from a run because her hair smelled like pine. He studied her for a moment. He hadn't seen her in much since she'd joined Jacob's pack. She looked healthy and peaceful.

"Thank you for convincing my mother to leave," she said first.

He raised an eyebrow surprised. "Of course."

"If something happens to me, take care of Seth," she continued. "And if something happens to both of us, take care of my mother."

Sam opened his mouth to argue but closed it, giving a sideways glance to the group. "Si c'est faux," he whispered in the broken French they learned together in high school. He knew they weren't safe speaking in English or Quileute, knowing the others were listening. "Je veux que tu coures. Toi et ton frere."

(If it's wrong, I want you to run. You and your brother.)

She glared at him. "I'm not leaving."

"Leah-"

"You're not expecting the same of everyone else."

"You're not everyone else," he snapped.

Silence followed, before Leah said softly, "I'm not in your pack."

To that he had no response. They simply sat quietly, shoulders brushing, listening to the crackle of the logs and the crashing waves.

"Sam?"

He jumped, spinning around. Emily was at the bottom of the steps to the loft, wearing one of his t shirts. "You okay?" she yawned.

"Yeah." He stepped back inside, sliding the door shut behind him. "Yeah, it's just a little stuffy."

"Dreams again?" she asked softly, allowing him to wrap her in a hug.

"No," he lied. "Just…"

He trailed off and she touched his cheek sympathetically. "I know burying your mother today was hard. I can put off going home."

"No. It's your cousin's college send off." He kissed her forehead. "I'll be fine."

Emily raised an eyebrow as if she didn't believe him, but only tugged his hand. "Come back to bed."