Indiana.

I almost start crying when I see Emily there by the fire.

The image of her from my dream yesterday – it was the most horrific out of everyone's.

I pray that whatever they tell me tonight will be proof enough that she truly is safe and protected on this reservation, because if it's not, I will be gone first thing in the morning. I refuse to put Emily and the life of her unborn child in danger.

When we reach the fire, she immediately takes my hand from Paul and leads me up the small, lit trail to her house. Their bonfires are always held in that same spot on the beach. Ease of access, I suppose, to get food and drinks to and from her house.

"Is there anything I can make you?" she asks, smiling as we walk into the kitchen. She's always smiling.

I let out a deep breath. "To be honest, I don't think I can eat right now."

She starts searching through the fridge. "How about a smoothie?"

When she turns around with an armful of fruit, I can't find it in myself to tell her no.

She begins chopping and blending without asking questions or hounding me and sets a filled mason jar on the counter in front of me.

"Thank you," I say quietly, pulling the jar closer to me.

My stomach wages war – half bracing for it in starvation and the other half preparing to bring it up the second it sinks. I watch it wordlessly as Emily places her hand on my shoulder, sticking a straw in the smooth blend. It looks a lot like—

"Don't worry," she tells me. "You're a part of our family. We'll always take care of you."

Josie peeks her head inside a second later and give me a melancholic smile. "Are you ready?"

She's still hurt by what I said earlier. Guilt floods my body as I push the straw around in my smoothie.

"Jos, I didn't mean that earlier. I—"

She skips inside, offense forgotten, and wraps her arms around me. "It's ok. You're afraid and I just want you to understand why you shouldn't be."

Emily, Josie, smoothie and I take the ramped path back down to the beach. The crowd has grown in the short fifteen minutes we spent inside. I don't recognize some of the people here. All of Embry's friends are here, but there are some younger faces – and some older – around the fire that I've never seen before.

Paul's eyes meet mine and his worry and dread wash over me again.

What are you afraid of, Paul?

"Hey, Indianapolis," Seth says from a chair to my left. He's got a hotdog in one hand and a full plate of food in the other.

If I didn't feel like I was going to throw up at any second, I probably would've laughed at that one. "Hey, Seth."

"Does Jacob know you're here?" Josie asks him warily.

He makes a face. "Does it matter?"

She shrugs and says, "It's your tail," before snagging two empty camping chairs and kicking Brady out of a third for Emily.

Seth looks back at me and smiles, offering me a bite of his hotdog, which I politely decline. "Finally hearing the legends of our tribe, huh?" he asks, eating half of his hotdog in a single bite.

I shrug. "Is that what this is?" I ask, glancing back over at Paul who is still looking at me.

Seth looks in his direction too and says, "Ah, I get it. He finally caved."

"Caved about what?"

"Nothing," he says quickly, stuffing the rest of the hotdog into his mouth.

Josie jumps up behind him and ruffles his hair with a friendly grin. "Quit being such a dog," she laughs. "C'mon, Indie."

I nestle myself between Josie and Emily, trying out a sip of my smoothie, and look forward at the elders lined up in chairs before the group. One of them is in a wheelchair, one is Sue Clearwater, one looks slightly familiar though I'm not sure from where, and the other appears to be the oldest of them all – a woman with white hair and cloudy eyes.

She's staring right at me.

I clear my throat and sink into my chair.

The man in the wheelchair, whose chair is sitting on a plank of plywood, nods to Sam who immediately gets everyone to quiet down.

"That's Billy Black, the Chief of our tribe," Emily whispers in my ear, "Sue Clearwater, Old Quil, who's Quil's grandpa, and Veda. They're the council members."

Billy begins telling the legends of how the Quileute tribe came to be. He talks about their creator, Q'waeti', who came upon wolves in the Quileute lands and turned them to humans. Those that were changed then had the ability to transform, or shapeshift, back and forth between human and wolf forms, and passed that gene along to their children.

"At some point in time, the ability to phase was lost amongst our elders. Until—"

Everyone around me tenses.

Not physically, but emotionally. I glance around at Josie and Emily, then at Paul. He half smiles, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"An intruder in our lands awoke the wolf within us, with his piercing red eyes and skin cold like ice. They are the real reason our magic exists. They may look like humans, but these bloodthirsty creatures are anything but. It's their most efficient hunting strategy, and it's your duty as descendants of our warriors to protect our lands and our people. Fire runs within your veins. The powerful wolf inside of you is the vampire's worst enemy."

My gut drops. I can feel the smoothie rising in my throat.

Vampires?

Of all the years I spent haunted by a demon with red eyes, the term never once crossed my mind.

Vampires are supposed to be a scary story that adults tell kids, or a good Halloween movie. They're not supposed to be real.

Billy looks around at the faces peering back at him.

Some of the younger kids are suffering a mixture of nerves and guilt – like the weight of the world has been placed on their shoulders and they're not sure how to handle it, or if they'll be able to carry it.

It makes me sad. Some of these kids can't be older than thirteen or fourteen.

"There is a coven amongst the people in Forks – the Cullen's. We have a treaty with this coven, and they are not to be harmed as long as they abide by the treaty and remain off our lands," his voice is stern, authoritative. "Make no mistake, their eyes may be gold like honey, but they possess all the same powers and strengths as the others."

Forks isn't far from here.

I went there with Seth and Malachi that one time, and Malachi's little brothers, who I now realize are here in this crowd. I barely recognize them – they hardly look the same with their newly formed muscles and longer legs.

Hasn't it only be a few weeks? Surely not long enough for them to change so much.

I swallow thickly, forcing the bubbling liquid back down my throat.

Paul is staring at me.

My chest feels tight.

If the story of the vampires is real, that means…

I look around at the faces of all the people I've met so far during my time spent in La Push.

They couldn't be… Right?

"There has been minimal threat of these kind on Quileute lands for some time, but now, the council and I fear that our community may be preparing to face them once again. Our blood burns. Our sons are changing at an alarming frequency." His eyes scan the group before landing on Josie and me. "And two of our own are being hunted as we speak."

I inhale sharply.

He continues to talk but his voice starts to drown out as my head starts spinning.

"I'll be right back," I mumble to the girls, stumbling out of my chair on shaky legs towards Emily's house. My heart is racing at a dangerous speed and I can barely breathe.

Malcolm… a vampire?

Admitting what he is means I have to admit that there are more like him out there. But how many? How many of them walk the crowded streets day after day picking people off one by one?

I barely make it past the fence before the nausea becomes overwhelming and I have to hunch over and vomit into the bushes. Josie is at my side in a second and I hear Emily say she's going to get me a glass of water.

More bile starts to rise in my throat. Things start spinning again.

"He's not getting anywhere near us," Josie soothes, rubbing my back in slow circles.

Swallowing back the bile, I lower myself to the ground on shaky legs and press my hand into my forehead. "It's not just him I'm worried about anymore," I admit in a whisper. "There are more than him…"

Vampires are real.

Not just one.

Multiple.

And if they're anything like Malcolm, the human race is doomed.

Emily rushes from the backdoor with a glass of ice water which I eagerly take a drink of. Anything to wash the sour taste out of my mouth.

A second later, Malachi peers over the fence at me and smirks. "There's always one weak stomach," he teases.

He's always looking for an opportunity, isn't he?

Josie ignites with anger. "Yeah, and last time it was your imprint, so can it!" she screams.

His face drops and I can't help but laugh.

But then I can't stop laughing.

Vampires and werewolves. What scary stories and folklore aren't real, then? Where was the line drawn? Fairies? The Loch Ness monster? Witches and wizards?

Malachi side-eyes me. "Are you okay?"

"Other than being completely insane?" I ask.

Josie snorts. "You're not insane," she assures me. "I know it probably feels that way, but this is real. This is what's going on in La Push. This is what makes the reservation so safe."

Counting a few steady breaths, I give both Josie and Emily a wary look. "Do you two turn into wolves?"

They both burst into laughter.

"Okay, I'm sorry, not funny," Josie says, covering her mouth and gathering her composure. "No, we don't."

Well that's slightly reassuring, I guess.

I finish my water and give the cup back to Emily with a trembling hand. I have so many questions. How many of them are there? How do they do it? Have they fought… vampires before? I mean really fought them? Can they destroy them?

I try to ignore the way everyone is staring at me when we return to the group.

Billy has since finished talking and the event is much more relaxed with everyone chatting and laughter echoing on the air.

My eyes keep darting between all of the faces wondering which ones have the ability to change and which ones are only here because they already know about the tribe's secrets. And then I wonder, are they secrets? How many people know what kind of protection is in place here? Is that why the residents appear to fear nothing but high tides and poor weather?

Seth takes a seat next to me and gives me a gentle smile. "So, that went well," he jokes, offering me a can of soda. It's diet, so I accept it and pop the top open. Josie and Emily leave us alone to talk for a minute.

"Do you turn into a wolf?" I ask blatantly, sipping the carbonated drink.

He rubs the back of his neck and nods. "Yeah, me and Leah."

"Leah's one?!"

The love triangle between her, Sam, and Emily just got a lot more intense.

I feel like I can't grasp the reality of this. If this were a joke, I would've picked up on it by now, but for some reason there's this denial lingering in my brain. I know they wouldn't make this up just to keep me from leaving the reservation, but this feels like it belongs in the pages of a book – not real life.

Seth nods and I look away from him, focusing on the fire. I start counting each snap and crackle the flames make against the driftwood, recalling every weird and out-of-place occurrence I've witnessed or heard since coming to La Push.

And each one before La Push.

How Malcolm stared at me for days straight, unfazed and untiring. How I broke my nails dragging them down his granite forearms the night he took me. The way he – well, what he did to my mother…

I've been up against something bigger than I could've ever imagined for years now.

It's kind of funny. It puts into perspective just how small and futile my entire existence has been.

"What about—" I'm cut off by a loud, unfamiliar voice bellowing from behind us.

"Where's Seth?!"

Seth stiffens and looks over his shoulder. "Oh, shit."

"H-hey, Jake." Seth is up and on his feet in seconds, hand furiously rubbing the back of his neck as some guy comes trudging up to us.

He's really tall, probably Sam's height of maybe even taller, with a similar build as all the other Quileute boys, but his eyes are wild. Like a caged animal. Seth seems to recoil the closer he gets.

"Jacob!" I hear Billy's voice warn.

Jacob stops in front of Seth and I and points his finger at him. "Didn't I tell you that you were on the border tonight?"

Seth winces and looks down at the ground. "Leah and I traded shifts, is all."

There's fire in Jacob's eyes. "If I wanted Leah on the border tonight I would've put her on the border tonight."

Whoever he is, he is pissed. I take a step back and then suddenly Paul is at my side and Sam is taking Seth's.

"No harm done, Jacob," Sam says. "We asked Billy to pull him for the council meeting."

Jacob scoffs. "Right, but you're not alpha of my pack, Sam."

Paul crosses his arm over my body and tucks me behind him protectively.

I hear Jacob scoff. "That's great," he proclaims, voice dripping with sarcasm. "That didn't take long. What's it been, a couple weeks?"

Sam takes a step forward. "Don't start this, Jacob."

"Got a problem, Black?" Paul taunts.

Sam juts his arm in front of Paul's chest. "Paul, don't."

"My problem is that you're still breathing, Lahote," Jacob taunts back, getting nose-to-nose with Paul.

Sam steps between them and uses himself as a barricade, pushing the two volatile boys away from each other. Both of them growl respectively and Sam, fed up, shoves them towards the ocean by the backs of their necks.

"Get away from the fire if you're going to do this," he hisses before turning around and guiding Seth and I away from them.

Josie runs up to me and wraps her arm through mine, giving Seth a look. "I told you so," she says with a roll of her eyes.

"Whatever," Seth mutters back.

Paul and Jacob start to circle around each other out in the sand, eyes fixated on one another. They look like two wild animals ready to fight. I try and ignore just how ironic that really is.

"I still can't even stand to look at you," Jacob growls.

Paul laughs out a hearty laugh. "The feeling's mutual, Black, so why don't you get off our territory and go back to your bloodsuckers?"

Jacob raises his eyebrows. "I look forward to it, actually. At least they haven't betrayed me like my own brothers."

"Who betrayed who? We used to be brothers," Paul clarifies. "Not anymore. Not after you picked them over us."

"Yeah, and definitely not after you fucked my sister into a depression," Jacob growls. "What was the point, huh?"

"Probably the same reason you fucked Bella – to try and force something wrong to be right. Clearly it didn't work out for either of us cuz now you're with her creepy daughter."

"Oh boy, here we go," Seth sighs under his breath.

In a matter of seconds, Jacob suddenly explodes into a rusty brown colored wolf and is now growling ferociously at Paul. Paul follows and transforms in a blur of shredded clothes to a snarling, feral-looking wolf with dark silver fur that almost matches Jacob in size.

My breath leaves me in a gasp as the two wolves charge at each other in a whirl of snapping teeth and predatory chaos. The commotion, naturally, has attracted the attention of everyone around us who is now gathered and watching the two wolves fight.

Sam holds them all at bay with a single fist held at a ninety-degree angle.

"What the fuck happened?" Embry asks, stopping next to Seth and tucking Josie behind him.

Seth laughs. "Paul delivered a low blow about Jacob's imprint."

Embry sucks in a sharp breath between his teeth. "Jake's gonna rip him a new one."

"Quiet, Embry," Sam barks.

Embry immediately falls silent, but he and Seth share an amused grin behind Sam's back.

Paul and Jacob, now both on their haunches, are snapping and tearing at each other's throats. They're moving so quickly it's almost hard to tell who is who.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" I ask desperately.

"I got twenty on Paul," Jared says, chewing on a bite of hotdog. "He's been itching for redemption."

Embry shakes with him, solidifying the bet.

Sam throws a glare over his shoulder that shuts them up instantly. "They're fine," he tells me, but just as he says it one of the two wolves yelps and I see a splatter of dark liquid spray onto the sand.

Sam jumps forward and transforms into a huge, pitch black wolf and throws himself in front of Paul who snarls at him in surprise. Seth goes next, changing and taking Jacob's side, then Embry and Jared follow, and suddenly the beach starts filling with enormous, monstrous wolves as more and more boys from the bonfire change.

Three other wolves come from the woods and take sides with Jacob and Seth, and there's a howl in the distance of more.

I watch in a mixture of awe and fear, a shiver running down my spine.

Had I not seen them trade in their skin for fur, I'm not sure I ever would've truly believed this. But there they all are, snarling and rabid, bearing teeth at one another in a standoff.

It only lasts a few minutes before Jacob turns away and Seth and the other three wolves follow him, tails between their legs. Then, one by one, the other wolves slowly start returning to their human forms until all but Paul and Sam have changed back.

Some of them have salvaged clothes to put on, but the majority of them are naked as they start to shuffle their way to Sam and Emily's house.

I'm too concerned about Paul to even care.

He looks okay from here, but I can't tell if the blood in his pelt is his or Jacob's.

His familiar amber eyes peer over his massive shoulder at me before looking back at Sam and slowly stalking off towards the lining of the trees.

I move to follow him, but Sam shakes his head. Defeated, I stare wordlessly in the direction he disappeared.

I hope he's okay.

Josie takes my hand and tugs me towards the house. "C'mon, let's go inside," she says, her voice gentle and calm.

Embry puts his arms around both of us as we start walking. "Damn it, I owe Jared. Paul's fine. It was mostly Jacob's blood."

Mostly.

It feels like there's a rock in my stomach.

No one else seems to be surprised or affected by what just took place. People are cleaning up and back to laughing and talking as if two giant wolves didn't just try to fight to the death in front of them.

Is this really that common?

Sue Clearwater, Billy, and Old Quil are already halfway up the ramp to Emily's, and Veda, the older woman with the white hair, is standing at the base of it, face angled at us as we approach.

There's something about her.

Her eyes don't move, and are murky and clouded, but she still seems like she knows everything that's going on around her because she moves last second before Malachi's younger brothers almost run her over while towing a cooler.

When we reach the base of the ramp, as we're about to pass her, she holds her hand out to me. "I'd like to talk to you."

Something about her is unsettling. She makes me feel vulnerable.

Embry squeezes his arm around my shoulders and Josie leans in to whisper in my ear.

"Don't worry. She may know everything, but she keeps what she knows to herself."

She and Embry continue up the ramp and Veda curls her fingers at me expectantly.

When I place my hand in hers, she tugs me through the sand, in her bare feet, back to the fire where the last of the boys are about to dump water onto the flames.

"Don't," she says curtly, taking a seat on the log Paul, Sam, and Jared were previously sitting on.

The boys raise their eyebrows at me, I furrow mine at them, and they shuffle off leaving Veda and I alone by the crackling fire.

She pats the log next to her. "Sit."

I lower myself and sit down. She turns her head, eyes ghosting past me, and reaches her hands out for my face.

They're icy, but soft.

For a minute, she doesn't say anything, just holds my cheeks in utter silence. I can't even tell what she's feeling, or if she's feeling anything at all. The air feels empty around us, and reminds me of the basement in New York, back when I barely knew how to even feel my own emotions after focusing on everyone else's for so long.

Veda releases my face.

"They say children born on All Hallows' Eve have a second sight."

I sit up straight and shiver.

"You feel things. I can see them."

Uneasiness spreads through me. I haven't told anyone my birthday, and what I can feel, well, I wouldn't call that a second sight.

"It's a figurative term, dear."

Another shiver runs down my spine.

"How did you—"

"The same way you do, I suppose."

It's quiet again for a minute. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do or say, or what she wants to talk to me about. This night keeps getting more and more bizarre.

"I want you to tell me about him."

My fingers curl into my palms. "About…?"

"Malcolm."

My heart slams into my chest.

"What can he do?"

What can't he do?

"His abilities; they all have one seldom others have. What's his?"

A numbness spreads through me. I've barely spoken four words but she carries the conversation with ease. "He, um, he can see my dreams," I tell her, unsure. It sounds insane saying it out loud.

Her head nods, face turning to the fire. She reaches out to warm her hands.

"And so, you rarely sleep."

I nod.

"We're expecting new life, you know." She leans closer to the fire, the light of the flames shining against her skin. "Don't dwell over the concern of death."

I watch her closely, wondering what exactly she means by that.

"You are not as small and futile as you think," she tells me. "You have a role here. Though it may not be apparent to you yet, you are a significant part of several lives, and if you leave this reservation, many will suffer."

The breath I release is loud and shaky, and my throat constricts with the threat of tears.

Veda reaches over and rests her hand over my clenched fists. "You're making yourself bleed."

I look down at the thin, red substance coating my nails. The pain didn't register until now. I extend my fingers and curl them around the sleeves of my shirt to protect my palms.

She pats the back of my hand. "Don't let your fear dictate your life. You've been unfairly made to waste too many years already. It's time to let go of them."

A/N: TADA! Wolves are finally out of the bag! I've been really curious, is there an actress/model you think of when you picture Indie? I'm curious to know what everyone thinks she looks like :)

Anyways, okay I know Jacob and Bella only kissed but for the purpose of this very chapter, I decided to make it that they did more. I was anxious to update so I posted this earlier than I originally planned to, but I'm getting them written pretty quick, so might as well post quick. Thank you all so much for reading and giving this fic so much love xxxxx let me know what you think!