LPOV

I was buzzing with excitement while walking to school with Sam. He kept looking down at me, smiling.

"What?" I said.

"Nothing. You just look so happy and it makes me happy."

"I haven't seen Emily since Christmas break. It feels like Christmas. She's coming today! I wish she didn't live so far away."

"But if she lived next door, it wouldn't be special every time you saw her." He said, a little downcast.

"But it's special every time I see you, and you're the boy next door."

"It's not this special. The only time you were this happy to see me was when I was gone for three weeks."

"That just tells you how special you are to me. After three weeks of separation, I'm this happy. For Emily, it takes almost six months of separation for me to be this happy." There was obviously no comparison between how I felt about Sam and how I felt about Emily. Emily was my best friend. Sam was my whole universe. It was odd that he was even trying to make a comparison, but I indulged him.

"I won't tell her you said that." Sam teased.

We were approaching the school. Sam's locker and mine were at opposite ends of the building so we said our goodbyes here. He reached down and brushed his hand on my cheek. I shivered at the touch. His deep brown eyes were gazing into mine. He leaned down and our mouths met. It was just lips, no tongue at school. Sam made that rule because it kept giving him a boner. So with our lips, we expressed our passion.

"I love you." He whispered.

"Love you, too." Then I squeezed his butt and walked away. I heard him chuckle as he went in the opposite direction.

SPOV

I was happy for Leah, truly I was. I guess I just didn't like being pushed aside.

Fine, I was jealous! I was jealous that Emily made Leah so happy. Leah had a good point, that she was this happy to see me after I disappeared, but I'm pretty sure it's because she thought I was dead, not just because she missed me so much.

Still, I was happy for her. Truly, I was happy for her. She needed girl time, other than softball and talking on the phone. Without baseball practice in my life, my only real guy time was the lunch table and chats with Paul about patrol.

I still sat with the baseball team at lunch, as did Paul, even though he dropped off the team too. A couple of guys were a little bitter about us quitting, but a bunch felt that it was an opportunity. Paul and I were both seniors, some of the best on the team. We left openings that others could fill. And most of the guys on the team were guys I had been playing with since first grade. They were real friends, like Paul.

Leah sat with her friends at lunch too, a mix of the girl jocks: softball, track and basketball players. Most of them weren't pretty, but maybe I was biased. But they were smart girls and Leah enjoyed their company. Not as much as she enjoyed Emily's though.

I don't know why I'm so jealous about this today. She's always like this when Emily comes. I was just extra anxious today. I needed to calm the fuck down before our afternoon together. It would be our only alone time all weekend.

LPOV

Sam seemed antsy on our walk home.

"Everything ok, babe?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's stupid."

"I still want to know."

He stopped and looked at me, then kept walking. "No, it's, ok. It's stupid."

"But I want to know. Maybe it will help to tell me."

He looked like he was considering it. "You know how since I became a wolf I had to give up, like everything: sports, college, everything but you."

"Yeah?"

"Well, I think… I think I've developed some sort of codependency or something because I'm feeling irrationally jealous and anxious about you hanging out with Emily."

"Sam, she's my cousin. I'm not going to fall in love with her."

"Aren't we like distant cousins?" He reminded me.

"Yeah, but we don't need to talk about that because it doesn't help my point." I grinned up at him. "You know I only want you. You know how much I love your dick. I mean, this is dick down Friday."

"Is that what you're calling it? I called it loving Leah afternoon."

"My name's better." I stated confidently.

"I agree." He squeezed my hand. "I'm not worried about you running off with her, Lee-lee. I told you, it's stupid. I'm just feeling jealous, and as the time approaches, I'm becoming more and more anxious. It feels like this impending doom and I don't know what to do about it."

"Will you still be able to dick me down on the moss carpet?"

"Fuck yes. I've been looking forward to it all week."

"All week? But you slept over last night."

"I can't make you scream when I'm sneaking around your father's house."

"You're gonna make me scream?"

"Yeah I am." He wasn't even looking at me. He was looking straight ahead, head held high, totally confident that he would make me scream. I believed him, too.

At my house, I left a note on the fridge while Sam brought my stuff upstairs. Then he picked me up so I was wrapped around him and ran me to the moss carpet. This had become one of my favorite spots on the rez and there was never anyone else here. Sam said he couldn't even smell anyone else here ever. It was our place and ours alone.

We took our shoes off before stepping on the moss as a sign of respect. Then our feet sank in a little and it was so nice. We started undressing each other. Not too fast, but mindful of the time. We only had about two hours and I was counting on Sam to keep us on schedule. He has this internal chronometer with the wolf gene.

When I was completely naked, he lifted me again. My legs wrapped around his waist and I could feel his cock rubbing on my clit. It felt so nice. He was gently bouncing me, the rubbing… so nice. He was watching my face, always watching to make sure he wasn't hurting me, and that he was pleasuring me. I moaned and closed my eyes.

"I want to see your eyes." he said so I opened them again.

"Oh, Sam…" I could feel the twitching of my orgasm. I think he felt it too because he lifted me a little higher and slowly nudged his way into me with a grunt. He pushed all the way in, then ground his hip on my clit. Then he pulled almost all the way out. He did this several times. I knew this strategy. It was to make his erection last longer. That meant he was already overstimulated. It turned me on so much that he was so hot for me.

He lay me down on the moss carpet and railed into me, grunting with each thrust. This was how I liked it, loud and wild. After a few minutes, I cried out, "Ah! Sam! I'm gonna come!"

He flipped us over so that I was on top and he was rocketing up into me. It felt like my whole body was vibrating with the climax. He pushed my hips down hard while he thrusted up, held it a few seconds, then relaxed after I felt his hot jizz filling me.

I lay down on him. We had learned that this position was the best way for him to stay in me the longest, with me on top and in control of our movements.

We lay like that, talking about the details of our day. His cock still in me, when he started fondling my boobs. I could feel him harden inside me. I didn't even know that was possible.

SPOV

I waited until the last possible second to bring Leah back home. I just needed to get her home before Emily's estimated arrival time. I knew I was being a jackass but I was still on edge about the Emily weekend. I ran her to her front door, gave her one last kiss and eye fucked her while jogging backwards toward my front door.

"See you tomorrow, baby!" I called before heading into my own house. Tomorrow we would go rollerskating with Emily and Paul.

"What pizza do you want?" My mom asked when I walked in.

"Supreme and meat lovers, as always, ma."

Here I was on a Friday night, hanging out with my mom. But the anxiety about Emily's visit had blocked me from making any plans with the guys. I decided to keep an ear out for Emily's Ford Focus. It hadn't been in the driveway or on the street when I brought Leah home.

Mom tossed me the keys to go pick up the pizza. "I'll be quick." I said. "Do you want me to pick up drinks?"

"I want diet Coke. You get whatever you want, Sam."

I drove my mom's black Mazda to the Forks House of Pizza. When I got back, Emily's car still wasn't there. Maybe they went out. Then I saw Leah's face at the window. She was looking for Emily.

I smiled at her and waved. She smiled meekly back at me. I ran the food into the house. "Ma, I got to check on Leah. Something's not right."

"Don't take too long or else I'll eat all the pizza myself."

I laughed. My mom was a tiny waif of a woman. She'd be lucky to finish three slices.

I knocked on the Clearwaters' door. I heard Leah's startled gasp inside, then she hurtled toward the door. She was disappointed to see me.

"Where's Emily?" I asked.

Leah's disappointment faded from her face and she hugged me tightly, seeking comfort. "I don't know, Sam. She texted me at 3:30 that she was leaving. She should have been here an hour ago."

She was clinging to me. I rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. "Shit, Leah, she could just be broken down. Have you texted her?"

"Of course, and called. All the texts are unread and the calls are going to voicemail."

"Should you call her parents?"

"I did. Twice. That's going to voicemail too."

"Ok. Ok. I've got to eat with my mom, then if she's still not home, I have a plan. Ok?" I looked into her eyes and she looked terrified.

She nodded. I kissed her forehead. "I'll be about ten minutes. I just need her to not be suspicious, ya know?" She nodded again.

I backed away and headed out the door. I ate about half a pizza in ten minutes. My mom didn't blink an eye. I guzzled my liter of mountain dew.

"I want to go for a run, ma."

"On a full stomach? You'll cramp."

"I'll be fine. I just need some air."

"Was everything ok with Leah?"

"Fine, ma. Leah's fine. It was just a misunderstanding."

I rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishrack. I kissed the top of Mom's head on the way out the door. The Ford Focus still was not here.

I knocked on Leah's door again. This time she wasn't disappointed to see me.

"She's not here, Sam. I called her and her parents again. No answer."

"Alright. I've got my cell phone. I'll run the route to Makah. Maybe she's broken down. Once I figure it out, I'll call. And if she shows up, you call me. Got it? Otherwise I'll be out there looking for her all night, ok?"

"Yeah, thank you Sam."

"Of course, baby." I leaned down and kissed her, then pulled away. I ran to the woods behind my house and hid my shirt and shoes. I tied my shorts and phone bundle to my ankle.

I phased and I ran.

I had to phase and change along route 110 and 101 fairly frequently as I ran through towns. Once I got to route 112 I could run freely. There were few villages. But she wasn't there. There were no broken down cars, no signs of an accident.

Had something happened between her and Leah? Was there a fight? A misunderstanding?

I was thinking about this while jogging in human form down the main street of Clallam Bay. I turned west and continued following route 112 toward the Makah rez. I phased back to the wolf to pick up speed while heading toward Neah Bay.

At this point, I was planning to barge into her family home and demand answers. She was upsetting my Lee-lee and wasting my time.

My nose was assaulted by the smell of freshly spilled blood. Human blood. A familiar scent. Emily.

There was no ambulance, no police, just a Ford Focus and a tree. It had gone off the road.

No one was in the car. Just blood. Blood on the windshield. Blood all over the seat. Too much blood.

There were other scents too: people, vehicles, medical equipment. First responders had been here. Emily was getting medical care.

I ran into the woods and dialed Leah's number. No signal. Fuck.

I ran back to Clallam Bay. There was a pay phone at the grocery store. I had no money. There was still no cell signal. Fuck.

Once I was out of town, I ran straight for home. I wasn't going to waste any more time fucking around looking for a cell signal.

Through the window I saw that Leah was waiting on the couch with her parents and Seth, watching TV. They all looked anxious and dazed.

I knocked on the door. Harry answered.

"Can I speak to Leah?" I asked politely.

"We're in a bit of a family emergency here, Sam, we've got a missing relative."

"Harry, she was in an accident. I ran the route to Makah and found her car. There was a lot of blood. Paramedics had come and gone. Leah's waiting for me to tell her what I've found out."

Harry glared at me. "Are you using your protector powers to run errands for your girlfriend?"

I growled. "For your daughter. And I'm not picking up eggs. I'm solving your missing person problem."

We were glaring at each other, neither of us looking away.

Leah stood behind Harry. "Daddy, let me see him!"

LPOV

Sam pulled me into his arms as my dad looked on crossly.

"I'm sorry, baby." He whispered into my hair. "She was in an accident. There was a lot of blood. She did get medical attention. I don't know where she is now. She was gone when I got there."

"Thank you, Sam. Can you come in?" I asked. I needed him close.

"Yeah, of course."

He sat on one of the arm chairs and I plopped into his lap. We all just stared at the TV.

Twenty minutes later, the phone rang. "I'll get it," mom said.

"She's my niece." Dad stood up too. Mom was already at the phone. Mom should get it. She was a nurse. She'd know what questions to ask.

"Clearwater." She said, "Hi, we've been worried… oh no. No!" She gasped and her legs gave out. She slid down the wall. "That's awful!" She sobbed.

I could feel a knot in my throat. Emily was either very seriously injured or worse.

"Sam, you can hear the whole conversation, right?" I whispered. I knew he could.

He looked at me and I swore there were tears in his eyes. He said nothing.

Mom hung up the phone. "She didn't make it," she sobbed.

My dad had his head in his hands on the couch. Seth looked like someone just knocked the wind out of him. And me? I had nothing. No feeling. I couldn't feel it. It would be too overwhelming.

Then I was sobbing into Sam's bare chest. He was scrambling to find tissues for me. There was a box on the coffee table and he flipped it up with his toe. It landed in his open hand and he held the box for me.

"Sorry I forgot to put my shirt on. It's nicer to cry into a shirt, I'm so sorry Lee-lee."

I grabbed a bunch of tissues.

My best friend. My favorite cousin. She was going to be my maid of honor. I wanted to see her flirt with Paul tomorrow. I wanted so much more time with her. I wanted to have her for my whole life. We were best friends forever. That's what we always said.

Sam was resting his cheek on my temple. He was gently stroking my hair with his hand.

"Stay with me tonight." I begged.

Sam looked to my parents.

"I'll call your mom and let her know you're staying," my mom said.

"The door stays open all night," my dad warned.

Sam carried me up the stairs and brought me to the bathroom.

I didn't know what to do in the bathroom so I just sat on the toilet for a bit. After a few minutes there was a knock on the door.

"I'm in here." I said, thinking it was someone wanting to use the bathroom.

Sam chuckled. "Thank God. I was afraid you jumped out the window. Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

He opened the door. "Have you peed?"

"No "

"Do you need to?"

I thought about it. "Yes."

"Do you need help?"

I thought about that too. "No."

So I pulled down my pants and peed. After washing my hands, Sam asked, "have you brushed your teeth?"

I felt like a stupid baby, needing Sam to help me so much. Sam didn't seem to mind at all. He didn't laugh at me and he took my state of mind seriously.

When we crawled into bed he wanted me to face him so we could talk.

"Lee-lee, I was jealous today and I want you to know how sorry I am about that. It really fucks with my head that I was jealous and then she died. I just… I don't know what to do. Are we ok?"

"Are we ok? Sam that's not even on my radar but yeah, we're better than ok. You're the best and I love you and I'm kind of in awe of you. I mean what if all the anxiety was kind of a warning system?"

"Oh. I didn't think of that, a premonition. I wonder if that's a wolf thing."

"You literally said you had a sense of impending doom." I reminded him, happy to not be thinking about my dead cousin for just a moment.

"Yeah, I guess I did say that. Maybe I should ask the elders about that. It's got to be a wolf thing."

"Any time you do anything good, you say it's got to be a wolf thing."

"I feel like an ass hole, Lee-lee. None of this feels like I did a good thing."

"You'll get over that. Besides, you're supposed to be comforting me, not the other way around."

"Yeah, see? I'm an ass hole, making your friend's death about me."

"Can we spoon now?"

"Of course baby," he said, waiting for me to roll over.

"I want to be the big spoon." I said.

He turned around dutifully, an amused look on his face. I slid toward him and put my arm around his wide chest. I rested my head against his back and kissed it. He sighed contentedly, my big teddy bear.

AN: Just a heads up, I do change the summaries of my stories from time to time, just to see if it affects how many people check out the story. I am not rewriting the story as I go. This chapter was written long before I started posting this story. I had a misunderstanding about this with one of my favorite reviewers, so I just wanted to clarify that for anyone else who noticed and was taken aback.