It was only after, when all the danger had passed, that Leah had nightmares. Before, her conscious fears actually focused her and held them at bay. She was too worried about the possibility of losing someone she loved to second-guess herself, too exhausted by the burden of responsibility to do anything at but fall into oblivion when she closed her eyes. She slept soundly knowing that she was doing everything she could to protect her tribe. She did not mourn the loss of her oldest friend, nor did she pause to linger in regret. Instead, she shoved any uncertainty to the back of her brain, willfully ignoring anything except the way forward.

Other than the one she experienced right after being kidnapped by Emily, Leah hadn't had any flashbacks. Not frightening ones, anyway. Instead, on the night before Emily's funeral, she dreamed of being a little girl, spinning in circles and whispering secrets with her best friend. At the end of the dream, young Emily ran away, and Leah couldn't get her back. She woke with a deep sense of loss pushing down on her chest, as heavy as bricks. Only Paul's low, soothing whispers in the dark lifted the weight. The next day, though, Leah looked into the grieving faces of Emily's mother and sister, who believed she had died in a car accident, and she remembered. Once upon a time, they had been friends, even if their relationship had been tainted by Emily's jealousy. Once, Emily had been human. Leah held her aunt in a tight embrace and told her very sincerely that she was so sorry about what had happened. And she realized it was true, even if the trembling woman didn't realize what she was really talking about. She did not regret what she and the pack had done, but she regretted that it had to happen at all.

After leaving the graveside service, Paul offered to drive Leah back to La Push, but she wanted to be alone for a little while. He accepted her sadness, but he couldn't relate to it. As far as he was concerned, the world was a better place without Emily. Though Leah agreed, she needed a little time to mourn. She decided to make her way back to their reservation on foot. No one else was phased, and she was alone.

It was a rare sunny day, so shafts of light pierced the forest canopy. Leah made her way back at a slow pace, listening to the calls of the birds and the rustle of wind through the leaves, and she allowed herself to feel sad even as the forest brought her peace. When she reached Ozette Lake, she skirted the shoreline, staying away from the hiking paths and campgrounds. But when she saw a familiar pier stretching into the lake, she couldn't resist the temptation of transforming back into her human body and dipping her toes in the cool, clear water.

She wasn't surprised when she heard his soft footfalls on the planks behind her. He hadn't attended the funeral. Those who didn't know what had really happened were shocked, although everyone knew they had split before Emily's death. Still, they expected him to appear, to look heartsick or grim or stoic, and more than one person turned to door every time it opened, expecting to see him slip in.

Sam lowered himself down beside her. "I didn't think I'd see you here."

"Me neither." She didn't turn to him, but she watched the way the light refracted through the surface of the water and drew patterns on their feet. "It was a bit of a last-minute decision. I wanted a little bit of…"

Abruptly, he started to push himself back. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll let you be."

She put a hand on his wrist. "No, you don't have to go." At his skeptical look, she added, "Honestly."

He settled back down and tipped his chin at the few fishing boats scattered across the surface of the wide lake. "I always liked this place. Looked forward to the times your dad brought us fishing up here. Remember the time Seth tipped the canoe? You got so mad…"

"He lost me my iPod! I'd saved up for that thing for months. I guess it's still at the bottom of the lake somewhere."

"Your dad laughed so hard, I thought he'd fall in and drown." After their own laughter died down, he admitted, "I miss your dad sometimes."

She finally looked directly at him. His expression was cautious, sad, and hopeful all at the same time. "Me too." This was something she shared with Sam more than with Paul. Harry had been more of a father figure to him that the long-absent Joshua. And while Allen wasn't an attentive father, especially in recent years, he was still there. Once he got over his initial shock at learning the truth about his son and his own ancestry, he realized how neglectful he had been, and he was trying to make it up to Paul in the remaining weeks before they moved to Pullman. He had even offered to sell his house, since no one would live there come autumn, and give some of the proceeds to Paul to support him in the next phase of his life.

After a long stretch of silence, Sam asked, "Are they all pissed at me?"

Leah shrugged. "Disappointed, I think. Surprised that you weren't there. But you going, it wouldn't have made their pain any better."

"I know. There was no way I could stand in front of her family and pretend I'm sad about it."

"Because you're still too angry." She understood completely. "Which is fine. You're allowed."

When he thought about Emily, which was often, the only emotion he could conjure was fury, and there was no way to hide it. Not yet. He was far too raw. He watched as Leah began to kick at the water, sending little droplets sparkling through the air. "You don't seem to be, so much."

"Not as much now," she admitted. "I had a while to process it, to get used to it. Even before I knew exactly what was going on. But it was really sudden for you."

His hand twitched where it lay on the dock, and she knew he wanted to reach out for her. Instead, he said, "It was sudden for you too."

It certainly felt that way when he abruptly ended their relationship. But she had months to start moving on before she came home and started to understand what had really happened. She had time to recover, had her mother and Seth, then Rachel, and finally Paul. For Sam, it was still early, and he had no one. The pack was supportive in its own way, and his mother loved him dearly, but for years, it was Leah who had been his best friend, not just his lover and fiancée. Now, she offered him simple honesty. "It just takes time. I promise, it'll get better."

"I just wish..." he said softly.

She gently placed her hand on his. "I know." It wasn't too long ago that she felt the same way. Then she took her hand away, not wanting to send the wrong message, because she knew he would cling to the slightest hints. A year ago, she would have, too. She asked, "What do you think you'll do now?"

"Kim hooked me up with a job working for her uncle in Spokane. Entry level construction."

"Oh!" She brightened, even if he did not. Sam was good with his hands, and very hardworking. She knew he would do well. "That's great. You'll be so good at that." He just shrugged. She knew he wanted to be going to college with her, not moving to a new city by himself. She tentatively offered, "That's only, what, about an hour from Pullman?"

He straightened slightly. "Yeah, that's right."

"You should come see us, when we're all on that side of the state." She chose her words carefully. She and Paul were a package deal now. "And Rachel said something about going up in September for a food and music festival. Maybe we'll see you when we come?"

A smile spread across his face slowly, but eventually, it reached his eyes.

X-x-x-x-X

At the end of the summer, the pack threw a huge celebratory bonfire. It would be their last chance to be together for several months. The next day, Paul and Leah would be moving to Pullman, into an apartment two floors below Rachel's. Sam even came back from Spokane for the occasion, and Jared, who had taken a job as a night watchman at a storage facility in Forks, took the night off. A week later, the tribal school would start its fall semester, where the younger pack members would hopefully be able to attend every day, awake and alert since they no longer had to balance their education against a grueling patrol schedule.

Their families provided hearty, flavorful food. Jared organized a game loosely designed on the rules of football, but played in the water, which resulted in the near-drowning of Embry and Seth. Quil, Brady, and Collin were in charge of the fire, so it was enormous. Paul tried to pull Leah away from the festivities, wanting to get her alone. She laughed and refused, reminding him that by the very next night, they would have all the privacy they wanted. They would have the entire rest of their lives to be with each other. Tonight she wanted to stay with her family and friends. She was going so far as to sleep in her mother's house, which Paul didn't like it at all, but Leah insisted. She wanted to wake up to the smell of her mother's cooking one more time, and she wanted to eat breakfast with Sue and her brother before they got on the road. Besides, she wasn't leaving him alone. He would stay with her.

So they stayed on the beach as evening fell. Someone turned on music, and Rachel grabbed Leah to dance. Eventually Leah pulled Paul in, and when she grew thirsty, left them to sit down with a beer. Jacob plopped down next to her. "You look pretty happy," he observed.

"I am," she said sincerely.

After a beat, Jacob nodded at Paul. "He does, too." Then he actually looked at what Paul was doing. Rachel was cajoling him into learning the Cupid Shuffle. "Actually, he looks constipated, or maybe like he's having a seizure."

Leah laughed, "He's a pretty good dancer, actually, but he hates line dances. He says that it's just people looking like idiots in unison. Your sister said she'd only use her power for good, not for evil, but I like that she's pushing that boundary just a little."

Jacob astutely asked, "Did you put her up to that? Because you look awfully amused by it."

She shrugged nonchalantly, but the little smirk on her face was his answer. "Maybe."

"You excited about going back?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah. Sometimes I can't believe it's actually happening, though. Before all this started, If you had asked me what I'd be doing right now, well, I couldn't have guessed anything that happened this whole year, or that I'd be with Paul Lahote, of all people, let alone so happy."

They watched as Quil snuck over to the speakers and switched the song. As the Chicken Dance began to blare, he jumped behind Rachel, grabbed both her hands, and made her flap her arms like wings as she screeched in protest. Paul laughed so hard he ended up falling to his knees in the sand.

After they recovered from their own fits of laughter, Leah asked Jacob, "What about you? Just two semesters to go. What are you going to do after you graduate? You going to follow Bella to Jacksonville?" She knew it wouldn't happen, but she wanted to see the expression on Jacob's face.

He didn't disappoint. He looked as if he had just eaten something terrible. Jacob actually laughed out loud at the absurdity. "Fat chance. No, I'm done chasing that girl around."

"You ever hear from her?"

Jacob nodded. "She calls sometimes. And she's doing okay, I guess. Still trying to figure out who she is and what she's doing."

As Paul lowered himself onto the ground behind her, extending his long legs on either side of hers and wrapping his arms around her belly, Leah asked, "You miss her much?"

Jacob surprised himself with his answer. "No, I really don't. Too much drama."

Paul added, "And whining, and crying, and total stupidity, and…"

A few months ago, Jacob would have decked Paul for saying such things. Now, he just chuckled. "I know. I know. You don't need to remind me. She got kind of pissed when I told her about this date I've got coming up next Friday…"

Now Paul was really interested. "Oh yeah? Who with?"

"A girl from the Hoh Rez. I met her at the Tribal Hall. She came up with her dad for the drum circle."

Paul remarked, "Yeah? What's her name? Any chance I know her?" The local tribes formed a community, and there was a decent chance that Paul had crossed paths with her.

Jacob answered, "Maybe. Her name's Leeta. She's my age."

Paul didn't know her, but Leah did. From what she remembered, she was a very pretty, vivacious girl. "She's got a younger sister, right?" She pulled out her phone and aimed it at Seth, who had joined Quil in the ridiculous dance and was in the process of opening and closing his hands like a chicken's beak.

"I think so. What are you doing? Getting blackmail material on your brother?" Jacob asked.

Leah snickered as she recorded Seth. "Kinda. I'll forward it to you. He's been seeing Leeta's sister, Cora. You have to double date, and then show them both this video."

Paul pointed out, "I feel like you should save that for something big. You could get something good out of him."

"Like his dirty sock collection? Some comic books?" Leah asked. "He doesn't have anything worth blackmailing for, so I will just satisfy my desire to humiliate my baby brother."

Seth, oblivious to the camera, started to shimmy his butt back and forth obligingly, and Jacob snorted in amusement. "That'll work really, really well."

When the song finally ended, Rachel managed to escape Quil's clutches and turned off the music. Billy took the opportunity to quiet the crowd, and he held his drink up for a toast. "Thanks for coming tonight, everyone. I hope you're enjoying our little summer celebration. We've had a lot of bonfires over the years, and we've celebrated a lot of our children as they take the next steps in their lives. But this year is special, because these kids are special. So, congratulations, everyone. To the future!"

He drank from his bottle, intending to let the party continue, but his sister urged him to keep talking. A few people called out, "Speech! Speech!" and, "Tell us the legends!"

Billy cleared his throat and smiled. After all, he was the tribe's storyteller, its historian, its keeper of secrets, its chief. When the crowd fell silent, he started to talk. But instead of starting at the beginning, rather than tell the tale of Kahelela, Taha Aki, or the Third Wife, he began with their own children. He set the scene, speaking of evil within their midst, of the treacherous Cold Ones who violated their treaty, of the flame-haired interloper and her paramour. Then his eyes landed on Leah. He told the tale of the first female shifter. He spoke of her valor, her bravery, and her sacrifice. His voice thick with admiration, he talked about her brave and foolhardy decisions to stand up to face the enemy again and again. And he turned to his son, his eyes shining with pride, and he wove the tale of a young Alpha coming into his own. He hadn't been there when Leah pulled Victoria off the cliff, nor when Jacob tore Alice's head off or brought down Edward, or when they saved Bella from Edward. But it sounded as if he had. His voice hardened when he came to the faithless imprint who betrayed them, and his judgmental glare sent Old Quil shuffling off into the night. But then he turned to Sam, and he spoke of honor and redemption. He looked at each one of the Protectors, and he spoke of the unique roles each one had to play in the story. And finally, he spoke of living history, of the future, of the tribe.

When he was done, no one spoke for a long time. Billy had woven a rich tapestry, a spell, and no one wanted to break it. It wasn't until Charlie Swan, whose relationship with his oldest friend had been strained nearly to the breaking point, cleared his throat and thanked them all for what they had done. Then the adults began to drift away. But the pack stayed long into the night. They didn't know when they would all be together again. After living in each other's brains, it was a bit of a relief, but they would miss each other. No one else, not even Billy, could quite understand what they had been through.

Well after sunset, after the last orange glow fell beneath the sea and the moon rose in the sky, Quil pulled a battered cardboard box out of the Rabbit. Leah spotted the gleeful expression on his face as he approached the fire, and she nudged Paul. "Any idea what he's up to?"

"Fireworks, maybe?" Paul speculated. "Except he doesn't have the cash to buy that stuff."

As he pulled a variety of household items out of the box, they only became more confused until he started tossing them into the fire. Leah was slightly intrigued by the sparks thrown by table sugar, and startled by the green flame from flaming borax, but she laughed uproariously when Quil singed his eyebrows off trying to make white flames with epsom salts.

Paul hardly noticed their comical antics. He was too busy watching Leah laugh. This was the girl he had watched for years, peeking at her through sidelong glances, glancing across crowded rooms, staring as she passed him on the street. Her whole body shook with her mirth, from her pink lacquer tipped toes, to her taut belly, to her hair as it tossed about her head. And best of all were her eyes, not haunted by grief, hard with determination, or wet with unshed tears. They sparkled, reflecting the glow of the bonfire. He couldn't resist any longer, and he brought her in for a kiss. Her beautiful eyes slipped shut as she melted into him.

His lips awoke something in her. This time, when he tempted her into the woods, she couldn't resist. As they walked, he kept her close, kissing her neck and murmuring his intentions in her ear, and she tripped several times. Only his arms around her waist kept her from falling.

He tried to lift up her sundress as soon as they were out of sight, but they could still hear the voices of their brothers, so she untangled his fingers from her hem and dashed ahead of him. He growled playfully and ran after her as she dodged between trees and leapt over fallen logs. She let him catch her when they reached the river.

He grabbed her by the hips and spun her around. She couldn't stop laughing long enough for him to properly kiss her mouth, so he peppered her cheeks, nose, chin, and brow with tiny pecks as he ran his hands up and down her body. This time, when he tugged at her fabric, she didn't stop him. Instead, their limbs became slightly tangled as she tried to pull his shirt off while he was lowering the zipper along her spine. Neither of them noticed when his tee shirt landed in the water, nor when the slow current carried it away.

He was too busy where he knelt at her feet, dragging her panties down her legs and sliding his fingers through her folds. Her knees buckled, but he steadied her with one hand, telling her to stay right where she was. The moon had risen, and its soft light illuminated her where she stood. As he slipped one finger, then two, then three, inside her, pausing from time to time to circle gently with his thumb, he watched her, transfixed. She trembled and struggled to stay upright, grasping at his shoulders with her hands. He tugged one of her straps down her arm, and she helped him lower the other, and then she stood before him with her dress rucked around her waist. He leaned up to suck at the tips of her breasts, his hand maintaining its steady rhythm, and she quickly shuddered and shook with a beautiful orgasm.

He could have easily pleasured her longer, but she was too eager to touch him. She pulled him to stand as he licked her from his fingers, moaning at the flavor of her sex, and she dropped to her knees. She freed him from his shorts, but was too impatient to rid him entirely of his clothing. Hungrily, she took him into her mouth and hummed happily around him. Now it was his turn to lose his balance. What she was doing felt so good that he nearly fell, but he maintained the wherewithal to lock his knees, threaded his fingers through her hair, and began to pump in and out of her mouth. She kept her eyes trained up, seducing him with her eyes as much as her tongue, and he couldn't look away. He barely blinked, entranced by her expression. Her eyes sparkled, and the corners of her lips turned up in the moments they weren't stretched tight around his wide base. She hummed in satisfaction, and he felt the vibrations from the tip of his cock to the top of his head. Without thought, he began to curse, muttering about how good she felt, how much he wanted her, how perfect she was.

He never thought that he would have something like this, something so good. Before he knew her, he thought romantic love held no influence on him, that he could pretend it for the sake of seduction, but nothing more. He believed himself capable of affection, of fondness, but no more. Knowing her was such a surprise.

When he was on the brink, he managed to drag her up, kissing her deeply. He had to be inside of her, needed to feel her climax around him before he allowed himself to fall over the edge. He pulled her dress off, kicked his shorts behind him, and pushed her down on a large, flat rock that bordered the river. He spread her open beneath him, and he entered her in one long, slow thrust.

Their physical connection was a revelation. Despite his ample prior experience, he had never felt anything close to the overwhelming bliss of being with her. It was deeper, richer, and purer than anything he thought he was capable of. And he valued it more than anything, valued her more than anything, because he had come so close to losing her so many times.

At first, he held himself still, buried in her heat, trying to regain control of himself. The things she had done to him had him nearly undone, so he didn't move despite her whimpering and the insistent twisting of her hips. Instead, he stared down at her, first hypnotized by the sight of their bodies joining, then raking up her beautiful body, and finally pinning her down with the intensity of his eyes locked on hers. Roughly, he told her, "I love you."

Despite the aching in her core, the primitive demand to move, to lose herself in their coupling, she paused to touch his cheek with the palm of her hand. Paul had given her so much. He had reminded her how to laugh when all she had were tears. With his persistence, he had cracked through the ice with which she shielded her heart. Somehow, he helped her transform her bitterness into passion. He did it by being himself, by being only honest and open and true. And in the midst of her worst self-loathing, she looked in his eyes and saw herself reflected there. And what she saw astonished her. He showed her the best version of herself, the strong, powerful, loyal, loving person she had always been. And he showed her that finding her wolf, as tragic as the circumstances were, did not reveal a monster inside her. Instead, it revealed her true nature: healer and warrior both.

"Oh, Paul," she sighed. "I love you too."

And then they began to move. Their bodies bowed apart and came together. Her hands clutched at his arms, along his shoulders, down his back. He buried his face in her neck, nipping at her sensitive skin, leaving tiny little marks, then laving at them with his tongue. She held him tightly with her legs, barely allowing him enough room to move, and she flipped him onto his back. He held her by the hips and lifted her up and down as she rode him, reveling in the tightness of her sex, the sight of her narrow waist as she arched her back, the raw pleasure on her face that she made no attempt to hide. He reached up to caress her full breasts, pinched at her nipples, and finally curled himself up to take them into his mouth. Her moans only further inflamed him. When he couldn't stand it any more, he stilled her with his grip, clutched her chest tightly to his, and he began to pound up into her. Leah could barely hold on. His movements were so powerful, so possessive, it was all she could do to find the moon-shaped scar she had left on his collarbone, worrying it with her teeth as she tightened her thighs around his.

The stimulation of the mark triggered Paul's wolf to go wild. The animal rose to the surface of his consciousness, and he could no longer remain in the submissive position. He pushed her off him as she gasped in surprise, pushed her down into the soft grass, sat on his heels, dragged her onto his thighs, and roughly slammed back into her body. She was undone. Her climax began to take over her in waves, and he reveled in her harsh, shaking wail. Her core began to contract tightly around him as he drew out her pleasure as long as he could, but when she called out his name, he couldn't hold on any longer. He curled himself over her, twisted her head to the side, and sank his teeth in the same spot he had already marked her. As he emptied himself inside her, he claimed her once more.

They remained locked together until she decided she wanted to bathe in the river, and then they played and splashed in the cool water. He wondered what he had done to deserve this kind of happiness, while she was silently grateful for him. When he pulled her back to the flat rock to sit until they dried, she told him everything she had been thinking, and so did he.

When they finally left, they joined hands and stepped into their future.

X-x-x-x-X

A/N: A final thanks to Babs81410, who is an absolutely fantastic beta. Thanks also to everyone who stuck with the story, who reviewed, favorited, followed, and encouraged with your kind words. And most of all, thanks to MargotTenser, without whom the story would not exist.