**** Disclaimer: I do NOT own the recognizable events, characters, or places in this story. Characters and events, as well as the Twiverse, belong to Stephanie Meyer. Forks, Port Angeles, and other real places belong to themselves, their own entities. ****

Emily, Kim, and Bella were all sitting around the table with their respective drinks. It was silent, but not a tense silence. The wolves hadn't been gone long, and they'd heard now loud growling or howling. Whatever was going on outside it was being done nearly silently- and none of the women were sure whether or not that was a good thing.

"When did Paul come back?" Emily asked finally, curiosity getting the better of her completely. "He wasn't here last night, and you left but never came back so I can only assume it was while you were gone."

"He came to me last night." Bella replied, though she didn't say as to where Paul had met her- and from the blush crawling up her pale skin Emily wouldn't have to ask just what the pair had gotten up to. Bella usually didn't enjoy talking sex-talk with Emily, or anyone really, but a question had been itching at her since Paul's return and she couldn't help herself now. "Does Sam ever seem more wolf than human to you?"

"You mean besides when he's literally a wolf, you mean?" Emily asked with a lighthearted laugh. Bella and Kim both giggled with her, the tension that had built from Bella's shyness dissipating a little.

"Yea, I think… I just wanted to know if you ever saw it when he was human too… if there were ever times that maybe the wolf seemed a little too close to the surface in Sam… or even in Jared, Kim, if you've noticed it at all."

"Now that you mention it, Bella…" Emily let the sentence trail with a soft sigh. "There have been times that… well… times that Sam has seemed much less himself, that's for sure. Never any physical changes but times when his eyes just don't seem right."

"Wolf-like?" Bella pressed.

"Yes!" Kim interrupted. "It happened the first time Jared and I had sex. He seemed to get so close to biting me, I thought it was a trick of the light- but his face looked so inhuman." Kim shrugged a little. "I just thought it was my imagination, especially since I wasn't wholly sure that I even really believed in the protectors or the stories just yet, you know?"

"It's the same with Sam. There have been a few times during our love making that he's seemed much less in control, more dominant, more fierce, more animal…" Emily made an offhanded gesture at the scars that marred her skin. "Aside from the obvious time… I can't think of anything else."

"It's never just happened before?" Bella asked once more, confused but also getting answers. The answers seemed to leave even more questions in their wake- but answers were answers no matter how much more confusion they created.

"No, not that I can think of." Emily replied as she took a drink. Kim agreed in earnest and the talk changed then. "So, Bella, what exactly does your father have up his sleeve for the meeting between him, the Pack, and the Council on Wednesday?"

"I don't know. He has a folder of things that he's been working on, both at home and at work. He's been to the old house a few times too. Looking, thinking… He's always been a silent man, though. Maybe that's where the silence in my mind comes from?" Bella joked, Emily cracking a smile at the expense of the exiled vampire Bella referenced. Kim gave a noise of confusion. "Oh, sorry Kim. The Whitlock-Hale vampires aren't the only vampires who have been here. I've… known quite a few vampires in my life. One of them, of the old Cullen coven, was a mind reader. But he couldn't read my mind, I was silent to him… I was making a joke about that."

"Holy shit, Bella! How could you stand to be so close to one of them for so long?" Kim looked scandalized.

"I dated the one who could read minds for a while. Let's just say my taste in… beings… wasn't always the greatest. Besides, Kim, you'll get to meet the Whitlock-Hale coven soon enough, there is a meeting with them on Friday night. It was happening whether or not Paul had come home, though I'm sure it will be easier now with him home."

"Maybe." Jared said as he crashed into the house, his eyes wild and flashing. All three women noticed the change for a split second before he became wholly Jared once more. Bella spared a sidelong look at Emily who just barely shook her head. He wasn't a danger, and showed no signs of needing to phase. No need to raise any alarm. "So, just what have you girls been getting up to while the wolves were away?"

"Planning an orgy, Jared." Bella replied monotonously.

"Oh yes," Emily contributed to the sarcasm with barely hidden glee. "Hot, steaming, sex. For hours even."

"Mhm," Kim added with a giggle. "No boys allowed." Jared stood with his mouth agape, opening and closing it much like a fish. It appeared the girls had finally managed to silence the joker- because it didn't seem that he had a comeback for such a statement.

"Now that is just plain evil, Em." Sam called as he entered the house and making a beeline for his mate. Emily noticed that his eyes seemed fully himself, but she knew now to watch him closer for a while. "You should at least let us watch."

"But you wouldn't 'just watch,' Sam. We both know you'd have to have your fun too." Emily teased, pulling on Sam's arm as he neared her so that we would bend down and kiss her. Like all of their kisses it was both passionate but gentle, burning but also tolerable. He was soft with her, yes, but there was a strength in that softness she utterly enjoyed. "And that would ruin our fun."

"Which is why it won't be happening anyway, Em." Sam said with a deep chuckle. His arms wrapped around Emily as he picked her up and adjusted her to his lap as he 'stole' the seat she'd been sitting in. Jared had quit being a fish long enough to set down beside Kim and hold her close as well.

Bella looked at the two mated pairs with a soft smile. They had a love that worked for them- something that not many could say with such short relationships. Most people it took time, a lot of it, to know someone in such a way. To trust them so deeply… It was something that 'natural' relationships needed more time for. Not that an imprint made a perfect relationship; because it didn't. An imprint merely sped up the process, gave the pair a nudge in the right direction and a bit of a cosmic 'mood ring' in the form of the shared bond.

"What's got you thinking so hard?" Paul whispered into Bella's ear, having been able to sneak around the entire room and behind her back without her noticing. "You went somewhere, little Swan."

"Nothing," Paul cocked an eyebrow at his mate. He didn't disbelieve her in particular, but he also didn't think she was telling the entire truth. "Really, Paul, I promise it's nothing. Just a thought I had… a question I need some answers to."

"Questions are going around a lot today, it seems." Sam added sardonically his eyes searching Bella's face for a hint of what her question might be. "Have you thought about how you might answer that question?"

"I have someone in mind- but the last time I managed to see them it was by accident. I don't think I'll get that lucky a second time." Bella replied with a look to the Alpha. She sent him a pleading look. "But if you have a suggestion that would be absolutely amazing of you."

"I can take you to her, if you need." Sam looked at Paul quickly, who offered no objection outwardly. "And I can teach you how to find her in the future."

"When could we do that?" Bella pressed, Paul now feeling a little bit of unease at her eagerness.

"Provided Paul and Emily don't mind watching the homestead together, I'm sure Emily has plenty for Paul to do, we can go today. I have my own questions for the Keeper- and I'm sure she won't mind the visitors." Sam looked from Bella to his mate and then again to Paul. Aside from the unease in Paul's stance, there was nothing that told him anyone was against the plan- still, though, he asked to ensure. "Emily, do you think you could keep Paul busy for a little while? I'm sure he'd love to help with some of the house chores, or even with that leak in the roof over our bathroom you noticed."

Paul nearly laughed himself to death at that. For all Sam was strong, and knowledgeable, he hated roofing and any issues involving one. He could build a house from the ground up in two days with the wolf stamina- but he always said he'd rather 'go mate with a grizzly bear than fix a fucking roof.' Emily looked from Sam to Paul with a smile, knowing the same thing.

"If Paul doesn't mind of course?" Emily asked gently, knowing the two would get time to talk while Bella and Sam were with the Keeper.

"I'm better at roof problems than he is, Emily- you can just admit it. Hell, I'll look at the whole thing while I'm up there. Maybe I'll save you the trouble of calling me back later." Paul joked, his unease slipping into calculated movements once again. He didn't want Bella to realize that there was anything below the surface of his calm.

"That settles it, then. Bella and I will head to the Keeper today, shortly if possible. It should not take long for her to answer our questions. I have no doubt we'll be home by dinner time." Sam replied. "I just want to eat once more before leaving. Breakfast was amazing, Emily, but I think I may need the energy today."

Emily, Bella, and Kim all hopped up at that. Kim didn't cook much, but she was much better and faster with a knife than Bella was. Safer too. With that, the two groups of mated pairs settled into their present company and talked amongst themselves. The boys comparing perimeter routes, Sam and Jared catching Paul up on the things he'd missed. And warning him that it was likely the other wolves would still try to take a swipe at him when they got alone with him. The girls cooked, talking and giggling about nothing in particular as they did so.

A little over an hour later and after more food than any of them should have been able to eat- Sam and Bella took off into the forest together. They passed Quil who was still sitting and keeping vigil where the wolves had met together. Bella looked at the boy wolf and then at Sam who gave no verbal response but did assure her that Quil was fine. Chewing her bottom lip a bit, she followed the Alpha further into the forest.

"So how do we get to where we're going?" Bella asked gently as they walked through dense underbrush and over old wolf trails. "Because if my suspicions are correct… the person we need to talk to doesn't exactly have a mailing address."

Sam laughed at that. "No, she most certainly does not. Where we're going is… a special place. A place of Spirits, of power. Where Land, People, and Spirits meet."

"Like Paul and I's place, then." Bella said offhandedly, causing Sam to start and stare at her. She realized, too late, that what she said must have sounded quite insane and quickly tried to cover her tracks. "I mean, I'm sure all of you have somewhere like that in these forests… But, um, well… that day when Paul and I went to talk? Before the meeting with Jasper, Rose, and Emmett? Paul and I, we, um, we took a walk and ended up in a place that he said 'was impossible,' because it 'did not exist.' I told him that the Spirits must have made that place for us… you know… to have our own spot and all, away from the smells of other wolves and all that… um, I mean, like I said- I'm sure you and Emily have a place that's yours too… but…"

Sam took pity on Bella and held his hand up to stop her from rambling into an aneurism- she quit speaking almost immediately.

"As far as I know, Bella, you and Paul are the only two who have 'their own place' in these woods." Sam's voice was calculated. Bella's revelation had just brought more questions to his mind, and Sani's insistence that what she was saying was true did not help matters at all. Sam wanted to trust the wolf in his head but this… it was all so new. He felt as confused as he once did back when he first phased. The voice in his head back then had been garbled and hard to understand, but now Sam knew that Sani had to have been there the whole time. "But I'm sure we can both get answers where we're going."

"Okay…" Bella let it trail, gently hopping over a fallen stick. Not for the first time was she quite excited that she no longer had to worry about tripping over air. "So… how do we find where we're going if there's no address or anything? Does your wolf come with a GPS?"

Bella was making a joke, and thankfully Sam took the bait. Their laughter was natural, comfortable. Not unlike a father and a daughter sharing a good inside joke. Sam had fallen into that role, he supposed, a second father for Bella. Jared, Embry, Jake- the rest of the Pack besides Paul of course- had gravitated towards sibling relationships with Bella… But Sam? Sam had never had that pull. His was fatherlier in nature and he had accepted that role just like he'd accepted Alpha even after Jake had phased into the Pack.

"We seek. She only brings those worthy, with great questions, to her home. Think about it in your mind, focus on the knowledge you need to know- on the woman you met before. And while you do, we'll walk. If we're found worthy, if our knowledge is something we can only get from her- then we will find ourselves at her cabin… If not, then we took a walk and got exercise, and we'll do this again tomorrow or until our questions are worthy enough of answers." Sam was blunt, as always.

"Worthy enough? Do you mean there have been times people haven't gotten the answers they've sought?" Bella was taken aback- she'd assumed that anyone who searched found the woman, her cabin, her cooking, and her hearth fire.

"Not all who seek are worthy, not all who seek do so with good intentions. The Spirits know, and they judge." Sam replied steadily.

"Well that seems downright asinine, Sam." Bella rolled her eyes as she walked through a small grouping of bent and overhanging trees, she thought it looked a bit like a doorway. "I mean, how can our questions be more or less worthy than anyone else's?"

Sam never got the chance to respond, though, because just as Bella finished speaking the air in front of them opened up and both wolf and girl found themselves looking at a familiar cabin. The field was just as Bella remembered it, though she noted that there was a perfectly planted garden full of all kinds of growing plants- foods she suspected. The fire still roared to the side of the building with smoke coming from the roof, meaning the ancient native had two fires going. Did she already know they were there?

"I wondered when I would see your face again, Isabella Lahote. And Samuel Uley, Alpha, how kind of you to grace my home. It has been lonely since your last visit a few days ago." The Keeper's white eyes, though Bella hesitated to call her 'blind,' were full of mirth as she knelt beside the small pond in front of her home. "It would be of a great kindness, Samuel, if you would help me with these-" she gestured to damp clothes in a basket beside her. "before we sit and see if I can provide the answers you seek."

Sam moved forward immediately and with a grace Bella would always be jealous of. His movements were fluid and smooth as he picked up the basket and moved to hang the garments on what looked like frames around the great fire. Bella, on the other hand, walked up to the woman and with a gentle smile held a hand down to help her from the ground.

"A kindness, Isabella." The Keeper smiled genuinely. "These bones aren't nearly as young as they once were."

"I'm sure of it, Tkalis." Bella whispered, somehow knowing that the moment would pass between her and the woman in silence to Sam. A secret smile passed between them as they ambled towards the house, Sam, and the fire. "I have many questions, and you once said that the answers were just as many… I have come to ask them, to learn, to know."

"And know you shall, Isabella, warrior, daughter… In time, you shall know. For now, I will grant you the knowledge you will need to make a great choice when the time comes."

A/N**

I know that I'm leaving this on one hell of a cliffhanger right now but it's on purpose! However, I had a private message about the wolves' names and I wanted to clear something up for those who notice this too. Yes all of the names are Native American/First Nation/Indigenous in nature however they are not all Quileute in origin. I did research and picked ones that fit best for my story and the personality features that I'm bringing to each character, and while I know that different First Nation/Native/Indigenous tribes had different cultures, traditions, and were in essence different people I want everyone to know that I am not using those names as a form of appropriation or offense to the people in which they come from.

Also- the names and meanings for each character (minus Brady and Collin, as of yet):

Paul – Cheveyo – Spirit Warrior

Sam – Sani – The Old One

Jake – Dasan – Chief

Leah – Miakoda – Power of the moon

Seth – Hototo – Warrior Spirit who sings

Jared – Alo – Spiritual Guide

Embry – Ahanu – He laughs

Quil – Hania – Spirit Warrior

The names, in a way, make sense to me. And yes I know both Quil and Paul have the same meaning but there is a reason for that- it will make sense in coming chapters.

I know this is a long note and I'm sorry for that but I wanted to also say that I don't know how much longer this story is going to be. It's already at a length where it could be multiple books but I don't know how to finish the story I want to tell without extending it further- and I remember a few chapters ago that I didn't want to make this longer than like 65 chapters; but in all reality it probably will be. I make no apologies for that, though I'm sure I should.

Thank you for sticking by me- and I will see all of you soon!