A veces, escribo.

A week had passed since Sam’s last visit to Anna and Thomas’s house, and Paul was outside his own home, bent over and working on the old car of a neighbor. The sea breeze of La Push ruffled his hair slightly as he adjusted a stubborn bolt, focusing on every mechanical movement as if the work helped him organize his thoughts.

Suddenly, something caught his attention: in the distance, a figure approached along the path that bordered the beach. She walked with a steady, calm stride, indifferent to the crunch of sand under her feet. Paul straightened his back, his eyes instantly recognizing Grace’s characteristic posture.

When she reached his side, she leaned slightly toward the car, observing Paul’s grease-stained arms. —“Hi,” she said, with that mix of calm and firmness that always left him speechless. —“Hi,” he replied, wiping his hands with a rag. “I didn’t expect to see you today.” —“Nor did I expect to see you,” Grace answered, crossing her arms. “But I thought it was time to talk.”

The silence that followed was comfortable, yet heavy with tension. Paul leaned his forehead against the edge of the hood and sighed, letting his thoughts scatter. —“Grace…” he began. “These have been strange days. I can’t stop thinking about… us.”

She looked at him, her eyes fixed on his, deep and clear. —“I’ve been thinking too, Paul. That’s why I want to understand something. This imprinting… what does it really mean for us?” Her voice was soft but firm. “Because I feel like… there’s a line I don’t understand, between what you feel for me and what is just… wolf instinct.”

Paul swallowed hard, aware that the weight of that question carried all the insecurity that had dominated their weeks apart. —“Grace… it’s not just instinct,” he said sincerely. “I… I feel something for you. Truly. But I won’t lie to you: the imprinting intensifies it, makes me feel more… connected. But it’s not the only thing. What I feel for you didn’t come solely from being a wolf.”

Grace frowned slightly, evaluating his words. She stood in front of him, arms crossed, shifting her weight to one leg. Her eyes, sharp and curious, allowed no shadow of doubt. —“Paul,” she began, her voice low but firm, “I need you to tell me clearly: would you ever have felt something for me if you weren’t a wolf?”

Paul swallowed, letting a second of silence mark the gravity of the question. He leaned a little closer, resting his hands on the car’s hood, searching for the right way to convey what he felt without making it sound impulsive or instinct-driven. —“Grace… since the first time I saw you,” he said, his voice barely a murmur laden with sincerity, “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Not as a wolf, not as someone bound to protect or feel some biological call… but as a man. I’ve asked myself a thousand times what it would’ve been like to meet you without this, without… all the supernatural surrounding us.”

She raised an eyebrow, evaluating each word, weighing the intention behind them. —“And?” she asked with studied coldness. “What do you conclude from that?” —“That I would’ve sought you out anyway,” Paul replied, with the conviction of someone saying something that breaks him and holds him together at the same time. “That I’m not just a wolf acting on imprinting instinct. Since I first saw you, Grace, every thought about you has been mine, conscious. I can’t erase what I feel, and I don’t want to. It’s not just about protecting you, or following the call of a legacy I didn’t choose.” He paused, lowering his voice. “It’s… simple and complicated at the same time. I want you, Grace. As a man, not as a wolf.”

Grace blinked, surprising herself at how her usual armor against men weakened slightly. But she couldn’t give in completely; her character demanded clarity. —“Paul, hearing you is… intense. But I need to understand,” she said calmly. “Because what we feel can’t be confused with instinct. If I’m going to trust that this is real, I need to know it’s not just… biology.”

—“I understand,” Paul said, taking a breath and stepping a little closer. “And it’s not. I don’t want you to think I choose you just because I’m a wolf. I choose you because you’re you. The way you are, your strength, your… way of analyzing everything, even when it irritates me.” He smiled with a touch of tenderness. “All of that caught me from the very first day.”

Grace studied him, her frown softening, her eyes shifting from vigilance to a glimpse of tenderness. For the first time in weeks, she allowed herself to consider that what they both felt might not be just a consequence of imprinting. —“Then…,” she murmured, lowering her voice slightly, “this is… real. For you. Not just instinct?” —“No,” Paul replied firmly. “It’s real. And though imprinting intensifies what I feel, the foundation of all this has always been you, Grace. Always.”

Silence enveloped the space between them, a silence heavy with truth and contained tension. For a moment, the La Push breeze seemed to calm, and both could feel the authenticity of the bond they were beginning to rebuild, beyond secrets, the supernatural, and old fears. But Paul couldn’t leave everything unsaid in his mind; he needed to vocalize it so that Grace’s heart had no room for doubt.

Paul took a deep breath, stepping a little closer, without invading Grace’s space, but trying to transmit every word with honesty. —“Grace… I want you to understand something about imprinting,” he began, his voice steady but full of emotion. “It’s not the only reason I feel what I feel for you. From the first time I saw you, I knew you were… different. Not just physically attractive—though you are, and there’s no denying it—but because of the way you think, how you face every situation, your strong character, that independence that sometimes irritates me and other times fascinates me.”

Grace watched him in silence, giving him room to continue. —“If I hadn’t been a wolf, the attraction would have been just as intense,” he said, with a slight, sincere smile. “I would’ve pursued you, sought you out, tried to uncover every layer of your enigmatic personality. Because there’s something about you that’s impossible to ignore: your sharp mind, your kind heart, your strength to face the impossible… and your ability to care for those you love, even when it wears you down.”

He paused, swallowing hard, as if those words were risky but necessary. —“Imprinting only intensifies what was already there, Grace. It doesn’t create what I feel; it just makes it clearer who I want to protect, who I want to be near. But the admiration, the respect, the attraction… that doesn’t come from being a wolf. That comes from you, from who you are, and how you make me want to be better, just to be worthy of you.”

His eyes sought hers, searching for a spark of understanding, of acceptance. —“I want you to know this isn’t just instinct. You’re not a duty or a mandate of my legacy. I choose you because I admire you, Grace. Because you make me want to be better.” His voice broke slightly, but he didn’t back down. “Because I want you, with all that I am, beyond wolves, secrets, and the world around us.”

Grace stayed silent for a moment, processing every word, every feeling Paul had offered her with such vulnerability. For the first time, she could feel that what he felt wasn’t dictated by biology, but by the genuine connection between them—a bond that transcended imprinting and could, perhaps, become something real.

Two weeks had passed since Thomas’s miraculous birth. The new Uley-García house in La Push had begun to fill with life, though of a chaotic and exhausting kind that only a newborn could bring.

Anna struggled to find rest, her nights fragmented by the baby’s demands. Every two or three hours, Thomas would wake up crying loudly for nursing, and Anna wrestled between sleep and the need to attend him. Tirelessly, Grace took turns changing diapers and feeding her nephew, trying to give her sister a break amid the whirlwind of responsibilities. The small house was filled with cries, whispers, the smell of warm bottles and freshly used diapers, and also with laughter when Thomas finally managed to fall asleep.

Lucas, for his part, had doubled his efforts. Entire days spent preparing tutoring sessions for high school seniors, reviewing subjects, and correcting exercises, all while ensuring that his sister and nephew had what they needed. The extra hours were exhausting, but his eyes would light up every time Thomas smiled at him with those huge, bright, curious eyes.

Emily had practically become part of the family. Between meals, errands, and household care, she kept the siblings’ routine going, becoming an indispensable support so that the house wouldn’t collapse under the avalanche of diapers, bottles, and sleepless nights.

Outside, tension remained palpable. Sam spent long hours training Quil, teaching him to control his new abilities and respond to threats. The imminent presence of vampires lurking near La Push was a constant reminder that peace was temporary. Whenever they tried to approach, Sam and the pack were ready, but the red-haired vampire always vanished before being caught, leaving only a sense of danger and a trail of mystery that kept them vigilant.

Jacob and Bella, meanwhile, had strengthened their bond. Edward Cullen’s departure had left Bella in deep depression, and Jacob had become her anchor. Patient and steady, he accompanied her, speaking softly, taking her to the forest for walks among the trees, reminding her of life’s beauty and the strength she could still find within herself. Slowly, Bella began to open up, leaving behind the shadow of loss that consumed her, while Jacob held her with the firmness of someone who could not fail her.

At home, daily life had found a strange rhythm, made of chaos and love, of endless tasks and unexpected smiles. Thomas’s sounds, every grateful look from Anna, every protective gesture from Lucas and Grace, became a reminder that even amid secrets, dangers, and supernatural worlds, they could build a home—one where life, though exhausting and frantic, was still theirs.

And between interrupted naps, bottles, and wolf training, the pack kept growing, adapting, preparing. They knew that any moment of calm could shatter, and when it did, they had to be ready.

…

After working a half-shift at Forks’ busiest café, Grace gently opened the door to her new home, finding Sam sitting in a single armchair with Thomas in his arms, the baby sleeping peacefully, unaware of the mixture of emotions filling the room. Every small movement of the little one caused a flash of tenderness on the wolf’s face, as if holding him was a reminder of what was truly worth protecting.

Emily, lying on the couch with a blanket over her legs, was sleeping soundly.

“Thanks for coming, Sam,” Grace said, her voice and face showing no particular emotion.

“I couldn’t miss it. I just wanted to see this little miracle,” he murmured, gently stroking the baby’s cheek. “There’s nothing like holding your nephew and seeing that he’s okay.”

Grace, sitting across from Sam in a distant armchair, took a moment to settle, crossing her legs and keeping her back perfectly straight. Her eyes, usually warm, had become inquisitive and unsettling. There was something in the way she looked at him that made Sam feel he had to measure every word.

“Sam,” she began, her voice cold and controlled, “I understand that you came because of your affection for Thomas. But I want you to be clear: you are not here for me or Lucas; you’re here only because Anna allowed it.”

Sam blinked, surprised by the chill emanating from her.

“Of course… I just wanted—” he started, but Grace didn’t let him continue.

“You’re only here because Anna cares about you,” she replied firmly. “And don’t confuse this with permission to interfere in our lives again, nor for anyone else in the ‘pack’ to get involved. No vampires, no wolves, no supernatural being. Understand?”

Sam swallowed, realizing the invisible wall Grace had erected. He forced himself to nod, though deep down he wished he could explain that his presence had no other purpose than to care for the family bond they shared, especially knowing that Lucas might become part of the pack one day.

“I understand, Grace,” he finally said, in a respectful tone. “I just wanted to thank you for letting me see Thomas. I won’t cross any line that’s not mine.”

Grace studied his face for a moment, evaluating his sincerity. Then she leaned back slightly in the chair, her eyes still fixed on him, but without the threatening tension she had held until now.

“…You’re killing him inside, you know?” Sam asked softly, not meeting her gaze. Of course, Grace knew who he was talking about; every night since her nephew’s birth, her heart had ached, missing and longing for Paul Lahote’s presence.

“He’s known me for a few months. He’ll get over it; in a year he won’t remember my name, nor I his,” she replied, sharply.

“It’s not that simple, not with our lineage… You see, wolves experience something called imprinting. It’s hard to explain when you can’t feel it yourself, but… it’s like meeting someone and having your entire world spin 180° in less than a second, like gravity no longer holds you to the earth, but it’s the person you just shared a glance with. It’s like love at first sight, but a hundred times stronger; you would live and die for that person, give them everything they need and more, go to the ends of the earth and back just to see them smile… But when you’re apart, when distance separates you, our wolf slowly begins to fade, we lose our reason to live, our motive to fight…” Sam whispered, stoic. Grace couldn’t help but watch him as he spoke, astonished by every piece of information he shared, words she too had felt in her heart and soul.

“…What am I supposed to do with this information?” Grace murmured softly, allowing, just for a moment, her great concrete wall to crumble.

“Don’t fight it. If life drew you into his life, it’s for a reason. The ancestors never make mistakes,” her half-brother replied.

“So according to your logic, should I stay eternally with someone I don’t know because their ancestors enchanted them to imprint on me? Where does my opinion—or theirs—fit into this?” Grace countered, on the verge of losing composure.

“Isn’t that how you meet love? Suddenly, without warning, with a complete stranger?” Sam’s calm voice only made Grace more nervous, as she no longer wanted to act with false calm.

“If there’s no choice, is this ‘imprinting’ right? Doesn’t it sound a bit authoritarian? I mean, what if he or I are in love with someone else, and now, by order of the ancestors, we must leave that person and be bound together forever? Does that sound right to you?” Grace questioned, overwhelmed by her emotions and feeling betrayed by the tone of her voice.

“Believe me, Grace, I asked myself the same questions when I imprinted. Because, in case you hadn’t noticed, Emily is my imprint, and we didn’t start in the healthiest way like Paul and you… Today, I thank the ancestors for aligning me with her; she’s my great reason to live, and only with her do I see a future in this supernatural world…” Without breaking his composure, Sam replied, feeling deep empathy for his sister, who was sinking in a whirlwind of emotions he had once felt.

Sam left the hospital with his heart pounding at a wild, animalistic rhythm. Barely crossing the parking lot, he already felt the heat climbing up his skin like living embers. He plunged into the nearby forest, running in long strides, until the internal fire erupted and his bones cracked with a familiar snap. Within seconds, the man gave way to the wolf.

The world changed. The cold pre-dawn air carried every scent with clarity: the dampness of the foliage, the tire tracks from the hospital, and above all, the salty stench of fear. Quil.

Sam ran between the trees, his black fur blending into the night, but his mind was alert, awake. Soon he heard the heart-wrenching howls ahead, accompanied by snapping branches and dull thuds against the earth.

—Quil!— he roared mentally, sending his voice through the pack’s shared network.

The young wolf was there, wild in the middle of a clearing, his paws clumsy and body trembling from his first transformation. His eyes shone with desperation, like a cornered animal that didn’t understand its own skin.

Embry and Jacob were already surrounding him, moving with calm, ears back, muzzles low in a gesture of surrender.

—Calm down, brother— Embry murmured with the patience of one who knows the pain of change—. You’re not alone.

—I don’t want this… it’s burning me! It hurts!— Quil sobbed, his mental voice a broken scream mixed with confusion and rage.

Sam stepped forward with authority, planting his claws into the damp earth. His voice resonated firmly through the pack bond:

—Listen to me, Quil. This fire is the legacy of our blood. It’s not a punishment. It’s a gift. Breathe with me. Feel your body, don’t fight it, accept it.

Quil wavered, panting, his legs failing him. For a moment, it seemed he might lose control and lash out at any of them. But Jacob stepped closer, gently intervening, radiating calm:

—Do you see me, Quil? It’s me. Your lifelong brother. I won’t leave you alone in this. No one will.

Silence expanded through the shared bond. Quil lifted his head, meeting the eyes of Jacob and Embry. Two familiar faces, two souls that had been by his side since childhood. And now, they were like him too.

The trembling in his body slowly subsided. The panting became deeper, calmer breaths. For the first time since the fever consumed him, he stopped fighting against his own skin.

Hours passed in the clearing under the flickering moonlight. Sam and the others told him the stories of their ancestors, the war against the Volturi, the burden and the glory of being a wolf. Quil listened silently, each word sinking deep into his being.

When he finally spoke, his voice was no longer a scream but a mental whisper filled with relief:

—So… I belong here. With you. After so long… I’m not alone.

Embry let out a low, almost emotional laugh, and Jacob nudged him with his muzzle in a big brother gesture. Sam, solemnly, inclined his head toward him.

—You are part of us, Quil Ateara. Welcome to the pack.

For the first time in a long while, Quil smiled—not with the wolf’s mouth, but with his soul.

The trembling in Quil’s body was not only physical. It was the echo of months in solitude, of unanswered questions, of whole nights wondering what he had done wrong for Jacob and Embry, his lifelong brothers, to suddenly drift away.

When he saw them together, whispering behind everyone’s back, the emptiness grew. He had tried to follow them, to uncover their secrets. He had even demanded answers at home, but his mother would avert her gaze, and his grandfather, the old Quil Ateara II, remained silent with that uncomfortable solemnity that made him feel like a child unworthy of the truth. Now he understood: everyone knew, except him. Everyone had seen it coming while letting him drown in his own uncertainty.

—I thought they didn’t want me anymore— his voice trembled within the mental network, loaded with deep, ancient pain—. That they were tired of me… that I was a burden. And my family… my grandfather… he knew all of this, right? Why didn’t anyone tell me?

The pack’s silence was heavy. Embry lowered his head, pained, having seen that sadness in his friend’s eyes and unable to get closer, though he wanted to. Jacob clenched his jaws; he would have given anything to not have caused that suffering.

Sam responded firmly, though his voice was tinged with respect:

—Because no one can say it too soon. It’s not about love or lack of love, Quil. It’s the blood, the timing. And I know it hurt… but understand this: you were never alone. You were just waiting for your spirit to awaken.

The words struck Quil’s heart like a cold, healing current. His legs stopped shaking, and for the first time, air entered his lungs without the weight of anguish. He had spent months in silent depression, dragging himself through the halls of La Push like an invisible ghost. Every laugh he overheard pierced him, every party or gathering he learned about through rumors sank him further. But now, there, under the moon, surrounded by the voices of his brothers, he felt the void fill.

Jacob stepped closer, nudging him gently with his shoulder.

—You’re my best friend, Quil. That never changed. And now, more than ever, we are brothers. I won’t leave you, not again.

Embry joined the gesture, brushing his muzzle affectionately, like when they used to play in the sand at First Beach as kids, running until the sun fell.

A wave of warmth coursed through Quil’s body, but it was no longer the fire of change—it was the fire of belonging. A relief so immense it made him pant in disbelief. For the first time in months, he didn’t feel empty. He wasn’t broken.

—So… I’m not a burden. I’m part of you.

The response came in unison, like a chorus wrapping him tightly:

—You always were.

And in that instant, in the middle of the night and the damp earth, Quil Ateara ceased being the lost boy wandering La Push and became something greater: a wolf of the pack, a guardian of his people.

…

The night advanced, and the forest finally grew quiet. Quil rested on the damp grass, still tired but with an unfamiliar calm in his chest. Sam watched with restrained pride; the boy had survived his first transformation and, above all, had found his place.

After a brief interlude, Sam raised his head and spoke through the pack’s mental network:

—Listen—. His tone was grave but gentle. —I just spoke with Emily. Annie had complications during childbirth. She was at risk, but the C-section went well. Anna is alive… and the baby too. A boy. His name is Thomas.

A murmur of relief ran through the shared bond. Even Quil, barely grasping the magnitude of the news, felt comforting warmth in his chest. It was a miracle in the darkness.

—A new member for the family— added Jacob, with a spark of pride.

Paul, however, could not contain the urgency gnawing at him since Sam had mentioned Grace’s name. The bond pulled him toward her, and his body responded without hesitation. He shot through the trees, running as if the world were burning beneath his feet.

When he reached the hospital, panting and skin still hot after reversing the transformation, he barely had time to half-dress before entering. The hallway smelled of disinfectant and recently dissipated fear. There was Grace, standing by a vending machine, eyes red and swollen from crying.

—Grace… —Paul barely breathed her name.

She looked up, and in that instant he knew nothing he said would be enough to keep her. There was a firm, painful, unshakable decision in her eyes.

—Paul… —her voice trembled but did not falter—. I can’t… not now.

He stepped closer, frowning.

—What are you talking about?

Grace swallowed, clenching her fists.

—About everything. About you. About wolves, vampires, about… realities I never imagined and that now suffocate me. And about Anna, almost dying in the delivery room while I had to stay strong when all I wanted was to collapse. —A tear ran down her cheek, but she ignored it—. My sister needs me. Her son needs me. And I… need time.

Paul felt the ground give way beneath his feet. Each word hit like a blow, but he found no way to argue. Grace wasn’t breaking up with him; they hadn’t even named what they had. But she was pushing him away, and that hurt more than any rejection.

—Time…? —he repeated in a faint voice, as if clinging to the word.

Grace nodded with a ragged sigh.

—I don’t want to lose you, Paul. But I can’t give you what you’re looking for, not when my priority is Anna. All of this… overwhelms me. And if I break, she sinks. So… please, understand.

He closed his eyes for a moment, fighting against rage and pain. When he opened them, he nodded slowly, though his gaze still burned.

—I’ll give you time. —His voice was hoarse, broken—. But I won’t walk away. I can’t.

Grace didn’t answer. She simply turned toward the hallway leading to Anna’s room, as if that decision sealed her immediate fate. Paul watched her leave, feeling his chest burn—not from the wolf’s fury, but from the helplessness of a man.

The white lights of Forks Hospital were far too cold and harsh, too intense, like blades cutting through the dimness of Anna’s eyes. The smell of disinfectant filled the air, clashing violently with the recent memory of Sam and Emily’s garden, illuminated by tiny lanterns.

Anna Uley-García moaned between rapid, shallow breaths, her eyes wide open, shining with fear and pain. Her hands groped for something to hold onto. Grace and Lucas didn’t let go for a single moment: she gripped her sister’s sweaty hand, murmuring words barely audible over the sound of the monitors, while Lucas stayed on the other side of the hospital bed, stroking her damp hair and repeating that everything would be alright.

“I… I can’t,” Annie gasped, gritting her teeth. “I’m not ready, it hurts too much.”

“Shh, Annie, breathe with me,” Grace whispered, trying to remain calm even though her own lungs burned. “Inhale, exhale… like this, with me, okay?”

The nurse barely looked at them as she pushed the gurney down the hallway, guiding them to the delivery room. The idea of separating from Anna was immediately dismissed: Grace and Lucas went ahead, making it clear they would not let her go for a second.

“You two, suit up quickly if you’re staying,” the nurse ordered, pointing to a small area with green gowns, masks, and latex gloves hanging.

Grace and Lucas exchanged a glance for barely a second, no words needed. There was no choice—neither of them intended to leave Anna alone during this intimate, crucial moment. Clumsily, Grace slipped into the sterile gown, her hands trembling as she tied the strings behind her waist. She felt her breath quicken, a panic attack rising like fire in her throat and chest, but when she turned her head and saw Anna, her cheeks streaked with tears and hands reaching out like a castaway gasping for air, she knew she would not break. Not today, and certainly not during her nephew’s birth.

“Gracie…” Anna whimpered, clutching her sister’s arm. “Don’t leave me… Promise me you won’t leave me or my baby… I won’t be able to raise him alone, I won’t…”

The words, filled with terror, pierced Grace more sharply than any blow. She swallowed hard, hiding the wave of dizziness threatening to overwhelm her. She leaned down, pressing her forehead to Anna’s sweaty one, holding her face firmly.

“I promise, Annie. We’re going to get through this, and if you ever doubt it, I’ll be with you. You’re not alone, do you hear me? You never will be.”

Anna nodded, tears streaming, breathing in short gasps.

On the other side of the bed, Lucas was already wearing his gown and gloves. His expression was a mask of concentration, but the muscles in his neck betrayed his tension. He couldn’t take his eyes off the fetal monitor, where the green line rose and fell with the rhythm of a heart far too erratic for his comfort.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” he muttered through clenched teeth, almost to himself.

The nurse gently pushed him aside to adjust the sensors. Lucas obeyed, but immediately returned to his younger sister’s side, offering her his left hand. Anna gripped it so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

“Come on, Annie, I’m here. Squeeze if you need to, it doesn’t matter.” His voice was low and grave, as if he feared disturbing the fragile balance of the room.

Anna’s muffled groan turned into a scream, her small body arching against the sheets. Grace held her by the shoulder, repeating her name like a mantra. Lucas pressed his lips together, not complaining, though each contraction sent sharp pain through his hand, as if his fingers might break at any moment.

The doctor hurried in, adjusting her gloves.

“The baby is struggling, but we need you to focus, Anna. Let’s work together. Breathe deeply, let your body do the work, okay?”

…

Meanwhile, in the waiting room, Sam stepped aside from the others with his cell pressed to his ear, his brow furrowed and jaw tight. The voice on the other end was choppy, anxious.

“Sam… it’s Quil,” Jared reported, agitated. “He’s shaking, went crazy in the middle of the forest. He keeps screaming he’s burning inside.”

Sam closed his eyes for a moment. The time had come. Another one.

“Damn it…” he muttered under his breath, turning to Paul and Emily. “I have to go. Quil just transformed for the first time.”

“Now?” Emily asked, stunned.

“I can’t leave him alone; he could hurt himself… or worse, someone else.”

Sam immediately nodded, tensed like a coiled spring. Emily, however, shot a horrified glance toward the delivery room doors, where Anna’s screams echoed down the hallway. Sam hesitated for a brief second, torn between pack leader and older brother—but duty roared louder.

“Emily, don’t leave them alone. Make sure nothing happens,” he ordered, before rushing out the hospital door.

…

Anna nodded through gasps, but her eyes never left Grace’s. It was as if the entire hospital could disappear and only the two of them would remain: the one fighting to bring life into the world, and the one holding back her own fears by sheer force of will. Grace inhaled deeply, syncing her breaths with her sister’s. If the panic attack was waiting for her, it would have to wait a little longer.

At that moment, Lucas leaned toward them, pale-faced, and whispered what no one wanted to hear:

“The heart… it’s dropping again.”

The monitor’s sound became irregular; a sharp beep sliced through the room and froze the air. Grace felt her heart leap to her throat. The doctor frowned and immediately positioned herself between Anna’s legs, checking quickly as a nurse handed her instruments.

“The baby is in fetal distress,” she announced firmly, though trying to sound calm. “Its heart isn’t tolerating the contractions well. We need to intervene.”

Anna moaned, her eyes wide, shaking her head.

“No, no, no… Gracie!” she cried, as the machine beeped another alarming tone.

Grace felt her knees weaken but leaned over her, holding her hands tightly in both of hers.

“I’m here, Annie. Look at me, look at me,” she said softly, forcing their eyes to meet. “You’re not alone. You have to trust the doctors, okay?”

Anna sobbed, panting, but managed to nod.

The doctor looked up at the siblings:

“We’re going to prepare an emergency C-section. The best thing you can do is wait outside.”

Lucas opened his mouth to protest, but Emily stepped in at that moment, mask on and gown half fastened. She had caught the last words.

“I’ll stay with her,” she stated with unexpected confidence. Emily took Anna’s other hand and held it gently, like a steady anchor.

Grace felt her chest sink. Letting go of Anna was like tearing a piece of her soul away, but she understood they had no choice. The nurse was already ushering them toward the door, Lucas following with eyes red from restrained anger.

In the hallway, the silence was deafening after the screams and beeps of the room. Grace sank into one of the plastic chairs lined against the wall, burying her head in her hands. Lucas stood rigid, gown still on, hands stained with Anna’s sweat.

“I can’t just sit here,” he muttered, pacing. “The baby’s heart… wasn’t right. What if—?”

“Don’t say it!” Grace snapped, looking up with tears held back. “We can’t think the worst, Lucas. Not now.”

He stopped, took a deep breath, as if trying to swallow the anguish. Finally, he collapsed beside her, elbows on knees.

“If something happens… if something happens to Anna or the baby, I don’t know how we’ll go on, Gracie.”

She looked at him sideways, trembling, but pressed her lips together and shook her head.

“We’ll go on. Because there’s no other choice. Because she needs us.” She spoke more to convince herself than him, but would never admit it.

The delivery room doors slammed shut with a dull thud, leaving Anna and Emily behind. The echo lingered in the air like a sentence.

Grace pressed her forehead to the white wall, whispering:

“Please, Annie… hold on.”

…

The clock in the waiting room seemed frozen. Every second dragged cruelly, as if time had allied itself with fear to torture them. Lucas couldn’t stop pacing, hands gripping his hair, while Grace sat with her arms crossed over her chest, forcing herself to breathe slowly, each inhale an act of discipline. Emily’s hands were clasped together, lips moving in silent prayer.

The silence became unbearable until, finally, the doors opened. The doctor appeared, mask hanging around her neck, looking tired but serene.

“Everything went well,” she announced, and those three words were enough to let air fill their lungs again. “Anna is stable. The baby is breathing on its own, though we’ll keep him under observation for a few hours. You may come in to see them.”

Grace jumped up, eyes wet. Lucas let out a sigh so loud it sounded like a restrained roar, and Emily simply covered her face for a moment, grateful.

When they entered the room, the world narrowed to a single image: Anna lying in bed, pale and exhausted, but with a weak smile lighting her face. In her arms, wrapped in a white blanket, slept a tiny baby, rosy-cheeked with irregular breathing.

Grace approached first, almost afraid the small being might break if she looked too hard. Lucas stayed at the side of the bed, watching silently, as if he still couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Anna lifted her eyes to them, tears glistening on her lashes.

“Do you want to meet him?” she asked in a faint voice.

Grace nodded, speechless. Lucas leaned in, barely touching the tiny hand, which instinctively closed around his finger.

“He’s… he’s so small,” he whispered, a lump in his throat.

Anna laughed softly, though exhaustion broke the sound. She stroked the baby’s forehead and, with a deep sigh, murmured:

“His name is Thomas… Thomas Uley-García.”

The silence that followed was not of fear or anguish, but of reverence. Grace held her sister’s free hand, her heart swelling with pride and relief. Lucas lowered his head, hiding the emotion overflowing his eyes. Emily, from the corner, watched tenderly, as if witnessing a miracle.

Sam’s house garden had never been so brightly lit. Lanterns hung from the trees, swaying in the gentle evening breeze. The tables, covered with colorful tablecloths, overflowed with homemade food, cold drinks, and laughter.

Lucas, the celebrated graduate, went back and forth like an overwhelmed host. Although the celebration was for him, he couldn’t help worrying that everyone was doing well, especially Anna, who was lying on an improvised hammock, laughing with Emily at Jared’s attempts to light the grill without causing an explosion.

Grace stood by the dessert table, organizing trays of pastries while trying to ignore the flutter in her stomach. Paul hadn’t arrived yet, but she knew he would. She felt it. She wanted him, even if she didn’t fully allow herself to admit it.

“Hey there,” said a deep, familiar voice, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“You’re late,” she replied without looking at him, a small smile bordering on feigned annoyance.

“I had to find something decent to wear,” Paul said, stretching the collar of his shirt as if it were a punishment. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. White shirt, dark jeans, slightly messy hair. Unacceptably attractive. Infuriatingly irresistible.

“You don’t look that bad,” she admitted, trying not to show how much seeing him affected her.

“You look stunning. But I won’t say more because if I praise you too much, I’m sure you’ll punch me again.” Grace let out a genuine laugh and looked down, shaking her head.

Everything seemed to be going in the right direction… until Jacob Black arrived. And with him, Bella Swan. The girl entered the garden behind Jacob, shy, wearing that constant expression of chronic discomfort that made Grace’s skin crawl. The moment she saw her, she immediately remembered Paul’s punch to the face, his professional martyr air, and how he ended up charming the teenage Jacob.

“Seriously? Her?” Grace murmured, crossing her arms as Lucas approached.

“Let’s not start,” her brother said, having also recognized her and frowning. “Though… yeah, it’s weird.”

Jacob greeted Sam and the rest of the pack with high fives. Bella, meanwhile, stayed on the sidelines, watching everything with the same nervous, surprised expression.

“Thanks for letting us come,” she said softly, as if at a funeral rather than a party.

“Mmm… of course. Don’t worry,” Emily replied, gentle but puzzled.

The party continued. Music, games, jokes—all that the pack and the Uley-García sisters had prepared to celebrate Lucas, who was graduating with honors a year ahead of schedule. Anna, for her part, received praise for her academic dedication and for looking radiant in her last month of pregnancy. Lucas was hailed as “Brother of the Year” when he fulfilled every craving of his pregnant sister.

Then, in the middle of the last round of marshmallows and beer, Bella—who hadn’t said much all night—let slip the phrase that froze everyone in place:

“I’m glad to see you all so happy and jovial. I don’t know how you stay so calm with Victoria threatening Forks… Or do the Uley-Garcías also have the wolf gene?” She tried to joke.

The silence was immediate. Grace, Lucas, and Anna looked at each other as if everyone suddenly spoke another language.

“Who?” Lucas asked, with half a cookie in his mouth.

“Wolf gene?” Anna said slowly.

Bella blinked. Jacob shot her a glare.

“Bella!” he muttered, as if he could snatch the words from the air.

“Oh…” she said, covering her mouth with one hand. “I thought… sorry, I thought you already knew. Sam… I’m so sorry, forgive me all!”

Sam, who was pouring more punch at the time, barely turned his head. His jaw was tense. Very tense.

“You don’t know anything, Bella,” he said calmly but firmly.

Paul looked at Grace. She looked back at him as if everything were finally starting to make sense… but only partially.

“What the hell is going on here, Sam?” Grace asked.

And this time, no one could pretend. Jacob stepped firmly toward Bella, noticing the tension in the air, and in a low, almost protective voice, spoke:

“Come with me, Bella. Let’s take a walk and get you home.” Bella nodded without a word, casting one last nervous glance at Sam and the group. Jacob gently took her arm and led her out of the garden toward her old, worn truck parked outside the property. The music and what should have been voices faded into the background, muffled by the distance and the rustling leaves.

Meanwhile, Grace walked up to stand in front of Sam, locking eyes with him in a gaze that admitted no evasions.

“Sam, enough with the games,” she demanded, clenching her fists. “What’s all that crap Isabella Swan just spilled?”

Sam looked at her with a mix of pain and fatigue. Finally, he sighed, setting the punch jug on the nearest table.

“Grace, there are things you’re not ready to learn. None of you, to be honest,” he began in a low voice. “But you have the right to know—you’re part of this family and… well, there’s a remote possibility that, just as Bella said, you share the gene with us.”

The silence was absolute, painful to witness for the pack and Emily Young. Sam looked at those present, his eyes scanning Lucas, Anna, and finally resting on Grace, the girl he had felt a connection with since he first met her.

“All right,” he said solemnly. “Our family, these kids here, are united by more than blood. We are direct descendants of shape-shifters. Our ancestors were men who could transform into wolves to protect our territory and culture. In us runs an ancient legacy, an instinct to protect those we love, but one that also separates us from the mundane, normal world.”

Grace swallowed hard, feeling how each word simultaneously broke and strengthened a part of her. She quickly observed her siblings. Anna’s eyes darted back and forth, trusting nothing before her. Lucas, on the other hand, already wore his poker face, showing no emotion, but Grace knew him like the back of her hand—she could see he was nervous and scared, his fists white from the pressure he held, his wrists trembling subtly.

“I must begin by telling you something,” Sam continued, his voice low but full of respect. “Something passed down in our Quileute tribe since time immemorial, even before Forks was more than a forest and a few houses… Centuries ago, long before we existed as we know ourselves, our ancestors inhabited these lands. But they were not alone. In the shadows, creatures from another world roamed, vampires who threatened not only our lives but the balance of nature and the soul of our people… Then, the ancient Quileute gods granted them a sacred and unique gift: the ability to transform into wolves—not mere animals, but guardians with strength, speed, and senses no human could possess. It was a pact,” he continued, “a sacred bond between man and wolf spirit to protect the tribe and the world from the constant threat of our enemies, whose only thirst is for blood and death.”

His eyes shone with solemnity.

“That is why our bodies change, why we feel this internal fire. We are not just men—we are the living manifestation of the protective spirit of our people. And this gift has a price: we keep secrets, maintain the pack united, and protect those who cannot defend themselves.”

Grace swallowed hard, feeling how each word pierced her heart.

“And us? I mean, what do we have to do with all this? We’re not from here, we’re strangers to your lands,” the girl murmured, her voice low and fragile.

“We share blood, Gracie. You, like me, are children of Joshua Uley, a direct descendant of a werewolf. If Joshua never completed his transformation, it was because there was no imminent danger nearby. Today, however, we face the presence of the cold ones surrounding Forks,” Sam said, exhausted.

“Is that why you transformed?” Lucas asked, including himself in the conversation. Sam looked at him and nodded.

“Exactly. Some time ago, a family of vampires arrived in Forks: the Cullens. They call themselves vegetarian vampires because they don’t consume human blood, only animal blood, but that was enough to awaken my hidden gene, making me the alpha of a pack. Then Paul transformed—the beta—followed by Jared, Embry, and finally Jacob. But there are more; we can sense boys who haven’t transformed yet, but soon they will,” Sam finished, his face grave.

The Uley-García family couldn’t believe everything they had just heard; without a doubt, it was many details of an untold story that felt distant and almost fictional. Before anyone could voice their thoughts, a sudden uncontrolled laugh broke the tension. Little Anna clutched her large belly with both hands as she laughed maniacally, tears streaming down her thin face.

“She’s in shock,” Grace said loudly and clearly, approaching her younger sister and hugging her protectively. Lucas immediately rushed to join them, holding the younger sister’s hands with a look filled with worry.

“Anna!” Emily shouted when she saw a thick liquid running down the teenager’s legs, soaking her new pants and creating a puddle beneath her.

“Oh God, her water broke from stress!” Grace responded, trying to calm her sister, without success. Paul reacted quickly, dragging a chair to Annie’s side, trying not to step on the clear liquid.

“Bring a car. We need to get to the hospital now!” Lucas shouted, sitting his sister down and holding her face in his hands in a poor attempt to focus her attention. “Look at me, Anna. You have to concentrate,” he murmured softly.

The night was well advanced when the three wolves—Paul, Embry, and Jacob—got out of Jared’s rusty truck, which Jacob had borrowed without asking. The roar of the engine barely rose above the music bursting from the Uley-García house, accompanied by loud laughter, off-key shouting, and the constant murmur of bodies pressed too close together.

“Are you sure about this?” Jacob asked, raising an eyebrow, arms crossed over his chest.

“No,” Paul answered dryly. “But I need to see her and fix everything.”

Embry chuckled quietly as they took the remaining steps to reach the house’s entrance. “This is going to be good.”

Inside, the scene was controlled chaos. People everywhere, music blasting through the speakers—a disastrous mix of reggaeton and techno—dim lights, the smell of alcohol and fried food. The decorations were the usual, but you could tell it was Lucas’s messy handiwork: empty cans scattered around, Christmas lights stuck up randomly, and a chalkboard listing “shot punishments” for anyone who failed karaoke.

Paul barely stepped in when he saw her.

Grace.

She was in the middle of the living room, on top of one of the tables, moving to the rhythm of the music. Black boots, high-waisted shorts, a cropped T-shirt that was clearly her brother’s, and a bottle of tequila waving like a battle flag in her hands. Her dark hair fell in wild waves swinging down to her waist, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol and excitement. She was beautiful, and she looked happy.

“Shit…” he muttered, frozen in place, feeling his chest tighten. Jacob came up behind him and patted him on the shoulder. “Remember why you’re here, brother.”

At that moment, they heard a loud, familiar laugh coming from the kitchen. Lucas.

They peeked through the doorway and there was Sam’s half-brother, kissing a girl against the counter, a half-finished beer in one hand and a carefree attitude that matched Grace’s perfectly.

“He’s talented,” Embry commented, watching him with a small wave of jealousy.

“Runs in the family,” Jacob added.

Paul ignored the comments and slowly walked toward the center of the room, weaving through dancing and bumping bodies. Each step brought him closer to her—and to fear. What if she rejected him? What if it was too late?

Grace turned, stumbling a bit, laughing, and her eyes met his. Then the world stopped. It wasn’t the music that seemed to soften, nor the crowd that disappeared in his peripheral vision. It was because in that second, amid noise and chaos, it was just the two of them. Their eyes locked, filled with anger, surprise, and something neither could name.

Paul said nothing, only reached out his hand to her. Grace looked at him, defiant. She slid down from the table with a series of perfect movements, as if she weren’t intoxicated at all. She walked toward him, stopping just inches away.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice hesitant. Her breath smelled sweet despite the tequila.

“I came for you.”

“After disappearing?” she asked incredulously, tilting her head.

“Yes. Because I was wrong, because I was an idiot, because I don’t want you to think even for a second that what happened between us was nothing. It was everything, angel.”

Grace looked at him and for a moment seemed to hesitate, her eyes softening. Then she looked down, as if searching for a crack in the floor to escape through.

“Don’t say anything else,” she whispered.

Paul stepped closer, placing his hands on her waist and lowering his voice.

“I can’t not talk, Grace. I feel too much for you to stay silent. Leaving was stupid, I shouldn’t have done it, but I don’t want to leave your side anymore.”

“I don’t know how to do this either…” the girl murmured, avoiding his eyes and staring at a spot on the floor.

Paul lifted a hand and gently took her chin, desperately seeking her gaze.

“Then let’s learn together… I know you’re drunk, but I’ll tell you every day until you get tired of hearing it if necessary,” he replied, moving even closer.

“I’m not mad at you, you know? I just didn’t understand your reaction, but I’m not mad.” Grace smiled. She focused on his lips and without thinking much, closed her eyes and lunged to kiss him, missing and kissing his chin instead, causing a soft and genuine laugh from Paul.

“You missed,” he whispered, pulling her closer to his body.

“I wanted to kiss you but your face moved! Or maybe my face moved! Someone moved!” Grace raised her voice trying to explain her failed kiss while laughing, making Paul feel a frustrating flutter of butterflies in his stomach seeing her imprint blushing.

“Here you go, little sister. You said if you kissed Paul Lahote again, you’d take a shot of your worst enemy, this cheap rum bottle!” Lucas interrupted, shirt open and several hickeys on his neck. Behind him, Jacob and Embry smiled, holding their own beers.

Grace, momentarily separating from Paul, took the bottle and two shot glasses from the nearest table, filled them to the brim, and brought one to her guy.

“It’s only fair I’m not the only one trying this cheap elixir,” she replied to Paul’s raised eyebrow, clinking glasses and both downing the shots in one gulp. Lucas, Embry, and Jacob cheered enthusiastically, drinking shots and joining the new couple.

The three wolves present, due to their genes and the temperature running through their bodies and blood, had no problem drinking alcohol since it didn’t affect them like humans. But after an hour of shots until the rum bottle was empty, Embry and Jacob were slightly drunk.

Around them, they no longer saw Paul and Grace, the latter forced to drink a liter of water to sober up.

Three girls with shiny tops and bright makeup approached the pair of Quileute teenagers and invited them to dance and keep drinking, Lucas cheering them on from a corner with a girl in his arms.

“This is going to end badly,” Jacob said, unsteady and slightly intimidated by the women.

“Exactly why I’m here,” Embry replied, enthusiastically taking off his shirt in one smooth move, causing shouts and roars from the surrounding females.

Upstairs in the house, specifically in the room of the eldest Uley-García sister, Paul and Grace were wrapped in each other’s arms on the bed, enjoying caresses full of affection and adoration.

“Will you stay with me this time?” she whispered.

The room was calm. Grace’s body remained warm beneath the sheets, tangled in the folds of the comforter and the subtle scent of lavender oil she used on her skin before sleeping. Paul watched her from the edge of the bed, still naked, with wrinkled clothes in his hands and his heart beating out of sync.

Dawn was slowly drawing light through the window frames. A thread of bluish light slipped through the half-open curtain, revealing the outline of her sleeping face.

He wanted to stay. He wanted to wake up with her, kiss her shoulder, laugh when she frowned for stealing the sheets. He wanted to make her pancakes, even if he didn’t know how to cook them well. He wanted to stay, yes. But he couldn’t—not in his world.

He dressed silently, making sure every movement was gentle, almost imperceptible. When he put on the damp shirt, a shiver ran through him. Not from cold. From fear. From the guilt beginning to clutch his chest like an impossible knot to undo.

He leaned over the bed and, for a moment, brushed Grace’s cheek with his fingers. She sighed softly, without waking.

“I’m sorry, angel,” he murmured, voice breaking. “I’m not as brave as you.”

He closed the door carefully. He descended the stairs in the dim light. He crossed the small living room where he still felt the warmth from the previous night and opened the front door. The city was still asleep. Only the street lamps accompanied him as he walked toward the outskirts, urgently seeking the refuge of the forest. And when he found it, he didn’t wait any longer.

He dropped to his knees, trembling. He felt the wolf calling him, how every fiber of his body shifted to the desire to run. To flee. To become instinct so he wouldn’t have to think anymore. The transformation was quick, violent. Bones cracking, muscles stretching, skin burning. A ragged pant and a muffled howl in his throat.

His paws touched the damp earth, and he started to run. Leaves, branches, the very air blurred in his path. But his mind… his mind was not alone.

“So you finally did it?” Jared’s mocking voice exploded clearly in his head.

“And then you left without saying a word… what a champ, Paul.” Embry added with irony and sorrow.

Paul growled, irritated. Not at them. At himself.

“You have no idea how hard it was,” he responded, his thought roaring more than speaking. “I couldn’t stay. If I saw her wake up, I’d never leave, and I can’t tell her the secret. She deserves better.”

There was a brief silence. Then Embry’s voice slipped in with a hint of discomfort.

“Grace isn’t like the others. And you know it. She’s not just some girl you can leave asleep and that’s it. Sam’s going to kill you, idiot. She’s his sister.”

“And you’re not wrong,” Jacob’s voice interrupted, this time more serious. “Sam already felt you broke the patrol. He’s furious. And it’s not about duty. It’s about her.”

Paul slowed down. His wolf body was panting, not from exhaustion, but anguish. He felt the echo of his brothers’ emotions in his mind: worry, disappointment, fear.

“Do you think I don’t know what I did?” he thought with contained anger. “Do you think I don’t feel it? That I don’t miss her already, even though I still carry her scent on my skin?”

Embry sighed in the mental network. “Then go back and explain, Paul. Don’t leave her with doubt. You know how she is. She won’t ask. She’ll just assume you left because she’s not enough.”

That last phrase cut through him like a claw. The wolf stopped abruptly, panting, on the edge of the cliffs overlooking La Push. From there, the ocean seemed as agitated as his chest. And then, in the shared mind, they all heard the most feared voice.

“Come back now, Lahote.” Sam’s voice, as deep and authoritative as ever, shook them all. “We need to talk. Before you hurt her more.”

And Paul, without saying a word, started running again. This time toward the pack. Toward judgment. Toward consequences. But also, perhaps, toward the possibility of mending what he had broken.

The sky was just beginning to lighten when Paul crossed the tree line surrounding the Uley house. The smell of damp earth and salt air enveloped him, but his Alpha’s scent was stronger. Sam waited outside, standing with arms crossed over his chest and an expression hardened by disappointment. No words were necessary.

Paul shifted back to human form in front of him, muscles still trembling from the run, chest heaving, soul disordered. He didn’t bother fully dressing. He just put on the fabric shorts he carried tied at his ankle.

“Didn’t think you’d find me so fast,” he tried to joke, though his voice came out broken.

“Don’t underestimate me, Paul,” was all Sam said, in a low tone, without raising his voice. That was worse. Paul looked away. The ground beneath his feet still held the morning frost.

“It wasn’t just sex,” he finally said, breaking the silence. “What happened last night… wasn’t stupid. It wasn’t a whim, you know because you know firsthand what imprinting feels like.”

Sam clenched his jaw. “And yet, you left her alone,” he stated harshly. “As if it were just that. One more.”

“She’s not one more!” Paul raised his voice, stepping forward. “Damn it, she’s the only one who’s ever made me feel like I belong! But I don’t know how I’m supposed to protect her from this… from us!”

Sam looked at him with a strange gleam in his eyes. A mixture of anger and fear. “That’s the problem,” he finally said. “You don’t have to protect her from us. You have to protect her from you.”

Silence fell again, tenser than before.

“Grace is my sister, Paul. My only family. If she suffers because of you, if she finds out the truth before she’s ready… if she breaks because of you, you won’t have to answer to me. You will destroy yourself.”

Paul lowered his head. He knew it. He always knew. And yet, when he closed his eyes, he could still feel the weight of Grace’s body against his chest, her sleepy laughter, her warm fingers on his skin. No. He couldn’t erase her.

“Did you tell anyone else?” Sam asked, more calmly.

“No. No one outside the pack knows,” he answered firmly.

“Keep it that way,” the Alpha said, turning to enter the house. “And decide soon if you’re going to keep running or if for once you’ll stay. Neither Grace nor her brothers are ready to know the secret. Damn, you know there’s a small chance Lucas is like us. We can’t afford to ruin everything before even living that situation.” Sam’s voice trailed off, his troubled face revealing his feelings.

After a few minutes trying to calm down, Paul entered the cabin silently. The warm air and the smell of freshly baked bread enveloped him immediately. It was a cruel contrast with the cold he still carried on his skin, not just from the run home, but from the conversation with Sam.

“Good morning, Paul,” Emily greeted from the kitchen, with a kind smile as she stirred something in a pot.

“Hey,” he replied, a little hoarse.

Anna sat on one of the wooden counter chairs, slowly peeling apples. Her braid was a bit messy and her smile tired. Despite her belly already rounded from pregnancy, she moved with a natural grace that surprised him. Paul thought she looked a lot like Grace in those moments: strong, serene, determined. Anna looked up and observed him silently, one second, two, three—no more was needed. Sometimes, seeing someone’s broken soul was as easy as noticing a restrained blink.

“Is it because of Grace?” she asked calmly, without preamble or beating around the bush. Paul looked at her, puzzled.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied poorly. Annie smiled, barely. A smile without judgment.

“My sister’s had that same look since she was ten,” she shrugged. “I’ve seen it in her, and now I see it in you.”

Paul swallowed hard, his chest burning. Emily, as if reading the atmosphere, quietly slipped away toward the pantry.

“Do you think I could hurt her?” he asked, lowering his head with shame.

“I don’t know…” she answered honestly. “But I know you well enough to know that’s not what you want.” Paul rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable, feeling exposed.

“She… she kissed me, looked for me, let me stay. But I… I left before she woke up. I don’t know how to stay, nor how to explain to her that I’m not like the others.”

“Gracie… she’s never known how to ask for affection. She gives everything, but she’s afraid to need someone. Since we were kids. And it’s not pride, it’s fear of being denied.” Anna answered softly. Paul closed his eyes for a moment, letting her continue. “The first time our dad left us, Grace made a stronghold out of sheets and sang softly to me until we fell asleep. She was ten or eleven and I was six. She became strong because there was no one else to do it for us, that’s why she seems distant now, that’s why she doesn’t break easily. Because if she breaks, she doesn’t know if anyone will be there to hold her.”

“I wanted to be there, Annie…” he said with a broken voice. “But I don’t know how to do it right, I don’t know how not to fail her…”

Anna leaned a little toward him before speaking. “Then go back, explain. Not with words if you can’t, but do it. Grace doesn’t need promises or pretty stories, she just needs to know she didn’t imagine it all, that you felt it too.” The teenager’s voice trembled slightly as she said that. She was a young woman, yes, but had grown up fast, like her sister.

Paul looked at her, and for the first time in weeks, felt not all was lost.

“Thanks, Annie.”

“Do it before she convinces herself you didn’t care. Because when Grace convinces herself of something, there’s no turning back… She doesn’t believe in second chances.”

…

Paul had been preparing all day. Not to fight, not to patrol, not to confront Sam. This time it was for a completely different reason.

He had charged his phone and, after hesitating for over five hours, dialed. He had the words thought out and Anna had been his most faithful audience, listening over and over and helping him sound more sincere. He breathed as if about to jump off a bridge, and for the first time in a long time, he was afraid.

The phone rang twice, then three more times, until someone answered. Paul fixed his bright eyes on little Annie, who smiled giving him moral support.

“HELLO?” Grace’s voice burst in loud, dragged, laughing. “ARE YOU THE PIZZA DELIVERY GUY? BECAUSE I NEED ONE URGENT… NO, NO, BETTER TWO!”

Paul frowned. It was his imprint, without a doubt, but it wasn’t the Grace he knew. Her voice was uninhibited, higher-pitched, slurred. She sounded drunk, she sounded hurt.

“Grace… it’s Paul.” There was a moment of silence. In the background, loud music, people shouting, glasses clinking, exaggerated laughter.

“Paul? Girls, it’s Paul!” the young woman shouted as if it were a private joke. Paul stood up nervously, pacing in circles outside the cabin while Annie followed him like a shadow, whispering that he should put the phone on speaker. Paul hesitated but did it.

“Are you okay? Where are you?” he asked, worried.

“At my house, obviously!” she replied. “With my little brother who loves me and threw me a farewell party!”

A male voice was heard in the background, unsteady and angry.

“Cut him off, Grace! That idiot doesn’t deserve your minutes. It’s our turn at karaoke!” Lucas shouted faintly, barely understandable.

“Lucas, nooo. I already told you I don’t like that Nicki Minaj song! Paul, I don’t want to talk to you, I need to find a better song before I look ridiculous!”

“Grace, wait. I just wanted to talk to you, invite you out, and explain—”

“Explain what?” Her voice changed instantly. No longer laughing, only anger. “That you weren’t even capable of saying goodbye? Or that maybe you never made the boundaries clear? Listen, if you want this to be a one-night thing, that makes sense, it wasn’t a big deal.”

“No, Grace. You don’t unde—”

“Seriously, Paul. Everything is fine between us! I have to go, kisses!”

Paul slowly lowered the phone, stunned by how everything turned so disastrously in such little time. He lifted his gaze and found Annie’s face watching him with a grimace.

“…I think you hurt her,” the younger girl commented.

“What do you mean?” Paul asked, entering the cabin and sitting defeated on one of Emily’s armchairs. He didn’t care that others were present; it was impossible to feel worse than he already did. Embry and Jacob looked at him sympathetically; they had heard everything thanks to their developed sense of hearing.

“Lucas has always been a social drinker, and since he constantly goes to parties, it’s not unusual to see him drunk on some weekends. But Grace hardly ever drinks. She only does it when she explodes and tends to go into periods where her life stagnates and she looks for comfort in Joshua, who ironically encourages her to drink more.” Annie answered with a worried grimace, sitting in front of the boys, her swollen belly prominent.

A few seconds passed in silence, everyone staring at Paul and his hands trembling slightly. He sighed and tried to control himself; the worst thing that could happen now was to shift into wolf and scare Annie into labor.

“Embry, Jacob, are you in the mood to go to a party?” he asked, suspiciously calm. The boys looked at each other oddly, and Annie just laughed, guessing his intentions.

The rain fell fine and steady, like a layer of whispers against the window glass. Grace had arrived home just an hour earlier, after an exhausting shift. Weeks had passed since her last visit to La Push and, deep down, she knew it wasn’t because of work or her sister’s pregnancy — her intuition spoke to her in dreams, leaving small clues to follow a path marked by suspicion, secrets, and lies. She could taste the lie, the distance between a truth that didn’t belong to her and the trust that was slowly crumbling in her heart.

Anna had gone to Sam and Emily’s house for the weekend, taking charge of putting together the baby’s room, as the little one would soon be with them all. Lucas, being the charismatic and popular boy at his high school, had gone to a party with a girl and would likely not return until Sunday night. And for the first time in a long while, the house was quiet.

Grace made some tea and lit a scented incense to calm her mind and heart. She sank into the couch with a blanket over her legs, turned on the TV—not to watch anything specific, but for company. And then, her heart skipped a beat, sensing a change in the atmosphere.

Three knocks on the door. She wasn’t expecting anyone. She froze for a second, the cup trembling between her fingers. They knocked again.

She rose slowly, her body still on alert. She opened the door... And there he was. Soaked, panting, wearing a thin shirt clinging to his chest from the rain, and eyes as intense and dark as the very first day.

“Paul…” she whispered, unable to believe it. He said nothing. Just looked at her, as if his presence was all that remained in his mental whirlwind. “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t keep going like this… without seeing you.” Paul’s hoarse voice was filled with anger, anxiety, love. Everything that couldn’t be conveyed in a simple message. Grace stood frozen, her heart pounding so wildly she felt like screaming.

She let the blanket fall to the floor and threw herself into his arms, fiercely, hungrily. The first kiss came suddenly, a mix of wild urgency and tenderness, and Paul responded fully, as if he had been waiting for her forever.

The first kiss was hurried, finally releasing all the feelings pent up in their chests. It was full of anxious tenderness that surprised them both. Paul’s lips and tongue followed the kiss with an almost reverent gentleness, as if afraid to break her, as if carefully exploring the limits of his imprint. She responded with the same need, closing her eyes and giving herself completely.

She led him inside, kicking the door closed behind her. There were no words, only the sound of the rain outside, ragged gasps, and the trembling of hands seeking each other.

“I don’t know how to say it,” he whispered, barely breaking contact. “All this I feel... everything you make me feel.”

“Then don’t say anything,” Grace murmured, caressing his cheek and neck. “Just... stay.”

And he stayed. They stayed in each other. The couch was the first witness, but soon they needed more space, more intimacy, more skin. Grace took him to her room, barely lit by the light coming through an uncovered window. Clothes wanted to be forgotten at every step, like shields no longer needed. Grace’s hands found the hem of Paul’s shirt and slid it off his torso with a new delicacy, as if every inch of his skin could speak. Paul did the same with her, with an almost ceremonial slowness, as if undressing her was a way of discovering her from within.

When they fell onto the sheets, it was without awkwardness, without haste. As if they had done it a thousand times in other lives. Their bodies sought each other like answers: urgently and trembling, but also with respect. Paul kissed her scars, her tense shoulders, her warm cheeks. Grace stroked his arms, his broad back, his face full of strength and contained fear.

Every caress was an apology. Every moan, a declaration. Every shared breath, a wordless promise.

Paul trembled. Not from desire, but from emotion. He wasn’t used to being vulnerable, but with her, he melted. He fell apart—and that didn’t scare him, it gave him peace. Grace looked him straight in the eyes when their bodies finally united, and in that moment, they understood there was no turning back. What they felt couldn’t be explained in sentences, speeches, or even promises. What they built that night was something different. Something visceral. True.

It wasn’t just a physical act, it was surrender, it was renunciation. It was finding each other again in the vulnerability of what neither could ever say with words from two broken, absent hearts. Paul caressed her as if afraid to break her, and Grace returned every touch as if she feared forgetting him. They devoured each other with a mix of anxiety and sweetness, like two halves finally reunited.

When it was over, silence returned, but this time it was full of meaning and understanding. Grace lay on his chest, listening to his heart beat strongly. He slowly stroked her back, breathing deeply, as if he could finally rest.

…

The sun began to softly filter through the bedroom window, tinting the walls with a warm tone of life. Outside, the city was waking up with the usual Saturday bustle, but inside that room, time seemed suspended.

Grace stirred beneath the sheets, searching with her fingers for that familiar warmth emitted by the owner of every sigh she had breathed during the night. Her hands stretched across the bed, feeling the mattress… empty.

She snapped her eyes open—Paul was gone. Her chest tightened as she sat up quickly, pulling the sheets over herself. The room held its characteristic scent of pine and mint, the air still warm from his presence, but he was no longer there.

No note, no message, no sound from the kitchen, nothing.

For a while she stayed still, listening to the distant sounds of the city. The echo of her thoughts thundered louder than any horn. “He left… Maybe it was just that for him, one more night,” “What did you expect, Grace? Romance from a boy who can’t control his temper or his flirting with every woman who passes by?”

“You’re only good enough to fuck, not to love.”

Her own insecurities began to take shape. One by one, like old friends she hadn’t seen in a long time. She thought of the other women who could fill the space she had occupied that night. She thought of Paul’s silences, his disappearances, his inability to open up completely. She thought maybe she wasn’t as special as he said.

She rose slowly, picking up her clothes from the floor, dressing silently and on autopilot. In the bathroom mirror, she avoided looking at herself, knowing that if she did, she would see sadness dancing in her pupils. She couldn’t afford to cry, not yet.

A loud noise startled her from her ruminating thoughts and she quickly ran down the stairs toward the kitchen, trying to find out where the commotion came from. A laugh escaped her lips when she saw Lucas lying on the floor, trying to open a beer with what looked like a spoon.

“Was your party good, little brother?” Grace asked, kneeling beside him and opening the beer cap with a precise motion using the spoon. Lucas laughed, completely drunk, and took a sip as he sat up.

“It’s not over yet, Gracie,” he replied, laughing.

“It’s nine in the morning, and you want to keep drinking?”

“Not you?” he retorted with a sly smile. Her sister sighed and took the beer from Lucas’s hands, causing him to burst out laughing as she got up and grabbed another beer from the fridge. Grace took her brother’s phone, which was on the floor, and searched for a playlist on YouTube to lift his spirits.

The wind of change blew stronger than ever over the Uley-García siblings. Since Grace had decided to accept Sam’s offer to remodel the old house in La Push, her routine had turned into a constant of silent efforts and difficult decisions. Despite her insecurities, she couldn’t afford to falter. Money was running low, and between double shifts at the café and sleepless nights, she knew she needed to find an alternative. That’s why, taking advantage of a day off, she decided to travel alone to Forks. With a bag on her shoulder and a résumé worn out by time, she knocked on the doors of bakeries, bookstores, even a souvenir shop, hoping that one of them needed an extra hand. Grace wasn’t seeking pity; she was seeking an opportunity.

Meanwhile, Lucas had made a decision that surprised many but felt natural to him: to temporarily pause his university enrollment. He wanted to finish the house before Anna’s baby was born. He knew there was no room for mistakes. Between hammers, paint, and boards, his intelligence still shone. He wrote essays during breaks to finish high school, used precise calculations to estimate expenses, and organized each week with the precision of an engineer. Sam, watching him, couldn’t help but feel growing respect and affection for the teenager who day by day seemed to become a man who honored the best of his lineage.

Anna, for her part, was already entering her seventh month of pregnancy. The physical changes were evident, but it was the emotional ones that shook her the most. She felt fear. Sometimes at night, she woke up distressed, not fully understanding how she would reach the end of her pregnancy without breaking down. But amid the chaos, there was Grace. Her older sister had gone from being a pillar to being her refuge. The way she spoke to her, how she stroked her belly without fear, how she prepared chamomile tea for her without being asked. Anna was beginning to understand that a sister’s love could be more comforting than any empty promise from an absent ex.

In parallel, life on the reservation grew tense with the presence of a silent enemy: Victoria. The red-haired vampire prowled the edges of La Push like a specter. Sam, Paul, Embry, Jacob, and Jared patrolled day and night. The danger was real. They had sensed her scent, found traces, even mutilated animal remains. They knew she wasn’t alone. She was waiting.

And in Forks, the emotional chaos had a name and surname: Jacob Black. His transformation had dragged him into a whirlwind of confusion and fury. Sam tried to guide him, contain him, patiently explaining the role of the wolves, the tribe’s legacy, and the unwritten rules that now governed his existence. But Jacob’s heart was still divided. On one side, loyalty to his people; on the other, his attachment to Bella Swan, the human whose closeness to the Cullens was becoming an imminent risk. Jacob couldn’t tell her, not yet. But every time he looked at her from afar, he felt the secret burning under his skin.

Everyone’s paths were beginning to intertwine beyond their will.

The house slowly rose in La Push, a silent witness to the bonds being forged, the pain kept quiet, and the secrets woven in the darkness of the forest. The story was just beginning.

Jacob Black finally slept in his bed after countless patrol shifts to find and tear apart the red-haired vampire. His sixteen-year-old body was exhausted from his duty to the pack, trying to attend classes and study twice as much not to fail the school year along with Embry, the constant calls from Bella, and the need to avoid her by Sam’s law, helping build the house that his alpha’s half-siblings would use, and the growing worry about his disabled father.

He woke with a start, his heart pounding hard as he heard loud murmurs outside his house. He quickly got up and looked out the window as Bella threw a punch at Paul, who began trembling uncontrollably, announcing that soon there would be a big gray wolf instead of a short-tempered boy.

He ran quickly, and as he passed his porch, he shouted his beloved’s name and transformed into a wolf in mid-air, executing a jump worthy of applause. “Jake, run!” he heard before tearing his clothes apart during the transformation and deliberately falling onto Paul’s wolf form, engaging in a fierce fight where both tried to dominate the other.

“Jacob, stop. Paul, if you don’t stop, you won’t see Grace anymore,” Sam said, using his authoritative voice to command the wolves of his pack. Instantly, both wolves stopped, growling at each other from a distance.

“Jacob, I told you not to tell Isabella the secret.” “I didn’t. She found out on her own. She already knew the vampire version; it wasn’t hard for her to connect the remaining dots,” Jacob replied confidently, sure of himself and the girl he loved.

“Only imprint mates can know the secret, and that pale face isn’t yours,” Paul said, trying to stoke the fire more.

“Paul, turn human and go to Emily’s. Apologize to Isabella and show yourself as a gentleman in front of my sister,” Sam murmured, tired. Since Jacob had transformed into a wolf, his patience and tolerance as alpha had been tested more than once, and Paul wasn’t making it easy either.

“Wait. Grace is here? Why didn’t you say before? I wouldn’t have wasted my time here,” Paul immediately said, transforming into human and running desperately to find some torn pants and look presentable to see his imprint.

…

Already at the house of her half-brother and fiancée, Grace sighed hopefully while sharing a cup of tea and cookies with her sister-in-law.

“See how everything falls into place? The new house is progressing quickly and, in just one morning, you found a job at the busiest café in Forks and they expect you to move in. You should be happy, dear,” Emily said, sitting across from the small woman.

“Aren’t these too many coincidences? I mean, Annie is already seven months and will probably give birth during vacation, maybe miss a month and a half of classes in her first year of high school, but it won’t really affect her. And Lucas, being the genius he is, will get his diploma, and it’s very likely we can start living here during vacation…” Grace murmured softly, playing with crumbs of a bitten cookie. She looked up surprised as she felt Emily’s hand on hers.

“Are you scared, Gracie? You know you can talk to me, I’m your biggest fan,” her sister-in-law spoke gently. Grace looked at her for a moment, hesitant to open her heart and feelings, but she felt it was the right thing, she felt the need to explode and hug Emily never to let go.

Just then, both women were interrupted by the sound of a motor parking outside the cabin. They exchanged a strange look, and Grace immediately excused herself to go to the bathroom; she needed to freshen her face and breathe before seeing the rest of the guys.

Emily took the opportunity to walk to the main room and warn the pack to behave, since Grace didn’t know the secret yet and there were no plans to reveal it soon. Surprised, she watched as a pale girl with brown hair and big brown eyes entered her home, immediately recognizing her to her disdain.

“So you’re the vampire girl,” she said as a greeting, suspicious of the new guest. Jared and Embry, on the other hand, were fighting over a freshly baked muffin.

“You must be the wolf girl,” Bella replied, earning a mocking laugh from the hostess.

“Seems so. At least, I’m engaged to one,” she smiled widely, showing her ring. A second later, she turned and gave the wolves eating with her a murderous look. “No word about the supernatural world, Grace is here and doesn’t deserve to enter this world yet.”

Both boys present nodded without thinking; after so many months, they had developed a strong bond with Paul Lahote’s imprint, the only woman in the world capable of silencing and taming him with just a look.

“Who is Grace?” Bella Swan asked, barely hiding her curiosity.

“I’m Grace, who are you?” Grace answered, entering the room and sitting among the guys, who instantly hugged her half-heartedly. Isabella’s eyes widened immensely; who was this girl with a palpable beauty and a presence that intimidated anyone?

“Bella Swan, who else?” Embry replied with a mocking smile, seeing the recognition in the Latina’s eyes.

“Ahh, you’re the girl who has poor Jacob daydreaming,” she said, looking at her seriously, her constant frown evident, causing Bella discomfort.

“Enough, Gracie. Don’t come with your free intimidation when we already know you’re a sweetheart,” Jacob Black mocked, entering the house and standing next to Bella. Behind him walked Paul, who without hesitation pushed Embry off the chair, knocking him to the floor, and sat beside Grace, putting his arm around her back while winking at her.

“Sorry,” he said matter-of-factly, looking at Jacob’s girlfriend and returning his attention to his imprint.

“Why are you apologizing? What did you do, Paul Lahote?” Grace asked, reprimanding him with her gaze and getting laughter from those present. Jacob and Isabella quickly left the place, allowing the rest to relax and enjoy the normality.

“Nothing, I just laughed at some nonsense accusations he made against Sam, he got mad and hit me. And, well, I got mad, and that’s how I get,” the accused said laughing. Grace observed him cautiously; a woman who has lived through hell itself and survived can tell when someone is lying.

“Huh, and what did he say about my half-brother?” she asked bluntly. The silence that followed was guttural; for a couple of seconds, no one dared to move a single muscle.

“Isabella thought Jacob couldn’t see her because of me. Not thinking the boy is risking his school year and needs twice the effort to save his studies,” Sam quickly lied, although his words partly contained an absolute truth.

Grace wasn’t stupid; on the contrary, she should have been a lawyer because not even the slightest detail escaped her. She watched her older half-brother nervously moving his fingers on Emily’s waist. She observed her sister-in-law’s forced smile, the corners of her lips tightening. The girl felt offended—if they didn’t trust her, why should she trust them?

“Poor girl... Well, anyway, it’s time for me to say goodbye; I have a long trip back to Seattle and tomorrow I work a double shift,” she said, forcing a smile and standing up. She said goodbye to everyone with a short hug and left the house, followed by Paul, who escorted her to her car.

“Is everything okay?” the boy asked, worried. He could never read Grace or anticipate her intentions, causing him great insecurity.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” the girl replied subtly. Paul looked at her for a few seconds and then hugged her, whispering his farewell in her ear and asking her to drive carefully home.

Almost four hours later, settled in her room, Grace couldn’t stop recalling the scene in her head. There was something that didn’t add up in all this, and she began to suspect certain situations that had happened earlier in La Push, like the radical changes in conversation when asking about the boys’ community work, or how one always disappeared without any explanation. She knew that inside the reservation it was rumored they were part of a cult, a ridiculous accusation in her eyes since it was only based on trivial facts like their lack of clothing, the shared tattoo honoring their ancestors, or that they prowled the forests. None of that sounded like a cult to her; on the contrary, she only saw a group of men trying to protect what was left of their culture.

She crossed the hallway on the second floor and approached Lucas’s room, gently knocking on the door and entering seconds later after hearing her brother call her.

“Are you okay, little sister?” he asked, attentive to her facial expression.

“... If you knew someone was hiding the truth from me, would you tell me?” she whispered. Lucas looked at her strangely; occasions when Grace showed her insecure side were few and far between, and immediately he became alert.

The trees of the forest trembled under the weight of a new presence. One that burned, one that roared, one that understood absolutely nothing.

Jacob Black had vanished from the movie theater and his attempted date with Isabella Swan, and when he crossed back over the limits of the Quileute reservation, he was no longer the same. The heat devoured him from within, as if his skin burned with every heartbeat, every breath. Anger, fear, rage—all of it mixed together.

And then, a tremor, and nothing was ever the same again.

—Jacob, I’m Sam Uley. I need you to breathe and calm down. It’s the only way I can help you—Sam’s voice spoke inside the teenager’s head.

—What did you do to me, Sam?!—Jacob roared with a voice barely human inside his head, his body still vibrating, revealing an unfamiliar pelt and limbs of unimaginable size—something Jacob had never imagined seeing, even in his worst nightmares. Sam Uley didn’t answer immediately; he kept his distance. The rest of the pack watched them from the forest undergrowth—Jared, Paul, and Embry—ready to step in if the new one lost control again.

—This isn’t something we did to you, Jacob. This is you. It’s always been you. Only now… you’ve awakened.—Jacob panted heavily. Every sound, every smell, every leaf crunching under an animal’s paws made him shiver—especially when he realized that animal was him.

—Awakened to what?! To be a monster? I can’t even look at my dad without shaking!—he growled. The muscles of his lupine back contracted, his bones still vibrating from the recent transformation.

—You’re not a monster—Sam replied—You’re a wolf, one of us, part of our pack that protects Quileute lands. What you’re feeling is the result of what we’ve been protecting for generations. It’s your heritage. It’s the reason we exist.

Jacob let out a bitter laugh that echoed in the minds of his companions, teetering on the edge of collapse. Embry stepped forward in his wolf form, tired of hearing his best friend’s delirium.

—Sam, let me talk to him. Paul, Jared, please give us privacy. We all know how hard the first transformation is, and how impossible it feels to try to return to our human body—Embry murmured, serious and confident, taking control of the situation.

The three remaining wolves shifted into men, standing naked under the light of the moon. They waited in silence, tense, alert. After what might have been an hour, Embry let out a soft howl, calling his alpha.

—And now what?—Jacob muttered, defeated and resigned.

—Now—Sam answered calmly as he approached—you learn to run with us.

…

Sam and Emily’s small cabin smelled of freshly baked bread, grilled meat, and sweet spices. The table was full, overflowing with generous portions, as always when the pack gathered after an intense day. Emily, with her usual calm, moved around the kitchen with the precision of someone who knew exactly how much each wolf could eat. Despite the scars that marked one side of her face, her eyes shone with warmth as she placed a bowl in front of Jacob.

—Eat. You’re going to feel like you can devour the world… and you probably can—she told him, with an enigmatic smile.

Jacob needed no further encouragement. He attacked the food with a mix of physical and emotional hunger. As he chewed, he glanced sideways at the others. Sam, seated at the head of the table, held the air of a leader even when he wasn’t speaking. Jared and Embry joked with each other as if nothing had happened, and Paul… well, Paul stayed quiet, arms crossed, gaze distracted toward the window.

Jacob swallowed and spoke with his mouth still half full. —So… are there more of us? Or just you four?

—More—Embry replied, raising an eyebrow—Though for now, it’s just us. But with the cold ones more active, it wouldn’t be surprising if a few more “wake up” any time now.

—Cold ones? Is that what you call vampires?—Jacob asked, frowning.

Jared laughed loudly. —Yeah. Not the most creative name, but hey, we’ve got more brains to come up with a better one.

—And the imprinting thing…—Jacob looked at Sam, then suspiciously at Paul—You’re really saying you have no control over it? It’s like… boom, you see someone and you’re marked for life?

Paul snorted, clearly annoyed by the topic, but didn’t deny it. Sam answered for him. —It’s not just seeing someone. It’s like your soul gets reconfigured to align with theirs. It’s involuntary. But when it happens… you know it’s forever.

Jacob leaned back in his chair, digesting that thought more than the food. That’s when Jared cut in with a sly smile. —The funniest part of all this is that, of everyone here, the second to imprint was Paul. The great heartbreaker of La Push. The guy who never spent two nights with the same girl…—Jared’s voice turned teasing and exaggerated—And boom, he goes and imprints on Grace Uley-García, Sam’s half-sister.

Embry burst out laughing. —Wasn’t she the one who almost killed you with her glare the first time you spoke to her?—Jacob asked with mock innocence.

Paul growled, shooting Jared a silent “shut up.” —It’s not something I find funny—he said quietly, though without his old fury—I didn’t choose it. But yeah, it’s real.

Jacob raised an eyebrow. —And she… knows?

Sam stepped in before the conversation could spiral. —Grace’s situation is complicated. She has her reasons to distrust many things. But Paul’s doing his part.

Jared couldn’t resist adding: —Yeah, doing his part… like staring at her window like an abandoned puppy every time he passes her house.

A piece of bread crust flew toward Jared, thrown by Paul, and the group burst into laughter. Even Jacob smiled for the first time in days. At that moment, Emily returned with another tray and paused to look at them all with tenderness. —See? Not such monsters after all.

Jacob lowered his gaze. He still had many questions—too many. But for the first time in a long while, he also had the feeling of belonging to something bigger than himself. And in that moment, surrounded by food, jokes, and a warmth almost like family, Jacob Black began to understand that being a wolf wasn’t a curse. At least, not if he wasn’t alone. But, as with everything in life, nothing good lasts forever.

Grace had just turned ten, though at that moment she didn’t feel like a child. Her mother hadn’t gotten up from the couch in three days, sunken into a thick silence, her gaze glassy from the alcohol she drank regularly, while the TV mumbled something meaningless in the background. Her father, as always, had vanished. He said he’d come back with work or food, but that no longer meant anything—at least not to Grace.

Lucas, barely eight, was quietly crying in the corner of his room, clutching a blanket that had once been white. Anna, only six, dozed on and off, her stomach empty and her voice hoarse from asking so many times for their mother.

Grace crawled into the kitchen, trying to work magic with the remains of cold rice and a can of tuna. The water wouldn’t turn hot, so she dumped everything into a pot and stirred clumsily, biting her lip to keep from crying. She had to look strong for her siblings. She had to make it work—because if she didn’t, who would?

That night, when Lucas and Anna were asleep together in the boy’s room, Clara spoke to her eldest daughter.

“You’re a smart girl, Gray-gray, much smarter than me.” Her mother’s voice came out scratchy, as if rusted on the inside. “Promise me you’ll never believe in love. Love kills you… like it killed me.”

Grace didn’t know what to say. She just stared at her in the dim light, at her mother’s dead eyes and the half-full bottle of pills next to a glass of clear alcohol. She didn’t understand everything her mother was saying, but she understood the fear, the abandonment, the pain that didn’t vanish with kisses.

“If you ever fall in love, you’ll end up dead from an overdose, just like me,” Clara whispered again, her gaze lost, wearing a broken smirk that looked almost like a smile.

Grace swallowed hard and clenched her jaw—a gesture she would repeat all her life. That night, she realized no one was ever going to save her. That there was no room for weakness or sweet promises. That love was a trap. And if she had to take care of her siblings forever, she would—even if it broke her a little more each day.

…

It was eleven at night when Anna, from her bedroom window, saw her sister coming home exhausted from work. Paul was leaning against his old pickup truck, standing only a few steps away from her. It wasn’t the first time he’d waited for her after a long shift, but it was one of the few times Grace didn’t immediately tell him to get lost.

Anna watched as Grace stopped for a few seconds before going inside, exchanging a couple of words with him. It wasn’t a romantic scene, nor was it hostile. It was something different, something that felt like an unspoken pact. Finally, Grace gave him a tired smile—one of those rare ones she almost never used—and Paul simply nodded before getting into his truck and disappearing into the night.

Anna sighed. Paul really does feel something for her, she thought, tilting her head. But she knew her sister, and she knew that if anything could ruin it… it would be Grace herself. Grace had a natural talent for destroying what she didn’t understand—especially if it smelled like love.

She lay back in bed and gently stroked her rounded belly, feeling the strongest kick yet; she smiled, never failing to be amazed by those tiny but clear movements.

“Hello, my love,” she murmured. “You’re starting to make yourself known, huh?”

The room was silent, but her mind was still humming with thoughts. At twenty-two weeks pregnant, she was no longer the girl who cried over her parents’ absence—she was becoming the mother who was about to arrive. She didn’t have it all figured out, not even close, but she had a family that, though far from perfect, was giving their all for her and her future child. Lucas building a home, Grace working without rest, Sam watching over all of them as if he always had, and Paul… Well, maybe Paul was trying to build something more—even if Grace didn’t know it yet.

Anna smiled tenderly as sleep overcame her, holding onto the hope that this time, the adults around her would choose love over fear.

The next day, miles away, the smell of freshly sanded wood and fresh paint filled the air in La Push, mingled with the constant sound of hammering and broken laughter. The house was starting to look like a home. The living room walls were no longer damp or cracked, and though the floor still creaked, it was a hopeful kind of creak, the sound of something that still had life in it.

Lucas sat on the porch with an open notebook on his knees and a chewed-up pencil between his teeth. Paul and Embry were arguing about the tools they needed to install new kitchen tiles, while Jared approached with a crooked smile and dusty hands.

“That your literature essay?” Jared asked, peeking over Lucas’s shoulder. “Hope you’re writing about us—the noble, single workers of La Push rebuilding a castle.”

“I’m writing about fragmented identities in young adult narratives,” Lucas replied without looking up. “So yes, in a way… and you’re the unnecessary footnote no one asked for.”

“Fragmented identities? Sounds like walking trauma,” Embry teased—more to hide his surprise at a kid his own age who clearly had double or triple his brainpower. “You gonna make us tortured characters? ‘Cause if you write me as the funny guy who dies first, I’ll break your nose.”

“The funny guy who dies first? That should obviously be me. And I wouldn’t take offense—of all the people here, I am the funniest,” Jared muttered, making Lucas snort out a laugh.

Paul walked back into the scene carrying wooden panels for the bedroom floors, his furrowed brow showing his focus. He’d been working there for weeks—sometimes even after the others left—without anyone asking him to. No one said anything, but everyone noticed.

“Hey, Paul,” Jared called out, wiping his hands on his pants with a mischievous look. “When’s the last time you went out with a girl? Or are you so obsessed with building this house that you’re trying to drown your blue balls?”

Paul shot him a look of disdain. “What does that have to do with Lucas’s assignment?”

“Nothing, I just find it curious. You used to last barely a week before disappearing with some girl, and now? Nothing. Total silence. Like someone ripped out the urge to be the free man you always claimed to be.”

“Shut up, Jared,” Paul growled, his ears turning red.

Embry chimed in with a laugh. “Must be because of Grace! Ever since you met her, you haven’t gone out with anyone else. What’d she do? Throw hot coffee on you and melt your heart?”

Paul huffed and dropped the wood onto the floor harder than necessary, starting to shake as he stormed toward his pack brothers, ready to hand out punches.

“Listen up, geniuses,” Lucas said calmly, with that dangerous composure he only used on rare occasions. “If you ever try playing with Grace, get ready to lose. My sister isn’t the kind of girl who cries over some idiot—she’s the kind who leaves you thinking about her three years later while you’re hugging your consolation prize. So if you think you can mess with her—especially a womanizer like you, Paul—let me warn you: she’s the kind of game where you end up crying, and she doesn’t even remember your name.”

An uncomfortable silence followed Lucas’s words. Jared opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out. That unshakable calm sent a chill down his spine. Paul, on the other hand, just looked at him seriously and gave the faintest nod.

From the other side of the porch, Sam had been watching silently. He’d been sharpening an old tool for several minutes, but his focus was on Lucas. That boy—his younger brother not by blood but by life, soul, and shared history—had just said more in a minute than many adults managed to in an entire conversation.

He watched him pick his pencil back up and scribble a few more lines in his notebook, as if he hadn’t just left three wolves speechless. His expression was calm, brow just slightly furrowed in concentration. But Sam knew him—inside, Lucas was boiling. And yet, he had found a way to defend his sister without violence, with words sharp as blades.

A small, proud smile escaped him. You’re the best damn reflection of what Joshua Uley could have been… Or maybe you’re just you. Better than him, maybe even better than me.

He approached slowly, hands in his pockets, the shadow of a smile still on his face.

“Good answer,” he told Lucas, lowering his voice to create a sense of complicity between them. Lucas looked up, slightly uncomfortable with the compliment.

“Too dramatic? Honestly, I wasn’t far from the truth. I’ve seen my sister make a man cry out of pure boredom.”

“Nah,” Sam replied. “Just right.”

“I don’t like when they mess with Grace. She’s… not as strong as she seems.”

“And you’re stronger than you think.”

Lucas smirked faintly, more with his eyes than his lips. Sam turned to go back to work with the others, but his mind stayed on Lucas—on how that boy, who didn’t share all his blood, was becoming the kind of man he would have wanted as a brother. The kind of man, deep down, he hoped the Uleys could become.

Paul hadn’t said a word since Jared and Embry’s ill-timed joke. He’d stayed off to the side, hammering a plank harder than necessary, jaw tight. It wasn’t the comment itself—Jared always talked too much—it was Lucas’s reaction. That kid was an uncomfortable mirror.

When there was a brief lull between the guys, Paul put down his tools and walked over to the younger boy, who was gathering up some plans and notebooks on the porch. The sun was beginning to set, bathing the freshly varnished wood in amber light, giving everything a sense of new promise.

“Hey,” Paul said, scratching the back of his neck like he didn’t know how to start. “Got a minute?”

Lucas glanced sideways at him, eyes still steady but not hostile, and nodded.

“I didn’t mean to disrespect you with what Jared said. Sometimes… we’re idiots with each other, you know how it is. But with you, Anna, and Grace—it’s not the same.”

“I don’t mind that you like Grace. I mind if you forget who she is.”

“Believe me, I don’t forget. That’s exactly why I’m here. Because I remember all the time, and it’s fucking terrifying.”

Lucas looked at him closely for the first time, without sarcasm.

“Terrifying?”

“Yeah. Look… I wasn’t a good guy before, I know that. I was quick with kisses and stuff and quicker to leave; it felt easy. No one got hurt if I didn’t stay too long anywhere. But then Grace showed up and… it’s scary, because I think she deserves someone better.”

Lucas lowered his gaze, his expression softer now.

“She’s better than all of us put together,” he said quietly. “But if you really care about her—if you honestly don’t see her as a conquest or a curse—then maybe you do have a chance.”

“Got any advice?” Paul asked, his body relaxing.

“Don’t play with her, Paul. Not because she’s my sister—because if you make her cry… the game flips. It always flips. But if you really like her, and she likes you back… we’d better brace ourselves. You’ve stirred up a hurricane.”

The days for the Uley-García family were beginning to change. Where silence once reigned, now there were hammer blows, masculine laughter, and the constant sound of wood and construction tools being moved. Lucas’s hands were covered in dust, and he carried an energy he had never experienced before. It wasn’t just the excitement of remodeling their new home—it was feeling part of something, doing something real for his sisters, having a new purpose.

“That’s it, hold the board steady while I nail it,” Sam said with a half-smile of pride, while Lucas tried to appear more skilled than he really was.

Embry walked by carrying a sack of cement, while Paul and Jared measured the windows to replace the frames. Everyone had come to La Push with the commitment to help, and even though there was no pay, the camaraderie was enough. For Lucas, it felt like a second family being built among the dust and sweat.

But between the planks, the jokes, and the slow progress of the remodeling, Lucas found something more in Sam: a guiding figure, somewhere between an older brother and an emotional compass. Someone who, without imposing himself, taught him patiently and without judging his mistakes.

“Gotten used to the calluses on your hands?” Sam asked with a teasing tone.

“My fingers are screaming for help, but yeah… I guess I like it.”

“Sometimes we need to build something with our hands to start understanding what we feel,” Sam replied without stopping his work.

Lucas didn’t say it out loud, but that sentence stuck with him. Maybe because it was true—working with Sam helped him organize his inner world: the fear of the future, the responsibility toward his sister and nephew, the wounds that still hurt even though he wouldn’t admit it.

…

Across town, Grace closed the coffee machine with a swift, precise movement. Her apron was stained with milk, and her back ached. She had just finished two consecutive shifts. Her boss had agreed to give her more hours in exchange for giving up weekends, and Grace, with her usual pride, had said yes.

Every bill she mentally counted in her pocket was a goal achieved. But the exhaustion was starting to seep into her mood. She wasn’t sleeping well anymore, and the feeling of slowly drowning under the weight of bills made her feel more alone than ever.

To top off her miserable day, Paul was waiting for her outside the café. Even though his eyes lit up when he saw her, he said nothing, only offered her a cold bottle of water.

“You look exhausted,” he commented, his gaze trying to be compassionate.

Grace stared at him. This boy had been around ever since they’d arrived in La Push—helping at the new house, showing up when she least expected it. But he was also part of a past she still couldn’t fully trust. He was too much like the things she used to avoid: intensity, easy words, looks that made her uneasy because of their frankness and sincerity.

“I’m fine, it was just a long shift… well, two,” Grace replied, taking the bottle of water and leaning against the café wall across from Paul. The silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable—just heavy. As if something was about to be said, but neither of them had the exact words.

“Going straight home?” Paul asked, looking up at the sky.

“I don’t know, maybe I’ll walk for a bit. I need to clear my head before going back,” she answered with a shrug. “Between work, the house, the baby… it’s not fair to take out a bad day on my siblings”—“or a bad life,” she thought.

Paul nodded in understanding. He wanted to say something deeper but chose something lighter so as not to make her uncomfortable. They’d only known each other for a couple of weeks, but he felt like he could read her like the palm of his hand—and at the same time, get every guess about her wrong. Grace was still a mystery to everyone, especially to him, and it unsettled him not to be able to figure out her true feelings.

“Want me to join you on that aimless walk?” Grace hesitated. Part of her wanted to say yes, another part screamed it was a terrible idea—not because Paul was a threat, but because he made her feel things she couldn’t allow herself right now.

“You don’t have to be nice to me just because I’m tired,” she finally said, trying to keep her emotional distance with a small, defensive smile.

“I’m not nice to you out of pity. I’m nice because I care about you,” he replied calmly.

Grace tightened her grip on the bottle. Her chest tightened at that sentence—the rare experience of hearing someone say she mattered made her feel incredibly unguarded and small.

“It’s not that easy for me to trust,” she said quietly, with an honesty that even surprised her.

Paul took a step toward her but didn’t touch her. He only closed the distance enough for his words to feel closer.

“I don’t want you to trust me overnight, Grace. Just let me be around. Not to save you, just to be with you.”

Her eyes grew slightly wet, a gesture almost imperceptible to any ordinary human—but Paul wasn’t ordinary, and he didn’t miss it. Her eyes weren’t sad—they showed the unexpected feeling of being truly seen for the first time without needing to defend herself.

“Don’t promise things you don’t know if you can keep,” she whispered.

“I’m not promising anything. I’m here, now. That’s all I have, and all I’m offering you.”

Grace lowered her gaze and allowed herself something she’d never given him before: a smile. Small, fragile, but sincere.

“Walk with me,” she finally said, pushing away from the wall and moving to stand beside Paul. Looking toward the horizon, she gently took the muscular arm of the young man and began walking aimlessly down the sidewalk. And without Paul noticing, it was the first time she allowed herself to believe that maybe—just maybe—not everything was lost.

…

Night had fallen quietly over the poor and dangerous neighborhood. Anna was in her room wrapped in an old, outdated flannel blanket with star patterns, pretending to read, though she hadn’t moved past the same line for a while.

Something had distracted her—probably the movements of her twenty-week-old son in her increasingly round belly. She got up silently and went to the window; from there she had a direct view of the sidewalk and the entrance to their battered home. And there they were: Grace and Paul.

She watched them without making a sound, feeling a little like an intruder but unable to look away. Grace was saying goodbye to the young man with a smile Anna hadn’t seen in a long time. Not one of those fake, automatic ones she used to survive day to day, but a real one. Her body, for the first time in a long while, didn’t seem armored.

Paul didn’t make any grand gesture. He only brushed a strand of hair from her face carefully and said something Anna couldn’t hear. Then, he leaned toward her—not to kiss her, but to rest his forehead gently against hers for just a second. A gesture so simple and yet so intimate that it made Anna feel a knot in her chest.

When Grace entered the house, she did so as always—in silence—dropping her bag on the couch and going straight to her room without looking at anyone. But Anna knew. She knew with the intuitive certainty of someone watching from the edge of a story yet to be told.

Paul truly felt something for her sister. It wasn’t just a game or a fleeting gesture. And Grace… even if she tried to hide it, even if she dressed herself in strength and distance, she felt something too. Maybe love, maybe fear.

Lucas Uley-García had never been a boy drawn to deep emotions. On the contrary, he preferred to feel serene and calm most of the time. Emotions like anger and rage he reserved for his father and anything that involved his presence or poor decisions. Sadness he avoided—there simply wasn’t time to be sad. Besides, why should he be? His older sister would give her life for him, she had raised and cared for him in the best way possible and worked tirelessly to cover all his needs. His younger sister was about to become a mother—a great mother, if anyone asked—and he would make sure to be the best uncle and a stable male figure for that child.

"What do you think about Lucas Junior? Oh, I know! Lucas the Second," he joked, laughing as he looked at Annie, who was sitting on the living room floor of their home in Seattle, finishing up her homework and mesmerized by the latest ultrasound images of her baby boy. Lucas, meanwhile, was sitting in a dining room chair in front of the living room sofas, with a spread of papers full of math calculations and bills. His task was to estimate the potential costs they would need to cover for the new house, not forgetting new furniture and everything else needed for his soon-to-be nephew.

"You're insane. I was thinking of something more subtle, like Anthony or Thomas," she replied.

"Hmm, I like Tommy. It would follow the family tradition of using names that are also common in Latin America," the boy murmured thoughtfully.

The truth was that, even though Lucas had been abandoned by his mother just like his sisters, the cultural heritage Clara had left behind meant something deeply important. They didn’t just share blood with a Native American tribe—they also shared Latin blood. Strong, resilient, fighting blood. He felt that the blend of cultures carried in their hearts made them unique. They were still part of two minorities, but that made him feel special—different.

The boy wouldn't lie—his ego thanked his ancestors for the good genes they had passed down. At sixteen years old, about to graduate a year early thanks to his intelligence, he had a handsome and delicate brown face that brought out his hazel eyes, just like his mother and older sister. His dark, messy hair gave him a youthful and down-to-earth air, while still making him attractive to others. His fit body, developed with little effort, came from his father’s side—a fact confirmed when he met his half-brother, Sam Uley, and realized that in a few years, he would resemble him even more.

He had never had trouble winning a girl’s heart. He understood that attraction often started visually, and he wasn’t unpleasant to look at. But the person he was most grateful to was his older sister, who had raised and prepared him to be a good man—one who would never disrespect a woman, who understood boundaries and insecurities, and who would treat his girlfriends the same way he would want others to treat his sisters. For that reason, his good reputation made him even more desirable.

"How’s the budgeting going? Do you think we’ll really be able to move?" Anna asked, after a comfortable silence between the siblings.

"It’s not impossible. In fact, it’s very possible. But we need to start by focusing on repairs and slowly buying new furniture. Besides, we have to set money aside just in case—who knows how long it’ll take for Grace to find a new job..."

"I feel a little guilty for not being able to contribute financially. I’d love to work, but no one’s going to hire me with a baby," the girl murmured. Inside, she cursed herself for not planning better, but that was life—ephemeral.

"None of that, little sis. If all goes well, I’ll graduate right after the baby is born and start working full time. I’ll help around the house in my free time. And you know how Grace is—she would never let anything be missing for you or the little one."

"But... you’ll still go to college, right?"

"Of course. One step at a time, Anna."

That night, Lucas received a call—it was Sam, with whom he had surprisingly grown very close.

"How’s everything going, Lucas? Do you think you’ll be able to move?"

"It’s not crazy. The hard part will be finding people who’ll work for minimal pay to help us fix up the house. Do you know anyone in La Push?"

"Of course—we do."

"…Who?" the teen asked, stunned.

"Us. You know, Paul, Jared, Embry, and me. And hopefully you, too."

"I don’t know anything about construction or fixing up houses…"

"That’s easy. I can teach you to be a builder—how do you think I pay my debts?"

"I thought you worked with your tribe’s council or something," Lucas replied, confused and totally lost.

"Eh… that too. But there's a difference between community safety and having a stable job. I renovate homes on the reservation and in the surrounding areas. It's nothing fancy, but it's enough to live comfortably."

"Sam, you know I can’t pay you well—not you or your friends…"

"I wasn’t planning to charge you. We’re family. Just make sure to buy good-quality materials."

A huge smile spread across Lucas’s face. He didn’t understand what he had done to deserve someone like Sam in his life—a kind of Grace, but male and without a string of curse words every five minutes.

The morning started abruptly for Grace Uley-García, waking suddenly with her heart in her throat when she felt a heavy weight wrap around her and someone shouting in her ear.

“Wake up, Grace, it’s time! Estas sooon las mañanitas que cantaba el rey David!” A hyperactive Lucas began singing Vicente Fernández’s famous song off-key while trying to wake his older sister, who let out a frustrated growl and covered her face with the blankets, trying to snuggle closer to Anna, who was also in the double guest bed.

“Lucas, what’s wrong with you? Ugh, get off me! I’M ABOUT TO LOSE IT,” complained the youngest sister of the trio, suddenly sitting up in bed and trying to push her brother off.

“I’m not moving off of you two until you tell me you’re getting up,” Lucas replied laughing, pushing Anna back and pretending to pull the blankets off the bed.

Grace sat up with a sudden movement, purposely pushing Lucas to the floor in the process.

“You don’t know how much I hate you,” she muttered with her eyes closed and her usual furrowed brow. She still wasn’t ready to face the daylight filling the room.

“And why me?” Anna asked, offended.

“For existing. I should have caught the first plane out when I turned eighteen. You guys are going to kill me before my time and I still have dreams to fulfill.”

“How about we settle for just going to check out our new home?” Lucas smiled, provoking a surprised noise from his little sister.

“NEW HOME?!”

“A possible new home. I still have to see it and do the math. Now, disappear from my sight, it’s way too early to deal with you guys,” Grace answered, getting out of bed and stretching her arms clumsily above her head. She stood up and walked toward the desk in the room where the night before Emily had placed towels for a shower and a change of clothes, since Grace’s garments were stained with the beer Joshua had thrown on her.

She headed to the first-floor bathroom—the guest bathroom, she guessed—and locked the door. She stripped off her sleepwear and turned on the shower, waiting for the water to warm up. As she stepped inside and felt the endless droplets of warm water fall over her, she listened to the day beginning in Sam and Emily’s house—the soft sounds of conversations and laughter—and smelled from her nose how Emily was beginning her magic in the kitchen.

A lump in her throat threatened to come up and stop her from breathing, but she held it in, as always. She would face a decisive moment in a few minutes and wouldn’t let her body betray all her fears and insecurities. Grace had a very strong mind and with conviction she locked away all feelings coming from her heart and allowed only logic to speak and guide her. She wouldn’t show weakness in front of her siblings; on the contrary, just as she always had, she would continue being the support and the unbreakable pillar for them.

When she finished rinsing her hair, she turned off the shower and carefully stepped out, wrapping her small body and head in the towels her sister-in-law had provided. She hurried to dry off and easily slipped into the borrowed clothes, mentally preparing for a new day miles away from what she knew as home.

“Good morning, dear. How did you sleep?” Emily asked affectionately when Grace finally entered the kitchen and saw her siblings helping prepare breakfast and set the table.

“Your guest room is magical, Emily. I might come here more often to sleep and rest,” Grace joked, taking a seat at the dining table just steps from the kitchen. Sam sat beside her, smiling slightly as a greeting.

“I hope so! We love having you around. And between us, we needed more female presence among so many men,” the hostess said, laughing.

They all sat together and enjoyed a delicious breakfast prepared by Emily, helped by little Annie, who lately had been going through cravings and coming up with some rather questionable food ideas.

They spent time sharing laughs and pleasant conversations, all living in an infinite peaceful state they didn’t want to end. But everything was interrupted by a loud howl heard in the distance that echoed through the entire house, leaving everyone silent. Sam immediately got up and tried to hide the apprehension he felt, ignoring the looks his girlfriend gave him.

“I’ll be right back, I just remembered I have to meet with the Reservation council to… uh, discuss some matters. Lucas, do you remember how to get to the house?” He waited for a slight nod from the boy before continuing. “Perfect, see you there.”

With a quick kiss on Emily’s lips, he disappeared out the front door. Everyone looked at each other, silently asking what they had just witnessed. But Emily, always so receptive and the pack’s savior, stood up and started gathering the dirty plates.

“Good luck visiting Sam’s old house, guys. It’s just a few minutes from here, at the town’s entrance. While you’re doing that, I’ll do my thing and prepare lunch, okay?” she asked with a smile. The group looked at Grace, awaiting her confirmation.

“We’d love that, Emily. You’re so sweet. Come on, guys, let’s make the most of the morning—we’ve got a long way back to Seattle, you have classes tomorrow, and I have to go back to work,” Grace murmured, shaking off the stunned feeling. She got up and grabbed her coat and car keys, leaving the house and getting into the car while her siblings said goodbye to Emily. Once everyone was inside the car, they set off for Sam’s old house, traveling down an unknown road with Lucas guiding from the passenger seat, while a soft jazz tune played on the radio that Annie hummed absentmindedly as she looked out the window.

About ten minutes later, they arrived at their destination. Only Lucas knew what to expect, but he seemed relaxed, which was a good sign for Grace and Annie.

As they got out of the vehicle, a strong breeze greeted them, making Grace hug herself and try to tame the strands of black hair flying aimlessly. Lucas took the lead and opened the unlocked front door. Inside, they found a spacious, unfurnished area covered in dust and dry leaves blown in from an open window. To the right, they saw an old kitchen; to the left, a room that could be the main living and dining area; straight ahead, a long hallway with doors on both sides. The first door on the right led to a bathroom with a large antique bathtub and the usual fixtures; the next door was a room with large windows and abandoned boxes containing paintings and art supplies, which they assumed had been an old studio. The first door on the left led to another slightly larger room, and at the end of the hall was the door to what appeared to be the master bedroom, with an en-suite bathroom and a huge closet.

“So… what do you think?” Lucas asked after giving them the tour.

Grace wasn’t going to lie—it was a small house compared to Joshua’s place in Seattle, but there was enough space for the three siblings and a baby on the way. They didn’t need more than what they saw. The house wasn’t in bad shape; on the contrary, it was well cared for despite being abandoned.

“The roof needs to be replaced to withstand the cold and rainy winters here. All the rooms need a fresh coat of paint, and the outside does too—probably an anti-mold paint that lasts several years. The gutters must be cleaned; the bathroom faucets and plumbing need inspection, as well as the kitchen and gas connection. We’ll need new kitchen furniture and, of course, furniture for the entire house. We can’t take everything Joshua has in Seattle… These are expenses we need to plan for, you know?” Grace spoke for the first time since they entered the house.

Annie and Lucas watched her carefully. She didn’t have her usual furrowed brow; in fact, her face looked slightly serene, almost as if she genuinely thought it was a good option. That was enough for Anna to run and hug her, shouting excitedly.

“We can do this, Grace! It might take some time, but together we can make this our new home,” Annie said hopefully.

“The little one is right. We have savings to start fixing things up, and along the way, we’ll see how it goes. Think about it, sis—don’t you think it’s time to focus on us and start living peacefully? I think our first nephew deserves the childhood we never had,” Lucas added.

Grace looked at them thoughtfully. Her siblings radiated happiness and longing for a better life. Who was she to deny them what they had always wished for? Also, the house stirred feelings of home in her; she could imagine living peacefully with her siblings, each making the best decisions for their future, going to work calmly, coming home tired but smiling. They would have the support and presence of Sam and Emily, already knew people in the Quileute Reservation, and could foresee new friendships for herself and her siblings. She could allow herself to dream of a life where she was the protagonist, not just a minor character always ready to fix everyone else’s mess and chaos.

She could imagine seeing Paul Lahote more often, counting on him, getting to know him deeply, caring for him as he cared for her…

Late into the sweet night, the unique Uley-García family decided to accept Emily Young’s invitation to spend the night with them, leaving the guest room for Grace and Annie and preparing the largest sofa in the main living room for Lucas.

When the guests sang their goodbyes and disappeared from the house, Grace began cleaning up, gently scolding the hostess when she tried to help and sending her directly to one of the armchairs with Anna, setting the TV on in the background and finding an old romance movie just starting.

“Don’t you think it’s time for a change?” Lucas asked, sitting in one of the dining chairs across from his sister, who was washing the dirty dishes. He noticed her shoulders slightly slump, followed by a small sigh.

“Of course I think so, especially now that Anna is five months pregnant and the baby will be here soon. But what do you want me to do? We barely manage to pay the mortgage, the monthly bills, and save a couple of bucks,” Grace murmured softly, her tone revealing the stress the topic caused her.

“Let’s use our savings… Let’s leave Seattle, Grace. Let’s find a quiet place to live and give the baby a better life. Let’s get away from Joshua once and for all,” Lucas countered, excited to voice his thoughts. He stood and walked over to his sister, touching her shoulder so she would look at him and understand he was sincere.

“Lucas, you know perfectly well those savings are for your university. I’m not going to let you throw your future away.”

“I’m not trying to. I can go to a state university and apply for scholarships. I can wait a year, work to save more money, and pay for tuition and fees. There are options, but you don’t want to see them!” he whispered forcefully.

“And where exactly do you want us to go? Do you understand the cost of living in this country?”

“I already talked to Sam. The old house where he lived with his mom is abandoned but in perfect condition. We went to see it the other day together. It needs some repairs, but he says he’d be happy for us to live in La Push. Annie and I could finish high school on the Reservation. And Forks is only twenty minutes away—you could find a full-time job there and still get home early to rest. Or we could look for work in Port Angeles; it’s just an hour away and we have a good ve—” Grace interrupted him abruptly, covering his mouth with her soapy hand, her face lost and desperate.

“What are you saying? Are you crazy? Lucas, it’s not that easy!” she whispered louder, her brown eyes wide and her full lips parted in surprise.

“You wouldn’t be alone. If you think about it, it’s not a bad idea,” Sam interjected, who had been listening to the whole conversation, leaning in the kitchen doorway with his arms crossed. Both siblings looked at him in surprise—Lucas with a triumphant smile, Grace with disdain.

“What do you mean?” Grace asked.

“Lucas and Anna can study at the Reservation’s high school; they’d be classmates with Paul, Jared, and Embry. You could find a less demanding job, start using your time to invest in yourself. Emily and I can help with the baby when you’re not here, and of course, I wouldn’t charge you rent. We’re family, after all, and we’d love to have you close,” the eldest said, watching his sister’s every move, but to his disappointment, she only raised an eyebrow and pressed her lips into a thin line.

“And Joshua would stay in Seattle, in his house, with his debts. You wouldn’t have to take care of him anymore. Think about it, Gracie—it would be a positive change for all of us,” Lucas said again, thrilled by the idea and drunk on happiness.

Grace softened her expression when she saw the excitement in her brother’s eyes, then glanced at Sam’s suspiciously relaxed posture, which in her eyes meant he had already won the argument.

“...Positive changes… When can I go see this famous house? If the repairs are too expensive, we stay in Seattle, end of story, Lucas, understand?” Barely finishing her sentence, the two boys began celebrating and howling with joy. Lucas ran to hug Sam, who whispered “I told you so” in his brother’s ear.

Grace, arms on her hips with an authoritative, lioness-like posture, could only begin to laugh at their reactions. Deep in her heart and mind, she knew it was necessary for all of them to have the chance at a new beginning, far from all the trauma and problems they had lived through, and above all, far from their father. Yet, she still felt uneasy about the idea—maybe she wasn’t used to living peacefully, or maybe she wasn’t used to being happy.

Thinking of happiness, her mind quickly drifted to imagining Paul Lahote’s presence in her life, who had arrived like a meteor and rearranged everything that had been perfectly aligned and positioned in her heart. Why would a good-hearted boy take an interest in her? It was obvious Paul liked Grace, but why?

Two monotonous weeks had passed surprisingly easily in the eyes of Grace Uley-García, who couldn't help but feel on edge at the lack of problems or inconveniences arising from any of her immediate family members. On the contrary, each of their lives had taken a hopeful path filled with optimism and calm, all immersed in their own work and routines.

Lucas had begun an ambitious plan to profit from his intelligence and ease with high school assignments, charging boys and girls from higher social classes to complete their reports, guides, and essays. He found it incredibly ironic that the rich could pay so much for someone else to do the heavy lifting, when they would be the ones to inherit their parents’ or grandparents’ big companies and end up as the bosses of someone like Lucas Uley-García. Still, he worked harder and harder to attract more clients and gain recognition. He had wasted too much time not earning money, and now that he could, he just wanted every bill to go straight into the family’s household fund—easing Grace’s burden, supporting Annie and the baby, and slowly pushing Joshua out of the house. Soon, they wouldn't need his help or presence at all.

Little Annie kept surprising her siblings, juggling all the responsibilities of her pregnancy with her high school work. She studied every night to stay ahead on assignments, attended classes normally, and even had spare time to wander the mall, eyeing possible clothes for her future child and necessary furniture. A few days ago, she had attended her prenatal checkup, and the baby’s sex had been written in a sealed envelope. Her anxiety wouldn't let her go near it, so she entrusted it to Grace—unaware that she would personally deliver it to La Push so that Emily Young would be the only one to read the words inside and bake the perfect birthday cake with a colored filling: pink for a girl or blue for a boy.

"Everything’s hung and decorated just how you wanted it, boss. Need anything else?" said Paul Lahote as he entered the couple’s kitchen. He walked straight to Grace, ignoring the curious looks from others, and leaned casually against the counter beside her, arms crossed.

"Boss?!" mocked Jared, also leaning on a kitchen cabinet. His only job was to slice cheese for a platter, but more than half of it was already in his stomach.

"I’d prefer ‘lady and mistress,’ but I’ll settle for now," muttered a very focused Grace, working hard on the colorful frosting of a couple dozen cupcakes Emily Young had just pulled from the oven. As usual, her brow was furrowed—but this time her nose was slightly wrinkled, and the tip of her tongue poked out between her lips, making her look like a little kindergartener learning to hold a pencil. Paul watched her with a tenderness he had never felt before.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if this dope actually started calling you that. Look at him—he’s hypnotized," Jared teased again, pointing at his friend. Paul looked away and let out a soft growl that only the werewolves could hear, completely unnoticed by the human girl.

With a sigh, Grace looked up and placed the piping bag on the counter. She was visibly annoyed and frustrated—not only because of Jared’s comments or the fact that her frosting wasn’t perfectly neat on every cupcake, but because she’d been listening to his teasing ever since he arrived in La Push.

"You know what? I truly hope you learn how to treat and satisfy a woman soon, so you’ll finally settle with one and leave me alone," muttered the girl. Paul howled with laughter, and Jared threw cheese at both of them.

"There is a girl, actually…" said Paul, turning his back on Jared on purpose and moving closer to his imprint, pretending to whisper a secret but speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Oh, do tell. And don’t skip the dirty details," whispered the girl, flashing him a delicious half-smile.

"Her name’s Kim. They've been sitting together in some classes for a while, and the idiot never noticed her—until one day he looked into her eyes and… it was love at first sight."

"And it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Unlike you, Lahote, I actually accept love and let it take over my body," replied Jared, folding his arms like a child losing a fight.

"Love? Jared, what you’re feeling between your legs is something else…" Grace snapped back, defending her dear Paul and triggering laughter from everyone present.

"Enough already, guys. The others will be here soon, and we need to set the table with the food and drinks," said a calm and smiling Emily, who was near Grace putting the finishing touches on her masterpiece: Annie’s birthday cake.

"Where’s Sam? I haven’t had the chance to thank my big brother," asked Grace, trying to escape the tight bear hug Paul had her in, laughing at her lack of strength.

"Oh, he’s helping a friend, Embry. They’ll probably come together in a few minutes. What about Lucas?" answered the fiancée.

"He should be on his way with Annie. They spent the morning together in Port Angeles and then he was going to bring her here, saying you and Sam wanted to greet her for her fifteenth birthday."

Right on cue, as if everything had been perfectly choreographed, they heard the front door open and footsteps heading toward the kitchen. Sam Uley arrived with a young, slim guy with a great build—though in Grace’s eyes, Paul was still more muscular and solid.

Sam walked straight to Emily, planting a soft kiss on her forehead and hugging her from the side, bringing the sincerest smile to her face. The unfamiliar boy walked over to Jared, looking slightly embarrassed in a way that made him look even younger.

"Grace, meet our friend Embry Call. He goes to the same high school as Paul and Jared. He’s the youngest in our… work group. Embry, this is my sister, Grace Uley-García," Sam said formally. They smiled and greeted each other, while Paul felt a completely unnecessary wave of jealousy wash over him.

"Now that I think about it, I’ve never asked what you guys actually do here in the Reservation…" said Grace thoughtfully, turning her attention back to the nearly finished cupcakes. She didn’t notice the cautious glances exchanged in the kitchen, nor the pressure Paul felt in his chest knowing he couldn’t involve her in the truth—it was too dangerous for her well-being, and nothing in the world mattered more to Paul than that.

"Uh… we look after the Quileute Reservation. We work with the local council to keep it, uh… safe," replied Sam after clearing his throat. He sighed in relief when he saw Grace didn’t care about the details; she just nodded and muttered a distracted “hm” as she kept working.

"Alright guys, why don’t you bring the food to the table and get the drinks from the fridge? The birthday girl will be here soon, and we need everything ready," Emily said, once again saving the day.

Everyone followed her instructions. Jared turned on a speaker and picked a playlist suitable for the moment, lifting the mood and relaxing the guests. A few minutes later, the werewolves heard a car parking outside and two people walking toward the house. Sam turned the music down and motioned for everyone to gather in the main room to await the birthday girl. When the door opened, they all shouted "Surprise!" in unison, making Anna let out a small squeal as she covered her mouth in shock—she never would’ve imagined her family would do something like this for her.

"Happy birthday, little one. I’m so proud of you and every step you take," Grace whispered into her younger sister’s ear as they hugged and stroked each other’s backs. As they pulled apart, Sam approached his youngest half-sister and, with a calm face and a half-smile, congratulated her.

"Happy birthday, Annie." Without hesitation, the girl hugged him tightly, making Sam stagger slightly, caught off guard by her reaction.

"I’m so grateful I met you, Sam. You and your fiancée," said Annie, her face buried in her half-brother’s chest, who was relieved she couldn’t see the look of surprise on his face or the broad, inevitable smile threatening to escape his lips.

Emily stepped in immediately, embracing Annie and congratulating her with heartfelt wishes. The same happened with Paul, Jared, and Embry. Lucas, meanwhile, watched the whole scene with pride, wrapping an arm around Grace’s shoulders as both of them soaked in the joy radiating from their sister.

"You did good," Lucas murmured softly to his sister.

"What do you mean?"

"...Raising her."

When the cake was brought out and everyone sang Happy Birthday, they asked Anna to cut the first slice—the color inside would reveal the baby’s gender. The girl, overwhelmed by all the detail and care put into her day, cut the cake immediately and burst into tears when she saw the light blue filling. Everyone cheered and shouted with joy, hugging her again and some even touching her belly.

With the noise, music, and emotions running high, no one really heard the persistent knocking at the front door. Everyone turned in surprise to see Joshua Uley standing at the entrance, clearly drunk and reeking of alcohol.

"Did no one think to invite me to my beloved daughter’s party?" he said loudly, trying to be heard over the music. The siblings looked at Anna, waiting for her reaction—she just smiled.

"It’s fine, guys. There’s no way Joshua can ruin the day you all planned. Hey Emily, want to see the baby clothes I’m thinking of buying?" Annie said, changing the subject and not letting anything sour her special day.

"Joshua can ruin anything," muttered Lucas to his older sister, crossing his arms and keeping an eye on the old man, who had somehow already pulled a beer from the fridge. Grace just sighed and nodded.

"I’ll talk to him, see what he wants. Go enjoy the party, little brother," she said, walking over to her father, who smiled at the sight of her.

"My precious Grace, the angel of this family," he said while hugging her, as she tried to pull away.

"What are you doing here?"

"Got off work early, so I thought I’d come by and say hi to Sam. You know, have a few beers with my eldest son, share some stories—same old, same old."

"Hmhm. And when did you get drunk—before leaving work or before getting here?" Grace asked defensively, crossing her arms.

"Graaace, those are just details. Aren’t you happy to see your old man?" he replied, blowing out a breath and trying to pull her into another hug. Grace resisted and pulled away. Embry, who was closest, stepped in silently and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Everything okay, Grace?" he asked.

"Daughter, isn’t he a bit young for you? He’s just a boy, could probably date Anna. Don’t you ever get tired of switching men like your mother did? Should’ve known—you’re just like her," Joshua muttered, finishing his beer and reaching for Embry’s.

Before Embry could react to defend her, Grace punched her father square in the nose. Seeing the blood trickle down, Joshua poured the rest of his beer on her face and, while she was stunned, shoved her to the floor, causing a loud crash and drawing everyone’s attention.

"Grace!" shouted Paul and Lucas in unison, while Embry pushed the old man back and pinned him against the wall.

Paul rushed to help his imprint, who was frozen in disbelief. Lucas, meanwhile, grabbed his father by the shoulder and shoved him out of the house, violently lecturing him about the consequences of laying a hand on his sister. Sam followed without a word, making sure Joshua understood—from the head of the house and Alpha of the pack—that he was no longer welcome.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Paul asked frantically, holding her face in both hands and inspecting her for injuries.

"Uh… I’m fine, it’s nothing," Grace replied, looking shaken. "Annie, I’m so sorry. I never meant to ruin your day."

Grace woke up that morning with a sense of guilt for the calmness she felt. In recent days, it had been Lucas who got up early to prepare breakfast before heading to school, waking up Annie and leaving her prenatal vitamins ready before leaving.

Joshua was only seen occasionally; somehow, he had found a job at a frozen goods warehouse on the Quileute reservation, and the schedule and distance required him to be almost fully lucid. Grace suspected her half-brother Sam had something to do with it, but she didn’t complain—truthfully, she needed a small break from her exhausting routine.

Anna had somehow taken responsibility for her situation after her nervous breakdown. She was attending school regularly, taking her vitamins, and not missing any prenatal appointments. She didn’t feel as alone as before and, although she still had to deal with judgmental looks and hallway whispers every day, it didn’t really bother her. Her family was on her side, and that was all she needed. Now at nearly eighteen weeks pregnant, she had been told she would soon find out the baby’s gender and was eagerly awaiting it—with joy. There were only two weeks left until her fifteenth birthday, and her gift would be learning whether the baby growing inside her was a boy or a girl.

Her phone began ringing from across the room. Grace didn’t want to get up, but with a sigh, she did and answered just before the call went to voicemail.

“Hello?”

“Grace! It’s so good to hear from you! This is Emily, I’m sorry to call out of the blue, but I asked Sam for your number.”

“…You wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes, um… Last time Lucas was here, he mentioned little Annie’s birthday was coming up soon, and I thought maybe you’d like to celebrate it with us, at our place. Of course, I’d cook everything and you wouldn’t need to worry about any expenses or anything! We’d honestly love to be part of such a special day!” Emily spoke so fast and excitedly that her words came out in one breath, and it took Grace a few seconds to process it all. She found the situation and the invitation a bit strange, but she remembered Emily’s kind gaze and figured she was just that way. For some reason, it didn’t seem like such a bad idea—though clearly the real reason was getting to see Paul again after their last encounter.

“You know? It’s not such a crazy idea. Anna turns fifteen in two weeks, and she’s planning to find out her baby’s gender around then. A themed party would be amazing for her.”

“What if we ask the doctor to write the gender on a note, and I’ll make a white-frosted cake with a pink or blue interior? I’ve always wanted to make one of those!” Emily exclaimed, her voice rising several pitches with excitement. To Grace, it sounded more like a scream. “Thank you so much for letting us do this, Grace! You have no idea how much we appreciate it. Would you mind if we invite our friends Paul and Jared? They’re part of our family, and we’d love for you to get to know them better.”

Grace blushed at the thought of the ways she’d like to get to know Paul Lahote better, but she would never say those thoughts out loud—at least not to Emily Young. She had nothing against the girl, but there wasn’t enough trust or connection between them to consider her a close friend.

“Thank you for opening your home to us. I’ll text you soon with details for the preparations,” Grace replied politely.

After ending the call, she checked her phone and opened an unread message from Paul. Since their last encounter, they had been in constant contact through texts and late-night calls, where the tan-skinned boy asked about her day and family. Grace, in turn, asked about his final year of high school and his job, yearning for the opportunity to have finished her education in person and worked part-time in something she was passionate about.

When she started high school, Grace had to make the drastic decision to drop out and work to support her family, since her father was not a reliable source of income and couldn’t provide for her younger siblings or pay off household debts. Over the years, she completed her education and got her diploma online, but never experienced making friends or being surrounded by peers her age. She was all too familiar with loneliness and the judgmental looks from society for lacking the same knowledge as others—this was the main reason she opposed Lucas doing the same. Even Annie, with a baby on the way, wasn’t allowed to drop out or let her grades slip. Every action had its consequences, and Grace knew she was being tough on her, but in the long run, it would bring happiness to her sister’s life—giving her a chance to get into college or simply find a job she loved, where she was competent and well-prepared.

How did you wake up, angel? A smile immediately spread across her face as she typed her reply.

You have no idea how much I love sleeping. How’s your day going? Did you go to class?

I got suspended, I’m working.

Did you get into trouble again? You’ve got to try a bit harder, you’re graduating soon, big boy—and I assume you’ll invite me.

I’m still going to class just so I can see you in the front row when I get my diploma.

I’ll be there. It’ll be impossible not to notice me—I’ll be the one clapping and whistling the loudest.

It’ll be impossible not to see you either, angel.

Grace had never blushed in her life until she met Paul Lahote. Her heart went wild, beating like the rhythm of a love song, but deep down she knew it was something platonic. The boy had a talent for flirting, and she didn’t have the time to fall into his trap.

Putting her phone aside, she left her room to shower and get ready for work. She had left her night job at the gas station since she was offered more weekly shifts at the café, which was truly a calmer, more family-oriented environment compared to a gas station during the night or early morning hours in a place with no real safety. At least Joshua now had a steady job, and Lucas was somehow earning money and helping with household expenses, so Grace was living with a bit more peace financially—at least for now.