- SAM -

Alex had the meeting scheduled for ten in the morning at the most neutral place in town. He needed it as public as possible to keep everyone from getting hostile. No one would shift, let alone fight in the presence of civilians. He, Danny and Elizabeth had already left for the restaurant. I knew that Chris and his people would be there on time. If they were anything like I remembered, they weren't the type to color outside the lines. I on the other hand, would be showing up late. I needed to make a stop and set things in motion.

I stepped into the precinct and wasn't the least bit surprised to see that like most of the town, it hadn't changed. I had spent my fair share of time in this very same precinct when I was younger - trouble had a way of finding me, even then - so it wasn't hard for me to find the sheriff's office. A few officers looked as if they might stop to question me. But, when recognition crossed their faces, they quickly turned and walked away. I smiled slightly, enjoying the perks of my reputation. Kyle's door was open and he was sat at his desk, his back was turned to the door, speaking into a landline. I knocked on the door frame before I entered the room. He turned in his seat, and his face lit up like a Christmas tree. He held a finger up in a gesture for me to give him a minute. I nodded, taking a seat in one of the old leather chairs in front of his desk.

"Alright, that works for me," He said into the phone, a big smile on his face. "I'll see you then, bye."

He hung up the phone, sitting it on its base.

"Did you just set up a hot date?" I asked him, trying to figure out the reason for his goofy expression.

He laughed and stood up, making his way over to me. "Look what the wolf dragged in."

His cheesy wolf jokes hadn't improved much over the years. I flipped him off, before standing to greet him. He gave me a hug, patting me on the back and I returned it patting his. When he pulled away, he kept a hand on my shoulder, stepping back a bit to have a look at me.

"You don't look worse for wear." He said, looking astonished. I wasn't sure if I should feel insulted or not.

"You on the other hand, have seen better days." I joked, patting the top of his balding head. I found it amusing that his salt and pepper, boxed beard had more hair than the top of his head.

"Balding is genetic baby brother." He shoved my hand away and then held up a middle finger of his own, with a grin. "Laugh while you can."

"Yeah, yeah."

"I wasn't expecting you till tomorrow." He said.

"I got in yesterday."

"I didn't see you at the house."

"I'm not staying there. I'm staying at Alex's."

"Probably for the best." He said, going back behind his desk and taking a seat. I sat back in the leather chair, and we both sighed.

"Does he know?" I asked him. I didn't really care. I just didn't want to cut straight to business when I hadn't seen my brother in six years.

He nodded apologetically. "He doesn't leave the house much anymore, so you won't have to worry about running into him."

Good, I thought. I honestly wasn't sure how I'd react if I crossed paths with our father again. The asshole that sent me away in the first place. We were disappointments to him, and we were glad, because it meant we were nothing like him. At least I hoped not.

"So, have you given more thought to my offer?" Kyle asked. I guess it would cut straight to business.

"As a matter of fact, I did." I replied, straightening up in my seat.

He leaned over, crossing his arms over the desk with a hopeful smile. "And?"

"I'm in."

By the time I finished talking things over with Kyle, It was half past ten. I reached the restaurant just shy of eleven. I parked beside Liz's top down convertible where she sat on the hood.

"Sorry I'm late." I said, climbing out of my car. She looked back at me with a smile. "I had to meet with Kyle."

"No, worries. I'm dying to see how this plays out."

"Alex told you the plan?" I asked her, leaning against the side of her car.

"Yup." She looked a little worried.

"What, you don't like it?"

"No I do, It's a good plan." She said, shaking her head. But her face said otherwise.

"Then what's bothering you?" I asked.

"Nothing," She lied. I stared at her for a moment, waiting for her to tell me the truth. She didn't.

"They're waiting inside. We should go." She said instead, sliding off the hood.

I pushed off the car, about to head in, when something caught the corner of my eye. It was in Elizabeth's back seat.

A gray waxed canvas cross-body bag with a full-grain leather trim. I'd recognize it anywhere, considering I brought it. I had searched for months to find it after Gabby had seen it in a magazine article. She'd fallen in love with the photo alone and wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks. I found it just weeks before her birthday and surprised her with it. We'd been in a fight the day of her birthday and nothing had gone as planned. But, when I gave her the bag she gave me a look that melted everything away. Our argument had seemed so little and so pointless that we laughed about it for almost an hour.

"Liz," I called her, reaching into the back seat for the bag. I held it up for her to see. She turned to me with a curious expression and then her face dropped when she noticed the bag. I could see her going through the motions, trying to come up with some excuse. But she gave up, looking like a child, who'd just got busted.

"Why do you have her bag, Liz?" I asked her straight out.

She made her way to me, looking around to make sure no one was watching. "It's not what it looks like."

"It looks like you stole her bag." I replied.

"I didn't. One of my girls had it and forgot to return it to her," She explained. "I didn't realize it was in my back seat."

"Leave her alone Liz."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "I love you Sam, but you don't get to give me orders. I'm your luna."

"I'm not telling you as a pack member. I'm asking you as a friend." I told her. I was a little taken aback by her response. She'd never been the type to pull rank on anyone. Maybe more had changed than I thought.

She opened her mouth to respond but we were interrupted when Danny stuck his head out of the front door. "Let's go you two. Sabreridge is getting a little impatient."

She stared at me for a moment, before she turned her back to head in. I watched her for a second, before I tossed Gabby's bag into the trunk of my car. I knew that if any of the Sabreridgers noticed Gabby's bag in the backseat of Liz's car, Liz would have a lot of explaining to do. I'd always do what I could to protect Liz. Not just because she was my Luna, but because she was family. But we'd be continuing this discussion later and I'd make sure she left Gabby alone.

We went inside and I followed them to our table. Dexter was the first to notice me approaching, and his face looked more pale than it naturally was. Ben noticed me next, and his expression soon matched Dexter's. I sat beside Danny, with a small smile.

"You guys remember Sam," Alex started, with a big smile of his own. "My delta."

"The hound dog for the royal's." Chris replied. He was the only one of the three that didn't look shocked, or nervous. Instead he looked a little angry.

"Well, actually it was one royal." I corrected him, not the least bit bothered by his insult. I didn't have to explain myself to any of them. And I wouldn't.

"What are we doing here, Alex." Ben spoke, looking annoyed. He was speaking to Alex, but was looking me dead in the eye. I held eye contact with him, refusing to be intimidated.

"Sam here, has more than just a new rank in my pack." Alex began. "He's got a new job in town."

"You look a little confused," I said to Ben, who was beginning to look nervous as I continued to hold his gaze. "Allow me to explain. The sheriff has asked me to head a new task force. This task force will be responsible for any and all laws broken by supernaturals."

Now it was Chris who began to look uncomfortable. From the corner of my eye, I could see him begin to fidget. What'd he have to be worried about? Unless he'd broken some laws or planned to break some. Maybe what bothered him was that with me on the force, our pack had even more control over the town. Our town.

"Gabby, orders up!" I heard a man shout from the kitchen. I turned around just in time to see Gabby speaking with the barista at the coffee counter. She jumped at the sound of her name and rushed to get the food. I hadn't realized she was working here. As she disappeared into the kitchen, I turned back in my seat. Ben was glaring at me, as was Dex and Chris.

"I need to speak with you in private." Ben spoke, his voice flat.

I motioned for him to step away from the table with me and we walked to the back, where the bathrooms were. I turned to him, crossing my arms and taking a deep breath. Here we go, I thought.

"Do you know what happened to my sister?" He asked.

"Alex told me about her accident," I replied with a nod. "I was sorry to hear about your mother."

I really was sorry to hear about her death. She'd always been good to me growing up, like so few others. I respected her, and appreciated her.

There was a range of emotions in his face, and he took a minute to gather himself before he spoke again. "She doesn't remember you, Sam."

"So I've heard." I nodded.

"Doc says her mind is being selective," He explained. "She remembers most of her childhood but her brain suppressed the memory of you. It's protecting itself."

I wasn't sure why he was telling me this, so I remained quiet and waited for him to continue.

"Don't you see?" He asked, stepping closer to me, his voice was almost a whisper. "She was so hurt when you left, that her brain doesn't want her to recall the pain."

I sighed, thinking about this. I remembered the argument we'd had the day that I left. The words I had said that left her in tears as I walked away from her. It was the only way I could get her to let me go. I didn't expect her to wait for me. I honestly never expected to come back. But I was here, and so was she. I couldn't just ignore that.

"Don't put her through that again, Sam." He continued, checking behind him to make sure she wasn't in earshot. "She had plans to leave town and live a normal life. She only stayed to help me and my father."

Again I said nothing. I didn't know what to say.

"If she remembers you, she'll decide to stay. And when she realizes she's stuck here, she'll resent you for it."

I swallowed this, watching her from where we were. She was smiling as she delivered food to a couple at a table. Her brunette hair pulled into a ponytail, it bobbed back and forth as she walked. She looked at peace. I wanted her to remember me, to remember us. What if that's what she wanted to? She'd been willing to run away with me when we were younger. What if she still would.

"She deserves to know her past." I told him. I knew that one thing Gabby hated, was people making decisions for her. "And, she deserves the right to choose for herself."

"The fact that she hasn't remembered you, means that she's not ready to." He replied, his tone a little higher and his fist clenched. His eyes resembled hers when she was angry. "My sister deserves better than a life with the packs and you know it."

"Did you give Dex and Chris the same warning," I said, pointing to them. Their eyes were practically glued to her, watching her every move as they pretended to listen to whatever it was that Alex was telling them. "Or does it only apply to me."

"She has no interest in them." He answered, looking at them for a brief second with a slight eye roll. "She's made it a rule not to date wolves. You should respect that."

With that said he turned and made his way back to the table, sitting in his seat between Dex and Chris just as the waiter arrived with their food. I watched them all from a distance, seeing how they relaxed a bit and ate as they spoke. I watched Gabby as she ran around the place tending to her tables. She was carefree and confident. And suddenly I felt very out of place. Like I did all those years ago. She may not remember, but I certainly did. I remembered everything.

Though I'd known Gabriela Shields my whole life, it wasn't until that night in the shack that we spoke to each other for the first time. Up until then she and I had maintained a distance. She was born into Saberidge and I was born into Blackridge, naturally we were supposed to despise each other. For the first several years of our lives we had stayed clear of each other, only ever really seeing each other in class or in passing. But that night, she had been out walking all alone when she saw me duck into the woods after taken yet another beating from my father. I hadn't noticed her following me until after I was in the shack. I'd been terrified that it was my father who had followed me and that I wouldn't survive the night. The last person I had expected to see in the doorway of the dimly lit shack was Gabriela Shields.

She didn't say much at first, she just roamed around the tiny shack looking around at what little belongings I'd stored there. I watched her in silence, and if it wasn't for the head wound I was nursing, I would have been angry that she had invaded my small safe haven. But in my state, I was happy not to be alone.

"Where'd you get all of these books?" She'd asked in a voice so soft and low that I was almost sure she wasn't really speaking to me. She brushed a hand over the stacks of books, picking up Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, and in her other hand she picked up Dante's Inferno.

"My mom gave them to me before she passed." I told her, my throat was hoarse and low. I wasn't accustomed to speaking to anyone outside of the pack, especially to girls. Liz was the only girl I ever spoke to, and she was a sister to me so it wasn't nearly as intimidating as speaking to Gabriela.

"I'm sorry." She looked at me apologetically and unlike everyone else who had said those words to me, I believed her. I shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it. She walked over to where I sat and knelt down in front of me. She'd never been this close to me and it made me nervous. She looked me over, noting the blanket I was pressing into the side of my head.

"Your dad do that to you?" She asked, though her tone suggested she already knew the answer. I didn't say a word. It was another thing I didn't want to discuss. She must have sensed that because she didn't press me on it. Instead she plopped down beside me, crossing her legs. We sat there in silence for a while, it was awkward at first but as the minutes went by it became more comfortable. There was something comforting about having someone around and not feeling pressured to speak or fill the silence in some sort of way. We stayed that way for what felt like an hour before it dawned on me that it was very late and she really didn't belong here.

"What are you doing out here alone?" I asked her.

"Same thing you are I suppose."

"Hiding from a drunk dad who likes to beat you?" I asked sarcastically. I highly doubted that to be true but I knew she was running from something.

"Hiding from a dad who doesn't care about my feelings." She replied. I knew that the packs were planning to merge, and that to do so the Saberidge alpha had agreed to give his daughter to the heir of the Blackridge pack when the time came. That meant she was promised to Alex Burkhardt. And I hadn't realized till just then that it wasn't a choice for her. She had no say in her life, anymore than I did. I was ten years old and I wasn't welcome in my own house. She was nine and a future wedding was already being arranged for her. Not only that but she had to prepare to lead not one but two packs combined, one day.

"What does your mom think?" I asked her, I shouldn't have been prying, it wasn't my business. But I hoped there was a way out of the mess for her sake.

"She cares but they are the alpha pair. So, she has to back him up." She said almost emotionless. I didn't really know what to say, and I was sure nothing I could say would help the situation. We sat in silence for a little while longer, but I knew it couldn't last.

"You should head on home," I told her. She looked over at me in surprise, her amber eyes reminded me of a lioness. "They'll send a search party after you if you don't."

She sighed, nodding in agreement. We both knew they'd wake up the whole town to find her and if they found her here with me they'd be outraged. They'd probably blame me for her disobedience and if it got back to the pack, I'd be in a whole world of trouble. I didn't need any more reasons to piss off my dad.

She stood up to leave and just as she opened the door, she looked back at me. "What about you?"

"No one looks for me." I shrugged. My father could care less if I went missing and he never told anyone where I spent my nights. That would require him to explain why. "I'll be fine."

"And your head?" She asked.

"I heal fast." I gave her a weak smile. She smiled back, just as weakly and I could see the concern in her eyes or maybe it was pity.

"Bye, Sam." She said, before turning and walking out.

"Bye, Gabby."

After the meeting, I spent the rest of the day planning with Alex and Danny, while Liz went out on the town. We had come up with a list of supernaturals we knew to be living in town. Some were harmless while others needed to be watched. I would need to put a team together, which wouldn't be hard. It was nothing I hadn't done before which is why Kyle chose me for the job. We agreed to start recruiting tomorrow, and Alex ordered Danny to aid me in finding trustworthy members. I've been away for a long while, and hardly remembered the people who resided in town apart from a few that had left a lasting impression. I'd start there. We went to the precinct and collected stacks of profiles on everybody on our list. Danny took a hand full to comb through and Alex left with his sentinels to patrol the town.

It wasn't until Alex and Danny left that I remembered the bag sitting in my trunk. I told myself I'd just drive it over to her house and sit it by the front door. There was no need to linger. I reached her house, and did just as I swore to do. Setting the bag down and swiftly turning back to my car. But my plan to drop it off and leave unnoticed went down the drain when I saw her walking up the driveway, looking very cautious. I had to remind myself that she doesn't remember me.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, stopping a few feet from me. She kept a distance, her eyes watching my every move as I stepped off her porch.

"I was just returning your bag." I told her, pointing to the bag on the porch. "I also want to apologize on behalf of Elizabeth."

She smirked. "She couldn't return it to me herself, she had to send a messenger?"

"She didn't send me." I told her. Her eyes narrowed, looking as cat like as I remembered.

"So, how did you know where I lived?" She asked, taking a step back. This was my chance to tell her. To tell her about us, about our past and everything she doesn't remember. But as I opened my mouth, an image went through my head. An image of Avery. I remembered her telling me she wanted to get away. I remembered her pleading with me to help her disappear so that she could live a normal life. I remembered refusing to help and more importantly, I remembered the outcome.

"Your wallet was in the bag." I told Gabby instead. It was half true, I didn't snoop through the whole bag, I had just looked through her wallet to see how much had changed. I told myself I was making sure her address was the same, but I really just wanted to see the picture on her I.D. The I.D was issued a couple of years ago and the photo of her was only slightly different from how she looked standing before me right now. In the photo her hair was shorter, wavy and just above her shoulders. Her expression was blank, making the photo look more like a mug shot. It would have been amusing if I hadn't tied the blankness to her memory loss. I wondered how long it had taken her to regain her memories and if she noticed any blank spots in it where I use to be.

I noticed that Gabby was staring at me, her eyes still narrowed, but now her arms were crossed. She looked at me the way a parent would look at a child when waiting to hear what trouble they'd caused. I realized she must be wondering how much I snooped and if I had taken anything.

"Don't worry, the cash and credit cards are all still there." I told her with a smile.

"Thanks." She said, still looking as cautious as she did when she first walked up. As much as I wanted to stick around and talk to her, I knew Ben was right. If she didn't remember me, it was probably best that she never did. She'd caught a lucky break when it was discovered that the gene had skipped her and she wouldn't have to complete the merger by becoming Alex's mate. It freed her from both packs. But when she chose to be with me, she knew one day she'd be connected to Blackridge anyway. Losing her memory of me was probably another lucky break and a sign that she wasn't meant to be apart of the packs life. Even more so, it meant that she wasn't meant to be apart of mine. Reminding her of all that would just ruin her chances at living a normal human life. I wouldn't make that mistake again. I wouldn't fail her like I did with Avery. So I said no more and gave her a polite wave goodbye as I made my way past her and to my car. I could feel her eyes on me the entire time and as I drove off I told myself that it would be the last time I got that close to her.