There's a few things about Sam Uley that nobody knows about except for certain people. Things his mom knows. Things his dad knows. Things Emily knows. Like for instance, Emily knows that Sam fully believes that pancakes taste remarkably better when the very edges are burnt just a little. She also knows that Sam still has childhood night terrors that leave him feeling hollow. Sam's mom knows something different. That Sam is a twin-less twin. That she carried within her two babies at the same time, but only one came home from the maternity ward with her.
But what Sam's father knows is something very, very different. He knows Sam isn't really the twin-less twin that Allison believes he is. He knows Sam's twin sister is alive. He knows that his twins share dreams and nightmares alike through their mental link. He also knows that time is running short and that their worlds will collide sooner than he's prepared for.
…
Sam shot up in his bed, terror overcoming him. He slaps and runs his hands over his chest and neck before looking around, running his hands over the bedding until he found Emily. He pushed his hand against her chest, feeling her steady heartbeat and he sighed wearily. Emily woke up, automatically reaching for Sam and pulling him to her, her fingers carting through his shorter hair and tugging gently to release stress. Sam let himself be grounded by the comforting scent and touch of his Imprint.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Emily asked softly, reaching to click the nightstand light on.
"They feel so real." Sam whispered. "I could feel them chasing me. Catching me. Biting me just enough for it to hurt but not enough to change me. And he's always there."
Emily listened to Sam and felt her heart ache for him. The he that Sam referred to was his father. Josh Uley. The man who stayed long enough to pass his genes off and leave at the first sign of responsibility. The man that made Emily want to resort to violence and use words that would make every generation of woman that came before her gasp and faint.
"I wish I could take them away from you, Sam. You deserve nothing but the most sweetest dreams and most restful sleep." Emily said, gently scratching her nails up and down his bare back.
Sam tiredly nuzzled his Imprint, feeling himself finally relaxing enough to attempt sleep. Emily sat up for a few minutes longer, watching Sam and feeling his breath evening out. She clicked the lamp off and curled up with Sam and went back to sleep.
…
"Did she get any venom in you, Shelbs?" Joshua asked as he knelt down to check.
"Not enough to change me." Shelby said, hissing in pain.
Joshua looked at the bite mark and tried to suck out as much of the venom infested blood as he could and spit it out before it made him throw up. He bound the bite mark and held it tightly so the bleeding would stop. Shelby had finally succumbed to exhaustion and passed out. Joshua rubbed his face. It had been nearly 20 years since he took Shelby and ran off with her. He pulled out a picture of Allison with their son Samuel that he swiped from a newspaper. Nearly 20 years since he'd been forced to do the unthinkable to his wife and children. He slid the photo back in his pocket and finished bandaging his daughter's injury, his memories going back all those years ago. He hated lying to his Imprint. He hated to leave her and their son. Joshua knew that Allison would likely never forgive him for everything he'd done.
But Joshua had needed to keep them and his tribe safe.
And he had.
Joshua watched over Shelby as she slept, knowing that in a handful of hours, her life was going to drastically change.
…
Emily picked up the landline as it rang, exchanging pleasantries with Allison, Sam's mother. Emily friend when she noticed a tightness to her voice.
"I need you and Sam to come to the house as soon as you both can." Allison said.
"What's wrong?" Emily asked, going through the house to find Sam.
"It's just very important. But I'll need you there to keep Sam from getting overly…excited. I'll see you soon." Allison said before hanging up.
Emily hung up and walked outside, calling for Sam. She didn't have to wait terribly long with Sam walking around the side of the house with Jared and Paul.
"Sam?" Emily said, a bit of worry creeping into her tone.
Sam went on high alert immediately and walked up the steps to get to Emily.
"Your mom called. She wants both of us to come over as soon as we can. She thinks it's something that will get you excitable and she wants me there to keep you calm." Emily said. "Go shower and change and then we can head over."
Sam wanted to ask questions but he knew Emily has told him all she knew. He took a quick shower and changed clothes in the span of ten minutes. Emily could feel the waves of nerves and anxiety rolling off Sam and decided to drive over herself. It didn't take half an hour to get to Allison's small log house. Sam and Emily both saw the old Jeep Cherokee parked in the driveway, neither recognizing it. Sam got out and Emily grabbed his hand tightly. They went up to the door and Sam opened it without knocking, walking in. Joshua stood up quickly, his instincts to shield Allison coming back strong. Sam growled, feeling himself start to shake.
"Sammy, keep calm…" Allison said softly, side stepping Joshua.
Shelby, who had been eating in the kitchen, quietly crept to find a spot to hide and observe and form a quick plan of attack should the male attack.
"The fuck is he doing here?!" Sam spat, growling.
"Back up, son. Reign yourself in before someone gets hurt." Joshua warned, moving so Alison was behind him again.
"Sammy, trust me. Please sit down and let him explain." Allison said.
Sam pushed Emily out of the way as he shifted, snarling. Within a second, Shelby had anticipated his moves and jumped out of her spot and ran full speed at him, shifting at the last second and, using her wolf body as a battering ram, shoved Sam out of the house and into the yard. Sam growled dangerously, narrowing his eyes and snapping. Shelby put herself between the house and the angry black wolf that her father said was her brother, not wanting his anger to get anyone else but.
"Sam! Shelby! Enough!" Joshua boomed, pulling his shirt off.
"Emily, talk him down." Allison begged.
Emily made her way to the front yard.
"Sam, baby, let's find out why he's here." Emily said.
Shelby saw Sam look at Emily and growl in warning. Shelby kept moving herself to intercept Sam should he try something.
"Sammy, please calm down! That's your sister!" Allison shouted.
Sam's wolf head shot up, looking at his mother.
"I was hoping to tell him a little more delicately." Joshua said with a sigh. "Shelby, shift and get dressed so Emily can calm him down. Emily, when he is calmed, bring him in. Sam…if you put your mother in that kind of danger again, I'll skin you alive." Joshua said.
Sam watched as the white wolf gave him one last look before trotting towards his mother's house, stopping to pick up the clothes Joshua tossed with her mouth. Without warning, she shifted and put her clothes on but didn't go up the steps yet.
"Shelby, come finish eating. Sam, you and Emily come and eat. I'll explain everything." Joshua said.
Shelby made her way into the house, followed by Allison and eventually Joshua. Sam finally shifted back and Emily brought some pants over to him. Sam didn't say anything as he got dressed, his mind going a hundred miles a second.
"Let's at least meet your sister and hear him out. You don't have to forgive him or accept him, yeah? But it would be nice if you gave your sister a shot…she has had as much say in this as you have." Emily reasoned. "I'm sure this is just as new and confusing for her as it is for you."
Sam sighed and rubbed his face.
"I'm gonna wake up and this all gonna be a wild dream." Sam said. "Mom never mentioned I had a sister."
"Let's get some food in us and just listen." Emily said, pulling Sam to the house.
Sam and Emily walked back in and headed for the kitchen. Allison was frying up more chicken, trying to load Shelby's plate up every time she made a dent in it. Sam sat at the opposite end from Joshua, keeping his eye on him. Shelby spared him a glance before going back to eating, not sensing any animosity currently. Allison loaded Sam and Emily up with food as well.
"Sit down, Alli. You've been on your feet a while. Let me clean up. You eat with the kids and rest." Joshua said, standing up and ushering Allison to sit down.
"So, Shelby… how old are you?" Emily asked, trying to break the ice.
Shelby looked up and shrugged before looking at Joshua.
"She's almost 19. Her and Sammy are twins." Allison said.
"Oh, I bet that's going to be fun to reconnect. I saw your wolf form, Shelby. She's very beautiful and you seem in very good control over it." Emily said. "Did you start shifting recently, too?"
"Thank you? And no. I've been…shifting… for a while." Shelby replied.
"She started shifting when she was four." Joshua said, his voice sounding sad.
Emily and Allison both knew how hard shifting was on Sam, mentally and physically and emotionally. And he'd only been dealing with it for not quite two years. Emily wanted to pull the girl into a hug but didn't want to freak her out.
"Why are you even here?" Sam asked bluntly, looking at Joshua. "How come no one ever thought to tell me that I have a sister? A twin sister?"
Shelby looked over at Sam before focusing on Emily. She took in every single detail, from how her hair laid to her scars to how she held her fork.
"Don't stare at her." Sam growled.
Shelby looked back at Sam.
"You're angry." Shelby snorted.
"Damn right I am!" Sam bit out.
"Interesting." Shelby said.
Shelby focused back on Emily for a few moments which only seemed to irritate Sam more.
"Sammy, please let him explain everything." Allison said.
"You've all, except for Shelby, heard our tribe's legends about the wolves and the Cold Ones. But in the Uley line, we have our own…uniqueness. Whenever a set of twins is born, healthy and full term, most people take it as a double blessing. There's been four other sets of twins in our past, but with bad tidings. In our family line, we also believe it's possible to have too many blessings and that misfortune will follow to compensate for the extra prosperity. With the first set of twins, disease and fire broke out and nearly spelled the end for our bloodline. The second set, one twin died and…negated the double blessing. The third set…born born healthy. Within a week…you know what happened with Taha Aki. With the fourth, the village elders took it into their hands to destroy one of the twins to prevent any further disaster. Keep the heir, kill the spare. And so the younger, weaker one was stolen shortly after birth and killed as a sacrifice. When I found out Allison was carrying twins, twins from my line, I was given a choice by the Elders. The Cold Ones were back and they were afraid of attack and said if I didn't destroy one of my own children, they'd wipe out my entire family line and give us all as a sacrifice to the Cold Ones so the tribe would be spared." Joshua said, rubbing his face. "To keep my family from death, to save you and your mom and your sister, Sam, I had to take a drastic measure. Since you were born first, you were the heir. Shelby would have been considered the spare…so I took her and left. I wrote your mom a letter about how I wasn't cut out to be a father and that I was leaving. I took your sister and did the hardest thing I've ever done. I don't expect you to forgive me."
Sam left the table as quickly as he could. He felt like he was running out of air and the room was closing in on him. He found himself in his childhood bedroom, letting himself lay across the bed as he tried to process everything. Shelby watched as Sam made his escape, rubbing her chest as she felt his confusion and panic and uncertainty. She crawled out from her spot at the table and cautiously made her way to where Sam was, feeling drawn to him through whatever link they obviously shared. She saw him curled up in the bed, laying on his side. Shelby softly, quietly climbed into the bed beside of Sam and laid down, gently pressing her back against his. Sam froze for a few moments but eventually relaxed, feeling a strong wave of calm pouring through him.
He had a sister.
...
who's ready? Comment if you wanna read more! Also, sorry for not posting sooner. I've been so sick with strep, sinus infection, and now bronchitis. Leave me love!