Thank you for reviewing, following and favoriting, WolvePackForever!
Mrs Calearohte, well, since you said you'd read the sequel, I can thank you for your last review for Sunny Side Up here. I hope you'll like this story, too.
Thanks to my beta Tragically Magical!
Not So Secret Secrets
-Chad's POV-
Tuesday, June 11
I was in the shooting gallery with my partner and best friend outside of the pack, Troy Crowley. The shots of our handguns were only slightly dampened by the ear protectors. I pulled off the uncomfortable earmuffs and grinned. Troy pulled his off too, but he looked rather frustrated.
"How do you always do that? That's not supposed to be possible!" he complained. He was referring to my target which had one single hole in its bull's eye. He knew that none of my bullets ever missed the target, and by now he should be used to seeing every one of them going through the same hole the first one made.
"Experience, …" I started to list but he cut me off.
"I have as much experience as you do!"
"Good eye sight and a very calm hand," I continued.
"Still, it's not possible!"
"I don't know why you get so upset about it. You have no reason to be jealous. You're a very good shooter, too. Besides, you know that you'll always be able to rely on my accuracy. Which reminds me of that day three years ago. If I weren't such a skilled shooter, you'd probably wouldn't be standing next to me right now," I replied calmly.
"You really didn't have to bring that up, you know."
"Then stop complaining."
"Then start to make more holes into your targets!"
"Okay," I said and put the protectors back on. I aimed shortly and shot six times.
"Better?" I asked with an even wider grin. There were six holes now, one in the center of bull's eye and the others in a perfectly straight line above it with less than a millimeter between each one. Troy rolled his eyes and laughed.
"You should try shooting as a professional sport. You would win every title available, including world champion and Olympic champion. You'd be rich and popular and you'd get to see the world!"
"I'm not interested in popularity. Plus, I like La Push. There's no better place on earth," I replied with a reassuring smile.
"I highly doubt that. There are a lot of places with much better weather. I know you like the forest. But believe me, there are other forests that bathe in sun on more than ten days per year."
"Well, I like this one best, so I'm staying here. I can't make you even more jealous by leaving, can I? And who would keep you sane when I'm gone? Greg?" I scoffed. Troy had always wanted to leave Forks. His older brother Tyler had moved to San Francisco after his graduation and had left Troy to stay with their blind mother. She completely depended on him, and didn't want to move to an unfamiliar neighborhood where she wouldn't be able to move a single step alone.
"Actually I'm going to leave next year. Mom agreed to move when she turns sixty five. I'll have saved up enough money to buy her a seeing-eye dog, which is the only way that she'll take on the challenge of a new environment."
"You're leaving?" I asked, shocked. I had always known that he would move as soon as his mother was dead – which of course he wanted to be later rather than sooner – but I had expected to have him as my partner for another decade or so.
"Yes, finally. I'm sorry, Chad. You know I always wanted to get out of here. I became a police officer because I wanted to solve crimes. Real crimes. I always felt up to challenges. Chastising teenage drinkers and parking offenders is hardly a challenge."
"I know. You think Forks is boring and it kind of is," he cut me off again.
"Kind of? Come on, it definitely is boring."
Not if you were a shape-shifter, is what I wanted to say, but he wasn't one.
"… but I'll miss you nonetheless."
"I'll only move to Seattle, so we can still see each other sometimes. Anyway, you have to endure me another year so don't start getting all sentimental now."
"Okay. I promise you it will be the most exciting year you'll ever have. We'll have fun and there will be action, too. I've never asked you before: Have you ever been cliff-diving?"
"Uh, no, and I'm not sure if I ever want to try it."
"Alright. First free and warm day in August we'll have an appointment with the cliffs."
"I really appreciate your effort, but I still think cliff-diving is not the sort of action I'm looking for."
"Coward," I teased. The door to the main room of the police station opened and Charlie peeked inside.
"Chad, I found something in the police reports of Hoquiam that you might want to see."
Troy rolled his eyes. Charlie rarely found evidence of vampire attacks in the police reports of the neighboring police departments, but Troy suspected that we hid something from him since I always got alarmed while he never found anything suspicious in the reports. He knew it had something to do with my tribe and I was grateful that he never pried and accepted our tribal secrets. I followed Charlie and he eased my nerves by saying, "It's not what you think. A Quileute boy who lives in Hoquiam got into a severe fight with some class-mates. They were four and he was alone, yet he doesn't even have a scratch, while his opponents suffer from broken noses and countless bruises. A witness said he acted in self-defense, so he's probably getting away with a few hours of community service. I asked for photos. Here, have a look yourself."
His monitor showed the portrait of a teenage boy, probably about sixteen or seventeen years old and clearly Native American. He was buff and the scale on the wall behind him indicated that he was about six foot two, which wasn't exactly normal for a kid his age.
"What's his name?"
"Hayden Fox. His parents moved to Hoquiam ten years ago."
"Do we have his parents' phone number?"
"Yes. Here."
I pulled my cell phone out and dialed the number. I left the building before I pressed the green button. I didn't need any listeners.
"Hello?"
"Hello, um, Mr. Fox?"
"Yes, that's me. And who are you?"
"Chadwick Sykes, Sir, I'm…," he cut me off.
"A protector, I know. I remember you. What a coincidence that you're calling! I was planning on coming to La Push this weekend to talk to Sam Uley. I'm worried about my son."
"I can imagine that. I saw the police report and photos of your son. That's why I'm calling, actually, so it's not that big of a coincidence."
"So you think he's showing the symptoms, too?"
"Symptoms?" I repeated. It was to be expected that the Quileutes who weren't in on the secret would notice that every single one of the La Push protectors had undergone a drastic change before they suddenly dumped their old friends and started hanging out with Sam's gang.
"Yes, you know, grow fast, develop muscles without working out much, and today his temperature went up but he's not feeling sick. How much time do you give him?"
"I can't quite follow you. He's got the potential for a protector. I thought that was what you meant by symptoms. What do you mean by how much time do I give him?"
"Okay, I assume you're still ignorant to the fact that your secret is not as much of a secret as you might have thought. So I'm going to name it. How long until my son grows fur?"
I nearly dropped the phone and was at a loss for words.
"Who else knows?" I finally choked out.
"Basically the majority of grown-up Quileute. At least ten years ago it was like that. I don't know if those who were kids back then got to know it when they came of age. But I'd say about eighty percent of the Quileute population above thirty know."
"How?" I questioned, my heart beating rapidly.
"Well, someone knew the actual legends and every one of us have eyes and a brain, so…"
"Nobody ever said a word."
"Well, you kept it a secret for a reason. We also have a suspicion about what you're protecting us from and that's something one can assume, but doesn't want to know for sure."
"Wow, that's… unexpected news. However, back to the main topic. Hayden is most likely becoming one of us. The fever is a sign that he could phase anytime now. If you came on the weekend it could already be too late. Make him pack and come here. Do you have any relatives on the reservation where he could stay? If not, we can certainly arrange something. Does he know?"
"No, I… I wasn't sure and I don't even know how to tell him."
"That's understandable. We'll do that. For now you'll have to find an excuse why he's going to stay in La Push for a while. He cannot get upset about it. Anger triggers the phasing and I'd rather have him phase on the reservation."
"Y-yes, I can do that, I think. He'll need some time for packing, so I guess we could be in La Push around nine o'clock."
"Alright. Come to the Den. Everybody's going to be there anyway."
"Okay. Thank you. Can… can I ask a question?"
My eyebrows furrowed, "Um, sure."
"Does it hurt?"
"No. It's not exactly comfortable either, though. Don't worry, your son will be alright."
"What – what if he does get angry?"
"He will start shaking before he actually phases. If he does, get some distance in between you and him. He won't attack you. But, as I said, I'd prefer that he phased under our supervision. If you cannot come up with an excuse as to why he should stay here that wouldn't make him angry, then don't tell him that he'll have to stay. One of us can take him back to Hoquiam on Saturday so that he can get his stuff."
"I'll do that then. We'll be there in two and a half hours."
"Alright. I'm at work right now, but I'll try to leave early. I'll call Sam and tell him to be at the Den when you arrive."
"Okay. Thanks."
I hung up and dialed Sam's number immediately.
"Chad! What's up?"
"We're about to get a new pack member."
"What? Who?"
"Hayden Fox. He's living in Hoquiam with his parents. I've talked to his father. He already suspected his son to be a shape-shifter. He's taking him to the Den right now. They should be there in two and a half hours."
"Wait. He suspected him to be a shape-shifter?"
"Yes. That's another thing we've got to talk about. According to Mr. Fox, the majority of our tribe has known what we are for at least ten years."
"Chad!" Troy called, "Brawl at the diner! We gotta go!"
"Sorry, Sam, work's calling. Meet me at the Den in two hours?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll inform Aaron, too."
"Thanks. See you later."
"Later."
I ran back to the parking lot in front of the police station and climbed into the already running car. Troy pulled onto the street instantly.
"Why do you concern yourself with a Quileute kid who got into a fight in Hoquiam? I thought your tribal law only applies to the reservation. Plus, it was self-defense."
"He has the potential to be a protector," I replied, knowing that he wouldn't dig deeper when the word 'protector' was mentioned.
"He's only sixteen! Whatever you're protecting your tribe from – that can't be something a child should do!"
I guess I stood corrected. He usually didn't dig deeper when that word was mentioned.
"I was the same age when I started. We all were, a few were even younger. It won't kill him."
"But it could traumatize him!"
"None of us are traumatized."
I started to get annoyed with him.
"Really? What about Seth Clearwater? He was always known to be a positive, happy-go-lucky sort of person. Now he's always depressed, troubled even, isn't he?"
He pulled into the parking lot of the diner, and I got out of the car without answering him. The brawl was still under way and Troy and I separated the two fighters quickly. One had a bleeding nose while the other one had a laceration on his temple, but other than that they seemed surprisingly fine, considering that the diner looked as if a tornado had hit it.
Several tables were knocked over, chairs were scattered everywhere, some of them broken. The waitress had hid behind the bar. It wasn't lunch time yet, so there were no other guests. Troy struggled to keep one of the men from attacking the other one again. Since mine was being cooperative and rather grateful for the separation, I released my grip on him and helped Troy. The man wasn't able to do anything against my werewolf steel grip and stopped fighting me eventually. Troy put a table and a chair back into place and pulled out his notepad.
"Alright. Names?"
It turned out that they had been fighting over the waitress, one being her ex and the other being her current boyfriend. Just the usual boring small town incident.
When we were back in the car, Troy picked up our earlier conversation to my displeasure.
"So, are you saying Seth Clearwater isn't traumatized?"
"Actually, he's already a lot better. And the trauma didn't come from becoming a protector at a young age. Don't talk about things you don't understand, Troy."
Troy sighed.
"I would try to understand if you let me. I always thought that, one day, I'd be worthy to know the secret. Chief Swan isn't Quileute and he knows it. He already knew it before he started dating Sue Clearwater. We're good friends, aren't we? So why won't you tell me about the most important thing in your life?"
"I'm sorry, Troy. The less people know, the better. I'm not allowed to tell you."
"I wouldn't tell anyone."
"I know," I sighed, feeling conflicted between being a best friend and protecting who I am.
"You wouldn't tell me even if you were allowed to, would you?"
"Probably not. It's complicated. You can't even imagine. I guess that's hard to accept, but I can't change it. Your friendship means a lot to me. It's nice to have someone who isn't in on the secret, if that makes any sense."
"It does, I guess. I owe you my life, Chad. And I always trusted you despite your secrets. Just because I'm upset that you don't seem to fully trust me doesn't mean I'm breaking off our friendship."
"But I do trust you."
"Well, not enough."
"I'd trust you with my life!"
"Whatever. Forget I even started this topic."
We were back at the station and although Troy had closed the topic the tension was still there. Even Charlie seemed to sense it, since he raised his eyebrows at us. I went straight to him as I didn't have much time left until I had to be at the Den.
"Hey, Charlie, mind if I take the rest of the day off? Hayden Fox is on his way to La Push."
"No problem. Everything alright between you and Troy?"
"Yeah, don't worry. Thanks."
Next update on Tuesday. PLEASE review, that one little review I got for the first chapter feels so lonely without any company!