AN: Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Anastasia POV
It's been three weeks since the first day of school and Sean Cowley still doesn't get that I want absolutely nothing to do with him.
Every day since school started, I've come out of my third period science class to find him casually leaning against my locker. From the moment I laid eyes on him, I knew who he was and I knew I wanted nothing to do with him. How he could even think I'd want to talk to him after he tried to fight my brother last summer is completely beyond me. Paul and the rest of his friends had already warned me about Sean and his disgusting, manipulative ways and I was placed under strict orders to never go near him. As if I need a reason to stay away from him. He tried to pick a fight with my brother, I want nothing to do with him.
At first I thought maybe he didn't know who I was but after I told him that "my brother, Paul Chehalis, will break you if he finds you talking to me," and he still didn't move, well then it was just clear that he had a death wish. But no matter what I say, no matter how mean I am to him, anything I do only seems to spur him on. I don't know what it is about me that has him so interested but I have a hunch that for him, getting with me would be the ultimate revenge against Paul for beating him up over the summer. Too bad the joke's on him because there's no way in hell I would ever let him touch me.
So needless to say, walking out of class today, I'm not surprised to see him. More revolted and exasperated if anything. While his long muscles, lazy smile and light brown eyes may be an attraction to most girls at this school, they only make me wrinkle my nose in disgust. He looks me up and down as Sierra and I emerge from class, arms and legs crossed, leaning against the locker next to mine. His eyes travel up my body, slowly rising up from my toes; I earn a full smile when he reaches my chest.
Ugh, I think I'm going to lose my breakfast.
"What part of 'I want nothing to do with you so stay the hell away from me' don't you understand?" I spit at him, entering the combination to my locker.
"Hey prick! Back the fuck off! You revolt her." Sierra has had just about enough of this guy as I have.
"What can I say? I like a challenge." He slowly reaches his left hand up to graze against my bare right arm. I slap his hand away before he can make contact. It does nothing but egg him on as he gives me a lopsided grin, an attempt at looking seductive when the only thing I feel is nauseated.
"Attempt to touch me again with that disgusting hand of yours and you will lose it!" I threaten, poking him in the chest for emphasis.
"Ooh I like a feisty woman. It makes them wilder in –"
But what it makes them wilder in I don't find out because Embry's left hand shoots out of nowhere and grabs him by the throat, lifting him up against the cold gray locker and leaving Sean's feet dangling inches above the ground.
Embry, like the rest of Paul's friends, has always been protective of me. When I was five, an older kid at the playground made me cry when he threw sand in my eyes. When Embry saw my red, puffy eyes he forced the kid to eat three handfuls of sand and apologize to me twelve times — once for each tear that ran down my face. But the anger then and the anger now can't even compare. The ire in his eyes could rival Paul's on one of his worst days but what worries me most is that I can tell Embry's holding back.
"Sierra, run! Go find Paul or somebody!" I push her down the hallway in the direction of Paul's math class, hoping she'll run into at least one of the other guys.
The muscles in Embry's arms strain against his fury, his jaw tightens and his breathing comes out faster and faster as his rage grows. His hand hardens around Sean's throat as Sean attempts to kick and punch at Embry's body. Little by little the color drains from Sean's face, his eyes brim with moisture and his pleas to be let go come out raspier with each breath. A crowd of students begin to form a circle around us, effectively blocking us from view of the teachers still oblivious to the scene outside their classrooms. The thundering sound of footsteps can be heard coming from either ends of the hallway as Embry's friends and Sean's approach the throng of students. Thankfully Paul, Jake, Quil and Jared reach us first, Sierra in tow and Kim by her side on her cell phone. The four boys create a barricade around us, preventing Sean's buddies from joining the fight as Sierra and Kim stay on the outer rim of the circle of students, worry etched on their faces.
"What the fuck did we tell you about going near Stacy?" Embry slams Sean's body against the locker every few words for emphasis. Sean's face slowly turns blue, his eyes droop and his head lolls to his right shoulder. He's mere seconds from passing out. "We gave you a warning and what do you do? You actually have the nerve to touch her!"
Paul's head snaps up and his body stiffens at the mention of Sean touching me. He gradually turns around and starts in our direction. The black in his eyes reminds me of that night many months ago and I actually fear for Sean's life.
"Embry stop! Please!" I scream, tears streaming down my face. I place myself between Embry and Paul, my hands pushing against Paul's chest in a weak attempt to stop him from advancing any further. He wraps one arm around my waist and lifts me out of the way, placing me on the other side of his body as if I'm as light as a doll.
"PAUL LEAVE! EMBRY PUT HIM DOWN. NOW!" The booming voice of Sam Uley cuts through the pandemonium occurring in the middle of the hallway as he hastily makes his way toward Sean, Paul and me. Embry crashes Sean's still body against the locker one more time for good measure before dropping him to the ground like a filthy rag, leaving an outline of Sean's body in the dented marks on my locker. Sean lands roughly on his butt, his hands clutching his throat as he coughs and gags for air. Embry gives him one last kick and pushes his way through the crowd to the doors leading outside, grumbling the entire way.
"That wasn't a request Paul. Leave now." There's more authority the second time Sam tells Paul to leave as he finally makes his way to the center of the crowd. Paul turns on his heel and glances between Sam and me, hesitation clearly present on his face. With one last look to Sam, he snarls and crashes his way through the doors after Embry.
Paul POV
I know it pains Sam to use his Alpha command with us, but that doesn't make it any easier for me to leave my sister in a building with that worthless sack, Cowley. I so badly want to resist his order, but it feels like I've become a puppet, void of my freewill to stay.
I storm from the building, feeling my body prepare itself for the change into my wolf form by the shaking that gradually increases with each step I take toward the woods. No sooner do I step behind a tree than I erupt into a dark silver wolf, leaving me no time to take my clothes off properly. I can already feel Embry in my mind and see as he heads to Sam and Emily's house across the reservation. I'm not ready to deal with the trouble I'm sure to be in with Sam, so I take the longest route possible, running through the woods along the line that separates the reservation from Forks, a neighboring town.
I stop and from my spot amongst the trees I can hear cars slowly driving around the town and see Forks Police Chief Charlie Swan step into the local diner for lunch.
In all honesty, if Sam hadn't shown up when he did, I really think I might have beat Sean to death. The wolf in me growled to be free, to rip and snarl and tear Sean to pieces the second Embry said Sean had touched Anastasia. I don't care if he merely bumped into her in the hallway by accident; he isn't supposed to be near her at all. The pack, minus Sam, had a "discussion" with him about it all the second day of school. I thought we had been crystal clear when we told him of the danger he would be in if he so much as glanced at her inappropriately. But apparently for him, it had been like looking through a foggy window.
Hopefully the marks around his throat left by Embry's fingers will finally get the message across that we're not fucking around.
'Hahaha, glad I could be of service.' Embry laughs unabashedly, thinking back to the feeling of Sean's throat beneath his hand.
'Come back to my house now Paul.' It's more of a request this time but I still obey as if being commanded. Sam's our alpha, and we will always listen to him, knowing that even when he's yelling at us, it's for our own good and he only has our best interests at heart.
He's in his wolf form and I can see through his mind that he's waiting for me outside the backdoor of the house he shares with his imprint, Emily. 'We need to talk about this. You too Embry, come back now.' Embry had stopped at both of our places to grab a spare change of clothes for us. Apparently he hadn't made it very far before he changed either, causing him to rip through his clothes like I had.
'Thanks man,' I call to him.
'Oh actually it's really more of a gift to myself.' He's back to his usual joking self. I embrace his thoughts, hoping to absorb some of his good humor. 'I'm no meat gazer so I really don't feel like seeing your naked ass twice in one day. That just might throw me into another anger fit.' He laughs at his own wit.
'Yeah, yeah, right back at you,' I retort as I approach Sam sitting on his hind legs behind his house. The distinct scent of Emily's homemade chocolate chip muffins and double fudge brownies wafts through the air from the open kitchen window of the faded yellow house. I poke my head through the window, whimpering, letting her know through my expression that I want some food.
"Oh here, take it," Emily laughs as she tosses out a few muffins. "Now be a good wolfy and listen to Sam." She giggles to herself and closes the window. I dive in without a second thought, finishing just as Embry comes barreling through the trees.
'DUDE! I wanted some!' He whines to me through his thoughts.
"Change back. We need to talk." I was too engrossed in my excitement over Emily's homemade desserts to notice that Sam had phased back from his wolf form. Embry unties two pairs of sweatpants from his right leg, tossing me my favorite black ones.
"I figured you'd want your favorite pair for when Sam rips you a new one," Embry says nonchalantly while pulling up his own. I nod my head in thanks, shrugging mine on.
"I'm not going to 'rip Paul a new one' but you just might be a different story if you keep it up Embry," Sam says with his arms crossed, staring meaningfully at him.
Even though Jake is the biggest in the pack, Sam undoubtedly carries more power at first glance and it has nothing to do with his Alpha status.
As a way to prepare our bodies for our first change, we experience a growth spurt that makes us appear to be in our mid-twenties. The maturing of our bodies is like a more drastic form of puberty: our muscles get bigger and longer, our facial features sharpen, our body temperature shoots to a scorching 108 degrees, we sprout to an almost inhuman size and our bodies learn to magically heal themselves at an incredible rate. But the most drastic change happens the moment we morph into a wolf for the first time: we stop aging. Until we completely stop phasing, our bodies remain frozen at about the physical age of 25. Sam went through the exact same change the rest of us did just before he finished high school about two years ago when a coven of vampires moved to Forks. He was alone in his pack for more than a year before Jared changed but I think that year alone did something to him. For even though his body is supposed to be frozen and he should look about the same age as the rest of us, his face seems older, more mature and almost always looks to be wrought with worry. We are more than a pack of wolves, we are a pack of brothers and it's always been clear to the rest of us that our oldest brother Sam was not as lucky as the rest of us during his change. Alone and without an understanding as to what was happening to him, Sam patrolled the grounds of La Push a lone wolf.
"Do either of you understand how lucky you are that Kim called me today?" Ooh, Sam is pissed. We've all been in fights before (it's pretty much inevitable for the first few weeks after we change because everything ticks us off and it's almost impossible to control the phasing), but something about this particular fight has Sam especially heated, no pun intended. "Embry, do you realize how close you came to actually killing that boy? That didn't look like some normal teenage fight Embry! You literally had that boy lifted off the ground with one hand — normal teenage boys can't do that!" Aah, so he's upset about the possible death and exposure aspect of today's scuffle. Understandable.
"Nah it'll be no big deal Sam. Just tell everybody I'm on steroids or something." Embry waves off Sam's worries with a flick of his hand. "But make sure you let them know that my package is still big and hasn't been affected. Can't have the ladies getting the wrong idea." He finishes with a wink and a nudge to Sam's stomach with his elbow. "Hey do you think Emily has any extra muffins or brownies?" I slap my palm to my forehead. Damn it, that dumbass is going to get us both a month's worth of night patrols if he doesn't shut his trap.
"Sam, he touched my sister! We gave him specific orders to never go near her again and yet he waits for her after third period every day. He never leaves her alone," I argue.
"Did he hit her? Or threaten her with violence of any kind?" Sam asks.
"No. But he touched her arm and we made it perfectly clear that if he even went near her again we'd rip his throat out," Embry answers. "I was just delivering on that promise." I clap him on the back and nod my head in agreement.
"What am I going to do with you guys?" Sam shakes his head and closes his eyes briefly in frustration. "You fight for no reason and risk exposure to us all! Some punk kid is not worth revealing what we are! There is so much more important than being the tough guys in school and beating up some little kid. Anastasia is a very bright girl and I'm sure she can handle some dumb kid who hits on her all the time. Besides," he whips his head in my direction, pointing at my chest, "I thought you didn't want your sister or her friend finding out what you are?"
"Of course I don't." I'm starting to get angry again.
"Well you're doing a helluva job hiding it then aren't you?" Sam yells. "You know she's already wondering why you shake and randomly leave late at night. How are you going to explain how Embry was able to lift a 180 pound kid off the ground with one hand?"
Embry and I hang our heads in shame. We know Sam is right and looking back on the situation, taking Sean outside away from prying eyes probably would have been a better idea.
"I don't want to hear about this shit happening again. Is that understood?" Sam glares pointedly at both of us. We nod our heads in understanding. "Good. Embry, you have night patrols every day for the next three weeks for that one-handed stunt. And you are not allowed to miss school the next day just because you're tired. Got it?" Embry looks like he wants to fight back but knows Sam will increase his punishment if he does. The worst thing about that punishment is not the nightly patrols but that he can't ditch school the next day. One thing about Sam and Emily is that they always try to put school first — whether we like it or not.
"Yeah, okay. Sorry Sam," Embry stares down at the wet grass, hands in his pockets, kicking the ground.
"Alright then, you start tomorrow night. And Paul, learn to control that anger. It's good for when we need to be on alert but not so much in a public place like a school hallway. Your sister is getting older, guys are going to start noticing her more — deal with it!" I know Sam is right but he's never had a sister, he doesn't understand how protective a brother can be. I nod my head in agreement anyway. It seems to appease him enough because he changes the subject.
"Good because we've got a more important matter to discuss." His tone changes as he looks both of us in the eye, letting us in on the significance of what he's about to say. "I talked to Sue Clearwater today. She said Seth's had a recent growth spurt. His muscles are starting to get longer and his eating habits are increasing. He's close you guys. My guess is he's got about another month until he fully changes." He finishes on a somber note, his eyes downcast as he heads into the house. Embry and I follow in an almost zombie state.
My mind is reeling. As much as all of the pack members love our ability to change and become something so unbelievably freeing, it isn't a lifestyle any of us would have chosen for ourselves. We're tied forever to this reservation, to a mythical world involving werewolves and vampires and their ongoing battle against each other. Every one of us has had to grow up before we were really ready as a result of being a protector of La Push. Now instead of chasing girls at First Beach on a Saturday night, we're deep in the woods, looking in at the crowd of drunk and partying teenagers from afar, protecting everyone without their knowledge from creatures so much worse than the monster under their bed.
"But Seth is only 14 and in the eighth grade!" Embry slumps down in a kitchen chair, head in his hands. Oh God, I hadn't even thought about his age!
Anybody who has ever met Seth Clearwater loves him immediately. He has this infectious smile no one can resist and is just genuinely kind. He's been friends with Anastasia for as long as I can remember and has had a crush on her for about just as long. I know she's always had a small thing for him too but she's recently been too caught up in Quil to notice how much Seth adores her. Those two have always had a slightly flirtatious relationship and I only put up with it because if there is any guy I would wholeheartedly be okay with her dating, it's Seth. A good-natured kid to his very core, he is probably the only boy (other than my best friends), who I would trust to be around her alone. I've never seen him without that huge happy grin that is undeniably his and can't even begin to imagine him as a fierce and angry wolf.
I mimic Embry's actions and plop myself in the chair next to him. The seat creaks under my weight. Ever the mother, Emily rubs my back in a soothing manner and places a plate of cookies and muffins in the center of the table.
"But why would he even need to change?" I think out loud, "Those leeches have been here for a while and we haven't caught scent of any others lurking around."
The reason for our pack generation is because of those parasites, the Cullens. Sam first changed when they moved here about two years ago. There are seven of those leeches and they claim to be "vegetarians," meaning they only drink the blood of animals but we're not taking any chances. Jake's great-grandfather, Ephraim Black, made a treaty with their blood-sucking leader, Carlisle, which keeps them off our land and forbids them from biting a human. If they slip, we attack and we're always ready. But they've been here long enough that we all thought our pack was complete when Quil phased a few weeks into summer.
"I wish I knew Paul. More than that, I wish he didn't have to change. My only guess is that his transformation means we're meant to prepare for something. I have a hunch Seth won't be the last to join our pack." Sam pops a brownie into his mouth and heads upstairs. Embry and I take that as our cue to leave.