Emily's feet floated across the floor as she and Brittany tested out their new choreography . It was something they had been working on for several weeks now in their spare time. This was their thing. It was their bonding time. They both enjoyed it and found it was a positive activity for both of them.
Emily had been a dancer since her childhood. She had taken lessons once a week and only stopped when she took an interest in swimming. Brittany had never taken dancing lessons, her father couldn't have cared less and her mother could not afford it, but she had a natural talent for it. She had managed to teach herself the guitar though and she had a nice singing voice. Since coming to Rosewood and settling down, the three of them had agreed that Brittany needed several outlets for her energy and emotions. It was the only way to ensure that she could be a productive member of the town and the pack.
They could perform complex routines with no difficulty, thanks to their enhanced strength and stamina. Emily was a great choreographer, Brittany had input into their routines too but Emily loved to find a good song and choreograph a fitting dance to go with it. She was happy to admit she was a nerd about it. What Spencer was to academics, Emily was to dance, a genius.
They'd converted the shed on the DiLaurentis property into a gym and dance studio upon their return, since Ken had no need for it anymore to store his files or his car. It had been split into two rooms. The gym had various weight machines and a set of chin-up bars nailed to the ceiling. The other side of the room was set up with reinforced punching and kicking bags along with a large square of padding taped to the floor where they practiced fighting with one another.
The dance studio had been fitted with wooden floors and floor length mirrors. They hadn't bothered to install a Barre because they didn't need to warm up and neither of them were interested in ballet. There were two speakers mounted in the corners above the mirror that their phones could connect to. If Brittany wasn't playing video games in her room, she was down here.
She stood behind Emily and off to her right as they went through their routine. It was contemporary, Brittany had chosen 'Hello' by Evanescence and they were showing Alison. She was the only person allowed to watch them dance. This routine had them also on the floor a bit. Alison was mesmerised by how perfectly in sync they were, wether they were on the floor or standing upright.
Dancing gave Emily time to think. She let the feelings of the song and their dance flow through her. She was the peacekeeper of the group, and the most emotionally stable; but that didn't mean she didn't have her own worries, her own fears and doubts. There was so much that was unknown about their species and their lives. She had always liked the security of having a plan for her life. She had always pictured herself as a college swim coach with a loving family with children and a dog. When she had transformed, that stability had been ripped away from her.
She wasn't unhappy with her life as a werewolf, not really. She found it fulfilling. They did a lot of good. They had rescued people from burning buildings, prevented crimes, removed dangerous people and so much more. She had a tight family with the pack and she had a good relationship with her parents still even though she didn't live with them. She just felt like there was something missing in her life. She loved Alison with all her heart, they were mated. Which meant they were together forever. Even though 'imprinting' was just a myth, it wasn't all that far from the truth. When a wolf met the person they were destined to be with, they would be drawn to them like a magnet.
It wasn't like you see the person and you instantly know they are your soul mate, that was just nonsense. Fate, destiny or whatever it was would keep them involved in the other's life. It was why Emily would always follow Alison and defend her even when she was being mean to their friends or bullying their classmates. It's why Emily was the hardest one for Alison to leave behind. It was why Emily loved Alison so completely even after the blonde had coldly rejected her in the locker room so many years ago. Of course, neither of them knew it at the time, but looking back, it actually made a lot of sense to the both of them. It was like a ribbon bound them together, it would stretch, but never break. After their mating though, the ribbon had turned to a steel cable.
The song came to an end and Alison brought her hands together in applause, smiling softly at her sister and girlfriend. Brittany gave her a shy smile while Emily switched off the music, Alison noticed she had a thoughtful look on her face.
She cocked her head to the side, a frown on her face. "Em?" Her lover's head snapped to look at her upon hearing her name. "What is it?" She moved to Emily's side, taking both of her tanned hands in her own.
Emily looked out the window of the studio as she spoke, "Remember when you guys told me about the pack in Arizona you met?" They both nodded. "How long did you stay with them?"
"A few weeks," Alison ran a hand up and down Emily's arm before moving a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Why?"
Emily bit her lip nervously, now looking at the floor. "Did they tell you anything about female wolves and… c-children?"
Behind them, the sip that Brittany had just taken from her water bottle made an encore appearance as she spluttered and gagged after spitting it up, caught by surprise by Emily's question. Upon seeing the glare Alison was shooting her, Brittany quickly recovered and leaned against the wall, arms crossed and expression serious.
Alison turned back to her mate, bringing a hand up to cup her face. "What do you mean?"
"Can we even have children? I don't want to have children for at least another ten years but I want to have a family with you eventually. Would they be like us? How does it even work? Can we-"
Alison brought a hand up to silence her girl before she worked herself up into an accidental shift. That was not something they needed right now. She wished that Emily was able to manipulate her own emotions the way she could with others. She could control them pretty well, but she couldn't stop herself from feeling them. It was only thanks to Emily's control that she wasn't crying right now. "Em, slow down. Yes we can have children. The pack in Arizona had one female who has given birth to several children, they were human but slightly faster and stronger than regular humans, nothing like us though. I have no idea how it works, but I have faith Spencer will find answers eventually. You don't need to worry about it just now, okay?" She reassured her in her most soothing voice. "Our focus now has to be on our pack. Aria needs as much help as we can give her."
It had only been four days ago that Aria had returned home from Europe. She had transformed mere hours after arriving in town while walking over to Spencer's. Spencer had sent out an SOS text after opening her door to a naked and crying Aria and the girls had all raced over. She was staying at the Hastings house for a few days, but had asked for time to process. Alison had been happy to grant that request, they were still waiting on news from Spencer.
Aria's ability to create illusions in people's minds had been discovered while embracing Spencer's sister, Melissa. Upon wrapping her arms around the shorter girl, Melissa had seen herself and her sister hugging Aria goodbye in the very same room they were standing in one year ago. Brittany had whispered to Spencer that Aria had been thinking about that exact memory at the time and Spencer quickly put it together. They had tested the theory on Spencer's father later that night, Brittany confirming that he was seeing exactly what Aria wanted him to see. Seeing as Spencer's family did not know the pack's secret, they simply believed them to be vivid flashbacks.
Brittany spoke up, pulling Alison and Emily out of their memory of that night. "It's interesting how each member of our pack is so different with a unique set of skills, isn't it?"
Alison gave her a soft smile. "We all have a role to play, Britt."
Brittany just nodded while Emily looked confused. "What do you mean?" She muttered and Alison turned to face her again.
Alison gave her a quick peck before pulling away to point at herself. "The Alpha," She pointed at Brittany, "The Protector," She gave Emily a gentle poke in the chest, "The Peacekeeper," She pointed behind her in the direction of the door to the shed, "Hanna is the Hunter. Spencer is the Nightstalker, and Aria is the Witch."
Brittany nodded. "Witch fits her. Those illusions are fucking trippy." She said with a smirk.
Emily raised an eyebrow at her, "but they don't work on us? How do you know they're trippy?"
Brittany gave her a look that told her the answer should be obvious. "I can see them in her target's mind. Freakin' scary."
Emily nodded with a shrug of her shoulders, she should have worked that out. She turned back to Alison to ask the question on her mind. "What is Spencer again? A Nightstalker?"
Alison understood her confusion. "They're like a type of werewolf specialist, I guess. We all have our unique skills that work for different situations, but Spencer's are especially specific," She pulled Emily over to the exercise balls and they both took a seat. "A Nightstalker is what we call a black wolf who specialises in stealth. They're able to sneak up on their prey and their fur allows them to blend into the night, making them hard to spot. There hasn't been many of them in known history, and none of them can screw with their minds to make themselves invisible like Spencer can. That's just a bonus."
"Basically," Brittany took over because she decided Alison was shit at explaining it. She had heard it from the Arizona Alpha as well. "If there's a situation like a hostage or something else that needs a quiet approach; as opposed to kicking in the door like we normally do or charging in, Spencer can do it better than any of us. Hell, she could creep up on US if she wanted to."
Emily frowned as she thought this over. If she were Spencer, she would feel a bit bummed that her gifts were so specific. Her own gifts were useful in many situations.
Brittany was apparently feeling nosey today. "Don't feel too sad for her, Em. All of our skills are useful in their different ways. I have a feeling there will come a day when we will need all our skills."
-x-
The sound of the gunshot startled them all.
Brittany leapt in to shield Alison, putting her body between the Alpha and the direction the sound had come from. Spencer and Emily lowered into an aggressive stance and growled, baring their canine jaws. Aria, being new and Hanna, being Hanna, jumped about a foot in the air with a surprised yelp.
"What the fuck?!" Spencer's voice rang through all their heads.
Brittany, who was still shielding Alison, turned her head to growl at them all in warning. "Hit the deck! Now!"
None of them needed to be told twice. They all lay down on their stomachs, placing their heads on their front paws and getting as low as possible. Alison and Hanna moved to lie in a nearby bush to try and help hide their bright coloured fur.
A twig snapping dead ahead caught all their attention, along with heavy footsteps that sounded to be heading in their direction.
"Britt?" Alison called out to her sister.
"Deer Hunter. Just over that hill there. He missed his shot and thinks the buck ran this way! I don't think he'll have an issue hunting us instead, and if he gets a look at our size…" Brittany didn't need to finish the sentence. They all knew. They were all at least twice the size of a normal adult wolf. Alison was larger still as the Alpha. A human would need only one look at them to know something was not right.
Alison needed to get them back to the rock so they could change and get dressed. She had no idea what would happen if this hunter saw them. She couldn't take that risk. She had no idea how to get rid of him long enough to get them away, he would see them coming for sure.
Well, maybe not…
"Spencer, we need to get rid of him. Send him the other way, or put him out for a moment. You've got the best chance to not be seen."
The black wolf gave one sharp nod. "Can do." She turned and took off towards the approaching footsteps.
Alison turned to the rest of her pack. Each was looking at her expectantly. She fixed her gaze on her sister. "Britt, take point. We need to know if any of those campers are awake."
"You got it, boss."
Aria could be heard worrying. She was scared that Spencer would fail or that the hunter would see them all running away. What would they do if he did see them? Would they have to kill him? What about the ritual? She couldn't go through that.
Emily put a stop to that runaway train by padding over and giving Aria a reassuring nudge with her snout and a gentle lick. "It won't come to that, Aria."
"Plus," Brittany added. "We would totally suck if we made the baby wolf do the deed and suffer the ritual."
"Have some faith in me, Aria." Spencer had decided to join the conversation as well despite currently creeping up on their hunter just out of eyeshot of the others. She was only a few steps behind him.
She closed her eyes and gave herself a moment to centre herself. She listened to the sounds around her. She could hear the faint breeze rustling the leaves above her. There was a nest of birds nearby, along with a speeding lunatic on the road nearly a mile away. She took a deep breath and, as she did, felt the fog clouding the hunter's mind. He could not see her now, even if he was looking right at her.
During her time researching werewolves, the real stuff not the folk lore trash, Spencer had developed a theory. She believed that each of them had carried over a particular trait from their time as a human into their werewolf lives.
Alison had always been a good judge of character, and now her gift reflected that in being able to read a person's aura. Emily had always been very sensitive to the feelings and emotions of the people around her and her kind and caring nature was a soothing presence. Now she was able to feel and control them in a literal sense. Brittany, growing up, had to be able to predict her father's actions in order to keep herself safe from his wrath. Now she had been gifted with the ability to read the minds of people to be able to easily identify a threat. Hanna had always been searching for love and acceptance from the people around her. She had been obsessed with the latest trends and fashion in the hopes that people would love her more. Now she could control that. And nobody could tell a better lie than Aria, and now she possessed the means to manifest them into literal illusions.
Throughout Spencer's life, she was always playing second fiddle to Melissa. Melissa was the apple of her parent's eye while Spencer was the inferior younger sister who could never live up to their expectations. She had, her whole life, been practically invisible to them. Since her dramatic change after a nasty pill overdose, Spencer had found a different life. She knew she was valued in her pack. She was the one who had been sent to distract this person because she could and the others couldn't. In Alison's pack, she felt something she had never felt before, she felt needed.
"Spencer," Alison called to her. Spencer could see that the others were ready to move. "Now."
Spencer nodded to herself. It was go time.
She turned to look at the hunter, who was several paces ahead with his back to her. She turned to face the exact opposite position she knew the others were about to start running in and took off as fast as her legs could carry her. She made sure to run through shrubs and brush against branches as she went, to generate noise even though he couldn't see her.
The hunter heard the rustling and turned to face the direction he thought it was coming from. He saw the rustling leaves heading up the hill and broke into a run to try and catch sight of his buck.
Spencer made sure to move fast enough to be a decent way ahead of him, but no so fast that he couldn't see her movement. Once she was sure he was far enough away from the others, she projected to them. "Go! Go now!"
-x-
A/N: I've had to split this chapter into three parts because of how much is about to go down! So we'll be picking up with the dash back to camp, Brittany running into her father and first day back at school!
Sorry it's been so long. I've been dealing with a lot of writers block but working my way through it now. I know this story might seem to be slow to get into the real action but I promise it will be worth it!
Please leave a review as it really helps me know how you guys want the story to go!
