Layla's ears perked up and she yipped excitedly.
"We believe the reason she cannot communicate with anyone is because when she first phased, she was alone. Not physically, of course, but not in the presence of an Alpha or any pack mates. There was not that crucial bond formed. When Sam first phased alone, he took on the role of Alpha and made sure he was present when the rest of his pack phased for the first time, to establish them in his pack and himself as Alpha. Layla first phased without Sam being near, or any other wolf." Billy said, looking at Sam.
"How do we impose that pack relationship?" Sam asked.
"I know it's killing you, pup." Billy said sadly. "You were close to Layla before, especially cemented when she stood as your shield and protected you as a human. We'll get to that more later, though. After the connection is established."
Sam ran his fingers through his short hair and pulled. "She chose me as Alpha. Shouldn't that have started something? Anything?" Sam asked.
"We all knew she would pick you. Her best friends, her brother, and her Imprint are part of this pack." Billy said.
"Then what ideas do you have for me? It's killing me and my wolf knowing she's literally within arms reach, but I can't reach her." Sam said.
"You need to phase into your wolf and we think that, the longer you to spend together in your most base forms, the easier a connection might come. You'll need to prove to her wolf that you are a fit Alpha. When you were here, you were the first one there for everyone when they first phased. That signified to their wolf that you were the most Dominant, their leader. Layla, in essence, was alone. She's acting as her own Alpha and one wolf pack because no one else had come along to challenge and change. The lone wolf isn't good for her and it'll slowly drive her mad." Billy said.
"How long do you think it'll take?" Sam asked. "My wolf is mad that she's all alone in there."
Billy grabbed Sam's shoulder in a symbol of support and squeezed. "We don't know exactly. It's never happened before. Be prepared to spend several days or even weeks as a wolf. You'll have to do things to prove to her and her wolf that you are the most competent as an Alpha. I advise that, while the others can phase to patrol, to avoid the two of you in case they come off as Dominant and she attach herself to them as her Alpha." Billy said. "We all will take care of Emily during this time."
"I couldn't ask that of you all." Sam said softly.
"You aren't asking. We're telling you." Leah said.
"Sam…" Emily said softly. "I know you need to do this. I want you to do this. Layla is important to both of us. To all of us. I'll be more than fine with everyone here., Emily assured him.
"Yeah, we all know she's your favorite anyway." Jared said, laughing.
Layla wagged her tail, seeming to smile at Jared. She walked around to him and saw the plate in his lap, darting up and grabbing his cupcake and running off, eating it.
"Hey! You mangy mutt!" Jared said, laughing.
"You know that if she pulls something like that out there, you'll have to put her in line like you would any of the others." Billy said.
"So impossible." Jake said, grinning.
"Yeah, she'll do something and instead of punishing her, he'll be all like 'Awww, you good girl you show them!'" Leah said.
"I got five that says she'll never do a patrol." Quil said, grinning.
Embry started growling at Jake, Leah, Jared, and Quil. He knew Layla could hear and understand them because she stopped eating the cupcake and walked away from it, her ears flat and her tail between her legs. She walked away from the group, heading for one of the smaller coves.
"Just for that, everyone will be doing double patrols." Sam ordered, staring at each one of them.
He turned to Emily, pulling her close. "I love you. I've got to go, though." he whispered.
"I know. I love you, too. We'll be fine and I know you'll have her in the pack in no time." Emily said. Sam peppered her with kisses and she laughed.
"I'll set out a basket of food the times a day so you two can eat, yeah?"
"You're the best. I love you." Sam said.
"I love you, too. Now go phase." Emily said, shooing him off.
Sam ran over to a few rocks and ducked down, pulling his shorts off and phasing into his Alpha wolf and trotting off to find Layla. He found her Layla in the surf, her head on her paws. She whined softly when she saw Sam. He walked over to her and could sense that what was said back there got to her. Sam bent his head and licked the top of her head, near her eyes and gave a short bark. He started walking away when he turned and saw Layla still laying there. Sam growled and finally got her attention. He gave a deeper bark to signal her to follow him. Layla stood and shook the water from her fur and followed Sam.
Sam easily jumped up nearly half of the cliff, landing on a ledge. Her looked down at Layla and barked. Layla wagged her tail and backed up, taking a run and jump for the ledge Sam was on. She got most of the way there before she started sliding back down the rock, her nails unable to grip onto anything. Sam held himself back from going to grab her scruff and pull her back up. He baked again and Layla went back even farther, gathering more speed and jumping. She scrambled and finally pulled herself up to where Sam was. He jumped from ledge to ledge, waiting on Layla to get the hang of it. Soon, they were at the top of the cliff. Sam turned and walked off. Layla stood at the edge, looking down and over to the bonfire.
She saw Embry and Paul talking Paul stealing glances at Marsaili when she wasn't looking. She missed being in her human form, being able to hold and talk to Embry, kissing him, loving him. Sam turned when he heard her howl sadly. He walked over to her and nipped the back of her neck sharply to get her attention. Layla growled softly at Sam, making him stop and turn back around. He growled louder, getting in her face and baring his teeth. Layla finally lowered her ears and followed Sam deeper into the forest. They came to a dense thicket and Sam paused, making Layla stop, too. Sam walked over to a clear spot and barked at Layla, looking from her to the clear spot before laying down. Layla, not really understanding what he was gesturing for, looked around and found her own clear spot. She curled up and laid down when she heard Sam growl and get up, coming over to get and towering over her, growling. Layla whined softly and covered her head with her paws, brushing him off. Sam barked and picked her up by her scruff and dragged her over to the spot he picked out. He dropped her where he was laying only moments before. Layla barked unhappily and stood up, intending to walk back over to her spot. Sam raised his front paws and knocked her back, pinning her down on her back, asserting his dominance and forcing her to show submission. Layla finally got the hint and lowered her eyes, tilting her head to the side and showing her neck. Sam kept growling until he was satisfied that she got the picture. He removed his front legs off of Layla, letting her roll back over. He stepped over her and lowered himself until he was effectively pinning her down underneath him sideways, his stomach holding down her back. Layla bit at his paw to try to make him move, but Sam just snapped at her face and laid his head down. Layla snorted softly, making Sam grin his wolfish grin before closing his eyes. Layla kept trying to scoot out from under him, but each time she tried, Sam would snap at her face or neck, showing his control. Layla finally settled down around midnight, yawning and laying her head on her paws, going to sleep. Once Sam heard her even breathing, he laid his head down, still on her back, and went to sleep.
...
A/N: I know this chapter is more Sam-Layla centered. I love their new dynamic. It's going to get more and more Paul/Marsaili centered as it goes on and omg it's going to be hot as f. Leave me some reviews, peeps!
