A/N: Here is the next chapter as I promised... thanks to those who left me reviews, some of them were really funny. Finally a new character is presented in the story and some new action arrives... Enjoy and leave reviews!
**Beta-ed by Danielle
Chapter 8: Thomas
Amelia's POV
A week had already passed and I felt like my life had turned into a routine. At the beginning, I thought that it wasn't going to be possible to be away from Luke and do patrols with Kaleb. The patrols weren't that bad, Kaleb and I made sort of a deal—we would both phase away from each other and run the perimeter in different directions so we would never be close. We didn't even trained together—Sam took care of teaching me everything while Kaleb was being taught by Paul. Doing things like this meant that we hadn't seen each other face to face since we transformed, meaning I hadn't seen him as a human. I told him what Sam had explained to me about the Alpha situation, that he could be the real Alpha if he wanted, but he told me he didn't want that kind of responsibility.
What was still frustrating was having to hear his thoughts. Even though we agreed to do everything possible about keeping our thoughts to ourselves, it was really hard when you got distracted. I knew he didn't like to hear my moping thoughts, but at least it didn't bother him like it bothered me to sleep with images of all the girls he had been with. Ugh, it was so disgusting; sometimes I think he was thinking about that on purpose.
We did double patrols, one in the morning and one at night. I didn't mind doing them alone, but Sam insisted that it was dangerous to be alone in the woods, even if you were a giant murderous wolf. The first time we ran the perimeter, we found a horrible scent. Sam told us that vampires didn't smell good, but didn't specify on the burning sensation. We followed the scent, but it went farther east. When I told Sam about this he deduced that the vampires were probably just nomads passing by. But these nomads were the ones who triggered mine and Kaleb's destiny, and we changed because they were or are still a threat to the tribe. All I hoped was that their presence didn't affect someone else.
It was the last week of the school year, but I couldn't go because I was "unstable". When Sam told me I couldn't even attend my last week of school, I almost phased in front of him making his point a fact. He called the school to tell them that I was sick with a very contagious disease, of course, they asked for a doctor's confirmation, so Jared made us one. It was good to have a doctor in the secret. Because I couldn't take all my final exams, the school told Sam that I had to take them when I fully recovered, probably over the summer.
Luke hadn't talked to me since that night, not even looked at me. He acted like I didn't exist and that broke my heart even more. He was barely in the house. He'd go to school in the morning, and when he got out, went to Cat's house. I found out about them finally becoming a couple because I overheard a conversation he was having with Emily. I hadn't seen Cat, but Luke probably told her of how I was acting, so she hadn't been to the house or called me either. She probably also hated me for what I did to Luke, but I felt happy that they were together at last. At least Luke got distracted by being with her. Every short time he was near me, I would stare at him, looking for changes, but none were visible. Part of me didn't want him to change, but another wanted it because he would be in on the secret with me.
I was brought back from my train of thoughts by Emily screaming with delight. She was in the living room with Sam, planning the upcoming Gathering. It was on Saturday and most of the members of the old pack were going to be there with their families. Most of them must've known by now about me and Kaleb becoming the next generation of giant wolfs, so I was preparing myself mentally for their questions and stares.
I got up, as I was lying on the floor of my room watching from my window how the clouds shifted in the sky. I was hungry, so I decided to go get something to eat and find out what made Emily scream with excitement. In the kitchen, I grabbed a bag of Doritos and headed to the living room. Emily was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, while Sam was sitting on the couch talking on the phone.
"Why the excitement?" I asked Emily. She was scanning a bunch of papers when she looked at me.
"Oh, Sam is just talking with Leah and she is coming for the Gathering. And you know I got excited because I thought she wasn't going to come. It's been a while since we heard from her." Of course Sam had told me about Leah. I knew her as Sue's daughter, but I didn't know that she was the only female wolf on the old pack. When I was little, she always seemed angry at everything, now I understood why. She got married and lived here in the Rez for a while, but when I was only ten years old, she moved to Oregon with her husband and one-month-old baby, Mekhan. We hadn't seen her since Sue's funeral, to which she came with her brother, Seth. None of them came to Charlie's, they didn't agree with their mother marrying him.
I sat down next to Sam; he was still talking on the phone. "So, is everything going well with the gathering?" I asked Emily while grabbing a bunch of Doritos and shoving them in my mouth. I didn't care that I was eating like a pig; all I cared about was that I was hungry.
"Yeah, I'm just organizing the order in that we're going to retell the legends. But everything else is already set." She had an excited look on her face. She really enjoyed preparing the gathering; I knew one day she'd be an excellent elder. "Are you thrilled about seeing everyone?"
"Well, I can't wait to hear the legends. Knowing that they're real makes the feeling different. But about seeing everyone, I'm a little scared."
Sam at that moment hung up and was listening to what I was saying. He stood up from the couch and sat next to Emily, embracing her in a tight hug and started to kiss her neck. Ugh, I had to listen to what they did at night, now I had to watch them make out. Sam must have sensed me being uncomfortable because he broke the embrace. "Why are you scared? It's going to be the same people you grew up with," Sam said to me.
"Because everyone probably already knows about what happened to me and Kaleb. They'll be asking me things and I'm scared that I might lose control. And Luke's going to be there, you know he has been ignoring me, but what if he decides to approach me. Also, I haven't seen Kaleb as a human since we changed. What if I see him and remember why I wanted to kill him in the first place and attack him. What if…" I didn't finish my rant because Emily and Sam started to laugh really loud. "Why are you laughing? I'm being serious." I was getting mad. Here I was telling them about my worries, and all they could do was laugh.
Sam must have noticed my anger because he stopped laughing abruptly. "There's nothing to worry about, Ami. Everyone knows you're still unstable. And we'll talk to Luke and Kaleb if it's necessary, so they'll leave you alone. You are going to enjoy it; the guys are probably going to pull you and Kaleb apart from the whole group to tell you stories of when we were wolves. You're going to see everyone in a whole different way." He and Emily stood up and started to head to the kitchen. I continued to eat my Doritos lost in thoughts.
"Oh, I almost forgot, Jared called this morning. He's been watching Thomas lately and he's worried that he might change soon." Thomas was Jared's kid; he was only fourteen years old. God he's just a kid, I thought to myself. "Have you picked up a new scent lately?"
"No, just the faint one of last week. He must have started to change because of the ones we did. Or do you think it is something else that is endangering the Rez?" I said, worry rising within me.
Sam was looking preoccupied. "I don't know. Maybe these vampires were not nomads at all and are still lurking near the Rez. Maybe not as near the borderline, but they could be staying somewhere in Forks. I'll contact the Chief of Police in Forks and find out if people are missing. Vampires need to feed." He was scratching his head, a gesture he did when he was worried.
"Okay, tonight I'll tell Kaleb to expand the patrol a little outside the borderline. See if we can catch a scent. If we catch something, we'll follow it." Even though I knew there was no turning back for Thomas, I wanted to find the source of our change and get rid of it.
"I don't know, Ami, it's not safe for the two of you to go outside the borderline. What if there are a lot of them?" Had he already forgotten what it was like to know that there were leeches nearby? We couldn't let the tribe be put at risk; it was our duty to protect the people.
"Sam, I'm the Alpha, you have to forget me as the little girl you saw growing up. It's my responsibility to protect this tribe; I'm willing to take the risk."
Sam was going to continue to argue, but I suddenly felt a strong shimmer.
Someone phased.
Someone new.
"Hold that thought…I think Thomas just phased." I ran to the backyard, entered the woods, got undressed, and let the burning take over.
What is going on, what happened?
I could see through him that he was in the forest near the beach.
Thomas? I wanted to make sure it was him. At that moment, I felt Kaleb phase.
Hey what was that, who phased? Kaleb asked. I could feel his irritation. Probably got interrupted or something.
It's Thomas, I thought.
Why am I hearing voices in my head? Who are you and why do you know my name? He was freaking out. Kaleb and I started to head to where he was.
Thomas, it's me Amelia, just stay where you are and I'll explain everything. Kaleb, why don't you phase back, I can explain things on my own.
I didn't want to be near him.
What? I don't want to phase back, I want to explain things to Tommy. I know him better than you.
I could feel Thomas getting impatient. He didn't know what was going on, but at least he stood still and waited.
Why do you have to be such a bitch? Kaleb asked.
Kaleb, I don't want you near me, I'm the Alpha phase out NOW! I commanded him with my Alpha voice.
I realized, at that moment, that using my power wasn't as pleasant as I thought it would be. I didn't like to take people's choices away; I knew I wouldn't like it if it was done to me. But at that moment, if Kaleb got near me, I was going to attack him. I felt him phase out immediately.
Wow I knew the two of you didn't like each other, but never imagined it was this intense, Thomas was thinking. That made me laugh, because even though he still didn't know what was happening, he was calm, waiting for me.
I'm impressed, you're taking this better than Kaleb and I did, I thought to him when I arrived to where he was. He was a light brown wolf, smaller than Kaleb. Me, being the Alpha, was still the biggest, of course only in my wolf form and for a short time. I noticed Kaleb growing more; maybe he'd be bigger than me one day. When Thomas saw me, he took a few steps back.
What the…? He was scared, but wasn't running because he was realizing he wasn't in his normal human body. He was probably seeing himself through my eyes.
Welcome to the pack, Thomas. I immediately explained to him about the legends being real and the fact that we were giant wolves that protected the tribe from vampires and other bad influences. When I told him that vampires were real and our natural enemy, he became excited and I could feel in his emotion that he couldn't wait to sink his teeth into some cold flesh. I was astounded as to how good he took everything. He was actually excited that he was a shape shifter. Well, what could you expect from a fourteen year old teenager?
When I told him about the members of the previous pack, he let out a huge bark, which I took as a laugh.
Are you telling me that my dad was like this? He knows what happened to me tonight, doesn't he? I could see in his thoughts how he always explained his changes and growth spurts to having a dad who was very big.
Yeah I was with Sam when I felt you phase. He was telling me that your dad called him to say that you were changing. Sam must have informed Jared after I left, I thought to him.
Great, now I don't have to explain to him and Mom what happened to me. You know, I phased because I was arguing with them. They didn't want me to go to a friend's house, but didn't say why. So I got really angry and I almost hit Dad. I ran from the house and ended up here, like this. Wait, Mom knows, right? He was talking with so much excitement that I couldn't help feeling happy. He was a very happy kid. At least he was going to be good in keeping me relaxed so I wouldn't try to rip Kaleb's head off. I could see myself enjoying patrols with him.
Of course she also knows. And you can't tell anyone about this. You have to keep the secret for your safety and theirs. You also can't be around your friends until you're in complete control. But knowing you, it won't take that long.
The night arrived and I continued to explain everything to Thomas. I talked about what we did in patrols and about our suspicions that vampires were nearby.
My plans to patrol beyond the borderline where postponed as I didn't want to rush Thomas into things, even though he wanted to get into a fight immediately. He wanted to test his new abilities. I also explained to him about imprinting, so he wouldn't freak out if he imprinted on someone. In response, he said he was nauseous. He didn't want to fall in love so young. When we finished talking we went for a run so he could get accustomed to where we did patrols.
So, you really hate Kaleb. How are you handling having to work with him and having him in your head? We were still running the perimeter. He must have felt my change in mood from happiness to anger, because he stopped abruptly. I couldn't help it; lots of images ran through my mind. Images of what Kaleb did to Catlyn, of how he treated girls. Also, the images I saw in his head, scenes of his numerous adventures, and how he planned to get a girl in his trap.
Thomas shuddered at this. Wow, never would I have imagined him being like that. You know he acts completely different when he goes with Paul and Rachel to my house. He's nice to me, well, I'm not a girl who'd he be interested in. He let out a loud laugh, and I had to laugh, too.
Well maybe he is, deep down inside. You know, we've been like this for like a week and I've noticed that he hides a lot of his emotions. I bet he treats people like this so they don't see his true self. I didn't want to talk about him, so I quickened the pace. I wanted to finish the patrol and get to my bed and sleep. I was exhausted; being a werewolf took a lot of energy from you.
We were laughing about a joke Thomas made, and were almost done with patrol, when we caught a strong vampire scent. My nose was burning and the hairs on my back were standing on end. Thomas started to whine. It was the first time he had smelled a vampire. The trail was fresh, I'd bet the leech passed through here minutes ago or it was still near.
Thomas stop the whining, if they are still near, they'll hear us. He stopped but started to fidget, putting his nose on the ground and trying to cover the smell.
Ugh, they smell horrible. My nose, its killing me.
We have to follow the scent, it's very fresh. We can't let this opportunity slip our hands. I inclined my head back and let out a very loud howl. A minute passed and nothing happened. I let out another howl. This time, in less than a minute, I felt Kaleb phase.
Am I allowed to be in my wolf form now? I could feel the sarcasm in him. If he would have been in front of me, I would have taken a bite of him.
I controlled my anger; there was a more important matter at hand. We caught a fresh leech scent; we're going to follow it now. Hurry up and get your furry ass here. And next time, when you hear one of our howls, I want you to phase immediately. It could have been an emergency. I didn't have time for his smart remarks. We were losing time and I wanted to sink my teeth into those bloodsuckers. Oh, and if you don't like the way I do things, you can take the position of Alpha anytime. I didn't like the idea, but the position truly belonged to him.
I told you already, I don't want to be Alpha. I don't feel it in me to be in charge. It takes a lot of responsibility and I have better things to do to make me feel in power. He started to think about things he'd done with Cat, which brought out a growl from the depths of my stomach. That was it, I didn't care if he was in the pack, I was going to murder him. He was still talking, but I couldn't concentrate on what he was saying. Besides you're a natural in being a bossy bitch. I was still growling and in attack position.
Damn, man, do you have to be so mean and an asshole, Thomas thought, he was getting impatient. Why don't the two of you leave your differences behind? We have to catch these vamps. It was incredible that the youngest was acting more mature. That brought me back a little, even though I still wanted to kill Kaleb, I could do it after we found the leeches.
Sorry you have to see my dark side like this. I only talk like this to people who don't deserve my respect, Kaleb told Thomas. He was also thinking of other ways to make my life more miserable.
I don't care what you think of me. All I care about right now is catching these bloodsuckers, that's our job. So hurry up. In less than two minutes he halted in front of me. His mind wasn't even on the task we were about to do. He thought this was a joke.
Damn these leeches do stink. So, Tommy boy, I see you're taking this wolf news better than me. Kaleb's voice was mocking.
Let's leave the light talk for later, get your head on the job ahead. That is, find the leeches and kill them. Got that? I was losing my patience again. Kaleb approached me and started to growl, baring his teeth at me. If he was trying to intimidate me, it wasn't working. I got really close to his face. I was also growling. Use that anger against the bloodsuckers, not me.
After that, he backed away and got his head on our task and we started to follow the scent. It wasn't a nice experience. After a while of following the smell, our noses were burning really badly. After what seemed like a half an hour of running really fast, the smell became more intense. We had to restrain ourselves not to growl or howl, we needed to be inconspicuous. We ran a little more and stopped when we heard voices.
"I'm telling you, there are werewolves or something near the town. I was on my way back, when I smelled their foul scent. It was all over the place." One of them was saying.
Our smell is bad? They definitely have their noses in the wrong position, because compared to them, we smell like roses, Thomas was thinking.
Shhh, pay attention, I quietly we got closer to the voices. We stayed hidden in the bushes. Up ahead, we could see a clearing with a small cottage. There were two vampires, a male and a female. The male was the one talking.
Probably mates, Dad told me how vamps travel alone or in couples, Kaleb was thinking. Thomas couldn't stand still, he was too excited. We continued to concentrate hard on their conversation because the vamps were talking really fast.
"Damn, Liam, they could follow your scent here. You should have stayed away for a while so the trail wouldn't lead them here," the female was saying with a high pitched voice. She had long black hair that reached her waist. The male was skinny with wavy, short brown hair. Their eyes were crimson red.
Probably fed today.
"Don't worry, we can move, you know. Leave this state. I don't think they'll follow us that far," The male said with frustration in his voice. The female looked mad. With a very swift movement, she grabbed him by the neck and started to talk in his ear. We had to concentrate harder to hear what she was saying.
"I don't want to continue moving. We finally found a place where we can establish ourselves. I'm tired of roaming around and have nothing that belongs to us. I'm not moving from this place, we can always go to the nearest town and hunt. Nobody is going to know what is killing their people. You are the one who has the dog problem, so you fix it." She was looking murderous. Obviously, she had the control.
"Natasha, what do you want me to do, go over there and confront them? If there's more than one, I could become their chew toy. Maybe they won't catch my scent, I didn't enter their land." With that, she released him. He started to caress her face, trying to calm her. "Everything is going to be okay, we'll be able to establish ourselves here. And maybe the others will come, too, and stay with us." She leaned forward and started to kiss him.
Ugh, vampire love is so disgusting. Can we attack them now? I don't want my vision to get more tainted and have nightmares, Thomas asked me, he was very impatient.
I don't know. Didn't you hear what the male said, there are others. What if we kill these two and the others want revenge. Part of me wanted to kill them, but my rational part was conflicted. If others came to seek for revenge, the tribe would be at risk and other kids will change. But if we let these two live, they'd be hunting around. What if they got in the Rez and killed one of our people. I wasn't going to let that happened.
The guys were tuned to my thoughts so they knew I'd made my decision.
It's the right thing; we need to get rid of the present problem. And that is killing these two vampires; we can take them out easily, Kaleb thought, he obviously wanted to take out his anger on killing some leeches. I was feeling the same.
Yeah, for the first time we all agree, we have to get rid of them and fast before they get our scent or see us here. I thought.
Thomas was literally jumping up and down. This was his first day as a wolf and he would get to sink his teeth into a vamp. He was sure he could deal with a full grown vampire; his confidence was rubbing on all of us.
Okay, Thomas, Kaleb, go to the other side of the clearing. We need to surround them so they can't run. I didn't want Thomas to be alone. Even though I felt that they didn't agree with my decision, they left immediately, staying in the shadows of the woods so they wouldn't be seen. Thank God there was no breeze there. They made it to the other side and got into their attack position, as did I. The two of you take the female; I'll deal with the male.
No way, they both thought at the same time.
Don't try to be the hero. We'll take the male you deal with the female, Kaleb thought to me. I wasn't in the mood to argue, I wanted to finish this fast.
Alright, on the count of three attack. Remember try to bite the head off and dismember them fast. They can reassemble themselves. I crouched and focused on the female. They were still in the middle of the clearing embracing each other. One, Two… At that moment, they let go of each other and started to head to the cottage.
…Three
I ran as fast as I could, and before they realized what was pursuing them, they got the female on the neck and bit really hard. The guys got to the male and were circling him. Don't play with him, end this fast. I thought to them. The female tried to grab me, but I flipped her and ripped a chunk of her neck. Ugh, that tastes bad.
She shrieked at me and blood was gushing down her neck to her whole body. Before she could recuperate, I went again for the neck, but this time, she reacted fast and grabbed me by my upper body. I bit into her neck, but before I could pull, she squeezed hard. I felt one of my bones snap, but I didn't let go of her neck. Bitch, she broke my clavicle. I wanted to howl so badly but couldn't unless I let her go.
All of a sudden Kaleb grabbed her and yanked her off me. I crumpled to the ground and let out a deep loud howl. Before me, Kaleb ripped her head off while Thomas took care of the limbs. They had already taken apart the male, which was a pile of pieces. I tried to stand up but my upper body quivered out of control, and I ended up again on the floor. The guys must have been feeling my pain, because every time I moved, they flinched and whined. I needed to rest for a while so the injury could heal a little bit and we could get back.
We have to get back fast and burn the pieces before they get together, I thought.
Thomas approached me and nudged me in the side very lightly. Yeah, are you okay? Can you move? He was so concerned, but at the same time, the feelings of excitement were pouring out. He was thrilled he killed some vamps.
I'm fine, it's already healing. Start grabbing as many pieces as you can in your mouth. Leave some pieces for me; I need to rest for a while. The guys started to pick up some of the big pieces. After a while, I could, at least, stand, even though I was still in pain. I picked up the pieces left for me. Let's run back fast, the pieces might start to reassemble themselves. They both assented and started to put the pieces in their mouths. The taste was disgusting and the smell wasn't better. I noticed that Kaleb was extremely quiet, he was thinking of stupid things like the color of the trees, or how clearly he could see the colors of the flower. What was wrong with this guy? What was he hiding?
Hey, thanks. You know for helping me with the leech, I told him while we started to walk out of the clearing.
No problem. His voice sounded like his mind, far away. All of the sudden, his tone changed and his mind focused. Don't expect me to save your behind all the time, got that? He was definitely hiding something behind his rotten attitude. Thomas also noticed it.
Don't worry, I won't need your help again. I prefer to get hurt instead of receiving your help. I immediately regretted saying thank you.
Are we ready to head back; the smell is making me nauseous, Thomas interrupted our little quarrel. Our way back was slower as I still couldn't move too fast and we were carrying a lot of pieces.
When we got to the Rez, we got near Sam's house. Kaleb dropped the pieces and left, saying that he had things to do that were more important than burning leeches. After a while, we felt him phase. I started to walk behind a tree. My clavicle didn't hurt that much but it had healed in an odd way.
Where are you going? Thomas asked me. He started to follow me.
Stay there I'm hiding behind a tree so I can phase back and go to the house to get some matches. I'm not phasing in front of you. You don't have the privilege to see me naked. I was laughing because when I said naked he accidentally tried to imagine it. He immediately regretted it.
Oh, right sorry about that. I could feel his embarrassment. I better phase back too.
No you can't, I thought really fast. I was laughing and he didn't understand why. I phased and got dressed in some shorts and a sports bra. I didn't like to carry a lot of clothes. The guys were so lucky; they only had to carry some pants.
Thomas was looking at me with questions in his eyes. I approached him and said, "Well you can phase if you don't mind being naked in front of me. But let me tell you, your little butt might make me laugh more." He let out a loud bark and I could have sworn he was grinning. "Shhh, if you haven't noticed, everyone is still sleeping, it must be like two in the morning. Stay here, I'll go get the matches and some pants for you." I left still laughing.
Inside the house, everything was dark, thank god for my super sight. I went into the kitchen and found a lighter in one the cabinets. I didn't know where I was going to find some pants for Thomas. He didn't fit in mine. At that moment, I felt movement upstairs.
Please don't let it be Luke; I don't want to see him right now.
But the noise was made by Sam. When he saw me, he jumped a little bit. I had to stifle a laugh. I asked for some pants and he, without question, gave me one of his.
When I went outside, Thomas was sitting in front of the pieces, watching them intently. Probably making sure they didn't get together. I gave him the pants and he left to phase. When he got back, I had already set fire to the pile of pieces. Sam joined us with amusement in his eyes.
"So how many were there?" Sam asked. The smell was very strong so I motioned for us to get back a little.
"Two, a female and a male. They were nomads who wanted to establish a permanent residence like twenty miles from here." I said. Sam just nodded and seemed lost in thoughts. "We might have to make more patrols; they were saying that they were expecting more to come."
"Yeah that's the best you can do. I'm proud that the three of you worked as a team and got rid of these leeches without a scratch." He was examining Thomas, probably checking that he had every piece of his body.
"Oh my God, Ami, I need to get back and tell Dad to come and check your shoulder. Did it heal already?" Thomas asked me.
I noticed Sam's confused face. "The female broke my clavicle. But it's already healed in a bad way, but it doesn't hurt anymore," I said. They were both looking at me with amusement in their eyes.
"Thomas, go and tell Jared to come immediately," Sam said. Thomas left in a hurry. "Don't act so tough. Next time tell me fast that you're injured. Now Jared will have to re-break the bone to put it in place."
I flinched.
Jared arrived a few minutes later. The fire was already out, and all that was left were the ashes. We were sitting in the living room. Emily got up and was standing in front of me with fear in her eyes. Sam told me that, once, Jacob broke a lot of bones and they had to be re-broken to be put in place.
After Jared examined me, he got a syringe that had a strong dose of morphine and injected it in my arm. He told me it was going to make me sleep for at least an hour so I wouldn't feel the pain when he would break my clavicle. He also told me that if I woke up, not to move until he saw me again.
Really fast, after he injected me with the morphine, I blacked out completely.
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