AN: Sorry about having a filler in last chapter. Just felt like I needed to space the action out a little bit. This one's got more activity. Hope you enjoy it, and as always, I hope that you'll review if you feel inclined.
Reviews:
Hank's Lady: Glad you enjoyed it. Decided to be nice, even if it's not in the form of loving. And I like making my main characters support each other. Not that everyone's quite so cooperative, as you'll soon see ;)
TurnItUp03: Thanks for the support. I know fillers aren't the greatest, but I needed one. This one is a little bit more substantial.
oh2byoung: The adventures will begin again. This chapter has some action in it, as well as some (hopefully) interesting developments.
chacra: Won't say how things are going to play out, but there will be a change over the next couple of chapters. Hope that you continue to enjoy it!
Things quieted down for the next couple of months. We started school again, and I shared several classes with Quil and Jake. Nothing really changed between us, but the cloud of pain in Jake's eyes never dissipated. He was still so hung up on Bella, and I didn't think that it would change. My only hope was that once she got turned, he'd finally realize that there was no hope. That's right, I had sunk to the new low of looking forward to when someone became a vampire. I was pathetic. For now, however, all I could do is be there to try and cheer him up when he really needed it.
The pups took full advantage of knowing us. We naturally spent time around Seth, who was basically Jake's little brother, but Collin & Brady normally joined us at lunch as well. We all knew that they were using the fact that they hung out with us as a springboard for their social life, but who were we to crush their happiness? Knowing seniors while being a freshman did wonders for their reputations around the school, and they normally were surrounded by "friends" wanting to leech just a little bit of their popularity. If that's what they wanted out of high school, then they deserved it. They had earned it through their extracurriculars, having done quite well throughout the summer.
Things in the pack were pretty calm too. Sure, we had the occasional rogue vampire to kill, but there didn't seem to be anything major happening. Nobody new had phased since Collin & Brady, so it seemed like things were calming down. Paul, Jared, and Sam worked during the day while Leah was taking classes at the community college. The rest of us were in school during the week, so there wasn't much that we could do about the need for daytime patrols. We tried to keep a patrol for most hours, but with things so quiet, we weren't as worried about holes in the schedule.
Things changed in early October. I caught scent of something strange. It was strong, but not the sickeningly sweet smell of a leech. I couldn't track it down to anything, and figured that I'd let it be. It was a couple of days later when Sam got hit. He was attacked by a small coven, maybe 4 vampires, and although he killed them all with Jared's help, he was still banged up. They had broken his arm and a couple of ribs, but he'd be fine. He was going to have to take a few days off, but we'd be able to cover for him under normal circumstances. Things were far from normal though. Later that day, we finally tracked down the strange scent. I stumbled upon a makeshift camp, and in it stood two men that were built just like us. Shifters. We had never had any other shifters on our land, so it made sense that we didn't recognize the scent.
They seemed to be alert to my presence, so I let Quil know where I was before phasing to see what was going on. I pulled on my shorts and walked out of the brush, their eyes following me as I approached.
"What brings you two out here? The woods are dangerous to just be camping out here like this." I said, playing ignorant for the time being.
"Cut the crap" the older one stated, stepping in front of smaller one. "You know that we have no trouble protecting ourselves out here." He snarled.
"Fine then, since we're both shifters, why are you on our land? This is Quileute pack territory, and we're not used to visitors." I replied, trying to remain civil. I heard Quil approaching from about a hundred feet away, and I felt confident that we would be alright if things took a turn for the worst. This guy seemed extremely hostile, and I couldn't help but be worried.
"I'll answer only to your Alpha. I demand that you take me to see him so that we can discuss things." He insisted.
This worked out for me. I knew that Sam would want to see what these intruders were doing here, so I simply nodded and walked off to phase. They followed me to Sam's house, and I alerted the pack with a summoning howl. Quil and I were slowly joined by the rest of the pack as we approached Sam's, and our Alpha stood on the porch, arm and chest wrapped tightly. We phased back and escorted our "guests" to him.
"What are you doing on our land? You carry the scent of an Alpha, but I only sense one other shifter. An Alpha rarely travels without their pack." He interrogated.
"Jumping straight to business, I see" the outsider joked. "I am here to challenge your role as Alpha" He said with authority. We all gasped.
"What gives you the right to think – " Sam began.
"Under shifter law, an Alpha has the ability to challenge another one for their pack's loyalty if they feel that they're handling the responsibility poorly. You have taken on other duties, leaving your reservation open for attack throughout large periods of the day. You are not fit to be the Alpha of this pack." He stated simply. Who did this guy think he was?
"I recognize your claim, and accept your challenge, if everything is in order. You must know that an Alpha has to risk his own pack for such a challenge. If you are not willing to do so, your request isn't applicable." Sam challenged. I never knew how much the Alpha position entailed other than running the pack. More importantly, was he really going to try to fight in this condition?
"Valid point. To answer your question, I am a rogue, and my pack consists of my brother. I had been the first of my pack to phase, but the true Alpha challenged me for the position and won. I intend to win your pack and go to war with them. They seem quite capable of a good fight from what we've surveyed for the past few days. And it looks like my little setup with that coven has you ripe for the picking. I have little doubt that I'll have your pack fighting for me after this - whether they like it or not - and you knowing what's in for them after you fail makes it even more amusing." He concluded with a smirk.
"Sam…you can't do this! We're not bargaining chips! Not to mention, he set you up to be injured first! You need to heal before you fight anyone!" I shouted. He hung his head sadly. "I don't have a choice. The laws were put in to make sure that Alphas were doing everything for their tribe. Even though his reason for wanting the pack is wrong, his opposition to my being Alpha is valid, so I have to accept, and the challenge is immediate."
He had to be kidding. There was no way that Sam could fight right now. We were going to lose our leader and have to follow this monster to war. Shit!
"Good, glad that you understand the stakes. One of us will be Alpha, and the other one will be…well, dead." He said nonchalantly. "I expect all of you to be loyal, and be ready to leave immediately."
"Not so fast" a powerful voice spoke from behind Sam. I turned my eyes to see Jake, burning with an intensity that I hadn't seen before. "Your challenge to the pack is immediate, but it will not be Sam that you'll face" my imprint said, anger burning through his words.
"What are you talking about? I challenged the Alpha, not some lackey." He sneered.
"I am the true Alpha of this pack. And today, I accept my position and take over the pack, relieving Sam of his responsibilities." He finished.
Sam looked at Jake with shock in his eyes as he recognized what Jake had just done. That's when it hit me. Jake was taking up the mantle from Sam, not out of questioning his leadership and wanting to usurp our leader, but to protect him and the pack. We all knew that Sam wouldn't be able to defeat this rogue in his current state, and Jake wasn't going to allow him to try. There was a chance that we weren't going to be this creature's pawns!
That was the positive of the situation, but the negative struck me as well. We knew nothing about how strong this guy was. We didn't know how he fought or what tricks he might have up his sleeve. And the most important part was: my Jake was now in a fight to the death with him. I couldn't live if something happened, but I was bound by the laws of the Alphas to not interfere. I could only watch and hope.
The rogue looked angry, but nodded his understanding of the situation. "Shall we then? One on one, to the death. There is no other way for this to end." Jake nodded and stepped off the porch.
The rogue phased in the yard. Discretion wasn't a factor, this was a fight to the death. He was a silver wolf with dark tips. Larger than most of us, but not by much. Jake definitely would have a power advantage. Jake phased into his beautiful russet wolf and the fight began. The two charged at each other, narrowly avoiding each other's teeth. They went at it again, but I saw the agility that the other wolf possessed. He quickly evaded Jake's attack and proceeded to drag his paw through the dirt, slinging it into Jake's eye. Should have expected that he'd be a dirty fighter. While Jake couldn't see, the wolf latched onto his hind leg, sinking his teeth in quickly, trying to incapacitate our new Alpha. My heart cried out as Jake howled, quickly wrenching his leg out from the jaw of the silver wolf and shaking the dirt out of his eyes. He wasn't too wounded, and when the rogue charged again, Jake caught him with his head, sending him spiraling into a nearby tree. The sound of cracking ribs resonated throughout the clearing, but the wolf stood back up and returned to the offensive.
Jake was able to defend against most of the attacks, but got several slashes across his body. It hit me that Jake was inexperienced at how to fight another wolf. Obviously we had sparred at times and even had the occasional tussle, but we didn't intend to fight each other in any real capacity. This rogue had been in at least one other fight with an Alpha, and even if he had lost, he still knew how other wolves fought.
Finally, something within Jake snapped and he decided to go on the offensive. He landed several cuts before finally slamming the other wolf into the ground. The rogue attempted to latch onto Jake's shoulder, but with a final maneuver, Jake sunk his teeth into his opponent's neck. As the coppery fluid flowed into his mouth, he stepped away and the rogue phased back. His brother ran to him, crying over the lifeless body. Jake phased back, looking extremely upset. He got congratulations from a few people, but he didn't seem happy. I pulled him into the house and wrapped my arms around him as I felt the tears fall onto my shoulder.
"I killed another person Em!" He balled. "I took a life. It's not like killing a vampire. They're already dead. This person had blood, a heartbeat, a soul! What have I done!" He cried out.
I pulled him tighter and started consoling him. "You did exactly what you needed to Jake. You saved Sam's life. Hell, you probably saved all of our lives. You prevented war with another pack and defended your homeland. I know it's not the normal threat that we face, but you did what an Alpha should: protect the pack and everyone else."
He looked up at me, gaining control of his emotions. "You really are the smartest among us." He said, pulling me against him again. "Thanks Em. It still really hurts to think about what I did, but you really make me feel a lot better about it. I really hate that I had to do it, but I couldn't let anything happen to any of you." He pulled away and smiled, and we walked back outside.
"What do we do with the pup?" Sam asked, looking at Jake.
"I say we do exactly what Jake did to his brother." Paul grunted.
"I'm not like him!" the boy cried out. "I followed him because he was my brother, but I never wanted him to go this far. He was so full of vengeance after losing his power that he couldn't think of anything but going after them. As much as I loved him, I'm glad that he didn't drag you guys into a war that you didn't deserve." He finished. The frightened boy scanned the faces of the pack, hoping to find some sign of understanding. That's when I saw his eyes lock on to something and I followed his vision. He and Seth were staring into each other's eyes, and I could read what was happening. Looks like we have ourselves another imprint in the pack. Doesn't look like anyone else noticed what was going on, and some still seemed interested in at least getting rid of the kid.
Paul took a step toward him, but Seth and I got in the way. "What are you doing?" our resident hothead demanded. Seth turned away and walked over to the kid, kneeling by him and trying to comfort him. "If you guys haven't noticed, Seth has become attached to him. You can't hurt another's imprint, and you can't banish him without losing Seth too." I stated firmly. I was happy for Seth, hoping that he'd be happier about who he was now that he had his imprint. If, of course, Jake acted like I expected he would.
"That's impossible. Imprints are for finding a mate to pass on the wolf genes with. It's not for a couple of fags to hook up. That's just unnatural. Almost as bad as being a damned leech" Paul snarled.
I felt the tears well up in my eyes. The words hurt, even if it wasn't anything that I hadn't imagined hearing directed at me if they ever found out. Before I could say anything, Jake stepped forward and laid Paul out. "Get out of here, and don't ever talk about anyone in the pack like that again" Jake ordered. Paul scampered away, and I felt Jake walk over to console me. "It's alright Em. He's just an idiot. There's nothing wrong with who you choose to love." He finished. I nodded, finally turning to the new wolf with Jake.
"What's your name?" Jake asked him.
"J-J-Jackson" the frightened kid sputtered. Seth tried to shield him from his idol, his eyes pleading that Jake wasn't going to go berserk.
"Well Jackson, do you have any interest in joining our pack? I have no intention of harming you, especially since you're so important to Seth. I understand why you followed your blood, by I hope that you understand that I had to protect my pack." Jake directed at the boy. Seth let out a sigh of relief.
"Yes, that would be nice, thanks. I did love him, but I can't stand behind his actions. He never deserved to be an Alpha. You, however, seem to treat the role with the respect it deserves" Jackson said quietly, no longer fearing that we were about to attack him.
"All right, Seth, get him out of here and take care of him. I've got some things to discuss with the council and Sam." Jake concluded.
At that, we all broke off, Jake and Sam having called Sue and Old Quil to meet up at his house. I wondered if Jake was going to maintain the Alpha position, but knew that they'd figure out what was best for the tribe. I didn't worry myself about it, happy that we had gotten through another obstacle without being harmed. If nothing else, Jake's support of Seth's imprint gave me hope that he wouldn't reject me if he ever found out.
I like to think that the idea behind this chapter was somewhat original, but feel free to call me out if I'm wrong. I hope you at least found it interesting and worth reading. Once again, reviews are appreciated.
