New Wolf

Jacob's POV

It all belongs to SM.

Let's start the NEw YEar off right:)

Enojy

"I don't understand what the fuck we have to have these company meetings for. Its not like anyone pays attention." Embry said as we walked into the hanger.

"People better be paying attention. These things are serious." I said as we went into the elevator. The employees usually started coming in around eight-thirty so that gave Embry and I an hour to talk before our day began.

"Yeah yeah. Alls I'm saying is that I still don't understand why I have to be there."

"You work here don't you?" I asked.

"Whatever."

It was weird to have my best friend living with me at first, but I quickly got used to it after the first couple of days. I didn't even realize he was having such a hard time at home, but when his mom kicked him out, I suddenly realized how difficult it was to be a wolf. The Cullens took him in without a single question and he quickly learned the ropes. He took to Vermont a lot easier than I had and didn't have anywhere the near the type of reaction I did when I first moved in with the Cullens. They got him a car and I gave him a job at the garage so that he wasn't sitting at home all day.

It was the middle of November and the garage was quickly becoming a success. I didn't know how I did it, but I did. Every day was more taxing than the last and more cars came in every hour. I was overbooked from the time I opened to the time I closed the garage. I guess I should have been lucky that I was able to sustain my business, but I saw how my absence affected my relationship with Nessie. That's why I decided to close the place early on Wednesdays. I couldn't take seeing her propped against the headboard while she waited up for me to come home. I felt bad for not being there for her but she never complained.

After the first week, the whole Andy situation blew over pretty quickly. I was glad that Nessie wasn't mad at me for nearly killing him but even if she was, I wouldn't feel guilty about it because he deserved worse. As Rose and I ran back to Andy's house Halloween night, I couldn't help but question what she was going to do, but I didn't say anything. She told me the plan and I was more than happy to help. We climbed through his third floor window with ease. He was asleep on the bed and I didn't even think he felt us carry him back outside and into the forest.

It felt good to beat the fucking shit out of that bastard and I didn't fell bad at all as I dropped his ass on his doorstep. I didn't know he had gotten in the car in his state, but when I saw the TV report, I kinda felt happy that he had wrapped himself around a tree. Of course the fucker didn't die and was making a full recovery. Damn it. I guess I should have felt worse that I did something so horrible to a human, but he brought it upon himself. Not only had she told him no on several occasions, but Nessie made it a point to tell Andy about me and yet he still pursued her. He went further than pursued and I couldn't help myself as I was beating the crap out of his face.

"Jacob pay attention." Embry shouted from across my desk. I was sitting in my giant chair and Embry was getting ready for the garage's weekly Monday morning meetings. He was right behind CJ on the management list and was a major asset to the garage. It's really weird to see Embry in a professional role but he was excelling in everything I assigned him.

"What are you talking about now?" I asked.

"I'm going over the schedule, but you're not paying attention as usual." Embry said.

"Ok go." I said and leaned back in my chair.

"So we have this new fleet of cars coming in, don't ask me where they came from but there coming and they're owned by some businessman in Boston. He wants us to restore them so we'll be spending a lot of time on those and when CJ gets here, we need to talk about getting Mr. McAlister's SUV out of the detail area. I need that for the Mercedes I'm doing today."

Speak of the devil.

There was a knock at the door and Embry went to open it. CJ walked in and immediately pulled out his thick journal after sitting in his normal chair. It was a common thing for Embry, CJ and I to sit in my office for an hour in the morning to make sure we knew the schedules for the day.

"Hey boss." He said.

"I can't believe you get here so early." Embry chuckled.

"You're here earlier than me." CJ said.

"That's because I live with the boss. Got to make a good impression so I can get a raise." Embry said.

"Who say's you get a raise first?"

"Its common knowledge around here that I work the most."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah really. Tell him Jake."

I just shook my head and took a sip of my coffee. Embry and CJ got along better than I could have imagined, but hated to show it. They were like brothers and always picked on each other for stupid things. I had to act like the parent in all of their stupid situations and had to diffuse several playful scuffles that got out of hand. Even though they were both exhausting to deal with, they worked like a well-oiled machine and were part of the reason I was so successful. They left no stone unturned and every issue was dealt with in the blink of an eye. I was hesitant about hiring Embry at first because I only knew him as a joker and didn't know if he could be professional but that was all laid to rest within the first week. I quickly realized that he was just as much of a worker as CJ or I.

We continued to talk for another hour before we went down to main area for the meeting we had to start off the week. They weren't anything formal, but I used them to lay out the schedule and make sure that everyone was doing what they were supposed to be. It felt really weird to be the boss of people who were just as old as I was or in some cases, older, but I found it knida funny. Never in a million years did I think that I would be the boss of fifteen employees and having a successful business.

We began the day as normal as usual and took on all the challenges that came our way. The most memorable part of the day was when one of my mechanics who we liked to call Johnny Bananas, tried to fix an engine by himself and ruined it. He felt really bad and offered to pay for it but I wasn't going to make him do that. I just paid for it myself and didn't make a big deal about it. Embry thought I should fire the guy but there was no way I could do that. As the day progressed, I got more and more restless without Nessie but pushed the feelings back because this happened everyday. I pulled out my phone around lunchtime and texted Nessie non-stop for the rest of the day.

At three, I was literally pacing the floor of my office because Nessie said she would come by today. She didn't come over often because I was so busy, but I asked her to today so that I could spend some time with her before I had a huge group of cars come in later in the afternoon.

I sniffed the air and smiled when I smelled her strawberry scent wafting down the hallway. Two seconds later, my office door opened and I saw her for the first time since last night.

My jaw hit the floor as I took in her staggering beauty.

I swear she gets more gorgeous by every second. Today she was in a pair of dark jeans with a pink sweater and all of it was way too tight on her body, but I loved it. She wore some pink, leather, Louboutin pumps and her hair was falling down over her shoulders. Before she could say anything, I swept her up in my arms and crushed my lips to hers.

I laid her down gently on the leather sofa without breaking the kiss and didn't even lift my head for the next five minutes. My mind was swimming in a pleasurable sea and I could hear her moans get louder with each flick of my tongue.

"Jacob." She panted when I gave her a second to breathe.

"What?" I breathed against her neck.

"We aren't doing this now."

"Why not?"

"Because we're not having a quickie on you're sofa."

"Please?" I asked with a small laugh.

"Can't we just talk? I haven't seen you days."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?" I tried again.

"Yes. Now get off of me." She giggled.

I huffed and begrudgingly sat up but pulled her legs to rest across my lap.

"You didn't even ask me how my day was." She said and laid back on the arm of the sofa.

"How was your day?" I chuckled.

"Better now. How about you?"

"Ok. Johnny broke an engine this morning."

"I always knew he would be the first one. He tripped over the desk last week and chipped a tooth. That poor boy."

"I think he gets nervous around me."

"Everyone is, except me. I know the truth under the beast." She laughed.

"Care to share?"

"That's my own little inside joke. What else happened today?"

"Ummm…Embry and Andrea flirted like school kids again." I sighed, "Can't you just push him into asking her out? This is getting annoying."

"No sir, we have to let him do it on his own. Do you remember when we used to be like that?" She asked.

"The worst time of my life. There were so many emotions running through me, I didn't know what to do?" I chuckled.

"Yeah…you nearly killed me." She sighed.

"But it's all better now." I smiled and pulled her back for a short, sweet kiss.

We talked for the next few minutes and just caught up. It was strange to feel like I was out of the loop when it came to Nessie's life because I had always been there since the time she was born. Now, I rarely ever saw her when she was awake. I couldn't keep doing this. I had to be apart of her life and this type of schedule wasn't working. I committed myself to being there more after the new year started.

Ring Ring Ring

"Don't get that." Nessie sighed.

"I've got to babe. It might be important."

"Whoever it is can call later." She said.

"Sorry babe." I said and picked up, "Hello?"

Hey Jake. You've and Embry got to come home.

"Why? We're coming for Thanksgiving and that's in like a week. Did someone die or something?"

No. Zack phased. He's so scared right now, he won't go human again.

Shit.

"Ok Seth. We'll get the next flight out. Keep him safe." I said and closed the phone but didn't move from the couch. I was sure that Nessie had heard the conversation and she was going to ask questions. Do I keep this from her or not?

"Jacob. What the hell's going on? Who phased? Why do you have to go back?" Nessie asked frantically.

"Ok Ness, I'm going to tell you something but you've got to promise not to freak out."

She nodded her head.

"Some of the kids on the rez are about to phase. It's already happened to one and there could be more in the next couple of weeks."

"Phased like turning into wolves?" She asked and I nodded my head.

"But that means there are…"

"Yeah, vampires. Somewhere, but we can't find them. I checked the last time we went back but there wasn't anything." I breathed and got off the couch.

"That's what you were doing when we went to see Sarah. I thought you were cheating on me or something." She giggled but then her face went back a serious one, "So you're going to go handle this I assume?"

"Yeah. I've got to. I'm the Alpha and this is my job. I'm going to have to close the garage until I come back."

"Well then I'm coming with you." She said.

"No Ness!" I screamed as she was going to the door.

"What do you mean no. Off course I'm coming with you. Stop being stupid."

"I can't have you there. This is too dangerous. You need to stay here until Thanksgiving." I grabbed my bag and she followed me out off my office.

"I don't think so Jacob. That's in a week and I can't just sit here." She said as we got into the elevator.

"Nessie. I can't have you there. This is a serious situation and I need to concentrate on how to fix this. I won't be able to do that if you're there."

"So what, I'm a distraction now?"

"No, of course not but I worry about you too much to have you in the area when all this goes down."

"What goes down?" She asked as we got off the elevator.

"I've told you before, new wolves don't need to meet my half-vampire fiancé. You smell too much like a real one. Its not safe for you." I said.

"So you're going to make me stay here?" She asked with a mad face, "I could stay at Billy's house. I wouldn't even have to go outside." She pleaded.

"This is your last week before Thanksgiving break and I know you have three test plus a couple papers due. You can't just take off and Mr. Roberts would kill you if you missed a lesson."

"Fuck school and lessons. I want to be with you."

Truthfully, I wanted her with me too. I never saw her as it was and now I had to leave for at least a week while I dealt with stuff in LaPush. I didn't like to be separated from Nessie for any amount of time so this couldn't be worse timing.

I sighed, "Ok. Call your dad and if he says yes, then I guess you can come." I smiled and she jumped in my arms.

"Thank you thank you thank you. I'm going to go call him right now." She kissed me lightly and ran off to a corner of the hanger already dialing.

I went over to Embry and told him what was going on. He was just as scared as I was about all this and we couldn't figure out what was going on with the hidden vampires, but I was going to sure as hell find out. I had only met Zack once and he was just a kid. He didn't deserve this life, but there was nothing we could do about it now. We had to just deal with the hand we were dealt and train him to be the best wolf he could be. It would be tough to step back into my Alpha role after such a long break but I knew it would come back to me like second nature.

Embry told everyone to go home early and the garage was cleared within ten minutes. He went to go back home and pack our bags while I stayed to wait for Nessie. She was in the corner screaming into the phone so I guessed Edward said no. She walked over to me after closing her phone and kept her head down.

"He said I couldn't go." She whispered.

"I figured." I picked her up and gave her a big bear hug, which I knew would make her feel better.

She giggled. "Put me down Jacob. You have to get ready to go." She said and I placed her back on the ground.

We got in our cars and she followed me home. When I walked in, everyone had already booked the flight and my bags were sitting near the door. Esme had packed me and Embry some dinner and gave me a kiss on the cheek before I headed back outside to load up my Hummer. Nessie stood at the front door while Embry got everything in the car. I went over to her to say goodbye.

"I guess I'll see you in a week?" She asked.

"Yup. Thanksgiving."

She began to tear up, "Come on Ness. Don't cry." I pulled her into another tight hug.

"I can't help it."

"I know, but let's not make this into a big goodbye. I'll see you really soon." Even though I was saying it, I felt like crumbling inside. This would be the longest we've ever stayed away from each other voluntarily.

"Its just hard to be away from you and I barley see you nowadays." She said with a sad smile.

" I know, but I promise that we will spend all out time together when you and the family come out to Forks. I promise." She nodded and I kissed her lips with a passion that would last us until we saw each other again. She put her hand on my head and poured out her love with me. I almost changed my mind about going to LaPush because I could feel her hot tears mix with mine as we continued to kiss. Seth can handle it himself right?

Damn it. I knew I had to go because it was my job to handle this.

I pulled back after five minutes and she continued to cry as I started walking to the car.

"I love you Jacob." She whispered as I opened my door.

"I love you too baby." I whispered back.

"Be safe."

I closed the door and pushed down the pedal as I sped out of the driveway.

Embry and I sat next to each other in our first class seats and I was already feeling incomplete without Nessie.

"Jake dude, calm down. We'll get all the wolves straightened out, then Nessie and the Cullens will be with us for Thanksgiving and then we'll go back to Vermont. No biggie." Embry said.

"I know. I just can't stand to leave her there." I sighed and rested my head on the back of my seat.

The plane took off and as I looked around the cabin, I knew this was going to be a long flight because the stewardesses were already giggling as they passed our seats. Nessie would not approve.

"Would you like anything?" A stingy blonde woman asked when she bent over my seat to display her cleavage.

"No that's perfectly fine. I'm all set." I smiled and her heart rate increased.

"Are you sure? It wouldn't be a problem." She smiled back.

"Maybe my brother would like something," I pointed Embry but he didn't lift his head up from his magazine.

I had never known Embry to pass up female attention until he moved to Vermont. That probably had something to so with Andrea. Now that Nessie had mentioned it to me, I saw the signs everywhere. They were always flirting and touching each other. I didn't know if he knew it yet but it was obvious to everyone else.

We sat in the plane and arrived in Seattle just as the sun was setting. We rented a car and pulled up to Seth's house as the clock on the dashboard hit seven.

"I am really not looking forward to a whole extra week here." Embry huffed as we got out of the car.

"You going to go to your mom's house?"

"Nope. If she doesn't want to see me then I don't want to see her."

I could see the sadness in his face as we walked up to the door and knocked. I never thought Embry's mom would do something so rash especially kick out her son. I could still remember when we were younger and she used to bake us cookies after we came in from a long day on the beach. She was one of the sweetest women I had ever met and I didn't understand how she could do that to him. I guess the life of a wolf takes more of a toll than I had ever imagined. I had tried to get the rules changed so that he could tell her what was going on but the council said no. Embry acted like he didn't mind but I knew he missed his mom deep down.

The door swung open and I saw a weary looking Seth standing in front of me. The look on Seth's face made me actually feel bad for leaving him here to clean up all this mess. I remember the first time I had to deal with a new wolf after Sam left the pack. I remember feeling overwhelmed to the point of tears, but luckily, Sam was still around to help me out. I wasn't in the picture to help Seth and I knew he was stressing. Poor kid. He did so much for me and I should be giving him more praise for the amazing job he was doing with the pack. I committed that as a mental note for later.

My first new wolf was Douglas and he was easy compared to the rest of them. Normally, new wolves were erratic and led by their instincts. There is no way to control them and you have to let all the adrenaline course through their bodies before you try reason. I usually took new wolfs on a run to Canada so that we could talk and let them get all the frustration out from the new lifestyle. Phasing for the first time is extremely painful and confusing. There is so much going on that you don't really understand what is happening to your body. The best way to handle it is to just listen to whatever the other wolves are telling you, but that rarely happens.

With Douglas, it was easy because he loved being a wolf from the moment he grew fur. He was a couple of years younger than me but I still knew him from high school. He had a crush on my sister Rachael for years and it graded on Paul's last nerves but at the time, Doug didn't understand anything about imprinting so it wasn't like we could beat him into the ground. The first time Doug phased, he was in the park and got pissed because he spilled some soda on his pants. Fortunately, no one was around and when I got the call, I ran over to try and keep him from doing anything stupid. I got to the park and thought I was going to have to be a rough leader, but instead I found Doug chasing squirrels up a tree. He looked like another regular dog and I couldn't help myself from laughing. Sam told me that it would be harder than that but my first time was easy. The second go round was totally different and took me a lot longer to control but I had never had any real problems.

"Thank god you're here. I don't know what to do with him. He won't phase back and keeps trying to bite my head off." Seth said and led me into the house.

"Where is he?" Embry asked.

"Out back." Seth pointed.

"You tied him up?!" I asked. That was the one thing you didn't want to do with a new wolf. Confinement is not a good thing.

"What else was I supposed to do? He charged the house and almost tore up half of it." Seth said and he almost looked like he was about to cry.

"Its ok Seth, you didn't know. Where are the rest of the wolves?"

"Probably sleep. There wasn't anything they could do so I sent them all home."

I went to the back window and saw a golden haired beast laying on the ground. When I came into view, he jumped up and started growling at me. He tried to run towards the house but a chain caught around his neck and yanked him back. I felt kind off bad as I looked at a chained Zack but the look in his eyes told me that he would attack if he was let loose so I couldn't blame Seth for caging him up.

"He's a feisty one." Embry chuckled.

"What about his parents?" I asked. They were always the biggest problem when it came to these things.

"His mom thinks I took him camping for the week. We should be good until Friday."

"And has he hurt anyone yet?" I asked.

"No. Thankfully, I was there when he phased."

"How?"

"I kinda…egged him on." Seth said sheepishly.

I smacked the back of Seth's head, "What the fuck did you do?" I snarled.

"Well it was just a coincidence really, he was trying to break intot he house, why I don't know but then I started yelling at him and I saw him start to shake so I knew the wolf was coming. I just kept going until he phased." Seth smiled innocently and I smacked him again.

"Are you fucking insane?" Embry asked.

"I wasn't trying to be a dick but better he did it with me than in school or something."

"Never do that again. If one of these boys starts the process, you call me immediately. Is that clear?" I asked in a dark voice and Seth backed up.

"Yes boss." He said quietly.

Seth knew better. New wolves are extremely vulnerable and predatorily so they become very paranoid when they first phase. Everyone is seen as a threat and people could get seriously hurt if things aren't controlled right away. Seth shouldn't have been dealing with this by himself, let alone, forcing Zack to phase for the first time. This is already scary enough without someone yelling at you.

"I guess I should handle this." I said and began walking outside.

"Wait Jake." Embry came out and pulled out the hose. He doused me in water and laughed the entire time I was gasping for air.

"What the hell Embry?!" I screamed as I began pulling off my clothes.

"You smell like Nessie. It might upset our new dog." He chuckled.

He was right but I was still pissed at him for not giving me any warning. The thing with new werewolves is that with all the new senses, they overreact when the smell of vampire is anywhere near and unfortunately, it was always around since Nessie constantly hung out with the pack. When we used to live in LaPush, we used to have a real problem because her scent was so noticeable. It wasn't safe for her to be anywhere in the vicinity and that was the main reason I didn't want her to come with me on this trip. If Nessie was anywhere in the area, I didn't know how her smell would affect Zack. He might attack her and I really didn't want to rip his throat out.

In all honesty, he had some really bad character traits and I wouldn't ever choose him to be apart of the wolf pack but there was nothing I could do about that. I had only ever talked to Zack about motorbikes, which he loved, but besides that, we had nothing in common. He was one of those super jocks who played every sport known to man and was extremely good at them all. As a human Zack was already a volatile guy and reminded me of Paul with his short temper. He didn't have many friends and his family was really messed up. His dad had left the picture after Zack's younger sisters were born and he was left to care for everyone in the family. His mom had a job at the local store, but spent all her money on gambling and booze. She neglected her children and I remember an incident when Zack went without eating for a full week because his mom refused to go shopping. He had been arrested a couple of times for stealing from grocery stores for food and I guessed that was what he was looking for when he tried to get into Seth's place. I only knew his mom because she would try and hit on me when I used to live in LaPush and it made Billy extremely uncomfortable. I didn't mind it because at the time, that was every tonnages boy's fantasy: to be hit on by an older woman, but now I saw her for the disgusting person she was. She was a drunk who could give Rebecca a run for her money.

Damn it. I forgot Rebecca was here. I guess I have to see her now.

There was a loud snap and I turned around to see what was going on. Zack was biting at his chains and was about to break one of them.

"After I phase, take all the chains off." I said to Seth.

I phased in a second and felt the fur erupt through every inch of my skin.

Jacob, what the hell did you do to me? Zack said in a vicious tone.

Zack calm down. This is all natural.

Hell no this isn't. I'm a fucking grizzly bear. What the hell did you do to me?

Let's go for a run. I suggested.

No. I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what you did.

Run! I commanded in my Alpha tone and he tried to protest but his legs wouldn't disobey my authority.

He shot off into the woods and I followed close behind.

I started from the beginning and spoke like I was talking to a three years old because this was really complicated stuff and he needed to know it all. First off, I had to explain about the freaky mind reading thing because to me, that was the most baffling. He hated that I was in his head and didn't like the fact that I could see all his deepest secrets, which he had a lot of. Zack had more troubles in his life than I ever knew and it was made harder by the fact that his mother hated his guts. I didn't understand how a mother could hate her child, but his sure did seem like she did. She was abusive, emotionally and physically, but never laid a hand on his sisters, just Zack. That might stem from the fact that Zack was gay, which was another thing I had no idea about. He said that he had known for a while, but didn't tell anyone because he was afraid of how people would treat him. That conversation was kind of weird at first because I had no idea how to handle it, but the more I thought about it, the less I cared; as long as he was able to do his job, then I had no problem with it. I explained to him about imprinting although I didn't know how it would work with him. I left that question unanswered when he asked. He felt really ashamed of what he was but I told him there was no reason to be. His mother had called him the son of the devil and things like that so it was hard for him to see himself in anything but a negative light. He was worried that the pack wouldn't accept him with him being gay and all and truthfully, I didn't know if they would either, but I would force them if I had to. There was no reason why Zack shouldn't be taken in like the rest of us were. There was nothing different about him that should make us question his loyalty to his people or our pack.

I explained about our legends and how they were more than just fairy tales. I told him about what we were and what we were created to do. I decided to leave the Cullens for last because there was no way he would believe that there were civil vampires until he met them. I told him who I was and my role in the pack. He didn't seem too happy to be following me but no one did at first so I didn't take it personally. Once we reached Canada, we turned around and I started rattling off each pack member and how they fit into the group.

So you mean that all of this stuff is really true? Vampires? Werewolves? Leprechauns?

Well I've never met a leprechaun but I would doubt that they're out there. I said as we ran through northern Washington.

So how did I become this way?

This was the hardest conversation to have because I had to tell him that he had the "gene" and was basically destined to be a werewolf from birth. I hated to think that someone's life was already determined for them but I guess I couldn't deny it any longer with our existence. He growled when I told him that the only reason he phased now was that a vampire was in the area and although we couldn't find him, we knew he was there because of the other boys on the rez who were about to go wolf as well. He didn't know anything about vampires yet but his instincts told him they weren't to be trusted, so he was on edge for the rest of the trip.

I didn't tell Zack who Embry and I were living with or who our extended family was because I wanted to wait until we were both human to do that. No telling what he might do when he found out I was engaged to the one thing that we were supposed to destroy. I made sure to not get too pissed off when he started calling vampires every name in the book. I kept my cool and reminded myself to not beat the shit out of him once we were human again.

I talked too him about controlling his anger and to always keep himself in check when dealing with his emotion. Our existence was a secret to most humans and we couldn't afford mistakes. I explained to him that all of this was controlled by feelings and even one wrong move could cause us problems if any human found out or got hurt. He was as worried as I was about this because he knew that his fuse was short. He told me about one time when he let a kid at school borrow his pen and it broke. Zack beat the kid up on the playground and was suspended for two weeks. I laughed when I found out the kid was Colin's younger brother; I would have to be sure to keep those two away from each other. For the pack, Brady served as the anger management counselor because his mom was a psychiatrists and he was used to listen to people's problems. I told Zack to just go to Brady if he needed to calm down or take a run in order to burn off extra anger.

By the time we reached Seth's house, Zack seemed to have a better understanding about what was happening with him and how he was going to handle it. I still hadn't told him that the pack was cool with the Cullens but I hoped he wouldn't blow up or anything.

I taught him how to phase out and even though it took over an hour for him to do successfully, he finally got it and was able to go inside. I sat on the porch with Seth while Embry was helping find Zack some clothes.

"So did you tell him about Nessie yet?" Seth asked and took a drink of his beer.

"No. I don't think it would be a good idea to spring it on him when they come for Thanksgiving, but I don't know if I should just come out and say it."

"I would wait. He just got this load of shit dumped on him and I don't think he can handle too many more surprises today."

"I think you might be right, but I'm going to have to tell him before they get here. Can't have him trying to kill her over the turkey." I chuckled.

"I think Nessie would win." Seth laughed.

"Nessie would definitely win." Embry said from behind us and sat on my left.

"How's Zack doing?" I asked.

"He's asleep. Poor thing was wiped out." Embry replied in a baby voice.

"You remember the first time you phased?" I asked Seth.

"I try not to." He said and Embry and I laughed.

That was probably the funniest incident when it came to first time phasing because Seth knew all the stories and actually believed them. From birth, us Quilute kids were told the tales and had to memorize them for school, but no one actually believed them except for Seth. He convinced his dad to take him into the woods to look for the wolves and we all thought it was really funny because he was trying to find himself. Seth was normally a happy-go-lucky kind of guy but one day, Leah and him had a fight in their backyard and they both phased at the same time. Seth didn't know what to do and Sam had to shoot him with a tranquilizer gun in order for him to calm down enough so that we could explain things.

"Shut up. I was so confused about what the hell was going on, I don't even think I remember that first month." Seth said and threw his beer can at Embry's head.

"Yeah well it was still funny as shit." Embry replied.

"Shut up." Seth said again.

"You did good today Seth." I said and patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah right. I probably ruined that kid's life." Seth huffed.

"No, I mean it. You worked quickly on your feet and didn't let things get out of control. That's what a leader does."

"You would have done better." Seth whispered under his breath.

I don't know why Seth always doubted himself but I guess it came from the fact that no one really thought of him as a leader except me. To everyone else, Seth was still the little kid who we all used to pick on, but over the years, I had seen him grow into a man who was more mature than any of the other wolves. He knew how to straddle the line between fun and authoritative and on some occasions, I thought he would be a better Alpha than me. That was part of the reason why everyone was pissed at me for choosing him as my Beta all those years ago, but I stood behind my decision. Seth proved to be as amazing as I thought he would be and would have made his dad proud with how he was handling things.

I let my mind wander back to the run I had with Zack and suddenly remembered that there was a lot more to talk about.

"You guys, I think we might have a slight issue." I said anxiously.

"What?" Embry asked.

"Zack's gay." I said point blank.

"So?" Seth and Embry said at the same time.

That surprised me. I didn't think they would be mean to him or anything, but I didn't think that they would take to him so easily. On the rez, we never had a problem with anyone being too different besides us werewolves but even we became normal after a couple years.

"And you guys are ok with that?" I asked sort of surprised.

"Its not a problem with me." Seth chuckled.

"Maybe he can bring something new to this lame ass pack." Embry chuckled.

"Well how do you think the pack will take it? I don't want Zack to feel like no one wants him or anything." I said.

"Just keep him away from Ziggy. That boy hates anything he considers not normal. Its like he doesn't even car about other people. I might end up kicking him out of the pack if he keeps acting like a little bitch." Seth groaned.

"What did he do now?" I asked.

"He got his ass arrested a couple weeks ago because of a bar fight with a guy. Don't ask me what it was about because I couldn't tell you." Seth said.

"So are you sure this Zack thing won't be an issue?" I asked.

"It shouldn't be a problem but even if it is, just force everyone to shut the fuck up." Embry chuckled.

The rest of the week was spent getting Zack introduced to the rest of the pack. Just like Seth predicted, no one but Ziggy had a problem with Zack and everyone welcomed him just like the brother he was. It took a while for Zack to get used to having so many people treat him nicely since for the most part, he had been thrown around like shit by his mom for all of his life. I felt really bad and tried to not feel like a parent when dealing with him but I couldn't help it. Zack needed major guidance in his life and even though it wasn't my job, I wanted to help him in anyway I could. I was tempted to call home and ask Esme if he could come back with me and Embry to Vermont, but I knew I couldn't do that. It wouldn't be right for the Cullens to take on another one of my brothers and Zack was still under eighteen so there wasn't anyway I could take him from his mother without consent; he wouldn't leave his sisters alone anyways. He didn't have a job because he was too young to work by the state's requirements. I emptied out my wallet and gave him everything I had on me. It was only a couple hundred dollars but I knew he appreciated it. He told me how much he valued what I did for him, but I told him not to worry about it; this was why I went with the Cullens, not only to be with Nessie, but to better myself so I could help my people. He was shocked that I had so much money because nobody on the rez had anything worth a dime. Everyone assumed that I had gone off to work but they didn't know the extent of my riches.

I still hadn't told him about the Cullens yet and I wanted to make sure I timed this perfectly because he was going to flip when I revealed to him what my life was really like. I knew he wouldn't understand because it was too weird for him to wrap his head around but I had to tell him something before the Cullens came for Thanksgiving.

Now with the wolf situation handled, I had to move onto the more pressing issue; vampires. With Zack taking Paul's spot in the pack, we split up and tried to search the entire state for the vampire scent that we knew had to be there but we never found anything. It made me feel unsafe that there was an unidentified vampire around but I searched high and low and never found any leads. Maybe the Cullens could help when they got here?

On top of that, Rebecca was begging me for money but I always refused. I hadn't seen her in over eight years and the minute she saw me, pleas for cash were pouring out of her mouth. She was more pathetic than I thought she was. She didn't even want to better herself and I couldn't stand to see Billy fond over her like she was the forgotten child. Rachael barely even talked to Rebecca and it made me sad to see my family falling apart but I wasn't going to indulge Rebecca. She was sleeping around Forks and had tabs at all the bars. It was extremely embarrassing and all my hard work meant nothing since Rebecca was running the Black family name into the mud.

Although I called Nessie multiple times a day, it felt horrible to not touch her or kiss her lips. We talked for hours on the phone and I hated it. I needed to see her and feel her breath on my face; this whole talking on the phone thing was not working out. By Friday, I was almost ripping off my skin from my restlessness.

I sped down the highway to Seattle with a smile on my face and a bushel of roses in the passenger's seat.

REVIEW NOW