The Twilight Series belongs to S. Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing with the characters.
Chapter 10
Embracing the Shadows
Harry's service was held two days later. All the residents of La Push were there along with their relatives from Neah Bay. Charlie and Bella also attended the service. The service was held in the community center. The old traditions were followed with Billy as the tribe's chief and Old Quil as the shaman, giving blessings and prayers for Harry to be safety transported to the next world.
Seth and Leah each sat on one of Sue's sides. Seth had outgrown his suit due to his recent grown spurt, so he wore a pair of dress pants and shirt that was borrowed from one of his pack brothers. His hair had been buzzed short. Leah wore a dark gray dress with a matching sweater. It was shorter on her than the last time she wore it, but not too short that it would be considered trashy. Her hair had been cut into a short pixie style that she had styled with some mousse and a blow-dryer. There just hadn't been time for new clothes or professional haircuts as they didn't think that Seth and Leah should be around people more than necessary. Sue wore a simple black dress.
The pack sat behind them, a motley crew of overgrown youths that wanted nothing more than to unbutton the uncomfortable dress shirts and just wear their shorts. They all felt overheated. But yet they listened in solemn silence. Each one feeling a sense of loss that one of the men that helped to guide them and share their wisdom of the legends was gone.
Sue declined to have an open house after Harry's services, citing that it was just too difficult for the family. Instead the family returned home where they were joined by Billy and Old Quil. Not wanting to upset Sue and following her own instructions, they were there to further discuss Harry's involvement and Seth and Leah's role in the pack.
"So, are you boys ready to tell me what's going on? And why my kids turned into giant wolves," Sue asked.
Old Quil began the long tale of the legends; Sue had heard these before at bonfires. She remembered hearing the stories of Taha Aki and his three wives, the power he and his descendants had to transform into wolves. Then Old Quil discussed the cold ones and the treaty with the Cullens. Sue had worked with Dr. Cullen at Fork's Hospital, she had seen his ability to save lives and he was one of them. And Bella Swan, she had dated one.
"You're telling me that Dr. Cullen, his wife, and their adopted children are vampires," she probed.
"Yes, Sue," Billy answered. "Dr. Cullen, his wife, and three of their current coven made the original treated with my grandfather Ephraim Black. Since that time they've added two more members. We think this may be the reason why so many have phased."
"Who's all part of the pack?"
"Sam, Jared, Paul, Embry, Jake, Quil, and now Leah and Seth. Sam's the Alpha until Jake is ready to take over the pack. A Black has always been the Alpha."
"Embry…" Sue questioned, "But his family is from the Makah rez."
Billy and Old Quil blushed at Sue's question. Neither was sure how to answer her question. They didn't know if it was their place to say anything. "That's what we thought until he phased, his father would have to be Quileute in order for him to phase."
Sue gasped at this knowledge. Embry was around Jake and Quil's age. She remembered when Tiffany Call had arrived in La Push some seventeen years ago. She was quite a pretty young woman and seemed to have a wild streak about her. She'd stayed with friends during the summer and then had returned to the Makah rez. Some six months later she returned to La Push pregnant and hadn't left since. Sue remembered the pain of that summer, Leah was just a toddler and Sue had had two miscarriages one right after the other. She'd wanted nothing more to provide Harry with a son.
Sue thought to the possible candidates for Embry's father and realized that nearly everyone was married. She couldn't remember if Joshua Uley had been lurking around that summer or not. He'd definitely been a man that was always up for a good time and who knows how many kids he had spread across the state.
"And Harry knew all this," Sue asked.
"Yes, Sue. He hated keeping this from you but it was necessary to protect the secret," Old Quil explained.
"So, you're telling me that none of these kids' parents know? That they are sneaking out all hours of the night, killing vampires, while people think that these kids are up to no good. That they're part of a gang? That if my husband, the father of my children hadn't died; I would have no knowledge or understanding of this?"
"I guess," Old Quil answered sheepishly.
"Well, this kind of mentality needs to stop now. What happens when one of them doesn't come home? You have to know that's a possibility. What are we going to do then? Their parents need to be informed. How much worse would it have been if Leah had hurt Harry? His heart was bad, we know that now and I've been on his case for years to try to improve his diet. I know that when he hangs out with Billy and Charlie that they drink and smoke. Hell, I don't even believe that you boys fish as much as you say do."
Seth and Leah both looked at their mom. They'd never seen her mad like this. Neither one thought that she'd ever stand up to Old Quil or Billy. There was still hope that things wouldn't be as bad as they had seemed at first. With their mom on their side, maybe this whole wolf business wouldn't be so bad.
"Sue, I think that your points definitely require further thought and discussion. I'm not sure that I agree with you completely," Billy stated, "When you think about numbers, only Embry and Jared don't have parents that don't know. Paul's dad hasn't been back here in years and his mom died last year, leaving him alone. I'm not aware of any close family he has. Sam is an adult and therefore able to make his own choices. While Joy doesn't know, Quil's grandfather knows."
"I agree with Billy and I'd be more than happy to discuss this at a further time. But I think we need to finish discussing Seth and Leah's role within the pack and ensure that they understand," Old Quil said.
Once again, Seth and Leah were given another lecture about the pack hierarchy and they discussed patrol. In general each wolf patrolled for six hours, though with the addition of two new members this may decrease to four hours. Usually, they worked on a rotating basis so that no one was stuck doing off-hour patrols all the time.
Each of the pack seemed to have some type of skill or knowledge and Seth and Leah would be trained different things by each member. Jared had the best sense of smell; therefore he would teach them how to track. Paul and Jake were the best fighters; Paul was better at fighting in general while Jake was better at strategy. Quil had the best hearing and was able to differentiate sounds in the forest. Embry was the fastest and most agile. And Sam as Alpha taught them think and work as a team. He also taught them what different howls signaled.
Leah listened in silence up until they said that she was going to have to spend time with Sam. No way was that going to happen. She didn't know what these old men were smoking but she refused.
"Absolutely not," she growled. "I won't spend time having Sam teach me anything. I'm not even going to be here much longer. Classes resume on Tuesday."
"Leah, you can't go back to Seattle," Billy started. "Jake told me that there is a big possibility that there are vampires in Seattle. It isn't safe for you to be there and alone. Much of your strength and ability comes from being part of a pack."
"You're telling me that I am stuck here. Listening to my ex, seeing my cousin every day? That's it; I'm not going to be part of this. I don't want it. I never asked for it. I quit."
"Leah, you don't have a choice in the matter," Old Quil told her sadly. "Once you've phased, it takes a long time before you'll be able to control it. Most have found that they enjoy their wolf and don't give it up for many years. Until you're better able to control it, any strong emotion can set it off."
"So, this is my punishment. To be stuck watching the man I loved get his happily ever after with my cousin? This is ridiculous," she screamed.
Seth called her name as he came over to sit by her side on the sofa. "It will be alright. We'll figure this out. Just calm down." Looking over at Billy and Old Quil, he asked, "Is there anything else or can we be done with this? We buried our father today and I know I'd like to just spend time with my family, not discussing this bullshit that we've been roped into because of our genetics."
Billy and Old Quil stared in amazement at how Seth was able to calm Leah. She'd been furious earlier, not quite close to phasing but any further discussion would probably have caused her to. Maybe it wasn't just their genetics that allowed them to rise against Sam's Alpha order; maybe it was their connection as siblings. They were the only two that were this closely related. Both knew that they were going to review the histories and see if there had ever been a situation like this before.
"Of course, Seth, we're almost done. The last thing that we wanted to discuss with both of you is imprinting. It's a reward for the protectors of the tribe. It has been described as a rare event and so far with this pack it's occurred twice. Did any of the others tell you about it," Old Quil asked.
Both Seth and Leah shook their head. Old Quil continued, "Imprinting can only happen after the first phase. It's best described as gravity. You look into their eyes and you feel an instant connection. All connections you have to others fade away and you feel tied to that one person. You'd do anything for them or be anything for them. It's finding your soul mate."
At Old Quil's words, Leah felt her limbs shaking and the fire gathered. She needed to get out of her. Growling, she pushed her brother away and ran for the door. She'd barely made it off the deck before she phased into her wolf. Her clothing tore into little scraps that fluttered through the air to fall softly to the ground. As soon as her paws hit the earth, she ran.
The occupants in the Clearwater living room sat in shock. It was Sue who spoke first, "You said two, Sam and Emily?"
"Yes, that's why," Billy answered. "It was never that he didn't…doesn't love Leah. It's just that Emily is his imprint and he can't be away from her. She's his soul mate, and he is hers. That's why Leah can't go back to school. Emily's accident…Sam was still new to all of this. He thought that he had it under control…but they fought and…he couldn't control the phase…" he trailed off.
Seth ran outside at Billy's words. He had been able to pull his shirt off but his slacks were a different matter and he wasn't fast enough. The slacks ripped and littered the ground, leaving only a sandy brown wolf standing in the yard. He soon took off in the same direction that Leah had run to.
"They won't be alone, will they," Sue asked.
"No, someone should be on patrol now. Just leave some clothes by the tree line for them. I'd consider until they get more used to phasing that you have a waterproof container with clothes outside for them. The boys have a few different stashes of clothes around the rez. They'll show Seth and Leah were they are. The boys mostly just wear shorts because they're easy to carry. That's another thing that they'll be taught. For Leah, I guess either shorts and tank tops or simple cotton dresses might work."
Sue buried her face in hands and started crying softly at Billy's words. Her children turned into giant wolves and her daughter, Leah. Leah was going to be forced to be around Sam and Emily. Plus hang around six teenage boys. If she wasn't in wolf form, she'd be running around half naked. She didn't even notice when Billy and Old Quil had left. It was starting to get dark, so she went to both Seth and Leah's rooms and grabbed some clothes for them. Grabbing the container that held their Christmas decorations, she dumped them on hers and Harry's bed. She carefully folded the clothes and placed them inside. Walking out to the tree line, she set the covered container down and returned to the house to wait for them to come home.
