The Twilight Series belongs to S. Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing with the characters.
AN: After the last few depressing chaps, I figured a little levity was in order. Thanks for all the reviews!
Chapter 52
Raising Pups
It was the weekend after the service when Embry came along Seth at First Beach. Seth was muttering to himself and kicking rocks as he walked along. Since the service, they'd been stretched thin, watching over Charlie and running patrols. Jake had even suggested they set up wolf-watches for Brady and Collin, never knowing when they might phase and wanting to ensure no one was hurt in the process. There just hadn't been the time and honestly, when there was, it just wasn't the right time to talk to Seth.
"You know those rocks haven't done anything to you, Seth. You want to talk about something," Embry asked as he walked near.
"No, I don't," Seth replied with a frown. "There's nothing to talk to about. Everyone's forgiven Jake and moved on, even you. I don't get it."
Embry sighed realizing he should have just taken the time to talk to Seth. He'd promised Leah he would. "Seth, we can't spend forever being mad at Jake. He didn't know or realize. Leah never said anything. And he's trying."
Seth turned to look at Embry. He was torn; he understood what Embry was saying but Leah, she was their sister and he wanted to protect her from anything and anyone who would try to hurt her. "Yeah, so, what happens when he fucks up again? Who's left to put her back together? We are," he finished as he emphasized his words by kicking another rock.
"I asked Leah the same thing. She asked me to talk to you and with everything we've been doing lately, there's hasn't been the time. We've both known Jake since we were little. I'm sure you remember when we'd all go fishing with Charlie, Billy, Quil, and dad when we were younger. Out of all of us, well maybe except for Quil, Jake has always been easy-going and happy. He'd go out of his way for any of us."
Seth interrupted, "But it still doesn't change what happened."
"No, it doesn't but we can't stay mad at him forever. It's just like…well when we found out we were siblings, Leah said we could be mad and hold a grudge or we could forgive and move on, accepting what happened and forge a relationship. She'll always be our sister but we can't smother her all the time. Nor can we continue to bother Jake about every little thing he does. He's never been purposely mean to anyone, it's not in his nature. Look at how crappy the whole Bella situation was and not until he received that invitation did he ever say anything mean to her. We have to trust he won't hurt her."
"I guess," Seth said softly.
Embry put his arm around Seth's shoulders before remarking, "It's easy to forget how young we all are and how confusing things can be and how fast they can get out of hand. Still, we can take the opportunity to learn from them, from the other's mistakes. Think about it, Sam hurt Leah and Emily. All of us know now, its best not to have a relationship, at least not a serious one unless it's your imprint. We learned how important it is to make sure we don't hurt others just because we've imprinted and how quickly things can get out of hand. How we must control our wolves at all times. From Sam and Jared, we learned what happens when you don't mark your imprint. Paul's the only one who hasn't struggled so far. And even with Leah and Jake, we're learning we can't fight fate and what happens when you're separated from your imprint. Maybe theirs is an extreme case because they're imprinted on one another but still, everything is a lesson. Even the mistakes Bella's made, we see how our choices can affect those around us."
Several of them were gathered on the beach on Monday. It was Labor Day and for many of the pack their last day of freedom before school started again. The weather cooperated and so many of the residents of La Push along with some tourists were on the beach.
Seth and Leah sat at one end of the beach talking to each other as they walked the waves crashing to shore. Seth had already spent much of the morning surfing and now was just enjoying Leah's company. Jake, Quil, and Embry were tossing a football around a little further down on the beach. The five of them were all keeping an eye on Brady and Collin who were there also.
As she was listening to Seth talk about what classes he'd enrolled in for the first semester, her wolf suddenly stood at attention. She had the same eerie feeling she'd had when Sam had attacked Edward. She stood up abruptly, her eyes scanning the beach for the source of danger. Glancing over at where Jake, Quil, and Embry where; she noticed Jake had stopped paying attention, too. He'd actually missed the football Embry had just thrown to him. At nearly the same time their eyes focused on Brady and Collin who were arguing.
Fuck, they thought at the same time. The beach was crowded with residents and tourists. This was not the place for two teenagers to turn into giant wolves. Brady and Collin were situated about halfway between Leah and Jake. Ignoring the questions from Seth, Quil, and Embry they ran towards their two newest members.
Reaching them at nearly the same time, Leah grabbed onto Collin who was the smaller of the two; while Jake grabbed onto Brady. They both tried to pull them towards the forest, straining in their efforts. It didn't take long before the two boys' anger switched from each other to Leah and Jake.
"Get your hands off me, Black," Brady roared. "This doesn't concern you or your gang!"
"It's not enough for you, Leah that you already have six guys? What you need another one," Collin sneered to her.
Leah growled back at him, "Let's go, punk," as she tried to pull him off the beach. He struggled against her efforts and starting spewing loud obscenities.
"Fucking bitch, get your hands off me! Just cause you're in the fucking La Push gang doesn't give you the right to tell any of us what to do."
Leah glared at him and looked over at Jake who was having just as much trouble as she was. Jake caught her eye before remarking, "We need to get them out of here and I think we're getting a bigger audience."
She glanced around the beach all while keeping a firm hand on Collin. It was just as Jake said; more than one person was staring in their direction. Meanwhile, a glance showed her Embry, Quil, and Seth were frozen. Did she have to do everything?
"A little help would be appreciated, boys," she growled at them. Turning back to Collin, she decided she'd had enough with the tug-of-war. "Move it now," she ordered them. Both of the boys struggled against the order but they'd learn sooner rather than later how Alpha powerful orders were. She could hear as the crowd gathered started discussing whether they should notify the police as those poor boys were being taken against their will. None of them appeared to be trust either Leah or Jake.
Quil was the first to snap out of the daze. When Jake hadn't caught the football Embry had thrown and he'd been frozen in place; it had taken some time before he realized what was going on. He'd watched in shock as both Leah and Jake had run over to Brady and Collin and tried to get them off the beach.
Their struggle with the two boys had captured the attention of nearly everyone on the beach. Leah's words asking for help had him scrambling for a plan. He looked over at Embry who still appeared to be frozen in place. Taking a quick glance at Seth, he realized Seth wouldn't be any help either.
Well, Leah had asked for help. Both she and Jake needed the crowd to be distracting from them. He did the only thing he could think of and just hoped he didn't end up with a black eye for it. Fuck this he thought before he grabbed Embry's head and shouted loudly, "Embry, I love you," ending the statement with his lips meeting Embry's.
At Quil's words, Embry snapped out of it and the second he felt his best friend's lips on his, he tried to pull away. He felt rather than heard Quil's worded, "Distraction." The two of them broke apart at Seth's next words, "Alright, guys. I think that worked. You realize half the people here are going to see us tomorrow at school, right?"
Leah and Jake managed to get them both into the sanctity of the trees. Their bodies were blurring and the heat rising off of them was intense. As soon as they figured they were far enough in, they each pushed the boys away from each other and themselves. It was only a moment later when the boys phased into wolves and ran.
"What the hell," Leah roared. "Why the fuck do they run," she cried out as she phased and started running after them. Jake phased in the next moment and ran after her.
Leah, you ran, too, he remarked laughing. Thankfully you stopped or else who knows how far we would have had to chase you.
Shut up, Jake. I don't need to remember. Damn it, how can they be so fast?
Paul was on patrol and heard the commotion. Though he was at the other end of their patrol route and was too far at the moment to be able to catch up to them. He still turned around and headed towards Brady and Collin.
Hey, guys. I see we got two more pups. You might want to just order them to stop, Leah. Why do you think Sam was gone for two weeks? He ran clear to Canada and got lost trying to find his way home. That's usually the best way to stop the new ones. Something about all that pent up rage gives them more energy than they need.
Embry, Seth, and Quil phased as Paul was talking. Seth's mind was continuously cycling on what he'd just witnessed. Embry was embarrassed and he knocked into Seth, growling, I don't need to any additional ways to remember what just happened.
Sorry, man, Quil said apologetically. Leah told us she needed help. It was the only thing I could think of on the fly. It worked, didn't it?
Good God, Quil, Paul remarked. Remind me never to be alone with you again.
Leah growled, This isn't helping. Seth, get over it. There's nothing wrong with it, alright. Some situations call for thinking out of the box.
But, Leah. There's not enough brain bleach in the world to make me forget this.
Leah didn't understand why they were all arguing about this. She let loose a memory no one knew about. As she replayed the events of the day, nearly everyone's wolfy jaws dropped.
That's awesome, Clearwater! Paul exclaimed. Rach has never said anything.
That's not Rachel. It's Rebecca. She was a little confused, so I helped her out. That's all.
Jake cleared his throat, So that was before she left for Hawaii and married Taylor?
Umm, yeah, Leah answered.
Alright…so exactly what was the point of showing us that? Cause I'm a little confused.
Leah sighed. Well, I'm trying to...I don't know, explain there's nothing wrong with it, or whatever. Jake, don't you ever wonder why Becca doesn't call home much and you've never talked to Taylor?
No, why would I?
Paul, has Rach said anything to you about it?
No, Becca barely talks to her.
Taylor's a girl, not a boy.
Now the pack was effectively shocked into silence. Despite running at full tilt, Leah realized Brady and Collin where still at least a mile ahead of them. It was time for an order.
STOP. Everyone in the pack was frozen in place except for Leah and Jake. They continued to run towards Brady and Collin. It another couple of minutes before they caught up to them; both boys lay on the ground, whining.
Umm, Leah, Seth interjected. The rest of us would like to be able to move.
Just be quiet for a second. They're already confused and scared enough as it is. Brady, Collin, I need you both to calm down. We can't keep chasing you two throughout the forest. Everything is going to be just fine.
Leah edged closer to them and Jake did the same. They both sat down in front of them and then Leah pushed her view to theirs. See, that's you guys. The pack minds were filled first with the image of Brady who had dark, ashy brown colored fur which Leah assumed could be gray depending on the lighting. Collin's color was close to Jake's color but instead more of a red-brown with darker coloring on his legs, face, and tail. They both were around Seth's size, larger than Leah but nowhere as large as the rest of the guys.
She switched views allowing the pack to be able to see from their viewpoint. See, that's Jake and me. Do you think you both can stay calm and we'll explain everything to you? Their whimpers quieted and she took it to mean yes. She removed the order and the rest of the pack was able to move again. Together, she and Jake began to tell them about the legends.
By the time they were nearly done explaining them, the rest of the pack minus Jared and Sam crashed through the trees. Quil, of course had to share how exciting and great it was to be part of the pack. Seriously, guys, you're going to have so much fun!
Quil proceeded to share some of his favorite wolf pastimes which including chasing various small animals around the forest and of course, chasing his tail until he would become dizzy. They all were treated to memories of Quil staggering drunkenly after chasing his tail and running into trees. The memories didn't stop there as Quil felt the need to share his thoughts about what a hot leader Leah was.
The best part is Leah is the most awesome Alpha, ever. And not only that she's hot. Another naked picture of Leah was flashed once again to the pack, only this time, Leah's body appeared to be replaced with a cross between a female bodybuilder and a porn star's. The fact the body was nothing like Leah's didn't stop Jake, Embry, and Seth from growling at Quil though.
Quil, knock it off! That doesn't look anything like me. I refuse to let you corrupt these boys. Don't make me order you so anytime you try to picture a naked girl all you'll be able to see is yourself with long hair, Leah threatened.
Paul couldn't help it and he laughed which as a wolf sounded more like a cross between snorting and wheezing. This is the best day ever.
ENOUGH! Jake, Seth, why don't you both work with these two? I would but I seemed to ruin my outfit. You think you both can handle showing them the ropes? Both Jake and Seth nodded. Paul, Embry, and Quil, you guys can go home. Any of you up next for patrol?
I was, Quil answered. She thought through the schedule and tried to think who would be up next.
Well, I'm sure it will take a while before they'll be ready to change back. Jake, you and Seth work with them until Sam takes over; if they're still not able to phase, he should be fine with both of them by then. Embry, you'll do your patrol after Sam and then I'll take over for you at midnight. Hopefully, we'll get them phased back before I take over. I'll talk to mom when I get home and she'll have the elders talk to their parents. Sound good?
