It was hours before Paul's quiet snuffles and gently wolf-kisses calmed Dani down. She had very nearly had a heart attack when that red haze finally lifted and the foreign snarling stopped, letting her out from the mental cage she had been trapped in. Her body felt tense and awkward as she tried to move, and as she cast her eyes downward, it had been a shock to see the white, muddy fur of her paws curled up under Paul's silver ones.

'How are you?' His voice was quiet as his rough tongue lapped gently at her fur, smoothing it as he held her tucked safely against his warm, furry body. Feeling him so close, holding her to his body as if they were meant to fit perfectly together had soothed her enough to let her peek over her shoulder, seeing the horse-sized wolves surrounding them like forest sentinels; their coal-black eyes glowed threateningly in the darkened woods as they watched her and Paul. A shiver tore through her body and she couldn't help the snarl that rumbled in her chest. 'Hey, it's okay. That's just the pack, they won't hurt you.'

He nudged her with his snout as he shifted, his much larger body covering hers as if to protect her, despite his words. She felt her nerves settle as his warmth enveloped her and she buried her face in the dark silver fur of his chest. 'They smell funny. And why are they just standing there?' She was reluctant to admit that the sharp, musky scent that blanketed the area, emanating from the wolves made her skin crawl. It was unsettling, as though some deep, hidden part of her knew it was something wrong.

'They're letting me calm you down in case you try to eat our dad again.' Paul's voice was semi-amused, but it held an edge of caution as though he were hesitant to mention it. Hesitant of her.

Dani's eyes widened and she flailed, trying to stand on her clumsy paws beneath Paul's mass as she remembered the rage, the thrill of the hunt that had come over her. 'OH MY GOD, I TRIED TO EAT OUR FATHER!' She could remember the rage that had come over, but something had clouded her senses, caused her raw instinct to take over.

'Dani, calm down.' Paul stood, huffing a soft sigh as she scrambled over onto her belly, peering around the area to find their father. Daniel sat on an old, weathered tree stump behind the wolves, clutching his phone to his belly as he watched scene in awe. Dani whimpered quietly and crawled across the forest floor, the soft flesh of her belly scraping over leaves and twigs as she approached her father, her head ducked submissively. Daniel glanced up at Paul, then at Sam in question as Dani lay at his feet with her head on his boot, blinking those unnaturally human green eyes up at him mournfully.

There was a glimmer, then a shift as Sam phased, tugging on the basketball shorts tied to his ankle as he shook his head. "We can't hear her. Paul's link was broken as soon as he got to her, too. We don't know what they're thinking."

"But what does that mean?" He frowned, only to feel another sharp stab of pain through his heart as Dani emitted another heartbreaking whine and nudged his foot with her nose. Ignoring Sam's warnings and the traces of fear still coursing through his veins, he slipped off the stump he had perched on and landed on his ass in the dirt, running his fingers through Dani's thick fur as he looked into her tortured eyes. He had promised to be a better father, and Dani would never need support more than right now. "It's okay, baby girl. I love you, and we're going to figure this out." He shushed her gently as he felt her practically crawling into his lap, careful not to squish him with her new body.

There was another glimmer as Paul shifted, standing in all his glory in front of them and making no effort to hide himself. "What's going on?" He had left his shorts tucked into a tree trunk near the beginning of the patrol route; when Jacob had howled, it hadn't exactly been a priority to go retrieve them.

"Jesus, Paul, could you…cover up?" Daniel averted his eyes, his hands still patting Dani's fur as his mind struggled to keep up. From Tiffany, to angry wolf Dani, the chase, and now his son just standing around, dick out in a field of spirit warrior wolves…it was enough in one day to give anybody a breakdown.

"No shorts, dad." Paul shrugged before he sat down in the dirt to keep an eye on Dani. "What did I miss?" He had heard Sam mention the broken mind-link, but he had no idea how he had done it. All he had done was comfort Dani.

"You no longer have a connection to our pack." Sam ran a hand down his exhausted face as he leaned against a tree for support, wishing to whatever spirits had chosen this life for him that he could just catch a break. "We cannot communicate with you or Dani in wolf-form."

"Then…why are you all still phased?" Paul glanced to his packmates, then immediately back to Dani as though he didn't want to leave her out of his sight for too long. His wolf was lingering just beneath the surface of his control, like a shark lurking beneath the thinnest layer of ice, and it wouldn't let him stray too far from her. "She says you smell funny. I think the wolves are freaking her out more right now, it does something to her wolf."

Sam mulled over the information before shaking his head, barking to the others, "Phase back."

Daniel refused to watch as the giant wolves morphed into boys that he knew, boys he had known since they were kids. He didn't think he could take it. "Why did she phase?"

"Billy is working on it. He wants us to bring her to the Council as soon as she's under control." Sam sighed, taking a seat at the base of the tree as he looked at Dani's slim form curled up in her father's lap. "We need to find a way to calm her down enough so she can phase back."

"I got it." Paul trotted over to his father, crouching down and gently combing his fingers through his stepsister's fur. "You gotta focus on yourself as human, don't let the wolf trap you." He gently coaxed her out of their father's arms, not wanting him to get caught in the crossfire if she managed to phase back.

Dani let out a soft whine, creeping across the ground following Paul, still hunkered down on her belly. Embry stepped forward from the others, dropping to his knees beside his best friend as he and Paul shared a quick glance. They had worked out their problems, now Dani needed them. "Imagine how you feel as a human. Start with something small, like how it feels to flex your fingers instead of your paws."

They could see Dani brush her head against Embry's chest affectionately before her paws flexed, digging her claws into the soft, damp ground as she closed her eyes.

oooooooooo

It was hours later, nearing dawn when she finally succeeded. The other wolves had gradually returned home, calming her senses as the overwhelming presence of the pack diminished. Only Sam, Paul, and Embry had stayed behind. Even Daniel had finally left the forest after receiving a jerky nod from his stepdaughter, knowing that he couldn't do anything more to comfort her. Sam remained by the tree, stoically watching his packmates coax her back to humanity as he racked his brain for any mention of female wolves in the legends.

Of course, it may not be the Quileute legends they should be reading for her.

He knew Billy had mentioned something about contacting some old friends in Neah Bay; maybe they could provide answers on La Push's first female, Makah wolf. Until then, they had no way to control her. Without the mental connection, it made the idea of her obeying his Alpha commands nearly impossible, and if she were to lose control again, they would need that dominance to reign her in.

So lost in his thoughts was he, that when Paul crowed triumphantly and slapped Embry on the back, it made him jump a bit. Dani lay curled up in the fetal position, arms crossed over her breasts, her head swiveling and her eyes wide as she took stock of her surroundings. "I…I'm a human again." Her voice was rough and quiet, as though it hadn't been used in days as she tried to sit up. A soft hiss of pain escaped between clenched teeth as her sore bones protested, and Paul stopped her with a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, Dani. It'll pass soon. The first time is always the roughest." He kept his eyes on her face, respecting her privacy as much as he could as he and Embry surrounded her. Dani laid back down as she let out an exhausted sigh, staring up at the sky, noticing the faintest traces of sun peeking over the treetops. 'How long have we been out here?'

"I just want to sleep…" Her head fell to the ground, landing with a thump as Embry ran a hand through her tangled hair, gathering it in a loose ponytail with his hand and doing his best to pick the leaves out.

"We know. As soon as you can make it, we'll head to Sam's-" A loud growl startled him and his hands stilled in her hair, his eyes darting over to Sam's.

"No…just want to sleep. They smell funny." She turned, burying her face against his stomach and earning a blush from the boy as he looked up at Paul as if to say, 'I didn't do this.' Paul simply nodded, crouching on her other side and running a warm hand along her back, trying to soothe her.

"We can go somewhere else then, until you rest." He glanced at Sam, as if knowing he were about to protest. "She's not going to calm down if you're forcing her to do things that clearly piss her wolf off."

Sam ran a hand across his aching, tired eyes as he tried not to snarl at the younger boy. They were all out of their league here; one wrong decision could end with a feral wolf hunting them, putting innocent humans in danger. "We need to watch her-"

"We will." Embry spoke up, eyes flickering to Paul's as they seemed to come to some split-second agreement using only their eyes. "We'll watch her. We'll help her."

Sam regarded the two boys with cold, skeptical eyes; the most volatile wolf and the smallest wolf who already had a well-documented rivalry wanted to work together with a newly phased girl they both had feelings for. Billy would skin him alive and use the fur as a throw blanket if he allowed it.

"Please." Dani refused to look at him, a violent shiver going down her spine each time she tried. "I can't…" She couldn't find the words to describe what she needed; she trailed off with an irritated sigh, slowly lifting herself to sit with her legs pulled up against her chest, trying to protect what was left of her modesty.

Sam's dark eyes flickered down to rest on her smooth back as he wrestled with his thoughts, the torment hidden behind what Jared referred to as 'the Alpha mask'. He had no idea what was going on in Dani's head; Paul did. If anyone was equipped to handle her, it would be her stepbrother, not counting the semi-imprint the younger man still couldn't explain. She would be in good hands, and he knew that the girl deserved more than being forced and commanded to parade in front of the Council, exhausted and traumatized. If Leah were here, she would've already nailed him in the jaw for even considering it.

"At the first sign of trouble, you get me. Howl, call, smoke signals, I don't care; just contact me." He couldn't be bothered to hide the growl in his voice as he glowered at the boys, clearly displeased with the thought of trusting them with their new pack member. "If anything happens-"

"Gotcha, boss." Paul grinned at him, crouching down to allow Dani to clamber onto his back, wrapping her arms and legs around him like a warm shawl. Sam rolled his eyes, huffing at the young boy's cockiness; he assumed Paul had realized the implications behind the broken connection. No connection meant no more orders.

He watched the boys lope off into the forest, Dani clinging to Paul's back and Embry at their side, a hand resting on Dani's back as if to reassure her. 'What did I just do?'

But the more important question lodged at the forefront of his mind was, 'What the fuck is going on with my pack?'

oooooooooo

"So, since when are you two friends?" Dani tried to joke, her voice sounding hoarse and tense even to her own ears. Embry's lips quirked up in a small smile as he rubbed her shoulder, making her feel content to know her boys were there beside her when she needed it.

"We worked some stuff out." He left it at that, and Dani didn't have the energy to push it any farther. She tucked her head against Paul's warm back and closed her eyes, letting her exhaustion take over as the boys carted her off to wherever they had in mind.

"You know you're going to have to tell her." Embry murmured as he noted the shift in her breathing indicating she had fallen asleep. They both knew that the first phase drained all your energy; she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

"About?" He played coy, staring ahead of them rather than meeting the younger man's gaze. He knew what he meant; at some point, he would have to try to explain whatever the imprint bond had done, and Dani would lose her trust in him completely. He wasn't ready for that, not so soon after getting her back.

Embry scoffed, shaking her head as he watched Dani's sleeping face, nestled against the thick muscle of Paul's neck as they loped through the forest seamlessly. "You don't get it."

"Don't get what?" He nearly growled, scowling as Embry merely stepped ahead, leaving him to catch up without jostling Dani out of her well-deserved slumber. "Hey, get back here!"

"If you don't tell her and let her make her own decision, that's just as bad as lying to her and she will find out sooner or later. You can't build the kind of love that you want and she deserves on lies and secrecy, Paul." They finally came to a stop in front of the cave where Dani and Paul had spent so many nights together throughout their childhood. Their wolf senses on high alert for any wild animals or other predators lingering around the area, Embry ducked inside first and busied himself with dusting and shaking out the blankets, spreading them out neatly on the hard ground of the cave to make a makeshift sleep pallet for the girl they loved.

Once the old throw blankets were sufficiently neatened, Paul dropped to his knees carefully and let Embry scoop Dani off his back, earning them a quiet whine from the girl. "It's okay, sweetie, we're just going to lay you down so you're comfier." Embry soothed her as he held her to his chest, trying to ignore the fact that she was naked and clinging to him while Paul glowered at them from a foot away.

"Don't leave me, please." Dani mumbled, burying her face against his chest as a sudden tremor racked her body. "Please don't. Need you."

Paul could barely contain the angry, heartbroken snarl threatening to escape him as he watched her practically trying to climb inside Embry just to be closer to him. He had been okay with knowing the younger boy had touched her first, had been with her in ways he could only imagine; after all, he had done the same thing countless times with far worse than Embry Call. It was the fact that she loved the boy, loved him so much she was practically begging for him to hold her right in front of him. It made his wolf thrash and growl and demand Embry's handsome head on a silver platter, but the hurt trumped the rage. He felt like his heart was being torn into and swallowed by his stomach as he watched the boy carefully lay their girl on the blankets.

"I'm not going to leave you, Dani. I promise." His eyes flickered to Paul's form as if sensing the tumultuous emotions rolling off him in waves. Softly, too low for human senses, he whispered, "Maybe you should go for a run or something."

Before he could find it in himself to retort, his wolf bristling at being commanded by the younger, smaller wolf, Dani flung herself out of the padded bed they'd constructed for her. Paul caught her easily and sat back on his feet as she wrapped herself around him like an octopus, her fingers gripping the hair at the base of his neck as she thrust her face against his neck. "No! You stay too!"

"We will, baby." The pet name slipped off his tongue before he could stop it, but she didn't react negatively. If anything, he thought she seemed to snuggle closer into him as she practically purred. "But you need to lay down and get some rest."

"Then lay down." She reached a hand back blindly until she felt Embry's long fingers lacing with her own, reassuring her that he had meant his promise; he wasn't going to leave her. "Puppy pile."

Both men cracked a smile at her phrasing but obeyed their packmate, shuffling around on the ground until they lay on either side of the blankets, leaving a sliver of space between them where Dani lay, creating a warm, soft buffer between the two of them as she lay practically on top of them. One arm was slung behind her, resting on Embry's hip just above his shorts while her opposite leg was thrown across Paul's hips with her foot tucked against his ass caging him against her. Her face found purchase buried in the curve of Paul's arm pit, huffing the spicy, concentrated scent of her Paul, a scent that made that new, subconscious presence in her mind howl with pleasure.

"I'm not cuddling with you on a regular basis, man." Embry joked, shaking his head as he watched Dani surrender once again to the peaceful reprieve of sleep.

Despite the anger and the hurt he still felt, Paul couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna try to spoon you after our patrols either."

"If you even still have patrols, that is." Embry sighed, gently running his fingertips along the slim curves of her hip where she was wedged against him. If Paul noticed the tiny, intimate touches, he didn't say anything, and Embry was grateful. He had completely healed from the utter beatdown Paul had been in the middle of giving him earlier, but he had no desire to go through it again. "Sam can't very well command you to patrol if you aren't under his authority anymore."

"True. But why wouldn't I be? He's the Alpha, we're supposed to be his little wolfy underlings, aren't we?" Paul glanced over, meeting Embry's dark eyes in the dim light of the first rays of morning that were creeping into the cave entrance. "Why would that have changed?"

"Somehow, she did it. I think her phasing triggered something. Maybe there's something in the legends to explain it; after she rests a little, we should take her to the Council." Embry hated saying it; the Tribal Council had never been completely accepting of their two half-blood members, but Dani had it worse than he did. Not only was she a bastard, she was a troubled bastard. Two strikes against her name in the eyes of the likes of Billy Black and Sue Clearwater, as much as they tolerated her and tried to act otherwise. He knew that whatever had begun last night, the Council would meddle in it and try to enforce some sort of power play that would only make the clusterfuck even worse. Paul seemed to mirror his sentiments, emitting a quiet scoff. "I know, but at the very least they may know why she phased."

"I guess." Paul turned his head away to let out a jaw-popping yawn in an effort not to disturb Dani.

Embry chuckled and leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to Dani's cheek before he relaxed against her and stretched his arm out, using his bicep as a pillow. "We should get some rest too. You know things are going to be wild today, we need to be ready for whatever happens."

"Yeah." Paul tried to relax as well, and the two boys listened to Dani's short, shallow breaths in the stillness of the cave. "You tell anybody we naked cuddled with my girl, I'll skin you alive."

"Sure, sure." Embry grinned and with that, they seemed to have finally settled on a shaky truce.

oooooooooo

Hours later, Dani jolted awake and thrashed around, tangled in the blankets as she searched the unfamiliar surroundings for her boys. A low, panicked whine escaped her chest when she found no one; she clutched the material to her chest, sweat beading on her forehead as she tried to center herself but found the noise in her head to be too much for her. "PAUL!" The cry escaped her before she could stop it, her voice twisted into an unrecognizable, warbly croak that hurt her throat.

A beat of silence passed before a giant bronze body crashed out of the forest and Paul was panting as he tumbled to his knees by her side. "What's wrong?! Where's Embry? Are you okay?" Warm hands gripped her face, concerned onyx eyes searching her body for any sign of injury or foul play. When he found none, he relaxed visibly and wrapped his arms around her like a cocoon, protecting her from whatever had scared her. "What's wrong?"

"I woke up and I was alone and the- all the noise…my head feels fuzzy. And you and Embry were gone-" She was cut off as another body crashed through the forest overgrowth and skidded to their knees beside them. Embry's alarmed face appeared over Paul's shoulder as she raised eyes to meet his, her lower lip trembling traitorously as relief overwhelmed her.

"Dani! I'm so sorry, I thought you'd be asleep for a while-" Paul's hand shot out, slugging him in the arm much harder than necessary as Dani leaned away from his embrace to hug her best friend as well.

"Where the fuck were you? I was gone for two minutes to grab some clothes for us and you leave her?" His eyes narrowed into angry slits and Embry shrank under his scrutiny, a warm flush coming to his cheeks as he ran a calming hand through Dani's hair, carefully sorting out the twigs and tangles in an effort to comfort her.

"I swear I just stepped out to piss, I thought she was still asleep! I'm so sorry, Dani." His head dropped as he held her just a little bit tighter, whispering, "I'd never just leave you, I'm sorry for scaring you."

Dani sniffled, shaking her head as she finally felt the different sections of her brain calm enough to allow rational thought. "No…It's my fault, I'm sorry for freaking out…I was just asleep then I wasn't and it was hot but I was alone and I didn't know where I was or if I would be furry again and-" She cut herself off with a deep breath, releasing it with a shudder as she carefully pulled away from Embry's arms, kissing his cheek softly. "I'm sorry. I'm okay now."

Paul gave the younger boy another reproachful glare before he pushed a folded pile of clothing into Dani's hands. "Here. I hope those are okay, I figured you wouldn't want anything too warm."

"Thank you." Dani gave him a sweet, thankful smile as she pulled the thin cotton sundress over her head and let the material pool around her hips where she sat on the cool cave floor. A quick glance downward as she tucked her hair behind her ear confirmed what she already figured; much to her disappointment but great relief, Paul had finally covered up with a pair of black cargo shorts that hung low on his hips. "So…I'm…not going to wolf out again, am I?"

She glanced back and forth between the two boys a few times, fiddling nervously with the hem of her dress before Embry spoke, "We uh…We're not exactly sure. The Elders want us to bring you to them today, they say they might have found something in the records to help us understand more because…"

"I shouldn't have phased." Dani whispered, sighing softly as she bowed her head dejectedly. "But I did, and I fucked it all up."

"No, you didn't." Paul leaned down, pressing a hot, chaste kiss against her bare shoulder as he grinned. "You made it more interesting."

She couldn't help but smile as she swatted at him playfully, then felt a heavy weight of dread sink in the pits of her belly as she registered what Embry had said. "I have to meet with the Elders?"

Embry clicked his tongue sympathetically as she shrunk back against Paul's bare chest. "Sorry, sweetie. We need all the information we can get though, and you know they'll hold it as close to their chests as possible and spout 'Tribal business' until they're blue in the face unless you go to them."

"Can't we just write a letter? Email? Smoke signals? Carrier pigeons?" She perked up as she listed the alternatives, only to groan when they both gave her the looks of reproach her suggestions deserved. "Fine, feed me to the grumpy old wolves."

The boys stood and Paul helped her to her feet as well, watching as she dusted her legs off and smoothed her dress down over her thighs. "Nah, we're the wolves, baby. If Billy Black says anything to you, I'll eat him for you."

"What a gentleman." She laughed, linking one arm with Paul's and one with Embry's as she padded along between them, trusting them to lead her into the woods barefoot as she smiled up at them. "Let's go see why I'm a freak, shall we?"

Well, hello there. So sorry for the wait but things have been crazy the past few weeks; I came home for spring break and while I was home, my school shut down due to the pandemic. I have a two hour window Tuesday to pack up my whole room and turn in my dorm keys and my classes will finish online, which stresses me the hell out because online learning isn't exactly a strength of mine. I also got cheated on, decided to go back to the doctor about my depression worsening only to be told to come back after the world comes back to life, lost my job due to the virus, and I'm pretty sure the concert I've been saving for for a year is pretty much canceled so...like yay I guess? I don't even know anymore.

Now that I've complained way too much, thank you for everyone who left feedback last chapter and I promise, I have big plans for the next few chapters before I wrap things up! I've also been going back and editing the chapters of this story, correcting things like typos and verb tenses, and cross-posting on AO3, so feel free to find me on there as well! Also, feel free to just message me *insert shrugging emoji here* I've been completely antisocial for 20 years but now that it's socially acceptable and government-encouraged to stay away from people, I crave social interaction.

I hope everyone is safe and healthy and thank you for reading.