First of all it's been just under two months since I started this fic. I had no idea just how large it would grow or how much I would adore it.
First of all thank you to G for being my beta, my sounding board and my therapist as I worked to get this out.
Second to the countless friends who have read and held my hand and talked me through this, thank you. It has been so needed and I am very grateful.
Now, a big detail before we go on:
Alice was the captain the year before this story starts when (almost) all the Bellas were freshman. She took the group to regionals where they came in third so they didn't progress farther.
Another important point, this fic is already written - just over 120,000 words. So it will all be posted. Something I worry about with WIP personally.
Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy.
Barden University was special. It wasn't the highly skilled professors, the nationally ranked acapella teams, or the beautiful campus surrounded by thick woods. Neither of those things really made Barden special. The student body on the other hand, did.
In 1974, humans were let in on a small secret. Alright, small might be a slight understatement. The stories passed down from parent to child around campfires and bedsides were true. There really were things like vampires and werewolves among them.
Both vampires and werewolves had been very good over the years of spreading lies about themselves to make sure humans wouldn't know all that much about them. But once the secret was out and humans seemed to take it better than expected? They did try to correct some of the misinformation.
No, vampires weren't killed by sunlight though it did render them able to be harmed by mortal weapons. Every day or two they needed blood - animal blood would nourish them, but human blood fed their hunger on top of the nourishment - or they would grow progressively more aggressive. They belonged to clans but were solitary by instinct. And if you were to ask a vampire if they sparkled in the sun you were more likely to be slapped than answered.
While vampires were often misrepresented, werewolves were all but slandered. No, they didn't turn in to hybrid human and wolf creatures that were mindless killing machines during the full moon. They could shift back and forth from their human form to their wolf form when they wanted. While they were compelled to change during the full moon, it wasn't to turn into a mindless beast. They lived in packs that helped create a sense of community for their members. They were often found touching, grooming each other.
Werewolves could be placed in three general categories in terms of personality: Alphas, who tended to be strong leaders and take jobs in the military, law enforcement or areas where leadership and or a strong personality were key; Zetas, who tended to shy away from leadership roles and take work that allowed them to be more of a lone wolf; Betas were a middle ground between the two other types and the type with the most variation. While all werewolves fell into one of the three categories, they were personality based. Physically a large man who turned into a massive unit of a wolf could be a Zeta or Beta as easily as an Alpha.
As time marched on and humans returned to a comfortable truce with the other creatures, it became somehow more socially acceptable for vampires and werewolves to have a place in public life.
The reason Barden was special was because the university had become the first college that allowed humans, vampires and werewolves to be on the same campus publicly, about a decade or so after humans were let in on the secret. There were vampires and werewolves of course at every college across America, but most of the time they made it nearly impossible for the humans to know who was who.
While Barden is no longer the only university that publicly allows humans, vampires, and werewolves to live and study and learn from each other in a semi-contained environment, it is still the gold standard for such mixing.
And for those drawn to apply to Barden, well they are treated to a most wonderful experience.
—
The breeze was warm as Aubrey Posen opened her car door and looked up at the building that would be her home during her last year at Barden University. Ivy grew up the sides, as if nature was trying to reclaim the building. There were times last year she wished it had.
She was a senior now and the captain of the Barden Bellas. Well co-captain, but she was co-captain with her best friend so she tried not to let the fact she had not been named the sole captain sting too deeply. The former captain, a woman Aubrey swore was part troll, made it clear she didn't trust Aubrey to lead the Bellas without help.
She rolled her head around her neck, and let out a low hiss, still able to hear the words Alice said to her before leaving campus for the last time."What does a vampire know about leading a group of mostly werewolves? Chloe might be a Beta but at least she'll keep you from biting them."
She had to remind herself Alice didn't lead them very well either. They came in third at the Southeast regionals. With only the top two teams advancing it meant that the Bellas' year was over three months into the academic year. After that, the freshman Bellas scattered a bit, not wanting to come to the Bella house and having to deal with Alica anymore than they already had. Aubrey had contacted them over the summer and was pleased all of the eligible members wanted back in for another try at a cappella domination.
"Aubrey!" Her head snapped up when she heard the front door to Bella house open and a head of copper hair poke out.
"Hello Chloe." Aubrey's lips curved into a smile. Chloe Beale was one of the few people, vampire, werewolf or human, who made Aubrey feel understood. From freshman roommates with both girls being far from home, to now co-captains of the Bellas, no-one had been there in the last three years for her the way Chloe had. "I see you've gotten a head start on cleaning."
Chloe had a dust rag in her right hand and a can of cleaner in the other. "Got in last night and decided to get the place cleaned up so we could do our planning session without cobwebs hanging around us." Chloe said with a beaming smile.
Aubrey grabbed her bags from her car, and headed towards the house. Her movements were graceful as she walked, a hallmark of her kind. It was rare to meet a vampire that didn't move fluidly. She stepped on the porch and opened her arms for the hug she knew Chloe was about to give her. A smile crossed her face as her friend found her way into her arms. They stood there a moment, enjoying being back together again.
Aubrey didn't breathe all the time, she didn't need to at all if she didn't want to, but she filled her lungs to try and get a sense of the state of the house. "Just how much lemon cleaner did you use?" The smell overwhelmed her a little.
"This place was pretty gross." Chloe said with a bashful smile as she pulled back. "I don't think Alice did a very good job of cleaning it before locking it up for the summer."
"I, for one, am shocked." Aubrey's face had a neutral expression but both women knew her thoughts on Alice.
Chloe giggled as she opened the door wider so Aubrey could enter. "I figured you should have the master suite."
"Oh?" Aubrey hadn't thought about which of them would take the first floor bedroom with it's own bathroom.
"You're the oldest and it just makes sense. Besides, I'm a pack animal." Chloe gave a proud smirk at her joke. "I'm going to want to share space with a roommate."
"Thank you then." Aubrey said softly. She had learned a long time ago when Chloe offered up something like this she did so willingly.
Chloe tossed herself on the couch in the living room while Aubrey went and put her bag in her new bedroom. She was back a few seconds later, sitting down on the end of the couch.
"When we joined freshman year, did you think we'd both end up as captains?" Aubrey looked around at the house that saw several generations of Bellas grow up.
"No." Chloe shook her head. "I normally don't think of myself as the leadership type. Only Beta in a family of Alphas will do that to a girl."
Aubrey didn't miss the slight hint of sadness in her friend's face. "We're going to win the ICCA's this year. Because you and I are a great team. Alpha or not, you are a great leader." She reached over to place her cool hand on Chloe's warm one.
"Thank you, Bree. That means a lot." Chloe turned her hand, linking their fingers. She had learned long ago to handle the feeling of being touched by a vampire. She was the only one she knew Aubrey willingly touched anyway and she didn't want to take that contact from her friend. "Come on, your hands are cold. Let me make you some tea and we can start crossing things off the list I know you made for this conversation."
Aubrey got to her feet as the pair headed to the kitchen in the back of the house. There was comfort in being known as well as Chloe knew her. She didn't have to explain who she was nor did Chloe. They could just be themselves around the other.
"Have you thought about who should room together?" Aubrey sat at the table while Chloe worked on getting two cups of tea made.
"Jessica and Ashley." Chloe said as she looked over at Aubrey after putting the water on to heat.
"Naturally. They're the only other two vampires in the house, unless we bring another one in with auditions." Aubrey agreed. "And with their romantic relationship being almost a year old, I think it's safe to say they'll want some privacy."
"In this house?" Chloe laughed. "They'll be lucky to get much privacy, even if they are rooming together." She poured the heated water over the teabags as she nodded. "I thought Lilly and Cynthia-Rose could share too. Lilly keeps to herself most of the time when she isn't whispering and she and Cynthia-Rose get along well enough."
"Sounds reasonable." Aubrey said with a simple nod. "I know enough about Alphas, even ones as reasonable as Beca and Stacie, to know we shouldn't have them room together, right?"
"Yeah, I thought I'd room up with Stacie." Chloe brought the steaming mugs over to the table.
"Not Beca?" Aubrey asked.
Chloe's cheeks turned a little pink. "There is something going on between us. We're not dating but we're not, not dating. I don't want to have her show up and see I roomed us together and feel pressured."
Aubrey wrapped one hand around her mug of tea and the other hand reached out to rest it over Chloe's hand. "You and Stacie will make good roommates."
Chloe gave her best friend a warm smile. "We should put Fat Amy on the third floor. She's the only human and it's away from the rest. I think it would be for the best."
The Bellas had gone through times when they were mostly human, mostly vampires, mostly werewolf and more equal mixes between the three. Right now they were werewolf heavy but auditions were a chance to maybe even that out some.
"That leaves Beca with her own room until we bring in someone else." Aubrey said before sipping her tea. Vampires were usually cool to the touch. Because Aubrey's father was human, sometimes the coolness that her body naturally stayed at made her feel the chill more strongly. Vampires having children with humans and werewolves wasn't an issue other than small things like feeling cold from time to time.
"I'm sure we'll find at least one person to get us back to ten." Chloe said.
Aubrey turned her attention to the reason both were here this early. "We have regionals in two months, semis three months after that and finals another three months after semis. I'd like to try to get an idea what we want to do for regionals in the next week or two."
"We should talk to Beca about some of her mixing skills. She showed me some over the summer when she came down to Portland for two weeks." Chloe's cheeks burned a little as Aubrey's eyebrow rose.
"Saw each other over the summer, did you?" Aubrey kept her eyebrow up until Chloe had to look away. She was more surprised Chloe hadn't mentioned it to her than it happened.
"We don't live that far from each other." Chloe mumbled a little. "It was nice to see someone from here."
"After we all get moved in, I'll have Beca show me some options." Aubrey was willing to at least see what Beca had to offer. The little DJ was talented so Aubrey was willing to give her a chance. The final decision would rest in her hands though, with Chloe's input heavily weighed.
It was nearly two hours later when Chloe and then Aubrey's heads tilted up. They had got caught up in their conversation until their extremely acute hearing picked up the creak of someone walking up the steps in front of the Bella House.
"Hey, anyone in here?" A voice called from outside. "Aubrey? Chlo?"
Chloe beamed at the scent she caught now that her mind had been pulled out of her conversation with Aubrey. The pair moved from the kitchen, Chloe opening the door.
"Beca!" Chloe grinned at the younger woman before pulling her into a hug.
Beca allowed the hug from her, having never been very good at keeping a strong sense of personal space around Chloe. "Hey, you smell like you dipped yourself in lemon cleaner." She laughed softly before pulling back.
"This place was a mess when I got here last night. But I managed to make it livable." Chloe kept her left hand on Beca's waist, not wanting to let her go. Her right hand lifted up to play with the ends of Beca's hair.
Beca blushed at the slight grooming gesture, it was flirting in werewolf. She didn't pull away from Chloe though, it felt nice to be wanted like this. Her eyes turned to Aubrey and she gave a smile.
"How was your summer?" Beca asked as her left hand rose to play with the ends of Chloe's hair.
"Went by quickly. Spent most of it reading and catching up with my family." Aubrey didn't know much about how werewolves flirted with each other but watching the way that Chloe and Beca were interacting made her feel like she was seeing something shifting into place between them. "Yours?"
Beca turned her head from Aubrey for a moment to look into Chloe's eyes. Both women shared a little private smile before Beca turned her head to face Aubrey again. "Spent most of it in Seattle. Pretty low key. Worked on some mixes, got some good coffee. Nothing major."
A rumble caught Aubrey's attention as Beca finished speaking. She looked over Beca's head to see someone on a motorcycle heading towards them. The bike looked, to her untrained eye at least, new with polished chrome and a black paint job. The person on the bike was blacked out to match, dark jeans with leather chaps over them, a leather jacket and a black helmet with a tinted visor.
As the bike pulled up in front of Bella House, it came to a stop just before the gravel area they all parked turned to grass. The rider swung their leg over the back of the bike before reaching under their chin and unclipping their helmet. As their long dark hair fell out, they swung their head around to shake it out.
"A Harley looks good on you, Stace." Beca called from the porch.
"I look good on a Harley." She grinned as she set her helmet on the bike and walked over, thumbs lopped in her belt. "2020 Harley Fat Boy. A gift from my pack for my grades as a freshman." She stepped up on the porch, standing several inches taller than the other three.
Aubrey's eyes didn't leave Stacie during her short walk from the bike to the porch. They had something between them last year. Study sessions for a shared science class. Coffee afterwards where they shared bits of themselves they didn't so freely share with others. Dancing together at a few parties towards the end of the year. It added up to a warm feeling washing over her when she saw Stacie but little else. Yet.
"We should go check out the area we're going to be spending our full moons." Chloe said, her voice a little squeaky. Her arms slowly moving away from Beca now that another Alpha was around. It wasn't that Chloe thought Stacie would try anything with her it was just that Chloe knew Stacie would be aware of what their flirting meant in much more practical terms than Aubrey.
The four women left the porch and started walking towards the back of the house. The area they were designated was about a 10 minute walk.
"I've already spoken to Ashley and Jessica. The three of us will be watching over you during the full moon. It will be good bonding and if another pack tries to stir something up, we'll be able to put a stop to it." Aubrey didn't think much would happen outside of maybe another group on campus trying a prank but she was unprepared to risk it.
"Let them try." Beca said with a low growl in her voice. "Between Stacie, me, and three vampires I think we'll be more than able to defend our pack."
Chloe had a pleased look at her face when Beca growled, something that did not go by unnoticed from Stacie or Aubrey. They shared a look as they walked side by side behind Chloe and Beca.
"I'm hoping no one tries." Stacie said, noticing that Beca's hand slipped into Chloe's. Something else she wasn't ready to comment on just yet. "We have a strong pack, and the vampire backup helps too."
The four women reached the area they were to spend their full moons, a thick forest all around a football field size area of grass. The three wolves scanned the area with keen vision, Aubrey adding hers, though her night vision was her true asset
Beca was the first to speak. "This will work, I think. Five wolves in here, plus three vampires. There should be enough space for us all to run around without being on top of each other."
"Being on top of each other sounds fun though." Stacie winked at her, a grin playing on her lips.
Beca opened her mouth to reply but didn't have anything she didn't think Stacie would turn even dirtier to give back.
"What are we going to need in terms of supplies?" Aubrey asked to give Beca some cover to recover from Stacie's comment. She had not been around anyone but Chloe in a full moon induced state.
"A few large bowls of water and ice, some blankets to lay on, cubes of raw meat to toss to us." Stacie said as she started listing things off on her fingers.
"Seriously, raw meat?" Aubrey wasn't sure if the younger girl was pranking her or not.
"We get hungry." Beca said as her face grew a little red. Explaining all of this to someone, even someone like Aubrey, was a bit terrifying, "and we get more aggressive if we're hungry."
Aubrey made a mental note to make sure she remembered food above all else. The last thing she needed was either Beca or Stacie to get hangry and have to break up a fight. She knew how large some wolves were and liked the ability to say she had never been in the middle of a wolf fight before.
"Most wolves won't use, like, dog toys, but having some tennis balls honestly isn't a bad idea." Chloe spoke up.
Beca made a face but had to admit running after a tennis ball wasn't the worst thing she could be doing during a full moon. "No weird dog toys though. We're not dogs. We're creatures of the night. Powerful. And stuff..."
Stacie held back a snort. "I'll go shopping with you, Aubrey. Sometimes it's easier to show then tell."
"Thank you." Aubrey's eyes met Stacie's and she smiled. They held eye contact for longer than needed even as Chloe and Beca shared a look between them over it.
"Why don't we walk the parameter?" Beca suggested. "Chloe and I can start on one side and you two can start on the other. We can meet in the middle."
Before anyone could disagree Beca took Chloe's hand and started walking with her towards the right side of the field.
"Aubrey has been through this with me before." Chloe whispered to Beca. They were still too close for her risking speaking in a normal voice. Even if she knew Aubrey - if not Stacie too - might still be able to hear her. "I just always made it easy on her. I ate before, drank the tea, I curled up on my bed, I didn't ask much of her. But she isn't going to balk at what will need to be done."
Beca kept her head on a swivel as they walked, she was making sure she knew this area well if she ever was called on it to defend her pack. "My family didn't talk about this sort of thing with outsiders. We'd go into the backyard and just all lay down. That was it. When my dad left my mom would just lay there and look up at the moon like she was waiting for him to come home." Beca's voice was soft as she opened up to Chloe. It was still difficult to see her father as anyone else but the man who broke her mother's heart.
"It's going to be different this year." Chloe let go of Beca's hand to reach up and start running her fingers through Beca's hair. "You'll have me and the rest of the Bellas. We can run together, groom each other, and sleep under the moon."
Beca stopped walking after a few heavenly moments of Chloe running her hand through her hair. It felt exquisite to have someone touching her like this. To have her hair played with by someone who knew how it made her feel. The few months she was with Jesse last year when she was a freshman, he just couldn't get it right.
"Will you go to dinner with me?" Beca turned to face Chloe directly. "Like as a date. On a date. Will you go on a date with me?" Beca felt her palms sweating a little as she looked up into Chloe's blue eyes. She poked her tongue out to lick over her suddenly dry lips. The longer it took Chloe to answer the more she wanted to run as fast and far in the opposite direction as she could.
Chloe was shocked Beca had finally asked her out, not to mention used the term date. For a moment her face was frozen before a wide grin burst out. "I would totally love to go on a date with you."
Beca reached up and brushed the hair off of Chloe's shoulder before standing on her tiptoes to be able to lean in to Chloe. She breathed in the scent that was warm like cinnamon, sweet like honeysuckle and something that was just pure Chloe. Leaning a bit forward when she felt Chloe's arms around her waist to steady her, she nuzzled against Chloe's neck. Her nose trailing over the slightly freckled skin before her teeth started nipping very lightly.
Chloe felt a shock go through her every time Beca nipped at her skin. A mix of lightning and want and knowing the person in her arms would be careful with her.
"Feels good." Chloe said in a breathy voice.
"Can I leave a mark?" Beca whispered against Chloe's neck. She didn't want to leave a big one but something for her to look at over the next few days and grin to herself. The others would be able to smell them on each other anyway so she felt giving in to this side of her wasn't anymore risky than kissing Chloe's neck in the first place.
"Yes." Chloe breathed her answer out with a slight whine to her voice.
On the other side of the field Stacie and Aubrey were walking side by side. Stacie's chaps rustled a little bit as she walked. They were closer than they needed to be to each other. Sometimes if they moved just right the back of their hands would touch.
"I see your Chloe and Beca are getting along pretty well." Stacie said after catching their mixed scents on the wind and looking over at the pair.
"Doing that, the nuzzling and all the rest, it means good things for them, doesn't it?" Aubrey asked, wanting it confirmed by someone who would know more than she did. Though her own reading of the body language left little doubt she was correct.
"That's the wolf equivalent of like first base. Second if Beca leaves a mark on Chloe's neck." Stacie said as she and Aubrey started walking again.
Aubrey watched over Stacie's shoulder for a moment before turning her attention back to the woods. "Things are different between your kind and mine. Touch isn't something that vampires give easily. Not when romantic intentions are involved."
"How does one court a vampire?" Stacie asked, trying to sound like she wouldn't be committing the answer to memory.
"You've slept with vampires before, I'm sure." Aubrey kept her eyes on the wood line.
"Sure." Stacie answered, "but I've never dated one, it was always just sex. Male vampires aren't that much different than male werewolves or male humans. Even if they had to be reminded not to leave permanent bite marks more than either."
Aubrey felt her fangs drop but kept her mouth shut to keep Stacie from seeing her reaction. She didn't want the younger woman to know just how much of a reaction to the idea of Stacie having sex with a vampire she was having.
"There is usually a lot of build up." Aubrey finally said when she got her fangs under control. "Time spent together. To see if the two are compatible before any moves are made. Vampires live a long time. We have the time to see if things are likely to work out before taking the risk."
"When you live far past werewolf or human lifetimes, it makes sense to take your time." Stacie said with a nod. She put her hand on Aubrey's arm and guided her nearer to the trees when she noticed how pink Aubrey's face was getting. She knew vampires could be in the sun but she also knew they had a near allergic reaction to it if they were in it for more than an hour or so. And they were nearing that point.
"Thank you." Aubrey whispered when she figured out what Stacie had done.
"Don't mention it." Stacie turned her head and gave a dazzling smile to Aubrey.
Aubrey looked back to the woods but felt herself smiling. Her head turned back straight when they reached Chloe and Beca who still hadn't moved.
"You two having fun?" Stacie laughed softly at the pair.
Beca's head jerked up from where she had been nuzzling and tracing her tongue over the mark she made on Chloe's neck. Her cheeks were a brilliant shade of red.
"I - we were just -." Beca looked away with a grin she couldn't get off of her face.
"Ready to go back to Bella House?" Chloe asked with bright eyes and her own matching grin.
"I think that's a good idea. Get Aubrey out of the sun and find something for lunch." Stacie said as they four all turned toward Balla House.
Aubrey smiled as she saw her best friend's hand taken by Beca as she and Chloe walked in front of herself and Stacie. She tried not to think about how appealing holding hands with the women beside her sounded.
—
Aubrey woke a few days later to someone in her room. She could feel the tiny vibrations of their heartbeat as her mind slowly came to her. Her fangs dropped before she breathed in. A moment later her eyes opened and came face to face with her best friend sitting on the edge of her bed. It wasn't unusual for Chloe to be in her space, Aubrey had grown used to a pair of blue eyes on her. But this was the first time in over a year she had woken up to Chloe in her bed. It had been the first time all summer she had slept.
"What do I owe this early morning visit to?" Aubrey took the offered mug of tea, holding it between her hands once she sat up. Her teeth returned to normal now that she knew she wasn't in danger.
"Beca asked me on a date." Chloe said, her face breaking into a grin.
"I had a feeling that was going to happen when I saw your neck." Aubrey reached up to brush Chloe's hair back and reveal the two marks on her friend's neck. The original one placed there when Beca asked her out and a second that looked fresher.
Chloe ducked her head but her grin only grew. "I really like her, Bree."
Aubrey's smile was soft, her voice slightly teasing. "I would hope so if you're going to keep playing with her hair. Stacie clued me in to the meaning there. She said it was pretty serious flirting from the you to do that now that Cynthia-Rose, Lilly and she are around."
Werewolves touching each other was common no matter the status of their relationship as long as they were at least acquaintances. Grooming behavior towards each other, playing with hair or fingers, nuzzling each other's neck was usually reserved for close friends, pack mates or in the case of romantically unattached wolves like Beca and Chloe, considered major flirting.
"I can't help it. I just want to groom her and let her nuzzle my neck." Chloe flopped down on the bed, her head on Aubrey's pillow. "I want to show her I know the beats of the song she wants to sing."
"You are a hopeless romantic, you know that?" Aubrey asked.
"I am aca-awesome, excuse you." Chloe winked which got a snort from Aubrey.
"Not that I don't want you laying on my bed at 8:34 am. But is your desire to keep publicly grooming Beca all you wanted to talk about?" Aubery asked.
"I'm her captain." Chloe whispered after a moment's pause. "Co-captain. Whatever."
"You are." Aubrey replied. "But she is also one of two Alphas in our group. Which puts her in a power position over you in terms of how I understand pack dynamics."
Chloe slowly nodded as she thought about the point that Aubrey was making. "It's not like Beca or Stacie are the boss of me or the others. But yeah, we do have an innate desire to defer to them sometimes."
"So she holds some sway over you and you hold some sway over her." Aubrey remarked.
Chloe thought for a moment about Aubrey's point. Her grin was back in full force. "You know there are two Alphas in the house. And I think one of them might have caught your eye." She said with a hint of glee in her eye.
It was Aubrey's turn to blush under the bright lights of a best friend's gaze. "I like being around Stacie, I like talking to her. But I don't know if it's a road we'll end up going down."
"Why?" Chloe asked, as blunt as ever. "She's attractive, you're attractive. She is one of the few people who can challenge you in a way that you don't become defensive. And I can smell her on you way more than I smell anyone on you other than myself."
"We hug sometimes." Aubrey admitted. "She's warm. And when I get cold it's nice to have someone taller than me to wrap me up." She ran a hand through her hair to try and settle her now unsettled mind.
"I know you. You don't let people touch you without being sure it's what you want." As if to demonstrate the point Chloe reached over and put her hand on Aubrey's forearm.
"Let's get through the next few weeks of getting the Bellas up and running before we go plotting my romantic life, alright?" Aubrey requested.
"Vampires move way too slow." Chloe rolled her eyes dramatically but then leaned over to kiss Aubrey's cheek. Aubrey soaked up the moment like she always did when her dearest friend was around.
"You've said that about us before." Aubrey chuckled. "Come on, let's go make breakfast for the others. Five wolfs and Fat Amy to feed this year, at least. We might need to update the budget to include more for food." Most werewolves could eat twice as much as they would if they were humans at any given meal.
Chloe laughed as the two women headed to the kitchen.
Aubrey - who for someone who never needed to eat was a very good cook - and Chloe - who could hold her own - started to get a large family style breakfast on the table with eggs, pancakes, bacon and hash browns, the scent of the food and coffee started to pull the others towards them in the kitchen.
"Coffee." Beca groaned as she walked into the kitchen. The scent of the food and coffee waking her up and pulling her downstairs.
"Here ya go." Chloe greeted as she handed Beca a cup of black coffee with a smile.
"Thanks." Beca said through a yawn before moving to the table to sit down. She looked younger than her nineteen years in her oversized blue t-shirt and sleep pants with stars on them.
Ashley and Jessica made their way in next, hand in hand as they took seats on the far end of the table. Like Aubrey they didn't need to ever eat human food, they liked to share meal time with their friends. Sometimes they might pick at some bacon in the mornings, because who doesn't like bacon?
"Morning." Ashley said, her arm moving to the back of Jessica's chair so her girlfriend could tuck herself against her side.
"Morning." Beca barely had her eyes open as she slipped her coffee.
"Good morning." Jessica smiled as she tucked herself against Ashley.
"Any plans for today?" Chloe asked as she pulled a jug of orange juice out of the fridge to set on the table.
"Jess and I have to start working on her audition for the fall play, "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie. I'm doing the hair and makeup this semester so it's quality bonding time." Ashley turned her head to press a kiss to the top of Jessica's.
"Vera Elizabeth Claythorne, she sounds very posh even if she's not really." Jessica said, her hand resting on Ashley's leg.
"We'll all go to see it when it comes out." Aubrey moved a stack of pancakes to the table. She had no doubt Jess would get the part if she auditioned for it. "Once you're cast, give me your rehearsal schedule and I'll make sure that Bella practice doesn't conflict as much as possible."
"I need to give you my schedule at the radio station. I'm not a freshman anymore so I can get booth time." Beca looked excited at the idea of getting to do some real work at the station as her coffee kicked in.
"I need to give you my tutoring schedule too." Stacie said as she walked into the kitchen. Her eyes lingering on Aubrey for a few seconds longer than she needed to. "I got a part time job in the student help center. Looks good for internships next year."
Aubrey handed her a cup of coffee without thinking about it, knowing how she took it with half a spoon of sugar in the morning.
"Thanks, Bree." Stacie's voice was soft as her fingers brushed Aubrey's in the exchange for the mug. "You're the best." She winked before taking a seat between Ashley and Beca.
Lilly was followed in by Cynthia-Rose just as the final bits of food were put on the table.
"When I went up to tell Fat Amy breakfast was soon, she grunted and flipped me off. Something about going out last night and just getting back?" Cynthia-Rose explained as she sat across from Stacie with Lilly beside her.
"Yeah, because you can sneak in and out in the house with five wolves and three vampires. We all heard her going out last night." Stacie snorted.
"And she lives on the top floor." Cynthia-Rose added with a laugh.
Chloe took her place next to Beca, glad Aubrey left it open and instead took the spot next to Lilly. She reached her hand out and rested it on Beca's leg, earning a smile from the DJ.
"Do you want to come walk to the station with me, maybe check out how much campus has changed since last year?" Beca asked, wanting to spend time with Chloe while they had the time to spare.
"That sounds great." Chloe answered with a blush and a smile. She didn't have to look up to know everyone was watching their interaction.
"If you need a list of the best places on campus to make out, let me know. I have them listed by location and also privacy level." Stacie sent the couple a wink.
"Of course you do." Ashley laughed.
"Hey, a lot of them are areas I use to study too. Double duty." Stacie grinned back at her.
Aubrey sat back and watched as the Bellas all teased each other and ate their breakfast. There was something calming to her about being around this group of women that she got from no other group. Her family was much more formal around her and this group really was her main support system.
Aubrey sat up a little straighter when she heard boots on the steps outside. They weren't expecting anyone today. Her eyes caught Jessica and Ashley's before she stood up. They both sat a little straighter but made no move to get up. They would be waiting for Aubrey to call if she needed. The others were all too consumed with eating to notice the change in the three Vampires.
Aubrey excused herself to head to the door to see who was there. When she opened it she came face to face with a woman who looked to be in her late forties, with her a teenage girl just about college age.
"Ms. Posen. My name is Katherine Junk, this is my daughter Emily." The older women smiled. "I was a Barden Bella in the 80's and a captain in my last year. I assume you know why we're here?"
Aubrey slowly nodded as she understood why Katherine and Emily were there. "Bella by-laws state any daughter of a past Bella can request an up or down vote on being admitted as a Bella in their own right." Legacies were somewhat rare but they happened. Aubrey technically wasn't a Legacy as her older sister was a member and her mother obviously wasn't.
"We can come back if it's a bad time." Emily said, looking like a puppy who was excited at the whole experience.
"If you wouldn't mind giving us thirty minutes?" Aubrey suggested.
"That's fine." Katherine agreed. "Let's go get some tea to soothe your throat before you sing." She said to her daughter who happily walked away with her.
Aubrey turned and shut the door before heading back to the kitchen where the others had finished eating and started to clean up.
"Who was at the door?" Beca asked, having noticed something was happening when Aubrey stepped away.
"Former Bella and her daughter. She has requested that her daughter get an up or down vote on joining." Aubrey explained.
"A legacy?" Chloe looked excited.
"So this one gets to skip the normal process?" Cynthia-Rose asked.
"She does." Aubrey confirmed. "She gets to sing, we vote yes or no and if she gets 60% or more of the vote, she's in. They will be back in thirty minutes. They gave us some time to get dressed."
"Alright Bellas, everyone go put some clothes on and let's see if Legacy is worth her salt." Chloe said with a glint in her eye.
It didn't take them the full thirty minutes to get changed and meet down in the living room but they didn't have all that much time to spare.
Aubrey stood in front of them all. "Katherine Junk is an icon from her era of the Bellas. She was also a captain and sits on the Bella High Council."
"There's a Bella High Council?" Beca's eyes went a bit wide.
"They mostly handle the money, any direct disciplinary action, make sure we have the support we need and act to help us with life once we're out of Barden." Aubrey explained.
"So we want to play nice?" Ashley wondered.
"We want to be fair. If Emily, her daughter, is terrible we should vote not to admit her. If she's really good it's an easy vote in. In the middle we all need to vote our conscience." Aubrey said.
"Lean yes if you're in doubt." Chloe said, saying the quiet part out loud. "What, you were thinking about it!" She smirked at Aubrey when she gave her a slightly incredulous look.
Before they could go on there was a knock on the door. Aubrey looked at it for a moment before walking over to open it once again.
Emily was standing on the porch alone this time. While Katherine could get Emily's foot in the door, so to speak, this part was up to Emily.
"Come in, please." Aubrey said as she directed Emily to the living room where the Bellas were all waiting.
"Hi!" Emily beamed at all of them. "I'm Emily Junk and I'm super excited to be here."
Aubrey sat down on the edge of the couch next to Chloe. "Alright, Emily. Whenever you're ready."
Emily nodded as she looked around the room at the women who already intimidated her a little bit. "So um I thought I'd do Begin Again by Taylor Swift." She explained. When she saw a few smiles back at her she felt the knot in her belly loosen a little bit.
"Took a deep breath in the mirror / He didn't like it when I wore high heels, but I do / Turned the lock and put my headphones on / He always said he didn't get this song but I do, I do…"
Emily started singing, her eyes closed as she tried to focus on the words and letting her voice do the work for her.
Aubrey leaned forward as Emily gained steam as she went. She was good, a little rough and her breathing technique could use work but she had talent. As she looked around the room, judging by the smiles she saw, she mentally tallied the votes and knew how it would end up.
Chloe shifted a little closer to Beca on the couch, kissing her temple before turning her attention back to Emily, her hands toying with Beca's hair while Emily sang.
"Then on a Wednesday in a café I watched it begin again." Emily finished the song and looked at them like a puppy who just learned a new trick.
Aubrey stood back up, hands folded in front of her. "Thank you Emily, if you would just step to the porch and give us a moment to talk it over and vote?"
"Sure thing!" Emily gave an excited smile and rushed out of the house.
Beca was the first one to speak up once Emily was outside. "She's got a good voice."
"She'll add some height." Stacie commented.
"Another Beta isn't going to shift the team balance off." Chloe said. She could smell her type as soon as she walked in. They were werewolf heavy this year which was a bit unusual. Both the campus and the Bellas had a strong influx of them over the last four years.
"I think blending her into the numbers won't be that hard. She has talent." Ashley agreed.
"If we saw her at option try outs we'd want her." Jessica commented. She was already sitting on Ashley's lap but she moved to be a little closer, enjoying the position.
"Any negatives?" Aubrey asked the room.
Lilly whispered something that no one could hear, her head tilting while her lips made the fish motion again.
"She closes her eyes when she sings, what's up with that?" Fat Amy asked.
"She's got to be nervous. I mean her mom was a Bella captain and she has to sing in a room with us like this." Ashley piped up.
Aubrey let them talk a few more moments before she held her hand up to stop the debate. "Alright. It's time for an up or down vote. All in favor of having Emily join the Bellas, say aye."
"Aye." All of the Bellas except Fat Amy called out nay.
"Why'd you vote no, Amy?" Beca asked.
"She has giraffe legs." Amy shuttered.
Aubrey fought the urge to roll her eyes at Amy. Leaving the living room, she made her way to the front door and opened it. When she saw Katherine and Emily standing there, she smiled at them.
"Would the two of you please come inside?" Aubrey gestured.
Katherine readjusted her purse on her shoulder before heading into the Bella house for the first time in over twenty years. She noticed how the wall colors were different, how it felt more like a home now.
"So, did I get in?" Emily asked nervously.
"You did." Aubrey said, giving her what she hoped was a welcoming smile. "The official ceremony isn't for a few days but the vote was in your favor."
Emily turned and hugged her mother. The two women grinned as everyone clapped at the newest Bella. Katherine had tears in her eyes as she looked down at her daughter. Her eyes with the Bellas were some of her best memories and now her daughter would have some of her own.
"Honey, all I can tell you if you're in for a wild ride." Katherine smiled down at her daughter.
—
The mid afternoon of the first full moon of the school year saw Aubrey standing next to Stacie's motorcycle. The brunette had been trying to get Aubrey on the bike since they all returned to campus.
"We have to get supplies, wouldn't it be easier to take my car?" Aubrey questioned again.
"The saddlebags are big enough to handle everything. Trust me, ok?" Stacie had a spare leather jacket in her hand and a spare helmet in her other.
Aubrey couldn't help give in to Stacie on this. She had never been on a motorcycle before but the idea of sharing a ride with Stacie was appealing. Though she still was delaying thinking too seriously about her feelings. "Alright. We can take your bike."
Stacie's face lit up as she offered the leather jacket to Aubrey. She already had on jeans and boots so Stacie didn't need her to change. "Ok, let's talk rules."
"Rules?" Aubrey raised an eyebrow.
"No wiggling back there. Seriously, this isn't me being well me, sit close to me with your arms around me and try to mirror my moves on the bike. It will make my job a lot easier. I should be able to hear you if you talk somewhat loudly but save any non emergencies for lights or when we're stopped." Stacie explained the basics to her. "I'll do a loop around campus to make sure you're comfortable before we take public roads. If you're not comfortable, let me know and we can take your car, ok?"
"Sounds good." Aubrey said. It put her at ease that Stacie was giving her details of how to handle all of this. She let Stacie help her get the helmet on and make sure it was secure.
She flipped down the pegs for Aubrey to put her feet on before she straddled the bike and set it up straight. "I'll go slow for you, no tricks."
There was something in Stacie's eyes that made Aubrey slowly nod. She knew how Stacie worked. So far their relationship had been nothing but respectful to the pace Aubrey set. She had never expected Stacie to want her let alone be interested enough to take things slowly. "Alright. I trust you."
Once Aubrey was on the back of the bike and her hands were firmly around Stacie's waist, she started the bike. It always took her a moment to adjust with her sensitive hearing to handle the sound of the Harley but she was getting more used to it. She breathed out slowly as she felt Aubrey hold on a bit tighter. She held her left hand out in a thumbs up sign to make sure that Aubrey was ready for this. She wasn't sure having Aubrey be so very close to her was as good of an idea as she thought it would be.
Aubrey unwrapped her left arm from around Stacie's waist to return the sign. She was a vampire. She would almost surely survive if there were any kind of crash with the sun hidden behind thick cloud cover.
When Aubrey tucked both arms around her waist again, Stacie gave the bike a bit of throttle and started moving them once she was sure it was clear. It was different driving the bike with someone on the back. She had ridden with passengers before but not on her new bike. Having the captain of the Bellas pressed up against her back was doing things to her she hadn't expected. But she wouldn't trade this for the world.
For Aubrey, it was as close to flying as she thought she might ever get. The wind swirling around them, the feeling of Stacie, warm and solid against her front, the vibration making her body slightly off kilter like a cat in a car. She pressed herself a little closer, trying not to throw Stacie off. She could barely read Stacie's heart rate with the bike's vibration interfering but she swore when she shifted closer Stacie's heart rate went up. She couldn't help but be pleased with herself for that.
After a loop around campus Stacie checked in with Aubrey before taking off to a store about 15 minutes away. It had mostly pet supplies but because of the location relative to the college campus had a fairly good selection for werewolves. They would be able to get the water bowls, a few ropes and maybe something silly for Beca just to mess with her.
Getting off of the bike once Stacie pulled into the parking lot and parked, Aubrey felt her legs wobble a little. It didn't last long but it made her feel more human than most activities did.
"How was it?" Stacie asked, beaming a little as she hung the helmets by the handlebar.
"I might be willing to go with you on that thing after today." Aubrey answered, her hands slipping into the pockets on the borrowed leather jacket.
"Total win for me then." Stacie laughed as they headed inside the store and to a second near the back.
The store wasn't overly crowded as Stacie and Aubrey made their way to the back. Mostly humans trying to find something for their pet, a few dogs on leashes by their owners. When they got to the special section in the back, they were the only ones around.
"Alright, water bowls that will last all year." Stacie tapped her chin as she looked at the options.
"Rubber?" Aubrey suggested.
"No way. It can rub against the bottom of our muzzles and get really uncomfortable." Stacie explained as she looked at some metal bowls instead. "Plus the metal is easier to clean."
Aubrey had never thought about the logistics of all of this more than the basic needs. "Chloe usually just slept all night."
"I'd wager she drank tea before she transformed, yeah?" Stacie looked over at Aubrey.
"She said it was to ease the transformation." Aubrey said, a little confused.
Stacie snorted. "It does. By knocking us out. She was trying to make life easier for you by drugging herself."
Aubrey looked horrified at the thought that Chloe would do something like that just so she wasn't at risk of feeling any discomfort.
"Valerian root tea is harmless. It just makes us want to sleep and keeps some of our more wolfish behaviors from coming out. A lot of us have used it. I did last year a few times when I didn't have anywhere to go to transform and I didn't want to roam the woods." Stacie explained.
It didn't make Aubrey feel much better but it did ease her guilt a bit. "These bowls are pretty big but they should fit in your saddlebags." She turned her attention back to the task at hand.
Stacie grabbed three of them so they could space the water out in the field. "You, Jess and Ashley are going to have to refill them before the night is over. Bec and I already packed a cooler to take with water and we have been using the freezer in the basement to keep some frozen blocks of ice."
"You didn't put it directly on top of the blood there, did you?" Aubrey questioned.
"No. Jess helped us to make sure that it wouldn't mess with your food. Beca and I didn't want to screw it up." Stacie said with a shy smile. Messing with a vampire's food sounded like a great way to get dead.
Aubrey nodded approvingly as they moved from the area with the bowls to an area with thick rope pulls. She watched as Stacie's finger tips reached out to slowly move over the ropes. Her head tilted as she just watched Stacie considered a dozen options. There was a focus in the brunette's eyes as she made her choice.
"Th-these." Stacie cleared her throat as she looked at a white and blue rope that was about as thick as her wrist. The material was strong but soft to the touch with large knots on each end. She blushed a little bit as she grabbed 4 of them, her eyes looking anywhere but Aubrey.
"Hey." Aubrey whispered, reaching her hand out to press it to Stacie's leather clad forearm. "Whatever you need, whatever is going to make you happy or have fun during the full moon, you should do. Jess, Ashley and I? We have our own stuff that can be uncomfortable to explain to others too. But we're Bellas and we stick together over anything else."
Stacie brought her gaze up and locked her eyes up with Aubrey. She knew being at Barden meant she would be accepted but the tenderness in Aubrey's face meant more to her than just about anything. "You're a good person, Aubrey Posen."
Aubrey couldn't really blush, not unless she had just finished feeding, but she ducked her head like she was. "The same could be said about you, Stacie Conrad." She slipped past Stacie to pick up a sack of tennis balls. "Anything else?"
Stacie looked around before grinning as she picked up a Kong and a can of cheese spread. "For Beca." She let a smile come back to her lips. They had a long day and night before them, she didn't have time to get caught up in her emotions.
"She is going to kill you." Aubrey said with a smirk.
"I think I could take her in a fight. I have a size advantage." Stacie laughed.
Aubrey shook her head as they walked to the front to pay. Aubrey used the Bellas' account to pay for everything before they walked out with two bags. Aubrey still wasn't sure this would fit on the bike but she trusted Stacie to make it work.
"Hold these a moment." Stacie handed the bags to Aubrey as she opened both saddle bags. After doing a little readjusting she was able to fit everything in one of the bags, leaving the other open for what they needed from the grocery store.
"That's talent." Aubrey said, impressed.
"Oh, I have many talents. This isn't even in the top twenty." Stacie laughed.
Aubrey snorted, holding her hand out and taking the helmet when Stacie passed the spare back to her.
"We have some time if you want to go for a longer ride before we go to the store." Stacie spoke without looking at Aubrey. She knew how much the older woman didn't like to break her schedule when she had a plan in mind.
"There is a meat shop about an hour from here. My freshman year I found it on a drive." Aubrey's hands stopped half way through buckling the helmet. "We could go there instead of the store by Bella House? We have plenty of time before nightfall."
Stacie turned her head to Aubrey, her eyes a little darker than they usually were. "Perfect."
Aubrey found herself on Stacie's bike again a few moments later. This time she moved to press flush against her from the start. She could feel the slight way Stacie pushed back against her so there wasn't space for anything between them. As the bike roared to life, Aubrey was sure this time Stacie's heartbeat sped up.
—
"Shouldn't they have been back by now?" Beca and Chloe were laying in a hammock on the side of Bella house as the sun set behind them.
"Aubrey texted me before I walked out saying they were about twenty minutes away." Chloe was cuddled up against Beca's side, using her shoulder as a pillow. Since it was Georgia in late August so while it wasn't as hot as a few weeks ago it was still warmer than the Pacific Northwest they both came from.
Beca turned her head to press her cheek against the top of Chloe's head. She could lay just like this for more or less forever and be happy to do it. "They are good for each other."
Chloe slipped her hand under Beca's shirt, tracing patterns on her side as she hummed in agreement. "I haven't seen Aubrey open up to anyone but me like she is with Stacie. She has other friends but this isn't that."
Beca toyed with bits of Chloe's hair as she tried not to move too much and have her hand stop what it was doing. The light touches, the way they fit together like they were carved from the same bit of marble, the ease of it all made Beca feel like she was right where she needed to be.
"I know I asked you out and I haven't mentioned it since. But I was hoping this Monday we could go out?" Beca changed the subject from one Bella captain to the other. And if she was honest her favorite of the two, not that it was all that hard to guess. She wanted to give them a night or two to recover from the full moon before taking her out.
"Do I get to know the plan?" Chloe asked, turning her head to give Beca's jaw a soft kiss as her response.
"There is a Blues club that I slipped away to a few times last year, one of my favorites is playing Monday night. I thought we could get dinner and then go hear some live music. It's not a cappella but they are still pretty amazing." Beca explained her plan. She just hoped it wasn't too lame for Chloe.
"I wouldn't have pegged you for a Blues fan." Chloe splayed her fingers over Beca's ribs. "I can't wait for Monday night." She leaned up to kiss Beca, unable to help herself. Her lips moved against Beca's, parting when she felt a tongue slide against her bottom lip.
Beca shifted slightly as she deepened the kiss. Her hand sliding up to cup the redhead's cheek. She had kissed men before but their lips had never felt so soft, she never felt butterflies in her belly spring to life quiet this way before. She pulled back when she heard the distant voices heading toward the house, breathing harder than she normally would be looked down at Chloe.
"When we do that, it makes me want to run head first over the cliff with you. But we can't. I don't want to rush this, us. You deserve to have someone who will take their time with you, treat you right." Beca bent her head down to give Chloe another kiss, keeping this one quick. "Not too slow but not a mad dash, yeah?"
The look in Chloe's eyes matched the smile on her lips. "You are wonderful." She leaned up to kiss Beca's cheek. "I want to rush. Fly over the edge of the cliff. But you're right, long term that is a bad idea if you and I want to make this work. So we take our time. Just not vampire slow, ok?"
"No. Definitely not that slow." Beca answered with a shiver.
Chloe craned her neck when she heard Stacie's motorcycle in the distance. She leaned into Beca, her eyes closed. If they were back it would be nearly time for the group to gather and head to their field. Which meant nearly time for their first night of transformation as a Bella pack.
"Tonight, maybe we can set our blankets next to each other?" Chloe asked. Each of the wolves would be bringing a blanket with them to bed down on if they wanted to sleep.
"I was thinking maybe we could share a blanket?" The comment came out more as a question as Beca worried she undermined her point about taking it slowly. "I just want to be close to you and then it would smell like both of us."
Chloe's smile turned to a full blown grin as she looked up at Beca. "I'm going to kiss you until Aubrey and Stacie break us up." She pulled the DJ down into a kiss, grinning against her lips when she eagerly kissed her back.
As Stacie pulled up to the Bella House she felt a temptation to keep driving past the house and just keep riding with Aubrey pressed against her. It had been a wonderful afternoon for the pair, and Stacie had enjoyed the feeling of being around someone who could make her laugh and feel things she usually didn't with others the way the Bella captain could.
Turn into the Bella driveway she did though, parking her bike in the space she usually did. She let Aubrey off before swinging the kickstand and setting the Harley down. She got off, shaking one leg and then the other as the blood flow returned.
"Do you want to go cut up the meat while I bring in the other supplies and go put the helmets back in my room?" Stacie suggested after flipping the visor up.
Aubrey removed the helmet and shook her hair out. She hated to take off the leather jacket, it was comfortable and it smelled like Stacie still. She paused just a moment before she took the jacket off and handed it out to Stacie. "Sounds like a plan." She opened one of the saddlebags and retrieved a large bag of different meat.
"Keep it for now. So next time we go out you already have it." Stacie said with one of her trademark winks.
Aubrey gave her a smile before taking the large bag of meat to be cut up out of one of the saddlebags and heading to the house to cut it up and put it on ice.
Stacie stood there a moment to watch as Aubrey walked away from her. She would swear until her dying day that Aubrey put some wiggle in her hips as she walked. She shook her head to clear it before grabbing the other supplies from the saddlebag.
Walking towards the house Stacie spied Beca and Chloe kissing in the hammock. "Hey Mitchell, got you a gift." She tossed a bag to her, smirking as Beca opened the bag with the Kong and cheese spray inside of it.
"Fuck you, Conrad." Beca held up her left hand, middle finger extended.
—
It started as an itch in the back of Stacie's brain. An itch she knew that to scratch, her bones would have to be broken, her organs rearranged and her tendons contorted. She grabbed a blanket from the edge of her bed before heading downstairs to meet the others.
"Is everyone here?" Stacie asked Beca, her voice lower than usual. Her eyes had taken a slightly more golden hue the higher the moon rose in the night's sky.
"Amy left a note on her bed saying she was, "getting a smoothie with Bumper" and took like half of her stuff." Beca explained. Amy was human and would have likely missed this anyway but Beca wanted Stacie updated.
Stacie looked at the other Alpha and saw the tightness in her shoulders. She knew Beca's brain was itching to transform as much as her own. As her golden eyes moved around the room she saw the tell-tale signs from all of the wolves they were as itchy as she was.
"Let's go." Beca said, walking to the door and opening it. "Stacie, you take the front and I'll take the back." They agreed already to bookend the group. While the chances of any real threats were small it was in their blood to be protective.
Stacie stepped out first, walking to where the sidewalk started while the others came out of Bella House. All of the wolves were dressed in tank tops and shorts, they would need to undress after all before they transformed unless they wanted their clothing shredded.
Aubrey did a headcount to make sure everyone was here and accounted for. Once she was sure everything was out of the house, that Beca had locked the front door and all were accounted for, she turned to Stacie. "Lead on." She said, giving control of her team, for the moment anyway, over to Stacie and Beca.
Stacie locked eyes with Beca before turning to lead the group to their field. Aubrey followed behind her while the rest of the Bellas walked two by two.
"I've never done this except with my parents before." Emily whispered to Chloe as they walked. She was so new to the group but already so excited to be part of the Bellas. "Like we just strip and transform and like hang out?"
"We haven't done this as a group before but that is the game plan. Aubrey, Jessica and Ashley will be there to make sure we have water, food and some interaction." Chloe replied. The oldest of the wolves appointed herself to be the one to be there for Emily during her first group transformation, remembering how scary and painful it was when you didn't know what to expect.
"Right. Totally great." Emily bit her lip. Everyone here had been so nice to her. She had been moved into Beca's room to share with her - Legacies were allowed to stay in Bella housing even as freshmen - and her idolization had grown quickly.
"You don't have to be nervous." Chloe said before she reached out to take her hand. "We're all Bellas here."
"Thanks, Chloe." The touch made Emily feel more at ease as they reached the clearing.
Stacie walked them all the way from the open end of the cleaning to a wooden shelter that the campus had installed for them in case of rain near the wood line at the far end. They were taken down each summer so the wood could be replaced and patched if needed.
"Alright." Stacie turned to look at her pack once they all made it, "Everyone lay out your blankets and transform when you're ready. Beca and I are going to do one sweep of the clearing before we transform." Without another word the pair walked off.
Aubrey, Jessica and Ashley started to unpack the supplies under the protective roof of the shelter. The bag with the tennis balls and ropes was put in front of the shelter so the items could be used, the cooler of meat, ice and jugs of water were placed against one wall, bowls for water were placed about 10 feet from the shelter and filled as to be ready when needed. Aubrey set out Stacie's blanket near the shelter for her.
Each wolf found a patch of grass to put their blankets on. Not too close to each other so they wouldn't be right on top of each other but not too far away that if they did bed down they couldn't see each other.
Chloe put the blanket she and Beca would be sharing farthest from the safety of Aubrey, Jessica and Ashley. While she would be more likely to pick a place near the middle, Beca wouldn't. And tonight she wanted to play the supportive... mate wasn't the right word but Chloe hoped one day it would be.
One by one the Bellas stripped and transformed. The three vampires averted their eyes out of respect. Their fangs coming down could be a weird sensation but it was nothing like what werewolves went through. Their bodies were broken and put back together in ways that human and vampire alike would never be able to really understand. The howls that rang out from each of the werewolves sounded painful to the vampire's ears. Stacie warned them it would happen, the painful howl as they came to find themselves in a new body after their former one had been torn apart.
As Stacie and Beca returned, Aubrey rose up from her chair and walked to them. She wanted one last check in with them before they would be able to speak.
"Everything clear?" Aubrey asked.
"Looks that way." Stacie answered. "There are a few clearings like this one but a good quarter mile between them. We should be fine as long as no uninvited guests come for a visit."
Beca nodded her agreement but her eyes were looking past Aubrey to where Chloe had transformed into a wolf with copper color fur and golden eyes. Beca didn't even make an excuse as she walked away from Stacie and Aubrey to join her, stripping once she got to her before her body transformed.
"We'll watch over you." Aubrey said to Stacie, averting her eyes from Beca and Chloe. "I promise."
Stacie bent down, a soft growl escaping from her parted lips. "I'm counting on it." She pulled Aubrey into a hug when what she really wanted to do was kiss her. The moon was making her more forward than even she normally would be, but she also knew kissing Aubrey right now wasn't a great long term plan.
Aubrey pressed a kiss to Stacie's shoulder, allowing herself to say in the moment and not over think why it warmed her to do so. "I don't break promises, not to the people I care about." She allowed herself another few seconds in Stacie's arms before she pulled back.
"I need to transform." Stacie whispered, her hands clenching and unclenching.
"I put you nearer to the shelter so if someone comes from the woods side, you'll be there." Aubrey didn't say the second reason, the one that felt too soon to say, that she just wanted Stacie close to her.
"Thanks for putting my blanket out." Stacie said as they walked, dodging the others as they jumped around and got used to their new bodies.
"Of course." The back of Aubrey's hand brushed with Stacie's as they reached the purple queen size blanket. "If you want me, you know where to find me."
Stacie walked as Aubrey walked away from her. She didn't put as much of a shake in her hips as she did after getting back to Bella House that afternoon but Stacie swore she was still playing it up. Shaking her head she quickly undressed and closed her eyes, her body twisting and turning as she transformed. As her muzzle turned to the sky she let out a howl that could be heard for miles around.
Aubrey, Jessica and Ashley watched as the pack of wolves started running around and burning off some energy. Chloe was being run after by Beca, chocolate brown fur with a few lighter streaks throughout, with as close to a smile as any had seen on a wolf's face. Cynthia-Rose, sporting honey colored fur, and Emily were tugging on one of the ropes, Emily, her fur maple with hints of gold, was holding her own against Cynthia-Rose even if the latter was larger. Lilly, pure black without any brown undertones, was laying on her back and looking up at the stars with her tongue hanging out. Stacie, the largest of the pack with dark chestnut fur, just sat at her blanket and watched over everything, making sure that everything felt right.
Turning her head to the sky again, Stacie let out a howl, the others joining in one by one.
"You know, for wolves, they sure do have great harmony." Jessica gave a smile with only the light of the full moon for illumination.