"Falling in love is not rational. It's madness. A beautiful, wonderful, moment of magnificent insanity."
-Michael Faudet
"The Werewolf is neither man nor wolf, but a Satanic creature with the worst qualities of both."
-Warner Oland
OoO
Deep in the woods just outside of Forks sat a parked car and in it, two teenagers could be seen, their silhouetted forms just barely visible by the light of the moon as they made love. It was a cold night, a slow fog beginning to roll in from the hills as the two teenagers made out, their bodies pressed tightly together in the small cramped space.
Unknown to them, danger lurked in the shadows as two yellow, beady eyes watched them from the cover of darkness. He had been patient, waiting for the right opportune moment to strike, his hunger a constant ache in his belly that never truly seemed to go away.
Stepping out of the woods, the monster basked in the moonlight before moving in for the kill.
OoO
Paul Lahote had once sworn to himself that he would never imprint. However, if there was one thing that Paul was shit at, it was keeping promises.
A promise, he knew, either made something, or it broke everything. His entire childhood had been a collection of broken promises, one after another until it had completely broken his trust in the people around him. Because of that, he knew never to make promises he could not keep, so he never made them at all. It was easier that way; to not have people's misguided trust placed in him. It made the world around him easier; simple even.
That was until she came.
And just like that, in the blink of an eye, his entire world was flipped upside down. And if that wasn't bad enough, he could tell that there was something off about his imprint. He knew she wasn't human, his Wolf senses enough to tell him that. Just being around her was enough to put him on edge. She was a conundrum, a puzzle just waiting to be solved. A person who was clearly not human and who walked with the confidence only befitting of a natural predator.
He could sense she was dangerous, and yet at the same time, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He knew nothing about her, except that she had almost mowed Quil over with her Jeep and that she wasn't afraid of Wolves. She was the one person in this world that he wanted more than anything, but at the same time, there was a part of him that wished she would get in her car, drive off and never come back.
Panic surged through him at the thought as he ran towards the road, his giant form gliding through the trees as he ran alongside her rental car, the trees shielding him from view. He could see the Volvo she was driving as he deliberately kept pace with it. He knew he was being irrational, but the thought of her leaving physically pained him. He wanted her; needed her to stay.
While he wanted more than anything to reject the bond between them, he knew he couldn't. He wanted her more than anything, and that scared the shit out of him.
"Paul!" came Embry's frantic voice through the pack bond as he bounded after the Silver Wolf. "Where are you going?"
"None of your business," snapped Paul as he kept his gaze on the Volvo.
"Come on, man. You need to calm down," said Jared as he chased after the two of them. "You're being irrational."
"No, I'm not," replied Paul as he chanced a glance back at Embry, who was already gaining on him as he quickened his pace. Embry was the fastest one out of the entire pack, and while Paul was fast, he knew that running from Embry was futile.
"Yes, you are!" countered Embry
"And how would you know?" snapped Paul, massive paws pounding against the muddy ground. "You've never even imprinted, so don't tell me to calm down—"
Embry ran ahead of him before stopping in front of him, effectively blocking his path as he skidded to an abrupt halt. Jared ran up behind Paul and blocked him from running away, trapping him between the two of them as the Volvo turned the corner and disappeared down the street.
"Get out of my way," snarled Paul as he pawed at the ground anxiously.
Embry shook his head, "no. Not until you calm down."
"What's going on here?" said Sam as he appeared from out of the woods, his eyes gazing over the three of them. "I thought you three were at the Vigil."
It was true that Jared, Embry, and Paul were supposed to be attending the Vigil as representatives. The Tribe had asked them to go as a show of support and solidarity between the two communities. Not only that, but it was also an opportunity to learn more about the investigation, that was until she had made an unexpected appearance.
"We were," said Jared, "until Paul ran into his imprint there."
"What was she doing there?" asked Sam, a dark look crossing his features. He hadn't met Paul's imprint yet but already knew that she wasn't human either, which put both him and the entire pack on edge, especially after the tracks they had found.
Embry shrugged, "maybe she knows the family?"
"Or maybe she was there because of guilt," said Jared. Paul knew they had all been thinking it, but none of them had been as brave as to voice their thoughts until now.
"Are you suggesting—?" began Embry before Paul cut him off, his voice low as he glared at Jared.
"No. No fucking way," snarled Paul, already fiercely protective of his imprint. There was no way he was going to let anything happen to her, human or not. "If you actually think for one second that she was the one responsible—"
"She's not human, Paul," said Jared before adding; "we all know it."
"You said it yourself. Whatever killed Molly wasn't human," replied Sam as Paul shook his head, adamantly. "And from what we know about the woman, it is possible that—"
"She's not," replied Paul as he glared at his packmates. "Her scent and the scent we picked up at the crime scene were not the same and she wasn't even in town when Molly died according to Charlie and I'm not saying that just because she's my imprint. I'm telling you, she's not responsible."
"And even if she was," began Embry as he glanced between Sam and Paul wearily, "she's still protected under our most sacred law. She's untouchable."
"All of you guys are asking the wrong questions," said Leah as the rest of the pack slinked out of the woods, her sleek white form coming to stand with them around the circle. "The real questions we should be asking is what is she? Clearly, she's not human, but she's not a Vampire either and we'd know if she was like us."
"Do you think the Cullen's would know more about her?" asked Quil as everyone glanced at Sam. The Cullen's were long gone by then, having gone up to Alaska with Jake and Renesmee in tow. It was a good idea and there was no denying that the Cullen's had always been a source of information, especially Dr. Carlisle.
"We could call Jake and ask him what Dr. Cullen thinks," proposed Seth, optimistically as Sam considered it.
After a few moments, he nodded. "It's as good as any. Until then, under no circumstances," he turned to address Jared specifically, "is she to be harmed. Embry's right. She is still protected by law, no matter what she is. But I want to keep tabs on her. Like Jared said, she clearly is not human. We watch her closely from now on. Everything she says, everything she does I want to know about it. Is that clear?"
Everyone nodded, all of them, including Paul, in agreement.
"And Paul is going to be the one to keep an eye on her," said Sam as he leveled his gaze on Paul, challenging him.
"What?!" asked Paul as he began to shake his head, vehemently. "No, no, no. You know how I feel about the imprint. Besides, after what happened earlier, I doubt she'll ever talk to me again."
God, he hoped that wasn't the case. As much as he despised the concept of imprinting, he couldn't deny that she already had a hold over him. There was no way he would ever be able to keep his distance. Not from her.
"She's your imprint," said Sam nonchalantly. "As far as I'm concerned, she's your responsibility now."
"I don't even know her!" he replied, exasperatedly. "I've barely spoken to her at all and I don't even know her name! How do you expect me to keep an eye on her when she probably already hates my guts?"
"Yeah," began Jared, "you were kind of an ass to her. Talk about making a great first impression. She probably thinks you're a raging lunatic with anger issues already."
Paul glowered at Jared, but he knew he was right. He had been a royal ass to her, but in his defense, her very presence there at the Vigil had caught him off guard. And of course, his first reaction to being made uncomfortable was to become guarded and defensive. It also hadn't helped that he was still in denial about having even imprinted in the first place, but seeing her again had put all his doubts to rest. Now he was conflicted between wanting to see her again and wishing she never existed in the first place.
He winced as soon as his thoughts were made clear, wishing he could take them back as his packmates all glanced away uncomfortably. Out of everyone there, none of them seemed to have had as hard of time accepting their imprints as Paul, not even Quil who had gone and imprinted on a baby. But they could sense that Paul was trying to reject the imprint tooth and nail, and he was failing. Miserably.
"It's not our fault that you decided to act like a moron," sneered Leah. "I mean, what else were you expecting, Lahote?"
"I never asked to imprint in the first place," replied Paul. "And that's rich coming from you, Clearwater. You've never imprinted and you probably never will. So why don't you count your blessings and leave me alone?"
Leah flinched at his words as a brief look of hurt crossed her features before hardening into her usually glare and once again Paul wished he could take his words back. What he had said was totally uncalled for, but there was no taking them back now.
"Fuck you," sneered Leah. "just because you went and imprinted doesn't give you the right to be a dick about it."
"I never asked to imprint in the first place," shot back Paul. "I didn't even get a choice in the matter for Christ's sake."
"And yet here you are," said Sam before adding; "might as well come to terms with it because there's no going back now."
"Yeah, I kinda figured," replied Paul, scathingly. "I'm tied to someone I don't even know for the rest of my life. I'm nothing but a prisoner now and it's not like I can just run away from her."
Not that he wanted too anyways.
Quil rolled his eyes, "stop being so melodramatic. You're acting like this is the end of the world—"
"It is for me!"
"Look," began Jared, impatiently, "would you rather I keep an eye on her? I know she's your imprint and all, but clearly, you're not mature enough to handle this like an adult. Plus, I don't know what she is, but I don't want her anywhere near Kim. No offense."
"I don't want her anywhere near Claire either," added Quil before glancing apologetically at Paul. "Sorry, Paul. I know she's your imprint, but there's something strange about her. She's not like us, man. She's not human. We can't just ignore that cause she's your imprint."
"You're not going anywhere near her," sneered Paul, the urge to protect his imprint of anyone and everything coming back full force; "either one of you."
"Then it's settled," said Sam triumphantly before turning back to Paul. "You'll keep an eye on her, make sure she's not involved with the killings, not that we think she is but Quil said it best. She may be your imprint, but she's not human. We need to make sure she isn't a threat to the Tribe, and that means learning more about her, where she comes from, and what she is, and what she's doing here."
Paul wished he could argue further, but instead he chose to remain quiet as the will to keep fighting slowly died away. He felt trapped, both physically and emotionally like a caged animal, which was ridiculous. He was a Wolf and there was no caging him, and yet here he was. There was no denying the hold his imprint already held over him.
It also didn't hurt that she was beautiful, her beauty entrancing and enthralling. From the moment she had stepped out of her wrecked Jeep and looked at him, he knew he was screwed. She was everything he had ever wanted in a partner. Rich brown hair that reminded him of melted caramel chocolate that fell just above her shoulders, framing her porcelain colored skin. Her eyes were brown, the kind of brown where if the sun hit them just right, they would turn into a pool of liquid gold. She was absolutely breathtaking to behold, but not even Paul was totally fooled by her appearance. There was a fierce, wild beauty to her. Her outward appearance may have been soft, but there was something dangerous lurking beneath the surface, almost like a Wolf in Sheep's clothing.
And yet despite that, he never wanted to look away.
The pack dispersed, all of them leaving to continue with their patrols or whatever else it was that they were doing. All of them except for Paul and Seth, the former who was still frozen to his spot as Seth glanced between the retreating Wolves and the Silver Wolf, a conflicted look crossing his features.
"What?" asked Paul, dejectedly.
"You know," began Seth as he turned his gaze towards Paul, "for what it's worth, I think you're lucky."
"Why is that?"
"Do you know how long I've been waiting to imprint?" said Seth with a small whimper. "I've spent years watching everyone else imprint and fall in love and yet here I am. You weren't even looking for your imprint and bam! There she is."
Paul rolled his eyes, but he understood where the kid was coming from. He had spent years reading Seth's thoughts and he knew just how much he wanted what everyone else had while Paul had sworn up and down that it would never happen to him. If anyone out of their entire pack deserved to imprint, it was probably Seth.
"It's not all sunshine and roses," muttered Paul under his breath. So far, there had been nothing easy about this. Imprinting had only managed to bring him misery. "I imprinted on someone who isn't even human and I don't even know her name. You think that makes me lucky?"
"Well, yeah," replied Seth earnestly, "at least I think so."
Paul snorted as he rose to his feet, "you're naïve."
"Or maybe I'm just an optimist," called out Seth from behind him before adding; "and she does have a name you know. Charlie told me."
Paul froze before looking back at Seth. "What is it?"
"Why would I tell you when you could ask her for yourself?" said Seth smugly before hurrying to join up with the rest of the pack, leaving Paul in his wake as the Silver wolf watched him go.
Paul shook his head as he looked up at the sky. Human or not, the need to be near his imprint was overwhelming, and he knew there was no fighting it anymore. The Spirits had chosen her, and so far, they had yet to be wrong.
And so, Paul Lahote swallowed his pride and made up his mind. He knew that he had been an asshole to her and that she probably hated him already, rightfully so. But he needed her; couldn't live without her. She was his imprint and that meant he would have to find her and apologize to her and pray that she believed in second chances.
And if she didn't— well, if that was the case, then he was royally screwed.
OoO
Sometimes there are no words in the world to explain what you are feeling and yet at the same time, there are not enough.
Anger, disbelief, and embarrassment coursed through me as I sped away from the Vigil, my hands grasping the steering wheel until my knuckles were whiter than snow as I tried not to panic, however, I couldn't seem to get a grip over my emotions as I turned the radio off, unable to listen to music anymore as the rain pounded against the windshield. Slow at first and then hard and fast, which seemed to be a good way of describing exactly what I was feeling as I drove towards my hotel room, unable to stop thinking about what had just happened.
Holy fucking shit. What the fuck was that guy's problem?
To put it very mildly, I was upset. That— that guy Paul had yelled at me and had embarrassed me in public, disrupting the Vigil for Molly in the meanwhile and drawing everyone's attention towards me, as if I didn't need the attention already. He had been a total and complete asshole and not only that, but I could tell that he wasn't human, at least not a normal human. He wasn't a Lycan, but there was something odd about him and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
His words echoed through my head, lingering like a bad smell that wouldn't go away.
What are you?
A shiver ran up my spine as my grip on the steering wheel tightened even more. I considered, briefly, tracking the guy down and confronting him. I knew I could do it, his scent already locked into my mind as my inner Wolf growled, ready for a fight that I knew would never come.
Breathlessly, I shook my head, his face flashing through my mind as something strange pulled at my chest. I couldn't fight him, nor did I want too as I shook my head, angry at myself for being so weak. I knew Paul was a threat. My Werewolf senses could tell me that much, but they didn't tell me why or how. What he knew and what he didn't know, I had no idea. All I knew was that Paul was a threat and that sooner or later, I was going to have to confront him.
"Damnit," I muttered as I pounded my fist into the wheel furiously. A few minutes later, I pulled into the hotel parking lot and parked the car. I turned the car off as I sat there in contemplative silence for a few, long moments before I got out and returned to my hotel room.
I needed to clear my mind, so I took a long hot shower before getting ready for bed. I didn't even bother to dry my hair as I laid down on the bed. I turned on the TV and flipped through the station, disinterestedly as I searched for something to occupy my mind. I ended up settling on a rerun of Law and Order SVU, another procedural cop show that I didn't care much for as I tried to pay attention to the plot of the story. Although, after a few moments I felt my mind begin to wander again as my thoughts drifted back to Paul.
Every time I thought of him, I couldn't help but feel infuriated at his pompous attitude and blatant rudeness. Even worse, I was furious at myself for allowing myself to get so riled up because of one stupid guy. I wasn't the type of person to get frustrated easily, but there was no doubt that whoever that guy was, he made me angry. And yet at the same time, I couldn't stop thinking about him.
I grumbled as I turned both the TV and the lights off before letting my head fall against the pillow. I willed myself to stop thinking about Paul as I turned my thoughts to my pack. They would be here in the morning, Mason, Ezra, and Brenda. As much as they annoyed me, I was excited to see them again. It had been almost a month since I had last seen them as my last Bounty had gone longer than I had originally anticipated, and I was happy that they would be here tomorrow, especially my little brother.
Closing my eyes, I drifted into unconsciousness as a howl sounded in the distance before a chorus broke out. It almost sounded like the Wolves were singing a beautiful and wild song, and yet it was haunting at the same time. If I had been truly awake, I would've known that something was wrong because there was only one reason why Wolves howled at that intensity and that when there was danger.
But I didn't hear it. I was already asleep.
OoO
Embry Call had always been impartial when it came to imprinting.
He had neither hated it nor loved it. He had just accepted it as a fact of life, something that could or could not happen to him in the distant future. Because of that, he was perfectly content being single. He didn't feel the need to fall in love and settle down like some of his fellow packmates, but he always made sure to keep an open mind when it came to imprinting.
Paul, on the other hand, hated imprinting with a burning passion, which was why the idea of Paul imprinting on anyone had always been an amusing thought. Before Paul had imprinted, everyone had made jokes at Paul's expense, feeling pity for whatever woman the Spirits chose for him. But now, none of those jokes were as funny as they once were.
Running through the woods around Forks, Embry Call tried not to think about the implications that surrounded Paul and his imprint. He didn't know the woman at all and he had only seen her around a few times, but from he could tell about her she seemed like a no-nonsense type of person, which he knew was a recipe for disaster when it came to Paul. She seemed guarded and tense as if waiting for someone to jump out and attack her at any moment, which might be true if their information was anything to go on. She was pretty, but in a stoic sort of way that reminded him of a statue.
All in all, Embry wasn't exactly sure what to make of Paul's imprint. And neither was Paul from the looks of it as they both patrolled together, Quil not far behind them as they glided through the forests with nothing but each other and their interconnected thoughts for company.
"Would you quit thinking about her?" asked Paul, annoyed. "I don't want to hear any more about it."
"Sorry," replied Embry, "it's just weird, okay? I mean— what do you think she is?"
"I don't know," replied Paul before adding; "if you're so curious, why don't you ask her yourself?"
"That would go over like a lead balloon," remarked Quil as he interjected his thoughts into the pack bond, "just walk up to her and ask her what she is, Em. I'm sure she wouldn't mind at all."
"Clearly she's not human," replied Paul, "as far as what she is, your guess is as good as mine."
Embry didn't say anything more as they continued to patrol. All appeared to be going well until something rancid hit Embry in the face.
"Eugh," said Embry as he breathed into the awful smell, wishing he could cover his nose and stop breathing altogether. "What is that smell?"
"That's the scent we picked up from the crime scene," said Quil excitedly as Embry scrunched up his snout in disgust.
"It's disgusting!" he remarked. The scent reminded him of filth and disease, the distinct smell of decay permeating the air like an unwelcome house guest. It was horrible and it only seemed to be worsening as they ran.
A scream pierced through the night, somewhere close by from the sound of it before a lone howl echoed in the darkness, a howl that didn't belong to anyone from their pack as they quickened their pace.
The scene they came across was something that Embry knew he would never forget as all three of them came to a grinding halt, all sense of wit leaving them as they stared wide-eyed at the thing. It turned its glowing, yellow eyes on them as the corners of its lips turned upwards in a smile as the fur on the back of Embry's neck stood straight up.
Later, Embry would've been asked to describe the creature, but there were no words to accurately describe the physical appearance of the creature except Satanic. He could, however, describe the sheer magnitude of the terror that all three of them were experiencing at that very moment.
The creature was neither man nor Wolf, but a terrifying combination of both.
They watched in mute horror as the beast rose to its full height, which must've been at least ten feet or more. Fresh blood matted its already matted fur, the rancid smell of animal filth and decay permeating off him and making them all nauseous. It was clearly protective of its kill as Embry glanced at the body of a human male, his entrails spilled out on the ground.
Paul lunged at the creature, suddenly and without warning like a spring before Embry and Quil followed suite. Tearing into the creature with their teeth and claws as all four of them struggled. The creature let out a deafening roar as all three of them went for the throat, like a lion to a gazelle. But the beast was strong as it ripped Quil off him, his arms wrapping around the Shapeshifter before squeezing. Quil yelped in pain, but was silence as the creature threw him away like he was nothing more than a rag doll.
As much as Embry and Paul wanted to make sure their friend was okay, they could not risk it as they kept all their focus on the fight. Embry snarled as he dug his claws into the creature's chest and ripped through the flesh, which was surprisingly harder than he originally thought as it howled in pain. It turned its beady, wild eyes on Embry and raised its claws in retaliation before Paul tore into its arm.
Distantly, they could hear howling as their packmates ran to join the fight as he tore into the other arm only to be flung through the air. White, hot pain coursed through Embry as he crashed into the ground several feet away.
Paul and the creature fought toe to toe as Embry chanced a glance over at Quil, who was lying unconscious on the ground, his body limp and motionless. A few feet away from Quil hiding behind a tree was a young woman, her eyes wide with terror as she clutched at her middle. The smell of her blood permeated the air.
Shaking himself off, Embry jumped back into the fight just as Sam and Jared burst out of the woods to join them. Realizing that he was outmatched, the creature raised its hand and clawed at the two of them before escaping into the woods, Paul and Sam in pursuit as a few more of their packmates slinked out of the woods to join them, their howls echoing across the eerie landscape as they ran after the monster.
And then there was another howl. One that didn't belong to any member of their pack as Embry felt his skin begin to crawl. It was the sort of sound that got under your skin and stayed there, resonating.
Ignoring it, Embry rushed over to Quil, who was still unconscious, blood matted to fur as his tongue lobbed out. He was still alive and breathing steadily, which was a good sign. Turning his attention to the young woman, Embry could see that she was struggling to stay conscious from blood loss and that if he didn't act soon, she would die.
He phased back to human, uncaring of his naked state as he wrapped his arms around her and hoisted her up, careful not to jostle her too much as Seth came running out of the woods with an extra pair of cutoffs for him.
"Open the car," yelled Embry as her eyelids began to flutter. She was shaking in his arms and her skin was white and clammy. Along her abdomen and chest, he could see long deep claw marks that dug into her delicate skin, marring and deforming her.
Seth obeyed him as they sat her down in the backseat. Embry wrapped his arms around her, using his body to try and warm her up as she continued to shake.
"Call 911," said Embry.
"I don't have a cell phone!" yelled Seth as he frantically felt around his pockets before he began to search in the front seat of the car.
"Check the glove compartment," said Embry as Seth frowned.
"Why would there be a cell phone in the glove compartment?"
"Just do it!" yelled Embry as Seth obliged. To their luck, there was a small burner phone in there as Seth flipped it open and began to frantically punch in the numbers while Embry tightened his grip on the young girl. He recognized her, and he had seen her around La Push a few times and he knew that she was a student at Forks High, but other than that he didn't know anything about her.
"H—help m—me," she stuttered, her words barely audible.
"We're going to help you," replied Embry, "just hold on."
"A—Adam?" she asked, blinking. "Is— is he?"
"He's fine," replied Embry, lying. Her boyfriend was long dead, but she didn't need to know that just yet. "He's injured but he's okay."
She nodded as her eyes began to flutter, prompting Embry to shake her awake as Seth stayed on the line with emergency services. He wasn't an expert when it came to first aid, but he was pretty sure that falling asleep while in shock was not good.
"An ambulance is on the way," said Seth as Embry cleared his throat and nodded. He hoped that Paul and Sam were okay, but that this point he could only hope as he looked down at the girl in his arms, blood seeping out of her wounds and onto him, warm and sticky.
"What do you think that was?" whispered Seth, under his breath so that the 911 dispatcher wouldn't hear him as he glanced at Embry, looking for some sort of explanation.
"I don't know," replied Embry as he shook his head, trying to remain the calm one out of them both. His expression, however, said otherwise as another eerie howl echoed through the desolate landscape. "I don't know."
OoO
Quil's screams pierced through the night as his bones had to be broken and reset.
It was a grueling process, one that put the entire pack on edge as they all sat around Billy Black's coffee table listening to the sound, wincing. All of them were silent and brooding after their encounter earlier, the sting of defeat easily felt as they refused to look at one another.
Paul sat on the floor, eyes closed as another one of Quil's screams rang through the small house while Embry sat opposite of him, the smell of human blood still lingering on him as he stared at the far wall blankly.
"Well," said Jacob, the first one to break the silence, "it's good to see you guys again."
"You reek," muttered Leah under her breath before adding; "you've been living with the leeches for too long, Black. You're starting to smell like one."
"I see nothing has changed in my absence," said Jacob, flinching as the sound of Carlisle re-breaking Quil's bone sounded. He remembered when it had been him in Quil's place after the Newborn battle all those years ago and although he didn't remember much, he did remember the wretched pain.
"We're glad you're back," said Seth before adding; "we just wish it was under better circumstances."
Jake nodded, "so what do you guys think it was?"
"Who fucking cares," said Jared, fists balled together, "it was a monster. Do we have to know exactly what it was?"
Leah rolled her eyes, "let's not kid ourselves. We all know that the thing was. It was a Werewolf. A real-life in the flesh fucking Werewolf. There? Happy? Now can we focus on how we're gonna kill it before it kills someone else?"
"A Werewolf?" asked Seth, nervously. "Like the ones that turn on a full moon? Are those even real?"
Quil screamed again, begging and pleading for Dr. Cullen to stop as everyone flinched.
"The Cullen's mentioned them once," said Jake before adding; "but I thought they said they were extinct."
"That thing didn't look extinct to me," said Paul as he balled up his fists. He wanted nothing more than to punch his fist through a wall, angry at himself for allowing it to escape. "It was right there. Right in front of us and we let it get away."
"Aren't we missing the obvious here?" asked Jared. "If that thing was a Werewolf wouldn't tonight be a full moon?"
"Is it?" asked Seth as he glanced out of the window, trying to catch of glimpse of the moon that was currently shielded by a thick cloud.
"It's not," said Jared. "I checked."
Leah scoffed, "you do realize that Vampires are supposed to burn in sunlight and not sparkle, right? Just cause it's a full moon doesn't mean anything."
Leah made a fair point, one that none of them could argue with as silence filled the room. They had all heard about Werewolves before from Hollywood and even folklore. From shows like The Vampire Diaries and the new Teen Wolf series where Werewolves had been romanticized, but now that they had encountered the real thing, none of it sat well with them anymore.
Paul for one knew that he would never be able to sit through Michael J. Fox's Teen Wolf ever again, which was fine by him. He could go his entire life without seeing that movie again.
"Embry?" asked Brady, speaking up from his place on the floor. He and Collin had been the only Wolves who had not been there. "Are you alright?"
"The girl—" began Embry, distantly as he looked down at his hands that had been soaked in her blood only a few hours ago. "Do you think she'll be okay?"
"She was alive when they loaded her into the ambulance," said Seth. "The Paramedic said you did a good job of keeping her awake and warm, Em."
"She was so cold," whispered Embry under his breath. If Paul didn't know any better, Embry looked a little shellshocked. He couldn't blame him though, especially after seeing the state the poor girl was in. She had been brutally maimed, ripped apart and sliced open. It was a miracle she was even alive at all.
"We can go tomorrow," said Paul, reassuringly. "Check in on her, if you'd like."
"Yeah," Embry blinked, "we should do that."
A few moments later, they could hear Quil's pained gasps and sobs die down as he fell into a deep sleep, all of them glad that they didn't have to listen to the awful sound of him crying and screaming anymore. The door to the guest bedroom opened and both Sam and Dr. Cullen stepped out, their faces grim and somber as everyone stood up, eager to hear about their friend.
"How is he, Doc?" asked Seth.
"He's going to be okay," said Dr. Cullen reassuringly as he addressed the entire pack, "a little sore, but he'll pull through. He's resting now."
"We're glad to hear," said Billy as he rolled his wheelchair into the room, his gaze falling on the Vampire, "thank you, Dr. Carlisle. On behalf of the Tribe, we are grateful for your services once again."
"There's no need to thank me," said Carlisle before adding; "Jake and I should really be heading back home soon unless there's anything I can help you guys with."
"Actually, there is," said Paul as he addressed the blond Vampire, "That creature— it was a Werewolf, wasn't it?"
Dr. Cullen nodded solemnly, "A Child of the Moon, yes. I had thought them extinct until now, but apparently, I was wrong."
"What can you tell us about it?" asked Sam sternly as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Except for the basics? Not much," said Carlisle before adding, solemnly; "except that you all are in grave danger."
OoO
Coming Next: A pack reunion, a frightened town, and an encounter in the hospital
AN: Sorry for the late update. I hope you all enjoyed and thank you for the comments!
