"Soulmates aren't the ones who make you happiest, no. They're instead the ones who make you feel the most. Burning edges and scars and stars. Old pangs and pains. Captivation and beauty. Strain and shadows and worry and yearning. Sweetness and madness and dreamlike surrender. They hurl you into the abyss. They taste like hope."

-Victoria Erickson

"If you call one Wolf, you invite the pack."

-Bulgarian Proverb

OoO

"Shay, wake up."

Someone was gently nudging her awake, their hands shaking her lightly as she awoke from her slumber, blinking up at the silhouette of a man illuminated by moonlight.

"Come on, sleepyhead. Wake up," whispered her father as he stood over her.

"Daddy?" she whispered as she rubbed her eyes, staring around her room in confusion. It was way past her bedtime, and she didn't understand why her father was adamant about her waking up. "What is it?"

He leaned down and nudged her once again, "come on sweet pea. I want to show you something."

"What is it?" she asked as she pushed her pink barbie covers back and got out of bed, the hair on her arms sticking up as she left the warmth of her covers in her only her nightie. "Is it the baby?"

He shook his head as he motioned for her to follow him, "no, just come on. You gotta come see this before it's too late."

She followed him out into the living room as he unlocked the back-patio doors before carefully sliding them open so as to not wake the other occupants of the house. He turned to her and held one finger over his lips to keep her quiet as he nodded for her to step out.

She shivered as she stepped out, her arms wrapping tight around herself as she stared out at the vast, dark forest that surrounded their house on either side. It was the dead of night, but the moon was shining bright in the sky, not yet full but getting close as she stared up at it, the wind nipping at her hair and skin.

Her father, who had just obviously gotten off work, unzipped his heavy winter police jacket before wrapping her up tightly in it. It was far too large on her tiny frame, looking much more like a dress than an actual coat as she huddled in it, his scent all that she could smell as she inhaled deeply.

"Daddy?" she whispered as she looked up at him, still confused as to why they were outside on the patio in the dead of night. "What are we doing?"

"Do you see them?" he asked as he pointed out at the trees, forcing the five-year-old to peer into the dark before shaking her head.

"I don't see anything," she exclaimed, a little too loud as he held his finger over his mouth again.

"Keep looking," he said as he hoisted her up so that she could see over the wood railing. She stared out for a few moments before something in the corner of her eye moved.

"There," he said as he pointed again, "did you see it?"

"I think," she squinted as the thing moved again. She watched as a big furry creature stalked out from behind a tree. It took her a few seconds before she began to wave her hands excitedly.

"Daddy!" she said, trying and failing to keep her giddiness at bay. "Daddy, look! It's a Wolf!"

There, situated between the trees was a beautiful grey Timber Wolf. It had its nose pressed to the ground as it sniffed around the forest floor before it looked at them with large, dark eyes.

"Shh," he whispered. "Quiet, Shay. We don't want to scare them off."

"Them?" she asked in confusion. From where she was, she could only see the one Wolf, but then there was more movement in between the trees as two more Wolves stepped out, these ones even larger than the first one. One was pure black while the other one was a dark brown color. The brown one nudged the grey Wolf with his snout as Shay watched.

"Aren't they beautiful?" said her father as he stared at them. "I saw them out here when I got home. They were out on the driveway together. I think there might've been another one, but I don't know where he went."

"It's a pack," said Shay before adding; "just like us, daddy."

"Yeah, sweet pea. Just like us."

OoO

An awkward silence settled in between the three of us. The type of silence that seemed to slow time itself down and bring everything into perspective, making everything seem so much more vibrant, like the look in Paul's eyes when he saw me.

He looked relieved to see me at first as if a great weight had just been taken off his shoulders and he could finally breathe again. He also looked strangely happy at the same time as he stared at me longingly, as if I was some rare jewel locked away in a glass case meant only for viewing. So close and yet so far away at the same time, a combination that seemed to describe the way that Paul was staring at me right now.

And honestly, I wasn't sure how to feel about that as we continued to stare at each other, Brenda standing awkwardly next to me as she looked between the two of us worriedly.

"Uh—" she began as she focused on me, her hand grasping my arm tightly, "Shay?"

My expression must've been something to behold as Paul cleared his throat, finally looking away from me and towards Brenda. He opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to the punch as I narrowed my eyes. If this knucklehead thought that he could be rude to me, then he had something else coming for him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, mirroring his first words to me as I crossed my arms over my chest, only slightly enjoying the way that he looked like a deer trapped in the headlights. I almost felt bad for him, but then I remembered how rude he had been to me at the Vigil and I suddenly didn't really care.

As if on cue, the same guy that had been with him at the police station and the Vigil rounded the corner, his gaze falling on me as his eyes widened. "Oh shit," he muttered under his breath as he looked over at Paul worriedly as if waiting for him to explode or something as I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously?" I asked as I looked back at Paul. "What are you two? Stalkers? How come it is I see you two everywhere I go?"

Seeing them three times in three days was too much of a coincidence for me as I glared at Paul. I watched as the corners of his mouth turned downward into a frown, his once neutral demeanor turning sour in the blink of an eye. I could tell that he was struggling not to get angry, settling on a hardened look instead as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.

"Well this is a small town in case you haven't noticed," he retorted as I raised my eyebrows. "People do tend to run into each other a lot here."

"Actually," began his friend as he stepped forward, "what he means to say is that we're not stalkers—" he said as he jabbed his elbow into his friend's side before glaring at him, "we're just here to visit someone who is a patient here."

Paul rolled his eyes, "we don't have to explain ourselves to you. This is a hospital. We have every right to be here, Lady."

"Whatever," I mumbled as I grabbed onto a flustered Brenda, "we're leaving anyway. Have a nice visit."

With that, I pushed past Paul and his friend as I pulled Brenda behind me. I wished that I could say I was horrified at my blatant rudeness to the both of them, but there was something about Paul that seemed to ignite within me every time I was near him. The Wolf inside of me was restless, but I knew better than to give into it. As infuriating as Paul was, I wasn't going to let him have that control over me.

"Wait."

Looking back at this moment, I have no idea what compelled me to stop dead in my tracks. I think it might've been the pain in his voice. Or maybe it had been the aching longing that gripped at me. Whatever it was, it stopped me cold.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice altogether neutral save for the slight hint of remorse. "You probably think I'm a giant asshole—"

His friend snorted at that, much to my amusement as I heard Paul clear his throat from behind me.

"But I'm not trying to be rude to you," he said before adding; "at least, not on purpose. I was just surprised to see you here."

"And I suppose you were surprised to see me at the Vigil too?" I asked as I turned to face him, keeping my demeanor as steady as I could as I leveled my gaze on him; challenging him. In all of my years in Law Enforcement, I had perfected the look to a tee. The look that told everyone that I was not to be messed with. Not only that, but eye contact in Lycan and canine terms was a direct challenge or even a threat. Most people couldn't help but avert their gazes when they stared into the eyes of a Lycan, but not Paul.

Paul never once looked away. He wasn't scared to look into my eyes, even now as he too leveled his gaze at me.

"Look, I'm sorry about that," he said shaking his head. "I didn't mean to treat you like that. You just caught me off guard."

I raised my eyebrows skeptically as I turned to face him. I crossed my arms over my chest, "oh, and that's an excuse?"

He shook his head, "well, no but—"

"But what?" I asked, patiently awaiting his response with bated breath. I could see that he was trying his damned hardest not to lose his cool with me, which seemed to be a habit of his as I watched the corners of his mouth twitch.

"Look, dude," I said as I stepped closer to him, so close that we were standing probably less than a foot away. With how short I was compared to him, I was perfectly eye level with his broad chest as his natural scent invaded my senses. He smelled strangely— natural, like pine and cedar. It was a musky scent, one that reminded me of the woods. Just being this close to him made the Wolf in me restless, but I held fast as I stared up at him.

Damn. Was I really that short compared to him?

"I don't give a flying rats ass how you treated me back there. What I care about is the fact that you had to go and make a huge deal about it," I sneered before adding; "at a memorial service for a little girl no less. Have you no sense of respect?"

"Look, I said I was sorry. I know what I did was a real dick move, but I don't know how many times you want me to apologize to you," he said, his voice much calmer than I had anticipated. "So you're just going to have to take it or leave it."

"Fine," I said, gritting and grinding my teeth in thinly veiled annoyance, "I accept your apology. Now leave me alone."

He didn't say anything more to me as he gave me an unreadable expression, the rigidness in his shoulders enough to tell me that he didn't buy my words. For a fleeting second, I swore that I could see hurt flash across his dark eyes, but I didn't want to dwell on it any further as I averted my gaze.

"Come on, Brenda," I said as I grabbed her hand, more than ready to leave at that point. "Let's get out of here."

I turned to look at her but froze at the strange sight that I was met with. Brenda, who had been strangely silent for most of the show, was locked into an intense staring contest with Paul's friend. Well, actually, it was more like a one-sided staring contest as Paul's friend practically ogled at Brenda, staring at her like she was God's greatest gift to mankind.

It was intense and at the same time, creepy. Very creepy.

"Oh hell no," I muttered under bated breath as I grabbed a hold of a confused and flustered Brenda before glancing back at Paul, who didn't seem in the least bit fazed by the strange sight. "Both of you stay the hell away from us."

I dragged Brenda way from the two knuckleheads, my hand practically digging into her skin in my rush to get us both out of there.

"What— what the fuck was that?" asked Brenda, flustered. "Who were those guys?"

I shook my head, "just some guys."

"You knew him," she said, yanking herself out of my grip as we came to a halt in the middle of the parking lot. "And the other guy—"

"They're weird, okay?" I said as I ran a hand through my hair, agitated. "Look, I don't know how to explain it to you. I accidentally bumped into Paul and he's had it out for me ever since. I don't know what his problem is."

"Shay," she said, eyes wide. "I don't think those guys are human. Did you smell them? They smell— wrong. And that guy, the way that he was staring at me…"

She glanced nervously back at the hospital doors and I could tell that there was a lot going on in her head as she bit her lip pensively. Brenda had always had good instincts, especially for someone who had been bitten rather than born and I had always trusted her intuition, even though I really didn't need it because I sensed it too.

I dared a glance back at the hospital entrance where I could still see the two of them. They hadn't moved, but their eyes were still on us. I could tell just from their expressions that they had heard everything, even though we were well out of hearing range for humans.

I felt my breath catch in my throat as a shiver ran up my spine.

"You're right," I found myself saying, my eyes still on Paul, "they're not."

OoO

Before imprinting, Embry could definitively list two moments in his life that defined him. The first was finding out when he was in preschool that he didn't have a father and the second was exploding into a giant-ass Wolf over Christmas break his sophomore year and finding out that he was the product of a scandalous affair between his mother and one of three men.

Oh, and the third was imprinting on a woman he didn't even know and who was definitely not human.

As far as crappy life events went, Embry was par for the course. Although he was still trying to process the fact that he had even imprinted in the first place as he stared at the two hastily retreating women, his pained eyes following the smaller of the two as he felt his chest tighten involuntarily. The Wolf inside of him grew restless as he watched his imprint disappear out of view.

"Dude," muttered Paul under his breath, "did you hear what they just said?"

Embry nodded, his mouth growing dryer by the second as he tried to formulate the words to even describe what was running through his mind at the moment. Brenda, the name danced through his mind. It was perfect— she was perfect.

From the moment he had looked into her eyes, it was as if the clouds had finally lifted.

"Embry?" said Paul, snapping him out of his reverie. "You alright, man?"

Embry swallowed, finally looking over at Paul as he shook his head, still trying to make sense of what had happened.

"I— I don't know," was all he said as Paul's eyes softened, an understanding look crossing his features as he let out a long sigh, his eyes traveling over to where his own imprint had stood only moments before.

"Yeah, I know the feeling," he said before adding; "come on, Em. Let's go and find the others. They'll wanna know about this."

Embry groaned as he thought about the pack and what they're reaction would be like. "Dude, I am so fucked."

Paul nodded as he replied matter-of-factly. "Welcome to the club."

OoO

"Embry did what?!"

Leah's voice carried throughout Sam and Emily's kitchen, making everyone present wince as Leah stared at Paul and Embry as though they had simultaneously grown two heads, her half-eaten toast forgotten in her hands. After what had happened at the hospital, both Paul and Embry had high-tailed it back to the house to share what they had found with the rest of the pack as well as the Elders.

And it was going about as well as expected.

"Oh dear," muttered Emily under her breath. "This complicates things."

"Forget about Embry imprinting," muttered Jared under his breath. "She actually said that?"

Paul and Embry shared an unreadable glance as the former nodded, his arms crossing over his chest as he addressed the rest of them. "Word for word."

"Why do you all look surprised?" asked an irate Leah as she crossed her arms over her chest. "We already knew she wasn't human. We know what they are, Carlisle already told us."

"Yeah we know," said Paul pointedly, Carlisle's explanation still all too fresh in their minds as he narrowed his eyes at her. "You don't have to rehash it for us."

"Apparently I do," she retorted before adding, humorlessly; "Because you two nimrods just had to go and imprint on them."

"As if we had any choice in the matter," replied Paul before adding; "what is wrong with you, Clearwater? You think either one of us wanted this?"

"I never said that," she replied before adding; "stop putting words into my mouth. You know damn well I know how imprinting works. What I'm saying is that you two imprinting on them has put the entire pack in an awkward position, if not at risk. We don't know these people or what they're even capable of. For all we know they could be man-eating monsters and that thing could be their Alpha!"

Embry growled, low and threatening as Paul's entire body went rigid.

"Leah," said Sam, his voice full of command as he gave her a tight, unimpressed look. He didn't have to use words to tell her to tread lightly when discussing other packmates' imprints.

"No," said Embry, finally finding his voice for the first time. "That thing in the woods—" he paused as he tried to find the right words to articulate what was on his mind, "there wasn't anything human left of it. It was completely blank. It was—"

He trailed off, words failing him.

"Embry?" asked Billy, his voice full of concern. "What are you trying to say?"

He swallowed, "look, I don't know how I know, but you're wrong Leah. They may be Children of the Moon, but they're not monsters. And I'm not just saying that cause I imprinted."

"I think Embry's right," said Seth, breaking his own silence as he glanced around the room, taking in the tense scene before him. "Obviously the Spirits chose them for a reason, or else it wouldn't have happened to begin with."

"Your point being?" asked Jared as all eyes fell on Seth.

Seth swallowed, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that just because they're not human doesn't mean that they're bad. I mean, look at the Cullen's. Sure, they're Vampires, but they don't hurt people…"

"Seth?" asked Sue as she gave her son an appraising look. "What are you trying to say?"

Seth shrugged, "maybe they're good Werewolves."

"Seth," said Jared as he shook his head, "you know what Carlisle said about their kind. He said they can't control themselves—"

"He said that about some Werewolves," remarked Seth before adding; "that doesn't mean every Werewolf is like that. And even he said he doesn't know much about them, so it's not like we can take his word for granted."

"What are you proposing?" asked Leah sarcastically. "That we invite them over for brunch and ask them why they're here?"

"Why not?" asked Seth, ever the optimist. "This could be an opportunity to learn more about them and vice versa. I mean, it's pretty clear they know we're not human either so why don't we just get it all out in the open and go from there?" he said before adding; "besides, they probably know more about how to stop this thing before it kills more people. In fact, that's probably why they're here."

"What do you two think?" asked Sam as he leveled his gaze on both Paul and Embry, who had remained unceremoniously quiet for the last few moments as they both considered Seth's words.

"I think there's more going on around here than what meets the eye," said Paul before adding; "look, I may not be fond of the whole imprint thing and being permanently tied to one person for the rest of my life, but I know a monster when I see one and she's not it. The same goes for Embry's imprint."

"I agree with Seth," said Sue. "Carlisle is wise, and we appreciate the knowledge that he has shared with us, but even he said himself that he does not know much about their kind. The only way that we can truly find out if they pose a threat to the Tribe is to talk with them."

"Then it's settled," said Billy as he addressed Sam. "We will confront these— people, whoever they may be, and hopefully we will learn more about them and their kind."

"And if they do pose a threat?" asked Leah as she eyed both Paul and Embry, her arms still crossed over her chest as she leaned against the counter.

It was obvious that no one wanted to answer the question as a tense silence settled throughout the room.

After a few moments, Billy spoke again. He looked troubled. They all did.

"Then we'll do what we must."

OoO

Coming Next: First contact, Wolves, and a horrible realization

AN: Let me first start off by apologizing for the very late update. I have no excuse except that I was in a serious funk and for some reason, I just couldn't seem to get the words to flow, but alas after much meditation, headaches, and three chapter rewrites I finally got this chapter done. Yay!

Also, thank you for the comments and support. I know you guys probably hate me right now. I know you were probably expecting Paul and Shay to reconcile with each other this chapter, but that would've been too easy…But at least Paul apologized, so there's that?

I know. I'm evil.

Incorrect Quote of the day:

Shay: I don't feel so good. I have a headache that won't go away.

Paul: *walks into the room*

Shay: Oh look, there it is again