I don't know how many of you actually registered the plot twist at the end, so this... this could come as a fucking huge surprise.
"No fucking way," Jacob breathed, shoving his way out of the room and the building so that he stood outside the house next to Emmett. "Look at me, right here, and calm down. Hey, hey, it's okay."
The small brown wolf that stood in front of him was panicking, her legs shaking as she stood uncertainly on them. At the sound of his voice, her head picked up and she looked at him; he could see the panic and shock, confusion and worry in her eyes. He didn't know how to get rid of it because he'd never had to fucking do this before!
"Hermione, calm down," he told her.
She yipped at him in response and he quickly stepped away from Emmett before changing into his own form. "Hermione, you need to cool it."
"What the fuck? What the fuck? Jacob, what the fuck?" she repeated like it was a mantra. The pair ignored the exclamations of shock at their new Pack member. "Jacob, why can I hear you in my head? I can hear all of them! Why? And what the fuck is that smell?"
"Hermione, stop it! Calm down."
"Calm down?" she barked hysterically. "How the fuck can I calm down when I'm like this? I'm not supposed to be like this!"
"I said, calm down," he ordered, allowing the Alpha to creep in so that she had no choice but to comply. He watched the wolf in front of him calm, her breathing evening out and her shaking legs stopping. "I don't know how this is possible, but we're going to keep a cool head and talk about this. Okay?"
"Okay," she confirmed.
"Paul, come here," Jacob ordered. "Wards haven't been put up yet so you two keep going until Hermione's back to herself."
"I'm right here," she snarked but a low growl from him had her quietening. "What have I gotten myself into?"
The two wolves sat silent, waiting patiently - or impatiently - for Paul to arrive. Emmett and Jasper stood close, as if on guard but clearly concerned for what was going on. Rosalie, Carlisle and Edward were still indoors with Bella but Alice and Esme were standing outside, a distance away.
The sounds of a wolf coming nearer had Hermione's ears twitching - which was a curious feeling - and she turned her head to greet him. The silver wolf slowed down to a walk and Hermione's jaw dropped, her eyes narrowing in on him.
"Oh for fuck's sake," Jacob groaned as he had to watch Hermione's whole world just narrow in on his friend. "It's bad enough hearing about it but actually seeing it? Come on."
"I thought they'd imprinted already," Seth complained and it pleased Jacob greatly to know he wasn't the only one stuck with this.
"No, Paul had imprinted on Hermione but now, since she just changed, she gets to go through the whole imprint process herself. It's sickening," he confessed as he watched the small brown wolf rush over to the larger silver one on shaky legs. Once the two met, they immediately nuzzled each other and forced their scents onto each other's fur. "But they're happy."
"All you need do is think about transforming back and you'll do it," Jacob exclaimed in exasperation. He glared at the small wolf in front of him who merely ignored him and nuzzled closer to Paul. "Fucking hell, Hermione! It's not that hard."
"I understand the concept perfectly fine," she replied with a tone that hinted to her frustration and to be honest, he couldn't blame her. It wasn't often that you found out you had the ability to turn into a wolf and talk to your boyfriend and friends via your mind all whist your cousin was inside a vampire's home and drinking human blood for a hybrid baby whilst human herself. "You rounded that up pretty well," she mused and he huffed at her.
"Why won't you just change back?"
"Because I don't really want you to see me naked. My clothes were torn to shreds when I changed and I know what that means for me when I transform back."
She didn't know it was possible for a wolf to look bashful but Jacob and, after a threatening growl from Paul, he scampered off closer to the vampires so that he could change and get her some fresh clothes sent out whilst also checking on Bella.
"How is she?" Alice asked, a pile of clothes held in her hands as she offered them to Jacob when he grew nearer.
"She's fine," he answered, aware that though he was speaking to her directly, everyone was listening and waiting for the answer to her question. "She's freaked out, which is understandable really and she's just imprinted on Paul so now she's dealing with those feelings too. She'll be back to normal in a bit."
Alice nodded, as if reassuring herself that Hermione really was okay.
"That explains your blank vision," Emmett said, relieved. Jacob frowned in confusion, not understanding the statement. "Alice couldn't see Hermione anymore, we figured that something bad happened to her and so we'd been trying to get her to leave on the down low."
"Bad as in…?" Emmett and Alice nodded and Jacob took a breath. "Well, out of the two, I'm glad it's this version."
"As are we."
"Once you're changed, we can get you something to eat and check up on Bella, okay?" Paul told her, his wolf looking down at the smaller wolf with a comforting look.
"No!" she rejected. "I have so many things that I need to do and I can tick them off quicker if we start now." Paul looked dubious but she padded over and licked the underside of his jaw, nuzzling into him. She heard and felt him sigh.
"What sort of things?"
"Well, I need to set up wards but I need to know where our area limit is and the only way for me to do that is to do a patrol with you." He frowned but didn't say no. He didn't say yes either but she didn't need his permission. "After that's done, I need to speak to some guys from England, try and find more out about Bella, see if I can get a hold of some blood pops and speak to Remus about me."
He sobered up at her last statement. "Why do you think this happened?"
"I have no idea but I really should've seen it coming," she admitted, chuckling without humour at herself. He cocked his head to the side, his ears flopping and it made him look absolutely adorable. "I had a magic ache, ages ago. It's when a big change occurs and your magic adjusts. When your soul binds itself to someone else or when your genetic material changes. I had a really long one occur and it was like a combination of genetic change and soul meshing. That should've been my first clue."
"Nobody could've seen this coming," he told her, nuzzling her this time for comfort. "You've been dealt this hand and now it's time to play with it."
Short but I felt it was a good place to end. Don't want to overwhelm you all.