Author's Note: Chapter 2 and 3 are brand new! Sorry for the confusion with the chapter updates. I accidentally posted a chapter in the wrong spot and couldn't remember where I meant to put it! I worked out the kinks and we're back in business... If you've already met Nerissa, don't worry. She'll be back!
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and material belong to Stephenie Meyer and other respective owners. Andie and various other newbies are my own creations. Still, I make no profit and mean no harm. Enjoy!
The Cameron family received a number of looks as they walked through Thriftway with two carts. One cart was overflowing with hot dogs, hamburgers, their respective buns, and condiments; the other cart contained enough fixings for s'mores ingredients to satisfy a small country for a month (or an army of werewolves for a day) and a box of diapers.
"Is there anything else?"
"Not that I can think of," Kim shook her head and her long ponytail swished over her shoulder.
"Let's head out," Jared said, then cocked his head, listening to something with his supernatural hearing.
"Jared, what is it? Vampire?"
"Aaron, the new wolf. It sounds like he's got his imprint with him," Jared took off with his cart and Kim made a face at the baby watching her curiously from his car seat that had been fastened into her cart.
"Let's go see what Daddy's up to, baby," she followed her husband out of the frozen section and into the baking aisle, arriving just in time to see Jared dragging the new wolf out of the other side.
"C'mon, let's get some air," he was saying to the younger man, then, he turned to Kim. "Take her to Sam's; I'll see you two later."
"Love you."
"Love you more."
Kim blushed happily and blew a kiss at her husband, watching him go. When he disappeared around a corner, she turned to the girl who looked like she was trying to blend into the shelf, her head still facing the direction the wolves had gone.
"He'll be fine, it's really rough for them until they get used to being wolves."
Andie's head whipped around and Kim backtracked.
"Oh shoot, did I say wolf? Why did I say that? I didn't mean wolf, I meant it love, but I said luff, which might sound like wolf, I guess-"
"It's fine. I know about the wolf thing. I thought he was about to phase just now..." Andie shook her head to erase the thought and Kim gave her a look of sympathy.
"He'll get better with handling it."
"Yeah, that's what the Clearwaters said," the newest imprint picked up her forgotten basket. "I'm Amanda Raven, by the way. Andie for short."
"I'm Kim," her eyes filled with pride at the chance to show off her baby as she beckoned Andie closer, "and this little guy is Jared Lusa Cameron Junior, we call him JJ."
"He's adorable."
"Thanks, I made him myself," Kim joked. "Hey, do you think you could give me a hand with that other cart?"
"Sure," Andie balanced her basket on the mountain of food piled in the second cart. "Is all this for the bonfire?"
"Yep, it's my first time going back since JJ made it earthside."
"It's my first ever."
The imprints collected a few bags of ice and walked over to the register. Andie's eyebrows rose higher and higher with the running total, her eyes darting between the monitor and each item being passed over the scanner.
"Wolves eat a lot," Kim whispered in her ear.
"$203.98, would that be all, ma'am?" the bored blonde guy - Mike N. according to his nametag - asked.
"Can we add her things on, too?" Kim asked.
"No problem," Mike picked up the divider, but Andie slammed it back down.
"I really can't let you do that."
"Yes you can," Kim stole the bar from Andie and handed it back to Mike as she spoke to the younger imprint.
"But you've already spent so much."
"It's really no hardship; the Council covers bonfire expenses."
"Oh," Andie smiled shyly.
"You're so sweet!" Kim gushed and Andie's smile turned into a grimace, she didn't think Kim was that much older than her.
-EQUINOX-
"Open up, little piggies! Let me in, or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down!" Kim called on the porch of the yellow house, JJ in her arms. Andie could hear voices from her place beside Kim.
"I'll get it!"
"Don't open it, Tali!"
"Why not? It's just Kim."
"Nuh uh, it's the big bad wolf," the door swung open to reveal two girls. They had the same dark skin and ebony hair, but Andie didn't think they were sisters if they were even related.
"See, what'd I tell ya?" the older girl, who looked to be middle school-aged, asked the kindergarten-sized girl.
"Whatever. Hi Kimmy; hey, baby Jay," the younger girl kissed JJ's teeny foot as she baby-talked him, innocently ignoring the newest imprint.
"Hi, Claire. Claire, Natalia this is Andie. Andie, meet Claire and Natalia."
"So you're the new wolf girl, huh?" the girl who'd answered the door gave Andie a once over.
"Be nice, Natalia," Kim said warningly as she entered the house followed by Claire who was begging to hold the baby.
"Hi," the girl stuck her hand out in greeting. "I'm Gabe's imprint."
"How old are you?!" Andie's eyes nearly flew out of her head.
"I'll be thirteen in a month and Claire's barely four. The Great Spirits don't care about age." Natalia shrugged.
Andie turned to Kim, aghast.
"Relax Andie," Kim admonished, "their imprints aren't romantic. The youngest imprints are just friends with their wolves; our imprints are exactly what we need them to be."
"Hello," a woman, half disfigured by a series of scars running down the left side of her face, exited the kitchen and a toddler flew at her from out of nowhere.
"Up, Mama, up!" He demanded and the woman scooped him up with a content look on her face that reminded Andie of the Renaissance "Madonna and Child" portrait from her World History textbook.
"You must be Andie," the scarred woman gave Andie a one-armed hug as the other was being used to keep the little boy on her hip, "I'm Emily Uley and this is Kaden."
"Hi... you have a lovely home. Thank you for inviting me over."
"I should be thanking you! We need all the help we can get in the kitchen. You ready to meet the other wolf girls?"
Andie followed Emily to the kitchen which seemed to be bursting with life: girls were bustling around, laughing and talking and cooking.
"Andie, meet Rachel and Miri. Ladies, this is Andie Raven, Aaron's imprint."
"Raven?" A girl who sat peeling potatoes repeated, "Are you related to Kyle by any chance?"
"Yeah, we're cousins."
"What a small world," Miri shook her head with an amused smile. "Kyle's my imprint."
"Is everyone here just imprinted or does anybody wolf out, too?"
"We're all imprints. Leah's the only girl out of all the wolves and she doesn't have an imprint."
"How many wolves are there?"
"Well, there are eight wolves in our pack, the La Push pack. But there's another pack, Jake's… I'm not sure how many are in that one. Rachel?"
"Let's see there's Jake, Leah, Embry, Mike, Quil, Seth, Eph, Gabe, Jude… and then the two new ones, Aaron and Danny," an older girl, who Andie vaguely recognized as one the Black twins, counted on her fingers as she listed the wolves. "So that's eleven."
"Okay, so we've got 19 wolves in total… From what Billy says, this generation became the biggest pack in history when it hit seven, but it just keeps growing. It makes you wonder about what's coming if it demands so many wolves," Miri trailed off at Emily's almost imperceptible shake of the head.
"What do you mean?" Andie whispered breathlessly.
"Well, you know," Miri cast an apologetic look at Emily, "they phase in response to a threat, right? So the bigger the pack, the bigger the threat…"
"You'll have a chance to hear the legends at the bonfire tonight," Emily effectively ended the conversation and steered Andie away to start baking.
A three-car caravan proceeded to the beach. The five-minute procession, led by Emily's bright red minivan, parked door to door in unmarked parking spaces on the side of the beach marked private by blocky white letters painted on a wooden sign. Smiles appeared on the imprints' faces as they watched their shirtless men come pouring out of the trees that surrounded the path connecting the parking lot to the beach.
"Quil, Quil!" Claire screamed, scrambling out of her seatbelt and pushing at the door when she spotted her wolf.
"Claire, you have to wait for someone to open that; there's a child-lock on the door," Emily reminded her niece.
"But, I want Quil now," Claire declared, stomping her foot.
"Be patient, sweetie," Emily admonished as Sam opened her door and pulled her into a hug, scenting her quickly before he kissed her - scars first, lips second. Emily stoically let him pay his penance. Sam pressed his forehead to hers and looked into Emily's eyes before kissing her again.
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
The couple stepped away from their embrace and Sam opened the back door,
"Hi, Uncle Sam. Bye, Uncle Sam," a now giggling Claire squealed, waving as Quil scooped her out of the open door on the other side and up onto his shoulder.
Returning the little girl's wave, Sam set about freeing his son from the plaid Graco prison.
"Daddy," Kaden's big brown eyes twinkled as he smiled up at Sam.
"Hey, cubby," Sam lifted the toddler out of his carseat and put him on his feet.
"Kade eat."
"Not yet, you've gotta wait for Mommy and me, okay?"
" 'Kay."
Sam, along with Quil, made quick work of getting the numerous containers of food out of the back of the minivan and joined the migration of pack members to the beach where a bright fire of dancing green flames roared vibrantly. Dishes covered with foil filled up the lone picnic table and the pack congregated on the benches that had been carved out of driftwood logs.
-EQUINOX-
In the woods beyond the beach, Michael Talltree, one of the seven who'd phased before the anticlimactic Volturi showdown, was patrolling his way around La Push with the newest wolf, who just so happened to be his youngest brother. The Talltree boys had been the most interesting set of siblings to join the pack.
Unlike the cases of Hohs and the Blacks, where the brother phased and the sister imprinted, or the Clearwaters, who phased on the same day, the Talltrees phased in phases. At eighteen, Michael had phased during Thanksgiving break his freshman year of college. With the exception of Embry (whom everyone assumed had a brother amongst the pack), the other wolves were their father's only sons, so no one could say for certain what might become of his brothers. Michael held out hope. Then, sixteen-year-old Gabriel had phased a few weeks later.
Together, they'd hoped and prayed and held their breath. The days stretched into weeks. The Volturi threat passed. Weeks turned into months. One year passed and then another. It was too late for Michael and Gabe, but maybe Danny would have a future.
After her two older sons had joined the La Push Gang, Yvette Ateara-Talltree moved her family from La Push to Forks, hoping that at least her youngest son might be spared. It seemed to have worked.
Danny didn't get pulled into whatever madness had captivated his brothers. In fact, he seemed to be thriving as an All-American sportsman at Forks High. Daniel Talltree had been going places. Stanford, UNC, Ohio State - just weeks into his junior year, Danny was already receiving letters of interest from the best colleges in the nation, but now it was all gone. Now, the only places Danny went were north, east, south, west. Around and around the perimeters of La Push and Forks until the end of time. It was a Herculean purgatory.
Michael didn't know what to say as his younger brother's thoughts collided with his own. Life sucks? At least we're together?
Danny: I didn't mean for you to see that. Danny sighed. He never really meant for anyone to see anything. He just wanted to think freely.
Michael: Pack mind takes some time getting used to, huh? You can try talking to Jake or
Leah, they've got the best control of what they let out, so I'm sure one of them should be able to help you.
Danny: Thanks.
There was a ripple, the feel of electricity surging through the air as a new perspective added. Another pack brother had phased in.
Michael: Hey, Seth. What's up?
Seth: The bonfire's starting. I'm here to relieve you, Danny.
Danny: Okay, guess I'll see ya later, guys.
Michael: Have fun (Billy sitting in front of the fire speaking; Michael's first bonfire)
Seth: Hey, you wanna go, too? I'm sure one of the guys wouldn't mind switching.
Michael: Nah, I'm good.
There was another electric ripple as Danny phased out. He untied the cord keeping his basketball shorts on his leg and dressed quickly, leaving the covering of trees for grass that quickly gave way to rocky sand.
The Pack greeted Daniel in its unconscious way, assaulting his senses with its presence. He drank it all in. Some of the young wolves messed around with their elders to prove their bravery. Imprinted pairs cuddled together like there was nothing else in the world. Jared and Sam beamed as their pups were passed around pack. There was a symphony of laughter, camaraderie, squeals of delight, against the backdrop of the crackling fire and waves slapping against the shore. The contrast of the fire's warmth and the coolness of the salty winds rolling off the tide.
It was the gentle sea breeze that brought it to him.
That smell.
Like cotton candy perfume sprayed on a pile of rotting flesh in a room full of bleach. Daniel's stomach clenched as he gagged on the nauseating scent.
"What is that?" he asked, but before anyone could answer him, he knew.
Vampire.
There was a vampire amid his pack, and he had to defend them. Daniel convulsed.
Embry was the first to notice. He phased quickly, his jeans ripping as Danny's shorts fluttered to the ground like black snow.
Danny: Pack. Protect. Defend. Attack. Kill.
Embry: NO! He barreled into the younger wolf's side, knocking Danny off of his feet and onto his side, planting a firm paw on Danny's rib when he attempted to rise.
Danny: Vampire! Pack. Protect. Defend. Attack. Kill.
Danny attempted to explain urgently, it was going to get away. He couldn't let it get away. He struggled against Embry and whined in frustration when the older wolf snapped in his face.
Embry: She is Pack!
Danny: Vampire.
Seth: Nessie's a half-vampire, but she's still Pack. She's an imprint.
The phased wolves watched a secondhand scene of the day Jacob imprinted.
Embry wasn't sure which wolf had been the one to recall the image (he, Seth, and Michael had all seen Jake's imprint at some point or another), but he was grateful to whoever had done it as Danny stilled under him, cocking his head as he conceded.
Danny: Pack.
Embry: Exactly.
Michael: You can let him up now; he's not gonna attack. Right?
Danny: Yeah, I'm good.
Embry: So long as you're sure. Attacking imprints is kind of against the rules. Embry's serious words belied his teasing tone. Come on, let's go get some clothes.
The two wolves loped off towards the Blacks' house. It was the closest to the beach and Rachel made sure to keep a plastic tub on the back porch stocked with jeans and basketball shorts from Forks' Goodwill. If either Embry or Danny had bothered to look at the scene they were leaving behind, they would have seen the way that their phasing and fighting had impacted the pack: the imprinted wolves had taken defensive poses near their imprints while the unimprinted wolves had unconsciously gathered in a loose configuration around them, ready to intercede and defend if necessary.
Michael's hackles raised as he watched the scene unfold from the treeline. It ate him up inside to see his middle brother crouch in front of his imprint, fully prepared to attack their baby brother. Gabe felt the weight of Michael's thoughts directed at him and bowed his head in shame.
As the threat disappeared, the remaining wolves relaxed and the bonfire's atmosphere slowly returned to normal.
"What just happened?" Natalia asked Gabe as his tremors subsided.
"One of the new wolves almost phased." he jerked his head toward Nessie. "Hardly his fault since Jake brought the halfling."
"Oh," Natalia's heartbeat stuttered as it sped up; she'd heard of the alpha's hybrid imprint, but she'd never been so close to a vampire.
"You're not scared, are you? You know your big bad wolf's got you, hayaka," Gabe ruffled his young imprint's hair, adding injury to the insult as she swatted him away.
"Ugh! I'm no weakling, kadidu," Natalia splashed her water bottle at Gabe and took off, squealing with laughter, after calling him a dog.
"Kwo'okil-chid?" Gabe asked where Natalia was going as he stalked toward her.
"Help me!" Natalia ran to the nearest wolf and a game of imprint keep away began.
Leah gracefully avoided the boisterous game as she marched toward another imprinted pair.
"Nessie, why don't you go check out the buffet?" Jake suggested, recognizing the look in Leah's eyes as she approached. Nessie didn't want to eat; she wasn't particularly hungry and she had a steadfast aversion to most human food despite the attempts of those around her, but she had promised her mother that she would listen to Jacob and she knew that her father would know if she went back on her word, and so she went.
"Hi," she waved to the she-wolf as they crossed paths. Leah ignored her greeting.
"She shouldn't be here," Leah spat at Jacob; her whisper was quiet enough to keep the conversation from the other pack members but aggressive enough to make the hair on the back of his neck bristle.
"Nessie has just as much right to be here as anyone else. She's pack," Jake straightened to his full height, but Leah didn't back down.
"She's half-vampire, Jake! That means she gets half her DNA from creatures we exist to kill. You can't just bring her around the new wolves and expect everything to be sunshine and freakin' rainbows."
"I'm not an idiot, Leah. I know it'll take Danny and Aaron some time to get used to Nessie. I also know that here with the pack is the safest time for them to get to know each other."
"Yeah, Jake, 'cause nothing says nice to meet ya like practically attacking someone. 'Forget the old fashioned handshake, let me give you a good ol' headshake as I decapitate you.'"
"Leah, you're being overdramatic."
"No, Jake, you're not being dramatic enough. Actually, it looks like I'm the only one who gives a crap when you almost let your imprint get killed!"
"She did not almost get killed," Jake growled, his wolf didn't appreciate the she-wolf insinuating that he didn't know how to protect his mate. "Did you miss the way Embry brought Danny down? Ness was never in any danger."
"Do you even hear yourself?! Embry should've never had to bring Danny down! And of course, Nessie was never in any danger- she's a freakin' vampire for crying out loud. But what if there'd been an actual human standing beside Danny when he freaked? Did you ever think of that? What if it'd been an imprint or an elder or one of the pups? We're supposed to be the protectors, Jake. But, you're too wrapped up in your freaking precious imprint to do your job. Q'wati you imprints kill me!"
"Leah, quit being such a-" Jake snapped his mouth shut, clenching his jaw with the effort it took to restrain himself; his mother had taught him to always treat a lady like a lady, but Leah had a way of making things difficult.
"Such a what, Jacob? A bitch?! News flash: I am a bitch," Leah's eyes flashed dangerously as her wolf threatened to come out and add credence to her claim. She was practically foaming at the mouth. She wanted this fight.
A throat cleared and two wolves' heads snapped toward Billy; he raised his eyebrow authoritatively and gave the pair a significantly paternal look. He hadn't been able to hear them fighting, but he could read their body language clearly.
"Gather around," his voice was loud enough for those without gifts to hear, but he kept his focus on the Alpha and Beta, "we are about to get started."
"We'll talk later, Leah," Jake said and then headed off to find his imprint.
Author's Note:
For your reference, I'm sharing the current pack lists. The unnamed wolves from Breaking Dawn are marked with an asterisk* and my new additions are denoted with a plus+. Imprints follow in (parentheses). Wolves are listed by pack rank.
Jake's Pack:
Jacob Black, 18 (Renesmee Cullen, 2/6)
Leah Clearwater, 22
Embry Call, 19
Quil Ateara, 18 (Claire Young, 4)
Michael Talltree, 21*
Seth Clearwater, 16
Ephraim Hoh, 20*
Gabriel Talltree, 18* (Natalia Strong, 12+)
Judah Taxilit, 17*
Daniel Talltree, 16+
Aaron Smelt, 16+ (Andie Raven, 16+)
Sam's Pack:
Sam Uley, 22 (Emily Young, 23)
Jared Cameron, 19 (Kim Chimakum, 19)
Paul Lahote, 19 (Rachel Black, 24)
Collin Littlesea, 15
Brady Fuller, 15
Chase Chimakum, 16*
Xavier Lahote, 18*
Kyle Raven, 17* (Miriam "Miri" Hoh, 19+)