Bonded: The Legacy

by The Dark Lotus Flower

"I am so sick of being weighed down by 'the rules.'" I said, frustrated. "They're there to protect us," Nate argued. "Or stifle us," I snapped. "It's time for some change around here." "She's right," Wyatt agreed. My parents Bonded and became the most powerful Alpha couple ever. Now it's my turn to pick up where they'll leave off, but I'll do it my way. You coming along with us?

8. Chapter 8

"That mother fucker. I could kill him!" Mama growled from the other room.

"Lee, calm down," Dad tried. I could hear her pacing the floor, so much so that I was worried she'd burn a rut into the ground. "We can still fix this."

"Sam has been on a smear campaign against our kid, Jacob," she exclaimed. "What the hell else goes on around here when we leave? This is insane!"

I chewed on my thumb nail as I listened to them go back and forth. After the council meeting, Billy made a "strong suggestion" that we all go home and take a breather. No pack business, no gathering, no nothing for at least 24 hours. It's not enforced, but it's just a silently acknowledged lockdown.

"I'll talk to Dad tomorrow," my dad sighed. I could practically see him rubbing his temples. "This isn't right, and I know I can talk some sense into him."

I walked quietly down the hall and stood outside their door as to not interrupt. They weren't arguing…my mom was just yelling while my dad attempted to provide some kind of solution. I heard Mom sigh loudly and I imagined her rubbing her eyes in frustration. "How did we let this happen, Jacob?" she said quietly. "We worked so hard to have autonomy. Kaya and Ephraim helped us to stake our claim and now…"

"I know," Dad said, resignedly. "I don't know what happened. I guess…I guess somewhere down the line, it was easier for them to make the decisions than us."

Raising my fist to knock, I couldn't help but notice that guilt monster sitting on my shoulder. This was a mess. All of it. My knuckles wrapped on their bedroom door just like I had a million times before. It was different this time though.

They whisper argued for a second longer. "Stop it." "She already knows, Lee." "Hush your mouth. We don't need to make her feel worse about it."

"Guys," I called. "Can I come in?"

They fell quiet for a second before Mom called back in a fake cheery voice, "Come on in, honey."

Mom and Dad had these painfully fake smiles on their faces when I entered the room. I shot one back at them as I closed the door behind me. After the Council meeting, we were all just stunned to silence. Every single one of us. My parents had flanked to either side of me and walked me directly home; I didn't stop when Cass started calling for me or when Nate projected to ask if I was alright.

I don't think there was anything I could really say about what happened at the Council meeting other than… "I messed up," I admitted to Mom and Dad. "All of this…everything that went down today is completely my fault."

"Now, I don't think that's totally fair," Mom said, inviting me to sit in the little loveseat they kept in their room. She sat next to me and started to rub my back in comfort. "If Bianca or Rachel or anyone would have asked me to do what Cass did, I would have. You made a judgment call. You shouldn't be faulted for that."

"Uncle Sam has felt that I'm not capable for a while," I told them finally. "Emily too. They don't think I'd be a good leader. They think that me becoming Alpha will only be because I'm the favorite and that I'll run the pack into the ground. They think Nate would be a better fit for leadership."

Mom looked up at Dad concerned before turning back to me. "How do you know all of this, little one?"

I felt my jaw clench before confessing, "I heard them say it." I took a breath before I continued. "When Nate and Wyatt phased, I had to chase Wyatt down to make sure that he didn't risk exposure. I tried to get him to relax and we ended up getting swept into a spiritual common with Kaya and Ephraim."

"Alright…we knew that part," Dad said.

"But there's more…more that I didn't tell you guys. Mostly because I didn't think it would ever get to this point," I looked down at my lap. "While we were in the spiritual common, Kaya was asking Wyatt all these questions about what happened and stuff and…then she asked him to show us what happened. They asked us to do something called a…psionic image projection? I think that's what it was called. They said it was this super complicated skill that no one's really conquered yet. And we did it; we were like inside Wyatt's memory and…" I stopped myself.

Mom grabbed my hand and squeezed. "It's ok, honey, take your time."

I let myself relive that memory for the hundredth time since it happened. "It was…it was the most vivid recollection I'd ever seen. We were right there in the Uley's living room and the boys were there, Emily was there, and then Sam came home really frustrated. He told Emily that the Council wouldn't even consider the idea of looking outside of our family for the next leadership. He said he hated that you guys kept pushing for me and that it was all hierarchical, not based on merit.

"Wyatt and Nate got involved. It blew up into this whole argument and the boys were defending me. And right when they were about to come tell me, Sam stopped them because he said he knew something about the Bond that we didn't. He said it was only a matter of time before the Council voted for me to Bond as potentially the only way I could be Alpha."

"I'm going to kill him," Mom whispered harshly to my dad.

"Sam and Emily wanted to push the Council to vote that the first boy that phased would become Alpha and that would be the boy I Bond with. Which is why they keep saying Nate was the first to phase even though I've seen with my own eyes that the boys phased at the same time," I finished.

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner, Hadley?" Dad asked. His face was stone. But I couldn't tell if he was upset with me or upset at the situation.

I struggled to figure out the answer to that question. "I…" I paused. "I think I was too embarrassed to say something. And I thought I could handle it on my own like you both have always trusted me to. That was the same night I snuck the boys out because…I was feeling a little spiteful, I guess. I never thought I'd have to tell you because I knew everything would work out. But I've ruined my credibility with the Council, Wyatt hates me, and I don't feel like I even deserve a leadership role anymore. Maybe I was feeling too entitled to all of your hard work," the tears started to sting my eyes, "and I just expected for it to be handed to me. I thought they would see that I'm not this colossal screw up and just give it to me. That was really stupid."

They seemed to be at a loss for words. I was just feeling so vulnerable lately and I wasn't used to that. Everyone around me was used to seeing me smile through it; I was the one to always say, "I'll handle it!" and they just believed me. I never liked to ask for help or admit when I was wrong. Even when I was dead wrong, I would still try to fix it. I thought that's what they wanted from me. It seemed like that's what everyone wanted from me.

Mom let out a loud sigh, "Oh, Hadley…" she said, running a hand through my hair. "You've been taking on too much lately, haven't you?" Yeah, it seemed like it.

"Sweetie, we want you to understand something," Dad started, crouching in front of me. "We push so hard for you because we believe in you, not because you're our daughter. The same way we don't force Will to participate in pack business is the same way we fight for you have your rightful place in the pack. We know how hard you've worked, and we'll keep fighting for you. Always."

"I think you forget you're only 16 sometimes," Mom teased. "You are completely entitled to make mistakes and learn from them. Your father and I have made a lot of mistakes over the years; that's ok. We still get funny looks sometimes about our leadership style; that's also ok. Maybe we've all put you on too high of a pedestal and we're so sorry for that. But, baby girl, you're still a kid. There's nothing wrong with that."

"We will handle Sam and the Council," Dad said, comfortingly.

Mom turned to Dad. "Is this cause for removal from the Council, Jacob?" she asked.

He shrugged as he shook his head, "It's possible. We can talk about it later."

"What can I do?" I asked.

"Just keep doing what you've been doing. We need you all in right now, especially with the boys phasing now," Dad told me. "You are the expert for them so just keep guiding them."

"And stay out of trouble, please," Mom added. "Just keep your head down as much as possible. We will take care of the rest."

XXXXXXXXX

I couldn't sleep that night. There were just too many things racing through my mind. Did Wyatt volunteer to take the pack to spite me? Could I have done something different? What could I do? What could I have said?

How could this entire day have gone differently?

"Ok," I whispered, crawling out of my bed. I shook my hands from the nerves that were settling in my body. I craned my neck until it popped and sighed in relief. There had to be something I could do to ease my mind. Lighting a couple of candles, I worked to clear my mind as much as possible before I lit a sage stick to cleanse the air quickly.

I sat down in the middle of the floor and took a deep breath in…and let it out slow. I quickly let my consciousness slip until I felt myself leave my body.

When I opened my eyes, I was in an isolated spiritual common. It was my personal space that I had made my own over the past year. For those moments when everything gets so overwhelming on Earth and I don't necessarily want to be easily reached, I come here. My parents had never mentioned if they were ever able to have their own individual spiritual place, but I figured it couldn't be too hard. But don't tell my mom though. It's a secret.

I asked myself again, "What could I have done differently today?"

I visualized myself in the council hall earlier that day as unobscured as possible. Now that I knew how to do that image projection thing, it felt like a breeze. Soon, I was standing on the side of the hall, watching myself, bleary eyed and exhausted. What was the most shocking thing was the look of pure annoyance on my face as Cass spewed the sugariest bullshit to the Council. Watch everyone else's faces, I heard in a whisper.

"Stop," I said out loud, just like I had when we were in Wyatt's memory. Everything paused instantly. "Say it again," I ordered.

Cass took a deep breath before saying, "Wyatt, Nate, and Hadley worked so well together to protect the people. I was so amazed that they handled those vampires as a team. And Reese and Travis too! I felt so safe with all of them around."

Ok, how did everyone else react to this? Nate's pure confusion was enough for me to know that I wasn't being crazy. Cass trying to sugar coat that horrifying night was bizarre. As much as Nate has seen the corruption of his parents and understood that pack business is never black and white, I was always tickled that he could still look so utterly confused as to why people lie or why people behave the way they do. He was and will always be the strait-laced guy he's always been. He's a good person.

Wyatt looked about ready to object and jump out of his chair to call Cassie out. We did work well together that night, but that still doesn't change the fact that Cassie got hurt by someone supernatural. His foot bounced, agitated as Cass told the Council, with fake tears, that she thanked us for fighting oh so hard for her to be safe. Completely neglecting to say that she was almost black out drunk, she refused to come home, and she was very obviously trying to stir the pot by sneaking off of the reservation with someone meant to be in our protection.

Mom and Dad were looking at one another, trying to fade to the back, as they had a telepathic conversation probably. Grandma Sue wasn't buying a thing Cassie was saying. Grandpa looked concerned but open to listening. And Sam was a complete stone.

Then I watched myself stand up, hesitant and obviously irritated by Cass's lies. You could tell that my body was visibly rejecting the lies as they came out of my mouth. My hands were trembling, I kept shaking my head 'no', and I watched as I reached to cover my mouth right before I said, "I-I guess I don't have as much control over my strength as I thought."

"Stop."

Everything froze again. Wyatt was pinching the bridge of his nose as he cursed. Nate's face was drained of all color as he looked at me with wide eyes. And Cass…she looked relieved and proud that I had done what she had asked. And me? I looked sick to my stomach.

But what would have happened if I had told the truth? I ran the memory back right when Grandpa asked me, "Hadley bug, can you tell us your side? We just need to know how Cassie got hurt."

"Sure," I sighed, standing up. I looked at my mom first for strength then at my dad for love. They both gave me encouraging nods as I wrung my hands together. I started to speak, telling the room how I found out that Cass had snuck out to a house party and we left to go get her so we could bring her home before anyone noticed. Then I forced myself to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. "We were rounding everyone up and…I got pushed into the pool. All I know is that when I resurfaced, Cass and Reese were gone. They had run off to the Forks fair and Cam and Nate were trying to wrangle them as far as I know. We stayed for a bit to appease Cassie, I admit that. But I felt it as soon the vampires were close.

"The boys and I were moving pretty quickly, including Travis. We handled the two that made themselves known and we were about to leave with the crowd when another one came out of nowhere. I phased to try to fight it and it slipped past me. When I turned around, I saw that it was going straight for Cassie and I watched as Reese pushed Cass out of the way. That's how she hit her head. And then I rushed her to the hospital. We didn't even bother to call 911; I was worried it would take too much time. That's…that's what happened."

"And where did Travis and Reese go during all of this?" Sam asked.

"Travis had run into the woods as soon as the original two vampires were up in flames. He needed time to come back to being human. And I didn't see where Reese went after Cassie got hurt. I saw her yesterday, but that's all I know," I admitted.

We broke for a recess where Cass confronted me. "How could you say those things?" she whisper-yelled. "I told you Cam said they could be kicked off the rez for this!"

"Say what things, Cass? The truth?" I shot back. "It was an accident and you're clearly fine. They wouldn't be that cruel."

"You just ruined everything! I can't believe you didn't have my back in there," she was on the verge of tears.

"No, I have your back too much. That's why we're in this mess," I snapped.

She sniffled a couple of times before crossing her arms in front of her, "I hate you," she sobbed before running to the other end of the hall to be comforted by Cameron. Real me rolled my eyes. What a crock of shit…

When we walked back into the meeting, Grandma started back up, explaining everything about new patrol schedules and all of that shop keeping crap. They talked about expanding the patrol route to make sure that that vampire problem didn't persist. Still fair. Grandpa said that Mom and Dad will administer patrol schedules until they feel like new leadership is ready. And then…just like before, Grandma Sue took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Speaking of new leadership…" she sighed. "This was going to be a separate meeting but after hearing the rest of the accounts of today and observing certain behaviors in the past few weeks, we feel a need to address this now."

"No fucking way," Real me mumbled.

"Hadley bug, we appreciate you being honest with us today. It takes a lot to admit that you couldn't get a handle on things when you went to bring Cassidy home. But we're a bit confused," Grandpa said. "This pack is serious business and, if you can't help to enforce rules now, we're unsure how you'll handle a whole pack in the future."

"Are you serious?" Real me mumbled again.

"Traditionally, the first boy that phases will assume—"

"Alright, enough," I waved my hand to get rid of the scenario. Ridiculous. Even when I tell the truth, I still get penalized. Just like I said before! I knew that when the Council found out that Cassie snuck out, I would get in trouble for it. I was never being dramatic or overreacting. That's exactly what would have happened.

What would have happened if I recanted my statement? Just curious…

I brought up the scenario again where I lied for Cass. I fast forwarded until we were in recess and Wyatt walked up to me.

"Why did you tell them you pushed Cass?" he asked.

I sighed and dropped my head. "I don't know," I admitted. "Cass asked me to…she was worried about what would happen to Reese and Travis. She didn't want them to get kicked off the reservation."

"Hadley," he huffed. "That wasn't even something they were discussing."

I twisted my face in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"They were never concerned about the Holts. They just want to make sure it wasn't a vampire that hurt Cass."

Sam popped his head out and asked us all back in. I followed Wyatt in and sat next to him, no matter how much he didn't want me to. "You have to say something," he whispered to me. I nodded blankly as I racked my brain.

"Alright, let's finish this up," Grandma Sue said. "Lord knows we're all ready to go home."

Wyatt nudged me as I waited for the right time to speak. Billy went over the same patrol shit, blah blah blah. As soon as he mentioned new leadership, I sprang to my feet. "Can I say something?" I blurted.

Grandpa looked at me in surprise but nodded, "Sure, Hadley bug, you have the floor."

I looked around the room for a second as I gathered my thoughts. "Thank you," I started. "I just wanted to retract my statement. I didn't push Cass. I-I only said that because I was worried that the person who did would face unfair repercussions for something that was a complete accident. I apologize for lying; I really thought that would be the best course to keeping the people that we let on the reservation protected. I would just feel so awful if they were punished for something that wasn't really anyone's fault."

I tentatively returned to my seat as I waited for someone to say something. Grandpa cleared his throat, "Thank you for being honest with us. We were a little concerned when your story didn't match up with everyone else's."

"And I'm really, really sorry about that," I repeated.

"Yes, I understand, Hadley bug," he said. "But this is serious business and, if you're not being honest with us all the time, we're unsure how you'll handle pack business in the future."

"Traditionally, the first boy—"

"Oh, for fuck's sake," I rolled my eyes, waving the scenario away again.

I paced as I ran scenario after scenario, and they all ended up the same.

What if Mom spoke for me? If she can't speak up for herself, how is she going to handle a pack?

What if I do speak up for myself? She's insubordinate!

What if I just didn't talk to the Council about what happened? She obviously doesn't understand the severity of the situation. How can we trust her to run a pack by herself?

What if I told them about Sam's plan to oust me? I think you should be focused on taking your own accountability, young lady, instead of trying to distract away from this situation.

…What if Wyatt hadn't volunteered to take my spot? Until one of you boys steps up, the pack will continue to answer to its current Alphas. Since Hadley can't be honest with us, we will need to discuss further if we think she'll ever be ready for such a responsibility.

It was the exact same outcome every single time. There wasn't anything I could do that would change their mind. They had already been soiled to the idea that I could be Alpha. Sam convinced my grandfather that tradition was best instead of even giving me the chance to prove them wrong. This is nuts.

I plopped down on the grass and felt the coolness of the leaves on me. I couldn't believe it. Everything that I had worked for, every hour that I put into studying our history, our present, and our potential future was for nothing. All of those meetings where I let them poke and prod and stare at me while they figured out what other abilities the gods had blessed me with were meaningless. My entire existence up until this point has gone into a shithole.

Because they were never going to let me have it. Ever. My grandmother was the only person on the Council that thought I could do it. "So…what now?" I asked out loud to literally no one. I had no idea.

XXXXXXXXX

The doc is in

And she'll fix you up

If you're a toy

Then you're in luck

It's ok

Don't be afraid

The doc really knows her stuff

I bobbed my head to the Doc McStuffins theme song as I waved Melody's hands in the air. She giggled in my lap as she danced. Her little face was glued to the iPad as the good doc and her toys hugged in celebration as she fixed another toy. It was almost distracting enough from the new pack freaking out about the news of their new leadership.

"Can you turn that down, please?" Nate asked, rubbing his temples.

I looked up and the boys had stopped their yelling to stare. "Sorry," I mumbled.

"Would you like to participate, Lee? Or are you just going to keep watching cartoons this whole meeting?" Wyatt asked, annoyance dripping from his tone.

"You weren't even supposed to start the meeting until my parents got here, Your Majesty," I shot back.

My parents gave everyone the night to cool off, relax, think about what happened at the Council meeting, but insisted that we all have a pack meeting the next morning. Old pack and new pack. Wyatt, Nate, and the rest of the boys showed up bright and early while I was making breakfast for Will and Melody. Dad had run to the garage to do a quick tune up for one of his regulars and Mom was running an early morning patrol with Uncle Seth.

It seemed everyone was on edge with the news. No one was expecting it, that's for sure. "Lee, can you just tell us what's going on?" Gabriel asked.

I settled my chin on top of my little sister's head and said as casually as possible, "The Council took a vote. I lost. Plain and simple."

"That's not what happened," Wyatt sighed.

"Isn't it though, Your Highness?" I said, standing up and moving Melody onto the couch. I jogged upstairs to my room to take a second to breathe before I got too upset. Wyatt's energy was just so cold to me, I hated it. I wasn't making matters better; I was still feeling burned by the fact that he didn't stand with me as the Council ripped everything out from under me.

I was also just cranky because I didn't get any sleep. After I spent hours trying to brainstorm literally any way I could have salvaged my Alphahood, I came up with absolutely nothing. I kept thinking about this idea of tradition; it just disgusted me. It was archaic. We're living in modern times, and we can't stray away from tradition even a little bit? The consequence of not following tradition was nonexistent.

Wyatt or Nate being Alpha wasn't going to make my abilities just disappear. They would still utilize me as much as possible. It didn't make sense. They don't mind using me as an asset, as a tool, for their benefit, but they can't just let me show them that I can be a good leader.

"Lee," I heard behind me. I whirled around to see Nate leaning in my doorway. He was giving me that look that he always gives me when he's about to fuss at me like he's my parent.

"What's up, bro?" I asked, sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Really?"

"What?"

"You're not going to help him?"

"He doesn't need my help," I stated, picking up my cell phone from my nightstand. It was purely just to show that I was completely disinterested. Everyone that I spend time with is in my living room! To my surprise, I had a text from Travis. Still want to meet later today?

Oh shit, I had completely forgotten that I was supposed to meet up with Travis and Reese to let them know the Council's verdict today. I text him back quickly, Yup, same time, same place. See you then.

I placed my phone back on the nightstand facedown and turned back to Nate, who was standing there, a judgy look on his face. I flashed him an innocent smile, trying to tune out the confused questions coming from downstairs. "Hadley," he warned.

"I don't know what you want me to do," I told him. "Why do I need to help him? He has to figure it out. If he wants to be Alpha of this pack, he needs to learn how to get them under control. Why should I help him?"

"Because you love him," Nate said simply. My mouth snapped shut instantly. It was the first time anyone had said that word regarding me and Wyatt before. Was he wrong? Not even a little bit. But this just felt so personal. It hurt that I couldn't love him the way I wanted to.

We stared each other down for a beat before I broke. I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, "I hate you," I said on my way out.

"I'll believe that when it's true."

I bounded down the stairs, pushing aside the overwhelming anxiety that everyone was feeling. The older pack was starting to come in, concerned as to why their children were so worked up. Uncle Embry, Quil, and Jared were trying to make sense of the madness. Even Wyatt's other brothers, August and Jace were now sitting in the crowd and they hadn't even phased yet. Uncle Paul looked up at me and projected, What in the world is going on here, kid?

I'm handling it, I projected.

Wyatt was trying to get everyone to calm down. "Guys, I'm trying to answer your questions. Just relax for a second," he said, loudly.

I tried for a second to separate all their voices so I could hear their individual questions, but it wasn't working. They were all too riled up. Wyatt turned to me, desperately and silently asking for help. I just nodded at him, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "Alright, you guys, settle down," I gently Alpha ordered. They all quieted immediately. Wyatt let out a sigh of relief as the voices, both vocal and telepathic dimmed to nothing. "I know you guys are feeling confused about what went down at the Council meeting. We—" I gestured to both myself and Wyatt, "—are here to answer any questions until Mom and Dad get here."

They all started to shout their questions again all at once. My eyes widened for a second before I spoke over them again, "One at a time!"

Paul stood up and asked the first general question, "What the hell happened?"

"The Council has put Wyatt in charge of the new wolves for the time being," I answered.

"Why?" Quil asked. Then he backed up, "Not that Wyatt can't handle it, but…why?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know why too," Jared chimed in, his eyebrows drawn together.

I pursed my lips as I thought of an answer. Wyatt spoke for me, "There have been some questions on whether we follow tradition or if we go in a new direction regarding leadership."

"I thought Hadley would be Alpha. This is confusing," Gabriel raised his hand.

"How is the Alpha's daughter not the next Alpha?" Hunter asked.

"That's a great question," I muttered, dropping my gaze to the floor. I swallowed my bruised pride and said confidently, "I think the Council made the right call. Whether this is permanent or temporary, the pack is in good hands either way."

And I meant that. It didn't matter that we were in a fight right now. If the Council had decided any way to make Wyatt the sitting Alpha, it would have been a great choice. He takes care of people better than anyone I know. I couldn't help but blush when I felt Wyatt's eyes on me. For once, they weren't cold. They were appreciative, I think. But I still couldn't look at him.

"Why aren't we included in these conversations though?" Jared asked. "How is this only the Council's decision?"

"I…" I was at a loss for words. "I honestly don't know, I'm sorry. Mom and Dad should have a better answer for that."

"So…Wyatt is our Alpha? Not Hadley?" Gabriel asked to confirm.

I nodded. "Yes, that's right. All training and new wolf meetings will be run by Wyatt. I'll help out as much as he'll allow me. But I do truly believe that you're in good hands with Wyatt. You guys already know how wonderful he is; he'll be a great leader."

When I looked up, I saw Mom and Dad standing in the doorway of the living room with proud looks on their faces. A smile ghosted on my face for a brief second before it fell. "Thank you," Wyatt said under his breath.

"No problem," I murmured back. "Now that the dust has settled, Mom and Dad can really get this meeting started."

Mom and Dad took our place at the front of the room, donning their natural Alpha personas seamlessly. I took a spot in the back of the crowd with Nate as my parents started the pack meeting. "Very nice," Nate complimented me. "I'm proud of the way you handled yourself up there."

"I am nothing if not professional," I quipped.

"You know it was more than that," he pressed.

I didn't have anything to say about that. I just chewed my bottom lip, trying to rid myself of that sinking feeling in my stomach. One thing was for sure though: I needed to get out of there. I patted Nate on the back, "I'll see you later, ok?"

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I just need to take a walk," I assured him. I slipped out the door without any other questions, feeling the rain on my hot skin. The lightning continued to crack right in front of the house, never once letting up.

I was only a few steps away from the door when I heard, "Ace."

When I turned around, Wyatt was standing on the porch, eyes loaded with his many thoughts and questions. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as our eyes met. He came down the stairs into the rain. "What are you doing out here?" I asked.

"I could be asking you the same question," he said, slipping his hands into his front pockets. "The meeting's not over yet."

"I just…I don't need to be in there right now. It's feeling a little small."

He nodded in understanding. "I get that. I, uh…I wanted to thank you for helping me back there."

"It's not a problem."

"Well…just know it meant a lot to me."

The lightning cracked again above us, but we both looked up as the rain lessened for the first time in over a week. The torrential downpour was now nothing more than a normal La Push drizzle. "Huh…" I said out loud. So, I was right. This weather was a message.

"Weird…" Wyatt said. He looked back at me, and I could tell he wanted to say more, but couldn't bring himself to do so. "I should get back in there."

I nodded at him, "Yeah, you're needed in there." He turned to walk back into the house. "Good luck," I called. He looked back at me with appreciation before going through the door. One step at a time.

XXXXXXXXX

I headed up to the cliffs to think. Something about the sound of the ocean crashing against the solid rock was soothing. It was nice to be outside without being drenched from the rain. I couldn't help but feel just the tiniest bit relieved that I didn't have to be in that meeting.

There was this voice in my head that was playing around with the idea that I didn't need to their version of an Alpha. Whatever that meant to them, it wasn't me. I couldn't tell if that small voice was just me soothing myself into thinking I was alright with what happened or if it was true.

I felt his presence before he sat next to me. Travis sighed as he dangled his feet over the cliff. "You gonna jump again?"

I giggled, the first time in what felt like days, "Nah, not this time. Just clearing my head."

"This is a great spot to think. Look at that view," he marveled at the horizon in front of us.

We sat quietly for a while, listening to the waves. Smelling the mix of rain and salt water. "Did you follow me out here?" I asked, suddenly curious.

He looked at me and shook his head, "Of course not. I was feeling antsy at the house and decided to take a walk. It's so weird; there's no one outside right now."

"Yeah, because they're all at my house," I told him. "Got a bit crowded."

He studied my face. I knew I looked rough these days. Not sleeping and stress was wearing on me. "Do you want to get out of here?" he asked. "Maybe go for a drive?"

Travis was always so sweet to me. Neither of us had brought up the kiss we shared that night or what it meant. I admittedly had tried to keep my distance from him because I really didn't want to piss off Wyatt. And that wasn't very fair. It was my fault, and my fault alone, that I didn't make my relationship with Wyatt explicit enough. Or…what was left of my relationship with Wyatt.

Part of me really wanted to get out of the bubble. Even for an hour. I turned to face Travis and felt myself say, "Yes."

We walked down the hill together toward the main road. He told me that the baby bird was doing so much better now and decided to fly away from our little man made nest. That made me smile; his compassion for all of the living things I'd seen him come in contact with was heartwarming. I stood by their pick up while he ran into the house to grab the keys.

I saw movement in the window toward the other side of the house and dismissed it almost immediately. Travis hit unlock and I hopped in quickly, staring out the car window. I looked over to the house again and saw Matthew make a second of eye contact before he walked away from the window completely.

"I know somewhere we can go," Travis said, throwing the truck in reverse. The last time I was in this truck I felt like I needed to count the miles in order to make myself comfortable in order to keep myself safe. This time felt different. As Travis drove down the road away from the reservation, I felt my stress melting away with every mile.

He flipped through the radio stations until he was content and then he turned it all the way up and rolled the windows down. I relaxed into my seat and then got my feet out of the window, enjoying the breeze, the music, and the company. We were just outside of Forks when we pulled up to this tiny building with motorcycles parked outside of it. It was a pool hall. just this tiny hole in the wall place.

When we walked in, we were greeted by a cloud of cigarette smoke and beer. They didn't seem too concerned the two minors had just walked in. In fact, we seem to blend right in somehow. Travis went up to the bar and bought us a round at the pool table in the very back and a couple of drinks. Non-alcoholic, of course. It was two Cokes, I promise.

"I figure this is different enough than your regular stomping grounds," he said, setting up the balls and handing me a pool stick. "You know how to play pool, right?"

"Of course," I smirked, picking up the cue chalk.

"Alright," he drawled, grinning. "Standard rules. Best two out of three. Loser buys food. Ladies first."

"You're on."

The first game he went easy on me. I could tell he was holding back. My break wasn't clean, but it did the trick. I landed two stripes and a solid. I sank another stripe in the side pocket, claiming it. "Nice," he commented. I missed the next shot, but didn't miss how Travis only sank two balls and missed an obvious one.

"Don't let me win," I teased.

"I would never," he said playfully.

We focused really just on the game the first time. It was like something cathartic, something to help us both relax a little. We laughed and joked around; it was just really nice. I felt like I could shut off that part of my brain that was always working to find the right thing to do or say. The second game we both felt comfortable enough to actually have a conversation. Travis was leaning on the pool table as I was lining up a shot when he asked me, "How did the Council meeting go?"

He was very casual about it, but I could tell by the slight edge in his voice that he was still worried. I snorted in contempt. "It was a shit show," I answered. The ball I was aiming for hit one of his and they both fell into the corner pocket. "Damn."

"A shit show how?" he pressed, circling the table.

"Well…" I started. "I just made a bad call on how to handle it. I wanted to make sure that you guys were safe and it turned out y'all were never on the chopping block. But I was."

"What do you mean?"

"They took away my title before it was ever even officially mine."

"Damn, that's harsh."

I shrugged, tapping the pool stick onto the peanut shell covered floor. "Kind of felt inevitable, honestly," I told him, thinking about last night. "But the important thing is that they don't blame Reese for what happened to Cassie. She was so worried that you guys would get punished, but the Council understands that it was an accident."

Travis stood up straight from the pool table and walked over to where I was standing. He pulled me into a hug, which startled me. My body stiffened before I realized that I really fucking needed that. I wrapped my arms around him to hug him back, letting out a slow breath to release the tension from my body. When he held me at arms length, he gave me the a kind smile. "Thank you, Hadley. You have no idea what this means to me. To all of us."

"It's the least I could do," I told him.

He rubbed my arm a couple of times before he stepped away. "I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"

I was starving actually. Be cool, though. "I could eat."

"Cool, let's get some food."

"But we're not done yet," I said, looking at the table. There were 9 balls on the board and I was losing.

Travis circled and crouched to table level. He quickly sank the 8 ball before shrugging, glancing up at me. "Look at that. I lose. Food's on me."

We found a booth toward the back and waited until the the lanky, uninterested waiter came by. Travis ordered us two burgers and some fries for the table. Honestly, it was nice to not have to make a decision for a change.

"So tell me how you're really feeling about the meeting," he said, taking a sip from his glass.

"I'm just happy that that you guys get to stay. That's what's most important," I told him.

"Now that is a PC answer," Travis shook his head. "Come on, be honest with me right now. How are you feeling?"

I had unconsciously started to tear apart a napkin as I thought about it. "Annoyed," I said finally, "upset…relieved…frustrated."

"Why relieved?"

I tucked my hair behind my ear while I tried to find the right way to say what I've always wanted to say out loud. "I've always felt like they're trying to put me in this box that has never quite fit. They want this clean cut Alpha girl that never makes mistakes and follows their rules to the T and that's just not me. I want for my people to be safe, of course, but I also want to do things my way because I feel like I know what could be great for the pack, you know? Once our parents retire, it'll just be us and…I spend every single day with those boys. They're going to get tired of strict patrol schedules and pack meetings. So…yeah…part of me is relieved that I don't have to fight twice as hard to try to fit into that tight box they always try to shove me in."

Travis looked like he completely understood what I was saying. "Don't you just wish you could get away from it all sometimes?" he asked. "This supernatural thing…it's crazy."

I laughed a little mirthlessly, "That's the thing though. It would be like this if it was just normal life too."

He held my hand between both of his to comfort me. "It gets better though, I know it," he said. He flipped it over and opened my palm. "What is this?" he asked.

I looked down to see this scar in the middle of my palm that had never gone away. It had been there for as long as I could remember. I just couldn't remember where it came from. "I actually don't know," I said honestly, running a finger over it. "I forget it's there sometimes."

"It's probably the only imperfection I've seen on you," he tried.

"I shook my head at him, laughing. "I think you think way too highly of me."

"Only because it's true," he said, gazing at me with those sparkling eyes again. "Ever since I met you, you've been so gracious and understanding and…" Please don't say perfect. "perfect," he finished.

The waiter walked up with the basket of fries, giving me the opportunity to free my hand of Travis's. I slowly swiped my finger across the scar again, racking my brain for just a second about where it came from. I waited until the waiter left. "What if…" I tempered my words, "what if that's not what I want though?"

Travis looked at me confused as he picked up a fry. "What do you mean?"

"What if I don't want you to see me as perfect?" I clarified.

He stopped for a second to consider what that meant. He nodded slowly, trying to understand. "What do you want to be seen as then, Hadley?"

I gave him a wry smile as I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm just me," I said simply. "No labels, no pressure. Just me."

"I think I can do that."

"Thanks," I said quietly before picking up a fry to eat.

The waiter brought the rest of our food and left us to eat. Was it sad to say that this was one of the first times I'd been out with someone not from my small group of friends? And I was having so much fun. Not that I didn't have fun with my friends, of course I did, but I forgot how nice it was to get to know someone.

He told me about the things that he'd been exploring. He loved to swim at the beach and read thrillers. Travis told me that, before he was turned, he really wanted to be a vet. Which made sense why he was so good with that baby bird. "You still can be," I told him.

He scrunched his face with apprehension. "I don't know yet. I'd have to get my GED and figure out if I can even go to college and…" he trailed off. "You know what I would love?"

"Tell me."

"I would love if I could just go back in time and see what was that one thing I could have changed so I could live a normal life."

I felt for him so much. His story was so heartbreaking. "You miss home," I assumed. I meant home as in Georgia, not Tennessee.

"I just miss my family," he corrected. "I loved growing up with Reese, but…"

"She's not your parents," I finished for him.

He nodded as to say 'right on the nose.' "It's like I'm her parent sometimes. Like right now…I don't even know where she ran off to this morning."

"Well…sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is let them figure it out. Whether they land on their feet or their face is up to them," I advised.

"Wow, you just sounded so wise," he chuckled. "I knew there was something I liked about you."

I laughed under my breath and focused my eyes down on my food.

"I hope I didn't make things too difficult between you and Wyatt," Travis spoke again. My eyes shot up at the mention of Wyatt's name. "You know, when I…when I kissed you."

"Yeah, no, I-I remember." My cheeks got hot. I shook my head. "Wyatt…he—we just have a lot of things to lay out on the table. That night was already so crazy, I feel bad that I probably didn't react well to it."

Travis looked confused. "You feel bad? Why? I should explain why I kissed you that night. Maybe that will clear things up."

I was starting to feel that tightness in my chest again. I had been 3 hours off the reservation stress free and I was not about to let him ruin that. He started to speak and I cut him off, "Can we table that conversation please?" I realized how borderline unhinged I sounded. I was desperate to just keep enjoying myself instead of hashing and rehashing the absolute dumpster fire of the past month or so.

Travis held up his hands to show he meant no harm.

"I'm sorry," I blurted.

"Don't be sorry, darlin'. You're under enough stress," he flashed a kind smile. "Ice cream? My treat? And then I'll take you home."

Good deal. We decided to go to that place where they let you put a bunch of toppings inside the ice cream. That was my favorite thing. I loved mixing chocolate and strawberry ice cream together and then putting graham crackers in there. Try it. It's delicious.

We walked around for a bit as we enjoyed our ice cream. "So what do you need right now?" Travis asked me.

I took a big bite out of my ice cream and shrugged I don't know. "I don't really need things," I said.

"What do you want then? More than anything right now."

"Hmmm…" I bobbed my head as I thought about it. "Well I'm really into this ice cream right now," I joked before saying, "I think what I want the most is just…a friend. An uncomplicated friend."

"Uncomplicated," he repeated. He took a bite from his waffle cone. "Sounds easy enough."

"I think you can handle that," I smirked.

He chuckled heartily, "I think I can too."

I had a good feeling about it. There was always something that drew me to Travis and I wasn't sure what it was, but I was happy to see how a friendship could serve both of us. It was almost like we were going through some of the same things. People expected so much from us when we were both just trying to find our place in all of this.

I hoped it was worth it to be friends. I really did.