AN: Thanks to those who read, followed, and favourited the first chapter!

Thank you to, X-NessieCullen-X, jeangary28, Babysis64, and twi nana, for reviewing last chapter!

Hope you like this one!

Chapter Two: Alpha Wolf

It took me a couple days to find the creature, which I had discovered was actually a vampire. Didn't know they were real. And I definitely didn't think that if they were, I'd have such an unyielding urge to kill them. Anyway, I found it hiding out up in Canada, in the Okanagan Valley. I wasn't sure what to do with it, once I took its head off and it didn't die, but the creature actually helped me figure it out.

"Did you just dismember me for fun, or are you actually going to burn the pieces?" It hissed, as I stared at its dismembered head, with its stringy hair all covered in grime and it's glazed over eyes, like a blind fish. Something deep inside told me this was a very old one indeed.

No, I plan to burn you, of course. It's just, well, you don't happen to have a lighter, do you? I thought to myself. And I didn't know how I could light a fire with my paws. But I didn't think it was safe to go back to being an ordinary man to do it. If that was even an option at this point. Maybe I'd be a wolf forever. I didn't know.

I decided to drag it to a forest fire and throw it in since I couldn't light one of my own. There was one in the mountains that I had read about in the newspaper that was still burning. I could probably get to it from where I was. So, I ripped the rest of the creature into several more pieces with my teeth and claws and spread them out. I'd seen the body moving and I wasn't sure if it could put itself back together, so I spread them out over a couple of kilometers and hoped that it didn't have any friends in the area, while I ran one piece of it at a time to the site of the fire and dropped it in.

My first trip back, I could see the agony on its face from losing a piece of itself, so I decided to be merciful and burn the head next. It thanked me for doing so as I tossed its head in the flames.

It wasn't until the creature was all burnt up with purple smoke rising that I felt safe. But I ran to a safe area that wasn't near the site of the fire before I tried to change back to human form. I needed to try, and if it worked, then I needed to try becoming a wolf again as well. I had to know if this was something I could do at will or not.

It took a few attempts but eventually, I was able to sense the magic running through my veins and harness it. Huh, I guess Renée was right. I thought hard about the last time I had seen my human reflection in a mirror and felt my skin begin to fizzle and pop with electricity. Soon, I was lying naked on the forest floor. I knew that I must run much faster as a wolf than as a human, and I needed to get home and speak to the elders, so I attempted right away to become a wolf again.

All I had to do was think about my furry form's reflection which I had seen in a lake I had passed and I immediately felt the change. I high-tailed it out of there, no pun intended, and returned home, running straight to the Rez to talk to the council. As it turned out, I didn't need to rush.

I had thought everyone would be looking for me, but when Renée had told Billy that I'd had a high fever and no one could get a hold of me the next day, he started to worry. He went to the council and told them that they might need to wait on doing the paternity test because I'd gotten sick and then promptly disappeared, so he surmised that I was probably at the doctors or heaven forbid the hospital.

But, Quil Ateara III must have known about the signs of becoming wolf because he cryptically told Billy that the symptoms I was exhibiting were more of a paternity test than any doctor could do and not to worry because I would soon be back to take my 'rightful place' on the council. I would have expected Billy to be pissed off about that, but apparently, he had actually seen Ephraim, Levi Uley, and Quil Ateara II turn into wolves when we were kids and it had all been explained to him then.

So, instead of being confused, he had covered for me with Renée and was prepared to cover for me with work as well, but thankfully, it was a small police department and they had me working three day weeks until I got past my probationary period. So, when I got back, I still had another day before I had to be back at work, and I was greeted by Billy, demanding to see my wolf.

I complied and changed right in front of him. He was thrilled. "You know what this means, Chuck? It means we're brothers man! You have to be a lot more than a little bit Quileute to have the gene to become wolf, and so without a doubt, you are William's son. Of course, I suppose it could still turn out that I'm Geoffrey's but I don't think I'm quite white enough for that to be the case, do you?" He laughed.

"Yeah, probably not, he was pretty pale, even for a white guy." I conceded. "So, brothers?" I grinned, holding my arms out.

"Always." Billy smiled, embracing me in a man hug. It was then that I noticed he was pretty warm himself.

"Ah, Billy…any objections to joining me in wolfiness?" I laughed, checking his forehead temperature with my hand.

"Shit, seriously!?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah I think so." I nodded.

"Huh. Well, I guess I had better tell Sarah that I might have to disappear for a few days." He said. "Let's go to my house and get you some clothes, Brother."

"Lead on." I agreed, following along behind him to the little red house in the woods. They hadn't moved into the big house yet either. We were all going to be moving on the same weekend in a couple of weeks. That is, if we ever got a chance to pack with all of this wolf stuff coming up now. Oh well, hopefully, the girls were on top of it.

We walked into Billy's little house, and Sarah came out of the kitchen when he called, "Baby, I'm home and I've got Chuck with me."

Sarah ran to Billy, giving him a hug, and then came over to hug me. I looked at her and was about to say "Hi Sarah." when my whole world fell away. As I hit my knees, in a state of shock and awe, I felt the fabric of my reality shift, as I became tethered to the woman standing in front of me.

"Umm, Brother, did you just imprint on my wife!?"

Two hours later, Sarah was perched in my lap and Billy had just finished explaining imprinting to me and explaining everything to Sarah. Apparently, he had told her before they married that there was a slight chance he might start turning into a giant wolf at some point, but she never actually believed him. Even though she too had heard the legends ad-nauseum as a child, just as he had.

All that was left was to figure out what to tell Renée. There was no way in hell I wanted to break up with her. We'd worked hard to get to where we were and I loved her very much. "Well, Charles, there's always that tribal law, I guess. I dunno if it would apply to Renée or not though because she's not Quileute, but we can look into it for you," he offered.

"Yeah, well I guess we'll have to find out what we can. We should probably talk to her sooner rather than later. Let's go over there and pick her up." I said.

"Why don't you go talk to her, Chuck, then bring her back here. I don't think I should be in a vehicle right now, in case I phase. I won't have any control the first time. Just tell her that you found out about your paternity test and it comes with some other revelations we want to discuss with her. Then we can tell her everything when she gets back here. You're Alpha wolf, which also makes you chief, Charles. If you want to tell your girlfriend that you turn into a giant puppy and all that comes with that, then who are the council to stop you?

"And so what if she isn't Quileute? She deserves to know what's going on when it directly affects her. I think you should tell her everything. She needs to know that even if she decides to still marry you, it'll never be quite equal because of the imprint. She needs to be informed so she can decide if that's really enough for her."

"Yeah, Billy, you're right, Brother. I'll get her back here and then we'll tell her together. Plus that way she's less likely to hit me and I'd rather she not hurt her hand." I laughed bitterly at the circumstances. It was ridiculous how quickly everything could change in the blink of an eye.

When I walked back into the little red house after driving over to get Renée, the tension was palpable. Everyone was nervous about how Renée, who had no knowledge of anything supernatural would take this.

We walked in and Sarah ran up to her with a hug. I could see the sad, apologetic look in Sarah's eyes and I wanted to comfort her. But until we told Renée everything, that would just make it all worse, so I held myself back, rocking on the balls of my feet, fighting the urge to run to her. To run to both of them, actually. It was a relief to me to know that I still loved Renée.

After Sarah hugged her, Billy did too. He wasn't very good with subterfuge, so he was looking at his feet the whole time as she asked him how he was feeling, obviously having noticed his temperature as well as my own. She looked like she wanted to ask if we were contagious, but didn't for fear of being rude.

"Billy, have I offended you somehow? Why are you purposely not looking at me?" She asked, gnawing on her lip with nerves.

He looked up abruptly at her sad tone. "No, it isn't that, Angel, it's…" He froze. Completely.

"Billy?" All three of us asked in unison.

"Umm, I think he just imprinted." I sighed, stating the obvious fact. Though the word would mean nothing to Renée yet, I knew she felt it.

"Okay, somebody needs to tell me what's going on!" She exclaimed, still worrying her poor lip.

"Sit down, Baby Girl. We'll explain everything." I nodded, as we all got comfortable in a circle on the living room floor.

"A long time ago, the Quileute people were given a gift. The ability to turn into a wolf at will, after the wolf gene is triggered. The gift is not passed to every member of the tribe, only to those who are directly descended of Taha Aki, and only then, to males of a certain age. Whenever the tribe is in danger. Renée, I just found out that I am one of those descendants. My father, as it turns out, was William. God rest his soul.

"Anyway, to make a long story short, a creature who feeds off of innocent humans was roaming the area these past few days, and it caused that gene to trigger. The reason I disappeared on you, wasn't because I was sick. It's because I spent the weekend as a wolf for the first time ever. I can show you now if you want proof." I offered.

"Well, of course, I believe you, Charles! I've read the book. But can I see you as a wolf anyway?" She asked, jumping up off the floor.

"Umm, Renée? What book would that be?" I asked. If there was a book about this stuff, I'd like to take a look at it.

"Why, the book 'Quileute Legends and the Truth' of course. You haven't read it? It's an excellent read. I bought a copy of it at the tribal store the first time you brought me out here. I don't think they were supposed to sell it to a white woman though, because when the kid behind the counter told his mom what I had bought, I could hear her ordering him to chase after me, but he never did. I took it pretty seriously after that. It's one of the reasons I was so worried when you disappeared after developing the fever.

"Of course, I didn't tell anyone my suspicions because I wasn't sure, but it definitely crossed my mind. So you're both wolves then?" She said, glancing from me to Billy.

"Well, Billy hasn't changed yet, but I suspect it will be soon," I said.

"But wait? You just said he imprinted. I thought imprinting had to happen after the first phase? At least that's what I read. Did the book have that wrong?" She asked, confused. I noticed that as we had spoken she'd been instinctively inching closer to Billy, whether she realized that or not.

"Well, yes it is supposed to. But I have an idea of what may have happened. Last night, I had a dream that I was a wolf. It felt so real that for a second when I woke up, I expected to see fur. But I woke up human, so I assumed it must have been a dream. But maybe it wasn't. I'll have to find out if there has ever been a case of a wolf changing in his sleep before. But one way we can find out for sure if I am is for Chuck and me to go outside and he can try to Alpha-order me to phase. That should only work if the first phase has already occurred." Billy suggested.

"Good idea," I agreed. "And then you girls get to see us both as wolves if it works," I added since I knew they wanted to see us phase.

We all headed out back and the girls gawked while we stripped out of our jeans. I had thought they'd blush and look away, but apparently, we were past that now. I ordered Billy to phase in the voice that he had told me was my Alpha timbre. Then I watched in surprise as he shifted into the biggest wolf I had ever seen. He was a very dark shade of mahogany in color, and his eyes were soulful. I phased into my own wolf form, which was a pure white wolf and Renée started clapping while Sarah just stared in awe.

We tried out the mind-link. Showing each other all kinds of thoughts and memories, as well as talking directly to each other through the link. I had to admit it was pretty cool. We even showed each other the moment we imprinted which was a little surreal for me, seeing Renée through his eyes. I had to admit, the imprint was strong. Just as strong as mine with Sarah, and I knew at that moment that even if she chose not to continue our engagement, she'd still be in good hands.

Billy must have heard my thoughts. You never know, Chuck. We could end up like our parents, the way things seem to be going.

Yeah, I guess we could. And really, that wouldn't be so bad, would it?

No, it wouldn't be so bad at all.

AN: Well, what do we think? As always, I love to hear feedback!

Blessings,

-BMW