It's easy to say
But it's never the same
I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain

Now the day bleeds
Into nightfall
And you're not here
To get me through it all
I let my guard down
And then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

Someone You Loved, by Lewis Capaldi, from the album Breach, released in 2018

We were at the top of the cliffs. The sun was setting, the skies growing darker earlier and earlier as we progressed through the winter months. We were in our human forms for the beginning of the ceremony, wearing a traditional garb that had still been somewhat modernised. Wasn't that an oxymoron?

It was akin to a suit that I was wearing, with brown trousers that were filled with a few patches in subtle places. I was wearing a white shirt, with a deep brown overcoat over the top. Around my neck, there was a necklace, featuring a small wolf, a wolf fang rumoured to be from Taha Aki himself, and a symbol representing my birth in Quiluette culture.

My shoes were most definitely the most modern thing in my uniform, with them being simple brown leather boots that my father had loaned me. What this had to do with a ceremony I had no clue, but as I said way back then, we were sticklers for tradition. Bella was wearing something slightly different, a sweeping brown dress that was eerily akin to her brown eyes.

She was also wearing a necklace, hers being of the first female wolf's fang, a small wolf charm, and a Quiluette symbol that my dad had procured to represent her birth. I had forgotten to mention that Bella had managed to phase back into human form. However, the phase itself had caused her an incredible amount of pain- something I would rather not relive- and she couldn't alternate rapidly.

There would be no Alpha fight today for her, mainly because Emily wasn't a wolf, but also because Bella wasn't in fighting condition. She looked bruised and small in her human form, with several cuts still visible, including one that went from the bridge of her nose to the side of her cheek.

She was standing up under her own steam, but several others- including Charlie who was looking at her worriedly- were watching her in case she needed to be caught or the pain became too much. The Elders and Pack stood in a circle, Imprint to wolf, with my father taking his usual position with Sue to his right and Charlie, as Alpha Female's mother, to the left.

We were in the centre, staring into one another's eyes for a brief second before Bella turned away. Still, our hands linked, for once not in a romantic way but in a symbolism that signified the joining of two leaders of a pack. There was a lot of remorse surrounding the Pack nowadays, between Harry and my own and Bella's sorrow, it infected the mind like a poison, seeping into every corner.

It could weaken the pack. My father wheeled forwards, and the hushed chattering silenced immediately as Sam stepped forward, directly across from my father in the circle.

"We have come to bear witness to Jacob Ephraim Black and Isabella Marie Swan taking their places, as by birthright and bloodline, as the Alpha and Alpha Female of the La Push Pack. As we are following tradition, we must lay out the terms for leading such a pack, and they must recite an oath. Then, as customary, the current Alpha will duel the challenging Alpha. In the case where the Alpha Female, such as this one, has no wolf counterpart to challenge, then they must either ask for the permission of the current Alpha's Imprint, or have their current fight with the current Alpha Male."

It went quiet for a second, as I saw Bella's eyes narrow in what I hoped to be determination. Because I hoped it wasn't last-minute cold feet, in which case it would admittedly be a little upsetting but understandable. We looked at Dad as if he was an all-knowing deity, as he cleared his throat and began again, continuing with the ceremony.

"With taking leadership of the La Push Pack, you are aware that you are charged with the safety of not only the inhabitants of the Quileute Tribe, regardless of shifter or human, but also with the preservation of human life from any threats that may endanger it."

"I do."

Bella and I chorused at the same time, our eyes flickering to one another before turning our attention back to my father.

"And you will uphold this duty, through sickness and life, until you are physically no longer able to uphold the duty, and until the day where you give up your wolf. Even at risk to your own life, and to your packmates, you will uphold this duty, even if it means you must lay down your own life."

Again, we chorused the same thing together, still looking at my father, who marched on, his eyes staring unwaveringly into my own. There would be no bias here, regardless of whether he was my kin or not.

"Then, provided the challenge goes well or not, I will bless this ascension to your birthright, and will vocally record Jacob Ephraim Black and Isabella Marie Swan as Alphas, a position which they will remain providing nothing untoward happens. Now we just need them to recite this final phrase before the combat between lead wolf may begin."

"I vow on my life to protect my pack, my people, and all of human life, for it is my duty and one I hearken to. My strength will uphold the Tribal Law, my leadership will guide us to safety, and my perseverance will take us through adversity. Such is my burden, which I accept as it is charged."

My Quiluette was admittedly a little rusty. We didn't speak it very often after all, but it was a part of my roots, and I would never forget it, even if I hardly ever used it. Still, I think it came across as I intended.

I was curious as to how Bella would fare, considering that she didn't have the background I had. Hands tensing around Bella's, I turned to face her subtly as she began her version of the vow. I thought a lot of this stuff was unnecessary, but there was no point in arguing because I'd just prolong it.

"I vow my life to protect my pack, my Imprint, and all of human life as though they are my kin, for is my accepted duty, and one I hearken to. I would happily lay down my life for kin and for Jacob, my Imprint, and this realisation is one I ultimately accept until I can no longer. The strength I have will supplement the Alpha's, and should his fall, I back him up. We stand united, not alone. This strength takes us through adversity, and as it is my burden, I accept it as charged."

Her language skills were fairly decent, discounting a few errors here and there. I hardly blamed her because Quiluette was a hard language to learn, and adding to the fact, it was dying, so there weren't many online resources. My father nodded, and Sam stepped forward, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.

I excused myself quickly, disconnect my hand from Bella's before turning away into the forest, getting out of the ceremonial outfit. I highly doubted that they wanted me to tear it. It was a quick affair, and I folded them up neatly on a small blanket, so they wouldn't get muddy.

Then, I phased quickly, shifting over and allowing my wolf to come to my side, as we worked together as one. He had the experience, but I had knowledge. Then, I strutted out, blinking and walking quietly towards Sam, who had phased and returned in the time it had taken me.

The pack had made an even smaller circle with various stones and rocks, which meant that there wasn't much space to run away or evade over long distances.

"Now, we must lay down the base rules for this duel. Despite your alter-egos, we are not animals, and as such there will be no serious injuries. The fight will continue until one admits defeat or is pinned on the ground for fifteen seconds. Serious injuries include neck throttling, stomach tearing, breaking limbs, or breaking spines. Do both sides agree to these rules?"

Bella had moved back into the circle, sitting next to Charlie, still dressed in her ceremonial gear. Charlie's looks between the two of us didn't go unnoticed by me, but whatever he was thinking went unknown to the two of us. Me and Sam barked in agreement while we nodded our heads, circling one another while crouching, baring our teeth mockingly, yet with some real venom behind it.

"May the fight begin."

Sam lunged forward first, testing the waters with outstretched fangs and flying globs of spit. The pack and Elders hushed as I followed my instincts and leapt to the side, backing away and putting more distance between me and the black wolf that was Sam. He turned quickly, barely allowing me to analyse his weak spots in his strategy.

My wolf was quietly analysing every move of Sam's as we circled one another once again. I decided to test the waters myself this time, suddenly moving to the side with a burst of speed, and rounding on his exposed flank.

My wolf suddenly and sharply pulled back, and rather then fighting it, I went limp, allowing him to take control. It caused me to narrowly miss a side swipe by Sam, which would have scratched my muzzle viciously, and would have scraped all along my side.

Sam, by no means, was an easy person to beat in a fight. Never was, and never would be. Even though I was roughly about the same height, Sam had the experience, considering he was first shifted. And although he had trained me, and the following members of the pack, there was a noticeable difference in our fighting styles.

You couldn't learn how to fight without making it your own. I growled lowly as my wolf shifted over in my mind, allowing me to get partial control. I trusted him implicitly, and he trusted me, and because of that, I had confidence that we could give as good as we got.

Sam followed forwards with another strike, this time lunging for my leg. It was a smart strategy, for obvious reasons. To put it simply, the injured leg is equivalent to slow movement. Safe to say, I was avoiding his fangs at all costs.

You are quick, but even if you dodge, he can quickly alter his course. My advice would be to balance on your hind legs at last minute, and then slam your paws on his bag and dig them in.

Taking the ancient wolf spirit's advice, I feigned meeting him head-on, so Sam wouldn't abort the attack and watched anxiously as he pounced. Following my wolf's advice, I reared back, my claws evident as Sam lunged towards my paw, trying to correct his course. I slammed down on his back, throwing all of my weight onto his spine and digging in my claws hard enough to draw blood.

I hadn't come away unscathed from the manoeuvre though, because I hadn't been quick enough, causing Sam to get a partial bite on my right leg. It wasn't deep, nor was it oozing blood or anything like that, but it was a little sore.

No! Don't throw your weight-

I learned why he had advised against throwing my weight because while Sam had buckled under the bodyweight of a giant wolf, he had access to both my jugular and my stomach, two very soft areas that I'd rather avoid. Seeing I was rather limited, I moved forwards and bit into his back, digging my teeth in sharply in an attempt to gain grip.

Sam lunged forwards and channelling my inner gymnast, I bounced up on my hind legs, throwing my body in the air. It prevented Sam from getting me in a death grip, but his teeth wrapped around my leg, and pulled with his teeth, yanking me down into the ground. I yelped in alarm through my teeth but kept my grip on Sam's back as he threw me down.

When I went down, I used all my strength to pull Sam down with me, which only barely worked. I rolled away to the side as Sam buckled, rolling neatly onto my legs, raising my bad leg off the ground in an attempt to reduce the pain. Every time I tapped it down, or even put pressure on it, it ached and bled to no extent. Sam returned to his paws, looking none the worse for wear if you discounted the gouge marks on his back and the bite on his back.

From that moment on, any niceties were abandoned as we began to fight like actual wolves, and I think both of us became more concerned with winning then the intent not to injure. We bit, we lunged, we snapped, whined, snarled, yanked, twisted, slammed one another on the floor, you name it we probably did it. We were sporting several bruises and wounds, from landed hits and counter-attacks alike, and neither of us looked better off then the other.

In the end, we had to be forcibly separated by Jared and Paul grabbing our scruffs and pulling us away from one another. Of course, we were completely blind-sided by tunnel vision, and all we were concentrating on was the Alpha position. We just kept trying to lunge forwards at one another. I snarled, taunting Sam who just tried to escape his captor, and poor Jared being tugged along for the ride despite digging his heels in.

Eventually, whether it was intentional or not, we were released, and we promptly went after one another once again. It didn't matter to us that we were pack-mates or friends, but what did matter was our Alpha position. I could bore you with the whole details of the fight, but we would be here for a while.

What should have been a relatively simple fight turned into one of endurance, with me eventually becoming the victor, but only just. Our legs were shaking with exertion, blood seeped into our coats, and we were both just about ready to collapse. All it took to end such a dramatic and prolonged fight was a simple bite to the back of the neck, and a throw.

I pounced on him, and he bared his throat in submission, simply no longer able to go on. Wasn't that ironic?

"I now pronounce Jacob Ephraim Black the Alpha of the Quiluette Pack, and with that, his Imprint Isabella Marie Swan as Alpha Female. Long may their reign continue!"

I wish I could say the whole thing invested some power in me or something. In reality, it didn't do much. I grew a little more, nothing too drastic, but there was now a definite difference when compared to me and Sam. My injunctions- the one I had practised with Quil as a crash test dummy- seemed more difficult to break now, a firmer resolve dare I say it.

Poor Quil had been told to sit for five minutes as he practically wrestled with the command. He could use loopholes, especially if I wasn't clear, but he couldn't outwardly break it. I think the only person who could, would be Bella. I had no idea if Bella benefited from the same things- I couldn't imagine her being too upset over the height increase- considering she was just staying in human form, enjoying her opposable thumbs.

I had phased back and gotten rechanged into the tribal gear, and moved towards Bella. It was customary for the Alpha Couple to dance to some old Quiluette tune that was rarely ever heard. Admittedly, I was a little unsure of how Bella would manage, but I was determined to try anyway.

"Would you like a dance, Bella?"

She chewed her lip, looking down at herself quickly. Her big brown eyes softened a little, before shaking her head as if to clear them. It was nice to see Bella like this. While her wolf form was just as beautiful as her human form, I did happen to have a preference for her human form. It was the one I'd admired as I'd grown up after all- from little pale and shy Bella, to taller, less pale and a little more confident Bella.

It was a transition, and despite all the hardship that came with it, it was overall a positive one. She bobbed her head a little, and I offered my hand to her, which she accepted. As the music changed to a slower one, with various flutes and fiddles and other instruments playing, I put my left hand on Bella's shoulder, while taking her left hand and holding it out to the side.

Her right hand nestled around my waist as we moved forward to the beat of the music. I couldn't help but hum while we danced. Once we'd moved for six beats, I span her around before joining back together, side-stepping smoothly in time to the music. For someone who deemed herself ungraceful, Bella was not a bad dancer at all.

"So how are you?"

Immediately I wanted to punch myself: what kind of a question was that? Still, I concentrated on the dance, avoiding straying feet, and thinking about the arrival of the other Packs. With the Bears and the Cougars here and settled, and Shadow sending word he was due back within the next few days, we were awaiting several more from places all over the world. I just hoped we had enough time to train and organise strategies.

"I'm okay.. sore and stiff.. but I'm alright."

She smiled a little, a grin that I was happy was resting on her face. We lapsed back into an awkward silence, continuing to dance even as the music changed. She buried her face into the crook of my neck briefly, relaxing ever so slightly as she inhaled my scent. She pushed away a little as Sam came over, his arm hooked around Emily's, but our arms became linked.

He looked a little bit bruised, and there was a cut on his cheek, but otherwise, he looked alright considering we had been fighting just a half-hour before. Sam dipped his head.

"I hope you two are enjoying yourselves. I have some news- the Elephant Pack has arrived- just three of them though. They are requesting your presence. Some more news- we received a message from Shadow. Their ETA is at noon tomorrow. According to him, he has some of his friends en-route as well."

I nodded, before turning to Bella. I held her hand still as I looked at Sam, who had a small smirk on his face as Emily looked over the two of us with a fond expression on her face.

"Thanks, Sam."

I turned to Bella, who looked deep in thought for a minute before looking at Emily again. There was a flicker of sadness, accompanied by a brief downturn of a smile, which quickly shifted into a more neutral look.

"I guess we'd better go see them then."

Author's Note

I apologise in advance for anyone who I told that Harry's funeral was this chapter. I got a little sidetracked doing the Alpha ceremony, and failing spectacularly to describe a fight.

On another note, I'm uploading this while I am babysitting. And since they are due back any time soon, and I need to put the kid to bed, I'll keep this short and snappy.

QOTW: What is something that you are competitive at?

I'm super competitive at football (soccer), because I love the sport so much. I play right-back (defence) and it is my favourite sport of all time.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next time!

Oh also, the italics in the story were meant to have been said in Quileute. There were no dictionaries or translators I could use, so please use your imagination there.

~A tired bookworm