Chapter 7

Leah's howl cut through the air like a knife straight into Sam's chest.

Lee Lee.

Don't call me that, you son of a bitch!

Leah and Seth were both in the trees just past their backyard now. Seth was laying on his stomach with his paws over his eyes. The vertigo of having so many views in his head at once was overwhelming. He could see Jake, Paul and Jared chasing the scent trail of the leech and he could see himself in the eyes of the wolves here. Seth thought he was going to hurl. Can wolves vomit? Seth was about to find out.

Leah was completely unaffected. She was pacing back and forth protectively between Seth on the ground and Sam and the three wolves watching on. Sam, Quil, and Embry cringed at the anger practically rolling off of Leah in waves. Sam tried to reassure Leah once again.

Leah, we can explain. The legends-

STAND DOWN, ULEY.

All three wolves were thrown back off their feet by an invisible yet tangible force. Paul and Jared stumbled out of step in their chase, falling through the underbrush. Jacob's wolf preened and ran faster.

Sam was most familiar with the legends having spent all his time reading whatever he could get his hands on before Jared became a wolf too. He immediately recognized, without a doubt, the pure embodiment of power before him.

The Alpha Female.

There hadn't been an Alpha Female in the Quileute tribe since the very first pack, centuries ago. It was one of the wolf legends that was so old the elders weren't sure if that's all it was, just a legend. But standing before him now, Sam knew that their pack had their very own piece of history in the flesh.

Just as in nature, shifter wolves can have a male and female alpha pair that lead the pack as a team. Sam could feel a physical shift in power and he knew without a doubt that Jacob's wolf had just taken over the pack and Leah's phasing had everything to do with it.

Jake turned back around, instructing Paul and Jared to follow. We're coming back. This leech is long gone. We need to figure out how the fuck he got away and we need to talk about what just happened. I'm sure you can all feel the difference. Something has changed.

Jake's voice resonated through the pack mind with a deep bass and authority that Sam had never carried. He skidded to a halt where the rest of the pack was still waiting. His wolf towered over them like he never had before.

Jared and Paul were right behind him and joined the group sitting behind Leah. Seth was on the ground in front of Jake still scared shitless and shaking. This boy was barely fourteen, just a child. His wolf was smaller than all the rest and his temperament reminded the pack of a scared puppy. Jake nudged Seth's paws with his nose encouraging him up off of his belly. When Seth finally stood and shook out his sandy brown far, he barely made it to Jake's chest.

Come on, Omega, you're gonna be fine.

Jacob recognized that his wolf was leading him through this. The man felt lost, but the wolf was right at home as Alpha and with her. His gaze was fixed on Leah pacing in front of him. Her light grey fur was beautiful and shiny like silver. He stepped around Seth and stood in front of her until she was forced to stop pacing in front of him, meeting him eye to eye. She stood tall and squared her shoulders as best she could in wolf form.

And she never broke eye contact.

She was his equal and did not need to submit by looking to her paws. He was so proud of her for standing her ground. She was magnificent and she was HIS.

Instead of feeling threatened or angry at this man's possessiveness, Leah practically purred because the woman and the wolf knew he was also HERS.

Leah was nearly two years older than Jake and they were barely acquaintances as kids. Seth had followed Jake around like a puppy so he had spent enough time with the Clearwaters to know about Leah. He knew her more recent history with Sam and Emily as well. The whole rez could see how angry she was these days.

The pack wasn't surprised to feel anger resonating off of her. They knew she was still mad about the Sam and Emily situ-

THAT IS NOT WHAT MAKES ME ANGRY, YOU ASSHOLES.

Leah turned from Jake to address what nearly the whole pack had been speculating.

I'm angry because nobody fucking told me I was about to turn into a giant wolf. I figured it out on my own and tried to warn Seth, but he didn't believe me. My hearing has been improving for weeks and they hold council meetings two walls away from my goddamn bedroom! I knew weeks ago the real reason Sam left. Before, I thought he must have cheated on me or that I was just un-fucking-lovable. But when I heard my dad talking about imprints and how Sam hadn't imprinted on me, I was grateful that he was strong enough to do what was best for me in the long run. I was never the Martha Fucking Stewart homemaker he wanted anyways.

Sam couldn't even put words to the gratitude he felt towards Leah and her understanding, mature response to learning the truth. He never wanted to hurt her. He really did love her. But she wasn't his imprint. He had tried to make it work at first. Emily came into town to plan the wedding and Sam broke the engagement off without a real explanation. He was terrified he was going to cheat on Leah. The magnetism made it feel inevitable. She didn't deserve that and Sam only wanted the best for his first love. All the boys could hear was a steady stream of

Thank you. I'm sorry. Thank you. I'm sorry. Thank you. I'm sorry. Thank you..

The shared mental space of the pack mind had never felt so raw and overwhelming. Each wolf thought back to their first phase, each too distracted in their own memories to bother to filter out the pain and terror that they usually tried to brush over. They all wished someone had warned them.

Jake was blown back by the tidal wave of memories that made his first phase look like a walk in the park. Becoming a wolf brought only positive change to his life. He didn't have to hide the secret from his family or friends. Not even Bella. It had saved him from ruining their friendship by trying to date. He didn't get stuck in his wolf form for days like some of the guys. He just knew. He couldn't relate to the pain or tragedy his brothers endured. The guilt weighed heavy on his soul.

What could he have done? That's just how things were. It was a secret! And even if they had warned Seth, nobody knew Leah was going to phase too.

Seth had been showing signs of an imminent phase for weeks, so the pack had been keeping an eye on him. Because of Sam and Leah's history, the wolves had been avoiding her. Sam wasn't bothered by her presence, he just hated to see the anger and anguish in her eyes. It haunted him still how he had hurt her. She was his first love, after all, and even with the imprint he cared deeply for her. It just wasn't the same love anymore. Even when they were together, what he felt for Leah was paled by the intensity of his love and devotion to Emily. Sam wasn't an asshole. He didn't want to rub his new relationship in Leah's face so he had avoided her.

Even Harry and Sue Clearwater were so preoccupied with their son's rising temperature and mood swings that they didn't see the change in their daughter. Her anger was brushed off as that of a scorned woman and they had left her to overcome her broken heart on her own.

Jake was angry listening to everyone's pity and sadness for the girl they didn't understand and most of them feared. He needed a minute to get his head around what was happening. He didn't want to be having this kind of meeting as wolves. It was too important to be discussed over the background noise of every passing thought these morons can't keep to themselves.

Hey, man. Who you calling morons? Quil mock argued.

Ignoring him, Jake gave out orders. Everyone else go and meet back at my house in an hour. Bring the girls too. And walk back on two feet.

We can still meet at my place, I've got more room. Sam piped up.

Thank you, Sam. That's one hour, guys. Phase out.

One by one they phased back leaving the new Alpha with the Clearwater siblings. Jake could feel Leah poking into his head absorbing as much information about this new world as she could. She was smart, she wanted to be ahead of the game. Jake found that quality rather attractive, but he was trying to keep those sort of thoughts locked down in his mind.

Jake focused instead on Seth. First things first, they needed to get Seth human again. He wanted to know what caused them to phase and Jake figured thinking about something else would help calm him down enough to phase back. Jake urged him on,

Tell me what happened.

He watched the scene play out from Seth's point of view. Leah and Seth had been bickering like any siblings might. It started when Seth kept changing the channel to ESPN while Leah was trying to watch one of her dumb girl shows. Wrestling over the remote and calling each other names turned into snarling wolves nipping at each other's flank. They broke all of the furniture in the Clearwater's living room and Seth was terrified of their mom's reaction when she saw the damage.

Thank the spirits their parents weren't home or they might have just keeled over from a heart attack at the shock of it all. Jake tried to reassure the omega pup that their parents wouldn't care about the living room. The pride they felt for their children being protectors would overshadow any negative reaction in an instant.

Seth was no closer to phasing back. In fact, reliving his first panicked transformation probably wasn't going to help. Instead Leah talked Seth through some of his favorite childhood memories and the boy was on two feet in no time. Leah was a natural. The love and protectiveness she felt for Seth was profound and it made Jake's heart hurt. He instructed Seth to go get something for Leah to wear from inside and he took off through their backyard to get them both clothes. Jake sighed. He was finally alone with his..

Wait, with his what?

I didn't imprint if that's what you're wondering. Leah tried to help.

Yeah, I didn't imprint either. I can't imprint with my Alpha birthright, but this is...something? It's really cool how much you already know about this stuff, Leah.

She explained what she had already read in her research through the legends once she realized what was happening to her. Jake was in awe. He knew she felt something for him too because he could feel everything reflected back to him through their shared mental space. But what if that was just her wolf respecting his wolf? Not Jake, the man.

He didn't know what to do from here. The giant russet wolf paced back and forth anxiously. He needed to talk to his dad. But first, he needed to get Leah to phase back, but he would wait until Seth was back with clothes for her. The echo of his thoughts made him realize he couldn't hear her anymore...

He turned back around to see a very naked Leah Clearwater. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, but Jake could tell it wasn't for modesty. She proved him right by moving her hands to her hips and shifting her weight impatiently. Holy spirits she was beautiful. Her skin was smooth, an even copper tone that brought out the cinnamon tones in her brown eyes. Her raven hair was pin straight and fell nearly to her waist. Jacob was heartbroken that she would have to cut it for the wolf. Her silver grey fur had been beautiful, but impractically shaggy.

"Do you need help phasing back, puppy?" Leah asked with a sarcastically sympathetic pout.

Jake fluidly stood up on his hindlegs onto two human feet. He wasn't as confident as Leah apparently was and he cupped his manhood with both hands. Leah didn't try to hide the fact that she was blatantly raking her eyes up and down his body. He felt a blush heat the tips of his ears at her attention. It took everything in his considerable power to not get an erection from this kind of female attention. Especially when she was stark naked. Neither of them had spoken, instead they took inventory of their intended mate.

He was surprised that it took him this long to look over her um..assets. There were too many more prominent facets to her beauty than to degrade her by just ogling her tits. They were some phenomenal tits though. Bigger than he had expected. She seemed like the kind of girl that preferred sports bras. Jake had two sisters, he knew more than he'd like to admit about types of bras and Leah didn't have anything to prove. His eyes followed her toned stomach and appreciated the muscles there. Bella wasn't toned like that. She was the kind of girl that was soft in the middle and only skinny thanks to genetics. Leah had a six pack and Jake never knew how fucking sexy that was on a woman.

It was getting hard to hide his boner while he appreciated her neatly trimmed landing strip leading the way down to her umm...happy place. God, he was glad she couldn't hear his thoughts at the moment. His eyes snapped back to her face when she cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry," Jake sputtered out.

Leah just shrugged before meeting his eyes, "For what? I'm not sorry. If we were still wolves we'd be sniffing each other's assholes. Did you want to sniff my asshole?"

Jake choked out an awkward laugh at her question, accidentally taking in a mouthful of an aroma that indicated that she quite liked the sight of him too. The scent of her arousal turned his brain even further into mush and he lost any ability to form words,

"I...uh..," Jake nervously ran his hand through his hair but quickly realized moving his hand meant half of his rock hard dick was exposed and he slapped it back in place with a wince.

"I'm just messing with you. Black," she smiled an actual smile. "I was checking out the goods too. I hope you're a little more self-assured in front of the pack. They're never going to take you seriously as a leader if you can't even string a sentence together. Are you a man?"

He squared his shoulders and feined the same confidence Leah radiated by dropping his hands to his sides. His heavy length fell forward, bobbing up and down until it steadied, standing tall and proud.

Leah's expression betrayed her tenacious facade as she took in the sight before her.

"Holy fuck, now that's a man if I've ever seen one."

Jake thanked every spirit in the sky that she had not seen him before the phase. He had nearly doubled in size, like the rest of his body. Before, he had secretly wanted Bella to know that his dick was bigger now, but he could honestly say he didn't care what she thought anymore. This belonged to Leah Clearwater and his wolf howled at the thought.

"What the hell, guys?!"

Seth was standing just inside the trees wearing a t-shirt and shorts that barely fit over his new muscles. He had his hands clamped over his eyes and the other hand held out what looked like a sundress for Leah.

Leah grabbed the dress from Seth with a laugh "Just a little game of 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours' with our new Alpha here."

Jake didn't bother correcting her to save face with Seth. He was her brother, Seth must be used to her by now. She pulled the dress over her head and tried to stretch it down so it covered a little more leg. The phase had definitely added a few inches to her height, putting her just above six foot.

"You're an alpha too, Leah."

Leah knew that she was also an Alpha, but she didn't really know what that meant yet. She'd read the legends and read about wolf pack dynamics, but in practice? She was in over her head. Biting sarcasm and wit were her coping mechanisms. If Jake could keep up with her on that front, he might be able to keep up with her as a mate.

She dropped the hem of her dress, accepting that it couldn't be stretched any longer. She'd just have to be real careful not to bend over until she could change into some clothes to better fit her new body.

"So now we go to Sam's?" Leah asked, returning her hands to her hips.

Jake looked like he was trying to do mental math. "We gotta talk to my dad first, but give me a minute."

She quickly realized what he needed a minute for. Jake had put his cutoffs back on sometime while she had been fiddling with her dress. He had his hands shoved awkwardly in his pockets and was bending forward at an awkward angle.

Leah listed, counting on her fingers as she went, "Dead kittens, the scent of Cold Ones, your grandma in lace panties, Benjamin Franklin in lace panties, dead kittens in lace panties."

"You could have stopped after leech stench, sicko" Jake grunted as he stood up straight.

"So dead kittens were still too much of a turn on for you?" Leah teased.

Jake barked a laugh, "It seems like you're the one that's got a thing for dead kittens."

"Hey, it worked," she shrugged, nodding towards his no longer tented crotch.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Seth stammered. They had completely forgotten about him. Again.

"Let's go pick up my dad," the older boy suggested, smacking Seth lightly on the shoulder and trying to contain his smile. "I want him at this meeting to tell the legend of Kaliso."

Jake and Leah followed the path from their backyard into the trees. Even before all of this wolfy shit she knew these forests as well as she knew how to get around town. Her mind was racing, so she needed to get her body moving too. She wished she could run, but the stupid dress Seth grabbed was barely ass length and her little brother didn't seem up for it. He was still frozen by the edge of their backyard.

"Chop, chop, little onion," Leah called over her shoulder to get Seth moving.

If Jake made a list of the things he found attractive about Leah Clearwater, her wit would have been the top of the list. Jake spent the rest of the short walk mentally filling in the rest.

Billy Black looked unsurprised when his son slumped into the chair across the kitchen table and gave him the bullet points of the day's events. When Jake got to the part about Leah, a hint of a smile and a glimmer of pride deepened the wrinkles around the old man's eyes. Billy knew his son would be Alpha someday, but he had never imagined Jacob would have an Alpha Female at his side. His son could be a historic leader in the legends told for generations to come. Sarah would have been so proud.

"You didn't bring the Alpha Female wolf to meet the Chief?" The elder playfully admonished.

"You've met Leah a million times, dad. She stayed with Seth in the woods. He already phased on accident on the walk here when Leah called him a puppy," Jake explained. "You'll have plenty of time to talk to her. I think she'll be around quite a bit." Jake tried not to sound too hopeful.

"And she is your wolf's intended? How do you feel about that, son?" Billy was concerned after Jake's (albeit short) relationship with Bella. The younger Black refused to talk about it, insisting that it was nothing and they are back to being friends. Billy didn't believe him at first until he saw them together at a bonfire. They really were back to being best friends and Jake even got along with Paul. Billy even speculated that the imprint helped Bella overcome the last of the symptoms of the vampire thrall still affecting her. Imprinting is some powerful magic.

But this wasn't an imprint between Jake and Leah and Billy was curious how it would affect the wolves involved. All the legends said about the Alpha Female was that she was meant to lead with the Alpha and be his partner. A partner in the leadership of the pack and a partner in life.

"My wolf is thrilled," Jake sighed. The legends may say the Alpha pair are to be mates but it all seemed too good to be true. He had been so worried and upset about not having an imprint and all of a sudden, presto! Wolfy magic saves the day? He didn't trust anything that came too easy.

"The wolf knows that she is our mate and I can feel that she recognizes it too. But that's her wolf. Leah, the woman, I'm not so sure about. I don't feel worthy to breathe the same air as her."

"You'll do well to treat her that way for the rest of your lives, son," Billy said with a sad twinkle in his eye. He would do anything to have another day to treat Sarah Black as the goddess that she was. "You have the opportunity to rise to the occasion. Be a strong man to stand next to your powerful woman."

"So if I'm Alpha now, is she my Second?"

"You still have to choose a Second. She is your equal. She is meant to balance you and you are meant to balance her."

Jake didn't want to go into detail with Billy on how he felt that she wasn't his equal. She was above him in so many ways. Jake had barely two months of experience as a wolf on her but that was where the list ended. She was strong, self-assured, brilliant, and could hold her ground. She'd be a fearsome fighter in no time, Jake was sure of it. She had the confidence to stand up to a pack of werewolves and command the reigning Alpha to back down. She was made for this.

But was he?

The first wolves back to the Uley household were the original three. A nervous energy seemed to vibrate through the air as the pack members tried to keep themselves busy. It seemed symbolic that it was just the three of them right now. They had spent months as a pack of three, becoming closer than brothers. Now their numbers had more than doubled and they had not one, but two new Alphas.

Paul had never really felt submissive to Sam. Sam helped him through the phase and had talked the council into giving the wolves stipends when they realized none of them were going to be able to work enough to support themselves. Sam was a good guy, so Paul respected him. He listened to orders and ran his scheduled patrols because Sam was a genuinely good guy. Not because he held any real power over him. An Alpha command could knock Paul on his ass, but Sam used them so rarely that he didn't feel like much of a threatening presence to the younger wolf.

Jared was blindly devoted to Sam as his Second. The role of Beta was the only thing Jared had going for him if you asked Paul. They had been friends growing up, but surprisingly, becoming pack brothers had made them feel more like coworkers than buddies. Mostly because now Paul saw into Jared's mind. Sam's thoughts were about trying to do what was best for everybody. Jared's thoughts were always about what was best for himself and Kim. Usually in that order.

Paul had also been the only wolf in their trio without an imprint for all of those months. If there's someone meant to balance the wolf, then how could they blame Paul for being a little unhinged without his magical life partner? They had someone to come home to that understood and didn't need secrets and half-truths. Paul had the company of the first stranger he could talk into his bed and he didn't stick around long enough to get chatty.

But now he had Bella. The world made sense again.

He spent every possible second with her and it still wasn't enough. He wanted her living on the rez with him. He didn't care if she finished high school or never saw Charlie again, he just wanted her by his side. Where she was safe and he could touch her and smell her and never let her go.

That's how Paul knew he had a problem.

He had spent the last couple of weeks getting snippets of her time, taking every chance he got to absorb the peace she brought to his restless body. It was never going to feel like enough until she was living in his home and carrying his scent properly. Bella hadn't pushed their sexual boundaries any further, but Paul was patient. He couldn't expect her to make such a weighted decision as easily as she decided to sleep with her best friend. There weren't any cosmic, magically-binding consequences when she slept with Jake.

So Paul would take what she offered and focus on getting to know her. They talked on the phone on school nights and he snuck into her window when Charlie worked the late shift. When he was on patrol he would make sure to include her little corner of Forks in his route. With this new threat he'd be outside her house every minute he could. Someone should always be watching her.

Paul hadn't taken his eyes off of Bella since they'd arrived at Sam and Emily's for the pack meeting. As soon as Jake dismissed the pack, Paul ran as fast as he could to his house. When he left for his ill-fated patrol shift that morning, she was napping in his bed after their carnal activities. He was so relieved to find her cute little self wrapped in a blanket on the couch reading a book. His only words were "pack meeting" before he had scooped her up and carried her all the way to Sam's, blanket and all.

Bella didn't protest, she was just glad she had thought to put pants on when she had gotten out of Paul's bed. Other than that first time after the imprint, Sam had never asked for the girls to come to pack meetings. Something must have changed and she could tell it wasn't good because Paul spent the whole walk to Sam's with his nose buried in the crook of her neck taking deep even breaths of her scent. If she could do this to comfort him, she'd let him sniff all day.

He reluctantly released her to the care of Emily when Bella offered to help in the kitchen. Emily was already elbows deep in preparing a meal to feed an army. Or to feed eight shape shifting wolves. Bella was on casserole assembly and Kim was stationed at the cutting board. Bella wasn't allowed to use knives after the third mishap. For someone who loves cooking so much, she sure knew how to accidentally add a chunk of her finger to a recipe.

The guys were instructed to stay in the living room and wait for the younger wolves. Paul got the boot for hovering over Bella as if Laurent was going to jump out of the pantry any minute. Jared had been kicked out of the kitchen for trying to steal bites. Sam knew better by now and tried to distract the anxious wolves with conversation that kept falling into an awkward silence.

They all had speculations on how the leech got away, but they figured they should wait for everyone to arrive to really dive into their various theories. Sam knew this meeting was going to be more about the change in power structure, but Paul wasn't letting anyone forget that his imprint was in grave danger. Bella's safety would definitely need to be discussed as well.

Nobody brought up Leah. They weren't sure how Sam was coping with it all and they didn't want to make anything worse than it already was. When the girls brought the first trays of food out to the long dining room table the guys jumped at the chance to keep busy. Emily was nearly as fidgety as the boys. She was both terrified and thrilled to see her cousin again. They used to be best friends and Emily missed her so much. Everyone in the house was silently wishing that the addition of Leah Clearwater to the pack would heal more wounds than it created.

The mood in the room got even more somber when Quil trudged in, three large duffel bags in hand.

"What'cha got there, Quil?" Jared asked.

"All of my worldly belongings, I'm technically homeless." Quil shrugged. "It looks like it's gonna rain so I didn't want to leave it all in the back of the truck." For the severity of what he was saying, he sounded far too relaxed. As if the reality hadn't quite hit him yet.

"What?!" the room sounded as a whole.

"He kicked you out?!" Sam growled through gritted teeth. Having to work with the council as Alpha, Sam was well aware of how much of a bastard Old Quil was, but he didn't think he was this heartless.

"We knew it was coming," Quil sighed before flopping into an armchair. They could all tell he was done talking about it for now. "Where's Emb? I need him."

Nobody was cold enough to make a joke about Quil being needy when he was already so low.

"He's not here yet, I think he ran home first. But he should be here soon, probably sooner if he can feel your emotions half as well as Emily feels mine," Sam told the dejected looking wolf with a half hearted smile.

Not a minute later Embry came running in the backdoor. He was across the room and straddling Quil's lap in an instant, hands stroking through his hair and over his arms to soothe him. Watching an imprint in action was a beautiful thing. Both boys calmed down instantly with each other's touch. They took turns placing kisses and nuzzling along the sides of the other's faces and down their necks, the same greeting you'd see between lupine mates in nature. The two got lost in their own world as everyone started heading to the kitchen to make plates.

"It's been an hour, when are we starting Sam?" Jared asked around a mouthful of food.

"This isn't my meeting. We're still waiting for Brangelina."

Bella cracked up from her perch on Paul's lap, "I can't wait to see Jake's face when he hears that. He's always had a huge crush on Angelina Jolie so I'm sure he won't mind the comparison."

The pack got distracted by a conversation of which Angelina Jolie movie was the best while they waited for the rest of their family, all trying to ignore the uncomfortable electricity in the air.

Jake parked on the gravel driveway of Sam's house. Leah and Seth were coming on foot, but they'd be here just as quick as he could drive. For once Jake was grateful his dad wasn't much of a chatterbox. He had needed the short drive to try to make sense of it all.

His life had changed irrevocably the second Leah Clearwater phased. Everything was different and this pack meeting made it feel more official. This was his first meeting as Alpha and he hadn't even taken over on purpose. He needed to talk to Sam before he addressed the pack as a whole.

As if he had heard Jake's thoughts, Sam came out the front door to help get Billy and his chair inside. They lifted Billy, chair and all, up the porch steps in a practiced motion, but before Sam could open the screen and take this party inside, Jake stopped him with a hand on his old Alpha's arm.

"Jared, come help the Chief inside. We'll be a minute," Jake spoke at a conversational volume, knowing any wolf would hear from inside.

Jake had purposefully asked Jared for help. He knew the older wolf had been a devoted Second to Sam and was going to question the sudden change of leadership. As Jake expected, Jared looked to Sam when he came to the door. Jake cleared his throat and nodded to the screen door when Jared hesitated. A flash of anger crossed the older wolf's features before he obeyed his new Alpha and opened the door for Billy to wheel himself in. Jake mentally added that to the long list of things he now had to deal with.

Jake and Sam walked to the end of the long driveway knowing that if they spoke in hushed tones, the pack wouldn't be able to hear unless they were really trying. Out of respect for the two men, they knew better than to try and eavesdrop.

Sam looked almost as troubled as Jake but for a multitude of different reasons. Sam broke the silence first.

"Congratulations, Alpha."

Sam's serious face sent Jake rambling. "I didn't mean to take over, Sam. I don't know what happened. My wolf just knew it was time the second we felt her in the pack mind. And I know that you two have a history. Shit, the whole tribe knows your history but it's my wolf, man, my wolf just knows. She's a million miles out of my league but she's m-my..I don't know Sam, what is she? What if she doesn't even want to acknowledge our bond? What would-"

Sam cut through his new Alpha's panic attack the quickest way he knew how to get through that thick skull. Fist first. Jake found himself on the ground holding his bleeding face while Sam shook out his hand. He had probably broken a few knuckles.

Sam took a deep breath before helping Jake up and explaining, "My wolf won't let me do that again so try not to hyperventilate, man. I'll agree with you on one point there. She's way out of your league. She was out of my league too. Leah does not need a man, especially after the way I hurt her. She prides herself in not needing anyone. But as the Alpha pair, you need each other. I was a shit Alpha-"

Jake interrupted, "No, Sam, you-"

"Hey. Let's be honest with each other. I am not a dominant man or wolf. I'm just the poor sucker that phased first and got stuck doing your job." He punched Jake playfully on the arm before remembering the still broken bones.

"Fuck, Black! Give me like an hour before you say something else stupid so my hand can heal first," Sam chuckled, clutching his hand to his chest. "Anyway, I don't want to be Alpha. Never did. I can't wait to retire whenever this leech problem goes away and try to start a family. You were born for this shit."

"I'm glad you and your wolf won't fight the change of power but what about Leah? She's my intended. My wolf knows that. With your history…" Jake trailed off, not even sure what he was asking for. Permission?

"I have Emily. I still care for Leah, but we wouldn't have lasted even without the imprint. It worked in high school, but in the real world? We wanted different things and we had completely different interests. She was my first love, but I don't feel that way anymore. Especially since she phased. She feels like my sister now." Sam shuddered dramatically, making Jake laugh. The older man got serious again, placing his good hand on Jake's shoulder, "I've gotten to know you pretty well since you've phased and I think you're just what each other needs. Especially as Alphas leading together."

"You think so?" Jake was desperate for Sam's approval and support. Without it he felt that he'd never make it as a leader.

"You guys will be like wolfy Good Cop-Bad Cop," Sam suggested with a goofy grin that Jake had never seen on the elder's face before. This would be good for him.

"You're right, I can be pretty intimidating," Jake puffed his chest out.

"No way, dude. Leah is Bad Cop," Sam nearly fell over laughing.

The sound of Sam's easy laughter as he walked back to the house was all the reassurance Jake needed. Sam could finally take a deep breath, relax, and put all of the drama with Leah behind him. Alpha was never meant to be his responsibility. But this was Jake's birthright. This is what he had been born for, blessed by the spirits. He held his chin up and straightened his spine, following Sam's footsteps literally and figuratively.

He could have sworn he grew another inch.

Leah was leaning against Billy's truck with her arms crossed and her legs stretched out, crossed at her delicate ankles. While stoic on the outside, she was anxiously doing everything she could to put off entering the home. She had waited for Sam and Jake to finish talking and gave Sam a tight lipped smile as he passed by her back into the house.

Seth had already headed into the house. He was eager to learn about all things wolf to try and mollify his anxiety. If they could do it, he could do it. If he stopped to think too much about how terrifying this all was then he would crumble in front of all of these older boys. His brothers. He needed to be tough. He could do it, he was a freaking werewolf!

Leah was also less than thrilled about her new supernatural life, but at least she was part of the club now instead of suffering alone. She had a pack and a... whatever Jake was. They'd figure that out later. All she knew was that she could trust him. Before they came to Sam's, Jake had offered her a pair of baggy sweats and a t-shirt without a word. She was unsettled that he had seen right through her.

Leah was uncomfortable in the dumb sundress Seth had picked out, not because her ass was practically hanging out, but because she didn't want to seem like a girly-girl in front of this pack of boys. She wanted their respect and she didn't feel like she was going to get it dressed that way. Little did she know that as Alpha Female, she could have shown up dressed like a circus clown and they would still be quaking with respect and deference.

She still felt like there was a she-wolf joke in there somewhere. The only girl in a pack of giant, rowdy boys. She squared her shoulders and stood up straight as Jake approached her.

"You ready?" Jake asked with a smile. That guy was always smiling. Leah wanted to deny the reaction that smile caused. It felt like a sedative, calming every overactive neron in her brain and relaxing every quivering muscle in her body. He led the way towards the front door with a gentle hand on the small on her back. She wanted to dig in her heels and run the other way, but Leah was no coward.

The noise of overlapping conversations inside confirmed her worries. They were already a family and she was being thrown in, as their leader, no less. She didn't know what she was doing. She may have read the legends, but her confidence was all an act. These people had real experience and knowledge. Leah had been a wolf for what? Two hours?

The moment she stepped over the threshold was punctuated by a silence that happened so suddenly it echoed. Every lupine spine in the room straightened and nobody dared make direct eye contact. The other women in the room took a split second longer to realize what had happened, but their bond to the pack had their breaths frozen too.

Billy interrupted the painful silence, "I see you all have a healthy dose of respect for your new leader. It is my honor to introduce to you all to your Alpha Female."

Leah scanned the room and, of course, knew everyone already. The rez was a small place and everyone pretty much knew everyone. She even knew Bella from her visits. Leah played with the Black twins while the girl preferred to play with Jacob. Leah was surprised to see her now on Paul's lap. He was still ramrod straight at attention, but she could see how Paul had turned his body as if to shield Bella from any perceived threat. That was clearly an imprint. Leah would have expected Bella and Jake to end up together but once again, an imprint overrode what may happen naturally.

Seth had been sitting on the ground next to Billy's chair, probably bothering him with a million questions about the legends and being a wolf. She already knew Kim and Jared were a couple so that imprint made sense.

But the unexpected pair that must have been in a compromising position when they were frozen by her grand entrance were a bit of a shock. From her angle by the door she could see that Embry was straddling Quil's lap on the couch, both with kiss swollen lips, messed up hair, and faces turned to the door with wide eyes. Quil's hands were even still on Embry's ass.

Last, and most uncomfortable, was Sam standing by the dining table with dishes in hand. He must have been helping set the table. Leah wanted to fidget or stick her hands in her pockets or.. Something! But she wasn't going to break the trance the room was stuck in. But the awkwardness didn't last long when Emily pushed the swinging kitchen door open with her hip, her arms full of the world's largest (and best smelling) casserole. She really did look like Martha Fucking Stewart, apron and all.

Clearly Emily's human ears had missed what was going on in the living room. She stumbled to a quick halt at the tense atmosphere she had walked into. Emily had been updated on Leah's understanding of the imprint, but they weren't going to be instant best friends again. There had been so much hurt that still needed to heal. Even if Leah had forgiven them, she still needed time before she'd be comfortable around either of them again.

"Hey, Emily," Leah finally broke the silence in the room, "Nice apron."

Emily's scarred face crinkled in a lopsided smile, "Hey Leah. Nice muscles."

The pack seemed to reanimate with a big gasping breath. They finally believed Leah when she had said earlier that she wasn't angry anymore. About that, anyways. Sam had a proud smile on his face as he looked back and forth between his first love and his imprint. They would be okay.

The spell had been broken so of course the first to open their big dumb mouth was Quil.

"So what do we call you, Mama Wolf?"

Jake growled his warning low and fierce. It was clear that would be the first and only warning on the matter.

Embry smacked his mate in the arm and hissed, "Shut up, you adorable dumbass."

"You're nice even when you're scolding him," Bella cooed. "Isn't that so cute?"

The noise level rose as everyone began talking among themselves once again. Jake was not so patiently waiting for someone to call to order before he remembered that was his job now.

"Hey guys," Jake tried to get their attention.

"HEY."

Silence.

"Quil, you are a dumbass but you bring up a good point," Jake began, receiving a few confused looks. "I brought Billy so he could explain Leah's role in the tribe and in the pack. The legend of Kaliso is all we know, but it's a start."

"Who is Kaliso?" a few different voices asked.

Billy launched into storyteller mode. His smooth baritone regaled the story of the first, and until today, the only Alpha Female in recorded history.

"She is called Kaliso in the few written accounts. It is the Quileute word for the color of her fur, a dark, rich brown. The color of damp earth and of the deep brown eyes most of you in this room carry. She was the most formidable fighter of all of the wolves. She was smaller in stature, but that gave her speed and agility that the male wolves would never achieve, even with practice. She was an imposing force amongst the wolves and the tribe. Kaliso fought Cold Ones in the forests on four legs and she fought white settlers in the town on two. She was said to secure our land against the settlers that tried to colonize. She was the wife and Alpha alongside the Chief."

"Taha Aki?" Paul questioned.

"No, Taha Aki was the first spirit wolf, but he did not have a pack. You've heard the legend. Two of his sons phased, but were killed during the same attack in which the Third Wife sacrificed herself. Taha Aki fled to the forest never to be heard of again. But his bloodline lived on. The next occurrence of the wolf gene was the formation of the first true pack. Kaliso's pack. We can thank them for the written histories of the shifters we have today. They documented everything we know about the shifter's transformation, heightened senses, lifespan, and of course, about imprinting. The Third Wife was the first imprint, but some of the next pack were blessed with imprints as well. Kaliso nor her male Alpha counterpart were imprinted but they were marked mates.

"The pack that Kaliso and her mate led was about as large as the pack today. There have been no other packs this large and the council believes the spirits may be preparing for something big. Kaliso's pack was able to defend the tribe against a whole coven of Cold Ones. If just one or two wolves were there to protect the people, the Quileutes may have been eliminated as a whole. The leadership and strength of the Alpha pair is believed to be what saved the tribe.

"Even when the treaty was made with the Cullens, there were only three wolves. The spirits knew peace could be maintained. It was unnecessary to bestow the gift of the wolf on more souls. There are now eight of you blessed with the duty of the wolf. You have an Alpha pair to fan the flames of the magic that lives inside of you all. The spirits know more than we do. We must be prepared."

The pack absorbed Billy's words. Something bad was brewing. Something big.

"Well that was ominous," Paul deadpanned.

Sam didn't understand, "But the only lee-"

"Hey Paul," Jake called out, interrupting Sam with a pointed look. Nodding to the kitchen door, he directed the other wolf, "Come here."

Paul's first thought was 'oh shit what did I do now?' He followed Jake into the kitchen and tried to think through what he did in the last few days to possibly piss off Jake. His comment wasn't that bad was it? Jake was still very protective of Bella so it was probably about her. But if Jake thought he had done something to Bella he wouldn't have wanted to talk, he would have just beat this shit out of him. And now didn't seem like the time to dole out punishments for that kind of thing.

Always the strategist, Paul planned his escape route out the back door if Jake attacked him. He couldn't just wolf out in Emily's kitchen or Sam would relieve him of his nuts.

"You gotta get Bells out of here," Jake whispered as soon as the door swung shut behind Paul.

"What, why? Do you know something about whatever the Chief said was going to happen?" Paul could already feel his skin prickling with the wolf just under the surface.

"No, but I don't want Bella to know that leech is after her."

Paul sighed, "You know just as well as I do how much she worries. She works herself up over the smallest thing. But she has a right to know she's in danger."

Jake had thought this through, "Usually I'd agree with that, but this is Bells we're talking about. You know how she'll do anything for us. And that includes playing the martyr and just walking right into this asshole's arms to keep us safe." He put finger quotes around 'safe'. A pack of wolves against one leech, even with some sort of ability, were some pretty good odds. He continued, "We need to talk about this leech as a pack and about what could be coming if the legends are to repeat themselves. But I don't want Bells here. We gotta get rid of the girls without being obvious."

Paul knew he was right but he had conditions, "Only if there's a wolf on her at all times."

"I know you'd love to be on her at all times, man, but she still has to finish school and I don't think Charlie would be cool with her new Paul shaped bedsheets."

"As much as I'd love that, I'm being serious, dude. I'm talking about patrols. At all times."

Jake was silent for a few minutes while he thought this through. He had more problems than solutions right now. Is this what being an Alpha was going to be like? Leaving Paul in the kitchen, Jake went back into the living room. The group fell silent once again at his presence. He was going to have to get used to that, it was so weird.

"Hey, Emily. Do you think you guys could put together a bonfire by tomorrow night? We need to properly welcome our new pack members and everyone should hear all of the legends again."

Bella fell for the bait right away. "Tomorrow?! I usually do most of the baking the day before so I'm already behind."

Sam had clued Emily into the conversation in the kitchen and followed along like a pro. "Let's go shopping, Bella. I'll get stuff for a barbeque and you can get anything you need to bake. Kim, want to join us?"

The imprints were kissed goodbye and thanked profusely by every member of the pack for the hard work they do to appease supernatural appetites. Paul was anxious already that Bella was without protection. Jake saw through him in an instant.

"The store is right down the street. She'll be fine," Jake placated, "and as soon as we talk about the leech, you can go stalk your girlfriend."

Dissatisfied with the compromise, Paul waited by the door. Much to his delight, Leah got straight to the point, "So what do we know about this Cold One?"

The pack took turns and told parts of the story to fill in the newest members. Jake told about Bella's history with the Cullens and their unfortunate meeting with the nomadic vampires. About killing the red head. About chasing Laurent and his mysterious get away. Paul speculated the leech had a special ability, like the Cullens according to Bella. They agreed it was the only explanation. He spoke and they obeyed against all reason.

"So next time we don't let him talk," Leah suggested with a shrug as if it was the most obvious solution.

Seth still had not spoken a word. The more he heard about Cold Ones and fighting and responsibilities, the smaller he tried to make himself. He wished he could fold himself up until he could shrink into a shadow and nobody would know where he went. With each new story of dismembering vampires, the more it looked like he was trying to shrink into the corner. His newly hulking frame and towering height made him look like a man impersonating a scared child.

But that was exactly what he was. A scared child.

A/N: The name of the first Alpha Female is based off of the Quileute word for "brown" ќalíso [kuh-LAY-so]

Revised 10/8/2020