First Born Son

by laura-maeve

William Black is the first born son of Alpha, Jacob Black. As next in line for the throne, it's up to him to prove himself worthy of the title of Alpha Male. Little does he know, Will has an enemy, one who's out for revenge. With this enemy in his territory, he takes it upon himself to cut down the threat. The question is can he get over his teenage hormones long enough to succeed?

6. Chapter 6

Phew! Chapter 6. Man, how am I putting out these long chapters? This is crazy. But anyway, after I post, I tend to go back and read the preview on the site, and I realize I've been making some freaking awful typos. Geez. I don't catch them in Word even though I do go back and reread stuff. So, I apologize for any here and in the future. Just know that I do know about them. So, I know that a lot of you want to see more of Will in wolf form. Unfortunately, this chapter with not be that chapter. But it is coming, I promise. I can't just jump into everything that everybody wants. We will see Leah and Gage together. Of course, there will be more Jules and Brayden. They seem to be a favorite couple already. I promise that all the things will happen. Just give it time. Anticipation makes everything better!

*Disclaimer*

Please Enjoy!

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JulesPOV

I'd never seen my dad so angry. And especially not at one of us.

The next morning, Will came downstairs, ate breakfast, and cleaned all the dishes. Not one word was said from him to us nor us to him. He kept his eyes averted. Dad was still angry, and Mom spoke in low tones.

"Dad," Will said softly.

At the head of the table, Dad looked up expectantly.

Will stood up, swallowing hard, and looked around at all of us. "I just wanted to apologize. To all of you. I shouldn't have done what I did yesterday. I know that all of you worry about me. We worry about each other. It's what a family does. And I know I need to apologize to Brayden. He was right. Knowing him, though, I should still give him a couple more days to cool off. Or he might beat the crap out of me." Finally, he met Dad's eyes. "I'm sorry that I broke your trust in me. I never wanted that to happen. From now on, I'll think better about my actions."

For a long moment after he finished, Mom, Maddox, Ash, and I all shared looks and glanced between Dad and Will. Dad studied Will while my brother wouldn't meet his eyes. Finally, Dad leaned a little and dug into his pocket. He slid Will's phone across the table.

Surprised, Will caught it and looked up at Dad.

"Shouldering your responsibility gets rewarded, son." Then he got serious, pointing his fork at my brother and raising his eyebrows. "But you ditch Henry today, he has my permission to beat the crap out of you and drag you back by your hair. Understand?"

Mom looked at Dad sharply, but he didn't acknowledge it.

Will nodded. "Yes, sir."

"You'll be on full lockdown if it happens. I'll drive you to school and drop you off at the front door. You act like a child, I treat you like a child. Is that what you want?"

Will shook his head. "No, sir."

"Then you best remember that."

"Yes, sir." Will tucked his phone into his pocket and went for the door, clearly leaving for school early without us. He never met our eyes and that made me hurt for him. This was because of that girl.

Will was almost out the door when Dad said, "And son?" Will turned. "Don't call me 'sir'. I'm your father, not your drill instructor."

My brother grinned and nodded. "Sure, Pop, whatever you say."

Dad gave him a droll look. "You're grounded."

Will laughed his way out the door and the rest of us joined in. Dad hated to be called "pop". He swore it made him sound ancient. That's why we did it just to irritate him.

He looked at the three of us. "You kids need to learn from this, alright? Phasing isn't a joke and it shouldn't be taken lightly. It's okay to be excited about it, but don't treat it like the wolf is a toy. It's dangerous and can be lethal."

The three of us nodded.

Then it was time for us to go. We put our glasses in the sink, said our goodbyes, and left after grabbing our backpacks.

I walked between my brothers. "Is Brayden really that mad?" He'd refused to talk to me, to even be in my presence. But he'd talked to the twins.

Maddox chuckled darkly. "Oh yeah. Will made him feel incompetent in front of the whole pack. I'd be pissed, too. And I don't blame him for sucker punching him either."

"I have to agree," Ash said. "Two males going at it like that, there's bound to be some blood somewhere. But I've never seen Brayden that mad."

"Yeah, well, when someone you really care about as a brother betrays you, it'll piss you off more than you could ever dream," Maddox said.

I glared at him. "It wasn't a betrayal."

"Actually," Ash butted in, "it was." Then he leaned around me to look at our brother. "And how would you know how badly it'll piss you off? Nobody's ever hurt you like that."

Maddox rolled his eyes. "No, but I do read and watch movies. And I can imagine the feeling if one of you ever did something to me."

Ash cleared his throat and frowned, not saying anything else. The rest of the walk to school was quiet and fast. Piper and Ava met me at the front door. The twins split up, heading for their different groups of friends. The tension broke as soon as they went their separate ways. Clearly there was something up with Ash, but honestly, I was more worried about Will at the moment.

"How's Will?" Ava asked.

I opened the front doors. "Perks of being a werewolf: you heal fast when someone decides to punch you in the face."

"Hey," Piper said defensively. "Will deserved it for what he did to Brayden. What the hell was he thinking running off with her anyway? What if she's a psycho serial killer?"

I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, I blame her for all of this crap."

"Guys, I think I'm going to go to the library before class. I want to start looking at topics for our term papers," Ava said.

Piper nodded. "Good idea. I have no idea what to write on. Jules? Coming with?"

I shook my head and lied. "No, I need to get to my locker which is across the building from my first class."

Ava raised her eyebrows. "Ah, the dreaded locker destination. Good luck and happy running."

"Thanks."

As they moved for the stairs up to the library, I moved toward Hunter's locker. I already had my books for first class. Stalking down the hallways, I turned the corner to get to hers only to stop. Will was standing there talking to her. He was a head taller than her and didn't look like he should be in high school anymore. The growth spurts had done a number on him. Hunter was blushing and looking around as if worried people might see or overhear them. Will paid no never mind to anyone. His eyes were all for her.

Yeah, way to reel her in, big brother. By falling for her after two days! I yelled mentally.

He bent to say something to her quietly. She nodded and he walked off, grinning, his body brushing hers as he passed her. I could feel my face contort into a disgusted expression, my lip curling up. All I wanted to do was throw up breakfast. He swore up and down to Brayden that he hadn't imprinted. But what other reason would make him act like that toward her? He'd never even glanced at other girls. It was like he was oblivious to them. All of them except her.

The blonde was digging into her bag and slowly working on closing the locker door. I got there first and slammed it shut to grab her attention. Other students turned to stare but I ignored them.

When she looked up startled, I put my best bitch face on. "What the-,"

"What's going on between you and my brother?" I demanded.

Still looking startled, she stared at me. "I don't see how that's any of your business if he hasn't told you."

"Oh, it's my business, especially if it affects our home life. Sneaking off with you yesterday caused a shit storm of a domino effect. And it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been in the picture." Stepping closer, I lowered my voice. "Do you not understand how dangerous he is right now? The smallest thing can set him off. I don't care if you want to sexercise together, he could still hurt you. And frankly, I don't feel like cleaning up the mess of him beating himself up over you. Either you force him to play by the rules with his chaperones until he's had more training, or you stay the hell away from him. Either way, let me make myself clear. You hurt my brother in any way, shape, or form, I will rip you apart and bury you so deep that nobody will ever find you."

Her green eyes flashed. "Are you threatening me?"

My grin was just slightly evil. "No, sister. I'm promising you that's what I'll do." Reaching around, I snapped the lock on her locker for her. "Have a nice day." And then I pushed past her to head to class ignoring all the stunned expressions that followed me.

WillPOV

I was sitting outside on a bench pulling out the two roast beef sandwiches Mom had packed. Even now, she liked to pack our lunches for us to make sure we didn't bring a bunch of junk. There were also two bags of chips and a huge bottle of water. I was in the process of pulling out the second bag of chips when Hunter came out of nowhere and put a quick kiss to my cheek before sitting across from me. I'd asked her to sit with me earlier this morning.

I grinned. "Hey."

Several of the girls at the other tables glared at Hunter's back. I just grinned.

"Hey." She pulled out her own lunch of two slices of heavily meat-ed pizzas. She looked a little distracted by something else.

"Everything okay?"

She shrugged. "Sure."

I quirked an eyebrow and put a hand on her wrist. "That answer wasn't terribly convincing. What's up?"

"It was nothing, really. Jules just stopped by my locker after you left."

Frowning, I pulled out my first sandwich. "Jules? I didn't know you two were friends."

She shook her head. "We aren't. Not really."

Now my suspicion bloomed. "Then what did she want?"

Her smile was as bright and empty as a lightbulb. "Will, really, it was nothing."

I gave her a warning look. "Hunter, if my sister wasn't there for friendly conversation, she was there for something else."

Reaching across the table, she took my hand. "Just some protective sisterly stuff. She was being sweet about treating you right."

"Sweet? Hunter, when she gets protective, it's not sweet. I know her temper. What did she say?" When she didn't answer, I stood up with the intent to go find my sister.

Now she got stern and gripped my wrist. "Will, please. If we're going to be friends, I have to get used to being an outsider, okay? It's between me and Jules. And me and Piper. They're females who care about you, alright? It's perfectly understandable that they'd be protective. Put it in wolf terms and I'm an outsider. They're alpha females. I have to earn my keep."

Slowly, I sat back down. "You're sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about it. If I didn't want to be here, sitting across from you or having had yesterday happen, I wouldn't be worrying over how to get in good with them. But I am concerned about it because I want to be here and I want more yesterdays."

Calming down a bit, I messed with her fingers. The nails were painted a sheer purple. "Okay. So, when is my birthday dinner date?"

She grinned and went back to her pizza. "I don't know the area that well."

"There's a good Italian place in Port Angeles."

"You'll have to drive because I don't know how to get there."

I cleared my throat. "I, uh, I don't have a car."

Instead of blasting me with "you're so lame", she just smiled. "I do. We can take mine."

"Alright, then. I'll drive. But that didn't answer the question of when?"

"Well," she said, chewing on her pizza. The toes of her shoes tapped on top of mine under the table. "How about next weekend?"

I nodded. "Good. We always have a weekend bonfire for birthdays. So it'll be going Friday night to Sunday night this weekend. Will you come?"

Her eyes looked at me over her pizza and she slowed her chewing. "Um, is that okay? I mean, I don't want to piss anybody off."

"Hunter," I said, leaning forward, "you just said you want to get in good. If you come, I promise I won't leave you alone for a second. They'll be forced to be nice."

"I don't know," she said slowly. "Meeting the family so soon?" she said playfully.

"That's not what this is. At least not yet anyway. Just think of it as a giant school party."

Now she laughed. "Yeah because the last school party I went to turned out so well."

"Just think about it. Please?"

She studied me before blowing a breath out. "Fine. I'll think about it."

I grinned around the bite of sandwich I just took.

She laughed and shook her head. "I swear," she said under her breath.

JPOV

Later in the afternoon, a feeling was nagging me about that girl. Finally, I just grabbed my jacket and keys.

"Xavier, I'm gonna head out for a second. I'll call if I'm not gonna make it back in."

"Sure thing, boss." His son, Matthew was sitting on the counter beside his father's elbow, swinging his legs. The kid was cute with auburn/blondish hair and bright green eyes. He waved at me as I left. Shannon, Xavier's wife, had needed some quiet time to get some things done so I'd told them that Matt could hang out here as long as Xavier was on desk duty to watch him. Customers were used to kids hanging out since each one of mine had come to work with me at some point or other when they'd been younger.

"Bye!" he called out.

I grinned. "Bye, Matt. See you later."

"Otay!"

Hopping into my truck, I drove out to the old Bennett/Jamison house. It was back in the woods, remote, and close to the beach. As far as I knew, nobody had bought or been in that house for years. There were several rumors as to why the Bennett's and Mrs. Bennett's brother had abandoned the place but never sold it. The most common was that they'd murdered someone and used the house to cover it up. But since the house was still in their ownership and kept up, there was no evidence or validity to the story to warrant searching it.

After about five minutes of driving through the woods on a dirt road, I pulled to a stop a few yards from the house. There was a Jeep Liberty parked beside the house. The area had been recently mowed down. No weeds or tall grasses. Different flowering plants that could survive here were growing in pots on the windows and around the front porch. This house had been built more along a cabin than Embry's cottage. Wooden logs had been used to build the porch and the house. It had that rustic feel to it. Everything was clean and put in place.

Walking up, I put my hand to the hood of the car. Cold. Hadn't been driven today. Closing my eyes, I listened for anything or anybody close by. Nothing. Going around, I tried the passenger door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. Digging through the glove box, I found the registration. The name read Hunter Jamison. Looking around inside it made me frown. Either it was a fairly new purchase or she was an extremely clean person. Not that the cleanliness meant anything really. It was just odd for a teenager, especially thinking about how my Tahoe looked after the kids borrowed it to go to Port Angeles or Seattle. I shuddered with the memory. After I put everything back, I closed the door and went to the house. The front door was locked, which wasn't a surprise so I cupped my hands over the window to the living room and looked inside. Again, it was clean, sparsely furnished, but still comfortable. Still, there was nothing personal in the décor. No knickknacks or pictures in frames. Just furniture.

Frowning, I moved off the porch. Something else was off, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"Can I help you?"

Looking up found me staring at a young girl, eighteen maybe nineteen. She was holding a paper grocery bag.

Her eyes widened. "Oh, wow. You must be Will's dad."

I nodded. "How'd you guess?"

She laughed. "You two look scarily alike."

I chuckled. "I'm Jacob."

She made a motion as if to reach out and shake my hand but the bag was in the way. I took it from her. "Thanks. I'm Hunter Jamison."

We shook hands but I frowned. "Jamison? Isn't that your uncle's name?"

Surprise widened her eyes again.

I quickly caught myself. "Will and Ash told me a little about you. A new student moves in and everybody's curious."

"Oh, of course." She took her keys out of her bag and moved up to the front door. "The lawyers said it would make things easier if I took his last name since it was also my adoptive mother's maiden name. Don't ask me why. I just did what they said."

"I hear you on that."

Motioning with her head after she opened the door, she said, "Come on in. Will's a good friend and I suppose I should be nice to his dad and pack leader."

I followed her in and she showed me where to put the groceries. "So you know about the pack, huh?"

"Yeah. My parents and uncle taught me. They kept up with news from home. They wanted me informed in case I should ever come here."

She unpacked the bag and started putting things away.

"Sounds reasonable. Is my son treating you well?"

Now she lit up, her eyes glowing. "Oh yes. He's so sweet. I think it might be Piper and Jules I need to watch out for, though. They're just a little protective of him."

I chuckled again, knowing my daughter's temper. "Yeah, well, don't let them get to you. Jules has always been that way with her big brother. She thinks he spends too much time protecting his younger siblings than worrying about himself. I've heard people be accused being too selfish, but not selfless. And Piper? She's feisty like her mother. It also doesn't help that she's always had a crush on Will."

"Ah, that explains so much. Well, I'm sure we'll find a way to get along. I really like Will, so I know that I have to at least try to get along with his friends." Backing up to the counter, she pushed herself up to sit on top of it. "May I ask you a question?"

Leaning against the counter across from her, I crossed my arms. "Go for it."

"If I were to get into trouble, would I call the rez police or you guys?"

That made me chuckle a little before it turned into a laugh. "Ah, I don't know. I'm assuming you have Will's number."

Her cheeks flushed and she bit her lip. "Actually, no. We haven't really gotten there or talked about it."

"I see." But I could see why Will liked her so much. Her tanned skin made her blonde hair shine, and her green eyes glowed. She was exceptionally beautiful for a teenage girl. There was also something vaguely familiar about her. I knew I'd never seen her before; I'd have remembered that. But she was very charming, as well. "Well," I said, "when you do have his number, you can call us. The rez police still deal with all the major crimes, but we'll take care of family disputes, abusive family members, or anything supernatural trying to kill you. But since you seem to be good friends with my son, you can call us for anything. Sound good?"

She grinned. "Sounds perfect. I'll remember that."

There was a notepad beside my hand. I scribbled out my name and number and the number of the shop. "If you need me, this is where you can reach me. But there is something you need to understand about me and my kids. To a lot of the tribe, I'm considered the chief because of my position in the pack. If we were in a different time, I would be officially. And Will is set to follow me. My family and I tend to get treated differently. Try to remember that we didn't ask for it, alright?"

"Of course."

Standing up again, I started for the door. "I've got to get back to the shop. You take care, Hunter. It was nice to meet you."

She jumped down to follow me. "I will. Thank you for coming by. Will asked me if I would come to his birthday bonfire over the weekend, but I'm still not sure."

"That's a great idea. My wife would love to meet you." When she still looked unconvinced, I said, "Don't worry about the girls. There are rules to our bonfire. If you aren't nice, you don't get to stay. And honestly, since Will shook his best friend to spend a little time with you, I'm sure he'd love to have you there. He wouldn't have asked if he didn't."

She winced. "Yeah, isn't that best friend mad at me for that?"

I tried to make my smile reassuring. "It'll blow over. It always does with those two."

"If you say so. But like I told Will, I'll think about it. Although, I hope it's okay if I take him out for his birthday next weekend."

My smile was just on the verge of a grin. "Are you asking my permission to take my son on a date?"

For a moment, she looked taken aback, and then she shrugged. "I guess I am.

Now I laughed. I could really see why my son liked her. "I suppose things have changed since I was your age, but no, I don't mind."

"Good," she said, glowing again. "I'd really hate to have to break a promise to him."

"Can't have that."

"No, I suppose not."

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Hunter. Hopefully we'll see you this weekend. No pressure."

She choked out a laugh. "Oh I feel it. It was nice to meet you, too, Mr. Black."

She opened the door for me and I left. I waited long enough to hear the door lock behind me. Good girl. The father with a daughter part of me didn't like the fact that she was a teenage girl living alone in the middle of the woods. Going to my truck, I took a deep breath. And frowned. That's it. That's what was missing. Her scent. All I'd scented in her car was the leather and fabric of the seats and the air freshener. And in the house, I'd smelled the food in the bag, the Febreze, and the candles, but nothing of her. Not even when I was close to her. And that wasn't right. Everybody had a scent, and they left a little of that scent on their belongings. Everything she owned was missing that.

With that realization, I could see the validity of Piper's and Jules's suspicion. Maybe it was a good thing she liked Will. Keeping her close would be a good idea for now.

JulesPOV

The pounding on my door made me jump so bad that my hand skipped over the page of my homework, the pencil scribbling out a long line across the paper.

Irritated, I yelled, "What?!"

Will strode in a moment later looking murderous. "We need to talk."

"Clearly," I grumbled. "About what?"

"I think you know." He came to stand over me, arms crossed over his massive chest. Damn, he was huge now, just like Dad.

Feigning ignorance, I started erasing the pencil line. "I know a lot of things, William. You'll have to be more specific."

His hand came down hard over my notebook. "Don't get cute, Jules. Hunter told me you said something to her. And knowing your temper about me and the twins, it was a threat. I'm telling you right now to leave her alone."

Huffing, I tried to move his hand but it wouldn't budge. Eventually, I gave up and just glared at him. "I don't like her, Will. You told Brayden that you were going to be friends with her to keep her close."

"Yes, and I can't do that if you threaten her away."

Pushing my chair away from the desk, I stood to face him. "But that's not how you're acting, Will," I yelled. "You're acting like she's your girlfriend. You don't even know her!"

He growled at me, lips curling up. I could feel the heat pouring off of him. He was close to phasing right here in my room. A lick of fear raced down my spine, but I beat it out as best I could.

Taking a deep breath, I moved around him to close my door before lowering my voice. "You don't have to tell Brayden everything. But be honest with me. Did you imprint on her?"

His averted gaze and ceased growling told me everything I needed to know.

I sat down heavily on my bed. "Oh, Will. Have you told anyone?"

"I didn't say that I did, Jules."

"You didn't have to," I snapped. "Are you forgetting to whom you're talking? I can read you better than you can. So you haven't told anybody?"

Giving in, he sighed, sat down in my chair, and put his face in his hands. "No. I haven't. And you're not going to, either. Not Piper, Ava, the twins. Not Mom or Dad. Nobody is going to know, not even Hunter until we know for sure about her. Look, even with the imprint, I'm trying to be objective when I'm around her. But it's hard. I know you don't like her, but I need you on my side, Jules. I can't do this without you. Just please try to be civil. I'm not asking you to be her new bff, alright? Just don't threaten her anymore."

Sinking to my knees beside him, I rubbed his back. "Alright. Okay. I'll try, but you know Piper is not going to like this. I mean, Will, they're going to guess that you imprinted if you come out and say that you two are dating. There's a reason none of us date. We don't want that whole Sam/Emily/Leah fiasco that we were told about. And now that you phased, you can't just say that you decided to date."

When he looked at me, his eyes held so much uncertainty and vulnerability that my heart ached for him. "What do you suggest?"

"Try not to be too smitten in public or at least around the pack. Don't be so affectionate. They'll guess that you've imprinted, but you can show them that you're still focused on the pack and not your hormones. I'll try to talk to Dad about giving you some more privacy with her." I pointed at him and gave him a stern look. "But really, Will, that won't be easy with what you pulled yesterday. Be good at least until next week, and I'll try to sweet talk him. If I can pull it off, it'll give you time alone with her so that you can try to get more personal stuff from her. And if you horizontally tango with her, I do not want to know about it."

That pulled a startled laugh out of him. "I think I can manage that."

"Good. And you should really apologize to Brayden."

His expression turned sad. "I really don't know what to say to him. I fucked up."

"Well say that. He loves to hear you admit to fucking up."

A strangled noise came out of his throat as he turned to stare at me.

I gave him innocent eyes. "What? You can cuss but your sister can't? Please. Hanging out with you guys all the time taught me a few things." Softening my tone and expression, I took his hand. "Don't worry. We'll work this out. I promise. I won't tell anyone, but this won't be easy. We pretty much all feel that there's something up with her. If you can dig up stuff and you tell us that she checks out, we'll believe you. At least I will. And you know how I am at persuasion. Being a daddy's girl also taught me a few things."

He just nodded. "Thank you, Jules."

I grinned. "That's what I'm here for. If the three of you didn't have me, Mom would be pulling her hair out and Dad would find a way to be an alcoholic werewolf."

Now he laughed. "Yeah, you're probably right." Leaning over, he kissed my cheek. "Love you, little sister."

"Love you, too. Now go do your own homework."

He left chuckling. Rolling my eyes, I decided to worry about normal teenage stuff. Algebra.

Later that night, after dinner, I was feeling too restless. It made me anxious that Brayden wasn't talking to Will, and that Brayden wasn't talking to me in relation. So, I decided to go for a walk around the little man-made lake that sat between our cabins. Lo and behold, a lone figure was sitting at the edge of the dock that had been built. He had his jeans rolled up to his knees, feet in the chilly water. A lot of the wolves liked to jump in every now and then to do laps or to cool off after a patrol. I wouldn't dare. It was too cold for me. But then again, I hadn't phased yet.

Walking around the lake, I quietly made my way down the narrow dock that was in the shape of a T. As I crouched and sat down beside him, Brayden looked up at me.

"Hey," I said, quietly, crossing my legs.

"Hi."

I nodded toward black glass his feet were submerged in. "How is it?"

He shrugged. "Feels good to me. Probably like ice water to you."

"Probably."

We went quiet for a few minutes, listening to the night animals and the crickets. It was unseasonably warm tonight, but the breeze coming off the water chilled my skin. I shivered.

"You cold?" He started unbuttoning his shirt. "Here."

I laughed. "No need to start stripping. I'll be fine."

He shook his head and slipped the shirt off anyway, leaving him in a bright white tank. "I'll be fine. You don't need to get sick again." After draping it across my shoulders, he rubbed my arms. "Better?"

I couldn't help the smile. "Better. Thanks. So…you wanna talk about it?"

His eyes and expression darkened before he looked out over the water again. "Not particularly."

Fine. I'd do the talking. "Brayden, I understand how you feel. Really, I do. He disrespected you. You're his best friend, why would he do something like that? I get it. But he feels awful about it. You should see him. He and Henry aren't as close so now he really feels like he's being babysat."

"Good," he said bitterly. "Serves him right."

"And I agree. He was being reckless. He just doesn't know how to apologize to you, terrified he'll say the wrong thing to make you hate him even more."

"I don't hate him," Bray said quickly.

Leaning over, I looked down at the water. "You two have never gone a day without talking or at least fighting. He's really starting to get paranoid about it. Please. He's better at controlling himself."

"It's only been a day, Jules."

"I know. But he got really mad at me earlier. Growling, vibrating, heat pouring off of him."

Brayden whipped around, baring his teeth. "What?"

"But it was fine," I went on quickly. "He calmed down." I put my hand on his arm, a shock of warmth searing my skin. It shook my breath a little. "He's good," I whispered to hide how he affected me. "But he needs you. Promise me you'll at least think about it."

"Fine," he said between clenched teeth, like it he was trying not to say it.

I patted his hand. "Thank you."

Before I could pull away, he gripped my fingers. His eyes were fierce and a little scared. He swallowed hard. "Jules, I've already forgiven him for this. But if he ever hurt you…or anyone else I care about," he tacked on, "I could never forgive him for that. Ever."

I balked at the fierce protection and devotion in his tone. "Brayden, the only real thing that could hurt me is if you or Piper ever left my life. Just as I can't live without my brothers, I can't live without the two of you. I love you."

He closed his eyes, the tension draining from his face as if that was all he'd ever wanted to hear.

It confused me but I ignored it and said, "That's why I needed you to talk to Will. I'm being selfish."

He choked out a laugh. "Well, if it's for you, of course I'll talk to him."

Staring at him, I frowned. "Bray, I really don't understand you. You talk to me like you want to be with me, or at least try. But every time we're in public or someone brings it up, you laugh it off like a joke. If you imprinted on me, would you tell me?"

"Jules-,"

"And if you did, why not tell me? What are you hiding? Why are you hiding?"

He turned to me and gripped my shoulders. "Jules, please. Stop. Just stop."

"I just want to understand," I whispered.

His green eyes were sad. "I know. But I can't, Jules." Letting me go, he stood up and started back toward his house.

I felt the loss of him like a clench in my gut. "Bray." When he turned, I decided to change what I was going to say. "Hunter is going to start being around a lot. Piper needs to be warned. She won't like it that Will's with her."

He nodded. "Thanks for the heads up."

I gripped his shirt, then said, "Wait. Your shirt."

He waved a hand behind him. "Keep it. I have plenty more."

I waited on the dock until I heard the door to his house close before I burst into tears. Getting up, I did my best not to topple over into the lake. I wanted to both rip the shirt from my shoulders and hold it tighter to me. Keeping it, I ran for the house, managing to stub my toe a few times before I got up the porch steps. Before I opened the door though, I did my best to calm down, taking deep breaths, and wiping the tears away. No doubt my eyes were horridly red and puffy. I couldn't help that. So, I took another breath and opened the door. Will, Dox, and Ash were on the floor playing video games. Mom was reading, and Dad was massaging her feet while watching the boys.

"Jules, what's wrong?" Ash demanded.

They all looked up at me at first in surprise and then in worry while I just stood there, shivering in Brayden's shirt. "N-n-n-nothing."

"Jules," Dad said in his nobody-better-have-touched-my-baby-girl tone.

But I didn't look at any of the boys. I looked to Mom. Her copper hair was in two braids framing her face. A worried frown pulled her brows low. "Sweetie? What is it?" She closed her book and put it on the coffee table as she stood up.

As she moved past Dad to walk toward me, I burst into tears again and ran into her arms. She hugged me to her and rubbed my back, gently rocking. "It's alright, sweetheart. Whatever it is, it's going to be okay." Leaning back, she tried to study my face. "Why don't we get you upstairs?"

I nodded, but my knees collapsed. Dad was there a second later, scooping me into his arms. I tucked my face into his shoulder and wept. His hold tightened around me and he rested his cheek on my hair. "Shh, it's alright, baby girl. You're safe."

Maybe physically, I thought through my sobs. But something inside me didn't feel alright or safe. It felt like a fracture. I'd told Brayden that I love him and Piper. And I did. Just differently. I'd always been close to Brayden, but when I'd started hitting puberty and stopped seeing boys as having cooties, I'd realized that Brayden made my blood boil. When I had started at the high school, he'd been a junior and I could hear the girls gossip and whisper about him and my brother. I saw the way they'd watch him, the same way I'd started to. But I knew I had to hide it as best I could. The kids of the pack knew better than to date, than to fall in love. But even after all the warnings and the stories, I still wanted him something fierce. And the feelings had only deepened, cracking the guard that we all had, instead of being brushed away by time.

They took me into my room and Dad set me on my bed. When Mom tried to take Brayden's shirt off me, I ripped it out of her grasp and held it tighter to me even though his scent of woods, wolf, and a hint of his aftershave killed me. I saw the look Mom and Dad shared through my tears, but I didn't care. They probably realized what I was crying about now, though.

"Maybe I should handle this," Mom whispered to Dad.

He looked down at me helplessly before nodding. His lips were warm on my forehead before he left to go downstairs. Mom climbed onto my bed and pulled me into her lap. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I buried my face in her stomach and kept on crying. Her fingers gently untangled my hair as she hummed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked eventually.

I shook my head, but my sobbing had turned into just hiccupping tears. My body felt light and floating, my head buzzing.

Even though I'd just said I didn't want to talk about it, I said, "I just want to understand, Mom. He doesn't make any sense."

"Brayden?"

I nodded, sniffled, and sat up a little so that I rested against her shoulder. I wiped my eyes with the cuff of Bray's shirt. "Ugh. Has anyone told you about what happens with us?"

She continued to stroke my hair. "You mean the kids in general?"

I nodded.

"Not really. Of course I hear gossip and rumors, but you and your brothers aren't exactly forthcoming."

I laughed. "I suppose not." Gaining control of myself again, I pulled back and sat cross-legged facing her. "Okay so, I think everyone knows that I was crushing on Brayden. Well, it didn't go away, Mom. It's gotten stronger. And when Bray and I are alone, he's sweet and says things that only an interested guy should say to his girl. But then, when we're in front of everyone, he just plays it off and laughs, saying that he's acting like he's crushing so that I don't get bothered by other guys who aren't pack, you know? And it's so frustrating. Like tonight. He's still really pissed at Will, but when I asked him to talk to him again soon for Will's sake he said no. So I asked him to do it for me. And he said that since it was for me, he'd do it. I know he and I are best friends, but he made it sound like more. He also said he'd never be able to forgive Will if he hurt me in any way." Frustrated, I growled and threw my upper body back onto my bed to stare at my ceiling. "I just don't get it, Mom. Did he imprint? If he did, why won't he tell me?"

Chuckling, Mom reached out to pat my knee. "Did you ask him that?"

"Yeah. He just got really sad and said that he couldn't. He just…couldn't. I know he's hiding something. Even Will says he is when they're phased."

"Well, baby, if he did imprint, maybe there's a reason he can't tell you. You do know that your dad kept it from me for years. I'd never even heard the word 'imprint' until Emily accidentally spilled it. He'd forbidden the wolves to tell me, but Emily was human. She could break it."

I lifted my head up. "Really? Dad didn't tell you? Even after he knew you'd matured?"

She nodded. "Even after."

I frowned and sat back up. "Why?"

Her smile was amused as if she were remembering something. "Looking back on it now, I find it amusing and sweet. But back then, I was ready to rip him apart for keeping it from me. However, his reason was that he was scared."

I balked, eyes widening. "Dad? My dad, Jacob Black, was scared?"

Amused, she nodded. "Yep. We'd been inseparable since I was born. You see, imprints have the choice. Remember we taught you that. You father was terrified that I wouldn't reciprocate his love, that I'd just want to remain best friends and want to find someone mostly normal. Apparently I'd been better at hiding my own feelings than I'd thought if that's what he was scared of. I loved your father. All my life. And not once in my lifetime had I ever thought of him as a brother. He was always my friend, and then my best friend."

"So," I said, picking a string on the cuff of the shirt. "You're saying that if Brayden did imprint on me, he's scared I'll say no?"

"Possibly." And then she sighed and I knew she was about to say something I wouldn't like. "Or, he may have imprinted on someone else and is trying to figure out what to do about it. You've been one of his best friends for a long time, baby. And he cares about you. Hurting you would hurt him even if he imprinted on another girl. You don't lose that kind of caring no matter who your soul mate is. Your friends are still your friends."

"That's what you think it is, isn't it?" I asked quietly.

"Honestly, baby, I don't know. Seeing him around you, it looks like he wished he had. And then some days, he treats you like you're his little sister like Piper. I can't give you a straight answer. I wish I could. But like me and your father, this is something that you need to go through on your own. We'll always be here to carry you and to be your crying pillows, but we can't live your life for you or make your decisions. You and your brothers are old enough now to know that you don't always need our guidance. Maybe a little push. The four of you and the other kids of the pack already know so much more about this world than any of those other kids ever will. That kind of knowledge matures you faster, forcing you to outgrow your immaturity. I wish it could have been normal for you where you could fall in love over and over, have your heart broken, and make you stronger. But we didn't want you to have guilty consciences about breaking someone else's heart like that. It hurt Sam to hurt Leah, but he really couldn't do anything."

Those words hurt me deep inside and yet made absolutely perfect sense. Lowering my head, I found that I still had some quiet tears left.

Mom reached forward to put her fingers under my chin. When I looked up at her, she wiped my cheeks. It was so weird how she looked so young like me and Piper, and yet, all I could see was that she was my mother. Those kind chocolate eyes so full of memories and past experiences that I had yet to go through. We'd all been told about the fight with Tristan's pack and that these gentle hands on my face now had once torn apart another vampire and helped kill other werewolves, all for our safety. It was the same with Dad. He'd shish-kabobbed another man to a tree, and tortured and killed another for information. And yet, they were my parents and I loved them very much, never fearing that they'd raise their hands to me or my brothers.

Her eyes were soft and gentle. "Sweetheart, I know it hurts right now. It hurts a lot. I can't tell you that it'll get easier. It probably won't. You have maybe a year or less or more to phase and do some imprinting of your own. Until then or until Brayden explains, it's going to eat at you if you let it. If it were me, I'd see it as he's still here, still your friend. He knows that you know something is up, and he hasn't told you. Right now, you're at a stalemate, so it would be best not to push him. Just be his friend. This is as hard on him as it is on you. I can promise you that."

And of course, she was right. Brayden had looked as in pain as I was. He didn't need the extra pressure. I'd just have to find an outlet for my frustration instead of interrogating him, but it was going to be hard.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded. "You're right."

She chuckled. "You should go tell your father that. Just to reiterate it."

I choked out a laugh. "I'll see what I can do."

Reaching out, she tucked my hair behind my ear. "Why don't you got get a bath? Soak. It might help you relax and sleep. I'll send your father and brothers up later."

I nodded again. "Sounds good." Smiling at her, I said. "Thanks, Mom. I really like the mother/daughter stuff even though this one wasn't that pleasant."

She smiled. "Me, too. We need to go shopping for your brother's birthday. What do you say we go to Port Angeles together after school tomorrow?"

I perked up. "Really?"

She nodded. "Just the two of us. Go shop for him, eat, maybe a late movie. A late night out on a school night is a rite of passage for every high school student. Besides, your dad can't bitch because you'll be with me instead of with some guy."

Grinning, I leaned forward and hugged her. Her hair smelled of sweet mint and thick honey. Dad told me that she'd always had that scent, no matter the soap or shampoo she used. "That sounds amazing! I can't wait!"

Her arms hugged me tight. "I love you, bug. So much. You might be your dad's baby girl, but you're my Jue-bug. The only women in this family for now so we have to stick together."

"Definitely, Momma Bear."

Pulling away, she stood up and pulled me to my feet. "Alright. Go get your bath. I'll go assure the menfolk that you're fine. Just a girl moment."

Grabbing my robe, I led the way out into the hall. "You know Dad and Will heard it all, though, right?"

She gave me a conspiratorial look. "True. But as wife and mother, I get to tell them not to be apes and say anything. Girl stuff should stay between the women."

Laughing, I kissed her cheek. "Love you, Momma."

She kissed my forehead. "Love you, too, Jue-bug." The nickname had stuck after Will had gotten old enough to call me Jues.

Then she left me to my own devices. I felt much better about my whole situation. This wasn't the end of the world, just the end of another chapter. I had to put my big girl panties on and act like I had some damn sense. It wasn't all about me. Her talk of maturing quickly was a subtle hint, whether or not she meant it that way, that I needed to quit being selfish.

The soak in the tub did calm my nerves. My body was all loose like a noodle and tingly from the herbal bubblebath. Coming out of the bathroom, I took my hair down out of the bun and braided it over my shoulder. In my room, I changed into my shorts and cami before climbing into bed. I sighed and purred with content as I sank down into the mattress and pillows.

There was a knock on the door a moment later.

"Come in."

My brothers filed in a second later, all looking at me as if they expected me to break down. Will met my gaze and I knew he'd heard the conversation. His own situation was written across his face.

I smiled. "I'm okay, guys. Mom's pretty good at the girl stuff."

Ash climbed up and around me to lay against the wall. Maddox laid at my feet, and Will flopped down on my other side on the edge of the bed.

Will wrapped his arm around me. "You sure you're okay?"

"I will be."

Ash rubbed my arm comfortingly. Maddox rubbed my feet.

"You scared us, Jules," Maddox said quietly. "You should have seen your face when you came in. We'd thought someone…" He couldn't even finish or look me in the eyes.

Ash was still stroking the backs of his fingers against my arm. I looked over at him. He wouldn't meet my eyes either.

"You thought…what? That someone assaulted me?"

I looked at all three of them. They all had their jaws clenched.

"Guys, please. I know how to take care of myself. You three and Dad took care of that. Plus every other male I know." I chuckled and reached back to pat Ash's cheek. "No guy will ever touch me like that. I promise." With my toe, I poked Dox in the chest playfully and then hissed. That was the toe I'd stubbed multiple times running back inside.

Maddox gripped my foot and looked at it. "What happened?"

"I hit it on everything on the ground when I ran back inside."

"Alright, I'll ask again," he said. "What happened?"

I looked up at Will. His expression told me that it was up to me. I knew he wouldn't say anything if I chose to keep it to myself. But I didn't want to keep things from them. "I had a talk with Brayden." Then, I went through the conversation and Brayden's actions, but told them not to say anything to Bray. He didn't need to think I was gossiping about him. "Promise me, okay? Please. You guys are who I vent to. I don't want to think that I can't trust you with that."

Ash went up on his elbow to frown down at me. "Really? You really think we'll say anything? It's your business, Jules."

"Yeah," Maddox said. "You listen to us and don't say anything. Where do you think we learned it from?"

I smiled down at him. "I love you guys."

There was another knock on the door before Dad poked his head in.

"Hey, Daddy."

He came in and smiled. "Good. I hate it when you cry."

I laughed. "I'm good. No more tears for now. Did you hear about my and Mom's plans for tomorrow?"

He scowled as he brought over my desk chair and sat down. "Yeah, I heard. I swear that woman is trying to give me anxiety. She said nobody else is to go, not even watch wolves."

Giggling, I said, "Yeah. Mother and daughter. Not Mom, daughter, and half the pack." Reaching over Will, I gripped Dad's hand. "Don't worry. We both know what to do if anything happens. We'll be fine. Time away from you and all the other guys will keep us sane. Too much testosterone."

All four of them choked a laugh.

"What? It would be like Uncle Embry needing a guys' night because of all the estrogen he's swimming in. Good grief. I mean, I like being a girl, don't get me wrong. But I'm glad I have brothers. I'd probably kill sisters."

Dad laughed. "Well, then, you're welcome."

"Aw, Dad," I complained. "Really?"

He shrugged. "What? You know how it goes. Your mom and I don't hide the romance. You should know what love –real love—is supposed to look like."

"Yeah, well," Will said, "as long as we don't walk in on the nitty gritty, I think we'll be alright."

We all full-body cringed while Dad laughed.

"Yeah," Maddox said. "Seeing my parents go at it like rabbits would be totally awkward and gross. I mean, I know how we got here, but that doesn't mean I need a replay."

Dad fired one of my numerous pillows at his head. "Just wait until you make your own kids." He pointed and scanned his finger to all of us. "And I better not catch you in my house. Walking in on my kids, especially my baby girl, will probably burn my retinas after I kill you." He looked to me. "Not you. The guy you're with."

"But Dad," Will said, "what if they're imprints?" I knew he was thinking about his attraction to Hunter.

"Then you better find another bed to lay in. Not in my house. The only sex I wanna smell, hear, and see is mine."

"Ah, Dad!" we all yelled simultaneously and covered our eyes against the mental image. Also trying to cover our ears. We all gagged and cringed with the shivers.

Chuckling, he stood up. "Try to get it up now, boys."

We cringed even more, the boys worse than me.

"Jacob Black!" Mom yelled from the doorway.

He looked back at her innocently. "What?"

She glared at him with her hands on her hips. "Really? That's what you teach our kids? To be immature sex hounds?"

"I was not teaching them that. I was preventing it by providing way too much information."

"Ugh," she said throwing her hands up. "Yeah, well, because of your awesome idea, they're going to need serious therapy."

"How about a brain scrub?" Ash moaned.

"With bleach," I said.

Dad grinned triumphantly. "See? No grandkids for us for about ten years or so." He pulled Mom into a deep kiss before walking away laughing.

Mom shook her head and rolled her eyes, but I could see that his kiss still affected her. She was wavering a little on her feet and catching her breath. "Well, then. Now that he's officially scarred you for life, is there anything you need before we climb into bed?"

"Mom," Ash said, "if you could not use that phrase for a while, that would be wonderful."

She actually blushed. "Sorry."

Will laughed. "I think we're good, Mom. If there's anything we need, we can get it."

"Alright." She came over and kissed each one of us. "Don't stay up too late. School in the morning. Good night, guys." She turned out the light on her way out. The stars on my ceiling bloomed to life.

"Night, Mom," we all called.

Will reached over to tap my touch lamp off. "You want us to stay in here or get out?"

"Eh, we're all already comfy. Just stay. Although, you might have to trade spots with Maddox or open my window. Your body heat is killing me."

Ash opened the window that was next to him and then pulled a blanket over himself. My room was a corner room and had three windows. The upstairs was shaped like a U. My room on one end, the twins' beside the bathroom, then Will's on the other end. As soon as you came up the stairs, my room was on the right. Will had the view of the lake. After the window was opened, cool air rushed, cooling my skin where it was pressed to Will. Maddox grabbed one of my many throw blankets to use.

"You know Mom calls you a comfort whore, right?" Maddox said.

Cuddling down with my brothers, I grinned. "Yup. And proud of it. I don't hear you complaining."

"Of course not. You'd kick in me in the throat."

We all laughed and yawned. It wasn't long before we were all falling asleep to the sound of the rain in the trees.

BraydenPOV

As soon as I'd come back into the house, I'd gone straight to my room. But now, I needed to talk to Piper. Mom and Dad had already gone to bed so I just walked across the hall and knocked on her door.

"Yeah?"

"Decent?"

"Am I ever? Get in here."

Opening the door, I went in and quietly closed it.

She raised her eyebrows from around her book. "Wow. I suppose it's my turn to tell you that you look like crap, big brother."

I sat on the edge of her bed and scrubbed my face with my hands. "Yeah, well it's good to know I look how I feel. And no, I don't want to talk about it. But listen, I gotta tell you something and you need to listen, alright?" In my room, I'd thought about Jules and Will. I was still mad at Will, but honestly, he really was my best friend and being without him wasn't all that great. Besides, after hearing Mom and Dad's story, I've learned to appreciate the people I have in my life. Losing any one of them would tear me apart.

After marking her page, she put the book aside and sat up against her headboard. Her long-ish hair was pulled back in a French braid. "What's up?"

I looked at her over my shoulder. "You're not going to like this, but Hunter is going to start being around a lot. Will is going through with keeping her nearby."

Her sharp green eyes narrowed. "So they're dating?"

I nodded. "Probably. It's a risk he's going to take."

"What if he imprints?"

"Then that's a complication we'll have to deal with when it comes."

"We?"

Sighing, I nodded. "We. Will needs us now more than ever, Piper. He's just phased and needs to make his mark as next alpha. If this Hunter thing has any validity to it, then he needs our support in his decisions to handle it. We're the new generation of the pack, and we've started phasing. I mean, in every book or movie we've ever read or seen, when this starts happening to us, something bad has to happen that has to be dealt with to prove worth. It's classic."

She picked at the frayed edge of her blanket. "So you really think something is going to happen?"

I rubbed my palms together, contemplating. "I can tell you that nothing feels right. Not since Will phased and that girl came into the picture." Turning, I reached out to her hand. "Piper, I know you like Will-,"

"It's not just that, okay? I'm getting over it. He didn't imprint on me so my last hope is squashed. But that doesn't mean that he's not still one of my best friends. It's not like I don't like her just because she's with him. I don't like her because my gut is telling me something is off about her, Bray, and I don't want to see Will hurt because of her. She hurts him, we'll be cleaning up the pieces, and I'll be introducing her face to dirt. As a guy, you can't hit a girl. But as a girl, I don't give a shit. I can beat the crap out of her like a freaking piñata. And enjoy it."

Chuckling, I said, "Look, I'm not asking you to be nice to her. You can still be your lovely bitchy self. I prefer it because if you're suddenly civil with her, she'll think something's up. But don't run her off. If Will is going to start dating her, he's going to bring her around a lot. And we can't abandon him."

She sighed, flapping her lips. "Fine. But are we sure he didn't imprint on her?"

I squeezed her hand. "Things are less sure with this generation. The hybrids, like me and Will, can hide things when we phase. And he's already better at it than I am. Uncle Caden taught me to scent a lie. I point blank asked Will if he'd imprinted, and he said no. I got nothing incriminating."

She let out a laugh. "You've been watching too much Criminal Minds, brother."

"Yeah, well, it's true. Not even a flinch or a twitch. If he imprinted, none of us are going to know it until he's ready for us to. But I can tell you that those who don't know about our suspicions of Hunter are going to think he did because he's phased and with her."

"Why don't we just explain?"

"Again, that's up to Will on who all knows about this. The more people who do know, the faster it could get back to Hunter. We don't want her to know that we think something is up with her. If she does, she'll clam up and move out. Will hasn't acquired his alpha voice yet to order the pack to silence, so until he tells us otherwise, we keep it quiet. I know Jules and the twins will as well. And Ava."

"What about Gage and Tate?"

"I'll have a talk with them. If the adults know, they'll pressure Uncle Jacob to take care of it. Uncle Jacob already knows, and he went to check out her place today. He met her and has suspicions of his own. But he knows the importance of Will taking care of it."

She frowned. "How do you know what he did?"

"He called me, telling me about her. He didn't give specifics, only that he has a weird feeling about her. Pretty sure he wants me to keep an eye on Will."

"If you two can make up, will you offer to be his second in command?"

"Pipes, he's still my best friend. We'll get through this tiff. But yes, of course, I'll offer. Hell, I'll take the position by force if I have to. I won't trust anyone else to have his back like that."

"What if the twins phase?"

I gave her a look. "Piper, if Jules, Maddox, and Ash phase, they'll all run the pack together with Will. The four of them will need a second in command. Granted, I'm not as close to Maddox and Ash, but if their older siblings trust me, they will, too."

She whistled low. "You've been planning this out, haven't you?"

"Since the moment I phased and realized what we were all in for, yeah."

She nodded and gripped my hand. "Alright, I'll go with it. Not that I like the bitch, but hey, sometimes life just sucks."

"That's my girl." Leaning over, I kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep. I'll be at the school tomorrow but don't tell Will, alright? I wanna see how he interacts without knowing I'm there."

She kissed my cheek as I stood up. "I can do that. None of us really see each other anyway."

"Alright." I went to her door. "Don't stay up reading," I warned.

She mock saluted me. "Aye, aye, Cap'n."

Rolling my eyes, I closed the door.

I had to take my own advice and get some sleep. It had been a long, awful day.

What seemed like five minutes after I put my head on the pillow, there was a knock on my door. "Shower's yours, bro."

Groaning, I rolled over. "I didn't say I was going at the asscrack of dawn like you! I can actually sleep in."

She pounded her fists on my door like a drum. "Wwwwaaaaaaaakkkkkeeeee uuuuuuuuppppp!"

"I hate you," I growled loud enough for her to hear.

She cackled. "No you don't. But you wish you did." What sounded like a kick followed. "Get up or I'll come in and jump on you."

"You do and I'll sit on you and tickle you 'til you piss yourself. Then guess who's gonna be late?"

She kicked the door again. "Jerk."

"You bet," I chuckled and rolled back over. But thanks to my dear sister, I couldn't get back to sleep. Rolling out of bed, I went for the shower in my boxers. Piper knew better than to joke about taking my towel after I got out of the shower. Once I'd phased, I really didn't care. I'd walk back to my room naked without a care in the world. Pretty sure she'd grown out the joke after I "blinded her". I'd been tempted to do the same to her, but honestly, I didn't need the nightmare of my naked sister in my head. Just thinking about it gave me the heebs.

After I got my shower, I got dressed and met everyone downstairs.

"You're up early," Mom said.

I glared at Piper. "Your daughter has a sick sense of humor."

She threw a piece of bacon at me. I caught it with my awesome reflexes and ate it as I sat down on Dad's right. He was going over some papers from the shop. Mom tried to put a plate of waffles in front of me that I knew were meant for her because she hadn't known that I would be up, and Dad and Piper had already been served.

I handed them back. "No, Mom. You eat. I can make my own."

"You sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Sit down and eat." Standing back up, I made her sit down and then took the spatula from her.

"Eat," I ordered, pointing the spatula at her.

She held her hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright."

Dad chuckled as I moved for the counter. "So, Piper says you're forgiving Will and going to the school."

I turned to look at her. She gave me that "no, I didn't tell them everything, stupid" look. "Yeah. It's weird staying mad at him. Plus, we've got to start treating him like the alpha now, right? He's bound to piss me off even more later down the road. Might as well get used to it."

"True," Dad said, raising his cup before taking a drink. "I can't tell you the number of times I wanted to kick Jacob's ass. Of course, your mother was more than happy to break his nose."

I turned to stare at her. Piper's mouth was hanging open. "You broke Uncle Jacob's nose?" she demanded.

Mom grinned. "He was being an idiot." She shrugged. "But I have to admit I went overboard back then." Frowning, she looked at Dad. "Was I pregnant then? Or not yet?"

He shook his head. "I can't remember. But probably before. You were nicer when you were pregnant. Especially with Piper."

"Why me?" Piper asked as I went back to making my breakfast.

"Well, your mom was terrified to have kids because of her mother. You know her story. So your mother was deathly afraid when she found out she was pregnant with Brayden. It was a shock. I mean, she was newly infected and hadn't shifted yet. But after he was born, things got better."

"And then," Mom chimed in, "your father said he wanted to try for a girl. That was even more terrifying for me. What was I going to do with a girl? I'd always felt more comfortable with the guys, except your Aunt Nessie. How was I ever going to handle the emotional female teenager when I could barely sort through my own fear that I would end up like my own mother? So throughout my pregnancy with you, I tried to be…softer. More feminine. Ergo, I was nicer."

"And you haven't left us," Piper pointed out.

Mom scoffed. "Are you kidding? You two turned out awesome. My mother was an idiot for leaving me because she didn't get to meet the two of you and watch you grow up."

"Well, she did see Brayden. Once," Dad said.

"Yeah. Once. Never held him or anything."

"'Cause you wouldn't let her."

"Damn straight. She wasn't just going to pop in out of the blue with her expensive car, clothes, and jewelry from her new husband and call herself grandmother. I still don't even understand that." She was starting to get irritated, stabbing her waffle over and over.

Dad shuffled his papers. "On to a better subject. Jacob told me about Hunter."

I looked over at him.

He held his hands up and shook his head. "I'm not interfering. In fact, I think it's a good idea that Will came up with to keep her close. Jake told me that you went to him. So how's he planning on keeping her around?"

Piper and I gave each other wide eyes while he looked down at his paper.

"Uh," I said, "I'm not sure."

He looked up to give us each that look that all dads have when he knows his kids are lying to him as I sat down beside Piper. "Really? Lying to me? Have you forgotten who dear old dad is?"

I glanced at Piper and pulled something out of nowhere. "We just kind of want to keep this one close to the chest. Besides, you'll more than likely find out soon anyway. I just don't wanna have to be the one to tell you."

He frowned, eyes moving back and forth between us. Then he shook his head. "Alright. Fine. I'll trust you. Just know I'm here if you need me. Same goes with Jake."

"Thanks, Dad."

There was a knock on the door before Jules came in. Instead of avoiding my gaze like I thought she would, she smiled brightly at all of us. "Hey, guys! Smells good in here." She went around to hug my mom and dad. "So, I'm still convinced we should all get together and have an epic game night," she said as she hung over Piper's shoulders.

Piper kissed her cheek. "If it's a drawing game, I'm on your team."

"Amen," I mumbled.

Jules smiled at me. "You'd probably have to fight my brothers."

"Please," Piper said, rolling her eyes.

Jules chuckled. "Whatever. Come on, Pipes. We'll be late if we don't leave now."

Sighing, Piper got up and grabbed her stuff before putting her plate in the sink. Then she went to the door with her arm wrapped through Jules's. "Bray, you comin'?"

"Uh, I'll be down a little later."

"Don't be stupid," Jules said. Her aqua eyes said she was trying, that she really wanted me to come but not that I had to. "Walk down with us. Please? The boys already took off."

"Yeah," Piper chimed in. "If I leave you here, you'll just go back to sleep."

"Says the girl who woke me up," I grumbled, getting up. "Alright, alright."

We said bye to Mom and Dad before I followed the girls out the door. As we moved through the woods, Jules pulled something out of her bag and handed it to me. It was my shirt.

I took it from her. "Thanks."

Her smile was small. "No problem. Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"Sure," I said and slipped it on over my t-shirt. God, it smelled like a mix of her and me. The musk of wolf with the citrus of her. Some of her scent matched Aunt Nessie. The thick honey scent. But the orange citrus was all her. It made my body react as we walked toward the rez. Geez, that was the last thing I needed going into a high school that had her brothers roaming the halls.

"Bray, you okay?" Jules asked.

"What? Yeah. I'm good. Just thinking about Will."

Jules reached out and patted my shoulder. I had to breathe through my body's reaction. It was getting stronger the longer I was around her. "It's okay, Bray. He's ready to have his friend back. And I know that he'll be happy to see you, to have you at his side. I promise you that he realizes his mistakes."

"You talked to him, didn't you?" I knew she had from the conversation from last night.

"Of course I did. Probably a smack upside the head, too. Just for good measure."

I laughed. "Good." Even though I knew she was kidding about hitting him.

Piper looked over at us. "So are we really ready for Will to start 'dating' this chick?"

I shrugged, my arm brushing Jules's. She moved away sheepishly. "Doesn't matter if we are. It's already started. We just need to roll with it."

"You know the school doesn't like her, right?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"They're always gossiping about her," Piper said. "I hear them. The white, blonde girl walking on the rez."

"What about Gage?"

"His mom is Quileute. Hunter was only adopted. She doesn't have a drop of tribe blood in her. That causes problems. You and I, plus Jules and the others? We have Dad and they have Uncle Jacob. Plus, they wouldn't mess with us anyway because our dads are pack leader and second in command. Maybe if her adoptive parents had been pack members or at least one of them, she'd have a better standing. As it is…" she shrugged.

"Good point. Looks like I'll have to play bully control. If Will and I are back to being best friends, I'm going to have to be civil with her, too. She's gotta like me or Will is gonna tell me to back off."

"Well, then," Jules said, "just be your typical charming self and she won't have a reason not to like you."

I looked at her. She met my gaze. Why the hell wasn't I telling her? She wanted to be with me, clearly. Even from my house, I'd been able to hear her crying. It had killed a piece of me to know that her tears were my fault. I just didn't want to change things. What if we did get together? What if we did activate my imprint? How would that affect Piper or Will? Or hell, our parents? I was eighteen and Jules seventeen. And she was still in school, basically had two more years ahead of her. If we were to get together, our relationship could interfere, especially since I knew she wanted to start online college courses. I didn't want to be her distraction from what she wanted for her personal goals. New relationships always had that effect. But if I waited years to tell her, she'd kill me. Then again, what about Piper? Again, new relationships tended to have people too involved with their significant others. Piper would kill me if I took her best friend away. Of course, it may not be years, not if Jules phases soon. If that happens and she imprints on me, she'll know what happened. And then she'd be able to actually rip me a new one for keeping it from her.

I'd barely been up a couple hours and already I needed a nap. Maybe to hibernate 'til Christmas.

It wasn't long before we made it to the school. My skin was tight and itchy from being so close to Jules, so I quickly departed. "I'm gonna go find Will. You guys have a good day."

"You, too," Jules said. "He'll probably be at Hunter's locker since his first class is down that hallway."

Piper frowned but only shook her head. "See you later."

Nodding, I took off into the crowd. The other kids got out of my way. Being a member of the pack, I'd shot up to about six foot three, so I had a clear view over their heads. It also helped that my build was broad and intimidating. A lot of the girls batted their eyes at me, but I ignored them. Before I'd phased, I'd been okay with it, but now, I really wished I had Jules on my arm to tell them to fuck off. I smiled at the image. I said hey to some of the guys but didn't stop to talk. Henry was waiting around the corner, arms crossed over his chest. He looked surprised to see me.

"What's up, man?" he asked, holding out his fist.

I bumped it with mine. "Came here to swing ya."

"You sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Time to get the stick out of my ass, I guess. Especially with a future alpha."

"True that." He stood up from the wall. "He's chatting up the new girl."

I leaned around the corner to see that he was right.

"If you're sure, I got a mate at home."

I chuckled. "Go for it. Tell Leila we said hi."

"I will." We shook hands before he left.

I leaned a shoulder on the wall and watched Will talk to Hunter. He had her blushing and laughing before he excused himself to go to the bathroom. I moved around so that he didn't see me, not yet. As soon he was gone, a group of guys moved in with girls laughing around them. One of the guys, a known horn dog, moved in on Hunter. The kid was a trouble-maker who thought every girl should fall on her knees at his feet and feel him up with her mouth. I knew he'd had the police pick him up a couple times. Maybe Uncle Jake needed to have a word with him if Will didn't put the fear of the gods in him.

He picked up a lock of her hair. "You know, you don't belong here."

"Go away," she said nonchalantly as if he didn't matter to her. She didn't even look up at him as she dug through her bag. Good girl.

"Pretty white girl like you don't need to be here."

I wanted to punch him just for his incorrect grammar.

Now she glared up at him. I couldn't see her face because I was behind her, staying around the corner."I said back off, man. Really? I haven't done a damn thing to you."

His grin was all sex. "No you haven't, but we can change that."

Insulted and angry, she spun to smack him, but he grabbed her wrist in a lucky swipe.

"Tough. I like that." With his body, he started to back her up against the locker.

I was about to step out when I heard, "Let her go. Now." It was Will's voice, low and dangerous. Uh-oh.

The crowd around them parted. Will had taken off his backpack and was standing there, flexing his hands into fists. Aw, crap. Please, don't let this get out of hand.

The guy smiled and turned to face Will. Some of the other guys moved in on Hunter while their leader faced mine. Going up to them, I gripped Hunter's arm and moved her away from them behind me. "Hey," she said before she realized I was protecting her.

The guys, seniors like Will, stared up at me.

I grinned darkly. "Not today, boys." While they were busy looking uneasy, I pulled her around to stand behind Will. He had the guy's shirt collar in his fists and the guys' feet off the floor.

Will brought them face to face, his expression a snarl. "Don't ever touch her again."

"Whatever you say, teacher's pet," the guys whispered in a way that said he wasn't scared of Will.

Oh, shit. The hall had gone silent, but no phones. They knew better after Will almost phasing in the cafeteria. Didn't want to piss him off.

Will slammed his back into the lockers. "Call me what you like, but you listen to me. She, like you, like all of you, is under the protection of the pack. But that doesn't mean we won't take care of business if you keep harassing people. Enough is enough. Leave her alone."

"If that was unclear," I said in my best menacing voice, "you mess with her or anyone under our protection, you mess with us. All of us."

The guy looked over at me and Hunter, clearly starting to feel the aggression of two members of the pack. "She your girl?" he asked Will warily.

"Yes, she is."

I felt Hunter's pleased surprise behind me and heard her gasp.

"But that's not the point. If your dumb ass wants to harass or hurt anyone else on this reservation or Forks, I will come after you. Don't think I haven't heard about you or watched you play your games. I don't have the time or patience to deal with your petty crap, so if I do come after you, you better pray you can run fast enough, because I'll be leading the hunting party."

Now the kid looked ready to piss himself. He and Will just stared at each other for a long time until the warning bell for first period rang.

"Do we understand each other?" Will demanded.

The kid, I think his name was Chad, nodded fervently. "Yeah, we're good. We're cool, man."

Will let him go and shoved him away. "We better be. Now get to class."

After the kid scurried off, Will picked up his backpack and turned to me. "Hey," he said losing the tough guy edge and suddenly unsure.

"Hey." I held out my hand.

He took it and pulled me in for a hug and back slap. "I'm sorry, Bray."

"No apologies. It happened; it's over. Time to move on so you can piss me off again."

He smiled as a small hand touched my shoulder. Hunter moved around to face me. "Thank you."

Will moved up beside her. "You okay?"

She smiled up at him. "Yeah, I'm fine." She nudged him with her shoulder. "Your girl, huh?"

While he looked down at her, I watched him. If I wasn't going blind, I'd say he looked at her the way I watched Jules when nobody was looking. Like an imprinted male. He gently cupped her face. "We can talk about it later. You're gonna be late."

She nodded, but looked shaky. His touch affected her unless she was an Oscar-worthy actress. "Okay. Lunch?"

"It's a date."

Giving me one last look, she started down the hall. But she didn't get five steps before pivoting and running back to Will's arms. Gripping his face and pulling him down, she kissed him hard before pulling back and running down the hall. In a daze, Will just stared after her, licking his lips.

Chuckling, I clapped him on the shoulder. "Alright, Romeo. Your mom will kill me if you miss class for a girl. Get in there." And I shoved him toward his class wondering just what the hell was going on.

WillPOV

"So Jules talked to you last night, didn't she?" I asked as we moved down the hall toward the cafeteria. I knew she had but I didn't want him to know that she'd told us everything. I wasn't a snitch.

"Maybe. But in all honesty, I was going to show back up eventually. Can't let everyone think I'm a pussy getting my feelings hurt so easy by the guy who's like my brother. Besides, you're the future alpha. No doubt there will be other times you'll piss me off and I'll have to deal with it," Brayden said as we moved through the crowd. "We have a lot of years to have to deal with each other. Might as well get used to it."

"Still, I'm sorry. It was disrespectful when all you were trying to do was help me."

"Apology accepted."

We finally made it to the back of the cafeteria. It was raining today so we had to sit inside. Hunter was already seated at one of the tables in the back corner.

Bray leaned over. "You know you made her a topic of conversation after this morning, right?"

He was right. All over the girls were leaning in, whispering to each other and sending glares over to the corner. Probably why Hunter had her back to the room. As I walked over to her, the girls all tried to grab my attention but I ignored every single one of them. There was only one girl who could make my blood boil, and no matter if there was something up with her, I'd figure it out and we'd work it out. I wasn't going to lose her without a fight.

When I got to her, I put my hand on her shoulder and sat down next to her. "Any more problems?"

She shook her head, blonde hair sliding over her shoulders. "Nope. In fact, everybody's been super nice to me. It's nice to be your girlfriend." She grinned.

I raised my eyebrows. "Girlfriend?"

Her smile faltered. "Well, I mean, after the other day, I thought, maybe…and earlier."

"No, it's okay. I just didn't think you'd go for it."

She frowned, pulling out a PB&J. "Why not? I like you. I thought you liked me."

"I do," I said quickly. "It's just we haven't known each other all that long. But I did enjoy the other day on the cliff."

Behind me, Brayden cleared his throat. I'd forgotten he was there. "I'm gonna go stand by the door just in case." Then he started to move off.

Hunter stood up. "Wait." When he turned back, she held out her hand. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Hunter."

He took her hand. "Brayden."

"Thank you, Brayden. For earlier."

He nodded once. "Of course. Will is my best friend, and he likes you. And you were raised by three of our people. They trusted you enough to leave you their property here. You belong here as much as they do." And then he moved off to grab something out of the vending machines before taking up post at the door that led outside.

Hunter sat back down. "He seems nice."

"He is. Intense sometimes, but nice." While I pulled out my own lunch, I got a text, my pocket vibrating. Making sure there weren't any teachers around, I pulled it out. It was from Aunt Tricia. Parker wants her date with you. She's driving me nuts, kid.I laughed as Hunter leaned over to read it.

"Other girlfriend?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"No," I said with a chuckle. "Remember my cousin I told you about who wants to cliff dive?" She nodded. "I promised her a date the last time I saw her to hang out with her. She missed me. She's kind of like a little sister. This is her mom texting me."

She didn't answer. Instead, she snatched my phone from my hand.

"What are you doing?"

"Giving you my number." Then she looked up at me. "Is that okay?"

I smiled and pushed her hair back. "It's fine, sweetie. I was going to ask for it anyway."

Grinning, she went back to putting it in there. Then she used my phone to call hers so that she'd have mine. "There. Oh, and I thought about your party. I'll go with you."

There was just something about touching her, moving her hair from her face and touching her cheek, brushing her jaw. "Really now?"

She nodded, moving her skin against my fingers. "Yeah. Your dad said it would be alright. He said you wouldn't have asked if you didn't really want me there."

I frowned. "Wait, you met my dad? Something wrong with your car?"

"What? No. He, uh, he came to my house to introduce himself. He's really nice."

"Ah. Did he say anything?"

"About?" she asked taking a bite of sandwich.

I shrugged. "I don't know."

Swallowing her bite, she laughed and brushed some hair out of my eyes. "Don't worry. We didn't gossip about you. He just told me how protective Jules and Piper are over you. And that I can call the pack anytime I need them."

I gripped her hand in mine. "Us, Hunter. You can call us. I'm part of the pack now, too."

She smiled. "Then I guess I'll just have to put you on speed dial. But yes, I'll go with you this weekend."

"All weekend? We stay on the cliffs Friday and Saturday nights."

She frowned. "Like…camping?"

"If we're not partying, we're sleeping. So yes. Tents, bonfires, and burgers. Oh, and chocolate cake. My mom, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-aunts all make this huge chocolate cake. I hate vanilla anything."

Laughing, she leaned into me. "Well, I will have to remember that. Chocolate. Milk or dark?"

"Both." I offered her my bottle of water and she took it, grinning as she drank from it.

"Got it. So am I going to meet all these relatives?"

Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I leaned back in my seat and stretched out my legs. "So now you want to meet my family?"

Groping for something to say, she motioned with her hands. "'Want' is a strong word. But 'willing' will work. I mean, I've already met your dad. He's super nice. So why not?"

"Well, before you show up and discover my family very strange, I should warn you."

She quirked an eyebrow. "About?"

"Okay, so you said that your parents and uncle taught you about our legends, right?" She nodded. "Did they mention 'the cold ones'?"

"Uh, yeah." Looking around, she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Vampires, right?"

I nodded. "I just want you to know that…now, you can't tell anyone. Alright? It's serious."

"I swear it," she said solemnly.

I took a deep breath and jumped off the cliff. "Half my family are…you know."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

I nodded. "My mother is half. Her mom, my grandmother, was turned after my mother was born. All the great-aunts and –uncles, plus my great-grandparents."

Sitting back in her chair, she seemed stunned. "Holy crap. This world is crazy."

I laughed and looked at her nervously. "So are you still okay? They don't take human blood. The hunt animals, so basically, they're vegetarians.

She gave me an amused, surprised look. "Okay? Of course I am. They make you who you are. Besides," she reached out to lace her fingers with mine, "I really like spending time with you. So, I'm sure I'll like them, too. I mean, it's only been a few days, but it's been a really nice few days. I thought I'd come here and be socially handicapped. But you treat me like a human being."

I frowned as she played with my fingers. "Of course I do. Have people been rude to you?"

Chuckling, she moved so that her leg was twined with one of mine. "You can't beat up everybody, Will. Snotty girls are snotty girls. But I can take 'em." Her green eyes lifted to meet mine. "And what you did for me this morning…Will, I was never expecting anything like that from anyone."

Reaching up with my hand that was on the back of her chair, I stroked my thumb over her jaw. "Hunter, nobody deserves to be treated like that. No female should be looked at as a piece of meat that's meant to please. You're a person who deserves respect, love, and a sense of safety in their environment. Three things that I'm not entirely convinced you've had a lot of throughout your life."

Emotions played over her expression and through her eyes. She put a hand on my chest and leaned in. "You're awfully smart, William Black, for a guy who has everything," she whispered.

I knew I shouldn't be actually courting her, but she was my imprint. No matter what was going on, she needed to know that someone in this world would care for her, would stick up for her.

So that's why I looked her straight in the eyes and whispered, "Not everything."

Gasping in a small breath, she stared at me for just a second before crushing her lips to mine.

I could feel eyes and glares on us. But not one fuck did I give as my body lit up like the Fourth of July.

Later That Day…

WillPOV

After I walked Hunter to her car and watched her drive off, Brayden gripped my arm and whipped me around. "Is there something you want to explain to me?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, pulling my arm out of his grip.

"Look, we're good about you running off with her, alright. I get it. You want a good cover and make it seem real. But what was that in the cafeteria? That was more than acting, Will. That was real emotion from you." He didn't look or sound angry, just curious.

Hefting my backpack up, I shrugged. "I'm just playing the part."

He looked me dead in the eye and said, "Yeah, but who are you playing? That's a lot of emotion to be sporting after only three days of knowing her. If you'd imprinted, would you tell me?"

Now, I did get angry because I was almost positive that he'd imprinted and hadn't told me. "I don't know, Bray. Would you tell me if you had?"

He opened his mouth to answer before closing it.

I started walking toward Aunt Tricia's house and sighed. "I didn't think so. Even though I'm pretty sure you did…on my sister."

I could feel him freeze behind me so I turned around. He was just staring at me, clearly confused. "You…you know?"

Looking around, I made sure we were alone in a sea of human students. It would be harder for any other wolves to hear us. "As an imprinted male, it's easy to see it in another," I said in a lowered voice.

Eyes wide, he looked around as he walked up to me. "So you did…"

I nodded. "I wasn't going to tell you. But you're my best friend. The only other person who knows is Jules. You don't tell, I won't tell, alright? Imprinting is personal so I'll respect that. But I need the same thing from you."

He nodded. "Of course."

We started walking again. "I told Jules I'd try to be objective with Hunter last night, but I can't, Bray. The pull is too strong. If there's something going on with her, I'll need your help. She told me she talked to my dad. Did he tell you about that?"

"Ah, yeah."

"And?" I asked when it didn't seem like he was going to finish.

"And he said that he does think something is up. I didn't get specifics. He just said that she as a person seemed okay. But her place was off."

Dammit. I didn't want to hear that. My dad's guts were smart and had never been wrong as far as I knew. But even though she was my imprint, I would force myself to stay objective about any information we managed to get on her. She still hadn't done or said anything that made my internal warning system to go off.

"Will?"

"Uh, alright. I'll talk to my dad tonight. Hunter said she'd go the bonfire this weekend."

"Good. The more she's with you, the less she's out doing whatever it is she could be up to. I know we still don't know for sure but it's good to be cautious."

I nodded as we turned down the drive. "Yeah. So…why haven't you told Jules?"

He shot me a sharp look. "Listen, it's weird that you know about it. Can I get some time to adjust to that before I say anything?"

I shrugged. "Sure. But hey, I don't mind. Honestly, if she were to end up with anyone, I'd be ecstatic for it to be you. That way I know she's in good hands. And if you're waiting for her to phase and imprint on you before you tell her, don't."

His expression was tortured. As we walked, I just kept picturing my sister's face as she'd stood inside the door, shivering in his shirt, looking half dead.

That was not a look I ever wanted to see on her face again.

But as we neared Aunt Tricia's house, I forced all this crap to the back of my mind. I always loved hanging out with Parker. She was so small and innocent that she reminded me that life wasn't supposed to always be serious. Sometimes, you just had to let the kid out to play. And she had a way of bringing the kid out of everybody. While some people liked to drown their sorrows in alcohol, I liked to drown mine in blowing bubbles in chocolate milk with a kid who always made me smile.

She was waiting for us on the porch, grinning, her blonde hair held from her face with a black ribbon. "Good. You brought Brayden!" she yelled, running and jumping off the porch to fling herself into Brayden's arms. Laughing, he caught her up. "Mario Kart, chocolate milk, and s'mores. Brayden makes the best s'mores."

He and I shared a grin.

"Let the games begin," I said as I left my problems out in the front yard.

---

I know, I know! You want to see Will, Brayden, and Parker. And you want to see Mom/Daughter night. Next chapter, people. I've got this. I'm now starting to figure out what you guys like. That's why you should review. Let me know the thoughts and feels! But remember to keep your guesses vague. Want to go into detail about them? PM me. Love y'all! xoxoxoxoxoxo