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Chapter 3

Her dad explained to her on the way home how'd they'd met with the council elders and the leader of the wolf-packs, Sam Uley and Jacob Black about her situation. They'd had to "evaluate" her first, but if everything went well, they'd be glad to have her. He also explained the Quileutes deal with a vegetarian vampire family, the Cullens, the treaty and all details of it. He said Sam had invited her over to his fiancée's place tomorrow, to met the packs and get a chance to know the guys, and she told him about the wolves she'd already met and Embrys offer, then asked him the deal with two packs. Apparently, there were two alpha-males in the area, but unlike their fauna counter parts, they got along well, as the second one had sprung from the first. Then they told her to be good and come home at a resonable hour, monday was afterall a schoolnight, wolves or no, yada yada yada.

When they got home she went straight to her room, yelling goodnight to her parents. She undressed to her undies and put on a loose tee, then went to brush her teeth. In her own bathroom. Oh yeah. She did a little wiggle-dance, this house was great. In Achorage they'd lived in an apartment to be closer to the hospital her parents worked at. Not a spacious apartment either. Two bedrooms, one bath. Not big. She felt happy in her new surroundings.

She'd have to get her own car though, she couldn't very well run to school everyday, that might become a bit suspicious. Ooh, or maybe a bike. She'd have to do some serious ass-kissing to get permission from her parents, though. Maybe she could play the "I'm practically indestructable"-card.

She crawled into her double bed, stretched and sighed with contentment, then drew the sheet over her legs, up to her hips. All the new aspects in her life drifted around in her head, like, bubbles. Slowly sleep claimed her, drifting off into a quiet, dreamless night.

She was up by ten am, she had to be at Sam and Emily's by noon. She took a quick shower and dressed herself in a pair of tight, dark jeans and a black tank-top with a delicious-looking cupcake on the front. She dried her hair and put it in a high ponytail, smudged on some black eyeliner and went to the kitchen. Her mom was up too, making a batch of tasty, sweey pancakes with canadian bacon and eggs. She set a plate out for Talae as she heard her take a seat the the island.

"Morning sweety. That Leah called, she said she'll pick you up at 11:30", she said, flipping a pancake.

"'Kay, fanks mom", Talae said with a mouthful of pancakes.

"You pig" her mom smiled and poured her a glass of juice.

"Hey, you raised me", she retorted before downing half the glass.

She finished her food and did her mom a favor by washing her own plate. She kissed her on the cheek and thanked her for breakfast. The she went to find her go-out tote-bag and put her wallet, keys, waterbottle and phone in it. Leaving it at the frontdoor, ready to go, she threw herself onto the couch and turned on the tv. It was at least half an hour before Leah got there. She flipped through the channels till she hit a Family Guy episode and threw her feet up on the coffee-table.

Her dad came thundering down the stairs a little while after, ruffling her hair on his way to the kitchen. Family Guy ended and she went to go brush her teeth. Good first impression and all. She didn't pack or wear a shirt over her top, she thought about it, but since everyone would find out anyway why she was indifferent to the cold, what was the point.

She was suddenly hit by small waves of anxiety. Were they going to like her? What if she didn't fit in with their crowd? What if they were all jackasses and jerks? What if they really didn't want her at all?

She didn't have time to finish that freight-train of thoughts as a highpitched carhorn honked out front.

"Leah's here!" her dad shouted.

"Alright, I'll see you later!" she shouted back, pulling on her boots. She shouldered her bag and headed out the door.

"Hey Tay-tay!" Leah grinned out the window of her truck, playing some old Metallica on the car's stereo.

"Oh god, please don't call me that", she begged, crawling into the passengers seat.

"Aw, why not?"

"Because it's silly, and I'll start calling you Lay-lay if you do" she smirked as they drove down the road.

"Oh hell no! I'll just stick with Talae for now, thank you very much", Leah stuck her tongue out at her before they shared a laugh.

Making friends here wasn't as hard as it seemed. Leah was real nice and they had alot in common, so they just got along very well. She smiled at the thought as they pulled up to a cosy-looking, old, wooden house. A woman with long black hair waited on the porch along with a tall, buff, intimidating fella... with no shirt on... in shorts. She gulped and stepped out of the truck, walking towards them with Leah by her side.

"Hey girl", the woman came down the steps and gave Leah a one-armed hug.

"Hey Em", she one-arm-hugged her back, "this is Talae. Talae this is my cousin Emily".

"Hi, nice to meet you" she stuck out her hand and Emily clasped it with both her hands, smiling at her. Talae noticed the huge scar that took up half her face, but she was a beautiful woman nonetheless. She couldn't help but wonder where she had gotten it, but ignored that question for the sake of politeness.

"Nice to meet you too".

The big guy stepped down behind Emily and lifted his big lion's paw of a hand, "Hi Talae, I'm Sam".

She shook his hand firmly, not giving in when he squeezed it a little harder, testing her. She threw him a cautious smile, "Hi Sam".

"So, your dad told us about your whole ordeal. Tough story. You up for joining the pack?". Wow, this guy was blunt. Nice.

"Yeah, I believe I am" she answered with as much conviction as she could muster and squared her shoulders, "It was what I was born to do, sir", she finished of her sentence with a salute.

Sam smirked, "At ease soldier. Alright, lets meet the guys then".

He yelled with a booming voice for the boys to come out and she felt a tug in her body, wanting to follow his words. She fought against it, mainly because she already was outside, secondly because she was not used to following orders.

A loud commotion was heard from inside the house and a bunch of guys scrambled out the door. She couldn't help but laugh at them and Leah and Emily quickly joined in as the guys lined up in a half circle, like the good little soldiers they were. Ooooh boy... They were all wearing cut-off old shorts and no shirts, flashing their extremely toned, ripped bodies. Oh lord, why me?

She recognized Embry, Quil, Collin, Seth and Paul and Jared, giving them a small wave. They gave her a wierd look back, trying to figure out why this was more like a pack-meeting than friends hanging out. She guessed Sam or Jacob hadn't told them anything yet. There were a couple of unfamiliar faces too.

"Guys, this is Talae. I know some of you met her yesterday", he folded his arms over his chest, an aura of authority enveloped him, "but this isn't a friendly BBQ, this is concerning the packs". Now they were all looking at each other wierd. She offered them a sheepish smile, letting Sam do the talking.

"Talae is going to be running with us from now on. She's one of us".

"Great, another chick trying to run with the wolves" she heard Paul mutter and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh shut up Paul" Leah snapped before she could and draped her arm over Talaes shoulder, "this girl's the shit, so back off". He growled at her and she gladly returned the gesture.

"Quit it. Talae, your father tells me you first phased when you were 13, is that true?".

She nodded, "Yes sir".

"How has your progress been, with learning to control it?".

"Good, that I can tell. I don't phase when I get mad anymore, I got past that the first year. I can control everything about it fairly good, although I've never had anyone to compare too..." she said truthfully. "And I was a bit overwhelmed with the telepathy".

"Would you mind "test"-patroling with us later?"

"No, sir. I'd love it. I got a little run in myself yesterday, you guys almost caught me" she winked at Quil and Embry, whose faces lit up with realisation.

"That was you? Oh man, you're fast" Embry smiled.

"Come on guys, food's getting cold. Where's Jacob?" Emily budded in, thankfully.

"I'm right here Em", a deep voice came from the door way and Talaes ear twitched in delight.

A tall, gorgeous guy made his way down the porchsteps. Of course he was wearing no shirt at all and Talae had a hard time looking away from his washboard abs and well-defined pecks. His deep tanned skin was smooth and his raven hair fell to his ears, shaggy and shiny. Before she caught his eyes she looked away, blushing, kicking herself for being to obvious.

"Talae, this is the second packs alpha, Jacob Black. In time you'll have to chose who you'll want to run with, but for now, seeing as you're the newbie, you'll be under both our wings" Sam said, looking at her. She nodded.

"She looks scrawny Sam, you sure she'll be able to keep up?" Jacob said and she didn't have to look to know a smirk firmly planted it self on his face. She straightened her back, raising her head to met his stare. But she chickened out and decided to focus on his mouth instead. His full, plumb, juicy mouth... Snap out of it!

"So you're the one that outran us yesterday", he was standing infront of her now, "you must be as fast as Leah. She's our fastest wolf". Leah beamed beside her, very proud to be acknowledged. "Jacob".

She saw a big hand comming forward and she shook it. Mmh, soft...

"Hi, I'm... Talae..." she said shakily, finally looking him in the eye. For a split second her whole universe shifted as she gazed into his dark eyes. A maelstrom of emotion whirled around in her whole being, aching, hurting, longing. She though she was going to collapse before the whole thing imploded like a supernova, leaving behind a dull ache, like she'd just run an emotional marathon. She suddenly felt very connected to this man, whom she'd never seen in her life. Her body longed to hold him, touch him, be with him... She shook her head, trying to rid off the feeling, not feeling entirely safe with herself. Where did all that come from?

Leah looked between them with a wierd look, seeing Jacob as frozen in place as Talae as he stared at her.

"Alright, come on guys, food's getting cold!" Emily yelled, snapping Jacob out of his daze. He coughed and threw Talae another deep look before he followed the guys inside, engaging Sam in conversation on the way.

"What was that?" Leah asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know..." she whispered back.

Leah stared at her for another second before dragging her inside, "come on".

If she ever thought she ate alot, well, fuck. These guys were gaping, bottomless pits, no, chasms in the oceanfloor.

"You made all this?" she asked Emily, not believing anything less than a fully equipped catering staff could make a feast like the one the guys were scarfing down.

Emily chuckled as she sat down a basket of muffins, which almost immediatly, miraculously half emptied, "Yeah, sure. I'm use to making food for 20 people by now. So it's not gonna be a big deal to feed another mouth", she gave Talae a friendly pat on the shoulder before she got going on some grilled cheese sandwiches.

"Come on Talae, let's eat" Leah took a seat at the table, pulling the shy girl down beside her.

She was about to say that she'd just eaten a largish breakfast an hour ago, but it seemed pointless. She could eat anyway. She grabbed a muffin and started gnawing on it.

Jacob and Sam vacated the kitchen, and even though her hearing was surpreme, she had trouble hearing their conversation. She had a funny feeling it was about her... or maybe she just wanted to oogle at Jacob some more...

There was a lot of banter at the table, the guys were a tight-knitted family, she could see that. Sure, there were individual friendships and childish fueds, but overall everybody got along. She could certainly learn to love these guys.

They spent their meal getting to know eachother, and she found herself more and more at peace. She'd found a place she didn't have to keep secrets, or contain her personality. She could just be her, and they actually liked her. They laughed together, she could share more serious issues with them without being ridiculed, she just felt at home. Though she didn't share her inner most secrets and dark parts of her life just yet, she certainly felt a bond with them. They were going to be her brother and sisters, and she felt a kin to them.

After everybody had their fill, and then some, everyone pilled out onto the porch.

Leah hadn't left her side and for that she'd be forever grateful. It was nice to have a crutch. Talae was more than surprised that it had taken so little time to fit in, make a friend, be introduced into a family. It was nice. Beyond nice. It was fan-fucking-tastic.

Sam and Jacob joined them on the porch. Sam wrapped his arms around Emily, who'd been smart enough to put on a winterjacket, and kissed her cheek.

"So Talae, you ready for a run?" Jacob asked, sitting down beside her on the porchsteps. She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded.

"Alright, you can phase with Leah if you're feeling a little... self-conscious" he flashed her a wolfish grin and she blushed. Stupid nakedness.

"Aw man, why you gotta spoil our fun Jake?" Paul budded in, laughing along with the others.

"Come on girl, lets go" Leah rolled her eyes and snaked her arm through hers. Talae manages to give Paul a smack on the head as she went by him.

"Hey!", she stuck her tongue out as the guys laughed at him.

They went a little beyond the treeline before shimmying out of their clothes. She did feel a little uncomfortable. She knew Leah saw the scars on her stomach and sides, and she was grateful that she didn't say anything about. That was not a story she was comfortable talking about yet.

"Alright, lets do this!" Leah fisted her hands and looked very determined. Talae laughed at her, as she looked very silly standing there naked and macho.

She phased first, a smooth process taking a few seconds as her body morphed into a completely different being. Soon a light grey, huge wolf stood infront of her, and though it was immensly bigger than a normal wolf, they could stand shoulder to shoulder. Smiling, Talae reached up and scratched it behind the ear, earning a content whine.

"You're very pretty Leah", she said. Leah licked her face and nudged her shoulder.

"Alright alright, I'm doin' it". She closed her eyes and let out a breath. When she opened them again she was almost eye to eye with Leah's ashen form.

"Wow, I've never seen such a coat before, its white and... beautiful. And I can totally see what you mean with the long hair" Leah voice sounded in her head.

"Thanks. I blame it on my mothers side of the family" she said shyly.

"Alright, lets go show you off", Leah snickered.

They trotted out of the forest and up to the guys. They stared wide-eyed at her, like reality just sunk in.

"Duuuuuude... Nice fur!" Seth grinned and ran up to her. He glanced at her for permission. She nodded and he ran his hand down the side of her, "You're so soft!". She chuckled at him; he was such a carefree, happy kid.

"She's beautiful" she heard Jacob mutter, earning him a few odd glances from Sam and Emily, who were standing beside him. If she wasn't in wolf-form , she would have blushed, badly.

"Sounds like Jake's takin' a shine to you" Leah "whispered" to her.

"Oh shush".

"Alright, lets go boys, let's put this chick to the test" Sam said jokingly and they all headed for the tree line.

Jacob gazed at her as he passed her, and sofly ran his fingers through her fur, much like Seth had. But this felt different, loving, gentle... longing. She shuddered and threw his disappearing form a soft look. What was he doing to her?

"Dude, please keep these things to yourself" Leah gagged.

"Wait, you saw that? Okay, this telepathy thing is going to get on my nerves, I'll tell ya now" Talae grimaced. This was definitely doing to be a problem.

"Tell me something I don't know".

"I think he likes you" Emilys voice brought her back to reality. She stood in front of her and reached up to scratch her under her fluffy jaw.

"Oh, thats nice", her leg almost wiggled.

"You really are a sight", Emily smiled and stroked Talaes snowy white fur, gaining a big wet lick on the cheek, "Aw, ew, thanks a lot" she chuckled.

They heard a bunch of whines and grunts as a group of horse sized wolves came out from under the treeline. There were two, the black and the russet colored one, that were at least a foot larger than the rest. She guessed them to be Sam and Jacob. She cleared her head of worded thoughts and focused on feelings and images instead. There was no way she would let these guys into the deepest parts of her mind, yet.

She noticed they all had different colored furs, but that she could recognize them by their eyes. She also noticed how she was the smallest in the bunch. Aw, great.

"Hahaha, you're even tinier than Leah!" Seth jumped around her like a happy puppy. She snapped after his tail, just missing it by an inch.

"Alright, enough of this foolishness" Sams booming voice came and Seth whimpered and stepped back.

"Right, so how do we do this?" she asked cautiously, shuffling her front paws into the snow.

"Well, you seem to have the telepathy down, even more controlled than most of the guys in this pack. I know you outran the fellas last night, so lets see you keep up and how you fit into the pack. For now, just follow my orders" Sam started. When he finished his sentence a low growl erupted from the russet wolf, Jacob. Talae "raised" her eyebrow at him, as did the others. He looked astounded himself, as if he didn't mean to do that.

"Right, our orders... come on", Sam glanced at him then set of towards the north.

They partrolled through the whole northern half of Washington, well, the forest parts. Sam and Jacob was yelling orders left and right, and they all worked as one unit, one machine, everyone doing their part. She had to slow down and restrain herself a few times for them to catch up. It was pretty clear that she was one of the faster ones. She'd been told Leah held the speed-record, so Sam made sure to put her through her paces. She outran them all, including Leah, she was nothing but a white lightning when she hit top-speed. She didn't like taking that away from her wolven friend, but she seemed to be fine with it.

There weren't any threats in the area, so on the way back they filled her in on the Cullen family and asked her about her experience fighting "bloodsuckers". She told them about her first encounter, and the dusin she had killed over the years. As she was the only shapeshifter in Anchorage she hadn't taken it upon herself to be its sole protecter, just trying to get by instead, dealing with her own life and issues, instead of hunting down trouble. But, she'd had enough mind to kill every vampire she'd come across, well, most of it was self-defense, as the ones she'd met weren't real talkers.

She felt very much alive running with the packs, it was exhilarating to say the least. A great sense of belonging settled over her like a comforting blanket. This was what she was made for. This was where she belonged.

"Aw, we love you too Tay-tay" Leah cooed, nudging her shoulder.

Talae let out a playful growl and snapped her jaws at Leahs hind-legs, making the grey wolf jump awkwardly to the side to avoid her pointy teeth.

"Oh, cat fight!" Embry cheered, barking. She growled at him and started chasing him around, trying to bite his tail as he laughed in her head.

As they got closer to Emily's they split up boys and girls. She and Leah phased back in a blink, quickly putting on their clothes. She sighed, relieved to be free of the shared minds thing - for now.

"I'm going to hafta find some better apparel for this shit", she muttered, earning her a laugh from Leah as she struggled with the speed-dressing in skinny jeans.

"Yeah, you're gonna wanna do that, jeans and boots are hard to pull off and on, on the run".

They left the forest just in time to see the guys piling inside the house. Jacob stood on the porch, arms crossed and a serious look on his face.

Leah saw it and immediately excused herself, "I'll, ah, meet ya inside". She gave Talae an apologetic look before running inside the house. Great, now you leave me.

Sighing she stepped onto the deck and made a pass at the door, knowing she wouldn't make it.

"Talae".

She turned to face him, having a little more confidence than before, "yes Jacob?". But as soon she looked him in the eye the ache that pulled at her insides both intensified and dulled at the same time, almost making her dizzy.

The serious look on his face softened as he stared into her eyes, "Look, I've been talking to Sam. I know he said you'd be able to choose who to run with of the packs, but... we've kinda agreed that you'll be running with me... I mean, my pack". He sighed and put his hand over his eyes in frustration.

"Okay" She said, folding her hands behind her back. Sure she wasn't keen on decisions being made for her, but she saw the big picture here.

"Okay?" He raised an eyebrow at her, "are you sure?"

"Yes", she smiled, "I mean, it's only logical, what with your pack being low on numbers compared to Sam's anyway".

He looked at her in disbelief before he manages to gather his senses, "Okay then, right. Good". He smiled gently at her and it made her heart flutter.

"Good," she repeated.

"Okay. Uhm, let's go inside then, Em's probably gotten dinner ready by now" he said softly. She rummaged through her bag for her phone, found it and looked at the display. 18:34. She could stay a bit longer. Emily's cooking was fabulous.

He held the door open for her.

"Why thank you sir," she grinned and he smirked back, taking a small bow.

"You're welcome, my lady".

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