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Music:
Trouble – Elvis Presley
Can't get enough of your love – Bad Company
The boys are back in town – Thin Lizzy
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Chapter 9: Paul – Observing
My life, how to describe it. Hay, I'm Paul Lahote, almost 17 and oh yeah, I'm a werewolf. I've got responsibilities. Like life isn't hard enough without this crap. No, I can't be a normal teenager, just worrying about school, homework and getting a job. I have to be an adult now.
At least there's one thing I don't have to worry about. The spirits, or something, provided me with a girl, a woman, my soulmate. Sure, I wouldn't have chosen her myself, but she's just what I need. She's beautiful, smart, keeps me on my toes and she's no push-over. But, best of all, she's older, more experienced, if you get what I mean. Yeah, she looks nerdy, but she's passionate and man, she can kiss!
But enough about that. Last month we had to deal with a lot of kids phasing. They're so young and had to deal with the threat of death so soon. Luckily we all got to live and go home. Now we keep on training them, showing them the ropes. Sam divided us into three groups, putting himself, Jared and me in charge of each group.
We were thinking, hoping, things would be kind of quiet after the big showdown. No such luck, the Cullens (we couldn't call them leaches anymore) got another visitor. Though this might be a good thing, the pups got to have something to train with, right. Maybe she'll step out of line and we can grab her.
Now, let me introduce them all. There are seven of them, or nine, Brady and Collin have more experience, but they are the same age. Brady is your average guy, likes football and wrestling, started to get interested in girls. Sometimes he's a bit overconfident. We'll beat that out of him.(kidding!) His wolf has a dark, ashy brown colour, appears almost gray. – Hey, I'm no art teacher, let's just say his colour is like mud.
Collin is a sweet kid, a bit shy, a bit of a push-over. He has a major crush on Leah, the once angry bitch. I'll get to her later. He'd like to follow her around like the puppy he is. Hope he grows out of it, he's got no chance in hell. He likes to please everybody and kind of goes with the flow. His wolf has a reddish brown colour. His legs, face and tail are a darker shade. He's in my group.
Then, there's Zack, I have to mention him first. He reminds me of myself in the beginning. Hot headed, angry, tough to be around. He's only thirteen, his parents are often arguing, he keeps things bottled up inside. Not good. But, hanging out with the pack helps him. He also has a mentor in Billy. Emily's good with him too, food and a talk with her often calms him down. His wolf is black, with a gray face and tail-tip.
Mathew, or Matt, is a bit older, but not by much. He's strong and stubborn. Him and Zack don't get along. He knows how to push buttons. Like me and Jake. He often needs to be reprimanded. That's why he's in Sam's group. Zack's with Jared. Matt's wolf has a darker gray colour with a black face and black legs. If he behaves himself, he might become a Beta. Years from now.
Danny is next. Not the smartest one out there. He barely makes it in school, he needs tutoring. He's a bit of a dreamer, likes to draw, you know, the creative type. Reads comic books, rather than school books. Has a vivid imagination, his thoughts can be fun to watch, but often you've got to snap him out of it. His wolf has a shiny chestnut coloured coat, with a dark gray line along his back.
Lucas, he's the jock to be. He loves basketball and he's thrilled about his growth spurt. You should see him move, he jumps like no other. He's flexible too, he moves thru the trees with ease. A happy-go-lucky guy. He thinks he's a superhero. Yeah, right! His wolf has a silver coat with a white patch around his right eye.
Last are the real youngsters of the pack. Only twelve years old. Poor kids. Oliver takes it well. He's real smart, the total nerd-brain, the grade A-student, no, A+. Even with the werewolf-thing going on, his grades don't slip. He'll probably get a scholarship to some high end collage. He's totally in control. Hopefully he can quit this lot soon and get out of here. His wolf has a light, golden brown colour (palomino) with a white chest and belly.
Identical twins Will and Adam, they're something else. Collin's younger brothers. We've got the pack-mind, they form a unit all of their own. You can't really see them separately, they move and think like one, even when they're not wolves. It's weird. They love animals, horses and dogs particularly.
Telling them apart? Only because of the hair, Adam has a mohawk. (eye-roll!) They're down with being a protector. (they're into rap music, ugh!) Their wolves have matching marks. They're a reddish brown with black belly's. Their faces are split in half, with one side being black. Will's black on the right side, Adam on the left. Of course they're the final members of my group. (sigh)
Coming back to Leah. Last month things got crowded at the Cullens. Jake sent his whole pack back to La Push. To join us, well not really. We worked together, but pack-minds stayed separate. Leah was in charge of the small one. She changed, seemed calmer, more relaxed and totally over Sam. Interacting with him in a civil manor.
Her and Emily started to mend their friendship. I'm glad she's happier. She obviously likes being in control. They've got a good thing going in Jake's pack. Though I wouldn't trade with them for the world. Stench-central, yuk, gag. But, okay, plans were made about the future and stuff. Collin certainly got a boost in spirits, having her around more.
The new year started on Monday. Sam took the first patrol. Filled Jared and me in on his encounter with the visitor. Strange girl. He was surprised to see Leah with her. But nothing happened. I got the second night, it was Jared's birthday, he got a night out with Kim. He'd take the night after my birthday. Schedules, boring stuff.
Well here we are, early morning January 3rd, it's quiet, a light drizzle rolling down our fur. The three brothers are thinking about parties and cake. They're boasting about how much they can eat. Starting a bit of a scuffle. Knocking each other around. I let them, for a while, just being kids. Until I pick up a scent, vampire, but off.
"Hey, you lot, I order them, pay attention, that visitor is close." They stop messing about and start sniffing. Looking for the girl from Sam's memory. They see her in my mind. Her scent is very recognisable. Collin is confused; "What's with this smell, we know she's a vampire, but I don't get why it doesn't burn. I don't get it either. "We'll ask Jacob soon, he'll know.
Suddenly I feel we're being watched. I look up, the boys follow my lead. And there she is, sitting on a branch, just out of reach. She's checking us out, not speaking, tilting her head. We do the same, for several minutes. Then questions start to pop up in our heads. I huff, feeling a little frustrated about her just sitting there. Thru the others I see her smile. "You want me to talk?" she asks gently. I give her the 'duh'-stare, with a bit of an eye-roll.
"Well, she says, I'm not sure it's fair, you can't talk back like this." But, my former family couldn't speak either, so I'm good at reading body language." – "What? The twins think, she's comes from a family of all handicapped people?" The question-mark comes out as an audible whine. The girl flips up side down, swinging, her legs over the branch. She's not afraid?! We could now snap her head off. As if she reads minds, she responds. "No, they weren't people, she beams, they were wolves." You know, the normal kind, less than half your size."
She pauses, checking our faces. We're not sure what to think. Why would she consider animals family? They're food, aren't they? She catches my confused frown and again knows what to say. "So, am I officially a total weirdo now?" she asks. "I don't hunt predators, for I consider myself one of them." She continues; "I was going to study biology, major in big predators. They fascinate me." – Oh, she just sees us as study objects than? Great! Just what we need. Yeah, you are a weirdo! – "Well, Adam thinks (Will isn't sure?), we'll study her too. Isn't she a rare specimen of her kind?"
He takes a step forward, and another, slowly. He's over the border. He sniffs her hair closely, making it move. His eyes go up, scanning her whole body. His brothers feel a little anxious. What if she attacks? But she stays very still and just lets it happen. Adam moves back to his brother's side, glancing one more time. He bumps Will's shoulder, holding his head high. He feels tough now. - My eyes narrow as I stare at her. I've had enough, I tell the boys it's time to go. They're not moving yet. The girl talks one more time. "No worries, she says, we're all just curious." You can check me out and test me." Anytime." Bye!" And then she's gone.
I shake my head. We're heading home. Well, we could do worse I guess. She could prove fun to have around. All our minds start to think about ways to test her. What would make her mad? We have time, our next patrol is not until Friday. Near Sam's house I tell the boys to phase back and get some sleep. I wait for Sam. He appears not long after I'm alone. Oooh, he has that certain air about him. He didn't sleep much. (wink) He rolls his dark eyes at my thoughts.
I show him nothing much happened. Our encounter with the girl surprises him. "Guess you're to intimidating," I chid him. He flashes his upper canines at me. "We'll see, he thinks sceptically, she looks harmless, but don't trust her to soon." He's always like that. "How are the potential candidates doing?" I ask. We don't expect them to phase just yet. We've got plenty of wolves to protect us. And all of those kids are under ten years old. "It remains quiet, fortunately," he replies. We split up, phase back and go home.
Rachel is at my house. I have the biggest bed. I crawl in with her. I wrap my arm around her waist, careful not to wake her. This is nice. I listen to her breathe and hear her heartbeat. It's a comfort, I can never get enough. Soon I doze off.
Hours later I wake up to the smell of bacon and eggs. My stomach growls. I stretch myself, get dressed and follow my nose to the kitchen. It's being used much more than before. My dad and me, two single guys, obviously it was a mess. Dad goes on dates, sometimes, but he doesn't bring them home. I don't blame him, they would run! (chuckle) Rach has certainly made her mark, adding female touches. We like it, we missed having a woman around.
I move in behind her, wrapping her up and inhaling her scent. I kiss her neck, just under her ear. "Good morning, sunshine," I greet her. She stirs the big batch of scrambled eggs and turns her head to give me a quick kiss on the lips. "Sit down, she says, your dad's already gone." She gets some toast on a plate and spoons on the eggs and bacon. It's quite a lot, but she returns to the stove to make more. I take the plate and pour myself a cup of coffee. Sitting down at our small table, I start eating slowly. Minutes later she joins me.
We talk about my shift, the pups (new wolves), the visitor. I tell her I'm not worried. The girl's weird behaviour and smell might actually work in our favour. My birthday comes up too, things we need. Enough food and drinks are first on the list. Presents, I don't know really, clothes are always good, and shoes. We talk about family and friends, the future. She thinks about her sister.
Talking to her on Skype is easy now. Her having studied computer science, of course we had to have a state of the art connection. And top notch equipment. Didn't I tell you she's great! We even play games together. God, I love her! Next week we, the pack, go back to school. I want to work hard to make her proud. Got to keep up with her a little bit. After that, I haven't given it much thought. Working outside with my hands probably. I don't want to be stuck in an office all day, that's for sure. We'll see.
The next night Sam's on patrol again. This time the girl's been on the move. They started tracking her. Good practice. She didn't cross the border. She joined up with Leah and her gang. But just before she let Sam and his group check her out. She studied them too. As she got sight of Matt, her eyes got big, she seemed emotional. Like she saw a ghost and wanted to cry. She whispered something like 'Boots' and took of. Leaving them puzzled and confused. What was up with that? Another thing to talk about.
My birthday was perfect. Lots of people having fun. We felt we could breathe again. No rain, so we played football. All the food was gone at the end of the day. We laughed a lot, especially when Danny caught a hard ball that sent him across the field into a mud-hole. Coming out slipping and sliding, looking like a swamp-monster. Hilarious!
Thursday night the girl didn't show. Jared and Leah had talked in their human forms. Apparently she had a special ability, adding to her weirdness, healing. She'd joined Carlisle at the hospital. Leah told the guys more about her background. It explained things a bit. She certainly was a rare specimen. What more could we expect?
Friday night the twins had something prepared. Well, actually, Collin unwillingly became a participator too. "Guys, I asked them while my nose cringed, what's with that smell!?" What did you eat?" Their breath was horrible. They chuckled. "Garlic chicken pasta, they answered, emphasize on the garlic." Let's see if she likes it." I could see their plan in their heads. Kids! "Just keep your mouths shut, I ordered them, at least until we spot her." Jeez!
Her tree, yeah she already got one, was at the end of our route. When they had to breathe, the boys slowed down to create distance between them and me. Good. (sigh) Besides the girl, who called herself Timmain, there wasn't much to see or do. The boys even looked forward to seeing her. Oh, her name, yeah weird, like everything about her. Taken from a comic book!? Danny was looking into it. I would use her nickname, May, much better.
We found her, lying on her back on the ground, hands under her head, eyes closed. She didn't react to our approach. Well, maybe a little smile. "Perfect, Adam thought, just the right position." He walked right up to her now, his twin just behind him. Collin stayed put, shaking his head at their schemes. Adam positioned his mouth right above her nose, opened it and exhaled with force. May's nose wrinkled a little, but then she took a deep breath. – What!?
"Oh no, she chided, garlic, vampires are allergic!" She covered her mouth and nose with her hands, holding her breath. The boys were stunned, backing away a bit. Then she giggled, started laughing behind her hand. It was a nice, infectious laugh and all we could do is join in. Tongues lolling out to the side, barking silly. After a while she managed to say: "Did you really think that would work?" I smelled it a mile away!" Her eyes sparkled. She added a tease; "Garlic is healthy, keeps the flees away, but you exaggerated."
Of course the boys were appalled, they didn't have flees! But they knew she wasn't implying that. I sighed, not sure why we were feeling so relaxed. No vampire ever did that before, or did she also have a gift like that Jasper guy? Maybe it was because of her differences. Come to think of it, they seemed more enhanced.
Her eyes were brighter, really yellow, she had a glow about her and her scent seemed a bit more salty. She obviously went hunting, but what animal had that effect? – While I was having these thoughts, May had gotten up and the boys had reacted to them. They surrounded her now, trying to determine the source of her looks and scent. She was grinning, their breath tickled. A minute passed.
"I look more different huh," she said. "Seals, she explained, very nutritious, four of us don't have to hunt for weeks." – "Wow, for real?!" we all thought. The twins started thinking about it some more. Their heads were filled with little facts about seals and other animals. A picture of a big, fat elephant seal appeared in their minds. We could imagine one of those filling them up.
Which of the others might have joined her? "Emmet, the big guy, for sure," Collin thought. He probably initiated it, he liked a challenge, something new. My thoughts went to Jasper, he looked hungry all the time. I hoped so, in my opinion he needed this. The fourth person? Hmm, maybe one of their mates. Eh, it didn't matter.
Saturday night May repeated her actions for Jared and his group. Well, without the garlic thing of course. After their shift we all got together. Jake was there too. He shared everything he had about her with Sam. His pack had already taken a vote, they wanted her to stay. Her real gift came to light by the way. Copying other abilities thru touch.
She was quite the fighter too. It made Sam weary. He wanted to interrogate her. It was decided we would gather at the oval field, where the fighting matches had been held. We would all be in our wolf form. Edward and Bella would come as chaperones and to translate. I thought Sam was being overly careful. But hey, he's the boss. The time was set around noon, so we could all rest up.
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Note:
Birthdays:
Sam: 02-01-1986
Collin: 02-24-1993
Brady: 02-26-1993
Mathew: 04-19-1993
Oliver: 04-25-1994
Zack: 06-28-1993
Will & Adam: 10-21-1994
Danny: 11-30-1993
Lucas: 12-01-1993
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