The four wolves sat around the table and ate their pizza and chocolate dessert.
"Alright Phyre. I know you were hoping to get your mom to sign off on emancipation. However, without her signature, you are still a minor. We have to contact Social Services." Jared finally broached the subject that none of them wanted to talk about.
"You do, I'll run." Phyre answered without looking at him.
Paul scoffed. "You are too new to this kid. We would be able to track you down before you got a couple of miles. Stay here. I am family and we are tribe, Social Services wouldn't have any grounds to deny that you stay with me."
She dropped the slice of pizza away from her mouth. "Is that an order?" She arched a brow.
Paul's lips twisted up in a wicked grin. "I can make it one. But, no. It is the smart choice. It get's Social Services off your back. You don't have to live off of whatever shit you can fit in your pockets. And, we can work together on tracking down dear old mother to still try to get your emancipation if you want."
There really was no logical reason to reject his offer. Though she was unconvinced that Paul's anger issues wouldn't be more of the same shit as their parents. And, she would not let herself be subjected to that again. With a careful eye, she watched him. Waiting to see if he got angry when she tried to defy him. But, to her surprise, he didn't. He just waited. So, she shrugged her shoulders. "Fine. For now. But, no promises about later."
"Yeah. She is really your sister, Lahote." Quil chuckled again. Then he stopped and looked up. "Fuck."
Paul growled. "I already thought about it Quil."
Eyes wide as she looked around. "Now what?"
A long, slow breath was released as Paul obviously thought about what to say next. "Our mom." He started. "Our mom was a Uley before she married my dad."
"What? She married my dad first?" Phyre was puzzled as she looked at her new brother.
He shook his head. "She was your dad's cousin."
"Aww, hell no!" She yelled.
The boys grabbed her up and threw her into the back yard just seconds before she burst into wolf form once again.
Paul took his time to remove his clothing that time and joined in as Phyre was on a long rant of curse words that would make a sailor blush.
"Welcome back Phyre!" Collin called out over the pack mind. "Hey Paul, does Sam know yet?"
"Pipe it Collin. Sam will know as soon as I can get Phyre calm enough to get there."
Phyre growled at the silver grey wolf in front of her.
Paul tilted his head at her. She really was a part of their family. "Yeah, maybe a run would help you clear your head. Stay here for a sec while I let the guys know the plan." Then Paul phased back into human form to let Jared and Quil know that he was going to take her for a run over to Sam's. They said that they were off shift soon anyway, so they would report back to the Sheriff and let him call Social Services. Then, they would meet up at Sam and Emily's house.
It felt good to run.
Every wolf found some measure of solace in running. The warm push of the muscles, the wind in their fur, the way the world fell away.
Phyre found that she was no different. She appreciated being able to get out for a run. More than that, she found a kind of high from it. Though, she was still unsettled by the internal instincts that didn't always agree with her mind. Paul had said that it was her inner wolf. Her more animal nature. And, at times, it was truly it's own separate mind with different drives and needs. However, most of the time, the inner wolf and the human could find balance. Running was something that they could both agree on. Soothing. Freeing. Independence.
Paul remained quiet. Only a few thoughts about his wife and daughter. Phyre had pieced it together to learn that he was very protective of his wife. Anna had a difficult past as well. And, they had a daughter named Rory. Phyre liked that name, Rory. She was around six months old. But, Anna and the baby had gone to Redmond to visit some family friends or something for a little boys birthday. Paul hated to let them go alone, but he had some other commitments that kept him in town. However, because Phyre was there, he had missed calling to say goodnight to the baby and thought about asking Anna to wait to come home until Phyre was under more control.
She felt guilty for uprooting his life. As angry as she was at everyone, for everything, right then; she really didn't want to cause a problem for them.
"Don't." Paul cut off her thoughts.
"Don't what?" Phyre replied.
He growled. "Don't feel bad about my family."
Phyre had forgotten about the pack mind. Her thoughts were out there for him to see just as much as his had been to her.
"But, you miss them. And, that is my fault."
Paul jumped in front of her. "Anna knows about the wolves. She knows the risks if she was to be too close to you when you phased. For some reason, she can calm my rage. But, I seriously doubt that she would have the same effect on you. It is dangerous for someone to be too close." Then a memory of Emily Uley popped over the link. Of how she and Sam had been fighting when he phased and scarred her face. "It is for Anna's protection as well as yours, that she not be home for a while. I love her. But, you are family now too. So, I will do everything that I can to take care of both of you. Got it?"
Phyre lowered herself to Paul. She just didn't know how to handle it all yet. Part of her wanted to trust him and follow his lead on this. That was the part that forced her lower physically. Her wolf instinctively submissive to his more dominant position within the pack. But, there was still a burning anger, a need to defy him. After years of being ordered around like she was a worthless slave just to do the cooking and cleaning around the house, she didn't want to take that shit any more. She wanted to go out late, get drunk, do drugs, have shit tons of sex, and anything else that was never allowed before.
She could feel Paul roll his eyes. "Damn, you are like me. I used to stay out, get shit faced, and sleep around a whole hell of a lot too." He shook his head. "No drugs though. Wouldn't recommend that avenue, ever. Especially as a wolf."
Phyre slowly stood again. "So does that mean that you are okay if I do the same?"
"Of course not!" He snarled. "Maybe some drinking, in moderation since the wolf metabolism is so high. But, the rest..." He visibly shuddered.
They broke through the treeline outside the property of a quaint little cottage. Phyre couldn't hear anyone in the house, but she could hear people several yards away, down on the beach close by.
Paul phased when he reached a basket on the porch with a collection of shorts and one dress for Leah to use. He threw on some shorts and held out the dress for Phyre. It took her a minute before she was able to phase back to human again. Then she pulled the dress over her head.
Phyre groaned. "My hair is such a mess."
"Yeah. Everyone ends up cutting theirs short because of how much phasing tangles it all up. Then if you phase in the trees, it gets caught." Paul smirked. Phyre rolled her eyes. Just another change coming. Great. "Come on. This way."
Sam, Emily, Jake, and Billy Black were sitting on logs around a small fire. Phyre recognized them from one of Paul's memories of the pack when he had helped to explain the wolf thing.
"Paul. Who have you brought with you." Sam arched a brow. He could sense it already. Sam and Jake stiffened slightly.
Paul stopped by the log ring. He wrapped a protective arm around Phyre. "Sam, Jake, let me introduce you to Phyrianna. Though, she prefers Phyre." Dead silence. "And, wait, this gets better... she just phased, and her parents were my mother and your uncle Thomas."
"Excuse me?" Sam growled.
Phyre sighed. "Well, fuck. If you are going to go all denial of the seventh level of hell on me just like cromag man over here, I'll just leave."
Jake couldn't hold in the laugh completely. He nearly choked as he tried not to break down.
Sam stood up, but Paul placed himself in front of Phyre. "You heard what I said Sam. This isn't April Fool's. You can smell that she is wolf. She phased when I made the mistake of trying to deny her as well. But, she has been through enough the past couple of weeks just to get here. Fuck, she went through the whole sickness while dealing with the death of her brother and father, then trying to hitchhike her way here and living off of whatever some sleazy trucker would feed her or she could steel from truck stops in between her days of unconsciousness. Days where she slept on the top of gas stations to try to hide and not be raped while she was out cold. So, don't you dare make this harder on her." Damn, he really did see all of her memories.
Sam shook in the anger as he had been called out. He was the alpha and demanded respect. Phyre could sense it. He took one step forward and then spun on his heels to head the opposite direction. He had only made it a few yards before he heard the girl whimper.
He turned to see her turn and run, shifting into wolf in the process. She was beautiful. Dark grey mixed with heavy saddles of black.
Phyre could hear them call after her. But, she did not stop. It was too much. Just too much. She lost her family. The family that didn't want her. Then, she finds out that she is a fucking wolf! And, she met a brother that she never knew she had. He said he wanted her, but she was messing up his life and his family. Then, there was the cousin who just turned his back on her. Fuck!
Why did it all have to hurt so much? She couldn't understand it. How could she have allowed herself to have any hope? No one wanted her before. Why would they want her now? Not as family. Not as part of the pack. No one would ever want her. It was stupid to even try.
She ignored the voices. Her own ranting filled her head. Memories of all the times when her father had said worse. The times when kids at school said worse. She didn't care what the kids said to her. But, her brother. Her sweet, loving, generous brother. How could no one else love him for who he was? How could he not see how much she loved him? How could he not see how much she needed him too? And, he left her. Everyone turned their backs on her eventually.
Her wolf tried to listen as Collin and Brady were yelling in her head to go back. To calm down. But, she pushed them out. She couldn't listen to phantom voices. She never met them. Hell, she didn't even know Paul all that well. She was alone.
She didn't know where she was going. She didn't care. She just ran, as hard as she could. She needed to find a way to leave. She would be better on her own.
There, through the trees, she found an answer. It was a garage. There had to be a vehicle that worked in there. So what if she would be graduating from shop lifting to grand theft auto at that point? She just needed to get out of dodge as fast as possible without the fucking pack mind shit.
Phyre was only vaguely aware that Paul and Sam were running toward her. They knew the garage and how to get there. So, she tried her best to calm down. She couldn't drive a car as a wolf. Calm the fuck down. Damn, why wasn't it working? Breath. One. Two. Three. Four...
Yes!
She ran up the door that was propped open. Once inside, she went digging around for keys to anything that looked like it could still run.
"Hey Embry, is that you?" A voice called out as a boy walked in and froze.
Damn, he was as good looking as the other guys she had met. Only this one was younger, closer to her age. With no shirt on! Dear lord, those muscles! And, she could sense that he was turned on. Fuck, she could see his erection spring to life as she realized that she was still naked.
Phyre was still on such an emotional roller coaster ride she didn't even think about it. She just attacked him. She sure as hell couldn't explain why she was naked in a business she had no reason to be in at whatever time of night. All she could do was hope he was like every other horny young man and forgets his own name when getting to touch a naked girl.
She latched her lips onto his and started untying the work coveralls that were wrapped around the guys waist. His lips parted and his tongue delved into her mouth. Oh God! He tasted divine. His hands swept across her back and down to her ass as he pulled her toward him more. Her body flooded with heat as her own mind fought to remember her purpose. But, before she could figure out a way to lose the guy and get the car, he dropped lower to hook her knees up and wrap her legs around his waist. Her core pressed against the erection that was only covered by his boxers. No other clothing remained between them. Just burning skin to burning skin.
To hell with it. She needed this. The connection. To feel wanted. To feel like she was making her own choices. To hell with the so called adults and what they all wanted her to do. At that point, she couldn't remember why she was there anyway. His lips had sucked the last of her logic or reason away. Lips that wanted her to be there, at least for a little while.
She felt the cold metal of a car under her ass as he set her down and leaned her back against the hood of the vehicle. Fuck, she was so damn hot and ready.
His lips finally left hers to trail kisses and nips along her neck as she purred. Her hands ran along the rises and valleys of his well defined muscles.
"Not that I am complaining here..." He breathed against her skin. "But, what exactly is this about?"
"Does it matter?" She gasped. Sliding her hand into his boxers to caress his very swollen manhood. His moan was more than enough encouragement to continue. Phyre had only made out with a guy before. It was not a pleasant experience. And, she had never had sex. That garage held a whole new world of experience and pleasure. Though a small part of her was still rational enough to realize that she didn't want her first time with a stranger, she couldn't think of anything hotter than the man she was with and the way he touched her. He wanted her. No one had ever wanted her before without hurting her.
Just as she managed to get his boxers to fall from his waist, another man walked into the garage. "Seth, where did... What in the fuck man?" The guy started laughing as he caught his co-worker in such a position. But, all laughter stopped.
Phyre had turned her head to see who had walked in. Another overly tall, well muscled Quileute man. But, it wasn't his muscles that made Phyre freeze at the sight of him. It was his eyes. Brown eyes that held an amber glow to them, like iced tea in a glass, where light didn't just shine on them, but through them. Everything fell away. All of her pain, her anger, her need to feel connected. She was connected. To him. And only him.
"Aww, no, no, no, no, no. Fuck. Embry! You can't be serious right now." The guy pulled away from between Phyre's thighs. That drew Embry and Phyre back to the situation they found themselves in.