Lengthy author note and anonymous reviews thanks are at the end of this chapter.
Thanks to mc7575 for thoughts and suggestions on a rough early portion of this, and for later thoughts when I needed them. Especial thanks to Feebes for looking over a more complete draft of this chapter and keeping me from going seriously astray. I could not have done this without both of you.
I really hope that this chapter came out as well as I wanted it to. I think it did, but I'd love to hear what you, the readers, think about it.
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8/1/13: Ending of chapter revised to correct an "oops" that I just discovered.
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Narrator POV
What the fuck? The exclamation came from the entire pack, all of whom had reflexively phased in response to Jake and Embry.
The spot where Embry Call had stood just seconds earlier was now occupied by a large black-and-grey wolf. He didn't appear to be freaking out the way all the others had during their first phase, but that could have been because none of them had been under attack by another wolf at the moment they'd changed-an imminent attack would do wonders for prioritizing one's thoughts. Though, it was also possible that this calm was only due to the fact that Embry didn't yet realize that anything was different about him. The shock of Embry's transformation didn't stop Jacob's charge, and he slammed into the newest wolf, who somehow managed to sink his teeth into Jake's shoulder as he was bowled over. The reddish wolf shook him off, and both were instantly back on their feet and circling. Jacob lashed out again, catching Embry along his flank and opening up a gash in his flesh that oozed blood. Embry snarled in pain, yet somehow instinctively pushed it aside in time to catch his former friend's hind foot in his mouth. And the battle continued, strike and counter, blow and reply, attack and defense. Clumps of fur and droplets of blood flew off the dueling wolves to decorate the Call's backyard. Yet the naturally fast healing gifted to the wolves by the spirits kept any wound dealt from being too serious, almost instantly sealing over the gashes left by claws or teeth, knitting together skin, muscles, and bones.
For the pack, it was like a train or car wreck, impossible to prevent from it happening or to stop themselves from watching. All except for Sam, who had immediately started issuing Alpha orders to both Jacob and Embry to stop the fighting right that instant. The only problem was that neither seemed to be listening or even hearing him. Jacob was likely too enraged, and Embry too focused on staying alive to register the voice in his head that shouldn't be there, for the Alpha command to penetrate into either of their brains.
How the fuck is he doing that? Paul wondered. How is he that good at fighting with no training? Hell, he doesn't even know what he is now.
Man, what is going on here? Jared echoed. How the hell could this happen?
Jacob! Embry! Stop it! Finally, after countless repetitions, Sam's Alpha order at last cemented their paws to the ground, but stopped neither from baring their teeth and snarling.
He's the one who started it, Embry scoffed, staring Jacob down.
Well, you're both going to be the one who ends it, Sam decreed.
What, because you say so?
Yes, actually, I do say so. I'm the Alpha, and that means my word is law.
Alpha? Alpha of what?
The wolf-pack of the Quileute tribe. The pack you just joined—though I don't have the faintest idea how you managed it.
That was real? Jake turned into a wolf? You all turned into wolves? Shit! What happened to me? Why am I-? Why do I have—paws? What the hell?
Embry, calm down, Sam commanded. Yes, we're all wolves—including you.
I'm going crazy. People don't turn into wolves. This isn't real. This can't be happening. I must've hit my head, or fallen into an alternate reality… Fuck. I'm not talking. Why can I hear myself? Why can I hear you? The thoughts and questions popped up like kernels of popcorn jumping up out of hot oil.
No, you aren't going crazy.
Then someone tell me what the hell is going on! Embry begged.
We will, a new voice soothed. Embry, it'll be okay, I promise. I'm Jared Cameron. You remember me, right?
You know, Jared, I've only lived here all my life. Yeah, I know you. You tried to butt into my business the other day.
Sorry about that.
Maybe you should have listened to him, Jacob interrupted.
Jacob, Sam growled. I think you've said and done enough for one day. What the fuck were you thinking, attacking a presumed human? Someone you've called a friend?
He had sex with Bella! Jacob screamed, repeating what he'd said a few minutes earlier, before all hell had broken loose.
You had sex with her? Sam groaned to Embry, not so much in denial as in wondering what he'd been thinking.
She's my girlfriend. I love her, she loves me. Why wouldn't we take the last step that we'd been heading for from the start? Especially since we both nearly got killed today by—what the hell was that all about? Who was he? What was he talking about? How did he-? Embry's thoughts broadcast his perspective of the meadow encounter: impossible speed and incomprehensible threats. His questions were good ones, despite the panicked tone.
He was a Cold One-a vampire. We don't know details, but somehow he met her at some point in the past and clearly didn't like her. You would have been collateral damage—she was the one he was after today.
Seems to have been because that female we've been chasing—Victoria, he called her?—lost her mate to the Cullens, Paul worked it out. Guess she didn't want to go after them and decided to pick on Bella instead.
Cullens?
They're vampires, too, but there's a treaty with them, so they can't be touched. This one, though—and a mental stream showed Laurent's violent death. Embry howled. The sound seemed to break some kind of spell—they all abruptly remembered that they were standing in the Call's backyard. A neighbor could look over the fence at any time or Embry's mom could come home from work; the jig would be up in either case.
Embry, come into the woods with us, and we can finish working through all of this, Jared encouraged.
Go into the woods! Been there, done that, didn't want the freaking t-shirt.
Into the woods, Embry, Sam ordered, and paws obediently began moving.
What the—why am I moving?
I'm Alpha. When I give an order, you have to obey it.
For now, Jake muttered darkly.
What was that? Sam's attention swung around. Jake?
I mean that you're only Alpha until I step up. Then the job's mine and I make the rules.
Sam's mental voice laughed harshly. And you really think you're ready for that, Jacob? You're ready to take me on and fight me for the title? When I've been Alpha for two years, and you haven't been a wolf for much over two weeks?
What? Jacob was obviously caught off-guard with this, and shock rippled from the rest of the pack at the whole line of conversation.
Just what it sounds like. The only way you're stepping up to Alpha is if you fight me for it. Because, let me tell you, pup: there's no way in hell that I'm just going to roll over and bare my throat to an immature child like the one you're showing yourself to be. You'll only get the title over my cold-or at least bleeding-corpse. So, stand down.
It was a cold, hard, and humiliating truth. With how Embry-brand new wolf that he was-had been able to meet Jake blow for blow, the other wolf would stand no chance against the far more experienced Alpha-and they all knew it. With obvious reluctance, Jake's body lowered to the ground in clear submission to the Alpha's authority.
Jacob, you will phase back to human, clean up every scrap of clothing in this yard, wash away the blood spatter, and then go home. You will stay there until told differently, and you will say nothing about any of this to anyone until given permission. Do you understand?
Yes!Jacob snarled in demonstrable fury-both at the orders and that he had to obey them.
Go, then. Embry, please come with us. Sam led the way into the forest. Once they were far enough inside, he turned around to face the rest of his pack. Embry was in the middle of the semi-circle, with Jared on one side of him, Paul and then Quil on the other side.
Okay, Sam got down to business as soon as he felt the shimmer that indicated Jacob had regained his human form. Embry phased. Why?
Um...Jake was charging at me?
Sam's eyes lifted skyward. Great. Just what I needed. Another wise-ass.
Better this than him freaking out and running halfway to Canada like Jake and Quil did, Jared reminded him.
Guess so. Okay. Yeah, I guess in that sense you did phase in self-defense. The confusion about 'why' is because you shouldn't have been able to do it at all, no matter what the threat.
Why not?
Some of us in this tribe—though not everyone-have the ability to transform into wolves to protect our people from danger, danger like the Cold One who nearly killed you and Bella Swan in that meadow today.
This isn't possible. I'm not Quileute. This isn't my tribe. I can't be a wolf. Vampires don't exist. Werewolves don't exist.
Paul gave him a friendly shoulder-bump. All evidence to the contrary, of course. They do, we do, you aren't, and you aren't. Obviously, you are a wolf, so…damn, there's some movie line that's just about perfect for this.
Somehow that seemed to be exactly the right thing to say. A sense of calmness descended and images of a variety of sci-fi movies began to whirl in the pack mind. 'If you eliminate the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' It's from Star Trek, Embry-the consummate sci-fi movie buff—filled in the reference to Paul's quote. But what does it have to do with this? His head shake seemed to encompass everything.
This blessing is one that only members of the tribe are given, and even then, only in certain bloodlines. You're not Quileute-at least, that's what everyone has always said, Sam spoke gravely. But if we use your quote on logic...somehow, you must be Quileute after all. And since your mom is definitely Makah, that leaves your dad.
Who? Who is he?
I don't know. I'm descended from a member of the last pack; so is Quil. Jacob's descended from two of those wolves. Paul has Uley blood in a collateral branch to mine, and Jared's the same with the Black line. But theoretically your father could be any man descended from our ancient chief Taha Aki. Unless your mom identifies him, there's not an easy way to find out, the Alpha replied.
Jared spoke carefully, clearly thinking his words out. I think you're right, up to a point, Sam. But even if Paul and I got the wolf-gene just from one side, and from farther back than the rest of you, we're still full Quileute. Embry's only half, presumptively. Since he still phased in spite of that, wouldn't it stand to reason that his wolf-gene must be a strong one? Could that make a connection to the last pack more likely, even necessary?
A heavy mental sigh echoed in the Alpha's thoughts. Yes. Probably.
So what does that mean, exactly? Paul asked the question before Embry could.
It means that the pool of candidates is a lot smaller. Any of our dads, to start with. Maybe Harry or his brother, or Sue's brother—they might be close enough.
A wave of pain washed out through the pack. Quil and Jacob would have probably at least guessed this long ago, but now everyone currently phased now knew that this very thing had been Embry's secret lifelong fear, though one almost never voiced or thought: that he might one day discover that his father was someone he'd met or seen, but neither of them aware of the connection. Or worse, someone who had known about him but had chosen to never say anything or claim him. If he'd thought about it, Embry had always believed that his mom's firm silence had been because she didn't want him to know. But…what if it was the worst thing of all and she didn't know? Was that why she'd left home? Because Tiffany hadn't known who her son's father was?
You're saying that one of you could be my brother? He choked out.
We don't know, Sam answered sympathetically. It's possible, I guess. It could end up being my dad, honestly. He hasn't been around in years—no one knows where he is or even if he's still alive.
It'll be okay, Em, Quil's voice was quiet. We'll get it figured out—or at least we'll try to. And I won't mind if you're my brother, honest. I might be mad at my dad, but I wouldn't be mad at you.
Paul spoke next. I wouldn't mind a brother, either, but I don't think it'll be true. We lived in Tacoma until my mom split when I was nine. It could still be my dad, I suppose, if he came back here to visit…But even if you never find out, you'll still have all of us as your brothers anyway.
Yeah, Embry's tone was bitter. I can just tell that Jake's gonna be thrilled to call me his brother in any sense of the word. Maybe he was rushing over to hug me instead of kill me, earlier.
Nah, Paul disagreed. He was trying to kill you.
What happened before he ran over here? Sam asked. Paul, Quil, one of you needs start talking.
We went over to Bella's, like you said we could, to check on her after what she'd been through, Quil began. Jake said he wanted to explain things to her, but he just got mad when she let him know how pissed she is at him about everything. Then Bella said that Embry was her choice and that Jake didn't have any right to be angry at them.
And then?
Then I stuck my foot in my mouth again and Paul fanned the flames. Jake started to lose it, but we managed to get him outside and out of sight before he phased. Then he tore off for Embry's place.
And why did Jake start to lose it? Sam's patience was clearly starting to fray.
It didn't happen, Sam, Paul's words fell heavily into the air. He didn't take it well. And when he found out that they'd 'done the deed'…
How did he find that out? There was a mix of hurt and anger in Embry's question.
Because we could smell it,Quil answered despondently. And because Bella told him when he asked her flat out.
Involuntarily, Embry's mind flashed to Bella, and the whole pack was treated to a live-action porn show…The way her slick folds felt against his fingers, the thrust of her hips against his, the tight warmth of her body contracting around his cock, and then finally, the sight of her face contorted in pleasure.
Damn, kid, Paul's tone was admiring. You go from clueless virgin to that in just a couple weeks?
What? You-?
This pack mind that we've got—it isn't just for talking to each other like we've been doing here. We also see what each other is thinking about. You just showed us some of what must've happened. Guess you could call it the downside to what's otherwise a handy trick.
Shit.
Yeah, it sucks sometimes. You get used to it, or at least to trying not to think about things. But…I can't say I blame you for not being able to not think about that. I am impressed, my man.
Great, my life is now complete: I've impressed Paul Lahote. Embry took a deep breath. You'd be amazed what you can learn by visiting the library. But I did have some help. I'm guessing I should be thanking you for that, right? The memory of a stack of skin mags was broadcast.
'I am the master, you are the apprentice,' Paul quoted theatrically.
That's not how the line goes. Thanks just the same, though.
You helped him? Jared swung around to look at Paul in disbelief. How? Why? And why didn't we know about it?
I just delivered some reading material anonymously, that's all. Because there's nothing worse than having two clueless virgins—someone needs to know what they're doing. And because I was ordered to keep any and all bombshells about Bella and Embry to myself, Paul smirked.
And the fact that I had sex with my girlfriend is some kind of bombshell? Popping our cherries is some kind of newsworthy event? Embry asked. And why would Jake think he has any right to care what Bella and I did? Or any of you? And for that matter, what didn't happen that he seemed to think would happen and why did it make him mad?
Jacob—all of us—expected that he would imprint on her. Clearly, from what Paul and Quil just told us, that didn't happen. Considering that the idea was what's kept him mostly sane since he phased, I guess losing it isn't unexpected. Even if I didn't see you coming, why the hell did I say anything to him at all? Sam muttered that last bit to himself.
What the hell is an imprint? Embry demanded.
Jared took the question. She's the wolf's perfect and destined mate. She's our other half, the one who completes us—
The one who pops out the wolf's pups, Paul cut in. Only Sam and Jared have found theirs...so far.
Does every wolf get an imprint?
Most do, according to the stories.
Will I? The question was softly asked, and maybe not with the intent of getting an answer. Embry got one anyway.
I almost think you already have.
Paul, what the hell are you talking about? Sam demanded.
Think about how fast his relationship with Bella took off, and how little time it took before things got physical. You haven't seen them together in real life-I have. And Paul replayed his memory of seeing Embry and Bella together on the street corner in Forks…the two teenagers all hot and heavy against the side of the building… And that was just a few days ago. They went from that to what Embry just showed us in only a few days. When the hell else does that happen unless an imprint is involved?
A pre-phase imprint? Is that what you think this is? That shouldn't be possible, the Alpha shook his massive head in disbelief.
Paul snorted in reply. Well, apparently today is a day for the impossible. I could feel the heat between them across all that distance. Sam, it's just like you and Emily, or how Jared and Kim are. Possible or not, yeah, I almost do think they're half imprinted on each other already. And it might just answer the elephant in the room that no one's brought up yet: why did he phase because of Jake's attack and not when he was face to face with a vampire? What if the imprint bond was telling him that he could protect Bella better as a human than as a wolf? Okay, Sam, if you think I'm wrong…well, there's always that chance. There is one sure way to find out, one way or the other…and we all know what that is.
I don't, Embry inserted himself back into the conversation.
As one of the imprinted wolves, Jared took charge of the answer. You just have to look at her-meet her eyes and have her meet yours. It's like having gravity shift, where the girl becomes the center of the wolf's existence. Everything else just fades away.
So I just have to look at her? Why are we standing around here for then?
Stop, Sam commanded before Embry could even start to move. You can't see her—not yet. Not until you've got control.
Control? The question was low and dangerous. How exactly am I out of control at the moment?
You only phased an hour ago. It takes weeks to learn and maintain control. I don't want her—or you, either—getting hurt.
Exercising his Beta role, Jared said, Don't be bull-headed, Sam. You realize how much crap from the past couple weeks could have been avoided if you'd just let Jake see Bella to begin with? He would've found out then than there wasn't any imprinting and not gotten so obsessed with it that he'd attack a friend. And 'not get hurt'—if Paul's right and they really have already started forming the imprint-bond, you'll really be hurting them both if you keep them apart—especially now that they've hit a home run.
So you think Paul is right?
I think we all know that the instinct only tells us that a girl is a future or potential imprint. You felt that with Bella—so did I, and Paul, too. I get why you thought it was going to be Jake to imprint on her, with how he'd always felt about her. I know you didn't have any idea that telling Jacob that first night to help him calm down would end up snowballing into a 'situation'. That's not your fault. Maybe it's the Spirits or the fates reminding us that we're not as smart as we think we are. Sam, we all made the assumption that Jake would be the one she was meant for, especially when Quil wasn't. And now we know we were all wrong. Can't change that, but we can decide what to do going forward.
Embry didn't seem to care about the philosophical discussion taking place. So, when? When can I see Bella? I'm supposed to see her again tomorrow. And the pack again got a flash—but a tame one this time: Bella agreeing that they'd talk the next day about the meadow and Laurent.
It could be useful to get her side of things, Sam admitted. I just don't know, though. Don't say anything, Jared—I get that I did mess a lot of stuff up where Jacob is concerned. I don't want to repeat my mistakes, but I don't plan on making new ones here in place of them. We'll see how things go tonight, and make a decision tomorrow. He sighed heavily.
Something said a few minutes earlier finally registered with Embry. Did I hear Quil say that Jake almost lost it at Bella's house? Almost went after her like he did me? How could you let that happen? Jake's that out of control, and you let him go see her, but I'm doing okay, and I can't? How the hell is that fair? He was completely pissed off and about as willing to forget that Sam was Alpha as Jacob had been.
Watch it, Embry, Sam warned. Jake seemed in control at the time—and like we've just been discussing, I had no idea about the bombshells he was going to be hit with. What Jacob tried to do to Bella—and did to you—is indefensible and it will be dealt with.
There's something else that's going to need dealing with: the council is going to need to know about all of this, Jared reminded Sam. How about Paul and I will take him out for an intro course while you do that? Give you both some breathing space?
Both of you? Why?
Because we know a heck of a lot more than Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, Paul snorted. And, we're the only two wolves in the pack that Embry doesn't want to bite the heads off of right now.
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Bella POV
A strange and eerie silence seemed to envelop the area long after the wolf's howl faded away. I couldn't say how long I stood there, motionless, before time seemed to start moving normally again. I switched the laundry from the washer to the dryer, and started giving the downstairs of the house a cursory and unnecessary cleaning. I really needed to think, and the mindless routine of housework would be perfect for that. Embry and I were going to have a lot to talk about come tomorrow, and I needed to figure out what I could and would say, and what I'd have to try and avoid-and I only had until tomorrow to decide it all.
Initially passing over the supernatural in favor of the normal, I thought about the need for Embry and me to talk about how things might change between us now that we'd actually had sex. Obviously it was probably-certainly-going to be something we'd be doing again, but how was that going to work? Would we have code words or signals? A schedule? Parameters on when and where? Were we going to keep this a secret? Be open about it? I mean, yeah, we'd kind-of agreed to not say anything to his mom or my dad unless they brought it up, but could we really get away with that? I'd long known that my face accurately depicted what I was thinking and feeling, so a smart cop dad like mine just might pick it up. And Embry's mom was no head-in-the-sand parent, either; she might guess just as easily as Charlie had. I mean, hadn't she given Embry a box of condoms just from seeing us sleeping chastely on the couch?
But the whole secrecy idea might be academic now that Jake knew what had happened today. Did I care what he thought or said about it, for that matter? I didn't, to be honest about it. If Jake would really be so childish to try and tattle on Embry and me to get us in trouble, then he absolutely wasn't worth either of us giving another thought to. If he told on us, then he told on us, and we'd deal with it—just like Embry had said. Nothing would change the fact that neither Embry nor I was a virgin anymore. Sure, neither parent here might be all that happy with us, but we had been responsible enough to think about protection in advance and use it, and we were both coming up on becoming legal adults, plus had gotten to know one another first, so we were actually far ahead of a lot of our peers. But it burned to just consider the idea that Jake would be so mad at us doing 'it' that he'd even think about trying to get us into any kind of trouble because of it-just like it still made me mad that Jake thought he had any kind of right to be mad at all.
The more I thought about it, there was something really wrong about Jake's reaction to all of this. So he'd found out my boyfriend and I had had sex. Big deal. He was just my childhood friend, not my dad. And even if everyone was right about him having crushed on me, it didn't justify that or give him the right to be so angry. So why had he acted like that? Why had he been all caveman about this? I shivered to remember Jake's burning stare, and how I'd only wanted to get away from him. I was sure he wouldn't have hurt me—wasn't I? But to glare like that, and shake so badly that his friends had pushed and pulled him out of my house…
The backyard. The shaking. The howl. In a rush of speed and rare coordination, I bolted for the door and outside. My eyes caught sight of bits of something that weren't part of the forest landscape, just inside the treeline. For the first time since 'That Day', I willingly walked into the forest behind my house. I hadn't minded the trips Embry and I had made searching for the meadow, but the initial thought of walking back toward the place where my life had shattered was almost unbearable. And I was in the grip of insatiable curiosity—I had to know what was going on. The thought that Laurent could be out there, waiting for another chance to get me almost made me turn back, but I didn't. If he wanted to kill me for Victoria badly enough, he'd find a way to do it no matter where I was. So with a deep breath, I stepped forward. Carefully approaching and crouching down, I realized they were fragments of fabric and rubber.
"What's made of fabric and rubber?" I tried to puzzle through it. It wasn't until I looked down at myself that it started to make sense. "Clothes and shoes," I spoke out loud. But what were fragments of clothing and shoes doing here, right where Jake and his friends had disappeared? I looked around some more and found even more shredded fragments, in a variety of colors and textures. What had happened here? I gathered up everything I could find and then registered something else: strangely shaped indentations in the soil under and around where the remnants had rested. Paw-prints? Shaking my head in confusion, I returned to the house to try and figure all this out-along with everything else.
Switching a load of laundry from the washer to the dryer, I tried to pick up where I'd left off earlier. But there really wasn't much else I could consider about the whole sex issue until Embry and I talked and until our parents or someone else found out. So…back to the supernatural.
Could I really expect Embry to ignore what had happened in the meadow? He would have surely seen how fast Laurent moved, and be wondering how an unarmed 'man' had planned to kill us both. Was there any way I could spin this to both tell Embry and still keep my promise not to talk about what they were? When I listened to the question I'd just asked myself, I stopped dead in my mental tracks. Why was I thinking I needed to keep the Cullens' secrets? What loyalty did I owe them? They'd all left me-abandoned me. Edward had promised to stay as long as I needed and wanted him to-and then had left me mere weeks later. Why shouldn't I tell Embry what they'd been-what Laurent was? Laurent had almost killed Embry; Embry deserved to understand what he was and why it had happened. It wasn't like I'd made any vows of silence.
I started trying out conversation ideas in my head:
"So, there's this bad vampire woman who evidently wants to kill me because of her mate-"
"Oh, the Cullens got away with an unreported murder because-"
"The whole mate thing is-"
"I can't tell you about the Cullens-"
"Victoria is-"
All of them made me sound completely stupid and a perfect candidate for a loony bin. Loony. Alice. Anger raced through me again at the recollection of how I was now apparently in danger because of that whole Phoenix fiasco. Why hadn't Alice seen what the consequences of killing James would be? Why hadn't Edward or Jasper picked up on the mate-bond between Victoria and James? Why would Victoria think that Edward would care about my fate one way or the other? What pull did she have on Laurent that had made him leave Alaska, only to end up being chased away by a pack of wolves?
Silence...secrecy...no, I wasn't the one who'd promised not to say anything—but someone else had. It was an annoying niggle in the back of my head—I knew, just knew that I knew something. But what? I started the mindless routine of dinner preparation and tried to let my mind remind me. Finally, it did. I hadn't technically given any vow of secrecy, but the Quileute's had. I now remembered that beach walk I'd taken with Jacob just after moving up here-how he'd told me the 'scary' stories of how people in his tribe were said to be descended from wolves, even becoming wolves at times, and how they'd met the Cullens-Cold Ones-and made a treaty of mutual secrecy with them as long as they didn't kill humans. This made me really start thinking about Jacob, trying to figure out everything, seeing if it matched up, wondering when and how it had all shifted. Well, when had been weeks ago. There was that strange growth spurt that he and Quil had both gone through, the way his-their-tempers had started to get touchy. Then the day my truck had acted up, Jake and Quil had really gotten into it, verbally at least-which wasn't like either one of them. Next had been them completing avoiding both me and Embry, what had seemed like Billy's active involvement, the obvious lies and nonsensical explanations. The drastic physical transformations both had gone through...until now they were just like that Sam Uley and his friends. And on the subject of them, how had they found me in the woods that night? It was so stereotypical to say that natives were good trackers and hunters, but did that explain it anyway? Last there was the personality shift in Jake; from sunny and cheerful to angry and broody in just a few weeks? How he'd been shaking with anger about me and Embry...how worried both Quil and Paul had been...like they thought he might hurt me... Based just on the signs, it seemed like the rumors about the group and drugs just might be true, though I somehow doubted it. So if it wasn't 'roid rage, then would the wolf-thing explain it all?
Wolves... It seemed too crazy to be true, but I forced myself to back up and think it through logically. There had been 5 wolves in that meadow; Sam Uley's 'gang' had 5 members if Jake and Quil were part of it. All canines had an advanced sense of smell for tracking prey; Sam and two of his guys had found me in the middle of the forest at night, and Paul and Quil had seemed to know what Embry and I had done upstairs today even before I'd admitted it. A wolf-pack was led by an Alpha; Sam Uley seemed to be the boss, and if Quil's accidental admission to Embry and me at the beach the other day was right, Sam had been the one keeping Jacob away from me and Embry. Huge animal tracks-that could easily be those of wolves-had been found under the fragments of clothing and shoes, but there were no signs that I'd seen that anyone had been attacked by animals-no blood, severed limbs, or dead bodies. What are you missing, Bella? I asked myself.
"Hey, Bells." I practically jumped at the sound of my dad's voice, having been so deeply in thought that I hadn't heard him come into the house.
"Hey, Dad. Good day at work?"
"Same old, same old," he answered. "What about you?"
"It was fine. Hung out with Embry most of the day."
"That's nice. Bells, you know anything about that car parked out in front? The one with the tribal license plate?"
"Car? No, I didn't know anything about it. It wasn't there when we got back here to the house." I headed for the front window to get a look, scrambling to come up with a story Charlie might believe. My seemingly crazy idea about Jake and his friends being wolves didn't seem quite as crazy now: if they'd turned into wolves in the woods, then they would have had to leave the car they'd come here in behind. Yep, there sure was a car parked out on the street. I didn't recognize it, but that didn't necessarily mean much—I wasn't overly observant about that kind of thing.
Turning back to my dad, I offered, "Maybe the driver had to do something and figured that it would be safe to leave their car in front of our house. Your tribal counterpart could probably find out who it belongs to, right?"
"Yeah, he probably could. Good idea, Bella. I'm gonna go give him a call right now."
"Maybe after dinner? It's ready to go, and the La Push police chief is probably having his own dinner right now, anyway."
"Good thinking." Charlie gave me a bit of a look, but I just smiled and returned to the kitchen to serve up dinner.
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Sam POV
After leaving Jared and Paul in the woods with our newest—but least expected—recruit, I'd gone home and started the calling tree that would summon the full council to an emergency meeting. Perversely, I didn't give any reason as to why I was calling this meeting—they'd find out when I was good and ready for them to. While I waited, I soaked in the peace and comfort that my wife—my imprint—gave me, and tried to pull my thoughts in order. Emily listened in silence to what I told her had been done and said today, then offered opinions that closely matched Paul's and Jared's.
"You are the Alpha of the pack," she told me just before I left our house. "You and you alone know what's best for them. The council members have wisdom to offer, yes, but none of them have been in your position. They don't know what any of it is truly like."
Quil had been waiting for me just outside the council meeting room—having brought his grandfather here as directed and then been dismissed. He followed me into the council meeting room and sat where I pointed, his normally bouncy personality nowhere in evidence; being torn yet again between his two lifelong friends was a major downer. He wasn't the expected choice for backup, but my options had been limited. I was pissed off at Jacob, so keeping him away from me for a while longer was best. Embry wasn't back to human yet, and I wouldn't have wanted to put him on display anyway-especially given that he was going to be the main, or one of the main, topics of discussion. Not that Embry would have come to the meeting willingly anyway. Paul had been right about Embry being angry with practically all of us, with him and Jared being the exceptions.
Hopefully the time out on patrol would calm Embry down back to his normally easy-going state, so that he would be able to see Bella soon. I didn't exactly want to believe that Paul was right about Bella being Embry's imprint, but all the things he'd noticed about them—when put together—were pretty damned hard to ignore. But that only brought up the question of how exactly Paul had been able to use my order and keep silent about those things he'd seen. Was it him looking out for his brother? Protecting an imprint? Just causing mischief? I shoved it aside for the moment: I had other things to be dealing with just now.
The expanded council of elders—which included the parents of the pack's members—had looked up as Quil and I had entered, and their hushed conversations stopped as I, the Alpha, approached the table to speak.
"We have a...situation," I began. I'd debated how to organize everything I'd be hitting the council with this evening, but if I hadn't gotten it easy, neither would they. Besides, I had my own bone to pick with at least one of them. A thread of anger had been brewing inside me from the moment Jacob had threatened my right to the title of Alpha. I knew damn good and well that neither I nor any of my other pack members would have told him anything about his own claim to the position—and I'd never caught any hints in the pack mind that it had slipped out—so it had to have come from his father. As much as I'd admired Billy Black and relied on his advice and support these past couple years, I now resented him that much. He knew the theory of how the pack hierarchy was structured and maintained, so telling Jake that he would automatically rise to the title someday…well, it was too bad, so sad for him that his generation hadn't been the one to phase, but to try and live that through his son and the rest of us… I hoped that it was somehow just him making the same kind of well-intentioned mistake that I'd made during Jake's first night in the pack, and that Billy hadn't dreamed that Jacob would take his words and run with them like he had just done. I knew that my order to Jacob would have held and kept him from saying anything about this to his father, so I'd just have to decide when and how to bring it up. I spared one last moment to wonder what Billy had been thinking then—and other times recently—before pushing that into the background as well.
"What situation is that?" Billy Black asked.
"Jacob Black phased in front of Embry Call this afternoon and attacked him," the statement was given flatly.
"What?"
"Why?"
Chaos erupted. The idea that one of the tribe's protectors would lose control so badly as to phase in public and then attack a human was almost unthinkable. Yet the elders would either have to accept that it had in fact happened, or call me a liar.
"How is that possible? There must be some mistake." Not too surprisingly, in view of my recent thoughts, it was Billy who expressed the doubt.
"There is no mistake," I denied, in a flat not-to-be-argued-with tone. "The entire pack was present and witnessed the incident."
"Why did this happen?" Old Quil asked, seeing that Billy was incapable of doing so. With a single look and gesture, he silenced the deafening sounds of the council's reactions. "Sam, do you know what provocation there could have been for young Jacob to attack his friend Embry?"
"Was Embry hurt?" Sue gasped, with a nurse's concern, before I could answer our eldest elder. She'd dealt with a number of conventional animal attacks in her career, and would know well that a werewolf could do far worse things.
"He's alright physically," I reported, "as is Jacob. They each took a few wounds and gave a few, but they both healed up quickly. I ordered Jacob to go home and Embry's out with Jared and Paul."
"What?"
"Why?"
The questions burst forth from more than one council member.
"How could Embry have hurt Jacob in any way?" Billy wanted to know.
"Because a couple of seconds after Jacob phased, so did Embry."
"Embry Call is a wolf?" Harry Clearwater gasped.
"He is," I confirmed.
"Sam," Old Quil gave me as much of a command as he could. "Explain everything from the beginning, please."
I sighed heavily. "The pack encountered a vampire in the forest again today. He nearly killed Bella Swan and Embry Call before the pack was able to intervene. After he was destroyed, Jacob, along with Paul and young Quil here, went to Bella's house to check on her well-being. From what has been relayed to me since then, there was some kind of argument between Jacob and Bella about her and Embry. That argument—over the progression of Embry and Bella's relationship—and drove Jacob to immediately go to Embry's house to confront him about his relationship with Bella. Embry was not receptive to the criticism and provoked Jacob instead of trying to calm the situation. Jacob lost control, phased, and charged toward Embry. That was when Embry phased. They engaged in a short but violent fight before they could be separated."
"How is that possible?" Jared's father, James Cameron, questioned. "He's Makah, isn't he?"
"That's what has always been believed," Sue confirmed. "Tiffany Call came here while she was pregnant with Embry, and everyone just assumed the father had been left behind, for whatever reason. But obviously, since he phased, he must be part Quileute as well."
"So who was his father?" Caleb Lahote asked.
"Likely the only one who can tell us is Tiffany herself," I answered. "Which means we may well have to tell her why we need to know-unless she's told Embry who his father is." And that was something I knew hadn't happened, based on what Embry had told the pack today.
"She hasn't," Quil interrupted almost before he knew he was doing it. He got a severe frown from his grandfather for the lack of manners, but the elder also gestured for his namesake grandson to keep talking. "She's never told him who his father is-was. His birth certificate is blank, too-he checked once."
"But to tell an outsider one of our deepest secrets," Billy clearly wasn't happy with the idea.
"The parents of pack members are informed of this secret, for the well-being of everyone," Sue reminded him. "Makah or not, Tiffany is Embry's mother. She shouldn't be put at risk, or their relationship jeopardized, out of nit-picky rule-following."
"We may not have a choice, Billy," Harry spoke slowly. "If we want to know who the father was-which we need to find out-then if telling her is the only way to get the information, that's what will have to happen. Do you want one of us to do it, Sam?"
I shook my head. However tempting the idea, as Alpha the task was rightly mine. "My pack, my responsibility. I'll tell her, and maybe have my mom come along so Tiffany has someone to talk to who's been through this." Belated I added, "If you're willing to help, Mom."
Alison Uley, my mother and sole parent for practically as long as I could remember, gave me a knowing look from her seat among the secondary members of the council, and then nodded agreement.
"That would be acceptable," Old Quil judged. "What else do we need to know?"
"That it was not only the revelation of the extent of Embry and Bella's relationship—" I felt like I was overusing the word 'relationship', but I didn't really want to use any of the other options. "—it was also the fact that Jacob did not imprint on her when he saw her earlier today."
"That's not possible," Billy exclaimed.
"Both Paul and Quil confirm that nothing happened when he looked directly into her eyes this afternoon."
"'The extent of their relationship' meaning what?" Old Quil pressed.
My cheeks actually flamed a bit. "It appears that in the time between when they fled the meadow and when Jacob and the others arrived at Bella's house, she and Embry… physically affirmed the fact that they were still alive."
"You're saying that Embry Call and Bella Swan had sex?" Marisol Lahote, Paul's mother asked—I guess there isn't a need to ask which parent Paul takes after, I thought inanely.
"Yes. Jacob didn't react well to either revelation."
"Was Bella hurt or threatened?" Sue wanted to know.
"No. Paul and Quil were able to get Jacob outside and out of sight before he phased. She didn't see anything. She didn't appear to have taken any injuries from the meadow experience, either. Bella is safe at home with her father. Embry, as I said, is out with Jared and Paul, learning the ropes. Hopefully he'll master things quickly and be able to phase back to human. He'll need to see Bella again soon."
"What? He can't do that!"
"Yes, he can, Billy," I was in no mood to put up with any more defiance from any member of the Black family tonight. "Based on things that several pack members have observed, we need a meeting between them to confirm whether or not an imprinting is in progress, which we have come believe is the case."
"She was supposed to be Jacob's imprint," Billy tried to continue the argument.
"That was our assumption—all of us. Clearly, though, it has been proven to be wrong. Just as we were mistaken to keep Jacob away from Bella for so long. If he'd looked at her sooner, he would have known it would not happen."
"You suspected something like this, didn't you?" Young Quil asked his grandfather, earning them confused looks from everyone else.
"Explain," I ordered. And Quil did so, describing a talk he'd had with his namesake grandfather just after he'd phased.
(flashback)
Quil POV
"The Spirits send signs, but the interpretation belongs to the one who receives them," Grandfather pronounced.
"So if Sam's sure that Jake will imprint on Bella, then that settles it, right?" I'd asked.
"Perhaps."
"Grandfather," I groaned. He was often spouting such vague responses.
"The Alpha has wisdom and insight. I have heard his beliefs. I have heard that young Jacob feels strongly tied to this girl. Do you?"
I shook my head. "She's nice, and it's not like being around her has been a bother; but I don't feel that strongly about her, not like Jake does. I don't want to hurt my friend like that. I don't want it to be me."
"Do not worry, my grandson. When you see her next, you will all know what is and what is not."
(end flashback)
Sam POV
"So you suspected it might not be Jacob?" I asked Old Quil.
"I did not know—as you did not, and as no one did—but the speed and nature of this relationship's development, and the way that young Bella did not have any desire to be around Jacob any longer…I would agree that there has been some question in my mind. But, as you said, until he saw her, it was not certain."
"Is it wise for them to meet so soon, though, Sam?" James asked. "The other boys have always been kept separate for a while—even from their families—as a precaution. Is it wise to make such a gamble?"
"They won't be alone for this meeting. And Embry's nature seems to be perhaps the calmest of anyone's—I don't believe he would hurt her or that this imprint would let him."
"But—"
"Enough!" I commanded. "I am Alpha of this pack, and the decisions about the pack are mine and mine alone to make. You have been informed of recent developments, but the responses to them are not open for debate. Now, if you'll excuse us, Mom and I need to talk and then go to see Tiffany Call."
With that, I left, not caring that chaos erupted again in my wake.
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AN: Reviewer Tylxor1 asked for a refresher on how old people are in this story, and I figure we can all use the reminder (even me).
Sam and Emily are both 20 (Sam phased 2 years ago, and their son Levi is about 1). (ch 1, 5, 9)
Jared and Kim had both just graduated from high school when the story begins, and are 18, coming up on 19. (ch 4, 21)
Leah turned 18 early in her senior year, and has left for college and will soon be 19. She's about a year older than Bella (chapter 5)
Paul is just now 18 and will be a senior. He's a little bit older than Jack and company (ch 4, 24)
Jake, Quil, and Embry are all 17 (as per what Embry told Bella back in chapter 8). I'm thinking that Jake's birthday is early in the school year (so he's closer to 18 now), Quil in mid-year, and Embry near the end of the school year (so he'd only recently turned 17 when the story started). They're all going to be seniors. I'm saying (like Jake told Renee back in ch 3) that the rez school does things a little differently from traditional American schools in terms of when they let kids start. Usually kids have to be 5 by the start of school to begin kindergarten. So the officials let Jake and Quil by that way, and I think Embry's smart enough that he could skip a grade and be with his friends.
Jessica and Angela are both 17 and will be 18 sometime during their upcoming senior year in high school.
Seth is a few years younger than Leah and probably around 14.
Bella is 17, and going to turn 18 early in her senior year of high school.
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Jana: Thrilled that you loved it. I can say that Laurent was always in the plan for this part of the story (my little twist on canon). Absolutely Bella and Embry didn't deserve to die, and especially not before hitting that grand slam. Paul is certainly something, and Embry's a badass wolf now. Good times coming.
T (guest): Happy you love it. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that things work out for all the characters.
KT (guest): Yep, Embry finally phased. I think that Jake and Embry fighting makes perfect sense considering what has (and hasn't) happened between them the past couple weeks, what just occurred between Embry and Bella, and the major reality checks that Jake is being handed. We can hope that they can somehow find a way to be friends again at some point. Embry definitely has a lot he'll be dealing with, too. We'll start to see his reactions to stuff in this next one.
Husna: Wow and amazing are great descriptive words. We'll at least start seeing all the reactions in this chapter, and I do have my (good) plans for Bella and Embry.
Guest(1):You might have a point about Jake having some traits in common with Edward. I think Bella's realized that a time or two as well. Glad you liked the chapter.
Guest(2): Yes, I know I'm a terrible author to torture everyone with where I ended the last chapter. This one picks up right where it left off, so hopefully that will help. Thrilled you loved it. Phase is accomplished, imprint is coming.
blackshadow: I hope this was soon enough. Glad you love the story. The imprinting will unfold just as it needs to.
Guest(3) through Guest(7): I would say I'm sorry this took so long, but honestly I don't think I am sorry. A great chapter can't be rushed. And since I want each chapter to be great, that means I don't rush. I try to write as often as I can, but I do have a life, a job, a family, and pets to be involved with, plus needing a little something called sleep. Can't sit at home all day/night in front of my computer plotting. I will say again that I NEVER hold back a chapter for a specific posting schedule or a benchmark number of reviews. No new chapter posted = no new chapter finished. The second I finish writing a chapter and running a quick spell/grammar check, the chapter gets posted. But I have to have the content written for this one, and that can take time. If I don't have the time to write or to plot, then it doesn't get done. And this time, it really took a lot of doing to get a chapter put together. I had some major writer's block and just couldn't come up with anything for quite a while. Then, I started getting so much that massive editing was required or else some huge mistakes in who knew what and when would have slipped through into this finished chapter.
To the reviewer(s) known as "Guest": I'm not sure if you are just one person or several. If just one, I do thank you for the 7 reviews submitted for this chapter. It got to be a little unwieldy for my response to each, and slightly repetitive, so I've combined several of them. I'd encourage you to think about registering with the site, not just to get alerts when a new chapter posts, but so that reader/writer can have private exchanges if they desire.
Congrats to reviewer jessikaC123 for being review #700 and to Emmalovesdimitri for being review #750 for this story on . Have to also give a shout out (though they may not read this) to Bex67 for bumping "The Wolf and His Girl" to the 2500 review mark.