Bella

That evening, I watched as Sam and Emily entered the circle around the bonfire. Following quickly, Jacob and I followed. Dressed in the ceremonial garb of an incoming Quileute chief, Jacob walked with his head held high, his posture straight and rigid. Without words, the war drums began to pound into the night air, and Sam and Jacob took their places in front of the fire, poised to fight. Almost as if there was a silent signal, Jacob and Sam lunged at each other. Emily stood next to me, and quietly whispered,

"I know you may not understand all that is happening right now. There will be two parts of this fight. The first is to see which physical man is stronger. Once they reach a particular point, Sam will, as the current Alpha, phase, Jacob will follow and they will continue until one wins and the other either surrenders or perishes. The wolf who wins will then become Alpha and the one who surrendered will become his beta with no chance to ever challenge again. If he tries to challenge again, the wolf inside will die, leaving the man a shell of a man."

"Why can't Sam just surrender the role of Alpha to Jacob?"

"In our culture, a role given rather than earned is a role with no respect. For Jacob to gain the trust and respect of the pack, the tribe and the ancestors, he must fight Sam. Now, it is within his right to show mercy and not kill Sam, and I hope that is the route he would take, but it is also within his rights to kill Sam."

"But Jacob wouldn't do that. He loves Sam."

"But all the same, right now, while Jacob is mostly in charge, when they phase, it becomes a battle between instincts. Jacob will only be there as a voyeur at that point. He can only hope that his wolf holds his same love and passion for his former Alpha."

"Wait, but when we are in our wolf form, we are in control. Why would this be any different?"

"Sam explained it to me like this. When you are in your wolf form, instinct guides you but does not control you. When you give yourself over to the wolf's most basic instincts, the instincts no longer simply guide you. They completely take over. It truly becomes a fight to the death, unless the wolf has mercy as the man would."

Suddenly, I watch as Sam phases on the fly, and Jacob follows. Where the fight between men had been intense and rowdy, the fight between wolves became vicious and angry. Snarls, yelps, growls, fur, blood and saliva flew as the pack watched in anticipation to see who would come out on top. Before long, it seemed as if everything went into slow motion. I watched as the black wolf pinned the russet wolf to the ground, and just as he was about to deliver the killing bite, the russet wolf got all four paws under the chest and belly of the black wolf and shoved him off. Knocked off guard, the russet wolf jumped up and quickly covered the black wolf with his body and wrapped his mouth around the throat of the black wolf.

Collectively, everyone took a sharp inhale, waiting for the sickening sound of the crunch of bones. However, the sound never came. In fact, the russet wolf let go, stood up, and nudged the black wolf with his nose. Together, the russet and black wolf stood, and ran into the trees where there were two sets of clothing waiting.

When they emerged, Sam embraced Jacob and they walked back toward the bonfire. Once they reached the point of where they had been when the fight began, Jacob looked at me, and held out a hand as Sam did the same toward Emily. Once we arrived next to our mates, Sam and Emily turned, made a fist, covered the left side of their chest, bowed their heads, and knelt down on one knee. One by one, I watched as each of the pack and their imprints did the same, leaving Jacob and I the only ones left standing.

Remaining on his knee, Sam said with a loud booming voice. "Alpha, with my life both saved and restored, I offer my mate and myself as your beta. We will stand with you, fight with you and above all else, we swear to protect and defend our lands, our people and all of humankind."

"Beta, I accept your oath. Please stand." Then, Sam, Emily and all the rest of the pack stood as Jacob continued, "I understand tonight was different. I understand that it may be hard to understand what is happening, but I promise, together, as a mated pair, Bella and I swear to protect you, your mates, your families, our land, and our people. I simply ask that you will follow me as you followed Sam, and together we will stop the coming war and return to a time of peace and unity."

In response, there was a loud sound of whoops in agreement. Finally, Jacob booms out, "Then let us celebrate! Let the feast begin!"

Quickly, according to pack order, everyone went through the line and grabbed their food.

Suddenly, a voice I didn't expect spoke up from behind me, "Bells?"

Turning around quickly, there, hand in hand, is Charlie and Sue.

"Dad? What are you doing here?"

"As I am apparently of Quileute descent, as well as the parent to the new Alpha's imprint, the future father-in-law of the new Alpha, and the soon-to-be step-parent of two wolves, Sue got permission for me to be here. I may not fully understand all of what is happening, or why, but I know that I am proud of you. Whatever is truly going on here, there is definitely something bigger than us, and I am just glad that I get to be a part of it and your life."

I couldn't stop myself, so I jumped up, wrapped my arms around Charlie, and hugged him tightly. "I love you Dad. Thank you."

The rest of the evening went as the bonfires usually did, quietly, Jake and I decided it was time to slip away. When we finally made it back to my house, we collapsed on the bed.

"Wow, Jake, I don't guess I realized all that went into the bonfires."

"Well, tonight was definitely different, but, yeah, the bonfires are a big affair."

"It was good to see Charlie and Sue there tonight."

"Yeah it was. I was glad they accepted my invitation to come."

"Oh, is it not typical for families to be there?"

"Well, normal bonfires, it's okay, but when there is such a large ceremony for the pack, it is typically only pack and their mates who go."

"Ahhh. OK. Gotcha."

"Honestly, I just can't believe that I am the Alpha now. It just seems all so..."

"Surreal?"

"Yeah. Surreal."