Hello! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your reviews, support, and kind words! I had a few difficult weeks and the aftermath didn't leave me with the right motivation or feelings to write or update. But now that I am back in my little bubble, and things are settling down again, I am back to write and update!

I wanted to say that in this fic, I will probably avoid the imprint part of the wolves. Imprint and mates are basically the same thing, but there will be some differences marked in the fic. I regard Bella and the girls as the wolves' mates and not imprints. In my head, it feels less forced finding a mate, than imprinting on randomly.

The wolves as animals are part of the guys, but also, they are somewhat their separate entity. Though I will not make this so complicated. It's not like we will have Sam and Paul arguing with their wolves as if there were two people inside their heads.

Also, no, I haven't forgotten about Jasper. I'm waiting to bring him back. Just don't know when hehe.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope to update the next one during the week, or next weekend.

Enjoy and review :)

WARRIOR.

Chapter 6.

SAM POV

Paul looked to be in better spirits after speaking with Bella. She was resting her foot, like the nurse dictated, and was taking advantage of the time to organize her notes and establish a system to study for her classes.

Bella was nothing if not efficient.

Fuck, I missed her. Which was crazy since it's been only two weeks, and before leaving, I saw her almost every day. Still, Paul was miserable most of the time, and I was no better, no matter what I had told Paul about my wolf being stronger. When it came to my mate, I was no better than Paul. But one of us needed to be strong, and I felt that was my responsibility.

Since the ban was apparently lifted, and she was communicating with us again, I slipped away from Jacob's non-party and called her.

"Hi!" She greeted me enthusiastically with a big smile on her face.

"Long time no see, pale face." She snorted. "Are we okay?"

She blushed slightly. "We are. Sorry for the radio silence."

"Paul told me about the panic attack." I knew about them because Bella trusted me and Paul with this part of herself.

She sighed and explained what happened. I listened carefully and asked her probing questions to help me understand the situation better. I wanted to be there for her. I wanted to be part of her support system. But that would only happen if I came clean. I will do it soon. I didn't know when or how, but I knew it would be soon.

I wasn't a man of many words. I preferred the comfort of silence and quiet. When you ran a pack of teenage wolves and shared a mind when shifted, you learned to appreciate the quiet seconds you could get to yourself.

Bella understood that part of me, only letting me speak when I was in dire need to get something off my chest. That didn't mean she didn't ask questions or talk my ear off sometimes. With her, it was a balance between unstoppable chit-chat and utter comfortable silence.

At some point, someone knocked on her door, and she limped to open it.

"I come baring gifts." I frowned at the male voice.

"What gifts?" I heard her ask. This meant she knew the guy.

She forgot about the angle of the camera, lowering her phone. With the new angle, I could only see her and her visitor's feet, who'd kicked off his shoes.

The familiarity with which he came into her house and spoke with her irritated me. She was not my girlfriend. I didn't have any claim on her, not officially anyway, so it was not rational for me to be irritated or jealous about any male company she kept. Still, she was mine.

"Cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate."

She groaned happily, and I reined in my growl. I knew those groans. She made that noise whenever someone offered her one of her favorite foods. I didn't want her groaning like that with anyone else. It was hard enough that I had to share her with Paul. "Oh my God! I think you might be my favorite person right now."

Okay, offense taken. Thank you very much.

I heard the door closing and two pairs of footsteps. Seeing as Bella might have forgotten about me, I called her name. I didn't like how she forgot about me so quickly.

"Shit, sorry, Sam!" She lifted her phone again and smiled at me like I had given her the moon. It was so unfair that I forgot everything when she smiled like that. "This is my friend Connor." She swapped the phone, showing a white, blond guy standing in her kitchen.

"Hey, there!" The guy waved in greeting. He looked decent. Angela had mentioned something about a guy friend Bella had made.

"He ran me over with his bike." She explained, even though I hadn't asked.

"What?" Was he the one responsible for her having a sprained ankle?

Connor snorted. "Sweetness, I think you should stop telling people that. It paints me in a bad light."

Bella laughed, and my wolf growled. She didn't comment on the nickname, which meant she liked it. I didn't like this guy and his petname for her.

I fisted my hand, careful with the angle of the camera. I didn't want to come off as an asshole to Bella. That guy? I could care less if he thought I was the fucking reaper. But Bella? Her opinion of me would always be my top priority.

I know it's not particularly healthy to hold yourself to the expectations and opinions of others, but it was the truth.

I wanted to hang up and storm away, but that would hurt Bella's feelings or make her angry at me. I didn't want to be on the receiving end of her silence, least of all if it was caused by me acting like an animal.

"I'd love to stay, sweetness, but I have a date."

She gasped. "With whom?"

I smiled despite myself. I was about to make a joke, but two howls sounded in the distance, joined by two others. I sighed. I couldn't ignore whatever was happening.

"Sweetheart, I have to go." Bella pouted but nodded. I didn't have much time to say my goodbyes or tell her what was in my mind because my duties called, literally.

I phased as soon as I hit the woods and immediately understood what was happening.

Leah and Seth Clearwater had shifted. We were now eight wolves—the largest pack ever to exist. I fought the foreboding feeling that coursed through my spine. Now was not the time to think about why Leah and Seth were chosen for this pack.

I closed in on their location. They were being guarded by Paul and Embry. Those had been the first two howls I heard.

"Is everyone okayokay?"

I could feel Seth's confusion and excitement mingling with Leah's rage.

"All good. Maybe a bit shaken up." Paul responded. He'd settled down a lot since he discovered Bella was his mate. He still had his moments, but the change in him had been impressive.

"Leah, Seth. Do you know what's happening?" I asked.

"Well, unless I'm having a psychotic break, I'd say I'm a wolf." Leah responded with enough venom in her voice that I knew this was the start of a long road.

"Cool. So, the legends were true after all. I knew it!" Seth's reaction took me by surprise. He was the son of one of the reservation elders, so like most of us, he grew up hearing the stories and attending certain bonfires. Perhaps I hadn't given enough credit to Seth, always thinking he was too young and focusing on older descendants of the original pack.

I chuckled at Seth's words. "They are, kid. We protect the reservation mainly from vampires but also work hard to help where needed."

Seth nodded his big head. I explained how to shift back, and with surprising ease, Seth stood naked in front of me. When he noticed his clothes didn't magically appear back, he covered his dick with his hands, a dark blush spreading across his cheeks. It was a bit tragic that this kid's innocence was about to be taken from him. Showing his body should be a choice for him, but unluckily, shifter magic, or whatever you want to call it, didn't work that way.

Embry phased back after Seth and nudged him playfully on the arm. "You'll get used to it." He said softly, nodding towards his hands covering his junk.

Seth smiled nervously and walked behind Embry toward my house, leaving me and Paul with Leah.

It was harder to make Leah phase back, mainly because she refused to listen to me. She hated my guts, and I understood some of her reluctance towards me. I had broken her heart after I first learned about mates. Leah wasn't my mate, and I wasn't the same man I had been when I entered the relationship. So, it was only fair to end it before anyone got hurt.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, my wolf got tired of me repeating the same sentences, and Leah basically ignoring me. I felt the wolf get agitated, and knowing what was about to happen, I let the Alpha take over.

"You will listen to me, and you will phase back. Now. I am not repeating it." Leah might be new to the pack, but her wolf instinctively recognized my authority and lowered her head in submission, phasing back. Paul and I turned our backs, giving her privacy to walk away.

When I couldn't hear the footsteps anymore, I phased back and untangled the shorts from my ankle, putting them on. I felt Paul do the same beside me.

"This is going to be interesting." I turned to him. His face an unreadable mask.

"I don't need vague comments now. If you want to say something, say it."

He lifted his arms in surrender. "I didn't mean anything by it. But she's not gonna make it easy. And she's going to have a lot of unpleasant opinions when she hears that you have a mate."

I growled. Paul chuckled. "Exactly."

I wanted to ask Jake to handle the new members, but that was unfair. It was my responsibility as an Alpha.

I sighed and walked silently next to Paul to my house.

When I arrived, the entire pack, including Angela and Kim, awaited me. The girls hugged me briefly, knowing my history with Leah. Angela squeezed my shoulder before settling in Jake's lap.

I made the necessary introductions and worked on a temporary new schedule for patrolling. I paired Leah with Quil, the calmest of my pack, and Seth with Embry. If there was anyone who would get Seth comfortable in his new skin, it would be Embry with his eternal patience. Leah obviously didn't like the arrangements, but after her insubordination earlier, I couldn't care less about her thoughts on this arrangement. I was her Alpha, and unless I made an unfair decision, she would abide by my rules.

Jake and I answered Seth and Leah's questions and explained in detail what we did. It took us hours, but by the time we finished, Leah was less aggressive, and Seth looked less like an overexcited golden retriever and more like a wolf.

Finally, after the longest day, I crawled into my bed, exhausted but uncomfortable. Today was not the first time I had to Alpha order someone into falling in line, and it would not be the last time. I'd never felt guilty about it, but today, it had left a sour feeling in my mouth.

It was well past midnight, and I should have let my torment sleep, but I needed to speak to someone, and I knew she would understand. I pressed on Bella's contact name and started a video call.

She answered quickly, looking sleepy. Shit, she was probably sleeping.

"Shit. Did I wake you up?"

She nodded and yawned. "Fuck. Sorry. Go back to sleep, sweetheart."

She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "No, no. You didn't call at this time just for fun. Are you okay?"

I told her what happened. I left out who the new wolves were, but I told her about the Alpha order and the sour taste it left in my mouth. I unburdened myself, and she took it in stride, turning on the lamp beside her bed and comforting me.

I felt guilty about not telling her who the wolves were, but this was a conversation I didn't want to have at two am on the phone.

Eventually, my sweet mate was falling asleep on me, so I let her go, letting her know I missed her and I wished she were here with me. The smile she gave me made me happy and hard. I would need to tell her soon, or I would explode.

I hung up the call and devised a plan for the next time she came home. This situation was getting ridiculous. We were suffering unnecessarily.