Jake phased and the pack needed me now.
I entered the woods with Paul. Now I had to guard my thoughts. For once I hoped for chaos in the pack mind. I put my clothes in a tree and phased. Chaos was an understatement. Jake was screaming but it was actually howling.
Paul led me to where the rest of the pack was, far into the woods of the national forest.
LET'S ALL PHASE TO HUMAN SO HE CAN SEE US, LIKE JARED DID FOR ME. I suggested.
THAT DOESN'T SOUND SAFE, Sam warned. HE COULD ATTACK. YOU WERE WAY CALMER THAN THIS WHEN WE PHASED TO HUMAN FOR YOU.
HE WON'T ATTACK. PAUL, LET'S DO IT ANYWAY. I said.
So Paul and I stood naked in front of Jake while Sam and Jared crowded his mind with chaos. This was not ideal. It was stupid obvious that the people in charge should not have been in charge. Things needed to change.
I phased back to wolf and Paul followed me into the pack mind.
SAM, JARED, PHASE OUT. I commanded.
They did. They were both human a few yards away, standing in stunned silence. Paul was guarding his thoughts in the pack mind, just observing without adding chaos.
JAKE, IT'S ME, EMBRY.
YEAH, I KNOW. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?
THE LEGENDS, JAKE, THE LEGENDS ARE TRUE.
I'M A WOLF.
YOU'RE A WOLF.
CAN I NOT BE?
YOU CAN PHASE BACK TO HUMAN, BUT IT'S NOT SIMPLE.
HOW DO YOU DO IT?
FIRST TIME IS THE HARDEST. THEY TOLD ME TO THINK OF THINGS THAT YOU CAN ONLY DO HUMAN BUT THAT DIDN'T DO IT FOR ME. I JUST GOT ANNOYED WITH THE PACK MIND AND PHASED OUT AFTER A WHILE.
Jake laughed. THAT SOUNDS LIKE YOU.
WHY YOU TRY TO THINK OF HUMAN THINGS WHILE WANTING TO PHASE TO HUMAN.
I'M GOING TO TRY TO THINK OF SOMETHING HUMAN. IT'S GONNA BE BELLA, OK?
THAT'S FINE, GIVE IT A GO.
I saw an erotic fantasy of Jake's, one that I never wanted to see again, but he was human in seconds.
I phased after him and Paul followed.
"Great job, Jake! Are you hungry?"
"Starving. Why am I so hungry?"
"That took a lot of energy, turning into a giant wolf." I said.
"Hold on a minute, Embry." Sam demanded, grabbing my arm. "How did you kick us out of wolf form?"
"I just said it. Why did you obey?" Sam was speechless but I didn't care. I shrugged off his hand and started walking away. "Let's go eat, Jake."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jake asked me.
"Sam ordered me not to. He was alpha and I had to do what he said."
"Was alpha?" Paul asked, walking with us.
"I don't know." I shrugged again. "Why did they listen to me?"
"I don't know. Jake, what do you have for food?" Paul was getting to the important stuff now.
"Mostly ingredients. I can't keep junk food around because of Billy's diabetes."
"Perfect." Paul declared. "Let's have some fun cooking."
We walked to Jake's house and started cooking. Quil showed up halfway through. I greeted him happily. "It's great to see you, Quil."
It really was. It had been weeks. Quil was fun, always lightening the mood. The three of us welcomed him and he made a mess while we cooked.
After Quil left, we three wolves had a serious chat. "Paul, will you stay home with Jake for a few days? It will be your judgment call when he's ready to go back to school."
"Yeah. I want to drop out anyway. It doesn't make sense for me to spend so much time at school. Sam's made me miss too many days of school for me to be able to pass anything."
"Let's hold off on dropping out. There might be a need for you to be there sometimes."
"So are you alpha now, commanding Sam around?" Paul asked.
"Why was Sam alpha?" Jake asked. "He's unhinged."
"Yes, he is unhinged. I don't know if I'm alpha now. I know as much as you do."
"Tell me what to do." Paul suggested.
"Paul, sit down." I said.
"No, not like that, with the voice you used in the forest." Jake said.
"What voice?" I asked
"It was deeper somehow." Jake said.
"Huh. Maybe I can't make a command frivolously." I suggested.
"That would make sense." Paul agreed.
"Or maybe I'm not alpha."
Paul said, "But I don't think Sam is alpha now. He ordered you to stay away from Jake and Quil until they phased, but you welcomed Quil in."
"Maybe he worded it badly. Like, since Jake phased, the order is dropped."
"Could be."
Billy Black rolled in just then.
"Dad, we saved you some leftovers." Jake said cheerily.
"Oh thanks, but I ate at Charlie's. I told Bella you were still sick, Jake."
"You didn't have to do that. I'm feeling fine now. In fact, we're having a little discussion about the pack leadership. Earlier, Embry told Sam and Jared to phase to human. They both did, but then they asked Embry how he was able to command them to do that."
Billy looked at me, looked all over my face. For what, I don't know. "Huh. Why did you tell them to do that, Embry?"
"They were creating chaos in the pack mind and Jake needed to figure out how to phase back."
"And did it work? Did kicking them out of the pack mind help Jake phase back?"
"Yeah, he phased back pretty quickly without their chaos."
"Huh."
"Does that make him alpha now?" Jake asked.
"It could have. I'll have to talk to the elders and have a council meeting."
"So the elders have to approve the alpha?" I asked.
"No. The pack decides the alpha, not the elders. But we need to know about it. I'm calling a meeting."
The pack decides the alpha? Then how was Sam chosen? Was it by vote? I wondered if Jake phasing was what tipped me into being alpha tonight, since Paul, Jake and I would rather I lead then Sam. Therefore, we voted him out. Maybe it was that simple.
"We have to go to a meeting now?" Jake whined. "It's 8pm."
"Now." Billy said stoically. "Go to the meeting hall and wait, all of you. We will need your testimony. I will gather the rest of the pack and the council." He went to the door, then turned to look at me. "Embry, do you want the position of alpha?"
Somehow I had not considered this question. I knew I didn't want Sam to have it. Jared had no backbone. Jake wouldn't take it seriously. The only other serious candidate was Paul, but I knew that my temperament was better suited to it than Paul. He was too quick tempered, too rash in his decision making. "Yes," I said after thinking it over.
Billy nodded, then left with a steely resolve. We weren't waiting long in the meeting hall before people came trickling in. Jared came before Sam. Jared didn't talk to us. He just glared from a corner.
Mr. Clearwater came in and approached me. "It seems like you're stirring things up."
"Yes, sir. I should have realized you were on the council."
"Yes, and Seth is likely to phase before long." He grabbed my elbow and gently led me to a vacant corner. "What's going on between you and Leah?"
"Nothing sir, I'm just trying to get to know her, sir."
"Did you imprint on her?"
"Yes, I imprinted on her." I answered honestly.
"Have you told her?"
I shook my head.
"You should tell her."
"Sure, but I don't think she likes me enough for that to make sense yet."
"You don't know her well."
"True. I'll try, but we really haven't spoken much. We spoke more at your house earlier than we ever have before."
"Good luck. With my daughter, you'll need it." He grinned at me. "And you can call me Harry. I'll be fair tonight, not that my decision counts for anything, but if Leah's your imprint, I'm on your side."
We were silenced as Sam and Billy came into the meeting hall, the last to arrive. Even though Billy was in a wheelchair, his presence was so much grander than Sam's, much grander than everyone else in the whole hall.
Everyone took a seat. Billy addressed the room. "Today, Jacob Black, my son, told me that Embry Call gave an alpha order to Sam Uley and Jared Cameron. Jacob said they obeyed that order. Sam, Jared, is that correct?"
Jared nodded but Sam hesitated.
Harry spoke up. "Sam, did you obey his order?"
Sam nodded.
"And was it in the alpha timber?"
Sam nodded again.
"And is he the alpha?"
Sam did not nod.
"Speak, Sam." Harry commanded.
"I don't know. He's only been a wolf for a month. He knows nothing about killing vampires or imprinting. Why should we follow him? He is a bastard. Not even Quileute."
A murmur arose, some in offense and some in defense of Sam's words.
"Hush." Billy commanded and they did.
"How many vampires have you killed?" Harry asked Sam.
"None."
"And how many times have you imprinted?"
Sam smiled. "Just the once."
"Embry, how many vampires have you killed?" Harry asked me.
"None."
"And how many times have you imprinted?"
"Also just the once." I said. Sam glared at me quizzically.
"And your imprint is healthy, happy, not scarred from your actions as a wolf?" Harry asked. Sam visibly flinched.
"That is correct, sir."
"Sam, can the same be said if you?"
Sam looked dejected. "No."
I spoke up. "That's not fair. He was a lone wolf without proper guidance."
"We were guiding him." Billy said.
"Maybe that wasn't enough." I don't know why I was defending him, but here I was. "Maybe the first wolf is bound to make more mistakes because they have to figure more out on their own."
"That is fair. You show wisdom, Embry." Harry said, a look of pride in his face. I felt a little taller somehow, the father of my imprint showing me such honor.
"Sam," Harry continued, "you say he is a bastard and that is true, but he is clearly a Quileute. If he were not, he would not phase into a wolf. His lineage is as pure as your own. It is just a mystery at this time. Does anyone have anything to say about his lineage? Does anybody know who his father is?"
There was silence for a full minute. I felt dumb for even hoping someone might know.
"I am." All eyes landed on Billy. Jake stood and bolted from the hall. "I loved Sarah. I always loved her, but I loved other women too. Tiffany Call was one of those women. Embry is older than Jacob. It makes perfect sense that he is the alpha."
"But he has no experience with wolves!" Sam insisted
"He helped Jake didn't he?" Billy asked
"Yes." Paul answered for Jake.
"And he has helped Paul tremendously. Paul has calmed down an awful lot since Embry joined the pack. His behavior has been exemplary, in fact." Billy added.
I looked at Paul, surprised. Has he changed?
"I just didn't want him to think I was a douche." Paul explained, not looking at me.
"Why?" Billy probed.
Paul shrugged. "I just wanted him to respect me."
"But you never did with Sam?"
Paul laughed out loud at that. "I still don't give a rat's ass what Sam thinks of me."
"Embry, can you bring Jake back in here?" Billy requested.
I nodded and went to the door. He was right on the steps outside. "Jake, I'm sorry this is so much at once, but I think they need your testimony."
Jake leaned back on the step. "I'm not going to be chief, am I?"
"I don't know. I don't think they're deciding that."
"I don't want to be chief, Embry. I never have."
"I didn't know that."
"I always knew that. And I always knew my parents loved each other. But that was just a fairy tale."
"Maybe." I suggested, "Or maybe their love was just different than how you view love."
Jake scoffed. "Will you cheat on your imprint? It's Leah, right? I saw her in your thoughts."
"I could never cheat on her."
"So that's just a line, the shit you just said about different love." Jake said.
"I don't think so. Your mom wasn't his imprint. Maybe that makes a difference."
"Maybe. Well, I won't ruin this for you, bro. I'll tell them whatever they need to know."
When we got inside, there was a lot of conversation around the table. It seemed like not everyone was confident I would bring him back. Several people had packed up and were saying their goodbyes.
"Everybody sit." Billy demanded and everybody did. "Jacob, Embry, I'm sorry that I have held this from you both. But that is not what we are here for. Jake, if you were to choose your alpha, who would you choose?"
"Embry."
"Paul?"
"Embry."
"Jared?"
"Embry." Jared answered without hesitation. Sam looked enraged. He had been confident that Jared would be with him until the end. He did not yet know what I knew, that Jared was spineless.
Harry asked, "Sam, do you accept this power shift?"
"I have no pack, so I must."
"Will you fight him? He has strong brothers beside him."
"No, I will not fight."
"Embry, you will be expected to attend council meetings as the member representing the pack. You will also receive and distribute the stipend to feed the pack."
"There was a stipend to feed the pack?" Now I was enraged. "Paul's been living off of food stamps! Where's the stipend, Sam?"
"Emily used it for muffins."
"It was $1000 per wolf per month." Billy looked pissed and it was a little scary. "They must have been pretty sick of muffins. Embry, can you give us an estimate of how many muffins you got?"
"Two."
"So $500 muffins. Did they taste like $500 muffins?"
"No, they were good muffins, fresh with blueberries, and big for muffins. But there was nothing too special about them."
"Jared, do you know anything about this money?"
"He's been giving me $500 per month to be beta."
"Paul, did you get anything?"
"Not one penny." Paul said through gritted teeth.
"I thought he'd use it on drugs. You know his reputation." Sam tried to explain.
Sam was slammed into the wall. "So you let me suffer? What did you use it on, Sam?" After a moment, Paul stepped back, his anger dissipating. "Sorry." He returned to his seat.
"Paul Lahote brings up a good point. Where is that money? Harry, what are the figures?"
"I'll have to check the dates for the exact figures, but it's got to be well over ten thousand, maybe closer to twenty thousand dollars."
"What do you have left of it?" I asked, in the alpha timber again so he couldn't weasel his way out.
"Around $4000."
"So that's all Paul's." I declared.
"Agreed." Harry said.
Billy nodded. "Anybody opposed?"
Jared's dad looked like he had something to say, then decided against it.
"Sam, make sure he has that by noon tomorrow." Harry said. Sam nodded. "What shall we do about the rest?"
"We could deduct from Sam's future payments until the debt is paid." Jared's dad suggested.
"No." I said firmly. "We will not make him suffer the way he has done to us. I have an idea. Sam is a handyman of sorts. Why don't we start a tab with the rez. He pays off the debt to the rez by helping out those who need help, for free, until the debt is paid. Paul, Jared, you two are the greatest victims of this theft. What do you think of that idea?"
"I'm for it. The suffering is past. He needs a little humility." Paul said.
"I kind of want the money." Jared whined.
"Did you ever go hungry, Jared?" I asked.
"No."
"Paul, did you?"
He looked at his feet and nodded.
"All in favor of paying off the debt through community service?" Billy asked.
"Aye." Rose from the group.
"All opposed?"
"Nay." It was Jared's dad, the little shit.
"The motion passes."
"In the future, can the money be distributed directly to the wolves?" I asked. "Why wasn't that done to begin with?"
"It's kind of a hassle and not everyone had a bank account." Harry said.
"Ok, I'm good with that kind of stuff. I can help overcome that obstacle." I said.
"Embry, come to my house next Saturday when all of the bank accounts are set up. Bring the bank deposit numbers for everyone. Paul will need Billy's help to set up a bank account." Harry said. "I am the treasurer. I feel awful that it was not done originally, but Sam said…" he hesitated, then decided not to repeat whatever it was that Sam had said to him. "Oh it doesn't matter anymore. We'll get this sorted out, son. And, Embry, you'll stay for lunch with my family."
"Great plan, thank you." I gave him a genuine smile now.
"All right, pack, you can go home. Things should be getting a little better." Billy dismissed us.
With the pack on the steps, I called out, "hold up, patrol as scheduled for the time being, but pack meeting at mine at 3pm tomorrow."
The guys all nodded. Paul and I went home.
After the council meeting, my mom was waiting for us on the couch. She gave us both a big hug which made Paul really happy. Then she got stern. "Where were you?"
"I'm sorry Mom, I would have left a note if we knew. We had to go to a council meeting."
"Are you in trouble?"
"Sam Uley is." Paul said, almost giddy.
"Don't you guys do some volunteer work for him? Will you be in trouble too?"
"No, we won't be in trouble." I said. "It was supposed to be paid work but Sam was embezzling the money."
"No!"
"Yes!" Paul looked way too happy about this, especially for someone who had so much money stolen from him.
"What's going to happen to him?"
"They're seizing his money, making him do community service for his debts and demoting him." I said.
"That seems too lenient. How much money?"
"Over ten grand!" Paul looked so happy he could burst. I realized that he hated Sam far more than I ever had.
"Way too lenient. He's not even getting fired?" mom asked.
"He's kind of irreplaceable." I explained.
"Still. I don't like that. So who's taking his job?"
"Embry is!" Paul said, again with way too much enthusiasm.
"Embry? Will that affect your grades?"
"I won't let it, Mom." I promised.
"Well, congratulations, but next time leave a note."
"I'll try. This was a spontaneous meeting, though. I don't think it'll happen again. I'm not planning on embezzling."
"Good, off to bed, both of you."
I fell asleep quickly that night. Things felt like they were settling into place. I should have learned that such feelings were deceptive, even a bad omen.