SPOV

I walked Leah to school the next morning and went back to class myself the next day. I learned to phase into a wolf and control the phase. I ran the border of the reservation every night, just to make sure no vampires had crossed into our land. None ever had. I honestly didn't even know what I'd do if I crossed a vampire other than the Cullens.

One of the first things I had to do when I went back to school was quit baseball. I was the lead pitcher, so I knew I was letting the team down. But every time I threw the ball, the catcher was wincing in pain. I was throwing too hard, no matter how much I tried not too. I couldn't risk injuring someone just so I could keep playing.

After that, I spent most afternoons on the bleachers, watching Leah's softball practice and completing any school work I needed to do. It was fun just watching her. She was so strong, a fierce competitor, an ideal mate.

LPOV

After practice one day, I climbed the bleachers and straddled Sam's lap. I laced my fingers into his hair. I looked at his lips like I was going to kiss him, then I rubbed his face into my sweaty boobs.

He was laughing and I was grinning like a fool. He wrapped his arms around my back and crashed his lips to mine.

"You looked so hot out there." He said and I think he meant it.

"On the field? Wearing the same uniform as everyone else, covered by a baseball cap?"

"No one else has that ass, Lee-lee." He whispered into my ear, hands squeezing my ass. "I could spot it from a mile away and watch it run around the field for days."

"Oh yeah, what else do you want to do to it?" I teased.

Sam growled. "You know we don't have time for that right now."

"We don't?" I asked innocently, feeling his shaft harden underneath me.

He was sucking on my neck. "Gentle," I reminded him. His light sucks turned to hickies way too quickly since his transformation.

He pulled away, looking at my neck to make sure there wasn't a fresh mark.

"Want me to give you a hand job under the bleachers?"

He laughed again. "Lee-lee, yes, I want that but we're not doing it." He kissed me again. "If you'd stop teasing me, it'll go down." He closed his eyes and put his forehead against mine.

I decided to help him by listing things that weren't sexy. "Dissecting frogs… acid rain… coral reef destruction… your grandma naked… dead puppies."

After a minute he lifted me off his lap and stood to walk me home. Then I heard a wolf howling. It was a strange time for a wolf to be out and howling.

SPOV

A howl? It didn't sound like a normal wolf. It sounded like my own howls.

My eyes snapped to Leah's. Her face was ripe with questions. "I've got to check that out. It sounds like it might be another protector."

She nodded.

"I'll come by after. If it's too late, can I sneak into your window?"

She nodded again. "Go!" She urged.

I kissed her forehead and ran into the woods. It took under a minute to run to my house. I left my clothes in a tree there. When I was deep in the woods I phased.

The plan was to try to sniff out the other wolf. Instead, I could see what they saw in my own head.

WHAT THE FUCK! A familiar voice said.

WHO ARE YOU? I asked. WHERE ARE YOU?

They were turning and I saw Paul Lahote's backyard. I ran to his house before he could make some sarcastic wise crack.

PAUL?

THAT'S MY NAME, DON'T WEAR IT OUT. AAAAAAHHHH! THERE'S A WOLF! He was looking right at me. It was cool to see me in his eyes. I hadn't thought much about what I looked like before. I was huge, I already knew that. I was black all over. And I was regal, majestic as fuck.

Paul was almost as big as me. He was silver and gray, and I guess he was pretty majestic looking too.

DAMN STRAIGHT I'M MAJESTIC LOOKING, BUT WHERE ARE MY HANDS?

PAUL, IT'S ME, SAM.

NO SHIT! HI SAM. I THOUGHT YOU SOUNDED FAMILIAR. YOU LOOK LIKE A HUGE DOG.

WOLF, PAUL, WE SHAPESHIFT INTO WOLVES, LIKE IN THE LEGENDS.

SO FIRST YOU CALL ME MAJESTIC AND NOW YOU'RE CALLING ME A LEGEND. ARE YOU HITTING ON ME?

FUCK OFF, PAUL. I started trotting away. I'd much rather be with Leah than put up with this bullshit.

YOU STILL TAPPING THAT? SHE IS HOT. I'VE BEEN WAITING AGES FOR MY TURN.

Without even thinking, my teeth were on his throat. IT'S NEVER HAPPENING! After a moment, he submitted and I stepped back. DON'T THINK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT, NOT WHEN WE'RE IN WOLF FORM. THEN WE WON'T HAVE A PROBLEM.

OK, BUT I CAN STILL KEEP HER IN MY SPANK BANK, RIGHT?

I snarled at him. I could see through his eyes how intimidating it looked. It's a wonder Harry Clearwater didn't shit himself when I did it to him. I CAN'T STOP YOU, BUT THIS IS THE LAST I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT.

SO WE CAN READ EACH OTHER'S MINDS? THAT'S PRETTY CRAZY. He said, changing the subject.

I was focusing deliberately on my surroundings. I didn't particularly want Paul Lahote to have access to my memories.

SO WHY THE FUCK AM I A WOLF, SAM? WHY ARE YOU A WOLF?

OH YEAH, THAT. THE LEGENDS. THE COLD ONES. THERE ARE COLD ONES IN FORKS. THE CULLENS.

Paul thought for a moment. COLD ONES… YOU MEAN VAMPIRES?

YEP. WHEN THEY ARE NEAR, THEY ACTIVATE THE GENES THAT TURN US INTO SHAPE SHIFTERS. BUT WE HAVE A TREATY WITH THESE VAMPS. THEY DON'T EAT HUMANS, ONLY ANIMALS. SO WE CAN'T KILL THEM.

Then I showed him an image of all of the Cullens.

WE CAN'T KILL THEM UNLESS THEY ARE ON RESERVATION LAND. I explained. AS PART OF THE TREATY, WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE IN WOLF FORM IN FORKS WHILE THEY ARE IN RESIDENCE.

DAMN SAM. WHY DO I WANT TO KILL THEM SO BAD?

INSTINCT. THAT'S WHY I KEEP TO THE RESERVATION NOW THAT I'M IN CONTROL.

IN CONTROL?

WHEN I WAS FIRST A WOLF, IT TOOK THREE WEEKS FOR ME TO TURN BACK INTO A MAN. REMEMBER HOW I WAS MISSING?

He nodded.

I HAD TO HUNT IN THE NATIONAL FOREST. I LIVED OFF ELK. I CAN SHOW YOU HOW IF YOU CAN'T PHASE BACK.

HOW DO YOU PHASE BACK? I GOT A DATE TONIGHT.

I rolled my eyes. I DON'T KNOW. I JUST…

Then I stood as a man before him. I was naked and unashamed.

"Our clothes don't shift with us." I explained. Then I leaned forward and was a wolf again.

DO YOU WANT TO TRY IT?

TRY WHAT? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IT?

FOCUS ON MY THOUGHTS AS I STAND AS A HUMAN.

Slowly, I thought about wanting to become human. I thought about what I wanted to do… with Leah and I was human again. I just hoped that I phased out before Paul saw any of those thoughts.

Then I bent forward again, thinking of wanting to talk to Paul, wanting to help Paul be human. And I was a wolf again.

SHE IS SO HOT, SAM. I'D BE MONOGAMOUS TOO IF I HAD THAT WHENEVER I WANT. He sounded genuine but that didn't make it any better. Leah was mine.

SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT LEAH! THINK ABOUT YOUR DATE TONIGHT.

He was thinking about this naked blond chick with a body that looked just like Leah's. I let it slide, hoping it would get him out of my head.

He stood and he was a man. "Where are my clothes?"

I stood next to him. "They don't phase with us." I bent down and picked up a scrap of fabric. "You were wearing a blue shirt today." I showed him the fabric scrap.

"Fuck! My shoes too? I was going to wear those tonight."

"Yeah, you'll want to get control of your phasing or you'll lose a lot of clothes. Go in and put some shorts on. I'll run home and grab some too and we'll meet in the middle, ok?"

He nodded and ran in.

I ran to my house and saw Leah coming up the street. I pulled on my shorts and jogged to her.

"What was it?" She asked.

I took her backpack and equipment bag and gave her a kiss on the top of the head. "It's Paul. He's a shifter now too. Can you tell your dad when he gets home? I've got to show him the ropes so I won't be back until late."

"You'll still visit me tonight?"

"I want to, baby, don't wait up. I'll wake you when I get there, ok? I want you well rested."

"Ok. I've got plenty of work to do so I'll be ok without you for a few hours."

We were at her door now. I gently dropped her stuff and lifted her up to me. She wrapped her legs around me and kissed me. After a moment, I pulled my face away slightly. "I don't want to, but I have to go."

"I know. I'll want to hear all about it later," she said as I lowered her to the ground and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Paul was waiting in my backyard. "Meet in the middle, huh? You are so whipped."

I made him cancel his date. He was mad about it but he got over it. They had to reschedule for next week because he was booked until then.

Paul phased in and out of wolf form for practice. "Why did it take you three weeks?"

"It took a week before the elders even knew what happened to me. By then, I was pretty messed up emotionally. I had given up hope. And the way they were explaining it just didn't make any sense to me at all. I lucked out and phased back in my sleep. Then I went to Old Quil before even trying to phase again. His dad was in the last pack and he tried to explain the process thoroughly. The next time I shifted to wolf, I was able to shift back in under a minute. Now I can control it easily."

I brought Paul into the national forest to sniff out the leech trails of the Cullens. WE CAN'T ATTACK THEM UNLESS THEY ARE ON OUR LAND.

I REALLY WANT TO THOUGH.

YEAH, ME TOO. BUT WE CAN'T.

I showed him the path of the border patrol. I WANT YOU TO PATROL BEFORE SCHOOL. I PATROL AT NIGHT. JUST A BORDER RUN TO MAKE SURE THERE AREN'T ANY FRESH TRAILS. IF THERE ARE FRESH TRAILS, HOWL.

Paul sighed. OK. HOW LONG DO WE HAVE TO DO THIS FOR?

I DON'T KNOW. I THINK IT'S A LIFELONG THING. I CAN'T GO TO COLLEGE NEXT YEAR, OR THE YEAR AFTER THAT WITH LEAH.

FUCK THAT. I'LL GO WITH LEAH THEN.

NO, YOU WON'T. I said sternly.

LIKE HELL I WON'T. WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME, SAM ULEY?

My voice became deeper, more melodic. YOU WILL NOT MOVE AWAY FROM THE REZ WHILE THERE IS A VAMPIRE THREAT NEARBY.

WHAT. THE. FUCK. WHAT WAS THAT? I CAN'T LEAVE THE REZ NOW, I CAN FEEL IT. I CAN'T EVEN MOVE TO FORKS. WHAT DID YOU JUST DO TO ME, SAM?

I DON'T KNOW. I JUST KNOW THAT I HAD TO DO IT. IT'S LATE. I'LL TALK TO BILLY BLACK ABOUT IT TOMORROW.

FINE. GO HOME TO YOUR HOTTIE, MOTHER FUCKER.

I ran home. Leah's desk lamp was still on.

When I climbed to her open window, I chastised her teasingly, "I told you not to wait up."

"I have an essay to finish." She said, yawning at her desk. She was wearing one of my old football jerseys… and nothing else.

LPOV

"Do you want me to leave?" Sam was standing in front of me in his shorts… and nothing else.

"Fuck no." I started pulling him toward the bed

"Lee-lee, your parents aren't asleep yet." He could tell from his super wolf hearing.

"I have a plan. Lay on the floor, shorts off."

He pulled down his shorts and his hard cock sprung free. When he lay on the floor, the bed hid him from the door.

I lowered myself onto him, sliding his cock in me. He grabbed my hips and thrust up into me with a grunt.

"Uh uh uh. You're loud. We're going to do this my way," I said. I grabbed his hands and put them on my breasts, each cupping one. I put my hands on his sinewy thighs. Then I bounced on his dick for a while, occasionally dropping to grind my clit on him. His thumbs were on my nipples, working their magic.

He sat up to kiss me. His hands moved to my ass, just where I liked them. He felt so good inside of me. After his transformation, Sam's dick was huge, intimidatingly huge, just like the rest of his body. But inside me, it hit all the right spots. I felt so complete, having him in me.

He was grinding me against him now. "Are you almost there, baby?"

My head was on his shoulder and I was sucking his neck. "Yeah, almost, just a little more…" Then I bit him as I came.

He growled in pleasure. The growling was new too but I loved it so much. He plunged in deep, holding me to him as he spilled into me.

I didn't want to move at all. This was my happy place. The connection with Sam after sex, it was my heaven. I blissed out on his lap for a few minutes, just hugging him close. Finally, I asked, "How were things with Paul?"

"He took it pretty well. I made him cancel his date tonight though."

"Poor Paul has to go a whole day without getting laid." I said in a mocking voice.

"I don't know about that. There was a rumor that he had Jennie Jenks in the girls locker room at lunch today."

"No way! She's such a good girl though." Jennie was a sophomore and I always thought she was sweet and shy.

"Paul prefers them that way. He gets bored of sluts. Except his anal dates. He keeps those around."

"Anal dates?"

"That's what he calls them. He says some of his dates only do anal, so they're probably sluts, but Paul sees them regularly. Other than that, he likes good girls."

"That reminds me, my cousin Emily is coming over the weekend."

"In two days?" Sam asked.

"No, next weekend, in nine days."

"Ok, so you want to do a double date or something? I could get one of the guys from the team to come. Adam Wilde isn't seeing anyone and I could see them getting along."

"I was actually thinking of Paul. She asked about him." I said, smiling. She sounded excited about seeing him again, too.

"You don't think they…"

"No! Emily's a good girl. But we ran into him at the fair last year, remember? And I think she has a little crush."

"I'm sure he'll be up for it. Where were you thinking of going?"

"Roller skating in Forks."

"Does she roller skate?" he asked me skeptically.

"She'll have to. I'm sure Paul can help her stay on her feet."

Sam rolled his eyes at me. "Paul is not boyfriend material, Lee-lee. Don't get your hopes up that anything good is going to come of this, other than Paul coming."

I giggled at that. "What color is Paul's wolf?"

"He's silver and gray, almost as big as mine. But the weirdest thing is that when we are both wolves, we can read each other's thoughts. I can see what he sees, so I got the first good view of my own wolf. I look bad ass, all black. But we can also hear each other's thoughts and watch each other's memories. So I can't think about you at all or else the conversation gets derailed."

"That sounds amazing. I'm jealous that he gets to read your thoughts. I'd love to poke around in your brain."

"You know everything about me, baby. And I would never want you to be a protector. I want to protect you. I don't want you in danger."

"Yeah, it still sounds really cool. Except I wouldn't be able to run track anymore. It'd be too suspicious, running 100 miles an hour."

"Yep, that's the only downside." Sam said sarcastically, then his stomach rumbled. He was always hungry. I pulled the bread bag out from under my bed. I kept it stocked with peanut butter sandwiches for moments like this.

"I don't want you to go." I said honestly, handing him a sandwich.

"Thanks. I don't have to go yet."

"Will you stay with me tonight?" Sam was the best cuddler. He was a little warm but I didn't mind. It was worth it to keep him with me.

He swallowed his second sandwich. "Yeah, I can do that. We can get cozy when you're ready, ok?"

I nodded. "So do you think anyone else will shapeshift?"

"Maybe." Sam said. "We talked about that, Paul and me. The last pack changed because of the Cullens too and there were three of them, so I think it's reasonable to expect three of us."

"Makes sense. Let's get cozy on the bed."

"Do you want me to wear my shorts?"

"No, I like your soft dick between my butt cheeks. No shorts."

I turned off the light and climbed onto my bed. He followed me. He put his soft dick between my butt cheeks, as requested, and held me until morning.

SPOV

When I heard her brother stirring, I kissed Leah so she'd wake up. "I've got to go," I whispered, "see you in about an hour."

She nodded sleepily. She was so beautiful.

I jumped out of her window and into mine.

"Where were you last night?" My mom asked. She was sitting in my desk chair.

Shit.

"Ma, I'm sorry, I fell asleep while hanging out with Leah."

"Do her parents know that you do that? I know this isn't the first time you've 'accidentally' fallen asleep there." She did the finger quotes around the word 'accidentally.'

I gulped. "Ma, we're being safe, I promise. I'd never let anything happen to her. You know how much I love her." Leah had been on birth control since I made it to second base. She was smart like that.

"You didn't answer the question."

"No, they don't know."

"And are you planning to tell them?" she asked.

"No. Please don't tell them, ma."

"What's going on with college, Sam? I see a bunch of unopened big envelopes." She pointed to a stack on my desk. "I know that you planned to defer so you and Leah could go together. But you have to open the envelopes to do that."

"Yeah, ma, about that, I'm not sure…" I didn't know what to say.

"Not sure of what, Sam? Leah Clearwater isn't going to want to stay with some rez rat, you can be damn sure of that."

"I know." I did know that. Even though Leah said she'd stay, I wasn't even sure I even wanted that. I knew she'd resent me eventually. That would be an even worse heartbreak than her leaving: if she stayed but hated me for it. I didn't know what to do about it.

"We'll have to talk about this later. You need to get ready for school."

"Yeah, I do, thanks."

"I'm not covering for you. If Sue asks, I'm telling the truth. I'm just not volunteering any information."

"I understand." She left and I got ready for school.

I left the house early, hoping to catch Paul during his morning border run.

PAUL, LEAH'S COUSIN EMILY IS COMING NEXT WEEKEND. WE NEED YOU FOR A DOUBLE DATE ON SATURDAY. SHE ASKED ABOUT YOU.

I REMEMBER EMILY. SHE ASKED ABOUT ME? Paul sounded excited.

YEP. CAN YOU MAKE TIME FOR IT? JUST DON'T FUCK HER, PLEASE.

I FUCKED HER LAST TIME. WHY CAN'T I FUCK HER THIS TIME?

YOU FUCKED HER LAST TIME?! DOES LEAH KNOW?

I DON'T THINK SO. I DON'T THINK IT WAS EMILY'S PROUDEST MOMENT.

FINE, FUCK HER AGAIN IF SHE WANTS. JUST SHOW HER A GOOD TIME, OK?

HAPPILY.

I phased out. That bastard. I decided not to tell Leah until after Emily's visit. I figured, when Emily wanted Leah to know, she'd tell herself. I didn't want to ruin their time together by spilling the beans beforehand.

Sometimes I wondered why I was such good friends with Paul Lahote. Then I remembered years and years on the same teams really does bond you to someone. And he always was a good friend to me, offering me rides, hanging out, shooting the shit. He was just terrible to whoever he was dating.

That afternoon I visited Billy Black, the tribe's chief. Of the three elders, he was the best to talk to. Harry Clearwater had a lot of animosity towards me for being with Leah. That wasn't new. Old Quil was just a weird ass hole who was hard to get information from. Billy Black was stern but forthcoming, even though he did seem sly somehow.

"Paul Lahote phased last night." I started.

"And then there were two." Billy commented.

"Yeah, he got the hang of it pretty quickly. But he was talking about going to college. I was getting frustrated with him because I had already accepted that I couldn't go."

Billy was nodding along with my story.

"And then my voice changed and I told him he couldn't move away from the rez as long as there was a vampire threat. He was all freaked out because he felt that me saying that made it true somehow, and I think he's right but I don't understand how."

"Ah. You used the double timber of the alpha command."

"The what now?" That was a lot of words that I knew individually but they didn't make sense altogether.

"Sam, when you two are wolves, who's in charge?"

"Me. I've been a wolf longer, so I know more about it."

"Yes, so you're the alpha. You're the boss. Usually, that just means you're a leader, like I'm the tribal chief and your baseball coach guides the team. But, where you wolves are dealing with life and death, with vampires, sometimes leadership isn't just about suggestions. Sometimes, orders need to be followed. That's when you use the double timber of the alpha command. Those orders cannot be broken."

"Ok, and can I control when I use it? Like phasing?"

"Yes, it might take practice, but I think you can control it."

"Ok, what else do I need to know about being alpha?"

"I don't know what you will face. If it's just the Cullens, it will be pretty simple. If it's more than that, no one knows. It's a learn-on-the-job position, unfortunately."