Title: "Bloodlines of Fire and Fog"
Chapter Six: The Shift in the Smoke
POV: The Pack
They watched from the trees—silent shadows woven into the forest edge above First Beach.
The bonfire burned below, casting long golden tendrils over laughing teens and sparks of memory the wolves didn't share. But their instincts buzzed, restless. Something new was here. Something that didn't belong.
Jacob stood closest to the flame, posture casual but alert. His dark eyes followed her, the girl with wild hair and sharper edges. The one called Faye.
And then… it happened.
Seth's breath caught in his throat. Embry blinked. Paul stiffened.
Jacob's body shifted in the smallest, most irreversible way. Not physically—no fur or fangs—but spirit-deep. His shoulders relaxed. His chest stilled. Like something inside him clicked into place. Like gravity reattached to a single point.
He had imprinted.
On her.
Faye Chamberlain.
"She's not from here," Sam murmured through the link. His wolf eyes narrowed. "But it's real."
Before the others could even process the shock, another ripple tore through them—sharp and sudden.
Paul.
He had gone still, so still it was unnatural for him. His eyes were locked on the other girl, usually burning with heat and rage. The quieter one. The one who looked like she carried a hundred storms behind her eyes.
Bella Swan.
Charlie's daughter.
Paul's pulse surged in the bond. The imprint. It hit him like a quake.
Two in one night.
Two imprints.
Two outsiders.
Sam stepped forward slightly, human for now but bristling with tension. His voice was quiet but full of weight.
"This has never happened before."
"They're just girls," Jared muttered. "They're pale faces. Outsiders."
"No," Sam said. "They're something more. The spirits wouldn't allow it unless they were meant to be part of this."
Seth glanced between them, uncertain. "Should we tell Jacob? Paul?"
Sam's jaw clenched. "Not yet. Let them feel it. Let it settle. But keep watch."
Embry nodded toward Charlie Swan's cruiser in the distance. "That's her father. He's tied to all this."
"Charlie's not just a cop," Sam muttered. "He's connected. He's always known more than he lets on."
None of them knew the truth.
Not yet.
They didn't know the Balcoin blood had touched their tribe generations ago. That their wolves—their gifts—were born from magic darker and older than vampire teeth.
All they knew was this:
Two wolves had imprinted.
Two girls had arrived.
And the fire on the beach was only the beginning.