PETRICHOR , paul lahote.

028. reputation

LENA COULD BARELY SEE IN FRONT OF HER. The blurred edges of her vision pulsated as she ran, the back of Jacob and the woods around her being her only directions. She followed him as he sprinted, and her head stabbed with pain when the multiple voices of the pack entered her mind.

"Jake!"

"Jake!"

"Lena!"

They were intangible, and she tried to push them out as they gathered together in an old scrap yard by the edge of the water. Piles of wood logs spread out around them, and the pack gathered in a group between them.

"Is it true?" She heard Paul ask, disbelief present in his voice.

"What is it?" Quil.

"It's growing fast."

"It's unnatural!"

"It's dangerous!"

"Monstrosity."

"An abomination."

"On our land."

"We can't allow it."

"We can't allow it."

"We can't allow it."

"We can't—"

"We have to protect the tribe!" Sam's voice—The Alpha—boomed through. He stood tall atop of a pile of logs, and the pack quietened down and looked up at him. "What they've bred, won't be able to control it's thirst. Every human will be in danger."

"We're ready." Jared replied.

"No time to waste." Leah agreed, and Lena felt her heart breaking.

Her friends. Her pack.

Bella.

"Now?" Jacob asked, even though he knew what they wanted to do.

"We must destroy it before its birth!" Sam shouted, and suddenly murmurs arose.

"You mean...kill Bella?" Seth—oh, Seth—asked.

"Her choice affects us all."

"Bella's human!" Lena tried, an attempt, "Our protection applies to her!"

"She's dying anyway!" Leah shouted at her, and Jacob lunged. Lena backed up, breathing heavy. She didn't know what to do.

Sam growled, stepping forward slowly as Leah and Jacob pulled apart, "We have real enemies to fight tonight."

"...Tonight?"

Sam's steps were dangerous as he made his way to him, "You will fight with us, Jake."

Lena cowered back as Sam got closer to Jake, growling in his face and standing tall. Jake bowed slightly with a whimper, and she thought for a minute that he might join them. But then he stood tall, glaring at Sam.

"I...will not!" He said, stepping forward at Sam, "I am the grandson of Ephraim Black. I am the grandson of a Chief! I wasn't born to follow you, or anyone else."

With a final lunge at Sam, Jacob ran off, leaving the pack behind in his wake. He stopped for a moment atop of a wood pile, glancing back at Lena and sending her a nod, which she returned, before leaving for good.

It was quiet, minus the scuffle of paws on ground, and then Sam turned to Lena. He looked at her, silently, then said, "So?"

She couldn't look at anyone else but him, avoiding the eyes of her friends, her boyfriend. Sam's expression was unreadable, and she couldn't focus on anything over the sound of her pounding heart. She needed to get out of there, the weight of their stares pushing on her. Without a word, she ran back into the forest, away from them.