⚠️Warnings⚠️
None
You stood there with your hands in your hoodie pockets, eyes staring down at your cut-off Palm Treo.
It's been off for a few days now, collecting dust on your windowsill. You were contemplating if you should bring it to the campfire that night. But then you thought about how everyone you currently associate yourself with is going to be at the council meeting.
It almost made you... chuckle at how lonely you felt. And it didn't make sense why you felt that way. So isolated.
You had them.
Eyes moving from your phone, into the forest that was straight out the window, there stood Leah, brows pushed together as she watched you watch her. It was currently 5 pm. Time for a haircut.
The older woman tilted her head, urging you to hurry up, and so you do. You decided against the phone, no need for it as you would be accompanied.
If anyone needed you, they knew you'd be with Leah, they can call her.
But you did on the other hand grab your wallet and keys as you walked to the front door. "Hey, are you gonna be back before the council meeting?" Your dad called out, glasses on the bridge of his nose and a newspaper in his hold. You stuffed your hands In your pocket, fidgeting with the lint.
You weren't going to get used to this wolf stuff anytime soon. "Yeah."
As you were about to leave, your father released a sigh. "You know... you should probably speak to Embry tonight. Just so you can...understand each other. To clear the air, y'know?" Biting on the skin on your lip, you placed your hand on the knob.
Why am I hesitating to leave? Truth be told you weren't sure if you wanted to see him or not. There wasn't anything to say...or at least you didn't know what to say.
As always, you were forced into some shit you knew nothing about.
"Yeah..." this time you sounded uncertain as you walked out of the cabin and down the ramp. Leah was already in the truck, leaning back with her eyes closed. She assisted she came. Something along the lines of "if we see a Cullen I'll hide you in an ice box." Or something like that.
"You sure took your time."
"Yeah... sorry."
At least for right now, I have them.
"You know, you don't look shabby," Leah spoke beside you as you got turned around in the chair, your reflection staring back at you. You released a breath of air as your eyes scaled up your face and onto your short hair.
Turning your head to the side, you analyze the curls that came about one inch off your head. For the first time in forever, your curls were defined and shiny, and it looked like you took care of your mental health as your baby hairs slicked back perfectly into the rest of your hair.
"Oh wow." Your hand came up, fingers touching the soft coils. It wasn't roughy and tangled like the ends of your hair were, it was soft, tangle free. "No split ends..." your lips twitched up into a smile as you released the rest of the breath you held in.
You held up the $50 bucks in your middle and pointer finger, which the female barber was glad to take. "Thanks for this." You took a glance at the woman, her eye's already on yours. She gave you a smile, it was warm, she meant it, before taking the cape off and shaking down the hair.
Giving yourself one last look in the mirror you stood up and faced the older woman with crossed arms. "Feel better?" Leah asked, keen eyes telling you felt a lift off your shoulder as you rubbed the back of your neck. "Yeah actually."
The both of you stepped in the truck and closed the door in sync. Yet you didn't make a move to start the engine. "Have you ever... imprinted before?" The silence in the car was loud. Even the traffic happening around them was muted. Nothing but a slight white pitch noise surrounds the two of you. You couldn't even hear your heartbeats.
Looking at the shifter, she was staring straight ahead, but that didn't stop her from fidgeting with her hands. "If I was, I wouldn't be stuck loving a man who won't or can't love me back." She cracked a smile, not because it was amusing, but because she wish it was a possibility.
"You don't think he loves you?" You asked, confused as to why she would think that. Everyone could feel the guilt Sam felt when they were in pack, the love he still felt for Leah was there. "It's all guilt," she shakes her head, somehow knowing what you were thinking. The imprint took away the man she loved, she knew she could never get that back as his head and heart belonged to someone else.
"I hate feeling pitied on, and that's all he's giving me.." "Leah I'm sure he still loves you." He had to. You felt it, everyone did.
"He doesn't pity you for being alone. He pities the fact that he hurt you, for breaking your heart....And, Trust me I know. I'm... still very in love with someone who I truly don't know anymore. So far what I've gathered from this imprint thing is... even though we're bonded... unfortunately mated for life... my heart still beats for someone else.. and it hurts."
This time it was Leah's turn to take pity on you. Without fully looking at you, her brown eyes give you a side glare. You felt it, but you ignored it as you stuffed the keys in the car. "Our situation is also different... you get to try to heal, your ex isn't always in your face."
She didn't spit venom when she talked. Her voice was softer, weaker. You didn't try to disagree with her. You knew it was true, and you felt yourself feeling worse. You should be grateful of this.
"Wanna go eat some Waffle House?" You changed the subject, eyes shifting back to the wolf girl who slouched back in her chair. With a lazy grin, she nodded.
"Good, I don't wanna go home yet."
"Me neither."
The relationship between you and the older woman was becoming stronger. The only thing about her you wish you could change was that damn attitude, but you understood why you received it, everyone did.
"Wish someone would've warned me about the diet change. I could eat a whole damn buffet." You sulked as you looked down at the bill. Damn near $200 used just between the two of you. At WAFFLE HOUSE. The fuck?
Leah just laughs at your suffering, hand buckling the seat belt. "Now you see why Emily is always in that damn kitchen? Yeah, kid, you might as well get that job you were talking about, you'll be doing a lot of grocery shopping. And don't even get me started on our period-"
"We still get those??" Your voice raised, only getting blocked out by Leah's laughter.
Shit was not funny.
You looked at her, disbelief written all over your face as your brain does calculations. "We will never be free.." you whined. "Well- what about shifting? Does it still... continue?"
With a grin, Leah sits back in the passenger seat, hand over her bloated stomach as she sighs. "Surprisingly no, you would think so but," she shakes her head, eyes squinting as she tried to remember. "It just doesn't come. Maybe it has something to do with our metabolism. Our body temperature? We run hotter when we're a dog."
She shrugs, already over the conversation. "Whatever it is, I'm blessed."
"Maybe it's because we're not meant to have sex when we're the-"
"Okay, eeeew" the older lady covers her ears "lalalala!" She says loudly, causing you to burst out in laughter.
This felt so good. To laugh, to make fun of your situation without feeling offended. But, eventually, it all came to an end.
Someone was staring at you.
In sync, the two of you froze, no longer laughing in joy.
"Smell that?" Her voice was low, knowing that whoever was staring, could most likely hear them. You nodded.
A vampire.
Without moving your head, your keen eyes scanned your perimeter.
"Oh god."
Your eyes dilated as they make contact with a pair of golden ones. "Just drive" you didn't respond, hands turning the key, causing the truck to roar to life.
"Y/N."
You flinched, breath hitching. "Why didn't you roll the window up..." Leah spoke in a monotone voice, black eyes glaring daggers on the side of your head before glaring at the two women outside the car. "Shit..."
You cursed, knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. "You're... alive," Alice spoke, a shy smile on her face. "And you look good! The hair I mean..." this time it was Rosalie who spoke, blond hair tucked behind her ears.
You didn't respond, eyes still on the shopping center across from you. You could see their nose flare, taking a whiff of the smell the two of you gave off. You and Leah did the same, not willingly. You started to get nauseous. So sweet. You could gag.
"Yeah...can't help but want to be dead right now." You grumbled, knowing full well they could hear you. "You've... changed." The blonde said, jaw clenching her jaw as she eyed the woman next to you. "Wanna see how much she's changed? Leave." The wolf girl spits out, upper half leaning over you to get more in her face.
"Okay whoa, this is their turf Leah... we'll leave." Your brows came together in a slight panic, a hand coming up to push her back into the seat.
"That's why I can't see your future?" The short vampire asked, golden eyes widened as she ignores any threats she was given. There was no need to keep who she was from you, no need to sugarcoat it as you were no longer you. She's seen this before when Bella was saved by Jacob.
Oh, how you wanted to run yourself over with this truck. You'd take that ice box right about now. Rather be freezing cold than have this conversation. "We're leaving now, you should move before your pretty skin gets run over." You said with a tone that can only be described as timid, laced with disappointment.
Okay.. that hurts. The pixy vampire felt her brows frown. You seemed to be taking this...well, appropriately. Appropriate enough for your species.
Your hand was already on the button for the window, ready to lift it until the blondie placed a stone hand on top of the glass, keeping you from your actions. You knew best to keep going, knowing it could crumble like chips.
"So that's it? You won't speak to us? Y/n we were worried about you! We haven't seen your face in weeks! Your father not returning any of our calls, and your brother staying on your land. We thought you were gone, and you're just going to drive away like nothing? No, I won't accept it!" Rosalie started raising her voice, triggering you to move from the window as your ears picked up the squeaking of her vocal cords.
She is just stone. Two stones rubbing together, creating an annoying squeaky noise you couldn't hear before the fever kicked in.
Chewing on your jaw, flexing the muscle, your darker eyes gave the vampire woman a look. "You want to talk? We can talk... just not hear." You quietly added the last statement as you heard the growl of your pack member. You didn't mean to act this... rude to them.
You just couldn't help it. You were still new to this.
Taking a frustrated unneeded breath, the woman with the blonde chair retreated her hand back to her side.
"Then when?" Her voice was calmer, nose still flared as she tried to suppress her anger. She was growing impatient. The moment she spot you coming out of the restaurant- with the biggest smile on your face- she knew she had to come to you. To try and apologize.
That dog next to you just had to run her mouth. Or maybe you just didn't want to see her. To see them. It made sense. Protecting their brother while their friend knew nothing about it.
"Soon."
You said, finger rolling up your window. "I can't believe you just held a conversation with them." You pulled out of the parking spot, ears blocking out the woman beside you as she ranted on and on about how she wanted to rip their throats out.
You couldn't stand it, hearing all the threats given to them. They were your friends not too long ago. You just found out everything the day before, you didn't need the constant cursing and stress today, everything was going good, and now, it's shit.
Parking the truck in front of the red house, the sun was gone, setting behind the trees. The rumbling of the truck shuts off as you pull the keys out, eyes settling where the fire illuminated the grass and house.
"The meeting is starting, let's go." Leah was quick to hop out of the car, long legs jogging to the back of the house. It took you a few seconds to get it together, the whole situation that happened earlier still in your head.
They came out of nowhere, where did they come from? You were parked at the shopping center, you knew how Alice was with clothes.
Sliding the hood over your short hair, you chewed on your bottom lip, trying to force your mind away from the two sisters that belonged to the family you wanted nothing to do with. Not now at least.
Oh, how you wanted the summer break to end so you can enjoy getting drunk with the stupid college friends you didn't truly consider friends. You're really missing Virginia right now, really missing the sun hitting you even if it was 30 degrees. But now it's summer, but it didn't feel like it.
Here, in forks, all you get is clouds and rain. Sometimes muddy snow. But in Virginia the snow was beautiful, and you didn't mind when your shoes were always soaked when you walked to the dorm.
Even missing that stiff-ass bed you had. Not that the bed here was any better.
"Hey! Come on!" You blinked, snapping out of it as you heard the muffled voice of the young wolf, Seth. You breathed in as you gave him a tight-lipped smile, stepping out the truck. "Hey, kid." "Better hurry up before your brother gobbles down the glizzies." You gave the shorter boy a strange look as you start walking with him to the back.
The smell of charcoal and meat fills your nose, causing your stomach to rumble. "Yeah- okay I hear how that sounds-but! By the seems of it, you seem hungry." You released a heavy sigh at this, getting a flashback at the receipt you got earlier. "Yeah, this fast metabolism is going to be the death of my wallet. I should still be full from the number of carbs I ate today." You placed a heavy hand on your belly, the fullness that was there, now gone.
"Yeah, it just gets worse the more we transform, to be honest." The boy said with a lazy smile, dark eyes glowing orange as the fire reflects off them. Everyone, you knew surrounded it with a smile and laugh.
The four elders sat together. Sam, was on the outside, beside Billy, while Emily was on his other side, Billy beside Old Quil, and Sue at the other end, beside her son.
"Imprinting is something we, the Quileute go through to find our soul mates." your father says, dark brown eyes giving the group a scan before they rested on you. The rest of them take small peaks at you, and the male that sat beside you. You shift uncomfortably, always hating having attention on you as you weren't used to it, to begin with.
You slid your warm hands inside the pockets of your hoodie, having nowhere to place them. Embry sat next to you, his eyes down at the crackling fire as he also felt the awkward gaze that was given to the two of you.
This is so weird. He thought to himself as he took a glance towards your brother, but he was already met with the disappointed gaze of the younger. Yeah, couldn't blame him. He imprinted on his best friend's big sister.
"We cannot control when it happens, nor can we choose who it happens with... that can be seen as a blessing or a curse." Your eyes never left the gravel, the black smoke from the fire staining the rocks as he spoke. You didn't see the small peeks Quil received from the pack.
"It can happen at any age, any time, any place. Imprinting... has no mercy. And we have no choice but to live with that." You finally picked your eyes up from the rocks, your father's voice speaking wisdom through the young people's ears.
You catch his wise eyes glancing toward Leah and the leader of the pack. Ooh, he's messy. You, breathed out of your nose, scoffing at the way your alpha shifted uncomfortably while his fiancée cleared her throat.
Leah just sat there with a hard expression, not afraid to hold eye contact with your old man. She acted tough so they wouldn't know she felt weak. But everyone knew how she felt.
Your Alpha. You cringe at your inner monologue, teeth grinding together as you take a look at every one. Alphaaa. You dragged out in your head, rolling your eyes as you let out a sigh. It's already happening, the brainwashing.
You took this chance to take in everyone's features and demeanors as they stared at their elders. They all looked so serious, so intent on being there.
You weren't meant for this, you did not belong here, you never did. No control over who it happened with... it has no mercy. And we have no choice but to live with it. There is no blessing, it's all curse. No free will, no true happiness.
"The act of imprinting is a rare occurrence, never happening in more than 100 years, until recently. If one tries to reject their imprint, they die." Whoa, whoa whoa whoa. He has to be joking. Your back straightens out from its slouch, face never hiding its expression as your dark eyes give a glare to your father. Please be joking.
Your father doesn't entertain your glare as he gives his attention to Sam, placing a heavy hand on the leader's shoulder, giving him a proud look and a nod. You didn't know it, but Sam went through hell when he imprinted on Emily, the cousin of his then-girlfriend, Leah. He hated himself for it and still does. They say you can't love two people at once, but Sam did, he really did.
Even if he couldn't show it.
Billy acknowledges this. He knew the boy was fighting with himself. Internally and physically. Due to him being the first one turning when the Cullens moved back some years ago, he struggled the most, going through it alone.
You picked at your fingers that hid inside your hoodie, head looking up at the dark sky and hood finding its way behind your head. There weren't any stars today, a dark blue sky covered its clouds.
It may have looked like you weren't paying attention, but your ears never strayed away from Old Quils rough voice as he spoke the words of the story of the 3rd wife.
Embry thought he was slick as his eyes stared at the side of your face, scanning the shortcut you acquired earlier that day. He liked it, a lot.
You had forgotten all about it once you left your truck, head only filled with the possibility of tonight, filled with the two sisters you bumped into that day.
They've heard this story a few times already, but it never stopped them from being invested, intrigued.
Hearing their tribe's stories, hearing their curses and gifts. It reminded them how much they were stuck in place, never moving forward until their enemies moved from their land. Knowing the Cullens, they'll return in a few years, when the shifters are old, longer fighting until the next generation of wolves transforms.
Or, until they themselves moved away, and stopped shifting. But that's not even guaranteed. You never know what is lurking in your new life, nothing is perfect after all.
They couldn't tell if the pain of their shifting bones was worthed it, or if they demised it.
They wanted to keep the civilians safe, but even then, they couldn't save the day every time. And that pained them. Heavy. Like yesterday, when that teenager laid across the forest floor, with the demon on top of her.
She was just a kid, most likely coming from school for break. It broke them. But they killed the monster who took the last breath away from that child. Her death wasn't in vain. Her dying saved hundreds of others' lives. But of course, there were times when they saw it as a curse. A threat to themselves, a threat to others.
They were beasts who fed on anger. And that anger could turn into something ugly, real ugly.
"We have enemies out there. Some living far away, some living a mere 40 minutes up the lake. There are ones who want to kill the people we protect, and others who want to live in peace, who want no trouble. We don't like any of them. It is our nature to kill them, to rip them apart, to light their limbs on fire. But for the sake of our babies who stroll around the reservation, the women who carry their heads high, and the men who protect their own... we keep peace with the demons... never crossing each other's turf unless absolutely needed. And it's been that way for centuries."
Hands holding the two black garbage back, you began walking to the trash. The meeting was over, and now everyone helped clean. "Hey, uh, y/n." Oh god.
Taking in a deep breath you released a hum, letting Embry know that you were listening as you flipped the green can open, throwing the bags in there with ease.
"I know that, this is awkward, trust me I feel the same way.." no, no you know nothing about how I feel. You release your breath as you turned around, only to quickly take a step back at how close he was. "Uh- sorry. Look... if...you're uncomfortable with it, we can pretend like y'know...we're not bonded." What the hell is that?
You felt your heart squeeze, no this wasn't a type of metaphor, it actually squeezed.
"If one tries to reject their imprint, they die." Shit, that old fart wasn't playing.
Eyes brows narrowing together, it was as if you were in sync as the both of you brought your hands up to the left of your chest, directly on your stuttering heart.
It was a sharp pain, it left just as quickly as it came. Looking up from the ground, you met with the eyes of your imprint. "You felt that." You didn't ask him, you knew he did.
He just nodded, eyes narrowing on yours. You didn't have much of a reaction, which confused him, instead, you released a scoff as your hand came back to your side. "Yeah, I thought so. That was our bodies telling us we better not pull that shit again." This is real life, this shit was real.
"So, what do we do?.." the male, who was probably an inch taller than you asked. "I would say something along the lines of "oh I need time" or "I have to heal, I can't do this" but who knows what might happen if I'm away from you for a long period of time..."
did you just say that?
Did I just say that??
Did you just...admit that you couldn't be away from him. It must be the imprint talking. You didn't...regret saying it. But you were never the type to rely on someone, this freaked you out, no, you were freaked out on the fact that you weren't freaking out.
Your brain wanted you to go back to VA, to lay in bed and cry about your ex. Yet here you were, admitting to the kid that you couldn't stay away from him on purpose.
And he seems to react to your words, long legs shifting side by side as he looks away from your gaze. "W-well" fuck, he stuttered. This was all too intense. He took a step back from you, clammy hands cuffing onto his arms as he crosses his arms.
"Don't! Make this weird kid... to save ourselves from keeling over, we can uh... we can get to know each other. It's been a while since we've actually held a conversation... we grew up." You were quick to cut him off, saving him from saying something that could cause you two to be embarrassed.
He was quick to shut his mouth, a fast nod coming next as he agreed to your words.
This was true, he finished high school in a detention center. Well, more like getting his GED in a detention center. He spent a year in Texas wondering what his friends could be doing, what you were doing.
He wasn't as immature as he once was, he was better and older. Still goofy as shit, but somewhat mature. He could confidently say that he wasn't the same person he was back then, and so were you.
For this to work, they needed to put a bandaid on their friendship "I think- I think that's a good idea, yeah. We have some catching up to do."
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