Edited 05/30/21
Staying home from school was frustrating for Meadow. Her dad insisted that she follow Sam's orders even though she vehemently protested the opposite. She didn't want to follow a man who thought it was right to force someone to do something just because he thought it was for the good of the pack. He was more paranoid than anything, in Meadow's eyes, so she thought it was just an abuse of power.
The day after she had her talk with Paul, she was banned from going to school and had to learn all there was to know about being a wolf and being a part of the pack. It was an overload of knowledge and Meadow had a tough time keeping up, especially with the patrol patterns. Working with Sam was the worst part of it all. Not only was he unable to sympathize with her, but he hated mistakes. She was yelled at every time she made one. Overall, he was a bad teacher. She wondered how the boys learned anything from him.
"I'm only going to explain this once, so pay attention," Sam said sternly. They were sitting outside with a map laying between them. It was a map of the reservation, and it had all kinds of lines and circles going through it.
"There are four sectors of the reservation. They are labeled North, South, East, and West," he said while pointing to each of them. "Two wolves are on patrol duty at all times, though that number is based on how many vampire sightings there are. Each wolf patrols two sectors at a time. During their patrol, they often cross paths like so," he said while following lines on the map. Every line on the map was black, which made it harder to follow. Her face scrunched up as she tried to memorize each patrol line.
"You'll be patrolling the West and East sectors since you're new. These sectors usually have the lowest rate of sightings. Here's the map so you can memorize your route. I'll give you a few minutes. After you're done, you can start."
Meadow stared at him in astonishment. That was all he was going to teach her? He must have read the look on her face right because he said, "The rest is merely instinct."
Merely instinct my ass, Meadow huffed in her head. Just because it was instinctual didn't mean she knew how to do it! She didn't know how to fight a vampire if she ran across one and she didn't know how to control her thinking. She really wanted to pull her hair out, but she didn't have time to throw a fit. She had to memorize her route and fast.
"Time's up," Sam said as he took the map from her hands and rolled it up. She narrowed her eyes at him but said nothing. "Go. Jared will relieve you when you're done."
She shifted into her wolf form and shook out her fur before running off. Immediately, the thoughts of her younger brother invaded her head. His thoughts revolved around one brunette that resided in the neighboring town. Meadow rolled her eyes at the direction his thoughts were trailing. He was upset that she had been dating a vampire, his natural enemy. And she knew about it! He couldn't figure out why she would voluntarily do something that dangerous.
Would it be any different if she were dating you? Meadow asked.
Of course! he shouted. She's human and he's a creature that drinks human blood.
Wolves are dangerous, too, Meadow said as she pictured an image of Emily. She hadn't gotten the full backstory, but it was obvious that it was one of the guys who did it. The scars were shaped like something ran its claws down her face. It's plausible that a bear did do it, but as far as Meadow was aware, Emily wasn't one to go hiking, and since Sam wasn't directly hateful towards any of the boys, it had to have been him who had done it.
We're monsters in our own right, she said. He was contemplative for a moment before he huffed and grumbled.
We're still better than those bloodsuckers.
The two sibling wolves crossed paths and Jake winked at her before speeding off in the opposite direction. Meadow rolled her eyes at his antics before concentrating on her task. She smelled something suspicious and checked it out, only to figure out that it was an old trail. She was annoyed that she had to spend a whole five minutes to figure out the damn smell when she could've been running still.
What do you think I should do, MeMe? Jake asked.
You can't tell her, Jake, Meadow warned him. She could picture the fit Sam would throw if Jake told Bella about their true nature.
I can't just let her think I abandoned her! She needs me! he yelled.
Let everything settle first, she advised. It's hypocritical of me to say this but Bella can wait. Even though you shifted earlier than I did, you're still a new wolf. Adapt first and then figure everything out second.
Adapt first then talk to her? he asked hesitantly. She nodded her head. When she realized he couldn't see her actions, she called herself stupid and verbally affirmed it.
I'm just- what if she's my imprint and I'm making her wait?
All the more reason to wait. It's too much at once, Jake. Believe me. Besides, she might not be, too.
I just have this feeling. I feel like I have to be near her whenever I think about her, he confessed.
It's probably just your crush on her. Don't do anything rash, Jake. Think of Embry and how he was with me, she said.
You mean how he still is, Jake snorted.
He'll grow out of it. Just like you'll grow out of your crush with Bella.
The day Jake gets over Bella Swan is the day I give up chicken wings, Jared said.
That'll be the day, Embry said.
You here to relieve us? Jake asked.
Yeah, we came as soon as the last bell rang, Embry said. How are you doing with everything, MeMe?
Fine, she said. How's Quil doing?
After clearing her head last night, Quil had popped into her head, and she wondered how he was doing. For some stupid reason, Sam wouldn't allow Jake or Embry to socialize with him anymore. It makes sense that they can't hang out as much after school because of patrolling and the threat of vampires, but they should at least be able to talk to each other in school.
He's not taking all of this well, Embry admitted. He projected the one-sided argument he had with Quil earlier on in the day. Quil was cursing his and Jake's name while accusing them of abandoning him to hang out with Sam. He looked more hurt and confused than angry.
You should talk to him, she suggested.
We're not allowed, you know that, Jake said resigned.
He didn't order you to. He just told you not to, she pointed out.
You're right, but Sam will be mad if we do, Jake said.
That's his problem, she said off-handedly.
It's not a good idea, Jared said, though his surrounding thoughts contradicted his main thought. He, like the rest of them, knew how painful it was to drop your friends for their new lifestyle.
He'll ask a lot of questions we can't answer, Embry said.
Because you've made it complicated. If you hadn't avoided him for so long, he wouldn't have a reason to ask so many questions, Meadow reasoned.
It's too late, Jake said. We'll just have to wait and hope he shifts, too.
Quil might shift? Meadow asked worriedly.
Yeah, he's part of the three main bloodlines that started it all, Jared answered.
Black, Ateara, and Uley, she guessed correctly.
Yup, Embry said.
Jared reached Meadow's location and relieved her of her new duty. She ran in her wolf form until she reached Jake in his. She told him to shift back so they could walk together to Sam's and Emily's house. She appeared in a worn-down shirt and cut-offs and Jake appeared a few seconds later in just cut-offs.
"Why couldn't we just run all the way back," he whined.
"I need to ask you some things," she said. Jake got the hint that it was supposed to stay between the two of them.
"What's up, MeMe?" he asked seriously.
"Wasn't our great-grandfather the chief of the tribe and the Alpha of the original pack?" she asked.
"Yup," he said, popping the 'p'. "Why?"
"So, why is Sam the Alpha?"
"He shifted first," Jake said in an obvious way. "He asked me if I wanted the position, but I'm not ready for it. Besides, I don't want all of that responsibility and he's been a wolf longer than I have."
Meadow scrunched her eyebrows in confusion and pursed her lips.
"He didn't ask me," she muttered.
"He didn't?" Jake asked in surprise. She shook her head and stared hard at the ground. Her fists clenched and she got all worked up. She didn't think she was mentally ready for that sort of position, but she still felt some type of way for being left out. She was a Black, so she was technically in line for the position.
"That's weird. It's one of the first things he mentioned when I shifted," Jake admitted. "Don't worry about it, MeMe. I'm sure he just thinks you'll say the same thing I did. Do you want to be Alpha?"
"Not right now, no."
"Not right now?"
"Not right now."
"So, you want to be Alpha in the future, then," Jake concluded.
"I don't know. Maybe."
"Is this just because you don't like Sam?" Jake questioned. "He's tough and it sucks most of the time, but he's a good leader."
It wasn't because she didn't like Sam, though that was a good reason. She didn't like his method to the madness that was a shifter's life. She felt like she'd been thrown off a boat and into the deep ocean without any swimming lessons. It was one thing to tell someone how to swim, and it was another to be guided through it. It's like math. You can be shown how to solve a quadratic equation by a teacher, but until you do one and continuously do them, you need to be guided through it.
She wasn't being guided through anything. She was just being told what to do, like a mindless soldier. But that was the difference between her and the rest of the boys. She wasn't going to go along with whatever her Alpha said without questioning him. She wasn't going to run after a ball after being told fetch like a dog without asking why she was fetching in the first place.
"Just give him a chance," Jake said after scratching the back of his head. "Isn't that one of the things you used to tell me when I was younger?"
"Yeah," she said. The small house came into view and Jake let out a holler as the two of them walked through the back door. Sam and Paul were sitting at the kitchen table discussing something when Meadow and Jake walked in. They stopped talking and greeted the siblings. Meadow's eyes met Paul's before they drifted off and stopped on Sam. She met his eyes and immediately felt threatened. They were like black abysses. They challenged her to say something, anything that went against his ideology.
She didn't have an end goal yet. All she knew was that she was not going to sit by and let Sam run her life. She narrowed her eyes and stood her ground.
Thank you for reminding me that Sam offered the Alpha position to Jake when he first phased. It gave me an idea on how to get Meadow to change the story up. Some Paul and Meadow romance is coming your way next chapter \(^.^)/
I almost put this chapter off because I have two essays due this week, but I needed a break from schoolwork. I didn't think I'd get this stressed this fast.
Don't forget to ☆ the chapter and comment what you think!
♡ Stay Awesome ^u^ ♡