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Embry's POV

   𝗣𝗔𝗨𝗟, 𝗝𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗗, 𝗝𝗔𝗞𝗘 and I shifted into our wolves and headed North of the border. Since Sidney returned and I imprinted on her, Jacob has been ignoring me–keeping his distance. I can understand how he feels about his little sister being my imprint. But I can't understand why he now wants to play the brother of the year.

   Where was this brother of the year when not only him but Paul and Jared bullied his little sister? Out of all of us, I was the one that went behind their backs to make sure Sidney was okay. I ensured she had someone to talk to about her problems when she couldn't sleep at night. Not Jacob. Sometimes I don't understand him.

   Speaking of Sidney, it was good to see her again. Although we weren't that close, it was still good to see her alive. After she jumped off that cliff, it ripped my heart out. I think it was because I imprinted on her years ago. After I shifted for the first time, Jacob brought her to Emily's.

  No one knew that it happened, but it did, and I kept it to myself. I kept it secret all these years.

  As I trailed beside Jared, the images of Sidney flashed in my mind. The way she looked from head to toe, her dark hair flowing down her back, the beautiful smile that seemed to get brighter when she laughed. Everything about her puts me in a trance when she's around. Hearing a snide cackle from beside me, I looked up at Jared.

'He's whipped already.'

'Yea, and she hasn't even talked to him yet.'

'Whatever, you can shut up now.'

'You knuckleheads wouldn't understand anyway.'

'Understand what, Embry? You're in love with Sidney?'

'As I said, you guys wouldn't understand.'

  Shaking my head, I knew this wouldn't be the last time I heard this teasing.

Sidney's POV

  Autumn and I sat at the kitchen table in Emily's house, laughing as she baked her specialty muffins. My best friend decided to come along with me so she could meet one of my favorite ladies. Overall, Emily liked Autumn as she does anyone she meets.

"I like her." Autumn grinned as she bit into a blueberry muffin.

"See, I told you so." I smiled, nodding my head.

"Who's the other lady you wanted me to meet?" My best friend questioned, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"Oh, her name is Leah. She's a part of Sam's pack." I answered, nodding as I checked the time on my phone. "They should be here in a little bit."

"Autumn, how did you meet Sidney? If you don't mind me asking." Emily asked, leaning against the counter.

"Well, believe it or not, I found her on the side of the road. Her clothes were wet, dirty, and ripped, so I asked her if she wanted to come to my house, and we've been friends ever since," Autumn explained, making Emily smile.

"That's so sweet of you." Emily nods, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, I couldn't resist this cute face." Autumn pursed her lips as she pinched my cheek, making me blush.

"Stop," I said, covering my cheeks in shyness.

"You know I love you. You're my other half other than Lorenzo." Autumn said, pulling me into a hug.

"Anyway, watch your back for Paul and Jared when the mutts get here." I cautioned, taking a piece of her muffin and eating it. "They have girlfriends and are annoying."

"Oh, so they're those types of guys?" Autumn questioned, nodding her head.

"Yea, especially Paul," I replied, rolling my eyes and nodding.

"Ah, note taken." She nodded, narrowing her eyes. "Can't make any promises if they approach me the wrong way and one of them ends up on the floor."

  I laughed as Autumn shrugged her shoulders. She was the one that always resorted to violence when it came to boys that shouldn't act as if they were single. She didn't have a problem setting the opposite sex straight when they approached her. A while passed—twenty minutes when we heard laughter and chatting voices. Glancing at Autumn, we gave each other the same look and sat there.

  The first to walk into the house was Jared and Paul. They gasped, glancing at each other, then ran towards the kitchen table, shoving each other out of the way.

"Hello, beautiful I'm Paul." Paul introduced himself to Autumn as she hesitantly shook his hand.

"And I'm Jared. The cutest." Jared smiled, brushing his eyebrows.

"I'm none of your concern," Autumn replied, grinning, but it was fake. I could tell she didn't like Paul and Jared.

"Oh, I love my girls feisty," Paul said, leaning closer to Autumn.

  Autumn looked at me, raising her eyebrow, saying she was close to punching Paul, and I put my hands up, telling her to go for laying Paul out.

"That's nice. I like my guys unconscious on the floor." Autumn explained, smirking at the hothead. "Now, if you don't want that to be you, I'd suggest you back up."

  Paul stared Autumn down. The silence between them was so tense that you could cut it with a knife. I saw my best friend clench her right hand, ready to swing at any moment if Paul made sudden movements. The smile on his face fades away as he backs away from Autumn.

"Oh damn." I laughed, shaking my head.

"I think you made a good choice Paul," Autumn spoke, grinning.

"Come on, Paul," Jared said, putting his hand on  Paul's shoulder.

"Yea, Paul, I'd suggest you go." Autumn held a sly smirk on her face. I could sense that Paul wanted to say something to her, but he decided against it.

"Wow, you got shut down by a girl." I laughed and received a glare.

"Even if I did give you a chance. I have a boyfriend." My best friend replied, shaking her head.

"What's his name, Casper?" Paul scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"No, it's Lorenzo, and he's way taller than you," Autumn said, scanning her eyes over Paul's form. "He also wouldn't like how you're approaching me either."

"Paul, just back away," I warned him, and he glanced at me before walking to the living room.

"Whatever." I hear Paul mutter under his breath.

"You know Paul. It would be a shame if Rachael found you're not being faithful." I said, staring at Autumn, whose grin got wider.

"Oh shit." I hear Jared whisper.

"That goes for you too, Jared," I replied, glancing at the boys from around Autumn's body.

"Alright, Sidney, that's enough," Emily said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"You're so mean." My idiot brother said, grabbing a muffin from the basket.

"No, I'm just assertive," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Anyway, Leah, this is my best friend Autumn."

"Nice to meet you," Leah said, shaking Autumn's hand.

"Same here, and you're good-looking too," Autumn said, winking at Leah.

  Leah blushed, brushing her hair behind her ear. "T-Thank you."

"You're welcome. Do you maybe want to go hang out sometime?" Autumn flirted, smiling at a flustered Leah.

"Oh my god Autumn, stop hitting on Leah." I groaned, not believing what my best friend was doing.

"What? She's cute. I'm cute. We can be cute together." She replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Don't you have a boyfriend?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Leo won't mind. He's into that kind of thing." Autumn replied cheekily, smiling.

"Autumn, I did not need to know that." I closed my eyes and tried to get the image she had just put there.

"Well, it's the truth. So Leah, do you want to hang out sometime?" Autumn waved me off, shrugging her shoulders.

"Sure, I'd love to." Leah accepted, nodding her head.

"Great, I'll call you when I have the details." Autumn clapped her hands together. She pulled out her phone, typed Leah's number, and smiled.

   Although he was silent, I rolled my eyes and continued talking with Leah, Seth, Jacob, Emily, and my mate. He kept glancing at me when he didn't think I noticed, but I did. I smirked and pulled out my phone, sliding it on the table to Embry. The look on his face made me giggle. Blush spread across my mate's face as he typed his number into my phone.

   I grabbed it off the table and talked with Autumn and Leah about ordinary female things. Sometimes I thought that maybe Leah needed female companions in her life, not the males in the pack. Especially Sam. Her former imprint. The man she was supposed to love, but he imprinted on her cousin. That's fucked up in a way. I could understand how it feels to be betrayed by your family.

   If I'm honest, I applaud Leah. She's strong enough to act cordial seeing her former imprint with his new lover. It pains me knowing that she wouldn't experience what someone loving you would be.

   Seconds turned into minutes which changed to hours before I decided it was time for Autumn and me to head home.

"It was nice meeting you guys. Well, except for you, Paul and Jared." Autumn announced, waving her hand, laughing at Paul's expression.

"I'll see you guys later," I said, waving at everyone and hugging Emily and then Leah.

"Goodbye, Sidney, and nice meeting you too, Autumn." Emily grinned, waving at us as we walked out of the house.

   We got on our bikes, placed our helmets on our heads, and rode home. The ride home was peaceful. I stopped my bike, stared at the trees, and heard various birds chirping.

"This is so peaceful." Autumn sighed, staring at the high trees.

"It is, isn't it?" I nodded, smiling at her.

   After ten minutes of soaking in the quietness, I started my bike up and proceeded home. Shutting our motorcycles off, Autumn unlocked the front door and walked inside the kitchen, and Dimitri greeted us.

"How was visiting your brother and his friends?" Dimitri asked as I opened the fridge, grabbing a water bottle.

"The visit was eventful. Autumn got hit on by one of his friends, and you should've seen his face when she put him down." I explained to Dimitri, laughing.

"Where's my lover?" Autumn asked our friend.

"Enzo's out back working on his motorbike," Dimitri said, biting into his sandwich.

Autumn's POV

  As I walked out to the back of the house to the garage, I heard rock n roll music playing. The source of the music was the stereo sitting on the corner table, so I turned it down, making my boyfriend and soulmate turn and look at me.

"Hey, babe," Lorenzo greeted me, wiping his hands on an old rag as he stood up.

"Hello, lover." I smiled as he leaned down and placed a kiss on my lips.

"How did hanging with Sidney go," Enzo asked me, returning to working on his bike.

"Good, although a couple of Jacob's friends were hitting on me," I said, sitting in a chair and making my mate growl. One thing Lorenzo didn't like was males shooting their shot at me, but he knew me and knows how quick I make those guys look stupid." You should've seen their faces when I put them down, and Sidney threatened to tell their mates. Hilarious"

"Were they upset?" Lorenzo asked, a smirk appearing on his beautiful face.

"Highly," I grinned, nodding my head.

"That's my girl," He said, turning my cheeks red.

   There has always been something about how my mate says good girl or that's my girl that makes me tingle inside.

"So you've been working on your bike all day?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Yea, I didn't want to keep putting it off, so I decided to work on it," Lorenzo replied, nodding his head.

"Oh, also, I met a new friend," I replied, remembering I got Leah's phone number.

"Did you now? What's their name?" My mate asked, tightening a bolt on the motorbike.

"Leah, and she's cute." I proclaimed, swinging my leg that I crossed over the other.

"Leah, huh? And you say she's cute, eh?" Lorenzo questioned, turning to me with his eyebrow raised. "I'll have to see her for myself."

"You'll think she's cute too, but guess what?" I replied cheekily, grinning.

"What?" Lorenzo asked me, with a wrench in his hand.

"From what Sidney told me, Leah's mate is Sam, the Alpha of their small pack, but he rejected her because his mate turned out to be her cousin," I explained, watching Lorenzo turn to me with shock evident on his face.

"You're kidding?" He questioned, stunned.

"No, Leah's the only girl in the pack," I said, shaking my head. "Imagine seeing your cousin that took the man you love and having to act as if it doesn't bother you? I wouldn't be able to do it."

"That's wild. Maybe she has a second chance, mate, out there somewhere." Lorenzo pointed out, nodding his head.

"You could be right." I nodded my head, agreeing with him.

   I sat there watching Lorenzo work more on his bike and had to go inside because I couldn't handle watching his muscles flex and hearing his grunt as he twisted different bolts.

"Autumn, go in the house and take a cold shower." I hear my mate say, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"W-Why?" I questioned, clenching my thighs together.

"I can smell your arousal, and it's distracting me." He growled, not turning to face me.

"Fine." I huffed, standing to my feet and walking out of the garage. As I walked inside the house, I found one of our pack members, Jenny, sitting in the kitchen with her mate Dimitri. "Where's Sidney?"

"I think she went up to her room," Jenny replied, nodding her head.

"Thanks," I said and headed up the stairs.

   Approaching Sidney's bedroom door, I raised my hand and knocked before hearing her voice from the opposite side. "Come in."

   As I opened the door, I saw Sidney lying in bed with her arms over her eyes, shielding them from the hallway's light.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sitting next to her on the bed.

"I felt dizzy, so I came up here to lay down for a little bit," Sidney replied, turning to me, still on her side.

"How long has it been since you shifted and let Nessia out to stretch her legs?" I asked, running my hands through her dark hair.

"About a month." She sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"Babe, you have to let her run," I said to my best friend giving her a small smile.

"I know if I do, she'll want to find her mate," Sidney mumbled, shaking her head.

"Sidney, Nessia is going to do that regardless," I claimed, laughing as I caressed her cheek.

"Okay fine, I'll go." Sidney huffed, sitting up in bed.

   Helping my best friend out of her bed, we headed out the back of the house. As Sidney stripped of her clothes, I told the other girls that she was shifting to keep the guys inside.

'Girls, Sidney is shifting, so keep the guys inside the house.'

'You got it.'

'On it.'

'Ditto.'

   My best friend screamed as the sound of her bones cracking and popping echoed through the night sky. Her body reshaped and grew snow-white fur. Sidney shifts into her wolf finally and releases a howl into the quiet night.

   Nessia blinks at me, and I nod, allowing her to take off. As time passed, I sat on the back porch and waited.

Embry's POV

   The sound of a howl in the distance made my ears perk up. I jumped out my bedroom window, shifting midair as I landed on the ground before taking off in the direction of the sound. My wolf fought harder to reach the destination until he got the smell of a sweet scent. It was all too familiar to him and me.

'What's that smell?'

'It's the scent of our mate.'

'Go to her.'

'Don't have to tell me twice.'

   His paws thudded on the soft wet ground as he ran faster toward the sweet smell. Finally, we came to a clearing and stopped. He looked around when the sound of a branch breaking caught our attention—a set of golden yellow eyes staring back at us in front of us.

'Sidney?'

The snow-white wolf blinked, nodding its head. 'Yes, it's me.'

'H-How are you able to speak in my mind?'

'We're mates Embry.'

   My wolf and Sidney's slowly stalked toward each other warily. They pressed their heads against one another, and sparks instantly began flying.

'I-I don't know what to say. You being a wolf is cool.'

'I want you to promise me something.'

'Sure, what is it?'

'After I leave, I want you to forget you saw me as a wolf and not tell your pack, including my brother.'

'Why what-'

'You have to. I don't want your pack to know yet. Please.'

'Okay, I'll keep it a secret.'

'But I have to know something. Why did Jared, Paul, and Jacob bully me all those years ago?'

'They saw you as weak because you come from the Black bloodline and haven't shifted yet.'

'Of fucking course they did.'

'But I didn't see you as that.'

'Why didn't you save me when I leaped from the cliff?'

'I had to pretend to be on their side. If I'm honest with you, I've always had a crush on you.'

'You did?'

'Y-Yea, I did, but I knew that if I approached you on it, the guys would make fun of me for it.'

'Well, since you confessed, I guess I will too. I've always liked you too, but I thought you didn't like me because you were on their side.'

'Of course, I liked you. I mean, why wouldn't I.'

'You're adorable.'

"T-Thanks, I guess.'

"Listen, I have to get back home, but I'll talk to you later.'

'Okay, you know how to find me when you need to.'

'Goodbye, Embry.'

'Bye, Sidney.'

   Standing there, I watched Sidney's wolf glance at me one last time before taking off deep into the woods. As I headed home, I couldn't believe that Sidney finally shifted, and it was a pure white one. Maybe there's a book or something about a white wolf in the Quileute Tribe book. I'll have to ask someone about that.