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𝑬 𝑽 𝑬 𝑹 𝑮 𝑹 𝑬 𝑬 𝑵
❝ 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚛? 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚞𝚜? ❞

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ㅤ"𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋?" Derek Morgan asked May Black through the phone. His tone was clearly teasing, but the smile spilling upon his lips—that his teammates can see—was enough for them to now exactly who was on the phone with him.

Spencer made sure his eye roll was visible within a mile radius before turning away.

From the other side of the country, May was smiling too, unbeknownst to Derek. "A tall, lanky birdy told me you were missing me, so I just had to call you."

"Damn, Spencer," Derek muttered lowly, thinking that May wouldn't hear. But even through a device, May's hearing was strong and clear, and she heard exactly what he'd said under his breath. She couldn't help but giggle slightly, shaking her head in disbelief at how...whipped she already was.

"Was he wrong?" She wondered teasingly, matching his tone from earlier.

He chuckled. "Not exactly."

"Does that mean the great Derek Morgan actually admits he misses me?"

"Not great, May," he told her. "But I do miss you, that's something I can't lie about."

May swore she heard a scoff from his end, but she knew it wasn't him. Spencer, probably. "If my calculations are correct, you're at work. Yet you have the time to flirt with me from the other side of the country."

"All for you, gorgeous."

"Stop, I'm not gorgeous."

"You are. You're also blind."

"Derek," she rolled her eyes, but a smile was on her lips. "Shut up."

He chuckled again, the way it reverberated in his throat made May weak in the knees.

God, I'm hopeless, she thought to herself.

"Well," he started, "I refuse to shut up until you believe me. So, May Black, you're gorgeous. Own it."

"Derek--"

"Just a simple thank you will suffice. Come on."

She groaned. "Ugh, fine. Thank you, for calling me gorgeous."

"Great start."

"You're so annoying," she huffed. "Well, I'm just calling because...well, I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"When, uh...when I come back," she stammered. "Do you...can you...I...go on a date with me."

"Woah," he spoke. Then he didn't speak for at least a minute after. May swears she could hear her heart beating in her chest as it painfully contracted, waiting for his decision. It was probably the worse sixty seconds—more or less—of her life. "Uh..."

"Can you just say something?" She complained, groaning into her hand—the one that wasn't holding her phone—in embarrassment. "If you don't want to--"

"I'd love to."

"...huh?"

"I'd love to go on date with you, May. As a matter of fact, with your permission, I want to plan it out."

"I...why'd it take you so long to answer me then?!"

"It's not every day the girl of your dreams asks you out!" He defended, while still complimenting her unexpectedly, which in turn made her blush unexpectedly.

"You-- ugh, stop complimenting me--"

"--never--"

"--but sure. If you wanna plan it out, I'm down."

"Great! Then I'll see you soon. Will let you know the appropriate attire the day before."

She huffed in disbelief. "You won't tell me anything about it?"

"Nope," he laughed. Then May could hear a few voices in the background. "Well, that was Hotch. Gotta go, sweetheart. Enjoy the rest of your vacation with your family. Can't wait to be introduced to 'em. Bye!"

"Intro-- what do you--" Before she could utter another word, the call ended. She pulled her phone away from her ear and looked at her screen in disbelief. "Damn."

She was able to sleep for a couple of hours before noon hit. It wasn't enough, however, as she was feeling groggy as she ran towards the pack house. But she couldn't stay indoors for too long, and she desperately wanted to be with the pack to make up for lost time. Additionally, she also wanted to shift again, as she has yet to do so ever since she got back, and she wanted someone to be there with her.

Upon reaching Emily's place, she was greeted not by the sound of laughter, but the sound of shouting. She rushed towards the door and saw that Leah and Seth have officially joined the pack for meals, but it was clear there was some tension and anger, especially seeing how Leah was screaming Sam.

"What the hell is going on?" May demanded, immediately silencing the whole room. Emily, who was about to lay a plate on the table, gestured to Sam and Leah as inconspicuously as she could before leaving the room. The rest of the pack—sans the two who are clearly fighting—had their eyes firmly on the table top, unmoving. "Is anyone gonna tell me why there's in-fighting?"

Leah let out a growl, tearing her eyes away from Sam to look at her alpha. Of course, she'd been briefed by the rest of the pack about their positions. May was alpha, Sam the beta and the acting alpha when May's away, Jared the third-in-command, and Paul as the acting third-in-command if Sam's acting as alpha. The rest of them were members. But even if Sam's the acting alpha, only May can actually command them, with her voice being something that they can't resist.

Leah liked the sound of the last bit of information.

But then the topic of imprints were brought up, and how they're meant to be their 'mate', their one and only, and how the imprint is almost instantaneous. Regardless of the situation, the imprint will rise above everyone else—everyone but the alpha, technically. And Leah quickly put two and two together and began to shout, realizing that even after being with Sam for years and even being engaged to him, Emily—her own cousin—became his imprint.

She screamed at the unfairness of it all, before anyone could even explain that no one knows exactly how imprints are chosen.

That's when May entered.

"Well?" She asked again.

"We...we were telling the two new members about...us," Paul hesitantly explained after Jared discreetly hit him on the thigh. But everyone knew May had a soft spot for him, and was the least likely to get hurt if he spoke up, especially seeing at how calm she seemed to be, but her eyes told a different story.

"And?"

"Imprints," Leah growled, her voice gravely and so close to an actual wolf's, her entire body shaking in anger. Despite this, she seemed to have enough control not to phase.

"What about imprints?"

Leah could only clench her jaw before turning away from everybody and running outside. The distinct sound of clothes ripping filled everyone's ears before the place was silent once more.

May cleared her throat, ignoring how hungry she was, before looking at Sam and saying, "I'll talk to her. Better save me a damn plate, Fluffy, or else."

"Yes, ma'am," Sam nodded. And May took that as her cue before turning around and running out of the house. She refused to rip her clothes so she found a slightly secluded area away from prying eyes and began to take off her clothes. Then she shoved them into the little bag Emily had given her—as she did the rest of the pack—where she could store her clothes, which could be secured on one of her hind legs.

Finally, she felt a wave of calm blanket her as she closed her eyes, before finally shifting into her large wolf form. Even when she was learning how to shift, it was clear that her shift between forms was swifter than the others, a trait that Jacob shared. Her brother chalked it up to the fact that they were direct descendants.

Now, as a wolf, she felt stronger, faster, and her senses more enhanced. Based on her experiments with Sam and Jared the last time she was here, she was significantly stronger than any of them. But based on the others' accounts, she wasn't the fastest; it was Jacob and possibly Leah who's able to outrun the others easily. Her hearing also seemed to be the best in the pack. She was also nearly the biggest one, only rivaled by Sam, but only by a little.

She joked that it must be because he has 'fluffier fur', which gained him the new nickname Fluffy.

Though, with Jacob's growth rate, he might just surpass the both of them.

Shaking her large head and feeling her new body, she walked out of her hiding place and saw that the rest of the pack had come out to see her wolf form, something that only Sam, Jared, and Paul had seen.

Embry let out a breath, gaping. "Holy shit, you're huge."

May narrowed her eyes at him. Language.

"Sorry."

Jacob also couldn't help but admire her. "You really are the White Wolf."

Seth even stepped forward. He had his hand out, clearly curious about her fur. So she allowed him to pet her. "Wow."

She then gently stepped away and gestured towards where Leah had run off to. Even without words, Sam understood, and called for the others to go back inside. As soon as they left, she turned, and began to run.

Being in her wolf form always made her feel a lot freer. It was like her spirit was always meant to be in this form, and she felt so high on the feeling that she felt as though she could fly. And with her speed, it almost felt like she could. But she made sure to remember her task at hand, and that was to talk to Leah Clearwater.

Soon enough, she found her hear the cliffs. She was just lying there, staring into the ocean. Slowly, May approached her, and then sat beside her.

"What's troubling you, Leah?" She inquired through their pack link.

Now, they were never close. They were family friends, but their age difference made it so that never really fully hung out. Though she was the same age as Sam, she never required any babysitter, with Sue and Harry being very active parents, unlike Sam's. So, they weren't really buddies, just acquaintances. However, May's presence, as told to her by the ones who've shifted first, had a certain warmth to it that made everyone trust her.

Leah scoffed. "Imprints."

"What's wrong with imprints?" When Leah didn't speak, May decided to elaborate. "You know they're special, right? Your soulmate, essentially. We don't know how an imprint's chosen, but everyone who's had one understands that they're there to complete you. Make you happy."

Leah was still silent, eyes focused on the crashing waves.

May refused to feel awkward, so she stayed and kept the younger girl company.

A few minutes passed before Leah spoke again.

"Why couldn't I have been the one to make Sam happy?"

"What do you mean?"

"No one ever told you, huh?" Leah shook her head. "Sam and I were together. We were in love. We were engaged. Then all of the sudden, he changed. He was different. It all felt so fast. We broke up. And now...now he's with my cousin. And I never understood why. Until now."

"Leah, you know he didn't choose to make her his imprint, right? It's involuntary. The spirits choose for us."

"Was I not enough?"

"Leah..."

She sniffled, and oddly enough, even her wolf's face looked sad. So sad, that May couldn't help but nudge her with her snout in reassurance.

Leah welcomed it, and sighed. "I hate it. I understand it, but I hate it. All that heartbreak, all that pain, only to be told that he didn't even choose it. Don't you think it's unfair? That something else chooses for us?"

"I do," May admitted. "I do wish we had a choice in that matter, to avoid hurting others. To avoid hurting yourself, even. But that's...normal. And we're not normal, are we? The spirits know us better, they know them better. They know that other than bringing us happiness and all that, they're the only people who can be with us because not everyone can be accepting of who we are. It's not gonna be easy, but it's gonna be right."

Leah finally turned away from the ocean and looked up at her. "Do you know the feeling, then? Have you imprinted?"

"Yes."

"Do they know?"

May shook her head. "Not yet."

"Will you tell them?"

"I have to."

Leah turned away again. "Why us? Why do we have to be wolves? Why do we have to be protectors?"

May looked at her thoughtfully. "So nobody else has to be."

It was the day before May leaves for DC, and she was stuck accompanying her brother to Forks High School. He wanted to have a word with Edward, about his kind jumping into their territory. May already chewed him out, telling him that she's already spoken to them and given them her warning. But he was adamant, and just had to talk to Bella too, especially when he found out she'd left town.

It was clear he still couldn't let go of his crush. So to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, she accompanied him and assigned herself as the driver, sitting behind the wheel of their old Rabbit.

Almost immediately, Jacob was out the car as soon as she parked it, walking towards the school entrance like a man on a mission. He had his arms crossed, frowning deeply that May's trying to figure out if he could even see anything with his eyes so squinted.

Then that sharp, sickly-sweet smell filled her nostrils, making her grimace again. The smell burned her nose. And she could tell which of the Cullens it was that omitted it. It was Edward, and mixing with his scent was Bella, who had a rather sweet scent too. It wasn't like a vampire's, but rather, she smelled like lavenders with a hint of pinewood.

She watched as her brother approached them both, hearing their conversation clearly. She kept rolling her eyes at the exchange between both boys, finding them incredibly exhausting. She watched as their conversation ended, and saw how both Bella and Jacob were now walking towards her. Deciding quickly, she stepped out of the car to introduce herself to Bella.

"I know you," Bella muttered, her brows furrowed in concentration. "You...you used to babysit me. Well, Jacob and I. When we were little." Her eyes were then filled with recognition. "Cali. Cali Black. That's what dad used to call you."

"She goes by May now," Jacob told her, causing her to look up at him in surprise.

"Oh!" She looked at May. "Right, uh, sorry. May. How-- How have you been? I heard you're in the FBI. Dad's...dad talks about you a lot."

May couldn't help but smile at the thought of her Uncle Charlie. "Well, your dad has been over a few times for some drinks. Sadly I haven't been home long enough to have a proper conversation, but we've been exchanging pleasantries."

"Yeah, I-I know."

The girl was so painfully awkward that May could tell exactly who she got it from.

"Well," May cleared her throat. "Let's go to the rez. Shall we?"

author's note: just to clear things up in case there's any confusion, italicized sentences are thoughts/conversations through the pack link. sometimes, i don't italicize and just state that it's through the link. however, if there's an italicized word in a sentence, that's simply for emphasis.

hope y'all enjoyed <3