𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟕 

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙬𝙤𝙡𝙛

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╰┈˚ · ° .  SAM HAD BEEN RIGHT. Jacob Black was going to be the next Quileute to phase.

It had been easy doing the spell, much easier than any other time. When we had woken up after the unlocking of the Aether element and forming the coven, our magic had changed in a way that was both different and the same.

Our elements in the beginning had been slightly off. The chaos that charged the Aether had made the other four more wild, untamable, but spells never were easier. We were alright when together, we were powerful, so much so that the spell had been wordless— we had our hands interlocked and what we wanted to see had flashed before our eyes. Jacob and his russet wolf. We had our confirmation.

It was harder once we broke the connection. For a second we were all there, the next, we weren't—at least not all of us— Kim was missing, and the panic had started.

For the first time in months I had lost control of my fire. Flames had come to life and then doused by a splash of water that Layla had involuntarily created.

"What the fuck!" Amelia snapped upright, us following after her, "where the hell is she?"

"Oh my god, we killed Kim?! Oh my god, oh my god!"

"Stop panicking." I shouted back, slapping my hand on top of Layla's mouth. Her eyes were wide and filled with panic, and I knew they matched my own. "She is not dead." Then I turned to Amelia, "She is not dead right?"

"How the fuck would I know!" The air witch gripped her hair at the roots as if she was one second away from yanking them all, at the same time a gust of wind passed through the space hard enough to make us buckle on our legs.

"Stop it! Don't panic." I was panicking as I said that. "We would know if she was dead, right? Like through the coven bond or something."

"The bond, yes. The bond." Amelia gulped, relief showing for a second as she said,"She is alive, I can feel her."

"Okay then where is she?" Layla asked as she started to pace back and forth, back and forth.

"I don't know."

"Uh, girls?"

We freezed. The Coven connection opened and the voice in our head was exactly of the witch we were missing.

"Kim!" The relief was palpable as we all shouted her name.

"Where the hell are you?" I asked.

"I don't know how but I'm actually at Jared's house." her voice took a sweet tone then, not how any of us was feeling at that moment. "He is so cute when he sleeps."

"That's not important right now." I saw Amelia roll her eyes and I was sure that even Kim could feel it through the bond. "How are you there? That is the question."

"I don't know. When we woke up I was thinking how I missed sleeping next to Jared. He is always on patrol duty at night this week so since he doesn't want to wake me up when he comes back I'm sleeping alone. Honestly, that's not–"

"Focus, girl." Mia stopped her rambling. Kim could be like that, once she started it was hard to make her stop talking sometimes, but as adorable as that was, now it wasn't the time.

"Yes, sorry. So I was thinking about him and then I was here. With him."

"Oh." I almost slapped a hand on my face. How did we forget about that? "The aether can unlock the Transmutation. The power that makes you move from one space to another in the blink of an eye as long as you can see it."

"Oh right!" Exclaimed Kim, "But then why am I here?"

"Because we just unlocked it and it's giving you an energy boost. I'm sure that this is not going to be a normal occurrence." I explained remembering the story written in one of the personal journals of one of the previous witches.

It took Kim more than a half an hour to come back since she had to walk— Transmutation could be a dangerous power to use without knowing how.

The spell that told the wolf identity was confirmed right that same night when Amelia called the pack to alert of his brother's sudden change of temperature and temper.

Another wolf was about to shift.

══════ 🜂🜁🜃🜄 ══════

╰┈˚ · ° .  Jacob Black wasn't someone that I could say I liked as a person. Maybe I was biased, but Jacob had left tears in Maddison's eyes one too many times for me to ignore it.

The sentiment was reciprocated by the others, that was for sure. Even Amelia wasn't indifferent even if they were siblings, and from the snarl on her lips I was sure that she was one step away from mauling her own twin brother these days.

"Can't we stop this from happening?" Amelia stated— not a question. Her words were loud in the otherwise silent room.

"Agree." Paul grunted, "We should stop this however we can because I do not want him in the pack."

"And how do you two suggest that we do that?" I quirk an eyebrow. It was impossible to stop a wolf from shifting when the mutation was already triggered.

"I don't know, a spell? You are the witches, Beatrice, you find the spell or ritual or whatever." he snarked back.

"We are witches, not miracle workers."

"Okay now it's not the time, you two." Jared rolled his eyes, "But you do have a spell right?"

"Do you guys remember he is my best friend, right?" Embry looked quite offended at what we were saying.

"And?" Amelia asked, "Your best friend is a piece of shit."

"That's your brother!"

"Thanks, I didn't know." She replied with full sarcasm.

"Back to the problem guys." Layla stopped the two, before widening her eyes at her own words as he looked at Embry, "Not that Jacob is a problem. I'm sorry I didn't mean it like–"

"It's okay." Embry softened significantly, threading his fingers with hers causing a blush to spread on both their cheeks.

"Why do you never apologize to me when you insult me?" I turned around to look at Paul. He was waiting for my response eagerly, his head propped atop his hand as he rested his elbow on the table.

"Because I would have to spend all our conversation apologizing." I deadpanned.

"Aren't you the sweetest?"

"Look who's talking."

"Layla." He suddenly yelled her name making her winch, "Teach some manners to her would you?"

Jared snickered under his breath making me kick him in the shin—fortunate enough, he was just sitting in front of me— "Shut up."

"Are you done?" Sam's voice broke the few arguments that were created in the room.

"There is nothing that you can do." Maddison suddenly said, "His gene was already triggered."

A beat of silence passed before I spoke turning towards the two people that I knew thought of it like me—Paul and Amelia. "We can always freeze him out."

"After a punch to the face and bite? Sure. Good idea, baby." He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, moving the chair with me on so we could be closer.

"I'm totally okay with this plan."

"You are not going to freeze him out." Maddison stated.

"We are not? Why?" Jared asked, actually confused, "It seems like a great idea to me."

"No, you are not, so stop this. He is going to be one of you soon. Pack brothers and whatever you guys call it. " A choir of disgust echoed around, "You can't freeze him out."She continued, ignoring them.

"We can't do anything about this now, we can only try to take the best out of this situation." Sam said looking far older than he actually was with how serious he was being.

"Exactly." I agreed, with a sharp nod "Like think about how we can actually beat the crap out of him. Burn him, maul him. So many creative ways to make him hurt."

"That's not what–" Sam started only to snap his head in the direction of his imprint that let out a loud chuckle, "Not you too, Em, please."

"He has not been kind to one of my girls." The woman rebutted, her arm wrapping protectly around Maddison who blushed profusely.

"Can we please just forget it?" The Swan girl asked, her eyes bounced around every member of the pack and coven. "Please?" She pleaded cutting more than one person that was about to say hell no.

"Fine," Paul finally spoke— I noticed how the two had become much closer lately, and I was so overjoyed by it. They both needed a good friend, and with their similar past with their parents, I knew they could understand each other. "But the first time he is an asshole to you or anyone, he is going to get a harsh awakening."

══════ 🜂🜁🜃🜄 ══════

╰┈˚ · ° .  Three days was all the time we had to wait. Jacob had phased during the night and Sam, Paul and Jared had gone to him— Amelia was there too since it was their home. The rest of us waited in the pack house, the day was still early, only a few hours after dawn, and the morning light showered in gold the living room.

Embry was pacing back and forth with a huge grin. He missed his friends, that much was clear. The fact that he had to leave behind Quil and Jacob had not made the boy happy in the slightest. At school, you could see him look longingly at them from far away, at least that was until Layla walked by and he was ensnared by her presence. Those two were cute. One shyer than the other but they matched perfectly. They were taking their relationship slowly, one day at a time, talking for hours on end, and until I had seen how Embry could change his sad frown to a beaming smile just at the sight of Layla, I had totally underestimated the strengths of the Imprinting.

I have seen it with Jared and Kim, but they were so outgoing and an easygoing couple who were much too cheerful about everything— something that I begrudgingly loved about them— they had been inseparable from the beginning. Sam and Emily were another story, but maybe it was the stoicness of my brother or the fact that as much as we were family, those two were much more reserved about their relationship. The history of their couple— of who came before— I knew hurt them both. I was sure not as much as Leah, but still.

With Paul it was hard to notice it. I was in it so I didn't have a clear view of everything. My own feelings clouded my judgment. But with Embry and Layla, I could say that their connection was clear to the eyes even to her part.

"I can't wait to see him." Embry with a restless smile exclaimed before it turned into a frown. "Do you think he'll hate me for this? I hope not. I really hope not."

"You are working yourself up, Em." Kim said bringing the boy down on the couch, "There is no need to worry so much."

"Right." I mumbled in agreement once she sent me a glare, telling me to say something comforting, "He'll understand."

"Yes, yes. You are right."

Maddison was bouncing her leg up and down as she sat in one of the armchairs. She had cooked so much food already that Emily had to ban her from the kitchen. She was stressing, worrying so much that we were going crazy with the amount of anxiety that she was oozing. Not even the empathy gift was needed to feel it.

"Drink this." Emily walked in with a tray with two mugs, "It will help. It's Kim's secret mix."

Oh yeah that was going to calm them down.

Embry drowned it all in one sip making Layla giggle as she wiped a drop of tea that ran down the corner of his lips freezing him in place. Maddison, on the other hand, was just staring at it.

Noticing this, Emily pushed the mug slightly, "Come on Maddi."

"They are back." I announced out loud, seeing Paul and Jared, both shirtless and bare feet, walking out of the woods with matching wolfish grins.

We stood up, Kim barreling through me to hug his boyfriend as she hadn't seen him just a few hours ago.

"Oh how I missed you." Jared groaned as he lifted his imprint into his arms and twirled her around.

"We are not doing that." I declared to Paul as I pointed at the couple with my finger as my lips twitched in amusement.

"Whatever you say." he chuckled, bending down slightly to capture my lips. And I was a goner, lost in his touch. When we separated, he leaned back on the couch's arm, bringing me with him.

"How did it go?" Embry asked.

"How do you think?" Jared was the one that replied, "Fantastic! Paul bit him straight in the neck."

"You did?" I turned slightly so I could look at him, teeth biting into my bottom lip.

"Oh yeah." he answered smugly, closing the space between us, keeping up his grin.

"You look so fucking hot right now, my love." I said opening the link between witches and wolves making sure that it was only him that I broadcasted my voice.

"You can show your appreciation later while on your knees."

"Didn't we say that we wouldn't do anything to him?" Embry asked exasperated, fortunately bringing my focus back before I could do more than widen my eyes at Paul's comment.

"Yes but he tried to bite me first." Paul shrugged nonchalantly.

"Fair is fair." I nodded leaning back more into him.

"Amelia is driving him and Sam here." Jared said.

"Did Mia already explain to him about the witches?" Layla asked, her fingers playing with the few rings she had on.

"She just said that the shapeshifting legend is not the only one real." Jared replied.

The car entered the Young property minutes later. Amelia exited the vehicle as fast as she could and all but ran inside.

Following after her there was Sam, his eyes hard, unreliable if not for the twitch in his right one. Jacob was behind him, reluctantly allowed himself to exit the car. Long gone were his long legs and arms, now he was buffer, defined muscles. He was wearing a sweatshirt that was making him sweat, probably not still comfortable with the lack of clothing, I could see him using his hand to fan himself.

The house was silent as they entered. Amelia speedwalked to my side, stealing me from my boyfriend so she could sit between me and Maddison on the couch. Not liking it that much, Paul growled menacingly at her, which she ignored. I knew he only let it go since the situation was precarious.

"Jake." Embry smiled at him broadly only to be ignored by the boy who had his eyes set on one specific person— though, she wasn't looking back.

"Who wants to start?" Emily proposed, she offered us girls a gentle and inviting smile that was hard to not give one back.

"Start with what?" Jacob asked, his eyes shifting to everyone in the living room,

"I told you that there was more." Sam began, nodding his head towards the couch where we were, "They are the more."

"More of what? Are they-"

" Wolves? No." I cut him off. "There are many legends in the tribe, shifters are only one of them. As you know, the legend states that the gene in our blood is triggered when It senses that our enemies are near and the shift will help to protect the tribe."

"I know how the Legends goes, Uley." impatiently Jacob said.

I ignored him, "The other Legends says that there is another latent gene in the tribe for those who are deemed the successors. Witches came for the protection of the land. They are anchored to the Reservation. Their first instinct will always be to protect it. Witches and Wolves come at the same time. One wolf and one witch until all the coven is completed with four." I pointed my finger to my brother, "Sam shifted first, and with him I unlocked my element, which is fire." I pointed to the spot further down the couch, "Jared was second, Amelia with him. Her element is air." I turned Paul, "He was the third, Kim the witch who unlocked with his shifting. She is earth. And lastly," I pointed to Embry who held tightly Layla's hand as he was too afraid to let it go with Jacob here, "Embry and Layla, she has water."

"You are telling me that now witches are real too?" He stood up from the chair, "this is crazy. You are all crazy."

"Boy I'm not the one turning into a huge furry." I snarked, pushing him back on the chair with shackles of fire."You might want to keep your mind open."

"Okay, okay." he let out through a hiss, and once Maddison slapped my arm, I waved my hand extinguishing the flames even if I had made sure that they hadn't hurt him— much. "What about you?" He turned to Emily, making Sam stand straighter. "Are you a witch too or what?"

"No, I'm just his girlfriend." The woman laughed.

"Excuse you?" I spluttered, simultaneously as Amelia, snapping our attention and whole body towards her. "You are not just his girlfriend."

"You are way better than him." Mia added, looking as offended as I was at the insinuation, "You are our Emily."

"Exactly." I turned to my best friend in outrage, "Where does that even come from? Unbelievable. Just his girlfriend, my ass."

"Alright girls." The woman laughed, sharing a look with Sam— who looked for a second softer than he had ever looked in a long time— before sending us a heartwarming smile, "We get it. Sorry. I'm Emily but no, I'm not a witch or anything. I'm human."

Jacob swallowed once, twice, and his expression turned murderous when he focused back on Maddison. "What about you? I know that you have no Quileute blood so, what are you doing here, Maddison?" Jacob grounded out through clenched teeth as he stared at Maddison like she had betrayed him.

I opened my mouth to reply but to my surprise— and everyone else— it was Layla that spoke, "Watch your tone." Sweet Layla who was shy and who I had never heard say anything bad had snarled the words.

It caught us all so much by surprise that we all collectively gaped at the girl.

"Hell yeah!" Laughed loudly Jared who slapped his knees with how much he was amused.

Maddison didn't reply though, she wasn't even looking at him.

Jacob sighed, "Is there something else that I need to know?"

"The Cullens are vampires, we have a treaty with them." Sam said, "There are other two vampires running around recently. That is why your genes were triggered. I can explain it better to you later."

"Wolves and witches have a particular bond. Your feelings are all heightened, anger more so." Kim started slightly hesitating to offer her help, "We can help you keep calm, in the beginning it is very useful since you have no control. If you need help, we will be there."

"Alright," He croaked, looking tired and overwhelmed that I almost felt bad for him. Almost.

"One last thing." I turned towards Embry who had been the one that spoke. "Imprints. Do you remember what the legends say?"

"Yes, it's like love at first sight. What about it?" Jacob widened his eyes with hope, "It's real too?"

"Yes, it's real." Embry nodded, giving a glance to the side where his Imprint was.

"It's not exactly like that." Sam started, "It's not love at first sight— even if sometimes it can be. It's different, your perception of the world changes drastically when you meet their eyes for the first time after shifting. It can be platonic or romantical, you just know it. But they are your person, soulmate, to put it in simple words."

"Is it why you follow after her like a lost puppy?" Jacob asked starkly, annoyed, at Embry referring to Layla.

"I don't-" Embry tightened the expression on his face, his teeth grinding down.

The atmosphere had suddenly become thick with tension. All the wolves were high on alert to the point where they all stood straighter, ready to protect or attack.

Sam shifted in front of Jacob so that he could cover Embry's eyesight of his friend, "Never speak of someone's Imprint that way, Jacob." He warned, "It doesn't end well. And trust me, you don't want to fight the wolf if you just insulted their Imprint."

"Shit." Amelia grumbled, suddenly standing up to say next to Sam with her hand on his arm to calm him down, motioning for Emily to help her.

I shifted on the couch until I was next to Paul who was still leaning against the arm, arms crossed over his chest with fist balled up. He was one step away from starting to tremble and two away from shifting completely.

I rested my head on his side, brushing my hand on his lower back. Paul sighed a breath pushing his hand underneath my hair so that he could cup the back of my neck.

"I didn't mean it like that." Jacob said, looking around the room with a roll of his eyes.

"It doesn't matter what you mean." Jared grumbled, Kim wrapped in his arms.

He didn't add the fact that Jacob was already not liked and their wolves were seeing him as a threat since he had already hurt one of the pack. Maybe he hadn't done it consciously, maybe he did, but it still didn't change the fact that he had hurt Maddison. And she was part of the pack, she was family, she was one of us.

"Just a head up." Paul sat up straighter, thumb pressing against my pulse to feel the thump of my heart against it. "I already don't like you, my wolf doesn't like you, so you need to watch your mouth around my girl if you want to stay unharmed."

Jacob took it as a challenge. He too stood up, shoulders flaring and muscles hardening, "You mean the same girl that you bullied?"

"Okay, bullied is a hard word, alright." I snapped upright, stopping Paul from shifting in the middle of Emily's living room. "It was just his assholeness coming to play." And yeah, maybe a bit of bullying but we are past that.

"Stop it, both of you." Sam said, a slight edge of his Alpha-command in his tone. "This is your last warning Jacob, don't talk about Imprints."

"Did all of you imprinted?" Jacob looked around with interest.

"Uh yes." Embry was the one that replied with darker cheeks. "Layla is mine." he mumbled, avoiding any eye contact with said girl.

"Kim." Contrary to Embry, Jared was staring right at the girl with a massive grin and twinkling eyes.

"Beatrice." Paul replied with a grumble and an eye roll. To which I chuckled. He looked so pained at answering or talking in any way to Jacob.

"As you might have guessed, yes, I imprinted on Emily." Finally Sam said.

Suddenly Jacob smiled, "I have to go."

"You can't." Sam stopped him, "You don't know how to control yourself, and you can't tell anyone other than the people in this room and the elder council about the pack or the coven."

"You can't stop me." Jacob grounded out, squaring his shoulders. This guy had guts, that was for sure.

Sam had once told us that because his ancestor had been the Alpha, Jacob would feel the innate want to push the current one.

Pack hierarchy was complicated. There is an alpha, a second-in-command and a third-in-command. Usually, as stated by the council and the various pages across journals and the grimoire, the first wolf to shift was always the strongest. Not only physically, but because the spirits choose him to shift first because of the mind. They knew who was the right choice to lead a pack, who had the strength and morals and braveness.

Second and third in command weren't always the second or third wolf to shift— but it had rarely happened that it hadn't been that way. If the spirit needed someone to lead with the alpha, they needed someone for the pack to speak up to with a second, someone not as intimidating as the alpha could be. And with a third, they needed a fighter, a fierce protector.

Mind, spirit and body. And Sam, Jared and Paul were the perfect embodiment of those.

The structure after that was pretty simple, the stronger the wolf, the closer in formation to the alpha they were. Fights were bound to happen for hierarchy, but challenging an alpha like Jacob was unconsciously doing, that raised some eyebrows.

"I can." Sam commanded, "It's not only for your safety but for the other people too. You are bound to the pack, whether you like it or not. And I'm your alpha. I don't give commands usually, and not without a reason. But this, this is for everyone's safety. When you'll learn how to act without be a danger, then you'll be free to go." the alpha command in his tone sharpened, "You will not tell a soul about the Pack. You will not reveal the presence of wolves. And you will never betray the witches and their secrets."

Silence rang hollow, and then Jacob looked away, not strong enough to keep Sam's eyes now that my brother had shown his strength. "Yes, Alpha." Jacob grounded out before he stepped back and slammed the door of the house behind him, only going as far as the backyard.

✎˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ˊˎ˗

Hello everyone! 

This chapter is so long omg. 

Jacob shifted and I had no intention of turning this fic into a Jacob bashing story but here we are. Let's see if this will change later on.

Not much of Paul and Beatrice in here other than a few sentences. (One that was HOT) 

Trixy and Mia on Emily's protection squad. Embry and Layla, I honestly can't with them, istg, they are too cute. 

All of them hating Jacob because he hurt Maddison>>> or the wolves protecting their imprints, god I love it.

I hope the explanation of pack hierarchy made some sense, I'm really trying to get more into all the wolves lore. Nothing of what I wrote is actually twilight canon btw, it's just something that I created!

Thank you for reading this chapter, I'll see you on Thursday!

˚ · ° . 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 . ° · ˚

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!

– 𝐋𝐨𝐥𝐚 ☾