(Mike)
By the time we rolled into the parking lot by First Beach, the last notes of On My Way were fading out. Seth tried to hold the final "Iiii'm on my waaay~" a little too long, cracked spectacularly, and then dissolved into laughter.
Leah exhaled like someone who'd just survived a near-death experience.
"Thank god," she muttered, rubbing her temples. "My ears were about to file a restraining order against both of you."
Seth and I exchanged a proud glance. We were clearly a gift to the musical world.
I stepped out of the car and scanned the beach. Sand. Driftwood. A couple of fishermen in the distance. No giant fire, no gathering, no nothing. I frowned.
"Uh… did we… miss it?" I asked, turning a slow, confused circle.
Leah's laugh burst out instantly, she seemed way too amused at my suffering.
"Oh my god, Mike," she said, poking my cheek like I was a malfunctioning android. "The bonfire isn't here. We have to walk to the cliffs."
"A hike?!" I blinked at her. "Why didn't you say that earlier?"
"I did. You just weren't listening."
"You definitely did not."
"I definitely did."
She smirked, I pouted, and Seth zipped past us like an overcaffeinated squirrel.
We grabbed the bags, well, I grabbed the bags, Seth grabbed one small bag of chips and declared himself "helping." Leah started up the narrow trail through the trees, and I fell into step behind her.
Which turned out to be a dangerous decision for someone with a pulse.
Leah's hips swayed just enough to be intentional, just enough for her to glance back and catch me staring. She raised an eyebrow like she was saying I know exactly what you're doing, and I couldn't even deny it. I was a man in love and a horny teenager, what was I supposed to do? Look away? Absolutely not.
The trek wasn't long, maybe ten or so minutes, sunlight slipping through the branches, the ocean rumbling faintly below us. When we finally came out onto the cliff clearing, the bonfire was already roaring, big enough to make the air shimmer around it.
And… yeah. Everyone was already here.
Sam, Jared, and Paul stood together off to the side like a trio of judgmental gargoyles. Jacob, Embry, and Quil were seated halfway around the fire, poking sticks into the flames. Billy Black sat near them in his wheelchair, listening to whatever conversation Quil's grandfather was rambling about.
For a second I wondered how Billy had gotten all the way up here. Probably a pack-assisted Uber service. Super strength had its perks. I could already imagine Sam carrying him on his back like a sack of potatoes, or maybe a backpack, just like Deadpool in the movie when he lost his legs.
Harry and Sue Clearwater were nearby, and the moment they spotted Seth, both parents descended upon him like twin hawks.
"Seth Clearwater," Sue snapped, arms crossed.
Harry added, "Did you forget something before leaving the house?"
Seth froze. "Uh… sunscreen?"
"No," Sue said, voice sharp as a dagger. "The part where you're grounded."
I turned my head toward him so slowly it probably qualified as a horror movie effect.
"You're grounded?" I asked.
Seth shrugged, nervous smile wobbling. "For, uh… minor academic sabotage?"
"He failed two assignments," Sue clarified.
"Sabotage…" Harry muttered, unimpressed.
Seth widened his eyes at me in silent pleading, but I immediately betrayed him.
"Leah," I whispered, "your brother conned us."
She looked like she'd suspected it the entire time.
People kept glancing our way, no, at me, their eyes catching on my height, my hair, my not-exactly-local appearance. Some were subtle. Others weren't. It felt like stepping on a stage I didn't audition for.
My shoulders tensed before I even realized it, so Leah slipped her hand into mine.
"Don't mind them," she murmured, voice low but steady. "They stare at anything that isn't Quileute. Just stick with me."
And just like that, the tension dropped off my chest. Because honestly? If I had Leah holding my hand, the whole damn tribe could stare all they wanted.
…
People began to mingle soon after we arrived, drifting toward the tables stacked with food. Seth was already inhaling anything edible within reach, stuffing his face like he hadn't eaten in weeks. Leah and I followed his example, though in our case it turned into us feeding each other in an increasingly ridiculous way.
What should've looked like a cute, romantic moment ended up looking more like two competitive gremlins seeing who could cram the biggest portion into the other's mouth. Leah was trying not to laugh, cheeks puffed full of chips, and I was pretty sure I had salsa all over my face.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Sam watching us with a complicated expression, some mix of concern, confusion, and "why is this my life." But Paul? Paul was glaring at me with the unwavering intensity of an enraged Chihuahua.
I raised an eyebrow at him in silent question. He immediately looked away, only to jerk his head back around and resume glaring like he realized he had accidentally shown fear.
Jared leaned toward him and muttered, just loud enough for my sharper-than-human hearing to catch, "Do you want your ass beat again?"
Paul froze mid-glaring. Then, like someone unplugged him, he slowly turned his head away and focused on stuffing his face with an enormous burger, the perfect picture of forced calm.
I smirked and went back to helping Leah fit an entire marshmallow puff into her mouth.
Once everyone had plates of food, some stacked to obscenely unsafe heights, Billy rolled toward the fire pit and positioned himself where everyone could see him. His expression shifted into something ceremonial, almost solemn.
"Gather around," he called, voice carrying over the crackle of the flames. "I will begin the story."
Just like that, the crowd settled, the noise quieted, and all eyes turned toward him.
Billy began the story, his voice steady, carrying easily over the crackling fire.
"The Quileute have always had magic in their blood," he said. "Long before the time of wolves, we had the spirit warriors. These men could leave their bodies and wander as spirits, riding the wind and commanding animals with nothing but their will. If danger came and enemies gathered in great numbers, the whole tribe would set out in their canoes and then the warriors would abandon their bodies, fighting from afar while their physical forms remained safe in the care of their women."
People shifted closer to the flames, the younger ones wide-eyed. I leaned forward as well, partly because the story was interesting, partly because Leah's shoulder pressed against mine and I wasn't about to move away from that.
"Generations passed," Billy continued, "and eventually the last of the great Spirit Chiefs came into the world, Taha Aki. A man of peace, known for wisdom rather than war. But there was one among his warriors, a man named Utlapa, who believed power should be used to conquer the neighboring Hohs and Makahs. He wanted an empire."
Billy's voice darkened.
"When the spirit warriors traveled beyond their bodies, their minds were linked. Taha Aki saw the ambition burning inside Utlapa, and he knew it would only bring destruction. So he banished him, and Utlapa fled into the forest, vowing revenge."
The fire popped loudly, almost on cue.
"Taha Aki protected his people always. Sometimes he would leave the village and journey to a sacred place in the mountains, where he would let his spirit roam far and wide to search for threats. One day, Utlapa followed him. He planned to kill Taha Aki… but when he saw his chief's empty body, he chose a far crueler path."
A few of the kids sucked in sharp breaths.
"Utlapa released his spirit to take Taha Aki's body, and then murdered his own body. When Utlapa appeared beside him in the spirit world, Taha Aki understood instantly and raced back to the sacred place, but the deed was done."
Billy paused, letting the weight of it settle.
"For weeks," he resumed, "Taha Aki could only follow Utlapa as a spirit, watching in despair as the body thief fooled the tribe into believing he was their chief. Utlapa's first command was to forbid all spirit travel, claiming a vision of danger. But in truth, he feared Taha Aki would return."
Leah's fingers tightened around mine. Across the fire, Sam looked grim.
"Utlapa began abusing the tribe's trust. He took a second wife… then a third… though Taha Aki's true wife still lived. Eventually, Taha Aki led a great wolf down from the mountains, hoping it would kill the impostor and free his people. But Utlapa hid behind his warriors. The wolf struck, only managing to kill a young man of the village, adding to Taha Aki's grief."
The firelight shifted across Billy's face, making him look carved from stone.
"Taha Aki had been separated from his body for too long. He was in agony, trapped between life and death. The great wolf followed him through the forest, and Taha Aki… grew jealous. The animal had a body. A heartbeat. A life. So he asked the wolf if they might share it."
A hush fell over the beach.
"And the wolf agreed."
He let that hang for several seconds.
"Together, spirit and wolf, they returned to the village. The people panicked at the sight of the beast, shouting for the warriors. But the wolf stepped back from their spears and tried to speak. Tried to yelp the ancient songs."
A few murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"It was old Yut who understood first. The oldest of the warriors… and the only one with the courage to disobey Utlapa. He left his body, entered the spirit realm, and saw the truth in an instant. Yut welcomed Taha Aki back."
Billy's tone dropped lower.
"Utlapa realized what had happened and rushed toward Yut's empty body with a knife. Yut returned too late to defend himself, but not too late to warn the others. His spirit left the world as Utlapa struck him down."
Even the wind seemed to quiet.
"Taha Aki's grief transformed into rage. The wolf shuddered and changed, becoming a man. Not the old body Utlapa had stolen, but the younger spirit-form Taha Aki had always worn. The warriors recognized him at once."
The pack members straightened unconsciously.
"Utlapa tried to flee, but Taha Aki had the wolf's strength. He killed the impostor and ended the deception. Peace returned. Only one law remained changed: the forbidding of spirit travel, forever."
Billy nodded once, slowly.
"From that day, Taha Aki was the Great Wolf, the Spirit Man. He led for many years without aging. He fathered sons who found, in time, that they too could take on the form of wolves when danger threatened. But each wolf was shaped by the man's spirit. Some were warriors who, like Taha Aki, did not age. Others feared the transformation, avoided it, and grew old."
Billy let the silence stretch, the fire crackling softly.
"And thus," he finished, "the first wolf shifters were born."
As Billy finished the tale, the fire crackled loudly, sending a shower of sparks spiraling up into the night sky. People began murmuring, shifting, settling again, but Billy's eyes didn't leave the pack. One by one, he looked at Sam, then Jared, then Paul… and finally, his gaze landed on me.
He held it for a moment longer than felt comfortable.
My wolf bristled, not defensively, just alert, as if Billy had just seen it.
But it was something Billy said almost at the end of the story that stuck in my head, looping like a song lyric I couldn't shake:
"Each wolf was shaped by the man's spirit."
Shaped by the man's spirit.
I swallowed.
Was that why I was so damn big in wolf form? I wasn't just me in there. I was… well, two people crammed into one life. Two spirits sharing one body, no, sharing one self.
Taha Aki had fused with a wolf and changed shape accordingly.
I had fused with someone else long before I even understood what that meant. Two sets of instincts, two histories, two emotional cores pressed into one soul. Maybe my wolf wasn't "double-sized" because of some cosmic accident or weird mutation.
Maybe he was exactly as big as he was supposed to be.
Leah nudged me gently with her shoulder, probably thinking I was zoning out. And yeah, maybe I was. But only because everything I'd just heard felt like someone had taken my insides apart and rearranged them with a new label:
You make sense.
I let out a soft breath.
Yeah. Maybe for the first time… I actually did.
…
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