"i am ember
burning down your empire
glowing brighter than the darkness inside of you."
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Clary Saltzman thought living in a strange town with her estranged biological father and half-sister would be all she had to worry about...
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CLARY WALKS INTO Emily and Sam's house with her three best friends right behind her, the inhabitants pausing what they're doing.
Almost immediately, Seth and Lizzie both perk up, smiling at each other.
Once Embry notices Josie, he promptly chokes on the cookie in his mouth before falling out of his chair.
Josie giggles at the sight, blushing as Embry stands up quickly and makes eye contact with her.
"You guys already know Paul, Seth, Jared, Embry, and Jacob," Clary introduced, gesturing to each boy. "But this is Sam, Leah, and Emily." She smiles as Emily hands her a sandwich. "Thanks, Em."
"You're so beautiful," Josie murmurs, looking at Emily with gentle eyes.
Leah huffs, turning to storm out of the house, her shoulder knocking into Hope's, who turns around.
As Leah glances back at Hope on her way out, their eyes meet, and it's like Leah physically stops breathing for a moment before she shakes her head and rushes out.
Clary's eyes widen as she witnesses the interaction, getting a feeling she knows exactly what just happened.
She wants to shout at Leah to come back and speak to Hope, but she remembers the story Leah told her about herself and Sam, since the two had become close over the last few days.
Instead, Clary sighs and says nothing. Leah will come back eventually and talk to Hope when she's comfortable enough to do so.
"Hey," Seth says, approaching Lizzie nervously. "Can I, um... Can you take a walk with me?"
Lizzie visibly brightens, smiling and nodding. "Yeah, sure." She trots off after Seth, sending her best friends a look over her shoulder.
The three remaining girls give Lizzie an encouraging thumbs up as she and Seth disappear into the woods.
Clary shrieks as Paul comes up behind her and twirls her around. They both laugh before he places her back onto her feet. "Paul!" She exclaims, slapping his chest.
Hope and Josie share a look, smiling.
They knew Clary needed this—needed Paul. They've seen her struggle for so long, so she needs the love and happiness Paul is giving her.
"So, you're a different type of wolf, right?" Hope blurts out, making everyone freeze and turn to Clary, who shrinks back slightly. "What?"
Clary turns to Hope with wide eyes. "I haven't exactly told them... yet."
Hope's eyes grow wide. "Oops."
"Tell us what?" Sam demands, stepping forward.
Clary huffs. "I think it'd be best if we went outside for this," she says, walking out of the house, not giving anyone room to argue.
"Why do we need to be outside for this?" Embry asks, raising his eyebrows. He's confused, but intrigued. He sticks close to Josie, who is twiddling her thumbs nervously.
Clary stops, turning to Hope and Josie who stand on each side of her. "Girls?"
She's sad that Lizzie isn't here to help put on a show, but she and Seth are having an important conversation elsewhere.
The girls hold each other's hands, muttering a spell under their breaths as they focus on a large log used for bonfires.
They raise their hands simultaneously and the log mimics their movement, floating about five feet above the ground.
The pack gasps and takes a step back. Except Paul, who is grinning at his girl and her display of magic.
"What are you?" Emily asks in amazement and curiosity. She's never seen anything like this before.
"We're witches," Hope answers, removing her hand from her friends. "To be specific, Josie and Lizzie are siphoners—meaning they don't have magic of their own, but have to borrow it from someone or something else that does."
"That's so cool," Embry breathes out, sending Josie a smile and a wink, who giggles nervously and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Hope and I aren't just witches," Clary speaks hesitantly, glancing at her best friend. "Hope is a tribrid—part witch, werewolf, and vampire." The pack tenses, and Sam takes a step forward, growling. "But not the kinds you know of," she says quickly. "Our werewolf kind has to kill someone to trigger the curse, and we break all of our bones when we transform.
"Our vampire kind doesn't sparkle in the sunlight but instead goes up in flame, and our skin isn't hard like marble or stone. We have beating hearts, and blood rushing through our veins. We can also eat human food. And before you judge Hope, she hasn't actually triggered her vampire side yet, so she's just a hybrid like me."
"What do you mean 'like you'?" Emily inquires.
Clary sucks in a breath. "I'm a hybrid—a witch and a werewolf."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Jacob looks at her with wide eyes. "You knew about us."
"Because I have people to protect. More specifically, an entire school to protect from hunters and anyone else that wants to hurt people like us."
Paul smiles at his girl before frowning, her words finally registering. "Wait, what? School?"
Josie steps forward. "Mine and Lizzie's dad own a school for the supernatural," she answers. "Clary's mom is married to our dad, so she owns it as well."
Paul frowns, looking at Clary, who doesn't seem to want to look him in the eye. "Why didn't you tell me this?"
Hope sends him a look. "Because our school is already under threat. What if someone were to hear about it and start blabbing, alerting hunters to a school full of supernatural creatures they can kill? It's not safe for a lot of people to know about its existence."
"We wouldn't tell anyone," Paul insists, his eyebrows furrowed. "We have a secret of our own that needs to be kept hidden."
"I was just protecting the people I love. You should understand that," Clary tells him.
Paul nods and walks over to her, placing his hands on her cheeks with a smile. "I understand, I really do, but you should know that you can tell me anything."
Clary smiles, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest. "I know."
He kisses her forehead before pulling away. "How about we go inside, eat, and wait until Lizzie and Seth come back so we can talk some more, yeah?"
While they waited for the teenagers to come back, Embry finally gained some courage to talk to Josie so he could get to know her more before telling her about the imprint.
They were both so nervous until Josie—who can't keep her mouth shut when she's nervous—blurted out that she already knew about the imprint.
The pack had paused before laughing at Embry, who seemed speechless.
Once Lizzie and Seth come back, happy and holding hands, the girls and the pack both start telling stories about how they came to be what they are.
