Call of the Heart // Paul Lahote

IV

It took Elizabeth a couple of hours before she figured out how to shift back, the boys politely turning around and throwing her some shorts and a shirt. Once she was dressed, they turned around again and she looked at them desperately.

"What the hell happened?" She asked them, her mind racing with the possibilities. "The legends." She muttered, looking at them in shock and realization. "The legends, they're true, aren't they? About the spirit warriors and the magic running through our veins?"

Sam and Jared shared a look before turning to face her again. "Yes, they're true. You're one of us, Ellie. We've been waiting for you to shift." Sam explained and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"You knew?" She huffed. "You both knew and you didn't tell me? You didn't warn me?"

"Lizzy, we couldn't be sure. This isn't something we could just go around telling everyone. I wanted to tell you, I did, we just-"

"Couldn't be sure." Elizabeth sighed, finished what Jared was going to tell her. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"First, we help you arrange a funeral for your dad." Sam told her, feeling the pain of the loss of her father weighing down on the girl he considered to be like a sister. "After that, we'll explain everything and teach you everything we know."

"We love you, Lizzy." Jared told her and the boys went to hug her, giving her the comfort she needed at the moment. She already felt much lighter than she did before, as if the burden and loss was spread between her and the others and she felt grateful for it.

They walked back over to her house, where Harry Clearwater was waiting for her, a knowing look on his face when she emerged from the woods with the boys.

"I can't stay in this house by myself." Elizabeth stopped in her tracks, staring at the house she'd slowly been going crazy in only to find out her last remaining family had passed away. She couldn't bring herself to spend another minute alone in there.

"You can stay with me and Emily." Sam told her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into his side and she welcomed it.

"I'm glad you finally joined the pack. I'm sorry about your dad, Ellie, he was a good man." Harry told her and she nodded at him.

Harry was satisfied knowing that Sam and the pack would be taking care of Elizabeth and left to get home to his wife and kids.

Elizabeth had many questions, but right now, she just felt exhausted and in need of a good night's sleep. She grabbed a bag and quickly grabbed some of her clothes, stuffing them inside before heading back downstairs. Sam took the bag from her and the three of them made their way over to Sam and Emily's place.

Embry just walked out of the house, grinning at Elizabeth when he noticed her.

"Welcome to the pack." Embry told her, nodding at Sam and running into the woods, making Elizabeth frown at Sam.

"We'll explain everything after you've gotten some rest." He told her softly and they walked inside, finding Emily washing dishes at the kitchen counter.

Sam immediately walked over to Emily and kissed her, leaving small kisses all over her face, making Emily giggle before the pair turned back to Elizabeth and Jared.

"I've already made the guest room ready for you. You're welcome to stay as long as you want to. There's freshly baked muffins in the oven and you've got a whole bathroom to yourself." Emily explained to Elizabeth as she walked over to her, engulfing her in a comforting hug and Elizabeth smiled lightly at Sam's fiancée.

"Jared." Sam nodded and Jared quickly took Elizabeth's bag from his alpha, grabbing Elizabeth's hand and leading her upstairs and towards her new room.

"I would stay with you, but I have to go on patrol with Embry." Jared explained to his best friend, who seemed frighteningly calm under the circumstances.

"I understand." Elizabeth smiled at him, quickly walking over to him and letting herself melt into his chest as she hugged him tightly. Jared was quick to react and hugged her back even tighter, kissing the top of her head before reluctantly letting go and joining his pack member on patrol.

Elizabeth took a shower, rinsing off all the dirt that had gathered on her body earlier in the woods and took this moment to recollect her thoughts and feelings. She was surprised by how calm and accepting she was of the fact that she could turn into a large wolf, not to mention the fact that her best friends had the same remarkable gift. She was too tired to continue crying about the loss of her father, feeling it weigh down on her shoulders. She was glad she wouldn't have to go through it alone, having Sam and the pack to help her through it.

After she was finished showering and getting dressed, she walked back downstairs, Emily and Sam both seated at the kitchen table, patiently waiting for her. Emily smiled at her and gestured to the oven, telling her it was alright to grab some food. She knew how hungry the newly shifted got, having been there for Sam and the other boys.

"Tonight, you get all the rest you need. Tomorrow, Emily and I will head down to the station with you. We'll figure everything out together, Ellie." Sam assured her as she sat down with a plate of muffins in front of her, feeling hungrier than ever before. She sent Sam a grateful smile before digging into the food.

Sam and Emily chuckled at Elizabeth's appetite, she had to keep herself from moaning at the taste of the delicious food and made a point of telling Emily what a great baker she was, making the couple in front of her smile in amusement.

When Elizabeth was finally satisfied with the amount of food she ate, she hugged Sam and Emily one last time before excusing herself to go to bed. The moment her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep and didn't wake up until Sam shook her shoulder lightly.

Elizabeth groaned, but noticed it was already around lunchtime, having slept for nearly a whole day. She felt well rested, after having barely slept for such a long time. She got dressed and gratefully ate some of the food Emily had made for her before the three of them got into Sam's car and headed down to the station to talk to Charlie Swan.

     "Ellie." Charlie sighed with a sad smile on his face. Elizabeth's father had been one of his best friends and he felt terrible for the young girl to have lost both her parents before even graduating.

     "Harry told me Sam and Emily took you in?" Charlie questioned, looking from Elizabeth to the couple behind her and she nodded with a small smile, sending a grateful look over her shoulder to them.

     "Alright." Charlie sighed. "We need you to identify the body, if you're feeling up to it?" His voice softened and Elizabeth nodded at him, feeling the warmth of Sam's hand as he grabbed it to comfort her.

     Charlie led the trio to the morgue and he showed them what was obviously the body of Dave Scott. Elizabeth held back her tears as she confirmed that this was her father. They had to sign some paperwork and everything was good to go for the funeral.

     "What killed him?" Elizabeth asked Charlie, her voice barely above a whisper, silently debating if she truly wanted to know what had caused her father to pass away.

     "Some kind of animal. We're doing everything we can to find it. I'm very sorry, Ellie." Charlie told her softly and Elizabeth nodded in understanding, thanking the chief before following Sam and Emily.

     They spent the rest of the day preparing for the funeral and arranging what needed to be arranged. Elizabeth was grateful for the pair, knowing she wouldn't have been able to go through this alone.

     They held the funeral at Elizabeth's house within the next week and Elizabeth was glad to have Jared and Sam by her side through it, having to hear seemingly endless condolences from people who barely even knew her father, it pissed her off to no extent and she often had to leave the house to catch her breath and calm down, not wanting to have to run into the woods to shift and attract attention to herself and the tribe's secret. Needless to say she was more than relieved when the funeral was over and she could focus on learning about her new life.

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Double update! I hope you enjoy!
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