|2| Broken Beta {Paul Lahote}

XIV

Julianna had been running for days now and she finally caught a sort of a familiar scent.

"Can anybody hear me?"

She hesitated at the edge of the treeline, where the scent had began to emanate from. She looked around and padded silently into the wood and she ducked her head, to avoid branches in her way.

She heard a menacing growl from behind her and she reared up as a big black wolf lunges directly toward her, now. She was backing up quickly until she suddenly had an idea.

"Carmen?"

The wolf stopped charging and her eyes glinted like golden fire in the sun setting that reflected off of the ground and trees, both behind and all around them.

"Carmen Uley. You're the younger sister of Samuel Uley and one of the Quileutes who ran away from the Tribe and everyone you were supposed to be protecting."

The black wolf lowered her head in what looks like shame, as she howled quietly to signal something and then a bunch of massive wolves materialized out of the woods, as they were now all surrounding Julianna, who stays very calm.

"Do you know who I am?"

She questioned and the biggest wolf stepped forward quickly, as his fangs were bared and Carmen stepped back into the line, her black fur blending in and the biggest wolf looked at her and she nods.

"Julianna Carter Black. Do you remember us? All of us?" The gray wolf's eyes glowed menacingly.

"You don't scare me, Tanner. I have dealt with your brother's anger and horrifying shifting problems for nearly a full year or two now. You, Tanner Lahote, you don't scare me at all."

She turned her head away from the alpha to look around at the pack and she scoffed quietly, as she recognized so many familiar faces.

"Alexandra (Alex) Clearwater. Kiran Fuller. Amanda (Ima) Cameron. I mean, I grew up with most of you. I can't believe that you would put your family through this hell. Amanda, your father is dead."

The silver wolf reared back as if she had been smacked and Julianna looks back through her memories and she'd find the one of the funerals for Harry.

"Come with us back to the camp quickly. We can talk there, without fear of being overheard." Tanner cuts back into the conversation.

"Fine. I'm starving anyways."

The conversation was clearly over and they all walked away from the meeting place, and towards the camp at once with both Tanner and Carmen in the lead, and, Julianna right behind them.

They all went to their own corners of the camp and they phased back, and a bunch of shorts, shirts and jackets, all were being yanked on.

Julianna ducked behind a tree and pulled on her clothes again, as she'd walk back out quickly and she found herself in a circle of the renegades, as they were called.

"Julianna Carter Black. What are you really doing here?" Carmen Uley asks and Julianna raised her eyebrows at a accusing tone in her voice.

"I don't answer to any sort of accusations or accusatory tones of voices, Carmen Uley." Many collective gasps, came from the pack, as Carmen growled.

"Easy, Carmen." Tanner's voice cut into the tense as hell confrontation as Carmen had begun to quiver already.

"Look, I have no ill intentions for coming here. But, I do have news of the Tribe. It happened again, Cullens are back. The tribe is made up of ten wolves now, eleven if you count me."

Julianna looked around to see what the reaction from the pack would be and they all looked to Tanner, whose arm was still out to keep Carmen for a safe distance now.

"Who is the alpha and the rest of the pack? Who makes it up?" Tanner asks for the strangely quiet pack.

"Samuel Uley is the alpha. Jared Cameron and Jacob Black are the two Betas of the pack. Paul Lahote is the third in command. Embry Call and Quil Ateara V are members now along with Seth and Leah Clearwater who phased after the death of their father. The two younger members of the pack are Colin Littlesea and Brady Fuller. And me, before I left." Julianna said.

"Sam is the alpha?" Carmen murmured quietly and Julianna nodded a little bit, as she looked to Tanner to see the reaction of the new pack's alpha.

"Paul phased?" He asked and Julianna's scoff echoed through the entire pack.

"Yeah, he did. You guys and indeed, your wolf forms, you look very much alike." She said and he nodded.

"Colin and Brady... they were like five years old barely when we left them all behind us." Tanner grumbles a bit and suddenly Julianna looks up, hearing a branch snap.

"Is it one of you?" Julianna asked as they all look at one another, and their heads were shaking at her.

"Take the lead. Everyone, you know what to do." Tanner growls and every wolf phased at the exact same time, as they waited for Julianna's lead.

Julianna was growling as she crept into the shadows and everybody was copying her, as they all silent watched as a normal gray wolf, crept into their camp to search for food. It disappears after Julianna growls a bit menacingly at it.

Tanner rumbled something quietly under his breath, and the entirety of the old pack was phasing back and all of them were unsure of what was now going on, as Tanner and Carmen were communicating in a wordless way of communication.

Before very long had passed, it had been maybe five minutes and they'd easily just both nod at each other and they turned to Julianna, who looked a little unnerved, by what was going on, as the entire wolf pack now had gone, completely silent.

They all dropped down onto hands and knees, as it finally dawned on the head of Julianna, what it was that the pack was doing.

All of the werewolves were phasing and dropping onto four paws in sorts of various colors, as Julianna was now shocked to see that they were pledgin' a new alpha right now.

Julianna looked into the eyes of the massive pack that was pledging itself to her, and she dipped her head onto her chest in a nod of acknowledgment and her vest dropped to the ground as the red fur exploded out of her, taking the form of the red wolf and her howl of acceptance, it echoed an very, very long distance around them.