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𓏲 ࣪₊♡𓂃 THAT SUNDAY, Sophie was sat up on the kitchen counter as the kettle boiled on the stove, an apple in one hand and her mother's kindle in the other. She giggled from time to time when she read a line her mother had favourited, some of the scenes made her slightly uncomfortable but the fact that Corrine enjoyed it was enough for her to keep reading.

She took another bite out of her apple when her father walked into the room, opening the refrigerator with a small smile on his lips. Sophie eyed his outfit, he was wearing a white button—up and black trousers, paired with black pointed—toe shoes. He looked smart, and as Sophie took one more bite out of her apple, she raised a brow.

"You look nice." She complimented, her voice quiet and he let out a dry chuckle, closing the fridge to look at her.

"Thanks. Billy and Harry invited me out to go fishing, they said it would be good for me." Henry claimed, his accent thick and Sophie gave him a one over, her brows knitted together. She slid off the counter and placed the kindle down on the side, along with her apple, giving him a look.

"I'm not sure that's the most appropriate outfit for fishing." She stated and the kettle began to whistle on the stove, so she turned and turned off the stove, the whistling slowly dying down.

"How so?" He asked, walking over to her and reaching over, taking her half—eaten apple before he took a massive bite out of it. She side—glared at him as she poured the boiling hot water into her coffee mug.

"You'll see." She smiled softly to herself as she stirred the coffee, her eyes drifting over to the singular lavender in a small vase on the kitchen windowsill. He followed her gaze as a knock erupted at the door and a small smile appeared on his lips at the sight of the flower. He looked over at her and leaned over, pressing a kiss to his cheek before making his way out of the kitchen.

"You 'gonna come and say hi?" Henry asked just as she lifted her cup to her lips and she merely shook her head, not entirely in the mood for socialising that day no matter how much she loved both Harry and Billy. Her father nodded understandingly and made his way out of the house as she sipped on the hot coffee, savouring the taste on her tongue.

She closed her eyes momentarily as the sound of Billy Black's truck rolled out of the driveway sounded from the window. Sophie smiled satisfactorily, glad her father had finally gotten out of the house and she grabbed the kindle before making her way into the living room.

The house was silent and she was finally on her own, she was definitely going to take advantage of that. She slumped down on the couch where her mother would usually sit, placing her coffee on the arm of the settee, the kindle in her other hand and she continued to read the book she was reading earlier.

A few giggles erupted from her as she read, taking sips of her coffee every now and again. Just as she began to enjoy herself and feel at peace for once in her life without having to rely on a stupid flower, her front door suddenly opening and slamming shut interrupted her alone time.

And, before she could even comprehend what was happening, Embry rushed into the living room clad in cut—off black shorts and a vest, paired with his ordinary grey sneakers covered in dried up mud. Her eyebrows knitted together as she looked over at him, surprised but not startled.

He didn't say anything, running a hand through his hair as he stared at her for a moment, his expression emotionless. Then, he began to pace around, clearly panicked and Sophie turned off the kindle, placing it on the couch beside her as she watched him.

"Something on your mind?" She asked, raising one of her brows in questioning and she tugged her dark green zip—up hoodie tighter around her torso, feeling a shiver run up her spine. Then, just as quickly as the shiver vanished, the front door opened again and Quil Ateara came rushing into the room with a wide grin on his face, shirtless but also clad in cut—of shorts with sneakers, "Quil?"

"Newest member of the pack, baby." Quil smirked, flexing his arms and Sophie let out a short—lived laugh, standing up from the couch to give the boy a tight embrace, "It's so good to see you, Soph." He mumbled against her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his neck, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"You too, cheesy." She pulled away and shoved his shoulder lightly, causing him to roll his dark—brown eyes in a playful manner. The nickname had appeared one day when Quil's Mom told everyone she had found four packets of cheese under his bed when he was twelve and Sophie still laughed about it to the current day.

"I will never live that down." He replied with a laugh, glancing over at Embry, who continued to pace with a hand placed over his face, "Embry, did you tell her?" Quil asked once his laughter died down and Sophie's brows scrunched together in pure confusion.

"Tell me what?" She looked between the two, a look of worry on her face and with one look in her direction, with one look at that innocent, confused face of hers, Embry caved.

"That ginger leech is back, Sam told me not to tell you but I can't keep that from you." Embry explained, his hands flying around as he spoke and at the mention of the redheaded vampire who'd killed her mother caused her eyes to water.

"What? What the hell does she want?" Sophie snapped as she quickly wiped a tear from her cheek and both boys sent each other a worried look, exchanging silent thoughts until Quil looked back over at her.

"Apparently... Bella Swan." He shrugged, as if he couldn't care less about it but it was their duty, their duty to protect their land from any diseases. Sophie furrowed her brows further, completely and utterly confused.

"Why?" She blinked, looking between them once again and when they both shrugged, she scoffed, "So, why is it the pack's problem?"

"Because she's intruding our land and killing people, Sophie. She killed your Mom, we have to get justice." Embry snapped, though he still had a sense of gentleness in his tone which told Sophie that he was only just stressed. As much as she wanted to bawl at the mention of her mother's death, she stayed silent, clenching her fists instead and when she felt her nails digging into her palms, she let out a sigh of satisfaction.

"Can I help?" Sophie raised a brow, a small smirk appearing on her lips and Embry glanced over at Quil, who already had his eyes on the Call boy. They exchanged looks for just a moment, thinking it over until Quil broke out into a wide grin, letting out a loud laugh of excitement.

"Hell yeah!"

"Hell no." Was what Sam Uley had said when they arrived at Emily's cabin and Sophie's smile dropped, her eyes narrowing towards the man.

"Why not?" She asked stood in between Embry and Quil, Paul and Jared were sat on the porch steps, watching the conversation play out. Sam stood just a few metres away, his arms crossed over his chest with a stern expression — it was going to be hard to convince him.

"Why should you? It's dangerous, and as much as you might be dangerous yourself, we can't risk anybody finding out." Sam explained, a harsh truth in his words which sent a pang to Sophie's heart, it sent tears to her eyes and caused her hands to tremble. As much as she didn't want to start a hissy fit because he said no, it was like she couldn't help it.

And fuck, the absolute zero control over her emotions was returning.

"Okay, I understand." Sophie nodded, her fingers curling into her palms and she winced when she felt sores on the inside of her hands from previous wounds she'd made.

"Sophie?" A female voice sounded from nearby in the distance, causing Sophie's hands to uncurl as she looked over, her green eyes locking with Leah Clearwater's dark—brown ones.

"Leah." Sophie smiled wide as everyone looked over and Leah sped over, wrapping her arms around the sixteen—year—old without a single hint of hesitation, surprising the rest of the pack. Leah's hair was shorter than before, cut into a bob and she wore cut—off shorts just like the others, paired with a ripped shirt.

Leah laughed a little, pulling back momentarily to inspect the girl's face before holding her close once again, savouring in the moment with one of her favourite girls.

When Sam imprinted on Emily last year, when he unfortunately left Leah for the woman, the only person to give her a solid piece of advice was fifteen—year—old Sophie. Even though the teen was going through some tough shit, she was still there for Leah and the aforementioned girl couldn't thank her enough.

"How's Seth?" Sophie asked as they pulled away and Leah grinned, shaking her head.

"He's been going through some... stuff. We think he's going to shift too, even though he's only thirteen." Leah explained and Sophie nodded, smiling sympathetically, "Hey, I'm sorry I didn't come to see you..."

"Oh, it's okay." Sophie shook her head now, placing her hand on Leah's forearm momentarily until Quil and Embry burst out into laughs and suddenly, Emily emerged from the cabin, silently standing beside Sam. Leah didn't have to look back to know Emily was there, and she wasn't about to torture herself all the more by looking back at them.

So, she smiled apologetically towards Sophie, who nodded with a kind, understanding smile in response, informing her that it was completely and utterly okay. With that, Leah rushed off into the woods and they all watched as she jumped off of a large rock, shifting into her wolf—form mid—air before disappearing between the trees.

"Let me guess, Leah ruined the mood?" A voice sounded and they all looked towards Jacob, who was still buttoning his pants as he came from inside. He was shirtless, and while Sophie had seen him shirtless before, this time she had to refrain from looking. She blinked a few times, remembering what he'd said.

"Don't be a jackass." Sophie rolled her eyes in annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest, still stood in between Embry and Quil. Sam laughed quietly, pressing a kiss to his fiancee's cheek.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." He shook his head in disbelief, a grin on his lips as he approached, rolling his shoulders, "Hey, Soph, can I talk to you?" He proposed, a slight wince in his smile though there was a glint of hope in his eyes. Quil and Embry both looked towards Sophie, their arms now crossed over their bare chests as she shoved her hands in her pockets, "Alone?"

"Um, I actually wanted to talk to you, anyway." Sophie took a step forwards, glancing back at a worried Embry and she sent him a nod, assuring him that she'd be okay. With a momentary look in Jacob's direction, she began to walk into the woods where Leah had vanished to, her eyes on her sneakers.

"Okay." Jacob muttered to himself, taking a few steps after Sophie but before he got too far, Embry rushed forwards, placing his hand on the Black's chest. Jacob furrowed his brows, leaning his head back a little when he began to feel Embry's hot breath on his face from the close proximity.

"I'll only say this — if she gets hurt again in any way, I'm gonna beat your ass." The slightly older boy patted his chest lightly and smiled, walking off into Emily's cabin, Quil hot in his trail. Jacob let out a swift huff, glancing over at Sam, who only shrugged, seemingly unbothered.

He shook his head just a tad before jogging off after Sophie.

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HER BACK WAS FACING HIM, her hair blowing in the strong wind and her green eyes locked onto the ocean in front of them. He stopped just a few metres behind her, admiring the mere sight of the side of her face for a few moments until he moved forwards, stepping beside her.

Sophie felt his presence as she looked down at the crashing waves 60 metres below, exactly where she'd jumped the day her mother had passed away. The setting sun shone on the side of her face, enhancing the grassy colour in her eyes, turning them a slight hazel.

"Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?" Jacob spoke up, his eyes slightly squinted as he watched the waves below as well. She felt a pang in her heart as he asked her such a question and her brows scrunched together, she was clearly pained.

"You never used to think that... So, no." She clicked her tongue in her mouth, trying to occupy herself in attempt to stop the tears from forming — her stupid emotions... again.

"I've always thought that, I was just too dumb to admit it to myself." He turned his head to look at her, rubbing his lips together when he realised she was avoiding his gaze.

"You're still dumb." She replied, crossing her arms over her stomach in attempt to stay warm, though the closeness of Jacob's hot body temperature was enough to keep her from shivering.

Jacob let out a low chuckle at her response, knowing she was partly correct, "Maybe." He laughed once more before looking back out at the sunset, and that was when she realised he was still shirtless.

"Do you ever wear a shirt?" She raised a brow, finally trailing her eyes over into his direction and he rolled his eyes, locking eyes with her. He didn't reply, staying silent as the breeze blew a single strand of her caramel hair into her eyes. She flinched at the sudden feeling of something irritating her eyes and before she could reach her hand up to brush the hair away, he beat her to it.

His fingers brushing against her soft skin finally sent shivers down her spine and she flinched once again at the sudden contact. Jacob felt a whirlwind of nerves in his stomach as he stared into her eyes, stuck in that moment like glue. Freckles lightly littered her nose and cheeks, a slight blush beneath, informing Jacob that she was slightly flustered under his gaze and physical touch. There was a touch of highlighter in her inner corners and a few light layers of mascara coated on her eyelashes, only making the colour of her eyes pop all the more.

His fingertips trailed up her cheekbone, hooking around the thin strand of hair and he pushed it behind her ear, smiling softly, "Thanks." She muttered quietly, knowing that he'd be able to hear her even over the loud noise of the waves crashing against the rocks, "Anyways..." Sophie looked away quickly as his hand dropped from her face, "I wanted to ask you about, maybe, possibly, training me? Sam said no, Embry would, too. It's like everyone wants me to cower away from every problem and not learn to protect myself, and my dad."

Jacob stayed quiet as he listened, his eyes following her every movement, even after she finished speaking. He let out a gentle sigh, the gentle gesture meaning nothing but she somehow managed to overthink it.

"It's okay if you don't want to, if you think it's unsafe or dange—"

"I'll do it, I just have a few rules." He explained, a smile spreading across his lips as he watched her eyes light up with excitement, a lot of excitement.

"Really?" She grinned from ear—to—ear. Just a few weeks ago, she didn't want anything to do with anything supernatural but, she knew she had to avenge her mother and after hearing that the vampire who'd killed the former was in town, it only pushed her all the more.

The only problem was that she had no fighting skills, all she had was her powers but what use were they if she had no idea how to make them of use to her during a fight with a strong opponent like a vampire?

"Yeah—" His head suddenly snapped back in the direction of Emily's place, then his eyes trailed across the trees surrounding them, a frown upon his features.

Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion as he took a step in front of her, his hand reaching backwards slightly to shield her from whatever was out there. There wasn't much light left in the sky above, meaning that it was much harder for her to see whatever the threat was.

"Jacob?" She whispered, leaning against his back a little and he pressed his finger to his own lips, gesturing for her to stay quiet.

Sam had called out to Jacob from miles away, the boy had heard it and was immediately on protection mode. And then, as if on cue, a figure dropped down from one of the tall trees, landing effortlessly with a smirk slapped onto her face, her red curls just visible under the slight light.

"You come one step closer and I'll rip your little head off with my teeth." Jacob snapped, taking a step to the left with one of his hands situated on Sophie's hip from behind, guiding her towards the trees. In that moment, as she stared into the eyes of the woman who mercilessly murdered her Mom, it became almost impossible to stand back and do nothing.

Jacob could hear her heart beating out of her chest, he could sense the anger and the pain that radiated off of her. And when Victoria took a teasing step forwards, that was when he snapped.

@amxliewrites — 2025