Archive of Our Own ^beta

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   No one knows when the first vampire was created. It could have been a deal for immortality gone wrong, or perhaps they always were. However they came to be, after them, over perhaps with them, came shapeshifters. Where vampires fed on the blood of humans, terrorizing small settlements and families—shapeshifters fed on the vampires. Thus, a feud was born between the two species. Across the land, wars broke out, with normal humans caught in crossfire between these powerful beasts. Vampires exerted supernatural strength, sight, smell, speed, healing, immortality, and some possessed gifts that seemed magical. Shapeshifts are of the same coin—except it had to be a conscious choice for them to keep living forever, and they didn't showcase gifts of their own. Minor differences between the two that didn't impede one from outmatching the other. They could have been locked in battle for centuries, but that's when the winds shifted and change came along. 

   Four evolutions occurred—the appearance of imprints, alphas, omegas, and werewolves. It's said these evolutions were brought into existence by a higher being who wished to halt the shedding of blood, or at least to quell the vast quantity of it.

   Imprints. Shapeshifters began to imprint on vampires, finding their hostility toward their imprintee vanished. They didn't want to fight—they wanted to befriend the vampire they had moments ago been about to kill. The imprints worked both ways, and because of this, cordial friendships sprang forth. The two tethered people felt as though they had found their long-lost sibling. With the new imprints established, brokering peace began to occur as the imprinter wanted the imprintee to live a good life and vice versa. Still, these new relations weren't accepted by all, so imprints and imprintees broke off into their own clans. These clans were headed by an alpha vampire and an omega werewolf mated pair.

   Shapeshifters are those whose bodies can morph into that of a wolf. They will have the same anatomy and external features—only are triple the size. Also, they are free to transform whenever they want. Werewolves are quite different—they have the ability to shift normally, but when a full moon rises or when triggered by their mate, they take on a new form. The werewolves will stand on two legs, towering over seven feet tall, with their hands and arms elongated and ending in sharp claws, and they will overall appear like a humanoid beast. These creatures are revered and are much stronger than an average shapeshifter. Thus, it's extraordinary how their alpha mate is stronger than they are.

   Vampires won't know they're an alpha until an omega declares it. They aren't keyed in before that, as there is no noticeable difference within them, so they're kept in the dark, unlike their omega counterparts. Omegas are born showcasing who they are with their discernible scent. They smell of rose petals to all and ambrosia to their intended mate. When an omega introduces themselves to their vampire, their courtship begins. Only then will a vampire feel their strength building and their personality take on a domineering aspect. They'll find themselves wanting to lead alongside their omega mate.

   All this is information that has been drilled into Jacob since he first learned how to speak. There is actually more to the whole lore behind his kind and vampires, but some of that information has been lost, and it's been some time since the Quileute Tribe last birthed an omega. It's been a hundred? Thousands of years? Jacob can't say. All he knows is that he's tired of studying history—not because he doesn't care—it's just that he's read the same books over and over again since first learning how to read. The omega closes the book and checks his watch. The reason he's been cooped up inside his house is that in exactly ten minutes—he and his pack will be meeting at the border of their territory with a newly moved-in vampire coven.

   The Quileuts are one of the tribes that attempt to be cordial with vampires. They haven't had any of their packmates imprint on a vampire, but there is always the possibility. So the leaders of the tribe vet any new incoming coven to see if they'll be a danger to the local populace. Even if no imprinting occurs, they'll allow a coven to stay until it's time for them to move on. Jacob hadn't been born yet when the last vampire coven came to Forks. It felt kinda exciting to meet with vampires. As an omega, there is the chance he finds his mate—although his father told him to keep his hopes down as the chances are low. That is another reason they made him study. As an omega, Jacob has been saddled with the responsibility of someday taking over for Sam as leader of the pack. He's only seventeen, yet has been feeling the weight since infancy. His tribe takes the concept of alpha and omega mates seriously, and he does too, but they should honestly chill with his studying. 

   The young omega slammed his book shut, getting up to stretch. At least he can take a break, seeing as it's time to meet the Cullens.

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   It feels good the way his muscles stretch as his wolf body carries him across the tribe's territory. His paws press into the dirt and push him forward at alarming speed. With him are the rest of the pack—Paul (who is carrying Jacob's father—Billy), Jared (who is carrying Sam), Embry, Collin, Brady, Quil, Leah, and Seth. Sam refrained from shifting as he and Billy would be the ones conducting negotiations while the rest of the pack acted as silent reinforcement. As hospitable as they are to most vampires—they’ve also encountered the dangerous ones and know to be cautious.

   It takes the pack a few more minutes of running until the scent of cold death (not repugnant or clogging—it's almost like smelling dry ice. Different, yet not unbearable)  reaches them—they tell-tale scents of vampires, yet Jacob also sniffs something else. It smells strong, sweet—a slightly soupy floral scent—like lilies. 

   Jacob, shut up! Paul snaps at him through the pack bond. 

   Why do you keep repeating the word lilies over and over again? Leah inquires. 

   She is the one running nearest to him and gently nips his shoulder to get him to focus, but Jacob has a hard time. That scent is clogging his mind, and he doubles his efforts to reach it. Jacob, slow down, damn it! Paul orders. When the omega doesn't listen, he tells everyone else to double time it.

   Eventually, they make it to the edge of their border, where a line of vampires awaits them. The blood drinkers look regal—porcelain skin, hair immaculate, posture unconsciously seductive, and they exude an air of calm strength. They are the picture-perfect lure to entrap victims to offer up their life force willingly. Jacob doesn't even notice the vampires’ appearance—too caught up in finding out which one is the source of that heavenly scent. 

   Somebody stop him before he knocks someone over! Paul commands—unable to do anything with Billy on his back. 

   Leah attempts to follow orders by getting in Jacob's way, but the omega does the unexpected. He dips under her and flips the wolf onto her back, and growls as he bares his teeth against her throat. Everyone, the vampires included, freezes as the growl is something none of them has ever heard before. As an omega, Jacob does hold an authority above Sam's, but he's never utilized it against anyone before—until now. Jacob steps away from Leah, who doesn't move from her position, and he looks back at the rest of the pack. He challenges anyone to stop him—none of them being brazen to do so. With that settled, the omega stalks over to the line of vampires who smell of utter confusion and weariness. Jacob doesn't care what their state of mind is as he goes over to the vampire with a pixie haircut, sniffing her from a distance and snorting when it's not the scent he's looking for. The omega moves on, dismissing the man with curly hair, then the young woman with longer curled hair, then the man with a buzzcut—until he stops in front of the fifth vampire. 

   The teenager looks two years older than him, which means nothing, as the vampire is probably centuries old. He's sporting a long coat, a sharp jawline, amber eyes, and his hair that is beautifully styled upward and messy. Jacob is so entranced by him and doesn't think about how it must be frightening for the vampire when he pushes his nose against the man's chest, moving up to where the neck meets the shoulder. The omega took in a hefty whiff of the vampire's scent and purred in pleasure. 

   Mate—alpha. My alpha. My mate.

   Jacob's pack collectively loses their shit—their previous frozen stances forgotten as they take in Jacob's declaration.

   He found his mate?

   That's his alpha!

   Does that mean these vampires will be our imprints? We have to look them directly in the eyes, right?

   I wanna be friends with pixie cut! She seems adorable.

   No one is imprinting! Not right now!

   Tell Sam! Get Sam to fucking shift!

   We're supposed to be conducting a treaty, dumbass. We need Sam to complete this.

   Forget making a treaty! Jacob found his alpha! We have our new leaders!

   “What is an alpha?”

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   Edward understood the importance of his family needing to move around. With their perpetual youth, humans tend to notice when you're not showing signs of wrinkles or other forms of aging. That doesn't mean it isn't annoying. Just when Edward is comfortable in the town they've chosen—they go and move, and he has to start the process all over. It's not so much having to make new friends and acquaintances—they don't do mingling—it's more having to adjust to a new environment. It can be a bit adventurous learning which were the best restaurants, which pizza place had the best pepperoni, and where little haunts to chill were. There is also something to just knowing—familiarity is the more fitting word.

   He had thought Forks would be the same. They would move into a nice house, enroll in high school under false documentation, live, graduate, move—rinse and repeat. Then Carlisle dropped the bombshell on them—Forks is protected by a tribe of shifters, and Edward felt his curiosity pique. After being turned into a vampire by Carlisle many years ago, the older man explained the supernatural counterparts to vampires. He was told about how shifters got their namesake because of how they transform into wolves, and he explained a bit about imprinting. Carlisle knew a lot, but some information was lost to vampires, while shifter tribes were said to know more. Edward wondered if any of the wolves would imprint on him, and by imprinting as friends, if he could become privy to their historical knowledge. This all brought a new type of excitement that made moving not so bad. He was looking forward to introducing himself to the Quileute Tribe.

~~~~~

   “What is an alpha?” Edward asked. It had not been his intention to reveal he could read minds, the magical gift of his something Carlisle had said to always keep hidden, yet it's not every day he comes face to face with a wolf larger than a pickup truck. The beast was shoving his giant nose into the crook of his neck, sniffing like a damned cocaine addict, and Edward is not ashamed to admit he was worried. Shifters are faster than vampires, have better stamina, and if a vampire gets caught in their jaws, then they're done for. They can't even heal against wounds inflicted by them, and Carlisle said that before the evolution of imprinting—shifters would hunt them. Edward thinks he can be forgiven for not knowing how to handle a wolf that kept repeating the words alpha and mate while his pack was squabbling incomprehensibly.

   “Who is saying alpha?” The older man, who Edward assumed was named Billy by Carlisle's description, said. “Is it Jacob? Is he speaking to you?” The younger man riding the wolf opposite Billy said. “I didn't know that's a thing omegas can do when they find their mate.”

   “It's not…” Billy said, eyeing Edward curiously. “Not until they've bonded.”

   “What grievances does one of your pack members have with my son?” Carlisle said, stepping forward after recovering from his startlement over the whole situation. Billy shook his head. “Your son has done nothing wrong.”

   “Then please explain why one of yours has his teeth so close to Edward's neck?”

   Billy and the younger man shared a look. Meanwhile, Edward debated whether he could get away with pushing Jacob, the name he was able to grasp from the other wolves, away from him. It was becoming increasingly uncomfortable having the wolf so close to such a weak spot of his. Then he felt the slickness of a tongue chastely lick him on the underside of his jaw, and Edward had enough. He wrenched himself backward, and with an attitude rarely exhibited by him, said—“Can someone please explain what the hell is going on?” The wolf lowered his ears and head and attempted to step toward Edward cautiously, but he cut the wolf off. “Don't.” The wolf hunched back, as if Edward had struck him, and let out the softest whine.

   Alpha doesn't like me…

   Edward decidedly ignored the despondent-looking wolf in front of him as he cast a cool gaze in Billy’s direction. He also tossed a quick look of apology in Carlisle’s direction because he knows his outburst, although warranted, is not the safest play for them.

   “Under different circumstances, we would only invite you onto our land after fully conversing with each of you to ensure none are a threat,” Billy said before frowning. “But as fate would have it, we’ll have to make an exception this time around. Come with us, and Sam and I will speak to you, Carlisle, and your son.”

   The vampires did as Billy said to—Edward, making sure to keep his distance from Jacob, whose eyes followed his every movement. They all ran together, vampire and wolves keeping even pace as they ventured deeper into Quileute territory. Eventually, they reached where a bunch of cabin homes were evenly spread around. Edward noted the other tribesmen watching in curiosity, some deciding it better to head inside as the vampires stepped where none had in generations. Afterward, Edward, Carlisle, and Esme—who was invited once Carlisle explained to Billy that she was his wife, walked up to a cabin that was assumed to be Billy’s home.

   Inside was rather cozy, featuring a fireplace on the left wall, a living room with worn couches topped with blankets, a kitchen in the corner, a dining area opposite it, and a hallway near the entrance. Billy directed them to sit at the dining table, the Cullens on one side, and other meant for the Quileutes, but Sam didn't immediately sit down. The young man went off, saying he would bring Jacob, and Edwars found it curious how he took a large blanket from the couch before leaving. It made sense when Sam came back inside with a younger boy with spiked hair wrapped in the blanket. Edward instantly knew the boy was Jacob because there was no missing the intensity in how he looked at him as he was dragged away by Sam, nor was there missing the way Jacob's mind reeled at Edward being in his house. Alpha is inside my den. Shit, I didn't clean! 

   It took some time, but eventually Sam and a fully clothed Jacob joined them at the table, Jacob not so surprisingly taking the seat opposite Edward. Then came the long-winded explanation about alphas, omegas, and werewolves. 

   Edward's mind reeled when Billy mentioned that omega shifters could transform into something much more powerful than a simple wolf. The black and white horror flicks had gotten vampires completely messed up, and he had thought werewolves were just a misconstrued attempt to showcase shifters. It looked like he was wrong. That wasn't even the most absurd part. What truly floored Edward was the talk about alpha and Omega bonds. Admittedly, Edward had always been jealous of his siblings for finding mates. They had someone to spend the rest of their lives with, and he was going to settle for becoming someone's imprint. That bond is more a sibling one, but having a best friend who could keep up with him as a vampire didn't seem so bad. Now, Billy was here telling him Jacon, the guy that has yet to stop staring at him and leaning toward him, was supposed to be his mate. He's not sure how they went from A to B within the first few minutes of meeting each other. Not to mention that fact he didn't even know he was an alpha, and never would have known because it's a dormant gene brought about by proximity with his intended omegan. Soon his body would shift into something much stronger than any vampire, even stronger than the werewolves he had just learned about. It was a lot to take in. It also didn't help to keep reading Jacob's mind. The boy couldn't help but think a mile a minute about courting Edward.

   Apparently, omega instincts demand they court their alpha, coaxing them to accept their new nature so that when they finally mate, the alpha is ready to lead. Edward never even thought of himself as a leader, nor was he fully on board with being courted. Didn't he get to choose who he got to like? It's not that Jacob is ugly; on the contrary, his sharp jaw, sun-kissed skin, and boyish charm were rather endearing. He also radiated heat, and for being that is always cold, unable to feel like a human or shifter can, Edward finds he can feel it. For the first time in however many years he's been a vampire, he feels his fingers thawing… Still, how is he expected to suddenly deal with all of this?

   “You must also not allow the Vulteri to know about Jacob or Edward.”

   Edward returned to the conversation as he noticed Carlisle stiffen. “You know about the Vulteri?” Billy nodded, and wasn't that something. The Vulteri have made sure for millennia to keep hidden from those not of vampiric blood. To have the Quileuts know meant either that the tribe was connected to powerful people or their ancestral information was just that good. Either way, Edward was impressed and a bit wary. “They are related to the covens of old who despised imprints and alpha and omegas. Currently, they allow imprinting to happen as it doesn't harm them, but alpha and omega bonds pose a risk to their rule. As vampires, you follow their word as law, and we keep our distance, but an alpha sets his own law with his omega following it. Then there is the issue of alphas and omegas holding great influence, drawing people to them like moths to a flame. Vampires who follow alphas won't listen to the Vulteri, and they won't allow such a thing.”

   “Basically, they'll try to murder Edward and Jacob if they find out,” Sam stated. The people jumped, startled when a venomous growl came from Jaco,b who appeared ready to shift in agitation. “I'd like to see them fucking try,” Jacob spat, and he immediately yelped when Billy smacked him upside the head. Edward snorted, and Jacob forgot all about his father's reprimand as he looked at Edward with awestruck eyes. Apparently, causing Edward to laugh was some sort of spectacle.

   Their meeting ended with Billy stating that Edward would need to be prepared for Jacob wanting to spend a lot of time with him. Edward asked what would happen if Jacob didn't, and he was again bombarded with Jacob mentally thinking Edward didn't like him. Billy told him with a serious expression that during their courtship, Jacob would need Edward like he needed to breathe. Prolonged separation can be harmful not just to the omega but also to the alpha. He might not feel anything right now, but his DNA will change, and soon he'll come to understand what Jacob is already feeling. Somehow, that seemed a bit ominous to Edward, but it seemed like there was nothing he could do anyway.