#sams pack

Sleep had been hard to come by in the Swan household. While Charlie worried about his daughters’ futures and punished himself for not protecting them from the pain and sorrow that had snuck its way into their lives, Bella and (Y/N) worried for their own lives and that of their father. Even with Edward and Alice watching the house, they couldn't help the feeling that Victoria was near—watching, waiting. It was unnerving, to say the least. The woman had so much power over them, and they had yet to see her.  

 But life went on. Whether a vengeful vampire was on their trail or not, the world kept spinning and the days kept passing. As helpless as they felt at times, there were still things they could control. Bella could still go to work when she needed to, and (Y/N) could prepare for Paul's prom night.  

Emily had offered some time ago to help her get ready since Bella had a shift at the Newton's store and her father, as much as he wanted, had not only had to work but had no idea what she needed to prepare. In the silence of the empty house, she packed whatever she believed would be necessary to get ready, her mind still trying to understand Alice's kindness.  

The dress now hung in a plastic bag after Bella had suggested they have the garment dry cleaned. She thought Paul would appreciate the gown not smelling of vampire. Since then, it had stayed in front of her closet, the beading catching the light of the sun every afternoon. And (Y/N) couldn't wrap her mind around how she'd gotten such a beautiful piece in her possession, especially after she had been so cold toward its owner.  

She had tried to thank Alice at school the very next day, but Edward had said she'd gone hunting, but he would relay the message, not that any thanks were necessary. He said she'd felt awful for pulling the sisters away from the shop that Saturday morning and had wanted to make it up to them. He'd also mentioned no one in the family blamed (Y/N) for her animosity toward them—they would have been surprised if she didn't at least hate them a little. Hell, he'd even apologized for his behavior the night Bella came back from Italy.  

(Y/N) wasn't sure how to feel about the Cullens those days. There was anger, of course. It was something that would never die down, not for what they had put her sister through. That resentment would live inside her until she took her last breath on earth. But there was something new growing inside her. There was a kindness that had snuck its way into her heart. She looked at them with slightly different eyes. Much softer than the ones she had started with.  

The younger Swan was finishing packing up her car when Bella's truck rolled into the driveway, her sister jumping out excitedly. “Guess who can join you now?” she smiled. “Just give me a second to grab something.”  

“Wait, I thought you had to work,” (Y/N) said, furrowing her brows. “Don't tell me you were already laid off.”  

“No,” Bella laughed. “Mrs. Newton dismissed me for the day. It was really slow, and there was no need to have me and Mike there at the same time.”  

“But you're gonna be going off to college soon. You need the money, Bells.” 

“I'm fine,” she assured her. “Aren't you happy I can help you get ready now? It's your first prom!”  

“Right,” (Y/N) chuckled. “Hurry up, then. I'm leaving in five minutes, whether you're in the car or not.”  

“Ruthless,” Bella called back as she ran into the house, a laugh following her words.  

As nervous and scared as Bella had been the past week, (Y/N) had noticed a giant change in her. For the first time, it didn't seem like she was pretending to be happy or forcing herself to appear a certain way for the sake of their family. There was a side of her that had been dormant for a long time, squandered by a responsibility that should have never been hers. Even with imminent death breathing down their necks, the older Swan had allowed herself to show part of the personality she had guarded closely to her heart. It was a side to Bella she had only seen glimpses of when they were little. When the world still seemed so big for how big they could dream.  

Bella was funny, carefree, and, most of all, she was caring. The latter was much to fault, but she always cared. And now that they didn't have to watch over their mother and she wasn't as invested in her relationship with the Cullens, she was pouring everything she could into her sister's cup. Slowly but surely, she was trying to rebuild a bond that had been far too influenced by outside sources.  

“Took you long enough,” (Y/N) laughed as she pulled her van out of the driveway, Bella sitting beside her, holding a small box in her hands. “What you got there?”  

“Just a little surprise for you,” she smiled. “I was gonna give it to you yesterday, but I forgot. If Mrs. Newton hadn't told me to go, I would have called you to get it.”  

“But what is it?”  

“You'll know soon enough.”  

“I would have never taken you for someone who would be excited about prom,” (Y/N) said. “You used to say school dances were just a stupid excuse to spend money.”  

“Well, I don't care about prom and all of that,” she argued. “But I know you do, and I wanna share these kinds of things with you.”  

A bashful smile stretched across (Y/N)'s face, unable to show just how happy that sentence had made her. “You still haven't said what's in the box,” she teased. “Give me a hint at least.”  

“Just be patient,” Bella laughed. “It's nowhere near a designer dress, but it's something.” 

“You're infuriating,” she sighed loudly. “But fine. I'll be patient.”  

With a shared laugh, the girls fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the drive. Only months before, they would have tried to fill the quiet with mindless ramblings or would have sat with the choking void of uncomfortableness between them. In the few months (Y/N) had been there, they had grown not only as people but as sisters. That made every second of dread she had to live through worth it. She couldn't see a world where Bella wasn't close to her anymore, even if that day got closer and closer every moment that passed.  

At the Uley home, voices reached them before they were able to get out of the car. Embry and Quil were outside, throwing a football between them while Sam and Emily sat on the porch, shielded from the sun. (Y/N) couldn't fathom how anyone could think the pack was anything other than a simple group of what you could call friends, much less how they could believe they were a gang. Sure, the thought had been planted into her head by Jacob, but seeing them so clearly now, she could only laugh.  

“(Y/N), hi!” Quil exclaimed, stopping the game to wave to her. “I'm finally one of them! Can you believe it? I shifted!”  

“Of course I believe it,” she chuckled, pulling bag after bag from the van. “And the whole street will too if you don't lower your voice.”  

“Hi, (Y/N),” Embry said, taking her bags before she could argue with him about it. “How've you been? I've been meaning to check up on you, but...”  

“I'm good, Em,” (Y/N) assured him, and she meant it. Other than her little mishap with Jacob at the school and Victoria being after her and her family, she was good. “You don't have to worry about me.”  

“Right,” he smiled. “It's just that after everything, I wish I had done more, you know? To help.”  

“You did enough,” Bella chimed in. “No one could have known Jake was capable of something like that. You did good by saying what you saw. Thank you, Embry.”  

“Oh, uh, of course,” the boy responded, his face growing red as he became flustered. “Yeah. No. Don't mention it.”  

The girls shared a look between them as they silently laughed, watching as the red crept up Embry's neck as he hurried into the house. Quil followed suit, taking (Y/N)'s dress bag and taking the same path his friend had disappeared through.  

“Hello, (Y/N),” Sam said as they got close enough. “Bella, it's good to see you.”  

“Hi, Sam,” (Y/N) responded as Bella nodded a hello. “Thanks for letting me get ready here. It's a hell of a lot closer to the school than my house.”  

“You're always welcome here, (Y/N),” he smiled. “Both of you are, of course. And Emily would have probably had my neck if I said no.”  

Emily playfully hit her fiancée's chest. “You're funny,” she said as she stood to wrap both girls in a hug. “I made some lemon bars, if you want some before we start.”  

“I think it would be a sin if I refuse anything you make.”  

“You'd never be invited back.”  

“Stop saying things like that, Sam,” Emily interjected, chuckling as she ushered the girls inside. “He's been in a goofy mood since he threw Jared and Paul out of here.” 

“Why'd he do that?”   

Emily smiled as she plated a couple of lemon bars in the kitchen, remembering the arguments both boys were throwing around. “Well, Paul wanted to see you while you got ready, but I told him that was unacceptable,” she chuckled. “And well, you know, Kim, Jared's girlfriend, is meeting him here, and he didn't want to waste a second to see her again. Sam almost used his alpha voice on them. So dramatic, those boys.”  

“Jared has a girlfriend?” Bella questioned. “What about the whole wolf thing?”  

“Well, she is his imprint,” Emily said matter-of-factly. “She knows about all of this, of course.” 

“Imprint? What does that mean?”  

(Y/N) choked on the piece of the lemon bar she had pierced with her teeth. At that moment, she realized there was a big piece of information she had not told her sister about. Not because she didn't want her to know, but she had simply forgotten. Bella already knew so much, it didn't cross the girl's mind that there were things she probably didn't know yet. “I thought we'd talk about this. Sorry, Bells,” she said. “It's one of those things that come with being a wolf, I guess.” 

“That still doesn't tell me what it is.”  

“Well, it's something like a soulmate,” Emily explained, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug. “Every wolf has one. The moment their eyes meet, everything changes.”  

“The world shifts and suddenly, all that matters is them,” Sam added, startling the girl as he joined them without making much noise. “We don't control it. We can't. Whoever the universe decides is right for us, that's who we imprint on. We become whatever they need—a friend, a brother, a lover.”  

“What if the person doesn't want any of that?”  

“Physical distance hurts. Emotional? It wrecks you,” he said. “Only three of us have imprinted, and we haven't really been rejected, so we don't really know what would happen. But I imagine the pain is unbearable, as close to death as you can get without really dying.”  

“So that... is that the reason Paul was so invested in you?” Bella asked, worry crossing over her face. “How can you know if what you feel is real?”  

“I asked myself the same thing,” Emily responded. “But you just know. The imprint bond can't really make you fall in love.”  

“But does it make the wolf fall?”  

Sam smiled sadly, knowing the only story that would quench any questions. “It simply changes everything,” he said. With a gentle sigh, he recounted his experience. He relieved every grueling moment, from shifting and thinking he'd lost his mind to breaking ties with Leah and his family; from imprinting on Emily to their decision to stay away from each other; from losing control in her presence and wounding her for life to the love they shared now. “The bond, much like regular feelings, is complicated and can get messy. It was hard for me, and it was hard for Paul. What we feel now is just as real as everything you feel and have felt for the Cullen boy. Love can destroy and hurt, but it can also heal and save.”  

Bella turned to her sister then, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. “So, it hurt you then?” she sniffled. “Staying with Jacob and pushing Paul away hurt you?”  

“It did,” (Y/N) confirmed with a soft smile, looking down at her hands as though they were the most interesting thing in the world. “I thought I was going crazy. I mean, after a second of seeing Paul, I could not get him out of my mind. Even when I had finally gotten everything I ever wanted, I didn't want it anymore.”  

“But how could you tell your feelings for Paul were real?” Bella asked. “How can you be sure it's not because of this imprint bond?”  

“Like Emily said, you just know,” she shrugged. “Believe me, I spent weeks convincing myself that what I felt for Paul was the universe messing with my head. But I know my heart, and I know the feelings I have for him are the realest thing I've felt in a long time.”  

Bella sat with their words for a second, keeping quiet while she processed what she had learned. It was easy for her to understand the all-consuming love that came with the imprint bond, the need for closeness and affection. She'd been bitten by the same bug only a year before, and she was still shaking from the aftermath of all she had lived through. What she couldn't imagine was not having control over those feelings. She had to trust (Y/N) and Emily when they said their emotions were not swayed by the link. They were the ones living through it, and they were the only ones who could speak on it.  

Thankfully, as she got to meet Paul and Sam, even Jared, she could understand why the girls had fallen for them. Even through everything they had experienced, only love and care had sprouted from the turmoil. She was a bit envious, she couldn't lie. But overall, she was happy that her sister had found someone to walk through life with her, especially for when she wouldn't be around.  

After a few more lemon bars and some mugs of tea, the boys left to relieve the other wolves from their patrolling duties, and the girls retreated to the main bedroom. Once there, (Y/N) wasn't sure what to do. Being in online school did not gift her with many social events, much less ones where there were so many preparations. But Emily seemed to have a good grasp on what had to be done, which she was grateful for.  

The Young woman sat her in front of a beautiful wooden vanity and quickly got ready to work. They'd had conversations during the past week on what (Y/N) wanted done, but she wasn't quite sure what would be best. So, Emily had taken the reins, using the girl as a blank canvas for her masterpiece. Bella was there for moral support and to fill the silence while the older girl worked.  

“You're really good at this, Emily,” Bella said, watching as she took strand after strand of (Y/N)'s curled hair to create a half-up hairstyle.  

“Thanks,” she smiled brightly. “I kind of feel like I'm preparing my own daughter for her prom.” 

“Is that something you want? Kids, I mean.”  

“Well, I would love to have children someday,” she said, a sad smile tugging at her lips. “I always dreamed of having a big family. But I don't think Sam is ready for that yet—don't know if he ever will be.”

“How so?” Bella inquired. “If you don't mind me asking.”  

“I think he's just scared,” she shrugged. “He's said he doesn't want his kids to go through what he did with the whole werewolf business. So, as long as there are vampires near, I don't think he'll stop shifting—not until he believes we're safe enough.”  

“What do you mean, stop shifting? I thought this was for life.”  

“It is if they choose it,” Emily explained. “Though it takes a lot of hard work and dedication, they can get to a point where they don't phase anymore and they start aging again.”  

The look of surprise on Bella's face forced a laugh out of Emily and (Y/N). As much as they had talked about werewolves and vampires, there was still so much she didn't know. “Right, I guess this doesn't really come with a manual,” the woman chuckled. “Well, right now the boys are not really aging, though physically they already look much older. But there will come a day when they will choose to quit this life or not, and they will go back to being as human as you and I.”

“Wow, there's a lot more to this wolf business than I thought,” Bella said. “I can't imagine having to go through all of this alone. Much less when there are so many people involved who don't know the truth.”  

“That's why Leah and I's relationship got so bad,” Emily sighed defeatedly. “I tried my best to push Sam away, to make sure he repaired what had been broken. Even if it hurt me to reject him over and over, I didn't want Leah to hate me like she does now. When I learned the whole truth, I was already too determined to fix things with my cousin that I said things that I can never take back. If there is one thing I regret most, it's that.   “Sam blames himself for what happened to me. There are days he can't bear the guilt he gets from seeing the scars on my face,” she said. “But, if I'm honest, I feel like it's mostly my fault.”  

“I understand how you feel,” (Y/N) said, her fingers reaching for the deep-set scars on her back. “I know Paul doesn't like it when I blame myself, but sometimes I can't help it. I've gotten in the way when I shouldn't have. I've gotten hurt, I've gotten him hurt, and all because I couldn't just stay away. There are so many things I regret, but I'm just glad we're here and that we're happy.”  

“How is it that we've managed to find the most dangerous men in the world as humans, and have not gone by unscathed?” Bella found herself laughing. “This has to be some kind of record or something.”  

“Might just be,” Emily laughed before turning back to (Y/N). After almost three hours of hair and makeup, it was done. “Well, we're finished here. What do you think?”  

Though the makeup was minimal and the hairstyle simple, she felt she looked completely different. Her features were beautifully accentuated without being overwhelmed by the cosmetics. There were touches of glimmer in her eyes that caught the sun in the same way the beads of the dress did. All while her hair was softly curled and pinned into a simple half ponytail. “I look... wow,” (Y/N) said, taking in her reflection in the mirror before her. “I didn't think I could look like this.” 

“You look beautiful, (Y/N),” Bella smiled as she approached her with the box she'd brought from home. “There's only one thing missing.”  

From the package, she pulled out a rhinestone headpiece to adorn the styling Emily had done. With a smile on her face, Bella slid the comb into her sister's hair. “There,” she said. “You look perfect, (Y/N).”  

“It's gorgeous, Bella,” the younger Swan smiled. “Where did you get it?”  

“I went back to the store on Wednesday after my shift,” she said. “Since they got you the dress, I wanted to get something special that came from me. I think it really ties everything together. Don't you?”

“Yes,” she beamed. “I love it, Bells. Thank you.”  

“Of course,” the older Swan responded. “Let's get you in the dress now. Paul should be here any minute.”  

If they had been some years older, in their father's house, and the dress had been white, Bella would have been helping her sister get ready for a much different event. Sure, it was only a prom this time, but it was stilll one of the moments in her life she was still able to be a part of. She didn't know just how many she'd have to miss, all because she had fallen for a boy long before her heart could be filled by her real family. Edward would forever be the love of her life, but he was no longer at the top of her list.  

As she zipped up (Y/N)i's dress, a soft knock echoed around the room. “Hey, guys...” Sam began speaking before his words got trapped in his throat. “Wow, (Y/N). You look... wow.”  

“She does look beautiful, doesn't she?” Emily smiled. “So, Paul's here?”   

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Kid's nervous and everything for some reason.”

“Don't tease him,” she reprimanded jokingly. “Do I need to remind you how nervous you were the first time we went out?”  

“Okay, let's not start bringing up the past. Shouldn't leave the kids waiting out there.”  

“We'll go out first,” Emily said to (Y/N). “You finish putting on your shoes and come out, okay?”  

Nerves ran through her as she strapped the silver heels to her feet, her hands trembling as she tried to pass the strap through the buckle. It was just a dance, she kept telling herself. But it was more than that. It was normal. In another town, another life, (Y/N) would simply be going to prom with her boyfriend. There wouldn't be any pretending their lives were in danger, there wouldn't be any looking over their shoulders, there wouldn't be any question of their feelings.  

Yet, the universe had decided that the life they were living was the one they were meant to have, and (Y/N) had no problem going through it all if she had the people she most valued by her side. She'd stared death in the face and come out victorious. If she'd done it once, she could do it again. Prom was light work compared to swimming through rough waves and running from a vampire.  

Normal. That's what she had wanted. That's what she was going to get, at least for one night. And it would start the moment she crossed the door.  

Next ->

A/N: i find it so weird that senior proms in the US is before graduation on a random week day like two to three months before grad. over here we have proms weeks after graduation, that way we don't have to worry if anything that happens at the dance it'll affect the grad, especially since our legal drinking age starts at 18. anywho 🤭🤭 prepare for some major romantic fluff next chapter and something a bit more... also, this is the most physical description i've included of (Y/N) so, obviously if the writing doesn't match, just skip over it 🫣 I will need y'all to fill in the form below to be tagged because I lost access to the previous form 😅😅 If you’d like to be tagged in this or any other story:  click hereMake sure you have my notifications on so you know every time I post!