The forest feels too loud.

Every crack of a branch, every rustle of wind through La Push trees scrapes against your skin like it’s inside your bones instead of outside your body.

You can feel it coming.

“I don’t think I can stop it,” you gasp, fingers digging into the damp earth. “Embry, something’s wrong— it’s too much—”

“It’s not wrong,” Embry says quickly, though his voice wavers just slightly. He’s kneeling in front of you, hands hovering near your shoulders but not touching. “It’s your first shift. It’s going to feel like you’re on fire. That’s normal.”

“It doesn’t feel normal,” you snap, teeth clenching as heat coils violently in your chest. “It feels like I’m splitting apart.”

A growl tears out of you before you can stop it — not human. Not anymore.

The pack stands further back — Sam tense, Jared whispering something under his breath, Paul pacing like he’s ready to explode just from watching.

Because this isn’t just a first shift.

This is history twisting in ways it shouldn’t.

You’re new to the Uley pack. Newly phased. Newly aware that the legends weren’t just stories.

And then it happened.

The moment your eyes met Embry’s after your first partial phase — something snapped into place. Immediate. Overwhelming. Unmistakable.

Imprinting.

On another wolf.

Within the same pack.

It’s not supposed to happen.

“It doesn’t make sense,” you had said earlier, panic threading your voice. “You’re my packmate. This isn’t how it works.”

Embry hadn’t looked scared.

Just certain.

“It’s how it works for us,” he said softly.

Now your bones feel like they’re breaking under your skin.

“I can hear everything,” you choke out. “Your heartbeat. Sam’s breathing. The ocean. It’s too loud.”

Embry moves closer this time, ignoring Sam’s warning look.

“Hey. Look at me,” he says firmly. “You’re not alone in this. I’m right here.”

“I don’t know how to control it!” you shout, voice warping as another growl slips through. “What if I hurt someone?”

“You won’t,” Embry says immediately. “You won’t hurt me.”

The heat surges.

Fur ripples beneath your skin. The world fractures—

—and then it snaps into terrifying clarity.

You’re taller. Stronger. The forest sharper and brighter than ever before. Your paws dig into the earth where your hands used to be.

The pack inhales collectively.

Because you’re not just phased.

You’re enormous.

Larger than any first shift should allow.

Embry steps forward slowly in his human form, eyes wide but not afraid. Not of you.

“Hey,” he says quietly. “You’re okay.”

Your thoughts crash into the pack link instinctively — chaotic, overwhelmed, but undeniably yours.

“Embry… what if this changes everything?”

His answer comes steady, unwavering.

“It already did.”