The fire crackled under the night sky, laughter rising from the circle of familiar faces around it. You hadn’t been home in months, not since leaving for school overseas, but everything looked just as you left it. Almost.

Jacob walked beside you, hand on your shoulder, proud but a little tense. He’d missed you. Everyone had. Billy smiled wide from his wheelchair, gesturing you over. You settled beside him, warm from the flames, comforted by the familiar scent of pine and smoke.

Then it happened.

Paul stood across the fire, mid-laugh, when his eyes met yours. The air shifted. His body stilled. Everything about him, his stance, his breathing, his energy, locked in place. Like gravity snapped between you two, unseen but undeniable.

You blinked, confused. The silence came fast. Too fast.

Sam sat forward. Emily stopped smiling. Quil and Embry looked away. Even Seth fell quiet.

And Jacob?

“No,” he snarled, stepping in front of you. “No way.”

Paul didn’t speak. Didn’t blink. He just looked at you like you were the only thing that existed. His hands were shaking, not with fear, but with something bigger, stronger. Like he was holding himself back.

“What did you do?” Jacob hissed, fists trembling. “She just got back!”

Billy’s hand gripped your arm, protective but calm. You glanced at him, but his jaw was tight. He knew.

The pack rose slowly, trying to push Jacob back, to block him from lunging. Paul finally spoke, low and rough: “I didn’t choose this.”

And still, all you could do was stand there, silent, lost, as the world shifted without your permission. Everyone was looking at you. At Paul. At Jacob.

And you still didn’t understand why.