petrichor [rosalie hale]

xxxiii. not again

La Push beach was bathed in the golden hues of the setting sun, casting a warm glow over the sandy shore. The waves crashed rhythmically against the rocks, and a light breeze carried the scent of salt and pine through the air. The Quileute wolf pack had gathered at their favourite spot on the beach for a friendly soccer game, a rare moment of peace and camaraderie in their supernatural lives.

Some of them had opted to sit this one out, instead cuddling up to their imprints by a smaller bonfire that Jared and Sam had worked together to create as soon as Jared had noticed Kim even slightly shiver. Emily had rolled her eyes at how quickly the duo set into action, chuckling as the rest of the pack joked at how whipped by their imprints that they both were. Kiara had sniggered too, before everyone turned to look at her with a "come on, now" look.

She supposed that they were right, she was the last person who could make fun of anyone for being whipped by their imprint. Kiara spent most of her time outside of the pack at the Cullen residence, attached to Rosalie's hip like a lost puppy. It had been a long and hard journey for them to even make it to this point, but it was finally like everything was slowly coming into place.

Not only did she visit for Rosalie's benefit, Kiara also had been visiting every day so that Carlisle could run tests on her blood and make sure that all traces of venom had gone from her system. It had been two weeks since that chaotic night that had left her and Jacob both severely injured, but they had equally made full recoveries. Jacob had no scars, no proof that he had even endured any pain from the fight, whereas Kiara's new and fresh vampire bite was still scabbed red on her tanned skin.

She sometimes would catch her packmates or father looking at it, a look of regret and guilt in their eyes. She knew, as did they, that their aversion to her imprint with Rosalie hadn't technically been the reason that she was attacked, but it certainly was a reminder that she almost died thinking most of them hated her for something that was out of her control. She hadn't chosen to imprint on Rosalie, but after everything that had happened, she would go back and do it all a thousand times over - the exact same way.

The beach soccer match began once more, and laughter filled the air as the Quileute wolf pack members displayed their competitive spirit. Embry, Paul and Seth, ran across the sand, squaring up against the opposing team that consisted of Jacob, Kiara and Leah. The game was fierce, but it was also a joyous celebration of their bond as brothers. Quil stayed on the sidelines as he played with Claire - Emily's niece.

That had brought a lot of change too. In the aftermath of the newborn battle, there had been significantly more reservation bonfires and discussions than usual. While most of the reservation wasn't aware of the teenagers that turned into giant wolves, the tribe elders wanted to make sure that everyone was aware that they had just experienced an influx of un-native animals that were passing through. 

Quil and Sam had taken their turn to attend on the behalf of the pack, since they were all busy on patrol and making sure that the Black twins were comfortable and healing safely. With Rosalie having only visited the reservation once, they all knew that Kiara would be itching to see her imprint and they had to make sure she didn't do anything irrational.

It was at the third meeting when Quil had imprinted. He had seen the little girl, and instantly recognised the similarities between her and his alpha's imprint. Sam had broken into a huge smile as he noticed her too, motioning for Quil to follow him as he introduced the boy to his unofficial niece. As soon as Sam introduced Quil to Taylor Young, it was sealed in the stars.

Kiara had laughed as Emily visited with a basket of muffins, explaining the story of how Quil had imprinted on her sister right in front of Sam. Taylor was a young, single mother who Sam and Emily had been trying to keep away from the truth of the pack since Sam turned, and now they would have to bring her and Claire into the life they'd been hiding from them.