Everybody's Losing Control

“Hey angel, what are you doing this weekend?”

Two days had passed since Lila's birthday, making it a Friday night. Seth and Mya were sitting on Seth’s bed, watching Fast and Furious on his laptop.

“Erm, nothing,” Mya smiled, “why?”

“It’s Jared’s birthday tomorrow and Paul’s on Sunday, so Sam’s organised a weekend at the beach for the pack. If you’re interested, that is,” Seth suggested.

“What would a ‘weekend at the beach’ with the Quilette wolves entail?” Mya mused.

“Saturday is swimming, surfing, barbecue and cliff diving. We camp in tents on the beach overnight. Then Sunday is all the same plus a bonfire in the evening, which the parentals are coming to. My mum’s even bringing her boyfriend Charlie,” Seth explained.

“Cliff diving?!” Mya gasped.

“It’s fun, trust me. I’ll be there holding your hand the whole way,” Seth grinned.

“S-Sure. Why not,” Mya said nervously.

“Will’s coming too. It’s not meant to rain all weekend, just light cloud, so the weather will be good for here,” Seth added.

“Even better,” Mya smiled.

*

At about 10am the next morning, Seth and Mya were driving down to La Push beach. Mya had a plain black halterneck bikini on under a simple white tank top and denim shorts, and a pair of black flip flops to match. It didn’t take them long to reach the beach after parking, finding most the pack down there already. Leah and Will were laying out blankets, Paul and Rachel were standing talking to Jared and Kim, and Jacob, Quil, Embry and Collin were kicking a soccer ball back and forth.

“Mya!” Will called excitedly, and loudly.

Everyone turned their heads, smiling at the couple as they walked towards them.

“Happy 20th birthday Jared!” Mya and Seth chorused, passing him a bottle of wine, which they'd persuaded Carrie to buy even though Jared wasn't even legal to drink.

“Thanks!” he grinned wildly.

Mya laughed, sitting down on a blanket with Seth, Will and Leah.

“We’ve just got to wait for Sam to pick up Emily from her mom's, and then we’re going cliff diving,” Leah announced.

“Alright!” Seth whooped.

“Better not take Mya on the high cliff though – she looks like she’s going to pass out,” Leah chuckled, noticing Mya’s paler face.

“You didn’t tell Seth you’re scared of heights?” Will snorted.

Seth was shocked at how guilty Mya looked at this.

“You should’ve told me, babe,” Seth frowned.

“You were excited,” Mya shrugged.

“We’ll only go on the lowest cliff then,” Seth reasoned.

Mya bit her bottom lip but nodded, making Seth smile. Then Sam’s car pulled up and everyone cheered.

“Everyone ready for cliff diving?!” Sam yelled with a grin, walking towards them with his hand linked with Emily’s.

No-one could jump to their feet fast enough.

*

It was nearly 6pm now, and the sun was starting to dim. Everyone was sitting on the blankets, hot drinks and food in hand from Embry and Quil’s barbecue. Then Leah got off Will’s lap and leant down to Seth’s ear level, whispering quickly. His jaw dropped making Mya raise an eyebrow. When Leah had walked back to Will, Mya turned her head.

“What was that about?” she frowned.

“Leah’s going to tell Will our secret,” Seth whispered.

“No way!” Mya gasped.

“Mmhmm. She doesn’t want to hide it any more,” Seth sighed.

“Hadn’t you better warn the others?” Mya said softly.

Seth nodded, leaning over to whisper to Jacob. His eyes went wide with shock and Seth nodded, so Jacob leant over to Embry. This carried on until everyone was watching Leah and Will out the corner of their eyes. Then Leah stood up.

“Will, there’s something I need to tell you,” Leah announced.

Everyone in the pack froze in anticipation.

“Okay,” Will shrugged.

“I’m a werewolf,” Leah blurted.

Will frowned.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“I’m a werewolf. All of us Quilettes are werewolves. Shapeshifters,” Leah repeated, a bit more nervous now.

Mya held her breath at the frozen expression on Will’s face as Leah pulled off her clothes. His eyes darted around the rest of the group, who were now watching him intently.

“What the hell is going on?! You’re not joking, are you?” Will managed to stutter.

Leah walked a few metres away from him, before crouching down. Will’s jaw dropped as her body transformed into that of a huge wolf. Wolf-Leah padded slowly up to Will, pausing in front of him to show that her chocolate brown eyes were exactly the same. But when Leah turned back to human form and pulled her clothes back on, Will stood up. The pack stiffened.

“I-I need to take a walk,” Will mumbled.

Leah’s face crumpled as he walked off the beach. A couple of the boys growled, starting to rise, but Mya stood up first, running after him. She only caught up with him as he reached the car park, and spun him round with a hand on his shoulder.

“Willem Finn O’Donnell, how could you?!” Mya said angrily.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Will accused.

“Of course I bloody well did. Leah shared her darkest secret with you, the secret of the whole group, and you run away?! She’s still the same person! As is Jake! As is Seth! As are the rest of them,” Mya said fiercely, her eyes blazing.

But her eyes lost their fire as Will’s face dropped and he slumped down onto the bonnet of his car.

“I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to say. How the hell did you cope with finding out?” Will asked miserably.

“I found out by accident when Seth was angry one time and exploded, and I did run away. But this is different – she planned to tell you. The point is, I love Seth and I knew that this didn’t change how I felt about him. And it shouldn’t change how you feel about Leah, either,” Mya said softly.

Will suddenly pulled her into a firm hug, so Mya wrapped her arms round his shoulders, knowing he needed the comfort. After a couple of minutes he kissed her forehead and released her.

“It doesn’t change how I feel about Leah. Could you…could you get her to come talk to me? I want to talk to her alone,” Will said quietly.

“Yeah, hold on one sec,” Mya nodded.

Mya pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled down to Leah’s number. After a couple of rings, she picked up.

Leah: H-Hey Mya.
Mya: Hey Le. Look, could you come up to the car park?
L: Why?
M: Will wants to talk to you.
L: He’s going to break up with me, isn’t he?
M: Gosh no! He still loves you, Le, he just wants to talk to you alone.
L: Are you sure?
M: Positive. Just come up here.
L: Okay, I’ll be right there.
M: Alright, thanks.

Mya hung up, sliding her phone back in her pocket.

“Thanks, sis,” Will said gratefully.

“Anytime. Play nice now,” Mya chuckled.

She hugged Will one last time before heading back to the beach. Mya sat down in front of Seth when she reached the group, instantly feeling all eyes on her.

“Relax! Will’s fine with it all. He still loves Leah, he just wants to talk to her alone,” Mya reassured.

“Good. I haven’t seen Le that close to tears in a long time. We had to really persuade her not to run off,” Seth said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“It’s just a lot for him to take in all at once - my brother’s a simple guy. But they’ll work it out,” Mya smiled.

*

Night had fallen now, but the beach party was still there. Collin had brought his stereo, so loud music was pumping through the air. Will and Leah had returned not long ago and were sitting at the side of the group, making out. Mya and Seth were just coming out of the ocean.

“How about that for a late night swim!” Seth grinned, shaking his hair, showering Mya.

“It was brilliant! But I’m a bit cold and tired now,” Mya admitted, stifling a yawn.

“That I can fix. How about we get changed, set up our tent, then sit on the blankets in a blanket?” Seth suggested.

“Sounds like a great plan,” Mya nodded, her teeth chattering.

Seth chuckled and pecked her lips, before scooping her up in his arms and holding her close, trying to control himself with her wet, practically bare, skin close up against him. He eventually reached their bags, and put her down.

“Tomorrow night will be interesting, won’t it?” Mya mused, pulling a towel around her body, Seth casting his eyes away.

“Aye. There’ll be your parents, my mum and Charlie, Old Quil, Embry’s mum, Jake’s dad, Paul’s parents, Jared and Collin’s parents, and Kim’s parents. It’ll be huge!” Seth grinned.

He looked back at her, his jaw dropping as he saw she’d dressed already.

“You’re just slow,” Mya teased, starting to plait her wet hair.

“We’ll see who’s slow when we put the tent up,” Seth fired back with a smirk.

“Bring it, babe,” Mya giggled.