dom·i·nant: : commanding, controlling, or prevailing over all others

Jacob

At 3:00 in the morning, Jacob Black shot out of bed like a cannon.

The floorboards in his room creaked with each pace he crossed: back and forth, back and forth.

A fierce instinct, a something, was crawling to the surface. All of a sudden, he found himself incredibly angry, and he didn't know why.

He felt like punching his walls in, and the strange thing was that somehow he knew that they would cave if he wanted them to. That he could knock the whole fucking house down, if he wanted.

And not only did he want to, he felt compelled to.

His body felt like it was caving in on itself, the fucking walls felt like they were closing in.

Too tight. Too small, need to get out.

Whatever the something was, it was repeating that mantra inside his frazzled brain.

He didn't understand what was going on, or why he was suddenly so angry. He'd been having a rather peaceful, rather pleasant sort of dream. He and Bella were riding the old motorbikes along the dirt road behind his house, and her smile lit up her whole face. The wind was whipping her hair behind her as she rode, and for once the emptiness in her eyes was nothing but a ghost of the past. For once, she wasn't two seconds from returning to the ghost of a person she'd been in those first few months without him.

The him in question? Her bronze-haired, skinny ex-boyfriend, who seemed to have had all the cash and class in the world. Not only was that fucker Cullen undoubtedly well-bred, he still had a hold on Bella that even Jacob couldn't seem to break….

And suddenly, just the thought of that pompous son-of-a-bitch got Jacob even more heated. What was before a slight compulsion to get out, had turned into an unforgiving mandate. Uncontrollable, undeniable.

Just like that, he ran.

Popped open the window, jumped to the grass on his hands and knees. The night air was suddenly crisp; clean, a welcoming caress to his nose.

He could smell…earth. The strong odor of yesterday's rain, the blossoming apples in the tree just up the road. Hands over feet, he began to run – ran until he was deep into the forest that surrounded the reservation, ran until blades of grass and branches stuck to his hair. It was only then that he noticed his hair felt different, almost like...fur.

But he couldn't dwell on that, the forest earth beneath his feet – no, beneath his paws – felt so good, and right, that he decided it didn't matter. He wondered what Bella was doing. He'd bet she'd get a kick out of this, whatever this was – then something reared at the thought of Bella's name:

Bella, Bella, BELLA

...it growled, and Jacob was shocked as he realized that there was not just his own, but two voices in his head. What the fuck was going on? When he focused harder, he realized that there was yet another set of voices, so low at first that it just sounded like murmuring, but when he concentrated on it, grew louder.

Man, you feel that? Looks like the little Alpha's finally pulled his head out of that leech-lover's ass long enough to join the party.

Shut up, Paul! Jake? Jake, man, is that you? It's Embry, dude.

Embry? Embry?

Yeah, it's me and Paul. Man, Sam's got to get up for this, someone's got to go get him, I can't explain all this shit by myself –

Already on it, Em, don't get your panties in a bunch.

And suddenly Jacob saw Paul Lahote moving in the direction of Sam Uley's house, although he couldn't have seen, he was standing right here...

Effect of the pack mind, dude. You're seeing it through Paul, but you aren't really there, you know?

"Emb –" Jacob tried to get out, except it came out as a little bark. He tried again. Embry, what the FUCK is going on? What is this?

Yeah, it's a real mind trip, ain't it? Sam's going to explain it all to you when he gets here. Meanwhile, I'm coming up on your left. I'm shocked it took you this long to phase, and I'm suspecting Paul's got a point about Bella having something to do with that. Although I wouldn't have phrased it exactly how he did... Embry was rambling.

Jacob had only caught one word. Bella? Bella. BELLA. Bella-bella-bella-bella-bella...

Great, now Embry had set the thing off again. Jacob shook his head and tried to focus. What he somehow knew was Embry – a grey... dog? Wolf? with black spots on his back suddenly appeared in his vision. And Jacob soon saw himself through Embry's eyes.

Massive and russet-colored, he was at least twice Embry's size. He immediately took great satisfaction in that fact. Upon seeing Embry, a shift happened, and Jacob felt something so instinctual that he didn't even question it – somehow he knew that Embry was now his, and that fucker Sam Uley better not even question it.

This was his pack, his, HIS, by right, and by blood, and whoever doesn't like it can have their ass handed to them – MINE.

Wait, what the fuck? The alien thought stream was starting to wear him out; he was a big furry fucking Wolf, and apparently Paul, Embry and Sam were too

Sam, that fucker, I'll LAY him OUT if he even THINKS about taking this pack from me, FUCK YOU, you – and Whatever the something was, it was on a rampage.

Embry seemed aware of the shift too.

Aw Jake, what did you do? Sam was supposed to be Alpha for a while, until you get used to all this – now I can't hear Paul anymore, I hope he can remember where we were, I can't even hear Sam –

Sam, that FUCKER...

Wait. No. STOP.

Embry, what's an Alpha?

Although even as he asked, a part of him somehow knew. It was now his, finally his burden to bear, his responsibility to lead. Generations upon generations had gone by, but one thing remained the same – their duty to protect the fathers, daughters, and sons of the tribe from the one enemy – the Cold Ones who walked the earth still, leeching away life wherever they went – it suddenly dawned on him, now as plain as the newfound muzzle on his face that Cullen was his natural born enemy. He wondered why he hadn't noticed it before.

There was always something about that kid he didn't like…

Thank God! They're here! Jacob was drawn out of his musings by Embry's excited yipping, hailing Paul and Sam to the clearing they were standing in. He turned his gaze to coolly regard Paul, the silver wolf, and just as quickly as he did, he felt the shift start to occur –

But something massive and black brought it to a screeching halt.

Jacob.

What Jacob guessed could only be Sam's wolf regarded him with an assessing gaze, taking on a stance that was as challenging as it was authoritative.

You aren't ready for this yet. Stand down. The Alpha order rolled off his lips as easy as pie, and just as easily Jacob's Wolf simultaneously denied it and became incensed by it.

Where do you get off, you stupid fuck? Jacob's Wolf shot right back, incensed at Sam's blocking of his acquisition of Paul. And Jacob saw Sam visibly tense under the command.

The Wolf had shot the retort before Sam had the chance to explain what it was he thought Jacob wasn't ready for. Although Jacob was aware that his Wolf, and thus he, too, already knew, he wanted to hear it from Sam himself.

Seeing Sam struggle and fail to break his command, it became clear as day to him that His Wolf would lead, evenif Jacob wasn't sure what leadership meant yet. Even if Jacob the man wasn't ready. The revelation that two entities existing in one body could be so at odds with each other terrified Jacob to his core, and he began a feeble attempt at rearing the beast in. For a split second the true Alpha Wolf disappeared from Jacob's psyche and he prepared to kneel and submit to the black dominant Wolf's edict...

That's right, baby Alpha, you know you aren't even close to being ready to do this shit... Paul's leer rang loudly in Jacob's mind, as the separate Packs had again joined in Jacob's moment of submission.

Submission was then forgotten as and man and beast united in rage at the mere thought that the Beta would deem them incapable. Jacob yanked at Paul's Wolf in retaliation, daring the fucker Sam to do anything about it.

And when the true Alpha Wolf felt just the slightest opposition from the son of Levi Uley, he lunged, snarling, at his throat.