Hi Everyone,
For those of you who have me on author alert, I hope this one isn't too disappointing. Sorry it's not an update for my Glee story but Puck and Rachel seem to be enjoying themselves at Jake's bar and I can't figure out where they are going next.
Now for this story, it's a cross over between Twilight and True Blood (yeah, been done before I know, bare with me). This woman who is connected to both worlds suddenly started beating my muse on top of the head with this story so we'll just have to see where it goes.
Things you should know:
Twilight - We are starting this story from the second book after Bella has left go rescue Edward from his own stupidity while breaking her best friend's heart (ok sue me, I'm not an Edward fan just stop now if that upsets you).
True Blood (not Southern Vampire) – I love the books and the cable show but for this story we will use the True Blood world. Back ground on the main characters is a little different in True Blood and that's where this story comes from. We are starting from two weeks before the vampires 'come out of the closet' so Sookie has not yet meet Bill. I don't think whose two will even be in this story.
Official declaimer: I do not own any of the Twilight or True Blood characters and all others are the product of my own muse. No copy right infringement intended, for entertainment purposes only. Worse yet, no beta all mistakes are mine alone.
As always R&R and I hope you enjoy!
Friends and Promises – Chapter 1
It'd been the week from hell, first Bella tried to kill herself by jumping of the cliff, she wasn't even dry yet and Harry had a heart attack and died. Then before they could even process the fact that they now had a very bitchy female wolf on their hands, that leech Alice shows up. Six months, six months he'd been trying to put Bella back together after what that fucking blood sucker did to her. Six months of watching the girl he loves completely broken and trying everything he could think of to put her back together, trying to find the pieces of her soul left on the forest floor. Hell just trying to keep her alive.
Jacob emerged from the forest to prowl the beach as memories of the last week flashed through his head. He felt his body shake with the need to phase, but he would find no piece in wolf form only the agony and grief of his pack brothers and sister.
She came back yesterday, but not to him, her sun. No she went back to the controlling jerk that left her for dead on the forest floor.
The full moon was high in the midnight sky and reflecting on the ocean waves. Somewhere the howl of a lone wolf cried in the night. Jake felt the pull in his soul to return the mournful call as he pulled off his cut-offs and left them in the sand. He walking into the ocean and dove under the water hoping to drown out the voices of his pack with the rushing of the waves. He concentrated on feeling each cell in his body as he sliced through the water, the ripple of muscle and tendons working in harmony bringing calm with the repetitive motion.
He'd been swimming for hours when he saw her up on the cliff. She didn't seem to notice him below in the surf and he couldn't help but wonder why she was here. Never able to ignore her call he emerged from the ocean and after pulling on his shorts started the climb to the top as the sun was just starting its climb in the eastern sky.
She was sitting on a log with her back to him watching the ocean waves. As he drew near he noticed something was wrong, her hair seemed a little too curly and her body radiated a confidence he had never witnessed in Bella before. She was wearing a white sun dress despite the slight chill in the air that usually had Bella reaching for a hoodie.
"Bella?"
"Ephraim?"
The girl turned toward him and caught his surprised expression with his head tilted slightly to the side. Her eyes were bright blue, not Bella's brown and somehow they showed age and knowledge that was beyond her years. Somewhere in his mind he wondered if she was older than the twenty-five or so years she looked. Suddenly she smiled at him and gave a slight laugh.
"No, I don't think you're Ephraim, but you're one of his." He watched her nose twitch as she sniffed the air between them and cocked her own head to the side and furrowing her brow. "Why are you not Alpha?"
"Who are you?" he countered. "Why are you here?"
"I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself." She stood gracefully and he noted that she was about five and a half feet tall and barefoot. Her body reminded him of Leah's, a female version of his own, but paler with Bella's coloring. "My name is Erika." She told him as she reached out her hand to shake his.
"Jacob Black" he reached his own hand out to shake and was surprised when instead she grabbed his wrist as he would greet a pack member. He sniffed the air as she had earlier and didn't understand the smell. She didn't smell completely human but she didn't have the sick sweet smell of a vampire either. "What are you? How do you know who my great-grandfather is?"
Erika smile up at him and tugged him to sit beside her on the log before she let go of his wrist. "I'm a true shifter, somewhat like you except that I can shift into anything, well anything with a heartbeat. Ephraim was my friend; he offered me sanctuary and a home a long time ago."
"Why are you here now? How old are you?" He was surprised how calm he felt as he sat with this woman and watched the waves beat against the shore below.
"You remind me of him, so full of questions. I promised my friend I would return when his people needed me the most and I am here to keep that promise. Our world is about to change Jacob and the pack will need to be prepared. As for how old I am; that's a story for another time." She said with a wink.
Erika stood and Jacob again followed her lead as she started the climb back down the cliff in compatible silence. When they reached the beach she turned back to look up at him, "It's late, or early I guess." She began with a wink. "I promised to tell my brother about the sunrise so for now I will leave you. Go and sleep Jacob Black, please let the elders know that I will be at the bonfire tonight to address the tribe."
"How do you know there will be a bonfire?"
"It's Friday night," she smiled and shrugged her right shoulder. "I don't think time has changed that much around here that you stopped end of the workweek bonfires."
"Sure, sure."
Jacob watched her take three quick steps away from him. Her white dress floated to the ground as a golden eagle took flight. She circled above him twice before heading east toward Seattle.
"Jake, man where have you been all day?" Paul asked as he grasp Jacob's wrist in greeting.
"I just needed some time to myself, had stuff to deal with." He replied as they made their way toward the bonfire.
"Let him guess, that leech lover of yours right. She picked the undead over you again? Man you've got to stop putting yourself though that shit. Hell, there are plenty of beautiful girls right here for the taking. I should know I've done plenty for sampling myself." Paul finished as they joined Quil on a log.
"Hey," Quil greeted them both. "Any idea why all the Elders are here tonight, even Grandma Sadie is here?"
"Gees, how old is she now, like hundred and three or something?" Paul commented.
"I think she's hundred and four, didn't we just have a party for her last month?" Jake said while watching Sam pick up the frail women and move her to a more comfortable chair that someone had brought down for her.
"Sam's really jumpy too, haven't seen him that bad since he broke up with Leah. Speaking of that bitch, where is she?" Paul asked as he scanned the growing crowd just as Jacob hit up the back side of head. "Shit dude that hurt." He said as he rubbed the back of his head with is right hand.
"Whatever ass, she's our pack sister now. It can't be easy for her. Seeing Emily and Sam together in our heads is bad enough for us, think how bad it must be for her." Jake scolded him.
"Well some of it's pretty entertaining," Quil spoke up trying to change the subject. "Remember the time she was making chocolate chip cookies and turned away to answer the phone and Sam ate all the dough."
"Yeah, remind not to get to close to her when she's got a wooden spoon in her hand." Paul added while laughing.
"What do you have in the bag Jake? Any chance its food I'm staved." Quil asked as he watched Jake fiddle with a bag he had placed on the sand between his feet.
"It's a dress I need to return." Jake spoke quietly as a blush rose across his cheeks.
"You've been holding out on us man!" Paul said in with a smirk. "So whose is it, because we all know Bella doesn't wear dresses?"
"A girl I meet on the beach this morning…"
"THIS morning, you are trying to take make me look bad?" Paul replied in mock horror.
Jake, now bright red was saved from commented as Sam began gathering everyone's attention.
"Thank you everyone for coming tonight. As some of you may have heard we have a special guest tonight. Normally with new wolves Elder Black would retell our legends, however tonight will be different. Many years ago in the time before the Treaty, Alpha Ephraim Black meet a shifter who would help him understand his new wolf abilities and harm that both the Cold Ones and the Palefaces could cause us as well as how to see the good in each. She was given membership into the Pack and for awhile acted as his Beta. However for reasons of her own, she had to leave us but promised to come back when the Tribe needed her most, that time has come."
This was the first time most of the people gathered had seen Sam in full Alpha form, the fire light danced off his naked torso as power seemed to radiate off him. No one interrupted him and all remained held in captive silent as a figure walked out of the woods.
"Why the hell is Bella here?" Paul whispered.
"That's not Bella." Jake whispered back and Quil shot them both a look that could only be read as shut-the-hell-up.
The woman came to stand next to Sam. She was dressed similar to most of the women present with comfortable jeans and a black scooped necked t-shirt. She had a smile teasing around her eyes until she located Grandma Sadie, then a full smile spread across her face as Sadie exclaimed.
"Erika is that really you?" Erika moved to her side and kneeled down to her level.
"Hello Sadie, I see the Ancestors have blessed you with many years."
"Not as many as you my sister." Sadie replied as she reached out to grab Erika wrist, "but we are forgetting the others." Erika nodded her head to the Elder and again stood to address the group.
"Hello my brothers and sisters, thank you for your time tonight. My name is Erika and I come with a warning of great changes that are coming to the world around us soon. I have talked with your Alpha today and while you remember much about the Cold Ones there is much that you don't know about the true Vampire."
"What are you talking about? I have accurately told all of our legends!" Billy Black injected from his wheelchair next to Sue Clearwater.
"I do not mean to insult you child of Ephraim but there is much knowledge he keep to himself." She calmly replied while taking the space in the circle that was traditionally Sam's.
"I doubt that, what knowledge could you possibly have that I don't?" Jake could almost see his father's blood pressure rising, even with the light of the fire filtering his view.
"Do you know how to teach the wolves to block personal memories from the pack mind while phased, or how to open the pack mind while in human form? Do you know the difference between the Day Walker and the Night Walker or the politics of each?" She challenged with one eyebrow raised.
"You can't block the pack mind." Billy replied but with somewhat less strength.
"Can you really teach us that?" Sam asked with naked hope reflecting in his eyes as he sat at her right side.
"Yes, even wolves deserve some privacy from each other. Part of an imprint's responsibility is to give you a place to breath and center yourself but that can't happen if you know your every thought is open to everyone else. That is more than the Tribe has a right to ask of you." Erika placed a hand on his forearm in a comforting gesture.
"How old are you?" A completely awed voice of Seth Clearwater was heard from beside his sister's side.
"I'm not exactly sure but I guess about a thousand years give or take."
"No way, that's really old!" Seth whisper yelled as he and several others looked at her in shock. Erika threw her head back and laughed.
"Yes, I'm truly old," her laughter dying down and tears of happiness danced in her eyes.
"Erika, what have you come to warn us about." Jake asked as people seemed to get over their shock. Her face because and she looked around the fire catching the eye of each person.
"The ones you call Cold Ones are not the only vampires. In the vampire world they are called Day Walkers because they do not sleep during the day. The Night Walkers consider themselves the true vampires and are much older and more established with a network of political and governing bodies. They don't sparkle nor does their venom kill, or turn anyone they drink from. True vampire blood can actually heal a human, some more than others and the older a vampire is the stronger their blood. They do not have to kill their victims when they feed. Most will hypnotize their victim and heal the puncher wounds from their fangs without the blood donor being aware anything even happened to them."
"So there really are vampires like in the movies?" Leah asked.
"Yes, most vampires have an excess of ego. Some of those stories were actually written by vampires. Some things they purposely got wrong, like not being able to see them in mirrors, or garlic poisoning them. Although that and asparagus seem to make blood taste gross to them so maybe there is some truth in that." Erika said with a small shrugged of her shoulders.
"How can we kill them?" Jared asked for somewhere on the left.
"Stake to the heart, silver, Holy Water and beheading are the most often used. But that is the least of the coming changes. The Vampires have decided to 'come out of the casket' as it were. There is a new invention from Japan, a synthetic blood that was meant to save lives in the operating room. Vampires have learned that they can survive on it and are bored with living in the shadows."
"What about the Cold Ones? Bella told me that they threatened to come and change her themselves if she has not been changed by her eighteenth birthday." Jake asked and heard murmurs of shock and anger from those around him.
"Jacob, when did you learn this and why have you not told us before?" his father demanded.
"I found out yesterday and I am telling you now." Jake replied with the first hinting of Alpha in his voice.
"Calm down Jacob," Erika started as she stood and moved to block Billy from his view across the fire. She placed both her hands on his shaking shoulders and kneeled down in front of him and capturing his eyes with hers.
"This girl you speak of will not be changed unless that is her choice. I have not met with the Cullens to inform them of the change in power. Aro and his brothers will no longer rule as they threaten the true vampire's agenda. The Cold Ones are very naive and believe true vampires do not exist. The Night Walkers liked the arrangement because it helped them control the population of Sparkles." He gave her a small nod of his head before looking down to the sand at his feet.
"Jacob," she placed a hand beneath his chin and raised his face to hers again. "Sometimes there are reasons why the one we love is not chosen as our imprint, trust that your soul knows who you're looking for, even when your heart disagrees." Her blue eyes felt like they were looking into his soul as she carefully whipped a single tear from his cheek before standing. She walked past Leah on her way back to her spot and stopped to place a hand on her shoulder as well.
"When will the vampires make this announcement?" Emily asked from Sam's side.
"They are planning a media blitz in two weeks, TV news conferences, twitter, facebook, radio everything broadcast at the same time." Erika answered sitting back down.
"Are they really that organized?" Sam asked.
"Yes, they've had Kingdoms and Areas set up for hundreds of years." Suddenly Paul's stomach growled loudly from across the fire.
"Sorry, but a wolf needs to eat." He smirked in typical Paul cockiness.
"Bonfires are for food as much as anything." Erika smiled at him. "Enough of the heavy stuff, it's time to celebrate the life of your departed Tribe member."
With that everyone broke apart into smaller groups most talking about what they had learned to night and the changes to come. Erika was speaking to her old friend Sadie when she heard Sam tell Jacob, Quil and Paul that he was worried because they hadn't been able to spot Victoria for a few days and he wanted two of them to run a patrol. She told Sadie farewell before walking over to Sam on the other side of the fire.
"Sam did Victoria have red hair?"
"Yes, have you seen her?"
"Actually, I killed her two days ago. She was a threat to the Vampires because of her lack of mental stability so I was asked to come take care of her."
"We haven't been able to catch her for weeks. How did you do it?" Quil asked.
"The queen of Washington called my brother and asked for my services. After they arranged the fee it was all pretty simple."
"No, he means how where you able to kill her all by yourself." Paul clarified.
"Oh sorry," She said with a slight blush. "I noticed she liked to spend a lot of time in the water were she thought she was safe from all of you, so I shifted into a shark and tore her head off. Then it was just a matter of burning her head and letting the body sink to the ocean floor. If humans ever find it they will just think it's a statue that lost its head over time."
"What else can you shift into?" Sam asked.
"Anything I want." Erika answered.
"Can you show us?" Quil asked while bouncing slightly in excitement.
"I need to speak with the Cullens tomorrow morning, how about four o'clock in the meadow near the northern border?"
"We will meet you there." Sam stated while looking around the wolves gathered at his side.
"If you would like I could also start training the Pack on how to block personal thoughts?"
"I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say the sooner we don't have to see Sam and Emily getting it on in our heads the better!" Paul spoke up just as Sam hit him on the back of the head. "Why the hell does everyone keep doing that?"
"Because you're an ass" Jake reminded him with a smirk, "Not that we all don't agree with you." Jake took off in a run with Sam at his heals as the others laugh at them.