Chapter 3 Of Vampires and Wolves

I stayed up all night reading the letters about vampires that make up Bram Stoker's Dracula. It would by considered slower moving by today's standards. Knowing what I know of real vampires, there's no way I could see the group of human men slaying an elder vampire, especially if he were as gifted as they thought he was. I remembered what HE had told me about the stories making people less scared. I wondered what precipitated the writing of the novel. Were there so many unexplained deaths? Probably that is more likely.

Imagine how surprised I was to read the description of the vampires that were inhumanly beautiful and fast, smelled honey sweet, and had tinkling sounding voices, and most surprisingly did not all have red eyes (strangely blue not golden...) - from Bram Stoker! (Check out chapter 3.)

How had that not made it into the movies? How was that not in that website I read last year? I doubt many have actually read that book, favoring the movies. Or if they had, they missed those traits. Traits that were way too real.

I pondered the workers below the castle, on the outer grounds. Was it too far fetched to think they were the wolves Dracula called on? Werewolves even? Why was I thinking about werewolves now?

I started to think it was a bad idea to dwell on vampire stories, but I was sure it was a type of therapy, too. I could talk to Charlie about vampires with out putting him into any more danger or making him think I was crazy enough to be put in an institution. I just had to choose my words carefully and be sure he didn't think I was taking it too seriously.

Another coincidence that made its way through my subconscious as I had an old nightmare revisit me in the night as I had slept. It was from my first reconnection with Jake at First Beach when I went there with my school friends. After he revealed the legends about the Quileutes and the cold ones. In the dream, HE was a vampire with pointy teeth and Jake turned into a wolf to fight HIM. I was more worried about HIM than Jake, of course, because I love HIM. I guessed it was reading Dracula that spurred the dream on.

I woke up panting. Dracula was friendly with the wolves in the book. He had called them creatures of the night. But Jake said the La Push wolves were protectors from vampires.

My intuition flickered and I knew the reason why Jake hadn't been around. The myths were true. He had joined their ranks. He was a wolf protector, just like in my dream. I wondered if there was a way to figure it out. I doubted he would come out and tell me, "Hey, Bells, I can't come by tonight 'cause I'm running around all covered in fur. I think people might notice, and if you remember, I told you we weren't supposed to tell any outsiders."

Why is it that the problem I have with that imaginary statement is that fake Jake called me an 'outsider?' Shouldn't I be more concerned with the hairy wolf part?

A wolf. But why? Were there more vampires in the area that I should avoid or be worrying about? Other supernatural beings that I don't want to know truly exist in this world? What is going on in this area that worlds of legends converge to stay on the periphery of the simple mortal world? I had so many questions overwhelming my thought processes.

I could feel a breakdown coming. I had to leave. I got dressed and ran down the stairs. I ran to my truck with Charlie yelling for me to stop. I screamed that I'd be back after I did something to help me relax. He yelled something about bear attacks and warned me to be careful. I really didn't hear him. I took off for the meadow. I needed to think and lay in the grass. I needed to see the one place where I could center myself in this maelstrom of thought. The place where I could feel HIM best in memory.

I unerringly made my way to the meadow that I couldn't find on my own before, driven by the panic welling up inside me. But I was too overwhelmed with the present to really soak in its magic, thinking of all I had realized. It was looking barren, since it was before the fullness of spring could beautify it to its normal glory. There were a few buds trying to emerge from a few branches, but everything else was still dormant from the cold.

I let the stillness and emptiness calm me for a minute, but I couldn't keep from it. I thought about my love and my friend. Two who had sworn to love me. Two that were leaving me as wasted as winter had left this meadow. Did I have enough within me to evoke a new growth inside me? I hadn't confirmed my hypothesis about Jacob, but I just knew. What would be the culmination of their attention and then sudden inattention to me?

I fell to my knees as I realized I couldn't be part of either of their lives. The supernatural had shortchanged me and stolen my friends and the future I had desired for myself -my forever with my Edward. I couldn't keep HIS name out any longer. I whispered aloud, "I love you, Edward, no matter what has happened or what will happen." I stayed on my knees in the wet ground. I shivered, not just because I was cold. I felt things were changing in the air.

I heard a twig snap to my left and then another indistinct to my right and then I froze. There were long dark haired Laurent and beautiful fiery red-headed Victoria. They were both sparkling lightly as sun gently broke through the dark clouds, but blood was caked in her wild hair and covered her face and clothes as if she had rubbed herself in... I didn't want to continue the speculation. The horrifying sight truly marred my thoughts on beauty. A light growl began to fill the circle between us.

Laurent moved to stand between Victoria's hate filled glare and my fear filled face. I was still paralyzed in fear. There's no way I could have run away anyway. They were much much faster and better coordinated than I was.

"Ladies. Let's take a moment to talk. Bella, I think that Victoria here has some feelings she'd like to air before..." Laurant calmly spoke as if he didn't know what was behind the muderous eyes that Victoria held in my direction. But she interrupted him with deeper, more fierce growling.

"Certainly, I have something to say, 'Good-bye, Bella.'" Then she lunged at me and I knew death had come for me again. Danger magnet? No. Death magnet! My thoughts quickly moved to Edward. He would be my last contemplation. My last meditation. It was almost if he were with me for the briefest frightful moment.

It was déjà vu as I felt a hard body hit me from the wrong direction and I flew against my will, limbs flailing about ridiculously. My face was in the mud before I could react appropriately -if there could be such a thing. I could hear growling erupt all around me. I scraped the mud from my vision to see huge wolves all around. I couldn't even count because I was so overcome. Death had been averted one more time. The Protectors had come.

One had made its stance right beside me. He elicited the memory of the Jacob wolf from my dream but was bigger than a horse. Then, as 1 plus 1 equals 2, I put it all together in my head and simply whispered, "Jake."

The huge russet wolf jerked his head toward me in surprise. His eyes bore deeply into me. It was him. He knew I recognized him. The others seem to ignore this for the time being. Surely they heard me, too.

I kept my eyes on him not wanting to see the source of the screeching sharp sounds that filled the air. Sounds that amazed me because I had heard them once before. "How could this be?" My disbelief danced in my memory trying to recollect if I knew of anything other than another vampire being able to disassemble a vampire. "Few things" echoed in my imperfect mind. Only a few things. I didn't recollect any elaboration on those things being given to me. He held my gaze as the others fought. It was likely the best way to protect me at the time. I didn't move, I just stared back at him in awe and gratefulness.

Sweet purple smoke filled the air and I relaxed. All was still. Jacob the wolf started for the forest and my eyes followed him into the thicket where he disappeared. "Why is he leaving me after I saw that?" I wondered. I continued to be still. Then he re-emerged wearing only some cut-off shorts. He ran to me and gathered me into his arms.

"Geez! Bella!" He held me tightly as he berated me. "Didn't Charlie tell you to stay out of the woods?"

"No. I don't think so. He told me to be careful, but I didn't tell him where I was going." I drank in the warmth of his embrace. I was vibrating and I wondered if I were going into shock. Jacob and his friends weren't quite as comforting to me as Edward had been. Actually a couple of them had begun to glare angrily at me. I was sure they didn't like me knowing their secrets.

"Haven't you heard the stories about people dying in the woods." He was still shaking. I think I had stopped, but maybe not.

It was all vague in my head. My psyche was being held tenuously. Magic had invaded reality while myths and legends ran rampant all around me. Could I keep really it together? It was up to me. I could only depend on myself. I was thankful for my saviors that had been spun across my plane of existence, but could I count on them keep showing up when I needed them?

He was still going on about all the "maulings" that had I heard of them, yes, I would have known. I would have known Victoria was after me. I imagined how hard it would have been to keep it together with all that had poised to destroy my sanity.

I guessed that everyone around me had seen my fragile state and had steered clear of such stories. Certainly, Charlie wouldn't have said anything. He was being way too protective and thoughtful right now. Now that I thought of it, he had stopped bringing the paper back from work. I hadn't seen one in a few weeks.

So many people had died in Victoria's vengeful state. She had been utterly cruel and stupidly careless. She meant for me to hear and to know she was coming for me.

I looked up into Jacob's eyes as terror gripped me more deeply. I rasped out "She was after me all this time, but Charlie was in danger. She could had killed him, too." I didn't wonder why she hadn't. It didn't matter that the purple haze around us meant that the threat was over. The realization that my dad, my rock, my tether to reality, had been in the line of fire, because of me. My knees buckled and it all disappeared.