A/N – Okay so I've been told I need a new paragraph structure and since I trust the person who advised me, I'm gonna give it a go so...here's Chapter 3. This chapter could have been better but what can you do? there's always gonna be a chapter or two you're not happy with.
Chapter 3 – Bonfires and Betrayals
Bella POV
The sky had darkened quite dramatically and now I could feel a light breeze in the air. There was just something about this night that didn't feel right, I felt as if there was something big coming, but I couldn't quite place my finger on what it would be, would it be bad for me? for Jake? for the Pack? I hadn't realised that I'd been staring off into space until I was snapped back to reality by the voice of my sunshine.
"Earth to Bells...", Jake called out.
"Wha...what?" My voice was soft and sounded calm, well to me, but I'm sure he sensed that something was wrong.
"You're completely out of it tonight, are you sure that you want to come?", He replied, now staring at me with a concerned look in his eyes. What could I say to him?
"No...I'll be fine, I'm just...thinking, seriously I'll be okay" my voice was practically a whisper as I tried desperately to sound okay.
Without another word he had turned on his heels, reached for the door handle and we were out of the door, heading straight for the bonfire. I was hoping tonight would go smoothly, really hoping.
Tyler POV
I was nervous. That much I knew, but what was I nervous for, I was an outgoing person when I needed to be and I could be friendly. So what was it about the fact that practically everyone living in this small town would be at this bonfire that had me so nervous?
A knock on my bedroom door startled me, I quickly recovered as the door creaked open, I tried to act casual by staring out of the small window. It was my mom, she poked her head through the door with her hand over her eyes.
"You're not changing or anything are you?", she was talking cautiously. I didn't blame her either, she had walked in on me so many times, It wasn't like a father walking in on his teenage daughter, my mother liked me to have my own space and that was what I liked so much about her, she respected me.
"No, I'm all set...is it time to go?" I asked. She merely nodded and turned to walk away. I stood from the small ledge by my window and grabbed my jacket from the bed.
"Then let's go" I tried to be enthusiastic, the thing about my mother was that she was now always worried about me, ever since I had vanished in Chicago. I know my father's death had affected her but I didn't want her constantly worrying that I'd suddenly disappear. I took one last look at my new room, it was smaller than the one back at my old house but I liked how cosy this one felt.
This night was going to be good for me, for my mother and for my sisters, I could feel it.
Bella POV
It felt like we'd only walked for about two minutes when the beach came into view, There was already a large fire climbing towards the sky and most of the pack was there, completely unaware of us approaching, or so I thought.
"Bella! Jacob!" a loud voice bellowed out towards us. Embry.
He ran right for us and pulled me to him for a quick hug. He and Jake said their hello's and we settled by the fire, Emily was crouched down holding her hands towards the fire, I hadn't noticed how cold it had become, but then again how could I? Jake had had his arm around me from the moment we left the house up until we sat down here, I shivered and he turned towards me.
"Cold?", He smiled, I simply nodded and he pulled me closer to him. My personal space heater.
We sat there for a few minutes before Sam walked over and nodded his head, he passed us and headed over to the other pack members who had now gathered together in a huddle, Jake glanced at me and I nodded, without another word he jumped up and ran towards them. I jumped when a voice came from behind me.
"Worried?", It was Emily.
I stared at her for a moment, maybe longer than I should have before I simply nodded and smiled. I didn't really know what to say, a poor unsuspecting family was about to be told about werewolves and vampires. Not that one of them didn't already know about the vampires.
"I just hope we don't scare them off, you know?" I managed to finally say.
"We won't, I have a feeling they'll be understanding, trust me, I can feel it", Emily seemed so sure, I always liked that about her.
As if on cue, the pack came to sit down, I looked at Jake as he sat next to me, he kissed my forehead and leaned back to look me in the eyes.
"They're here" he announced.
I quickly turned to see Tyler walking towards the bonfire with two small girls next to him, his mother wasn't far behind but she looked worried. And so she should be, this would be a long night. Once they reached the group, everyone made some room, some of the pack members went to introduce themselves while others, like Paul and Leah sat there glaring. Jake called Tyler over, he practically ran to us, trying to escape Seth, Embry and Quil. I laughed, they really had a knack for making a good first impression. Tyler sat with us.
"Tyler, this is Emily" Jake inclined towards Emily, Tyler held out his hand and Emily took it, smiling.
"Yeah, You came by the house the other day, didn't you?" Tyler asked. Emily nodded.
Billy coughed to get everyone's attention and soon everyone went quiet and gathered around the fire. This was it. I practically blacked out for most of the conversation, I managed to stay conscious but I felt as if I'd gone deaf, I couldn't sit and listen to the story being told, the wolves being revealed, it would be too much for someone who'd already suffered a vampire attack and his poor family had barely recovered from when he went missing.
"An old legend of our tribe says that we're descendants from wolves...", Billy had everyone's attention now.
I looked at my feet, I couldn't listen to the rest, I barely heard much of it, I would hear words every now and then like "phase" and the one word that made me think of them. Of him. "Vampires"
Tyler POV
"Did you...just say that some people sitting here are....werewolves?", I choked.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Were they serious? I didn't know what my mother was thinking, she just sat there looking as if she'd seen a ghost, my sisters were asleep already, typical. I seriously hope this wasn't a joke, it suddenly got worse. Billy mentioned that vampires were the werewolves natural enemy. Had Bella and Jacob told him about what happened to me and was this just a sick joke?
"Wait...so everyone knows about vampires?" I gasped, my mother sat up, she clearly didn't know.
"We know what happened Tyler, what one of them did to you...", Sam answered.
My mother looked up at me, her eyes were wide, I didn't know what to reply with. Everyone was looking at me now.
"What does he mean Tyler?" my mother finally said.
"I....I....", What could I say?
Jacob and Bella were now looking down, They had told. I had revealed this big secret to them and they had already told practically everyone, I had trusted them, no, I couldn't do this. I jumped up.
"I'm sorry, I need to be alone!", I hurried off without waiting for a reply, I felt all eyes on me as I walked off into the darkness.
Jacob POV
I looked at Sam and then to Billy, I knew this would happen, I didn't want them to find out this way. Emily was now talking to Caroline and soon Billy and a few of the pack members gathered around her and tried to explain it better.
"Jake...we should go talk to him", were the words that spilled from Bella's mouth.
"Okay, I guess we could, He'll probably refuse to talk to us though" I replied quickly.
Grabbing Bella's hand, I stood and we ran off in the direction Tyler had went off to, what would we say to him? I had no clue but maybe if we could convince him to come back. We found him sitting by the edge of the water, staring out at the stars that reflected on the water's surface.
"Tyler, we need to explain" I said meekly.
He looked up at us and shrugged, he turned to look out at the water again as we sat down.
"Look, we didn't want to tell anyone but everyone had to know, we're wolves and if that vampire ever came looking for you here, we'd have to know...to protect you and your family." I managed to say this without looking at anyone.
Bella wrapped her arm around mine and smiled at me, I nodded and stood.
"Look I know you think this is some joke, but I can show you that it's not, wait here...", I stood and disappeared behind a large rock. It was the moment of truth.
Bella POV
When Jake disappeared behind the rock I found myself moving closer to Tyler who was now looking at me, he was clearly confused. I gave him a reassuring smile and nodded my head towards the rock where a large wolf now stood.
"What the..." were the exact words Tyler gasped.
"Don't be freaked out, please, that's Jacob." I replied.
Tyler stared for a moment and then stood up, Jake approached slowly, Tyler inched forward with some encouragement from me, he and Jake were now a few inches apart, Jake looked down to the ground. I stared at the sand for a moment, waiting to hear Tyler running off in the opposite direction, When I looked back up he was still there.
"Wow...", he whispered.
I smiled as Jake turned and ran behind the rock again. A few moments later he reappeared in human form. He was grinning.
"I knew you'd believe it if you saw it...you would have to", Jake said, still smiling.
We sat there for a while, filling Tyler in on everything he wanted to know about werewolves, It felt good that there'd be someone else I could talk to about this when I needed to. Once we felt he knew everything we managed to convince him to return back to the bonfire where everyone sat waiting. Caroline seemed to be okay with it now, she explained what Billy had said. Leave it to him to be the one person to calm her down, I smiled.
"So...is it party time?" Embry practically laughed, I looked at him and smiled.
"Not yet, there's something else we need to discuss...", I glanced up to see Sam was standing. What else was there?
I glanced at Jake who shook his head and looked nervously towards Sam. I managed to sneak a glance at Billy before I stared at mine and Jake's intertwined fingers on my lap. I felt Jake stiffen next to me, this wasn't good then.
"This will impact us all...", Sam said hesitantly.
DAMN IT SAM, JUST SPIT IT OUT! Was all I could think. I looked up, he was staring at me and Jake, he sighed and looked at Emily, she nodded to encourage him and his eyes seemed to be apologetic as he glance towards us once more.
"The Cullen's are back.", His mouth didn't even seem to move.
I closed my eyes and tried not to gasp, my body betrayed me and soon tears began to roll down my cheeks, I opened my eyes to see Jake reach up and wipe them away, he held me close as everyone sat in silence. I waited for someone to say something, Jake finally did.
"When? Why?...How could you wait so long to tell us?" the questions just poured out of his mouth.
Sam stared at him and sighed.
"I just found out before I came here tonight, the Doctor called and asked for a meeting with us...tonight" he said.
I didn't want to hear anymore but I didn't have any energy to move. Jake stood up, leaving me feeling cold and alone, even with all the people around us.
"Where are we meeting them?", Jake growled.
"They're actually coming here, they'll be here any minute." Sam obviously didn't want them here and I could tell no one else did but I guess he wanted to feel safe in his own territory. It must be important enough to let vampires onto the reservation.
Jacob POV
So the Cullen's were back. Great. Just fucking great! Well I'd have to get this over with but Bella would not be staying here.
"Fine, Bella go back to my house, You can't be around them." I looked at her, pleading for her to go, she didn't need this, not right now.
"I'm sorry Jake but they want to see her too." Sam said.
I suddenly froze as the smell hit me, the were here. Now. Too late to get Bella out of here, I looked at her and knew that she could tell, she knew she needed to be prepared to see him. And even as I saw them approaching I couldn't help but tense every muscle in my body, the pack all stood and we gathered behind Sam. I saw him and clenched my fists.
Edward POV
We approached the bonfire, I was anxious because I knew she would be there, what would I feel like when I saw her, I was scared, she had chosen him, the dog, over me and now I would be seeing her for the first time since she broke my heart.
"Dr. Cullen", Sam said through his teeth as Carlisle stepped forward, they shook hands as everyone else simply nodded to each other.
"I think we should talk...alone", Carlisle replied.
Sam agreed and they headed off, I still didn't know what all of this was about, Carlisle was very good at hiding thoughts in his mind, but right now I didn't really care, the Pack moved away and she came into view. Bella. My Bella. Well she wasn't mine anymore.
"Bella!" I said.
She glanced at me for a brief second and looked away. I glanced at my feet but decided to try again, I walked over to her, I heard a few growls from behind me as I passed the foul smelling group surrounding the fire. Alice cried out my name but I ignored her.
"Bella", I reached her and she looked up at me.
"Edward, please...I can't do this...not right now", She stood and walked off.
I followed, She would just have to, she owed me an explanation, I turned to see Jacob now following us. He looked pissed but I didn't care, I caught up to Bella and grabbed her wrist, she turned to face me, gasping at the touch of my cold skin against hers. Jacob appeared next to me and growled.
"Get your hands off her!" he shouted.
I could sense that everyone was now watching, all quiet, trying to listen to what was going on. I wanted to hear what Bella had to say though.
"She owes me an explanation!" I snarled back.
"She doesn't owe you anything...you wanted her to make a choice and she did!" Jacob glared at me.
"Let her speak for herself", I challenged him.
We both looked at Bella as I let go of her wrist, she rubbed it and glared at me, her eyes looked so sad, her face in complete shock.
"I...Edward...I'm sorry", She practically whispered.
Jacob looked behind us, I turned to see Carlisle walking over to us, Sam was right behind him.
"Carlisle, what's going on?" I asked urgently.
"I needed to warn Sam and the other wolves about the Volturi." He sighed and stared at Bella.
"Are they coming?" Bella asked.
Jacob turned to her and wrapped his arm around her, holding her close. Damn him. That should be me!. I would talk to her, alone. And it would be soon.
"Our business is done here, Edward, we have to leave now". Carlisle stared at Jacob and Bella.
I shook my head, and walked off, heading towards the bonfire where the rest of my family waited. The others followed behind me and soon everyone was sitting watching us, as we turned to leave I looked over the group once more and turned to follow my family, I saw Jacob smiling smugly and Bella couldn't even look at me, I turned fully now and stopped dead in my tracks.
"Edward..." The person before me gasped. Shit!
