Chapter 7, Council
Everyone managed to get through the rest of the school/work week. Emmalie went to school and immersed herself in the work she loved, though she was still skittish. But she missed Will. Will went to school as well, though he was preoccupied and jumpy. He tried to concentrate on his studies, since he really wanted to earn a scholarship. But he missed Emmalie. They usually talked every day after school, and both of them were being stubborn.
The Black family was watching a Disney movie together on Friday night, except for Will, who was playing a game on the family computer in the kitchen. Bella was absentmindedly playing with Jacob's hair. He kept it long mostly because she liked it that way, but it was usually safely tied up in a ponytail or a braid when he was working at the garage.
He and Embry did a pretty good business there, selling gas and repairing cars and trucks. Will seemed to have an aptitude for mechanical work, and he helped out on Saturdays in exchange for parts for his old pickup truck. He was fixing it up with his dad's help, hoping to get his license when he turned seventeen. Most of his friends already drove, but Will's parents felt sixteen was a little young, especially with all those reckless Cullens on the road. Parents could be a pain sometimes.
"Ow!" Jacob jumped. "Sorry, found a gray one" Bella chuckled. "Shhh!" Izzy warned with a frown. Bella was fighting a case of the giggles, and Jake added fuel by grumping "Don't DO that – it hurts!" Bella reached for his hair again, murmuring something about a touchy monster, and he grabbed her wrist in midair. Just then Laura stood up, put her hands on her hips, and in a perfect imitation of her mother intoned "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye!" That did it. Bella lost it. She laughed until tears rolled down her face, so she didn't see the identical eye rolls from Jake and Will, who had peeked in to see what was going on.
Later, after the girls were tucked in, Jake and Bella were sitting on the porch, enjoying the peaceful, moonlit night. They loved their life on the reservation and felt it was a great place to raise their children. Jake said "I called Emmalie today and invited her to the tribal council tomorrow. I don't know if she'll come, but I wanted her to know she's welcome."
"Oh, Jake, do you think that's a good idea?" Bella asked. He nodded. "We can't very well invite vampires to our tribal council, but we do have some common interests. I figure Emmalie can represent her family, and I made it clear that's what she'd be doing."
"But what about Will?" Bella wanted to know. Jake said thoughtfully, "He's going to have to resolve his issues with Emmalie in his own time, but right now he needs to get over himself. He's had a lot to digest, and there will be more of that tomorrow night." Bella knew he was right, but Will was still only sixteen, and he was still her little boy in some ways even though he was growing at an alarming rate.
Saturday night arrived, with no communication between Emmalie and Will. As the sun set, Jacob met Edward at the reservation's border and Emmalie was handed off to ride with him to the council meeting. Jacob promised to call the Cullen house when the meeting was over, though he warned it might be late. The campfire was blazing, and Jacob took his place next to his father. Emmalie sat down next to Will, who pointedly ignored her.
Billy Black started reciting the tales of ancient times, when the cold ones killed so many of the Quileute people and the wolves first appeared. It was a harrowing, sad story, and it was difficult for Emily to listen to. Will was taking it all in and seemed fascinated. At some point he realized that Emmalie was crying softly, listening to the story about the third wife. Without a word, he put his arm around her and drew her close to his warm body. They still did not speak, neither one wanting to miss any of the story.
The chiefs and elders took turns, and as the story got nearer to the present time, Jacob took over his part of the narrative. He told about the treaty with the Cullens and the cooperation between the two families. The end of his story was chilling. He reported that the signs pointed to a new kind of monster in their midst now. A new wolf had been added to the pack, which had only ever happened when the pack was threatened. And the Cullens' daughter had been kidnapped by a being that did not appear to be human or vampire.
When the storytellers were finished, Jacob let Will and Emmalie walk back to the house, assuming that she would be safe with him and that they needed to talk. They did not walk hand in hand, as they always had. They were both still hurt and disappointed, but they recognized that this setback was not sufficient to end their lifelong friendship.
Emmalie was the first to apologize. As they walked along side by side, and at the same time miles apart, she tried again to explain. "Will, you're my best friend, and I'm sorry I hurt you. But I just couldn't betray the trust your parents and my parents placed in me. I've always known about the vampires; I can't remember not knowing. It's not even weird in my mind. I'm adopted, I have a large, loving, extended family, and they're all vampires. It's the soft, fragile, human parents who are strange in my world. So the werewolves fit right in, no questions asked. But it was your parents' choice as to when you would be told all these things. Can't you see that?"
"I guess so, Em. I was just so hurt and confused. It's not an excuse, but my world has been turned upside down this week. I'll talk to my parents about what I feel I should have been told, and when, but it's not your responsibility. I'm sorry, too."
Bella smiled as she saw them coming up the driveway, hand in hand. They were so much like she and Jake had been at their age, before it ever occurred to them to fall in love. She said a little prayer to whatever gods were listening, that each of them would find a soul mate as she and Jake had done. Will rode along when Jacob took Emily back to meet Edward, and they parted with a hug.
None of the wolf people slept well that night. As the embers of the ceremonial fire slowly died away, they were all restless and uneasy. They awoke early the next morning to the alarming news that Leah had never arrived at home after the council meeting. Even more frightening was the fact that, when Sam shifted into wolf form to try and contact her telepathically, he failed to find a trace of her. Jacob tried next, with the same result. Everyone hoped she would turn up during the day, because they knew it would take a seriously scary monster to harm a werewolf, especially on the reservation.
