Chapter 8
Michele loaded Bella's bag into her car and slammed the trunk. She waved to the sheriff as Bella climbed into the passenger seat, then waited until her seatbelt was fastened before pulling carefully away from the curb and heading towards La Push. They had decided it would be best for Bella to stay with her for Spring Break. Billy was working on the Chief to get him onto the Rez as much as possible so they were covered. Now that they knew who the vampire was after it would be a simple matter to keep her protected.
"Are you looking forward to a week on the Rez?" Michele asked cheerfully as they drove down the road. She caught occasional glimpses of Jared and Jake in the trees on either side of the road. They had wanted to come with her to pick up Bella but decided it would be too difficult to get everyone out of the way if they needed to phase.
Bella half smiled at her, "Under any other circumstances, I probably would be looking forward to it, but I'm just too scared right now. What if they get hurt?"
"They'll be fine. They were made to kill vampires and they are very good at what they do. Plus, they had no trouble killing Laurent. It's one vampire against five wolves, if nothing else, the numbers are on our side."
"But what if they get hurt?" she asked in a whisper.
"They'll heal, and if one of them dies, it will be doing what he was meant to do." Michele replied firmly. "We have to hope that won't be the case, but we can't hide because it might happen. Bella, you need to realize they are very powerful. More powerful than your vampires even. Don't fret so much."
Bella shied away from the reference to her almost coven and stared out the window. "I don't want anyone hurt because of me."
"And we don't want you hurt." Michele returned. They remained quiet for the rest of the drive and Bella smiled when Jake walked out of the trees to give her a welcoming hug. Michele watched them with a sad smile as Jared came up to her.
"What's wrong?" he asked gently.
"Something's coming. Things are lining up in a way that's going to hurt them a lot and very soon."
"How do you know?" he asked as he turned her face up to his and slid an arm around her waist.
She shook her head, "I can feel the shift in energy. I'm not sure what's going to happen, but it's going to be awful for him especially."
"Is there anything we can do to stop it or help him?"
"We can't stop it and I don't think he'll let us help him." she replied as she looked back over at Jake.
"What do you see when you look at him?" Jared asked curiously. She often looked puzzled about something he couldn't see.
"I'm not sure. It's beautiful and I hope it isn't tarnished when everything goes down."
"Tarnished?" he asked, still not understanding.
She looked back at him for a long moment, "Do you know why I don't try to make friends and keep my distance from most people?"
He smiled lightly, "No. I've been trying to figure that out for years."
"When I look at them, I don't just see their faces. I see something else. Their hearts or souls maybe? I'm not sure. Most people are tainted and hard to look at. It makes me uncomfortable to be around them for very long. You and Jake and Bella are beautiful. I love being around you because of it."
He considered her thoughtfully for a long moment before asking one question, "What does Sam look like?"
She blinked at the unexpected question, "He's not as beautiful as you three but I think it's because he blames himself for things out of his control and his disproportional guilt over them."
"Do you mind if I pass that along?"
She shrugged, "If you feel it will help him on some level then by all means."
"Thanks. What about the others?"
"They are also untainted. All of you do give off a particular kind of energy. When you're angry it takes the form of a wolf. It screams danger but not immediate."
He frowned, "You mean you ignore your instincts and hang out with people you know to be dangerous to you?"
"Yep. In that, Bella and I have a lot in common."
"Why did you let me in the night I came back if I felt dangerous?"
"It was more dangerous to me to not have you around." she replied simply.
He shook his head, "We should probably show Bella her room." He grabbed the stuff out of the trunk and followed her into the house.
Bella and Jake were sitting on the couch and smiled at them when they entered. Jared took Bella's things to Michele's old room while she started making lunch. He took a seat to keep her company and everyone chatted companionably while lunch was put together and eaten.
Bella insisted on helping with dishes so she and Jared did them together while Michele put fresh linens on the bed and made sure the bathroom was stocked.
"Jared?" Bella asked quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Are you going to be staying over too?" she asked with a light blush.
He looked surprised at the question but then remembered that he had been crashed out in Michele's bed the last time the girl had been over. "I planned to. If that makes you uncomfortable, I can make other arrangements."
"N-no. I was just curious." she stammered.
"We only sleep." he said quietly. "You won't tell Chief Swan will you?"
"Of course not." she replied quickly. "I would never tell him anything that would get either of you in trouble."
"Thanks." he replied as he put the last dish away.
"You stay here a lot, don't you?" He looked at her curiously but merely nodded. She gestured around the kitchen, "You know where everything but the measuring cups go."
He glanced around to make sure Michele was occupied before leaning forward and speaking very quietly, "I put them in different places every time I come over. It makes her crazy and gets her to think about something inconsequential if only for a minute or two."
Bella smiled at the wolf, "That's not very nice."
"But it is good for her."
"You're very protective of her." she noted.
"Jake told you we're imprinted, didn't he?"
"He said something about it, but I'm not sure I understand."
Jared grinned, "That's all right. None of us do. It is my life's work to make her happy and keep her safe."
"It's good that she has you, then. She deserves to be happy."
Michele came back into the living room, "Want to go for a run?"
Jake shot to his feet, "Yeah! Bella can ride with me."
"Ride what?" Bella asked blankly.
"Me, silly." he said as he tugged her out the door.
Jared and Michele followed. "Why don't you ride so she has company?" he asked.
Michele nodded and looped an arm around Bella's waist while the boys went into the trees to phase. When they came back and knelt down Bella's eyes widened with realization.
"We're going to ride them?"
"Yep. Let me help you up. It's a blast. We can go anywhere you want."
"So, if I wanted to go to Canada?" Bella asked curiously.
"We can be there in half an hour." Michele replied. "Shall we?"
"Sure." Bella replied cautiously.
She let Michele help her up onto the russet wolf and he twisted back to give her a wolfy grin. She made sure Bella's hands were securely in Jake's ruff before she patted his flank and hopped onto Jared's back. The two wolves rose as one and Michele concentrated on shielding Bella as they took off. Her attention was suddenly pulled to Bella and she stared at the look on the older girl's face. It was exultant – far more than she felt it should be for something as simple as a run with her favorite wolf.
Michele concentrated hard on Bella and heard a voice. It was velvet smooth, polished, male, and yelling at her for doing something stupid. She couldn't make it out clearly, but it was definitely chastising her for doing dangerous things. She puzzled over it as she struggled to listen to it and Bella at the same time. It was like she was having a conversation with someone else in her head, but not. The other voice is more like a memory – the ex perhaps? But if that was the case why did she look so happy about it? She sucked in a breath as the pieces fell into place. Jake telling her Bella wanted him to teach her to ride a motorcycle and she was as klutzy as any three people she knew. Jake mentioning they had ended up in the ER more than once, but she kept working at it. Now, riding wolves. She was certain the vampire would be very against such a thing for many reasons.
She studied Bella's energy so closely Jared and Jake both noticed but Bella did not. She didn't appear to be suicidal so they didn't need to worry about that. Suddenly, three words came across very clearly: reckless and stupid. Ah, so that was it. The ex, what was his name? Edward. Yes, Edward was against her doing anything reckless and stupid and had probably asked her not to do things that fell under either of those categories at some point or many times. Broken promise? What's that about? Maybe he made her promise not to do reckless and stupid things? Oh, Bella. Breaking your promise isn't the answer and he was right to ask that. You are too dangerous by half.
Michele withdrew, not wishing to intrude further, and turned her attention to the forest around her. It was vibrantly green and wild and exactly the way she loved it best. The sun shined intermittently through the clouds and beams danced along the dew on the leaves. It was truly beautiful and she was glad to be able to enjoy it. Jared relaxed beneath her as he realized that whatever had her attention was not life threatening. They ran for a while before the two wolves slowed and came to a stop in a pretty little meadow with a stream running through it. They let the girls down and went to phase before taking seats next to them.
Jared twined his fingers with Michele's, careful to not be too obvious as he had noticed Bella's discomfort when she was around Sam and Emily. Probably all that mushiness made it difficult when her own situation was still so painful.
"What did you think, Bells?" Jake asked enthusiastically as he flopped down next to her and tugged her close so he could put an arm around her shoulders.
Bella grinned widely at him, "It was amazing. You can run so fast and it's so smooth. It's different from-" she stopped as she realized what she had been about to say. Jake frowned lightly before tightening his grip on her. She took a breath and relaxed into him with her face turned slightly up to the sun.
Jared tilted his head so his lips were close to Michele's ear, "What happened while we were running?" he asked.
"I figured something out. I'll tell you when we get home." she spoke softly so Bella wouldn't hear her. She had picked up some of what she was thinking just then as well. Maybe it was because Bella was under her protection? She hadn't relinquished the protective shield she had stretched around the other girl. She found it took much less energy to do so now that she had transformed.
"I'll hold you to that."
"I know." she glanced over and Jake caught her eye. She spoke in the barest of whispers, knowing he could hear while Bella couldn't, "Everything is all right. We can talk about it later."
He nodded before returning his attention to Bella and they spoke quietly. Michele relaxed into Jared and let her eyes drift closed. She was very relaxed and her guard gradually dropped as she sat in the sunshine with her family. She let her mind drift and at first didn't try to make sense of anything that wandered through it. Only when she recognized Jared's voice did she start to pay attention.
"-everything to me. How can I be what she needs when she's gets everything she needs on her own? I wanted to help put her though college, but she already has the money. I wanted to take care of her, but she takes care of herself just fine. She doesn't really need me, so how can I hope to keep her? There's nothing I can do for her that she can't do for herself. I love her so much, but don't have anything to offer but myself. Something barely short of a monster."
She felt his arms tighten around her as hopelessness crushed her. She opened her eyes and looked up at Jared in concern. He looked down and kissed her forehead lightly.
"What's up?" he asked.
She frowned, "I thought I heard something. I must have fallen asleep and started dreaming."
"Was it good?"
"No. It was awful. You said I didn't need you and there's nothing you can do to help me."
His dark brows pulled together, "Where did you get an idea like that?"
She studied him closely before biting her lip, "I think I got it from you. You don't really think that, do you? You don't really feel that it's hopeless, right?"
He shifted uncomfortably, "The thought's crossed my mind."
"Jared, don't ever think that. You are everything to me. Please don't doubt that. I need you more than you could possibly know."
He looked steadily down at her, "I know you need my help with the nightmares, but that's the only thing."
She reached out to cup his cheek, "Jared, you put me back together again. Sure, I put on a good show, but before you came I was holding it together by my fingernails. I wasn't going to be able to pull it off for much longer, you know. I hadn't slept for more than an hour or two at a time for two weeks when you came by my house that night. I could barely function and I was pretty sure you were a hallucination. Everything I am now, I owe to you."
"You don't owe me anything." he replied tightly. "I did what any good friend would do."
"That's just it; you were my only good friend. I couldn't trust anyone but you."
"Michele-" he began, but she pressed her fingertips to his lips.
"No, Jared. I need you. Always have and always will. Never doubt that you mean everything to me."
He closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath. He opened them a moment later and captured her lips in a brief but promising kiss. "We can talk more about this later."
She nodded, "All right."
They leaned back until they were lying in the grass and watching the clouds cross the sky. A little while later they decided to head home as they were all hungry and it was starting to get late.
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Jared pulled Michele against him as he climbed into bed. "What happened earlier today?" he asked.
"Oh, well, I think when I'm trying to protect someone I can hear a little of what they're thinking."
He considered that in silence for a moment before asking, "And what was Bella thinking?"
She explained her impressions and the specific words she had heard most clearly while she was listening to Bella and his expression became more concerned as she spoke. When she finished he considered what she had told him for several minutes before speaking.
"You don't think she'd take it far enough to seriously hurt herself, do you?"
"I don't think so, but knowing her as I do, she could get badly hurt anyway. Don't tell Jake, though. It would hurt him and she does love him. Probably doesn't realize how much. She thinks of him as her personal sun. It's quite accurate."
"And were you trying to listen to me?"
She shook her head, "No. I was falling asleep and heard your voice. I followed it because it's always kept me safe. I didn't realize what I was doing. I didn't know I could do it. Maybe it's gotten stronger since I changed?"
"Probably. It would make sense that you would fully come into whatever ability you have when you started shape-shifting. You said you could see whatever it is you see more clearly."
"True. And I'm really starting to think it must be souls. After all in the story he could see them and knew what they had done. Maybe when I see tarnish it's the things they've done against others."
He studied her closely before nodding, "It would make sense." He glanced around, "Where's the cover?"
She leaned over the edge of the bed and patted around until she found the handkerchief they had used to cover her now brightly glowing feather. It was too bright to sleep with and sometimes she wondered when it would dull again. She dropped the cover over the case and the glow dimmed enough to allow them to rest.
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Michele and Bella were working together in the kitchen while the boys were out patrolling. They were hosting dinner at their place for the pack and others and needed to get an early start to get enough food cooked for everyone.
"Shelly?" Bella asked hesitantly as she sat at the table carefully peeling vegetables.
"Yeah?"
"Jake said you could manipulate other's feelings?" she asked.
Michel nodded, "To an extent. It works better if I have contact with them but I can do a little without it."
"Have you ever done it to me?"
"No. I usually stick with Paul since he's so edgy all the time."
"Hmm. Jasper could do that." she murmured.
"Who?"
Bella smiled a little, "Jasper. He was one of them. He could control people's emotions and used it to keep people calm."
"I wish I could have spoken with him about it." Michele murmured, thinking he might be able to give her some tips.
"He probably would have helped you. If Alice saw that it would be okay."
"What do you mean?"
"Alice could see into the future. Depending on the decisions people made she could see the outcome."
Michele blinked at that. "Wow. I can't decide if that would be a blessing or a curse."
Bella smiled a little, "I know."
"Did any of the other's have special powers?" she asked curiously.
Bella flinched before responding, "Mindreading. Except for mine. Couldn't see that."
Michele rested a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry."
"I'm fine." Bella said, cheer in her voice clearly forced. The other girl rested her cheek against Bella's head for a moment before returning to her stirring.
"You will be." Michele said softly before they returned to speaking of easier things.
