Hey guys! Here's another one with some answers and some questions. Your reviews made me smile, so here it is :)
Seth sleeps peacefully, curled up against me. Paul is still up, still watching me in case I decide to eat Seth or something. "You should sleep," I tell him. "Seth will need us tomorrow."He nods slowly, still watching me. I roll my eyes. "Seriously Paul, I'm not going to kill you in your sleep or something. I'd offer to all asleep first, but I can't, so…"
He continues to stare at me for a moment. "Why?" he asks finally.
"Why what?"
He sighs. "Seth. Why did you help him?"
I find myself surprised. "Wouldn't you have helped him?"
"Of course I would," he says, "But he's my brother. You're…"
"A leech?" I guess. He nods. "Well, believe it or not we're not just heartless killing machines. He's a good kid, and he needed my help."
Paul sighs again. "You're making it really hard to hate you."
"My apologies."
He snickers before catching himself and clearing his throat. "So why do you think they did this?"
"I have no idea, but we'll find out."
He nods, softening a bit. "And Seth…do you think he'll ever…be himself? Trust me again?"
I sigh. "Okay Paul, listen. He's never going to be exactly the same. He can't be, not after what happened. He is getting closer to his old self, and that's great, but I don't think things will ever completely go back to the way things were before. As for trusting you, that's up to you."
He frowns. "How?"
"You can prove to him that you can be trusted."
"And how might I do that?"
I look over at Seth, snoring lightly beside me. "The same way I did. You can be there for him when he needs you."
Paul watches him for a minute. "I can do that."
"Good. Can you live with him being attached to me?"
He hesitates. "Well, if it makes him happy, then yes, I'll deal. I'm finding it increasingly hard to dislike your family," he admits. "After what you, and Carlisle, and Esme have done for him…I kind of owe you."
"I don't know if you owe us anything," I say carefully. "But there is one thing you could do to repay us."
He looks up. "What is it?"
"Well, you could have a bit more of an open mind about us. Get to know us a bit." I shrug. "Make your own opinions, you know? We didn't choose this life, and so we do our best not to be monsters with what we have. It's not easy, but we try."
He nods slowly. "I guess I can try. For Seth's sake. I've seen the way he responds to you, and I think that if I don't want to lose a brother, I'll have to gain one."
I'm shocked by this. "Me?"
He nods. "Yeah. You. It's clear he won't be letting go of you any time soon. I think a lot of things will change because of this. Things like the treaty, and the pack's opinion of your family. If I don't change too, I'll risk losing him." He sighs. "I guess what I'm trying to say is…welcome to the pack."
"Um…thanks," I murmur.
"Well, I'm gonna go to sleep. Goodnight."
I nod. "Goodnight."
Seth opens his eyes slowly. "Morning…" he mumbles into the pillow.
"Good morning. How are you feeling?"
He thinks for a moment before grinning. "Really good." He pauses, looking around. "Where's Paul?"
I chuckle. "Downstairs eating whatever he can find."
"Damn it…" he mumbles. "Paul, leave some for me!" I follow him downstairs and into the kitchen, where Seth manages to fill a plate with an equal amount of food as is on Paul's plate.
"Morning Jazz," Paul says quietly.
Seth looks up, shocked. "Did you just…What?!"
I chuckle softly. "Oh, you were asleep for that part."
"We've decided…well, I've decided to give it a shot. For you," Paul adds.
Seth smiles. "Thank you, Paul. That means a lot to me."
They eat their breakfasts quietly. I check my watch. "Sam should be ready. Are you ready?"
He takes a deep breath before nodding to me. I follow Sam's instructions and pull up the video feed on my computer, turning it so that all three of us can watch. The Paul in question sits at a table, flanked by Jacob and Quil. Carlisle stands to the side, and Sam is pacing in front of the table. He glances up at the camera briefly before turning to the small group. "Who are you?"
The Paul at the table smirks. "I'm Paul. Don't you know me?"
Sam's jaw tightens for a moment. "No, you're not. We've found the real Paul. Now we're going to find out about the rest of you. Why are you here?"
"To do our job," he replies rather sharply.
Carlisle looks up. "And what job might that be?"
The copy rolls his eyes. "Now why would I tell you that?"
Sam growls under his breath. "Where did you come from? I wasn't aware there were other shifters."
"That's just like you. Thinking your tribe is the center of everything."
Sam holds back a growl. "So you know of our tribe, then."
"Of course I do. How could I not? It was your tribe who created ours."
Sam and Carlisle exchange a worried glance. "How so?"
The doppelganger chuckles. "Don't you know the story of your people? The three Spirit Warriors your pack all descends from? The original wolves? How naïve of you to think that they were the only ones with that power. But the chief they overthrew had a son who shared in your bloodline. He escaped. He mastered the secrets of your blood. And then he created us. We will finish his quest."
Jake and Quil share a look. Carlisle frowns. "Then why Seth? Why not Sam and Jacob? They're the Alphas."
"In your sense, that is so. But Seth has more power than any of us. We will take him down before he learns how to use it."
The real Paul turns to Seth, puzzled. "What does he mean?"
Seth shakes his head slowly. "I have no idea."
"Hate to break it to you," Sam grumbles, "But you won't. What is it about Seth? What makes him so important to you?"
The fake rolls his eyes. "You are as dumb as my people say. Don't you know his lineage?"
Sam thinks for a moment before the understanding dawns on him. I turn to Seth. "What's he talking about?"
Seth gasps quietly as Sam answers. "He's from the lines of all three original wolves."
"Ding ding ding! We have a genius here," the fake on the screen scoffs. "He's the only one who's blood is filled with the magic of all three. And when he discovers all he can do, he will be more powerful than any Alpha. He must be destroyed before."
Carlisle frowns. "So why didn't you just kill him? Why bother with everything else?"
The copy smiles. "Insurance. He was going to die, most probably, but on the off chance that he managed to heal in time, the mental aspect of it would have made him kill himself." He glares. "Until your boy decided to get in the way."
"That's it, then?" Paul asks quietly. "They want you dead because you're gonna have some great power or something?"
Seth frowns. "I don't have any great power. I don't understand."
"Well, according to this guy, you will," Paul says.
Seth looks at me, a little panicked. "What am I going to do? I don't know what to do!"
I put a hand on his shoulder gently. "Firstly, you're not going to panic. We can get through this. You'll be protected here, and we have a whole bunch of people who can help us. It'll be okay."
He nods slowly, sighing. "Of course my life couldn't get easier. That would be too simple." He thinks for a moment before looking up at me. "Jasper, are you in trouble?"
"Should I be?" I ask, puzzled.
"It's just that I haven't seen Alice lately. I hope she's not mad about me and you."
I laugh softly. "No, she's not mad. She's not thrilled that she can't see much, but she's not mad."
He frowns. "But where is she?"
Suddenly, my pixie drops into the kitchen. "I'm right here." She pecks my cheek lightly before sitting down. "Hi there."
"Hi Alice," Seth says.
She smiles brightly. "Don't worry, everything will be okay."
He frowns. "I thought you couldn't see me."
"I can't," she admits. "But how can it not be okay? You have the pack and us protecting you."
He grins. "Not sure Rosalie would care, but thanks."
Her face softens a bit. "You'd be surprised. But I know things will work out. We're on it."
"Thanks, Alice. That means a lot."
She smiles. "Oh, and I'm not mad at you."
He nods slowly. "Good. Because I never meant to cause any trouble."
"I know, kiddo. It's fine."
Seth snorts. "Kiddo?"
Alice grins. "Switching it up. You know. Can't have us old people getting dusty."
He laughs. "Wouldn't want that." He pauses for a moment, then groans. "I'm going to have to talk to Leah today, and deal with that subsequent freak out." He looks to Paul. "She might try to kill you."
He smiles. "I guess I can deal. If I was her I'd want to kill me too."
Alice looks pensive. "You should talk to Rosalie first."
"…So I won't be as surprised when I'm crushed?"
She sighs. "Just…talk to her."
Somewhere in the house, there is a deep sigh.
Dun dun dunnnnnn! How will Rosalie help? What are Seth's cool powers? And what will be done about the new shifters? Review if ya wanna know!
Love always,
TheSongSmith
