Author's Note: Thanks for reviewing, everyone! There's a lot being thrown at you in this chapter, and I apologize for *possibly* overwhelming you, if I even do at all. Enjoy, my lovely readers.
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Chapter Ten:
The dew was forming on the grass early that morning. Bella, clad in only her nightgown, pushed open her bedroom balcony doors and stepped out onto the little platform. The morning breeze both chilled and kissed her skin, the wind's fingers raking through her hair. She placed her hands on the balcony railing and felt the wind between her open legs.
Out of the corner of her eye, Bella caught something out of the corner of her eye, a flash of golden hair. She looked down. There was a child standing out in the grass in a blue lacy frock. As Bella squinted her eyes, she saw that the child's eyes were blood red. Probably contacts, she thought. But why would a child have red contacts?
The blonde-haired child waved and smiled a beautiful smile. The kid was beautiful, she had to admit. So Bella smiled back and waved. "Are you lost?" Bella called. The child nodded her head. "Did you lose your mommy?" Another nod.
The child danced around in her backyard. "I need help, pretty lady. Fancy doing me a favor and coming down here?"
Bella splayed her palms on the railing and took a deep breath. "Of course." She bound down the bedroom stairs and to her backyard. The child was twirling around in the backyard, seeming to not notice her presence. When a breeze swept through again, the girl lifted her little nose into the air and her head snapped towards Bella.
The child skipped over to Bella with a creepy little crooked smile on her face. "You smell funny. Like wolf-dog." She took another whiff of Bella's scent. "And good. You smell real good, pretty lady."
Bella blushed. She didn't have a dog. "What's your mom's phone number, sweetie?" she asked. The child shrugged nonchalantly.
"Mommy's been lost for years and years," she giggled. "Play with me!" Grabbing Bella's wrist with her stone-cold grip, she dragged her out into the backyard.
And Bella couldn't exactly say no, because she couldn't drag her arm out of the child's grasp. It was near impossible, and she was surprised at the child's sheer strength. "What do you mean your mommy's been lost for years?"
The girl frowned. "Let's play hide and seek." The girl forced Bella's hands over her eyes. "I hide," she whispered. "You seek."
As if her hands were glued over her eyes, Bella had no choice but to obey. She tried to yank her arms away, but it was like they were cemented in place.
"Count!" the child shrieked.
She couldn't say no, and she couldn't figure out why. It was like some creepy charm was being put over her. "One, two, three, four…"
She could hear the rustling footsteps around her as she sat idly in the grass, completely overtaken by this unseen force, making her do things that she didn't wish to do. "Smells good, pretty lady."
"Five…ugh! Six, seven, eight…" Bella struggled. It was no use.
She felt cold fingers on her neck, tracing a circle on her pulse point. Bella tried to shriek, but she couldn't. Nothing but numbers came out of her mouth. This child was completely controlling her.
Suddenly, the fingers were ripped away from her neck, sharp nails dragged down her arms, trying to hold on, and an ear-splitting shriek echoed throughout the air. It was then that she realized that she could rip her hands away from her eyes and stop counting.
A giant red-brown wolf had the struggling, red-eyed girl by the leg. She screamed and beat the wolf with her tiny white fists, but the wolf growled menacingly, switching its bite from her leg to wrapping its sharp-toothed jaw fully around the child's midsection and shaking her like a ragdoll. The child's red eyes rolled back into her head as the wolf dragged her further into the woods.
Bella was so shocked that she felt frozen to the ground, her arms covered in blood from where the girl's fingernails raked her skin. Another loud shriek echoed throughout the valley. And that was when she knew that the child had been killed by the wolf.
She couldn't make sense of it. The child with the red eyes seemed so evil, but the wolf killed it. If the child hadn't been evil, it would have been a terrible accident and the wolf would have been hunted down. The wolf was huge—bigger than any she'd ever seen before.
She was wet from the dew of the grass, her nightgown soaked from the back. She scrambled backwards into the safety of her own house, her arms, which were pretty gouged from the damned child's razor sharp claw-like fingernails.
Bella bled all over her kitchen, her knees weakened as she tried to grasp her pink cell phone from off the kitchen counter. God, she was losing a lot blood from these scratches. Finally, the cell phone was in her hand. She dialed the one person she trusted.
The phone rang, and it wasn't picked up. She began to freak out. "Please answer," her fingers slipped and slid across the phone, dialing the number again. "Jake, please."
She felt dizzy and sick all at the same time.
Everything was fading fast.
0o0o0o0o0o
When she came to, everything was kind of blurry. She felt hands shaking her shoulders, forcing her to look whoever it was straight in the eye. She blinked. His face was kind of blurry, but she recognized him anyways. "Em…Embry?"
The lanky young man turned and called for him. Bella faded out for a few seconds, but when she came back, she saw his face and smiled. It was a drunken, crooked looking smile, but it was a response. "Personal sun."
He let out a humorless, yet relieved breathy laugh. "Sunshine," he whispered. "You're all right." Jacob helped her sit up on the couch, Bella's weakened body slumping against his side. She tried to grasp him as she moved closer to him, but was dumbfounded when her hand just slid away.
She looked down at her arms, which were bandaged from her elbows to the tips of her fingers. It was funny. She didn't remember being that injured. "Jacob," she whined weakly. "Get these off of me. I'm…I'm okay."
She tried to stand, but was pushed back down by two sturdy hands. They belonged to Embry. "You gotta take it easy for a little bit, sun-fly. You actually lost a lot of blood. But you'll be alright."
She looked back down at her bandaged hands. "Can we at least peel them off of my fingers? I think I'll need those."
Jacob looked up at Embry, who blushed and began to peel the bandages off of her fingers. "I told you we didn't need those on her fingers," Jake chuckled.
Embry rolled his eyes. "Jesus. I'm sorry I'm not a nurse, or specially trained in the art of putting bandages on wounds."
Jacob chuckled at Embry's retort, but Bella wasn't all that amused. Her arms still hurt like a bitch, and she was pretty shaken about what happened. "Did you see it? Did you see it, Jacob?"
At the mention of his name, Jacob's face fell out of a smile and into a thin line. "See what, sunshine?"
"The wolf," she replied, eyes widened. "Did you see it? And the girl…did you see that little girl?"
Both Jacob and Embry gulped. "What girl, loca?" Embry asked her.
She waved her hands around in the air, blinking rapidly. "The girl with the long blonde hair and the pretty blue laced frock. She had eyes as red as blood and skin as cold and pale as ice."
Both men seemed to freeze. "Children can't have red eyes, Bella," Embry told her. "That's impossible."
"But it was real," she told them. "And the enormous wolf that was there…so was he. The wolf was a reddish brown color. The girl was hurting me, and using this unnatural force or invisible power to control what I did while I was still conscious."
Jacob's face turned bright red and he began to shake. His bones rippled beneath his skin. Embry slapped him hard on the back, seeming to calm him down. Jake shook his head as if trying to shake whatever wave of anger that washed over him far away.
"Tell me about this wolf," Jacob asked her.
"Well," she began. "The first time I saw the wolf, I was completely terrified. But this is the second time it's seen me and hasn't attacked me. Those eyes…they seem so alive and vivid—too much for an animal."
They both nodded. "That's different, isn't it?" Embry chuckled.
She frowned at him. "This is serious, Embry Call! The wolf dragged the girl out, and suddenly I felt at ease. It wasn't trying to hurt me as well, it was trying to help me. Save me, protect me from harm."
Jacob nodded his head, his big brown eyes filled with relief and concern. "I understand."
Bella relaxed against the couch, head hitting the pillows softly. "You probably think I'm crazy," she groaned. "If I were you, I'd be thinking the exact same thing. It's okay."
He shook his head quickly. "No, no. I don't think you're crazy…at all. I believe that you saw a wolf. There's wolves around here, no doubt."
"But this was no ordinary wolf!" she cut in, shaking her head. "I'm telling you, it was something completely different."
0o0o0o0o0o
Embry ended up leaving the Swan Residence shortly after Bella's attack due to the fact that he had to head back to Emily's and relay information to Sam about the bloodsucker. Jacob, however, stayed, because he couldn't bear the thought of leaving her again.
Even though the leech wouldn't return, he was still paranoid and on edge.
"I want you to know something," he blurted out. Jacob instantly regretted saying anything at all, but it was too late. It had already caught her attention and she was intrigued.
"Alright," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Lay it on me then. I like being told secrets. It's rare that I get told a good something-something."
He shook his head. "It's not just a good 'something-something', sunshine," he half-scolded her. He turned his back and reached his arms up to grasp the back of his neck. "Have you ever had a secret you couldn't tell anyone? One that wasn't yours to share?"
She paused and pondered his question. "Well…no."
"Exactly," he said, exasperated. "Well that's what it's like for me, except ten times worse than you'd ever imagine a secret being. You have no idea how tight I'm bound. Saying or doing the wrong thing could expose us all."
She chewed her lip in thought. "What are you, a drug dealer?"
Jacob gave her a look, making her shut up instantly. "Bella, honey, I wish I could explain everything there was to you. I wish I didn't have to hide…"
"Then don't hide!" she exclaimed, flapping her bandaged wrists excitedly. "Don't hide from me, Jacob. I can take it. I'm here, I'm listening, and my mouth is zipped up and permanently locked. I threw away the key ages ago."
He rubbed his forehead apprehensively, big thumbs rubbing his throbbing temples. "I want to tell you all my secrets. I want to be open with you."
"Then be open," she begged him.
He shook his head. "I could write a book about all this shit that's happening to me right now," he chuckled darkly, shadowed eyes cast down at her hardwood floor.
She let out an excited little squeak. "That's a great idea. Write me a book and I'll put my lock on it. It'll be mine forever."
He crossed the room to her in one freakishly large step. With one finger hooked under her jaw, he lifted her face to meet his. "One day I'll write you a book about all my secrets." His eyes searched hers almost desperately. "Bella?"
She nuzzled into his warm hand, her chilled skin happily soaking in the heat. "Yeah?"
He gulped, and nodded his head curtly. "When I look into your eyes, I forget everything bad I've ever done. It's like none of my past really matters anymore. You have changed, and are still changing me in ways I never thought possible."
Her heart soared at his comment. "You too" was all she could think to say. Her eyes glistened with tears of adoration.
Jacob released his hold on her, his hand dropping away from her cheek. The lack of heat there instantly left her yearning for more of his sweet touch. He turned away, so his back was facing her. Sighing, he leaned against the wall for support. "I've done horrible things in my life," he laughed humorlessly. "You could call me the son of the devil and it wouldn't be that far from the truth. I was a good kid, but then something changed me. And something changed me again."
He looked at her, needing.
Wanting.
She listened intently, little fists balling up, heart pounding rapidly in her chest.
He cleared his throat and looked away again, staring at a portrait on a wall. "But the thing is, when I'm with you I feel surprisingly calm and at ease. You're the closest I'll ever be to heaven…so I'll enjoy you while I still can, sunshine."
She played with the edge of her nightgown nervously. She never did get dressed, she'd noticed, but she shrugged it off and looked back to him. "I felt so unloved—"
His eyes narrowed. "That's so far from the truth, it's not even funny."
She pursed her lips. "Well, you didn't quite let me finish my sentence," she whispered. He shut his mouth and leaned back against the wall, indicating that he was allowing her to speak. "I felt so unloved before I met you. But you changed me as well."
Jacob looked up at her, his eyes deep and intense.
Small fingers released the fabric of her nightgown that she found to be clutching too tight. He said nothing, lips parting as his eyes followed her fingers as they skirted across her milky white thigh. "Do you know what you're doing to me?"
She shook her head naively. He crossed the room once more in one stride, taking her face into his hands. "What are you doing?" she asked breathlessly, struggling out of his grasp.
His wolf was furious about the rejection and chomping at the bit to get out of human skin and to impress her in wolf form. But the human part of Jacob told his other half that that certainly wasn't a good idea.
With a gentle hand, he pulled her close again. "I hate when you resist me," he groaned. "I know you want me, so…why don't you just let it happen?" Her face turned red as she tried to say something. But her words were silenced with his lips.
Bella Swan froze with her arms stretched at her sides and her eyes as wide and unblinking as saucers. Sure, she'd kissed him before but she hadn't been kissed repeatedly by a love interest.
Why wasn't she moving? Why couldn't she move? She wanted to kiss him back so badly.
He broke away too soon, a big grin on his face. She smiled back tenderly and scratched the back of her neck. "I'll, um…have to work on that."
He wiped it off easily. "No biggie. We can practice later."
0o0o0o0o
He left shortly after the kiss, and she was left bored for hours until she had to go to work…which was where she was at right now. The dim lighting around the bar made her feel a lot more tired. The bar was bustling tonight, with people eating, chatting, and drinking.
It was the same old same old, really.
Her arms hurt like hell due to the fact that she'd been carrying around a metal food tray for the whole night, serving people. If it weren't for her arms, tiredness and low tolerance for drunk men who acted like assholes, she would have made it through the night just fine.
She sat at the bar on a wooden stool, relaxing for a moment while nobody wanted any drinks when suddenly a tall, beautiful woman waltzed into the bar.
Bella's mouth nearly hit the floor. This woman was majestic—and obviously a Res candy. She had chin length silky black hair and deep black eyes frame with long, and equally as black eyelashes. Her russet lips were full and plump and legs muscular and long.
She was beautiful. The woman sat down in front of her and requested some fancy drink that Bella could pronounce but probably couldn't spell. She quickly filled a wineglass with the drink and handed it back to the woman.
"Thank you," she murmured. Her voice was surprisingly cold, despite the warmth of her looks. She took a sip of the drink, noticing how Bella was awkwardly gawking at her tattoo. "What's so interesting?" the woman hissed.
Bella jumped back a little, surprised at her tone of voice again. "S-sorry, I…I, uh, didn't mean to s-stare," she stuttered and stumbled over her words, eyelashes batting furiously. "Your tattoo—it looks really familiar. In fact, I think my friend Jacob has the same one."
The woman pursed her lips and cracked her knuckles in an annoyed manner. "Let me guess which Jacob. Is his last name Black?"
Bella nodded and fought hard to bite back an overly excited squeal. "Yes! Er, I mean…yes. His last name is Black. Do you know him?"
The beauty rolled her eyes. "I wish I didn't."
Her eyebrows furrowed together. "Why?" Bella asked.
The Native American woman looked back up at her, clearly unamused. "Wait, let me guess—you're sunshine?"
Bella blushed a deep crimson color. "My name is Bella—"
"Don't really care," the older woman cut her off in mid-sentence. "It's just that I finally know about this paleface that he's been talking about nonstop."
He's been talking about me nonstop? She wondered.
Bella sucked her lip into her mouth and chewed. "Okay. What's your name?"
The woman pushed her short black hair out of her eyes. "Leah. Leah Clearwater."
Well she certainly fits Jacob's description.
She tried to smile at this Leah person. "It's nice to meet you. You're Seth's older sister, right?"
Leah Clearwater sipped her drink smoothly, her eyes wandering all over the place, landing on anyone but Bella. And that kind of annoyed her. "Naturally," she murmured. She nodded towards Bella's bandaged arms. "What happened?"
Instantly the paler, smaller woman became defensive, hugging her arms to her body. "Nothing. Nothing happened at all. Just a little bruising, is all."
The Res candy's eyes rolled at Bella's defensiveness when those rolling eyes happened to land on something behind Bella that apparently caught her eye. "Hand me that newspaper, will you sunshine?"
So she was going to use the annoying nickname too? She couldn't help but narrow her eyes at the Res candy. Maybe Bella would just start calling Leah 'bitch' and see how it suited her. She grabbed the newspaper behind her and handed it to her.
She flipped the paper up so that Bella couldn't see what she was reading. She took a sip of her alcohol and rolled her eyes for the hundredth time. "Another bear attack again, I guess."
Leah handed Bella the paper to inspect. She scanned it quickly.
17 year old Susannah Partridge went missing two nights ago in Seattle. Her father explained that she was out running for some groceries and had never returned. Police investigators discovered the clothes of Partridge in a deep forest on the outskirts of the Quileute Reservation in Forks, Washington. The clothes were shredded and bloody. Investigators are not yet sure about Partridge's outcome, but they are beginning to expect the worst. It's beginning to look like this bear is one step before us.
"That's actually really scary," Bella admitted. "All these people are being attacked by bears. I really don't know what to think of it, but I'm taking my precautions." Her mind drifted back to the russet colored wolf that lurked in her backyard.
Leah sipped her drink again, reading the article on the most previous bear attack. "And look at this—now they have a new theory as to what this might be."
Chief Charles Swan, of the Forks police station, says that the attacks might not have been at the hands of a bear. While out investigating on the outskirts of the Quileute Reservation, investigators discovered the numerous tracks of what seemed to be a wolf. "At first I didn't believe that these tracks belonged to a wolf," says Chief Swan. "But then I realized that the paw prints were the exact of a normal grey wolf that we've got around the area, just a lot bigger."
Chief Swan's theory just may be correct. The innumerable attacks led on the innocent locals of Washington have not just been a fluke. "Bears tend to stay away from humans unless they have a reason to attack," says Dr. Mark Holliday. "It's very unlikely that a bear would splurge on humans. A wolf pack, however, would be a lot more likely to be held responsible for multiple deaths, especially when working together."
"Yeah," Clearwater snorted. "I don't believe that this mysterious attacker of locals is a bear. And I especially don't think that it's a pack of wolves. That's just borderline ridiculous."
Bella set the paper down on the counter. "My dad's Chief Charlie Swan."
Leah paused and looked up at Bella sympathetically. "You're probably daddy's girl, right?" she snorted and tipped the glass back, the yellow-orange liquid sliding into her lips. "It bet he keeps a good eye on his daughter."
Bella shrugged, tapping her short fingernails against the wooden bar counter. "Have you seen the wolves? Or the bear?"
The beautiful Res candy shook her head. "Nope." She popped her lips on the 'p.' "And I don't think I'll see the bear or those dangerous wolves, 'cause they're not real."
"Well…" the tiny brunette began. "I saw one this morning."
Leah's eyes bugged and she choked on her drink a little. "Saw what?"
Bella lowered her voice and sat down on her wooden barstool. She leaned on her elbows, closer to Leah. "A wolf. It was huge. It was bigger than any bear I'd ever seen. Absolutely ridiculous in size, I'm telling you."
Leah Clearwater looked rather uneasy. "Oh, it's probably just some common wolf," she murmured.
"Doubt it," Bella whispered back.
"Swan!" Mike's booming voice echoed throughout the bar. She looked up to see her pompous red-faced boss walking down the way with a bottle of beer in his hand. The blonde stopped before Leah and gave her a disgusting smile that was supposed to be sexually inviting (in his mind).
Bella pointed a finger at the half empty bottle. "You're um, not supposed to be drinking on the job," she murmured. "You're not you when you're drunk, boss."
He made a face at her. "You're not supposed to be socializing on the job, Swan. You're not you…well ever. I've never met a duller person—you really are a ray of sunshine, aren't you Bella? Y'know, I'm surprised you've got that handsome young Native American gang member following you around like you've offered a candy bar to him or something."
She stood with her apron clutched within her fingers. "Mike, I…"
"Hush." Mike held his hand up. "You bore me."
Leah stood up instantly to her full height of six foot. Mike was only 5'6, so having a beautiful woman tower over him like that made him a little weak in the knees. "I really don't appreciate you speaking to her like that. I'm surprised she doesn't quit on your ass." Clearwater hissed with fire in her beautiful brown eyes.
Mike stepped back and puffed up his chest, trying desperately to feel more masculine. "Right. Like anyone would want her," he grunted, taking a swig of beer. He turned and strode down the hall.
"Go suck a wooden dildo." Leah hissed at him. Bella's boss turned around instantly with his face red and bravado faulty. He asked her what the fuck she said, and the Res candy replied with. "Sorry, I didn't realize you already did."
Mike strode away instantly, grumbling curse words at his feet. Leah looked back at Bella. "What a pitiful excuse for a boss, sunshine. If Jake knew that he was treating you like this, he'd knock him for six in an instant. And I think we both know that Jake can pack a big punch."
Bella shrugged. "Yeah. I guess so." Leah finished her drink and slipped on her leather jacket, covering her perfect russet arms.
"Well, I gotta go. See you around—Jake's bound to bring you around to the bonfire this Saturday. I'd love to see you there." Leah told the smaller woman.
Bella nodded. He hadn't yet asked her, but she wasn't so worried. Saturday was four days away anyways. As the Res candy (quite a catchy name, so Bella decided to give it to Leah) began to walk away, Bella called out for her. "Leah!"
At the mention of her name, Clearwater turned.
Bella nervously fiddled with her fingers. "Thanks for standing up for me," she whispered. "I don't get that very often. In fact, it's quite rare that anyone stands up to Mike for me. He seems to hate me most."
Leah shrugged her shoulders. "C'mon sunshine, use your fire. I know you've got some in there," she pointed to the pale woman's breast. "You just gotta find it."
0o0o0o0o
She woke up in the middle of the night, startled by the sound of a loud rapping noise outside—it was someone knocking on her door. In the freakin' middle of the night. Bella tossed off the covers and stumbled down the stars, trying quickly to answer to the door. It was raining that night, and the thunderstorms had kept her awake for a good two hours. Now that she had finally fallen asleep, she wasn't happy in the least to be woken up again.
The knocking came louder as she neared the door. She groaned and rubbed her temples in exasperation. "Who is waking me up at such an ungodly hour? Hey—I'm coming, I'm coming!" Whoever was at the door was rather impatient.
When Bella yanked open the door, someone fell in. He landed on his knees, soaking wet from the rain. "Jacob?" she gasped. "What the hell are you…"
The words were ripped right off of her tongue as she noticed long, bloody scratches down his arms and back. They were deep gauges made by the claws of some vicious beast. He groaned and tried to stand, but couldn't. As Bella looked at him in shock, she noticed more and more wounds.
He collapsed.
She screamed.
"Jacob!" she cried, tugging at his huge muscled arm, trying to have him stand. But he couldn't. He wasn't able to. "Jake…please!"
0o0o0o0o
Jacob knows you don't like cliffhangers but like a bad boy, he just doesn't give a sh*t. So he grabs you and gives you the 'look', telling you to deal with it and review so he can work his beautiful charms faster.
Then he kisses you.
And tells you to vote for this story in the non-canon awards.