Ok, so I made some edits to the last chapter and if you haven't read them yet, you might want to otherwise you will be very confused and be all: "OMG WTF? WHERE'D JESS GO?!?" So I advise you go and read the edit before you go any further! And by the by, four people got the answer right! Jujukins, hyperchick333, connorebecca, and BgirlAngelSpike so great job you guys!
Chapter 10: Cold Blood Runs Thick
My limbs locked at the sound of his melodic voice; his words shattered through my brain and rendered me incapable of movement. What was he doing here? Surely this was a dream... I looked round and no, this was no dream. The reactions of the pack were far too violent for the scene to be in my imagination.
Fur bristled and jaws snapped as every wolf eyed the Cullen's dangerously. Jake and Sam were at the head of the large semi-circle formed by the body of wolves; puffing themselves out and flexing to display their incredible strength. Billy, Charlie, and the other elders ushered Jay behind them safely away from the battle that was bound to ensue at any moment. Jay was glaring at the Cullen's with a respectable knowledge that made me wonder just how much Embry had confided in his imprint.
I eventually dragged my gaze where I didn't want it to go. The first Cullen I registered was Alice, snarling at our group as if we were something to fear; her pixie-face pulled back into a vicious mask that didn't match her petite frame and bubbly golden eyes that had turned hard as the actual mineral itself. She looked absolutely tiny compared to the man standing next to her. Emmett looked particularly fearsome with all of his muscles rippling and his sharp teeth bared menacingly. I crouched lower to the ground, an involuntary instinctual reaction, as the sickly-sweet, yet somehow still intoxicating, scent reached my nostrils; reminding me of the most lethal-looking vampire my advanced eyes had not yet assessed.
Edward Cullen.
He was a perfect picture of the vague memory I had of him, the shadows cast by the towering evergreens covering enough of his face that it added to the dangerous energy he was cascading and filling in the pieces of his face I had forgotten. The man standing before me was everything I've ever loved, and everything I've ever hated all rolled into one entity. His bronze-tinted hair glimmered hauntingly in the moonlight; his golden eyes gleamed menacingly in the growing shadows. I waited with baited breath for the moment that his sweet, sweet scent and alluring aura would draw me in, erasing my feelings for Jacob and forcing me to forget the past few weeks. My soul shattered at the thought.
That moment didn't come.
My stomach swelled painfully, pushing an emotion through my veins; strong enough to send the precious oxygen spewing from my lungs in great gusts. But it wasn't love. It was nothing relatively close to the sensation of caring for someone so much that you would give your very life for them; the feeling of being so secure in someone's arms that you would waltz into a war believing they would protect you is they swore they would; the comfort of knowing that no matter what, at the end of a trying day you will have something to come home to; someone who loves you as much as you love them. The wonderful bliss of what I had found with Jacob. No; this particular emotion was worse than that. Much worse. And much more dangerous.
Hatred seared my very core.
The emotions I felt were returned to me three-fold, well, more like ten-fold as the pack snarled at the Cullen's. Edward took an offensive step forward and I let out a fierce growl in response that drowned every other noise the pack made. Jake side-glanced at me, almost like he didn't want to but couldn't deny himself one little peek. In the half-second his eyes met mine I saw them shine with something...pride?
"Well?" Edward snapped viciously, causing me to bark ferociously in response to his voice. I wasn't positive if it was me, or my wolf instincts that were forcing me into such hostilities. "We want to know what you've done with Bella! We know she's here, I can smell her everywhere." His words came out in a low, threatening growl, directed mainly at Jake and me for some reason, I thought it was because my smell was probably the most potent on the two of us.
'We've done nothing with Bella,' Paul snarled angrily, flicking his tail and taking a brave step toward Edward. Jared jumped in immediately, curling himself in front of Paul so things wouldn't get out of hand. Was it bad that I was disappointed that they didn't? I glanced over to Sam who was almost grinning at me, like he knew what I was thinking; it then dawned on me that he did.
"What do you mean you've done nothing with Bella?" Edward's usually strong voice cracked when he said my name. "I can smell her everywhere!"
"Along with the dog stink," Emmett muttered almost incoherently. I glanced to him briefly, hoping to catch a glimpse of the fun-loving, big brother Emmett I remembered so fondly; but I was too late. I saw only the mask Emmett wore to ward off possible enemies.
"Besides, I know she's been hanging around you Jacob Black." Alice pointed accusingly to my russet wolf; I wanted to tear her arm off for accusing him in any way. "I used to get snippets of her future when she wasn't with you; now she's disappeared completely! Explain; now." The pack regarded her with little interest, focusing mainly on the two larger vampires, but all I could see was Alice. Now that she wasn't glaring angrily at Jacob, I remembered how much I liked her and how I didn't want to hurt her; I couldn't say the same for her brother.
'I stand by my statement,' Sam continued, drowning out the profanities stringing through everyone's minds. I realised, as my eyes fell on a pair of smaller, more jumpy wolves, that this was the first real time I'd met Colin and Brady. They were similar in color, both a solid grey. From their minds, I could hear that the lighter one was Colin and the slightly darker one was Brady. They were new to this, but they had skills. I was shocked they hadn't attacked the Cullen's already. 'We've done nothing with Isabella Marie Swan. She's right here, Bella?' I looked over at Sam, my eyes widening. Was he serious?
Coinciding with my thoughts, Sam nodded. 'Go ahead Bella, they'll find out soon enough anyway.' I still felt wary on the idea and was about to voice this to Sam, then Jake was rushing to my defence.
'Sam, she doesn't want to ok? Let her be!' Jake growled, his vigour enforced by the knowledge that I obviously wasn't pining over Edward anymore. 'Her clothes were destroyed when she phased; I refuse to let her stand naked as the day she was born in front of the ex-love of her life!' I couldn't help but notice the emphasis Jake put on "ex" and it made me smile to think that he was so sure of me.
'I'll get Billy to tell Charlie to bring her a blanket.' Sam said firmly, as though this ended the discussion. Jake seethed, hating the idea completely, but Sam trotted off to Billy anyway, attempting to explain in wolf what we needed. Billy understood after only a few seconds, relayed what was happening to Charlie, and Dad was soon to rush over, holding a blanket like Emily had done for me to shift. He kept glancing over his shoulder at the Cullen's, utter confusion written across his face.
The Cullen's watched with wide eyes, as if they already knew what was happening before it happened. I phased as quickly as I could, wrapping the blanket firmly around my form and showing no emotion as I made eyes with each of the stunned vampires.
I turned back to my father. He was staring, bewildered and confused at the scene laid out before him. I couldn't say that I was surprised. "Thanks Dad," I told him with a small smile. "I'll explain about them later." And I would have to; no doubt he would have questions about what was undoubtedly to happen.
"It's okay Bells," Charlie sighed. "I know; I do pay attention when Billy's talking you know." He attempted humour but, being in a serious situation, it was somewhat lost one him. I ushered Charlie out of the way, back to where Billy, the Elders, and Jay were watching.
I stared with hatred at the head of the group, the ex-love of my life, as Jake so thoughtfully put, frozen in amazed silence. His frame had shifted to stone before my very eyes; my own personal Adonis. Alice looked politely surprised but shook it off soon and replaced it with a grin. I guessed that she was the most likely to guess what had happened to me. Emmett let his jaw drop to the forest floor, openly staring at me with his now-softened gold eyes.
"No...Way..." Emmett shook his head. "Dude, you're ex-girlfriend is a total dog, I'm glad you ditched her." He jumped back into Emmett-mode, teasing me in his brotherly way. I shot him a half-hearted smirk but my attention was quickly drawn back to Edward as his stone façade melted and was replaced by a hurt so prominent that it twisted his features and distorted his appearance, giving him the air of a man stabbed.
"Bella...?" He asked me, holding my defensive stare. "Is it...is it really you?" Addressing me directly was an entirely different thing from addressing the entire pack. I snarled involuntarily.
"No, it's the flipping Easter Bunny." I sneered. "Yes it's me! Not that you'd know, would you?" My words whipped out before I could stop them, bearing enough poison to cripple the strongest of men. Edward's face contorted further, displaying his pain for the world to see. I could feel the heat of Jake's breath on my body as he stood behind me, reinforcing my will with just his presence.
"Bella...what-" Edward paused, controlled his voice, and started again. "What happened to you? What did they do to you?" He demanded, suddenly angry again. The next few seconds happened very quickly. Edward lunged forward, grabbed me, and dragged me over to where Alice and Emmett stood frozen, all in a matter of milliseconds. Then the pack reacted violently, Jake the most frightening of them all.
Edward's hand felt like dry ice to my boiling skin. The drop in temperature sent a frost through my very veins and extracted a violent shiver from me. I continued to shake, but it wasn't from the cold. Jake stopped in his growling and regarded me with a smug expression as my shaking grew, igniting the wolf inside of me. Before I could completely phase, Edward began speaking.
"Bella, what's wrong with you?" He asked me, not unkindly but not in his usual sweet voice. "I told you not to do anything risky while I was gone! Now you're a werewolf!" He ranted, I could see his control start to slip; or maybe I was just hoping it would, to give me a chance to fight him. Wait...where did that come from?
"I'd take a few steps back if I were you, Cullen." Billy barked. I looked to him with a small smile of gratitude before Edward pushed me behind him, causing the shivers to rake through me with enough force to bring me to my knees. Edward didn't seem to notice; he was having a silent conversation with the pack.
"Edward, she's unstable!" Alice exclaimed in a panic. "Let her go!" Edward regarded her only briefly before all of his attention was back on Sam and the others.
"I'm taking Bella back to Carlisle," Edward sneered. "I'm positive he can find a way to fix this." I glared at him though his picture was moving uncontrollably due to my shaking; I could barely make out the blur that was Edward Cullen.
"There is no cure Edward," Billy growled. "We are the way we are." It was then that I realized Billy was speaking for the pack so everyone could understand. He couldn't hear them, but he had a better guess than I did. Well, for the pack anyway. I could assume what Jake was thinking fairly easily.
"Shut up Black," Edward snapped. "My Bella will not stay like this! I will find some way to save her from what you've done to her!" Jake roared with fury as Edward tried to grab my hand in the comforting way that he used to. I pulled it away and wrapped my arms around myself to try and control the shifting.
"EDWARD!" Alice exclaimed in exasperation. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" Alice could see what his proximity was doing to me; I'd never been so grateful to her before. Edward turned to look at me, his expression softening as he brushed the hair from my face. I growled.
"It's alright Love, I'll fix this. I'll never leave you again, I'll make you like me...I promise..." He started to hum my lullaby in a hushed whisper. Billy's voice rang across the vast space as I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to focus on staying human.
"You are aware that would be in direct violation of our treaty!" Billy exclaimed. "And besides that, Bella's a wolf now. Your venom would kill her; not to mention she'd probably kill you first." I mentally sighed, finally someone got it. But Edward seemed to not. He folded his arms and smirked at Billy in a un-Edward-like fashion.
"She would never hurt me." He said confidently. That was the last straw. I released my arms and gave into the shaking, letting it consume my body slowly, relishing in the feel of the blood rushing through my veins as the bright silver spotted wolf in my stomach pounded her way through my through and extended to every part of me. Just before I fell to the ground, claws pushing free from their finger confinements, I spat:
"Wanna bet?" The words came out as a half-human, half-animalistic growl as I finally phased, swivelling my body as though I were trapped in a cage for days and recently being freed. I let out a vicious snarl before I launched myself at the vampire who happened to be standing too close. He turned just in time to dodge my attack and send me flying towards Seth. I put on the brakes and rotated, sending dirt flying in a spiral around me. Edward had retreated with a shocked expression towards the trees where Alice and Emmett still stood; Alice looking like she knew this would happen, and Emmett guffawing as though he'd never seen something so utterly hysterical before.
'Bella!' Sam's voice reached the farthest corners of my mind as I snapped yet again at Edward, being particularly careful not to nick Alice or Emmett. Edward jumped over me, manoeuvred around the pack, and took a defensive stance. 'Bella stop! Just calm down!'
'What the hell is your problem Sam?!' Seth demanded angrily. 'This is better than fucking television! And I thought Paul was funny!'
'Hey!' Paul exclaimed indignantly. While the pack bantered, I had managed to get Edward cornered, but not for very long. He leaped into the air just as I lunged and I missed him by a hair's breadth.
'Face it Paul, Bella's way funnier to watch! She actually knows what she's doing!' Seth countered, chuckling at how close I came to tearing off Edward's leg. Jake watched with a mixture of anxiety and intense amusement/pride as I fought with the one man with enough power to physically and mentally destroy me; but not anymore. I was stronger, faster, and a hell of a lot smarter than when we last crossed paths. Edward Cullen wasn't getting the best of me again.
'Guys; would you focus?!' Sam bellowed, 'Bella, please calm down! Take a deep breath and be reasonable about this!' I growled in response and started to back off. Edward saw my submission and relaxed is posture; going back into the shocked, innocent vampire motif he was trying to pull off.
Big mistake.
The entire pack launched at him this time; snarling, clawing, biting, and ripping at his frame. He got away with a few scratches and bites at first, but ten werewolves (with the exception of Sam, so nine) it wasn't so easy to get away. I made one final snap at Edward and managed, miraculously, to rip his arm, and half of his torso, clean off of his body. He screamed in agony, balancing himself and staring at me, not in anger, but in horrified shock. The pack mind was stunned into complete silence for once, before the congratulations began, the biggest one being a huge wolf-lick from Jake who was standing next to me at this point.
'Nice one Bella!' Sam thought in spite of himself. I smirked lightly at Edward and then pressed myself firmly into Jake, wanting to drown the sickly-sweet scent of vampire from my fur by dousing it in Jake's intoxicating woodsy smell. He returned my gesture protectively, rotating me slightly away from Edward's view.
"Okay everyone, let's just calm down." Alice tried to take control of the situation as Edward reattached his arm. "Bella, we know you must be upset about all of this but please be reasonable. Edward...Edward may have a point." She sighed. I narrowed my gaze at her, an action that she didn't notice. "We may be able to help you out of this- if you want –but we'd need to take you to Carlisle...if you'd just calm down..."
'I don't want to be taken to Carlisle,' I snapped in Edward's direction. I knew he could hear me through the pack mind. My assumptions were correct as I saw him flinch. I turned my head back to Alice who was staring at me sympathetically. 'I'm sorry Alice, I like who I am now. I like being a wolf. And I love being with Jake. I won't go to Carlisle to have him fix something that's not broken. I'm sorry.' I listened as Edward relayed what I had said for Alice to hear. She smiled at me and walked over, wrapping my wolf head in a cold hug. I stiffened at first, her scent making my jaws ache with the urge to snap shut around her throat, but I restrained myself. I tried to think of Alice as Alice, and not as a vampire.
When she pulled back, Jake began to snarl at the three Cullen's again, but with less ferocity than a moment ago.
"So what are we doing then?" Emmett suddenly asked, I could tell by his stance that he was getting impatient. Emmett wasn't one to wait. "Are we just gonna stand here and have tea? Come on, if Bella's not coming I wanna get out of here."
'The black-haired bloodsucker is right,' Sam conquered. 'By being here alone you're violating the treaty; not to mention you tried to steal my sister. I suggest you leave immediately.' Sam's voice was dangerously calm and I anticipated the moment Edward would cross him. That moment didn't come.
"We won't cause you any trouble." Edward almost whispered. "If Bella wishes to stay here with you...you...mongrels then that's her choice. We'll be leaving for Alaska again by morning." I grinned in satisfaction that they were leaving once again; a drastic turnaround from my previous feelings on the disappearance of the Cullen's. I had come a long way since that dreadful day in September. All thanks to the love of my life.
My feelings for Jake swelling in my heart, and therefore my head, I heard several: "Ew"s resound through the pack. Jake and Embry laughed at Seth who made and involuntary gagging sound and at Colin and Brady who didn't quite understand imprinting yet. Before I lost myself completely in Jake's chocolate brown eyes, I turned to look at Edward before he disappeared into the trees. Alice gave me a tiny wave, Emmett saluted in his joking fashion, and Edward blew me a sad kiss before the darkness engulfed them, swallowing my memories into the nightly haze.
Another chapter of my life completed.
I sighed as, slowly, unsure members of the pack shifted back into their human forms. Colin and Brady were the first to go, still not quite comfortable as wolves. Leah soon followed; an attempt to get away from Sam who was thinking about Emily. Speaking of Sam, he shifted back almost the exact same moment as Leah, walking over to where Emily stood and drawing her close to him. The moment seemed to belong in a 1950's romance.
Embry was next, shifting, pulling on his cut-off jeans, and rushing over to Jay to envelope her in an Embry-hug, hooking his thumbs into the belt-loops on her jean shorts and yanking her legs up so they were wrapped around his waist. She laughed and encircled his neck with her arms for balance while he kissed her neck. I looked away at that point, not wanting to watch someone else's private moment and also because Seth and Jared had phased, and so had Quil and Paul. That left only Jake and me.
'Aren't you going to phase back?' Jake asked me with slight amusement. I smiled at him, tongue lolling out the side of my mouth like the dog I now looked like. Jake tilted his head to the side, not sure why I was so happy. Truth be told, I wasn't so sure either. I was in an amazing mood and I wasn't positive why. But if I had to make an intelligent guess, I would say that it was because I knew, no matter how long I lived, I would never again be bothered by one Edward Cullen. He was gone, out of my life. I was free.
Jake heard my recollection and pretty soon he was smiling too. Thoughts were running through his head about me, how beautiful I looked, how proud he was of me for beating the crap out of Edward, about how the moment he imprinted on me was the best moment of his life, about-
His thoughts hit a brick wall then, and he shook himself; fighting not to remember something. From what I could tell, there was something he didn't want me to know, not yet. I furrowed my brow as he phased and Emily came over to me, always prepared with an extra long sweater that would cover me until I got home. I phased quickly and pulled the sweater on, trying to cover myself as quickly as possible. Jake waited patiently while I fixed myself, and then draped his arm over my shoulders as we made our way to everyone else. Several people were leaving, mostly the Elders, but a few wolves were leaving too. Brady and Colin were exhausted, still not used to the energy it takes for phasing. I had adapted quite well, and was only slightly tired.
Sam excused him and Emily, proclaiming Emily needed her sleep. I had my own thoughts about what "sleep" meant in that context, but I kept them to myself. Embry on the other hand was quick to remove his mouth from Jay's and yell after Sam and Emily who were halfway to their car: "HAPPY BANGING!" before turning back eagerly to Jay. She'd told me earlier to watch when she gave me the signal, which was a wave, and when she raised her arm in my direction, I started to pay attention.
Embry reached his hand around Jay's thigh, letting his fingers travel just inside the hem to feel the skin underneath. Jay reacted immediately, removing herself from the kiss with a devious giggle and dropping to the ground. I made note of the way she winked at me and then sashayed over to talk to Billy where Embry couldn't make a move on her. Embry scrunched his nose after her in false-anger and Jay returned it by sticking out her tongue. She then turned and winked at me.
Denial. Evidently that's the key. Give them a taste, and then pull away. I could handle that.
"I love you," Jake suddenly whispered in my ear. I was so surprised that I turned and collided with him. He laughed at me and held me to him, crushing me with the force of his embrace. "And I've never been so proud. That bloodsucker needed to learn his place." He almost growled.
"And why's that?" I asked jokingly, knowing the answer before he said it. Or at least, I thought I knew the answer. I was wrong.
"Because Bells," Jake whispered my name. "No one comes between me and my imprint," He smiled broadly. "And apparently no one comes between you and yours either." My heart stopped. My breathing came quicker as I considered the meaning of what he just said.
"Wait..." I breathed. "You mean...you know?" I questioned uncertainly. Jake's smile widened and he rested his hand on the side of my face, rubbing my cheekbone with his thumb.
"Yes Bells," He sighed happily, his lips only a whisper from mine. "I know,"
YAY! ANOTHER CHAPTER DONE! Okays, so yes, Jake now knows that Bella imprinted on him. YAY! There will be LOTS of Bella/Jake time in the next chapter! Due to what Bella has planned, of course. That will be fun :P REVIEW! THEY MAKE ME HAPPY! And I need a cheer up right now! I'm not in the best of moods : (