Emmett's P.O.V.
Lincoln and I walk side by side down the streets of Port Angeles. It's quarter to six and the sun is starting to wake up over the far edges of the navy sky. The town is still very much fast asleep. Not an early commuter in sight.
"So," Lincoln says. He ponders his next words, but I already know what he's gearing up to say. "Where does that leave you and Jacob's relationship?"
"Things are fine, but it doesn't feel like it should be, you know? Like that strange silence right before a natural disaster hits." That, I realize, is the best way to describe it. "We've had some time to regroup and it felt good to just be us again, but I feel like things are about to take a turn for the worst. The Quileute Elders have it out for us and I know whatever they decide will change everything."
"I get that. I'm sorry things turned out this way, Em." His accent adds a southern twinge to his syllables. It reminds me of the way Jasper speaks. "It's not fair, but I think it'll all work out in time. All things do. If you can't control it, let it run its course, you know?"
"Yeah, I get where you're coming from." It feels good for a fresh perspective. "But, enough about me. Your turn."
"Alright." He tugs on the brim of his hat. A few stray hairs fall into his eyes. "A year after Vera and Kai…passed, I liquidated everything we owned and went freestyle. Maui held too many memories and people were starting to have their suspicions, so I stayed in Iceland for a few years, then dabbled in Finland, Peru, the dark side of Argentina, and then Russia where I met my first coven."
"There were seven of us. Galina, her sister Veronika, their brother Mikhail, Iroh and his wife, Athena, and me." The emerald specks in his eyes glitter like stained glass. "It was kind of like visiting distant cousins, you know? There was a bond we shared that I didn't know I was missing until I met them."
We cross over into Forks. A car engine turns over in the northeast. The smell of waffles floats into the air as the diner prepares for breakfast. Jacob's phone bustles in the bag from the store against my thigh. An Elk grazing in the underbrush a mile away makes a run for it. For some reason, I realize, I haven't paid attention to my thirst these past few days.
"They still there?" I ask.
"They relocated to Paris six years ago," and then like he knows what I'm really asking, "Everyone's still there. Anyway, I enrolled in one of the local colleges of France which is where I met Jacques." A hint of a smile crosses his face. "He was a sculptor in his second year and literally, Emmett, he breathed life into every room he walked into. I mean, you could see the love and sincerity he had for his friends and family in his eyes, in his words, in his art. One of the most beautiful people I've ever seen and an amazing artist."
He looks up suddenly, first to the sky and then around us. Thunder rolls across the ground a mile to the right of us. It's coming from the Quileute Reservation. "Earthquake?"
"It's the wolves doing their patrols around the area," I say. He watches the horizon on alert. "C'mon." I dive for the closest tree and sprint up to the canopy. He follows close behind. At the top, the branches even out like stepping stones.
He continues as we hop the branches. "So, he and I established a friendship. I was obsessed with his sculpting, could watch it for days, and he adored my political aspirations, though oblivious that I wasn't really into it. A few months passed before we started dating and now that he was in my space consistently, he started to notice that I was different. I eventually told him and he…" he shrugged. "At first, he was confused, but in the end, he took it pretty well. Not by far as well as I did with Vera, but it was a life-shattering discovery one day and the next, everything was normal."
"You sound like my brother, Edward. Told his girlfriend weeks after stalking over her. They're practically married now and she happens to be Jacob's best friend."
He grins. "Bringing it to a close, he eventually asked me for the bite and I weighed all the pros and cons because I didn't think it was the best choice. He still had a family in the country, an award-winning future ahead of him, a full life to live, you know? I don't think anyone should give that up for what we are, but he said in the end, his life would mean nothing if his work didn't impact the world like it needed to and that shut me up entirely. It was one of his biggest fears to be forgotten and I couldn't let that be his legacy. Now, he spends his days reconstructing Olympian pantheons in Greece as an anonymous artist who does his work mysteriously overnight." He smiles. "I say all that to say that I have someone and I miss him a lot."
We near the house. "Why didn't you bring him with you?" I drop down to the driveway and we walk up. "I would have loved to meet him."
A blush stumbles through the freckles along the bridge of his nose and the rise of his cheeks. "I knew you would've and I wanted him to come with me. There's nothing worse than traveling alone long distance when you have a soul mate, but I didn't know what I would be walking into when I found you."
"I get that." Everyone's home, including Bella. "So, we're here. Words of wisdom before you cross the threshold. Remember that your favorite color is cerulean, you hail from Paris, and you give compliments to any and everything they throw at you. No exceptions."
He chuckles. "World War II wasn't even this intense."
"Trust me, Germany was a night light compared to my sister."
"I'll be on my p's and q's, I promise," He says. "And before I forget." He touches his eyes and the emerald contacts drop away to reveal dark golden irises. "Cover-up. Force of habit."
"I don't know why I never caught that they were contacts." We walk up the steps. "Just smile, grin, and stay calm."
The door opens. "Emmett, that's no way to treat a guest," Alice says warmly. She extends her hand. "Good morning. I'm Alice, Emmett's loving and outrageously talented sister."
"Nice to make your acquaintance." He smiles and takes her hand gently. "I'm Lincoln."
Alice's grin is wide. "I know who you are. I've seen so much about you. Please come in!" She ushers him inside, her hand on his back like she just found a new toy. He gives me a look as she walks with him.
Everyone's congregated in the living room. Carlisle and Esme are cuddled up on one sofa while Bella and Edward take up the other. Jasper sits on the sole love seat. The movie is paused.
"Emmett, who's this?" Esme asks, rising from her seat to greet him.
Suddenly, I feel nervous. "Alright, this is happening. Everyone, this is my long lost best friend Lincoln Baker. We grew up together pre-golden days. Lincoln, this is my mother, Esme. The sweetest woman you will ever meet in your immortal life."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cullen." Esme goes in for a hug and Lincoln welcomes it. "I've heard so much about you, I feel like we've already met."
"The pleasure is all mine," Esme smiles, looking between the two of us. "Emmett, I didn't know you were still in touch with your childhood friends."
"Neither did he," Lincoln says, nudging me with a grin. Esme blushes.
Carlisle is next. "My father, Carlisle. A local doctor and master surgeon."
He waves it off as they shake. "Don't pay him any mind. I'm as humble as they come."
"Of course," Lincoln says. "I'm relearning things about him, so rest assured I'll take note."
Jasper slides in between us smoothly. "Jasper. Nice to meet you."
"Hey, man." Lincoln cocks his head. "Let me guess…Texas?"
Jasper smiles. "A good ear. Houston." Alice wraps her arm in his. "Tennessee?"
"Born and raised. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find people like us from the south these days."
Jasper chuckles. "Trust me, I've had my own share of experiences. We're far in between."
"Yeah," Lincoln says, and sets his sights on Edward and Bella. "And you must be Edward."
Edward extends his hand. "I've heard all about you, it's nice to finally meet."
Lincoln's eyes twinkle. "Likewise. All good things, I hope." He looks my way quickly.
There goes that crooked smile. "All good things indeed." He gestures to Bella, his hand at the small of her back protectively. "This is my girlfriend, Bella."
She smiles. "Hey, how's it going?"
Lincoln plays it cool. "Eh, can't complain. You guys have bipolar weather out here, but other than that, I'm doing alright and yourself?"
I can tell Bella already likes him. She relaxes with a shrug. "I'm good."
Alright. "And that's everybody," I say, interrupting whoever else was gearing up to speak. "Thank you so much, everyone, for introducing yourself. You guys like him, he likes you, that's all that matters. Meanwhile, we have almost seventy years of missing time to catch up, so if you'd excuse us. Lincoln, say bye."
He laughs. "I guess I'm saying goodbye, now."
"See you later," Alice says as they relax back on the couches.
He follows me back out. "So," I say, "You're my guest of honor for as long as you're here, and by that, I mean please stay forever." He laughs deeply. "Seriously, anything you want to do?"
He doesn't even blink. "I'm thirsty as hell." His eyes are darker than before, the purple bruises running plum along his eyelids. Or maybe I'm just noticing. "And clearly you are, too."
"Shit. Same. There are two mountain lion dens three miles that way and –"
He's running before I even finish. Only his laughter lingers. "Keep up, McCarty!"
Jacob's P.O.V.
Colin's deep snoring fills his tight bedroom. Jared, Seth and I moved him upstairs once Sam left and Seth and I stuck around to make sure he woke up with an understanding of what happened while Julia and Frank get some sleep. He hasn't done so much as roll over.
I remember when I first started phasing. Paul, who had phased before me, wouldn't leave my side for weeks to make sure I was okay and not gouging holes in Billy's house. Sam broke it down that I was a shifter and that things would change because of my bloodline. I think at first it creeped me out, the metamorphosis aspect, but it grew on me as all things do, eventually.
Sam and Paul. I look out the window, where the sun is slowly rising over the horizon. Paul thinks that I use him and his imprint for my selfish gain and Sam is livid with me for challenging his authority. What Paul says isn't true. It's been hard trying to balance a relationship between the two of them, even before the accident. If anything, things have gotten harder now that it's all out in the open.
The thing with Sam is that he hates his authority being challenged in private and in public. It makes him feel intimidated, like it's a check on his masculinity as a man, as an alpha, and as a leader, and rightfully so. It wasn't intentional for what happened in the yard. It just happened. I couldn't help myself. One minute I was there for support and then I had to protect Colin at all costs, even if that meant standing in the face of my own alpha.
Seth yawns and rolls over from his spot on the floor. "Morning."
"Hey, morning," I respond.
He lays there absentmindedly for a few seconds and then gets up and walks out the room. I hear him use the bathroom, wash his hands, and then he's back and sitting crossed legged on the floor. He looks at Colin with a blank stare.
"How's he doing?" he asks.
"Fine, I think. He hasn't woken up. It's been a cool night."
He sits quietly so long that I forget he's there. I watch the rise and fall of Colin's small chest, his heartbeat lazily racing after his lungs.
"I think Paul was wrong last night," he says.
"Why'd you say that?" It had never occurred to me that any of the guys would be brave enough to voice their opinions, let alone have an opinion, to begin with.
He mulls it over. "Because I've seen how you are with both Paul and Emmett and how they are with you," he says. "Is it confusing? Hell yeah, but love is confusing, but I know it's there and so does Paul."
I've never gone to Seth for advice, but it's good. "I know."
"Paul knows you love him, just give him some space to breathe," he continues. "Besides, the whole thing pivoted from his fight with Sam. You were just caught in the crosshairs."
Wait. "What fight?"
Seth looks at me, confused, and points at his right cheek like there's a bruise I don't see. "You mean, you didn't…"
Colin suddenly lurches forward in bed, wide awake, his eyes wild and his heart racing. I'm vaguely aware of Seth scrambling to his feet beside me.
"What, what happened?" he shouts. "What are you doing here?" His almond eyes flash to Seth in alarm. "Get out!" He pushes himself into the corner of his wall.
I raise my hands to show that I mean no harm and keep my voice leveled. "Colin, it's me, Jacob."
He tenses up. "No, no, what are you doing here? What happened? Tell me!"
"Listen to me. Seth and I are here to help you and we can't do that unless you calm down, okay?" I say. "You have to stay calm. Keep your eyes on me."
He doesn't trust me. I can see the defiance unfurling in his eyes, but he doesn't look away. He inches away from the corner. His heart still races, but his breathing slows as he relaxes some.
"Good, good. Now, I need you to answer a question," I say, bringing down my hands. "What do you remember from yesterday?"
He shook his head. "Nothing." Then, "scratches and black fur."
Seth and I exchange a look. "Alright. Get dressed."
"Why?" He demands, already sliding out of the bed.
I get up. "Because we're going for a walk." I realize for the first time that I left my crutches back at the house. My muscles are sore as fuck, but I feel good, better than I have in a while.
The three of us head out through the front door. If Colin saw his backyard, he'd freak out and that would make matters worse. We dip into the trees and head towards the field behind my house.
"Where are we going?" he asks, barely keeping up.
"Jake's place. Just don't think about walking and imagine you're flying across the ground," Seth says. He looks at me and shrugs.
We step out of the woods and cross over to the field. Dad's not home, the house like one of those abandoned properties on an empty lot, it's browning grass growing uncontrollably. We walk out to the far edges of the field where boulders and old tree trunks lie in front of the tree line.
I turn to him. "So, I know you're wondering why we're here."
He glares. The feeble, scared wolf from yesterday has been replaced with a stubborn, annoyed teenager overnight. "Bro, it's seven in the morning on a Saturday. Clearly."
I can practically feel the annoyance coming off him in waves. Seth and I exchange a look. Sam usually was the one who spearheaded these conversations and it usually started with a rehearsed monologue that was given to him when he first phased from Chee. Well, Sam's not here, nor does he want to be.
I take a deep breath. "What do you remember from yesterday, Colin?"
He rolls his eyes. "This is stupid. I already told you."
Seth shifts his posture. "Just think about it. From the moment you woke up to the last thing you did before you went to sleep."
Colin turns his glare on him. Seth doesn't falter. Colin plops down on a boulder.
"I mean, yesterday was just like any other day. I woke up, played my games, jerked off a few times, caught up with Brody..." he shrugs. "I don't know what else you're looking for."
"Anything weird?" I ask. "Vertigo, dizziness?
"An uneasy feeling that something bad was about to happen?" Seth continues.
Colin thinks it over. "I think I started to feel sick. My chest started to hurt, and my skin got hot like I was breaking into a fever, which was weird because I don't get sick. High immune system and everything." A shadow passes over his face.
"Anything else?" Seth asks.
"No," he snaps.
"That's probably because you blacked out in shock," I say. "Your body was adjusting to the new changes. It happens."
"What are you talking about?" Colin barks.
Moment of truth. "Colin, what you've been feeling isn't some random occurrence. You're not sick and you're not losing your mind. Your body is adapting to a new change, kind of like puberty, only…different."
"Different how?" A part of him is annoyed, but the other is interested in what I have to say.
"In latent terms, you're a werewolf, like us. You know the legends of the Quileute wolves, the protectors of the Quileute tribe. You've seen them even when you didn't realize it, running through the trees, protecting our homes." I watch him closely. "Your grandfather was one of those protectors. He was real and so are we and now, you're one of us."
Seth shrugs. "Not Sam, but eh."
Colin looks between the two of us and laughs aloud. I mean, a good howling laugh that shakes him to the core. Seth and I look like those annoying parents in the store while their child has a tantrum.
"You guys are hilarious! That's like me saying I'm secretly Lebron James and you guys are Aquaman and Mad Max."
"Those are three entirely different fandoms," Seth points out. "Can I improvise?"
Colin cackles on. I give Seth a nod. He grins and undoes his shorts. Colin stops and catches on to what's happening. I step to the side as Seth closes his eyes and furrows his brows.
"And now you're pulling a Magic Mike? Dude, you do realize that I'm not, like –"
Seth backflips into the air, the skin along his body rippling into fur, his bare feet and hands stretching into paws and claws, and a yawn growing from his throat into a full growl. He drops to the ground fully phased and steps towards Colin, who screams and falls back into the dirt.
"WHAT THE FUCK!" He pushes back in the grass. "What is that!"
I cross my arms. "That is exactly what happened to you yesterday when you blacked out. Scared Frank and Julia half to death, tore up the yard and everything." I look at Seth. "Minus the murderous rampage, you actually can't tell the two of you apart."
Seth growls and then relaxes on his hind legs. The hair falls away from his body as he changes back. "Now, you know damn well that's a lie," he says, sliding his shorts back on.
Colin looks like he's lost his mind. "What the hell just happened?" He's calmer than I expected, but still freaking out internally.
"Want me to handle the rest?" Seth asks.
"By yourself?" A concept.
He shrugs. "Yeah, besides it looks like you have company," he says, gesturing past me.
I turn and see Emmett pulling the Jeep into the garage. He doesn't get out.
"You sure you can handle it? You'd be taking the responsibility of informing Colin where all the dead bodies are buried, showing him the entrance to the ruby mine, and how our skin turns the color of our fur the night after we first phase, which in his case would be snow white."
"What? What is happening!" Colin hollers, growing more irritable and confused by the second and looking at his arms and legs as if it's already changing colors.
"Of course, but don't forget about when you're dick shrinks four inches and then grows into a whole leg overnight, but nothing major." He eyes Colin with a grin.
Colin is mortified. "What the fuck!"
"You're in good hands, Colin." I turn back. "I'll check back in a second."
Emmett's face is down in his lap when I lean against the side of the truck. All the doors and roof are missing. His fingers move like lightning across the screen of a new iPhone.
"New phone, who this?"
He smirks and hands it over with its box. "Actually, it's yours."
It feels expensive in my hand. "Yeah?"
"Becca told me to get you one to keep in touch and I kept pushing it off. Something about the main line always being tied up. Also, it's 2017 and you don't have a phone. That's strange."
Huh. "So, that's the insider she was talking about…" He raises an eyebrow. "She mentioned it yesterday, said she was going to fuck you up if you didn't follow through."
"Hmm." He looks angelic in the morning light like something straight out of a romantic comedy where the girls see their crush looking irresistibly and obliviously dreamy. From his luscious curls to his eyebrows, his golden irises to his pink lips, this is my dream.
"You look like something's on your mind." He licks at the corner of his mouth as he smiles as if he knows what I'm thinking. "Care to share?"
"I would rather show you." Everything in my body is edging for him to take me down.
His eyes darken into a shade I can only describe as lust. "Oh, yeah?" His turns and opens his legs for me. I lean in closer and run my hand down his chest.
"Yeah." I thrum my fingers against his abs. "I need to show you, actually."
His cool firm hands wrap around my waist and squeeze eagerly. "I would love for you to show me, but your body is still healing." He plants a kiss on my neck, enough to make me go insane, and leans back. "And I can't have you in pain."
I go in for the kill. "You can't break me. You've tried," I say in a husky whisper.
He grins devilishly. "Oh?" He bites his lip. "You know I love challenges."
"It's more of a theory." I pull away from him and walk away. He watches me with half-lidded eyes. I shut the garage doors and bolt them, then lean back. I toss my shirt aside.
He pulls his shirt over his head and crowds me against the doors, wrapping his arms around my waist, one hand sliding into my shorts to cup my ass, the other unbuttoning them. My clothes drop to the floor and so does his in a flash.
"Wanna test that theory?" His lips are dangerously close, eyes hot coals, dick pulsing in between my thighs.
The impending "Fuck" is swallowed when he crashes his lips against mine.
Paul's P.O.V.
It's noon when Dad walks in. He drops the mail on the table, goes right past me to the kitchen, and comes back out with a beer and heads towards the stairs.
"Dad," I say. It's the first time I've seen him since Penelope came the other day.
He stops and breathes deeply before taking a swig and turning around. "What?"
"Can we talk?" I gesture to the dining room chair across from me.
He sits with a grunt. He slides his beer to the side and kicks up his feet, flecking dirt onto the table. "What is it?"
My mind goes blank. I feel like a kid again, when I had the whole scenario planned out in my mind just to get to him and completely forget what I was going to say.
"How are you?" I ask earnestly.
His face shifts into a glare. "What are we, a couple of fags whining about our emotions and shit?" He drinks. "Get to the point."
I hold onto my patience. "We're men having a conversation."
He finishes the bottle. "Paul, I'm tired. I've had a hell of a morning."
"Alright, enough. Are we just going to act like she didn't show up out the blue?" I ask. "Because I can't keep avoiding the subject, Will. I can't.
"For fuck's sake!" He puts his feet down and braces himself. "What do you want me to say, huh?"
I'm losing it. "I want you to talk to me like a normal father and son should!"
He laughs. "You want me to tell you how I feel? Tell you, my fucking child, how fucked up I am about the whole thing? That she hurt my feelings by showing her face around here?" He grows serious. "Is that what you want me to do? Grow the fuck up, Paul."
I stand. "Are you fucking serious? You're telling me to grow up while you're the one living here like it's you against the world, as if I don't exist!"
He points the bottle at me offensively. "Watch yourself."
"Fuck that." I knock it out of his hands. He watches it tumble. "Here I am just wanting to talk to you and you act like I did something wrong? Excuse the fuck out of me for being the man in this got damn house!"
He narrows his gaze. "I'm warning you."
"I don't give a shit about that." The rage is pouring out of me like a leaky faucet. "What the hell did she do to you that made you so fucking bitter?"
He jumps to his feet. "You want to know? You really want to know?" He's practically shaking at how mad he is.
"Yes!"
"She fucking abandoned me!" His chest heaves, sweat forming on his head. "She claimed she fucking loved me, that she loved us, and then she left!" His momentum slows and for the first time in a long time, my father bares his soul. "I loved her so fucking much, more than I've ever loved anyone. I changed for her, for you to make sure the both of you would be happy. I sacrificed everything to be what she needed, to have and to hold, to be her protector, her best friend, her husband for the rest of our lives." He shakes his head. "That's not what she wanted."
I find a softer tone in my words. "She broke your heart."
"She's a selfish cold bitch who doesn't care about anyone but herself." He turns away from me. "She left us behind, a husband who loved her, a son who needed her." He breathes deep and hard. "And, to see you go through everything she put us through…it broke me." He wipes his glossy eyes and when he speaks, his voice is raw and leveled. "You deserved a mother who loved you, not some fuck up who couldn't give you what you needed and I'm sorry."
I can't even find the words to express how I feel. Dad looks at me for a long time before he turns around and goes upstairs. His door shuts quietly behind him.
I wasn't prepared for that at all.
