Wow, you guys really blew me away with your reviews about Jasper's pov - thanks so much! I figured the best way of showing my appreciation was another chapter, hope you like it!
I also just found out someone nominated me in the Gem Awards, Jasper Round. I actually squeed and ran around the room, so if it was you, thank you so much! This story is up for six categories, and there is some pretty stiff competition. Voting has already started, so if you haven't been already, check it out at
www (.) gemawards (.) blogspot (.) com
There are some awesome stories up there if you are looking for something to read.
As always, thanks to my amazing beta, heavyinfinity, and my pre-reader Nissa-Cullen. You guys are brilliant.
11. Miranda
Bella
The theme to Thundercats was vibrating in my head.
Thunder, Thunder,
Thunder, Thundercats
Thunder, Thunder,
Thunder, Thundercats
I felt like my head had barely touched the pillow when my phone started vibrating underneath my pillow, rudely awakening me. Not only that, I now had the theme from Jake's favourite childhood show stuck in my head; I never should have let him near my phone. What was a wolf boy doing watching a show about giant cats anyway?
With very little grace, I pulled myself out of bed, just managing to catch myself on my feet rather than falling straight to the floor. Luckily, I had been sensible last night and had left jeans and a thick jumper over the edge of the rocking chair. I scrambled to get them on, listening for any changes in Charlie's breathing next door, relieved to know he was safely back from Hoquiam.
I learnt my lesson from trying to get down the stairs last time and had agreed to let Jake carry me down from my room tonight. I was not looking forward to it. I could barely remember my trip back last night, but I knew the experience had been less than pleasant.
I hadn't been able to talk to Jake for long on the phone. He had only recently woken up when I returned from the Cullen's, and he was already late for the pack meeting so we had only managed to agree on when to meet before he had to leave. He sounded distracted though, never a good sign with Jake.
Plopping myself down in the rocking chair, I kept my eyes on the tree line, waiting for the sight of Jake coming. I was somewhat surprised when he walked round the side of the house instead. I opened the window wordlessly and stood back as he jumped gracefully into the room.
Wordlessly, I climbed on to his back and grabbed my bag as he made his way back to the window. The sight of the ground so far beneath us made me feel slightly queasy so I closed my eyes and felt the whooshing of air as we dropped to earth. Of course, Jake's judgement was perfect and I barely felt the impact of his feet hitting the earth.
He didn't let me down, instead going into a full run along the side of the house and down the street to a waiting truck.
"Is this Sam's?" I glanced at Jake, unsure.
"Yeah, but don't worry about it. How did you think we got back last night, Bells?" He laughed at me and I smiled. For some reason Jake seemed happier, more comfortable than the last time I had seen him. So much for my theory about him being distracted.
"So how did the meeting go today? Anything you can tell me?" I asked as I opened the passenger door and slipped into the seat, doing up the seatbelt.
"Well... I suppose you may as well know." His face dropped slightly and his eyes tightened. "Leah's a wolf."
I stared at him in confusion. My mind couldn't work through what he had just said. I understood that there was a new wolf but for some reason I just could not get my head around the idea it was...
"Leah?" My voice came out funny.
"Yeah," Jake's voice was rough.
"Fuck."
"Yeah."
"I didn't think girls could become wolves," I said bluntly.
"Neither did we," he admitted.
I turned to Jake, hoping he would expand but he kept his eyes on the road.
"So... Leah is a wolf. That's odd, I would have thought Quil would be next, if anyone else."
"Yeah, so did we. We were keeping an eye on him and a couple of other kids, basically anyone who seems to be having a growth spurt. We had even considered Leah's brother Seth, but we never noticed the changes she was going through. Apparently, Sam noticed her temperature rising, but just assumed she was ill."
"Wait, so you can tell? When someone is close I mean?"
Jake sighed and nodded.
"There are a couple of things to look out for. Growth spurts are a pretty good indicator, along with a shorter temper than usual, and of course the fact we run at a balmy 108. Apparently a couple of the guys noticed they had extra body hair as well..." Jake shuddered at that thought.
"So, does that mean Leah is now a six foot something bearded lady?"
Jake spluttered into the steering wheel.
"No," He grinned at me. "She looks exactly the same as she did before, maybe a bit angrier," he joked.
"But she is part of the whole pack mind deal?" I tried to imagine what it would be like as a girl having to share all your thoughts with teenage boys.
"Yeah," Jake scowled. "It's been no picnic. Trust me..." Jake looked over at me as though making a decision.
"Have you heard about Sam and Leah?" he looked appraisingly at me.
"Sam... and Leah?"
"Yeah, they were together for a couple of years before Sam started phasing. Everyone thought they were perfect together, but then he turned and one weekend Leah's cousin Emily came down from a reservation up north."
"Wait," I jumped in. "So Sam left Leah to be with Emily? What the hell?" My opinion of Sam was going downhill steeply here.
"No," Jake interrupted me. "Well, yes, but it wasn't like you think. See, after you phase, well, your love life can be difficult. No one is sure why, maybe it's to do with genetics, finding the perfect person to pass on the genes but, well, we call it imprinting."
"Imprinting?" I really had no clue what Jake was talking about here.
"Apparently, it's like being reborn, one moment your life is like, normal, well as normal as it can be for a guy who turns into a wolf, and then you see her and..." Jake's voice sounded wistful, filled with longing. "I've seen it, in Sam's mind. When he saw Emily for the first time everything stopped. It was like he had been floating before, unsure and always alone, but then he realised all of it, everything, connected to her."
We sat in silence for a moment, both processing what he had said.
"So, one day... one day will you imprint?" I didn't know why, but the idea worried me. What if I lost Jake as well? God, I'm selfish.
"Yeah, maybe, I guess. Not that it'll change anything Bells, I'll always love ya." Once again I was surprised by Jake's insight; he had obviously seen right through my worries.
"I know, Jake," I reached up and put my hand over his on the steering wheel just as he pulled off the road.
"C'mon, let's get this over with." He pulled the door open then ran round to get mine before I had my seatbelt off.
I climbed on to his back and held on tightly; he took a second to reposition my legs around his waist before he started jogging into the forest.
My mind was still on the information he had dropped on me. So Sam had been with Leah but imprinted on Emily? It didn't seem right... but at the same time I had seen how happy Sam and Emily were together. What if that wasn't even real love? The happiest couple I knew and it was all because of him imprinting on her, a biological imperative to find the best genes. I felt my face drop into a frown.
Poor Leah, I could not even imagine how horrible it was for her. She had her heart broken, only to join the pack and have everyone know her grief and... shit, she must be able to hear Sam's thoughts too. She can hear how in love with Emily he is; it must be ghastly.
I didn't say anything as we made our way through the thick trees and soon we were back in the clearing from last night. Everyone else was already there and I waved as Jake set me back on my feet. I wanted to go over and say hi to the Cullen's but I was still horribly embarrassed by my crying fit earlier. Instead I focussed on Sam, who was already talking to Carlisle. I slowly moved closer so that I could heart better. Apparently, he was explaining Leah's change to them now. I was a bit surprised but then it made sense. If anyone could help it would be Carlisle, and they had agreed to keep an open line of communication from now on.
"That certainly is an anomaly. There are no stories concerning this?" Carlisle's voice showed genuine interest. Sam looked slightly surprised at his tone as he answered.
"No, all the legends talk about the men of the tribe turning, and generally no more than three at any time... we suspect that the constant presence of such a large coven so close has caused the swell in numbers." I saw Carlisle's face fall and it looked like he was going to interrupt, probably to apologise, but Sam held his hand up, stopping him. "There is nothing that can be done now. We were simply surprised because there are other men on the reservation who would have made more sense as defenders of the tribe.
"Sam, I don't know what to say..." Carlisle began as soon as Sam had stopped talking.
"Please, there is nothing that can be done and frankly with everything that is going on at the moment, I cannot say it is entirely a bad thing. I am in a difficult position. I do not want to force my friends and family to live this way, to be forced to go through the various difficulties involved, but at the same time I want to protect the human lives around here and the only way I can do that is if we have more numbers."
"Nevertheless, I would like to offer any assistance I can with this, anything my experience can aid you with." Carlisle's look was intense and sorrowful.
"Thank you, we appreciate the offer and I will pass on the message to Leah in particular, although I am not sure it will do much good." Sam sighed and ran his fingers through his short hair. "I may be okay with what has happened to me; I was in a bad place before this, lacking purpose, and now I have that. I also have Emily, but Leah is new and she is angry at me, at life, and at you. She may not be able to able to allow herself to be helped yet."
"Still, pass on the message. I will always be willing to assist in any way I can." His response was so typically Carlisle, I couldn't help but smile. Seriously, that guy liked everyone.
"I appreciate it. Now shall we get back to the purpose of this meeting?" Sam glanced at me and I blushed. Carlisle also turned and I could see the same concerned look on his face from earlier but he quickly covered it with a smile.
"Yes, perhaps if we get it done quickly Bella will make it back in time to sleep before school."
I didn't really know what to say, so I kept quiet as the two of them turned back to one another and began working out a schedule for watching me every moment of the day and night.
I turned my attention to the rest of the group; Jake was standing by the tree line glowering slightly at Paul, who had a smug look on his face. Apparently, he was unimpressed by the conversation, because they were soon engaged in a silent argument.
Knowing when not to get involved, I turned to glance across the clearing. Jasper and Esme were also deep in conversation, but they were standing too far away for me to hear it.
I watched the two of them, and I realizes something had changed. Esme was smiling, her hand on Jasper's in a casual manner that I had never seen before.
Jasper had always seemed in some way on the periphery of the group, at least in my mind. He and Rose had always held themselves back, not just from me, but from the family in general. While they were close to their mates, they did not seem to have the same close relationship the others had.
Perhaps they found it in each other, I mused. It wasn't exactly like I had spent a lot of time with them anyway. Although I had never seen them hanging out together or whatever it was vampire friends do. They did act as twins in the whole Cullen family facade. Was this simply due to their similar looks or was there something more to it?
I looked closer at Jasper. Although I had noticed it before, his beauty was striking. Like Rosalie his face was almost perfect, with a well defined nose, large eyes, and a strong chin. They both had their trademark blonde locks, although Jasper's were decidedly darker. It was as though his hair was naturally brown but had long before been bleached by the sun. Well, I suppose that made sense; Edward had mentioned Jasper coming from the south once. Strangely, I had never noticed an accent though...
As though they both realised at once I was appraising them, both Jasper and Esme turned and began walking towards me. I panicked slightly, not wanting to have to talk about my crying fit earlier, especially while Jake was around, but I felt a sudden shot of reassurance and looked up to see Jasper smiling at me. Unlike last time, I welcomed the odd sensation of an invading emotion.
"Bella," Esme's voice tinkled. "I wasn't sure if you would be hungry, so I made you some sandwiches." I noticed the picnic bag she was carrying.
"Oh, thanks, Esme, you didn't need to do that." I blushed once more and saw Jasper try to suppress a smirk.
"Nonsense dear, I... I enjoyed it." Her smile faltered a bit at that statement and Jasper grinned even wider. I had the familiar feeling that I was out of the loop.
"Here." Esme opened the bag carefully and reached in to take out a plastic bag. Within that was a sandwich box and after Esme opened it, she quickly handed me the most tightly wrapped sandwiches I had ever seen. As I began to open the wrapper, both Jasper and Esme took a step back.
"Umm... should I be worried about what is in here?" I looked at the two of them, both backing further away from me, looks of disgust on their faces. Even Carlisle at the other end of the field had started to move away from me slowly.
For a moment, no one said anything. Esme looked embarrassed while Jasper was apparently trying not to laugh. They both still looked disgusted and I couldn't help but notice neither of them were breathing.
Eventually, Jasper spoke up.
"It's just the smell Bella... it's tuna." His face looked like that should explain everything but I had no idea what he was on about. It took me a moment to figure it out.
"You guys don't like the smell of tuna?" I asked in shock. Okay it wasn't the most pleasant smell but really, it wasn't that bad. "Then why did you make me a tuna sandwich?"
"Well, Carlisle was shopping," Esme said quickly. "And, well you know tuna is really good for you so he thought he'd get some. But then we opened it and, well, we didn't have anything else so I figured..."
I burst into laughter and walked towards her throwing my arms around her.
"Oh, Esme, thank you."
"You're welcome, Bella. Just, if you are going to eat that do you think, maybe..."
"Don't worry, Esme, I'll make sure to eat it away from you." I smiled contentedly; I had forgotten how nice it was to have someone do little things to look after me.
I backed away from the two of them, taking my sandwich with me, and dropped down on the ground close to where Jake was standing. Apparently, his argument with Paul had come to a stalemate because the two of them were standing about ten feet apart, refusing to look at one another.
"So... the leeches don't like tuna?" I turned to the sound of his voice and was glad to see the hard look he had worn when he was talking to Paul was gone.
"Apparently the smell offends them." I giggled as I desperately tried to get the cellophane off my sandwich. Seriously, had Esme vacuumed packed this thing? Jake noticed my struggles and took the sandwich, a look of disgust equal to Esme and Jasper's on his face but he quickly opened it and passed it back to me.
"Thanks." I took a bite and smiled in contentment; tuna mayonnaise with lettuce and cucumber, yum. "So... " I looked up at Jake as I swallowed. "Not a fan of tuna either?"
Jake smiled indulgently at me, "No, nothing like that. It's just it smells, you know, like them. It's not easy on the nose."
I didn't understand what he was going on about, the smell of the Cullen's was always something I had quite enjoyed, each of them distinctive but wonderful.
"But Jake, they smell so, so nice."
"Maybe to you, Bells, but to us they smell pretty bad. I'm sure they feel the same way about us."
I nodded but didn't really understand. Just another bit of weird supernatural information to store at the back of my mind. Instead, I started eating again, savouring the taste of food someone else had made me.
Carlisle and Sam were still in deep conversation and I saw Jasper go over the join them, followed quickly by Paul.
"What's going on?" I turned to Jake as he sank down on the ground next to me.
"Sam and the doc had nearly got everything sorted, just working out a few kinks, when Jasper went to ask about school. Apparently, he was thinking of trying to redo a couple of classes so there is always someone there with you but Paul isn't very happy about it. It's just a pretence though; what he is really angry about is the fact we are gonna have to pair up, and he doesn't like the idea of patrolling with a leech."
I frowned slightly at his use of the word 'leech'. It seemed almost dirty when he said it but decided against bringing it up here. I felt myself tense at the slur though.
"What's his problem?" I asked, jerking my head towards Paul who was glaring angrily at Sam.
"He doesn't think it's a good idea to team up with the lee... Cullens, and he's not the only one. Leah did not react well to the news they were back." Jake's voice suddenly dipped very low and I had to strain to hear him. "Paul doesn't think Sam is up to leading us, and of course Leah isn't particularly fond of him at the moment either."
"What do you mean? I thought the whole Alpha thing was pretty much set in stone. I mean, unless Sam dies..." I shuddered at the thought.
"Well it is, really, apart from..." Jake's voice was nervous. "Well, Billy is basically chief, you know. I mean, Sam offered me the position, but there's no way I want that kind of responsibility..."
"Wait! So, you could be Alpha?" I was having some serious difficulty thinking of Jake as the head of a pack of wolves. For some reason, the image in my head of my little brother for all intensive purposes, leading a group of wolves against vampires was unsettling.
"Well, I suppose..."
"Is that what you and Paul were talking about earlier?" I glanced up again. The meeting seemed to be rounding up. Jasper had walked back towards Esme and Paul seemed to have completely disappeared. Carlisle and Sam were still talking, but it looked more casual now, and both of their postures had relaxed.
"Yeah, but I can't talk about it now. C'mon Bells," He jumped up, offered me his hand and carefully pulled me up. "Let's go find out who is on first Bella watch." He started walking towards Sam and I followed, a scowl on my face. Maybe Carlisle was right. I was a monster magnet, no matter what I did I was always surrounded by mystical creatures; both those trying to kill me and those trying to keep me alive.
We wandered over and Jake pulled my hand into his. Both Sam and Carlisle smiled at us.
"I think we're just about done here Bella. I think we can get you home before three tonight if you are lucky," Carlisle joked.
"Sounds good," I smiled. "So, who has the lucky job of watching me tonight?" My voice gave my nerves and displeasure away. Now that I knew that I would have someone watching at all times, it all seemed a bit more real.
"I believe Mr. Black is taking you home and he will stay with you until Esme arrives in the morning. After that we'll be doing a mix of single and double shifts. If we can have a member of the pack with you at all times, there will always be back up." Carlisle's voice was casual, almost too casual, and it didn't make me feel any better.
"So that's it? Just wait and see?"
"At the moment, yes. We can always change tactics later Bella. For now we just want to keep you and Charlie safe."
"Someone's gonna be watching Charlie?" It felt like the first bit of good news I had heard all night.
"Someone will be close to him at all times; we don't want to risk Victoria trying the same thing James did."
I nodded and turned to Jake. "Well, let's get outta here... I guess I'll see you guys around..."
Jake picked me up and we started back towards the truck. I was dreading having to get up for school in the morning and without Charlie to kick me out of bed it was going to be even worse. Immediately, I felt terrible. What was I doing worrying about school when people I loved were putting their lives in jeopardy for me?
"Everything okay up there, Bells?" Jake asked, slowing to a walk, sensing my mood as usual.
"Yeah, just worried. I mean, everyone is working so hard to keep me safe, and I feel terrible. I mean, what if something happens to someone?" I became aware my voice was starting to take on a panicked edge. "What if someone gets hurt? What if she attacks while you are there? Or Sam? How would I ever face Emily again? And what about the Cullens? Esme? Carlisle? What about Jasper?"
"Bella, stop it! We are all going to be fine; you are going to be fine!" Jake pulled me off his back and into a fierce hug, crushing me tight to his warm chest and taking my feet off the ground. "We can all look after ourselves, that's why we are doing it. Jesus, you think Sam would be letting us all patrol if he didn't think we could handle ourselves? And I'm sure the good doctor feels the same way about his wife, and I don't think you have to worry about that Jasper guy."
Jake put me down and we began the short walk the rest of the way to the car hand in hand. I knew that Sam would never put any of the pack in serious danger; it was just not in his nature. And of course, Carlisle was exactly the same, but that did not mean that Victoria wouldn't try and catch them off their guard, or worse, bring someone with her.
I also knew if I didn't stop worrying about this, I would go mad. I could only hope that the knowledge that both the pack and the Cullens were protecting me was going to put her off entirely. Once again, I felt sick as an image of Esme fighting flashed through my mind, then Carlisle, then Jasper...
"Wait!" I grabbed Jake's arm and he swung round. "What did you mean I don't need to worry about Jasper?"
Jake looked vaguely worried and glanced down.
"I don't know if you've seen his arms Bells?" I nodded; the image of Jasper's arms, the way the starlight bounced of them last night seemed to be ingrained in my head. "I don't know what you know about him Bells, you never really mentioned him, but, the way he talked when he was discussing strategy for getting Victoria... he knew what he was talking about."
What did he mean? I knew Jasper's arms were different from the other Cullens', and he knew about fighting, and strategy, fuck, they were scars.
I thought back to what I knew about Jasper and realised it was in fact very little. It did make some strange type of sense though. He had been the one to kill James in the ballet studio and Edward had agreed to send me with him and Alice...
But those scars couldn't have come from that fight, it was over in seconds. What has happened to him before now to cause them?
Jake didn't say anything as we turned and continued the last of the way to the truck. Once again, Jake took the wheel and I jumped in beside him, curling my feet under my body to keep out the cold now that I was without Jake's body heat. I leaned in closer and he put his arm around me, and began driving me home.
We didn't talk on the way; I was still too wrapped up in my thoughts about on what was happening in Europe, on Carlisle and Esme, on the pack, and on Jasper.
After Jake deposited me in my room, once again via the window, I rolled over and quickly fell asleep to the sound of Charlie's snoring next door.
As always, thanks for reading! Everytime I see an email about a review or alert I get the goofiest grin on my face. I always do my best to respond to reviews. Speaking of which, I'm on Twitter under new_town_girl so if you wanna come chat about the fic, or anything else, I'm always happy to hear from you guys.
Until next time xoxo
