Hey guys! Ok, so I was HOPING that more of you would've caught on to this but I guess not *sigh* it's okay, I wouldn't have caught on either :P IT'S NOT VICTORIA! And the clue you had to this was A) Her smell is human and B) Jake did not recognize the scent. Oh, and C) VICTORIA IS DEAD. Although weirder things have happened... so I don't blame you guys for C Haha. Okay, on with the show!
Chapter 14: Descendent
My fingers gripped the counter dangerously. Victoria? How was she here? And in human form no less? Once a vampire was turned, there was no method to change back. Or was there? No, that's impossible. If there were then Edward wouldn't have been so opposed to changing me. If there had been a way out once (if) I got tired of the life, then he'd let me go. Besides that, everything about this situation was impossible. We'd killed Victoria. I'd killed Victoria. There was no way that this woman standing before me was the malicious vampire I'd originally thought she was.
"Why were you out so late Bella?" Janine questioned a curious tilt to her head. I swallowed back my initial bout of fear and attempted to act normally.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I forced a polite smile. "I didn't realise anyone was waiting up for me." If it was Charlie, he'd have just gone to bed, comforting himself with thoughts that I was simply doing werewolf-related things.
"Well you're a teenager Bella," Janine laughed. "Who went out with her boyfriend for the night. Of course someone would wait up."
"Charlie doesn't-" I started but caught myself. This woman was already in my life, she didn't need to know anything more about it. "Well... that's nice of you." I settled on eventually. Janine shot me a smile.
"Not a problem Bella, it was my pleasure." She stretched. "Although, now I think I'm going to hit the hay if you don't mind. I think Charlie's waiting up for me." She smiled my way again and I felt anger bubble up in my stomach.
"Look, let's cut the chit-chat alright?" I snarled. "Why are you back here? I got rid of you once and I can do it again." I sounded like a bulging character from a bad action movie, but I didn't care. This woman had no business in my home.
Janine looked confused for a moment. "Bella, I have no idea what you're talking about." She said. I seethed at the innocent look on her face. Who did she think she was?
"Listen; don't think I don't know who you are. I don't know how you got here, I don't know why you're here, and I can't fathom how you're human, but I recognize that smell anywhere Victoria." I growled. Janine's eyes widened and her mouth opened in a small 'o', she was reeling.
"Victoria? Who-" She stopped. "Oh my God..." Realization dawned on her face. She studied me for a minute or so when her eyes zoned in on my trembling hands and hard expression. "When I walked in and saw you and Jacob I thought maybe... but you had no relation to them so it seemed impossible..." She mumbled something else to herself before she made eye contact with me. "Does Charlie know?"
"Does Charlie know what?" I asked through gritted teeth. If I thought my temper had been bad before, it was nothing compared to what it was now that I was a werewolf.
"That you're a werewolf." Janine clarified. I stopped dead in my tracks. How did she know? Did I give anything away? I thought back in my mind and nothing came into the limelight. She was bluffing, she had to be. But it was a damn good one.
"That I'm a... a what?" I gasped. Better to play it like I don't know anything rather than give away I'm a werewolf when I could've just heard her wrong. Or maybe I misunderstood the question.
"A Quileute werewolf," She explained again. "A part of the Pack that Jacob Black should be leading."
Ok, no mistake. There was no way that bringing Jacob into this was a coincidence. Especially because Janine had apparent knowledge of the situation with the Pack. There was no doubt in my mind now that this was Victoria.
"What do you want Victoria?" I snarled, digging my nails into my palms to slow the shaking. If I was going to phase soon I didn't want to give her any warning.
Janine shook her head. "You know this isn't the first time this has happened." She said. "I've been mistaken for my great-great-grandmother before, but never by a wolf. Surely you know I can't be Victoria Bella, I'm human. You can smell it."
I turned my head to the side questioningly but said nothing. Great-great-grandmother? She has to be kidding!
"Doubt it if you want Bella but it's true. Victoria is my great-great-grandmother. And apparently she's finally dead thanks to you." Finally? "That old bat has been hanging around for longer than anyone would like. Especially you and your pack I'm sure."
I was speechless. Janine, who dated my father, is really Victoria's great-great-granddaughter, who tried to kill me and my pack. This was all fine and good until I got to the question: Who do I trust? Janine seemed more than suspicious, so I wasn't about to welcome her with open arms. The relative of your blood enemy will do that to you I suppose. I studied her facial expression, seeming more bored with the situation than anything.
I opened my mouth, about to ask her the obvious question: Why are you here? But I didn't get so much as a word out before I heard a creak at the top of the stairs. My head spun in time to see them hem of Mom's night gown come into view, but after that I don't remember feeling. My Mother was coming down the stairs, Charlie's new girlfriend was in the kitchen, and I was talking to her in the early hours of the morning. Renee was about to get her heart broken, and she had no idea.
"You have to go," I told Janine without thinking. I realised too late that she would ask why, and that I would have to explain that her boyfriend's ex wife was staying in my room and neither of them had any clue about the other one's existence. Not to mention that Charlie was utterly in the dark. Of course my command didn't work. Janine opened her mouth to ask why when Renee called down the stairs:
"Bella? Who're you talking to-?" She stopped. Her hair was messed from tossing and turning, her eyes were puffy with sleep, and she was obviously half out of her mind. My eyes widened, trying to convey to her to go back upstairs. Of course this would raise suspicions, but at least I would have time to come up with a better story than 'Hey Mom, this is Charlie's girlfriend!' But of course she didn't get the message. She saw Janine and she blinked. "Oh. Hello. You are?"
Janine eyed Renee in confusion, and then looked to me. My mouth was glued shut and my throat was bone dry. I was searching my mind for an explanation; something, anything that I could say that would protect my mom, and yet be true enough that Janine wouldn't correct me and figure out what was going on. It was hopeless. "I'm Janine," She greeted; I relaxed momentarily, hoping that she would see the need to leave out the obvious, but, to my horror, she added "Charlie's girlfriend."
I could literally see the color drain from Renee's face as she stared at Janine. Knowing that my mother wasn't a violent person I wasn't worried about a fight breaking out, but the emotional damage was absolute. This was bad. Janine returned my mother's obviously less than thrilled reaction with an eyebrow raise. She either had no idea who Renee was or expected a better reaction from the woman Charlie raved about so much.
"B-Bella?" Renee turned to me, desperation in her eyes. She was begging me to tell her it wasn't true; to contradict this strange woman in her old home, but I couldn't. As far as I knew, Janine was one hundred percent serious. And it was killing me. "She- she's not serious?"
"I'm perfectly serious," Janine informed her. My life was falling down around me, Id never felt so utterly helpless. "Now, you know who I am. I believe I should know who you are." Renee turned to her, a hard look in her eyes when she responded. I was starting to hyperventilate, and shake, this was not good. This was so not good.
"I'm Renee, Charlie's ex wife and Bella's mother." Renee said, keeping a straight posture though I knew it was killing her inside to just stand there before this woman who was moving in on her ex husband. I was close to crying.
Janine raised her eyebrows in surprise. But it was the fake sort of surprise that came with an answer one expects, but needs to react to anyway so the other party feels better. Janine knew from the start who Renee was, and she still had the nerve to-
"Oh don't look so surprised," Renee spat miserably. Apparently Mom realised the same thing I did. "Where's Charlie? I want to have a word with him." Janine's mouth twisted into a hard line.
"Charlie's sleeping. And I think you're right. We should start with why you're in his house without his knowledge. And uninvited, might I add." Janine crossed her arms, waiting for Renee's response. My head was reeling. This was like a train rolling backwards down the track, waiting for the imminent crash. I could push all I wanted, but the wheels were turning now. The truth was coming out.
"I don't need an invitation to visit my daughter," Renee snarled. My mother was always a sweet person, especially to strangers, so I knew that she was seriously getting ticked off. And when Renee got ticked, she got ticked. I didn't know what to do. The room was spinning, there were black spots in my vision, the only way it could get worse is if-
"Bella? Janine? What's going on down here?" Charlie asked, coming down the stairs. He took in the sight of Renee and his dark hair turned white (figuratively) in an instant. His mouth gaped like a fish a few times, and his hand was frozen on the railing. All of it was too much; I could tell that both of my parents were being hurt, and Janine was standing there with her arms crossed like she owned the place. I couldn't take it. "R-R-Renee-?" Charlie stuttered, "Bella-? What's going on-?" But I didn't hear the rest of what he said because I was bolting out the door.
The wood nearly shattered beneath my palm with the force I put into throwing it open. The night was pitch black but I could see fine as I made for the cover of the trees. It was turning into my safe haven, but I didn't mind. Not at all.
I was too distressed to remember that it was safe to phase, so I just kept running, my bare feet pounding off the wet leaves and dirt. Branches scraped my arms but I was too lost in my own thoughts to care. I needed to find someone, anyone, before I got too far from home, before I got too lost, I didn't want this to be like last time-
I collided with a tree and fell to the ground just as I began to realise I was a werewolf and didn't need to worry about what happened last time. I felt so horrible, too depressed to feel embarrassed. I picked myself off the ground and looked up at the offending tree. Turns out it wasn't a tree after all.
"Bella?" A male voice responded. Not the male voice I was hoping for, too deep and wise, but it would do.
"Sam?" I was barely able to croak. I looked up to see Sam staring down at me, his brow furrowed in confusion and concern. My bottom lip trembled; where was Jake when I needed him? Sam took my shoulders and looked me in the eyes.
"Bella, what happened? Are you ok? Is everything alright?" I held his gaze for a good minute before stamping my foot on the ground, hard.
"No! No God Damnit everything is NOT alright!" I wailed. "I've had the worse few months in existence! I almost lose the love of my life, I'm turned into a werewolf, we killed this psycho vampire who's trying to kill me, and just when everything's starting to look up, my dad gets a girlfriend who just happens to be the great-great-granddaughter of said psycho vampire, at the same time my mother shows up confessing her love for my father!" I stopped, panting my displeasure with the situation. As I looked back on my rant, I started to laugh. A manic, strained laugh that sounded more insane than the rant did.
Sam's face scrunched in a cross between shock and anger. I didn't see Sam angry very often; it felt kind of good to know that he'd care about me in a sense such as that. As I cooled off, I sort of felt like the scene wasn't complete, like it should be raining to fit the mood, but sometimes nature doesn't cooperate, and the night air stayed as clean and crisp as freshly washed linen.
"Listen to me Bella," Sam said, calming himself with a breath. "I know what you're going through is hard, hell we all know. Even Embry if you'd believe it." He pulled up the corner of his mouth in one of the most sheepish smiles I'd ever seen on Sam. "Truth is Bella, when you cry, there's a heart breaking for every one of the tears on your cheeks." He reached over and wiped one offender from the corner of my eye as he continued. "When you cry, Charlie doesn't know what to do with himself. When you're sad, Embry wants to create the world's funniest joke to hear you laugh. When something has you down, Leah rolls up her sleeves, ready to punch out the jack ass that made you that way. Quil, Paul, Jared, Seth, Colin, Brady, Emily, Jay, all of them would stand up for you in a heartbeat, just to ensure you're alright." He paused to accentuate his point. "Bella Marie Swan, when you're hurting, Jacob feels like he could fight the entire universe three times over just to see you smile. You're a part of our Pack Bella; you're a part of our family. Ever since you opened your arms and let Jake in, the rest of us came too. And when you're a part of the pack family Bella, it's as good as having an army behind you. You're protected no matter what happens, always remember that."
By the time he finished his spiel, the tears were falling for a different reason. His support, and the support of everyone, touched my heart on levels I didn't think possible. I shot him a smile, the most sincere smile I could muster, and threw my arms around him in a hug. "Thank you Sam," I sniffed. "I really needed that."
"Any time at all Bella," Sam assured me. His hug was only brief, but it meant a lot. "Come on, I'll take you to Jake." I shot him another smile, not surprised that he knew exactly what I needed. I looked down.
"Sam?" I asked. He looked at me. "I don't think I can walk." It wasn't that my legs were sore, or that I'd run too much, but it was that they were absolutely numb with the ache of everything that had transpired in twenty minutes. Sam offered a chuckle, and then held out an arm. I took it gratefully and he swung me up into his embrace, setting off for where I left Jay, Embry, and most importantly, Jacob.
.
We entered the clearing soon after; my legs had regained feeling but Sam insisted on carrying me, in case I tripped and injured myself along with having such an emotional night. Everybody turned when we emerged from the trees but the one person I wanted to see was the first to notice the state I was in. Jacob's face went pale, which was difficult for his russet skin tone, and he was over to us before I had time to blink.
"Bella?" He exclaimed, wanting to take me but having no idea if I was hurt. "What happened?" I waited patiently while Sam gave a quick rendition of what had happened tonight, before he finished handing me over to Jake. I pressed into his chest firmly, relishing in the warmth that he still provided. Whenever I was in Jake's arms I felt safe, like nothing could penetrate the invisible wall he built around us to protect us, like nothing in the world could beat the safety of his arms that surrounded me and held me close. I pressed my cheek to his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and remembering what Sam had said about Pack support. Hearing Jake's reactions, feeling them, and seeing the looks of concern on Jay and Embry's face let me know without a doubt that that was true.
Jake's body began to tremble and I could hear his teeth grinding but I only clung to him tighter. He didn't return the gesture, but I knew it was only because he was afraid of hurting me. His heart was beating faster beneath my cheek, but I took comfort in it.
"Can you guys leave us alone for a minute?" Jake whispered, still shaking. Embry opened his mouth to protest, but Jake interrupted. "Please?" There was a moment's hesitation, and then Embry complied, leaving Jake and I alone in the clearing. The woods were oddly silent, but it was shattered a few minutes later as Jake slammed his fist into a nearby tree, me still between him and the plant. My back collided with the bark and I tilted my head back to stare at him. He was panting the anger out of him, both arms braced on the trunk of the oak. His hair fell into his eyes, just long enough to cast sufficient shadow over his chocolate coated gaze. I felt the muscles in his arm and chest flex as he punched the tree, sending shivers through the branches and causing a few leaves to fall. I let him blow off steam for a few minutes before I reached up with both hands, cradling his face between my palms. He leaned into my touch and looked up at me, intensity smouldering in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry Bells," He whispered, hugging me against the tree. I turned my face into his neck, inhaling the intoxicating sense of the woods from his skin, somehow altered to fit him, but still maintaining the natural fragrance of nature.
"Sorry for what?" I asked him, playing idly with his hair. Even though we were in the middle of the woods, I felt so confined surrounded by Jacob. But it was a comforting sense of confinement, a sense that I associated with protection.
"I'm sorry that I can't protect you from everything," He explained. "I mean, I know I can't protect you from everything; that was bad wording. I mean that I'm sorry I can't make the hurt go away all the time. I wish I could Bells, I really wish I could." His burning lips pressed to my forehead. "I can't make everything better-"
"Jake, you make everything better by just being alive." I told him, snuggling into his warmth. He smiled into my hair.
"Bells, I want to give you something." He said, tilting my chin up to look at him. "Maybe it can't stop the hurt, but it can help ease it up a bit." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cloth bag. "I want you to take it. But don't open it. Not yet. When you're not thinking about it, when you feel like the world is crashing down around you, open this. And then come find me."
"How will I know when-?" I began to ask but he smiled.
"You'll know," He assured me. "You'll be able to feel it." He leaned down to kiss me, only for a moment, before he straightened again. "Come on Bella, let's go find Sam."
Oooh, what's in the bag? Any guesses? Review please! :3