The sun had set over the reservation, washing the sky in brilliant pinks and purples before the first stars began to appear. While the embers of the bon fire began to crackle and brighten, Sam stood with his arms crossed in front of him as he watched the road in front of Billy Black's home. Liz was late even after she had assured her father that she'd be at this bon fire that he insisted that she attend. While Quil and Seth continued the patrol around La Push, the rest of the pack had already arrived and he could hear the laughter of the younger boys around him as they had undoubtedly gotten into the chips and were passing them around.
"Everything okay, Sam?" Jacob asked, as he walked up beside him.
Sam sighed. "Liz is late. It's not like her."
Jacob nodded, looking out towards the deserted road. There was no sign of anyone walking up it.
"We can give her a few more minutes," he told him. "Dad would understand."
Sam shook his head, pulling out his cell phone to check to see if he had missed a call.
Nothing.
Between Talon and Liz, the two shared a cell phone and more often than not, Talon had it on him as Liz was often with Kyle and she could be reached through his number. So, even after Sam had tried calling Kyle's number, he still got no answer.
"No, the rest of us are here," Sam told him. "We should start to give Billy as much time as he thinks is necessary."
Jacob walked back towards the fire pit with Sam at his side. Seeing his father watching him, Jacob gave a small nod before moving to sit between Nate and Sam.
With a sigh, Billy began.
"The Quilleute's have always been a small tribe but while we lacked in number, we had our strength in something more powerful than our ancestors ever thought possible. You all know that the story of our tribe states that we had descended from wolves. But that same magic that transformed our ancestors from wolves into man still exists within us to this day."
Billy continued, explaining how it all started with their ancestor Taha Aki and the battle that ensued against the Cold Ones, resulting in the death of his son and wife and most of the tribe, leaving him to be the only spirit warrior who survived, and whom many of the living Quilleute's were descendants of.
As he had finished the story, the only sound was the crackling of the fire in front of him.
Billy looked around the fire at the pack and their sons sitting beside them. His eyes fell on Ryan and Nate, as the pair seemed to stare right into the fire. They sat beside each other and seemed to be deep in thought. With a sigh, Billy smiled.
"I suppose we should continue with another story if anyone is wanting to start..."
"So, what happened to them?"
Billy looked across the fire at Ryan, surprised not only to be interrupted but also to hear the question.
"Ryan, what do you mean?"
"The Cold Ones," he replied. "Did they ever return?"
By the looks on the faces of the other boys, it was a question that they were waiting to hear the answer for. Meanwhile, the pack looked on, wondering how or even if, Billy was going to answer.
"They did," he replied. "And it is when they are near that the magic returns. The spirit warrior within us feels compelled to rise to the surface to protect the tribe."
When a sudden sound of an engine and then headlights pulled up along the road in front of Billy's house, everyone turned. Sam recongized the car instantly as his own and then the scent of Liz as the door opened.
He stood up, hearing the quickened heartbeat as it approached.
"Excuse me one moment," he said softly towards Jacob as he moved away from the bonfire.
The young woman approached, her face flushed and her hair completely out of place. Before she even spoke a word, Sam could detect another scent on her - Kyle.
"Dad, I'm so sorry," she said, gasping to catch her breath. "I came as soon as I remembered."
"Where have you been?" He demanded, but his face softened when he saw that her eyes were red.
"The hospital in Forks," she replied, not willing to make eye contact with him. "Kyle wanted to get his ankle x-ray'd and I went along with him."
"Lizzie," Sam said softly, his hand reaching out towards his chin, raising her face up to look at him. Seeing the tears in her eyes shot straight to his heart, but at the same time, knowing she had been with Kyle caused a deep anger to begin to boil within him.
"What's wrong?"
As the tears began to come out of her eyes, he watched as she glanced over at the bonfire. Knowing that they had an audience but not caring, he pulled her into his arms, holding her close to his chest.
After she cried for a few seconds, he let her go, intent on finding out what was going on.
"It was Kyle..."
"Did he hurt you?" Sam exclaimed, his immediate assumption jumping to that conclusion.
His outburst caught the attention of the others at the bonfire and caused more than one of the pack to stand up in concern.
Liz shook her head.
"No, he didn't," she replied. "I told him I had to leave and he wanted me to stay."
She wiped her eyes with her fingers. "He accused me of not wanting to stay because he thinks that I'm in love with..." She paused, taking a deep breath, glancing over at the bonfire and the shadows that sat around it. "..that I love the people here more than I do for him and that he's not as important to me. He told me that he loves me and I just couldn't say it back to him."
Liz shook her head embarrassingly.
"I'm sorry, Dad. I will apologize to Billy."
Sam grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her before resting his forehead against the top of her head.
"What Kyle said was manipulative and if he knew you well enough, he'd know that you have a big heart for your tribe. He doesn't understand that," he told her. "But you're here now, that's what matters. And although you're late, I'm glad that you respect the tribe enough to honourably ask for forgiveness."
Liz took a deep breath and nodded against Sam's chest.
"Thanks Daddy," she said softly as he kissed the top of her head.
After a moment, he led her towards the bonfire. Billy watched as Liz, her eyes still red, as she stood in front of him with the dignity, grace and strength that he'd expect from her as she apologized to him for being late. He smiled at Liz and nodded, before asking her to take a seat beside her brother.
The evening had slowed down, causing Billy to take his leave and over time, the pack slowly decided it was time to go home. As the fire was still burning, the kids decided to stick around and enjoy the clear night sky and the pleasant evening. It wasn't every night that the La Push sky was clear enough to see the stars above them.
Nate and Ryan sat side by side, leaning against the fallen logs, their feet outstretched towards the fire. They laughed as Jonah accused Derek of being afraid during the bonfire.
"I saw your eyes get huge when Mr. Black was talking about the shape shifting man-wolves," Jonah chuckled. "Dude, you're forgetting that these are just stories...myths!"
"Yeah man, but you gotta admit, he tells a pretty good scary story," Derek quickly retorted. "I remember getting nightmares when I was a kid."
"When was that? Last week?" Jonah teased, causing Derek to causally flip him the finger from across the fire.
The others laughed aloud at the exchange.
"Is that all that he talked about?" Liz asked thoughtfully, as she grabbed a handful of chips from the bag that Talon held out to her. She was actually glad to have missed that part. The kids all had heard about Liz's experience in the woods of when she claimed to have seen a giant wolf.
"Oh, but you missed the new stuff that he added to them," Ryan said from across the fire.
"Yeah, the cold ones! Ohhhh," Talon said, feigning fear as he elbowed Liz beside him. She pushed him away, before looking over at Ryan.
"Cold ones?"
"They're the type of tribe that the wolves fought against," Ryan explained. "Nearly destroyed the Quileutes leaving only one spirit warrior to survive against them. And apparently a few from the tribe are descendants of him."
"Do you think that the Cold Ones still exist?" Talon asked.
"Tal, if they still exist, then those wolves that can turn into men would have to then too," Jonah told him.
Silence fell over the group as eyes seemed to travel over to Liz.
Derek laughed, breaking the uneasy silence. "Remember, it's just a story guys. It's not true."
"Story or not, I'm not walking home on my own tonight and I'm not ashamed to say it," Ryan said, as he pushed himself up to stand. He looked over at Talon, knowing his house was along the way.
Nodding at the silent request, Talon stood up before looking over at Liz. "Want to come home with us?"
She chuckled. "With you two yahoo's? I think I'd prefer to hear you scream like girls from here rather than you guys try to freak me out along the road which I'd know you'd do."
They nodded, before waving at the group that stayed behind. At the last minute, Jonah and Derek seemed to look at each other before quickly standing up and running into the darkness in the direction that Talon and Ryan had just went in. Nate looked over his shoulder, no longer seeing the boys but hearing their chuckling before a loud scream was heard in the darkness.
He laughed, before turning to see Liz who was giggling.
"That, is why I didn't want to go with those boys."
Nate shook his head. "I wouldn't blame you. They're all made for each other."
"And you too," Liz added, as she stood up so she could move closer. Talking through the smoke of the glowing embers of the fire wasn't the same as face to face. "You're just like them, as much as you may hate to admit it."
Nate snorted as Liz sat down beside him. She rested her back against the log behind them. The ground was cold and damp through her jeans, but the warmth that the small fire gave off made up for it. Liz looked over at Nate to find him staring up at the sky above them.
"What are you looking at?" Nate said, a smile appearing on his face upon feeling her eyes on him.
"I was just wondering the same thing about you," she told him, causing Nate to glance over at her.
With a sigh and a smirk, he pointed up at the sky above them.
"Saturn."
"Really? Where?" Liz asked, instantly interested. She moved in closer to get a good angle on where Nate was pointing.
He glnaced at her before turning his attention back to the sky.
"See the Big Dipper?"
Liz looked up, finding the image in the night sky that her Dad had taught her to find as a child. Having spotted it, she nodded. Nate caught her nod by the corner of his eye before raising his hand into the air and pointed at the sky.
"Now, go to the end of the handle," he told her. "Now, we're going to count three stars."
He counted them out, moving his hand in the direction.
"And from this one here, see this long line of stars curled slightly?"
Liz nodded, watching Nate's hand as he pointed them out.
"That is the constellation scorpius," he told her. "Looks a bit like a scorpion with this area being the tail. But if you follow it this way, this brighter, yellow coloured star is saturn."
"Wow," she said, a smile on her face. "How did you know that?"
Nate shrugged looking up at the night sky.
"Many late nights outside with grandpa when I was younger," he told him. "He taught me how to find the North Star if I'm ever lost at night and the interest just went from there."
Liz nodded in understanding.
"I had no clue that you knew about astronomy. Talon never mentioned it."
Nate shrugged. "Talon doesn't know. It's just an interest of mine."
"Well, what else can you see?"
Nate chuckled.
"What would you like to see?"
Liz thought for a moment before she mentioned Mars. Nate nodded and quickly searched the night sky before his eyes spotted it. Once again, he directed her by pointing out the stars that she could recognize until they landed on Mars.
Silence fell between them for a few seconds before Liz sighed.
"It's amazing to think that those planets and stars are so far away and we can still see them with our eyes," she said softly. "If someone was laying on Mars right now, looking back at us, they'd have no idea that we're looking right back at them."
"It really makes you realize how small we are in comparison to the universe," Nate added, to which Liz nodded, her eyes still on the sky above.
Suddenly, she gasped and pointed at the sky above them.
"Did you see that?"
"What?"
"A shooting star," she replied, before pointing out in the sky exactly where she had seen it. "It was there for just a second."
Nate smiled. "Maybe another one will go by."
They waited in silence, just watching the sky above them as the fire crackled at their feet, growing dimmer as time went on, slowly blanketing them in darkness. Nate noticed Liz as she adjusted her position against the log. Realizing that it must be uncomfortable fo her, he put out his arm, allowing her to rest against it rather than the hard wood of the fallen tree.
Under any other circumstance, Liz knew that she should be uncomfortable by the gesture. But with Nate, she wasn't. The act was simply him being courteous and thoughtful; being Nate. She could feel the heat of his arm against her upper back, warming her as she looked up at the sky above them.
"This is fun," Liz commented softly. "I've never really just sat back and looked at the stars before."
"Never?"
She shook her head.
"Well, if you ever really want to get a good look at the night sky, I know of a place," Nate told her. "My Dad took me there a few years ago. You have to walk in from a back road but once you're in the clearing, the sky is so clear. On a good night, you could see countless galaxies. If the moon isn't out, the stars are so bright that they can light up the entire clearing. It's amazing."
Liz watched Nate as he spoke with passion about the place Jacob had brought him and she couldn't help but smile at his genuineness.
"I'd love that," she told him, causing Nate to look over at her.
Just as Nate was about to speak again, the sound of Billy's back door opened before they heard his voice.
"Nate?! You out there?!"
Nate sat up, so he could be seen by the fire. Liz sat up alongside him, allowing his arm to be freed from behind her.
"Yeah, Grandpa. What's up?!"
"Your Dad called. Told me to send you on home. It's getting late."
He paused and squinted. "Is that Liz Uley out there with you?"
"Yeah, it's me, Billy," she replied.
Billy smiled.
"Nate, if you could be so kind as to walk her home first, I'm sure that Mr. Uley would appreciate that."
"Sure Grandpa," Nate said, glancing over at Liz.
"Oh, and make sure that fire is out before you go."
Nate rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"Yes, Grandpa."
They could hear Billy chuckling as he rolled back into the house and shut the door behind him. As he did, Nate stood up and proceeded to put out the fire. When it was sufficiently out, he looked over at Liz to see her standing by the log.
"So, you want to take the path through the woods or the road?"
Liz winced. "The road would probably be better."
With a nod, they made their way towards the road. Although it was just as dark as it would be in the woods, Nate could understand her fear. The night mixed with the talk of the Cold Ones and wolves didn't go well with the woods. After a few minutes of walking side by side, Liz spoke.
"Do you ever think about that day when we were lost in the woods as kids?"
Nate nodded silently. "I had the worst asthmatic attack of my life that day. It's hard to remember details but that I wont ever forget. I could barely breathe. I thought I was dying."
"You know that I swear that I saw a huge wolf that day," Liz told him. Nate knew of this. Many of their experiences that day were sought to be their imagination mixed in with the stories they had always heard as children, simply amplifying their fears. "Do you know what I think it really was?"
"What?"
"I'm wondering if these stories that Billy are telling us about descending from wolves are not just stories," she told him. "What if that wolf I saw that day, was actually a man?"
Nate chuckled. "That's impossible, Liz. The stories are legends, just a way to explain things that the tribe couldn't understand and they're forever stuck in Quileute mythos. Grandpa just does a pretty good job making it sound real."
Liz sighed and walked ahead silently. By her pace it was obvious that she wasn't impressed with his response.
"Come on, Liz," Nate begged with a chuckled, walking up quickly beside her. "What do you want me to say? Yeah, you saw a Spirit Warrior in the woods, even though we've always been told that they were stories?"
"I thought that you'd be a little more open considering what you had gone through that day and experienced rather than simply brush off what I saw as being impossible," she snapped back at him. "You and Ryan were stuck up at the top of a god-damn tree and neither of you climbed the stupid thing!"
Nate sighed. "Liz..."
The sound of a rustling leaves and then twig snapping caught Nate's attention as he quickly turned towards the woods alongside one side of the road. Nate wasn't the only one who heard it. Liz came up beside Nate, scowling as she stared into the woods.
"I'm betting on it being the guys out there," Nate said softly so that Liz could hear her. She nodded in agreement.
A smile came to her face.
"I've got an idea," she whispered, gesturing to Nate to follow her into the woods. "Were going to get them at their own game."
Nate was not only surprised by her willingness to go into the woods, but also by her desire to seek retribution against the guys. With a smile, Nate followed after Liz. Although it was a clear night, the canopy above them made the woods even darker. It was an advantage against the guys that Nate appreciated.
Nate instinctively moved ahead of her and gestured silently towards a large tree, wide enough that the two could stand behind without being seen.
"They can't be too far ahead," she whispered softly, barely audibly. "We'll wait here until they come near the road again and jump out."
Her smile in the darkness was nearly luminescent and her excitement was contagious. Nate couldn't help but smile with her.
When the sudden hoot of an owl alerted them to his presence in the tree above them, Liz jumped. She startled to the point that she grabbed ahold of Nate's t-shirt, pulling herself into him in an effort to conceal herself.
"Liz, it's just an owl," Nate said softly, looking down at her.
Liz hadn't let go of his shirt and could feel the strong heat from beneath his shirt radiating through to her hands and to her skin. She smiled sheepishly and chuckled lightly before looking up at Nate.
"Are you okay?" He asked, as Liz slowly let go of him and took a slow step back.
"Yeah, are you?"
Nate chuckled.
"Of course."
"Are you sure? You're a bit hot," she admitted aloud.
Nate couldn't help but smirk at the double meaning just as Liz caught it. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"No, I mean, you're warm, like you're feverish."
Nate shrugged. "I feel fine. Maybe you're just cold."
"I don't think so," Liz said, reaching up to touch his forehead to check for herself.
The moment her palm touched his skin, a crackling sensation filled her ears as garbled and chaotic words spoke into her head. She was certain that she heard Nate's voice, yet when she quickly looked at him, his mouth wasn't moving. Liz winced as bright images of herself flashed in her head. Overwhelmed and slightly afraid, she quickly backed away with a gasp. The sounds and images suddenly stopped.
"What the hell was that?" She asked, taking another hurried step back from Nate. Gone were all thoughts of scaring the guys in the woods. Whatever she had just seen and heard, shocked and surprised her.
"What was what?"
His calm, yet concerned face frustrated her.
"You didn't feel that? Or hear anything?"
Nate smirked, considering that she was joking. "Feel what? Your hand on my forehead?"
Liz shook her head profusely and took a tentative step towards him once again. She looked down her hand.
"When I touched your forehead, I swear that I heard your voice," she said thoughtfully.
"But I didn't say anything."
Nate eyed the woods around them. "Maybe it's one of the guys playing a trick on you."
"That was one hell of a trick. I swear that I just saw...," Liz commented softly, before looking back up at Nate.
"Saw what?"
She shook her head, suddenly embarrassed. There was no way that she was going to tell Nate that she had just seen herself in her own mind brushing her hand from his forehead and into his wavy dark hair before she wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a quick flash of an image, but it was more like a memory that didn't even belong to herself. She closed her eyes, wiling to forget the thought.
Liz had no clue why she'd even have that idea in her mind. She was content with Kyle.
"Nate, you know that I'm with Kyle," Liz said aloud, sensing the need to state the fact.
He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I think all of La Push knows that. No need to tell me. Doesn't mean the guy is any less of a douche."
Liz narrowed her eyes at him. Nate could be so nice to Kyle's face, yet he couldn't help but allow his disdain of him to be so blatantly obvious to her.
Nate held up his hands in surrender.
"I'm just saying that you could do a whole lot better."
"With who? You?!"
Nate opened his mouth and closed it a few times, struggling to find the right words to say as it was obvious that Liz was more than a little pissed by his opinion of Kyle. There was a part of Nate, deep down that wanted to say 'yes' to her question. Confused and a little startled by that revelation, Nate answered her as truthfully as he could.
"I'm not suggesting anyone, I'm just saying that that guy isn't right for you."
Liz sighed and thought for a moment. Her mind was still on that strong image of herself with Nate and she couldn't help but ignore it. Something odd was happening and Liz intended to find out. Curiously, she took a purposeful step towards Nate, raising her hand to touch his forehead again, just as she had before.
Nate watched her with concern as he backed up, finding that she had backed him up against a tree.
"Wh...what are you doing?"
"I want to try something."
Before he could even question why she was wanting to touch his forehead again, Nate put up his forearm to stop her, bringing her hand to rest on it instead.
As though a shot of electricity flashed through her system, she flinched before sounds flooded her mind once again. Nate's voice echoed loudly in her head to the point that she winced. Nothing she heard made sense. It was a mangled heap of words and sounds and the clarity wasn't there. At the same time, flashes of images raced through her mind; all from Nate's perspective.
"Liz?" Nate asked, seeing the alarmed expression on her face as he lowered his arm, her hand still touching him.
She looked up at him, hearing the concern in his voice before it was quickly replaced by scenes that never happened and words that Nate wasn't speaking. An image of her pushing him hard against the tree that he was currently backed into came into focus. She pinched her eyes shut as she saw herself reach up on her toes and lean in to kiss him. As much as she tried to stop the thought, she coudn't.
Nate looked at her, worried.
"Liz, what's wrong?"
When she didn't answer him, Nate grabbed her wrist with his other hand. As he pulled her hand off his arm, that same odd sensation that he hadn't felt since the night of the flat tire rushed through him. Looking down at Liz, he could hear her voice speaking loudly at him, but he couldn't understand the words. He winced at the loud echo he heard and saw that her lips weren't moving.
Liz was staring up at him in fear and confusion.
Instinctively, he slid his hand down to her palm before wrapping his fingers between her own.
Words, images and thoughts were suddenly clearer. It was still a chaotic mess as images flashed before either of their eyes while their voices jumbled up between them in confusion. Then suddenly, the image of Liz pushing Nate against the tree before her mouth quickly decended on his own became clear between them. A sudden flash and Liz's hands had combed through his hair and down his shoulders before she quickly tugged his shirt up from his waist. A flash of light again and Nate broke the kiss momentarily before moving in once again to pull at Liz's bottom lip with his teeth before his voice growled out from the deep recesses of his mind.
'Mine'.
It all lasted for only a second, but caused both Liz and Nate to gasp, quickly letting go of each other's hand. Liz staggered backward, intending to keep her distance from Nate. The images that she had seen were powerful and she found it hard to admit to herself that she had contributed to the daydream she had just seen in her mind.
Taking a ragged deep breath, as he had recovered from the images, sounds and emotions he had just seen, Nate looked up at Liz.
She seemed to be avoiding his eyes as she shook her head.
"What the hell was that?!" She exclaimed.
"I don't know," Nate said, equally confused. He took a step towards Liz, to which she quickly stepped back.
"Stay away from me," she told him with disgust. "I don't know what kind of joke you're trying to pull, but that was not appropriate in the least."
"What trick!? I didn't do anything!"
Instead of continuing the conversation, Liz scoffed, glared at him and turned before heading back to the road. She marched home, leaving Nate to walk behind her until they came up the Uley's driveway.
"Liz, I'm telling you, I didn't do anything," he told her, once again. "Something happened that I can't explain, but I had nothing to do with it. I assure you."
She paused and turned to him, glaring up at Nate.
"Don't you ever come near me again! Do you hear me!?"
She turned to walk up the driveway and towards the house, Nate following behind.
"Liz, come on," Nate pleaded. "Let's just talk about this. Something strange is going on here that neither of us had anything to do with! You can't blame me for that!"
When they reached the porch, Liz darted up the steps and she turned once more to Nate. When she saw his hand reaching out towards her, she backed away from him like he was the most vile person she had ever seen. Tears were in her eyes.
"Don't you touch me! I don't want to see you again!"
Liz's shouting had gotten the attention of her occupants inside. Just as Talon came to the door, Liz pushed past him and made a bee-line for her bedroom.
As he looked back out the front door, Talon could see Nate beginning to walk back towards the road.
"Hey! Nate!"
Hearing his friend's voice calling his name, Nate reluctantly stopped and sighed, shoving his hands into his pocket. Talon ran up the driveway and stopped in front of him.
"What happened between you and Liz?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," Nate replied, before he scoffed. "I wouldn't even know how to explain it."
Talon smirked.
"Is she pissed to find out that you purposely tripped Kyle in the soccer game?"
Nate looked over at Talon, surprised that he even considered it.
"I didn't do that on purpose."
"Oh, come on. I know you. I saw your face," Talon urged. "I had a clear view of the two of you when he was making his breakaway towards me and the goal. The only reason Dad didn't call it as a foul was because you were certain that it was an accident."
"It was," Nate insisted, to which Talon rolled his eyes.
Nate crossed his arms in front of him and glared at Talon.
"Well, I guess it wouldn't have mattered if it was called as a foul, they still won."
"Yeah, a few of our players were pretty weak," Talon commented, with a nod. "We should have had some stronger players play offensive. You guys looked like you were struggling."
Suddenly feeling threatened and insulted, Nate smirked sardonically and nodded.
"You're right. While we're at it, maybe next year we should even look at having someone else play in goal."
Talon eyed him, knowing exactly whom he was referring to. Although it was meant to be teasing, Talon took it as an insult.
"I stopped at least a dozen shots on the net!"
"Yet you still let in ten!" Nate shot back with a shout. "We lost because of you!"
"I wouldn't have had all those shots at me if you were doing your job rather than making eyes on my sister while she was playing all the time!"
Nate's expression turned to surprise, before he quickly glared at Talon.
"Like I said, I know you."
The argument quickly escalated. As the boys shot insults back and forth at each other, and their voices got louder and louder, they nearly stood toe to toe before Sam came running outside and physically placed himself between the two friends. Sam could feel the heat pouring off of the pair as he pushed them apart with his hands. He could see the anger in Talon's eyes and swore he heard Nate growl when he pushed him back.
Emily stood on the porch, watching in concern while Sam shouted at the two boys to cool it. While he had to physically push Nate away to send him home, he grabbed Talon by the shoulder and dragged him towards the rear yard. Sam glanced at Emily, his facial expression softening as she realized what he was going to do.
"Call the Blacks," Sam told her. "Let them know that Nate's on his way home and what's going on. And give Jared a call. I may need some help with this one."
She nodded softly, her heart breaking for her oldest son who fought against Sam's strong arm.
Not only did she have a son who was about to endure a path that Sam had walked, but Emily also had a daughter who was crying in her room, as though her entire world was falling apart.
A/N
Thank you for the reviews!