Hello! First, I want to thank you all for reading and reviewing my story. I enjoy reading your comments. As I've planned out the remaining chapters for this story, I had an idea for a one shot that popped into my head. Be on the lookout for
AN – I do not own any of the characters o Twilight. They belong to Stephanie Meyers.
Ch 25
Third Person POV
Quil came through the door with a worried look on his face and immediately scanning the living room and kitchen for Tia. He was followed by Sam and Jacob. Even though they expecting this contact from the Cullens, they were all anxious and tense. Noticing his unease and searching gaze, Uma pointed to the bedroom. "Tia's not feeling well Quil. She just took some cold meds and has fallen asleep."
He nods in response, walking through the living room, heading straight to Tia's side. He walked to her bedside, placing a hand on her forehead to feel her fever but he sees that she is breathing easily and is sound asleep. Relaxing just a bit, he walked back into the kitchen to find out what was going on with the phone call from Alice.
SPOV
As I walk in the door behind Quil, I see Emily sitting at the table with Bella who is obviously upset. I hate the fact that those leeches continue to cause her pain and heartbreak. Hopefully, once this current mess is past, they will leave her alone to live her life with Jacob in peace. I sit down beside Emily as Jacob kneels down in front of Bella, pulling her into his arms as she cries quietly on his shoulder. Giving Jacob and Bella a moment, I take my love's hand as I look into the kitchen to see Uma fixing some tea. After checking on Tia, a much calmer Quil walks back in to lean against the kitchen counter.
"I'm going to take this to Tia. Give me just a second." She said as she finishes making a cup of tea. Being a Council member, it was important for her to be a part of the meeting, even if all she did was listen. In passing, she places a calming hand on my arm as she walks into the bedroom.
Clearing my throat, I lean forward towards Bella. "What did you need to talk to me about?" Jacob had managed to calm her down a bit. She raises her eyes to me. I can see the remnants of the haunted look that that bastard Edward put there when he left her. How I hated him and his so called family.
Uma reenters the living room from the bedroom, quietly closing the door behind her. Tia needed her rest and she didn't want this conversation to wake her and cause undue concern. Uma had dealt with Tribal matters and the pack enough to know that this situation would get handled.
Jacob places his hands on her shoulders and gives them a squeeze. Sniffling, Bella wipes her eyes before speaking. "Alice called. She has had a dream in which Victoria attacks the pack to get to me but this time, she has help. Carlisle wants to meet with the Pack to offer help. If the pack agrees to meet with them, you can call her back to set up the time and place." Jacob and I share a look. Even though we only have the pack mind while in wolf form, we know each other well enough to know what the other was thinking. The Cullens would not be getting involved unless this was very serious.
I run my right hand through my hair with an air of resignation. I had been expecting something like this to happen, especially with all of the unexplained killings that have been occurring in Seattle and Forks. "Ok, I'll need to call a quick pack meeting. We need to consider who will stay behind to watch over the imprints and what needs to happen during the meeting." Turning to Quil, I ask grimly."Quil, can we call the pack to meet here? It would be easier since Bella is already here to answer any questions if need be."
Quil pushes himself away from his spot on kitchen counter. "Of course, we wouldn't mind at all." He replied. "Uma, would you be willing to watch over Tia while we are at the meeting?"
"No need to ask Quil. I'll stay right here with her." She smiles.
Emily stands walking into the kitchen. As she listened to Bella and Sam's conversation, she had already decided to fix lunch for everyone here at the cabin. With the pack meeting, she knew that she needed to get to work preparing the food. Uma automatically puts herself to work with Emily. Bella had risen to lend a hand but Emily told her to stay put. She was needed in the meeting and didn't need to be distracted in the kitchen.
I step out onto the back porch to phase in order to call the meeting. It was 11:30 so I called the meeting for 12:30. I also asked Jared to contact Kim to bring her to Emily's after lunch. With the preparations set, I took a moment to collect his thoughts.
Quil and Jacob walk up beside me as Quil asks "What are your thoughts on this meeting?"
Dropping my head, I reply "Given that the Cullens know that we can defend our own with no problem, the fact that they are offering their aid tells me that we are in for a tough fight. I know that the hostility in the pack will be running high but we need to keep an open mind to hear what they have to say. To do otherwise could have some seriously bad consequences." I sigh in resignation. How am I going to convince the pack to at least listen to those vampires?
Third Person POV
As expected, the pack did not want to meet with the Cullens regardless of Tia's dream or Bella's call from Alice. Being in the presence of a vampire was hard enough. Actually carrying on a civilized conversation would be impossible without wanting to rip out their throats. However, Sam's reasoning won them over. They decided that it would be Seth who would stay with the imprints on the Res. He had the best eye sight and was one of the fastest. He would be able to handle any situation should something happen. Sam called Alice to set up the meeting for that afternoon at 3 pm at the treaty line on the south side. They all decided that the sooner the meeting was over, the better. They could focus their time afterward on preparing for Victoria's attack.
QPOV
After the meeting and lunch, I go check on Tia who had been sound asleep for the past hour and a half. I had listened closely for any indication that she was waking up during the meeting so that I could talk to her but she hadn't. I sit down beside her and reach out to touch her face. Feeling her fever, I feel my wolf get restless with worry. Her eyelashes flutter open. Watching as the sleep leaves her eyes, I say "Hey, are you feeling ok? Uma said you might have the flu."
She groggily shakes her head. "I feel like crap Quil." She coughs and tries to sit up but I push her back down into her pillow. "What's going on? Are you all going to meet the Cullens?"
"Yes, we are in about an hour or so. I've asked Uma to stay with you and Seth will be on watch outside. Is that ok with you? Would you prefer that I stay instead of Seth?"
"No, you might be needed. I understand." She shivers back into her blankets, wincing in pain.
"Do you need some aspirin? Can I get you anything?" I ask, pulling up more covers around her.
Shaking her head, "No, I'm fine. Uma will take care of me." Her eyes start to close again as the cold meds take over.
I caress her face as she drifts back off to sleep. I stand and kiss her on the forehead. This meeting should be quick and I would be able to come straight back to her side to help her get better.
Sam POV
We arrived at the location just a few minutes early. Tensions were running high as we approached the clearing. Through the pack mind, I could sense the frustration coming from Jacob, Jared and Quil, the extreme anger from Paul and Leah, and the concern of the outcome of this impending battle from Embry. In many ways, the quietest member of the Pack was the most like the Alpha. Embry was able to see any situation through many different viewpoints which made him invaluable. His was the opinion that I valued the most though I would never say this out loud. I knew that he was the most level headed of the pack.
With the exception of Jacob and me, we had decided that everyone else needed to stay in wolf form for the meeting. This would offer the most protection, both for us and our imprints. We would know the second anything went wrong and be able to react accordingly.
Right on time, we see the Cullens come out of the tree line on their side of the treaty line. Everyone shifted restless as we waited for them to speak first. Finally, they stopped just shy of the line and their leader had looked us all over trying to decide who to direct his words to. He turned to me when suddenly, Quil began to whimper as if in pain. Jared and Jacob both turned their heads to see what was happening. He had phased back to his human form, dropped to the ground and began to writhe in pain. Unsure of what to do, Jared walked over to stand beside Quil to see if he could figure out what was going on.
A wolf's cry, unlike any we had heard before, broke the silence of clearing. Everyone immediately took a defensive stance knowing that something bad was happening and none of knew what it was or where it was coming from. Eyes darted all over looking for a potential attack. Then suddenly, we hear Seth's howl meaning that our imprints were in danger.
Needing to make a quick decision, I say "Quil and Embry, go NOW!" Using my Alpha voice, Quil was able to phase back to wolf but only with obvious great difficulty. They took off towards the Res to find out what had happened.
TPOV
Tired of being in bed and covered in sweat from my fever, I throw the covers off of me to stand up. My fever was getting worse and I felt like I was about to throw up. Walking quickly to the bathroom, I look up into the mirror over the sink as I splash water onto my face trying to make myself feel better. I see that my clothes were getting tighter from all of the food that everyone kept pushing at me all of the time like I couldn't take care of myself, like I'm a child. I can feel frustration rolling through me. Throwing down the hand towel I had used to dry my face, I waited by the toilet for the inevitable sickness that I felt rising. Hanging my head over the sink, my thoughts begin to center on Quil. Why isn't he with me? I'm feeling really sick and I'm left alone with just Uma to take care of me. Why isn't he here? My anger at him grew to the point that I needed to get out. I had been in bed bound all day long. Why is Uma making me stay in bed? Can't she see that I'm feeling better? My frustration quickly turns into anger. I have to get out of this bedroom, this cabin now!
In a flash, I run out of the bathroom, through the bedroom and out the back door of the cabin, not hearing Uma calling for me. My fever spiked causing an acute headache that was so painful that it dropped me to my knees on the ground. I scream in agony but for some reason, my voice sounded different. My pain level continues to escalate to the point that I'm writhing on the cold ground, unaware of what was going on around me.
Seth POV
Hearing the screams from Quil's cabin, I howl loudly in alarm as I run as fast as my wolf feet could carry me. After clearing the trees behind the cabin, what I found scared me to no end. Tia was on the cold ground in major pain and I had no idea what to do to help her. I didn't smell any leeches in the area and there were no signs of struggle or blood on the ground. I watch as she begins to shake and pull at her hair.
Uh…oh…
QPOV
I don't know what happened. I was standing there in wolf form growling at those leeches one moment and the next, I found myself on the ground in serious pain as a human. My head hurt really badly that I couldn't think at all. I could barely pay attention to what was going on around me. I felt like my muscles were on fire and I could not stop shaking. However, through it all, all I could do was focus on my Tia. I had to get to her. She needed me now. I had the sensation of a rope or chain that was wrapped around my heart pulling me back to her. I writhed on the ground clutching my head in my hands, trying to cope with all of these feelings at once and whimpering in confusion. Jared came over to me asking what was wrong but I couldn't get the words out of my mouth. It was Sam's Alpha voice broke through to me. "Quil, Embry, phase NOW!" With great effort, I was able to return to my wolf but it was so hard to work through the pain.
Come on Quil! Seth needs us. I hear Embry's voice through the pack mind as we race as fast as we can back towards the Res and my cabin. It was all I could do to follow Embry's lead but my mind was screaming Tia! Oh god! TIA!.
In the short time it took us to get back to Seth, the only thing that I could think about was Tia. Please let her be alright. I can't take lose her. Please be ok. We heard movement behind the cabin and as we rounded the last corner, we stopped in our tracks at what we saw.
NO! It can't be. Not her! I drop down whimpering. Of all of the things to be happening now…
Quil, you can't change what has happened. She needs our help now. Embry is right.
Standing back up, I creep slowly towards the most beautiful white wolf that I've ever seen. She is still shaking and whimpering in pain. Her head is lowered and her eyes shut as she tries to calm down.
Tia?
TPOV
Breathing heavily, I find myself bathed in excruciating pain all over my body. It hurt so badly that I couldn't think or open my eyes. I just wanted to block everything out hoping that the pain would go away; instead, it only intensified and I felt as though my skin was ripping away from my body. I let out a moan in anguish but once again, my voice sounded strange to my ears. Dropping to the ground, I put my head in my hands and let the shaking take over.
Tia?
Quil? Is that you? I see him in his wolf form approaching me. I look into his brown eyes and my shaking stopped. My anger and frustration left me. All I could see was him. Everything else just blurred around me, and nothing else mattered. He was my center. He was my rock. I could not live without him. Calm took over and although the pain was still there, I felt able to cope with it.
Whoa! I heard Embry's voice, laughing.
Tia, you do know what just happened, don't you? asked Quil as he came to a stop in front of me.
Um, well….unable to answer, I shook my head.
Tia, look down at your feet. You're one of us now.
Confused by Quil's words, I look down. Instead of seeing my pajamas and socks that I had been wearing, I saw four great white paws on the ground. Turning my head, I see a lean wolf body and tail. How? But I thought…
Seth piped up. Well, apparently Leah is no longer the lone She wolf in the pack now. He shares a laugh with Embry. Nope, life was going to get even more interesting now.
Victoria POV
With the moonlight pouring through the windows of our apartment, I run my fingers through my lover's hair as we lay on the bed. I let my thoughts wander to Edward. Did he really think I was so stupid? Did he think that he was the only one who could read a person's thoughts? Was he so arrogant in his own abilities that he couldn't see through my subterfuge? My lover stretched his lean body next to me as I laughed quietly to myself. Soon, I would have my revenge. With a wicked grin, I roll over on top of his body, trailing kisses up his chest. Yes, very soon…