From what I had heard Bella had slept pretty much straight through from the time she got back from the meeting with the Cullen's and their friends. Sam had me patrolling in case that leech or his friends tried to get to her. The physical pull that I had felt throughout the whole time she had been taken from us was agonizing to say the least, and while I still felt the pull throughout the night it was so much more comfortable. If I needed her or she needed me we were within minutes of each other. I had no clue how she was able to deal with the separation; or even if she felt that pain while she was away.
Part of me –a very small part- wanted her to feel some of the pain I had so that I knew she was still accepting the imprint, but the majority of me was hoping that she hadn't felt any of the pain. Having only seen what Colin and Brady had shown us of the small run down shack she was being held in I didn't have it in me to want that pain to be dealt to her.
I had tried to go to her after my shift, but I was given my marching orders from Sophie, that until the morning I was to go home and get some sleep. It wouldn't be as complete as it had been while Bella was beside me or in the same house, but it would do until I had her once more in my arms. Though I had to have been more tired than I thought since I woke up around midday and Bella would have been asleep for nearly 24 hours straight.
"Where do you think you're going right now boy. We need to talk to you. Sam said you had to face yourself while you were at the Cullen's place this last week." Dad was sitting at the table; you could see he was waiting for me to come down from my room to talk. Mom was either at work visiting the sick here on the reservation or she was already over at Embry's place. She had taken it on her; as had Sophie to be Bella's nurses until she was better.
"Yeah…" I answered, my mind a few miles down the road, hopefully still in bed but awake. Images of her asleep lying in my arms filled my every being for a few seconds until the clearing of a throat brought me back to the present. I didn't even smell Sam as I rounded the door way towards the kitchen.
"No-one but the younger wolves have seen it, and when they've been asked their wolves take over. It's like they were trying to hold it to themselves, even if the man in them wanted to answer their elder's." Sam said as he watched my every move. It was like before I had phased for the first time, all over again. The over interest of both my dad and Sam.
"A wolf is strong in their own mind, more so when you share their body and not the other way around. What we want to do is record it like we did for the future packs so they know what is coming." It wasn't a request; I was being given a job by the council that needed me to answer all questions.
"What happened son; I can't go into your head and force you to show me. But you can tell me." I nodded towards my dad before I sat down.
"I can remember that the wolf wasn't pleased. Its mate, our imprint had been taken from us. I know I stood back and let him be in charge, it was the only way I knew to calm him where he could deal with the new emotion of everything. Its only priority was feeling, mating, our safety and Bella's well being and how we needed to be with her. He wanted to go straight away to free Bella, but he only held back out of respect of our alpha. If Sam hadn't ordered us to stay where we were I can't really be sure what would have happened. More than likely a war of some sorts.
"When it realized that I wasn't taking sides between him and Sam he turned on me. I was the weak link that had needed to be taken out of the equation. Bella's safety was the only thing that kept me from losing it. When it came at me I thought of only my Bella, if I was going to join my imprint while the wolf lived; then I was going out with her image running through it. But he backed down, not completely happy… but he knew that we were on the same page."
Dad was just nodding his head as I told him everything that I had gone on between me and the wolf. Sam on the other hand was lost in his own head.
"How did you get him to let you back in control?" it was Sam, I knew what he was thinking, the only reason why his wolf tucked tail when he lost control with Emily was because his imprint was hurt.
"I'm not sure. Honestly after he saw that my head was in the same place as his; he stood down. The whole thing was intense. He's still in my head now but he's his own force within me. If that makes any sense?" I ran my hand through my hair; it falling back against my forehead seconds later.
"I'm sure it was son, now what's going on today?" the chuckle in dads voice stood out more than the question itself. He knew perfectly well where I was going before he and Sam called me to talk.
Shaking my head I headed out the door, having to school myself in walking towards the Call's residence. Not only would Sam kick my ass but I was sure that the elders would fry me for exposing everything to the tribe at large. It took me 10 excruciating minutes to get there only to find out that she had left with Embry to head to the beach for some fresh air. Sophie was just happy that she wasn't stuck in the house while she regained her strength.
They were sitting down watching the water break on the thousands of rocks just at their feet. Embry pulling her closer to him to stop her from freezing with the bitter ocean breeze while Bella was laughing at the show the birds were giving as they dived into the water in search for food.
"Well it took him long enough." Embry called over his shoulder as I watched her turn and give me a small smile. It was enough to make my day after everything that had happened she still could smile and look happy. "Wonder if he's going to stand there all day or actually make the move and join us?" the cocky ass smirked as Bella giggled.
"I don't know Embry, maybe he wants to become one of those beach sculptures where the birds can crap all over him…" shocked by her own words Bella slapped her hand over her face, her eyes as large as saucers. Embry was rolling all over the ground laughing his ass off. Me; I was just standing there watching her; I couldn't believe that she would have said something like that.
"Price…less!" he finally got out through his laughter. I wasn't going to live that down any time soon once the pack saw it. I could have sworn that he had tears running down his face.
Shaking my head I slowly made my way over towards the two comedians and joined them watching the peaceful view of the water.
"So what did Sam want this morning?" She asked as we watched another bird go down and come back up empty handed… beaked? Whatever, it didn't get its lunch is all I knew.
"He wanted to know about something that happened while you were taken. My wolf and I had a little… disagreement?" I could hear the question in my own voice. I knew she could hear it.
"Okay, he came to look for you at home this morning, he walked out laughing as he heard how Sophie had chased you home instead of letting you come in." I could see Embry smiling like the Cheshire cat when she called his house her home. It was like watching the fear crumble from his shoulders. She wasn't going anywhere.
"Speaking of home it's time we head back. Mom will figuratively shoot me if I don't have you home soon for some lunch. And I'm hungry too." Faster than normal -and thankfully we were alone on the beach- he jumped up and put his hand out for her to grab hold of.
It was weird that she groaned but took the proffered hand to help her up. Was she tired, did she want to stay here, or was it something I had no clue about?
"You wolf boy are always hungry, I'm still full from breakfast this morning. I don't think I've ever eaten that much before in my life. Hey does that mean I can give mine to you guys if I can't eat?" she asked hopefully.
"No!" the answer was unanimous; she jumped a little but held her hands up in defeat.
"Well it was worth a shot. But I get it, health first over stuffed stomach second." Seconds later she found herself wrapped around my back, her squeal making all of us laugh. "Just you wait until I figure out these wings of mine, then you'll be left in the dust." Her taunt was an interesting thing. Before when the two were separated the angel was faster than anything we'd have ever seen; would she outrun us?
"You're on sister." Embry called as he took off ahead of us.
"I like that." She murmured as she rested her head on my shoulder. "Sister, I really like that." I could hear Embry stop where he stood, anyone else wouldn't have heard that, but the wolf boys and my sister could have heard that if they were anywhere near us.
Moments later I could see Embry still standing where he had stopped; we had just reached the bend in the trail when she suddenly squeaked as being pulled of my back into the rather large arms of Embry.
"Air would be good there Emb." She wheezed, I growled and he whimpered. Slowly he lowered her to the ground and stepped away. I could feel the wolf in me getting territorial over her being slightly hurt… neither of us liked it.
I felt her hand slowly slide up my throat and rest on my cheek. I nuzzled into the softest touch I had ever felt. "I'm okay Seth; he didn't hurt me just shocked me more than anything." She cooed lulling me back to where I could think on a more advanced level. "Look at me Seth, I'm fine really." Her right hand cupped the other side of my face. Breathing in her scent, my every sense flooded with her. Slowly I met her eyes once more and smiled. She was right there in front of us and not hurt. Quickly looking over to my brother I nodded my head, we understood each other. It wasn't anything personal, just natural instinct.
I have never eaten so much in my life, I swear Sophie must have thought I was a wolf since she piled so much food on my plate it scared me more than enticed me to actually eat. Realistically it wasn't anywhere near as much as what Embry and Seth had placed in front of them but it was still a large amount. I'd expect this to feed at least two people not just me.
"Something smells good in here." Sam's voice carried over all the noise of plates and utensils being scraped across them.
"It's called lunch, want some?" Sophie asked as she stood up from her seat and made her way over towards the stove where the remaining hotdogs and other sides were sitting. "Never mind you boys are always hungry, and you Missy start eating." I gulped, Emb snickered and Seth just raised an eyebrow at me. I was not going to win this.
"Thanks Sophie; I thought I might see how everything was going over here." He smiled at my face; obviously I was definitely not gaining an ally in Sam about eating. Huffing I started on my food while I listened to all the talk about what was going on around the reservation and Forks. The sudden surge in 'guests or visitors' was blamed on a family reunion being held at the Cullen home. The field in the mountains where the fight had taken place was blamed on a freak storm where lightening had struck and sparked the blaze. I couldn't help but feel a little better that it was easily ridden off as simply a freak of nature.
"Come on Bella; you need to eat more than that." Sam chuckled and brought me back to earth. Looking down at my plate not even half had gone. I groaned; it just wasn't right. I was sure I had eaten more than that.
"Nu-uh; I think I'm gonna be sick if I eat anymore. Seriously, you are lucky that you burn it all off so fast." I moaned pushing my plate forward. I couldn't eat anymore even if I tried.
"You do realize that it means no cake or desert right?" I felt like I was 5 years old again and getting in trouble for not eating my vegetables. Embry was mean, taunting me with food when I couldn't eat anymore.
"I'm good; enjoy yourself. I think I might be heading for a food coma." I heard the chuckles of everyone at the table as I made myself comfortable on the lounge. Within seconds I was struggling to keep my eyes open. Guess I was right about the food coma thing.
"Dude she's glowing, I mean freaking glowing!" I could hear the whispering all around me but I didn't know what in the world they were going on about. And who in the world was glowing?
"Shut up Colin. Damn kid your mouth never stops." Leah's whisper was so close to my ear that it was almost like she was right by my head. Talking about my head it was slightly raised and extremely warm; or at least my right side of my face was.
"Pretty light." a little highly pitched voice causing my eyes to fly open only to shut close again. "Awe no more pretty lights."
"Sorry Bell's we were just coming to visit and I couldn't leave." Quil softly spoke up.
Opening my eyes up once more; I could see that the whole house was filled with bodies. Not just the pack or imprints, but the elders too. Leah and Rich sitting down on the floor near my feet, Embry and Sophie against the back of the lounge with everyone else scattered around the room. As much as I wanted to sit up I couldn't since Seth had his hand resting on my side, holding me as close as he could without restraining me, besides I was comfortable where I was… well except that everyone was looking at me.
"Are you okay Bella? Do we need to call Dr Cullen?" Sophie asked running her fingers through my hair, it felt so good I couldn't help but close my eyes to the feeling.
"Look she's glowing again." A soft voice called from near Leah and Rich. I wasn't sure if it was Leah or Sue, they sounded so alike sometimes it was a little scary.
"I'm okay, really but why is everyone looking at me?" I murmured just relaxing in the comfortable feeling I had flowing through me.
"Pretty, I wanna touch." The little voice I now knew as Claire cooed. I giggled; it was cute.
"Well you're kinda glowing Bells. You have been for nearly 2 hours since you fell asleep." Embry said. Wow 2 hours of glowing, you'd have thought that I'd be in pain but I felt so good; like I had been pampered for the last few hours. I peeked up towards Seth, only to see him nodding his head.
"Huh…" I was so smart, I could respond with words that weren't really words. Yeah I had no clue what was going on.
"Well at least you won't have to worry about her sneaking out at night." Sam called from the back of the room.
"Well I'm not glowing now and I'm awake. Think I might be able to pull that off." I blurted out before I could stop myself. I could feel the blush hit my face faster than I could count to 1 in my head. Where in the world was this coming from? While I was trying to figure out where my head was going to the room erupted in laughter.
"I think I need a filter." I murmured loud enough for the whole room to hear again, and start to laugh once more.
"That you do Isabella that you do." My face felt like I had sat too close to the fire. I really didn't want to face a room full of people when apparently I couldn't keep my thoughts in my head. I buried my head into Seth's leg, wanting nothing more than a hole to open up and swallow me whole.
"Okay now that everyone is settled, we're having a little get together for the pack and the elders at our house tonight, time to relax and just be for a little while I think." Sam called after everyone had settled down. A chorus of yes or something along that effect broke from the group. Slowly they all left a few questions of whether I was really okay leaving the elders, Seth, Embry, Paul and myself left in the room. I knew what was coming, or at least I gathered what was coming. Some questions that I knew were being held back since the meeting yesterday.
"Do you remember any more of what happened Bella?" Billy asked from his chair, I could feel Seth stiffen and the slightly tighter grip coming from Embry on my ankle. I felt bad that they were so worried but it had to happen sooner or later.
"Not too much of what happened while I was with Maria, she did throw me around or her friend did at least when they first got me. They didn't hit me or anything like that, just tossed me around like a doll. I think they were trying to bring the angel out more than anything.
"I remember waking up one time feeling so sore, like I had… did the angel come to you all?" I turned to Seth. It was the only reason why I had felt like some truck had decided to park on my body. Slowly he nodded and I at least had one answer. "So I guess that answers that, I felt like death warmed up only to be thrown against the side of a wall. I kept thinking that I wanted you all to be safe. I kept thinking about everything that had been said while we were at the bon fire, and how it didn't change anything. I still couldn't place the whole angel thing even with so much thrown at me to tell me I was being silly." I gently squeezed Seth's hand while I looked at the elders; I wasn't sure if I was making him feel better or me, but it worked either way.
"What happened when you started to join with the angel?" Harry; Seth's dad asked. I could feel the eyes of Sophie and Sue on me, from what I can remember from yesterday they weren't that close and I don't think that they heard everything I said yesterday.
"I saw my mom and dad, I saw Phil and they looked so right… almost happy. I think they are happy, I mean I think the only thing that was holding them back was because of how things were going with me being taken and not listening." I blushed, if I had really listened to the elders and asked questions I would have been able to avoid all of this. As it was I hadn't and now I had to talk about something that was still a little too fresh.
"My mom told me that it was okay and that it would be okay. But she was there; it took me forever to realize what was going on and where I actually was. She said I should follow my heart, regardless of what my head will say sometimes. I guess it's sort of what I should have done from the beginning. I ignored what I really thought and followed through with what my head was saying." I felt my tears slowly leave my eyes as Seth wrapped his arms around me.
"When my dad and Phil left I could hear what they were thinking, it was so strange. Phil was a peace at how things happened. Dad was dad, he was proud, and a little ticked at how stubborn I was about the whole thing. If he could I was sure he'd have smacked me up the back of the head… it hurt to watch them walk away, like I was losing them again. But I had to do something and I knew I couldn't not do it.
"She was so pretty, her wings were gold, I can't really tell you exactly what happened, and I don't think I could actually tell you what happened. I was surrounded by this beautiful light, I could hear her saying things but I knew she was speaking. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time… when it all finished I heard Maria doubting herself in giving me away, not wanting to keep me but to hide me and keep me safe. She was confusing to say the least, but she was resigned to her fate but she wanted me free." By the time I had finished I could see that both Sue and Sophie were freely crying, but the rest of the elders were barely holding tears.
"Can you tell me what happened when you helped to heal Brady's arm? I saw it, but I couldn't make out what you were actually doing… the closet I could say it was like watching someone put a jigsaw back together in fast forward." Sam was staring at my hands, like they were going to do something all of a sudden.
"I think that's what I was doing. Wait no that doesn't sound right… I could feel the bones and they needed to be put back into place. I don't know what happened but I just kept moving until I knew they were right again. It was the same when I did it to Jasper with his arm and shoulder. As long as I could picture it happening it happened." He nodded his head understanding gibberish if you could call it.
"About that, I don't know if anyone else heard you but you were singing when you walked over to him. I couldn't understand a word you were saying but I felt like I was just about to go to sleep I was so relaxed." It was my turn to look lost, I remember what I had said, it sounded normal to me.
"What was I saying it too fast or something, it sounded right to me." I scrunched my brows together trying to understand what Seth was saying. All I was saying what that he needed to know that the battle was over and that I was going to help.
"No it was like one long never ending sound. I was so relaxed that I was about to fall asleep until I watched you get closer and closer to him." I had no clue what was going on. "Maybe it's something to do with the angel half of me?"
"Alright enough with the heavy talking it's time I think to head over to Sam's place." Paul said, he was so quiet throughout the whole time we were talking that you'd have thought he'd had left with the others.
A/N: Hey everyone, so I know this is a little anti climatic but it's coming to an end now for Angels. I do have a thought of where I will be going with the sequel but as I have said previously I will be waiting a little while before I start it.
Anyway this chapter being over 4000 words long had actually been cut in two parts because the party is going to be the second part obviously. There will be a few more chapters but since I already went over the length I already gave previously I won't say how many exactly.
Well that's it for now.
Read, Review and enjoy.
Dee.