Wolfie
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
A/N-Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I have tried to reply personally to each review for the last chapter but it won't allow me as I keep getting error messages, sorry! Nikki
PART TWO-GROWING UP
Part Sixteen
Rebecca became very still, as she did not need to draw breath she became like a statue as she glared over at the woman who had given her life. Sarah was breathing heavily as she matched her stare. She vowed not to speak until her daughter did so first. She felt Billy place his hand on her shoulder and seconds later Jake placed his hand over hers and held on tightly. Sarah drew strength from the two men in her life and she calmed herself down enough to await Rebecca's reaction.
After another minute passed Rebecca finally moved, the screams from her companions had died down to nothing and a burning smell blew her way. The Cullen's had destroyed her new family and burned their remains. She opened her mouth and screamed in agony at the loss and fell to her knees, yanking at the ends of her long, shiny black hair. Her parents and brother watched her in horror as she began to tear chunks of hair from her head.
"Becca stop it, please stop." Sarah could not take it anymore. She cursed her useless legs, which made her unable to comfort her little girl in her obvious distress. Her motherly instinct overrode her distaste at what her daughter had become.
Rebecca, stop it right now." Billy stepped toward her and knelt beside her. He caught hold of her upper arms and shuddered as he felt how cold she was, like a corpse.
Rebecca gave out a loud curse and pushed her father away hard, causing him to stumble and hit the ground with a loud thud. Jacob was immediately in her face as he ran over and shoved her backward just as hard. His anger at the situation overwhelmed him, the fact that this creature his sister had become had endangered Bells' life made his sympathy for her dissipate, he could see no trace of the girl he once knew, to him she was just another leech.
"Lay your hands on my father again and I will not hesitate to destroy you." He seethed.
Rebecca showed her glistening teeth and bared them at him. "I would like to see you try, brother...I could just as easily sink my fangs into you and kill you..."
Sarah trembled in her wheelchair as she heard her children threatening each other. Adrenaline surged through her body and she willed her legs to move. To her shock she felt one of her legs jerk, for the first time in years the signals from her brain were reaching her deadened limbs. Everyone's attention was on Rebecca and Jacob as they faced off against each other. The wolf pack was circling closer around them all, instinctively drawing nearer their alpha to protect him against any sudden attack.
Gritting her teeth in determination, Sarah pushed on the arms of her chair and with trembling arms she pushed herself upright. Her whole body shook with the immense effort it took for her to move but determination won out and Sarah Black finally stood up on her own two feet.
"Rebecca please...stop this now, I still love you...you are my little girl..." Sarah yelled out as Rebecca began the vampire's dance which indicated an attack. Jacob's limbs were shaking as he got ready to phase and protect himself.
All eyes turned in Sarah's direction as she spoke and they couldn't believe the sight before them as she staggered on her own two feet toward her errant daughter, her arms held out in front of her.
"Mom..." Jacob said in wonder.
"Sarah..." Billy echoed him.
Sarah had eyes only for Rebecca and she staggered toward her another few steps before her strength gave out and she began to fall. Jacob and Billy moved forward to catch her but it was a pair of cold arms that reached her first before her head hit the hard ground. Rebecca cradled her mother in her arms and began to scream out in agony, dry sobs wracking her body as she could not shed real tears.
"Momma I am sorry, so sorry..." The words she had been dying to say forever fell from her lips.
XXXXXX
Everyone had retreated to the Swan house, it was in the middle of being renovated after the fire, but most of the structural damage had been fixed already. The Cullen's were not allowed on tribal land so this was the most obvious place where Carlisle could have the opportunity to assess the miraculous event of Sarah regaining the use of her legs. Billy cradled his wife in his arms as the doctor examined her thoroughly. He had only limited equipment with him, to get a proper assessment he would need her to visit the hospital for proper x-rays and scans. After a tense few minutes he stepped back and smiled.
Billy and Sarah gazed at him anxiously. The usually reserved Carlisle Cullen actually winked at them. "Good news, you have caused no further damage to your limbs, in fact I think that your paralysis was actually more due to the fact that your brain was refusing to co operate and send the correct signals to your limbs. You went through an incredibly traumatic experience due to the accident and well at this stage I am only guessing...but I feel tonight's events made you push through your mental barrier and forced your brain to act as it should and send the correct signals through your neural pathways, instigating your limbs to finally move of their own accord."
"You mean my paralysis was self induced?" Sarah asked incredulously.
"Not at all, your spinal column went into spasm when you had your accident. I have seen plenty of cases over the years where this has happened. The human body can sometimes take a long time to heal itself. You will probably need intense physiotherapy my dear but I see no reason for you not to walk again, although I suspect you will always need a crutch of some sort." Carlisle advised smoothly.
Billy clutched his wife closer and kissed her gently on the lips. "Did you hear that? You are going to walk again."
Tears leaked out of Sarah's eyes as she smiled at her husband. Her eyes left him however and roamed over to Rebecca who was sitting huddled on the Swan's couch surrounded by Rosalie and her partner Emmet. They had taken charge of her after she had her final breakdown. Already arrangements were being made for her to be taken to Denali to stay with friends of the Cullen family to hopefully rehabilitate her. Rebecca gazed at her mother through her red eyes, something about the way she carried herself made Sarah believe that her daughter could be saved, hadn't she run to help her after all?
XXXXXX
Jacob arrived back at his house and immediately went over to Bella and pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him; all through his confrontation with Rebecca she had seen and felt every emotion. Seth, Rachel and Leah had become alarmed when they had witnessed her having one of her fits at the exact point when Rebecca and Jacob had confronted each other. Eventually she had come out of her trance like state and informed them that Sarah had risen out of her wheelchair and taken her first steps. This bit of news had made all their jaws drop.
Leah and Rachel began to get ready to leave, both eager to see their respective boyfriends. Seth had a strange look on his face as he watched Bella and Jacob together. Leah frowned as she tried to suss out her little brother's expression. For a moment she could have sworn that he looked jealous, surely not? He was only a kid. She brushed her concerns to one side as Sam suddenly made an appearance and swept her up into his muscular arms.
"Missed me sweetheart?" He murmured as his lips found hers and he kissed her passionately, not caring that they had a room full of witnesses.
Jared appeared next and he gave Rachel one of his big grins. "Where's my welcome back kiss then princess?"
Rachel rolled her eyes and stalked past him, grabbing hold of his hand as she went by. "I prefer to have some privacy."
Jared grinned again and let her lead him outside.
Jacob pulled away from Bella slightly and looked over at Leah and Sam. A thoughtful expression crossed his face. After a few seconds he finally spoke. "Hey guys would you mind giving me and Bells some privacy..."
Sam chuckled and slipped his arm around Leah's shoulders. "Sure...come on Sethy, let's give the alpha some alone time."
Seth did not move. "I think I should stay, just in case Be...I mean I am needed here."
No one missed his slip up, least of all Jacob. He glared at Seth and a growl erupted from his chest. "Leave now." His Alpha command made them all flee the room.
Bella raised her eyebrows at him. "Was that really necessary?"
Reaching out Jacob tenderly stroked her cheek. "Yes it was. I need to do something...I mean I have always wanted to do something."
Bella could feel the heat coming from Jacob's body, she gazed up at him and their eyes locked. Something was shifting in their relationship; she had felt it coming for a long time. There was no denying the intent in Jacob's dark eyes. Slowly his head inclined towards hers and she felt her eyes drifting shut as she waited for him to make his move. Ever so gently at first, with just a little pressure Jacob pressed his full lips onto hers. His strong arms slipped around her body and he pulled her close, his heat surrounding them both in a warm cocoon. Bella's arms reached up around his neck of their own volition as she pulled him closer, their mouths moving softly against one another's as they shared their first kiss...
XXXXXX
Edward and Alice Cullen sat side by side on the front steps of the Swan house. Charlie had just arrived and went straight inside, barely acknowledging them as he was so desperate to see his friends. Alice suddenly froze as her eyes glazed over. She became as still as a statue as she let the vision play out before her eyes. Edward did not bother to even ask her what she had seen; he could see it play out in her mind through his mind reading abilities. He braced himself for the lecture he was just about to receive. He was glad that Alice's partner Jasper was not here, he had to go hunting as he had the least self control when surrounded by humans for long periods of time.
"Don't even consider it Edward. She belongs to someone else." Alice snapped at him.
Edward gave her one of his crooked grins and ran a hand though his perfectly coiffed hair. "She is perfect Alice; do you know how soothing it is to be in the same room as another person and not have endless thoughts shoved in your head? She has a strong shield, that's why the Volturi want her so badly; she would make an excellent addition to their protectors. I want to get to know her Alice. Help me?"
Alice stood up and began to pace nervously in front of her adopted brother. "I want you to be happy Edward, you always seem so alone and she is the first girl that you have shown an interest in, but...no you have to leave her alone. She could never love you."
"You can't see that, the wolves are hidden from you but I know that you caught a glimpse of another future for Isabella. I could make her happy; I could take her to places she could never imagine visiting. What sort of future can the dog give her? Tied to La Push for her natural human life, no...someone like her deservers far more." Edward's golden eyes blazed as he spoke.
"She would hate you Edward..." Alice whispered fiercely at him.
Edward laughed at her and rose from the steps. "Sister, she is still too young anyway, in another two years she will be seventeen, just the perfect age to see what she could really be."
"Don't do this? Please Edward just leave her alone." Alice pleaded.
"Of course...as if I would ever use my powers to persuade her otherwise?"
"You already have, Carlisle stopped you...I will be keeping a close watch Edward..." She warned him.
Edward nodded. "I wouldn't expect any less of you. Isabella needs friends, you can try Alice but well...you saw for yourself."
"That is only one possible outcome; it is not set in stone." Alice seethed her white teeth drawn back in a snarl as she appraised her adopted sibling.
"I know...anyway it is really none of your business. Humans always make their own choices. Isabella will make hers. "
"Carlisle will never forgive you..." Alice pressed, trying to persuade Edward to choose a different path.
"He will understand eventually...he has Esme, if it wasn't for my slip up all those years ago she would have remained alive and happily married to that man. Where would that have left Carlisle? I cannot always control my thirst. I never meant to kill Esme's husband, but it worked out to Carlisle's advantage in the end when she tried to end her life after she lost the baby. He now has a mate for life." Edward sounded proud of his actions causing Alice to flinch.
"Neither of them know that was you do they?"
"Alice he is happy and so is she, they were made for each other. I believe that Isabella was made for me. Don't you want me to be happy?" Edward put on his best pleading expression. Alice always fell for it.
Alice nodded quickly and shut down her thoughts before he could read them. She needed him to believe that she was on his side; Carlisle had asked her specifically to keep an eye on him. He already suspected he was up to something. Responsibility weighed heavily on her. However she knew they had some breathing space, Bella was only fifteen, still too young.
"I need to go hunting, care to join me?" Edward asked her as his thirst burned his throat.
Alice nodded. "Yes, let's go join Jas, he is nearby."
Edward took the lead and vanished into the surrounding trees in a blur, Alice close behind him...
A/N-I am no good at writing the Cullen's, they always give me a headache, sigh. This is the end of Part Two, the story will be moving on a couple of years. We will rejoin Bella when she is seventeen and Jacob nearly sixteen. Thanks for reading.