26. Best friends share… everything.
Disclaimer: the characters and all recognisable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer - this is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute that, of course, belong to them. I pay my respects to their gods.
Thanks to BanSidhe [ruadh sidhe] and Feebes86 for betaing and pre-reading.
Sam just walked away from the chaos in his living room; sure that nobody would actually phase and really hurt each other and went to call Billy. He knew they had finally got the boat back into harbour that afternoon. He laid it out for Billy and asked him to contact Old Quil and tell him to bring all his ritual gear. He suggested doing the meeting now, rather than waiting and Billy agreed. He was surprised to hear about the three-person imprint with Bella.
"All right," Sam shouted. "Meeting. Half an hour. In the forest behind the Black house. You all know that clearing?"
The pack all made noises of agreement.
"Jake and Leah, can you carry Billy?"
Jake nodded.
"Scoot, you lot." The rest of the pack all left with much grumbling about more meetings and no sleeping. "Quil, you need to collect your grandfather."
Quil nodded. He had knelt between Bella's knees and had his arms around both her and Embry behind her.
"And you have less than half an hour, so no quickies you three," Sam added. "And in my house," he muttered under his breath.
"Sorry Sam," Bella blushed.
Sam just studied the three of them. He understood. "It won't be easy," he stated, oddly echoing Angela's statement at school.
"No. I realise that," Bella answered. "But we have to try."
"What happened at school today?" Quil asked. "You were worried." Sam looked at him when he said that.
She sighed. "Promise me you won't get angry?"
He frowned, but nodded.
"Slut sneezing," she whispered.
"Oh, Honey. We're sorry," Embry said. Quil looked like he was clenching his jaw.
"We didn't hide; we weren't subtle, but it was bad luck that Lauren of all people saw us. She hates me," Bella explained.
Quil kissed her quickly on the lips.
"Jealous; she's just jealous," Bella added. "My friend Angela on the other hand, wants to see photos of you two."
Embry chuckled. Quil smiled but it looked forced. "Naked?" he asked hopefully. Embry chuckled again.
Bella put her hands on Quil's cheeks and looked into his eyes. "Take my truck and collect your grandfather so we can all see how different our imprint is." Embry reached around her and touched his face as well. Sam watched them.
"I'll look after her," Embry assured Quil.
Quil stretched a hand past Bella and reached for Embry. Embry glanced at Sam and then leaned forwards to meet his lips. They kissed; properly. When Quil pulled back, he looked so serious. "I'm glad we don't have to hide anymore, Em. Are you okay with that?"
Embry nodded. "Yes, but I agree with Bella. We need to see it too. Go get your grandfather Quil."
Bella told him where she had left the truck, and he went, with a final look back at them before he walked out the door.
They went with Sam to the meeting place. Embry held her hand as they walked through the forest to the clearing. They entered and stood next to Quil.
The small clearing behind the Black house was crowded with members of the pack. They were on their best behaviour in front of Billy Black and Old Quil; no grumbling now. Leah and Jake stood on either side of Billy like bodyguards.
Old Quil had his ritual gear and had made a small fire. He appeared to be making tea to Bella.
She whispered to Quil, "Is he making tea?"
"Yep."
"Not normal tea, Honey," added Embry.
"It's this freaky mushroom tea," added Quil. "Fuck knows, what is in it; leaves, bark, or animal droppings. It's like a Native American trip; he goes all 'altered states' on us… so he can see the truth of things, or so he tells me…"
"Are you nervous?" Bella asked.
He smiled sheepishly. "A little."
His grandfather frowned at him. Clearly there was nothing wrong with Old Quil's hearing.
"Blood," he announced.
Quil blinked. Old Quil waved the cup at them. "Oh, sorry," Quil apologised. He turned to Bella. "He needs a drop of blood from each of us." He looked at Old Quil to check. "All three?"
He nodded.
"Got a knife?" asked Embry.
Bella clutched at Quil's arm. "I'm not good with blood," she whispered. "I faint."
Embry and Quil both hugged her. "We need to do this, Honey," Embry comforted her.
Sam silently handed them a pocket knife. Quil hugged Bella's face in against his chest with one meaty arm and held her arm firmly in the other. Embry touched the knife to the end of her finger and pressed out a drop of her blood into the cup. Old Quil watched them silently. Then the boys added a drop each of their blood, too.
Quil stuck Bella's finger in his mouth and whatever he did with his tongue made her laugh.
Old Quil gestured at them and they stepped closer to him. He made them stand in a line in front of him; Bella was in the centre. He held the cup to his lips and threw it down in one go. Bella made an ewww face. They waited patiently for a couple of minutes.
"Timothy Leary," whispered Embry to her.
"Is dead…" she finished. Her mother had gone through a crystal phase listening to the Moody Blues.
Embry snorted. "No, no, no he's outside…"
"…Looking in," they both sang.
[Moody Blues song 'legend of a mind']
"Cut it out, you two," grizzled Quil.
"The tea will allow me to see the bindings between them," Old Quil announced in his wispy voice.
His eyes seemed to focus on the space between them. He reached out a bony hand and grabbed Bella. He pulled her away from the boys. They resisted trying to hang onto her, but it was obvious that they wanted to. They ended up about a metre apart at the three points of a triangle.
Old Quil waved his arm between them, as if he was trying to break a spider's web. He looked surprised and then waved between the others.
"What is it, grandfather?" asked Quil.
"It is like a living thing… strong; so strong and so flexible," the old man replied. "When I look at the other imprinted couples, I can see their bindings, but they can be pushed away; here it is as if it re-grows from the other sides as I try to push it. It is a braid; of three threads."
Quil frowned at him; as if he didn't want him to be trying to break his bindings at all.
"It is so strong," he continued. "Each is bound to the other two. No matter which way it stretched, the other two support the third. I have never seen anything like it."
"A triangle is stronger," commented Seth. "They want to use them in 3d architecture. They can support more weight than a rectangle you know."
"You weird me out sometimes Seth, you know that?" said Leah.
Old Quil was studying his grandson. "And it is yours; you are at the apex. But it is like a mini pack… and you are the mini alpha."
"What? Nothing mini about me," blustered Quil.
Bella made some embarrassed snort noise and Embry rolled his eyes.
"Something you want to say, Bella?" asked Paul pointedly.
"No, lord no…" she blustered, and then she blushed like a tomato; waving her hand at her face.
Paul snickered wickedly. "We've all seen Quil naked, girl." The boys stepped in closer to her as if to protect her and glared at him.
"If Quil is the alpha, then Bella is the least dominant," Jake stated. "She's not dominant at all."
"Hey!" She looked offended.
"In wolf terms, Honey," Embry explained. "You do okay in human terms. You're here fighting for us… that means everything to us." He kissed her.
Old Quil looked speculative. He looked at Embry and then at Quil. They exchanged a glance. Quil shrugged.
"What?" he asked his grandfather.
"You do? With him?" He didn't say it.
"Yes. He's my imprint… I fuck him, he fucks me… we all fuck," Quil stated.
The old man smacked him up the back of the head. "Language boy," he reprimanded.
"Jeez grandpa!"
The old man lifted his hand again. Quil ducked.
"Look at it this way…" blustered Quil. "You should be happy. There's no way you are getting Quil Ateara VI out of this imprint relationship." He waved between himself and Embry.
"Maybe that's what Bella is for?" suggested Sam.
"What the…?" Bella stopped speaking, before she got smacked in the head by Old Quil, too. She folded her arms and looked unhappy. "Oh right; I'm just for breeding?"
"Welcome to my world," snorted Leah. Jake stroked a hand down her face and she smiled at him. She looked like she couldn't stop herself.
"Is there marking?" the old man asked.
"Marking?" Quil checked.
"Have you bitten either of them?"
"Yeah. I bit Embry on the weekend."
Embry instinctively put a hand to his neck. Old Quil peered up at the mark. "And her?"
"No, I haven't marked her, yet," Quil answered. But then his face lit up. "But she bit Embry too!" he exclaimed and poked at Embry's pectoral muscle. "See?"
Bella squirmed a little, as the whole pack looked at her. Paul looked like he was going to laugh again.
"So it is a true imprint?" Billy's stentorian tones rang out; bringing the chatter to an end.
"Oh, yes," stated old Quil.
"You keep looking at Embry for almost clarification Bella," Billy pointed out. "Do you realise you do that?"
"I'm more sure of Quil," she explained. "I'm nervous about Embry."
Embry looked unhappy about that.
"How do you mean?" Billy asked.
She smiled at them both. "I feel like Quil is mine, but that I am lucky to have Embry. So I check." She shrugged. Embry beamed at her now.
"But old Quil said you were bound to Embry too," Seth pointed out.
"Wait a second…" Bella said. "I'm not imprinted on Embry."
"No," agreed Embry.
The three looked at the old man.
"So the whole thing is not like a normal imprint?" Quil checked.
"She is bound to him, through you," he stated again. "The binding between them is strengthened from you, grandson. That is why you are the apex."
"So without me… they wouldn't be together?"
Old Quil looked as if he was thinking about it. And then he nodded his head. "The thread extends from you to them. If I try to stretch the thread between you and Embry, it reaches around from Bella. If I try to affect the bond between you and Bella it reaches through Embry." He studied his grandson with a thoughtful look. "You love them both, don't you?"
"Yes," Quil breathed. "Equally." He looked concerned suddenly. "What if something happens to me?" he asked in a much smaller voice.
Old Quil looked pained. "They all want to know that…" he grizzled. "Look at them, grandson. They are together. If anything happened to you; they would have each other. Don't need to drink hippie tea to see that!"
"Can I tell Charlie about the wolves?" Bella asked Billy. The pack made a nervous twitch.
Billy shook his head. "I'm afraid not. It is a tribal secret, Bella."
She glanced at Jake. He had blabbed everything on the beach that day to her; it was innocent but he had broken the tribal rules. He looked guilty.
"But…" she started. "How can I explain dating them both, without it?"
"I have known Charlie a very long time. He doesn't like to know too much information. Tell him as much of the truth as he needs to know."
"The truth?" Bella checked.
"That you cannot choose between them," Billy suggested. "That is the truth."
She smiled at Quil and Embry. "True," she agreed. "And bribe him with a vitamin R."
Billy chuckled. "If he asks me, I will back you up." He looked at three of them speculatively. "I think we need to talk too. Just you, Bella. Come and see me this week, sometime." It was almost a command. The boys exchanged a glance. They were still nervous about Billy de-nutting them for having sex in his house.
Bella nodded. She wanted to ask Billy how he could have just left her with Jake, as well. He had to be aware of the weekend; he had deliberately got Charlie out of the way by taking him deep sea fishing.
Jake and Leah crouched down and lifted each side of Billy's wheelchair. He managed to make it look regal; to be carried through the forest.
Embry and Quil hugged her between them.
"I have to go home," she whispered.
"We know," they chorused.
"And I don't think I can sneak you two into my room." She chuckled.
"Dammit," said Quil.
She put her hands on his face. "I'm sorry we only had a…" she glanced at old Quil nervously. "… a short assignation," she finished.
"Huh?" said Quil.
Embry chuckled. "My fault. I'll make it up to you, Quil," he offered.
"That'll work," said Quil.
"Will you be okay, Honey?" Embry asked.
"I'll miss you two. Probably be cold." They hugged her harder and kissed her face. They finally; obviously reluctantly let her go.
"Old Quil, I could drive you home," she offered.
He nodded. "Thank you, Bella."
He and Quil put the fire out safely and then they all walked back to her truck. The boys rode in the back. She remembered where Quil's house was, from the day that she had collected him at the side of the road and driven him home as she listened to his worries about his friends. That small act of kindness from her, had far reaching consequences.