I do not own Twilight.
CHAPTER ll THIRTY SIX
William screamed as he placed his hands over his eyes, trying to block out the picture of the big black bear bulldozing the sandy coloured wolf that was his uncle. He was so scared, so distraught, he wrapped his little arms around Adrena and muffled his scream into her neck. He could feel her heart beating against his tiny stomach, like the drum of his toy monkey 'Mervin' as he bashed his little baby drum.
William was only some what comforted by the woman's touch, her sweet lingering scent, and the way she held him back. It reminded him of his mumma so much; the mumma he wished was here now, holding him, whispering that she loved him, telling him bed time stories while he snuggled with his favourite bouncy ball. He wanted Jacob too. His dad. His dad who could change into a big red wolf, his favourite of all the colours in the rainbow. The best colour of the rainbow.
Adrena watched as Whistler tore at the wolf shifter's body, his razor sharp claws striking down hard against the soft looking pelt of his chest. The sandy wolf yelped out of pain in response, backing away for a second - only to lunge forward a moment later, his large jaws coming down against the great black bears forearm.
The salty and metallic smell of blood was prominent and she was afraid to know who's blood it was. In one hand she had Whistler, the man who had stood by her for almost 500 years. The man who had been her Beta, the one person she could rely on over every other member of the 'sleuth' or pack as she liked to refer to them. Whistler, was a man she could love easily. Good hearted, handsome, strong, familiar. A man she did love.
But when she looked into the eyes of the wolf shifter only moments before - she knew.
She knew that no matter how many sunsets she would watch with Whistler's, it would only be in the wolf's eyes she would see it rise to a new day, a breaking dawn. She could lay with Whistler and laugh about their childhood, recall fond memories, memories they'd shared, had a first experience in, but in the arms of the sandy wolf, she could hear new adventures, stories that were another man's history, another man's past - exciting.
Loving Whistler would be wrong, knowing that her heart belonged to the strange man - the chosen one - the one from the south, who brought with him the hope of a new generation of bear shifters. Who brought the hope of having a family, children - much like the child in her arms. The small sweet child she'd cleaned, clothed and fed. A child she could call her own. A child she could sing ancient songs to, one she could rock in her arms and never let go.
Mako's eyes were so wide they almost popped out of his head. He couldn't believe this was happening. The sandy wolf was tearing back at the black bear, wounding the large animal much to everyone's surprise. The Charee were supposed to be strong – stronger than any of the other shifter's in history. It wasn't surprising that their shifting animal was the bear. Ever prominent, loyal, protective. He'd never seen Whistler lose a fight and glancing over he could see his brother Marlee, already undoing the leather of his loin cloth to join his Beta in the fight.
The whole 'sleuth' knew that they were stronger in numbers and Mako could feel the growls and tension radiate around them. It was thick, lingering in the air like a deadly poison, like one wrong move and the whole cave would erupt in a pack of snarling beasts. The whole hoard was edging closer, wanting to watch, wanting to help their brother.
Seth could feel the underside fur of his belly wet with blood. Stained from the wound inflicted by those pronounced claws. His legs burned and his paws seemed to be shredded and cracked from trying to penetrate the thick skin under the bears fur. It was thicker than any vampire he had ever come up against and he wondered – going at the rate he currently was – if it was doing any damage at all.
He could taste the bear shifter's blood on his canines with gave him little solace and he attempted to shake his head to ease the itch of a sharp pain radiating from his ear. The bear had somehow managed to catch the edge of it with its claw, and it felt as though his ear was ripped in two, perfectly down the middle. The pain was excruciating as he tried to get to his feet and watched as the bear also had trouble keeping up right on its hind legs.
The bear easily stood ten foot tall when raised and he knew that even though he was much smaller in comparison, that his speed and agility would eventually wear out the bear if he was able to stay out of crushing range. The biceps hidden under the bears fur could have easily crushed a car, and he had no intention of turning into land fill today.
The bears eyes remained black, its body still quivering from the rage of its transformation. It ears usually flopping, were pinned back to its head like his own – awaiting the next move.
Seth looked wearily towards his nephew, finding some kind of comfort in knowing William would be safe inherarms. She was perfect, magnificent. Her beauty was eclipsed by none except perhaps his own mother who he had loved since the moment he opened his tiny eyes. Leah had been right all along – he was his mothers baby boy.
Hearing the roar of the bear, his head snapped back towards the large form stalking towards him, swaying and stepping with its massive weight, giving the illusion that the ground was shaking beneath the creature.
He didn't want to hurt the bear, merely stop it from attacking. It was out of control, a loose canon and he would not allow hurt come to those he loved. He growled thinking about the bears actions and the danger it had put on both William and his imprint. Had anything happened to them-
'I don't want to fight you' He growled, pawing the dirt in front of him and huffing out a dangerous breath. His lungs hurt and he could feel his ribs sliding under his flesh, a couple broken from being tackled in the initial impact. The bear was like a line backer from the best NFL team he'd ever been privileged to watch. He was definitely 'super bowl' material.
The look in the bears eyes contradicted his own words of not wanting to fight. It saw in those deep dark chambers that it wasn't going to back down, it wanted his blood. His blood spilled out on the dirt and mixing with the rocks, leaving his body to decay on the floor of the caves until he disintegrated to ash.
'Let's just talk about this' Seth shouted as the bear stood at his full height again and snarled, it's big teeth dripping with saliva. Even as a wolf, it may have been the most terrifying thing he had ever seen. This wasn't a game, this was a fight to the death, a fight he was unsure, he could win.
Growling and dropping low ready to pounce, Seth gave it one more shot, one more chance for the bear to back out. 'Stop' He commanded as his hunches rose and his huge wolf shoulder's squared out under his fur. 'This is not the answer. Killing each other is not the answer!'
And just like some magic switch, the bears deep voice flooded his mind, much like his pack brother's had on his very first transformation.
'I can't let her go. I can't. I love her so much. He took her from me. I'll kill him - or die trying'
Before the bear could get close enough Seth felt the weight of his world drop from beneath his feet. The woman had moved so fast he didn't even see her. Her body was now crammed into the space between them, her hands up in the air, showing she was no threat, trying to diffuse the situation. William had been passed off to Mako, instructed to keep the boy safe at all costs, and even he wasn't dumb enough to go against the word of the Alpha.
"Stop Whistler - don't make me command you" Her voice was soft, non threatening and Seth could hear the bear whine as he remained standing. He looked guilty, lost and above all defeated.
'What is she saying? She would protect him? She would let him live? She would let him tear us apart?'
"Let's talk about this - let's work out something" She pleaded her hand coming to rest against the fur of his large chest which was cover in a grey pelt. Her fingers ran across his fur trying to coax him down from his anger, his temper. He was legendary for it.
"Don't any of you move!" She yelled towards the advancing bears Seth seemed to have not notice. Some had already phased, some in the mists of untying their leather clothing to join their brother in arms.
Dropping to its feet, Seth watched as the bear continued to whine, nuzzling in her hand, while the other petted the fur of his head. The gesture seemed so intimate, Seth felt like he should look away, though he didn't. It dawned on him that he had seen this play out before. Not through his own eyes, but through the eyes of his Alpha.
This felt like the exact moment, Leah gave up her happiness with Jacob to leave with Hunter. That somehow in her twisted mind she thought it best to leave the man she loved most, in an attempt to spare him. In an attempt to save his life.
Seth had watched this moment play over so many times in his head, he felt the pain every time Jacob thought of her when she was gone from LaPush, every time he thought of the way she laughed, the way she seemed to brighten his day, the way she looked back at him, the pure joy in her eyes, the love.
'I love her. I love her'
"I'm so sorry Whistler. So - so sorry" Adrena sobbed quietly, wrapping her arms around the black bears neck and laying her head into his warm fur.
Seth felt the bears pain run deeply through his own veins. He could see every moment the bear and the woman had spent together as children, as teenagers and the as adults for the last five decades, flash before his very eyes. Inside the memories he could feel Leah's pain, Jacob's, the woman's and even his own.
Laying his head down, his eyes fluttered as he looked over her one more time - knowing, what he had to do.
Hunter stood at the edge of the cliff face, looking down into the river were her scent become lost. Had that stupid mutt be so careless to allow her to jump into the raging river? Had Jacob been so weak that he could not even thwart off the smallest part of his army to fight for the one he loved?
He knew that Jacob Black would never be worth enough to have Leah by his side, worthy enough to rule an entire army. An army built by fear, by strength and not build by family and love. An army like his own.
The wind whipped his short cropped brown hair around in his head, bringing with it a calm he hadn't felt in a long while. Sighing, he rubbed his hands over his face and turned toward the bronzed haired vampire stepping from the tree line. Dusk had since fallen but the moonlight was still able to illuminate that pasty pale skin he detested. The off blue tinge of a low sparkle shone from his skin making Hunter shudder.
"You forget that from which you came, so easily?" Edward frowned, standing his ground just before the tree line and crossing his arms over his chest.
Hunter clapped as he looked over again at the vampire in front of him. "The great Edward Cullen - mind reader extraordinaire" Hunter sneered, fully disgusted by the pitiful creature in front of him. "Tell me Edward, have you come to pick my brain or to simply kill me? Perhaps one of your lectures? How the path of good is always the right choice. How evil can be undone with only that of love"
"What have you become son? What has happened to you that has made you this way? I tried to give you everything and you merely throw it back in my face?" Edward wanted to understand, understand how one could grow up to hate so much, see so little, do no good.
"Spare me father. You already know why I am like this. Like father like son. Though in your case, you were simply made a monster - while I was born one" The look in Hunter's eyes unsettled Edward. His son was far beyond deranged that he could barely pick up a singular thought in his mind. There was but one whisper, one deep defining name that was unmistakable in the swirling chaos of his thoughts. Thoughts that were consuming his very core. Leah.
"She loves you, you know. Still, after everything you have done. She doesn't want to see you hurt."
Edward stepped back as Hunter laughed loudly, his deep voice echoing into the wind, swirling over the mountain ridges, the snow capped hills, through the silence of the trees. "I am her imprint. She could never harm me." He growled, his personality changing in mere moments.
"That is where you are wrong. Leah still sees you as a small boy. A small beautiful boy who loved all things. Who was curious about the world, who brought her flowers, who compared her to a Lilly. She still sees the innocence inside your heart. But no longer."
"Bullshit" His son snarled, his top lip curling slightly to show his deep set fanged teeth as they slid down. "She still loves me. I am the only one for her, made specifically for her. I am the only one who can give her everything she wants – everything she needs"
"That is were you are wrong again. Leah has everything she needs. She has William, her family, her tribe, her home, she even has Ja-"
"Don't you dare say his name to me, Not ever!" Hunter hissed, the bones in his knuckles cracking as he balled his fists into tight balls. "After all the things that mutt has done to our family, you should be standing with me. He tried to take your love away from you, and now you stand here in front of me telling me to let him do the same! You are nothing but a hypocrite!"
"It was always your mother's choice. If she loved Jacob more than me, I would have let her go. I would have let her have a normal human life. I only ever wanted her to be happy. Whether it was with me or him, that is all I have ever wanted.
It would have broken my heart, but I would have be content in knowing that he could give her things I couldn't. He could give her human children, a real home, a home made of love and not money. He could have given her life and not - death" Edward took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. "Love should set someone free, not chain them. Love should let you soar, not be caged. I loved Bella enough to want more for her than I could give"
Edward tensed hearing a twig crack beneath someone's shoe. The being was close but still far away enough for him to be ready and he him to not be able to hear the creatures thoughts. He could see Hunter contemplating his words, he could see the cogs of his mind running over, dissecting, piecing together what he'd just explained.
"You don't understand father. The imprint is stronger than that. The imprint binds me to her every second of the day. I look at an open book and think of the way her smooth voice would run over me at night. I look into the darkness of the night and see her eyes-" Turning his back to his father, Hunter looked out over the gorge, the thick heavy rock faces standing side by side, letting the river rage in between the great natural structure. "I have no choice but to love her, to want her."
"There is always a choice Hunter, whether you see the second door or not. You have taken so much from her already, isn't it your duty to let her rest? Give her peace from this life? How can you not be happy with having her in your life than not at all? Are you so selfish that you cannot give her happiness?"
"I am her fucking happiness."
"No. You are my happiness. Your mother's happiness. Your grandparents, aunt and uncles – your sister - love you more than anything - love you more than an imprint" Edward sighed. "Let us help you son. Let us put all this madness behind us"
Nodding, Hunter turned to his father and strode towards him, a certain glint in his eye, something unreadable. "Let us" Hunter whispered, taking his father's head in his hands and kissing him softly on his forehead.
Edward stumbled back after picking up his son's thought's, which were so clear it felt like it swirled around in his own head. It had only been a snippet but he read it loud and clear.
"Tell me father, how does it feel to be Jesus?" Hunter smiled wickedly as the foot falls increased towards the area. Edward could now tell there where more than one, more than a few – but many.
"Tell me father, how does it feel - to call your own son – Judas?"
AN - Whoa! Yay! Finally I have reached 100k words! Sorry this chapter took so long, I have been in and out of my mind... so basically the same as usual. Thanks to all those rocking chicks that continue to review! Love you all hard! Hopefully the next chapter doesn't take as long...