35 - Bonfires
We jumped to the small clearing next to the house in Seattle, the fog swirling around us was so thick that the mist immediately settled on our clothes making them instantly wet. "Home sweet home," I mumbled under my breath.
It was far cooler in Seattle than the island but it had been late August there while it was still May in Seattle. It was somewhat disconcerting to realize we had technically only been gone one day. The house was completely empty when we arrived, a somewhat unusual occurrence, but that would not last long.
Phila was still doing her thing somewhere else, maybe she was grading exams or something; Tiffany and Angus had moved to the cabin while Tam had been taking care of me after my encounter with the vampire doctor. Kendrick and Sassy were supposed to come back to the Earth in the next couple of days to continue their search for the leech who had attacked me.
"So it is only Saturday night here?" I asked Phil just to make sure. Would I ever get used to this way of life? Not that I had not completely and utterly enjoyed the time off from reality but it was very disorienting to think that for the rest of the world it had only been one day.
How was I going to explain the changes I had gone through to my mother?
Phil was at a loss for words when I asked him about my mother. "She is not stupid or blind, unlike her Charlie, she notices everything and needs to know."
"Good thing you did not inherit that trait." Phil teased, making me laugh.
My mood soon plummeted, my mother would not understand. "You are lucky in that respect, you don't have to lie to your parents. But that does not solve my mother problem, I hate keeping secrets from her."
I had never had to do that before meeting Phil's family, for a moment I resented that fact. The feeling quickly faded, even 'normal' people kept secrets from their parents. When Sam and I were together the fact that I was having sex with him was not something my mother knew about - it was best considering I wanted to live. The major difference was that there had been a chance of her finding out. When it came to the truth about Phil I would have to go out of my way to make sure she never found out - this secret would have to be kept for the rest of her life. Her very short mortal life.
"Leah, you need to stop worrying or you will have more grey hairs than I do." Phil told me while we settled on the couch together.
I laughed as he intended me to and pulled the tie out of his hair, his thick black hair was much softer than I had thought. "I don't think you have any grey hairs," I told him while running my fingers through the sleek strands.
"You can tell her you have imprinted, I get the impression that is the relationship get out of jail free card." Phil pulled me a little closer while he buried his head in my neck and started kissing his way up to my ears.
"That will come as a shock to her," I told him with a happy sigh as he finally reached my ear. "I go from bitch to happy in love over the weekend."
"You say it like being a bitch is a bad thing," Phil told me with a small chuckle. "It is hard to see the changes in yourself but I assure you that you have come a long way from that unhappy girl. Your mother would have to be blind not to notice how much you have matured in the past year."
"The imprinting thing might work, but I hate to use it. Why can't she just accept the fact that I am no longer a child." I grumbled while settling into a more comfortable position in his lap. "Hell the fact that I faced a vampire army should give me some points."
"In a way you will always be her little girl and it is going to take some time before she understands that you are an adult that can make your own decisions. It is a scary when you realize that you can't protect your child from everything. Some parents may overreact a little and become a little more controlling. I make no guarantees as to how long she will hold onto you, but eventually she will see you as an adult and you have your own life to live."
We sat quietly for a moment, while digesting all that had been said. Back to reality with all its complications, it was tempting to just ask Phil to go back to the island for a few more months. With a sigh I dialed my brother's phone number to see what he was doing but he was not answering his phone. "Do you think he is all right?"
"Why don't you call your mother and tell her we will drive up there tomorrow morning?" Phil wrapped his arms tighter around me and rested his chin on the top of my head. This had to be my favorite version of Phil's embrace, it made me feel like nothing could hurt me so long as he held me like this.
I laughed lightly. "Am I that obvious?"
"A great many things have changed in the past few months, you want to share some of them with your mother." His voice sounded so much deeper when I rested my head against his chest.
My mother sounded excited by the fact that I was coming home for the day. "Are you staying for a few days since you no longer have school?"
Phil must have overheard this part of the conversation because he moved away from me a little to frown. "Sorry mom, Phil has to work on Monday and for some reason he no longer wants me to go to the Rez without him."
"It is not like he could actually protect you from anything." My mother sounded a little annoyed, but much to my surprise she was a lot more understanding than I had anticipated.
"So we will be there around lunchtime tomorrow." It would not be a long drive since we would probably jump straight to the cabin, but my mother did not need to know that.
I woke up a little nervous the next morning, worried about what I would tell my mother about Phil. I was slightly afraid she would give me that mother look and I would spill my guts. The large breakfast I had consumed sat rather heavily on my stomach, I should have eaten less. But how can you say not to a second and third helping of french toast casserole with caramel pecan topping?
"I got you a necklace, for your ring." Phil told me as we got ready to go. I gave him a questioning look. "I just thought you might want to ease your mother into it, but you can wear your ring if you like."
I looked down at my right hand, my mother was part eagle and had excellent eyesight. There would be no way she would miss this rock on my finger, it sheer size and beauty made it so that even the most unobservant people would see it. For a moment I considered taking Phil up on his offer but I would have to tell her sometime. Maybe the ripping the bandaid off all in one swoop would work best. "Thank you, but I think I will keep it on, she find out soon enough no matter how much I might try to hide it."
When we arrived at the cabin it was empty as well. "Where is everyone?" Tiffany and Angus' scents were pretty strong, they had been here recently. I noticed a couple of bowls sitting on the drying rack next to the sink, so they had breakfast but had not stuck around.
"Tiffany and Angus are out and about the Rez doing their guardian stalking thing. Kendrick called me, they are planning on coming here sometime tomorrow, I think they had a few loose ends in Karam." Phil told me as he found the keys to the truck, I guess we were going to drive that to my mother's house. "I should warn you, your mother may have told a few people that you were coming back for a visit."
"Define a few people?" I asked him suspiciously. Phil's tone was neutral, which was never a good thing.
Phil opened his mouth but then closed it again with a snap, I knew that look. He was trying to find the right words to give me some vague answer.
"All right enough with the psychic mumbo jumbo just give me a clear answer." He was so frustrating at times. "Clear and precise answers Phil, that is all I need. Tell me my mother is having an all out rave with techno music and disco lights."
Phil laughed at my joke before sobering up. "They are planning a bonfire tonight, you will be expected to attend. Your mother and several members of the tribe are currently occupied with setting up for the events this evening." Phil watched me carefully as he spoke, waiting for me to explode.
I too waited for my temper to rise, but for some reason it did not. My pack members would be easily handled, not that they would need much of an explanation. They knew who Phil and his family were and I would not have to keep Phil's secrets from them, not that the little brats would not use this to as an opportunity to mess with me. However when it came down to it they would support me and kick the ass of any outsider who picked on me. It would be nice to see them all, not that I would ever admit it out loud but I had missed the punks.
Unfortunately if this was a true bonfire, with the elders and all, Sam's pack would be there as well. I had told my mother the truth, I no longer gave a shit what his pack thought or did. Not so long ago it had been the complete reverse, I may have told everyone that I did not care but I spent my entire time trying to make everyone around me miserable - a clear sign that I had been lying about the not giving a crap bit. Now I could safely say I did not care about them, I did not wish them ill or anything like that. I thought of them as a stranger you passed in the street, you would not be hoping they were hit by a bus but neither would you spend days agonizing over the fact that they were.
"Well I actually wanted to talk to my mother but what the hell, the entire pack will find out at one point." Phil was looking at me like I had all of a sudden sprouted horns out of my head. I could not help but laugh at his expression. "Don't worry Phil, everything is cool." I gave him small kiss just to prove my point before taking a hold of his hand and pulling him towards the garage. It helped that I had spent the past couple of months without having to deal with people.
"You know what this means don't you?" Phil asked me as we drove towards the Rez. It was a rhetorical question so I waited for him to continue. "Now all of a sudden I know that they are wolves, so since I am a human..."
I saw where he was going, the disgust in his voice made me laugh. "So now you are going to have to act like they can kick you ass. Are you scared?"
"It is not really funny, because of my sheer size I could take on most people, even if I only had human strength." He was grumbling and mumbling under his breath.
"Don't worry baby. I will protect you." I teased my serious mood lifting, I was beginning to think he planned this, the grumbling to make me laugh. "Does it bother you that I am stronger than you?" Technically speaking I was the stronger of the two of us, but when it came to a fight I knew Phil could easily take me down.
"Not at all, it means you can protect yourself." Phil turned back to driving, I continued to stare at his profile for a few minutes. He had given hints previously that my strength would be an asset, so in this instance more than likely he was telling me the truth. Maybe he was old enough that he did not feel that my wolf strength was an affront to his masculinity.
We were almost to my mother's house when I noticed several people heading to the cliffs, they were carrying folding chairs and coolers. I directed Phil to drive the truck that way. I really hoped that this bonfire was to teach some of the younger wolves about the legends and it had nothing to do with the fact that I had come home.
For a moment I could not help but laugh at myself. It was somewhat egotistical of me, but the small handmade sign at the entrance to the Rez that said "Welcome home Leah" should have clued me into the fact that I would not be able to stay out of the center of attention today. More than likely I was not going to be able to talk privately with my mother, she was going to learn about my imprinting when everyone else did.
Phil had to slow down so as not to run over people as he tried to get closer to the cliffs.
"It will not bother me if you run over a few of them. Just make sure they are wolves, they will heal eventually." I told him as he drove up the narrow road.
Phil gave me short barking laugh as he came to a stop. He was a gentleman of course and came around to open my door for me. "Thank you kindly." I told him before giving him a quick kiss on the lips. I looked away from Phil to see people starring at us, you would think they had never seen someone kiss before.
Their momentary surprise allowed me to walk past several people without stopping to talk. I grabbed Phil's hand and weaved our fingers together as I pulled him towards the large pile of wood that would soon become the bonfire. So this was going to be a hard core party, at least the size of the bonfire seemed to indicate this.
I found my mother talking to Emily, Sam was sitting on a log watching them. He looked more mellow than I had seen him in over a year, maybe marriage was a good thing for him. Emily had changed her hairstyle, she still had the long hair in braids but now she had bangs that conveniently curtained the scar on her face. She also had a small gold ring on her left hand, it was interesting to note that Sam was not wearing his but maybe he would be afraid of losing it when he shifted. Other than that she looked exactly the same, nothing much had changed around these parts. In some ways that was a good thing, but sometimes a little change could do a world of good.
"Leah, oh let me look at you." My mother moved to envelope me in a hug as soon as she noticed me, for a moment I was surprised by the level of affection. Usually I did not get such a warm greeting but it might have just been the fact that I got recently hurt. "You cut your hair?"
"Yeah it was getting a little long." Especially since it has been three months since you last saw me. It would have been kind of awkward trying to explain how it had gotten that long in the couple of weeks since I had been back here. I had also let Aunt Katie talk me into the slightly coppery highlights, they were a lot less dramatic than the pink ones she originally wanted me to try. In retrospect I was suspicious that her suggestion of the bright pink color was a way for me to accept the much less drastic bronze - yeah I was pretty sure that she had conned me but I did not care since my hair looked good.
"Let me see your arm. Is it all healed up?" My mother started to push the sleeve of my long sleeve shirt up so that she could look at my arm but was almost instantly distracted. "What is that?" Her voice came out sounding like a squeak.
It took me a moment to see what she was freaking out about. For better or for worse my mother had seen my ring.
Maybe I should have taken Phil's offer and put my promise ring on a necklace. As far as my mother was concerned she only knew about our relationship for a couple of weeks. It was not like I could tell her about the past three months we had spent together at his house - I don't know what would be worse, the fact that we were on another planet or that we were alone. It must be a shock to see me jump from dating to wearing a ring - from my mother's perspective it would have been a drastic move.
"What is the matter mom?" The best option seemed to play dumb, so I went with a neutral tone.
"That ring? Are you engaged?" Emily chimed in with astonishment, she seemed to have found her voice before my mother could. She was starring at the ring on my finger with what looked to be a combination of surprise and awe.
"This is not an engagement ring." So maybe Phil had proposed spending forever together but he had not asked me to be his wife, so this ring was technically not my engagement ring. All of a sudden I felt extremely guilty, maybe I should have waited and worked towards this revelation. "It is just a promise ring."
My mother gave me a skeptical look before looking over at Phil who was leaning against a tree nearby. "What have you talked my daughter into?"
"It is her choice, it will always be her choice." The certainty and determination in Phil's voice made my mother pause for a moment.
"What about finishing college? Is that all out the door now?" My mother turned back to me.
The fact that my mother assumed I would just get married and give up on all my dreams was pissing me off. How dare she think so little of me? I opened my mother to say something rude, but fortunately for me I saw Phil shake his head out of the corner of his eye. He was right this was not the time to pick a fight. So instead I took a deep breath and tried to explain where things were going with my life. It helped that Phil stepped beside me and wrapped his steady hand around my currently shaking fist. I don't know why my mother's speculation regarding my future plans made me so angry, but it sure as hell did.
"Mom, I am not planning on doing anything drastic like getting married," or genetically modified, "before I finish college. Phil and his family firmly believe in getting an education. They will fully support me in whatever field I wish to pursue."
"You are also forgetting the practical aspect of this." Phil continued when I paused to take a breath.
"And what would that be?" My mother's look was a combination of skeptical and reluctant. Maybe I was making her understand my position a little.
"She will get my financial support, no need for her to worry about tuition or food or housing. If she wants to quit her job and take more courses that is an option that I can provide." Phil's tone stayed steady and calm, as always it leeched some much needed serenity into my mind.
His certainty was something I could draw strength from. He was absolutely right on the topic of money. As much as people like to say "all we need is love" it was also nice not to have to worry about paying the bills. I would not condone staying with someone who you did not love just for the money, but if you already loved them why would you not take the money as a perk of the relationship.
My mother lost some steam at this point, but she still tried to convince me not to "get married".
I was making little headway in my attempt to explain to my mother that I was not getting married anytime soon. Sadly after all my talking it was Phil who finally made her pause to consider what I was saying.
"Do you honestly think that ring would be good enough for a plastic surgeons wife?" His tone sounded bored.
My mother looked at him confused for a minute before narrowing her eyes. "So what does a promise ring entail if not an engagement?"
"An elaborate way of saying I am your boyfriend. But as a side benefit men will assume it is an engagement ring and know she is taken." He winked at me as he said this but I not think he was entirely joking. My mother let the subject drop soon after that, but I could tell it would be something we would be "discussing" again.
Much to my embarrassment the party turned out to be partially a thank you for helping save Emily and Claire from the evil Doctor Leech.
"I told them you would not like this, but they insisted." Seth came up to me giving me a hug.
"I missed you, little brother." I hugged him back squeezing as hard as I could. There was so much I could not tell him, at least not with all of Sam's pack hanging around.
He gave me a quick look of understanding, he knew about my plans regarding the island and the reasons why I needed to go there. "Are you all healed up?"
"Yes, everything is back to normal, including my quick ability to heal. Phil was kind of psycho about that part. I think I freaked him out a tad when I got hurt." Sometimes when I would wake up in the middle of the night, Phil would be there watching me sleep. Some would have been a little freaking out over the prospect of having him hovering but I understood his fear. After he had come back all bruised from his little trip I had found myself just starring at him, listening to his heartbeat and reassuring myself he was still with me.
"Phil was not the only one you freaked out." He shuddered for a moment. "Try not to pick anymore fights like that."
"Hey you should have seen the other guys." I told him half jokingly, trying to bring a bit of levity into my all of a sudden serious brother. My little brother was at times much too old for his body, part of it was his personality the other part was due to what he had lived through in the past year. I tried to mentally take a step back and take a good look at him.
My life was pretty much the way I wanted it to be, so some of the details still needed to be worked out - but the major stuff was solid. I had Phil and my future with him, a lot could happen but I could always count on Phil. Come to think of it I could count on his family as well. I also had my school, I looked forward to knowing more about history. The need for knowledge had settled into me - I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be with Phil, I wanted to be part of his family and all the responsibilities that came with than, and I wanted to learn.
The past year for my brother had not been much different from mine. When the newborns came to town Sam had tried to give Seth the easy job of being wolf cell phone so that he could stay out of trouble. Things had not quite worked out all that well. My little brother had to take on a newborn all by himself, and he had done a much better job than I had. Like the rest of the pack he had faced certain death, over and over again. Last December he had been the optimistic little annoying pest but underneath all that there was a glimmer of doubt, he had known we might not make it out alive but he was not going to let it get to him. My brother was eternally optimistic but he was not an idiot. A close brush with death alters a person no matter who you are, and both my brother and I had several of those instances over the past year. Then there was that little slut Jill, who managed to cheat on my little brother - who the fuck would cheat on Seth? We both had to deal with rejection, though Sam rejecting me had been a little more severe it did not change the fact that Seth had been betrayed as well.
It was a testament to how selfish I was that I had completely forgotten that my little brother lost a father, too. Seth had been only fourteen when our father died, still a child in some ways. He had to take on the responsibilities of an adult, while still on the cusp of manhood. I on the other hand had reverted to throwing tantrums like a five year old.
Maybe it was time to get to know my little brother a little more. Chances were that I would have to live without him eventually, he would find a nice girl, stop shifting and age. He would be gone from me sooner than later - Phil had warned me about this consequence of being immortal. But just because I understood that I would eventually outlive my human friends and family did not mean I had to like it. What would happen if Seth imprinted on a girl like Jill and she did not appreciate what a great person he truly was? I was starting to get angry just thinking about the little bitch, whoever she may be, maybe I could threaten her with dismemberment if she ever hurt him - Phil would help me out there.
"What are you going to do now?" Seth brought me back to the present. He pointed to the ring on my right hand.
"Nothing much changes, I still have to get my degree. So I will be sticking around Seattle for a while." I shrugged, it was impossible to talk to him here, there were too many people that could overhear our conversation. Maybe I would convince him to come up and stay with us in Seattle for a week or so once his school ends. "Speaking of school, how is yours going?"
This time it was Seth that shrugged. "School is boring, don't really see much use in it. Kendrick has been pushing me hard, but with all that has been going on with that vampire that attacked you school is not my number one priority."
"Hey, school is the only way to get off the Rez. Do you want to be here forever? Or do you want to go see the world?" It frustrated me how little he cared about an education.
"Leah, you were the only one that wanted to leave this place. The rest of us are fine, I can help mom with her business." Unlike most people Seth did not resent me for that fact that I had left home. He wanted me to be happy, that is all. Some people thought that Seth was not genuine in his goodwill but in all the years I had known him and even when sharing his thoughts I had encountered nothing but kindness. It kind of made you want to kick his ass.
"But would it not be better to get an accounting degree or some sort of business degree? Things are not as simple as they used to be, especially when you start getting into complicated things like sales tax." As much as my people would like to preserve the old ways there were some things that would need to change or else they would become totally obsolete. The bonfire was a beautiful was of telling others of the stories of my people, but it was very unreliable. What if someone died before they could teach their stories to the next generation? How much had already been lost? I know Emily was trying to put some of this on paper but it was doubtful that she had the skills to do it accurately or permanently. Maybe I could look into an academic way of recording the stories, I could ask my advisor.
"I am only fifteen, I still have a couple of years left before I have to decide." Then Seth started to laugh. "You really are going to be one of them? Already you are pushing education."
I laughed as well, Seth was right I was turning into one of them, a member of the family - but that was a choice I made. Was I trying to take away Seth's choices? "I just want you to have options, and trust me when I say there is more to life than what can be found on the Rez."
Seth seemed to consider what I told him as he wandered off to talk to Embry, but he was that sort of person - one who considered everyone's feelings and opinions. Phil found me standing off to the side, he had been helping my mother with the setup for the bonfire. Our non-engagement had given her enough authority to start ordering Phil around; it was like he was one of the family already.
"What has you so quiet?" He wrapped me in his arms, my favorite place to be. I looked out at the ocean. How many lovers had embraced while watching the waters swirl and move? How many sisters had looked over the gray and blue mass while worrying about their sibling's futures?
"My brother Seth, he does not take education seriously." I laughed a little, but at the same time I was nervous. I had made mostly A's and B's in school which helped me to get into the college of my choice. The decisions and effort my little brother put into his education now would determine what doors would be open. "I just want him to have options."
"Don't worry about Seth, he does not have the motivation to learn just yet." Phil looked towards the water, but that was not what he was seeing.
"What are you hiding from me now?" There was something he was not telling me, I could not pinpoint a particular reason for my suspicion but I was still certain of my conclusion.
"Why do you think I am hiding something?" Phil asked looking back at me, but his eyes were shuttered.
I became even more certain that he was hiding things, and I was beginning to suspect it involved my little brother somehow. "You will tell me." The determination in my voice startled him.
Now is not the time or the place, but you will know soon enough. I am sorry but this is not my secret to share. I could hear the words in my head. It reminded me of the fact that we were not alone, there were others around us with very good hearing.
I opened my mouth to protest but quickly closed it again - two could play this game. You will explain this very soon. I thought as loudly as I could.
Phil was saved from further interrogation by my mother. "Leah I need to talk to you for a minute...alone please." She added the last part when I did not move to follow her quickly enough.
Phil gave me a small push and a wink, he seemed utterly relaxed. So this was not going to be something to worry about, at least that was my interpretation of his gestures.
It turned out that my mother's problem had to do with Phil attending the bonfire. "It is not good to expose him to many of our legends, he might figure out the tribe secret. I know he knows some things but there is a difference between suspicion and confirmation."
I gave a big sigh, no this was not life threatening problem but she was determined to hash it out right now - I would have preferred to tell my mother this on my own terms, and not with half of Sam's pack listening to the conversation. "Mom, if you want him to leave I am sure he will." She seemed relieved, she did not know I was not done yet.
I don't know why I was reluctant to tell my mother I had imprinted, maybe it was because this felt like someone was forcing me into it. Meeting Phil, getting to know him, and learning to love him with all my heart had taken a great deal of time and consideration on my part. I normally was not a private person but I bristled at the thought of having to reveal all this to the curious bystanders, I was enough of a freak as the only female wolf without the added fact that I had now imprinted. At first they had the decency to pretend they were not listening to my conversation with my mother, but now even that had disappeared as several people openly stared.
"There is one thing you should know mother, if Phil leaves... then so do I." This was not a threat, it was simply me stating a fact.
My mother's eyes got huge at my words, she finally was starting to understand my attachment to Phil. It would have been amusing had I not been so annoyed, as I looked around it was hard not to notice that everyone had stopped what they were doing and were intently watching my mother and me. The glare I sent in their general direction did not seem to matter. This shit was none of their business, why could they just not go away?
"Oh you have imprinted." My mother said in a whisper. "Why did you not say so in the first place?"
"Because I don't want some stupid wolf thing to matter. What matters is how I feel about a man I got to know. I did not just get the instant imprint like the boys do, I had to actually work for it. So pardon me if the whole imprinting thing is not so important. There are things that I value more." I finally lost my grip on my temper and stormed off like a petulant five year old. I knew it was not the best way to relay the fact that I was a mature adult now but I had learned my limits and the alternative was to yell.
I found Phil talking to Jake, I had had enough of this crap. I wanted to go home and come back when I could talk to my mother without the entire tribe listening in. They were starting to make me feel like it would not be a bad thing to start inviting my mother to Seattle instead of coming here.
"Hey Leah, how is it going?" Jake was one of the normal ones, I could actually tolerate him.
"Hello oh glorious leader." I told him by way of greeting, some habits were hard to break. Giving Jake a hard time about being the alpha of our small pack was one of them.
"You can cut the crap, I am on to you now." Jake gave me his high wattage smile.
"So how have you been?" I asked him giving him a slight shove, you had to keep Jake in his place or he might let his alpha status get to him. I considered it my job to make sure Jake did not get too cocky.
"Not really anything to complain about. Except for the Rez cop Maples, he really has been after us. He is afraid of our so called gang, and has been watching us like a hawk." Jake shrugged, not much really bothered him. But then that was his personality, he was a pretty easy going guy.
Maples, as we called him, was the head Rez cop; he had a pretty easy job, since nothing much happened on the Rez. Occasionally he had to break up a fight when people had too much to drink but other than that his main occupation was catching speeders. He was generally not well liked, I think he was bored and so he would go out of his way to look for trouble where there was none to be found. I remember my father complaining that the man had forgotten what it was like to be a member of the tribe.
Maples had married an outsider and ever since then had been moving further and further away from the old ways. The tribe was not close minded, they welcomed people of all colors and backgrounds - well eventually, sometimes it would take a while for them to warm up to a person. The problem seemed to be that his wife, Cindy, refused to be part of this tribe and went out of her way to make sure she would have nothing to do with us. She was a devout christian and still loudly proclaimed that she would not be going to church with these "pagans" as she called us. She made sure her precious little children did not spend too much time around us tainted Rez kids, instead she would drive them to play with the kids in Forks. Up until high school she had actually gone so far as to homeschool her children in order to protect them from us - I can only image how horrified she would be if she found out about the wolves.
Most people of the tribe had given up on her, after twenty some years of living here she still had not bothered to learn anything about the Quieluete tribe. Her daughter Jill was the same age as Seth, she was the one he had dated for a while. I guess she was doing the whole rebel against the strict parents bit, dating Seth would have really irked Jill's mom.
"Maples is always out looking for trouble, I don't know why he does not give up and move away from here." I rolled my eyes at Jake. "Just stay away from him and don't get caught."
"I don't think anyone else would put up with his crap. But he needs to work a few more years and then he can retire. Hopefully somewhere far, far away." Jake spoke as if he was really looking forward to that part. "Jared is actually thinking of going to take some classes at one of the local colleges. It would be good to have a member of the pack on the police force."
That was a great idea, if strange things happened in the region - like bodies turning up - it would be beneficial for one of us to actually know what was going on. There was nothing worse than trying to do our jobs while avoiding the police.
Due to the fact that they were having this big bonfire I was thinking of cutting out early. I had already spoken with everyone I wanted to and it was easy to use the excuse of the drive back to Seattle. Phil convinced me to stay a little longer, I promised to try so long as I did not have to be nice anymore. As the afternoon started to change into evening more people showed up. The small bluff started to get a little more crowded as people started gathering around the large pile of wood, it was still too early to light but it did not stop people from claiming the 'good' spots.
I was sitting on a log watching the boys pile even more wood on an already huge pile, Phil had abandoned me to find something to drink. I noticed Rachel and Kim approaching me slowly. It was Rachel that was bold enough to talk to me. "So rumor has it that you imprinted. Kind of strange."
"It does not bother me that much, considering it was my choice." It would have been too much effort to be rude right now, and Rachel had always been nice to me.
"So you chose to imprint?" Rachel seemed very impressed by this.
"Something like that." She could not understand, my love for Phil went beyond the imprint. But it seemed to make everything all right, even my mother seemed to be ok now that she knew I had imprinted. I might not be able to make my own decisions but if fate made them for me it was all right - to say that pissed me off was an understatement.
"So we were wondering how he is in bed?" This was from Kim, shy quiet little Kim.
It took me a moment to recover from my shock. I started laughing, for all the supernatural mumbo jumbo we were still all girls. Something truly mischievous flared up inside me. I tried to pull my face together into a more serious look. "Well let us just put it this way, there is something to be said for an older man with experience." I leaned a little closer for a better effect. "I don't have to fake my orgasms...anymore."
Kim giggled while Rachel looked over at where Sam and Emily were sitting together. I followed her line of sight, it seemed that Sam had been eavesdropping on my conversation. I watched as his lips tightened around his teeth and a blush appeared on his cheeks.
I looked past him to find Phil, he was in deep conversation with Jake's father. From the sounds of it they were discussing politics, maybe I should warn Phil to be careful - Billy Black took his politics very seriously. Was it wrong for me to be wondering when we could go back home?
"So care to share some details?" Rachel interrupted my woolgathering.
"It might be too much for your virgin ears." We laughed together at the thought. Somehow I highly doubted that Rachel was still a virgin but it was good to tease her. "But let me just say that as straight laced as Phil may appear there are some interesting surprises underneath those clothes." Yes that little bit of silver in his nipple was very much a surprise and I was more than tempted to go over there and bite it through the fabric of his shirt.
"He is that good?" Rachel asked with a laugh.
"Can't you tell? She is off in fantasy land right now," Kim added finally making me realize this was not the best place to think about those things.
We moved onto different topics, she asked my about college. I asked her what she was doing now that she had come back.
"Odd jobs while we wait for some things to settle down. Paul kind of freaked out when those leeches caught you, he does not want me going very far from the Rez." She was explaining why she had not gotten a permanent job somewhere like Forks.
"Jared did the same thing, he wants me to stay as close to him as possible." Kim added.
"It was a close call, especially last time. Pretty much had it not been for Phil and Carlisle I would not have made it." It had been a very close call, no one outside of the family would ever know how close.
"Some would probably think it is heresy but I don't think the Cullens are as bad as some of the wolves make them out to be." Kim told us quietly.
"Carlisle strangely is a very, very nice man. I don't think I have met humans as nice as Carlisle, well maybe Seth but no one is nicer than Seth. Some of the other members of the family are not so nice, but they usually try to do the right thing with a lot of prodding from Carlisle." I was not longer pissed off at the Cullens, so I had been able to step back enough to appreciate at least some of them.
"The boys seem pretty impressed that you took down two of the leeches." Rachel seemed very interested in my awesome vampire fighting skills.
"It was not that impressive, I managed to use a trick I had learned and got seriously lucky." I had watched Phil and Myles train together on the island, it had really scared me the first time I had seen them fight - it had looked like they intended to kill each other. At some points had Stef not restrained me I would have jumped in between the two of them to try to protect Phil. It had really brought home the fact that I really knew nothing about fighting, the snippets of training we had gotten here and there were practically useless, especially since we had been teaching each other. The blind leading the blind.
"So where did you learn the trick?" Jared asked as he joined us.
I did not mind Jared all that much, he seemed a nice enough guy. It would have been better had he not been Sam's right hand man. "I learned it form a friend of Phil's." I shrugged, technically Tiffany was his cousin but I was not going to go into all that.
"How does this guy know so much?" Jared asked, curiosity filling his voice.
"Tiffany is most certainly not a guy, I can attest to that fact." I told him with a laugh, I had seen enough of her various bits to testify to the fact that she was a girl.
"What you saw her naked or something?" Paul joined us as well.
"Yeah, she hangs out at the house all the time and I learned the hard way that she does not like to wear clothes when at home." Technically it had been about bothering Jasper enough for him to be distracted but it would be hard to explain why a human was training a vampire in fighting techniques.
"So how is it that this woman taught you to fight?" Jared continued his interrogation.
"Yeah what would a girl know about fighting?" The derision was obvious in Paul's voice. Seriously had he not heard about women's rights?
I was not the only one who noticed, Rachel reached over and popped him across the head. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She sounded kind of angry and I tried my best to keep the smile off my face.
"Um, nothing baby, just saying that girls.." Paul looked over at Jared for backup. "Help me out Jared will you?"
"Help you, no thank you." Jared told him with a laugh, "you are pretty good at digging yourself into that hole."
"So how did she teach you?" Paul asked in a desperate voice.
"We were actually having a discussion of sorts, she tried to explain how being perceived as weak could be used to your advantage. That is where I got the idea, and I just went with it." Paul and Jared seemed impressed. Too bad they would never know just how awesome fighter Tiffany actually is.
I wandered over to Phil and rescued him and my water from Billy Black. Luckily the topic moved onto beers and Billy had offered one to Phil who had very politely declined.
"If you want to drink I will be happy to drive," I told him quietly under my breath.
"Trust me Leah, that beer tastes like piss, and considering that it looked like the cooler he keeps it in has no ice. The beer would have probably tasted like warm.." I put a hand over his mouth before he could finish his explanation.
We were in the middle of preparing to cook up the hotdogs when there was a commotion. Maples, speaking of the devil, came driving up and parked in the middle of the party.
We all got up wondering what the heck had gotten into him, normally he was not this rude. But Jake had mentioned that he was acting peculiar here of late.
"Seth Clearwater where are you?" He shouted, we could see the spit flying out of his mouth. He sounded very upset, the veins in his neck were pounding, his face was flushed an unflattering red.
"Yes sir, is there something wrong?" My brother approached him with a smile.
That was when I felt Phil come up behind me. Leah I need you to be very still and please do not overreact. His words sounded clear and determined in my head. I felt him wrap his arm around me, it did not feel like an embrace - Phil was trying to restrain me for some reason.
"You are under arrest, put your hands on your head." Maples shouted at my brother, pulling out his gun.
For a moment everyone just stood there, was this some sort of practical joke? Why the hell would anyone arrest Seth? I looked down to see Phil pull out his cell phone, but he did not make a call like I expected him to. He kept one long arm firmly around me while pulling me against his side.
I watched in horror as Maples slammed my brother against his car and cuffed him, before shoving him towards the car door. That was when I started to struggle but Phil would not let me go, despite the fact that I got in a few good jabs before he could hold down my arms. Cursing I tried to pull away but Phil would not let me go.
"Sam and Jake control your pack, fighting now will accomplish nothing." Phil's voice was low and controlled. There was enough authority in it that surprisingly both Sam and Jake obeyed, moving in front of their gathering packs.
"Seth, ask for your lawyer and do not say anything. Say absolutely nothing." I heard Phil say quietly under his breath. Seth looked over to us, I noticed him nod almost imperceptibly. There was blood trickling down his nose, which made me try to fight off Phil's restraining hand even harder.
I don't know who started to growl first but pretty soon every wolf had joined in. Who the fuck did this retard think he was, treating my brother with such brutality? If it had not been for Phil's hands holding me I would have probably gone over and ripped the assholes head off. As it was my hands were starting to shake, I could feel Phil whispering soothing words into my ear but I was trying not to pay much attention to him. This time I wanted to get angry, that stupid man was going to go down for hurting my little brother.
"Let go of me so that I can kill that fucker." I growled while I tried to break Phil's hold on me. He must have been cheating and adding extra strength to his arm, because there is no way he should have been able to hold me.
"That would be less than helpful at this point, we need to keep a cool head." Phil whispered in my ear. "Calm down Princess, we will take care of this but you need to calm down."
The bastard Maples practically shoved my little brother into the car. I tried to make one more break for it, I shoved my elbow into Phil's ribs hoping he would let go. Phil held on tight, continuing to whisper reassurances in my ear.
Phil only let me go once the car was out of sight. That was when he used his phone to make a call. I recognized Sassy's voice, Phil did know what he was doing; Sassy was a lawyer.
"Szia, van egy probléma. Egy rendőr úgy gondolja hogy a fiad megerőszakolta a lányat." Phil did a very good impression of a growl. I did not recognize the language he was speaking.
"Are you certain? Who took him in?" I heard Sassy's reply.
"The Reservation cop." Phil spit out, only now did I notice the tension filling him.
"I will be there in half an hour." It must have been the connection, because I could have sworn that Sassy sounded angry enough to commit murder.
"What is going on Phil?" I want to know, you have to tell me right now. But he was not paying attention to me, instead he was briskly walking away. Everyone started talking all at once.
"We need to get to the police station." Phil told me when I caught up with him. "Come we will talk in the truck."
My mother still looked in shock, as did Charlie who was sitting next to her. Everyone was talking all at once, most of them wondering what the hell was wrong with Maples. It was nice to notice that no one thought that Seth had done anything wrong.
"That was not proper procedure. Especially since he was cooperating." Charlie mumbled under his breath.
"That was the reason I took a video of it. You may also notice Seth was not told his Miranda Rights." Phil pointed out as he ushered me down the hill towards the truck. "You need to head to the station, I called in a good lawyer."
"Are you sure the lawyer is good?" My mother asked Phil, it seemed he was the authority all of a sudden.
"Josefine will do anything and everything to make sure your son will be all right. Unfortunately she is not a defense lawyer but she is intelligent enough to deal with this. If things get more complicated there are several other attorneys I can call." Phil seemed absolutely confident.
So we all piled into Phil's truck, my mother drove with us while Charlie took his police cruiser.
"What could possibly be wrong?" My mother asked in a worried voice as Phil quickly drove after Maples' car.
Phil knew but for some reason he was not telling me. There was only one reason I could see for him to keep it from me - I would not like what he told me and I would react badly. He seemed determined to make sure I stayed calm.
A/N: All right see this was much faster than last time, but I kind of liked this chapter.
In case you are wondering the language is hungarian.
Connect2tjb: Thanks for sticking around a second time, just a few more chapters till the end.
BlacknCallwaterfan: Seriously you think you can do too many reviews? Don't you know us fanfic writers are review floozies. We love reviews almost as much as Leah likes food. Thank you so much for taking the time to write, I usually enjoy hearing about which parts people like and which they don't. Honestly I am considering writing non fanfic and appreciate the input.
Domino88: Glad you liked Phil and Leah, I like them together as well. Maybe that is why I am doing this fanfic and not any of my other ones. :D As always thanks for the review. Almost as good as a slice of cheesecake and much less fattening.
GothChiq80: I want Leah's ring too, this is probably sacrilege but I thought the movie version on Bella's engagement ring was butt ugly. It looked too ostentations and had absolutely no class, and I don't think a ring from the early 20th century would look like that but what the heck do I know.
Toshii519: You said you missed La Push, well here you go. Ask and you shall receive. :D It is always fun to have Leah pick on Sam, poor guy I have been somewhat cruel to him.
Jaime2772: Well here you go another chapter. See how much faster I do this when you don't sent me suggestions regarding stories I should read? Just kidding, this was a much smoother chapter to write. A lot less emotions and a lot more let us pick on Sam :D... always good times there. Yeah I saw that you read The Edge, it is more fluffy than this one and comes after this story finishes.
MS Animegoddess: I know the dilemma about the heels, my hubby is nine inches taller than I am so when we go out I do put on the 'husband heels'. The ones that you can only wear when your husband is around and your kids are with a babysitter. Glad you liked the chapter, Myles might look like he could rip you a new one without even breaking a sweat but he is really a sweetheart - until you mess with his family, but that pretty much goes for everyone. I see him as having more of his mom's personality while Phil is more quiet like his father.