CH.31 Soul Matter
Seth's Pov
Waking up with Bella's warm soft body lying over mine was indescribable. I had missed the feel of her skin against mine.
I stroked my hand down Bella's side, relishing in the feel of her under my fingertips. Moments like this were my favorite.
This week went nothing like I thought, or planned or imagined but somehow for us it was perfect. We know each other inside and out, all the parts of us. Bella loves me, all of me and while I thought I had known that before, this week as she slept beside my wolf, as she talked to me like she would have as a man, as she fought beside me left no doubt she loved me completely.
Bella is just as much my protector as I am hers, that realization was incredibly humbling.
"Morning baby." Bella sighed looking up at me.
"Good morning." I leaned down to peck her lips.
"We have to go home today."
"We do, but we'll come back." I told her knowing I wanted to experience this place with her again; I wanted to come back to the place that showed us who we are… together.
"The pictures, Seth I know things, I dreamed them, I feel different like more aware of… well just everything." Bella said pulling herself over me.
"Met too."
"If we pack up and leave within the hour, we'll be home in time to get the meeting with the council over with and maybe go to dinner." I told her looking at my phone to see it was only 2:30 in the morning; our sleep schedule was all messed up.
"Okay but before we talk to the council I want a hot shower."
"Do I get to join you in this hot shower?" She asked kissing my lips.
"Of course, how else is the shower going to be hot?"
"Cheesy baby, that was cheesy." Bella laughed.
"We better start packing." Bella told me laughing as she pushed up against me.
"I know but now I'm thinking of you in the shower."
"Then we better hurry up, the sooner we leave the sooner we'll be home." She told me pulling on her layers of clothes.
I was pulling the tipi apart when I glanced at Bella to see a sad smile on her face.
"What are you thinking?"
"Just that I want to camp again and use the tipi, there's something magical about it. There is so much history inside here."
"We will, I promise. I told you how the tipi is passed down from generation to generation, when we get married mom and dad will present us with the tipi. It's tradition, they couldn't do it before because the Tribe doesn't know we are married by the mark." I explained.
"That's… wow. Seth, what about Leah?"
"I don't know the tipi is passed down from father to son." I told her thinking about that for the first time.
"We should at the very least share it. She should get to sleep underneath the same place that your ancestors did. It's powerful. If I can feel it, I can only imagine what Leah will feel." Bella said, reminding me of the many reasons, I love her.
"Come here."
"You have no idea how amazing you are. I love you." I told her capturing her lips.
"I love you too Seth."
We finished packing up, and I stood looking at the packed sled thinking about having to phase.
"Babe it's going to be fine, whatever reasons the Spirits had for making you stay a wolf are over." Bella told me.
"You're right." I told her stepping back and phasing sending yet another thank you to Taha Aki for blessing me with my Bella.
We made it back to the truck, and just like Bella told me I phased without any problems.
"Ready?" I asked as I started the truck.
"Yes, let's go home."
Ten hours, (I might have been speeding) a dozen bags of chips, four big mac boxes and endless bathroom breaks later we pulled into the driveway.
I stepped out of the cab, pulling Bella with me and held her close to my body.
"Shower." She mumbled into my chest.
We had barely closed the truck door when Leah came barreling out the door, followed by mom, dad, Charlie and the pack.
"Be-be your home." Leah sang as she ran towards us, but stopped abruptly.
"Seth, why does my sister smell like leech? Bella are you okay?" Leah asked looking Bella over for injuries only for Brady to make his way to us, him too checking Bella over.
"Let us shower then we'll explain." I told her knowing everyone heard.
Leah's Pov
Seth and Bella went downstairs as the rest of us gathered around the living room.
There was something different about them, the air crackled around the two of them, their eyes were deeper, and Seth seemed bigger. Taller and broader than he had when they left.
"They're different, and did anyone else notice Seth seems bigger?" I asked.
"Yes." Mom said shaking her head.
"Do you think they were given any answers?" Sam asked.
"We'll find out soon." Old Quil told him always with that knowing look on his face.
Half an hour later Bella and Seth came through the kitchen, clean and smelling like birthday cake.
He sat down pulling Bella into his lap, and then looked up at mom, dad, and the rest of the council.
"Well before we start any official business, how was your trip?" Mom asked smiling I knew she was happy to have both of them home.
"Interesting." Bella said making Seth laugh.
"It's all going to be council related, so we may as well start from the beginning, and then you can ask questions." Seth said pulling Bella even closer to him.
"We started the drive and everything was going as planned, we stopped at the hotel and after dinner we pulled the peyote out just like we discussed, but it just didn't feel right. We decided to wait until we were settled in our camp to take it.
The next morning we got back on the road but the closer, we got to our exit it just felt wrong, so we made the decision to drive until it felt right. We ended up near Glacier National Park." Seth told us.
"Did you feel like it was the spirits driving you?" Old Quil asked with a knowing look.
"I know it was I felt edgy until I decided to follow the feeling I had, once we crossed into Montana everything just seemed right." Seth told him.
"But this is where it gets interesting." Bella snorted, making Seth shake his head.
"We set up the tipi, unpacked, ate dinner, and then took in the peyote (which isn't nearly as bitter as you said.) We lay down to go to sleep and when I woke up I was in my wolf form."
"Did you phase on purpose?" Sam asked, but you could clearly see in Seth's face that he hadn't.
"No, and I couldn't phase back either. I wasn't able to phase human until yesterday afternoon." Seth told us.
There was silence for about five minutes everyone processing what Seth had just said.
"How, what… I mean how did that work?" Dad asked.
"It helps that my wife is weird as hell." Seth said laughing as he looked at Bella.
"We just made it work. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner. We explored the woods, Bella talked to me as she would if I had been human. We were still us.
FYI a wolf fits in the tipi." Seth laughed.
"You didn't… you know, while you were a wolf did you?" Quil asked.
"Something is seriously wrong with you." Bella said giving Quil a what the fuck look.
"NO! You idiot." Seth said glaring at him.
"What like no one else wanted to know?" Quil said holding his hands up.
"Peyote causes a dreamlike state, is it possible you only think you were phased the whole time?" Billy asked making Old Quil scoff.
"No, it wasn't a dream in fact neither of us had any dreams until last night.
"Did you receive any guidance or answers while in your wolf form?" Old Quil asked.
"No, well not that was obvious. We know why the spirits forced my phase but we didn't understand until yesterday after the leech showed up." Seth told him.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Yesterday we had just finished lunch I was still in my wolf, when I smelled it.
It couldn't see me, but it did see Bella. It started talking to her, telling her she smelled different. Obviously, it liked playing with its food.
Bella talked back, telling him she knew what it was, and calling it a few names , at first, I didn't realize what the hell she was doing other than giving me a damn heart attack, but while she distracted it with talking I was able to sneak up on his side.
I won." Seth told us.
"Well it was pissing me off." Bella said seeing everyone look at her, making most of the pack laugh and the council look at her with wide eyes while Charlie looked like he wanted to spank her.
"What the hell did you call it?" Jared asked looking impressed.
"After she explained she knew lots of names for its kind she told him he was a pasty sparkly motherfucker." Seth said beaming at Bella, who blushed.
"Isabella Marie Swan." Charlie bellowed, making Seth growl with the tone of voice he used for Bella.
"Dad relax, I knew Seth was making his move plus Seth already lectured me." She told him then put her hands on Seth's face.
"Uh huh, I bet he was real stern too." Charlie huffed knowing just as well as the rest of us; Seth wouldn't dare raise his voice to Bella.
"Well you know…." Quil started with a smirk on his face.
"One quip from you and I'm going to hit you with your granddad's cane." Charlie told Quil making everyone laugh and Quil grumble.
"Did you get any answers?" Sam finally asked.
"Yes, but it's hard to explain. We do know answers to a few of the questions that we've been asked before, but it's like we know things about stuff that we don't know about yet." Seth told us and it was easy to see he didn't really know how to explain what he meant.
"What do you know?" Mom asked.
"We both saw text and pictures and heard things, but it feels as though we won't know what we know until we need to. I don't know how else to explain it." Bella said sinking into Seth.
"When and how did the images appear to you? Were you in wolf form?" Old Quil asked.
"No, after Bella started throwing chunks of leech into the fire, I was….
"Wait a minute what do you mean Bella threw parts of the leech into the fire?" Sam asked.
"Exactly that, I tore apart the leech and while I was thinking of how the hell I was going to burn the fucker, I smelled the fire. I turned around and Bella had the fucker lit up, and was throwing pieces into the burning pyre." Seth told him.
"Holy Shit! Bella you're a bad ass." Paul said jumping up and hugging her whispering how she was going to have to train his imprint.
Looking around the pack was wide eyed and slack jawed, Charlie looked ready to fall over and mom and dad while looking a bit startled were beaming. Old Quil or should I say Quilly looked as proud as could be and Billy was just shaking his head.
"Anyway so we burned the leech, and I was able to phase back."
"Do you know why you were able to phase back then and not before?" Mom asked.
"Bella has always told me she loved all of me, including my wolf and while I believed it I guess a small part of me held a little doubt. After I tore apart the leech I was terrified she would be afraid of me." He started saying but had to stop and take a deep breath.
"When I finally turned to look at her, she could see the fear in my eyes and told me that she could never be afraid of me that I was her protector. I knew without a shadow of doubt she truly loved all of me but more than that, she was my protector too. That's when I was able to phase back. I think the Spirits let her mark me because we are true equals." Seth told us, and I will be damned if it didn't make me tear up a little bit.
"Wait she marked you?" Sam asked while the pack sat stunned and the Elders looked giddy and shocked.
"Yes." Seth said radiating pride like I have never seen before.
"Seth can you show us the mark?" He asked.
"Yes." Seth said with a huge grin. Damn he was telling the truth this whole time about wanting her to mark him.
Seth pulled his shirt off, and I could hear the gasp as his shoulder held the teeth marks of Bella, and I could smell her scent as his skin was exposed.
"It smells like her, and it's the same temperature as her body, just as my marks smell like me and are my temperature."
"I'm going to guess the images appeared to you while you were intimate." Mom said delicately.
"Yes."
"I saw the images as Bella marked me." Seth told her.
"Bella did you also see the images as you marked Seth?" Dad asked.
"No, I saw them when he bit into my throat, then we each received more images later." She told him.
"Did you get the answers when you received the images?" Billy asked.
"No, we each got two sets of images, after the second set it felt like we had been drugged and had to sleep. When we woke up this morning, we just knew stuff." Seth told him.
"Can you tell us what you do know?" Billy asked.
"Yes but it would be easier if you asked the questions, it's as if we have answers but we don't know the answer until we need it." Seth told him.
"First since this too seems to be involving your personal life, do you have any idea why that is?" Billy asked.
"We all think of imprints as being the other half of the wolves' soul and that's true but in our case our halves don't make up the whole, it is the whole. One soul.
Our private life is our souls merging, becoming one." Seth said with a small smirk.
"It's not pre mating season is it?" Dad asked almost laughing.
"Nope. It's just us." Seth smirked.
"Bro your souls must really like to bond." Embry cracked, making most of laugh, as Charlie sat there turning pink.
"Do you know why you have marked Bella so many times?" Charlie asked.
"Yes and no, I know that she needs to smell like me but I don't know why. I also know no other marks will show on her skin but that I will continue to mark her."
"Why do you bite her throat?" Sam asked.
I knew that had bothered him more than anything else had not knowing why Seth felt the need to do it.
"Part of the benefit of marking, is the senses I passed onto Bella. When I mark her or bite her throat and she bites me or now marked me we are passing our senses onto the other, Bella got balance and she smells and hears better from my marks, so the spirits must want Bella to pass something to me through her mark. We're just not sure what it is." Seth explained.
"Did Leah imprint on you as a sister?" Mom asked, and I definitely wanted to hear if the spirits had given them insight into this question even if I already felt I knew the answer.
"Yep, total sister imprint. Leah and I are bonded through the spirits." Bella said smiling at me.
"I'm guessing that's why Seth isn't threatened with Brady?" Dad asked.
"Brady is bonded to Leah making him bonded to my mate; my wolf recognizes Brady as Leah's mate. My blood sister's mate so Brady is essentially bonded to Bella through familial blood ties." Seth explained.
"That brings up the question of how Bella knew Brady and Leah were going to imprint, any idea how that happened." Sam asked.
"I just get feelings; I think its intuitive maybe." Bella said blushing.
"No, my mate is a healer. The spirits give her insight. She will know things that the rest of us will not, and we will need to listen to what she says.
Sometimes it will be recognizing the bond of others, or calming effects when needed. The spirits chose Bella for her heart, her pure soul, and her acceptance of the wolf but also the respect she carries for our people." Seth said looking down at Bella as he spoke.
"I knew it!" Old Quil shouted making us all look at him.
"Oh don't look at me like that, we've all thought it. She is of pure heart it makes sense the spirits would bestow onto her the gift of healing. And she has the heart of a Native in her pale little body. The books allude to imprints having certain attributes that make them perfect for not only their wolf but to better the pack as well." He told us, and it made perfect sense when you thought about it.
"Why the hell does Clearwater get the chef, sex goddess, and healer?" Quil asked earing a kick to the shin from Charlie.
"Who else in here is pure?" Paul asked shocking all us.
"Don't look at me like that, I may be an asshole, but I'm not stupid. Think about it, we see into each other's minds. Who is the only one of us who was of pure heart and soul even his mind was pure… well until he imprinted." Paul said laughing at the end.
"I'll be damned, you're right." Sam said shaking his head.
"It's not just me… Emily is a provider making sure everyone is taken care of; Kim is always happy and making everyone around her happy." Bella said looking at the other wolf girls.
"Thank you Bella." Emily said quietly at being acknowledged and it was not until then that I realized she had never been given the thanks she deserved for all the meals and the open door policy she held.
"Is there anything else that you are aware of?" Billy asked.
"No but I think we'll be given answers as things come up. I'm not really sure how it works." Seth said.
"Actually I have something I want to bring up. I did not get any 'guidance' from the spirits but I think it's important. I only ask that you let me finish before anyone says anything." Bella said.
"Of course honey." Mom said.
"I've always been proud of what Seth is and what he does but spending a week with his wolf and seeing firsthand how the wolves literally fight to the death to save life it made me really think about things.
I know I am not Quileute, but I understand the need for the secrets just as much as I would if I had been born Quileute. I can't help but wonder why the other families are not told? I mean looking around I can see how proud you all of your wolves, I know how proud I am of Seth, my sister, my brother, our brothers it just doesn't make sense that Embry, Brady and Jared can't have that.
"Embry's mom thinks he's on drugs and both he and Jared get yelled at for sneaking out, Brady's been lucky so far but he hasn't been a wolf very long. Then there is poor Kim whose parents think she is dating a delinquent and that they are too serious with each other. Think about what would have happened if you Harry and Sue didn't know, I was almost 19 when Seth imprinted on me.
I mean you have these guys who are keeping their people, their tribe safe, they do all kinds of things to better the reservation and their own families are left to think they have raised kids who are drug addicts and derelicts. It's one thing for Joe Blow down the road to think they are in a gang but I am talking about their family. They are a part of the secret too, one day they will all have not only sons or daughters who are protectors but most likely grandchildren that watch over and protect them.
I just think it's unfair to not only Brady, Jared and Embry but also their parents. They should get to feel pride in their children too." Bella said.
Seth was practically glowing with pride, Jared, and Embry looked on the verge of tears and Brady like me just looked at our sister with absolute love.
I glanced up at my parents, Old Quil and Billy who were just staring at Seth and Bella. Charlie looked almost as proud as Seth.
It was silent for a long time, everyone just looking at each other.
"You're right." Old Quil finally said shocking us all as he is the biggest opponent of anyone outside the pack knowing.
"Boys how bad is it with your parents?" Dad asked.
"My mom threatened to take me to be drug tested." Embry said hanging his head.
"Mine too, our moms are friends. They uh… cry a lot." Jared said.
"It's 5:30, do you think your parents would be able to meet us at the council hall at 7:00?" Billy asked.
"Uh you're the Chief of the Tribe, they'll be there." Jared laughed.
"Well we're going to go take a nap; we'll meet you up here before the meeting." Seth said getting up Bella tucked into his side.