A/N I am not Stephenie Meyer, I do not own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse or Breaking Dawn. No copyright infringement intended.

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Chapter 43: Blood and Tears

"So Nessie, how much longer do you think this is going to take?"

Nessie stood up so she could see him over the cluttered mess on the worktable in front of her and smiled. "Are you getting bored Jake?"

He had spent the first half-hour examining the many artifacts and documents housed in Carlisle's lab-slash-archive. Nessie had to admonish him more than once when he picked up some priceless artifact without thinking. Now, he was lying on his back in the middle of the lab with his hands laced behind his head and one foot propped against his bent knee.

"We could take a break if you want."

"Naw, it's okay. I was just wondering if you still wanted to go to the bonfire tonight?"

Nessie laughed. "Jake, we have hours before the bonfire is supposed to start. If you want to get out of here and help set things up that's fine, go ahead. I'm sure I can catch a ride to La Push with Embry later tonight."

Jake's deep chested growl startled her. "Embry didn't drive over here Nessie. It was bad enough that you rode Sam half way across Canada. There is no way in hell I'm letting you ride Embry to La Push."

Nessie resented the Alpha tone almost as much as Jake's insinuation that accepting Sam's offer was inappropriate in any way. "Is that supposed to be funny, or are you just being an obnoxious, controlling, territorial Alpha?"

"Um… which one will get me in the least amount of trouble?" Jake propped himself up on his elbows and smiled sheepishly.

Nessie knew she had a choice. She could make her point and escalate this discussion into another nasty fight—or follow Jake's lead and turn it into a joke. "Hmmmm… I think the dirty joke option is your best chance to avoid my wrath, as long as no one else hears about it. I don't want another 'Innuendo Incident'."

Jake's face turned grey as he slowly got to his feet. He wove through the maze of shelves, tables and boxes until he stood behind her. The close proximity of Jake's chest and stomach radiating his body heat into her back and hips increased her heart rate.

She leaned into him, but he did not wrap his arms around her or pull her body against his as she expected. Instead, he lightly rested his hands on her shoulders and whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry Nessie. I just now realized the double meaning of my words." Jake gently massaged her shoulders. "I don't want you to be mad at me for being 'an obnoxious, controlling, territorial Alpha', but I can't even pretend to make you the object of a dirty joke. That feels like blasphemy."

Nessie turned around and wove her fingers into his hair. She looked into his deep dark eyes and saw a mixture of remorse, pain, and love. "I know you would never make me the object of any sort of joke, Jacob—dirty or not. I'm not mad at you, but just so you know… I did NOT enjoy riding Sam across Canada. I didn't think I had a choice.

I have no intention of riding Embry anywhere. I forgot that he wolfed it over here. More to the point, I can run to La Push by myself. I don't need a car or a wolf to get me there. Besides, Leah would kill me if I arrived at the bonfire on Embry's furry back."

The corners of Jake's mouth curved up into a gentle smile. "Leah wouldn't get the chance to kill you. I'm pretty sure Sophie would tear you to pieces as soon as she saw you riding 'her Embry'."

"Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really proud of us."

"Why's that Sweetheart?"

"We could have had a huge fight over this, but we didn't. We talked it out, and I actually feel closer to you because of it."

Jake brushed her lips softly with his before gently deepening the kiss. His mouth moved slowly with gentle pressure but no lust. His hands were warm and still on her back.

Gradually the kiss became more passionate. Jake pulled her body against his with such tenderness and love it filled her with a sense of awe. When at last they broke the kiss, they simply held each other and cherished the moment of mutual bliss. Nessie rested her head on Jake's shoulder and noticed that their heartbeats were perfectly synchronized, beating as one.

"Nessie?"

"Hmmm?"

"If you hurry and finish up quickly, maybe we will have time for a quick nap in the tent before the bonfire." She looked up at his face and read the promise in his eyes.

When a recent cuddle session resulted in violating a certain predetermined boundary, Jake had insisted on enforcing stronger rules. If they were going to sleep together, they had to limit the amount and intensity of physical contact. That roughly translated into a no-making-out-in-the-tent policy.

"When you say 'nap' do you mean what I think you mean?" Nessie didn't want to get too excited if Jake only intended to sleep.

"What do you think I mean?" Jake smiled his sexy crooked grin and peered at her with heavy lidded eyes.

"If you're teasing me Jacob Black there will be hell to pay." Nessie was only half joking.

Jake dropped the grin and his face became serious. "I don't intend for us to… um… get carried away like before, but I want to… no… I need to hold you in my arms and kiss you and feel your body next to mine." Jake's eyes darkened and both their hearts were hammering loud enough to alert the entire household of vampires.

Nessie reached up and placed her palm on Jake's cheek. She projected the image of her removing the Cullen family Bible from its non-archival and potentially destructive box. She shared her concern that even the relatively few years in the jungle may have damaged the ancient book. She wanted to check it briefly for signs of mold and insect infestations. "Twenty minutes more in the lab and then we go to the tent!"

Jake's grin was back instantly. He kissed her palms, her forehead, her nose, and both cheeks before giving her a quick but passionate peck on the mouth. "Get busy, Missy."

Nessie opened the ancient box that held the priceless hand bound masterpiece of calligraphic art. She donned a pair of gloves before carefully removing the Bible. How many years did it take to create this one book? How many monks lovingly toiled over these pages as they copied each sacred word? Nessie remembered her delight the first time Carlisle had read to her from this very book. She remembered the way intricate Celtic patterns illuminated the first letter and margins of each page.

She resisted the temptation to open the book immediately and cautiously set it on the carefully prepared examination tray.

Resting on the bottom of the box was an old document, yellow with age. It wasn't ancient. In fact, it was written on paper instead of parchment. At first, she was annoyed that someone had carelessly placed an acidic sheet of paper next to the leather binding of the priceless Bible. Her eyes slowly widened and her mouth fell open when she read the faded writing on the single page.

"Jake, come look at this." Nessie's voice shook with excitement. "I found this piece of paper under Carlisle's Bible. It's in decent condition and still legible."

"Let me see." Jake looked over her shoulder at the old document without touching it. "It looks like Edward's sissified handwriting, which means I can't read it."

"This is not Dad's handwriting—which happens to be elegant, not sissified—but it is close to the same style." Nessie opened her notebook and quickly copied the information word for word then handed it to Jake. "Does that make any sense to you?"

Jake furrowed his brow in concentration as he read but shook his head and handed it back to her. "Not really. I've never heard of any forbidden rituals, and that poem doesn't make any sense at all. I'm pretty sure 'The pull of the wolf' refers to imprinting—if this is Quileute in origin."

"Jake, it has to be." Nessie's eyes filled with tears as she thought of her grandfather and the miracle of his message. She inhaled sharply to keep her nose from dripping and caught a faint hint of Carlisle's unique scent.

Nessie placed Jake's open palm over her heart and said, "I know this is what Carlisle was talking about in his message to you, Jacob. I can feel it, right here. This is what I own that you are seeking. The secret to breaking Embry's imprint is on this page!"

"But Nessie... I have no idea what this stuff means."

"Come on!" Nessie grabbed Jake's hand and rushed out the door. "Hey everyone, Jake and I found something! Meet us at the table."

As soon as everyone arrived, Nessie explained what she found hidden under Carlisle's ancient family Bible.

"The original looks like it was torn from a bound book, probably a journal. There is no name but there is a partial date… 'ary', which would be either January or February, and the year 1937. I left the original in the lab for now. I don't want to risk damaging it, but I copied the all the information as accurately as I could. It starts out like a journal entry, but then switches to a poetic style, which I believe to be wedding vows …"

"Nessie Darlin', why don't you just read it to us out loud?" She nodded then began…

"Tonight we perform the forbidden ritual of binding. I understand the language of my new family and have faith in the power of their legends—how could I not—after all I have seen? It has been two years since my deliverance, yet I cannot speak their words. I have written these vows and taught them to my beloved so that we may bind ourselves with words of promise before God, as well as with the ancient sacrifice from the legends of his people."

Nessie looked up to judge the reaction of her family. Everyone stared at her expectantly without comment so she continued. "Here's the poem…"

The Warrior's Sacrifice:

By my own hand and my own knife

I sever flesh and offer life

Suffer pain, and earthly strife

And ask you now to be my wife.

Come take my hand, let this wound remind you

Of the promise I made to stay beside you.

There is naught I would not do,

To prove my love for you is true.

The Woman's Reply:

My tears flow freely for your pain

Mix with your blood and always remain

A part of your body, to protect and maintain

The love that we share so your heart I may claim.

If the pull of the wolf should lead you astray,

My tears and your blood will show you the way

Back to my arms, my heart and our home

No matter how long or far you may roam.

The Warrior's Promise:

The pull of the wolf I cannot deny,

But wait for me Love, and do not cry

For my blood and your tears protect the tie

That binds our hearts till the day we die.

I'll never forsake you or leave you alone,

Though the pull of the wolf is fierce and strong.

The fate of my life is in your hand

To welcome the other or heed your command.

I will not refuse nor hesitate

To risk my life or question fate.

I trust my soul into your keeping

And burn my flesh as you watch, weeping

Abandon me while the bond is breaking

The other's face I must see when waking.

If I escape death's grip and live,

To you alone my heart I'll give.

"I know what that is." Esme was the first to speak and all eyes were upon her. "When we came to this area the first time, the Quileute's were even more suspicious of our family and we didn't have any official contact with them except for creating the treaty.

"We had been here a little over a year when two women showed up pulling a deathly ill man on a litter. One woman was Caucasian, the other Quileute. Carlisle did his best to save the man, but he died within the first hour.

"The two distraught women refused any further help once the man died." Esme's face showed the weight of her own loss briefly. She inhaled deeply and the tranquility she received after Carlisle's message returned to her countenance.

"The two women wept profusely as they drug him away on the litter. Before leaving, the white woman handed Carlisle a piece of paper and told him to 'keep it safe' but refused to explain why. The words you just read were the same ones on the piece of paper the woman entrusted to Carlisle's care."

Esme shook her head slowly and frowned. "We had such limited knowledge of the Quileute people the first time we settled here. We had no idea what that poem meant, or why the woman entrusted it to Carlisle."

"This is it! I knew it! I knew there was a way to free Sophie from that damned curse!" Rosalie was ecstatic.

Jake remained thoughtful and unaffected by Rosalie's outburst. "Esme, now that you know a little more about my people, do you have any idea what this means?"

"I'm so sorry Jacob, I still don't understand it."

"Do any of you have any insight to the meaning of this poem?" Jake's mouth was set in a thin tight line as he looked at each pale white face gathered around the table.

They all frowned and shook their heads.

"Come on Nessie. We need to take this to Billy."

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Nessie was certain that the excitement of their discovery had chased all thought of a "nap" out of Jake's head. She was pleasantly surprised when he cupped her face and kissed her passionately as soon as they entered the forest.

"We may have to postpone our 'nap' until after the bonfire tonight. Is that okay?"

"Of course Jake. Now go phase so I can ride you to La Push." Nessie wiggled her eyebrows like an evil villain in an old movie.

Jake laughed and gave her another quick peck on the mouth before disappearing behind a tree.

Nessie waited for Jake at the edge of the forest while he returned to his human form and dressed. The wind changed as Jake joined her and Nessie recognized a very unpleasant odor wafting from Billy's house.

"I'm telling you right now Jacob; I am not eating your dad's spaghetti."

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A/N I noticed that the hit count for this story takes a dramatic dive after chapter 9. I am trying to figure out why before I start the rewrite of this story. I suspect it is due to the sick-o Volturi creep Aro and what he did to Nahuel's sisters. Should I tone it down? I am also considering changing the rating of this story to "M" any thoughts about that?

I was so excited to finally get to post the poem. (I wrote it ages ago!) It's full of clues! I can't wait to read your guesses!

Just a reminder, please log in when you leave a review so I can send you the preview!