Chapter 10: April Part 1
WARNING: Swearing, self-harm
Changing the timeline around a bit
All rights belong to Stephenie Meyer
When Bella regained consciousness she could feel that several hours had passed, and for one glorious moment she was able to convince herself it had all been just a horrible dream. But even her nightmares paled in comparison to the reality her memories provided.
Laurent, red eyed and leering as he taunted her, lamenting the inconvenience her murder would bring him as if she was already a bloodless corpse. Nine horse sized wolves materializing seemingly out of thin air as they easily tore off stone cold limbs and burned the pieces. The ground rushing up to meet her as her mind struggled to comprehend it all.
Bella shuddered, wrenching her eyes open only to immediately squint against the warm light of the Clearwater's small sitting room. Someone had taken the time to burrito wrap her in half a dozen blankets and tuck her in on the sunken couch. Leah sat on the recliner by her feet, tense and eyeing her warily.
"Leah," she choked. "Did that all really- were there...?" she let the sentence trail off, already reading the answer from the tightening of Leah's face.
"Unfortunately, yes," she said quietly. "When you passed out I had hoped you would forget everything but if your sleep talking was anything to go by I'm assuming it's too late for that."
Bella shook her head, forcing her stiff body to sit up. She remembered the lithe gray wolf that had appeared first, throwing itself between her and Laurent without a second thought. She had been frozen, save for her rapidly moving chest as she hyperventilated but it didn't take a genius to put two and two together. "It was you, wasn't it? The w-wolf?"
Leah nodded, needlessly. Her eyes said it all. She glanced at the clock and gave a wry smile. "Although to be fair it is seven minutes after midnight and now officially the first of April. If I were any sort of friend I would make this all into an elaborate April Fools joke and be done with it."
"No," Bella said more forcefully, noticing how Leah's body was angled away, how her hands fidgeted in her lap, as if nervous of spooking Bella with even the slightest sudden movement. Bella leapt to the end of the couch and reached for her friend in one graceless movement. "No, Leah, you saved me. You and the others. I can't even begin to thank you for that. All of you."
Leah's eyes tightened again, patting the hands that clutched at her arm once as if to humor her. "We'll see if you still think that after this. Sam and Paul are waiting."
"Sam?"
Bella's voice was hardly more than a murmur, but the two appeared as if summoned. Tall, strong, and solemn faced as they strode through the door and stood at attention in the center of the living room.
"No, please, come on in," Leah muttered.
"Bella." Sam's voice was deep and serious and so incredibly relaxed, Bella had no choice but to allow it to tether her racing thoughts, at least long enough for her to pay attention. "It is obvious to me you have the answers to some of our most dire questions. I am just now realizing that keeping you in the dark on this has likely done more harm than good."
Leah and Paul snorted in unison.
Sam ignored them both. "What's done is done. You know things about our world that make you an asset more than a liability. We must ask you now to help us piece together the picture, to the best of your ability. Human lives might very well be at stake. Will you help us, Bella? Help us protect those most at risk?"
Bella was shaking her head frantically. "You don't understand. They're not after anyone but me. I'm the only one Victoria wants. I'm not going to let her hurt anyone else for me."
"Who said we're going to let the leeches do anything?" Paul asked, looking offended. "We took care of the leech with the dreads just fine and we'll do it again in a heartbeat if we have to."
Bella looked at him. He certainly looked as if he could handle himself, and clearly had no aversion to violence if it meant protecting his community. But she could not get the image of blood red eyes and rock hard skin out of her mind, a killing machine built to destroy no matter what this strange boy and his friends transformed into.
Before she could respond, there was a commotion outside. Bella watched as the three of them froze, glancing at each other as if barely daring to believe it before moving to the door in the same fluid movement. Bella scrambled out of her blanket cocoon after them, nearly tripping over herself as she caught the door behind Leah.
There was Jake's familiar Rabbit pulling into the drive, Jacob and Claire climbing out with identical perturbed faces.
"What are you two doing here?" Sam said, not unkindly, but voice ringing with authority.
Jacob didn't even spare him a glance. "Bella!" he shouted upon seeing her, sprinting to where she stood and gathering her in his arms. "Are you alright? What happened? Embry said-"
"What did Embry say?" Paul hissed, looking around suspiciously as if expecting the boy to jump out from the shadows.
"He texted us to meet you here," Claire answered, looking just as lost. "He said it was important, and that we had to come immediately."
"But why-"
Bella got her answer in the form of a chorus of yips. Soft, high pitched yips calling out from the night. She turned, staring out at the Clearwater's front yard, eyes straining to see through the darkness as shapes moved with uncanny grace, practically gliding forward and settling down in front of the group before anyone could react.
Bella's mouth fell open as she took in the six horse sized wolves that strolled into view one by one, coming to a stop just in front of the Clearwater's thick line of shrubs fencing in the driveway. The moment they stepped into the small halo of light they landed on two feet, naked and human once more.
The arms around her tightened, and when she looked up she was met with the stunned faces of both Jacob and Claire, gaping at the six very familiar human forms in front of them, who looked back with expressions in various measures of apprehension and delight. Embry gave a small wave in greeting.
Bella looked at Leah in bewilderment, surprised to see the girl gnawing at her lip to fight a grin, Paul snickering openly at her side.
It was Sam who caught her attention, though. He suddenly looked so much older than his nineteen years. The furrow in his brow lasted only a second before he sighed deeply, rubbing a hand across his eyes and staring in resignation at the group assembled.
"What's done is done," he said, though whether he was referring to his own actions or theirs, she could not tell. "I think given the audience, we would do well to have more speakers for this particular explanation."
The others melted into the forest and reemerged in comically mismatched shorts and shirts, but no one said anything as they crowded in the Clearwater's suddenly tiny living room. Bella stayed wrapped in Jacob's arms as Sam, Paul, and Leah disappeared to the backyard, caught in a conversation of harsh whispers that were too low for her to hear, but was apparently loud enough for the others to catch if their tense shoulders and side eye glances were anything to go by.
She was still in his arms when Sue and Harry returned home and immediately went to the trio in the backyard, and even when Emily and Kim arrived with Old Quil, who marched towards the others without a word to the gaggle of teenagers in the sitting room. It wasn't until Rachel pulled up in the drive, wheeling in a somber looking Billy, that finally the huddle in the yard broke and rejoined those waiting in anxious silence in the sitting room.
Billy was seated at the natural head of the circle with Old Quil taking the recliner at his side, both of them calm and unreadable even as Sam, Paul, and Leah took position standing directly behind him, cross armed and grim faced.
Sue and Harry had a similar calm as they took their places on the couch, a stark contrast to an anxiously fidgeting Claire who had been guided to the second couch by Quil and Emily.
Bella watched as Quil sat on the floor by her feet, taking her hand and rubbing small circles over it with his thumb even as he spoke in a voice too low for her to hear. Kim and Rachel moved to sit on either side of Claire, each of them murmuring quietly to her as the girl began to look slightly calmer than she did twenty minutes ago, but not by much.
Bella couldn't exactly blame her. Hadn't she passed out just hours ago, despite already knowing vampires were very much a reality?
She glanced up at Jacob to see him wearing an equally overwhelmed expression, but he returned her weak smile, and wrapped his arms more firmly around her, as if they were anchoring the other to the ground. She leaned back, comforted at the thought.
It was easy to imagine this was any other weekend, especially when Seth, Colin, and Brady lounged on the floor on their right, with Embry and Jared huddled at their left. That illusion was broken, however, as Billy gave an invisible cue that had everyone halting their side conversations and looking to where he sat.
He began speaking in the silence that followed, legends that sounded exactly like the ones shared at the bonfire not long ago. Stories of cold ones and shapeshifters and all that went with the magic passed down from generation to generation.
Bella had heard all of this before by a slightly tipsy Embry, but somehow Billy's slow, deep voice made the stories come alive in a way Embry's had not. Or perhaps, it was the proof that had been in front of her very eyes that made her sit up in attention. He was confirming what they had all seen, after all.
Old Quil contributed quite a bit, with Sue and Harry chiming in occasionally, but it was Billy's voice that called Sam forward to report what had apparently been going on for the last couple of months.
Bella felt her stomach turn to lead as Sam stepped forward and spoke to the room at large. His tone was technical, void of any real emotion, but she could see the way Emily's face pinched with worry, the tension in everyone's shoulders as he spoke of the attack on her truck on the cliffside and the subsequent Seattle missions.
"They had been completely eradicated, or so we thought." Sam's eyes found Bella's, still huddled on the floor in Jacob's arms. "Yesterday's surprise attack showed the cold ones were never really gone. Leah."
Leah stepped forward, voice just as devoid of emotion. "The vampire came from the north, his scent surrounded Bella's but tapered off in the woods. He had been inside the house, but left Charlie alive. I knew he must have been targeting Bella, so I went after his trail and found them caught up just outside of La Push's border."
Leah gave her a soft look then, but Bella hardly noticed. Her heart thudded with the news, the realization of just how closely Charlie had been to being killed because of her.
"Charlie will be safe, Bella. We won't leave him unguarded after this. Either of you for that matter."
"Of course not," Sam agreed. "You will be protected on the reservation, and our patrol will be extended to Forks after this morning's meeting has been adjourned."
"See that it is," Billy said in approval. "In the meantime, I think it is about time for one more speaker to have the floor. Bella? Perhaps you could share a few… recollections that might prove useful given everything that's happening."
Bella flushed as all eyes turned to her, expressions ranging from surprised curiosity to grim resignation at whatever they guessed she would say.
She felt sick with the confirmation that the majority of people in the room had been turned supernatural because of the mere presence of the Cullen's and the trouble they brought, and in extension the danger she attracted. Completely innocent in the mess that was her life, but somehow caught directly in the middle of it.
With that, she straightened her shoulders and kept her eyes trained on Billy's as she spoke of everything and anything she could think of that would be of use. The Cullen's would always hold a place in her heart to some degree, but they were no longer who she saw when she envisioned her future, no longer the destiny she would pick for herself. And right now, their privacy was not more important than any protection she could give these people.
Speaking about the Cullen's was easier than she expected it to be. She recited the information as if she were giving a diagnosis, thorough and aloof in its completion.
When she finished, Billy's face had taken on a contemplative as the others shared long glances and quick murmurs.
"It is no different than we thought," his voice was quiet and smooth, but commanded attention nonetheless. The others were silent after the first syllable. "Unnatural strength and speed, uncontrollable thirst, and an aversion to the sun."
"No wonder the leeches never let it slip they sparkle in the sunlight," Embryl said. "They knew it would have ruined their reputation."
"Even so," Billy continued. "It is strange how she is able to evade our numbers time and time again, even with her curse's gifts."
"Carlisle had a theory about that," Bella said. "The others, Jasper and Emmett, had tried to hunt her shortly after to finish off James's coven but she was the same with them. Carlisle suspected it was her gift."
"And yet they still left, knowing the redhead was a danger." Sam's eyes were bleak.
Bella shrugged, looking uncomfortable now. "I think it was more, they assumed Victoria escaped because she would have no interest in ever coming back."
"But she has, and with her own army to boot," Billy mused. "These young vampires are the most savage we've seen in all our generations. Can we attribute their strength to their creator's?"
All eyes turned to her again, a side effect when you were asked a direct question by Billy Black. "No, any new vampire is the same. The thirst becomes more manageable as time goes on, even for those who - uhm - don't practice a vegetarian lifestyle."
"Leech lover would know," Paul muttered.
Billy turned to him, dark eyes boring into him even as his face remained impassive. "Bella has done us a great service by divulging all she knows of the cold ones. We will not forget it anytime soon."
Paul ducked his head, falling silent.
Billy turned back to her. "We have seen the destruction these creatures bring and now we have a chance to put a stop to them before they step foot on our land. This new one, Laurent as you called him, was he part of this makeshift army of hers?"
"He didn't have a chance to say much before he decided to - before Leah showed up," Bella said. "But he said he was only there as a favor to Victoria. She was angry that so many of her newborns were destroyed and wanted to replenish their numbers before returning. She asked him to check whether I was… still being protected."
With a start, she realized for the first time how easy it would be to have them dump her in the middle of the forest and be rid of her and the problems she brought.
She thought of her father's near miss with death, Quil's explosive phasing, the knowledge of all of their lives on hold because of their transformation into supernatural protectors.
Suddenly, the idea was the most appealing thing she had heard all morning.
"Of course you are," Leah said strongly, as if it was never even a question.
Billy was nodding in agreement. "We protect our community, and we protect humans from these monsters. It is clear that will always include Charlie and now yourself from here on out."
Bella startled at his word choice, looking up to meet his dark, wise eyes.
"Thank you," was all she could manage to whisper. Jacob's arms squeezed her once.
How close she had once been to becoming the monster they spoke of, to being the one preying on the area herself? She shivered.
"So we know there's a vampire army coming for us but absolutely no idea how many are coming or any idea of when they'll get here," Paul said slowly. "Fantastic."
"We'll train every moment until then," Sam said. "By the time they come, we'll be ready."
Bella found herself suddenly grateful she had passed out Friday afternoon. The meeting with the pack and elders in the wee hours of Saturday morning had left everyone buzzing with a renewed urgency. By noon, they had converged on the small clearing just before the reservation's border, the most optimal place to both train and keep on eye out, or so she had been told.
Bella refused to let her eyes close even once, terrified of missing anything else and practically begging Leah to bring her along for training.
So now here she was, holding onto her friend's furry gray neck and nearly wetting herself as Leah bolted through the forest like an angry bumblebee. She would be willing to bet her new car there had been one too many unnecessary zigzags thrown in there for good measure.
She wobbled as she moved unsteadily down to the soft thicket of grass on the edge of the clearing, glaring as Leah skipped into view behind the trees in an oversized t-shirt.
"Don't give me that look, princess. You could be at home watching cartoons instead of insisting on being dragged out here."
"Charlie has the game on," Bella reminded her. The only foolproof way to guarantee her dad's presence on the reservation for this weekend at minimum. "And there was no way I was missing this, not when everyone else was coming."
Leah rolled her eyes but sat with her nonetheless, lying down a blanket big enough for Jacob to sprawl on spread eagle and still have room left over.
"Don't they need you over there?" Bella said, motioning towards the two wolves standing at attention in the very center of the clearing, one black and one multiple shades of gray.
"Nah, that's just Sam and Paul enjoying the scenery before the others arrive."
As if on cue, a mass of fur practically rolled into the clearing, separating into the shapes of three wolves who yipped playfully as they renewed their sparring. Bella watched in rapt fascination as the sandy colored wolf lunged neatly at the darker brown wolf, only to be intercepted halfway by a black and white speckled monstrosity.
"Seth is the one with sandy fur, Brady's twinning with you with the dark brown locks, and Colin has the dalmatian coat," Leah pointed them out in turn, smirking as the black and white wolf turned to growl lowly at where they sat. "You'll have to excuse them, they've been practically wetting themselves since they heard there's going to be a fight."
"Them? They'll be fighting?" They couldn't be older than sixteen.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Leah said, eyeing the black wolf who did not turn to meet her burning stare. "Safety in numbers be damned. We have more than enough without adding the kiddos."
Bella suddenly felt sick. A vampire massacre and the choice between sending children to fight or forgoing extra protection. "Leah-"
"Bella, don't worry about it. We handed the leech's ass to him on a silver platter and we took care of the cliff leeches just fine. I think we'll be okay." Her bravado would have been convincing and even reassuring if Bella couldn't read the tension in her face, nor the obsessive way Leah tracked the younger wolves' progress across the clearing.
Embry and Jacob arrived in the same fashion Leah and Bella did, with an unnecessary amount of noise and speed. The only difference it seemed, was Jacob's exhilaration for such a chase. Instead of clutching on for dear life, he stood on Embry's back, arms out for balance, crouching as needed, and whooping in absolute joy.
"Now there's an entrance," Leah laughed.
Jacob stood at his full height, taking a deep bow before hopping off his friend's back and jogging over. Embry turned his giant furry head towards them and made a show of winking.
"Ridiculous," Bella mumbled, even as she leaned into the arm Jacob wrapped around her.
The thunderous sound of heavy paw prints was the only warning they got before a monstrous brown and black speckled wolfy came crashing into the clearing, thrashing back and forth like a mechanical bull as a laughing Kim had one hand at its neck and one hand in the air.
"We get it Jared, Kim. You've had plenty of practice riding," Leah called, springing lightly to her feet and meandering forward.
Immediately the wolf growled, gingerly moving to the ground to let Kim dismount before launching itself at a human Leah who looked back lazily.
"Leah!" Bella screamed, but her friend had already been replaced by a lithe, gray wolf who gave what could only be described as a grin before dodging out of Jared's path at the last second, sending him careening toward the clearing floor.
Jared snapped back to his feet, snarling at where Leah was standing about a hundred feet away, huffing in what suspiciously sounded like laughter. He lunged at her once more, growling louder as she dodged away with an easy grace.
"No worries, Bella, she'll give as good as she gets," Kim said as she came over, taking the spot next to her on the blanket and offering her and Jacob a sip of her thermos. "I should know, they've been at it for nearly a year."
Bella sipped, humming in appreciation as the hot chocolate warmed her hands and lips.
"Jared has been a werewolf for an entire year?" Jacob asked, casually dipping his fingers into the scalding liquid to pluck out a few marshmallows.
"Well, almost," Kim said, waving a hand at the offered thermos and instead brandishing another one from her backpack that was nearly bigger than her head. "Sam was the first to phase, sometime last fall."
"When the Cullen's came," Bella recalled. "And then… I came in mid January? Were they all werewolves by then?"
"No, Paul phased suddenly one day in early March. Nomads passing through Sam assumed."
"Peter and Charlotte," Bella breathed, suddenly remembering hearing about Jasper's visitors and the promise she'd made to Edward to stay out of the woods, no matter how much they respected Carlisle and their vegetarian way of life.
"Who? One of the Cullen's?" Jacob said, furrowing his brow in concentration. The names were unfamiliar despite the stories she shared with him about their former supernatural neighbors.
"No, their friends. They uh, came for a visit." Bella squirmed at the idea of Paul's transformation coming from a mere drop in. No wonder he was so angry.
"Tea time at the Cullen's," Jacob said, snorting without humor. "They tried very hard to be human, didn't they?"
"You have no idea."
"Well, they must have had more visitors later that same month because that's when Jared, Leah, and Seth phased," Kim mused, swishing her thermos around absently.
Horror dawned on her as she recalled the timeline. March, complete with meeting the parents and attending a vampire baseball game that ended in a nationwide manhunt with a target on her forehead. She shivered. "That's when they came. Victoria."
"The redhead?" Jacob said quickly.
Bella was suddenly aware that all movement had stopped in the clearing. She looked over to see Leah and Jared settled down several feet away following the conversation with curiosity, with Sam and Paul watching a little more intently.
Further away, Seth had his paw raised in the air, while Colin had his mouth open and inches from a still Brady's ankle. The three were paused as if in a movie, or as if someone had told them to stop and they had done so immediately, holding the exact same positions for the fun of it.
Bella shook her head, focusing on Kim's wide eyed stare and the stiff arms around her. "Her mate, James, was the leader of the coven. He was the tracker I mentioned to Billy and the others. Laurent was with them at the time, but he backed out and warned us about their gifts instead. He didn't want a fight."
"Until he decided he wanted to kill an innocent human the moment you weren't under the Cullen's protection," Jacob shook his head in disgust.
Kim seemed to agree as she read the trepidation on her face before scooting closer, hooking an arm loosely through Bella's. "We'll get her, Bella. We won't have you or anyone else in danger."
Bella smiled thinly. "You guys all seem to talk in plural. Is there a secret club Leah hasn't told me about?"
Kim laughed. "You'll be doing it too, I expect. Especially if Jacob imprints." Her hands flew to her mouth, eyes widening.
Bella glanced up to see that Jacob was avoiding her eyes, a rare look of discomfort scrunching his forehead.
"I-I'm sorry, that was rude of me to say. Old Quil and Harry are always talking about it, and they brought it up this morning now that Jake knows everything, and I, well..."
"What's imprinting?" Bella asked warily. She peeked over to see the others were no longer staring but carefully involved in their own tasks and decidedly not looking anywhere near their direction, with the exception of Jared, who was looping into the forest.
He appeared half a second later donned in shorts, jogging the rest of the way to their blanket. "Babe. Bella. Black." He said, dipping his head at all of them before plopping down to peck Kim's cheek. "Thought you could use a bit of help with someone who has hands-on experience with it."
Kim looked relieved to pass the mic over to him as she ducked her head under his chin, snuggling into the long arms that wrapped around her.
"Imprinting can happen when a wolf sees the one that's meant for them. Like, the world tilts on its axis and suddenly they are your entire universe. You would do anything to keep them safe, and happy. Be anything in the world they need."
"Love at first sight," Bella said, nodding and smiling softly at the thought. "That is very sweet. I've never heard it be called imprinting before."
"Yes, well, it's a little more… literal than that," Jared said. "It's more than a crush, or lust, or anything else. It just… is. Almost like fast forwarding through time and getting to the point where you give all your devotion, all your love to someone."
Bella mused over that, thinking of the bond between vampire mates she had heard so much about. She supposed the intensity would be similar, although the choice aspect did seem to be… lacking.
"It's difficult to explain," Jared said, reading her expression. "But love can exist with or without the imprint. I loved Kim before I became a wolf, and the imprint just confirmed it. Look at Quil and Claire. He practically worships the ground she walks on and they are just as in love as any other imprinted pair I've seen, even if they aren't imprinted themselves."
"There are other imprinted pairs?" Bella asked in interest. "Sue and Harry? Oh, is that why Rebecca married so soon after graduation?"
"No, it's pretty rare and you have to be a wolf to imprint," Jared corrected. "But yeah there are a few besides Kimmy and I. Paul and Rachel, for one, and then Sam and… Emily."
Realization washed over Bella as she recalled the few snippets of information she had managed to wrangle out of Leah over the course of six months. The shock was soon followed by sorrow as she connected the dots with the words Jared was telling her.
"So when Sam phased he… he…"
"Yeah," Jared grimaced, fiddling with a strand of Kim's hair as he looked away. "It uh only takes one look for the imprint to happen. Zero to a hundred real quick."
Bella slowly turned away to face the clearing, suddenly flushing with embarrassment at the very public reminder she had unintentionally forced upon them just hours after dropping the vampire bombshell this morning.
She spotted the others, studiously ignoring the trio as they looked to be conducting drills in the clearing. She knew enough about the shapeshifter abilities by now, and was certain that at such proximity they had all heard their conversation whether they wanted to or not.
"My dad told me the gist of it," Jacob said, breaking the awkward silence that had followed. "And of course Rachel retold me how she and Paul got together. I don't... quite understand it but she's happy, and he'll clearly chew off his own leg before hurting her. I guess that's all there is to it." He leaned back, surveying the clearing carefully before raising an eyebrow. "He left. The first and only semi-compliment I give Paul and he's not even here to enjoy it. Figures."
"Aw, don't worry, Jake. He heard you through the pack link and I'm sure he sends his love," Jared simpered. "Sam sent him out to pick up Quil and start patrolling while we train. They'll switch off with Em and I tomorrow."
As if in response, Sam turned towards their corner of the clearing and gave a short bark. Bella didn't need to have a pack mental link to get the message.
"We'll I'm off lovebirds. Try not to drink all of Kimmy's hot chocolate, Jake. No one wants to hear you pissing in the woods all hours of the day."
Jared shot off before Jacob could get his hands on him, phasing midair before darting off to join the others.
The drill seemed simple enough. Each wolf was tasked with crossing the clearing by first evading a quick footed Leah and then muscling past Sam, the largest and strongest of them. So far none had managed.
It was as if the curtains had been wrenched open. Gone was the relaxing, almost picnic-esque mood of seconds before. The three of them settled into a tense silence as they watched the seven wolves before them preparing for battle.
Bella had never wished she had Alice's visions more in her entire life. It was bad enough knowing a vampire army was heading towards them. It was worse not knowing when exactly they should strike.
Thus, Sunday morning was tense as nearly all of the pack went out to patrol, with a phased Seth, Colin, and Brady instructed to stand guard at the reservation. Finally, after a thorough sweep of the area Bella found herself clutching once again at Leah's neck as she raced through the forest, towards the clearing to resume training.
Bella struggled to keep her eyes open as they went. Training had gone on well past midnight by the time Sam finally released them. While the others had rested the scant amount of hours they'd been given before they needed to regroup, it became clear werewolves did not need anywhere close to the eight hours of rest a normal person required.
Bella rolled off and made her way to her corner of the clearing, moaning at her sleep-heavy head and thankful that Leah looped through the forest with hardly more than a jolt this time.
"I know you worry, Bella, but there's a decent shot at winning this," Leah said, strolling back out of the forest with her long t-shirt to wait with her as the others came filtering in.
Bella wrapped her arms around her knees. There was more than one reason why she hadn't managed to catch more than a few hours of sleep this weekend. "You don't know that," she whispered to the ground.
Leah sighed quietly and crouched down to be at eye level. "Bella. Look at me please." She took her arms in her hands, gently unwrapping the death grip she had on her knees. "The pack is strong and capable and bigger than it has been in generations. We are ready for this, to finally rid the area of this leech problem."
"But the vampires, they're so much different. Faster, stronger - more unhinged Jared said!"
"True," Leah allowed. "But they are also dumber. We shared our Seattle missions with the elders and they agree. So the plan is to avoid going for the direct kill, and knowing how to get the hell out of there without sprinting in a straight line."
"I suppose so…"
"Have a little faith, Bella. We're not as delicate and helpless as you might think. The army's got a hell of a pack coming for it."
Bella nodded, willing herself to have even an ounce of the confidence Leah had as her friend jogged to meet up with the others in their typical wolf huddle.
"At this rate we're doomed," Jacob muttered, biting into one of the many sandwiches he brought her when Quil came to drop Claire and him off.
"They're all getting better," Bella said. "Look at Jared - he nearly made it that time! He's improved a lot just from today alone."
Jared, in all of his brown and black speckled wolf form glory, turned to give her a wolfy grin, yipping the air in thanks before trotting back to the sidelines where the others sparred while they waited for their turn across the clearing.
"Mustard, Claire?" Jake said, offering the tiny yellow tube to the girl beside them.
Claire had barely said two words since finding out the truth about the wolves, instead wrapping her arms around herself and staring blankly at the gray and black wolf that was Quil.
"No, thanks."
Jacob frowned in concern. Claire had been there just as many hours as they had and had yet to take a single bite of her sandwich. He opened his mouth to say something but Claire chose that moment to close her eyes, leaning back against the tree they were under and sighing softly as her body slackened. Bella envied how easily the girl could just doze off whenever the mood struck her.
"Wish I could fall asleep," Jacob echoed aloud. "Hardly got any sleep last night. Just imagining everything that could go wrong."
"Leah's feeling optimistic," Bella said, though it sounded forced even to her ears. Out of the two of them, Jacob was always far more prone to optimism. She wasn't used to taking up his usual mantle.
"It's too bad Sam isn't as hopeful," Jacob said.
"What do you mean?"
"My dad and Paul told me about the meetings they've been having with Sam and the elders. They're worried it won't be enough. We don't have time or numbers or even knowledge on our side."
Bella felt her breath catch in her throat. For one moment she prayed they were just pulling Jake's leg, but Billy had been particularly forthcoming with information after Jacob was let in on the secret, and not even Paul would think to joke about this. "Is there no hope then?"
"Of course there is," Jacob said quickly. "Just a group of oldies worrying about the youngin's going into battle. It's to be expected, I guess. I'm sure they're blowing things out of proportion."
Bella didn't have the heart to push the issue. Her eyes drifted to where Quil and Paul were sparring near the side of the clearing, while Leah and Sam took up the majority of the space as they worked with Seth, Brady, and Colin. Unlike yesterday where the youngest members weren't given a ton of attention, Leah and Sam seemed determined to perfect each of them as they had them continuously go through the drills.
It wasn't until much later when Bella realized it wasn't just drills, they were teaching the trio how to attack as a single unit, and defend an incoming attack without breaking ranks.
"They're not - actually going to face the vampires, are they? I thought they were too young to fight? "
Jacob's voice was weary. "Sam doesn't want to, but the elders pointed out that training them would be best when… if they need it."
She stared at them with a new horror. At first glance and from a distance, they were roughly the same size as the others in wolf form. But in human form they were every inch sixteen year old boy with budding acne and cracking voices and the slight bit of baby face even the transformation hadn't managed to peel away.
She was suddenly reminded of the Cullen's, with their unique talents that surpassed natural vampire abilities and centuries of experience between them.
These kids were sophomores in high school, going to their death, because of her.
"They can't!"
"They might have to," Jacob said grimly. "The elders don't think it will come to it, and Sam has made it more than clear that he isn't going to let them fight unless he absolutely has to. It almost makes me wish I had been there in the truck with you and Quill…"
Bella froze. Was he insane? "You what?"
"Leah and the others have made a good case against it," Jacob sighed, running a hand through his hair. "And of course I don't want to turn into a giant wolf, but I can't stand this- this helplessness. It's in my genes, it's my responsibility to help. I should be out there, fighting right along beside them."
She suppressed a sigh. The weekend had been one of the longest she'd ever experienced, and this had not been the first time she had this conversation. The others seemed to war between fearing his transformation and realistically hoping for better numbers.
"Jake…"
"I know, it's dumb," he said. "The others have all told me I'm being an idiot, but my dad is the unofficial chief on the res. I'm just sitting here, on the sidelines, doing absolutely nothing while everyone's in danger. While you're in danger." He traced a finger against her cheek, smiling softly at the blush that always came with it even though it didn't quite reach his eyes this time. "I just feel so useless."
"It won't come to that," Bella said, eyes burning as a rare conviction took hold of her heart. Her mind began whirring with possibilities, slowly lifting the weight off her shoulders as they fell together like pieces in a puzzle. She knew what was at stake, and she would be damned if she didn't do everything in her power to handle it. "I swear it."
Bella woke Monday morning to the faint rays of sunrise peeking through the trees. She stayed still for a moment, staring at the ceiling, simply listening to the quiet breathing of the house that ensured it was not yet awake.
Slowly, she unwrapped herself from the blanket and stood from the air mattress laid out for her on Leah's floor. She did not dare turn on the light, and instead forced her eyes to strain against the semi-darkness as she felt for the small bag she had packed last night.
She placed her prepared note on the air mattress, slinking out of the room with her bag over her shoulder and her heart hammering in her chest.
By some miracle, she was able to make it down the creaky stairs and past her slumbering father on the couch, though Charlie's raucous snoring undoubtedly helped her turn the squeaky front door and slip out without fanfare.
She shivered slightly at the biting April morning air but continued on to the police cruiser at the very middle of the driveway. She unlocked it manually, disabled the door, before creeping back and returning the keys to her father's sheriff jacket.
It had taken her longer than she expected to leave the note, descend the stairs, unlock the door, and return the keys but she was rewarded by a still slumbering house before her. Giddy at her success, she crept into the back of the police cruiser and laid in a ball on the floor, covered over with the blanket in her bag, matching perfectly with the dark carpet.
It wasn't too much later when a half-awake Charlie came trudging down the driveway and lowering himself into the driver's seat. But he had been kept up late with the games, egged on by Harry, and didn't question his strangely unlocked cruiser.
Bella barely allowed herself to breathe as her dad made the trek back down to Forks, but there was no need. Her father was still drowsy and the plexiglass separating them acted as a buffer.
Bella waited with baited breath as finally the moment she had been waiting for arrived. Her father had pulled into one of the only diners en route from La Push to the Forks police station to get his morning coffee, a must after staying up late on a work night. He pulled himself out of the car, courtesy of small town Forks diners not bothering with drive through just yet, and slammed it shut, locking it with a resounding beep.
Bella forced herself to count to ten, straining until she couldn't hear footsteps on pavement anymore, before popping the door open and stumbling out. She fiddled with the door controls to enable them once more, grabbed her blanket and bag, and hurtled herself into the surrounding forest.
She knew she had seconds, minutes if she was lucky. Paul and Sam would be on early morning patrol and while they would no doubt not think twice about seeing Charlie's cruiser driving away they most certainly would recognize her scent in two seconds flat.
She ran deep into the forest as fast as her legs could carry her, impatiently forcing herself up as she fell every hundred paces and acquiring more than one scrape. Good, it would only help.
When she was sure enough time had passed for Charlie to get his coffee and drive far enough away she stopped, panting, in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Such was the beauty of Forks.
There wasn't enough time. She fumbled for her bag and drew out the cutting knife she had borrowed from the Clearwater's kitchen, slicing open her palms with deep slashes until small pools of blood were dripping down her wrists. She thought about throwing the blood in the air, perhaps even running through the forest and smearing it on a few trees, but there was no need. She looked up from the dark burgundy blood gathered in her palms, and looked directly into the bright red eyes of the vampire before her.
Success.
A/N
Did anyone else get like 7 email notifications about this update? I have alerts on myself and my inbox got flooded... for one chapter? Sorry if that happened, I only submittied it once (and now with this note twice) so perhaps it's something on my end? Anyway!
So I might have jinxed myself. Leave it to me to get all excited about nearly a month free for writing and then get writer's block for the majority of that time. I'm disappointed I didn't get more done this break but I kept redoing this chapter because I've come so far with the story I didn't want to just phone it in. But here we are! Finally happy with it and we're at 17 pages with only the first weekend covered lol. Needless to say April will be split into multiple parts as well.
HUGE thank you to all who took the time to comment / review / leave kudos. I enjoy reading each one of them and you have no idea how encouraging it is. Happy to hear any thoughts / predictions / opinions anyone might have even though we are going to be following the outline more closely now. Can't say when the next update will be but hopefully sooner! Thanks to everyone who is following / interacting thus far!
This is more for me than because someone asked, but here is the timeline so far:
Leah's junior year
September: Cullen's move back to Forks, WA - Sam phases and imprints two weeks later
November: Emily and Sam become official
December: Emily gets mauled by a bear
January: Bella moves to Forks, WA
Early March: Peter and Charlotte are in the area visiting Jasper - Paul phases
Late March: James, Laurent, and Victoria show up at Cullen baseball game - Leah, Seth, and Jared phase
June: Emily and Sam graduate and get engaged
August: Emily and Sam move in together
Leah's senior year (follows the months of this fic)
September: Cullen's leave
November: Colin and Brady phase
December: Embry phases
February: Quil phases
April (1st): Jacob, Bella, and Claire finally found out about the legends
Responses to Latest Reviews:
Guest1: Thank you! Glad you enjoyed Sam's thoughts.
Guest2: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEW! Seeing your long, lovely review made me smile so much, thanks for taking the time to write it all! I can relate, I enjoyed Twilight as a tween and then when I got older I also noticed the uh… odd things in canon. Glad you are enjoying my AU's changes and so happy you liked my Emily moments in the agree with you that canon never made sense about having werewolves imprinting on CHILDREN and that they could even go on to hurt humans. So here we have legal age Claire and a bear mauling Emily instead of Sam. I could gush over your review forever but I will save you the scrolling and end it here - thanks again for reviewing! :D
Lemonmelons: Thanks for your review! Yeah Sam's chapter was kind of shove-it-in-your-face romance haha. I'm hoping this chapter is a little more balanced, especially with the battle coming up. While this fic does focus on couples quite a bit I'm not sure I will use Sam's POV again because as you noticed, it is rather couple-y in the eyes of an imprinted alpha.
Echo58: Ahh! Thank you so much for your lovely review. I'm glad you're liking everything so far and I appreciate your kind words. It was so great to read and had me smiling. Hope you enjoy!
Babaksmiles: Thank you! I was a little worried about Sam's POV but overall happy with it and pleased you enjoyed. I especially like how you point out that Sam is not a total a-hole, that he cares about both Emily and Leah but in obviously different ways. That was the point of the chapter and so happy you picked up what I was trying to put down! Haha no that wasn't a hint about Aaron but I do have one tiny thing planned with him that I am curious about the reaction to. But of course, that's a different chapter;) I'm glad you are enjoying and hope you like what I do with the rest of the fic!
InesSL: Thank you for reviewing! Happy you enjoyed my Sam POV and SO glad he was seen as a person versus straight up a-hole. That was exactly what I was hoping for! I am sorry to give you another cliff hanger but I'm very, very hopeful that I can bang up another chapter relatively sooner than I did for this one. Happy holidays to you as well, hope they were nice!
Princess Treacle: Hey there! Wow the fact that you found me on tumblr makes me feel so great, I honestly felt like I was just sending it into the void but the fact that you found it AND read it AND reviewed honestly just makes my day so thank you! I appreciate your kind words about the writing and characterization and hope you enjoy what I do with the rest of the story!
Cheese12345: Thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoy:)