38 Tell Me what I Want to Hear
Bella POV
Alice opened the back door and stepped out, pulling me along. We ran to the cabin, tromping over the ice and gravel, arriving in seconds. I pulled open the door to the welcoming smell of the little house, but it did little to bolster my spirits. Bad news was facing me and as much as I'd wanted to know earlier, I found that now I was dreading what Alice was going to tell me.
Charlie. It had to be about Charlie.
Alice started a fire and soon we sat on small couch. We each sat sideways, facing each other. She just looked at me for a moment. I swallowed, pursed my lips, took a deep breath and nodded.
"Did you ever wonder how I told Charlie about us? How I managed to tell him his daughter was forfeiting her humanity, without his freaking out?"
"Um, yeah, I guess." I thought for a moment. I had wondered, but the wedding was imminent and then..."How did you do that?"
"I started out by telling him the truth about something, and we went from there." I raised my eyebrows for her to continue.
"Studies have shown that you can reach people if you can find common ground. I did that. I knew that as a law enforcement officer, Charlie would value empirical data over emotional drivel, so I went that route."
"Um, I don't understand..."
She smiled. "I told Charlie that a long time ago, nobody knows when, a predator species evolved alongside humans, and I explained it from there. I threw in the 'supernatural' aspect later, as I weaved in things he'd seen and suspected, things that didn't have a good explanation."
She looked pleased with herself, but I still didn't know what this had to do with what had happened.
"Carlisle told Charlie that Forks sat between two supernatural factions, us and the Quileutes."
Sitting up straight, her tone went from casual to serious. "I don't have to tell you about this. You already know. It was easier for you to accept because you're much younger than Charlie, but that's not the only reason."
Her voice had grown so soft that I had to lean forward to hear her properly.
"Everything that's happened between you and Edward has been foretold through a series of prophecies. Made by Ephraim Black before he died, they foretell the Cullen's initial move to Forks, their trek to Alaska and their subsequent return to Forks, your arrival, then the whole thing with you and Edward. Every significant event, from him saving your life to your wedding, was foretold."
I felt like someone had slapped me. After a moment I got up and stood in front of the fire. The idea that a group of strangers were privy to all the events of our lives before they even happened was mind boggling.
"Who knew about this?"
"The Quileute council. Apparently Jacob also had the dream and the sighting. Billy called an elder from the tribe, who told Jacob that the next prophecy was preparing to manifest, and when it did, he would recognize it and know what to do."
"Jacob?" I wondered what Jake had to do with all this.
"He's the Alpha. The original prophecy sent down, from Ephraim's own hand, read, The sire's blood will stain the sacred ground, and the tribe will claim him as their own."
She looked meaningfully at me, but I just gaped at her. "Sire? Who's sire? And what does that mean, anyway?"
She put her head down and looked up at me. "Charlie's been attacked, Bella, and Jacob—"
A well of grief opened inside me, drowning me, only allowing one, grief-soaked word to emerge.
"Nooooooooooo!" It was long and tragic and protracted. I threw my head back and I screamed it as loud as I could, hoping the heavens would hear my anguish and intervene. Alice stood with me, trying to calm me.
"Bella, Bella, let me finish, honey. He's not dead, he's..."
"He's what, what?" I cried. Maimed, disfigured, disabled, and similar adjectives flew into my head. "What happened? Where is he now?"
Alice led me back to the couch and scooted up close to me, clasping my hands in hers.
"Jacob and Seth were on the beach at La Push and heard something in the woods. When they investigated, they saw Charlie being beaten. Seth dispatched the attacker but Charlie was gravely injured and bleeding badly. Jacob did the only thing he could think of to save Charlie."
"9-1-1-?"
She shook her head. "He called Edward."
"Edward?"
"To see if any of us were home. He wanted one of us to change Charlie, to save him. For you.
I held my face in my hands. The unthinkable had happened: my choices had affected Charlie, had somehow altered the natural course of his life.
"The one they call 'Old Quil' told Jacob he'd know what to do when it was time. After Jacob found out we were all in Alaska, he performed a tribal ritual, bestowing on Charlie the power to transform, like them. Like the pack."
Okay, that news stopped me. Finally I closed my mouth, trying to make sense of it. "What, he's a wolf now? Charlie?"
"Apparently. Charlie's not awake yet, and doesn't know."
I got up and walked to the door, opening it and letting the cold air blow in my face. "Edward...can you come over here, please?" They were my only words out the door, not yelled, just spoken. He would hear.
Five seconds later I was in his arms, his unkempt hair blowing in the wind, his sunshine warming me, his strong arms holding me. He stroked my head and murmured to me as I slumped against him, crying.
"I never wanted my decisions to involve Charlie," I sobbed.
"I know, Bella, but the prophecies point to something none of us understand yet. We'll know more when we get there." As I looked up, he smiled. "When do you want to leave?"
"I thought I couldn't travel?"
"We'll keep you safe. Carlisle says Charlie will be out for days, if his transformation is anything like the others. I thought we could leave in the morning."
Alice slipped out; I didn't get a chance to thank her. I walked to gaze out of the bedroom window. Moonlight filtered through the wild trees, but no raven sat on the fencepost. He'd done his duty—I didn't think we'd see him again.
Edward lit a fire in the bedroom fireplace and we cuddled under the quilt to watch the first flakes of snow fall on the frozen ground. Somewhere out in the cold night, a lone wolf howled, sending a shiver up my spine as I thought of the man, and the life, that were no more.
Jacob POV
My pack. I tried to feel pride, but only managed a weak 'satisfied.' Any feeling of victory would be hollow when I thought of what we'd lost. Sam had moved on, and his decision to leave saddened us all but surprised no one. A mathematical genius, he'd won a scholarship to UW in Seattle to study architecture, but had passed on the opportunity when the Cullens moved back. As, one by one, we started to phase, Sam put his plans on hold to meet the challenge of protecting the tribe.
He found out two lessons the hard way. First, the rules surrounding the pack and the treaty aren't usually subjective, and then only after careful consideration by the Alpha. Second, he wasn't the Alpha.
The pack became restless and unhappy after the biker incident in the woods, but Sam looked the other way. The man was dying and he said there was no sense in attacking the Cullens over such a small issue.
The pack was placated, but just barely. A few days later, when Edward bit Bella, they went wild, claiming that the human blood in Edward's system from the biker had made him rash and impulsive, and therefore a true danger. They didn't care about Bella—they just wanted a fight, and this was the perfect excuse for one.
They all phased to human for the big confrontation, but each of them, Sam included, thought about it so often that I could clearly see it in my head.
"It's been decided!" Sam yelled. "It's Bella's choice to join the Cullens. We just fought beside each of them and now you want to attack? How many will die? Because it won't just be them."
"You're a pussy, and you're weak," Paul spit. All the wolves were on his side except Seth. I was miles away, in the deep woods of Canada, but the thoughts of the pack were as clear as glass. Their bubbling dissatisfaction with Sam spilled over one day as he gave them a directive and they ignored it. Paul had taken to hanging out in the woods behind the Cullen's house, reducing Alice's visions to practically nothing, freaking out the household in the process.
Sam felt it was a hateful act by an 'immature excuse for a man.'
Paul attacked him, when Paul was wolf and Sam wasn't. Seth jumped in between them just in time, but it was a close call.
Sam didn't say another word, just went home to Emily. Nobody saw him much after that, until I returned and we went together to the Cullens to try and sort out the nonsense with Sue Clearwater. Again, Paul was at the center of it, telling Sue all about how Edward had killed the biker and bitten Bella, nearly draining her in the process, how Charlie should know about them before he walked his little girl down the aisle.
I'd lived in the wilds of Canada for weeks, never phasing to human once, only to hear, day after day, the situation between Sam and the pack grow from bad to worse. I felt the weight of responsibility weigh heavily on me, as I was their leader but had run out on them. After I spoke to Billy I phased back to wolf and ran home—into a mess. I'd barely had time to take a shower and find my left shoe before Sam and I sat in the Cullen's immaculate living room, telling them about Sue's plan to tell Charlie.
The Cullens handled that gracefully, as they always did. I was on the edge of allowing myself to see their positive qualities.
But the damage had been done. Paul was poison to the pack, always complaining and riling them up. It took everything I had to talk them down off the ledge and get them organized and sane again, and every time I did, Paul was there, on the outskirts, egging them on.
He was completely out of control.
I found out pretty quickly that Paul would stop at nothing to get the Cullen's out of town and away from the tribe. He was willing to kill or be killed to further that agenda.
But, it wasn't my agenda. In the natural world, any challenge to the Alpha wolf is met by fierce resistance—a fight, possibly to the death.
A while back I'd gathered the pack in the woods for our daily pep talk, trying to steer them away from the idea of attack and more toward finding some common ground with our enemy. Possibility of war between the wolves and the vamps had weighed heavily on me of late. It was a battle that no one would win, and I felt we were edging ever closer to it. With tempers so high, it would take just a tiny mistake.
I saw it in my mind's eye in a hundred different scenarios that all led to tragedy. A Cullen crosses the boundary; a wolf surprises him and kills him. The rest of the vampires cross into La Push on a vendetta and kill innocents along the way. Or, a wolf, out in the forest, comes across a vamp, who on the spur of the moment, attacks. The rest of the pack and the Cullens fly to the scene, to square off against each other. Many are killed.
Paul spat on the ground. "This is a ridiculous waste of time! His fists were balled up and he stood ready to engage me in single combat.
"Are you challenging me?" I yelled.
"You're weak, Jacob. You're just like Sam. All talk, all the time." His arms were crossed over his chest, an ugly sneer on his face.
"Get behind me! I shouted to the pack. They obliged, leaving the clearing unoccupied, save for Paul and me. I kicked off my sneakers and pulled my shorts off. I stood naked for a second as he considered me, then he stripped as well.
I phased on the fly as he did, knocking him backwards to the ground. Biting a mouthful of fur on his neck, I twisted until I connected with flesh. Yelping, he tried to escape but I held him fast. His blood coated my tongue as he squirmed under my legs. After a minute I released him and he scampered away, falling on the leafy ground, whimpering. I stood over him and howled my victory and waited for him to phase to human. Minutes later he stood before me, bloody and cowed.
"Somebody get him home and cleaned up." I said to the group at large. Two volunteers stepped up and helped Paul get dressed, leading him off into the wildnerness.
That was the end of Paul's rebellious period. If he was unhappy with my leadership, after that fateful day in the forest he kept it to himself.
A stiff breeze blew through the trees and I was showered with cold water from the recent rain. I shivered and shook my head hard, escaping my daydreams of the recent past to emerge in the present again, a wounded Charlie at my feet, Seth Clearwater faithfully at my side.
No crunching of branches, no rustling of leaves, no sound at all alerted me that the pack had arrived. Soundlessly they formed around Charlie's body, with me at his head. Just as nobody teaches the bird how to build its nest or the spider to spin its web, we'd gathered to perform an ancient ritual around our friend and soon-to-be brother.
Before we began, Quil coughed and whispered, "What the hell is that over his face?"
I looked at Seth, then replied, "Well, it was raining, and..." It sounded incredibly lame, but I wanted his face to stay dry.
"Well," he began slowly, stating the obvious, "we're Indians, right? You know how to make a lean-to, don't you?"
My mouth dropped open. Shit. That was Indian 101 right there. I shook my head at myself hopelessly, looking around to see the others lapse into grins and then laughter. "We got your back, Jake," Embry laughed.
They all took off into the woods, leaving me feeling like a second-grader, only to return in about five minutes with armfuls of pine branches. Ten minutes later a nicely constructed lean-to had been fashioned, the foolish pink umbrella tossed aside.
The circle formed again. Wordlessly we extended our arms straight down, fingers extended to the earth. And we began to chant. None of us spoke the Quileute language.
Until today.
We chanted in unison to the Great Spirit, and then extended our arms to join hands. We raised our clasped hands and prayed for Charlie's spirit, sending him the magic to help him on his journey. When he woke he would know what we knew, as he would be imbued with the magic of the tribe.
The tribe will claim him as their own.
He would be one of us.
We dropped hands and each pack member nodded once to me before disappearing into the woods. Day turned to night and the breeze from the ocean chased away the lingering clouds, leaving a starlit sky above. A smiling half-moon shone down on Charlie, bathing him in her healing light. Seth had joined the others, leaving me to sit with Charlie and wait. The blazing eyes of eight wolves shone from the darkness. Hell could open up, but no harm would come to Charlie Swan. Not tonight.
The silence of the night was broken by the insistent ringing of my phone. Snatching it out of my pocket, I saw it was Dr. Cullen.
"Hello, Jacob? I've just landed at SeaTac. How is Charlie? Will the helicopter be necessary?"
"Hey, Dr. Cullen. No helicopter. He's still out, but I think he's okay. He seems comfortable."
"Excellent. To be honest, I'd rather not draw the attention that a helicopter ride would bring. I'll rent a car and be there in a couple of hours."
"Okay, and, doc? You have blanket permission to come onto the reservation for any reason."
There was silence. Finally he said, "Jacob, are you qualified to grant this permission?"
I laughed. "Yeah. I am."
"Okay. I'll call when I get to Forks."
The time passed quickly. I yawned and seriously thought about eating the last two cinnamon rolls that lay about a foot away from me, but before I could decide on whether I could get them in my mouth before being attacked by eight ravenous wolves, my phone rang again.
Dr. Cullen had arrived in Forks. After giving him our location, we decided it was time to ditch the cruiser. Seth and Brady took it out to ram into a log and run off the road, not really out of sight. Someone would find it at first light.
Before he hung up, Dr. Cullen asked an odd question. "Jacob, counting yourself, how many of the pack are there with you?"
Hmm. "Nine," I answered simply.
"Okay," he answered. "Be there in a few."
I heard the Mercedes rounding the corner before I saw it. None of the cars in La Push sound like that. Dr. Cullen pulled up and parked in the spot the cruiser had sat in just minutes ago. He quickly got out of the car, looking like he'd just jumped out of the shower and not like he'd flown over 2000 miles with a two-hour drive on either side.
He extended his hand. "Jacob."
I shook it gratefully, intrigued by the delicious smell of grilled meat and fried potatoes that wafted from the opened door. Bringing myself back to the painful present, I thanked him again for coming as I walked into the woods. "Do you want to run?" I asked.
He nodded, and together we trotted into the darkness. I felt no fear as my sworn enemy ran behind me, only an intense guilt at the way I'd treated him and his family, and at the terrible things I'd said.
Soon we entered the clearing. The pack stood around Charlie protectively, nodding respectfully to the doctor as he approached to examine his patient. He was on his knees in a flash, carefully moving Charlie's limbs and checking his reflexes and breathing. After a moment he stood, hanging the stethoscope casually around his neck.
"He's still unconscious. Is that normal?" His question was directed at me.
"Um, we didn't lose consciousness, but we fell into a kind of enchanted sleep, where we had weird dreams. It lasted days."
"Hmm. I have no precedent to draw from, as he is probably first human not of the Black bloodline to undergo this change, and he's been gravely injured." Dr. Cullen paused as he looked down at Charlie's prone form once more. "His spine isn't broken, so let's get him to the house."
Seth and I carefully lifted him into the back seat of the Mercedes. "We'll run through the woods and meet you at your place." Dr. Cullen nodded and we watched him drive around the corner before we trotted back to the spot where Charlie had lain.
We cleaned up any evidence of our presence and dismantled the lean-to. Working together it took a couple of minutes and as we stood back we were satisfied that no one could link our presence with Charlie. I led the way through the woods and soon we arrived at the rear of the Cullen's property, where Paul had hung out and caused so many problems.
We crept through the brambles and ferns that formed the natural property line and stole across the leaf-strewn forest floor to come to the back of the enormous garage. As we finally made our way to the front we found the bay doors wide open.
I took the stairs two at a time, entering the house via the kitchen, the pack close behind.
As soon as I opened the door that familiar scent I'd caught from Dr. Cullen's car hit me. Looking around, I saw a box on the bar labeled, 'Kincaid's Cheeseburgers, Since 1960.'
We gazed reverently at the cardboard box. It felt like church. Cheeseburgers and fries wrapped in waxed paper, nine vanilla malts on the side. Four bottles of Coke sat by the box, with paper towels, extra condiments and paper cups.
Damn.
Quil stood apart from us, a confused, puzzled expression on his face. "Why did he do this? He doesn't owe us anything."
"He did it because he's a kind and generous person," I snapped. "Or whatever. It's his way of saying thanks for taking care of Bella's dad."
"That's our job, man," he spit. "We don't need the blood sucker's burgers and—"
"Shut the fuck up, Quil," Brady quipped. "And grow the hell up. Christ, you sound like Paul." We glanced over to Paul, who flinched at the remark.
Quil's eyes grew wide and he hung his head but I couldn't tell if from shame or anger. Maybe he just didn't want to go head to head with me as Paul had done. The murmurings in the pack said Paul took a week to fully recuperate. He had a nasty scar on his neck. It would be there forever. His silent reminder of who was who.
A moment later, Dr. Cullen appeared in the doorway. "Dig in, while the food's warm and the malts are still cold." He smiled and a huge lump formed in my throat. I recalled all the things Bella had said about him—how he was the central figure the family flocked around, and how he felt he would be a success as a physician if his enhanced skills saved even one life.
We were more alike than different, the wolves and the vampires, and maybe that's what bothered us so much. The wolves would feel comfortable killing any of the Cullens or another of their kind but would be appalled if any of the Cullens were to kill one of us or a wolf from another tribe, if they were to exist. We operated on a huge double standard. It wasn't fair.
"Could I have a quick word, Jacob? I've completed my initial exam."
I followed the doc out and up the stairs. Charlie had been bathed and dressed in loose sweats and a t-shirt. He looked asleep. Glancing up to Dr. Cullen, I asked, "Is he okay?"
"His vitals are strong. Temp's 103, which could be an infection or just his body's natural reaction to the process. You all run about ten degrees above humans, so this may be natural for him at this stage of the process. His arm—that's another matter. If you'll stay for a moment, I'll wheel in the portable x-ray and try to assess the damage."
He returned about a minute later, pulling a cart behind him. "Why don't you go and eat, Jacob. This might take a few minutes."
I patted Charlie's leg and went back downstairs. Seth had put two burgers and a large order of fries aside for me. I didn't care for ice cream on the whole, but made an exception when it came to Kincaid's malts.
The pack was silent as we ate—all except Seth, who talked between each mouthful. Remembering the bit of money he'd found, he said, "Oh! I didn't tell you about the best part!" He regaled them with finding the cash and hiding it before he abandoned the car.
I didn't have a chance to think about it at the time, but now that Charlie was safe and I'd been fed, I was intrigued.
"Well, how much cash?" Brady asked. "A few hundred dollars?"
Seth swallowed quickly and took a big draw from his malt cup. "Oh, no, man. It was in packets."
I sat up. "How many packs?"
"Didn't have time to count, but, probably fifteen or twenty," he responded. "All in hundreds. That's a lot, right?" He looked hopeful.
Swallowing the last bit of food I'd eat for awhile, I sat the remainder of my burger on the waxed paper and pushed away from the table. I needed some fresh air.
I walked to the patio doors and looked out. "It's $10,000 per packet. Twenty packets of hundreds is $200,000." I turned around to face the stunned face of every pack member. "So, yeah. To answer your question, Seth. It's a lot."
Dr. Cullen appeared at the door. His expression was impassive. "Well, I've got your good news/bad news scenario," he explained. "Which would you like first?"
I hoped it was just about his arm and that in saving him I hadn't done some type of irreparable damage. Feigning bravery, I said, "Let's have the bad news, Doc."
"Because he's human and not of your bloodline, the curative powers of your kind have not been totally bestowed upon him. His head wounds healed but there's slight swelling in his brain. I've medicated him and he should be all right."
"That's not too bad," I said.
"I'm not done yet."
"His arm?" I knew it. Shit.
He nodded. "It's a mess. "I'm not certain how to proceed, as I don't know how it will heal overnight. I've rebroken the major bones and immobilized it. We'll have to look at it again tomorrow."
"Is the family coming back?" I gestured around vaguely.
"I called them just a moment ago. They're all leaving to drive back tomorrow morning."
A soft cough drew our attention. All eyes looked up as we glanced around to each other, smiling.
"What the hell..." the voice muttered. "Where the hell am I? Ouch!"
Dr. Cullen was already gone. I was fast on his heels.
Charlie was awake.