Chapter Ten: A Council Meeting
North Cascades National Park - January 29th
Leah stared down across the light blanket of snow covering the stretch of ground below the large cropping of rock she was laying on, which was nestled at the foot of Mt Shuksan. Her fur was damp, but she found the sun beating down gave her just enough warmth to find pleasure in simply lying still. The walkabout was meant to be spiritual, a chance to give herself time to center her mind, and hopefully find an inner peace that would finally stop the wolf from emerging. In the intervening weeks she wandered the mountains and actively spent time as just a woman, communing with nature. Yet each night, her need to hunt brought out her wolf. The duality of her nature tore her focus in two, but over time brought her to the conclusion that she was never going to be able to give up her wolf.
She was sunning and turning about the options in front of her, none of which were very appealing. She could go home and return to her duties. Or let Paul step up as Beta and simply leave and never return. Of course the latter was not an option, she couldn't abandon her brother. Seth was still as much alone as she was, unable to give up his wolf either.
She had been mulling over these two options over and over, until suddenly she could feel conflict in the distance, the pack was fighting something and losing. She tried to push it away, But after a few seconds of listening through their link it was clear she couldn't ignore the fight.
She leapt off the rock, and landed sixty feet below on paws breaking into a run at full speed. Even going as fast as possible it would be hours before she arrived. She could see the commotion, the Swan girl had come back after a century… with a daughter to boot. None of the wolves bothered to meet either vampire in the eyes so she couldn't get a good look at them. But the news itself was deeply surprising.
She felt Jacob turn, and his usual deep breath of relief feeling her presence in the link. A century of friendship and shared leadership had formed a lasting and unbreakable bond. He had been deeply saddened by her choice to give up the wolf, but he could never begrudge her the desire to return to humanity.
"Leah, did you witness any of that?" Jacob asked immediately.
"Isabella Swan, wow." She said with a small physical woof of disbelief.
"We're meeting them tonight, will you be here?" He sounded guarded, ready for her to say no. Of course she was already on her way back home.
"Do you honestly think I would miss this? We've been waiting for the Cullens return for a long time, and now this. I'm chuffed." Leah said feigning enthusiasm, although the last thing she needed was to endure another long council meeting.
"Glad someone is, I actually fell on my ass." Jacob admitted, although immediately regretted it as several small chuckles came through the wolf link.
"Sure did bro." Seth said, holding back some clear laughter. "You should've seen his face, he looked like he'd seen a ghost."
"Hey, leadership only pup." Jacob said using the old derogatory term for Seth who had never grown up in Jacob's eyes. Of course he was just as old, and just as experienced as all the remaining members of the Uley pack.
"I'm like a year younger than you Jake." Seth said across the wolf link with a tired and mildly frustrated tone.
"Still younger." Jacob teased, and Seth gave the distinct impression of rolling his eyes.
"Boys, no fighting." Tekali scolded.
"Thanks Tek." Leah said, glad that she didn't have to play the grown up again.
"So? You're back?" Jacob asked, his expectation was to get his second back.
"Yeah, for now. I found nothing out there." Leah held back a sigh, reasoning that another year would make little difference in the long run.
"Sorry." He sounded genuine, but couldn't quite hide the relief in his voice.
"Don't worry about it. Going silent until I arrive." Leah said shutting out everything, a small trick learned after decades of living in a shared thought commune. She didn't mind immortality so much, being young and powerful made living forever pleasurable. She even had a few longer term relationships. Yet she always found something wrong, leaving after a few years. The same excuse of course was that they were human, mortal. She could never let go of the wolf long enough to settle down.
Of course the real reason was buried deep, something she would never admit to herself… she was waiting to imprint. She wasn't sure why, but in all their years active neither herself or her brother had found their mate. As every other shifter, including Jacob, found someone. She had given up on romance for so long, she had started to believe she was broken, flawed in such a deep and prominent way that no one would ever love her.
She shook off the deep introspection and started to run, knowing if her timing were just right she could catch the next Port Townsend-Coupeville ferry. If not she would probably miss the council meeting all together.
Halfway Between La Push and Forks - January 29th
Isabella wept for nearly half an hour before finally letting go of this particular storm of emotions. She took a deep breath, and sat up, smiling weakly at her daughter.
"Thank you. I feel better. I think I really needed that." Isabella took a few deep breaths and stood up from sitting in one smooth, slightly unnatural motion. Eliza followed, glancing at her shoulder where her mother's head had been leaning.
"As long as you didn't get snot all over my cloak it's no problem." Eliza teased, making a big show of checking her shoulder and then wiping it off furiously, which prompted another laugh from Isabella.
Eliza waited a few seconds more to give her mother some time to recover, and as soon as Isabella's expression fell she spoke up. "Now what?" Isabella shrugged a little bit, glancing at her watch, seeing it was a quarter after five.
"Now, we head home for a few hours before coming back for the council. I'm sure it's going to be interesting." Isabella allowed a small half grin, before taking off towards home. Eliza chuckling slightly to herself as she followed.
The afternoon felt heavy, as the cool misty air of the forest pressed against their skin as though they were running through a sprinkling of rain. It helped them both clear their minds about the upcoming meeting, and by the time they reached home they felt almost normal. Eliza had a thousand questions, and while she could answer most of them by rooting around in the copies of Isabella's memories permanently cemented to her mind, she preferred to hear them directly from her mother.
"Mom, can I ask you something?" Eliza queried simply, yet allowed a touch of gentle pleading into her voice.
"Of course." Isabella said immediately as they broke the tree line and started the walk across the vast area of grass towards their house.
"I have a vague impression of a memory related to Imprinting, but no context. What is it?" Eliza used her usual directness to sidestep any emotional entanglements associated with the question, it was usually the best approach with her mother. Isabella frowned and shook her head a couple of times, then turned towards the ancient fire pit near the massive tree which dominated the middle of their front lawn motioning for Eliza to join her. Isabella sat on a well worn log which was once used for seating on the far side of the pit. Eliza picked up an old stump that might've been used as a makeshift stool and placed it across from her mother, making a mental note to set up the fire pit better.
"Well, it's weird and a little difficult to explain." Isabella said carefully, not sure exactly how to explain a topic that she barely understood herself. Yet seeing her daughter's interest, she couldn't exactly ignore the question. "You probably remember Jacob explaining it to me once, but it kind of doesn't do it justice. Basically when one of their kind see's their match they imprint on them. Their whole world shifts, priorities wants and desires become secondary to this person. It isn't necessarily romantic, but it is also kind of all consuming. For example, Quil imprinted on a two year old girl."
"Gross." Eliza shot back immediately. "He actually fell in love with a child? How does that even work?"
"I don't know what happened. I know he said he would be there for her, as a friend, brother. Then when she grew up they may have developed a relationship." Isabella said with a small shrug.
"Um, that's grooming." Eliza cringed, and shook her head a little in disgust.
"You're right, and I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to thread that line. It's an impossible situation, but they have no control over it. I honestly cannot imagine losing yourself so completely to another." Isabella frowned, but hoped Quil took the proper care to not influence the girl's feelings over years, yet how could he stay entirely out of her life living in relatively close proximity to her?
"Romantic mom. Beyond the weird aspects to it, the idea of love at first sight is pretty powerful." Eliza frowned, her own romantic history amounted to a single date with one of the other guards and a one night stand with another vampire she encountered on a solo mission over twenty years earlier.
"Like I said, romance doesn't enter into it. It is an extreme version of love at first sight tied to some mildly supernatural genetic matchmaking system. I mean, it must be incredibly jarring, in a split second they no longer belong to themselves." Isabella let a little shudder run out to her shoulders, her voice cold and mildly hostile.
Eliza's frown deepened further, "I'm not sure I see the problem." Confessing a small buried desire to experience something so powerful.
Isabella shook her head slowly, her face drawing down into a soft frown. "Let me put it another way. Way back when, I heard a story about their Alpha."
"Sam? The whole thing with Leah and Emily?" Eliza guessed, and Isabella immediately nodded.
"Yeah. He was the first in their generation to shift, and when he changed, he was dating Leah with the intent to marry her. She even helped him through those first few weeks, when everyone else was too afraid to help him." Isabella frowned further, the associated memories of that time were not very pleasant for her.
"Then he imprinted on Emily." Eliza said scrunching up her face in distaste. Isabella worked her jaw a little and sighed softly, looking down she noticed a small shiny flat rock and kicked a bit of dirt to dislodge it.
"Exactly, her cousin and best friend. One look and he had to abandon his lover because he couldn't lie about his feelings." Isabella finally continued after picking up the rock and cleaning off the dirt.
"So… he just left her?" Eliza was frowning again, her disgust evident.
"Kinda, I mean he had no idea what had happened to him, and he initially tried to fight it, but he had no choice. The imprint was too strong. He hated himself for breaking her heart." Isabella let go of her own frustration and shrugged again. "Look I don't know everything, I heard the account third hand from Jacob after he joined the pack. I know Leah was deeply hurt, at least until she shifted for the first time and experienced the imprint through the wolf link. I know that even with that knowledge it didn't help, instead she was trapped knowing that there was nothing that she did, but she was also tied to Sam as a member of his pack. We never got along, but I understood why she was so upset and bitter." Isabella explained, thinking back on it, she realized her own discomfort around Leah stemmed from her similar experience with Edward.
"What happens if one of the wolves imprints on someone who doesn't like them? I mean what if they imprint on someone who's happily married or something?" Eliza asked curiously.
Isabella shook her head, "I don't know. I think there may be something deeper than just genetics. Something spiritual and perhaps beyond understanding. From what I witnessed, not a single imprint failed to result in a relationship that wasn't sickeningly happy. That kind of love and devotion is incredibly hard to resist." Isabella finished with a roll of her eyes.
"So you and Jacob never..." Eliza started and Isabella immediately shook her head.
"No, even though I probably should have. It would've been the healthier choice, but I was fixated on the Cullens' for better or worse." Isabella stood and pocketed the rock, and then turned to start walking towards the house.
Eliza followed and they got to the door before Isabella stopped and turned to her. "I know why you ask, and you shouldn't worry. One of the reasons I agreed to journey out into the world like this was so that you could find someone to share your soul. Someone not me. When you do, it may not be an immediate imprint like the wolves, but it'll be no less powerful. Vampires do not fall out of love."
Eliza shook her head slightly and dropped her eyes to stare at her feet, blushing furiously, she had never considered that as a reason for her mother's choice to come to Forks. Then a thought occurred to her, something just as wonderful might happen for Isabella too. Maybe that was the answer to bringing her mother out of the darkness consuming her little by little.
"I would hope you find that same kind of love." Eliza said looking up. "You could very well find someone too." Isabella shook her head, her lips drawing up in a bitter self-mocking smile.
"No." Isabella immediately replied in a tone so cold that Eliza almost shivered.
Eliza shook her head and forced a smile. "No? Never say never, we're freaking immortal Mom. Hell, on a long enough timeline you could end up dancing to a polka."
"That's not funny." Isabella sighed again, a deep painful sigh and looked out as the sun started to cross across the treetops and the first touches of orange and purple began to stretch like fingers deep into the darkening blue of the sky. "A century ago, when they left and she took me, a part of me died. The part that can love another, the part that can be a partner and a mate. I never expected to feel anything apart from malice and anger until you, but that is a once in a lifetime thing. I will never have another child to touch that part of me, and I cannot fathom anyone capable of reaching that deep inside of my broken soul to pull out another atrophied tendril of passion from my dead heart. So no, I'll never have another relationship, I'll never be mated to another."
Eliza closed her eyes and lowered her head, she knew it was a truth but she felt the need to argue it anyway. "Poetic, and perhaps true. But you cannot know the future, so you cannot truly believe that to be absolute."
Isabella frowned in minor exasperation, and turned her head, fixing her gaze on Eliza.
"You know what I have been through, what was ripped away from me. I may not be a monster, but I am one very bad day away from becoming one." Isabella let all her hatred fill her voice, which had turned suddenly cold and very dark. "Think about how close I've come to losing it. Not just once, not even twice. Can you even count how many times I've skirted the edge of evil?"
"Yes, on one hand and you haven't lost it..." Eliza countered, though she kept her tone mild.
"Yet." Isabella finished her daughter's thought. "I haven't lost it yet. Look it isn't even worth an argument. As a human I wasn't good enough to be a mate, as a vampire I'm far too broken. Let's face it, to even hold those pieces of myself together I need to be in absolute control of my life. I cannot allow for a mate, I cannot give over that control to another, to lose myself like that."
"But, there has to be something you…" Eliza started, almost saying too much.
"Cannot simply exist like this? May I remind you what I was like before? You have the memories, so you know what I was like before I found you. I had almost no humanity left, I may have even crossed the line a couple of times before we bonded. While I may be more stable now because of you, because of our connection… Heaven forbid if something were to happen to you. If I were to lose you, nothing on earth would be able to leash the monster inside me. I don't even think Volturi could restrain me, and I would be a plague such as the world has ever seen; a monster without a conscience and without fear of consequence. Even if there were enough embers of my soul left to love another, if I held another to the same level as you, it would be another potential button to trigger my monster. No one deserves that kind of responsibility, especially not for what I can return." Isabella's voice almost trembled at the mere idea of losing Eliza, the fear something she rarely voiced because of the volatility it stirred inside of her.
Eliza wanted to argue, say anything really to rebuke her mother's stance on the entire question of their future. Yet she kept her objections to herself, because while she knew deep down that Isabella had felt the things she just voiced, it was the first time Eliza had heard them said out loud. It pained her to know that Isabella was so deeply lost and broken, and the only thing she could think to do was pull her into a hug… which she did, holding her mother as tightly as possible.
Outskirts of Seattle - January 29th
Cutting down along the north shore of Lake Shannon, Leah pushed her preternaturally strong body as fast as she could go. She still found the speed she could run thrilling, which always managed to temporarily lift her spirits. The next leg of her journey would be the most nerve racking as she crossed into sparse civilization and farmlands along the I20. She hadn't come out on her walkabout this way, preferring to take the hardest paths through deep wilderness. She hadn't been in this part of the State in decades, and was hoping for the cover of forest along the two lane highway.
She swore, coming out as a loud bark, as she reached civilization and found the woods were almost gone, now developed into farmland and small towns cutting deeper into the wilderness than she counted on. Yet she couldn't think of another option besides shifting back to human and hitchhiking, because this was the most direct route to the ferry, and across the water.
She focused her senses, tracking humans as they went about their day and ran at a full sprint for as long as she could. She made better time than she hoped, and was closing in on Seattle when she caught the scent. A splash of blood and death, and the distinct stink of a wolf. At first she ignored it, considering it was likely just a predator enjoying its prey. Then a clearer waft of the stench hit her nose, and she stopped in her tracks. This was no wolf, it was something else, something like her.
Her instinct was to investigate, but it was a dangerous proposition to risk so far from her pack. She yapped at the air in frustration, and was about to head off towards home when she realized what the other scent was, the blood… it was human. She growled in anger and took off towards this violent stranger as fast as her legs could take her. She was a Beta after all, she could face another shifter one-on-one without much trouble, she was sure of it.
As she neared, the creature failed to react, focused entirely on feasting on its meal. The corpse of a man, no older than twenty was badly mauled and half eaten. His expression locked into a visage of horror, the final moment of his life etched onto his face betraying the violence and shock of his death. Leah climbed up onto a higher rock, stood tall, puffed out her chest and growled using her full presence. The other wolf stopped eating and looked up, the fur around its mouth matted with blood. He looked almost confused for a moment, cocking his head as if curious to see what he was looking at, and then he chuffed once in wolfy laughter and stood up slowly shifting into human form.
"Girl, come here and dine, the meat is fresh." His voice was deep in timber and normal, almost banal it was so nondescript. Yet the blood caked around his mouth struck Leah as comical in juxtaposition with the horror of what he was suggesting. She shuddered slightly, and let loose a deep guttural growl before launching herself at him. He furrowed his brow in confusion, as she quickly closed the distance and wrapped her powerful jaws around his throat. He didn't have a chance to shift as she turned her mouth and ripped apart his flesh. Foul blood flowed into her mouth and she spit out the hunk of meat in disgust. The vile creature twitched a few times, the life fading from his eyes as she closed her own eyes in pain. She hadn't killed a thinking creature before, never had to truly let go with the violence pent up inside of her. She felt anger, fear, and sorrow but at the core of those feelings was something else. As she stood reeling in her own bloody violence, she felt a release, a release of rage she had kept bottled up deep inside. It felt good to let it go, it felt like freedom, as if she had fulfilled something primal inside of herself, something she had never dared to understand.
She felt power.
The power lasted all of ten seconds when she heard the sound of a wolf's search howl. A member of his pack was looking for him. She picked up the corpse of his victim and headed for civilization, dropping it along the highway between cars passing by. Then she took off towards the city, using every skill in her long history to cover her tracks to prevent this monstrous pack from following her. The danger to the tribe, the pack and herself was already growing with the Cullens and Isabella and her daughter around. This new unknown threat was almost too much, and it took everything she had to keep herself steady as she snuck past the eyes of civilization to one of her storage units, full of mementos of her parents, boxes full of childhood memories, some clothes, a phone and one of her motorcycles.
She dressed quickly and got on her bike, closing her eyes in satisfaction as the engine turned over. Then she headed towards the water, and the ferry pushing through traffic faster than she would usually dare. Three blocks out she could hear the warning horn for departure and found the line was fairly long. Yet she found a spot inside the wait line, and got on the boat. The thirty minute ride was somewhat relaxing, with the cold air coming off the bay and the twinkling lights of the city to the south. She knew she had to make good time and while her bike would work for the initial branch of her trip, there was no way she could manage the over one-hundred and twenty mile trip before midnight without shifting.
The garage just outside of the city was owned by Jacob, but the pack used it regularly. The finances he had built up over a century had given the pack quite a bit of cushion when it came to essentials like clothes and housing, especially for the younger wolves who had trouble interacting with the community due to rage issues. They were even able to help with the displacement around the mid-20's when the land started to erode. She dropped the bike in the garage and stowed the clothes. Then took off along a well worn path towards home. After ten minutes she opened up her side of the link again, letting in the rest of the pack. There was a heightened sense of emancipation as they neared 10pm and the meeting was getting ready to start. Jacob wasn't in the link, but Paul was and he noticed a stray thought from her.
"Leah, what happened." He was using his Beta voice, which didn't work on her but she had to admit the authority fit him well.
"Ran into another shifter." She said feeling cagey, not sure how they would react to her killing another of their kind.
"And?" He replied, trying to draw out an explanation. She could feel his frustration.
"No, I will explain when I get there. Jake needs to hear this too." Leah used her own Beta voice, and it did work on him, she could immediately feel his aggression and dominance pull back.
"Understood. Will you be on time?" Paul's inner voice was clipped, but professional. He took his job as the pack third and pup trainer very seriously.
"I'm about ten miles outside of Port Angeles, clocking at least ninety-five given the terrain. Should make it about fifteen minutes late." Leah rattled off, not really knowing how fast she was going but throwing out some numbers to make it sound more authoritative. She knew when she would be home, her own internal clock was never wrong.
"I'll let Jake know. Glad to have you back." Paul managed to not sound entirely upset by her return.
"Glad to be back." She said with more conviction than she expected. The rest of the trip was uneventful, and she could just make out the lights of the council and some raised voices as she broke the tree line. Two black clad figures were standing around the campfire, the pack was mostly in their wolf forms, creating a loose circle in preparation for a fight. Jacob was dressed surprisingly well, along with Tekali standing in front of the council along with the two women that both looked like Isabella Swan. She stopped and examined them, and marveled at how much the Swan girl had changed, and yet was exactly the same. The other one, clearly blood related was beyond beautiful, yet there was something else about her, something strange. Then as if aware she was being watched, the stranger turned her amethyst eyes towards Leah for a split second and a small smile of recognition curled at her mouth. Not that it mattered, as Leah's mind was consumed with something new and unexpected.
La Push - January 29th (just before 10pm)
"What if their council tells us to piss off?" Eliza asked as they waited for their escort to arrive, her eyes revealing her curiosity more than her worry.
"Then we're no worse off than we were before we warned them of the threat." Isabella admitted with a small shrug.
"You would think at the very least they would be concerned that another wolf pack is out there eating people." Eliza frowned a little, but Isabella simply shrugged.
"We'll see." Isabella added, and then pushed off the tree she was leaning against. "Company."
Her warning came only a few seconds before a soft growl announced the arrival of Paul, still in his wolf form, as he bounded into the small clearing they were waiting in. He immediately stopped when he noticed them waiting, and looked up at Isabella snorting once in mild disgust.
"Good to see you too Paul." Isabella greeted him politely, keeping the sarcasm out of her voice completely. "We're ready to follow you in."
The large wolf gave a soft bark in response, and without further delay turned and began to lope into the forest. They both assumed this was all the invitation they would get, so they followed the wolf, giving each other a small glance as they started to move. What started as a slow pace picked up until they were running with the wolf through brush and trees. The two vampires easily kept up with the wolf until he slowed down, reverting to a walk as they entered a large clearing.
Standing at the edge of the clearing was Jacob, in a pair of loose black slacks and a dark blue button up shirt, he had also done away with his beard revealing that he hadn't aged a day since Isabella had last seen him. His only concession to the wolf was bare feet, which almost made Isabella smile. When she had known him, he had destroyed nearly half a dozen pairs of shoes before learning to kick them off before shifting.
Tekali stood next to him, her expression open and friendly. She was wearing a loose blue dress with white flowers, which matched her husband rather well. Her tasteful black flats were still casual, yet looked far more formal than anyone in the pack generally dressed. Jacob waved as they approached, and Paul nodded towards Jacob once before passing the couple and heading towards the large bonfire that had been set up twenty yards from the tree line on the other side of the clearing.
"Welcome to the party." Jacob said with a small smile.
"Been a long time since I've been to one of these." Isabella said with an introspective expression, her voice calm and even.
"Yeah, it's not every day that you have to tell the council someone under your protection is being hunted by a cold one." Jacob shook his head once, his face twisted from the old lingering guilt.
"Cold one. I haven't heard that since… nevermind. What should we expect?" Isabella started, before switching to a more present topic.
"Disbelief and hostility, I didn't exactly warn them you were coming." Jacob looked back and worked his jaw a little, shaking his head slightly. "There may be some trouble at the start, if something happens let me take care of it please." He looked pensive, but honest and genuine. This wasn't a trap as far as he was concerned, which placated Isabella's own reservations about this meeting.
She glanced down to the bonfire to examine the council, and found five people already seated. The eldest, although Isabella wasn't sure if he was the Chief, looked to be at least eighty and sat to the far left of center staring into the crackling fire. To his immediate right was a younger man in his mid to late forties, he had a neutral expression but there was something in his eyes that set Isabella on edge. The man in the center had the bearing of a new leader, his posture overly straight and his chest ever so slightly puffed out. To his right were two women, both younger than the men, one in her early forties or late thirties and another that was maybe edging on thirty.
"Lovely." Eliza said, staring at the gathering starting to form by the fire, then glanced at her mother who was looking intently at those gathered as well.
"Well, I guess I'm about to face the fire, so to speak. Stay here until I call for you… please" Jake said, drawing a deep breath.
"Of course." Isabella nodded once and kept her expression neutral as he ran off towards the meeting. Tekali hung back, and stepped up next to Eliza.
"He looks better without the facial fur." Eliza said leaning towards her conspiratorially. Tekali let out a blast of laughter, a bit louder then she intended and nodded several times with enthusiasm.
"He was proud of the beard, but I've been telling him to get rid of it for three years." They all stared as Jacob went directly to the one seated in the center who greeted him with a dour expression. Jacob said a few words, and the man immediately snapped his head towards Isabella and Eliza and scowled.
"You brought a spare pair of clothes for him right?" Eliza asked, trying to stifle a grin.
"Two pairs." She said with a small sigh, and Eliza giggled. Even Isabella smiled, pleased that her daughter was relaxed enough to make small jokes with a relative stranger. "This will be the first time the entire pack has been together since before the Cullens returned."
"How long has that been?" Isabella asked without looking over.
"They arrived shortly before the new school year started, so sometime in August." Tekali raised her eyebrows up in thought, then looked to Isabella when she confirmed the time frame.
"Fucked timing." Eliza muttered, and Tekali looked at her curiously. Eliza just shook her head, "Long story for another time maybe."
Jacob turned with a clear frown and beckoned everyone over. Isabella and Eliza glanced at each other, counting the numbers and positions of the pack in case of attack. As they neared the man in the center spoke up. "Why have you called this meeting?" He sounded formal, and was clearly not pleased.
Tekali murmured quietly to Isabella and Eliza. "That's Stephen Black, he just took over as Chief."
"Related to Jake?" Eliza whispered back.
"Billy and Sue had a daughter named Abigail who was a part of the pack for a number of years, unfortunately she died in childbirth, Stephen's birth." Tekali kept her voice low enough that none of the humans could hear but Jacob glanced over, it was a dark note in their family history and even worse for Jacob, his own little sister was the only packmate he'd ever lost that hadn't given up their power first.
Jacob looked back at the gathered elders and council members and shook his head. "My second is not here yet. I do not wish to start without her."
"Of course, but last we heard Leah was on a walkabout. Is she even aware of this meeting?" Stephen asked, his eyebrows raised in concern.
"Yes, she is going to be another ten minutes or so. She had to make a trip from near the Cascades." Paul said, stepping up next to Jake in his role as Beta while Leah was away.
"I will always marvel at your speed. Let us start with introductions, Leah should be here by the time we're finished. Who have you invited into our circle? They do not appear human." Stephen said, pretending that he wasn't already aware of Isabella and Eliza's nature.
"Although they are outsiders, I must request patience and civility." Jacob looked deeply worried, and kept looking between the council and Isabella. The rest of the elders sat with blank expressions, except for the eldest who was examining Isabella's face closely.
"That would follow, given the nature of their appearance. Yet it does not follow that we will allow them to leave this place." Stephen glared at the two vampires, hatred creeping into his features as he spoke. Isabella stood tall, utterly nonplussed by the thinly veiled threat to her and her daughter.
"No! They will not be harmed while they are here, and they will be allowed to leave once they have presented their cause. That is the promise made by this pack, and by me as Alpha." Jacob said exerting his presence as an Alpha, and the entire pack instantly stopped fidgeting. Whispers passed through the link of insults; leech, worm, bloodsucker were instantly silenced. Yet despite their outward hatred, they could not feel the same itch that they always felt around other vampires, that lack of a presence from Isabella and Eliza set the pack even more on edge.
"You have overstepped Jacob, the Alpha does not speak for the tribe." Stephen said heatedly, his anger clearly starting to boil over.
"So you will rob us of our honor?" Jake said with a sneer of disgust, directly challenging Stephen's choice on this matter. Eliza wondered if there was some bad blood between them. Stephen looked like he was about to have an aneurysm, but the eldest put a hand on his shoulder. Then the council all leaned in together and they spoke for a few minutes in hushed voices. Not that Isabella, Eliza and the entire pack couldn't hear them clearly anyway. The council seemed split, two to two with the eldest member breaking the tie and siding with honoring Jake's word.
"Fine. We will respect your promise for now. Let this continue." Stephen said with a sigh as the council sat back as all but the eldest crossed their arms.
Jacob nodded in acceptance, "I have called this meeting for two reasons. First to discuss the return of an old friend of the tribe, and second to report something unsettling that we must address and soon."
"Old friend. My god. Bella?" The eldest man exclaimed, his voice wavering with emotion. "Is that really you? We all thought you were dead!"
That caught Isabella off guard, and she frowned in confusion at the old man. "Yes I am Isabella. I'm sorry, I don't recognize..."
The old man began to laugh, a rich deep laughter filled with a strength that belied his age. "Oh I'm sure you don't recognize me, it's only been nearly a century. It's me. Quil Ateara." Isabella blinked several times, which succeeded in bringing on more laughter from the old man. "I know, I know. I got old. I don't shift anymore since Claire didn't have the gene to turn. I gave up the wolf right when she fully grew up, and after a time we fell in love, got married and had a wonderful life."
"How did you manage, I mean imprinting on someone so young." Eliza asked with wide eyed enthusiasm, leaning forward in curiosity. Isabella put up a hand and shook her head.
"Now's probably not the time." Isabella kept her voice soft, and made it clear through their own link that she did not admonish her question, but felt there was a better time for it.
"Right. Sorry." Eliza winced and stood back.
"Not at all dear. It is a fascinating story, but Claire told it better." Quil managed a small chuckle, which elicited strange looks from the rest of the council.
"Well this certainly is a pleasant surprise, although honestly, nothing should surprise me anymore. I have been continually astonished by how many of the pack survived, after so long. I have to admit it is nice to see a familiar face on the council." Isabella maintained her smile, clearly happy to see her old friend again. Then she noticed the third man on the council cast his gaze down, a deep shame falling over his features. She examined him for a few seconds before recognition set in.
"Colin?" She asked, finally recognizing his face. He looked up, but couldn't quite meet her eyes. Quil looked over and shook his head and frowned slightly.
"Please excuse Colin, he still blames himself for your… disappearance." Quil pursed his lips, and the corners of his mouth turned down in a small frown. Colin glanced at him once, then took a deep breath before finally looking up to meet Isabella's eyes.
"I had a chance to take out that leech, but she got the better of me." Colin raised his right arm and for the first time Isabella noticed the slightly unusual texture of the skin on his hand. "It isn't state of the art but it sure beats running around on three legs." He flexed the fingers on the hands a few times showing the complete, but somewhat limited range of motion. A late 60's model cyber-hand with lifelike rubber skin, purchased almost a decade earlier from an online dealer specializing in economy rebuilds.
"I'm so sorry Colin, I had no idea any of the pack got hurt." Isabella said with a sorrow she couldn't articulate fully, realizing the wolf that was supposed to replace Jacob the day she was taken must've been Colin. The severity of his injury made Isabella lose focus for a second, the beast inside roaring. She could feel the darkness starting to flow into her, but immediately pushed it away. She didn't need it, she couldn't lose control again. Eliza tensed up ready to step in, but relaxed as soon as she felt her mother loosen up.
"It doesn't matter anymore. I gave up trying to grow a new one about thirty years ago." Colin said with a small smirk, the humor in his expression was belied by the darkness in his eyes. His injury clearly cut down to his core, and despite modern cybernetic advancements was a daily struggle.
"Right. Well for those who don't know me, my name is Isabella di Volterra, and this is my daughter Elizabeth." Isabella didn't meet Jacob's eyes when he raised an eyebrow at her stated last name.
"Eliza." Eliza corrected, she didn't mind when someone used her full name, but actively disliked how long it took to say. Isabella could never figure out why that bothered her daughter, but didn't begrudge her choice.
"This tribe once called you friend, and some wished you to become family. What are you to us now?" Quil asked, his expression friendly.
"Hopefully still a friend, yet I can understand if circumstances have changed that. If friendship is impossible, I have another proposal." Isabella said thoughtfully and carefully. In truth the idea of striking up a friendship with Jake and the rest of the tribe was almost too much to consider.
"What is that?" Quil asked simply.
"Allies." Isabella replied, reasoning it was a good compromise if friendship was off the table.
"Why would we accept such a truce? What do you offer us?" Stephen cut in, his expression guarded and dark.
"Peace, and information on a pack of shifters that are consuming human flesh." Isabella said flatly, needing to get out her offer as neutrally as possible.
"Lies!" One of the pack members hissed from the just outside of the firelight, her voice almost a rasp.
"Quiet Sarah!" Jacob said coldly, and she immediately lowered their head in obedience.
Paul cleared his throat drawing attention. "There may be some truth to this. Leah caught sight of something on the other side of Seattle, but refused to share. I got a fleeting image of a large wolf with blood on its maw. You know how private she is, and that block of hers is impenetrable." Paul said while staring down at the ground, watching the shadows at his feet from the chaotic light of flickering fire.
"I'll talk to her, she isn't supposed to use that to keep out the pack on important business." Jacob said with a small sigh, he had been aware of the pack's feelings around Leah and her mood lately, which had been bordering on impossible. He hated the idea of pushing her away, but she was clearly unhappy and he wasn't sure what to do anymore.
"Fine, fine. Why don't we sit down? Maybe we could scoot the logs back a bit from the fire for Isabella, if memory serves you had trouble walking on flat surfaces in full daylight." Quil said breaking the tension slightly, laughing again almost as soon as he had completed the sentence.
Eliza looked at her mother in surprise when Bella actually threw back her head and laughed. "Trust me, that's not the case any more." She shook her head once the laughter was over, and she and Eliza took the offered seats. They sat as casually as possible with Jacob and Tekali, the only others willing to share the log bench with them. However, they were careful not to get too close to the flames, and Isabella remained very aware of the pack members positions. Quil's interruption seemed to have helped put the council and the pack a bit more at ease, although those who remained in wolf form were not exactly sitting down with their tongues lolled out, except for Seth who moved up and sat next to Isabella within arms reach.
Quil shook his head, and while keeping a smile on his face ground his teeth slightly before turning to the council. "Please excuse our lack of etiquette. This is our new Chief Stephen Black, and you already know Colin Littlesea. Susan Avery and Rita Uley are more recent additions to the council and we couldn't be happier with their wisdom and patience."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Isabella replied formally, bowing her head slightly in respect to each member of the council.
Stephen tilted his head to regard Jake thoughtfully. "So what is this news you have insisted we hear about. A renegade pack doesn't seem like our kind of business."
"I thought protecting humanity was the mission statement of the Pack, of every Quileute shifter?" Eliza interrupted, admonishing Stephen's stance on the subject with a notable sneer on her face.
"The vow is to protect our people from your kind, the outside world is not our concern." Stephen said talking in a condescending tone, making Eliza almost lose her cool. Isabella put a hand on her forearm to restrain her. The irony of the reversal wasn't lost on either as she glanced at her mother and gave her a small shrug, mouthing 'sorry'.
Jacob didn't seem to notice that small exchange between mother and daughter, his attention was focused on Stephen. They were glaring at each other for several seconds before Jacob decided that he had to finally speak his mind. "We are not that anymore, I cannot stand by as threats endanger people. Perhaps when Sam was in charge, but this pack has matured. Hell, we answered a call in Texas just last year."
"The point is contextual. The pack only exists…" Stephen started, but Jacob cut him off.
Jake's nostrils flared as he took in a deep breath before leaning forward and swiping his hand down in a dramatic gesture. "Horseshit! Pack matters are my business Stephen. I determine what we respond to. You know full well that we haven't had a real danger affecting our people since that monster hurt Colin and took Bella. I realized decades ago we had to branch out, protect all of this country from threats!"
"That has always been contentious, and I never would've signed off on you and your mutts flying off to who knows where. Your place is here!" Stephen shouted back, his face turning an interesting shade of red.
"If we stayed here we would've died out decades ago." Jacob said heatedly, and was about to continue when Tekali leaned forward shaking her head.
"I'm beginning to think that maybe that's his point, he wants us to die out. To vanish. So that the supernatural element of this tribe no longer exists, and he can have absolute control." Tekali spit out, surprising everyone.
"Muzzle your wife or I will!" Stephen was shaking with rage, when Isabella stood and began to walk out of the circle. "Leaving so soon?" Stephen said with a blast of laughter fueled by his fury. Isabella turned on him and stared at him coldly.
"I care not for your petty squabbles, nor do I care about assistance. I brought this news in the hopes your pack would participate in the hunt. But do not mistake my intentions, I will destroy these monsters… with or without you." She finished and glanced meaningfully at Eliza who was still sitting. They met eyes briefly and Eliza shook her head almost imperceptibly.
"The petty conflicts of the Cullen clan, are not our concern." Colin said unexpectedly, shaking his head in minor anger and clear confusion.
Isabella closed her eyes and cocked her head slightly to hold back her anger. When she opened them she leveled a deadly glare at Colin who looked a bit taken aback by her expression. "Never call me a Cullen. They are not allies or even friends. In fact, we only just learned of their presence in the area."
"Colin is not fond of vampires, so please forgive his lack of… tact. But I must ask, your known associations with the Cullens gives us pause, are we to believe you severed all ties with them after becoming a vampire?" Rita Uley asked leaning forward slightly in interest.
Isabella looked at Stephen who was still glaring at Jacob, and sighed. Then she walked back over and sat down next to Eliza. "That's a lot to unpack for a meeting such as this. Suffice it to say, ties were severed before I became a vampire. We are members of the Volturi."
That drew Jacob's attention, and he whistled. "Wow, didn't you say once that they were like vampire royalty?"
"For lack of a better term, yes." Isabella confirmed with a small shrug.
"I guess you traded up then, the Cullens must be small potatoes comparably." Jacob said nodding in appreciation, his previous anger almost entirely gone.
"Actually they are one of the largest sustained covens in the world." Eliza corrected, which drew a few looks. "What? I like to keep track of stuff like that."
"That's interesting, never thought about it that way. Is there a reason the Cullens do not know about your presence? Why would you choose to inform us first, especially when the relationship between your kind and ours is hardly a good one. Your red eyes denote the consumption of human blood, am I wrong?" Susan asked, looking rather introspective.
"No you are not wrong, however, neither myself nor my daughter actively hunt humans for sport and try to keep our kills isolated to those who are a danger to your society." Isabella confirmed, and several of the pack hissed out whispered insults. Jacob glared back at them and they all quieted down immediately. Yet both Isabella and Eliza could feel the hatred radiating off of the gathered pack.
"That's playing judge and executioner, what gives you the right?" Rita asked with more thoughtfulness than anger, although she was deeply disturbed by the fact that they were hosting vampires who killed humans.
"We're not here to discuss the moral or ethical implications of vampires." Isabella replied coldly, utterly unwilling to be dragged down into this argument. Not when so much else was on the line.
"Yet you want to throw allegations at a shifter who kills. What's the difference?" Colin said defensively.
Isabella considered her answer and really had only one response, the truth. "There isn't one, and that is the material point. We serve as the only law among our kind. When there are breeches of this magnitude we must act. If you are unwilling to do the same, that leaves us."
"Oh, I get it. What's a few deaths here and there, but when one of us decides to kill you have to put them down like a dog." Paul spit out, his own patience with this entire meeting starting to fade quickly.
"Paul?" Jacob looked back and shook his head at him.
"Right Jake, I should shut up. Maybe I just call it like I see it, but this is sounding more and more hypocritical." Paul shot back, as it became clear things were quickly devolving.
Isabella held up a hand to stop the argument. "Okay, things are escalating and it needs to stop now. This is a circular argument that isn't getting us anywhere. Let me put it another way. You know I have history with the pack, and while I came here with few expectations, I am thrilled to find my old friends still alive. The thing is, I wanted your help because of your history of honor and nobility."
"Flattery will do nothing here." Paul said through a sneer, his hatred getting the better of him.
"It is not flattery, it is truth. This pack protected me when I had no one else. When I was abandoned by the Cullens, no, not just abandoned, I was left exposed, vulnerable and utterly helpless against the designs of a vampire who wanted nothing more than to enact bloody vengeance upon me. A vampire who tricked this pack, hurt one of your numbers and eventually captured me. I hold no animosity or grievance towards this pack, not anymore, because it was not due to a lack of diligence or effort on the pack's part. You risked your lives against a crafty and dangerous enemy as though I were a member of the family." Isabella managed to get it out, but felt almost overwhelmed by the emotions bringing up the past caused her.
"Go on." Quil encouraged, happy that the conversation had finally turned a corner. Even Paul, Colin and Stephen seemed to have settled down.
Isabella nodded once and sat back down before continuing. "We came here because I know that this pack's legacy of honor and dedication to protecting those who cannot protect themselves would never be abandoned, even if the pack leadership had changed."
"Alright, tell us what you know." Stephen said with an exaggerated sigh.
"As I mentioned before, I am a member of the Volturi. They took me in when I had nothing else left, and gave me a home. Through them I found my daughter. We are the most powerful coven in the vampire world, and we enforce the laws that keep us safe and hidden from the humans. I'm what you could call an enforcer. We both are." Isabella gestured to her daughter before continuing. "Something has changed, something violent and difficult to define. More and more frequently we have been called to stamp out attacks on humans in city after city. While this is happening all over the world, most notably it appears to be focused here in the States. My daughter and I were sent to deal with these attacks happening here on the west coast."
Susan spoke up at that point. "We had noticed waves of "gang activity" on the news, though the violence seems to have settled down in recent weeks. That was you?"
Eliza grinned and nodded "If you mean the settling part. They performed the violence, we settled it...violently."
Isabella nodded her agreement before continuing. "There was another attack last night. I went to investigate, and I traced the scents of the attackers from the scene of the crime to a warehouse. Inside I found a dead human, three vampires and two wolves. Not only did the human look like he had been partially eaten by the wolves, but I verified that the wolves and the vampires were working together for some unknown reason."
The pack began to grow agitated again, and Stephen was about to blast something, mostly likely in anger when Quil held up a hand silencing the new Chief and the pack at the same time. "You said you verified, how do you know they were wolves?"
"I saw them shift with my own two eyes. All five attacked, I dispatched all the vampires and one of the wolves, the other decided discretion was the better part of valor and ran off, managing to lose me when he ducked into the sewers." Isabella's explanation caused even more ruckus, the tension building up again. This time it was Stephen who raised a hand to silence the crowd.
"You killed a shifter and dare to come on our lands?" Stephen's voice was cold, the anger withdrawn inside to a dark place.
"Yes, because he was not one of yours. Anyway, there were far too many overpowering scents down in those tunnels to track, and I wasn't about to explore enemy territory alone. It would be foolish to charge blindly into such a situation." Isabella replied. "I brought back a scrap of clothing which I took off the corpse of the shifter." Isabella paused and gave Jacob's wife a significant glance.
Tekali responded with a snort of amusement. "Paul can verify that the bag you gave us positively reeks."
Paul nodded and produced the small leather satchel that Isabella had given them. "The scent is wolf alright, but he isn't one of our pack. I would recognize the scent."
"There's more, the vampires…" Isabella started when the beats of powerful paws crossed the tree line and a massive grey wolf appeared.
"That would be Leah." Paul kept his body rigid, but his face took on an almost mechanical smile.
"Finally." Jacob said standing up to greet her. Seth sat up and wolfed happily seeing his sister again. Tekali took to her feet as well, as well as Isabella who felt like standing was a good idea to greet an old friend. Eliza looked up at her mother and scrunched her nose up in mild frustration being the only still sitting. She stood as well, and began to look around a little and then finally glanced at the wolf, recognizing the grey beast as Leah.
Eliza didn't have a lot of memories of Leah, she had been fairly standoffish with her mother. Yet there was always something about her story that intrigued Eliza, the tragedy of her romance with Sam was heartbreaking. But more fascinating was the woman she had become in the intervening years. All those thoughts circled around as she made eye contact with the wolf as it cantered towards the bonfire. The moment they locked gazes Eliza curled her mouth into a soft smile in recognition and greeting.
The wolf suddenly skidded to a stop, her eyes locked on Eliza. She froze for several long seconds before realizing she had the full attention of the gathering and started to look around. The other packmates in wolf form all began to howl, except her brother who was staring at her. The shock and fury in his eyes was hard to meet. He quietly loped away, and she desperately wanted to follow him, but she couldn't. Not yet, not when everything had changed.
Jacob's expression was stony, as he looked between Leah and Eliza. "Give me a moment, I need to check on this." He pulled off his shirt and unbuckled his pants before shifting into a wolf while his clothing fell to the ground. Tekali scooped it up without a word and quickly folded it and tucked it under her arms. Jacob walked over towards Leah and brushed against her side.
"Jake, I'm so sorry." Leah pleaded, hoping her friend and partner would understand.
"For what? What's going on?" Jacob's confusion upon joining the link was justified as he sifted through the packs chaotic chatter for what was going on.
"I don't understand. Can't you feel it?" Leah's explanation was odd, but Jake searched and when he found the connection he felt himself tense up.
"I… oh my. I have to explain, how can I explain this to her?" He couldn't comprehend what had happened, let along how to explain it to anyone outside of the pack.
One by one the rest of the pack shifted, although Tekali and the other few female members of the pack stepped away into the darkness surrounding the camp and stripped before shifting.
"What's going on?" Steven asked, looking a bit frightened as he sat alone with the other council members and Isabella and Eliza as a cacophony of wolves began to whine, bark, growl and howl at one another for almost two minutes. They were all surrounding Leah who stood up tall and rounded on any who challenged her. Jacob was next to her, along with Tekali but there was massive conflict over the link. Thoughts and words jumbled up into discordant soup, until Jacob roared both in the link and out of it startling everyone into silence.
"I'm not sure." Quil said breaking the silence at a whisper. Leah pushed out of the circle surrounding her and walked towards the bonfire and sat down opposite Eliza, her eyes darting between the ground and her face. The rest of the pack suddenly broke up, all but three of the wolves ran off into the night. The ones who remained, and remembered to step out of their clothing returned in less than a minute. Paul and a few others stood in the shadows to obscure their nudity. Tekali and Jacob returned and sat back down, shock and confusion still etched into their expressions.
Isabella and Eliza both sat back down, and Eliza leaned over to whisper to Tekali "I guess he didn't need them after all." Tekali managed a small grin, but she was far too preoccupied to laugh. Her focus lingering on Eliza for longer than comfortable.
"I'll ask again, what the hell is going on?" Stephen demanded from Jacob the moment he sat down. Jacob looked uncomfortable for a moment, glancing down at the grey wolf sitting across from them.
"Tekali, could you go get Leah some clothing?" Jacob asked his wife, who nodded and immediately stood and moved away from the circle. Then he let go of a deep breath and worked his jaw a few times before meeting Stephen gaze directly. "Complications."
"I gather, care to elaborate?" The Chief said completely out of patience.
"Well, the question of whether Isabella and Eliza will be allowed to leave is now moot. We also no longer have an option, we must pursue this pack, track them down and kill every single member." Jacob wasn't looking at anyone as he spoke, things were no longer optional and he had to impart that information, somehow.
"How? That makes no sense." Stephen balked, almost sputtering.
"First, Leah did encounter one of these violent shifters on her way back home, he was feasting on the corpse of a hiker." Jacob began to explain, still trying to figure out how he was going to say what he had to say.
"My god, what happened?" Quil said looking over towards Leah who was staring at the ground shaking her head slightly.
"She killed him." Jacob answered with almost no emotion behind his voice, the remorse he felt from Leah still echoing in his mind.
"I have nothing." Rita said with a small shake of her head.
"Me neither." Stephen moved his teeth around his mouth, trying to figure out what to say next. "If he was that blatant with his kill, perhaps she made the right choice."
"He wasn't alone, she couldn't hide his corpse. She only had enough time to grab the victim and get it back to civilization. Then she headed here, the safe way." Jacob confirmed.
Quil nodded as he looked at the grey wolf, who was still shifting her gaze between the council and the two vampires. "Good thinking. We need to know what we're dealing with here. This is the first time we've ever run into any of our kind before." He turned his head to look back at Jacob frowning curiously, "what other issue is there, you said first?"
Jacob nodded his head slowly, "the second thing is that Leah imprinted."
Quil's frown was matched by every member of the council as they turned to look at Leah in a mix of confusion and joy. "She imprinted on the wolf that attacked the hiker?" Quil asked, trying to work out what Jacob meant.
Jacob shook his head slowly. "No, she didn't imprint on him."
The answer confounded the council, the puzzlement on their faces was almost comical. Quil was the first one to speak up, his voice full of genuine pleasure, "was it someone you met on walkabout? Why is this the first we're hearing of it? I mean it's wonderful news! Leah, you and Seth are far overdue to imprint. I just don't see why it's a complication?"
Jacob's mouth opened slightly, working his tongue across his bottom teeth a few times and then looked to Isabella first and stared at her, glancing a couple of times at Eliza. It took a moment for her to understand, but then she gasped and looked down at Leah who shivered involuntarily from the intensity of the glare. Isabella looked back towards Jacob and licked her lips before speaking.
"Let me Jake." Isabella said, and Jacob nodded once. She shifted towards her daughter and took her hand in hers.
"Mom?" Eliza was feeling suddenly in the spotlight and couldn't fathom what was going on.
"Honey. Eliza. Leah just imprinted… on you." Isabella said the words that she couldn't quite understand herself, but knew Eliza wouldn't believe it from anyone else. Eliza's mouth fell open, and for the first time in her life she was at a loss for words as she looked down at the grey wolf who sheepishly met her gaze.
Quil was the first to respond after blinking in shock a few times, a thousand things were running through his head, but the distinguished and knowledgeable elder with a century of life experience to fall back on, could only think of one thing to say. "Holy shit…"
"You can say that again," Jake added, to no one in particular.