Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight
Author's note: Holy hell, people...THANK YOU for all the reviews you left me last chapter. They effectively kept my head firmly inside Gifted and believe it or not, made writing this next chapter a lot easier! It could also have been Disney World, which I now firmly believe is the cure to writer's block. The day after I uploaded the last chapter, I managed to spend 5 hours (AM hours, that is...very, very AM) writing copious notes for the chapters to come. So...yay! Writer's block is over!
"Get back inside, Leah! That's an order!"
Sam's commanding voice bellowed through Emily's house and across the front porch where Leah was stomping away.
"Screw you, Sam!" She yelled without bothering to turn around. "Your 'voice' won't work on me while I got two legs, so for the last time (and I'll say it out loud since you can't hear my thoughts like this either), go fuck yourself! Or have Paul do it for you, you wanker!"
The commotion from inside the house told her Sam was dealing with another problem now, probably trying to prevent Paul from transforming out of rage and coming after her. Let him, she thought. Let them all come. She'd whoop them without even transforming. Well, probably not, but she was mad enough to try.
All this because their imbecile leader refused to listen to sound advice. They were chasing their tails...have been for weeks on end now trying to kill those damn leeches and they were getting nowhere. Seth barely got through the last month of the school year. If things continued like this, she might not graduate. And things would not improve even if they succeeded in their mission and eliminated the two rogue leeches. The thoughts of those who've phased earlier in the year along with Sam told her his maniacal schedule kept them up night and day...and that was before the threat of these nomads materialized. What were they supposed to do? Cease living and exist only for the good of the council and the tribe?
It didn't matter what she said or didn't say. She would never be taken seriously by those assholes, let alone the supreme anus himself Sam Uley. Hell was a scary ghost story for some people, but these days it was her misbegotten reality. Seeing Sam on a daily basis...hell. Hearing the truth of his feelings for Emily and how fucked their relationship was when he found himself in the throws of an imprint...hell. Having to share all her thoughts, all her secrets and fears and desires with a bunch of rowdy, insolent thugs...hell. Feeling completely helpless and unable to protect her brother while Sam ordered him to risk his life (for god's sake he was only 14 years old!)…hell. And worst of it all, the icing on the cake really…Sam literally having the power to make her jump through hoops if he wanted her too. His insufferable alpha voice. The voice that, when it reached her wolf ears, tugged on every fiber of her will power and forced her to obey the commands laced in its timbre. Pure. Fucking. Brimstone. Hell.
She hated everything about this completely unforeseen situation. There's no mention in any of the tribe's stories, written or spoken, of a female shapeshifter. Period. Everyone thought she was a freak. Everyone but her mother and brother. And maybe Jacob. Though, to be perfectly fair, he was too distracted by his own personal dramas to spare her much thought. Thank god for small miracles.
Speaking of the devil, there he was. Jacob didn't even bother showing up for the meeting today, she thought with a snicker. Take that Sam, you oversized baboon!
"Hey Jake!"
"What do you want?" He replied irritably. He was always irritable these days. And moody. Fucking baby.
She ignored his question and sat down next to him, purposefully invading his personal space.
"I want to leave this state and never come back," she said glumly.
"Take a number," Jacob grumbled as he slid a few inches further to a more comfortable distance. Pussy. "What'd you do this time?"
"Told him to hand over the duty roster so I could piss on it."
He laughed humorlessly. Still though…at least he laughed.
"I don't think they're after anyone on our land," he said a while later.
"Oh? What's your theory then?"
He shrugged. "Don't really have one. But they've slipped from us more than once within people's range. They could've attacked then. But they didn't."
She nodded with a faraway look in her eyes. It was true. That redheaded bitch slipped from her grasp just last week. They were so close to the trailer park on the edge of La Push. She could have zipped though…she could have killed. Instead she ran through the length of the complex and disappeared before Leah could catch her scent again. It made no sense. And it was infuriating.
"Would you really leave?"
"What, La Push? You know I can't…"
"I'd look after Seth," he said quietly. "He's like a brother to me already."
She shook her head. If only it could be that easy. "I can't leave him to Sam. I know you'd take care of him, but there's nothing you can do in a disagreement. He'll always win."
There was nothing he, or they, could do while in Sam's pack. Sam was God. End of story.
"How's your mom doing?" Jacob asked to change the subject.
"You know how she's doing. Who knew she'd be so good at politics?"
"I mean with your dad and all."
She shrugged. "She gets up everyday and hasn't touched drink. It could be worse."
He nodded slowly. "Do you think…she'd feel better if the person responsible was brought to justice?"
Leah said nothing for a while. She knew as soon as he started asking about her mom that the conversation would take a turn to this.
"From what I understand, the person responsible doesn't exist anymore."
He gritted his teeth and looked away. "Look," she said angrily. "I know she's a bitch for not telling you about your mom, and I think she should be shot for the company she keeps, but you know she didn't murder your mother. It was an accident, just like Emily."
"You don't get it," he huffed.
"Whatever," she shrugged. "But you've felt how Sam feels about the accident. You want to kill her, fine. But something tells me your mom wouldn't approve. And your dad definitely won't."
"You don't know anything…"
"Whatever," she said again. But she did know something. She knew that Jacob should lead their pack. It was his job by right of blood. If he had phased first he would be Alpha without question. Maybe there was room in La Push for two packs. Maybe she could finally be free of Sam and Emily.
"Sweetheart, I'm not sure why you made this change. Why did you move the bathroom?"
Bella looked up from the floor plan she and Esme were revising for one of her clients in Seattle. "Because no matter how much air it gets, the toilet is always kinda stinky. Trust me, you don't want it right by the kitchen. Especially when these doors in the hallway are open at the same time."
Esme crinkled her nose. "Hmm. This sort of thing would really bother you if you were preparing food?"
Bella nodded, smiling a little at this simple gap in Esme's knowledge. "And eating it."
Esme nodded, which all but approved the change.
"Honey," Carlisle called to his wife from the door of the studio. "Edward called an hour ago while you two were out. He says he's enjoying his holiday on Isle Esme and plans to spend a few more weeks there."
"Weeks?" Esme's face fell, and Bella made sure to conceal hers from view. "Well...what if we visited him?" She looked to Bella excitedly. "Bella would love it!"
Before she got the chance to turn down the offer, Carlisle saved her and stepped in. "No, dear. I think Edward wants time for himself. Let's give it to him. I'm sure we can make a trip, with Bella of course, some other time."
Esme sighed and went back to the plans in front of them, but Bella could tell her heart wasn't really in it.
What the hell was she doing, sending Edward away like that? Bella had enjoyed manipulating him, sure. And should he actually bring her useful information, her decision to guilt him (or was it blackmail?) into becoming a double agent against Victoria and Laurent might be a smart one after all. But the odds of that happening were slim, and she had known that from the beginning. So what was she hoping to accomplish? Was it just a desire not to have to see his face around her for a while? Or did she...did she hope Edward would never return? That the nomads would figure out his ploy and kill him for her?
"What is it dear?" Esme asked, concerned probably from the forlorn expression on her face.
She had to put an end to this. She would call him later tonight and tell him to come home. If Esme and Carlisle found out what she had done...
"Nothing," Bella lied. "I miss Rosalie."
Esme smiled sadly and put a hand over hers. "We all have things from our human lives that have come along with us. Some good. Some bad. They're hard, sometimes impossible for us to change."
"Things like...personalities?" Bella asked out of curiosity.
"Yes. And habits. Desires, beliefs, prejudices. Some things change with the times. Some change because of what we are-a human phobia of blood would of course not be applicable for a vampire. Others...others never do."
"Rosalie's a runner, like me."
"No, Bella. In Rosalie's world, bad things don't happen to her. Because she doesn't let them happen. She doesn't let them affect her and so they can never hurt her."
She nodded slowly. That explains her stony attitude to everyone outside Bella and her family. That explains the cold shoulder she gave Bella when they first met.
"But something did happen..."
Esme nodded. "You showed her a way to feel human. When she's been desperately wishing for humanity ever since it was taken from her. It affected her. It hurt her. And when that happens she retreats inside herself so she can fix what was broken. It's the only thing she knows how to do."
Bella put down her pencil and toyed with her necklace, the one Rosalie gave her more than a year ago on the day she took her to the music hall, the day Bella realized she had fallen quite hard for the blonde.
"Does she always take so much time?" She asked, scared of the answer. It was already five days later.
"Sometimes. One time she was gone for two weeks."
"Two weeks?!" Bella exclaimed. "What happened?"
"You left us," Esme said simply. "She'd normally go off on her own, but I think she was afraid you might return and she'd miss it. So she stayed. For us, it was like living with a ghost."
Bella couldn't think of anything to say to that, so she said nothing. She felt terrible enough in spite of the family ardently telling her she ought not to. After she returned with Emmett five days ago and he explained what happened, each of them had privately asked her to do for them what she did for Emmett and Rosalie. She acquiesced and, thankfully, the rest of them had reacted more like Emmett than like Rosalie, though Alice had been curious and more than a little confused having no memory of humanity.
"She'll be back, sweetie," Esme said kindly. "She'll be back before you know it."
Maybe, Bella thought on her way back to her cabin. But what the hell was Rosalie going to do when something much bigger happened?
As she stepped through her front door she thought of working on the cabinetry for a while, then she thought of flying north, but a loud yawn interrupted her thoughts. She might as well as sleep while she can.
Except fate had other plans.
Ring, ring.
"Holy shit..." she murmured when she looked at the caller ID. She answered immediately.
"Edward?!"
"They're going to attack, tonight." There was a lot of whooshing noise in the background. He was running fast. "They're going to be in La Push in a few minutes. Something's different tonight. I don't know what but it can't be good."
"Edward-"
"Gotta go."
And he was gone just like that.
They can handle it, can't they? The wolves have faced Victoria and Laurent a number of times since the incident in the school. Faced them...but never defeated them. And if the nomads were planning something different tonight...Edward was right, that can't be good.
Bella made up her mind in an instant.
And in the same instant, Rosalie showed up at her window.
"Bella," she smiled warily. "Hi...listen I want to explain-"
"Um, nice to see you too, but I gotta go," Bella interrupted, torn between happiness at having her back and annoyance at her shitty timing.
Rosalie watched her hurry into black shirts and pants. "Uh, what's up?"
"Um, nothing?" Ugh, Rosalie could always catch her lies.
"Bella, what's going on?"
Hair into a tight bun. A black hat she fished out of her bag.
"Ok, look. I'm going to La Push."
"WHAT?!"
"The nomads are attacking," Bella said quickly, knowing how crazy she must sound. "I'm gonna go see if I can fry one of them up."
Rosalie stared at her while she put on her shoes. When Bella stood up again, she finally regained her composure and leapt in front of her, blocking the door.
"Are you out of your mind?" Rosalie screeched. "You'll get yourself killed. If not the vampires then Jacob himself might! And I doubt the wolves would welcome any help from you! You're not going anywhere!"
Bella narrowed her eyes and took a step forward until she was nose to nose with the blonde. "Don't tell me what to do," she whispered. "Especially after you disappear for five days."
Rosalie visibly flinched. She took a step back before replying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left and I'm sorry to force this, but you can't go."
Bella closed her eyes in frustration. They were probably already on Quileute land by now. She didn't have time for this.
"You know you can't stop me. Rosalie, I'm going."
They stared one another down, brown eyes versus gold. One unaccustomed to considering anyone but herself, the other unaccustomed to being denied anything.
Golden eyes flickered. "Let me come with you then," Rosalie sighed.
"You can't step onto tribe lands," Bella shook her head.
"Then you better not lose your focus and drop me from the sky," Rosalie snarled. "You'll take me with you or so help me god I will cross the treaty line following you, and you'll have to explain to Carlisle why I broke the treaty and started a war with the wolves."
Bella knew better than to argue with that. Rosalie meant every word, she could tell.
She held out her hand. Rosalie took it gently but firmly. And a moment later, they were off.
Author's note II: According to Twilight Wikia it is unknown "whether an Alpha shape-shifter can use his Alpha voice to command his pack members in both human and wolf forms." I'm using my artistic license to clear this up in Gifted and say that the Alpha voice only works on the wolf form, not the human. Also, I find it difficult to believe that after Sam led the pack for 2-3 years, he'd be perfectly ok offering his job to the newly phased Jacob. Power is power, and few people are immune to its effects. So in Gifted, Jacob was never offered the Alpha role.
Author's note III: Totally (but not completely!) off topic...I saw Disney's Frozen for the first time a couple of weeks ago (I know, I know...wickedly late to the party but what can I say? I've been busy falling madly in love the last few months and that means my brain chemistry is all fracked up and being on top of fabulous Disney movies is lower on my priorities than it normally would) and my niece and nephew in Florida made me watch it like 8 more times while I was there...and now I can't stop thinking about Queen Elsa. She's fracking fabulous. The whole movie is deliciously metaphorically queer. Why am I talking about this here and now? Well duh, because Queen Elsa is the polar (get it?) opposite of Gifted's Bella! Her powers that is...Personality-wise I see some similarities. They're both outsiders. Both have had to hide their powers for fear of hurting others and of rejection. When Elsa exiles herself to the North Mountain, I kept drawing comparisons to Bella's 7 year exile. Both are lonely, aloof, and shoulder some serious angst (responsibility for her kingdom and sister for Elsa, mucho guilt for what she's done and is capable of doing for Bella). My point is this: raise your hand if you want to see a Gifted Bella/Elsa fan fiction!