A NOTE TO THE READERS:
I've made a last minute character name change. I read past chapter 24 and realized having the ex boyfriend named Jared, and a pack member named Jared was confusing. SO! I am changing the ex boyfriend's name. I know it would be easier to change the pack member's name because he has appeared less in the story so far. However, technically speaking there is a Jared in the pack in the original Twilight books. Not that I'm very strict about upholding the Twilight lore (Bella doesn't exit in this story after all). There is just an overabundance of 'J' names and I found myself not liking the name Jared for my antagonist anymore. Therefore, from here on out the ex-boyfriend's name will be Vance. I'll be going back through the chapters and making that change as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy chapter 19!
Chapter 19 – Carlisle Cullen - Revised
I woke up the next morning, stretching luxuriously, feeling much better rested than I had been expecting. I sat up and looked around my room. The morning light was filtering in through the curtains and something about it brought a smile to my face. I carried that feeling with me to the kitchen. I pulled eggs, red and green peppers, and onion out of the fridge and set to work making omelets.
"Good morning. Something smells good," said Jacob as he walked into the kitchen.
"Morning," I said as he looked over my shoulder, "I'm no Emily but I can make a decent omelet."
"Looks pretty good to me," he said.
"Well they're almost ready if you want to pour some coffee and grab some plates," I said.
"Can do," he said. I caught a glimpse of the twinkle in his eye as he turned to get plates and forks out.
I turned back to the omelets, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. I tossed an omelet onto each plate and we sat down to eat. Once we were done Jacob cleared away the plates and then sat back down next to me.
"How's your back?" he asked.
"Good question. Shall we have a look?" I said and turned my back to him and lifted my shirt.
I took the clip off of the bandage over my stomach and he helped me unwind it. All the while he kept a steadying hand on my hip.
"Just a few minor scrapes and bruises left," he said.
"Really? That was fast," I said, craning my neck to try and see my back.
"That's the werewolf genes at work," he said.
"I guess so," I said, pulling my shirt back down.
"Were you able to get some sleep," he asked.
"I passed out," I said, turning around to face him.
We were sitting so close together our knees touched.
"Good," he said with a laugh.
"Speaking of sleep, any idea if Paul and Leah were out all night?" I asked, rolling up the bandage.
"I would bet Sam and Seth swapped off with them at some point," said Jacob, running a hand through his hair.
"We'd better get going then," I said getting up.
"Yep," said Jacob, shoving off from the counter and walking to his room.
I followed suit. I threw on a Rolling Stone's tee shirt, a pair of shorts, and flip flops. I tied my hair back into a low ponytail as I walked out of my room. Jacob was waiting for me, leaning up against the back of the couch.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Let's go," I said.
As we walked towards Sam and Emily's house Paul came out of it, slamming the door behind him. He looked angry and he was shaking all over. Without warning, he phased and began thrashing around. I had never seen Paul this angry before, and it scared me. Jacob grabbed my arm holding me back, he looked worried.
Sam came running out the door and barking at Paul to "Calm down!"
Paul ignored him. I could hear an angry storm of thoughts but in his rage Paul was incoherent.
Jacob had begun pulling me away from the scene when Paul spotted us and came barreling towards us. Jacob stepped in front of me protectively but Paul didn't stop. Both of us phased just as Paul was about to collide with us. All three of us toppled to the ground. Paul was up first. He stood over me growling as I got to my feet.
"What the hell is wrong with you," I yelled, taking a defensive stance.
Paul looked ready to lunge at me but Jacob was faster. He pinned Paul to the ground, his teeth dangerously close to piercing Paul's neck.
"Don't touch her," Jacob growled.
Sam came running over, now also in wolf form.
"That's enough," said Sam, his alpha tone resonating through us, "Paul, you need to go on patrol. Emma will be fine. Don't let me ever see you do that again. Jacob, Arianna, inside now," he commanded.
Paul went running into the woods and Jacob and I followed Sam to his house. As we all changed back Emily came walking swiftly out of the house carrying one of her summer dresses and two pairs of shorts. She handed the dress to me and the shorts to Sam and Jacob and we changed into them.
"Thank you, Emily," I said.
"What the hell was that," asked Jacob, turning to Sam. He was shaking in anger, his hands balled into fists.
Sam sighed, "Emma came down with a fever last night. Her wound became infected. Paul can't kill a vampire, or fix her himself - which, as a mate, I understand how frustrating that would be - and he needed someone to take his frustration out on," said Sam.
"So he tried to maul us because we happened to be around when he threw a tantrum?" I asked incredulously.
"Emma is his mate. They are bound to one another for life. That intense connection makes for an intense reaction when one of them is threatened," Sam said, "I'm not saying that justifies his actions, he needs to learn to control his temper. But try not to hold it against him."
"Why don't we all go inside for a minute," said Emily.
"Arianna, would you mind going in with Emily? I need to talk to Jacob," said Sam.
"Sure thing," I said a little surprised. I followed Emily inside and she poured me a cup of tea.
"Any idea what's up," I asked Emily, gesturing towards the guys.
"I'm not sure," said Emily, but I noticed she was careful to avoid eye contact with me.
About five minutes later they both came inside.
"Alrighty then, Arianna, are you ready?" Sam asked.
"Sure. What's the plan?" I asked, rinsing my tea cup out in the sink.
"Jacob will relieve Paul and patrol the center of the woods, while you and I take a tour of the perimeter," he said, walking over to kiss Emily goodbye, "I need some sleep, but before I do that I want to meet with Carlisle."
"He's the head of the Cullen clan, right?" I asked, scrolling through the memory of my vampire briefing.
"Exactly. I assume he is unaware that another vampire was in the area, otherwise I would have heard from him by now," said Sam as we walked out of the house, "I need to fill him in, and I might as well introduce you while I'm at it."
"You're going to introduce me to a vampire," I said somewhat incredulously, turning to look at him. Jacob stopped next to me.
"Staying on friendly terms with Carlisle and his clan is a necessary evil," said Jacob.
"We are natural enemies," Sam explained, "The wolves were created to kill vampires. However, so long as the Cullen's uphold their end of the treaty and do not feed off of humans, we tolerate their presence. So it has been for centuries. For our part, we maintain a relationship, however tenuous it may be at times, with the clan and do not attack their members."
"So introducing me is an act of diplomacy," I said.
"You could say that, yes," said Sam.
Jacob touched my arm gently. "If it's too much, you don't have to meet him today," said Jacob, and he and Sam seemed to exchange glares, "If it would be too overwhelming just say so."
"No, that's alright, I'll be fine," I said, "But thank you." I smiled at Jacob. I really appreciated him looking out for me. I did feel a little overwhelmed, but I held out hope that as I settled into living with the pack that that feeling would abate.
The three of us undressed. Sam lent me a belt to tie my clothes to my ankle, like I had seen the rest of the pack do. I phased as quickly as possible. I was still struggling with feeling uncomfortable getting naked in the open air, and in front of my pack mates. We walked into the calm of the woods and I took in all of its sounds; tree leaves rustling gently in the wind, the tap of a woodpecker's beak on a tall tree, and birds rustling in their nests. The canopy of leaves above us filtered light onto the ground in glistening patches leaving the forest dimly lit but sparkling. The cool air was fresh and smelt of damp earth and decaying leaves and I was visited by the thought I had had last time I entered the woods with Jacob… peaceful, so peaceful.
Jacob brushed his shoulder against mine, "I'll see you in a bit. Have fun. Give me a yell if you need anything," he said.
"Will do, thank you. See you later," I said, and he trotted off towards the center of the forest.
"Ok, so I'm going to take you around the perimeter. That way you know where our land stops and Cullen land begins and we won't have any issues there," said Sam.
"Have there ever been issues before," I asked, thinking of Paul being so hot headed.
Sam let out a barking laugh, "Yes, exactly, Paul. Phe had a run in with one of Carlisle's sons, Emmitt," said Sam.
We started our walk around the perimeter, keeping within sight of the treeline. We walked past the meadow. On the other side of a line of trees, the rest of the reservation came into view.
"Why does Burdette live on our side," I asked Sam as we walked past the little cluster of one and two story homes. We were hidden by the trees so that the little boys horsing around in the back garden of one house couldn't see us.
"Burdette is an Elder, therefore she knows about the werewolves and can choose to stay on either side of the meadow. That said, her husband was also Alpha at one time, so she lived here with him. Why she stayed after he died, I'm not really sure, she's never told us. But I'm sure she would tell you," said Sam. We watched as one of the little boys picked up a big red ball and threw it to one of his smaller companions who caught it but was knocked backwards by the force of the throw.
We continued walking, winding our way to the edge of the woods that overlooked La Push. I breathed in the smell of sea salt mixed with the smell of the woods as we walked along. As the beach ended to our right, hills of rocks came into sight. As we began barring left we emerged from the woods briefly to stand on a high cliff that looked out over a valley. Beyond the valley, small rocky mountains stretched out over the landscape. Lush woods ran all over the mountains and around the valley, untouched by humans.
"That's all conservation land. We keep our eyes on it because there are some hiking trails on the mountains but not many humans go up there," said Sam.
The scene was breathtaking. How had I managed to live in the neighboring town all my life and not know this was here.
We continued along the top of the cliff over the valley. We were so high up I was almost scared to look down. We were quickly swallowed by the woods again. About ten minutes later Sam stopped.
"We're about to come up to the dividing line between the two lands. Tread lightly around here," said Sam.
I felt uneasy, vulnerable so close to a clan of vampires who all claimed to be 'vegetarians'. Somehow that didn't seem possible to me, but I'd been proven wrong before; I hadn't thought vampires were sparkly either. There was a dip in the land in front of us and Sam pointed out the stream that had carved its path through the forest. This stream was the dividing line between werewolf and vampire territory.
"Ready to meet a vampire," Sam asked.
"Is anyone ever really ready for that?" I asked.
"You have a point," said Sam, "Let's get dressed and get this over with."
I didn't like the idea that I had to meet a vampire in my human form. However, if Sam felt it was safe to do so I had to trust him. Sam and I ducked behind trees and phased, putting on our clothes before walking to the edge of the stream.
"Carlisle, I'd like a word with you please," said Sam, only raising his voice slightly.
I stood next to him, my arms folded over my chest. A tall blonde man walked out from behind a tree. He was beautiful but his skin sparkled in the sunlight and he smelled repulsive.
"You called Sam," said Carlisle Cullen as he walked as far as he could towards us, stopping just short of the water.
"I did. I wanted to introduce you to the newest member of our pack. This is Arianna," Sam said and gestured towards me.
Carlisle turned his golden eyes towards me.
"It's very nice to meet you, Arianna," said Carlisle softly.
"And you," I said, a little awkwardly.
Carlisle smiled at me warmly. As I looked at him I realized his eyes were not red, like the vampire I had killed. His were almost golden in color.
"I'm sorry, I'm new to this world of yours, so to speak," I said, realizing no one had said anything else.
"I would assume I'm the first of my kind that you've met then," said Carlisle.
"Not quite. Though that would have been preferable to the introduction I got," I said.
Carlisle looked at me and then Sam with confusion.
"We had to deal with a trespasser yesterday," said Sam.
Carlisle seemed to stiffen slightly.
"What happened?" he asked.
"A female appeared, alone," Sam explained, "She attacked Emma, who is still recovering. She was headed towards the village when Arianna stopped her."
I did not meet Carlisle's eye. I felt somewhat guilty to admit to him that I had killed one of his kind.
"Is Emma alright," asked Carlisle.
"She spiked a fever last night but Burdette has brought that, and a mild infection, under control," replied Sam.
"If there is anything I can do for her, let me know," Carlisle said. I remembered Jacob telling me that Carlisle was a doctor in Forks.
Sam nodded, "Thank you."
"My kind are capable of being civilized. However, there are those who give in unequivocally to their basest instincts," said Carlise, his golden eyes falling on me, "I apologize for any trouble she might have caused you."
His apology shocked me, it wasn't his fault that the vampire had attacked us but still he seemed genuinely sorry.
"Thank you. It's not your fault, but thank you nonetheless," I said.
Carlisle smiled humorlessly, "It was very nice to meet you Arianna, but I must return to the hospital. I have three people who need stitches. I hope I'll be able to speak to you again soon. Sam," he said and inclined his head at Sam.
Sam returned the gesture though rather stiffly and Carlisle walked back into the forest and disappeared.