Chapter 46: The Shifters
The smell of wet dog hit Jasper as he walked hand in hand with Harry into the small restaurant in downtown Forks, preceded by Carlisle and Andromeda. Every fiber of the vampire's being tensed as he spotted the two men, whom he knew to be shifters, sitting at a large table, the men who transformed themselves into giant wolves to protect their village from vampires. Sure, a non-aggression treaty had been signed long ago, but Jasper couldn't be serene knowing that they would have a say in his relationship with Harry.
The Weasleys' had explained to Carlisle the day of their discussion with Harry the ins and outs of turning into a chalice and the consequences it would have for the couple and their loved ones. Reassured, the doctor had told his family the next day in Jasper's absence. From what Edward had told him, the discussion had been very agitated, but after several hours of everyone talking, they had agreed that Jasper making Harry his chalice was indeed the right thing to do.
So Carlisle had called Billy, the chief of the Quileute tribe, to convince him to meet with them.
One of the two men stood up, thirty-something, Native American, medium-length black hair, brown eyes, holding out his hand to introduce himself. Jeff was his name and he had no desire to be there. Andromeda and Carlisle went around the table to greet the other man, the couple followed them. Native American, mid-length graying hair, in his fifties, the man was in a wheelchair.
"Andromeda, it's a pleasure to see you again."
"The pleasure is mutual, Billy."
"Carlisle, I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
"Let's just say there was some new information I wasn't aware of when we last met."
Carlisle had indeed met with the tribal elders a month earlier to reconfirm the treaty signed by their ancestors during their last stay in Forks. Normally they would not have met again, but the situation was nothing like what they had experienced before.
"Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Harry, Teddy's father and his companion Jasper," introduced Andromeda.
"Your son Carlisle?" asked Billy, but Jasper knew that the two men didn't need to ask the question to find out.
The doctor nodded and they all sat down. They placed their orders quickly, four coffees and two glasses of red wine, then Harry quietly cast a silence spell over them and Carlisle launched into the explanations.
"Harry and Jasper are soul mates, the bond between them is almost complete, but when a vampire is in this situation, he has the need to transform his mate to make sure he spends eternity with him."
"If he turns him, he will break the treaty," Jeff interrupted him vehemently.
Harry took the hand of his overstretched mate in his left hand and ran his right hand under his shirt, caressing the cold skin of his back. Jasper didn't lack much in the way of attacking the man who felt nothing but hatred for them, but the contact he had with his wizard allowed him to dampen the emotions he was receiving and keep his control.
"We are well aware of that," Harry replied calmly, cutting Carlisle off. "But there is another solution. A solution that would allow me to live as long as he has and finish completing our bond."
Billy motioned to Jeff to be quiet. They all remained silent as the waitress placed their order with an appreciative look at the vampires, which changed when she noted the way the couple stood. The disgust she gave off at this point made Jasper turn his head towards her, giving her a dark and threatening look. Harry sent a wave of love through their bond, immediately calming the empath. They both knew she wouldn't be the last to have that kind of reaction, Forks was a small town where there were, besides them, no openly gay couples. No one commented, but everyone, even the shifters, disapproved of the waitress' attitude. The mortals took a sip of coffee before Billy spoke up in a calm voice, without animosity.
"What's the alternative?"
"Let him make me his chalice."
At the questioning look, he resumed.
"Basically, once the ritual is completed, he can only feed on my blood."
"That would also be a violation of the treaty." Jeff took offense again.
Jasper shuddered under the wave of hatred he received again despite the weak barrier offered by his lover, but he focused on Billy's emotions. The man was indecisive, perplexed. He wasn't rejecting the idea out of hand.
"We think not," replied Carlisle. "Jasper will only be able to drink Harry's blood, no more blood will attract him."
"And the ritual is safe for Harry, it's not like a transformation, he doesn't have to die. He won't get sick anymore, his body will be stronger and he won't age," Andromeda added.
"And what will you eat after the ritual is done?" Billy asked Harry.
"The same as today."
"Why haven't we heard of this solution before?" continued the man, genuinely intrigued.
"Because the vampire's mate has to be a wizard to do it," Andromeda explained.
Billy stood for a moment, analyzing what he had just learned as he sipped his coffee.
"I thank you for sharing this with us in the first place. I'll take this to the council of elders…"
"Billy, you..." Jeff began to protest, but the older man shushed him with a look.
"I'm going to talk to the council of elders and I'll call Carlisle to let you know what we think. Don't perform the ritual in between."
"Thank you Billy, we appreciate your consideration," concluded Carlisle.
Everyone stood up and greeted each other. Jeff stood behind the wheelchair and moved it away from the table. Harry watched the two Native Americans leave the restaurant before giving a slight wave. He nodded to the vampires to get their drinks. The two men did so and were surprised to find not wine, but blood.
"They won't notice, it's deer. I understand that you have a preference for deer."
"Thank you, you are well informed," replied the doctor with a smile.
"Do you think they will accept?"
"Billy didn't seem to mind, and as far as I know, Jeff knows the legends of the tribe, but he's not on the council…"
"He's going to do everything he can to stop us from doing the ritual," Jasper announced coldly. "He hates us."
"Jaz, it's up to us to prove to them that they don't have to hate us. Especially since, if everything goes well, Teddy will partly grow up with them. You're going to have, in fact you already have, an important place in his life... if he turns out to be like Remus, he's going to need our support as well as the shifters'. Hermione has done some research, she thinks Remus would have been better off if he hadn't been ashamed of his condition and if he had been part of a pack. I hope that the shifters can be his pack and that no one ever gives him a reason to be ashamed of himself."
Even though Harry's voice was calm, the warning was clear, if there was a problem with the tribe, it wasn't going to come from them and certainly not from Jasper. The empath huffed, not liking the idea of having to work with the dogs or that they were taking such a large part in Teddy's life, but Harry was his father and knew what was best for him.
"Billy's feelings were in the direction of agreeing to our request," he said, not wanting to argue with his lover there.
They all finished their drinks and left the restaurant in turn.
Once returned on their premises, Jasper took Harry aside, he felt, since the brown had misinterpreted his words, a tension at him and a distance which hurt him. He seized him by the waist, surrounding him with his arms. The wizard did not evade, but remained distant from him as much as he could.
"I won't do anything that could hurt Teddy or you, you know that, right?" he whispered, pained by his lover's behavior.
"Jasper, you felt like jumping on them the second we walked through the door of the restaurant, you were so tense that you were shaking the whole time we were talking and your eyes were darker."
The vampire closed his eyes, hurt by the reproach.
"I'll do whatever it takes to make it as smooth as possible with them, but you know that getting over your instincts can take some time to learn."
The brunette's feelings eased.
"I hope that learning goes faster once we do the ritual."
"Me too."
Finally, Harry closed the distance between them to embrace his vampire. He didn't let the passion overwhelm them, however, and pulled away from his lover. The two men smiled at each other and went to join Teddy in the garden.
