Leah decided to stop in at her house to let her mom know Seth was back on two legs. We walked in and I sat down on the couch while Leah talked to her mom in the kitchen. This house was so full of love and happiness. The photos on the wall painted a beautiful picture of a family that spent time together, a rarity in today's society.
There were photos from their childhood, both Sue and Harry's as well as Leah and Seth. Photos of Sue and Harry's wedding which included Billy, standing tall marrying them in a traditional native American headdress and my dad as Harry's best man, my mom as the maid of honor. I had no idea my mom was close with Sue. I wonder why she felt the need to leave?
There were photos of Leah holding Seth as a baby and her teaching him how to tie his shoelaces before his first day of school. One photo showed them all at the beach for a bonfire and picnic. And there was even a photo of Leah's "Sweet 16". It looked bent like there was more to the photo. I stood up and glanced at the kitchen, they were still talking. I opened up the frame and took the photo out. The hidden part showed Sam, his hand on her lower back with a huge smile on his face. He looked happy. Happier than he looks now. But what really caught my eye was her neckline. Sitting there, like it was made for her, was the beautiful opal necklace I had spotted in Emily's locked cabinet. That was odd. Maybe Leah let her borrow it but then when Sam imprinted. Leah never allowed Emily around and she never got a chance to return it.
"Hey. What are you doing?" Leah asked from behind me, making me jump. Lucky for her reflexes the frame didn't shatter on the floor.
"Oh God, Leah. I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have I just, something has been driving my actions all day and it isn't me. I think it's whatever or whoever made me prophetic."
"So your ability to see the future to help keep the tribe safe made you snoop at a photo from my past?" Leah did NOT sound happy and I couldn't blame her, this looked really bad.
"Yes? Um, can I ask why you don't wear the necklace anymore?"
"What?" Leah did not seem like she wanted to answer, instead pursing her lips and scrunching her eyebrows in frustration. Come on Bella, don't ruin this friendship already.
I sighed, "Please humor me. I want to know why I'm drawn to this. That's the first thing that popped into my head so maybe it will help me get to the bottom of this to have it answered?" I knew I was making little sense but hoped that she would trust me like she has so far.
"Sam, he bought it for me, as a sign of his love. Like a promise ring but just not a ring. Right around the time he phased, when he came back and things were going good, then Emily… anyways it went missing. I figured it being a sign of his love, it going missing was because that love was also gone." She reached for the place on her neck where the necklace used to reside and shook her head.
My head was spinning. What was going on? My brain was trying to piece things together and I could literally see my memories in front of me. The way Emily acts toward me, Sam in the hospital describing his feelings and how they differ from Jake and Jared. Me talking to my dad about what it means to be an imprint and how they are physically incapable of injuring any imprint. The mark on Emily's face. Oh my God, she isn't an imprint. Then what the hell was she? I need that necklace.
"You ok?" Leah asked, concern written all over her face.
"I'm not sure. Let's get back to Sam's. Jake should be ready to switch with you soon. We'll talk about it tonight," The plan was to spend another night at Leah's and my dad would be at work. We still haven't figured out a long term solution to keeping me safe. "You're still letting me stay again, right?"
"Of course. Being nosy doesn't make you a bad person, especially if it is somehow out of your control. I forgive you, as long as next time you just explain and ask instead of snooping."
"Deal."
We walked back to Sam's just in time for her to trade places with Jake. After a little bit of time and a lot of cooking, while I felt completely uneasy, Sam and Emily decided to go to the community center movie night they were holding to mark the end of Spring Break. Now that there were more wolves, they wanted to take a break. I acted as normal as I could and when asked by Sam if everything was ok, I decided embarrassment would be better than getting caught and told them it was cramps.
Once they drove away I turned to Jake. "Do you know how to pick a Lock?"
Whoops. Jake spit his lemonade all over the counter he was standing in front of. I grabbed a cloth and helped him clean it up while he stared at me in silence.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to figure out if you were replaced with an alien or a robot or maybe a clone. Maybe the Cullen's have the original."
"Jake!" I playfully slapped his arm and he laughed. "I know it sounds crazy but I need you to trust me."
"You know that I do. If you asked me to break into a bank I probably would. You don't do anything for no reason." He smiled at me and my everything turned to mush.. Uhhh I'd never get it done at this rate. "But I can't pick a Lock. Paul can though." Jake raised an eyebrow as if to ask permission and when I nodded, he walked out the front door and found Paul sitting at a picnic table Sam had made. Paul smiled devilishly and came over to me.
"Milady," he tipped an imaginary hat and bent one knee like a fancy bow. "How may I be of service?"
"I um, need you to break into Emily's locked bathroom cabinet."
Both boys looked at me like I had two heads. "Sam would kill me if he found out." Paul replied, more seriously that I expected.
"If things go the way I'm hoping, I think he might actually thank you."
Paul sighed. "Well what's in it for me? This is a big risk I'll be taking."
"Well, I could bake you your own birthday cake, from scratch. As big as you want and whatever flavors you want." I knew the way to these men's hearts was through their stomachs so I was not going to disappoint. They loved my cupcakes.
"Wow. What if I wanted one of those big ass cakes that a stripper pops out of, the stripper included, of course."
Holy crap. Is he serious? It was Paul. Of course he's serious. Could I even manage to get a stripper? "I will try my hardest."
"Deal." I followed Paul to the bathroom where he took a bobby pin off the counter and bent it opopenHe took another one and did the same before sticking them inside the lock and wiggling them around with one eye closed and the tip of his tongue between his teeth. He was actually quite cute if you got rid of the angry exterior. After a few moments the door unlocked and there it was. "Holy shit. Is that…?"
Jake looked at me, confused before responding. "Leah's necklace that Sam bought, looks like it, but why is it here?"
"Leah told me she lost it right around the time Sam imprinted on Emily. I needed a tampon and saw it in here." I picked it up and the brown paper underneath. I opened it up but I couldn't read a word. "Jake, what does this say?"
"I can't read it. It's in Makah, Emily's native tongue. My dad could though. When he was younger and training to become Chief, he had to learn the languages of the surrounding tribes."
The three of us went to find Billy which wasn't too hard considering there was a game on TV. My dad and Billy were sitting down in the Black's living room when we came in. Jake asked his dad about the note.
"Where did you get this? You can't have this. It's forbidden."
"What is it, Billy?" I asked, my heart racing and hoping.
"Magic. Bad magic. It steals a person's true love. In the case of a wolf, who they imprint on."
"Can… can it be reversed?" I needed to set things right. Something in this ability of mine wants to fix things.
"The only person who would know that is the Makah Chief. But he won't like knowing you kids are playing with this. He'll want to know where it was found. Will you be honest when he asks?"
"Anything to fix this mess." I said, Jake and Paul both shook their heads in agreement and within an hour and a half, Chief Greene of the Makah Tribe was standing on Billy's front porch. He was older than Billy but seemed very active. Billy had told us while we waited that the Chief was actually Emily's grandfather but he would not allow something like this to stand, even with his own family.
"Chief Black. May I see the spell you mentioned on the phone?" Billy handed the paper to him. He hmm'd before turning towards us. "Where did you get this? Has it been used on anyone?"
I stepped forward. "Chief Greene, we found it in Emily's belongings, we believe it was used to make Sam fall in love with her."
"If it was used, there would be a talisman, an item tied to both the one she stole and whom she stole him from. Do you have this item?" I handed him Leah's necklace. "With this, and one other item I can undo the binding. I need something tying Sam and Emily. Can you get me it?"
Jake shook his head. "I know what to get." He took off and within only a few minutes he was back, Sam with him. He shrugged when I gave him a look. "He caught me looking through his drawers. I wasn't sure if it was the right call but I filled him in."
"Is it true, Chief Greene? Have I been manipulated this entire time?"
"I'm sorry son, it appears so. I will take Emily back with me when this is over and she will pay for her crimes on her own land, if that is alright with your Chief."
"Please. We don't want her to stay here. We just want to fix this.." Billy replied.
Sam handed a key to Chief Green. "This was the first thing I ever gave her. A key to my home." He walked over to the bench Billy has on the porch, his head fell into his hands and he looked absolutely defeated. I walked over and sat beside him. "How could this happen, Bella? How could she do this to me? To Leah? Oh God… Leah. What do I say, what do I do? I haven't once stopped loving her but it's like that love stopped mattering. Only Emily mattered but Leah has always been there. In the background, scratching at whatever barrier Emily put up." Sam cried into his hands and I had no idea what to do. This man, the man who had saved me in the woods, who took care of Jake when he phased and couldn't even think straight. This man who loved more than anything the woman who was quickly becoming a sister to me, was so completely lost and it broke me. I cried with him and wrapped an arm over his slumped, exhausted shoulders.
I could hear chanting coming from where the two Chiefs stood and when I looked up, they took a pair of Jake's wire cutters and snipped the key in two. I could feel Sam tense under my arm then breathe out slowly, his muscles releasing and he looked up. They broke the key and with it, the bond that Emily had forced on him.
"I think it's time Emily goes home." Sam rode with Chief Greene to go pick up Emily. I wasn't sure I wanted to witness that mess.
"Shit." Paul said, disbelief on his face. "I'm um.. going to take over for Leah. I think she needs to take the rest of the day off." Wow, he actually did care. There WAS a kind bone in his body. "Don't forget Babe, you owe me a cake." He winked and took off toward the woods.
