Chapter Sixteen
Kate
My leg brought me back to my senses. It throbbed like I'd fallen on it hard and the bruising went down to the bone. That was odd; I didn't remember hurting it. I heard voices next, bleeding into my awareness as muffled sound quickly distinguished itself into speech I could understand. I could make out Marc, his pitch high with fear and worry. I'd not heard him like, even since my fainting spell a couple of weeks ago and it pulled me quicker to the surface.
"Hey, Kate? Just relax, you're okay, I just need to check your side." I opened my eyes, blinking at the bright lights above my head. I realised I was on the kitchen island. I felt a sudden coldness at my left side that made me flinch sending the pain there flaring up again. I sucked in a breath and held it as the coldness gently prodded my ribs.
I turned my head, seeing the blond man again. The doctor, I remembered, staring intently at my body. I suddenly realised I was only in my bra and felt a sudden wave of embarrassment.
"Hey, enough of that." I turned the other way to find Sam looking down at me. His face was tight with stress and worry and my heart lurched seeing him like that.
What happened to cause him to look like that?
Then it came back to me. Demon. Wolf.
I sucked in another breath, my eyes flying to the Doctor again. He was like her. That other worldliness surrounded him and I felt another wash of fear blanket me.
"Hey, it's OK. Trust me remember?" Sam drew my attention back. I did remember now. I tried to calm down, clearly Sam knew this man, demon, whatever. I trusted Sam but I couldn't shake the fear that this one would try and kill me too.
"We're not killers." Another voice spoke. I looked to the doorway, seeing a teenager standing there. He had the same amber eyes as the doctor, and that strangeness too.
"What are you?" I breathed, eyes flicking between the boy and the doctor. They exchanged looks before the doctor looked directly at me.
"It's probably best if we let Sam and Jacob explain themselves first." I felt Sam shift behind me and a sudden thought hit me.
"This is that thing you were going to tell me, isn't it." My head turned back to him. Sam chewed his bottom lip before giving a small nod.
I didn't have a chance to think more on that before Marc came storming into the Kitchen.
"What the fuck is going on!?" He shouted, I winced at the loudness. My flinch got his attention and he hurried to me.
"Kate! Are you OK? What the hell happened?" His panicked gaze flicked down my torso, snagging on my left side. I saw him pale slightly at the sight and prayed the injury wasn't too bad.
"I'm fine-"
"You're not fucking fine, Kate! There's a fucking stick poking out of your chest, and there's a naked bloke on your sofa covered in blood!"
I felt my stomach turn, stick? My mind snagged on the second bit of his sentence, my eyes flying back to the doctor and Sam.
"Is he OK?"
The smile from the doctor freaked me out a little, but his words gave me a little bit of comfort. "He's fine, a bit battered, but it's nothing some time and rest won't fix."
I nodded, and winced again at the pull in my skin.
"You, on the other hand... I need to get that wood out of your side." His frown returned as he assessed my injury.
The boy pushed off from the doorway and moved towards us. I couldn't help the minor recoil and he threw me reassuring smile as he slowed his approach.
"Are you going to be OK?" He asked the doctor quietly, earning a look from Sam I couldn't pin. The doctor nodded and the boy left the room.
"You going to do it here?" Sam asked. I was confused, and Marc was clearly in the same boat.
"What? Do what here?" He voiced my own question.
Before he could answer, two men entered from the front end of the house. They were built like Sam, one taller and wider in stature, the other the same build as Sam, but an inch shorter in height.
Both were naked.
I let my head fall back to face the ceiling aggravating the bump there, and felt the blush rise into my cheeks. I caught Sam's chargin look to me.
"Friends of yours I take it?" I asked wearily. It earned me a little laugh from Sam and a couple of chuckles from the other two. The doctor, Carlisle smiled slightly. Marc was silent, the humour not cracking his shell of worry.
"Yeah. Jacob and Paul." Sam offered. I lifted my hand and gave a weak little wave, keeping my eyes averted.
"Nice to meet you at last." I answered. It was bizarre set of circumstances and my mind had reset to default settings just to process the evening.
"You too, Kate. Sorry it's not better circumstances." Jacob replied.
"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Marc interrupted, anger clear in his tone. It broke the moment and I heard Jacob sigh.
I will tell you both, but let us deal with Kate first and ensure Embry's out of danger.
"His name is Embry?" I asked. They were quiet and I looked back up to Sam. He nodded with a small smile.
Embry. I'd never heard that name before.
"Can I look at your hands Kate?" Carlisle asked. I nodded slightly and felt the coldness again as he lifted both palms to assess the cut and the old burn.
"This one is going to need stitches. How did you do this?" He asked as he laid them back to the counter.
"Erm, the right hand, burn, hot tea. The left… the woman. She pushed me and I fell. The belt clip of the lighter I was holding sliced into my hand as I landed on it." I recalled the moment, shivering as I remembered the face. I was brought out of my thoughts by Sam squeezing my shoulder.
"What the hell were you doing out there?" He asked. I should have felt a little indignant at his question, but the fear and worry in his face had me swallow my pride.
"Raccoons. She was going to light some fucking raccoons on fire to stop them getting in the bloody bins." Marc spat out. Sam's eyes moved to mine again, a smile lightening his features.
"They wouldn't know what a knife is. I thought they would know fire and run away. I figured if Emily could save you from them, I could handle it." My voice grew small at the end of my little speech, my humour falling flat as reality hit home hard. If I'd only stopped to think. If I wasn't so wound up with Marc, I wouldn't have been out there.
But you wouldn't have been able to distracted her from Embry if you weren't there.
The little voice in my head played devil's advocate. Would she had killed him if the circumstances were different?
"I was brought out of my spirling mood with another squeeze from Sam.
"Hey, it's done now. You saved him you know."
"Yeah, how'd you manage that?" Paul spoke up from Jacob's side.
"Makeshift flamethrower." The boy was back carrying a large leather bag and he placed my lighter and the cooking oil on the counter by the window. He frowned at me as he passed into my line of sight. "I'm not a boy." He added, somewhat petulantly. "I'm not petulant, either." He placed the bag by the kitchen sink.
"Wait, what? I didn't say anything?" I didn't, did I?
"It's part of the whole story, but Eddy here can read minds." Jacob added sounded annoyed.
"What?" Both me and Marc replied in shock.
"Can you all read minds?" Marc added.
"Nope, just Eddy." Jacob said.
"I don't want you to read my mind." I said in a minor panic. Eddy turned to respond when he frozen in place.
"Edward?" Carlisle called. "What's wrong."
"I can't read her." Edward, Eddy replied, slight awe and surprise to his tone.
"But you just said-"
"I know, but it's like a switch was flicked. One second she's loud and clear, the next, nothing."
There was silence as the four of them looked at me and it took all my self control not to squirm on the counter at the sudden interest, fully aware I was still just in my bra. I could only imagine Jacob and Paul staring too, but I kept them out of my eye line.
"Well, I don't want you to read my mind, it's rude. You shouldn't read anyone else either unless they asked." I focused on the ceiling again, wishing they would look away.
"Woah" Edward called out. "How did you do that?" He moved closer and I swore Sam growled at him. "What did you do Kate?" He asked, almost feverishly in his intent.
"What are you on about?" I asked, uncomfortable at his prominity.
"Edward, maybe you should back off a little. You are scaring her." Carlisle lay and hand on Edward's arm, pushing him away from the island.
"I can't read anyone. The moment she said it, there was silence. I can't hear anyone." Edward replied. There was a murmur of shock around the room, other than myself and Marc. We looked at each other, not understanding the significance of his declaration. My side gave another twinge again, the pain had been building and was starting to overwhelm me again.
"Carlisle, her side. Can we get her something for the pain?" Sam asked. The doctor nodded and dove into the bag that I now realised was a medical bag.
"I'm not sure how far it goes in, so I'm going to give you a heavy sedative and then numb the local area okay?" Carlisle spoke back to me from over his shoulder.
"Why aren't we going to the hospital?" Marc asked, again speaking my thoughts.
"It's difficult to explain the set of circumstances, she's covered in Embry's blood, much more than her own wounds have produced. I'm the most qualified doctor in Forks anyway, it's best all round if I deal with this here."
He turned back to me with what looked like a cannula and before I could even move he had it stuck in the back of my hand with the healing burn. I only felt the pinch of the medical tape as it was applied. I looked up in surprise, and he smiled at me.
"Years of practice." He said as he pulled out a couple of vials and what looked like a suture kit. "I'm just going to push in the drug now." He focused on my hand and I felt the coolness of the liquid as it entered my bloodstream. It didn't take long for it to reach my head and I felt the pleasant feeling of floating as it took affect.
"Oh! You're all back." I heard Eddy say. I wasn't sure what he was on about. Eddy, ha that's a funny name. He looked too stuck up to be an Eddy...
Sam
I watched as her eyelids fluttered and the tension in her body eased as the drug took hold. She was still conscious but in no state to do anything. I brushed her hair back from her head and Carlisle began injecting the local anesthetic into her side as Edward began to assist.
"What do you mean Edward?" Carlisle asked as he finished and began cleaning the wound around the twig poking out.
"I can hear everyone's minds again. It's like, as soon as you administered the sedative, the switch was flipped again."
"Do you think she's controlling it? Like Bella and her shield?" Jacob asked.
"It seems that way, but it's so strong if she's able to turn it on and off at will. And as a human" He added as he passed some equipment to the doc.
"She's fucking badass, that's for sure." Added Paul. I hummed in agreement. I looked at Marc, he had taken a stool from the island and pulled it closer to the back door. I expected him to be firing questions but he remained silent, taking in the sight in front of him.
"Yes, she's special alright." Carlisle added, flicking another look to Edward. I saw it before and called them out on it.
"What's that look for?" I saw Jacob tense at my tone and Carlisle sighed as he continued to work.
"You know about Bella and Edward right? Her blood when she was human?" He asked out loud. Us wolves nodded. That was fucked up on so many levels. Edward shot me a dark look and I just raised an eyebrow at him. What would you call it, eh?
"Singer." Jacob replied. I'd forgotten the name they called it, but the idea that her particular blood was Edward's drug of choice made for a nauseating thought.
"Kate's mine." Carlisle stated quietly, not breaking stride in his work.
We were silent for a beat then…
"Woah, what the fuck, get away from her!" Paul shouted, making a move towards us, I tensed ready to pull Kate away when Jacob spoke.
"Stop."
We had no choice but to freeze. Carlisle kept his head down, still working on Kate's side.
"Thank you Jacob." His eyes flicked up to meet his quickly before moving back down to Kate again. "She's not in any danger, it just...caught me by surprise. Not since my newborn years have I ever wanted the taste of human blood, the smell is quite repulsive to me now. However Kate… she's the first where I could see the appeal. I would never act on it though." He glanced up at us all as he made his statement.
"He has much better control than myself." Edward added. Paul scoffed.
"Right, and look how that worked out for Bella, eh?" He paced back to the doorway as Edward turned.
"I never drank from Bella, she was safe-"
"Right, the fact is she ended up a bloodsucker because of you-"
"That had nothing to do with her blood-"
"Bullshit! If it wasn't for your fascination with her blood, she'd never have been dragged into this fucking nightmare!" Paul shouted, bring silence to the kitchen. Edward hung his head, unable to argue Pauls' point.
"Human blood." Marc stated from his perch. I'd forgotten he was there and wondered what he made of this conversation.
"They're vampires, we're werewolves, they're our mortal enemy, but we have a treaty with their coven because they only drink animal blood." Paul punctuated his speech by pointing his arm at the two Cullens.
"Oh." Marc replied, falling silent.
The kitchen fell silent again, only the sounds of Carlisle's tools clicking against a metal bowl as he deposited the bits of wood into it.
A sound of movement from the living room had Paul and Jacob leave to check on Embry. I could hear his weak protest before Jacob laid down and Alpha order keeping him on the couch, promising to bring Kate to him once she was ready. He walked back into the kitchen alone, head hung back on his shoulders.
"Long day?" Carlisle asked with a twitch of his lips. Jacob let out a humourless laugh.
"Yeah, like you wouldn't believe."
"Sorry, I'm curious to know more about this Imprint thing?" He replied, as he started sewing up Kate's side. She sighed and turned her head to rest against my arm. Jacob watched until she stilled before leaning against the kitchen island, watching the stitches go in.
I saw Edward perk up, clearly interested too.
"Her names Kate Walker, she's from London, she's working on the plant project with Marc here." He gestured to Marc who looked like he had become catatonic, as he watched Kate.
"Sam and Billy were in London, with Sue, to meet the team from there heading up the work, that's Marc and Kate. Sam Imprinted on Kate when they first met."
I couldn't help reply the moment in my mind, and I saw Edwards head flick towards me.
"I've seen Imprinting before, Jacob for example, and your own memories from Emily, but that felt... different?" He said, frowning at the lack of description for it. I nodded, allowing Jacob to continue.
"Yeah, different. She's the first human Pale Face, and from what we can make out, Sam's the first wolf to have two Imprints."
"What's an Imprint?" Marc piped up from his little stupor, eyes circling the group, landing on Jacob.
"Soulmate. Like, literal soulmate for us wolves."
"Do you all have Imprints?" He asked.
"No, there's fifteen wolves at the moment, five, well, six of us now, have Imprints."
"Right." He fell silent again, face blank and Jacob continued.
"So, tonight, Embry Imprinted on Kate as well. So not only is she an Imprint of an already Imprinted Wolf, Sam, she's also has two wolves Imprinted on her, Sam and Embry."
"Is it likely she's Imprint to the Pack as a whole?" Edward pondered. I looked at Jacob, the idea had been bouncing around but no one had voiced it out loud yet.
"Not sure. I didn't Imprint on her tonight, nor did Paul." He shrugged.
"Yeah, but we didn't look her in the eye. Well, I know I didn't." Paul replied from behind Jacob as he stepped back into the room.
"Jake?" I asked. He pondered it for a moment before shaking his head.
"Come to think of it, I don't think I did either. I guess we'll find out when she wakes? Sam, how is your wolf feeling knowing Embry's her Imprint too?"
I let my wolf's emotions gather and past the worry for Kate and Embry, and the rage at the leeches he was… at peace with the second connection. I said as much to the room.
"OK, so we'll see when she's awake." He stated quietly rolling his lips as he stared down at her.
"Have you nearly finished Doc, only Embry's about to leap out of his skin if he doesn't get to hold his Imprint, and I don't think having Kate's couch destroyed will win us any favours when she's brought up to speed." Paul pointed over his shoulder to the living room. I could feel Embry's distress through Kate, although it was muted somewhat due to her drugged state. She could feel him but she was detached from being able to put the effort into caring.
"Just finished." Carlisle spoke and rose from where he was standing over Kate. "I don't have any reversal agent with me, but it should wear off in the next hour or so. The wood mostly hit soft tissue and scraped a rib slightly, but no permanent damage other than a small scar I should think. I want to see her tomorrow to check the stitches and maybe administer some antibiotics if the wound gets inflamed. I'd rather she's awake to speak to her about that to get a medical history first."
Jacob nodded then turned to me. "Can you take her to Embry, let them use the bond to recover?"
"Sure." I untangled her fingers from mine and gently picked her up from the counter. Paul moved ahead of me back into the living room and helped a frantic looking Embry adjust himself on the couch to accommodate Kate.
She looked tiny as Embry wrapped himself around her. Our arms brushed during the hand off and I felt the same shock of electric that myself and Emily felt when we touched Kate.
"Oh, wow, I see what you mean." Embry's wide eyes found mine.
I sat on the arm of the chair as he relaxed into the bond, feeling the same contentment from Kate. I let my hand rest on her shoulder, brushing my finger against Embry too, letting that buzz circle us. The prolonged contact made the buzz flare up before settling into absolute heaven. I didn't want to let go, and I idly wondered what it would feel like if Emily was here too.
"Hmm maybe you should get her here, this is nice." Embry said, almost slurring in his haze. It took me a moment to realize what he said.
"Emb, I didn't say anything."
"Yeah, you did, said 'bout Emily and this buzzy thing."
Jacob must have felt my confusion as he appeared at the entrance of the living room. I reluctantly detached myself from the two in front, hearing both of them sigh in faint protest, before dragging myself back into the kitchen.
"Er, what was that?" Jacob asked.
"Emb read my mind, as we were all connected." I shared, shock coloring my tone.
"You said it was only him that can read minds?" Marc interjected pointing at Edward. I'd forgotten he was there.
"That was true, until about thirty seconds ago." I blew out a long breath and rubbed my neck. "Can we explain everything properly tomorrow, it's late and I want Kate to hear all this too, if that's OK?" I asked Marc. I could have just told him to fuck off anyway, but thought it was best to keep him onside.
"Ok, ok, sure, whatever." He muttered before dropping his head in his hands.
I turned my back on him, and Jacob smiled slightly at the eye roll I couldn't contain. I just wanted to be back with Emb and Kate.
"Go, sit with them until she wakes." Jacob prodded, no mind reading required, other than just seeing my wistful look towards the living room. I nodded at him, and throwing a last thanks to the Doc and Edward, I left to sit with them.