Chapter 19: Risk Assessment

Billy Black's house was not big. Certainly not built with the intention of housing a were-meeting. Much of the original narrow and tight spaces had been updated for Billy. Even with the limited-funds expansion, there was no room for Billy to turn around in the kitchen—he was stuck wheeling back and forth to access the fridge or cabinets. Most of the upper cabinets were empty or used for storing things Billy didn't need regularly. Jake once admitted he sometimes hid things he didn't want his dad to see. After giving him a look that made him blush, Jake insisted he meant snacks he didn't intend to share or things he'd 'borrowed' from school and intended to give back later. The living room had enough room for Billy to turn around, and it had seating enough for five people comfortably. That only included regular-sized people. There wasn't enough room for everyone. It was about as tight as Emily's kitchen, and now there the invited elders to consider.

Billy and Jake had made the wise decision to not jam everyone inside their house. Instead, seating was arranged behind the house. It was an unusually clear, blinding sunny afternoon. The ground was dry and the comfier chairs were given to the elders and parents-in-the-know. Logs, old lawn chairs, and even blankets were pushed into a circle for everyone else.

Jake and I sat on a blanket together, while Embry shared an edge of it. Embry had given his jacket for Lauren to sit on a log beside him. Paul sat beside her, not caring that the log was probably dirty. He, Lauren, and Embry were chummy, like they were long-lost siblings. Paul made a jab about Lauren's reluctance to sit on a bare log and she didn't flinch before calling him a mongrel who's naturally occurring layer of dirt was enough of a reason for her to not share the same log as him. Neither of them moved. Neither of them offended, despite every new word spoken being sharper than the last. Embry smiled pitifully at her, like she was a rare animal, nearly extinct, not very elegant, but in need of protecting. Jake and I exchanged looks where I communicated solely with my eyes that I seriously regretted that Laurent hadn't eaten the bitchiest member of the pack. Jake laughed at me. No amount of regret could change the fact that she was welcome here.

Sam and Emily were perched on a second log, speaking with a frail man I assumed was one of the elders. Quil was beside him, nodding or frowning, tapping his hands on the log or crossing his arms, but not saying much. He had changed a few days after Jacob and was re-adjusting to life with enhanced senses. Like me he'd never been to such a formalwere-meeting and he was letting his newbie status show. Quil and the frail, thin man with gray hair had the same shape. I could easily imagine years peeling away, reaching between each deep wrinkle to a man that had once been built like a bear, shoulders broad, hands strong, and lumbering as he moved. Now his hands were spotted with age, his skin paled some with years, no longer as dark as Quil. The man's hands shook when leaned into his cane. The cane itself was worn, rubbed thin in places, fingers worrying over the wood. It was carved with patterns that an outsider like me didn't understand. Beasts and winged animals decorated the handle between unusual markings. The head of the cane was a wolf with one eye.

"Quil's grandfather," Jake explained, his breath against my ear. "Old Quil. He was the one who told Sam what he was."

My eyebrows jerked. "He knew—before Sam knew?"

Jake nodded once. "A lot of men changed in his family. He's not…he never changed. But his father did. He recognized the signs in Sam and helped. Then, Sam and Old Quil helped the next and the next…" Jake ducked his eyes when Sam looked at him. "My dad knew too. He was involved before I was, but not from the beginning. When Sam, Paul, Quil, and Embry were all seen running into the woods naked and howling, my dad put two and two together."

I smirked. "Billy was part of the were-club before you were?"

He shrugged. "Old Quil thought it was only a matter of time for me. His family and mine have long, canine histories." He frowned, staring down at his hands as he picked a weed from the ground. "My dad wanted to tell me, so that I was ready. They voted against it. Mostly because they thought I wouldn't believe. Not until it happened."

I laid my hand over his, stopping his worrying picking. "Do you think they should have told you?"

He shrugged again. "I wouldn't've believed."

If it were me, I would've wanted to know. Before the Cullens, I wouldn't have believed; but whether it was before or after knowing them, I would want to be warned. If the signs showed I might feel better prepared. Jake felt that way too, I knew, but he'd never say it. He understood all the reasons why it was kept secret, and he didn't blame them. But he hadn't completely accepted how much his life had changed.

I linked my fingers with his and kissed his cheek. Paul told me that if I was going to stay I had to quit all the puckering. Jake blushed and his mouth opened to shut Paul up—but Lauren beat him to it.

"Paul, I had no idea you were so jealous of Bella," she said. "One less wolf to choose from."

Paul's face reddened and his fists shook. "Nobody asked you, Lauren."

"I've noticed that pattern," she retorted, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "No opinion polls. Would you like to be a werewolf? Would you like to have some supernatural bond forced on you?"

Embry frowned and touched her arm gently. "Lauren—"

"Maybe I missed the poll about whether or not I get to join the supernatural club," she continued, brushing his hand off, "but I still have an opinion. I'm sure Bella does too. You're not the only one cursed, Paul."

Paul growled. Embry stood and put his hand son Lauren's shoulders, standing protectively behind her. Lauren scowled, not seeming the least bit intimidated, but she put a hand over Embry's.

"We didn't choose this world," Lauren said loudly. "It chose us. It chose me. It chose Embry, Jacob, Sam, Quil—even you Paul—and, as usual, it obviouslychose Bella."

"I agree."

Everyone was silent and looked at the frail man who spoke. His voice was stronger than his body, tenor and unwavering. His eyes stared at Lauren with a wistful smile, maybe even pride.

"One coincidence is merely a mistake of chance. Many coincidences are a pattern," he said. "Bella came to Forks and met the vampires that have long treated with us. Bella was in the forest with Lauren because of the Cullens. Lauren and Embry met because Bella was in the forest when she was attacked by a vampire. We are here tonight because that vampire's companion has targeted Bella. If that is not enough of a pattern, then I need only observe Jacob Black." He raised his thin, wrinkled hand and waved at Jake. "Charlie Swan and William Black have been friends for many years and now their children, Bella Swan and Jacob Black, are...friends." His mouth twitched with a smile. The joke made his dark eyes shine. "That is too many coincidences to ignore."

"Fate?" Emily said.

Sam shuffled uncomfortably, and Emily brushed her hand over his back. He put his arm around her.

Old Quil chuckled, a painful wheeze cutting him short. "We all have a place in the world, chosen for us. Bella is not an outsider, although she is not part of our pack. I think it would be accurate to call her a friendof the pack."

My cheeks warmed and I smiled. Old Quil nodded, somehow knowing that was exactly what I wanted. If I wasn't part of the pack, at least I was acknowledged as a friend. No one argued against Old Quil's statement. Emily was smiling at me. Sam nodded. It was probably the most favourable reception I'd get from him. Paul crossed his arms and frowned, but he didn't seem bitter or mad. He accepted the term. Jake squeezed my hand.

"I think that's a good place to start this meeting," Billy said. He rubbed his hands together and then set the locks on his wheelchair. "By now we've all heard about the body at the station. Chief Swan found the body in his office." His jaw clenched and his shook his head once, afraid for his friend's involvement. "Jake, you and Bella have a few important facts to share about that…?"

Jake nodded. My lips pressed tightly. I hadn't prepared a power-point for this meeting. I hadn't realized sharing time would include medoing the sharing. Jake gracefully took the lead.

"Charlie—Chief Swan—told Bella about the identity of…" Jake shook his head, scowling. "The woman who was murdered. She was Bella's dance teacher in Phoenix. She was also owner of the dance studio that the Cullen vampires burned."

There was an awkward pause. I knew what it meant. Jake didn't want to hurt me. Hearing it out loud couldn't be much worse than reliving the memory last night. "Where my mother was killed," I added quietly, because that was the only volume I could manage.

Jacob reviewed what we knew. James was Victoria's mate. Victoria had sent Laurent to get me, and that was when Lauren got involved. Victoria had been sending in newly turned vampires that the pack was chasing around the edges of Forks. Now Victoria had sent a very loud message.

"We have two big concerns," Billy said. "The obvious one is Victoria. She needs to be stopped. She's killing innocent humans—and not just the victim in Charlie's office. The young vampires are all former humans, forced to become killers for Victoria."

"Do we know if they've killed anyone?"

"We do," Sam said sharply. "So far they've been careful. Taking people who won't be missed—people without permanent addresses."

"Someone is helping Victoriatake people from hospice care," Quil added, his red-veined eyes tight, teeth locking as he spoke. "They're taking the homeless and the sick."

Old Quil and Young Quil (the pack used their relative ages to distinguish them) had done the research. Embry had helped, mostly because Quil claimed to nearly go mad pouring over newspaper reports, crime blogs, and all the boring details that only helped by inches at a time. Old Quil, Young Quil, and Embry had made a trip to Port Angeles and even stopped in a few other towns in the area to find out where the vampires had stopped. Most of the vampires turned were runaways. Most of those made into midnight snacks were homeless, the odd tourist, and the already dying. It made disappearances easier to accept.

"We know they're east of Port Angeles," Young Quil confirmed. "We think Vicky the Vampire started turning people in Seattle. There was an increase in disappearances and even a couple unusual body dumps that fit—a few months back."

"It's possible she even started as far south as Portland," Embry added, "but sometimes when you start looking for signs of a vampire, everything starts to look like a sign." He hung his head and shook himself.

Lauren patted Embry's shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up. Even if it wasn't Victoria, there are other vampires out there—horrifyingly—vampires she could have turned. It's better to have all the information and weed it out later."

Embry blushed and wore a gigantic goofy grin. I covered my mouth with my palm and looked at Jake. He shook his head slightly. This imprint was absolutely zany. Embry was smitten. Lauren seemed fine with it. I hoped she wasn't using him.

"Without knowing an exact location, we have to wait," Sam said. "We keep listening. Watching. Embry, you continue monitoring any reports near Port Angels or closer. We can't afford to stretch ourselves thin if Victoria has turned this many people."

Old Quil and Young Quil were estimating a dozen or more already. They assumed the information Laurent shared with me—she turned ten and then they each turned ten—was a scare tactic. Not a reliable source. If their numbers grew, by another dozen, or more, not even speedy super wolves would escape unscathed. Emily leaned her head on Sam's shoulder, obviously worried. He stroked her hair, kissed her scarred cheek.

"That brings us to big problem the second," Jake said. "FBI."

Everyone agreed. Investigators would be come for the murder of the innocent, but the killer wasn't an ordinary, insane human. The consensus came quickly. The pack had to be more careful. No wolf sightings. Stick to the trees and expand the protective perimeter around the town so that less people inside town lines would be likely to catch a glimpse. Sam ordered them to go out in threes. No less.

That was the first time I noticed the odd numbers. Not pairs; groups of three.

Old Quil I now knew was Young Quil's grandfather, and Old Quil was an elder. Emily and Lauren were plus ones. Jacob, Sam, Embry, Jared, Quil, and now Paul were all werewolves. There were still three others that hadn't attended my lasting wolf meet-and-greet. There was a woman, middle-aged, with a thin face and a short black hair that dusted her shoulder, half pinned back. She had two thin streaks of graying hair. There was something familiar about her face, but I couldn't guess at a name. Beside her sat a younger boy—about my age. His hair was shaved. He'd been listening to the meeting with wide expressions. He seemed a little excited by everything. My stomach flopped realizing that he was likely the newest—and definitely youngest—pack member. The man on the other side of the youngest wolf was a familiar face. Harry Clearwater. His hair was grayer than the last time I'd seen him. Usually he was more jovial, the first to laugh at one of Dad's terrible jokes, but he seemed tired. He had barely looked up once since the meeting began. Looking at him made the identity of the woman obvious. I'm sure I'd met her more than once when visiting Dad in summers past, but she'd gotten older. Sue Clearwater. That made the boy between them their son. Seth. He was younger than Jake—fourteen, maybe fifteen—and already his wolf genes were aging him, growing muscles, making him a fighter.

Seth caught me staring and flashed a nervous but broad grin. He waved. I shyly waved back. He seemed like a nice kid. The kind of kid that should never meet a vampire.

"A lot is on your shoulders, Bella," Billy warned.

Everyone stared at me. I swallowed, ducked my head, and nodded.

"You have the most obvious connection to this murder," he continued, and then looked away from me to address the others. "Lying to the FBI will be hard enough, but we need to support Bella by not letting Victoria kill anyone else. The less the FBI have to go on, the easier it will be to convince them that this was a human crime."

"But it wasn't human," Jared said, speaking for the first time. He stood, pacing behind Sam and the elders. "We need someone to frame for this—or at least a way to dry up any leads."

"That is something to worry about," Sam agreed. "For now, since we're not going to risk out-thinking professional investigators…"—he glared at the wolves in the circle, ensuring that they knew this was an order. "We focus on not accidentallygiving them reason to stick around. If there's no evidence here, they'll have to look elsewhere. Give them a reason to think that Phoenix is the connection. Not Bella."

Most of the circle mumbled agreements. Jake squeezed my hand again. Sue watched me with worry in her eyes. Lauren chewed on her lip, staring at me like I was mess of puzzle pieces she was trying to force together.

"Now, Jacob, I know you won't like this, but you have to keep your distance from Bella."