The humans lingered and helped prepare for the festival. Instead of a party and banners, the vampires were rather disappointed to see a pack of sombre wolves heading out to collect wood. "We build a fire with our family, and thank the spirits for what they have given us this past year," Bella explained patiently as her grandfather slept another day away. She worried for his health. She would be making the fire, and prayers herself this year, for the first time.
Edward had done some tentative research on the Makah and their beliefs but found it all to be rather generalised and vague. He didn't know just how devout Bella was to her spirits and Gods, and didn't want to tread on any toes by asking anything untoward.
She had almost asked Edward to accompany her, on the walk back from the baseball field. Spirits had been high even though the vampires had won. Emmett and Alice had boasted mercilessly, but Thomas demanded another rematch. They had walked hand in hand, watching the slow melding of their families with fond, hopeful smiles. The thought had struck her then, when she'd looked over at him. He was her family now too.
She didn't want to do it alone.
Something held her jaw closed, held her tongue. It wasn't that she didn't trust Edward, or think he would refuse her. She was nearly thirty five years old – and this felt like a coming of age thing, like she needed to sit alone by that fire, to be independent and solitary to face her.
Her pack had already gone – splitting off into their families to build their fires. She'd asked them to stay East – far enough for privacy but close enough to call to the others should danger strike. She had looked to her grandfather, who had smiled sadly and apologised before admitting he felt a little under the weather. She had helped him into the camper, stayed and waited in the living room until he'd fallen asleep and then headed up to the house.
"You'll keep an eye on them?" She'd wanted to make sure, but Edward had merely smiled and nodded, pulling the small woman into his arms because she worried for her pack, even when she was supposed to be worrying about herself.
"Of course," he assured her with a soft kiss to the top of her head. "They know to expect our presence..." he asked.
"Yes, I warned them," she said with a stiff nod. She seemed very tense. "We're not supposed to transform at all on this day," she explained with a long exhale. "To give the spirits a rest," she went on. "We only phase if we have no choice."
They had kissed, and Edward had watched Bella disappear into the woods for Lord knows how long. He'd promised to keep away, to leave her and her pack to their prayers and whatnot but it was going to be difficult. He didn't like the thought of her alone. His family had extended company had agreed to circulate around the wolves, leaving them be but keeping a constant presence of protection.
It was a very trying day for Edward.
For Bella, whose hands quaked with nerves and anxiety, it wasn't so smooth either. She had never said such prayers alone. She believed in the spirits and their power; how else could the wolves and the demon vampires be explained? She felt their presence. She always had. She felt their eyes on her, listening to her mind and watching over her people.
Facing them alone was a daunting task. She'd always had her grandfather there, holding her hand and whispering her back to the world.
Still, she went on foot and put Edward and the vampires behind her. She allowed the morning birds to sing their melodies and take her away. She allowed her feet to carry her where they wished and allowed her mind to wander. The sky was grey but she sensed so storm brewing.
It took no more than five minutes to collect and build her fire. Her lifestyle on the reservation had her learn all about fires and mushrooms and seasons and crops. Her community lived from the land, so she found two rocks and remembered how her Grandpa had taught her, so many summers ago on the beach with her scaly hands smothering hers, moulding her fingers and pulling her limbs to teach her. She'd sat between his legs, her tongue poking out for half an hour before she'd got so much as a spark, but she was determined and after an hour or so, she'd built her own fire.
It started off small, with innocent white smoke that blew north with the wind. She sat with her legs crossed, just breathing in the smell of the smoke and looking into the embers as the grew and flamed licked from between the branches and twigs she'd gathered.
Please forgive me.
The wind blew suddenly south, and she coughed as she inhaled a lungful of smoke. She glanced around her but she was alone and the wind resumed blowing north. She scowled.
Thank you for my Grandpa.
Thank you for my Pack, and it's strength.
Thank you for watching over my people and keeping them safe. Thank you for the crops that feed us and the fish that allow us to build and grow.
Thank you for delivering Charlotte to us safely, after so much worry.
Thank you for my strength. Without you I would crumble.
Thank you for Edward. Thank you for the opportunity for love I now have.
The flames flew high, dancing a few inches above the sticks beneath and she blinked at the heat on her face.
You have tested me. You have pushed me past what I thought I could ever take... her eyes hardened and she struggled to keep them open with the heat and smoke that curled around her. I don't know my future, but you have guided me safe so far. I trust you.
–
Some muttered, some swayed back and forth and some held hands and bowed their heads. Each person had their own way of speaking to the spirits, and the vampires watched with varied interest, always on the move, not wanting to interrupt what was blatantly a very important event for them.
It wasn't only the wolves who prayed, but the humans as well. Even little Charlotte was unusually quiet as her mother sat her between her legs and held her husbands hand while she whispered her words of thanks and comfort. They cried and smiled and felt nothing but love for those who had kept them safe.
It was hours before any returned. John returned first, with his wife and daughter. He threw several charred twigs onto the ground mid-way between the Cullen's house and the river before returning to the other side of it and pulling his little family close. Without their thoughts to spy on, Edward was left with Jasper. His brother had tried to determine their emotions but it was a culmination of so many that it was impossible to name it.
Thomas returned with red, blood shot eyes and a sniffling mother. He threw his own sticks on top of John's. One by one they returned, smelling like smoke and with clouded, obscure emotions. He envied them and their beliefs. He wished his mind was open enough to believe such things but he was solidified in fact and truth – and neither God or Spirit was fact.
They sat and waited, quiet and thoughtful and holding their loved ones close.
Bella returned shortly before Rachel. The pile of sticks was very large now – spanning a few feet and a few inches high. It was a pack tradition – something that the humans hadn't ever seen before since they usually waited until everyone was too drunk or exhausted to notice them slink away down the beach. They were curious.
Edward had never seen them all so contemplative or quiet. They were peaceful, even as Bella roused her grandfather and softly told him that they were lighting the fire soon. He hadn't grumbled or moaned, but said a quiet thank you and Bella had taken herself back outside to give him privacy and time to wash and dress.
She stood in the doorway, looking over at her pack. She hated that she'd ripped them from their families, from their brothers but they looked so happy. Thomas allowed his mother to swipe a stray hair from his cheek and Bella smiled as he didn't bat her hand away or roll his eyes. She looked over to the Cullen house. The doors were closed and empty. They were giving them space.
"Thank you."
She received no reply, but it didn't matter.
Night began to fall and hunger was prevalent. It was tradition to abstain from food for the day, until the moon was visible in the sky and she had returned and was watching over them. Stomachs were growling and aching, but they had grown used to the fast and kept quiet.
Esme had given them permission to use the lawn the day previous. Considering the wolves fighting and training had already shredded her perfectly manicured grass, and there was a fifty tonne motor home parked across it, it wasn't really worth saving anymore.
They heard vampires approaching, and glanced over as Benjamin and Tia walked across the lawn from their patrol. Their eyes were somewhere between red and gold, having promised to also stay away from humans while in Forks. Tia was quiet and tugged on her mates hand, but he was strong and his smile was small and hopeful as he stopped and stared at Bella.
"Could we watch?"
Bella considered his request shortly. There really was nothing to it at all, but the humans were watching this year and she felt nothing but amused at this teenage vampire and his unending enthusiasm. "Yes."
His smile grew wide and Tia rolled her eyes but smiled and inclined her head at Bella a little in thanks. Her eyes went to the sky. The clouds were darkening and it would be less than an hour before the moon was coming into their sights. She stepped from the doorway onto the grass and headed over to the pile of twigs.
"Won't you need more?" Tia asked quietly, a mere whisper on the wind.
"We use only the branches from our own prayers," Bella said evenly as she crouched down and began arranging them into an orderly shape. "Some believe it carries our prayers louder and faster," she went on absently.
"Do you believe?" Ben asked, moving towards her undeterred about her being a wolf. He did not see a threat in this girl.
Her hands stilled at his question and she looked up from the branches to his face with a pensive expression. "I believe that there is more in the world than we can ever know, or understand," she said thoughtfully. "I don't think any of us would be alive now if someone hadn't been looking out for us."
He accepted this easily, with a small nod and smile. "I used to believe in God."
"What stopped you?"
"No God would create such evil in the world," Benjamin said soberly.
They stared at one another but they didn't fight their points of argue. They accepted with smiles because she could respect his life and hardships. She knew no-one chose to be a vampire, as much as no-one chose to be a wolf. It just happened, and you had to deal with it.
The air chilled as her grandpa made his way out of the motor home, aided by a quick footed Rachel hooking his arm. His walking stick thudded against the floor and he headed towards Bella. The wolves joined him, with their families following silently behind. It was all very serious, and Tia and Benjamin were all too eager to be part of the experience. They were far from immune to whatever was happening to the Makah people.
Silently, they surrounded the wood in a circle, sitting beside their family. Thomas fetched the stump for Bella's grandpa and he thanked him with sincere eyes as he lowered himself onto it. Benjamin and Tia were nervous as they were flanked by wolves but didn't voice their discomfort. More vampires emerged from their patrols, including Edward, Jasper and Esme who watched the seated group with interest.
Benjamin and Tia's inclusion in the circle spoke volumes.
"May we?" Edward asked.
Bella nodded silently. The door were thrown open. No question was asked, but Bella nodded to the eyes that hid inside the house. Her spirits were accepting of those with open hearts and ears, who would listen to her whispered wind and silent words. Lauren shuffled up, making room for Edward and his family. Other filtered from the house, including Alice, Carlisle, Eleazar, Carmen and Emmett – the rest remained back, resigned to watch.
The circle expanded.
"May I?" Benjamin asked with a raise of his hand. With a small smile, she nodded and with a flick of his wrist, the pile of charred twigs ignited with a small yellow flame with crackled and flickered. The wind had died to nothing and the smoke filtered up into the fly as the flames spread and grew tall and thin.
Eyes settled on her; Crimson and gold, brown and black and green, and she turned to her Grandpa because he was an Elder, and he had the highest position among them. In rituals and traditions such as these, such things had to be acknowledged. Her grandpa had never been a wolf, but had sat on the council for almost sixty years until his failing body had him bowing out before he was forced out the door. Not only was he the oldest person in all of the villages in Neah Bay, but he was rigid and stern, knowledgable and wise and people turned to him when they needed help. His words were held to the highest respect. While she had always conducted the packs prayers, with her grandpa present he outranked her,
The vampire knew nothing of the looks and silence and waited impatiently. They too felt it – the gravity that seemed to pin them to the floor, that held their attention and moods in limbo, between sombre and peace. There was no hostility or anger in any of them.
Her Grandpa smiled so sweetly, his eyes saying what his pride would not allow; his sorrow and regret, his pride and honour to be her family, his joy at her finding her imprint after so many lonely years. Her pack waited.
She turned to them, hair sweeping across her shoulder. There was something different in her face; a hardness in her lips, the way her eyes were tight and piercing. Alice couldn't exactly pin it down, and Edward stared without answers. He wanted to take her hand but something held him back. She had every eye on her.
Her eyes were on the flames. They reflected in her eyes and she blinked lazily, just the once as the smoke billowed into the frozen sky. Her mouth opened but her mouth wrapped around words none of them knew or understood. It was not a language even Carlisle had come across. Her eyes were heavy but unwavering, despite the smoke that had the vampires cutting off their useless breathing.
"We thank you for our lives here, tonight. And I beg of you to please keep them safe. When you return to us – keep them all safe. Edward and his family are good – they help those who they should kill. They do not deserve death. Please watch over them, protect them as you do us.
Protect the Olympic Coven.
Protect the Denali Coven.
Protect Garret, and Benjamin and Tia and forgive them their errors, and see their hearts."
They recognised the names Olympic and Denali, as well as the names of the three red-eyed vampires in their company, but nothing more. Her words were small, quiet and reverent and her eyes were unseeing as she stared at the fire. Her words weaved around them almost like a song they were all enraptured by.
"Bring the Pack together again, like we should be. Forgive us all..."
The wind blew, hard and icy into their faces and Bella's eyes closed for a brief moment as she inhaled, feeling the tendrils of affection whip through her hair. She could feel them standing around her, looking down at her, hearing her words uttered in her native tongue. She held her eyes closed, savouring the feeling of being close to them, of standing in their arms and falling beneath their protection.
"Thank you for giving us hope."
Jasper was monitoring her mood very closely. Weather aside, nothing was happening besides Bella and her pack had allowed their eyes to close. The fire crackled, whipping this way and that as the wind huffed ferociously, blustering hair and clothes and making the humans shiver.
In her minds eye, she could see them and their smiles as they looked down at her.
"You have done us all proud," they said in unison. There stood three; a tall, lean brown haired woman with a soft smile, a middle aged thick set man with a small black beard and another man, much younger and harder. Their voices chorused and harmonised and Bella felt fear and shock ricochet through her mind and body. It was not the first time she had spoken to the spirits, or even heard their responses, but never had they been so forward with themselves.
"You need not fear us, young one," they went on.
Jasper wondered what the hell was happening. Rain fell, sudden and light. Alice looked up at the sky. She had not seen any fall of rain for another three days. The wolves remained unmoving, hearts thudding hard and fast, breathing slow and deep as if meditating. Their emotions bounced, as if mirroring one another if only with a second or so of delay.
"You will be tested," they said.
The flames erupted suddenly, flashing and crackling and flying six foot in the air, towering over all of their heads. Bella's eyes opened a fraction of a second before those of her pack. The fire quieted itself. The rain stopped and the wind died once more.
She took a deep breath, feeling the last tendrils of peace and pride slip from her mind as the spirits left them to their celebrations. Her eyes found those of Thomas. His mother had, at some point, reached into his lap and grasped his hand in hers. She looked across the circle at Carlisle and his family, seeing the curious expressions and slightly agape mouths and wondering what they had seen, or thought was happening.
John smiled from across the clearing. Rachel relaxed and rolled her shoulders. Thomas stretched out his legs, his bones cracking loudly and making his mother tut in worry. Darkness had crept into the world while she'd had her eyes closed, but there was still a little of daylight left. She turned to her right, where her grandfather sat looking back at her with a small smile on his face.
She saw pride shining back at her. His hand rested on her shoulder, squeezing and supportive, despite everything between them that was still unsaid and undeclared. Despite her father, and the thoughts she hadn't even allowed herself to think yet. Despite the vampire that had captured her body and heart so completely that she didn't know how she coped without him before all of this.
She looked into those steel grey eyes that, so often had scolded and shouted and told her to stop and calm down. He had been her mother, her father, her mentor and friend and there was no-one else in the world like her grandpa. No-one could ever replace him in her life.
He spoke their native language sparingly. Neither would admit that his mind was slowly failing him and that the language often slipped through the cracks. He had heard every word Bella had said.
"I am so very proud of you, little wolf," he said with a small shine in his eye. Her destiny had always been marked – or so her grandpa believed. He had known, from the moment her mother had handed him over on that smothering hot summers day, that this little baby with rosy red cheeks would one day be a warrior wolf like her father. He had called her his little wolf when she was so young, but the nickname had faded as she had quickly matured and demanded not to be treated as a child anymore; she must have been eight.
"Thank you," she replied quietly. "For everything you have given to me."
Nothing more needed saying there and then, for her Grandpa's eyes slid past her and his smile broadened. "Your vampire worries."
She glanced beside her, and Edward's face was furrowed in a frown and his eyes revealed his anxiety. She couldn't help but laugh. "He cares," she said with a shrug as she turned back to her grandpa.
"He loves you very much."
"And I love him."
Her grandpa's smile dimmed somewhat, but he nodded.
"I think I should go and rest. Wake me when the food is ready," he said, speaking in English once more as he struggled to his feet. Bella was there, on her feet with her hands guiding him. He was much too proud to have his grand daughter carry him, so she offered her arm and he took it silently, but gratefully all the same. It must be difficult to be surrounded by those so much stronger and faster than themselves.
She returned to the fire quickly, retaking her place beside Edward. Her pack were quiet and pensive, contemplating what they had experienced with the spirits. She smiled meekly at the vampire whose eyes were only for her, and took his hand the moment she was able. "You look worried."
"I am worried," he spluttered. "What just happened?"
Bella frowned, glancing around at her pack. "We spoke to our spirits." She shared a heavy stare with Thomas.
"What did they say?" Edward said obviously.
It made Bella smile. "That we're doing okay," she said vaguely.
You will be tested.
She didn't like to ponder the meaning behind those words. She didn't want to be tested. Hadn't she already been quite thoroughly tested? Had she not proven herself yet? Edward could see her worry and concern. Whatever she had heard hadn't been all good, but there was a current running through the circle, an unspoken rule to keep it unspoken. No human asked what had been uttered, or what a wolf had seen.
"It started raining," Edward told Bella when she realised his shirt was damp on his shoulders.
Her face crumpled in a frown. "Really?"
"And the fire was weird," Emmett chimed in from beside his brother. Bella's eyes widened but her lips twitched with a barely hidden smile. "It went really high... like, for no reason at all."
Her eyes went to Benjamin, but he shook his head. It had not been him.
"I don't believe in spirits or Gods or whatever," Emmett said seriously. "But this just gives me the creeps."
Bella had laughed at his bold, honest admission, made moments after a very intense, spirit walk with her own spirits. She liked his tenacity. She heard the rustle of material and saw bodies twisting and looking up – the moon was there, nestled high in the sky, still faint but definitely there. Their hunger would not be ignored.
But it would, because suddenly the circle was gone and the wolves were on their feet. "No," Bella said quickly, cursing her own instinct to phase and protect. "Not tonight," she said strongly. "Rachel-" she said patiently. The girl was still staring out into the woods. They were coming closer, too close, too familiar.
"What do you want us to do?" Thomas asked.
"We let them come," Bella said easily. "We don't fight. Not now."
The wolves sat – but Bella put herself between the circle and the east, where the party was approaching from. There were twelve – twenty four feet thudding against dirt and earth and it made her nervous. They had laws that they all upheld and respected to the highest possible degree and she didn't think Lana would be one to cast them aside.
The approaching pack slowed two miles out when the stench of vampire began to strengthen. Bella waited. "We can protect you, if need be," Carlisle had told her. They had sixteen very capable vampires at their disposal, but she had merely shaken her head and kept her eyes on the forest ahead of her.
"We will not endanger the treaty. We will phase if need be," she said with a sigh, glancing back at Carlisle. "Do not step in, Carlisle."
He said nothing. Edward was glaring and staring between them. In this, he had no voice. He wasn't a leader. He knew Carlisle respected Bella, not only as a warrior and woman, but a wolf and it aggravated him more than he anticipated, seeing him stand down in the face of such a threat. He was ready for a fight; as were his coven.
"I wouldn't," Lauren said knowingly from across the circle. Her eyes were intent and narrowed on Jasper. "If the pack doesn't kill you, then Bella will."
"She is with Edward. She is family," Jasper said sincerely. "We will not stand by while our family is threatened."
The pack looked at Jasper, dissecting his words, waiting for a break in the mask but there was none; his words were true. Somewhere between the baseball field and the fires, the Cullen's had accepted Bella as one of their own. Thomas smiled. "As nice as that is, you can't take on the Pack," Lauren said dismissively. "Not only would you be risking open war – and trust me you don't even want to go down that road, but you'd be risking the alliances we've made for these bloody newborns. I don't think she'd be too happy to see it all fall to pieces because you want to protect her," she said with something close to a sneer.
"Not to mention, if you did kill any of them..." John chimed in helpfully.
Eyes were hard and landed on Carlisle. His decision hadn't shifted. "We stay put." He looked pointedly to Benjamin, Tia and Garret. "All of us." They nodded.
Bella was ignorant to the tension in the circle a few hundred feet behind her. Her sole attention was on the approaching people. She saw them a minute or so before they broke through the tree line and stepped out into the open. She saw their scowls and glares, their angry faces and low eyes. Lana took the lead, ordering the others to stay back and wait.
She stepped out of the cover of the trees, eyes wide and wary as she took in he sixteen vampires so close by and the traitor humans in our midst. Bella allowed her to look. She could see her throat bob with her gulp, could see the tremble of her hands with her anxiety. She was troubled, and this was difficult for her. Finally, those black eyed fell on Bella and she couldn't help a small, conspirational smile.
"Bella," she said as she approached. Her pack broke rank and approached, one by one, hesitant and mildly afraid of how they would be received. Bella's pack were on their feet in an instant – from the moment the eleven people stepped out into the moonlight.
"Kim..."
Bella looked at Tony as he rushed past them all, not caring for tenuous treaties and vampires. He had eyes only for Kim and she ran for him, arms open wide and they met in a mess of arms and tears, falling to the floor wrapped around one another, mumbling apologies and I miss you's so lovingly that it felt too personal to watch.
"We should be together tonight," Lana said quietly. Standing before Bella, she was no Alpha. They could all see it. She was submissive to her. "If you will allow it."
Bella's eyes went to those behind her – to her friends and family that she had missed so very dearly, that had been left behind to deal with the fallout of her actions. "This land is not mine," Bella said quietly.
"For tonight," Carlisle agreed behind her.
The vampires sat and watched the wolves rejoin as one pack. There were so many – too many if truth be told. They were an army all of their own. Even halved, they were a force to be reckoned with. There were smiles and tears as the two packs collided, playful punches and heartfelt embraces for missed friendships. Bella had tried to tuck herself away with Lana quietly, but a tall, thin woman grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug as tears dripped from her eyes.
"Jane," Bella had said comfortingly. "It's alright."
"Come home Bella," she begged weakly. "Please."
Bella had smiled and pulled away. "One day."
No-one knew the future – not even their little psychic.
While the pack got reacquainted, Bella turned her attention to Lana. None of those from her pack had greeted her, and Bella could see the hurt, the betrayal and guilt written in her dark eyes as she stared at the floor. "They will forgive you," Bella told her sincerely.
"Do you?"
Her eyes focussed on Bella. "There is nothing to forgive," Bella insisted before pulling the woman into the first hug she'd had in weeks. The contact was comforting and warm and it was all she could do not to melt and fall to sobs at her feet. "You had good intentions."
"I am so sorry Bella," Lana sniffed mutely in her hair. "I never meant for any of this to happen."
"None of us did," Bella said quietly as the pair pulled apart. They ignored the stares from both packs, the whispers between the vampires. Their words were silent, only for their ears, not for the prying ones. "Thank you for bringing them."
"We brought food too," Lana said with a watery smile.
Bella laughed quietly. "Thank you; the food thing has been a bit of an issue around here."
"Is he worth it?" Lana asked quietly her eyes falling on Edward as he spoke quietly to his father from across the broken circle around the fire.
"Nothing is worth breaking the pack," Bella said firmly.
She nodded mutely, guilt swallowing her again. "I want to tell them, but I don't know how."
"Speak," Bella prompted without humour. "Be honest with them. Earn their respect, and Alpha or not, they will follow you."
Hannah, Rick and Laura all darted back into the woods for a few minutes before returning with six large bags. Food.
Bella's pack had been overjoyed, slapping their hands together as their stomachs growled and they had all stood and waited as Bella stood in her place beside Edward, and the vampires watched the Alpha in her rear again. Her eyes were intent. The circle had grown once again. Thomas and Lauren were sent to find more wood, and Lana asked Luke and Daniel to do the same. The fire grew to double its size, and still the wolves stood.
Only when the flames grew to eight foot did Bella look across it, to not only the eyes of her pack, but to those who were family too. They revealed their sadness, their torn thoughts and she had nodded mutely and lowered herself to the floor cross legged. They waited for her to sit before sitting themselves.
It was odd, but respectful to her position. No-one failed to mention that half of the wolves weren't tied to her anymore. No-one voiced that Lana had sat with everyone else. It didn't need saying; Bella was the Alpha. That was fact. There was nothing to be interpreted.
The power was there, not lorded or forced but felt among them all. Not even the vampires were immune, and Jasper was willing to bet that Carlisle's admiration and intimidation was only going to get worse the longer Bella stuck around. The bags were empties, revealing more than a hundred sausages, rashers of bacon and potatoes.
Kim was far too busy kissing and sitting in the lap of Tony, her head on his shoulder as she smiled and stared at the fire. His thumb rubbed the exposed skin of her hip and he held her so close that it was hard to figure out where he ended and she began. Their love was obvious and Edward was interested in them – mated, imprinted as they were, a woman to a man.
It struck him that the wolf should be the stronger of the two, being the protector by nature, stronger and faster in all ways, and yet Kim huddled in Tony's arms like a meek little teenager. He knew that Bella was strong, determined and stubborn, but she allowed him to hold and comfort her. She told him what she hadn't even told her own pack. She relied on him.
Sausages were skewered and held over the flames and it was clear that the pack did this often. They did not flinch from the hissing, spitting fire as Edward and his family did. Lana's pack stayed away from the vampires – making a conscious effort not to talk or even look at them for too long. To them, they were still the enemy. Bella felt a swell of pride when she saw Kyle talking to Jasper.
"Bella-"
Lana smiled from across the fire.
"Would you say the prayer?"
Lana's pack looked confused at the request, but Bella nodded. The prayer was simple and quick, a thank you to the spirits for the food they'd received that year, and the hopes of more to come. Lana and Bella's eyes met for a long moment and no-one was oblivious to it. Some sort of silent communication flowed between them and suddenly Lana cleared her throat and looked down into her lap.
"I am not the Alpha," she said to her lap.
The fire was the only sound on the lawn. The vampires in the house quieted and gathered near the doors. "I gave it to the Council."
Her nerves were only too obvious and her pack was stunned and angry. Carlisle was worried; he didn't know what this would mean for their alliance. We have never met the council. There is nothing stopping them from attacking...
Edward shook his head a little. From what he'd seen and heard, they were much more concerned about their internal politics and defending, than senselessly attacking covens. He honestly didn't see the tribe as a threat, and he had a feeling the pack would sooner revolt to Bella before attacking innocent vampires, as she put it.
The circle disbanded. Lana and her pack took off into the night – to talk, to leave, to fight it out they didn't know. "I'm glad she finally told them," Bella sighed quietly as she leaned against Edward's arm. It was far from the enveloping hug between Kim and Tony, but he would take whatever she was willing to give.
"That's what she told you," Thomas realised with raised eyebrows.
Her pack wasn't angry with her. Unlike Lana's Pack, they trusted Bella and though they were annoyed to be kept out of the loop, they recovered quickly. Conversation flowed quietly in little pockets and Bella assured Carlisle that it was highly unlikely that the council would ever order an attack on a coven – it had never happened before. Her certainty put him at ease, but his thoughts still lingered on the possibilities.
"I get the feeling they'd sooner switch sides than attack you," Ted said quietly, his arm wrapped around his wife tightly. "None of them looked overly happy."
The food was cooked and her Grandpa was roused. Bella was about to tell him about Lana and the packs arrival when they returned, laden with more bags that clanged and crashed with their contents. Bella laughed and the wolves all grinned as the circle was reformed, with the bags set in front of Bella. The stench was quite unbelievable.
"What is that?" Emmett cried rather rudely.
"Alcohol," Bella said as she unzipped the blue bags and revealed dozens of thick, green glass bottles filled with clear liquid.
"I've never smelled alcohol quite like that," Emmett argued weakly.
"That's because if a human drank this, they'd die," she explained as she threw the bottles to each of the nineteen wolves, each catching it easily in their grasp, before taking one for herself. "We burn through alcohol really quickly. The only way to actually get drunk is to get the really strong stuff."
She tossed one to Emmett as she pulled off the warped metal top and tipped it back, taking a large mouthful and cringing. It did honesty taste disgusting. Emmett took a sniff of his bottle and instantly held it out to Edward, who took it with an amused grin. "What proof is that?"
"Mid nineties."
Are we sure we want twenty drunk werewolves on the lawn?
Edward met Jasper's concerned eyes. Even on such strong liquor, the wolves were barely tipsy. It turned their cheeks rosy and relaxed their shoulders, and smiled were wider than ever before. He could see the small cliques – the women that chatted about how handsome Garret was, and the men that challenged one another to fights because they could.
"How do you control them all?" Jasper asked quietly. Bella had moved away from the others, keeping her drink close by but at her side as she watched her pack unwind and have fun. She sat with Edward and his family quietly.
"I don't," she replied honestly. "I've never controlled them."
Jasper understood. He felt the bond between her and her pack, but Alice wasn't an empath. "Aren't you supposed to be in charge?"
Bella pondered this for a moment, stretching her legs out in front of her and nursing her bottle in her lap as she watched Luke throw Thomas over his shoulder, landing with a sickening thud as the others cackled. "What would you do if Garret told you to run to Canada and back?"
"It depends why he'd asked me," Alice rebutted.
"No, not asked – told," Bella emphasised. "Telling people what to do and giving orders doesn't put you in charge. I've earned their trust and respect. I don't need to order them to do anything. And I trust and respect them to listen to me."
"There's so many of them," Esme breathed quietly. Her lawn was crawling with Makah people, full of laughter and life and happiness. The house had never been to lively.
Bella smiled and nodded, because the vampires had been expecting another pack like Sam's and they had been sorely mistaken. There she sat between Edward's legs, her back against his chest and his nose in her hair and she had never felt so at home. She closed her eyes.
She looks happy, Esme said fondly as she watched Bella relax against Edward. I hope she will be happy with us one day.
Her Grand father was sat with Benjamin and Tia. Bella had been very wary, sitting at his side and staring the pair down until, after a few minutes, she allowed herself to get pulled away. Edward had assured her that neither intended to harm her grandpa. He had told them a few of the Makah Legends; of the White Wolf and the Three Men.
You will be tested.
The words filled her with dread once more.
"You okay?" Edward asked quietly in her ear. He'd felt her stiffen and tense in his arms and he worried at where her thoughts had strayed. His hand rubbed up and down her scorching skin in an attempt to soothe her mind.
"Yeah," she said faintly as she peeled her eyes open.
Would it Edward she would lose?
Her eyes went to her Grandpa and her heart ached at the thought of losing him. She knew the one day, some time within the next few years it would come. He would not be there by her side, scolding and smiling anymore but she wasn't ready.
You will be tested.
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Another apology... I was building the guinea pig cage for four hours! Completely lost track of time!