Chapter Six
"Don't like the way she's lookin' at me." Embry muttered to his alpha, close to Jacob's side. The spider child, Unktomi, had been watching him from her perch on Kassuq's shoulder for nearly an hour.
They were heading back towards their original camp. Cha'tima and her merry band of misfits had joined them, sticking to their word. Yes, they were going to help Jacob find his human killer - and then they would chase the pack and coven from their land. Of this, Jacob was certain.
"Get over it, Emb. She's just a kid." Leah said sarcastically from her seat. The she bear, whose name was Nukka, had offered herself up as a carriage for the injured wolves. Cha'tima had told them it was the least they could do. It was after all, her bears' fault that two wolves were down for the count.
"Says the victim." Embry shot back, voice taking on a mocking tone.
Cha'tima gave him a critical look but said nothing.
Noticing the tension, Unktomi settled her face against Kassuq's hair, eyes fluttering shut. Nearly sleeping, none of them could believe that this was the child who had nearly killed Leah, their fastest wolf.
A pang of guilt bubbled in Embry's stomach, bile rising in his throat. He hadn't thrown up since his transformation, hadn't felt sick since the change took him. Still; he couldn't escape this feeling. He had attacked a child. A strong child, but a child none the less.
Paul slid his gaze over the spotted wolf, the same guilt dancing in his eyes.
She's the same age as Claire, Embry thought. He swallowed thickly, trying to bite back the urge to vomit. He had always thought they were fighting the good cause. If he killed a child, could he still claim he wasn't a monster?
He just didn't know.
The scent of cold meat pulled Embry from his thoughts, stomach rumbling loudly. The bear, Kassuq chuckled deeply at him, eyes full of laughter.
"Does the wolf not run on an empty stomach, brother?" He asked, voice playful. He nuzzled his head a bit closer to the girl on his shoulders, expression softening at her sleepy murmur.
Embry didn't know why, but he smiled. "Nope. This wolf needs a full stomach before he does anything, brother."
For some reason, the use of the word caused the bear to grin. His body relaxed and he hummed in agreement. "This bear likes to have a fully stomach as well. However, it takes much food to fill me. Is it the same for you?"
"It's the same for all of us, Kassuq." Cha'tima cut in. She leapt lightly over a fallen tree, stalking slowly into the campsite. She touched nothing, yet looked at everything. Not in wonder, but in amusement.
That offended Jacob more than being called boy. He bristled as he helped Leah off of Nukka's back, settling the she wolf against a log so she could sit up. Her and Paul were mostly healed. Carlisle was the one who wanted them to be carried and, despite being shape shifting wolves, they knew when to listen to the good doctor.
Jacob wondered what this Cha'tima was. She didn't smell of wolf. She smelt like ammonia, like bleach. Similar to the vampires, but faint. Crisp, autumny. He inhaled deeply, ignoring Leah's snort of laughter.
Embry and Paul didn't care if the meat was cold. They each stole a piece from the grill, chewing happily as they sat by the now-dead fire. The venom was still in Leah's veins, making her groggy, so she growled until Seth snagged two pieces for her.
Pleased, she chewed.
Nukka wandered into the woods, still as a bear. She came back as a woman, arms loaded with fire wood. She was dressed - barely. A pair of black womens underwear and a sports bra - the she bear wasn't very well endowed - were all she wore.
Brady flushed darkly and dropped his eyes when Kassuq looked at him. The bear merely laughed and clapped the wolf on the shoulder. "Women are to be appreciated, yes?"
"Shut up, whore." Nukka tossed back, dropping the wood at Paul's feet. "Stop being a bad influence on the pups." She turned to Leah, a serious look on her face. "Watch yourself she-wolf. He's a bit grabby."
"Hey how come you call her wolf?" Brady complained. He was feeling...comfortable, with the bears. That spider thing still weirded him out, and Cha'tima was...dominant feeling. It made him uneasy.
"Because she's a girl. Us girls have to stick together." Nukka explained, snatching Unktomi from atop her brothers shoulder. She laid the girl on her brothers jacket, beside the fire Kassuq was making.
Cha'tima lowered herself to the ground as well. Carlisle stood near her, Jacob sat across from her once more.
"If we're to be leading you through the woods, I wish for you and yours to be listening to me." She said calmly. "There are many cold ones here, red eyes. They will not hesitate to attack, and I am only too familiar at the weakness of eager wolves. I don't wish for anyone to have casualties, despite Unktomi's little snack earlier."
Jacob leaned forward, nodding at her. "How come her venom didn't kill Leah? A vampire's would have."
"Unktomi is not a cold one. She is a shifter, like you and I. The venom isn't meant to attack. It slows the heart and puts its victims to sleep. It will only slow us down, not knock us out. It still gives her an advantage is fighting our kind." Her eyes flickered to Carlisle. "And your kind as well. A deer, or elk, or even a human would have fallen asleep and she would have fed."
"She drinks blood?" Jacob's voice was full of disgust as he stared at the woman.
Cha'tima didn't look away from Carlisle. "You don't have any right to judge mine, boy, when you keep the company that you do."
Jacob opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off,
"I don't wish to hear meaningless excuses. Your wolves will be healed by the morning, and then we'll begin our travel."
"Where's the rest of your group?"
"They aren't of your concern, boy. They won't be joining us. Not until I know you won't turn on us. Dogs are the one who turn rabid the fastest. When I trust that no foam will come from your mouth, then I will let the others come. Until then, put them out of your mind. Go to bed, now. Kassuq will stand first watch."
Cha'tima pulled herself from the ground and settled on a thick, low tree branch.
Nukka curled around Unktomi, back to the pack. The girls front was covered by the fire, her back covered by the bear.
The pack and coven weren't trusted.
Good, Jacob thought, I don't trust them either.
He put Seth on guard duty that night, too.