Inevitability
11
Jacob's Point of View
The moment of truth. The hours dragging their way to this point had both been agonizingly slow and annoyingly fast. I was not looking forward to hearing some o f my pack members leave. Truly, I didn't honestly think any of them would go with me. I mean, why would they? There was very little for me to offer aside from permanent exposure to their biological enemy.
Yeah, so there's that.
The two packs were gathered again, Sam and I at the head as we had been. We were just waiting for Quil - he liked to watch over Claire at night and I knew he would be a little late. It was only lucky that Claire wasn't an early riser at fourteen.
The giant chocolate wolf came loping out of the trees quickly. He looked around before sitting next to Seth, on 'my side' of the ring. Sam and I stood, and I braced myself for this.
"Alright. I'm not going to dance around this and make it anymore painful than it has to be. So, those who wish to stay with me, go to the left and those who wish to stay at La Push, go to the right."
There was a moment of hesitation, where all the wolves looked at each other, ears moving around. I tried not to listen to their thoughts; it would be too painful.
Then, Quil rose and, without looking at anyone, walked over to the right side of the ring, where he promptly sat down again, still looking at the ground. No one else moved for another moment, and just when I was about to speak - or sigh in relief - Embry, Seth and Leah jumped up and quickly ran to the other side too, sitting down next to Quil. Almost immediately, I felt their consciousnesses disappear.
Sam was right; just like a burned-out light bulb. Only it was like I had broken it, and the glass was now white-hot and burning in my mind. How strange that the disappearance of their lights were now bright points of pain in my mind. I fought the urge to wince, knowing it would only make my ex-pack members feel bad.
I felt alone now, truly alone; an Alpha without a pack.
"Alright then. It has been an honour running with you all, and I hope this isn't the last time we see each other," I said, watching as the others began to disperse. Sam looked at me in concern, but I just shrugged, and began to head back to the Cullen house.
"Jacob?" I cocked an ear towards the human voice, and turned to see Seth running towards me. Since we could no longer communicate mentally, I phased also, feeling a strange sense of emptiness and sorrow, knowing I would never hear his mind again.
"Yeah Seth?" I replied, pulling on my cut-offs.
"Can…Can I come and say…Bye to the Cullens?" he asked, looking down at the ground. I couldn't say I was surprised; Seth had formed a special bond with Edward since the fight with Victoria in the meadow, and that had only strengthened really with time.
"Sure," I said with a smile, and we started walking back to the house. We were in no hurry; neither of us wanted to hurry our separation.
Still, the house came into view all too soon. Nessie was waiting outside, and her smile was sad when she saw only me and Seth.
"The house is packed," she said, wrapping her arms around me. I hugged her back tightly, smiling involuntarily.
"Alright. Seth just came to say goodbye to everyone," I replied, before she could act on the conclusion that Seth was still in my pack.
"Oh. Okay…" She pulled away, leading the way inside the house. I followed into the living room, where there was only Bella and Alice there, the others probably going on a last-minute hunt.
"So…" Seth said, scratching the back of his head. "Where will you guys be going?"
"Alaska," Bella replied promptly, and I nodded in agreement. That had always been the plan; Esme had been fixing up a large cabin in the middle of BFE for the past couple of years, 'just in case' she had always said. Well, the time had come now, and she had announced a couple of months ago that it was ready. So…Alaska.
Besides, plenty of places to run for me, and new variety for the vampires. Goodie.
"Wow…Alaska…" Seth said, and I couldn't help but laugh a little at how big his eyes got. Poor kid; he had never been out of country. "Can…I…"
"Just spit it out, Seth," Alice said, the impatience that would otherwise be in her tone negated by the giant smile she wore. You know, for someone who theoretically couldn't see anything around us wolves, she sure looked like she knew something.
"Can I see the babies?" he asked quickly, looking down at the floor.
"Of course Seth! Why wouldn't you be able to? I'll go get them," Nessie said, quickly disappearing up the stairs. Seth merely smiled sheepishly. Wren reappeared with a little bundle in each arm, and Seth quickly went over, his face the picture of awe. He was such a goof sometimes, honestly.
"They're so cute!" he exclaimed. "What are their names?"
"Jessie and Alex," Nessie replied, raising each one a little as she named them. Both were awake and characteristically silent, looking up at Seth with giant eyes, unblinking stares.
"Wow…" Seth seemed to lose most coherent thought, and I rolled my eyes.
"Come on, Seth. You need to get back to La Push; we'll be leaving soon and the scent of leech is about to get really bad," I joked. Well, half-joked. They still smelled kinda bad.
"I wouldn't mind…"
"Naw, come on Seth," I said, heading out. He followed after a moment, his eyes still back there.
"I wish you guys didn't have to leave…" he murmured, kicking at a rock and sending it flying into the trees.
"Yeah, me too, but those pesky humans and the fact that not aging tips them off to your paranormal superpowers…" I said with a grin, waving my hand as if shooing a fly. He managed a smile, but there was still a great sadness on his face.
"Hey, cheer up, I'm sure this isn't the last we'll ever see of each other," I said, nudging him on the shoulder, like I would do if we were still wolves.
"Yeah…" he said, just managing a smile, "I suppose so…" He kept looking back at the house, but whatever he hoped to see, each time his eyes became just one shade darker, and he would look back at the ground.
I mentioned this to Sam, once we were back in La Push.
"Keep an eye on him. I think he's sad to see the Cullens leave."
"I don't think it's the Cullens, but I will," Sam said with a smile. "I guess this is goodbye, then, Jacob." He held out his hand, and I shook it. It seemed too formal, after all we'd been through together, but I was in a bit of a hurry anyway. "Don't get your blood drank."
"They couldn't stomach it," I said, smiling finally as well. Sam laughed, and I turned to head back to the house. To my new life, and away from my pack.
Sorry, my ex-pack.
"We got everything?" I finally asked, looking over the over-stuffed cars and the giant U-Haul parked in the insanely long driveway.
"Yeah, I think that's everything. Besides, we don't sell out old homes, so it's not like we can't come back for anything," Emmett said, loading the Cullens' giant dining room table into the van.
I nodded. Okay. I phased, since I wouldn't be able to fit in a car with everything else. And, since I also wouldn't be able to run on the roads with the cars - wolves kinda draw attention, you know? - I ran into the woods, Wren on my back, holding tightly onto the fur of my neck. Like she didn't have perfect balance anyway. She wouldn't fall off, but whatever. Not like it hurt…
I could hear the distant thrum of engines on the roads and I ran.
And ran.
And ran.
Sometimes, Wren and I would detour. We could afford to have some fun together now; there was no impending doom or whatever. Yahhta Yahhta Yahhta.
"Leaving without saying goodbye?"
Um God? It's me, Jacob. Haha, I joke. But seriously, that giant timbre could not be ignored. I stopped for a moment, looking around the inevitable black wolf through the trees.
And Lo and Behold, Ephraim loped through the trees, a smile on his wolf face. I dipped my head a little in greeting, and he did so in return, both to me and Nessie.
"What do you mean?"
"I've been hassled by this little tick, that refuses to leave," he replied with a joking tone, oddly contrasting with his powerful mind-voice. I frowned.
"What?"
"You know, little sandy fella, young one…Clearwater's boy."
"Seth?"
"That's the one."
"What the hell is he doing with you?"
"I think he intended to follow you, and confused us. Our scents are quite similar - we share blood."
"Okay…but my question actually was why is he following me?"
"That's not my place to ask," he replied, either oblivious to or uncaring of my impatience. Jesus, if Leah or Sue found out they would kill me!
"Where is he?"
"A couple miles back. Following me still no doubt."
I nodded. "Thank you for telling me."
He smiled a little wider. "It's not for your sake that I told." And with that, he left, leaving me alone with Nessie, and confused.
Damn old folks and their cryptic messages. I got enough of that from psychic and mind-reader.
"Um…Jake? What was that about?"
Oh. Right.
I phased, pulling on my cut-offs again. "Seth's following us," I said with a sigh.
She frowned a little. "Why?"
"How should I know?" I snapped, running a hand through my hair. Great, I had picked that up from Cullen.
Speak of the Devil…The giant sandy wolf walked into view, his head low to the ground, following a scent. I cleared my throat, and he looked up, ears pricked and eyes wide with surprise, obviously not expecting to see us.
"Need something, Seth?" I asked, sounding like on old man trying to get a young boy to stop his shenanigans…which was kinda what I was doing.
"Um…I just…decided that I…I wanted to come with you…" he said once he had phased, looking down.
"Why?" Why was I questioning this? I should be happy that I have a pack member again.
"Um…I just…I…"
Wren stepped forward, then, grinning as she wrapped her arms around Seth's neck in a hug. "It's alright, Seth. We're happy to have you." The grin on his face was as big as he freaking sun as he hugged her back tightly.
"Um…just…why?" I asked. I couldn't exactly let this go. It was weird.
"I just…I want to…"
"Well…alright then…" I replied. "Back on, Wren." She grinned, jumping on my back as I phased, and Seth did as well. I could feel his thoughts back in mine. It was amazing.
And also…Holy Shit!
"Seth…"
"Alright alright I'm sorry I'm sorry! I can't help it man!" he said, his voice a whine. "Please don't beat me into the ground."
"Hey…hey man…I am many things, but a hypocrite? Definitely not."
His sigh of relief was probably audible in China. "Besides," I continued, "Edward will probably take care of that for me."
"Aww crap…"
Author's Note: Haha what happened with Seth? I know this ended shitly but Scrubs came on and I got distracted. Oh well, please tell me what you think.
HigherMagic x
