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Prey For Protection

Chapter Six:

Wednesday evening, Charlie received a phone call from Billy Black, inviting the two of us out to La Push Friday for a bonfire. Charlie asked if I wanted to go; and having been cooped up inside the house for the past four days, I practically jumped at the invitation.

Thursday, my brand new cell phone rang for the very first time. Charlie was the only one with the number; so, I answered the phone with a presumptuous, "Yeah dad?"

"Hmm… Try again?" responded the playful voice of someone who was most definitely not my father.

"Who is this?" I demanded.

"Hey, Bella…" came the voice again, though this time sounding a little more serious. "It's Jacob, Jacob Black."

"Oh, uh… Hi Jacob, what's up?" I asked, noting what sounded like nervousness in his voice. I wondered how he got my number; and I couldn't dream up a single reason for him to be calling me.

"Well, I hope you don't mind me callin'. Your dad gave me your number this morning…"

"Oh GOD!" I groaned, mortified. "Please tell me Charlie didn't ask you to baby-sit! I never even leave the house without him!" I ranted. "Look, Jacob, whatever Charlie said…"

"No! Wait, Bella," there was laughter in his voice again. "He didn't ask me anything… Matter of fact, I called him… and I uh… I asked him for your number. I hope you don't mind. Listen… You two are planning on coming out to the rez Friday right aren't ya? For the bonfire?"

"Um… Yeah?"

"Cool. Well, I thought… Err… I mean, a bunch of us are gonna spend the day at the beach. First Beach… and I thought it'd be fun… if maybe you wanted to come hang with us? I called Charlie first 'cause, well, I'm sure you know how crazy protective he is as far as you're concerned. Anyway, he said it was ok… if you wanted to come?"

After picking my jaw up from where it hand landed on the floor, and feeling the sudden rush of blood flow to my face; I was immediately grateful for my ability to hide behind the shiny, black device in my hand… Jacob had called Charlie to ask for my number? When he was here, he didn't talk much at all, and definitely not to me. He'd seemed completely aloof as far as I could tell. I'd assumed his only reason for coming at all had been to provide chauffer services for his disabled father. So, to say that I was surprised by his invitation was putting it mildly.

"Bella?" He pressed when I hadn't responded in over a minute.

"Huh? Oh yeah… Sorry. I uh…" I was dying to get out of Charlie's house and it's ever-shrinking walls; but I didn't know Jacob or any of his friends. Still… If Charlie had said it was ok, knowing exactly how 'crazy protective' he was, to borrow Jacob's phrase, then I was sure it would be. Besides, it would be a very long, lonely summer if I restricted myself to the confines of Charlie's house. I took a deep breath, and forced the words out as quickly as possible before I could chicken out, "I'd love to go." Then, as an afterthought, "as long as you're sure I wouldn't be intruding."

"Naw," he chuckled, "you would definitely not be intruding. You moving back to Forks is like the most exciting thing that's happened around here in forever. The others would love to meet you."

I felt the blood rush to heat my face again, at his remark. The last thing I wanted was to be the shiny, new plaything. The spotlight and I are natural born enemies; and so I do my best to avoid it if at all possible.

"Kay…" I offered weakly, clueless as to what else to say.

"Kay," he echoed. "So, I'll pick you up tomorrow? Around noon?"

"Yeah… That… That'd be great Jacob." When had I become socially retarded?

"Awesome! I can't wait to tell the guys," he resounded jubilantly.

"Kay… Well I uh… I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" I affirmed, anxious to get off the phone before I managed to make a complete fool of myself.

"Yup. See ya tomorrow. Bye Bella."

"Bye Jacob."

I busied myself taking inventory of Charlie's shabbily stocked kitchen in preparation for the trip to the grocery store he and I were making that evening. He tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to hide his skepticism when I told him I could cook. He was obviously still traumatized from Renee's culinary travesties of days gone by. We'd eaten out every night since I'd arrived. After much complaining on my part, he'd finally conceded to a trip to the market to stock up. I knew he'd change his tune after a couple home cooked meals; but, having endured Renee's cooking myself, I couldn't blame him for being leery.

He got home and insisted on going to Forks Diner to eat before we went to the grocery store. He said it was to avoid 'the pitfall of shopping on an empty stomach'. I knew better; but decided against arguing with him.

Back at Charlie's, we laughed, joked, and made small talk as we put the groceries away.

"Ice cream?" He offered, playfully wiggling his eyebrows, as he pulled the carton from the last plastic bag.

"Sure," I grinned, "I'll get the spoons."

He grabbed two bowls from the cabinet and we sat down at the table to have dessert.

"Did Jake call you today?" he asked offhandedly.

"Yeah he did. He invited me to go to First Beach with him and his friends tomorrow. That ok?" I verified.

"Sure, sure. Jake's a good kid. Matter of fact, he called me this morning to see if I had any objections to him inviting you. Boys don't really do that any more do they?"

I laughed, "No, not usually; but he did mention talking to you first." I laughed a little harder, deciding to keep Jacob's recount of Charlie's protectiveness to myself.

Charlie smiled, "I figured you two would get along. You know, he'll be goin' to Forks High this year," he informed me.

"Really? That's cool. It'll be nice to know, at least, one person the first day."

We finished up our ice cream, and I washed our dishes; as Charlie settled into his recliner, to catch part of the Mariners game. After setting the last bowl in the rack to dry, I bid Charlie a goodnight, and trudged up the stairs. I grabbed a pair of gray sweats and one of Phil's old black t-shirts, from my pajama drawer; and padded down the hall to the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed.

My mind was on overdrive when I crawled into bed and pulled Grandma Swan's quilt up over my shoulders. Thoughts of the upcoming day in La Push soon gave way to memories of Phoenix, Renee, Tiffany, and eventually James. I tossed and turned for hours. The last time I looked, the alarm clock on my nightstand read 1:52; and it seemed like more hours passed before sleep finally claimed me.

When I awoke, at seven thirty Friday morning, I felt like I hadn't slept at all. I tried to go back to sleep, but it was an unusually sunny day for Forks; and those rare, but almost painfully bright, rays of early morning sunshine, were all but impossible to ignore. After ten minutes with my head buried beneath my pillow; I gave up with a disgruntled sigh. I rolled over and fell out of bed. Literally; ass and elbows colliding with the unyielding wooden floor with a thud.

"Not quite the start I was hoping for," I said to my empty room; as I pulled myself up on the edge of the bed, gently rubbing my likely bruised, backside.

I shuffled out of my room, making it a point to take the stairs carefully, clutching the handrail all the way down. Falling down, before I even got out of bed, was definitely not a good omen. I sat down at the kitchen table with a glass of orange juice and a bagel, and prayed that it not be one of those particularly bad, 'Bumbling Bella' days. I could already envision my first day out since moving to Forks ending up in another embarrassing trip to the ER. For the remainder of the morning, I couldn't keep my mind off the millions of ways 'Bumbling Bella' could publicly humiliate herself.

I got my bag ready, and slipped into my bathing suit; it was a bright green two piece, that Renee had talked me into the previous summer. I'd only agreed to it to appease her; at the time I knew I'd never actually wear it. My absolute favorite yellow one-piece suit was the only one I ever wore. It was old and faded and maybe even a little frayed at the shoulder straps, but I loved that suit. At the end of the summer, my beloved suit mysteriously disappeared. Renee said it must've gone to the land of lost socks. When I refused to accept that story, she admitted to throwing it out; but she insisted that she'd seen it as an intervention, not just throwing my favorite bathing suit away. As far as two-piece suits go, it was actually pretty conservative. The bottoms were solid green boy shorts, belted at the hip with a white elastic belt, and a green and white striped halter-top. I moved to examine myself in the full-length mirror that hung on the back of my bedroom door. My arms instinctively moved to cover my bare midriff. I raided Charlie's closet and confiscated a plain, white, cotton t-shirt that, on me, fell to almost mid-thigh. Feeling slightly more at ease in the t-shirt, I grabbed my tote bag and traipsed down the stairs, to read on the couch, until Jacob arrived.

I jumped up when I heard the sound of a car pulling up out front. I quickly stashed my copy of Wuthering Heights into my bag, and met Jacob on the front porch steps.

"Hey Bella," he said, smiling warmly down at me. He really was huge. I had to tilt my head up to meet his gaze, in spite of being two steps above him on the porch.

"Hey Jacob," I responded with a smile of my own.

"You ready for some fun?" He asked, his eyes sparkling.

I couldn't resist laughing. "Fun? People still do that?"

His smiled widened, "Hell yeah they do," he said with a chuckle. "Come on, I'll prove it."

He reached out and gingerly took my hand and I followed him to the old, red, beat up VW Rabbit waiting in the driveway.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Jacob

I couldn't get over how nervous I was on the way Bella's. I've never been the nervous 'type'. When I called to invite her to the beach, it was like my brain turned off when she answered the phone. I stuttered and fumbled over my words like an idiot. Now Embry, he gets all goofy around girls; Quil and I used to tease the hell outta him over it.

I pulled into the chief's driveway and was walking up the porch steps, when Bella opened the front door and stepped out. She had on a t-shirt that looked four or five sizes too big, and you could see through it just well enough to know she had a bathing suit on underneath. Green. Bikini. Not that I was really lookin'. When I was able to drag my gaze back up her form to her face, I couldn't help but smile. She was absolutely beautiful, and something in her eyes and the way she stood there smiling up at me, said she didn't even know it.

On the drive back to La Push we chatted comfortably, swapping stories about past summers and vacations. She seemed surprised to find out that I remembered her from her visits with the chief. She asked about my plans to go to Forks High School; and I couldn't resist grinning at how excited she was.

I was almost disappointed when we got back to my house. The half hour cruise from Forks had flown by. She was so easy to talk to; I hated the idea of meeting up with the others and having to share her. I wanted to keep her all to myself. We climbed out of the car and made small talk, as we slowly walked the short distance from my house to the shore. Somehow or the other, her hand ended up in mine again.

The others were already set up at the beach when we got there. They all stood up to greet Bella; and I saw her start working that bottom lip over as soon as I started with the introductions. I also noticed that her face became a little pinker with each person I introduced her to. After introducing her to Sam, Paul, Jared, Leah, Quil, and Embry, I started glancing around for someone else for her to meet – I couldn't help it, I was curious as to just how pink she could get.

Leah stretched out on her beach towel, soaking up the rare NW peninsula sun. Bella was just standing there, glancing around at everyone, and looking more than a little uncomfortable. Leah motioned me away, and as much as I wanted to stay with Bella, I knew Leah wanted to try to establish some kind of girl bond in order to help Bella feel more at ease. So I grabbed Quil's beach ball and bounced it off Sam's head. He hadn't been looking at me, so it took him off guard. A few minutes later, the six of us were splashing around and play fighting in the waves; and Bella was settling down on her towel, in the sand next to Leah.

The next time I looked toward the beach, both girls were leaning back on their elbows, laughing hysterically. I couldn't help but smile to see Bella looking so happy.

"Jake," Sam called from further out, and gestured for me to join him. I swam out to where he and the others were pulling themselves up onto a huge rock. They all kept glancing back toward the beach, where Leah had Bella out of the t-shirt she was wearing and almost into the water. They were running in and out of the surf, as it washed up on the shore, laughing and squealing like little girls.

"So, what do ya think?" Sam asked, nodding toward the beach.

"What do I think?" I repeated, still too caught up in the beauty that was laughing, smiling, frolicking, Bella, to pay much attention to him.

"Hey Sam, I'd like to volunteer to Bella-sit if Jake's too distracted," Embry teased.

Jared, Paul and Sam snickered as I turned to growl at Embry and give him one of my deadliest death glares.

He threw his hands up, as if to surrender; and said, "Sorry man… but ya gotta admit, there are definitely worse things than being stuck watching over Isabella Swan."

There were chuckles and a general air of agreement from the others.

"Just remember Embry," I warned him playfully, "I'm watching Bella; you're just watching me watch Bella."

There was another chorus of laughter; and Embry was wearing a shit-eating grin.

"Maybe we should let Bella decide? Who knows… maybe she'll like me better?" he said smugly.

"Like hell!" I countered, lunging forward and pushing him off the rock and back into the water. He grabbed my arms and pulled me in with him. We both came back up laughing, splashing, and sputtering.

Sam sighed, "This, is exactly why Leah will be joining you dorks at Forks High in September. Otherwise, Bella will end up drained and left for dead, while you two stand by arguing over who gets to carry her damn books."

That was a sobering and very distressing mental picture.

"Leah's going to FHS?" Embry asked.

"Yeah, the counsel thinks it would be wise to have a female there. The rest of us realize we'll be better off if we have someone there to keep you two in line," Sam added chuckling.

"Does she know?" I asked.

"Yeah, I told her this morning." Sam replied, casting a glance back toward the girls. "It's why she's making the extra effort with Bella right now; which is something we all need to do. This is where she's safest; so it is essential that she feel comfortable here. We're also going to be stepping up patrols for a while, and widening our range a little. I'm also gonna have someone posted at the Swan's house every night."

I heard an especially loud squeal and turned to see Bella and Leah play-fighting in the waves like we'd been doing earlier. They were each trying to dunk the other while fighting against the current to stay upright themselves. Judging by the sound of things, they were both having a good time.

"I vote we go show Bella how much we want her to be comfortable here, instead of leaving her and Leah to have all the fun, while we sit off to the side talking about it." I grinned and looked at Sam pleadingly.

He rolled his eyes, and laughed at me. "Just one more thing lover boy, Billy's planning on talking to Chief Swan tonight. We're gonna need you to get Bella outta there for a little while. He wants her to hear the legends, but nothing more; at least for now."

"Sure, sure," I said waving him off, "I can handle that."

We all jumped back off the rock and swam back toward the girls. We swam and splashed around for hours. We played volleyball and kickball and buried Jared neck-deep in the sand. Bella's pale skin was starting to take on a pink look by the time the sun started setting and we started packing up to leave.

Bella and I walked back to my house to change out of our wet clothes before heading to Sam and Emily's where everyone always met before a bonfire. The chief was sitting on the couch watching a baseball game with dad when we walked in.

"Hey kids," he greeted us, standing up to give Bella a hug. "You have fun today?"

"Yeah," she replied, stifling a yawn but smiling happily, "I can't remember the last time I had so much fun."

I pointed her to the bathroom so she could dry off and change her clothes. I went down the hallway to my own room and changed into a dry pair of jeans and a t-shirt before joining Chief Swan on the couch to wait for Bella.

"So," the chief started as soon as I sat down, "Bells seemed happy."

"Yeah, she had a good time; we all did," I answered honestly; any further conversation on the matter was cut off by Bella stepping back into the living room. Her hair was pulled up on top of her hair, she was wearing a pair of old faded blue jeans with a hole in the knee and a pale yellow tank top. The day in the sun left her face practically glowing.

"I think I got burnt," she said, gently lifting the strap of her tank top to show the creamy pale skin beneath it. She was definitely pink.

A few minutes later, the four of us were out the door, and on our way to Sam and Emily's, Chief Swan pushing dad's chair, and Bella holding my hand. 'I could so get used to this,' I thought.

I introduced Bella to Emily, Sam's fiancée, and Sue and Harry Clearwater, before we met up with the rest of the pack and made our way back out to the beach. It wasn't long before everyone was settled around the dancing blue flames. Chief Swan was sitting between dad and Bella on the opposite side of the circle from me; and Leah was sitting next to Bella.

At first, I was a little pissed at not getting to sit by her; but then I realized how much easier it would be to watch her from my spot. Several strands of her long brown hair had fallen loose from the knot on her head, and they hung down framing her face. I could see the reflection of the flames in her eyes as she stared into it.

I barely heard the familiar voice of my father as he started telling the legends that I'd heard since birth. "The Quileutes have been a small people from the beginning. And we are a small people still…"

As dad went on, I looked over at Chief Swan, and watched as he became absorbed in our history. Looking back at Bella, I saw the very same expression on her face. She had a faraway look in her eyes and a faint smile on her lips as she sat, enthralled, as dad spoke of the first spirit warriors. I looked back to her dad, trying to gauge his reactions. Of course, he didn't know yet that what he was hearing was anything more than Quileute fairytales; but he didn't look incredulous, or revolted either. I decided to take that as a good sign. I was getting nervous about the idea of dad revealing everything to Chief Swan. I refused to think about what would happen if he didn't take the news well.

Quil and Embry flanked me on either side, and I received simultaneous elbows to the ribs, jolting me from my Bella-filled daydreams. I was surprised to find dad nearing the end of his tale. I stood up and casually stretched, maybe overplaying the whole nonchalant thing a little bit. I walked around the outside of the circle until I was standing behind Bella, leaned down and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up, startled, and smiled. I offered her my hand and gestured down the beach with a tilt of my head; silently asking her to go for a walk. She stood and took my hand and I pulled her away from the dying fire.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Charlie

The blue-green flames had all but flickered out by the time Billy finished telling his last story; turned out he was quite the storyteller ole Billy Black. They say ya learn somethin' new everyday… and in the thirty plus years I'd known him I'd never have guessed at that. I'd felt like his voice had picked me up and carried me back in time. I could see, hear and smell the animals and the birds. The vile, putrid smelling smoke burnt my nose when they lit the cold one on fire. I shuddered involuntarily at the realness of it all; as I realized Billy and I were the only two left sitting around the smoldering driftwood remains.

I glanced around for Bella, immediately realizing that she was nowhere to be seen, I made to stand; but Billy's hand shot out to stop me.

"Isabella went for a walk with Jake," he said lightly, gesturing down the darkened beach. "He'll take good care of her, won't let her wander too far." He assured me.

I'd known Jake Black since the day he was born. Huh. Hell, I'd known his daddy since our diaper days; and his mother, Sarah, beautiful woman, inside and out… She and Renee were close once… He was a good kid.

Sam Uley, a young Quileute in his early twenties, quietly took a seat on the other side of the embers from Billy and myself. He grinned over at me and asked, "So, Chief Swan… Tonight is a night of firsts for you isn't it?"

Huh?

"I can't recall ever seeing you at any of our bonfires. Is this not the first time you've joined us?"

"Oh. Sure, sure… First bonfire," I smiled back at him.

"Can I ask you, what you thought?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and looking at me expectantly.

"What I thought?" I repeated dumbly.

"What you thought," he nodded, "about the bonfire; or… more specifically… about our legends."

"Legends? Oh the stories. Well they were damn fine stories." I had a feeling that this wasn't about my opinion of their tribal authors, or whoever it was that came up with the stories. The tales themselves were enjoyable, and the way Billy told them was almost magical; but there was just a little too much of the supercalafragilistic for my personal taste.

I looked over at Billy; and found him watching me.

"Charlie," he started, "we've known each other a very long time haven't we? Been friends for thirty-odd years?"

I nodded my head slowly, in silent agreement. Nothing good ever comes from the conversations that start like this, the little voice in the back of my head whispered.

"There are things, many, many, things, old friend, that you do not know; and the truth is that you are supposed to someday go to your grave not knowing. I cannot tell you, how much I wish that was an option; but in light of all that has happened…" he trailed off, looking to the stars above for several silent moments.

"We are brothers you and I," he continued, still appearing lost in the twinkling heavens above. "Through the years we have faced many problems, and shared much laughter. I have always known I could count on you my friend; and now, I want you to know that you can count on me. Your daughter's safety is every bit as important to me as it is to you. Together, we will keep her safe."

"Did you bring it?" he asked, shifting his attention to Sam.

Sam stood up and crossed the sand to Billy in three long strides. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a folded slip of paper, handing it to Billy before resuming his spot across from us. Billy straightened the paper and handed it to me.

It was a newspaper clipping of an article about an animal attack in Phoenix, AZ where two people were killed. I skimmed over the article briefly, before looking back at Billy, confused.

"Those two people," Billy said, gesturing at the clipping in my hand; "they had a sixteen year old son. His name was James."

My breath caught. James? As in… the same James?

As if he could read my mind, Billy was nodding. "The very same James, Charlie. According to the newspapers his parents were savagely attacked and brutally killed by some 'unidentified wild animal'," he finger quoted. "The boy disappeared not long before the bodies were found. He's still listed as missing."

"Chief Swan," Sam spoke up, "that was no animal attack. You're a cop, call Phoenix – ask if there was any blood on the scene at all. The article says nothing about it, but I'd be willing to guarantee there was none."

"So… What are you saying Sam?" But as soon as the words escaped my mouth, I knew exactly what he was alluding to. "You… You think James… The same no good, crazy ass, son of a bitch that's been terrorizing my little girl, killed his own parents?"

I couldn't fight the shudder that ran through my body. The idea of my daughter being stalked by a psycho ex-boyfriend was bad enough; the idea that said psycho could in fact be a murderer… Jesus Fucking Christ!

Instead of answering, Sam looked at Billy. They exchanged worried glances, and it was Billy that finally spoke.

"The legends Charlie… Legends we hold sacred; and do not share with those outside our tribe. Passed down from one generation to the next. Not just stories, they are the history of our people."

"Do you remember the cold ones I spoke of ? They too are real. It is our belief that this James that is after Isabella is in fact a cold one, a blood drinker.

"Wha-?" OK now, with over fifteen years on the force, even in a little town like Forks, I've seen and heard some pretty crazy shit… But I'd be lyin' if I didn't admit that I thought someone might've slipped somethin' into Billy Black's peace pipe. "Billy… Man, do you hear what you're saying? I mean… Cold ones? Blood drinkers? What are we talking about here?" I laughed, "Vampires?"

The fact that I was the only one laughing did nothing to ease my pounding heart, or settle my highly-strung, over-plucked nerves. I stopped laughing. "You can't be serious," I half mumbled.

"Let's think back," Billy pressed on, "Sunday afternoon at your house. Bella was describing James; can you remember what she said about him? Can you remember the description of the cold ones? Can you pretend to not see the similarities?"

"Bella said James and his flunkies wore red contact lenses, not that their eyes were actually red," I countered

"She'd know the difference?" Sam interjected. "Or she'd assume they were contacts, or believe they were contacts because that's more logical, easier to accept?"

"Well it's a helluva lot easier to accept that than what you two are proposing, that's for damn sure!" They couldn't possibly really believe what they were saying. Could they?

Billy gave a brief nod to Sam who started removing his shoes, socks and white cotton t-shirt. While the younger man busied himself undressing, Billy spoke again.

"The legend of the spirit wolves, spoke of our origins; and of the first protectors of our people – the first Quileutes to shape-shift. Do you remember?"

I nodded without speaking and he continued.

"There is only one way to kill a cold-one; you must rip its body to shreds and burn the pieces. There is nothing, no one, more suited to this, than The Protectors."

I rose to my feet, thinking maybe I should get Bells and get the hell home. I could always call Billy the following evening and see if he'd found a cure for his crazy.

"The protectors… Who the hell are the protectors? You can't possibly mean that group of kids that Jake's runnin' around with?"

Sam snorted and chuckled at that, although I failed to find the humor in it. Billy took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.

"Sam, come here," Billy instructed; and the young man obliged. "Charlie, look at Sam. Look in his eyes."

I did as I was told, wondering what they were playing at. 'Maybe this is where they tell me the truth about unicorns and the tooth fairy', I thought, chuckling to myself.

After a minute, Billy asked me to turn around; and again, I complied. A second later, there was a horrible ripping, tearing, growling sound behind me. I spun around and without thinking let out a frightened, "Holy shit!" The image that greeted me was enough to knock me flat of my ass. Standing before me, where Sam Uley had been less than a minute before, was an enormous, black wolf.

My heart was jack hammering away in my chest. For a minute, I thought I was gonna have a heart attack. I couldn't catch my breath, couldn't form coherent thoughts. I open and closed my mouth several times, unable to produce a sound.

"It's ok Charlie," Billy assured, "Sam won't hurt you."

Sam? Huh?

Billy nodded, and the giant wolf approached us slowly. When he stood less than a foot away, this unbelievably big creature brought its face to mine, and met my gaze dead on. There was no denying the intelligence in the animal's eyes. Eyes I had just looked into a moment before, on the face of Sam Uley.