A/N: Two months since I last updated? Ouch.
I'll try to update more often, probably not since graduation is around the corner for us seniors. Short update (but better than none), mostly Nicole talking about her 'religion' or rather the laws of it. Very… philosophical, eye opener, mind twister and all that stuff. This entire story is meant to show the struggles of different cultures, norms, and thinking conflicting with one another; Leah represent normal thought, aka human and Nicole represent… a different one. You know what I mean! Eventually they adjust and fall in love, some of my OC characters die, blah, blah, blah.
Have any questions? Thoughts; hate it, love it, still utterly confusing? Don't be afraid to ask or review.
Chapter Thirteen
"Hallo."
"It's Hello, Olivia."
"Hallo is hello in German."
"Wow. You sound tame." Raven smirked into the receiver. She didn't even comment on the name. Raven looked at the gray sky, rumbling every so often. She then looked at the field of vampires, Alice staring in the sky at surprise.
"Where's the lightning?" She muttered with a confused frown. "I know I saw lightning in my vision." Raven smiled. Did she tell them her husband can manipulate lightning and probably is redirecting it somewhere far from Nicole.
"There isn't going to be any." Edward spoke up. Raven frowned blocking out the mind reader as she continued to talk to Olivier.
"Why are you so mellow? I know the new moon is tomorrow but you are never this tame, though it is a very pleasant surprise that you are not screaming at me."
Olivier only made a grunting sound. "Where is Nicolas? I need to talk to him."
"Nicolas is most likely at a city, attracting the lightning before the storm comes to Forks."
"I should have known." Olivier grunted. She just hung up the phone leaving Raven closed hers. She left it in Emmett's jeep and could feel the coven staring at her. She shook her head while turning to them with an annoyed glance at Edwards.
"If I think about sex with my husband will you pick up the words or the images?" She crossed her arms. Edward's face was barely amusing to her. For vampires over 100 years old her mages acted much older. "What did you tell them?"
"I told them that Nicolas is redirecting the lightning away from Nicole." Edward answered, quickly recovering and meeting her eyes with his own. "And sex between lovers is something intimate and personal. It shouldn't be taken lightly."
"Speaks the man that reads people's mind." Raven scoffed. She took a deep breath to calm down. She was invited to play a simple game of baseball, not to argue with him again. "Why the lightning storm needs to be away from Nicole is a personal matter. You'll have to ask Nicole herself. Understood?"
"Jeez! You sure sucked the fun out of that one!" Emmett groaned. Still he twirled the bat in his hands with a childish grin. "I call the good luck charm!" Raven sighed and shook her head. Her power is to manipulate probability not to control fate. Besides been pressing her luck and needed to balance it out with some bad luck. It should be safe enough to do it in a baseball game. The worse that could happen is if one of them threw a fastball at Jacob while he was sleeping.
Raven heard Edward scoff and only raised a brow at him. She may manipulate probability but probability isn't fate. If it was Nicole and Nicolas would hate her. "Do you know why Leah wouldn't join us?"
"We aren't on the best of terms." Edward winced. Why would a person be around someone they find unpleasant. "Nicole also wanted to talk to Leah about something. What ever happen drove another wedge between them." He let out an irritated sigh.
"Blah! Blah! Blah!" Emmett yelled. "Let's just play already!"
"Spit it out already!" Leah screamed, but it didn't startle Nicole. Those eyes narrowed but that studying look didn't leave, not once since they came back from the meeting. It was pissing her off, she wanted to rip one eye out and force Nicole to watch as she ate it.
"Why are you wolves so…"
"Unnatural. Freaks. Monsters!" Leah fist tighten. Her mind always replayed the words Nicole said. Imprinting is wrong, their unnatural. Like she was normal herself. "Your such a hypocrite!" That word actually started her. The studying gaze turning into a glare.
"Hypocrite!?" Nicole screamed, her voice even cracking as she spat out the word with disgust. "I am not a hypocrite!" Leah scoffed crossing her arms and glaring at the short werewolf. She said mages couldn't lie, but that was probably the biggest lie of all. "How am I a hypocrite?"
"You act so open minded, like a wise shaman or something." Leah gestured to Nicole. "Mages are worldly, philosophical, learning before judging –But you're a fucking bigot!" Once again Nicole's face twisted in disgust. "We wolves are not unnatural! Imprinting isn't wrong! Alpha's aren't monsters!" She growled, stepping towards Nicole. She didn't move but her eyes glowed. Like that's natural? "Your not natural."
"What?" Nicole's voice dipped low and threatening. Leah smirked, baring her teeth with satisfaction. Nicole was only tasting how she made herself and her people feel. "I am natural. I am born this way!"
"So are we! You have no right to call us freaks!" Leah took another step and Nicole tensed up.
"I did not call you… freaks!" She spat out the word like it she never said it before. As if to prove her point. "I called imprinting unnatural." Leah growled, her body rattling as her fist tighten. "That alpha… command thing, unnatural." She could feel her muscles ready to change, stretching apart. "Never you wolves." Nicole shook her head and her voice lowered to normal volume.
"We wolves are born like that! Born with a defect, you are the defect!" The shocked look on Nicole's face suddenly froze Leah. Her body stopped from shifting so face it almost felt sore. "Right?" She could hear her own doubt.
"No!" Nicole yelled, her voice cracking again. She grunted and then started pacing, "Why do humans think like that? So simple and closed minded." She muttered under her breath. Leah wasn't human, but before she could correct her Nicole quickly turned back around, marching up to her. Taking her original spot. "We have three laws. One; You receive what you give. I'm a mage, researcher, scientist, whatever you humans call it. I want the truth so give the truth." She paused and Leah nodded. That sounded like karma.
"Law two; Physical spoils bitter spiritual gain." Suddenly hear eyes watered. Her hand moving over her heart and clenching her shirt. She spoke slower, "There are things in this world we can never have, physical spoils. Such spoils prevent happiness, bitters spiritual gain." She translated. That hand fell to her side again. Her breath returning to a ragged and breathless pace rather than that one pained one. Leah was guessing that was where her 'no masturbation' thing came from. When Nicole gave an impatient and irritated huff Leah nodded again.
"Our Last and important rule is equality; equivalent exchange. This is the rule imprinting and alpha… command thing broke." Nicole took a step back. Her glowing eyes growing watery again. "Equality; no discrimination or prejudice. Every person as their own story and perspective." She paused and Leah was about to nod again when Nicole suddenly continued. "All life is at equal footing with the other." Her voice became more passionate and breathless again. "Equivalent exchange, to obtain or create something of equal value must be lost or destroyed." Nicole paused and just as Leah was understanding, just connecting the rules with what she said hours before Nicole spoke again. Apparently she was suppose to nod.
"Imprinting and alpha commanding breaks this third law!" Nicole turned around and continued to pace. She started to talk faster an her voice started to get louder. "To take away one's opinion means they are above. To bend one soul like it is their own is not equality! And to do so without consequence is wrong! " Her voice cracked again from all the yelling. She shook her head, tears sliding down her face. "I can't even touch my father but here you guys are commanding another's life without giving something in exchange!"
"What?"
"I can never touch my father!" She yelled. "We need to be careful just to be near each other!" She whipped around, glaring at Leah. Her eyes so watery she probably couldn't see the sympathetic face Leah had. "Do you know how it feels to see your daughter and never hold her? To be so proud of her, to love her so much and never show it? To have your daughter in so much pain after her mother's death and you can't comfort her? After hundreds of years you get what you want only to have it out of reach." She shook her head, more tears falling from her face. It defiantly wasn't from angry frustration. This time her voice cracked from holding back sobs.
"Do you know I guilty I feel, knowing how much Nicolas is proud of me, of much he loves me but the first thing I feel when I see him is fear?" That explains why she was so furious at Rosalie about that the touchy thing that happen a few days ago. Love doesn't need to be physical. She couldn't imagine it but then again her mind was stuck on one thing.
"But why can't you touch?"
"Water and Lightning." Nicole shrugged. She walked towards the couch, sitting down and sapped of energy. Her glowing eyes shifted back up to her. "I'm water. He's lightning, and has so many tattoos that he cripple me as a newborn child, nearly killed me." Leah vaguely remembering something about the tattoos and energy. Nicole only stretched the collar of her shirt over to her left shoulder. "This is more than ink and skin. It's our connection to the earth, the gateway where the energies flow through us. When he held me all that... lightning just zapped me."
Leah couldn't imagine holding her baby to accidently killed it. It was like holding a knife in your hand when you went to hold her, and accidentally stabbing it. She shivered at the image.
"I was lucky. Aunt Beatrix was there and… did what she could. Still as a child I grew up weak and sickly. That's why I have so much tattoos, and why I need to be so careful not to get them damage. Beatrix and mother held me often because of that, trying to make up for father not holding me." That's right, they need the energies to live. Leah remembered. She looked at Nicole. The girl seemed so much more vulnerable now, that exhausted look and red puffy eyes oddly glowing at her. She didn't know wither to just nod or say something. Luckily Nicole spoke again. "You remind me so much of them."
Leah's eyes widen, her mouth dried to fast she couldn't talk. A sudden fold of guilt hitting her but Nicole was walking to her room to see it. Leah would want comfort from a person that reminds her of a friend, especially her mom. Instead she goes and- "I don't need your pity." Nicole called out. Or rather tried to, she just sounded so tired. Leah looked at Nicole who gave a weak smile and tapped her temples. That's right, she can see her mood in colorful light. "I'm not asking you to forget what I said. Just don't pity me. I'm used to it." Their death, her situation with Nicolas or Leah being a bitch? Either way it wasn't right.
"You should check up on… your friend."
"Vanessa." Leah reminded.
"If it's bad come get me. I'm not as good as Beatrix when it comes to… healing but I'll try." Nicole let out a tired breath, but it turned into an exhausted sigh. "Night."
"Um… night." Leah muttered back unsure if she really should check on Vanessa. A little more than half of her didn't just want to leave Nicole just yet. It didn't feel quite right. Leah only shook her head and walked out of the house, pulling her cloths off as she went. It's late, nerd needs her sleep, Leah thought tying her cloths to her ankle. In another second she was already shifted and running through the forest.
"That does not look good."
"Can we get infections?"
"I think we can die of blood lose."
"The bone is showing!"
Leah only sighed. She could hear the Melody and Jolene continue it back and forth. Vanessa was between growling and whimpering. "How is she?" Leah asked, walking into the living room.
"Leah!" The twins yelped, stumbling back from the injured alpha. "She's…"
"Alive for now." Vanessa grunted. She held up her wrist, deep gashes and bite marks transferring into her human body. Melody is right, a little of white was showing through. "The bleeding stopped."
"Why isn't it covered?" Leah frowned eyes narrowing. They usually don't get hurt this bad, so she isn't sure about wolves being immune to infections.
"We were butting antibiotic on it." Melody said with a small grin holding up the spraying medicine.
"I still think we should go to the Doctor Fang."
"I'm fine!" Vanessa growled. "I don't need that vampire!"
"And of course we can't go to any human one." Jolene continued, waving Vanessa off.
"It's already closing." Vanessa pressed. The twins gave her a doubtful look.
"If it's not closed by morning I'm bringing Nicole." Leah said. She crossed her arms and ready as a flood of objection shot at her.
"You can't!"
"It's too dangerous!"
"Wouldn't Nickolas be a better choice?" Rahne asked. The twins and Vanessa stopped yelling to look at her. "He's a doctor and a mage. Wouldn't he have a spell to heal her or something?"
"From what Nicole said her father is just a doctor not a healer."
"What's the difference?" Melody asked.
"Don't know." Leah shrugged. She was tired; really tired after everything that happened today. "Let's just get some sleep." Leah nodded, turning to her room and walking towards it. But even for laying on her bed for hours her mind wouldn't stop thinking about Nicole, trying to put the connections together.
About a week ago when they were doing that English project Nicole had said she preferred people like Leah. She poured milk on her head and Nicole punched her. Leah smiled at the memory, it was a bit fuzzy like trying to remember something when she was a child. It's because they were like her aunt and mom. Her smile slowly faded. They were both dead, her mom since she was a child and her aunt of a few months.
And she was constantly beating Nicole up for playing, Leah thought remembering the time she slammed her foot on the breaks and had Nicole's head hit the dashboard. But their version of play was rather violent, she thought of Nicole fighting Raymundo at the beginning of school. And just a few days ago Rahne was telling how reserve, humble, and understanding Nicole was. She was starting to it, and how playful she actually is.
Why does it feel like that happen so long ago when it just happened last week?
"Damnit." Leah hissed under her breath. She knew they were different when Nicole didn't even know those guys were hitting on her and that she was setting herself up as a rape target. It was just too easy to forget.