Chapter 4 Iniquity

After Jacob and Edward left, Tara was alone for the first time since she had "awakened". She flexed her muscles and balanced lightly on the balls of her feet, feeling the power vibrating inside her. She relished the newfound energy.

A shimmer of silk caught her eye through a slightly open door, and to her powerful eyes the color glowed as if precious jade had been mined and woven into the threads. The musk of leather, the sun kissed earth of cotton, and the sawdust and metal glint of something she could not place emanated from the room. Suddenly, her mind connected… jeans!

She pushed open the door and faced her own reflection in a full-length mirror; her image was enthralling. Wow, this is some good light, she thought, still not able to grasp how her own natural beauty had been magnified. She grimaced at her mud-spattered clothing. Her journey through the forest had been swift and graceful; her feet had barely rustled the leaves in passing. Jacob, on the other hand, had left a trail a mile wide, his huge paws gouging the forest floor. She should have been revolted at the sight of Jacob's wolf form, but it had filled her with a wild exhilaration.

They had run at night and the moonlight had caught and reflected off of each strand of his fur, his powerful muscles bunching and releasing, his mouth open with unrestrained joy as he tried to outrun and outmaneuver her. The run had been a dance and Tara had followed his lead, not caring about the outcome.

She followed her nose to a pair of jeans and slipped off her soiled pants. Bella will not mind, she thought as she pulled them on. They fit her like they were made for her. I never noticed how similar our shape was, I mean is, now. Perhaps vampires have invented some space age fabric that fits every body. She laughed. I think that's already been done - it's called spandex.

The simple, carefree act of picking out clothes was such a relief. She had been overwhelmed with worry over the last few months. She opened a drawer and pulled out a plain black cotton tank top. She left her feet bare, noting how the nails of her delicate toes glowed pearlescent. She found herself wondering if Jacob would like the outfit.

Back outside, Tara looked up at the sky and spread her arms, feeling like she could fly and safely flirt with the sun's rays. I'm crafted by fire, no fire can touch me, she thought, spinning around with arms upraised and face upturned. When she stopped whirling, she saw Jacob. A sudden surge of excitement jolted through her, sending a thrill into her fingertips. He lay with his head on his paws, watching her intently. She exhaled a sighing breath, trying to control the flutters in her stomach, and knelt beside him, running her fingers over the thick russet fur on his haunches. She had not touched him before when he was in wolf form and his fur was surprisingly soft.

Jacob's wolf eyes saw Tara for the first time in the sunlight. No freaky rainbows. Instead, her skin sparked tiny golden glints in the light. The lust for gold had driven people to madness, and Jacob wondered what madness had overtaken him. He shook his head abruptly from side to side, in a characteristically doggy movement. Easy boy! He had always had more problems with impulse control when he was in wolf form and he wasn't known for his restraint as a human either. He nearly melted at the feeling of her fingers touching him.

Why is everyone more comfortable with me when I am an overgrown hairy wolf? he thought, then he realized - Chicks dig dogs. Who doesn't love the puppy in the room?

She gracefully lowered herself to the grass beside him, leaning back on her arms.

"So, Jacob, are you stuck in wolf form? Why don't you change back into a human?" Tara asked, stretching out legs clad deliciously in a pair of dark jeans.

Jacob lifted his head and looked at her.

'Cause I just busted out of my last pair of pants, and I don't exactly want to parade around in front of you naked.

They sat together in companionable silence as the sun slipped down through the sky. Being with Tara seemed to soothe a need inside Jacob. Time seemed stretched out plentifully, its abundance allowing him to experience the moments. As twilight fell into the forest, the air cooled, and Tara moved to lean against his warm fur. He curled his long body around her, enjoying the contact.

Their reverie was interrupted when Edward burst into the clearing, carrying Bella, his face contracted with concern.

Edward was relieved to see that Tara and Jacob were still there. They leapt up as he swept up to them.

"Is she hurt?" Tara inquired anxiously.

Edward put Bella on her feet. Tara's concerned expression relaxed as Bella wrapped her in a big hug. Bella took Tara's golden face into her hands, smiling in wonderment.

"I'm new and improved," Tara announced, smiling. "Check me out, I'm stronger than Jacob," she said, flexing her arm.

Jacob sniffed and laid back down, putting his head on his paws.

"You are amazing!" Bella answered. Suddenly her gaze faltered. "Your eyes did not change," she said softly, her expression quickly shifting to a shade of sorrow.

Edward reacted quickly to Bella's mood, moving to step closer, but Tara had already folded her into another embrace. He stepped back to look at them, noting that Jacob was doing the same.

The two women were identical in height and their dark hair rippled back from their faces with similar spirals. The notes of a new song played in Edward's mind as he looked at them. Their song was a blending of two tones, deep and pure, a perfect yin and yang of sound. Edward could hear both of their minds and he marveled at how their thoughts entwined, until the thoughts flowed into a language so deep and intimate that Edward could not follow. The shield that normally enveloped Bella seemed to temporarily vanish in Tara's presence.

The worry on Bella's face evaporated, and she linked her arm in Tara's with an air of easy intimacy. They walked arm in arm away from the vampire and the wolf. Bella turned her head and gave Edward a loving look.

"Tara and I need to have some girl time. Would you please find Jacob some pants?"

Tara gave a small smile.

So that's why he would not return to human form.

Edward nodded at her and then cocked an eyebrow as her thoughts started to wander into imaginings of what it would have been like if Jacob had less modesty. She caught his eye and blushed.

The two women strolled away, not seeming to care where they were headed as they disappeared into the forest and the growing dim.

Edward watched them go, feeling a mix of relief and yearning. He wanted to be the one to comfort his wife, but he was relieved at the connection that she had made with Tara. Edward turned and began walking towards the path leading through the woods to his parent's home. Jacob stood immobile, staring at the forest.

"Here boy," Edward said, patting his thigh. Jacob's head rose and he remained motionless, his eyes slashing haughty distain.

"Have it your way," Edward said, shrugging. Jacob reluctantly got to his feet and followed him.

---

Jacob sat with Edward on the porch of the house. Edward was quiet, as usual.

"I'm used to moody weirdness with you, but would you mind telling me how Bella is doing?" Jacob asked. "She seemed very freaked out the last time I saw her, and today she looked sad."

"You could not have possibly thought that this was going to be easy for her," Edward said, fixing Jacob in his golden gaze.

Jacob remembered the look in Bella's eyes in the cabin after she had bitten Tara. She was fighting the rip current of her longing to feed. He of all people knew full well what it was to want what could not be, and to return again and again to the razor's edge of pain when you are so close to your desire and powerless to retreat to a safe distance.

"Maybe Bella shouldn't have been the one to bite Tara," Jacob said, "but it had to be done." Jacob tried to put conviction into his voice, but he knew Edward was in his head. Edward's golden gaze was unnerving, and Jacob squirmed.

"Bella told you that Tara was sick, right? She had to act fast before it got any worse."

Edward didn't say anything. He sat still as a judge. Jacob felt a prickle of irritation.

"What do you want from me? OK, so I went along with it. I know it wasn't right to play God, but sometimes people have got to be allowed to fulfill their destiny," Jacob continued. "I was completely out of it after Nessie left, so Bella gave me a job to do. She asked me to watch after Tara, and I did.

When we found out Tara was sick; Bella was devastated. So was I. There's something about her we just couldn't stand to lose…I don't know…maybe we panicked." Jacob shrugged his shoulders.

"It's true that Tara's body is nearly indestructible now, she could live for thousands of years," Edward said. "Humans die. It happens all the time. Did you think to ask why it couldn't happen this time?"

Jacob got to his feet, a sick feeling in his stomach.

"Of course I did! Did you ever think that I would be someone who would want to stop a beating heart? It's what I've pledged my life to prevent. It's the reason I turned into what I am." Jacob's mind reeled; he looked at Edward with dread.

Of course he would blame me and not Bella, Jacob thought defensively, but a part of him wondered if Edward was right, and feared he had gone along with Bella's plan too easily.

Edward's eyes held his, and their golden depths were filled with sympathy, not anger.

"Jacob, I don't blame you, and you shouldn't blame yourself. I'm not here to judge you. I want to explain something to you; I owe you this much. Tara is Bella's sister."

Jacob's mouth gaped open.

"What? Why…why wouldn't Bella tell me?"

"She didn't even tell me," Edward said, his face grave. "I just read her mind. She's dealing with a lot of emotions and I don't think she knows how to handle them all. She is going to need help."

First I think I'm in love with Bella, then I think I'm in love with her daughter, and now I can't stand to be apart from her sister. What is my damage?

Edward shook his head, clearly having no answer to Jacob's wild thought and understanding that Jacob did not expect one.

"Do you know any details?"

"Not yet," Edward answered. "But I am sure they are full sisters – the same father."

"They must have put Tara up for adoption," Jacob muttered to himself, shaking his head. "I can't believe I didn't see the family resemblance."

"Bella herself has always been an anomaly. Tara also seems to be unique."

"I'll say," Jacob exclaimed, raising his eyebrows at the extreme understatement.

Jacob's eyes searched the darkness. He wished that they would return. The longing surprised him with its urgency. He wanted to leap from the porch and run into the night, looking for Tara. The separation was almost like a pain.

He and Edward swiftly shared a look of deep understanding.

---

Tara and Bella climbed a tree and sat perched on opposite limbs, becoming enveloped in the rising dampness of the dark. Tara leaned against the rough bark and briefly closed her eyes, wishing that the static in her ears would lessen so that she could hear the music of the night. Bella seemed to instantly understand. She pushed her shield over Tara and plunged her into the warm bath of silence.

Tara rested in her comfort for a moment and then asked, "Do you think we could try pulling that back again? I want to try to see if I can single out some thoughts, the way Edward does."

What she did not say was that she was hoping to hear one single mind; Jacob's mind.

Bella concentrated on thinning her shield, stretching and pulling it into gossamer as Tara tried to sort through the threads. Something slipped into her mind, but it was not Jacob's voice she heard.

It was not a shout.

It was not a whisper.

It was a whimper.

Tara curled into a ball, pressing her fists to her ears.

Bella leapt gracefully to the tree limb beside her and placed a hand on her arm.

"What is it?" she asked gently.

Tara heard a voice in her head cry out, "Help Me!" Flashes of thought and images poured into her mind and she was overwhelmed with a feeling of terror and dread.

"Someone needs help." She closed her eyes, concentrating. She caught another thought.

"It's a girl. She's at Forks High School. Do you know the way?"

Bella ran straight and true through the forest and Tara followed. The earth was spongy with moisture and Tara felt propelled from the balls of her feet, her strides lengthening until she was nearly floating to each landing point, her bare feet not even bruising a fern. The call in her mind grew louder, pulling her like a beacon. Suddenly they burst from the forest and onto a green manicured field.

A voice cried out from beneath the bleachers and they heard a sound like links of a chain being pried apart, one after another. It was fabric ripping.

Bella closed the distance to the bleachers, moving like an arrow across the lush grass.

Mere seconds too slowly, Tara arrived to see Bella grab the back of a man's neck. He was bent over a young girl like a vulture, his long gray coat trailing onto the wet ground. The overhead lights striped the brutal scene in light and shadow. With a snarl, Bella swung her arm, throwing him through the air. His body slammed against a support, feet and arms jerking out, a surprised look on his face. With a sickening snap, his head flew back and the sharp, sweet tang of blood filled the air. Bella's eyes blazed and she lunged. Just in time, Tara grabbed her arms, holding her back.

"No!" Tara commanded. "We are here for her."

Bella looked over at the limp girl on the wet ground. The flames in her eyes died and she sagged in Tara's arms. Her eyes flickered to the man's lifeless form.

From the mud and shadows came a soft moan. The girl's eyes flickered over Tara and Bella, and she swiftly passed into unconsciousness.

Bella buried her head in Tara's shoulder to blot out the sight of the man's crumpled body.

"What have I done? What have I done? I'm a killer," Bella sobbed brokenly.

Tara held her close, stroking her hair.

"Hush, hush," she whispered. "I'm here."