Again- none of the characters belong to me. This is S. Meyer's creation. I'm doing my own thing.
Your response to this story has been humbling. Thanks so much. In return, you're getting the speedy upload of the last finished chapter today, and the rest is to be beta'd yet. So you'll have to wait a bit now. Hopefully this chapter can tide you over. You have Diamondheart to thank for the clarity and polish!
Jake POV
The CD was in the midst of the wonderful song "You Don't Know Me" when the thought crossed my mind that maybe she was getting an idea of who I was and how much I cared... loved... her and had for a pretty long time. She was calming from her near breakdown when the song started and picked her head up and looked into my eyes and for the first time, there was something there, something I had looked for over the past several months. Something I was never convinced entirely certain I'd actually see. It wasn't so much desire or anything so obvious, but a redirection. Energy that had previously been pointed somewhere unknown, sucked out of her and leaving her hollow, was now coming to me. Maybe not all of it, but enough to tell me I wasn't making a mistake, or that the last two days were something other than what I thought they were. She was here, with me... all of her.
And then she tilted her head back, pulling me toward her with her hand on my arm. I've kissed girls before, even fooled around a bit, but nothing, and I mean nothing compares to getting to hold a girl when she is there with you. And she wants you to kiss her, isn't faking it, being coy, or teasing about it, but opens up to you and draws you in and gives back. A real fucking kiss.
She took my breath away.
Then she was in my arms and I held her as tight as I dared. I didn't want protests for air to ruin the moment, regardless of our need to get back to First Beach for the bonfire prep. When she finally leaned back we just smiled at each other. Her shyness was back slightly, but the smile was genuine and it was all for me.
"Jake... um... thank you."
Huh?
"What for? Shouldn't I be thanking you, or maybe worshipping the ground you walk on? Maybe jump up and down on the beach for about an hour until annoyed people in Japan ask me to stop making waves?" My voice was incredulous, but a little of me was curious as well as flattered. It's not every day a guy gets thanked for a kiss- much less from the girl of his dreams.
She looked down at her hands again, bit her lip a bit, and took a deep breath.
"Thank you for waiting for me. For helping me when I was beyond help. For being a friend when that was what I needed, and for being a little bit of a jerk when I deserved it." I started to protest, but she waved me off.
"No Jake. I kept thinking… awful things. I still do sometimes, and in my head I swear things are still a little off. Maybe I can explain more another time. It still hurts, but I don't want to feel nothing anymore. I want to be myself again. I want to... care about things again."
Her voice caught a little and I almost dared to wonder if she wanted to say something more, but there was no way I'd push. She'd opened up so much already, more than I really dreamed. She was more than just a shell of herself finally, but there was something dark in there. If you don't know what you're up against, it's probably best not to poke it with a stick.
The breeze blew a little and flipped a curl across her eyes. I reached out and nudged it away and behind her ear. That little motion melted something in her and she gave me a little smile, her eyes crinkling just enough to betray the couple of tears that were hanging, too small to fall.
I looked her in her eyes, not wanting to break the moment and just said as quietly as I could, "I'm really glad, Bells."
Right around then we could start to hear distant chatter and the occasional whoop of raucous laughter characteristic of the start of a bonfire. The frisbees and footballs were likely flying by now and there would likely be more food getting set out. I was ashamed when my stomach rumbled again so soon at the thought of it, afraid that I would be insulting Bella's picnic, but she just laughed and offered to help pack up the containers while I got the blankets and radio.
We walked back to the First Beach main area and were quickly greeted by a handful of neighbors who dropped by for the grilling and to trade news. New moms discussed babies and shuffled around to examine newly exposed teeth or exclaim over their kid's latest trick, while bigger kids tossed the frisbees and the big guys chucked footballs and played mock tackle.
Then I saw them. My enthusiasm for the usual bonfire banter faded when I saw Sam, Paul, and Jared playing tackle football shirtless in what had to have been some damn cold water. They splashed through the breaking waves, going into all-out Hail Mary catches and taking hard hits from each other that made my teeth rattle just to watch. And they were watching me right back.
I felt Bella freeze next to me. She was looking, too, and had seen that we were being studied by the three of them. She turned her face up to me with a look of fierce concern.
"Why are they watching us? They're giving me the creeps." She shivered a little, leaning towards me and I put my arm around her shoulders, walking us toward the pile of wood where the fire would be soon.
"I don't know. They're always around lately, they pass by the garage when I work, they watch me at school, and you remember the day at the cliffs. I can't decide if they piss me off or not. Dad says they're doing some really important work on the rez, kind of like unofficial enforcement."
Bella's eyebrows twitched. "Enforcing what?"
"Some guy set up a meth lab and started selling. Apparently it took one visit from those three and not only did he leave, the lab was cleaned up before he took off. Dad says there have always been protectors in the Quileute, and that's what those three do."
Bella still looked confused. "Isn't that what the police are for? There's a rez patrol, isn't there?"
I had no answer, so I just shrugged. Bella sighed and laid her forehead against my shoulder lightly. My heart raced a little. She never offered this much contact in public before, generally shying away from making us seem more than friends. It also made me think I might get another one of those kisses tonight. My heart beat even harder.
I glanced back and saw the three huge guys standing in knee deep water in deep conversation. Sam gestured to Paul in my general direction and Paul was laughing a little. I felt a little flicker of heat in my belly, but Bella's hair swishing against my arm was enough to make me turn my attention back to finding a nice spot near the bonfire. After I ate of course.
I knew my dad would be telling stories early tonight, so I wanted to be in a good place to hear, and for Bella to hear frankly. She'd really love the stories and legends my dad can tell. I also wanted to be just far away enough that Charlie would not have a front row view of Bella with my arms wrapped around her as I planned on doing when the evening breeze blew. The night chill never bothered me, but Bella was sensitive to the cold.
The sun was just starting to set when Charlie came wheeling my dad over to the bonfire, which in 45 minutes had gone from woodpile to the cheerful center of activities. A smaller fire was built upwind of the larger fire for kids to toast marshmallows, and parents hastily broke squares of chocolate bars and crackers for s'mores. These really were family events, at least early in the evening, and I felt bad for the kids whose parents were either too busy or didn't care for our 'little native pastimes'. This was life at its best
Bella ran up to our dads and gave them a heartier greeting than either of them expected. The initial look of disbelief on Charlie's face melted into one of happiness at her enthusiasm. My dad just laughed and said he was happy to see her smile, which made her blush deeply and look down. My dad just laughed harder and prodded Charlie. I braced myself for any possible reaction Charlie might have for me, but he just nodded at me. I nodded back, hoping guy language covered whatever infraction I was just forgiven for and thanked god for it.
I took a jab to the ribs at about that moment, breaking me out of my happy place of watching Bella chat with my dad as they settled in with plates of food. I whipped around half expecting to see Sam or Paul, but Quil stood there with a mile wide grin on his face and a plate with three brownies.
"So, do you have time to pull your head out and talk to me or are you going to stare at Bella for awhile longer?" I had half a mind to knock the shit eating grin off his face, but settled for relieving him of his plate. The look on my face told him not to get punched over baked goods.
"We had a nice day, for your information." I said, making short work of the plate's contents.
"You look like you'd like to make it a nice night, too." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Ass. Go get more brownies." I tried to look menacing, but the smile that wouldn't stay off my face ruined the effect.
"Bite me. So when did you two get so close? Last week she was still... out of it," Quil observed diplomatically.
"We saw a movie with that Newton kid. He got sick and puked during the movie and we kinda got time to chat. Something sort of... changed. She made a decision, I think." It was the best I could come up with, and it was no lie. She even said as much on the beach, she wanted to care again. I could only hope that the word "care" was a proxy for something more.
Quil nodded in understanding as I sat . I suppose most guys over the age of 15 probably have some understanding of this, the torture of watching the girl you care about with someone else, maybe seeing her get hurt, and just maybe even getting to help her recover. But how many get the girl? We're usually the friend she can confide in, and then she finds some other piece of crap to get hurt by. Like Newton. But she couldn't stand him. There were plenty others, to be sure, but if I had a shot at being more than the friend to cry with, those other guys would have to get through me.
A flicker of heat and an ache in my bones made me wince a bit. Jealousy is a bitch.
I glanced overback at Quil who was chatting with a neighbor who had joined us while I watched Bella give her dad a quick hug and start walking towards me.
Her eyes twinkled a bit when she smiled at me. I could live off that. Well that and brownies. I got to my feet and nudged Quil to stand up. Bella stood close to me, tucking herself close to my side and greeted him as the neighbor said his goodbyes.
"Hi Quil! How are you? Any plans for the break?" He gaped at her for a second before launching into descriptions of car maintenance and odd jobs to earn money. The gaping had two causes: first, Bella had color in her face and the firelight brought out something in her eyes that made her truly gorgeous. Second was the fact that Bella had never really invited much conversation from my friends, or me for that matter. Normally she was content to let us talk and just listen or make an occasional comment to keep us going.
I was still gaping from reason number one when she looked up at me, an expectant look on her face.
Shit. She asked me a question and I was staring at thehow the light from the fire reflected off the red-gold streaks in her hair. I never heard her.
"Sorry, I thought I heard my dad call me. What was that?" I lied. Crap.
"I asked if you had any particular projects for the break? I was hoping you could maybe take a look at my truck?"
"Anytime. Due for an oil change?" I smiled. Like she needed to ask. Bella loved that truck. So did I; it was a main reason why she ever saw me in the first place. And kept coming back.
"Probably. And it's doing a weird pause when I first start it up. Not cool when I'm running late!"
The chatter around the bonfire started to die down and I motioned for Bella to sit with me. She sat next to me and leaned her head against my shoulder. A few more people were joining us and some were preparing to take notes.
The blankets I had brought along came into use now; one heavy one on the ground, one doubled and draped over the log for me to lean on. The soft one I tucked carefully around Bella before drawing her close to me, I felt a little glow inside at her look of appreciation as she made herself comfortable against me. I decided to not waste my time and just lifted my arm and wrapped it around Bella, and was rewarded with her little sigh as she scooted closer to me, her head now leaning on my chest.
My dad started to weave his stories about the spirit warriors, the cold ones, the battles to protect the village and sacrifices made by ancestors. Jealousy, rage, love, protection, family, and devotion were common themes and for a solid hour he talked, enthralling the little group of 15 or so older teens and early adults, a couple of elders and Charlie. I loved these nights. There a lot of reasons why my dad was head of the Council of Elders, his skill as a story-teller was one of them. Even Old Quil didn't have his power and style, and that was saying something.
Charlie glanced over at us and I made no attempt to distance myself from Bella. Her lovely warm eyes tracked the sweeping gestures he made to help tell the story, but her head was still resting on my chest just inside the crook of my shoulder. Charlie watched us for a moment. I was a little worried he'd give me some evil eye for holding her so close, but he watched for a good five seconds before his expression softened a bit, one corner of his mouth pulling up a fraction. He turned again to watch my dad with the rest of the audience.
That is, the rest of the audience minus Paul, who I noticed gazing hard at me... and Bella, from some distance behind my dad. If I hadn't had the stories and the execution memorized and etched on my soul, I might not have noticed him.
Why the hell was he watching me? There wasn't anger in his look, not malice or anything to make you worry for your safety, but whatever it was it made me cold for just a second. It was... calculation.
I saw Sam walk over to Paul and get his attention. Paul nodded and took a step to follow Sam before turning his head toward me a final time, mid stride, to stare directly into my eyes for a few beats before turning back to the path Sam had taken.
The devil had more warmth in his face than Paul had just then. Something in me flickered and I felt an ache in my bones from sitting on rocky sand leaned up on a log for too long. I shifted around to get comfortable and Bella took it as an invitation to get closer. She settled herself again, now between my legs so she could lean back into me.
All thoughts of Paul and what I had seen melted away in the flames of the bonfire as I finally got to wrap my arms around the sweet manna that was Bella.
Sam POV
"So, what do you think? Can you make it happen?" It was a rhetorical question, I knew he could. He could be such a bastard when he wanted, even if he didn't want to, he often was. But he had a way that no one else did, which made him undeniably useful. Every group needed their asshole, right?
To call him just that was unfair, but it was a good weapon in the arsenal. He had a look that made a person's blood go cold without saying a word. Then when he started talking, he knew exactly what button to push to make that blood boil. He just knew your weaknesses, your fears, your insecurities.
I had to put a lid on him right from the start, to teach him to control it as soon as he phased because it was causing us serious problems with possible exposure. Even the Elders started questioning the wisdom of allowing him to remain in the pack. Under threat of banishment, he cleaned up his act and was now normally a reasonably decent individual to be around. His gift for gab, as it were, was now under my command.
Paul snorted. What a charmer.
"Did you see the puppy eyes he has for that pale girl? The leech pet? Oh, I could make him do it now, if you want." Paul was almost giddy at the prospect. He was never allowed to bait anyone anymore, the consequences were dangerous. But we had to make an exception.
"Good God, no! There's people around and besides, Billy requested that we give him a little more time. Things have been quiet, just the occasional trail, so we can afford to wait for a while. And when we do it, we need to be somewhere safe. The clearing maybe. Lets not have what happened with Jared happen again." We needed a third badly. Paul did his little trick and Jared nearly took out a house with kids inside. The council hadn't realized things were so close for Jared and forbade the method. But now...
"Fine, whatever. When? Friday? Sooner? I'm itching to do it! Hell, I'll be able to get a little more sleep with someone else running patrols, too." Paul bounced slightly on the balls of his feet. It was true, we were run ragged, but I promised Billy.
"I'll check with Billy. I'll let you know. Until then, you are to go nowhere near Jake. Not near him, his house, or at school if you ever make it back again. And don't go near the girl either. You have what you need."
"Dammit, Sam. I need a little more ammo. Can I watch them tonight? Or if they go out this week?"
I sighed. Jake was too happy for our good. His own good was just peachy, but we needed this. I agreed to let Paul observe them for no more than one hour in the coming week. He had to get his ammo then. This had to work, and on our terms. If Jake's system decided to do things their way, it could be disastrous for him and us, not to mention the girl who was so comfortably tucked against him. I winced at the thought and cast it aside.
I took off to go on my patrol, giving Jared a much needed break and told him to drop by to see Emily who would have a meal for him. Her beautiful, damaged face was part of the impetus for this. I'd never let that happen again if I could help it. If it was at all possible, we would keep them apart as long as possible so Jake could learn to control himself. Maybe she'd move on and Jake could find someone more... like himself.
My shorts snagged on the branch where I tossed them as I phased into my other self, hardly even rustling the damp ground when my front pads made their initial strike with my altered mass. My nostrils flared as I began testing the air of the forest, making my way to our newly broken trails that made a perimeter around the reservation, then through it in a criss-cross pattern that left only very small areas uncovered by our trek. I skirted the edges of the neighborhoods just inside the tree lines to avoid being seen, but close enough to see and smell and hear everything.
Our neighborhoods were small and probably shabby by most outsiders' standards, but they were carved in wilderness in some areas, and in some you would think you were in a perfectly nice suburb near any town in the northwest. The houses of the Elders usually were very well kept, but older and had an outdated feel. Not like they were falling down, everyone made sure they were always in good shape, but a bit worn in a nice way. They were homes that had been lived in and it was comforting to visit them.
Except for one. I loved Harry Clearwater and his wife Sue. I loved their son Seth. I used to love Leah. I still loved Leah, but it changed with Emily. I had to love Emily, she owned my soul the moment I saw her and I would hand it back to her if she ever tried to relinquish it. Every action I had was for her, and that was scary. I was a protector of my people, sure, but what I really did was protect Emily now. The rest of the tribe was a side effect.
And that was why we needed Jake so badly. I am Alpha of the pack. I am not The Alpha.
Paul better know what he's doing.
My thoughts were interrupted by a frenzied entrance to the pack mind. I skidded to a halt, and felt Jared immediately return and head toward the sound. We had a new member.
I hope you enjoyed that, I certainly enjoyed writing it. Yes, the story is starting to pick up.
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