Chapter 11 - Reactions
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, New Moon, or Eclipse. I just like having fun with the characters and world the wonderful Stephenie Meyer created.
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Edward POV:
Running through the woods with Bella the first time was a memory I hope I never forget - the look of pure joy on her face as she felt the wind whipping past her face. Her newfound grace and confidence in her body combined with her beauty made her irresistible. I couldn't help stopping every so often to kiss her. She wasn't breakable any more!
When we got back to the house, Alice, Jasper, Esme, and Rosalie were waiting for us. "I couldn't see anything! I was so worried when Emmett came back for Carlisle - what's going on?" Alice's eyes were dark with worry, and her usual perky self was subdued.
I took a deep breath, even 90 years of being a vampire hasn't eliminated that habit for calming myself down. "Bella has found out that she's gotten some, um, unusual abilities for a vampire. We needed Carlisle to come to the meadow with us to talk about them." I said, being vague on purpose - Bella should be the one to tell them, and she was looking nervous.
Esme's face looked concerned, "What's going on, Bella? Is there a reason why you didn't want to talk to Carlisle here? You know we all love you, and are so pleased you are a member of our family. We've just been so worried because Alice hasn't been able to see anything regarding you for the past couple hours, and we were so surprised when Emmett burst in here to grab clean clothes for you and Carlisle, then ran off again without explaining anything."
Rosalie looked miffed. "Emmett seemed to only trust Alice and me to grab you clothes - he was running off with Carlisle before we could even ask any questions, much less have him give us answers."
"I'm so sorry!" Bella wailed, putting her face in her hands. I knew she was upset about disappointing the family, and she seemed worried about how everyone would react to her unique situation.
"Let's sit down, OK?" I asked, guiding everyone to the living room. I gave Jasper a pleading look, and I could feel calmness wave over me as he tried to help Bella. "Bella, the whole family loves you and accepts you - it would be best if we talked about it. I think it would be best if you explained, but I could do it if you don't feel up to it."
"No," Bella answered, a resigned look on her face. "I should tell everyone." She took a deep breath too, and I smiled. Human habits are hard to break.
"It's OK, Bella. We're your family no matter what." Esme gave her a gentle hug, and shot me a concerned look over Bella's shoulder. All four of their minds were chorusing What is wrong? What could be so bad that Bella is nervous about telling us
"Thanks, Esme. Thanks Jasper for the calming. I'm sorry I worried everyone." Bella began. "Edward, Emmett, and I went out to the meadow for a bit this morning so I could see Jake. He had been such a good friend, even during the Change, I needed to see him. Edward and Emmett were there in case either Jacob or I had trouble controlling ourselves - young werewolf and newborn vampire aren't always a good combo." Bella only managed a feeble grin, but Alice giggled.
"The weird part happened when I went to hug Jake," Bella continued. I could feel my family's eyes on me, but I had accepted Jake being a part of Bella's life, and knew that hugging Jake didn't mean she loved me any less. "When my body felt his werewolf heat, I Phased into werewolf shape."
Gasps came in stereo. I smiled with a little pride, "She becomes a gorgeous chocolate brown wolf," I said, turning my smile to Bella.
"I was able to send thoughts while in wolf form to Edward, Jake, and Emmett, so we could talk a bit about what was going on. Jake managed to help me get back into human form, but I had ripped my clothes, so I needed new ones. So Emmett went for Carlisle and some clothes, and Jake called Sam. We needed to stay at the meadow because it was pretty neutral territory. Carlisle and Sam think that when Jake and I were both bleeding after my accident, the blood mixed together and affected me while the venom was Changing me."
Bella's face looked incredibly drained and worried after telling the family. I guess it isn't often that you tell your in-laws that because you exchanged bodily fluids with someone who isn't their son, you now turn into their mortal enemy.
I wanted to say something before anyone else got a chance. "Carlisle and Sam agreed that Bella should meet with Billy Black to find out if there are any Quileute legends that talk about a mixture of Cold Ones and Shadow Warriors. He's going to come to the house tomorrow - we can't get his wheelchair to the meadow right now. Carlisle and Sam agreed that helping Bella took precedence over the treaty, so we aren't worrying about it."
Esme gave Bella another hug, "I hope you weren't worried we wouldn't accept you!" Esme exclaimed. "We always knew you were unique - we just feel lucky to have you as a member of our family. This should be interesting!"
Alice jumped up and hugged Bella too. "Oh, I'm so relieved! I understand now why I couldn't see you before - it makes a lot of sense. Esme's right - this should be interesting!"
Jasper hugged Bella too, and I could see her surprise. "I'm so glad I can spend more time with you now that you aren't breakable." Jasper said, smiling. "Life is definitely more interesting with you around - never a dull moment!"
Bella looked over at Rosalie. "I don't know why you were looking so worried about this." Rosalie said, dismissing Bella's anxiety with a wave of her hand. "Everyone is right - we knew you'd be different, and now we know what kind of different. It should make our wrestling matches a bit more interesting, though!" Now a smile broke out across Rosalie's face. "Why aren't Carlisle and Emmett here yet, though?"
"They had to walk slower - Emmett had brought Mystic to the meadow with us." Bella replied, and Rosalie nodded.
"I'm going to take Bella upstairs for a while - it's been a long day."
"Of course!" Esme replied. "Bella, we'll figure it all out. I promise, it will be OK."
Bella smiled at her, then at the rest of the family, and took my hand to follow me upstairs. It's probably a sign of how distracted Bella was worried about being part werewolf that she didn't say or do anything when I sat her in my lap, smoothing her hair. It was so peaceful, just resting together. I heard Carlisle and Emmett return, but everyone gave us some space, and it was so nice to just be together in quiet.
Jacob POV:
After saying goodbye to Bella and the Cullens, Sam and I started jogging home. I wasn't ready to phase back into wolf form, and neither was Sam - we needed to have a pack meeting about Bella rather than having everyone find out when they "overheard" our thoughts. Sam snapped open his cell phone and called Emily to ask her to gather the rest of the pack at the house, and we ran back to our borders thinking of how to explain this.
Or, I thought about how to explain what happened with Bella. Sam spent the run deciding that I should explain things to the pack. He also decided that Billy should be there for the pack meeting as an Elder, in case there were some legends about a vampire/werewolf mix. I thought that was highly unlikely myself, but it was worth a try.
"Everybody, quiet!" Sam's voice rang out inside the rec center. There weren't a lot of places in La Push where a group of oversized werewolf kids could meet that could also accommodate Billy's wheelchair. "Jake needs to talk about what happened today, and we need everyone to listen." He turned towards Billy, "We also need to know if anything like this has been mentioned in the old stories, as it's quite unusual."
I stood up, nervous. Becoming a werewolf had helped my self-confidence, height, and strength. It hadn't done anything for my dislike of public speaking, though. Darn. "OK, everybody. To start from the beginning, everyone remembers that Bella was Changed a little more than 3 days ago after she fell and would otherwise have died."
There was a murmur of assent, but an undertone that made me think there was more than one person who thought I had done the wrong thing. I wanted to rail at them, "What you you do if the girl you love was bleeding and dying? Would you want her to be a vampire, or dead?" I caught myself just in time, grateful that I was not in wolf form, so they couldn't hear my thoughts, and that I had enough control now to keep my mouth shut occasionally.
"I was also cut - I tried to catch Bella when she fell, and so I was bleeding a bit. Apparently my blood mixed with Bella's before Edward's venom had completely worked its way through her system."
"So what? Why do we care?" Someone called out. I tried to identify the heckler, but couldn't.
"We care because she's a friend of the Pack. We care because we have a treaty with the Cullens." Sam said, his voice strong with authority. "Continue, Jacob."
"Carlisle Cullen said that Bella's Change was strange - she wanted me there and Edward - hot and cold. I left before the Change was finished, and met her at the meadow after Edward and Emmett took her hunting. Emmett's the strongest, Edward's the fastest - they went together to make sure she only fed from animals."
I took a breath. "It seems as if Bella has an unusual vampire skill - she is repulsed by the smell of human blood, and is only attracted to the blood of prey animals, not predators. Most of the other Cullens apparently feed on predators."
One more deep breath - I was almost done. "So when I met her in the meadow, she was not thirsty, and she ran up to give me a hug. When she touched me, she Phased into a wolf."
"What?" "No!" "That can't happen!" "Are you sure?" "Weird" "Bella always was unusual." "Hunh?" There were murmurs and outcries from around the rec center.
"I managed to show her how to phase back into human form, and then called Sam to come talk. Sam and Carlisle talked, and we agreed to go back and research if this has happened before, then meet again. So, has anyone heard of anything like this before?" I looked around at my friends, my brothers - the Pack. Their faces were filled with confusion.
Quil laughed, "Well, we're the pack with the oddities! I imprint on a 2 year old, and Jake is in love with a werewolf-vampire crossbreed. I wonder what will come next!"
Billy smiled, "Well, Quil, we knew about imprinting, and that had happened before. This, though," he ran his hands through his hair, "I don't remember anything like this. I need to think." Billy turned towards me, "Jake, does Bella remember you as you? Does she remember being human?"
"Yep." Understanding dawned, "You were worried she could be a weapon against us. I doubt it - Bella isn't as clumsy, and her diet has changed, but that's about it."
"Good." Billy smiled. "Well, we should probably break up and see what we can research. I'm guessing we're going to meet with the Cullens soon?"
"Yeah, Dad. We're meeting over there tomorrow, and your attendance is requested." I turned back to the Pack, "One more thing - when Bella is in wolf form, she can talk to anyone around her - or she could to the vampires and werewolves there. I wonder about a full human, but we could test that another time. It's a skill no one in the pack has, and none of the Cullens has. She doesn't seem to have that skill when she's in her human form."
"She's a treasure. Always so unique. I wish Charlie knew what was going on, he'd be happy for her." Billy said, mournfully.
It was hard for my dad to talk about Bella when his best friend thought his daughter was dead. I knew the Cullens would have to leave before someone noticed that Bella was still there, that would raise red flags pretty quickly. The death of the daughter of the chief of police was pretty big news. I would miss her so much when she left, I didn't know how I'd cope without her. But that would be a worry for another day - Quil and Embry were calling for me, and we went out for a run, a run I hoped would clear my head.
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A/N: Sorry this took a few days to update - we just got a new-to-us dog, and it took a while to get him settled in! He's so cute and cuddly and cozy! awwww... I think his fur is as soft as werewolf fur, I want to just snuggle into it all day.
Thanks for reading! Please review!