4 – The Truth

Charlie opened the door to find his aunt and uncle on his porch. "Uncle Quil, Aunt Molly." He kissed her cheek. "What are you doing here?" A young man bound up the step behind them. "Five? Damn, boy. What the hell is your mom feeding you?"

Quil V smiled. "It's all Nana. Is Bella home?"

"She's up in her room." Charlie noticed his uncle's hands as his young cousin passed by him to pound up the stairs.

"Is the Cullen here?" Quil signed.

He nodded then signed back. "Little fucker comes in through the window. He'll be gone by the time Junior makes it up there."

Molly held up grocery bags. "I'm going to fix us dinner. Bella shouldn't be standing right now."

Charlie gestured to the kitchen. "Have at it. We've been surviving off of pizza, Chinese and whatever Bells had frozen." He pulled a couple of cups down for coffee. He placed a cup before Quil as Molly bustled about the kitchen. After filling the mugs, he took a sip, staring at his uncle. "What's up?"

"I need Henry's journals."

Charlie sat back. "Why?"

Quil sighed. "We were telling Sam of the legends. When he was told of imprinting, he scoffed. All the journals we have say that an imprint is the wolf's other half, his mate. Dad told me that Henry wrote the truth."

"The truth about what?"

"Everything. The wolves, the pack, imprinting. Nothing was sacred. He wrote it all down." He spun his coffee cup a few times. "Jared Cameron phased last night." With a sigh, he pulled out a piece of paper.

Charlie opened it to find a list of names. "What's this?"

"Those who have bloodlines."

"Eleven. Sweet Jesus, that's a large pack."

"If the Cullens stay for a long time. Sam said he could smell the wolf in Leah Clearwater."

Charlie choked. "A girl?" He glanced up at the ceiling. "Bella," he said softly.

Quil shook his head. "Leah is of all three families. Bella is of one."

He nodded. "Let me get the journals." He soon returned, carrying several. Placing them before his uncle, he resumed his seat. "Those are all of them."

Quil checked the dates of his father-in-law's journals. "Ah. Here it is. I was waiting in line at the post office when someone bumped into me from behind. I swallowed a growl and turned. Gray eyes stared up at me from beneath blond lashes. I felt everything settle within me. All the rage and chaos I have been feeling for the past several years, quieted. I had to have her. After she made her apologies, and I took care of my business, I followed her home. Unfortunately, it was in the opposite direction of home.

"I returned that night. I needed her. I craved her. I had to feel her warmth surround my cock. I had to possess her, consume her. She was receptive of me when I knocked on her door. We spent the night fucking in each room of her house. Never before had I been insatiable. Near dawn, I took her deep into the woods behind her home. There my wolf devoured her, ate her flesh. When I returned home to Amelia, I could feel the wolf within me settle. My love even commented how at peace I seemed."

The silence became deafening. The trio jumped at the sound of Five's booming laugh from upstairs.

"I need to inform the council of this," Quil said.

"Tomorrow," Molly said. "Tonight we're going to spend with family."

"Rubbish," Thomas Uley said. "You want us to believe that our grandfathers, your own father, were murderers."

"Once they are chosen by the wolf, they are no longer human," Quil stated. "Murderer is a human term. It no longer applies to them."

"You're using present tense," Harry observed.

"Because the pack has returned." He waited for the uproar to die down. "Sam Uley phased a little over two weeks ago, Jared Cameron the night before last. We all know the signs, but we ignored them. High fevers though they feel fine, short tempers, abnormal grow spurts."

"Fuck," Ashley Lahote muttered as she leaned back in her chair. "Paul's next."

"He won't be the only one," Billy spoke up. "Jake and Quil will follow."

"Along with Leah. That's only if the Cullens leave now. If not, we will have the largest pack ever," Quil added.

"Um, has anyone noticed that Embry Call fits the description of a pre-phased wolf?" Sebastian Cameron asked.

Silence then curses rang out.

"Who's his father?" Ashley asked.

"Isn't that the million-dollar question?" Harry queried.

"Look into his family tree first," Billy said. "He could be descended from one of the sisters, like the Camerons, Lahotes and Swans are. Now, what does Henry say about mating?"