November 26, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I hope it's been a happy holiday for all the American readers. It's been nice for me, at least, just to relax, catch up on sleep, and catch up on writing! I'm currently "watching" the Carolina/Clemson game with my family. Super chill.

This chapter's opening has special significance to me. It's inspired almost exactly by a similar occurrence between this guy and me about two weeks before we started dating. We recently parted ways as close friends after over two years of an incredible relationship….You can see why this is a wonderful memory.

Shout out to one of my first reviewers, tookkia, who asked quite a few thought-provoking questions during this story's original conception. Her suggestions had an impact on the discussion in this chapter. Thanks, girl. :)

Until next time,

evelyn-shaye

Special thanks to my permanent betas, lost in his golden eyes and Nikki Halen. It took me an hour and a half to work your comments into my story; that should tell you something about the quality work these ladies put in. :)

Chapter Six: Discoveries

"What kind of cheese do you want, Jake?" I asked, opening half-empty containers of salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. "We've got cheddar and mozzarella." While the rest of the family gathered in the living room to discuss today's events with Grandfather and Grandmother, Jacob and I were preparing a fine dinner of steak burritos from the leftovers in his fridge upstairs. My mouth watered in anticipation.

I found as I got older that I alternated vampire and human meals. I tended to hunt once every week or two, take a day off from feeding, and then eat three square meals a day until I hunted again. It was an incredibly useful development for blending in with the greater high school population, although Momma and Daddy were forced to accommodate my cravings for rare steaks as my thirst became more prominent. In any case, Jake's fridge was always stocked with groceries and Grandmother's cooking for the hungry half-vampire and werewolf duo.

Jake grabbed our mashed potatoes from the microwave and joined me at the counter. "Cheddar's good," he answered. "Where's the steak?"

"It's in the Tupperware dish on the top shelf. Can't you smell it with your enhanced wolf senses?" I joked.

He stuck his tongue out at me. "Hardy har har," he returned sarcastically. He found the dish behind a milk carton and popped it in the microwave. "So, you're sure these will be decent?" he asked over his shoulder, his voice light.

I faced him with annoyance. "After all these years of being my best friend, you don't trust my cooking abilities?" I demanded. It was difficult not to smile; I was enjoying myself.

"All these years?" Jake repeated incredulously. "You've only been around for six years. And for the first bit of that, you didn't even eat solid food, let alone cook it." He was frowning at me, but his lips twitched, as if he were hiding a smile, too.

I swatted my friend with a towel. "Well, after tasting those Ramen noodles you made a few days ago, anything would be an improvement," I teased. I was really having trouble keeping a straight face now. "I mean, how hard could it be to boil water?"

"Oh, yeah?" He stepped closer to me. "Well, here's what I think of your cooking, Nessie Cullen!" He then proceeded to stick his tongue out at me again, this time with a rude "Uhn!" sound.

Oh, you've asked for it now, Jacob Black!

I placed my hands on my hips, stuck my tongue out at him, and made the same annoying "Unh!" Jake repeated the motion, stepping closer, and I imitated him, leaning slightly forward. We kept this up for a good twenty seconds and started laughing at the absurdity of the situation, until suddenly, we were face to face.

The noise died in my throat as I realized how close I was to Jacob. From the outside, it would have appeared no different than any other playful fight we'd had, but I couldn't ignore the new electricity between us, coursing through my body and closing the short distance between us. I met his gaze, suddenly unable to look away.

Jake's eyes softened, and in an incredibly tender moment, he cupped my right cheek in his hand.

My hummingbird heart stopped. I didn't dare reach up to reciprocate his gesture in fear of what emotions he would see, but my mind shouted at Daddy not to interrupt this moment. My brain had somehow registered that he intended to kiss me, to kiss me. I had no idea how I would react, but I felt like I was about to melt. Jacob's palm was warm against my blushing cheek; his other hand was reaching to brush my hair back; his eyes were so affectionate, with such depth of love…

And then, instead of kissing me, he stuck his tongue out at me again and stepped back with a boisterous laugh.

I joined him with a shaky laugh of my own, not sure if I was relieved or disappointed, and smacked him with the towel. "Help me finish these burritos, Jacob Black, and no more funny stuff!"

Jacob laughed again and tugged on a lock of my hair. "Sure thing, Nessie," he replied cheerfully. Together, side by side, we assembled our dinner and made our way downstairs to the living room to join in on the conversation.

We sat down on the couch just as Daddy finished his report. Grandfather rested his chin in his interlocking hands, his expression pensive.

"A very curious case, to say in the least," was the first thing he said. "Even the Volturi do not interact with humans unless they intend to dine on the way home. What can their motivation be?"

"Perhaps it is as Edward said," Grandmother suggested. "It could be a tactic for remaining longer in one place, or even for staving off boredom."

"But they hunt in the forests," Alice argued. Once again, she looked very confused. "As long as they don't enter the city in broad daylight, they would never be discovered, except by the occasional hiker."

"Alice." Daddy addressed her softly, his tone meaningful. "Perhaps now would be a good time to share your vision with everyone."

Alice frowned at us. "It's a curious thing, and I'm surprised that Edward was not able to pick the answer out of their minds. I'm not sure if that's due to expert control over their thoughts, or"— she glanced at Daddy before continuing—"perhaps Braden's talent is stronger than we initially thought."

"Is he some sort of shield?" Momma guessed.

Alice tilted her head. "Actually, I think he's a bit like Jacob," she admitted.

Everyone turned to us. Jacob dropped his burrito on his plate. "Do not compare me to a bloodthirsty vampire," he growled.

That stung a little. Even though I understood his natural aversion to vampires, it still conflicted with what I hoped was a strong friendship. Of course Jacob admired my family now, but would he ever get over his prejudice enough to – ?

I cut off that thought abruptly, but couldn't quite banish the image of his adoring eyes from my head.

"What I meant is that he acts somewhat like an Alpha male," she hastened to explain. "Did you notice how he did most of the talking? And when Leanna opened her mouth to speak regarding the issue of the shape-shifters, he hissed at her, and she quieted immediately."

"Not to mention that, after the fact, I wasn't able to read any of her thoughts," Daddy added, his voice discouraged.

Alice turned to address the rest of the family. "I think we're dealing with something stronger than persuasive leadership but completely separate from a shield. Braden is the leader, and he controls the actions of his followers."

"Like a puppeteer? That doesn't seem very realistic." Jacob sneered, but his voice wasn't as vehement as before.

Alice glared at him. "Since when is our existence realistic? Let alone our talents."

"Oh, that's a possibility, Carlisle," Daddy said suddenly, interrupting a potential argument.

"What, Daddy?" I asked through a full mouth.

Grandfather leaned forward. "It's possible that Braden's talent is one that intensifies the longer someone follows him," he offered. "We don't know how long Ashton and Leanna have been a part of this coven, but certainly Leanna has been with him for as long as both of them have existed in this world, since she is his sister. And since their coven is so small, perhaps he has been able to exert his influence much more liberally over time."

"A concentrated ability," Jasper agreed. "Maria had a similar influence over Nettie, Lucy, and me. Even before she changed me, I could sense her dominance over the other girls."

"But didn't Nettie and Lucy rebel eventually?" Momma questioned.

"Yes," Jasper sighed. "But by that point, Maria was dealing with over twenty newborns, in addition to her original band. Her power weakened the farther she tried to extend it. I was able to allow Peter and Charlotte to escape, and then follow in their actions later."

"So if he were a shield, he would be like Renata," Momma inferred. Everyone turned to her. "My shield can expand over any distance without weakening in any way. Renata can effectively shield only about two or three at a time, but it's most powerful when she focuses just on Aro."

Edward smiled and wrapped his arm around her. "Perceptive," he murmured. His voice, as always, was filled with admiration for his wife. "I think that Carlisle and Jasper are right. It's concentrated and perhaps intensifies with time."

"But we've digressed," Grandmother reminded us. "We have yet to hear Alice's vision."

Alice sighed tiredly. "My vision followed the coven to their home first, a small cabin in the woods. They completed their homework, and then moved on to individual hobbies. At twilight, they left to hunt, remaining in the surrounding woods.

"And then…" She stopped, only to sigh again. "And then my vision disappeared."

"What?" Rosalie interjected sharply.

"My vision disappeared for the entire hunt," Alice repeated, "and reappeared as they left their hunting site to return home."

We all stared at her. I started to tremble, and Jake worriedly placed a hand on my knee. I knew of one reason that Alice would have holes in her vision, and that was due to creatures like Jacob and me. Hybrids.

"They're hunting a specific prey," I whispered. Everyone turned their attention to me. "Some kind of hybrid. That's why Alice can't see them."

"But why?" Grandmother asked with concern. "And what hybrids exist in North Dakota?"

"I think Braden inadvertently answered that question for us," Alice murmured.

Daddy inhaled sharply as he read her thoughts. "Of course," he agreed, his voice stunned. "They're hunting shape-shifters."

Jacob stood up quickly, knocking his plate to the floor with a loud clatter. "Then we have to stop them!" he shouted. His voice was strong and biting; hatred rolled off of him in waves.

I placed my hands over my ears in fright. I wasn't accustomed to this aggressive side of Jake.

Grandfather shook his head gently. "We have no proof," he reminded my friend. "We never fully explored the holes in Alice's vision. A disappearance could mean any sort of hybrid—"

"Damn it, Carlisle, the moment I mentioned different shape-shifters, they turned defensive and tried to hide it!" Jacob yelled. "Braden's talent worked too slowly to hide the guilt on Leanna's face. And Alice's vision only confirms their actions!"

"Careful, Jacob," Edward warned, glancing at me surreptitiously. Jacob was shaking violently with anger. He held his hands to his side and breathed in deeply, willing his body to calm down. He managed to bring his tremors to a slight quiver.

"We have to confront them," he said flatly.

"No." Jasper shook his head. "After their reaction this afternoon, confronting them would lead to an unwanted fight."

"We could destroy them easily," Jacob countered urgently. A smile started to spread across his face, and Emmett had a similar reaction.

"To what end, Jacob?" Grandfather eyed him seriously. "Mounting an unprovoked attack on a coven means a visit from the Volturi. After our last encounter with them, I'm inclined to avoid any reason to draw their attention here."

Jacob sat down heavily. "The last thing I want is a visit from those creeps," he muttered with defeat. He glanced at me with concern before his eyes blazed again. "But I can't allow Braden to kill my brothers."

"If they are indeed hunting shape-shifters, then there is nothing preventing you from fighting them," Daddy allowed. "But until we know for certain…" He paused in thought. "They will not likely volunteer this information at our strategy meeting on Wednesday. And after this afternoon, I doubt that I'll be able to penetrate their thoughts." He frowned. "But perhaps we may learn something from hunting on their grounds. We may discover exactly what creatures they're pursuing simply by crossing paths with them."

"I doubt that they would let us extend our reach that far," Rosalie argued.

Daddy sighed. "Perhaps not. But it's our only shot at this point."

Jake moved as if to speak again, but I stopped him. There's nothing more to say for now, I reminded him gently. Finish eating, and then maybe you and I can discuss it in my room.

He faced me with a chagrined expression but nodded. "I might take you up on that," he whispered.

I smiled happily and bit into my burrito with renewed gusto. Even though we had a mystery and possibly a future attack on our hands, I was glad to be of help to Jacob. For some reason, I always had a soothing effect on him.

Maybe he'll almost kiss me again, I thought, unable to avoid feeling dreamy at the prospect, though I wasn't sure why.

Too late, I realized that Daddy could be listening in and that my hand was still on Jake's arm. I glanced nervously between the two of them, but Daddy had returned to conjecturing with Alice, Jasper, and Grandfather, while Jake contentedly ate his burrito and didn't seem to respond to my errant thought. I removed my hand and found that it was tingling.

What was going on with me?