Chapter Four

Legends

I couldn't wait. All the carefully formed speeches that had been going through my head were now so jumbled I couldn't begin to know where to start. My heart was racing as I burst through the door into the living room. At the same time my father was wheeling towards my bedroom door. We almost collided.

We stared at each other for a few seconds and then I simply said "Do you mind telling me what that was all about?"

"Er, yes Jacob, I guess I owe it to you."

I thought he would be angry at my question, but he seemed apologetic. I nodded and urged him to go on. I was glad he was feeling guilty. He should be for keeping this from me.

"Look Jake, I had good reason for not mentioning any of this to you before." He offered, as he wheeled himself back to the living room. I followed him and sat on the edge of the sofa, my arms crossed in defiance.

"Go on then, I'm all ears," I replied, a little frustrated still, but the anger was easing. I couldn't be angry with my father for too long. He had always been pretty straight with me about most things and it seemed I was going to get the full story, a little later than I should have, but I would be patient with him and hear him out.

"Well, I have never mentioned it before because I didn't think there would be a need to, indeed, I sincerely hoped there wouldn't."

"So I'm assuming the arrival of Dr Cullen changes things then?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

My father nodded and then continued. "How much do you know about our ancestors?"

I quickly debated whether or not to tell him I had learnt all I knew so far about them this evening in about ten minutes with Quil and Embry but decided against it. It might get them into trouble.

I deliberately faked a blank expression and replied, "Not a lot really. Only the little bits you have told me and what they have taught us in school. Nothing about anyone called Cullen."

"OK, well no, they probably wouldn't have taught you about the Cullens in school but maybe I should have done, and I'm sorry. But Jake, I didn't tell you because I wanted to protect you. It was too dangerous for you to know. You are still so young and innocent. It is too much of a burden for you. You are still a child."

I held my hand up in protest and gasped, "Oh please!"

Again my father apologised "Yeah, yeah, I know, it was wrong of me, but you see, I never thought they would come back here."

"Come back here? What do you mean? How can Dr Cullen come back here if he is only in his twenties, and you are presumably banging on about something that happened before you were born?"

"Jake, will you let me tell you the whole story with no interruptions? Let me start at the beginning and it will all make sense. Trust me."

I nodded and told him I would. "Yeah, ok, go on then." I tapped my foot anxiously on the floor and shot him an exasperated glance.

"Right, ok, well presumably you have heard of the legends about the wolves? They will have taught you that in school I imagine? Or maybe you will have heard about it from some of the others?"

"I've heard nothing!" I snapped, wondering who he imagined would have told me. It certainly wasn't on the school's agenda.

"Ok, well, what I am about to tell you must never leave this Reservation. Do you understand?"

I nodded again. I wished he would just get on with it. I wished I hadn't played dumb now. It would have been easier if I had told him what Quil and Embry had blurted out earlier, but I wasn't convinced they knew the whole truth. They might just have invented some of it. Yeah, knowing them they probably had. Especially Quil, he loved a good story.

"But what about Charlie?" I asked, suddenly remembering that Charlie had witnessed the outburst earlier. "You must have told him something?"

"Nah, I only told Charlie what he needed to know; to stay away from the Cullens. They are not trustworthy. They are dangerous. Charlie isn't stupid though, he knows I haven't told him the whole story, but he knows enough to keep him safe, if he bides my warning. Charlie's a bit disgruntled with me of course, but he'll get over it. We've been friends for too long to let this get in the way. It is better for him if he doesn't know the whole truth. "

"Ok dad, right, are you going to tell me the legends or not now?" I asked, smiling a little now to ease his apprehension. I made a conscious effort to stop the foot-tapping and unfolded my arms too, but I was getting seriously impatient with him now.

"Ok son, here we go." My father was leaning forward in his wheelchair, just like I had seen him do so many times before when he wanted to make sure he had my full attention. "Many years ago, it is believed that our ancestors shape-shifted into wolves. Legend goes that we are actually descended from wolves, but that is hear-say. The story about the shape-shifting is true however. It is in our genes, yours and mine, and most of the other young lads you play with on the Reservation, Quil, Paul, Seth, all of them. We all carry the gene. I am not talking ordinary wolves, these creatures are huge, I mean they are enormous, possibly ten times the size of an ordinary wolf."

He paused to gauge my response before continuing.

"Go on," I urged. "I'm with you so far." I didn't like to tell him I already knew this bit.

"Well, the gene only comes to life when there is a need for it; for protection; when the Cold Ones come to town."

"The Cold Ones?" That was the term that Embry had used earlier. Maybe now I would find out what it meant.

"Yes, the Cold Ones; Vampires, but we don't like to use that word."

I snorted loudly and then laughed before I could manage to speak. "So you are telling me Dr Cullen is a Vampire?"

My father glared at me. I wasn't supposed to find this funny obviously. I pulled myself short and stopped laughing as he continued to stare. He wasn't joking.

"Dr Cullen really is a vampire? Be serious...Vampires are purely mythological. It's all story book stuff. They don't exist! Come on..."

"Jacob, I am being serious, deadly serious." My father's tone confirmed that he was, but I just couldn't help myself. Dr Cullen, a vampire, was working in the hospital in nearby Forks. How ridiculous! Wouldn't the hospital notice when their patients started to disappear? Next he was going to be telling me my cousin was the Tooth Fairy.

I was still suppressing the urge to laugh when my father started to continue. "You see Jacob, the Cullens have been here before, many years ago, before I was even born, but I heard the stories first hand from my grandfather who was around to witness it for himself. He was one of the wolves who protected our people and our land. Also, Old Quil. He remembers seeing the wolves as a child. The Cullens arrived and we had to protect ourselves. They were caught hunting on our land. Your great grandfather, Ephraim Black, made a treaty with them in the end. He must have been going soft in the head or something. He trusted them. Believed they didn't kill humans." My father shuddered at the thought and paused for a moment, obviously remembering some detail of the tale.

"Vampires drink blood right?" I asked

"Jacob, you promised you would let me finish."

"Well get on with it then," I snorted. "I've got to admit, it's pretty far-fetched so far!"

My father ignored my jibes. "Yes, they drink blood. But the Cullens, according to the stories, don't drink the blood of humans. They survive on animal blood instead. They were hunting the deer on our land when my grandfather and some of the other tribal elders caught up with them. The encounter followed months of tension, anxiety, fear for our lives. It was dangerous times, and it could easily have ended in disaster. Dr Cullen somehow managed to convince the Elders that they were no threat to us, or to the pale-faces, and my grandfather believed him. They made a treaty. They promised not to hunt on our land, and not to bite any humans and we would allow them to live in peace, and wouldn't expose them for what they were. Of course, they couldn't expose us either."

"So, how did it end then, this truce?" I asked, since my father seemed to have paused in his tale.

"Well, the Cold Ones eventually moved away and we no longer needed to be wolves." My father shrugged as if to indicate that was the end of his story. After all the build up I imagined there would at least be some gory detail, some violence, even death, but it appeared we made a treaty with them and then left each other alone. A sort of mutual respect. I couldn't really see the problem.

"Well, there is no need to worry then, is there?" I asked. "If indeed it is the same Dr Cullen, the vampire Dr Cullen, then unless he has changed his diet, the treaty will still be in place and we don't need to defend ourselves."

"You don't understand Jacob. Being a shape-shifter isn't a choice you make. It just happens and you have no control over it. You can't just decide not to; it's in our genetic make-up. When a Cold One comes into our area, the transformation begins. It's not a pleasant experience from what I can gather. You get sick for weeks, really sick. Your whole body changes, fever sets in, and you ache all over."

"Well, I guess that's something to look forward too then." I mused. I couldn't see how it could be that bad, and in any case, it was all so far-fetched I didn't believe a word of it. Everyone knows vampires don't really exist, and werewolves? Well, I sometimes wondered what my ancestors had been smoking to come up with such stories.

"So will you become a wolf too then?" I asked out of curiosity.

"No, I'm too old now Jacob. The defence of our tribe will be in the hands of you youngsters. This is why I am so fearful for you. It's a huge responsibility for you all." My father was solemnly shaking his head. "Oh Jacob, I hope I'm wrong, really I do, but I fear for you and all the young lads. Trouble is coming, I can feel it."

"Nah, it will be ok. It'll be cool dad, don't worry. We'll just stay out of their way. They've been here for two weeks already and nothing has happened. If they wanted trouble they would have started something by now. There haven't been any mysterious deaths or disappearances or Charlie would have said something. And, don't forget, he was well impressed by the Doctor at the hospital. How many of them are there anyway?"

"Last time they were here there were five of them. I won't know how many there are this time until I've spoken to Harry and Sue and we have found out some more information. We must call a Council meeting soon to discuss a plan of action. I will speak to them tomorrow."

"Only five? Well, that's nothing to worry about then, we could easily take them on." Another over-reaction it seemed.

"Jake, they are strong, supernaturally strong, and fast. This is why our ancestors needed to become giant wolves to stand a fighting chance against them. You don't understand how deadly they are. They are dangerous, extremely dangerous. I wish you didn't ever have to find out for yourself, but I'm afraid the time will come."

"Well, like I said, we can just stay out of their way. I still don't see they can be all that bad if one of them is working in the hospital. I mean, yeah, if they start killing humans then we can get involved, but if they keep themselves to themselves then I don't see the problem."

"You will Jacob, it's in our genes. You will be surprised how much inbuilt hatred you have for them when the time comes, believe me. Enough now, let's get off to bed. I'll feel happier once I've spoken to Harry and Sue tomorrow."

I had a feeling Harry and Sue were not going to be surprised when my father called on them tomorrow. Embry and Quil were going there this evening to ask them about the legends. I imagined they were having a similar conversation in their house right this moment. I wondered if they were as prejudiced as my father obviously was. How did he know how I'd feel anyway? It's not like he'd ever encountered one of them for himself, assuming there was any truth in the story.

Personally I thought they were all over-reacting. Maybe Dr Cullen had strange eyes and seemed too young to be such a knowledgeable doctor. Maybe there was some dark mystery attached to his family, who knows? The people round here were pretty good at inventing stories about outsiders. But vampires? I doubted it.

I was getting ready for bed when I heard loud voices approaching the house; it wasn't difficult with the paper thin walls. I knew who it was and what they wanted. Obviously Harry and Sue thought the matter couldn't wait until the morning so my question about their prejudice had been answered. As I re-entered the living room, half-dressed in my pyjamas, thanking my lucky stars I had put the bottom half on first, I was confronted by a representation of just about all the important Quileute families on the reservation.

"You've told Jacob?" Harry Clearwater asked my father.

"Yes, he knows," my father replied.

"Good," Harry continued, "I think that's everyone now then. I told you it would happen Billy, you should have told Jacob sooner. It was only a matter of time. They move around from place to place, staying only a few years at a time. It was inevitable they would return eventually."

"So Leah and Seth knew about this already then" I asked. Leah and Seth were the Clearwater's children. Leah was older than me, but Seth was even younger. I glanced at the guilty looking Seth, who lowered his gaze, answering my question.

Harry nodded, Seth apologised. "Sorry Jacob. Your dad didn't want me to tell you."

Well at least Quil and Embry hadn't known the full story until tonight either, but they knew now, everyone knew. I looked around at the horror-struck faces. Surely the return of some family to the area couldn't pose so much of a threat that it required an impromptu Council meeting at eleven o'clock at night in our living room when we had to be up early for school the next day.

I guess it did, because now Harry, Sue and my father were discussing plans. It seemed the Clearwater's had already decided what was going to happen but they were just running the idea past my father for approval.

"Sam is going to go over to Forks tomorrow and will make contact." Harry was saying. "There will be no antagonism, just a formal reminder of the treaty and a request that it be upheld. Sam can handle it can't you, my son?" Harry looked at Sam who was nodding coolly, a big grin on his face, clearly pleased with himself to have been selected to represent the Quileute Tribe.

I could see why it made sense to send Sam Uley though, even if I had to admit to being a little bit jealous. He was the oldest of the younger generation, my generation, and would act as representative. Also he was dating Leah Clearwater so he would be keen to impress his future in-laws. I wished he would wipe that stupid grin off his face though.

Harry looked at my father for approval. So far he had remained silent and was just nodding as Harry had been speaking. "If it's OK with you then Billy, and no one else has any objections?"

"If you're sure you can handle it Sam?" My father asked. "It is a big responsibility and there must be no hint of antagonism, you understand?"

"Sure I can Billy, no problem." Sam confirmed.

"Good, then that is settled." My father always had the last word, being the oldest living direct descendant of Ephraim Black. Everyone in the room turned to look at my father now, who continued with his summation. "It is good that we send one of the youngsters, and fortunate that we have young Sam here willing to take on the task. The Cullens will see Sam as the future of the Quileutes and will know that it is this future that needs to be embraced. If, as the legends go, they are indeed animal hunters, and they behave themselves during their time here, they will know that we will honour the treaty for the foreseeable future. They will also be aware that if they break the treaty they have a whole new generation to deal with and they will never be able to return. Hopefully, they will just need a gentle reminder, but obviously, we will be monitoring the situation closely.

My father nodded at Sam now and wished him luck. All eyes turned to Sam, presumably expecting an acceptance speech.

Sam cleared this throat. "Thank you all for entrusting this important mission to me," he began, a little shyly. "I will pay a visit to Dr Cullen, who we believe is still their leader, at the hospital tomorrow. It is best that we do this on neutral territory. I merely want to make him aware of our presence and to find out who is with him, and if he intends to honour the treaty. Thank you all." Sam bowed and shuffled backwards a few paces, taking hold of Leah's outstretched hand as he did so.

A brief round of applause echoed around the room and people began murmuring among themselves. Quil caught my eye and wandered over in my direction, Embry behind him. "Hey Jacob, pretty cool huh?" Quil said, beaming from ear to ear. "Looks like we get to be wolves after all."

"Yeah, pretty cool Quil," I replied, "Or at least it would be if I actually believed all this nonsense."