A/N -
So sorry for the extended delay. Long story short - I was in Florida for my vacation and had to evacuate for Hurricane Irma after being there for only 2 days...ugh...
To make up for it, we vacationed closer to home and had no wifi for those two weeks. It wasn't the same, but we're safe and that's what matters.
My thoughts and prayers to everyone who has been affected by natural disasters recently.
The ominous howls echoed throughout La Push, and quickly found their way to Seth's ears as he pulled Billy's wheelchair up the final step onto the front porch. The friendly banter that had been exchanged between them while on their walk over to Sue's house came to an abrupt end as they both paused at the foreboding sounds. Billy noticed Seth's sudden unease and insisted that he go and leave him to explain to Sue inside what was going on. Nodding curtly, Seth jumped off the porch, and raced straight for the woods just as the rain began to fall.
It turned out that Billy didn't need to explain anything to Sue. She had met him at the door, having already heard the loud howls from within her home and had a suspicion of what it meant.
Vampires were on their land.
Although Sue knew the power that was within both Leah and Seth, she hated knowing the danger that her heritage had thrust her children into. Billy could understand that worry. Although he didn't seem to show it, he was always deeply concerned when Jacob would have to run off at a moment's notice whenever there was a threat to the reservation.
But suddenly seeing his grandson, freshly bathed and wearing only a diaper, come crawling quickly along the linoleum floor towards them, a smile came to Billy's worried face. When Sue noticed his distraction and sudden change of mood, she turned and was greeted with Daniel smile as he sat back on his knees to reach up to her. From the other room, they could hear Charlie calling for the little boy. Smirking, she picked Daniel up just as Charlie came around the corner. The moment he saw his grandson in Sue's arms, there was visible relief on Charlie's face. He let out an exasperated sigh.
"For being only a year old, that kid sure is fast. I turn around to get his PJ's and he's gone."
Charlie paused, glancing out the door to see the rain begin to get heavier. "Where did Seth suddenly take off to?"
Billy quickly answered, explaining to Charlie that he had sent Seth back to his place to pick up the beer he had left in the fridge. Charlie chuckled, noting the wind was picking up and the rain outside was beginning to fall in heavy sheets and stated that he hoped that the storm passed quickly enough so that Seth could make it back in time for the face off.
Billy nodded and suggested to Charlie that perhaps that they should begin recording it in case Seth is delayed at his place because of the weather. While Charlie agreed and headed back into the living room, Billy smiled weakly after him. He had become so accustomed in covering for the pack that lying came so easily to him. Billy hated having to deceive his best friend over all these years. But there were customs and laws in place that forbid anyone either than the elders and the pack to know the truth.
And Billy fucking hated it.
He remembered arguing endlessly with Old Quil Ateara and Harry Clearwater about telling Charlie the secrets of the tribe. Billy's concern was Bella's wellbeing, as at the time, she had immersed herself within the Cullen's world. As her father's best friend, it had pained Billy to watch her, knowing that from his perspective she was knowingly putting her life in jeopardy by having a relationship with a vampire. If anything would have happened to Bella, Billy would've never been able to forgive himself for keeping the truth from Charlie.
Sensing his inner turmoil, Sue placed a gentle hand on his shoulder before offering him to hold Daniel. With a smile, Billy reached out and happily took the boy from Sue's arms before placing him on his lap.
Like his father had been at that age, Daniel was full of joy and a ray of sunshine. Almost instantaneously, his cheerful demeanour could change the atmosphere in the room. Carefully holding his grandson on his lap, Billy slowly rolled them forward into the living room where Charlie was setting up the television for the game.
Outside, a gust of wind blew as the rain suddenly got louder, pounding hard against the roof of Sue's home. A flash of light illuminated the house, before plunging it into darkness just as a deafening clap of thunder shook the walls and startled Daniel to the point that he began to cry. Quickly, he turned and grabbed ahold of Billy's arms. Seeing the fear on Daniel's face, Billy picked him up and held him tightly against his chest, allowing the baby to hide his face in his neck as he cried.
"Damn," Charlie muttered looking at the dark television. "Something tells me that we wont be watching that game tonight."
Billy agreed just as the phone rang.
Sue answered it, and quickly side spoke towards the two men that it was Emily Young on the phone asking if they were without power as well. Despite knowing that it was possibly the entire reservation that was experiencing the black-out, Charlie grabbed a flashlight and went out to the garage to check on the electrical panel. He still hadn't returned when Sue had gotten off the phone with Emily.
She carefully looked towards the door leading out to the garage to ensure that Charlie wasn't about to walk in before she spoke.
"It's not good."
Billy pursed his lips, and rubbed his large hand soothingly over Daniel's bare back as the baby whimpered against his shoulder.
"I figured as much."
"Emily didn't have many details about what's going on, but she did say that Brady popped in to let her know that he'll be patrolling around her place until he hears otherwise from Sam. Rachel is still with her, so she's safe. Collin's doing the area around Old Quil's house and Seth will be patrolling around here."
Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the distance once again, causing the windows to rattle from the sound as the wind slapped the rain against the glass.
Daniel suddenly pushed against Billy's arms and sobbed, big tears pouring down his russet cheeks while he cried out for comfort from the one person who wasn't there - Bella.
Seeing Billy struggling to hold onto the upset boy, Sue offered to take Daniel from him. Billy nodded before she scooped Daniel from his lap and held him tightly to her shoulder. His sobs briefly turned to anger as he let out a scream, while he continued to push against her.
"Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, honey, you're okay," Sue spoke calmly to the baby, reminding him that Bella would be back soon. It didn't seem to help. Still, she continued to speak softly and swayed with him as Charlie came back into the house, concerned over hearing his grandson's fearful screams.
"He's afraid of the storm and just wants Bella," Sue explained, holding Daniel against her shoulder while he cried.
Charlie sighed, not liking both the fact that Daniel was upset and that Bella was still out in the storm. He looked out the window at the dark forest across the road that was illuminated every few seconds from the lightning.
"Maybe I should go out there and find her."
Billy put his hand on Charlie's arm.
"Charlie, don't worry. I'm sure Bella's safe and she'll be back as soon as this storm lets up."
While Billy said it as much to himself as he did to Charlie, he couldn't help but be concerned. But knowing that Bella was with Jacob gave him some relief. Still, for Daniel's sake, he couldn't help but worry.
Impossible.
It couldn't be true. He couldn't have a kid. Could he?
As Jacob ran into the woods, the name 'Daniel Jacob' replayed over and over in his mind along with Bella's voice telling him, 'he's your son.' At the same time, he remembered the time they had sex; the only time they ever had sex, that Bella told him that she was on birth control. Either she had been lying about that, or something had happened.
With those thoughts still turning in his mind, Jacob felt the familiar heat lick up his spine before the primal power of the wolf came over him.
From then, it only took a fraction of a second before strong reactions, opinions and comments to Jacob's thoughts and memories were being shared within the pack. Jacob noticed a relief from Seth that he now knew about Daniel. Seth quickly displayed his memory of meeting and playing with the baby. A anger rose in Jacob to find out that Seth had kept that information from him, before he quickly found out that it was Sam who told the younger wolf to keep it to himself.
'We can talk more about this later,' Sam though, adding his own memory of first seeing the dark haired boy in Bella's arms. 'We have a more serious matter. We have a leech on our land!'
Before the thought was even complete, the entire pack's concentration was back on the fact that they were chasing down the red-headed vampire that had been frequenting their land every so often for nearly two years. Sam quickly sent out an order to Seth, Brady and Collin to head back towards Emily's, Sue's and Quil's, to ensure the imprints and elders were under their close protection. Meanwhile, the others spread out, chasing down the nauseating vampiric scent as it passed through their land.
'The bitch has been keeping to the trees!' Quil growled, as he ran alongside Jared. 'And she's fucking fast!'
'She's not getting away this time,' Sam stated, racing in the forest to join with them. 'We're ending this tonight!'
The entire pack agreed as they ran through the woods.
'I've finally got a scent!' Embry exclaimed, just as Paul put his nose to the ground beside him to confirm it.
'Yeah, we're two miles in from First Beach. She's close.'
'I'm coming to you!' Jacob growled, coming in from the coast.
'I've got your flank, Jake,' Leah told him, offering him the backup.
'Let's lock that bitch in, boys!' Jared cackled, enjoying the chance to finally destroy the vampire that had been tormenting them for far too many times. 'Quil and I are coming in hot from the east.'
The pack pushed themselves, knowing that they were close. Lightning began to flash as the thunder rumbled. A few seconds passed before the wind suddenly picked up and the rain poured down in a heavy torrent.
'Wait! Somebody's out here!' Embry suddenly shouted anxiously in his mind, just as Paul swore while his mind panicked.
'Sue's SUV is here!'
'What!?' Leah shrieked, before she snarled, running faster to their location. Mud kicked up behind her as Leah's paws dug deep into the wet soil.
'Leah, it's not her! Mom is at home!' Seth assured his sister. 'I can see her through the window!'
'Then who the hell has her car!?'
While a momentarily confusion swept through the pack, a sudden scent of lemongrass laced within the pungeant stench of the vampire they were chasing down blew in the wind, through the trees and right into Jacob. He gasped within his mind, as images of Bella flooded freely from his thoughts and into the pack.
'What the hell?! Bella's out here!?' Embry exclaimed in reaction to sensing Jacob's sudden rise of anxiety and anger, as the storm around them intensified.
Deep in the woods, Bella stared down at the blood red iris' that bore into her own eyes. While Bella tried to wrap her mind around how Victoria was there, alive, she clawed desperately at the firm, cold grip that held tightly on her neck. The rain continued to pour down over them while lightning flashed and thunder roared. Victoria ran her tongue over her lips as she smiled.
"Seeing you like this...alone and...human, it has been worth the wait. I had anticipated the Cullen's turning you but I'm glad that they didn't. Finally, I can have my revenge for what Edward Cullen did to my James."
As the rain continued to pour down in sheets over them, Bella's heart pounded in her ears. She moved her mouth, but barely a whisper came from her lips.
Victoria smirked, amused.
"Please," she said, rolling her eyes. "Don't bother wasting my time with your petty begging. Nothing that comes out of your mouth matters. I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart, piece by piece. And when you are finally near death, I'll drain you of your blood and leave your broken body on the doorstep of the Cullen's home for them to find."
Victoria leaned in towards Bella's neck but paused as a sudden scent blew up towards her. Swiftly, she turned her head, her blood-red eyes turning fearful as they scanned the dark woods.
"Damn mongrels," she seethed.
Victoria looked back to Bella, seeing her trembling with her eyes pinched shut while she waited for the inevitable. Suddenly realizing that her original plan of torturing Bella for as long as her human body could hold out wouldn't be happening, Victoria quickly decided on the next best idea.
She'd simply drain Bella of blood before the wolves caught up to her. Victoria ran her tongue along her teeth as she leaned in.
"Don't scream and I'll make this fast," Victoria promised, whispering into her ear before she forcefully turned Bella's head away from her with her other hand.
While Bella's heart raced, she felt as though her life was flashing before her eyes. Memories of living in Arizona, Charlie meeting her at the airport when she first came to Forks, the day that she got that red truck and was reunited with Jacob and Billy, meeting Edward, her months of depression, spending time with Jacob, learning to ride motorcycles with him, realizing that she loved him, kissing him, holding Daniel for the first time, watching him take his first steps, hugging Charlie and hearing him call her Bells, seeing Jacob once again; she saw it all within the fraction of a second.
And it suddenly gave her an intense desire to fight back.
"No," Bella gasped, before reaching out with a closed fist and punched Victoria hard in the face. While Victoria's expression didn't falter and her face didn't move, Bella cried out as pain swept from her hand up to her elbow.
Victoria suddenly snarled, raising her hand and clawed her fingers, eager to strike Bella back across the face.
It all happened within a blink of an eye. Just as she was expecting to feel the pain of Victoria's tough-as-granite hand to hit her across the face, the vampire was suddenly gone and Bella found herself tumbling to the ground. Bella coughed hard, desperate for the air to get back into her oxygen-deprived lungs. As she clutched her sore hand against her chest, Bella looked up from the ground and gasped.
Standing defensively in front of Bella, a creature, as large as a horse but built more like a dog stood, separating her from Victoria, who stood coiled and ready to attack.
"If you let me kill her, I'll leave and you'll never see me again," Victoria seethed, her chest quickly rising and falling in anger. The creature snarled at Victoria as its front claws pawed angrily at the ground. Its ears were back, teeth were bared and its heckles were raised, clearly giving Victoria an answer.
As much as Bella was relieved to have been away from Victoria, she was just as much concerned about the large creature's intentions for her. Never before had she seen anything as menacing. It looked like a large dog or wolf, something fit for the worst of nightmares. Slowly, Bella backed away just as a howl thundered throughout the woods.
It was so loud and piercing that Bella winced and covered her ears with her hands. It had certainly caught Victoria's attention as well. Her eyes darted quickly around her. It was then that Bella noticed the other dark shapes in the woods that seemed to materialize out of thin air. Snarls and growls grew louder as the number of creatures increased.
"I see then," she stated through clenched teeth, looking back to the large wolf in front of her. "This isn't over. I will be back to kill that human and this whole pack of mutts!"
It was obvious that it wasn't what the wolf wanted to hear. It snarled loudly.
Suddenly, one of the creatures in the darkness made their move, causing Victoria to race away in a blur of colour. Bella gasped and pressed herself hard against the tree while the monsters raced past. She sat still, in fear of getting trampled by their large feet or possibly by distracting any of them to the point that they'd turn their attention towards her. They were all gone within a matter of a few seconds. The only thing Bella could hear was the slowly dimming pounding of paws on the ground and echoes of snarls until she was left with just the sound of rain and wind blowing through the canopy above, the distant thunder and her breathing.
She was suddenly alone in the darkness.
The lightning still flashed every so often while the rain continued to fall in torrents and the wind blew heavily through the trees. Afraid that Victoria could kill the beasts and then return for her or equally horrifying, those giant wolves could double back and kill her themselves, Bella stood up and ran.
As stupid as it seemed in her rational mind to think she could possibly outrun Victoria or the wolves, it was better than staying put. She wasn't going to sit around and wait for them.
Adrenaline coursed through Bella as she ran through the darkness, her legs pushing themselves to go faster. Angry tears began to fall down her face, mixing in with the rain that continued to fall. Everything that Bella had thought or had been told about Victoria, were lies. She was alive and she was planning on coming back for her. Nothing would stop her. The Cullen's were gone and Bella was alone. For a moment Bella wondered if she had made a mistake to come back to Forks; to leave Edward. There was a certain security that she felt when he was around and an assurance that no one would bring harm to Daniel. Now that he was gone, so was that sense of safety.
She wouldn't be able to protect Daniel.
Bella came to a stop, her chest heaving as she breathed deeply.
'Get somewhere safe,' Jacob had told her. For Bella, that place didn't exist.
She had come back to Forks assuming that she and Daniel were finally safe from Victoria. Knowing now that that wasn't true, she ran her hands through her hair in frustration and sobbed, her inner turmoil echoing within the woods. Everytime it seemed that her life was starting to turn itself around, she was tossed back into a new living hell that she had no control over.
A second later, a howl pierced the darkness as if it responded to her cry. Bella's eyes widened as she quickly scanned the forest around her. A thunderous pounding of paws on the ground echoed from the distance before they gave way to silence once again.
Bella's heart was pounding in her chest.
Suddenly, a deep, male voice echoed within the forest.
"Hello!? Is someone out there? Mrs. Clearwater!?"
Relieved to hear that she wasn't alone, Bella looked around, wiping the tears and rain from her face. When she suddenly saw a flashlight beam sweep across her, she sighed in relief.
"Hey! Hold on! We're coming!" The voice called out once again.
Moving towards the light and cradling her swelling hand against her chest, Bella took a few steps over the slick ground before she slipped once again. She felt her feet become unsteady on the thick layers of wet leaves and pine needles. But before she could hit the ground, a firm, warm hand grabbed onto her arm. The hand held her tightly until she regained balance. Feeling her heart rate slow back down, Bella looked up at the face in the darkness and met a pair of dark eyes that she knew that she had seen before.
"Bella? It's me, Embry Call. Remember, we met a few years back? I'm a friend of Jake's."
He paused and looked over his shoulder to where Jared was coming up to them with a flashlight.
"And that's Jared - he's a buddy of mine."
Concerned that Bella had yet to say anything and the possibility that she was in shock, Jared quickly came closer with the flashlight while Embry held onto her arm, and looked into her eyes.
"Bella, are you all right?"
"You...you guys shouldn't be out here," she told him softly.
He chuckled.
"I was just going to tell you the same thing. This storm is brutal. We were just driving by and found Sue's car on the side of the road and decided to check it out. Was there an accident?"
Bella nodded absently. "I borrowed her car and I must have...hit something."
"Is that how you hurt your hand?" Jared asked, shining the light against Bella's chest where she was protectively holding it to herself. "You're gonna want to put some ice on that."
Bella looked down at her swollen hand, shivered and nodded.
When another sudden long droned howl echoed within the woods, Bella suddenly turned towards where it came from while Embry and Jared exchanged a glance. They knew that it didn't mean good news; the red-headed vampire had gotten away. And based on what they had learned that evening, it put Bella in serious danger and Jacob was surely going to flip his lid.
"Bella, you gotta be cold. We need to get you out of here," Jared suggested, before he led the way with the flashlight while Embry walked beside Bella.
Neither young man said much, but instead they kept their attention on the woods surrounding them, not only keeping an eye out for any vengeful vampires but also for anyone from the pack.
Bella was never supposed to see the wolves. The moment Jacob saw her pinned against the tree by her neck, he had changed the plans. The pack hadn't ever seen Jacob so livid as he had been when his wolf had been standing in front of Bella, protecting her from the red-head that they had been hunting for over two years. There was a hot blind rage that was so strong that the entire pack had felt it. Sam's order for him to remain in the darkness had gone ignored. While the pack was dumbfounded over the power Jacob had to defeat an Alpha's order, the wolves had subsequently moved in, offering their brother the back-up he needed before the red-headed vampire took off running into the woods.
Concerned over Bella's safety, Sam ordered Embry and Jared to head back to check on Bella and to get her home. It had satisfied the deep worry within Jacob, allowing him to focus enough to chase down Victoria across the reservation with the others.
Embry and Jared quickly led her through the darkness of the woods and back towards the road. Parked behind Sue's car was a dark blue pickup. Embry commented to Jared how they'd come back later to bring Sue's car over to the shop to get repaired and detailed. Bella didn't even have a chance to say that she'd pay for the damages before she was ushered into he passenger seat.
The door shut behind her while Embry climbed into the front seat and began to turn on the pick up. She was just about to question where Jared was when she felt the truck rock slightly and caught a glimpse of him climbing into the back of the pickup.
"He gets carsick, especially on the crappy roads that we have around here," Embry explained, glancing back at his friend through the rear-view mirror before quickly pulling out onto the road.
While that might have been true, it also gave Jared a better vantage point on detecting scents as they drove through La Push. If the red-headed vampire was anywhere near them, Jared would know first.
Inside the truck, Bella shivered under the warm vents that Embry had purposely aimed towards her. While they drove, she glanced over at him every so often, watching his eyes staring firmly out the windshield at the dark road ahead of them. It was then that she noticed that Embry was only wearing a pair of cutoff jean shorts, a black t-shirt and shoes. To Bella, he had to have been cold. Like her, he was drenched from head to toe.
And then there was Jared sitting in the back of the truck, seeming not to care about the possibility of freezing to death. Despite the lull in the rain, it was still quite windy and she knew he had to have been cold. When she looked back at him through the window, he smiled at her, not seeming the least bit uncomfortable.
Embry joked, stating how the cold doesn't bother him too much and that it must be a Quileute thing.
"Quileute thing or not, he's going to get himself sick."
Embry laughed.
"You can't get sick from being out in the cold, Bella. Either way, we're almost at Emily's."
"Emily's?"
"Yeah, she's Sam's fiancé. She's nice and you can warm up there."
Bella shook her head, her eyes worried. "No, no, I have...I need to get back to Sue's."
"We can't. The storm knocked down a tree out that way. The road is out."
"There has to be another way around it."
"Not unless we drive all the way around the Rez," Embry explained. "That would be another good forty minute drive and, Jared and I need to get back to work clearing the roads with Sam"
Sam.
"Is Jacob out there with him?"
Embry swallowed. "Yeah."
That made sense now. It aggravated Bella to know that Sam had such a hold on Jacob that he felt the need to suddenly take off while she was telling him something as important as Daniel.
"Then, could you at least tell Jake to come find me when he's done working? I really need to finish talking with him. It's important."
Embry nodded nonchalantly, already knowing without a doubt that Jacob didn't need to be told.
"And...you guys need to be safe out there," she added.
"We always are," Embry assured her with a smile. "We've been trained. We know what we're doing."
Bella shook her head.
"No, that's not what I mean. There are...animals out there...dangerous ones, and I don't want anything to happen to any of you."
Embry nodded, simply wanting the conversation to end there, but to Bella, she took it as he was just pacifying her rather than taking her concerns to heart.
"Embry, I'm serious. There are wolves out in the woods."
"-we know," he interrupted her. "We've heard them. But they aren't dangerous. I haven't heard about them coming near people."
"But have you seen them?"
Embry shook his head.
"I have," Bella told him. "They are huge. I've never seen wolves that big before."
"That doesn't mean that they are dangerous though."
Embry had a point. Yet while they didn't attack her, they could certainly still be a threat.
"They were chasing..."
Her words drifted off and she shook her head. "I need to call my Dad when we get to Emily's. He needs to know about them."
Embry pursed his lips before he glanced over at Bella as she sat in the passenger seat with her hands held out over the vents. His eyes caught sight of Jared looking over his shoulder at them, apparently having heard their conversation in the front seat.
The truck skidded to a stop over the wet stones in front of Emily's house before Embry turned off the engine. Jared jumped out of the back and opened the passenger door for Bella. His keen eyes noticed Brady as he suddenly raced past the house on his patrol of the area. He sighed, knowing now that Jacob would know that Bella was safe.
The pair were eager to get back out there, especially after the last howl that they had heard in the woods.
Inside the house, Emily had seen the headlights of the truck and had peered through the door window. She was at the door before they even made it onto the porch. Hoping that one of them were Sam, her smile fell when she noticed Embry and then Jared in the darkness.
Emily became even more confused when she saw the visibly shorter and non-native young woman following beside them. Still, she smiled politely.
"What's going on?" She asked, looking between Jared and Embry.
Embry shrugged. "We're just stopping by before heading back to work."
Emily knew what the 'work' really entailed. Her eyes fell onto Bella.
"And who's this?"
"Bella Swan. Who else?" Jared replied cockily.
Emily sighed at his lack of tact while Embry sneered at him.
"Bella had a car accident and was stuck in this weather. We were going to take her back to Sue's place, but the road is out that way."
Emily had heard plenty about Bella Swan; both the good and the bad. As leery as she was about inviting her into the house, if she was brought to her place by someone within the pack, it had to have been for a good reason. Simply knowing that Bella had been in a car accident and she was currently drenched in cold rain was enough for Emily to put those opinions aside.
Her eyes glanced to where Bella was clutching her wrist protectively against her chest.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded, looking at Emily and seeing for the first time what Embry was meaning about not staring. Even in the low light of the flashlight, Bella could see that half of her face was distorted by scars. Still, she was beautiful. Her dark eyes were soft and friendly and her black hair was pulled back in a simple braid.
"I might have broken my hand in the accident."
Without another word, Emily took Bella by the arm and ushered her into the warm house. A fire was glowing in the fireplace and it illuminated the entire open living area into the kitchen. While Emily sat Bella down at the large kitchen table, Jared and Embry assured her that they would take care of Sue's car and return once they cleared the roads.
"Be careful out there," Bella insisted.
Embry nodded, recalling her concern with the wolves before Jared spoke up.
"Yeah, don't worry Bella. We're tougher than we look."
Embry slapped Jared's stomach playfully with the back of his hand, indicating that they should get going. Regardless, Bella couldn't help but worry as they left the house.
While Emily sat down beside her with an ice pack, a closed plastic container of cookies, her flashlight and a roll of elastic bandages, a door opened at the end of the hallway and a quickening of footsteps suddenly rushed out of a room.
"Is it the guys? Are they back? Is it over?"
Bella recognized the voice and looked up just as Rachel Black came from the hallway, a flashlight in her hand. When her eyes rested on Bella, they narrowed slightly.
"No," Emily replied, reaching out for Bella's injured hand. "Embry and Jared were just here to drop off Bella because the roads are out heading back to Sue's."
Rachel snorted and crossed her arms. "Lucky us."
Hearing her obvious sarcasm, Emily looked over her shoulder and cast her a warning glare. She had heard from Sam about the altercation that had happened in front of the Black's house the morning before. While Rachel had gotten a stern lecture from Billy, it was obvious that she still harboured hard feelings against Bella.
Rachel loved her brother and despised Bella for what she had done to him. After she had heard about what had happened between them and how far into depression her brother had fallen, mainly for her father's sake, she had come home from school that summer. Not only had Rachel intended to become the big sister that Jacob had needed growing up all those years ago, she was also tossed into the messed up world of mythical creatures when Paul imprinted on her. It was then that she suddenly knew all the details and understood the depth of Jacob's loss and feeling of betrayal. Despite Billy's insistence that she leave the past in the past, Rachel wasn't ready to let it go and Emily could see it on her face.
"Rach, would you mind grabbing an extra t-shirt and pants of mine for Bella to wear?"
With an eye roll, Rachel walked back down the dark hallway. Emily turned to Bella, and placed the ice pack over her knuckles. The weight of the small plastic bag hurt slightly, but the coldness quickly numbed it away. Bella's mind was still on Embry and Jared, knowing that they certainly could be in danger as they worked around La Push. She knew the creatures that lurked out there and she'd hate for them to run into them.
Seeing Bella deep in thought, Emily opened the plastic container, grabbed a large cookie and pushed it towards Bella.
"I'd offer you some tea too, but with the power outage, snacks are limited tonight."
Bella smiled, taking a cookie. With a smirk, Emily took a second one for herself before closing the container and reached for the elastic bandage.
"I'd love to blame my appetite on finally being over my morning sickness but I just don't like storms like this. I tend to eat when I'm anxious."
Emily reached once again for Bella's hand, and gently turned it over while Bella carefully bent her knuckles. A smile came to her face when she realized it was only sprained and didn't appear broken. While she proceeded to wrap it up, Bella watched Emily until she pinned the bandage to the back of her wrist.
"No one told me that you were pregnant."
Emily nodded, taking a quick bite of cookie before absently rubbing her stomach. "That's okay. It's still early and I hide it well. I'm only a few months along."
"She's actually going on 14 weeks and she's looking awesome," Rachel commented, as she walked back towards the table with clothing in her arms. She passed them to Emily before she slid them over towards Bella.
"I had some severe morning sickness and I'm only starting to gain weight now."
"I don't think I could have handled morning sickness longer than the short few weeks that I had it," Bella commented, taking the clothes before she stood up from the table. "But smells still bothered me over the entire nine months, coffee especially."
Emily blinked and looked at Bella up and down, realizing that surely she couldn't be pregnant at the moment given what she had just said and that she must have been implying the past.
"Wait - you had a baby?"
Bella looked at her, seeing the shock, not only on Emily's face but on Rachel's as well.
"Uh, yeah, a year ago in February. He's over at Sue's right now."
"Who's the father?" Rachel rudely asked, causing Emily to sigh.
Rachel shrugged. "What? Don't tell me that I'm the only one wondering that."
"It's none of our business," Emily told her, before smiling apologetically towards Bella.
"That's okay, Emily." Bella took a deep breath. "It's Jacob."
Rachel paused, a blank expression on her face.
"My brother?"
Bella nodded.
"Does he know?"
"I told him earlier tonight, before he suddenly had to go," she explained.
"Holy shit," Rachel mumbled, surprise suddenly visibly evident on her face. "Jake's a dad?!"
Smiling, Emily reached for Bella's good hand and squeezed it.
"This is wonderful!" She exclaimed happily, putting a hand to her stomach. "My baby will have someone to play with. And I'll have someone to bother with endless questions, if you don't mind, of course. There isn't anyone else that I know around here who is closer to my age and has a baby."
Bella forced a smile to her face, finding herself wanting to have that friendship and connection to someone that she had never had before. Being a first-time Mom and having had to learn things on her own had been tough. She would have loved to have had a friend, not only for herself but for Daniel as well. But deep down, she knew that with the threat against her life from Victoria, she wouldn't be staying in Forks long enough to create that relationship, or any relationship for that matter. The last thing she'd want would be to put anyone in danger here by her presence.
But could she really go and take Daniel with her when he was just starting to get to know his family? Yet just the thought of leaving him behind caused a panic to rise up within her. Bella had always been with Daniel, since the day he was born. She had been the one who cared for him, fed him, changed him, cleaned him... Daniel had been her life.
Bella even wondered if Jacob would be so passive as to let her freely take Daniel away with her. He had yet to even meet him and based on his reaction to finding out he was a father, Bella didn't know what to expect from him. Regardless of her plans, she still had to let Charlie know about the wolves that she had seen in the woods.
After having gotten herself changed into Emily's clothes, she borrowed the phone and sat down in a quiet corner of the kitchen.
"Hi Dad," she said softly, after hearing him answer her phone call.
'Bells! Oh thank God!' Charlie breathe in relief. 'Where are you?'
"At Emily's house. She's Sam Uley's fiancé. I ran into some car trouble."
'Car trouble? What kind of car trouble?'
"It's okay Dad, I'm fine. Two of Jake's friend's picked me up."
'Jake's friend's? Where is Jake at?'
Bella sighed and closed her eyes. "I don't know. He...uh...he ran off after I told him about Daniel."
There was an audible pause before Charlie spoke again.
'He ran off? Seriously!?'
"Dad, but there's something more important that I need to tell you though." Bella turned towards the kitchen window over the sink and lowered her voice. "After the accident, I saw something."
'What do you mean, you saw something?'
"Wolves. There had to have been at least 5 or 6 of them."
She heard Charlie sigh.
'Yeah, I've gotten calls about wolves being seen around La Push for the past year and half. For a while we thought that they were involved in some unsolved deaths in the area. Unfortunately, we really can't do much about it. Quileute tribal law protects them from being hunted on the reservation. They're a sacred animal to them.'
Bella paused, suddenly recalling the conversation that she had had with Jacob on the beach all those years ago when he had told her about the Cold Ones and how he subsequently told her the truth about the Cullen's. She had completely forgotten about the part with the wolves and how Jacob had told her the legends of how the Quileute's supposedly descended from them. At the time, her focus was all about Edward and his unusual family. She never considered that if there was truth within the legends involving the Cullen's being an enemy clan, then perhaps it also rang true with the part about wolves as well.
Even as she considered it, it seemed crazy to think about. After all, the creatures she had seen didn't resemble wolves that she had seen in books or on television.
"But they were huge," Bella breathed aloud softly.
Charlie paused.
'Bella? You okay? Did you hit your head?'
"No, I didn't."
She heard Charlie sigh audibly over the phone. 'Huge wolves, huh?'
"Maybe."
Again, he sighed.
'Well, whatever you saw something out there, we wont be able to check it out at least until tomorrow. Power is still out here and I have a feeling I might be called into work. With this weather, they'll probably need the department to close some roads until cleanup can happen. Don't worry about us here though. Daniel fell asleep on Billy about ten minutes ago. Poor kiddo cried himself to sleep.'
Bella's heart suddenly clenched at the mention of Daniel.
"Thanks for looking after him. I'll be back as soon as possible."
'No problem. Just...uh...don't fall asleep anytime soon.'
"Dad, I don't have a concussion."
'Still, just...keep your eyes open.'
"Bye Dad."
When she hung up, Bella wondered if perhaps she had been seeing things when she had been in the woods. She knew that she had been in shock, having seen Victoria when she thought that she had been killed. It could have been possible that her mind had fabricated the whole thing to something that made sense. But that didn't explain how she was so close that she could feel the intense heat that seemed to radiate from the wolf in front of her. It seemed to only have eyes on Victoria, a vampire; the wolves natural enemy.
Bella shook her head.
It was just too crazy for it to be real...right?
The red-head vampire was gone.
As though she had suddenly disappeared into thin air, there was no sign of her being on the reservation or anywhere else for that matter. Paul and Sam had raced as far south as Oregon while Jacob, Leah and Quil headed up to the Canadian border with no trace of the rancid stench that they had been tracking. It simply disappeared.
'Guys, I have a feeling she might have gone into the ocean,' Jared commented as he and Embry raced along the Washington coastline after having dropped Bella off at Emily's.
With that suggestion in mind, the pack regrouped back in La Push and did a thorough search of the reservation and the land surrounding it before finally concluding that Jared might have been right. Planning to meet within the woods behind Sam and Emily's place, Quil and Jacob were the first to arrive.
Quil was just zipping up his shorts when he came up to Jacob who stood with his arms crossed, waiting for the others.
"Relax, Jake. We'll get her the next time she comes around."
Jacob took a deep breath, a growl vibrating in his chest. "The next time, she'll be coming back to kill Bella."
"And us," Quil reminded him.
Jacob scoffed incredulously
"We can protect ourselves, she can't."
Quil let out a sigh. "Dude, why don't you just say it out loud."
"Say what?"
"You're still in love with Bella."
Jacob snorted and chuckled. "You're wrong."
"Then, what the hell was going on with you tonight? I've never seen you act like that before."
Jacob knew exactly what Quil was implying; his intense reaction to seeing Bella being held by her neck against the tree, and his inability to focus until he knew that she was safe.
"I would've expected any of us with imprints to go fly off the handle like you did, but not you," Quil continued.
Jacob ran his hand through his hair before he explained what Quil's grandfather had told him. Having never heard anything like it before, Quil breathed out in amazement.
"Holy shit. I guess that explains why you can't get over her."
"I just hope your grandpa can find a way to break it so I can move on."
"And it's all because you were extra kinky when you guys had sex two years ago?! Ironically enough, you knocked her up at the same time."
Jacob glared at him, while Quil shrugged. "What? It's true, isn't it? You're a dad."
"Seems to be."
Quil smiled at him. "That has to be a pretty awesome feeling."
Jacob winced.
"Actually, I'm torn between freaking out cause a bloodsucker is coming back someday for Bella and throwing up from learning from Seth and Sam that Cullen was wanting to raise my son as his own."
Upon seeing his unusually paled face, Quil took a notably long step back from his friend.
"I don't blame you. It makes me feel sick too."
"Me being a dad...it seems impossible though," Jacob stated. "Bella and I...we only had sex once!"
"They say it only takes one time."
"What I don't understand is why Bella came back now. Why not two years ago when she found out she was pregnant?"
"There has to be a reason. We know that she and your kid were with the Cullen's and she's said that she wasn't in love with that Edward guy when she left," Quil said, recalling Jacob's memories as well as Sam's conversation with Bella after she arrived. "Maybe her leaving Forks wasn't a voluntary thing."
Jacob looked at him. "You're thinking the Cullen's were keeping them away from here?"
Quil shrugged. "They're bloodsuckers! I wouldn't put it past any of them to pull off fucked up shit like that, especially if they knew..."
"- if they knew that Daniel was Quileute."
Jacob looked towards Sam's house and took a deep breath, before pushing his way through the thicket into the rear yard.
"I need to go talk to her again."
"Jake!" Quil exclaimed. "Sam wanted us to wait."
Jacob glared back at him, growling.
"Sam purposely kept the news of me having a son from me. He can go to hell for all I care."
"Man, you don't mean that. Hold on, Jake," Quil said, following after him.
They had only gone a few feet into the yard when Sam's stern voice caught up to him.
"Jacob!"
Clenching his jaw, Jacob turned to find his Alpha, as well as Embry, Jared, Leah, and Paul coming out of the woods. Based on Sam's expression, it was obvious that he had overheard Jacob's final comment.
"I didn't tell you about Daniel because I didn't know how you would handle it. Jake, I was thinking of Bella and Daniel."
Jacob scoffed. "The Alpha in you always needs to have that control, don't you. Even when it comes to our individual lives."
"Bella was wanting to tell you before you heard it from anyone else. That's why I didn't have Seth phase. He wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret for long. He loves your son."
Sam sighed.
"I know that you're just upset over what happened tonight with the red-head. We'll find her and kill her," he assured her. "Daniel is pack and we'll protect him as well as Bella. No leech will touch either of them."
Jacob nodded stiffly before he deflated slightly. "And about what happened out there when I made a move before you gave the order..."
"-don't worry about it, Jake. It was a right call for the situation. There was no other option."
"But now Bella knows there are giant wolves living around La Push," Jared said, with a sigh. "What are we gonna do about that one?"
"We'll have to be more discreet for the next little while."
Wanting to discuss something further with Jacob, Sam dismissed the others and told them to go inside to dry off and get something to eat. He watched them until they disappeared inside the house.
"When you made that move to step out and protect Bella, did you feel anything?"
A smirk graced Jacob's face. "All I was feeling was anger."
Sam nodded.
"I suppose that makes sense given the situation. But I felt something else and I'm pretty sure the others did to. I'm just not sure if they recognized what was happening."
Jacob was confused. He hadn't noticed anything. "What do you mean?"
"Jake, for a brief, few seconds, you became Alpha."