"So much for cooperation," Rosalie muttered under her breath when Sam disconnected the call. Carlisle reached out and clicked the button on the odd piece of office equipment sitting in the middle of the table that had allowed everyone at the dining room table to hear what Sam Uley and Billy Black had to say. Why Carlisle owned a conference call thingy majigger, I don't really know. Alice couldn't see the wolves, so surely it hadn't been her idea.
"It is a start, Rose. At least they agreed to keep us updated," Carlisle said wryly.
"Stupid, overconfident wolves. Just because the managed to down Laurent, with Leia's help I might add, they think they know how to handle any vampire," Jasper growled softly. "They have no idea what they're up against. She's already slipped their noose once. We should coordinate our offenses."
While my family complained about the inflexible nature of our very reluctant allies, I was secretly thrilled. Why? Because Adam and I were going to spend Friday night and a good deal of Sunday together. The only point the wolves had relented on was the need to keep an eye on Charlie this weekend. The solution had been to keep him on the reservation as much as possible, where he could be protected easily by members of the pack. The times when he wasn't at La Push, Adam and I had been assigned joint 'Charlie Watch'.
Other than relenting to our need to help in protecting Charlie, the wolves refused to discuss strategy or to take advice. They were still half hoping we would give them a reason to fight with them and perhaps they thought keeping us in the dark about their abilities would give them an upper hand. They seemed to forget that I had personally seen them fight.
"I'm going to run down to Bella's and tell Edward what the plan is," I volunteered. It was two in the morning, so Bella would probably be asleep anyway. Not to mention I wanted to call Adam on the way, to talk to him without my family hovering.
"That's a great idea, Leia. Edward is coming back here, so you can hang out at Bella's until he gets back. You should take Emmett with you," Alice said brightly. I almost pouted, but then shrugged. I would just email Adam. He was probably going to bed, anyway, and I didn't want to interrupt his sleep. He had sounded tired on the phone earlier. I reached in my pocket and quickly texted him 'SWEET DREAMS'.
"Comeon, Lei-Lei. Let's get moving." Emmett, as usual, didn't bother to ask for specifics. He just grabbed me and tossed me around to his back without further ado. It was a move I was used to from constant practice. He leaned down to kiss Rosalie soundly before we headed out of the house. I clung to him easily and rested my chin on his broad shoulder.
"So, you and me and Harry Potter tonight?" Emmett asked cheerfully. When I had asked Emmett to read the book with me, he had been thrilled. I hadn't spent a lot of time with Emmett lately and we were both craving a little sibling bonding time. He had insisted we start at the beginning of the series and read one book a night. I owned the rest of them in Braille, but it was so much more fun to read them with Emmett. We had the tendency to read bits out loud to each other, each choosing a character to be out of each book. Last night I had chosen Hagrid and out of some odd twist of Emmett logic, he had chosen Hermione.
"I'm looking forward to it. Maybe you'll let me be Hermione tonight," I teased. Emmett snorted softly.
"Nope. I enjoy being Hermione. She's a snarky little know-it-all, but I like her." I had one hand on his cheek so I felt him grin. I giggled in his ear.
"Maybe I'll take Lupin tonight," I said thoughtfully. Emmett snorted softly.
"Not surprising, I suppose." His grin turned into a slight frown.
"Of course not. He's an intriguing character," I said, confusion coloring my tone.
"Not surprising that you would choose the werewolf. You seem to have a certain fondness for them." Emmett's voice was dark with an underlying growl. I sighed.
"I thought I explained that..."
"Yeah, yeah," he interrupted. "You're just friends and all that jazz. I'm not buying that, little sister."
"That's all we can be, Emmett. Honestly, I don't know if I'd be ready for a relationship with anyone, but between his tribe and the growly noises everyone in this family makes when he comes up, I'd be a fool to consider pursuing something."
"Well, Jazz seemed to think you'd wouldn't mind being a fool where that boy is concerned. Edward's worried too. I just don't want you to get hurt, little girl."
"Adam would never hurt me." My voice was soft. I knew it was completely true. Emmett snorted softly.
"If he ever does, I can promise no treaty is going to stop me from taking his head off. I'm more worried about the rest of the pack, though. Most of them are chomping at the bit for a reason to rip us to shreds. I'm afraid they will use anything as an excuse." He sounded troubled. I stroked his cheek.
"Emmett, if they were going to declare war just because Adam and I are friends, it would have happened already. Besides, I thought you were the one chomping the bit to rip them to shreds," I teased quietly. Emmett huffed softly.
"Not that I wouldn't mind knocking a few heads, but...no. I'm really hoping things with the dogs calm down soon. Hell, I might even be hoping your little wolfy friends will get over themselves and at least try to be civil. There has to be at least one of them that wouldn't mind a friendly wrestling match or two. Just for fun." And at that thought, Emmett's grin was back. I chuckled softly.
"I doubt if Rose would take kindly to her husband smelling like one of those 'stinking dogs'." And that was a direct quote from my sister. Emmett grimaced and sighed. I patted his cheek and then we were under Bella's window.
"Go on up, Lei-Lei. I'll do a little spin around the perimeter," Emmett said. "Catch you in a while, bro."
"Thanks, Em. Comeon up, Leia." Edward's quiet response was spoken from the window above. Emmett swung me around into his arms and tossed me upwards. Edward caught me easily and drew me inside the room.
"I'm perfectly capable of doing that myself, you know?" I grumbled half heartedly as he set me on my feet. He chuckled softly in my ear.
"Yes, but its not nearly as fun, now is it?"
Darn mind-reading brothers.
"Whatever. So, what's so pressing that you need to run home?" I asked curiously, talking in vampire tone so as not to wake Bella.
"I want to finish packing and get a couple of things ready before morning. Bella and I are going to leave early so I can take her to breakfast in Seattle before we head to the airport."
"Alice could do that," I said with a grin. He snorted softly.
"There are a few things I want to do myself. And I need to have a little talk with Alice about some...outcomes. Bella and I had a talk tonight and I..." His demeanor slipped from happy to pained for just a moment. Then he sighed. "Just stay with her until she wakes up and let her know I'll be here to pick her up at seven."
"Aye Aye, captain." I said with a smile, deciding not to ask what they'd talked about unless he wanted to tell me. His smile returned and he kissed the top of my head before he disappeared out the window. I settled down in the rocking chair to wait for morning, pushing out my senses so I could listen to Emmett as he patrolled the area.
I was perched on Charlie's roof when he got home. Billy had kept him out past sundown, insisting he stay for dinner at La Push as well. I knew because Adam had called to tell me he would be following Charlie's cruiser back to the house. I had all my senses on alert and nothing would be approaching this house without my knowledge. I catalogued every smell and noise within a two mile radius of the Swan home and scanned constantly for changes.
I watched through Charlie's eyes as he left the cruiser and moved into the house. He immediately went to the living room and sat down in front of the tv. I left his vision when he started watching Sportscenter. I listened to Adam's heartbeat as he sped towards the house, not even bothering to move quietly through the trees. He stopped a half mile from the house and I could literally hear the distant sound of joints popping and muscles groaning as he phased back into human form.
"Leia?" Adam paused at the edge of the forest that flanked the Swan residence and called to me. I couldn't contain the tiny thrilling of joy that shot through me at the sound of his voice. I leapt from the roof of the house onto a branch above his head and then dropped to the ground at his feet. I was immediately swallowed in a fierce, warm hug.
"God, I've wanted to do that for weeks. I've missed you." I snuggled into his embrace and sighed, my ear at the perfect level to press against his bare chest just above his heart. The heat coming off his body seeped into my cold skin and warmed it quickly. After a few moments just standing quietly together, he drew back and reached down to tug my glasses from my eyes.
"Don't, Adam...I want to see you too," I protested softly. Adam snorted softly.
"Its near black as pitch out here, Leia. I don't think you'll get any decent reflections, no matter how good my night vision is now."
I tilted my head up and through his eyes I saw my own face and then my eyes. Adam did have excellent night vision, almost as good as a vampire's. Well, if I couldn't get any reflections, I could still 'see' him. I lifted my hands and traced the lines of his face with my fingers. When I ran my fingers gently over his eyes, he gasped softly and stiffened. I jerked my hands back, afraid I might have hurt him. The wolves were sturdier than humans and quick healers but they were still breakable.
"Sorry, sorry," I said hesitantly. He immediate grasped my hands in his own and brought them back to his face.
"No, please. I don't mind," he whispered, his voice filled with ... was that wonder, joy? I had promised not to encourage anything beyond friendship with Adam and I realized that might be harder than I thought. I trembled at the thought that he might crave my touch as much as I craved his. We had never truly touched beyond friendly hugs and only twice had we touched palm to palm. But this, standing here in his arms...it just felt right.
"I...it's just...I wanted to see you and that's how I do it when I can't really see...borrow someone else's eyes," I explained hesitantly, my palms still and cool against the rough warmth of his jaw and my fingers brushing lightly over the smooth expanse of his cheeks. His arms tightened around me and he leaned down to bury his nose in my hair. That was surprising, since I was supposed to smell as horrible to him as he did to my family. I heard him inhale shakily and then laugh softly.
"How awfully wonderful - so freaktastically unbelievable," he said, almost distractedly. Then I felt him grin under my hands, and he laughed again. This time it sounded whole hearted and joyful. "Take that, Sam Uley, you overbearing, self-righteous ass-biter!"
"Adam?" I drew back from him again, surprised and confused. He sobered quickly and released me from his embrace. I shoved down the sudden feeling of loss that came when his warm arms retreated.
"I need to run a bit. I have to stay phased to keep in touch with the pack," he said hurriedly. I blinked in shock as he backed away from me and phased. Then he darted away. Seconds later, I heard a deep snuffling sound, almost like a laugh coming from the direction Adam had gone. My brow furrowed in confusion, but I moved back to the house, leaping up to perch on the eave above the porch again.
I followed Adam's progress as he did a circuit around the house once, and then again. Charlie was sleeping now, obviously trying to get some rest before he was scheduled to get up and head out fishing with Billy again. I tried to examine my feelings for Adam as I kept my focus on the sounds and smells around me. There were three people in my life that I considered 'best friends'. Edward, of course, then Bella and finally, Adam.
I loved Edward dearly. He knew every dark secret I had and he would always love me regardless because he had a darkness of his own. We were kindred spirits, even more so now than before Italy. He was my brother, my kinsman, and before Bella he had been my closest confidant and ofttimes partner in crime. He would always be there for me, but I understood and respected his need to put Bella first. She was his mate.
I loved Bella ferociously. As my brother's mate, she was my sister in spirit. I would defend her to the death and it was easy to put her safety ahead of my own. Not just for my own sake, but for my brother's as well. She was my best friend in traditional sense, the girl that I giggled with and had sleepovers with, the one I could spend a lazy afternoon watching movies with. We didn't have a lot in common, but those few things we did have, we capitalized on.
I loved Adam, too, though just how I wasn't sure yet. We had a lot of things in common, us two. We could spend days talking and never run out of things to discuss. He was a beautiful soul, both inside and out. I trusted him with my life and I wanted so much to let him know the real me, but the thought of losing his friendship because of the darker bits of me was abhorrent. Deep inside I thought he would understand, if not condone my actions in Italy, and would be there to comfort me when the screams of dozens of human beings haunted me during the late watches of the night.
I was drawn from my thoughts when I heard a car approaching the house. I judged it to be about two in the morning and I immediately went on alert. This street was not a thru street so cars were rare this late at night. Honestly, in the sleepy little town of Forks, any cars on the road this late were rare. I listened for a heartbeat inside the car and I snarled softly when I didn't hear one. Adam was on the far side of this scouting loop, so I sent him a quick text and copied it to Alice. I knew he would hear the beep from his phone. I sensed him immediately turn and begin a straight line run back to the house.
I didn't have any urge start a fight with Victoria, not without backup, but I didn't try to hide. I stepped off the roof and landed lightly on the ground in front of the porch just as the car moved past the house. I heard a low growl, faint over the purr of the engine, and then the car sped away. I sensed Adam was close enough to hear me now, so I told him about the car. He adjusted course and ran after it. Eventually the car outdistanced him and he wheeled around and headed back. My phone vibrated in my pocket.
"Alice?"
"No, It's Jazz. What'd'ya know?" he asked, concern lacing his question. I told him about the car. Adam returned at that moment and he phased out of wolf form before loping up to me.
"Hang on, let me see if Adam knows anything else," I said. Adam just held out his hand for the phone. I had seen the car through his eyes just before he ran out of my range to 'see', but I was hoping he had gotten close enough to get a better look.
"'Lo? Uh, yeah, sure. Late model Ford sedan, light blue. Washington plate, Bravo-Alpha-Lima-7-4-1-8. Headed north on the 101. It was Victoria. Yeah, the pack knows and they're gonna try to intercept." I listened as Adam told Jasper where the pack was and where they were headed. I couldn't help but grin. Maybe the rest of the pack didn't want to coordinate efforts, but Adam had no qualms about giving Jasper information.
"She's probably doing some recon," Jasper said when Adam handed the phone back. "Stay close to the house. The rest of us are going out to see if we can locate her."
"Be careful," I said softly, just before he disconnected the phone. Then I turned towards Adam.
"You okay? You didn't try anything, did you?" I asked suspiciously. He was certain Victoria had been in the car, so he must have been close enough to see her. He shrugged.
"She had to slow down around a curve or two. I managed to get close enough that she definitely got an eyeful of me in her rear view. I was almost close enough to jump on the car, but she got a straightaway and lost me."
"Jump on the...Adam Talldeer! I know you weren't thinking of taking on a car just to get a shot at catching Victoria." I couldn't keep the disbelief and fear out of my voice. I curled my fingers into fists to keep from grabbing him and trying to shake some sense into him. He sighed.
"When I'm the wolf, Leia...sometimes my instincts overpower my good sense. Besides, I'm nearly as invincible as you," he said, reaching over to put his warm hands on my shoulders. I shook my head and grumbled, but I couldn't help but relax under his hands.
"Instincts, huh? Well, if I can overcome the urge to gnaw on your neck, you can overcome the urge to leap on a two ton metal box moving at fifty miles per hour." I poked his chest gently with my finger to emphasize my point. He chuckled softly and pulled me into a quick hug. I was both surprised and thrilled when he pressed a soft, hot kiss against my forehead.
"I'll try my best. Now, back to work, I suppose." Then he released me and stepped back to phase. I felt a sense of loss again as he loped away from me. I sighed and leapt back on the roof, trying not to let thoughts of Adam distract me from the task at hand. Guarding Charlie. It was a good thing my brain was well equipped to multitask.