Bella
The Council of Elders were to meet us on the hill behind Jacob's house. Far enough it was private but from this point, it wasn't far to the treaty lines and they wanted to be close when having meetings. I don't know why. I knew this spot was where most meetings were held but they were usually at night and around a roaring bonfire, sat on fallen logs discussing things I wasn't too sure on. I had guessed that for the majority of the time their topics were about the Cullen's. They were the only real threat for the pack for miles and miles but even then, the Cullen's weren't a threat.
After the time I spent with Edward, it was impossible to imagine him hurting anyone. The council had gone into panic when those nomads lead by James had showed up in town. We didn't know until Carlisle approached us but apparently James, his mate Victoria and their friend Laurent had taken a liking to a human friend of Edwards who knew of their secret. I didn't know the human girl but I did know that because of her scent, the three vampires had gone into a kind of mass hunt. That was the only time the Council had an emergency meeting, but this was the second and it was because of me.
The Council didn't seem that scary to me, I had grown up with Billy, Harry and Old Quill but right now I wasn't just Bella anymore, I was Bella Call, pack sister. I was a wolf now. These three were my Elders, commanders, instructors and I had to treat them with respect.
"I don't want to do this," I muttered to Jacob as we pulled up in the car next to his house. (I hadn't learnt how to phase on my own yet so while the others ran here and changed behind the shed, Jake drove the two of us) I knew that from now on I had to act more like an adult, more responsible. The word tasted disgusting. While we walked up the hill I could see the Council stood waiting. I had expected them all to be more formal actually. Sue was there with her husband Harry and she smiled and walked over to me. Sue was more like a mother to me than that drunk at home.
"Bella," Sue greeted me, she wrapped me in her arms. "I'm still so stunned at all of this. Even more so than when Leah phased. We all believed the gene had skipped you." I nodded.
"So did I," I confessed. We all turned to the Council and I looked into Billy's eyes. He looked strong, even in the wheelchair. I knew he, like Harry and old Quill, had a lot of wisdom and knowledge on our history and the secret of phasing.
Some part of me wondered if any of them had ever phased, I guessed they had the gene but because the Cullen's were the only vampires in this area and had been for a long, long time, they had no reason to ever phase. Probably too late now. It was our turn.
"Hello, Bella," Billy said, "I imagine you are just as confused as we are at the moment,"
"Probably more so," I told him.
"We all are still a little confused by this but the point is Bella, that you have the gene. It was dormant but became activate. You are one of us and nothing can change that now. Do you understand?" he asked. I nodded. I did understand. I had dreamt about phasing and joining the back since I could remember but now it was coming true, it didn't feel like a dream. It felt more like I had started a test or an examination that would go on forever.
It felt good but scary. I couldn't stop shaking. "I don't suppose that there is much for you to discuss. There is a new vampire in town who we are investigating but we do need you prepared. So we've asked the boys and Leah to help you for the next couple of weeks. Help you learn more about who we are, what we do and where you belong."
"I'm telling you Leah, I can't do it!' I was so angry, my skin felt like it was on fire. Leah was the cause. For the better part of an hour we had both been stood outside the Uley house while she tried to make me phase.
The entire pack was sat, bored on the porch steps. Leah put her hands on her hips and sighed. She was getting aggravated too. "I don't know why but I can't but I can't just make myself turn into an animal!"
"All the rest of us got angry when we first phased, try get angry," Jake called.
"I'm angry," I snapped.
"Bella," Leah tried to but in.
"Get angrier," Paul demanded with a smile.
"I can't! This is stupid," I growled. I didn't want to do this, I was excited for my first phase but it was like asking a normal person to phase, they just can't. It seemed that way with me. I wanted to leave and calm down.
"Bella," Leah tried again.
"Leah. I'm going home. I'm tired and annoyed and I can't get that angry and-"
Leah punched me in the jaw.
Things went blurry for a second as tears welled up in my eyes and a cry escaped my lips. It wasn't a painful cry but one more out of shock. I hit the ground and grazed my hands and knees. I rubbed away the tears.
"What the hell is the matter with you?" I snapped as I spat into the dirt, tasting blood in my mouth.
"You phase when you're angry. Lets fight. Let's get angry, Bella," I turned and in less than a second saw Leah's boot coming at me. I managed to roll out the way and scramble to my feet and then duck out of the way of her punch. I spun around and caught her wrist when she went again.
"I'm not going to fight you!" I yelled. She replied with a head but and I hit the ground. My forehead ached like it had never before and I bit my lip, holding in harsh words I really wanted to let out. I rolled over and got to my feet. Okay then. I had watched wrestling as a child and seen the boys fight non-stop these past few years. I couldn't fight but if Leah wanted to go try me, bring it on. I threw a punch but missed and caught her ear, she laughed and ducked out of each of my swipes.
"Focus, Bella," Jacob called, "Don't think, just feel."
"That doesn't make sense," I snapped. Leah caught me with an upper-cut and I hit the ground again. I had dirt in my mouth and my hair was home to twigs. I was angry. How much angrier did I have to get? From the ground I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. I could hear the boys and their breaths and their voices and their laughter, I could hear the slight shuffle of Leah's feet as she moved around me, circling me like I were her pray.
I could sense in which direction she ran before I could see her, and in the end I didn't have to see her. I spun and struck out towards the left with my right foot and caught her in the side of the knee. My blow surprised her and she hit the ground. Before her torso followed, I swung again and clenched my fingers tight. As my knuckles made impact with her jaw I heard a crack.
The crack was me.
I cried as pain ran from the tips of my fingers up to my shoulder, each little nerve screaming at me. I yelled and held my hand to my chest. Sam was there then and he reached out to check my hand but I turned away. Paul was on my other side, his arms trying to wrap around me.
'Leave her be.' Sam's voice ordered. I expected it was because I was pissed and hurt and didn't want to see anyone but not long later I realized something else was happening. I felt my throat open wide and then seem shut. I felt the air that I did take it was like smoke and my skin vibrated like a machine. My eyes stung and everything—the grass and the trees and the flowers and the dirt and even our own skin—was brighter. Everything gave off its own glow, it's own flow of energy. I yelled out as something inside me flipped in a three-sixty flip and my back arched. It wasn't a painful experience but an unusual one. Entirely new and unnatural.
Then when I threw my head back with a gasp, I felt as in every bone, every nerve, every muscle, every cell, every atom in me just exploded and grew to ten times the original size. My head shot up and at first I thought I was flying, but I was growing. My hands bent in an unusual way and I fell forward. I hit the ground with a rather worrying thump and lay there, breathing in and out. When I opened my eyes I gasped. Everything was the same but a hundred times brighter.
There was an aura around my friends, a kind of beige and cream and brown aura. The aura was not visible though. It was as if I could sense it and smell it, but it was blinded to the eye. Everything had its own aurora. The dirt was dark, the leaves were yellow and white. Everything had it's own scent and it's own energy. Everything looked the same, exactly the same, but it just had more energy.
I saw the boys eyes watching me carefully, Sam's hands outstretched but not to hold my hand, as if to just hold me still. When I got to my feet I realized that I had four of them. Not feet or hands. Paws. I looked down and from what I could see, thick chocolate hairs covered every inch of me.
"Angers not the only trigger, Pain is too."
I was one of them. I has phased.
As I ran for my first real run, I felt as if I were on top of the world and every problem I had or had ever had and probably would have in the future would all dissipate. My gigantic paws hit the earth, one after another, as I threw myself forward. I ran at the head of the pack with Sam coming up on my right and Paul and Jacob on my left, the two of them fighting to my side. I didn't know why Paul wanted to be so close to me, probably just wanted to race; but honestly though, I didn't care.
I was running, I was flying. I didn't feel like a giant beast, I just felt like myself except everything was bigger, brighter, better and I was gliding through the middle of it. I ran through a ravine, letting the rushing water splash up and wet my fur, I let my tongue hang out of my mouth as I ran. (I could feel it flopping!) It felt so canine and animal and stupid but natural too.
My brothers all howled, one after another. In just the half an hour I had been an actual wolf, I had learnt to recognize facial expressions of the wolves, learnt to move the new muscles in my face to mimic a smile or a frown or a glare. I had recognized certain howls and knew if they were full of panic, etc. These howls were howls of joy and recklessness and pure excitement. I let my head fall back and my mouth open and my own ever first howl echoed through the land, rustling leaves and terrifying small creatures. I loved it.
We stopped a little while later, when we were all tired out. (Not that we were actually tired, more bored of constant running) I sat with my head cocked, watching some of the boys drinking from the river, watching their tongues lapping up and down.
'Bella'. The voice belonged to Sam and it was as if he were speaking inside my head. Then I realized he was.
'Sam?' My mental voice replied and I gave a little, mental gasp? I knew he had heard me.
'Strange, isn't it. Being able to hear people's thoughts and having them hear your own.'
'It is. I love it but hate it at the same time. It's worrying knowing that all my memories and thoughts are open to you guys. I've got private things in my head, really private things that I don't want some people -'
I jerked my head in Paul's direction, knowing he was probably listening in this moment '-To hear or see. It's a tad creepy.'
Sam gave a smile and looked down, his paw playing with the grass.' I know. But that'll be something you get used to. Believe me, Bella. It's horrible at first. The most of us are teenage boys, can you imagine the thoughts and things we had done in private that are now open for everyone to see?'
I would have blushed if I were human. I knew that. I knew that when I learnt to look into memories that I may find some disturbing ones. I had already guessed the kinds of memories I'd find with the boys. Normal probably but of course, the odd memory would find its way to me. A private time when the boys, well, acted more like normal teenage boys if you get what I mean.
'Oh god.' I thought, 'Does that mean that any fantasizing thoughts I have, any private moments I experience, will be open to you bunch of boys?' I gasped.
'At first.' Sam thought. 'But we've all pretty much learnt to hide specific memories from one another, it's hard to do but in time you'll learn to hide those thoughts and memories. You're lucky, considering you're in the minds of the likes of Paul.'
'Hey!' Paul's mental voice cautioned and I barked something of a laugh.
'So. . .' I asked Sam gently, 'Does this mean that you don't have any of those thoughts?' Sam pondered this for a moment before only winking and then trotting over for a drink.
A/N: If there seems to be anything up, let me know and I'll look at it! See ya'll soon with Chapter 5!
