Chapter 8: The Council's Decision

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight

Jacob reluctantly handed the phone to Billy and sat down, waiting to hear the conversation.

"Hello? Joseph, we need to get the council together. There's a grave situation in Forks. It's the Swan girl. Yes, that's the one. She didn't take my advice, and now is paying the consequences. Can something be done tonight? Well, when is Old Quil going to be back? Oh, okay then, I guess it can wait till morning, eh. Around 10:30? I'll be there at 10:30 then. Thanks."

There was a look of disdain on Jacob's face as he retrieved the blasted thing from him. "Jeez, Dad, do you think this is really necessary?"

"Son, you don't realize what this could mean for our people. If this baby is born, what will stop these creatures from creating other monsters? I know you love Bella, but this cannot happen."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm not saying anything. That's for the council to decide."

Crap. The knots were started to form in Jacob's stomach. What would the council decree?

The phone rang, jolting Jacob out of his thoughts. It was Embry. "Hey, Jake, just thought you'd like to know, Sam's on his way over to your place. We just got off patrol, and well ... you know how it is. We tried not to think about it, but it just sorta happened anyway. You're not mad at us, are you?"

"I guess it's no use trying to hide it now. My dad's in on it, and told a council member. By tomorrow, everyone in La Push will know. Thanks, for warning me though, Em."

On his way out to the garage, Jacob saw Sam heading in his direction. He thought it was best to have this meeting in a bigger arena in case things got ugly, so he motioned for his Alpha to follow him.

Time for the Showdown. Jacob got right to the point. "I guess somebody spilled the beans, huh?"

"You think this is funny?" Sam boomed. "That thing she's carrying inside her is an abomination. It has got to be destroyed."

Jacob practically spit out the following. "Now, just a damn minute. Let me tell you something, Uley. How do we know that this thing will even be born? Anything could happen between now and then. And no one is touching Bella. Are you listening to this? You'll have to go through me first! You can bet on it."

Sam shook his finger in front of Jacob's face. "And you can bet that the whole pack will be behind me if you try to stand in my way."

Jacob stepped closer; they were now nose to nose. "Is that so? Maybe we should wait to hear what the council has to say before you start spouting your almighty Alpha orders."

Sputtering, Sam growled, the spittle spraying Jacob's face, "Mark my words, the council will back me up in this decision."

"We'll see about that," Jacob huffed, wiping away the frothy spatters from his nose and cheeks.

In response, Sam spun around so abruptly that the dirt and debris caked on the floor whirled up in a gray cloud. He stormed out of the Taj, muttering expletives under his breath.

Sleep was hard to come by that night. Who could blame the poor boy? He dreaded the upcoming meeting of the elders the next morning.

It was useless to try to snatch any more shut-eye, so as soon as the light streamed through his dust-covered window, Jacob got up to make some breakfast. He helped his dad get dressed and into his wheelchair. Needless to say, there wasn't much conversation at the table, and later the silence extended to the trip over to the Tribal center as well.

All the elders were present, awaiting the whistle blower. Jacob waited outside in the Ateara's borrowed Ford Escape for the meeting to be over. Five minutes hadn't elapsed until Joseph Nacy approached the vehicle. "Come inside, Son. You have some explaining to do."

Jacob followed behind the tall man with the salt and pepper hair cascading down his back. He wished now that he had worn better clothes; he certainly didn't want to appear disrespectful.

Joseph led him to an empty seat next to his father. All eyes were immediately cast in his direction. He squirmed in his chair; he was so intimidated.

Old Quil, standing beside his seat of authority, started the interrogation. "We understand that you have an acquaintance by the name of Bella Swan?"

With a shoulder shrug, Jacob said, "It's no secret. She's been my best friend for more than two years."

"Yes, I know, but there may be some members here, that do not know. So if you will bear with me, please."

Jacob nodded in deference. "Yessir."

"Your father tells us that despite his warning, she had a boyfriend who is in fact a Cold One. Isn't that true?"

"Yes, but she's with me now. She saw that it was too dangerous for her to be with him."

Holding his palm out, Old Quil interjected, "But it's also true that she had intimate relations with him, and is now carrying his child. Am I wrong?" There was a buzz emanating from the participants surrounding the table at that comment.

The poor wolf boy was cornered. The facts were clear. This was a direct violation of the treaty.

"No, but she came to me. She changed her mind. Bella never thought he could father a child—she's not happy about any of this. She wishes that it had never happened."

Sam was present in the room, and stood. "May I speak?"

Old Quil settled back in his seat, and gestured to Sam to take up the discussion.

"Whatever her wishes are, the fact remains, she is pregnant with his spawn. That child is our mortal enemy, and that makes the Swan girl our enemy too. I say we destroy them both, and show the Cullens that we will not tolerate any breach of the so-called trust between our two factions."

Jacob's chair nearly crashed to the floor as he rose to his feet. He braced his arms on the table and leaned across, glaring at Sam. "You can't do that. Bella is human."

"Your love has blinded you, Jacob. This is not about you, or your unquestionable love for her. She is one person. This is about the survival of our people-the protection of the tribe. It would be regrettable, but we're at war, and there's always some collateral damage in war. If she dies, that should be a lesson to the Cullens, to stick with their own kind."

Joseph looked to Old Quil who motioned for Sam to return to his seat. "What would you propose we do, Son?"

"We can't murder Charlie Swan's only daughter. We'd be worse than the monster that got her pregnant. Don't you all see that? Please ... let's wait awhile. When and if the time comes that she gives birth, then do whatever you want with it. Just ... no ... you can't kill Bella, it's just wrong. We value life, not take it."

The brow on Old Quil's weatherd face rippled in concentration. "What Jacob said has some truth. I think we should wait and see what comes to pass. Is there anyone who is not in agreement with this plan? You may show it by raising your hand to the square."

Sam raised his hand for all to see.

"Yes, Sam we know how you feel, but this is the elders' decision, and you must honor it."

Sam gave Jacob a dirty look and averted his eyes. He was the first person to leave the council chambers.

Embry and Quil were in the house with Jacob. They were home from a half day at school, and they were eating lunch. "Oh, man, you should have seen him. He was like the Alpha of all Alphas. He was on us for every little step we took."

"Yeah," Quil added, while taking another huge bite of his hot dog. "He was broadcasting his thoughts so loud that we couldn't help seeing the replay of the council meeting in living color. I guess Old Quil shut him down, huh? Then when we thought about how much Sam deserved it, he got all pissy. He was in a bad mood for the next few hours. I'm tellin' you, it was a loooong, awkward shift."

Jacob leaned his elbow on the table, and propped his chin up on his fist. "Well, what do you guys think though? Is this baby gonna be the end of our tribe?"

"Nah, I think Sam, especially, is overreacting," Embry offered. "I mean the kid will still be half human. Maybe he won't drink blood."

Quil crammed the rest of the hot dog into his mouth, and reached for another. "What about when he gets older and those hormones start raging? He'll be chasing the girls at vampire speed."

"Says the skirt chaser of the wolf kingdom," Embry teased.

"We don't know that it's gonna be a boy. Maybe it'll be a girl."

"Then she better watch out for me!" Quil chortled.

Then he added, wait, wait." With one hand fluffing his hair, Quil batted his eyelashes, and squealed, "Oh, I can see it now—a pretty little thing with copper curls and big chocolate eyes."

A big sigh whooshed from Jacob's lungs. "Okay, change of subject. This is giving me a headache. Hand me some of those chips, will ya, Em?"

Embry handed him the bag of Doritos. "Hey, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure, sure."

"When Bella came to you that day, how did you find it in your heart to forgive her?"

Muttering, Quil was shaking his head. "Always with the philosophical questions. You're such a pansy, Call."

"I'm not a pansy; I'm just more sensitive than you are."

After an eye-roll, his buddy quipped, "So—I'm a cactus. It has its uses. And hand those chips back this way. I'm not done with them."

Jacob threw the bag of chips across the table at Quil. He looked at Embry and said, "To answer your question. I have no idea. I'm just so in love with her, that I could forgive her anything."

"Not much left to forgive her for. She's been there and done that already."

"Shut up, Quil," his two pals brayed in unison.

"You weren't there, idiot. She was bruised from head to foot, and crying her eyes out. She looked pitiful. I guarantee even you would've caved. When she told me she was through with him and wanted me, I didn't care if she'd robbed a bank or killed her next door neighbor. I was just so damn glad she finally saw the light and chose me. The rest was freakin' irrelevant. "

They were at the kitchen table, playing a game of scrabble. Jacob had just spelled out the word v-a-m-p.

"Did you have to choose that word?" An eye-roll accompanied her comment. "Anyway, that's not correct. It's only half a word." Bella reached to remove the tiles from the board.

Jacob was faster, and slapped his hand on top of them. "What're you talkin' about? Of course it's a real word."

"No it's not. You made that up. That's what you always call ..." She looked toward her dad, who was watching the ball game on TV. "... well, you know."

"Hey, I didn't complain when you put down, obsequious. Who the hell ever heard of that word?"

She was still trying to pry his fingers away from the letters, but they were pretty immovavble. He stubbornly hid the little wooden squares from her.

"Anyway, didn't you ever hear of a girl being called a vamp?"

"Besides Alice, Rose and Esme? No!"

"Jeez, don't they teach you anything at that school for pale faces?"

Bella gave him a death glare. "All right, smarty-pants. What the heck is a vamp?"

"I'm not gonna tell you now," he smirked.

"Jacob Black—I knew it. You were lying through your teeth."

"Was not!"

Her two arms clasped themselves in front of her chest. "I'm not playing any more—cheater!"

"I am not a cheater . . . Hey, Charlie, your daughter's a sore loser," he yelled. He heard her dad, chuckling in the other room.

"Only because you cheated."

"You mean—only because I won."

She tossed her head. "See if I make you any more tamales."

Jacob stood up. "That does it. Call me a cheat and a liar ..." He marched into the living room and looked for the dictionary in the book case.

He pulled it down, and thumbed through the thin leaves. Jabbing a finger in the middle of a page, he waved it under her nose and brayed, "Ah, ha ... what does this say, Ms. Know-it-all?"

Bella mouthed the words as she read: vamp—A woman who exploits men, especially by seduction.

"Okay, you won," she muttered softly.

He cupped his ear. "What was that? I didn't hear you."

Pouting, she repeated, "I said, you won."

"Damn, straight. C'mere, Bells." He spread his arms out, beckoning to her. She snuggled into him, and he kissed her on the top of her head. "I've got a consolation prize for you."

Jacob lifted her chin. "Pucker up, honey. Get them while supplies last."

Their silly little game took his mind off the council meeting for a while. He didn't want to burden his girl with the news, so that was a good way to shield it from her. He wondered how long it would take for her to see the worry in his eyes though. He couldn't play games forever.

When he fell asleep that night, he dreamed that Bell had her baby. But the worst part was when-he-imprinted-on it. Huuuuh! He woke up all of a sudden, shaking uncontrollably. Jolting out of bed, he went to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. Jeez, what a horrible nightmare. Thank god, that could never could it?