Chapter 18
A werewolf. First I find out that my best friend is a vampire, then I find out the new guy at my school is a werewolf. Does this happen to anybody but me?
In a way, this kind of makes sense. Jacob did say he was from La Push. He was totally buff, and wolves were big and powerful, right? His hands were huge when we shook, like big animal paws. And he was warm. Wolves must be warm with all that fur. Edward told me I smelled like a dog, too… and Edward completely detested Jacob.
"What's wrong with werewolves exactly?" I asked nervously.
"Long story short, they are vampires' mortal enemies. Vampires normally kill humans for their blood, and werewolves are built to protect humans. It's a complicated mouthful, and I would rather wait until Carlisle is here. He can explain better."
"Can I go up to Edward's room to wait for him?" I asked, and bolted upstairs knowing Esme's response.
I threw myself onto Edward's bed and buried my face in his pillow. Again, why does all this complicated stuff have to happen to me? The vampire thing was enough of a curveball, but now there was a werewolf that, by the sounds of it, could totally put me in danger.
When I looked up again, I saw Edward standing in the room looking at me. When I blinked, tears rolled down my eyes. Edward wrapped me in his arms and lay down with me. "Why me?" I whispered.
"Because you're a tough little girl."
I laughed. "That's a really lame excuse."
Then Edward kissed me. It was out of the blue, but felt so natural. I ran my hands through his hair as our kiss continued, longer than before. I felt that weird, cool feeling again, the venom. I ignored it though, I wanted to keep kissing Edward. Eventually he stopped me, and I was disappointed. "Come on," I murmured, trying to get him to kiss me again.
"I can't, Bella."
"Please?" I held on tight to his neck, figuring it wouldn't hurt him.
He looked into my eyes. "You have to talk to Carlisle. We need this werewolf business taken care of."
He sat up, and I followed. He walked me downstairs, and the vase on the landing was cleverly removed. Har har.
Esme made some tea for me, and Carlisle got right into explaining this werewolf thing without an intro.
"See, vampires like us normally drink the blood of humans. We go to big cities usually, taking the lives of people who won't be missed. But our family is an exception. We only drink the blood of animals, Esme and I believe it isn't fair to take the lives of humans who can't fend for themselves. That's a simple story. The werewolves, however, have a longer one.
"The werewolf gene is in many an Indian tribes' blood, and the Quileute is one of them. Now only certain members of the tribe get this werewolf gene, usually members in line to be a chief. The gene can be dormant in their bodies their whole lives if there's no trouble; it only becomes active when their tribe is threatened. Obviously, when vampires like us moved to town, they found it a threat.
"They set up an army of sorts to kill us while we were hunting, but we promised that we would only drink the blood of animals. So we made a treaty. If we were ever to harm any human in La Push or Forks, turn them or drink their blood, they have the right to come after us. With this assurance the gene calmed down, but something must be happening, since they're becoming werewolves again."
My head was in a whirl. This is too much for a girl to take. I just got over the fact that my best friend is a vampire. Now this is thrown at me. "But if you didn't kill any humans, why did the gene flare up?"
Carlisle took a long look at me and Edward, and I felt myself blush. "I-I'm not a vampire! No one hurt me!"
"Let's face it, Bella. Edward is attracted to you. The fact your blood is… greatly appealing to him could have awakened the gene."
"But… how do they know?"
"It's nature. Something that can't be explained."
"So what do we do then?" Edward asked.
Carlisle sat down. "There's really nothing we can do, short of either separating you or robbing you of your hormones," he said while looking at Edward.
I buried my head in my arms. Good, good Lord. Then my head shot up. "So is that why Jacob's here? To protect me?"
"I suppose. I don't know their motives just yet, but I'm a little afraid to go to La Push. If the whole reservation knows, we run the risk of getting jumped and starting a ruckus," Carlisle said.
Again, why me? Am I just destined to be cursed or what? Am I the only person on Earth who has to deal with this crap?