AN: I've been trying to upload this chapter for days, but I kept getting an error message. Talk about frustrating! It's been hard on both readers and writers. Thanks for your patience. *For other authors, I found out how to work around it at least to update. When you get the error message, go to the url and change the word 'property' to 'content', no other changes. This will bring you right to your content/chapter editing page.
Chapter 33 - Two Newborns Awaken
Charlie shot up out of bed and propelled himself into the corner in milliseconds. His startled newborn eyes took in the new sights with overwhelming clarity. He was in a defensive crouch, instinctively snarling and baring his teeth, until his curious gaze lit upon Kate, standing on the other side of the bed in a submissive position, eyeing him with trepidation.
Charlie recognized she was frightened of him and his apparent hostility and quickly straightened up into a normal standing position. "Pardon me, miss. I didn't mean to startle or upset you." Internally, he marveled at the sound of his new voice, but kept his 'cop' face on the outside, appearing as if nothing could faze him.
Kate intended to say, 'It's quite alright.'
Instead, she found herself declaring, "I was afraid you were going to attack me, even though I mean you no harm." She clapped her hand over her mouth in shock, after hearing her own words.
Noticing her behavior, Charlie challenged, "What's wrong?"
"I didn't mean to say that, even though it's true. I was going to tell you 'It's quite alright,' which is really just a meaningless polite platitude," Kate confessed, her eyes widening as she continued to speak. "Are you doing something to me?"
Charlie raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I don't know. Am I?"
"He has a gift," Eleazar announced, stepping into the room from the hallway. "He compels others to tell the truth. Not only are we incapable of lying in his presence, but he actually compels us to confess any knowledge we have that he needs or wants. His question just now forced me to speak up before I would have normally. I would've preferred to wait until he had fed before sharing this knowledge."
"Well, I appreciate you telling me anyway," Charlie graciously replied.
Eleazar was still feeling disgruntled. "I'm not sure how well we'll be able to handle living with a walking truth serum. I could easily deal with speaking nothing but the truth, it's speaking the whole truth that bothers me. Sometimes withholding some of the truth is in the best interest of others. For example, suppose you thought a woman looked fat in a certain outfit. It would do nobody any good to proclaim that truth to her. Sometimes choosing to say nothing at all is for the best."
Charlie narrowed his eyes at Eleazar. "I understand your concern, friend, but is that truly how my gift works? Will it force you to speak truth indiscriminately to anyone and everyone? Would you be in danger of exposing yourself to humans if you and I were to walk amongst them? Would you feel compelled to declare to all that we are vampires? Do you feel the need to tell everyone here the intimate details of your time spent with your mate?"
Eleazar shook his head, feeling somewhat ashamed. "No, of course not. You're right. However, if you should desire to know such details, I would be unable to keep them from you."
Charlie nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose you shall simply have to trust me then, to be discreet in my search for answers."
Eleazar smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's true. It's an uncomfortable feeling to confess things I did not intend to reveal right away, but you did have a right to know."
The two men smiled at each other, silently calling a truce between them.
"That's a totally awesome gift, Charlie!" Jake declared, entering the room before Charlie had a chance to ask about him. "It'll be really useful when we catch up to the Cullens too. It's like you're the perfect cop now, able to make all the bad guys confess all their crimes, whether they want to or not."
Charlie smiled knowingly. "I must admit I'm a bit surprised to see you here, Jake? Where's Billy?"
"He's changing in the room next door," Jake informed him.
"He wasn't hurt or anything like you were," Tanya called from the other room. "He's my mate and agreed to be changed so we could be together forever."
"Oh, is that the lady who first greeted us?" Charlie inquired. Jake nodded.
"Sorry, I know it's rude not to come meet you in person, but I really can't leave my mate's side when he is so close to awakening," Tanya continued. "I don't want to risk having him wake up alone, even if I was just right next door. My name is Tanya, by the way."
Charlie smiled. "No problem, Tanya. I'm glad Billy has you."He looked expectantly around the room.
Jake decided to do the honors. "The red head you saw first is Kate, Tanya's sister. She and I took turns sitting with you while you were changing. The guy who told you about your gift is Eleazar. Knowing what other people's gifts are is his gift. His mate Carmen is waiting out in the hallway until Eleazar assures her it's safe."
"You may join us, Carmen. Charlie is sufficiently calm and won't attack you," Eleazar reluctantly admitted. Carmen breezed into the room and joined him at his side. He instinctively pushed her slightly behind him in a protective manner, even though Charlie was exhibiting remarkable restraint and control for a newborn.
"Tanya's and Kate's other sister Irina is away on an extended hunting trip with her mate Laurent," Jake concluded. "I don't know if you remember seeing them on the front porch before Paul's attack."
Charlie nodded. "I do. Jake, I've noticed you don't smell the least bit appetizing, despite your beating heart. I'm assuming that's because you're a werewolf. Honestly, your odor is somewhat reminiscent of a wet dog. I'm comforted by the knowledge you're not in danger of me snapping and eating you by accident, but I also remember you declaring vampires to be your natural enemy. Now that I'm a vampire, and your father soon will be, how does that affect our relationship with you? How are you handling being in a house full of vampires?"
Jake grinned widely. "No problem, Pops. You can't get rid of me that easily. I must admit my instincts were going haywire the first day and into the second. I was feeling pretty shaky and trapped, with strong urges to lash out at anyone who came too close to me. I would leave for long periods of time to hunt and just get away to calm myself down, knowing it wouldn't help anyone if I lost control. However, the further along in the change you and Dad got, the more at home I felt here in this house and with these vampires. It helped a lot to see their love and concern for you both. Now, I've come so far along that I actually feel like I belong here with all of you. I feel like I'm part of the family, even if it's as the black sheep of the family, or make that the wolf in black sheep's clothing."
Before Charlie could ask any more questions, Billy's heart sped up, and he screamed. All the vampires and Jake raced into Billy's room.
"What's happening?" Charlie demanded, ready to act if necessary to help his friend.
"His transformation is almost over," Eleazar replied, watching the writhing man anxiously. "The pain has left the rest of his body and is now concentrated in his heart, which is the most painful part."
"Ah, yes, I remember," Charlie agreed, thinking back and relaxing slightly now that he knew this was supposed to happen.
"Just a little more, my love," Tanya encouraged, stroking Billy's chest in a futile attempt to ease some of the pressure there.
Finally, his heart stuttered to a stop and his eyes sprang open. The first thing he saw was Tanya's black eyes staring down lovingly into his own. He smiled widely at her and pulled her down into a kiss.
Upon hearing gasps all around, he was instantly on his feet with Tanya tucked behind him, a big white wolf crouched in front of both of them snarling and growling at the rest of the room. Eleazar, Carmen, and Kate immediately assumed submissive positions, while Charlie and Jake just stared in awe.
"Wow, Dad! You're incredible!" Jake exclaimed, moving toward the growling wolf without a hint of fear or intimidation.
"Gee, Billy, I guess you had a wolf in you after all, dude," Charlie stated admiringly. He made no move to approach the way Jake was.
Upon seeing Jake, the wolf abruptly stopped growling and waited patiently for him to approach. Hearing Charlie's comment, he swung his giant head toward him, looked him over, and then gave him a wolfy smile. Charlie grinned back, waving at his friend's spirit wolf.
Billy himself was now grinning widely as well. "Jake! Charlie! You made it!" He looked down at himself and grinned even wider. "I made it!" he crowed. "I'm standing! I feel great!"
The huge white wolf sat back on his haunches, panting softly. It was calm and happy, and it promptly gave Jake a large lick on the cheek as soon as he was within range. Jake burst out laughing, wiping off his cheek and ruffling the fur on top of the wolf's head.
Billy looked at the other vampires and smiled welcomingly. "Hello, everyone. Good to see you again. Please forgive me for my instinctive behavior. I was still adjusting to my surroundings and senses and felt my mate was quite possibly in danger."
"Yes, of course. That's normal behavior for a newborn. What is less normal is your restraint in not actually attacking any of us. You and Charlie are both highly unusual, and I can't help but wonder why you're so calm and comfortable."
"Well, I knew I was becoming a vampire and knew a lot of what that entailed, so I expected to feel most of this. I think knowing what to expect in advance helped prepare my mind to deal with the overload of information. I've been attempting to process the changes since before I stopped burning, knowing full well why I was able to detect the new smells, sounds, and tastes," Billy offered.
"Me too," Charlie agreed.
"Hmm," Eleazar mused. "It's an interesting hypothesis. I'm curious to know if anyone else has experienced the same thing. Perhaps Jasper might know."
"Jasper? He's one of the Cullens, isn't he?" Charlie pounced on the familiar name, suddenly remembering his reason for being there in the first place.
"We don't know anything about Bella yet," Tanya quickly confessed. "The Cullens who visited us a few days ago didn't mention her."
"I see," Charlie sighed. "Well, Eleazar, how about you tell us all about Billy's gift then."
Eleazar smiled, only slightly upset at being forced to reveal his knowledge before he was ready this time. "This white wolf represents the spirit wolf Billy would have become if it were triggered while he was younger. The wolf he would have become then would not have had white fur though. The fur is white now, because this wolf is made entirely of spirit and not flesh. As such, it is not really solid, but can make parts of itself solid as needed. For example, when Jake petted him, his head was solid, but if Jake were to take a swipe at him, his hand would go through the wolf's body as if it was merely a ghost."
Jake immediately tried it, unable to resist. He slowly made a playful swipe at the wolf, giving him time to jump or dodge, but the wolf simply stood there, his eyes full of wisdom, and allowed Jake's hand to pass right through him. Everyone watched in awe. The wolf then gently swiped at Jake, allowing his paw to pass harmlessly through Jake's body.
Then the wolf swiped at the curtains and neatly sliced them to ribbons. Everyone gasped in shock and turned to Eleazar for explanation.
"As I said, the wolf can make any part of his body solid at will, and in a fight will solidify his teeth and claws, which will slice cleanly through vampire flesh just as Jake's would. Since the rest of his body is intangible, he cannot be hurt by the opposing vampire. Only killing Billy himself would stop the wolf from fighting. This makes Billy one of the most formidable vampires in the world, especially since his spirit wolf has it's own intelligence and is not directly controlled by Billy, leaving him free to fight alongside his wolf without having to tell it what to do."
"Well, if Dad's wolf is separate from him, with his own mind, then he should have his own name," Jake declared. "How about Chief, since Taha Aki, who first bonded with a wolf was known as the Spirit Chief?"
The wolf nodded his great head in enthusiastic agreement, causing the others to laugh, including Billy. "Chief it is," Billy decided.
"Hey, I guess since our people became one with the wolves back with Taha Aki, with a human and a wolf sharing the same body, then Dad and Chief have separated into individuals again? Is that why Chief is his own entity?" Jake asked.
"That makes sense, I suppose, but I feel it is important to point out that Chief is not truly a separate entity. He is tied to Billy and cannot go far from him without losing his substance. He can't act against Billy, but is subservient to him. His primary purpose is to protect Billy. He will also protect Tanya, because Billy's wellbeing is directly tied to hers," Eleazar explained. "Chief's health, existence, and wellbeing are all directly dependent on Billy's."
"Well, I still think you're awesome, big fella," Jake crooned to the wolf, scratching behind his ears. Chief licked Jake's face again, causing him to fall back on his bottom in his attempt to get away from the dog slobber. The family laughed and then chuckled even harder when they heard Chief barking a throaty laugh of his own.
Eleazar found himself suddenly spilling his concerns against his will. "We can't let Aro know of either of these two, or he will want them for the Guard. Aro doesn't like to take 'no' for an answer." He glared at Charlie for making him share that information with the whole group before everyone was settled and fed.
Sure enough, Tanya immediately began to panic. "They can't have him! He's mine! He's MY mate!" She grabbed onto Billy as tightly as she could and whimpered into his back. Chief stood and growled, looking all around for the source of the threat to his Master and Mistress.
"Don't fret, Tanya," Eleazar hastily reassured her. "I'm sure we'll figure out something. After all, Carlisle has managed to hold onto three very gifted vampires for decades. We just need to get with him and find out his strategies for having Aro leave him and his family alone."
"I'll go ahead and give Esme a call," Carmen suggested.
Tanya frowned and moved up beside Billy, holding onto Billy with one hand and casually calming Chief by running her fingers through his fur with her other hand, not even consciously aware of what she was doing. "Considering they are hiding information from us with regard to Charlie's daughter, I think it might be better if we all go over there in person. I have a bad feeling about what they're not telling us."
Eleazar, Carmen, and Kate exchanged glances. "Charlie's daughter?" Carmen asked what they were all thinking. They hadn't heard Tanya's conversation with Jake on the subject.
"You remember the human Edward was so obsessed with that he ran away from last January?" Tanya reminded them. They all nodded, eyes widening in concern, starting to realize where this was heading. "Well, apparently he started dating her, Bella Swan, Charlie's daughter. Then he did or said something, nobody here knows what, to break her heart, making her decide to commit suicide. She shot herself and jumped off a cliff at the same time, so she was definitely serious in her attempt, but Jasper somehow got to her before her heart stopped beating and changed her himself, despite her many open wounds and blood gushing everywhere." The other Denalis stared at her in shock. Noticing their incredulity at her story, he unconsciously used his gift to find out why.
Carmen was the first to cave to his influence. "The Cullens always said Jasper was the weakest link, that he had the least control. How was he able to resist her blood and actually change her?"
Eleazar then confessed something he'd never told the rest of his family, "You all know Jasper's scars came from his involvement in the Southern Vampire Wars, but what you don't know is that he was the Major, also known as the God of War." The other Denalis all gasped in shock. Eleazar glanced at Charlie and continued before he could be compelled to do so. "He is the most feared vampire in the world, even more so than Aro Volturi, the High King of Vampires, and the rest of our royal family and their Guard. Even though Jasper lives peacefully now and only drinks from animals, there was a time when he led the fiercest vampire army in the world and was undefeatable in battle, under the auspices of Maria, a greedy, evil vampiress who wants to rule the world. She was the one who changed him, back when he was a Major in the Confederate Army, during the American Civil War. She has the power to hypnotize a vampire into believing her lies and can only be defeated by the truth. Once a hypnotized vampire is presented with the truth and is strong enough to recognize it as such, he can break her hold on his mind. That's how Jasper was finally able to escape her influence."
Eleazar sighed and continued. "I don't know the details, as he has never confided in me, but I do know that during his time with Maria, he changed hundreds, if not thousands, of humans into vampires to be soldiers in her army. It never made sense to me for such a powerful vampire to be portrayed as so weak, and I thought perhaps it was a way of disguising his true identity. So, I'm not surprised Jasper was easily able to change the girl, but more so that he revealed his true strength by doing so. Only a vampire of his strength could have successfully changed a human as badly damaged as she apparently was. Perhaps that is why they have not informed us?"
Tanya furrowed her brow in thought, then shook her head. "No, I don't think so. They could have told us about her without giving us all the details surrounding her change. There's more to it than that, and it involves Edward, Alice, and Jasper, since those are the three they were uncommunicative about during their last visit."
"Maybe they're ashamed of Edward's behavior toward the girl?" Kate suggested.
Tanya scoffed. "Ashamed of the Golden Boy? You know he can do no wrong in Carlisle's and Esme's eyes."
Billy, Charlie, and Jake all frowned, while Chief growled.
"He'd better not be with my daughter," Charlie snarled. "If he is, I'm going to teach that boy a lesson he'll never forget."
"She doesn't need to stay with the Cullens anymore," Billy reminded him. "She has us now."
"Yeah, we can keep her safe better than they can," Jake huffed.
Everyone exchanged glances, processing this turn of events.
"We need to hunt before we do anything else," Tanya decided. "After that, we'll go see what the Cullens have to say for themselves."
With that decision made, they all shot off into the forest, searching for dinner, with Jake and Chief running side by side. Jake was thrilled to learn he could actually communicate with Chief through the mind link when he was in his wolf form. It was the best gift his dad could have given him, well besides a mate of his own. At least he'd never have to be the lone wolf in the vampire pack like he'd feared. As long as he had Chief with him, he'd never be lonesome again.
xxxxxxx
AN: Don't worry, Jasper and Bella are up again next chapter. *rubs hands* It's getting quite exciting, isn't it?