Chapter 35

Carlisle drove as fast as he could despite the snowstorm that was heavily brewing in Forks. Leah had received the news about Jared and Embry and only remained calm and in her seat because of Cassandra. The last hour of the trip had been the hardest, though they finally made it back home to see what the verdict of the several Quileute boys would be.

"What's wrong Mom?" Cassandra asked, as Leah tensed up on the final road that lead to the reservation.

"Nothing, honey," she said, running a hand over her hair. She kissed the top of her head and pulled her close in a hug.

Edward's car was already parked when they got there, though Alice's and Rosalie's were not yet. Carlisle wondered if Rosalie and Emmett had been informed or not, though figured Alice had probably let them know by now.

Carlisle went strait over to Billy's when they arrived with Esme and Caleb. Masen followed Leah's lead, as she lead the way to Sam's with Cassandra draped over her back. The snow was so wildly overwhelming, they all had trouble seeing clearly through the thick of it.

"Carlisle!" Edward's voice called as he approached Billy's house.

He turned to meet his son's eyes, then faced Esme, "Take Caleb inside."

She looked up toward Billy's house and nodded. He squeezed her arm gently and kissed her cheek before running off toward Edward and Bella.

Esme headed toward the front door, though before she could even knock, Sue opened it. Behind her sat Charlie and Billy at the kitchen table, each with a cup of coffee.

"Is it true?" Esme asked her.

Sue took a deep breath and nodded slowly at her friend, then quickly invited her inside. Sue's eyes immediately fell upon Caleb and she brushed some snowflakes off his forehead.

"What a beautiful baby," she gushed, despite the sadness that lingered in the undertones of her voice.

Esme half smiled, "Thank you."

"Hello Mrs. Cullen," Billy said. He often called her by her first name, though at times he still referred to her as Mrs.

"Hi, Billy," she said back, waving at Charlie and exchanging a hello with him, as well. She then cut to what she was there for. "What happened?"

Billy sighed and looked down, placing a hand over his cowboy hat, "Cold ones," he replied, then looked at her, "I'm just used to using that term."

"Our kind?" Esme asked, "Who?"

"I don't know," he told her, "A few of the boys have tracked the scent, they're teaming up with some of your family out there now trying to see if it's recognizable."

A silence fell over them before Esme wanted to confirm Alice's vision, "It was Embry and Jared?" Her eyes went to Sue when Billy didn't immediately respond.

Sue nodded, "Yes. We couldn't help them by the time we all found out."

"I'm so sorry," Esme told them, shaking her head.

Charlie remained quiet and leaned into the counter, sipping his coffee. His eyes focused on the ground.

"Too young," Billy said, shaking his head, "Far too young."

Sue accepted a hug from Esme, then poured a cup of tea for herself. A loud series of howls rang through the air and Billy almost seemed to wince. After a few minutes of silence, people began to pile through the front door, lead by Jacob who looked furious.

"Jake..." Billy said, looking at his son, "Did you find anything?"

"They killed one," Jacob told him.

His father nodded as if he had already know then, and Charlie, too, gave a very subtle nod. He looked at Sue, who made her way across the kitchen to be next to him.

"Where's Seth?" she asked.

"At Sam's with Leah," he explained.

Carlisle joined back up with Esme, and Edward and Bella stood closely by the doorway. Snow was tracked all through the house as Jacob made his way around with Renesme on his heels to try calming him down.

"You're going to phase again inside," she said, pleading with him from the other room, "Jake, try to calm down so we can all talk about this in here." His voice argued back quietly, though he seemed to give in to her words. Within a few minutes, they returned to the group. Jacob's face was still stern with anger, though his posture was more controlled and less tense. He took a deep breath.

"Did you catch the scent of the other one?" Billy asked him.

Jacob shook his head, "No. Sam did, but none of us have been able to track it." He shifted his eyes toward Carlisle, "They can't tell if it's someone they know if there's no scent to go on," then added, "Sam thought he may have smelled it before, but he wasn't sure. It didn't exactly stand out in his mind."

Renesme rubbed his back gently as he spoke, then again as the room fell silent.

"God," Jacob said again, breaking the silence, "How did the happen? Who could have done this?" His jaw clenched at the same time as his fists. He looked back toward Renesme, who gave him the space he needed, "I'm sorry." A second later, Jacob was out the door snarling and growling before he took off out of frustration, anger and angst.

"Billy," Carlisle said, "I'm sorry this happened to you all. We'd like to get justice for Embry and Jared."

"I hope we can," Billy said, looking around, "Their families and loved ones are a mess. I hope this doesn't divide us all."

"How so?" Bella asked, speaking up for the first time. Edward looked at her, and they both fixed their eyes on Billy, while Charlie fixed his eyes on them.

"People start to revert back to their old ways of thinking when tragedies happen," he said, "It's a defense mechanism. Now, we all know you're not the threat, but look into American history, in general. People who are different become divided because when trust in lost because of a few people, others begin to blame a whole race and then segregation begins. I don't want this to happen but... this is bad."

"I'll never feel that way," Sue told Billy, "Not about the bonds that have been made and the families, friendships... I just want the people who are responsible to pay for their actions."

"And they will," Billy assured her, then added to assure his position remained clear, "They will by all of us."

Carlisle made eye contact with him, and Billy gave him a nod. He returned the gesture with a solemn half smiled and put his arm around Esme's shoulders.

"Where are the kids?" Esme asked him, referring to the car Alice was driving.

"I sent them home," Edward told her, "I told her there was nothing else they could do. They were farther behind than the rest of us."

"What about Emmett and Rosalie?" Carlisle asked.

"Home," Edward said with a single nod, "They all know what happened."

"Where do we go from here?" Billy asked, "We have to find the second one that was behind this."

Carlisle looked over at him, "We'll get a clear description from Nicole's vision. Edward should be able to read her thoughts very clearly. He'll know exactly what she's thinking, even if she has a hard time describing it."

"Is there anything I can do?" Charlie asked, folding his arms in front of his chest. The now empty coffee mug hung from his fingertips.

"Bella and I will stay close by your house," Edward told him, "To keep an eye out; make sure you're safe."

Sue looked up at Charlie, "I want to make sure my babies are safe. I don't want Seth or Leah just running reckless if something happens. Leah's gotten better now that she's with Masen, but she still has that side in her."

Bella motioned for her daughter to join them, as she now stood alone upon Jacob's need to release some frustration out of the house. A few more howls pierced everyone's ears.

"Should we go to Masen's?" Esme asked Carlisle, "And wait for them there?"

"I'll go with you," Sue volunteered. She looked at Charlie, who stood up strait from where he was leaning. "You can stay with Billy if you want. It's just next door." They exchanged a look before Sue managed to whisper that she wanted Billy to have some company. Charlie quickly got the hint and stayed put in the kitchen. Edward and Bella decided to do the same and wait out Jacob's return with Renesme.

Sue bundled up in a jacket and followed Carlisle and Esme out the door, shortly after entering her former home with them where they sat waiting for their children. Within only five minutes, Masen ran inside with Cassandra in his arms and placed her down.

"Where's Mom?" she asked immediately.

"She's almost back home," he told her, glancing up at his parents and Sue. "Why don't you go take a nice, warm shower and hop into you PJ's for now, okay? You don't have to go to sleep yet."

Cassandra nodded, "Okay." She passed by the kitchen, getting a kiss on the cheek from Sue, and disappeared down the hall.

"Where's Leah?" Sue asked Masen.

Leah entered their home before he could answer, "Right here," she said.

Sue walked over and gave her daughter a hug, shivering as she did from the cold let in from the open door. Masen closed it and turned up the heat, then started a pot of boiling water on the stove.

"How long ago did it happen?" Carlisle asked her.

Leah brushed off her clothes, "Today. Earlier."

"I tried to see if there was something I could do," Masen told everyone, "But there wasn't." He looked at Leah, who's eyes began to tear up and she excused herself from the room. Sue took in a deep breath and looked around.

"We'll find whoever did this," Masen assured his mother-n-law, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder before giving her a long hug.

"I don't want anyone else getting hurt," she told him.

"I know," he said back, then stared over at his parents and Caleb.

No one knew quite what to do in the moment. A little part of everyone hoped the monster that did this to Embry and Jared would return so they could seek revenge of him, though an equal part wished he would never come back and leave them be in peace. One thing was for certain, they were all sure this wasn't over, and the packs were heavily feeling the effects of losing their brothers. The possibility existed that another war could break out, and it was not in the Quileutes nature to back down.