Chapter 33 - Content
Bella stood in the middle of the attic feeling uncomfortable and very much alone in Embry's presence. It felt like they were back in the porch swing again with a well of mistrust and miles of distance between them. Whatever it was that the pack was keeping hidden from her, it wasn't fair. She'd earned her place amongst the pack by the spilling of her own blood. Being kept on the outside was something Edward had done, not Jacob.
In truth, Bella felt unnerved. If their lives had been normal, the find behind the wall would have been chalked up to nothing more than some old hocus pocus and would have produced a good laugh or scary story from across the flames of a midnight fire. Instead, as the dust motes danced through the slanting afternoon sunlight, Bella shivered with some unknown fear. That old feeling crept over her again, just as it had the day she and Leah drove the rain soaked 101. A goose had walked over her grave again. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up. It was a feeling she was tired of knowing and one that happened all too frequently since her departure from Seattle.
The two stood there in awkward silence, listening to the loud rumble of the truck's engine die on the long stretch of pavement, leaving behind the sound of creaking boards as Embry shifted from one foot to the other. "You want me to carry this downstairs where there's more light?" he offered, bending to pick up the trunk.
Bella exhaled, letting out the breath she'd been holding. Embry's voice had broken the spell, shaking loose the demons threatening her soul while shedding a ray of sunshine through the gloom. "Yeah, that'd be great. There's sandwiches in the kitchen if you're hungry."
A brilliant smile lit up his face and his dark eyes crinkled with excitement. "I'm always hungry." Just like that, the awkwardness vanished. Even so, Bella still wondered what it was Jacob and Embry were hiding, certain it wasn't going to be good.
ooo000ooo
"So, looks like you finally told him."
Bella was sitting at the kitchen table, absently picking at her sandwich and chips, thinking about the paper they found in the attic while Embry dug around in the fridge for something to drink.
"Mmmhmmm..." was her singular answer.
"and..." he prodded, having emerged with a couple of cold beers in his hands. When she didn't say anything, he stood there, leaning against the fridge and boring holes in her skull until she finally caved.
"You're worse than a girl," she accused, narrowing her eyes at him. The truth was, Bella wasn't quite ready to share yet. All of the emotions she was feeling were too new... and yet they weren't. Those moments last night and this morning with Jacob were precious and she wanted to hug them to herself a little longer, allowing them to wrap her in a warm blanket of love. Everything that had happened was still fresh, even down to the fleeting thought she'd had earlier, that there was still a chance it couldn't last. If she talked about it too much now, it might overwhelm her.
"Hey!" he replied indignantly, not bothering to hide the laughter in his voice while he ransacked the kitchen drawers for a bottle opener. "I resemble that remark!"
"You're lucky I like you." Which was true, considering he'd upended half the drawers onto the counter in his search, then swept their contents back in half hazardly and creating a disorganized mess that made Bella's OCD tendencies wince.
"Please. You love me." Embry settled down across from her, ignoring the platter of sandwiches that called out his name. Elbows on the table, fingers intertwined, resting his chin on them, he batted his thick, dark eyelashes like a cartoon schoolgirl on a cheap valentine. "So, what happened? What did he say? Did he ask you to be his girlfriend? Tell me all about it." He looked so completely comical that Bella half expected to see his teeth sparkle like the boys featured in cheesy teeny bopper magazines. The dreamy hunk with the even dreamier smile. That was Embry. All the way. God help the local tweens.
A devious little smile upturned the corner of Bella's lips. Seeing a chance to get even with Embry for the messed up drawers, she pounced. Dropping a shoulder, she licked her lips and then eyeballed him seductively. In a voice thickened with wild honey, she asked, "Do you want all the dirty details about how we fuc-"
His eyes flew open wide, a look of sheer terror crossing over his face. "Nevermind!" Embry tossed his hands in the air, begging her to stop. If he was lucky, Jake would be able to control his thoughts the next time they phased together. Bella was like a sister to him. A lifetime supply of brain bleach wouldn't be enough to rid his head of Jacob and her doing the horizontal tango.
"That's what I thought," she stated, feeling pretty smug while Embry drained his first beer in silence. After a few minutes he looked up at her thoughtfully, his dark eyes soft with understanding. "You're happy?" he asked.
Bella's own eyes glistened with fresh tears, reflecting back at him a huge well of conflicting and powerful emotions. "So much that it scares me."
Embry reached out to her, understanding the small fear she had to be harboring in her heart. Bella had been to hell and back once before. A person couldn't suffer the kind of devastation Edward Cullen unleashed on her without carrying that same fear with them in some small capacity for the rest of their lives. "Don't ever be afraid of love, Bella. Real love, what Jacob feels for you, it's what people search for their entire lives. If the rest of us are lucky- if I'm ever that lucky, it'll be a fraction of the love and devotion he has for you. The council, they talk about soul mates, but you know what I think? Finding your other half in a sea of people and feeling that kind of magic without an ancient curse telling you that's what it is- that's more real than anything else in this world. Imprinting, it only helps it along. The two of you forged a real relationship based off of trust, friendship and hard work. That kind of love is a gift."
Tears spilled forth in a flood, and in an instant, his arms were wrapped around her tightly. Both warm and loving, he was the brother she'd always wanted and the friend she'd always needed. Embry allowed her to feel without regret, seamlessly filling the role Jacob had once occupied in her heart. Somewhere along the way in the last few months, they shifted places. Embry Call had become the best friend she could have asked for, not even saving Leah. When she'd cried her tears, he wiped them away gently, smiling brilliantly, making her forget what it was she was afraid of in the first place. "So, what's in this thing?" he asked, nodding toward the antique trunk he'd carried down.
"Not sure," she replied, sniffing and swallowing back the last vestige of tears clogging her throat. "I've never actually gone up in the attic before."
"Well, lets see what kind of treasure hides in a box and not in a wall." Embry stood up, offering his hand and a warm smile, just as he'd offered his unconditional friendship so long ago. Scrambling to her feet, Bella hugged him impulsively. It seemed Embry was always picking her up off the floor, literally as well as figuratively. She resolved to be the same kind of friend for him, her mind already churning with some way to repay his kindness. Most of which seemed to circle around mass quantities of food.
Grabbing a soft rag from beneath the sink, Bella meticulously dusted off the wooden trunk to reveal beautifully hammered metal embossed with tiny leaves and berries. Warm wooden slats adorned the sides, anchoring leather straps, brittle and cracked with age. The rusty hinges protested when the lid opened, reluctant to reveal the secrets locked within.
Flowered paper, once a brilliant pink but now faded and yellowed, covered the small wooden trays. Inside were the relics of another time, when ladies wore long dresses, elbow gloves and lace. A small bouquet of dried flowers, perhaps from a bridal bouquet, tied with satin ribbon, sat atop the once hopeful dreams of a young woman. Bella lifted the pieces out carefully, handling each one as if it were a precious jewel. A leather bound journal, pages jotted with recipes and everyday notes, a glimpse inside the life of a girl who had lived long ago. At the bottom, she found a small stack of newspapers, the antique font emblazoned across the top proclaimed them to be The Forks Register. The date inscribed as 1919. A sad headline, slightly larger than the rest, stood out among the old typeset.
Search for Marie Swan Suspended, Body Never Recovered.
Funeral services for Marie Swan will be held on November 13th. The wife of Brian Swan walked out into the woods to gather herbs on October 25th with her young son, Sean. Mr. Swan became alarmed when his wife did not return by suppertime. Numerous attempts to locate her have failed. Signs of a struggle along with what appear to be bear tracks were found to the Northwest, but no trace of Mrs. Swan have been found. The local sheriff has questioned the chief of the Quileute tribe, however, our friendly native neighbors are not suspect though have been generous with resources and advice regarding the area wildlife and terrain.
Mrs. Swan's knowledge of herbal remedies and her skilled hands have aided many of the sick in our western town. Her kind smile and warm heart will be missed by her family and remembered many friends.
Embry leaned over Bella's shoulder, scanning the article. "This must be my great, great grandmother," she gasped. "I knew she died young, but I've never heard this story. How awful!"
There were more newspapers, each outlining some portion of the search effort to recover her remains.
Reading through them, Bella's hands shook, her skin turned pale, connecting the dots in her mind. The year was the same time the Cullen's had last made their home in Forks. The thought made her sick to her stomach. "Em, you don't think..."
"No," he assured her. "If there were something like that in our history, I'm sure Billy would have told us what with his friendship with Charlie and all." The truth was, he simply did not know. Anything could have happened. Just because there was no history to account for it, didn't mean that a lone vampire hadn't crossed into their territory and taken the young woman or that the Cullen's hadn't breached the treaty without them knowing about it.
Seemingly satisfied for now, Bella dove back into the trunk. She lifted out a shawl, worn and frayed on the edges, made of a plain, soft cotton weave. An old framed photograph came tumbling out of the folds. Embry caught it quickly before it hit the floor.
Turning it over, Embry sat stunned, looking at the image on the old tintype in his hands. A beautiful woman, posed in an old fashioned chair upholstered in velvet. The soft curve of her lips upturned in a smile that seemed to be just for him. A mass of long, dark hair tumbled around her shoulders. A chubby baby boy ensconced in her lap, one little paw pressed against the graceful slope of her neck.
"Huh... that must be her and that must be my great grandfather, Sean. Kinda looks like Charlie," Bella mused, not seeing the awestruck look on Embry's face.
But, it wasn't the baby that he stared at. The urge to know everything about the woman peering back at him was overwhelming. As if there were some secret that lay hidden beneath her eyes, the certainty of it in the upturned corners of her mouth. It unnerved him to the point of phasing. Suddenly, he shot up from his chair, bolting out the door.
"What on earth?" she exclaimed, wondering what could have possessed him to run like that. Before she could blink, he was gone into the trees and two boys masquerading as men were perched at her kitchen table, grinning like they'd won the sandwich lottery.
A very bewildered Bella entertained and fed Collin and Brady for the next forty-five minutes as though nothing had happened. Adding to her confused state, the boys sat there acting like nothing bad had ever passed between them. When they flirted shamelessly with her, stating they 'gotta take their chance when Jake isn't lookin',' she laughed in spite of herself. It took less than five minutes for the brats to weasel their way into her overly affectionate heart. Already she could see lots of nights in her future sitting around an oversized kitchen table, laughing at their jokes and open-hearted warmth. The two had a zeal for life that she found both infectious and endearing.
When Jacob walked in the house, his arms full of wood, it was with a huge sense of satisfaction that he locked eyes with the troublesome duo and saw a world of apology reflected in their eyes. Moreover, Bella was flitting around the kitchen, pouring drinks and making food for them the same way she did for him and the boys when they were teenagers. Once a nurturer, always a nurturer. For the moment, all was right in his world.
Jacob hoped it would last.
ooo000ooo
The black wolf paced the forest, his nose bent to the ground, carefully taking in each earthy scent. There was no thrill in the chase nor the desire to protect the Quileute people. The stakes had become too high. Bella Swan barely factored into the equation, even though protecting the imprints was a sacred call of their souls. Images of Emily, their sons and the swollen shape of her belly full with child drove him to scour the land for his born enemies.
He should have been home hours ago. Flashes of soft skin, arms and legs entwined with his, silken hair and the sound of a fluttering unborn heartbeat. Instead, he had stayed, filled with a desperation to find and destroy. There would be no peace or satisfaction of spirit until he'd unearthed each and every scent in the forest, assuring him that for one more day, he'd saved his family from harm.
The wolf began deep in the center, methodically combing over fern, Sitka, Birch and Cedar, feeling the soft moss beneath his paws for indentations, distinguishing human tracks from those of the immortal damned. For that was what they were. Abominations of flesh, twisted shells of human lives cursed to walk the earth for all eternity, hunted by wolves. Hunted by him.
The borderland of the reservation loomed before him, the landscape dotted by ramshackle houses, a physical sign of the poverty among his people. Distrustful of strangers, every fiber of his being wanted to bar Emily from selling her wares in a white man's gallery. Yet, it was Leah, always her, who stilled the misgivings of his heart. After eight years, it was her eyes, her fearlessness that rendered him mute, unable to deny her requests.
The fiery love he once held in his heart for her had softened into memories. Regret, anger, pride... all had been cast aside in search for a new life. It was what he owed his wife and children. Since Leah's return to the reservation, stirrings of remorse pricked at his heart, making it bleed uncontrollably at times. Leah was no longer his to protect, no longer his love, no longer his to control. She belonged solely to herself and the cursed life of the wolf.
Time and distance had changed her. New life sprang from the well of her soul, yet in the depths of her eyes, he could still see the sorrow and loneliness placed there by his own hand.
Suddenly, the need to see her once more overwhelmed him. The black wolf raced through the darkness to hide under the cover of trees by her house and watch her from afar the way he had in those early days of turmoil and despair, before the wolf ripped her away from his soul.
Voices filtered through the air, quiet whispers through rustling leaves and the low melody of birds tucked beneath feathery wings.
Sam crept closer, desperate to see and hear her voice once again. Nothing on Earth could have prepared him for tonight, a defining moment and watershed of their relationship.
Light spilled from the open doorway of her small home, glinting off corded gold wound around her waist. The copper skin of her body glowed in the moonlight, wrapped in sheer layers of gauze and shimmering silk. Years fell away, memories of her looking up at him with the same demure look on her face right now, her long raven locks slipping between his fingers as her mouth opened for a kiss. Sam closed his eyes, still feeling the warmth of her lips and the gentleness of her hands.
Matt looked at her with adoration and in return, the hardened woman opened her heart. It was in that second, that whatever small hold Leah still had on Sam's soul fell away, leaving only blessed memories of first love and tender kisses.
The couple walked arm in arm over the threshold, yet as if she could feel him somehow, Leah glanced over her shoulder. Spotting his glowing eyes between the trees, she smiled in recognition. It wasn't bitter or vengeful, but rather, content and assured that this was what was always meant to be.
It was then, that she too, finally let go.
The past had finally reconciled itself, making way for a bright future.
The stirring of danger crept beneath his breast and once more Sam took up the mantle of wolf, warrior, father and husband. He put his nose to the ground, determined to keep his family safe.
Hours away, in the frozen snow and ice of the far north, memories of love were not met with kindness nor sorrow. Instead, they were but a mere stepping stone across the road to the future. The victim of which would meet a violent end.
Alice Cullen screamed.