41- Apple Butter
There was no way to keep the tide of emotions at bay anymore, they had been beating at my defenses for hours now and had finally made enough cracks in my walls to break through. My little breakdown in front of the police officer was nothing compared to this.
"Shhh Princess just a little while longer before we are home," Phil's soft whisper in my ear would have brought comfort at any other time but there was nothing to stop it right now. The waves of guilt and remorse beat against my conscience making me question my every move for the past few hours. Maybe I should have told the police and let justice take its course? When I woke up this morning my life was nearly perfect, it make me afraid how little it took turn my life back into a tragedy.
"I love you Leah, we will get through this together," Phil continued his soothing words, reminding me that my story could not possibly be a tragedy. At least not so long as I had my prince to rescue me. I should have known from the beginning, had he not come to rescue me on his shiny bike?
I tried to thank him for always being there but words would not come, my mouth was only capable of gasping out sobs. Burying my head in his shoulder I tried to push the rest of the world away as I felt myself breaking down.
Clothing rustled as Phil moved, his long fingers gliding down my body in order to pick me and and bring me closer to him. Again there was the slight pulling and tugging feeling of the jump but I could not see where we were now, the tears in my eyes were blocking my vision.
My other senses were not quite as muted and suddenly my nose was hit with the the sharp smell of cooler air as well as the strong scent of decaying leaves. I could hear small woodland creatures scurrying busily, the sounds of human civilization were missing completely.
"Shhh I brought you to the island, let us go see how Seth is doing." He did not really need to tell me where we were, the flags around the meadow made a unique sound that I had learned to recognize.
"Seth?" in all this mess how could I have forgotten about my brother? I started to cry even harder, Phil carried me in bridal fashion all the way to the main building. I was not about to ask him to set me down on my feet, there was a small possibility that my legs would not be able to support me.
"Aurora, can you please show us to the room where Seth is." Phil asked the room as soon as we entered the main foyer of the main house.
"Please follow the lights, Seth is currently located on the third floor, fifth door to the right." The pleasant voice came from nowhere in particular making me jump in surprise and taking my mind off the problems behind me for a few moments. Phil was in motion even before she finished speaking, heading up two steps at a time. I took deep breaths, trying to control my reaction. If my little brother was awake by some miracle of alien science he did not need to see me this way. Just keep it together for a little bit longer Leah, then you can have a total breakdown.
The ostentatious luxury of the first floor disappeared as we reached the fourth floor, reminding me that this was the hospital wing of the house. As we steeped into the quiet room I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to avoid seeing the worst. Phil would have told me if things were truly bad, so suck it up Leah and bea big girl.
I was far too much of a coward to leave Phil's arms but there was enough strength left in me to at least see how my brother was doing. The room looked familiar but I did not think it was the same one I had occupied that one time. The lights that Aurora turned on to lead us to our destination had been turned off again, so the only light in the room was from the panels on the far wall displaying various vital signs. It might have been too little for human eyes but it was enough for me to see my brother.
Seth was lying perfectly still on the bed, he was on his back with his hands peacefully at his sides. My heart clenched in pain to see him this way, my brother was never still. To my intense relief his heartbeat was back, steady and strong. Of course he was far too pale under his dark complexion, and there was something else missing. It took me a minute to realize what it actually was, the vibrant energy that usually surrounded my little brother was gone. I remember teasing him about dreaming of chasing rabbits, sometimes when he slept he looked like he was trying to run on all fours while fighting his blankets. He looked far too tranquil with his limbs completely still. There was a sheet covering everything except his head, but that did not stop my werewolf senses from being able to detect the scent of my brother's blood wafting through the room.
"He will be fine," I heard a voice from beside him, Sassy was sitting right next to him, holding his hand. She looked determined enough to never let go, her clothes were the same as the one she had worn this afternoon. As we spoke Phil's long legs moved us closer to the bed.
"Thanks for coming to meet me at the police station, it was pretty awesome how you ripped them a new one for not protecting me." The laugh I forced out did not fool anyone. Sassy did not even bother smiling at my poor attempts at humor.
"If they had just done their jobs Seth would not have been hurt," she was very angry, watching her hold Seth's hand I was amazed she had managed to leave him long enough to help me.
As Phil settled me in one of the chairs next to the bed I examined the woman in front of me. Those long fingers of hers were intwined delicately with his, as tentative as that hold may see it did not fool me. It would take a great deal of force to make her let go. It comforted me to know that there was a person out there this dedicated to my brother, the love shinning in her eyes as she looked down at him was obvious.
We stayed quietly by Seth's side for a few minutes, Phil crouched next to me holding my hand. He dextrous fingers making small soothing circles across the palm of my hand. I had nearly dozed off in the other chair next to the Seth's bed but stubbornness had made me force my eyes open once again.
"Come on Princess, let us get you home, I don't think there is enough room for both you and Seth in that bed." Phil's rumbly voice interrupted my vigil.
"Not yet," I grumbled as I rubbed my eyes trying to keep them open.
"Princess it is one in the morning, it will be less than helpful for you to pass out and smash into Seth." Phil's voice sounded very convincing especially when it was such a rumbling whisper. I could feel the exhaustion I had been fighting for the past several hours start to win. The caffeine I had drunk had not lasted long against my werewolf metabolism.
I nodded in agreement but moved a little closer and held Seth's other hand. "I am so sorry Seth, I should have pushed that bastard away quicker. Though this would not have happened if you were not stupid enough to date the rez cop's daughter." I gave a watery little giggle, Phil's arms came around my waist offering support and comfort. It should have been awkward with the chair between us but he somehow made it work.
"How could you have been so stupid, I warned you before about all this?" I whispered furiously at him hoping he would wake up and give me his goofy grin.
I started to cry again, Phil picked me up again and this time he did not listen to my half hearted request to stay next to my brother. It had started to rain, I guess this planet was not that different from Washington state. I don't know why I though it was funny but I did.
Phil gave me a strange look but he pulled me closer to him as he quickly carried me back home, the air in the house was a little stale and cool. I guess no one had been here since we had left a month or so ago. Placing me on the bed as gently as if I was made of spun glass he quickly proceeded to remove all my clothes. Certain parts of my anatomy perked up for a second but exhaustion won as he tucked the soft blankets around me.
I was half asleep when I heard him start to pull away, it was almost instinct that made me grab for his hand and pull him back. "Don't go," my voice was barely a whisper.
He seemed to understand what I needed from him. I heard his shoes drop to the ground and then the rustle of clothing before the blankets lifter. Using the last of my strength I rolled myself on top of him, my head rested on his wide chest and my leg was thrown over his large thighs. I fell asleep with the scent of citrus and sage surrounding me, my favorite smell in the world.
I woke up the next morning to the sound of the wind blowing through dry leaves, I reached over to grab Phil but encountered only cold sheets. For a moment I panicked but then I heard his unique heartbeat coming from downstairs, of course he was in the kitchen. I looked around the room, there was something wrong with the light, I quickly realized the sun's rays were coming from the wrong direction - it was not dawn but dusk, I had slept through the entire day.
Feeling sticky and dirty, my last shower being over a day ago, I headed for the bathroom. The shower helped me get rid of the last few cobwebs that had gathered around in my mind, thoroughly brushing my teeth and running a quick comb through my hair I headed moved back into the bedroom to get dressed. It was evening so it was not worth it to put on any real clothes. This was no longer Phil's suite, as time had gone on my stuff had slowly made its way across the hall into Phil's rooms. It was our room now, with the reading lamp I really liked on my side of the bed. He had even made room for my clothes in his closet.
The closet was large enough that you could get lost in, but fortunately I knew my way around the L-shaped room. Bypassing my own shirts and I picked one of Phil's long sleeve t-shirts instead. It was far to large for me, especially across the shoulders but the soft material was comforting. Fortunately Phil never seemed to mind me borrowing his clothes, in fact I was pretty sure he liked it. My stomach was grumbled furiously, reminding me of the need to get fed as I headed downstairs.
"Evening sunshine," Phil told me with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes, he did not try to disguise the worry. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I have been mentally run over by a truck." The shower might have worked out some of the cobwebs but my mind was trying to catch up with my memories. Maples waving his gun around. Seth falling the the ground filled with bullet wounds. Oh crap I had forgotten about Seth. "How is my brother?"
"He has not woken up yet, but they are keeping him sedated while we wait for his body to heal. In the meantime we will be staying on the island until he gets fully healed, it will make things easier."
I nodded as he placed the food in front of me, it might be what the English call a full breakfast. It was a good thing I did not have to worry about cholesterol with the amount of bacon, sausage, eggs and buttery biscuits that were piled on my plate. Taking a bite of the biscuit I groaned with pleasure, "marry me Phil."
Phil laughed a little, just like I intended for him to do. "Why is it that you always propose marriage to me while your mouth is full of food I cooked. I am starting to suspect that you only love me for my cooking."
"Don't worry darling, I love you for your other reasons as well." I pretended to contemplate while scooping some eggs into my mouth. "I like you ass, every time I see it I want to take a bite out of it."
"Suddenly I feel violated," he told me with a quick kiss across my lips.
I noticed the counters on the side filled with cooling pies and casseroles that looked ready to be baked. Phil tended to cook when he got stressed. "Why are you worried? What happened to Maples?"
"I am worried about how you are doing? As for Maples everything was taken care of." He gave me another soft kiss as he placed some juice next to my plate.
"What do you mean? I am fine, there is nothing wrong with me. It is Seth who got shot up." What was he worried about, I mean yeah last night I got a little teary but I was over that now. That bastard had attacked my family, like Phil had said I had done whatever necessary to protect my family.
"I am concerned about you and Maples, he is dead because of your actions. That is not something most people can just shrug off." He tried to look into my eyes, I don't know what he was searching for.
"I will be fine, what happened to him anyways?" Avoiding eye contact as I tried to push those memories back. Now that I was well rested it was easier to ignore those memories and concentrate on the food in front of me. Maybe if I smiled sweetly Phil would let me eat one of those pies, they smelled absolutely divine.
"Percy drove him to a cliff in a secluded area. At the appropriate time he threw him off the ledge, making it look like a possible suicide or accident. The fall from the cliff should disguise the damage that was done when he hit the tree and the water will wash away any trace evidence." Phil's tone was neutral and clinical, like he was giving a lecture on human anatomy, not explaining how I was going to get away with murder.
"I thought they are able to determine when he died." I might not be a medical examiner but I had seen enough TV to know they can estimate time of death, and if that window of time coincided with when Maples was arguing with me it might look kind of bad for my family.
"The easiest way to determine time of death is to check the body temperature. So if you keep the body warm, you can alter that test to suit your needs." Phil gave a causal shrug, as if this was common knowledge.
"Oh," there was nothing else I could say.
"They will put time of death sometime in the early morning hours and since you will technically have been in Seattle and your mother will have spent the night in Forks with the Police Chief both of you should have very good alibi's. When Seth is better he will got with Kendrick on that hiking trip and make sure to take the appropriate pictures with the right time print to prove that he was in another state. All the bases will be covered." I guess this was not the first time he had done this, I don't know if I should be happy or scared how easily they fixed this.
"Except for the fact that Maples is dead." All of a sudden the food that I had consumed felt a little too heavy in my stomach.
"That is what I was going to talk to you about. I set up an appointment with one of the family psychologists, you will be going to talk to him in a few hours." Phil sounded stubborn, like this was one of those things he was going to be pushy on.
"What? No way am I going to see some shrink." I did not want some stranger poking around in my head, wanting to know about shit.
"I am afraid that I will have to insist, this is standard protocol for members of the family. You do not have a choice, and you will not be allowed off the island until Uncle William gives you the ok." There was a steel in his voice that I had never heard before, I finally made eye contact with him and could see the determination in his stance.
"So what I am a prisoner here?" What was this with double standards, I know Phil had not gone through the shrink crap when he had gone on a killing spree a few months ago with those leeches.
"This is not a punishment as much as a precaution. You are a very strong girl, we want you to be calm and controlled enough so you don't lose control..."
"And kill anyone else..." I heaved a sigh, this was going to suck and as much as I wanted to throw a hissy fit I understood what Phil was doing.
"You are wrong, what happened with Maples was not a loss of control, that was gut reaction. You were protecting your family, you did exactly what you were supposed to do in the situation. The reason you need to talk to a psychologist is to ensure that your truly understand what happened and will not have a delayed reaction later on. It would be best to work this out here on the island and not among the humans."
I felt the bile rise in my throat, but I pushed it back down. Phil was right, I was having some pretty intense emotions regarding what happened just yesterday, and if gaining control meant going to talk to a shrink then that is what I was going to do.
Phil rushed over to me and wrapped me in his arms, "everything is going to be alright. Do not worry about it, we will get through this together. But I need you to listen to me, and go talk to my uncle. I have been where you are and I had to go through the exact same process. Violence is part of our lives, it is what we have to learn to live with and deal with."
"Does he have some stupid leather couch?" I asked suspiciously.
Phil laughed, I could hear it coming from somewhere deep within his chest before it came out completely. "No leather couch, I promise."
As the sun set the clouds moved in again and it began to rain really hard. I went upstairs to put on some jeans and one of my own shirts. Phil had a raincoat waiting for me when I got back downstairs, he shrugged in apology when I glared at the rain falling outside. "It is fall, we get a lot of rain at this time of the year."
"Do I have to do this alone?" We were approaching a large house, I had come to recognize the difference between the houses. They were all made of the glass and dull silver metal of course, but the houses of the older generation were a little larger and looked like they had been added onto. The house that we approached currently had a whole new wing jutting out from one side - it looked like it had been tacked onto as an afterthought and a little lopsided if you asked my opinion.
I don't know what I expected the house of a shrink to smell like, maybe old leather and books or possibly sterile like a hospital, but it was certainly not an overpowering scent of cinnamon and apples. Phil helped me hang up my raincoat on a peg next to the large door, there was a staircase in front of us but he quickly led me through an archway to our right. We entered a large room with dark wood floors, cream colored walls and what looked to be the most mismatched set of furniture and art that I had ever seen. I don't think there was any sort of theme to the place, but there was no denying the fact that this place was lived in. There were large mismatched couches surrounding a huge fireplace that had a cheery fire going despite of the fact that no one seemed to be in the room, next to it there was a sunken in pillowed area that reminded me of the style of furniture from Sassy's castle. The walls were covered with various pieces of art from classical landscapes to more modern looking stuff. There were large sculptures on pedestals as well as a strange melted looking thing that looked like it should have been a vase of some sort. I slowed down to take a closer look as we passed by it, the thing looked absolutely awful. The other art while some of it not my style was still something that could be appreciated, this thing... hell if I knew.
Phil saw me eyeing it nervously, he laughed quietly before he explained what I was looking at. "It was made by one of their grandsons, when he was three years old."
I let out a little laugh as we continued past the room, skirting the furniture.
As we walked past a set of what looked like family portraits I was surprised at the face smiling back at me. "Is that Tiffany?" I asked in a shaky voice, trying to avoid reaching our destination.
"Oh yeah, she is Uncle William's daughter." Phil nodded as he led me past the large room through another archway. I was still looking behind me at the strange collection of "art" when I ran into something. I would have fallen on my face had Phil not grabbed me. The room we entered was obviously the kitchen, the object I had tripped on was a large basketful of apples. They were everywhere, to the point where it was hard to walk across the room.
Standing in front of the stove was a very tall man, he looked over at us when Phil called out a greeting. I got the impression of long limbs and pale complexion before I was captured by the dark eyes.
All of a sudden I was falling into the darkness, those dark orbs captured my attention fully not allowing my senses to pick up any other information. I don't know how long I stood there staring into those deep eyes, but I was saved by the fact that he blinked and looked away. I closed my own eyes and slowly exhaled, I had not even been aware of the fact that my lungs had stopped working.
"It is nice to finally meet you Leah, I have heard so much about you," his voice was deep, his neutral tone contradicting his words - he did not sound like he was happy to meet with me.
"I will be back to get you in about an hour, just remember he is family and he won't hurt you," Phil murmured into my ear before leaving the same way we had come.
"Umm bye?" I wanted to beg for him not to leave me but what was I supposed to say? I am afraid that this man will drown me with his eyes alone.
"Don't worry he will be back in less than an hour, he is much more worried about leaving you with me than he lets on." The neutral tone of my shrink brought my eyes back to him. Much to my relief he was not looking at me but at the pot he was stirring, it smelled a lot like applesauce. "So tell me do you have any experience with peeling apples?"
"Uh I might not be able to cook much but Phil kind of showed me how to do the peeling bit when I was hanging out with him." I could not see where this was leading, unless he wanted me to peel apples?
"Great." He turned around and tossed something at me, it was only my werewolf reflexes that allowed me to catch what turned out to be a potato peeler. "Find a seat somewhere and start peeling."
I opened my mouth to protest, but then I realized this was a heck of a lot better than having to sit on the couch and tell him about my dreams. This was not what I expected at all, I was thinking leather couches and talking about my dreams. All of a sudden I remembered a conversation with Phil regarding dreams last fall. Trains going through tunnels, I now had learned what that meant in the dream world, sex. I let out a little giggle at the memory as I settled on one of the many stools around the large island.
We did not talk for a half an hour and I was starting to get a little nervous, was I not supposed to be talking to him? I finally cracked and asked about the apples.
"So why are we peeling all these apples?" It seemed like a neutral enough topic.
"It is apple season, and we are making apple butter. My wife absolutely adores the stuff and has managed to eat her way through every one of the jars we had." I watched as he added some more spices to the sauce he was making, nutmeg by the smell.
"My grandmother used to make that stuff, we put it on our pancakes." I blurted out for no reason, so much for keeping things impersonal and neutral, but I guess he started it by talking about his wife.
Nothing was said for a few more minutes, he was the strangest psychologist I had ever met. Finally I could not stand it any more, my curiosity about the family was never ending. "So do you eat as much as Tiff?"
It was only after the question flew out of my mouth that I realized how rude that had sounded.
"No she gets that trait from my wife, when we first met I used to cringe at the stuff my wife used to eat. My original interest was nutrition." Was it my imagination or was that a smile I heard in his voice?
I could not help but laugh, I remembered some of the more funky combinations of foods Tiffany would make for herself. "Yeah one of my friends was kind of freaking out over what Tiff was eating, I finally had to use the excuse that she might be pregnant to explain the weirder stuff."
"It is going to be a little hard to explain when she does not get the pregnant belly to go along with the appetite." I heard a small chuckle coming from his direction. This should not be too bad, he had a sense of humor and so long as I did not look into those hypnotic eyes everything would be fine.
"Yeah? But by then I can probably use the excuse that she is eating because she is depressed having lost the baby." Losing baby, Jill Maples was pregnant and now she had lost her father. A huge wave of guilt hit me all of a sudden and the half peeled apple tumbled from my hand and rolled across the floor. Remorse filled me and it was not because I had dropped the piece of fruit.
Uncle William noticed my change in mood. "Would you like to talk about it?"
"Um no, not really?" It came out more of a question but he just nodded and turned back to stirring the large pots of boiling apple sauce. I sat there thinking about what had happened, here I was peeling freaking apples while Jill lost her father. I pushed that thought back and quickly went to retrieve my lost apple.
My shrink could have been reading my mind or he was just that good, but he did not try to talk the rest of the time while I continued to peel apples.
Despite the fact that Uncle WIlliam did not ask me anymore questions I felt a little better when Phil came to get me. I don't know why I felt more normal, maybe because I could just sit there in silence and not have to do anything but peel apples. Maybe it was just relief that I was not placed on a leather couch and scrutinized under a microscope.
I saw my escape route, the archway would mean freedom but the path was winding because I had to avoid all those apples. Placing the potato peeler next to the bowl of peeled apples I hurried towards the door as Phil said goodnight to his uncle. I needed to get out of here before Uncle William could change his mind and make me lay down on a couch.
My escape was not fast enough, "see you tomorrow," Uncle WIlliam told me before I could completely leave the room. I silently cursed my bad luck but it did not come as a surprise, peeling apples seemed like a little too easy.
Seth was still sedated when we went to check on him, this time it was Kendrick holding his hand, "Sassy went to eat something and take a shower," he explained when I gave him a curious look.
We did not stay long with Seth, he was looking much better than he had yesterday. Several IV bags were providing him with food and water so that he could be further along with his recovery when they finally allowed him to wake up.
"They will probably keep him sedated a few more days, that way he will have mostly healed. Gun shot wounds kind of hurt." Kendrick cringed as he explained, probably having been shot before.
Kendrick turned down my offer to stay with Seth, "don't worry, I have some reading to do. I can do it here as easily as I could do it at home." It was interesting to watch how much Kendrick actually cared about my little brother, again I thanked my lucky stars that Seth had imprinted on a woman who could appreciate him. It seemed that with Sassy, Seth had gained the family that would love him as well.
Phil and I did not stay long, soon we were slowly walking back to the house, "what do we do now?" I needed to find something to do so that I would stop thinking about what had happened yesterday. I almost asked Phil to take me back to peel some more apples with Uncle William - well almost.
Phil found something far more pleasant to occupy me, we snuggled in front of the fireplace in the sunroom on the top floor. I watched the stars that were peaking out from between the clouds while he told me about his childhood - it was a good way to distract me from the reality that was waiting for me once we left the island.
I actually woke up on time the next day, my psychic boyfriend having anticipated this had made my appointment a little earlier with his uncle. So here I was again, peeling apples again. If it was not for the rows of jars filled with apple butter cooling on the shelf I would have sworn that we had gone back in time. Today there were even more baskets of apples, at this rate we would never get through them all.
Uncle William of course noticed my look of horror as I looked around the kitchen, "don't worry my son and daughter in law will be coming by later today. They will help finish."
This time I stayed for over two hours, at times it felt like he was only really using me as slave labor but it was worth the price so long as I did not have to lay down on a couch.
This time he did not act as emotionless and he was more than willing to chat about various things. I was happy to avoid the topic of having killed someone, in a way being on the island helped me push those emotions away. Here nothing could hurt me, except for the cramps in my hand from peeling all those apples. Uncle William told me about his grandchildren, how his son was the only one of his three children married. He told me about his wife and about their rough courtship.
"She was the prettiest thing I had ever seen, the only problem was that she was untouchable. Alway cool and controlled, and I was the half breed son of a prominent politician and a pretty actress. For the longest time people told me my mother was not good enough for my father and I could never come close to being the man that he was. So I spent a great many years proving them right."
"Your father is in politics?" I started wondering about his pedigree, with this family it seemed most people had royal blood of some sort.
"Oh yes, and I was the rebel boy that fell in hate on sight with this perfection of womanhood." His smile was muted but then so were most of his emotions. His description of being a rebel did not fit well with the image I had of him.
"Sometimes following the rules just gets you fucked over," even I could hear the bitterness in my voice. I had tried to do the right thing with the Sam the golden boy and he had done nothing but hurt me. Suddenly realizing that this was too close to what would constitute talking about my feeling I switched subjects, "so did you finally live up to your father's expectations?"
"Does it really matter?" Came the very shrink-like response.
"It is hard to lose a parent, and if I don't do this right my mother might not die but she would have to be essentially cut out of my life." If I wanted to keep my mother around there would have to be a way to explain my actions.
"What is the worst case scenario?" Again, what was with these questions. This was starting to be a lot less fun.
"I don't really know. Not talking to me ever again, I guess?" My mother would bluster and grumble but she would never abandon me or anything. I hope.
He tasted a little bit of the hot sauce cooking in the pot, seemingly abandoning the conversation.
"Could you give me a hand over here?" Pulling some empty jars out of the oven he placed them on the counter, these were pre-warmed so that we could fill with them with the newly finished apple butter.
For a few minutes we were busy concentrating on putting the hot sauce into the jars to talk but my reprieve was far too short. As soon as the lids were on the jars he looked at me again with those dark eyes, in a way it reminded me of the black eyes of a hungry vampire. Uncle William did not want your blood, instead he wanted you to bare your soul which was almost worse than trying to kill you. It did not matter that I did not want to talk about my feelings, those eyes would make me.
Swallowing quickly I tried to defend what I had just said.
"I mean my mother won't stop talking to me, but she will not stop asking question." I retreated back to my pile of apples that still needed to be peeled.
"So what? Is she going to hold a gun to your head until you tell her everything?" He spoke as if it was that simple.
I gave the back of his head a dirty look, yeah it would be that simple. "Obviously you have never met my mother."
"I take it she is as stubborn as you are?" I could hear the smile in his voice.
"It is not funny, what am I going to do?" I whined at him, hoping that he would solve my problem.
"You are an adult, you can choose not to answer her questions. Normally when we do encounter humans that get too curious we just cut off all ties with them. It is usually the best way to go."
Shock ran through my body, is that what would happen? I would have to let go of my mom? I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off before anything came out of my mouth.
"Legally and financially she cannot do anything to you. Since you are over eighteen she really cannot touch you with the law and since you are not dependent on her for money that cannot be used against you." He made these observations in a quiet voice, his tone devoid of any emotion.
I guess she could be given the same ultimatum as Charlie, back off or lose your daughter. Though in my mother's case it would eventually involve both her children, as sweet as Seth was when it came down to it there would be no contest between his mother and his mate. Sassy would win every time, just like I could never leave Phil.
Heaving a sigh of relief for coming up with a tentative plan as to how to deal with my mother I settled down to finish chopping up some apples.
"Now about this Maples person," Uncle William said in that neutral tone again.
The quick change of topic along with the name of the man I had killed surprised me, the knife slipped in my hand and cut a large slice in my palm. "Fuck."
"Hmmm, you might want to put a towel on that or something, you don't want to get blood all over those apples." He sounded more concerned about the food than he did my hand.
It seemed yesterday he was being nice, and today he had taken off the kid gloves and we would discuss every 'issue' without even a break in between.
"Nothing about him, he was shooting my little brother so I pushed him away." I shrugged my shoulders dismissing him. I did the right thing, I protected my family. That is all I had to tell myself. Except you helped destroy another family in the process.
"So your little brother's life is more important then that of this Maples?" He asked while starting to fill up the pot with more chopped apples and sugar.
"He attacked my little brother, I was just protecting my family." I ground out starting to get angry.
"And you did what exactly in reaction to this assault on your little brother." His cool tone only made my anger worse.
"I pushed that fucker away," I yelled at him, my anger getting the better of me.
"It was an effective way to protect your brother," he pointed out.
My anger disappeared almost as soon as it had come under his cool gaze. "I wish I had not used my full strength, I just wanted to push him away."
"You reacted with little thought at the time," he continued his neutral observations.
"Yeah well there was little time to think, and I just wish I would have not used my full strength." That was my one regret, the one thing that I had wished to do differently. The front door opened and closed, the sound of Phil's funny heartbeat started moving toward me. My prince was here and he had perfect timing, not even Uncle William's see you tomorrow could bring me down.
The rest of the week proceeded in the same way. I would wake up, do some things around the house with Phil. Then I would head to be tortured by Uncle Willliam. After I got through peeling all those apples, I was given the task of shelling bags of nuts. According to Uncle William his wife really liked walnut brittle so we ended up making batches and batches of that as well. That was followed by starting on the making of the fruitcake, which apparently his wife liked as well. I was starting to suspect that his wife was a lot like me, in that there was pretty much nothing by way of food that she disliked - I kept this opinion to myself.
It took me a few days to realize that I was talking to him a lot more than I had actually intended. I was too stubborn to admit this, even to myself, but it was nice having him listen. His tone was always neutral, never judgmental - he was logical to an almost brutal degree. Unlike Phil he did not tell me that I had no other choice but to kill Maples, he asked me for other possible solutions to the situation. I listed all the ways that Seth and I could have dealt with Maples coming to our house. We could have called the family or the police. We could have just grabbed mom and ran out the backdoor.
"You seem to have a thing for not confronting people." I pointed out as I made my list on afternoon.
"Violence is the absolute last resort for our kind, before we do that we have to pursue every other avenue. You are young and you seem to think that your only strength is well ...strength. Over the years you will learn to asses the situation and find other ways of dealing with it." It was kind of disturbing how he was using the death of a man as a learning experience.
Seth was healing very nicely so the doctors slowly backed off the sedation. He woke up on the third day and he was deemed well enough to leave the medical wing of the main house by the fifth day. Bee did not want him to leave the island for a few more days after that so that we could make sure Seth was completely healed.
The last two days on the island were so much fun, I almost felt guilty; but as Uncle William pointed out, we make mistakes, learn from then and life goes on. Seth was allowed to shift and he ended up following me around the entire day while I showed him some of my favorite spots around Phil's house.
I am so glad that you imprinted on Sassy, I would have missed you.I had brought him to one of my favorite places, I had many happy memories around this lake. The only problem was that they usually involved a very naked Phil, I was trying to keep those memories from surfacing.
Now you will never get rid of me. He was only half paying attention to me, he was too busy trying to hunt down a plump rabbit. There were a lot of them around, there must have been plenty of food for them this summer so their population had skyrocketed.
I hope you enjoyed eating Thumper. It still grossed me out, eating "naturally".
You know sometimes I forget you are a girl but then you get all weird and squeamish about something like that. I am going to miss the island. Seth's thoughts moved to Sassy. She had been a lot more attentive towards Seth, rarely leaving his side in the past week. I was amazed that she was not with us now, but she probably figured there was not much that could happen to us on the well guarded island. Seth was enjoying the attention of his mate, she was being very indulgent right now. She had even promised to take him to her planet and show him her castle soon. I am surprised she has given in and is taking you to her planet.
Why? Sassy pretty much gives me anything I want so long as it is not her body. All of a sudden I was hit with all sorts of fantasies involving Seth and Sassy.
Ewwww please, some of that stuff is not possible. Someone needed to get my brother some good porn so that he could figure out what actually was supposed to happen during sex.
How am I to know what it is supposed to be like?Embry swears I will be like a fifty year old virgin before Sassy puts me out of my misery. There was a slightly petulant tone to Seth's thoughts. I have the responsibilities of an adult, why can't I have the privileges? For example the love of a beautiful woman.
She does love you, I could recall the look on Sassy's face when she picked up Seth's shot up body. No one could deny the fact that she loved him, that she would do anything to protect him.
I know she loves me, but I want her to love me like a man...not like a child. I might only be fifteen in years but I am far older in experience. Hell I helped scare off a vampire army.
You did not do that much, all you did was stand there and look tough. I tried to tease Seth but in reality I could see his point.
I might be too immature in some people's eyes, but at the same time I know exactly what I want. Sassy is not some girl I want to 'do', she is the woman I want to spend eternity with. She is my mate, and I am hers; the more I learn about her the more I love her. Why do I have to wait to show physical love? You know I have only ever hugged her, I have never even kissed her. She might be able to hide behind that mask of humor when I try to flirt with her, but she can't hide the fact that her heart starts racing whenever I come too close to her. From the sounds of it Seth had spent a lot of time thinking about this, but it really was not my place to listen to this.
Uhhh Seth, you should probably leave this talk for your best friend and not your sister. I really do not want to be picturing you and Sassy together. I could not encourage my little brother to go for it and seduce some woman, there was just something inherently wrong with that.
But that is just it, who am I supposed to talk to? Jake and Quil are mated to children and Embry is bound to a guy. How are they supposed to relate? You are the only one who is mated to someone who you can actually have sex with. Seth started to chase down another rabbit, but I could tell he would not be distracted from this topic.
Why don't you talk to like umm...Kendrick...yeah he would be a perfect person to talk to about this. And he is a GUY and not your SISTER which makes it even more perfect.
I have talked to Kendrick about it, he tells me to give it time. But I don't want time, I want to goddamn kiss my mate. Is that too much to ask for? I am not asking her to go all the way, just one little measly kiss. And off he went into several fantasies, imagining what it would be like to kiss Sassy. He was using his past experience of kissing Jill but fortunately for me he had not gotten very far with her either.
I thought of the way Phil kissed me this morning before I had left with, I could not even compare kissing Sam to kissing Phil; it was like a whole different experience. Even an innocent press closed lips against lips was far weightier when it came to mates, there was no way to describe the feeling until you experienced it.
Well that certainly wants me to wait to kiss Sassy...not. Seth grumbled even in his thoughts.
It was strange to hear this much discontent coming from my usually even tempered little brother but I guess sexual frustration could bother the most laid back people. I could not believe that I was using the words sexual frustrations and my brother in the same sentence. I guess it is time to head home, Phil is probably waiting for me.
Yeah, and what are you to going to do? Play monopoly? I was amazed that he was not displaying any jealousy in his thoughts, just determination. Maybe I should warn Sassy about my brother's plans to seduce her, but she was a psychic she would figure it out on her own.
I left Seth at Kendrick's doorstep since my brother was bunking at his house, I did not go in since I had not brought any clothes with me. While heading home I decided to take a quick shower before hunting down Phil for some serious play time. Trying to suppress all the memories of what Phil and I had done on the lakeshore had only brought them to the surface. I wanted to re-enact some of those memories again.
"How was your day?" Phil wrapped a towel and his arms around me as soon as I stepped out from under the warm spray of the shower.
"Good, but now it is going to get better." I told him with a leer, I wiggled out of his arms and 'accidentally' dropped my towel as I ran for the bedroom. I was a wolf, so not drying off properly after a shower was not going to bother me. I almost made it to the bed before Phil tackled me, he made sure we landed on the soft surface of our bed before he started to kiss his way down my still damp chest. He was fully clothed but I would soon solve that little problem.
"So what did you do today?" His casual tone would have been a little more effective if it was not for the fact that I could feel the large erection pushing against my thighs through the fabric of his pants.
"My brother is frustrated that he cannot get to first base with Sassy." I tried to mimic his neutral tone of voice.
"Hmm, Princess, that was a rhetorical question, maybe it would be best not to discuss your ..." I did not let him finish his sentence, I had other plans for that tongue of his. So I quickly pulled his face up to mine and kissed him. I would worry about my brother another time, for now I was going to enjoy Phil's dextrous fingers which were slowly working their way up the inside of my thighs.
We went back to Earth and reality, Seth and Kendrick went to California so that they could stick to the hiking story. They found Maples' body on Friday afternoon, almost exactly twenty four hours after I had killed him. I was glad about my talks with Uncle William, it helped me remain calm and controlled when the Rez police called to tell me they had found his body. Sassy was good enough to convince them to take my statement over the phone, thanks to my speeding ticket and the condom incident at the store I had a very solid alibi.
Jill Maples did not look good when I saw her at her father's funeral. Her face puffed up and splotchy from crying, she was almost not recognizable in the oversized black dress she was wearing. She was standing alone and away from her mother, I would have thought that they would have been together at a time like this.
"She told her mother the truth," Sassy whispered in a voice so low it was meant for my ears only.
"Wow that must have taken guts," I have to say I was impressed. But at the same time it would have been more impressive had she told the truth before she had driven her father to the brink of insanity.
"What was more amazing was your mother. She lit a fire under everyone's ass. The community is going out of their way to try to help the Maples family. It seems Mrs Maples finally understand what it means to be part of this community, too bad it took the death of her husband." Sassy explained quietly as we walked to stand beside my mother and Seth.
The minister started to go through the words of the funeral, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. I tried to block out his words, they brought up too many memories of my father's funeral. Instead I concentrated on what had happened since we got back from the island.
My mother had been a problem, and still was regarding all this mess but she kept her mouth shut. For now she was happy to have Seth back safe, this bought us some time before she would begin to question what had happened. Seth and I had agreed that we would tell her nothing - it would be safest that way. I would not lie to my mother about what happened that afternoon but I could not give her an explanation, she would just have to live with the fact that there were some questions that would never be answered. As much as it pained us, my brother and I were willing to give her an ultimatum if necessary: stop asking questions, or you will lose us. It might have been harsh but it was necessary, by now my mother should know that there were some secrets best not shared. Phil had agreed to let us deal with my mother on our own, but he offered Seth a place to stay if he needed to get out of the house.
"I have been thinking that it might be best to add a couple more bedrooms to the house." He told me as I had gotten dressed for the funeral this morning.
"You know you just had it built." I replied while combing out my hair.
"Yeah but form the looks of it we might have your entire pack of wolves come stay with us."
That actually did not sound like a bad plan. Jake was having to do some summer school to make up for the classes he had failed due to all his absences last fall, and would soon be graduating. Quil and Embry were planning on heading to Seattle as well, there was something about interacting with the family members that seemed to have made the members of my pack realize there was a whole world outside of the Rez and we were all wanting to explore it. Phil had offered up his house and the boys had accepted, it would make things easier considering there was a convenient forest right next to it where you could run in wolf form to your heart's content. I had learned the hard way that living with humans was not that easy for a wolf, no more dorm rooms for me.
Life went on, as much as I regretted what had happened to Maples I could not regret trying to protect my family. Soon I would be starting summer school, there were no more false accusation by ex-girlfriends, or psycho vampires trying to kidnap me. My family was safe, my boyfriend was hot, and life was pretty much good.
A/N: All right girls this is the last chapter, only the epilogue left. If enough people want it I will try add a chapter of Phil's point of view after the epilogue. It is kind of fun doing him, though he is somewhat scary and perverted. Feeling a lot better now. Sorry for those of you who had to read this chapter before I fixed the formatting, sometimes Fanfic does the weirdest thing with the stuff I upload.
AbarbieStory: Loved your reviews and it was nice that they were late, it encouraged me to get past a really hard part of my story. Glad you like Blossom, she is kind of fun.
Rocklesson86: Glad you like the story, it is always nice to get encouragement.
MargotTenser: Glad you liked what happened to Sam, I am kind of mean to the boy. If you only knew what Phil actually wanted to do to him. :D Thanks for the awesome review, glad you love the story.
Jada91: I voted to Blossom's option number 2 as well but Leah was being nice.
Ms Animegoddess: Glad you liked Blossom, she is kind of funny as well. Sam is well, he is someone who should be pitied, he really never was a good leader. Too bad he shifted first.
AHS186: I feel kind of bad for what happened to Jill but this is one of the consequences.
Connect2jb: Glad you liked, one more and then this is finished.
Twilighter: It is hard for Leah not to compare the two, what can I say Sam just keeps coming up short. Or maybe fate knew what it was doing when it put Leah and Phil together. :D
Jaimee2772: Yeah some days I slack off when trying to do writing. Thanks for the review, feeling much better.
Inosolan: Yeah it is somewhat bothersome that Phil knew what to do, but damage control is part of his job and training as a member of the family.