Chapter Four
"I am so sorry," Quil says, the shock still evident on his face.
"Yeah, I know," I grumble, standing up.
Ignoring Jake's protests, I grab a blanket and walk toward the ocean. I enjoy hearing the light crash of the waves as they break on the beach. It's very soothing. The sea breeze takes some of my hair and whips it across my face, getting in my mouth. I attempt to spit it out, but it doesn't go as planned; like many things in my life lately. Couldn't I just get one night where my cancer isn't the topic of conversation? Tonight's bonfire was supposed to be about Quil and Embry, but now that Quil knows, I am sure the party is going to turn into a Pity Party for Bella. It's kind of annoying, actually.
All of the boys have gotten a lot more protective and are treating me like a baby. Don't get me wrong, getting doted on by extremely hot men is absolutely terrific, but I also kind of think that it's because I'm sick. They have always treated me as if I were their little sister and best friend, but now it's something more. I don't know how to describe it, but it's there.
Looking out at the ocean, I take in a deep breath. I wonder what it would be like to be a fish. Yeah, a fish. I know it's crazy to want to be a fish, but you know what? Fish don't have to worry about anything! Well, okay, maybe they have to worry about predators and getting eaten and stuff, but so what? I would be a fish!
"Hey, you okay," someone asks from behind me. I snort.
"No. All I wanted was one night where I could be a regular person. It's supposed to be about Jake's cousins tonight, but I kind of think that the whole thing is going to end up about me," I say.
"Well, that's good for me then. I have never been a fan of attention," the guy beside me says. I feel my eyes widen as I turn toward him. I expect him to be looking at me, as self-centered as that sounds, but he's not.
His charming face is facing the ocean, a look of wonder on his face. There's a small smile on his lips, as if he's thinking about something happy and distant. His hands are tucked in to his denim shorts, which hug his thick thighs. This boy, well, man is more accurate, is built just like the rest of the Pack. No wonder he's moving to La Push, he fits right in.
"So, you're Embry then?" I ask, still looking at him. I see him still, probably not expecting me to know his name. "I met Quil about five minutes ago, give or take. He's an interesting guy."
Embry snorts.
"Tell me about it. And try living with him! It's quite interesting actually. And the conversations that we get into, those are even more interesting. Seriously, you should witness some of them. Maybe I'll drag him here right now…" Quil trails off as he turns toward me.
His eyes meet mine. His deep, brown eyes that have little gold flecks in them make them not completely dark. So many emotions, I wonder. They range from confusion to wonder to relief to happiness to sadness and back. It's like he's trying to look into my soul, like he's seeing me for the first time. Okay, fine, I guess this is the first time that he's ever seen me, but you know what I mean. I don't think I've ever had someone look at me this way before.
Blinking, I look away, blushing. What just happened? I glance up at Embry again and avert my eyes quickly. He's still staring. Why is he still staring? I'm not that interesting! And he's like a god! Why is he gaping at me when he could have any other girl?
I jump when I feel a very hot hand graze mine. I look up to see Embry look shocked, and kind of sad, when I take a step away from him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Embry whispers, his voice hoarse.
"It's okay," I whisper back, stepping toward him. His face brightens considerably, and I smile at that. I don't know why, but I like it when he smiles.
Embry continues to smile at me as we talk, which is practically nonsense. We talk about the ocean and the woods and what animals we would want to be. He said otter and wolf, and I said dolphin and wolf. Embry's smile widened at that, causing my stomach to flutter. We talked about our childhoods, also. I was surprised to find out that Embry and his family moved out of La Push when he turned five. He said he didn't know why, but I have a seeking suspicion that he knows why. I don't push the subject though.
After while, it started to get cold. Embry and I had been sitting by the water for who knows how long, but I didn't want to go back. I try not to shiver, but I can't help it.
"You're cold" Embry says, sounding concerned.
"I'm f-fine," I say, though the chattering of my teeth disagree.
"Come here, Bella," Embry chuckles, lifting me up and placing me in between his legs. I freeze, not expecting that. Embry stills too, and tries to move away.
"No. D-don't," I say, enjoying his warmth. Embry hesitates, clearly not sure on what to do. "Please," I whisper.
Embry scoots back toward me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I snuggle into his embrace, enjoying his warmth. His thumb makes circles on the back of my hand, and it's very soothing. We stay in this position for what seems like forever. I never want to leave or ever be interrupted. But it seems my wishes just aren't coming rue at all this month.
"Bella? Where are you?" I hear someone call. I sit up slightly and so does Embry. We look behind us to see two figures. When they get closer, I see that it is Jake and Quil.
"Bella! We've been looking everywhere for you! Paul I found her!" Jake yells, still walking toward us.
"Where is she?! She doesn't want to know what I'm going to do to her for giving me a heart attack!" Paul yells back. I see a dark figure running toward us. When he gets closer, he glowers at me. My eyes widen when I feel Embry's chest rumble as he growls. Wait, he growls? His arms tighten around me as he shifts me slightly, hiding me from Paul's view. What the hell is going on? Looking at Jake and Quil, I see that they are looking at Embry; they had their mouths wide open.
"Did he just…?" Jake trails off.
"I think he did," Paul answers.
"He doesn't even know," Quil says, sadness thick in his voice.
"She doesn't either," Jake says.
"That's not what I mean," Quil says, finally looking away.
"I think that we should head back to the fire. The legends are going to start soon," Jake says.
"Can't I just stay here with Embry? I've heard the legends a million of times," I say, pouting. I'm kind of mad that the three boys interrupted Embry and I. Sure, we weren't doing anything, but I still loved it.
"Come on, Bella. I haven't heard Billy tell the stories before. Besides, you don't want to be by yourself here, do you? And you'll be freezing cold as well," Embry says, starting to get up.
"Don't leave me!" I yell, gripping his shirt in my two tiny fists. Embry chuckles and lifts me up in his arms, making me gasp. "Put me down! I'm going to make you break your back," I yell, smacking Embry's chest repeatedly.
"Oh, hush. I'm a lot stronger than you think. You are as light as a feather," Embry says.
"Soon to be a lot lighter too," I mutter, too low for Embry to hear.
"What? How could you possibly get any lighter? Am I going to have to force-feed you for you to gain some weight?" Embry chuckles lightly. I gape at him. How in the world did he hear that? I barely heard myself say that!
"How did you hear that?" I ask.
"Have you not heard? Everyone calls Embry elephant ears. He practically heard everything when he was little. Even more so now," Quil laughs. Everyone else laughs, apparently understanding an inside joke. The laughter quiets down when my stomach rumbles loudly. All eyes turn on me. I feel my face get hot.
"Jacob Ephraim Black! Did you not feed Bella?" Leah gasps.
"What? I did! See, her empty plate is right…oh," Jake trails off at the end as he sees my plate. It is still piled with food.
"Bella! You have to eat! The doctor said so!" Leah reprimands, dragging me away from Embry. I hear Embry growl, but I think nothing of it as Leah plops me down back into my pile of cushions and blankets.
"Ugh, Bella. Now your food is cold. Jake, get her a new plate of food. One of the pack will eat this other plate. And I am sure Embry will make you eat this plate of food, Isabella," Leah looks me sternly in the eye.
"I will force feed her if I have to. Don't fight me on this, Bella. You are too thin for your own good. Why hasn't anyone fed her? She's as light as a feather; even lighter," Embry chuckles, coming to sit next to me. The atmosphere quickly drops; silence takes over our small gathering. I feel my body tense as I know the direction everybody's thoughts are going. Well, everyone's except Embry's. I guess he would have to know eventual.
"What's wrong with everyone? All I said was that Bella is as light as a feather," Embry says, clearly starting to get confused.
"Um, well. That's a little complicated. You see – " Leah starts to say.
"I have cancer," I interrupt, looking down at my hands.
It's like everything froze. People stopped breathing. The waves stopped moving. The wind stopped blowing. The fire stopped crackling. The coals stopped shimmering. Everything stopped, but it didn't.
All of a sudden, I heard a broken sob. I look up and see Embry; he looks broken. He's fallen to his knees as he looks at me, his eyes shattered. His face is pale, ashen even. Tears are openly falling down his cheeks in a rapid cycle. He's heaving, like he's struggling to breathe. Embry falls forward, his hands barely catching him; they first themselves into the sand. His sobbing escalates louder, sounding like a dying cat.
Slowly, I stand up. Jacob hovers over me, but Leah holds him back by the arm. I walk over to Embry and kneel down in front of him. He looks up at me, and his sobbing subsides a little. I wrap my arms around him, hugging him tightly. He engulfs me in his arms, burying his head in the spot between my neck and shoulder. We stay like that for what seems like forever. Once Embry calms down, he picks me up and carries me over to the fire. We sit down and just talk. He makes me eat, which is good because I am starving.
Embry actually takes the task of feeding me so seriously that he even ignores my protest of no more food. He traps my hands in one of his and gently shoves more food into my mouth. Once he is satisfied that I have eaten enough, he eats the rest of the food on my plate. I stare at him with wide eyes, making him give me a questioning look.
"How can you eat so much? You already had four plate of food," I say, taking the plate of food away from him. Embry whines a little at that, but I ignore it.
"I am a growing man! I need food!" Embry takes the plate back.
"No, you don't!" I take the plate.
"Yes, I do," he calmly replies. Before I know it, he has scarfed down the remaining food. I stare at the empty plate in astonishment before shaking my head.
"What?" Embry asks, brushing a piece of hair away from my face.
"You are one strange human being, Embry Call," I say.
"Well, how about I explain how I am a human being when we listen to the legends," Embry says as he turns toward the four elders. He grabs my hips and drags me closer to him, draping an arm around my shoulders. I lay my head down on his shoulder, feeling exhausted. My eyelids are as heavy as stones; I close my eyes.
"Bella, honey, you have to stay awake. I know you're tired, but this is really important," Embry whispers in my ear. He shakes me slightly on the shoulders, making my teeth rattle. I glare at him, but he doesn't look sorry. "I'll let you sleep all you want after this."
After I comply, Embry picks me up and places me between his legs. He grabs a blanket, draping it over my legs and tugging it around them. He even goes as far as to secure my cold hands between his warm ones. I whisper a thank you before I look at everyone. It appears to be that they were all waiting for me and Embry to be done with our conversation.
"Sorry," I say, my face getting red.
"It's alright, Isabella. We want you to be as comfortable as possible," Old Quil says hoarsely, giving me a small smile. Old Quil is the only person who refers to me as my given name. I've reminded him on multiple occasions that he could call me Bella, but he would always answer with, "A lady as beautiful as you deserves to be called by her full name."
I still don't understand that phrase. I don't think I ever will.
"Isabella, you have heard of the legends," Old Quil starts.
"Yes," I say, even though he said it as a statement.
"Do you recall the one of the cold ones and the wolves?" Billy asks, eyeing me carefully. I have to think hard for a couple of minutes.
"Is that the one with the third wife sacrificing herself?" I ask. I hear Jacob snort.
"Of course you would remember her," he chuckles out. Embry growls at Jacob, who puts his hands up in surrender. Billy gives them a pointed look.
"That is correct, Isabella. What do you remember of the wolves?" This took some more thinking; it has been awhile since I have heard the legends. Not to mention the fact that Embry was pressing his lips against the raised muscle between my neck and shoulder. It's very distracting. I shiver as his teeth graze my flesh.
"Embry, would you please not distract Isabella? We are trying to make this easier on the both of you," Old Quil says sternly. I could see the laughter in his eyes, however. Embry stops immediately, and I turn my head to see him. His face is as red as a tomato, clearly embarrassed at being caught. He clears his throat.
"Yes, sir…uh, I mean, Elder Quil," Embry stutters out.
"Bella, what do you remember of the wolves?" Billy repeats.
"Well, they are part of their human host. When a cold one was near, the gene would act up, causing the human to shift. The shifter was built to destroy a vampire," I start to feel uneasy.
"Sam?" Old Quil turns to Sam Uley.
"You were correct. The cold ones activate the shifter's gene," Sam says calmly.
"The signs are subtle at first. A growth spurt. More of a temper. Anything could set you off," Paul continues.
"The human gets really sick. A high fever, shivers, unbelievable pain…"
"You feel like you want to die," Leah starts and Seth finishes.
"It lasts for about three to five days," Jake says, wincing at some memory.
"And finally it's all over because the human shifts into the wolf," Quil says, looking me in the eyes. I turn my head away from him, and sit up. I turn toward to Embry, expecting him to continue with whatever is going on. Each person who spoke is seating next to each other. It's like they planned this or something.
"There's a chance for the wolf to find his soul mate. All he has to do is look into her eyes, and all the ties snap. It's not gravity or his family or friends or even his feet holding him to the earth. It's her. She's the only one for the human and the wolf. She completes them," Embry ends in a whisper. It finally clicks.
"The imprint," it comes out as a breathy sigh. Embry leans his forehead against mine and his warm breath washes over my face.
"I imprinted on you, Bella."