Congrats to MP for being review #350 on Tricky Raven.
Congats to Aussiegirl16 for being review #950 on FF.
Guest: I am so happy that you love this story. I love it, too, which is why I sometimes take longer than anyone would like in getting updates posted: I never want to post a sub-standard chapter.
Mei fa-chan: Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.
AN: Thanks to Feebes for giving chapter ideas and beta-ing what I came up with. It was a big help. Hope you all enjoy this.
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Narrator POV
Even though he was Alpha and out of his teens now, Sam had taken an almost diabolical pleasure in rousting Jacob out of bed early in the morning. Pissing off the Alpha was never a smart move, and Jacob really needed to learn that lesson fast. And then to make Jacob's day worse, he was detailed to patrol around La Push and thus miss the pack breakfast at Sam and Emily's.
Keeping Embry and Bella separated from Jacob was the smart move today, but it was a short-term solution that wouldn't last long. Sam was willing to do it today because the new couple was entitled to one Jacob-free pack breakfast, and the information-sharing would go a lot easier and faster without his presence. Quil was out on patrol as well, which made the responsible part of Sam feel better about giving the senior pack members the morning off. So he, Jared, and Paul were killing time watching sports recaps on the TV while waiting for Bella Swan to show up.
Kim had come along with Jared and was in the midst of a quiet conversation with Emily. Both young women were eager to meet and start getting to know the newest imprint-both because they welcomed another female presence, but also because they were curious about the girl who was unintentionally the focus of so much drama. Technically, Emily had already met Bella once, in the Cameron's store on the rez, but the encounter had been brief and Bella not receptive; Emily hoped for a different response today. She'd done a lot of deep thinking trying to figure out what she had said or done to make the girl bolt the way she had, and eventually realized that it might have been the reminder of Sam having been the one who had found Bella when she'd been lost in the woods.
Embry was as fidgety as a crack addict in the throes of withdrawal, but the others had the manners not to comment. Sam and Jared knew from experience just what he was going through and now nerve-wracking it was for the wolf while waiting to tell their soul mate the truth about everything. It wasn't in the girls' nature to tease, and they were distracted with their own conversation anyway. Paul might have considered saying something, but the bond that had been and still was developing between him and Embry had him toning things way down. Quil, thankfully, had volunteered-or perhaps it was more accurate to say that he'd been bribed with an early breakfast-to go out and patrol with Jacob, and so wouldn't be around to experience yet another case of the "foot and mouth" syndrome that he seemed so prone to.
The soft crunching of tires over sticks outside on the driveway brought every pair of lupine eyes toward the front door. Embry was on his feet and out the door from one blink to the next. In the time it took the rest of the group to get out to the front porch, Embry had helped Bella out of her car and was now wrapped around her petite frame.
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Embry POV
The sensation of ants crawling all over my skin that I'd been fighting since I woke up this morning finally faded away at the same time I heard the sound of Bella's car approaching.
Bella. Mine. Bella. Mine.
I put my newly acquired speed to good use and got to Bella even before she got her car door open. Then she was up in my arms, feet hooked around my back and arms circling my neck. I used one hand to support her butt and the other plunged into her hair while my mouth claimed hers in a duel of tongues. Her scent of arousal-tinted violets was like ambrosia to me and I absorbed it like an addict getting their fix. The need to breathe finally broke the lip-lock and Paul whooping loudly behind us made Bella blush a little in automatic reflex.
"Good morning," I whispered.
"It certainly is," she agreed. "You cut your hair." Bella's hand lifted to run fingers through my now-short hair.
"Yeah. Mom helped. Easier to keep it short, apparently. What do you think?" It wasn't that I'd been especially attached to having my hair long-even if it was a bit of a cultural tradition-but I hadn't had it buzzed like this is so long that it was proving to be an adjustment.
"It's different, but it looks nice. You look...older, somehow. Even sexier than you already were," she purred. Naturally, my dick reacted instantly to both the words and her atypical boldness. Her squirm against me showed that Bella fully appreciated my predicament.
"You are evil, you know that?" I muttered.
"Then let me make it better," and she put action to words and kissed me again. No argument from me.
The throat-clearing and saying of my name by Sam reluctantly made me lower Bella back to the ground, though I wrapped one arm around her shoulders to keep her close.
"Much better," I agreed. "Rain check?" I didn't want one—wanted nothing more than to pick her back up and carry her to my empty house—but I knew that this info sharing session was necessary. So do that, and then I'd take Bella away. In the meantime, I'd just have to suffer through this hard-on, and have her really make it up to me later.
"Absolutely."
I let go of Bella so that she could grab a bag out of her car and then wrapped my hand around hers and started us toward the house and the waiting group of people.
Sam took a step forward. "Bella, I'm Sam Uley, and this is my wife, Emily. That's Jared Cameron and his fiancée, Kim. And Paul Lahote." He gestured in turn to those he introduced.
"Nice to meet you all." Bella glanced around. "Missing a couple people, aren't we? Quil and Jacob, perhaps?"
"What did they tell you last night?"
"Not much. But Jacob and Quil started avoiding Embry and me, weeks ago, and hanging with you; the day Quil saw the two of us at the beach, he said you were the one in charge; and Jacob somehow bothered Embry last night...ergo, they ought to be here and aren't."
"You don't miss much, do you?" Sam asked the rhetorical question. "No, they aren't here, and won't be."
Bella's sigh was quiet but audible. "That might be best. Anytime I'm around Jacob lately I want to go out and buy a pair of steel-toed boots."
"Damn, but you're going to be fun to have around," Paul laughed.
"Paul's got a mouth on him, but he's relatively harmless," Emily said. "Come, Bella, us girls get first crack at the food—otherwise, we wouldn't get any. Quite the pack of gluttons we've got here."
"These amazing abs to the contrary," quipped Jared, gesturing around.
Bella's arm around my waist tracked along my own newly sculpted abs. "Nice," she murmured.
"Thank you. Thank you very much," I did a bad Elvis impersonation.
Emily chided, "Boys," and waved Bella toward the food.
"Oh, here," Bella held the bag out to Emily. "I know that Jared said I didn't need to bring anything, but I didn't feel right about coming empty-handed."
"He was right: you didn't have to this time, but it was certainly nice of you. Keeping this crew fed is practically a full-time job in its own right," Emily laughed, and pulled out a bunch of bananas.
"Yum, bananas," Paul grinned, the look of the devil in his eyes. "Do you like them, Bella?"
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Bella POV
Innocent I may have been until very recently, but even I could pick up on the innuendo in Paul's question. Even as I blushed, I mentally kicked myself for not seeing the potential implications of bringing something like that into a house full of guys. Somehow, though, this teasing reminded me of Emmett, and I suspected that if I didn't think of some way to stand my ground here, then Paul would be teasing me at every opportunity from here on out.
"Of course. They can be enjoyed anytime, anywhere. They're delicious and worth either taking a long time to savor or devouring quickly. And bananas are so versatile: they're great when fried and piping hot, or chilled with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Mmmm." My repartee seemed to be successful when Paul just gaped at me.
"You'll fit right in, Bella," laughed Emily, grabbing my hand and tugging me gently in the direction of the kitchen. "Rendering Paul speechless right off the bat is quite an accomplishment."
As I started to fill a plate with a sampling of incredible-looking food, I could just feel Embry's eyes fixed on the back of my neck. He'd clearly picked up the byplay, too, and a delicious feeling of anticipation started me composing the next grocery list. At the table, I was drawn into conversation with Emily and Kim about other foods I liked, and I apologized for not having actually made anything to bring today.
"Normally, I'm always cooking, but I just didn't have time last night."
"It's no problem, Bella, really. We all understand being busy. Next time if you want to bring something homemade, then that would be wonderful."
Empty plates were stacked and carried over to the sink. An expectant silence filled the room.
"We'd better get things started, Sam. We'll need to work today, remember?" Jared spoke.
Sam nodded. "Welcome, Bella. Thank you for coming, even though you may not fully understand why. It takes courage to walk into the unknown and we appreciate that. We're here to answer any questions you have, whenever you have them. Hopefully this can be the first day of some new friendships."
"Um...okay. I guess we'll see what happens. But, first...I'm sorry if this comes off sounding rude, but I need to know about you and Leah," I said. I hadn't exactly been planning for that to come out first thing, but it was important for me to understand.
I heard a snort off to one side. "Damn, girl, do you always jump into the deep end of the pool right off the bat?"
"Maybe," I conceded, not letting myself get sidetracked. "But Leah is my friend. She was there for me when I really needed that support, and I need to know if I need to be there for her, too."
"She deserves a friend like you," Sam mused. "Bella, I never meant to hurt Leah and I will never forget that I did exactly that. My stubbornness and selfishness hurt someone that I cared about, and that isn't right. The fact that there were reasons behind what happened doesn't really matter—Leah doesn't know them, and can't. You do have every right to know what happened-and not just because you're Leah's friend. I will tell you what happened, but I would like to do that after we've covered some other things first, so that it will make more sense. Okay?"
The tone made the final question come out more like a statement that he was expecting me to agree to. My knee-jerk reaction was to think No, it isn't okay, but that would make me seem petty. Besides starting explanations in media res was a literary device that worked in some situations and not in others. I could give them enough trust to know how best to share about themselves and that they would do the same for me. "Sure."
"Thank you."
"Wait," Emily interrupted her husband. I looked over and saw Emily licking her lips.
"Em—"
"It's alright, Sam. I just need to say this. Bella, Sam didn't mean to hurt Leah, and neither did I. When it started, I didn't know what was going on or what any of it meant. I know that you're her friend, and I'll—we'll—respect that, but please, listen to the other side of the story and at least try to give me a chance. I know that it might be asking a lot of you, to be put in the middle, but…"
I was taken aback to see the deep emotion in Emily's eyes and on her face. "I can do that," I said softly. "I promised myself last night and this morning that I would give this a real chance and hear both sides. I guess that on the drive over here I lost my confidence a little bit. I probably didn't ask that question in the best way, and I'm sorry for that. I know that I don't know the whole story, and I'm usually a really fair person who thinks the best of people. I'll listen."
Sam leaned over to give his wife a kiss. "Thank you, Bella," he said again. Alright. I know you saw some stuff last night that was a bit...well, out of the ordinary. How are you feeling about that?"
"I guess I've always been good with weird stuff, so I feel fine," I shrugged. "It probably helped that I'd been thinking about things right before that happened and had basically figured a lot of it out on my own." Half a dozen dumbfounded expressions faced me.
"What?"
"Figured it out? You just 'figured it out'?"
"How the hell?"
The exclamations burst out in a jumble.
"I'm a cop's daughter. Is it really that surprising that I happen to be perceptive?"
"A few hundred years ago, people would call that witchcraft."
"Well, we're not living a few hundred years ago, now are we? Lucky me."
"Alright," Sam took charge. "We've been dancing around this, but after last night, you have to know that we're wolves."
I nodded. "How?"
"None of us got bitten, and we don't turn into slavering monsters at the full moon," Jared added.
"It's a genetic inheritance given to males in this tribe who are descended from an ancient chief-but only if we're around the right age when the trigger is present."
"Trigger?"
"It's right there in the stories we know Jacob told you: vampires."
Everyone seemed to be watching me and my reaction. I was trying to wrap my mind around it. Even with all the thinking I'd done yesterday, I hadn't quite gotten the equation right. Sam was right that the stories I'd heard had mentioned both wolves and Cold Ones-which I knew meant vampires-but somehow Jacob hadn't conveyed that it was a cause/effect relationship. Nothing that Edward had ever said had suggested that the Cullen's were aware of any connection either. All he'd said was that they'd made a treaty with the pack of wolves, and then left after a few years, not coming back until long after the wolves were gone. Something else struck me then: they were talking about it being a tribal thing, but Embry... My eyes flashed to his, and I saw my boyfriend's face tense up.
"Yeah," he spoke with a tight voice, "it means my dad has to have been a member of this tribe-otherwise I wouldn't have become part of this."
"And you wish you hadn't," I stated.
"I don't know."
I felt an ache in my chest and followed the impulse to leave my seat and move to Embry's lap. "I said it last night and I'll say it again: you are who you have always been. That's who I fell in love with." Ignoring our audience, I placed a soft kiss on his lips.
"Thank you," he whispered, resting his forehead against mine for a moment, before dropping his head to the crook of my neck. I just hugged him for as long as he needed me to.
"We'll do everything we can to get you that answer, Embry," Sam promised. "You deserve to know. Hopefully your mom will realize that soon and tell you."
"Yeah," Embry sighed heavily.
I thought about asking what was going on with Tiffany, but I decided against it. Embry didn't sound like he wanted to keep talking about this right now. So I brought the conversation back to the point of deviation. "So you become wolves if vampires are nearby. To protect the tribe, isn't that what the stories said?"
"That's right." Sam went on to explain the changes they went through before, during, and after 'the phase', as he called it. I didn't mind the thought that I'd be seeing a lot more of Embry's body now, as the cut-off shorts seemed to be the semi-official pack uniform.
"Good thing I like to cook isn't it?" I offered the teasing comment.
"It helps," Paul agreed.
"Did I say I'd be feeding you?" I retorted. He offered a puppy dog look of pleading. "We'll see. Embry gets first dibs. What else do I need to know?"
"We patrol around the reservation and peninsula, looking for bloodsuckers that might be a threat to anyone," Jared said. "Sam, when do you want to put Embry on the schedule?"
"You are the one in charge?" I sought the confirmation.
Sam nodded. "I'm the Alpha. Jared here is Beta, my second-in-command. From there, the hierarchy isn't strictly laid out, but I guess you could say it's in terms of seniority, of how long they've been in the pack. So, yes, I'm in charge and give the orders when they're needed. Let me think on the schedule for a bit, Jared. It'll have to be reworked now. Embry, I'll let you know sometime today, and we'll have you start up tomorrow, alright?"
"Okay. Guess you're the boss," Embry shrugged.
Sam reached over and took hold of his wife's hand. "Bella, you asked earlier about Leah, and just now asked about anything else that you needed to know. The two are related. When I referred to Emily as my wife, and to Kim as Jared's fiancée earlier, both were true, but they don't explain everything about their connection to us. The tie between us isn't just legal or emotional, it's supernatural as well. Perhaps in compensation for what we sacrifice when we phase, the gods or spirits give us a blessing in return. Emily is my mate, my imprint, and Kim is Jared's."
"I'm guessing that probably doesn't have anything to do with baby animals, right?"
There were some muffled chuckles.
"No, it doesn't. An imprint...is the woman who completes us, the other half of our soul. She can calm us, center us, and support us. The imprints are entitled to know everything that is going on, so that they are aware and can do those things for us. It only happens after we phase—the first time we meet her eyes. There were legends about it, things the tribal elders told me after I phased. But it was thought to be rare, and I loved Leah, so I didn't listen when they said I should break things off." He sighed heavily. "I didn't listen, and Leah paid the price for it. There was a gathering, one for all the tribes on the peninsula, a little while after that. Emily came down with a group from the Makah Reservation. Just one look…and no one else existed for me. Emily was the only one I saw from that instant on. I broke it off with Leah immediately, but she never understood. She isn't part of this, so she won't ever know. Part of me wishes she could, so she'd have closure, but since that won't happen her anger is the least I deserve."
The shoe dropped. That moment last night. Why I was being told all of this now. "And I'm Embry's? Is that what happened last night? That connection?"
"Yes. The moment your eyes met, he imprinted."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that he'll always be there for you, however you need him. A friend, lover, whatever."
I met Embry's gaze. His dark eyes were serious, a little uncertain. "Honestly...I don't want you as just a friend. I mean, I want us to still be friends like we have been. But I don't want that to be the end of it, not anymore. Besides, I think we've got the other covered already."
Paul snorted, "Yeah, we know."
My head spun around.
"You admitted it yesterday, remember? Embry confirmed it, too," he reminded me.
"And you and Quil smelled…"
"Yeah. Enhanced senses. Helpful sometimes, but a pain at other times. Quil didn't mean to stick his foot in it; just a distraction attempt that went bad."
"Is that what Jacob was trying to do yesterday afternoon? That staring match?"
"Didn't happen. That's part of what made him so pissed off," Paul said.
"Tell her the rest of it," Kim suggested, entering this conversation for the first time.
Embry looked at me with a look of panicked pleading. "Please don't hate me, please don't hate me."
"Why would I do something like that?"
"I—"
"When we're in wolf form," Sam cut in, "we obviously can't talk to share information. So part of the…I guess 'magic' is probably the best word…that bonds us as a pack has given us a different way to do that communication. Instead of using words, we have a mental connection to every other pack member who is phased at that moment. Things we need to know are shared as thoughts and images."
I had the feeling I should probably be able to figure out what he meant, but I couldn't quite bridge the gap.
"They don't do it to embarrass us, or for a cheap thrill—they don't like it much, either," Emily stated firmly. "It's something that no one can help and we just have to deal with. They try to keep as much under wraps as they can, and then just don't talk about anything that happens to slip through."
"It's a living example of how when you try not to think about something, it just brings it front and center in your mind," noted Jared.
Forget a shoe-drop. The entire floor fell away. "They saw…?" I whispered, utterly embarrassed.
Embry nodded miserably. "Not everything, but…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
"Jacob saw?"
"No!" Embry denied emphatically.
"I had Jacob phase back as soon as I could yesterday afternoon after Embry phased, so all Jacob knows is what he heard at your house," said Sam. "Later that night—"
"—he was too busy cussing Embry out for being at your place for anything to leak or be seen," Paul added.
"But that won't last forever. Jacob and Embry will eventually be phased at the same time again, and sooner rather than later, unfortunately," Sam sighed. "So, he will see at some point."
Paul had a thoughtful look on his face. "Hey, Sam?"
"What?"
"You know how you told me to keep any bombshells about Embry and Bella to myself a while back? And how I didn't say anything about seeing them together in Forks or any of it?" Paul asked.
"I remember, Paul. But I don't like to use Alpha-orders on you if it isn't necessary."
"It's necessary," Jared and Paul spoke in unison. "Unless you want World War III breaking out in the pack the first time Jacob sees something in Embry's thoughts," continued Jared.
"Try it," Kim requested.
"Worth a shot," I agreed. "Honestly, I don't really want anybody seeing anything so private about me-" Embry shrunk down. "-but I guess we'll deal with it."
"Alright. After we're done here, we can give it a shot. I think we've covered the most immediately needed pack information now, anyway. Bella, if you have any questions once you've had a chance to process everything, we'll answer them. We can get you everyone's phone numbers before you leave. But, there are some things we need to know from you, too."
I nodded. I'd known this moment was coming, and now it was here. I carefully got off Embry's lap and went to refill my glass of water. My mind raced through the same kinds of crazy conversation starters that I'd considered, and rejected, yesterday. Since I didn't have a clue how to begin, maybe I'd let them do it for me. I sat back down in my chair and waited.
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Embry POV
"How did you get involved with the Cullen's to begin with?" I asked. Unlike Bella, I decided not to dive right into the hard stuff. I really wanted to know what all that stuff in the meadow was about, but after everything we'd just gone through, there was something to be said for easing into the really difficult things this time.
"At school. Edward was my biology partner, and he kept swinging from ignoring me one day, to being all interested the next…it gave me whiplash. And I started noticing that things didn't make sense: his eyes changed colors, he and his siblings were never around on sunny days, they never seemed to eat the cafeteria food, how he saved me from being crushed by Tyler's van in the school parking lot—even though he'd been clear on the other side of the lot just seconds earlier…I guess I just got too curious and too determined to figure it all out. By the time I knew enough to realize I ought to be scared, I'd convinced myself that it didn't matter. That they were different and better than the stereotypes and that everything would be fine."
It felt like a solid punch to my gut, hearing that Bella had nearly been killed before I ever had the chance to meet her.
"But you weren't fine."
"No, I wasn't. But I didn't see that then. I didn't realize how—well, how drugged I was until after he—they—left me."
"You mean that it was their fault you got sick?"
"Not exactly. It was my fault that I tried to follow him into the forest and got lost. But he said once that everything about them drew people in, and with as much time as I spent with them...it kind of was like an addiction, I guess. Maybe either the exposure or the vampire-detox alone would have been bad enough, but both together..."
Her hands twisted in her lap in obvious anxiety. My hand automatically reached out to cover hers in support.
"Thanks," Bella whispered. I shifted our hands so that I could hold hers more comfortably. It rotated her arm enough that the inside of her wrist now faced upward. My glance downward…an icy hand reached into my chest and squeezed my heart hard.
"Fuck! What the fuck is that, Bella?" One finger traced the outline of a bite embedded in her skin. Why the hell hadn't I seen this for what it was before now? "Who did this, Bella?"
The rest of my new pack was on their feet, easily able to see over the table to the wrist I was still cradling. Low growls emanated from all of them, but I didn't think that was why Bella's heart rate had suddenly gone into overdrive. I shifted and pulled her onto my lap again, letting her bury her head against my chest and letting my own face drop to rest on the top of her head. Gradually, her pulse and breathing evened out.
"It was James," Bella whispered. "He…bit me. But then Edward was there and—and he saved me. Sucked the venom out."
A violent tremor racked my body and I clutched Bella tight, trying to protect her from another danger I'd known nothing about. I had to be momentarily grateful to Edward Cullen for saving Bella's life, but only for a moment. Then I was just pissed off that he'd dragged her into that dangerous mess to begin with, and then had left her behind in it, too.
"You okay, bro?" Paul asked, a hand coming down on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I got this. Who was James?" I asked Bella.
"Edward took me to watch his family play baseball one day. This group of three vampires was traveling through the area right then, heard the sounds of the game, and came to see what was going on. Laurent pretended to be the leader of the group, but it was really the other guy, James. James...thought that hunting a human who was being protected by seven vampires was the best game around-at least, that's what Laurent warned the Cullen's about later that night. I staged a fight with my dad, and left. Alice and Jasper took me to Phoenix to try and get away from him, but James found me anyway—Victoria broke into the school and found my old records. He broke my leg and the Cullen's killed him."
"And the others in that coven? Laurent and that Victoria?"
"Laurent said he didn't want to play James' games, so after he gave the warning he headed to Alaska, to join some friends of the Cullen's'-at least, that's what he said he was going to do, but I guess he didn't stay long. Victoria had left the area after doing her spy job, and I didn't hear anything else about her."
"Does she have red hair?" Sam asked. Bella flinched.
"Yes," she answered in a very soft voice. "Long curly red hair. How do you know that?" her voice wavered this time.
"She's come around a few times this summer. Both alone and with that one we killed yesterday," Paul said. "We never had a clue about why she kept coming back. Until yesterday, that is."
"I don't believe it," Bella shook her head. "I don't understand why she would think Edward would care what happens to me now. He left me, so how could she hurt him by coming after me?"
"James was her mate!" Jared exclaimed suddenly. Everyone stared at him in confusion. "I'd kill anyone who threatened Kim. Sam, Embry, neither of you would be any different where Emily and Bella are concerned. Remember the story? Taha Aki and the Cold Woman? That Laurent must've been telling the truth yesterday. If the Cullen's killed her mate, she'd want revenge. How better to get it than to claim a mate for a mate? Especially when the other mate is the reason that hers was killed?"
"Shit!" Paul yelled. I might've done the same, if my throat hadn't been sealed shut.
"Settle down," Sam ordered, in a tone that left no option for debate. "Now we know what she wants. We dealt with her friend, and we'll deal with her, too. No one is going to panic. Killing vampires is what we exist to do, and she will be no different. Bella, do you know anything else about her?"
"No. Just what I said earlier."
"What about the Cullen's? Anything about them that could help us deal with Victoria?"
Bella shifted on my lap and regarded her hands silently for a minute. Then she looked up and at Sam. "Some of them had…gifts."
"Gifts?"
"Carlisle was compassionate—that's how he was able to become a doctor. Rosalie was beautiful, Emmett was strong. Alice could see the future from the decisions people made. Jasper could sense emotions and influence them, too. And Edward could read minds, anyone's mind—except mine."
"Maybe she has one, too—Victoria. Maybe it's escaping. She got away from the Cullen's, she keeps evading us…Might be that she's got some talent for knowing when to get the hell out of Dodge."
"Even the best outlaws got caught eventually. So will she," judged Sam. "Bella, thank you for telling us about everything. I can guess that remembering it all wasn't pleasant."
"It didn't really hurt—not like it would have before. Maybe I feel a little guilty about sharing their secrets—but I didn't exactly promise not to, and they left me…I don't owe them anything. It might help you, and it isn't like they're around to know."
"Thank you just the same. Okay, if there's nothing else, then I think we're done for today. Paul, I need you to spread the word to the council members about a meeting tonight, and then take over on patrol. Emily, can you start planning for a bonfire? We haven't had one lately, and with the new members and all, we need one. Jared, I'll meet you at work after you see Kim home."
With nods of agreement all around, the meeting broke up. When it was just me and Bella, and Sam and Emily left, Sam gazed at me. "I can't guarantee that this will work, but like Bella said, it's worth a try. If it doesn't work, well...block and run. And just so you know, Jake's probably the fastest in the pack now. Alright. Embry, I am giving you an Alpha order not to think about your intimate times with Bella when you're phased."
I didn't feel any different, but had no way of knowing if I was supposed to or not.
"We'll give it a test once you phase for your first patrol."
"Thanks, Sam." I helped Bella stand up, and quickly pulled her toward the door of the cabin.
"Just a second," Emily called after us. She moved forward and extended a sheet of paper. "Here's everyone's phone numbers. Bella, send us texts or calls so we can get your number—or just tell me now, if you want, and I can share it around." Bella recited her phone number for Emily and we departed.
"What do you want to do?"
"How about a walk on the beach? We haven't done that in a while," Bella said.
"Sure." There'd be plenty of time for that, as well as other things, before my mom would get home from work. We got into Bella's car and headed for the beach.
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Jacob POV
Dad had come home from the council meeting in a really bad mood, and wouldn't tell me why. He didn't even ask me what had happened-not that I could have told him even if I'd wanted to...which I didn't. We just both went to our rooms for the rest of the night. I was right in the middle of a dream of "the way things should have been", when I was abruptly woken up-by Sam Uley, no less.
"Jacob, get up."
"G'way," my mumble was muffled by my pillow.
"Not happening. You need to get up and take over patrolling from Jared."
"What?"
"Jared's been patrolling since three. You need to go relieve him-I've got business for him this morning."
"That's not fair-I have to miss breakfast?"
"You're lucky to not be missing anything else right now. That crap you pulled yesterday...I'm having a really hard time remembering that you're only seventeen and a brand-new wolf. Get going. You and I will be having a discussion later about what you did and what will be happening."
Grumbling, I did as ordered, scarfing down a few granola bars and chugging a bottle of water on my way. Jared didn't say anything when I phased in, other than that everything had been quiet during his shift. I pounded through the forest on the circuit, doing my best to lose myself in the monotony of my footfalls and the quiet of the forest. I didn't want to think. Yet, I couldn't seem to do anything else.
When I'd been a kid, my mom had read me the book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day" over and over again. I'd found it funny at the time, all the bad stuff that happened to the kid. I didn't think it was funny at all now-not when I was the kid. The past few weeks had been one nightmare after another for me. Growing like a giant, phasing, being separated from my best friend and the girl of my dreams, the hope and expectation of imprinting on Bella and us being together the rest of our lives, the betrayal of having my best friend go after my girl, and then not imprinting on Bella...
I'd raged inside at Sam's orders to me last night, and how powerless I'd been to fight a single one of them. I'd only just managed the run-around on the orders and phased-which was pretty much the only thing Sam hadn't forbidden me to do-only to have Embry in my head and Bella in his eyes. That had pissed me off even more-how by everything that was holy was he at her house? I'd done the right thing and stayed away during the early days when I'd had no control, but Embry didn't think he had to do the same? I'd felt malicious glee thinking of the smack down that Sam would give him for that-only to have Paul shoot back that Sam knew just where Embry was and hadn't forbidden it.
So some twisted thing deep inside me reached out with what I knew would hurt Embry the most and unleashed those words at him. I'm not sure what I had hoped would happen, but Embry didn't mirror what I'd done only a few hours earlier and come after me-maybe that's what I'd been after, to get him away from Bella-but he didn't react other than to phase back. Jared and Paul both made sure they were looking somewhere else so that I couldn't see anything, before they phased back human, too. And so had I, before I got caught by anyone else-but I figured someone had snitched on me to Sam about it, and that it was part of what we'd be "discussing" soon.
Hey, Jake, Quil's voice popped into my head.
What are you doing here?
Sam asked me to come out and run with you-that way you're not out here solo in case that female decides to come find her "friend".
I hope she does, my was savage thought. At least I could tear into her without getting yelled at.
You really were trying to kill Embry yesterday? Jake, why? He's our friend.
He was.
But he's part of the pack now, so we don't have to avoid him like before.
He took Bella away.
I could feel Quil trying to keep quiet, but it didn't last—it never did. I think you did that yourself, Jake. I'm not saying that Sam's orders didn't contribute, but there was a lot that you could have handled better than you did.
Like...?
You were seeing red pretty much anytime you talked to Bella. Nobody likes it when someone else gets in their face, and...
And?
Well, hasn't she kept saying that she didn't think you had the right to be mad at her? Hold on a sec- he rushed on -If you'd been furious about why she was pissed off at you, then that would have been one thing, but you were telling her she didn't have any reason to be angry at all. And let's face it, she did have a reason. She got abandoned by someone else in her life, and then when you were able to even try explaining, you just seemed to expect that she'd forgive you automatically. She didn't-doesn't-know what we know, so she wasn't working from the same place that you were.
I didn't really like it, but what Quil was saying finally started sinking in. So if I'd let her get everything out, and then started to explain the reasons why...?
She probably wouldn't have been so mad at you. It wouldn't have changed anything, though. You still wouldn't have imprinted on her.
Then why was everyone so sure that I would? What about all this "future imprint" instinct?
I-Quil choked off.
What? Damn it, Quil! Quil?
The other wolf seemed like he was choking, a feeling of helpless apology coming through the mind-link.
Quil didn't have to say anything for me to figure out what this meant: he literally couldn't say anything. And that meant…
Sam!
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AN: I did a major rewrite of the Bella/vampire section just before posting, so if something doesn't make sense, please let me know.