Jana: Thank you. Happy you love the story. Bella and Embry did have a good time (wink). I'm not sure that Jake will be causing more problems deliberately. School will be interesting, I agree, with Embry navigating a new school campus, dual schools, classmates, and Bella. Thanks for appreciating all the effort that goes into each new chapter. Sometimes I wish I could be like some writers and have a story complete before I start posting it, but that's just not my style. I really need the interactions with readers for motivation, and their thoughts and comments often spark story developments.
Mei fa-chan: Thank you. I'm glad that you liked the latest chapter.
Lenniem (from chapter 37): Yeah, Paul is really smooth. Happy you're enjoying things. And…congrats on giving review #1,050 for this story!
Lenniem (from chapter 40): Yes, our dear Bella and Embry are getting quite close indeed. "Interesting" is probably going to be an understatement where the council meeting is concerned.
Guest(2) (from chapter 39): I hope chapter 40 came soon enough, and this one, too.
AN: Thank you to everyone who nominated "Jagged Edges Heal" for 2 Fandom Choice Awards! It's up for Best Non Canon Romance and Best Love Scene. Voting goes through January 3, 2014.
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Narrator POV
Emily looked around her now-empty house and sighed. Jacob Black had left just a short time earlier, having firmly shot down her effort to talk with him after Sam had left for work.
"Thanks, but no thanks, Emily. I've had enough words sent my way today. I need some time alone to think, like Sam said."
Emily felt a little regret in letting him just walk out, but Sam had told him to go and think everything through, and Jacob was planning to do that. And in any case, she wasn't sure what she would have said to him anyway. That didn't stop another sigh, though. She loved her life now, and Sam and Levi, but sometimes everything that had come along with them was like being in the middle of the zoo and a three-ring circus mashed together. She lifted her son from his high chair and carried him to the living room. It only took a moment to pull Levi's bag of Lego blocks and matching table from a corner and move both to the middle of the rug.
"Do you want to build something?" Emily asked the toddler.
"Bok," Levi babbled his word for 'blocks'.
"There you go." Emily watched him crawl to the Lego table and haul himself up onto his feet. With Levi occupied, Emily retrieved the phone and started calling other women connected with the pack. Only Sue Clearwater and Joy Ateara were available, but both came right over. With cups of tea and a plate of muffins in front of them, Emily filled her guests in on the developments since the council meeting the night before.
"So Bella took it pretty well?" Joy asked.
"Surprisingly," Emily agreed. "But she did say she was good with weird, which definitely helps. I'm not even sure Bella really blinked twice at the supernatural things she learned today. Of course, with her background, she probably got a lot of the shock and surprise emotions out of the way a while ago. I guess if you know that one impossible thing is true, then it's much easier to believe that something else strange is also real."
Joy nodded. "We do live in strange times. A few months ago, she was dating a vampire, and now..."
"And now," Sue Clearwater agreed. "Now she's the imprint of a wolf. I have to admit that I'm happy for them both. I was honestly pretty worried a while back about what might happen if Bella came to love Embry before Jake got a chance to see her again and then imprinted. To have a second love torn away from her...no one could deserve to lose so much and have no say in anything that happened. It's quite a relief to have all my fears be pointless now. Bella will have the rest of her life with the man she loves, and the wolf who will do anything for her. And I think it'll really help Embry to have someone like Bella to always be able to count on. How is the pack reacting to this imprinting?"
"Paul's rather smug that he saw more than anyone else did where Embry and Bella are concerned. Jared doesn't seem to have much opinion either way. Sam and Quil have been more conflicted. Wanting to be happy for Bella and Embry on one side, but aware of all the potential problems on the other hand."
"Problems meaning Jacob," Joy stated.
"That's the big one. Sam talked to him after the pack meeting was over, and Jake and I chatted a little more before he left a little while ago. I think maybe-just maybe-Jacob is starting to realize that trying to fight things like he's been doing will be about as successful as attempting to keep a wave from coming ashore."
"We can hope," Joy agreed, "but Jacob has always been stubborn."
"How did Jacob react to the imprint?" Sue wanted to know.
"He was a bit upset. 'Why him?' 'Why not me?' That sort of thing. But Sam had ordered Jake to stay put before the conversation even started, so him running off to find Embry like yesterday wasn't a possibility," replied Emily.
"What will Sam do about things?"
"I think he's planning to keep Jake and Embry on different patrol shifts for now, at least as much as he can. Even with Sam giving Embry an Alpha-order not to think about sex with Bella while he's phased, only time will tell if it actually works. The last thing we need or want is another wolf fight between those two."
"So you think Bella and Embry will..." Joy trailed off, but Emily picked up the thought easily.
"Keep on having sex? Why would we think anything else? They're in love, teenagers, and imprinted in-love teenagers to boot. Of course, they'll be having more sex. They'll be just like Sam and I, or Jared and Kim." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Emily froze. "Oh, hell-o!" she exclaimed, amending the near-imprecation just in time-Levi was becoming quite the mimic these days.
"Emily?"
"What's wrong?"
"We didn't tell them," the Alpha's wife and imprint whispered. "They don't know."
Sue covered the younger woman's hand with hers. "Didn't tell them what? What aren't they aware of?"
"When we talked about all of the pack and imprint information this morning, no one brought up marking. Embry and Bella don't know about it-or about the inevitable result of a mark being given by the wolf."
The two older women exchanged a worried glance, understanding Emily's concern. Emily had conceived Levi very soon after she and Sam had solidified their relationship, and Jared and Kim had barely lasted past their graduations this spring before taking the step that would see them become parents by the end of winter. All this firsthand experience, plus the volumes of tribal lore, made it clear that if-or rather when-Embry marked Bella, a baby would soon follow for them, too. And given that their relationship in general-not just the imprint-was still very new, not to mention that both were just about to start their senior year in high school..."hell-o", indeed.
Emily scrambled to locate the sheet of paper with all the pack phone numbers on it-not having had any time to start memorizing Bella's or Embry's yet-and called both of them. She ended up leaving voicemails for both-"There's something else we need to talk about regarding the imprint. Call me as soon as you get this."
"And if they don't," added Sue, "you can catch them tonight at the meeting."
"I know," Emily squared her shoulders. "I'm just upset with myself for having forgotten something like that."
"It'll be okay," Sue assured her. "You remembered, that's the important thing, and you'll make sure that neither Embry nor Bella have to face irate parents. Charlie would not be happy at all if his little girl got knocked up in high school, no matter how much he likes Embry."
"But you think he'll be fine with Embry being the father of his grandchildren eventually? He won't think Bella could do better than a boy from the rez?" Joy mused.
"Joy! Charlie Swan has only been best friends with my Harry and with Billy-and with your Quil while he was alive-since all of them were boys. Those friendships wouldn't have lasted for decades if Charlie was the least bit prejudiced or racist. Embry being native won't matter to Charlie at all, as long as Bella is loved and cared for, and Embry will do that."
"But other people might be prejudiced and care about it," Emily thought aloud. "This is a small tribe-bloodlines are important. Children have to be at least half-Quileute to be considered part of the tribe. Embry's only half, and his imprint isn't even native at all. What's going to happen with that?"
"Embry is one of the tribe's protectors, and Bella is his imprint. They will be accepted and welcomed-and so will their children," Sue decreed.
"Really?" the Alpha's mate was dubious. "Tiffany Call is protecting the secret like it's some kind of priceless treasure—or a ticking bomb. She clearly doesn't want it to come out. But it will have to if Embry is going to have a place here—we all know about the talk that started spreading after Jacob and Quil distanced themselves from him a few weeks ago."
"And while most families might not mind him being acknowledged as a son of the tribe, one family definitely will have issues with it," Joy noted, with amazing aplomb, considering that her late husband was one of the candidates for Embry's father.
"We'll all have our parts to play in ensuring that Embry and Bella gain that acceptance," said Sue. "Once Tiffany talks, then we'll figure out more of what to do and who will do it."
Emily squared her shoulders, knowing that Sue was right and that the issue could be shelved for the moment. "Alright, Sam wants a bonfire on Friday, and amazingly enough the weather looks cooperative. So we'll need..."
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Bella POV
The trip from La Push didn't take too long, though it had involved walking back to the beach to retrieve my car from the parking lot.
"So what do we need?" Embry asked.
"Just the basics, really. Binders, loose-leaf notebook paper, and spiral notebooks. Blue and black ink pens, pencils-"
"Bella?"
I turned and saw Angela and Jessica starting down the aisle of school and office supplies at the Thriftway.
"Wow!" Both my friends were practically drooling as they gave Embry some serious look-overs while approaching us. "Have you been hitting the gym a lot lately?"
"Growth spurt," Embry offered in a casual manner.
"I'll say," Jessica mouthed. Her lips kept moving, but I couldn't tell what she was saying. But judging by the smirk on his face, Embry did hear her just fine.
"How have you two been?" asked Angela. "It feels like I haven't seen you in forever."
"I guess we've just been keeping busy. Enjoying every last minute of summer vacation while we can."
"And hiking, too, from what I heard," Jessica commented. At my questioning look, she continued, "Mike caught me the other day. Wanted to grill me about-well, you," she said to Embry, "-all the deets, and what I knew about you coming to school with us. What's the deal with that?"
"Shared studies program," Embry explained. "Kids from La Push can come and take classes here that the school on the rez can't provide. And I'm not going to complain about spending more time with my girl,"
"And keeping the pests away from her?" Embry looked at Angela in question, so she elaborated, "The guys have always hovered around her, like bugs on a house light. Not that she's ever encouraged them, but-"
"-but they can't fathom the idea of a girl not being interested in them, so they keep trying to get her attention. Clueless," snorted Jessica.
"Yeah, I kinda got that from Newton the other day. He sure didn't like hearing I was Bella's boyfriend. Bummmerrr." Everyone laughed.
"He's not all bad," I defended. "Mike did suffer through being my gym partner last year. But, yeah, he is pretty clueless not see that I'm not interested."
"So," Jessica turned back to Embry, "Are you going to go out for one of the sports teams this year?"
"Nah. Not really interested, plus I'm not sure I'd have the time. Looks like I'll be getting a tribal job this year." And that was true, if misleading. But my friends, good as they were, couldn't know this new secret in my life any more than I'd been able to tell them the earlier ones.
"The guys of Forks High will probably be relieved."
"We really need to do something this weekend. A last hurrah to summer," Angela suggested. "You two in?"
Embry and I exchanged glances. "We might be. Do we have anything already planned?" I asked.
"Well, Sam was talking about a bonfire, but not when," answered Embry. "We can ask them tonight if it's been scheduled yet."
"Can we get back to you?" I queried Angela.
"Sure. Is the bonfire open to anyone or invitation-only?"
"Dunno," Embry shrugged. "I can ask, but I almost think this one will be restricted. Sorry."
"I'm the one who's sorry, for putting you on the spot with it. It's no big deal. I'm half-Quinault, remember, so I know about tribe-only things."
"Don't worry about it. Like Bella said, we can let you know."
"Doing anything else today?" Jessica asked.
"We've got plans back in La Push this evening, but the rest of the afternoon is open. What about a movie at my place?" I suggested.
Both my friends agreed, and offered to bring snacks for all of us to enjoy.
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Jacob POV
I left Sam's house and just walked. No destination in mind, just walking and thinking-or not thinking-whatever.
"Greetings, Ephraim's heir." I turned to see that Quil's grandpa had somehow snuck up on me. Man, I was out of it to miss that.
"Am I? Sam doesn't think so. Squashed me like a bug when I brought it up," I grimaced at the memory of being forced to the ground by Sam's will.
"You are Ephraim's great-grandson," the old man replied. "But the role of Alpha is not hereditary in the way that chieftainship of the tribe is."
"Then why would Dad-" I broke off. Old Quil knew what I'd been about to say, though.
"Billy saw his grandfather and the others phase once, when they were very old men-like me," he quipped. "Billy was just a small boy at the time. I imagine the experience stuck in his mind, as some childhood memories sometimes do. Perhaps the hope was born that he might become a wolf like his Ephraim," Old Quil sighed. "That was not what fate intended either, no more than it was my son's fate to see his own son grow up."
I didn't like to reflect how my best friend had lost his dad in a shipwreck, any more than I cared to remember my mom's death in that car crash. It was harder not to think of my dad's slow physical decline in recent years, as his diabetes had robbed him of mobility and independence. It couldn't be changed and just had to be lived with. But that didn't mean there hadn't been times when I had played "what if?' and dreamed of Mom still being around, or Dad being fit again...
"It is natural for parents to have dreams for their children," Old Quil spoke softly, almost to himself. "That is easy. It is much harder to let those dreams go, to accept that they will not happen. It was not Billy's destiny to become a wolf or Alpha."
"Did you have that dream, too? Being a wolf?"
"For a time. But I was older and I had seen more than either Billy or Joshua had. I knew, in ways they never could, of everything that came with being a wolf. I am not sure that others saw it as the burden it can prove to be. I think Charles Uley resented that he wasn't a wolf like his father, and passed that on to his son Joshua. They both felt the lack of not being what Levi Uley had been. I have sometimes thought that this might be why Joshua left-to get away from the history and disappointment."
"And my dad? Did he want this for me?"
"Did he want you to phase? No. But once it was clear that you would, he may well have hoped that you would rise to Ephraim's role eventually."
"That won't happen, according to Sam," the words were bitter in my mouth.
"Samuel had many difficulties, being alone for weeks as a wolf, with no idea what had happened to him or what to do. Perhaps worst of all was our blindness in not seeing what was happening to him. Would you have fared any better, young Jacob? You may well become Alpha someday, or perhaps not. I would hope that the threat to our tribe would be long since gone and with it the need for a pack. But it is no one's destiny to become Alpha of this pack, any more than in the wolf-packs in nature. Leadership goes to the fittest wolf. Is that you, now?" The words were mild; the meaning behind them wasn't. "If you do wish to ascend to the position of Alpha, then you must prove yourself worthy of that position—to Samuel, to your tribe, and to the spirits of our ancestors."
"How do I do that?" My tone was sarcastic.
"You must look carefully at yourself, Jacob Black. You must see your words and actions as they truly are and not how you might wish to justify them. You must consider your motivations for the things you say and do. Is your intent to support others or destroy them? Do you wish to be judged a son of Taha Aki, or a son of Utlapa?"
A hard punch of guilt impacted against my ribs. I tried to shake it off, but the feeling wouldn't go away and just stuck to me like superglue. My friend Quil had been saying something a lot like this not too long ago.
"How do I do that?" This time, my voice wasn't nearly so defiant.
"Think. Remember. Ask the spirits for wisdom and discernment. Be willing to tear away what is on the surface to look underneath. Come with me."
I didn't entirely want to, but Quil Ateara III was impossible to say no to.
"Why wasn't I the one to imprint on Bella?" I asked the question, not sure what answer I would get or even what answer I wanted.
Old Quil was silent for a while, thinking, and then answered, "An imprint is not just about a woman being right for the wolf, but the wolf being right for the woman. What were you to Bella? How did she feel about you?"
"Best friends. She called me her 'sun' sometimes, 'cause I was so cheerful all the time." I almost couldn't remember being that person, like it had been in someone else's lifetime.
"Perhaps that's what she needs you to be, rather than a life-mate. Lovers should always be friends, but friends shouldn't always become lovers." Talking about sex with my friend's grandfather was beyond weird and embarrassing. "My father imprinted on a woman not of this tribe, a hok'wat. In those days, to marry outside one's race was almost unheard of—illegal in some cases. Had it not been for the imprint, my parents would not have been allowed to be together. Something about both Bella and Embry was just what the other most needed. Just because you aren't her imprint doesn't mean that you cannot be part of her life."
I wanted to say something like 'But I don't want to just be friends', but I choked back the words. As Quil had said, it wouldn't change anything. I hadn't imprinted on Bella-Embry had. She wasn't mine, no matter how much I still wanted her to be.
"Bella was not your destined mate. That honor belongs to another woman. Will you see her, if you refuse to let go of the one who was not meant to be yours?"
I didn't have an answer for him. Part of me didn't want to think of another girl taking Bella's place in my heart and life, the way Embry had replaced me. Yet at the same time, Old Quil's words just now resonated with me somehow. I could still be part of Bella's life, even if it wasn't in the way I'd wanted. Wasn't something better than nothing?
"What do I do?" I asked quietly.
"What are you to do today?" the elder asked in turn.
"Sam told me to go somewhere and think about stuff."
"Then that is what you shall do. Wait here." For an old man, he was still really spry and moved pretty quickly. He was soon back, and holding out a leather flask to me. "Take this and drink it all once you've arrived at your thinking place."
"What is it?" my tone was suspicious, and my nose wrinkled when I sniffed at the contents.
"Ask not. Just do." And Old Quil left me as quickly as he'd joined me.
Okay, Jake. Let's start thinking…
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AN: I have made a change from canon in what Old Quil said to Jacob about his parents. According to the Twilight Illustrated Companion, it was Old Quil who married Molly Swan and not Quil II like I'm saying here.
I was going to have more Jacob stuff in this chapter, but I don't have it plotted out yet, and I didn't think it was fair to hold back this chapter because of it, especially when it was already at a good length. So you get this now, and we'll see in the next chapter how Jacob spends his afternoon.