Seth's POV
The golden hour came and went out in a bright fury of color, and a full moon crept over the horizon like a new sun. The tribe separated into smaller clusters along the beach setting up fires for tonight's legends. Others outside the pack seemed to dwindle off on their own giving us privacy on higher ground.
This was the new wolf's first time hearing the stories firsthand. Joseph, Keme, and Kelle helped pitch the firewood in the pit with me. My mom strolled up with Charlie who just arrived to help set up some extra chairs between the logs framing the fire pit. He's been coming by with Billie a lot this summer to see my mom since my dad died in the spring. When Leah and I shifted. I miss him every day, but I'm glad my mom has someone to laugh with.
From Sam's thoughts, Billie and Sue agreed to invite Charlie here. They wanted him to know the tribe's legends for himself. If he ever wanted to know the truth about the Cullens, or what would become of Bella, we'd establish a baseline tonight. Billie and Sue both had been torn up about Bella's decision to marry Edward. A lot of us thought it was unfair for Charlie to be in the dark, but we respected Bella's wishes to keep him safe from the supernatural.
Once in a blue moon, Bella used to call my house to ask about Jacob. Of course, every time she did, he was still off somewhere wandering around Canada. I'd been extra careful not to let the pack hear about that. It had been a lot easier since Leah and I broke off into our own pack with Jacob when he split. Until recently I've had a pretty quiet mind. But I rejoined Sam's pack so I could help out with the younger wolves. Meanwhile, my sister hasn't been back since June. She parted ways to a community college in a county over staying with Aunt Lynn.
"Who's Jake with?" Charlie questioned.
Jacob and Layla walked up the hill together arms linked. That was the miracle we were all hoping for. Jacob's imprint. A shy girl who at first glance reminded a lot of us of Bella Swan.
"That would be Layla Moon," Sue informed him. "Syd has a kid that young?" "Granddaughter." Billie joined them.
"Well, that's nice." Charlie watched them deep in thought. His brows furrowed like he'd wish it was his daughter out there.
"I think it's safe to say he has a type." He nudged Billie cracking his beer open.
"If you're comparing apples to oranges." Joseph scoffed eavesdropping. He had only seen Bella through the pack's mind and at face value, not the best reputation to the new kids. Running off with vampires and all that. In that way, Joseph was more like Sam in his thinking. And after the stories tonight, I worried about what it would do to Reinforce an old bias.
"I think so." Billie chuckled making light of the situation. "Layla's quiet at first, but she's a sweet girl when you get to know her." I piped in.
"You're the only one she'll talk to," Joseph mumbled a little annoyed. He was more outgoing and enjoyed the female attention that came with his new muscles so it bothered him when she shied away.
"Get to know her too much and you'll see how feisty she can be." Syd walked up from behind them.
"So she's like Ruth in more ways than one? That should be interesting." Sue laughed. "You bet."
"That will be good for Jake." Billie laughed. "Speaking of Jake." Charlie cleared his throat.
"Where'd you guys find him? Or uh, where did he go?" That's right no one had told him the alibi, and he'd been the one who put up all those search posters.
"I told you he'd be back when he was ready," Billie answered looking away into the flames.
"All by himself?" Charlie lifted his brows.
"Remember what I told you? Sam would check on him here and there. Quil and Embry drove him back once he was ready." Sue spoke keeping the peace.
"Cool." Charlie dropped the topic.
The fire burned bright and ready. Its warm embers flew up into the sky.
Paul and Rachel brought over smore supplies. My mom passed out skewers while Emily covered the logs with a layer of beach towels and stacked blankets at the end of each one.
"Isn't that excessive?" Kelle asked. "The girls might get cold," Emily explained.
"No, they won't." Joseph grinned leaning back and stretching his arms wide over the log behind him. Emily smacked his head with a rolled-up beach towel to move him out of the way.
We all took a seat, getting situated around the fire.
"How long do you think it will take for Layla and Jake to get together?" Quil whispered wanting to make a bet with Jared.
"I give it a couple of weeks." He stated. "I give it a month." Quil looked to Embry who was thinking about his gamble.
"I dunno, he's been gone for a while. He needs to get readjusted." "So?" Quil wanted an answer so they could place a said bet.
"Two months," Embry spoke reasonably. " "Two months? You're gonna lose." Jared scoffed.
"Not everyone is you and Kim." "Fair, make mine three weeks." He corrected his wager.
"Deal. How much money?" Quil questioned. "Fifty bucks." Embry shrugged. "High roller now. Hope you don't regret it."
"Wait what about the first kiss?" Jared asked wanted to make a double jeopardy bet.
"Shh! They're coming." I silenced them.
Jacob's Pov
"Saved a seat for you guys." Seth patted the log next to him.
"Thanks." I sat on the edge so I could block the breeze off the sea from Layla. Embry and Quil dabbed Jared closing some sort of deal.
I glanced across the fire seeing Charlie here. I withheld a grimace. It's not like he did anything wrong.
"Hey, Jake." "Charlie." We acknowledged each other. Then I turned back to watch Layla distracting myself from the prick of pain I was feeling.
I studied the profile of her face. It was heart-shaped like Bella's was, but Layla still had some childish thickness to her cheeks and jaw that she hadn't outgrown yet.
Her dark chocolate brown eyes sparkled when she found something the guys said to be funny. When she glanced around the campfire her eyelashes flicked up in a gentle sweep almost rhythmically. And when Layla did speak the corners of her lips tugged up into a full cupid's bow. The prick of pain faded when I met her eyes again.
The wind tussled her hair dispersing her scent towards me. It was soft and almost sweet like honey, but smoother somehow with a hint of something flowery. I leaned into the addictive yet comforting smell. Every waft cleared my thoughts.
I must have gotten a little too close because when Layla turned to face me her nose almost grazed my face.
"Jake! Your skewer." Layla pulled my hand back up so I wouldn't get burned. I had forgotten about the marshmallows I was roasting and it had caught on fire.
The blackened goop had flung onto Seth. "Awe come on!" Seth wiped his shoulder now covered in blackened hot sticky sugar.
The guys next to us snickered. Quil handed me a full smore from the monumental stack he had made for himself.
"Thanks," I muttered setting the skewer aside. "Oh no, Did you burn yourself?" Layla took my free hand to look over it.
"No." I jerked it back. "Sorry." She recoiled from me. "I'm fine," I assured her hiding the rapidly healing flesh until it healed.
Layla took a piece of chocolate from the Costco-sized bag on the ground and started nibbling on it.
Sam cleared his throat, to begin with the Histories. Layla scooted closer to Seth who scrubbed at the stain on his shirt.
"Thank you for gathering here tonight everyone. Let us begin by greeting our new members... Keme, Kelle, Joseph, and John."
Layla's eyes followed each new kid that waved their hands. First identical twins with cropped black hair. The only visible difference between the two freshmen was that Keme, the younger twin, was a half-inch taller than Kelle. Joseph was the spunky peer Seth's age who I'd seen a few times. He seemed to enjoy being a wolf more than the other three. Lastly was the quiet one, John. Who seemed to be the calmest. Like a few others in our pack, he seemed to look up to Sam.
"And our welcomed guests. Sydney Moon, and his granddaughter Layla Moon." She nearly choked not expecting to be mentioned.
Quil and Embry laughed when pieces of chocolate spat out of her mouth into the fire. Layla ducked her head and covered her mouth.
"And our old friend Charlie Swan." Some of the crowd went silent as others remained clapping.
"Happy to be here." He waved off the attention and took a big swig of his beer.
"Now we begin with the histories of our peoples dating back to the great flood..." Sam's voice held an authoritative tone and a steady beat my father taught him.
Emily sat behind him dutifully wrapped in a woven blanket. Sam stood up and used his hands to tell the story of where we came from and continued with the separation of lands between the other tribes.
He smiled over at Emily when he mentioned the Maca. When he finished with the first round of stories Emily handed him an opened water bottle. He took it gladly after the long-winded explanations.
My father was up next to tell the tale of the cold ones. He was by far the best storyteller amongst the elders. Perhaps I was biased from all the storytelling he did when my sisters and I were kids. His pacing was perfect and the suspense built in his voice always caught the crowd off guard.
I scooted closer to Layla blocking the wind that made her shiver. She unconsciously leaned into me and flinched at the pivotal point in the story.
Embry slid pieces of dried driftwood into the fire causing it to burn a mysterious blue-green. I heard a quiet gasp escape Layla's lips.
I unfolded one of the blankets and wrapped it around her shoulders. She hardly noticed encompassed by the legend.
"That is what they were. Cold ones, blood drinkers." Billie lifted the blackened sash of ancient vampire ash. The old relic that was passed on from generation to generation. So that we would never forget the horrors that took place here many years ago.
"Now this is the story of the Third wife's great sacrifice." Old Quil took over the legends. Layla kept a collected face, but the tightness in her eyes and jaw gave away her stress.
The new wolves seemed to be more intrigued. Eating up the stories of our heritage and coming to the understanding of our true brotherhood.
Layla seemed displeased by the end of this story. Especially when our men fell in battle or the moment the third wife plummeted a dagger into herself.
Then when I thought the stories were concluding Sue came forward holding a folded-up tapestry.
"Grandma's quilt?" Layla whispered sitting up straighter in recognition. Syd nodded at Sue who smiled.
"I was given a gift from an old friend. A tapestry stitched to an old deer skin painted by our people. Translated by me this week."
Sue turned the back of the quilt over to expose the old Quileute script in red paint. "It speaks of the Third wife. Otherwise known as Catori Nokomis. The first imprint."
She introduced the story of flipping one square out at a time like a picture book.
"As you know Ta'ah Aki, the great wolf chief, lived a long life bearing many sons. During this long life, he had lost his first two wives. The first fell to sickness, the other to weakness in old age."
Sue unraveled the next portion showing the depiction of the Chief's loss.
"Rot with sorrow after losing his second love he departed from the village." Sue flipped the next square of a wolf roaming the forest to a mountaintop.
"He roamed around as his spirit wolf for a long journey." I looked at my father wondering if this was some sort of ploy.
He tilted his chin up towards Sue with utmost seriousness to pay attention.
"The Chief was fulfilled that his sons were grown having children of their own, and some with grandchildren."
"But with two long lifespans and to still have a young healthy body that hadn't aged he despaired. He felt no urge to go back and lead his people. No desire to have another love. After all, that felt selfish. He had experienced more than most men could ever dream."
"He wandered around as a spirit protector for many moons and planned to stay like that until his ancestors would ask the Great Creator to let him pass on."
But his lonely cries to the skies at night remained unanswered. Day by day he waited. Night by night he would stare at the stars looking for an answer.
The moon in all her glory was the only one to light his path and brought the attention of the lonely spirit wolf to the Creator. She unfolded another rectangle of the night sky. Silver stitched stars against the navy quilted background.
"Giving him clean waters to drink the Great Creator put Ta-ah Aki to sleep."
"He would be rewarded for his honesty and integrity, and for the way he took care of the lives and the lands. A miracle crafted just for him."
"The Great Creator wove moonbeams into the tapestry of life in which he created the soul of man. Then He took an imprinted thread from the heart of Ta'ah Aki's spirit feeding it into the loom as well. Lastly, He wove together a form of a woman and placed the light of a star in her eyes." Sue flipped the next square to reveal the imprint.
"Moonbeams to light his path, an imprinted piece of himself that is his own, and a piece of a star to know where they are. With these three cords bound in the spirit, She would never let him be lost again, or wander this plane alone."
"Ta'ah Aki woke from his sleep at nightfall to find her. He called her Catori Nokomis, Spirit of the Moon daughter."
Layla shrunk back into my shoulder and pulled up her blanket as some eyes glanced in our direction.
Sue smiled opening the tapestry fully in all its splendor.
The full picture came together of Ta'ah Aki meeting his true love. Catori was stitched next to Ta'ah Aki wearing many colors with two feathers draping from her hair.
"It is said that The Great Creator has scattered a star generously for each wandering wolf so that none would wander aimlessly in such sorrow again."
Sue completed the story by walking around the fire to show us all the patchwork.
The circled clapped and the younger boys gagged when the imprinted couples embraced and kissed.
Charlie cleared his throat while cracking open another cold one. Foam fizzled over his hand and he cursed. Billie laughed at his friend and their banter broke up the tension of storytelling for the evening.
"Thank you for joining us this evening everyone. If you kids have any questions you know who to ask." Sue winked at the newcomers then passed the quit to those who wanted a closer look. Emily and April were the first to spring on the patchwork.
Layla stared into the fire deep in thought letting the blanket fall from her shoulders.
"Alright boys. Let's get this place cleaned up." Syd swatted the twins to get up.
The sparse sparks from the dimming fire flickered up scattering in a snap into the sky.
The night was so dark that the full moon brilliantly glowed over the ocean creating silver-capped waves that rolled quietly onto the shore.
I stood up first stretching my cramped legs.
"Would you like to take that walk?" The sound of my voice jarred Layla from her thoughts.
"Sure." Layla smiled, this time she took my hand with less hesitation.
We strode down the darkened beach.
The colorful array of pebbles now looked onyx in the night, and the moonlight overhead made the dark grey waters shimmer with flecks of silver and gold.
The only sound between us for a while was the shifting sound of rocks under our feet and the gentle tumbling of the tide.
"So, what did you think of the stories?" I asked her in honest curiosity.
"They were interesting." She looked up at the moon admiringly.
"Interesting how?" I ensued for more answers. It wasn't like I could read the thoughts on her face unlike someone else I once knew. At least not yet.
"I didn't really expect the old legends to hold their own rendition of Hollywood's classic vampire versus werewolf tale." I chuckled nervously at that.
Layla climbed up on a stray piece of driftwood like a balancing beam. She didn't seem to need help balancing.
"I'm sure it wasn't exactly that. Maybe some random colonizers were crazy cannibals, and the natives here had trained some wolves to defend themselves." She shrugged grasping my hand again to climb down off the other side.
Her deduction was amusing. And it sounded more logical than the magical truth of the legends.
"I dunno. Legends last for a reason." I smirked keeping her hand in mine as long as she'd let me.
"Sure. Word of mouth hasn't altered or lost any details." "Sure, sure. Then what do you think of the imprinting part?"
"The wolfman's true love?" She questioned removing her hand from mine.
Layla wrapped her arms around her torso when a cool gust of wind blew between us.
"Hypothetically. If it were real." I assured her hoping that would open up the conversation.
"Hypothetically?" She laughed giving it some thought.
"Hypothetically," I repeated grinning again.
"I guess it sounds like a fairytale. Most girls would find that to be a dream come true, or at the very least convenient. To have someone loyal and loving that would potentially never break your heart…" Layla trailed off sounding just as sad as when she stared into the bonfire.
"The wolfmen aren't able to choose their mate. They're tethered to a total stranger. Not knowing if that person is good at heart, or if they have the wolfman's best interest in mind. Does that not matter? Or would the pull of imprinting overrule the normal sequence of things? Like the way, normal people would connect and grow into love. Is that omitted the moment they find her? It kind of almost sounds unfair to him." Layla rambled her thoughts out loud to me.
I was shocked. She thought so much like me. I mean, like how I used to be before the imprinting happened to me. To us.
The sound of rippling waters overtook the sudden silence for a few moments.
"You said other girls would like that idea. But what about you?"
"What is this, twenty questions? Or are you asking a child of divorce if true love exists?" A tight pained smile spread across her face.
"Maybe. Or maybe I'm asking if you'd prefer a werewolf over a vampire." I half teased. Layla laughed and the wall she was building up vanished.
"That depends. Wouldn't it be worrisome? Like would the wolf transformation be harmful to him, or would the werewolf be able to recall their memories of being a wolf outside of that form? Or would they constantly wake up stranded somewhere after every full moon?"
I tried to hold in my laughter. Not only was Layla confusing the legends with Hollywood folklore, but she was worried that shapeshifting would hurt us or that we'd be stranded somewhere.
Layla interrupted her own rant with a gasp.
"What?" "I don't know Jacob. If a werewolf is half canine that means he couldn't eat chocolate. Then it couldn't work out between us."
I couldn't hold back my laughter anymore. "What are you talking about?" I asked between breaths.
"Dogs can't have chocolate right? It would be pretty lame if a Snickers bar could take them out." Layla laughed.
I grinned shaking my head in disbelief. "I swear horror films should have used chocolate instead of silver bullets." She grinned back at me.
I cleared my throat trying to real in my laughter so I could respond. Layla stopped short on the shore.
"What do you think would happen if a werewolf hunted and ate a bunny rabbit whole? Do you think the bones would be digested, or would they pierce through the skin if they transformed back right away?"
I couldn't hold back my second fit of laughter. It boomed echoing off the water back to us.
"Come on. Hypothetically, Jacob." She teased. I couldn't seem to pull it together soon enough.
"Well, you asked." She pouted marching back down the beach alone. "Wait, wait, wait. I'm sorry." I was smiling so hard it hurt.
"Maybe I shouldn't talk to you when I'm this tired and hopped up on sugar," Layla mumbled to herself.
"That's what you'd be worried about? Bunny rabbits and chocolate." I stated.
"Easter must be their worst nightmare," Layla smirked rolling her eyes.
"I think they could handle a chocolate bunny." I snorted. "Hmm, my logic says otherwise."
We bantered like this back and forth until we reached her car.
On the ride back we were so caught up in conversation that Layla had forgotten to drop me off at my house so we continued on to Syd's place.
"Oh shoot. I should turn around." Layla yawned. "Don't worry about it. I can walk back."
"It's past midnight and it's dark." "The Moon's lighting everything up for me. 'Sides I'll be fine. My house is less than two miles away."
I blocked her hand from reinserting the keys into the ignition. "Jake. You can't be serious."
"You look so tired that you're about to fall over."
She wasn't convinced. "I asked you out. It's the least I can do."
"Fine. I still don't think it's right." She frowned retracking her keys as she stepped out of the car.
"I'm a little rusty with my Quileute, but what does Kowlieshkah mean?" I asked her as we made our way across the gravel and sand.
"It's ridiculous." She shook her head tiredly. "Please?"
"Only if you don't laugh." Layla yawned again. "Promise."
"My middle name, Kowlieshkah, means chased by wolf or wolves. So all together my full name translates to 'Night of the Wolf chasing the Moon.'"
She shrugged finding it hard to look up at me. I was too stunned to say anything.
"My grandma must have put a lot of stock in those silly legends, huh?" Layla laughed it off lightly.
Her name almost quite literally meant imprint.
"I should go," she took up the front steps. "Sure." I stepped forward watching her head in.
Then Layla hesitated on an upper step to where we were almost the same height.
"Don't take this the wrong way." She lifted onto her toes and pressed her lips lightly to the side of my cheek.
"What was that for?" I asked surprised. "That will have to do for your welcome back present." She stepped back instantly creating space between us, but I could still see the dusty rose tint to her cheeks in the dark.
"Thanks for inviting me tonight. I had more fun than I thought I would." Layla faintly smiled back at me before retreating into the house.
"Sure." I was too stunned to speak. "See you around Jake."
Author's Note:
In Quileute, Kwoli means wolf and Leshkah is Apache for chased by/followed. There is no written context to the language I did my best to combine and write the word in how they sounded. All together it sounds like Kwo-le-sh-ka. I hope that helps for reference.
Ps If you choose to leave a review please be kind/helpful. I do enjoy your reactions and responses. I wasn't sure if I was going to post Night Fall at all so your encouragement has been appreciated.