CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE.
WOLF
In complete juxtaposition to the other recent fourteen-hour drive I'd taken, it seemed to me this one passed in the blink of an eye. One moment I was looking at La's face and the next we were back in the driveway in front of the Forks house.
"Why here?" I asked Carlisle, alarmed. He gently helped me pull La out of the car before answering.
"It's the closest safe house with adequate supplies, unfortunately," he said. "I only brought those syringes of morphine as a safety net - I didn't expect to make use of them. We'll need a lot more to keep her comfortable for three days. It's a risk, but a necessary one. We'll move as soon as La is able."
Of the four he had packed, we'd already used three. Being here may cause more issues than it fixed, but La was already twitching uncomfortably. She would need another dose of morphine soon.
I swept La upstairs into Carlisle's study. In the back, a medic bed and copious supplies for an injured person were laid out in neat rows and stacks ready to be packed. Carlisle must have been preparing for our trip to the Highlands. Everything we needed for exactly this scenario was already here and ready.
Ever so carefully, I laid La on the bed and let Carlisle get to work. He set up an IV and attached a morphine drip, then let Esme and Alice descend upon her.
Esme set to work properly bathing her and dressing her in clean linens. The hole in La's gut was beginning to close. For an instant I had a bout of hysteria imagining a scene from Death Becomes Her.
She's dead, sir. They took her to the morgue.
Morgue? She'll be furious!
I swallowed the bubble of inappropriate laughter and told myself the hole would probably disappear by morning. At least, I prayed to any god of the undead that it would disappear by morning.
With every passing hour, Alice's mood improved. In just a few hours, she was positively trilling with happiness. Her studio room was bursting with color and the sound of a working sewing machine. I took this to mean La was officially in the safe zone, and that while Jasper still hadn't returned, he was safe.
The tension in the house remained, regardless of Alice's persistent good mood. Each member of the family pursued their personal endeavors. Edward sat at his piano, gently tapping at the keys, a new creation in the works. Esme and Alice were jabbering about La's new wardrobe while Esme packed essential items for our coming move, flitting from room to room. Carlisle hadn't left sight of La but was giving me space by sitting away at his desk, writing notes. The scratch of his pen cut through the tension in the room like a knife.
One by one they popped their head in the study to check in with me, but otherwise minded their own business as if it were just another Tuesday. Despite the forced sense of calm, the tension lingered. La was barely halfway through her transition - there was plenty of time for things to go awry.
As if the brief peace was an augury, Edward called out. "The wolves are coming."
The house went still and deadly silent around me. For a split second, none of us moved, waiting for the other shoe to drop. A knock sounded at the door.
I stared at Carlisle, who motioned for me to stay where I was. Esme and Alice crept down the stairs after him, but I made no move to join them for now, listening intently.
"Dr. Cullen," a familiar husky voice said affably.
"Jacob," Carlisle responded mildly. "What brings you to our doorstep at this hour? Is your father doing well?"
"Yeah, he's…" Jake seemed to think better of what he was about to say, hesitating before he continued. "Well, he's not happy I'm here, but he's fine… Mrs. Cullen!" He sounded, for all the world, like a happy puppy at the sight of my mother.
"Jake," she said warmly, "Come in, come in, dear - you know I told you to call me Esme." I could hear her sweeping him over the threshold. Carlisle closed the door behind him, his steps tapping quietly across the wood floors of the foyer as he followed them through to the living room. Only once they were inside did I hear the wolf pack circling the grounds outside. There was a ring of them around the house. I held my breath, listening intently to discern their numbers. Five more, at least.
Edward, can you hear them? I bolted for the door, not caring if my speed startled the dog in the living room.
Edward was watching Jacob closely but didn't seem worried about his intentions at the moment. He glanced up at me with a nod, then turned his back on the wolf in the living room to watch the woods through the back wall of windows.
I stared at him, startled by his dismissal of the wolf in the room. Alice was frozen, staring at Jake with a bewildering mixture of fear and relief. I remembered her mentioning that she couldn't See him - did that mean all our futures had quieted in his presence?
"What brings you over?" Esme asked, taking over the diplomacy. Carlisle, recognizing the intelligence of this, stood down.
"Well, it's a little complicated," Jake said, then interrupted himself, taking a huge sniff through his nose. "Is that La? Is La here with you?" He looked up and finally noticed me at the top of the stairs. "I thought you had gone out of town with her. Where is she?"
I crossed my arms over my chest, but maintained my position at the top of the stairs, between him and La. "She's fine."
"She's fine, or she's dead?" He retorted. "Did you make her one of you?"
At our collective silence, he stumbled backward looking for something to support his weight. To my surprise, Alice grabbed his elbow and supported him to the back of the couch where he slumped and looked balefully at Esme, "I don't know how to stop what's coming."
"What's wrong?" Alice asked in her tiny voice. "What's coming? I can't see."
Jake gave Alice an odd look but motioned toward the windows where Edward stood watch. "I'm guessing you know about the pack currently surrounding the house?" When everyone acknowledged with a nod, he continued. "They are here to see if you broke the treaty."
"We did," I said bluntly. Esme gave me an exasperated look. I shrugged as I slowly made my way down the stairs.
"You bit her?" His hands, which had been covering his mouth, dropped to his sides. "Why, why did you have to bite her? I thought maybe I could talk her out of it, or barring that, at least tell you to get her out of here first. Why did you stay?"
Esme sighed, and leaned against the back of the couch next to him, giving him a one-armed hug around the shoulders. "It's not that simple, honey. She was dying, there was no other option."
"Wait, back up," he shook his head. "She was dying before you bit her? What happened?"
He looked from Esme to Carlisle, then finally to me. Esme rubbed his back consolingly, but remained quiet, allowing me to take the lead on this.
"How long have you been a wolf?" I asked him instead of answering his question.
"A couple of days," he shrugged. "I got in a fight with my dad and I shifted… Scared the shit out of me at first, but now it's amazing."
His answer surprised me with its sincerity, and I felt the vague sense of finding a kindred spirit in his elation to wake up and discover he was more than he ever assumed. It softened me toward him if only a little. I did the math in my head and realized I'd probably overheard part of that fight.
"Probably around the same time as your first shift, three vampires came through the peninsula," I began, and Jake nodded.
"We caught their scents, but never had the chance at them before you ran them off."
It made sense they would have been aware of the visitors the whole time. I imagined they kept very close track of what happened with any vampires on the peninsula, the Cullens included.
"The shortest version of the story is that one of them became particularly interested in La and decided to track her," I told him.
"And the long story?" Jake stood from the couch, giving Esme's hand a squeeze.
"The long story is La's business," I said. "But the tracker was here looking for her. He wouldn't have given up no matter what we did."
"Looking for her?" Jake frowned. "He knew her?" When none of us answered his frown deepened. "And then what?"
"He caught her before we caught him," Edward supplied, finally turning from the window.
"He killed her?" Jake was aghast. He looked from one face to the next. Esme looked like she might cry as she picked up his hand again.
"There was a fight, honey…." Esme's voice cracked. "She was injured."
Carlisle finished the story. "If we hadn't turned her she would have bled out in the warehouse where we found them. There was nothing else we could do to save her."
"But she's here. I can smell her," he looked from one face to the next as if trying to comprehend the reality of the words. "Can I see her?"
The family looked to me, and after a pause for consideration, I nodded. He followed me into Carlisle's study and walked straight over to the bed, taking up La's hand. Alice took up vigil on the other side of the bed, watching Jake sadly.
Esme and Alice had done a brilliant job of bathing her and washing her hair. Alice had even taken the time to braid her tresses into a crown on top of her head. They'd put her into a pair of pastel purple linen pajamas, the long sleeves and pants covering the remnants of her injuries. They were soft and beautiful, and La would hate them. I knew she would have preferred her band tee and old holey boxers, but the light color helped take away from her pallid complexion. Even after all that care La still looked rather like a corpse readied for burial.
"I can hear her heart," he said quietly. "But it will stop?"
"Yes," Alice switched her gaze to La's face, gently twisting an unruly curl back into place. "When it stops we'll know she's fully transitioned and ready to wake up."
"She still smells like her," he said and replaced her hand on the bed.
"She'll always smell like her," Alice smiled. "Just a little dead, too."
Jake returned Alices's smile and said, "I knew her when we were kids, you know."
Alice shook her head, so he continued. "Her uncle and my dad are best friends, so when they spent summers here, Kevin would drop her and Eleanor off at my house to be babysat while they went fishing." He chuckled. "She was always looking for ways to get in harmless trouble. She used to laugh a lot, you know, before…."
We stood there silently, listening to La's strong heart pump venom through her veins. The consistent drip of the morphine kept her quiet. None of us broke the silence, watching the woman on the bed breathe slowly and deeply.
"What about the woman?" Jake asked after several moments.
"The red-head?" It was a stupid question, I knew exactly who he was talking about.
"We picked up three distinct scents," Jake backed away from the bed to face me. "I never saw any of the vamps, but Sam said he tracked one straight north - that one disappeared to Canada and hasn't returned. The other male chased you east. He's the one that killed La?"
Alice and I confirmed with a weary glance at each other.
"So the last one, the female," he watched the two of us closely. "She stayed behind. We picked up her scent on the rez at Kevin's place once, but she never came back. The pack tracked her for a couple of days along the treaty line, but she ran south in the end, too."
This time, Alice and I murmured our confirmations.
"You killed the tracker, I'm guessing, or you wouldn't be back here. Did you kill the woman, too?"
"No, she slipped away while we were tending to La," I said. "But our brother is tracking her."
"He lost her," he frowned. "We caught another trail this afternoon, but we weren't sure how fresh it was because it smelled watered down. I guess Sam was right - she's back."
Without a word, we simultaneously rushed out of the study.
"Where is Jasper?" I called from the top of the stairs.
"South, he lost her in the Pacific near Seaside…." Edward lifted his phone as if he had just been sending a text. "I messaged him. He was already on his way back. I expect we will see him in just over an hour."
"It looks like we have a common enemy, Jacob," Carlisle said. "Do you think the pack will be willing to listen?"
"I'll talk to them," Jake finally said. "But Sam and the others, they're not like me. You didn't save their lives. And anyway, we can handle one vampire - we don't need your help. Best if you sit tight and let us handle this."
"She is not your average vampire, I'm afraid." Edward left his vigil and joined us by the stairs. "Some of us have what we call talents. Her's is escape via shielding, enabling her to get out of most traps. It might take all of us together to corner her."
Jake narrowed his eyes at Edward distrustfully. "Sam had suspicions. Are any of you powered?"
Edward grimaced. "I think we better talk to Sam." He tapped his head. "I will translate."
"We can't speak in wolf form, and I'll need to shift to talk to the pack." He didn't understand what Edward was alluding to.
"It won't be a problem," Edward said and opened the front door. "After you."
"Stay with her," I said to Esme and followed my brother out the door, Carlisle on my heels.
Outside Jake unabashedly shed his clothes, including his underwear and shoes, and shifted into an enormous ruddy-red wolf. He would have been incredibly intimidating if it weren't for the goofy grin he wore, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. Despite the tense situation we were in, I offered a smile back.
"Sam has already heard everything we discussed and has made his opinions," Edward said, keeping his voice neutral. "I don't know what we can say to convince him."
"Best we attempt to avoid violence regardless. I'm hoping we can at least find a temporary truce." Carlisle patted me on the shoulder and motioned for Jake to lead the way.
Jake huffed in agreement and silently padded away on giant feet. We walked a long way through the grounds, across the river and into the denser woods surrounding the house. The smell of spring had officially come to the peninsula, but a chill remained in the close, wet air.
Five impossibly sized wolves in varying colors from red to black glided out of the shadows, snarls rumbling in their chests. Jake took a step forward as if speaking to the leader, Carlisle beside him. Edward quietly translated under his breath.
"They saved her life, Sam, she would have died if they didn't turn her." The lead wolf let out an earth shattering growl.
"No, the treaty speaks plainly - one bite and it's broken." Edward translated in a different, deeper voice.
"We have to take intent under consideration. She was going to die," Jake said. "She would be dead if they didn't try to save her."
"Better dead than a blood-sucker," Sam pulled his lips back over very long canines. My returned smile was savage but I held myself in check, barely. I was sick of people making decisions for La.
"There are no exceptions listed in the treaty," Edward translated a third voice, but it was impossible to tell who it might have come from.
"That treaty was written before living memory," Jake argued. "They've held their side, communicated openly, healed so many sick, and have only bitten one person in one hundred years - and it was to save her."
This wasn't exactly true, but I gathered now wasn't the time to say it. Edward slid his gaze to mine through the side of his eye. There was a brief pause as the wolves looked at each other.
Carlisle took the opportunity to speak. "Our two families have lived side by side in peace for decades. Our intention in coming to the peninsula was to find a community to be a part of. Your ancestors understood this goal and accepted our presence as one of a benign desire for brotherhood. We never could have predicted the recent turn of events. We are heartbroken to have come so close to losing a family member and are doing everything in our power to prevent that loss from being permanent." Carlisle's speech was met with an implacable lack of response. Not an ear or tail twitched.
"I couldn't let her die," I announced into the collective silence. "She's my mate." I let that sink in, making eye contact with each of the gathered wolves. I had to admit, the prolonged eye contact was unnerving.
They kept their counsel for another elongated second. The three of us upheld the silence, somehow understanding they needed the time to process. Eventually, one of the wolves shifted forward, delicately stepping through a fern to look between us.
"What do you mean she's your mate?" Edward translated in yet a fourth voice. At a loss for words, I motioned for Carlisle to explain.
"Vampires sometimes form bonds," he said carefully. "It is not always romantic, but it is very difficult, sometimes impossible, to resist. These bonds are eternal and unbreakable. They are relatively rare among our kind, and considered very sacred."
"That's impossible," the third voice broke in. "Vampires don't imprint. Only wolves do."
Edward looked between them as if following a conversation. I quickly grew frustrated and prodded at Edward to continue translating.
What does that mean? I asked.
"I am not sure," his gaze locked on Sam. "But it seems the wolves have a very similar intensity of connection to our mating bond. It is less rare for them, and seems to happen all at once." To the pack, he added, "As far as I can see, your imprinting is as sacred to you as our mating bonds are to us. You can see that we couldn't let Delilah go so easily."
" Kala," Sam corrected. "Her given name is Kala. She is ours."
"Her chosen name is Delilah. She is her own," I snarled back. Carlisle placed a hand on my shoulder as if reminding me we were there to broker peace not war. "Anyway, we have more immediate problems. There is one very angry, very ginger, very insane vampire trying to finish the job her boyfriend started."
Jacob fidgeted uneasily, and I noticed two of the other wolves followed suit. Again, Edward fell silent, reading the pack.
After another long pause, Edward translated, "Sam is considering what this could mean for the pack, and giving space to the voices of the wolves. About half of the wolves are arguing to let this go as long as we leave as soon as we are able and never return."
"It was never our intention to put any of your people at risk," Carlisle took the opportunity to press his point. "If you let us go in peace, we will adhere to your request for distance."
"I am very comfortable with that compromise," I added.
"We will have to consider this information," Sam announced. "A truce is accepted. But only until we can capture the other blood-sucker plaguing our lands. Do not cross the treaty line."
"We can help," Edward called as the wolves turned away as one.
"We have a mutual enemy," I told them. "We can hunt this bitch together then we'll be out of your hair as soon as La can travel."
The wolves looked at Sam who only glared at me. The seconds ticked slowly by.
"We don't need your help," Sam decided, then repeated his warning as he led the pack away, "Stay on your side of the treaty line."
"I'll do what I can," Jacob said, lingering beside us.
"Thank you," Carlisle told him. "We'll stay out of your way."
Jake nodded his big head, ears dipping with the motion, and took off after the pack. We watched them leave through the dense thicket until we couldn't see or hear them.
"He's kinda cute with those ears," I said. Edward snorted.
"We hunt?" He asked out loud, still watching the place the wolves had disappeared.
"We hunt," I agreed. Carlisle sighed but eventually agreed.