Shifting Moon Ch 13

I remained at the table in my seat as most of the rest of the family returned to what they were doing before my panicked cries interrupted their afternoon.

Esme gently patted my head, "Relax dear, we can face anything together as a family. It will all work out in the end."

Alice grabbed my hand, and her eyes went out of focus for a moment. Then she focused her gaze on me and said, "Look at the vision I just had Edythe."

When I reached out and connected to her mind, I was amazed to see myself in a blue dress and my hair done up in a feathered look. The dress was long and formfitting, but strapless and more risqué than anything I had worn yet in my long life. I also looked very happy, but a tinge of worry still lurked about my face. Then the vision faded out.

I looked at Alice, "What was that? When? I couldn't tell."

Alice looked perplexed, I can't be sure, but I was looking at the night of the spring dance to see if Jasper was interested in going and that was part of my vision. Guess I better get started making the dresses for us all to wear. The only one I don't see going is Edward, I will have to look into what he has planned for that day later.

As I sat thinking and trying to push down my fears, I heard another ping from my phone. [What about you? Any plans tonight?]

I stared at my phone and came up with a plan to ask him to go somewhere with me today so he wouldn't be there with Black. It was a good idea at first but then reality reared its head. If Black was going to say something then he would whether Thomas was there or not. Besides, would he even change his plans last minute for me?

I could try to get close enough to Black to use my compulsion on him, but if it wore off, it could be considered me breaking the treaty and I couldn't endanger my family like that. Realizing that I was taking too long to reply, I gave a simple truthful answer.

[Nothing special, just going to sit with the family, watch a movie, and then maybe later do some homework.]

When he answered, I tried to keep the conversation going as casually as I could. Not being used to this, I think I failed miserably. Why am I asking about movies like I care about them?

Waiting for his reply about the theater releases last year, I hear Emmett storming through the house. He was definitely not happy, so I assumed he lost to Jasper again. I wondered if he would ever realize that the times he won were when Alice didn't care about his movie choice, so Jasper let him win.

"Don't take it too hard Emmett, Thomas says the Aliens vs Predator movie was a huge disappointment."

Emmett looked happy about that for a moment, but then he frowned. "How do I know his movie tastes are any good? I'll just watch it by myself later tonight and decide." Emmett smiled and went looking for Rosalie.

The fast change of mood was one of the things Edythe liked the most about Emmett. The guy just couldn't stay mad about anything. Well, nothing not related to Rosalie at least. She shuddered at the memory of the last Vampire that touched Rosalie without her permission. Having your arm ripped off and burnt so you couldn't remember the feel of Rosalie's skin in your hand, was a bit overboard but that was just a part of Emmett. The Coven decided to leave England shortly after that happened.

No one really cared about leaving as we were only there looking into rumors about a different species of Vampires. The idea that there was another group of Vampires more like the traditional movie ones was laughable anyway.

When Thomas decided to go help Bella set up, I just asked him to tell me if he heard any good stories from the Indian Chief and went to my room to see if I could distract myself with some music.

Later I was called down for the movie night and actually found the movie entertaining. But my mind was still on Thomas and the possibility he was learning about the true nature of the Cullen's. As soon as it got dark, I found myself drawn to the woods outside the Swan house. As I did my best to listen in on the conversation in the house, I quietly thought to myself {Stalker much!}

The evening conversations ran about what would be normal for a family watching sports until I heard Billy ask about Thomas's ancestry. When I heard the story about Thomas's dad maybe being part Quileute, I thought back and surprisingly enough I did remember a ship from the East bringing silks to the area. They weren't too happy with the prices, but they had been blown off course and with silk being a luxury, they didn't get the best prices.

Me being a woman, meant I wasn't allowed to get too deep into the business side of the town back then. Especially since the Ship made landfall at the La Push beach and the family wasn't allowed there.

By this point, I had convinced myself that Billy wasn't going to reveal any Cullen secrets, but I couldn't make myself leave just yet. I stayed and continued to listen, even after the Quileute chief left. I watched as Thomas came outside and pushed Bella's truck into the spot Billy Black's truck had occupied not long after it left. Unfortunately, I must have focused on him a bit too much, because he stopped and looked in my direction making me panic and withdraw as quietly as I could. {Damn, he is way too aware of his surroundings.} I thought to myself.

I lost a few moments of conversation as I was repositioning myself in the forest and when I concentrated back on the voices in the house, I heard Thomas ask about not bringing up Jasper earlier in the evening. When Charlie told Thomas about the 'Superstitious' tribal story, I hoped Thomas would leave it there.

Not long after that, I felt my phone vibrate since I put it on silent mode and opened it up to see Thomas's last message of the night. Not wanting to return home just yet, I decided to follow an old sent left by Thomas walking through these woods. Eventually, I came upon a rock that was saturated in his smell. I know in my head that it was pathetic, but something made me want to sit there and think for a while. It made me feel just a bit closer to him.

I started an inner monolog as I sat watching the dark clouds moving overhead. {I need to slow my thinking down. Stop looking to jump directly into a relationship with him. Learn to be friends first and see if he can handle the truth before revealing it to him. Protecting him from the Trollip's of this small town would be a friendly thing to do wouldn't it?}

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't sense Edward getting closer until he was almost beside me.

"I got your message. Did Black break the treaty?"

"No. It seems I was worried for nothing."

"Then why are you still here sis?"

"I am trying to get my thoughts about Thomas settled, at least a little. He makes me feel things I never have before. Why do I care about his thoughts so much? Is it because I can't hear them and it's my natural curiosity or is it something more?"

"I have been asking myself the same thing about Isabella. The monster inside me craves her blood like nothing I ever imagined possible but... There is something more to her than that. My gift doesn't work on her, my curse wants to devour her. My humanity, which I thought long gone, wants to ask Chief Swan for his permission to speak with her and maybe go for a walk or two."

Edward takes a deep breath, "Edythe, I am going to ask something unfair of you. Something a brother should never ask of his sister. Just... For a time. Would you hold back on your feelings towards Thomas?"

He held up a hand before I could answer. "Look in my mind and see what Alice's visions have shown, and then let me explain."

I reached out with my mind and saw a vision. It was Edward running through the woods at Vampire speeds. He had a worried look on his face and I could see he was trying to catch up with someone. When he finally overtook the figure in front of him, I saw it was Bella. But her eyes were blood red and she was a Vampire on the hunt.

The vision stopped there and shifted to another one. It was a sunny day and she watched a figure in the middle of a meadow, the skin reflected the sunlight so there was no doubt it was a Vampire and as his sister, Edythe knew the figure was Edward at a glance. As she approached him, she noticed he was hunched over someone. As she drew closer, Edward turned toward her and hissed violently at her. Warning her away from the figure of Bella he held in his arms. Bella was pale and lifeless her eyes glassy and lacking any light. Edward's eyes, however, were bright Red.

I shrank into myself after the visions finished playing in my head and slumped down more on the rock where I sat. Poor Edward both visions show his greatest fear. Turn Bella into a monster or become a monster himself.

If I was honest with myself, I really didn't think that being a Vampire was a monstrous thing. It could be, yes. But if I needed to feed on humans, I was better equipped than any to pick and choose the worst kind of humans. Once, Edward and I had done this. But unlike me, Edward couldn't turn his gift off and even to the monstrous humans we were monsters and their last thoughts of fear and helplessness started to affect Edward. So, we returned to our family and rededicated to the 'Vegetarian" diet.

In fact, of all my family I think I am the most Volturi like Vampire. The only difference was that I refused to consume the innocent. The Volturi are too indiscriminate in my opinion, especially these days. I again wondered if Carlisle and Edward's work on clone blood would be accepted by them.

Our numbers in this world were small enough that Vampires could exist on donated blood alone if we got organized about it. But too many enjoyed the hunt, the power they held over the majority of the world. Clone blood would not satisfy those types of Vampires.

Edward spoke and interrupted my thoughts, reminding me of his request to distance myself from Thomas.

"This is some of what Alice has seen, but I think there is a third path that I can walk. If I truly love Bella, then can I stay beside her and keep her human? Keep the monster from both our lives? My hope is that I can watch from afar and just revel in her life, a silent witness. Protect her from the darkness of the world. I am asking for some time to see if my plan will work."

"Does that mean you want me to walk this path beside you? Forever watching Thomas from the shadows? Never having him for myself? If that is the life you want for yourself brother, then you are welcome to it. But I think you are grasping at straws, trying to protect only yourself. Have you asked yourself what Bella may want? Or are you making her decision for her?"

He frowned and harshly asked, "You would condemn Thomas to our life? The life of blood and loneliness. Rulers that feel they can do as they wish so long as they look good doing it?"

"I would not. But I also will not hide what I am if he truly cares for me. The Volturi do not know everything, they don't have eyes behind every bush. It would not be hard to hide for years from them. Think of the many that do keep themselves from the reach of Aro and Caius. To this day, they hunt the rulers before them. Yet the Romanian coven still wanders the world. In your fear don't make the Volturi out to be more than they are. A power, yes. But not an omnipotent one."

Edward asked with frustration in his voice, "Then what is your plan, Edythe?"

"I was thinking of one before you got here, and I think it may work. I want to get to know him. See if he can accept the weirdness around me without asking too many questions or accept it when I tell him I can't answer just yet. You have seen how observant he is, he spends so much time with the least human of our coven. Able to be around Alice when she has visions but not bug her about it or think her less for her pause moments. Spend time with Jasper and only brush the question of the scars he can clearly see. Don't you think he sees that Jasper doesn't sweat during their workout sessions? He watches us not eat at school."

I take a breath from my rant, "Despite him seeing more of us than any human in the school or even the town, he continues to spend more time with us than any non-Vampire we have ever met. I will not hide from him as you wish to do with Bella. I will not voluntarily tell him about us until you say it's okay, I can agree with that for now. I am not trying to make things with you and Bella more difficult Edward, but you have to realize that her thoughts and feelings matter too. Just like mine and Thomas's do. We can't read their thoughts, so it may be better to relearn the human way of communicating. I plan to ask him questions and get to know him, and hope he has questions for me."

With that said, I stood and walked back home. Leaving Edward behind to come to terms with my plan.

(POV Thomas)

The next two weeks passed in a blur; I was happy that people had finally gotten over the accident with Bella and Edward. Now I was just Thomas, their large classmate. Coach Clapp was still persistently trying to get me into some kind of sport, but he was finally running out of steam. My art project had stalled for some reason. I had plenty of concept drawings but none of them felt right yet.

The idea of music was such a broad concept that I couldn't settle on which aspect to focus on. The musician? The listener? The instrument? I was getting short on time and really needed some inspiration. Another frustration was that my workouts were no longer very fulfilling. I wasn't getting the muscle burn that I was used to. Anymore it was only the days me and Jasper spared in the forest that I felt like I was making any progress.

I was still growing, and my muscles had not lost any definition. Last check I was now 6ft 6in and my weight had increased to 283. I really hoped my height would stop going up because it would mean standing out even more than I do now.

But apparently my growth hadn't put Edythe off. She was very curious about me, asking some of the most off the wall questions I had ever heard. When I told her about my top 10 movie's she seemed fixated on why I like The Lost Boys so much. That was an on and off conversation that lasted two days. The other movie she was interested in was The Crow, it was one she hadn't watched before but loved to talk about once she had.

Bella was getting by and fitting in finally, her friend circle was small but in this town that was normal. She still preferred to read her old book and stare at Edward more than expanding her social circle but who was I to talk. Tyler had joined our lunch group and was trying everything he could think of to make things right with Bella. If only he realized, he was going about it in the most opposite way she would appreciate.

Ben and Angela were starting to get comfortable talking together, so there was hope between me and Bella that Angela would ask Ben out to the Spring girls choice dance. They would make a great couple and as both their friends we couldn't be happier for them.

Edward was still ignoring Bella, I had hoped that him saving her would thaw some of the ice Bella said he had for her during class. I couldn't make sense of their interactions; Edward simply ignored her but wasn't rude or hostile from what little Bella told me. If he didn't like Bella, all he had to do was say so and she would accept that. But just ignoring her was making her more curious about him and then throw in her own stubbornness, and you have a recipe for an obsession.

I thought about talking to Edythe about it but then I remembered how badly that went last time and just decided to keep my nose out of it for now. If I saw it becoming something unhealthy, then I would have to take some action though. During Spanish, Edward and I were just classmates that didn't talk much and I was fine with it.

I paused my wandering thoughts to admire the surrounding forest, you could tell that spring was definitely beginning. Traces of new green buds were evident on every tree and some moss and mushrooms had already grown considerably. Since I wasn't getting much of a workout during my actual workouts, I have noticed my temper getting shorter. Being short with Bella was bad enough, but I almost lost my temper at Mr. Banner for him implying that I was cheating on his tests.

Telling him to shove his unsubstantiated idea up his ass was one thing, but getting up and approaching him with nothing but violence in my eyes was going too far. I managed to stop myself and just left the classroom, but it still resulted in Charlie having to come to the school and an hour-long conversation about intimidating the teachers with my physical size.

Mr. Banner was also told to work on his professional behavior as a teacher and stop implying that anyone breezing through his class was cheating. It was implied that he had been complaining that the Cullen's were cheating their way through his class too.

This time in the forest was helping me contain my anger in the same way working out did in the past. As I looked around, I noticed that it was unusually quiet all of a sudden, the birds had stopped making noise and it felt like the forest was holding its breath. I heard something in the distance that sounded like a snort. Like something taking a great breath in and out again. I quickly reached for the pepper spray that Charlie gave me because I knew that now was the time for hungry bears to be waking up and start looking for food and mates.

I heard the snuffing sound a couple of more times and even faintly heard the sound of something brushing against the trees. I started looking around some more and realized that I was near where I met the girl screaming a few weeks back. God, that feels like a lifetime ago.

I started backing away from the sounds I could hear in the distance and started planning retreat routes in my head if I needed to run. When Charlie found out I was spending a lot of time in the woods, he made me and Bella watch a video on dangerous sounds and sights in the forest. The video was played at all travel centers near the area, in the hopes it would help the tourists recognize a danger.

Out of nowhere, I heard a voice, "Hello? Is someone there?"

The voice was deep and obviously male, it sounded loud in the forest, breaking the silence that had descended moments ago. I sounded out, but just enough to reach the person asking.

"Over here, but you shouldn't shout too much, I thought I heard the snuffing of a bear not long ago. Don't want to draw in a newly awakened one by shouting."

After I answered the voice, I could hear someone headed my way. I saw movement finally as a man stepped from around a large tree. He had Short Black hair and brown eyes, copper skin, and stood about 6ft 6 inches tall, his frame was large and full of long muscle. He wasn't cut like I was, his muscles looked rounder and more natural, less exaggerated than mine. I also noted that he was only wearing a pair of cutoff jeans and no shoes. It was easy to see he was an indigenous Indian, so I assumed he was a part of the Quileute tribe.

I waved at him and made a show of putting my pepper spray back into my pocket. "Hello, I'm Thomas. I hope I didn't come too far into Quileute land but with no visible barrier it's hard to tell."

"It isn't a big deal, we don't mind hikers as long as they are respectful of the forest and don't leave any trash. My name is Sam."

"Thanks for letting me know Sam, I came across a girl a few weeks ago and caught her at the wrong time. She was less than friendly, so I couldn't ask any questions."

Sam smiled and shook his head. "These cliffs are part of tribal lore. It is said that if your bad emotions are overwhelming you then if you come here to let them out, they will not affect the peace of the tribe." He laughed a bit and continued, "Though I think some smart parent made up that story to get their kids to leave the camp and do their screaming away from their ears. The elders probably adopted it as lore to make dealing with hormonal teens easier."

As Sam spoke to Thomas he had a bit of an epiphany, {It would also make it apparent to the elders what teens were having anger issues and get them out of camp if they were about to make the change to wolf.} He shook his head and returned to his conversation with Thomas.

"Thanks for letting me know there was a possible bear nearby, this early in the spring they are not choosy about what they eat. You look a bit familiar, have we met before?"

Thomas looked closer at Sam, thought for a moment, and then answered. "Not that I am aware of, but ironically you feel familiar to me as well. I only came to town in January with my sister to live with her dad. So, I can't think of any time we could have met."

Thomas thought again about his conversation with Edythe's dad, "Though these days everyone claims to be part indigenous Indian, I was just reminded that my great-grandmother was supposed to be from this area. Not that I think that makes me some long-lost royalty like some politician's claim to get the minority vote."

Sam Laughed at my comment. "It could be as simple as blood recognizing blood. Do you wander the woods often?"

"Yeah, it has a calming effect on me. I have a bit of a temper sometimes and a heavy dislike of crowded places."

Sam seemed to think for a few minutes, "There are many legends in my tribe of the forest calling to you before a great change happens. In the stories, the land offers a calming influence to support you through troubled times. If you find yourself in a situation you can't explain or easily accept, then you should return to the forest. The same thing happened to me a few months ago, and I thought I had gone mad, but the forest calmed me and later my tribe helped me understand what happened."

I took in his story and felt he was holding back, but I didn't think I had the right to ask what he didn't want to share. Instead of blowing it off as I first intended, I found my mind clinging on to every word he said, "Thanks for the advice, I hope to never need it. But I will keep it in mind."

Sam nodded and started to walk away, but then he stopped. "One other thing Thomas, if you ever smell an overly sweet smell that has no place in the forest you need to be careful. But if you ever smell a sickening sweet smell like burnt sugar... Run, run as fast as you can, and try to get to this stream. You may not be tribe, but blood is still important."

With those mysterious parting words, Sam walked back into the forest, and I soon lost sight of him.

(POV Sam Uley)

After my parting words with Thomas, I made my way back into the forest far enough that he wouldn't see me and removed my shorts, rolled them up, and put them in the elastic band around my calf. Reaching into the fire in my mind, I invited the warmth to enter my body and make the change.

With no pain, my body felt like it simply turned to fluid and then returned to solid form in the shape of a giant wolf. The elders couldn't tell me why I was such a big wolf when according to Old Quill, his father was a normal-sized wolf. Supposedly the whole Black pack in the 1800s all looked like normal wolves with Ephram being the biggest, but nowhere near as big as I was.

I wonder if Thomas will be as big as me or Jared for that matter. I think Jared is closest to making the change, I give him a month or so. Thomas feels like he should have made the change already but something is holding him back. Thinking of all the boys close to my age in the reservation I tried to guess who would turn before the Cullen's left. Jared Cameron, Paul Lahote, Jacob Black, the only other boy close in age is Embry Call, but that can't happen because his mother came to the Quileute reservation from the Makah reservation already pregnant, so there is no connection to the blood there.

I thought again about Jacob Black. He will have the Alpha claim when he changes, and I couldn't be happier. It will be nice to have brothers in the pack, but I don't want to be responsible for their lives. I just want to be a member of the tribe and protect our land. I casually loped through the forest in no hurry to be anywhere, just checking the borders of the tribal land. There is plenty of time before I'm supposed to go to Leah's house for dinner.

I knew Emily finally made it to town today, so I want to give Leah and her plenty of time to talk and vent to each other. I know that things haven't been easy for Leah because of me, and I have finally come to the decision that I will tell her everything once Emily is gone. The stories talk about imprinting, and they say I will know when it happens. Well, I know I love Leah and it is causing me pain to hurt her so much. I cannot think of my life without her, we are just waiting for her to finish school before we marry anyway.

The only thing that will change is that we will no longer be talking about moving off the reservation. As a Wolf Warrior I will be needed here, I am sure she will understand that. My steps lighten as I make my decision and finalize it in my head. I won't be able to tell Leah at dinner tonight but maybe I can drop enough hints that she will be satisfied until next weekend when Emily goes home. I realize that this makes me a bit of a hypocrite, first I couldn't wait for Emily to come and help Leah and now I can't wait for her to leave so I can tell Leah everything. But that's just fate, I guess.