I followed the familiar voice Id heard and found Quil easy enough. He was on the south end of the crescent, avoiding the bigger part of the tourist crowd. He kept up a constant stream of warnings.
Keep out of the water, Claire. Cmon. No, dont. Oh! Nice, kid. Seriously, do you want Emily to yell at me? Im not bringing you back to the beach again if you dontOh yeah? Dontugh. You think thats funny, do you? Hah! Whos laughing now, huh?
He had the giggling toddler by the ankle when I reached them. She had a bucket in one hand, and her jeans were drenched. He had a huge wet mark down the front of his t-shirt.
Five bucks on the baby girl, I said.
Hey, Jake.
Claire squealed and threw her bucket at Quils knees. Down, down!
He set her carefully on her feet and she ran to me. She wrapped her arms around my leg.
Unca Jay!
Hows it going, Claire?
She giggled. Qwil aaaaawl wet now.
I can see that. Wheres your mama?
Gone, gone, gone, Claire sang, Cwaire pway wid Qwil aaaawl day. Cwaire nebber gowin home. She let go of me and ran to Quil. He scooped her up and slung her onto his shoulders.
Sounds like somebodys hit the terrible twos.
Threes actually, Quil corrected. You missed the party. Princess theme. She made me wear a crown, and then Emily suggested they all try out her new play makeup on me.
Wow, Im really sorry I wasnt around to see that.
Dont worry, Emily has pictures. Actually, I look pretty hot.
Youre such a patsy.
Quil shrugged. Claire had a great time. That was the point.
I rolled my eyes. It was hard being around imprinted people. No matter what stage they were inabout to tie the knot like Sam or just a much-abused nanny like Quilthe peace and certainty they always radiated was downright puke-inducing.
Claire squealed on his shoulders and pointed at the ground. Pity wock, Qwil! For me, for me!
Which one, kiddo? The red one?
No wed!
Quil dropped to his kneesClaire screamed and pulled his hair like a horses reigns.
This blue one?
No, no, no, the little girl sang, thrilled with her new game.
The weird part was, Quil was having just as much fun as she was. He didnt have that face on that so many of the tourist dads and moms were wearingthe when-is-nap-time? face. You never saw a real parent so jazzed to play whatever stupid kiddie sport their rugrat could think up. Id seen Quil play peekaboo for an hour straight without getting bored.
And I couldnt even make fun of him for itI envied him too much.
Though I did think it sucked that he had a good fourteen years of monkitude ahead of him until Claire was his agefor Quil, at least, it was a good thing werewolves didnt get older. But even all that time didnt seem to bother him much.
Quil, you ever think about dating? I asked.
Huh?
No, no yewwo! Claire crowed.
You know. A real girl. I mean, just for now, right? On your nights off babysitting duty.
Quil stared at me, his mouth hanging open.
Pity wock! Pity wock! Claire screamed when he didnt offer her another choice. She smacked him on the head with her little fist.
Sorry, Claire-bear. How about this pretty purple one?
No, she giggled. No poopoh.
Give me a clue. Im begging, kid.
Claire thought it over. Gween, she finally said.
Quil stared at the rocks, studying them. He picked four rocks in different shades of green, and offered them to her.
Did I get it?
Yay!
Which one?
Aaaaawl ob dem!!
She cupped her hands and he poured the small rocks into them. She laughed and immediately clunked him on the head with them. He winced theatrically and then got to his feet and started walking back up toward the parking lot. Probably worried about her getting cold in her wet clothes. He was worse than any paranoid, overprotective mother.
Sorry if I was being pushy before, man, about the girl thing, I said.
Naw, thats cool, Quil said. It kind of took me by surprise is all. I hadnt thought about it.
I bet shed understand. You know, when shes grown up. She wouldnt get mad that you had a life while she was in diapers.
No, I know. Im sure shed understand that.
He didnt say anything else.
But you wont do that, will you? I guessed.
I cant see it, he said in a low voice. I cant imagine. I just dont see anyone that way. I dont notice girls anymore, you know. I dont see their faces.
Put that together with the tiara and makeup, and maybe Claire will have a different kind of competition to worry about.
Quil laughed and made kissing noises at me. You available this Friday, Jacob?
You wish, I said, and then I made a face. Yeah, guess I am, though.
He hesitated a second and then said, You ever think about dating?
I sighed. Guess Id opened myself up for that one.
You know, Jake, maybe you should think about getting a life.
He didnt say it like a joke. His voice was sympathetic. That made it worse.
I dont see them, either, Quil. I dont see their faces.
Quil sighed, too.
Far away, too low for anyone but just us two to hear it over the waves, a howl rose out of the forest.
Dang, thats Sam, Quil said. His hands flew up to touch Claire, as if making sure she was still there. I dont know where her moms at!
Ill see what it is. If we need you, Ill let you know. I raced through the words. They came out all slurred together. Hey, why dont you take her up to the Clearwaters? Sue and Billy can keep an eye on her if they need to. They might know whats going on, anyway.
Okayget outta here, Jake!
I took off running, not for the dirt path through the weedy hedge, but in the shortest line toward the forest. I hurdled the first line of driftwood and then ripped my way through the briars, still running. I felt the little tears as the thorns cut into my skin, but I ignored them. Their sting would be healed before I made the trees.
I cut behind the store and darted across the highway. Somebody honked at me. Once in the safety of the trees, I ran faster, taking longer strides. People would stare if I was out in the open. Normal people couldnt run like this. Sometimes I thought it might be fun to enter a raceyou know, like the Olympic trials or something. It would be cool to watch the expressions on those star athletes faces when I blew by them. Only I was pretty sure the testing they did to make sure you werent on steroids would probably turn up some really freaky crap in my blood.
As soon as I was in the true forest, unbound by roads or houses, I skidded to a stop and kicked my shorts off. With quick, practiced moves, I rolled them up and tied them to the leather cord around my ankle. As I was still pulling the ends tight, I started shifting. The fire trembled down my spine, throwing tight spasms out along my arms and legs. It only took a second. The heat flooded through me, and I felt the silent shimmer that made me something else. I threw my heavy paws against the matted earth and stretched my back in one long, rolling extension.
Phasing was very easy when I was centered like this. I didnt have issues with my temper anymore. Except when it got in the way.
For one half second, I remembered the awful moment at that unspeakable joke of a wedding. Id been so insane with fury that I couldnt make my body work right. Id been trapped, shaking and burning, unable to make the change and kill the monster just a few feet away from me. It had been so confusing. Dying to kill him. Afraid to hurt her. My friends in the way. And then, when I was finally able to take the form I wanted, the order from my leader. The edict from the Alpha. If it had been just Embry and Quil there that night without Sam would I have been able to kill the murderer, then?
I hated it when Sam laid down the law like that. I hated the feeling of having no choice. Of having to obey.
And then I was conscious of an audience. I was not a
lone in my thoughts.
So self-absorbed all the time, Leah thought.
Yeah, no hypocrisy there, Leah, I thought back.
Can it, guys, Sam told us.
We fell silent, and I felt Leahs wince at the word guys. Touchy, like always.
Sam pretended not to notice. Wheres Quil and Jared?
Quils got Claire. Hes taking her to the Clearwaters.
Good. Sue will take her.
Jared was going to Kims, Embry thought. Good chance he didnt hear you.
There was a low grumble through the pack. I moaned along with them. When Jared finally showed up, no doubt hed still be thinking about Kim. And nobody wanted a replay of what they were up to right now.
Sam sat back on his haunches and let another howl rip into the air. It was a signal and an order in one.
The pack was gathered a few miles east of where I was. I loped through the thick forest toward them. Leah, Embry, and Paul all were working in toward them, too. Leah was closesoon I could hear her footfalls not far into the woods. We continued in a parallel line, choosing not to run together.
Well, were not waiting all day for him. Hell just have to catch up later.
Sup, boss? Paul wanted to know.
We need to talk. Somethings happened.
I felt Sams thoughts flicker to meand not just Sams, but Seths and Collins and Bradys as well. Collin and Bradythe new kidshad been running patrol with Sam today, so they would know whatever he knew. I didnt know why Seth was already out here, and in the know. It wasnt his turn.
Seth, tell them what you heard.
I sped up, wanting to be there. I heard Leah move faster, too. She hated being outrun. Being the fastest was the only edge she claimed.
Claim this, moron, she hissed, and then she really kicked it into gear. I dug my nails into the loam and shot myself forward.
Sam didnt seem in the mood to put up with our usual crap. Jake, Leah, give it a rest.
Neither of us slowed.
Sam growled, but let it go. Seth?
Charlie called around till he found Billy at my house.
Yeah, I talked to him, Paul added.
I felt a jolt go through me as Seth thought Charlies name. This was it. The waiting was over. I ran faster, forcing myself to breathe, though my lungs felt kinda stiff all of a sudden.
Which story would it be?
So hes all flipped out. Guess Edward and Bella got home last week, and
My chest eased up.
She was alive. Or she wasnt dead dead, at least.
I hadnt realized how much difference it would make to me. Id been thinking of her as dead this whole time, and I only saw that now. I saw that Id never believed that he would bring her back alive. It shouldnt matter, because I knew what was coming next.
Yeah, bro, and heres the bad news. Charlie talked to her, said she sounded bad. She told him shes sick. Carlisle got on and told Charlie that Bella picked up some rare disease in South America. Said shes quarantined. Charlies going crazy, cause even hes not allowed to see her. He says he doesnt care if he gets sick, but Carlisle wouldnt bend. No visitors. Told Charlie it was pretty serious, but that hes doing everything he can. Charlies been stewing about it for days, but he only called Billy now. He said she sounded worse today.
The mental silence when Seth finished was profound. We all understood.
So she would die of this disease, as far as Charlie knew. Would they let him view the corpse? The pale, perfectly still, unbreathing white body? They couldnt let him touch the cold skinhe might notice how hard it was. Theyd have to wait until she could hold still, could keep from killing Charlie and the other mourners. How long would that take?
Would they bury her? Would she dig herself out, or would the bloodsuckers come for her?
The others listened to my speculating in silence. Id put a lot more thought into this than any of them.
Leah and I entered the clearing at nearly the same time. She was sure her nose led the way, though. She dropped onto her haunches beside her brother while I trotted forward to stand at Sams right hand. Paul circled and made room for me in my place.
Beatcha again, Leah thought, but I barely heard her.
I wondered why I was the only one on my feet. My fur stood up on my shoulders, bristling with impatience.
Well, what are we waiting for? I asked.
No one said anything, but I heard their feelings of hesitation.
Oh, come on! The treatys broken!
We have no proofmaybe she is sick.
OH, PLEASE!
Okay, so the circumstantial evidence is pretty strong. Still Jacob. Sams thought came slow, hesitant. Are you sure this is what you want? Is it really the right thing? We all know what she wanted.
The treaty doesnt mention anything about victim preferences, Sam!
Is she really a victim? Would you label her that way?
Yes!
Jake, Seth thought, they arent our enemies.
Shut up, kid! Just cause youve got some kind of sick hero worship thing going on with that bloodsucker, it doesnt change the law. They are our enemies. They are in our territory. We take them out. I dont care if you had fun fighting alongside Edward Cullen once upon a time.
So what are you going to do when Bella fights with them, Jacob? Huh? Seth demanded.
Shes not Bella anymore.
You gonna be the one to take her down?
I couldnt stop myself from wincing.
No, youre not. So, what? You gonna make one of us do it? And then hold a grudge against whoever it is forever?
I wouldnt.
Sure you wont. Youre not ready for this fight, Jacob.
Instinct took over and I crouched forward, snarling at the gangly sand-colored wolf across the circle.
Jacob! Sam cautioned. Seth, shut up for a second.
Seth nodded his big head.
Dang, whatd I miss? Quil thought. He was running for the gathering place full-out. Heard about Charlies call.
Were getting ready to go, I told him. Why dont you swing by Kims and drag Jared out with your teeth? Were going to need everyone.
Come straight here, Quil, Sam ordered. Weve decided nothing yet.
I growled.
Jacob, I have to think about whats best for this pack. I have to choose the course that protects you all best. Times have changed since our ancestors made that treaty. I well, I dont honestly believe that the Cullens are a danger to us. And we know that they will not be here much longer. Surely once theyve told their story, they will disappear. Our lives can return to normal.
Normal?
If we challenge them, Jacob, they will defend themselves well.
Are you afraid?
Are you so ready to lose a brother? He paused. Or a sister? he tacked on as an afterthought.
Im not afraid to die.
I know that, Jacob. Its one reason I question your judgment on this.
I stared into his black eyes. Do you intend to honor our fathers treaty or not?
I honor my pack. I do whats best for them.
Coward.
His muzzle tensed, pulling back over his teeth.
Enough, Jacob. Youre overruled. Sams mental voice changed, took on that strange double timbre that we could not disobey. The voice of the Alpha. He met the gaze of every wolf in the circle.
The pack is not attacking the Cullens without provocation. The spirit of the treaty remains. They are not a danger to our people, nor are they a danger to the people of Forks. Bella Swan made an informed choice, and we are not going to punish our former allies for her choice.
Hear, hear, Seth thought enthusiastically.
I thought I told you to shut it, Seth.
Oops. Sorry, Sam.
Jacob, where do you think youre going?
I left the circle, moving toward the west so that I could turn my back on him. Im going to tell my father goodbye. Apparently there was no purpose in me sticking around this long.
Aw, Jakedont do that again!
Shut up, Seth, several voices thought together.
We dont want you to leave, Sam told me, his thought softer than before.
So force me to stay, Sam. Take away my will. Make me a slave.
You know I wont do that.
Then theres nothing more to say.
I ran away from them, trying very hard not to think about what was next. Instead, I concentrated on my memories of the long wolf months, of letting the humanity bleed out of me until I was more animal than man. Living in the moment, eating when hungry, sleeping when tired, drinking when thirsty, and runningrunning just to run. Simple desires, simple answers to those desires. Pain came in easily managed forms. The pain of hunger. The pain of cold ice under your paws. The pain of cutting claws when dinner got feisty. Each pain had a simple answer, a clear action to end that pain.