(Jacob POV)
The moment I phased in and howled, Jared was already speaking to Sam.
“I’m on the Northern border, tracking a trail that seems to be going Southeast. It’s definitely the redhead!”
Sam answered back with orders. “Paul, stay and watch the Swan house since it sounds like the leech is headed in that direction. Jacob, go Northwest to try to trap the leech between you and Jared. Embry and I are coming in from the West, hopefully we’ll run into the leech or Jared on the way to Jacob.” He paused a moment before asking, “And where the hell is Quil?”
“Haven’t seen him all day,” answered Jared.
“Me either,” replied Paul.
I added my two cents, “Last I saw him was this afternoon when we changed patrol shifts.”
“Yeah,” added Embry, “I gave him his schoolwork which he said he was going home to work on, then sleep.”
“So why hasn’t he phased in yet if he’s at home? We’re all close enough to have heard Jared’s howl.”
“Fucker probably fell asleep with his nose in a textbook,” grumbled Paul, sending us all an image of Quil hunched over a desk, cheek plastered to a textbook, snoring with drool pooling beneath his cheek.
“Ew, gross Paul!” snickered Jared.
“Knock it off Paul,” ordered Sam. “We’ve got a leech to catch! Can anyone see it? Jared?”
“Nope,” answered Jared, “but I’m still on its trail and it’s fresh.”
“Is it still going Southeast?” I asked.
“Yep,” replied Jared.
Paul growled, “It’s definitely after the leech-lover!”
I growled back to Paul and snapped, “She doesn’t love the leech anymore, asshole! Her name is Bella! Call her that or I’ll snap your neck!”
“Black! Focus!” came Sam’s stern voice. “Lahote, enough with the jibes! So the leech is headed towards the Swan house, I’ll have your pelt if you let it get by you!”
We all became quieter in our minds, focusing on the sounds, smells, and sights around us. As I ran to the Northwest, I kept my senses perked for some sign of the leech, hoping that I sensed it before I sensed Jared. I knew that if all I sensed was Jared, that would mean that the leech slipped by me, making it closer to Bella than I would have liked.
“Shit!” came Jared’s voice in our heads at the same time we heard his howl. “I think it’s heading back to the Canadian border! The scent trail is turning!”
I growled, “It’s not gonna get away from us this time! Jared, don’t lose the trail!”
“Which way is it turning?” asked Sam.
“I think it’s turning northeast!” exclaimed Jared.
This time it was Sam who growled. “Away from us! Like it knows we’re hunting it! How close are you to it, Jared?”
“I can’t tell, but the trail is still very fresh! It could be just around the next tree!”
“Hey guys, what’s going on?” came Quil’s confused voice in our heads just as I caught sight of Jared’s wolf in the distance.
“I see you, Jared! I’ll catch up in a few seconds!”
“Where the hell have you been, Atera?” snapped Sam.
“Sorry, must have been dead tired, I didn’t hear the howls until just now.” I know I wasn’t the only one who caught the tone of Quil’s voice, which told me he was hiding something.
“Save the lame excuses, bro! You’re missing all the fun!” quipped Embry.
I caught up with Jared and took a deep breath. “I smell it, I don’t think it’s too far.”
“Good! Jared will flank you then.” replied Sam.
I put on a burst of speed, flying by Jared to try and close the gap between me and the leech. All these games were getting annoying. I was ready to catch the bitch and be done with it. I could hear Embry and Quil bickering in my mind while Sam tried to tell them to focus, but I ignored it all. My full concentration was on the sickening smell of decay that I was following. I knew I was the fastest runner of the pack, so it was up to me to slow the leech down.
Just as a flash of red appeared in the distance, the scent of seawater reached my nose. I let out a howl as I yelled in my head, “It’s heading for the ocean again!”
“We have got to learn to swim and fight in the water in our wolf forms!” quipped Quil.
“Shut it, Atera!” snapped Sam, clearly angry at Quil’s behavior. “Jake, can you get it before it dives?”
“I’m trying!” I huffed, pushing my body to run even faster.
The red in the distance expanded until I could see the curls flying in the wind. Gritting my teeth, I ran all out, willing my body to stretch so that I could reach out to catch the leech in my jaws. Just as I recognized the crash of waves against the cliffs, I knew it was now or never.
Getting close enough, I leaped at the retreating vampire, opening my jaws wide. Ignoring the looming cliff’s edge, I managed to get my teeth into the end of the leech’s shirt as my back paws slapped against the rock embedded in the ground. With great force, I pushed my paws against the surface in order to propel my body backwards, intending to yank the leech onto solid ground.
Unfortunately, I heard the rip just as my body began falling back and felt the shirt go limp in my mouth. With a frustrated growl, I twisted my head in time to see the red-headed vampire swan dive over the edge of the cliff. I scrambled as quickly as I could to my feet, running back to the edge of the cliff to look down into the waters below. I bared my teeth in frustration, as I searched the frothy waves for the tell-tale rings that would indicate the point of entry, but there was none.
I knew there wouldn’t even be bubbles since leeches didn’t need to breathe, which meant it wouldn’t surface until it was miles away from us. As Jared skidded to a halt behind me, I began to pace along the cliff’s edge. Jared’s gaze flicked to the torn piece of cloth fluttering on the ground where I’d tossed it, then back to my pacing form.
“Not a word,” I barked as I continued to pace and stew.
Jared just shrugged, then sat back on his hind legs, silently watching me pace. We remained that way until Sam and Embry emerged from the trees moments later.
Sam caught sight of the piece of the leech’s shirt before looking at me, “Well, at least you managed to get a piece of it, which is more than any one of us can say.”
“It’s still alive and after Bella,” I retorted.
“We’ll get it, Jake,” came Embry’s reassurance, “We won’t let it near Bella at all.”
Quil finally sauntered into the clearing, plopping down next to Jared, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“What’s up?” came his nonchalant voice.
For some reason his tone just irked me more, ramping up the anger already boiling inside of me.
I whirled around, snapping my jaws at him as I asked, “Where the hell were you? And don’t give me another lame excuse! Too tired to hear the howls, my ass!”
Quil hunched down as he muttered, “Geez, sorry.”
Sam took a step forward, “Jake, calm down, you did what you could and we’ll keep our vigilance. We’ll get it soon.”
“Still doesn’t mean we should go easy on Quil,” stated Jared. We could hear the edge in his voice as I resumed my agitated pacing.
“Chill out, Jared!” snapped Embry.
Jared turned narrowed eyes on him, “Right, go ahead and stick up for him, what else is new?”
“All friends of the leech-lover stick together,” groused Paul’s voice.
“Shut it, Lahote!” I growled.
Sam sighed. “Enough, all of you! Jacob, calm down and stop pacing! Your anger and frustration is affecting all of us!”
I whirled to face Sam as I snapped, “The leech got away! Again! How can I calm down when we are not anywhere near close to figuring out how to stop it from going after Bella?”
“Believe me, I know how you feel, but snapping at us isn’t going to solve anything,” came Sam’s calm voice.
“He’s right,” replied Embry in an equally calm voice, “we might not have caught it, but at least we’ve been able to keep it away from Bella. That’s got to count for something.”
As the others agreed, I couldn’t help thinking if only I could keep Bella away from the other leeches that she wants to live with.
“She what?” yelled Paul in our minds, making me cringe as I realized that I hadn’t shielded my thoughts.
“What the hell are you talking about?” shouted Jared, “Are you saying she wants to move in with leeches? Is she out of her mind?”
“Apparently so!” grumbled Paul, “If the leech-lover wants to offer herself up on a silver platter, why are we wasting time defending her?”
“Guys, shut up for a few minutes would you?” said Sam, in his Alpha voice before he turned it on me. “Black, explain.”
Gritting my teeth at the command, I responded, “Bella told me that two of the Cullens want to move back into the Cullen house and they want her to move in with them while she goes through college.”
“Yep, insane!” griped Jared.
“What Jared said,” agreed Paul.
“Which Cullens?” asked Embry.
I sighed, “Alice and Jasper.”
Quil tilted his head, “No one else?”
I shook my head, “She said the Doctor and his wife want to come see her graduate, but only Alice and Jasper want to stay and help her through college. She said they would ask for permission before coming.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” said Embry.
“Says the friend of the leech-lover,” snapped Paul.
“Geez Paul! Would you lay off!” growled Quil.
“Hell no! I’m tired of this shit!” Paul growled right back, “If I have to bend over backwards to protect her ass, you can be damned sure I’ll have a say in this shit!”
“Besides, wasn’t it Jasper who tried to make a meal of Bella on her birthday?” asked Jared.
“Don’t remind me,” I mumbled.
Quil shrugged as he looked at me, “He does have a point, Jake.”
I groaned as I sank down to the ground, wanting to hide my head beneath my paws.
“Why is this even up for debate?” asked Paul. “Sam, just order Jacob to tell her that it’s out of the question.”
Jared began to pace, looking as if he were channeling Paul, who was still guarding the Swan’s house. “Paul’s right, we shouldn’t even be discussing this.”
“Wait a second!” interrupted Embry. “There are ways to make sure Jasper isn’t attracted to the smell of her blood, plus having the two vamps here adds more protection for Bella.”
“Hey! We’re more than enough protection!” I growled.
Embry came to sit in front of me, ducking his head closer to mine so we were at eye level. “Just hear me out, would you?”
I grumbled, but nodded for him to continue.
“What if we negotiated with them? Tell them that Bella can stay with them as long as the boundaries are changed to include the Cullen house as part of our territory too. Share it with them, if you will. That way, not only will our wolf scents throw them off, but if you’re allowed to be in their home, your scent on and around Bella will definitely be a turn-off to the vampires.”
“Embry!” snapped Jared, “You can’t seriously think Sam would want to negotiate with leeches!”
“Why not?” asked Embry. “From what we’ve seen, Alice has been nothing but a friend to Bella. In fact, the only two who seem to be kinder than her are Dr. Cullen and his wife. Still, I think Alice will protect Bella and I doubt Jasper wants to upset his girl. So, Bella moves in with them and she has two instant bodyguards. Then extend our boundaries to include the Cullen house so we can help.”
Quil chuckled. “Hell, Jake, if Bella lives with the leeches, she’ll be out of Charlie’s house! That’ll mean you can have lots of private make-out sessions with no fear of Charlie bringing out his shotgun!”
I lifted my head, laughing as I caught the thoughts going through Quil’s head which were more lewd than what Bella had been trying to tell me. Not only would I have more time alone with Bella, but I could even stay the night without fear of being caught! No more curfews, no more rules!
I sat up straighter and mentally high-fived Quil before admitting, “Bella did mention some of the things Embry just did and yeah, she did tell me there could be pluses to her living away from her dad.”
Quil chortled. “Lots of naked time!”
Embry rolled his eyes at us, but I could hear the laughter in his voice. “Sure, if you want to look at it that way.”
“I don’t!” quipped Paul. “Quil! Stop sending those images of Jacob lusting over the leech-lover!”
“Yeah Quil! That’s just disgusting!” agreed Jared as he sat next to Sam. “Tell them they’re out of their minds, Sam.”
Sam sighed as he looked around at all of the wolves before settling his gaze on me. “Has she made up her mind already, or do you think she’ll listen to us?”
I sighed. “She was trying to convince me that it was a good idea right before Jared howled. She might not have come out and said it, but I think she’s already made up her mind.”
“What? She’d really go against us?” exclaimed Jared.
“Of course she would!” said Paul, “Once a leech-lover, always a leech-lover.”
“Lahote!” snapped Sam, “If you can’t add anything useful to this conversation, go back to patrolling! One more word out of you and I’m giving you double shifts!”
We all heard Paul’s growls, but he did what Sam ordered. Sam bristled over Paul’s continuing insubordination, but remained calm enough to turn his attention back to our conversation.
“Jacob, I need to know for sure. Would she go against us if we told her not to live with the vampires?”
“If she really wants to live with them, she’ll do it Sam, no matter what we say. Sure, she’ll feel bad about it, but she’ll do it. I’m not liking it, but I can’t stop Bella from doing what she wants. Honestly, as much as my wolf protests, I don’t want to stand in her way if it means I can still be a part of her life.”
“Ugh! That is such a whipped thing to say!” groaned Jared. “You are such a puppy dog!”
“Jared!” warned Sam. He looked at all of us again as if gauging which side we were all on. I knew the only one fully on my side was Embry, even though Quil joked about my time with my girl. He liked Bella, but not the leeches. Embry seemed more willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Finally Sam spoke. “Okay, let’s all get cleaned up then meet back at Jacob’s place. Jake, let’s run this by your father and see what he says, then go from there. Hopefully he’s still awake at this time of night.”
With Sam’s dismissal, we all went our separate ways, back to patrolling or back to our homes. When I reached my backyard, I phased and pulled on my shorts before taking out my phone to text Bella.
Vic got away again. Still gonna watch for her tho. Want to talk more @ U living w/vamps, gonna sleep on it. Will talk 2U tomorrow.
She quickly replied back. Sorry Vic got away. I’ll be ok. Get some sleep, Jake. TTYL.
I sighed in resignation as I made my way into the house with thoughts of prom, vampires, and getting closer to Bella on my mind.
*******************************************************
It was raining when I texted Bella the next afternoon to tell her that I was still thinking about her moving in with the leeches. I told her that I was going to talk to Sam and my dad, because Sam seemed to think there was a way for all of us to coexist peacefully. I didn’t tell her about the upcoming meeting that we were having this afternoon, but I promised her that I would have answers for her by Saturday.
The night before, when the pack had met at my house with my dad, we had filled him in about Bella and the leeches. Dad had looked concerned, but seemed to see potential in Embry’s words and Carlisle’s willingness to talk to us, just like Sam had. Dad decided that we needed to run this by the other two council members, assuring us all that he would call a meeting the following afternoon. He was certain that after a full discussion, we could all come up with an agreement to satisfy all of us.
I was feeling guilty after sending Bella that text since I didn’t tell her the entire truth, but I wanted to have an answer before actually talking to her again. I was afraid she would be mad that I talked to the council and the pack about it, but I was hoping I could make her see that her decisions that involved leeches would affect me and the pack.
I reached the council building, thoroughly drenched from the rain, but that didn’t stop me from grinning at Embry who was waiting for me just outside the door to the building. He gave me a smirk as he proceeded to get me up to speed.
“All three elders are inside with Sam and Jared. Sam made Quil patrol in my place as punishment for not being there to help us chase the leech yesterday. And since Sam knows Paul will just bitch about leeches and leech-lovers during the meeting, he ordered Paul to patrol in your place. We’ll take over as soon as this meeting is over, but Sam said we don’t have to make up for the time Quil and Paul are covering for us.”
I couldn’t help but grin back. “As if patrolling in my place will get Lahote to quit bitching.”
Embry shoved my shoulder with his as we made our way inside. “Yeah, fucker isn’t happy unless he’s bitching about something.”
We chuckled quietly since we had just walked into the room where the others waited. Dad, Old Quil, Sue, Sam and Jared all sat in chairs around the large oval table that was placed in the center of the room. Other than the table and ten chairs around it, there wasn’t much else in the room.
The building was actually once the maintenance building connected to a church, but the church had burned down ages ago. Since council meetings used to be held in one of the elder’s homes, the elders figured they could use the still standing maintenance building as a more formal setting. It wasn’t much to look at, inside or out, but it served its purpose. Besides the table, there were a couple of dusty bookshelves overflowing with books and a few stacks of chairs shoved against the walls.
Embry and I planted our butts in two of the empty chairs at the table which put us directly across from the three elders. Sam was next to me and Jared was on the other side of him.
As soon as we sat down and gave respectful nods to the elders and Sam, dad asked me to tell the room exactly what Bella had told me about the two Cullens who wanted to move back here. I took a deep breath, then calmly began to tell them about the talk I had with Bella. When I was done, the room got quiet as everyone seemed to be thinking things through.
After a few minutes, dad looked at Embry with a nod. “Okay son, why don’t you tell us more of what you said to me last night.”
Embry nodded as he began to fiddle with a worn, braided leather wristband. “The pack knows that the cold one known as Alice is a good friend of Bella’s. They’ve kept in touch after all of this time, and she keeps the pack up to date on what the Cullens are up to through Bella. Besides her, the only other two cold ones that I know have kept Bella’s best interests at heart are Dr. Cullen and his wife. I think if Bella wants to live with Alice we can negotiate with Dr.Cullen to let us include the Cullen house as part of our territory too. I don’t mean give it to the pack completely, but to share it between the pack and the Cullens, sort of a neutral territory. That way we can still protect Bella, but also have the help of the Cullens too.”
Old Quil frowned, “Share territory with the cold ones? Isn’t that inviting trouble?”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” interjected Jared. “We know that the cold one named Jasper attacked Bella on her birthday because he is still having trouble controlling his...hunger.”
Sue, who had been inducted into the council upon Harry’s death, turned concerned eyes on me. “Do you think it’s wise to let that one anywhere near Bella?”
I sighed, “My wolf doesn’t want any cold ones near Bella, friendly or not. But I know she considers Alice to be one of her best friends and the Cullens are like a second family to her, so I can’t stop her from seeing them.”
Old Quil leaned forward, placing his palms down on the table as he narrowed his eyes. “So, you’re saying that no matter what we decide, Bella Swan will do what she wants.”
I could hear Jared’s sarcastic scoff as I hesitantly nodded. “Yes.”
Sam gave a soft warning growl to Jared before he spoke. “Embry thinks there may be a way to keep Bella’s scent from being so tempting to the cold ones and from what Bella told Jacob, some of the cold ones think the same thing.”
Sue lifted her eyebrows in surprise as she looked towards Embry. “Really? Well, let’s hear it.”
Again Embry fiddled with his wristband as he answered her. “We know the cold ones find our scents offensive, so if we share territory with them, our scents will mix with theirs. I think if our scents are all over Bella and her things, it may help mask Bella’s scent and keep her blood from tempting them.” He shrugged as he added, “When Alice scented Jacob on Bella the day she visited, she complained about it, so I figured it meant something.”
I nodded, “He’s right. I remember that day, plus Alice has since told me over the phone that if our scents are heavy enough, they tend to mess with their sense of smell.”
Old Quil shook his head, “That still doesn’t make me want to negotiate with the cold ones.”
Jared nodded. “I wouldn’t trust them as far as I can throw them.”
Sam grumbled under his breath before he said, “I’m willing to give them the chance to prove it, but I want to make sure they understand we mean business.”
The others began to pipe in with their concerns and skepticism until it seemed like we were chasing our tails. Through it all, Embry was the one who came up with answers to all the questions. My wolf was still not on board with allowing Bella anywhere near Jasper in particular, but my human side was backing Embry up every chance I got.
Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for Sue and Sam to see Embry’s side, but Old Quil and Jared refused to budge. It took a little longer to convince my dad to see things Embry’s way, but when we finally settled down to take a vote, he sided with us.
When we took a break so that Sam could speak to Quil and Paul to get their votes, Old Quil continued to rant about having to share anything with cold ones. Dad pulled me aside to ask me one more time if I was sure it was a good idea to let Bella live with Alice and Jasper.
“Yeah dad. I trust Bella and she trusts them. Besides, I’ve talked to Alice plenty of times over the phone and I believe she can keep Jasper in line. Jasper isn’t intentionally trying to kill Bella, he just has trouble staying on his diet.”
Dad rolled his eyes when I used air quotations with the last word. “Well, like Sam said, if Jasper even hints at stepping out of line, he’ll be dealt with, regardless of what Bella wants. It’ll be up to you to make her understand that, son.”
I nodded. “I will dad.”
Sam returned then, urging all of us to go back to our seats. He sighed as he looked around the table. “Lahote’s vote is against. Atera’s vote is for.”
My dad nodded, “That’s 6 for and 3 against.”
Old Quil grumbled, he knew it was majority rules. “You had better hope this doesn’t end badly for any of us!”
Dad sighed. “While I agree with that sentiment, the decision is made.” He looked at me as he continued, “Jacob, I charge you with telling Bella that we have agreed to let her move in with Alice and Jasper as long as we can renegotiate terms with the Cullens. Please ask her to ask Dr. Cullen to get in touch with Sam or me so we can agree to these terms before they return.”
At my nod, Dad pulled away from the table. “Okay then, this meeting is done.”
TBC...
