Changing The Future (On Hold)

Chapter 37

^ The person who just helped me choose my whole freaking future... :)

37. Distracting the Wolves

BPOV

Quil and I sped along to the reservation in the SUV. I didn't even want to think about what might happen if Jacob and Embry phased at the hospital, or anywhere in town for that matter. They couldn't afford for their secret to become known any more than the vampires could. I knew they healed rapidly, but I still didn't want them to get hurt.

I tossed my phone to Quil and he quickly contacted Leah, filling her and Seth in about what had occurred. He had it on speakerphone so I could hear them too, which I really appreciated. Leah started yelling about Tyler's idiocy when she heard about the accident, and I heard Seth in the background, yelling, "Calm down, Leah! We don't need you phasing and running off to the hospital too."

"I'm fine, Leah," I soothed, trying to help her calm down. "Don't worry about me."

"Don't be silly, Bella! Of course, I'm worried about you," she berated me, though her voice sounded calmer. "You're the lynchpin holding everything together. I shudder to think what the wolf/Cullen situation would have been like if you hadn't intervened to bring us together. Even worse, I can only imagine how horrible it would have been to become a werewolf in Sam's pack and have to listen to his thoughts about Emily and to have the entire pack listening to my thoughts about him. What a nightmare. Besides, between talking to Rosalie and learning all about my future as a werewolf and imprinting, I'm ready to forgive Sam and let him go. I'm ready to forgive Emily and allow her into my heart and life again. I know now that neither of them wanted to hurt me, and there was nothing I could have or should have done differently. It wasn't my fault, or theirs—it simply wasn't meant to be. So, I'll distract Sam. I'll tell him I'm finally ready to discuss things rationally and have some closure so we can put the past behind us."

"I'll come with you and Quil to distract Paul," Seth volunteered.

"Excellent! Now we just have to figure out where they are," I proposed as I pulled up in front of the Clearwater's house. Quil flipped the phone closed, and we got out to knock on the door. We stepped up onto the front stoop, and the door was flung open. Seth and Leah both came barreling outside, nearly running into us. I gave Leah a big hug, which she returned eagerly. Then she stepped back and waved her hand in front of her nose.

"Dang, girl, you stink! You smell like you've been rolling in Eau' de Leech," she complained playfully. I giggled and hugged Seth quickly, before jumping back into the SUV. The others all climbed in too.

"Doesn't smell too bad to me," Seth admitted with a shrug.

"You get used to it after a couple minutes," Quil explained. "Just take deep breaths and allow the scent molecules to saturate your nose. Once the brain has identified the odor and concluded you can't escape from it, it will begin to filter out your notice of it. The scent is still there, but your brain chooses to ignore it, so you don't notice it. Pretty cool actually."

"So where should we start looking for our prey?" I asked, getting down to business. They all gave me a weird look and started laughing at me.

"You've been hanging out with vampires too long!" Leah accused between chuckles. "Certainly, we should hunt down our victims. Let's start with Sam and Emily's place. It's around dinner time, so Paul's probably over there with them too. I know they run patrols, but it's like once or twice a day, scouting for trails, so they're human the rest of the time."

I nodded, and she directed me to their house. "You know, both you and Quil reek of the Cullens. I have no doubt Sam will send Paul to keep an eye on you while I talk to Sam. They are going to be curious as hell what you were doing to be close enough to a leech to be covered in their scent." She sent me a look when I met her gaze in the rearview mirror.