┍ ┑
—chapter nineteen—
┖ ┙
❀•°❀°•❀
❀•°❀°•❀
❀•°❀°•❀
JACOB BLACK was a complete, and utter, idiot.
Rue had no idea what the hell was going through his head, because here they were, four wolves standing outside the house of the Cullens, who were vampires.
She had almost laughed when she found out that Bella broke her hand by punching Jacob in the face when he kissed her. You'd think that would get the idea through his head that they were never going to happen.
But, as much as she loved Jacob, he wasn't that smart. So here they were, standing outside the Cullen house while Jacob paced back and forth.
Embry sighed. "I feel like this is a bad idea."
Rue could hear the music and laughter from all the people jammed in the house from where they were stood. She could also smell the body odor wafting off the sweaty teenagers, it made her scrunch her nose.
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with Embry on this." Rue interjected, chewing on the inside of her cheek. Quil grabbed her hand, squeezing it lightly to remind her to stop.
"Look, let me at least give Bella her graduation present." Jacob reasoned. "If it's really that bad or she doesn't want me there, we'll leave."
Quil and Rue shared a look, they all knew Bella didn't want Jacob there, and walking into a house owned by vampires didn't exactly give them peace of mind.
I wish Tama was here.
Although she hadn't been expecting a reply, Tama's voice echoed through her head. "Yeah, I'd say that I would've went with you guys if I didn't have patrol, but I'd be lying. Why'd you even go anyways?"
"To make sure Jake doesn't get into any fights."
Quil guided Rue into the house, letting her stay in her head as they followed Jacob and Embry up the staircase.
"Thank you for that, Rue." Sam spoke through the mind link in Tama's head. "If anything happens, alert me immediately and Tama and I will be there."
"Alright, I will."
Quil momentarily let go of Rue's hand to hold the door open for her. "You talking to Tama?"
His voice broke her out of her trance. "Yeah. I wish he was here, but it's honestly better that he's with Sam."
"Yeah," He agreed. "If something happens Sam will know right away."
They four of them began looking around the room, squeezing past kids in search of a certain Swan girl. Rue almost found it comical how Jacob, Embry, and Quil were dressed; they looked like a boy band in their all black shirts.
To make the search easier, Rue tuned her ears in, searching past all the voices for a single, familiar one. She tilted her head up when she found it.
"I hear her."
She ushered them into another room, heads turning in different directions before Jacob finally saw her. And by the look on Bella's face, she was not happy to see him.
She approached them first, before meeting half way.
"What are you doing here."
"You invited me, remember?" Jacob responded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Was my right hook to subtle for you?" Bella snapped back. "That was me uninviting you."
The three wolves stifled a laugh, which made Bella glance back at them like she was just realizing they were there.
"Look, Bella..." Jacob began, sighing heavily. "I'm sorry, about, you know, the kiss and your hand. I'd blame it on the whole inner animal thing, but it was really just me being an ass."
"I'm really sorry." He repeated, before reaching into his pocket. "I brought you something. A graduation present. I made it myself."
He handed the bracelet to her. Behind Jacob's back, Embry faked a gag, making a giggle slip past Rue's lips.
"Wow," Bella admired. "You made this? It's really pretty... Thanks."
Suddenly, a new wave of the signature smell vampires carried around with them wafted through the room. Quil slipped his hand back into Rue's at the scent of it.
Rue turned her head to look over her shoulder, seeing the one with short, black hair. She looked dazed, like she had gotten up to fast and had to stop for a moment for her sight to come back.
But something about it concerned Bella, seeing as she pushed passed the group of four. "I'll be right back."
Jacob glanced at Rue as Bella approached the vampire. Rue nodded, angling her ears toward the pair so she could hear.
"Alice, what'd you see?"
"The decisions been made." Her voice shook slightly, making Rue furrow her brows. Seeing the look on Rue's face made Jacob walk up to them.
"What's going on?" He asked, the other three not far behind him.
Bella didn't answer him, keeping her eyes on the girl who was still stood in the staircase. "You're not going to Seattle."
"No." The vampire shook her head. "They're coming here."
❀•°❀°•❀
THE WOLVES WERE ON EDGE as they stood in a room with the Cullen family. They weren't entirely sure what was going on, but from the way Bella and Alice, whose name they had learned, ushered them to follow, it was clear it wasn't good.
"They'll be here in four days."
Carlisle paced for a moment before leaning against a table, shaking his head. "This could turn into a bloodbath."
"Who's behind it?" Edward asked. Subconsciously, Quil pulled Rue so she was standing a bit closer to him. In all honesty, they didn't care that much about the rivalry between them, but something about the one that read minds just threw them off a bit. And maybe it was also the fact that Jacob wasn't his biggest fan.
"I didn't see anyone I recognized." Alice, who they had learned can see the future, responded. "Maybe one."
Edward observed his sister. "I know his face. He's local, Riley Biers."
Rue raised her brows. "That kid that went missing?"
"He didn't start this."
Alice nodded her head, agreeing. "Whoever did is staying out of the action."
Carlisle sighed. "They must be playing with the blind spots in your vision."
"Either way, the army is coming and there aren't enough of us to protect the town."
This quickly caught the attention of the four wolves, they shared a look of concern.
"Hold up." Jacob interrupted. "What damn army?"
"New borns, our kind."
"What are they after?" Rue questioned.
"They were passing around Bella's scent." Alice replied and Rue bit back the urge to roll her eyes, of course they were. "A red blouse."
"They're after Bella?" Jacob frowned, growing more concerned by the minute. "What the hell does this mean."
"It means an ugly fight. With lives lost." A look passed between Carlisle and Jacob, a moment of mutual agreement settled in.
Jacob turned to look at Rue, Embry, and Quil and they nodded in understanding, no words needing said. "Alright, we're in."
Bella was quick to object. "No. No way, you'd get yourselves killed."
Rue glared, crossing her arms. She didn't like being treated like they were less than vampires, like they couldn't keep up. "We weren't asking for permission."
Bella turned to her boyfriend. "Edward?" She asked, hoping for a little help.
The vampire contemplated for a moment before deciding. "It means for protection for you."
"Jacob," Carlisle started. "Do you think Sam would agree to an understanding?"
Jacob didn't respond, turning to look at Rue instead, who realized what he was asking. She nodded.
"Tama."
"Yeah?"
"I need to talk to Sam."
"What's wrong?" His deep voice rang out through her head. She didn't respond, simply letting the events of what just took place replay in her mind
Sam was quick to answer. "Yes. I'll call a pack meeting right away. Come back to the house when you four are finished there."
Rue acknowledged him before getting out of her head and turning to face Carlisle. When she did, she realized the vampires standing opposite of her were observing her carefully.
She brushed off their stares and nodded. "We've all been chomping at the bit to sink our teeth into something."
Bella turned to Edward, lowering her voice. "What just happened?"
He stared at Rue curiously, causing a cold chill to shoot up her spine. "Rue and her brother can communicate telepathically, even in their human forms. Tama's on patrol with Sam so she just asked. It's quite fascinating."
The wolves glared, and Quil squeezed onto his girlfriends hand a little tighter. "Weren't you ever taught what invasion of privacy means?" He snapped.
Edward didn't respond, and Carlisle turned toward the blonde one. "Jasper?"
The man nodded. "They'll give us the numbers. Newborn's won't even know they exist."
Bella shook her head, clearly still opposed to the idea. "Jake... You don't know what you're getting yourselves into."
"This is what we do, Bella." He replied. "Besides, you should be happy. You are the one who wanted us to get along."
"Hey." Tama echoed. "Sam wants to know what time you guys are gonna be back."
"We're about to leave."
Rue stepped forward, placing a hand on Jacob's shoulder. "Sam wants us back at the house for a pack meeting. Now."
Carlisle nodded. "We'll arrange a plan and have Bella communicate that with you."
"We'll let Sam know."
❀•°❀°•❀
THE GROUP OF FOUR made their way up the porch steps as Tama stood outside to greet them.
"How'd that go?" He asked his sister. Giving the other three a nod in acknowledgment as they walked past the boy and into the house.
"The mind reader doesn't know how to mind his own business." Rue grumbled. She didn't like the idea of him poking around in their minds, especially when her brother was sharing a link with their alpha.
"Yeah, I could feel him." Tama replied as they entered the house. "It made me shiver, like somebody dumped a bucket of ice down my back."
"Yeah, me too."
Rue took a seat at the table with Quil on one side of her and Tama on the other. The pack patiently waited on Sam, who had went to go wake Malia up.
The older girl grumbled as she entered the room. She slouched down in her chair, blinking a few times to try and wake herself up. Paul reached his hand over and yanked on a strand of hair that flowed down the girls back. Malia's hand shot up, smacking the outstretched hand with no hesitation.
The smile on the boys face faded, turning into a grimace as he shook his hand out. Jared laughed at him. "Dumbass."
Sam cleared his throat, making all eyes in the room turn to him. The man was quick to explain the situation once he had everyone's attention.
The pack meeting took around an hour, Seth and Leah were allowed to go home early though seeing as they had patrol in the morning.
"So we're just supposed to wait around for those leeches to come up with a plan?" Malia questioned, having quickly woken up after hearing what was going on.
She wasn't too thrilled about the fact that more vampires were causing problems due to Bella, again. Paul definitely wasn't happy either.
"And we're just supposed to trust them?" The boy added. "We shouldn't be even be helping them. They created this mess, they can figure it out themselves."
Sam shot the idea down instantly. "We're not doing it for them. We're protecting the innocent people that are going to get caught in the crossfire if an army of vampires comes to town."
"There won't be any debating on this. I'm not happy about it, but we'll listen to what the Cullen's have to say and that's final."
No one else spoke up after that. Sam sighed, running his hand across his forehead. "It's getting late, you all should head home. Rue, I want you going with Seth and Leah on patrol in the morning."
She nodded in acknowledgment. Quil nudged her shoulder with his. "Guess we should get you home then."
Sam dismissed them shortly after.
"You know," Quil started as they walked out of the house, hand in hand. "Your birthday's in a couple of days."
Rue bit back a smile. "I'm aware."
"What do you want?" He asked, kicking a stray rock that was settled on the dirt road.
Rue shook her head. "I don't want anything. I just want to hang out with you and the guys."
"It's your sixteenth birthday." Quil pressed. "You have to want something."
"Fine." She huffed dramatically. "But only because you're going to get me something either way. If you just have to get me something, a book or two would be appreciated."
Quil grinned triumphantly, letting go of her hand momentarily to bend down and pluck a dandelion from where it was nestled in the grass.
He reached up, tucking it behind Rue's ear before slipping his hand into hers one more. The sight of the yellow flower had suddenly caused an idea to pop into her head.
"You know..." Rue trailed off, hiding the cheeky smile that threatened to appear on her face as Quil furrowed his brows, listening eagerly. "If you want to get me a gift I'll really love... That dandelion dreams recipe from Rhea would be super awesome."
Quil rolled his eyes jokingly, lightly shoving the girl off of him. "In your dreams."
"Please!" Rue giggled, wrapping her arm around his to pull him close. "You said you wanted to get me something!"
"Anything but that!"
❀•°❀°•❀
a/n: sorry for the wait! i literally had all of this chapter written except the last like 200 words so it just kind of sat here for a couple weeks.
i don't know when i'll be able to start writing the next chapter because my next few days are pretty busy since i'm going to be moving into my dorm for college and i still have nothing packed (i move in in 3 days).
anyways, hope you guys enjoyed, as always none of this is proofread so i apologize for any typos. hope y'all have a great day!