When Jacob ignores Bella in New Moon she develops a friendship with Quil. They become close and then he too makes the change into a werewolf. What will happen in this Quil/Bella/Jacob triangle?
Title: Torn
Rating: T
Penname: Katbug86
Characters: Bella & Quil Jr.
Chapter 13: The Pack
To say I was nervous about being in a house full of what I now knew to be a pack of over-sized wolves would be a huge understatement. Jake held my hand the entire walk to the small house that belonged to Emily, Sam's fiancée, as I had been told. Though, I had yet to be told any further details of this whole werewolf thing. I still blamed Sam to some degree for the disappearance of my two closest friends. As far as I knew, he was responsible for everything. So this being his house as well made me even more nervous and uncomfortable.
As we walked up the steps the cottage looking house, I gripped Jake's hand a little harder. He looked down at me with a smirk. "Calm down Bells." He tried to reassure me by squeezing my hand in return. "We don't bite," he joked as he opened the front door without knocking and led me in. I rolled my eyes at his poor sense of humor.
I stopped right inside the door, cowering slightly behind Jacob's body as I scanned the room, my teeth biting into my lower lip. My eyes passed over several large bodies before they landed on the one person I was searching for. Quil smiled widely as our eyes locked and I smiled hesitantly in return. I continued watching him as he stood up, crossed the room, and enveloped me in a vice like hug. He lifted me up, forcing me to release Jake's hand, and twirled me around once before setting me back down.
"Four days was really way too long to be away from you," he sighed as he released me from his grip.
"Tell me about it, I've had to live without her for almost a month," I heard Jake complain next to me. He threw his arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer. "I missed you Bells," he whispered next to my ear. Oh, how I've missed my best friend…
"I missed you too," I mused.
"Bella, I've made some muffins. You may want to come get one now before the guys get in here and eat them all," a woman said from the doorway to the kitchen. I hadn't noticed her standing there but I assumed this was Emily. She was beautiful, her skin tanned, her hair a dark black color. My eyes didn't even notice at first the prominent scar that ran from one eye all the way down to her collarbone and under her shirt. Despite the way the mark pulled down the corner of her eye and one side of her mouth, forever making a lopsided frown, she was a very beautiful woman.
"Thank you," my voice now even and calm thanks to having Jake and Quil near me once again. I followed her into the kitchen to snatch a blueberry muffin off the table. I took a small bite and savored the wonderful taste. "These are delicious Emily," I complimented.
"Emily always makes the best food," someone said from behind me. He reached around my side to grab two muffins of his own, winking at me before he sat down in a chair.
"I saw that. Are you flirting with my girl Embry?" Jake's voice was joking, but I could still detect a bit of a threat underneath. He grabbed himself a muffin, popping it into his mouth whole, before grabbing two more and taking the seat next to my own. I just stared at him with wide eyes as he ate each one in only a single bite. "What?" he asked with his mouth full, a couple crumbs falling out in the process.
I tried to suppress a giggle and failed. He just frowned at me and grabbed another, mumbling under his breath in the process. The rest of the guys had piled into the small kitchen as well, each taking their fair share of muffins. Sam entered last, walking straight over to Emily to plant a chaste kiss on her lips. He looked at her with such love and adoration that I quickly averted my eyes, allowing them their private moment. Sam cleared his throat a moment later to gain everyone's attention.
"Obviously we have an issue here. Bella has somehow figured out our pack secret. I don't like it, but it is what it is." He turned to look at me directly, "I can hope that you are going to keep this secret to yourself." His stare made me shift uncomfortably in my chair. He wasn't asking me, he was telling me to keep this to myself.
I nodded quickly. "Of course."
"Good," he stated firmly before returning to the living room with Emily in hand.
With him gone I was left with the remaining 'pack' guys, two of whom I didn't even yet know by name. Quil, probably sensing my unease, answered my silent questions.
"This is Jared," he pointed to the 'boy' on his right, "And that is Paul." He indicated the other boy, sitting across the table from me. I recognized him as the one who yelled at Jacob and I earlier on the beach. Jared waved at me and gave a friendly smile. Paul, on the other hand, just glared.
I felt Jacob lean towards me before whispering, "Don't take it personal, he's that way with everyone." A low growl emitted from Paul's direction but everyone else just chuckled. Paul stood, scowling at each person around the table before going leaving out the back door, slamming it shut behind him.
Jared and Embry seemed to be involved in a conversation already, so I looked between Quil and Jake expectantly. "When are you going to tell me how in the hell this possible?" I demanded playfully.
Jake addressed me first, "Remember the stories I told you at the beach?" he paused for my response, so I nodded my head, "well we're wolves because it's part of our ancestry." This was something I already knew.
"We phase when there is a threat to our people so we can protect them and our land," Quil continued. I nodded my head again, trying to understand.
"What kind of threats?" Both Jake and Quil shared a look before finally answering me. I gave them each a quizzical look.
"Vampires," Quil spat, the venom audible in his voice. Understanding finally hit me and my blood ran cold. The Cullen's. Edward. They were werewolves to protect their tribe from vampires. They were werewolves so they could kill vampires. I already knew this, but realizing the Cullen's could be in danger was terrifying.
The Treaty… I breathed a sigh of relief as the thoughts of the treaty Jake had once explained to me came to mind. They will not hurt the Cullen's as long as they stay off Quileute land. This also meant that Jake and Quil knew Edward was a vampire. Panic struck me again. They both knew that I had been in love with a vampire.
Of course they knew, Jake had told me his ancestors believed the Cullen's were vampires. He just didn't believe it himself at the time and now he knew the truth. He probably hates me for it, loving his sworn enemy.
I felt a very warm hand on my shoulder. "Relax Bella…breathe, otherwise you're gonna pass out." Quil's voice jolted me out of my thoughts and I let out a deep breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. They both laughed as I did so.
"Are you always so warm?" I asked. His hand felt like fire against my skin and I could feel the heat rolling off of each of them in waves.
Jake laughed at me again as he answered. "Yea, it's a werewolf thing. Our temperature runs at about 108.9 these days."
"Is that why you run around half naked now?" I smirked. All the guys in the pack walked around in only a pair of cut off shorts and all of them were extremely good looking. It was kind of distracting.
They both chuckled for a moment before Jake's expression took on a more serious look.
He looked like he wanted to ask me something. "Did you know?" he asked.
I looked at him in complete confusion. "Know what?" I truly had no idea what he was talking about. Did I know that he was a werewolf? I figured the answer to that was fairly obvious.
"Did you know he was a vampire?" his features seemed almost pained as he said this, like he didn't really want to know the answer.
I thought he was aware I already knew and I was hesitant to respond, I didn't want upset him. "Yes. I knew." I saw him tremble a little before taking a deep breath. The tremors ceased.
He took another deep breath before asking me another question. "Was I the one who told you what he was?" his eyes held mine with an intense stare as he sought my answer.
"Yes." At this point I realized Jared and Embry had stopped their conversation and were listening to our own.
"So you knowingly dated a leech?" Embry asked with a surprised and disgusted tone. My cheeks flushed red in embarrassment before Quil saved me from answering.
"Shut up!" he yelled at him before turning to me. "You definitely don't have to answer that." I nodded and took his hand as he offered it to me. "Let's get you home so you can make dinner for Charlie." Crap! I had completely forgotten about my dad.
I stood up to follow him, Jake right behind me. Jared stood to, but headed towards the back door. "I think I'm gonna go and see Kim," he explained before leaving.
"Who's Kim?" I questioned.
"His imprint," Embry responded while standing. I had forgotten he was still with us.
"Imprint?" My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. Jake and Quil were glaring at Embry once again, furthering my confusion. Neither answered, but continued to lead me through the living room towards the front door.
"I'll walk you to your car," Quil offered.
"I have to patrol so I'll see you later Bells," Jake gave me one last hug before running off into the trees with Embry.
Quil and I walked side by side towards my truck. I had left it in the vacant parking lot near the beach. He reached for my hand after a few steps and I didn't resist. "Bella, I'm sor-," he started to apologize before I cut him off.
"Don't even say it. We're fine," I soothed. My words hopefully conveying that I forgave him for his absence; that I understood. It must have worked cause I could sense him instantly relax next to me.
"Would it be ok if we hung out tomorrow after school?" he asked cautiously.
"Homework or beach?" I suggested.
"Definitely the beach. It's supposed to be warm again tomorrow." I looked up to see him smiling down at me and gave his hand a small squeeze. We walked on as I filled him in on the last few days of my life, leaving out just how much I missed him so as not to hurt his feelings. Before I realized it, we were at my truck. Quil hugged me once more and opened my door for me to climb in. I started the engine and waved one last time before pulling out and making my way back to Forks.
Charlie wasn't home yet when I pulled up. I threw the stuff together for a chicken casserole, popping it into the oven, before heading upstairs to take my second shower of the day. The water was relaxing, but I was on a time limit, so I quickly washed and stepped out. I changed into a pair of sweats after toweling off and pulled my hair into a loose French braid.
The timer for the casserole went off just as Charlie walked through the door. I heard him take off his boots and hang his gun belt before entering the kitchen. I was scooping us portions onto our plates as he took his seat at the table. "You and Jake make up?" he asked as I set his plate in front of him.
I smiled at the mention of Jake. "Yeah, we worked it all out." For the most obvious reasons I couldn't tell him that Jake was really a werewolf and that's why we weren't speaking. Charlie would probably think I'm crazy anyway if I told him.
"Good," he said as he shoved another forkful into his mouth.
Dinner was quiet other than the occasional mention of school or work. Charlie had been working on several missing persons cases from the surrounding areas. I told him of my plans to go to La Push tomorrow. When we were finished I hurriedly did the dishes and headed up to my room. I wrote a quick email to Renee, feeling bad that I had ignored her for so long.
My entire body was exhausted and I readily welcomed my pillow. I settled myself into my bed, curling into the blankets and closing my eyes. Sleep claimed me almost immediately, the nightmares vacant from my dreams.
A/N: I don't know if everyone didn't read my author's note before Chapter 11…but QUIL DOES NOT IMPRINT! I am not having him or Jake imprint in this story because it would take away all the fun of their little love triangle.
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