Chapter 33
Act III
Chapter 33 ━━ Third Wife's Sacrifice
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Shelley watches the households slowly fading as the woods grow more and more as Edward's silver Volvo speeds down the road.
"So… Emmett's gonna be there too?" She asks Edward whose eyes are on the road, driving.
"I'm sure he will." He turns his gaze to her for a second before he looks back on the road. There's a hint of a smile on his face. "He disappeared last night and before he did, he got pretty interesting things in his head."
"Like what?"
Edward shakes his head as his smile turns into a smirk. "Things related to Leah. It's better not to talk about it."
The blonde cannot help but imagine Emmett and Leah getting intimate and the thought itself makes her feel nauseous. "Eww."
Edward laughs. "I didn't ask you to imagine things about Emmett and Leah. Did I?"
"I thought you can't read my mind." She groans in embarrassment.
"I can't. Your mind is almost blank as Bella's. But it is an exemption when you think of something very strongly."
No wonder they're related. Edward is practically the same as Esdras. With less anger issues and less arrogance, of course. Stupid mind readers.
Talking about Esdras. Shelley misses that bastard and he ownes her for not answering her phone calls or texts.
"How's Ezra?"
"He's not good with grief. Give him time. He'll come around." Edward says.
She sighs and nods. "I miss my best friend."
"I know." Edward pulls over his car to the side of the road and the blonde looks up to notice that they arrive at the destination.
Shelley emerges from the car to see 30 yards down the road, a shirtless Jacob leaning against his red Volkswagen. Waiting. The two guys exchange a tense look.
"Doesn't he own a shirt?" Edward asks, standing next to her.
The blonde takes a good look at Jacob's bulky figure with a grin. "Please. You're just jealous. His muscles are sexy."
"And I thought Emmett is the worst." Edward grambles and looks at her. "Alright. Listen here, Shelley."
"Here comes the lectures." She sings the words sarcastically.
He sends her a glare and continues. "Emmett will be there to protect you too. But if something goes wrong, dial me."
"I'm good here, you should go, Eddie."
"Yeah. If something happens to you, both Bella and Ezra will have my head." He pulls her into a big hug. "You better be careful."
"I will."
He smiles and the blonde offers a reassuring look, then walks off to her wolf.
As she reaches him, Jacob smiles broadly. "Hey, beautiful."
"Hi."
Then he surprises her with a particularly passionate kiss and pulls away, leaving her a little dizzy.
"Wow." Shelley mutters, trying to steady herself when she hears Edward's car peeling out. As she watches the Volvo disappear, Jacob opens the car door.
"So, whaddaya wanna do today? Your call. But we're going to a party tonight."
"Sounds great!" She exclaims at the mention of the party.
Behind Jacob's house, a group is gathered around the fire, eating hot dogs, laughing. Billy sits at the natural head of the circle. Old Quil, Quil's ancient grandfather sits on one side of him, Sue Clearwater on the other. And also the whole pack is there. Paul, Quil, Embry, Jared, and Sam, with Emily at his side. Meanwhile, a young Quileute girl about Quill's age is definitely giving him the eye.
Jacob leads her imprint toward roaring fires, across the sand when she hears a familiar voice.
"Shorty." Emmett calls out with a grin as he arrives at them with his girl, Leah.
"Bearboy." She mocks him, earning a growl from Leah.
"Leah." Jacob warns the wolf girl, pulling the blonde to him.
"It's okay, babe. It's just Shelley. She's my friend." Emmett assures the girl with a kiss and she immediately calms down. Then he turns to the blonde giving a hug, which she returns in no time. "God, I smell him all over you."
It has to be. Jacob had to cover up the lost time with the blonde and ended up giving her two brand new hickeys on her collarbone. Her lips are swollen. Cool, huh? She did enjoy the whole session, but Jacob doesn't have concealer and now the hickeys are full on display, meaning, everyone will know what they did.
Even though Shelley's in an urge to roll her eyes, she decides to ignore the goofy grin on Jacob's face that explains how much he's proud of his work and turn to the vampire. "Says the one who got some last night. Probably today too."
"Good point."
"Yes, it is."
"So what have I gotten myself into?" Emmett asks, looking around the gathering, trying to figure out a hint of what's going on.
"It's a council meeting." Leah explains with a smile. The love she has for him is clearly visible in her eyes.
"Council meeting? You sure this is okay? I feel like a Council Meeting crasher." He mutters under his breath, shyly. Emmett is always up to mischief and that makes him, himself but never in a million years the blonde imagined Emmett being a shy person.
But then she realises what is making Emmett uncomfortable. He is the only vampire and everyone is giving him this look and waiting for attack.
In no time, Shelley begins to feel bad for the vampire and in the same moment Leah sullenly glares at every single person and everyone goes back to their work. Leah is such a badass.
"The Council leaders, Dad, Quil's grandpa, and Sue Clearwater. She took over for Harry when he died. You're Leah's imprint and that makes you eligible to hear the histories." Jacob says to Emmett and the blonde notices that he's too calm around a vampire for the first time. She doesn't understand why he's so nice to him but she's glad whatever the reason is behind it.
"The histories? The tribe's histories? Aren't they secret?" Emmett questions further. There's a spark of interest in his eyes.
"We all got a role to play. And you're a part of this. I mean, it's the first time Seth, Leah and Quil are hearing them, too." Jacob says and Leah intervenes her hand with Emmett's to comfort him. They're so cute.
"It's my first time too." Shelley adds enthusiastically.
Emmett smiles and nods. "Okay."
"Come on, I want you to meet my mom." Leah says, dragging her imprint towards Sue Clearwater with an excited face.
"This is going to be fun." Shelley says to cheer up the air. Mostly herself. She hates the fact how Emmett is treated in that way. It is not nice. Emmett is a good guy even though there's always a bottle of mischief hidden under his arm. She hopes Leah will treat him better which she already does.
"You know? We can always go back to the house for more fun." Jacob whispers into the blonde's ear, seductively and that smirk on his face is reaching the sky. His fingertips trace down her arm and her body shivers involuntarily with a gasp reacting to his touch. And as a result, his pupils expand with lust. "What are you doing to me?"
"You tell me." She mutters as her arms reach up and tangle around his thick, strong neck, pulling him down slightly.
His hands wrap around her waist and their lips meet and move in a perfect motion. When they break apart for air, she rests her forehead against his and gathers some much needed oxygen.
He smirks widely and claps his hands on either side of her face, leaning in for another when they're interrupted by a voice, making Jacob groan.
"Jake."
Jacob scowls and the blonde pats on his cheek before turning to see a gangly-limbed boy, who trots up like a puppy. He clearly idolises Jacob.
"Hey. It's about time you got here. Paul's been hoovering the grub. But, I saved you some burgers."
Jacob smiles sweetly at the boy, losing his scowl. "Good looking out, Bro. Shells, this is Seth Clearwater, Leah's brother. Newest member of the pack."
"Newest, bestest, brightest." Seth rambles.
"And slowest." Jacob grabs Seth in a headlock, the two tumble to the sand. Seth laughs, absolutely loving this guy.
A whistle comes from the circle. It's Sam.
Seth jumps up. "Come on. Your dad's about to start."
"Alright." Jacob says as Seth drags Jacob and the blonde towards the bonfire.
They join the circle where Shelley sits beside Jacob who immediately wraps his arms around her and pulls her closer to him until there's no available space between them. He's been too clingy lately.
Everyone turns their attention wholly on Billy, his voice commanding as the fire burns lower.
"The Quileutes have been a small tribe from the beginning… But we've always had magic in our blood. We were great spirit warriors… Shape shifters that transform into the powerful wolf. This enabled us to scare off our enemies, and protect our tribe."
Shelley listens carefully absorbing the story, its images begin to live in her mind. In the same moment, Jacob places his head on her lap, closing his eyes. She remembers him mentioning his border duties all day and she's pretty sure he's absolutely tired right now even though he's trying to show that he's not. The blonde gently combs his slightly grown hair with her hand and he smiles in delight, eyes still closed.
Billy, who looks at Emmett as he says. "One day our warriors came across a creature… It looked like a man, but it was hard like stone, and cold as ice…"
Two Quileute warriors in human form emerge from the trees, horrified to find a male vampire wearing the clothing of a mid-1700s Spaniard bent over two lifeless tribe girls. His eyes are blood red, feral.
The two warriors phase into wolves and charge the vampire. But he grabs one of them, strangling it. The second wolf gets his teeth into the Vampire's neck and tears off his head. But the strangled wolf falls dead to the ground.
"Our warriors' sharp teeth finally tore it apart… But only fire would completely destroy it. They lived in fear, the Cold Man was not alone. And they were right." Billy continues the story.
A beautiful female vampire in a tattered 1700's Spanish gown, moves through the Quileute village of longhouses and teepees. A trail of dead bodies all over the village as the tribes-people screaming in fear.
"She took her vengeance on the village. Our elder chief, Taha Aki, was the only spirit warrior left to save the tribe, after his son was killed."
Taha Aki stands over his dead son, anguished. His third wife weeps inconsolably next to his body. Taha Aki spins toward the vampires and takes a running lunge at her, transforming into a great wolf and they clash. The third wife watches with horror as the Vampiress quickly gets the upper hand.
"Taha Aki's Third Wife could see that he would lose…"
The third wife pulls out a knife and runs toward the vampiress who barely acknowledges the impending attack.
"The Third Wife was no magical being, no special powers, but one… Courage."
Third wife charges the vampiress, dagger raised high but as she nears, shockingly, she plunges the knife into her own heart! Blood flowers on her chest. The Vampiress catches the scent and spins toward her, ravenous.
"The Third Wife's sacrifice distracted the Cold Woman, long enough for Taha Aki to destroy her. She saved the tribe."
As the Taha Aki-wolf leaps onto the Vampiress, tearing her apart, the third wife lay dying, her expression at peace…
"Over time, our enemies have disappeared. But one remains… The Cold Ones." Billy highlights the latter of the sentence and glances at every single wolf in the circle one after the other. "Our magic awakens when they are near. And we sense it now, we feel the threat in our blood. Something terrible is coming. And we must all be ready. All of us."
As the gathering comes to an end, everyone begins to say their goodbyes and leave. And Jacob is fast asleep on Shelley's lap.
After arguing in her head to decide if she should wake him or not, she gently shakes him. "Jakey. Wake up."
"Hey." He grumbles but then slowly opens his eyes to meet hers. He's such a grumpy wolf sometimes. Stretching his limbs lazily, he jumps on his feet and offers his hand for her to take.
"Can you drive me home?" She asks him as they walk towards his house. He yawns, ignoring her question. Lazy ass wolf.
"I can ask Emmett to drop me if it is okay with you. Or maybe call Edward." She says as they enter his room.
Jacob takes his hoodie off and throws it at her. "You're staying here. Get change."
She narrows her eyes on him. "What?"
"You're staying." He repeats and jumps into his bed, not bothering to listen to her anymore. Dumbass wolf.
Shelley shakes her head in disbelief as she walks into his bathroom and changes into the hoodie. She needs to leave an extra toothbrush if she's going to have more sleepovers at Jacob's in future. And a concealer if he keeps marking his possessions on her neck.
After getting ready for bed, Shelley walks out of the bathroom to meet up with Jacob who is now sitting on his bed with a pair of shorts.
His eyes trails up on her, taking in her short figure with his hoodie. "You look good in my clothes."
"Do you realise that Charlie will practically kill you for not taking me back, right?" She cocoons in his bed in the dark and Jacob crawls in before laying next to her, a quilt between them.
"Don't worry about it. Emily will take care of that. You're having a girls day with Emily. That's all Charlie will know." He replies confidently.
"I had a girls day with Angela just yesterday." The blonde says, throwing her hands in the air, dramatically.
He raises an eyebrow. "And your point is?"
What is her point? She dives deep down in her brain to find an answer which she ends up with nothing. "Nothing."
His eyes twinkle with pride of winning the argument as a goofy smile spreads all over his stupid face.
"So, Alice is planning a big graduation party. Which you're invited to." She says and Jacob scoffs in return.
"Yeah, I figured that."
Graduation. The name itself brings the blonde chills now. Esdras once mentioned to her how newly born vampires are unable to control their thirst and that means she won't see Bella for a long time after she's transformed. What if Bella never learns to control the thirst? Will the blonde never see her sister again? How can she live without Bella?
"Whatcha thinking?" Jacob asks, pulling the blonde out of her thought bubble.
"It's just Graduation is nearing and probably I won't see Bella again since her vampy transformation." She responds with a cringe at the thought of not having any contact with Bella ever again.
"She what now?" Jacob asks, completely sombre of his dazed mood.
"You know? Turning into a vampire after graduation to be with Edward." She tries to explain to him the theory behind her words.
Jacob kind of seems distracted and worried about the subject. But she just shrugs it off. "I know. But the consequences of the choice she's making is high."
"It's her choice. You can't change her mind."
"I can try."
Shelley rolls her eyes at this. Bella didn't listen to her or Edward and there's no way she'll listen to him. Can someone bring some sense into this dumb wolf please? The blonde chooses to think that God forgot to place a brain in Jacob's head and now she has to deal with it for the rest of her life. "Have fun with that." She rests her head on his chest, closing her eyes. She's done arguing with him. But then again, something begins to bother her. "Jake? What would you do if I became a vampire?"
"That's not happening." He kisses her head, wrapping his arms around her.
"What if?"
"Is it even a question? I'd still love you."
The blonde opens her eyes to look at him. "Be honest with me."
"I was being honest."
"I thought you would reject me."
He knits his eyebrows together at this. "Why on earth will I ever reject you, Shells?"
"Maybe you'll be afraid that I'll be too different. Unlike. I won't be, you know… warm. And won't smell the same." She replies with a shrug before burying her face back into his chest.
"You'll always be my Shelley." He lifts her face to his and kisses her. The blonde kisses him back without wasting another second. It grows more passionate as she looks at her arms around his neck.
Jacob pulls away, both of them reining in their desire. "My beautiful Shelley."
He pulls the quilt around them and they nestle in until the darkness swallows them into oblivion.
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