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Hearing the tribes stories always fascinated the boys, capturing their attention in the compelling way Billy Black always knew how to do. The story of Taha Aki and the Third wife, her valiant sacrifice to save the wolves. It was beautiful, the loyalty of the wolves, how they managed to keep their lineage going so strongly.
It was that loyalty to their kind that had the wolves skin crawling when a certain vampire lover came and crashed the sacred tribes storytelling. Billy Black, Jacob's father had calmly told the others that Bella coming would be insightful for her, hopefully opening some new doors and allowing her to see just how dangerous her choice in company was. "It just doesn't seem right, someone from the other side listening to our history. It feels tainted."
Paul stayed oddly quiet while Jared and Embry talked amongst one another, they were all sat on logs, plates filled with hotdogs and burgers, chips on the side with cups filled with drinks of their choice. "You okay?" Elise whispered to her imprint, one of her hands touching his warm skin.
"I'm hoping Bella won't believe the stories, I want her to think they're crap and stay with her leeches."
"Why's that?"
"Because, if she suddenly comes to a realization that her boyfriend and his family are the bad guys, she's going to think we're the good ones. Then we'll be stuck with her too."
Elise couldn't help the little chuckle that emerged, she didn't hate Bella, at a point they were friends but the god complex the brunette received bothered her. The lack of morals and her inability to realize that so many people were willing to die for her just because she fell in love with the wrong species. The whole predicament that the leader of all vampires would come and exterminate whomever they pleaded just to keep their secret safe, endangering oblivious humans in the process made her sick to her stomach and making it very hard for Elise to even try to upkeep a civil relationship with the Chief of police's daughter. "Not so loud, one of yours is undoubtedly in love with her. Don't need another wolf fight."
"He's not one of mine," Paul held grudges and the biggest one he had besides the childhood abandonment of his father was with Jacob Black. "He nearly killed you and couldn't even give a proper apology because of his pride."
"He's your brother," Elise gently corrects, fingers intertwining with his. "He made a mistake and he's paying for it."
Speaking over his chewed up burger, Paul's warm brown eyes met hers. "Yeah? Enlighten me."
She lowered her voice to barely a whisper, not that it really mattered all the heightened hearing could easily pick up on it and it was obvious that more than a few of the pack members were eavesdropping. "He's in love with a girl who's in love with another man. She's keeping him around for as long as she can before she becomes one of them and never speaks to him again. She's going to break his heart and he's holding onto a lost hope that she's going to choose him. That's more than enough punishment for anyone."
"For you maybe."
"What if I didn't love you?" Paul's spine stiffened, his stomach churning in knots at the mere thought of his imprint not wanting him. "What if I was in love with another knowing your feelings for me but toyed with your strings knowing that you'd do anything for me but I had no intentions of giving the same energy back. How would you feel?" The look on his face was answer enough, the broken glint in his eyes as his inner wolf whimpered at the pain that hadn't even happened to them. "Exactly, he's going to hurt, Paul."
Pulling her in closer, he nodded silently the thought of food long forgotten. "Don't move, I just need to hold you right now. Please, just don't leave."
The stories had begun, complete and total silence overtaking the yard as the fire crackled behind Billy's weathered voice. Midway through the story, Billy's voice stopped altogether, his eyes glued to Elise who's already brilliant cerulean had gone completely white. "Remarkable."
"What's happening to her?" Seth questioned, eyes wide in awe of what was taking place before him.
"She's being spoken to, one of our own most likely. Previous spirits have been known to appear when spoken on, the legends must have triggered it. They're giving her council."
Paul could feel the chill of her body, his warmth not seeming to do much for her and the longer she stayed in her state the more they saw. Her lips moved a mile a minute, words intangible and in another language spoken at a low level. "She's shaking."
Billy acknowledged Paul's worry, calming him with simple words. "Elise isn't here right now, when these things happen it's like the her that you know is trapped in her body while her true form is elsewhere. Everything she does while in this state will outmatch anything she can do while herself."
"Like us," Leah projected. "We're strong when we aren't phased but we're stronger when we are."
"Exactly like us." Billy confirms, simply watching the actions taking place. "In this state, everything she can't do when human can be done now. Elise is at her most raw power, her very being is humming with power. Pay attention and you can feel the strength in her aura."
They felt the need to submit, Sam Uley included. The dominant power her body was exuding feeling hundreds of times more heightening that when the alpha of the pack demanded an order from his followers.
A sharp gasp came from the girl, her hand reaching out to grab something before her. The jerky moment tugged her from Paul's arms until she caught herself on her hands and knees. It took a few moments for her to come back to herself and realize where she was. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Her first words since she came back we're puzzling until she lifted her shirt, pulling the protective bandages from her body to show nothing more than fully healed scars a shade or two darker than her natural skin tone. "What happened?"
"More," She called out, the power that was once exuding shamelessly was retracting back, hiding what she really was behind her human form, shielding her from the danger of others but forever making this spot a marker of such strength. "They said there's going to be more."
Paul cautiously placed a hand on her shoulder, capturing her attention. "More of what?"
"More of everything, more vampires more werewolves. There will be a time that all chaos will shine through and darkness will seem like the light. There's going to be more."
A timeframe couldn't be disclosed but Elise saw it all in flashes, scenes that didn't quite make sense but she would know what to do when the time came.
Chaos would rise and Bella Swan with red eyes would be the center of it all.
