Bonded

Chapter 2

"I have questions," I announced, barging into Jacob and Billy's little red house. Billy was sitting at his small, round kitchen table reading a newspaper. He looked up at me in surprise. Jacob trailed behind me and immediately went for the fridge.

"Leah," Billy said, surprised. "How are you today, my dear?"

"Cut the crap." I turned a chair around and sat down. I put my chin in my hands, leaning on the table. He placed the current events section down and looked me in my eyes. I always felt like the crow's feet around his eyes each had a story to tell. Billy had a way of speaking without saying much. Ever since I was a kid, I imagined the things that the elders have seen. They lived such amazing lives before all of us. "I want answers to all of my questions before anything happens."

Jacob leaned against the counter with a piece of cold pizza in his hands. "Leah has agreed to Bond," he said with his mouth full.

"I gathered that, son, thank you." Billy rolled his eyes. "What can I answer for you, Leah?"

I glanced at Jacob before looking back at Billy. "I want to know how this works. You gave us two options...two very different options. Are there any consequences that we need to think about with how we do this?"

Billy laced his fingers together. "Well...I think the biggest challenge for both of you is finding the balance within the Bond. With both of you willing to come together, it will make the pack stronger. But with that comes the possibility of war with the Other Kind."

"What do you mean?" Jake asked.

"No one has ever seen a pack of this magnitude. Having both an Alpha Male and Female will pose a threat to them. You have to be prepared for that."

It's not the first time Billy has said something like that to us. More and more of us had begun phasing and no one was expecting it. A pack is usually around five wolves; we were upward of almost 15 wolves and there were some kids that were still phasing as early as 11 years old. The vampires' high council—whatever they were called—had always kept an eye on us because wolfpacks were slowly dying out. Vampires were usually concentrated in one area instead of being spread out in the world like they usually were. If we got any stronger, it was always possible they would try to strike as a sign of defense.

"And what about the ritual itself? How does this work?" I asked.

Billy, then, took the time to explain how the Blood Bond ritual would work. At the break of dawn, Jacob, the elders, and me would have to go to the highest cliff, where we would physically be closer to the Gods. As the sun rises, we will strip naked and cut the palms of our hands with a dagger. With our hands clasped together, the elders will perform an ancient Quileute chant around us. The ritual takes hours; it's not something that we can just do at the last minute. Jacob and I listened intently as Billy spoke. I kept glancing at him, to see if any of this was freaking him out, but surprisingly I could see his chest swell up with confidence. It felt like everything around us was swept away and the only thing that existed in that moment was the three of us.

Was it our destiny? Was this something that we're absolutely meant to do? Or...was it just Billy's storytelling?

I appreciated his patience with me, as we continued to sit at the kitchen table for hours as I asked question after question. I wanted to know everything. I wanted to see the chants, I wanted to know what responsibilities we would be picking up. What would my role be exactly as the Alpha Female? What does being the Alpha Female actually mean? Billy answered everything I wanted to know. "I just have one more question..." I asked, my voice a little shaky. He nodded once. "If...we do the Blood Bond, will I be able to have children like if we did the Mating Bond?"