Rising Moon - A Twilight Fan Fiction

Chapter Twelve - Breakfast in Bed

Chapter Twelve: Breakfast in Bed

I woke up to the intoxicating smell of frying bacon. It permeated my nose, ripping through my throat like a flash of lightning and reminding me I hadn't eaten anything except Goldfish in the last 24 hours. My stomach roared and I sat up immediately, eyes opening for the first time. This was not the car by any means.

I had been lying on a flannel blanket spread out on the floor. Under my head was Jake's jacket and at my feet was the backpack; he, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. The blanket was in the middle of what appeared to be a log cabin, and looking around, I began noticing the tribal decorations littering the room. Rugs on the walls, painted images in picture frames, Aztec figures on shelves.

Where the hell was I?

A little girl flitted into the room, moving with a gazelle's grace as she approached me.

"Good morning, Mrs Jacob," she smiled, and I saw that her two front teeth were missing. I blinked at her.

"Good morning," I said slowly. I didn't move from my blanket, and she barely moved from the door. We stared at each other.

In the sunlight, her skin was a deep honey color, and the braids running down her back were the color of Jake's dark hair. They were thick, tied at the bottom with pieces of mud-caked pink ribbon. It was the only scrap of color on the child. An elderly woman rushed behind the child, shooing her along. She blinked at me, her black eyes scowling into a glare, and then she disappeared once again. I still hadn't managed to move.

"Renesmee?"

The voice whispered through the room, my head snapping around to find it. Behind me, another lady, this one with a floral apron tied around her waist, was standing quietly in the doorway. She had a plate of food balanced in one hand and a glass of juice in the other. She smiled.

"Jacob will be happy to know you're awake. He's just stepped out with the boys for a while," she said, walking in with the same grace as the child. She moved like my Aunt Alice; like a dancer who never stopped practicing her craft.

"Oh," I answered.

The lady produced a small wooden table and laid the tiny feast out for me. Her smile didn't faulter, but, up close, I could see it didn't reach her eyes. Something was wrong.

It was then that the smell finally hit me.

I was so used to it from Jake and the pack that I didn't notice it often anymore, but this odor was the strongest one I'd ever come into contact with. It was hidden underneath the weak fumes of incense and the outdoors, but it was there, embedded into the very walls and floorboards. With no shame, I sniffed loudly. The lady's lips quirked into what seemed like an amused smirk.

"You're wolves," I said as I met her eyes.

She nodded. "Not me, personally, but most of the men are."

"That's why you're afraid," I sighed with relief. My vampire genes did me no favor with the wolves, and I knew that. Half of me was their mortal enemy; I was surprised Jake had even left me here alone. But my genes could be overlooked, especially with his undeniable imprint. That would always keep me safe.

"Oh, not afraid. Never afraid of your kind," she answered, the smirk still on her lips. "I suggest you eat, Mrs, before they return. Jacob has quite a bit to catch you up on."

She turned to leave again, and I saw the child peeking her head around the corner of what must be the kitchen door. She grinned at me. "Mama-"

"Quiet, Bess," she shushed, pulling the girl with her. They both disappeared around a corner, leaving me alone on the floor of a strange house.

The food was delicious. Bacon, eggs in a red sauce, and a thick slice of buttered bread. It took me less than a moment to place the tingly flavor of the sauce; squirrel blood. Hardly filling, but, after a few days with nothing, I almost asked for another helping. I was dying for anything with a pulse right now.

The child came in and took my plate when I was finished, her inquisitive eyes boring into me the entire time. I smiled carefully and she scurried away. What had her mother told her about me?

As soon as the little girl, Bess, vanished again, a howling rang through the house. I heard paws slamming into the ground, growls turning into chortles, and the sound of fabric ripping from being tugged on too hard. Though the voices were different, it was a familiar chorus I knew only too well from spending time with Jacob and his pack in Forks.

Whatever wolves lived here were home.

I went over to the window, looking hopefully out into the bright green foliage. Shadows of men danced in an afternoon sunlight, shoving each other and becoming one with the house as their din moved inside. I whipped around, collecting my backpack and standing nervously against the wall as a dozen men froze in the doorway.