Damaged. // Jasper Hale

Chapter 38

"Hey Seth" I said wrapping my arms around him in a hug as he walked over to the fire pit. "Hey Ell. Long time no see" He said after pulling away. "Yeah it has been" I replied as we walked over to Sues car grabbing the food out. I checked the time and saw it was 7:30. I reached in and grabbed the burgers and walked down placing them on a fold out table.

After all the food was there more people started showing up. "Hey Ell" I heard a deep voice say and saw Paul standing there. "Hey Paul" I said giving him a brief hug. "How have you been?" He asked as he munched on a burger. "I've been good. You?" I asked and he nodded before swallowing his food. "I've been good. Rachel visited 2 days ago but left yesterday for college" He said and I smiled.

"Awww" I said. "Yeah. Not to sound rude or anything but why are you here?" He asked and I looked around. "Sam said it was ok that I come" I replied and he nodded. "Cool. Those burgers are so good" He said digging into a second one and I giggled. "Well you can thank Emily and Sue for that. I only cut the buns" I said and he nodded.

"These are cut perfectly" He complimented and I burst out laughing. Just behind Paul I saw Leah sitting on a log by the now lit fire. "Excuse me a moment" I said before walking past him to Leah. "Hey" I said sitting down beside her and she turned to me. "Hey" She said bluntly before staring into the fire again.

"Leah, I'm so sorry about Harry" I said and she didn't say anything. "Why do you date him?" She said bitterly as she glared into the fire. "W-What?" I stuttered confused. "That leech. Why do you date him?" She said again before turning to me. "Leah you don't know what you're talking about" I said and she scoffed.

"Oh please cut the damn act. He's nothing but a monster" She said standing up and I glared as I stood up too. "What is your problem?!" I snapped, my temper rising. "Woah is everything ok here?" Embry asked walking over. "You're dating one of them! A monster that kills people!" She snapped at me and I shook my head. "You wouldn't understand Leah!" I snapped back.

"How can you even stand to be with him?! He's not even alive!" She snapped. "At least I have someone and I'm not moping over someone that doesn't want me!" I spat back but gasped when I realised what I had just said. Before I knew it Leah's hand connected with my face sending me to the ground.

"Leah Clearwater!" Sue snapped walking over but Leah just turned and walked away as I held my cheek. "Are you ok Ell?!" Seth said as he ran to my side acting as if I'd been shot. "Yeah. I'm fine. I had that coming" I said feeling bad. "She is dead" Seth said about to go after her when I grabbed his arm.

"Don't Seth. It was my fault. I said something I shouldn't have" I said and he sighed. "As long as you're ok" Seth said and I nodded. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jake and Bella walk over. "I'm going to go say hi to Jake" Seth said excitedly before walking over. "You ok Ell?" Embry asked and I nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine" I replied and he nodded.

"Don't mind Leah. She's been bitter ever since she phased" He said and I shook my head. "No, she wasn't always like that. She used to be so sweet" I said and he sighed. I sat down and he sat beside me. I looked around and saw everyone. "So what is this exactly?" I asked turning to him. "A council meeting. Billy his going to be telling stories for the new comers Leah, Seth and Quil. The leaders are Billy, Quils grandpa and Sue. She filled in for Harry after he died" Embry explained and I nodded.

"Oh, he's about to start" Embry said referring to Billy and I turned to Billy listening as he spoke. "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. One day our warriors came across a creature...

"It looked like a man, but it was hard like stone, and cold as ice... 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. She took her vengeance out 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's Third Wife could sees that he would lose... The Third Wife was no magical being, no special powers, but one... Courage. The Third Wife's sacrifice distracted the Cold Woman, long enough for Taha Aki to destroy her. She saved the tribe. Over time, our enemies have disappeared. But one remains... The Cold Ones. Our magic awakens when they 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" Billy said as he finished the story.

Victoria instantly flashed through my mind. I ran my hand through my hair as I began to think. Bella and I are the reason everyone sitting around this fire is in danger... I groaned a little as I began to feel nauseous. "Ell are you alright?" Seth asked and I looked up before nodding. "Yeah I'm fine" I replied giving him a reassuring smile.

But everything wasn't fine. It was far from it. Until Victoria is a pile of Ash, no one is safe...