Call of the Heart // Paul Lahote

XVIII

The pack's eyes flickered to watch Elizabeth's reaction when Jake got back with Bella. Paul's hand resting on Elizabeth's back in a comforting manner and Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the boys.

"Sorry for my, uh, behavior earlier, Bella." Elizabeth spoke up, her twinkling eyes meeting Bella's dull and confused ones.

"Sorry for slapping you in the face." Bella nodded, making Elizabeth and the boys chuckle.

"How's the hand doing?" Elizabeth grinned and Bella frowned, looking down at her bruised hand. Emily already handing her an ice pack.

"Listen, Bella told me some stuff. Apparently the redhead is trying to seek revenge for her mate, it's just that her mate isn't the guy Elizabeth killed the other day. According to Bella, the Cullens got to her mate before they left and for some reason the redhead's after Bella now." Jake spoke up and Elizabeth cocked her head at the pale girl standing next to him in confusion.

"She's just a girl." Jared commented, voicing the Pack's thoughts.

"Regardless. Now that we know what the bitch is after, we're better prepared for when she returns." Elizabeth spoke up and Sam nodded at her.

"I think it'd be better if Bella hung around La Push more." Jake said and Elizabeth snorted.

"You saw what just happened. If any of us are pushed over our limits, Bella could be seriously hurt, Jake." Elizabeth sent an apologetic look at Bella, who nodded at her in understanding.

Jake was about to argue with Elizabeth, but Sam wasn't having any of it. He moved from his position next to Emily and the pack turned to him, silently waiting for him to speak up.

"Bella, Jake and Elizabeth are both right, but what matters is what you choose to do. If there's another place, a place where you feel safest? But you need to consider all your options carefully." Sam told her sternly.

Everyone shifted their gaze to Bella, waiting for her decision. Once she decided, they could form some kind of plan.

"I don't want to lead her anywhere else. What about Charlie?" Bella immediately stated.

"Harry and Billy will keep him wandering around the area whenever he's not at work." Sam told her, assuring her that her father would be just fine. "We'll be changing our patterns." Sam turned back to the pack. "We'll leave a few holes and see if she falls for it."

"We'll have to split up and I don't like that. Paul, Jared and Embry will take the outer perimeter and Jake, Ellie and I will take the inner. We'll collapse in when we've got her trapped." Sam explained and Elizabeth shared a look with Paul, they'd both be worrying about the other.

Jake took Bella back to his house, where she'd be spending the rest of the day while the pack started going on their new patrols. They weren't worried the redhead would be back yet, they chased her far away last time.

When night fell and Bella went home, Sam ordered Elizabeth and Jared to take watch outside her house. It was going to be a long night.

And so days passed, each one a little more exhausting than the last, the pack more focused now than ever since they finally knew the redhead's intentions.

She came back regularly, but stayed close to where the hunters and Charlie were walking, knowing the wolves would have to risk exposing themselves if they got too close.

When she suddenly got her hands on Harry Clearwater though, they felt like they had no choice but to intervene. She dropped Harry and took off running, Elizabeth was closing in on her, but the redhead always stayed out of reach and before they realized it, she had jumped off the cliff and stayed underneath the water. The wolves knew they couldn't wait her out and Elizabeth was already muttering a string of profanities.

They started retreating back to Emily's when two things caught their attention. One, they heard the chatter in the woods about Harry Clearwater getting a heart attack and passing away, to which they all let their heads hang in guilt. Two, they heard another body colliding with the angry waves as Bella's screams filled the silence in the area.

And so, as Jake instantly went on a run towards the cliff, Sam sent the rest of them to go help out at Harry's. Elizabeth was all too familiar with losing a father to a bloodsucking devil and the moment Sue Clearwater's eyes landed on her, she broke down in her arms.

The boys did whatever they were told to do, not knowing what to say or how to act. They all felt the sadness and loss that Harry had left behind and it was taking its toll on all of them.

"Ellie, Leah and Seth haven't left their rooms since this happened." Sue whispered to Elizabeth the next day, the latter frowned at the usually cheery woman.

"I'll try and talk to them." Elizabeth assured her, already making her way upstairs, the familiar hallway guiding her to Leah's room first.

"Go away." Leah snapped when she heard her door being opened and Elizabeth felt even more guilty than before. She could have saved him.

"I hope you didn't expect me to tell you that it gets better." Elizabeth's voice was soft and her words caught Leah's attention, she turned towards her cousin with tears threatening to spill in her eyes.

"You seem to be over it." Leah bit, but the anger wasn't showing in her eyes, just sadness.

"You'll always feel this hole, this empty space inside your chest that you'd reserved especially for your dad. It doesn't go away, it doesn't become less of a pain. You just get used to it, you get used to this constant feeling of missing him and wanting to be able to talk to him, hold him, one last time. So you try to distract yourself. You try to replace this sad feeling with happy ones." Elizabeth explained, moving closer to Leah until her cousin collapsed in her arms and she gently stroked her hair to comfort her. "You're right. I do seem better. Surrounding myself with people that make me extremely happy has had that effect on me, without them, I'd be a mess right now. You have those people too, Leah, you have your mom, Seth, me."

Leah responded by squeezing Elizabeth's hand softly and sobbing silently, her head resting on Elizabeth's shoulder. At the mention of his name, Seth walked in the room, his eyes red and his face wet with tears and Elizabeth smiled softly at him, opening her free arm widely and he quickly snuggled close to her, clinging to her for support.

The boys helped prepare for the funeral and Elizabeth was dismissed from most of her patrol duties to make sure the Clearwaters were doing alright. Leah and Elizabeth were closer than ever before, bonding over things they'd never imagined they'd ever be bonding over. Seth wouldn't leave Elizabeth's side at all, most nights, she would sleep on a cot next to his bed because he could only sleep when he was holding her hand in his. Of course Paul wasn't too pleased he had to share his girlfriend with a fourteen year old.

Elizabeth had caught on to the rapid changes in both Leah and Seth, their temperatures rose every time someone told them how sorry they were about their father even though they hadn't really known him. Their eyes darkening and their hands shaking when yet another look filled with pity was sent their way.

On the day of the funeral, the Clearwater house filled with people who barely knew Harry, Leah and Seth were both pushed over their limits and Elizabeth and the boys quickly guided them outside unnoticed, taking them straight to the safety of the woods and watched, yet again, how people had to withstand an insufferable amount of pain only to be scared and confused when they found themselves on four paws, covered in fur.

A few days later, Quil shifted for the first time as well. The pack was overloaded with work as they tried to manage school, teaching three new wolves, trying to keep all the humans safe and hunting a redheaded leech. Somewhere along the line, Bella had left with one of the Cullens, turning Jake into a mess. They barely had any time left to sleep and when someone spotted them in their human form, they'd frown.

What happened to the once inhumanly attractive people?

—————

Don't forget to vote!