Red Room ₪ Breaking Dawn Fanfiction

𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

Chapter Nine — 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

"Everything grows rounder and wider and weirder, and I sit here in the middle of it all and wonder who in the world you will turn out to be." — Carrie Fisher

"It's time," Billy said, his voice deep and steady, like the wind that rolled in with the waves.

Everyone quickly took their seats on the long driftwood logs surrounding the beach bonfire. I nestled into Embry's side, feeling his warmth seep into me as the flames licked at the sky, casting shadows on everyone's faces. The fire crackled and popped, the scent of smoke mingling with the salty sea air. I could hear the gentle hush of the tide in the background, a rhythmic reminder that the earth kept turning, no matter what secrets were about to be spoken.

Billy cleared his throat, and suddenly it was like someone had flipped a switch. Every laugh, every whisper, every idle noise stopped. The pack had gathered from every wolf, every mate, even the elders and the youngest among us. Silence fell over the circle like a heavy blanket.

"The Quileutes have been a small people from the beginning," Billy began, his eyes reflecting firelight. "And we are a small people still, but we have never disappeared. This is because there has always been magic in our blood."

I leaned forward without realizing it, drawn in by the majestic tone of Billy's voice, like he was unrolling a scroll made of time itself. Beside me, Embry was still, his gaze sharp with reverence.

"It wasn't always the magic of shape-shifting," Billy continued. "That came later. First, we were spirit warriors."

Everyone listened, transfixed, as he painted vivid scenes with his words. He spoke of Utlapa, a traitor among the spirit warriors, who had deceived the great chief Taha Aki and stolen his body. My skin prickled as I imagined the horror. Taha Aki's spirit, bodiless and wandering, unable to return while Utlapa wore his face.

Billy's voice rose with intensity as he told us of the wolf who gave Taha Aki refuge, how their spirits joined and returned to the village to confront the betrayal. When Taha Aki saw Utlapa murder one of his people, his fury transformed the wolf into a man.

That was the birth of the shape-shifters.

Every wolf after that was different, Billy explained, each one's form unique to the shape of their soul. The spirit warriors became protectors, defenders of the tribe, bearing the strength of their ancestors and the fury of the wild.

"Taha Aki lived the span of three old men's lives," Billy said, his voice softer now, more solemn. "He married three wives, but it was the last who was his true spirit mate. When she passed, he gave up his wolf, choosing to die as a man so they could be together in the afterlife."

There was something deeply sacred in the way he spoke of them. I thought of Embry and me, of our bond, of the fragile, and the terrifying joy growing inside me. Could it really be fate? Something written in spirit?

But Billy wasn't finished.

"After Taha Aki gave up his spirit self," he said, "trouble came from the North. Makah women went missing, and fingers pointed at our wolves. But we knew the truth, we shared thoughts. None of us were guilty. Taha Aki sent his eldest son, Taha Wi, to investigate. They followed a sweet, strange scent. Only one brother came back."

I gripped Embry's hand tighter as Billy described Yaha Uta, the son who returned carrying cold, lifeless pieces of something unnatural. A monster. A Cold One.

He described how Yaha Uta tore the vampire apart with his bare hands, but how the corpse reassembled itself until fire was brought to destroy it.

"That was the birth of our second sacred duty," Billy said. "To protect not only our people but all people from the Cold Ones."

The tale became darker. He spoke of the Cold Woman, who was seductive, and terrifying. More beautiful than anything natural. Her scent lured men to their deaths. The tribe lost elders, brothers, sons. Yaha Uta died fighting her. Then Taha Aki, grief-stricken and furious, transformed one last time into a great grey wolf. He battled the creature to a standstill, and it was only the sacrifice of his third wife, her own blood given freely that distracted the Cold Woman long enough for Taha Aki and their sons to destroy her.

I felt tears stinging the back of my eyes.

"She gave her life to save her people," Billy said. "And from that day forward, we remembered not just the warriors, but those who love them. Their strength is no less."

A silence settled when he finished, heavier than before, not of fear or sorrow but of reverence. The flames crackled and popped, and no one spoke for a long moment.

Then, the scent of grilled meat and roasted vegetables reached us, reminding us that life, despite everything, goes on.

People began to rise, murmuring quietly as they moved toward the food. Embry stood, pulling me up with him. I leaned against him, my mind still spinning with the weight of the story, and the future quietly growing inside me.

"Damn, Jacob," Embry muttered beside me.

I turned to see Jacob balancing two heaping plates as he made his way over to where Janiva sat, her belly just beginning to show.

"I have to feed the queen," he called over his shoulder.

I laughed, and Leah came up beside me, brushing a strand of wind-tangled hair behind her ear. "So..." she said under her breath, "do you want to announce it?"

I glanced around. Everyone was eating. Laughing. Relaxed now. It was the right time.

"Announce what?" Sam asked from behind us. Eavesdropper.

I turned and smirked. "Thank you, Sam, for being so noisy."

Embry cleared his throat dramatically and stepped up beside me. Quil and Leah did the same, forming a mini line in front of the fire.

Billy raised an eyebrow. "This can't be good."

Quil grinned wide. "There's nothing like a brand new pair of genes."

Leah and I both groaned.

"What the hell does that even mean?" Paul asked.

Leah didn't wait. "We're pregnant," she said boldly. "Don't be sad for us. It was on purpose."

Gasps. Forks dropped. Even Janiva perked up.

"That's right," I said. "We're expecting."

"Shit just got real," Jared whispered.

"How cute are these parents-to-be?" Embry added with a grin, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

I laughed, blushing as the group exploded into chaotic cheers, questions, and disbelief. It was loud. Messy. Exactly what I'd imagined family would sound like.

Billy smiled faintly, watching from his log. "Seems the spirit of Taha Aki lives on."

And standing there with Embry's arms around me, Leah teasing Quil beside me, and the pack shouting around a fire built on centuries of stories. I believed him.