Equinox

What's Up, Duck?

Jacob talked for a long time. He told her about the legends of the Quileute tribe regarding shapeshifters that could turn into wolves. He told her about his ancestor encountering and destroying a Cold One. He told her about his great-grandfather making a treaty with a clan of Cold Ones that resided in Forks that only fed on animals. A few weeks ago, she wouldn't have believed a word he said. She would have been respectful and accepting as she always tried to be but deep down she'd find the stories fanciful. She knew better now.

"The wolf I saw last night was a shapeshifter, wasn't it?" She questioned. "Like the ones in the legends?"

"Yes. Turns out they weren't just stories," He sighed, taking a seat on the couch. "Sam Uley was the first to shift two years ago."

She concluded, "Just as the Cullens moved to Forks."

"Or moved back," He countered. "You know what they are."

She took the seat beside him on the couch, feeling drained. She felt immense relief of finally not being the only one that knew, at finally not being alone with this knowledge of the supernatural. She felt like she could breathe again instead of being afraid to speak a word lest her tongue slip. She wished she spoke to Jacob sooner.

"How many are there?'

"Not that many," Jacob replied. "Since the Cullens left, there haven't been any more shifts. It's their presence that caused all of it."

She remembered seeing Jacob and his friends at La Push all those weeks ago and realized it wasn't puberty alone that caused these boys to get so tall and muscular. Whether it was magic or genetics or a mix of both, she didn't know. She should've been afraid that werewolves, like vampires, were real. She found herself too numb from the past week.

"Who was the wolf from last night?"

"Seth Clearwater," Jacob groaned, exasperated.. "He's new at it so he doesn't have the best control yet. He ran into a tree while doing his rounds. Damn puppy."

The name sounded familiar. She remembered that the man who died in the woods was named Clearwater too.

"Is he the son of Harry Clearwater?"

"Yes," Jacob nodded, gravely. "Seth shifted after his dad died. It can be triggered by strong emotions."

That poor boy had to lose his father and his body became a stranger to him. She couldn't imagine what it would be like. It must be painful to remake and remold your body into another form. And she thought puberty was hard.

Still, there was one concern she needed to clarify. Because there was a pack of werewolves in town then it wasn't a big jump to a conclusion she hoped was wrong. She didn't want to think the nice boys at La Push were murderers. Then again, she thought the same about the Cullens.

"The people that were killed, was that-"

"Not us," He cut her off. "We protect people. We don't harm them."

"Then who?" She demanded. "Who murdered them?"

"Vampires," He shook his head at her expression. "Not the Cullens. They were new ones that came into town last week, two men and a woman."

She clenched her fists, nails biting into her palms as she absorbed the information. She had been torturing herself with guilt that she had been playing nice with murderers. And all this time, it hadn't been them. She didn't know how to feel.

"We chased them out of La Push territory but they got to the coach before we could stop them," He closed his eyes, guilty at his failure. "They left town the same time as the Cullens."