sorry this took so long

part 23

When Seth and I got to the Cullen's house, Esme invited him to sit and visit. We both sat on a sofa. Carlisle, Esme, Jasper and Emmett were there while Rosalie came in and out of the garage. Esme, ever the hostess, soon brought out a bowl of tortilla chips already topped with a festive salsa. Seth ate while he watched TV with Jasper. Not wanting to be offensive, I decided to eat five chips, hoping that would be enough. After my first, I started talking with Esme. I was exhausted and couldn't really focus. As I reached into the bowl again, my brain was completely checked out. I took a bite and found myself drinking.

Whatever the drink was, it was warm and soothing and wonderful. I felt like I could drink for an eternity. "Juliet" Carlisle's voice rang out "Juliet, you must stop right now." His voice was urgent and firm. He didn't sound angry, but his voice was very concerned and stern. Something deep inside me wanted to hide from his reproachful tone, but I didn't stop drinking. The source of the drink was pulling away, but I held tight.

It all happened in a matter of seconds. I felt strong hands on me. Then, an instant later, there was another set. I was being pulled and thrown onto the floor. I screamed in pain as my head hit the ground. A load growl sounded. Looming over me were Jasper and Emmett. I caught a quick peek of Seth's bleeding hand before he phased. I was happy that I didn't phase as well, but then realized that would at least give me some defense. I felt Jasper spread calm while Carlisle talked to Seth. "Stop. Now. Do you want to hurt her?" Yep. I was fairly certain the wolf did want to hurt me. I'd bit him. I didn't know why. I felt repulsed thinking I'd sipped his blood. Now he was going to attack me.

To my surprise, Seth backed up at Carlisle's words and whined quietly. "There are some clothes for you in the bathroom. Tee cabinet under the sink. We thought it would be a good idea to keep well stocked" Alice told the werewolf. He retreated. One danger temporarily gone. I glanced at Emmett and Jasper. I hurt so bad.

Jasper looked to be in full soldier mode. Not good. Emmett looked confused. To my dismay, tears streamed down my face as I wondered which one would end my life. Seth was back very quickly with a pair of sweatpants. His terrifying muscles made me shudder. His eyes were the angry. "What the hell were you two thinking?" He yelled. Two? He seemed to be walking more toward Emmett and Jasper than me. Alice and Rosalie were at their husbands' side in an instant. "Watch it dog" Rosalie hissed, but Seth had already started moving toward me. I couldn't even run... not that running would help. I closed my eyes and curled into a ball.

"Juliet? Are you alright? Juliet? Juliet?" He asked urgently. I felt myself being scooped into warmth and held close. Seth raised his hand to strike me and I flinched, but I didn't feel pain. He was simply stroking my tears. His hand was mostly healed where my teeth had somehow managed to break his skin. "Guess you're not venomous" he smiled. "I'm sorry" I offered. It sounded so lame. Oh yeah, I'm so sorry I tried to deprive you of your life's essence. Won't happen again. He stroked my hair gently. His cell phone rang, but I ignored it.

Carlisle was worried about Seth's loss of blood, but Seth seemed unwilling to move. The doctor didn't push the matter. Instead he turned his attention on me. "Are you sure that you are in control of yourself?" he asked me, looking at Seth. I nodded weakly. "I didn't know it was blood. I wouldn't have kept doing it if I knew. At first I thought it was a chip and even when I realized it wasn't, I would never have guessed I'd grabbed Seth's hand." Seth was still holding me. "It's fine. Don't cry. My hand just happened to be grabbing a chip. You probably liked the blood because of the vampire's in the room." His voice was so soothing. "They don't like werewolves though." He laughed. Emmett laughed too. Unbelievable.

Carlisle pulled me out of Seth's arms. The doctor wasn't sure how badly I'd been hurt when the vampires grabbed me off of Seth. I had no broken bones, but massive bruises. My ribs, not entirely healed yet, hurt from being jostled. This angered Seth again and he glared at Emmett and Jasper. I'd just attacked him and he was angry with his saviors? "Look at what you did to her! You could have killed her!" Carlisle stepped in "Seth you know they were only trying to do what was right." To my surprise, Emmett and Jasper both apologized, saying they'd tried to be gentle, but had been too goal-oriented. I said there was nothing to apologize for. It was true.

Before too long, Jacob came by. He opened the door without knocking and looked Seth up and down. "Is your cell phone dead or do you think it's funny to phase with those thoughts and then ignore my call?" He sounded furious. "Oh! Sorry Jake. I forgot I'd ignored it. Won't happen again." Jacob rolled his eyed "It had better not." He growled. Emmett. Now, Jacob seemed more annoyed than angry. I realized it was concern for Seth that made Jacob react the way he had. Then, he saw me. His eyes flew from Seth to me and back.

"What happened?" Jacob asked, kneeling by me. I hung my head. How could I explain? Seth rescued me "Nothing Jake" The two boys looked at each other "Call your sister." Jacob ordered. Seth complied as Jacob started playing with his object of imprintation. "Hey Leah... sorry about that... I'm fine... yep... more or less: bruises, but nothing permanent... later OK?... Bye" He hung up. "I really am sorry Jake." Seth offered. "Overprotective much?" Rosalie asked the Alpha. Renesmee spoke up. She said that because Jacob was the Alpha of the pack, he was like the daddy of the family. He had to make sure everyone was OK. Seth sat next to me "Leah says two catastrophes is enough for the night" he informed me. "Is she mad at me?" I asked. He shook his head.

Renesmee came and grabbed my hand, leading me to a spot by a big wall. She sat me down beside her on the floor and showed me a drawing of the two of us. It was hard to imagine such a small girl being such a skilled artist. I jumped as she placed a hand on my face to get an opinion. I placed my hand on her to tell her it was wonderful. We talked peacefully and she started a new drawing. Before long, we were both nodding off, leaning against the wall. I finally gave up fighting and decided to lay on my arm. As I lowered my hand, I felt something warm and soft. I hadn't realized there was a pillow there. It felt good. Safe.

When I woke up I kept my eyes closed and enjoyed the pillow. It was warm and so very soft, but it felt odd somehow. I felt a bit of something hard. I opened my eyes. A wolf. Not good. I'd even been nuzzling the "pillow". I sat up, not sure what to expect. I recognized the wolf as Seth. He looked happy. "Sorry" I offered. He shook his head and touched my hand with his nose. I wasn't sure what that meant. Next to me, Renesmee was asleep on Jacob, nuzzled deep into his fur. I didn't even know Seth had been near me when I'd fallen asleep.

Edward helped me understand "Seth moved just before your head would have touched the floor. He just asked me to tell you he'd heard that werewolves make good pillows." He smiled "Thank you". I told both the wolf and the translator. I couldn't believe Seth had phased and moved just to be my pillow. "He's spent past hour talking with Jacob" I remembered that the wolves could hear each others thoughts. "It's an odd feeling hearing the conversation without being able to contribute." Edward continued. Emmett scowled. "Or you just spout random phrases. It's irritating to say the least."