The Heat of You
by Wizardtho
Chapter 21:
Bella Pov
Paul and I ended up changing for bed, him in boxers and me in a tank/short set, before crawling into bed and curling up together. We didn’t even want the blanket, so we just ended up with the sheet covering us. With one of my legs between his and my cheek against his chest, Paul and I fell asleep quickly.
I didn’t wake until I heard my phone going off. The display said Dad, and it was only 7 am.
Fuck, really? Sleeeeeeep.
I answered the phone, my voice still groggy, causing Dad to curse, “Shit, Bells. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. Did you have a bad night?”
I rolled over, then felt Paul moving with me before he kissed the back of my shoulder. “Yeah, Dad. I’ll explain it all when you come for dinner. Are you still coming today?”
He chuckled, “That’s why I was calling… to make sure you still wanted me to come today.”
I nodded as I rubbed my eyes, “Yeah, of course, Dad. We’ll see you at normal time. Stay safe today.”
He hummed in reply, “Always, Bells. You, too.”
I hung up and dropped my phone back on the nightstand, groaning, “It’s only 7. If you want to sleep a bit more, I won’t hold it against you.”
He pulled me back against his chest, hummed into my neck, then shook his head slightly. “No. Time for us to get started. We have a long day ahead of us. I could feel how much you wanted to go on the leech hunt with me. I’m determined to have you ready -able to kick anyone’s ass and be prepared for that type of hunt- before Sam wants to test you. Let’s eat, then we’ll start training you to shift on command. The faster you are able to shift from one form to another, the better position you’ll be in when it comes to a fight. Once you have that down, we can progress to moves you can use to attack in wolf form.”
I nodded, then turned in his arms, resting my hand on his cheek. I placed my lips against his for a soft kiss, then said softly, “Thank you… for last night. It really did help. I’m not perfect, but the feeling… it’s not lingering in my mind like it was last night. It’s there, but it’s locked away in a corner of my mind. Does that make sense?”
He nodded, “It makes more sense than you realize, Sweetheart. That’s exactly how it is with my brokenness. As time goes on, you’ll learn how to keep anything you don’t want the whole pack to know behind locked spaces in your mind.”
After a second, he turned enough to kiss my palm, then patted my hip above the sheet. “Go get dressed. I’ll start coffee. It would be easiest if you only put on something you could slip on and off easily, like a sundress. Remember that you have to take what you’re wearing off before phasing, or it’ll end up as shreds of fabric in the yard. We’ll be phasing back and forth all day, so the simpler the better.”
*********
The first several times I phased, it was disorienting. When I phased back, I ended up on wobbly, unstable legs. I did get pointers through the mind link from Jared and Embry, who were both eager to have me run with them. I promised I would at some point soon, then Paul urged me to get back down to business.
By the 10th time, I had phasing from human to wolf back to human down pat. Paul suggested seeing how fast I could make the shift, now that I had gotten the hang of what it took to make it happen. “Okay. The fury, the loathing, all those feelings you get when you have a memory. Did you make a place for them to live in your mind like I suggested before?”
I nodded quickly, offering, “The spaces are touching. My wolf seems to want them. She keeps trying to get to them.”
Paul said without pause, “That’s perfect. Now… I’m going to give you space. When I blow the whistle, I need you to let your wolf get to those feelings. Drop the block between their spaces as fast as you can, Swan. Got it?”
I nodded, my eyes closed. I could feel Paul release me, then heard his feet in the grass, leaving me alone in the center of the backyard. Deep breaths in and out, I waited for the whistle. When it sounded, I didn’t even have to picture the barrier coming down. It just did.
Before I realized it, I was landing on 4 ivory paws as Paul let out a chuckle, “Fuck, you’re fast. The sound of the whistle hadn’t even finished before you were phasing. Okay. I think you’ve got that part down pat. Let’s take this to the next step. Phasing on the run. Would you rather grab clothes and ruin them for this test or go as you are?”
I felt the warm vibrating sensation as I thought of calming things, then when I felt grass under my two human feet, I offered, “Um… no need to change the pattern. We’ve been working with me being nude practically all morning. We’re sticking to our normal paths, right?”
He nodded, “Yep. I’m right behind you.”
******
Phasing in the air while running wasn’t exactly as easy as it sounded. The timing needed to be right, or your body could land mid-phase. Since my phasing was so fast, it needed to be timed so I dropped the wolf/rage barrier on my last step before the jump, so I fully became the wolf in mid-air.
It took me most of the afternoon to get it right. I hit the ground mid-phase more than once, and it wasn’t fun. We finally called it when Sam phased in for his shift. He told me I’d done remarkably well today, and to take a break and a nap before patrol tonight.
I slipped my sundress on before smiling up at my mate and walking in through the bedroom door. After brushing my hair, I said, “Help me make dinner. I’m starving, so I know you must be, too.”
He chuckled, “Sure. What are we having tonight?”
I hummed while washing my hands, “You’re going to grill the chicken breasts that are marinating in the fridge. I’m making those chunky baked potato fries I was telling you about with the parmesan cheese on them, and I was going to sauté some brussel sprouts with bacon.”
Paul scowled, “You’re not going to mess up my bacon, are you, Swan? Seriously?”
I shook my head while laughing, “Trust me, Lahote. Think of it as a better way to eat a vegetable you might not like on its own… but when it’s cooked in a bit of bacon grease and has chunks of bacon in it, it tastes a whole hell of a lot better.”
He wrapped his arms around me from behind to kiss his mark on my neck, then hummed, “I guess I can trust you. You haven’t done me wrong so far. Just don’t mess up my bacon.”
I heard a car come down the road, then turn into the long drive. I lifted my head to Paul, asking, “Dad?” At his confirming nod, I had him pull the stuff for dinner from the fridge.
Dad actually lasted the whole way through dinner before he asked me about my bad night. When he finally brought it up, he asked, “So… how bad was last night? What happened… or do you not want to talk about it?”
I shook my head, then took his hand. After letting out a long breath, I said, “I had a new memory nightmare while Paul was on patrol last night. They… they had been preserving my blood that they’d been drawing from me. Edward’s meadow was full of a circle of mirrors, and they poured my own blood all over me. I was soaked it in, so much so that I can still taste it if I think too much about it. I wasn’t allowed to voice my pain or scream or get sick. It was against the rules. The males had me in the center of the circle…”
Charlie’s face was horror-struck, and I could feel my wolf scratching at the barrier, wanting to be released. I tried to roll my neck a bit while taking a slow, deep breath, then confirmed, “It’s what you think, Dad. The last thing I saw was my own eyes looking back at me from the mirror, lifeless and empty.”
While Charlie pulled me up in a tight hug, I whispered too low for him to hear me, “Go grab me another sundress, please.”
Charlie held onto me for a long moment, then pulled back slowly, tear streaks on his face. “Bells, are you running a fever?”
I cupped his cheek for a second with a small smile, then looked at Paul. “Let’s see if I got it right, yet.”
I dashed off the back patio, leaving Charlie confused, until I jumped and phased mid-air, landing on 4 ivory paws in the middle of the backyard. Turning to face my father, his jaw was nearly skimming the patio stone for a full minute before he let out a shaky, “Fucking Hell!”
Bella Pov
Paul and I ended up changing for bed, him in boxers and me in a tank/short set, before crawling into bed and curling up together. We didn’t even want the blanket, so we just ended up with the sheet covering us. With one of my legs between his and my cheek against his chest, Paul and I fell asleep quickly.
I didn’t wake until I heard my phone going off. The display said Dad, and it was only 7 am.
Fuck, really? Sleeeeeeep.
I answered the phone, my voice still groggy, causing Dad to curse, “Shit, Bells. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. Did you have a bad night?”
I rolled over, then felt Paul moving with me before he kissed the back of my shoulder. “Yeah, Dad. I’ll explain it all when you come for dinner. Are you still coming today?”
He chuckled, “That’s why I was calling… to make sure you still wanted me to come today.”
I nodded as I rubbed my eyes, “Yeah, of course, Dad. We’ll see you at normal time. Stay safe today.”
He hummed in reply, “Always, Bells. You, too.”
I hung up and dropped my phone back on the nightstand, groaning, “It’s only 7. If you want to sleep a bit more, I won’t hold it against you.”
He pulled me back against his chest, hummed into my neck, then shook his head slightly. “No. Time for us to get started. We have a long day ahead of us. I could feel how much you wanted to go on the leech hunt with me. I’m determined to have you ready -able to kick anyone’s ass and be prepared for that type of hunt- before Sam wants to test you. Let’s eat, then we’ll start training you to shift on command. The faster you are able to shift from one form to another, the better position you’ll be in when it comes to a fight. Once you have that down, we can progress to moves you can use to attack in wolf form.”
I nodded, then turned in his arms, resting my hand on his cheek. I placed my lips against his for a soft kiss, then said softly, “Thank you… for last night. It really did help. I’m not perfect, but the feeling… it’s not lingering in my mind like it was last night. It’s there, but it’s locked away in a corner of my mind. Does that make sense?”
He nodded, “It makes more sense than you realize, Sweetheart. That’s exactly how it is with my brokenness. As time goes on, you’ll learn how to keep anything you don’t want the whole pack to know behind locked spaces in your mind.”
After a second, he turned enough to kiss my palm, then patted my hip above the sheet. “Go get dressed. I’ll start coffee. It would be easiest if you only put on something you could slip on and off easily, like a sundress. Remember that you have to take what you’re wearing off before phasing, or it’ll end up as shreds of fabric in the yard. We’ll be phasing back and forth all day, so the simpler the better.”
*********
The first several times I phased, it was disorienting. When I phased back, I ended up on wobbly, unstable legs. I did get pointers through the mind link from Jared and Embry, who were both eager to have me run with them. I promised I would at some point soon, then Paul urged me to get back down to business.
By the 10th time, I had phasing from human to wolf back to human down pat. Paul suggested seeing how fast I could make the shift, now that I had gotten the hang of what it took to make it happen. “Okay. The fury, the loathing, all those feelings you get when you have a memory. Did you make a place for them to live in your mind like I suggested before?”
I nodded quickly, offering, “The spaces are touching. My wolf seems to want them. She keeps trying to get to them.”
Paul said without pause, “That’s perfect. Now… I’m going to give you space. When I blow the whistle, I need you to let your wolf get to those feelings. Drop the block between their spaces as fast as you can, Swan. Got it?”
I nodded, my eyes closed. I could feel Paul release me, then heard his feet in the grass, leaving me alone in the center of the backyard. Deep breaths in and out, I waited for the whistle. When it sounded, I didn’t even have to picture the barrier coming down. It just did.
Before I realized it, I was landing on 4 ivory paws as Paul let out a chuckle, “Fuck, you’re fast. The sound of the whistle hadn’t even finished before you were phasing. Okay. I think you’ve got that part down pat. Let’s take this to the next step. Phasing on the run. Would you rather grab clothes and ruin them for this test or go as you are?”
I felt the warm vibrating sensation as I thought of calming things, then when I felt grass under my two human feet, I offered, “Um… no need to change the pattern. We’ve been working with me being nude practically all morning. We’re sticking to our normal paths, right?”
He nodded, “Yep. I’m right behind you.”
******
Phasing in the air while running wasn’t exactly as easy as it sounded. The timing needed to be right, or your body could land mid-phase. Since my phasing was so fast, it needed to be timed so I dropped the wolf/rage barrier on my last step before the jump, so I fully became the wolf in mid-air.
It took me most of the afternoon to get it right. I hit the ground mid-phase more than once, and it wasn’t fun. We finally called it when Sam phased in for his shift. He told me I’d done remarkably well today, and to take a break and a nap before patrol tonight.
I slipped my sundress on before smiling up at my mate and walking in through the bedroom door. After brushing my hair, I said, “Help me make dinner. I’m starving, so I know you must be, too.”
He chuckled, “Sure. What are we having tonight?”
I hummed while washing my hands, “You’re going to grill the chicken breasts that are marinating in the fridge. I’m making those chunky baked potato fries I was telling you about with the parmesan cheese on them, and I was going to sauté some brussel sprouts with bacon.”
Paul scowled, “You’re not going to mess up my bacon, are you, Swan? Seriously?”
I shook my head while laughing, “Trust me, Lahote. Think of it as a better way to eat a vegetable you might not like on its own… but when it’s cooked in a bit of bacon grease and has chunks of bacon in it, it tastes a whole hell of a lot better.”
He wrapped his arms around me from behind to kiss his mark on my neck, then hummed, “I guess I can trust you. You haven’t done me wrong so far. Just don’t mess up my bacon.”
I heard a car come down the road, then turn into the long drive. I lifted my head to Paul, asking, “Dad?” At his confirming nod, I had him pull the stuff for dinner from the fridge.
Dad actually lasted the whole way through dinner before he asked me about my bad night. When he finally brought it up, he asked, “So… how bad was last night? What happened… or do you not want to talk about it?”
I shook my head, then took his hand. After letting out a long breath, I said, “I had a new memory nightmare while Paul was on patrol last night. They… they had been preserving my blood that they’d been drawing from me. Edward’s meadow was full of a circle of mirrors, and they poured my own blood all over me. I was soaked it in, so much so that I can still taste it if I think too much about it. I wasn’t allowed to voice my pain or scream or get sick. It was against the rules. The males had me in the center of the circle…”
Charlie’s face was horror-struck, and I could feel my wolf scratching at the barrier, wanting to be released. I tried to roll my neck a bit while taking a slow, deep breath, then confirmed, “It’s what you think, Dad. The last thing I saw was my own eyes looking back at me from the mirror, lifeless and empty.”
While Charlie pulled me up in a tight hug, I whispered too low for him to hear me, “Go grab me another sundress, please.”
Charlie held onto me for a long moment, then pulled back slowly, tear streaks on his face. “Bells, are you running a fever?”
I cupped his cheek for a second with a small smile, then looked at Paul. “Let’s see if I got it right, yet.”
I dashed off the back patio, leaving Charlie confused, until I jumped and phased mid-air, landing on 4 ivory paws in the middle of the backyard. Turning to face my father, his jaw was nearly skimming the patio stone for a full minute before he let out a shaky, “Fucking Hell!”