Chapter 6 - Gift

Carlisle had taken Bronte upstairs with Esme for a chat and a general check.  Bronte went willingly, she seemed comforted by being surrounded by her kind but Jacob was furious when Carlisle told him to stay downstairs.

“Who does he think he is?” He huffed from the bottom of the stairs as he paced up and down.

“A doctor” I replied, “Jake get a grip, what do you think he is doing? Its important for Bronte to get what she needs, physically and mentally...” Though I didn’t really know what Carlisle and Esme had to check out myself, Vampires were pretty strong after all.  I looked up quizzically at Edward, who said “They need to find her gift, in case she doesn’t realise how to source it and therefore hurts someone”

Alice was staring into space, “Puppies!” She shouted and then looked back at her feet, “Sorry! Emily, of La Push, has some news... she’ll tell him later...”

Jacob stared at her for a minute, “This is a madhouse, I’m going for a run” and with that he phased, shaking his shaggy black fur, raising his hackles and leaving the house like a horse out of a gate.  He had disappeared into the forest before I got his name out of my mouth.

“He is so touchy’, Alice said, looking up the stairs where all the doors were closed, “Three, two, one...” The door opened and Esme emerged, talking to herself under her breath, “Amazing, wonderful stuff...”

She was down the steps in a flash and looked surprised at Jacobs absence, Edward answered her minds question, “He had to let off some steam” He told her.  

“I see” She said.

Then Edward shook his head in desbelief, “Really? She can do that? Brilliant”

I was curious, “What? What can she do?”

Edward smiled, “She can spike!”

“Spike?”

“Yeh its like what I do, only the opposite, a head game, amazing.  Jacob said she was stubborn alright, seems to go hand in hand!”

“How do you mean the opposite of what you do?”

Edward pointed at his temple, “She can tell you what you think... kind of similar to what Jasper does but more specific, Jasper can make you feel a certain way but spiking, well it is more precise, Bronte could influence what you choose to wear, for example, or what you think of her...”

Esme butted in, “She doesn’t really realise she can so it yet, though so don’t worry about being exposed, Carlisle will help her harness it, at the moment it is only really manifesting itself when she is frightened... and of course Bella, you won’t be affected anyway, We discovered it when Carlisle needed to extract some of her venom and when she saw the diamond needle, well her human memory of pain made her tell him he didn’t need to do it, he actually stopped in his tracks and couldn’t make up his mind for a minute... It was very comical.  We twigged it then, the battle in his head was coming from Bronte”

“That’s scary!” I didn’t like the sound of that at all.

“You won’t be affected though Bella, love” Edward coaxed me to his side with his voice and cuddled me into his icy body.  I shivered.

“Yeh but you might be...” 

“No because I can see her thoughts and she will think before she does it...” He grinned.

“Oh of course!” That relaxed me a bit, my paranoias had ran wild for a minute, imagining Bronte convincing Edward he didn’t love me anymore.

Jacob suddenly burst in, “Where is she?” He growled, having phased back only a second ago.

“She is fine” Esme calmed him, “A lovely girl, you were right to save her Jacob”

“I had to, I had no choice” He was gruff, “Is that husband of yours done?”

“Pretty much” Edward answered instead, hearing Carlisles thoughts. “They are now, Bronte is happy Jacob, nothing to stress over, I’m amazed you don’t trust us by now”

“Yeh well I don’t” snapped Jacob but his face showed he didn’t really mean that.

Carlisle led Bronte down the stairs then, and nodded at Jacob.  “She’ll be fine, we’re happy to have her here Jacob”

“Thank you.” Jacob said humbly, taking Bronte into a huge hug and kissing the top of her head.  I noticed she wrinkled her nose a bit at his doggy scent, and I suppressed a chuckle.  

Edward saw it too, “Bronte thinks you need cologne Jacob” He said.

Even Bronte giggled at that remark, her natural repulsion to werewolves being over ridden by her need for Jacob.  

When Jacob was leaving I walked him out, “You’ve done the right thing Jacob” I said patting his enormous shoulder as he walked down the steps in front of me.  

“Bella...” Jacob stopped and turned around, the different steps we were on allowing us to be face to face for once.

“Yes Jake?”

“I didn’t understand...” He squeezed the bridge of his nose, and I wondered was he on the verge of tears, “Before... you know with you and Edward, I didn’t get it, but now....”

“It is possible to love a vampire” I put my hand on his heart, which raced along like I remembered, “Jacob I loved Edward, so I didn’t, I don’t care what differences we have, he is a good man and I love him.  I loved him the same before I knew what he was, and I love him more now.”

“I didn’t understand” Jacob said, “but I do now, I’m sorry Bella” He phased then and with a last glance upwards to where Bronte stood in the balcony, he ran into the forest.