Chapter 1 " Intro " Kadjka Ika
Billy Black yelled upstairs to his teenage son, “Jacob come down we
need to talk with you.”
“Yah Dad… you need me?” Jake asks as he bounds down the stairs rubbing
sleep out of his eyes. He was a little surprised to find Sam Uley
there with his Dad.
Billy start with, “Jake, son… I know you are still upset by the
choices the Swan girl made…”
Jake interrupts with just the barest hint of hostility in his voice,
“It’s OK Dad. I realized on my run that never cared for me the way I
did for her. She’ll always be my friend no matter how stupid her
decisions.”
Sam interjects, “We all hate seeing her throw her life away on that
lousy bloodsucker.”
Jake acknowledges their acceptance with a nod and asks, “Was there
something else?”
Billy signs heavily before continuing, “Darrell Moonhunter died in an
oil rig explosion two weeks ago.”
His face paling he demands quickly, “Is Dee alright? Is she going to
come home now?”
Sam takes over at the point, “that’s part of what we wanted your
opinion about. Delilah Moonhunter has officially applied to the tribal
council for help in returning to her homeland.”
“Why doesn’t she just come home? She knows she’ll always have a place
to stay.”
“Her step-mother Lorna has her tied up in court over his insurance
settlement and the settlement from the company he worked for. Her
father left papers with his lawyer though stating that in the event of
his untimely death she is to become a ward of the tribe with a council
appointed guardian as she has no close blood relatives,” Sam explains
what he knows.
“Who is she living with then? Cause her step-mother is of the evil
fairy tale variety same with the evil step twins.”
“I’ve gather that from some of the conversations I’ve had with her on
the phone. Billy was telling me you’ve stayed in touch with her can
you tell me what you know?”
Jake grabs a box of pop tarts and pours a large coffee then sits down
heavily at the table, “I know she’s very unhappy there and has been
since her Dad married the witch. She does everything possible to stay
out of the house and spends most weekends camping no matter what the
weather is. She won’t confirm or deny actual abuse but when I was
there a few weeks ago she had bruises and all she would say about them
was shit happens.”
Billy not realizing that Jake had visited when he was running asks,
“How long were you there Jacob?”
Jake gazes unseeing at the wall as he answers, “I kind of lost track
of time when I was running but I am pretty sure I was there with her
for about 2 weeks. She wouldn’t let me leave till I got my head back
on right no matter how nasty I was to her.”
Sam more than a little curious, “Where did you stay when you were there?”
“We camped out; there’s a wilderness area not far from the town she
lives in. She was already camping when I found her and since it was
summer it didn’t conflict with school or anything. It took a bit for
her to get me talking but she finally did… unfortunately I couldn’t
get her to talk to me in return. She was more worried about than
herself or her own situation.”
Billy states with a smile, “I always liked that girl. I am glad you
went to her Jake.”
Sam shakes his head in confusion, “I am glad she helped you too. What
I don’t understand is why they let her camp with someone they barely
know for two weeks alone.”
Embry who had been listening at the door not wanting to interrupt what
could have been an important discussion pushes the door open and
explains, “When her Dad is out on the rig her step-mother is in
charge. She absolutely hates Dee and mostly ignores her existence
except to have her be Cinderella.”
Billy asks confused, “Cinderella?”
Embry explains quietly, “Cook, clean, laundry, errands, grass,
gardening, dishes… you know all the chores it takes to run a house.
They treated her worse than a slave unless she left on one of her
camping trips which her Dad had given her open permission to do so
long as she didn’t miss school. I think the evil twins would use her
as a punching bag sometimes too but I’m not positive. She usually
clams up when that topic comes around. Since Darrell was away for
months at a time she spent a lot of time camping. The evil step-mom
and the terror twins are afraid of grass and trees so they never even
attempted to go.”
Jake asks curiously, “How do you know all this?”
Embry pulls out his little pay as you go cell phone and holds it up,
“I use this. I sent her one too. I talk to her at least once a week. I
was talking to her when she got word of her Dad… it was really bad. I
started to go to her but then we had the attack from that coven and I
couldn’t. IT was a hard decision and I honestly don’t know if I made
the right choice.”
Jake throws an arm around his best friends in comfort, “Dee wants to
come home.”
“What’s stopping her… if it’s the steps we should just go get her?”
Sam interjects, “She’s 16 and is tied up in court over the insurance
settlement and payoff from the oil company. Darrell left the bulk of
his life insurance to his one blood relation but Lorna seems to think
she should get it as his wife. He left a will so she’s going to have
to prove her claim.”
Embry asks, “You said bulk does that mean that there were other
beneficiaries?”
Billy answers, “Darrell left $10,000 to Lorna, $5,000 to Edgar and
$3,000 to Melissa and the rest to Delilah which is something in the
neighborhood of $850,000 and that is just the life insurance. The
settlement from the oil company is in the millions.”
Sam adds, “She needs a guardian before the Texas legal system will let
her come home; mostly because of her step-mother and the money. She’s
asked the elders to find someone for her.”
Sam looks worried as Embry gets that certain look in his eyes, “Sam
why don’t you and Emily do it? She isn’t a troublemaker she’s a
helpful giving person.”
Sam frowns at the suggestion, “I don’t think that’s a great idea Embry
what with our furry condition and the service we provide… she’d get
caught in the middle.”
Jake shakes his head laughing softly to himself before stating
emphatically, “There is no way to keep her out of the wolf business
Sam. She knows and has known about them for a while.”
Sam shocked demands, “What do you mean Jake? Explain…”
“She phased the first time when she was 13. Leeches are thick in Texas
for some reason.”
“Did she explain how it happened? How she handled it?”
Jake nods and passes a pop tart to Embry as he explains, “She was on
her way home from school it was very late and well after dark. She had
to pass through a horrible neighborhood, that’s where two leeches
attacked her. The way she describes it they hurt her pretty bad but
then started arguing over who would finish her off… between pain and
anger all she clearly remembers is exploding then having four legs;
really strong legs with sharp deadly claws and sharp teeth and strong
jaws. She tore them to bits. When there was nothing left she phased
back to human, stole some clothes off of a clothes line and called me.
At first she wouldn’t say much she just cried and cried. Remember Dad
that night she called at 10 or 11pm and was so hysterical you couldn’t
understand her. She kept asking about the legends and you ended up
telling them all to her over the speaker phone.”
“I wondered about that, I just thought she was going through a real
ruff bout of homesickness.”
“Ruff time yes, it would have been easier for her I think if she’d
been here when it happened.”
Sam refilling everyone’s coffee asks, “She figured out how to phase
back and forth quickly? And how to fight?”
Jake replies thoughtfully, “She phased back right after the fight
before going home. I’d forgotten about that she did it within hours
and right after a fight too. She can easily switch back and forth now
and without the huge explosion. She hardly ever destroys clothes. I
guess she uses instinct and experience to fight. She wins and they
die. When I was out there she showed me some of what she’s figured
out. The phasing without exploding is really hard but once you get the
concept down it’s as easy as breathing. One thing I figured out though
is she’s kind of like Sam.”
Surprised Sam asks, “Like me how?”
“When she flat out gives and order… you have no choice but to obey it.”
Embry asks curiously, “How did you figure this out Jake?”
Looking a little ashamed of his past behavior he explains, “When I ran
she heard everyone all the comments, suggestions, the begging, and
pleading. Then she heard Sam tell everyone to give me some space so
she tuned out everything closed off her thoughts and just listened to
mine. After a week or two of my destructive circular thinking she
ordered me to come to her. I really didn’t even think about how I
could be hearing her while in wolf form. She just kept talking to me
and talked me right into her camp. That’s when I realized that she was
a wolf too and that I was in big trouble.”
Sam demands harshly, “Why were you in trouble? Did she attack you?”
Looking more than a little bit sheepish, “I was in trouble because
she’d listened to all my thoughts and seen all my memories of what had
happened and she forced me to face the truth of the entire situation.
Under very different circumstances Bella and I could have been a
forever thing but not under ANY of the circumstances we’d experienced.
She’d basically imprinted on that leech Edward the minute she saw him
and after that there was really no saving her.”
After pausing to collect his thoughts and get some more food, “I
wanted to be her hero and in a way I was. I helped bring her back to
life after that bastard left her, she was dieing inside but that
wasn’t the basis for a long lasting relationship. Now that I am not
obsessed I just feel like I’ve lost a very close friend or maybe a
sister.”
He grinned, “Working it out was hard though and included a lot of
yelling and screaming. She forced me to learn control like you’ve
never seen before too. It was scary for me at how close she’d let me
get to ripping her face off before she’d lay me out; and believe me
she laid me out. She may not be big and scary as us but she’s damned
fast and strong without the huge musculature. She healed me like no
one else could have.”
Billy asks suddenly, “How did you when you were with her?”
“Being with her felt like being home and with family; it felt safe and
right.”
Billy thinking out loud says, “Your heart and soul were bleeding holes
and she healed you. She must be she has to be Kadjka Ika.”
Sam asks worried at Billy’s inattention, “Kadjka Ika? World Heart
what’s that?”
“It would mean she’s the Heart and Soul of the Pack or Medicine Woman
to use an old term maybe even a healer. When and if she imprints
she’ll likely have two mates. The histories say that most of them did.
In matters of tribe and life she’s equal to the pack leader and in
more than once case was often mated to him, but in matters of war she
is third.”
Jake a little frustrated, “Dad you’ve never mentioned a female leader
before in any of the legends.”
“Because there was no evidence of the Kadjka Ika existing; without her
I am forbidden from tell that part of the legends. Its part of being
the keeper Jake there are many legends that never get told expect to
the next keeper because the circumstances never arose. She should have
phased here had that happened Sam’s change and all of yours would have
been much easier. I’d forgotten her blood line.”
He reaches out to Sam, “We must go through all the histories again to
make sure no one is overlooked again. She has the blood of 3 wolf
lines and 2 Kadjka Ika. I should have known.”
Jake moves quickly to his Dad putting his arm around him, “Dad calm
down… its OK. She’s Ok. The entire situation was completely
unexpected. No one expected the pack to live again. The fact that we
were able to figure out anything and become as good as we are is
because of your dedication.”
Billy suddenly grabs Sam’s arm, “You must go get her tonight. You
can’t delay. The cold-one’s will start sensing her power they will try
to make her one of them so they can tame her magic. It won’t work it
will kill her or twist her into something truly terrifying and totally
evil. You must get her home she needs to be safely inside the boundary.”
Embry pushes a couple buttons on the phone then raises it to his ear,
“Dee… you sound strange are you Ok?”
They all faintly hear a hoarse female voice, “No damn-it I am not
alright. I am absolutely horrible if you really want to know.”
“What happened?”
“The stupid freaking cold hearted bitch just had to do something even
stupider than usual. She became one of them Embers…the enemy. I left,
Oh tell Jake he can expect a few boxes by UPS probably tomorrow �" it’s
everything I own in the world.”
Jake grabs the phone, “Dee, Honey where are you right now?”
“Jakey is that you…”
Blushing a little at the nickname he demands, “Yes it’s me now tell me
where you are?”
She inquires cautiously, “What’s wrong Jake besides the obvious?”
He growls out again the rumble coming from deep in his chest, “Where
are you right now?”
With a heavy sign, “Owyhee.”
“IS that an actual place?”
“Yeah it’s on the Duck Valley Reservation. The town is in Nevada but
most of the reservation is in Idaho.”
Billy pulls an atlas off the book shelf and starts looking through it
then glances up at Sam point out where she was located. Sam thinks for
a moment calculating the amount of time it would take to run or drive
there.
“Jake you and Embry run and meet with her there.” He states as he
takes the phone from Jake.
Sam commands, “Delilah you are to stay on that reservation in a
populated place until Jake and Embry get there which at full speed
shouldn’t take more than 3 or 4 hours. Now tell me did you drive or
run there?”
She hesitantly answers a scared tremor in her voice, “I drove I
couldn’t leave my truck there it was the last thing Daddy ever gave
me. What’s wrong and who is this?”
She gets a little more hysterical and cries out, “Jake, Embry what’s
going on?”
Sam realizing that he’s scared her calms down and explains, “Delilah…
Dee it’s Sam. I’m sorry I scared you. We’ve figured out some things
about you that mean you are in even more danger than we originally
thought. Jake and Embry are already on their way there please just
wait for them and continue your drive here.”
“You ordered me Sam and for some reason I feel that I’ve got no choice
but to wait for them. I’m guessing by the feeling that I have that you
are my alpha in this situation. It’s a very unusual feeling for me as
I’ve never had anyone able to make me listen before.”
Sam smirks at the odd tone in my voice, “I’m going to amend those
orders a little just incase trouble finds you there. Stay and wait for
Embry and Jake but if you should come under attack by leeches leave
everything and run as fast and as hard as you can for La Push we’ll
meet you along the way. The Pack and I will be listening to make sure
you aren’t in trouble. How’s that sound?”
With a hesitant small laugh she replies, “I wasn’t exactly complaining
Sam. I was just worried about the possibility of an attack. This place
has a set boundary I can feel it but I don’t know if they have any
warriors to protect it. Just so you know for sure… I’ll wait. I could
use the rest anyhow since I’ve been driving straight for 17 hours.
Tell the guys that there is a small hotel here in Owyhee called the
Cougar’s Rest I’ll be there. They should ask for Dee Dee Hunter, not
Delilah and not Moonhunter.”
“Keep your phone handy and I’ll be sure to tell them. Don’t answer the
door for anyone but them. I know you can fight and aren’t weak but…”
“I understand Sam. You guys are the protectors and you feel the need
to be my big brother right now and protect me. I’m cool with that
really I am. I’ll be good I promise. Oh were you able to find someone
to be my guardian? I think they may need to contact the Texas child
services and police to let them know I’ve been relocated.”
“Yeah Billy and I are going to be your joint guardians.”
“Just as well I get use to listening to you then isn’t it? I’m glad
Sam. I trust Billy and I’ve come to like you from the conversations
we’ve had and the memories from Jake.”
“Go get some sleep Dee. I’ll be listening.”
A/N: This is my first Twilight based fan-fiction so tell me is it
good? bad? strange? Mediocre? I plan on continuing so don’t worry
about that but I am curious.
Kadjka Ika is a word I made up it means basically World Heart or Heart
of the World… in pack language it would mean Heart or Soul of the Pack
I am not and never will be a review whore but I do appreciate those
constructive and encouraging ones that I do get… so thanks in advance.
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