Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. All rights belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Summary: Victoria is the one who finds Bella in the meadow. Her appearance is only the catalyst for a series of events that changes things for Bella, Jacob, and nearly everyone they know.

Title: Live Like Legends - Ruelle

A few things before I get started:

1. This is the first time I'm writing in the Twilight universe so please be gentle with me. I'm not a fan of the books after about halfway through New Moon so I never really thought I would write fanfic until now when I decided to go ahead.

2. This is going to be a very different world. You can pretty much disregard any canon events from now on. I will be changing a lot of things while keeping some the same, but this isn't going to be a rewrite of the entire story. It's going to branch out a lot.

3. The entire Quileute/wolf pack thing is going to be a lot different from canon. I'm making changes to fit more within the actual Quileute legends as well as to be more respectful towards the culture. If you have an issue with these changes or merely want to discuss them, feel free to PM me. If there are things that I'm getting wrong, I am open to someone who can talk it through with me and make corrections. I try to do as much research as I can but things might slip past me. I want to be respectful of cultures that aren't mine so please don't hesitate to talk to me about it.

4. I've been writing fanfiction for about ten years so I can tell you for certainty that leaving reviews, even short ones, are sure to help me get more chapters out quickly. Tell me things that you liked, certain lines or scenes. I'm not picky about reviews. They just help keep me going when I get to a place where it's hard to write.

Bella's hands curled into fists as she stumbled into the clearing. Rather than bright, beautiful wildflowers, she was greeted by tall, thick grass. It did nothing to soothe the aching hole in her heart. There was only one benefit to her utter loneliness. No one was there to witness her sink to her knees as she clutched her hand to her chest, closing her eyes against the tears that threatened to fall. There was nothing for her in this place. She could have recalled her memories if she wished, if she wanted the pain that followed. If Jacob had found it with her…

Her heart sunk at the thought of him, filling her with a sense of loss. It was hard not to think that he'd left her behind too, though Bella did come up with every sort of excuse for his sudden absence in her life. He promised her that he would never hurt her. She tried to hold onto that. But, then again, others had made promises to her-promises that were easily broken in an instant. A flash of red on the opposite end of the clearing had Bella scrambling to her feet. Part of her hoped that it was another trick of her mind.

Fear shot through her as she took in the unnatural stillness of the figure. Her pale skin stood out in stark contrast to the fiery tendrils of hair that whipped into the air as a breeze came through the meadow. Bella stood frozen in place as her mind caught up to the reality of the situation. Despite the grudge that she knew Victoria held, somehow she was the last person that Bella expected to see, especially here. Her next thought was one of fatal acceptance. There was nothing that she could do to save herself. Running would only delay the inevitable, and only by mere seconds. So she simply stared, waiting silently. In an instant, Victoria was ten paces away from her.

"I didn't think it would be this easy," she murmured, her eyes scanning the trees behind Bella as if she expected someone else to appear. "Did they abandon you?"

It would be impossible for her to play dumb and pretend like she didn't know who Victoria meant. Neither of them were fools and they knew exactly what lead to this moment. It was clear she expected a response.

"They moved on," she managed, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Do they visit?"

She didn't answer right away, wondering if her racing heart would betray a lie.

"Do it," that voice whispered in her head, anxious and rage-filled.

"Sometimes," she said, keeping it short and simple.

There was no use in babbling. Nothing would stall Victoria if she didn't want it to. James had been the type to keep her talking, gaining some sort of thrill from her fear-filled voice. His mate didn't seem the type to enjoy the same sort of torture. The corner of Victoria's mouth quirked upwards for just a moment.

"Threaten her," the voice urged her.

"They'll know that it was you," Bella rushed out, taking a step backwards. "You won't get away with it."

Victoria took two slow steps forward, amusement flashing in her eyes.

"Will they even care?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

Bella didn't respond, letting out a shaking breath as she pushed away the invasive thought that told her no, the Cullens certainly would not care. Part of her wanted to scream for Victoria to get it over with. The other part urged her to fight, to beg, to do something. For Charlie. For Renee. For Jake. But if it came down to it, if it would satisfy Victoria's lust for vengeance, she would gladly die for those that she loved. Bella just hoped that it would end, here and now. Her eyes only started to close when Victoria spoke again, her voice still soft.

"Did he leave any scars?"

It took a moment for Bella to understand exactly who she meant. When she realized that it was James, her breath hitched in her throat and gave her away.

"Show me."

Bella didn't move. Her body was locked in place, readying itself for what would soon happen. Yet it jerked away when she felt a cold hand wrap around her throat. Victoria's red gaze was filled with anger and excitement. Her hand squeezed just slightly, enough to cut off her breath for a few long moments, before she relaxed her grip and repeated her command. Lifting a trembling hand from her side, she turned it over to reveal the small crescent-shaped scar. Victoria's eyes dropped to the place where James bit her, her cold fingers brushing almost tenderly over the raised skin.

Shivers ran down her spine and she fought the urge to rip her hand away. Victoria only tightened the grip on her throat without looking up, making her gasp as those marble-like fingers dug into her skin. As Bella pulled her hand back, she grasped her wrist in a stone grip as well. Those eyes flashed up again, meeting her panicked gaze. She slowly increased the grip around her wrist until Bella was sure that she'd snap it. Bella tried not to react, but tears filled her eyes and slid down her cheeks without permission. Victoria looked almost delighted to see them.

"I'm going to enjoy this," she promised, pulling Bella closer as she flashed her perfect teeth in a feral smile.

Then her head whipped to the right, her smile fading as her eyes widened almost imperceptibly. She didn't say a word, though her hands released Bella all at once, causing her to fall like a marionette whose strings had been cut. She gasped for air, her throat burning as it flooded her lungs and the dark spots at the edges of her vision faded away. There were rivulets of blood running down her wrist where Victoria's nails had cut into her delicate skin but the vampire made no move to attack her again. Following her gaze, she searched the tree-lining for whatever might have caught her attention.

She saw nothing and reluctantly raised her head to look at Victoria, who was standing as still as a statue with her head still turned away. Finally seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, she looked around again and saw what it was. A huge black shape seemed to form from the shadows of the trees, it's sure steps bringing it straight towards Bella and Victoria. It was a tall as a horse but even more massive. As a threatening snarl thundered out from between the creature's sharp incisors, Victoria took one step back. It wasn't a bear, like Charlie and the rest of the town thought. It had to be the monster that everyone feared. There was no explanation.

Bella couldn't quite make it out it's shape until two more padded out, flanking the black one. They were smaller but looked no less powerful. Their lighter shapes, one deep grey and the other brown, were easier to identify. They were wolves. Before she could finally react to her instincts, running in the other direction, two more wolves joined them, bringing the total to five. They were lined in a V formation, each and every one of them focused on Victoria alone. She didn't understand why. Surely they could sense her predatory nature. Surely they would want to turn on the weaker of the two human-shaped creatures in the clearing. But they didn't even seem to notice her presence as they advanced on Victoria and she retreated quickly.

Her eyes were now flickering between the giant wolves and Bella, indecision clear on her face. She waited for her to launch at the animals, to crush them all effortlessly before getting back to killing her. It would have been easy for her, so why hadn't she started. Bella didn't dare to move a muscle, watching as the wolves took slow, measured steps forward. They never broke formation. As the closest wolf came within a mere foot of her, Bella couldn't help the gasp that slipped out. It turned its head slightly, meeting her gaze with dark, nearly black eyes that didn't look like they belonged in any animal. They were too deep. Too knowing. He held her gaze for so long, his large form unmoving.

Then another growl from the leader caused the russet wolf to snap his head back around, towards Victoria. He let out a low whine, his tail swishing angrily before he started moving with the other wolves once more. As she looked away from the wolves and towards Victoria, Bella saw unconcealed fear in her eyes for the first time. It was almost impossible to understand, especially when she spun around and disappeared into the trees on the other end of the clearing. It was hard not to stare with shock at the spot where she'd been standing. The wolves were after her in a second, their large bodies propelling them across the clearing until they too disappeared into the woods.

She knew that she should move but as a sob tore itself out of her, she sat frozen on the ground for far too long. It took minutes for her to pull her shaking body from the ground. A cold breeze whipped through the meadow as she turned to run in the opposite direction, crashing through the forest blindly. It took much longer for Bella to find her way back to where she'd parked her truck. As she sat behind the wheel, her instincts screamed at her to drive away. But she couldn't help but think back on what she saw. There was no reason that Victoria should be afraid of anything, much less an animal. Even five of them should have been easy for her to kill. And the wolves definitely should not have seen her as prey.

With tears still running down her cheeks, Bella finally shoved her key into the ignition and let the comforting roar of her truck calm her for several long seconds. Then she was racing back towards Forks as fast as the truck would go, ready to leave behind whatever she'd just seen. She knew that Victoria probably had a plan in mind, and would eventually tear through the wolves. When she came after Bella, and she would come, she had to be ready, if not for her sake then for Charlie's. If she told him about the wolves, he would have no choice but to go to the station for a few hours and spread around the new information. He would be safe.

That would leave her alone at the house to face Victoria, who would no doubt follow her scent there. At least when she was done, there would be no more pain. That was all that Bella could count on for comfort.

I would love to hear what you think!