Shattered Expectations

Author: Miranda Hobbs

ANNOUNCMENT: I do not, nor will I ever own or make money off this story. Twilight is owned by Stephanie Meyer, I'm just borrowing it for inspiration! Charlotte does belong to be however, thank you.

Chapter 1: Nothing is what it seems...

**** Charlotte's POV ****

It's hard to tell the past, but if it's one thing I knew well, it was that I was not my father's child. He had made that painfully clear over the years. Jonathon Quinn O'Grady wanted nothing of me. He was a judgmental bastard that had constantly harped about being saddled with the fruit of another man's loins because his wife had been a whore before he'd married her. Evidently my mother had been pregnant by another man when they married. To her dying day, she denied it. To his dying day, he crowed it to the rooftops and beat her down with it. If there was ever a man that had deserved to die, it had been him.

That doesn't mean I would have had anyone die the way that they had. We'd been driving home from the Pierce County Fair. The traffic was awful, and as it always did in Tacoma, it had been raining. To this day I'm not sure what I saw or now I survived it. All I remember was a flash of pale flesh leaping across the road like a gazelle, landing so hard he made a crater in the road, following by a flash of black fur. I think it was fur at least. When I told the authorities afterwards, they said it had probably been a wolf chasing a deer. But I knew there was no way a wolf could be that big or a deer that humane looking.

There had been a squeal of brakes and the acrid smell of rubber burning as Jonathon slammed on the brakes. A heat had filled my face and then my entire world had exploded, a rush of heat and voices. I woke up on the pavement on the other side of a semi-truck, my clothing in tatters. The moderately priced Subaru was jammed in an unrecognizable mass underneath the bed of the semi-truck. Witnesses said the car had flipped because of the crater in the road, (which they were saying was caused by a sink hole in the ground) then it slide underneath the truck and exploded. No one knew how I'd gotten out of the car, assuming I'd been thrown from the vehicle, but I had been wearing my seatbelt.

My family, however dysfunctional was dead. I missed my mother something fierce, but based on beliefs that had been hammered into me by my very Catholic, very judgmental father-figure, they would go to Heaven and be at peace with God. Death has a way of shaking someone to the very foundation. How could God have loved my mother and let her be with someone has horrible as Jonathon? How could he take her away from me when I still needed her? Not even the confessional and my questions could be answered. It was always "God has a plan child, have faith". Faith. What a stupid fucking word. It was all just a bunch of hooey that was meant to control the masses.

My parents had died a year shy of my 18th birthday, which meant a brand new kind of hell. No longer did I have a verbally abusive father figure, but I had foster parents who saw me as nothing more then a babysitter for the five other foster children that they took from the state for the paychecks. They were good kids that had all gotten a crappy lot in life, just like me.

I was never in a place for more then a month. Bad things always happened when I got angry. Then it was another house, another set a kids, a further frustrated social worker who thought I was disturbed and a threat, but had no proof. The day I turned 18, I ditched the system. I ran away and lived in a hostile for six months in downtown Tacoma. It was a shit hole, that was the only way to describe it, but it was better then anywhere else I had. Finally I managed to nail down a job that had allowed me to get a place of my own. I worked as a waitress and finally my life started to go right. It was right down the street from the University of Puget Sound. I wasn't a stupid kid, I'd always done well in school, developing a love for History and languages, but everything had gone to hell and I'd ended up getting my GED. Now at 19, I'm taking one or two classes at a time, trying to get a degree that will let me make something of my life. I refused to be like my mother, as much as I had loved her, I would not just be some man's emotional punching bag because I didn't have the skills or smarts to leave him.

It was there that things started to go wonky. I met this very very pale brunette, she looked about 19, but there was something in her eyes, black as pitch sometimes and reddish-amber on other days. She was a nice girl, but something about her did not agree with something about me. Isabella Cullen was a threat to me, something deep down in me knew it. I had tried to avoid her at first, but the girl was just pesky. She was assigned as my lab partner, saying that she was just taking some pre-requisite classes before transferring to Dartmouth. Dartmouth of all places and she was taking classes at University of Puget Sound? I met her husband and daughter once, a child that looked far too old for Bella to be her mother, but what did I know. She could have gotten knocked up at 13. A beautiful little girl, mesmerizing. Renesmee. God knows where they came up with that name. I had noticed that whenever I was around them, I had a habit of breathing through my mouth because they smelled funny. Not bad per say, but like over-ripened sugar or something. Disgustingly sweet, it hurt my nose.

One night while we were working on a chemistry project, our hands touched and she pulled back from my hand like she had been burned. Hers had been ice cold, like holding a piece of it in your hand, but that still didn't even seem cold enough to describe it. I stared at her and she stared at me.

"Are you feeling alright? You're... umm... you're burning up." she asked, her voice was calm, yet curious.

"I feel fine." I replied with a shrug, it wasn't like I hadn't been told before that I was like a human heating blanket. The other foster kids had always seemed to like that about me. I was a warm person. "You are freezing though." I pointed out.

"Umm it's just something that has happened since I had my baby." she said, stumbling for some kind of excuse. I could tell it was an excuse and there was something that she wasn't telling.

It was a little awkward after that. She was always looking at me like she expected something to happen. Like I was going to grow a third head. Finally after a week, I bit her head off about it and she apologized, offering to make it up by me by inviting me down to meet some friends of hers in Forks, where she was from. I guess she commuted to school or something.

A lot of driving, but it was only a few nights a week, so it probably wasn't so bad. It was strange, but something in me was telling me to go. So I accepted the offer and apologized for biting off her head about the staring. Thankfully Sally had told me that I had the weekend off because they were doing some maintenance on the restaurant and would be closed anyway. It was strange how things worked out. I guess a pipe had come out of the wall or something.

The drive to Forks seemed to take forever, but over the river and through the woods in a car was not my idea of fun. I hadn't really liked cars since the accident. I usually walked lots of places. I lived near the school and where I worked, so having a car hadn't been an expense I had needed or wanted. Edward had driven, glancing back at me every now and then, or at the baby, I was sure. The baby was a sweet distraction, but Edward's driving made me itchy and nervous and by the time we got to Forks, I was feeling like I was going to hurl and die at the same time.

Bella caught me as I stumbled out of the car and I don't know what came over me. I growled at her and shoved her away. It was like shoving a wall, but she still moved, back more feet then I thought myself possible. I was warm, impossibly warm. I don't know what happened next because it all became a blur of voices, too many voices in my head, none of them were mine and I screamed. I think I screamed anyway, it didn't sound like that to my ears, it sounded like a howl.

Everything smelled too much, sounded too much, felt too much. It was like I could feel energy from everywhere coming at me and then I heard something, something my body recognized. There was a snarl with an order in my head.

Back away from the girl or I'm going to rip out your throat.

I finally opened my eyes and Renesmee was sitting on the ground, her knees scrapped from having fallen down evidently, but she was just staring at me. She seemed so much smaller. I tried to calm myself down. What was happening to me? I backed up, yet, it was a strange feeling, that was when I looked down at my feet and there were massive silver paws. I panicked then. Don't ask me how, but I whirled and took off into the woods. I don't know how I didn't slam into any trees or kill myself, but I ran until I couldn't run anymore, then there was just this trembling in me and I closed my eyes tightly. It hurt, it was like everything was being sucked out of me and then I was on my hands and knees in the middle of the woods, naked as the day I'd been born.

I curled up in a fetal position and just laid there. I don't know for how long. This was all just a nightmare. This didn't happen to people. God would not punish me like this... I wouldn't have hurt them, would I?

**** Jacob's POV ****

I hadn't really believed Bella when she said that she believed she had found another werewolf at her college. I had never really thought about another wolf being from off the reservation, but it could happen evidently. Even more surprisingly, she was female. Leah was the only female in our pack and evidently, according to the elders, it didn't happen very often. But sure enough, Bella had been right. I don't know what had set her off, but she'd stepped out of the car. I'd been standing on the porch with Emmett when the girl had lost it. It had happened so fast. She'd shoved Bella away, which even for Emmett was no small feat.

Then she was there and she was huge, easily as big as Sam, which was odd, even for a female. Leah was much smaller. That was supposedly natural, that the females were smaller, but she had huge paws. She had even more growing to do. That was astounding to me. Then Renesmee was right there in front of her and something came over me. I knew that a new wolf didn't have much more control then a new vampire. Too much protective instinct took over and I shifted. Well there went another pair of shoes and clothes. The growl that rumbled through me came from deep in the chest, a warning, followed by a snarl when the girl howled. Her mind was a chaos of images. She didn't understand what was happening to her, she was afraid. Renesmee was right there, in danger. My mate was in danger.

Back away from the girl or I'm going to rip out your throat.

Normally I would have tried to calm the girl, but the only important thing on my mind was Renesmee. She was everything in my world. Then the girl took off. God she was fast. I moved over to Renesmee and lowered my head down to check on her. The scrapes on her knee were already healing over and she touched my nose with her soft hands.

"I'm okay. She wasn't going to hurt me. She's a nice lady." Renesmee said, quietly, showing me how nice the new girl had been when she had met her, how she had looked at her. I nuzzled the little girl and licked her hand with a nod. It was okay, I wasn't angry anymore. She was okay. Now there was the girl to deal with. She was running. I couldn't even see where she was running. I glanced at Bella and Edward as they came to get Renesmee and then I took off in the direction that the girl had gone. Bella had said that her name was Charlotte. She had thought it was funny because people called her Charlie, which was her father's name. I sent up a call to my pack, getting the first response from Seth.

What's going on? Seth asked, always the one that was eager for some adventure.

Bella brought home a new wolf. She's run off. Get some blankets and come meet me. I'm trying to find her, but she's scared and alone. I replied, trying to focus on the girl's chaotic thoughts and then she must have shifted back because I lost her and the spot where she had been in my mind was just blank and quiet. Shit. Hurry up, Seth, even if she's a wolf, she can still freeze to death out here in this weather

Sometimes rain was horrible. I hate smelling like wet dog. Emmett and Alice constantly comment on it. I didn't like tracking, but I wasn't horrible at it. Sam was by far the best at it, but following the path wasn't too hard. When I found her the girl was naked as a jay bird and shaking like a leaf. I don't know what this little blonde girl was thinking of what was happening to her. This girl looked like she'd come from California, a rich tan complexion and sunny blonde hair that seemed natural. She didn't look at all like I was expecting. She was obviously terrified. I just stayed there watching her until Seth showed up with the requested things. A pair of pants for me at least and a blanket for her. The sound of the rain didn't cover the sound of her exhausted, frightened sobs. It reminded me too much of Sam. He'd been alone and scared and had had to get through it on his own.

What had scared this girl enough to wake up the wolf in her? Had it been a vampire? Had it been something else? She'd driven down in a car with two of them, but it wasn't until the car had stopped that she'd lost it. Either she had fantastic control or she had been set off by something else.

The sandy colored wolf entered the clearing and had a pack tied to his back, probably courtesy of Emily or Leah. I watched him though and he was just kind of standing there and even in his mind, it was a strange sense of calm that came over him. Then I realized something, it was like what I felt around Renesmee, what Sam felt around Emily, an utter peace. Seth Clearwater had just imprinted on this unknown girl.

**** Seth's POV ****

When Jacob had said that Bella had found a new wolf, I'd been shocked to say the least. I thought all of them were from La Push. But when the Alpha gave an order, it was meant to be followed. Quil, Embry, and Leah were right behind me when we came into the tiny clearing, filling it with furry wolves. Granted not nearly as furry as wet, but that was beside the point. Laying there in the middle of this little area, curled up like a frightened child was a blonde girl. It was like the sun had come out, despite the down pouring rain.

I stepped back into the trees and shifted into my humane form and slipped by sweatpants on. I didn't know it would be like this, it would be this need to take care of this girl. I took the blanket out of the pack and moved over to her. I laid the blanket over her and gently slipped by arms around her back and underneath her knees and picked her up. The girl weighed next to nothing. She was scared and frightened, yet when she looked at me with those green eyes, it was like lightning lanced straight to the center of my being. There was so much misery in those eyes, so much heartbreak, yet it slowly shifted when she looked at me with a wonderment, perhaps the way that I was looking at her.

It was rather embarrassing to have the rest of the pack standing there and watching us. I adjusted the weight of her, giving her a small smile, "It will be okay." I said, trying to reassure her. It was strange, I hadn't even met this girl before, yet when I looked at her, even as sad as she seemed, there was a warmth in me, a sense of belonging.

"I don't understand any of this... I don't know what is happening, I'm sorry." she whimpered, her voice was raw, like she'd been screaming for hours.

"Shhh it's okay, I understand." I said, quietly, moving to carry her back through the woods. She wasn't even that heavy, it was like I'd carried her weight before, like a part of me recognized all of her. She was a wolf, a female wolf. I glanced at my sister who nodded to me and then turned around and took off.

The girl rested her head on my shoulder as I carried her out of the woods towards the reservation. She'd gotten closer to the Res land then the Cullens' house. She was probably exhausted. I didn't know who she was, but I knew that she definitely wasn't from the reservation. She was a sunny blonde with a warm suntan, like she'd lain out in the sun for days, which was fairly impossible in Washington. She was like one of those beach bunnies that you saw on television, but she was so warm, like she'd swallowed the sun.

Now my mother is a wonderful woman, but every mom has her breaking point. When her 17 year old son walks into the house with a naked wet girl wrapped up in a blanket, it isn't usually one of those lovie dovie moments. I couldn't really blame her for freaking out until Leah came in and explained. Too much of our being wolves had taken over her life. Dad had died from the shock of finding out that Leah and I were wolves. Sam had left Leah heartbroken and bitter when he'd imprinted on Emily, ruining all the hopes and dreams she'd had for the future. Now her son had imprinted on another wolf? How was that not supposed to freak a mother out?

"This isn't happening in my kitchen." Sue said as she moved to go out into the living room, shaking her head. She loved the pack, every single one of us. She trusted Jacob with our lives, but as I said before, everyone has a breaking point. Leah went to talk her down after Jacob told me to go lay Charlotte down so she could rest. We all knew too well that the next few days would be hard on her, confusing and scary. Every expectation she had ever had in her life was going to change, every single bit of her life would change, at least for a little while. My heart hurt for her and I wished nothing more then for the ability to make it so this had never happened to her. This was not something you'd wish on anyone, but when it happened, it made them family.

It was about ten minutes later that Leah brought in a sweat shirt and a pair of pajama pants for the girl. She knew more then most how hard it was to be a girl. I'd seen way too much of my sister's naked ass over the last couple of years for my own liking. Leah shooed me out to get the girl settled. It was hard to leave her. I sat outside the door, just waiting for Leah to come back out.

************************************************************************
Please Review, I like when people review. This is my first Twilight fanfic, so I hope I am doing it some justice.