Disclaimer: i don't own anything except oc's + plot. and i'm not american so "weird" spelling up ahead
Chapter one
CAMILLA Alvarez stood under the pale moonlight with a frown on her face. She and her three tribal sisters were in a clearing in the centre of the forest, barefooted and basking in the light of the moon. Her fingers were wrapped around the end of her golden spear and she tossed it from hand to hand, testing its weight.
"When do we leave?" Delilah, the youngest of the four, was the first one to break the silence as she called out over the breeze. She was perched on a branch, fingering her own set of weapons.
"Ten days," Camilla replied, her blood was singing at the thought of finding the bloodsuckers.
"I still don't know why we have to go all the way down to Washington of all places," Mina, the second youngest of the group, grumbled as she trudged to a nearby tree and rested her back against its trunk. "There's nothing fun to do there."
"We're not going to have fun," Imani, the second eldest sister, replied sharply from her spot beside Camilla. "We're going to find the vampires that killed Sebastian."
"James' coven was last seen in Forks before he went off the map. If we want answers, we'll go there," Camilla explained as she sharpened the end of her spear. "Victoria has been lurking around there too. It's where Renee's daughter lives. We'll be staying with her for a while."
"Isabella Swan?" Mina had overhead Christine speaking over the phone with her cousin.
"That's the one," Camilla sighed and hoped that she had made the right decision in agreeing to stay with her distant cousin.
"Are you sure we can even trust her?" Imani raised an eyebrow, referring to Bella's previous choice in company.
"She's no longer with him," Camilla responded sharply. Imani was always the first one to question Camilla's decisions so the older girl wasn't all that surprised to hear the doubt that coloured her tone.
"How long were they together for?" Imani pressed on, feeling reluctant about having to share a home with a girl who had been in such close contact with one of them.
"I don't know the specifics although I assume it was a significant amount of time," Camilla replied with a shrug. She wasn't very interested in her cousin's love life. All she knew was that there was a coven in Forks and one of them had been romantically involved with Bella Swan for a period of time.
"Do you know why he left?" Mina called out, her interest piqued at the idea of a human and a vampire together. Perhaps Bella had discovered the fact that her lover was actually a monster and had attempted to kill him - if that was the case then Mina was sure she'd be able to get along with Bella.
"I'm under the impression that he left on his own accord," Camilla shook her head and glanced over her shoulder to look at Mina.
"And he just left without turning her?" Imani's skepticism was palpable as she drew her hair up to tie into a tight bun. "Why would he be with a human then just leave like that? I thought vampire bonds were eternal."
"Maybe she was really ugly," Mina sniggered as she wondered what Bella looked like. She made a mental note to see if there was anything especially funny about Bella's appearance when they met.
"Whatever his reasoning was for leaving, it doesn't matter," Camilla rolled her eyes at Mina's comment and took over the discussion again. "He and his coven are gone now and our main priority is to get rid of James and his coven. Bella's father has invited us to keep her company - apparently, she didn't take their break up very well."
"Was she aware of her … boyfriend's true nature?" Delilah's question was laced with genuine curiosity and she shuddered to think about willingly being with a demon.
"I believe so," Camilla nodded once, her expression souring slightly at the thought. Obviously her cousin had suffered from a lapse of sanity or something; that was the only explanation as to why she'd continue such a relationship.
"Pathetic," Imani wrinkled her nose unsympathetically. To be beside herself over the loss of a boyfriend was one thing but to be like that over a vampire, was plain pathetic in Imani's opinion.
"It doesn't matter. She's no longer with him and even if she is, that isn't our priority." Camilla's authoritative tone carried through the wind as she planted the blunt end of her spear into the ground. "We're there to kill James, Victoria and the third vampire in that coven."
"What if your cousin has some sort of … connection with James' coven?" Delilah, ever the curious one, spoke up again. She found it odd that a human could hold the affection of a vampire without dying. "Forks is a small town and it's already pretty coincidental that she was involved with that other coven. Who's to say she's not connected to James as well?"
"She's not. She can't be. If James ever had any connection with a human, he'd either turn them or drain them dry. Seeing as she's still human and still breathing, she's got no relation with him." Camilla announced confidently. She twisted her weapon in her hands and the side of mouth quirked up when she saw how much sharper the point of her spear had gone.
"Will we need to tell her about what we really are?" Delilah asked as she swung one leg over the tree branch and jumped, landing lightly on her feet.
"No. She doesn't need to know," Camilla shook her head. There was no need. "We'll go to Washington and stay with her while we track down the coven. There'll be no need to reveal ourselves."
When there were no protests, she added one last thing.
"And when when we stay with her… be civil."
Her last demand was more aimed towards Mina and Imani rather than Delilah. She knew that that the youngest would be her usual friendly self but she was slightly worried about the other two. Mina enjoyed playing around too much and Imani hadn't even met Bella yet and yet she had no respect for her at all. She didn't particularly take well to those who fell into company with vampires.
Although Camilla couldn't really blame her; she felt the same way.
xxx
The night everything truly changed, Bella and her father were eating dinner. Sort of. Bella was staring down at her plate with no interest while her father continued to sneak glances at her. Even when she tried to catch his eyes, he'd quickly avert his gaze and continue to chew on his steak.
"Dad… is there something wrong?" Unable to take anymore of his furtive looks, she placed her (unused) fork on the table before her and gave him a pointed look.
Charlie looked like he was going to deny that there was even an issue but quickly realised his attempts would be futile. The truth would come out sooner or later.
"Bella… I - uh - I have to go out of town for a few weeks for work," he finally told her, still a ksijf her eye.
"...Okay," she shrugged, a little confused as to why he was so reluctant to tell her.
"I don't want you to be alone while I'm gone," he continued carefully. Immediately, Bella understood the hesitance in his tone. "So, I've asked-"
"No - no, I'm fine -" Before he could even begin to propose his plan, Bella had jumped, fearing what he was about to suggest.
"I don't think it'll be … safe for you to be alone -" He tried to continue but Bella was quick to protest again.
"I can ask Angela or Jessica to sleep over sometime..." she lied automatically. A few weeks to herself would be nice - she wasn't sure how much longer she could handle her father's constant concerned looks. It was driving her insane.
"I - well, your mother and I - have invited your cousin -" he plowed on, knowing that the chances of her actually asking Jess or Angela was low.
"I can stay here by myself," Bella started hotly, her skin feeling tight at the thought of staying with someone else.
"Bella -"
"I'm eighteen, not six," she fought the urge to stomp her foot which would only contradict her words.
"Bella, we -"
"I'm not a child!" She didn't mean to raise her voice but she didn't understand how Charlie could expect her to accept his decision. Charlie flinched at her sudden change in pitch and she quickly backtracked. "Sorry… I just… don't think you need to coddle me."
"Bells… I can't trust to leave you here alone, I'm scared and now that…" He trailed off but she knew what he wanted to say. Now that Jacob had left her too - she had no one. A deep pang in her chest almost made her gasp but she reined in her pain and tried to nod carefully. "Just hear me out."
"Okay… I'm listening," she took a calming breath and managed to look at him.
"Remember your aunt Christine?" Charlie asked as he rubbed his cheek carefully. "Renee's older cousin?"
She nodded slowly as fuzzy images of a young raven haired woman came to mind. She had seen lots of pictures in her mother's photo album but she couldn't match an actual memory to the name. She wracked her brain and tried to remember any detail about the familiar name.
"Doesn't she live in Chile with her husband… Sebastian?" Bella didn't look up from her plate as she focused on the mashed potato that had now gone cold.
"Sebastian died about ten years ago, you went to his funeral," Charlie reminded her and she felt a rush of guilt. It was like every memory that wasn't about him had escaped her mind. "After Sebastian died, they moved up to Alaska."
"They?" Bella's eyebrows furrowed again as she tried to remember Christine's family.
"She has a daughter around your age as well," Charlie was speaking to her as if she had amnesia and Bella almost felt like she did - everything before him seemed to have escaped her memory.
After a few moments - a name echoed in her mind.
"Camilla," Bella vaguely remembered her cousin. The girl was a year older than Bella but they didn't really speak for numerous reasons. The first being that they had met at Camilla's father's funeral and the second being the fact that Camilla only spoke Spanish and very limited English. "She's a year older than me, right?"
"They were planning a trip down here for fun anyway so it's convenient for them." That didn't sound true at all - who in the world would willingly come to Forks for fun? It sounded like something her mother had cooked up.
Speaking of her mother.
"Why doesn't mum come down?" She wondered aloud; she was surprised her mother hadn't jumped at the opportunity to come down to Forks to whisk her away.
"I didn't think you'd want to be with Renee," her father admitted. "She can be a little…"
Bella didn't protest that idea. Her mother would only fuss and want to talk about them and demand answers. And Bella would very much rather spend time with her distant cousin than have to deal with that.
"It's just for two weeks," Charlie added quickly, glad to see that Bella was at least happier with that idea than her mother's alternative. "The girls actually seemed really excited at the idea of coming here,"
"Girls?" She didn't remember Christine having anymore daughters.
"Christine has foster care kids - three girls," Charlie continued, looking a little comforted when Bella wasn't outright refusing anymore. "It'll only be for a while. And I think it'll be good for you. New scene, new people."
"I don't know…" Bella nibbled on her bottom lip, already dreading the idea of trying to pretend she was perfectly fine in front of strangers.
"I just want you to try it out, if you really can't handle it, I'll come back," he was pleading now and a feeling of guilt began to bubble inside her. She stupidly took a chance to look up and met his eyes.
"Please try this for me," he asked softly and she felt her resolve crumble.
After a few moments of silence, she heaved a deep sigh and finally conceded.
"... I'll clean up the spare room, I guess."
xxx
Bella was nervous. Her cousin and her three foster sisters were arriving any moment from the airport and she was suddenly overcome with a sense of dread. She ran through their names again for the nth time - Camilla, Imani, Delilah and Mina - and crossed her fingers that she wouldn't forget them or pronounce them incorrectly.
At the sound of a car pulling up in front of her house, she shot up from the lounge and peeked through her blinds to see a taxi stop at the end of her driveway. She felt her anxiousness increase tenfold and she slowly made her way outside so she could greet them.
The taxi pulled up and the she instantly recognised Camilla the moment she stepped out of the car. She had a large purple suitcase and pulled it out with a grace that Bella found herself slightly envious of. There was another girl that slipped out of the car too but she had walked to other side of the car to get her things, before Bella could catch a proper glimpse of her.
Camilla, already ready, moved towards the front door where Bella was standing, frozen on the spot.
She didn't look anything like Bella remembered. When she had last seen Camilla, the older girl had been withdrawn and reserved - although that could have a lot to do with the fact that she didn't understand a thing Bella had said to her and vice versa. She looked nothing like Christine and took after father; large dark brown eyes, full lips and brown hair. She was prettier than Bella remembered; her wavy hair reached her elbows and she stood much taller than Bella imagined - she was probably 5'8 or so.
"Um…" Bella paused in front of her and chewed on her lower lip, unsure of what to say. What could she say?
'Hi, I'm your eighteen year old cousin that can't be trusted to look after myself because my vampire ex boyfriend left me with and took everything good with him and I don't know how to fucking function without him'.
Luckily for her, her cousin had no qualms with taking control of the conversation and she took a confident step towards her.
"You must be Isabella, I'm Camilla," she stepped forward and offered a hand. She had the slightest accent when she said Bella's name but other than that, there were no remnants of the young girl who only spoke Spanish.
"It's just Bella," she muttered and before she could stop herself, she grasped the ends of her hair and tugged on them nervously. "It's um, nice to meet you..again."
Her words were robotic in a way and she inwardly cringed as they left her mouth. She sounded as if she'd rather be dead in a ditch than standing here.
"Thank you for having us," Fortunately, Camilla didn't seem to mind her less than stellar greeting and merely reached for her suitcase and pulled it onto the doorstep. "Is Charlie here?"
"He left last night but he wanted me to thank you for coming all the way down here," Bella shuffled backwards and made some room for her to enter. "Come inside. Um, does your uh, sister need any help?
"Mina's fine," Camilla waved off her concerns and glanced backwards to where her sister was still pulling out her numerous bags. "I told her not to pack so much. Mina, hurry up!"
'Mina' turned out to be an extremely pretty Asian girl. She had her own large suitcase along with several other smaller bags which she pulled out the trunk of the taxi swiftly. Her hair was dyed a striking blonde colour and her lips were painted red; she looked like the kind of girl who you would never think about taking home to meet your parents.
Despite all the luggage, she didn't seem to struggle with carrying them.
"Hey Bella," her tone was casual when she called out the cool greeting and there was an amused twinkle in her eyes that Bella feel as if she was being teased. "Nice to finally meet you. I'm Mina Kwon."
Bella waved back but didn't say anything. Mina bid their taxi driver farewell before she dragged her suitcases up the driveway towards where Bella and Camilla were standing. When she reached them, she gave Bella a quick once over and smothered a snort.
Bella felt a surge of outrage and confusion at Mina's odd reaction to her. She knew she wasn't looking her best - her weight loss was even more apparent with her choice of clothing, her hair had long lost its shine and her pale skin had become sallow - but still, she didn't think it warranted such a rude reaction. Especially from someone she had just met.
"Um… okay," she couldn't help but raised an offended eyebrow at Mina who merely bit on her lower lip, as if trying to keep herself from laughing.
"Excuse Mina, she's jet lagged," Camilla offered Bella an apologetic smile that didn't quite meet her eyes before she threw a look over her shoulder at her sister. Bella bit her lip to stop herself from pointing out that one trip from Alaska to Washington wasn't a worthy enough trip to claim 'jet lag' over. "Where should we put our stuff?"
Bella welcomed the change of subject and moved further into her house.
"The rooms are up here," she gestured up the stairs and began to walk up the steps. It wasn't until she was on the third step that she realised that her cousin probably needed some help.
"I can take the bottom half and-" she started but Camilla either worked out a lot or Bella had overestimated the weight of her luggage because she picked the suitcase up with relative ease and walked up the stairs as if not carrying anything at all.
Camilla waved her off and gestured for her to keep walking. Mina was having an equally easy time with her own luggage.
"Er, okay, I'll lead the way," Bella continued upwards and down the hallway until she reached the spare bedroom which had two beds.
"I was expecting your sisters to uh be a lot younger so I thought you could fit here but I guess not," she admitted as she opened the door. "Um, Mina, how old are you anyways?"
"I'm eighteen and so is Imani. Delilah's seventeen." Bella looked at the girl oddly. If they were eighteen, why were they still in the foster care system?
"She's turning eighteen soon -" Camilla, again, cut in when she saw the curious expression on Bella's face. "My sisters - my foster sisters - are all around your age. My mother, um, grew close to them and we…"
Camilla didn't finish her sentence but Bella nodded nonetheless. Her father had informed her that Christine had decided to take in foster children after her husband had died so Bella just shrugged it off. She was the last person who could comment on how to handle grief.
"Two can fit in here and um, while Charlie's gone, someone can take his room." Bella prattled off, not wanting to think about any of that. "And um, I can take the couch while someone takes my room."
"We don't want to run you out of your own room," Camila shook her head politely. "I'm sure Delilah won't mind bunking with you."
"Oh no… I'm a loud snorer," she lied quickly, feeling her cheeks flame at the thought of them hearing her scream in her sleep while she slept. "I'll sleep downstairs."
"I don't mind bunking with you," Mina looked at her with a smile, eyes twinkling with amusement. "We can share a bed - I heard it gets really cold."
Bella was saved the embarrassment of replying when Camilla nudged Mina in the side with an annoyed glare.
"Delilah and Imani are here," Mina ignored Camilla's elbow and grinned. "I'll bring 'em up."
Bella glanced out the window and saw that another taxi had just pulled up. She briefly wondered how could've seen it since she was standing with her back facing the window but before she could ask, Mina had raced out the room, to get her sisters.
"I'm sorry about her," Camilla apologized again as soon as Mina left the room. "She likes to tease."
"It's cool," she shrugged the apology off and played with the hem of her shirt. She wished that Charlie was still here so the awkwardness would be a little less intense.
"Finally!" Bella felt the nervousness in her stomach intensify as she heard Mina open the door and two unfamiliar voices joined her. She knew that she'd be meeting a lot of new people but she forgot how nerve wracking it was.
She heard three pairs of feet climb up the steps and before she had the time to prepare herself, they were at the bedroom door.
The first girl to enter the room stepped in quietly, a stack of books in her arms, and a large bag strapped across her shoulder. She had russet skin that instantly made Bella think of Jacob and her inky black hair was similar to Jake's as well. But when Bella looked closer, the similarities stopped there. At first glance, she was almost plain but the closer Bella looked, the prettier she became. Her light eyes seemed to shine and her soft features were warm and kind. Her eyes were warm and Bella was vividly reminded of Jake's warm gazes.
Thinking about Jake made Bella's chest ache and with much difficulty, she tore her eyes away and allowed her eyes to drop to the ground.
"Isabella, this is Delilah Brant," Camilla told her as she helped her younger sister take her bag off.
"You can just call me Bella," she mumbled as she spared a hesitant glance up at Delilah.
"Okay, well you can call me Dee if you want," she replied with a smile that made Bella feel a little better. Before they could make any further conversation, they were joined by the last sister.
The new girl that walked in - Imani - was breathtakingly beautiful and made Bella wonder if being attractive was a requirement if you wanted to be fostered by Christine. Imani stood tall at 5'10 and the room seemed to glow as soon as soon as she entered. If Rosalie was as beautiful as the moon with her paleness and etherealness then Imani was like the sun. Her copper skin seemed to emit a glow and her hazel eyes shone under dark lashes; her long mane of her swayed at her hips.
"This is Imani Carter," Camilla introduced the tall girl with a lazy hand. "Mani, this is Isabell - uh, Bella Swan."
"It's nice to finally see you in person," Imani cocked her head to the side and shot her a dazzling smile. Bella blinked, a little taken aback by her beauty and for a split second, she wondered if Imani was a vampire. But her eyes lacked the golden colour.
Bella wasn't sure if she was glad or not.
"In person?" Bella echoed - she felt like they knew so much about her but she knew nothing.
"I've only seen photos from when you were young," Imani elaborated when she saw Bella's questioning gaze. "You definitely grew into your forehead."
"Don't worry about Imani, she's tired from the flight." For the second time in the last fifteen minutes, Camilla was quick to excuse the behaviour of her sisters' actions.
"Right… um… well…" Again, she was unsure of how to react and just trailed off awkwardly. They were all staring at her, as if waiting for her to say something but she didn't know what.
"I should probably show you around town," she finally muttered after what felt like a long silence.
"Any suggestions?" Mina raised an eyebrow and glanced out the window, an unimpressed expression marring her pretty face.
"Uh, there's a mall in Port Angeles if you, um…" Bella suddenly felt very embarrassed. She didn't really know any of the 'cool' places in town and was thinking about texting Jess to ask her but she was interrupted before she made a decision.
"Oh, we're not very interested in shopping," Mina laughed lightly and shared an amused smile with Imani. Bella felt like she was missing an inside joke.
"We enjoy the outdoors," Camilla smiled softly and glanced out the window, her eyes dancing. "Maybe we could go for a hike in the woods, sometime?"
At the mention of the woods, Bella couldn't help but flinch. If the girls noticed her strong reaction to it, they didn't point it out and merely waited for a response.
"... um, if you're into that," Bella agreed hesitantly. "I can show you where the trails are and stuff."
"Thanks, Bella." Camilla smiled widely, this time showing her teeth.
There was something in her tone that made Bella's stomach churn but she squashed that feeling down and forced a smile. She was going to be living with these girls for a few weeks and she wanted their trip to run smoothly - at least for dad's sake.
Plus, maybe her father was right. New faces could help - she needed a break from all the drama in her life so maybe her cousins could be the one to give her the break she needed.
a/n: bella sorta seems like a pushover but i mean, she's going through a tough time but hopefully the girls will bring out her fire. I hope everyone likes my oc's so far! and i'm excited to get this fic rolling! (and the wolf pack will make an appearance soon!)
also this is who i imagine as the sisters but you're free to picture them as you please; delilah (devery jacobs), mina (kim chungha), camilla (adelaide kane w/long hair) and imani (zendaya).
