Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters.

AN: Since you are reading a story inspired by and involving, to some extent, the Quileute tribe and its history, please consider making a charitable donation to groups that help and support American Indians. You can find some resources on twitter here: /MsKellyMHayes/status/1065411304758890497


It looked like Embry. I mean there was no doubt it was Embry, he just looked very different; as Jacob, he'd grown, and more than boys his age should. But he looked happy, he was smiling; there was still something playful about him, like there'd always been. Either way I shot him an annoyed glance. I had quite the trick to pull off here, to save my best friend from whatever was happening to him, or potentially go through the second worst break-up of my life. His interruption was not welcome, and I made sure he got that.

I was turning back towards Jacob when I saw him spin on his heels and run back towards the forest. Oh no, boy, things were not going to go that way. I stumbled out of my truck, almost landing flat in the dirt, and started chasing after him, past Sam Uley and his boys. Or at least that was my firm intention, but one of them grabbed me by the arm and it was like I'd run into a brick wall.

'Let me go!' I said as I tried to wriggle my way out.

I looked up to see a tan, uninterested face peering down at me. I didn't recognize it, and it was intimidating, but I didn't have time to dwell on that. I was grunting through gritted teeth as I pushed and shoved, to no avail. It was like I was only hurting myself, and I could feel my arm was going to sport a large bruise. I hit his chest, panting.

'Let her go, Paul, or she'll get hurt.'

That was Sam. I shot him a nasty look. Paul let go and I started trying to make my way up the hill towards the trees. I felt weak, and I was breathing erratically; I didn't know if it was from the emotional or the physical strain. I reached the border of the forest and called out Jacob's name as loudly as I could. I couldn't see him anywhere. I was ready to venture in when a voice called from behind me.

'Bella!' It was Sam again. 'You won't catch him now. He'll come back.'

I was still out of breath when I turned back to the group. Walking up to Sam, I stopped centimetres from his chest. I don't know what got into me, looking for trouble with a gang leader twice my size, but before I knew it, I was trying to shove him back.

'What did you to him?' I yelled. 'Huh? What did you do to him?'

I didn't even know what else to say him, all I could feel was my anger.

'Hey! Don't do that! What did he tell you, eh? What do you think we did to him?' It was Paul. I ignored him. My only enemy was Sam.

'Give him back!' I shouted. I walked back to the edge of the forest, but even in my state I knew that I'd have no better chance of finding Jacob in these woods than I'd had trying to get him to take a single phone call. I took one step forward, almost ready to leap into the dark unknown, but I just stopped in my track and fell to my knees.

I hadn't wanted to break down, but it didn't feel like there was anything else I could do. I'd missed it, my only chance to get Jacob out of Sam's claws, out of his gang. I'd missed my chance to get my friend back. He'd literally run away from me, and I'd never be able to get this close again. All because of Embry's stupid interference! I'd almost had him.

I knew it wasn't Embry's fault (Jacob could have run at any moment), but I would blame him anyway. I felt a warm hand on my shoulder as I hid my face between my knees. Its touch was soothing. I wanted someone to comfort me, to acknowledge my pain, tell me it was normal to hurt, but that it'd be okay. But not one of them. The only person who could help me like that was Jacob, and they'd ruined our friendship. I shrugged the hand off and continued shedding a few tears, miserable on the damp floor.

'Bella…' Embry started.

'Fuck.' That was the fourth boy.

'Bella, you should go…' Embry said.

I whipped my head up towards him. It felt red, wet, and swollen. I didn't want to look weak and affected, but they would have already been able to tell I was crying.

'This is your fault, Embry!' I answered.

He frowned and I could see he was about to comment on the ridiculousness of my accusation, when Sam interrupted him.

'He's right, Bella. We'll take you to my house, you can wait for Jacob there.'

I couldn't believe my ears. Nothing was going as I'd expected today. I'd wanted to be strong, deadly, determined: intimidate Sam, win Jacob back, prove my father the La Push gang wasn't an innocent youth group. Instead I'd failed my mission and embarrassed myself.

I wiped my face with the back of sleeve. Enough, I decided. Gathering the remains of my dignity, I stood up, sniffling. I pulled down the hoodie that had rid up my back, and considered Sam's offer. I didn't want to be in the same room as him; I didn't trust him or anything he offered. But it might be a chance. A real chance to catch Jacob again, and unguarded. He'd probably not expect me there with the man I hated most right now, and I could probably devise a plan to prevent him escaping until I was done saying my bit. He was looking at me expectantly. I suddenly feared he might retract his offer, and quickly mumbled:

'I'll come.'

One of them sighed, and they turned around to lead the way. I could hear them speak, but I didn't understand. Quileute, I assumed. I pretended not to care what they were saying, but it sounded serious. Sam remained stoic, only giving the others short answers, intermittently. I didn't know what they were discussing, but I saw them glancing back over their shoulders several times. So I had something to do with it. For a moment the irrational fear that they might try to make me disappear crept into my mind. I quickly dismissed it as paranoia, but I decided to stay alert, just in case.

After a five-minute walk, we approached a little house. It didn't stand out in any way, neither old nor new, but it had a certain warmth to it, probably because of the flowers on the window sills. I stayed behind after the four boys entered. Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all. But what else was I going to do? Pointedly stand out here and alert Jacob of my presence before I'd had the chance to talk to him? No. I quickly wiped my cheeks again, to make sure no one else would suspect what'd happen at the forest border, and made my way to the entrance.

Before I'd had the chance to get in, Embry quickly slipped out the door and closed it behind him. He threw me an apologetic smile before quickly whispering:

'Sorry, Bella, just… don't stare at Emily, okay? It bugs Sam…'

He swiftly sneaked back inside, like he'd just told me a secret, and I followed in after him. It was warm inside. And noisy. Sam and his three companions weren't the only ones here. As I continued along the corridor, I passed the kitchen on my left. I saw Sam. I contemplated just pretending I hadn't seen him, when I noticed he wasn't alone.

'Bella,' he began, 'this is my fiancée, Emily'.

I turned towards him, and the girl, Emily, turned to face me too. I immediately noticed the scar across the right side of her face, pulling down the corner of her eye and fixing half her mouth into a sad grimace.

'Hi Bella, I'm Emily. Good to meet you.' She smiled politely, and I kept staring into her left eye, afraid to let my gaze wander.

'Yeah.' I cleared my throat when my voice broke. 'You too.' I wanted to smile because she seemed sweet, but she was with Sam and I refused to show kindness to anyone who let such bad influence roam La Push freely. Unable to decide, I felt my mouth turn into a half, non-committal smile. I quickly left them behind and made my way to the next room.

The living room was very hot, probably because of how crammed it was with Paul, Embry and the unidentified fourth accomplice. They all looked so much alike, I even had trouble spotting Embry among them. They were laughing loudly, and turned to me when I stopped in the doorway. One of them murmured something. Quileute again. I huffed. At least our feelings were mutual.

I left the living room, and then decided to get out of the house entirely. I wasn't interested in the company, and now that I was calm again I remembered that I had a revenge-crazed vampire and her deceptive accomplice after me. I didn't like Sam, but I didn't want to lead Laurent (or indeed Victoria) all the way here, not to Embry and Emily, not even to the rest of Sam's followers. The entire situation was giving me a headache.

I sat on the bench outside, around the corner of the house. I thought I'd be able to hide quickly enough as soon as I saw Jacob. I decided I should prepare for my conversation with him. Sometimes I would mumble under my breath to see how the words would sound. Other times, I remembered that I was probably anticipating Jacob's reactions wrong, and started over, rehearsing different scenarios. After a while, I heard a loud noise coming from the house, and two figures almost fell out the door. They were chuckling, and playful grunts mixed with their laughter. So what were they doing now? Rehearsing for their next gang battle?

I felt slight annoyance for some reason, and sighed as I turned my gaze the other way. They didn't pay me any attention. I heard a third figure join them. I didn't want to be curious, but I was. I slowly turned my head and tried to peer at them over my shoulder, subtly. They were rolling around, trying to pin each other down. I observed quietly. It didn't look like they were training for a fight. An image came to me: when I was younger, Renée would take me to pet shops every once in a while, and we'd spend some time watching the puppies. Those that didn't sleep were playing; chewing each other's ears, rolling one another over. That's what this little display reminded me of, for some absurd reason. Why Jacob was interested in these people, I couldn't fathom. I remembered he was probably brainwashed.

Lost in my thoughts, I'd not been careful enough, and one of them called:

'Hey Bella! Want to join us?'

Another laughed. I didn't doubt I'd been caught staring. I couldn't think of anything smart enough to say, so I just stared blankly ahead of me and ignored him. My cheeks were a little warm.

'Leave it, Jared. We're not what she's into.'

I furrowed my brows. It'd almost sounded like… I turned an inquisitive gaze towards the boy. I couldn't tell who he was, but I'd recognized the voice. Paul. He really had a beef with me.

Before I could think, I was up on my feet. I could feel anxiety in my stomach. It'd almost sounded like… like he was implying I 'was into'… another creature. Something not human. But how? Why?

'Paul, stop it,' Embry said. He sounded somewhat disapproving of Paul's comment. It seemed his jab had brought Sam outside. I thought I could even see Emily trying to take a look from behind him. I took a few steps but I was soon at a loss of what to do. I felt a strange surge of embarrassment at the prospect that they might know about me and the Cullens; my heart skipped a beat at the thought. But I was also vexed, and angry. I couldn't decide which of these emotions to act on, and acute awareness that I had an audience didn't help. I whispered:

'What…'

I clenched my fists at my side as I walked up to Paul. I didn't know what I intended to do until the very moment I did it. I only knew that I didn't want to appear weak. I needed to show them the kind of resistance they'd face; I'd get Jacob out of this cult.

'That's right; I'm sick at the thought of Jacob with the likes of you.'

The words came out more violently than I'd expected. I heard someone whistle from the group by the house. Half against my will, it looked like I was putting on a show for Sam's gang. I hoped I'd do well, or I'd only ever be dismissed in the future.

'Oh yeah?' Paul started. He looked like he was shaking. 'And who would you rather he be with, eh?' He took a step towards me and I retreated.

Don't be scared now, Bella. Now's when you need to stand your ground. I stood taller.

'Anything's better than whatever your gang's offering him!'

'Like what? You and the band of monsters you hang out with?'

I saw my own hand fly up to his face like I had no control over it. I didn't think it would be possible, but my fist managed to reach high enough to land on his jaw. I don't think I'm a violent person, but something had moved in me at his words. A will to defend myself against his accusation that I had done something wrong. The wish to protect the Cullens from the name he'd called them. My plain and growing irritation with all things to do with Sam. My frustration that Paul had decided to make this personal, although I didn't know he existed until half an hour ago.

I immediately held my fist to my chest. I didn't know punching someone hurt this much. I feared I'd broken my hand, and I looked down to make sure it was still whole and intact as I nursed it. Paul's laboured breathing caught my ear and I lifted my gaze again. Maybe I should apologize, or maybe that'd make me look soft and hesitant.

Paul was shaking so strongly I thought I felt the earth move with him beneath my feet.

'Step back, Bella!'

Sam. I fell down a few feet away from Paul. He was shaking so hard I could have sworn his outline was blurring.

'Paul, calm down!'

I don't know why he thought saying that would help. As I started scrambling away on the floor, I saw Sam come next to me. He put his hand behind him as if to push me even further away from Paul.

The next second, there was no more Paul. He'd exploded into a wolf. A giant mutant wolf like the ones I'd seen in the forest with Laurent. It was growling viciously, his gaze ferociously focussed on me. Sam's house was in a secluded part of the reservation; I had no one to call for help.

I whipped around ready to run as fast as I could. As soon as I turned my head, however, I saw another colossal wolf sprinting towards me. I couldn't even scream. I was pretty sure my heart was going to give out right this moment. The second wolf jumped right over me and onto the other. The one that'd been Paul a second ago. I struggled to my feet still intent on running as far as I could when I felt arms wrap around me.

No no no no.