Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Stephanie Meyers does. I don't own the werecats. Rachel Vincent does. The werecat characters come from the Shifter Series: Stray, Rogue, and Pride.
A/N: This story has been adopted from Darkdefender89. Thank you.
A/N: Alice can't see Bella because she's not, and hasn't never been, a werecat.
Bella
I put the "Thing" ( that poor old Chevy) into reverse, backed out of the driveway. As I drove, I turned the radio was on, but I was not really listening. Other things were taking over my mind, slowly conquering me, turning me into a person I wasn't exactly sure I wanted to be.
I drove on, listening intently to the austere blend of the harsh wind and the music drumming in the background. I wanted to close down, but I couldn't. I was driving. I let the music flow into my ears, allowing myself to analyze this new desire that was invading my body.
The voice on the radio said, "Bend me, break me, anyway you need me, all I want is you." I recognized the song – "Paranoid," by Garbage – a song I usually found annoying. For some odd, explainable reason, I found myself liking the song.
After the song was over, another one replaced it. It was slower and nauseating. I changed the station and sped up. Driving fast cleared my head, or at least it gave me the illusion of a clear head. The radio said, "I want to scream, it makes me feel alive." I sang along with the voice of Avril on the radio. "I'd rather be anything but ordinary please. To walk with in the lines would make my life so boring. I want to know that I have been to the extremes." I swerved on the road, this was frustrating. I changed the channel.
I don't want to be extraordinary. I am, and it's annoying. At least, I think that this is what I want. I slowed down and concentrated on driving safely. I was pretending that I was just a normal girl. That was why I moved to Forks, right? Why did I feel like something else was pulling the strings. That I'm not the one sitting in the front seat steering my car away from my safety line?
Who am I kidding? When have I ever had a safety line? The voice on the radio said, "I can see that you got other plans for tonight, but I don't really care. Tick-tock, no time to rest. Let them say what they want to say but tonight, I just don't really care. Come on baby we ain't gonna live forever, let me show you all the things that we could do. I know you want to be together and I want to spend the night with you, yeah yeah, with you. Come with me tonight, we could make the night last forever." I smiled. For some reason the lyrics of the Veronicas' new song made me think of Edward.
It was time to admit to myself that I was attracted to Edward. No, calling what I feel for Edward an "attraction" is an insult to my real feelings. There was so many. I am…fascinated by Edward. I am drawn to him. Something about him pulls me in. I am a cat, I can't just ignore it.
Pushing the thoughts out of my mind, I speed up. My eyes widen when I finally reach the edge of the forest. Smiling, I forgot everything. The woods sing to my bones, and I feel my limbs shiver. They ache with the need to shift. The ache comes from the lure of sprinting across the forest and climbing the trees. I couldn't wait to feel the leaves brushing by my black fur, or to be hidden by in with the leaves of the tree. Then I would pounce, landing on an unsuspecting deer, devour his flesh. A small purr escaped my lips at this thought. It had been ages since I had eaten a fresh meal. Well, maybe not ages, but it felt like it.
I haven't shifted since I arrived at Forks. Honestly, I could tell you that it is making me insane. Pushing my fantasy out of my head, I parked my truck on the side of the road and unbuckle my seat-belt. I was excited about the prospect of making my fantasy become an unbridled reality.
I turned the engine off and stepped out of my truck, slamming the door behind me. I stared with awe at the tall trees. It was a maze of wild life just waiting for me. It was my instinct to explore.
I slinked into the forest and slipped off my red satin shirt. My lacy black bra came off next, then my torn, gray Forever 21 jeans. I bent down, untying my shoelaces. I take my shoes off, throwing them behind me with a force no human could ever be capable of. I chuckled, relieved that today was not a day that humans decided to hike in the forest. I take off my socks first, then my black lacy panties.
I closed my eyes and meditate, willing the shift. I allowed the cat inside me to take over. My bones began to shift. If I hadn't been doing this since I was ten years old, I would have winced from the throbbing pain that spread throughout my body. My chin ached as my jaw lengthened. My canines grew, piercing my changing body. I will the change to continue. Soon, the shift arrived at the point where most werecats couldn't reverse it if they wanted to. I forced a smile. A couple minutes later, I stretched my new body, adjusting myself to my new bones. I adjusted myself to the vivid view of the forest that my cat eyes allowed me to see.
I took off in a sprint. I was enjoying myself and observing my surroundings. I smell water in the distance. My cat ears picked up the sound of water gurgling. I could hear the fish underneath the water playing with each other. I wondered what it would be like to be a fish. At the same time, I am very glad I am a cat. I sprinted in the direction of the sound of the water.
We, as cats hunt with our ears. Dogs, they hunt with their noses. I may have an enhanced sense of smell, but I could not track based on scent alone. Even if my life depended on it. I grinned, my sharp, white teeth exposed. I placed my left paw in the water. I was loving the sensation. I bent down and grabbed one of the little fishes with my mouth. It a russet colored fish with a blackish brown stripe. I purred and bit down on the fish's flesh, swallowing it whole.
I stepped out of the stream and ran. I remembered that back at home, I beat my brothers and cousins every time we had a race. Faythe was the only one who could beat me, and even she lost, sometimes.
I surrendered my senses to the forest. Today was about relaxation. Today was about drowning my emotions. I wanted to let the carnal cat part of me run free. Cats hate being caged. To me, that's what human society was, a cage. I was here to take time off. This was a vacation from being all too observant. There wasn't anything in this forest that could harm me.
I climbed up a large broad leafed tree and pounced onto a dark green bush. I extended my paws and experimented with the sensation. I wasn't thinking, I was exploring. I didn't recognize anything out of the ordinary. That's was why I didn't recognize an unusual scent, something that should have alarmed me. I wasn't completely there. I was at the point of no return, lost in the sensation.
I was playing in a patch of tall grass, when the forest went silent. I swatted at a fly and looked around. What was out of place?
I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was too fast for me to do anything about it. It was something tall. A pale figure rushed towards me. When he sped towards me. He leaped cat-like, pouncing onto my back with such a ferocity that I should have realized that he wasn't human.
In my panic, I didn't wanting to reveal myself to humans. My sister Faythe, was threatened with death. I knew that the tribunal court would not be lenient just because I'm a tabby.
When his rock hard body collided with my black, furry body, I could actually feel the impact. My instincts woke up. His cold hands gripped my neck. He bent his head down towards my neck with a wild sense of abandonment and bit into me. Instinctively, I swatted my paw at him without thinking of unsheathing my claws. A burning pain gripped my body, like liquid hot burning lead. I was in too much pain to even think about defending myself. Trying to preserve the life of my attacker, was the furthest thing from my mind.
Before I could swat him a second time, I twisted my body out of his grip. What I saw alarmed me. I saw the shocked face of Edward Cullen. His beautiful brownish-red hair, his golden red tinged eyes, his flawless cold hard skin, there was no way he could be human. I saw him slid to the ground after I wrestled free of his grip.
The burning pain increased. I didn't want to shift back in front of a human, but there was no way that Edward could be human. I didn't want to shift back, but the fiery pain that was coursing through my body was too much. The burning pain mixed, with the pain of the shift, and soon I found myself on the floor of the forest. I was naked and exposed, vulnerable.
"Oh, god. What have I done," it was his voice I heard before blackness came for me.
Edward
It was a normal bright sunny day. Or, as normal as a day could be for a vampire in the sun. Emmett, Rosalie, and I were going hunting. The sun was out today, so we couldn't go to school. Alice and Jasper chose to stay behind and enjoy each others' company, if you know what I mean.
We were standing by the car. Talking.
"Are you sure you don't want to come, Alice?" Emmett asked, grinning. Emmett always grins. If I didn't know better, I would say that that grin of Emmett's was frozen onto that bulky face of his.
"I'm sure," Alice replied, sounding like she was singing. Then again, Alice always sounded like she was singing. All of us did, of course, but Alice did more than the rest of us.
"Hurry up, Emmett," Rosalie said, peering into the car window, trying to get a glimpse her reflection in the darkly tainted glass. Of course, we could just run to the forest, but then humans would see us. We didn't want to expose the secret. Even if we could care less, and we do care, we couldn't risk anyone seeing us. Some way or another, the Volturi would find out, and the Volturi doesn't give second chances.
Soon the three of us were in my silver Volvo. I was driving. Alice and I are the ones with the built-in radar. Besides, I really like my car. The only other one the can touch her is Rose. She had tweaked the engine and the transmission. And a few other things. Rose kept copies of everyones keys. She was the family mechanic. The cool thing was, I could put most sports cars in the dust. Rosalie was very talented.
I hit 110 miles per hour in seconds and well on my way. In no time, we had arrived at the edge the national forest. We stepped out of the Volvo and ran into the forest, surrendering to our instincts.
We don't hunt side by side. Our vampire instincts would get in the way. We would end up fighting over the prey. It has happened before. Instinct demands that defend ones kill. So we parted ways and I start hunting.
I found a deer and snapped its neck before indulging in its lifeblood. I did that in order to minimize the poor creature's pain. The blood doesn't taste as good as grizzly bear blood, or mountain lion blood. Meat-eaters tasted better. It would nice if I could find a mountain lion roaming the woods for me to feast on. But this was enough to temporarily satiate me. The deer fell to the ground and I stepped backwards and licked my blood soaked lips. I sniffed the air. It was the scent of a large cat, a couple miles south. I grinned. It wasn't a mountain lion, but it was close enough.
I hadn't hunted in two weeks. When one of my kind hunts, we become a slave to our instincts. I had surrendered to the hunt. If I hadn't been in hunter mode, I might have noticed a subtle difference in the cat's scent. I didn't notice any difference, though.
I sprinted in the direction of the cat's scent. Then without thinking, I pounced. It was a big black cat. I dug my fingernails into its fur and biting down on its neck. I wasn't surprised when the cat swatted at me, but I was surprised when I actually felt pain. The cat's claws actually broke through my hard, granite flesh. The cat twisted out of my grip and stared at me with wide, brownish yellow eyes.
This is no ordinary cat.
Then the cat started changing. I was reminded of the Quileutes and my dead heart sank. A minute later, a naked human was lying on the ground, gripping her neck. I forced myself to reign in my feral side, both shocked and utterly repulsed at myself for the act I had just committed.
No, not just any ordinary human. Bella Swan.
I fell to my hands and knees on stared at that beautiful girl on the forest floor. I should have noticed something different about her scent, I scolded myself. I knew I was a monster, and I hated myself before. But I had never felt like such a despicable creature before.
I felt the instinct to hold her and protect her, but I was dangerous. The pull I had felt at school was intensified. Mine. Where the hell did that come from?
"Oh God, what have I done." She must hate me. I want her to hate me.
Werecat.
Vampire venom is poisonous to the Quileutes werewolves. But they aren't really a normal werewolf. Is Bella going to die, outside of the ordinary connotation of the transformation that I equate to mean death?
I place my hand on her face, wanting to take away her misery, to take away the burning pain I know she is suffering through right now. I pulled her into my lap.
It took me a moment to find my voice again. "I'm so sorry, so sorry. I'm so sorry." I repeated it, in a mantra. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a small part of me noticed that something was wrong. It took a minute for me to realize what was wrong. My arm hurt like hell. It was a throbbing pain in my left arm.
I brushed it away as something I deserved. I was a despicable creature. Bella will probably kill me, and I will happily let her. I want to die. I cannot forgive myself for such a despicable act. I should have been more careful. I should have noticed that she was a werecat. Of course, I had no way of knowing that werecats exist, but in my self-hatred and my guilt, I did not follow that logic. Just because I didn't know didn't make the act any less wrong.
That was how Rosalie and Emmett found me, sitting cross-legged with Bella's head resting on my leg. My right hand was stroking face, her naked body was curled up in a fetal position. What they assumed, they had every right to assume.
"How could you?" Rosalie screeched. "Now we're going to have to move, and I was finally in my senior year? How could you take away her humanity? Bella, the chief police's daughter? Have you lost your MIND? And why is she naked? What did you do, Edward?"
I stared at the ground, counting the blades of grass. I was drowning in guilt and misery at the loss of this girl's humanity. I did not try to refute Rosalie's claims. She was wrong. Of course, I did not have sex with Bella. But what else could they assume, seeing a naked girl clutching her neck, already in the throes of the transformation…or her death. I didn't know what was better, the Change or human death. At the prospect of Bella leaving this earth my heart screamed, Not her! Please, not her! She couldn't die. No. Werecats have to be different from werewolves. To an outsider, I probably looked catatonic, since vampires can't cry.
"Cat….werecat…" I whispered, picking up Bella's limp body.
"What?" Emmett asked.
"She was a cat. Why didn't I notice anything different about her scent? I should have known," I whispered, shifting my feet back and forth, completely absorbed by my self-hatred.
"How could you have known?" Emmett said, trying to reassure me. They believed me, of course, because, except for Carlisle, I had the most self-control out of my entire family. That didn't make me feel any better, though. It made me feel worse.
I realized that my left arm was aching, which made it a tiny bit hard to carry Bella, but I didn't care. Like I said, I deserved it. Emmett, of course, noticed.
"Your arm," Emmett said, a tad bit panicked (outside of the obvious panic that is called for during this sort of situation). "There's a claw mark on it," he said.
I shrugged. "I deserve it," I whispered, not looking into his eyes.
"Let me carry her, at least," Emmett said.
I shook my head, finding myself not wanting to trust Emmett, besides the fact that he's my brother and I usually trust him.
"Let's take her to the car. I'll call Alice and she can bring Bella an outfit," Emmett said.
Rosalie
Knowing the truth didn't make it better. I know Edward. The two of us came to understanding about 6 decades ago. My anger, it tends runs cold. I am still calm, but seething.
Normally it is because of Emmett or Jasper, that we would have to move. Edward never has slipped up before. There is no way we would be able to stay here, we would still have to move. With Bella being a werecat, though, that changed things. That meant that there was new rules to this old game. Change had come to our peaceful coven. Change was something I hated.
I watched Edward carry Bella to the car. He treated her like homespun glass. He took his t-shirt off and draped over her. He was hovering over her to hide her naked body from the public eye. Stressed to the max and still a perfect gentleman.
Emmett and I followed close behind. Emmett dug into the trunk of Edward's car and grabbed a gray blanket. He tossed it towards Edward, who covered Bella with the blanket. He then placed Bella gently into the back seat of the car and, almost like a zombie, entered the front seat of the car.
"I should drive. You look too upset," Emmett said as we got in the car. Thanks, Emmett. I still have to sit in the back seat with the bleeding girl. Edward shook his head, no.
On the way home, Emmett called Alice on his cell phone. She was for obvious reasons, very frustrated that she hadn't seen this coming. She blamed herself for the recent turn of events.
"I don't know what vampire venom does to werecats," Edward whispered. "Remember how the Quileutes said that vampire venom is fatal to a werewolf?"
"Don't worry," Emmett said. "Werecats aren't werewolves."
But all of us were still worried. Edward drove faster. He was in a hurry to get Bella to Carlisle. Carlisle always seemed to have the answers. Carlisle may not know what had to be done, but he had the most level head in the bunch. He would make sure everything would be okay. He would make sure everything would works out. Or in the least, the best it can in this situation.
Sucking the venom out hadn't been a possibility at the time. Edward was still to on edge. His hunting instincts were to close to the surface. Bella was his singer on top of that. Bella's body probably started to absorb the venom during the shift back to her human form.
I couldn't help but think about how I had found Emmett. I had felt a pull the day I had found him. Something had made my feet travel over a hundred mile that day. Only to find him mauled by a bear and dying at my feet. I had killed the bear, and then scoped up Emmett and brought him home. I had to then begged Carlisle to change him. Emmett had been made to be my mate.
I glanced at Edward in the front seat. He was one icy breath away from panic. I want to be mad at him. I still am. But I understand. You're not off the hook, but I'll keep my tongue. For now.
Edward showed no indication that he had heard me. I didn't need Jasper to tell that he was too absorbed in his guilt. I was will to bet that he had not stop to consider another potential difference between werewolves and werecats. If one of Quileutes had raked with their claws, it would have hurt like hell. But it would healed by now. Edward, what have you done?
