Chapter Three: Charlie

[A/N:] I know I haven't updated in forever but it's been crazy. I just started classes, got hired at Subway, and made it on the cheer team for my college. I'm going to try to start updating every two weeks but no promises right away. I WILL NOT stop writing on this story, you just might have to wait for a little bit between updates. Thank you for being so patient and I hope you like this chapter! Thanks go to my Beta Fran Osuch. :)

"You can definitely stay here," Charlie said, bobbing his head up and down. I clasped my hands together over his dining room table but kept my expression neutral. "There's plenty of room here. We have five bedrooms and only three of them are in use. You can pick either bedroom, or even stay in the attic. It's just sitting up there empty. There's a bathroom up there, too, miss twenty year old."

I laughed and looked around his dining room. He had an amazing home. The dining room was open to the kitchen and had varying shades of gray, stone walls and a paneled ceiling. A huge window covered the side wall and there was a long, wooden table set in front of it. Ten chairs surrounded the table, a little excessive for just Bella and Charlie, I thought, but it was a gorgeous table. There were random, simple center pieces in the form of different types of bowls with nothing in them. A chandelier hovered above the table with several white candles in a circle and wooden doors opened into the front hallway leading to the where the white front door was housed. The light, hardwood floors were smooth and while they weren't the same color as the rest of the wood, they brought the room together. Pots of plants rested on the window sill and the over all affect was a simple, rustic look.

The paneled ceiling vaulted into the connecting kitchen with exposed beams. There was a hanging chandelier in there as well but with light bulbs instead of candles. The ceiling held four lights and the walls were a light cream color. Counters were shaped in a U with a small wooden island in the center of the continued hard wood floors. Standing at the entrance to the kitchen, the double stove was on the left encased in dark counters and storage. The sink was in front of the windows, the surroundings done in a stone back splash, with the refrigerator and dishwater on the left. It was a kitchen I never would have thought of but loved anyway.

"You do have a great house. I'm not going to be twenty for another two months, Charlie," I said. "But I would love to stay here until I find a place of my own. I'm going to ask the Council in La Push if I can live there."

"Oh, posh," He said. I raised my eyebrows at his less-than-Charlie word usage and he shrugged, muttering, "Damn it, Lisa."

"Who's Lisa?" I asked, smiling at his frustration. Charlie was one of those "manly men" and was never caught doing anything that wasn't considered a man's domain.

"My wife."

Wife? I hadn't known he got married, but then again, I've been stuck in the wilderness and out of contact for a while. I guess that's why he moved and it was so nice now. "We married last summer."

"That's great, Charlie," I said. "Congratulations. I can't wait to meet her. Where is she?" I craned my neck to look around and down the hallway. Charlie laughed at me.

"She's at work," He said. "She has her own bakery shop."

"Well, I'm definitely living here now," I said. "I'll be living with a professional cook. I'm pretty sure I hit the jackpot." Sam and Charlie both laughed at me and I leaned forward, the smile falling from my face. "I do need to talk to you before you agree to let me live here. There are things you need to know."

"You already told me about Cochise and your past," Charlie said, unaware that I left out most of it. There was no way I was telling him about the extent of the abuse I went through. No one knew about it and no one would. Sam knew more than anyone and he didn't even know all of it. "I mean, there will be rules but you're family and I want to get to know you before you take off again."

"I'm only moving down the road," I chuckled and glanced at Sam before continuing. He didn't look happy with me. "I'll walk Sam to his car and come back in and explain."

"Make sure you come back, Row."

Row? No one had ever called me that before. An image of me running into Charlie's arms, soaking wet and laughing, flashed behind my eyes. Only Charlie did. My mother had, too, but her nickname for me was primarily "little bird."

"If you don't like the nickname," He paused and smiled up at me where I stood. "Well, you're shit outta luck, baby girl."

Sam laughed along with Charlie while I mock glared at them and yanked on Sam's arm, pushing him to the door. We walked to his truck in silence, his face having gone hard and intense the second I closed the door. I knew he wasn't happy that I was going to tell Charlie about the supernatural world but I had to. Charlie wasn't a stupid man and I'd bet anything he knew more than he was letting everyone believe. He was in the fucking Marines for several years, I'm sure he knew when there was something going on. It was disrespectful to bring someone or something into a man's house and not tell him. It was equally as wrong to involve someone in something, however indirectly, without telling them what could happen. Charlie was in danger from a fallout between enemies the danger of which his daughter seemed unable to comprehend. I couldn't shake my already formed opinion of the little twat.

"You do know that telling him is going to cause a lot of problems if he doesn't accept it easily," Sam said, sitting on the driver's seat sideways, facing me. "I don't want you to tell him. He doesn't need to know."

"Yes, he does," I sighed, glad he didn't go full out Alpha on my ass. "Isabella has involved him in something that could get him killed. I'm sure he knows more than you think he does but it's disrespectful to keep him in the dark. Especially when he has a vampire sneaking in his house all the time."

"How do you know he sneaks into her house?" Sam asked, pulling me closer to him. I don't think he knew what he was doing but I was used to it. Shifters all craved physical contact. We were a more sensual species; always rubbing, scenting, patting, and just touching in general. It was something we did both subconsciously and consciously.

"Because he's a vampire and that's what they do," I shrugged. "Jacob also told me about them. It's not hard to guess really. You also have told me how controlling he is."

"Okay," Sam said, his chin resting on the top of my head. "But you're going to break the treaty. You're jeopardizing my pack by telling him this. The Council that you want to ask permission from is not going to like you."

"I'm not going to say anything about you," I answered, pulling away and glaring up at him. "Just the Cullen's and me. The Council can kiss my ass."

"Like you said, he's not stupid. He's going to figure us out once you explain about shifters. You're causing problems."

Really? I'm causing problems? "First of all, I'm not part of your pack—you're not my Alpha. I can do what the fuck I want," I leaned back and put my hands on my hips. "Second, I thought you knew that creating problems is what I'm best at. I'm sorry if my honesty makes you uncomfortable but I don't really give a fuck. If I'm going to live with Charlie, I'm going to tell him the truth of what I'm bringing under his roof!"

Sam rolled his eyes, "Sparrow, this is going to make things difficult with Charlie knowing. He can make it real hard on us."

"No, it won't," I replied. "The most he'll do is ignore you. The Cullen's have more to fear than you do."

Sam sighed and nodded once. He held his hand out to me and I let him pull me back into his embrace. "When this doesn't go according to your plan and you have angry council members and leeches on your ass, don't come cryin' to me."

I rolled my eyes. A few vampires and old men didn't scare me. I did what I wanted and until I got an Alpha and a mate it was going to stay that way. "I've handled worse," I stepped out of the car as Sam shifted and closed his door. His windows were down as I continued, "And Sam? I care about you, and you're important to me, but he deserves to know what his daughter is involved in. What she brings into his house. I'm not going to go behind his back that way. If it creates problems for you, I'm sorry, but that's not my problem. He's not going to tattle on you to all the humans. So tell those old men to pop some Viagra and go home to their wives."

Sam's mouth popped open in surprise and I laughed. "At least your reason is a good one," he finally muttered. "Call me later. Be careful, Sparrow. That leech hangs around her like that cloud in those depression commercials." That made me chuckle and I waved, turning to walk back to the house. I made it four steps before Sam called out to me. "Sparrow?" I turned and raised my eyebrows. "No chance you'd let me be your Alpha, huh?"

I stalked back to his truck, my eyes never leaving his as I laughed internally at how dirty he had sounded. "Do you know what you'd have to do to become my Alpha, Samuel?"

His brows furrowed and he shook his head. "I've never thought about it. My pack just fell into it." I nodded at him and rested my arms on his window sill.

"It's different if you live with and around that pack," I said. "You automatically become part of the pack you were "born" to. I was automatically part of my tribe's pack when I shifted for the first time. It just happens. But you can either take yourself out of that pack or they can kick you out." My eyes were boring into his. "I took myself out of my uncle's pack, he was Alpha, when I ran away and found that shifter community. They taught me how. It's a very painful process."

"So what do you have to do to become part of another pack?"

"You have to mate with the Alpha." His eyes widened and his head moved back from mine. A smile came over my face slowly, "Still want to be my Alpha?"

"Why do you have to do that? What if you were imprinted to one of the pack members and wanted to be part of that pack? Wouldn't the mate get extremely jealous?"

"It's weird, but no," I answered. "If one of your wolves imprinted on me and I wanted to be part of your pack he would recognize his Alpha's duty in making me part of the pack. We would have to share blood and after that we would both get this...feeling that we needed to mate. It's like something else takes over you. I've heard it's an incredible experience. After that though, you wouldn't be able to touch me because of said imprint." I winked at him and he gave me his "Oh, whatever" face. "After the mating you won't feel lust toward me unless you do on your own though. It does create a slightly deeper bond than I would have with any of the other shifters, except the imprint bond." I paused then added, "You could always make Jacob the Alpha, he's not imprinted and I know he wouldn't mind."

"Oh, ha-ha," Sam said. "He's still in high school. That's not happening."

"Well, if you want me to be in your pack, you know where to find me." I pecked his cheek and ran up to the front door, waving at him and laughing at his shocked expression. I wasn't going to become part of someone's pack unless I was imprinted with one of the members. The pain of taking myself out of another pack was something I did not want to go through again. I watched Sam pull out of the driveway and went back into the house. Charlie was in the living now. I walked over to his place on the couch.

The living room was equally as gorgeous as the rest of the house I'd seen. The ceiling was vaulted like in the kitchen with exposed beams and stone taking up the entire wall around the fireplace. A huge flat screen TV was above the fireplace and two brown, leather chairs were in front of it facing toward the couch. A huge gray rug with squares inside squares was on the floor, covering almost every inch of the wooden floor beneath. The wall to the left was a huge window and what wasn't covered with the window was painted with a cream color. They had curtains here that I'm sure they didn't close much. A small couch sat in front of the window and a white chair was to the right of the fireplace. They had a chandelier in here, too, obsession of the wife's maybe? And they had knick-knacks littered around the room and on tables. The house was masculine but had that light touch of femininity that wouldn't make a man insane. It was incredibly homey and every window I'd seen so far had a view of the beautiful landscape that blessed Forks. Also, I was pleased to smell, it seemed to be close to La Push. I could smell the wolves on the breeze when I was outside. Vamps couldn't be too happy about that, I knew.

"Hey, Charlie." He looked up at me and motioned for me to sit next to him. I plopped down next to him while he stared at me.

"Okay, what did you leave out of your story? Did you not want Sam to know?" Always the observant, blunt one Charlie was.

"Sam knows everything I'm about to tell you," I said. I turned to face him and crossed my legs. "You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you except those involved, okay? Promise."

Charlie eyed me suspiciously but nodded. His lips were set in a hard line and his face was void. "Okay."

"I'm a shifter and the Cullen's are vampires." Charlie's eyes narrowed and he sat there for three minutes, not giving any of his thoughts away. He was probably trying to put facts to the Cullen's and coming up short. They weren't like the vampires you see in the movies after all.

"Okay," He said slowly. "Aren't shifters the people from the stories your mother used to tell you when you were little? The tribesmen that change into animals?"

"Yes," I said, glad that I didn't have a ton of explaining to do but curious as to why he was taking this all so well. "Why are you so calm? You're not questioning it at all."

"I've seen a lot of things in my life and I know that the Cullen's weren't normal. I thought that maybe they had some weird family thing going on or maybe a disease but vampires seems to fit as well. I remember the stories from your mother and the ones Billy Black tells at those bonfires," He gave me a look. "I'm not getting any slower even if I am aging."

"That's what I told Sam," I muttered. "What questions do you have?" He sat and thought about it while I stared at him. He was taking this whole supernatural thing way better than any human that had ever been told. "You already guessed at what they were didn't you?"

"Of course," He said. "It's not hard if you pay attention and it's my job to pay attention. I may only be a small town cop now but that just means I have to pay more attention. In a town where everyone knows everything about everyone else it makes people feel comfortable. They think they know everything about the people around them but there are always secrets. There are always things that people overlook. I love this town but I'm not going to pass by things just because I think I know them. I know Sam and those boys are shifters, known it for a while. I only guessed at the Cullen's. They aren't like the movie vampires but it's still pretty obvious."

"Good man." I said, smiling at him. I really missed Charlie over the years.

"Okay, so tell me about shifters."

"Shifters aren't human," I started, trying to make that distinction in his head. "Some part of us is but our animals are stronger. We are almost completely animal. The more control you get over your animal the more human you become. Sam has great control over his animal and he's more human than I thought he would be given how short of a time he's been shifting. Most shifters have quick tempers, not as quick as werewolves, their tempers are ridiculous, and we are all very pack based. We will do anything for those in our pack. We are territorial and protective. We are very physical. Shifters are animals," Charlie was nodding, taking in my every word. "But we are also like humans. We have emotions, eat, have families, everything that a human is and does is us. I'm just trying to stress the fact that our animals are also right under the surface. Our wants and needs are very human like, but we also have very animal like wants and needs. We like physical contact, running, hunting, and being outside. When we're settled down with our imprint we feel the urge to mate. A lot."

"Imprint? What is an imprint? Do you have one?"

"No, I don't," I said. Despite the many fucking people I've seen and met I haven't. "Girl shifters don't imprint, only males. But at the same time, there is always a male shifter for a female shifter. I'm not supposed to be with a human. I have a shifter mate out there I just haven't met him yet. An imprint is like a mate. To humans it would be like finding "The One." Every shifter has a mate out there, some never find theirs, some find theirs instantly."

"Sam and Emily," Charlie blurted out. I laughed and nodded my head.

"Yeah, Sam and Emily." I paused. "You can break an imprint or never have a romantic bond to your imprint if you mark another. If Sam were to mark Leah, which is biting, I'm sure you know that, it would break his imprint with Emily in a romantic way. They would still be bound to each other but in a platonic way. I know Sam still loves Leah but I don't think he would do that."

"I can see why not," Charlie said. "It would create more problems between them. Does he know that he can break the imprint?"

I shook my head, "No, but I'm going to tell him. Even if he won't do it he has the right to the option. He loves them both."

Charlie nodded. "Now tell me about vampires—about the Cullen's."

"Vampires may not have the tempers like werewolves but they're the worst out of the supernatural. I'm not just saying that because of my genetic compulsion to destroy them, either. They really are horrible," I looked into his eyes and saw his worry. His daughter was dating one after all.

"Is Bella in danger?"

"Yes," I answered. I knew she should be the one telling him this but I didn't think she would. Even after she found out he knew everything she would try to protect them from Charlie's judgment. I wasn't going to give her that advantage. "She's already been injured. When she was put in the hospital in Phoenix. She had a vampire hunting her. He broke her leg and bit her. Edward sucked out the venom so she wouldn't become a vampire," Charlie looked furious. "but she wants to be. When she went to Italy she walked right into the damned center of vampire royalty, the Volturi. Because of her knowledge of vampires, because the Cullen's told her, they said she has to die or become one of them."

"No way in hell!" Charlie growled.

"I know, Charlie," I said. "Jake is fighting for her. He is. I will now, too." I left out that I would kill her if she became a vampire. I don't think that would endear me to him.

"I'm sure as hell not letting her leave me again." I smiled at him and squeezed his hand. When my smile dropped and I pulled away his face got serious again. "There's more, ain't there?"

"Yeah," I said. "Vampires are selfish creatures. They're possessive, manipulative, and sneaky. They only care about themselves and their mates. They don't truly care for their mates, either. They are just a possession to each other. Sure, they fuck and watch out for each other, but that's because if one dies the other is in pain for a while. I don't know how to explain it, it's just something undesirable they don't like. Vampires, they are dead. That's why they're ice cold and rigid. They don't have blood running through their veins. Their bodies are constantly trying to take in blood to restore itself to a living state but no matter how much blood they drink it's not going to happen."

"The Cullen's are out there killing people?"

"No," I gritted through my teeth. "They drink from animals to "preserve life." Fucking idiots."

"That's better than killing people." Charlie said, confused at my anger.

"Yeah, let's use the excuse that they're preserving life by killing animals. Animals, who are more pure than most humans. They don't murder and rape. They don't go out of their way to make others miserable. I'd be more impressed if they took out some of those. Animals eat, shit, mate, and die. No, they don't have the brain capacity humans do but they don't deserve to be slaughtered just because there is something that exists that shouldn't." I closed my eyes, eyes that were almost permanently stuck in animal form. They were still blue but they were brighter, the pupils surrounded by white. The outside ring of black was thick around the blue. My eyes were definitely not human but the only comments I got were about how beautiful they were. I assumed people thought they were contacts. I didn't really care though, to be honest.

"Calm down," Charlie said. "I do agree with you but I'm also glad they aren't picking off the people of my town."

"They could move." I said. "Or kill themselves. But they won't," I leaned forward. "Charlie, they are dead. They don't feel like we do. They don't know love and compassion. They know lust and hatred and anger, even happiness, but not in the way you think. It all comes down to surviving for them. Surviving, feeding, and fucking. They like to play games and they like to get what they want when they want it."

"They seem nice enough, the Cullen's," Charlie said. I could tell he was trying to put my description to the test and came up short. "The way you make them seem doesn't fit."

"Vampires are good at deceiving. They crave companionship of humans. They always covet the best of being a human. They want the emotion, the ability to walk in sunlight or have children. The longer they are out of society and contact with humans the more selfish and devious they get. They all believe they are better than humans, gods, yet they want what everyone else has. Life. The longer they don't get what they want the more violent and possessive they get. There is nothing redeeming about a vampire. I've only met one that I actually like and that's because he is honest with himself. He knows he's selfish and manipulative. He knows that he is what I just explained to you. When I knew him he only fed on humans that, in my mind, deserved it. He didn't slaughter families or children. He went after scum. He won't kill himself, who would if they wanted to live, but he does makes the best of it. He's honest and that's why I like him. I owe him my life or I would have probably killed him a long time ago. I don't talk to him or see him anymore. Haven't in years."

"Okay, so since they only think about feeding and fucking, does that mean my daughter is having sex with a corpse?" Ahh, there it was. The reason Charlie was red in the face. Bella.

"I don't know but I'll be able to tell," I pointed to my nose. "I can usually smell that kind of thing," I let my head fall back on the sofa. "Charlie, she can get pregnant."

"What? I thought you said they can't have children."

"Female vampires cannot conceive. But for some reason, males are able to impregnate others despite being dead. No one knows how or why, just that it happens. The births are disgusting. The baby will tear apart the mother's stomach, breaking her bones and killing her in the process. I've seen it." My eyes were closed now, thinking about what the Volturi wanted from me. I knew without a doubt they would try to create a hybrid. They were fooling themselves if they thought I wouldn't kill myself first.

"That's it, she's not going anywhere near him!" Charlie stood abruptly while I opened my eyes to look at him. He was pacing back and forth. I heard the door open and close, another heart beat entered the house and was making its way to the living room.

"Dad?" Bella must be home.

"Get your ass in here." Charlie stood in front of the couch and when she came into view I was surprised at her appearance. She didn't look anything like I thought she would. She was very pale, almost the color of her vampire coven, and her long, mahogany hair fell down her back in waves. She had dark brown eyes, from her mother I assumed, and she was small. She had to be only five foot three in height and she was skinny. Too skinny. "Sit down."

Her face was puzzled as she looked at me and sat on the opposite end of the couch. "What's going on?"

"Your cousin, Sparrow, is going to live with us for a while," He waved his hand in my direction and she nodded at me, smiling a little. Her eyes went back to her dad after mumbling, "Hi."

"And you're grounded until I say otherwise." He continued. He was glaring at her and his arms were crossed on his chest.

Her eyes widened. "Why?"

"Because you're dating a fucking corpse and I don't approve!" He screamed.

"I-" she turned to look at me. "You told him? Why would you tell him? You have no-"

"I do, too!" I snarled. "You brought all this shit into your father's home, put him in danger, and don't tell him? You're being a disrespectful, little idiot and I'm putting a stop to it now."

"Sparrow," Charlie gave me a look and I crossed my arms, not taking my eyes off her. "She's right, Bella. How could you do this to me? To yourself? Do you even know what you're involved in? Some of the things she's told me...it's not natural. They aren't natural. You can't be serious about this."

"You sound just like Jake!" Bella huffed, her eyes fell on me again. "What did you tell him? A bunch of lies?" She turned back to her father. "Dad, they aren't bad people. They are kind and they love me. They would never hurt anyone. Carlisle works at the hospital for Christ's sake!"

"Which is wrong!" Charlie said. "They shouldn't even exist. They are not nice and they don't love you. They are using you for something."

"They are! Just because they're vampires doesn't mean anything is wrong with them. They can't help that they are what they are. Just like Jake and the pack can't help what they are." Bella was on the verge of crying and I rolled my eyes. Stupid.

"They aren't," I said, her eyes swiveled to me. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into. Vampires aren't nice and they don't love. They are the most selfish and disgusting creatures I've ever met. No, some do not chose to be that way but that doesn't take away from the fact that they are dead. They don't feel, they don't care about anything. They care only about themselves and when they have one, their mate. Even their feelings for their mate are selfish."

"No, you're wrong. You've never even met them. You know nothing about them." Bella was not listening. She believed everything they told her and she was gone. Completely fucking bat shit crazy and she was not giving up.

"They don't even have souls, you idiot!" I was standing now and towering over her. Charlie was watching me with his mouth open. "They are dead! They have no blood, no feelings, no humanity! They may put up a good act but that's all it is! A fucking act. They like playing games. They like making stupid little twats like you believe they are loving and care and you'll never even know until they kill you or they turn you. I've seen it happen over and over. If you think you're anything different than a play thing you're out of your ever loving mind! Wake the fuck up, princess, because you're going to get yourself killed."

"No! Don't say that about them," Bella stood up, her face red and tears streaming down her tears. "They have souls. They have beautiful souls. They would never do anything to hurt me like that."

I laughed. I threw my head back and laughed. Charlie and Bella both looked at me like I was insane, but seriously. They would never hurt her? The same vampires that took her in, got her involved with another psycho vampire, left her in the middle of the fucking woods, and then took her straight to vampire central? "They don't care about you. Stop thinking about your fucking self-esteem and that other stupid shit. This isn't about that. This is about how you let them in and they destroyed your life. They led you straight to the fucking vampire headquarters. I know they did that on purpose. Edward wasn't going to kill himself, he was luring you there. Which means they will turn you, whether you want them to or not. Get it through your skull, damn it, they do not care."

Bella was bawling now, clearly not seeing reason. I just stood there, watching her. Let the bitch cry. She was being fucking retarded. I understood that she thought they were good, but everyone told her they weren't. Her father, without even truly knowing what they were, didn't like Edward, at least. All her other friends told her to stay away, that they were no good. But she didn't listen. She was going to put them above all others.

"How could you do that to Charlie, Bella? How could you let him think you were dead while you became a vampire? How can you stay with Edward when he's a controlling prick? They make every decision for you. You're not even your own person anymore," I sneered at her. "I bet if he told you to strip and lay down you'd do it in a heartbeat."

Charlie put a hand on my shoulder with a mumbled, "Sparrow," and Bella looked up at me, her face red and tears everywhere. "Shut up! You only know the twisted version from Jake's lips. He hates them, will say anything to have someone else against them. Edward would never do that to me. He won't have sex with me. He says it's too dangerous. He cares about me."

"Vampires have sex with humans all the time," I said, smiling at her pained expression. "They don't hurt them unless they want to. No, he doesn't have sex with you for a reason. Either he has someone else doing that for him, or he doesn't want to get you pregnant."

"Vampires can't have children." Bella whispered.

"The males can. Which means they don't want you to die. They have plans for you," I told her, uncaring of her feelings. If I had known that I was tearing her world out from under her I probably would have laughed and been harsher with her. As it was, Charlie was here and I knew he would tell me to shut up. Being the respectful person I am, I would fall silent. Unless she pissed me off enough. "Or, like I said, he has no patience for you and is having someone else."

"No!" Bella put her hands over her ears like a child and I scrunched my face up at her. Really? That's how you're going to keep the big, bad panther from ripping into you. Verbally, of course. "He wouldn't do that to me."

I laughed at her. "Yes, he would. I bet he does. I'm sure I can figure out for you. Want me to?" The phone started ringing and Charlie looked between us before settling his eyes on me.

"Can you promise me you'll play nice?"

"Of course, Charlie," I said with wide eyes. He narrowed his and went down the hallway to answer the phone.

"Why are you doing this? Why do you hate them so much?" Bella whispered, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Because you're being a stupid, little fuck and need rescuing," I said calmly, sitting down in one of the leather chairs. Bella's head snapped up and I could hear a bone crack. Her eyes were on fire and she was glaring at me. "There! Now why don't you stand up for yourself like this with Edward? Why don't you show him when you're displeased?"

"I don't argue over stupid things! Why does it matter to you whether or not I become a vampire?"

"I will not be related to a fucking vampire!" I snarled at her, leaning forward. "I'm not going to let you become a soulless, sparkling bitch without a fight. Jacob is too worried about hurting your feelings but I'm not. I don't give a rat's ass about your damned feelings and I will beat the shit out of you as a possible option of knocking sense back into you."

Her mouth was wide open. Her face went red and her anger returned full force as her mouth snapped shut. "Listen, I don't care if you're family or not. You can't talk to me like that. I don't know what happened in your life to make you hate vampires so much but you're not going to ruin my happiness because you're bitter," Her feet hit the ground and she leaned forward. "Don't take your sad experiences out on me because you didn't get immortality or the man you wanted."

"Excuse the fuck out of you?" I said slowly, my patience, if you can say I have any, completely snapped. "I've never had the wish to become a vampire and never will I. Every vampire knows they do not have a soul and I would prefer to have one, not be damned. I'm a shifter and while I may not be completely human at least I'm close," Bella stood and turned to walk out of the room. I rushed at her, grabbing her arms and made her face me. Her startled eyes glared up into mine as she struggled futilely in my grasp. "I am not taking any sad experiences out on vampires, they give me enough of a reason to hate them on their own. I've been through things that would kill your anorexic ass and yet I'm not the one going suicidal. You are."

"I'm not suicidal," She spat. "I love him. I want to spend as much time as I can with him."

I shook her hard. "Either way your time is limited," My eyes bored into hers, my senses completely focused on her. "If you come to your senses you won't have much longer with him and if you don't I won't hesitate in killing you."

Her mouth popped open and she spluttered, "N-no, you wouldn't do that!"

"I killed for less," I said, enjoying the amount of fear enhancing her scent. It was addictive. "You're family and I refuse to let your insane idea that he loves you ruin your life. I will fix your mistake."

"We're leaving," She whispered, casting her eyes down. "There won't be any reason to-"

"You're my fucking family!" I screamed, pushing her away from me. I was subconsciously aware of the small audience in the door way but as usual, I didn't care. My temper was too far gone. I was done being patient. I was done trying to convince her. "I don't care where you go or how far I have to go to find you, I will rip your fucking head off before I let you kill, animal or human, or let you destroy your own soul. Don't you think I would leave the topic alone if I were lying? Do you think my reaction would be this strong for someone I barely even know and don't like? Fuck no! I'm done trying to convince you that you're wrong. You are and I am going to make your life a living hell until you figure it out or I kill you. Got that?"

She was crying. Great heaves of breath were going in to and out of her lungs at an erratic pace. "Do you ever stop crying?!" I knew I was being harsh but she was—I disliked her. She's just like all the other humans who threw their lives away to be immortal and beautiful. If you count sparkling like a fairy princess beautiful. It made me want to throw up, personally.

"Sparrow," the deep bass boomed in the tall room and my head snapped to the doorway. "That's enough for now."

My chin lifted and I crossed my arms but remained quiet. He may not be my Alpha but he was someone I respected and I didn't think Bella could live through much more. Sam, Jared, and Paul were standing there, Sam's expression hard and Jared's shocked. Paul looked like he was restraining a smile. He was watching Bella but when his eyes slid to mine my mind went blank.

Fuck.

Looks like Sam was going to be my new Alpha after all.