Leah morphed back into her petite wolf form and led me towards her territory. Just past her packs scent marks was ring of pungent vampire stench, if intruders weren't perturbed by Shifters than the presence of vampires would make them think twice. There were few, if any, creatures that weren't afraid of at least one of the supernatural species.

Not far beyond the smell of vampire was a small clearing. A collection of huts took up the entire clearing, like something from a fairytale. There were four in total and they were all tiny, I couldn't see them being more than three rooms each. But for a Shifter they were more than adequate.

If these Shifters were anything like the ones that I grew up with, they didn't want or need big elaborate dwellings. The wolf in us made us crave the outdoors. We hated confinement, even if it was the four walls of our home. It was a disdain for confinement which had me standing outside the collection of shacks, waiting for Leah to return with some clothes for me to wear.

I couldn't quite remember how tall I was in human form but I had to assume I was still around six foot. Life as a wolf meant that I no longer thought in terms of exact figures. I guessed that Leah was around six foot too, although she could be inches taller or shorter. Chances were shorter because of how small her wolf was.

She'd only just disappeared behind one of the huts when two men strode from where I'd last seen her. They were both Shifters, I could tell by their height and their muscle. One was gawky and weedlike; the other was relatively short and heavy set. It was hard to explain but I knew who the stocky one was, he was the wolf that had followed Leah not too long ago. He smirked at me and I stepped away.

"Who would have known that Leah would actually succeed?" the stocky man laughed as he stopped and leant against the wall of the shack closest to me.

The other man gave the stocky one an irritated glance before flashing me a concerned grin. He hadn't said anything to me but already I liked this lanky Shifter. In comparison to his arrogant companion, this one was sweet. Although I was more than a little annoyed by the pity in his eyes. I didn't need his compassion or understanding, I just needed him and his buddies to let me keep heading north.

When he spoke, his tone was as soft as his visage, "Alice, for one."

The stocky one snorted and rolled his eyes, "Unlike you, I'm not so willing to believe everything that comes out of the bloodsucker's mouth."

So they were even more associated with the vampires than I thought. It was one thing to share land with them but it was another thing altogether to be friends with one, or in this case an entire clan. I stepped back again, wondering if this was really where I wanted to be. If I couldn't trust vampires than how could I trust Shifters who went against their nature to be friends with them?

My ears swivelled around involuntarily as they picked up the faint sounds of rushing feet. Again, I stepped back, edging closer to the forest. I turned towards the noise and tried to repress the growl that rumbled in my throat. The gurgle of a growl slipped through and in my periphery I saw the two male Shifters tense up.

Cloth tore in front of me and I glanced at the two Shifters within my sight to find them both in wolf form. The stocky chocolate one was trying to stare me down, although it was evident that he was far from an Alpha. The weedy one was a dark sandy coloured wolf, smaller than the chocolate one but as thin as his human form. His eyes glanced between me and the forest to the west and the field to the east.

The racing slowed as Leah darted past the two Shifters, a pile of cloth folded in her arms. She looked as panicked as the gangly wolf. She gestured to pass the clothes to me, "It's okay, it's just Sam's pack. The vampires will stay away, Jake promised they would."

I figured that this Jake was her Alpha but I did not have the same faith in him that he would stick to his word. In fact, I was pretty sure that he would have vampires stationed around us, keeping an eye on me. It's what I would do if I were an Alpha and could somehow tolerate the presence of vampires. Actually, it wasn't what I would do. I'd never associate myself with those crimes against nature.

A wolf pack walked into the clearing from the forest to the west. At their head was the large black wolf that had tried to question me yesterday. He was as intimidating as ever, although I'd never let him know that I felt that way.

One of the good things about being an 'Alpha' was that he could only hear what I wanted him to hear, so I could easily fool him into thinking I was more confident than I was. I wasn't really an Alpha, but I was the leader of my pack. Then again I was the only member of my pack, so if I was anything less than Alpha it would be more than a little weird.

His deep voice rang between my ears and I couldn't help but feel violated by it. He was forcing his way into my head and I really didn't like it, 'Who are you?'

I stared at him. Just because he wanted an answer, didn't mean that I was going to give him one. He was not my Alpha, so I would tell him what I wanted, when I wanted to. Right now, I didn't want to talk to him at all. Not when he was intruding into my thoughts; I was so grateful that I could choose not to talk back.

A couple of wolves were approaching from the east and I stepped back to make sure that I could look at everyone without having to look away from anyone else. It meant that I had to move back quite a ways because there were a lot of them. At least ten in the black wolf's pack, plus the two Shifters and Leah in front of me, and now the pair of wolves approaching from the east. The numbers were starting to mount and I couldn't help but feel that I had just walked into a trap.

Three wolves and two humans- no, two vampires, made their way to the clearing. The Vampires and two of the wolves stopped several metres from me, while the last wolf, the russet one, dashed behind the house and emerged moments later wearing pants and pulling a t-shirt over his.

"My name is Jacob Black. This is my territory that you are on at the moment, and the vampires behind me are Carlisle and Esme Cullen, this is their territory as well. This is Sam Uley." He gestured to the black wolf, "Would you care to take your human form and talk to us?" The human form of the russet wolf said as he stood proudly before the vampires.

The large black wolf stood in a relaxed position with his tail raised high and wagging slowly, the soft brown wolf that stood just behind the black one, seemed to be even more relaxed than his apparent Alpha. All the wolves sniffed the air, trying to assess my scent without appearing too forward.

Leah stepped closer and I backed away, causing her to frown, "I just wanted to hand you the clothes. You can take them behi-" Leah stopped short as I jumped back and swung my head to look over my shoulder.

I could hear the approach of more individuals from behind the vampires and werewolves. In a desperate attempt to keep my eyes on everyone I found myself sulking backwards towards the south, and spinning around to make sure I eyed everyone at least once every few seconds.

"Stop!" I heard the vampire's yell, holding their hands out towards the approaching group. The group slowed, mainly because they were already close enough for me to smell them and I knew undeniably that they were vampires too.

"Please, take the clothes. Stop this madness." Leah urged.

Someone yelled, "Leah! Stop!"

But the warning came too late. Leah took an ill advised step forward. The next thing I knew she had dropped her bundle and was scurrying away from me. I had felt the supple flesh try to resist the force for a fraction of a second before the pressure tore through her skin. There was the slightest of jolts, as the bones followed in the skin's example and gave way. At the same time the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth.

I had bitten her.

Both packs pressed in on me. Teeth bared and hackles raised. They may not have wanted me dead when they first met me but they sure as hell did now. Their growls melded together like I was suddenly faced with a busy highway of angry wolves. I stumbled backwards as they started a slow march forward.

A dark grey wolf surged forward. I didn't get a chance to truly register which one it was. He was one of their larger wolves and in a moment I knew enough about him to guarantee a victory. He was angry. And anger was dangerous, especially when fighting someone you've never gone up against before. How could he possibly expect to counter what I could throw, when he didn't know how hard my throw was? He was angry and he was foolish.

He tried, by gosh did he try. And he was quite powerful, but in terms of fighting he was surprisingly inexperienced. He seemed to be a very straight forward individual and didn't even attempt to disguise his attacks. Every bite he aimed, I was able to avoid, although he was just fast enough to throw me off my game a couple of times.

Still, I dodged his attacks. I refused to launch my own because I was still hopeful that I could somehow get out of this. That would not be possible if I was responsible for the injuring of two of their wolves. As long as I was defending myself they couldn't blame me for any fuckups that this grey wolf found himself in. But he wasn't the first to fuckup.

I was. I felt his jaw clamp down around my tail and agonising pain washed up my spine. The yelp that escaped me was entirely involuntary and I cursed myself for sounding so weak. In order to make up for it, I allowed myself to go on the offensive. If he was going to make me bleed then I was going to make him bleed.

His inexperience showed through when I finally decided to defend myself. It took me a few moments to get him on his back and just a few more to have caught some of his neck between my teeth to tear at the skin. The beauty of the neck was that there was excess skin, meaning I could hurt him without risking his life.

The black wolf lunged at me, snapping his large jaws at my neck and face as he reared onto his hind legs. I turned from the pinned wolf and focused my attention on the impressive black Alpha. I was marginally shorter than him, but despite having similar heights he was stronger than me. As he bit at the ruff of my neck, trying to get to the skin, I turned my shoulders downward so that the bulk of his mass started flying over my slight frame. Without letting my back touch the ground, I jerked my head towards his neck, sinking my teeth into the loose skin of his neck. My sharp teeth held tight as he cried and tried to pull away from me.

I felt the stabbing pain of teeth hacking into the thin layer of flesh on my hind legs and heard a bone snap with the force. More and more teeth joined them as numerous wolves clamped their jaws onto whatever part of my body they could get a grip on. I whimpered and growled as I tried desperately to get away from them.

"Stop!" someone yelled and slowly but surely the wolves let go and backed away.

At least that's what I thought they did. When I was finally released by all but one, a large grey wolf, this one I was able to fight off alone, I noticed that it was the vampires that had pulled the wolves off me. I scrambled to my feet to start a desperate retreat but my attempt was thwarted by a pull on my tail and I turned around to see the thick set black haired vampire holding me still. I whipped around to threaten him but he seemed unfazed by it.

I growled at the vampire, and swore at him, 'Dirty neck biter. If I ever get you alone I swear to God that I'll rip that meaty head of yours clean off your oversized shoulders.' I knew he couldn't read my thoughts but it seemed to help me feel better.

As my swearing alleviated some of my stress I found myself noticing the situation around me and the wolves were silent. They stared at me in astonishment, as did one of the vampires. I was now trapped inside two circles, one of wolves and one of vampires. Again, this was not where I wanted to be.

The black wolf and the russet wolf stepped forward from the ring of vampires. They were panting heavily and the black one had blood dripping from his nose. I licked my lips and chewed at the air, tasting the blood that clung to my fur and dripped from my teeth. One tooth was loose and bleeding heavily, it was a canine and I was sure that everyone saw the crimson fluid run down its length and soak into the short fur of my muzzle. I felt bad but I was thankful that everyone else looked just as shitty.

A sharp sting reminded me that there was a vampire holding my tail and bile rose in my throat. The thought that one of them was touching me made me sick to my stomach. My skin started to twitch and I let my disgust drive my attack. It wasn't the wisest move but finally luck was on my side. The vampire was either stupid or not paying attention and I was able to clamp my jaws around his hard shoulder. The feel of his flesh against my hot tongue made me shiver.

He released my tail and dashed away from me, so fast that I lost sight of him for a second. I hated that part of vampirism, their ability to move past what normal living creatures could see was plain wrong. When he stopped he doubled over and pawed at his shoulder. Hunting wasn't the only fun thing that you could do with a vampire, cracking their hard flesh was almost just as good.

'I think you should phase.' one of the Alphas behind me growled. The other one agreed with him, even though he wasn't saying anything. I turned to look at the two Alphas and the russet one stepped forward, 'Because we need to talk. Properly.'