Amount of words without summary/AN/Disclaimer: 1 376

Recap: Chapter Seven: (BELLA) Receiving no reply, I slowly pressed a finger to her wrist to feel for a pulse. There was none.

Chapter Eight:(PAUL) "I'm afraid that I haven't told you a lot of things," Sam said tiredly. He ran a hand down his face and peeked at me from between his fingers. "We need to have a Pack meeting."

A/N: Okay so I know I said it would be up by Sunday, but I decided to put it up. Sorry for the short chapter, but please bear with me! Anyway, thank you so much to my beta NyxsReincarnation – without you my chapters would be an absolute disaster!

Another thing – Please check out the Poll on my profile!

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Chapter Nine – Back to Bella

I paced the room, worried thoughts plaguing my mind. Was Clara going to be alright? And what about Callie?

The last couple of days had been totally unreal. First, Kim and I had been kidnapped. I (add "had phased into a werewolf while Victoria bit Kim – who was now a vampire. I'd stormed out of my Alpha's house when I had gotten) upset, and at a grocery store I borrowed some kid's phone to call Embry to let him know that I was alive. While I was doing that, Kim had completed her change and happened upon very human Callie and Clara.

Jason had immediately phased into his wolf form after pushing Callie away from him, behind the couch. Drake had phased too, but Clara was in the way. In the process he had accidently clawed at her stomach.

Drake had had no time to look after Clara before his Alpha and the vamp Kim started to fight. He'd jumped into the fight. He'd grabbed Kim's ankle and helped Jason drag her out of the house.

Mandy and Tyler had come running into the room, worried by the noise and screaming coming from Clara and Callie. He'd phased just as the vamp had come charging back into the room, attracted to Clara's blood.

In the ensuing fight, Callie's ribs had somehow been crushed and her spine broken. No-one knew how it happened, or whose fault it was. Mandy couldn't tell, either. Who had it been? Jason, Drake, Kim, or Tyler?

No one knew, and that was the problem.

Kim had stilled when she spotted Callie, her bloodlust forgotten. According to Mandy, everyone froze. The wolves and vampire just stared at the quickly-fading and twisted Callie. Suddenly Kim had zoomed to Callie, pulled her up, and was out of the house faster than anyone could even blink. The wolves followed after a moment. Mandy had checked on an unconscious Clara and then went screaming for help.

Which is when I'd arrived. I'd just missed the action. I called for help that never came. Clara died for a moment, but as soon as I realized that, Jacob, Damian and Mandy had arrived. They performed CPR and her heart started beating again. An ambulance had arrived, and she'd been rushed to Port Angeles's Hospital. We had followed, and all the way everything grew steadily numb inside of me.

The doctors said that Clara would be okay.

But that was nothing. Callie was still gone, and chances were she was dead. If not from being drained, then she'd surely have died from her injuries.

I felt awful about everything. This was my fault. If I hadn't dated Edward, Victoria never would've been after me. Which meant that Kim wouldn't be a vampire right now. Callie would never have been kidnapped by said vampire, and everything would've been ok.

My head snapped up at the sound of approaching footsteps. It was strange, and I still had to get used to my advanced hearing. The footfalls were heavy and soon a figure appeared. Mandy. I looked at her and slowly tears filled my eyes.

Immediately her small arms went around me. "Hey Iz, shh, it's going to be okay, you'll see," Mandy whispered as she squeezed me tightly. "Everything is going to be okay."

The words barely registered in my mind. The only thought that I had kept repeating over and over again.

It's my fault. It's my entire fault.

Slowly the rest of my pack entered the waiting room. Everyone was silent and depressed. We had lost one of our own, and it was all thanks to me.

As if reading my mind, Jason walked over to me. Mandy let go of me and Jason gave me a long, lasting hug.

"I'm so sorry, Jason," I breathed into his ear so that only he could hear.

"It's not your fault, Bella," Jason said into my neck.

A few tears dropped onto my bare shoulders and I could feel my heart slowly breaking for my Alpha. His imprint was missing, and it was once again my fault. I didn't understand though. Why was Jason hugging me? Why didn't he hate me? I mean, I would hate me.

It's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault…

"Bella?" a musical voice asked, breaking through the numbness.

I looked up and met golden eyes. No, this couldn't be real. Carlisle had left…

"Bella, sweetie," he murmured sadly.

Jason let go of me and the wolves surrounding me growled at the vampire. I pushed through the protective cover of the wolves though and threw myself into his cold embrace.

"Carlisle!" I cried, feeling overjoyed but also overwhelming sadness. "It's my fault, Carlisle!" I don't know how he'd gotten here, or why. I was just glad he came.

"Shh, Bells," he whispered into my ear. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

I didn't question Carlisle's sudden appearance in Port Angeles, even though I knew I should. Why was he here, and when did he come? Where were the rest of the Cullens? But it didn't really matter. All I knew was that I was grateful to see my surrogate father; I was relieved to see a truly familiar face.

Carlisle's cold and strong arms held me until I stopped crying. Embarrassed, I let go of Carlisle. I wiped my face and turned to face my pack.

Jason wore a frown as his eyes flickered between Carlisle and I, his eyes confused. But after a few seconds realization slowly entered his green eyes and my Alpha offered me a half-hearted smile.

The rest of the pack, however, was furious. Drake's lips were pulled back into an ugly sneer as his green eyes bored into Carlisle's own amber ones. "Who are you?" Drake growled softly, his eyes zooming in on Carlisle's arm around my shoulders.

"What's going on, Bella?" Damian asked me, his voice hard. "What is he to you?"

"Why the Hell are you touching the vamp?" Jason joined in angrily.

They continued to demand answers and it was seriously pissing me off. How the Hell was I supposed to answer if they didn't even give me a chance?

"ENOUGH!" I yelled at the three, and even I could hear the heavy order in my voice. "Shut the Hell up and let me talk, you idiots!"

I don't know who was more shocked when the three wolves did as I instructed. Me, Mandy, Jason, the trio, or Carlisle.

"How did you" – Jason started, but I cut in.

"I don't know, alright? I'm just me, Bella Friggen Swan!"

"What you did, Bella, was an Alpha or Beta order," Jason said softly with a frown.

I was confused, but I knew what he meant. I decided that it wasn't important right now. "Guys, this is Carlisle Cullen. He was my surrogate father, and my vampire boyfriend's adoptive father." I nodded at Carlisle. There was silence as I turned to Carlisle. "And Carlisle, this is Damian Marx, Drake Anderson, Jacob Crowley, and my Alpha Jason Meraz." I pointed to each man in turn. "Lastly, that over there is Mandy Perks, an imprint," I gestured to the silent girl.

There was a brief moment of silence. Carlisle stepped forward then and offered a hand to Jason. "Nice to meet you," he said in a friendly voice.

Jason forced a smile out and, shaking his hand, said, "Likewise."

Just then a doctor appeared next to Mandy and everyone's attention was directed at her. She gave an uncomfortable smile as she eyed the big men. "Dr Carlisle, good to see you," she stated with surprise when she finally spotted Carlisle.

Carlisle nodded. "The same goes to you, Dr du Toit. You have a friend of ours here, and I understand that you've been treating her?"

Dr du Toit nodded. "She's made a startling recovery, and will be able to go home in the next two days or so."

I was shocked. How was it that she was already mostly healed?! But I shoved the thought away and joined in on the happy whoops of my pack. Clara was okay and alive! With a big smile on my face I was finally able to relax.