Chapter 9: Have you seen the Big Bad Wolf?

Woah its been forever. I've literally had the worst case of writers block ever. School comes first, and I wish it could be different but the stress has seriously been killing my creative vibes. Ugh

Sorry for the delay guys, but I think many of you will like this one ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight Series or any of the characters in it but I do own all aspects of this original plot and its characters.

The doorbell woke Ally from her dead-sleep.

Curled up in bed with the sheets a rumpled mess, she jolted awake at the incessant ringing that echoed through the house. It took her foggy mind a moment to process what exactly had woken her up from the blissful, sedative induced sleep she had been enjoying. A sudden loud knocking at the front door as well as another round of doorbell-ringing roused Ally from her grogginess.

If this is Embry or Leah bribing me to leave the house with breakfast, I'm pouring the coffee on their head and kicking them off of my porch. The young woman grumbled to herself, untangling her legs from the bedsheets and stuffing her feet violently into her slippers.

"I'm coming!" Ally shouted as the knocking continued, padding into the front hall already with a list of profanities she was going to throw at Embry when she opened the door.

What she did not expect was to see two young girls and a middle aged woman standing on her porch. They looked equally shocked to see her, eyes wide and one girl even took a step back into the older woman.

"Um, can I help you?" Ally asked after she had fully opened the door. Wrapping her sweater tighter around her middle to hide her wrinkled sleep shirt, Ally tried not to blush as the four very obviously did a once over of her appearance.

Not having much strength to put effort into just about anything, she had on a ratty pair of sweats and her hair twisted up on top of her head in a knotted bun. Glancing at her reflection in the glass of the door's window, Ally grimaced at the dark circles that marred the skin beneath her eyes.

"We-ah, we're here for dance class." The woman replied, gesturing to the girl's dance bags and their hair up in ballet buns. The two nodded enthusiastically and peered around Ally into the house, searching for something.

Ally felt as if the air had been knocked out of her lungs. All she could do was stare wide-eyed at the woman and three girls. Dance class? There was no dance class anymore, not with her aunt gone. Another sucker punch like sensation rippled through her gut and it took all of Ally's strength not to double up in pain.

"Miss?"

Ally jolted out of her trance and looked down to the youngest girl who looked to be barely six years old.

"Where's Madame Crowe? She promised to teach me Odie's dance."

"Odette, Carmen, Odette." the older girl, looking around twelve, corrected the smallest one - Carmen - gently.

"Madame Crowe usually asks us to enter in the dance studio door; my daughters and I already tried but the doors are locked. She's probably waiting for us and we're already running a bit late. It's our first lesson of the season." The older woman explained and gave Ally a sheepish smile.

They don't know. They don't know. They don't know. They don't know. They don't know. They don't know. How could they not know? How could they not know?

"You…you don't-" Ally choked over her words and the mother's smile disappeared, turning into a confused frown.

"Is everything alright?" the mother asked gently.

Ally covered her mouth with one hand, wrapping the other arm around her midsection, shaking her head slowly.

No, nothing is alright.

—

"I can't believe she's gone." The woman - she had introduced herself as Celine - murmured as she stared into the cup of tea that Ally had set in front of her.

After Ally had broken down in tears on the porch, Celine had immediately known something was horribly wrong and ushered her daughters and Ally into the house. Sending the girls into the studio through the adjoining door to the kitchen, she sat down with the young woman and listened in a shocked silence as Ally explained what had happened.

Aunt Alicia's dance school ran out of her home, using the remodeled garage as a studio. It was a gorgeous rehearsal space, with a full mirror running along the far wall, a smooth dance floor set into the foundation - just over the concrete. Balance bars and different dance equipment were lined up against the right wall neatly while on the left was a full glass wall with a view out into the forest and meadow behind the house.

Ally had grown up learning to dance in that studio and it had been Aunt Alicia's pride and joy up until the day she died. Being one of the only dance schools open to all ages in the Olympic Peninsula, Aunt Alicia had a very successful and plentiful business from the day she opened her doors. After her passing, Ally had been assured by her aunt's attorney that the dance school's pupils would be notified.

Celine had been away with her daughters and husband in San Francisco for the summer and most of the fall when the call had been made, and having only gotten back the day before had not thought to check her voicemail. Thus she had showed up with her daughters bright and early for their dance class only to discover the shocking news. They had no idea Alicia's dance studio had been abandoned for months.

"I don't know what to tell the girls, how I'm supposed to explain this to them. Alicia was like a second mother to them. Annie's been dancing with her since she was three." Celine murmured, looking into the studio through the french doors at her daughters. Annie was leading her younger sister through bar stretches, both girls oblivious to the sadness plaguing the kitchen.

Celine turned to Ally and gave her a sympathetic look. "She used to talk about you all the time, show your recital videos to the classes and only go on about how amazing of a dancer you are. The girls think of you as a celebrity." There was a bitter sweetness in her voice that Ally wanted to shrink away from. Thinking about her aunt hurt enough but remembering the love and admiration she held made her feel hollowed out all over again.

"She and my mother taught me everything I know - my aunt's the real celebrity." Ally murmured.

Celine opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of shrieking coming from the studio. Both Ally and Celine bolted from their seats and rushed into the studio to see Annie and Carmen cowering together in front of the windows facing out into the forest.

"What is it? What's wrong?!" Celine gasped as her daughters scrambled into her arms. Movement in the trees outside the window caught Ally's eye and she crept closer to the glass. A flash of brown fur darted deeper into the trees and Ally could have sworn she saw a pair of familiar mocha eyes.

"We saw a monster in the forest!" Annie declared shrilly and Carmen nodded furiously.

"Annie I'm sure you just saw a fox or a squirrel." Celine tried to calm her daughters but they shook their heads in protest, their ballet buns bobbing in sync.

"It wasn't a fox or a squirrel, it was huge with big teeth and huge paws and red eyes!" Carmen trembled and Ally crouched down to her level, side-by-side with Celine.

"If it was anything it was probably just a black bear getting a little too curious." Ignoring the fact that the fur she had seen was brown, Ally tried to soothe the little one. Carmen shook her head so hard Ally thought it might pop off.

"It was the Big Bad Wolf and now he's going to eat us!"

Ally's breath caught in her chest. A wolf? The large creature she had seen was much too big to be a wolf, it looked more like a bear in truth.

But Ally suddenly remembered her nightmare all those months ago, the monster she had encountered in the forest was as big as a horse and looked all of the Big Bad Wolf that Carmen described.

"Even if it had been a wolf, it wouldn't have hurt you." Carmen still looked doubtful, so Ally took her hand.

"Have you ever heard the Quileute legends about the spirit warriors?"

Carmen shook her head slowly.

"Spirit Warriors are warriors of the Quileute tribe who protect innocent people from harm. They take the form of wolves to run in the forests and watch over the people of this land." To say the explanation was watered down would be a gross understatement, but it served it's purpose.

"So all the wolves are really warriors in disguise?" Carmen tilted her head to one side with a childlike curiosity that made Ally's mouth twitch up in a smile.

"No, not all of them. But because of these legends, the wolves are sacred animals in La Push and it is illegal to hunt or hurt them. Since the people here have always given them respect, they have always returned it. The wolves are kind and beautiful animals and if you did see a wolf outside, it was most likely watching over its people." Ally smiled fondly as the tales her mother used to tell her as bedtime stories filtered through her thoughts.

"Like a guard dog?" Carmen asked, suddenly more animated. The young woman laughed softly and nodded.

"Sort of like a guard dog, yes."

Satisfied by Ally's explanation, Carmen was once more bright and smiling. Ally turned to Annie who seemed just as mystified by the legend as her little sister was.

"Now, why don't you show me what you've been learning."

—

The girls ran through their routines eagerly for Ally, quickly forgetting the topic of wolves and Spirit Warriors.

"-Now left your leg just a little more…" Ally instructed Carmen and Annie gently on their Arabesque position. Annie was steady and her leg never wavered from behind her, but Carmen was having trouble with her balance and had to reset her position more than once.

Pouting, Carmen turned to Ally with a pleading look.

"Miss Ally, can you show me how? I can't do it right."

She winced. Ally had been afraid one of the girls would ask her to dance for them. It wasn't that she couldn't, no Ally was a gifted ballerina. But the thought of even rising into First Position made her gut clench and her head fill with bittersweet memories she refused to confront.

"Square your shoulders and try again, Carmen." Ally instructed instead of directly answering the girl's request. The young ballerina did as she was told and almost immediately her balance returned and each girl held their pose until Ally asked them to resume First.

"Very nice ladies. I think that's enough for today." her statement was met with whines from both girls and pleas to continue just a little longer.

"I still haven't learned Odie's dance!" Carmen complained. Ally smiled at her sadly.

"I think your mother needs to get you home now." she tried gently and the girls relented. Dragging their feet, the students stuffed their things into their dance bags and shrugged on their coats.

Celine was waiting for them at the front door and after rushed goodbyes from the young girls they scampered off to their car. Celine lingered as Ally closed the front door behind her and stepped onto the porch.

"I wanted to thank you for teaching the girls today. None of this could have been particularly easy for you." Celine murmured.

No, not easy, Ally thought, but distracting.

"I didn't mind. The girls are very talented. And it was nice to be in the studio again." Ally gave a soft smile. The dance studio had been practically abandoned since Alicia's accident, and to see it used again by little girls who loved to dance made Ally's heart feel a little less empty.

Celine took out her wallet and pulled out a stack of bills. Ally's eyes widened as the mother tried to put the money in her hand.

"Oh I don't think-" she tried but Celine cut her off.

"Please, you had the girls for more than two hours. That's double their normal class time. You taught them and I'm paying you the fee." Yeah, and then some. Ally mused.

"Please?" Celine tried again, and Ally eyed the bills with a conflicted frown. The money was enough to pay the electric bill for a month and then some, and with no source of income as her checks from Step Out! had stopped per her request, the money was very tempting.

"Just take it, please." Celine pressed and finally Ally relented. Taking the stack of bills, Ally held them tightly as Celine smiled at her again.

"Thank you, Ally." with that, she walked to her car, got in and with a wave pulled away.

Ally's grip on the bills never lessened, even after the car had disappeared into the trees.

—

"A giant wolf?" Leah quirked an eyebrow and gave Ally a look that was a cocktail of doubt, surprise and skepticism.

"Don't give me that look, Leah." Ally groaned, chucking a wadded up piece of magazine paper at her friend. With agility that she envied, Leah smacked the projectile away from its intended target - her face - with a swat of her hand.

"Well what look would you prefer I give you? My resting bitch face is too mild for something as bat shit as seeing a giant wolf in the woods."

After Celine and her daughters had driven away (and Ally had stowed the cash in a cookie jar under the sink), Ally had called Leah to invite her over and spared little detail in describing the events of the morning. Leah, to Ally's surprise, had only reacted mildly to the tale. A raise of an eyebrow and a roll of the eyes was all her friend had to offer before she fell into a stiff silence.

"I don't know, a little shock? Maybe jumping off my couch with an egad! or something?" She poked Leah's leg with her foot and the other woman merely mumbled something incoherent.

"What is with you today anyway? You showed up totally stressed out and now you look like you're about to go bury yourself."

Leah had showed up at Ally's in a mood equivalent to a grumpy bear's with her only explanation being a loud groan before flopping down onto the nearest piece of furniture. When Ally had asked what was wrong, the older girl had snapped about her asshole of a boss (who Ally had learned was a man she had met at the funeral, Sam Uley) and then let the topic die.

"Like I said, my boss is an asshole and I have better things to do than babysit his protege."

"Then quit." the dancer shrugged. Leah laughed bitterly.

"If only. This is the kind of job with a contract that I can't get out of." Leah laughed again, still bitter, but with a suggestion of a witty inside joke that Ally wasn't in the loop of.

"What do you even do for Sam?"

Leah chewed her lip before shrugging. "Tribe stuff. We answer to the Council and kinda watch over the reservation."

Ally rested her chin on the heel of her palm thoughtfully. "That doesn't sound too awful."

Leah rolled her eyes. "Its the people I work with. I'm the only girl in the pack and all the testosterone is unbearable."

"You're like spirit warriors." Ally joked lightly, but as the words hung in the air Ally looked up to see Leah staring at her with a look of horror.

Panicking that she had offended Leah with the comparison to the legends, Ally scrambled to explain.

"Well I just mean that you said you watch over the reservation and you just said you're the only one in the 'pack'. I was only kidding." Leah's face had relaxed slightly but traces of unease still lingered. She tried to brush it off by clearing her throat and rolling her eyes, but Ally could see her hands were shaking.

"Pack, Ally. A group, a gathering of people, do you want me to use other synonyms? It was a figure of speech - it means nothing." Leah's response came out sharp and hostile and Ally involuntarily shrunk back on the couch.

Her thought process running with the wolf analogy, Ally noted that Leah resembled every aspect of an agitated wolf; bristled, on edge and ready to pounce.

Knock-knock.

"I'll get it." Leah sprung up from the couch, and both women were relieved for a distraction from the tension.

Ally heard Leah almost sprint to the front door and wrenched it open.

"What do you want, Call?"

Ally's ears perked at Embry's last name and their conversation floated into the living room.

"-needs you to bring Ally to Emily's." Embry's voice was low and sounded tight with anxiety.

"Now?"

"Yes, now. Sam-"

Their voices dropped down to murmurs and then Ally heard two sets of footsteps entering the room. Trying not to look as if she had just been eavesdropping, Ally greeted Embry with a lazy wave and a smile.

"Hey, Embry. Nice shirt." sarcastically Ally pointed to his bare chest and he cracked a tight smile.

"Hey Al. I came by to invite you to a dinner party at Emily's - I think you remember her from the…uh-" Embry trailed off awkwardly and Ally nodded.

"Sure, I could eat." she said briskly, brushing over his stutter. "Do I need to change?" gesturing down to her jeans and sweatshirt. Embry shook his head somewhat impatiently.

"No, its really lax. We should go now though, we're already late."

Something about Embry's tone unnerved Ally and her gut told her that it was better to go along than ask questions.

—

If Ally had to describe her first impression of the Young house, the experience would most likely be summed up with the phrase: orderly chaos.

So many voices merging together, footfalls and laughter echoing beneath the words of idle conversation. The smell of cooking food wafted through the entire house and swirled in tendrils around Ally's nose.

"Ally!"

Then all at once the chaos stopped.

Seth had gotten up from one of the couches in the living room adjacent to the kitchen and bounded over to the three newcomers like an excited puppy.

He threw his hands around the dancer and lifted her off the ground, twirling her around.

"Nice to see you too, Seth!" Ally shrieked. "Now please put me down."

The younger boy set her gently on her feet and let go, a smile still on his face.

"We've been begging Emily to invite you over all week, but Sam said since J-"

"Seth, enough."

Immediately, the fifteen-year-old fell into silence and dipped his head as a man who Ally vaguely recognized as Sam Uley. Leah muttering curses under her breath confirmed her memory.

"Sam Uley," he stuck out a hand for her to shake. Ally took it gingerly, remembering Leah's bitch sessions about him.

"Ally Crowe, but I'm guessing you already knew that."

Sam cracked a smile and nodded. "Yes, and I'm sorry I wasn't present to express my condolences at the funeral. I had some," Sam glanced back at the living room. "Urgent business to attend to." He turned his head back to Ally and lowered his voice. "I'm sorry for your loss. Alicia was a friend."

Ally nodded slowly and tried to ignore the awkward silence that hung in the air.

"Sam, are you going to make that poor girl stand there the entire night?"

Sam stepped aside to let a young woman enter the conversation. Ally's breath caught in her throat when she saw the disfiguring scars running down one side of her face. The other half was strikingly beautiful and when she smiled it was easier to focus on that part than the scars.

"Emily Young, you must be Ally. Welcome to our home, are you hungry?"

Ally nodded and then realized she hadn't eaten anything substantial since the day before. "Starving." she admitted sheepishly.

"Dinner will be ready soon, please make yourself at home." With another bright smile, she disappeared back into the kitchen.

After Emily disappeared, Seth dragged her over to the living room for introductions. She had met most of the group at either the hospital or the funeral, but she was also introduced to Old Quil - Quil's grandfather -, Kim - Jared's girlfriend - and Rachel.

"Rachel Black." she extended a hand out to the younger girl who took and and paused.

"You wouldn't happen to be Billy Black's daughter, would you?"

Rachel smiled and nodded. "Thats my dad. I'm sorry I couldn't meet you at the funeral for Alicia, she was like a second mom to my siblings and I."

Ally nodded in shared sympathy then paused. "You have a brother, right?"

Rachel nodded again. "Yeah, Jake. He's my little brother."

"I'd hardly call him little…" Ally muttered and a few snickers rose from the boys.

"He and my Dad are running a little late. They had to make a stop into Forks." Rachel continued.

As if on cue the front door to Emily's house swung open. Jared and Paul rose from the couch to help Jake get his father's wheelchair up the steps and on the hallway floor. Sue trailed behind Jake with what looked like a casserole in her hands. The group shouted and called their greetings to the three before continuing on with their individual conversations. Sue pecked Ally on the cheek as she rushed by into the kitchen.

As soon as Billy was situated, his eyes roamed the room until they fell on Ally. A smile broke out on his face and he waved.

"Hello, Ally. Nice to see you again."

Ally crossed the room and bent down to hug him.

"Always nice to see you, Billy."

"Hi Ally."

Said girl turned around to almost run smack into what felt like a wall. Looking up, craning her neck to do so, Ally was met with a pair of brown eyes that left her frozen and warm pins and needles worked their way up her spine.

"Oh jeez, I'm sorry!" the taller boy laughed nervously and put his hands on Ally's shoulders to steady her balance. She let out her own nervous laugh and felt her face bloom with color.

"No, its fine - I have a bad habit of running into people literally." she waved him off and his hands dropped to his sides. "You're Jacob, right?"

He perked up when she said his name. A smile broke out on his face. "Yeah, we met at the…uh…" the abandoned nervousness returned and he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Funeral." Ally finished. Jacob nodded awkwardly and Ally found herself laughing.

"It isn't a curse word, you can say it in polite company. I don't mind." Ally said gently. The taller boy gave her another sheepish smile.

Before he could open his mouth to reply, Emily's voice echoed into the hallway. "Dinner's ready!"

The entire population of the living room save Old Quil and Billy bolted into the kitchen. Delicious smells wafted out into the room and Ally remembered just how starving she was.

"Emily's food is the best."

Ally looked to her right to see that Jacob hadn't moved from her side.

"Smells great, I almost forgot how hungry I was."

"I'll grab you a plate if you want, it can be a bit of a war zone in there." Jacob offered and Ally nodded gratefully. She could hear shouting and snapping from the next room and wasn't eager to join in on a food fight.

He entered the kitchen and Ally was left to sit on the couch with Old Quil and Billy.

The elderly man next to her regarded her with a studying look, but it didn't make her uneasy.

"Stop staring Old Man, she isn't an exhibit." Billy swatted his friend on the knee with his hat and the other man laughed.

"I wasn't staring, I was just noticing how much you look like your grandmother."

Ally's interest was peaked. "You knew my grandmother?" Ally had never met her grandparents, they had passed away many years before she was born and neither her mother nor her aunt wanted to talk about them much.

"She was my mother's good friend. Your grandfather was on the Council with my father. The Crowe's were a good family. You obviously inherited their beauty." The old man winked teasingly and Ally laughed.

Jacob returned with two plates of food and handed one to Ally. He sat down next to her on the couch, and Ally was once again reminded of his warmth. It radiated off of him like waves and Ally felt like she was sitting out on a beach back in Los Angeles under the sun.

The rest of the group trickled in as well and sat down around the room, engaging in boisterous conversation.

"Emily, this food is amazing." Ally said after swallowing a large bit of chicken.

"Thank you, Ally. I'm glad you like it, hon." Emily nodded from her place on Sam's lap.

"I wish I could cook like this." Ally sighed.

"You don't cook?" Jared asked. Ally shrugged.

"I wish. But I can pretty much burn water. I can dial take-out with the best of them though."

Her response lifted laughter from the group.

"Besides, I lived in a tiny apartment in L.A., if I tried to cook I'd most likely burn the complex down and the surrounding block." she dryly admitted.

"What was it like, living L.A.?" Kim piped up. Ally thought a moment before responding.

"Busy. There was always something going on at all hours of the day. I don't think I ever went to sleep at night without car horns and the sound of the city outside my window." She shifted in her seat, pondering her life in California.

"You always lived in an apartment?" Quil asked from his place on the floor across the room. Ally shook her head.

"No, I only lived in an apartment for a year or two. I used to live in Beverly Hills with my parents." The conversation was approaching uncomfortable territory.

"Why'd you move? Did your parents kick you out or something?" Paul asked and then hissed in pain when Rachel smacked him with a rolled up magazine she had been reading.

Ally felt Jacob tense beside her and out of the corner of her eye she could see Sue stiffen and Billy take in a breath.

She shook her head slowly. "No, my parents are dead."

CLIFFHANGER.

I'm not sorry haha. I had to end it somewhere, and I decided this was the best place.

The next chapter is already rolling and that should be out soon (like actually soon this time, I promise).

Review my lovelies!