AN: thanks for the reviews, here's the first part of the meeting with the pack.

How can sincerity be a condition of friendship?

A taste for truth at any cost is a passion which spares nothing.

Albert Camus

He opened the door and let her in; Emily and Kim were working in the kitchen while Sam and Jared were sitting on the sofa watching the TV. When they saw them coming in, they all converged towards them. Paul felt Bella getting closer to him, she probably was a little intimidated because Sam and Jared were quite huge too.

Paul smiled and said, "Guys, girls, this is Bella." Then he turned to her and smiled. "Bella these are my friends."

The guys shook her hand and then moved towards the sofa again, the girls introduced themselves and then took her with them to the kitchen. He noticed that she had looked at him and he had nodded at her trying to be reassuring. She had smiled and squeezed his hand and then had followed the girls.

He watched her getting acquainted with the kitchen and the girls, and when he was satisfied that she wasn't going to bolt or get scared he went to sit with the guys.

Jared whispered. "She seems nice lover boy." Sam nodded.

Paul shrugged his shoulders, but he was happy that they liked her. "She is full of surprises, I never know what to expect with her and I like that. She keeps me on my toes."

Sam laughed. "Emily has the same effect on me; even though we live together I'm always surprised of how she puts up with me."

Jared smiled. "You tell me, Kim is really good with me too. Although she is usually shy, she never backs down with me when she thinks she's right."

The girls were in the kitchen and Paul was very curious to hear what they were saying. Luckily with his werewolf senses he could hear them well.

"So Bella do you like Forks?" Kim asked.

"At the beginning I didn't, but now it had grown on me." Bella answered.

"The question should have been, do you like Paul?" Emily said.

Bella laughed. "Straight to the point… well, yes I do. He's so different from any other guy I met and at the same time he's exactly right. I don't know how to explain it; I felt something for him since he found me in the woods…"

"About that… are you better now?" Kim whispered.

"I'm getting better, I thought I would love Edward forever and then one day he just broke my heart and left me. I did a lot of thinking about my relationship with Edward and Paul came in my life unexpectedly… and I guess his presence made me understand that maybe what I shared with Edward wasn't the real deal… it silly, I know…" She answered.

"It isn't silly. Actually we're happy that you like Paul because he likes you too, and we want to see him happy." Emily told Bella.

Paul stopped listening, but he was feeling happy about what Bella had said, she was getting better with his help and even if she didn't know yet, she was falling in love with him. It was a scary thought because he didn't do love with girls, but since Bella was in his life she had put his world upside down. He felt he was ready at least to try to love her, if she stayed after he revealed her that he was a wolf.

"Dinner is ready!" Emily announced and they all sat around the table, Bella was sitting between him and Kim, so that she wasn't too close to the other guys. Paul wanted to ease her into their group, but he knew that Bella was shy and needed time to absorb every change.

The dinner was nice, they all talked and made Bella feel comfortable. Paul could see that she was relaxed and was starting to warm up to the guys. Sometime she would pull the sleeves of her t-shirt down to cover her wrists and he was wondering what it was about. He was thinking if he had ever seen her wrists and he hadn't, what was making her feel so self-conscious? He would have to ask her later.

When Sam cleared his throat Paul started to get anxious, this was it. They were going to tell Bella everything but imprinting.

"So Bella, I know you're not familiar with our legends…" Sam started, but then he saw the look in Bella's eyes and he stopped.

She looked embarrassed. "Actually I do know one of them, the one about the Cold ones and the Protectors…"

Silence descended into the room, Sam was watching her seriously and the other two girls were squirming in their seat. How the hell did she know about it? Had the Cullens broken the treaty and revealed to her their existence?

"Who told you that legend?" Paul finally asked.

Bella started fidgeting with the sleeves of her t-shirt again. "Jacob Black, last year… he was warning me about the Cullens… but it's just a legend…" She said hastily, trying to downplay the whole event.

"Let me get this straight, Jacob told you the legend of the Cold ones because of your relationship with Edward Cullen?" Sam asked.

She bit her lip, a sign she was nervous and Paul put a hand on hers. "Bella, it's okay we aren't angry with you. Jacob shouldn't have told you our legends without permission from our Elders, that's it."

Bella took a breath and looked at Paul with a guilty expression. "I might have… flirted with him a bit to get the story…"

Paul looked at her for a moment before comprehending what she had said, and when he did he just burst out laughing. Sam and Jared were watching him with shocked expression. "So Swan, you seduced Jacob to get what you wanted, you're a clever little vixen."

Bella blushed deeply, but nodded timidly.

"Well, what do you remember about the Protectors?" He asked her, still surprised that this slip of a girl could get away with so much. Men really were dumb when interacting with a woman.

"I think they're members of your tribe that turn into wolves… but I'm not that sure about that part." She replied.

Of course she didn't pay attention to the wolves; she was interested to know about the Cullens.

"Yes Bella, you remember correctly. We all know that the Cullens are the real Cold ones, now can you guess who are the wolves?" Paul said.

Her eyes widened and she looked around the table, she studied our body for a long while, then she turned to look at Paul. "Is it a joke?"

Paul shook his head. "No it isn't. If you step outside I'll show you my wolf form, it was him that found you in the woods."

She was eyeing him seriously, she seemed in shock, but not overtly scared.

"Bella I know it's a lot to take in, you just left the world of vampires and maybe you were searching for normalcy and instead you find yourself in the world of werewolves. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier." He managed to say softly, he didn't know what she was thinking.

"Well, with my track record I should have known that I couldn't really get a normal boyfriend." She stood up then and she hugged him. "It's okay Paul; I guess I always felt you were different from the other guys. I don't mind…"

Paul relaxed in her embrace and took a deep breath. She was totally crazy, but he wouldn't have her any other way. "You aren't freaking out Swan."

She laughed. "After dating, being bitten and almost killed by vampires… I guess I don't really mind that much about you being a wolf."

His mind had stilled at her words. "Bitten? Almost killed? What the fuck are you talking about?" He shouted.

She jumped back and tried to cover her wrists again, at that gesture Paul focused his attention there. Swiftly he took her right wrist in his hands and pushed up the sleeve. A huge scar looking like a vampire bite marred her skin. He touched it and it made him sick, it was cold and had a rotten smell. "What the fuck!" He shouted again before bolting out of the door and phasing midair. He was so angry that someone had dared to hurt her.

He was sitting outside in his wolf form, and she burst out of the door. When she noticed him she just stopped and blinked. "Paul is that you?"

He barked once, she bit her lip. "Can I come closer?"

He barked again, she slowly descended the stairs, he barely noticed that the guys were watching from the door.

When she was a step away from him she stopped, he inched closer trying not to scare her away. She understood and finally put her arms around his neck and placed her head in his fur. "I'm sorry I didn't want to upset you. I'll tell you everything; just… please don't leave me."

Paul's heart broke in that moment; the poor girl was so broken by that sparkling son of a bitch that she was scared of her own shadow. She thought he would leave her only because of anything vampire-related.

He barked again and she took a step back. Sam walked to him and gave him another pair of cut-off jeans. "You'll have to buy me a new stock Paul." He said while grinning.

Paul growled at him, but Sam just laughed. Sam then put an arm around Bella's shoulders and took her with him inside.

He phased back and then got in. They were all sitting around the table with Bella sipping a warm tea. He walked to where she was and before she could react he pulled her up, sat in her chair and then placed her in his lap. She was tense for a moment before relaxing and laying her back on his chest. "I'm not going to leave you Swan. I know that at the moment you don't trust anyone much, but I promise you that I'm not going to leave you unless it's a serious matter. To me it could only be cheating."

Bella breathed deeply. "I trust you Paul and thanks for your honesty… I guess now it's my turn to tell you what happened." She drank another sip of her tea and then started with her story.

She told them about Edward, James and Jasper. There were moments during her talk that he started trembling, the wolf was so enraged about how they had treated his mate, but Bella would stop, put her hands on his and caress him until he stopped shaking. By the end of the story she was in tears of pain and betrayal while his pack-family was saddened and angry because of how much she went through.

Emily and Kim were almost in tears and Emily whispered softly. "Bella, you were very brave and I want you to know that we're all here for you now. We can't replace the Cullens, but we would love to be another place you feel at home at. You've been hurt by the man you thought loved you most and I'm sure it hurts. Now you've a second chance at happiness and we hope you're going to embrace it with the same open mind and open heart."

Bella smiled at Emily, her tears were still falling copiously, but she seemed better. "Thank you Emily, thank you all for welcoming me. I already care for all of you so don't worry. I'm here to stay."

"That's right Swan. I've got you in my clutches now and there's no turning back." Paul growled into her ear.

She pressed herself further into his warmth and laughed. "I don't want to turn back Paul. I want to look forward with you."

Paul and the wolf were happy about her words, it wasn't yet love, but they were both sure that eventually it would be.