Previously:

Despite their different colors, the wolves all had one thing in common - their sharp fangs shone in the moonlight, hinting at the danger of powerful jaws.

Her coven was on the Quileute territory, and Bella recalled what Edward and Jasper had told her before. There was a treaty in place where both parties had agreed not to cross the boundaries. Now, they were in violation. Five wolves against four vampires and one very angry vampire wolf.

This was going to be bad. Very bad.

14. Addition

Jacob took a step forward, unafraid. "Amazing."

"Jake, they recognize us!" Charlie exclaimed, his brows drawing together. "But they're not so happy to see us," he said in a quiet voice. Snarls and angry growls from the wolves confirmed his assessment.

"Sam, this is Bella, the newborn we told you about," Edward said quickly, addressing the black wolf who was obviously the leader. "I was trying to show her the boundaries for the treaty and she accidentally crossed over. I'm here to retrieve her and her father, Charlie. He will abide by the treaty as well."

Bella cringed beside Edward, hoping that a passive stance might make his story sound more believable, but her dad, for some reason, was undaunted by these creatures.

"I'm still me," Charlie insisted, looking from wolf to wolf, "and this is still Jake!"

"What are they saying?" Jake demanded.

"They're saying that we're the enemy now," Charlie said, using a slow, careful pace to join Jacob at his side. He turned slightly toward Jacob and spoke in a low voice, "We're gonna have to fight them." Seemingly out of habit, his right hand sprung to a holster no longer at his waist.

Bella looked from her dad to Edward, puzzled. Charlie was able to hear their thoughts?

"We can resolve this peacefully," Edward said, moving protectively in front of Bella as the wolves began to advance.

"You wanna fight?" Jake goaded. "Not a problem!"

"No, Jake," Charlie said, his voice filled with dread. "Calm-"

It was too late. Jacob's body transformed into the familiar reddish oversized wolf that Bella had recalled all too well. The wolves' eyes widened, given pause at the sight of the unusual metamorphosis.

"Aww cra-" Charlie muttered, unimpressed, but a fraction of a second later, his words were swallowed by a distressed groan. All eyes were on the chief now as the eruption of his flesh and clothing followed; in the blink of an eye, his body transformed into a similar sized wolf with fur of dark brown, peppered with gray.

"Dad!" Bella gasped with eyes wide, unable to believe that her father was now a creature like Jacob.

In perfect offensive position, the two vampire wolves' fangs were bared and ready for attack - all the invitation the black wolf needed as he glanced to the dark silver one to his right. The two lunged toward Jacob and Charlie, the black one leaping for Jacob's throat, and the dark silver wolf narrowly missed Charlie by a hair as Charlie anticipated the attack and dodged him but then landed on top of the silver one's head with his huge front paws.

The other wolves hesitated, their menacing eyes darting between the other vampires and the ongoing fight, apparently giving their leader and the other a chance to handle it but ready to assist if needed.

"We have to do something!" Bella's panicked voice shouted as the dark silver wolf rolled his weight on top of Charlie, gaining the upper hand, just about to sink teeth into the scruff of Charlie's neck.

After shrugging Edward away, Bella leapt on top of the silver wolf, causing the other wolves to advance.

Above all the snarling, she heard Victoria's voice...from a distance, barking out an order.

"Take care of this!" she commanded.

Bella had gotten her arms around her father's attacker and used her strength to begin crushing it when from the corner of her eye, she spotted Edward on the ground, holding the open jaws of the brown wolf at bay just a small distance from his face...when a female's voice she didn't recognize called out.

"Stop!"

In unison, the wolves retreated, and puzzled, Bella released her grip from the creature's trunk and stepped away, noting that their stances of attack had been abandoned as Jacob, Charlie, and each Quileute wolf planted their bottoms down to the ground like obedient dogs. A grin broke out across Edward's face as he rose to his feet.

The hostility had been drowned out, and each of the monstrous looking animals now looked as harmless as the common canine, sitting with tongues hanging out of their mouths.

They all looked in the direction of the new female, as though happy to see her. Whatever it was that possessed the group appeared to have something to do with her presence.

Bella didn't recognize the olive-skinned woman who stood before them, tall and confident, her hand in a halting motion as she eyed each one of them. Her long, black hair danced in the wind, and the shape of her eyes and full lips hinted at her Native American ethnicity. The crimson of her eyes and her toned stature revealed that she was one of them - beautiful as all the vampires were, yet her face, like Charlie's, had shown the wear and tear of time. An air of calm and peace seemed to be reflected in her presence as well as unquestionable wisdom.

The leader tried unsuccessfully to growl at her.

A curious smile remained affixed to Edward's lips. "He wants to order them to attack us," he told the female and Bella, "but he can't."

The two Quileutes in the back, the gray and the brown wolves, charged the female, but she stood her ground, unafraid, as the two took their place at her side, emitting whines as her hand leaned down to pet their shiny fur. The woman's eyes darted to Edward in question.

"What is going on?" Bella asked, her brows furrowing at the sight.

"Their names are Seth and Leah," Edward told the woman. "They recognize you."

She smiled then, nodding and confirming his words without question, embracing their heads with her hands. "I certainly hope so. I'm their mother."

"Where are they going?" Victoria screeched angrily when she found that the rest of her coven had not joined them on the safe side of the river. Instead, three of her newborns were headed in the same direction as the Quileutes. "Jacob, you come back here this second!" she hissed. "Charlie! Turn around right now! Woman!" she called out, but then paused and turned to Laurent and James beside her. "What's the new one's name?"

"Her name is Sue," James said, arms folded.

"Sue! Bring your happy butt back here! You belong with us!" In a huff, Victoria turned to Edward with brows knit. "You! Mindreader, why are they blindly following those beasts?!"

"They'll be back," Edward said.

"They'll be back? No!" she shouted and then turned to Laurent. "Why..." she continued her rant, while smacking her fist against Laurent's chest, "Are... you... letting... them...get... further and further away from us?"

Laurent flinched as he tried to move backward to avoid her attacks. "You want me to run after a bunch of wolves? Uh... no." He held up his forearms in the form of an X to block his face and neck.

"Do something then, you idiot!"

"There are four of them and one of me! What do you want me to do?" he asked incredulously.

"Ugh! Useless!" With a scowl and a toss of flaming red hair, she continued to mutter as she stormed away.

"God, I love her when she's angry," James said with an evil grin, his eyes flashing. He then turned to Laurent. "Stay here with these two and wait for the others to come back." He approached Bella and gave her a twisted grin. "Nice to have you back, but don't even think about leaving again...as if I couldn't find you."

Edward growled at James.

"Don't get any ideas either," James said, getting right up in Edward's face. "You already know what I'm thinking."

With that, he turned and disappeared in the direction of his mate.

"Useless," Laurent mimicked in a high-pitched voice while pacing the distance between two nearby firs. "If it weren't for me, there'd be no Jacob...or Bella...or Sue. If not for Sue, they'd all be dead! All of them! But I'm the one who's useless."

Edward and Bella looked at each other as Laurent continued to voice his complaints under his breath until he finally regained his composure and forced a smile to his lips.

"Bella, I'm so happy to see you again. I thought we lost you for good."

"Uh...thanks."

"I didn't say it was smart. You shouldn't have come back."

"I didn't have a choice. She brought my dad into this."

"Charlie. That's unfortunate," he said, his eyes darting down to the forest floor.

"You aren't like them, Laurent. Why do you stay?"

"Where am I gonna go?" he asked. "Besides, you know that James could track an ant in South America."

"There are other covens," Edward said. "Peaceful ones."

"Ones that are willing to risk their lives for me?"

"Yes," Edward and Bella both said at the same time.

He nodded. "I've just been around too many years, and I've never found that to be true." Laurent breathed a deep sigh and met Edward's eyes. "So, you say they're coming back? Are you sure?"

"Where did they go?" Bella asked.

"Sam's taking them to meet the tribal council to discuss the new turn of events. Sue and Jacob used to have serious ties to their tribe."

"But back there it seemed like when they found out that it was Charlie and Jacob they were still going to attack us."

"It's true. We are the wolves' enemies, and though they saw Sue and Jacob and Charlie and recognized them, they feel that in this form, the humans that they used to know no longer exist."

"What changed their mind?"

"Sue," Edward said. "It's nearly impossible to resist the level of happiness Sue projects. You saw the way she stopped the fighting."

"She is powerful," Laurent said. "It's strange - like almost an addictive quality. I...miss her now that she's not here."

"Why do you think any of them will come back?" Bella asked.

"They don't belong with the wolves, and while the Quileutes will more than likely compromise, allowing vampires to stay goes against their nature. Besides that, they would never endanger the humans by letting them get too close. Sue, indeed, is powerful, but even her power has limits," Edward said.

"Sue was Harry Clearwater's wife? Charlie mentioned that he was looking for clues as to their disappearance. Where is Harry?" Bella asked.

Laurent's gaze shifted away from them.

Edward answered for him. "While Laurent was scouting Sue, James got a hold of Harry," Edward explained. "She doesn't know for sure what happened to him."

"Won't she find out?"

"It's not likely that any of them know the truth."

"And I'm not going to tell her," Laurent said.

"Don't you think she deserves to know?" Bella asked.

"In a short time, she'll forget him. And it won't matter."

"That's wrong. Laurent, why don't we just leave? Sue and Charlie, Jacob and you and me and Edward - just run as far away from them as we can."

He smiled, though it was a smile of sadness. "We can run, but we can't hide, Bella. Until Victoria and James have accomplished what they've set out to do - whatever that may be - then it's best that we just play along."

"Then we can fight them. Five against two."

"Warrior Bella." Laurent laughed. "Do you think everyone is as willing to leave or fight them as you? I'm not and neither is Jacob. And if Charlie's been spending all this time with Victoria, he's not going against her either."

"He's right," Edward said. "Charlie thinks very highly of her - will do anything to protect her."

"What if we told Sue about what James did?"

"Sue isn't a fighter. She's a peacemaker."

"Just seems like there's something we could do."

"Be patient. Things won't stay this way forever," Laurent replied, but quickly changed the subject. "So, your father has the ability to transform like Jacob?"

She shook her head slowly. "I'm not sure what he can and can't do," Bella replied. "It seemed like he could hear the wolves' thoughts like Edward, but then when he stood by Jacob, he was able to turn into a wolf."

"Your dad was also able to read my mind," Edward said with a smirk. "Something I'm definitely not used to. Back at the house, he didn't seem to realize how his ability worked either, but he did see one of Alice's visions, and he didn't quite know what to make of Jasper's talent."

"Sounds like a mimic," Laurent observed. "It would be difficult to test with my talent, but I'd love to find out how it works. It's a very special and rare talent. So much power. Victoria's not likely to let Charlie go anytime soon."

At this she let out a sigh. "Have you ever been wrong? I mean, about scouting someone who wasn't talented?"

Laurent smiled. "No. I never have. I suspect that when the opportunity presents itself, Bella, you will discover what your talent is."

Nearly an hour later when, as Edward predicted, Jacob and Charlie returned in their human forms, accompanied by Sue. Their laughter was heard easily as they made their way across the boundary to meet up with the rest of them.

Victoria and James had just returned, arm in arm with smiles on their faces.

"They gave you clothes," Victoria observed, ready with a faded brown leather backpack in hand and a green canvas backpack hanging from her shoulder.

Charlie nodded, and Bella spied the embarrassed look on his face. She hadn't considered that with the transformation would result in the loss of his clothing. Now, they all seemed to be similarly dressed in blue jeans and t-shirts.

"What else happened?" she asked.

"The treaty remains intact," Jacob said, "and I'm obligated to show all of you the boundaries."

"Can we call upon the wolves if we ever need their help?" James asked.

"I wouldn't go that far," Jacob said, and Bella noted how Edward and Charlie seemed to be studying Jacob intensely.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Victoria demanded.

"Nope, that's it," Jacob replied.

As before, Victoria's gaze turned to Charlie as though to confirm. With a quick nod from the chief, she spoke again, "Okay then. We're heading north." She handed Jacob the green backpack, which he stowed over one shoulder. "There's a female in Alaska I'd very much like to meet."

Meet...or capture? Bella thought, but before she could utter a word, Edward's voice broke the silence.

"I think the newborns should feed first," Edward said. "It's been over a week for Bella...and Charlie and Sue are pretty thirsty."

Victoria glared at him. "We were going to wait until dark when we got to the next town," she said. She cleared her throat. "Dead bodies aren't that easy to come by."

Bella wrinkled her nose at the thought. "We can make do with the game nearby."

"Game?" Jacob protested. "As in animals? We're vampires, Bella. We feed on human blood."

"It's not necessary, though," Edward said. "My coven survived on animal blood for decades, Carlisle for centuries."

"Animal blood? Huh," Laurent said in a low voice, intrigued.

"Disgusting!" James said.

"There's a reasonable way to settle this," Edward said. "Those who are not objectionable to animal blood can hunt now, and those who are can wait."

Sue spoke up. "I'm thirsty right now. You, Charlie?"

"I'll go with the flow."

"Not me," Jacob said. "I will definitely wait."

Laurent appeared torn, but James's arms remained firmly crossed across his chest.

"Fine," Victoria said. "Edward, you take Bella to..." She wrinkled her nose. "To feed and then when you get back, I want you to take Sue. Jake, you can head off in a different direction and take Charlie."

"You want me to take Charlie hunting?" Jacob asked, eyes wide.

"That would be too risky for Jacob," James said. "Charlie will wait with us until Edward gets back with Sue."

Bella and Edward ran about ten miles out when they slowed their pace, and Bella slipped her arm through his with a smile. "I'm surprised she let us go alone. Isn't she afraid we're going to get away?"

"Charlie's her insurance policy to keep you from getting too far. And, she's not crazy about me."

Bella raised her eyebrows. "Why not?"

"Because I can read her mind, and she doesn't like trying to guard her thoughts. She decided right away that she's going to find as many excuses as she can to keep me at a distance. They really wanted Alice. Me - not so much."

"I want you," Bella said.

Edward stopped and turned to her. "That's all that matters." He ran a thumb across her jawline. "You mean everything to me."

She held his hand to her cheek, comforted by both his words and the familiar charge from his touch. "I didn't get to tell you before how much you mean to me. I never want to be apart from you again."

He pressed his lips to hers, and she shifted her arms so they were braced around his neck.

Kissing Edward was something she knew she'd never tire of. It had taken a lot of will just to keep from touching him in front of the others. Bella had no idea whether anyone besides her dad and Jacob knew of their involvement, but she preferred to keep this private if she could help it.

He pulled from her and held up her hand to his lips, planting a kiss on her knuckles. "I could kiss you all day, Bella, but unfortunately, they're going to send Laurent looking for us if we don't hurry."

With a sigh, she let him lead her forward, hand in hand. "I wish Laurent wasn't involved with them. He's always been so nice to me...to all of the newborns."

"Laurent will only be able to take so much. He hasn't spoken all the bitterness he's feeling."

"So, Laurent doesn't know what Victoria's up to?"

"I'm not even sure that James does. She's so careful about her thoughts and what she says. He likes her idea of building a powerful coven, but he still believes he's in charge."

A breeze swept by, carrying the scent of their purpose. And Bella's head turned in that direction of a herd of deer nearby. "Okay," she said, allowing her senses to guide her. "Let's get this done."

A/N: So, they're on the road again. One big, not so happy family. Thanks to my uber awesome beta, EmeraldStar 73, for her all around awesome-ness and for the idea of using a talent similar to Didyme's (Aro's deceased sister and Marcus's wife), which I think suits Sue's nature nicely. Did anybody out there figure out Charlie's talent before Laurent revealed it? More surprises to come, so please stay with me! Thanks to my readers and reviewers, and I'd love to hear from you! (Especially since I'm so close to 200!) Predictions? I'll include a teaser in the review reply (unless you don't want one, please let me know.)