I know it's been a while... but here is the next chapter! It may be longer in between chapters for now. That can't be helped. Sorry. I'll do my best to continue updating when I can. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 14 (EPoV)

I heard Phil's frantic thoughts as the elevator door opens and Bella steps ahead of me into the hallway. That smell! It was like... like that guy... but... different. What do I do?! Is he coming to get me?! What about RENEE?! Oh Nooo... This is BAD... really, really, bad... I sighed and grabbed Bella's hand. Room 453, the lady had said.

We turned to the right and walked slowly down the hallway, all the while Phil's thoughts were getting more and more frenzied. He knew that I was heading towards him. He thought I was coming to hurt them. I winced internally, and put on a friendly smile as we reached their door. Phil was a nervous wreck.

I knocked softly on the door, knowing full well that Phil could hear it clear as a bell. No answer. I could hear his heartbeat right in front of the door. "Phil? Renee?" Bella asked cautiously, throwing me a worried glance. I saw recognition dawn in Phil's eyes as he stared incredulously at the hotel door. "Bella?! Bella are you alright?!" Is that... that guy holding her captive? How did he know Bella? I can smell the stench right outside the door! Should I open the door to try and save Bella? But Renee... His troubled eyes looked back at his beloved wife who had not heard the knock at the door. She was flipping through channels on the TV, the soft buzz of the shows drowning out any noise in her surroundings. She would be devastated if anything happened to her only daughter... I can protect them both... yeah... I'm a wolf! Surely I can protect them both, right?

Phil reached out for the door handle, and I quickly placed myself between the door and Bella. It wouldn't do either of us any good if Bella or Renee were to get hurt because Phil couldn't handle his emotions. The door was swung open and Phil's eyes widened as he stepped back in shock. His heart, if possible, was racing even faster. The poor guy might have a heart attack...

Edward?! He... he... but how?! He seemed like such a nice guy from what Renee told me and the pictures she'd shown me... But that smell. There was no mistaking that smell. He was just like that other guy. But he didn't have red eyes? What is going on?!

At that moment, Renee had jumped up from the couch and turned around. "Oh! Edward, Bella! You're here!" she clapped her hands and began walking around the couch to come and greet us. Phil's head whipped around to his wife and then back to me. Hoping to calm his nerves I took a step back, "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Dwyer," I said in a calm voice. Renee beamed at me and nodded in greeting, coming to stand next her husband.

"Phil, Renee. We need to talk," I said squeezing Bella's soft hand gently as her breathing quickened. Phil's eyes narrowed, but he nodded and gestured for us to take a seat on the couch. Nobody was in hearing range, but just in case, I bolted the door before sitting down on the second couch, with Bella by my side. As Phil and Renee turned their attention to me, one far more eager than the other, I began to speak, "We aren't going on a vacation. Things have... come up..." I said, giving a meaningful glance at Phil.

Hearing this, Phil eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he gaped at me. Renee, on the other hand, pouted and her shoulders drooped, "Why not? What happened? Why did you still come here? You could have just called..." she asked, looking up at us in disappointment.

"Actually, no. We couldn't have just called. There's... something we need to discuss," I worded carefully, though I still saw Phil stiffen on the other couch. Then I turn and meet Phil's stare, "You haven't told Renee," I stated, confirming what I had already known. Phil shakily nodded his head, fear prominent in his eyes. "Told me what?" Renee asked, shocked. "Phil, does this have to do with why you've been acting so strange recently?" she guessed.

He looked deep into her eyes and nodded sorrowfully. "Renee, please, don't freak out..." his voice died off as he turned his head away from her, eyes closed in frustration. "Just come out and tell her that you can phase into a wolf. I promise it will make things go a whole lot smoother. She's going to find out either way," I said to Phil, too softly for Renee or Bella to hear.

His face whipped up to mine in horror, then looked back at Renee, who hadn't heard a thing. "She can't hear me. Humans can't pick up this frequency. But you are a shape shifter, Phil," I spoke to him softly. He shook his head and stared at the floor for a moment.

"Renee, I... I'm a wolf," he mumbled, avoiding her eyes. Her eyes lit up and she started to laugh. "Phil... what?! Haha! Why are you acting so serious?! A wolf? Hmm... then I'm... I'm a Tiger!" she said playfully, doubled over laughing. Phil looked up to me, bewildered. "Renee, he's serious," I told her, holding her gaze.

Her laughing died down and she frowned turning to Phil for an explanation. "What?" Phil sighed, then looked back up at me. "Renee, we need to talk, like Edward said. We're serious," he said firmly.

I nodded in encouragement, and wrapped my arm around Bella, who had been sitting, quietly observing the scene in front of her. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed she was lightly biting her lower lip. She was nervous. I turned my head back to Phil and Renee. This was going to take a lot of explaining...

"Please try and just let me explain. I'll answer all of your questions once I finish. This is going to take a lot of explaining," I began, both sets of eyes looking across to me. I took a deep breath, "Do you remember Jacob? He helped Bella a lot when..." a torrent of pain washed through me at the memories, "when I had left for a while," I said, clenching my jaw, "He is part of the Quileute Tribe in the Olympic Peninsula. Their land is right up against the border of Forks. The young Quileutes have recently activated a unique gene passed on to them from their ancestors. This allows them to shift into a wolf," Phil's hands were gripping the edge of the cushions, leaning forward as I revealed the start to the mystery.

"Right before you called us, Renee, the tribe had found a letter buried in with their scrolls of legends. It was written some two hundred and fifty years ago," I paused, "by a man named John Dwyer," I finished looking right at Phil. All the color seemed to drain from his face. "Phil, you have the Quileute gene. That is how you can shift into a wolf," I told him carefully, monitoring his thoughts as well as Renee's. Renee was the first to speak her mind.

"How do you know this? Are you a wolf too?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed in thought. She finally began to realize that this was real, and that it was a very serious matter. Turning to Phil, I asked, "Do you know what I am?"

Phil involuntarily shuddered. What is he?! I know he's not human... he pretty much just admitted that... Wondering what his reaction would be, I say, in a voice loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, "You're right, Phil. I'm not human."

Phil stared back at me as if I had just slapped him across the face. Did he just... He can READ MINDS?!