Calling in Reinforcements

Jacob quickly walked into Sam and Emily's house, stopping to look around the kitchen. He saw Emily at the stove, her large stomach getting a bit in the way as she cooked. She only had a couple months until she was due and every day Sam got more and more anxious about the arrival of the new little one.

And now he had one more thing to worry about when he should be focusing on the arrival of his daughter.

"He's in the living room," Emily said, smiling over at him. "Take those muffins with you." Jacob nodded and grabbed a plate piled with muffins and walked into the living room. He picked one up and took a bite before placing the plate on the coffee table as Sam walked over from the window he had been staring out.

"Any news?" he asked.

"Embry watched the house all night and said he didn't see them leave. I've called the Cullens and they said that they're going to send someone to Seattle to look into it," Jacob replied after chewing. "I think we should send some of the wolves down." Sam studied him a moment and then sighed, rubbing his face.

"Seattle is a big city. Don't you think a pack of oversized wolves will draw attention?" he asked. "Maybe we should let the Cullens handle this one. We don't even know if they're a threat yet. And besides… we're supposed to protect our lands. Not Seattle."

"We're supposed to protect our pack. And Embry and Mara are still part of that pack even if they're in Seattle," Jacob said emphatically.

"Your pack," Sam said automatically.

"Yea, and he's your brother," Jacob said quickly. "Doesn't that count for something?" Sam winced and for a moment, Jacob regretted throwing that at him. But he couldn't help but feel like they should go, and he knew it was the best way to get Sam to agree to send some of his pack.

Jacob had already decided that he was going whatever Sam said.

With Nessie up in Vancouver, he was starting to run out of things to distract himself from her absence. Sure he could go visit - and last time she had asked him to move up there with her until she finished school. But his responsibility was here in La Push. He was an alpha, after all. Leader of his pack. He was needed here. And the latest development in Seattle was as good as anything to get his mind off their prolonged separation.

Not to mention, he could tell that Edward was starting to get a bit annoyed with his frequent unexpected visits.

"Fine. Take Paul if you insist on going. But the rest of my pack stays here," Sam said firmly. "And I suggest that you leave some of your pack as well." Jacob nodded and turned, already going over whatever needed to be done before they left. "And Jacob…" He stopped and turned back to Sam. "It's going to be harder to shift there - it's not like here. Be careful."

"Don't have to remind me," Jacob replied before turning and striding out of the house. He needed to go find Quil and Paul first, then inform the rest of the pack what was going on.

Then it was time to hit the road.

Cecily chuckled as she walked into the large house, easily towing her suitcase behind her.

"Did you really have to do that?" she asked, glancing back at Alice.

"Cess!"

She turned just in time to catch Renesmee as she careened into her, throwing her arms about Cecily's neck.

"Wow, seems like you missed me, kid," she said lightly as she hugged the young woman back. Even with everything Cecily had seen and learned in her three years as a vampire, she still was taken aback by Nessie. She had been a teenager when Cecily joined the Cullens, and now she looked like she was in her early or mid-20s. A grown woman.

Somedays if Cecily thought about it too hard, she couldn't wrap her mind around it. So, she decided to just stop thinking about it. Unfortunately, even though she looked older, Nessie was still very much a kid in Cecily's eyes.

"Of course," Renesmee replied as she stepped back from her, grinning.

"Better go hug everyone else or they'll think you're playing favorites," Cecily said with a wink as she continued into the house that they had settled in while the youngest Cullen finished her first college degree.

"You're my favorite too," Demetri whispered in her ear as he slid his arm around her waist, causing her to jump slightly and curse. He still managed to surprise her even after years of being mates. Granted, he had been a vampire a lot longer than she had - about 2,000 or so years longer, to be specific.

"God, you're so cheesy," Cecily said with an eye roll as she continued on into the large kitchen where she found Edward, Bella, Carlisle and Esme seated at a large table, all wearing concerned looks. She stopped abruptly, wondering if something had happened to Rosalie and Emmett. The couple had been traveling with her, Demetri, Alice and Jasper, though they separated in Asia as the two hoped to spend a few more weeks in Cambodia alone.

"Everything okay?" she asked. She felt Alice and Jasper step in behind her and Demetri.

"We just got a call from Jacob," Carlisle said. "Embry and Mara said two vampires have moved into their neighborhood."

"What? But I thought we just took care of a rogue vampire problem," she said without thinking. Honestly, she was hoping to catch up with the family for a bit before she and Demetri set out on another trip. There were still far too many countries for the two to see and visit. Too many bed frames to break.

But seeing the looks on her family's faces told Cecily that they were going to have to put those plans on hold.

"What's the damage?" she asked with a sigh.

"They haven't killed anyone," Edward said. "Not yet, anyway. They've literally moved into a house across the street." Cecily was dumbfounded by the statement.

Moving into a neighborhood surrounded by humans seemed a bit odd for creatures who tended to live in the shadows and in general hide their existence. Even the Cullens lived in a rather wooded and secluded area of Vancouver a fair bit off from the other homes around them.

"I take it that you wish for us to go check into them," Demetri said, suddenly all business. Cecily fought off a groan. She seriously wanted to tell them to send someone else - they had taken the last emergency. And that was only four months ago. She wanted time alone with her mate.

Everyone else got time alone with their mates. Had had years of it. She was due some quality time with hers, right? It wasn't fair.

But at the same time, she knew that they were going. That they had to go. No one else was going to look out for that area of the country. And if things got out of hand, Demetri would likely be called into to look into it by the Volturi anyway. Best to get ahead of the situation.

"I know that you were hoping to head off to South America soon, but we feel like it's best if you go. Since Demetri is a tracker," Carlisle said, a look of apology already painting his features.

"We can go too," Alice said from Cecily's other side. The redhead looked over at her, an eyebrow raised. "It's only fair since we didn't go last time."

"Couldn't hurt. Alice could start watching them, maybe find out why they're there faster," Cecily said.

"Good, then it's settled," Carlisle said, seeming a bit more at ease. "And for all we know, it might be nothing."

"Certainly hope so," Cecily muttered as she turned to head to her and Demetri's room to unpack.

"Better give me my presents before you leave!" Renesmee called out after her. Cecily smiled as she looked over her shoulder and winked at her, before turning back.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked, already hearing the others following.

"Drop our stuff off, then run to the Forks house. We can get things from there and then drive the rest of the way to Seattle," Alice said cheerfully. Cecily sighed.

"Let's get to it, then…"

Mara sighed as she pulled into the garage and turned off her car before closing the garage door behind her. She had gone out to meet up with her best friend Katie just to get out of the house for a bit. Embry had taken to stalking the new neighbors from the upstairs guest room and while she had joined him for a time, she found it boring after a couple of hours when they did nothing worth watching. According to Embry they hadn't left the house all night.

While she knew that she would need to learn to get used to stakeouts - especially if she wanted to move up in the ranks of the crime desk - she found herself going a bit crazy with the prolonged silence and just sitting there.

But maybe there would be an update.

She got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind her before walking over to the door that led into the house via the laundry room. As soon as she opened the door, she stopped, hearing more than one voice in the house. She looked back into the garage, seeing Embry's truck parked next to hers and wondering who was there. She hadn't seen any other cars parked outside.

Wait, no. She had seen two SUVs parked on the street.

She turned back to the house and quickly continued in. When she stepped into the foyer, she stopped, finding the living room rather full with three wolves and four vampires convening around Embry, the wolves obviously taking up far more space.

"Mara!"

She remained frozen as Paul walked over and picked her up in a bear hug and then placed her back down on the ground.

"Good to see you," he said, still grinning.

"You too," she replied, a bit dazed as she looked at him and then at the group. She knew Quil and Jacob, of course. Then Cecily and Demetri. Her gaze then settled on the two people that she didn't recognize standing next to them. The woman seemed impossibly small and almost pixie-like, while the man was blonde and tall and wearing a stern expression on his face.

"I leave for a few hours and you call in reinforcements?" she said, her gaze travelling over to Embry, who looked a bit sheepish.

"I didn't tell them to come," he said immediately. "But… the guys are going to need a place to stay for a few days…"

"You don't have to worry about us," Cecily said quickly, offering Mara a warm smile as she interrupted Embry. "We'll be in and out most of the time. And we don't sleep. We can stay out of your way."

Mara just blinked, a bit overwhelmed. What the hell was going on? Why was her house now a supernatural hotel?

"Okay… can someone tell me what's going on?" she asked, looking over at Embry.

"Well… Jacob thought that he should come check things out," he started. "He called the Cullens and they also thought that they should send someone." Mara nodded slowly and looked back at the group.

"I'm going to need to go grocery shopping again," she muttered softly to herself before pasting a smile on her face and moving to the living room.

The woman that Mara didn't know laughed softly - obviously hearing her - as Demetri smirked and Cecily tried to hide her own smile. The other man didn't make any sort of expression, just stared at her intently. She brushed off her unease and continued towards them.

"Hi, I'm Mara. Welcome to my-our home," she said, holding her hand out to the woman.

"Alice Cullen," she said brightly as she grinned at Mara and shook her hand. She then turned to the blonde man at her side. "This is Jasper Hale. My husband, well, mate, since you know about us." He made no move to take Mara's hand, so she just nodded at him instead.

"Nice to meet you," she said.

"You as well," he replied politely, though he looked a bit uncomfortable. Mara wasn't sure if it was the wolves or the fact they were in a neighborhood filled with humans, but shrugged it off as she looked to the wolves.

"Get over here," she said, holding her arms out as she grinned. Quil smiled as he walked over and hugged her, Jacob following. "So… did Embry set you up with rooms, or is that up to me?" She glanced over at her boyfriend, an eyebrow raised.

"We just got here, actually," Jacob said. "Hadn't had time." Mara sighed and nodded.

"Follow me," she said, heading towards the stairs. "Then I guess I'm going to the store."

"No need. We stopped on the way here," Paul shouted. Mara paused and looked over at them, surprised. "Quil's idea… thought it might make it a bit easier having a house full of wolves." She smiled at Quil.

"I knew you were my favorite," she said before turning and heading up the stairs. "Come on!"

"She seems rather settled," Alice commented after they all left. Embry couldn't help but smile as he looked towards the stairs leading up to the second floor, hearing voices float down the stairs. "As do you."

"I mean, I just moved in yesterday, but been visiting enough in the last four months that it feels like home," he said with a smile. "Honestly, it just… feels good to finally imprint on someone. Settle down." Alice just grinned at him. While she wasn't particularly close to the wolves - not as much as Renesmee and Bella - she knew enough that he was the oldest of the pack to imprint and that it had happened far later than the others.

"And now we're taking over the house," Cecily said with a sigh. "Hopefully the couple aren't up to anything nefarious and we can get out of your hair soon enough."

"Hopefully," Embry replied. Things had happened so quickly that he hadn't had much time to catch up. He was supposed to spend the week getting settled before starting class next week. And now he had a pair of rogue vampires running around his neighborhood and a house full of wolves and vampires.

This was not what he was expecting for his first week living with Mara, to say the least.

"Which house is theirs?" Jasper asked, bringing them back to the reason they were all there.

"Follow me," Embry said, leading to Mara's office at the front of the house.

It had previously been her grandmother's when she was alive and the house was hers – every time Embry walked in, he couldn't help but think about all the classic mystery novels that had been written here. But that was something for another time.

They walked in and he quickly made his way over, pulling back the curtains. He pointed at the large, two-story house that sat far back from the road just opposite them. "The view is a bit better from the bedroom upstairs."

"Thankfully the area is wooded enough," Demetri said. "Should provide us with enough cover to watch. Though we can't get too close else they'll know that we're there."

"Unfortunately, there's not enough for you guys to shift near their place," Cecily added, looking over at Embry. "Just how were you planning on pulling that off living here?"

"We don't necessarily need to shift – we're not werewolves that lose themselves on the full moon or anything, you know. But you've seen the woods behind the house," Embry replied. "They surround the subdivision and on this side butt up to a nature reserve. And there's a bunch of forest that leads on to the mountains. Plenty of space to run. And you guys can hunt on the reserve and in the mountains if you need it."

"Hopefully we won't need to. We fed before we came," Jasper said, his gaze fixed on the house across the street. "This vantage point should be good for now. If we open the window, I believe we should be able to hear them should they come outside. We'll need to get closer at some point though."

"Couldn't you guys just… go over and introduce yourselves?" Embry asked. All four vampires stared at him. "I mean… you are vampires too…"

"It's better to watch them a bit before we engage," Jasper said, looking back to the house.

"I'll get closer and pick up on their essence. That way if they try to run, I can still follow," Demetri added. "Really, I don't think there was any reason for the others to come." Embry looked towards the ceiling, hearing footsteps, shouts and laughter. Honestly, he was starting to think the same thing. This seemed like a situation the vampires were better adept to handle than them.

But it was a bit nice to have some of his pack here. Helped ease the fact that he had left the reservation. He just hoped that having so many people in the house didn't put Mara out too much. She was used to having the whole place to herself and now in a manner of 24 hours, she had eight housemates - most of which were of the supernatural variety.

"Well, I should get started on dinner. Knowing the guys, they're probably starving about now," he said, walking out of the room. He was surprised to find that Cecily and Alice followed him into the living room, figuring they would want to stay and watch the house.

Mara came down the stairs just as he was walking to the fridge to pull out the hamburger meat and other various food items that the guys had put away as soon as they arrived.

"What are we making?" she asked.

"Figured hamburgers would be good enough. Can use the grill on the covered porch," Embry said, still putting things on the island.

"Sounds good to me," Mara said happily as she made her way to the large pantry and pulling it open. She then stopped. "Shit. They did go shopping." Embry smiled as he heard her chuckle and then walk in. She came back out, holding a bottle of wine. "And they know me way too well."

Embry stopped what he was doing and looked at it then back up at Mara, smiling slightly.

"What? I can't help that it feels like a house party," she replied, walking to the island and opening a drawer, pulling out a wine opener. She then turned to Cecily and Alice in the living room. "Do you- wait." She smiled in embarrassment. "Sorry. Forgot for a second that you guys don't eat or drink anything."

"It's fine. We appreciate the thought," Alice said, walking closer to her.

"I wish we could drink," Cecily said with a heavy sigh as she followed. "Some days I really do miss a good red wine. Or scotch." Mara chuckled as she worked to open the bottle.

"So, Alice… how long have you been a vampire..."

And now I've gotten exactly half of the story written and making good pace on it. Now into the "write one, post one," phase. So, depending on how I keep up the pace, should be able to post at least one chapter a day from here out.

Hope you guys enjoy and thanks for reading!