Hello, lovely friends! I'm back with another chapter. And, dear goodness, this one is kind of massive (for me, anyway). Before I release you all to this, I want to say a quick (but very heartfelt) thank you to everyone who has left reviews! I am not exaggerating even a little bit when I say y'all make my day. Also, thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited!

Now, for the chapter. I hope you like it!

Chapter Eight

Anna

The Monday after Easter was passing by like a normal school day—until Felicity's hand clasped around my upper arm the moment we stepped into the lunchroom.

"No," she whispered, her eyes glued to something off to our right.

Glancing over, I saw it was a table that simply seated three teenagers. Did Felicity have a problem with them? She hadn't seemed to care much about what other students thought about her, even though there were quite a few who had choice words to mutter when they thought she wasn't in earshot. But did the group sitting across the cafeteria have a bigger problem with her?

"What's wrong?" I forced myself to ask even though I felt awkward standing just inside the doorway. I could feel eyes on me, heating my skin.

Felicity tugged on my arm, pulling me out of the room and down the hallway. "We're not going in there."

My brow furrowed as I hurried to keep up with her. "Do you want to eat somewhere else?"

She shook her head. "We can't stay here."

I blinked. "We have class—"

"Anna," she said firmly. "It's not safe. Trust me."

She wasn't making sense. She wanted to leave, and take me with her, because those people were here? They didn't even know me. I stopped walking, yanking my arm out of her hold. "I can't just leave. It's nice you're trying to be a good friend, but I think I'll be okay. You can go, though. I'll see you later."

Her head was shaking before I'd finished speaking. "I know this is weird, but I'm not lying when I say we can't stay here. Not just me. Both of us. I have a reason for it, and I'm sure I'll get to explain it to you…sometime soon. For now, though, please trust me. Come with me."

My face was growing warm, my palms tingling. I really didn't want to skip. But I also didn't want to ruin the only good friendship I'd had since…probably ever. "I…I don't know…"

Felicity took my hand. "It'll be okay. Come with me now and we'll sort it all out."

Biting my lip, I sighed. "Where will we go?"

"To a friend's house. They'll know what's going on." She started leading me down the hall again.

A friend. More new people. Great. As if I wasn't enough of a mess, now I had to take first impressions into account. "Maybe I could go…" Where? I couldn't go home without my parents knowing I was skipping. And it wasn't like I knew the town enough to suggest anywhere.

Her hand squeezed mine as we exited the building and headed into the parking lot. "You'll be fine. Everyone's super nice." She paused. "Well, mostly."

"Comforting," I murmured as we reached her car.

She let out a brief laugh, but it sounded a little frantic. "I promise, they're good people. They're not going to be rude to you."

She could try to reassure me all day and it wouldn't have any affect—I was going to be paranoid no matter what—so I sat quietly for the drive over to La Push. And for the first time, Felicity let us sit in silence. No chatter to lighten the mood and help pass the time. Though my hands were slightly shaking and my heart was speeding, I was glad I'd left with her. Whatever was wrong with her and those people at the lunch table, she clearly needed friends right now.

We came to a stop in front of a little house that was inexplicably welcoming. It was a complete opposite to how new places usually made me feel that I sat frozen in my seat for a moment.

"Are you coming?" Felicity asked, her expression starting to grow concerned. "I wouldn't bring you here if I didn't think everything would be alright. But if you're really that uncomfortable, we can go somewhere else."

A quick study of her face revealed that her offer was sincere, but reluctant. Pulling in a deep breath, I nodded. "I'm fine. Let's go." I opened the door and climbed out of the car, resolving to suck it up enough so that Felicity could get the comfort she needed from this place and whatever people were inside. I would not ruin this for her. Besides, if just a glimpse of the house gave me good vibes I had no reason to be so worried.

Felicity led the way, knocking lightly on the front door before pulling it open and walking right inside. "Sam? Emily?"

"Felicity!" came a bright, happy voice from directly ahead. A woman stepped into the hallway, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Her expression was kind, but my gaze immediately took stock of scars on one side of her face. As soon as I noticed, I made a point to stop noticing. I took in her smile. Her shiny hair. Then her eyes. They were on Felicity, but then she saw me. "Who's your friend? Is everything okay?"

"Are any of the guys here? We just left school and you won't believe—"

"The Cullens are back," the woman said, cutting off what was presumably going to be the rest of Felicity's sentence. "We heard that was happening. But you said they were at school?"

Felicity stopped right in front of the woman, her entire body tense. "You knew?"

The woman shook her head. "We heard they were coming back. That maybe the doctor had been seen in town. But we didn't know they were going to re-integrate so fast."

"You knew!" Felicity practically yelled. "And no one thought to warn me?"

Moving forward, I placed my hand on her back. They could have been speaking a foreign language for all I understood of the conversation, but the hurt in her voice was real and that was something I could relate to.

"City?" asked someone behind us. I barely had a chance to turn before there was a guy at our side. "What's wrong?"

She tilted her head back. "Oh, I am so not in the mood to deal with this right now."

"Come on," the woman said, gesturing to the room she'd stepped out of to greet us. "Come sit down. I'll make something to drink while lunch finishes up and call Sam and Jacob. We'll work it all out."

"What's happening?" the guy asked, eyes flickering between the three of us. "And who is this?"

Felicity sighed. "Don't be rude to her. She's my friend." She looked at Emily. "You should call Paul, too. He'll probably want to be here."

"Why?"

Felicity linked her arm with mine, and together we walked into the kitchen. "This is Anna, my new best friend." Her voice carried a weight, like the words had a special meaning.

To me it made no sense. Why did we need Paul? "You don't have to call Paul," I said quietly, though my stomach flipped at the possibility of seeing him again. I'd just seen him the day before—I didn't need to be so clingy. He'd never want to remain my friend.

Felicity shrugged. "He's probably looking for an excuse to stop by for lunch anyway. Emily's cooking is to die for."

The woman smiled. "You're too sweet. I'm Emily, by the way. It's lovely to meet you." She held out her hand.

I shook her hand and nodded, silently hoping my palms weren't too clammy. My mouth was too dry to say anything. Hopefully I wasn't making it weird.

"And that right there," Felicity added, pointing to the guy hovering in the doorway, "is Elijah."

He gave a smile, though it appeared forced. "I'm a friend."

"Also my ex," Felicity said.

My eyes widened. Oh. I looked from her to him and back again. Now I was even more out of my comfort zone. How was I supposed to act? She didn't seem to hate him. But was I supposed to hate him anyway, in solidarity? I was bad enough at normal interactions.

Felicity sat down, gesturing for me to do the same. "Don't worry about it. We have shared friends, so we're fine. Not super close, but mature about things, you know?"

I nodded, though I didn't really know. I didn't have any exes I needed to be mature with. The closest thing I had to that was someone I preferred to forget.

"Okay, the guys are on their way," Emily said, stirring a pot on the stove. "I'm making soup and sandwiches for lunch, but it won't be ready for another twenty minutes. Can I get you two something to drink while you wait?"

Elijah snorted. "What about me?"

She rolled her eyes. "You basically live here; you can get your own drink. But honestly, you should probably go away for now. No reason to make this more complicated than it needs to be, yeah?"

I watched the interaction with awe. Emily was so sweet, you could almost overlook the fact that she was telling him to go away.

He smiled. "I can take a hint."

Felicity laughed. "That was more than a hint."

"I have a lunch meeting anyway. I'll see you later." He left then, and it felt like a pressure on the room was lifted.

"Sorry if that was weird or tense," Felicity said. "We're still getting used to each other. It's taking time."

I folded my arms on the table in front of me. "No big deal."

Felicity smiled. "Can we get some hot chocolate, Em?" She looked to me. "Her hot chocolate is amazing."

I forced a small smile back. It was a little better now that Elijah had left, but I was still in an unfamiliar place with at least one more unfamiliar person on the way. I couldn't relax.

"I'm on it," Emily said, getting another pot set up on the stove.

"If you could make that three, I'd appreciate it," Paul said, sounding slightly out of breath as he rushed into the room.

Emily turned to him with narrowed eyes. "I'm not sure you deserve it, Paul Lahote. Making Felicity be the one to introduce me."

Paul grinned, but when he looked at me he seemed nervous. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, go sit down and be quiet."

He wasted no time sliding into the empty seat next to me. "Hey, Anna. How are you?"

I blinked at him. Shouldn't he have been asking Felicity that? She was the one who was panicking about something big enough to make us leave in the middle of the school day. "I'm okay. What was that about?" I was no good at social interaction, but even I wasn't obtuse enough to let the exchange with Emily go over my head.

He bit his lip. "I may have mentioned that I made a new friend."

"Me?" I asked, surprised.

"Of course, you." He focused on Felicity. "You doing okay, doll?"

Felicity glared at him. "Did you know?"

Paul held his hand up. "All I know is that the doctor was spotted at the hospital. And even that, I only learned yesterday. I haven't seen you since then."

She studied his face, apparently trying to decide whether to believe him or not. "Phones are a thing that exist."

Two more people entered the room then—Jacob and another guy. "It's my fault, Felicity. I should have told you," Jacob said, moving to sit beside her. "I was going to. I didn't know they were going to appear back at school so fast. I didn't even know Bella was officially back."

"It was a fast turnaround time," the other guy added. Then he looked at me. "Hi, I'm Sam. You must be Anna?"

The sudden shift in attention to me took me off guard, and I felt my face leech of color. I couldn't have opened my mouth and replied if my life depended on it.

Thank goodness Paul spoke up then. "That's right," he said, sounding…proud? He bumped my shoulder lightly with his. "This is my competition for Felicity's best friend."

Sam smiled. "Easy win for her."

"Ouch," Paul said, clutching his chest. "Harsh."

"He's right," Felicity said, taking a mug from Emily with a grateful smile. "Anna wins, hands down."

"Haters," Paul muttered, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. His face scrunched up. "Shit! My poor tongue!"

I couldn't help it—I let out a short, soft laugh. "There's a reason it's called hot chocolate."

He glanced over at me. "Doesn't mean it has to be scalding."

My lips pursed. "Sounds like Emily was right. You don't deserve any."

Emily laughed from where she was putting sandwiches together at the counter. "I like her."

My hands wrapped tight around the mug on the table in front of me as a wave of happiness rushed through my veins. Emily liked me. Felicity wanted to be my best friend. And Paul was supposedly in for the long haul. How did I get so lucky as stumble upon these people?

I couldn't help but brace for when I'd inevitably mess it all up and I'd be alone again, but for this moment I was glad I found them.

Paul

Sitting at the table in Sam and Emily's kitchen, I tried to inconspicuously watch as Anna sipped at her drink. She was smarter about it than I was—she'd waited a couple of minutes before even lifting it to her mouth and took a second to blow on it before attempting a small sip. She blinked, tilting her head to the side as she swallowed. She sat there quietly for a few more moments before saying, "Emily, this really is great. Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetheart," Em said as she started to dish out bowls of soup. "You're good with tomato soup, right? I'm sure I can scrounge up something else if you need."

Anna's eyes widened. "Oh, no, tomato soup is fine. You don't even have to give me too much. I'm not very hungry."

Emily smiled. "I made plenty. And there are sandwiches too."

"Em is used to cooking for the lot of us. I'm pretty sure she doesn't know how to make normal sized portions anymore," I told Anna, trying to help her get more at ease with the situation. She was so wound up.

As Emily passed out bowls of soup, Sam handed out plates and moved the tray of sandwiches to the table. I was more than ready to start stuffing my mouth, but I held back and waited for the ladies to grab some sandwiches first.

"Take some now," Felicity advised, grabbing two for herself, "before the guys get going. Their stomachs are bottomless."

I saw Anna's eyes flicker over Emily doing the same and taking a few sandwiches for herself. Her small hand reached forward and she grabbed one.

"You can take more than that," I murmured, trying not to bring too much attention to her. But honestly, the entire table was taking in our interaction.

She shook her head. "I'm not going to be able to eat more than this."

I frowned but nodded, not wanting to push her. Sam and Jacob started to fill their plates with the leftover sandwiches and I followed suit, making sure to get an extra lot for myself in case Anna ended up still hungry. Then I could give her one of mine.

But as we ate and everyone else made small talk, I noticed that Anna only picked at her food. A few sips of soup. A couple bites of her sandwich. A lot of peeling off the crust.

I gulped down mu current bite and leaned toward her. "You okay?"

She flinched, apparently startled. "Yeah, I'm fine. You want some of mine?" She glanced down at her plate. "I mean, you can eat around the parts I bit from."

Her cheeks were turning a pretty pink and I couldn't help but smile. "You need to eat up."

"I can't," she murmured. "Not right now. I swear, I'm just not very hungry."

I could hear her heartbeat picking up, so I decided to leave it at that. She'd already been uncomfortable with the situation; I didn't want to make it worse.

But of course, two seconds later it got worse for her anyway. "So, Anna," Sam said. "Where did you move here from? For all Paul has said about you, I feel like we don't know any of the basics."

Anna seemed to shrink in her seat, giving up on picking at her food as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh. Um. I-I'm from Colorado."

Sam nodded, ignoring her slight stutter. "How are you liking Forks so far?"

Her eyes settled on the table for a second before shifting to him then back down again. Surprisingly, they moved right back to Sam, though, a moment later. "It's not bad," she said.

"Not tough moving away from everyone you used to know?" Sam's question was probing but gentle. I couldn't help but stare at the two, too distracted to continue eating as they talked.

She shrugged. "I don't have friends." Her tone was clear and honest. There was no self-pity—she was simply stating what she saw as fact.

Sam's lips curled up at the edges. "You didn't have friends."

Anna watched him, silent. Then her lips curled up the smallest bit, too. "Yeah. I guess."

Sam looked over at me, nodding. I had no idea what that meant, but I nodded back, grateful he seemed to have relieved at least a small amount of Anna's tension.

"So," Felicity said slowly, "are we just supposed to go back to school tomorrow as if nothing is wrong?"

Anna lifted a hand, her finger fidgeting with her lip. "I still have no clue what's going on, by the way. Other than Felicity needing a friend with her, why did I skip class today?"

Emily winced and Sam rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm guessing Felicity saw that the Cullens were there and brought you here?"

Anna nodded.

"There's…a long story that goes with that," Sam said haltingly. "But for now, the short version is that they hurt her."

"Bad," Jacob added. "It was really bad."

Anna frowned. She opened her mouth, as if she was about to say something, then closed it, biting her lip.

"I don't want to be around them," Felicity admitted. "And I don't think it's good for Anna to be around them, either."

I watched as my imprint's brows flew up at the mention of her name. She had to be so confused. None of this could really have a full impact without proper context. Context that she wasn't getting…because I needed to tell her about the pack. But I couldn't—not yet. She could still barely look me in the eye. She was still skeptical about Felicity wanting to be friends with her, let alone me. I couldn't drop our biggest secrets on her out of nowhere.

Or could I? She didn't seem like the type of person who took things lightly. She'd understand the importance of the secret. And I was certain she'd be reasonable and cooperate once she understood the gravity of things with the Cullens. Hell, she'd ditched school with Felicity today simply because she thought her friend needed her.

But even with all that, it was still too soon.

My mind was at war with my instincts.

"You can go to school," I said.

Felicity frowned. "And what? We just hope nothing bad happens? I'm not feeling too confident about that."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, ye of little faith. You go to school. And we have you covered."

"But—"

"No buts," I cut her off. "You worry too much. Everything will be fine."

"Paul," she said, her tone irritated.

Sam slid back his chair to stand. "Actually, he's right about this one. You have to go to school. So you go back tomorrow, and we promise you'll be okay."

Felicity looked at him. "You promise?"

He nodded. "Promise. Now we have to go." He leaned down and gave Emily a quick kiss before tilting his head toward the door and leaving.

Jacob gave Felicity a peck on the forehead as he reassured her everything would be fine and he'd see her later.

I glanced over at my own imprint to see her fiddling with her fingers, clearly uncomfortable. Reaching out, I squeezed her shoulder in a move I hoped was reassuring. "I know things don't make a lot of sense right now. I'll fix that soon. But for now, hang out here until Felicity takes you home, alright?"

She blinked up at me, her expression searching. I wasn't sure what she found, but she said, "Alright."

I gave her a smile. "See you later." Then I followed Jacob out the kitchen, out of the house, and then into the woods where we both phased. We ran to where Sam was waiting for everyone to show for a meeting.

What's going on? Jared asked, his mind filled with confusion at everyone joining during his and Seth's patrol.

I'll explain when everyone's here, Sam said. Just pay attention and keep running your route, okay? Okay, Seth?

On it, Seth said enthusiastically. The kid was probably the biggest team player in the pack.

If only my free time could actually be my own, Leah bitched as she phased into the link. What's the problem now?

To the clearing, Leah. Now. Sam's tone held no room for more complaints.

Still, Leah's mind was cursing up a storm as she made her way to where those of us not on patrol were gathered.

A minute later, the last of us finally joined. Sorry, sorry, Kai mumbled as he raced to where we were meeting. I'm not used to this shit yet.

It's fine, Sam said, just—hurry. Just as he finished, Kai skidded into the small clearing, bumping into Quil. Luckily it was only Quil, who barked a laugh at the new wolf.

We're all here, Leah said. So, pray tell, what is the fucking problem?

Sam ignored her completely, instead telling us, Brace for what I'm about to say because I will not have anyone acting rashly. We discuss this as a pack and we take care of it as a pack, no one going it alone to try to take care of the problem. Understood?

He got a lot of grumbles in return, multiple minds wondering what this could be about—and a couple figuring it out already.

We speculated yesterday about the Cullens being back. It was discovered today that they truly are. Not only are they back, but the ones that still attend Forks High are re-integrating themselves there.

I tried to keep my mind calm even as a majority of the pack filled with fury. There were countless images of the Cullens being ripped apart, the pack taking them down one by one.

Enough, Sam ordered, drawing attention back to him. We need to be responsible about this.

Kai growled, but that simmered right down as soon as Sam glared his way. But didn't they break the treaty? Isn't that the whole point of it in the first place? To protect our people? To protect humans? If they broke it, it's our duty to punish them.

You're not wrong, Sam said. But we can't just run down there and start a war without any preparation. We need to think. Strategize.

A faint whine came from Seth. I'm not so sure about a war at all. Some of them actually helped us.

Leah snarled. Whose side are you on, Seth?

Ours! Always! But just because the doctor had a crazy day doesn't mean we need to start a full-fledged war.

Felicity got hurt, Seth, Jacob's mental voice was quiet but seething. She's afraid to go to school now. She won't feel comfortable until we take care of this.

Who says taking care of this has to be killing them all, though? Seth tried to reason. We were doing fine when we thought they left town, right? Why don't we make them do it again? But this time we tell them to never come back?

Because we were built to kill vampires, Seth, not send them away for someone else to deal with! Leah argued.

I…didn't know what to think. I'd have loved to tear into some vampire flesh. I'd light the fucking match on them myself. But, shit, Seth had a point.

He does, Sam agreed with me. Seth does have a point, he said. But so does Leah. And Jacob. We all need to think on this. Weigh our options. We'll reconvene on this in a day or two.

That's bullshit! Leah snapped.

Talk to Eli about it before growing hell bent, Sam suggested. Maybe you'll find that he'd prefer a more peaceful strategy before throwing yourself into danger.

I don't know how your imprint works, but in mine he doesn't run my life or make my decisions for me, Sam.

Sam sighed. Everyone, just think on it. And remember that no one acts without the entire pack behind them.

Wait, Jacob said frantically before Sam could phase back into human form. What about Felicity? You said she could go to school tomorrow and we'd have her covered.

That's right, Sam said. You and Paul will keep an eye on the school tomorrow. That will be your new second shift patrol. Deal?

Great, Jared mumbled so that it almost got lost in the shuffle of thoughts. Now we're stretching ourselves even thinner.

Not for long, Sam said. A couple of days, tops. Then we'll make our decision and act on it. We can hold it together until then.

If you say so, Jared said.

Now that's all. Your free time can go back to being yours. That last thought was directed at Leah as he ran a little ways away and phased out.

I did the same, phasing back only a short distance from where we'd met so my mind could once again belong only to me. It was handy, the mind-link, but it could get overwhelming when we didn't have an alpha directing our train of thought.

As I walked back to the house, I realized the gift Sam had given me—more time with Anna.

Whew! That was a lot. What do you think? Personally, I think it wasn't my best but it also wasn't my worse. Mostly, it was a necessary chapter. Because I've got to attempt plot somewhere, right? Anyway, I'd LOVE it if you left a review letting me know your thoughts! And while you do that, I'll just be over here chipping away at the next chapter - which I shall hopefully post soon. Stay safe, friends! :)