Hi, friends! Here I am, back again with another chapter. I think I might try to make Saturdays my update day? If I can keep to frequent updates? Let me know what y'all think of that!

As always, thank you so much to everyone reading this story. Extra special thanks to everyone who left a review last chapter. I'm so glad people are still interested in this story and enjoying!

Chapter Ten

Anna

"Holy shit." I couldn't stop the curse from escaping my mouth as I watched the large silver wolf pace in front of me, his gaze centered on my reaction. If my face looked anything like the clutter that was my thoughts, I was sure he was seeing mixed messages.

So this was real. Paul and Jacob and all of his and Felicity's friends changed into wolves. Or did Felicity do it too? But he'd said they did it to protect the tribe…that meant only residents of La Push shifted, right? Then again, Paul lived in Forks with us.

So this was real, but there were still so many gaps. I'd tried to hold back from bothering anyone and asking questions, but now I had so many it was nearly painful to hold them back.

But I still wasn't sure of my conclusions. Was I okay with this? Or more importantly, should I be okay with this? My gut said yes, but my gut had been wrong before. And goodness knew my nerves and brain and regular responses tended to be wrong most of the time.

Yet…my hands didn't shake. My palms weren't damp. My stomach wasn't twisting. My mind was a whirlwind, but the rest of my body was calm.

Maybe that was a sign.

Paul had said they shapeshifted to protect people. So unless I was the enemy, which I was certain I was not, I was safe. He wouldn't hurt me. None of the—

"I know this is a lot, but please, Anna, say something before I explode!" Felicity exclaimed, a small laugh bubbling from her lips.

"Be patient," Sam told her. "Take your time, Anna."

Now that I was reminded Felicity was here, though, I decided to take a chance and ask just one question. "Are you one too?"

Surprise colored Felicity's features. "Me? Oh, no. I'm not a wolf. I'm just…with Jacob. It's why I can know the secret."

My head tilted to the side. If that was why she could know about this, why was I let in on the secret? Surely not because I was friends with Felicity.

Sam apparently was done with the patient gig because he chimed in before I could try asking another question. "I know there's a lot we need to talk about, and a lot we need to share and explain, but let's go inside to have this chat. Paul, shift back and meet us inside." Then he turned and walked back to the house, up the stairs and to the door. He held it open, gesturing with his hand for Felicity and me to enter.

I looked at Felicity, and she smiled reassuringly. If she was so comfortable with these people even though they were also huge animals, there was probably nothing for me to be worried about, right? That was what I was counting on as I entered the house, heading toward where I remembered the kitchen was.

Emily turned to greet us, her expression full of concern. "Anna, please sit. Can I get you something to drink? A snack?"

I shook my head as my stomach decided now was the time to rebel. If I ingested anything, I knew it wouldn't end well. As I sat and waited for the others to get situated I contemplated my current state. I'd been so calm moments ago. What was the problem now? I thought I was okay with the news…

And I was. But now, the prospect of getting to talk about it, to ask questions—and maybe asking the wrong questions. Or saying things that would be hurtful or offensive or stupid or a myriad of other things that would lead to the others hating me. Wishing they hadn't shared their big secret with me.

My hands started to shake, but I hid them under my thighs before the others could notice.

But then Paul walked in, and I could tell by the way that he looked at me that he could tell I was getting upset. He stopped in front of me, staring down with gentle eyes. "You took that well," he murmured. "Now that we ripped off the band-aid, it's all uphill from here. No worries, okay?"

Even though he hadn't lied so far I wasn't sure I believed him, but I nodded anyway.

He nodded in approval before pulling a chair super close to my side and sitting down. "So, almighty alpha, is now the time to spill all of the beans or what?"

"Actually," Felicity said, "now is the time for me to talk to Sam. Which I can now freely do with Anna here."

Sam raised his brows. "What's up, Felicity?"

She rested her palms on her table, her fingers framing the glass of juice Emily had set in front of her. "At lunch today, Bella Swan came over and told me that the Cullens need to meet with you."

"Bella approached you?" Sam asked, his voice turning firm. "Were any of them with her? How close were they?"

"They didn't get close," Paul interjected. "I was watching and listening. They just sent over the leechlover while the other two stood back."

Sam nodded, only the slightest bit of tension leaving his shoulders. "Why?"

Felicity shook her head. "She said that things aren't as clear as they seem. What does that even mean?"

He sighed. "I don't know, but we'll find out. I'll get in contact and we'll find out what's going on."

When no one spoke up right away to add to the conversation, I pulled a hand out from under one of my legs and raised a shaky hand.

Paul chuckled. "Yes, Anna."

"I don't want to be a bother…" Everyone was looking at me now and though it was only four people who had been nothing but kind to me, it made me nervous.

"Ask your question," Sam said, his voice kind. "You'll learn that you aren't a bother. You will never be a bother."

Why did his words go straight to my chest? "I kind of have a lot of questions, actually."

"I'm sure you do," Paul said, bumping his shoulder into mine lightly. "I'd expect nothing less. Ask away."

"Or maybe," Sam said, his expression thoughtful, "we could answer a few now to hold her over and then the rest could be sorted with a bonfire."

"She shouldn't have to wait, Sam," Paul argued.

"Some things are better explained with the legends, Paul."

Paul's eyes narrowed, his voice getting angry. "She has a hard enough time as it is, Sam. Anyone can see that. You want to make it worse by making her wait? So she can have time to doubt and wonder?"

Oh no. Paul was making this about my anxiety. Not that he knew exactly what my problem was. Maybe whenever I told Felicity I should make sure he got to know too? Assuming he'd even care.

"Don't be like that, Paul."

Freeing my other hand from under my leg, I crossed my arms. "I'll be okay with whatever. Some answers now and the rest later is okay." Just don't argue over me, I finished in my head.

Paul hefted out a big sigh. "I suppose a bonfire is the traditional way."

"And they're fun," Felicity added, smiling at me in encouragement.

"So it's decided," Sam said before focusing back on me. "Are there any burning questions we can answer to hold you over, Anna?"

I had a million questions, but I wasn't sure which ones were warranted to ask. Which ones I should never, ever ask—because I didn't want to make them angry at me. Or which ones were worth asking sometime, but not now. When I was full of uncertainty, how was I supposed to decide which questions were worthy of being deemed burning?

Paul seemed to pick up on my issue and bumped my shoulder again, this time keeping them pressed together for an extra second. "Ask anything you want. If it's something better answered by legends, we'll let you know. No judgment. We know this is a lot to take in. None of us even knew about any of this before we started shifting. It takes some adjusting, and we know that well."

"You're already reacting better than Paul did," Sam offered, taking a sip of coffee Emily had brewed while we spoke and had just set in front of him. "He was a basket case."

Felicity laughed. "Basket case is probably the nice way of putting it."

"I carried myself with nothing but grace, thank you very much," Paul disagreed with a defiant lift of his chin. "I was the picture of serenity and kept an even temper through everything."

I couldn't help a smirk from crossing my lips. "This coming from the person who called me a bitch the first time we met?"

Felicity laughed again, but Paul stiffened in his seat. Did I just mess up? "I apologized for that."

"I know, and it's okay now." And it was. I still wasn't entirely certain he actually wanted to be my friend for anything more than guilt at that incident and an effort to stay on Felicity's good side, but I wasn't holding it over his head anymore or anything. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to make a joke. I wasn't funny.

"Get over it, Paul, she was just teasing," Felicity said with a roll of her eyes.

"Honestly, Paul," Emily admonished.

Paul paid no attention to them, his fierce gaze centered on me beside him. "I'm fine with joking, but I worry it hasn't sunk into your brain that I never meant it."

Was he trying to have a serious conversation about this? Right now? In front of everyone? When I'd learned mere minutes ago that he shifted into a wolf? "I—I…" I stuttered, trying to form a coherent sentence that wasn't going to make him more upset. "I think we should move on. What exactly is that bonfire you were talking about?"

Paul's expression warred between relief and uncertainty. He clearly didn't trust that I wasn't still holding onto the bitch comment. He was not wrong, but luckily he let it go—for now, at least. "The whole pack and those closest to the pack meet together on the beach. We eat, talk, laugh, all around a bonfire. Then one of the elders tells the legends of our tribe. Those legends are the key to understanding all of this—because they aren't just stories the way most of the reservation thinks. They're the true history of our people."

So those legends would be most of the research I needed. It made me feel better to know that they weren't opposed to answering questions in general; they simply had a better way of sharing information that would more complete and in context. I could respect that. I pushed aside most of my questions for later. "Okay, so I'll wait until after that to ask questions. But I have two to hold me over…if that's okay?" They'd been nothing but kind to me so far, but the longer I took the more their patience would wear. Then they would get sick of me, and everything would be downhill from there. It was bound to happen sometime, but I wanted to hold it off from happening as long as I could.

Paul placed his hand over one of mine that was now slightly shaking in my lap. "Of course it's okay. We're here to help you through this."

I met his eyes, and I was taken aback by the sincerity in them. Apparently so taken aback that my first question tumbled out of my mouth without any tact. "Why do I get to know your secret? Of all the people you could tell, why me?"

Paul blinked, his mouth opening…then closing. He had an answer but was holding back. A rush of disappointment flowed through me. It was irrational, but it seemed like he was about to say something monumental. Something I desperately needed to hear. But how was I supposed to know that when I had no idea what he was thinking? Maybe he was about to tell me to fuck off. That I was a bitch again, but then remembered how terribly that went last time and reconsidered. I pulled my hand from his grasp, tucking it back under my leg as I hunched over in my seat.

Sam cleared his throat. "That's something best explained through the legends, but suffice it to say for now that you are very important to the pack."

The shock on my face had to be evident. "Me?"

Paul leaned back in his chair, running his hands over his face. "Yes, you, Anna. You're kind of awesome, you know?"

I wanted to scoff, but I held it back and focused on Sam. He was the one giving me actual answers.

He nodded. "Yes, you. Don't sell yourself short. And take Paul with a grain of salt. You're important to him. I know you don't understand it right now, but it'll make sense in time."

"And he's probably starting to feel important to you too," Felicity added, a curious lilt to her tone. "Isn't he?"

I shrugged, unsure. I was always hyper-aware of what those around me were likely thinking about me. How they thought I was strange because my hands shook and I rarely spoke—or when I did speak, it often did not come out right. How they suspected terrible things about my eating habits because I got too anxious to eat in large public settings most of the time. How they saw me as an easy target to manipulate because I had no friends.

But did Paul's thoughts of me matter more? Maybe. I had cried when he called me a bitch. That was a severe reaction for something that had come from someone I didn't even know. At the time I had chalked it up to embarrassment because Paul was a beautiful person who was clearly close with Felicity. Now I wasn't so sure. Maybe they had a point?

"You don't have to figure it out right now," Emily said gently, watching me from across the table. "There's no rush for anything. And once you have more information you'll be able to piece it all together and it'll…well, click. It just takes time."

Her reassuring words helped soothe the hurricane in my brain. I nodded. "Okay, one last question then." I bit my lip, unsure if this question would be offensive to their strength or something, but I had to know. "You said you protect the tribe. I live in Forks. And I have no reason to really think I'm not, so no pressure or anything, but, um, am I…safe? There?" The question came out way more incoherent than I'd intended. Of course. Way to go, Anna.

"Of course," Sam said immediately while Paul answered at the same time, "Yes."

I looked between them, surprised by their certainty. "You're one of the most protected people, Anna, trust me," Paul added, his eyes staring into mine. There was a weight there, as if I was supposed to understand something he wasn't saying.

Nothing in particular came to mind, though, so I brushed it off. I was probably reading too much into things. They'd said I was important to Paul, but it probably wasn't anything big. I was his and Felicity's neighbor, after all. Maybe they meant because we lived so near and each other and were becoming friends?

That sounded stupid. But it was all the reasoning I could come up with.

So maybe stop trying to figure it out and wait for them to share, I told myself. It was what I'd done so far…and it seemed to actually be working in my favor.

"Okay," I said, taking them at their word because it was all I really had. "I need to get home." I didn't glance at a clock, but we'd been there for a bit and I was probably late for dinner.

Felicity stood, nodding. "Right, right. This was supposed to be a quick chat. I didn't know it was going to turn into Secret Sharing Central."

Paul scoffed. "I've got a big secret I have no plans of sharing with you, doll, so get over it."

Felicity's jaw dropped, as if she couldn't believe those words had just come out of his mouth.

I, on the other hand, couldn't help but laugh. For just a moment, I let loose a good laugh. It didn't happen for me often, and it felt nice.

What was even nicer was the sparkle in Paul's smiling eyes when I went quiet and could breathe again. I smiled back.

"Now there's a sight for sore eyes," he murmured, his tone one of…almost awe?

Felicity's hand clasped my arm and she gave a small tug. "Alright, no time for this, let's go. I need to get away from this perverted dog."

"Don't be jealous," Paul said as we left the room. Then he called, "I'll see you soon, Anna! We can share more secrets!"

Felicity sighed as we left the house. "He's the worst."

I wanted to smile again. "I'm not so sure. Maybe he's not all that bad."

Paul

Later that night, Anna's beautiful laugh filled my mind as we waited for the leeches to show up to the meeting. We were in human form, because Sam requested the mind reader not attend, so I was free to relish the thought of her brief moment of happiness without the others peeping in. She didn't smile often. She seemed caught up in her head most of the time. Hopefully we'd get the chance in the near future to have a real conversation. One where I could tell her how much I truly admired her and she could share why her hands were always so shaky.

But realistically, that would probably take time. She was skittish. I needed to keep a mind to that.

Though her sense of humor with mine was a match made in heaven. The thought made a smile cross my lips.

"Stop daydreaming," Leah sneered from my left. She, along with Jared and Sam, was one of the few pack members also attending this meeting. Jacob was banned because he couldn't be trusted to control himself—not after what they'd done to his imprint. He was instead watching over Felicity while keeping an ear to Anna. And the others were keeping tight patrol on the rez.

We'd gotten too comfortable with the Cullens before and it bit us in the ass. We weren't taking any more chances.

"Shut up, Leah," I said.

"No, asshole. I don't need to hear your dreamy sighs when I'm trying to get my head screwed on straight for this shit show of a meeting."

I had a rather biting remark about how her head was never screwed on straight to begin with, but Sam stepped between us and took away my opportunity. "Leave him alone, Leah. You're imprinted. You know how it is." Sam's tone was a little more than an admonishment. As if he were still trying to lead her into getting over him dumping her for Emily.

Little did he know she enjoyed nursing that grudge for the hell of it. Her hurt was understandable, but now that she was imprinted too she got a firsthand look at how the emotions took over. How the entire world changed in an instant. It didn't matter what happened before that moment, who was supposed to top your list of important people. Everything shifted, and that top place belonged to your imprint. And damn, you thanked the goddess for it because it was a gift like no other.

But even though Leah had experienced that and knew what it was like, she held the situation over Sam's head. Bitch is as bitch does or however the saying went.

"Get over yourself," she told him, proving me right.

We all stiffened a moment later as the sickly scent of vampire wafted toward us. The blond chick entered the clearing first, followed closely by the huge guy who was obsessed with her. Then the nice motherly one—and lastly, the doctor.

My eyes narrowed on him, though I held my place. This meeting was important. If they had information, we needed it.

Even though every bone in my body itched to shift so I could tear that fucker's head off his body.

The vampires could clearly feel the tension in the air because they didn't get too close and they wasted no time getting to the point.

"You know how some vampires have powers, right?" Blondie said. She didn't wait for us to confirm before continuing, "Victoria has the power of persuasion. That's why Carlisle cut up your little human. He was coerced."

Sam held up a hand, stopping any of us—aka me—from verbally reacting to the total bullshit. "We're supposed to believe that you harmed one of ours as an experiment…on accident?" The condescension dripping from his voice almost made me proud.

The doctor's head lowered, remorse on his face. "I know it sounds far-fetched."

Now I couldn't help myself. "Try fucking psychotic."

Sam shot me a glare. "What he means is that it's hard to believe."

Blondie sighed, moving a hand to her hip impatiently. "The key is that she uses something that already exists in the person. Carlisle is interested in medicine. Science. He thinks you beasts are fascinating." She obviously did not share the sentiment. I'd respect her sass if she weren't a bloodsucker. "So Victoria twisted that into something harmful."

"But others in your family helped," Sam argued. "They stole Felicity from her job and brought her to him."

"More persuasion. Alice adores Carlisle and wanted to help him with his research. And Jasper would do anything for Alice." She shrugged, the movement reminding me of Anna. My imprint did love to answer in shrugs. It was cute. "What are the odds that multiple members of our family are that fucked up? After all this time of us minding our own business from you in Forks?"

"That Swan girl…" Leah started.

Blondie snorted. "We all don't think she's that great. Jasper practically avoids her at all costs because he doesn't want to accidentally rip her throat out."

Jared seemed to be giving this actual thought. "There were so many of you Cullens involved, though. I find it hard to believe one vampire pushed all of you to act."

"She didn't," Carlise said quietly. "I never…well. It's tough for me to say I'd never anything after what I've done…" he trailed off, then shook himself. The man was evidently feeling something and I started to feel the first trickles of belief. "But I wouldn't kidnap an innocent human girl. There's no way."

"So she had to get others to do it for her," the motherly one said, reaching over to rub the doctor's back.

"Which helps prove our point!" Blondie practically shouted. "It would be too hard for her to push one person too far. So she picked the most vulnerable parts of each of their minds and pushed them a little so that together they'd end up doing something so catastrophically shitty that you mutts would attack us."

Sam frowned. "Why would she want that?"

She smirked, confident her point was getting across. "Because we killed her mate and she wants us to suffer. And because you killed her friend and wants you to do the same."

"Fuck," I muttered because it made sense. I remembered the leechlover whining about that vamp with the dreads. How he'd been the one to mention the redhead in the first place. Of course they were friends. And that connected to whatever dramatic shit had happened with her and the Cullens in the past. It all connected and it all made sense and I didn't want to believe it because it'd be much easier to tell them to go fuck themselves and then murder them with glee.

But they were telling the truth.

Sam came to the same conclusion. "If we do take your word for it and believe your story…" he paused, letting that sink in. "What comes next? Why are you trying to get us to forgive you?"

All four of the vampires shared loaded glances and it made my skin prickle with irritation. We'd come this far. Now wasn't the time to wimp out of whatever they'd come to share.

Luckily my irritation didn't get the chance to grow too high. The big guy stepped up next to Blondie and said, "Because Victoria's been away since then but she's not gone. She planning. She's building."

"Building what?" I snapped, unable to take their dramatic silences anymore. "Spit it out."

"Paul," Sam hissed, but I ignored him and kept glaring at the Cullens.

"She's planning to attack us. All of us," Blondie said, her hand on the guy's arm as she finally got to the damn point. "She's creating new vampires to help her. She's building an army."

Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think, and I'll try to be back with another chapter soon. Stay safe & healthy, everyone! :)