-Chapter 12-

At 9:30 Isabella and Eliza returned to the Quileute boundary line, and waited patiently, after all, they had nowhere else to be. After their arrival, they waited for the escort they knew would inevitably come.

Both women wore the same black outfits they had worn before, pale skin sharply contrasting with the dark fabric. Isabella stood ramrod straight, eyes closed, she never seemed to truly relax so this pose was certainly nothing new for her, breathing in and out slowly, while Eliza simply crossed her arms and leaned against a tree.

"What if their council decides to tell us to piss off?" Eliza asked suddenly, her eyes reflecting her curiosity.

"Then we're no worse off than we were before we met with them." Isabella shrugged lithely. "At the very least they have to be concerned about wolven involvement."

A soft growl interrupted their conversation as a familiar dark silver wolf loped into view.

"Hello Paul," Isabella greeted him politely. "We're ready to follow you in."

The large wolf gave a little bark in response, turned and began to lope back from whence it came. Assuming this was all the invitation they would get, Isabella and Eliza followed the wolf into the forest. What started as a slow lope picked up until they were running with the wolf through brush and trees. The two vampires easily kept pace with the wolf until he slowed down, reverting to a walk as they entered a large clearing.

Standing at the edge of the clearing was Jacob, in a pair of loose jean shorts, and a sleeveless shirt. Isabella noted that he had shaved as well. Next to him stood his wife Tekali, her expression open and friendly. After Jacob approached the two women, Paul turned and trotted toward a bonfire that had been set up and was burning about 20 yards from the trees on the other side of the clearing.

"You look much better without the facial fur." Eliza commented as they approached, Tekali burst out laughing as Jacob gave a little huff of irritation.

"I keep telling him the same thing." She said as she gestured for the two vampires to follow them.

As they made their way into the clearing, Jacob lead them toward the fire where several people were already sitting, with a dozen more standing around the blaze. All of them turned warily to watch the approach of the newcomers.

Jacob murmured quietly, "Just so you know, there may be some trouble at the start, I haven't had time to make sure everyone knows I invited you. If something happens let me take care of it please. I promise to handle it." His face seemed honest and sincere.

Eliza and Isabella exchanged a look before they nodded in unison. Then Eliza turned to Tekali and murmured, "You brought a spare pair of pants for him didn't you?"

Tekali grinned and nodded murmuring quietly. "Two pairs." Eliza giggled. Isabella smiled a tiny bit, pleased that her daughter seemed to be so relaxed.

They approached the bonfire but before they got close enough to be seen clearly by the light of the flames, Jacob said quietly. "Stay here until I call for you please." Tekali stopped with Eliza and Isabella to wait. Since they were closer to the fire now, they were able to get a look at the people sitting around the fire. There were five in all. An old man, who appeared to be in his 80's, two men who seemed to be in their late forties. Two women were also seated, one was in her late forties as well, and one looked to be in her early thirties. There were 9 other people that stood around the fire, all of them appearing to be in their mid to early 20's. All of them looked very fit, and all of them bore the tribal tattoo of the pack on their shoulders.

As Jacob approached the fire, one of the men in his forties spoke up. "Why did you call this meeting?" he asked, clearly curious.

Tekali murmured quietly to Isabella and Eliza. "That's Steven, one of the council elders."

Jacob looked around at the people gathered, ignoring the question he asked. "I called for everyone, we're missing two pack members. Where are Leah and Seth?"

Paul stepped forward into the fire light, "Seth had that meeting with those landowners to the north. He's spent months trying to arrange it. He's hoping to discuss purchase price with them. It just wasn't something he could blow off. If he's needed we can bring him later. Leah should be here in a few minutes, she was pretty far north in the Canadian forest this afternoon. "

Jacob nodded in acceptance and then turned to address the five people sitting by the fire. "I've called this meeting because of a major issue that has come up. This is serious enough I've invited two outsiders to our council. What we have to discuss was reported by them, and concerns us all." At that point Jacob gestured in the direction where his wife and the two vampires were standing, gesturing them forward.

When the three figures approached the firelight, there were gasps from 4 of the 5 council members, the only one who didn't react strongly was the woman in her forties, though she seemed surprised and displayed open curiosity. The reaction of the pack members was much more demonstrative., The ones who hadn't expected such guests (which was practically all of them) snarled, and exclamations of "Leech!" and "Bloodsucker" were the most common reactions. Loud growls rent the placid night as three of the pack members shifted into their wolf forms and began to move towards the vampires, who stood there quietly, without showing any emotion at all.

"NO!" Jacob shouted, stepping between the wolves and the two vampires. He snarled at the three wolves. "If you wish to challenge me as Alpha, we are at a council meeting and you are free to do so. But they are not to be harmed. I have invited them to this council. They will not be harmed while here at my invitation. Is that CLEAR?" His glare moved from wolf to wolf and then even to the pack members who hadn't shifted. Once they each gave some sign of acknowledgement, he turned back to the council.

"There's no need to be rude, go ahead and introduce us, Jacob." The woman in her forties said calmly.

Jacob gestured to the two vampires who took a step into the light. "This is-" He began

"Bella?" The old man who looked to be in his 80's said, his voice sounding stunned. "Is… that you? We all thought you were dead!"

That caught Isabella off guard, and she frowned in confusion at the old man. "I'm Isabella.. I'm sorry… I don't…."

The old man began to laugh, a rich deep laughter filled with a strength that belied his age. "Oh I'm sure you don't recognize me, it's only been nearly a century… It's me. Quil Ateara."

Isabella blinked several times, which succeeded in eliciting more laughter from the old man. "I know, I know. I got old. I don't shift anymore since Claire isn't a pack member. We've aged together but it sure beats the alternative."

Isabella to nodded slowly, remembering how, when she was human, Quil had imprinted on an infant Claire, the niece of Emily, the pack leader's fiancé at the time."Well this certainly is a surprise, I would never have imagined. So you're a council member now?"

"Yeah, you're not supposed to be on the council if you're an active pack member. Believe it or not I'm the Elder now. For a few more years anyway. So, you're a vampire now?" The old man chuckled again and shook his head, waving his hand to wave off the answer. "Sorry, stupid question, it happens when you get old." He chuckled softly, "And who is this?" he asked, looking at Eliza with obvious curiosity.

"This is my daughter Eliza." Isabella responded, Quil's familiar easygoing personality, if not face, made her feel a bit more at ease. Quil had always been easy to be around since he was so friendly, as a result she had always been partial to him among the pack members.

Quil gestured for the two of them to sit down on available logs, and then he stopped and looked up at Isabella sharply, and then grinned. "Maybe you should scoot the logs back a bit from the fire. You had a tendency to have trouble walking flat surfaces in full daylight." he said, laughing again almost as soon as he had completed the sentence.

Eliza looked at her mother in surprise when Bella actually threw back her head and laughed. "Trust me, that's not an issue any more. Vampire reflexes and all."

She and Eliza took the offered logs, sitting casually. They were careful however not to get too close to the flames, and Isabella remained very aware of the pack members positions. Quil's reaction to them seemed to have helped put the council and the pack a bit more at ease, though the three that had shifted into wolf form remained that way. Tekali and Jacob took seats next to the two vampires.

Quil shook his head in amusement and then gestured towards the other members of the council. "This is Steven Clearwater, and Colin Littlesea, and this is Susan Avery, and Rita Uley" He said gesturing to the two men, and then first the woman in her early thirties, and then the woman in her forties who hadn't reacted with a gasp upon seeing the vampires. The only member of the council who didn't seem to be getting over his shock was Colin, who still stared at the vampires with mistrust written clearly in his eyes and expression.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Isabella Volturi, and as I said this is my daughter Elizabeth Volturi. Though she prefers Eliza." Isabella replied formally, bowing her head slightly in respect to each member of the council. Isabella didn't meet Jacob's eyes when he raised an eyebrow at her stated last name.

Steven tilted his head to regard Jake thoughtfully. "So why did you call this meeting? It must be serious to insist on the entire pack and council being present, not to mention inviting two bl- vampires into our very midst as well."

Jacob looked around first at the council members and then at the pack members who were still standing warily and listening. "I think it might be easier if Bella explains it, rather than hearing secondhand from me."

Isabella looked around herself before speaking up. "It was twofold. First, I wanted to let you know as a courtesy that we were in the area. So you were aware of your neighbors, so to speak."

"Two more members added to the Cullen clan, while not a reason to celebrate by any means, is hardly an urgent reason to scare everyone here to death. What is so earth shattering here? Why the emergency council?" Colin sneered in disgust.

Isabella shook her head quickly and responded before Jacob, who was opening his mouth, could get a word out, could. "No, we are not members of the Cullen clan. In fact they only found out today we were here. A few hours before your pack did, as a matter of fact. Or rather, they found out about Eliza, they don't know about me just yet. I have… no love for them. So for now you know more than they do just by knowing about the two of us." That statement caused some raised eyebrows all around, no-one looked more surprised than Jacob.

"Is there a reason they don't know about your presence? And why would you chose to inform us first? You know there is hardly a lot of love between your species and ours." Rita was being kind in her evaluation of the relationship between the wolves and vampires but still she spoke up curiously, her tone expressing thoughtfulness.

"As I said, I have no love for the Cullens. The issues are deeply personal, I assure you. Jacob can certainly vouch for that." Jacob nodded his head quickly before Isabella continued.

"Secondly, as you can tell I have a history with the pack. While… I admit I didn't expect anyone from the pack I remembered to still be around, nearly a century later, the pack's history is one of acting with honor. They protected me like I was a member of their family when I had been abandoned. Not just abandoned, but left vulnerable to a vampire who wanted nothing more than my death. The vampire who stalked me eventually caught up to me, but not due to lack of diligence or effort on the pack's part. I didn't doubt such a legacy of honor and dedication to protecting those who need it had been continued." Several of the pack members couldn't help but grin and seemed a bit proud after Isabella finished.

"That brings me to the second reason I'm here." Isabella continued, making sure she had everyone's attention. "After I was converted to a vampire against my will, eventually I was taken in by the Volturi. We're the most powerful coven in the vampire world, and we're... policemen for lack of a better word. We enforce the laws that keep us safe and hidden from the humans. I'm what you could call an enforcer. We both are." Isabella gestured to her daughter before continuing.

"Lately there has been a huge rise in attacks upon humans in several different cities around the world, most notably in the U.S.. My daughter and I were sent to deal with the attacks happening here on the west coast. "

Susan spoke up at that point. "We had noticed waves of "gang activity" on the news, though the violence seems to have settled down in recent weeks. That was you?"

Eliza grinned and nodded "If you mean the settling part. They performed the violence, we settled it...violently."

Isabella nodded her agreement before continuing. "There was another attack last night. I went to investigate, and I traced the scents of the attackers from the scene of the crime to a warehouse. Inside I found a dead human, three vampires and two wolves. Not only did the human look like he had been partially eaten by the wolves, but the wolves and the vampires were working together."

At that comment there were several angry snarls and denials. Quil held up his hand until things quieted down. "How do you know they were wolves?"

"Because I saw them shift with my own two eyes. They decided discretion was the better part of valor and ran off, managing to lose me when they ducked into the sewers. There were far too many overpowering smells down there for me to track them, and I wasn't foolish enough to charge blindly into such a situation." Isabella replied. "I brought back an article of their clothing which one of them lost when they shifted, something I am certain you are all familiar with." Bella paused and gave Jacob's wife a significant glance. Tekali responded with a snort of amusement. "Jacob and Paul can verify what they smelled to you."

Jacob nodded quickly, though it was Paul who spoke up first, stepping into the firelight, wearing just a pair of khaki shorts. "She's right. Whoever that was, is a wolf, there's no doubt about that. But it isn't one of our pack. I would recognize the scent. "

At that point there was the sound of running paws, and when both vampires and the council looked up, Paul spoke again, "That's just Leah. I told you she was close."

As he said this, a grey wolf, bounded into the clearing and cantered towards the bonfire. As she approached the fire, she suddenly skidded to a stop. The wolf stared at the people surrounding the fire, staring at the two vampires, her body seemingly frozen in place, she was apparently rigid with tension.

Jacob stood up "Leah, it's okay. They-" He was cut off as suddenly the three pack members who had remained in wolf form jumped to their feet and began whining in what could only be described as shock.

Confusion crossed the faces of the members who'd remained in human form as the whines continued. Jacob frowned and abruptly shifted into his wolf form, shredding his clothes in the process. He stared at the new arrival for a few moments before emitting a whine of shock of his own. One by one the pack members shifted on the spot. Though three of the members, one of the men, Tekali and the other woman were smart enough to step away from the camp light, and quickly strip to save their clothes before changing.

"What's going on?" Steven asked looking at Quil, as the wolves all stood facing one another, a mass of whines, barks and growls continuing for almost 2 minutes.

"I'm not... sure." Quil said, his wrinkles more obvious as he frowned, he was just as confused as everyone else. Isabella and Eliza watched the gathering carefully for any sudden signs of aggression, their body language tense.

The group suddenly broke up, all but three of the wolves ran off into the night. The ones who had remembered to step out of their clothing returning shortly. Jacob returned a few moments later, wearing a new pair of jeans causing Eliza to murmur to a returning Tekali "I told you he'd need those." Which got a smirk out of her despite the serious expression on her face.

"What's going on?" Quil and Steven both asked Jacob the moment he stepped back into the firelight.

Jacob looked uncomfortable for a moment, glancing back at the grey wolf who remained where she was. "Tekali, could you go get Leah some clothing?" He asked his wife, who nodded and stepped back away from the campfire.

Jacob turned back to address the group. "Things just got a lot more complicated. We have two new issues. First, Leah ran into some trouble on the way home."

"What happened?" Quil asked, his face serious now, all trace of humor gone.

"She came across a scent she didn't recognize and the smell of blood. She stopped to investigate it, and ran right across a wolf who was chewing on the corpse of a hunter. The wolf saw her and tried to give chase, but Leah is still the fastest wolf we've ever seen. She decided to cover her trail so there was no way she could be followed here, crossing back and forth at some streams and rivers to be sure they couldn't track her scent."

Quil nodded as he looked at the grey wolf, still standing close by, staring at the vampires. "Good thinking. We need to know what we're dealing with here. This is the first time we've ever run into any of our kind before." He turned his head to look back at Jacob frowning curiously, "You said there were two issues?"

Jacob nodded his head slowly, "The second thing is that Leah imprinted."

Quil's frown was matched by every member of the council as they turned to look at the grey wolf, "She imprinted on the wolf that attacked the hunter?" Quil asked

Jacob shook his head slowly. "No, she didn't imprint on him."

That caused puzzled expressions on the faces of the council, Quil being the first one to speak up, his voice showing genuine pleasure "That's wonderful news then! She and Seth are by far the oldest members of the pack without an imprint! I'm afraid I don't see why that is a complication to all of this."

Jacob slowly shook his head, glancing back at the grey wolf once more. "No, you don't understand. She just imprinted." Then he turned to look at Eliza meaningfully.

There were several confused expressions around the council, Quil was the first to figure it out. He blinked, as the information led to it's inexorable conclusion. The distinguished and knowledgeable elder with a century of life experience to fall back on, could only think of one thing to say. "Holy shit…"

"You can say that again," Jake added, to no one in particular

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Once again, MAJOR thanks go to DarkBella, who has spent pretty much the past 24 hours with me, listening to me babble and helping smooth some of the rough spots. She is WONDERFUL. (She seriously thinks I'm kidding when I say I'ma have to break out the thesaurus for superlatives to describe her.)

For those of you who are wondering, (and I've had at least 1 review and one private message) Alice and Bella will happen. I PROMISE. But it will probably happen alot slower than you expect. (It certainly did for me as the story developed in my head.) Alice's role will grow in the story (by leaps and bounds) but it will begin slowly. because Bella has SERIOUS issues.

Whether you like it or not, toss a review my way! I want to hear criticisms as much as i want to hear praise!

If you have a suggestion, I'm always willing to hear it!

(P.S. I love parentheses ^_^)