First, I want to thank everyone who was kind enough to review my story. Thanks again!
The only reason I stopped writing was because the kids insisted I feed them. And the baby's diaper was rank – I just couldn't put off changing it any longer. Sorry!
I also want to thank Twilight lexicon. It was nice to have a place to check to make sure I was staying true to the story.
It's just so hard to let go of Twilight, isn't it? I just love the world Stephenie Meyer has created, and this is my way of staying sane until the sequel. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoy!
"Hey, I didn't do anything," I said defensively, looking to Edward for support. His arms tightened around me, and he looked menacingly at John.
"Look, John, you're skating on very thin ice here. The only reason you're still alive is that for some reason, Bella seems to trust you - but don't push me," Edward warned.
"You had to fall for that, Bella?" John said with disgust.
Edward clearly took offense to that, but before he had a chance to do anything foolish, I said, "John, I don't think you get to come here after all this time and criticize my love life."
"Love life, hmm? Well, I admit I had my doubts when I first heard that you were mixed up with vampires, but it is clear that your boyfriend and his family are serious about protecting you, and that's something at least. I just think we need a moment to talk alone first, Bella."
"Not going to happen, John," Edward said, "So stop with the cryptic remarks and get on with it."
"Yes, do tell us all about it John," Rosalie said in a throaty voice, "we're just dying to know more about you."
Emmett growled again, murder flashing in his eyes, but Rosalie stopped him by gently stroking his chest with her perfectly manicured hand.
John just gave Rosalie a goofy smile, proving that he wasn't as unaffected by Rosalie's charms as he claimed to be. He continued to stare, and Rosalie, though still stroking Emmett's chest, gave him a sultry smile. John seemed to forget why he had come.
Exasperated, I stepped away from Edward and snapped my fingers in front of John's face. "Hello, remember me? Bella? You came into my house to criticize my love life and tell me I'm about to start a war? Does any of this ring a bell?"
Luckily, John seemed to snap out of his daze, and looked at me with a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry Bella. I never wanted it to be like this. I just had to make sure you were okay. I always thought of you as my baby sister, you know." He reached out to touch my cheek.
I sat on the table in front of John and whispered, "If you cared so much, how could you leave without even saying goodbye?"
"Bella, I was only ten. I didn't know what to do. I don't know if you remember, but my parents and I had gone camping with my uncle. One night as we were sitting by the campfire, we were attacked by vampires." His eyes flicked reflexively around the room.
I didn't know what to say. As if sensing my need, Edward sat beside me and took my hand in his cold one. John moved back, and a wave of sadness washed over his face, but he continued.
"There were three of them, two men and a woman. My parents and my uncle were killed, but I guess the vampires were full by the time they had come to me, because even though they drank my blood, I didn't die. I felt as if I were on fire, my whole body in flames. It was pure agony. Then suddenly, I heard a howl, followed by another and another, until the night seemed to filled with the sounds of wolves. And strangely, that sound helped cool the fire. The next thing I remember was a man standing over me, and I looked up and saw his eyes looking into my own. I knew I could trust him. He picked me up and I felt his mouth find my neck.
"I learned later that the blood of werewolves is a natural antidote for the vampire's venom. But with the antidote comes a price – I became a werewolf. Since my family was gone, Louis, the werewolf who saved me, arranged for it to look like my parents and I had simply moved away. Later, a car accident was staged to disguise the way my parents and uncle had really died, and I was adopted by the pack."
I was stunned. Here I was, thinking that John had been glad to be rid of me, tired of protecting me, when instead he had gone through so much. I was ashamed of myself. Edward looked at me with sympathy, and stroked my hair. "It's not your fault, Bella, there is no way you could have known." he whispered in my ear, knowing what I needed to hear.
John looked up in surprise. I guess werewolves had better hearing than humans, too. "Bella, I would never say this to you to make you feel bad for me. I always regretted not being able to tell you, and wondered if I was wrong not to contact you somehow. It's just not easy for me to, you know, spill my guts."
He looked furtively around the room, "Maybe that wasn't the best choice of words…"
I laughed, in spite of myself. John flashed me one of his infectious grins that I had missed for so long. A dozen questions popped into my head, just like when I found out Edward was a vampire.
"But if you were bitten at ten…." I said in confusion.
Before John could answer, Edward surprised me by saying, "Vampires and werewolves are not the same Bella. We are dead. Werewolves are definitely alive, so they will continue to grow. I admit I don't know very much about them, but of that much I am certain."
John nodded, and turned toward Edward. It seemed that they had come to an understanding at John's confession. Then, all of a sudden, Edward's face clenched. I looked at him questioningly. He looked at me and I saw the anger in his eyes. He said, "John showed me what happened to his family. It was James."
John sat up, "You know who killed my parents?" he demanded.
"Yes, he was after Bella, too. He almost had her, but we were able to get to her in time. Don't worry – we made him pay for what he did." Edward's eyes turned fiery at the memory of what happened in Phoenix. I shivered at the unexpected coincidence.
John stood up and began to pace the room, digesting the news that his parent's killer was dead. Then he said, "Unfortunately, that incident with the tracker was also when Bella's abilities showed up on the radar."
"What abilities?" I asked, still thoroughly confused. "Why would anyone be after me?"
John turned to me, and I could see he was still struggling with what to say. Apparently, his struggle was evident to the others in the room as well.
"You know, she's a lot stronger than she looks," Alice said.
"Yeah," Jasper piped in, "she's pretty capable - for a human."
I shot Jasper a dirty look. This was driving me crazy. If John didn't hurry up and tell me what was going on, I was going to sic Emmett on him.
"Look, this isn't easy. I mean, never in a million years did I think I would be telling pack secrets in a room full of vampires. I'm breaking about a dozen rules here, and if anyone finds out what I've done…"
Edward laughed, "Join the club. I've broken quite a few rules with Bella myself. But I'm still here."
I elbowed Edward in his marble chest to let him know what I thought of his teasing. Unfortunately, my elbow definitely got the short end of the stick.
"Would it be easier to tell us why my visions are blocked?" Alice asked anxiously, obviously as impatient with John as I was.
John sighed. "Look, I'll try and start at the beginning. Wolves and men have been natural companions for centuries. They protected each other, and helped each other hunt, surviving together much more successfully than either would have alone. However, vampires proved a greater challenge than either species could handle, even together. Thus, the werewolf was born."
"How, exactly, did that happen?" asked Jasper, in his most persuasive manner.
John froze. He began struggling to free himself of Jasper's influence. At this rate, I'd never find out what John was trying to tell me.
"Jasper, please let him tell the story in his own way," I said impatiently.
Jasper just grinned, and gave me a shrug. John stopped struggling, and turned to look at Jasper.
"Well, well, well. This has turned out to be a more interesting meeting than I expected," John said wryly.
"So werewolves were born to help humans deal with vampires?" I prompted.
"Yes, and like vampires, werewolves also have heightened senses. Our sense of smell, our hearing, our reflexes, are all far superior to our human brothers. Similarly, our intellect is far superior to our wolf brothers. So we were initially successful in keeping the vampires at bay. But as Edward said, unlike vampires, we are very much alive. We grow old, and eventually die. So we have had to find ways of passing on our abilities, our ways, to the next generation."
Rosalie gave a soft growl and slowly stretched her luxurious form. As if John needed another distraction.
"So werewolves and vampires don't mix. I got it. What's that got to do with me?"
"I'm getting there, really. Okay, so for centuries, vampires and werewolves have been enemies. But vampires are notoriously hard to kill, even for werewolves. Often, it takes a whole pack to take down two or three vampires, and even then, the cost is often quite high for the pack. Also, some vampires seemed to have supernatural powers, like Alice or Edward. So werewolves began trying to find better ways to protect themselves than depending on their natural abilities alone. We turned to science."
"This is all a very pretty story," growled Emmett, "but werewolves are not the sweet, caring creatures you make them out to be. Why don't you tell Bella the truth about yourself?"
"It's true that all werewolves do not care to protect human life," John admitted, "just like it seems that not all vampires drink human blood."
"You seem to be well informed," observed Edward.
John hesitated, "I have been watching you all at a distance, with Bella. I have struggled with this, believe me. Finally, I decided that I had no choice but to trust you with the truth. It was the only way to keep Bella safe."