All the blood left in Kiera's body drained from her, her face going pale. The corner of Seb's lips twitched up to the side, revealing the glint of a jagged tooth. With the sun in his eyes, they looked a sickly yellow color, like an overripe lemon.

But like the disturbing hallucination that he was, someone stepped in front of him, and Kiera's nightmare was gone.

"Kiera?" Bella was at her side, hand hovering over her shoulder like she was scared to touch her. "What's wrong? What'd you see?"

Relief flooded Kiera, the feeling so profound and full, she thought she was going to overflow. Sebastián's ghost had disappeared. Rain started to fall from the gloomy sky of Port Angeles, wiping away the memory of Sebastiån's cruel smile.

Napkins appeared in front of her face, and Kiera took them without thinking. She could feel the frightened tears trailing down her cheeks, could hear her own ragged breathing. Her slow heart was beating abnormally fast like she were a rabbit caught in the jaws of a fox, frightened but resigned.

"It was Sebastián." Seeing Bella's confusion, Kiera sighed.

She gestured for her to sit down, ignoring the prying eyes of an elderly couple sitting off to the side. Her quiet words were like sandpaper to her tongue, and all she wanted was for a distraction. Reliving those days in the woods wasn't how she wanted to spend her day. But here she was anyway.

"When I was sixteen, I was...arranged to be married." Kiera ignored Bella's shock. "It was the early nineteen-hundreds, it's just what we did back then. Seb was my fiancee. We weren't in love, but we were great friends, and I thought that's all that mattered, you know? We could grow to love each other if that's what we wanted. One night we went into the woods."

Even now, Kiera couldn't help the smile that came over her. Meeting Sebastián was a fond memory, regardless of how things had ended between them. Her smile quickly soured.

"I was left with gashes in my stomach and a broken arm. I hadn't even known about my injuries, not until after I'd woken up."

Kiera watched her friend take it all in. Bella was an open book, her face flicking through emotions faster than she flipped pages. Anger, sadness, concern. None of it sat well with Kiera. She didn't want Bella's pity. She didn't want to feel like some sort of victim.

So she pushed on, hoping the unease would go away.

"That...was in the fifties. " Kiera took a deep breath. "I'd been in some sort of slumber for seventeen years."

"How long have you been awake?" Bella asked.

"Only for fifty-five years. Adjusting to everything has been pretty rough" Kiera admitted.

"Is that..is that normal for your kind?" Bella bit at her lip, ripping apart a napkin with trembling fingers.

"No," Kiera said with a sharp bark of laughter, "It's not normal at all. But I'm thankful for it, all the same."


Bella had slammed through Kiera's front door like she lived there, her hair frizzing against the humidity in the air.

"Good morning to you too Bella." Kiera said, flipping a page in her book.

"Jacob- Jacob and his friends are werewolves!" She gasped out. "I punched one of them and suddenly there were these two giants wolves fighting in front of me! Jacob was one of them, Kiera, he's a damn werewolf!"

Kiera dropped her book in shock. "Werewolves? Bella, how the hell do you manage to attract every supernatural creature in the area?!"

Ramona flashed into the room, everything about her screaming uneasy. "There's a pack of werewolves here? What are Children of the Moon doing in Forks?"

"Is that what they are called? I hadn't expected my childhood best friend to burst into a giant wolf. I think I need to sit down."

Kicking out a seat for Bella, Kiera looked to her cousin for answers. "What do we do?"

"Wait a moment, did you say a giant wolf?" Ramona asked, eyes narrowed. "Werewolves don't turn into giant wolves, they turn into some bastardized version of one. Were they standing on their hind legs and looked kind of ugly?"

Bella shook her head, arms wrapping around herself. "No, they were actually kind of beautiful. And they were literally just giant wolves. They were the size of horses!"

All the tension released from Ramona in a single breath. "We're fine. They aren't Children of the Moon, they are just shapeshifters. Who did you say your friend was?"

"There are more creatures out there?! What the hell is a Child of the Moon?"

"Your typical werewolf. I mean, the lore that most people know isn't quite accurate for them either, but-"

"What did you say your friend's name was, Bella?" Ramona snapped.

"Jacob Black," Bella said. "He lives down at the Rez."

Ramona nodded to herself. "Sounds about right. I heard there were possible shapeshifters down at the Reservation, I just didn't expect wolves."

"Is there like, some kind of reason as to why they are wolves?" Bella's brows knitted together. "Does it depend on the tribe or something?"

Ramona waved away her question with a snort. "Nah, they are just wolf shapeshifters that also happen to be Native. There's no 'mythical' story about descending from wolves or the moon turning them into humans if that's what you are asking."

"There's no real rhyme or reason as to why shapeshifters are the animal they take shape of. The only thing I've noticed is that it's genetic. So that's why a certain tribe might have only one animal shape- plus wolves are pack animals, it'd make sense if there were more of them in an area." Kiera said offhandedly, finally picking up her book and continuing from where she left off.

"If they were eagles or even foxes, they'd likely have smaller numbers," Ramona added. "Some of the shapeshifters that take forms that big claim they exist because it's to fight against your beloved vampires."

Bella shot Kiera an irritated look. "You told her about the Cullens?"

Kiera's head rolled back in exasperation. "I did tell you about our family secret when it could get us killed by some angry mob of humans. I think I'm allowed to share if there are vampires in the area with my cousin."

"If I were you Miss Swan, I'd be very careful about what kind of friends I make." Ramona looked Bella dead in the eyes. "Enjoy time with you're shapeshifter friend, but do be wary if that vampire of yours comes back. Vampires don't make for good friends."

Anger flashed in Bella's gaze before her face became blotched with red. She looked nervous and mildly ashamed, alarming Ramona. Kiera winced, knowing what Bella was remembering.

"What did he do to you?" Ramona demanded, striding across the room to stand in front of Bella. "Did that Cullen boy hurt you?"

"Not in the way you're thinking," Kiera interjected. "But...one of them sure tried."

Ramona's gaze softened and she knelt before Bella, taking her hand in hers. "What happened, sinta?"

"His brother, Jasper, he was the newest to the Cullens diet. At my birthday party, I had gotten a paper cut...Next thing I know I'm thrown into the wall and on top of a glass bowl and an entire coven of hungry vampires is looking at me like I'm the meal."

"Your Edward was hungry for you too?" Ramona was shocked. Kiera could understand why- if he loved her, why did he think of her as a meal? She'd heard all of this before, and yet her heart broke once more for her friend.

"I was his singer." Bella's voice was barely above a whisper.

Even now, as she continued with her story, her face betrayed the love she held for the strange family. It was in every word, in every tear she stopped from falling. Kiera was sure that Bella still loved that family with every fiber of her being. Stilled loved her Edward with every beat of her heart.

Ramona's face tensed. "That must have been terrifying for you. Wondering if your love was going to make a snack out of you."

But Bella only shook her head. "I never feared for my life when it came to him. I know Edward would never hurt me. Not on purpose."

It'd been the first time she'd spoken his name out loud like that. Kiera was getting to see her friend heal, and while it was most of the most painful things she'd ever bared witness to, she couldn't help but revel in sharing such a moment.

The dark corner of Kiera's thoughts called for Edward's head on a silver plate and a giant bonfire to throw it into. The rational side of Kiera only looked away as if in agreement.

Damn, she wasn't used to thinking so violently.

Looking at Ramona's hard face, Kiera could feel comforted that at least she wasn't alone with her nasty thoughts this time.

"If he ever comes back, I'll turn him to fertilizer," Ramona grumbled.

Kiera tried to hide the smile on her face behind her hands, but from Bella's glare, it didn't work.

"I don't even think that's possible," Bella said evenly, not even arguing.

"It'd be just like Ramona to find a way. I mean, have you seen that garden of hers?" Kiera giggled.

"Is that a Diwata thing too?"

"With the exclusion of you're friend's black thumb, yes. She may love the woods, but a gardener she is not."

"Is that why there is a bunch of wilting leaves in the corner of the garden?"

Kiera could only groan.


The cliffs of La Push were higher than Bella had claimed them to be. Kiera could feel herself go dizzy as they stood at the top of the tallest one, their eyes trained on the twisting water down below.

"You still want to jump?" Kiera asked, nodding her head at the sharp rocks jutting out of the grey waves.

"Maybe I shouldn't." Bella amended, grimacing. "You'd likely just heal even if your neck broke, wouldn't you?"

"The gift of near-immortality," Kiera muttered.

"On second thought, let's just go home."

That was fine with Kiera. They could turn back now, head over to the Forks Blockbuster and grab a few movies for a night in. Kiera was already forming ideas of what kind of snacks to snag, her mouth-watering at all the savory treats they'd get.

The hairs on the back of Kiera's neck stood on end.

Twigs snapped behind them, the sound of the orange and yellow leaves crunching beneath heavy feet caused a chill to crawl up Kiera's spine. Something big was behind them- Kiera could feel the gaze of a predator trained on the back of her head.

Bella gasped.

Kiera tensed further. She didn't doubt that he had heard what she'd just said. Why else would he show himself to her? Kiera hadn't planned on explaining to the local shapeshifter pack that the details of her species and neither had Ramona. They didn't want to take part in whatever treaty the Cullens and the pack had come up with.

She swallowed back her guilt. The reasoning had been purely selfish, and she felt caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. If Kiera were being honest, she hadn't wanted to share her existence with the pack because of their status as protectors of the land.

Kiera hadn't wanted anyone to come demanding justice if she'd slipped and taken a life.

Cotton filled her ears as she turned around slowly, the rushing of the water roaring dully in her ears. Dark brown eyes, at once for foreign and so familiar, met her own. Standing tall above her, as tall as a Clydesdale, was the henna colored wolf form of Jacob.

Kiera didn't even reach his shoulders, she thought with a muted horror. Jacob stood unblinking, eyes trained solely on her.

"Jake," Kiera forced herself to look him in the eyes. "I'm not a threat."

Jacob snorted, the cold air coming out in white puffs. He stepped closer, ears flicking about, hearing things the girls couldn't. He was close enough to touch, his giant muzzle just a hands width away from Kiera's face.

Kiera could feel the energy pulsating beneath his massive paws. The earth beneath him was singing, content with every step he took. But Bella's natural reaction to a giant predator stepping forward was what broke the moment. She couldn't help but take a step back.

It was a colossal mistake.

Bella lost her footing, her arms spiraling backward as she tried to regain purchase. Kiera reached out helplessly, her fingers catching the corner of Bella's shirt, the fabric ripping in her grasp. Jacob surged forward, his teeth just missing Bella's outstretched hand. She plummeted to the icy waters below, the current dragging her back under when she breached the surface for a ragged breath.

Kiera didn't bother to look at Jacob. She pushed off the cliff's edge in an arrow hand stretch, her mind chanting the basics of proper swimming that Ramona had taught her many years ago. The water stretched in a wild wave to meet her, and Kiera was swallowed by the ocean.

Dark hair swirled about Bella's pale face, her skin a beacon with the minimal sunlight as it fought to pierce the waves. For a moment, the world beneath the surface was nothing but a thick blanket of darkness around her, threatening to engulf the human girl.

Kiera blinked and everything became clear. It was like she was looking through a zoomed-in lens with Bella in the center of it all. Everything behind her was muted, almost nonsensical, unimportant. Bella appeared dazed, a swirl of red floating around her head.

Blood.

Kiera could smell it now. Past the salt, past the scent of the fish and other creatures that inhabited the ocean, there was the floral scent of Bella's blood. Like fresh freesias with a hint of lavender- a cloying scent that pulled Kiera forward.

Her friend's eyes shut just as she reached her, her body going limp in Kiera's grasp. Kiera found it effortless to pull her back to the surface, her own pulse thrumming weakly in her veins. She furiously kicked her legs, an unconscious part of her remembering how much oxygen humans needed.

With a gasp she found unnecessary, Kiera finally pierced through the waves. Jacob no longer stood at the top of the cliff, his muscular legs cutting through the water to reach Kiera halfway, now sporting a pair of jean shorts.

Steam plumed off of his sepia limbs as he carried Bella. Kiera did not feel the cold, her focus only on her oddly still friend. Jacob laid her on top of the light grey sand. She already looked like a corpse.

"Come on Bella, come on!" He wasted no time in applying pressure to her chest, pumping his strong hands with desperation.

Kiera knew the exact fear he was feeling, her dull nails biting into her wet skin as she sunk to the floor next to them, utterly helpless. Jacob and Bella's mouth connected, his cheeks puffing as he tried to force air back into her lungs.

"Please Bella, please, please please-" Kiera was chanting like woman undone.

Her best friend, her first friend since she woke up alone in a glass coffin- wasn't breathing. Seeing her so still and with her lips blueberry tainted was as agony Kiera hadn't thought she'd experience. Her cousin was immortal, she was going to be immortal.

Death had always seemed so far away, yet here it was with Bella is its chokehold.

Humans were so damn frail. Did her Edward mean it, when he said Bella wasn't good for him? Or had he been lying because the supernatural world wasn't good for her?

Jacob had only scared her, and it sent her over a cliff. If Kiera ever acted on her cravings, dull as they were around Bella, she would never forgive herself. But Kiera was admittedly selfish. She'd stay in Bella's life for as long as her friend wanted her around.

And for all her faults, Kiera wasn't a coward. She refused to slip up and endanger Bella, but if it happened, she'd force herself to face the consequences. If she'd been born human, if she'd been given a mortal life to live out, Kiera still would have chosen to stay.

Bella was stuck with her. She wouldn't escape Kiera, not even by death.

Kiera pushed Jacob out of the way, sending him back a few feet. Possessed with grim determination, Kiera replaced Jacob's hands and pumped.

"What the hell are you doing?! Move, I need to save her!" Jacob shouted, his body beginning to shake with anger.

"Shut up and let me do this! You were being too gentle." Kiera barked.

Bella's ribs creaked beneath the pressure in Kiera's hands before buckling completely. Jacob tried to shove Kiera away but she snapped her teeth at his face, fear of Bella being pulled from her hands fueling her. Her mouth came away bloody, with some of his skin in her mouth.

He sat on his butt, mouth agape but giving Kiera room to work.

"Come on, Swan, wake the hell up." Kiera took a deep breath and brought her lips to Bellas.

With one last push, Kiera surged backward to miss the water spewing from Bella's lips. Bella's eyes were still hazy, her lips still blue from the icy.

But she was breathing.

Jacob knocked Kiera to the side, immediately gathering Bella up. Sitting in Bella's truck on the way to Jacob's alphas house, Kiera finally noticed the blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.

It tasted divine.


Kiera was surrounded.

She'd feel threatened if she weren't so anxious about Bella. Bella, who was in another room under the warm spray of a shower. Kiera wished her senses had stayed sharp, but the moment she'd entered the property everything had dulled once more.

Tall men with thick muscles and long lush black hair stood around her. They looked at her warily, like a wild animal in a zoo, as she paced back and forth. She understood why- the taste of their brother's warm blood was still tainting her mouth. Even as she swallowed it lingered still.

"I didn't think you had teeth like that," Jacob said awkwardly. "They looked like needles or something."

"Needles?" Kiera stopped her pacing to look at Jacob. "What do you mean, needles?"

He tensed but relaxed as he found something like fear in her eyes. "Is that not normal?"

Kiera wanted to laugh. Or cry. Or both. Maybe thrash somebody while cry laughing. "Nothing's normal with me, apparently. I'm sorry about your cheek, by the way. I didn't know that'd happen. Didn't know that it even could."

"Who just bites another person's face?" One of them actually laughed. "If that weren't crazy, I'd be impressed." The grin was sharp on his face, but not mean.

"Shut up Paul!" Jacob hissed, smacking his brother's chest.

All the emotions swirling in Kiera's chest drained away, exhaustion settling into her bones. She walked over to the couch, ignoring the way the pack made room for her, still unsure what to make of her. She eased into the plush fabric, bringing one of the blanket's that rested over the arms around her slumped shoulders.

"He was going to get in the way. I didn't want to lose Bella." Kiera buried herself deeper into the blanket, drawing her knees up to her chest and letting her forehead rest on them.

"You did what you had to do. Nobody blames you for that." Sam said as he came into the room. His voice was full of authority, aged with wisdom the others clearly lacked. "Emily is with Bella now, she's getting into some warm clothes. She also wrapped Bella's ribs."

He had a cell phone in his hand, the flip phone now closed. "The Elders said it's alright for you to be here. They just would like to speak to you and your cousin sometime soon."

"That'll be fine. Thank you for not freaking out."

Sam smiled a bit, despite the somber mood in the room. "Your kind are always welcome here."

Emily appeared a shaken but alive Bella in her caring grasp. Emily was Sam's fiancee, a girl from the Makah tribe and clearly human. Kiera soundlessly opened her arms for Bella and let her sink into the blanketed warmth, wrapping them both backup and huddling close.

"Hey." Kiera whispered.

"Hey." Bella said back, voice hoarse.

"There's some food if you want some." Emily offered, her deep brown eyes shining with compassion and concern. "Maybe a muffin left over?"

Kiera gazed at Emily, too tired to speak any longer. She only shook her head and hoped Emily understood how grateful she was for her help. Emily smiled in understanding, the sight contrasting with the right side of her face which was scarred into a sad frown, tucking herself into Sam's side.

"What were you doing out in the woods?" Kiera blurted. "Do you guys just go running around out there like that?"

The wolves chuckled, the tension leaving the room.

"We usually run patrols, making sure no vampires are in the area. Never know what could happen if one slipped through the cracks and got too close to the Rez." Paul said. He snorted once more, before finally settling on the floor, resting his back against the couch.

His brothers joined him, the room becoming incredibly toasty with their combined supernatural body heat. Kiera and Bella needed no fire, needed no heater. These boys were warm as sunlight and as they all shared smiles with each other, just as bright.

Somebody came through the front door, shutting it rather roughly. It was a girl, the only girl wolf Kiera had seen so far. Her long legs and towering height gave her away, but the jut of her chin warned them that she and Bella were unwelcome. Kiera only stared her down.

"Leah." Sam warned lowly. "The girl is welcome here."

Kiera was much more than just a girl, she was a threat, and Leah recognized it. But whatever she found in Kiera's eyes made her loosen her wide stance and give her a respectful nod. She plainly ignored Bella and joined the shortest wolf in the group, bumping her shoulders against his in greeting.

"Did you tell them about the leech?" Leah asked bluntly. "The redheaded one? That bitch keeps getting away, I'm getting sick of her sickly sweet scent ruining the woods for us."

Bella snapped to attention, her wide brown eyes meeting Jacobs. "Victoria is here?!"

"What, that vampire girl from the baseball game? Why would she be here?" Kiera wanted to bang her head against the wall until all the drama that surrounded her friend went away. Maybe if she blacked out she wouldn't have to deal with the stress of it anymore.

But because Bella was worth the stress, she pressed on. "What the hell is going on?" Kiera demanded.

"I guess she didn't tell you about the one with dreads either, huh? Shocker." Leah sneered.

"Laurent found me in the meadow Edward and I used to hang out in." Bella admitted sheepishly. "He'd been with the Denali coven, trying to join the vegetarian lifestyle, but when I saw him his eyes were just as bloody as they'd always been."

"He tried to make a snack out of here and we ripped him to shreds." Paul shrugged and the look on his face beyond smug. "So don't worry about him."

Kiera looked at him appreciatively. He was definitely one of the most handsome of the boys; all big muscles and sharp jawed, his inky black hair in a top-knot. Even his smug face was attractive, if not irritating.

She stole a glance at Emily, wondering what would it be like if she joined the wolf girls too.

"Victoria has been looking for me this entire time." Bella continued, rolling her eyes at Paul. "She thinks if she kills me, it'll hurt Edward. An eye for an eye. But she's wrong. Edward's long gone and he's not coming back."

"Sounds like she needs a hobby." Kiera said tiredly, rubbing her forehead.

"Maybe she should take up crochet." Paul cackles, his brother's joining in.

"She's obviously not going to get to you. There's a pack of wolves on her trail, and my cousin and I won't let anyone hurt you. But," Kiera hesitated, cringing. "I don't think you should come over anymore-"

"What, why?" Bella looked wounded. Like Kiera was telling her they could never see each other again, or that she was leaving town forever. Kiera's cringe deepened.

"There may have been a vampire break-in at my place a few months back. They didn't touch anything, but they kind of watched me shower. "

"That's sick." Leah snarled. "You should have lit them up like a bonfire."

"More like a Christmas tree." Kiera avoided Bella's eyes, freeing one of her hands from the blanket and willing it to light up. "I'm not good with it yet, but it hasn't failed me yet."

Blue streaks of neon light shot around her brown hand, zig-zagging with wild energy. Paul scrambled from the couch, his lips curling back in an uneasy snarl.

Shaking her hand like she was shaking off numbness, Kiera's lightning disappeared. The room was silent before bursting full of excited voices. Even Leah's sour expression had melted away to something akin to impressed.

"I think she'll be just fine around you." Sam smiled.

The ride back to Bella's house was silent. Bella was curled against Jacob's side, soaking in all the heat she could, shivering despite the warm shower she'd taken.

Jacob didn't seem to mind it one bit. In fact, he was all too happy to wrap a muscled arm around Bella's thin shoulders, his lips pulling into an easy grin. His puppy crush was clear for everyone to see, including Bella. Kiera wasn't sure how her friend felt towards the wolf boy, but it was cleared that in some way she deeply loved him. Maybe it wasn't in the way Jacob wanted, but she loved him none the less.

When they'd pulled into Bella's driveway, they'd finally broken their silence to speak about more plans on what to do about Victoria. Jacob jumped out of the truck, holding the old creaky door open for Bella. In an instant, he was scrambling back into the truck and restarting it, shaking and cursing.

"What's going on?!" Bella pulled on his arm, alarmed. "Jacob, go back to my house!"

"There's a bloodsucker in there! We have to get back to La Push. It's the safest bet for you, Bella."

The car turned around, the headlights flashing over an oddly nice Mercedes amongst the rusted cars of Forks. Bella gasped, her body moving in a frenzy, trying to climb over Jacob and turn the car around.

"That's Carlise's car! Jacob, turn back! Please turn back right now, it's Carlise's Mercedes!" Bella's voice was high pitched, the tears clear in her tone.

"Jacob, stop the car." Kiera said, watching the scene unfold with wide eyes. Bella was acting like a madwoman, her breathing erratic and words spilling together as she continued to beg for Jacob to turn the car around. "Stop the damn car before we crash!"

Jacob stopped in the middle of the road, the old Chevy's tires screeching against the asphalt. "Fine, fine! But I'm waiting outside, do you two hear me? If your leech can't keep their hands to themselves, I don't care what the treaty says, I'm coming in!"

"Fine, just turn around!" Bella snapped.

Jacob looked at the ceiling of the car, closing his dark eyes for a moment. With a sigh, Jacob turned the car around and pulled back into the Swan's driveway. Bella didn't even wait for the car to come to a full stop- she crawled over Kiera and opened the door, stumbling out of her truck and running up the walkway.

Kiera slipped out behind her, frustration bubbling beneath her skin. She was going to throw this vampire into the sun for his poor timing. Bella had already been through the wringer today, she really didn't need one of the Cullens marching back into her life like they still had any place in it.

But when she walked into the doorway, there was no tall blonde doctor waiting for them. Instead, it was the shortest girl Kiera had ever seen- even shorter than Ramona- and she was staring at them both with a mixed look of utter shock and relief.

"Alice!" Bella cried, flinging herself into the girl's arms.

AN: Jacob won't change from sunshine boy with a puppy crush to creepy mean Eclipse Jacob. Also, what do you think is going on with Kiera? Is it just a Kiera thing, or is it something more? And what about that hallucination of Seb? Freaky right?

Give me all your thoughts in the comments! :D