Summer Madness

This was a mistake. A big mistake. Roisin could feel it.

There were far more fae there than she liked, mixing and mingling with the various students from Forks and La Push. While they were all behaving - and Roisin and Sean had locked up all the fae wine in an iron safe, which was not a fun experience - she could feel it in her bones that something bad was going to happen.

But then again, wasn't that the point? They were trying to draw out whatever fae was causing all the trouble. And with a gathering this big with this many mortals, well, even if they were trying to stay hidden, it would be like catnip. And Roisin was impressed with Mae. She wasn't exactly sure how she did it, but most of their high school was there and no one seemed to think being at a party right now was anything strange.

She looked over across the room, meeting eyes with Sean who stood unseen next to Cara. He nodded towards her, letting her know that they were ready for whatever. She then looked over, seeing Mae dancing with Josh, though she too met Roisin's eyes and nodded.

It would be okay, she told herself. Even if it was a group of fae behind everything, they could take them on with just the four of them. Yes, Mae and Cara were only regular court fae, but Cara was former Shadow Court and strong. A good fighter. And then there was Roisin and Sean. Surely whatever was going on, they could end it tonight and get Tara back.

"You okay?"

Roisin jumped slightly and looked over at Paul, who was watching her with a cautious look. He had been doing that a lot the last few days, though she knew he was worried about her with everything. She had been in contact with Megan and Tara's parents near constantly. They still hadn't found Tara. But hopefully tonight they would get a lead. And hopefully they would find her. Alive.

"Yea, I'm fine," she said, smiling at him and hoping to reassure him. By the goddess, she was distracted. And not even the pull to him could get her to stop thinking about what could happen.

She was happy he was there on the one hand, finding herself calmer. But at the same time, she didn't know what would happen tonight and she didn't want to put him in any danger. Not to mention that she needed to break up with him. She still hadn't figured out how to do that. Part of her wondered if he suspected something. Several times throughout the past few days, he had started to tell her something, but then stopped. She worried what he had been about to say.

"Just… a lot more people than I expected," she said, looking out around the party again.

"I was surprised," he said. "Didn't think this many would show up."

"Yea, I was surprised too," she muttered. She saw him frown out of the corner of his eye and turned back to him, smiling. "Just you know… hostess problems and all."

There was something out of the corner of her eye. Roisin whipped her head around, but everything seemed fine. Maybe she was just being paranoid.

"Come on, let's dance. That should help you relax," Paul said, taking her hand.

Right. She needed to act like everything was normal, even if she felt that it wasn't.

So she let him lead her out to the middle of the dance floor where she wrapped her arms around his neck and began moving as he rested his hands on her waist. For a few moments, she allowed herself to relax. To enjoy dancing with Paul. Her smile grew more genuine as he pulled her closer, bending his head down towards her. She bit her lower lip, wanting nothing more than to lose herself in the music and his arms.

But just out of the corner of her eye, she saw something again. This time as she glanced over, she knew it wasn't her mind playing tricks. She saw a mortal girl - Roisin recalled her name was Sarah, they had English together - being led out on the verandah. A glazed look on her face.

Shit.

"Sorry! I have to check on something," she shouted as she looked back at Paul, speaking so abruptly that he literally jumped.

"I… okay," he said. She smiled apologetically and slid out of his arms, moving through the dancing bodies to the door.

Keeping at normal speed, she stepped outside and shut the door behind her. She couldn't see anyone. Which only confirmed her fears. It was a fae.

Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply and when she opened them, she knew that she was unseen. Scanning the backyard, she saw a bit of rustling on the far treeline. Before she could take a breath, she was there, looking around yet again.

"Where are we going?" she heard Sarah asked, her voice light and vague.

"Somewhere to have some fun," another voice replied, but Roisin didn't recognize it.

She shot off after the two, following the sound of their movement. Even though the fae must have been carrying Sarah in order to move quickly, they were still making a rather large amount of noise. Finally Roisin stepped out into a clearing, catching up to them.

"Stop," she ordered, pushing as much power into her voice as she could.

The fae didn't move, a hood over its head and its back to her. It stumbled slightly.

"Leave her alone," Roisin then said. The fae looked down at its hand, which was still gripping Sarah's arm.

"Why do you care?" it asked, its face still hidden in shadow.

"Because I protect this place and you will not take anyone else under my watch," she said, stepping towards them and already going through her options to get Sarah away safely. "Where is Tara?"

Suddenly, there was a loud rustling. Both Roisin and the fae looked around the clearing. It was coming from all directions. Whatever was there, it had them surrounded. Roisin looked back to the two.

"Let her go!" she shouted again. The fae seemed to glance back at her and then suddenly, it was gone, leaving Sarah to collapse on the ground.

Roisin made herself visible and quickly ran up to her at a normal speed, dropping down on her knees next to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking into Sarah's face. Her eyes were clear, but she seemed confused as she looked around.

"How did I get here?" she asked.

The rustling grew louder and closer. Roisin looked around frantically. Shit. This was not good. Had this been some sort of trap? Fuck, why had she gone out without telling anyone? And whatever it was, she couldn't fight it as a fae in front of Sarah.

"I'm so sorry about this," she said softly, putting her hand to Sarah's forehead.

"Wha…"

Sarah fell back on the ground, her eyes sliding shut as Roisin was immediately on her feet, her eyes once again scanning the dark forest. Her entire body was tense as she waited and prayed that she could get Sarah out of this alive.

OOOO

Paul sighed as he walked over to a table and made himself a drink. He hoped that the party would help Roisin relax. That maybe this time she wouldn't be so distracted. But it turned out to be the same damn thing.

She disappeared.

The last few days had been hard. Being around her constantly was hard. He had been on the verge of telling her so many times, but then couldn't. Or they were interrupted. He had been distracted at work, going over and over various ways to tell her the truth about him. Even Marshmallow had commented on how distracted he was. He had also been skipping pack meetings, but Sam had let him off, knowing that he was with Roisin. Thankfully he hadn't pushed him on it, trying to glean more information on them. He was pretty sure Jacob was chomping at the bit to push him on it. He knew they were out patrolling the forest around the house somewhere.

He felt an ache in his chest. He was feeling it more and more, becoming more worried the closer they got to the party, knowing that she intended to break up with him afterwards. He still wasn't sure how he was going to deal with that.

"There you are."

He looked up, seeing Jared walking towards him, a concerned look on his face. That couldn't be good.

"What's wrong?" Paul asked, glancing around the party. He wasn't sure what it was, but now that he really looked, something seemed off.

Some of the party-goers definitely weren't from around here. And were moving in ways normal people shouldn't. But for some reason, Jared didn't seem to notice.

"Just got word from Sam. Something is going down in the woods. We need to get there. Now," he said. Paul looked back at him and nodded, the adrenaline starting to kick in.

Finally something was happening. A break. Something to focus on rather than Roisin and her secrets.

"Grab Embry and Quil and let's go."

The two made their way through the crowd, managing to pull a grumbling Embry and Quil with them. Once outside where it was dark and seeing no one else was around, they moved into the trees and quickly undressed before shifting.

Up ahead, Jared said. Sam's with Jacob. Said to fan out.

Got it, Paul replied. They think this is whatever is messing with people?

God, I hope.

Quickly, they ran through the trees, Embry and Quil peeling off so that whatever it was, they would surround it. As they neared a clearing, Paul heard Sam order them to slow down. It - whatever it was - was surrounded.

Paul crept closer through the trees, seeing two figures ahead. It was two women and one was leaning over the other.

Holy shit… is that…

Paul felt his heart clench. But there was no denying it. Roisin was one of the figures. She looked around the trees and then turned back to the other girl, murmuring something to her that he couldn't hear. Then she placed her hand on the girl's forehead.

His heart nearly stopped when he saw the girl's eyes roll back into her head and she fell back to the ground. What the hell? He came to a complete stop, unable to move as he watched her stand and look around the clearing, a fierce look on her face. He had a feeling that she wasn't completely human, but seeing it with his own eyes was something completely new.

Whatever was going on, it couldn't be her. She couldn't be the person behind Tara's disappearance. It just wasn't possible. Just like she shouldn't have been able to knock that girl out by putting her hand on her forehead.

But the others kept moving and for a second, he swore he saw flames in her eyes and something that looked like wings unfurl from her back.

What the hell was going on?

OOOO

Without warning, a large black wolf, bigger than a normal wolf should be, stepped out of the trees, growling softly at Roisin. She backed up slightly, but held her arms out. Right. Sean had warned her about the wolves. But he said that he didn't think it was werewolves. They were just oversized wolves. She could take on one oversized wolf, surely.

It was then that several other wolves nearly as big stepped out into the clearing in various colors, surrounding her. Another really large wolf - a reddish brown one to her side - snarled at her. Though one to the side of it - this one a dark silver - seemed to whimper. The reddish brown one snapped at it, causing it to growl in response.

Roisin shook her head. She couldn't be distracted right now. She had to save Sarah. Now was not the time to panic.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped further into the ring of wolves around her, her eyes now glowing with flames as she unfurled her wings, rolling her shoulders. Time to show these mutts who they should be afraid of.

"I will not let you hurt her," she shouted, the ground shaking at the power in her voice.

Some of the wolves backed up from her, but the two biggest ones didn't. Yet, for some reason, none of them seemed to move to strike. She wasn't about to give them a chance.

She then lifted up into the air, her wings beating quickly and shot over at the reddish brown wolf. She figured it or maybe the black one was in charge as they were the largest, but either way, it was closer and if she took out the largest ones first, they may have a chance to run away.

She moved so quickly that the wolf didn't have a chance to jump out of the way. Colliding with it, they skidded back into the trees, with Roisin coming to a stop, kicking out and then watching as it continued to fly back, smashing into a tree. Not waiting to see what happened, she flew back to the clearing and squared off with the black one. She crouched down, her muscles ready to launch forward, before something stopped her.

"Ro! Don't!"

Completely forgetting the fight for a moment, she turned, seeing Paul standing there, though he was only wearing a pair of shorts, which was ridiculous for this time of year, even if it was still a bit too warm. His hands were up and his face was pleading. In an instant, she slid her glamour back into place.

"Don't," he begged.

"P-Paul?" she asked, confused.

Oh shit. If he was here… he had seen her. How did he even get here? She left him at the party.

"It's okay. I swear," he said. "We're not going to hurt you."

She then looked around, seeing that the wolves had disappeared and instead she was now surrounded by young men stepping out from the trees, all dressed similarly to Paul. Not just any men. Embry, Quil, Jared and then others she didn't recognize. She looked back at Paul, seeing Jacob walk out from the trees behind him, a scowl on his face as he rubbed his shoulder.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Could ask you the same thing," Jacob said, his voice full of venom. Roisin frowned at him.

"I was trying to help Sarah," she said, focusing on him. It was easier than looking at Paul right now. "A… something dragged her off. It heard you and ran off."

"What are you?"

Roisin looked over, seeing an older guy stepping towards her, a stern look on his face. The others around him seemed to fall back behind him.

"Me? What are you?" she shot back.

Surely… no. But then… she remembered Sean talking about werewolves. Holy shit. He was wrong. She was surrounded by werewolves. Turning back to Paul, she knew her eyes were likely as wide as saucers. Her boyfriend was a fucking werewolf. But that made no sense. Sean said they lost all humanity when they shifted and no one had actually attacked her. And they only shifted on a full moon. Was it a full moon tonight? She looked up but couldn't see the moon through the trees. She couldn't remember.

"Oh my goddess. You're… you're werewolves," she said, starting to back up.

All the stories she had heard of them were full of bloodshed and violence. Immediately, she positioned herself in between them and Sarah, taking on a defensive stance and ready to launch at whoever attacked first.

A grimace of pain came over Paul's face.

"Nice try, Red. We're not werewolves. And we're not going to hurt her," Jacob said. "But you still haven't answered our question. What are you?"

"Chill out. She's obviously not a leech," Embry called out. She looked over at him, seeing him offer her a reassuring smile, and then back at Jacob and Paul.

"Paul?" she asked.

He looked like he was in pain. Like he was fighting against himself over something. He took a step towards her and then stopped.

"We're shapeshifters. Spirit warriors. And we happen to turn into wolves," he said softly. "But we only protect these lands. We don't hurt anyone. Unless you're a vampire or you're hurting others here."

She looked around, seeing the question on everyone's face. They all wanted to know what she was and if she was a danger. For a moment, Roisin panicked. She had never told anyone mortal what she was. But then again, they obviously weren't completely mortal. And they had already seen what she could do. Well, some of it. She had allowed them a glimpse. So Roisin took a deep breath.

"I'm fae."

OOOO

Paul couldn't speak as he watched Roisin look around at the rest of the packs. She appeared normal now, but he couldn't believe his ears. Fae?

"I'm sorry… you're what?" Jacob asked. Immediately, Paul glared at him, a growl sounding from his throat, unhappy with his tone. Roisin may not be human, but she was still his imprint. "A fairy? Don't you guys run around giving girls glass shoes and shit?"

Roisin scowled.

"We prefer fae and no. You're confusing us with stories mortals came up with. That's a fairy godmother, dipshit," she replied just as harshly, flames dancing in her eyes.

Some of the others backed away at the sight, but Paul didn't move. Neither did Jacob or Sam.

"Why are you here?" Sam shouted out. Roisin turned back to him, seeming to pick up that he was their leader.

"Honestly, we just came here to start over. I left the Fae world 100 years ago with Mae, and really, we just want to live quietly. We don't want to hurt anyone," she said.

"You have a funny definition of quietly," Jacob snapped. Roisin turned to glare at him, the flames now back and Paul swore he felt a wave of heat roll over him.

"Trust me. I've been trying to get a handle on it, but Mae… she's still a bit stuck in the old ways," she replied.

"So is she the one causing all the trouble?" Jacob asked. "Did she take the girl?"

"No. It's not us. But it is fae. I had it cornered but then you scared it off," she replied, still scowling at him. "Mae just likes to have parties. Play a few pranks. But she would never hurt anyone intentionally."

"How do you know it's fae?" Sam asked. Roisin looked back at him.

"The nature of it. We don't want to hurt anyone, but there are others that enjoy hurting mortals," she replied. She then snuck a glance at Paul and he could see the hurt in her eyes.

He just wasn't sure what it was about.

"Look, I'll explain, but we should get Sarah inside," she said, now looking around the group.

"There's a huge party going on in there unless you forgot," Jacob said dryly.

Paul was seriously this close to punching him. It was obvious that Roisin wasn't a danger so he wasn't sure just why he was keeping up the suspicious act.

"We were trying to lure the fae out. Which worked until you showed up. But I'll take care of it. Watch her for a sec," Roisin said.

Paul blinked and suddenly she was gone. He looked around the woods.

"Wicked," Seth said. "I think she's faster than vampires."

Before he could say anything else, Roisin was back and kneeling in front of Sarah.

"Sean is getting everyone to leave, so we'll be fine," she said. Paul immediately walked over and bent down.

"I got her," he said softly, lifting the unconscious girl up in his arms. Roisin just nodded. They all then started back towards the house. "What did you do to her?"

Roisin glanced up at him and then at Sarah.

"I just put her to sleep. She'll be okay. Wake up on her own well rested. We can put her in one of the guest rooms," she replied, though it sounded as though her thoughts were elsewhere.

They continued on walking, but Paul felt a million questions bubbling up in his mind. His imprint wasn't human. Fae. And she had wings, though he couldn't see them now. The tattoo on her back suddenly made sense. And the flames in her eyes.

He then thought over everything she had ever told him about her life and it all started to make sense. But at the same time he had more questions. He was sure more than ever that it was another fae looking for her - that was why she told him there was nothing he could do.

"So… 100 years? How old are you?" he asked, blurting out the first thing that came into his mind. Roisin's eyebrows rose as a small smile came over her lips.

"I'm 150," she replied. "But… we mature differently than humans. In your years, I'm probably about 19 or 20 or so…" Paul nodded slowly. "Have you always been… well, a wolf?"

"No. I started phasing when I was 17. It's a genetic thing, but we only start phasing when there's vampires around," he said. Roisin's eyes widened as she looked around.

"There are vampires? Here?" she asked. He chuckled and nodded. She had put on quite a show in front of them and now she was afraid of vampires?

"The Cullens. But they keep to themselves since everyone thinks they've moved away," he replied. Roisin looked back at him, her eyes wider.

"You mean… wait. But didn't the police chief's daughter marry one?" she asked. He nodded.

"Bella's one of them now too," he said. Roisin turned to look back in front of her, her mouth falling open in shock. "Why did you really move to Forks?"

"I already told you. Fresh start," she said. "Fae thing. We can't lie." Paul's eyes widened at that. She couldn't lie. None of them could. "And before you ask anything else, I think we should wait until we're all gathered. Then I'll answer your questions."

Paul just nodded.

"Okay…"

OOOO

And… tada! The truth comes out! Hopefully in the next couple of days I can post the next chapter where we start getting more into background and things. And a plan to find Tara. Bringing together everyone on this one… Though I will say that I did struggle a bit with how the vampires react around fae – would fae magic affect them or not since they are technically dead and all. For some reason the wolves came to me more easily. Probably because they are technically still human.

Thanks for reading and following!