Chapter 8

Authors note:

Very quickly before we begin this story I would just like to rest all of your concerns. As you could probably tell, Bella is not my favorite character in the series and this is most definitely an EDWARD/OC love story. Although Bella will make an appearance, her and Edward's relationship IS NOT the center of this story. Bella does have a purpose in this story but you will have to wait and see. As far as the relationship between Morticia and Edward, that will continue to blossom as the story continues. I'd like to remind all of you that this a realistic love story. Not one where the woman automatically falls for the boy's charms just because he is a sparkly vampire who can't read her mind. Real relationships aren't rainbows and sunshine 24/7, there will be angst at times. Also while there will be similar plot points, this will stray very far from the timeline of the original twilight books, but everything has a purpose in this story I promise you- there is a plan and all will be revealed in time. This wouldn't be much of an interesting story if I told you the entire plot on the first page, guys! Some people also raised concerns over Morticia's cursing, I apologize if this offends anyone but I will not be changing that aspect of her personality. Her character is very brass and abrasive at times. She is a very bold character who is not going to conform to any of society's proper etiquette- if this is an issue I am sorry to see you go...but the story must continue!

Now, on with our normally scheduled programming for those who stuck around.

(Morticia Pov)

Morticia knew she was most definitely making a mistake after she sent the text to Alice. She should've told the Cullens about the blank spots the wolves made in Alice's visions. But there was no way in hell that she'd make it within 100 feet of the treaty line if they knew she was going in essentially blind.

That didn't mind now, Morticia needed to keep a calm head if she was going to convince the wolves to take her seriously, or better yet to actually listen to her. She'd worry about Edward and his temper tantrums later.

It didn't take long before they were pulling into Billy Black's driveway and she noticed a familiar dark, long-haired boy race out of the house.

"Morticia! You made it! I can't believe you decided to come! Billy wasn't sure. Tony said you would probably be swamped with school work."

She laughed as he wrapped her in a warm embrace once she stepped out of the car.

"As if I'd miss a chance to show you all my pale ass! And Tony exaggerated, he was probably worried you boys would try to steal me away and he'd never see me again!"

'Nice start, Tish. You've set the trap, now let's see if he takes the bait.' She thought as he blushed and set her on her feet.

Jacob rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "huh, I don't know about kidnapping you but I'm sure the guys wouldn't mind having a pretty girl like you around for a little while. It gets boring being surrounded by just us guys all the time."

'hook, line, and sinker.' She thought happily.

"Well then, I guess I have no choice but to meet the rest of you. I mean Caleb wouldn't shut up on the way over about how excited he was to eat the 'best food on the planet' and see, who was it, Caleb? Smith? Shawn?" She acted cluelessly, giving her cousin a confused look.

'I am so sorry cousin, I can't miss this opportunity. You can hate me later' She thought full of glee as she knew the perfect way to get back at his comment from earlier.

"...oh that's right SETH CLEARWATER !" Morticia screamed the name loudly and a skinny Quileute boy standing a few feet away turned quickly.

Caleb gave Morticia a death glare as the boy raced over and gave her cousin a hug. Behind the boy's back, Morticia gave her cousin a thumbs up.

'I hate you.' He mouthed over Seth's shoulder and she blew him a kiss.

"Hey man, long time no see!" Seth said as they finished their weird bro hug.

"Huh, yeah. School's been pretty bad so I never have time to do anything anymore. I thought the last year of junior high was supposed to be easy?!" Caleb groaned and ran his fingers through his hair.

'Is he...nervous? Why is he acting nervous around Seth? Oh... wow. Was not expecting that.' Morticia thought, shocked at the sudden realization.

Caleb wasn't the only one looking nervous, Morticia also noticed that Seth chose to look anywhere but Caleb's eyes and got so tongue-tied that she could barely understand a word of what they were saying.

'Two dorks in love. Awe, this is too cute.' Her heart warmed as she looked at the lovestruck couple. 'Now I see why Caleb wanted to come tonight so bad. I wonder how this all started?'

Deciding that the two deserved some privacy without her being some creepy chaperone, she turned to Jacob and asked, "Hey you wanna take a walk and give those two love birds some privacy?"

Jacob gave her a sheepish smile, "I was actually just about to ask you the same thing. Seth's been going crazy ever since Tony told Harry that you decided to come."

"Oh, really! So can you give me any details on when all of that started?" She gestured to the couple as she and Jacob began to walk around the perimeter of the clearing.

"Uh, they've always been close ever since they were in diapers, but this past summer I think they really hit things off. Caleb started going on more fishing trips with Harry and Seth started hanging out with his dad more because of it I think."

Morticia let out a knowing sigh, "And so A+B="

"Whatever that mess of hormones was up there," Jacob said with a chuckle.

"Oh, come on Jake, Even you have to remember being that age!"

Jacob turned slightly pink and rubbed his neck again, "huh, yeah I guess so."

Morticia hmm'd slightly. "I bet you were the boy who told scary stories around the campfire so pretty girls would jump into his arms."

"Wh-what? N-No" Jacob stuttered as they made a slight turn. "I wouldn't do that!"

"Even if the girl asked you to tell her one?" She really hoped her leading was working, because if she had to play stupid any longer she was going to lose her fucking mind.

Jacob stopped and turned, giving her a shocked look. "Are you asking me to tell you a scary story? Right now at this campfire?"

'Could this boy be any more clueless,' She deadpanned. 'Sweet Jesus and he's from an Alpha bloodline.'

Morticia gave him a flirty stare, "I mean if you aren't up to the challenge that's fine. I just hoped that even Jacob Black would have some spooky stories that could interest even the likes of me."

She let out a sad sigh, "oh but I guess it wasn't meant to be. I guess I'll have to alleviate my disappointment with smores and hot dogs." She turned to head back to where the rest of the group was and felt a hand grab her arm. When she turned to look at Jacob, his face was unsure and he glanced quickly over her shoulder before turning back to her.

"There is one story. The elders told us about it as kids but It's just a stupid story, I'm not sure if you'd be interested."

Morticia moved closer to him and stared him straight in the eyes, "try me. You'll never know unless you try."

He looked back over her shoulder and she rolled her eyes slightly, "If you're worried about the elders, we can always go someplace more private. They'll just think you snuck me off to have a makeout session instead of divulging some mysterious story!"

Thankfully Jacob laughed and motioned for her to follow him. "Ok. There's this small clearing just a little way out into the woods, we'll get there in a few minutes if we take the abandoned hiker's path."

'Am I crazy for going into the woods with a potential werewolf? Yes. Am I glad it isn't dark out yet? another yes. Am I glad that Alice can't see me right now? Hell yes.'

In hindsight, this probably wasn't the best-laid plan, but if getting Jacob to spill the beans meant taking a hike with him through the woods, then so be it. She still had her pepper spray on her key chain and she knew how to turn her keys into a weapon. Werewolf or not, a key to the balls would hurt any supernatural creature.

They were silent for quite some time as they slowly trekked through the greenery. The only noise coming from the crunching of the dry leaves under their shoes as they walked.

"So, how are you liking Forks so far?" He asked her, breaking the silence.

"You know, I'm enjoying it a hell of a lot more than I thought that I would. Especially since I made some friends already, besides you and Billy of course."

Jacob gave her a confused look, "Oh, yeah? Who's that? Do they go to Forks high?"

"Yeah actually, they do! They're Dr. Cullen's kids. Do you know them?"

He stopped walking suddenly and gave her a shocked look.

"What? Why do you have that look on your face?" She played dumb.

'God I deserve an Oscar for this performance.'

Jacob stumbled slightly and coughed, "Uh, It's just weird that you mentioned the Cullens because if my memory is right, they are in the story I'm about to tell you."

"What?! No, way! The people at my high school say that they're total loners and nobody ever gets close to them. I just thought it was because they were the new kids" She faked a shocked expression.

"Yeah, new to this decade of students." He muttered as they continued walking.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in our legends, there are these creatures- the cold ones. They are described as pale demons who terrorized our tribe. They fed on the locals, draining them of their blood, and leaving the corpses as a calling card. They're the reason why the Quileute acquired a certain..uh, ability."

Jacob paused to see her reaction and she nodded for him to continue.

"There's always been this story in our tribe that the Quileutes were descended from wolves and that our warriors had the ability to shapeshift whenever they needed to protect their land."

Morticia looked at him with wide eyes, "Jake, are you telling me that your tribe tells a werewolf and Vampire story to their children as a type of bedtime story?!"

Jacob shook his head, his white teeth gleaming against his tan skin. "Uh, it's more of a story to us kids, but to some of the elders, I'm not so sure. I think they truly believe the Cullens descended from their enemy- the cold ones- and that's why I never see them on the reservation. Apparently they caught the leader and a few of his children hunting on our land. They said they didn't know the land had been occupied so we signed a treaty of sorts. Basically, it said that if they stay on their side, we will stay on ours...and the rest is supposedly history."

Morticia gave him a look, "So, do you believe the story? Do you actually think the Cullens are blood-sucking vampires that 'vant to drink your blood, blah blah blah.'" She said in a very fake Transylvanian accent while showing her canines, and made Jake burst out laughing.

"Honestly, I think Quil Sr. just smoked too much of the pipe when he was younger, but as I said, it's just a story they tell us as kids so that we 'remember the land that our ancestors fought for,' or something like that. Sometimes I space out when the elders' drone on and on before we can eat."

'mission accomplished.' She thought happily as she pulled Jacob to turn around.

"Speaking of food, I'm sure your secret hideout is great and all, but all this talk of vampires and werewolves is making me hungry. Hey, you don't suppose they sure B+ at this bonfire do you?" She said as they began the walk back towards the others.

Jacob fell into step beside her and looking up at the now dark sky, full of stars.

"Sorry to say, but I think you're out of luck. But hey, since you're such good friends with the Cullens, maybe Dr. Cullen can hook you up." He turned and gave her a wink.

Morticia just shook her head and changed the conversation to more idle small talk. They made it back to the campsite in no time and Caleb was frantic.

"Where have you been, I was worried about you! I almost called Tony! Can you imagine how that phone call would go? 'Hey dad, sorry to bother you but I lost my older cousin!" Caleb was out of breath as he ran to them, Seth following close behind.

Morticia rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on Caleb. You'd think you'd be able to see when somebody was trying to give you privacy! I mean, tell me you aren't that dense."

Caleb and Seth both blushed and looked away from each other.

"Besides, Jacob wanted to tell me a scary story and I was worried that you may have nightmares if you heard it." She said as she began to make her way over toward the fire. "enjoy the rest of the night boys, I need to talk to Billy real fast."

She quickly made her way towards the man seated in the wheelchair and he immediately took notice of her.

"Morticia, how nice of you to stop by." He said, his voice slightly tight.

'hmmm, now why does that greeting sound so strained, I wonder...'

"Hello, Billy! Thank you for inviting us, I've had such a lovely time. This really is a beautiful place!" She knew she was laying it on thick, but better safe than sorry.

"I'm glad you like it. So, Tony says you've been adjusting well."

"Oh, yes. I suppose I have. After everything that's happened, it's nice to get my mind off of things and just hang out with some friends."

He cleared his throat, "Friends like the Cullens, you mean?"

Morticia cocked her head, feigning confusion.

"Yes, of course. The Cullens have been so wonderful to me and I can't believe that your ancestors thought they descended vampires?! Can you believe that?"

Billy turned a pale color and his eyes slightly widened.

"Uh, where did you hear that exactly?" his voice began to fill with worry.

Morticia brightened, "Oh, Jake told me the entire story! We went for a walk in the woods just to get away from all the craziness of the party and I asked him if he knew any scary stories."

He visibly relaxed, "Ah, yes a story. That's all there is to it really."

Morticia's demeanor instantly changed to be more rigid, "If that were true, why is it that they aren't allowed on the reservation?"

Billy froze, "Where did you get that idea?" The tightness was back in his voice.

"Where do you think? I invited the Cullens to come with me and they refused because they said they weren't wanted on the reservation. Do I really need to bring up the racist undertone to this Billy?"

Billy's eyes darted around her to try to draw the attention of anyone else.

Morticia stepped closer to his chair.

"Don't even think of causing a scene Billy, we both know who I have on speed dial and this could become ugly, very quickly. So here's what you're going to do instead. I want you to gather all your council buddies and any tribe member who has shifted and I want to talk to them, tonight. No stalling or getting me to change my mind, you try anything and I will blow the whistle on your little puppy ring you've got going on here."

Billy looked very much a mixture of shocked and angry.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. You're confused. It's all because of that story Jacob told you. It's just a story!"

Morticia sighed and knew that she wasn't getting anywhere with him.

'Maybe I should try to get one of them to shift. That's crazy but it'll work as I need it to.'

She knew how dumb this idea was and how she might just get herself killed, but she did tell Tony that she wanted to rebel tonight.

Looking around she noticed that there seemed to only be future wolves and wives present with the elders. Perfect, that makes things easier and less damage control.

She quickly spotted Paul Lahote standing by Sam Uley on the far side of the fire- both of them had a matching tattoo. 'Just as I thought. They've already turned.' She hurried to make her way towards them before Billy could warn anybody of her plan.

'please don't let me get maimed. I'd really like to keep my limbs as they are now.'

The boys quickly noticed her walking towards them and Paul gave her a charming smirk. Oh, she couldn't wait to slap that right off his face.

"Well hello gorgeous, I don't believe we've met, I'm P-" SMACK.

Morticia threw all of her weight into the smack and she was sure she felt something pop inside her hand.

He looked at her in furious shock, his breathing became short and fast and Sam quickly moved to shove her aside but she was too quick.

"What? What are you gonna do about it Paulie? Are you gonna get angry? Show some fur?" She ducked under Sam's large arms and began shoving Paul's chest hard.

"Huh- what are you gonna do? Are you gonna wolf out? Come on! DO IT! Or are you too scared?!" With each shove and comment, she was sure that he was gonna turn at any second, but Sam decided to use an alpha command.

"Paul calm the hell down now!" Sam's voice was full of authority and Paul visibly deflated.

Morticia smirked and put her hands on her hips, "yeah Paul, listen to your alpha like a good little bitch and calm down, maybe roll over and show your belly while you're at it."

That was the final straw. Paul glared daggers at her and within an instant, his body contorted as his wolf form ripped through. Morticia thought that she had put enough distance between her and Paul but he jumped at the last second and one of his massive claws caught her on the arm and sliced her open from shoulder to the elbow.

"Ahhh!" She cried as she fell to the ground, holding her bleeding arm.

Paul, fully in wolf form towered above her, his teeth practically glowing in the moonlight- ready to bite. Morticia met his wolf stare head-on- exactly what they never tell you to do in nature documentaries.

"look I get it, I pissed you off, wolfie. It was a bitch move, but I had to prove a point. Sorry." She muttered weakly as she felt the blood dripping from her arm and onto the grass below.

The gray wolf looked at her in confusion and tilted its head before bolting into the trees.

'well, I'd say that was...not expected' She thought as she moved to set up in the grass. She knew if she tried to stand she'd just fall back down, so why bother?

She could vaguely hear Caleb screaming in the background as arms quickly grabbed her and lifted her from the ground.

"Somebody call Sue!" Sam called to the group that had gathered around her.

"NO!" Morticia objected, trying to move in Sam's arms. "I will only let Carlisle Cullen examine me!"

Sam looked at her in disgust, "The Cullens aren't permitted on the reservation, let Sue get you stitched up. I'm sure she's ten times better than a leach."

Morticia shoved herself out of Sam's arms and once again found herself in the grass.

"Get this through your moronic wolf brain, Uley. Either Carlisle Cullen is able to come on the reservation to treat me or I run to him and tell the entire town that Paul attacked me. It's your choice. I tried to do this peacefully but Billy wouldn't listen so now I give ultimatums."

Sam clenched his jaw as he stared her down, "Then what's stopping us from telling the town about your precious Cullens?"

Morticia smirked evilly," Oh honey. You can spin any story that you'd like about them, but you know what they have over you. They aren't tied to the land like you are. You guys are very territorial and like to put down roots. The Cullens are nomadic creatures and can just pack up and start over. You have more to lose, wolf boy, so I suggest you listen to this crazy blonde chick and shelve your misogynistic alpha bullshit for the night, ok?"

The two were then stuck in a stalemate of sorts, neither wanting to break their stare.

Billy Black rolled up to them, "Sam, just listen to her. I think we should do as she says, this once, and you need to attend to the others. Paul gave them quite a shock."

Morticia gave him a sardonic smile, "Now William, If you'd just listened to me I wouldn't have played a part in traumatizing half of your tribe, now would I. Remember I did warn you."

Billy gave her a hard glare and turned away, grumbling to himself.

Morticia glanced around at all the traumatized people and felt a sense of guilt, she didn't want to cause this bad of a scene, but it needed to be done. If this had happened in any other situation with another human- things could have been majorly worse.

She turned to see Sam still watching her, wearily.

"Hey, I know I may seem like a massive bitch right now, but I actually came here to help you guys tonight. I just didn't plan on getting maimed." She said as she gestured to her arm.

Sam looked at her confused, "How does causing a scene like that help us a all ?"

Morticia shook her head, feeling the blood loss getting to her and she struggled to stay on her feet.

"Jacob told me about the legends and I already know about the Cullens, I was planning on telling you that if you're trying to keep secrets- maybe you shouldn't tell them as bedtime stories to your kids and instead maybe you should have better ties with your supposed enemies. The Cullens could teach you guys a thing or two about control, especially Jasper. Imagine what could have happened if word got out about you guys and somebody decided to test it out on a drunken dare. Look how easily Paul turned. All I did was hit a few easy buttons. What happened to Emily, it could happen again Sam..." She hoped that he understood how important this situation was.

Sam's eyes held great pain, "It already has," He gestured to her arm.

Morticia scoffed, "this is nothing, once Carlisle gets ahold of me I'll be good as new. If I was the sacrificial lamb to get you guys to bury the hatchet then so be it." She swayed slightly as black spots danced across her vision.

Sam's worried voice sounded far away, "Morticia...Morticia."

"Call- Call Carlisle, please Sam." That was the last thing she was able to say before the blackness consumed her and she fell to the earth once more.

~~~~~Vision~~~~~

"My brave, Morticia... Always too quick to sacrifice herself for the greater good... One day you will be able to finally see yourself for who you are." That voice, softer now, called out to her.

This time it sounded more distinct. It was definitely a female voice, high pitch, yet soft as a flower petal.

'See myself for who I am? What the hell?'

"Who are you?" Morticia called out hopelessly. "Please, I need to know!"

"When the time is right, you'll know young one... for now, heed my advice... follow your heart!" The voice trailed off with a laugh, making Morticia's annoyance grow.

'Follow my hear, what kind of bullshit is that?!'

~~~~End Vision~~~~~

Morticia was brought back to consciousness by a cold sensation traveling from her forehead down to her pulse point.

She slowly opened her eyes and was met with the worried eyes of Carlisle Cullen.

"They actually called you. I don't believe it." She murmured softly, closing her eyes in relief.

She had worried that the wolves wouldn't take her advice and would either have Sue treat her or have her bleed out on their front lawn.

Carlisle laughed softly, but it sounded hollow. She opened her eyes to see the Cullen Patriarch looking at her with another worried look.

"I almost didn't believe it either. Morticia. Please explain to me why you decided to anger a teenage werewolf and cause him to phase, risking an injury like yours in the process?"

Morticia shrugged and instantly regretted it when she pulled slightly at her injured shoulder. She glanced down to see the arm in question wrapped in a pristine white gauze.

"I knew you'd be able to patch me up in case anything went wrong. You've practically perfected the method of suturing and not leaving a scar."

Carlisle, while embarrassed of her praise, gave her a firm gaze.

"Morticia, please. You have no idea how worried we were! First Alice can't see your future and then suddenly I get a call from Sam Uley saying that I have temporary permission to come to treat you for a deep wound because you refused their help. If I had been human, I'm sure my heart would've given out from the shock of it all."

Morticia gave him a worried look. "Sam gave you permission to cross the treaty line, as in you alone? Nobody else came with you."

She didn't know what she'd do if she had to face both the Cullen cavalry and the pissed off, confused wolf pack. A girl can only handle so much excitement for one day.

"Carlisle gave her a tiny smile, "No, I didn't allow everybody to come, Only Esme and Jasper chose to come and make sure you were alright. Jasper chose to try to calm the wolves while Esme spoke with your cousin and Uncle.

'Oh shit' She thought guiltily. She never meant for Caleb to see that, in fact, she'd completely forgotten that he was there- which made her feel even worse. She was so focused on getting her point across that everything else became a blur.

"Caleb. I need to go talk to him! Before he makes himself crazy with worry." She tried to move to get up but Carlisle stalled her movements with a hand on her uninjured shoulder.

"He is fine, I assure you. Esme explained everything- to Caleb specifically and he's taking the news wonderfully. He sat in while I was doing your sutures and never let go of your hand the entire time. I can bring him in here if you'd like but you need to rest that shoulder." He told her in complete Doctor mode.

"Wait, you said Esme told him everything, what do you mean everything?"

"She explained the situation with the wolves and...about us."

This made Morticia spring forward in the bed she was laying on.

"She told him you guys are vampires?! Why Carlisle? Doesn't that paint a target on his back?! If the Volturi find out that another human knows, we're fucked!" She moved to untangle herself from the covers as Carlisle continued.

"We thought it best to tell him as Jasper could sense a certain, uh, connection between him and a young wolf. We made up a cover story for your uncle, though. It's been decided that you wandered off from the party and got attacked by an animal, managed to escape to make your way back to the party, but not without obvious injury. It seemed easier to just tell Caleb the full details now, especially since he and that young wolf are so close."

Morticia looked at Carlisle in confusion, "Young wolf? Wait...Do you mean Seth? What does Seth have to do with anything involving Caleb? I mean, yeah they were totally flirting but I fail to see how that equals us telling him about the supernatural minus what he witnessed tonight. And thank you for not telling Tony. I don't think he could handle all the supernatural baggage."

Carlisle looked almost bemused, "Your welcome. However, it seems that Jasper can feel the 'imprint' bond as the wolves call it. Just as my dear friend Marcus can see ties between individuals- either platonic or romantic- Jasper can sense the same with imprints. He says it feels more intense than love almost to the point of complete admiration."

Morticia looked at him in disbelief, "You are joking. No way. So not only does Jasper have to deal with vampire lust, now he has to deal with wolf lust too. Damn, sorry Jaz."

Carlisle chuckled, "I'm not too sure how Jasper feels about the sudden realization, but he has had plenty of time to test it out with the new wolves."

Morticia looked at him confused, "Wait, new wolves. What do you mean?"

"It seems as if you were right, our presence triggers the wolf gene. When we came in close proximity to some of the younger, not yet triggered wolves, they began to take on the symptoms. Seth was one of those and after he turned, well let's just say sparks flew between him and your cousin."

Morticia shook her head, "Carlisle, that's impossible. Wolf transformations take days, even weeks to complete, how could they do that in one night?"

Carlisle looked at her in disbelief, "Morticia what day do you think it is?"

"Monday, August 29th, why?"

"Because you've been unconscious for nearly seven days recovering, Morticia. There must have been something in Paul's claw that was causing some sort of infection that I've been monitoring. It's Saturday, September 3rd."

Morticia looked at him in disbelief.

"Please tell me Caleb put you up to this to pay me back for embarrassing him in front of Seth." She pleaded, Meekly.

Carlisle shook his head sadly. "I wish I was, dear. I wasn't kidding when I said you gave us all a fright. There were times that I was worried that you may pull through. Your heartbeat was dangerously low at certain times. This wasn't my ideal situation to treat you in, but Sue Clearwater so graciously offered me her home as well as any equipment we may need."

'So that's where I am. The Clearwater house.'

Morticia was silent for a moment then looked at Carlisle, hopeful.

"On a scale of one to ten, how pissed is Edward?" She was very much afraid of the answer.

Carlisle rose from the bed and turned towards the door. Just before he reached for the handle, he turned back to look at her over his shoulder.

"I'd say he's been simmering at 100 since I received the call." Then he turned and exited the room, leaving Morticia to her guilt.

'It's my fault that he's angry. I did promise not to get myself hurt and I'd say I am very much hurt right now.' She mused to herself as she pushed herself gently off the bed and made her way to the window.

Outside she noticed a gray wolf was stationed outside and when she noticed it, the wolf whimpered and put his head on his paws.

'Oh, Paul. I'm sorry.' She winced inwardly but gave the wolf a gentle smile. Hopefully, he took that as she held no anger over her injury.

Turning from the window, she moved to exit out the same door as Carlisle and came face to face with the fang and fur cavalry.

The Clearwater's living room was filled with many new wolves and what shocked her the most was that they were all being cordial to the Cullens. To her surprise and utter dismay, the entirety of the Cullen clan was sitting here as well, minus the one she really wanted to talk to. They all looked at her with a mix of worry and anticipation, almost as if they expected her to crumble to nothing right there in the living room!

'And here I thought Carlisle was an honorable man,' She thought, suddenly very on edge.

"Carlisle, I thought you said that you didn't bring everyone?!" Morticia accused as she moved further into the room.

Carlisle had the gal to look sheepish, "I said when I first arrived. That was over six days ago, Morticia. You can't honestly expect me to be able to contain all of my children from seeing you for that long."

Morticia groaned, and went to retort but was broken off by Rosalie.

"Don't you dare try to downplay your injury or this situation. You risked your life not only by coming here but for smacking a teenage werewolf. How stupid can you be, Morticia? What if he had caught your jugular instead of your shoulder?! Where would we be then?" She fumed in the corner of the room.

Morticia didn't think she'd ever seen Rosalie this angry before, not since she'd met her.

"Well, I'd be in a casket so I have no idea what you guys would be doing." She said sarcastically as Sue handed her a glass of orange juice, which she thanked her for.

Rosalie gave her a withering look and stormed out of the room, nearly shoving Embry to the ground as she passed. Emmett gave her a sympathetic look.

"Sorry, sis. But you have to admit, she's got a point. You gave us quite a scare. We never thought you'd take it to that extreme for our sake. She's just angry, don't worry about it." His voice held such a serious tone, so uncommon for Emmett that it made her feel even worse.

Morticia looked to Caleb, who sat beside Seth on the couch, looking quite cozy but also worn out.

"I'm so sorry, for all that I've put you guys through. I never intended to cause any more bad blood. I just wanted both sides to see that the other is no more monster than the other. I wanted to promote unity but I think I may have gone about it all wrong." She hung her head, chiding herself mentally.

Everyone was silent for a moment until Caleb spoke up.

"Look, cuz. I'm not saying what you did was right but I think you can still call this a win."

At her shocked look, he continued, "You took a huge risk, sure. But look around. I'd say everybody is pretty unified. I mean, we survived six days without any other casualties- that seems pretty awesome to me."

Morticia shook her head at her cousin's optimism.

"Yeah, if it led to you and Seth finally realizing what everybody else knew then I say it's worth it, Caleb."

The atmosphere seemed to lighten and Morticia was finally able to see the little dynamic they had set up in her absence. Esme was quickly helping Sue make sandwiches in the tiny kitchen, Carlisle was talking intently with the elders, Emmett and Jasper were playing with some of the younger kids, but Alice was secluded from the rest.

She just stood on the back patio and stared out into the trees, almost as if she were frozen in time.

'The blindspots are making her uncomfortable. She doesn't feel safe having her gift blocked with the wolves.'

Taking another quick drink of juice, Morticia set her glass on the counter and made her way to the back porch.

She quickly shut the door behind her but Alice never turned to acknowledge her.

Morticia sighed and went to stand beside her.

"Hey. I notice you weren't joining in on all the festivities. If it's because the wolves are messing with your visions I totally under-"

"Do you seriously think that I'm upset because I can't see any visions?! Are you kidding me, Morticia?"

Morticia shrunk back at the venom in both Alice's voice and her stare. Her eyes were like liquid obsidian and her voice was cold as ice.

She was too shocked to respond, so Alice continued her rant.

"I don't give a shit about right now! I am still pissed about last night! Not only could I not see if my friend was in any danger, but I also had to sit back and watch as Carlisle ran to save you life- and I couldn't see any outcome! How many years have I had this gift and the one time I actually need it for something important, I CAN'T SEE YOU! I had to wait for hours, just to hear if you survived because we all couldn't cross the border. I may be immortal but those few hours felt like eternity Morticia. It was even worse on Edward, especially since he didn't have Jasper to calm us. We were worried sick about you. You promised him that you 'd be safe. You told us you weren't going to do anything irrational! I almost lost my best friend!" Alice's voice broke at the end and Morticia felt tears well up in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I'm not used to having people care this much about me. I've always been so independent that I forgot how you may be affected. I'm so sorry, please can you forgive me. I honestly had no idea it would all go this wrong, I just wanted to help!" She continued to sob and felt Alice bring her into an icy embrace.

"Just don't make me ever worry like that again and I think we can call it even. Besides, it isn't me you need to grovel to. Edward took your injury worse than the rest of us. He refused to speak to us or the wolves the entire time you were asleep. He just sat by your bedside and watched over you. He nearly went into a panic when the infection set in, it had Carlisle nearly throwing him out the door."

Morticia looked down, ashamed.

"Do you think he'll forgive me?"

Alice's eyes took on their signature sparkle, "Oh I'm sure you both will do much better than that. Just remember that I plan to hold this over your head for at least three shopping trips! You made me wear out my favorite pair of Chanel pumps from pacing so much!"

Morticia chuckled and shook her head, "I definitely owe you, Alice. And again, I'm so sorry for stressing you all out. That was very immature of me. I should've come up with a better plan."

"Yes, Yes you should have." Alice nodded, then wrapped her in her arms again. "But I think it all worked out for the best. Now, what are you going to do about my brooding older brother?"

Morticia groaned, "I have no idea, care to give me some tips?"

Alice giggled and shook her head, "Come on Morticia, you know that would be cheating."

Morticia frowned and leaned back against the railing.

"Do you think I should talk to him now? I mean I did only regain consciousness less than an hour ago, but I have a feeling you guys have it handled here."

Alice nodded eagerly, "He's been waiting not so very patiently for you to wake up and I think it would be a huge mistake if you made him wait any longer." Pulling a set of keys out of her jacket pocket, she dangled them in front of Morticia's face.

"What do you say, wanna do a jailbreak?"

Morticia laughed and grabbed the keys from Alice.

"Have I mentioned how much I love you, Alice?" Giving the tiny Vampire another hug she turned ran off the back porch, Alice's laughter trailing after her.

She quickly realized that the keys she held were to Carlisle's Black Mercedes and she didn't see her baby anywhere.

'If they towed her, I'll go psycho on somebody.' She growled as she threw the car in reverse, her anger transforming from the car to Edward.

'How dare he be so angry? What gives him the right to be so pissed off?! It isn't as if we're dating? I am not his demure damsel like Bella Swan, How many times do I have to tell him that!'

She was quickly advancing over the speed limit as she raced through Forks but she didn't care.

'So what if I broke his promise, He should've expected it! I mean come on?! Has he met me? Chaos is practically my middle name since I came here? Where does he get off acting so high and mighty?!

She understood that Edward had control issues, just as she had her own issues...she just hoped that together they didn't create something of an emotional bomb when they met guns blazing.

"You better be ready Edward Cullen. I'm hurting, pissed off, and really do not have the energy to bull shit tonight."

She was on a warpath for answers and she was going to get them, one way or another.