*Author's note: Hi all! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been reviewing, favoriting, and following! I'm so glad that this story is getting such a positive response. I hope you all are still enjoying it, and I love reading your reviews! Enjoy!

Chapter nine

Someday my pain, Someday my pain will mark you Harness your blame, Harness your blame And walk through

With the wild wolves around you in the morning I'll call you Send it farther on

Solace my game, Solace my game It stars you Swing wide with your crane, swing wide with your crane And run me through And the story's all over you

-The Wolves (Act I and II) Bon Iver

It was Saturday morning. Bella and Charlie were driving to the funeral, Bella with a casserole in her lap. Charlie stared at the road, and Bella stared out of her window. Neither said anything. Bella hadn't said anything about her confrontation with Jacob. She knew her father had enough on his mind this week, and she certainly wasn't going to cause that kind of tension. When they arrived, they paid their respects to Sue and Seth before Charlie wandered over to sit with Billy. Leah and Jacob were nowhere to be found, so Bella went for the backdoor. Just as she was closing it behind her, she caught Sam's stare from where he was sitting with Emily. His look was part warning, and part disapproval. She shot him the dirtiest look she could muster and continued through the door.

As she made her way to Leah's spot, she noticed two figures having what looked like a very heated discussion. She cleared her throat when she got within hearing distance and both heads turned sharply toward her. Leah was clearly happy to see her. Jacob was not.

"Bella!" Leah ran to close the distance between them and almost knocked Bella down with the force of her hug. "I'm sorry Bella. I couldn't leave to see you." Bella could hear her friend's tears in her voice.

"Hey, no. You don't have to apologize for anything. It's okay, I'm here now, right?" Bella soothed her friend. After a few moment, Leah took a deep breath and stepped back. Bella gave Jacob a dismissive look. "Jacob".

"Bella" he returned just as disinterested, before sighing heavily. "You shouldn't have come".

"Of course I came! What the hell has gotten into you Jacob? Jesus! You went from being the most care free person I know to having the personality of The Terminator."

Leah couldn't help but snicker at Bella's assessment. Jacob rolled his eyes. "Look, it's none of your-"

"We can't tell you" Leah blurted out over him. Bella's eyebrows scrunched together. "What do you mean you can't tell me? Is this some kind of family thing? ...Or is it a weird cult thing?" She remembered that Jacob had recently told her that Sam was collecting a growing number of followers. "What have you gotten yourselves into?"

"What've we gotten ourselves..." Jacob started yelling, only to be cut off by Leah again.

"Bella I swear, we can't tell you...but then again, you already know."

"What?" Bella and Jake asked in unison. Leah was smiling now.

"Yeah. Think Bella! When you first moved here, you went to Jacob and he told you some stories, remember?"

Bella's eyebrows furrowed again as she strained to remember. "The legend about the ...cold ones?"

"Yeah, she would remember that part" Jacob sneered.

"Be quiet Jake!" Leah snapped as Bella rolled her eyes. "Think Bella. Remember the rest of the legend. Remember exactly what Jacob said to you that day. It's important."

"Okay, let me think. The tribal elders wanted to protect their land from the Cull...from the cold ones. They didn't trust them, but they were different than others of their kind, so they signed a treaty. The tribe got their power from wolves, they were descended from wolves..." she stopped when she opened her eyes and saw them both staring at her expectantly. "What? What did I say? Wolves?" They both nodded. "Wolves. Wait..." She pointed at them as things clicked into place. "Wolves?!"

"Sh! Keep it down" Jake hissed.

"Holy crap, you have got to be kidding me! Freaking wolves?! Werewolves?"

"What the hell is going on out here?" Sam's voice broke them out of their conversation. Bella leaned toward Leah. "Him too?" she whispered. "Yup." "Ah. So not a cult then?" "Not exactly" was Leah's quiet reply. Bella suddenly had the overwhelming feeling that she wasn't safe.

Leah stood straight and looked at Sam. "We didn't tell her. She figured it out by herself."

"Yeah, sure she did." A boy Bella knew as Paul appeared beside Sam.

"She did. She's smarter than you Paul" Leah shot back.

"Oh yeah? So smart she shacks up with a bunch of filthy bloodsuckers? Real smart. God you can practically still smell them on her. Maybe they told her".

This is not good thought Bella, as she took a step back.

"Leave her alone Paul. Now." Bella was surprised and relieved to hear Jacob come to her defense.

"Oh, what? Is Chief Jakey gonna make me? Or is he too busy with his leech loving girlfriend?" Paul turned all of his attention to Jacob.

"Paul..." Leah warned.

"Seriously! Why are you bothering to defend her? This is all her fault!"

"Paul, back down" Sam interjected, but Paul was getting angrier and angrier. Bella was confused, but unable to tear her eyes away from Paul. He looked murderous. The last time she'd seen such a murderous look in someones eyes, that person was literally planning to murder her. She instinctively took another step back, only to trip on a root and fall over, effectively drawing attention back on herself. Paul turned to her again.

"If you hadn't gotten involved with the Cullens, then maybe they would've left earlier. Maybe they wouldn't have attracted more leeches. Maybe Harry would still be alive!" Bella's eyes widened as she watched Paul lose control of his anger. He was breathing heavy and hard. His shoulders started to hunch, reminding Bella of Dr. Jekyll turning into Mr. Hyde, a comparison that proved to be quite apt as his body morphed and contorted until a huge grey wolf was standing in front of her. It was larger than any wolf she had ever seen, standing well over six feet tall, which looked much larger to her as she lay on the ground. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry out, and she wanted to pee her pants, but time seemed frozen as this massive beast stared at her with malice in it's eyes. She was making the connection that the wolf used to be a person. That she had watched Paul transform into this wolf. And that he had apparently brought all of his anger at her with him, as it snarled at her and lunged at her. Just as Paul leaned on his haunches to jump, a beautiful red wolf appeared and knocked him over. Leah grabbed Bella, who had not moved since she fell, and stood in front of her.

"Sam, that's enough! you have to make them stop!" Leah shouted. Sam looked at the two girls for a moment and nodded. Suddenly, his voice boomed and echoed as if it was coming from all directions at once. "Stop!" his voice commanded. The two wolves immediately stopped fighting and separated, whimpering. "This is a funeral. Show some respect." Both wolves ran off into the woods. With one last look at Leah and Bella, Sam started back toward the house. Leah turned to Bella.

"We have a lot to talk about Bella. Let's just wait until Jake gets back" Leah said, rubbing Bella's arm. Bella, who had been staring blankly ahead to where the wolves had been standing, looked around for the first time since Paul shifted, and realized that Jacob had disappeared. No...not disappeared.

"Wolf" She wanted to say more, but she suddenly felt very dizzy, and 'wolf' was all she could manage. "I know", said Leah, trying to offer some comfort.

"Wolf...Jake...Wolf." The whole world was spinning and Bella ran a few feet away so that she wouldn't throw up on Leah. She landed on her knees and started retching. Leah walked over and rubbed her back, and held her hair. When she finished, she looked at Leah apologetically. "I'm sorry. I'm better now."

"It's ok. It can be a lot to take in, I know. Let's head over to Billy's house. Jake will be headed there and it's empty."

After letting Charlie know where she would be, they made there way to the house. They had just settled on the couch in the garage with a couple of sodas when Bella found her voice. "How long have you known?"

"What do you mean?"

"The way you said that you know how it feels to learn about this. It sounds like you've had longer than a week to come to terms with it."

Leah smiled. "Damn journalists. Always observing. Well, this seems like a good a place as any to start. I've known since...since sam. When he left me. I was confronting them, shouting about betrayal and lies. I pushed all of his buttons, and when Emily told me to back off, I ignored her and started pushing him harder. I just wanted a reaction. Some kind of acknowledgment about all the time he was throwing away. He started to phase, and Emily thought her love would be enough calming influence to stop him, but it wasn't. He turned right in front of us, getting Emily in the face, and me in the back before he got a hold of himself and immediately phased back. I've never seen a person more twisted with guilt. After that, Emily made him sit down and explain everything."

"Just like we're about to tell you" Jacob's voice carried from the door. Bella jumped up and hugged him tightly. "You're alright!" She exclaimed,

Jake hugged her back, just as fiercely. "Yeah, Paul's all bark anyway. His temper is short, but he gets over it pretty quick." He paused and stepped back. "I'm sorry about what I said, I really, really am. Between Sam's gag order, and the way the anger can just take over...I never meant to hurt you."

"Okay, that sentence just reminded me that I have so many questions." Bella said.

Jacob laughed. It was so good to hear his laugh again. "Let's sit down, and we'll take you through it, then see where your questions are." piped up Leah, and once they were settled, she started.

"So, you get the basic gist. Our ancestors were literally descended from wolves, so now we shift. This ability is passed down through our tribe, and as far as we know, only our tribe. The ability is active when there is perceived threat, usually a vampire, at least in all of the legends. We don't hurt humans, except, obviously, for the occasional accident. That's why we are usually kept isolated for the first few months of our wolf life. That's when the anger is at its most volatile, and it's safer not to be around anyone. The 'gift' as the elders called it, can lay dormant for an entire lifetime, which is why the stories are pretty much completely reduced to legends" She paused to take a sip of her soda and Jacob jumped in.

"Once we've been living with it for a while, we learn to control it, but it still feeds off of our emotions, so we have to be careful. While we phase, everything else in our lives gets put on pause, like the wolf gene takes over our whole biology, so we don't change or age. We grow, hopefully, mentally and emotionally, but not physically. How you doing so far?" Bella nodded slowly.

"I'm with you I think. So what else does this wolf gene control? How was Sam able to get you two to stop fighting?"

Leah piped back up. "In order for the pack to work, we have to be able to move and function as one unit. Sam is the alpha, and therefore the leader. When he gives an order, the rest of the pack is forced to follow it. It's how we maintain some semblance of order and control. When we're in wolf form, we also share a telepathic link, which makes making decisions easier in that form."

"Wow. So on top of all of this, Sam still has time to date? Hell of a guy." Bella commented bitterly as she tried to let all of the information soak in.

"Funny you should mention that actually because it brings us to the weirdest,"

"Creepiest" Jacob added

"Part of being a wolf." Leah said. "Sam didn't just happen to decide to leave me for Emily when she was visiting, right after he started phasing. As wolves we do something called imprinting. When you see this person, you apparently form an instant connection, like soul mates. As a wolf, you would do anything in your power for this person. Sam didn't just fall in love with Emily, he imprinted, which in his mind absolves him of any guilt about me."

"That's really..." Bella searched for the right word "Gross. What dictates imprinting? Is it chemical? biological? It seems sort of...unnatural."

"As opposed to the completely natural occurrence of teenagers turning into wolves and fighting vampires?" Jacob laughed

"Very fair point" Bella laughed in return. "Jesus! Is Forks Washington the freaking supernatural epicenter of North America? Are there any other magical beings I should be aware of? Wood nymphs? Leprechauns?" They all laughed for a moment, before Bella remembered something and her expression turned serious again.

"Paul Said that Harry's death was my fault. Why?"

Leah sighed, and Jacob put a hand reassuringly on her back. "His death wasn't your fault. It was mine. The wolf...gene, as you put it, reacts when there are vampires around, like we said. Depending on the number of vampires, or the threat they impose, our numbers will increase. When Paul says my dad's death is on you, it's because he blames you for the Cullen's being more active. He thinks that if you hadn't started...being social with them, that they would have just quietly faded away, and none of us would have phased."

"Leah, how did your father die?" Bella's throat was closing up, and she felt the tears coming. She did not like where this was going.

"No woman in our tribes history has ever phased. Not once. It's not mentioned in a single legend. So when I was arguing with my parents last week, I had no idea where the anger I felt was going. Suddenly I lost control, and before I knew what was happening I phased. Right in my living room, When I realized what happened, I immediately phased back, but the damage was done. My fathers eyes were wide and scared. He was looking at me with so much fear. My mom too. I put my hands up in surrender to try and calm them. I took a step forward, and started apologizing. His hands went to his chest and he stumbled backward. I ran to his side while my mom called the ambulance. He was trying to say something, but he couldn't. He put his hand on my cheek, and then...he was just...gone." Leah's tears overtook her then.

Jacob, who had been sitting quietly rubbing Leah's back while she went through the story, scooted closer and took Bella's hand as well. "Leah? Leah look at me. This wasn't your fault. And it wasn't Bella's either. There was no way to know this could happen, or to prepare for it."

Bella sat up straight and sniffed. "He's right Leah. It was a terrible accident, but there's no blame to be given. He loved you, he wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

"Thank you" Leah said, composing herself. "I just wish the last interaction we had hadn't been a fight."

"What were you fighting about?" At Bella's question, both Leah and Jake stiffened and avoided eye contact. Finally Leah looked at Bella.

"You"

"Me?"

"You see, as more of the tribe started to phase, the less of a secret it became. Everyone kind of knew, but no one really talked about it. But as more people found out about the "gift", more people also sound out about the Cullens. And you. Your...relationship. After Seth phased, my parents were saying I couldn't see you anymore. That you were a traitor to your own kind. They said you were either crazy, stupid, evil, or somehow brainwashed by them. I tried to stay calm. I told them you weren't any of those things. I told them that the Cullens were obviously different, otherwise there wouldn't have been a treaty in the first place. They wouldn't listen, and I just got more and more angry. The last thing I screamed at them before I phased was that more people had been hurt by our own alpha than by a Cullen vampire."

"Oh Leah. I'm..."

"Don't Bella. It's not your fault. It would've all worked out if I hadn't, well, anyway. If it's not my fault it's certainly not yours."

Bella's heart was heavy, but she managed a small smile and nod. She couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if she had never come back here. If she had never gotten involved. The Cullens would have quietly finished high school and left.

"I have one more question. Why are so many of you phasing when the resident vampires have left. They've been gone for six months, wouldn't that affect the phasing?"

"We don't know" Jake said. "A few of us have been asking that as well, while most are pretty comfortable just blaming the Cullens. Honestly though, there haven't been this many active wolves in a long time. Something big must be coming."

"That's ominous." Bella commented. Jake and Leah laughed.

"Yes it is" agreed Jake. "But then again, it's all kind of shrouded in mystery anyway. We have seen one leech we don't recognize around. Sort of, circling the perimeter of our boarder. We've gone after her a few times, but she's good at escaping. We weren't sure if she was with the others since she seemed to know our lines so well. She has red eyes, instead of gold though. Red eyes, and red hair.

All of the color drained from Bella's face. "Victoria", she whispered.

"You do know her?" Leah asked.

Bella nodded slowly. "Yeah, um Ed...the Cullens sort of killed her mate last year." both heads shot up and looked at her attentively. "What?" They asked in unison.

"She and two others were traveling. I guess most vampires live nomadic lives. They happened upon me and the Cullens. Her mate, James, caught my scent. When he saw how protective they were of me, some human, he saw it as some kind of huge challenge. He loved the hunt, or something. He actually bit me, but Edward managed to get the venom out." she paused and showed them her scar. "Victoria kind of disappeared after that."

"That explains her then. They get really pissed when you kill their mates." Jake commented. He paused a beat before adding "That's why you disappeared last year."

"Yup. Had to get him away from Charlie." The three friends spent a little more time talking before rejoining the Wake, The animosity the pack had for Bella before seemed to have dissipated for the most part, but she still isolated herself from most of the talking and memory sharing. Her mind was swimming. Victoria. Her involvement cemented the heavy feeling of guilt in Bella's stomach. If she had just left Edward alone; not investigated his secrets, or inserted herself into his life, none of this would have happened. His family would probably still have met the wandering vampires, but there would have been no reason for a fight. Edward wouldn't have killed James, Victoria wouldn't be planning anything. Maybe Jacob and Leah would never have phased at all. Maybe Harry really wouldn't have died.

That night, Bella's dreams were all over the place, as old and new ghosts combined to haunt and torment her. She was at the baseball field again, but it was just her, alone, staring at James, Victoria, and Laurent. James's smile was just as twisted and cruel as she remembered, but this time she focused on Victoria. She hadn't thought about it at the time, but Victoria's smile was just a cruel, just as mean spirited. She was enjoying watching James work. Bella wondered how she had missed it. She went to move toward them, to beg or barter maybe, but she found she was tied to a pyre. She blinked as she was confronted by Harry, looking pale and vacant, and pointing at her. "I'm sorry." She said, but he just pointed. "I'm sorry!" she yelled. "You destroyed so many lives Bella. You should have just left them alone." Jame's voice filled her mind. She hadn't dreamt about him in so long. She looked up and saw everyone she loved tied to pyres. James lit a match, and Bella woke up, gasping for air.