AN: If it's okay with you guys, I'm going to just make this story OC/Emmett story. I had started out wanting a love triangle, but now I'm kind of cheering for them lol. I've been a little under the weather, so the next chapter might be a little late!

Chapter Six

Protecting Bella

"This is awesome!" Nicolas cheered as we walked down the brightly-lit boardwalk. I wasn't really a carnival person, but seeing as the younger members of the pack had never been to one, I thought it would be good to stop by.

"I can't wait to eat!" Matt smiled widely as he eyed several of the stands.

"I bet I can ride the tornado more times than any of you." Lilly sent them a coy smile, grabbing the tickets out of Nick's hand and making a run for it.

I laughed as I watched the younger pack members run carelessly into the crowd. No matter how old they got, they were still like a bunch of rowdy teens. I turned to Ty and Chase, only to find Ty missing. He was almost as quiet and secluded as Chase, but it was unlike him to just wander off without warning. I opened my mouth to ask Chase where he went when Ty pushed through the crowd, a frown on his rugged face.

"What's wrong?" I had a feeling that our carefree day was about to take a bad turn.

"It's Samson." My stomach dropped. Before Tyler had joined me, he told his cousin everything. We visited whenever we got the chance, but it had been decades since I had seen my old friend. Even then, he was growing gray and weak with age. "He's… He doesn't have much longer. He asked us to come, says he had a favor to ask."

Ty's face remained neutral, but I could hear his strain to keep his voice even. I nodded quickly before turning to my beta. "We'll go ahead. When they're done here, meet us. There's no need to ruin their fun."

"Okay," He nodded once, placing a large hand on my shoulder. It was his form of comfort. "If you need me sooner, howl."

Samson, although obviously on the brink of his end, still gave me a boy-like smile as we entered his room. He tried to sit up in bed, but his arms gave out half way. With a deep frown, Tyler carefully lifted him and propped him against the crisp white pillows. It was hard to see him like this, but he lived a good life. His wife had gone a few years ago, and his son lived on the other side of the country. I doubted he knew the state his father was in, or he would be at his side.

I had met Charlie once when he was a small boy. He had his father's eyes and his mother's will to do the right thing. Last I heard, he was living in Washington with his daughter. I was sad to hear that he divorced, but I never really knew the woman he married. Ty had swung by a few times over the years, but never approached his extended family.

"You look exactly the same as the day we met." Samson's eyes shone with happiness at the memory.

"You don't look a day over fifty." He laughed at my obvious flattery. "Ty said you needed a favor… Whatever it is, we'll do it."

He smiled at his cousin. Ty returned it and sat on the end of Samson's bed. "It's about my granddaughter, Bella. She's been seeing this guys, and from what Charlie said, he sounds a lot like a vampire."

Ty's breath caught, his shoulders shaking lightly. "You want us to kill him?"

Samson laughed lightly. "There's no need. About three months ago, he and his family left. Apparently, Bella has been practically comatose since. I was hoping you guys could go down there and keep an eye on her, make sure he doesn't come back."

"Of course we will." I nodded without hesitation. I would have done anything Samson asked of me. "You can trust us with your granddaughter, Samson. Bella Swan is officially under my pack's protection."

I expected Samson's funeral to be hard – one of those emotionally scarring events that seemed to make up my life, but it wasn't. We laughed. It was like Samson was there next to us as we told old stories and shared a drink. Ty took it harder, but I knew to give him his space. It was a week later when we left for Forks. I had only been through Washington once on my way to Canada, but that was a long time ago. There was a small pack there at the time. I only stayed long enough to prove I wasn't a threat. I wondered if any of the original members were there.

"This place is a dump." James frowned as we took in the dusty, rundown interior of our rental home.

"Well, it's better than the woods." Matt matched his twin's frown as he tried to make light of the situation.

"That's debatable." Ace's typical scowl deepened as he ran a finger over the thin layer of dust covering a lamp.

"Look, it sucks, but we're supposed to be high school students." I crossed my arms, leaving no room for debate. "We can't show up to school covered in leaves. Samson left us a good amount of money, so we need to put it to good use."

"How exactly are Chase and I going to pass for students?" Ty looked over at the tall native. It was true that they looked older, but they could still pass as seniors.

"Here." I pulled the folders from the small suitcase I had. Reading the names on the corners, I handed them to each pack member. "I called a friend of a friend and got us all paperwork. Chase, Ty, and I are going to be seniors. James and Matt are juniors. Nick, you're going to be a sophomore, which leaves Lilly as a freshman."

"Aww man." Lilly pouted as she took her file. "Why couldn't I be older?"

"Maybe because you look twelve." James laughed as he glanced up from his folder.

"Enough arguing. We have school in two hours."

The moment our SUV turned into the crowded parking lot, all eyes were on us. It seemed that word spread fast about Forks High's latest students. I tried to ignore the whispering as Chase and I got out of the front. Not surprisingly, the male members of the pack instantly drew attention. I caught a few guys looking at me, but I ignored them as I scanned for Bella. Samson had given us several pictures. Spotting the mane of brown hair, a frown pulled at my lips. She wasn't the cheery girl from Samson's photos. She was a zombie.

I made my way towards where she stood next to the over-sized red truck. Students moved out of our way, whispering as we passed them. Several of them even compared us to some Cullen kids. I ignored them as I approached the young girl. She lifted her head like it was effort to do so, her wide eyes scanning each member of my pack before landing on me.

"You're Bella Swan, right?"

She opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. "Y-yeah. Do I know you?"

"My name is Alex. Me and my foster-siblings just moved here. We used to live near your grandfather, Samson. He told us a lot about you."

"Oh!" She cracked the smallest smile. "I didn't know Grandpa Sam too well, but he was really nice. My father is really upset about his passing."

My smile softened at this. "Yeah, he was. I'm sorry for your loss."

I stood aside as Ty introduced himself. The poor girl was completely unaware she was shaking hands with her cousin. I could see the strain to refrain from telling her in Tyler's jaw. One by one, each of the pack members introduced themselves. As they did so, I watched Bella's face. She looked almost skeletal. Was this because of her break up with the leech? I imagined I looked much the same when I lost Emmett. A pang of pain shot through me at the thought of my lost imprint. I couldn't even envision his face anymore – it was too painful. Instead, flashes of bright blue eyes and a wide dimpled smile forced its way into my mind.

The ringing of the bell pulled me from my depressing thoughts. Chase was the only one that seemed to notice I was out of it for a few minutes, but he didn't say anything. I knew he would ask questions later though. He was the only one that truly understood my pain. Over the last century, we had held each other together. There were times when he would think of his imprint, and his thoughts would turn dark - the same went for me. We did well to keep it from the rest of the pack, but without each other I doubted we would have made it.

I had a lot of classes with Bella, but that might be due to a little persuasion on my part. I watched her throughout the day, frowning as she practically held herself together at the middle. Was no one realizing this? Why wasn't this girl seeing someone? The whole time I watched her, I had to fight off my own memories of grief. I guess I didn't realize how hard this was going to be.

At lunch, we invited Bella to sit with us. One look at her 'friends' and she agreed. They whispered about Bella, and about us. Something about how they had taken a liking to her too. I could only assume the Cullen's were the vampires. I had never seen any so well integrated into human life. They must not have hunted around Forks, they wouldn't have stayed so long if they did.

After school, I decided it was time to check if the La Push pack was still around. We made sure Bella got home first, of course, frowning when she broke down the second she was inside. After meeting the other pack, we would have to keep a constant eye on her. It seemed the biggest threat to Bella was herself. Shedding my clothes outside the rental house, I phased. Shaking out my long fur I sighed in content. I always loved being in wolf form. It felt decidedly more natural.

One by one, my pack phased to join me. The distance from Forks to La Push was fairly short, so we decided to stretch out legs and run it. As we drew closer to the boarder, I could hear the faint whispering thoughts of the other pack. Wolf packs worked on frequencies. We could tap into each others, but our own pack was our default. With enough training, we could even block out our own pack members.

'Who is that?' A voice asked. He sounded young. 'A new member?'

'No!' This voice was authoritative. He must have been the alpha. 'Get to the boarder! Paul, you too!'

'Easy, buddy.' I tried to speak calmly. They seemed panicked, as if they had never come across another pack before… possibly they hadn't. 'My name is Alexander Sterling. My pack and I just moved to Forks. We wanted to come introduce ourselves.' I signaled for my pack to stop, our formation a perfect 'V'.

They emerged from woods to step into the small clearing that separated Forks and La Push. 'Small pack.' James tilted his large head slightly.

It was one of the smaller packs I had come across. Only three members, and they all seemed fairly new. They watched me with weary eyes, especially the alpha. I could hear them debating if they should trust us. They must not have learned to block out their thoughts yet. Almost my entire pack had learned to do that early on. Lilly was the only one that still had trouble with it now and then.

'Who are you?'

AN: Reviews are loved! If you guys are interested, I could post face characters/names :)