A/n: So, what's a girl to do when she writes a new story and it barely gets glanced at? *sigh* I suppose such is the life of a writer. Maybe we'll pick up a few more people along the way. Anyhow, this story isn't complete fluff, there's a plot line to be carried out. Thanks for those of you who signed on for this newest adventure!
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight
***** Chapter 2 – How We Came To Be *****
Mat chased after Paul's retreating form, familiar with the path to Sam and Emily's home. The smell of pasta hit his nose as he neared the back porch. It was just about dinner time and the pack tended to take their meals together.
Paul, still wearing his wolf skin, yipped at the house trying to get the attention of the men inside. Jacob and the other guys had just stepped out into the evening air when Mat came slamming out of the trees and launched himself at Paul's side, tumbling into the wolf and rolling across the ground with him, both animals growling and flashing impressive canines.
"What the hell is going on out here?" Jacob demanded, taking in the sight of the youngest member of his pack attacking one of his brothers.
Embry and Quil quickly phased and blocked Mat from lunging at Paul again, while Paul returned to his human form to answer Jacob's question.
"It seems Mat's missing a little bit of information, and he's a little upset about it," Paul answered.
"Am I to gather from the overwhelming smell of Bella rolling off you that they've met?"
Mat took the few moments of this exchange to phase back and spit out, "If you mean I caught this traitor fucking some leech, then yeah, we've met." His body continued to quiver as if it was caught between forms, the heat of his temper vibrating in the air around him.
Seth, who was standing next to Jacob, started laughing, "Aw, man, you caught them? That's priceless. Care to share the spicy details?"
It was Paul's turn to snarl as he shot a glare and hurled a rock towards Seth, catching the young guy in the chest.
"Ow, fuck, man, that hurt." Seth rubbed at the spot where the rock had made contact.
"Knock it off, all of you." Jacob's voice carried the Alpha timbre that caused all of the men to stand up straight and pay attention, "Paul, go shower off, none of us needs to bear further witness to your afternoon's activities. Mat, cool off and throw on some clothes before joining us for dinner. I'm not explaining anything to you while you're standing naked in the yard."
Jacob turned around and made his way back indoors, pulling Seth alongside before he could ask any more questions. Embry and Quil phased back and walked past Mat, heading out to their vehicles for a new set of clothing, having shredded their's when they changed quickly to help defend Paul from Mat's attack.
"Dude, that was my favorite pair of jeans. You owe me." Embry pointed a finger and jabbed it into Mat's chest before heading back in.
Mat felt like he wanted to howl and pull his hair out at the same time, "Have you idiots lost your freaking mind? There's a vampire hiding out there in the woods and you guys are gonna sit down and eat dinner?!"
Quil snorted in response, "It was just Bella, Mat, and she's no threat to the tribe. If you're so worried, grab your spare clothes and go ask Jake what the deal is."
Mat was left standing out in the yard by himself, still irritated by the lack of response from his fellow pack mates. Since that fateful afternoon where he twisted in agony on the floor of his bedroom before finally giving in to the animal instinct that overtook his body, he had one impulse that seemed to run on loop through his brain – all vampires were to be eradicated. Mat didn't have to question the impulse, he simply followed it, and in return, the tribe would remain safe.
Now some tiny little brunette with freaky eyes and the ability to hold him captive had taken a sledge hammer to his firm foundation. And she wasn't satisfied with just breaking through the surface, no, she'd wedged herself deep into his thoughts with that little stunt of hers. Try as he might, even though his anger flared red hot, when he closed his eyes, he could still see the look of ecstasy on her face as she touched herself while Paul took her from behind, and his dick twitched in response.
Ah, hell no, I am NOT going there. I'll go drown myself in the ocean before I ever thinking of screwing some cold, dead corpse walking around like she owns the place. I'll pour bleach into my ears, until it saturates my brain and scrubs away those images.
Pulling a navy blue hooded sweatshirt over his head, Mat closed the door to his truck and headed back towards the house, determined to get some answers. He walked in the back door, jaw clenched tight, crossing his arms across his chest and glaring towards his leader, "So, I'm here, start talking."
"Mat, lovely to see you too this evening," Emily arched an eyebrow, "Would you care for some lasagna?"
"No thanks, I'm good," was his clipped response, not breaking eye contact with Jacob's face.
"Let me rephrase that. It's dinnertime, you're a guest in my home, sit your ass down and grab a plate." Emily stared him down with both hands on her hips while his brothers seated around the table chuckled.
Reluctantly, Mat kicked out the feet of the closest chair away from the table and took a seat, but didn't make any further moves to fill the plate in front of him. The other guys stopped eating long enough to glance between Mat and Jacob who was still busy scarfing down his second serving of pasta. It was like watching a tennis match, multiple sets of eyes would glance right then left, waiting to see who would break first. Finally, Jacob wiped his face and took a drink from his glass of water before placing his crumpled napkin on his plate.
"We already told you that there was a group of local vampires that come and go in this area from time to time, yeah?"
"Yes, but you also explained that they were currently holed up elsewhere, and we had an agreement with them that they were to stay off our land. That female wasn't fifty yards from the local beach. Who was supposed to be on patrol? Why didn't they stop her?" Mat started rapid firing questions Jacob's direction.
"Would you like to shut up and get some answers or would you like to take over as Alpha of this pack and implement your own agenda?" Jacob challenged.
Mat took the sincerity of his tone for what is was and forced his mouth to stop talking.
"Anyhow, Bella was living in Forks the last time the Cullen clan came through. It's the very reason why this pack was formed, in response to their presence. It had been years since we'd had anyone go through the transition."
"Bella, while still a human, befriended the family. Hell, she even fell in love with one of them. But, he was a complete ass, insisted that he was only a danger to her and broke off the relationship before leaving town, and leaving her behind. Bella was a wreck, grieving over that brain-dead idiot after his disappearance. She withdrew from family and friends, took to wandering the woods alone. She stopped being Bella and just became the very living corpse we accuse those monsters of being."
Jake placed his elbows on the table, folding his hands and resting his chin on them before taking a breath to continue, "Bella and I were always friends. We grew up side-by-side, our fathers were best buds, they took us fishing together when we were barely toddlers. It killed me to see how broken she was, and I did everything I could to try and cheer her up. It even worked for awhile."
"But," and with the turning point of the story on the horizon, Jake stared out the window towards the woods, "I went through transition myself. You know how it is, your body is a mess shifting from one form to another, your mind is overwhelmed by all the new sensations, you can't control your emotions. I wasn't in my own mind, let alone could I be there for Bella. I withdrew from our friendship, spending my time with Sam and the rest of the pack or scouting the woods."
"Anyways, we knew there were a few vampires in the area and we were patrolling our borders 24/7. I was out one afternoon and picked up a scent. I alerted the rest of the group and we started to track him down, but somewhere along the way his scent crossed another….Bella's. She had taken off hiking that day. Alone."
Grief took its toll across Jacob's features, and the rest of the men around the table had stopped eating, finding somewhere else to occupy their eyes, whether it was their hands or just a spot on the wall.
"When we got to the clearing, he'd already attacked her and was trying to drink her dry. I don't remember much about taking him down, I just remember hearing the sound of him being torn apart, that shrieking of metal being ripped into pieces. By the time I had slowed down, he was just a mess of torn tissue and bones. I ran to Bella's side, hoping for the best but knowing she was already gone. She was so still and lifeless, blood soaking the collar of her shirt. I didn't know what else to do, I couldn't save her or bring her back, so I just laid down by her side. If only we had moved a little quicker, gotten there sooner…"
"Aw, Jake, is it regretful story hour again?" A female voice questioned from the doorway, breaking the silent tension in the room. Bella stood there in the doorway will a half-smile on her face, meeting Jake's eyes with her own.
Mat jumped out of his seat, spinning so that his back was turned from her, looking like he wanted to pounce.
"Sit back down, Fido. You're not in danger from me. I'd hate to lock you back down again, but I won't have you wrecking Emily's kitchen. She'd make me clean up the mess and rebuild the table before the sun rose tomorrow morning." Bella threw a wink Emily's way before crossing the room to ruffle Jake's hair and place a kiss on the top of his head.
"So, that doesn't explain things. I thought you said when you found her, she was dead." Mat had refused to sit back down, but he had backed up against the nearest counter, crossing his arms again and never letting his eyes leave Bella's moving form.
"No, he thought I was dead, but in fact, the vampire venom had already started working its way through my system. The other vampire hadn't drained me completely, so I still had enough life left in me to transition. Jake had barely settled down next to me before it felt like I was on fire and I started screaming from the pain," Bella grimaced from the memory, "I think he felt he was responsible for what had happened, so he never left my side the entire time as I transformed from human to vampire. Nothing better than waking up to a new life where the only thing you smell is wet dog."
"Yes, and spending two days cuddled up to the screaming banshee was a real picnic," Jake joked back.
"When I came to, I was the blood-thirsty monster you keep rambling on about, sworn enemy to the tribe. But, Jake had pity on me and he was still my best friend. He couldn't destroy me, and it wasn't as if I chose to become what I am. We came to an agreement. I wouldn't feed off the tribe, and the pack would let me live."
Mat snorted, "So what, you just go out in town and find a person or two to murder instead? That hardly seems right."
"With as many times as you and I have stared in each other's eyes today, you haven't noticed anything different?" Bella smirked at Mat's blushing face over her question.
He looked down at the ground, trying to push back the memories that were racing through his brain of just how many times he'd watched her that day. "They're some freaky yellow color, doesn't make you less of a killer."
"True, but it does denote what I eat, which is animals. Not people."
Mat's head snapped up at her last sentence, looking around the table at the rest of the pack. Jake just nodded his head in agreement.
"I've never taken a human life, not in the ten years since the day I was changed. Jake and the rest of the guys served as my guard the first few years, making sure I didn't mess up. To show my thanks, I help protect the tribe as well. Not to mention, they get a little lazy from lack of action if I don't challenge them to a fight now and then."
"Aw, B, you know we're faster and stronger, you've just got that weird shield shit that gives you the upper hand," Seth whined. He'd moved from the table to stand next to Bella, looping an arm around her shoulder, trying to convey to Mat that she was, indeed, family.
"What's he talking about? Your shield?"
"You had first hand experience of that today. I suppose I should apologize for that. It wasn't fair of me to hold you against your will. Sorry." Bella offered the sentiment to Mat, but he didn't think she was really sorry about having him as a captive audience.
Bella continued, "I have the ability to block people out, to literally project a shield around me. But, I can also manipulate it so it pushes and traps things if I want it to, like I did with you today. I can even shield my scent from others, like I'm doing right now. Helps you not want to kill me. Past experience shows that sometimes having me around is too much for your natural instinct and you try and take a bite."
Bella glanced meaningfully at the young man who was towering over her right side. Seth sheepishly lowered his head, "I said I was sorry a million times, B. We got your hand reattached."
The other wolves laughed around the table, but Mat still couldn't let go of the panic that was sitting just under his skin, telling him he was in danger.
"So, Bella, Mat here was telling us that he got a front row seat to the action this afternoon, but he won't share the details." Seth started wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Dammit, Seth, I do not want to know. I do not need to hear this." Jacob placed his hands over his ears, and started singing loudly to himself.
"Doesn't matter anyways, they'll all see it first hand from my mind next time I phase." Matt replied.
"Actually, they won't," Bella smiled cockily, "Another little side effect of my gift, I can shield your memories of me. You have them, but you can't share them. They are yours and yours alone." Again she winked at him.
"Yeah, so we already know Paul won't fess up, we were kind of hoping you'd share." Quil had joined in on the teasing.
"No, some of us do not vote for sharing is caring," Jacob gathered the plate of the female next to him and got up from the table and placed his dishes in the sink, "You can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, you know that?" He questioned his best friend.
Bella just smiled in return, "Yeah, but you love me anyways. Wanna go for a run?"
"As if you had to ask," Jake walked back to the table and leaned over to give his imprint a kiss, "Be back in an hour, babe?"
"Yes, yes. Go run and play, but make sure you shower off before coming into the house when you get back. I'm done having to mop up mud from the floors," She returned the kiss, "See you later, Bells."
Bella had suddenly appeared by the girl's side and leaned in for a quick hug, "Thanks, Cali, for letting me borrow him. If he doesn't listen, I will personally kick his ass and make him mop the floors for you."
"As if you could do that"
"Jacob Black, you know I could own your ass and make you do anything of my choosing," Bella challenged.
"If you could catch me." Jacob taunted, heading out the door into the night.
The sound of chairs scraping across the floor filled the air, as the rest of the pack made to clean away the remaining dinner dishes. Mat still stood there at the counter, watching a long braid of brown hair and a curvy little ass of one natural born enemy sway out the door, and feeling that this whole situation was fucked up.
A/N: Aaawwww, I kind of really love these guys. I hope I enjoy writing them as much as I have so far. I felt the wolf pack made more of a homey family around Bella than the Cullens. Care to review? I heart encouraging words!
