Fitting In

I followed the trio into the surrounding woods, and I was surprised at everything I could hear, see and smell. I could hear the cars passing on the highway up the three mile-long dirt road leading to the junction. I could hear the insects walking through the dry leaves. I could see the spider-webs between the branches of the trees, each silken thread. And I could see a million rainbows, dancing off my skin.

"This way," Bella called, looking over her shoulder to smile at me. I walked quickly, my hands on my elbows, to catch up with them.

We went through an archway created by some huge oaks, walking slowly for my normal pace. Before too long we had come to a river, about 20 feet wide (although that's probably too much – I can't judge distance to save my life).

"Just jump," said Edward. He and Bella each grabbed hold of one of Renesme's hands and took three steps before leaping. They absolutely flew, and landed elegantly on the bank at the other side. Merde.

"It'll be Okay," Edward hardly called, but I heard him easily enough.

"Aha..." I said, staring at the bubbling brown water.

I took several steps back, just encase, ran and leapt. The fly was exhilarating and I must've landed a third of a mile clear of the opposite bank. I stopped gradually and leant back against a tree, closing my eyes. I was exhausted.

"Remind you of someone?" Edward said suddenly, a smile in his voice. He and Bella were either side of my tree, peering round at each other with me in the middle.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Bella jokily, but it was clear that she did.

"Bella had a bit of a jumping accident or two when she was a newborn"

"Two?" I asked in confusion, "I only over-jumped a little bit?"

Edward and Bella tilted their heads down at the same time and Renesmee giggled. Oh. Oops.

"Ah. Right," I said and the couple looked at me and laughed. Renesmee came and pulled a loose thread from the extremely recently acquired tear in the Gold-to-Black, knee-length 'wonder-gown' Alice had given me, so that it extended right up to my thigh. It broke off just in time...

The dress was awkward to run in, but boy, could I run! I swear we went at lightning speed. Then I slowed down. "Can you wait up a sec?" I called. Edward and Bella with Renesme on her hip ran back and stopped just feet from me. I ripped up the left seam in my dress, so that they were the same. Edward laughed. No, he howled.

"What's so funny?" I asked, a bit peed off by now.

"That's... exactly what... I did!" Bella choked out between bubbly giggles.

"Huh..." I said wearing a fake smile as if to show I found it funny too. I didn't find it funny. I was cold and tired and I needed to sleep.

"What?" said Edward, suddenly. I was confused for a minute, then remembered that he could read my thoughts, which was creepy to say the least.

"I'm tired... and hungry... and cold..." I said questioningly.

"Now that... is weird..." said Bella looking at me almost sympathetically. I then remembered she was the newest, so I guessed she must've caused quite an interest.

Completely going off subject, I suddenly caught a disgusting smell in the wind. "What is that God-awful dog smell?" I said, freezing Edward and Bella mid-conversation to look at me and laugh again. This was worse than high-school.

There was a snort in the woods and a branch snapped. I turned a full circle, but I couldn't see anything. It started to growl. I screamed. It jumped out at me from behind and pinned me to the dirty ground on my front. My head was flattened down on the left side and all I could see was a huge black paw. I screamed again.

A circle of more creatures started to surround me. I could hear their hearts and their footsteps to locate them, but I had no desire to drink their blood, not like with Heath, my imprinted male (I accidentally drank his blood on the east wall of the school and we formed a deep bond which allowed me to save him from some demons. It was fun, not) and I did not feel that razor-sharp pain burn through my throat at the smell of them.

"Let her up, Sam," Edward called.

"She hasn't done anything wrong," Bella added.

"Mummy?" Renesmee asked. She was obviously scared, and her fear made a small salty water-bead slither down my cheek and spread on the ground.

But I was tired, even more so than before. And I was in pain. Whatever was on top of me and growling loudly was very heavy and I was struggling to breathe.

"Don't worry, it's not necessary for us to breathe," Edward said calmly. His voice sounded closer, like he was approaching the huge black thing.

"Sam, she's not going to hurt anyone... I know. I know we aren't supposed to bite any humans, but she was going to die, what else could we have done?" he paused for a moment, listening. "Who asked you? Jacob is Alpha enough to give us permission, and he was there! He helped carry her in!"

"Edward? Calm down," Bella murmured. "I think our Zoey is freaked out enough."

"But we had to save her," he said quietly. Then he shouted at the black thing again: "You weren't there! She'd been mauled by some animal, something worse than you. Another vampire, a human-eating vampire! She would've died and Carlisle saved her!" he spoke of his father with such admiration that it surprised me.

Suddenly, the huge black thing stepped off me, but I didn't get up. I just lied there, half asleep, until Edward came to pick me up. I think I actually fell asleep on his shoulder as he carried me over, but it can't have been for very long – he was shaking me in what was probably a few seconds. He smelt nice.

"Zoey?" he said softly.

I moaned to tell him I was awake. I took a deep breath, straightened up so he could let go of my shoulders and opened my eyes. I turned around.

Wolves.

Wolves like the one who carried me to the Cullens' house. Wolves twice the size if a human standing up. Wolves three times the size of a human. Merde.

I stared up at it, frozen. My mind was screaming at me to run, to blur into the distance in a matter of seconds, but my muscles were locked in place and just kept eye-contact with the black one.

"Zoey, there's no need to be afraid. I understand your motives to be, but Sam won't hurt you. We won't let him" said Bella. I liked her. She made me feel at home with my best friend Stevie Rae.

"He's going to phase so he can chat to us," said Edward, obviously reading the black one's mind because I didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

The black wolf padded out of the small clearing, and as soon as he was gone the 1... 4, 5... 13 wolves! All came to investigate. Me. And that is not fun, let me tell you.

They all sniffed around and I paced back until my back was against a tree and I slid down to a sitting position on it's smooth bark. They sniffed and sniffed, and I even earned a few licks, somehow. Ew.

Then a bronze-skinned man jogged through the trees in some muddy cut-offs. The wolves immediately retreated except for one, a brownish-grey one that looked me straight in the eye and seemed to communicate with me, to tell me it was okay and that they would help. This wolf had a strangely feminine look about her. She had long eyelashes and her eyes were rimmed in black as though she was wearing eyeliner. Her claws, just peeping out from each of her furry toes, were not muddy or dirty; they were cleaned well and neatly filed down. She was clearly a female.

"That's Leah," said Edward, answering my thoughts, "she's part of Jacob's pack and she's gotten used to us and she Jacob and her brother Seth have protected Bella and Renesme before, so we owe a great debt to them. We will be forever grateful," he finished, seeming to talk to Leah now.

Leah nodded in his direction and then came to sit at his left 'flank'. She stared at the bronze man.

"You have broken this point in the treaty before. There is no longer a truce," said the bronze man harshly.

"That's your decision," said Edward icily, "but remember that Jacob was your best fighter and that he, Leah and Seth are no longer part of your pack, therefore may not fight on your side."

"They would never kill one of their brothers."

"There're more of you," said Bella declaratively.

"Ever since those filthy Volturi came to visit there's been stinking tracks everywhere, and the gene's been triggered again," the bronze man said harshly.

This was a lot to take in. What was a Volturi? Who was this Bronze man? What did they mean by genes? Why was I surrounded by twelve giant wolves?

"The Volturi are a family. They're the closest thing our world has to royalty and they enforce the law; to keep our kind a secret. This man is Sam. He is the leader of the Quileute pack. Genes have been passed down the tribe for generation since the Spirit warriors who shared their minds with wolves to protect their family. The giant wolves are what came out of the equation," said Edward, answering all my questions in one long monologue.

"This is our meadow," Bella said suddenly, completely ignoring the wolves and talking directly to Edward.

"So it is," he replied.

"Why does Bella have to speak before you respond? Why don't you pay attention to her thoughts? You are married after all," I said. I was getting quite annoyed now.

"I can't read Bella's thoughts. Her gift is to shield. She can extend her shield around those she loves, and any gift that focuses on the mind is stopped in it's tracks. Powers that focus on the body or outcomes, like Alice seeing the future or Jasper controlling emotions can still be used on Bella."

"Oh..." was all I said. Where do I get all of my amazing vocabulary from?

"Jasper was only so surprised by you because you were tired and cold, when normal immortal vampires shouldn't be," Bella said.

"I'm not immortal," I said, "I am favoured by Nyx and she has given me these powers out of love, not because I am forceful. And I will die! Just like a human I will die, but I will be much older than a human," I said defensively.

"Fascinating..." Edward mused, in his own little world by now.

Sam's bellowing laugh made us all jump. "Come on, leeches, get to the point. I am declaring this truce over, so you'd better go tell your fellow bloodsuckers."

"Actually, we have to hunt. Zoey is barely an hour old and you would not want her to take a chunk out of you, I'm sure," said an unfamiliar female voice.

We all turned to look at her. She was wearing a cut-off muddy, blue tank-top that was wet from the stream. She also had on very short khaki cut-off shorts and she was bare foot. From her smooth flowing voice I knew she was the wolf that had communicated with me earlier, that she was Leah.

"I have told Jacob what you plan to do. He plans to fight with the Cullens. He won't stick by you Sam. Would you do that to him? Could you make him fight his own brothers and best friends?" that's funny, I hadn't heard her leave...

Two wolves in the pack bowed their heads. They looked torn. I guessed that these were Jacob's friends.

"We are not his brothers! He has no friend in us! He has betrayed our trust one too many times! We will fight him whether he likes it or not!"

The two wolves who had their heads bowed snapped them up in disbelief.

"Quil, Embry... I won't make you choose between us, but you are always welcome at our home to come and stay with your brothers and sister," Edward said calmly. He sounded really upset for them. I guess he knew how they were feeling because of the mind-reading thing.

"Thanks," said Leah, never taking her eyes off Sam. She looked hateful... she looked scary.

"I know you like you femininity to be recognised," Edward said. They shared a smile and a glance and then laughed a little, before turning their attention to Sam.

"They will do nothing. They will not leave my side!"

The two wolves, a lanky light grey one and a chunky dark grey, stepped forwards and then turned one-hundred and eighty degrees. They stared Sam in the eye, turned again, and came to stand on either side of me.

"I know this is hard for you both, but please understand that you are free to do as you please, you are welcome to come and go," Edward said sympathetically, his forehead creasing with worry for the creatures, but they just nodded at him and walked into the woods towards the Cullen household.

"This isn't over!" shouted Sam as he turned and exploded into the huge black wolf and turned and ran, followed by the remaining nine wolves.

"Whoa... Time to go hunt!" said Bella excitedly, though she was obviously worried. Renesmee jumped off her back (I hadn't noticed she was there before) and she turned to go into the woods. I suddenly felt a sense of release, of freedom, though I'd been standing in this clearing at my own will to leave.

"Bella was shielding us encase things got out of control," Edward said. I could see him getting very annoying. He laughed. "Thanks, I do usually have that effect on people!"

"Right... Okay, let's hunt." How could Bella stand him? Not knowing what he was going on about all the time...