Disclaimer: The characters, over-arching plot and even the settings belong to Stephenie Meyer. Good thing too.

AN: This one is a bit short, I'm sorry to say! But the happy part is over and the drama is just about to begin...

Chapter 5

At first, Bella didn't notice that anything was wrong. Emmett and Rosalie had returned to Washington with them and so it felt almost like the previous fall when the family had last been all together in the white house. Before they had left the east coast, the Cullens had hunted while in Vermont, taking the opportunity to explore the local wildlife. Only Edward had refused to go and instead he had gone when they returned to Forks. He might have noticed that something was wrong, had he not been in such a rush to get back to Bella the night after they returned from Burlington.

But he was in his usual hurry and it was more than two weeks before any of the Cullens got a whiff that something wasn't quite right around town. It was another week though before Bella heard anything about it, as per usual.

One afternoon in mid-April, forced into playing 'Bella Barbie' by Alice and not at all happy about it, she happened to catch Jasper and Carlisle in a hushed conversation in the downstairs hall during one of her usual escape attempts to hide behind Edward. Since they were having the conversation in the house, no matter how quietly, Bella knew that whatever it was the rest of the family was aware. Immediately annoyed that Edward was keeping secrets again, she laid into him in the middle of his piano solo.

'You're going to stop right now and tell me what's wrong.'

He did stop, but only to stare pleasantly at her.

'Now, Edward. Remember that talk about keeping secrets that we had?' Of course he did. 'Jasper's upset about something and I haven't seen Carlisle that worried since...well, the last time I injured myself, so share.'

Hands on hips she refused to move until he told her the truth.

Trying not to smile, Edward sighed in defeat. 'Alright; I was going to tell you soon anyways, but we are rather lacking in information right now. Come sit,' he said and drew her down onto the piano bench beside him.

'When Emmett and Jasper were out hunting last week they came across a scent in the woods west of here that they didn't recognise.'

Heart rate already up, Bella gasped 'more nomads?'

But Edward was already shaking his head. 'No, it wasn't a vampire. This was something else. Jasper says he's never smelled anything quite like it, but Emmett thought he recognised the scent.'

'So, what is it?' she pushed.

'I told you that we'd been here before, about seventy years ago?'

'Yeah, you said...no, wait,' she stopped herself, trying hard to remember. 'That day I talked to Jacob on the beach, he said the Elders believed you'd moved back. That the tribe had met you before. There was some kind of treaty...' she trailed off, noticing the intense look on Edward's face.

He nodded slowly. 'Yes. We were here in the late thirties, after Rose and Emmett joined us. We met the Quileutes then. They were...not something we'd ever encountered before. We were here nearly a year before we ran into them. They told us the legend of – '

Bella knew the answer already. 'The Cold Ones. They knew what you were, because they'd encountered vampires before. Yes, I remember the story.'

'There was more to it,' Edward pushed.

'Jacob said...the tribe was descended from wolves. They could shape shift...they destroyed the Cold Ones that way. That's how the Elders in the thirties knew what you were.'

'Yes,' Edward nodded, certain that she had almost figured it out.

'Are you saying that they're wolves again? That the tribes can shape shift?'

Edward shook his head slowly, giving a deep sigh. 'Not all of them, but at least a few. Once Emmett recognised the scent they followed it; the tracks suggest at least two wolves, if not more. Carlisle is concerned that the tribe is phasing again; that's the second time it's happened while we've been living nearby. He's worried it's not a coincidence.'

Bella tried to make sense of what he was telling her. Vampires had come easily to her, but werewolves were a bit harder to take. 'What about the treaty?'

'To us, it still stands, but to them...Now that we know Carlisle will need to meet with the Elders. It's likely we'll need to sign a new treaty.'

'You hope,' Bella put in, reading between the lines.

'Yes, we hope. I'm afraid your presence might complicate things.'

She blinked, confused. 'Why? I mean, I'm not one of the tribe.'

'But your father is good friends with Billy Black, who you've known since childhood. You told me last year that Black had been giving you warnings. His son came to prom,' Edward went on.

'You're saying they won't sign the treaty because they're worried about me?' Bella exclaimed, standing up and starting to pace. 'That's stupid! I'm not one of them; they don't get to decide things for me.'

Edward had her in his arms in a second. 'Calm down,' he cautioned. 'We don't know what may happen, so please calm down.'

'What does Alice think?' she whispered into his chest.

There was a very long pause until she finally drew back to look at him. 'Edward?'

'Alice can't see. Her visions are...blank. Every time she tries to look she can't see anything. The wolves, apparently, block her.'

'So she doesn't know what's going to happen?'

He shook his head.

'Wow, that's bad,' Bella sighed.

'It's not ideal, I will admit. We will meet with the Elders, on neutral territory and go from there. If what we believe is true, that there are only a few that have phased, then we outnumber them enough to be safe.'

'For now,' she muttered, not at all happy with the situation. 'Just one more thing to worry about. God, Charlie's down on the res every weekend with Harry and Billy! Is he safe?'

'In the last treaty, the Quileutes swore to protect the town. I would imagine that would extend even further to your father, considering his association with them. It would probably extend to you as well, if...'

'If I wasn't dating a vampire,' she finished for him. 'This is really out there you know.'

Edward snorted in disbelief. 'More than vampires?'

'Maybe,' Bella smiled.

'There's nothing we can do right now, but I would like you to promise to stay out of the woods and off the reservation, for now.'

'I haven't been down there in ages, so that's not a problem. And me, go wandering alone in the woods? Like that's ever going to happen.'

'I thought not,' he smiled. 'We will handle this.'

She gave him a hard look. 'And do you promise to stop keeping secrets?'

'Yes,' he admitted reluctantly.

'Okay,' Bella immediately brightened and leaned up to kiss him. 'What about my dad?'

Edward drew her back to the piano bench. 'I don't think you need to worry. The number of times he's visited the reservation and he obviously hasn't seen anything would imply the wolves are staying out of sight. I'm certain he's heard the old legends at one time or another, but there is no reason for him to think they are anything more than that: legends.'

'Good, because we really need to keep Charlie out of this.'

'One of the many things on my list,' Edward agreed.

Bella let her head fall down onto his shoulder as he resumed playing her lullaby. 'For now, we watch and wait and maybe Alice will figure out a way around the block.'

'Of course she will,' Bella said. 'She can see us anyways, right? She'll know if something happens in the future.'

Edward didn't answer her, so Bella figured she was right in her assumptions. She closed her eyes, listening to the music flow through the keys as the rain beat against the window.