A/N: Sorry this took a little longer than normal, but I had a busy week school-wise, then I possibly got food poisoning on Friday, so I didn't do anything... Anyway, hop you all enjoy!
nightterror56 and Sintira: You two both win for noticing the My Drunk Kitchen reference! (By the way, if you've never seen MDK, YouTube it right now)
motoklaxon: Yes, I had a great time with Liara in first Mass Effect, she's so socially awkward and adorable, and I can't wait for this weekend because I'm going home so I can play the second one!
The next day had me standing outside Charlie's door, trying to work up the courage to just raise my hand and knock. Truthfully, I was nervous that my dad wouldn't believe the story we had come up with. I should have been used to it by now, coming up with explanations to justify my actions or changes, but this time felt different somehow.
Taking a deep breath and steeling myself, I knocked on the door, knowing that the turmoil in my head wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
"Hey kiddo, what are you doing here?" Charlie asked once he saw me standing there.
"Well… I needed to tell you something, and I figured I'd stop by to do it." I answered after a brief pause.
"Come on in then." He smiled and opened the door up while ushering me inside. I made my way into the living room, taking a seat on one of the couches while he settled into his recliner and faced me. "So what's up?"
"For starters, it's kind of late notice, but we're not going to Ohio anymore." I told him.
"What? Why?" He asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.
"There was a suicide at the group home. The leaders asked us if we could put off the trip for a little while so that the community could recover from the loss." I ran over the story I had been practicing for a while now.
"That's understandable I guess."
"Yeah. So we're going to stay in Forks for a bit longer. After all, we have the house for four more months."
"Bella, is there some other reason you're not going?" Well, he got straight to the point with that one…
"No Dad, there isn't."
"So the fact that the Cullens are back didn't change anything?" He asked, clearly already with his own conclusion drawn.
"Dad, I'll be honest with you. Edward came and talked to me today." I told him.
"And?" He growled.
"And I punched him straight in the face." I finished with a satisfied smile.
"Really?" My dad asked, clearly not expecting that.
"Yes. He had some insane idea that I was going to jump into his arms and we'd live happily ever after. I had to burst that bubble. That and he insulted Kat." I darkened a bit as I recalled the conversation.
"As a dad I'm very proud of you. As a cop, I'm not sure you should have told me." Charlie laughed.
"That's why I told you when you were off duty. And I highly doubt that he'd want to press charges, because that would mean admitting to getting his ass kicked by a girl." I beamed.
"Smart kid… So how is Kat taking the Cullens being back?"
"She's… not super happy about it." I answered, feeling a bit awkward.
"Understandable. I'd keep her away from Edward though. She has a fighter in her, that much is obvious. I have no doubt she could take the boy down." Charlie smirked.
"Trust me, I have no doubt either." I agreed.
"Alright then. Was there anything else you needed to talk about?" Charlie asked, picking up on my hesitation. Say what you will about him, but he was very observant when he wanted to be.
"Um, well… Kat and I broke up." I muttered, still a bit guilty over the whole thing.
"What!? But you two seemed so happy together."
"We are, were, um… We just kind of realized that we worked better as friends than anything else." I stammered.
"Bella, I saw the way that girl looked at you. She's crazy about you."
"I know!" I growled out, slamming my fist onto the couch, unable to hold the anger in. "And I don't fucking deserve that! I can't love her that way, I've tried and I just can't." I finished close to tears.
"Bells…" Charlie got up and placed a hand on my shoulder, prompting me to look up at him. "Look, I'm sorry. I just thought you two would last a very long time. But if you can't reciprocate her feelings then you did the right thing."
"It doesn't make me feel any less shitty."
"Because you hurt someone you care about. Of course you're going to feel bad about it." Charlie told me.
"I just want her to be happy." I murmured as I choked back my tears.
"Look, most people in your situation wouldn't have done anything. They would have gone on with the relationship because they wouldn't want to hurt anyone, or they would be scared of letting go of someone that they love, no matter what way. The fact that you're giving both of you a chance to be happy just shows me how brave you really are, and how much you care about Kat. One day both of you are going to find someone that makes you happier than anything else." He assured me.
"I really hope so…"
XXXXX
"So how'd the Charlie thing go?" Danni asked me as soon as I walked into the door.
"Fine. He believed the story, so we have no problems there." I told her, heading to the kitchen to grab a snack.
Just as I was about to start eating a slice of pizza my phone started buzzing in my pocket. Flipping it open I saw that it was a text from Jake, causing me to smile slightly. Opening it, the smile quickly disappeared to be replaced by an expression of horror.
"Bella, what's wrong?" Danni asked, grabbing onto my arm. Instead of responding I simply turned the phone so that she could read the message.
Bella, the Council decided that your pride should be welcomed, but for some reason Sam went insane at the decision. He's ordered us to attack. We're leaving in five minutes. Get somewhere safe. I'm so sorry.
"Kat!" As soon as Danni had read the message I took off to find the Alpha. "Kat!"
"Dear Goddess, what's with the yelling?" Kat asked as she ran down the stairs wrapped only in a towel. Apparently we had interrupted a shower.
"The Wolves are coming for us. They're leaving the Rez in five minutes. Less now." I rapidly explained.
"Fuck." She hissed under her breath. "The Cullens." She grabbed my shoulders and all but yelled at me.
"What?"
"Get to the Cullens. Maybe with all 12 of us the wolves won't attack. And if they decide they have to, then we won't be outnumbered at least." She explained.
I nodded and followed her as she ran for the front door. Danni appeared as we shot out of the house, Rikki trailing closely behind her. Kat took the lead, dropping her towel before leaping into the air and landing on four paws.
"What do we do if the wolves attack?" I heard Danni ask.
"We fight. We have to." Kat answered.
It didn't take us long to reach the Cullen Mansion, the four of us bursting from the trees into the clearing to be met with all 8 members of the Cullens standing defensively in front of the house. Upon seeing that it was us, most seemed to relax, the exceptions being Edward and Alice.
"Bella, what's going on? I got this horrible feeling, like something terrible was going to happen." Alice ran up to me and hovered her hands around my face. I paused slightly at that. Did that mean her visions were starting to come back? And that they were going to work on shifters?
"All of them are panicking. And they're terrified." Jasper spoke up.
"So what's the problem?" Emmett asked.
"How are we supposed to tell them?" Rikki asked.
"I have an idea." Danni chirped to get all their attention. Once all eyes were on her she started panting with her tongue flopped out of the side of her mouth. Then she tilted her head back and let out the closest thing to a howl she could, though it sounded eerily like the noise she made when I stepped on her tail once.
"Um, the wolves?" Alice asked after a brief pause, and I gave her a nod. "I'm guessing they aren't too happy about you all?" I shook my head.
"I can hear their footsteps." Jasper spoke up. As soon as he spoke up I trained my ears to the forest and found I could hear the footfalls of a large group of animals, giving me a sense of déjà vu from yesterday.
Turning towards the forest, I found my tail resting on Alice's shoulders of its own accord, as if to reassure me that she was still there. To my left I could see Rikki try to inconspicuously stay slightly in front of Danni, who snorted at the gesture and made sure that they were shoulder-to-shoulder. Kat stepped slightly forward, as to assert herself as the Alpha.
The wolves burst out of the trees a moment later, a huge beast of a black wolf in the lead. All ten on the wolves fell slightly behind their Alpha; a collective growling resonated from them, the noise vibrating through my body.
Kat stepped forward and focused her gaze solely on the large black wolf; through the pride-bond I could almost feel her focus. I remember back when she explained shifter's abilities to me, she spoke of a metal link two Alpha's could create, and I assumed that she was doing just that.
"Why are you threatening my pride?" I heard Kat's voice faintly in my head, almost as if someone had taken the volume on an iPod and turned it down several clicks. I was confused as to why it was so quiet, but didn't raise any questions as my Alpha had plenty to deal with at the moment.
"You threaten the people we swore to protect." I heard a rough growling voice snap back, and I assumed it belonged to Sam. Kat's head tilted to the side slightly at the accusation.
"I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot if you think that we're threats. So let's try again. My name is Katherine, and-"
"I don't give a damn what your name is, I only want you gone!" Sam growled in his head and out loud, causing Danni and Rikki to tense.
"Goddess I wish I knew what they were saying…" Rikki muttered.
You can't hear them? I asked her, sparing a quick glance at her.
"Of course not. It's an Alpha conversation." Rikki replied.
But I can.
"What? That's not possible!" Rikki argued.
"Look, we'll figure this out later, but now Bella should be focusing on the conversation, because if it goes badly she can give us a heads up. It'll give us an advantage over the wolves, because their Alpha would have to sever the connection with Kat to tell his wolves to attack." Danni spoke up, and I gave her a quick nod to tell her I understood.
"-monsters! You're all a threat to the humans here!" I listened back in as Sam began mentally yelling again.
"We just want to stay here in peace. My cats have done nothing to warrant your hatred, nor your paranoia about our presence." Kat argued back, obviously trying very hard not to just snarl at the stubborn dog.
"As if attacking humans wasn't bad enough, allying yourself with the leeches just solidifies yourselves as threats!"
"Attacking humans? But we'd never-"
"ENOUGH!"
With one last mental snarl Sam leapt at Kat, not even bothering to order his wolves to attack, fangs and claws ready to tear into her pelt. Of course, Sam had no way of knowing just how fast Kat's reflexes were, so just as quickly as he leapt she was rearing onto her back legs to meet his strike head on.
Just before Sam could tackle Kat a gray streak flashed in the corner of my eye, slamming into Sam's side and sending him sprawling into the grass. A snarling gray wolf now stood in front of Kat, tensed to attack at the slightest threat.
"What in the world?" I heard Kat ask as she brought her front paws back down to the ground.
"Isn't that the female wolf?" Rikki asked.
It is the smallest one. I responded, looking over her. Damn, she's fast, ramming into Sam and all.
Sam slowly brought himself back up to four paws, stalking slowly towards our gray protector. She let out a bark, effectively stopping the bristling wolf in his tracks. His piercing yellow gaze went from her to Kat, then back to her. After a moment he let out a harsh chopped huffing, reminding me of a laugh, though there was no mistaking the lack of humor in the noise. The female wolf tilted her head in confusion, but her Alpha simply let loose one last growl before stalking back into the trees.
One by one the other wolves followed him, in the end leaving only two in the clearing, one was the huge russet form of Jacob, but the other was a small sandy colored wolf, unfamiliar to me. Not really a shock considering I only knew Jacob and no other wolves in the pack.
"Any idea what just happened?" Danni asked, still tense and ready for anything.
"Not really. One second the Alpha's yelling and the next-"
Whatever Kat was going to say was cut short as the gray female turned around and their gazes met. I was suddenly filled with the same feeling I got when I looked at Alice, only this time I was experiencing it second-hand, so it wasn't quite as powerful. Kat, on the other hand, looked torn between falling over and leaping at the small wolf now looking at Kat with a semi-terrified look on her face.
"She's Imprinted!" Danni shrieked in happiness, the next moment tackling into Kat's side. Kat, not expecting it, stumbled slightly, but managed to catch herself, but never once took her gaze off of her Imprint, who growled slightly at Danni's attack. Danni took the hint and backed up a step, not wanting to provoke anything.
"Anyone want to inform those who don't speak feline what's going on?" Marina spoke up, shocking me back into realizing that we were standing in front of a coven of vampires.
"The gray wolf Imprinted on the snow leopard." Edward answered in an apathetic tone.
"Two in two days in the same group. What're the chances?" Emmett asked with a laugh.
"We're going to have to change back." Kat finally spoke up.
And do you want to be naked the first time your Imprint sees you? I walked up to her side and asked her, bumping her shoulder.
"Why not? She had no problem being naked in front of you." Rikki drawled.
"Shut up! That was after we had all shifted back. Besides, I don't really need an entire coven seeing me naked…" Kat grumbled.
"The wolves are going to go into the woods and put some clothes on. They suggested that you do the same." Edward spoke up again, obviously not enjoying his role as translator.
"Our clothes are back at our house." Rikki pointed out.
Then we'll borrow some. I said, turning to face the vampires, and walking up to Alice. I hate this whole charades thing…
"I'm guessing none of you have clothes with you." Alice said, bopping me on the nose. Her statement surprised me slightly, but I managed to nod after a moment. "Then I'll grab you some. Though I don't think we have anything tall enough for Rikki." She informed the leopard who was mentally griping about wearing clothes covered in vampire stink.
Alice zipped into her house and reappeared after a minute, holding several sets of clothing, hopefully all generally the right sizes for us.
"Alright, Rikki." She called out and the leopard made her way tentatively over to the tiny vampire. Alice held out a bundle that Rikki took after a moment of pause, before disappearing into the trees. "Danni." The process repeated with the lioness, who made her way right after her mate. "Bella." I grabbed the clothes she held out for me, and was quickly joined by Kat before Alice even had a chance to call out her name.
Kat lead us towards the area Danni and Rikki had disappeared to, and once there we were all shifted back and pulling on clothes.
"These smell like vamp." Rikki grumbled, pulling on a shirt that obviously belonged to Emmett.
"It's better than going nude." Kat muttered back as she pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. It seemed Alice tried to play it safe and gave us all simple shirts and shorts, though I had a feeling that it killed the little fashionista to do so.
"It's not that bad." Danni tried with a forced smile.
"It really is kind of bad." I admitted.
"Too bad you're freakishly taller than Alice, so you can't borrow her stuff. At least then your nose wouldn't burn." Danni chuckled.
"That's alright, I'll just sit really close to you." I laughed and picked up her tiny frame, spinning her around and inhaling deeply.
"Stop that!" Danni laughed.
"Come on, stop messing around. We have to go." Kat said, and when I looked over at her I saw she was bouncing up and down in anticipation.
"Alright, alright." I laughed and set Danni down. "Come on," I hooked my arm through Kat's and pulled her with me, "let's go meet your Imprint."
Also, this chapter is dedicated to a whole bunch of the reviewers, who were the inspiration for Kat's Imprint. So thanks to ShadowCub, BellaFan, Daeru, gilo, manticore-gurl071134, Rain Addict CM, sexyoutlaw, and a guest