AN: I apologize for the unexpected delay/hiatus. The last two months have been insane, and as such, I haven't been able to write or upload anything. My life is calmer now, and I should be able adhere to some sort of updating schedule. Again, I apologize.

Thank You: aesir21, natashar, Dottyanne, psychovampirefreak, Twisted Musalih, Jacobfan216 (X2), maijacob, chinadoll381282001, SugaMiss, GoddessxNyte, , ChrissiHR, Justme, Evetjes and Blloom1234.

Chapter 3

"Get your facts first, than you can distort them as you please." ~Mark Twain

Sam

To say I was surprised to see Jacob standing on my back porch was an understatement. I had sent the boy home not ten minutes ago, and the fact that his previous murderous expression had been replaced by a mixture of pain and confusion, just added to my shock. "Jacob, what is it?" I raised an eyebrow, the Wolf urging me to remain in control- to not give in to the immediate wave of worry that swept over me upon the boy's return.

"My dad sent me to get you!" He rushed out- his words nearly blending into a single syllable, and it was only thanks to my improved hearing that I was able to understand him at all, "He didn't say why, only that he needed to see you right now!"

I didn't even think, just reacted- for an elder to summon me in such a hurried manner, something must be truly wrong. I dashed into the kitchen and grabbed the first piece of paper I saw- an envelope from some ad- and pen to jot down a quick note to Emily. It was only in case she came home from the store before I returned, and then I followed Jacob into the woods behind my house, barely pausing to shut the door behind me.

Jake

As Sam and I dashed along the trail to my house, I went over everything that had happened in the past couple of days, trying to determine what would have caused my dad to react as he had. Several scenarios went through my mind, most featuring bloodsuckers, but others involving someone discovering the Pack. The beast deep inside me growled and paced, growing closer to the surface with every worry, disliking the lack of control. I quickly shoved it back into its mental cage. That monster would not reign me, I was its master.

I slowed slightly when I hit the yard, knowing the neighbours would grow suspicious of my unnatural speed… not that they weren't already with my sudden growth spurt- I knew some of those not in "the know" were accusing members of the Pack of using Steroids. I snorted, knowing none of them would believe the truth. I jumped up the back porch and threw the door open, not entirely dissimilar to my entrance just minutes ago.

My father sat across the room, staring at the door with his face set into a mask of indifference. I stepped aside to let my alpha through when I heard him at the doorway.

"Billy, what happened?" Sam asked quickly, striding forward to stand before him. My father glanced at me, and he must have made a mental decision because he nodded his head slightly as he returned his gaze to Sam.

"I just received a call from Charlie Swan." My dad responded, "His daughter, Bella, is showing the symptoms of the change."

"What?!" A million and one ideas flew through my head, staring with my father being on drugs and ending with this whole week being some hallucination caused by my fever.

Both men threw me sharp glances, "She's running an extremely high temperature and she's under horrible pain, both prominent signs of a pre-phase wolf. My guess is that the change is happening at an advanced rate… what I can't figure out though, is why?"

"Where would her bloodline come from, if this really is a change and not some disease?" Sam interjected.

My dad gave him a confused look, "You don't know?" Sam raised an eyebrow instead of responding, "Bella's grandmother was your aunt… granted she was much older than your father."

Sam seemed to be in a state of shock, but I ignored him for the sake of my friend, "Do you have any ideas?"

"Perhaps her long-term exposure to the Cullens caused her survival instinct into forcing her wolf back in order to protect her…" My father thought for a moment, "I don't know what would cause such a rapid change, though… She has been spending a lot of time around you Jake, but that wouldn't cause this…" He paused, "Did anything happen yesterday that might have done this- anything out of the ordinary?"

I went over the previous night, stuttering to a stop as I realized what was different from any other time Bella and I had been together, "We kissed." I mumbled, blushing and looking at my feet.

"These ears are quite old, Jacob, you'll have to speak up if you want me to hear you." My father replied in an exasperated tone.

I cleared my throat, "I walked her to her front door, in typical Bella fashion she tripped, and we kissed… But I don't understand how that would make her change…?"

Sam laughed darkly, "You didn't just give her a peck, did you?" I shook my head slowly, unsure where he was going with this, "Your saliva, the DNA of a wolf on the verge of shifting, most likely kicked her body into overdrive… that's my guess at least."

"So, you're saying this is my fault?!" The indignation in my voice said more than my words. My dad flinched, rolling back slightly, "I would never expose anyone to this, this… curse- especially not Bella!"

Sam held up his hand, making shushing motions, "I know, Jake, I know. Your thoughts earlier proved that you would never do her any intentional harm. You would walk over burning coals with a smile for that girl, that's why I forbid you from telling her."

I growled, a strange form of protectiveness running over me, "All of this doesn't matter! What matters is that Bella is going through this with only Charlie, who has no clue what's going on! We need to go over there and help her!" I was panting and pointing at the still open doorway by the time I had finished.

"You're right… of course you're right." My dad stated then started wheeling himself to the door.

The trip to the Swan house felt interminably long in the Rabbit. I was driving, my hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly I knew my fingers were forming marks on the plastic. Sam was riding shotgun, tapping his fingers against the door in his agitation. My father sat behind me, his chair stored in the trunk for the trip.

"Does anyone have a plan?" I inquired, breaking the silence, "We can't exactly go in there and expect Charlie to believe Bella's turning into a giant wolf because his mother was Quileute… can we?"

Sam snorted, "I doubt we'll have much other option based on everything that's going on… We can barely expect the man to believe she's just got some weird flu that only those with Native blood can get and it's changing her physically."

"So… we're telling him?"

"We have to." My dad jumped in, "Charlie has been my friend since we were children, he knows the stories- all he needs is proof to reveal the truth in them."

"You make it sound so easy." I commented, not quite understanding my father's train of thought- he didn't want one of us to phase for Charlie, did he? He'd shoot the one to do it without a second thought… and that would go over like a sack of hammers.

I pulled onto Bella's road, my dad remaining silent. I slowed down, not really wanting to arrive- despite my earlier brash words- and face the firing squad, so to speak. Pulling up the drive, I set the car in park, but left it running- perhaps if I hurried, I would be able to avoid Charlie altogether. A shill scream pierced the air, chasing all ideas of avoidance from me. I jumped from my seat, grabbing the keys as I went and denting the door in the process, and yelling for Sam to help my father.

I barged through the door, noting in the back of my mind that this was becoming a habit. Making my way up the stairs, I slid on the upstairs hallway, slamming one shoulder into the door opposite the stairs. Pushing off the wood, which was luckily undamaged, I used the momentum to dash to Bella's bedroom door that was standing open. I caught myself on the doorframe and swung around to see Charlie barely holding down a thrashing Bella. Her cries echoed around the small room like a banshee's wails, and her fingers left angry red lines down her father's arms. I quickly took Charlie's place, using my superior strength to force the struggling girl down. I could hardly believe the amount of strength I had to exert in order to keep her in place. Using one arm to hold her torso down, careful of where I placed my hand, I gathered her wrists with the other hand, just managing to keep my grip on the flailing limbs despite the fact my fingers encircled her wrists completely. Her arms twisted and turned, trying to escape my grasp.

I dully noticed Sam entering the room, carrying my father in his arms. He set my dad in Bella's desk chair before striding over to my side, pushing past a still-stunned Charlie on the way. I instinctively bowed my head, exposing my neck to my alpha. He ignored me, choosing instead to hold Bella's head in place by placing a hand on either side of it.

"Bella," He began, the alpha timbre already obvious in his voice, "look at me." Her eyelids opened reluctantly, "Bella, calm down." She quieted, ceasing her struggles against my hold. With the lack of noise from Bella's thrashing, the sounds of bones grinding and muscles ripping became apparent. I gasped in dismay, knowing that she must be in absolute agony.

"What the hell is going on?!" Charlie's exclamation reminded me of his presence in the room, and I slowly turned to face the equally furious and distressed man, "Billy, why did Bella say I have to call you? What is Sam doing here? What the fuck did he do to my daughter?" His shoulders were heaving by the time he had finished his questioning rant, and though he was looking between my father and I, it was Sam who answered.

"Charlie, what do you remember of our stories?"

Bella

There are many different types of pain in this broad world of ours. From something as small and trivial as a bee sting or pin prick, growing and worsening to the agony of terminal illnesses. I've experienced many forms of pain throughout my life, from stubbed toes to broken bones, paper cuts to muscle parting gashes. The burn of James' bite was the worst torture my body had been subjected to in my short life, until now, that is.

I felt as if some sadist had thrown me onto an archaic rack, tying me down and slowly tearing my bones and tendons apart- each new moment of torment washing the last from my body like boulders running over my body. I was a fallen Sisyphus, and my punishment was never ending.

Sam Uley's voice broke through the haze of my pain, commanding me to still. Something about his tone or words forced me to obey, to bend to his will. My body stopped thrashing, and my eyes opened to the dimly lit room, the only light coming from the dawn breaking through the window. My sight was blurry, yet I could still make out Sam's figure leaning over me. Glancing to my left, I caught sight of a familiar outline- Jake.

I blinked and the room became clearer, but the torture continued to rage through my body. I noticed Charlie standing off to one side, looking unsure of what to do, Billy sat behind him, one hand extended to hold Charlie's wrist, most likely to prevent him from approaching me. They were talking, I could see their mouths moving, yet their words were incomprehensible to me. In fact, the only thing I could hear over the blood pounding through my ears was Sam's voice. Odd that it was so clear, despite the fact that he was practically whispering.

"Bella," I found is strange he kept starting every sentence with my name, "Bella, you're going to go to sleep, okay?" I nodded slowly, "And you're not going to wake up until the pain's lessened." My eyelids drifted closed millimetre by millimetre, and my mind was enveloped in darkness, which seemed to be becoming a familiar friend,

3rd

After Bella had gone back to sleep, finally separated from the pain enough to allow her mind to rest, the group made their way downstairs. Charlie led them into the kitchen, Jake was carrying Billy this time, and they moved to sit around the counter. Charlie went to retrieve beer from the fridge, but froze halfway there and changed course to go to the corner cabinet. From it, he pulled a bottle of Jameson and three rocks glasses from the same shelf, pausing in thought for a moment- he took down a fourth glass. Retracing his steps to the counter, he began pouring out several fingers of the liquor into each glass. After he had filled the drinks, he passed one to each person.

Jake looked up in shock and disbelief when he received his drink, but didn't comment further. Charlie collapsed into his own seat and immediately downed his drink in one, and after pouring himself another, he turned to Billy, "I've told you what I remember of your stories, now I want you to tell me exactly what is happening to my daughter." His words were clipped, stressing his impatience.

Billy sipped his glass and cleared his throat, "Well, I'm not sure how to say this, Charlie, but I'm just going to say it- all of the stories are true." Charlie blinked, unsure of how to react to the statement.

"You mean that animals were at one point people that wore masks and that-"

"I mean, that the tribe really are descended from wolves," Billy cut in, "and that even now La Push is being patrolled by shifters- werewolves to you."

Charlie's eyebrows reached his hairline, "You realize what you're saying is insane, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We're all crazy." Jake responded, "Follow me." Jake stood and walked out the back door, not bothering to check who all was following him. Making his way to the middle of the yard, he started stripping. Sam and Charlie stood just outside the door. Within moments, Jake had laid all his clothing off to one side and phased.

Charlie's hand immediately went for his gun, which he was- luckily for Jake- not wearing. His face went pale, his hands clenched- going to his sides when he realized his sidearm was still in the house.

Sam moved so that he was between the spooked man and large wolf. He raised his arms in a calming manner, "It's alright, I promise, it's just Jacob." Charlie let out a shuddering breath, questioning what tricks his mind was playing on him. Sam turned so that he could look at Jake yet still watch the Chief out of the corner of his eye, "Jacob, I want you to call Embry and Jared here, and tell Paul he's on patrol duty." Jake gave a nod and then let out a loud howl.

Charlie flinched and stepped back towards the house, said step caused him to stumble over an upturned rock and have to fight to regain his balance. By grabbing hold of the doorframe, he was able to avoid falling over. He sighed in relief, closing his eyes for a minute before opening them and taking another deep breath, "Werewolves, huh?"

Bella

The light shining through my eyelids woke me, a nice respite from the pain I had been in earlier. I stretched, wondering if the whole episode had been some dream, but I was forced to recognise it as reality when my muscles registered themselves in my brain- more specifically, the aches that accompanied the greeting. I rolled over the side of the bed, taking part of the blankets with me on my trip downward. I took a moment to revel when I managed to catch myself before I hit the ground with my face. I slowly stood, my legs nearly giving out when I put my full weight on them. Fog surrounded my mind again when I was completely upright and I swayed, unable to find a centre of gravity. My stomach turned over and I gagged. My throat contracted. I coughed twice then managed to gasp into a semblance of control.

Walking into the hallway, I could hear Charlie and Billy downstairs- they must have been practically yelling for me to hear them from where I stood. I stalked quietly to the steps and then down them. By the landing, I was able to make out distinct words- but what they were saying made no sense… Then I remembered the stories Jake told me on the beach- so, so long ago. The stories that caused me to realize what the Cullens were… what he was. Realization passed over me- an epiphany of sorts- and I fell forward. My heel caught on the edge of the top step and I shifted my weight so I was falling forward. I landed in a crouched position, still remaining silent somehow. I walked the rest of the way to the kitchen, not bothering to conceal my footsteps. I leaned up against the doorframe, my arms crossed.

"So, werewolf- huh?" I asked sardonically, surprising the room.