Title: Tribe

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer

There is an answer in a question
And there is hope within despair
And there is beauty in a failure
And there are depths beyond compare

It felt like Jake and I ran way faster than we should have. My mind was screaming all the negative outcomes at me as we got closer and closer to the meeting. If I was still human, my stomach contents would be emptied by now and I'd be sweating like I was in Phoenix during July. I was almost thankful for the inability to sweat, but my stomach still felt like it was doing flips with my nerves. Could vampires vomit their blood? These are the important questions that I had no answers to. My mind felt like it was racing a thousand miles per second as all the possibilities played out in my head. Jake tried and failed at calming me and a weird part of my mind had wished Jasper was here with that pesky power of his. As we approached the treaty line, Sam stood with the other members of the council; Sue Clearwater, Billy Black, and Quil Ateara III. I think Sam was also part of the council since he was the Alpha in the pack, but then again, it was hard to keep up with the politics of wolves.

"Hello Bella." Sue greeted me warmly. I had always been really fond of her, even since I was a little girl. She had been through quite a lot lately; her husband passing away and her only two kids turning into giant wolves. She's one strong woman and there isn't any denying it.

"Hi." I spoke quietly, knowing how much my voice affected them. It was a crazy concept for as much as they hated what I was for them to still go through it for who I am. I couldn't explain my appreciation for them even considering to let me onto their land. I knew how big of a deal it really was.

"We've done a lot of talking recently." Billy said in his all-knowing voice. He never intentionally used it, but that's just who Billy was. His wisdom has always surpassed him by many years. It was written into his face with defined lines and bold eyes. I couldn't help to imagine Billy as the Alpha of the Pack, even though he wasn't a wolf. I could see why Jacob felt he had a lot to live up to.

"I hope it was all good things." My nerves escaped in my words, regardless of how much I tried to hold them back. It wasn't fair to think that the Cullen's had perfected their emotions and verbal skills. Maybe it was just a newborn thing. Or, maybe it's just a Bella thing. Sue smiled gently at me for encouragement. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding in.

"For the most part." Quil spoke. The wisdom in his voice was even more prominent than Billy's. This was Quil's grandfather and he really had lived through quite some things. "You've always been a good kid, Bella." He grinned with his famous missing tooth smile.

"We have decided to allow you to stay on La Push. There is an open house that nobody currently lives in. You can stay there for now. It's not a permanent solution, but you have always been good to us and we don't want you to live in the forest." Billy spoke once again and relief washed over my heart. It was even better than the outcome I had imagined.

"Thank you so much!" I couldn't hide the smile that broke out onto my face. I wanted badly to run and hug each of them, but the look on Sam's face kept me in my spot.

"We do have some ground rules." Sam said in a more serious tone than the others. I nodded, completely understanding and respecting their decision. "First, you cannot hunt on our land. You will have to travel north towards the mountains and away from civilization. Second, you will need to keep yourself hidden while on La Push. It is still presumed by everyone that you ran off, so let's not have any suspicion come our way to why you're here and why you've changed. Third, you are still sworn to secrecy about our tribe and the pack. We expect you to keep that still. Lastly," Sam breathed out the rules before pausing. He looked up at me with a small smile playing on his lips. "Welcome to the tribe."

"Thank you!" I exclaimed joyfully. I did not stop myself from moving to hug them. I suppose I moved to fast as they each flinched, but I received hugs in return. My mind was still boggled at this relationship, but I was so grateful for it that I wouldn't question a thing about it. "You truly don't know how much I appreciate it." I murmured softly as I stepped back from my hugs.

"We're sorry that this happened to you. You don't deserve to be punished for a choice you didn't make." Sue said with the sadness hinting in her voice. I nodded in understanding, thankful that she didn't go into much detail.

"Jake will take you to your new home." Sam said with a look to Jake with his command and one last smile towards me. The council headed off into the direction of their vehicles while Jake and I began to walk into the direction of my new home.

"Holy shit." Jake remarked with a laugh once we were out of earshot from the others. I looked at him with an equally surprised expression on my face.

"I know right!" I squeaked excitedly. I still couldn't believe that everything had gone so perfectly.

"How does it feel?" He asked as he led the way through the shadows of the Rez. I hadn't realized the sun set a long time ago and the murky clouds covered the night sky, with just the slightest glimmer of moonlight escaping.

"I'm overwhelmed, but grateful." I sighed, letting my mind slip into all the thoughts and worries I had been harboring. It looked that I dropped out of high school to everyone. I broke my Dad's heart by leaving without saying goodbye, even though I didn't have much of a choice. I have only $100 and no plan for my life.

"You'll figure it out. You always do." Jake encouraged, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. I smiled at my best friend with true thanks. I don't know if I'd be handling all of this as well as I apparently am without him. Even though my life was turned upside down just a few short days ago, I was really thankful to have Jake. He held me together when Edward tore a hole into my chest and ripped my heart out and he's holding me together now. Even if he did smell repulsive. A laugh escaped me at the thought and Jake eyeballed me curiously.

"I was just thinking about how thankful I am for you, even if you do stink." He grinned and gave me a light shove. I laughed once more as we finally came to a stop in front of a brown wooden home. Home. I smiled.

Three Years Later

Bella: 21 (Human) 3 (Vampire)

Jake: 19 (If anyone wanted to know ha-ha)

It was incredibly hard to believe that it was the three year anniversary of my physical death. Three years ago Victoria snuck into my house and destroyed the life I was desperately trying to hold together. It didn't seem like three years as much as it did ten. Time passed by at a horribly slow rate when you can't sleep.

It was a funny thought seeing how I really hadn't done much with my existence in the last three years. Most of my days were spent hanging out in my house, waiting for Jake to get out of school or to get off of patrol. I hung out with the pack a lot. We've actually become pretty good friends. The nickname they had come up for me was ridiculous, but it stuck; Vampire Little Squawk. They loved to make fun of my growl, even though it was just as intimidating as Victoria's. It didn't bother me since they all knew that I could beat them up within the blink of an eye.

I had built up quite an impeccable self-control in the last three years. I would dare to compare it to Carlisle Cullen. Blood had no effect on me anymore. I've tested the theory thousands of times by sneaking into the hospital. It may not have been the wisest move, as Jake yelled at me, but I finally proved myself strong. I had also built up my endurance and strength. I was faster than all the wolves and stronger than them. In the beginning, I had been pretty helpless in fights with more than one of them, but as we continued wrestling, I had improved. I still let them win from time to time to not destroy their egos. It really felt like I had a bunch of brothers and even a sister. It took Leah a long time to even look at me, but we finally bonded over me beating Paul up. Who knew she had the same annoyance tolerance level for him that I did? Leah was pretty much one of my best friends. There weren't a whole lot of options, but I'm still glad I had her.

It was really hard being apart from my Dad. I never realized how much I truly loved him and wanted to spend time with him until I couldn't. It broke my heart seeing him around the Rez. I could tell how much my "leaving" really hurt him. There was nothing I had wished for more than to be able to hug him and be his little girl again. Jake had bought me a burner phone that Charlie couldn't trace the location of the number on. I had called him within the first couple weeks of being changed. It broke my heart even more hearing how sad he was in his voice. It felt as if I was going to start crying real tears when I had to explain things to him on why I couldn't visit. It was even harder having to pretend like I was with the Cullen's since they had abandoned me as well. I was really grateful for the opportunity to keep communicating with my Dad. I call him twice a day, just like I've done for the last three years. It makes me feel like I'm still his little girl, even though I would never be that again.

It was definitely a different story with Renee. She had always been a little absent in my life, so it wasn't as hard to not see her. I called her once every two weeks to update her on my fake life and hear about how things were for her. She seemed way more understanding about my "leaving". Then again, she is Renee. I was still happy knowing that her life is fulfilling and she is happy.

I smiled in content as I looked around my home. It was still really empty as I didn't have a job. It was kind of hard to get a job when you're supposed to be 3500 miles away in another state. I hadn't even thought about finishing high school or how I would even fake those kinds of documents. Like Jake always said, I'd figure it out. I looked out of the window facing the backyard and saw the clouds breaking in the faintest bit. I tore out of my house like a lightning bolt.

I came to an open clearing that the sun was shining down on. There were no signs of any humans within 35 miles so I felt safe enough. I had seen myself in the sun before, but it was always an exhilarating experience. I started the same way each time. First, placing my hand into the light and watching how it would illuminate like a thousand diamonds. I'd slowly start inching my way into the light until my entire body was submersed into the golden rays. I wished badly that I could feel the heat warm up my skin, but that was just a wish.

A snap of a twig brought me out of my pleasurable thoughts as my head locked in the direction it came from. A face I hadn't seen in nearly four years emerged from the woods.

"Laurent?"

How cruel am I? Muahaha! I know it's horrible to leave you all with a cliff hanger, but hey, sometimes bad things happen to good people!

I hope you all are enjoying this story so far! I'm really happy to be back and writing again! I've missed it so much! I hope to update a lot more often than I used to. Just gotta keep the motivation rolling.

On another note, I need you guys to go to my profile and vote for what you want for this story. I am so torn about making it Edward/Bella or Jasper/Bella. I am leaning towards J/B, but I want your opinions! So, please go vote!

Please review and let me know what you thought! I would love you so much if you did!

Song: Black Sun by Death Cab for Cutie

Love,

GVE