The mood was clearly different after the man had left; the fire still crackled but left an eerie aura around those who watched it in silence, trying to comprehend exactly what had just happen. Emotions were running high and with a wide variety between age group and those more educated to this sort of thing; Dallas was the most confused out of the entire group, not knowing what to say. Her father was the first one to take action on the situation, and she was ready to listen to just about any voice of reason.

"Billy, put the fire out. Sam, take these six back to my house and then return here so we can discuss what just happened. I don't want any of you to leave the house until we get back." Old Quil said, referring to Dallas, Quil and his friends. Dallas was too much in shock to speak. She rose robotically when Jared and Paul did; Jake, Quil and Embry were already on their feet.

But Dad! We aren't kids anymore; we can help!" Quil protested.

"No, Quil. You are still much to young. Go home with Dallas and the others and make sure you fill her in on as much as you can." Old Quil said sharply.

"But-"

"Go!" Old Quil barked, and Quil followed Sam up the moonlit beach, grumbling. The other boys and Dallas went as well; Dallas hurried to catch up to her brother.

"Quil…Quil!" she said, finally matching his long strides at a jog. "What the hell is going on?"

"Later." he snapped. Annoyed, Dallas slowed her pace to a walk and folded her arms over her chest.

"He's just stressed." she heard a voice say in her ear. Looking up, she saw it was Jake.

"Are…are there really vampires?" she asked him quietly.

"Yep." Jake replied. Dallas' head went slightly numb.

"And that man…he was one?" she asked.

"Yep."

"Oh."

"Are you okay?" Jake asked her.

"This is crazy…I've got to go home." she said, shaking her head.

"It might be for the best." Jake nodded. "For your safety. Too bad…we could have had fun." Dallas didn't respond for a minute or so.

"The…vampire…he mentioned something about 'The Children of the Moon'…what did he mean by that?" she asked Jake.

"Wow, you don't miss anything, do you?" Jake chuckled. "Wait until we get inside…we'll explain all we can then. But as for what the vampire said…you know as much as we do about that." Dallas nodded and was silent until they reached her father and brother's house. Sam made sure they all got inside, reminded them again not to leave until he and the adults got back and then he was gone.

"Hey, Dallas said to Quil, shoving him in the chest toward the couch in the living room. Her efforts didn't budge him, but he sat down on his own free will. "Explanation. Now. All of you." she glanced around the room at the five boys, trying to let her annoyance shine through to them as much as possible.

"What do you want to know?" Quil asked calmly.

"What is 'The Children of the Moon'?" Dallas asked.

"You wouldn't believe it, even if we told you." Quil said.

"Try me."

"The Children of the Moon are…well…you won't truly understand unless we show you. Should we?" Embry asked Quil He nodded. Jake grinned.

"Can I?" he asked Quil, who nodded a second time.

"Follow me." he said to his sister, and pulled her towards the door. Embry, Jared, Jake and Paul followed. Once they were all on the porch, Jared handed Jake a pair of jeans and he strapped them to his leg with hardly any struggle, despite his large and clumsy looking hands.

"Try to be mature about this, okay Jake?" Jared said. Jake just flashed him a winning smile and cleared the porch steps in one jump.

"Be ready for anything, and don't scream." Quil advised Dallas, and held her by the shoulders. "This should explain any questions you have about the Children of the Moon."

It all happened so quickly; one minute Jake was standing in front of them with a big grin on his face, and the next was a flash of ripped jeans and then, in Jake's place, was a large, terrifying looking dog. Dallas tried not to scream as all of the ideas in her head pieced themselves together:

Werewolf.

"Y…you…what…the hell…he…Jake was…and now he's…is that…a…is he laughing at me?" Dallas said furiously. The giant wolf was letting out breathy barks that indeed sounded like laughs. The other boys were trying desperately to hold back smirks.

"Do you get it now?" Quil asked her.

"So…the Children of the Moon…means werewolf? And Jake is one?" she confirmed.

"We all are." Quil replied. Dallas looked in horror at every boy in turn and then finally at Jake in wolf form; he spread his large mouth into a grin that showed every shining, pointy tooth and ran off into the woods.

"Where is he going?" Dallas asked exasperatedly.

"To change back. He needs to put his jeans on, you know." Paul said.

"Right." Dallas nodded. It was best just to play along for now. The other four boys snickered.

"Let's get back inside…we shouldn't be out here." Jared said, and led everyone back into the house. Dallas sat on the couch and Quil sat next to her.

"You okay?" He asked. She nodded shakily.

"So…you all are werewolves, am I right?" she asked. Quil nodded.

"Okay…I am definitely dreaming…well, more like having a nightmare right now, but okay." she said. The screen door swung open a second later and Jake glided in, sitting on the couch between Quil and Dallas.

"Miss me?" he grinned, draping his arms around the both of them. Dallas tensed, and Jake chuckled, removing his arm from her shoulders.

"Any other questions?" Quil asked his sister. She thought for a moment.

"Who are the Cullens?" she asked. The boys exchanged glances before Jacob spoke.

"The Cullens are the vampire coven down in Forks." he explained.

"Forks?' Dallas asked.

"A town about a half an hour away." Quil said.

"And…the vampires..?" Dallas said, unsure of what she was asking.

"They claim to be different than normal vampires; the live off animal blood instead of human blood." Jake said, but the way he wrinkled his nose clearly said that his opinion of them was not swayed because of this fact.

"Which reminds me…how come that bloodsucker down at the beach didn't smell her?" Embry asked, pointing at Dallas. "She's only human, and he would have surely caught on to her scent, no matter how many of up there were."

"I was afraid of that too…" Quil murmured. "I don't know why he didn't catch on, but she's all right, so we shouldn't worry about that too much right now." Before anyone could say anything in agreement, Quil jumped and held up his hand for silence, as though he was listening for something. Everyone else stopped to listen as well, and at first, Dallas didn't hear anything. But then, the sound of footsteps thundered outside. They were quick; one, two, three, four, five, and then the front door shook threateningly. It seemed as though someone was trying to get inside, but luckily, the door was locked.

Dallas screamed and pulled her feet onto the couch and held herself in the fetal position as the door continued to shake, threatening to come off the hinges. She pressed herself into Jake's side, her face buried into her knees, moving herself as far from the door as possible. Then, as soon as it had begun, the shaking stopped.

Quil walked quickly to the front door, undid the lock and opened the door, but there was no one there. However, an envelope was where the intruder must have been on the welcome mat. He picked it up and went back into the living room and Dallas dared to look up slowly, settling down and moving a little farther from Jake, slightly embarrassed.

"Does this happen often here?" she asked in a small voice, eyes wide in fear. But her question was ignored as her brother slid his finger under the opening of the envelope and everyone gathered around to read. The letter inside was on the finest stationery and written in beautiful calligraphy. It read:

Ateara Family-

Due to recent events and circumstances, my family and I would like to ask your allowance of the lifting of our treaty so we might meet to discuss what must happen to ensure the safety of our families and loved ones. If you agree, please meet me and my family with as many of yours as you wish tomorrow night at midnight on the east Forks border.

Sincerely, Carlisle Cullen

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A/N- I am so dearly sorry for the long wait! I was having the worst computer troubles, but I should be updating at least once every two weeks now. Hope this chapter is as good as the last ones!