Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight universe, Stephenie Meyer does.

And pretty much all other characters, including Freddie, belong to the universe created by the talented yay4shanghai! She is amazing, and you'll have to read her stories to understand this. I want to thank her for allowing me to write this, and also helping by betaing it.

I also recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, Dll10, and intiMACYx33. They're great, and worth reading!

This story takes place during 100 Years of Solitude... Okay, Maybe Just Five. Also, this part of the story takes place in Ecuador, therefor the characters are all speaking Spanish.

This chapter was made extra long, in thanks for all the reviews! Also, does anyone get annoyed by the fact that it is impossible to center anything on here?

Chapter Five - A Strange Man, A Legend, and A Wolf

Maribel POV

The small brush trailed over my fingernail, a light shade of blue coloring it. I focused on each stroke, making sure I didn't get even a speck of the polish on my skin. The pink color I had been wearing before had been wearing away, and blue, being the color of the lovely sky, was something I'd been glancing at for a while now.

I leaned forward, settling my elbows on my bed, splaying my fingers in a ray of sun so they would dry faster. I blew on them happily, the color was gorgeous and I had gotten the layer just right.

And then, like a tree snapping off a branch, quick and sudden, that feeling crept over me yet again. I had been getting the odd sensation someone was watching me for almost two weeks now, but kept quiet about it.

If I had told someone, they would become instantly alert and wary; maybe even make us temporarily move… again. The thought made me wince. I had been all over South America whenever the slightest threat to my life came up, or so I assumed. I never knew any reason to why we would go anywhere; we just did.

I had a feeling it was because my parents were worried about me, that someone would try to take me away.

I wasn't necessarily complaining, mother had told me since I was a small child that the less I knew, the better off I'd end up. My mother was one of the most important people in my life, and I knew she wasn't telling me a lie when she said this.

I usually didn't ask too much, really only when curiosity overwhelmed me. It always made my parents, especially my mother, wince.

I hadn't seen my father in what felt like weeks, though it had been only three days. I knew I was slightly exaggerating, but he was so loaded with work that he had to go away, sometimes on a second notice. I loved him so much, but at times it felt like he was pushing me away, which saddened me because I knew it wasn't his fault.

My mother, the woman who was everything for me, hated that my father had to be away, but understood, most of the reason I didn't say anything about no matter how many tears I shed over the issue.

I didn't know how people could see through her false smile, the tight lipped words, and the tense eyes… but I sure could. She was absolutely miserable when he was away... well, most of time. I only saw that side of her occasionally, because whenever I was around she was smiling and kind and doting. She loved me as much as I adored her.

She really took when I played my music, which was the reason I enjoyed it so greatly. Well, partly. Also because I felt so fearless and free, like the world was full of choices… And it was, just not for me.

This melancholic thought made me frown at myself before standing up, sliding on a pair of flats. The intricate designs on them made me think even more of my mother, how she loved picking out things like this for me.

It was time for breakfast, like it was every day at nine o'clock. A little part of me wished that my dad could be here this morning, but I shoved that thought away, instead smiling when I thought of when he could be there.

My life was a strict schedule. Breakfast was until nine thirty, my classes for the morning would begin five minutes later and run until noon, and then lunch for a half hour, and so on. I wasn't complaining, that was how it had been since I was five… in fact it comforted me that my life was so normal and solid.

Our house was large, and decorated lavishly with carvings in the ceilings and carvings in the paneling. There were several chandeliers in the hallway from my bedroom to the dining hall, and wide open windows let the glorious Ecuadorian sun steam through letting sun glint off the tile floors.

"Mari." Guy greeted me, nodding a little. I could see a grin tugging at his lips and rolled my eyes, moving forward down the hall. I didn't really know if Guy was his real name, but I'd called him that ever since I was born. He was my most frequent and also favorite body guard.

"Maribel, dear!" my mother beamed at me as I entered the dining room, her gray eyes inspecting me proudly. "You look lovely; those shoes are beautiful with that dress." She smiled at me, cocking her head to the side while glowing. She took my hand, giving it a little squeeze.

I looked a lot like my mother, my legs and face almost exactly a copy of her's, excluding my bright green eyes and curly hair, which was all my dad.

"It is a very beautiful day, is it not? Let us go outside for breakfast!" We walked slowly to the patio outside, food being set on the table already.

"Ms. Rose tells me that you are coming along fine in Latin, but are not doing well in English." Mother told me, starting to eat. Her tone wasn't disapproving, but I still felt guilty. I picked at my food, not meeting her eyes.

Ah, English… It will be the death of me, I swear. It makes absolutely no sense; whose idea was it to come up with a language that has two or three sounds for every letter and two meanings for every word?

"I am sorry, I will try harder." I sighed. The sad thing was, I was trying very hard. Studies were my main priority; I was so excited for the day I'd get to explore outside of the confines of my house, though I admit I would probably miss my parents and Ms. Rose.

I had learned so much. I thought I was quite smart, and Ms. Rose had once admitted to me that I was advanced for a girl as young as I.

"Good girl." My mother smiled approvingly, and then straightened her posture, continuing to eat.

We ate in silence for a little bit, enjoying the view of the wildlife and my mother's teeming graden.

After breakfast, I met my tutor in my study, and she started with today's lessons. It was mostly review, and bored me to death. Though I did aspire to be studious, talking about things I already knew about did at times bore me.

Ms. Rose was very encouraging though, and supported me fully. She was almost a second mother to me.

Right around lunch, I got that feeling back yet again… Like someone was watching me. It was strange; a tugging sensation around my navel area, and my stomach twisted in uncomfortable knots.

"Dear, is something wrong?" my mother had asked me four times already, and I'd declined every one of her inquiries as to why I was acting so jittery. It confused me as much as it seemed to confuse her. As I shook my head again, she sighed a little, reaching to brush a strand of hair behind my ears.

"Maribel, if something is bothering you, you know you can tell me?" She whispered in a worried tone, and I immediately felt guilty though it was hardly my fault I felt so odd.

"Yes, of course. But there really is nothing wrong. I promise, Mama," I lied, assuring while patting her hand. She smiled tentatively, but still didn't act as if she believed me. I absentmindedly picked at my food, staring out the window and to the bushes that surrounded our wall.

And like a flash, something, I don't even know what, jumped out of the leaves and up in the air, into a tree. It happened so fast, I wasn't even sure it happened, like a flash of lightning. I blinked, almost falling out of my chair.

Whatever it was had been huge, and very furry, the color of the fur being gray. Oddly enough, I wasn't even that afraid of it. "Maribel, something is wrong! It looks like you're about to faint!" my mother exclaimed even more worriedly, standing up. I shook my head once, trying to clear the scrambling thoughts running around.

"Umm… I am fine," I cleared my throat, shaking my head one more time. "I'm fine." I said again, hinting a smile at her. My mother glared at me a little, her eyes telling me that I better tell her what's up.

"I'm sorry. I just don't feel well." I gave in eventually, deciding I had better come up with a liable excuse if I had to have one at all. She frowned at that, concern melting her features as she leaned forward to press a hand to my forehead.

"Encanto, you are not burning up," she said, commenting in English. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her effort to speak the dreaded language with me.

"It is stomach." I replied back, trying to make my sentence as flowing and defined as her's had been. She beamed at me appraisingly, her eyes glowing in that one moment.

"In that case, you can go upstairs and get some rest. I will speak with Ms. Rose about cancelling your classes for the rest of the evening." She said evenly, sipping her tea. I nodded, standing.

"Alright," I said just as evenly. Strangely, I felt as if I should not talk to her about the animal I'd seen. There were alarm bells ringing in my head at the mere thought.

The loneliness had done it to me, maybe. I guess I was so unused to people that even with family members like my mother; I didn't have an easy time opening up.

The air felt lonely to me as I walked back, despite the guards mulling around, their expressions carefully following me.

As I entered my bedroom, I went to my window, opening the doors to stand on my balcony. I was hoping to possibly catch a view of the creature that had jumped into the tree. It was much too large to be any kind of jungle cat, but it had fur, so I was positively stumped.

I tried to think of any other animal that it could be to no avail. A chill wind swept through the air and I shivered, wrapping my arms tight around my chest. I stepped back into my room, shutting the door. My balcony was to the north of the house, so I guess I wouldn't see the animal anyway. My window was across the way, directly on top of the window I'd witnessed the animal through.

As I pulled my shades, immersing the room in darkness, I thought maybe it could be a bear. But then again, what could a bear be doing Quito? They were not native, and never had been. Actually, the idea of it being a bear was downright preposterous.

I sat on my bed, closing my eyes. I didn't know why I liked the dark so much, I knew some feared it. But it seemed secure to me; you couldn't see things clearly, or for what they were. You remained not knowing. And sometimes, that was better.

I fell into a very fitful sleep, which was unusual since I was always a deep sleeper. Weird dreams floated through my head that I immediately forgot, I had no idea what it all pertained to.

My mother must have believed that I was sick, because she let me sleep for a very long time. I woke a couple times every three or so hours, though I wasn't complaining.

It was around midnight when I fell asleep again, and I started having a nightmare. I was outside my house, by the gate, and something kept telling me to run. But I couldn't; my legs were frozen, and I was immobile. I kept screeching that I couldn't, but the voice just kept telling me that I had to escape.

"Umm… no!" I screamed one final time, and the voice disappeared, and everything turned black. It wasn't a scary dark; it was the kind of dark I liked. I was at peace, when a voice probed through the darkness… the most appealing and engaging voice I'd ever heard. It seemed to know it was beautiful too, because it said, "Beautiful," in a soft murmur. The soft word was spoken with a slight accent, and it lulled me awake. I realized with a jolt it was a real person speaking.

My eyes fluttered open, and I tiredly stared around my room. My eyes traveled to my beside, and a man was standing there.

I could barely see him through the darkness, but he was definitely there. His intense brown eyes murmured to me, welcoming and pulling me in like a caress.

His expression was slightly in panic, slightly in awe. His mouth was puckered into a worried line, his rugged features illustrating the symmetry of his face.

I stared at him in almost wonder for a moment, gazing in incredulity at him. The tugging sensation at my navel was almost towing me to his side, but I just barely restrained myself.

And then, I realized than unfamiliar man was looming over me. For all I knew he could be someone out to hurt me! I opened my mouth to scream, and he dove forward, covering my mouth with a pleading look. "Shh, please, please!" he whispered frantically. I squirmed under his sweltering hand, trying to get away from him.

His elbows were wrapped on either side of my arms, leaving me no room to jump or leap forward. But I did manage to crawl backward a few steps, sheets tangled around my ankles, and I fell to my side, still struggling under him, fear filling me.

"It is okay, I promise I do not want to hurt you!" he tried to assure, and I paused, meeting his gaze. He sounded so… sincere. It stunned me for another moment before I reached up, shoving his hand away.

"Step back!" I demanded shrilly, scrambling up and to the other side of the bed. He immediately did as I asked, as if I controlled him. A moment of shock encased me, but I shoved it away surmising that he knew I was protected by very big, strong men.

"Who are you?" I asked him, my hands clamped into tight fists. "And are you going… to kill me?" I added on, my voice shaking a little bit. Scanning him, I was puzzled to notice he didn't seem to have any weapons on him, nor any bag or instrument to kidnap me.

"My name's Freddie, and Maribel, I would never, ever hurt you in any way." He sounded pained as he spoke the part about hurting me, like it was physically and mentally hurting him… but something else caught my attention.

"How do you know my name?" I whispered, terrified. Was he, like, stalking me or something?

"I heard you and your mom, talking, and she called you Maribel." He said, his voice faltering. I stared at him.

"What the heck are you doing here if you're not going to kill or kidnap me?" I was beginning to get angrier and more scared by the second; I could hardly believe he'd listened in on an actual conversation between my mother and me!

"Maribel, sit down." He said this in a small voice, despite the fact that he was huge. His muscles bulged with every step he took; his face was powerful, and serious, but very sincere.

I tentatively sat on the bed. There was something that drew me to this man, although I wasn't quite sure what it was. "Why?" I spoke warily, sitting as far as possible from him.

"Maribel… I come from a small reservation in America. An Indian reservation, that is." He began, sitting on the ground, as if trying to prove to me he was safe. He was very direct, to the point. I was shocked; because he spoke Spanish perfectly, not even a hint of an accent leaking in.

"We're Quileute. Some of our people are… different. There are many legends, but one of them is of a great chief called Taha Aki." He cleared his throat, glancing nervously around him before lowering his voice. "He and his warriors could turn into wolves for battles." He cleared his throat again before continuing in an even lower voice.

As he spoke more and more of this legend, I got, well, freaked out, to say the least. The man still had me on edge, and I knew at any moment he could whip out a gun and shoot me. I tried to position myself in a place to race to the door if possible… but something about him told me that he wasn't bad, and I didn't want him to be hurt if that wasn't what he intended for me, or any other person in the household.

"Maribel?" he asked now, softly, after he finished. "Do you understand all of that?" He sounded nervous now, and I nodded slowly.

Basically, he was telling me him, his father and the rest of his family either used to or does run around as wolves half the time. But, they weren't dangerous… they protected people from… vampires. That part had made me shiver and swallow in fear. There were some good ones that drank animal blood, but it was his family's job to protect everyone from the rest of them. It was a good story, though I was wondering why he was telling me a fable at this time.

"Uh, yes. I suppose. What does this have anything to do with anything?" I was curious. They were interesting, but seemingly pointless at this point.

"Because they are true." It took a couple minutes for him to say this, but when he did; I gasped, springing up from the bed and backing up a few steps.

"What do you mean?" I demanded sharply, crossing my arms tight over my chest. There was something so truthful in his eyes, but that was impossible! It could not be, it couldn't!

"Maribel, the legends are true. My family are wolves, my father is one, and even I am one." I avoided his eyes as my nostrils flared.

"So you have told me." I spoke stridently, rocking my weight on the balls of my feet. He sighed sadly, taking a timid, short step toward me. He had his hands raised, his head bowed slightly.

"Maribel, I promise you that I would never speak a word of a lie to you." He said this with such passion, I almost faltered in my anger… almost.

"How dare you lie to me like this?" I said, quietly but fiercely. Something in me was begging me to not let Freddie get caught and be taken away.

"I'm not lying, come here." he urged suddenly, holding out his hand. I took a timid step forward, letting him slowly place my fingertips in his hand. The touch sent a surge of comfort through me, and I suddenly wanted nothing more than to leap into his arms and let him carry me off forever.

But as I pressed down harder, I noticed something startling. He was hot, like, sweltering hot. In fact, he was so hot he must be dying… The thought sent a weird source of sadness in my mind, and I inhaled quickly, leaping back.

"Are you… sick?" I asked faintly, and he smiled at me sadly, shaking his head.

"No, that's one of the things about being a wolf. You run an average temperature of 108.9 degrees or so. We can also run extremely fast, and are inhumanly strong." He told me this in a slow voice, sounding afraid that I would run off or something. I just started shaking my head, again and again.

"Why are you telling me this?" I demanded, my toes curling on the carpet. His eyes traveled across my angry face.

"Maribel, sweetheart, it's really complicated. I don't know if you want all that dumped on you today." That made me a tinge bit angry, but I ignored it, appraising him with suspicious.

"Today? Are you going to come back tomorrow?" I hoped a little bit he would, trying to keep my voice monotone. His warmness was… inhuman. If his temperature was indeed over one hundred nine, he should be dead. Again, the thought sent a little burst of panic and pain through me.

"Only if you want me to." I swallowed, playing with a lose thread on my pajama top.

"Yes…" I said hesitantly, and a temporary grin slid across his face that made me smile as well. "But you have to go now. They might hear something, or come to make sure everything's holding up tight, lock all the windows, that stuff." I said, a little bit regretfully. He nodded, that grin coming back on his face.

I knew they would, and I did appreciate it. If someone came in who wasn't as nice as Freddie, I don't know what I would do…

"Alright, I promise you I will be back. I promise." He whispered slowly backing to my window. He flashed a smile at me once more before jumping out my window. I almost cried out, but stopped myself just in time. Sprinting to the window, I saw him streak across the lawn, and, as he reached a tree by our 'prison' wall, he exploded… into a giant, gray wolf.

My mouth fell open. Emotions overwhelmed my brain, and I dizzily shut and locked my window, closing the shades as well. He was truthful. He was a wolf. My god; that was the animal that had freaked me out earlier.

And I think I just befriended him.