I'm sorry that the wait has been a little longer than usual, but I got this chapter off to Stitch_cat late and can you believe…she has a life! *shocked face* Thank you Stitch for working your magic and I loved your comment!

Somehow my pre-reader Verseseven also decided to have a RL, and while she was away frolicking in Costa Rica, the wonderful snarkymuch stepped in and helped me out. Thank you sweetie! MWAH

Disclaimer- All recognizable copyrighted and trademarked items mentioned herein belong to their respective owner, most especially Stephenie Meyer. Everything else belongs to the respective author.

BPOV

"Faster Paul!" I urged him on, thoroughly enjoying the rippling of his muscles underneath me. God, I could ride him forever. The sensation was invigorating and it was exactly what I needed after the slightly awkward start to my day.

I had woken up feeling completely disoriented. I was sweaty, my body was kind of sore and an annoying little drummer boy had taken up residence in my head. I slowly realized that the battering was connected to Old Quil's special brew, the sweat was because I was wrapped up in the arms of an overheated wolf, and the soreness was caused by…oh God, sex with Paul. I had sex with Paul. I had sex with Paul. I had sex with Paul. I had sex with Paul. What the hell was wrong with me?

My abrupt panic and hyperventilating must have woken Paul up, because I was suddenly sitting in his lap listening to him trying to calm me down. After I had gotten my breathing under control Paul asked me what was wrong, and that set me off again. I sprung to my feet, put my hands on my hips and stared at him incredulously.

"What's wrong? Are you serious? What's wrong? I was…yesterday…and you…and Jake…and Old Quil…and fighting…and we…and…and…" I could hardly think, let alone form words. I was pacing back and forth flailing my arms around only to come to an abrupt halt when I saw Paul fighting a smile. He lost the fight and began laughing hysterically, which drove me absolutely insane.

"What the hell are you laughing about? There's nothing funny about this!" I demanded, not quite able to stop my foot from stomping like a four-year-old which, of course, induced even more chortling.

"You…yelling…tits bouncing…" He squeaked out in between laughs. What the…? Oh. Right. I was naked.

"Shut up!" My lips started twitching and soon I couldn't help but to laugh at myself.

After we had both calmed down we were able to talk about what had happened last night. It felt a bit awkward having a 'morning-after' conversation with Paul of all people, but we got through it. He assured me that he had no regrets; we were two consenting adults who had a really great night together and nothing had to change between us. He also smugly stated that whenever I wanted an earthshattering orgasm he was just a phone call away. And just like that, I knew that we were going to be okay.

We showered, had a hangover-friendly breakfast at Sam and Emily's and were now, together with Leah, on our way to the Cullens. I had butterflies the size of pterodactyls in my stomach and in order to distract myself I was urging Paul to run faster. Not that I wanted to arrive faster, but the thrill of riding a wolf was exhilarating and made me forget everything but the powerful animal beneath me and the wind whipping across my face. It reminded me of riding my motorbike, and the sense of freedom was intoxicating.

All too soon I felt Paul slowing down and the familiar white house could be seen in the distance. Memories of the first time Edward took me to see his family were swirling behind my eyes. I had been so nervous that they wouldn't like me, but with the exception of Rosalie they had all welcomed me and made me feel at ease. Edward had, of course, reflected on my lack of fear of going to meet six vampires, but I had trusted him when he said that they wouldn't hurt me.

As we were getting closer to the house I couldn't help but muse about the differences between that first visit and this one. This time I was not at all nervous about them liking me or not. I already knew that I was just a temporary distraction in their lives; someone to entertain them for a while. They had all had a few good laughs at the clumsy, blushing human who thought she could someday have a place in the family. Today I was, however, scared of meeting them. Not because I thought that they would physically hurt me, but because I wasn't sure how well the patches would hold up if they said or did something that threatened to tear the hole in my chest open again.

The irony of my being afraid now, when I was so much stronger than I had been a year and a half ago, was not lost on me. The fact that I also had two wolves accompanying me and eight more on stand-by also added to the irony. Even though I was a lot more confident and sure of myself now, I was somehow more vulnerable. I had let these people play with my emotions up to the point where I had gone into a catatonic state when the truth came out. I knew what they were capable of and I was willingly going to subject myself to them again. I wasn't sure if that was a sign of strength or of stupidity. My need to find out why they were back was big enough to push me to go through with this.

I reminded myself that I had been to hell and back and I had not only survived, but I had come out a much stronger version of myself. In some ways I had found my way back to the person I was before I moved to Forks. I had been strong then; taking care of myself and Renée, making sure the bills got paid, that we had food on the table each day and steering Renée away from the most dangerous ideas she got. I had been strong-willed, not afraid to voice my opinion, and I hadn't depended on anyone for anything. On the other hand, I had had an extremely low sense of self-esteem and I had constantly molded myself around everyone else's wants and needs, without really believing that my wishes also mattered. That had all changed now and I was quite proud of the person I had become. It may have taken a debilitating abandonment from a group of vampires and an adoption from a pack of werewolves, but I had grown up and come into my own, and that felt really good.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the feeling of Paul coming to a stop beneath me, and the sound of a deep rumble in his chest. I looked up and saw all of the Cullens standing in front of their house watching us approach. Emmett, Esme and Alice all looked at me with their mouths slightly opened, as if they couldn't quite believe what they saw. Rosalie stood to the side looking a mixture between annoyed and intrigued. What really caught my attention, though, was the sight of Carlisle and Jasper holding back a very irate Edward, and now I understood why Paul was so on edge. I had never seen Edward looking so out of control and dangerous. For the very first time he looked like the lethal vampire he really was, and I felt a shiver going through me at that thought.

Both Paul and Leah had started growling and I didn't know what to do to prevent the situation from getting worse. I had no idea why Edward looked like he wanted to attack us, and I was beginning to think that coming here was a huge mistake after all. At the very least I wished that Paul and Leah weren't here with me. The idea of one of them getting hurt because of me was terrifying.

Jasper caught my eye and quickly pushed some calm out to everybody.

"Cut it out Edward. You're scaring Bella."

I don't know if it was Jasper's words or his calming vibes, but Edward seemed to regain his senses and visibly calmed down. Carlisle let go of Edward's shoulder and took a step forward with his hands out in front of him in a non-threatening way.

"Welcome. I must apologize for my son's behavior. We didn't expect this manner of transportation for Bella, and I'm afraid that Edward overreacted out of concern for her. We mean you no harm."

I couldn't help the snort that came out. Carlisle couldn't seriously think that Edward was concerned for me? I motioned to Paul that I wanted to get down but the only response I got was another growl.

"Hey, Cujo! Don't you growl at me." I huffed at Paul, and finally managed to get him to crouch down so I could get off of him. I could hear Emmett chuckling and turning towards him I asked just what it was that he found so funny.

"It's just here you come racing in, looking hot as hell on the back of a fucking werewolf, and to top it off you tell him off when he growls at you. You're badass, Bella. What happened to the little shy, blushing girl who was afraid of speed and never talked back to anyone?"

Emmett looked to be feeling a mixture between awe and confusion and that, in combination with his question, brought down my defenses at once.

"What happened? Well let's see…that shy little girl got sucked into the supernatural world, was made to believe she was loved and then was thrown out like yesterday's trash. That girl, Emmett, is dead and if you were expecting another go-around with her then you're shit out of luck."

JPOV

The shock from Bella's statement was rolling off of my family in huge waves, and as they began to process her words, massive amounts of disbelief and grief came from Esme, Emmett and Carlisle. Edward was still stuck on the shock and fear of Bella being so close to the wolves, and his hands were twitching from the effort it took not to reach out and yank her away from them.

Relax, Edward. She feels perfectly safe with them and they feel extremely protective of her.

The last thing we needed now was for him to do something rash, and antagonize the wolves and Bella more. The hate and loathing the two wolves felt towards us were strong, and I feared that it wouldn't take much for them to lose their tenuous hold on themselves and attack us. I knew that I would probably not have any problems taking them down, but Bella could be caught in the crossfire and that would not end well.

I sent out some much-needed calm and felt relieved when everyone instantly relaxed. The last twenty-four hours had been an emotional roller coaster for the whole family, and I was having a hard time dealing with all of their emotions on top of my own. I felt extremely confused and didn't know what to believe anymore. A lot of things had been discussed, and nothing seemed to add up. I desperately needed answers and I had a feeling that Bella would be able to provide some insight.

Ever the diplomat, Carlisle offered a small smile and asked Bella if she would like to come in and sit down so we could be more comfortable. Before Bella had a chance to answer, the big silver wolf growled and made a move to stand between her and the house.

"They don't want her to leave their sight." Edward felt the need to explain, even though it was quite obvious to everyone that the wolves did not trust us with Bella.

"Of course you are welcome to come inside as well." Carlisle was quick to reassure the wolves, even though the thought of letting those stinking animals into the house was not appealing to any of us.

"They refuse to change back into their human forms, and since they can talk through me they don't see a need for it."

"Well they're sure as hell not coming into our house like that." Rose spat with disgust.

Bella took a couple of steps and placed herself in the middle, holding her hands up to both groups. "Let's just stay out here, okay?"

"We'll go and get some lawn chairs for us to sit on." Esme motioned to Alice, who had been unusually quiet, and they took off towards the garage to get the chairs.

I knew that it bothered Alice that her gift wasn't always working. She had been frantic with worry when she couldn't see how Bella was doing after we made the decision to go back to Forks. Up until that point she had tried her best to do as Edward had asked of her, and had not looked into Bella's future. The only times she had checked was when I had decided to go and see Bella.

The guilt of attacking her on her birthday had been eating me alive and I had felt a desperate need to see her and at least try to apologize. Not only had I tried to kill her, but my actions had led to the whole family leaving her. Bella was such an amazing girl, and I had managed to not only ruin her birthday, but also essentially separate her from the love of her life and from a whole second family that I knew she loved very much.

To say that she had taken me by surprise yesterday would be a gross understatement. The feelings she evoked in me when she had defended me to Edward surpassed anything I'd ever felt. There she was, this little human girl, showing more trust and faith in me than anyone had ever done. And then she hugged me. Oh God, the feel of her warm, soft body against mine was…fuck; I didn't even have words for it.

I guess I shouldn't think about her as a 'girl' anymore, she had definitely grown into a young woman in our absence. When she arrived here today on the back of the wolf, with a look of sheer bliss on her face and her hair blowing in the wind, she took my breath away. Her strength was awe-inspiring and it was quite humbling to be in her presence. The family's reaction to the sight was almost enough to bring me to my knees; the shock and concern ran high with everyone, as well as the realization that she was, indeed, practically part of the pack. Rose and Carlisle had also emitted high amounts of respect, and I knew that Rose was starting to see Bella in a different light. The most prominent emotion to seeing Bella riding the wolf, however, had been lust. A whole fuckton of lust that had my cock throbbing with the desire to fuck the living daylights out of that beautiful girl on a wolf.

"Jasper, please…" Edward apparently didn't like the path my thoughts had led me down.

Sorry, Edward, but she's hot. Besides you can't say that you didn't feel the exact same thing. And I'm sure Emmett's thoughts were not exactly innocent, given the amount of lust coming from him?

He gave me a small nod and I felt his resignation and reluctant acceptance. Alice danced up to me and we sat down next to Carlisle and Esme. The chairs had been set up in a semi-circle so we all could face each other without having to turn our backs to the wolves. Bella stood to the side, looking at the remaining seats, feeling slightly awkward, and Edward wasn't doing much better. He obviously wanted to pull Bella down to sit next to him but he wasn't sure how she would react. She hadn't exactly given him a warm welcome as of yet, and he was drowning in insecurity, guilt and grief. I gave Emmett a pointed look to do something to break the tension; after all, it was the one thing he was the master of.

Waving his arms around like crazy to get Bella's attention he boomed out; "Hey Squirt, come sit here between Esme and Rose."

A sudden rush of lust burst out from Bella, quickly followed by embarrassment. Before I had time to contemplate her weird reaction, however, I felt an overwhelming amount of lust coming from the silver wolf. Edward's head snapped up and whatever it was that he heard the wolf thinking of made me tense up. Edward was feeling shocked and confused at first, but that quickly led to lust and wonder before he switched over to grief and loss. I was having problems keeping up with his rapidly-changing emotions, and it reminded me of being surrounded by newborns again. It took me a second before I realized that all of Edward's emotions had warped into intense fury, and by that time it was too late and all hell broke loose.

The amazing Simaril wrote a hilarious o/s for me, called "Armageddon kinda". Go check it out! www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/7039335/1/Armageddon_kinda or www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/7039310/1/Armageddon_kinda