In Loving Memory of William Weitzel b. 1910 d. 2011.

Our Own Hero.

. : Chapter 30: Shadows : .

I got back in time to hear familiar voices coming from around the front of the house.

Barely holding in a groan and resisting the urge to run very quickly back into the forest, anywhere away, I crept on silent, dreading feet around the side of my old home.

There, standing out from the veranda on overgrown grass, like they owned the world, stood a good half of the pack, or it seemed that way to me, along with my deranged sister. I had been sort of hoping that she'd have gone home by now, but apparently not.

"You have no right to be here!" Tasha was all but screeching at Jay while jabbing him repeatedly in the chest with one dainty finger. Sam stood close enough to grab her in case she actually tried to attack someone, and behind him were Paul, Max, Brady, Colin and Quil.

Jay, Dan and Maddy were the only ones outside, for which I was thankful. The last thing any of us needed was more bloody imprinting cases.

"I'll think you'll find," Jay snapped, grabbing her hand in time to stop her from hitting him again. "That we do."

"Oh, really?" She really did fume like a bull, face red as a tomato, steam pouring out her ears.

"If you could explain to me on what authority you have to be here…" Sam started in a much more diplomatic tone. He and the boys were as bare chested as always. And were all puffed up and standing to their full heights with typical male I'm-defending-my-turf egos. I nearly expected them to start snarling.

"The owner and your chief, as it turns out." Jay replied smoothly. You could probably cut through all the damn testosterone with a butter knife.

I shook my head. Human, werewolf…males were all the same. Imbeciles.

"You don't have my authority, and I want you all out, now!" Tasha snapped.

"Well, yours wasn't needed. You don't have any say in the matter, Tashie, so stop making a fool of yourself." Maddy smirked. They never really had bonded…

"Why you little…" My sister clenched her fists and took a step forward like she actually intended to hit my partner.

That was enough. As much as I would've loved to have stayed out of it, this was my problem. I'll admit that much. I usually try to make a habit of dealing with my own problems. And no one, no one, threatens my partner.

"You know you're not thinking of hitting her, Tasha. Because you know she'll have no problems kicking your arse if you do." I said, much more calmly then I felt as I strode around the house and out into plain view. Walking as far as Jay's side and stopping there. Lines drawn, allegiances clear.

"How thrilling to see you, again. What do I owe this delightful reunion to?" Please note the sarcasm.

"Eva." My sister said, breathily, like she couldn't quite believe it or wasn't totally sure it was me. Perhaps I should suggest glasses. Oh no, I wasn't bitter at all.

"Ohmygod. Your back!"

"Excellent observation. Not for any of you, I assure you." I snapped, my tone probably icy enough to freeze hell over. I fisted my hands, still feeling their betrayal burning inside me. "We have Billy's permission to be here, so you can all bugger off."

I noticed that Quil was taking slow, inconspicuous steps backwards, I pounced on it immediately.

"Where do you think your going?" If only looks could kill. "I know who you're going to go running to, and I'm telling you to leave it."

"Evie," Sam said, softly. Do thine ears detect a guilty tone? He coughed. "Could we maybe talk about this?" He asked, flicking his eyes mistrustfully over my friends. "In private?"

"No." Short, sweet, straight to the point. Easy, even for idiots to understand.

"C'mon Evie, don't be such a selfish bitch. He's fuckin' suffering without you, and you don't look so crash hot either." Paul piped up.

"That probably has something to do with all the stress I've been under lately, and the lack of sleep I've been getting. Jacob Black is not my problem; you'll have to deal with his manic depression on your own." I said, crisply, ignoring the clenching in my gut and the sick feeling I got from his words. Jake. Suffering…my fault.

I noted how Paul tensed up and the stern look Sam gave him. Anger triggered the change; they got wild, lost control. The scars on Emily's face…I cast a nervous glance at my friends. If Paul-dumbshit lost it, they'd be in the firing line.

I could throw the knife in my boot fast enough to stop him before he could lay a hand-paw?-on them.

"We would be, if he was here." Cousin, uh, brother– gee, lucky me – said, seemingly trying to catch my eye. I wouldn't meet his gaze, conscious suddenly of what Mum had told me about my eyes. "He doesn't hang around much anymore, spends most of his time in the forest."

"Excellent!" I said, as happily as I could manage. Even to my own ears it sounded like the most pathetic attempt on record. How had I made it as a spy, seriously? And I'd just been walking through the goddamn forest! Had he seen me? Did he know I was here already?

"He's gotten in touch with nature, that's very healthy for you, they say. I'm sure he's fine. So glad we've cleared this up, goodbye." I prattled so quickly they probably only caught every second word or so. I turned quickly and started ushering my half alert, half amused looking team back inside.

Jay slung an arm around my shoulders and chuckled. "You did better then I expected you would, baby girl. I'm proud of ya."

I hardly thought so. My heart was still pounding, blood rushing, I swear I could hear it in my ears. My insides were still twisting themselves into knots. God, would I actually be sick? Possibly. "Let's go inside, I'm hungry."

Did well. Hah.

"CJ will probably have a horse cooked by now." Dan laughed as he stepped inside, followed by the others.

I looked back at my past, who were all still standing where I'd left them, staring after us. I rolled my eyes at them and waved dismissively, mustering what was left of my tattered control. "Go home." I whispered, knowing the wolves would probably hear me. "You're not welcome in my life."

"I hope it isn't a horse." Maddy was saying. "I'm firmly equine intolerant."

I laughed, genuinely, firmly shutting the door. Some of the tension eased. These were the people I belonged with. These ones right here. "There might not be much lobster here, Mads, but I don't think they actually get desperate enough to sell horse."

"You never know with these isolated little places. You remember that time we were given camel?" She insisted, turning a little paler even as she said it. Maddy liked normal foods, even the idea of exotics didn't go well with her stomach.

"That was Saudi Arabia; camels are about all there is there." I chuckled, pulling her into the kitchen, the menace outside nearly forgotten. Lie. "What's for dinner, Cookie?"

CJ looked up from placing the plates on the table and raised an unamused eyebrow. "Certainly not horse, that's for sure. You've got rump steak and vegies, suitable?"

"Cow I can handle." Maddy replied, smiling as she took a seat next to her son, making a face at him to make him laugh. I sighed at the sweet sound.

"Fantastic, dig in! Jay's offered to do the washing up." Our house-mother announced happily.

"What?" Jay spluttered, appalled at the very idea of having to do housework. "I did not!"

"There's no dish-washer here, and I cooked it. You can wash up."

"I'm not the only one eating it, ya know. Make Dan do it."

"Hey!"

"Danny can do it tomorrow night; we'll make a roster out of it. We'll take turns cooking and cleaning up."

"You and your bloody rosters…"

"Shut up. Or I'll have you on clean up duty for the entire time we're here."

"I'll revolt." He warned.

"You'll be cooking your own meals." She returned, smirking.

"I can cook, you know."

I scoffed. "You call giving yourself food poisoning, cooking?"

"How was I supposed to know that…some things had passed their used-by date?"

We exchanged looks, before Yas replied in a slow, your-such-an-idiot tone. "Uh, by reading the packaging?"

Jay seemed to struggle with an answer, so we naturally just dissolved into giggles.

"Hey, you weren't lyin' when you said the uh,natives, were well muscled huh, Eves?" Yas asked me, grinning mischievously as she pushed broccoli around her plate. "Their yummy."

"Their personalities put you off, trust me." There was the underlying; I don't want to risk you being a soul-mate to any of them, too. From personal experience, one love sick dog was more then enough.

"I reckon if they didn't talk…" She trailed off, shrugging. "It's not my fault. I'm trained to notice hot guys; it's just programmed into me."

We laughed, and Tess even blushed. "They are good looking…"

"Well, the oldest looking one is engaged, that's the one who did most of the talking. The one that called me a selfish bitch is also engaged, and the one that tried to sneak off to find Black is also involved…in a really creepy and complicated way. The other three are single, as far as I know. Though Max would be to old for you two, anyway." I finished off with an uncaring shrug. Lie."We can just be thankful that Black wasn't among them…and neither were Leah or Seth. I don't know how that'd go…probably not well."

"You reckon?" Jay asked sarcastically. "I was surprised that your first meeting went that well though. Especially with Tasha and Sam present."

"I didn't give them much of a chance to talk, did I?"

He grinned. "Clever girl."

"I thought Tasha was going to pop a fuse." Danny chuckled. "Girl looked like she was ready to explode."

I smirked. "Yes, no doubt she'll drive everyone insane tonight, bitching about us and demanding that you be kicked off the res and me kidnapped and forbidden from ever leaving."

"Bit drastic, don't you think?" Maddy asked, raising an eyebrow at my theatrics.

"This is Tasha we're talking about."

"…Yeah, okay, point made."

oOo

I was close to being half-asleep when the scream echoed through the house.

I rolled out of bed, snatching my favourite handgun from under my pillow as I did so and bolted for the door, Yas was up and on my tail milliseconds later.

We ran down the stairs to the lounge, where all our surveillance equipment had been set up. The rest of the team were down only moments after us, guns drawn and ready to fire.

Tess was seated at the small table in the centre of the room, the one with computers all over it. She was staring, wide eyed, at the screen, her hands clasped over her mouth and as pale as the sheets that still covered my Dad's furniture.

"Tessie?" CJ murmured, voice thick with sleep, lowering her firearm. Now that the apparent danger had passed, we went back to being 'just woken up'. "Honey, what in the name of Jesus Christ was the screaming?"

Tess withdrew one hand long enough to point at one of the screens before slapping it back over her mouth, as if she had to stifle another.

I tucked my gun into the waistband of my boxers and went over to look, laying a comforting hand on her arm as I leaned down over her shoulder to see the screen. It was a video feed from one of the cameras they'd set up earlier, this one being situated close to the house, maybe even in the tree next to my room.

It looked into the forest, and there, looming between the trees, was a huge shadowy figure.

"One of the wolves." I muttered, barely above a whisper. It was huge, its chest double the thickness of the large tree trunks it stood beside. It would've been as tall as Jay at the shoulder, taller, even. "Sam's having the place watched."

"That's…one of the guys who were here today?" Tess whispered thickly. I could almost hear her heart hammering against her ribcage. I could definitely feel her shaking under my hand.

"They won't touch us, hun. I promise." I assured her, moving back to let the others get a look at it. It was probably him, but…oh well. It would do.

"Holy mackerel." Danny muttered.

"You're recording this, right? Have to show Tyler." Jay asked, grinning triumphantly. "Stick this in his pipe and watch him smoke it."

"Damn." Yas shook her head. "And they all look like that? Damn. You'd only need a few and you'd have an army. How many are there, again?"

"Thirteen…that I know of." I replied, looking distractedly out the kitchen window to the moon-lit forest beyond. The feed wasn't infrared, like I knew some of them were. But somehow, the naturalness of it just made it all the creepier. Dark shapes moving in moon-cast shadows…the stuff of horror movies, right? "They don't know about the gear, lets keep it that way."

"I'm hardly gonna go out and fucking tell the giant beast that we can see it." Yas snapped.

"Shh!" I hissed at her. "We don't know just how good their hearing is, remember? Keep it down."

She swallowed. "Right. Sorry."

"They'll probably hang around. But I highly doubt we'll see one in person. Their more secretive then we are." I said. "Just go back to bed, they won't worry us."

"You're positive?" Tess asked, still shaken, stilly eyeballing the giant thing that hadn't moved from its post. "They won't hurt us?"

I smiled at her. "I'm positive. Dan, take the rest of Tessie's shift. C'mon, hun, lets get you to bed."

Danny kissed his wife's cheek and helped Tess rise from the chair and stand on wobbly legs.

My friend shivered. "So don't do supernatural. Nasty, nasty stuff. I agree with Ty, lets stick with proven science."

I chuckled, taking her arm and guiding her up the stairs. I was sharing my old room with Yas. Tess and CJ were in Tasha's, and Jay had decided to set up a mattress in the hall between our rooms.

Something about protecting the damsels.

Yas had nearly hit him in the head with a frypan.

And Dan and Maddy had taken my parent's old room with Benny.

After handing Tess to CJ, who took her back to bed, I ushered Yas back into our room.

"If you need anything, just squeal." Jay said to us, grinning.

Yas scowled at him. "I guarantee you that you'll be squealing long before we do."

"Come on, you two. You can argue in the morning." I smirked, shutting the door on him. "You don't always have to take the bait, you know." I said to Yas as we settled back down. We'd shifted the boxes and set up an air mattress against the opposite wall to my bed.

She shrugged her shoulders as she stretched out and linked her fingers together behind her head. "I know. But I love beating the crap out of him so much that it's just the perfect excuse really."

I chuckled, and reached over to switch off the lamp on the tiny bedside table. "You really are some sort of evil, Yas."

She laughed. "Not like I ain't heard that one before…Eves?"

"Mmhm?"

"We won't actually have to fight those massive mangy mutts, will we? Like, you didn't just say that stuff to calm Tessie down?" She asked, quietly.

I was surprised that something had managed to spook our Yas, but was equally proud at how well she'd hidden her feelings. I rolled onto my side so I could see her outline in the little light that managed to find its way through the open window.

"I promise. Their purpose is to protect the humans from the vampires. They still have full possession of their minds, and while I'm not very fond of them or believe there's much in those minds, I know they'd never hurt a person on purpose."

I saw her nod. "Okay, if ya say so, Evie. G'night."

"Night." I whispered back, and waited until her breathing evened out, signalling she was asleep before I closed my own eyes, trying to fend off my new feeling of dread. Things were gonna get a whole lot more complicated, long before I was ready for it.

A/N: Thank you so much SasoLOVE111, Ravenclaw Slytherin, brightglo, RealWriter03, dragonrain618, Azalia Fox Knightling, Puckabrina Alee, kiki, TempusSimia, peygoodwin, 1sweetmoment, SerenityAngels, Rebeccaaa, 'Lil Obsessed, Voxtur, MAMfanfic, Happy2BeeMee, SamMorgan13, LoneWolfPack, midnightblue19, SundaySolis and Harvey the Wonder Hamster for the reviews. They are, as always, very much appreciated.

As the notice up the top indicates, my Grandpa passed away last Sunday. I'm surviving but it's a hard road to travel on, and it's not showing any turn off's anytime soon. He was a hero and survivor of WWII, father of seven, grandfather of twelve and great grandfather of one-soon to be two. He will be dearly missed. My hero, and my inspiration

The funeral is tomorrow. I'm currently at my friend's place, so haven't seen any of my family since the news. We'll be staying with my grandmother for a couple of days hopefully.

I've had this chapter ready for a few days, but couldn't find the inclination to post it until now, I'm sorry. I thought I should give it to you now though, in case I don't have a chance to later.

-Meg