I deserve to have someone come and beat me with a stick… And how is everyone else? :)

Yea, it's been a while. College kicked my butt -..- Happy to say, I'll be taking a creative writing class this coming semester (which is about to start this Monday!).

But, let's move on to the story, shall we? Please do enjoy…

Embry tore through the woods after the damned blood sucker. It was a good half hour before he slowed down. And then, only when he couldn't spot the parasite, did he remember to howl. He had to alert the rest of the pack, after all. It took only a few minutes for the pack bond to start buzzing with voices.

'A bloodsucker?'

'Not a Cullen.'

'Why's he here?'

'Coincidence?'

'How should I know! I've only been chasing him!' Embry quipped back.

'Geeze, Embry, how long did you let that tic play tag with you?' Leah asked.

'Feels like about half an hour or so… maybe longer. I dunno.'

'Why didn't you howl right away?' Jacob asked.

'Because…. I don't.. Aw, hell, Jake. He was right near Joanna's back yard…'

'Oh, that makes sense.' Quil said. 'If it were Claire, I'd want it as far away from her as I could get it, and to hell with the rest of the pack.' Embry felt Seth and Jacob agreeing and sympathizing through the bond… which was peculiar since Seth hadn't experienced the all-encompassing need to protect an imprint… what with not having one yet.

'That's no excuse.' Leah growled. 'You should have howled right away.'

'Oh yeah, and then Joanna would've been curious to see if the wolves were back, and she would've come out, and God only knows what would've happened.' Embry groused. And then they were there with him. Not just via pack bond, but physically bounding through the brush. He continued to scan the trees while the others picked up its trail and caught its scent.

'It doesn't smell like one of them…' Seth observed.

'Huh?' Embry blinked and bent to take in the scent as well. It didn't. It smelled strange, wild, and inhuman….but the burning, revolting smell was missing. It was a musky sort of scent, no doubt about that… very earthy, but it almost smelled as though it belong there in the woods. But he had been right there! It landed there not five minutes ago only to spring back up into the trees.

'It ran from tree to tree?' Quil asked with a scoff. 'Gay.'

'And it just jumped out in front of you and yelled "tag"?' Jacob asked, squinting at the canopy.

'Weird and gay.' Quil corrected with a snort.

'This isn't funny.' Embry growled.

'Either way, I gotta tell Sam… and Nessie.' Jacob muttered before letting out a howl.

'Do you think the Cullen's would know something about this?' Seth asked, panting as his eyes darted around for any clues to where the leach could've gone. 'I mean, vampires talk, right? And one this weird is bound to be known.'

'Dunno. That's why I'm gonna ask.' Jacob replied. It was nagging at the back of his mind. The scent was just all wrong. Nessie didn't smell exactly like a vampire either, but this was different… even for a half blooded vampire.

'Knowing Sam, he's probably already on his way…' Leah grumbled.

'Probably…' Jacob responded pensively. 'Leah, do you think you and Seth could run a wide perimeter sweep?'

'On it.' Leah replied with a bark, leaping into a run. She was more than grateful to have any excuse not to be around when Sam did appear.

'Hey wait up!' Seth called following behind.

'It's so bizarre. Usually we know we'll see one of 'em by the smell, or the random missing person's reports that start popping up.' Quil said.

'Either way, I don't want anyone alone in the woods anymore. Two's the minimum.'

'Minimum for what, now?' Sam was asking as he drew nearer. The great black shadow moved through the woods, skidding to a halt near them. Jacob quickly relayed Embry's memory of the vampire he'd been chasing. Sam's hackles rose with a dangerous growl. 'Just the one?' he asked.

'So far.' Jacob drew away from where the bloodsucker's footprints were, letting Sam take in the scent. On friendly terms? Absolutely. But Sam and Jacob were still two Alphas, and as courteous as they tried to be sometimes instinct took over and being close wasn't safe for anyone.

'Lets hope it stays that way.' Sam thought.

'Yeah. I'm gonna ask Nessie about it… see if her folks can help figure out why this one's so… weird.'

Sam literally nodded, his huge wolf head dipping. 'I'll spread the word. The woods of La Push will be guarded well.'

'Crap.' Embry thought.

'What?' Quil asked.

'I'm gonna have to go back and get my cell phone… and the bits of clothes I left behind.'

After Embry had left, Joanna gathered up her art supplies and stood in the middle of her living room for quite a while. She ambled slowly to her office, mulling over the days events in her mind. She sighed as she set her sketch pad down on the table. Embry had been… accepting. Very open and gentlemanly. She straddled a stool and leaned over the sketchpad, using her charcoal pencils to shade her raw drawings. She shaded his eyes and face properly before carefully picking up her color pencils.

Just as she'd picked up one of her color pencils, a howl echoed from outside. She froze, looking up and around and just waiting. When stillness returned she ricocheted off the stool and ran through her house turning off all the lights. She locked her back door and then her front, turning about and slowly sliding down against the door. A few minutes later another howl sounded through the stillness, perviously only broken by her breathing. Joanna couldn't help but wonder what the in the world had gotten the wolves' attention. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

She gave a little gasping squeak when someone knocked on her door.

"Joanna? You alright?"

"R-Rhonda!" Joanna cried, jumping up and unlocking the door. "Finally!"

Upon opening the door, Joanna was greeted not only by Rhonda, but the big ball of golden brown fluff Rhonda practically shoved in her face. "Tada."

"Godric!" Joanna cried joyfully, taking the fluffy golden rabbit from Rhonda and cradling him against her chest. "Oh, Ricky, I've missed you!" she cooed, carefully scratching the top of his head. Godric - or Ricky - had been her's for four years now. She'd gotten him from an accidental liter, and had begun handling him so early that he had no problem with humans. He would lay in her lap or against her shoulders or chest or belly or just nearby, but he never ran from her. She looked him over and smiled. "You need your nails trimmed again." She said with a smile.

Rhonda cleared her throat, an amused expression on her face.

"Oh… Oh, for goodness sake, come in." Joanna said with a sheepish smile. Rhonda picked up Godric's litter box. "Are his litter pellets in the car?"

Rhonda nodded. "A full bag of that and green hay. That rabbit is so spoiled." She murmured as she set the litter box down against the wall just inside the door. Joanna didn't notice that Rhonda wasn't alone until she heard the car door slam. The breath left Joanna's body as her eyes landed on Miranda… the sister she'd hurt with cruel and bitter words so long ago.

Miranda hadn't changed very much. Her bouncy golden hair cascaded around her in waves that Joanna envied. Her form was fit and curvy. She wore a black shirt with what looked like dark red graffiti across it, faded jeans that had patches and holes, though Joanna could spy black leggings through those holes. Her face had a youthful, almost adorable quality that many people found innocent upon first sight… talk about a ridiculous assumption. But her beautiful green eyes were distant and guarded. She was obviously uncomfortably being here, not that Joanna could blame her.

'Stupid whore!' Joanna winced, swallowing hard as she remembered her own words. How could she have been so vicious to someone so dear to her?

She blinked in confusion when she realized that Rhonda was taking Godric from her hands. The blue-eyed red head gave Joanna a knowing look before slipping inside. Joanna stared at Miranda for what seemed like ages. Miranda crossed her arms over her chest, her hands gripping the opposite elbow nervously.

"I'm so sorry." Joanna whispered at last. Miranda's eyes snapped up. "I'm so, so sorry." Joanna said again, because she was. And she'd apologize as many times as it took.

Miranda bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah." She said, her voice scratchy. "Me too."

A sobbing sigh sifted from Joanna, relief seeping into her. Miranda's right hand drifted up to her left shoulder, messaging the area between her shoulder and the side of her neck nervously.

"Did Rhonda ask you to come with her?" Joanna asked, not sure what else to say.

"Hm?" Miranda blinked distractedly. "Oh. Not exactly." She shrugged and began ambling towards the house. "Stan called and… he was trying to cajole me into coming… but then Cass grabbed the phone and told me to come."

Joanna nodded. That did sound right. Cassie and Miranda had always been close… most likely, because it was Cassie who 'found' Miranda and brought her home. Cassie had always supported Miranda in changing her life for the better. When Cassie said something needed to be done, ten-to-one, Miranda would find a way to do it.

"S'it warm out here?" Miranda asked, rubbing at the left side of her collar bone.

"Warm?" Joanna asked incredulously. She wasn't complaining. She liked the cool Washington weather… but warm?

"You're right… I must be having a hot flash." Miranda murmured uneasy.

"Come inside." Joanna said timidly, and Miranda nodded. Things were still uncomfortable… but they had made a start. As the two women returned inside, neither of them noticed the smiling face hidden within the darkness of the tree branches above, or the twinkling eyes that watched them.

'Leah.' Seth groaned via the mind link. 'At least let me catch up! You're a half mile away.' He could feel Leah's snort without having to be near her. He felt a strange prickle of cold wash down his back, making his fur stand on end. He slowed to a walk and looked around at the trees.

'You know, if you actually want to catch up, you're going about it all wrong.' Leah snipped at him.

'Ha ha.' Seth snorted back. 'Something just feels… weird.'

"What are you looking for?" a young girl's voice captured his attention.

'Aw, man!'

'I can't even—'

When his eyes landed on her, his lips turned up into a snarl. She was…maybe 12, at the most. Her long black hair was held back from her face by a crimson red ribbon that tied up on the top of her head. Only her bangs spilled forward. Her skin was pale, and she wore a crimson dress with a strange lacy black apron over it, black stockings and red shiny shoes. And red eyes. Crimson red eyes bore into him. They appeared to twinkle, almost as if she was happy to see him.

'Holy f—'

'It's like a reverse Alice in Wonderland or something.' That came from Quil, who was getting very strange looks via the pack link right now. 'What? Claire loves that Disney crap!' he defended.

"That's not a very nice way to greet someone." The girl said, slowly walking forward. "I only asked what you were looking for." She reminded. Seth's fur stood on end as he growled harshly at her.

'Are they allowed to make 'em that young?' That was Embry. Seth could feel the rest of the pack running as fast as they could to catch up to his position. It wouldn't be long.

'I don't think so.' Jacob responded.

The girl, for her part looked hurt. Betrayed and scared at Seth's reactions.

"I don't want to hurt you." She assured, fear creeping into her tone. She sniffled, her eyes shinning realistically.

'What the… Hang on a second! Can they cry?' Leah asked, still running desperately to close the gap between them.

Seth had gone still and silent in shock. 'I don't think so…' he said. He whined at her, but it was a little late for that. Her dark lashes had squinted closed, but when she opened her eyes tears crested those lashes and overran her face. Seth's nose twitched as he leaned forward just slightly. Unfortunately, the damage was done and she skipped back a pace or so. What was fortunate, was that his nose was stronger than the distance between them.

'So… she's like the other one?' Embry asked.

'She doesn't smell like a vampire at all.' Seth concluded. Seth panted, whining again in hopes of conveying that he wasn't going to hurt her.

She sniffled more, pulling a burgundy handkerchief out of her apron and covering her face. Tiny hands covered in black lace gloves clung to that handkerchief. "Did I startle you?" she asked, still blinking back tears as she peeked over the top of the handkerchief. "I didn't mean to."

'Um, you guys may want to… not show up. I mean, she's pretty scared.' Seth said.

'A little late for that, bro.' Leah said, entering the small clearing from the north. She jogged over to Seth's side and stared the little girl down.

'Besides, it could be a trap or something.' Jacob warned.

'I don't think so…' Seth responded. But, like Leah had said. It was too late. The others came in from the west and fanned out, mostly leaving the girl alone and joining Seth and Leah. The girl was visibly shaking at the sight of so many wolves.

'Um, she may be a lot younger than you thought, dude. I mean… is it possible she thought you were just a dog or something?' Quil asked.

'Who knows?'

The girl's eyes grew round an wide and she froze. But she wasn't looking at them. Her gaze slowly turned until it landed on Sam's hulking form. An enormous nightmare shadow with vicious looking teeth. The girl's face was that of pure horror, and she took a deep breath before letting out the shrillest scream they'd ever heard. It was long and echoing, a piercing sound that bordered the supernatural… and it physically hurt to hear it. Sam backed further into the shadows, and the wolves whined and howled, begging for the sound to stop. Finally, she ran out of breath. Her knees buckled, and she sat a huddled mess of shivering dark Lolita. Seth whined, pitying the poor thing. He carefully strode forward, keeping himself low to the ground.

'Seth!' Leah warned.

'She's just a little girl.' Seth snapped. A rustle of leaves stopped him, as though something had hit a branch up high. Seth had just enough time to take a step back when the man Embry had chased away earlier landed hard, making ruts in the dirt until he stopped between the wolves and the girl. His pupils were pinpoint, which only made his glowing red eyes seem more inhuman. He hissed at them, his lips pulling back up over his teeth wildly, and began to stride forward aggressively.

"Enough." The familiar baritone made them all flinch. The red-eyed wild man stopped advancing, and the wolves all hunkered down, poised to take a flying leap back into the underbrush. The wolves watched as Stanley and another man, just as tall but somehow more muscled than Stan, walked forward. The unknown man put one hand on top of the red-eyed man's head, snapping his attention away from the wolves. The physical contact made the man blink out of his thousand-yard stare, and that was when they realized that his eyes were actually glowing. The only reason they realized this is because they stopped glowing. The red-eyed man shook himself, turning and scooping the little red-eyed girl up into his arms. He whispered comforting words to her, that he was here and she didn't have anything to worry about. The big man let his eyes rake over the wolf pack momentarily, before he nodded at Stanley and walked away. The red-eyed man followed his lead, walking at the unknown man's side into the dark. Stanley continued watching the wolf pack until all traces of them were gone.

'Uh… ok. So what now?' Embry asked. There was no way in hell he could knowingly bring harm to Stan… He was connected to Joanna for one, and… well… he wasn't evil. Wicked? Sure, sometimes, but not evil.

'I was hoping someone else would know what the hell we should do, actually.' Leah said.

'Sam? Ideas?' Jacob asked. He could hear Sam sighing mentally in response.

Stanley shook his head and turned around, walking back out of the clearing the same way he'd walked in. "Take your people and go home." He said simply. And they all watched his retreating back.

'Someone… please tell me what just happened?' Quil begged.

'People…' Jacob murmured and Sam looked to him in question. The other's were watching as Stanley's back became almost invisible in the moonlight. 'He didn't say 'pack' or… or anything that implied he was talking to wolves. He said, 'take your people and go home'.'

'Do you suppose he knew those…uh… non-vampires?' Seth asked. Sam walked over to sniff around the tracks.

'And who was the guy that walked into the woods with him?' Embry asked.

'Yeah… And what did that guy look like?' Leah said. 'If I'm being honest, I can't even remember.'

'Well, he was tan, with back hair and hazel eyes, about as big as a bear and looked about as friendly.' Quil replied.

'Really.' Leah said in agreement.

'Perhaps, you all should go home.' Sam was saying to Jacob. 'Get a chance to get this scent and then head back home. It looks like there are no more monsters in the woods tonight at least.' As he spoke it, Seth was already walking over to take in the various scents. 'We can reconvene at my place to discuss what's happened tonight.'

'Good idea.' Jacob replied, stepping forward as Sam rejoined the shadows of the wood. 'Both packs might be able to come up with something…'

'Be sure to bring Billy.' Sam said before leaving entirely. 'I'll be very interested on his take on all of this.' And then he left to rendezvous with his pack and bring them back to get the scent. Though the two packs had been working together for a while now, it still took a bit of coordination. Jacob's pack took some time to get the different scents before starting back for Billy's house.

'Stanley saw us…' Embry murmured almost as if he only just realized it.

'I know man—' Quil was trying to comfort him.

'Dude, he saw us… and he didn't even bat an eye! Who does that!'

'Embry raises a damn good point.' Leah realized. '… exactly what type of people are Joanna's family? Even she had a reaction to us…. Albeit a weird one.'

'Would you lay off!' Embry growled.

'Relax, Embry.' Jacob countered. 'Leah does have a point. Stanley didn't even seem to realize he was talking to a pack of enormous wolves. It was business as usual.' Jacob stopped before they reached the wood just around the house. 'It raises the question… what kind of person is he really?'

As far as Embry was concerned… strange though Stanley may be, he was a great guy. After a day of working together, he had vouched for Embry with Joanna. That alone had allowed Embry to spend more time with her, since Joanna obviously thought a lot of Stanley's opinion. Maybe Stanley was just… really observant! He could see that the wolves weren't a threat, so he saw no reason to regard them as anything more than people in a tizzy over intruders. Just like he could see how much Embry truly cared for Joanna, and thus gave him the opportunity to prove himself.

'That's all nice and sentimental, Embry.' Leah was saying. 'But it wasn't just us. It was those others. The red-eyed non-vampires who seemed to have strange abilities. All he said was 'Enough'. He didn't even raise his voice, and that guy just stopped. And I think we all know he was more than ready to keep going.' Damn her for muddling this with logic!

'Leah, you change first.' Jacob reminded as they all turned their heads.

'I know!' she bit back before changing.

'Look.' Jacob was saying to Embry, as softly and comfortingly as possible. 'I'll call Nessie, we'll get the elders, and we'll head over to Sam's place. Where we'll talk. That's all we'll do is talk. Because we don't know enough about anything yet to even make a decision.' Jacob knew his dad well enough to know he wouldn't want to actually make a decision on events none of them understood. 'At the worst, we'll decide to observe them.'

Embry calmed down after that. Sure, it was an invasion of privacy, but being in people's business kind of came with their vow to protect the tribe.

"So…" Joanna began, trying to break through the awkwardness. "How long are you staying for?"

"Just the night." Miranda responded. She and Rhonda had both changed into their night clothes. For Rhonda that meant a long pale blue night dress. For Miranda, it meant a black sleeveless shirt that looked like it probably belong to a very big man and black and rainbow stripped leggings. "Rhonda and I are heading up to Seattle in the morning. I'm… looking into moving there."

"To Seattle?" Joanna asked hopefully. She smiled when Miranda nodded.

"I …uh…Well, I don't wanna jinx it or anything, but I may be able to get into the PNB."

"The PNB?"

"Pacific Northwest Ballet school." Miranda said with a radiant smile.

"Oh my god!" Joanna cried, her hands fly to the top of her head. "That's wonderful!"

"Well, it's…nothing yet." Miranda said, trying to bottle her enthusiasm. "I mean, I have to see if I actually could apply for a scholarship, and I'm looking into a few jobs I may be able to take. I'm kind of hoping I can get a position at Velocity. I won't know until I get there though."

"Uncle J?" Joanna asked.

"Uncle J." Miranda confirmed with a nod. "The man has his hands in everything, it seems."

"Or he knows a lot of people in a lot of places." Rhonda corrected, a secretive smile on her face as her blue eyes twinkled at the two girls.

"That's probably it." Joanna said with a nod.

"What about you?" Miranda said quickly, in an obvious attempt to divert the subject. She hated getting her hopes up… especially when it concerned her and her dreams. "How have you been? How's living here?"

"Uh." Joanna thought about that before answering. "You know, surprisingly.. It's been a lot better than I thought it'd be." She said at last. "I mean, I know that with Stan and Cassie here, I technically still have the training wheels on, but… I've already met a few people, and uh…" she rubbed her thumb against her palm and fingers in a nervous fidget. "I'm trying." She was happy to note that Miranda didn't look judgmental or skeptical. "I still need to paint this place." She said, waving a hand at the plain walls.

"Who are these people you've met?" Rhonda asked.

"Well, they're all locals… Embry, Jacob, and Quil came and helped Stan with the fence."

"What kind of a name is Quil?" Miranda asked, momentarily distracted.

"I know, right?" Joanna shrugged. "Probably a family name or something. I mean, they're all from the local Quileute tribe."

"Native as in Native American?" Miranda asked. She smirked. "Nice." Joanna couldn't say that it was 'odd' since everyone had preferences, but Miranda had made it no secret that she had a bit of a weakness for Native American men. She imagined that if Miranda could live in this community and still dance to her hearts content, she'd be in heaven.

"Does that mean you'll come and visit me on the weekends when you can break away from your glamorous, prestigious dancing school?" Joanna asked, hope and whimsy mingling in her tone.

"Will we actually be able to mingle in the community?" Miranda asked.

"It's a small community, so…yes." Joanna said with a satisfied smile. "Embry's said that he wants to bring me a long to one of their get togethers."

"Oh… really?" Miranda said, a sly smirk playing about her lips. "And, who is this Embry?"

"Uh… One of the guys who helped Stan with the fence." Then Joanna thought better of it and hopped up. "Hold on! I sketched him just today!" she said retrieving her sketchbook. "Here he is." She said opening the book up to the sketches she'd done of Embry.

"Oh my." Miranda said, her voice deepening into a sultry tone.

"Don't be pervy." Joanna said with a blush. "It's not like that."

"Well, then it should be." Miranda said, her finger tapping the drawing. "There's a word for the look in this guy's eyes, it's 'affection'." Joanna's blush deepened. "It's not lust, and it's not creepy… it's very sweet, and you should consider his feelings carefully." Miranda's gaze became very intent. "It's not every day a girl can get a guy to look at her like that."

Joanna suddenly found the floor fascinating.

"We should be getting some sleep." Rhonda said, ever the voice of reason. "We can talk more over breakfast."

"Yeah. Sleep tight." Joanna said, closing her sketchbook and heading into her room. As she sat on her bed, staring at the closed sketchbook, she wondered how she should take Miranda's words. She opened her sketch book and stared back at the the eyes she had drawn herself. Miranda was right. There was affection there. A warm fondness that wasn't laden with desire or demands. It was sincere. It didn't make her uneasy (well, okay, maybe just a little uneasy)… it just made her wonder what she had done to earn it. She and Embry hadn't really spent that much time together… what had she done to make him care about her?

And that's all she wrote… literally (see what I did there :3). As always, lemme know whatcha think :) Peace out