SUPER LONG CHAPTER! YAY! A lot of you clever kids already figured this out, but if you didn't, get ready to learn who Bella's new BFF is. Enjoy!

What the hell just happened? Was that even real? It must have been because I could feel the wind all over my body. It wasn't icy though or maybe I was still too warm. That must be a wolf thing. That explained the last week.

Shreds of fabric lay around me. Crap. I felt really over-exposed.

I felt different, weird. My bones were aching and the veins under the russet skin were far easier to see. Actually, everything was easier to see. My vision was sharper and so was my nose, even in person form. I felt stronger too. I looked up at the porch from where I had fallen. It was only six feet off the forest floor. I simply put my hands on the edge and pulled myself up with hardly a leap.

The smell was still there. I gagged a bit. The scent wasn't stinky more like far too sweet. Like ice it burned my nostrils. I put my arm over mouth and nose. The evergreen scent was mixed in when I was outside. As I walked into the house, it got worse and worse, but I held my breath and muddled through.

I got to work, running up the grand staircase to my room. I took my gym bag and emptied out the football stuff. I filled it with all my shorts and t-shirts. If I was going to keep bursting out of my clothes, I better always have a back-up. I also put in all the sneakers that fit.

This was insane. I'm running away to join a pack of wolves I was taught to hide from and leaving my parents without a clue.

What about school? I'll surely get kicked out for this stunt- athletic skills or not.

Okay, to be honest, missing school did not really bother me. And I don't think I should go if I'm always exploding out of my clothes. I'll make up for my delinquency later in life.

Football?

This seems a smidgen bigger than my favorite sport.

Mom and Dad?

Yeah, that is a problem. They could track me down easily. They could come home right now after that last phone call. What would they even say if they found out what I was now? Mom never hid her distaste for the wolf pack when it came up.

All I know is that I need to get to the others. I didn't like going through this alone. And I was secretly happy for something to take me back to Forks. I didn't like how scared my mother would be, but when I'm ready to tell her, she'll understand. I hope.

I had all the clothes I'd need. Now for the other stuff.

I took a spare emergency phone, prepaid of course. I also swiped from the massive amounts of cash stored around the house. Nobody would notice it gone. Then I went into the study. There was an emergency kit in there although it was very different than any other family's. It had all the illegal documents needed in case we ever had to disappear in a hurry. At least that's what I had assumed they were for when I found this a few months ago. I found the manila envelope marked Jacob. It had a passport, a birth certificate, and a new driver's license in it. They all had recent photos and changed last names.

I wanted to apologize for what I was doing and tell them why I had to go, but I wasn't sure if I could keep from phasing and of the instinct Sam told me about. I was afraid of the monster I was now. I had to focus on keeping calm so I wouldn't hurt someone. Is this how my family felt all the time?

I knew my way to the airport. I had looked up directions to it more than once, longing to see Bella again. I knew how to get there by car, but also through the woods in one option that involved me going all Dora the Explorer. I had printed out that map. I tried to memorize it quickly.

I took off the clothes I had only worn for a minute and a half inside. I squeezed them into my exploding gym bag. I whispered "sorry" as I willed myself into a beast.

I went to the edge of the forest and ran down the gorge. It was a struggle to keep myself from tripping on the steep, downhill slope. I ran down the muddy gorge, sometimes passing other homes. I worried about someone seeing me but rationalized that I was running too fast for them to notice.

The running was amazing. I felt free and liberated like never before. When I was young, I often went on runs with one of my family members holding me. Now I could be that fast, possibly faster, on my own. I changed back to human form where the gorge ended and civilization began. I climbed out of the gorge, mud staining my jeans. From there, I wandered around until I found a mean of transportation to the airport.

Inside, I bought a ticket to France on my Cullen credit card to plant a false trail. With cash, I bought a ticket to Seattle from a very suspicious woman.

I almost missed my flight, but I took my seat in coach. The plane was nearly empty. Good. I didn't need an annoying passenger to piss me off and endanger his life.

After the plane touched down, I breathed in the clear Seattle air in. By some lucky miracle, it wasn't precipitating, but snow was on the ground.

I took a very expensive taxi ride to the Newton's Olympic Emporium. The driver gave me a weird look when I told him my destination. I waited by a familiar awful car, but the cold night didn't bother me. I watched a few people go in and out. I got strange looks. I don't think anyone recognized me, but they seemed afraid of me. I tried to ignore that so the fire would go away. The lights went off inside. I recognized Mike Newton and his mom walk out. I gave him a huge smile. He didn't know who I was so he quickly walked to his car. Was I scary?

The last person out was a zombie. She was far too skinny. Her eyes had dark circles under them and no light. Her face was devoid of anything except for a desperate searching and a look of sadness that I doubted ever left.

The zombie spotted me and ran through the snow, stumbling a lot. Tears streamed down her skinny face. Those empty chocolate eyes were alive now and boring into mine. A smile spread across her face.

She tackled me into a hug. I caught her, supporting her easily with my new strength.

"Jacob," she sobbed, "I can't believe it's you."

"Missed you too, Bell," I said. I kissed the top of her head to inhale her scent with my stronger senses. I could identify the floral and fruity tones it had.

"I missed you so much. When you told me you were coming back, it felt like a dream. What brought you back here?"

"Bella, I have a secret. My family can't know. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you, but you might already know about it. Edward shared a lot of secrets with you. I'm not sure if he told you this one."

Bella searched my face, not sure how to answer.

"Does it have to do with how huge you are?"

I chuckled. "Don't forget warm." I put the back of my hand on her sunken cheek.

Bella looked at me with horror and realization.

"What?" I asked. Even if she figured out I was a werewolf in that impressively short amount of time, she never showed a vampire this much fear.

"Jacob, I know what you are. At least, I know who you belong with," she said.

I looked at her carefully. "Where can I find them?"

"I-I need to talk with someone." Bella got into her car. I squeezed into the passenger side. Bella scrolled through the contacts on her cell phone and pressed call. The person on the other end picked up after two rings.

"Leah, the cult has a new member." Bella said with a tone mostly seen on cop shows. Bella, I think your sleuthing could be saved for another time.

I could hear the girl on the other end. Her voice was hard, sharp. "Oh, great. Which sucker got roped in now?"

"That's the thing. He's a friend of mine. He's never been on the rez." Oh, so Bella's talking about me.

It's not a cult, Bells, it's a pack, I thought.

"So he's not Quileute?" I recognized that word. That was the name of the tribe the wolves (and according to them, I) was a part of.

"No...well, he's adopted so he doesn't know although he looks the part."

"Dark skin? Huge? Warm?"

"Check, check, and check. And he has a secret he can't tell me."

"But he's never talked to Sam? Then how is he part of the cult?" I recognized the name of the authoritative voice in my head.

"It has to be deeper than drugs or something like we thought. Gene deep."

"Who is this kid?"

"My friend from New York. He wants me to take him to them."

"Are you going to?"

"I hope so," I said. Bella looked at me, surprised I heard the question.

"Um, Bella, I really need your help so could you and Velma save your mystery solving for later?"

Bella turned back to her cell. "Leah, I have to take him."

"Fine, but listen to their talk. We need to know what's happening."

"Okay, I'll call you back later." Bella closed her phone.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Leah," Bella said. She talked about Leah a lot in our emails. I had taken a liking to her in my mind because if she was with Bella, she wasn't lonely. The super-friend I built up in my mind didn't match the girl on the phone.

"She sounds like fun," I said sarcastically. Where did Bella fall in with this bitter-sounding girl?

"She's Charlie's best friend's daughter. They set us up like kids on a playdate. She...understands," Bella said.

"Why does she care about me?"

"Jake, the people I think you want to see are weird. They're huge and mean and weird. The La Push cult."

"Well, I'm just going where I'm told," I sighed.

"But who told you? How did they contact you?"

"I can't say," I said. I wasn't sure if I could trust Bella with the secret after that phone call.

"I'm worried about you," she said, "Just please don't forget me again if I take you there."

"I never forgot you," I said.

"Thanks, Jake," she said, "It's just that when the cult gets a new member, he forgets his other friends."

"I won't, Bells, I promise," I said. Bella nodded and backed out. She drove through the rain, clearly unhappy with this favor she was doing for me. She took a highway my family never took, but she knew it well enough. There were lots of curves and unfamiliar sights. We passed a sign that said, "Welcome to La Push."

"Where do you want to go?" Bella asked.

"Do you know a guy named Sam?"

The hurt that passed through Bella's eyes was so deep. She nodded solemnly and tears came to her eyes.

She drove me to a weathered gray house with flowers in window boxes. The werewolves live here? It looks like a dollhouse.

Bella didn't move to get out of the car. I cautiously opened the door and looked at her.

"You coming?" I asked quietly. I didn't want to go in alone, but since she didn't like the wolves, I'd understand she wouldn't want to follow. She didn't know how to answer. I decided that if I didn't go in there with her, I was going to break my promise. There was only one way to keep it, and it put keeping my new secret a second priority.

"Bella, I'm going to tell you something. You're going to think I'm crazy, but you're still family so you should know our secrets."

Bella blinked a few times. "I'm still family?"

"You are to me."

Bella smiled a little.

Then she looked at me like I was crazy for the rest of the conversation. I only told what my parents told me about the wolves they knew because it would have been the side of the story she would have known had Edward had the time to tell her. I'm not sure what the statute of secrecy is for werewolves so I didn't tell her Sam and the others were werewolves. It was an obvious fact though.

"Well, now you know why I need to talk to them," I said.

"If you belong with them, Jacob, don't let me hold you back," she said.

"Come with me?" I asked desperately, "You seem to know them."

Bella nodded. "Since I'm officially reinstated as a part of the mythical creature community, I guess I could."

I smiled. "You know when I was planning to join that community I thought I would end up on the other side of the wolves."

Bella's face turned serious. "How are you going to tell them about your family?"

"They know," I said, "Wolves can hear each other's thoughts when they're in animal form. That's how I knew to come here."

"Your parents must be so worried," she said. I nodded sadly.

"I'll talk to them…eventually."

"Will they come back?"

I shrugged. "I can't see Mom or Dad staying away if I'm stuck here."

Bella shivered. I put a warm arm around her.

"We should probably go," I said, "Before something makes me lose control. I feel like I've been too calm." I felt like a ticking time bomb.

Bella nodded and for the first time, I thought I saw fear pass through her eyes. It was quickly gone though. She undid her seatbelt. Mine was never on.

"Remember if anyone asks, Edward told you the secret," I said, "I could get in trouble."

Bella nodded, "He did mention it in passing once although I didn't know what to make of it," she admitted, "I thought it was a weird joke."

"Okay, so we're just exaggerating the truth," I said, "You ready?"

Bella nodded and we exited into the rain.

A beautiful woman opened the door of the little gray house. Her face was flawless except for three long scars across it. Her mouth was permanently set down in a grimace. I knew not to stare. Jasper had the same problem.

She looked surprised to see me, and even more to see Bella.

"You're the boy from New York?" she asked.

I nodded. I must be in the right place. "Yeah, I'm Jacob."

She nodded and smiled. "Come in."

She stepped aside to let me squeeze through the doorway. I took Bella's hand and led her through and then holding on to it after.

Emily looked at Bella. "You're Bella Swan, right?"

Bella nodded tightly. She was looking at the other beautiful girl with an uncharacteristically unfriendly look. Emily smiled at her, but Bella's face was the same.

"Jacob, you shouldn't have told..." Emily said.

"She already knew the secret," I said, "That's why I went to her."

Emily looked at Bella with wide eyes. We didn't have to be wolves to read her mind: How does this girl know about werewolves?

"Right this way," Emily said leading us to a small kitchen, "We didn't expect you to be here by tonight, but everyone's here. You must have a million questions."

"Yeah," I agreed. I didn't know where to start.

"It's tough, but that's what the pack is for- you're never alone."

I nodded. Bella was sticking by my side, almost cowering into me. Three huge guys were sitting at a tiny round table. They all had the same black hair and russet skin as I did. They all looked at me at the same time. The tallest one was in the middle, and his expression was extremely calm. I took it that he was Sam. It was January, but they all had shorts and t-shirts on.

"Jacob, right?" the tall one said. It was Sam. His inner voice was the same as his normal one. Paul and Jared (I guessed) were glaring at Bella.

"You're Leah's friend?" was all Sam said to her.

Bella nodded tightly. His eyes softened.

"She shouldn't be here. Who told her?" asked Paul. I recognized his rougher voice from my head.

Emily bit her lip. She didn't want to throw Bella out either. I don't get why she was being so nice although I appreciated it.

"She already knows half of this town's secrets. What's one more matter?" I said. Surely they knew her connection with my family.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Sam said. He asked Bella, "You understand you can't tell anyone, right?" Bella nodded.

"So you're the Cullen's kid, right?" Paul asked bluntly. I don't think he had a filter.

"That's right," I said.

"We know you must have a million questions, but we have a lot too," Sam said, "We understand that you feel loyal to the Cullens so we're just trying to understand."

"Ask away," I said.

"Why didn't they change you?" Jared asked.

"That was up to me, and I never expressed a desire for it," I said. I had given permission for them to ask questions, but my words were hard to coax out. I had never explained this to anyone. Now I had found my own kind but was still an oddity. I wasn't meant to belong anywhere. I had thrived among humans because my lies made me just approachable enough to allow that. Now the truth was out, and I was as singled out as I should be.

"That's good. Vampire venom's poisonous to wolves. That's what our stories say," Jared said.

I shook my head involuntarily. They all raised their eyebrows. It was weird how in sync they were.

"Do you have any experience with that you'd like to elaborate on?" Jared asked.

"Uh," I said. Crap, "Well, last spring, I got this." I pulled up my hoodie's sleeve to show them the bite on my elbow. Accusation was written on their faces.

"Biting a human's against the treaty!" Paul roared. He was shaking. Sam was still calm though.

"It wasn't one of them who bit you," he stated. It should have been a question, but he seemed very sure.

I smiled and nodded. "A nomad got too close. My grandfather said the change was normal, and that I'd be one of them if my mom hadn't sucked the venom out, like with a snake."

"How did you even wind up with them?" Jared asked.

"My mom came upon the car crash that killed my parents. They were beyond saving, but I was still alive, freezing by the side of the road. She brought me back to Carlisle, he's a doctor. He saved my life, and then they just kind of took me in. Mom's from New York so they took me back there."

"But you guys came back..."

"Yeah. I went to Forks high school for a year. I was hoping coming back would bring back some memories of my parents or something, but it didn't."

"I can't believe we never found out they had one of our own living with them," Sam said with disgust.

"We were careful. I wasn't allowed to go to First Beach with my friends, and if one of you guys were at Bella's house, I couldn't go in. They said it was for the best, and I didn't want my parents in trouble. They told me about the treaty too."

"It's so wrong. They just take a kid from his family. Hide him from any link back home," Jared said.

I felt the red hazing over me. My voice came out as more of a growl. "They didn't know. They thought I had no family. They wouldn't have kept me away if they knew." I clenched my hands into fists. The whole table shook with me.

"Calm down, Jacob. We don't mean to offend your...family," Sam said coolly. I knew it wasn't true, but I pretended it was for control's sake. I took a deep breath and the red receded to the edges.

"Alright let's talk about something else. Do your 'parents' know you're here?" Jared asked.

I shook my head. "I left at like ten in the morning. They were supposed to be back from their hunt at one," The wolves flinched at the word "hunt." I ignored them, "I bought a ticket to France on the emergency card so that should buy me some time if they follow that trail. They're going to freak out though."

"You know, Jake," Paul said with a friendly voice I distrusted immediately, "The reason we are what we are because of those leeches. We wouldn't have to phase if we didn't have to protect the tribe from them."

My mouth was dry. "What makes you think that?"

"The last time we needed a wolf-pack was when your family," Paul loathed applying the word, "was here. They leave. Things go back to normal. They return. New wolves. The people need protection."

"Not from them," I insisted, "They never hurt anyone." I knew that a lie. Good thing I've learned an affinity for those so they wouldn't catch me. I knew my parents had had accidents. I had gotten curious when I was twelve and insisted I could learn their stories without judgment and I could. I just couldn't pretend their hands were clean anymore. It changed things, but I still knew they were good people. I didn't blame Mom for seeking her revenge. She was young, angry, and it was in her nature. As for Dad...everyone makes mistakes, especially young vampires.

"But if vampires make you wolves," I asked, "Then how come you guys didn't go back to normal when we left?"

Sam's tone was grave. "There are other ones out there, a man and a woman. They always run away before we catch them. Red eyes so we're assuming they're no friends of the Cullens."

"A man and a woman?" I asked, "Are they mates?"

"They never come together, but we're assuming," Sam said.

I couldn't think of many normal vampiric mates. Not any that would try to hurt a citizen of Forks personally. I know Jasper had two friends that were together, but they lived in the South or something. Maybe these intruders weren't a romantic pair...

"What were they wearing?" I asked, terrified by the possibility of the duo I had in mind.

"I got into a chase with the girl once. Just jeans and a jacket," Paul said, confused.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I thought they were Volturi, but they wear capes."

"Capes?" Jared asked, laughing a little.

"Kind of silly, but they're absolutely lethal."

"You don't know what we can do," Sam said, too confidently. I shook my head.

"These are vampire royalty. Almost every one's a few hundred years old. Almost all have gifts."

"What do you mean gifts?" Jared asked.

I hesitated. Would it be treason to tell them about my family? If it came to a fight, I could be throwing away my family's upper hand. I looked at Bella. She was uncomfortable too. Then again, if they could read my thoughts then next time I had to phase into a wolf...my mind was like a sieve. The guard I put up was strong from years of practice, but some secrets were going to slip through, and I knew that. It seemed inevitable that they would know eventually so...

"Some vampires have special powers," I said, "Skills from their human life are magnified into extra abilities."

Sam looked to the wolves on his left and right. They seemed to have been knocked down a peg with their confidence.

"We had stuff like this in our legends, but we thought those were fiction," Jared said.

"Is anything anymore?" Paul said with a bitter laugh.

"What can these voltures do?" Sam asked.

"Volturi," I corrected, "And tons of different stuff. My parents haven't told me much. Edward's said bit and pieces, but Mom was extremely insistent that he did no more than that. She doesn't like to talk about them. Even with a coven as strong as ours..." I never quite got that. It was all very foggy, but she was scared of them and didn't want me to be.

Bella lightly smacked my arm. I had lost focus. "Sorry, anyway, I just know they have a tracker, he can find anyone anywhere. Then there's a pair of twins. One can create the illusion of pain. I don't know what the other does. That's all my family told me."

"Could the Cullens do anything?" Paul asked. I hesitated again and looked at Bella. She was so conflicted she looked like she was about to bite her lip off. I wanted to be part of their pack, but not if it meant becoming my family's enemy. I justified this by telling myself that they would figure it out eventually.

"My uncle can read minds," I said. They gasped, "My other uncle can feel and control the emotions of the people he's around. And my aunt sees the future, except not mine."

"Why not you?" Paul asked. I shrugged. I thought I had a gift, but now I'm thinking it's just a werewolf thing.

"Do you guys have an idea of who my parents are?" I asked.

"We talked to one of the council members. He thinks you're a distant relative of a deceased elder. We're working on it."

I nodded. I couldn't believe how close I was to finally finding out who my real family was.

xxxxxxx

La Push had a reasonably nice motel that Bella dropped me off at. She had offered her couch, but I knew Charlie would strongly disapprove and that the less people who knew I was back, the better. Sam and Emily had also offered boarding, but I declined. The wolves were not so bad. They had given me some help so I don't phase and attack someone.

Bella and I got into her old car.

"Jake?" she asked.

"Mm?" I replied, lost in my thoughts.

"Is there any possibility that the rest of your family's coming back?" she asked hopefully, "You know, if they find you here."

I shook my head. "Sorry, but we haven't been together in a while. I'm not sure if they'd move as a unit."

Bella nodded, but tears were streaming down her face. I pushed up the two armrests between us and pulled her close.

"Bells," I soothed, "What's wrong?"

"Jacob, you have no idea how much I miss him. I still love him, Jake."

"I know, honey," I said.

"It's been awful. I've been trying to go through life- for Charlie- but I feel so empty. I just can't believe you're back, in the flesh. I had myself convinced the best time of my life was some kind of deluded fantasy I made up in my head. Then Charlie introduces me to Leah, and your email just appears, and I have some kind of purpose again. I'm afraid I'm going to wake up and this was just some weird, weird dream."

"Oh, Bella," I said. My own unhappiness these last few months couldn't even compare.

"I'm not gonna leave you," I promised, "Not if my family finds me. Not if the pack wants me to. I'm sticking with you no matter what. Screw Edward and his rules."

Bella winced when I said the name.

"Sorry," I said.

"Thank you, Jacob," she said. Her eyes filled up again with fat tears, but they didn't seem so sad this time.

"And it wasn't a fantasy," I added.

"You think?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I know. What you and he had was not made up. If you saw him, you'd know what I'm saying."

"He...misses me?" she asked with utter disbelief.

"That's an understatement," I said. I should shut up. This was not a healthy topic. But it might make her feel better.

"How is he then?" she asked.

"He's been gone for almost a couple of months," I said, "South America, I think, doing God knows what. He left right before Thanksgiving so that holiday was really depressing. Gram would have been crying if she could. Mom's been happy though which makes everyone else unhappy. Even Dad misses you of course he'd never tell Mom that. Before he left, he was just." I shook my head. "Just stayed outside in the forest at night, shut himself in all day in the dark. He would go weeks without hunting.

"My parents and I rarely visited him. Mom was unbearable to be around. Dad would try desperately to make him laugh. We couldn't talk without starting a screaming match. He just glared at me, hearing how angry I was at him in my thoughts. I tried to block out how I was attempting to contact you, but it slipped. He screamed at me like...hell hath no fury like an Edward scorned." I chuckled darkly. "He really believes we are the worst alternative for you. He may be right, and maybe me coming back is going to be bad in the long run, but I can't stay away from you, Bella."

"Is it bad if I'm grateful you had to come back?" she asked. I shook my head. In a weird way, I was grateful too. I wanted to come back.

"Jake?" she asked.

"Yeah, Bells?" I really liked that new nickname.

"I just want to make sure you're going to keep your promise to me. I know I sound pathetic and needy, but I can't have my heart broken again. It'd be worse in some ways if it was by you."

I pulled Bella in tight to show her I was never going to let go again.

Please review! Did I get the wolves' personalities right?