~Two weeks has flown by. I wasn't aware it's been so long.

Copyright disclaimer: Twilight and all recognizable characters are sole property of Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 49: Here Comes Trouble

Barry swatted her booty. "Get off that ladder, B. It looks like a deathtrap."

She startled and the ladder wobbled. Barry caught her mid-fall and safely planted her feet back on the ground.

She chastised him. "Way to keep me safe, by scaring me. The ladder was fine until you touched my butt. I'm trying to change the light bulbs."

He said she had a team of tall men at her disposal, so she should never be climbing old wooden ladders. Bella had called a workday at the tribal center, since they were officially expanding. She was the first to show. Barry had just arrived to perform Manny duties to keep Ace entertained. She was also expecting at least four more guys soon. Life was going along fairly smoothly. Jacob was at work. He was a full partner in the garage, which meant he had lots more free time on his hands to do his consulting business, but he still worked two mornings a week to keep Ashley appeased. He'd hired a new manager that actually knew the automotive business and the garage was thriving. Bella was pretty sure, he liked working with his hands enough that he didn't mind being there. He said it gave him time to think.

As the weeks went on with no bad news, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief. The best news was Jacob was completely healed. It had been almost a month since his surgery. They were all extremely worried about that device, but from what Jasper and Emmett could surmise, it was busted. Maybe, Aro got a few tidbits out of it at first, but Carlisle imagined that initial phase the following day after the fight, jolted the component enough that it became useless. They only had theories about how the venom got trapped in his tissue, but once the implant was removed and the area was cleansed and repaired correctly, Jacob was up and running the next day.

Bella, Jacob and their son were finally situated in their cabin. Jacob had a work crew already assessing the foundation issues of the main house. Regular construction was starting the following week. Seth, Amy and Brady all came in at the same time. Bella looked around them and didn't see Quil. He was not the most dependable person lately. She knew why. The imprint talk went well at first, but then Claire and Zane announced they were still committed to their budding romance. They didn't actually put it that way, but both of them dug in their heels and refused to break up. They felt their will was stronger than anything imprinting had to offer.

Whatever you say was the general reply from the adults.

Not much had been sorted out between Quil and Zane, even though they had to learn to work together. Jacob ran patrols with them at times and he said things were a smidgen better. Bella thought Quil's real problem was that Claire no longer spent time with him. His wolf missed her which dampened Quil's normal jovial mood as well. She missed his mischievous grin and all the antics that went along with it. However, he had no choice but to be what Claire wanted. Bella truly hoped something changed for the better soon. She and Jacob were so happy now. She wanted their whole pack to be experiencing such bliss.

She started to text Quil but figured it was pointless. The rest of them got busy with the tasks for the day. A few times, Ace distracted all of them. He was getting pretty daring now that he crawled with ease. He was attempting to grab onto things now and he'd recently made it to his knees.

Barry joked, "One day soon, you're going to turn your back and he's going to be on top of the coffee table or something."

Bella wasn't too worried, she and Jacob had little to no furniture in the tiny cabin. That was a good thing perhaps. Bella would be scared to death if he did something like that. They were one step away from being hobos Jacob teased. He apologized every night their bed was a mattress on the floor, but Bella didn't mind. It was only a temporary situation. Besides, that was the first thing, their son attempted to pull up to because the mattress was barely off the floor. None of those insignificant details mattered to her when almost every night, Jacob covered her body with his and proved his love to her. They were happy to have their own room and their own place.

Seth and Brady stopped working abruptly. The waves of discontentment moved through Bella as well. She was completely in tune with the mood of the pack even if she wasn't privy to the pack mind.

"Something's wrong. It's Quil. He's upset."

Seth and Brady bolted for the exit. Bella followed them. She got as far as the window before Barry got a firm grip on her. "I don't think so. You're not moving from this place." He walked over to the door and promptly locked it.

"They're not howling. It's not that large of an emergency. Let me go. I can help Quil. He listens to me."

"Nope. I have guidelines to follow too." He picked up his phone and called Collin.

Bella was annoyed. Some days she was overwhelmed by all the over-protective men in her life. She knew it wasn't Aro related, but Barry wouldn't trust her intuition. They were in a standoff for a few brief minutes. Bella sent a text to Jacob, but she wasn't sure he got it. No doubt, he was already in route with that ripple that moved through the pack. The last thing they expected was to hear the high pitched screeches of a familiar voice. She and Barry said who it was at the exact same time.

"No way!"

"Amy, can you?"

"I've got him, go."

Bella unlocked the door so she and Barry could run to their friend's rescue. There she was. Monica was surrounded by five of the guys and she was letting them have it apparently.

"Thank God! Get over here and help me."

Quil had firm grip on Monica's arms.

"Let her go!" He obeyed, but didn't step away. "Have you lost your mind, Quil? This is Monica, mine and Barry's old roommate."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes, we're sure," Barry was in the process of breaking the circle the pack formed to get to Monica.

Bella saw the tremors running through Quil and the rest of them looked a bit rattled as well.

Barry wrapped Monica in a hug. He wanted to know what the trouble was as much as Bella did. Like she predicted, Jacob arrived about that time. Everyone started talking at once. Jacob quieted them. "Silence! Quil first."

Monica tried to butt in but Barry stopped her. "Not when the big man's speaking. You'll go next if he says it's okay."

"I was on the way over for the workday when I spotted this car with out of states plates driving erratically, so I investigated."

"I wasn't driving erratically, shit for brains. This place is so confusing. I kept getting turned around. I was trying to find Bella and Barry."

"You didn't tell me you were coming today." Bella hadn't heard from Monica in two weeks. She always said maybe she'd come but never gave a definitive answer. Bella gave her the two locations she was normally at, her cabin and the tribal center, but she was supposed to call first.

"You can't drive for shit, lady. You were all over the place."

"That's enough, Quil, back to what got you so upset."

"Come closer Jake, then you'll know."

Jacob walked all the way up. Bella saw his eyes bulge and his nostrils flare. He grabbed Monica firmly on the shoulder. "Where the fuck have you been? Who did you meet with? Who sent you?"

"Jake, stop!" Everyone was freaking out and Bella was still clueless.

"She smells."

Quil said the car was twice as bad.

Jacob didn't finish what Monica smelt like, but Bella knew immediately. Monica was extremely offended. "I've been traveling, but I took a damn shower last night." She did a tentative sniff towards her underarm.

Bella eventually convinced Jacob to let her talk to Monica alone while the guys went through her car to see if they could come up with an explanation why she smelt so strongly of vampire and yet was still breathing.

She and Barry took her inside and they all had a seat. Amy had taken Ace to the backroom to give them privacy. "Seriously, B, your friends are a bunch of assholes, especially that curly headed one. I thought he was going to fucking assault me on the pavement. Can you imagine how scared I was?"

"Quil's harmless, but he takes his duty very seriously."

"What duty? Is this about the creep that keeps stalking you or your crazy ex or something entirely different?"

Bella looked up and saw Jacob headed their way. She told her friend to wait a second so she could meet him at the entrance.

"I can't figure it out. None of us recognize the scent. I'm thinking about calling over the douche and Madame Hardly-Sees-Shit."

She agreed that wasn't a bad idea since those two had actually been to Volterra.

Bella told him what she wanted to do. "I have to tell. It's the only way."

"She's a bit flighty."

"I know, but they've found her and... "

He finished her statement. "She can't leave."

"Exactly." Bella found out that after her grandmother passed, Monica got a little bit of money. She was traveling, trying to find herself. Barry had asked her to stay with them for a while but she only promised a visit. She was talking about booking a trip to Europe. She would resist this confinement to the reservation that was the current way of life for all of them. Monica needed to know the seriousness of this entire situation.

Jacob gave her quick kiss and said to call him if she needed extra convincing. He had calls to make and patrol assignments to organize. Bella made it back to the table. Barry was rubbing Monica's back. He'd gotten her some snacks and a bottle of water. She looked much better.

"I feel like I've stepped into the twilight zone. This is most definitely not LA. Truth guys. You actually like this place?"

Barry answered first, "Yes, I happen to love it. I've feel like it's the only place I've ever truly belonged." Bella couldn't help but smile at her best friend's fondness of La Push.

Monica waved him off. "That's just because you found a hot guy. I can't believe it, you won our contest. I thought I was a shoe in. How much do I owe you? I forgot what was at stake the last time we went double or nothing."

Barry told her he'd forget the debt if she promised not to freak out. He and Bella were having some sort of unspoken communication with their eyes. He knew she was about to blow Monica's world open.

Bella thought back to how Jacob suggested Quil might be an option for Monica who was back to calling him all sorts of names again. He ran her off the road right before she pulled into the lot. When he smelled vampire, it was evident he jerked her out of her rent car so fast, she had no idea what was happening. To Monica, it looked like psychotic behavior.

"I thought he was going to rip my head off."

Barry said they were all lucky he didn't.

"Quil's a good guy, Mon. It was a misunderstanding. In fact, he's the friend I told you about."

"You can't be serious. You want to set me up with that guy? I'd rather pick one of those stuffy morons my mother suggested."

"Forget all that now, hun. Listen to B. We've got more important matters to go over. Talk. Who did you meet and interact with recently?"

Monica realized they wanted every detail from the past few days. She tried to remember every route she'd taken and every stop she'd made. She finally got to the crucial part this morning just outside Seattle. "There was this cute blonde girl crying in the bathroom. Her asshole boyfriend abandoned her. You know how I fall hard for sob stories about jilted women. We should band together, you know."

Barry was incensed. "You can't be serious! You took up with a stranger from a gas station? How many times have I told you about shit like that? You actually gave her a ride?"

"Yes, she was normal and petite, hardly dangerous looking. I was bored. I hadn't talked to anyone in days. You know I'm a people person. She asked for a lift to Forks. Isn't that crazy? I was already going to Forks."

Bella was immediately worried about the description of this woman. She knew Alice or Edward could determine for sure. Aro was pulling out the big guns now. She had no idea what he was trying to prove? He knew practically everything there was to know about Bella.

"I'm so happy to see the both of you, but this is all too much. I'm think I should get on the road and keep going for now. I'll come back again soon and I'll definitely call first next time."

Barry said a firm no, interrupting everything Monica was insisting.

"Excuse me?"

"Tell her now, B."

Bella thought revealing the truth about the pack would be easiest to digest so she started there. She was in the tribal center so she started with the tribe's origins and legends.

Monica wasn't buying it. She thought Bella had been taking her job a little too seriously.

Barry backed her up.

"You're both pulling my leg. You're crazy if you think I believe you sleep with wolf-men. That sounds perverse."

"It's not. They're men, 100%, but they have the ability to shift into a spirit wolf to defend these lands. They are our protectors and I'm sorry, Mon. I know you don't like taking orders, but you can't leave here."

"For how long?"

"Indefinitely. It's not safe."

Monica had heard enough. She said she loved them, but they were both off their rockers. She stormed out of the center with Barry and Bella on her heels. Jacob, Quil and Paul stepped in her way. She was trying to flee to her car.

"Not going to happen."

Monica started searching her pockets.

Quil dangled a set of keys on his finger high over her. "Looking for these?"

"Fuck you, give me my keys! Bella, I swear to God if you don't call off your friends. I'm calling 911. Isn't your dad the law around here? You can't be a part in this kidnapping ring."

Barry tried to calm her down but it wasn't working. She called him a traitor.

When Jacob held up her phone, she really lost it.

"I'm not staying here, so unless you all plan to go wolf on me, I'm getting out of here even if I have to walk."

"That can be arranged. Did you tell her all of it, Bells?"

"No, I was about to reveal the danger, but she stormed off before I had the chance."

Paul was impatient. He blurted it out. "She wasn't lying. We're wolves and you're friend, riding shotgun was a blood sucking demon. You're lucky she didn't drain you dry and leave your lifeless corpse on the side of the road. If you leave, it could still happen, so quit acting like a diva and accept that your friends only want to protect you."

Monica went completely pale. "What's he talking about?"

Bella grabbed her by the shoulders. "It's the truth. I would never make up a story like this. Quil flipped because he smelled a vampire. It's all over you and in the car. My stalker is a vampire. Hell, even my ex-family are vampires, not the killer ones like you'd imagine, but this has been my life for over a decade. I'm sorry you're being sucked into my world, but I love you. It's not safe. You can't leave."

Bella saw Emily circling around in her car. She was bringing lunch for the work crew. She and Claire were hesitant as they got out of the car. It was obvious something was going on.

Monica finally spoke. "A vampire?"

Paul confirmed it again, "Finally, she can be taught. Yes, Dracula's first cousin. I vant to drink your blood vampire. You're either lucky or stupid, lady."

Bella saw her friend's eyelids flutter.

Quil was fast. He caught her on the way down. "And we have a fainter!" He slowly brought her down to the ground and cradled her head in his lap. Barry ran back inside for water.

Emily and Claire walked in closer to catch the tail-end of Monica passing out. Quil was gently trying to rouse her with no luck. Bella regretted how they handled it but Monica was being so difficult. She had to hear the truth.

She was shocked at the way Claire snapped, "Who the hell is she?"

All eyes traveled from Monica on the ground to little Claire who didn't seem so little anymore. She was normally a little more soft-spoken and polite. Bella saw a flash of anger in her eyes when she addressed Quil specifically.

"I asked a question. Who is that?"

Bella studied Quil's reaction. He smirked before he came to Monica's defense. "Back up, Claire. My new friend needs some air. She's had a traumatic day." He started tapping her cheeks and calling her pet names like sweetie and hun, pleading with her to wake up.

Jacob snaked his arm around Bella's back. She felt him laughing behind her so she elbowed him. How could he be laughing right now? A vampire rode back with Monica all the way to Forks and she was out cold on the pavement. He leaned down and said Sam and Jared tracked the scent to another spot up the road but the trail was dead. She'd gotten inside another car. They were all about to spread out as soon as the Cullens got there to go through the car.

Monica finally started moaning and Barry took over. He doubted she'd want to wake up to Quil's face first thing.

Jacob pulled Bella off to the side, "She going to be fine. I'm going to handle it. It's just more of his sick games. You're still safe."

"So Aro amuses you now?"

"No, I wasn't laughing about that. That's serious damn business, but that shit with your screwball friend and Quil, then Claire acting all possessive was priceless. Hell, I don't know. I needed a moment of levity. It was pretty funny. Admit it."

Bella loved Monica, but Jacob was wrong. It wasn't funny, she was pretty sure her presence was going to cause a whole mess of new trouble which was the last thing any of them needed.

~Thanks for reading.

Here's the part where I reveal that I was sure this story would be fifty chapters. Doubtful. Any guesses how much longer it will go?