AN: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed the story so far. I've made a lot of changes to each character's back stories, there will be more to come soon.

Edit 13/06 I don't own twilight and I'm not Stephanie Meyer. She owns the characters, I just play with them when she isn't looking.

CHAPTER 5

BPOV

The drive to Oona's house was quiet. I appreciated Emily giving us the silence while we sorted through our thoughts. We arrived at a shack bordering the woods to the north of the Res, neither Charlie or I had been here before. There was a wild looking garden surrounding the house, as we got out we could smell the strong scent of a variety of plants. We were led up a small worn path and Emily knocked and entered. Oona sat near an open fire and smiled at us as we sat on the mismatch of old armchairs around the room. "Oona, this is Charlie Swan and his daughter Bella." Emily introduced us. Oona studied our faces, smiling to herself. She leant down over the arm of her chair and riffled through some papers, before straightening with a sheet of paper and handing it too dad.

His eyes widened as he read and he passed the paper to me. The silence sat heavy in the room, there was the vibration of energy here, some of it emanating from the woman before us. This was a sacred space. I glanced at the page in front of me, it was a collection of names and lines, Oona pointed to her name at the bottom of the page. It was a family tree. On the other side of the page I saw our names;

Family tree 2 – The bottom of the family tree with Oona and the Swans /6X5rrJT

I followed the list upwards, not registering any of the names as I looked for a common ancestor. I searched the lines toward the top to where my branch of the tree met Oona's. At the top stood two names, one of them was familiar and sparked my interest.

Family tree 1 – The common ancestor between Oona and the Swans /oEVOhce

I shook away the idea, after all Peter's a common name. Topsana and...Peter. I looked at her in question, she nodded. "Welcome cousins." Her voice was so soft. Emily's head spun to us in shock, "you're related?" Oona nodded and Emily smiled widely at us. "You really are a part of the tribe, not just by invitation but by blood as well!"

Oona gave us the history of our family. "Our common ancestor is Topsana, she had a half-brother, Peter. Peter was born from a violent attack from a white master. When he was born he shocked many within the tribe; his skin was so pale, his hair was white. He had similar features to his mother, but the lack of colour to his skin was a heavy reminder of the man who had taken his mother against her will. The tribe accepted Peter as their own, they called him Ghost and were generally afraid of him. We have since suspect he was born with Albinism. Despite his differences to the tribe and their fear of him they taught him the ways of the ancestors. He went far into his studies, but never fully completed them. He was taken while out hunting. His story is an important part of our history.

The spirits who had guided him contacted another in the tribe, his mentor, an elder who had a gift for speaking with the deceased souls. He told the tribe how Peter was taken by a creature with a broken soul. Fate had absorbed Peter into legend. We believe he still walks the world, the spirits guiding him to keep the balance of good and evil. Topsana remained human and flourished within the tribe and was joined with a man, Biyen, from another tribe. They had two children, Jonah who is my ancestor, and Sarah who is yours. Jonah remained with the tribe and he and his decedents married from the tribes who shared allegiance. I have many direct cousins out there, but I am the last of this branch. My mother and father only had me. I had two uncles, but they were taken by the white man in an experiment to assimilate us and destroy our link with the past. I'm sure I have closer related cousins out there somewhere, but I have lost my link to them. They were never taught our history and our skills.

Your direct ancestors married outside of the tribe. While you don't know the histories, your blood remains strong, it has protected you." My shield! No wonder Edward couldn't read my mind and Charlie's thoughts were unclear to him. "I heard you've both been in contact with Vampires. Bella, your blood is singing through your veins, the protection of our ancestors is strong. I believe your close proximity to the cold ones strengthened the blood magic." She turned to dad. " You weren't so close to them were you, Charlie?" Dad shook his head. "I only saw them in passing. Dr Cullen and I had a professional relationship when our roles overlapped." Oona nodded to herself. "It seems that you are very close to the tribe, you may not have grown up here but the wolf spirit recognizes you. Your blood magic is different to Bella's. I have a similar gift, but it isn't as strong as yours. I need to teach you what I know, with the help of our guides we will bring you to your destiny."

Emily and I excused ourselves when Oona finished talking, we would need to return tonight to pick up Charlie. Emily explained that his training would be very draining and he would need to be driven home. I told Emily about the money, we swung by the house to get a few hundred dollar notes and headed to the local supermarket.

We fully stocked the car with groceries and had to share them amongst our houses. We spent the day together and began cooking. By 11am the wolves were sitting in the kitchen watching us kneed bread and cook pasta sauce, we put them to work washing dishes and cooking pasta. I had to keep a close eye on them so they wouldn't eat the sauce before it was served. A couple of broken wooden spoons later we chased them into the lounge room. We dished up the food soon after and called them back in.

After eating, the pack cleared the table and washed the dishes, Emily and I sat in the lounge room and talked for a bit, planning upcoming meals. My phone vibrated in my pocket, dad messaged me. 'Hi Bells, can you bring a copy of those emails from Peter?' Typed out a quick reply. 'No problem dad, Emily and I will also bring some dinner for you an Oona. See you tonight :)'

The wolves returned to patrol and Emily and I visited the other Elders, we made simple sandwiches to eat with them. Old Quil sat with Billy and Harry Clearwater. I told them about the money and our plans to feed the community, Harry volunteered his wife, Sue, and daughter, Leah. They updated us on the progress of the pack. None had caught the scent of the nomads in a few days and they were worried. I told them about Peter's advice, Harry spoke up "if he says the battle will happen next Wednesday we have time to prepare. We need to step up the training."

All too soon it was time to leave and start dinner, the Elders would spread the word to the families and wolves to meet at the community hall for dinner. Sue and Leah met us at the house and we started cooking. The kitchen quickly filled with heat from the oven and stove. I set aside two serves of lasagna and bread for Charlie and Oona and we made our way to the hall. Some of the wealthier families brought large bowls of salad and vegetable dishes. The table groaned under the weight of the food. When the wolves arrived everyone joined them in lining up. There was barely enough food, even with the extra dishes, but a few people brought up containers with cakes and fruit pies and soon everyone was sated.

Emily and I left early, people were taking the time to bond over their sons and their wolf spirits. The windshield of Emily's car fogged up as the temperature dropped. We arrived at Oona's at 7pm and walked straight in. Charlie looked haggard, but he smiled when he saw us. I set the table as Emily helped Oona to the dining room. Charlie slumped in his chair, tearing into the food in front of him. Oona quickly finished her own meal and cleared her throat while the rest of us finished eating. "Charlie showed me the emails from Peter, he suspected he could be our distant uncle. I concur, the spirits make me feel that he and his mate are our allies and protectors. His communication with you would make sense if he was blood kin."
"What should we do?"
"Peter hinted in his emails that you would meet him soon, but not till after the conflict with the nomads. In the meantime you should pass on a message, I need to meet him. I'll discuss it with the Elders and see if I can meet on our land." Emily cut in "what about the wolves? The young ones can't fight their instincts as well as they need to."
"The cubs will learn to control their instincts, I make a tea for them that joins the boys to their wolves in a stronger way. During the first phase of a new wolf they run on pure instinct, they're dangerous and out of control. With my tea the boys remain conscious of themselves and work with their primal instincts. Each of our boys has the tea and they are training their instincts between patrols. You will learn my remedies soon, Emily dear, for now the boys need you as their den mother."

Within the hour we left, Charlie fell asleep in the back seat and it was hard to wake him and get him inside to bed. He called in sick for work and rested for the morning.

Charlie POV

I hurt all over, yesterday had been intense. When Oona had started teaching me how to make different types of tea I figured the day would be easy going. I looked through my notes and the pictures I'd taken on my camera phone. I had a fair bit to study; the different plants and their functions, the tea recipes and their use.

The afternoon and evening had been exhausting. After a tea to calm the mind we sat for hours in front of the fire. Every now and then Oona would throw something into the flames, the heavy smell of burning herbs cloying in my nose. I had to learn to locate the spirit of the crow, that hadn't been too difficult, it was a matter of communicating with the damn thing. The voice was so soft and I strained to hear it. As soon as I grew frustrated the spirit left. Even with several rest breaks my patience wore thin.

I lounged on the couch catching up with the game I'd missed last night. By the afternoon I was restless enough to return to work, Paul joined me and I gave him the usual induction for volunteers. Thankfully it was a quiet day and I was able to catch up on paperwork. I needed to find a replacement Chief fast. I searched through the files on each of the deputies, one candidate was a clear option. I called him into the office "Mark, have you ever considered becoming Chief?" He paled slightly. "I'm pretty happy where I am now, Chief."
"I've read through your file, you're a hard worker. Would you consider applying?"
"Sure, but where is the position?"
"Here, I'm thinking of early retirement. I can catch you up in no time."
"Yes, Chief."
"Another thing before you go Mark, I have a volunteer who just started. His name's Paul, I'd like if you kept him on."
"Sure." Mark left, hopefully he'd replace me. With Paul employed here Forks would have a link to the tribe and be easily protected. With any luck having Paul here would prevent Mark from needing to learn about the Supernatural world.

BPOV

Emily was visiting Oona today. Sue and Leah joined me in the kitchen, we bonded over cooking. Leah was looking a little ill today, she'd woken up with a fever and aching muscles so we left her to do the easier tasks.

The days had begun the blend together and we settled into an easy routine, Charlie would work half the day and head to Oona's for the afternoon to study. Emily would take dinner to them then bring Charlie home at 8pm. I would wake early and Sue and I would buy groceries then prepare lunch. Afternoons were spent reading or talking then we'd start cooking dinner at four. We coordinated with the other wives, daughters and mothers in the community for extra dishes and desert. Everyone pitched in. I joined Sue for dinner, eating at the Elder table in the hall while the cacophony of voices echoed around the room. Billy and Harry would update me on the pack and would chat about random subjects. The nomads had returned, the pack suspected they had gone hunting in Seattle, we were silent as we contemplated the lives lost to vampire sustenance.

Every night I'd return home and read for a few hours, it had become an escape for me. The words from Peter's last email remained at the back of my mind "consider the pecking order within your previous coven. Focus on the role each individual plays and how their actions differ to the image they portray." The images of each Cullen popped into my mind, each face bringing with it a stab of pain. "No time like the present" I murmured to myself.

Carlisle; father, leader. He was so compassionate, he cared so much. He loved his wife and 'children' and had called me his 'newest daughter' ...but, he left me. The pain in my chest flared and I felt my eyes sting with tears. It felt so long since I'd felt the hurt, the Res had distracted me from their abandonment. That lead me to think of Edward.

I tried looking past Edward's looks to his personality. After my initial epiphany that he'd repressed my inclination towards 'vulgar language' I'd realize I had been dazzled, his looks and scent had distracted me from speaking my mind. The anger of that thought lingered, I thought through the emotion, what was it that bugged me so much? He was secretive; over protective to the point of insult. I was beginning to realize how much of myself I hid because I was afraid to be judged by him.

Alice, the best friend I'd never had just disappeared on me. So many times I'd been coerced into doing what she'd want to do, never what I'd want to do. I thought that meant something, it felt like a huge slap in the face when she left without saying anything. I felt irritated, but no betrayal. I realized then that I didn't like Alice, I'd tried to because her visions said I'd be her best friend, but she took and never gave anything. Hell, I even went to prom! I'd just been attacked by a fucking vampire and she shoved me in a dress and sent me off to a dance I had no interest in. She didn't do it for me, she did it for herself and Edward. Just like the birthday party from hell. I didn't want it, I only did it for them and then they left because I had become inconvenient. I wasn't entertaining enough. I felt so used.

Emmett, well at least he didn't treat me like an idiot or overtly manipulate me. He just wanted me to be his little sister. I remembered his eyes, there was warmth to them. He hugged me like a person, not a possession. I felt betrayed by his leaving, but I got the feeling it wasn't his choice. Maybe Rosalie forced him? She was never a fan of me. It didn't bother me that she was gone, I just missed Emmett. Maybe when I'm a vampire I'll see her again, I'd love to slap her and tell her to get over herself. Bitch.

Then there was Esme, the dutiful housewife and mother. I felt pity for her, thinking of her left a bad taste in my mouth. She seemed to helpless, trapped in a roll. She had a Stepford Wife vibe. Maybe it's because of the time period she grew up in, maybe she never recovered from losing her son and put all her energy in being an idea mother. The pressure she felt must have been crushing. I could tell she loved Carlisle and he loved her, but there was something sinister holding them back. The way her and Carlisle acted with Edward and Alice seemed wrong, maybe it was because of their gifts? I shook my head, no, it wasn't just their gifts. Edward and Alice acted like spoilt children; Alice demanded control and freedom to do what she wanted and Edward demanded control over others. Their gifts were misused, Edward judged everyone and picked holes in the people around him for weakness.

Carlisle was supposed to be leader, but he deferred to Edward and Alice. Esme went along with everything, but it's not surprising given her human husband's abuse and the need to pacify her 'children' no matter what.

Then there was Jasper. The guilt still stung, I'd cut myself on gift wrap and pushed him over the edge. It was hard not to sympathize with him, we were both weak links; he was seen as weak because of his bloodlust and I was weak because of my humanity. I knew nothing about him, his past had been deemed too distasteful for fragile little me to hear. He was kept away from me because he was viewed as the household savage. He was little more than a pet...just like me. God knows how he put up with Alice. I wondered who he was underneath it all. I could picture him with a dry wit, quiet and mysterious. The thought brought a smile to my lips. I wonder where he's from.

I tried to go back to reading, but couldn't seem to focus. I yawned and read the time; 11pm. I slipped under the covers. Dreams of Jasper played through my mind.

AN: The next chapter will be chock full of Jaspery goodness. I'll update around the same time tomorrow