A/N: Yay I'm staying on schedule! Here's chapter 6, thanks to all of the sweet and encouraging reviews, it's what makes me stay on schedule...along with reminders.
Chapter 6
"What did you do? What did you do to him?" Bella demanded again, immediately approaching Sam and shoving him hard. The man didn't budge, but both Jared and Paul reacted angrily to someone trying to shove their alpha.
"Easy," Sam ordered, putting out a hand to stop the two from possibly reacting.
"What did we do?" Paul demanded, starting to shake with his fury. "What did he tell you?"
"Nothing, he told me nothing, because he's scared of you!" Bella snapped at him. At that, the three wolves started to laugh, but after glancing around Paul's body once again, it was clear Bella didn't find that funny. She was furious, angry and hurt, and probably feeling more alone than ever. It was clear she wasn't exactly in the most stable mindset.
Ah, shit. Riley knew exactly what was going to happen.
Bella slapped Paul right across the face. It didn't hurt anyone but Bella, who hissed in pain and shook her hand, but it did anger Paul.
"Bella, get back!" Sam ordered as Jared immediately pushed Riley backward, away from the violently shaking wolf.
"Close your eyes," Jared urged Riley, but Riley just snorted in disbelief; even if she had no idea what was going on, closing her eyes wasn't about to stop anything.
"Like hell I will," Riley snapped.
"Paul, calm down," Sam ordered, but he wasn't wolf, and emotions weren't something that someone could turn off just like that. Bella seemed to realize that something was wrong and stumbled back, putting herself in the safe zone.
Paul bent in half, and suddenly, a giant gray wolf burst from his skin, landing on the ground and snarling angrily.
Someone grabbed her around the waist, pulling her well away from the wolf and off of her feet, but Riley didn't care. She was in awe, staring at the giant wolf.
"Bad ass," Riley breathed.
"Of course you say that," Leah muttered; she must have come out during the commotion. While Riley realized it was Leah who was holding her, she couldn't even bring herself to tease the girl in the situation.
"I wanna see more wolves," Riley said excitedly, and had Bella not been looking at Paul with horror, with Sam trying to figure out how to handle the situation, all the shifters in the area would have given her a look that questioned her sanity.
Paul was distracted from his anger, and turned to look at Riley with a wolfy huff that was probably him saying something rude. By then, Bella had already turned, hadn't realized that Paul wasn't focused on her anymore.
"Bella!" an unfamiliar voice shouted, and Riley looked over to see Jacob leaping off the porch of the house. Where had he even come from?
"Jake run!" Bella screamed.
Paul let out a growl, focusing back on the human who was now running like prey, reacting to the adrenaline and emotion and loud voices. Still, he was able to be in control, was able to stop himself from taking more than a step towards them. However, it was enough for Jacob to perceive a threat. He took off running toward Bella, jumping over her and shifting into a huge russet brown wolf. The wolf snarled and growled at Paul, who in turn took it as a challenge, snarling and growling right back.
"Those idiots are hyping each other up," Riley said as Seth and Embry came running out of the house and to Sam's side, both trembling lightly with the need to shift themselves, reacting to the tense situation. Sam put up a hand, stopping them, as Bella collapsed onto the grass, watching the scene in disbelief.
"Yeah, but there's no stopping them now," Leah said with a sigh. "They'll have to fight it out."
And fight it out they did, colliding into each other, snarling and snapping. As they rolled into the trees, Sam sighed.
"Take Bella and Riley inside. It seems we need to talk," Sam ordered.
Embry said something about the wolf being out of the bag as he jogged over to Bella's side to help her up. At Sam's words, Bella seemed to realize that there was another girl in the clearing that clearly didn't fit in and glanced over at Riley.
"Yo," Riley said, giving the other girl a wave from where she dangled from Leah's arms, her feet swinging in the air. "Name's Riley. I take it you're Bella?"
Bella nodded shakily as Jared helped her to her feet.
"You look pretty freaked out," Riley noted. "You'd think you haven't seen boys turn into giant wolves before." She snorted at her own joke. "Dude, this is just so cool. I wish I had gotten to see this sooner. Leah, what do you look like as a wolf? Can I pet you? As a wolf, of course, I already know you can't handle me petting you like I want."
"Fuck off." Leah flushed red and proceeded to dump Riley on her ass; or try to, as Riley easily landed on her feet.
"This isn't your first time seeing it happen then?" Bella asked hesitantly.
"Oh no, it totally is. I just find it so fucking awesome that I don't really care. I mean, come on, they're awesome! I guess not so awesome when you think one might eat you, but from where I'm standing, it's so fucking cool."
"Don't mind Riley," Seth quickly said as Bella stared at Riley with slack jawed disbelief. "She's pretty new to the area and to us, but with the way she showed up, I feel like she's kinda used to weird things happening around her."
Riley just shrugged, because Seth was kinda right. "Anyways, is Emily done cooking yet? I'm starving!"
"What? You just ate before we came here!" Leah exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yeah, but I'm hungry again. It takes a lot of calories to fuel this level of awesomeness." Riley flexed to show off, and Jared whistled in admiration.
"Damn, shorty has muscles," he said.
"I'll show you short," Riley threatened, only to be scooped up by Leah again. "Hey!"
"Did you forget why we're here?" Leah asked as she tucked Riley under her arm like a football and started to carry her inside. "You can eat, then you listen to whatever Sam has to say, and then you can ask about jobs."
"Fine," Riley muttered, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly. "But next time you want to manhandle me, we better be naked or we're going to have words."
Leah immediately dropped Riley again, and even as the wolves laughed, everyone noticed how easily Riley caught herself while falling, doing a quick one handed flip onto her feet and matching Leah's stride.
"Come on, Leah! You know you like me," Riley teased, only laughing further when Leah shoved her.
"Not like that I don't, damn you," Leah complained. Everyone was smart enough not to mention how hard she was blushing. "One of these days, Riley, and I'm going to get you back for all of the shit you put me through."
Riley gasped, jarring everyone there as she froze in the doorway. Before anyone could assume she had actually gotten scared or nervous, she said, "Ladies first!" and dove for the giant platter of muffins that were sitting on the table.
"What lady?" Embry joked, earning a quick middle finger salute from Riley with her injured hand before she focused back on the food. She grabbed one muffin and bit into it, holding it in her mouth as she reached to grab another, only for Emily to slap at her hand.
"Leave one for everyone first," Emily scolded as the boys and Leah sat at the table, Bella awkwardly standing nearby. Emily held out her hand, palm up, and said, "Now let me check on you. You need your bandages changed.
"What happened to your hand?" Bella blurted, for some reason looking right past the scars on Emily's face and fixating on Riley. Riley knew Jared had told her not to stare at Emily before they entered the house, but Bella didn't seem to even have to try not to look.
"She got hit by lightning," Leah answered since Riley's mouth was full. She rolled her eyes. "Should've known she was trouble when she survived it so easily."
Riley nodded vigorously in agreement, only to get scolded by Emily who told her to stay still as she unwrapped the bandanges.
"Oh. That must have been something," Bella murmured. Damn, the girl really was an awkward thing, wasn't she?
"Why is Bella even here? She's the vampire girl," Jared grumbled.
"Jared!" Sam snapped, looking pointedly at Riley, who acted surprised at the knowledge for a moment.
"So vampires are a thing too, huh?" Riley said after she swallowed. "Too bad they're not able to turn into giant wolves, then they'd be really cool!"
Emily finished unraveling the bandage, and everyone grew silent, save for Riley, who was still munching happily on her muffin. They stared, taking in the weird pattern on her palm, still a raw, angry red with some popped blisters around it. For the first time, Emily realized that a much lighter line traveled down Riley's hand, along the inside of her arm. She pulled up Riley's sleeve, in disbelief that she could have missed such a big, obvious wound, even if it wasn't nearly as bad as Riley's hand. She followed the injury up to Riley's shoulder, taking note not just of the main wound from the lightning strike, but of all of the other scars and injuries along the way. Before she could push any more fabric aside, Riley stopped her.
"Whoa there," Riley said, putting her uninjured hand on Emily's and leaning away from the girl, worried that Emily was about to rip her shirt open. "If you're going to go any further, I'm going to have to charge you. I don't strip in front of just anyone, you know."
"Sorry," Emily said quickly, letting go and shaking her head. "It's just...I could have sworn there was nothing there when I first took care of you."
"I'll go get the second medical kit," Seth said, rushing off before anyone else could say anything.
"Oh, come on, I don't need extra-"
"Yeah you do," Leah interrupted while Emily gave Riley a look, daring her to fight Emily on this.
"Fine," Riley huffed. "But I'm totally getting a third muffin for this."
"It better not be one of mine," Embry said, holding his own muffin to his chest protectively.
"Bella, I'm sorry about how I'm acting," Emily added, giving the brunette a small smile. "I would have been more welcoming, but I've been a bit worried about this one here. I'm sure you have many questions Sam will answer for you. Right Sam?"
Sam just nodded. "You know now, there's no real reason to keep even more secrets from you."
"Is Jacob going to be okay?" Bella asked immediately.
"Nope, Paul is totally going to kick his ass," Riley replied cheerfully. "He'll totally come back fucked up."
"Riley," Sam scolded, as if she were one of his pack, or maybe just a child.
"What? I like Paul, I want him to win," Riley replied with a shrug, but then winced as Emily started to dab at the wound on Riley's arm with alcohol. "Ow! Is that necessary?"
"It is when you're being a brat," Emily replied sweetly.
"Bella, ignore her. They'll both be fine," Sam said.
As if they had heard themselves being talked about, Paul and Jacob came into the house, almost playfully shoving each other. Jacob met Bella's eyes almost apologetically, wanting to help her feel better in some way but unsure how. Instead of joining the table, he stood next to Bella awkwardly.
"Sorry about that," Paul said almost absently to Bella, but then his gaze focused on Riley as he grabbed his own muffin. "What the fuck happened to your arm? I leave you alone for five minutes and you manage to make your injuries worse?"
"I didn't do shit!" Riley argued before pointing at Leah. "It's all her fault!"
"My fault?" Leah asked in disbelief. "What the hell did I do?"
"You haven't showered me with your affection since I woke up! Obviously, my body can't take-"
Leah chucked her muffin at Riley's head, and despite Emily still holding her injured arm, she put her own muffin down and caught Leah's.
"This is mine now," Riley said.
"No it's not! Give me back my muffin!" Leah said, lunging at Riley.
"Leah don't you dare! She's still injured!" Emily scolded as Riley twisted her body to keep Leah's stolen muffin out of Leah's reach.
"Yeah, well she's going to be feeling a lot worse if she doesn't give me my muffin back!" Leah snarled.
"Whoo, cat fight! This is the hottest thing I've seen all week!" Jared laughed, which got him a protective kick from Paul.
"You better be talking about the muffins, jackass," Paul threatened, shoving the muffin he had taken into Jared's mouth to stop him from speaking.
"Are all of you children?" Sam sighed but made no move to stop the chaos as Embry hid behind him, eating his muffin from safely behind the alpha.
"Hell yeah!" Riley exclaimed, only to get scolded again by Emily. "Shit, she almost got me. Stay back, evil temptress! You shall not seduce me of my muffins!"
Seth arrived with the extra first aid kit, just in time to hear Leah yell, "The only one seducing anybody here is you! Now give me my muffin!"
"Uh, is everything okay?" Seth asked as he took in the chaos.
"So you admit it! You find me sexy!" Riley said triumphantly.
"A sexy pain in the ass!" Leah snapped.
"But still sexy," Riley said, and without thinking, pulled her free hand away from Emily to give Paul a high five.
"Riley one, Leah zero!" Paul cheered, slapping his hand against Riley's.
Immediately, pain shot through Riley's hand and up her arm. "Son of a bitch!"
"The fuck did you give me that hand to high five, idiot?"
As the people devolved into more chos, Bella turned her eyes from the chaotic scene to stare at Jacob. Clearly, she was overwhelmed with the amount of crazy.
Jacob could only shrug and give her a hesitant smile, knowing better than to try and reassure her. "Welcome to the pack."