Daphne

"Don't touch me, monster," Daphne snapped accusingly at Alice. Alice's hand shot back to her side, releasing Daphne. The worry in her eyes changed to hurt. Daphne didn't care.

"What have you done with my cousin?" She demanded.

"Nothing! We would never hurt Bella," Alice insisted, seeming shocked by Daphne's accusation.

Considering Daphne was sure Bella knew the truth about her boyfriend and his family, Daphne was inclined to believe her. It didn't lessen her distrust of Alice though.

"And what about me?" She asked.

"No!" Alice cried. "We would never hurt you either!"

"But you want to, don't you? I smell delicious to you, to all of you, don't I?"

Alice's hesitation was all the answer Daphne needed.

"And what about you?" She called to the werewolves that watched on the other side of the river. "Did Lycaon send you? I will send you back to your master and you can tell him I'm not a little kid anymore. I killed one of his sons once before, and now I am grown and trained and much more deadly."

The werewolves exchanged glances with each other. Was it confusion? Doubt? Daphne couldn't tell. She locked eyes with the second largest werewolf, who seemed to be the leader. His fur was black and he was the size of a horse. She sneered at it, hatred coursing through her veins.

"Daphne calm down," Alice spoke again, drawing Daphne's attention back to her. "No one here will hurt you. Just lower your weapon and we can talk about things."

Daphne regarded her and the rest of the vampires. Alice had backed up, either to give her space or to get away from her arrow. She had her palms up in a gesture of surrender, as did the other vampires who stood behind her. The burly one that had jumped across the river was back on their side now, and he kept throwing furious glances at the werewolves. It struck Daphne as strange that they seemed to have an agreement. All stories about vampires and werewolves were that they were mortal enemies. Daphne was missing a lot of the story here. She needed more information.

Daphne lowered her bow, but kept the arrow knocked. It was a token effort at peace, for appearances only. She could still shoot with a split seconds notice if she wanted. Still, the gesture worked. Alice and the other Cullens became much less tense.

"Why aren't you and the werewolves trying to kill each other?" Daphne asked. She had a lot of questions, but this seemed the most immediate.

Alice glanced uneasily across the river. "We have a treaty with them. We don't hunt humans and we don't cross their lands, so we leave each other alone."

Alice seemed desperate to tell Daphne that she didn't hunt humans. Daphne had already surmised as much. A treaty seemed surprisingly civilised for two groups of monsters. Daphne had never heard of such a thing. Alice had also mentioned the werewolves lands. Did they not roam as they pleased, as Lycaon and his sons did? Were these werewolves too far removed from Lycaon to follow him and his ways? Daphne could scarcely imagine such a thing. Still, none of them had those glowing red eyes that haunted her nightmares.

"And them?" Daphne asked, needing to know. "Do they follow Lycaon?"

Alice looked confused. She glanced uneasily at the werewolves and then at the rest of the vampires. A blonde vampire, older than most of them, answered her instead.

"The werewolves are from the Quileute tribe. I have heard of Lycaon before, but he is just a myth. You don't need to worry about him." He spoke in a soothing tone, clearly trying to set her at ease. It didn't work. Daphne stared at him in disbelief.

"Werewolves, with no connection to Lycaon? Don't make me laugh, vampire," Daphne said coldly.

"Daphne," he said seriously. "Lycaon is from myths. None of us here will hurt you."

Daphne actually did laugh at that. It was a cold and cynical laugh. She didn't find this situation funny at all.

"Do you really think you're the only monsters out there?" She asked.

The vampires glanced at each other, as did the werewolves.

"You do," she realised with wonder. "I can assure you, Lycaon is very much real. He tried to kill me when I was 10."

If Daphne hadn't been so tense, she would have found it funny that every single one of the vampires opened their mouths with shock. Perhaps these vampires and werewolves really didn't want to kill her. They seemed to have no idea that she was a demigod, at least, considering they thought Lycaon was a myth. The thought gave her some modicum of comfort.

Fatigue suddenly washed over her. Instinctively she knew the threat had passed. The red haired vampire had been the danger to her, but she was long gone now. Daphne pulled her arrow out of her bow and slid it back into her quiver. She brought her bow up to her throat, touching the wood to the chain on her neck. It shrunk back to a lyre pendant and her quiver disappeared.

"Daphne," Alice breathed, shock all over her face. "What was that? Who are you?"

Daphne looked at her, in no mood to paint a potential bullseye on her back.

"Perhaps I will tell you one day, vampire, but you will need to earn my trust first."

The vampires insisted on following her back to her house. It seemed the werewolves did too, as they kept pace with her on their side of the river. Daphne could practically hear all the cogs whirring inside the minds of everyone around her as they processed what had happened, but they stayed quiet. Daphne was grateful for this. She wouldn't have answered them anyway.

Despite how exhausted she was, it took Daphne a long time to fall asleep. She suspected some of the vampires were guarding her house in case the other vampire returned. Far from making her feel safe, it increased the tension she felt. She felt like a coiled spring, ready and waiting if one of the Cullens decided to have a taste of her blood. She knew they wanted to. What she didn't know was why they were resisting such an urge.

It was midday when Daphne woke up. She was grateful that Charlie had let her sleep in, even if he had no idea what had happened last night. Daphne dressed, putting band-aids on the blisters her feet had developed last night, and went downstairs. There was a note from Charlie saying that he was going fishing with his friend Billy Black and would be back late afternoon. She was just starting to eat her toast when the doorbell rang. Taking her toast with her, Daphne opened the door to see a hugely tall, muscular, russet skinned man. Despite his height and muscles, his face had a hint of childishness that made Daphne think he was really still in his teens.

"Hello," Daphne said politely. "Can I help you?"

Daphne met his hard stare. She didn't flinch. A tall guy was not going to intimidate her, not after all she had lived through. Irritation flickered across his face as she took a bite of her toast.

"Who are you?" He asked. Daphne caught his meaning immediately. He wasn't asking for her name.

"Ah, I see," she said, slipping out of the door and shutting it behind her. She casually held her hand over the lock and willed it to lock itself. It did. "You're one of the werewolves then?"

He crossed his arms, but otherwise didn't move. Daphne sighed dramatically, taking another bite of her toast. She finished chewing before she spoke.

"I'm Daphne, Bella's cousin and Charlie's niece, but you already knew that, didn't you?"

"Charlie doesn't have any siblings," he said, scowling.

Daphne smiled tightly. "I assure you he does. I'd invite you inside to ask him yourself, but he's out with a friend today."

"I know," the boy growled. "He's with my dad."

Daphne's interest in the boy grew.

"So you're Jacob, then. The one who won't speak to Bella because she's dating someone else."

Jacob looked like he'd been slapped.

"That is not why. I just - It's none of your business anyway," he snapped.

Daphne took another bite of toast.

"If you say so. She should be back soon, if you want to hang around. Her flight should have landed by now, if it wasn't delayed at all."

Jacob looked confused. "Flight?" he asked.

"Ah yes," Daphne said, in no mood to be kind to the abrasive boy who had made her cousin cry and was actually a werewolf. "You wouldn't know because you don't speak to her anymore. She and Edward have been visiting Renee this weekend."

Daphne paid close attention to the emotions that flashed across Jacob's face. Surprise, fear, concern, anguish, rage. He was scared, that much was obvious. Scared about something that might have happened on the trip away. Was he worried Edward would have killed her? Daphne had been worried about that too, she had to admit. She had seen the way Edward looked at her cousin though, and had no doubt that he loved her. Was that why the Cullens were resisting their desire to kill people? Because of Edward's love for Bella?

Daphne pondered the situation in silence. Jacob eventually sat down on the footpath up to the house and Daphne sat on the stairs.

"Will you stop that?" Jacob snapped eventually, breaking the silence.

"Stop what?" Daphne asked. Jacob glared at her.

"That tapping."

Daphne looked down and noticed her fingers tapping a rhythm on the wood she was sitting on.

"Oh, sorry," she said. "I have ADHD. I can't sit still."

Jacob looked at her in surprise. Daphne had already figured out that this small town didn't have anyone else with her diagnosis. She thought that the Quileute reservation must be the same.

She got up and started pacing instead, her hand fiddling with her lyre pendant. Jacob watched her.

"How did you do that?" He asked.

"What, stand up? I used my legs and ab muscles."

"No," he said, annoyed. "How did you make your bow and arrows disappear last night?"

Daphne paused in her pacing to stand and look at him. Even though he was sitting down, he was so tall he barely had to look up at her to see her face. Daphne grinned mischievously.

"Magic."

She waved her hands, wriggling her fingers, the way people did when performing sometimes.

Jacob looked faintly annoyed at her, but mainly looked at her seriously. He knew she wasn't lying. He was a werewolf, for gods' sake. Of course he believed in magic. He also knew she was being as vague as possible and giving nothing away.

"What are you?" He asked.

Daphne resumed her pacing, loudly humming the tune of I Am My Own Great-Great-Great-Great Grandpa. She heard Jacob humph. It wasn't long after that that Edward's Volvo appeared on their street and turned into the Swan's driveway. Jacob was on his feet, energy emanating from him.

Daphne stood back, watching.

"Jacob!" Bella exclaimed, running from the car. "What are you doing here?" She looked delighted to see him.

"You left town," Jacob said accusingly. Bella deflated.

"To visit Renee. Why?"

"He's checking to see if you're still human," Edward whispered to her. The words were meant to be quiet enough that Daphne wouldn't hear, but her hearing was better than normal mortals. Everything about Jacob's reaction to her news of Bella leaving for the weekend suddenly made sense. Judging by the understanding that cleared away the confusion on Bella's face, this was not a concept she was unfamiliar with. Did that mean she wanted to be a vampire? Daphne's heart sank. She had become very fond of her cousin and absolutely did not want her to become a monster.

"That's not the only reason I'm here." Jacob sneered.

"I know." Edward said. "You've come to deliver a warning. Consider us warned."

"Warning?" Bella asked, not shocked that Edward already knew what Jacob was going to say.

"Emmett and Paul had a disagreement last night," Edward said quickly. Anxiety flashed across Bella's face.

"Emmett and Paul?" Bella echoed. "What happened? Why were they fighting? Was anyone hurt?" Bella's voice became higher and higher, panic creeping into her voice.

"You didn't tell her?" Jacob asked Edward incredulously.

"Jacob, please drop it."

"Tell me what? Jake? Edward? What's happening?"

Fed up with the testosterone fuelled conversation, Daphne answered her.

"A red haired vampire tried eating me last night. The Cullens and the werewolves decided territory was more important than chasing her."

The three of them stared at her. It was quite clear they had forgotten she was there. Jacob glared at her, Edward was glancing between her and Jacob, stone-cold shock on his face, and Bella looked like she was about to faint. Several times her cousin opened her mouth but seemed unable to get words out.

"I'm ok," Daphne said in a much softer tone, looking directly into her cousin's eyes. "It takes much more than a lone vampire to finish me off. I killed my first werewolf when I was only 10."

"You - you killed -" Bella choked out. Her knees buckled and she sagged into Edward's chest, his arms holding her up.

"That's the other reason I'm here," Jacob said. "What do you know about her? She won't tell us what she is. If she's a threat to the tribe, we need to know."

Daphne couldn't help it. She laughed, the same cynical and bitter laugh she had laughed last night. The three of them stared at her.

"Oh if only you knew what I've done and what I've sacrificed for you, monsters and mortals alike. I'm no threat to regular mortals. Only monsters."

The silence stretched on an uncomfortably long time. Daphne played with her bracelet.

"We're having a bonfire next Saturday," Jacob said, breaking the silence eventually. "She's coming. Sam has decided she needs to hear the histories. She thinks we're connected to some myth called Lycaon and she claims to have killed werewolves before. She needs to know everything, for the good of the tribe. And we need to know everything about her. Bring Bella too."

"No," Edward said instantly, not letting go of Bella, even though she had found her feet again. "It's too dangerous. Bella's not going near werewolves."

"Edward, they won't hurt me," Bella insisted, looking into his eyes. Daphne got the feeling this was an argument they'd had many times.

"It's too dangerous," Edward returned. "You saw what they did to Emily."

Bella flinched. Daphne was intrigued. It seemed the werewolves weren't as high and mighty as Jacob was acting. Jacob bristled at Edward's words.

"That was an accident. Sam never forgave himself. You know that."

"They won't hurt me," Bella said again. Edward opened his mouth, no doubt about to refuse again, but Daphne spoke first.

"Perhaps you should trust her. Besides, a vampire isn't the safest company either. If anything truly were to happen, I could protect her, anyway. I would have killed that red head if Alice hadn't stopped me."

Three pairs of eyes turned to her again. Bella was the only one who wasn't looking at her with hostility. Edward stepped protectively in front of Bella. Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Please. My weapons can't hurt Bella anyway."

Confusion flickered on all three of the faces staring at her. She turned to Jacob.

"I accept your gracious invitation to your bonfire. If Bella agrees, we'll both be there. Now I didn't sleep too well last night after waking up with fangs at my throat, so I'm going to go inside and watch TV. Are you coming, Bella?" She directed her last words directly to her cousin, speaking much more softly.

Bella nodded and began to move out from behind Edward. Edward raised his arm to block her.

"No," he said. "You aren't going anywhere with Bella. Not until I know you won't hurt her."

Daphne rolled her eyes again. Her patience was hanging on by a thread.

"We share a bedroom, Edward. If I wanted to hurt her I would have done so by now."

Edward didn't move.

"What are you?" He demanded. "I can't read your mind. Alice can't see your future. You steal things right from under our noses and no one notices. Your scent sings more than other humans. Now you claim to have killed a werewolf and almost killed a vampire. What are you?"

Daphne smiled tightly, not too happy to learn about these abilities he and Alice had, but pleased she was immune.

"Like I told your family last night, you aren't the only monsters out there. I kill monsters to avoid being killed by them."

Daphne turned around, sure that if one of the boys said something else she considered stupid she'd draw her sword. That really wouldn't help matters. She held her hand over the lock, commanding it to open, and opened the door. She left the door open as she walked through, a wordless invitation for Bella to follow her.

Bella did follow her in, eventually. Edward's Volvo and Jacob's motorbike left the driveway, but Daphne was sure Edward was going to come back and keep guard. Daphne suddenly remembered when she had been sleeping on the couch and had heard murmurs from Bella's room at night. Edward must have been visiting. Daphne's lips quirked up as she imagined Charlie's face if he ever found out.

Bella sat on the other end of the couch to her, curling up against the arm of the sofa.

"Daph, I'm so sorry about Victoria. If I had known she was coming back I never would have left. She's after me, not you."

"Is that the red head's name?" Daphne asked curiously. Bella nodded. She looked miserable.

"Bella," Daphne said seriously. "I meant it when I said it'll take more than one vampire to finish me off. Werewolves and vampires aren't the only monsters out in the world. I've been hunted all my life. I know how to survive."

Bella looked at Daphne, multiple emotions flashing across her face as she digested Daphne's words. Shock, fear, horror, compassion. It was a long while before Bella spoke.

"Why do they hunt you?"

Daphne smiled sadly. "Because of who I am. Because of what I am. I smell delicious to monsters. I'll bet Edward's told you how tasty I smell, hasn't he?"

The look on Bella's face told Daphne she was right.

"Why don't the Cullens drink human blood?" She asked.

"They don't want to be monsters," Bella said. "They can survive on animal blood, so there's no need to kill people."

"But they're vampires. Why deny themselves their true nature?" Daphne persisted.

Bella looked uncomfortable.

"Well, it's different for each of them, I suppose, but the main reason is Carlisle. He's the one who turned most of them. When a human becomes a vampire they bring the strongest part of themselves with them. For some, like Edward and Alice, that's a power. For Carlisle it was his compassion. He's a doctor. He saves lives. He doesn't kill people because he's too compassionate."

Daphne was quiet as she contemplated Bella's explanation. It went against everything she'd ever known about monsters. She'd never in her life met a monster with a conscience. The thought was alien to her.

"Daphne." Her cousin's soft voice brought Daphne out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"What are you?"

Daphne smiled sadly at her cousin. It was obvious that Bella could see through the Mist. Daphne had been desperate for a mortal family member that could see through the Mist since she was 10. Now she finally had that, and she had to keep everything a secret because of those stupid vampires and werewolves. The Fates were cruel.

"Maybe one day I'll tell you, Bells, but not today. My life would be in even more danger than it already is if word about what I am got out to the monsters living here. I'm sorry, but I have to protect myself."

Bella didn't seem to understand, but she respected Daphne's words all the same. Daphne took the chance to quiz her cousin on what she knew of the vampires. She learnt about Jasper's power over emotions and how Bella had wanted to see if Daphne was immune to his powers too. Bella told her about their ruse to constantly act as high school kids so they could stay in different places for as long as possible. Repeating high school for eternity sounded like the Fields of Punishment to Daphne, but she refrained from saying so.

Bella also told her that Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper weren't away at college, they were just hiding in their house in the woods. When Daphne mentioned how boring that sounded, Bella told her she should come to visit, now that she knew their secret. Daphne must have looked horrified by the idea, because Bella quickly began reassuring her that they wouldn't hurt her and she would be perfectly safe there. Daphne eventually promised she'd think about it. Bella's faith in the vampire's definitely intrigued Daphne, as did Edward's obvious love for her. Perhaps a visit would be a good opportunity for Daphne to understand what was really going on here. A lot of what she had recently found out did not fit at all with what she knew was true of monsters. If she were to survive here, she needed to understand exactly what was going on.

School the next day was awkward. Edward didn't trust her around Bella but he couldn't change the fact that they had classes together, nor could he stop Daphne from sitting with them at lunch. Alice was still hurt by Daphne's hostility on Saturday night. She gave Daphne space, several times beginning to approach her before thinking better of it and staying away. Bella was more withdrawn than normal, still processing everything that had happened. The rest of the week passed in much the same fashion.

On Saturday, Edward came over to their house. This in itself wasn't unusual. What was unusual was how tense he was. Daphne knew he was here to prevent Bella from going to the werewolf bonfire. His attempt to control her cousin irked Daphne, as did his hypocrisy. He claimed the werewolves were dangerous, as if vampires weren't.

The three of them were in hers and Bella's room (Charlie let Edward up there as long as Daphne was around too) when Daphne decided enough was enough.

"What are you going to wear to the bonfire tonight?" Daphne asked her cousin.

"She's not going," Edward said instantly, giving Bella no chance to reply.

"I think your red blouse with your black coat would look nice, and it will keep you warm," Daphne continued, ignoring Edward.

Bella looked desperately at Edward, who was scowling and opening his mouth to speak again. Daphne held up her hand to him.

"What do you think?" She asked Bella.

"She's not going," Edward ground out.

Daphne turned from her cousin to look at him in contempt.

"I don't remember asking you."

"Don't fight," Bella pleaded. "Edward, they won't hurt me."

"You need to trust her, Edward. Being controlling won't help anyone."

Edward's lip curled up at Daphne. "I do trust Bella. It's the werewolves I don't trust. Or you."

Daphne lost her temper.

"You want to make sure Bella's safe? Fine. I'll show you how I can protect her. Come into the woods. Now."

Daphne spun around and marched down the stairs. In a voice showing no hint of anger, she called to Charlie to tell him that the three of them were going for a walk and would be back soon. Knowing Bella and Edward would be following her, Daphne marched outside. She walked down the road until she could dart into the woods without Charlie seeing from the living room windows. Once in the tree line she broke into a run. She ran as fast as she could, faster than even other demigods, besides her siblings, could run. It was unnecessary, but she felt like showing off to Edward. She was sick of his attitude after a week of suspicion and hostility from him.

Eventually she hit a little clearing and stopped. Edward stopped right next to her, Bella on his back. When it was clear Daphne wasn't going to keep going, Bella climbed off him. Edward was still looking at her suspiciously, but his expression was much more guarded now compared to being outright hostile.

"Tell me what you know of last Saturday," Daphne demanded.

"You can run faster than other humans. You have a bow and arrows and managed to shoot Victoria so hard that you impaled her shoulder. You may have a weapon, but the wolves will never let you waltz into their tribe armed like that."

Daphne grinned.

"Oh yes they will," Daphne said. She yanked on her lyre pendant. Her bow appeared in her hand and her quiver on her back.

"Bella," she said to her stunned looking cousin. "Do you trust me?"

Slowly, Bella nodded.

"Then come here."

Bella walked towards Daphne. Edward didn't stop her. Slowly, so she didn't freak Edward out, Daphne pulled one of her celestial bronze arrows from her quiver.

"Hold out your hand."

Edward was there, pinning Bella's hands to her side and glaring at Daphne.

"Oh for gods' sake Edward," Daphne snapped. "Stop treating her like she's going to break if the wind blows in the wrong direction. Bella's an adult. She can make decisions for herself. Stop being so controlling."

Edward looked taken aback. "I'm not controlling," he said. "Am I, Bella?"

"Edward," Bella said softly. "Let me go. Daphne's not going to hurt me and neither will Jake and his pack. You have to stop being so overprotective all the time."

Daphne waited impatiently as Bella and Edward stared into each other's eyes. Finally, Edward released Bella and stepped out of the way. Bella held out her hand to Daphne. Daphne brought the tip of the arrow to her cousin's hand and slashed across her palm. The celestial bronze passed right through it, as Daphne had known it would.

Edward grabbed Bella's hand, not in concern but in fascination. He turned her hand this way and that while he and Bella examined every inch of her hand, looking for a wound that did not exist. Daphne waited, patiently this time, until Edward spoke.

"How?" He asked.

"Bella is a mortal. She has no-" Daphne searched for a word that wouldn't give away the gods' existence. "Supernatural about her. It can't harm her. Monsters, it can harm. Give me your hand, Edward. I'll show you."

Edward held out his hand to her, doubt and curiosity mingled on his face. Knowing it actually would hurt, Daphne only pricked his finger. Edward hissed with pain and snatched his hand back.

"What is that made of?" He asked, massaging the tip of his finger.

"Trade secret, sorry," Daphne replied, placing the arrow back in the quiver and touching her bow to the chain on her neck, shrinking it back to her lyre pendant. "So Bella, I'll ask you again. What are you going to wear tonight?"

Daphne knew she'd be interrogated the moment she arrived at the bonfire. Jacob had even said they needed to know everything about her.

That wasn't going to happen.

There was no way Daphne was going to tell anyone who her father was. These were werewolves, and the Cullens were vampires. It was in their nature to kill people. It was even further ingrained in their nature to kill demigods. She had already had one vampire try to kill her. She didn't need word about her godly father getting out and attracting a hoard of bloodthirsty vampires coming for her every other night. She had no idea if the werewolves wanted to kill her either. Although they claimed no connection to Lycaon, Daphne didn't believe it for a second. Who knew what they would do if they found out who and what she was.

It was much safer and much more sensible to let them all come up with their own theories of what she was.

Daphne felt as though a welcoming committee were assembled for them when she and Bella arrived at the Black house for the bonfire. First, Jacob was there, delighted to see Bella and giving her a huge hug. Bella seemed just as happy to see him. Daphne didn't understand why. She didn't like the werewolf at all, and not just because he was a werewolf, although that didn't help. She kept those thoughts private though. Another werewolf was there, this one only just shorter than the giant, Jacob. He was as well muscled as Jacob was, but his face was older than Jacob's. He was obviously not a teenager. He introduced himself as Sam. Bella had told her on the drive over that Sam was the name of the alpha of the pack. When he shook Daphne's hand, she noticed his skin seemed to be on fire, it was so hot. It was the exact opposite of the vampire's icy skin. The thought kind of amused Daphne.

Sam announced that he wanted to speak to Daphne alone before Billy recited the histories. Daphne promised Bella she would be ok and encouraged her to go and have fun with Jacob. Bella, apparently having a lot of trust in Daphne's ability to protect herself after her arrow demonstration earlier that day, agreed without any protest.

Sam led her inside a small house that sat a bit of a ways away from the bonfire and main party. Another huge boy who was obviously a werewolf was lounging on the couch, three empty plates of food in front of him. Daphne tensed. There was someone else in here. The door had already been open as she and Sam had entered. The click of the door closing and jangle of keys in the lock confirmed her suspicions. There was another werewolf behind her too.

"A tip for next time you integrate someone. Don't leave out clues that there are more people inside than you want your victim to know." She gestured to the plates on the table. The werewolf on the couch turned red.

"Also," she went on recklessly, feeling a little bit insulted at their intimidation attempts. "Locked doors aren't enough to keep me in."

Sam and the couch werewolf looked confused by this. The other one was still behind her. Daphne's keen hearing told her that he hadn't moved from the door so he was still far enough away that he couldn't grab her.

"You are observant," Sam said eventually.

"I am," she replied. As a daughter of Hermes, she had been tasked with many spying missions into both Kronos's and Octavian's armies. She wouldn't have survived if she wasn't observant.

"Let's get this over with. Are we going to fight or do you want to do this peacefully?" She sneered, expecting a fight. The last thing werewolves knew how to do was act civilly. Hatred for them burned through her once again.

The werewolf behind her snorted derisively.

"Please," he said, contempt dripping from his voice. Daphne could hear his footsteps as he moved closer to her. "You wouldn't stand a chance if we wanted to fight."

Insulted, Daphne spun around, her sword appearing in her hand. Before any of the werewolves had a chance to blink she had her sword tip pressing lightly against his chest, just over his heart.

"Is that so?" She asked, looking up into his face. He was shorter than Sam, but he had the russet skin and black hair that all the Quileute werewolves she had met had. His eyes were a deep brown. The moment Daphne's eyes met his, his face went slack with shock. Daphne felt smug. He had obviously not been expecting her to do that. She heard Sam and the couch werewolf surge forward but stop just as quickly when they realised how easily she could kill their friend.

"Daphne," Sam's voice came from behind her. "We just want to talk. Please put the sword down."

"Oh very well," Daphne sighed dramatically, stepping away from the werewolf, feeling as though she had made her point. She sat on one of the chairs at the dining table so that the table was a barrier between her and the werewolves. She twirled her sword over the back of her hand and it shrunk back into her bracelet.

Daphne looked at Sam, expecting him to say something, but he was frowning at the door werewolf. The door werewolf was still slack jawed and staring at her. Really, she hadn't meant to freak him out that much. The way he was staring at her made her uncomfortable, so she turned her attention to the couch werewolf. He was staring at her wrist, apparently fascinated by her disappearing sword.

The silence dragged on.

"Ok then, I'll start," Daphne snapped. She couldn't stand to sit still in the silence and she wanted this over with. "How can you be werewolves but have no connection to Lycaon?"

Sam's attention was on her again. Her voice seemed to snap the door werewolf out of whatever shock he was in. His face cleared but his eyes still didn't leave her face. Daphne shifted uncomfortably. She had been prepared for hostility and intimidation, not the awe that was on his face as he looked at her. She had no idea how to react to that.

The three werewolves sat down on the couch and faced her before answering.

"Before Saturday night, we had never heard of Lycaon. The tribe's histories told later tonight will tell you of our origin," Sam said. He leant forward, interested in her. "Who is Lycaon?"

"Oh come on," Daphne said, rolling her eyes. "You can't expect me to believe you haven't looked him up since Saturday night."

Sam and Couch Werewolf exchanged glances.

"We have," Sam admitted. "But what we found didn't make sense to us. Everything was from thousands of years ago. What does that have to do with now?"

"He was the first werewolf," Daphne answered, choosing her words carefully so that she didn't mention anything about the gods themselves. "He didn't die from something so trivial as time."

"Then what did he die from?" Couch Werewolf asked. Daphne smiled tightly but didn't respond.

"Why are you so concerned about him?" Sam asked when it became clear she wasn't going to answer.

"Like I said on Saturday night, he tried killing me when I was ten. I killed one of his werewolves instead and he swore he'd return to kill me one day."

"He what?" Door Werewolf said, his voice low and dangerous, his face hard with rage. Daphne looked at him, surprised at the intensity of his reaction. His body was shaking. She met his eyes again and he calmed down visibly.

"Paul. Either keep it together or leave," Sam ordered sharply.

Paul took a deep breath. He stopped shaking. Sam turned back to Daphne and spoke again.

"We protect our tribe. We need to know that you aren't a threat to the people here. Are you?"

"You're a bunch of werewolves, but you're asking me if I'm the threat?" Daphne couldn't keep the incredulity out of her voice.

Paul and Couch Werewolf glanced uncomfortably at each other, but it seemed she had pushed Sam too far.

"DAPHNE," he snapped, voice barely below a yell, and stood up off the couch. "You are on our lands because I have given you permission. You mix with our people because I have said you can. Are you a threat to them or not? Answer the question."

Daphne had jumped out of her seat too. She glared at Sam, hating him, hating his kind, hating the fact that these stupid monsters existed at all.

"NO," she snapped back at him, frustration and rage bursting forth. "I am sick of you monsters acting like I'm the threat when monsters like you have hunted me and tried to kill me my entire life. You monsters have killed my brothers and sisters and yet you say I'm the threat! I'VE HELPED SAVE YOUR SORRY EXISTENCE TWICE."

"Daphne."

Paul's voice cut her off. He was standing next to Sam, right on the other side of the table. His hand was extended towards her, palm up, like he wanted her to take his hand. She stared at him, breathing heavily from her anger. His face was kind, compassion filling his dark brown eyes. It was so bizarre, so not what she was expecting, that a lot of her anger drained away.

"We aren't werewolves like in the stories. We exist to protect our tribe from the Cold Ones. The vampires like that leech who tried to kill you." His voice grew hard and anger flickered on his face. "It'll all make sense once you've heard the stories later tonight, I promise."

Daphne looked into his eyes. He looked so earnest that doubt began to gnaw at her. Werewolves were her enemy. They were all the same, bloodthirsty sons of Lycaon, weren't they? Yet every experience she'd had so far with these werewolves supported what Paul was saying. She'd only ever seen them hunting that vampire. They had a treaty with the Cullens. Jacob had said they needed to know if she was a threat to the tribe, and neither Bella nor Edward, who could read minds, acted like they didn't believe they cared about the tribe.

"Daphne," Sam said, speaking much more softly now. "What are you?"

Daphne sighed and sat back down. As if they had been waiting for this, the werewolves sat back down on their couch too.

"I can't tell you that," she said, also speaking softly.

"Are you even human?" Couch Werewolf asked.

"Are you?" She countered. He glanced at Sam, looking for guidance.

"Answer Jared's question," Sam said, looking at her intensely.

Daphne sighed and looked down at her hands. This was it. They had come to the point the werewolves really wanted to know. They had reached the secret that she held so closely to her chest whenever she was out of camp that sometimes it felt like she couldn't breathe. The secret that, if she let go, might mean her death.

"I'm half human," she said finally, looking up at the werewolves. Sam was still watching her intensely. Jared looked like he was deep in thought. Paul was looking at her encouragingly.

Daphne sighed. This conversation had drained her. She wanted to find Bella and have something from the barbeque she had smelt when she arrived.

"Was there anything else?" She asked.

Sam continued to study her for a few moments more.

"No," he said. Daphne had to stop herself from sighing in relief. "Listen to the histories. Come and see us again next Saturday. Have Bella drive you to Emily's. She knows where to go. I want to know about all of these other monsters you claim to have fought. If they're a threat to the tribe, we need to know."

Daphne knew as soon as he finished speaking that she wasn't going to tell him anything about Greek mythology that she didn't need to, but she didn't voice her thoughts. She had no energy for another argument. Instead she stood and headed to the door. Paul sprung up off the couch.

"Let me come with you," he said.

Daphne stopped moving and turned to look at him.

"I'm not going to go rampaging about. You don't need to babysit me."

Paul waved his hand dismissively.

"Not like that," he said. "Let me show you how not all werewolves are monsters."

He was grinning. Daphne got the feeling he really just wanted to chat, not interrogate her. She couldn't think of any reason why he shouldn't come with her, if that was the case.

"Ok," she said, the corners of her lips flicking up into a small smile. "I will warn you, though, I do have a bit of a temper."

Paul put a hand on his heart.

"I'll try not to annoy you, but no promises," he said seriously.

Daphne's smile grew and she followed him out the door.

I hope this satisfies everyone after that cliffhanger last chapter. Writing a follow up to the chase last chapter was quite difficult. I rewrote this chapter a few times before getting it right. I hope everyone enjoys Daphne's perspective on the Twilight characters too. As readers, we obviously know they're the good guys, but Daphne doesn't know that. Writing a chapter through Daphne's eyes instead of an author's eyes was very tricky, but I found it really rewarding to do so. I hope you all enjoyed :D