To all who are reading this, I wish to thank you for your continued interest in my alternate canon story.

To the amazing peeps who left reviews on chapter 10: catgrl, Goldielover, Tobiramamara, Guest, Guest, Ruiniel, kouga's older woman, and Sassyass7515. Your feedback was very much appreciated.

Because this is a stressful week, I've been stress writing lol. For good or ill, this is the result.

The musical mood setter for this chapter is "In the Middle of the Night" by Still Corners.

CHAPTER 11

THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS

The pack left the reservation under cover of night, three large wolves snarling and baring their teeth as they bounded through the forest to see if the rumors were true.

Barely fifteen minutes ago, Jacob and Embry had been in Billy's modest garage, repairing Bella's car, when Sam had burst through the doors to tell them what was being said on social media, that someone had been snatched by the Thriftway earlier in the night. "Police haven't confirmed anything yet. But some are saying it might be an animal that did it."

Jacob had dropped his socket wrench at these words, his jaw flexing as he'd cast a look at Embry. With an alternate explanation already forming in his mind, Jacob had closed the hood, and wiped his hands with a rag. "That or a blood-sucking leech," he had said, voicing what they were all thinking.

And so they had phased into wolf form and were now venturing outside of their own territory, to see and smell it for themselves.

The Cullens have been laying low since they moved here. Embry Call's voice sounded through the pack's telepathic bond, the words blending with the swift patter of paws as they sped through the forest. You guys think they might have tired of their animal diet?

Glancing at his best friend, Jacob caught the sleekness of his form, and the shine of his coat—gray with black spots. Loyal to a fault, Embry always stayed close to his Alpha, and for that reason, Jacob and Sam often referred to him as "wingman".

If they did, they picked the wrong place to do it, Jacob replied, then glanced at Sam, who was running with lethal determination, his black fur made even darker by the night.

Quiet as a shadow, Sam Uley's wolf form was as tall as a horse, but more muscular, with dagger-like incisors and dark blue eyes. As big as he was, however, he was not the largest in the pack. Jacob was.

Jacob whose fur was reddish brown.

Jacob who had been the first to phase, and consequently was now the leader of the pack. The Alpha. Just like his great-grandfather before him.

When the change had first occurred, he had been greatly frightened by his magical inheritance, which he had previously believed to be nothing but a myth. But after his dad, Old Quil, and Harry Clearwater had invited him to a council meeting, explaining that they knew what had happened to him, that they had recognized the signs, Jacob had learned that some of their tribe members had the power to transform into werewolves, and that vampires were not monsters of legend, but were, in fact, very real. And they were here, two of them maintaining a residence not far from the reservation.

Aware that one of the blood-sucking monsters was a medical doctor in town, the elders had soon cautioned the tribe against frequenting Forks General. Because the Quileute's supernatural secret was only known to select members of the tribe, an old feud had been given as the reason. According to the lie, Dr. Cullen's ancestor had misled and robbed the Quileutes through a string of shady business deals. Adding another layer to the smoke screen, the elders had said that he had illegally bought a section of land that had previously belonged to the Quileutes. Sacred land, that the elder Cullen had desecrated in the name of development.

In the midst of this false but realistic explanation, the elders had woven actual truth within the lie—a truth many dismissed as superstition. In a general tribal meeting, the elders had hinted that the Cullens were counted among the Cold Ones, the natural enemy of the spirit warriors who had first transformed into wolves all those centuries ago.

Though the younger generations had mostly chuckled at the claim, the same could not be said for the elderly residents of La Push. Having heard the same warnings years and years ago—after Ephraim Black, Levi Uley, and Quil Ateara II had phased in the late 1930s—they had recognized the truth of the situation. The Olympic coven had returned.

And so we bear the torch, Jacob thought as he ran. While he was the genetic heir to the role of Alpha, he hadn't exactly welcomed the responsibility. But having phased before the others—his wolf gene complex triggered by the Cullens' return—he'd had little choice but to accept the role in the end, to teach and guide the others when it was their turn to phase.

Sam had been the second. Embry a surprising third. Surprising for the reason that his mother was descended from the Makah tribe. Since shape-shifting traits were inherited only within certain Quileute bloodlines, it was widely speculated that Embry was Joshua Uley's son, Sam's deadbeat father. Of course, Jacob knew there were two other candidates, his own father included. But because Billy Black and Quil Ateara IV had been happily married at the time of Embry's conception, they all found it easier to think that he was Joshua's son.

Regardless of who had fathered him, Embry was now part of the pack. Brothers they all were. And together they patrolled the perimeter of their territory, always on the lookout for the immortal blood-suckers they despised. Tonight, instead of a routine patrol, they were on a quest for answers, their plate-sized paws leading them away from La Push, closer and closer into town.

Because their eyes and ears were so keen, the wolves caught the sound of search dogs, and the red and blue glow of police lights long before a human would have.

So, the rumors were true, Sam thought over the mental bond. Something happened here tonight.

Careful they don't see you, Jacob warned the others before taking the point toward a wooded ridge that overlooked the scene.

Keeping to the shadowy ferns, the wolves crouched and watched as police scoured the area for clues. Barking echoed in the night, and flashlights swept through the misty darkness.

Charlie Swan's here, Sam supplied at the same time Jacob spotted him.

Except for his police jacket and tool belt, his father's best friend was dressed in civilian clothing, indicating that he had been off-duty when he'd arrived. Even at a distance, Jacob could clearly see how disquieted he was. His brows were pulled in a frown, his graying mustache following the slanted line of his mouth.

Who's the giant dude? The one talking to Charlie, Embry asked from his spying position, behind a moss-covered boulder.

Never seen him, was Jacob's answer. By his uniform, I'd say he's a forest ranger.

The guy looked to be on the underside of thirty. According to the yellow stitching on his green jacket, his name was E. McCarty.

Being well suited to the dark, the wolves could clearly see the blue of his eyes, and the shade of his short hair—a glossy brown so dark it bordered on black. At around 6'5", the guy was a giant compared to Charlie's paunch-bellied six-foot frame.

"Theoretically, it could be a bear or a mountain lion," he was saying to the Chief of Police. "But I don't know. The way the trail ends, as though the guy just vanished up that tree…" The ranger gave a rapid shake of his head. Heaving a puzzled breath, he added, "Once you've gone over your initial search grid, if you haven't found anything, my guys can have a look around the area if you want. If we find animal tracks, scat, fur, or anything that points to a possible case of predation, then maybe we'll know what we're looking at here."

Charlie scrubbed a hand over his tired face. At his nod, Officer McCarty went on. "But you were right when you said this is damn strange. I'm at a loss."

Now Charlie extended his hand, and the ranger took it. "Well, I appreciate the help, Emmett."

"Anything to lend a hand, chief."

I bet you twenty bucks he's on the juice. Embry nudged his grey snout in the ranger's direction. Look at him. His shoulders are bigger than ours. And shape-shifters were well-built in their human forms.

Because the wind was at their backs, the wolves hadn't caught a scent yet. To remedy the situation, the pack stole away in a wide arc. Down and around they crept, keeping well away from the officers as they moved toward the western side of the scene.

Wait, do you smell that? Sam said as the wind granted them a most revolting yet galvanizing clue. The area reeked of—

Vamp stink, Sam said as their hackles went up. The three of them were snarling in anger at this point, their growls too low for the cops to hear.

What do you think, Jake? Sam asked his Alpha, his reflective eyes shining in the dark. Could it be one of the Cullens?

Although he bore no love for the Olympic coven, Jacob already knew it wasn't them. Incensed by the fact that another dirty leech was prowling the area, he said, Remember the time we met with Dr. Fang in the parking lot of the hospital? His stench was different. Whoever was prowling out here, it wasn't him.

The guy doesn't live alone, though, Embry chimed in. What about the other one who lives with him? That blond chick. I've never seen her myself but—"

I have, Jacob cut in, and stared hard at the scene. A few months ago, at a gas station. It's not her. Her stink doesn't match.

Now Sam addressed Jacob. When the Cullens first trespassed on our lands, back in our great-grandfathers' day, wasn't there a third one? With bronze hair. I haven't seen him around. Maybe it's him.

They'll be in for a rude awakening if it is. If one of them so much as nicks a human, the treaty's dead. For now, all we can do is sniff out these woods. With a bit of luck, the scent trail will lead us to whoever was on the prowl tonight.

And if the leech is long gone?

Turning, Jacob bounded into the shadowy woods. The Cullens get a visit either way. Fan out, he commanded. Let's find whoever's out there.

It was nearly two in the morning, and Bella hadn't gone to bed yet. She was much too wired for that. Earlier that evening, in a moment that was now seared in her memory, her understanding of the world had toppled end over end, and there was no going back.

In school, Bella had learned that planet Earth was home to trillions of organisms, which modern taxonomy had divided into five kingdoms: monera, protists, fungi, plants, and animals. At present, Earth was dominated by Homo Sapiens, humans belonging to the family Hominidae, the great apes. But her education was clearly lacking, for she had encountered something else tonight, a man who appeared human but clearly wasn't.

There could be no doubt, Dr. Carlisle Cullen belonged in a whole other category. Something different… other.

How was she supposed to come to grips with that? And what was he anyway?

After he had driven away, speeding like a bat out of hell, Bella had strayed into the lonely road, her shell-shocked expression directed at his dwindling tail-lights until she had lost sight of him. How... what? When the chill of the night had forced her to seek shelter inside, Bella's trembling hands had plucked the scarf and jacket he had dropped in the driveway. Now the items were draped over the opposing chair, their very presence confirming the realness of what she had experienced tonight—what Bella had witnessed and felt in the moments following her tumble, a fall Carlisle had somehow managed to stop in time. What is he?

Despite being on edge, it was a good thing her father had called to say that he'd be pulling a late one. Coincidentally, Audrey had texted her to say that she was going on a date with a really nice guy—a postal worker who delivered mail at their work. In her message, Audrey had mentioned his name, but for the life of her, Bella couldn't remember if it was Jim or Tim or Tom. As happy as she was for her friend, the guy's name wasn't important right now.

As unsettled as she was, Bella was actually grateful to be alone. Her mind was racing with questions that needed answering. To that end, she was now sitting in her father's kitchen, where she had been jotting down notes for the better part of an hour.

The first few pages were a mess of random observations, many of them written at odd sizes and angles over the horizontal lines. Needing to organize her melee of clues, Bella ripped those messy pages to reveal a fresh one. And there, with her pen furiously scratching within the lines, she wrote:

1) Superhuman speed/reflexes

2) Body temperature unnaturally cold.

3) His breath is cool.

4) Body feels like stone.

Bella swallowed, her fingers threading through her hair for the third time in a row. Even now, the alien feel of him returned to her racing mind, a tactile memory so vivid, Bella knew she would never forget it. Going back to the moment he had loosened his hold on her, she positioned her pen on the page, and wrote another clue.

5) Weird golden eyes actually change color.

Now Bella paused in deliberation. On the same line, she added, Feral gaze? Her pen skipping to the next line, she recalled the most troubling moment of the night. The moment when he had taken a breath and shuddered.

6) Growling.

It hadn't been this throaty fake growl either, not like when someone was pretending to be a bear or a tiger—which would have been weird enough. No, this growl had radiated from deep within his chest. A low rumbling sound that radiated outward, reaching her body through their clothes. That's how close they had been, how tightly he had clutched her body to his, like he had wanted to own and possess her. For a mercy, Carlisle had snapped out of it. Then his entire demeanor had changed, his predatory gleam yielding to a profound sense of agony and shame.

Not knowing what to think or how to feel, Bella remembered some of the things she had first noted about him. Things she had dismissed at the time, but seemed all-too-relevant now.

7) Skin is deathly pale. No imperfections/looks airbrushed.

8) Features are beautiful beyond belief.

9) Smells amazing/enticing (not sure it's cologne)

As the coffee-maker puffed and puttered, the slow drip nearing its end, Bella added a question to the ninth line. Venus flytrap thing?

Indeed, she couldn't help but think of the carnivorous plant whose sweet nectar lured its victims. A plant whose common name referred to Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Even the genus name, Dionaea, which she remembered from a recent article in National Geographic, meant "daughter of Dione", or Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of—drumroll—love.

Carlisle Cullen was beauty personified, and Bella wasn't the only one who noticed.

10) Women drool over him (spellbound like they're in a trance.)

While the coffee-maker hissed in the background, signalling that her caffeine fix was ready, she was reminded of the time Carlisle had swung by her hospital room for morning rounds. Her cheeks warming at the memory, she wrote:

11) My reaction during checkup (what the fuck was that?)

Upon laying eyes on him, her physical and psychological response had been so visceral, so out of the norm. It shamed her to acknowledge it, but Carlisle could have asked her anything in that moment—to marry him, sleep with him, whatever—her answer would have probably been a desperate yes. At least in that moment. When he'd left, the spell had dissipated, and Bella had promptly felt like herself again.

For some reason she couldn't explain, that heady, artificial feeling no longer materialized in his presence. Instead, Bella harboured a genuine affinity toward the good doctor, a sense of comfort that had lasted until he had done the impossible and stopped her fall tonight.

Given how frazzled she still was, Bella shouldn't be craving coffee. But the beverage called to her, prompting her to rise and fill her cup. Upon her return to the table, her thoughts veered away from his allure, turning instead to the opposite side of the coin.

12) Some people are naturally wary/frightened of him.

13) He sniffed me like I was a meal. Predator/prey dynamics?

Or was it something else? Something more covetous, bordering on erotic. A frisson went through her; she was startled to find it wasn't the bad kind. Pushing this sudden and crazy feeling aside, Bella raised her coffee mug to her mouth, and concentrated on her list, adding:

14) Dangerous?

It was a reasonable question to ask, yet the idea of linking that particular word to Carlisle seemed almost profane. He who was so sweet, unassuming, and kind.

Now a new list was forming. With calming nerves, Bella wrote four additional points.

15) Saved my life.

16) Concerned about me lifting groceries.

17) Looked me over after I fell.

18) Seemed genuinely relieved that I was okay.

Then, when he had crawled away from her, Bella had seen the look on his haunted face. Beneath his growing anguish, his remorse had been clear as glass.

No. Whatever he was, Carlisle posed no danger to her. Without knowing how or why, Bella simply knew it to be true.

With a glance at her discarded drafts, Bella listed other details, other clues.

19) Drives like a madman.

20) Never works on sunny days.

There was a pause. Lips pursed, she wrote:

21) Hates the sun?

It would explain why he had suddenly changed his mind about leaving tonight. For the westering sun had chosen that moment to peek out of the clouds, casting warm light over the driveway. Thinking back to the moment she had entered Charlie's living-room, only to find that some of the drapes had been closed…

If the question on line twenty-one was correct, those things now made perfect sense.

And so the list went on.

22) Spends a lot of time in the wilderness.

23) Hikes by the highway even during rainstorms.

Those last two points were truly baffling. What was he doing out there in the woods? Moving on to another thing she had noticed—only in hindsight, though—Bella guided her pen along the page.

24) Only ate chocolate when I insisted.

That time outside the hospital, when he had brought her a mug of hot water and a selection of herbal teas.

Bella frowned. Speaking of tea…

25) Didn't even touch his beverage tonight.

A beverage he had asked for.

Bella's pulse quickened in nervousness. She wasn't quite ready to ponder the meaning of this one. Not after the sniffing incident.

The following minute passed in complete silence. As this surreal puzzle began to take shape, Bella twirled her pen a few times. Fingernails tapping against the old wooden table, she glanced out the window, and thought of her longtime friend. She started writing again.

26) Jacob hates him.

27) History/Feud with the tribe.

28) Quileutes are boycotting the hospital.

Realization kindled within her.

They know. The Quileutes know what he is.

Like a cold case detective who suddenly catches a lead, Bella felt a surge of nervous excitement and energy. It was a rush, if truth be told. An impossible game of connect-the-dots that she was suddenly winning—or was on her way to winning.

Yes, she could solve this mystery. She would. Am I crazy for pursuing this? Probably. But right now, Bella didn't care. She already had a plan. A plan consisting of a taxi ride and a long overdue visit to the place where answers were most likely to lie.

Bella was going to La Push alright.

Tomorrow, she thought and gained her feet.

After tossing her coffee down the drain, Bella unplugged the coffee-maker, and gathered her notes. With steely determination, she then grabbed Carlisle's jacket and scarf, carrying them up the stairs and into her room. Because Charlie wasn't one to snoop, Bella pinned her lists of clues to the empty corkboard.

Once she had changed into her pajamas and was lying in bed, she stared at the pages for what seemed like hours. When her eyes finally started drooping, Bella surrendered to exhaustion.

It was the first night she dreamed of Carlisle Cullen.

Thank you for reading chapter 11. Sorry chapter 12 is taking a bit longer. But fear not, I'm hoping to update really soon.

Reviews are much appreciated. Favs and follows are cool, too. ;-)