Chapter 3- I am no damsel in distress

Bella's POV-

"I received a call from one Jasper Cullen today."

The very words that changed my life, and not in a good way, I assure you.

"They are planning to move here."

"NO." I growled the word out, waving my hands furiously in air. "You cannot allow this!"

"Bella!" Charlie sighed, exasperated. "You know this is not my decision to make..."

"I don't fucking care. Do something. Tell them that we will slaughter them in a hundred pieces if they even let their shadow fall over our area."

"Bella," he repeated, tired. "We have a treaty with them."

I scoffed at that. Stupid elders. Stupid treaty.

"He stole one of us. He impregnated her and let her die."

"Correction. She married him with her own wish. And with Ephraim Black's blessings."

Ephraim Black was an idiot. Who gets their daughter married to a vampire?

"She loved him."

"Love is for losers." I scowled at him.

Charlie simply rolled his eyes, letting me spew my anger.

Wait. Let me backtrack a bit.

Ephraim Black Sr, or was it Ephraim Black the first, I am not too sure. Anyhow, his daughter, Leah Black had fallen in love with a vampire. One Carlisle Cullen, to be specific. I don't have all the details- they have not been mentioned in our books, but Ephraim hadn't reacted very nicely to his daughter's affair. As was expected. And sane. He knew that Carlisle was a vampire. He munched on animals and appeared to be a pacifist. But it could have all been a façade. He had fought Leah tooth and nail for months, finally relenting when Leah told her father that she had consummated her love with Carlisle and was about to be a mother. Ephraim Black had forcefully given his blessing; a hush-hush wedding had followed. A treaty had then been devised. Carlisle was married to the Chief's daughter. He was now permitted to enter our lands, to reside on them, and to, whenever he chose to, freely return to the area in his eternity. Unfortunately, it hadn't been an easy pregnancy and Leah Black had lost her life while giving birth. Carlisle, in some sick sense of humor, had named her daughter Leah Cullen. Ephraim Black had been heartbroken but had accepted that Leah Black had made her bed and had no choice but to lie in it. Carlisle had assured him that he would forever take care of little Leah, leaving the area and never returning.

Not till today.

"Who is Jasper Cullen, though?" I questioned my father.

I hadn't ever heard of that name before. It wasn't mentioned in our books.

Charlie frowned. "I am a bit unclear on that, too. But he is a Cullen and as the treaty holds..."

"Screw the treaty."

"You know we can't do that."

Okay, so maybe I was being a little immature, but I was no fan of vampires. They had ruined my brothers' lives.

A few years ago, a stray vampire had been passing through the area, five teenage boys of our tribe turning into horse-sized wolves overnight.

Sam, Jared, Paul, Embry- and my brother, Jacob.

They had immediately lost control over their decision to leave La Push. They never could. They had no control over their emotions, anger being the most predominant emotion they now felt. They could not control their phase when angry, and if that was not enough, could not even choose their life partner. The imprint bond decided that for them.

And don't even get me started on the Leah-Sam- Emily love triangle. It had been a scandal of massive proportions.

My best friend Leah Clearwater had lost the man she had believed to marry one day, unaware of what she had done wrong. She hadn't. The imprint bond was fucked up. Thankfully, no wolf had imprinted on me!

I would have preferred to die otherwise.

Now, there was nothing wrong with being loved by those boys; they were oversized teddy bears. But they were my brothers. I grew up with them.

The Swans' and the almost royal family of La Push, the Blacks, had known each other for generations. Charlie and Billy had gone to school together, all their firsts done together. Charlie was the best man at Billy's wedding, Billy repeating the favor at my parents' wedding. They had believed that their generational friendship, that had begun with their parents, would continue as perfectly as it had, rejoicing when I followed the elder than me by a year, Rachel and Rebecca around the house, signifying the start of a friendship.

Unfortunately, life was cruel at times. Billy had died in a boating accident, leaving his twin daughters and pregnant wife, Sarah, behind. Sarah Black had no family apart from Billy. She was an only child, having seen tragedy in the form of her parents' demise a few years prior to Billy's tragic death. She had relied heavily on Charlie for her well-being, with Charlie fulfilling the role of a brother and best friend as he provided for her and her three children. For years. Strangely, fate wasn't done with the Black family, yet. When the twins were ten, Sarah Black was diagnosed with cancer. Last Stage. She had fought with all she had in her, leaving her children in the custody of Charlie as she breathed her last. We had officially moved to La Push in that year. We were now a family of five. It was tough initially. Only one adult and four children. Plus, the twins were in their rebellious years. It took a while for us to actually become a family. Charlie earned the respect of the tribe for standing up when he had. It was unheard that a supposed paleface would do so much selflessly for one of their own. Charlie was one of their own since. Privy to all the secrets.

"You heard the latest gossip?" Rebecca asked at the dinner table, a smirk on her face. "The Cullen clan is moving back to town!"

"Yeah," Rachel added to her sister's excitement, "But is the infamous Carlisle Cullen too coming?"

"Of course, he is!" Rebecca scoffed. "I want to see him! I have been hearing about him since I was probably in my nappies!"

"He isn't some celebrity, Becca." Jake scowled at her. "He is a leech. He will kill you before you can even say his name."

I nodded my head in agreement. We shouldn't be happy about this! He wasn't to be idolized!

"Oh, please," Becca chuckled, "he feeds only on animals. And he is an almost celebrity for we have read and heard so much about him over the years. My curiosity to see him is only fair."

Jake growled at that, leaning forward in his seat. "You will not see him. I forbid it."

"Excuse me?" Becca frowned. "You can't forbid me to do anything! I am older than you! I will see him if I want."

"Why? You want to become a mother to his spawn?"

"JAKE!" Charlie roared, bashing his hands on the table, the entire table shaking in his fury. "You will never repeat those words again. Hear me loud and clear?"

"Sorry, dad." He winced, all eyes on our respective food as we refused to meet eyes with the other. The rest of the dinner passed by quietly. No one was really in the mood to eat. Rach helped me clear the table and wind up the kitchen before we headed towards our respective bedrooms.

"Did you hear the news?"

"Yes, it's true."

"The Cullen's are coming back."

"We should be careful."

"What if they are really how are legends mention them to be?"

"We cannot let him come back here. Our elders need to take a stand on our behalf."

I rolled my eyes. The same conversation was occurring in every nook and corner of the tribal school today. It was a hot topic. And everyone wanted to have their say on the matter.

"Hey," Embry bumped shoulders with me, greeting me by our lockers. "What's up?"

"Ouch." I scowled at him, rubbing my shoulder that was now aching, "Know your strength, ass!"

He smirked, "Don't be mean now, Bell. That's how I have greeted you since we were five."

"Yea, but at that time you weren't this strong!"

He chuckled, "The rumor mill is running wild today."

I offered him an exasperated look. "They don't know half of it. He is not worth the hype."

Embry shrugged, "But aren't you the least bit curious to see these elusive Cullen's?"

"Nope." I smiled at him. "After how they have ruined Jake's life, I can't ever even imagine wanting to associate with them. All I feel towards them is a burning hatred."

Jake hated being a wolf. Hated being the understatement here. He just couldn't see the charm in being one. It had ruined his plan, was all he ever kept saying. He had made so many plans. But now, they would never come to fruition, the cons outweighing the pros. Paul loved being a wolf. He loved the strength, the abs, the hotness quotient. He loved that the girls flocked to him. He just loved it. Sam, Jared and Embry were indifferent to being one. They did not hate it, neither did they love it. They had simply accepted it.

"Jake needs to see the bright side." Embry commented with a sigh.

I shrugged at that. "He really wanted to leave La Push one day. He doesn't want to be the chief."

"That is his destiny." Embry pointed out. "The elders are waiting for him to turn eighteen and to saddle him with his destiny."

"It is not fair."

My heart broke for my brother. His future had been decided even before he was born. He was to be the next chief of the Quileute tribe. It wasn't an option for him.

"Sam wants to meet the leeches. He wants to see their faces before the treaty can be valid again."

I nodded my head in agreement. "Have they agreed to the meeting?"

"They must. No choice in the matter."

Sam, our alpha, was a firm one. He wouldn't let the matter slide unless he was completely satisfied.

"I will be at Emily's while the meeting is on. The imprints' club will need some moral support."

Emily and Kim were both worrywarts, worrying about their wolves being their favorite pastime! In fact, if Kim wasn't obsessively pondering over what Jared was doing at any given minute of the day, the sun hadn't risen from the east that morning.

That girl was obsessed with Jared!

Embry nodded his head in agreement, the two of us separating as we headed towards our respective classes for the day, the gossip refusing to die down as everyone held their breath waiting for our guests to arrive.