Within the next week, Jacob had somewhat settled into his new life as a member of the Pack. Sam had invited me to his house one day to meet his new partner, so I decided to look my best. I was wearing a flowy white shirt and long, light blue jeans with sneakers. I had my hair pulled into a long braid that fell down my back, woven with some flowers from the garden I had started out the back of my house. I found myself walking up to a log cabin in the woods. It was small, but it felt cheerful, with thin windows and a warn blue door. I stepped up to the door and knocked. There was a rustle inside before the door opened. A tanned woman opened the door with a look of confusion crossed her face, which I noticed had three scars across the right side of her face. It didn't bother me, many of the people back at Camp had scars similar to hers, some even worse. "Hello?" She questioned. "Can I help you."
"My name is Aspen, Sam said I could meet him here?" I said softly. The woman's eyes widened.
"Oh! You're aspen." She smiled, opening the door a little more. "You're the one I've heard so much about, come in." I smiled at her and walked inside.
"If memory serves, you're the one who managed to win over Sam." I turned to the woman.
"Yes, I'm Emily Young." Emily offered her hand to me which I shook.
"You're lucky, I did all the easy work." I told her with a smirk. "You wouldn't believe how bad he was when we first met."
"I don't doubt that." The two of us shared a laugh.
"Do you need any help to get ready for the Pack? I understand they can be a handful."
"I wouldn't mind the help." And with that, Emily and I were chatting like old friends as we baked for the pack. Once the group of half-naked boys arrived, I was bombarded with questions about how I was so knowledgeable about the Packs.
"Wait, so you're telling me that the Greek Gods are real?" The newest member of the pack, Embry Call, questioned. I nodded.
"I mean, yeah." I said. "I'm free to answer any questions you may have, it can get confusing."
"I've been meaning to ask, how did you get those greys?" Jake asked through a mouthful of food.
"Oh, this?" I ran my fingers over the silver streak of hair within my nest of black. "Well, I held up the Sky-"
"You held up the sky?" Emily asked, astonished. "That must have been tough."
"It was. I felt as if I was gonna be crushed under it's weight after just a couple of seconds, but I toughed through it before the group managed to trap Atlas once again. I think because I was Mortal the strain was going to kill me faster than age, these greys were a sign of my determination."
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that." Emily said, reaching over and taking my hand.
"It's ok." I assured, gently patting her hand. "That wasn't even the worst thing to happen." I clutched the cup in my hand, gazing at my reflection in the water. "It was two years later when the worst thing happened. Kronos made his move. We were fighting for three days...Hundreds of Demigods died, Campers and Traitors alike." I reached up and gently turned one of the beads on my necklace. "The War was great, but we won in the end, however, no one came out of that battle unscathed. We lost friends, partners, siblings…" I squeezed my eyes shut. "I lost my little brother, he hadn't even hit double digits."
"I'm so sorry." Paul said softly, reaching over and rubbing my shoulder. I flinched away from him, and he dropped his hand.
"Sorry." I said. "I...got stabbed." I shifted my shirt to show the scar that took up most of my shoulder. "I meant it when we didn't come out unscathed. This isn't the worst scar that anyone at Camp has." I pulled my shirt back over my shoulder. "But the fight isn't over, if it was I'd be able to feel it in my bones." I looked out the window. "I have to train, even if I'm not prepared, more people could die."
"We'll help." Sam promised.
"No." I protested, turning to him. "This isn't something I want the Pack to get involved in, it isn't safe."
"We were born to fight." Sam told me softly. "Fighting alongside you would be a privilege."
"Sam. Camp is across the country, you need to be here to protect the Tribe." Sam opened his mouth. "No, don't even try to talk me out of it, the Greeks have everything under control."
"You need to be safe. Your dad won't be able to-" Sam stopped and looked outside. "Someone's on our territory." He stated.
"What?" Emily breathed.
"What is it?" I asked, standing.
"Vampire." My eyes widened. "We have to go."
"I'm coming with you." I stepped forward. "I wanna see how Celestial Bronze works on them."
"Can you keep up?" Jarred joked as everyone but Sam and Emily left the house.
"I raced the Dryads back home and I actually managed to bean them once or twice." I pulled my necklace off my neck and let my Scythe form in my hands. The boys took a step back. "Lead the way guys." Sam eyed the Scythe as he exited the house.
"You might wanna look away from this." Jake said as he hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his shorts. I turned as there was shuffling before a ripping was heard, and then a large rumbling. I turned back to see five large Wolves stood in place of the Pack. A large black one, who was bigger than the others, an extremely dark brown one, a dark grey one, a dark sandy brown one and a reddish-brown one.
"Sam?" I questioned, pointing at the black one, who nodded. "Jared?" The dark brown one nodded. "Paul?" The dark sandy-brown one wolfed. "Embry?" The dark grey one dipped his head. "That makes you Jake." Jake stepped forward and pressed his nose to my cheek. "So, we ready?" Sam reared his head back and let out a howl which was echoed by his pack. Sam nodded his head and the pack took off. With a twirl of my Scythe, I held it behind me as I raced after them. I managed to keep up easily, but we slowed when we neared a clearing. I could see Bella, and my eyes widened. My eyes turned to the olive-skinned Vampire in the clearing. In contrast to the Cullen's golden eyes, his were a deep crimson. "Human Drinker." I breathed. Sam walked out first, followed by Jared and Paul, and finally, Embry and Jake. I followed after them, and I heard Bella's gasp of surprise. I saw the Vampire stare at us in fear before turning and running. "Let's go!" I ordered, sprinting forward. There was a collective bark of agreement as the Pack followed. We ran like crazy, and easily managed to catch up to the Vampire. I put on a burst of speed, bringing my Scythe down on him, slicing his head off. As he was still running, so his body crumpled at full speed, his head lolling silently to the ground. "Alright, bring his head." I said, dropping my Scythe and kneeling next to the body. "We gotta burn it." I lifted my hands and an assortment of flammable plants cradled the dead creature. The head dropped onto the Vampire's chest. I grabbed two stones and lit a spark, letting the flames lick the body. I stood and stepped back. I watched as the marble turned to ash and I stomped out the flames. "I'm gonna head back home." I said. "Tell Emily thank you for letting me stay, but Dad needs to know about this." Sam nodded and the pack ran off.
TIMESKIP
I sighed as I closed the front door behind me. "Hey Aspen." Dad greeted. "How was today?"
"Afternoon dad." I said softly. "You know, the usual. Running with the pack, killing a Vampire." Dad's eyes widened.
"What?" The door opened again and slammed shut. That snapped Dad out of his stupor. "Bella?" He called.
"Yeah, it's me." Bella replied.
"Where have you been?" Dad demanded.
"I was hiking."
"What happened to Jessicas?"
"I didn't feel like Calculus today." Dad crossed his arm tightly.
"I thought I asked you to stay out of the forest."
"And having Aspen out there isn't a concern to you?" Bella turned to me with a scathing look.
"That was different." I stated.
"What happened?" Dad asked, looking between Bella and I.
"We saw the bear." Bella reported. "Well, it's not a bear though, it's some kind of wolf, and there was five of the. A big black one, and grey, and reddish-brown. Ask Aspen, she was with them."
"Are you two ok?"
"We're fine." I assured. "They were blessed by Artemis. I was out training and they found me, they lead me to where Bella was, standing alone in the middle of a field with a Human Drinker." I turned to my younger sister. "What were you thinking? Talking with that kind of Creature, he would have killed you given the chance."
"I was fine." Bella insisted.
"Yeah, because I killed him." I reached out and placed my hand on Bella's shoulder. "Next time you come in contact with a Human Drinker, call me, ok? I'll be there to protect you."
"No more hiking." Dad said to Bella.
"No problem." Bella promised. Dad sighed, moving over to the kitchen.
"Are you hungry?" Dad asked.
"Just tried." Bella replied, shaking her head before retreating upstairs.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Dad placed his hand on my arm.
"Yeah." I said, smiling up at him. "The Wolves were the Pack, I was hanging out with them today before they smelt the Vampire and we went after it. I was safe, I assure you." I placed my hand over Dad's. "The Pack were safe as well, keep everyone thinking it's a bear."
"Will do." Dad pressed a kiss to my head, causing me to smile.