The rest of the week goes by in a flash. Hanging out with the gang. Working on the bikes. We barely see Leah. When she does come around, she looks like she hasn't slept and mostly stays to herself. Seth lets us know that their parents make her get out the house so she's not just mopping around. We finish the bikes by Saturday morning, so we decide to ride them into town to get snacks and drinks for the bonfire. Charlie meets us at Billy's so we can all walk over together. I know Leah will be there and I want Sam to be there so she can finally get some answers. We sit around the fire and listen to the elders talk about the old legends. Saying that it's important for us to focus now more than ever. I see Sam walk over but he keeps a distance. Leah sees him too and I can tell she wants to jump up and approach him, but she stays, not wanting to be disrespectful to Paul's dad. Once the fire starts dying down, people start saying their goodbyes. Leah jumps to her feet, but Sam starts walking away. She follows him to the edge of the woods, and he finally turns around when she yells out his name. They start arguing and I see her break even more. I hit Jake in the ribs and nod over to them. Sam turns and walks off. As if nothing she said even mattered to him. I see the tear start to run down her cheek. Jake and I run over to our best friend, and he catches her before her legs give out.
Nobody sees much of Sam in the weeks to come. Billy says he's doing things for the council. That he doesn't have time for a relationship, and we all need to leave him alone. Right before summer rolls around, Leah's parents invite her cousin to come visit. Hoping it'll cheer Leah up. They've always been cool. And since I'm the biggest tomboy, Emily is the girlie bestie Leah needs. On Emily's second week at the Res, she runs into Sam at Quil's family store. Suddenly, Sam has all the time in the world for a relationship. Within a week, rumors spread that him and Emily will be getting married. The minute the news reaches me, I rush over to Leah. Her mom lets me in and I just see her curled up in her bed. Her body shaking with sobs. Knowing there's nothing I can say, I just sit there with her. It reminds me of Charlie after mom died. She's my best friend and it literally hurts to see her like this. I leave her house knowing that the minute I see Sam, I will murder him. This whole ordeal makes Leah go to stay with her big sister in Settle. As much as I hate it, I know it'll be good for her to get away.
The following week Paul disappears on us, we find out him and Sam are buddy buddy now. He's officially on my shit list and he's second on my list. I still haven't seen Sam around and now barely see Paul. Billy gives us the same line; they're doing council work. Two weeks later, I go to visit Jake and he's pissed. I ask him what's up and he says Jared is now hanging with Sam and Paul. He walks around the garage cursing and throwing things. I reach to grab him to tell him to calm down, but I have to pull my hand back the minute I touch his arm.
Bella: Damn Jake you're burning up.
Jake: What?
Bella: You're burning up! Are you sick?
Jake: What? Bella no.
I reach to touch him and yeah, he's definitely hot. "I think you need to go lay down."
"I feel fine." But he turns green and has to take a step back. "Yeah ok, I think I do."
I walk him over to the house and get him to lay down on the coach. He's shaking and I think it's because of the fever. I try to think about the last time I've ever seen see him sick. I run to the kitchen to grab a rag and run it under cold water. As I'm placing it on his head, Billy walks in and takes in the scene.
Billy: Bella what happen?!
Bella: I don't know Billy. We were hanging out in the back. He was upset and throwing things around. When I went to grab him to calm him down. He was burning up and looked sick. I brought him back to lay down. He's really hot Billy, we should take him to the hospital.
Billy: NO! He will not be going to that hospital. I think you need to leave Bella. I got it from here.
Bella: Billy, he's burning up to the point of shaking. And he looks like about to pass out.
"Bella go home. I'll take care of my son." The look on his face lets me know not to argue with him. I look down at my best friend and tell him I'll text him later. As I walk out, I hear Jake grunt. It sounds painful and I want to stay but I don't want to test Billy. I hop in my car and start driving back to town. As I drive by the dinner, I see a yellow Porsche zoom down the road. I guess Dr. Cullen has a nice car collection. I text Jake before going to bed but he doesn't reply. He might be asleep, yeah sleeping will do him some good. The next day, I send him another text. Still no reply. After an hour I call Billy. He finally picks up after the phone rings 20 times. I ask him if Jake is ok. After about 1 minute of silence, he says Jake is fine and just sleeping it off. I ask him to tell Jake to text me when he can. But Jake never does. Over the week I text and call Jake but no luck. When I call Billy, he tells me Jake has mono and he's resting. I ask Charlie if he knows what's up, but he just gives me the same story Billy does. I decide that if I don't hear back from him by Monday, I'll drive down to the Res and demand some answers.
Just as I turn into the driveway. I see Sam and Paul standing by the garage laughing. Before I can get out the car, I see Jake come out his house. At least who I think is Jake. He has shorter hair, his body is noticeably more tone and a tattoo. A tattoo! He turns when he hears my car and I make out the "fuck" that comes out of his mouth. I'm officially pissed. I jump out the car and walk up to him. Anger fuming though every bone of my body.
Bella: yeah, FUCK… Where the fuck have you been? Why is Billy lying to me? Why haven't your bitch ass called me back? You didn't have 2 minutes to call me back, but you have plenty of time to get a tattoo! I've been worried sick of you! Most importantly, why the fuck are you hanging out with this piece of shit?
Sam yells at me to watch my mouth. And I just glare at him to shut up.
"Listen Bella, you don't understand. You won't understand. You need to go home." I see the plead in his eyes. It does nothing for me, it just pisses me off more. I look behind him, see Sam and Paul laughing. I walk around him and head to Sam. Jake turns to grab my hand, but I snatch it from him.
Bella: What the fuck are you laughing at you piece of shit?
Sam: Watch your mouth, Bella. You won't like it if you piss me off more.
Bella: Piss you off? You think I'm scared to piss you off. I grew up fighting these dick wads. Try me.
He laughs and it just fuels me more. I look down and see my arms shaking. Jake reaches out to pull me back, but I snatch my arm away from him. I push Sam with all my strength, and he falls back to the ground. Surprise written all over his face. I look down at him. The idiot that hurt my best friend making her leave her home. The idiot who's now taking my other best friend from me.
Bella: No Sam, you watch your fucking mouth. Don't fucking try me.
He jumps to his feet and is in my face instantly. He towers over me by a few inches. My arms start to shake more. I feel my anger rip through me, so hard that it feels like it's breaking my body apart. I stagger back and just look down at my arms. The pain is unbearable. I feel my legs giving out. The heat running through my body. The pain spreading and burning every part of me.
I halfway hear Jake ask Sam "what the fuck is going on?"
Sam: Run Jake, get Billy! Bella. Bella listen to me, you need to calm down.
He should know better than to tell me to calm down. That's it, I see red. Blood color red. In a split second I feel like my body breaking apart. Every inch of me ready to release my anger. Next thing I know, I'm towering over Sam. Looking down at him. I growl at him. I GROWL AT HIM.
Sam: Bella it's ok. It's going to be ok.
I look down at my feet, but I see paws. I jump back and I notice I'm standing on four paws. I see Billy running to join us. He looks up to me and just stands there in awe.
"Billy what the hell? I thought there were no girl wolves." Sam yells at Billy.
Wolf? Wolf? The wolves from the stories? I try to say something to Billy, but it comes out as a bark. Jake looks up at me with a big smile on his face. "Damn it Bella. It just had to be you. Just couldn't let me be the cool brother." Billy elbows him and tells him to call Charlie, let him know he needs to come down to the Res as soon as possible. "Sam, you need to phase and explain it to her." I see Sam concentrate hard; honestly, he looks like he's probably hurting his brain. After about 5 minutes. He turns into a big black wolf right in front of me.
"Bella… as you can see. You're a wolf. This is a surprise to us all because we didn't believe females could phase. It's never been heard of." I step back when I hear him in my head. "Yeah, so there's this thing. When we're wolves. We can hear each other's thoughts and we can talk to each other."
I notice that we're almost the same size. I'm just about 3-4 inches taller. "Yeah, I notice that too."
Bella: So, we're wolves?
Sam: Yes.
Bella: We're wolves?
Sam: Damn are you blind Bella or just dumb?
I growl and bare my teeth at him. "Call me dumb one more time and you'll be sorry."
He gets in my face and growls louder. "You will not talk to me that way. I am your Alpha, and you WILL learn to respect me. Now kneel!"
I just stare at him. My Alpha. Who the fuck does he think he is?
Sam: I said kneel!
Bella: What the fuck I look like to you? Kneel? You fucking kneel dick wad.
The anger fueling the sternness in my voice. I see his legs buckle. Hear the fight in his mind.
Bella: I said kneel!
He's legs give out and he whines.
Billy: what the fuck? … ok Bella, I need you to calm down. It's the only way you can phase back. Think about the happiest you've ever been.
Just like that, I remember being 9 and running along the beach. Looking back, seeing my mom and dad holding hands and just smiling at each other. And I run back to them. I feel Sam's sympathy. I growl, baring my teeth at him again and he backs away. Not wanting to share that memory with him. I focus on the current situation.
Billy: hey, hey, it's ok Bella. You must learn how to control your anger.
Jake: Charlie is on his way dad. Bella you should come back to the garage with me. We don't want to give him a heart attack. Let my dad explain things to him.
Sam: "I'm sorry about, you know, seeing that. I know what it's like to have others see your thoughts." Just then I see Leah in his. I feel his anger and his pain. "I never meant to hurt her Bella. Harry told me I needed to stay away from her till I got my wolf under control. I could've hurt her. I didn't know how to control my anger. But before I could learn, I saw Emily." I feel his love for Emily. Feel how his heart beats for her. Feel how she made him feel like his heart would explode with his love for her. I understood. I didn't want to, but I understood. "We wolves imprint. It's how we find our soulmates. It's supposedly what we do that helps to keep the wolf blood line strong. Making sure that our offspring, have the wolf in them. To keep protecting the land."
Bella: Since we exist. That means vampires exist too?
Just then I see the woods. Sam's chasing someone. She has bright red hair. Dirty clothes. Her skin looks pale, almost white. She can run fast. Too fast to be human. Just as he's about to catch her, she jumps over the river. I smell a very sweet, too sweet smell that burns my nose.
Sam: Yeah, vampires exist.
Jake: Bella, we gotta move. Charlie will be here soon. I kind of told him you were in danger.
I roll my eyes at him and walk towards the garage. Always the one for the dramatics.
Bella: Hey Sam?
Sam: Yeah?
Bella: How cool do I look?
He coughs out a laugh. But I see through his eyes, I look bad ass. I have a silvery grey and white coat. With shiny greenish and grey eyes. I look pretty big. Definitely bigger than Sam.
Sam: You're so full of yourself.
Bella: uh did I not just make you, my bitch? I'll do it again Sam.
I feel the hurt, anger and confusion in his mind.
Bella: Don't worry, I'm super confused too.
We don't have to wait for long for my dad's truck pull in. I HEAR his truck.
Sam: Yeah, our hearing and sense of smell is a million times better. We run hella fast. And we can see in the dark. Oh, and we heal pretty quickly too.
Bella: Wow. So, we're like superhero wolves.
Jake had ran back to the house to help Billy explain. I hear them tell Charlie that the legends are real. That the most unheard-of thing happened. Apparently, my great great grandfather blood runs strong. That because the last vampires at the time left town, the wolves were allowed to stop phasing. How unfortunately, the vampires came back. How Sam, Jake, Paul and Jared are now wolves. How his daughter is now apart of the pack. And how the Cullens are to blame.
Charlie: you're so full of shit Billy. Stop pulling my leg. Where's Bella?
Jake: he's not lying Charlie. We can take you to her. But please don't have a heart attack on us.
I hear the huff in his voice. And they leave out the house.
Sam: alright, show time. Remember, try to keep calm.
Bella: I swear Sam if you tell me to keep calm or calm down one more time, I'll make you kneel again like a little bitch. I understand your feelings and understand you couldn't control fate. But I still haven't forgiven you for hurting Leah.
Charlie: what the fuck is going on? Billy! That's 2 giant wolves!
I slowly turn to my father. Slowly walk over, not wanting to scare him. But he still takes a step back. A whine escapes me and he stops. I kneel down to show him I mean no harm.
Sam: wow. I've never seen a new pup control their feelings like that.
I have to control my growl for him calling me pup.
Sam: sorry, sorry, just amazed.
Charlie takes a small step towards me. His hand reaches out to me, and I lower my head even more. He touches my nose, as if he's making sure I'm real, if I'm solid.
Charlie: Is she always going to be a wolf now? I guess not considering you said Jake is one too. How long will this last?
Billy: It might take her a few days. She has to learn how to control her anger.
Charlie: Bella control her anger? Guess I'm stuck with a wolf now. Do we need to get you a doggy door?
I carefully push him with my nose. He laughs and pushes my head away. "No seriously, do I?" I nip at him and he laughs again. I can't help but make a noise that sounds like a chuckle but deep.
Charlie: Billy is she in pain?
He has the same worry look he use to have when my mom would be in pain. Billy puts a hand on his shoulder. A small gesture I'm sure is to comfort Charlie.
Billy: no Charlie. She's probably jumping for joy. She just doesn't want you to worry. I promise you she'll be ok.
We settle in as Billy starts telling us about the whole wolf thing. He states that there's never been record of a female wolf so they're not fully sure what will happen or change. He brings up how I was able to make Sam kneel. He believes since my great great grandfather was the last Alpha. Its Alpha blood in my veins that has made me the Alpha of the current pack. I feel the hurt from Sam. I just roll my eyes and continue listening to Billy. He tells us the Cullens are vampires. That supposedly they're different but he still doesn't trust them. That they don't feed on humans, but he knows it's in their true nature. Sam lets me know he's going to phase back. To give me privacy to calm down and leave me to my thoughts for a bit. He hopes I can find peace to phase back myself. It takes him twice as long as it took him to phase. Once I feel he's completely gone. I focus back on my mom and Charlie. How I could always see the love they shared. I feel the anger leave my body. I feel my bones set back, I'm no lower towering over everything. Charlie runs over and hugs me. I squeeze him back but he softly pushes me back and says ouch.
Billy: oh sorry, I forgot. She's much stronger now. Wow, everyone's first phase took a good 2 days for them to phase back. I'm very impressed Bella.
Jake: Oh! And we don't age.
Bella: we don't age?
Billy: it's something that happens to keep the wolves around for as long as the vampires are here. Once they leave, you can stop phasing and you'll start back aging.
Charlie looks over me from head to toe. Probably making sure I'm ok. "Wow Bella, your eyes. And there's some color to your face. Look at your arms. Bella! You grew about 4 inches." He's staring at me in awe. Jake's smiling from ear to ear. I lift my arm and see the muscles. 4 inches? Shit, I'm 5'9 now. "Looks like we're going to have to get you some bigger clothes. Come on kid, let's get you home. I'm sure you're tired."
Jake: I've never seen a wolf change eye color but hey it just makes you look more bad ass Bella! Oh, and we run a free degrees hotter. And we don't get tired easily. But we do eat a lot. Like ALOT.
Billy: trust me, you're going to need a second fridge.
Charlie: is that why you go fishing so much?
As if on cue, my stomach growls. We all share a laugh and head out of the garage. He hops in his truck as I get in my car. He waits for me to pull out first. I'm sure it's the dad in him wanting to make sure I'm ok. Or maybe it's the cop in him that wants to protect the people of Forks. Whatever it is, I'm happy he's here. We stop by the Newton's store to stock up. When we get home, I quickly make some sandwiches for us. Charlie gives me a look when I sit down with 5 sandwiches, but I finish them in no time. Regardless of what Jake said, I feel tired as fuck. I hope that the minute I lay down, I knock out. I feel more mentally tired than physically tired. I feel 1000% physically fine. I tell Charlie good night, let him know I'm thankful he's not freaked out and he's my dad. He just tells me good night pup and I glare at him. I run upstairs to quickly shower. And just like I hoped, I knocked out within 2 minutes of laying down. The quickest I've falling asleep in years.