New Friends? Or New Foes?

Rosalie POV

"Blech!"

"Bad deer?" Emmett asked me, after he'd finished off his buck.

"Humph! No. It tasted like it always does. Bland," I retorted.

"Then what's the problem?" Esme asked.

"Wolves!" I hissed. Emmett guffawed while Esme rolled her eyes.

"Oh Rose. You've really got to get past this. The wolves are an integral part of our lives now. The rest of us have managed just fine. Why does it still bother you?" she asked.

I scowled, but instead of answering, I thought back to a surprising conversation I had had with Leah a few weeks ago. I was just coming back from a hunt, and she was just finishing her patrol. She had glared at me, probably for being in her space, and had quickly turned away from me, walking back to the house. I don't know what came over me, but before she got too far away, I asked her, "Why did you stay?"

She stopped, startled that I was talking to her, and slowly turned around, still glaring.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"After the Volturi left, why did you stay? You obviously hate us, so why didn't you go back to Sam's pack?"

She looked confused, almost as if she expected me to already know that answer. I couldn't help but wonder if there was an element to Sam and Leah's relationship that I didn't know about. I had often sensed some hostility, but I always assumed it was directed at us. Only now, I was beginning to wonder if that was wrong.

She ground her teeth and asked, somewhat sarcastically, "How would you feel about having to take commands from an ex-boyfriend all the time?"

"Oh," I said quietly. I had completely misjudged her reasons for joining Jacob's pack. I always thought it was because she didn't trust us around her brother. And maybe at first that was a valid concern. But now? There wasn't a single one of us that would ever harm Seth. He was one of the kindest people I had ever met, wolf or otherwise.

"You really didn't know?"

"Why would I? Jacob and I don't exactly spend a ton of time talking to each other, nor have I really spent time with any other wolves."

"True, but Edward knows. As does Bella. I just assumed they would have mentioned it."

"Edward and Bella don't typically go around spilling other people's secrets. Especially about private things like someone's romantic history."

She seemed startled by that, though I understood why. It was a common misconception outside our family that Edward shared everything he heard. And given that the wolves were used to having their most private thoughts on display all the time, it made sense that she would assume ours were too.

"Edward really never said anything?"

"No. He feels bad that he can't help but hear our thoughts, especially our most private ones, so he tends to keep things to himself, unless whatever he hears will affect the rest of us. And no matter how much of a gentleman he is about it, I have been known to take advantage of his intrusions from time to time," I said, with a wry smile.

Leah snorted and rolled her eyes, understanding exactly what I meant.

We stood there for about half a minute, neither of us saying a word before I finally asked, "Is avoiding Sam the only reason you stayed?"

She was quiet for a moment.

"No, he's not. I was thinking of giving up being a wolf after I learned to control it, but then the whole thing with the Volturi happened, and I've surprisingly grown to love being a wolf. Even if it does mean I'm a genetic dead end," she said, though the last part was more to herself than to me.

I was confused. What could she possibly mean by a genetic dead end?

She sighed, a sad and wistful look passing over her face. Understanding dawned as I quietly said, "Oh. I am so sorry Leah. I…I didn't…I didn't know."

"No, you wouldn't have. I've only told Jacob, and he didn't even want to talk about it with me. Typical boy," she said with an exasperated sigh.

"I know this won't change anything, or make you feel any better, but I want you to know that I understand. I know what it's like to want something and in an instant have that choice taken from you. The worst part for me is that I had just realized that I wanted to have a child on the same day that my human life ended. And while I was angry at Carlisle for taking that choice from me at first, I eventually realized that he hadn't meant to. He was trying to help, and he wouldn't have turned me had Royce not done what he did."

Her confused expression at my mention of Royce's name reminded me that she would have no idea who I was talking about. I took a deep breath and said, "Royce was my fiancé." Her eyebrows shot up, but she didn't say anything, so I continued telling her the horrid ending of my human life, leaving nothing out. A look of shock crossed her face, but that quickly gave way to sadness and eventually anger.

"Did you find a way to punish him? Or did he get away with it?" she asked, unable to keep the anger out of her voice.

I laughed, "I may have been a little…theatrical, but it was worth it, if only to see the look on Royce's face when I finally came for him. And before you ask, no I didn't feed on any of them. I didn't want any part of them in me ever again."

"You're different than I thought," she said, after a few seconds. "Jacob always makes it out like you're some cold-hearted ice queen that only cares for herself. And maybe Emmett."

"In fairness, I'm not exactly the most welcoming to outsiders. Particularly if they could put any of my loved ones at risk."

"I get that. I'm that way with Seth. Even if he does annoy me half the time."

"That's what brothers are for," I said, laughing. "I don't remember much about my brothers, but I'm sure they annoyed me more than a few times."

She blinked, "You had brothers?" At my nod, she then asked, "Have you ever thought about looking them up? To see what happened to them?"

"I did for a brief time after I found Emmett. But I didn't know how I would explain anything that had happened to me, so it was just better for all of us if I kept my vampire life separate from my human life. But even doing that hasn't completely prevented me from wondering about them every now and then. I doubt either one of them would still be alive, nor do I think they would remember me, that hasn't stopped me from thinking about them now and again."

We hadn't talked again, but it sort of felt like we now had this unshakeable bond. And I just wasn't ready to share that yet. Until then, I would continue to pretend that I wanted the wolves to go away.

"You guys done?" Carlisle asked, coming through the trees and breaking me out of my reverie. I opened my mouth to answer but froze when I got a whiff of an unknown vampire's scent chasing the wolves. Without even thinking, I took off in the direction the scents were coming from. I heard Esme calling my name as Emmett asked them to give us a moment, and then he was following me.

"What are you doing?" he asked, coming up alongside me.

"Can't you smell that? There's a vampire chasing the wolves."

"Ok, and?"

"It's one thing for wolves to be on our land. It's another for them to be there because they're being chased. They're obviously new, and therefore inexperienced. Despite my issues with the wolves in general, don't we owe it to both Jacob and Sam to help protect the packs when they're on our land?"

"What makes you think they're inexperienced? Or new?"

"Because they're running from the vampire instead of attacking it."

Emmett blinked a couple times, but didn't reply. I wasn't tracking how far we'd run but I stopped as we came upon a narrow forked path. The vampire's scent wasn't as strong anymore, so we had either gotten ahead of it, or the vampire got bored and left. I was leaning toward the former as our kind isn't generally known for giving up in the middle of a hunt. I sniffed, trying to figure out the direction the wolves had gone, when Emmett nudged me and jutted his chin toward a copse of trees. There, about five or six paces back from the path, were three wolves. They were huddled close to each other, almost as if they were trying to hide. The one in front was the largest, black with a striking white chest. The wolf on its left flank was a warm chestnut brown and was close to the same size as the white wolf on the leader's right flank. Both smaller wolves were closer in size to Leah than Seth. Could that mean that these two wolves were female? Oddly enough, a small part of me hoped so, though I didn't know quite what to make of my feelings. I glanced at Emmett and then back at the wolves. Their eyes were wide with fear, and the air around them was thick with the scent of anxiety and adrenaline.

I stepped forward cautiously, trying to exude calmness and safety. "It's okay," I said softly, my voice barely more than a whisper. "We're not going to hurt you."

The white wolf shifted its gaze towards me, its ears flattening against its head in a mix of wariness and curiosity. Emmett stayed a pace behind me, his presence a solid, reassuring anchor.

"We just want to make sure you're safe," I continued. "If there's a vampire chasing you, we want to help you."

All three wolves growled at us, their muscles tensed, but I couldn't be sure if they was going to spring at us or run off. It was clear they were on high alert, and any sudden movement could trigger a defensive reaction.

Emmett pressed his hand against the small of my back, a signal that he would back up whatever play I made. I advanced cautiously, extending my open hands forward with palms up to demonstrate that we posed no threat to them. But before I could do anything else, a female vampire, her coppery auburn hair in a loose braid, with several strands framing her face, jumped down from the branches above us, landing a few feet from the white wolf. A male vampire with charcoal hair quickly joined her. I hissed and kept my gaze trained on them while Emmett quickly glanced around for any others. Finding none, we exchanged a quick glance, silently agreeing that we needed to protect these wolves, despite any past grievances.

"Leave them alone," I spat at the female. She responded with a snarl yet refrained from attacking the wolves. Instead, she positioned herself in front of them, acting as a barrier between us. As I crouched, prepared to spring into action, the three wolves moved to stand behind her, indicating that she was their protector. I stood upright and exchanged a quick glance with Emmett, who appeared equally perplexed by the situation.

"Back off!" the male hissed, his black, thirst-filled eyes flashing as he too moved to stand in front of the wolves.

The tension crackled in the air like a live wire. Outside of our family, it was strange to see wolves and vampires standing together. Not even the Denali's liked to be so close. I felt like there was something we were missing. Some deeper connection that defied the natural animosity between our kinds.

I steadied my breath, my eyes flicking between the wolves and the vampires. "Why are you protecting them?" I demanded, addressing the female, who remained a steadfast barrier between us and the wolves.

"That's not your concern," she hissed.

"Actually," Emmett said, stepping next to me, "it is. You're on our territory."

The female glanced at the wolves and then glared at the male, who, surprisingly, looked apologetic. He held up his hands and said, "Our apologies. This is the furthest from our home that we have ventured, and I should have scouted further. We didn't mean to intrude on anyone's land. We'll…we'll go."

"Please don't," Esme whispered, she and Carlisle having come up while the male was talking. The male gasped and whispered, "Mom?"