July 21,2000
EVENT TRIGGERED!
I AM A WOLF
My face pales as I read that notification. I ran to the phone and dialed the Black residence. The phone rings once, and twice, as the phone rings for the third ring the phone is answered.
"Black residence, Billy speaking."
"Oh, thank God. Billy, it's Bella. I have a problem that may need the elders of the council. And maybe a ride to the rez."
Billy's voice turns serious. "What's wrong Bella? You sound frantic."
"You remember the conversation of the whole life is a game thing? I just got a pop-up that just says I am a wolf. There is one thing that can mean. And I can't let Dad know, not yet anyway. I don't know when the shift will trigger. Just that it is soon."
The line is dead silent for over a minute. "I'll call Charlie, tell him the girls want a sleepover. I'll be over in an hour to get you. Pack a bag, I'm not sure how long this whole thing will take. I'll handle Charlie, you just focus on how you are feeling. Be wary of anger, it's an easy emotion the shift enhances. If you start to feel like you are losing control, just go into the woods. Don't try to hold it in, the process will be worse. I'll let you read the tribe pack records once things settle down for you. This will be a good way to test your knowledge of the Quileute language. Try to stay calm, all right? Everything will be all right."
"Thank you, Billy. I'm scared, I was never a wolf the last time, and I'm not sure why or how I am going to shift. Just, don't lie entirely to Dad."
The call ends and I can feel an odd tingle running through my body, I try to focus and grab several spare clothes and throw them into a duffle bag from my last school trip. I swing the packed bag over my shoulder, and I head outside to sit on the front porch as I wait for Billy.
I spent the whole week at Billy's. That first night I shifted. I felt so upset about the stuff that had happened to me the first time around, I just kept having Edward leaving me in the forest and his speech before he left, on constant replay. But when I shifted, it changed. I changed. I felt a calm acceptance I had never felt before.
I opened my eyes as I heard a soft ping. There floating is another pop-up. But this one looks different from all of the other ones I normally get. The lettering is green with a light brown background.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Shifter Ability Unlocked
The spirits have blessed you, you can now shift into a Spirit Wolf. As a wolf you will have teeth and claws that are strong enough and sharp enough to pierce and tear the skin of vampires. You now can gain income by patrolling the town of Forks and the reservation of La Push. As the first to shift in the local area, you are the current Alpha. You have the power of an Alpha, with this power, your word is law within the wolf pack. To give the position of Alpha to another, you must willingly let the other wolf bite your neck while in Wolf form.
While, shifting your aging will be slowed or stopped completely. You will experience a growth spurt that makes you look older—a bonus trait of Skipped Puberty. Items in your inventory will be accessible even while shifting. Equipable items will become locked, when in wolf form, every other item can be dropped or used. You can accumulate points to be used in the Pack Perks Store. The PPS will allow you to choose to be able to allow your pack to no longer lose their clothing when shifting, and many other perks to choose from. To enter PPS just say Pack Perks, and the menu will pop-up showing how many points you have as well as what perks are available.
You have received
10 Wolf Pack points
120 XP
5 skill points
PLAYER PAGE
PLAYER NAME: ISABELLA SWAN
PLAYER TITLE: BELLS, BELLA, ALPHA
PLAYER SPECIES: HUMAN, SPIRIT WARRIOR: WOLF
PLAYER CLASS: TRIBE PROTECTOR, AWAKENED GAMER
AGE: 12 Years
LEVEL: 11
XP: 5324/6000
STAT POINTS:
SKILL POINTS: 5
HP: 500/500
MP: 100/100
STRENGTH: 10/500
DEXTERITY: 28/500 (-10)
CONSTITUTION: 15/500
INTELLIGENCE: 22/500
WISDOM: 15/500
CHARISMA: 35/500
Luck: 12/ 3000 (30%)
BUFFS:
MENTAL SHIELD
ADAPTIVE SHIELD
ACCIDENT PRONE
SURVIVOR
SUPERNATURAL
ALPHA
SHIFTER
SKIPPED PUBERTY
SKILLS:
ARTS AND CRAFTS: LEVEL 20/25
BALANCE SKILL: 10/50
OBSERVATION: 10/100
ADAPTIVE SHIELD: 3/200
TELEKINESIS: 3/100
I end up allocating my three skill points to OBSERVATION. I feel I will need it more now that I am a shifter as it should help me with my overall understanding of what is around me, and to make a decision based on what I see. I know I can't verbalize as I am in my wolf form, so I just think about what I want from the HUD menus.
'Pack Store" A woodsy-looking menu pops up and it has a lot of perks to choose from. Most are greyed out as unavailable.
PACK PERKS STORE
Enhance your pack with these bonuses!
BALANCE: 10 Pack Points
AVAILABLE PERKS
AT WILL SHIFTING ~ 5 PP
TELEPATHIC PACK COMMUNICATION: LEVEL 1 ~ 5 PP
KEEP CLOTHES ON SHIFT ~ 15 PP
ADVANCED HEALING ~ 10 PP
PACK CAMOFLOGE ~ 10 PP
I look at the available options. 'How do I gain more Pack Points?'
PACK POINTS ARE GAINED BY PROTECTING THE LANDS. FIVE VAMPIRE KILLS WILL GRANT 3 PP. 100 GAME KILLS WILL GRANT 2 PP. PACK QUESTS GRANT 1 PP PER MEMBER.
I bought the two perks I could at the moment. Spending the next day learning how to hunt as a wolf an
d shift from human to wolf and back again was enlightening and fun. As the day turned to dusk, I showed back up at Billy's house. I had already shifted back to human and gotten dressed in a dress that I had hung up in the forest near Billy's earlier that morning.
I jumped up onto the porch and opened the door to a smell of homecooked ham and potato meal. After thanking Sarah for the meal, I dug in hungerly, the plate licked clean in ten minutes. I helped clean the dishes and went to find Billy.
I found him in his favorite chair on the back porch. "Billy."
Billy looked up at me and smiled. "Hello again Bella, how have things been today?"
I smiled warmly. "Pretty good actually, I got some hunting practice in, left the animal corpses just inside the forest. I can bury them if no one wants any of the hides, bones or meat. The few I destroyed I ate and buried in a shallow grave for the forest scavengers. I even found an untouched hot spring. Looks like a great place to get a pack base set up. Before the others start shifting as well." I sigh heavily. "What did the elders say about my shift?"
"They were surprised, but welcoming. They also granted you membership within the tribe. So, congratulations on becoming a Quileute Member. Charlie called earlier though, asked how you were doing earlier. Let him know you were outside playing happily in the forest. You should really call him tomorrow. Let him know you are okay." Billy's smile warmed my heart, knowing that I had made a slight difference in befriending him all those years ago.
"I'll call him after breakfast tomorrow. Then I'm going to try to set up a perimeter around the rez and Forks." I am quiet for a moment. "Billy, what can I tell Charlie about this stuff? He won't understand why his twelve almost thirteen year old daughter is out of the house at ungodly hours of the day and night. I hate lying to him, especially after he was granted custody of me. Curse Renee and her frustration, but her choice to shake me that day helped Dad get full custody. So, please tell me I can get him to know about all of this."
"I wish I could tell you Bells, I know you are young but the tribe secret is still a secret. I will talk with the other elders and let you know what is decided. You said 2004 was when Sam shifts?"
"Yeah, he should be eighteen when it comes time for his first shift. I just have to hang on alone for the next four years, get things settled with the elders, have a stable place for the future pack members to be able to let go and relax. Maybe even be able to provide them with a job of some sort so they can all get income. Unless the elders are going to cover that. What the pack will be doing isn't just a volunteer thing, it's a fate given gift that none of us asked for. The price for being a wolf is not a simple or easy task, especially if none of us can tell our families why we are out at three in the morning, or why we don't have weather appropriate clothing on.
Right now, Charlie expects me to be in bed by ten, going to school on time, he expects me to do my homework as well. Now being a wolf, doing as he expects will be nearly impossible. I really need to let Dad know Billy. I can't split my time enough till after more shift. Which is going to be years from now. We don't even have the Cullens here to help them shift, and I don't want them to shift this young. But I know eventually there will be others who shift who are as young as me. So please Billy, talk the elders into letting the shifters families know about the shift and the new responsibilities. It will save a lot of heart ache."
"I will do my best Bella, I can't promise anything, but I will at least try."
"Thank you so much Billy." I smile slightly but tense up a bit as I hear footsteps coming closer. A sniff of the air tells me its Jacob. "Hello Jacob. Are you coming out here to play or talk with your dad?"
Jacob looks confused as he opens the back door. "How did you know I was coming?"
I chuckled softly. "You will find out in a few years, so don't worry about it. Now, are we playing or talking? Cus I am down for both."
"Playing!" Jacobs smile is infectious as I smile back at him. "Wanna play catch?"
Billy smiles as well. "Just no aiming toward the house you two. I'll stay up here and watch."
I jump off the back porch as Jacob does, both of us enjoying the rest of the evening before bed just throwing and catching a baseball. It was fun and it allowed me to just be a kid still.
That next day I called Dad and told him about playing in the woods yesterday, only omitting parts of it, the wolfy parts of it. After the call I went outside into the woods and once deep enough in, I hung my clothes up on a tree and shifted into a wolf.
My fur is a dark grey, my paws are tinged with white. My eyes are oddly the same muddy brown as I have as a human. My wolf form is hardly seen as I run through the forest, I am constantly alert to what smells and sounds are around me. I run around the reservation and the town of Forks eight times before I call it a day heading back to Billy's.
One month / July 24, 2000
I had just done a run of the perimeter I made last month. I was heading home when I heard the sharp metallic sound of metal crushing together and I ran straight towards the sound.
I gasped as I saw two cars smashed together, one of them was easily recognizable to me as I have seen it daily for the past month, and years before occasionally. The car was Sarah's 1970 Buick Le Sabre 4-Door Sedan. I stood frozen as a wolf hidden by the underbrush as I looked on.
I howl sadly as I know that there were no survivors in either vehicle. Billy is going to be devastated. And Jacob, Rachel, and Rebecca would all have to live without their loving mother now. My heart ached for them. Especially as I had forgotten when Sarah had died in my original timeline, I felt horrible for having forgotten, I could have helped keep her alive. But then again, if it really was her time to go, the fates would find a way. Maybe Jacob or the twins need this for some reason I can't see.
I turned and ran towards Billy's, I made it there in only five minutes, I banged on the door as loudly as I could. After a minute Billy opened the door. He was smiling until he saw the devastation on my face.
"Bella what happened? Was there a cold one?" His voice was panicked. And I was about to crush his soul with my next words.
"I truly wish that it was a vampire. But this is worse, much worse. I saw Sarah's car ten minutes ago… It isn't good. I hear the screech of tires and the sound of metal crumpling. I ran to check it out. But when I got there… I am so sorry Billy."
His face went ghostly pale as he realized what I was saying. "Please tell me you are kidding, please tell me she is fine and alive." He had tears in his eyes, disbelief and devastation in his eyes. His shoulders were shaking as the reality hit him hard. "My Sarah." He breaks down hard. His knees buckled and I barely managed to catch him as he fell.
"Easy Billy. I've got ya. Lets get you into a chair." I lead him towards his favorite chair, helping him by holding up almost all of his weight. "Focus on Jacob and the girls. They need you now. You need to be strong for them. Show them that their mother is still with them, with you. I know this hurts right now. Just please, don't fall into depression. You're not alone. You will get through this." My head snaps up as I hear a vehicle coming closer. "There is someone coming. Do you want me to answer the door for you?"
The only response from Billy was a nod of his head. His mind in shock as he tries to process what happened.
I heard the knock on the door and left Billy to answer it. Dad is standing there looking solemn. "Sarah?"
"How did you know? The guys who are at the scene just called me about who the drivers were not even twenty minutes ago."
"Sarah was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago, and someone heard the news on the radio. Think it was the police channel." I hate having to lie to Dad. "Billy is in the living room." I step aside to let my dad into Billy's home.
One year / October 2001
The year went by so quickly as after Sarah's passing my dad and I were over at Billy's almost daily, the elders finally caved and let Billy tell Dad about my shifting into a spirit warrior. His reaction was… understandable. He flipped out, called Billy crazy and stormed out of Billy's place. Only to be confronted by me, standing near the forest behind me.
"You don't believe him do you."
After dad shakes his head, he steps off the Blacks' front porch. I don't give him a chance to say anything. I shift right there in front of him. His look of fear and disbelief is hard to miss. His scream of fear was loud enough, the forest critters skittered off and made my ears hurt.
Billy, hearing dads scream rushes out of the house, thankfully the twins and Jacob were not in the house that day but over at their grandparents house. My dad seems to calm down as he sees that I am not moving toward him, his fight or flight response disappearing as he realized that I wont hurt him.
Other notable things this past year would be the fact that Billy was diagnosed with diabetes, prescribed medication and has since forgotten his medicine a grand total of seven times. I caught another fifty that I made him take. It was almost like he was giving up. I just wasn't having it. Jacob was my friend, the twins were not that close with me but they tolerated me. But they all needed their father.
I refused to let Billy slide into a depression from Sarah's death. So, I learned how to cook at least the basics and always made sure that Billy ate at least once a day. School days were trickier, but I still managed to get him to eat.
School itself was a challenge that I somehow managed. I was transferred to the school on the reservation so I could keep watch on the others who are supposed to shift. I kept my grades up, didn't skip classes, and didn't fall asleep in class. Plus managed to get top of my class. Not that being the top student in 7th grade is a big achievement normally. But add on being a one pack wonder and patrolling the local area on top of said achievement does make it an impressive achievement.
Out of those who are bound to shift Sam is the only one who has been pleasant with me. Jacob is basically a lost puppy following me around, which is semi annoying, especially as I have told him repeatedly that I am not interested in him. Paul has just ignored me and has just stayed away, according to Sam its because he doesn't like that I was allowed into the reservation school. Pretty sure Paul is gonna have one hell of a time when he shifts to find me as his Alpha. Leah on the other hand has been hanging around me as I have Sam hanging around me. The closeness between them worries me as I know the shift will tear them both apart.
Jared has been an interesting acquaintance, he tends to stick near Paul, so I never really get to speak with him. But I do try to include him in the group I got started to study the language and history of the Quileute Tribe. So far only Jacob, Sam, Leah, Seth, and a few other kids are there just to learn the language. Jared occasionally shows up. Quil V and Embry join just to spend time with Jacob. The hope is that the ones who will end up shifting will have a solid basis on what is going on when they eventually shift.
One Year Nine Months / July 20, 2003
The school group has been progressing peacefully, we even gained ten other members who joined to learn more about their heritage. The group even met up during the summers. But That is nothing compared to what I just ran across. I smelt vampires recently, a lot of them. Hopefully it's just the Cullen's and not a group of nomads. I've had a few nomads that I had to deal with over the years I have been shifted, but they were always in small groups.
That evening, I swung by Billy's to let him know of the new scents I caught. After talking about the treaty and being given a copy to go check on the Cullen's property to check if the Cullen's have returned to the area. The run there was rather peaceful.
I ran to the edge of the woods behind their house, the sight of the home bringing back memories I hadn't thought of in years. I sigh as I shift back to human and grab the shorts and tank-top that I had tied to my ankle, the copy of the treaty also tied to my ankle is removed so I can just carry it.
The steps I took towards the house were nerve wracking. I reach the door, and I can smell the stench of vampires. Fresh scents of vampire. I know politely and wait. Thankfully not for long as Esme opens the door.
"Hello, can I help you with something?" I miss hearing her voice. But the new scent that I can smell coming from them is truly revolting.
"Is Carlisle home? I come on behalf of the Quileute Tribe to verify and renew the treaty of 1936." I try my best not to scrunch my nose at the sickly rotten smell wafting from the house.
Esme gives me a confused look before she takes in my scent, instantly recognizing me as one of the Quileute Shifter Pack. "You are one of the Local Tribes warriors. Please come in. I will let Carlisle know you are here."
"I would rather stay outside. The aroma is a bit too strong for me, and I believe that it would be best for your family if I stay out here for this meeting, we wouldn't want to fill your home with my scent after all. I hear its as revolting to you as your scent is to me."
Esme nods with a smile and swiftly leaves to gather Carlisle. I did get lucky and not have to lurk outside their home for long as Carlisle steps outside.
"I believe you were asking for me?"
I smile softly. "Yes, I was. I am needing to discuss the treaty that was created in 1936 between you and Ephraim Black and yourself."
His eyes show his caution as he looks me over. "I was not aware that there were any females in the Tribes pack. May I ask who you are?"
"I am Bella Swan, Alpha to the Quileute Spirit Warriors. I am here on behalf of the tribe elders to renew the old treaty and edit it, so it is accommodating to the current times. The Elders know that the treaty was granted years ago, but they are also aware of the simple change of times, and they wish to make sure the treaty is current so it has the covens members sign and verify the treaty is reasonable for both sides. I have a copy of the treaty if you have lost your copy."
"I understand your concerns, I will gladly go through the old treaty so it can benefit us both. But do you mind if I ask how old you are? You look very young to be the Alpha of the pack."
"I am fifteen years old, and I first shifted three years ago. But let us go over the treaty marking what needs to be edited to function in the current times." I handed over the document. "The elders and I have marked several things that we feel are obsolete or need to be added. We wish for you to mark or agree to changes you wish for your coven to have under a new and updated treaty. I will be the one to sign it and if any others happen to shift, they will sign as well."
Carlisle looks over the treaty and disappears for a moment before he returns and hands the document back over to me. "The edits your elders were wanting, seem acceptable to me. I added a few things as our governing leaders have added a few laws that bind us."
I feign curiosity. "Who are these leaders that you speak of?"
"They are the Volturi, they have been ruling my kind since 1200 BC. They are a very powerful coven and are ruthless."
"I would appreciate it if you can get me a meeting with them. It would be in bad taste to ignore them as they are a group that oversee the supernatural members of the world."
Carlisle looks uncomfortable as I ask that. "That may not be good for your Tribe if you are introduced to them."
"I understand that, but they need to be aware of other groups around here, and it would allow my pack to know if any of them are around, so we do not attack them mistakenly. I am sure a coven of your size is graced with the occasional visit. I would hate to attack them if they were to visit."
Carlisle's silence fills the air as he considers what I have said. "I will think about your request some more before I give you any information on them. At least for now anyways. One treaty at a time seems plenty for now."
"I do have one thing to discuss with you that is not defined in the treaty. I take patrols around the reservation as well as the town of Forks, I actually live in Forks. I ask if you would mind taking over the patrol over Forks, it would be soothing to know the residents have protection from others of your kind."
"I will have to discuss that with the coven and get back to you about that. For now feel free to continue your patrols."
"I appreciate that, but I should head back to allow the Elders to review what you wish to add and have them rewrite it to show the updates and addendums. I will return after it is finished. I wish you and your coven well until our next meeting Carlisle." I bow my head slightly before I run back to the forest.