Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Claws

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 15:

Leah began laughing, a laugh that quickly turned into sobbing and large tears streaming down her face. She had just listened to Bella Swan tell her life story. Bella did not go into many details and Leah knew she was holding back a lot.

What she learned was disturbing enough. Babies taken from birth, genetically modified and experimented on, trained by scientists, kept isolated from the world and only let loose at the ripe old age of 16 to be expendable weapons in a war against monsters from horror movies and old legends.

Bella Swan was definitely not human.

She was also no monster.

The scars were bite marks from real, fangless, red eyed, sparkly vampires, the thin lines caused by their fingernails when they tried to grab her and were unable to hold on. The vampire bite marks that signified a life or death moment in a battle. The wounds she had inflicted from other creatures that healed without a trace for the most part.

Bella had been through hell. She was still going through hell. Her life was hell.

“Leah? Why are you laughing?” Bella asked, extremely irritated. She had thought after seeing the vampire Leah would be more open to hearing the truth. Now the girl was laughing and even had tears streaming down her cheeks.

Leah shook her head. “I’m sorry. You just stopped talking and all I could think about… when I was 16 my mother wouldn’t buy me a car. I told her she was ruining my life. I was so damn stupid. I thought my life was ruined.” she finally choked out, her voice cracking into a sob as she hid her eyes with her hands. “I sat in this room and bitched about my ex and what people would think about me at school and you… you fought a damn Wendigo that nearly ripped you to shreds and you talk about it like it’s an everyday occurrence!”

Leah felt horrible about a lot of things. All her problems, all her insecurities, her petty arguments with her brother at times, none of them felt as if they mattered now, not compared to Bella’s problems.

The girl, the woman in front of her, the one she had dreamed about nightly, thought of constantly since the first time she laid eyes on her, this beautiful woman had been tortured, experimented on and sent to face the most fearsome monsters on Earth, not expecting to make it back. Bella had watched her friends die, watched her only love die and kept moving on somehow.

Even the life she was living, the story everyone in La Push and Forks knew, was a lie.

Leah knew she would have given up long ago. She couldn’t quite understand how Bella could still be so gentle and caring with her when she should be psychotic.

“Don’t cry for me Leah.” Bella told her softly.” There is nothing wrong with being upset at your mother over things like cars, or clothes or shoes. It’s the way humans live and love. That’s why I fight, to protect humans so they can continue to worry about clothes, boyfriends, movies and celebrities, all the stuff normal people get to do.”

Leah looked at her sadly. “You are human. No one should have to…”

“Leah, stop.” Bella told her. “What I am doesn’t matter to me. What I do is important. It’s more important than me. I lost everything good in my life in Italy. But still, if we hadn’t gone, thousands more would have died, would still be dying. Thousands, perhaps ten thousand would have been killed in the next decade alone by that one coven. Soldiers, fire fighters, police officers, they would all give their life for a chance to save that many people.”

“Yeah but there is one major difference.” Leah snapped. “They got to choose those professions. You never got a choice! It isn’t right. You didn’t deserve that!”

Bella seeing Leah was about to break into another bout of tears, moved from the rocking chair to her bed to sit beside her friend. Leah threw her arms around Bella and buried her head into her neck. Bella began rubbing the girl’s back in circles, trying to comfort her.

“Hey, what’s done is done. Do I wish I could have had a normal life? Yeah, of course. But I didn’t and there is no reason to cry about it now.”

Leah pulled away from her and placed a hand on Bella’s cheek.

“But you are still doing it. Those things, you won’t stop. They will always come after you or you will hunt them, right?”

Bella nodded her head. “I have help though. I trust my friends and I trust the Cullens.”

Leah laughed quietly. “The animal drinking vampires. No wonder Billy and my Dad get so worked up about them. They knew. Somehow, they knew. Those legends they were always spouting out at bonfires when I was growing up, they were all true. Are there… are there wolf shifters in La Push? They won’t try and hurt you, will they?”

Bella shook her head. “I would know if there were any shifters in La Push. I suspect the presence of vampires causes them to start… being whatever they become.”

“But the Cullens have been here over a year. Forks is the only place to shop for people in La Push. I know I have seen them before.”

Bella shrugged her shoulders, having thought of this. She had done her own research into Quileute legends and had a few theories.

“It may be because the Cullens stay off the Reservation. It may be because they constitute no threat. I don’t have all the answers, but I know who to get them from and I will. I can’t have you living in a place that could be overrun with werewolves or shifters or whatever that old pack was. It isn’t safe for you.”

Leah stood up and crossed her arms. “Safe for me? What about you? You are the one who is fighting Bigfoot and Dracula. What about your safety? What would those bastards in Peru do if you just stopped?”

The idea of stopping sickened Bella.

“I can’t stop. I don’t want to. It’s part of who I am.”

Leah did not seem inclined to argue, relieving Bella.

The two sat in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. Leah finally broke the silence, not sure if Bella would be comfortable with her request but deciding to go for it anyway.

“Can I see?” she asked.

Bella’s head snapped to her. “See?”

“I want to see. Please?”

Bella shook her head quickly. Instead of letting it drop Leah took her hand gently and rubbed her knuckles.

“You won’t scare me. I want to know you, all of you. You don’t have to hide with me.”

Bella took a deep breath, trying to resist the pleading in Leah’s voice. She didn’t want to do this but there was always something about the Quileute girl, something that made Bella want to give her everything she wanted.

She took her hand from Leah’s and held it in front of her body.

Leah watched as Bella’s nails grew over her fingers, bony protrusions merged from the skin of her finger tips and five pearly white, perfectly smooth claws were suddenly there.

Leah gently reached out towards Bella’s fingers causing the girl to flinch.

“They are sharp on the ends.” Bella warned.

Leah paid no mind and gently ran her finger over Bella’s index finger feeling he claw, surprised how smooth it was and entranced by the pear like appearance of the obviously deadly appendage.

“Your eyes?”

Bella took a deep breath and her eyes shifted to her more feral state.

“What is it like?” Leah asked quietly, taking in the bright yellow orbs.

“I see everything… its clearer, sharper.” Bella explained. “Everything is so vivid. At night, it’s like I am walking in daylight almost. My smell… I can smell everything around me for miles, sort them out, follow tracks, game trails… monsters. When I run, it’s hard to explain. The adrenalin rush from moving so fast, jumping, stalking my prey… I can’t explain it to a human. I have no context I suppose. I just know that when I fully give myself over to a fight, it’s a savage joy like you can’t imagine. Everything becomes so clear in that moment. Nothing else matters but the kill. I know where I am, what I am doing. I can still think clearly, fight more effectively than a savage beast. That doesn’t change but everything else does. It’s the only joy I find now. I was worried about you, I wanted you to run, to never be in danger in the first place… but fighting that vampire… it’s what I was made to do. All I feel is… I guess at peace.”

“And fear?” Leah asked.

Bella shook her head. “I fear nothing. The only fear I had come true. Now, I am truly fearless. Mo.. The head of the program, she told me once that it is only when we have lost everything that we are free to do anything. I lost my everything and I have nothing to lose. I don’t become tense or nervous in a fight. I think rationally and there are times like the first Lycan I fought or the Wendigo here that I recognize I may die, but it doesn’t bother me. Moth… our trainers made us this way. We fear nothing.”

Was that true though, Bella asked herself. Because today she had felt fear. She was afraid of Leah getting hurt or worse, killed.

Bella shifted her eyes back to their normal brown and retracted her claws quickly.

“You are not a monster.” Leah whispered.

Bella shrugged her shoulders. “You saw my incisors. My teeth are always sharp, even now. I can eat raw meat and do often. But when my jaw elongates and my incisors drop, I use those to latch onto my prey, to rip it to shreds, to bite chunks and not let go. I’m not a full Jaguar, I’m not a full human and I am not a vampire. Still, I have traits of all three. My bones are nearly impossible to break, at least by humans and their weapons. I can heal from deadly wounds in seconds. I can lift a car and toss it at least a hundred yards. I know this because I have done it. If I’m not a monster, what am I? I am not…”

“Your beautiful.” Leah told her suddenly.

Both girls stopped talking, staring at each other, Leah not knowing why she actually voiced the words and Bella not understanding how she could think so.

Bella felt her face flush, and looked at the floor, not sure how to respond. Beautiful? Perhaps in her human form she considered herself pretty. She knew her body had an allure, small but lithe and graceful due to her feline nature. But her true self being beautiful? She had yellow eyes, claws, scars, long teeth that ripped monsters apart. How could that be considered beautiful by humans?

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” Leah told her. “It just kind of came out but it’s true. You shouldn’t doubt that. You are beautiful.”

Not knowing how to respond, she was saved by Edward Cullen. The vampire was outside her house and had just whispered her name.

“Come up Edward.” Bella told him.

Leah nearly jumped to the back of the bed. He nearly materialized out of thin air. The bronze haired vampire smiled softly at her.

“Hello Leah. I am sorry about that. I forgot how disconcerting our speed can be. Bella, I am sorry to bother you but there has been a development. Our human friends are in La Push. There has been a body found, a body with no blood. Connolly has asked that you go to the scene, find out if it is the same vampire you just killed or if there is another.”

Bella tensed immediately. If there was another vampire, this one dangerously close to Leah’s home, he or she could have been there when Leah had been home. If it wasn’t another vampire, she had killed this one too late.

“I checked the scent trails going in and out of La Push.” Edward told her. “I found no other trail besides the vampire you just destroyed. He just wants confirmation.”

Bella nodded her head. It made sense but if the vampire hadn’t left La Push Edward wouldn’t have picked up a trail either.

“Leah, stay here. Edward will be around. Do not come to La Push until I tell you it’s safe.”

Leah stood up. “Either we ride together or I am riding alone and will meet you there.”

Bella held back a growl at both Leah’s attitude and Edwards chuckle.

“It’s for your own good. You have already been too close to a human feeding vampire…”

“That you saved me from. See what a great team we make? Besides I know everything so I’m part of the team. So are we taking my truck or your bike?”

Bella shook her head. “Don’t push me on this Leah. Stay here. Edward, Jasper and Rose are near, correct?”

“Yes, they are in the tree line. Alice and Emmett are running the lands, double checking the boundaries of Forks at least in ten mile circles.”

“Thanks. Leah, I will be back in an hour. I would like you to stay here so we can talk more, but if you insist on walking to La Push…”

“Walking?” Leah interrupted. “My truck…”

“Will be temporarily disabled by Rose if you try to leave in it. Would you just give me a damn break? It’s been a stressful day for both of us but I may have another vampire to dispatch in the one place the Cullens can’t follow me. When I get back, we can talk more. For right now, please, I need you safe. Can you at least give me that instead of pity?!”

Leah thought of arguing, even briefly thought of steeling Bella’s bike, forgetting that she didn’t know how to ride one. But getting away from three super harmless but superfast vampires seemed impossible regardless.

“Please let me come with you.” she tried one last time.

“I’m going to be running. I’ll be back soon. I promise.” Bella told her. The younger girl threw on a black t and fresh jeans, while Edward turned away quickly, having momentarily forgotten about Bella’s less than shy attitude in regard to changing. Bella opened her closet; foregoing shoes chick would only slow her down but donning a shoulder holster and black semi auto pistol. Throwing a green hooded rain jacket over herself Bella jumped out her window and disappeared into the forest leaving Edward and Leah alone.

Neither were quite sure what to say.

“So, you see, Rose wouldn’t really disable your truck.” Edward told her quietly. “You can leave anytime you wish of course but I wish you wouldn’t. I realize we don’t know each other and your tribe hates my kind but you would be doing me a great favor if you stayed. Bella can be a bit irrationally angry at times… if you leave before she gets back, she is going to blame me. I don’t want to be blamed. She is obviously very protective of you. So… please?”

Leah stared a moment at the vampire, taking in Edward Cullen closely for the first time in her life. She had seen him or his family members in passing around Forks, everyone had. She knew the older generation, including her father, hated the Cullens because of some stupid legend.

Bella was right though. Leah saw everything through new eyes now.

“I don’t get it. You don’t look… mean?”

Edward shrugged his shoulders. “Of course not. Everything about us is designed to draw humans in. Humans either fear us or desire us you see…”

“I don’t.” Leah cut in.

“You don’t what?”

“Fear you or desire you. I just think up close you look a little… off? Like you are too perfect. No ear hair or one eyelash longer than the other. Your hair is too shiny almost, like it isn’t real. No offense, you have really pretty hair but how do you get away with it? How do you just move around people and no one notices? I’ve never seen you up close but the ones you go to school with, they have to notice, right?”

Edward grinned, thinking of a hundred years of theories that popped into the minds of those they closely associated with.

“If you didn’t find out that vampires were real, would you have suspected us? Would you have asked us what was wrong with us, why we looked so perfect?”

“Probably.” Leah admitted. As Bella could attest, she always had a disregard for others privacy when it was in direct conflict with her curiosity.

Edward nodded his head. “You would. Most people don’t. You, Leah Clearwater are… different. I could not imagine a human finding out the truth of the supernatural and handling it as well as you are. I could never imagine being brave enough to ask Bella to show parts of her true self. That takes a special kind of love.”

“Love?” Leah asked quietly.

Edward nodded his head. “Yes. You love her. In over a hundred years life I have never met another woman, human or vampire, as special as Bella is. I don’t know how she did it, held onto her soul in that place, still cares about people, even loved a woman deeply in the middle of that cold hell. You are very lucky, Leah. I’ll be waiting outside with the others. I believe it is safe but for Bella we will watch this home until you are back safely in yours.”

“Wait!” Leah stopped him. “Would you mind if I like, tried to pinch your arm or poked your forehead, maybe grabbed a strand of your hair and try to pluck it. I’ll stay but you have to give me something here.”

“Give you something?”

Leah nodded her head. “Yeah, it’s not like you feel pain, right?”

“No…”

“So if I slap you hard or punch you…” she hinted.

“You would break your hand.” Edward told her, shaking his head and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “But if you will stay, yes you may slap me. It’s going to hurt you so don’t swing hard.”

“Could I get a baseball bat…”

“Don’t push it, Leah.” Edward told her.

While Leah conducted research on vampires Bella had arrived at the scene of the crime she supposed. Charlie was inside and one of his deputies was taping off the small, battered house. Bella only heard one heartbeat inside. Slipping in the backdoor she found Charlie in the one lone bedroom, standing over a dead old man who was obviously Quileute. Judging by his lack of skin color it was obvious this was a vampire feed.

“Why are you here alone? Where the hell is Connolly?” Bella asked immediately.

Charlie shook his head slightly and looked towards the window. “They are in the trees, rifles ready in case a vampire came back. They got me Bells… I mean… Bella. I’m fine. So, vampire kill?”

Bella nodded her head and turned towards the man’s open closet. “Damn lazy vampire. Feeding off innocents is bad enough. Not cleaning up the kill is bad manners for their kind.”

Charlie gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “Connolly told me about what happened, with Leah and the vampire… are you okay? He didn’t cut you or bite you, did he?”

Bella shook her head, not turning towards the man. “He was weak. I didn’t even have to bite him. I just broke his neck and pulled his head apart. It’s the same vampire. There are no other scents here. I suspect he had been searching for a way in since I killed his newborns, trying to find areas where my scent was less strong then moving closer. He most likely gave up. This house is near the ocean. My guess is he swam here along the coast, stopped here for a change of clothes and a bite to eat then came looking for the strongest source of my scent. He saw a girl who appeared human and smelt mostly human and underestimated me. I killed him. It should be the end of it.”

Charlie shrugged his shoulders and patted her back. “If it isn’t, we will deal with that. Maybe we should figure out some way to unmark your territory.”

Bella looked at him quickly, searching his eyes for his meaning.

“I can move into Connolly’s house if you are worried about vampires finding…”

“I’m not.” Charlie stopped her. “And you aren’t going anywhere. I just don’t like the idea that they can find you anytime. Your blood smells mostly human, right? How did this one track you?”

“My blood does smell mostly human, until I go feral. When I shift, when I fight, my scent changes to more of a shifter scent. He smelt that at the scene where I killed his two babies and probably followed where I run back and forth from our house to La Push.”

“Why are you running back and forth to La Push so much? Because you are worried about wolf shifters?”

Bella shook her head and walked to small living room and kitchen. Besides the small bathroom this was the entire home.

“Who was he?” she asked quietly.

Charlie heard the sadness in her voice and knew what she was thinking.

“You didn’t kill this man. You saved a lot of people when those two vampires were taken down and he could have gone anywhere. You can’t be everywhere at once Bella.”

“Who was he?” she asked again.

“Benjamin Uley. Age 88 lived alone since his wife died ten years ago. His granddaughter lives on the reservation with his great grandson, Sam Uley. They were the only real caretakers he had. The man always refused to go into assisted living. He wouldn’t leave this house for anything.”

Bella nodded her head and looked out the window once more. There was a crowd of people standing in the street wishing they could see through walls. The deputy was finishing taping off the house and she was sure the coroner and forensic team from Port Angeles was on its way.

“Considering I am barefooted and this isn’t taking your daughter to work day, I should probably leave before others arrive. Let Connolly know that it was the same vampire I killed and to stand down. See you at home. Keep your weapons hot, just in case.”

Stepping out the back she prepared to run back to Leah until the sound of small wheels in the middle of the crowd in front caught her ear.

Maybe it was time she had a talk with the Chief of the tribe.

Bella stayed in the shadows, just out of sight of Billy until Jacob arrived and pushed him back towards the house. She waited for ten minutes so Billy could relax before knocking on the door.

“Bella?” Jake greeted her, shocked to see her at his home. “Wow, it’s so great to see you. I wasn’t sure if you knew where we lived. I told Dad we should invite you here…”

“Jake.” Bella stopped him. “Are there things you like to do after school around here, like for fun?”

“Of course.” he told her quickly. “I have a car I’m building in the shed and some of us go to the beach just to hang out. The tidal pools are really beautiful and the stones, the driftwood…”

“That sounds great.” Bella told him. “Do you think you could go do some of those things? I need to have a talk with your Dad. Grown up things that would probably bore you. If you could give us some alone time that would be so good of you.”

The boy’s face fell a bit but he did his best to hide it.

“Yeah, I have to uh, I have to work on the transmission of my Rabbit. It is going to take a while, it’s a pretty complicated process.”

Bella stood aside and glanced at the shed, a silent indication Jacob should go. He took the hint allowing Bella to walk in and lock the door behind her.

Billy was as surprised as Jacob when he saw her in the kitchen.

“Bella. I’m surprised to see you here.” he greeted her carefully. “Is Charlie with you?”

Bella shook her head slowly and had a seat at the kitchen table.

“You know where Charlie is. Was the man a friend of yours?”

Billy smiled sadly. “He was like a grandpa to everyone on the Reservation. A pillar of our community. It’s a tragic day.”

“Not helped by the fact that the police will never solve his murder. Can’t exactly put a vampire in cuffs, can you?”

Billy’s silence was all the answer she needed, not that she actually wanted an answer.

“I’m disappointed in you a bit. You knew your best friend’s daughter was hanging out with vampires and all you would tell her and her Daddy is they are bad news? What if I had gotten a papercut, Billy?”

The man took a cup of coffee from the table and asked if she would like one. Bella politely declined.

“I couldn’t tell Charlie or anyone outside the tribe.”

“Couldn’t or wouldn’t?” she asked.

Billy ignored her question. A treaty was made by Ephraim Black and as Chief he would maintain it.

“I suppose the Cullens told you what they are?”

Bella shook her head. “I already knew. I’ve known about vampires and a whole lot more my entire life.”

The girl stood up, slipping her jacket off. Billy’s eyes widened seeing the gun strapped to her sides.

“Relax Billy. I’m not going to shoot you. I just wanted to show you something.”

Bella pulled up the sleeves of her shirt.

Billy gasped loudly, pushing back from the table a bit.

“You’ve been bitten.” he finally said quietly, eyes never leaving the thin lines and bite marks. “But you are still human.”

The brunette shook her head. “I’m not human. I’m not going to give you a detailed history. I’ll tell you what you need to know and you will tell me what I need to know. How is your heart? This next one is going to surprise you more than the bite marks.”

The man nodded and Bella wasted no time, even letting her incisors drop.

To his credit the man did not panic. He stared at her as if she were the devil herself brought from the bowels of hell but did not panic.

He wasn’t really breathing either.

“Billy?” she said, her voice deep and low. Retracting her incisors she tried again. “Billy? Breathe damn it!”

The man took a deep breath and then another. Bella returned to her human appearance and considered making him another cup of coffee. Instead she reached into the fridge and handed him a beer.

She pulled a chair closer to him, glad to see he did not flinch but definitely didn’t take his eyes off her.

“You have a million questions right now. I don’t have time to give you a million answers. Maybe Charlie can tell you one day, if he wants. If he doesn’t that’s okay. He’s had to live with some painful secrets too, alright?”

Billy nodded his head.

“First question is obviously, what are you, right?”

He nodded again.

“Okay, this is a good start. I am a Jaguar shifter, sort of. My DNA was modified as I grew by an Organization I work with. My body, my mind, everything was enhanced. I have the strength and speed of a full shape shifter but my human body remains the same for the most part. Except for the eyes… and teeth… and claws. On the bright side I don’t have a tail which I am eternally grateful for. I’m not the only one of my kind. We were made for one purpose, to hunt and kill supernatural creatures who prey on humans. I was sent here to the Northwest area of the US and Canada to protect the area. I was sent alone. There are hundreds just like me in the world and many who are probably like me but different. Stronger, deadlier and destroy without thought. This Organization I… belong to… they have been around for a very long time. I don’t know how old they are but from what I have recently learned, they are older than any country in existence now. They have always watched the supernatural but over the past few decades finally developed the technology to fight back. They knew about the last Quileute Pack but they didn’t have the ability to wipe them out. Now they do. They think there is no pack any longer. I need to make sure this stays true. If another pack were to rise, the Organization would wipe them out in days.”

Bella knew this was a lie, at least she had no reason to think the Organization ever knew about a pack. But it would save explaining how Jasper didn’t give a damn about a treaty he had no part in and told her anyway.

Billy opened the beer in front of him and took a drink.

Then another.

The bottle was finished after the fourth drink.

“Feel better?” Bella asked.

“Not even close. Would you grab me another?”

Billy opened another and relaxed a bit.

“There is another Pack coming.” he said quietly. “The Cullens crossed the line. They broke the treaty. I spoke to the woman who found Ben. He had a hole in his throat but there was no blood.”

Bella laughed before she could stop herself. Billy gave her a sharp look.

“Sorry.” Bella offered. “I think that your judgement is being clouded by some prejudice though. You think after all this time, after living here for over a year, that a Cullen decided he wanted to feed from a human, came all the way to La Push, all so he could feed from an elderly man and then leave obvious evidence behind that it was a vampire killing? You’re smarter than that. Tell me about the wolves Billy. Why would a new pack arrive because you think the Cullens broke some kind of treaty?”

Billy looked at her with a little embarrassment. On second thought it did seem kind of ridiculous that the Cullens would have done this.

“Top drawer of my night stand, you will find a leather journal. Bring it to me.”

Billy barely finished the sentence before Bella was back with the book.

“You’re fast.”

“So are you.” she replied sarcastically. “What is this book?”

“It’s the history of our tribe. Our real history. The original journals are hidden but this is the English translation I have completed. I just finished last year. It took me over ten years to complete this. Take as much time as you need but please keep it safe.”

Billy watched the pages turn one by one, faster, even faster and then into a blur.

Bella handed him back the book.

“That was some heavy stuff.” the girl admitted.

“You… you read…”

“Enhanced at birth. I wouldn’t be able to fight supernaturally fast enemies if my brain didn’t move at an enhanced rate of speed. If I am going to fight faster than a human, I have to think faster than a human. Good job on the journal. It really cut down on time. So the pack was already present the first time they met the Cullens and came to this peace treaty they refuse to tell me about.”

“They really didn’t tell you?” Billy asked.

“Only that they couldn’t go across some border and wouldn’t say why.” Bella lied. “So the Cullens moved here a year or so ago. Why didn’t a pack begin phasing?”

Billy shrugged his shoulders. “None of the elders know. We expected them to. Perhaps it isn’t the Cullens or all vampires, just those that are a threat to La Push.”

“But now there has been a death, caused by a vampire on your land.” Bella said. “You expect them to phase now?”

“I don’t really know anymore. Perhaps the Pack ended with the last wolves. There is a vampire problem now though. A vampire has fed in La Push and whether it was passing through or not…”

“Vampire is dead. I killed it before I came here.” Bella told him. “Remember the hiker Charlie had to investigate out of town a couple weeks ago?”

Billy nodded his head.

“Vampire kill. I tracked down two newly made vampires. I killed one and the Cullens killed the other.”

“The Cullens killed one of their own kind?”

“If the Cullens were like those vampires I wouldn’t let them live.” Bella told him. “I don’t let supernatural creatures live if they are a danger to humans. Something to think about. Young men having their lives turned upside down, shifting into giant wolves and probably having very little control over their abilities can be very dangerous to the people around them.”

Billy said nothing.

“Anyway, the sire of these two vampires came looking for me. I suspect he came around the coast, possible in the water and killed Mr. Uley, took his clothes that did not fit at all then came for me. He found me behind the house and I killed him.”

Billy raised an eyebrow. “You killed him? Just like that? How?”

“We hit each other a few times, he came in with an obvious left hook, I blocked and swung around his waist to get behind him, wrapped my arms around his skull and twisted. His neck snapped, I put my hands in his mouth and ripped his skull apart.”

Billy was speechless now.

“What? You asked how, I gave you a play by play. It was honestly the easiest fight I have ever had with any creature. He had zero skill. There is a slight problem though.” Bella admitted. “Leah Clearwater was with me. She saw everything. I had to tell her everything. Everything about me and vampires anyway.”

Billy cursed and Bella didn’t have to speak Quileute to know he wasn’t happy with that development.

“Why was Leah Clearwater there?” he asked after the string of foreign words ended.

“I was hoping to get an answer about that from you. There is something… strange going on between me and Leah. See this is going to sound weird…”

“Bella you have claws, fangs and yellow eyes and told me you kill vampires and other things I hadn’t even believed in. You think anything is going to sound weird at this point?”

Bella supposed he had a good point.

Billy sat there and listened in silence as she told him her experiences with Leah. Bella told him of the ache in their chests when they were apart, the possessiveness she felt which made no sense to her, the way they could almost read the other’s emotions and could only really sleep well when they were near each other.

She left out the dreams.

She also left out her planting Paul’s face through a window and breaking his ribs for talking about Leah.

Billy leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

“Billy? Any ideas?” Bella prodded. It was getting late and she knew Leah would have to head home soon. She had hoped to see her before she returned to her parents.

Instead of answering Billy opened his eyes, smiled and then began laughing. He laughed so hard Bella worried he might stop breathing.

“Billy, what the hell is wrong with you?! Have you finally lost it?”

Billy took some deep breaths to calm down and wiped a tear from his cheek.

“I’m sorry kid. This is… I cannot wait to see Harry’s face when he hears about this! Oh this is so good!”

Bella sat in irritated silence while the man regained control of himself.

“Care to let me in on the joke?”

“Maybe you should speed read through the journal again.” he told her, still grinning. “Did you miss the part about imprints?”

“Yeah, imprint, arranged marriage by your gods or something. A wolf’s perfect partner. What about it? Females have never shifted in your tribe’s history and Leah isn’t a shifter. She couldn’t imprint, even if that crap were real.”

Billy shook his head and reached across for her hand for the first time that night. “My God you are just like Charlie. So smart about some things and blind about others. You’re right, Leah can’t imprint. She isn’t a shifter. You are though. You imprinted on her.”

Bella took a moment to let that settle in.

No, that wasn’t possible.

“Billy, I’m not… I’m only, you see half my DNA… and the other half… there is no magic involved in what I am. Certainly no Quileute magic. We need to come up with a better idea, something to fix this.”

Billy snorted and squeezed her hand.

“I don’t know what happened to you Bella. I won’t ask Charlie because I understand what it is like to keep secrets from the ones closest to you. Kind of like how I couldn’t tell his daughter to stop hanging around with some kids because they were vampires. I get what you are saying about feeling you aren’t magical but you said it yourself, whoever or whatever these people are that you work for they have been watching the supernatural for a long time. Shifters have been around longer than the existence of DNA had been discovered. Whatever you think you are, there is something inherently magical in being a shifter. What you are is unique but don’t think you are just the result of science. Face it kid, you and your soul mate looked into each other’s eyes and the two of you are now bound.”

Bella jerked her hand away from the man’s and stood up.

“My soulmate? My soulmate is dead Billy! She was just like me and a vampire killed her! I’m not sure if I even have a soul anymore so don’t talk to me about soulmates!”

“Sit down!”

Bella was stunned at his sharp voice and without thinking about it, did exactly as he ordered.

The two looked at each other for a few seconds.

“You done or do you want to shout some more?” the man asked.

Bella nodded shyly. “I apologize for my outburst but there are some things that do not make sense. Number one, my girlfriend died not long ago. I love her. I do not love Leah. She is just my friend. Number two, Leah is not gay. Number three, I am a biological weapon designed with one purpose in mind. That’s all I am. There is nothing magical about me.”

“May I address those issues without you losing your temper?” Billy asked. Bella silently consented.

“First, you probably should read that journal again and take more than ten seconds doing it. An imprint does not make you fall in love with someone. It does not make someone fall in love with you. I realize you are young and am beginning to suspect that you had not had the most normal upbringing so this may be hard to believe. It is possible to lose someone you loved with your whole heart and soul and one day find love again. I will always love Sarah. Always. But I think I am too young to say I will never love anyone again. People do it, Bella. I wish I knew your story. I wish I could help you more. I didn’t… when Charlie mentioned that you had a girlfriend that died… she was like you… that kind of love must have been very intense. It doesn’t mean that you can never love again Bella.”

Bella said nothing, continuing to stare at the table top, moisture forming in her eyes.

“Second, Leah Clearwater has dated a few guys over the years but never showed an interest in any of them. It drives Harry crazy. Me and Charlie joked about it all the time, what his reaction was going to be when she finally came out to him. I’m not saying even she knows, but to anyone who watches these kids grow up it can be kind of obvious. I’m pretty sure even Sue suspects. It’s not something you should bring up. The two of you will work through your own issues and come to your own conclusions. Just don’t assume you know what Leah is or isn’t. Some people spend their whole lives trying to figure out who and what they are.”

Bella looked at him again and he reached for her hand. She let him take it without pulling away.

“As for the third, if you are just some kind of biological weapon, why are the Cullens still alive? Shouldn’t you have killed them the first chance you had? Sounds like you are more than a biological weapon. They must think so if they are helping you, someone who was apparently designed to kill them, kill other vampires.”

Bella sniffled and wiped her eyes with her free hand.

“What was Leah’s reaction when she saw what you were? When she found out about all this? How did she take it?”

“She wanted to see… to see my claws… and… my eyes… she touched me. She wasn’t afraid of me. She told me I was beautiful.” Bella admitted quietly.

Billy nodded not surprised.

“Perfect partners. Someone who understands you, sees you, all of you and knows you are beautiful, scars and all. You can call it what you want. Imprint, mating, lust, fascination. All it means is you looked at her and a part of yourself you may not even know you had, recognized her for what she was, apiece of you that you didn’t realize was missing. Shifters are magical Bella. The ache to be near her, the protectiveness, it’s all there because you imprinted. I’m not saying the two of you should fall in love and ride off into the sunset. An imprint can only open your eyes. Everything else is hard work. You can fight it all you want but it won’t go away. It also doesn’t lessen what you had with your girlfriend. If I ever fell in love again it would never lessen how much I loved Sarah.”

Bella stood up slowly this time. “Could I take that book with me? I should probably read the imprinting stuff a little closer.”

“Of course.” Billy assured her.

Bella hesitated.

“Just ask Bella.”

“She wants to know why this happens, the pain in her chest, everything. I don’t feel right not telling her about this but what you are saying is probably the most valid explanation for these… symptoms. If I came over with her tomorrow, could you explain to her what is going on and try to make it sound like it wasn’t my fault that this happened?”

“I’ll make sure Jake is off doing something after school. Do me a favor? When you see Charlie, tell him when he is ready, if wants to, I’m here to talk. Same goes for you, okay?”

Bella smiled at the idea. Bella may have grown up in hell but Charlie had to live a lie for the past 17 years. He could never openly grieve his dead wife or talk about or see the daughter he had to give up. He had been alone with his guilt, unable to talk to anyone, even his closest friend.

“I will. We should also talk soon about potential shifters. I’m worried. These people I belong to, they are vicious Billy. I will tell you everything but not tonight. For now, if you think someone is about to shift let me know. I can help contain them maybe before they hurt anyone. I grew up expecting this, knowing it was going to happen. I still retain my human form to a degree. Suddenly shifting into a horse sized wolf could make a normal kid go insane. I won’t kill them, but I can try to help them.”

Billy smiled at the girl’s sincerity. This had been a strange day, a surreal night. He couldn’t even process what this all meant. The man truly hoped Bella told him her story soon, or Charlie would. Billy had an idea that his friend’s life had been hell for a very long time just as his daughters had been. He also had a feeling that his ex-wife was dead. The more he thought of these people Bella said she belonged to, the more dread he felt for her, his best friend and what their lives have really been like. Bella’s scars were enough for him to know hers has been painful.

“Hey Bella? Before you go, just so you understand, these people you say you belong to? You don’t belong to them. You belong to yourself. Don’t forget that, okay?”

Bella smiled, put on her jacket and walked out of the house as Jacob was coming in, shirtless and face covered in grease.

“You leaving Bella?”

“Yes, thank you for allowing me time alone with your father. Did you have fun playing with your friends?” she asked politely.

Jacob stood up a little straighter and tried to subtly push his chest out.

“I was actually rebuilding a transmission, remember?”

Bella thought he had said something about tidal pools?

“No, I forgot. Have a good night.”

Jacob watched her leave, until she walked into the woods and disappeared from view. He never noticed that she wasn’t wearing shoes or had her bike with her, instead wishing her jacket would lift up just a bit more when she walked.

Once Bella reached the safety of the forest, she called Leah.

“Where the hell have you been?” Leah greeted her.

“Confirming the vampire I killed was the same one who killed Sam Uley’s great grandfather.”

“Ben? Oh shit. Everybody loved him. That sucks.”

Bella laughed. “That sucks? You two were really close, huh?”

“Not really.” Leah admitted. “I’m not sure Sam was that close to him. He was pretty old. Still sucks though. At least you got the guy who did it. So you on your way home?”

“Yeah, I wanted to call you before I started running. That kind of makes it difficult to hear you.”

“Cool. I already told Mom I was crashing here tonight.”

“Oh… okay. Speaking of that… I found out what is causing this weird thing between us. I think I did anyway. I spoke to Billy about… everything. He has this theory and if it’s true don’t feel bad even though it is probably your fault. He said he would explain it in more detail tomorrow after school if we come over.”

“Okay… hang up the phone then and get home. I’m tired of beating Edward with a crowbar.”

“What the fuck?” Bella asked.

“He said I could poke his forehead because I wanted to see what his skin did. I couldn’t pinch his arm or anything. I tried to pull his hair and nothing. Jasper and Rose came up and I started talking about everything that happened and how angry I have been with my Dad, and Sam and Paul and with you for all the bullshit things you were so bad at lying about and severely overreacting in defending my honor. Did you know Jasper has three degrees in psychology? He told me it might help to let my frustrations out in a physical way. Rose found a crowbar in Charlie’s garage and Edward said I could hit him. I’ve been hitting him for thirty minutes now. Nothing. I can’t even get a hair out of place. I can’t make him blink. It does feel good though. I think Esme is downstairs cooking for us and Charlie is on his way home so hurry up.”

Bella hung up the phone and ran.

Washington DC

The President walked into his bedroom to find his friend waiting for him.

“Kennedy got Marilyn Monroe and I get you waiting for me.” he greeted his old friend.

Chris tipped his hat and stood up from the chair he had been reclining on, shaking the man’s hand.

“If you didn’t keep me such a secret, we could meet in the Oval Office befitting the honor a dignitary like me deserves.” Chris told him jokingly.

“We both agree that its best to keep our friendship discrete. Did you pick up the new kid before social services got her?” Dave asked.

“Little five year old girl named Penny. Telekinetic. Momma was sure she was possessed and tried to burn down the house with both of them in it. Momma died, but the girl got rescued with no injury. I suspect her gift had something to do with it. I got to her the next day thanks to your FBI buddy’s tip. She is out at the ranch, under close care. She will be okay, eventually. As okay as it’s ever going to be for her.”

“How many kids you got now on that ranch?”

“Ten right now, but eight of them are under the ag of ten. Most of them got pretty good control, at least at suppressing their gifts. Having a traumatized telekinetic five year old in the house is going to be a challenge but the kids are good about helping each other out. We will get her there.”

“I have no doubt my friend. Thanks for coming in. I need you for something.”

“I didn’t figure you wanted to see my new hat in person.” Chris told him. “This got something to do with your boys and what they got themselves into?”

It had everything to do with it. As President, David Rodriguez had many things on his mind, the economy, global peace, nuclear enemies, social justice and medical care costs to name but a few.

It was the damn Organization he kept coming back to. A member of the U.N., a false name no doubt but the credentials were real. A closed door meeting where he was informed about a United Nations shadow op involving combatting supernatural creatures and the need for military support teams from every nation. David had never heard of this and as President he should have. There were “special operatives” on American soil and had been American support teams in the past that were loaned to the Organization. They still operated in the states off military record. Apparently, the operatives changed but the support teams never did.

Then a special operative and the support team had died in Oregon. A new operative and a new support team were needed.

The more questions he asked the less he knew. Shadow Ops were not talked about much less multinational operations. The problem with Shadow Ops is you never knew who you could trust. You never knew who was in the know and who wasn’t. You also knew not to ask too many questions no matter who you were.

David was no coward and but he was no fool. If he tried to bully his way in, the ranks would close and the doors might stay shut. Operatives could be killed to keep a secret whether they talked or not.

“Yes, it is. Connolly did exactly as I expected him too. He took the job and hasn’t told me a thing.”

“I thought he was your guy?” Chris asked.

“He is. When he went there, he either saw something he liked or something he didn’t like and needed to stop. I’ve been keeping a discreet eye on him. I don’t know who to trust around here. I have a feeling if I found out more about this Organization I would be forced to act and that may be a bad idea. I need intel. Right now, I have no doubt if this is something worth stopping, he is working on a plan to stop it and will come to me when it’s time to act. I don’t like being completely blind though.”

Chris didn’t see the problem. “Just call him. Ask him how he is doing, casual like.”

“That’s not the way this works Chris. Once he volunteered, he is out of our purview. White House calls are monitored. Communication between the White House and him would be noticed. Plus he is going to give me plausible deniability. If he goes down it won’t be brought on me. I want to know more though. The place he was told to report to, it was a black site in the Peruvian Jungle. If I give you coordinates how close do you have to be to remote view inside?”

“Hundred miles or so, but I could do better on a good day. You want me to go to the damn rainforest and spy inside some black ops center? I got that right?”

Dave nodded. “I need someone who isn’t connected to the Government, someone I can trust and someone who can tell me what the hell is going on in a place that exists to fight the supernatural. I’m not going to plan an op but I want to have some idea of what we are going to do when Connolly tells me it’s time to go.”

“What make you think he will?”

Dave shrugged his shoulders. “I know him. I can’t make discreet inquiries or even a launch a simple investigation because I have no idea who to trust. He would know this. If he is hooked up with them, I bet him or Jack talked Vivian into coming back. They have a better window than I do to find out what’s behind this.”

Chris could understand that. It was hard to do anything secret when you were in the biggest office in the world.

“Have you considered that Connolly considered this Op to be a good thing and is just going along with it? I’ve told you about the creepy crawlies out there Dave.”

Dave smiled, remembering every one of Chris’s creepy crawly stories. They were a mainstay when the two used to drink together.

“If that’s the case, I want to know as well. Think you can do this for me old friend?”

Chris huffed and stood up. “Yeah, write down those coordinates and I will take a walk, see what I can see without getting discovered or eaten by jungle critters.”

Dave handed him a slip of paper and Chris smiled, then disappeared. The door opened, surprising the Secret Service agents in front of his bedroom. The agents would not see him as he walked out and the cameras would only pick up a slight distortion as he strolled out onto Pennsylvania Avenue.

“Fucking magic.” Dave muttered before pouring himself a drink.