Full Moon

They came from the woods, striding out as easily as one would walk on a paved road. It was hard to tell them apart, four half-naked muscular boys, unless you actually bothered to look at them properly. Similar hair cuts and body shapes made them nearly mirror eachother.

I knew Sam. He was easily the biggest out of them all. His face was the oldest; maybe not in actual age, but something in the eyes.

I recognized Embry; his face was still thin, and he was leanest of the group. He didn't look furious, like Paul and Jared. He even gave me a shy smile and an awkward wave. 

Sam looked significantly less amused. "What have you done?" 

One of the two I didn't recognized pushed forward. "Why can't you just follow the rules, Julie? What the hell are you thinking? Is she more important than everything? The whole tribe? All those people getting killed?"

"Yes." Jules was slipping off her shoes. She pulled her necklace over her head and shoved it into her discarded shoe. "Bella can help," she said quietly. 

"Help?" The yelling boy was trembling. "I'm sure your precious leech lover is just dying to help!" 

"Don't talk about her like that!" Julie yelled back. 

"Paul! Relax!" Sam commanded. 

The boy -- Paul -- was shaking violently.

Julie kept her eyes fixed on him, but turned her head lightly to speak to me. "Stay back." 

Paul's glare fixed at me. Jules took a protective step in front of me. 

That set him off.

"Right, protect her!" Paul growled. 

Another shudder rocked through his body, starting at his head and moving down. He fell forward, a ripping sound erupting from him before he hit the ground. It came out of him like an explosion and suddenly Paul was five times his size, a heap of dark silver fur and fangs. Shreds of cloth scattered around him like confetti.

The wolf's dark eyes focused on me, teeth bared. 

In the same second, Julie was running to him. In a blink, she'd shifted, too. A tremor, an explosion of russet fur and cloth, and she was a wolf so large that my brain couldn't make sense of it. 

Julie met Paul's attack head-on. It was hard to understand what was happening; they moved quick. They were snarling, teeth snapping at the other's throat. 

"Julie!" I screamed, stepping forward. 

"Stay where you are, Bella," Sam ordered. To Jared and Embry, he commanded, "Take her to Emily's."

I stood, frozen, watching as Julie and Paul continued snapping at eachother. Julie seemed to be winning; she was larger, and apparently stronger. She shoved him off the road, the pair disappearing into the woods. Sam followed them calmly, kicking off his shoes as he walked.

One of the boys started laughing. I turned, horrified, to the grinning face of Embry Call. "Welcome to the pack, Bella. Pick up Julie's shoes, would ya?" 

"They're going to kill eachother," I whispered. 

"Nah, Paul loses it every day. Every. Single. Day." Jared sighed. "It's just kind of a crapshoot on what sets him off. No zen. I'll get the clothes." 

I walked forward a few feet, picking up Julie's shoes and putting them in my truck bed. 

"Julie should have warned us she was tagging you along." Jared looked me over. "You're not gonna puke, right?"

Embry came to my defense. "She hangs with vampires, dude. She's not puking. I got twenty bucks on it." 

Jared studied my face carefully. "You're on." 

"You guys aren't... worried about them?" I asked quietly. 

"Nah, I hope Paul gets a bite of her. Make sure she doesn't pull this stunt again," Jared grumbled. He hopped in the back of the truck. "If she pukes, I'm next. I'm not going to be in the splash zone." 

"Julie phased in like half a second. Not even Sam's that good. Julie's gonna leave a mark," Embry called out. He looked at me and frowned, holding out his hand. "You're green. I'm driving." 

"Twenty on Paul?" Jared asked from the truck bed as we loaded into the truck. 

"You're on!" Embry shouted. Quietly, he added to me, "Do me a solid and don't puke; I don't have any cash on me."

I nodded and sighed, sinking into the seat. Embry drove calmly for someone who drove dirt bikes in his spare time. Maybe he was taking extra care since there was money on the line. 

"Hey, how'd she get around the rules, anyway?" Embry asked. 

"I guessed right," I said weakly. 

"Huh." Embry sounded impressed. He was grinning widely, obviously pleased with himself. "Guess it worked." 

I didn't ask him to elaborate. 

The drive was quiet. Embry seemed to be in high spirits, humming to himself as we drove. Jared seemed content in the back. 

"Who's Emily?" I asked. 

"Oh, Sam's fiancée. Her place is kind of our unofficial meeting spot." 

"And Emily knows?" 

"Yeah, imprint privilege, minus the vampire emotional baggage. Oh, and don't stare. Bugs Sam."

"Stare at what?"

"Jules warned you that being around us is dangerous, right?" Embry asked.

I nodded. 

"Emily was too close to Paul," is all he said. 

I nodded again. 

"Oh, hey. The leech in the clearing, he wasn't a Cullen, right? Friend? Weird uncle? Third cousin, twice removed? "

"Vague acquaintance at best. Why?"

"Didn't want to risk breaking the treaty. We were on Cullen turf. We're not allowed to hunt them unless they break the treaty first, but we weren't gonna wait for it."

"What breaks the treaty?"

"Oh, if it bit you. Sam had to keep Julie in line so she didn't strike too soon; had to be sure he was gonna make a meal of you, ya know?"

I paused to take that in. "Thanks for not waiting, I guess."

"No problem at all." He grinned happily while he said it. "We're here." 

The house was larger than I expected. Most houses in La Push were tiny. This one seemed added on to, maybe even newly renovated. It was painted a cloudy white, the doors and shudders a sky blue. There were flowers in a window box, blue and yellow marigolds. 

As we stepped in front of the door, Embry paused and tapped Jared on his shoulder. He gave me a meaningful look and smiled at Jared. 

"I didn't bring my wallet."

Embry grinned. "It's okay, I won't forget."

They walked in without knocking, leaving me standing outside before timidly following inside. 

The front room was mostly kitchen, much like Billy's. A young woman was there, copper skin and long hair like a crow's wings, popping comedically large muffins out onto a plate. I saw her profile, the high cheek bones and full lips, and wondered if Embry had to me not to stare because she was so beautiful. 

"You guys hungry?" 

Then she turned. The right side of her face was scarred from hairline to chin with three thick red lines. Long healed but still vivid in color. It made her eye and the corner of her mouth droop, like a permanent grimace. 

I looked away quickly, meeting her eyes. Emily smiled at me. "And who's this?" Her tone was amused, like she already knew the answer. 

"Bella Swan," Jared said with an eye roll. I'd been a topic of conversation before. "Who else?"

"Leave it to Julie," Emily murmured. She studied me for a moment, her expression protective. "So, you're the vampire girl."

I flushed. "Does that make you the wolf girl?"

She grinned, her posture relaxing. "I guess I am. And now, so are you." To the boys, she asked, "Where are the others?"

"Bella surprised Paul. Sam's sorting them out," Jared answered. 

"Ah. Do you think they'll be long? I was about to start on the eggs."

"We'll make sure nothing is wasted," Embry volunteered.

Emily rolled her eyes at him. "Are you hungry, Bella? Eat a muffin and sit down. You look pale." 

"She just looks like that, Em," Embry said as he grabbed for his second muffin.

Emily smacked his hand with a wooden spoon. "Save some for your brothers and sister."

"Pig," Jared commented. 

I stood near the doorway, picking away at my blueberry muffin, as I watched the three banter as easily as family. The boys seemed totally at ease here. The place was friendly and light, everything bright and cheerful colors. There was an old white and blue china pitcher full of wildflowers. 

As Emily pushed her shirt up her arms while cooking, I saw that her scars extended all the way down to her right hand. 

I ate a second muffin, ignoring Embry's exasperated glare. I'd drifted to the steps that led upstairs, sitting quietly. "That's sexist," he accused. 

The front door opened, and Sam stepped inside. 

"Emily," was all he said. There was so much love in that single word that it made me embarassed to be around. It felt like a private moment, like a soldier returning from leave. He peppered her face with kisses before he kissed her mouth. 

Jared and Embry were groaning. "Seriously? We're eating here." 

"Then eat," he commented before kissing her again. 

I was grateful when Julie and Paul strolled in, laughing at eachother. They both appeared to be unscathed, wearing different outfits than before. I thought of the confetti of clothes that littered the road.

Julie scanned the room, smiling when her eyes met mine. Her lips moved slightly, as if she whispered something to herself. She paused and elbowed Paul on the ribs, clearing her throat and looking at me expectantly.

"Crap, right." Paul gave me an award-winning smile. The paragon of sincerity. "Sorry." Then he returned to his breakfast. 

Julie rolled her eyes, grabbing two muffins and sitting beside me. "You okay?" She asked quietly.

I nodded. "Better now. Are you okay?"

She grinned. "Not a scratch on me. Want a muffin?" 

I shook my head. 

"Oh, man! Come on!" Jared wailed. He put his head in his hands, whining. 

Embry had pointed out a large pink line on Paul's arm. "That's forty bucks!" He said, holding his arms up like he'd won the lottery. 

"Did you do that?" I asked. 

"I barely touched him. He'll be fine in a few hours." 

I eyed the mark, brows raised. If Julie's teeth could cut through a vampire's stone flesh, how easy could it cut through another wolf?

"Wolf thing. We heal quick." Jules gave me a small smile, almost shy. 

"Hey, guys," Sam said loudly. He was still by Emily as she scraped the egg mixture into a giant skillet. "Julie has information for us."

Julie cleared her throat. "I know what the redhead wants. Or rather, who."

She directed a glare to Paul for the next sentence. "That's what I was trying to tell you earlier." 

Paul rolled his eyes, shooting Jules the bird covertly. 

"The Cullens killed her mate last year. She's after Bella now, eye for an eye. That's why she keeps dancing around us; she is trying to get into Forks."

They all seemed to think about that for a moment. Emily's gaze was on me, protective. 

"Hell yeah," Jared said finally. He was grinning. "We got bait." 

I felt a single tremor run through Julie. "I want you to rethink that sentence very carefully." 

"You know what I mean," Jared sighed. "Not like bait bait."

Sam ignored them entirely. "We'll be changing our patterns. Leave holes, see if she falls for it."

"Quil's got to be close," Embry said quietly. "He's been running a fever. We'll be evenly split when he does." 

Everyone was quiet. I glanced at Julie's face; empty, hopeless, just as it had been when I mentioned Quil yesterday. No matter how happy they were together, they still didn't want to condemn their friend to this fate. 

"We won't count on that," Sam said quietly. In a normal tone, he said, "Julie and I will take the inner perimeter, you three take the outer. We'll collapse in when she's trapped."

"Hey, there's something else," I added. My voice was a croak. I cleared my throat. 

Everyone turned to me, surprised. I saw Julie smile slightly.

"A lot of vampires have traits from their former lives. If you have a really good intuition, you can see the future. If you're charismatic enough to make people see your way, you can influence their emotions." I paused. "I don't know about her before, but the Cullens said she's really good at evading. Hiding. That might be why she's so hard for you to catch." 

"They get superpowers?" Embry asked. 

"Not all of them," I defended. "Sometimes they're subtle."

Sam spoke up. "Julie thinks it would be best if you spent as much time possible here in La Push. The redhead won't know where to find you, and it will be easier to guard you if you're in our home turf." 

"What about my Dad?" I asked. "I can't leave him alone."

"March Madness. Billy and Harry can kidnap him more often," Julie volunteered. 

"That's not your only option," Sam added. His eyes slid to Emily. Her expression was solemn, a small smile as she nodded. "You saw this morning how dangerous it can be around us, how quickly things can change. If you choose to stay with us, things can happen. I need you to weigh those options carefully." 

"I won't hurt her," Julie mumbled. She was looking down. It sounded like a promise.

"There's nowhere else to go," I said after a moment. "I don't want to lead Victoria anywhere else."

"Better for you to be here, where we can end this." Sam said this while nodding. 

Emily set platters of food on the table. I hadn't noticed her cooking so much; eggs, bacon, more muffins. 

"Eat," she ordered. 

They did as told, Julie making a plate for me as I sat numbly. Emily handed me a glass of juice, her eyes stern. She stood there until I took a sip before smiling contently. 

Looking at them all together, joking and placing bets, it was very clear that these were still teenagers. Just goofy kids who were tracking and killing vampires with lifespans longer than theirs combined. Even Sam, the oldest, couldn't be prepared for this. How do you lead a group of child soldiers to their demise? If you give kids the ability to fight Gods, would they win? 

"You'll be careful, right?" I asked quietly. 

They laughed. Sam covered his mouth, smiling behind it. Paul nearly choked on his food. Embry snorted juice out of his nose. Jared was pointing at them, laughing hardest. Julie put a hand on my knee, rubbing gently. She was amused, though not outright laughing. 

Emily was the only one not amused. Her eyes met mine, concern mirrored. Then her gaze shifted to the boys at the table, softening into affection. This was her pack, too. Her eyes met mine again. She smiled at me, the same expression in her eyes. 

I was one of the pack now, too. At least to her.