Wolves and Venom Do Not Mix

Bella visits the Black's to try to get some answers. Billy spots the bite mark on her arm and gets Sam involved. Through talking with the Quileutes, Bella unearths a life changing realization: that the shimmering scar has more influence on her than she originally thought.

BxJ (eventually)

Chapter 1

Once again, I was back on the Black's front porch waiting for someone to come and talk to me. I desperately wanted some answers from these people, yet they kept shutting me out. After seeing Laurent in the meadow yesterday, well, it had left me shaken and reinforced my desires to talk to someone. Jacob had always been there for me in the past, and I don't want to believe that he had thrown me away… like they had.

Suddenly I heard the door open and saw Billy sitting in his wheelchair watching me. I looked at him, my eyes already beginning to water. "Please, I really need to talk to someone, please Billy." I begged him.

He shook his head looking regretful as he reached to push the door closed. Instinctively, my arm shot out to hold it open. "Please, Billy, please." I tried again.

Billy kept quiet, but I saw the way his eyes widened as he took notice of my arm. Without me realizing it, he had opened the door even wider and grabbed a hold of my arm, pulling it close to his eyelevel. "Bella, what's this?" His hand reached for the scar. I shuddered as he brushed his thumb over the cool raised flesh.

My legs suddenly felt rubbery and jelly-like. I had to sit down. Billy must have realized this, since he guided me inside to the living room where he ushered me to sit down. I watched him then spin around to the kitchen to get me a cup of water.

Returning with the cup in hand, he spoke softly. "Bella, I know the Cullens are vampires." I sucked in a breath. My heart started to pound. Billy continued. "Bella, is that what I think it is?" He inquired, gesturing to my left arm. "And, if so, how are you still you?"

I sipped the water before meeting Billy's eyes. "It is what you think… it is a vampire bite. The Cullen's sucked out the venom from my system before it could spread." My voice started to waver as the memories of the night in Phoenix returned to me like a harsh wave colliding into a peer of jagged rocks. "A… nomadic vampire had bitten me... He wasn't related to the Cullens," I whispered the last part, not wanting Billy to think that a friend of the Cullens had bitten me.

Billy looked away, his brows furrowed. "Bella, can I call Old Quil? I have an idea but I would like his view on this…" he trailed off uncertainly.

I just nodded. "Go right ahead."

Billy smiled, nodded, and then left the room to make the call.

Billy and I sat in silence as we waited for Old Quil to arrive. Soon enough, he was knocking on the door. Billy yelled "it's unlocked," and we watched as Old Quil entered, followed by Sam.

Old Quil looked at Billy then turned to me. "Bella, may I see your hand?" He inquired softly.

"Um, alright," I murmured and got up from the chair, heading for him. When standing right before Old Quil, I rolled up my sleeve to let him see the scar better under the living room's fluorescent lights. I tried my best to not move—or cringe too much—when feeling his hands glide over the bite.

Soon, Old Quil looked up to meet Sam's gaze. "What do you think of this?"

I watched as Sam crossed his arms, a flicker of indecision passing through his darkly lit his eyes while an animalistic, almost feral look, crossed his face. "She is claimed," was all he hissed.

Billy nodded. "I was afraid that was the case."

Old Quil looked contemplative. "I think we can undo this, if Bella wants."

All eyes turned to me.

My head went about a hundred different directions at once. My heart was still pounding and I was sure they could hear it. Yet, I tried my best to ignore that and voiced my answer with as little hesitation that I could summon. "Undo it... if you can."

Old Quil nodded. "Bella, I must tell you though, that removing it won't be without more pain. Also, it will leave another scar."

I nodded. "That's fine."

An insidious thought then came to mind. I voiced it aloud. "Could this be why I coped so poorly when they left?"

Billy looked to Old Quil and Old Quil looked me in the eye. "From what I know of the supernatural, Bella, that is very likely."

I felt like I'd been punched in the gut, and robbed—no, violated in so many ways.

I looked at Old Quil and gasped out. "I-i need it removed. Please, tell me you can do it soon."

He nodded. "I need to collect some things for the ritual. Sam, bring her to the circle before sunset. Bella, we will do this for you today."

I managed to choke out a sob. "Thank you."

Billy sat with me the entire time after Old Quil and Sam had left the house. He held my head and murmured soft comforting words as I quietly sobbed. My mind was drowning with despair with the knowledge that the bite was a claim into the supernatural world; yet, my stomach couldn't stop churning over the notion that the Cullens had deserted me, fully aware of the consequences they were leaving behind… leaving for me to deal with alone. That, if anything, hurt the most.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I wasn't fully aware of their departure or the passage of time until Sam's return. I stumbled next to Sam as he led me out of the house and through the woods. He was gentle, kind and patient with me. He even apologized. "I'm sorry I can't carry you or aid you more than just showing you the location. Old Quil told me it is important that you make the journey yourself."

At last I saw the flicker of flames through the trees. Old Quil sat before an open fire, chanting, as Sam led me to the bonfire. I sat down on the empty blanket that Sam directed me to. Before I could even cross my legs, Old Quil put a wooden bowl to my lips and tilted it, making me swallow all of the liquid he had simmering before my arrival. From what I could see, the liquid was brown and it tasted really, really bitter.

I started feeling lightheaded as the chanting continued. What felt like hours later but was only a few minutes, Old Quil had another bowl; this one had a paste in it. With semi-hazy vision, I felt him spread the paste over my arm, and heard him chanting softly in the background, though it was faint. My head started to pound; it made my vision even worse. Now I could only make out the faint outlines of my surroundings. The world started to get dizzy; I felt like I was going to fall over—no, I felt like I was going to barf. Yet, before anything occurred, I thought I could see the faint sketch of Old Quil raising something—was that a… knife?—before me. I tried to open my mouth, but nothing came out. Surprisingly, I didn't feel scared… if anything, I felt like I was being set free.

Freedom. What a beautiful word.

The red hot knife came closer to my arm. I felt it trace the cold scar on my arm. Pain was there but I was so disconnected from everything that I swore I felt nothing. I watched in morbid fascination as my arm soon split and flared like a firework about ready to be lit and take off into the starry sky.

…

Darkness then overcame me.

A/N

Many Thanks to my Beta, TriforceandSheikahArts. She took my words and made them shine.

:)-J