OK, this chapter killed me a little :| Not to mention it took forever. I hope you guys are cool with it... Twilight isn't mine, but my characters and concepts are :) Please do enjoy.

The ride back to Joanna's home was more tense than her entire time at the party. Both Joanna and Embry felt a need to speak, but neither knew how to start or what to say. In the end, the car ride was long and silent.

"Um..." Embry began once the car was safely parked. "Can I... talk to you for a bit?" He asked, very hesitant because he just couldn't name the feeling behind Joanna's eyes.

"Yeah." She said nodding as she opened the door for herself. He noticed that she wasn't exactly meeting his eyes though. That was dangerous. She made a beeline for her door, easily slipping the key to unlock the door and let them inside. She let out a heavy, contented sigh as she set her purse down on the countertop.

"So... uh.. that was... not what I expected." Embry started. She nodded.

"I'm sorry about the family onslaught and everything." She murmured, turning to face him. She put her hands on the counter top and leaned against it.

"No, no. I mean.. they probably made you feel more comfortable." She nodded, the expression on her face suggesting that she was miles away, but at the same time still trying to figure out how to continue. "Listen, Joanna... about the Cullens." Embry began. The name snapped her attention to him.

"Oh. Yeah. I guess I really made an impression there." She said, sounding slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah, but... Look, there's something I should probably tell you about them." He said sighing. Joanna's gaze sharpened as she stared at him.

"You know." She said completely deadpan, her eyes widening.

"uh.. what?" He asked, freezing in place.

"You know, don't you?"

Embry stared at her in shock as he processed what she was saying. "You know?" He asked astounded. Her mouth dropped open, and he held up a hand. "Wait. Wait... assuming is bad. What do you mean? What do I know or ...what do you know? What do you think I know?"

"You know that the Cullens are vampires!" Joanna practically squealed.

"Holy Christ, you do know..." Embry said slowly. "How the hell do you know that?"

"Oh, please, Embry." Joanna practically growled. It was a little high pitch and squeaky, but it was her version of the noise. "Once you've met a vampire, you kind of remember how to tell them apart." he blinked in shock, processing that. Before he could ask the obvious question that rose from this new knowledge, she continued. "How the hell could you bring me to a party knowing there were vampires there?" she asked, sounding horrified.

He looked away guiltily. "I... I just... the Cullens aren't bad." He started and held up a hand at her incredulous look. "Really. They don't drink human blood at all. They only drink from animals... so, see, they're not dangerous."

"Don't be ridiculous, Embry!" Joanna yelled. "It doesn't matter what their diet is. All vampires are dangerous. That they've managed to alter their diet is admirable, honorable even. But that doesn't change the fact that their world is a dangerous one."

"Okay, I'll give you that, but...but... well, we're all dangerous." He defended. "And how do you know so much about vampires?" He asked. Joanna's face became very pale, her mouth hanging open in a way that suggested that she'd had the wind knocked out of her. Her eyes began to shine with tears. "Oh God.." Embry murmured, slowly walking towards her. "It's that thing isn't it? The thing you can't talk about..." She gave a shaky nod before both hands came up to cover her face. "Hey now." He murmured, taking her into his arms and cradling her carefully against his chest. Her hands grasped at his shirt desperately, and he could do nothing but hold her as she wept openly against him. Her harsh sobs tore at his heart, but he had an idea that she needed this. She needed to just feel whatever it was she was feeling. She needed to know that he was strong enough to hold up under the weight of her sorrow.

As for the Cullens. Carlisle busied himself setting up supplies and a place for the young girl he would help these very strange people tend to. He left the explanation of the night and the need for his activities to Esme, Jasper, and Alice. He could hear all the questions and reactions, many of which had been very colorful. Both Edward and Rosalie had misgivings about allowing these people into their home. But the fact remained that the offer had already been made and accepted. There was very little to argue about considering that the decision had already been made.

"The fact also remains, that we don't know who or what these people are." he could hear Edward saying, no doubt in response to his thoughts. He did a quick double check to make sure that his supplies were all at hand and fully stocked. The girl would get a strong hit of IV fluid along with many vitamins that would help to build her back up.

"Perhaps so, but there's nothing that can be done now." Carlisle said as he reentered the family room.

"Besides, this is actually ideal." Jasper said.

"How so?" Rosalie asked, looking confused.

"Huh.. I hadn't thought of that." Edward said.

"They're going to be here." Jasper explained for everyone who wasn't Edward. "We don't know who they are or where they come from, but we can find out. The longer they remain here, the more chances we have to learn."

Emmett nodded. "Makes sense."

Edward's head turned sharply, looking out their grand windows to the tree line. "They're here." he said. Walking up their driveway was Stanley and Cassie. Cassie was carrying the girl in her arms. Behind them were Ruben (carrying Dinah), and Benjamin. It was odd to see Cassie carrying the girl when there were so many men around who could probably carry her just as well. Still, it didn't appear that she was struggling with her burden. Esme rushed to the front door to usher them inside.

"Hello, again. Welcome to our home."

"Thank you very much for offering us a place to stay." Stanley said cordially.

"It's our pleasure." Carlisle said. "Please, if you'll follow me. I have a space set up for her." Cassie nodded, following Carlisle into the other room. He motioned towards the bed with a nod, and Cassie hurried over to lay the girl down on it. Stanley hung back, watching from where he was, and the others seemed to be following his lead.

"How's Dinah?" He asked, not bothering to look at Ruben.

"Uh… She's fine. Still sleeping." He murmured.

"You're sister, right?" the question came from Edward.

"Yes." Ruben said. "She'll probably wake up soon enough." He said with a sigh.

Esme chuckled softly. "You mean she isn't as angelic when she's awake?" she teased.

His face became comically pensive, as though he were trying to wrack his brain for the right way to respond and not finding anything. "Uh… well, angelic isn't quite how I'd describe her, but… well, it isn't as if she's a bad child."

"All children are complicated." Ben murmured.

"That is very true." Stanley said with a nod.

"Tell me about it." Bella said with a chuckle, Edward smirked at that.

"This one's a little preoccupied with things that I'm certain she shouldn't be." He said eying his sister doubtfully. "I'm not sure if it's a phase, or if she's super aware, or just smarter than I was at that age…" he said with a shrug.

"Where's your other friend, that Shayla woman?" Jasper asked.

"She had to go back to her pack and reposition them." Stanley replied, finally taking his gaze off his sister's back. "I imagine they're all… around." Something about the way he said that seemed unsettling. His eyes went to Edward. "You haven't asked the question I assumed you'd ask."

Edward's eyes narrowed slightly, and he and Stanley stared each other down before Edward's eyes widened in shock. "Why can't I hear any of you?"

Stanley smiled, nodding. "That's the question." He said, looking back to Cassie. She was observing Carlisle as he began an IV, absently finger-combing the girl's hair.

"Do you intend to answer it?" Rosalie asked. Stanley's eyes snapped back to her. He blinked once, slowly as if he had all the time in the world to think about it. Something about that really irritated Rosalie, and she wasn't even the one most concerned about the answer.

"It's very simple. Edward reads the thoughts of humans without the capability to shield their thoughts." Ruben answered with a shrug. "We're on a different frequency." Rosalie blinked out of her glare, still confused.

"Huh." Stanley murmured softly, cocking his head up so that he was staring off at the ceiling. "Never thought of it that way." He looked down at Ruben. "The very simplistic way that you explain things never ceases to amaze me." Ruben practically beamed from the praise.

"Actually, that doesn't answer the question at all." Rosalie groused.

"Let's put it this way then." Ruben said. "Edward is a dog." The Cullens stared at him in shock before individual reactions began. Alice giggled, Emmet elbowed Edward. "Wait, wait, lemme finish." Ruben continued. "Edward's a dog. All humans are dogs. Different breeds of dogs, but all dogs. And he can hear every other dog's thoughts. But here's the thing." He pointed to the three of them. "We aren't dogs."

Edward's eyes widened slightly. "You aren't human."

"Not even a little." Ben said with a nod, looking out the windows.

"Dude…" Emmet said, looking at Edward. "How do you get 'not human' from that?"

"Because I can read 'the thoughts of humans'. If, as a dog, I can hear all the other dogs, but they aren't dogs, then they aren't human."

"How unsettling." Rosalie grumbled.

Ruben actually seemed hurt by this. "Thanks." He huffed out a sigh. "You know, I think I enjoyed this conversation with the wolves better."

"I'm not even sure if it registered with the wolves." Ben muttered.

"What do you mean?" Alice asked.

"The conversation we had with the wolves about monsters." Ruben reminded. "You were there… weren't you? I said 'our species isn't human', remember?"

Alice blinked. "That's right… You were talking about void, and that seemed more pressing at the time."

Ruben nodded. "True. At that time, the void was more pressing." He said. He looked down to Dinah who was resting peacefully in his arms. It was then that Carlisle joined them again.

"I think your sister would prefer to stay with her." He said to Stanley, motioning back over his shoulder. Cassie seemed quite content to sit at the poor girl's bedside. Stanley nodded absently.

"Dinah's waking up." He murmured.

Ruben looked down to find his sister's face squinting slightly. Her eyes fluttered opened before she looked up at him.

"Did we live through the night?" she asked sleepily.

Ruben smiled softly. "So far so good… but the night isn't quite over."

She leaned up, rubbing at her face. She looked around and then bent backwards, her back arching as she stared at the people behind her. She stared at the Cullens, and they stared back at her. After a moment, she sprung upright again.

"Are we at the Cullen house?" she asked.

"We are." Ruben confirmed. She looked over and saw Stanley, and her face blossomed into joy.

"Stanley!" She cheered. Stanley smiled and took her from Ruben's arms.

"Oh sure, I'm her actually brother, but she comes unglued for Stanley." Ruben pouted, crossing his arms. Whether or not Dinah actually heard him didn't matter since she didn't acknowledge him.

"Do we have a new sister, Stanley?" Dinah asked.

"Not exactly." Stanley soothed. "You see, the girl's a wolf feral, and that means—"

"Shayla?" Dinah asked, slightly excited.

Stanley nodded. "Shayla."

Dinah looked to Ruben. "Can I go dance with the wolves?" she asked excitedly.

"Easy there, Kevin Costner." Ruben murmured. "It's overcast, I doubt they'll do much dancing tonight. Do you remember what we talked about?" He asked. Dinah looked at him blankly. "Shayla and Rachel are the wolves that you can approach. Anyone else in simple human form is okay, but if they're wolves then you stay away from them." Dinah nodded heavily. Ruben motioned with his head towards the door. "What are you still doing here? Off with you."

Dinah gasped in delight before using Stan's shoulder as a spring board and vaulting over his head. "Yay!" She cried with glee as she dashed out of the house.

"Honestly…kids these days." Ruben grumbled.

"Quite a ball of energy." Alice observed with a smile.

Ruben chuckled softly. "She'll be a great dancer someday." He said, glancing out the window. "Ah, there's one of the girls now." He murmured still looking out the window. The Cullens followed his gaze, spotting a young girl running to greet Dinah. Dinah twirled around her and the girl spun about, letting her arms swing out wide. She was tan-skinned with rich dark brown hair, but her face was hard to see from this distance. She wore buckskin pants and a long buckskin tunic with a belt tied about her waist.

"Goodness…" Esme murmured, staring at the young figure. "But she's just a baby."

"Most of them all are." Stanley informed. "Their youngest is only 12 and their oldest isn't even 17 yet." He shrugged. "Female ferals are known to change earlier than males. A pack of girls will leave home and travel through their territory until all the members have successfully transformed. There are seven girls under Shayla's care currently and only two have managed their transformation. Rachel and Rebakka are not only capable of transforming; they can maintain control of themselves without giving over to their inner animal."

"There's 7 of them?" Ben asked.

Stanley nodded towards the tree line, where four more girls similarly dressed to the one dancing with Dinah were running into the clearing to join in the dance. "Rachel's the leader of the group, of course. Rebakka has transformed fully and can control herself. The twins, Analee and Lilliann, haven't transformed yet, but they're getting close… as is Emily. Dinah's dance partner, Brianna, is the youngest, so she might have some time. Sarah.. well, they aren't sure about Sarah's exact age, so they're not sure when it may happen for her." Stanley's face became somewhat stern. "It will be soon."

Ruben eyed Stanly critically. "Soon, you say?... as in 'this year' soon? Or 'this moon phase' soon?"

Stanley closed his eyes for a long moment before responding. "…considering all the variables… I'd say closer to this moon phase, actually." He finished, opening his eyes. Ruben looked over to Benjamin, who was already on his way to the door.

"I'll clear the clouds." He murmured as he left. As soon as he'd closed the door behind him the clouds began to dissipate, letting the moonlight illuminate the landscape. The girls in the field cried out in joy and danced, twirling and leaping in the light of the full moon. Benjamin settled himself against a tree in the tree line and watched. He spotted a few of the Quileute wolves hanging back in the woods, watching with careful curiosity.

"ah.." Ruben blinked, his red eyes widening, his pupil lengthening into a slit and expanding. "There they are." He looked to Stanley. "Both Rebakka and Rachel are in the trees… like, up in the trees."

"Of course they are." Stanley said as if that were obvious.

"Since when do wolves climb trees?" Ruben asked, and Stanley chuckled at him.

"Why are there only girls?" Rosalie asked, looking over the young girls in the clearing.

"… Transforming is difficult at first." Stanley explained. "Not only is it very painful, the instincts that were long buried suddenly surface, and in that moment a feral is nothing but…well, feral." He paused, almost as if he were gathering more facts in his own head before continuing. "They've found that it's easier to keep the sexes separated until they can learn to focus and.. well.."

"Not tear into anything that could pose a potential threat?" Ruben asked.

"Yes. That." Stanley said with a nod. "For whatever reasons, the sexes tend to be very…antagonistic towards each other. Even the presence of a young male feral will cause any females who've shifted to get more aggressive… It can be very dangerous."

Emmet suddenly shifted forward, looking keenly at the trees. "Uh… is that..?"

Before he could finished his question an enormous werewolf launched from the tree line and landed near the girls in the clearing. The girls clapped, yapping and howling as she stood to her full height. She was well over seven foot tall from the looks of it, her fur thick, almost shaggy making her shape seems almost sexless. It was a strange, dark coppery color… like an old penny. Her muzzle was long with jagged teeth gleaming as she opened her maw. Her ears twitched and her gaze turned towards the house and she eyed the inhabitants carefully.

"Is that Shayla?" Carlisle asked, fascinated by the creature in the clearing.

"No. That's Rachel." Ruben said.

Stanley nodded. "She's going to be 17 this fall."

"She'll be the leader of her pack one day too, mark my words." Ruben said with a grin.

Stanley nodded. "That is most likely."

"Why? 'Cause she's so big?" Emmet asked.

"Not quite. She's not small, that's certain, but she's not especially big. Shayla's much bigger, but she's an adult."

"And it's because of her skills, really." Ruben said with a smile. "Rachel's a leader. She's born with that, but what no one counted on was her possessing innate magic as well. It's not on par with Shayla's, but.. well, Rachel's young. She's got time to improve her skills."

"It's very rare in the Feral community for someone to be a very skilled warrior, a very skilled hunter and also possess a connection to magic." Stanley explained. "And that's not even counting how involved Rachel is with her community. Before they all went on this journey, she was counted as a responsible young lady who took care of her youngers and tended kindly to her elders. She understands her community and how best to serve each of its members." Stanley's gaze came away from the wolf in the clearing, who was happily letting Dinah dance along the length of her arms. "A person like that, with great skill and equally great charisma not to mention the combination of power and humility, always becomes a great leader." He said with an easy smile.

His head whipped forward again as a wolf howled loudly in the distance. The girls stopped dancing, the enormous werewolf in their midst turning towards the sound.

"That's one of the Quileute wolves…" Ruben murmured absently, his gaze still on his sister though she'd stopped dancing to listen along with the others in the clearing. Many other wolves joined in, howling perhaps as a response to the sound.

Edward gasped, his eyes widening in horror.

"Edward? What is it?" Carlisle asked.

Embry never felt more content or more awkward in his life. After dissolving into sobs Joanna had cried herself to sleep. He'd carried her to her room, but…well, she hadn't wanted to let go. And he'd have more luck moving Mount Everest with chopsticks than actually walking away from her when she was clinging to him. So, here he was, lying beside her, in her room…in her bed. He hoped to God this wouldn't make things weird.

She snuggled against his chest, causing warmth to bloom in his throat (his heart had been there since the car ride here). Her eyes blinked open groggily, and she stared up at him.

"Hey." He said softly.

"Hey." She murmured. She sighed and sat up, looking around.

"What are you looking for?"

"The cat."

He looked at her in confusion. "What cat?"

"The one that crapped in my mouth." She said blandly.

Embry stared in confusion for all of 4 seconds before snorting on a laugh. She chuckled tiredly as well. After the moment had passed and silence settled, she started speaking in a strange monotone voice.

"Sophie was my best friend." She said softly. "She's Benjamin's little sister." She explained. "So, in a weird sort of way, she's family too." She smiled softly. "She fell in love with Russell, Ruben's twin brother, when she was young… or she always was in love with him. It's hard to really tell when their relationship really began… It feels like they just always were." Her smile slowly began to fade. "It was a warm day out when we last got together for a girl's day… We'd been shopping, we'd had lunch, and we were just walking back to the car and… Sophie went rigid." Joanna shook her head. "She said we needed to get back now. That something was wrong." Joanna's eyes began to get glassy, and Embry felt that while she was looking at him she wasn't here with him. "In my family, you kind of learn that even if you can't explain intuition you should just follow it. Sophie kept getting worse and worse… she was in pain, she felt dizzy, she couldn't breathe properly, everything seemed to be getting worse and worse and I kept wondering why I wasn't driving her to the hospital instead of home… But she kept saying that we needed to go home." Joanna swallowed hard. "We got there, opened the door, and there was Russell… what was left of him, anyway. He was in a bloody heap, dying on the floor. Sophie started crawling to him…" She shook her head, her left had coming up to grip her right bicep. "And before I could even gasp or scream, something grabbed my arm and threw me across the room." She tried so hard to control her expression, but her jaw trembled from the memory. She could hear Sophie sobbing in gasps of air as she crawled to Russell. It was the most horrible sound she'd yet to hear. "I hit the wall so hard that I landed about three feet away from it." Her lips trembled in an ironic smirk. "I bounced." She said before swallowing. "I didn't feel my arm fracture… I remember it hurting when I tried to lift myself up. I looked over at Sophie and Russell… She had wrapped herself around him. He looked at her, and he held her gaze… and then they both died."

Embry had been slowly levering himself up onto his elbow as this tale got worse and worse, but when she stopped and he realized there was very little else to the tale he stared at her in shock. He yanked himself upright into a sitting position so that he could sit facing her.

"What… How? I don't… They just… both of them? They just died?" he asked.

Joanna nodded. "I could just make out the outline of a man in the dark… he had such bright, vivid red eyes." She shook her head. "And all I could think was, 'they left me, and now we're all gonna die here'." Her hand came up to tangle in her hair, to push it back from her face. "I just… stared at the two of them in shock, and I realized that… that he was doing the same thing. He was fascinated. Completely baffled by what had happened."

"I would be too." Embry reasoned. "A perfectly healthy person doesn't just drop dead because someone else does."

Joanna nodded. "Stanley says… That it was because of their bond. That some people love each other so strongly, that the bond is so significant for them, that it can't be severed." She licked her chapped lips and dragged in a breath "He said it's how she knew something was wrong. They were tethered together so tightly that neither of them could live without the other." She laughed without humor. "I guess I should be grateful… without that, I probably wouldn't have survived that incident."

Embry's gazed sharpened on her face. "The guy in the room was a vampire…" he assumed.

Joanna nodded. "And he was distracted enough by Russell and Sophie that he practically forgot about me. He just stood there and stared, and then.. and then Ruben came out of the dark and ripped his damn leg off and started beating him with it." Joanna looked down and sniffed loudly. "I've never seen him so… so visceral." She shook her head. "He was so hurt and angry that he just kept tearing into that monster…" Joanna looked back to Embry, her face awash with pain and abject shock. "He kept… Ruben just kept toying with the vampire…He let himself be swallowed by the pain he felt, because.." she winced, a tiny whimper whining out of her. "Because, he loved them both… He loved his little brother, and he loved Sophie… He loved them both enough, that he didn't even try to pursue Sophie… even though he loved her as much as Russell had. But he was so wild and raging, that I didn't… I thought … The vampire and Ruben… I couldn't tell them apart. And I was nothing but this tiny little ball of fear."

Embry leaned forward, wrapping Joanna in his arms and letting her mourn again. He let her have a breath… because he could tell that she wasn't going to be moving forward just yet.

"I… I just lay there." She said, snuggled against his chest. "I couldn't do anything… I just lay there.."

"What happened?"

"Benjamin came too… he and Ruben reduced the vampire to fine dust…" She let out a shuddering breath. "Stan and Zach showed up a little later with Cassie and Rhonda in tow… They were angry at Ruben and Ben for not tending to me first." Joanna shook her head. "To be honest, I didn't mind." She said letting out a somewhat hysterical chuckle. She swallowed hard, trying to keep herself together. "I didn't see anything that happened next. Cassie put me to sleep so that they could heal me." She stared out at the empty space next to the bed. "They told me that… they arranged for it to appear as though Russell and Sophie had died due to smoke inhalation." She said, with another loud sniff. "Officially, a fire had started due to electrical failure…burnt the entire house down." She let out a hefty breath. "When I was well, I locked myself away in my apartment… multiple locks on the doors, covered the windows with newspapers…. By the time my family realized what I was doing, I was so deep in my paranoia that I fought tooth and nail with anyone that came and tried to help me."

"What… What happened?"

Joanna chuckled. "Stanley happened. He showed up, knocked me out and brought me back to Mama's." she shook her head. "Ruben was there, waiting for me to wake up." Her eyes closed. "Suffice to say… we helped each other…" She let out a slow sigh. "I'm sorry, Embry. I'm sure the Cullens are good to you, but… I don't know if I can be very close to vampires so soon."

Embry swallowed hard, nodding. "Okay… so, that's a very good reason." He said. Joanna almost-almost-almost smiled, but she couldn't quite work it up. "Uh… do you want me to stay, or..?"

"You can go if you'd like." Joanna said. "I think I could use a breather."

Embry nodded. "If you need me…"

This time Joanna did smile. "I'll call you later." She assured. "Just… I think I need to let myself de-stress."

Embry smiled and slid off the bed. "I'll look forward to hearing from you then." He said, and showed himself out. It felt as though it was all he could do to keep himself breathing. The minute that he entered the dark of the forest, he let himself transform and let out a soul-wrenching howl. He just couldn't keep all this bottled up anymore.

...yeah...yeah, that's pretty much it for now -..- I need chocolate and tissues and medicine in case this gives me a sinus infection. At least everything's out in the open... I mean... everything that was up with Joanna... peace out!