I Only Wanna Talk to You

Bella turned to her brother and smirked at him as they both began to beat at the oncoming wave of ferals that were in the area. Bella hurriedly entered the building followed closely by her brother. “I got five.”

Seth frowned, “Four. One of them just wouldn’t go down.” Seth responded wiping his hands on his pants. “I pretty much decapitated him with the bat. Good thing we went with aluminum instead of wooden ones.”

Bella laughed, and her eyes caught the guy that was talking to Ted, he was by far the best-looking guy they had run into yet. Bella’s eyes snapped to Seth as he lightly shoved at her shoulders. “I was just analyzing the new guy.”

Seth scoffed before letting out a light laugh, “Sure. That’s what you were doing, it looked like you were about to propose to the guy.”

Bella rolled her eyes, “In these times, don’t you think marriage is sort of irrelevant?”

“Not really, I still have hopes that I’ll be able to get married one day.” Seth responded with a boyish smile. “I want something like mom and dad had.”

Bella smiled wrapping her arm around Seth as they walked up the escalator. “Yeah, I get that.”  She looked over her shoulder to see Ted and the new guy looking at her and Seth. “They’re talking about us.”

“People always talk about us. They think we’re together.” Seth responded helping Bella jump onto the other escalator. “It’s gross.”

Bella wrinkled her nose at the thought. “It’s incest.”

“It would only be incest if we were blood relatives.” Seth smiled, “But I get what you’re saying.”

Meanwhile Axel showed Ted back up to the lab were sleeping beauty was still laying. “So, out of your group who can I trust?”

“Sam and Mohammad, they’re good people. I met them a while back, they’re good at staying alive in risky situations.” Ted looked over at the group and nodded towards Seth and Bella. “Those two, they’re strong together. They don’t need guns to take vamps down, and they’re not scared of going into a fight. I’d trust them with my life, in fact they’ve saved my ass a couple times.”

Axel watched the two and noticed how in sync their movements were. “They seem separated from the rest of the group.”

“That’s because they don’t really trust a lot of people.” Ted responded crossing his arms over his chest. “I only ever see them talk to Sam and Mohammad, but they do try and protect the others if need be.”

“It’s too risky with those two. Having a significant other in this situation makes them a point of weakness.” Axel responded with a frown.

“I don’t think they’re together.” Ted responded with a shrug. “They’re close, but in the time,  I’ve been with them, they’ve never kissed or have been overly affectionate with one another.”

“Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.” Axel responded turning to walk away.

-Page Break-

Bella felt her heart race as she woke up from a dreamless sleep, she felt sweat on her forehead and something didn’t feel right about the situation. She stood and shook Seth awake, “Something’s wrong.”

Seth sat up and looked around noticing that Axel was wide awake as well. He turned his head as he heard something in the distance. “They got in.” he said reaching under the bed and pulling out his bat. He looked over at his sister to see that she had hers in hand as well. They both stood immediately launching into survival mode as they began to fight off the oncoming vampires that entered the building.

Bella fought to keep them from advancing, but it was a hard battle to fight. It would be easier if she and Seth could shift, but with the unstable mentalities of the group they would surely be viewed as monsters that need to be killed. Bella turned her head seeing Axel being bombarded by Ferals, she saw one approaching his back as he was killing another.  She moved quickly and attacked the feral before it could get a bite out of Axel. She fought alongside him as they tried to keep the ferals from getting to the others.

Bella followed Axel to the room in which sleeping beauty was being held and turned to Seth with a raised eyebrow as the woman was viciously stabbing a feral. Bella exited the room with Seth heading over to her bag and grabbing her extra set of clothes. “I got five.”

Seth grinned, “Seven.” Seth responded with a laugh. “What do you think she is?”

“A curious human. After all we’ve seen, I’m not that surprised.” Bella responded with a shrug. “But this ought to be interesting don’t you think?”

Seth rolled his eyes, “Why does the weird always make you happy?”

“Reminds me that we’re not so strange after all.” Bella responded. “I’m going to go ahead and give her these.”

Bella tapped Axel on the shoulder as he stood outside of sleeping Beauty’s room. “I brought these for her, thought she might not want to be in bloody clothes for much longer.”

“Thanks.” Axel responded grabbing the clothes, his hand bleeding from the fight earlier.

“I can stitch that up.” Bella commented gesturing to the cut on his hand. “And the one on your back.”

“How did you know I got a cut on my back?” Axel responded standing directly in front of Bella.

Bella shrugged, “Instinct. Not to mention I saw when you got hurt. The cut is in an awkward position, you’ll never be able to stitch it up correctly.”

“Do you have any training to be doing this?” Axel questioned curiously.

Bella nodded, “Mom was a nurse and I was a nurse before the rising. I was in Med school studying to be a surgeon. I’m good with these sorts of things.”

“Yeah, okay. Just let me get these to her.” Axel responded before turning and heading into Vanessa’s room.

Bella looked through the medical kit he had out and began to gather the supplies she needed. Once he returned, she had already sanitized her hands and pulled the curtains on the bed. “Figured you’d want your privacy.”

“Thanks.” Axel responded eying the girl for a moment before removing his shirt. “No funny business.”

“Don’t worry, bossman, I’m not going to take advantage of you.” Bella replied before cleaning up the wound on his back. Her hands practically tingled as they touched his skin, it was now that she was sure that she had the worst luck in the world. Who else would meet their imprint in such a horrible situation? She knew the moment she told Seth about what had occurred he’d think it was the funniest thing to happen.

“Do you know you hum when you work?” Axel questioned breaking Bella out of her thoughts.

“I wasn’t aware.” Bella responded finishing up the stitching. “Though Seth does say that I do the same thing in my sleep.”

“Were the two of you together before the rising?” Axel questioned turning his head to look over at Bella who was concentrating on her work.

Bella smiled, “I guess so. Seth is my brother, stepbrother actually” She responded as she was close to finishing up stitching the wound together. “My dad married his mom when we were babies.”

“You guys seem a little too close to be siblings.” Axel remarked with a smirk. “Not many siblings sleep in the same bed together.”

Bella nodded, “I’m aware, but in this time, precautions have to be taken.” She looked over to Axel as she finished. “We were with this other group before we met Ted, and one of the guys was a real scumbag. He got a little handsy while I was sleeping, and because I tend to be such a heavy sleepier, Seth was the one to stop him. Ever since then Seth has become a little protective and doesn’t want me to get hurt.”

Bella closed the medical kit and cleaned up around the wound before handing Axel back his shirt. “As much as I like the view, I’m sure you’d feel more comfortable fully clothed. I wouldn’t stretch too much, you don’t want to rip the stitching.” Bella turned and walked back towards where Seth was helping the others clean up the mess. “You won’t believe what just happened.”

Seth looked up at his sister registering the look on her face. He stood up straighter knowing it was something big. “Do I want to know?”

“Guess who just found her imprint?” Bella responded with a frown.

Seth let out a small laugh, “Oh, that’s priceless.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you going to do about it?”

“I’m not quite sure.” Bella responded taking a seat on the cot. “Nothing most likely at this moment, I’m good with just looking at him, he’s a pretty picture.”

Seth laughed, “Yeah, okay.”

-Page Break-

Bella grabbed her bat and followed Axel and Vanessa. She stayed quiet keeping up with the two of them not wanting to disturb whatever silent conversation was occurring.  She looked around as Axel was preparing to jump into the water.

“Are you going to be okay out here?” Axel questioned looking over at Bella. “Ferals might attack, if they do you need to take off.”

Bella smiled at Axel, “Don’t worry your pretty little head, I know how to hold my own.” Bella turned, not wanting to see him dive into the water.

“Do you know how to shoot this thing?” Vanessa questioned gesturing to the gun in her hand.

“Yeah, pops was a cop Seth and I knew how to shoot a gun pretty early on.” Bella responded looking over at the weapon. “Unfortunately, the sound of the weapon attracts ferals.”

“How have you survived so long? From what Axel says it’s rare.” Vanessa responded.

“You learn to fight.” Bella responded with a frown. “Look, about your little girl, I won’t lie to you, it’s hard to survive in a world like this. But, if your daughter is anything like you I’m sure she learned to adapt and survive.”

“Thanks.” Vanessa responded, her eyes shifted, and she caught the movement of a feral in the distance. “There’s one near.”

Bella followed Vanessa’s line of sight. “Don’t shoot at him, it’ll attract more.” Bella said gripping her bat tightly in her hand. “Pull on Axel’s rope, I don’t think we have long before the rest start coming.” Bella started running swinging her bat with all the force she had at the oncoming feral. She groaned out as there were two more coming towards them. She finished off the feral at her feet before trying to fend off the others. She noticed as Vanessa tried to fend one off with the gun, but she wasn’t aiming correctly.

Bella finally got the one feral dead before running to help Vanessa. She got there in time to pull the feral off Vanessa. Bella took the ax from the floor and cut the ferals head off before running to Vanessa’s aid. Bella placed her hand on the wound at her neck. “At least you seem to heal quickly.” Bella said watching as the wound was already healing itself.

“Do you want to kill me too?” Vanessa hissed in anger.

Bella shook her head taking the rope from her hands and beginning to pull Axel up. “Not particularly, I’m not one for murder of the innocent. I know the others don’t like you, but Sam, Mohammad, Seth and I, we’re all on your side on this.”

“Thanks.” Vanessa responded moving to stand just as Bella was helping Axel out of the water.

Axel frowned at Bella, “You’re covered in blood,”

“Fortunately, it’s not mine.” Bella responded with a shrug. “We should get going, I can hear more coming, and we can’t waste any more time.”

Bella entered the facility and instantly headed towards her brother upstairs. “I got three.” She said once she approached him.

“I punched John in the face, if that counts for anything.” Seth responded with a grin.

“You should have seen him.” Mohammad said with a shake of his head but a grin on his face. “John was saying all this stuff about you, and Seth warned him to shut up, but John wouldn’t keep his mouth shut. Seth just gave him one hit and John blacked out, he’s still out cold now.”

Bella sighed and rolled her eyes, and turned to Sam who just offered a grin. “You guys were supposed to be protecting Doc.”

“We were, but then John opened his mouth and we all knew that would get him into trouble eventually.” Mohammad responded with a shrug.

Bella nodded, “Yeah, I guess you have a point.”

-Page Break-

Bella entered the lab as Doc and Axel called for her. “Is something wrong? Because you’re both acting strange.”

“Do you know anyone who might’ve wanted to hurt Cynthia?” Axel questioned, taking a step forward.

Bella looked over at the dead girl in question. “Not really. Cynthia was quiet, and she was always very paranoid about everything. Since we got here she had been acting a lot different than usual, whomever killed her probably saw it as a mercy killing. You might want to figure out who she talked to the most.”

“I’m going to need your help speaking to Sam.” Axel said gesturing to Bella to follow him out.

“I’m sorry about Vanessa.” Bella said as they made their way to the roof. “I know you’re still reeling from her escape.”

“It’s the first time I’ve failed a mission before.” Axel responded quietly. “I should have seen the distraction coming.”

“If it makes you feel better she’s with Mohammad and he’s good. He’ll make sure she stays alive.” Bella responded offering a small smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll catch wrinkles, and you’re far too handsome for that to happen so early.”

“Why do you keep doing that?” Axel questioned in frustration.

Bella turned to him stopping their walk up the stairwell. “Do what exactly?”

“You’ve called me pretty and handsome at least five times in the last two days.” Axel responded crossing his arms over his chest.

Bella laughed, running her hand through her hair in a nervous habit. “If it bothers you, I’ll stop. Don’t worry about it, Axel.”

Axel smirked, his face lighting up as  he saw the red tint on Bella’s cheeks. “Do you have a crush on me?”

Bella sighed crossing her arms over her chest. “Of course I do, asshole.” She gasped slightly as in a moment of surprise she was being pressed against the wall, soft lips tangling with her own. There wasn’t a moment of hesitation before Bella wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waste keeping him close to her as they kissed.

Bella pulled away as she heard a door slam in the distance. “Looks like Sam is headed this way.” She removed herself from Axel. “This was fun though.”

Bella turned to face Sam just as he was approaching and proceeded to play translator between the two of them. Bella placed her hand on Sam’s arm, “I’m sorry. I know you two were close. He’ll be okay, he’s a lot stronger than people assume.”

Axel watched the two walk off noting how kind Bella was being to Sam, he supposed Bella was good at noticing when someone needed comfort. He went off to continue his search for the murderer amongst the group.

Axel corned Seth upstairs as the boy was cleaning his bat. “You and Bella are close.”

Seth nodded, “We grew up together.”  He set his bat to the side. “I was with Bella during the night, you know that you checked up on her.”

“You know about that?” Axel questioned eyeing the younger man. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Seth shrugged, “You’re attracted to her, and she’s obviously attracted to you. I figured the way you both watch each other, it was some weird form of foreplay.”

“That doesn’t bother you.” Axel responded with a frown.

“Don’t get me wrong, if you so much as hurt her I’ll rip you apart, but hey if my sister likes you, I won’t argue it.” Seth responded patting Axel on the back. “Good luck on figuring out who the murderer is.”

-Page Break-

Bella helped Brendan wrap up his wound, since Doc was busy with the severely wounded medic, she was left with the task of helping bandage the small wounds. “The wound is healing great so there’s not much worry about infection.” Bella responded finishing up the wrap on the man’s arm. “Anything else?”

“No but thank you for doing this.” Brendan said offering a wide smile. “How long have you been with this group?”

“A while.’ Bella responded with a shrug. “Can’t really tell, but it has been a while.”

“What did you used to do before the rising?” Brendan questioned keeping Bella with him.

“I worked as a nurse while I finished up Med school.” Bella responded shifting slightly as she was becoming uncomfortable. She knew that look on the man’s face and he wasn’t being just friendly. “I should go see if anyone else in your group needs any help.”

Axel watched as Brendan reached for Bella’s arm stopping her from walking away. Axel’s hands twitched as he felt something he hadn’t really ever felt before, and he didn’t like it. He turned as he was lightly shoved in the shoulders.

Seth grinned, “When did your eyes turn green?”

“What are you talking about?” Axel remarked a glare on his face as he spoke to Seth.

“I know that you sort of have a thing for my sister, but none of the other guys do. You might want to control the jealousy that is written all over your face.” Seth said before moving to step forward and pulling his sister away from the leader of the other group.

“He gives me the creeps.” Bella whispered to Seth as they sat down on one of their cots. “My wolf was on the edge around him. I don’t know how long I can be around him before I shift and try to rip his head off.”

“Is there a reason you don’t like him?” Seth responded with a frown. “I’ve never seen you hate someone so quickly, except you know, Edward, but that’s different.”

Bella shook her head, “My wolf sees him as threat to our imprint, a threat to our alpha.”

Seth sighed in agitation. “You see him as Alpha, now? When did this happen?”

“Right after I realized he was my imprint.” Bella responded leaning against Seth for comfort. “You know as well as I do that my wolf would do anything for their imprint and their alpha. It just so happens that mine is a mixture of both.”

“I thought he was going to attack that Brendan guy.” Seth responded with a smirk. “He does act like an alpha.”

“Right?” Bella responded with a smile, laughing as her brother scoffed. Both jumped in shock as there was a scream coming from the direction of the lab. Bella grabbed her bat and with Seth ran over to see what was occurring.  Bella and Seth noticed the scent of blood in the air and the mauled body that was lying on the lab table.

“This isn’t good.” Seth said with a frown grabbing his sister’s hand as in a moment the room was in chaos.

Bella watched as in what felt like seconds Brendan and his group had taken over the hospital. Bella stood beside Seth gripping his hand tightly as they both used their enhanced hearing to eavesdrop on the situation. They both shared the same expression as Brendan wanted one of them to confess, and one by one they would be led out of the hospital to fend for themselves.

Axel stood in front of Bella as Brendan approached the cage. He was partially worried that the man would try and do something to Bella.

“All this can end, if the killer confesses.” Brendan spoke, his group behind him. “If they don’t confess one by one you’ll be exiled.”

Bella turned her head to look at the others with her trying to see which one would be the killer. Her eyes landed on Mohammad as the boy looked worried and Bella could see the wheels turning in his head. Before he could take the blame, Bella spoke.

“I killed them.” Bella announced, stepping away from Axel. “I was the one who killed them.”

“You didn’t kill them.” Brendan argued with a roll of his eyes.

“Can you be so sure?” Bella questioned pushing aside Axel as he tried to stop her. “I mean, no one here really suspects me, but can anyone here be so sure?”

Brendan crossed his arms over his chest. “And why would you do it?”

“Cynthia was the weakest link in our group. She was emotional and she put the rest of us at risk, she couldn’t hold her own in a fight.” Bella stared Brendan down as she spoke. “And your guy, well that was common sense. He was dead on arrival, Doc could save him, but what was the point if he couldn’t hold his own. We were wasting valuable medicine and food keeping him alive when he wasn’t contributing to the overall wellbeing of the group.”

“That’s a little sociopathic.” Brendan responded. “I don’t think you have it in you.”

“I think you’d be surprised.” Bella responded glaring at the older man. “No one ever suspects the girl with the big brown eyes.”

Brendan nodded, “Everyone except her take a step back.”

Axel went to stop her but was stopped when Seth stepped forward, “Isabella.”

Bella smiled, “I’ll be fine.” She assured as she kissed her brother’s cheek before exiting the cell. Bella walked down to the entrance of the building Brendan grabbing her arm to insure that she didn’t escape.

“You aren’t the real killer.” Brendan stated with a frown.

“Nope. I’m not, but at least now Axel has time to figure out who the real killer is.” Bella responded with a shrug.

“You’re willing to sacrifice your life for this?” Brendan responded as they reached the front door.

Bella turned to him and smiled. “Are you going to open the door or not? Or was this all just a big bluff?”

Brendan sighed and opened the door to the hospital and pushed Bella out. He watched as Bella walked calmy down the street and out of sight. Once she was out of sight Bella entered the nearest building doing her best to stay quiet, she entered a room she was sure was empty before shifting. A grey wolf appeared were she once was, and shook it’s fur before walking further into the building. Heading to find a secure place to spend the rest of the morning, the grey wolf walked the empty halls.

-Page Break-

Seth paced the cage; his anger was overwhelming his senses and he knew the second he was out of the cage he would spring his revenge on Brendan for sending his sister out into the streets of Seattle with no way to protect herself. His anger was only contained by the knowledge that his sister had most likely shifted the first chance she had and was waiting for him to come for her.

“You look like a caged animal.” Mohammad said interrupting Seth’s pacing. “I’m sure she’s fine. Bella once killed a feral with nothing but a high heel, I think she can survive out there.”

Seth smiled and nodded, “Yeah, she’s creative. She didn’t do it, she wasn’t the one who committed the murders.”

Mohammad nodded, “I know, Sam knows too. She was doing it to buy us some time.”

Seth leaned against the wall and watched the others. He knew John and Nicole easily bought into the idea of Bella being the killer. He knew that Axel was just as bothered by the fact that Bella was out there on her own. Unfortunately for Axel didn’t have the same knowledge that Seth had that Bella was most likely safe in her wolf form.

Seth perked his ears up as Brendan and the others were talking in the distance. He watched as Sam was using his pocket mirror to read the lips of those who were speaking. Brendan was scolding some of the members in his group for their behavior. 

“They’re going to execute us.” Sam announced to the others further adding to the panic everyone was feeling.

Seth felt uncomfortable, he knew it was a lie but he couldn’t tell anyone. Afterall, who would believe that he could hear what they were saying from where he was standing. Seth could feel the tension from everyone as they all tried to figure out a way to get out of the cage.

“I’ll cut the lights off.” Seth interrupted as Axel spoke about going through the air vent. “I’m fast enough to go undetected.”

“How can we trust you?” Nicole questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re always with Bella, you probably helped her kill Cynthia.”

Seth glared at the blonde but turned his gaze back to Axel. “You know I can do this.”

Axel nodded, “Alright, you go first. I’ll follow.” Axel helped Seth remove the vent from the ceiling. “Don’t go after Brendan.”

Seth nodded, he made his way through the vents and he hated how right Bella was, despite not being a wolf like them Axel was their alpha. As much as Seth wanted to find Brendan and rip his obnoxious head off, his Alpha gave an order and there was no disobeying it.

Seth jumped out of the vent and did as Axel told him to and shut off the generator, before moving to help seal off the building and capture what would remain of Brendan’s group. Seth moved through the rest of the hospital with ease knocking out every member that he found along the way. He gathered up as many of their weapons that he could find along the way.

 By the time he got back to the floor the others were on Axel had eliminated the majority of Brendan’s group. Seth watched as Axel put them all into the same cage they had been put into. Seth joined the others as they discussed what to do next.

“I think we should get them out of here.” Seth responded, “They were going to take us all out one by one until this was their hospital.”

“We can’t continue to live life as us against them.” Axel agreed. “They have to go so that we can survive.”

Seth was more than relieved when everyone had agreed to send Brendan and his group out of the hospital. Seth hurried and gathered his and Bella’s stuff into his backpack before heading up the front door to leave with Brendan’s group.

Axel placed a hand on Seth’s shoulder stopping him just as he was stepping out of the door. “When you find her, come back.”

Seth nodded, “We’ll be back.” He responded stepping out, he smiled at Axel. “Close the door and lock it, I’ve got to get my revenge.”

Axel did as he was asked and locked the door watching as Seth walked up to Brendan and punched the older man in the face.

“That was for Bella.” Seth said with a smirk he stepped back as the rest of the group stared at him. “Get ready to run, guys.” Seth grinned before whistling loudly and signaling the ferals that were always nearby. “Good luck, assholes.” Seth said before turning and running in the opposite direction.

He hurried off and fought off a few ferals before running into an abandoned building. He hurried up the steps wanting to head to the roof to see if he could spot any trail of his sister in the streets. Knowing Bella she stayed nearby the hospital.

Seth moved a few things around to board up the door to the roof, he didn’t need ferals to distract him from finding his sister. Seth walked over to the edge and began to look around the surrounding buildings to see if there was any hint of where Bella was. Seth sighed and ran his hand through his hair, “Bells, just give me something.”

There was a soft howl behind him as he spoke. Seth turned and saw the grey wolf that was emerging behind him. Seth smiled and sat down leaning his back against the ledge of the roof. “You had me worried Bells, but it looks like you’re doing okay. What luck that I found the building you’re in.”

Seth pet Bell as Bella rested her head on Seth’s lap. “We’ll be safe up here for now. We can head back to the hospital as soon as I find some new clothes for you.”

-Page Break-

Seth ruffled through the clothes of the boutique. “Okay.” He announced picking up the clothes he had chosen for his sister. “I’m going to set these down here and go into the other room.”

Bella barred her teeth and raced over to the window as her ears picked something up. She saw in the distance the group of black hooded figures that were making their way down the street. She turned to Seth and gave a small howl in distress knowing exactly what location they would be going to.

“FUCK!” Seth hissed,  he hurried grabbing the backpack and putting away Bella’s change of clothes, “Give me a second, I’m not going to shred my clothes.” Bella turned back around looking back out the window and watching as the figures moved methodically down the street.

When she turned back around Bella saw a brown-haired wolf by her side, a backpack between his sharp teeth. In a matter of seconds, they were out of the building, being sure to take the back streets to avoid running into the vampiric group before reaching the hospital.

Bella and Seth stopped and watched as there were vampires trying to fight their way into the building. Bella’s ears twitched as she could faintly hear Axel’s voice, and it sounded slightly panicked. She didn’t think twice before roaring and leaping forward and sinking her teeth into a vampire before ripping him apart.

Bella walked slowly towards the other vamps barring her teeth at them, she took a leap and began ripping vampires apart with her teeth. She could faintly hear Seth taking a stand behind her.

Bella barred her teeth at the head vampire howling in warning before she backed up and went to Seth’s side. Bella and Seth took a stand by the door watching as the vampires disappeared surely going to go get more reinforcements.

Axel looked over the roof, “Anyone know how two gigantic wolves got into the city?”

“Maybe they’re werewolves…” Mohammad interrupted. “If vampires exist why can’t werewolves?”

Axel met the eyes of the grey wolf and felt something warm hit him as he locked eyes with the creature.

Bella nudged Seth with her nose and both turned as they heard marching in the distance. Bella looked to the busted door and with Seth’s help the two of them managed to get into the building. Both separated as they made it to the top of the stairs.

Bella followed Axel’s scent throughout the building and found him in the hallway. Bella approached him slowly and pressed her nose against his leg. Bella took in the panic in his eyes and she needed to speak to him. She shifted in front of his eyes and covered her herself as best she could. “This is the first time I’ve seen you so worried.”

“You’re alive.” Axel breathed his voice full of astonishment as he took in the woman in front of him. He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her pulling her into a tight embrace. “You’re okay.”

Bella smiled, and pulled back, “As much as I enjoy this, the hospital is about a minute away from being completely under attack.” She placed her hand on his cheek, “I just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone in this, I have your back.”

“You’re the wolf.” Axel said his find finally registering that Bella had been the wolf that he saw earlier. “How did you…”

Bella smiled and gently ran her fingers through Axel’s hair. “I can explain things later but right now you need to get ready for the fight that’s up ahead.” Bella pressed a light kiss to Axel’s lips before she shifted back into a wolf. She pressed her head against Axel’s legs rubbing her scent on him, Bella made a small howling noise as Axel knelt to her level. She rubbed her head along his neck scenting him a bit more before turning and disappearing into the shadows of the hospital.

Bella made sure to stay near Axel, but still far enough away that no one would see her. She was careful to keep herself at bay, she didn’t need the others to attack her in this mass hysteria. She caught the howl of her brother signaling he was close; she gave a howl back to insure him that he was safe.

Bella launched herself at one of the elites as they got too close to Axel for her liking. She growled as she backed up getting close to the others.

“Everyone back. It’s time for the last play in the playbook.” Axel said gesturing for the others to get back. “You too, come on.” Axel said gesturing Bella to go ahead of him. She did as she was told and gave a happy yelp to see her brother again.

“So, we’re not going to kill these massive things?” Doc questioned gesturing to the two wolves that were in the middle of the group.

“No. Now everybody grab your things and let’s go.” Axel said heading into the back of the lab, he opened the door he always kept closed and ushered everyone inside. His lips quirked into a smile as he saw Bella’s grey wolf appear with her bat in the grip of her mouth. Axel leaned down and plucked the thing from her mouth. “I’ll carry that.”

Bella rubbed her head against Axel’s leg before falling the others down the stairs, Seth not that far behind her. Bella couldn’t help push Vanessa aside and climb into the cab of the ambulance, Bella heard the rest of them rustling in the back and was glad that this was an ambulance that was only connected to the back with a small window.

Bella shifted back and tried to cover herself up the best that she could. “Seth has my clothes.”

Axel smiled and managed to take off his shirt and hand it over to Bella. “Where is he?”

“He’s probably out grabbing the bag that he had with our stuff and my spare change of clothes.” Bella said fixing her position on the sofa so that she wasn’t exposed. “He’s fast enough to catch up to us, besides, he likes running in his wolf form.”

“So are the two of you like werewolves?” Axel questioned curiously looking over at Bella.

“No, we’re not controlled by the moon or anything like that. We’re more like shapeshifters, and no I can’t bite anyone and turn anyone into a shapeshifter.” Bella responded leaning back against the seat and relaxing letting her muscles get used to the idea of being human again. She yawned slightly and leaned against Axel’s shoulder.

“You were born a shapeshifter?”  Axel questioned moving slightly so Bella was laying more comfortably on the seat with her head on his lap.

“No. Seth and I were born in hospitals 100% human.” Bella responded quietly closing her eyes and taking comfort in being so close to Axel. “But when I was 16 and Seth was 15, a family of vampires moved into town. And the curse woke in us, and we shifted for the first time.”

“What type of curse?” Axel questioned. “What curse turns you into a wolf?”

“I guess it’s not really a curse, it’s a gift. The Quileute tribe was said to be descended by wolves; it was a horrible crime to kill a wolf. It was said that the strongest of the pack could astral project and communicate with the spirits on the other side. And one day, a vampire came onto the reservation and he was bloodthirsty. He killed so many people, he didn’t even drink from them, he just did it for the fun of it. The Chief begged the spirits for a way to save his people, and the spirits obliged. They allowed those that were strong enough to merge their spirits and their minds with the spirit of a wolf. It was written in the history of the tribe that the strongest and worthiest members were to be chosen when there was a creature that threatened the well-being of the pack.”

Bella gave a small yawn before she continued with the conversation. “And one day, things started changing. All our friends started drifting away from Seth and I, then this one-night Seth and I were walking along the beach and these guys started trouble. First Seth shifted and the shock of seeing my younger brother turn into a large wolf caused me to shift as well. The leaders of the tribe were not happy that I had shifted, I wasn’t a Quileute by blood, so they didn’t think I was worthy for the shift. Jake, the alpha thought differently so no one questioned it at the time. Afterall, one more member to the pack was going to be needed to protect the reservation from the vampires that moved into town.”

“You were in contact with vampires before the rising?” Axel questioned, “You knew about them?”

Bella gave a small smile, “These assholes running the streets aren’t real vampires, their knock-offs. Basically, the original version of vampires were these cold creatures made of stone and they could walk out into the sun without burning, they’d just sparkle like a disco ball. The oldest trio of vampires wanted to change their species to make them more human, make their skin softer and allow them to walk into the sun without becoming sparklers. There was a problem and about 300 years ago one of the trio’s most trusted was the first to have this magical serum tried on. And Dimitri was born, except he wasn’t what the trio wanted, and he was exiled. That’s when Dimitri started turning vampires to try and take down the trio, but it’s impossible as the trio are stronger and they’re over a thousand years old. When the rising happened, the trio ordered all original vampires out of the states and into Italy. They figured they’d let Dimitri have his fun for a time before coming back into the states to finish what they started.”

“And how do you know all of this?” Axel questioned with a frown. “I doubt you just knew all of this.”

“I dated a vampire when I was 16, and he told me the history after I shifted for the first time.” Bella responded her mood shifting slightly as she thought back to all the damage caused by having Edward in her life.

“You dated a vampire? As in you were in a romantic relationship with a bloodsucking monster.” Axel responded shoving down that feeling of jealousy in the pit of his stomach.

“It was a very short and overly melodramatic romance, with very little positive highlights in the relationship. It eventually ended when he proposed and thought it was okay to get married at 17.” Bella responded with a deep frown. “That was the reason Seth and I weren’t in Washington when the rising happened. After the debacle of the engagement we went to Canada and by the time we got back the rising happened, and a lot of the shifters were killed by the trio. Those that remained exiled Seth and I, they saw our departure as an act against the pack and the tribe. As far as we know, they’re still on tribe land as wolves.”

“They exiled you. They can do that?” Axel questioned with a frown. “They can just send you out on your own to face ferals and this trio?”

“Well, they couldn’t, our Alpha had died so the other wolves had no real command over Seth and I. But we just knew that we weren’t welcomed, so we became a pack of our own.” Bella responded with a sigh.

“So, between you and Seth who’s the Alpha now?” Axel questioned curiously, he had the suspicion that out of the two of them it was Bella who was the leader.

“Neither of us.” Bella responded her cheeks slightly reddening at the thought that she might have to admit that Axel was her Alpha. “We don’t have the characteristics that are needed to be an alpha. Having an Alpha is like having an imprint, they have to fit into our pack, they have to fit the right characteristics that Seth and I lack.”

“What the hell is an imprint?” Axel questioned glancing down to see the light blush that had coated Bella’s cheeks.

“Imprints are like soulmates, they’re our other half.” Bella responded doing her best to look anywhere but at Axel’s eyes. “As shapeshifters we’re each destined to find our better half and after that it’s like earth shattering type of love.”

Axel’s jaw clenched at the thoughts that were running through his head. “And that vampire you were dating, he was your imprint?”

“No, he wasn’t.” Bella responded with a yawn. “Edward was nothing more than a short teenage fling.”

Axel’s jaw eased at the confession, “You haven’t met your imprint yet? Are you sure they’re even real?”

Bella smiled at Axel, “Yeah, I’m sure they’re real.”

“So, you have met them.” Axel responded with his jaw clenched once again, he quickly glanced down at Bella as she shuffled around with her head on his lap. She pressed her head into his stomach and was practically purring at his scent. Axel’s body eased at the contact and he took one hand off the wheel to comb through her hair, the soft rhythm of her breathing let him know easily she was already fast asleep.

For a moment he began to think that maybe he was the imprint for Bella, he was hoping he would be the one for her.

-Page Break-

Axel stopped the ambulance as they were almost out of gas and he assumed this would be the best place for everyone to get out and take a break. He glanced down at Bella who was still asleep in his lap and as gentle as he could be woke her up.  “We’re all taking a walk and stretching our limbs.”

Bella nodded, she removed Axel’s shirt before shifting again. Axel smirked and shrugged his shirt on before opening the door and having Bella jump over him. He felt the movement as Seth obviously jumped off the roof of the ambulance, a backpack in the grip of his teeth.

Bella followed Seth into a wooded area to change into her own set of clothes.

“You reek of him.” Seth commented as he placed the bag on his back.

Bella grinned, “I know.” Bella tied her hair back into a ponytail with a smile permanently placed on her face.

“You’re sickeningly in love with this guy.” Seth responded leading the way out of the woods.  

Bella shrugged, “You would be too if he was your imprint.” Bella approached the ambulance and the others with caution. Just now realizing that the others didn’t know of their ability to shape shift and would be startled to see them. Her fear was realized when Sam was the first to spot them, gesturing wildly to the others as they approached.

“Bella! Seth! Mohammad greeted moving away from the others to approach the two. “How did you guys get here? I mean, how did you know where we were?”

“We were the wolves back at the hospital.” Seth said easily adjusting the bag on his shoulders. “We all know vampires exist and now you know shapeshifters exist, so let’s get back to talking about what we’re going to do next.”

“No! You can’t just give us that! What the hell do you mean by you were the wolves back there? How do we know you’re not working with them?” John said his hand clutching tightly onto the knife in his palm.

“First off, everyone knows wolves and vampires don’t get along.” Seth said glaring at the older man. “Me and Bella don’t have to explain anything to any of you. We are what we are, and I can remember several times our enhanced abilities have saved your lives. Take for example the hospital, you all would have died if we hadn’t gone back.”

Mohammad leaned towards Bella as Seth and John glared at each other. “Can you bite me so I can turn into a wolf?”

Bella smiled, “Doesn’t work like that.”

“Bummer. I would’ve been great.” Mohammad replied turning his attention back to the scene before them. Axel calmed the group long enough for there to be a decision to be made, Bella hung back knowing well enough that whatever Axel decided on it would be in the best interest of the group.

Axel ushered everyone back into the ambulance, he opened the passenger side door for Bella, ignoring the looks he got from the others for doing so. Bella put on her seatbelt and watched as Axel got into the cab of the ambulance. Bella stretched her legs and placed them on the dashboard of the ambulance. “I know this is going to sound weird, but it’s good to have legs again.”

-Page Break-

Bella turned and walked off as the others began to drink the wine and beer that was in the shelter. She didn’t particularly want to be there; she knew that with alcohol people’s filters would ware off and she wasn’t in the mood to answer any questions.

She ran her fingers along the walls and stopped when she found an empty room that wasn’t already claimed by one of the others. She entered and although the bed was a little dusty the room seemed good for her. She grabbed the blankets and dusted them off before locking the door to the room and settling down on the bed. She began to fall asleep when she heard the knocking on the door, she smiled as she knew the scent of the man that stood on the other side.

“You left.” Axel said a frown on his face and his arms crossed over his shoulders.

Bella nodded, “Yeah, well, I wanted to take advantage of sleeping on a cot rather than in the cab of an ambulance.” She leaned against the door frame and noticed the slight redness to Axel’s face. “You look a little buzzed.”

“Just a bit. Not enough to be labelled as a drunk.” Axel responded his frown deepening. “I wanted to talk about something you said in the ambulance.”

Bella nodded and stepped aside allowing Axel to enter the room. She closed the door behind him and sat on the bed while Axel paced the floor. “What’s on your mind, prince charming?”

“The whole imprint thing.” Axel said his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. “What are the chances you’ll meet another shapeshifter and imprint on them.”

“Very low.” Bella admitted honestly. “We don’t imprint on each other, we imprint on humans, regular people with no special abilities. Why are you bringing this up?”

“I don’t want you to imprint on anyone.” Axel announced his brows furrowed as he spoke. “I…” He took in a deep breath before he continued. “I care about you, a lot, and I don’t want you to imprint on someone that’s not me.”

Bella smiled, “Axel, has it ever occurred to you that maybe you’re the one I imprinted on?”

Axel froze, his head turning to look at Bella. “Am I?”

“Yes.” Bella responded with a small smile on her face. Before she could say much else, she felt a warm weight on her lips as Axel kissed her. Her hand tangled into his hair as she deepened the kiss between them. Bella could feel their bond strengthening and it made her feel warm inside, everything had finally clicked into place for her.

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