Lizzie came down for Summer break anyway, Bella and Sammy insisted. So Lizzie came down for her family, booking a small room in a hotel just outside of Forks. Dean wanted to come with but then decided against it at the last minute. Damon, who had been staying up in Alaska all week was coming down with her instead. Charlie wanted them to stay with him, but because Bucky was them and Lizzie knew he only had so many rooms, especially with Sammy still there, she politely declined.
Damon was bonding with Sam over some book they both read while Lizzie was enjoying Bella's company again. She missed her right up until Bella suggested confronting Jacob, then Lizzie wished she was back up in Alaska. She didn't want to see Jake or talk to him or even think about him. Ever again.
"Not gonna happen."
"I'm serious, Lizzie. It's not cool to just ditch us like he did. I'm his best friend and you're his girlfriend. I'm not going through this again."
"I was his girlfriend, Bella. He broke up with me, remember?"
But Bella just shook her head. "No, I refuse to let this happen." She sat up on her bed and ran a hand through her hair. The sudden movement caused Bucky to jump off the bed and search for somewhere else to lie down.
"You know I'm not allowed on the Rez, right? The whole being a vampire thing doesn't just blow over with them. It's a treaty of peace, that was established over a hundred years ago. They take that pretty seriously, Bells."
"That's no excuse. Nope." Bella stood up and put her shoes on and grabbed her jacket. "We're going... today."
"Oh God," Lizzie muttered following Bella out of her room. "Were you even listening to a word I said? Bella? Bella Swan?"
But Bella ignored her, snatching her keys off the table and grabbing Lizzie's wrist in her hand as she dragged the Cullen behind her. Damon came jogging down the stairs at the commotion.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
"To my death sentence apparently!" Lizzie called over her shoulder as they reached Bella's truck.
Damon shrugged. "Well, count me in. Somone's gotta haul your body back to your family when that happens," he joked.
"Very funny."
"I thought so."
Lizzie and Damon stayed in the truck. They were here on the Rez, on forbidden territory. Lizzie was just glad the truck still smelt like vampire from when Edward was in it. She figured as long as they stayed quiet enough and didn't move a muscle, she'd be safe. Lizzie imagined one day having to say screw the treaty and cross the border, but she imagined it would be for Jacob or Sam Uley, or maybe even the Clearwater's, but not for Bella freaking Swan.
"Why are we here?" Damon nonchalantly asked as he kicked his feet up on the dash and laid his head back on the headrest. "I mean, don't get me wrong it's pretty nostalgic. I haven't been to this place in decades, but you... you're not allowed here."
"Yeah," Lizzie stared at him pointedly. "I'm aware. But apparently, having my heart broken isn't enough I also have to get my head decapitated from my body."
"Relax, baby Cullen," Damon smirked. "I'll protect you."
"Oh, that's a relief," she retorted.
She could hear Bella approach the main house and for some reason, Lizzie sucked in a breathe she didn't need. Damon sensed it and placed a comforting hand on her knee, which out of instinct, she covered with her own. He could play the cool guy all he liked, but he knew better than most what heartbreak felt like. Damon was also faking calm and listening for the first sound of anything, so he could get him and Lizzie out of there.
"I need to see him," they heard Bella say.
"He's not in," Billy Black lied.
"I'm sorry Billy, but I really need to see him."
She pushed past him and entered the house looking for Jake. Bella would do this not only for herself but for Lizzie too, who didn't deserve what Jake put her through. But he was asleep, lying in his bed. Bella sighed, running a frustrated hand through her hair before her gaze caught sight of Sam Uley and his group of delinquents outside. They were coming for Jake.
Damon felt Lizzie stiffen when they heard the laughing voices of a couple of boys in the distance. Lizzie silently prayed for Bella to hurry up because even if it got her killed she wouldn't leave the Rez without her cousin. And even with the proper precautions, hell even with permission, it was definitely dangerous to be on the reservation right now.
"What is it?"
"I hear Sam Uley."
"Aren't you two the best of friends?" Damon inquired, his brow raised.
"That's not the point. He can't protect me when his pack's with him."
"What did you do?! He didn't what this!" they heard Bella yell from the Black's backyard.
They could also hear the laughter of all the boys with Sam getting louder. Lizzie wasn't sure how many but according to Sam, there were around five shifters now. Enough for a pack, enough to rip them apart. Or try to at least. But Damon wouldn't let anything happen to Lizzie.
"What did we do? What did he do? What did he tell you?"
"Paul," Lizzie heard Sam command. So, the first boy must have been Paul, the wolf with immense anger issues.
"Nothing!" Bella continued to shout. "He tells me nothing because he's scared of you!"
Abruptly, Paul started to laugh which only pissed Bella off more than she already was. Lizzie could hear the sharp ringing of a slap and then heavy breathing. Sam tried to calm Paul down, but it wasn't working and then the breathing turned into growling. One of the other boys told Bella to get back as the sound of clothes ripped, then all of a sudden Bella was screaming for Jake to run.
Lizzie and Damon shared a look, just a second. And instantly, both of them were out of the truck and in front of Bella protectively. She looked shocked to see them, but not as shocked as when Jacob leaped over their heads and shifted into his wolf. Lizzie crouched down to check on her cousin, who had fallen down while Damon planted himself firmly in front of the two, ready for a fight.
"Bells, are you okay?" Lizzie asked, cupping Bella's face in her hands.
"Take Bella back to Emily's place," Sam ordered Jared and Embry before turning around to see Lizzie and Damon there.
"Back the hell off," Damon growled as Lizzie helped Bella to her feet.
"You shouldn't even be on our land, leech, you're lucky we aren't ripping you apart," Embry said.
"Oh, believe me, you're the lucky one wolfy---"
"Damon, stop," Lizzie warned. "We only came because we heard Bella scream, okay. We don't want any trouble."
"And that's the only reason you're still alive," Jared remarked.
"You're not touching either of them," Sam ordered sternly, his gaze meeting Lizzie's.
"I thought you wolves were supposed to be protectors of the town," Damon quipped, feeling cocky and defensive. "But here you are about to rip a poor defenseless human to bits."
"That's rich coming from you, bloodsucker."
"You wanna hear rich... "
"Damon," Lizzie put her hand on his chest to stop him from stalking forward.
"Lizzie, it's probably better if you leave," Sam advised. "And take Bella with you."
She nodded in gratitude. "Thanks, Sam."
Upon hearing Sam say, Lizzie, Jacob stopped fighting Paul and turned to look. Lizzie's eyes met the wolf's. And Jake's entire world stopped and realigned as everything from his life to gravity itself changed.
"On second thought," Sam said, glancing from Jacob's wolf back to the Cullen. "Maybe it's better if you stayed."
The others all turned to Jacob. Paul made a move toward Lizzie but Damon wouldn't budge and in a second Jacob was there. He accidentally shoved the Salvatore out of the way causing Lizzie to fall in the process as he took a protective stance in front of her. His black claw scraped against her skin as she fell, cutting deep enough to draw blood. Lizzie hissed in pain and grabbed for her arm. Carlisle still hadn't figured out why it was that she could bleed when Cold Ones physically couldn't. Damon's eyes went wide at the sight.
"You're bleeding! You're bleeding?" he couldn't believe it.
"Yes, thank you, Captain Obvious," Lizzie sarcastically said back through her pain.
Jacob turned to Lizzie. A high-pitched whine coming from his wolf as he looked down at her bloody arm. He nuzzled at her hand as she stood up. Damon was by her side in an instant as was Bella. Jake licked at the wounds on Lizzie's arm, already feeling bad for the damage he caused. Paul growled and snapped at Jacob making him turn back around, pissed. He lunged at Paul and together the two wolves rolled into the woods.
"I'm okay, I'm fine."
"Like hell you are!" Damon snapped. "You're bleeding. I'm sorry if you've forgotten but Cold Ones don't do that."
"Lizzie can," Bella stuttered out. "She's been able to since last year when another vampire attacked her."
"And I'm only hearing about this now?"
"Damon... " Lizzie sighed.
"Lizzie... " he mocked.
"Talk about this later. All three of you, Emily's house," Sam practically demanded. He then took off to the woods to make sure Paul and Jacob didn't kill each other.
Jared and Embry followed the girls and Damon back to Bella's truck. They gave her directions as she drove to where they assumed was Emily's house. Sam's imprint. Ever since he told Lizzie about Emily, all she wanted to do was meet the woman, but not exactly under these circumstances.
When the group arrived, Jared and Embry jumped off of the truck bed as Damon and Lizzie stepped out. Bella stayed put.
"Hey, I think we should go back and see if Jacob's okay."
Lizzie tensed at the thought of actually seeing Jake, really seeing him in human form. And even though Damon was mad at her at the moment he still took her hand in his for comfort.
"Nah," Jared laughed. "Let Paul sink some teeth into him. Serves him right."
"You know he couldn't help it, man," Embry stuck up for his friend. "Come on in ladies, we won't bite."
"Speak for yourself," Jared said, looking pointedly back at Lizzie and Damon.
"Yeah, well I bite too," Lizzie followed Embry to the front door.
"Agh!" Damon shivered at the thought. "Speak for yourself, baby Cullen. Ever tasted wolf blood before it's disgusting."
The two wolves in front of him tensed but otherwise did nothing. It was only when Jared walked in that Embry stopped all three.
"Oh, hey, about Emily. Sam's fiance? Don't stare. It bugs Sam," he helpfully warned before disappearing inside.
"Why would we stare?" Bella asked.
"Who knows," Damon shrugged. "Wolves are as weird as they come... or maybe they aren't," he said as they stepped inside.
A dark-haired woman turned around to face them. She was holding a big pan of freshly baked muffins. Lizzie could see the reason behind Embry's warning. A giant scar of claw marks ran down the one side of her face. It didn't change the fact that she was beautiful, if anyone was staring it was because of her looks first but Lizzie made sure not to stare too long like Embry had said. She made sure to stay behind him while both Damon and Bella stepped further into the small house.
"Who are these people?" Emily asked, smiling.
"Bella Swan, who else?" Jared remarked, grabbing a muffin from the table.
"And uhh... " Embry paused, glancing behind him to see how Lizzie wanted to be introduced. He was definitely Jake's friend and the nicer of the lot.
"Lizzie," she said filling in the gap.
"And I'm Damon," he smirked. "Damon Salvatore."
"She's engaged," Jared deadpanned with a glare.
"Never stopped me before, kid," Damon forced a grin before taking a seat opposite the wolf boy, who clearly disliked him.
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Damon," Emily laughed. "And Lizzie... Sam talks about you all the time."
Lizzie felt more comfortable knowing that and took a small step forward to be by Bella's side. "He talks about you a lot too. He's so in love it's adorable."
"I know," Emily joked.
Embry and Jared looked confused at the exchange. Their alpha knew a Cullen and they were on good terms? How? But more importantly, why? Imprints were a sacred thing to be protected above everything else but Sam was talking about his to a bloodsucker.
Emily then looked at Bella. "So, you're the vampire girl, huh?"
"So... you're the wolf girl," Bella said back.
"Well, I'm engaged to one," Emily said as she set the muffins down on the table. Jared went to take one but she grabbed his arm. "Save some for your brothers! And ladies first, you too Damon, muffin?"
"Thanks," he winked at Emily.
"Sure," Bella said, picking up a treat. Lizzie didn't touch anything, not having an appetite at the moment and Damon really couldn't blame her, not in the mood to eat either.
"Leave it to Jacob to find a way around Sam's gag order."
"Um, he didn't say anything to me," Bella promised.
"That's a wolf thing. Alpha's orders get obeyed whether we want them to or not. And check it out, we can hear each other's thoughts!" Embry excitedly explained.
"Impressive," Lizzie smiled.
"More like obedient puppy dogs," Damon commented before Jared shoved Embry.
"Will you shut up? These are trade secrets, dammit! This chick runs with vampires. And these two... "
Lizzie gave Jared a look and immediately he shut up.
"Go on," Damon mouthed trying to start a fight until Lizzie sat down next to him. She kicked him under the table and he flinched but forced a smile out anyway. "Ouch!"
"Stop it."
"You can't exactly run with vampires," Bella spoke up, diverting their attention elsewhere. "Cause they're fast." Lizzie laughed and Damon smirked as he lifted his arm to fistbump Bella.
"Atta girl."
"Yeah? Well, we're faster, freaked out yet?"
"You're not the first mind readers I've met," Bella shrugged.
"Jake's right," Sam said walking into the house. "You're good with weird," he went to hug Emily, planting little kisses all over her face. He then looked to Lizzie with a smile. "I thought you weren't coming down for Summer break."
"I changed my mind," she smiled back, standing up and giving him a quick hug he happily returned.
"You know her?" Jared asked in disbelief.
"Yes."
"Lizzie was the one who helped Sam change back when he first shifted," Emily explained, giving the Cullen a grateful smile.
"What?!" the boys practically shouted.
"You knew and you never told me?" Bella asked, looking hurt. "You knew what was happening with Jake and you didn't tell me."
"It wasn't her secret to tell," Sam stated, interrupting them and basically saving Lizzie's ass. "No one outside the pack and our imprints are supposed to know. She was protecting me."
"I'm sorry, Bells," Lizzie apologized. "It's just... there was a chance Jake wouldn't shift and I guess I was---"
"Hoping he didn't?" Bella asked gently. She understood it and even sympathized with her cousin.
"I'm not sure what I was hoping for," Lizzie sighed. "But it sure wasn't this..." she watched Paul enter the house with a relaxed grin on his face like nothing happened. He sat down beside Embry and apologized both to Bella and to Lizzie, no trace of hate or dislike in his expression.
Damon stared at him incredulously. The wolf was joking around and playing about like he didn't just try and kill all three of them. Lizzie chose to accept and ignore it while Damon, however, didn't. He liked holding a grudge, especially when it later came in handy as blackmail.
"He's on the porch," Paul said suddenly when he noticed Lizzie staring toward the door. "You two should probably talk."
Lizzie nodded appreciatively to the beta before slowly getting to her feet. But Damon grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"You're not talking to him alone."
"Damon," she stared at him.
"Lizzie," he deadpanned. "What if he wolfy's out and rips you to shreds before I get there."
"Then I kick his ass and you take my body back to Alaska like you planned," she joked, but he was dead serious. "I'll be fine, Salvatore, I have to do this."
Damon didn't like it. He didn't like it at all but didn't refuse Bella when she pulled him back to sit down. He watched as Lizzie walked out of the door and if he hadn't been so distracted he would have asked what the wolves were mumbling about. Words like 'Cullen, imprint, anger, pack, and vampire' all pouring from their mouths, more so Jared than any of the others.