Due | One who belongs to a tribe; wolf power

C H A P T E R O N E |⚜

"Are you sure this is where you saw her, Alice?" Carlisle asked our tiny psychic, his eyes roaming the black forest.

Partially scattered, the Cullen family stood tense, alert, watching. Alice continued to stare ahead, laying out the landscape of her vision, matching it to where they stood now. I kept my ears open, my eyes on look-out, my senses high from the tree above them.

Emmett's fists tightened in eagerness for the chase they all anticipated. I grimaced at his too-willing nature.

"She's almost here," Alice murmured distantly.

My frown faded. My expression blanked. I went back to my own alertness, concentrating.

Weak branches swayed in a smooth breeze; leaves rustled; a bird cawed half a mile away, and few rodents scurried along the wet forest floor. For a moment after, all was quiet.

Then Alice's head snapped left.

"There!"

Instantly they were running. At first, they ran in the direction appointed with no knowledge as to where exactly their target was. Then, I smelled her, and her footsteps reached my ears seconds later.

Jasper and Emmett snarled instinctively, and that was when she came into view.

Victoria's crimson eyes, socketed delicately in the pale planes of her face, swept quickly over their hunting party, assessing them, seeing who was here and who was not.

Trying to out-maneuver Esme and Alice, who were closing in on her from the right, Victoria swerved left, straight in front of Emmett and Rosalie. Emmett, already being steps ahead of Rosalie, leaned forward to gain speed.

Emmett started advancing on her, faster and faster. He was determined. And, as he began getting closer to her, I could see he became a little smug, too. Overly confident.

Emmett's arm reached out as he gained on our target. As I opened my mouth to protest, his hand clamped down on Victoria's shoulder.

The wild red-head suddenly stopped running, and her hands dug into her captor's massive arm. Emmett's continuing momentum forced him to ram into her. Instead of knocking them both out, however, Victoria was braced, and she used the power to fling him full force over her head, sending him barreling into trees, all snapping straight in half and toppling over, their force at impact reverberating through the midnight hour.

She skipped lithely up the body of a spruce and flew over my parents' heads, before dashing off again, debris flying from beneath her feet.

Jasper and Esme were hot on Victoria's trail. Alice was far off to the right still, watching every move before they happened and looking for an opening that wouldn't get her thrown into the ground.

"She's fast," Carlisle murmured through his teeth, upset.

"She'll get away!" Esme cried frantically.

Everyone used one last bout of strength and lunged at Victoria.

Until, abruptly, she bolted north.

"No," Jasper said with a small, knowing smirk forming on his face. "She's not getting away."

On werewolf territory, the werewolves had arrived. A giant black one pounced at the fleeing vampire, and from out of the shadows, more appeared. One-by-one they snapped at the air in failed attacks.

"Oh, come on," Emmett snarled.

A couple more dogs sprouted from the trees. Each one missing Victoria completely.

A reddish-brown wolf snarled as it emerged from the shrubbery, nearly clasping Victoria's leg in its teeth. She cart-wheeled out of the way and the move brought her back over to our side of the line.

"She's going to jump," Esme called out in warning.

"It's too late!" Jasper yelled.

"She's crossing! She's crossing!" Alice warned frantically.

Carlisle slid to a halt at the last minute. Victoria bounded back on the Native American reservation. This time, she continued west without stopping. The dogs appeared from the south and darted after her. Rosalie stopped at the line, glaring after them.

"Shit!" Emmett pissed.

Footsteps sounded just south, followed by the pounding of paws.

"Spread out," Carlisle instructed. "Cover the treaty's boundary."

"Emmett!" Carlisle shouted suddenly.

My eyes shot wide. Victoria was crossing over the line again...but Emmett wasn't stopping. A little ways further, I saw a werewolf charging for Victoria too, and I knew Emmett did not see it. Everyone screamed to get Emmett's attention.

"Emmett! Don't!" Rosalie said.

He wasn't listening. He sprang for Victoria.

So did the dog.

As Victoria dodged the onslaught, the werewolf was unintentionally ambushed. Emmett's feet shuffled uncontrollably to stop him, but he was moving too fast and was already too close.

The gray wolf didn't even have time to fully turn its head in the direction Emmett came from; its eyes had barely widened, its ears just flattening as its giant body tensed. Emmett ran into the mutt's shoulder; he just brushed it, really, but it was far more than enough contact.

I decided it was time to let my presence be known. I jumped down from the tree I was on and walked over to where Victoria was watching the pack and the Cullens. They looked at her then at me.

"Victoria." I said as she turned and looked at me.

"Gabrielle?" She asked.

"You've been a bad girl." I said smiling before grabbing her and orbing away from the two confused groups.

"Did they just they turn into a swarm of blue and white orbs that rise upwards?" Alice asked.