— BROOKE watched as the small house at the end of the lane had come closer and closer as the truck arrived. "Before we go in," Jared began. "Don't stare. It bugs Sam." Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Stare?"

Her question was ignored as he hopped out, holding a hand to help her out. Embry climbed out of the truck, inhaling. "Mmm, Emily's cooking."

Jared looked at Bella before clearing his throat, glaring as Embry came towards him. "I don't have my wallet on me." Jared said.

"That's okay. I won't forget."

The boys walked up the step onto the porch, walking in without knocking. Brooke gave her twin a small comforting smile before following after them.

"You guys hungry?" A melodic voice asked, Brooke's eyed followed in the direction that Jared had glanced over. Spotting her, as she pulled a tray of muffins out of the oven.

Then she turned, and Brooke understood what Jared meant by staring. The three large jagged scars sat proudly across her skin.

Remembering Jared's words, Brooke moved her gaze away from the woman and onto the tray of muffins. Just now realizing that she hadn't eaten.

"Oh," Emily said, surprised. "Who are our guests?"

"Bella Swan." Jared told her, shrugging. Before Embry could introduce Brooke, the brunette smiled politely, extending a hand towards the tan woman. "I'm Brooke Swan."

Emily seemed to appreciate the kind gesture, shaking Brooke's pale hand. "I'm Emily." She gestured towards the table, "Why don't you sit?"

Brooke nodded, taking the empty seat next to Jared.

"Leave it to Jacob to find a way around Sam's gag order." Emily murmured. "So, you're the vampire girl."

"Yeah, you're the wolf girl?" Bella stiffened.

Emily laughed, "I guess I am." Before turning to Jared. "Where's Sam?"

"Bella, er, surprised Paul this morning."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Ah, Paul." she sighed. "Do you think they'll be long? I was just about to start the eggs."

"Don't worry," Embry told her. "If they're late, we won't let anything go to waste."

Brooke happily reached to grab a muffin, shaking her head when Jared tried to take a bite out of it. "Get your own." She picked off a piece and threw it at him.

Brooke looked across from her at Embry in shock as he went to grab his third muffin. "Save some for your brothers." Emily chastised him, hitting him over the head with a wooden spoon.

"Pig." Jared commented.

Bella leaned back against the counter, noticing the way Brooke seemed to fit in well with them. She liked that her twin was no longer thinking about Victoria, the carefree smile on her sister's face as she argued with Jared made Bella smile.

The front door opened, and Sam stepped through. "Emily."

He made his way over to the woman he loved, kissing each of her scars in greeting, his hands cupping her face.

"Hey, none of that." Jared complained. "I'm eating."

"Then shut up and eat." Sam suggested, before kissing Emily's lips once more.

"Ugh." Embry groaned.

"I think it's cute." Brooke hummed, with a shrug. "Of course, you do." Embry snickered. "Rom com lover." The squinted at him, not noticing Jacob and Paul entering the house.

"Y'know what, Call?" she pointed an accusing finger at him, to which he grinned.

Paul sat beside Embry, a fading pink line on Paul's forearm caught their attention. "Oh, man!" Jared wailed.

Embry grinned. "Fifteen dollars."

Paul's gaze lingered on his imprint as she laughed at Jared's grumbling in annoyance.

"Hey, guys." Sam spoke in a loud voice, interrupting all noise in the room. "Jacob has information for us." Brooke noticed that Paul looked unsurprised, meaning Jacob had told him too.

"I know what the redhead wants." Jacob told Jared and Embry. "That's what I was trying to tell you before." He kicked the leg of the chair Paul was sitting on.

"And?" Jared asked.

"She is trying to avenge her mate—only it wasn't the black haired leech we killed. The Cullens got her mate last year, and she's after Bella now." The pack turned their gazes to Brooke, the girl seemed off.

That's when it clicked for them. The redhead's mate, was James.

Her eyebrows furrowed before looking at twin. Bella seemed to catch the unspoken question. "She's after me, because Edward killed James." Brooke seemedd to understand better now.

"Excellent." Jared finally said. "We've got bait."

Just as Jacob went to throw a can opener at him, Brooke beat him to it. Hitting Jared over the head. "She's not bait, clifford."

"You know what I mean." Jared said.

"So, we'll be changing our patterns." Sam said, ignoring the duo. "We'll try leaving a few holes, and see if she falls for it. We'll have to split up, and I don't like that. But if she's really after Bella, she probably won't try to take advantage of our divided numbers."

"Quil's gotta be close to joining us," Embry murmured. "Then we'll be able to split evenly."

That caught Brooke's attention. "Quil, too?" Her voice was soft, Embry met her gaze, a sad glimmer in his eyes as he nodded in response.

"Well, we won't count on that." Sam said in a low voice. "Paul, Jared, and Embry will take the outer perimeter, and Jacob and I will tale the inner. We'll collapse in when we've got her trapped."

Sam looked at both twins. "Jacob thinks it would be best if you spend as much time as possible here in La Push. She won't know where to find you so easily, just in case."

"What about my dad?" Brooke asked softly.

"March Madness is still going." Jacob said. "I think dad and Harry can manage to keep Charlie down here when he's not at work."

"Wait." Sam held a hand up. "That's what Jacob thinks is best, but you need to decide for yourselves. You should weigh the risks of both options very seriously. You saw this morning how easily things can get dangerous here, how quickly they get out of hand."

"If you choose to stay with us, I can't make any guarantees about your safety"

Brooke met Paul's eyes, the look on his face almost pleading for her to stay.

—

didn't go to school today so i'm updating like crazyyyyyy