TO CALLIE, THE HARDEST PART ABOUT EVERYTHING that had been happening lately was probably this: not being able to tell Quil anything. Jacob had taken a page from Embry's book, and now Quil had lost two friends instead of just one. Callie was teetering on the edge, trying to find a way to keep up with everything happening with the pack (including finding out what was going on with her), while also making time for Quil. But it was proving difficult, especially with all the questions Quil kept trying to ask her. "You live with Jake, you're his family, surely you know at least something about what's going on," he would insist, every time Callie tried to say she wasn't involved with anything.

She wanted to tell him. Really, she did. The four of them had all grown up together and were practically a family as it is, blood or not. And up until then, they had never kept secrets from each other. Callie felt terrible about keeping Quil in the dark, knowing he felt isolated, like his friends were abandoning him. She knew firsthand what it felt like. When Embry stopped talking to her after he phased, she had felt the exact same way: abandoned.

The boys told her to be patient. "He'll phase soon enough," Embry had assured her when he came to meet up with Jake before the two of them went on patrol. "And then we won't have to hide anything from him anymore. Don't worry, Cal."

Don't worry. She was getting so tired of people telling her not to worry. Didn't they realize that Callie didn't know how not to worry? It was all she ever did. Especially because she could see how hurt Quil was about everything. "Is that Jake or Embry?" The boy asked suddenly, pulling her out of her thoughts as she looked up from her phone screen. There was a look in his eyes that made her feel guilty— she always felt guilty anymore, hanging out with him, especially when one of the other boys texted or called her while they were together. 

"No, it's my uncle," Callie answered honestly. "He's just asking me if I'm on my way home."

"Oh." Quil deflated at the realization that his only friend was going home, glancing around the diner. Callie had gotten off work at one that Saturday afternoon, and had invited Quil over so they could have lunch and hang out. "Well, do you want me to give you a ride? If you're leaving, I might as well head home too." Quil had finally gotten his license, although he didn't think it was really worth much of anything since his friends suddenly never wanted to hang out with him anymore.

Callie felt like sinking through her chair at the look on his face when she answered him. "That's okay. Paul's actually on his way, but thank you."

He huffed, leaning forward and placing his elbows on the table. "What are you doing with that guy, C? He's an asshole and everybody knows it. He's only going to use you."

She was clearly offended at his words. "Paul is very kind to me, actually," Callie corrected, a clipped tone in her voice that Quil had never heard directed toward him before. "And we're only friends, anyway. Not that it's your business."

"Not that it's my business?" Quil echoed, his eyebrows raised. "Callie, you're my best friend. I'm just trying to look out for you. The last guy you dated—"

"Paul is not Micah," Callie cut him off, her brown eyes sharpening in annoyance. "And like I said, we're only friends."

Quil snorted, shaking his head. "Yeah, but with the way he looks at you..."

Ignoring his words, she rolled her eyes. "I don't want to argue, Q. Can we just drop it?"

"Fine. Can you at least tell me what's going on with Jake and Embry joining Sam's little cult, then?"

"You already know the answer to that."

"I don't understand," he snapped in frustration. "Why am I the only one not allowed to know? Why won't you tell me anything? Since when do you guys keep secrets from me?"

"Quil—"

"If you don't want to be friends with me anymore, then just say so," he interrupted her angrily.

"It's not like that. Quil, I promise it's not like that."

The boy sitting across from her grunted in response, looking out the window. His expression grew even more annoyed when he caught sight of Paul's truck pulling up against the curb in front of the diner. "Your prince in scrap-metal truck is here," he muttered.

Following his gaze and seeing that Paul was waiting for her, Callie stood up to leave but hesitated. She turned back around to Quil, who wouldn't even look at her. With a sigh, she sat back down for a moment as she spoke with a softer voice. "I'm trying to keep this friendship alive, Q. It means a lot to me," Callie told him gently. "And it means a lot to Jake and Embry too, even if they can't be around you right now." Quil's head snapped toward her, and he started to say something, but she continued before he had the chance. "But if you keep asking questions that I can't answer... then that means I'll have to stop being around you for a while, too. I promise you will come to understand, eventually. You just have to be patient with us."

Callie wasn't a fool. She knew that Quil was obviously very angry with his friends for leaving him in the dark about everything. But she also knew that some of his anger wasn't completely him— it was his wolf trying to come out, the phase trying to happen. Paul didn't like her to hang out with Quil much; they weren't sure when he would shift for the first time, and he didn't want her around in case it happened when the others weren't able to get there in time. But Callie couldn't just abandon her friend.

"Can you do that?" She asked him. "Can you be patient with us?"

Quil stared at her for a long moment before he felt his resolve start to crumble. He had never been good at staying mad at Calliope Black. "I can try," he responded finally.

"Thank you." She smiled gratefully. "That's all I ask."

× × × × ×

THE SOUND OF HER UNCLE'S WHEELCHAIR DREW HER ATTENTION toward the doorway of the kitchen, seeing Billy pushing himself into the room. "What are you making for dinner?" He asked, moving toward the counter and peeking at the vegetables she was chopping. When he attempted to steal a pepper slice, Callie lightly smacked his hand away. "Ah, come on. You can't spare one for this old man?"

"An old man with dirty fingers should keep them away from the food," Callie responded. Still, she handed him a few pepper slices and then washed her hands again for good measure. "I'm making fajitas again, by the way. They're Jacob's favorite, but he wasn't home the last time I made them."

Now that Jake had phased and joined the pack, he was gone with them most of the time. Between learning what exactly being a spirit warrior entailed, he was also expected to head out on patrols as well. There were vampires in the area, which meant the pack patrolled even longer, but never alone. Jake was mostly always gone, and occasionally missed school because of it as well. Saturday was one of the only days as of lately that Jacob had some free time. He had spent the majority of it catching up on some much-needed sleep, but Callie assumed he would wake up shortly, so she wanted to have dinner ready before he had to run patrol with Jared that evening. Shifters, she had learned, had an insanely large appetite.

"Fajitas sound find to me," Billy said, munching on the pepper slices she had given him. "How's your arm feeling, by the way?"

Callie froze for a moment, before quickly regaining her composure as she continued slicing the peppers and onions in front of her. "What?"

"Your arm," the older man repeated himself. "You can try hiding it under your sleeve all you want, but I'm not dumb. You wince when you strain it a certain way and you use your other arm more often." Callie sighed. She knew it would be hard keeping her injury from her uncle. He had always been rather perceptive. "So I'll ask again. How's your arm feeling?"

"It's better," she admitted.

"Good." Billy paused. "I hope you'll take that as a lesson and never sneak off to ride dirt-bikes from the junk-yard again."

Callie's jaw dropped. "How did you—?" She groaned. "Sue promised not to tell you!"

"Sue didn't tell me. Paul did, right before he carted those death-traps back to the junkyard while Jake was on patrol and you were at work." Billy's eyebrows rose at his niece's words. "Sue knew about this?"

Knowing there was no use lying about it, Callie's shoulders sagged in defeat. "She was the one who stitched me up," she told her uncle. "I'm actually supposed to go see her tomorrow, so she can take the stitches out." And then, after processing what Billy had said, she turned. "Wait a second— Paul junked those bikes?!"

Billy shrugged. "He said he told you he was going to do it."

"He did, but that— those weren't ours—"

"Whose were they?"

Callie didn't answer. She may not have been particularly close with Bella Swan, but she wasn't a snitch. Plus, she knew Jacob would be upset with her for ratting Bella out.

And as if thinking of the Swan girl had called for her presence, a knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Callie resumed chopping the vegetables while Billy wheeled himself over to answer the door. "Bella," Callie heard him greet from the other room. The knife in her hands halted its movements, and she set it down before moving closer to the kitchen doorway to eavesdrop better.

"I need to see him."

"He's not in," Billy lied. Jacob was finally getting some much-needed sleep. He didn't want Bella to ruin that.

"Okay, I'm sorry, I really need to see him."

"Bella!"

Callie exited the kitchen upon hearing her uncle shout after the girl, seeing Bella had brushed past him and let herself into the house. "Bella!" She scolded the girl, following her down the hallway quickly. "You can't just burst your way into our house and do whatever you want!" Callie was annoyed. No, maybe angry was a better way to put it. She understood that Bella wanted answers, but the girl had just disrespected her uncle and was about to wake Jake up— Jake, who hadn't had a good sleep in what felt like forever. "Hey, do you even hear me right now?" She snapped at Bella, who only ignored her. "Bella, stop!" Callie attempted to reach for Bella's arm, but the girl jerked it out of her reach before shoving Jacob's bedroom door open.

Seeing the boy sprawled across his bed, sound asleep with a peaceful expression on his face, Bella halted in her steps. She stared at him for a moment, Callie lingered behind her worriedly. "Please don't wake him," the Quileute girl whispered pleadingly. "He needs the rest."

Bella turned toward Callie, but her gaze caught sight of something outside of Jacob's window: Sam, Jared, Paul and Embry, all heading toward the house. She brushed past Callie in much the same way she had Billy only moments prior, storming out of the door as Callie scrambled to follow her. "What is she doing?" Billy asked, only for Callie to shrug as she followed the girl out of the door.

"What did you do?!" Bella shouted, storming right up to Sam Uley and shoving him. "What did you do to him!"

"Bella, stop it!" Callie exclaimed with wide eyes, scrambling off the porch and hurrying over to them. 

"He didn't want this!" Bella snapped at Sam, ignoring Callie.

"What did we do?" Paul echoed the girl's question angrily. "What did he do? What'd he tell you?"

"Both of you, calm down," Sam said firmly, grabbing Paul's arm and pulling him back a little.

"Nothing," Bella said icily, glaring at Paul. "He tells me nothing because he's scared of you."

Paul couldn't help but snicker at the girl. Jacob was scared of them? What a load of bullshit, considering how much trouble he gave Sam already when Bella Swan was concerned. Jake was pissed that he wasn't allowed to tell Bella what he was, pissed that he had to keep her out of his life. And he wasn't afraid to tell Sam exactly how he felt about it, either. Jacob wasn't scared of them.

Bella scowled at the boy and his audacity to laugh at her. Before she had time to register what she was doing, she had already hauled off and smacked him across the face. "Hey!" Callie shouted, even more angry than she had been before. This was the third offense Bella had made against people she cared about, in less than ten minutes. While Sam and Jared tried to keep Paul from getting too mad, Callie stormed up to Bella. "You need to leave," she hissed at the girl, her jaw clenched tightly. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Jacob isn't scared of them. They are helping him."

"Oh, I don't even want to hear you, Calliope!" Bella retorted, turning her glare onto the girl. "You pretend to be my friend, and you pretend to care about Jacob, like he's so important to you, but here you are sticking up for them!" She gestured to Sam, Paul, Embry and Jared angrily. "When you know these are the people who are ruining Jake's life!"

"They're not ruining anything, Bella!" Callie exclaimed. "You can't just come to my house and completely disrespect my uncle and my friends! You need to leave before someone gets hurt!" She grabbed Bella's hand. "Come on."

"No." Bella yanked her hand out of Callie's and shoved the girl away from her. Callie stumbled to keep herself upright, completely shocked at the girl's actions. "And don't even think about using those freaky powers on me either, Callie." Bella had only just remembered what Callie had done to Laurent, and instantly grew afraid of what she might do as a response. The anger had faded from her eyes and instead was replaced with wariness. 

As soon as Bella had started talking to Callie the way she had, Paul began to grow angrier than he had originally been. But when the girl had shoved Callie, when she had physically put her hands on his imprint, he was livid. "Too late now," Jared told Sam, knowing that there was no way they could stop him from phasing anymore. Embry might not have understood, but Jared and Sam had imprints of their own. Nothing could draw out their wolves like a potential threat against their imprint.

"Bella, Callie, get back," Sam called out as Paul started to shake uncontrollably. Embry scrambled over and grabbed his friend, pulling her away from Bella and out of harm's way.

"Paul, don't," Callie pleaded with the shifter. "It's okay, she didn't mean to, just stay calm."

"It's no use, C," Embry told her seriously. "Nothing will ever piss Paul off more than someone hurting you."

In the next moment, Paul had shifted into his wolf then, the large silvery creature towering over Bella as he snarled angrily. "Bella!" Jacob called out, having woken up due to all the commotion outside his window. Seeing that Paul had shifted, he jumped off of the porch and started sprinting toward them.

"Run!" Bella shouted to him as she started running away from Paul. "Jake, run!"

He didn't listen. Jumping over Bella when she tripped and fell to the ground, Jake phased into his wolf in an instant. He and Paul clashed against each other in a heap of fur and claws and teeth, the two of them heading off into the woods as they fought each other. "Don't," Jared advised Callie when she started to follow after them. "They'll be okay, but you'll get hurt if you try to get in the middle of it."

"I'll go after them," Sam assured her as he started jogging toward the treeline where the fighting wolves had disappeared. "Guys, take Bella back to Emily's place."

They all turned to look at the frightened girl sprawled on the ground, staring at them with wide eyes. "Well." Embry smirked over at Jared and Callie. "Guess the wolf's out of the bag, huh?"

"Yeah," Callie mumbled, making eye contact with Bella. "Guess so."