Before the Storm

Althea stared long and hard at Paul. His chest was rising rapidly up and down, and she could tell that he was seriously pissed off or mad or whatever you wanted to call it. He nodded his head slowly as though to say 'go ahead, but he pieces together'. Her eyes raked over the Cullens as she took in their over the top physical perfection, and everything she knew about them.

None of it made sense, and yet because none of it made sense was why it did make sense. They certainly weren't the average humans, or humans at all, apparently. So it was totally plausible that they were indeed vampires. Althea closed her eyes and wished life would to back to what she long considered normal, Paul hating her, her mom still there, and the day to day at the reservation.

"Paul...that's just so....impossible," she sighed. The Cullens' expressions softened slightly and Esme stepped closer to her, "besides, wouldn't they have hurt me by now?"

"Althea...honey, we're....exactly what he says we are-"

"-What?!"

"But we're not like other vampires, we're different," Esme put a cold, slim arm around her shoulders and the first thought in Althea's mind was to pull away, but something told her not too, "we don't survive off of human blood. We live off of that of animals'. We'd never hunt humans."

"Does-does it work the same?"

"Mostly," she smiled weakly, "why don't we explain more to you inside. It's awfully cold put here."

"Okay, that-that sounds good,"

"Wait! How can you just take everything so normally?!" Paul looked between the Cullens and Althea, mouth hanging open.

"I accepted you and the pack as being werewolves,"

"That's different!"

"How?"

"We don't just kill to live. We're not murderers,"

"Neither are they! And they've let me into their home and have been nothing but kind to me,"

"Althea!"

"Paul, werewolves could be killers just as easily as vampires, couldn't they? But you guys aren't killers and neither are they. I wouldn't be alive by now if they were, would I? It would be pretty easy to make my death look like a runaway case or anything really. It's going to be okay," Althea stood in front of Paul and put her hand on his bare chest. It felt so warm, it tempted her to just wrap her arms around him and keep the warmth all to herself.

"You don't understand, Thea. They're our natural enemies," his teeth clenched and it was obvious that he was trying really hard to not to lose his temper. He looked down at Althea and her beauty, and the love he felt for her brought him back to Earth.

"But they're not acting badly about it, Paul. Maybe you guys should work together and start to get to no one another, and then things would be fine-"

"You-you always see the good sides of people, don't you? Don't you ever think that maybe some people just aren't good? I don't want to get to them and I won't. You've changed Althea, and I don't like it. Stay here with your bloodsuckers then, and don't come back until you've gone back to the old you." Paul's mouth drew into a thin line as he shook his head and start walking away. Althea's eyes started to burn as she knew the tears that would fall would be pointless. He wasn't coming back, and she didn't expect him too. Everything that had changed about him, for the better, had just melted away. He was the same old Paul again.

She turned around and saw all of the Cullens watched her intently. She sniffed quietly and wiped the few tears she had allowed to fall away, before meeting any of them in the eyes, "well at least I know where I stand with him."

"Are you okay?" Alice had stepped forward and offered her hand to Althea. Slowly she took in and they followed the family into the house.

_____

Althea sipped a cup of hot coco as she listened to the Cullens explain their bizarre history to her. Each of them took a turn explaining how they became vampires, and how they met Carlisle, the leader of the coven. She thought them all the more mysterious for it, but she wasn't afraid of them anymore, and she thought now, her life wouldn't be in such seclusion anymore.

"A couple of months ago, I would have said none of this would be possible. But then the wolves and now you all, it's just crazy. Kind of like my whole life has been turned upside down, but I'm not scared anymore. I wish my mom was there though, to see it all. It makes me wonder if she knew all about this," she tapped her fingers against her mug, as the Cullens noticeably stiffened, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing at all sweetheart," Esme stood up from the floor where she had been sitting crossed legged and grabbed Althea's arm, "I think it's time you went to bed, dear. You've got school tomorrow, after all."

"Right, totally forgot about that," she set down the coco, bade them all goodnight, and trudged up the stairs to her bedroom. She walked in and rubbed her eyes as she tried not to fall asleep then and there. She pull back the covers and realized she forgot to ask who would be taking her to school since some of the family where leaving to go "camping", or hunting, as she had now found out. She walked out of the room and realized that Edward and Carlisle were in a somewhat heated conversation. She remembered that sneaking was not really a choice since they would still hear her anyways, or smell her, so stayed and listened.

"I don't believe that she is ready yet. Give her some time to adjust and then we can tell her," Carlisle's calming voice always made her feel better. Althea wondered who or what they were even talking about.

"She know everything now and apparently the wolves haven't told her a thing! She doesn't deserve to be in the dark," Edward was standing up for her?!

"Nonetheless, we shouldn't spring this onto her. Give her a few days, at least,"

"If that vampire comes back, she's obviously looking for her," whoa, whoa, wait. What!?

"We will kept her safe. Unfortunately she already got to her mother, but we will keep Althea safe," she sucked in her breathe and she dashed back to her bedroom, closed and locked the door. A vampire was after her? A vampire had killed her mother? Things were starting to, scarily, make sense.

Althea knew what she had to do. Go to the hospital and look at the death report of her mother.

That- and control every thought around Edward so he wouldn't know what she was up to or that she had heard their conversation.