CHAPTER SIX

IT HAD BEEN THREE WEEKS SINCE INGRID HAD COME TO FORKS TO HELP WITH THE NEWBORN ARMY. Three weeks since she had met Paul Lahote and befriended the pack. She hadn't been there long and already everyone in the pack had been welcoming of her despite her being half vampire, an original at that. It had helped that she was half wolf as well.

Not long after Ingrid arrived, Leah interacted with Emily in a friendly manner and the three became the best of friends. She had forgiven both Emily and Sam a few days after her talk with Ingrid.

It was a regular occurrence when the pack would go to the cabin, which is now not only Ingrid's but Paul's as well. He had moved in with her two weeks after they first met.

The battle with the newborns is tomorrow and the pack is eating breakfast when the shrill ring of Ingrid's cell phone is heard. She gets up from her spot next to Paul and walks over to the counter. Unplugging her phone from the charger, she sits down, looks at the caller ID, and holds it up to her ear.

"Hello, Carlisle."

"Ingrid, I have a request."

She furrows her brows. "And what, may I ask is this request?"

"Could you go to the clearing in the woods and meet with Edward, Bella, and Jasper? I still have to make a call to Jacob." His voice seems hesitant.

"Only if you tell me the reason why."

"I almost forgot how stubborn you could be..." he breathes out, although it is unnecessary, "Edward and Jasper have come up with a plan that will only work if Jacob agrees. They plan to have his wolf odor mask Bella's scent so the newborns won't be able to smell her."

She hums. "It sounds brilliant, but why is my presence needed? Only Cold Ones are affected by it, they smell normal to me." Ingrid's words are laced with confusion.

"Bella has asked Edward to stay out of the fight. He and Bella are going-" Carlisle gets cut off by Ingrid.

"Excuse me?" Her voice that although sounds calm, has an underlying tone of frustration.

The pack looks to Ingrid, who is still at the counter, when they hear the anger seeping in her voice. Paul stands up from his chair and cautiously approaches her. He then lays a hand on her shoulder as his face contorts in concern. Without looking at him, Ingrid intertwines her fingers with his.

"Ingrid, you need to calm down." Carlisle calms his voice in an attempt to set Ingrid at ease.

"Calm down? You bloody calm down! She's a selfish girl and is asking her boyfriend to stay out of this fight when both of them are the reason it's happening in the first place! People who could care less about Isabella Swan are fighting against the damn newborns and she has the audacity to tell him not to! I came here as a favor to you, Carlisle. Not to that narcissistic plonker that messes with people's feelings! You can call me again when it's about the fight, so until then SOD OFF!" Ingrid finishes with a roar then slams the phone on the counter.

Everyone looks at the blue-eyed Mikaelson, eyes wide. Paul looks back at the table, his facial expression showing that he has no idea what to do. Emily snaps out of her trance by motioning for him to say something.

He looks back to his girlfriend and asks, "Are you okay?" His hand on her back, thumb rubbing soothing circles. Ingrid looks up at Paul and gives him a small but reassuring smile before she turns around in the swivel chair and looks at the rest of the boys and two girls.

"Isabella Swan is a lot more selfish than we've given her credit for." She hisses, her jaw clenched. Leah looks at the blonde, her nose wrinkled at the mention of the clumsy girl she dislikes. "What happened?"

Ingrid exhales and proceeds to tell all of them what the foolish vampire-wannabe has done this time. When she concludes her explanation, everyone either frowns or scowls.

"Dammit, Bella." Sam breathes out, bewildered at how one girl could not only cause so many issues but be so self-centered as well. Emily rests her head on Sam's shoulder, tired of Isabella Swan and how everyone's lives have been uprooted because of her.

It's understandable that she doesn't want Edward to fight, she loves him, but thinking of the imprints and how worried they'll be for their wolves... it's not fair to them when they're fighting a battle that they shouldn't be.

Ingrid mutters things to herself and stands up, but before she can do anything she is overcome by a wave of nauseousness. She slaps a hand over her mouth and hurries to the trash bin, behind the counter, and unloads the contents of her stomach.

Since she is the closest, Leah runs over to her friend and hastily holds her hair back. She glances over to the pack and Emily and gives them a distressed look. Her eyes linger on Paul when she sees him, his brows knitted. He pulls himself together and makes his way over to his imprint, taking over for Leah. She backs away from the couple and peers at the pack only to see all of them sharing a troubled look.

Ingrid coughs and picks herself up, wondering what the hell just happened.

"Babe, you okay?" Ingrid looks to Paul and immediately tenses up. He senses this and embraces her. "I don't know." She shakes in his arms, fear of what happened was overwhelming her.

Emily breaks the strained atmosphere and speaks in an anxiety-filled voice. "I thought vampires couldn't get sick." It's silent after Emily's statement. She was right, vampires don't get sick.

The stillness of the room was interrupted by the doorbell.

Everyone jumps at the sudden noise and Ingrid slowly removes herself from Paul. She strides in the direction of the door and quickly opens it to see her friend, who is like a sister to her, Katerina Petrova. They just stare at each other in disbelief, they hadn't seen each other in a few years. Ingrid had called her a week prior on a whim but had gotten her voicemail, she had never expected that she would actually show up.

"Kat."

The said woman smiled widely and engulfs the hybrid in a tight hug. Ingrid instantly responds to it, wrapping her arms around her. They both pull back, just looking at each other.

"Kat, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I got your message. There was no way in hell I was going to let you have all the fun without me." She smirks.

"You sound like Nik." Ingrid's body trembles with laughter.

Katerina's smirk vanishes and is replaced with a grimace. "Ew. No."

Before Ingrid can make a sarcastic remark, Paul comes out from behind her, along with some of the pack, looking at a woman he doesn't know. "What's going on?"

Ingrid whips her head to him, startled by his arrival, and her laughter slowly begins to alleviate. Katerina sees that Ingrid is in no shape to talk, and speaks for her. "Katerina Petrova." Her eyes roam amongst the russet-skinned boys and stop on a male that seems much lean than the others. She looks up and makes eye contact. The world seems to stop for both of them.

Ingrid's laughter instantly ceases when she sees the look on both Katerina's and Embry's faces. She moves her gaze to Paul, who is just as stunned as she is along with the rest of the pack. A smile slowly makes its way onto her face, knowing that Embry would be good for her longtime friend. Paul wraps his arms around Ingrid as Sam does the same to Emily. Ingrid raises her head to the side to see her boyfriend and studies him tenderly. Feeling her stare, he turns his head and his eyes bore into hers.

As she moves to peck him on the cheek, Paul has other ideas. He turns his head at the last moment and kisses her adoringly.