A New Alliance, a twilight fanfic

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Obviously, since this is a J/B pairing, this story is Alternate Universe. There are some elements in it that are not exactly like the book. There is a character death in this one-shot, too.

A New Alliance

- September 16, 2005 -

The cruiser bar lights cast a flashing crimson and blue glow across the Swan house. Charlie, grim-faced and worried, spoke quietly with other officers and concerned neighbors and friends who'd shown up to offer their support and help, Billy and Jacob among them.

Bella was missing. Her truck was parked in the driveway with her book bag from school lying on the seat. No one had seen or heard from her since she'd driven out of the school parking lot earlier in the day. She'd obviously made it home, but what then? There'd been no note of explanation lying on the kitchen counter, nothing to let Charlie know where she was or if she was all right. Jacob had a gut feeling that that blood-sucking leech had something to do with it.

He paced helplessly back and forth through the wet grass of the Swan's back yard as everyone else decided how to proceed. What Charlie and the rest didn't know was that a Quileute wolf was already on the job. Unbeknownst to them, Sam was scouring the surrounding woods at that very moment. If Bella was still anywhere in the vicinity of Forks, he'd find her.

But was she still in Forks? Had Edward finally succumbed to his disgusting nature and killed her? Was the bastard feasting on her blood at that very moment? Or was she lying somewhere in a ditch, already drained and lifeless? Or worse, had he changed her into one of them?

Jacob snarled softly and punched at the air with his fist. He was helpless! Useless! Forced to stand by and let Sam do what he longed to do himself! He was Quileute, damn it! He should be out there with him, racing through the forest on four legs and using his heightened senses to find his best friend, but he wasn't. He was standing there cursing into the darkness and lashing out at nothing like an idiot. Yes, he was Quileute, but unlike Sam, his wolf had yet to awaken, and Jacob was getting damned impatient waiting for it to happen.

"I found her!" Sam emerged out of a break in the trees with Bella in his arms. "She's unharmed as far as I can tell, but she's not talking."

Everyone rushed to see, but Charlie's authoritative voice rang out loudly over the surrounding people. "Give us some room, and someone call an ambulance!"

Jacob caught a glimpse of Bella and he'd never forget the sight as long as he lived. There were superficial scratches all over her face and hands. Her hair was tangled up with twigs and leaves, her clothes soaked wet and smeared with mud. Jacob gritted his teeth at the thought of what could have been done to her. He made a silent oath that if Edward had physically hurt her, or God forbid, had assaulted her, he'd go after the bastard. As soon as his wolf awoke and he had the strength of his Quileute heritage racing through his veins and fueling his muscles, he'd track that vampire's ass down and kill him once and for all.

- September 23, 2005 -

It had been a week since Bella had been found alone and abandoned in the woods. Charlie had confided to Billy that Bella had had no serious injuries, no physical injuries, but she wasn't talking about the incident, not even to Charlie. All she would say when pressed was 'He's gone', referring to the leech, of course. No one knew the details. All Jacob knew with a certainty was that Edward Cullen had somehow managed to shatter his best friend into a thousand hollow pieces.

"Here's a letter for you for once," Billy announced as he sorted through the evening mail, tossing the cream-colored envelope across the table at Jacob.

He caught it and studied the front. There was no return address. Strange. And the handwriting sure as hell didn't belong to anyone he knew. It looked like the writing off of one of those fake Declarations of Independence that they sold at souvenir stores. He opened it out of curiosity instead of sending it flying into the trash as junk mail.

Jacob,

By the time you get this letter, we'll be far away from Forks. Carlisle told everyone that he had a job opportunity that he simply couldn't pass up, but of course, that wasn't the truth. Only Bella and my family know what really happened. And now you.

You see, Alice wanted to host an 18th birthday party for Bella…

His dad wheeled himself out of the kitchen, leaving Jacob alone to read the rest of the letter. When he reached the end, he was shocked. He couldn't believe how wrong he'd been—how wrong they'd all been—about everything. He shook his head in disbelief. To hell with revenge. He'd gotten tired of waiting to join Sam anyway. His wolf wasn't asleep, it was fucking catatonic and was never going to awaken. So, he decided he no longer had time to waste plotting Edward's death, especially after what he'd read in the letter. He had more important things to do now.

Jacob got up and rummaged around in the junk drawer for a lighter, found it, held the flame to the bottom of the letter, intending to completely obliterate Edward's words from the face of the earth, because this was one letter that Bella would never read. But, on the other hand, there were more people to consider than just Bella. She might never read it, but his dad and Sam both needed to. His hand shook as he held the flame just below the paper. For her sake it needed to go up in flames, but for his family's sake it was too important to burn. Damn! He flicked the lighter off, tossed it back in the junk drawer, and went off in search of his dad.

- January 2006 -

"Leave a message after the beep…BEEEEEEEEP."

Jacob sighed aloud to the empty kitchen. If he had a dollar for every time he'd heard that generic message the past four months, he'd be rich. He'd left tons of messages, but Bella had never returned one single call. But if Jacob Black was anything, he was persistent. He'd tried everything else, so he guessed it wouldn't hurt to pull out his male-chauvinistic-pig routine. Maybe that would get her attention.

"Hey, Bells." He resisted the urge to sigh deeply into the phone. He knew he was probably just wasting good oxygen, but he had to try. "Listen, I found a couple of junky old motorcycles on the side of the road. Guy was just giving them away. I thought maybe you could come down to the rez, you know, do some slummin', and help me fix them up. I need somebody to hand me my tools, keep me supplied with food and drink, rub my aching shoulders and look cute while doing it. Embry just isn't filling the bill. So, what do—"

"Jacob Black! Shut up!"

Her laughter on the other end was so unexpected that he didn't know what to say at first. He'd waited so long to hear her voice, imagined what she'd say to him when she finally called, and it most certainly was not that.

"That is the most sexist thing that I have ever heard! You should be ashamed."

Jacob grinned. He wasn't one damn bit ashamed, especially since it had worked. Bella had finally come out of her shell.

"So, are you game?" he asked, mentally crossing his fingers.

She agreed to come to La Push that weekend. Jacob could hardly wait to see her. When the moment finally arrived and her beat up Chevy pulled into the driveway, he could barely hold himself back. When she finally slid out of the truck, he had to fight not to react to what he saw. He couldn't let her see in his face how much she'd changed in four short months. She was a shadow of her former self. She'd lost weight. Her cheeks were pale and hollow, her eyes not quite as bright as they used to be, but worst of all was seeing her arms wrapped tightly around herself, like they were the only things holding her together, and perhaps they were.

"Why do you do that?" he finally asked, after hours of watching her uncoil her arms just long enough to help him or hand him something, and then immediately wrap them right back around her body.

"Do what?" she asked.

"That," he said, nodding in the direction of her chest and arms. "It's…it bothers me."

"I'm afraid to let go," she said softly. "I don't know what will happen if I let go of myself for too long."

It hurt him to hear her say that. Jacob laid down the wrench and cleaned his hands. "I know what will happen." He spread his arms open and waited. Waited. Waited.

Her eyes welled up with tears. She unfolded her arms and practically fell into his. She clung to him and cried into his t-shirt for the longest time. He tenderly stroked her hair until she quieted and was calm. "You're going to be alright, Bella. My arms are really strong, so when yours aren't enough, just let me know and mine will take their place."

- Five Years Later (October 2011) -

"Tell me again why I need to know algebra to open my own car repair shop?"

Jacob was hunched over the small dorm room table, a millisecond away from throwing his Fundamentals of College Algebra textbook clear across the room.

"It's so you'll have a well-rounded education," Bella answered absent-mindedly. She was stretched out on the bed on her stomach, alternately chewing on the end of her pencil and scribbling on her notebook, which made Jacob wish he were that eraser instead of a backward boy from the rez who was way in over his head. Life as Bella's pencil would have to be a lot more fun than algebraic equations.

"Well-rounded should be for butts, not education," he muttered underneath his breath.

Bella raised her eyebrows and laughed, but said nothing in response.

"So, 3/8 a + 1/2 b = 12 is supposed to make me more 'well-rounded'? What the hell does 'a' and 'b' stand for anyway? This whole algebra thing makes no sense to me."

"They're variables, Jake," she said, sighing. "You can make them stand for anything you want."

Is that so? Jacob grinned and bit his lip. "Okay, so 3/8 of Bella's Ass + ½ of Bella's Boobs = 12 hours of hot damn for Jake. How's that for variables?"

Her mouth dropped open in shock; her pencil fell from her hand to the bed.

"Jacob Black," she said in a deadly serious voice. "You are such a guy. That has to be the most un-romantic thing that has ever come out of your mouth since I've known you."

His eyes narrowed. "You don't think I'm romantic? Hey, I can be romantic. You haven't seen romantic until you've seen Jacob Black in full-out romantic mode."

"Uh huh. Sure." She rolled her eyes, shook her head and returned to her studies.

Jacob bit his lip in annoyance. "You seriously don't think I can be romantic?"

She raised her beautiful browns up from her notebook. "Nope. Any guy who substitutes ass and boobs for 'a' and 'b' in an algebra problem isn't capable of romance."

He saw the twitch at the corners of her mouth. She was teasing him, but it still stuck in his craw that she thought him incapable of gentlemanly behavior. Well, he'd show her! "Close your eyes," he ordered.

"What? I've got homework. I don't have time to fool around," she said, ignoring me.

"Close your eyes, Bella."

She sighed in defeat and closed her eyes. He quickly dug around in his underwear drawer, which Bella avoided like the plague because she said it looked like a grenade had gone off inside of it. Way in the back, hidden under a wad of stray socks and torn boxers lay the small, black velvet box. He sat it on her notebook.

"Now open them."

She opened her eyes, blinked a couple of times, and glanced around the room. Finally she looked down at her notebook. Her jaw dropped, and a gush of air burst out of her lungs. "J-Jake," she stuttered. "Oh my God, please tell me this isn't what I think it is."

"Open it and find out."

The lid creaked open to reveal a small diamond. Her eyes widened, and a tiny whimper tripped out of her mouth.

"I know it's not exactly the Hope Diamond, but let me tell you, there's a hell of a lot of hope in that little box, hope that you'll say yes. Will you marry me, Bella?"

Her palm flew to her mouth. She dropped the box and launched herself across the bed and into his arms. "Yes! Yes! YESSSSS!" she squealed.

He pulled her up off the bed. She wrapped her legs around his hips and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. "I love you, I love you!" Another kiss. "I LOVE YOU, JACOB BLACK AND YES, I'LL MARRY YOU!"

Bella Swan had just made him the happiest man alive! She loved him, and God knew that he loved her more than anything, and he told her so, over and over again in between the kisses.

"When?" he asked when we she'd finally calmed down.

"As soon as we graduate. So, let's say June of 2013," she answered, smiling.

He nodded and grinned. "It's official, then. June of 2013, Bella Swan and Jacob Black are getting married!"

- June 2013 -

The sacred fire burned hot and bright, bathing the faces of the guests with a soft golden glow. The night skies were clear for once. Jacob considered the fair weather to be a positive sign of good things to come. His future looked as bright as those stars glittering in the sky above them.

Bella was radiant and beautiful. She was wearing a simple white dress which fell to just above her knees. Leah had interwoven flowers into her hair and braided it into an elaborate design. Jacob's black suit was plain and understated, which was fine with him. A Quileute wedding wasn't supposed to be a black-tie affair, but instead, a simple outdoor ceremony filled with ancient rituals.

They each wore a blue blanket around their shoulders which represented their lives before they'd met and fallen in love. Their sponsors stood around them. Jacob's: his father and Harry Clearwater, who stood on his right. Bella's: Renee and Charlie who stood on her left. Their sponsors had to take solemn vows to support their marriage and offer sage advice whenever it was needed. Jacob hadn't missed the humorous glint in Bella's eyes at the irony of her parents offering up marital advice.

Old Quil Ateara, who traditionally conducted all wedding ceremonies on the reservation, presented Jacob with a clay bowl filled with fresh water from the local stream. "Wash your hands of all evils and memories of past loves."

Jacob glanced at Bella and wondered if Edward Cullen was in her thoughts. He couldn't tell. Her face was impassive as she dipped her hands in the bowl. He did the same, except there were no past loves for him to forget. There'd only been Bella.

Then Old Quil gave the final blessing upon their marriage:

Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness,
For each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two bodies,
But there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place
To enter into the days of your togetherness
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

"Jacob Black and Isabella Swan, your commitment is to the Great Spirit and to God. There is no breaking that commitment. According to Quileute law, you are now bonded together forever."

The most recently married couple was given the honor of removing the blue blankets from their shoulders: Leah and Sam Uley. Leah took Bella's blanket and handed it to Renee, symbolizing Bella's childhood which would forever belong to her mother. Sam removed Jacob's blue blanket and handed it to Billy. Then together, Sam and Leah wrapped them both in a single white blanket, which symbolized the unification of their two separate lives into one.

"What are you waiting for, Jake? Kiss your bride!" Sam said, laughing.

Jacob grinned and pulled Bella against him underneath the blanket. The kiss was passionate and Jacob didn't care who was watching. Bella was finally his, and he was hers. His dream had come true.

A wedding was a time for celebration, and Quileutes had no qualms about partying the night away. While the night was filled with laughter, eating, drinking, and dancing, he and Bella started their new life together in each other's arms.

- One year later (June 2014) -

"Harder, Jake! Harder!"

He groaned and slammed his hand against the headboard to brace himself, sliding his other hand underneath her hip and gripping her ass. He dug his fingers deep into her skin as he hammered away at her hard enough to cause the bed to thump rhythmically against the wall—a steady, fast pace that had his heart pounding out of his chest and exploding inside his head.

"Uhhh…uhhh…oh, God, Jake!" Bella gasped. She gritted her teeth and threw her head back into the pillows, moaning and clawing his forearms with her nails.

The sight of her breasts bouncing with each of his deep thrusts sent shockwaves straight to his dick. He hardened even more as his release surged up his shaft like lava rushing to the surface of an erupting volcano.

"Fuuuck!" he gasped, and then roughly pulled her hips back towards him at the same time he pushed forward. One, two, three of those, and he exploded. She clamped down around him, gripping him and milking him dry with her climax. He collapsed down onto her in an exhausted, sweaty heap.

"I shot off enough that time to make ten babies," he gasped, fighting to get his breath and laughing while doing it.

Bella laughed with him, panting, her chest heaving from exertion. "I'd be happy with one…for now."

"Well, as good as that felt, I know that at least one of those little fuckers had to make it through." Jacob grinned and gathered her up in his arms, smothering her face and neck with kisses. "I love you, Isabella Marie Black, and there's nothing I'd rather do than spend my life making babies with you."

- Thirteen years later (October 2027) -

"Bedtime story! Yaaay!" Caleb Nathaniel Black, the youngest and most exuberant of their children, bounced on the bed in excitement. "Spirit Warriors! Spirit Warriors!"

"Caleb, you're not getting a bedtime story until you stop hopping around like a jack rabbit," Bella said sternly. "If beds were meant to be trampolines, they'd be made out of rubber."

Caleb immediately stopped his jumping and scooted underneath the blankets. Jacob gazed fondly upon his seven-year-old son, and it was like looking at a clone of himself. All they had to do was threaten him with no bedtime story—no tales of the Quileute wolves and the Cold Ones—and he'd behave. The little tyke was fascinated with Quileute history to the point of obsession.

"Mom, you really need to do something about Caleb." Their daughter, Carlie Renee, who was ten going on thirty, strolled lithely into the room. "I went to help him with his homework and his book bag is full of dirt, rocks, shells, feathers and some other junk I can't even begin to identify. It's gross."

"That's my archie-ography stuff!" Caleb protested in outrage.

Carlie giggled and corrected him. "It's archaeology, silly, not archie-ography."

She crawled onto the bed and over Caleb, finally settling with her back against the wall and her long, tan legs criss-crossed in front of her. Out came her hairbrush and she began her nightly ritual of one hundred strokes while listening to the bedtime story. Jacob marveled over the young lady who was destined to be their only daughter. She was beautiful, even at ten, and bore a striking resemblance to Bella, not only in her features, but also her coloring: pale skin, long, deep brunette hair and chocolate brown eyes. If Carlie had been older, they could have easily passed for sisters. She was going to mature into a lovely woman just like her mother. But unlike Bella, Carlie was graceful and athletic, excelling in sports, to her mother's continuing surprise.

"Caleb Nathaniel, if you've been digging in my flower beds again…" Bella frowned and rebuked their little explorer. Caleb scooted even further underneath the covers and avoided his parents' eyes. He was guilty as sin, and they all knew it, but no one, and certainly not Jacob, had the heart to discourage him. He was the most inquisitive of their children, always exploring and running here and there all over the reservation. Jacob wondered what the future held for his youngest son, and where his rabid curiosity would take him in life.

"I'm here," William announced, sighing. He plodded into the bedroom like he was walking the last mile to his execution. "How long am I going to have to take part in these bedtime story things? I'm twelve and this is baby stuff."

Jacob sighed and exchanged knowing glances with Bella. They heard this at least once a week from their oldest child, a continuous whiny litany of outrage that a twelve-year-old should have to listen to bedtime stories. His middle name was Jacob, but that was all he had in common with his father. Jacob often joked with Bella in private that she conceived Will without any help from him. Will was their bookworm, like his mother. He was quiet, analytical and more of an observer of life than a participant. He politely declined to take part in anything he considered daring or reckless, opting instead to hang back and watch.

"This is your heritage, Will, not a bedtime story," Jacob said, repeating the same thing he said every time Will complained.

When everyone was settled, Jacob began. He told the story of the ancient Quileutes and how they were able to put their spirits into the body of a wolf. Eventually, a 'Cold One' ventured onto their lands, and their wolf protectors killed him. Over time, the Quileute warriors gained the ability to assume wolf form, but only if vampires were present to trigger the reaction.

"Levi said his daddy used to be a wolf," Caleb said, interrupting Jacob's narration.

A silence fell over the room at Caleb's unexpected pronouncement. Jacob raised his eyebrows in surprise and glanced at Bella. Sam hadn't shifted in over twenty-two years, not since the Cullens had left Forks. At the time, all the young men of the tribe, including Jacob, had waited eagerly for their change, so that they could track down and kill vampires. But it had never happened for any of them. Only for Sam. Finally, after so many years without Sam phasing, the waiting stopped, and life on the rez got back to normal. Wolves and vampires as mortal enemies became the stuff of legend—and bedtime stories—again.

"Did he?" Will asked with sudden interest. "Did Sam really change into a wolf? Did you see him do it, Dad?"

Jacob nodded. "Yes, Sam was able to shift, and I saw it with my own eyes many times. The vampires who lived nearby triggered his change, but once they left the area, everything went back to normal. Sam never shifted again." Jacob glanced at Bella, wondering if talking about the Cullens, even indirectly, would upset her, but her face held no answers.

"What did he look like?" Caleb asked, scooting out of the covers and sitting up. His face was alight with excitement. Jacob was sure his imagination was running wild, if the sparkle in his dark eyes were any indication.

"His fur was black, and he stood as tall as a horse. The really strange thing was that his brown eyes stayed brown when he phased, and when you looked into them, you saw Sam, not a wolf," Jacob answered, remembering back to the first time he'd witnessed Sam phase and how exciting it had all been.

"Wow," Caleb breathed, his eyes round as saucers.

"Did girls ever become wolves?" Carlie asked, her hair-brushing ritual forgotten.

"Not that we know of," Jacob answered.

"Hmmpph, that's sexist," she pronounced haughtily. "I could be a better wolf than any boy on this reservation. Faster, too."

He and Bella laughed at her comment, not because it was silly, but because it was most likely true. Carlie could switch from all girl to ultimate tomboy in the blink of an eye, and outshine any boy around her.

"Do I have a wolf inside of me, Daddy?" Caleb asked. Jacob smiled to himself at seeing the hopeful look in his son's eyes.

"Yes, you do," Jacob answered. "And you do, too, Will. But your wolves are sleeping right now; they'll only awaken if vampires come around. "

"When I get big, I'm going to go find some vampires so my wolf will wake up." Caleb nodded his head emphatically, and no one in the room doubted his words, least of all his father, because like Jacob, his smallest son always followed through on his promises with an obstinate stubbornness.

"Did you ever meet any Cold Ones?" Will asked. Jacob glanced sharply at Bella. Leave it to Will, the analytical one, to ask the one question that neither of them wanted to answer. But Bella surprised him.

"Yes, we did," she answered. "Your father and I both did."

"What were they like?" Will asked curiously. Caleb and Carlie were paying close attention now and hanging on every word.

"They're not that different from humans in some ways," Bella answered smoothly. "Some of them are nice and harm no one, and some of them are evil and mean, and go out of their way to hurt people."

"Wow." Caleb's mouth hung open in seven-year-old awe. "Did you touch one? What do they feel like? What do they look like?"

This time, Bella stayed quiet, and Jacob supplied the answers. "They're cold, just like their name says. Their skin is hard, and it glistens in the sunlight. Sam said that his wolf hated the way they smelled. They don't eat food or sleep. They live on the blood of humans. Most of them have red eyes, but some have gold."

Jacob waited for Bella to jump in and contradict him by saying that some lived on animal blood, which was why their eyes were golden, but she didn't.

"Now, that's enough of that," Jacob said, slapping his thighs with finality and rising from his chair. "You guys have school tomorrow, and your mother and I have a very long day at the garage."

Goodnight kisses were given all around. Will and Carlie returned to their own bedrooms. Caleb snuggled deep into his blankets and shut his eyes, but knowing his son as well as he did, Jacob knew that he'd fight sleep as long as he could. Utter exhaustion was the only thing that could quiet Caleb's imaginative mind.

He and Bella withdrew to the kitchen, him for a late night cup of decaf and her for hot tea. With his hands nestled around the warm cup, Jacob hesitantly broached the subject of the Cullens. Their name had never come up in conversation since they'd become a couple, but Will and Caleb's questions had changed all of that.

"Do you have any regrets?" Jacob asked quietly, watching her eyes carefully as she sipped at her tea.

"Regrets?" She shook her head and smiled. "No. Absolutely none. I have everything I want in life: a home, three beautiful children and I work side-by-side with my gorgeous husband every day and help him run his business."

Jacob nodded silently. He agreed with her. They had the perfect life as far as he was concerned. A normal life, filled with all the happiness and heartache, trials and tribulations that all people went through.

"You know, if Edward walked into this kitchen right now, I'd probably thank him," Bella said.

Jacob started at hearing Edward's name on her lips. It had been an eternity since she'd mentioned him.

"Him dumping me was the best thing that ever happened. I mean, when you think about it, I was too young and immature to make that kind of decision. I wonder sometimes what I was thinking back then." She shook her head in disbelief. "To think I could have had this kind of life with a vam—with Edward. It was so stupid and naïve. It was a blessing for everyone when he left town, because he didn't really love me. He made that perfectly plain that day."

Jacob stayed silent, remembering Edward's words from the letter:

"Never are you to tell her of my love for her. Never is she to know that those things I said to her in the woods that day were all lies, the blackest of lies. Let her continue to believe that I never truly loved her and that I turned my back on her without a care. I tell you this now, Jacob, so that you will know the truth of my heart. I love her deeply and always will, but she is to never know that…

"Well, I'm bushed," Jacob said, scooting his chair back from the table. "And I'm tired of reliving the past. How about me and you go curl up underneath our blankets and rustle up some heat?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

She batted her eyelashes at him innocently. "But I'm not cold."

Jacob growled playfully and chased her out of the kitchen and into their bedroom. Her delightful laughter rang throughout the house and warmed the hearts of everyone who heard it.

- 27 Years Later (November 2054) -

The misty rain had finally stopped and a weak winter sun peeped through the clouds, but Jacob didn't notice. There was no sun anymore; his sun was gone.

He sat on the ground with his back up against the rough bark of some tree. Its bare branches offered no protection from the elements. His clothes were plastered to his skin, but he didn't care. Being cold and wet was an inconvenience, a minor discomfort that could be easily fixed with a change of clothing. He didn't want to be comfortable. It didn't seem right for him to be warm and dry when Bella was lying underneath the ground, a mere three feet from him, in a cold, dank container that was to be her home for eternity.

A sob escaped his throat, but he didn't care about that either. There was no one around to hear him cry. His children had given up trying to pry him away from Bella's grave. Their warnings of catching cold and getting chilled had no effect. He no longer cared about his own health. To fuck with life, he thought, especially if I have to live the rest of it without Bella.

Footsteps sounded close by. Jacob sighed aloud at being disturbed once again. Whoever it was would offer their condolences, ask him to come back home and then would eventually leave when he refused. He had the routine down pat, now.

Polished black dress shoes walked into his line of sight and stopped at the edge of Bella's grave. Jacob wondered who it was, as no one on the reservation could afford those kinds of shoes, nor the sharply creased black dress pants that brushed the tops of the shoelaces.

"Jacob."

Jacob's breath hitched in his throat in disbelief at hearing a voice he hadn't heard in nearly fifty years. He ran his eyes slowly up the visitor's body. By the time he reached the face, he'd managed to reign in his shock. The man looked no different, that is, if you could ignore his eyes. They were still golden, but they seemed dull, hollow and sad. His ancient eyes looked out of place in that youthful seventeen-year-old body. There would never be any wrinkles for him, or aching joints, or insulin shots, but even he wasn't immune to sorrow.

"Edward, what are you doing here? You promised you'd never come back to Forks."

"I said I would never come back as long as Bella was alive," he said quietly.

Jacob hadn't read the letter in a very long time, so he'd forgotten a lot of it. That was one of the things that had slipped his mind.

"I saw your children at the funeral, from a distance, of course. You should be proud."

"Bella and I did good, didn't we?" Jacob couldn't help the small, gloating smile that appeared on his face. He was proud. Damn proud.

Edward nodded. "Yes, you did." Then Edward surprised him by sinking to the ground and leaning his back up against a neighboring tree.

"Gonna ruin those fancy clothes," Jacob observed, not that he cared, but he felt the need to say it anyway.

Edward shrugged. "They're just clothes."

They sat side-by-side and stared silently at Bella's grave for a very long time. They didn't talk because they didn't need to talk to know what the other was thinking and feeling. Finally, Jacob had found someone who shared his grief and who understood why he couldn't bear to leave her side.

"She was a good wife to you?" Edward asked, finally breaking their companionable silence.

"The best," Jacob answered. "Supportive, loving, fun, but she never hesitated to chew my ass out when I needed it."

Edward nodded and Jacob watched as the corners of his mouth tugged upwards into a small smile. "I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to see that. I imagine it was quite entertaining. What about motherhood? Did she enjoy it? Was she a good mother?"

"Hell, yes," Jacob said fervently. "She was the best mother on the rez. She was involved in everything our kids did. Poor Will. He's our oldest, and he's taking it the hardest. They were very close."

Jacob sighed deeply and fought back tears as he remembered his oldest son breaking down at the news of his mother's death. It saddened Jacob to know that Will was suffering and that being home with the memories all around him wasn't helping. He fully expected Will to leave and return to his family in Seattle as soon as he possibly could.

"Life isn't life without her," Jacob said finally.

"No, it certainly isn't," Edward agreed.

"I'm diabetic," Jacob said. "It's bad."

They locked eyes.

"I'm not long for this world," Jacob said quietly.

"Neither am I," Edward replied calmly.

Jacob frowned. Vampires didn't get sick. They didn't take insulin shots twice a day. Their hearts didn't race. Their kidneys didn't need pills to make them work right.

"As soon as I leave here, I'm going to Italy," Edward explained. "Aro and I have an appointment, although he doesn't know it yet."

Jacob's frown deepened. He had no idea in hell what Edward was talking about. "Aro?"

"Don't you remember anything from the letter?" he retorted, sounding a slight bit annoyed. "I'm going to expose myself to humans in front of our governing body, The Volturi. Aro, our leader, will be sufficiently outraged and will swiftly end my life."

Jacob remembered now. He was surprised to realize that he envied the man. If only he had enough courage to put a gun to his head, he'd be with Bella tonight. Only the thought of her reaction when they finally met on the other side kept him from such drastic measures. He supposed he'd have to wait for nature to take its course, although he could help it along a little. There was no law that said he had to take his medicine.

Edward suddenly rose to his feet in one swift and graceful movement. Jacob would have to ask for his help in getting up, so he stubbornly stayed where he was.

"Goodbye, Jacob," he said. "This is the last time we will ever see each other."

"Maybe not." Jacob chuckled. "There's always heaven…or hell."

Edward smirked and then his humor evaporated. "You're a good man. I made the right decision."

Jacob stared at his wife's grave. Bella was a good woman, the best. She didn't fall in love with just anyone. You had to have been a special man to have gotten a piece of her heart.

"I take back every bad thought I ever had about you, Edward. You're as good a man as I. Maybe better. Goodbye and good luck with your…appointment."

Edward nodded solemnly and then turned and walked away.

- Seven Months Later (June 2055) -

"How could two people have accumulated so much stuff?" Will asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

They'd been at it for hours and the attic looked like it hadn't even been touched. Will was impatient to get everything done and their parents' estate settled so he could get back to his life in Seattle. Caleb understood, although he would have loved for his brother to stay a little longer. But since their mother's death, Will could barely tolerate being on the rez. Some days Caleb felt the same way. The past months had been rough. His father had given up after their mother had died, and had just wasted away. Everywhere Caleb looked now he saw his father's face and the memories of their life together.

"It was Dad," Carlie interjected in explanation. "He was the packrat, remember? Mom complained all the time about how much junk they had up here and how the ceiling was going to fall in on them one day, but nobody ever made the time to get rid of it. That's up to us now, I guess." She sighed sadly and added some more old clothes to the growing pile that was destined for the local goodwill store.

"Hey, look at this," Will said, chuckling and pulling a thick book out of one of the dusty boxes. "A college textbook: Fundamentals of College Algebra. Nobody even uses textbooks anymore. Why would they keep this old thing?"

Caleb shrugged, tried to think of a reason to save it, and couldn't. "Trash," he said, pointing to the huge plastic barrel sitting next to them.

Caleb dragged the nearest box over to him and wedged it between his legs. He dug around inside, tossing some more old clothes in Carlie's direction. In the bottom, underneath a pile of ratty car magazines, he found a metal box. Curious.

"Look at this," Caleb said. "A box." He tugged at the lid and grinned. "And it's locked."

Carlie and Will smiled and shook their heads in resignation. There was only one thing Caleb loved more than his Quileute heritage and that was a mystery. In the interest of satisfying Caleb's incessant curiosity, Will made a reluctant trip back down the attic ladder in search of something to pry it open with. Ten minutes and one screwdriver gouge to his palm later, Caleb was in. He lifted the lid and sighed with satisfaction. Mystery solved: it was full of mementos and old letters.

Carlie hovered over his shoulder to see the treasure trove inside the old metal box. "Hey, there's the wolf charm Dad carved for Mom!" She reached a hand over Caleb's shoulder and snatched it away. "Please let me have this. Please?"

Neither he nor Will could ever refuse Carlie anything that she truly wanted, so the wolf charm was now hers.

"Look at these," Caleb said, his curiosity roused. "A pack of letters." Caleb removed the string holding the thick bundle together. Out of curiosity, he pulled one at random from the middle of the stack, opened it and removed the letter inside.

Jake,

Last night was incredible. We need to take walks along the beach more often. Although, I was digging sand out of my…

"Stop! Don't read any more!" Carlie shook her head vehemently and covered her ears with her hands. "They're love letters, Caleb. Don't read them."

Caleb refolded the letter and stuffed it back in the envelope. The intimate details of their parents' lives were something they didn't need to know, although he found it touching that his father had kept their old love letters. It was strange to imagine his dad, the guy with the perpetually greasy hands of a mechanic, being a romantic at heart.

Caleb shuffled through the stack of letters until he got to the last one on the bottom. What the hell? He pulled it out and studied it. It was addressed to 'Jacob Black' and the handwriting was antiquated, like the penmanship from the 1800s.

"This isn't one of Mom and Dad's letters. Look at it. That's not either of their handwriting, and the date on the stamp is…" Caleb brought the letter closer to his face so he could read the blurred ink. "…September 18, 2005, and it's postmarked Rio de Janeiro."

Another mystery! Neither one of his siblings objected when he opened the letter and began reading aloud:

Jacob,

"Who's it from?" Will interrupted.

Caleb flipped the letter over and jumped straight to the bottom. "Someone named 'Edward'." They exchanged puzzled looks and each one of them shrugged. They'd never heard their parents mention anyone by that name.

"Keep reading," Carlie said eagerly.

You see, Alice wanted to host an 18th birthday party for Bella. It was a good idea in theory, but in practice it was a disaster. She cut her finger while opening one of her gifts. Jasper lost control and lunged for her. I blocked his attack, but in doing so, inadvertently pushed her into the table holding the glass punch bowl. It shattered and she received a deep cut to her arm. It was at that moment, with blood pouring out of her wound and everyone in the room on the verge of losing control, (except for Carlisle), that I realized I had to leave Forks, and Bella's life, for good.

On the 16th, I finally took her into the edge of the woods behind her house, and broke the news to her that we were leaving, and that she wasn't coming with us. I told her that I didn't want her, and that I was tired of trying to pretend to be human just so I could be with her. I told her she didn't belong in my world, and she doesn't, Jacob.

"'I was tired of trying to pretend to be human'?" Caleb repeated the strange sentence and met the bewildered eyes of Will and then Carlie. "What the hell does that mean?" Carlie made an impatient gesture towards the letter, a silent command to continue reading.

Leaving her was the hardest thing I've done in my life, or will ever do. But it had to be done. Bella deserves a normal life and all of my attempts to convince her of that have failed. My only recourse is to leave and allow her future to unfold as it was meant to. As I told her that day, it will be as if I never existed. I promise never to return to Forks as long as Bella is alive. I will not interfere in her life in any way from this moment on.

This is your chance, Jacob. I know that I've damaged her; I've seen her suffering through Alice. I implore you to help her heal. You're her best friend, and perhaps, through time, your relationship will evolve into something deeper. Know that if it does, I have no objection. In fact, you have my blessing. Make her happy, Jacob.

It is my most fervent wish to end this miserable existence that I call my life. Death is easily attained for our kind, if you know where to look for it. If I were to journey to Italy today, and reveal my true nature to the world in front of Aro, our leader, my life would end, and this misery would all be over. But, I cannot leave this world until she leaves it. I have instructed Alice to watch her and keep me informed, not of the intimate details of her life—I don't think I could stand knowing those—but instead, the milestones, the markers of our lives that define our happiest and saddest moments. Those are the ones I want to see before I leave this earth.

Never are you to tell her of my love for her. Never is she to know that those things I said to her in the woods that day were all lies, the blackest of lies. Let her continue to believe that I never truly loved her and that I turned my back on her without a care. I tell you this now, Jacob, so that you will know the truth of my heart. I love her deeply and always will, but she is to never know that. She needs a clean slate, a fresh start on which to build a new life. In some ways, I'm lucky in that my memory is flawless. I have so many wonderful images of her in my mind, words spoken by her and the sound of her laughter. Those memories will comfort me somewhat in the years to come. But my memories are nothing compared to what you will have.

Caleb stopped reading, his mind reeling from all that he'd read. Will was staring at the floor, apparently in shock, his head cradled in his hands. Silent tears were trickling down Carlie's face.

"Oh my God, he was in love with her," she said quietly, sniffing. "And he left her so that she could find happiness with our father. It's so romantic…and sad."

Will's head shot up. "You're missing the goddamned point, Carlie!" he snapped. "'She doesn't belong in my world? I was tired of pretending to be human? I have a flawless memory?' Blood pouring out of a wound and all of them on the verge of losing control? 'Aro, our leader'? Who the fuck was this 'Edward'?!"

"Will," Caleb said softly. "There's still more to read. Maybe the answer is in here."

He understood his brother's anger. Will had been closer to their mother than either he or Carlie, and the letter was certainly an unexpected shock to them all. It seemed that there was much about their parents' lives that they hadn't known.

There is another reason I wrote you this letter. Bella was MY reason for leaving Forks, but in truth, my family had been considering moving away for a long time before the disastrous birthday party. I have permission from Carlisle to tell you everything. There's so much you don't know about your heritage, Jacob, knowledge that has been lost to your people because of the frailty of their human minds and the inaccuracies that always come about from retelling a story repeatedly. Vampires don't have those problems. We remember everything.

Caleb's jaw dropped open in shock. It felt like an electrical charge had shot out from the paper and into his body. Will cursed and kicked violently at a nearby crate, sending it crashing against the wall. Carlie jumped in reaction, but said nothing.

"Edward is a vampire," Caleb said softly to himself. "Our mother was in love with a Cold One, and he with her. Incredible." He quickly scanned the rest of the letter as Will and Carlie argued about the ramifications of what they'd heard. "Guys! Will you two be quiet?! The rest of the letter is about us…the Quileutes!," Caleb shouted.

Many of your young ones believe that the stories of your heritage are merely legends. I tell you that they are not myths; they are real. In 1936, your people, while in wolf form, encountered a coven of vampires who had accidentally trespassed on Quileute land. Those vampires were me, Carlisle, Esme, Rose and Emmett. We knew that the wolves were intelligent because I could hear their thoughts. So Carlisle and Ephraim Black negotiated a treaty. We lived amicably with your people for many years, and we also kept each other's secrets from the surrounding humans.

Ephraim and Carlisle grew to be friends, as unlikely as that sounds. Carlisle's natural curiosity was the impetus for many lengthy conversations between the two of them. Ephraim eventually confided to Carlisle that our presence in the area had caused great emotional upheaval in their tribe. Although they were proud of their wolf heritage and in awe of the changes in their bodies, the young men were having difficulty adjusting to the violence of phasing. Loved ones had been injured and disfigured from sudden, accidental shifting, often caused by simple arguments that escalated into violent outbursts. Control was difficult for many of them.

Another sorrow that he confessed to Carlisle was that of imprinting. Imprinting only occurs when your people are actively phasing. It's an instinctual method of mating that is uncontrollable, in both its timing and the object of the imprint. Ephraim spoke of several couples whose relationships had been shattered by imprinting. A husband or boyfriend would, without warning, imprint on someone other than their wife or girlfriend. Lives were ruined. We eventually came to the conclusion that our presence in the area was causing too much change and subsequent pain for your tribe. That's why we left, and according to your own legends, the shifting stopped long enough for your young people to believe that it had never really happened.

We returned in 2003, but we shouldn't have. As soon as we realized that Sam Uley had shifted, the first Quileute to do so in seven decades, we knew that it was starting all over again. Carlisle couldn't condone our staying, knowing the damage that our presence would do to your lives. So we left…again. Not only because of what happened with Bella, although that alone was unconscionable, but also because we wanted to let your people live in peace. If you were to ever have any hope of having a normal life with Bella, I had to leave and take my family with me. We have vowed never to return to Forks. Your heritage will once again, and forever, become nothing but stories in a legend.

I wish the best for you, Jacob. I regret any harsh words that we exchanged in the short time we knew each other.

Take care of her and cherish her.

Edward

"It's all true," Caleb said in disbelief when he reached the end of the letter. "We're warriors, Will, and our sons are warriors. Dad was telling the truth when he told us we had sleeping wolves inside of us."

Will got up abruptly and left the attic, stating emphatically that he didn't want anything to do with this wolf nonsense and Cold Ones. He was going back to Seattle and the 'real world' as soon as he could get the estate settled. Carlie was as excited as he was to learn that the legends were true, even though they would never directly affect her. Nevertheless, 'real life' eventually called her back to Portland and her family, as well. Caleb didn't understand his brother and sister. They spoke of their 'real lives' in the big city as if the reservation was just a pretend place out of a story book. But to him, La Push was his real life, his Quileute life, his warrior life.

- August 2055 -

The sun was shining for once. Caleb was sitting on a dead log in the middle of a clearing at the extreme southern corner of the reservation, soaking it up and daydreaming. Ridiculous behavior for a thirty-five year old man, but everyone on the rez had grown accustomed to his weird ways, especially his family. He'd always wandered off as a child and roamed the land, digging in the dirt and poking sticks in the ground to see what would come out of the holes. Things hadn't changed just because he was an adult.

A small sound alerted him that he wasn't alone. Too many years of stalking wild animals and creeping through the woods pretending to be a spirit warrior had fine-tuned his hearing and his awareness of his surroundings.

"Who's there?" he called to the empty clearing. He rose quickly and scanned the surrounding trees, turning slowly and peering deep into the thick undergrowth. A patch of color where it shouldn't be grabbed his attention. He tensed and was just about to confront who or whatever was hiding in the shadows, when they calmly stepped into the clearing.

Caleb was stunned, but not enough to quell his natural inquisitiveness. He made mental notes of what he saw: two males, light-haired and pale, well-dressed, and the exposed areas of their skin glistened in the sunlight, like stone laced with quartz.

"We're not going to hurt you," the one with the straight blonde hair said. "My name is Carlisle Cullen and this is my son, Jasper Hale."

Caleb's mouth dropped open at hearing the familiar names from his father's letter. "You're Cold Ones…vampires!"

"Yes, but we aren't here to hurt anyone," Carlisle said, his voice surprisingly soft and comforting. It certainly was not how Caleb had imagined a vampire's voice would sound, but of course, he'd been just a silly child dreaming of brave and noble wolves tearing vicious, blood-thirsty vampires to pieces.

"Then you know Edward," Caleb said excitedly, as the names from the letter resurfaced in his memory. "And my mother, Bella and my father, Jacob, and Alice, and Esme, Emmett and Rose."

"Yes, we knew your parents," Carlisle acknowledged warmly. "You look exactly like your father."

"Yeah, he always called me his little clone," Caleb said, chuckling at the memory of his dad ruffling his hair and teasing him about inheriting his pug nose. "What about Edward and the others?"

"Edward is…gone. The others didn't come with us," Carlisle answered.

"Gone?" Caleb asked. The answer sounded strangely ambiguous and sent chills up his back despite the warmth of the day.

Jasper jumped into the conversation and answered for Carlisle. "Edward's dead, but that's a story that must be left for another day. We have urgent business to discuss, and from everything we've heard about you in town, we thought you would be the best person to approach."

"We have a proposition for the Quileute people," Carlisle said.

Caleb learned more about vampires in that afternoon than he'd ever gotten from the legends and the imaginings in his head. Carlisle explained the traditional ways of the vampire: the nomadic behavior and subsisting on human blood. Caleb learned that Carlisle and his family, and many other progressive vampires, no longer fed from humans, but instead had turned to animals for food. They weren't nomadic any longer, but instead opted to group themselves together in small covens, or families.

There was a dramatic shift in attitude sweeping through the vampire world, according to Carlisle. More and more nomadic vampires were seeing the benefits of living the lifestyle that the Cullens, and their friends the Denalis, were living: congregating in peaceful groups, blending in with the local population, and in some instances, even becoming productive members of society.

Caleb learned of the Volturi, the vampires' governing body in Italy, and their leader, Aro, who was vehemently against the sweeping tide of change that was turning the vampire world upside-down. Caleb listened in rapt fascination as they described in detail the process of making and becoming a newborn vampire.

"It's always been frowned upon, as newborns are notoriously unpredictable and hard to control," Carlisle explained. "But, as is always the case when a leader feels threatened and backed into a corner, the rules go out the window."

Carlisle went on to explain that Aro was breaking his own primary rule: he was creating newborns to help him crush the newly-formed peaceful covens that were popping up all over the world, and in doing so was risking exposing them all to the humans around them.

"Do you recall the violent protests a few months ago in Rio de Janiero?" Jasper asked.

Caleb nodded. He'd seen and read about them, but that was half a world away, and hadn't seemed relevant to his life.

"They were reported as political riots, a violent protest against the government and its leaders, but that wasn't the truth. The deaths were all caused by Aro's newborns, which he unleashed on the local population in order to completely wipe out the peaceful coven that had been established there. And then he covered it all up with the mask of political unrest."

"What does this have to do with the Quileutes?" Caleb asked. Although he was completely absorbed and fascinated with all they were telling him, it was time to find out why they were really here and what they wanted from him and his people.

"We've come to ask your help in fighting the Volturi and in protecting the peaceful covens from obliteration. We propose a new alliance between our two peoples. No longer will we be enemies, but instead will band together against a greater enemy: the Volturi and their newborns. Your people's legacy has always been to protect humans from vampires, but that mission has changed slightly. There has to be a distinction made now between peaceful vampires who harm no one and the violent among us who would kill every human in their way to get to their desired end. For centuries, we have tolerated the Volturi, but the time for change has come. Will you let go of your legends and consider a new partnership?"

Caleb was stunned, overwhelmed, excited. So many conflicting emotions and thoughts as he considered everything he'd been told. "I can't make a decision like this on my own. I'd have to bring this before the elders, and I'm one of them, but frankly, it's been so long since we've actually did anything official. This is going to come as quite a shock to everybody," Caleb said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"We understand," Carlisle said, nodding.

"What exactly do I tell them?" Caleb asked.

"We promised your father that we'd never return to Forks, but unfortunately, circumstances have changed since then. We're asking formal permission to move our coven back to Forks so that our presence will trigger the changes in your tribe and enable your young men to start phasing for the first time in a generation. Once things settle, then we'll take it from there. Together, we'll pinpoint vulnerable covens and provide protection, while other vampires work behind the scenes to neutralize the Volturi in more subtle ways."

"Vampire spies and wolf bodyguards working together," Caleb said, still shaking his head in amazement.

Jasper snorted in amusement. "That's one way of looking at it."

"So, will you help us? Will you bring our case before your elders?" Carlisle asked hopefully.

Caleb grinned. "Are you kidding me? This is the most incredible thing that has ever happened in my entire life! Of course I'll help you!"

They made arrangements to meet at the end of one week. He had no idea if that would be enough time, but with the letter from Edward as proof, and perhaps with Sam's backing, Caleb felt sure that the elders would at least listen to Carlisle's proposal.

There was one thing he knew for certain: Caleb Nathaniel Black, great-great grandson of Ephraim Black, was going to do everything in his power to convince his people to help the vampires.

The time had finally come for the Quileutes to answer the ancient call and fulfill their true purpose.

Their wolves would soon awaken.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have been asked many times to turn this one shot into a full length story, but I just don't have the time to invest in another multi-chapter story. My life circumstances have changed the past 3 years, and I no longer have the time to write like I did. I've never even really developed a future plot line, nor thought about the new original characters I'd have to create. (Caleb's children would be the ones to shift, since Caleb is too old.) All I know for sure is that Edward is not really dead. He went to the Volturi with the intent to commit suicide, but Aro decided he would be worth more alive than dead. They broke his emotional bonds with his family and Edward is now one of them. Beyond that, I have no idea what happens.

I have written a short Father's Day one shot based on this story. It's called "Ants".