Chapter 3


While Edward was inside with Bella, Ellie was keeping watch outside with Emmett.

Standing several paces apart. Stone still, keeping watch, listening. They hear a sound, both springing at once – to find behind them – two wolves. Here to take over sentry duty. Slowly, Emmett and Ellie back away, the wolves eyeing their every move. A truce but a tense one.

-break-

Bella and Jacob walk along the sand. Jacob seems distracted, like he wants to say something but can't. Bella's too busy worrying to notice, "Gosh, it's so pretty here. So, Alice is planning a big graduation party. Which you're invited to." she says but Jacob scoffs.

"Yeah, I figured that. What?"

"I just wanted to do this differently. Smoother. But now, I'm out of time." Jacob started to explain.

"To what?" she asked.

"You need to hear the truth, Bella. Understand all your options. You need to know... That I'm in love with you. And I want you to choose me, instead of him." Bella stares at him, momentarily speechless.

"I thought you understood. I don't feel that way for you." she told him.

"I don't buy it." he said not convinced.

"What don't you buy? That's how I feel." she said.

"You feel something else for me, you just won't admit it. So I'm not giving up. I'm gonna fight for you. Until your heart stops beating." he explains.

"Well, then you're not gonna have to fight for long." she tells him.

"You're rushing into it because you're afraid you'll change your mind." he told her but it strikes a nerve – which makes her angry.

"No, I'm not. I know what I want." she tells him as Jacob takes her by the arms, emotionally charged.

"You wouldn't have to change for me, Bella. Or say goodbye to anybody. I can give you more than him. I mean, he probably can't even kiss you without hurting you." he grabs her hand and puts it to his chest, "Feel that? Flesh and blood and warmth." he says then he suddenly spontaneously, he kisses her.

Bella pushes against him angrily, but he pulls her tighter to him. Finally Bella goes limp, drops her arms, opens her eyes, waiting for him to stop. He does, lets go. She turns away. He waits, gauging her reaction. But Bella spins back toward him and punches him in the mouth. There's a horrible crunch on impact. Jacob doesn't even flinch. But Bella grabs her hand in pain.

"Ow! Ow!" she moaned in pain as she headed towards the car.


They get back to Bella's house, she is mad, climbs from Jacob's car holding her injured hand, as Edward's Volvo screeches to a stop. He gets out, moves directly for Jacob. Ellie also there immediately getting in their path.

"Not here, Edward. Please." Bella pleaded.

"If you ever touch her against her will again." Edward said angrily.

"Don't do this." Ellie said to Edward.

"She's not sure what she wants." Jacob growled.

"Well, let me give you a clue. Wait for her to say the words" Edward said.

"Fine. And she will." Jacob said sure of himself.

"Jacob. Just go, okay." Bella said.

"Jacob! Bella has told you to leave" Ellie warned.

But Jacob faces off with Edward. Behind them Charlie exits, sees the hostility between them. Heads for them-) "Hey, hey, hey, hey... Easy guys, easy. Let's take it down a notch. Alright? What's going on?" Charlie asked.

"I kissed Bella. And she broke her hand... Punching my face." Jacob explained. Charlie's expression turns into a glare.

Both boys back away and Edward heads closer to Bella as Ellie stands near Jacob making sure he didn't try anything.

"Dad, we'll take Bella to Carlisle. Get him to check out her hand" Ellie suggested.

"Yeah…. Yeah, good idea. Let me know how she goes." Charlie said.

"Will do…" she turned to Jacob, "I think Sam might be looking for your Jacob" she said.

Jacob just looked at her and nodded, knowing she might be right and runs off as Edward gets Bella to the car.


Edward looks on with concern as Carlisle finishes setting Bella's hand in a splint. Rosalie, at the counter, peruses several newspapers, looking for an update.

"Total misunderstanding. It's just a sprain, should heal fairly quickly." Carlisle informed her.

"Trying to walk and chew gum at the same time again, Bella?" Emmett said jokingly.

"I punched a werewolf in the face." she told him.

"Bad ass... You're gonna be one tough little newborn. Might even rival your sister here" Emmett said smiling as he wrapped an arm around Ellie's shoulders.

"Tough enough to take you on." Bella retorted

Rosalie slaps down the newspaper and abruptly walks out, throwing a fierce scowl Bella's way. Bella is thrown. "Don't worry about it." Emmett tells her.

"Okay, any Leads?" Edward asked.

"No sign of the intruder. But Victoria continues to make appearances." Jasper replies.

"She's toying with us. Keeping us distracted. I couldn't read her mind the last time we came across her" Ellie said.

"Distracted from Seattle?" Emmett asked.

"Or the intruder. Or something else." Carlisle added.

"Alice can keep tracking her decisions but we have to track her on the ground." Edward suggested.

Tired of being ignored, Bella heads out to the deck as Jasper continued, "We've already covered the entire southern peninsula down to Quinault."

"We'll search the northwestern trail."


It was after Graduation and the party with swinging at the Cullen's house.

It's wall to wall with teenagers. Dancing, celebrating. Alice has transformed the place into a magical nightclub.

Bella enters, immediately overwhelmed by the crowd. She weaves her way through the throngs, searching for Edward or her sister. She finally spots them, who were in deep consultation with Carlisle, Emmett, Ellie and Jasper. Their mood is intense

Bella heads toward them but Jessica and Angela swoop in, "You've made it." Angela greeted.

"Hey. What'd you think of my speech? Too easy-breezy, too self-helpful? You may admit it." Jessica asked Bella.

"No, you pretty much nailed it." Bella commented.

"Yeah? It's like I was born to lead, right?" Jessica asked.

"Oh, great. I love this song, let's go." Angela said as she pulls them to the dance floor where Eric and Mike find them. Mike and Eric start a robot battle. The girls laugh. There celebratory mood is in striking contrast to the atmosphere in the kitchen.

A dance floor is Bella's idea of hell, but she forces a smile, shuffles a bit. Then she sees Jacob enter. Calm, confident. Quil and Embry flank him, looking tense, eyes darting around the room. Bella maneuvers off the dance floor and into Jacob's path.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"You invited me, remember?" he reminded.

"Was my right hook too subtle for you? That was me uninviting you." Bella told him.

"Look, Bella. I'm sorry... about, you know... The kiss and your hand... I'd blame it on the whole inner animal thing... But it was really just... me. Being an ass. I'm really sorry." Jacob apologised.

She sees he's sincere. She softens, nods, "I brought you something. A graduation present. I made it myself." he said as he takes her hand and clasps to her wrist a charm bracelet.

Bella looks at it, its a wolf charm, she is moved, "Oh... You made this? It's really pretty. Thanks." She said.

Jacob's pleased. But then Bella's eye is caught by Alice who was standing by the staircase, frozen. She's having a vision. Alarm clouds Bella's face. Jacob see it, "I'll be right back." she told him.

"Why? What's going on?" Jacob asked.

"Nothing. Just wait here a sec." she told him as Jacob shares a suspicious look with Embry and Quil as Bella pushes through the crowd.

Bella reaches Alice just as she comes out of her vision, her face alarmed, "Alice, what did you see?" Bella asked her.

Jacob appears behind them, "Okay, something is going on. Tell me." Jacob demanded.

"I... need to talk to Jasper." Alice said trying to move but Jacob puts an arm against the wall, blocking her.

"Why don't you talk to me?" Jacob suggested.

Suddenly Jasper is there. His expression lethal, "I suggest you remove – your – arm. Before I do." Jasper suggests and Jacob does so, slowly, carefully.

"The decision's been made." Alice told them.

"What's going on? You're not going to Seattle?" Bella asked.

"No... They're coming here." Alice told them.


The party continues inside but outside, the discussion is tense.

Bella, Alice, Edward, Jasper, Ellie and Carlisle debate as Jacob tries to follow. Quil and Embry are nearby, on guard.

"How long?" Edward asked.

"They'll be here in four days." Alice told them.

"This could turn into a blood bath." Carlisle said.

"Who's behind it?" Edward asked.

"I didn't see anyone I recognize. Maybe one…"

"I know his face. Riley Biers. I used to know him. He tried Taekwondo for a while but ended up stopping. He was a local" Ellie added reading Alice's mind.

Edward catches Bella's eye as she recognizes the name, shaken, "He didn't start this." Edward added.

"Whoever did is staying out of the action." Alice said.

"They must be playing with the blind spots in your vision." Carlisle said.

"Either way, the army is coming... ... and there aren't enough of us to protect the town." Jasper said.

"Hold up. What damn army?" Jacob asked about to explode.

Carlisle and Edward share a look. Edward shakes his head no, but Carlisle decides differently.

"Newborns. Our kind." Carlisle said.

"What are they after?" Embry asked.

"They were passing around Bella's scent. A red blouse." Alice explained.

"They're after Bella?" Ellie asked, concerned.

"What the hell does this mean?" Jacob asked.

"It means an ugly fight. With lives lost." Carlisle explained. The weight of it lands on all of them.

Jacob shares a sober look with Embry and Quil. An imperceptible nod, "Alright... We're in." Jacob said.

"No. You'll get yourselves killed, no way." Bella tried to tell them.

"I wasn't asking for permission." Jacob told her.

"Edward." Bella said.

"It means more protection for you." Edward explained.

"Jacob, Do you believe Sam will agree to... an understanding?" Carlisle asked.

"As long as we get to kill some vampires." Jacob smirked.

Carlisle turned to Jasper, "Jasper?"

"They'll give us the numbers. And the newborns won't know they even exist. That'll give us an edge." Jasper said.

"We'll need to coordinate." Carlisle said.

"Carlisle, they'll gonna get hurt." Bella was concerned.

"We'll all need some training. Fighting newborns requires knowledge that Jasper has. You're welcome to join us. Alright." Carlisle continued.

"Name the time and place." Jacob said.

Jacob, Quil and Embry head for the door. Bella catches Jacob, "Jake... You don't know what you're getting yourself in to." Bella tried to reason with him.

"Bella... This is what we do. You should be happy. Look at us, working together. You're the one who wanted us to get along, remember?" he said and strides out leaving her amid the revelers.

"Bella!" Ellie called out to her. Bella turned around.

"They will be fine. We all will. Just as long as we can work together." Ellie told her.

"I just dont want anyone to get hurt"

"You have to stop! Let us do what we need to do to protect not long you, but this whole town" Ellie said reasoning with Bella.


The eerie silence contrasts the house party. It's a large field surrounded by dense forest. The mist is heavy; it's overcast, grey. Suddenly, the quiet is broke by Emmett being flung through the air, flailing in slow motion. He lands hard on his back, but immediately springs up to face Jasper, the person who threw him. "Again." he says to Jasper. Carlisle, Esme, Ellie, Alice and Rosalie watch them spar.

A silver Volvo arrives as it skids to a halt next to Jasper's Jeep. Edward and Bella climb out, head into the field together. Halfway across, Edward stops.

"They're here." Edward says as Ellie nods.

On the treeline from out of the mist skulk eight giant wolves, as wary and on-edge as the Cullens are. Emmett recognizes Paul-wolf; their eyes meet, both itching for a rematch.

"They don't trust us enough to be in their human forms." Ellie added.

"They came. That's what matters." Carlisle said.

Bella sees the red-brown wolf as it turns toward her, "Jake…" He seems to almost smile, tongue lolling. A sharp look from Sam-wolf gets Jacob-wolf to focus.

"Ellie, will you translate?" Carlisle asked. She nodded as Carlisle moves slowly towards their pack. Sam-wolf, the biggest and blackest steps forward.

"Jasper has experience with newborns. He'll teach us how to defeat them."

"They want to know how the 'newborns' is differ from us." Ellie translated.

"They're a great deal stronger than us, because their own human blood lingers in their tissues. Our kind is never more physically powerful... ... than in our first several months of this life." Carlisle explains.

The pack takes this in. Carlisle nods to Jasper to take over. Jasper is initially uncomfortable with both the wolves and the attention. But steps forward, "Carlisle's right. That's why they are created. A newborn army, doesn't need thousands like a human army. And no human army could stand against them. The two most important things to remember are, first... Never let them get their arms around you. They'll crush you instantly. The second... Never go for the obvious kill. They'll be expecting that. And you will lose. Emmett? Don't hold back." he called.

"Not in my nature." Emmett smiles and charges Jasper with impossible speed, but Jasper is a virtual blur.

Emmett lunges several times, his strong arms grabbing at air. Jasper stops long enough to say, "Never lose focus. One more thing... Never turn your back on your enemy." Jasper states.

Emmett lunges again with similar results, until suddenly he freezes – Jasper has him from behind, his teeth an inch from Emmett's throat.

Ellie had to stop herself from lunging at Jasper. She was distracted by Sam-wolf coming up next to her.

Bella is taken aback by Jasper's skill. And there's an impressed rumble among the watching wolves.

Everyone takes turns sparring with Jasper, or pairing off against each other. They're all blurs, which become visible as shift to slow motion to see a violent but extraordinary dance.

Alice and Jasper spar, spiraling, twisting. Jasper launches at her but with her eyes glazed over, not looking at him, she sees his moves before he makes them. Out of nowhere, Alice is perched on his back; she kisses his neck, "Gotchya." Alice said sweetly.

Edward and Carlisle attack one another, but Edward can read Carlisle's mind which gives him the advantage. He twirls beyond Carlisle's grasp, then slams into him delivering a vicious body blow.

"Focus on speed, agility, keep your opponent off guard…" Jasper explained as they continued.

Next was Ellie and Edward, they two evenly matched with their mind reading each other's moves. They attacked and blocked each others moves with ease. Too equally matched. But Ellie gets sneaky and gets the upper hand as she gets a hit in and she drops him to the ground, hand to his throat. They both smile and get up.

The wolves rise or pace, watching intently, itching to get into the fray but holding back.

"Use their momentum against them—" he says. Bella anxiously watching these fierce, life and death war games. A portent of the violence to come. A furry muzzle brushes her arm.

Jacob-wolf is beside her, his eyes conveying concern. She pensively looks back out at the field. "Some of you, are gonna get hurt. Some of you could get killed, because of me. It's gonna be a hundred times worse than this, right?" she asked as Jacob nuzzles her face again. She pets him. Leans against him.

"We're done for the day." Edward told her as he suddenly appeared next to her. His expression is calm, but firm. Jacob-wolf eyes them... then rejoins his pack as they retreat into the woods.

The Jeep pulls away carrying Carlisle, Esme, Ellie and Emmett as Bella sits on the hood of the Volvo. Jasper approaches kicking the mud from his shoes; brushing dirt off. Bella looks at him as if for the first time.

"Jasper... Are you sure, there's nothing I can do to help?" she asked.

"Your presence alone, your scent will distract the newborns. Their hunting instinct will take over, drive them crazy." Jasper told her.

"Good. I'm glad. Hey. How do you know so much about this?" she asked as he started to walk away.

Jasper stopped and looked at her, "I didn't have quite the same upbringing as my adopted siblings." he tells her. hoping to end the conversation, he starts to move away but she jumps off the Jeep, following him.

He pauses, sees her inquiring look. He slowly rolls up a sleeve and shows her, his arm is feathered with hundreds of white, half-moon shaped scars. Bella is aghast.

"Those bites are like mine." Bella commented.

"Battle scars. All the training the Confederate Army gave me... ... was useless against the newborns. Still, I never lost a fight." he claimed proudly.

"This has happened during the civil war?" she asked. He nods as he starts to walk. She walks apace with him.

"I was the youngest major in the Texas cavalry. All without having seen any real battle." he told her.

"Until…"

"Until I met a certain immortal. Maria.

"I was riding back to Galveston... ... after evacuating a column of women and children. When I saw her... I immediately offered her my aid." Jasper stops walking, the painful memory washing over him. Bella moves to a fallen log, sits.

"Maria was creating an army?" Bella asked.

"They were very common in the South. And cost a brutal battles for territory. Maria won them all. She was smart, careful. And she had me. I was the second in command. My abilities to control emotions served her well." he explained.

"I trained her newborns. An endless occupation since she never let them live beyond their first year. It was my job to dispose of them. I could feel everything they felt. I thought what Maria and I had was love. But I was her puppet. She pulled the strings. I didn't know there was another way... Until I found Alice. Now she'd seen me coming, of course."

Alice had appeared behind him, "Kept me waiting long enough."

"My apologies, Ma'am. I don't know what I'd have become without her." he said as Alice wraps her arms around Jasper from behind him.

"You'll never have to be that again." she said as she tries to kiss the ghosts away.


Edward exits the house and towards the car where Ellie was, with Bella on his heels.

"I'm not just gonna hide, while you're taking all the risks for me?" she told him.

"If it's Victoria involved... I need to keep you as far away from the fight as possible." he explained.

"Jasper said that I could be of help." she said.

"We won't need your help. With the wolves in this, it's an easy win. The rest of us, aren't gonna have enough to do." hs tried to push off the subject.

"Okay, either it's so dangerous that I have to hide... Or it's so easy, that you're gonna be side lined, which is it?" she asked.

Edward exchanged a look with Ellie who only smirked, knowing exactly how her sister was. "It's dangerous for you. It's easy for us." he tried again to put an end to the conversation.

"I think it's dangerous for us to be apart. How many times we have to prove that? I'll be worrying. You'll be worried. And we'll both feel more horrible." she suggested.

"Okay, you're right." he gave in.

"So, I'm coming with you." she asked hopeful.

"No, we've got to stay away together." he told her.

"I can't make you choose between me and your family, it's…" she started but Edward interrupted her.

"The only way I can protect you, is to be with you." he told her.

They finally got to the car and got in to head towards the field.


End of chapter 3