When we got to my house, we headed inside to my dad's bedroom. He wasn't there, and I was thankful for it. I didn't want to explain to him why Bella was here. As Bella searched through the bookcase, and flipped through page after page of Quileute legends, I began to pick up on a scent coming from my bedroom. It was a very familiar scent to me.

"I'll be right back, Bella." I said, and then headed to my room. When I opened the door, Edward was sitting on my bed. What do you want, Edward?

He stood up from the bed, and walked out of my room, heading outside. I followed, and I suspected that he wanted to talk to me about Renesmee.

"At first I came here to talk about that, but then I overheard another thought you were having." His voice was cold.

I decided to ignore what he was saying. "Listen, Edward. I know we're not the best of friends or anything, but it's not like I meant to have my Imprint with Renesmee broken. It just kind of happened."

"I know that, Jacob. I read your mind. Sometimes things like that just happen. But that's not why I'm here now. I know what happened between you and Bella."

"Edward…"

"Don't." he paused, "I don't know if it's modern day society that's corrupted you, but where I come from, men don't go after other men's' wives'. That's low, even for you, Jacob Black."

"Edward? What are you doing here?" Bella's voice said from behind me.

"Bella, go back inside. This is between myself and Jacob."

"She deserves to be here. It involves her, and she should be allowed to stay if she wants." I interjected.

Bella was by my side now. "Thank you, Jacob. At least someone wants me to be here. Now, tell me what's going on."

"Bella, I didn't…" Edward was cut off by Bella. I laughed internally at him, for his sake.

"Save it, Edward." Bella snapped back.

"Edward, since you're the reason why this discussion is happening, I'll let you explain."

Edward glared at me, but then turned to Bella, and said, "Bella, love, what happened between you and Jacob at the beach?"

"I don't know, Edward. That's why we're here. To find out what happened when we…" she paused and turned to face me. "Wait, doesn't he know?"

I didn't answer, but Edward did. "Yes, Bella. I know that he kissed you." A smile appeared on his face, and he looked at me. "In fact, I remember saying that if you ever kissed her without her permission, I would hurt you." He lunged towards me, and I retreated just as fast, jumping backwards into my wolf form. I growled loudly at him.

"Edward! Don't! Jake didn't force himself on me!"

"Then what did he do, Bella? Hypnotize you?" Edward's voice raised with anger.

"No, he asked for a favour. And I let him. Without being forced."

The angry expression disappeared on Edward's face. "Bella… but I thought…" He couldn't finish his sentence.

"So did I, but I guess sometimes things aren't always as they seem." I saw Edward's face cringe, and knew he had heard me saying that exactly to Bella earlier today. I didn't need to be a mind-reader. He backed away slowly from Bella, even for a human, and turned around. "Edward, don't go…"

"Goodbye, Bella." Edward said, and then he was gone.

Bella stayed where she was standing, and quickly I ducked around back to transform back and get changed. I kept a supply of shorts at the back of my house, just in case. When I returned, she still hadn't moved, although the sun was now out, and her exposed skin was now glistening.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I feel as if this is all my fault."

She shook her head. "It's not. It's mine."

"No, it couldn't be." I placed my hand on her icy cold shoulder. "Bella, it's because I love you again. It's not you, it's me."

Bella turned and faced me. "No, Jake, it is me. I let him read my mind."

"So?"

"So… he saw that I had fallen in love with you too." I was speechless. She continued. "And I guess he just couldn't handle it."

Bella flung herself into my arms, and I knew that if she were human, tears would be rolling down her cheeks. I squeezed tight, hugging her until she pulled away from me.

"Thanks, Jake. You've always been there for me."

"And I always plan on being there. Running away doesn't help any problem. It only makes things worse."

"Yeah, I know that."

I put my arm around her. "Come on. There should be a bonfire tonight. I overheard this morning that the pack was planning one."

"But I'm…" she began.

"Don't worry about it. You're with me."

She smiled, and we began to walk. I started to head back towards the beach, but Bella tugged on my arm. "Can we go in the forest? I'm still kind of paranoid."

"Fine, but don't worry. Eventually I'll get you comfortable enough to be out is in the day no matter the weather."

When we entered the woods, Bella asked, "Jake? What do you think happened between us on the beach?"

I sighed. "Does it really matter, Bella? Why can't we just enjoy the moment, and see where that takes us? Why can't things just be normal?"

"I want to enjoy the moment, Jake, but we're not normal. I'm a vampire, and you're a werewolf. Things like that don't happen in normal, everyday life."

"I know, Bells. But can't we pretend to be normal? At least for a little while."

"I guess. For now." Bella answered, although I could tell that she wasn't telling me everything.

It was starting to get darker outside, entering the twilight time of night, so Bella felt comfortable with going out from under the cover of the forest. We walked hand in hand to the beach, and on the sand were the beginnings of a bonfire, surrounded by a pack of werewolves. They looked up in our direction, as I assumed they smelt Bella, and Sam stepped forward, walking towards me.

"Jacob," he began, but I cut him off.

"She's here with me, Sam. So leave her alone."

"You can't tell me what to do, Jacob. I'm Alpha. You have to listen to me, and I say that…"

"I don't have to listen to you, Sam." I said, " I'm an Alpha too, one by birthright. She's staying, whether you like it or not."

Sam turned around and walked back to the pack. We followed him, and just before we were in earshot, I said to Bella, "Don't worry about Sam. He's just annoyed that I'm back. He knows that if I stay I'll be gunning for his job soon."

Bella laughed quietly, just loud enough so I could hear. "What about the rest of them?"

"Stay clear of Leah. She still doesn't really like your kind. As for everyone else, I think you'll be fine. I'll protect you no matter what though, Bella. You know that."

"Yeah, I do." she said as Seth started running towards us.

"Okay, I lied. I'll protect you from everyone… except from Seth. I'd look out, by the way. He's about to tackle you with a hug."

Bella turned her head just in time to see Seth coming. He crashed into her and gave a giant bear hug.

"Bella! You're back!" he said joyfully.

"Hi Seth. It's good to see you too."

"Come on, come to the fire. You can sit beside me if you want."

I laughed as I followed Bella and Seth to a log next to the bonfire. Seth was so crushing on Bella, and she didn't even have a clue. Bella sat down next to Seth, and then patted the seat next to her while looking at me. I sat down, taking her hand in mine again, and stared overtop of the small bonfire to where Sam was seated. Emily was beside him, and it looked to be as if she was trying to talk some sense into him about Bella. I could see why, back when us wolves had been out searching for Victoria, Bella had spent some time with Emily, and I assumed they had grown closer.

"Hey Bella? You may want to stay near that fire for the whole night. You feel a bit cold." Someone said from behind me. I turned around to see Paul standing with his forefinger on Bella's shoulder.

"Yeah, well at least I'm not running around thinking I'm so hot like someone else here, Paul." she retorted, and the rest of the pack burst into laughter.

"I think you just got owned by a vampire there, Paul. How do you feel?" I said after laughing.

He hit me on the shoulder lightly, and then walked over to a nearby log, sitting down.

"Too hot over here for you, Paul?" Quil jumped in. Another round of laughter rang through the group.

"Funny guys, really funny. You just wait. I'll get you back eventually. When you're least expecting it."

"Oh, I'm shaking in my boots."

"Jacob? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Sam asked while standing up.

"I'll be right back," I whispered to Bella, and then stood up, walking over to where Sam was. "What do you want, Sam?" I said sharply.

"Come with me." he said, and then began walking further away.

"No, Sam. If you want to talk to me, you're talking to me right here."

He stopped, turning to look me straight in the eyes. "You have a lot of nerve to talk to me like that."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Not really. You don't own me, Sam. I can think for myself. I don't need to listen to what you say."

"Look, Jacob. I don't mind if she's here." he said, motioning to Bella. "But I wanted to remind you that I'm the Alpha wolf here, not you. And it's going to stay that way."

I laughed. "You called me over here just so you could say that I have no chance to become the Alpha wolf of the pack, again? Wow, Sam. That's lame." I turned to walk back to Bella, but then thought of something else to say. "Oh, and by the way, I'm not interested in your job. Because if I was, I'd already have it."

I left Sam standing there with his head spouting smoke, and rejoined Bella and Seth. Seth was talking non-stop to Bella, although I could tell that she wasn't really listening to him. When I sat down next to her again, and placed my hand on her leg, she jumped slightly, but upon seeing me, her face turned into a wide smile. I smiled back, but began to wonder what was running through her head. Bella was always so secretive, and could easily fool someone into thinking she was fine, when in fact she wasn't.

"Excuse me, Seth. But could I steal away Bella for a moment?"

"Sure, no problem, Jake. I'll talk to you later, Bella, I guess."

"Yeah, definitely." Bella answered, but as soon as we had gone far enough so that he couldn't hear, she said to me, "So that's what torture is like?"

I laughed, as did she. "You do know that Seth has a little crush on you, right?"

"No! He couldn't. You're lying." she retorted immediately, but when I shook my head, Bella continued, "Really?"

"Yeah, he does."

We walked in silence for a few minutes, just looking out at the waves rushing in onto the beach. The waves shimmered with light, and I looked up into the sky to see a full moon above us. A thought triggered in my head of an old tribal story my dad had told me when I was little.

"Bells? Can I ask you something?"

"Mhmm? Sure, Jake."

"Do you love me?"

"Of course I do."

"No, Bella. I mean do you really love me?"

A puzzled look appeared on her face. "Why does that matter, Jake?"

"This is going to sound kind of stupid, but when I was little, my dad told me an old story. A legend, I guess you could say."

"Okay… but what does that have to do with your question?"

"Legend has it that when you kiss your true love under a full moon, it creates a bond so great that nothing can break it. You become mated, for life." I paused for a second, letting Bella wrap her head around what I had just said. "So, Bella, I ask again. Do you really love me?"

"I… I…" Bella began. She stopped walking, and turned to face me. The moonlight shone on her face, and it glowed in the light. I could see the inner struggle going on inside of her, trying to choose between Edward and I. She seemed momentarily confused, but then a smile appeared on her face, and she said, "Yes, Jacob Black. I do love you."

I smiled, and then leaned in to kiss her on the lips. The same burning sensation streamed through my body as I kissed her, and I knew that we, Bella and I, were meant to be. This was supposed to happen.

When we broke apart, Bella once again backed away from me a little. "I'm sorry, but I have to. It's so… difficult."

"That's okay, Bella. I understand."

She sat down on the sand, and began to play with it in her fingers. "What am I going to do about Edward?"

I wanted to go comfort her, but I stayed were I was, not wanting to make the situation any harder. "I think you need to tell him the truth. About everything."

She shook her head. "I thought you were going to say that, but I just needed to be sure." She sighed, "I need to talk to Alice. She'll know where to find him."

"Can it wait until morning?"

"I guess, but I want to get this whole thing sorted out soon."

"Bella, we have forever to do that. Let's just enjoy ourselves for the rest of the night."

"Alright," she conceded, and we began to walk back to the bonfire.

By this point, the pack seemed to be settling down. Seth had fallen asleep on Leah's shoulder, who was staring at the fire with disgust on her face. I looked over to see Sam and Emily kissing on a log, and figured that was why Leah looked so angry. Quil and Embry looked to be eating Smores, and Paul had disappeared.

"Never mind," I said to her. "Do you want to just head back to my place? I don't think anything really exciting is going on here. Unless you want to talk to a very angry Leah."

"Let's go back to your house." Bella agreed, and we raced back to my house. She beat me. When we got inside, I led her to my small room. As I lay down on my bed, she said, "I can't sleep, Jake. Remember?"

"I know that, but could you just humour me, and at least close your eyes?" She rolled her eyes, but lay down on the bed next to me. "Do you mind if I put my arm around you, or would that be too difficult?"

"No, that's fine. I think."

I wrapped my arm around Bella, and closed my eyes, letting the looming problem of Edward disappear from my mind.