Hello!

thank you all for reading. im having so much fun writing this story it makes me happy someone actually wants to read it. remember that if you leave a review ill send you a preview of next chapter. along with a huge virtual hug!

thanks to Angels of Twilight for being a great beta.

Stephenie Meyer still owns the characters i just borrow them.


When Charlie got home after work, he asked me what I had done. I didn't want to lie to him—that much—so I just told him part of the truth, that I had spent the day with the Cullens, and they helped me bake.

"You might not want to tell the Quileutes that," said Charlie.

"Why not?"

"Because they don't like the Cullens."

"What? How can anyone not like the Cullens? That's impossible! Why not?"

"They are natural enemies, Bells. They don't hate the Cullens, just what they are."

"Well, that's unfair! They didn't choose to be what they are any more than the Quileutes did!"

"I know, trust me. I've had many arguments with Billy about the same thing, but they just don't want to understand. They are still good people, and I don't want this to affect your opinion of them, okay?"

"Okay, I'll still be nice to them." He nodded and walked upstairs to get changed out of his uniform. I turned around to go to the kitchen and get the cinnamon rolls, thinking how on earth the Cullens were not liked by someone. Even if they were natural enemies, it was not like they had a normal diet.

Charlie walked downstairs in some jeans, black boots, and a flannel shirt. I realized this was the first time I'd ever seen him without his cop uniform or a suit. He looked younger and easy-going.

"You look good, Charlie."

"Thanks, Bells." Was that a blush I saw? "You do, too." I had changed into a teal-colored dress with sleeves and a skirt that hit the tops of my knees and some black ankle boots. I had a black jacket for when it got cold, but so far, the day had been quite nice.

"Thanks. I kind of need your help with all the stuff we baked."

"Sure, no problem." He helped me load everything up into his red Chevy that he used when he was off duty, and we both got in.

The ride to the Black's house was spent mostly in silence. Once we got near, I noticed there were a lot of people outside.

"I thought you said it was just going to be the Blacks and us." I turned to Charlie who was looking just as surprised as I was.

"That's what Billy had told me. Looks like everyone from the council is here." I couldn't help the shiver that ran through my body at the mention of any council. They always led to bad things for me.

"Do they know . . . you know, what I am?"

"No, and don't say a word. As far as they know, you are a wiz like me. I don't want to upset them, and there are way too many to fight against." He looked thoughtful for a moment and then added, "Here, you keep the keys to the truck. If things get bad and a confrontation starts, run to the car and take off. Got it?"

"I'm not leaving you behind, Charlie! Are you insane?"

"No, Bells, they can't kill me. It's part of the treaty your father made with them years ago. In exchange for our land, they have to protect us." All of the land in La Push belonged to the Swans, and years ago, when the Quileutes needed a place to call their own, my father made a deal with them. It was not like we needed their protection, but my father liked to keep all supernatural creatures on good terms with the Swans. It was one of the reasons they were so powerful.

"Doesn't that protect me, too? I am a Swan, after all."

"No, they won't see it that way. To them, you would be a creature they have to destroy in order to protect their way of life. You are tainted blood. Therefore, the treaty does not have to protect you if they don't want to."

"Okay, so if things go wrong, what's the plan?" I hated to think the worst, but we were dealing with temperamental creatures. And it wouldn't be the first time I got attacked for people knowing what I was.

"Like I said, just get to the truck and turn on the protective shield, then get out of here as fast as you can. Don't go to the house, go to the Cullens. They will keep you safe until I can get out of here." He reached into the glove compartment and took out a box. He gave it to me and said, "Here, put this on."

"What is it?"

"It's an emergency magic bracelet; they won't be able to track you if you use this magic instead of yours. We can't risk the Dark Ones finding you, either."

"But we said I would use no magic while I was in Forks, especially so close to my birthday."

"It's only for an emergency, Bells. I trust you, and I know you won't use it unless it's completely necessary. Now, let's get out of here and pretend nothing happened." He looked at me for a second, and then started to laugh.

"Okay, relax and have fun. Don't act suspicious. Just pretend this conversation never happened. I think you are going to love them." I doubted that, but I didn't want to be mean and tell him that. The truth was that I rarely liked people so easily. Except for the Cullens, said a tiny voice in my head.

We got out of the truck and I saw a man in a wheelchair come up to us. "Hi, Charlie. I was getting worried that you guys were never coming out of the truck."

"Hey, Billy. I was just giving Bells, here a pep talk. She's really shy around strangers." He turned around to look at me better and extended his hand.

"Hello, I'm Billy Black. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Hello, I'm Bella. Nice to meet you, too." I shook his hand and gave him a small smile before he turned around.

"Well, come on in. The entire Council wants to meet you, and everyone else for that matter."

Everyone else? How many people were here? Please don't tell me it was the entire population of La Push. As we walked towards the house, a bunch of teenage boys were running around outside. Billy made them stop so they could introduce themselves, and then they were off again. I was horrible with names, so I forgot most of them instantly. I'd never said my name so many times before; I wished I could just wear a name tag and get things over with.

Charlie asked a young boy and girl to get the cinnamon rolls I had made from the tuck. Their names were Seth and Leah. They were Sue's kids, so they knew where to take the food. When they came back, we followed them inside so I could meet Sue.

I took one of the platters from Leah while Seth was already eating one. We walked into a small kitchen full of food. It looked like they were feeding all of Washington State. We finally saw her cutting veggies for a salad, but she stopped working as soon as she saw us.

"Well, hi. You must be Isabella."

"Oh, it's Bella, please. It's nice to meet you. You must be Sue."

"Yes, that's me. So what's all this my kids have in their hands?"

"Oh, Sue, Bells here brought dessert."

"How nice of her, but you didn't have to go through all that trouble, dear. You must have worked on this all day. They smell amazing."

"Thanks, and it's no problem. I have nothing else to do during the day."

"Well, it's time to go sit down and eat, so go pick a chair, and I'll be right out."

"Do you need any help, Sue?"

"Oh no, dear, you are a guest, so go sit and mingle and let me do all the work." She took my hand and practically dragged me outside where a huge table had

been set up. She sat me next to a boy with russet-colored skin and a big, bright smile. He turned around immediately to look at me and said, "Hi, I'm Jacob, Billy's kid. You must be the Swan girl everyone is talking about."

"Hi, I'm Bella, the Swan girl, like you said."

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I didn't know your name. I just knew you were coming with Charlie."

"It's okay, I get it." Thank god that was when Sue decided come out and start giving us food. There were around thirty people at the table. During the entire

dinner, Jacob kept a conversation with me, but it was mostly one-sided. He was nice, but he talked way too much about things I don't know about. He spent most of the dinner talking about cars and asking me about myself and what I liked to do.

After dinner, Charlie took me on a tour of La Push, and Jake tagged along with us. It seemed that everywhere I went, he was there. It was getting kind of creepy. Once we got back to the house, I excused myself to the kitchen to see if Sue needed help.

She was already sitting down at a small table, and it looked like she had just finished eating. She was eating one of my cinnamon rolls when I came in. As soon as she saw me, she asked me how I had made them. We sat there for a while just talking about food and cooking.

I was just done telling her how to make Alfredo sauce when she said, "I can't wait until you live here. It will be nice to have someone to talk to every now and then in the kitchen," said Sue.

"Is Charlie planning on moving here?

"No, why do you say that?"

"Well, why else would I move up here?"

"When you marry Jacob, of course! I don't think he would want to live in Forks and be away from his dad."

"I'm sorry, who is marrying Jacob?" What the hell was this lady taking about? That kid was creepy; he looked like a lost puppy following me around.

"You are. Your father arranged the marriage himself." When she said that, I saw red. I didn't have to see myself in the mirror to know what color my eyes were. When I got mad my eyes turned a purple color that meant I was ready to attack.

I tried to take a calming breath, but it was impossible. As if on cue, Jacob walked into the kitchen, followed by Charlie. I ran to Charlie, almost knocking him over, and asked, "Did you know about this?"

"About what?"

"Don't act all innocent! Did you know about the arranged marriage?"

"Who's in an arranged marriage?"

"Bella and I," said Jacob.

"Excuse me?"

"Apparently, dear Tobiah has a twisted sense of humor, and he set me up with that hairy hulk."

"Look, calm down so we can talk about it," said Jacob, getting closer to me. "I know it's a lot to take in, but we can make this work." He put his hand on my shoulder, and I lost it. I pushed him hard enough to knock him to the ground.

"Look here, you oversized dog. I will never marry you!" I was yelling right in his face. I wanted to rip him to pieces and send a piece of him to every planet of the universe. It took all I had in me not to make that happen. "What kind of era are you stuck in? No one has arranged marriages anymore. I'd rather cut both of my legs off than marry you!"

Charlie came up behind me and pulled me away. I could see Jacob start to shake, and it made me happy. I wanted to fight him. I wanted to have him break the treaty so I could kick his ass out of this land or demand his head as a punishment.

"Calm down, Isabella!" Charlie looked afraid for the first time since I'd known him. I knew what he was thinking. He thought I was going to lose it and do something bad. I had to get out of here before I did. Suddenly, I remembered I had the keys to Charlie's truck, and I knew what I had to do.

"I have to get out of here, Charlie."

"Go, I'll get this fixed." He turned to Billy and said, "Can I see the treaty so I can see for myself, please?"

"Yes, of course. Come with me."

I didn't even wait for Charlie to say one more word. I just turned around and went straight to the truck. As I got near the truck, I saw Seth and a bunch of other guys standing there eating some of the rolls I had made with the Cullens. I needed them to move, and I knew the perfect way to do it.

I walked up to them and said, "Are you guys enjoying those?"

"Oh, yeah. They are great."

"Good," I said with a smile. "Just so you know, vampires helped me make them."

They all spit them out and looked disgusted and mad. They went inside, I was guessing to wash their mouths and tell everyone else to stop eating them. I took that as my chance to get away. I got on the truck and drove as fast as I could out of there. The last thing I saw was Jacob running behind the truck, waving his hands telling me to stop so we could talk. Was this dude serious? Did he really think he could talk me into marring him? Well, too bad, because I was never getting married to anyone, especially not someone my father arranged for me to marry.