As we pulled around a curve on the tree lined road, the Volvo rolled to a stop. Edward must have known how anxious I was feeling and tried his best to not be the cause for more. He kept the speedometer under 70 the whole way. I glanced over at him, finally meeting his intense stare. Worry was emanating from every inch of his body. Unable to hold his gaze, embarrassed and guilty for causing everyone so much apprehension, I turned my head and stared out my rain streaked window.

Edward reached over, tucked his finger under my chin, and turned my head back toward him. "Are you ready?"

Ready? Never. But I wanted to get this over with. I put on what I imagined was a brave smile, thanking fate again that Edward couldn't read my thoughts. "Yes. I want this to be done."

A faint ghost of a grin twitched at the corners of Edward's lips as he observed my attempt at being courageous. "Alright. You take the car. I'm going to wait right here. If there are any problems, any at all, just call." He stretched out his arm and deposited a small black cell phone into my clenched hands.

I made a conscious effort to relax my body, slowly taking in a deep breath. With a final calming glance out my window, I slid the phone into my jacket pocket, and twisted in my seat so I was facing Edward. I reached out my hands and twined his cold fingers with mine. All I could think to say was, "Thanks."

Edward smiled, the humor shining in his eyes belying the seriousness of the moment. "I would say my pleasure, but then I would be lying." He leaned over the armrest and brushed his lips on my cheekbone. "Hurry back, love."

Trying to ignore the chills racing up and down my spine and the heat that sprang up somewhere in my core, I whispered back, "I will."

Edward moved from my cheek to my lips and gave me one of the most poignant kisses we've had, which is saying something, considering all the goodbyes and hellos we've done. I pushed away from him, knowing that I was stalling. I opened my door, climbed out of the car, and walked around to the driver's side.

Edward was standing next to the driver's door by the time I got to the other side of the car. I walked to him, and wrapped my arms around his waist, trying to draw at least an ounce of the strength he radiated. His solid arms slid around my shoulders while I felt his cool breath on my hair. I sighed, pulling away again. Stretching up on my toes, I pecked another kiss on his icy chin and murmured, "I love you." Knowing that I could stand here all evening procrastinating, I turned, got into the driver's seat, and closed the door.

I looked back out the window and tried to etch the image of Edward standing there in my brain. Smiling at him one last time, I pulled away and headed to La Push.

Compared to the deafening noise emitted by my truck, the Volvo was positively quiet. The comparative silence allowed me to pull up to the Blacks' house in relative stealth. I realized very soon this was a good thing. I think had I been driving my truck, I would not have made it two blocks onto the reservation. As it was, after arriving at Jacob's house, I was still met with five very angry looking werewolves, and one seething Billy, but at least I was facing them in the familiarity of Billy's home, and not on a random road. Not that it was going to make this any easier.

In contrast to Billy's usual calm mask, his now irate face was startlingly scary. His eyes were unfathomable and they looked as if they were trying to bore holes into my soul. He spoke to me in a tightly restrained voice. "What are you doing here Bella? What more could you possibly want from us?"

I could feel the uncomfortable flush creeping up my neck, brought on by the continued scrutiny of the six intense stares. I took a deep breath and launched into my very short speech. "I need to know if Jake's alright. I need to know that I didn't ruin everything." I made an effort to make my voice sound strong, sincere, and apologetic. Somehow, though it didn't come out like I wanted.

A sudden flash of movement in the corner caught my eye. Paul had risen from the couch and was stalking toward me. "So what, you came back to see if you could crush him more thoroughly? Maybe stomp on him a little harder this time? Your rock of a husband might not bleed, but Jake sure can. You're nothing but a cold, heartless…"

Sam's hand reached out and caught Paul on the chest, stopping him mid sentence and halting his advance. When he spoke, his voice was like soft, unnerving, ice chilling me to the core. "What does it matter to you Bella? You made your choice. Now live with it. Go home."

I glanced over to Embry and Quil, hoping for the tiniest modicum of support. They looked like twins, standing against the wall, arms crossed, looking at me with pure, unconcealed loathing. I realized that I had not one ally in this room. This time when I spoke I couldn't keep the pleading out of my voice. Looking around the room trying to meet everyone's stares, I begged, "Please, everyone. I know he wants nothing to do with me. I don't want to talk to him. I don't want to try and patch our friendship, though I would like that very much. I just need to know that wherever he is, he's ok."

Continuing to implore them with my eyes, I noticed Leah draped in a chair in the corner, gazing at me with a lazy smirk on her face. She spoke to me for the first time. "Wow, hun. I didn't know you had it in you. Coming down here to face the big bad wolves. Too bad you didn't have the balls to tell Jake how you really felt before it nearly killed him." Sarcasm was dripping from every word. "Now why don't you be a dear and take your homely self back to your filthy leech friends and leave us the hell alone?"

Paul glanced at Leah, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "Oooh Leah, that was harsh. Very nice."

Leah smiled, her hard shell dropping for a brief moment exposing the pretty girl she once was. "Thanks. It felt good." It was all gone in an instant though as Sam shot her a reproachful glance.

Billy apparently had heard enough. He silenced everyone with a sharp, "Enough." Six pairs of eyes snapped to his face. "Bella, you need to leave. Now."

I could feel the heat of the tears beginning to burn the back of my eyes. "But Billy…"

He simply shook his head. "You relinquished any rights to knowledge of Jacob the day you walked out of here on my son. Now go."

Sam started walking toward me, herding me in the direction of the door. This could not be happening! I threw my arms out in front of me, the tears now beginning to roll down my cheeks. "Wait, please! Please just tell me that he is ok. That's all I need."

In his same disdainful tone Sam said, "And what does it matter to us what you need?" With that he gave me an unceremonious shove out the door. I stumbled over the threshold, caught my toe on the crack in the top stair, and tumbled onto the front walk. I took all my strength to pull myself up off the ground and lurch to the Volvo. I wrenched the door open and flung myself into the driver's seat. I couldn't control my crying anymore. Draping my arms around my midsection and resting my forehead on the steering wheel, I let the sobs wrack my body.

I wasn't sure how long I was sitting there when I heard a knock on the window. Squinting through puffy, burning eyes I tried to discern who was responsible for interrupting my misery. I couldn't have been any more shocked to see Leah standing outside the car. I rolled down the window. "What do you want Leah?"

She looked nervous, which struck me as odd. After a brief glance around she whispered, "If I tell you what you want to know, will you leave and never bother us again?"

Relief swam through my body as I nodded vigorously. "Yes. Please tell me."

Leah sighed. "We don't know exactly how Jake is. He hasn't phased out of wolf form since he got the invitation. What we do know is that he is somewhere near Fairbanks and is much happier living as a wolf for now."

I was confused. "Invitation? What invitation?"

Leah's derisive sneer began to return. "Your husband seemed to think it would be a good idea to send Jacob an invite to your wedding. Jake left right after opening it."

Of all the stupid things to do! I shook my head, contemplating how I was going to maim Edward. Leah's sigh brought me back to the present. I looked back to her, noting she was now staring off into the woods. "Thank you Leah. But why did you tell me?"

She glanced back to me. "Because no matter how much I don't like you or your choices, if the situation were reversed, I hope you would do the same for me." She offered me the faintest of smiles, turned, and ran off toward the woods.

I sat in the car reflecting on my new knowledge. It wasn't my last conversation with Jake that pushed him over the edge. It was the stupid invitation. The invitation I specifically didn't want sent. At least that made me feel a little better. Perhaps a friendship with Jake isn't out of the question in the distant future.

Now the only thing I had to manage, other than my impending change, was properly dealing with my devious husband. I pulled away from the curb and made my way back to the border.

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As always, thank you everyone for reading my tale! Please leave reviews, as it is getting harder to write this story. I need feedback :)

-kc