Hope you all enjoy this. I think the men in white coats might be coming to fit me with one of those jackets that button up the back after this chapter lol xx Alexis


Business was going well for Whitlock, Whitlock & McCarty. Their ongoing dealings with the Casino chain kept them busy and a steady stream of vampires looking for loved ones, family and possessions kept Ashley on her toes. They refused as many, those wanting them to locate other vampires due to feuds or rivalry, that wasn't the kind of company they wanted to run.

The case of sticky fingers was all too easy to solve, deliveries arrived intact and the store person just kept a couple of bottle for himself or a joint of beef, sometimes it was vegetables or canned goods. Thinking by only taking a small amount it would not be noticeable. But all businesses kept records and what came in did not calculate with what was ordered. Therefore Emmett was able to pinpoint the days and who worked them then just videoed the next transgression as it happened.

Bella had cut her on-site classes to the bare minimum; the rest was being done online and in the evenings at other locations off campus. All in all, because she was working at her own pace and not the dictated course time Bella was now ahead of her game plan. Her year was now just six months and two had passed already, the end was in sight and Peter was happy.

He stayed as close as he dared while she was on campus and watched her like a hawk. But the silence from Forks was like a ticking bomb, just waiting for a spark to set it off. They prayed that as no one knew of her revised timetable, she would be finished before he managed to break free of the pack and elders. Everyone except Peter was stunned at how easy Bella found the accelerated learning programme she was now on.

All were only now seeing just how mentally advanced she was before she'd been working within a structured normal human environment, but she was no ordinary human. With those constraints nearly all removed, Bella was soaking up all the information like a sponge. She was still working for and with them too. Rose was rightly mortified by her previous thoughts and behaviour to Bella, who was clearly smarter than them all.

Heaven knows just how much smarter she'd be with a vampire's brain. But no matter what it didn't change her, she had time for Ashley and Jasper, to bond and become a family. Her friendship with Emmett and Rose strengthened too, mainly due to Emmett smoothing the way and showing Rose there was another approach, the Cullens did it their fashion, that didn't make it the only choice.

So Rose too was starting to grow for the first time in years and she liked it. Her first major decision was getting them a place of their own, which she decorated and organised. It was a freeing, cathartic event and helped her to see change as a good thing and to embrace it wholeheartedly. With every day that passed her ties to Carlisle and Esme loosened and she knew she'd never go back to being a glorified child. She was happy to be in charge of her own life after all this time.

IIBOIIN

In La Push, everyone was on watch Jake duty and had been for two long months, but they hated it. He listened to no one, railed against them all and little by little his ties with them all dwindled to an obligation on their side and total disinterest on his. While they worked on ways to make him stay, his wolf magic worked to strengthen him enough to leave.

The very thing that made the tribe special was the thing that might destroy them. They'd tried potions, lotions and incantations all to no avail. Deep in the annals of their history, long overlooked and thus almost forgotten were stories of the wolf madness. Where a phased one, became unstable and irrational and ultimately for everyone's safety, put to death. These were not tales told around the campfires, they were not seen as important or heroic, but they should have been, as a warning.

Not all minds could cope with the power bestowed upon it. Jacob Black was one such wolf and he was slowly going insane as the wolf took over from the boy. It wasn't the wolf who was obsessed with Bella Swan; it was just a by-product, warped in the boy's mind. The wolf only wanted to hunt, to fight, to kill! The boy was of no importance to the wolf, he was weak, fanciful and immature and therefore a danger to the stronger more dominant part of him.

If left unchecked the wolf would eventually take over permanently. Killing all that stood in his way, friend or foe. It's only aim was to destroy its perceived enemies. That was why they shared a psyche with a more compassionate being, one who could temper the harshness, the fierceness of the wolf. But Jacob had never really embraced his birthright, he never wanted to be Alpha, Chief or wolf and so the wolf had all the power in their blending and was therefore too strong for him to manage.

It came over in his human side more and more, twisting his thoughts towards everyone around them. They were two disparate entities fighting for control and the wolf was winning hands down. Sam Uley was becoming concerned when he picked up the others thoughts of Jake. He had gone from avowing to save the girl he loved, who in his mind was being kept from him. Now she was a selfish bitch a tease, a whore and many more, less than pleasant things. Condemning her as someone who taunted him for fun.

Sam knew Bella herself was no longer safe from Jake and he did the only thing he could, warned the Whitlocks. He waited until he had phoned the offices of Whitlock, Whitlock & McCarty, before telling the elders what he'd done. To his mind, the tribe and the pack were too important; he would not put them in danger to save one rouge wolf. This was how he thought of Jake now, a rouge and a danger and he was ready to cut him loose.

IIBOIIN

"Whitlock, Whitlock & McCarty, Jasper Whitlock speakin'. How may I help you?" Jasper said distractedly into the phone.

Everyone else was out doing something, Peter was following Bella, Emmett and Ashley were in Tacoma beefing up the video system at the Casino. Rose was away getting some car parts for her latest project and he was alone for once doing the paperwork on their last job.

"This is Sam Uley from La Push!" a terse voice replied and Jasper's attention snapped to the phone,

"Sam, this is unexpected! Is everythin' okay?" Jasper asked calmly.

"No! Jacob Black has become dangerously unstable and we don't think we can hold him back much longer. His wolf has become the dominant part of him lately and has warped Jake's mind. He has been saying some unpleasant things about Bella and I fear for her now! I just wanted to warn her and thus you to be ready" Sam said before hanging up,

It went against everything he stood for to help vampires, but sometimes you just had to do what was right. Little did he know that it was not a moment too soon.

Jasper leapt up, grabbed his cell and called Peter,

"Heads up, the La Push Alpha just called me. The boy had finally lost the plot and could be headin' our way soon. He warned me that he is now a danger to Bella, his mind has done a complete turnaround about her. He's goin' slowly insane, he said!" he told his brother,

"Fuck!" was all Peter said for a few seconds.

"Okay, I'll take her to the house, fewer people about and easier to defend" he now said and Jasper was nodding to himself,

"I will be there in twenty minutes, just let me call the others, see you there" Jasper replied before closing that call and calling Emmett.

Back in La Push, Sam had told the elders he'd warned Bella that Jake might be after her. They had been surprised he'd phoned the vampires, but not angry. It was a necessary step; one that might stop any retaliation. The vampires now knew Jacob was doing this alone and without the tribe's approval. Billy was devastated, he was losing his son slowly before his eyes and had no way to help him or stop it.

A lone howl made their heads all swing in its direction, Sam phased on the spot and caught Embry's thoughts. Jake had gone and he'd been unable to communicate with him. But that wasn't what had scared him; the eyes that had stared him down were the cold yellow eyes of a wolf, not a man. The Jake they knew was gone and would never be back, the wolf had won.

IIBOIIN

The images running through the wolf's head meant nothing to him. He just wanted to hunt, to destroy, to kill and to feed. Those faces had meant something to the boy, but the boy was gone and the wolf felt nothing but intense anger for the faces. Once they were gone he'd be at peace, be able to wander free and live his own life, free of the traitor wolf-men who had tried to keep him prisoner. So the faces must be destroyed.

One of the faces, the one with the long black fur that was ensnared in the moving trap was back there with the wolf-men so he would have to wait. Another brown furred one often came to the place of the wolf-men, he lived nearby the wolf sensed his scent all around the area. But in the depths of his mind, he knew that face, the one with the fur on it, carried a killing stick and he would need to be cautious.

The leader of the traitor wolf-men, the one who forced the wolf to bend to his will, also had to die for no one had the right to control his mind. But he would have to be isolated from the others wolf-men first. The white-faced, yellow-furred one with the red eyes the wolf knew would be the most dangerous to him, deadly even.

But the fifth face was weaker, it was a female with brown fur and she would be his first kill, a kill to whet his appetite for the others, leaving the red-eyed one till last. The wolf knew he had seen her away from here, in the place with the tall stone trees. So it set its course for Seattle, not remembering the red-eyed one was there with the female and would stop him from killing her. Totally oblivious to the fact his vendetta against the five faces would be over before it began as he would meet the strongest first and not last.

IIBOIIN

Peter stared out into the gloom; waiting was something he'd never enjoyed. If he was to fight let it be now, not after he'd gone insane with waiting. Bella had been angry and upset, hadn't Jacob upset her life enough? Neither was aware that Jacob Black no longer existed; only the wolf part of him had survived his internal struggle. It was working on pure instinct, trying to shed all the boy's baggage and in its mind be free.

While Bella was inside doing some work, Peter had stood guard over the house and Jasper was running the perimeter, reinforcing their markings and hoping this would dissuade Jacob.

'The sound of her heart was like the tickin' of a clock. Loudly countin' down the seconds till the showdown commenced. I'm coiled like a spring, waitin' endlessly waitin'! Every rustle of the leaves, every twig that snaps has me on edge. I care nothin' for myself, but for her, I would give my very life.'

"Damn it, Peter. Ease up on the melancholy would ya'!" Jasper says as he comes back into range of Peter's emotions,

"Sorry, you know how I feel about waitin'. It's drivin' me insane!" Peter huffed.

"Hell, go play with Bella, take your mind off things, we'll know when he gets here" Jasper laughed and Peter gave him the finger as he went inside,

Bella had finished her coursework and was watching the news as Peter dropped down on the sofa beside her.

"Whatcha' doin' suga'?" he said nudging her shoulder,

"Knitting you a sweater!" she said trying to be sarcastic, before smiling at him and saying "I'm watching the news, hoping to distract myself, Peter"

Peter opened his mouth to reply when the anchorman said,

"And finally, several unconfirmed sightings of a large russet coloured wolf have been reported in Seattle this evening! Both in the University and Business districts, please be careful out there and if you see it, please don't engage it. Leave it to the professionals. We'll update you as soon as we get any more information"

Bella was shocked with the sudden appearance of Jasper and she turned to both him and Peter saying,

"It's Jacob, isn't it? What is he playing at? Why would he be wandering around in wolf form?"

"I don't know suga', but if he ain't hidin' somethin' is seriously wrong!" Peter replied as Jasper pulled out his phone.

All Bella heard was a few words, "Wolf, Seattle, Rogue! Shit! Okay, non-retaliation, we're on it!" before he snapped it off and threw it down on the table.

"Fuck! Sorry, Bella! Jacob is gone, the wolf is in total control and it's headin' our way. In fact, I'd say it's lookin' for you! Sam says before it happened Jacob was blamin' his father, your father, Sam, Peter and you for his troubles. You are the weakest link so to speak. So you're its first target! But he can't know Peter is with you so we let him come and take him out" Jasper said decisively.

"Oh God, poor Billy!" Bella gasped and promptly burst into tears.

"It's okay suga', we'll get him don't worry" Peter cooed soothingly,

"Not ..., not worried about ..., about me. Poor Billy he'll be devastated" she gasped out between sobs.

The sound of running vampires reached Jasper and Peter's hearing and Ashley and Emmett arrived moments later.

"Rose called, she was in the garage and saw the wolf, and she's tracking it at a discreet distance. I'm heading there to meet her and we'll let you know when it picks up the scent to lead it here, okay?" Emmett rushed out, before turning around and heading toward downtown Seattle.

IIBOIIN

So many faces, all very similar, but different too. They were not her face or her scent, her scent was under many others in the quiet stone tree place. But the wolf found enough of it to trace it to her lair. It smelt of the red-eyed male strongly here too, why would a strong male want a weak female? That's not right, not good for breeding purposes! The wolf was very confused and thought it was probably best he intended to kill both as the male had no sense.

There were other scents here as well, but those two females were strong, as were the two males. This made more sense to the wolf; both had to be strong for strong pups to be born. These four were also dangerous, but not on his list of faces, so he would avoid them. The wolf had retained very little of Jacob's memories or thoughts and knew nothing of vampires. The natural enemy of what he had once been a shapeshifter; unfortunately, he was in for a crash course.

The wolf circled out from the office block, searching for some sign of the female face's scent. Eventually picking up the well-worn path the vampires used to and from the house. Her scent was less apparent as if she was carried by the male. This made sense to the wolf, she was after all weak and her mate would have to carry her or be slowed down by her. To his mind, the wolf thought it would be a mercy killing and the male could find a stronger, healthier mate.

It was totally unaware of the vampire following it, high above in the trees. Rose had no problem seeing and following who she thought was Jacob. But it became obvious quickly that he was acting more wolf than man. So she was unsurprised when Emmett arrived and explained what had happened. Only then did she realise the scent of the wolf was subtlety different from before. Now the human scent was gone it was actually less offensive, but still tainted with that rotten vegetation, earthy smell they had. Was that the Quileute magic she wondered?

Back at the house Peter and Jasper waited, unwilling to let it get to near Bella. Jasper would protect her and Ashley while Peter put the wolf out of its misery as humanely as possible. This was no jealous boy anymore; it was a wild animal, a wolf. Just a lot stronger than the normal kind usually were. It would still have the ability to hurt Peter if it bit him and would heal quickly too. So he had to be swift and snap its neck as soon as he could.

This was fast becoming a mercy killing for them as well and once it was over they would return him to La Push for the pack to deal with his remains. This at least would give the Chief some closure over the loss of his son. Although they were vampires none of them relished unnecessary killings. Especially Peter and Jasper who had seen far too much of that in their pasts.

By now the wolf was more than halfway there and Rose and Emmett shot ahead, to arrive there only a few minutes ahead of it. The scents of the vampires were much stronger now and the wolf was getting exponentially angrier as it approached. It didn't know why the smell affected it this way and it didn't really care, it's the only goal was to kill the female face and possibly the red-eyed one too.

As he stepped into the clearing near their lair, he saw the red-eyed face, just standing perfectly still staring at him. The wolf lowered into a crouch and so too did the face, he growled loudly and the face growled back making his fur stand on end. This for some reason made his blood sing and tingle through his body. They weaved back and forward, neither gaining nor retreating.

The face was a worthy opponent for himself the wolf felt. He surged forward quickly, but the face was faster as he moved out of the way. They continued to lunge and parry for a few seconds, but the wolf was angrier than the face and left his flank open to attack. The face was behind him suddenly and had him in a death grip, he was strong, but the face was stronger. The last thing he felt was the crack of his neck breaking before he knew and felt no more.

Peter. Emmett and Jasper stared at the dead body of the wolf. They had all expected him to return to his human form once his heart had stopped beating, but the boy never returned. He truly had gone wolf, the dominant side remained even in death. Wrapping him carefully and with no little respect, they carried him to Emmett's jeep. As a boy, he'd been whiny and childish, as a wolf he had been a strong warrior. The shame was that they had never merged; Jacob Black would have been a force to be reckoned with if he'd embraced his wolf.

IIBOIIN

Sam Uley had been very surprised to hear back from Jasper Whitlock, then for them to ask to meet at the treaty line confused him. As usual, the pack and the elders had assumed these vampires would behave like the ones in the legends did. If they themselves had changed since olden times, why could they not see vampires would have too?

The biggest shock was that Jacob had not retaken his human form in death; this was unheard off to them. Had they listened to the old stories it would not have been such a shock. So at the allotted hour the pack and the elders awaited the return of Jacob Black. They could barely believe the gentleness of the vampire carrying Jake's wolf. He laid the body wrapped in a blanket gently at Billy's feet and retreated.

"I am sorry for your loss Chief Black, but he died as a warrior if that's any consolation. I made his end as swift and painless as possible" Peter said with respect, before backing up further,

Sam uncovered the body and all were surprised there was no blood, no maiming, nothing. It was as if he were asleep, even his eyes were closed. They truly underestimated the compassion of the Cold Ones and some were ashamed of their thoughts towards the vampires.

"We will be livin' in Seattle for a few more years before we move on. But none of us will hunt in the Olympic Forest and those who feed traditionally will be spreadin' their net further afield. We should have no reason to meet again unless you instigate it" Jasper said and with a nod of his head they all turned and disappeared into the night.

A week of mourning for the Chief's son commenced after the pack had staged a tragic accident in his garage. The body was burned as was the tribe's way and the death was recorded as a one of misadventure. Only the shaman took heed and wrote down for future generations the consequences of man and wolf not being symbiotic. A dire warning to embrace one's wolf or perish by its actions.

It was a dark time for the tribe, their future chief was gone and many were unsure who would lead them in the future. But the strands of the family tree all pointed clearly to Quill Ateara V, Sam was happy with that he never wanted to be Chief and his place as Alpha would not be contested. So live on the reservation carried on as before, only the pack and elders really knowing what had befallen Jacob Black.