Chapter 10

The storm had passed as quickly as it came. By dusk the clouds had thinned, and the setting sun cast a orange glow across the sky. But like most storms, it left a heavy feel to the air. It was almost like an invisible fog… you could feel it, sense it, but couldn't see it.

I sat in the passenger seat of Jacobs car, nervous about going to the bonfire. He had explained before leaving my house that it wasn't just a casual gathering, but more like a tribal meeting. The elders told stories about the early days of the wolves and the present day wolves discussed what needed to be done to protect everyone in the tribe. I don't know when it happened, but Jacob felt much older than sixteen. He had more responsibilities than most adults, and handled them better, too. It made me think about my position in my family. With Renee I was always acting as the adult, trying to lead her through life unscathed. My mother was juvenile at times, and I was always taking care of her. I never minded, really. I love her and I don't want to see her harmed. It was similar with Charlie. He had handled living on his own okay, but once I moved in I took over the housework and the cooking. He depended on me. They both did.

It would be nice to have someone to take care of me sometimes, rather than the other way around. Jacob could do that, and I trusted him enough to allow him to take the reigns. In many ways he already was taking care of me. If he hadn't been there to help me after Edward left, I don't know that I would have survived. And I certainly wouldn't be as happy as I was with Jacob in my life.

It's true what they say about the light at the end of the tunnel. I felt like that was exactly where I was. I had been in a very dark tunnel for too long. I couldn't see or feel the things around me. But Jacob stood in front of me, holding out his hand, glowing like the sun itself. If I just took his hand, I could go into the warm light and be happy.

"We're here! Are you ready?" Jacob broke me from my trance.

"Who all is going to be here?" I asked as we walked down the thin path to the fire pit. It was the same place I had come with friends last year, when I first met Jacob.

"Well, Billy and Harry will be here. And Sam, Emily, Embry, Quil, Jared, Paul, Seth, Collin and Brady. There may be others, but I doubt it. We aren't supposed to tell anyone unless it's necessary."

"Are they all werewolves?" I asked, shocked. Last I knew there were only five of them.

"No, not yet." Jacobs face was drawn together, as if in pain.

"But they will be?" I didn't understand why it bothered him so much.

"Yea, probably. They are in the direct bloodline to change. And now that the change is in progress, there is no stopping it. Even if there were no vampire threats toward the tribe they would probably still change. But it doesn't look like our threats are going anywhere."

After all the events that had happened, I completely forgot the reason Jacob wasn't with me on the cliff. My breath caught in my chest, and I felt like I couldn't make my heart keep beating. The fear ripped through me like a knife. I stumbled to the nearest tree and leaned against it, hoping I could keep my feet underneath me just long enough to pull it back together.

"Bella! What's going on? Honey what's wrong?" Jacob asked, pulling me into his chest. I let my legs give up, falling into him.

"Victoria," I choked on the name as it cross my lips.

Jacob's face flashed angry. "She took off into the water. We couldn't stop her."

"She'll be back, Jacob. She won't give up until she kills me."

"Bella, no one is going to hurt you! I promise you we will take care of her." That was exactly my fear. Jacob and his pack were going to get themselves hurt, or even worse, trying to 'take care of her'.

"Jake, no, you can't go near her! She's so strong! If someone got hurt…if you got hurt… trying to protect me… I just couldn't live with that!" My body was trembling with terror now. The only thing that scared me more than Victoria herself was losing Jacob.

"We can handle it, Bells. That's what we're made for." He said, as if it was simple. He didn't seem afraid at all. "Besides, we're not just protecting you. That's my main goal, but the rest of the pack look at it as protecting the whole tribe. It's our job to protect everyone."

I couldn't stop the tremors. I still couldn't imagine Jake, even in his wolf form, going up against Victoria. I'd seen what vampires could do… I'd even been on the bad end of a vampire attack. The wolves may be huge and strong, but they were still human, for the most part. They could still lose blood. They could still have broken bones. They could still die. "Jacob, please don't… I can't lose you…"

"Bella…. Shh. It's alright. I promise, I will always come back to you. No matter what, I will come back to you. I love you, Bells." Jacob held me against his chest as he burrowed his face into my neck. I could feel his warm breath on my skin and it helped to relax the fear. After several long moments the shaking slowly ended. I felt better, safer, wrapped in Jacobs arms.

I looked up into his deep brown eyes, getting swept away by the love radiating from him. I leaned in to kiss him, slowly parting my lips, and I felt his tongue run along my upper lip. It sent a wave of shudders through my body, much different than the ones I had just suffered from. This was a jolt of pleasure, of passion. I clung to his neck, deepening the kiss, and I felt him run his hands slide down my waist, onto my butt. He lingered there for a moment, pausing, before he pulled me up to his height. I wrapped my legs around his body as he backed me into the same tree I had just leaned on for support. His lips once again ran down my neck, onto my chest, and back up again. He settled on the spot just behind my ear that seemed most sensitive, sending shockwaves pulsing into my body. I ran my hands through his shoulder length hair pulling slightly. He moaned, returning to my lips for another fiery kiss.

I pulled back slightly, afraid that if we didn't show up at the bonfire soon someone would come looking for us. It was not a position I wanted to be caught in. Again. "Bonfire?"

He growled. "Do we have to?"

"I don't know, it's your friends." I smirked. "We could just leave now…"

"No… you're right. We need to go. They're expecting us. Besides, Sam would have be on 24 hour duty if I didn't show up. And then when would I get to see you?"

I knew he was teasing, but the idea scared me non the less. "Well we can't have that! Let's go."

I held his hand as we walked the last bit of path to the fire pit.