CHAPTER 9:

JACOB'S POV:

1 day, 16 hours, 37 minutes since I had last seen Edward. My chest was aching with emptiness. I missed him.

Dragging myself out of bed, "You get to see him later," I repeated to myself over and over again, trying to pacify my wolf. As I stumbled into the kitchen, I found myself staring at the lanky body of my best-friend…or ex-best friend. Bella.

She was facing the stove, working on what smelled like eggs and bacon. I groaned internally-she knew me so well, and what did I do? I imprinted on her boyfriend. Fuck, she's going to hate me once she finds out. I shuffled on my feet, unsure of what to say.

"Sit down, boy," called my father as he wheeled himself in the kitchen, "Bella's been cooking for you since she got here."

Turning around with a spatula in her hand and a smile on her face, Bella turned to face me, "Hey Jakey, slept well?"

Clearing my throat, "Hey Bells," I said roughly, my voice still scratchy from my…20 hour nap, I calculated mentally as I glanced at the clock.

I felt so guilty-lying to her. I felt like a backstabbing whore, trying to steal her man. Coz, I was. I wanted Edward Cullen to be mine. He was my mate. My wolf's mate. It didn't matter to me anymore that he was a vampire. It didn't matter that he was my mortal enemy. Or that he was in love with someone else. A girl. My best friend.

But, I knew this wasn't possible. Edward hated me. He was only going along with this imprint because of the alliance with our pack. He didn't care about me. He loved Bella.

I wouldn't let Edward see what kind of hold he had on me. I didn't…couldn't risk being hurt. I knew what I had to do. Grin and bear it. It was simple. It was for the best.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, since Edward is out of town, I figured I could hang out here till I have to go to his house. Plus, I haven't seen you in over a week. You haven't been returning my calls. Is everything ok?"

"Yup. Everything is fine, "I replied, "I've just had some stuff to deal with."

"Okay," she replied suspiciously, " does this have anything to do with the barbecue at the Cullen's later today?"

I choked on my orange juice. Coughing violently, " How do you know 'bout the BBQ?" I asked.

" Edward invited me. He said the pack was going over to their place for a BBQ and that I should join you guys. Why's the pack going to the Cullens? I thought you hate them?"

" Hated them," I corrected, " we've decided to put our differences aside and form an alliance. It makes more sense if we worked together. We have the same goal after all-keeping the nomads out of Forks."

" Why would the Cullens care about nomads?"

" They want to protect their identity and be able to live here in peace and keep the treaty."

" Oh..."

" Yeah...so this BBQ is just the first step. Esme invited us over."

" Well, I am glad to hear that my boys will finally be getting along," replied Bella as she grinned at me.

"You have no idea, Bella. You have no fucking idea," I thought to myself as I chewed.

Billy stared at me with a smug smile and a knowing look on his face. I scowled at him as Bella turned back to our breakfast. I can't believe Edward invited Bella. This was my BBQ. My party.

"She's his girlfriend," argued my voice of reason. "I'm his soulmate," snapped my wolf.

I sighed. This was going to be one long day.

Edward's POV:

The house was alive. People were going back and forth. Orders were thrown left, right, front and center. In the midst of it all was Alice. The coordinator of the Cullen household. Since, she knew exactly how the party-or any other event-was supposed to turn out, everyone took orders from her.

Descending the stairs, I saw Emmett and Jasper setting a wrestling ring in the backyard. Glancing up at the sky, I saw that the sky was covered. A thunderstorm was underway, and since we couldn't play baseball in the backyard, the boys thought it would be fun to wrestle the wolves. Emmett, from what I could tell was giddy with excitement. Though he looked as cool as a cucumber, Jasper's thoughts showed signs of excitement as were racing with the different tricks he could employ and how he could take down the wolves. We've never had to fight wolves before, so the plan of attack with them was different and new.

Esme was in the kitchen, preparing a feast fit for the Gods. Her thoughts were laced with thoughts of Jacob and the pack. She wanted everything to be perfect and that the wolves enjoyed themselves enough to come back again. Carlisle was running errands. Apparently, we had run out of supplies. Rosalie, who seemed a little more guarded was setting up the tables and chairs on the covered deck. She was not pleased with the house smelling like wet dogs, but she was willing to put up with it..for me. I smiled at her thoughts. It warmed my dead heart to know that I was surrounded by people who cared enough for me to sacrifice their pleasure and put up with the disgusting odor, that were the wolves for me.

"Edward," cried Alice. " Stop smiling like an idiot and get to work."

" What's left to do? You seem to have it completely in control," I replied, flashing her a smile which was sure to melt her heart.

" Don't be cute," she replied, planting her hands on her hips and glared at me, " I need you to go over everything, just in case I've missed anything. Is this anything specific that they would like, that's missing? I don't know how they react to what we have now since our futures disappear for a while."

"I don't know, Al. It looks perfect to me."

" Don't be lazy. Just go through the food that's in the kitchen and take a look at the backyard. You know them better than we do."

" Fine," I replied, holding my hands up, in resignation.

It was 12.30. Lunch was at 1p.m. We were, all standing in the living room, waiting for our guests to arrive. Esme kept checking the front door, just in case she missed their pungent smell, or something. She was anxious. Carlisle sat besides her and held her hand. He, too was a little restless. Em and Rose were both watching a football game while Alice and Jazz cuddled on the couch.

Truth be told, I was anxious too. I wanted the pack to be here. I wanted Jacob to be here.

I kept imagining all the different scenarios, wondering how Jacob will react to this BBQ today. I knew he was not pleased with this imprint, but I also knew he was attracted to me. That kiss that we shared in the forest played in my head for the thousandth time. I couldn't help but marvel at that kiss. Our first. It was so different from any other kisses I've had over a 109 years. It was scorching. The heat of Jacob's mouth, his body heat and the heat we created together was unbelievable. His lips were so soft, warm and pliable under mine, that I couldn't help responding to him. I heard his surprise and his joy when I started responding. It pleased me, knowing I could make Jacob Black happy. He made me feel warm and for the first time in my entire vampiric life, I had felt human. My body temperature had gone up, and with his chest pressed against mine, he made it seem like I had a beating heart.

I closed my eyes and thought of the moment after that. The moment when I smelled his...or sniffed him like a dog, as Jake would love to point out. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. He smelled like my favorite smell. Too bad this was just a ploy of this imprint to entice me to him.

"They're here," I said to my family while keeping my eyes closed and listened to the thoughts of Sam Uley, Emily, Leah, Jared, Seth and Mrs. Clearwater, Seth and Leah's mother. She wasn't comfortable with letting her family into the belly of the monster and hence, decided to accompany her kids and keep an eye on Seth.

Esme's smile brightened her beautiful face and she grinned at us, before making her way to the front door, followed by Carlisle. Alice untangled herself from Jasper and sat up straight while Em was still engrossed in his game and Rosalie looked uninterested. I-we, all heard the awkward hellos that were being exchanged in the front foyer as Esme and Carlisle greeted our guests and directed them to the living room.

A smile graced my lips as I saw Sam and Emily, who were followed by the rest.

" Hey Sam," I said, shaking hands with the leader of the pack.

"Wolf-girl,"I said as I kissed Emily on the cheeks and grinned at her.

"Wolf-boy," she replied with a smile of her own. I could sense the awkwardness dial down a notch from the room as everyone, especially the vampires, took in our greeting. My family was pleasantly surprised and amused by the exchange. As I glanced around the room and met their eyes, I felt the need to explain.

" Uhm...Em calls me 'Wolf-boy' coz..." I trailed off, not knowing how to continue really.

" Coz you're Jacob's bitch?" came Emmett's witty reply.

Leah snorted, Jared smirked and Seth laughed uncontrollably at the word 'bitch.' I could see Sam's smirk and Emily's smile. Soon, the whole room was laughing and since his comment dissipated the tension in the room, I thought I should be nice enough not to kill Emmett.

"Hey Seth,right?" I said while I turned to the newest addition of the pack.

"Hi,"he replied while nodding his head, nearly bounding up and down with excitement. He reminded me of a male version of Alice. He was small, but tall. The wolves were phasing younger, I noted.

" How old are you?" I asked, curious about this little guy.

" I'm 15," he replied. "I'm a wolf too," he added smugly.

Sue Clearwater scowled a little. She was not pleased her baby had phased already. She worried about him. So was Leah. As far as I could tell she was very protective of her younger brother. I could see why. At 15, Seth Clearwater was tall and gangly, and wore a huge smile on his face. His innocence was endearing. His smile was contagious and I, soon found myself smiling back at him.

"Wanna play some video games?" I asked.

Bobbing his head, he nodded. His mind was rushing with thoughts and energy. Even thought, he thought we smelt bad, he was willing to look past it and was looking forward to spending his day with us.

"Jazz, you wanna join us?" I asked as I turned to my brother, who nodded and got up to wrestle the remote control from Emmett.

" Why don't you bring the other t.v. in, boys?" interrupted Carlisle, as he watched his sons, locked in an argument.

"I'll go," I said and ran to bring the t.v from the family room to the living room. Even though, it was a huge t.v., I didn't need anyone's help to carry it down and set it up-the perks of being a vampire, I thought to myself.

Sam sat down next to Emmett to watch the game while Alice entertained Emily. Esme and Sue went into the kitchen to make sure she had enough food. She was still fretting about the amount of food she needed.

Carlisle retreated to his office, leaving us 'young folks' to enjoy ourselves. Jared and Leah joined us at the video game stations soon enough. Rosalie, was still indifferent and stayed away from the wolves, wrinkling her nose from time to time.

Within the next few minutes, the doorbell kept ringing and introducing more members of the pack. I was anxious to see Jacob. When Rachel and Paul arrived with Billy-without Jacob-I got a little worried.

"Hi, you must be Rachel, Jake's sister," I said, introducing myself to her, " I'm Cullen."

"Hi," she replied, almost shyly.

"Hey Paul," I greeted the pack member who nodded slightly. I could tell he was uncomfortable being here, but agreed to come because of Rachel and Jacob.

"Thanks for coming, Rachel," I said, "Paul," I added as I acknowledged that I really appreciated having them both here.

"Where's Jacob?" asked Esme, saving me from having to ask.

" He had some errands to run for dad," replied Rachel very politely, "dad's medication ran out and since he didn't think it was important to get his refill, Jake had to go to Port Angeles to get it today," as she turned to glare at Billy. They were worried about Billy's health and his lack of discipline when it came to his medication.

I glanced at Billy, who smiled sheepishly. He did it on purpose. He liked the fact that his kids fussed over him. Especially Rachel. It reminded him that they cared about him. It was a balm to his bruised ego-he hated not being able to take care of his children. He hated that Jacob had to step up and fill his shoes at such a young age. Billy Black was a proud man, but he liked being reminded that he was still needed around the house. I felt my dead heart clench for him. I can't imagine how much it hurt to see his little boy running around trying to make up for his short comings. My respect for Jacob shot up.

I cleared my throat, getting myself ready to say what I knew I had to do, in order to protect Bella.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make," I started. Waiting till I had everyone's attention, and I continued, " I was hoping Jacob would be here to make this announcement with me, but since he might be late, I think it would be best, if I went ahead..."

Glancing around the room, I saw many confused faces, " Jacob and I decided that we won't let Bella know about his imprint. Atleast, until we figured out what we are going to do. Bella will be joining us for lunch today and I was hoping you could," I gulped, " not tell her. About anything. We told her that we've decided to form an alliance and work as one to protect Forks. From nomads."

I looked around the room and let my eyes settle on Sam's. He nodded, " As long as Jake is okay with this, we will support you," he said. I nodded.

Turning around to face Billy, " Don't hurt my boy, Cullen."

" I'll do my best, sir," I replied honestly.

The rest of the pack agreed with their leader. They were worried about their brother.

" Thank you," I said.

Bella's POV:

As I rang the doorbell to the Cullen house, I knew they already knew I was here, but I wanted to be polite and wait for someone to get the door. True enough, not even 2 seconds later, Alice face was peering at me. She smiled and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm so glad someone here doesn't smell," she whispered in my ear, though I'm pretty sure everyone in the house had heard her. I blushed and followed her through the house to the living room.

For a moment, I just had to stand there and take in the scene infront of me. Never in a million years, I would have thought this to be possible.

Carlisle and Billy were sitting in a corner with Esme and Sue Clearwater in full discussion. Not an argument but a talk. They were talking and I was pretty confident that I just saw Billy's mouth curve into a smile.

"Tooouch dowwwnn," came Emmett's sing song voice from the other side of the room. As I turned my head to look at him, I saw him high fiving Sam. Sam Uley! Next to Sam was Emily Young, who was talking to Edward. Edward was smiling. I blinked to make sure I was not imaging things. Edward Cullen was smiling. I gaped at Alice.

"I know. Freaky right?"

I nodded.

Another hoot of pleasure drew my attention to where Leah, Seth, Jasper, Jared and Paul were playing video games. Rosalie was talking to Rachel Black.

I raised an eyebrow at Alice and gestured conspicuously towards Rosalie.

"She's the only who doesn't smell like wet dogs," replied Alice.

Ah. That made more sense.

But, I was still surprised. Queen Rosalie was talking to a mere mortal. A mongrel's sister.

"Bella's here," called Alice over the multiple conversations taking place in this room. As everyone looked up from whatever their were doing, I blushed beet red and gave them a small wave, " Hi," I said.

"Hey Bella," came the chorused-but unevenly matched-voices of the wolves and the Cullens. Catching Edward's eyes, I smiled at him and made my way over. He looked amazing as usual. His bronze hair was perfectly messy, his amber eyes shone and the smile that graced his full, hard, pink lips made him look like an angel. And he was my angel. The black long sleeved shirt that he was donning clashed beautifully with his pale skin and his dark wash jeans were fitted across his body. I sighed internally. I couldn't believe how lucky I was. He was so perfect, so beautiful. Me, on the other hand, I was lanky, twitchy and average. I couldn't believe that Edward Cullen was my boyfriend. He was mine and mine alone.

I bent down and pecked his lips as soon as I approached him.

"Hey, Emily," I said, greeting Emily Young.

"Hi Bella," she replied, the corners of her ruined mouth moved awkwardly. I felt so bad for her. Her beauty was gone. She was forever marred with that awful scar. I felt bad for Sam too-I can't imagine how guilty he must feel. For ruining the face of the woman he was going to spend forever looking at. It's not like he could leave her now. He imprinted on her.

"Man, I wish Jacob would get here," whined Emmett as he and Sam approached us.

As Sam sat down next to his fiancee, I saw Edward look up at his brother and prod, " Why?"

" Then, we can start wrestling. I want a piece of that boy," replied Emmett as he cracked his knuckles and smiled evilly.

"Emmett," I started, " don't start with Jacob."

"Don't worry, Bells. I won't hurt your puppy," he replied while keeping his eyes on Edward.

" Why can't you wrestle the other wolves 'till Jacob gets here?" asked Edward as he shook his head at Emmett. "Poor Edward, Emmett was probably teasing him," I thought.

" That way, we can have an actual match. With winners and losers and everything," replied Emmett with a mischievous smile on his face. He looked like a little boy, who couldn't wait till he got to open his Christmas presents.

"He's here," said Edward as he got up suddenly.

Confused, I looked up at Edward, "Who's here?" I asked.

"Jake," he replied, with his eyes on the front door.

As I watched Edward move to the front door, like he was on autopilot, I thought to myself, "Since when does Edward Cullen call Jacob Black 'Jake'?"

Author's Note:

Hi everyone,

This was the next chapter of Tidal Waves of Emotions. I hope you enjoyed it. It's much longer than the previous one.

Keep/start reviewing! I look forward to your reviews!

Enjoy your Saturday night.

Lisa