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Charlie POV

When Carlisle hung up the phone, Billy turned his wheelchair around and wheeled toward Harry and me. He stopped directly in front of me and we locked eyes.

He was giving me a chance to get up and walk out of this room before they walked in. I wanted to leave. I was not ready to face the thing that ripped my family apart, but the spirits of La Push picked my family to be a part of this supernatural war. So that meant they believed we were capable of facing this craziness head on.

Billy was also letting me know if I chose to stay, I would have to control myself. I squared my shoulders and mouthed, "I'm okay."

Billy turned his chair around but he didn't roll back toward Carlisle's desk.

The door opened slowly and they walked into the room. Walking really was not the accurate description, they seemed to glide. Watching them was like watching a carefully choreographed ballet. Their movements were so graceful and nonthreatening. I didn't feel like I thought I would. I thought that I would have to fight to restrain myself and keep it together. Instead, I looked at these creatures and thought to myself, they weren't that bad.

Billy POV

Once the bloodsuckers came into the office, they walked directly to the other side of the room closest to Carlisle's desk and sat down. Carlisle stood up and walked around his desk. He looked toward the other two vampires and said, "Billy, Harry, and Charlie, this is my son, Edward and my grandson, Chase."

The vampire that was Carlisle's complexion looked at us and said, "Pleased to meet you." I noticed that the other vampire did not say anything. He just sat in his chair and looked at us. I looked at the vampire called Edward and asked, "Why did you rejoin your coven?"

"I came back because I didn't like what I had become. I missed my family and wanted to be a father to my son."

"Why should we trust that this is not some kind of trick just to come back and finish the job that you started?"

"I don't think that there is anything that I can say to convince you to believe that I mean you no harm. What I did in the forest that day was unforgivable. I am grateful that I was stopped and the mother and child were saved and protected from me."

Edward looked toward Charlie and said, "I tore your family apart and ruined your happiness and for that I am sorry. I don't expect you to forgive or believe me. I don't deserve your forgiveness. Just please don't punish my family for the horrible things that I did in my past."

I interrupted the vampire and said, "You are right, there is nothing that you can say to convince us that you are not a threat."

I turned away from him and looked at the half vampire - half human. I was right to believe that he was a threat. He didn't have the same vampire look as the other two did. He looked alive. His eyes were not the same butterscotch color that the other blood suckers had but his were a whitish blue color. I didn't feel unease when I looked at him and because of that, I knew he was very, very dangerous.

He watched me as I looked at him and asked, "Is there something that you would like to ask me?"

"Which part of your existence do you embrace the most?"

"My vampire side."

"Why?"

"Why not? I was raised and loved by vampires. It would seem that would be the natural path that I would take. The only parts of me that are human are the physical parts. You assume that I must loathe my vampire side and wish that I was completely human. I like what I am."

"I hope you realize that you are not helping your cause, don't you think that it would have been in your best interest to play up your human side to prove you are not a threat?"

"The fact that I am being completely honest with you should show that I am not a threat. I could tell you what you want to hear, but I don't feel like wasting my time in that manner. These are the facts; I was raised to respect the human race. I have never even come close to killing a human, and I don't have the desire to."

"How old are you?"

"According to you, I would be eighteen. I reached my maturity eleven years ago. I have stopped aging. I will look like an eighteen year old for the rest of my existence."

"Do you have a mate?"

"No."

"What would happen if you fathered a child with a human?"

"That child would have both vampire and human qualities, just like me, I would assume."

I turned to Carlisle and said, "We won't fight your move back to Forks, but there is a modification to the treaty. In addition to staying off Quileute land your family is to also stay away from the Swan residence."

"We can go along with those terms. Thank you for your understanding."

I didn't respond. I turned toward Charlie and Harry and said, "Let's go."

Bella POV

Ever since I woke up five days ago, I couldn't shake the feeling that my life was about to change drastically. I hadn't been able to remember how I ended up in the woods behind my house, during the storm, and my parents wouldn't tell me why I was unconscious for days, or why they didn't feel the need to take me to the hospital.

They treated Jacob the same way; this whole situation had put a strain between Jacob and me. We talked on the phone every night this week, but there was more silence than conversation. Whatever happened to us during that storm had altered us but I was scared that it would cause Jacob and me to go in separate directions.

I heard the phone ring downstairs. I didn't bother to get up and answer it because if it was for me they would have called my cell phone. A few minutes later, my mom popped her head into my room and said, "Bella, your dad is going to a meeting in Forks with Billy and Harry. Get dressed please, I'm dropping you off at Billy's and I'm going to hang out with Sue for a while."

"Okay, Mom."

I walked to my closet to figure out what to wear. I decided on a pair of blue skinny jeans, white tank top and red hoodie. Once I was dressed, I slipped on a pair of red flip-flops and ran downstairs.

Renee was sitting down at the kitchen table with her face in her hands. I rushed over to her and said, "Mom, what's wrong?"

She didn't say anything at first. I could see that her hands were shaking and she was taking deep long breaths. After a moment she looked at me with glossy eyes and said, "I got some news today that scared me a little, but I'm going to be okay."

"Should I call Dad and have him come home?"

"No, Charlie is already dealing with it. Everything is going to be fine."

How could I believe her when she didn't sound like she believed what she said herself? Renee stood up, grabbed her keys and purse and said, "Let's go, sweetheart."

Once we got into the car, I pulled out my cell phone and called Jacob. It rang until the voicemail picked up. Once I heard the beep, I said, "Jacob, it's Bella. I just wanted to let you know that Renee and I are on our way to La Push and she's dropping me off at your house. I hope you're home. Please call me back."

"Mom, he didn't answer. He might not be home."

"He's home. Billy told Jacob not to leave the house while he was gone. Maybe he's in the shower or something."

The rest of our ride was silent. We pulled into the driveway and Jacob was sitting on the porch steps. He didn't get up and run to the car and yank me out into a hug like he usually did. He just sat on the porch and looked at us with expressionless eyes. For a moment I forgot what to do until my mom said, "Bella, I'll be back to pick you up in a little while."

I nodded and opened my door and stepped out of the car. My mom leaned her head out the window and yelled, "Hi Jacob!" He looked at her and nodded. Renee pulled out of the drive way and drove away. My legs felt like they had lead weights keeping them in their spot. Jacob stared at me with no expression on his face. My chest was beginning to hurt. I feared that he was going to tell me that he didn't want to be my friend anymore.

Jacob stood up slowly, never breaking eye contact. He continued to look at me until I couldn't take it anymore and I looked down. I heard the front door open and Jacob said, "Are you coming, Bella?"

I wanted to shake my head "no" and run in the opposite direction. I wanted to do whatever it took to not allow Jacob to tell me that he didn't want to be my friend anymore. But, like always, I couldn't go the other way. I was drawn to him. I needed to be in his presence even if he was going to break my heart.

I forced one foot in front of the other and eventually I made it up the porch steps and into the house. I closed the front door and leaned against it. There had never been a time when I did not feel welcome here but at this moment I didn't know how to feel. The atmosphere was charged with an energy that I had never felt before; it was so overwhelming that I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin.

Jacob stood by the couch with his back to me. He was shaking slightly. He turned around and crossed the distance between us before I could blink. He was so close to me that I could feel the heat radiating off of him. I couldn't breathe because what I saw in his eyes was almost too much for me to bear. They were not my Jacob's eyes but the eyes of something wild and hungry. He looked like he wanted to possess me, and what surprised me the most was that instead of being afraid, I was beginning to want him to do whatever it was his eyes were expressing.

He put a hand on either side of my face and his lips crashed onto mine. An electric shock went through my body and images began to flash before my eyes. I saw wolves running in the forest chasing something that was running so fast that it was just a white blur, then I saw Jacob cradling me in his arms and I was crying, I saw Renee standing between me and the most beautiful creature that I had ever seen, the images disappeared when I felt Jacob lifting me off of the ground. I didn't realize that I had wrapped my arms around his neck and our lips were still locked together.

Jacob slowly put me down and pulled his lips from mine. He did not let go of my waist though. After a moment he said, "Bella, I love you. You mean the world to me. I don't know what is going on, but I feel like our lives are about to change. I want to make sure that you know that where ever these changes lead me, I have to have you by my side."

I looked at Jacob and tears fell down my face. "Jacob, I've been by your side since the first day I met you in La Push. You are my sun, and my reason for breathing. Without you, I am nothing. I love you, too. No matter what happens, I need you to know that nothing will ever keep me from you."

Jacob grabbed my hand and walked me to the couch. We sat down and I snuggled up against him and that is where I stayed until Billy and Charlie walked through the door. Billy and my dad looked at us and then at each other, high five'd and said, "About time!"

Chase POV

When the humans left the office, my dad looked at me and said, "Having you around makes things so much easier. They would not be too pleased if they knew that the only reason they gave in so easily was because of your gift to cause people to see only the good in you."

"Yeah, well they made it easy."

I looked at Carlisle and said, "They didn't say it, but since they don't want us hanging around the Swan residence, that must mean the mother and daughter have come back."

"Yeah, that is what I was thinking. Edward, you are going to have to be careful. I know that the child's blood sang to you and if that is the case then it will be very hard to resist wanting her blood."

"I know. I believe that I am strong enough to resist. I have too much at stake to mess up now."

"So, Granddad, are we going to stick to the original plan?"

"Yes, I guess we will stick to the plan."

I was glad he didn't bother to ask me why I wanted to know. I asked because I realized the child that my dad almost killed would be a teenager now, which meant that she went to Forks High and so would I.

Permanent beta's from PTB: Wolfskill and DreaC

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