To all of my loyal reviewers and subscribers, I hope you have not lost too much faith in me during my absence. I'm very excited that I have time now to finish this Fanfic and I hope you'll continue the journey with me! To new readers, welcome and I hope you have enjoyed the story thus far. Reviews are always appreciated and it feels good to be back!

-Mimi

Chapter 11: Hunted

1 year later

"Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises,
Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep
Will make me sleep again; and then in dreaming
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked
I cried to dream again
."

I felt a tear come to my eye as I heard the last presenting student in my seventh grade class recite Caliban's words from The Tempest. Mark's skills at reading aloud had improved so much since I became Quileute Tribal School's English teacher a year ago. His stammering and shyness took months to work through, but I had found reciting poetry, and especially Shakespeare, had helped build Mark's confidence. Now, no one could possibly tell that he had struggled so much. I and the four other students in class applauded as he returned to his desk.

"Great job, Mark. Alright, everyone! You did such a great job on your presentations today! The sixth graders are going to have to step things up next year to keep up with you." My students smiled proudly at the complement.

"You'll have your work cut out for you with my little brother next year," Anita sighed. "He'll be in your sixth grade class and I warn you, he's a pest!"

I and the class snorted with subdued laughter, but I quickly regained my composure. "I'm sure he'll be just as good a student as his big sister. If I remember correctly, Mrs. Hook says that you were just as rowdy last year," I teased.

"So you will still be here in the fall?" Nathan asked expectantly.

I paused a moment to reflect. Teaching had been a career path I had never considered for myself. But my Jacob, being the perceptive man he is, recommended I give it a try. Now, I couldn't imagine any other career. I loved my students and I loved being able to share my love of writing and literature with them. "Yes, Nathan. I will definitely be back in the fall," I grinned. "Sorry to disappoint any of you who were hoping for a much better eighth grade teacher!"

The class chuckled at my joke. "What are your plans for the summer?" Hannah asked me.

"Well…I've really wanted to start writing a novel. I've had all sorts of ideas floating around in my head for a year and I can't wait to see if any of them amount to something."

"You should write about an alien prince who is transformed into a hippopotamus warrior and has to compete in an intergalactic tournament to win the heart of the Princess Leia," Tyler gushed excitedly.

I had to restrain the urge to laugh out loud. Though ridiculous sounding, Tyler's creativity and love of sci-fi never failed to disappoint. "Well, Tyler, I don't know if my novel will be science-fiction, but that's a lot to think about. By the way, you mean Princess Leia from Star Wars, right?"

"Exactly."

"Well, it may not be the story for me to write, but why don't you get started on it and share it with everyone when you make your debut as a mature, eighth grade author in a few months," I smiled.

"Deal!" he squealed excitedly as the bell rang.

"I've enjoyed being your teacher this year! Have a fun and safe summer vacation!" I called as everyone gathered their bags and dashed out of the room, eager to see what the summer months had in store for them.

Jacob's POV

"No, Paul! Put that chair in the corner!" I yelled as I surveyed the frenzied preparations around me. It was Bella's last day of school before summer break and Emily had the idea to throw a surprise party for her at T'lópa Cabin. Everyone had turned up—Charlie, Dad, Emily, Kim, and the entire pack were crammed into the tiny kitchen hastily throwing together enough food to satisfy a ravenous werewolf army and their guests. I had craftily asked everyone to park behind the cabin so that Bella wouldn't see their cars as she approached the house.

"This was really thoughtful," Charlie beamed, smacking me on the shoulder.

"Hey don't thank me, thank Emily," I pointed.

"She is brilliant after all," Sam smiled warmly as he kissed her forehead. Emily smiled back at him in a gooey manner that made me miss Bella.

"QUIET!" Embry hissed suddenly. "I think I hear her truck on the gravel."

Charlie frowned in confusion, straining his ears to try to hear the sounds Embry heard from miles away. "I don't hear anything."

I discretely thumped the side of Embry's head and shot him a meaningful look. Charlie still doesn't know that we're…different I communicated with my eyes. Please try to act normal.

"Oh…uh…I must be hearing things," Embry muttered.

Charlie resumed arranging furniture even though everyone had mostly stopped what they were doing because they knew Bella was indeed fast approaching. Finally, Charlie lifted his head as he too heard Bella's truck rattling down the gravel driveway.

"Alright, everyone! Squeeze in over there," I pointed to the corner of the kitchen.

Everyone waited with baited breath as they listened for the sound of Bella's footsteps outside the door and her key in the lock. As the door swung open, everyone leaped out to yell, "SURPRISE!"

"AAAAH!" Bella yelped, clutching her chest. "You guys scared me so much!" she scolded, though she failed to conceal the smile spreading rapidly across her face. "Wow! Everyone came out to see me?" She grinned.

"Yes ma'am, indeed," I said proudly as I wrapped my arm around her still trembling shoulders. I leaned down so that I could press my lips gently against hers. She returned my kiss with much more gusto. Intoxicated by her scent, I kissed her a little longer and deeper than is socially appropriate. When I finally heard Charlie cough uncomfortably, I broke away. I grinned devilishly at her joyous look and with my arm in the small of her back, guided her around the room to talk to everyone.

The past year had been hectic. I enjoyed working at Robert's Garage, but as my brilliant Bella predicted, I had trouble coping with his business ethics. I tried to help customers out whenever I could by sneakily replacing worn out parts that weren't a part of the repair job to do as much good for customers as possible. They seemed to have caught on. I didn't charge customers for these little, extra adjustments, and soon, their referred friends and family members were bringing more business to the garage. Robert was a little put-out that customers requested my services over his, but even he couldn't complain about the business boom. Desires of opening my own garage constantly plague my thoughts, but I still need to secure my own location before I can make the move with my client-base.

I watched Bella laugh and interact with all the guests and found myself going through the motions of interacting with everyone. Tonight, I really just wanted Bella to myself. Once the pack had scarfed down every scrap of food that Emily prepared, people started to head home. Once the last guest had departed, I pulled Bella into my arms. I stroked her hair and gently kissed the side of her head.

"Mmmm…" she serenely murmured. "I'm so glad Emily decided to take care of the dishes. I can't imagine washing that mountain of plates on a day like today."

Her remark worried me. "Did something bad happen at work?"

"No, not really. The other ten teachers and I had a long, drawn-out meeting while all the kids had lunch and it was just really tiring. The middle school science and social studies teacher, Mrs. Hook, is retiring and no one's sure if there will be enough money in the budget to hire a replacement. So there was just endless talk about staffing changes and possible ways around the budget constraints," she finished with a yawn.

This worried me even more. "It shouldn't affect you though, right?"

"For now, no. I'm just tired of hearing adults squabbling and bickering like little kids. It's so exhausting," she yawned again.

"Well, it's a good thing that you have a man in your life to try to make a day like today even better," I smiled playfully. Without another word, I scooped her off her feet and carried her upstairs to our bed. With one hand, I pulled back the covers and tucked her into bed. She smiled tiredly and snuggled up with one of the pillows.

It wasn't long before her eyelids drooped closed and her breathing slowed. I couldn't help but stare. For the past three years, I had loved this amazing woman, and still marveled at how small moments like this had such an effect on me. I gently kissed the top of her head as I had seen Sam do earlier in the evening. I retreated down the stairs to lock up the cabin and turn off the lights before I returned and snuggled happily next to the woman who changed my life.

Bella's POV

I opened my eyes the next morning to find our bed empty. My first day of summer vacation and I don't get to enjoy morning snuggles with Jake? I thought disappointedly. I clambered downstairs in my PJ's and peeked out the front window. It was a typical overcast Washington day, but at least it wasn't raining. I spotted Jacob pulling the lawnmower out of the tool shed and I finally remembered. Oh yeah…. Jake Did say he was going to do some yard work today if the weather cooperated.

Rerouting my morning plans, I headed towards the kitchen and poured a cup of the coffee he must have brewed while I was still asleep. I grabbed my battered compilation of Jane Austen novels and made my way to my favorite spot on the couch. I sighed contentedly as I sank into the comfy cushions. I made it about a fourth of the way into Persuasion when suddenly, inspiration struck. Returning Jane to the shelf and placing my coffee cup in the sink, I quickly dashed up the stairs, changed into a pair of cutoff jeans and an old T-shirt, grabbed my journal, and made for the great outdoors.

I've always found that I do my best writing when I'm not confined indoors, and when an idea pops into my head, I have to hurry and run with it. I waved at Jake who was filling the lawnmower with more gasoline. He cocked his head to the side questioningly at my frantic appearance, but when I pointed to my journal, he nodded in understanding and gestured towards the trail behind our cabin.

Happily, I made my way down the familiar trail until I reached a cluster of boulders that formed a fairly comfortable perch. I sat down and yanked the pen from the spiral rings of my journal, eager to start writing down the ideas that had just come to mind. I scribbled frantically for several minutes, trying to block out the hum of the lawnmower in the distance.

Suddenly, a solitary leaf drifted downwards and landed on my notebook. Not feeling any wind or other disturbance, I glanced around confusedly. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and I slowly rose to my feet. Looking around, I saw nothing out of place, but something still didn't feel right. Slowly, I lifted my head to look up at the tree behind me. I felt my breath suddenly catch in my throat. I saw a brief flash of vivid red hair and then another leaf made its way to the ground.

Victoria…

AN: I forgot to mention that I added a sub-album called "Wolf Pack" to the Melting Ice Rising Sun Photobucket album. It was just something I pulled together based on what descriptions were given about the Quileute wolves. Seth is my favorite. I'm so happy I found a blonde, goofy-looking wolf to represent him!