I'm really in the zone now - two chapters in 3 days!

I really enjoyed writing this chapter as I got to include some characters that I love but haven't written about yet. Also, I'm bigging up the role of my favourite imprint couple, can you guess who it is? And finally, Jaspers strange actions a few chapters ago are explained!

Any R & R, I hope you enjoy!

And this chapter is dedicated to lizbethgp for giving me the inspiration to get this chapter onto paper

My legs buckled. The only things preventing me from hitting the deck were Jacob's firm hands upon my waist.

"They're finally coming for me" I managed to croak, before a faint buzzing rang in my ears and the room began to shake.

Alice simply nodded.

It felt as if I had been in a rickety cart trundling through a house of horrors since I had arrived in Forks. Having passed the vampire mansion and the werewolf forrest, Aro, Caius and Marcus were coming to call time on the ride.

Jacob's lips were instantly at my ear, soothingly whispering "ssh baby, it's going to be ok. They'll never touch you Bella honey, don't worry. Everything's going to be fine". He kissed my cheek lightly before snapping his head upwards to face Alice. "You can leave now bloodsucker, message delivered".

In response, Alice simply rolled her eyes and brushed past us, making her way towards the lounge. Jake shuddered a little, his instincts torn between disgust, self preservation and protection. Yet he kept his grasp firm upon me. He had always known how much I needed him, understood me better than I understood myself.

Alice perched lightly on the corner of one of the lemon armchairs"I have a little more detail to impart yet, hound of the Baskervilles wannabe. Even though things are now a little more complicated between Bella and my family, we still love her. All of us do" she emphasized. Jacob didn't miss her meaning and his grip upon me tightened.

"We're more than capable of taking care of a few power hungry vamps" Jake scoffed, sounding more like his old self. But, as I knew him as well as I did, it was impossible to miss the way his lips formed a hard line, a clear indicator that he was lying, as if by clenching his lips together the truth wouldn't spill out.

I remembered the first time Jake had been informed of the Volturi. Alice described them as being the stuff of his nightmares, the reason his hair stood on end when he caught the scent of a vampire. No wonder he felt the need for this faux confidence. I stroked the back of his hand and he jumped slightly, as if he had forgotten I was there.

He was scared. How could I have brought him into this?

My gesture was not lost on Alice and she shook her head as if trying to clear it. "They decided it was about time to see if we had made good on our promise to change Bella. We were given the choice of turning her or handing her over, and at that point in her life, her choice was clear" she stated with a sad smile, her voice little more than a whisper. "They're bringing a wide selection of their guard with them, which indicates this isn't purely a social call".

Jake's face remained defiant and Alice softened, taking on a more imploring tone. "None of your tribe have ever faced anything like this before Jacob Black. The skills they have in their arsenal are vast, specifically selected for dealing with undesirables, which by definition would include werewolves. Demitri - he's the most skilled tracker in existence, he never gives up the chase, no matter how far you run. Felix takes sick pleasure from torturing the rule breakers, and I haven't even started on Jane and Alec yet'.

I gave an involuntary shudder at the mention of the angelic twins. To my surprise, a marble hand intwined itself with mine. Alice stood before me in a gesture that simultaneously demonstrated that she still cared and that she was able to work side by side with the wolves .

"You need us", she simply stated.

"The hell we do!"

"Jake", I murmured. "I've seen them, the things they can do. And Carlisle lived with them once, they still hold him in high esteem. If they really are coming for a fight, we're going to need all the help we can get". I squeezed Alice's hand tightly as I finished.

"There's no 'we' abut this Bella, I'm getting you as far away as possible before they even set of" he barked, taking my free hand and dragging us away from Alice towards the bedroom, talking to himself as he went. "We can drive to Seattle and get a flight out of the country. Maybe even the continent. Would they think to look in Africa? There's got to be plenty of hiding place's there".

Instantaneously, Alice was in front of us again, blocking our path. Jake put his body between us.

"Move" he growled.

"It won't do any good Jacob, they're already on their way. They'll be here by Sunday".

I was momentarily stunned. Partially because of the way Alice spoke to Jake - almost as equals, without malice tainting her intonation. And partially because the Volturi would be in Forks within four short days. My brain was whirling, trying to make sense of everything.

Something suddenly occurred to me.

"Alice, did Jasper know?"I inquired. It was the only idea I could come up with to explain her husbands erratic behavior when we met on the beach a few nights previous. Maybe he had made such a speedy exit once he knew I was was safe so he could report back to the family. Or maybe he couldn't bring himself to tell me. Jasper had never made any attempt in the past to comfort me during one of my many breakdowns, and on occasion his attitude towards human life bordered on callousness.

"No Bella, we didn't know anything then. Him bumping into you genuinely was a coincidence" she revealed. "A huge one, but a coincidence nonetheless".

Jake turned to face me with confused, sad eyes. I hadn't told him about my encounter with Jasper, but now most definitely was not the time. I reached a shaky hand towards his face and placed it on the curve of his cheek, forgetting we had an audience.

"Later" I simply stated, before giving my attention fully back to Alice. "But, why....?"

She plonked herself back on the sofa in a very graceful, yet human action. "Isn't it obvious Bella? You do remember Jasper's talent don't you?" .

"Of course I do but I still don't get why he ran away from me like he was being chased by the hounds of hell". Jacob let out a little guffaw at my simile and the corners of my mouth turned upwards in response to hearing his mirth.

Alice looked slightly amused. "There is a fine line between love and lust, Bella. When you spoke of Jacob to Jazz, he was overwhelmed by the feelings of love you radiated. You have to remember he hasn't been around humans as long as the rest of us, in a civilized manner anyway. He isn't as familiar with the complexity of human emotion as the rest of us, and he interpreted the staggering intensity of your feelings as lust. And remember, Jazz doesn't just read the emotions around him, he feels them". She sighed a little. "It made him lust for your blood. He had no option but to get away from you as fast as he could".

Jacob made a slight retching sound in the back of his throat, which made Alice scrunch her face up in response.

"Well, I guess that would explain it" I admitted, giving Alice a small smile, earning me one in return. She looked then at Jacob.

"You need to discuss this with your pack. We'll be in touch" she declared, heading towards the door. Instinctively, I followed her. "Alice" I mumbled. She spun back on her heel to face me, already in the door way.

"He doesn't know you have company. He's worried, obviously, more than you can ever know. And not just about the Volturi".

I was only able to hang my head in shame. Before I realized what had happened, I was in Alice's granite arms.

"You have to do what is right for you Bella, but wait until afterwards to break his heart" she whispered.

And then she was gone.

Silent tears slid down my face. All I ever did was hurt people. Alice knew what I was going to do to Edward. Hell, she probably knew my decision for I did. I would be giving so much up to be with Jake, and they were still willing to fight to the death for me.

Gently, as if scared I would break, Jacob lifted me into the air towards his chest. I wrapped my legs around his waist to limit his strain and rested my head upon his shoulder, letting the tears flow.

We stood like that for a while, Jake repeating "no one's going to hurt you honey" softly in my ear.

Eventually, a modicum of courage returned to me and I lifted my head to stare into his eyes. "She's right, come on, we need to tell the pack".

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jake phased briefly while I restocked the fridge to call a meeting at Sam's place. He ordered Colin and Brady to remain on the reservation and the new recruits had no choice but to follow his command when it was reiterated by Sam.

I held Jakes hand throughout my trucks torturously slow journey back to La Push, and found everyone in Sam's back garden, sat around a BBQ. Emily gave us a brief greeting before busying herself preparing salad and rolls, while Seth and Quil ferried meat in various stages of completion between the kitchen and the garden. All the elders were present - Bill, Quil Senior and Sue Clearwater . Kim sat on the ground in front of Jared reading while he absently played with her hair.

Even a crisis couldn't come between the boys and their food, so we had to wait until the BBQ was well and truly over before hoping to get their attention. Jacob forced down five burgers and few hot dogs reluctantly while he waited. I was too nervous to finish my veggie burger.

Finally, everyone had eaten their fill and they watched us expectantly, wondering why the meeting had been called.

Jake stood and recounted everything Alice had told us to his eager audience.

The pack stood motionless in a circle, each with their arms folded tightly across their chests. To an outsider, they could easily have been mistaken for octuplets. Even Sam, who always seemed to exude a peaceful confidence seemed stressed. His eyes darted between his fiancee and his brothers. Emily, who was standing behind him, rubbed comforting circles on his shoulders, reminding me of Jake's attempt to calm me earlier on Alice's arrival.

A dull ache throbbed in the pit of my stomach. It was a different sort of anguish to the one I had felt all morning, and I couldn't identify where it had sprung from. I scanned the circle for signs of movement.

Paul looked the lease distressed of the pack - obviously as eager as ever for a ight.

Leah eyed Seth warily. He was totally oblivious to the concern etched across her beautiful, Boudicean face.

Quil and Embry stood at either side of me and Jake, flanking their best friend even when on only two feet.

Kim remianed seated on the ground in front of Jared's chair, her back leaning against his legs. Worry lines creased her tawny skin and she repeatedly ran a hand through her hair brushing it against Jared's leg as she did so as if to check he was still there. Although his arms were folded across his chest, mimicking his brothers, as always Jared only had eyes for Kim. He devoured her features like a hamster storing food in its cheeks - her beautiful, friendly face, her gently curving eyelashes surrounded deep cocoa eyes. They followed her slender fingers as she delicately touched the fabric of his cargo pants.

My stomach throbbed again as I leaned back onto Jake's legs. His arms draped criss-crossing over my shoulders. The pain I felt was a cross between ravenous hunger and a stomach bug.

"Claire?" I overheard Jake whisper to Quil. Subtly, I inched my face towards them to witness the exchange. Plain fleetingly crossed his features before he shook his head and released a deep sigh.

"Her mom's taking her to visit relatives in Tacoma this weekend, so she'll be safe"

Jacob and Embry nodded in perfect synchronicity which would have been comical if not for the impending life or death the relief spread blatantly across Quil's face brought bile to my throat, and the cause of my unease became obvious.

Imprinting.

Even in this time of crisis, Sam's, Jared's and Quil's primary concern was the subject of their imprint. If anything happened to Emily, Kim or Claire, no number of deceased Volturi members would bring comfort. Without each other, they were incomplete. The boys needed their soulmates like most people needed oxygen.

And I was jealous of them.

Utterly, completely and incomprehensibly jealous.

I was a wolf girl, just as much as the others. But I still wasn't a member of their small group. Jake hadn't imprinted on me.

I had never doubted Jacob's love - there was no way he could fake the look in his eyes when we held each other, or control his heart rate as I lean in to kiss him. He wouldn't put his extended family in danger for a girl who was nothing more than a passing fancy.

But I wasn't his soulmate. And I was jealous.

And terrified. I couldn't lose him now.

Leah's hostile tones broke into my reverie. "So let me get this straight. Some of the most dangerous vampires in the world are coming here, this weekend, to see if Bella is a bloodsucker. Am I right?" she accused, pointing a finger in my direction.

"Leah" Sam stated simply, but she waved him off and continued her rant.

"The same Bella who appears to now have turned her back on the whole creature of the night gig in favor for the charms of our very own Jacob Black here".

Swift as a cobra strike, Jake picked up a fallen branch laying at my feet and hurled it in Leah's direction - not directly at her, he was a gentleman and would never hurt a lady that wasn't, well, undead - but close enough to get his point across.

"Oh bite me Jake" she snarled. "I'm only saying what everyone here is thinking. She's not your imprint, so she's nothing to me, or to any of us if we're honest. We're not mystically bound to protect her. The same rules don't apply for girls your only crushing on. She's totally brought this on herself, and now it's time for her to choose. Either become one of them or die, and we shouldn't have to lose one of us because she changed her mind". A little of the ferocity diminished from her tone. "We're protectors Jake, not judge and jury. We can't protect people who volunteer for a life of twilights and blood".

Jake jumped backwards, ten meters away from me. He was shaking violently and his outline was already blurred. It took both Quil and Embry several minutes to calm him down and lead him quietly back to his seat, while Leah stared at me, totally non plussed.

"I love her Leah. Who gives a shit if I haven't imprinted on her? I care for her just as much as Jared does for Kim, or Sam for Emily,or Quil for Claire. You've shared my thoughts, you know it's true".

His sinewy, ochre arm scooped me from the floor and placed me in his lap. "There's no way I'm handing her over like a bottle of wine at a BYOB. If your not going to help me protect her, protect La Push, from these monsters you better tell me now" he spat, glowering around the room. "That goes for everyone".

Silence blanketed the group. Leah looked slightly chastised, a naughty school girl who accepted her punishment without contrition. I didn't want to be the case of such discord among them.

Jake, sensing my distress, placed a burning hand at the base of my neck and stroked the short, soft, straggly hair there.

The silence stretched on until a little voice from the most unexpected source spoke up.

"Excuse me everyone", Kim squeaked, " but I think I may have an idea to help us all out of this mess".

Ok guys, I really don't want to beg, but I had over a thousand hits since I posted the last chapter, which was unbelievable! But I only got 2 reviews. Good or bad, I want to hear it. The story is really into the swing of things not so let me know if I'm doing it right. Have a missed anything out?All constructive criticism is welcome so please review!

Peace out

Katie

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