Izzy couldn't be happier that her best friends Ariel and Lala hit it off right away. The trio did everything together and a blast doing it. The first couple of days in San Diego, no one could pry them away from the beach. Cute bikinis, sun kissing their skin, squishing sand with their toes, cool waves cooling them off, and non-specific banter between best friends, life couldn't get any better…well maybe if Jake was there.

Jake called and or texted her at least once a day. They hadn't had any luck catching the redheaded vampire, seemed like she had picked up on their plan, but she wasn't giving up either so they were still hopeful. Jake and Bella weren't hanging out like Izzy had expected, or at least that was the story he was giving her. She missed him a lot and it seemed like he missed her too, he told her so every day. She couldn't wait to see him either.

But even though she missed Jake like crazy, Izzy was having a great time. Once the skating convention was over, she, Lala and Ariel drove to L.A. to pick up Andy and Seth, doing some grade A shopping at Rodeo Drive before heading back to San Diego of course.

The initial plan had been to stay at Ariel's house during their stay, but with only one spare bedroom, her house was too crowded with 4 extra people. With Ma's permission, they rented a beach front villa at the Del Coronado. Ariel spent most nights with them, and Mrs. Duval dropped by to check on them from time to time but they had complete freedom to do as they pleased. The five of them did some heavy partying and clubbing at night but most days were spent at the beach, surfing for the boys and cruising the pier or sunbathing for the girls. It was almost noon and they were doing just that, as the boys caught some waves, the girls waited for their burgers and fries at the pier bistro.

"Hotties checking us out at two o'clock" Ariel whispered as she playfully stirred her iced coffee.

"Your version of a hottie or my version of a hottie?"

"Yes, cause her version is tall, dark and fifteen hundred miles away" Lala teased

"Oh shut up!" she smiled as she gently shoved her shoulder

Her back pocket began buzzing, starling Izzy and causing her to jump slightly. She smiled at the name on the cell screen, Jake.

"Speak of the devil" Lala laughed

Izzy pushed the send button as she walked to the outside deck. From the corner of her eye she saw the 'hotties' making their move and walking over to Ariel and Lala.

"Hey, sexy! How you doing?"she smiled. The line was silent "Jake, you there?"

"Yeah"

"What's wrong?" she asked, instantly feeling a knot at the pit of her stomach "Is everyone ok"

Her mind went into overdrive, thinking of the million and one things that could've possibly gone wrong, after all the pack was hunting a vampire, and thinking the pack was wild bears on a killing spree, Charlie and the police force were hunting the pack.

"It's Harry" he answered, his voice coarse and broken

"Harry?" she asked in surprise, not one of the names she would've expected to hear "What happened to him, is he ok?"

"No" was all he answered.

"Oh man" she exhaled "I'm so sorry"

"Heart attack" he whispered "Sue and Leah really need Seth right now"

"We're taking the…."

"You don't have to come back" he cut her off "Just send…."

"Like I said" she cut him off "We're on the next plane back. We'll see you in a couple of hours"

"Love you" he sighed

"I love you too" click.

The moment Ariel and Lala set eyes on Izzy they knew something was wrong. Telling them was hard enough, Izzy didn't know how she was gonna break the news to Seth. While Lala made sure the food was to-go, Izzy texted Andy to go back to their villa and ran to the internet café next door and booked their flight home.

The guys surfed right outside the hotel, they'd surely be back at the villa by the time the girls got there, and though they were rushing, Izzy was dreading every second of it. She didn't know what to say to Seth, or how. By the look on Lala and Ariel's silent faces, they were thinking of the same thing. Once at the hotel, Ariel got her car and headed home to let her mom know what was going on.

To the girls' surprise, they walked in and ran into their packed bags. Seth was silent and withdrawn as he sat on the couch, staring out into nothing. Izzy and Lala turned to Andy.

"Sue called him just before you texted"

Though she was relieved she didn't have to be the one to break the news to the kid, it hurt her to see him suffering. By the tears pooling in her eyes and the way she soothed Seth's back, Lala was hurting for him too. Everyone felt bad and no one knew how to deal with it so they placed all their energy in getting home. They were packed, checked out and on their way to the airport with Mrs. Duval within minutes. By the hour they were on a plane headed to Seattle.

It was a good thing they hadn't allowed Ma to drive them to the airport on the way out, Izzy would've never been able to get a rental and it would've taken forever to wait for a ride. Instead, with bags in hand, they picked up D's car from long term parking and hauled ass. She had no idea how, but they got to Forks in little over an hour and a half, stopping at her house to drop off Andy and Lala, who would have to stay at her house for a few days since her parents were still outta town.

"I'm sure Mrs. Duval already called Ma and let her know everything" Andy said as he and Lala got off "So no worries, stay in LaPush as long as you need. She'll understand" Izzy nodded "See you in a little bit, man" he added to Seth, who had yet to say a word.

"Call me or text me if you need anything" Lala stated "Both of you"

In complete silence, Izzy and Seth got to his house in no time. Seth was known for his sweet face and permanent smile but suddenly the kid didn't just look years older but someone else completely. Izzy knew once he stepped foot in his house, things would only get worse.

"Say something, kid" she urged as he got off the car "Cry, yell, scream, hit something, let it out somehow, please, cause you're freaking me out"

"My mom and my sister need me" he answered in a distant voice she hardly recognized.

"Hey!" She said, cutting him off and forcing him to stop "Look at me" she said placing her hands on his cheeks, bringing his face to hers "I understand your need to be strong and brave for your family, mijo. You're the man of the house now, I get it. But mourning, and crying, and showing your emotions, doesn't make you any less of a man. On the contrary, it makes you a bigger one. If you wanna walk in there and be the brave, strong man they need you to be, that's ok, but you need to take time to deal with it first or you're gonna go crazy"

His emotions came rushing like an avalanche. He dug his face in the nook of her neck and cried. Izzy saw him as a little brother; it killed her that he had to go through something like that. Like she would with any of her brothers, she hugged him and allowed him to let it all out as he needed to.

In shorts, tank tops and sandals, there they stood, in a 40 degree chill, icy rain soaking them and mud at their feet for several minutes. They would've probably stayed for a lot longer if it had not been for the pack running out to them. Seth quickly stepped back, and though the rain made it nearly impossible to see his tears, she used the bottom of her shirt to wipe his face. The pack saw it all of course but pretended not to.

… ***** … ***** … ***** …

She was back! Even with all the crap that was going on, seeing her face was like getting a fresh breath of air after an eternity of gasping for it. She was holding Seth, or attempting to, as he hunched over, crying on her shoulder. They had obviously rushed home, the kid was wearing blue surfing shorts, a white wife beater and flip flops and she had short denim shorts, a brown tank top and colorful sandals, they were drenched and though the kid didn't even seem to notice, Izz had a bluish tint and was slightly shaking.

Sam and the guys intentionally made noise so they could be heard coming. Seth stepped away from Izz, and she quickly wiped his face before turning to them. None of the guys said anything to the kid, but they all patted his back or gripped his shoulder, silently letting them know they felt his pain. Sam placed his hands on the kid's shoulders and guided him into the house, the guys followed, kissing the top of Izz's head on the way.

Jake stayed behind, wrapping his arms around Izz. She was nearly frozen solid and leaned into him, sighing as she enjoyed the warmth he gave her.

"Whatever you do, don't let go" she stuttered

"Where you trying to become a Popsicle?"

"The kid was numb" she shook "I finally got a reaction out of him, I wasn't gonna ruin it by telling him I was freezing"

"Well we gotta get you warm and dry before you catch pneumonia"

Her bags were still in the trunk and with his arms still around her, she grabbed some clothes and shoes before he carried her to the Clearwater's garage, where she ran in and quickly changed while he stood watch outside. Embry walked outside and looked confused to see the car there but not Jake or Izz, then he turned to the garage and saw him. He did a quick head jerk, silently asking for Izz, Jake gestured to the garage and pulled on his shorts, signaling she was inside changing her clothes, Embry nodded and went back inside. Just then Jake felt Izz's arms around his stomach and her cool lips on his back. He couldn't help it; he instantly had her pinned up against the wall.

"I missed you so much" he whispered into her lips before pressing his own against them.

The kiss was soft and gentle and suddenly turned salty, a tear had ran down her beautiful face. Jake wiped it away and looked at her with confusion and curiosity.

"Don't worry about it" she smiled "Not the time. Come on"

She began to walk away but he pulled her back to him.

"I wanna know. Now"

"Jake" she argued "It's really not the time. We'll talk about it later, I promise"

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, making it impossible for her to move "You aint going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong"

"Jacob Black! You really gonna hold me hostage in the Clearwater's garage? Right now?" she snapped. His answer was a cocked brow "Seriously?" she sighed "Fine" she breathed in defeat "I'm afraid"

"Of me?"

"No. Of getting my heart broken" she admitted. He opened his mouth to say something but she stopped him "We made a deal, I know, friends with benefits, no string attached, but I screwed up, I fell in love. And now I am way too in love with you to stay away, but it terrifies me to get closer because even though its exactly what I want, it'll make it that much harder when we're apart"

"What makes you think we'll be apart?"

"Bella, it's always Bella" she answered "When we're together, it seems like the whole world disappears, like it's just you and me and nothing else matters cause we make each other happy. But it seems like everytime we're doing great, she gets herself into some kind of bs and its super Jake to the rescue and I'm sorry but I can't play that game anymore"

Jake knew the moment would come sooner or later and it was time, he was ready. He had spent way too long emotionally going back and forth between Izz and Bella. Too many things had changed in the short time she had been gone. He finally realized he needed Izz in his life, by his side, with him, he realized he would always be second best to Bella, and not only that, but everyone and everything would always be second to Bella. Enough was enough. Jake placed Izz down and took her sweet face in his hands.

"You wanna know where we stand? You're mine. And I'm yours. We're a couple, boyfriend and girlfriend, whatever you wish to call it, that's what we are" he smiled "I can't tell you I would never help Bella again cause you know I would, just like I would help any other friend that needed me, but you got nothing to worry about, craziness, I love you" he kissed her sweetly "Besides, Bella's gone. And I doubt we'll be seeing her around anymore"

"Gone? Whatcha mean gone?"

He had a lot to tell and explain to her so he sat her on the hood of Harry's truck, first time noticing she was now wearing denim leggings, a blue sweater and matching bow flats. She sat quietly as he filled her in. He couldn't help trembling when he told her how the redheaded leech had grabbed Harry and was going for the kill when he got there. He managed to get her away but the scare was too much for his heart. Izz rubbed his arm, calming him. He went on, telling her how he had ran to look for Bella, to let her know what was going on, after all, Harry was Charlie's best friend and she'd known him all her life, but he found her drowning after she had jumped off the cliff.

"Let me guess, you saved her life and watched over her till she felt better?"

"Yeah" he admitted "And when I took her home, Alice Cullen was there"

"Alice Cullen? They're back?"

He explained about the psychic vamp's visions, the misunderstanding about Bella's death and the reason why Bella decided to go to Italy and save the bloodsucker from dying, again.

"She left last night" he stated "Charlie's going crazy"

"As if he didn't have enough with his best friend's death" Izz shook her head "You know what, I don't wanna talk about that little brat anymore cause I'm getting pissed" she stated, jumping off the car "Let's go. I know Leah needs a friend right now and I'm sure there's plenty to help out in"

Jake nodded as he took her hand, guiding her to the house. Izz gave her condolences to Sue and Leah, and then went to the kitchen with Em. Sue, Leah and Seth were grieving too much to deal with anything so Sam, Charlie and Billy were dealing with the arrangements for the funeral, burial and whatever else needed to be done. As Beta, Jake had to take reigns of the pack, assigning shifts and making sure that bloodsucker paid for their loss.

Though he was doing many things at once, Jake kept a close eye on Izz. She made sure his dad and Charlie always had a full cup of coffee in hand at all times, gave Sue, Leah and Seth encouraging pats or arm rubs when they seemed to be losing it and forced everyone to eat when they didn't feel like it. And when Leah stormed off and locked herself in her room, it was Izz who went after her. It was a long time before they emerged from the room again. Leah ran out the house and Izz ran to the living room, urgently trying to get Sam and Jake's attention. They followed her into the kitchen, she kept jerking her head but when they didn't get what she was trying to say, she grabbed their hands and pulled them outside.

"What's going on?" he asked

"You guys have a big problem" she whispered, making sure no one inside could hear her "At least I'm pretty sure you do"

"Izz!" Sam grunted impatiently

"Leah has a fever" she snapped "And she's shaking really badly"

"She just lost her father"

Izz grunted in frustration, Jake and Sam looked at each other without a clue as to why.

"You dumdums!" she waved her arms frantically "Think about it! When was the last time you had a bad fever and began to shake uncontrollably?"

"She's a girl" Jake shook his head. It couldn't be what Izz was thinking. Could it?

"And?" she cocked her brow, a bit offended.

"What he means is that there's never been a female werewolf. Ever" Sam tried to make peace.

"Just because there hasn't been, doesn't mean there can't be" Izz argued "I saw Embry and Jake phase for the first time, remember? Leah's not looking good and in her state of mind…."

"It would be tragic" Sam nodded

"Yeah!" Jake nodded "For all of us"

Needless to say Jake got double smacked.

"Does she know?" Izz asked

"Harry was one of the tribe elders, I'm sure she's heard the stories plenty of times"

"But she wouldn't know they were real" Sam stated "Like you didn't"

"True" Jake nodded

"You better make sure someone keeps an eye on her" Izz advised "She mad, she's hurt, she's frustrated and if she does phase, add terrified and dangerous, that's a lethal combination, for everyone"

Sam and Jake looked at each other and nodded.

"I'll go tell the….."

Jake's phrase was cut short as howls boomed through the woods. Normally howling meant 'bloodsucker!' but when there were four howls and not three and they didn't stop; they knew all hell had broken loose.

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