AN: Thank you for all the review love! I am fed up keeping Bella and Jacob apart, so enjoy this chapter! :)

J – I promise I will! jul5857 – I know but not for long I promise! 4Gracie04 – There will be a solution I promise! AA1991 – Your review made me laugh! Hope you enjoy AdoreShayaJay – Thank you! Griezz – good theory but nope sorry! Haha, enjoy! Guest – That's true, but Sam imprinted, so not sure. I was thinking about Jacob coming back and being Alpha but I think I might not do that, leave that power with Sam!Hope you enjoy Twin268 – haha, yep I updated, see I promised I would :) wolfgirl1973 – haha, I'm not sure I could write any other ending, such a diehard BellaxJacob fan serenity1006 – I know, that was actually so hard to write, all Jake wants is a life with Bella, and yet he can't have it :( hope this chapter will make you smile! Coolfun – glad you enjoyed xxx

Chapter Twenty One

The bonfire crackled merrily in the night air, the perfect accompaniment to the excited shouts from the pack. They were laughing and tackling each other into the sand, a football flying between them in the shadowy darkness.

Members of other packs were here as well, a mix of women and men. I'd been surprised to learn the crow pack from Missouri were all female. They sat together by the fire, black feathers braided into their hair, strong muscles rippling in the fire light. I looked away, my heart clenching. Would Jacob imprint on one of them?

I was surprised to hear he still hadn't phased – why deny the inevitable? Someone nearby was playing the guitar and singing, and I watched Seth, dancing merrily with Karin, twirling her around and stopping to kiss her.

Kara came to sit next to me, warming her hands by the fire. Although her skin was a beautiful, smooth russet and not a single grey could be seen in her sleek black hair, I felt she was far older than any of the Quileute tribal elders. There was something about her eyes. When she turned to look at me, I felt as though I might fall into their inky depths. They held an ancient wisdom and understanding.

"You are Bella Swan," Kara breathed, her voice like an echo of the wind. "The girl who ran with vampires and wolves. The girl who moved mountains."

I had no response to this, but just stared at her. The corners of her full lips twitched into a smile.

"The girl who changed the course of history."

"I don't know what you mean," I said quietly.

Kara spread her hand out in front of her, as if demonstrating her meaning. "You think a normal girl could cause all of this?" she whispered in her deep melodic voice.

"I didn't mean to," I began, instantly defensive. "This wasn't what I wanted."

She smiled, flashing straight white teeth. "Bella Swan - that is the key to a girl like you. You may not wish to move mountains or change history, but we all need shaking up once in a while. Every few centuries, we need a girl like you to come along."

I just gaped at her, lost for words.

"I was that girl once," Kara gazed in to the distance, and fingered the bridge of her beautifully arched nose. "A long time ago."

"How old are you?" I asked, before I could stop myself.

She laughed, a beautiful delicate sound. "Old enough that I have given life, and had it taken away. Old enough to know when a fight is important. When change is in the right direction." She smiled and pointed at Jacob who was standing by the fire, warming himself. "Old enough to recognise the pull of two souls towards each other."

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"In my tribe, we call it, Uyehi Atsiyehi." She paused and I looked at her blankly. "The Quileutes call it imprinting."

I shook my head frantically. "No," I exclaimed. "No, Jacob and I…we're not. He hasn't imprinted. I'm not his imprint."

Kara raised a heavy eyebrow, and smiled her perfect smile. "Bella Swan, as we have established, I am very old. I may not look it, but I have lived far longer than all of your vampire friends and these ancient cold ones who are coming. There are many kinds of power in this world, but love is the strongest. I can see your souls. And Jacob is your Uyehi Atsiyehi."

I shook my head again, tears now stinging my eyes. "No, the Quileute wolves imprint on first sight. I love Jacob, I do, but I'm not his imprint." I rose to my feet, knowing that I needed to get away from this strange magical woman. "Please excuse me."

I made my way back through the forest, letting the sounds of the party fade into the background. I just wanted to get into my car and drive home leaving Jacob and the wolves behind. I couldn't stand the heartache anymore.

Heavy footprints sounded behind me and I spun around. Jacob was hurrying up to me.

"Wait," he called, slowing to a walk, breathing heavily. "Bella, please don't go yet. We haven't had the chance to talk."

I raised my hands in the air. "What's there to talk about?" I demanded.

"I love you," he said, his voice coming out harsh and angry. He finally caught up to me and grabbed my shoulders.

"It doesn't matter," I replied.

"Yes it does! Just because I haven't imprinted, it doesn't make my love insignificant, Bella!" he bellowed and I took quick steps backward.

"I never said it was," I tried to argue, but he interrupted.

"I need you," his voice was no more than a whisper, his eyes intensely burning into mine. And then his lips were on mine, our bodies pressed into one another. In an instant, he picked me up in his arms and carried me through the darkness.

We arrived at his house where he placed me back on my feet and I leapt up at him, wrapping my arms around his neck, burying my hands in his hair.

Together, we kicked our shoes off and stumbled through the front door, his hands pawing at my jacket.

"Billy?" I asked.

"At the Clearwater's house with Charlie and Sue," he mumbled, seemingly unable to tear his lips from mine.

He had my jacket off and his fingertips slid under my sweater and shirt, pulling them roughly over my head. I helped him out of his top and raked my fingers down the smooth skin of his back.

Jacob's lips travelled along my jaw, searing my skin with their heat. His teeth grazed my neck and I moaned, pressing myself into him. His fingers undid the button of my jeans and I helped to kick them off, nearly tripping as we stumbled down the hallway to his bedroom. He kicked the door closed and together we fell onto his bed. Jacob pulled off his remaining clothes and helped rid me of mine, then fell back on top of me, touching every inch of my overheated body as I grabbed helplessly at him.

He pinned me down, positioning himself between my legs and covered my mouth with his own as he drove into me hard. I cried out and Jacob paused worriedly before I urged him to continue. He hooked a hand under my knee pressing it up to my chest and thrust into me over and over. My nails dug into his sweaty back as I clawed him deeper into me, wanting him, needing him.

We came together with a shuddering yell, our sweaty bodies pressed against one another.

ooo

The next morning, I woke with a smile on my face, warm in the tight embrace of Jacob. It took me a moment to realise where I was, and once I had, I sat up quickly holding Jacob's sheets up high to cover myself. He sleepily opened one eye and smiled lazily at me.

I reached down and brushed his hair back from his forehead and kissed him gently on the temple.

"Go back to sleep," I whispered. "I need to go home and shower. Charlie will probably be freaking out."

"Stay," he mumbled into the pillow, reaching out for me.

I shook my head and slipped out of his bed, searching for my clothes. Where were they?

"All my stuff is at Charlie's. Gross, I haven't even brushed my teeth."

I whirled around, unable to find more than my knickers, tossed carelessly over the lampshade on Jacob's bedside table. Swearing quietly, I remembered our frenzied stumble through the living room, tearing at each other's clothes. I wrapped Jacob's sheets more tightly around me and cracked open his bedroom door, tiptoeing down the hallway.

Rachel, Paul and Billy sat at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. My clothes had been folded into a neat little pile on the sofa and I ducked my head in embarrassment when they looked up and saw me.

My face blazed with heat as Rachel grinned wickedly at me and winked. Billy cleared his throat and turned the page in a businesslike manner.

"Coffee?" Rachel offered, her eyes twinkling.

I stumbled through an excuse and darted back to Jacob's room, clothes tightly pressed to my chest. When I had safely closed the door to Jacob's room, I got dressed quickly, relaying the story to Jacob. He laughed and sat up, scratching his head. I watched as he stood, stretched and located his own clothes, pulling them on. My stomach squirmed with desire and my heart ached. What had we done? Nothing had changed, and yet last night, we returned to square one.

He crossed the room, took my face in his hands and kissed me sweetly.

"Stop overthinking it and come and have breakfast before you leave."

I sighed and let him lead me back out to the kitchen.

ooo

The wintery morning air stung my face like needles. The fresh pine scent woke me more than the travel cup of coffee I sipped as I gazed at the enormous meeting gathered in the flat grassy field. I looked up at the mountains framing the edge of the valley and shivered at the snow which lay atop the peaks. The grey sky swirled overhead, promising the day would remain cold.

Karin stood next to me, her eyes wide as she stared at the gathering crowd. Seth had filled her in last night about the vampires and the promised fight. I was amazed she was still standing – I wanted to find a dark corner and curl up in it until this was all done.

"I have to go back to Seattle tomorrow," I told her quietly as we watched the largest group of Apache warriors walk hesitantly into the clearing. "It seems crazy, but I need to be at work."

She nodded her head, dreadlocks bouncing. "I'm going to stay here," she said. "If that's okay."

"Of course," I reached out and squeezed her hand. "You should stay with Seth."

She turned to look at me. "And what about you and Jacob? You two vanished last night."

I chewed my lip. "We spent the night together."

She nodded and smiled. "I thought so."

We stopped talking then. Carlisle was standing on a fallen tree and he raised his hands, signalling for quiet. Behind him stood his family, their golden eyes glinting. A range of other vampires stood around them. Some had golden eyes like the Cullens and I assumed these vampires were the Denali family from Alaska. But a great number of the other vampires had blood red eyes. I shivered.

"Friends," Carlisle began, his voice soft in the large clearing. He did not need to raise his voice to be heard, as every person here, except Karin and me, possessed superhuman hearing. "We have all come together with one common goal. The Volturi will be here in a month, and we are going to use this time to plan our attack. My foster son Jasper has the most experience with vampire battles, and I know the Volturi well, having spent time with them in my youth. My son Edward can see into the minds of others and my daughter Alice is able to see the future. Our other friends possess a wide array of talents that we will experiment with and explore over this next month. We will use today to get to know each other's strengths and how we can best exploit the weaknesses of the Volturi."

While Carlisle spoke, Edward came up beside us, offering me a small strained smile. I searched for Jacob in the crowd. He was easy to spot, being the most overdressed of his pack in a thick coat. The Quileute group stood together at the front and there were a number of smaller members I didn't recognise.

"It's going to be a long day," Edward said. "You don't need to stay."

I shook my head. "Everyone is here because of me." I licked my lips. "I need to stay."

"You don't need to worry about our reinforcements," he indicated the group of vampires who stood behind Carlisle. "They have given their word they will not hunt in the area."

I shook my head. "The fact they're hunting at all makes me feel sick. Isn't the aim of this fight to eradicate human-killing vampires?"

"Baby steps, Bella," he said, his voice quiet. "They're here and at the moment, that's enough."

I was distracted by a screech from the all-female warrior clan and as one, they rose into the air, exploding into giant crows, their glossy black feathers sleek and shiny. They flapped, rising and falling in the air, spiralling together before touching down on the ground, standing as one, their eyes still on Carlisle.

"Excuse me, but I need to translate," Edward said, and walked back over to his father.

One by one, the packs transformed into their animal selves and the clearing began to fill with giant, deadly creatures. I gazed in admiration at the mountain lions who snarled and prowled through the long grass, their strong muscles rippling and deadly teeth glinting. Finally it was time for the Quileutes to turn.

Karin and I went to them.

"This is it, isn't it?" I whispered to Jacob.

He met my eyes with his, burning into me. "Bella," he began, "you need to know, I choose you. You are my choice."

I felt tears fill my eyes as he stooped to kiss me, knowing that I might be about to lose him forever.

"I love you," he whispered, wiping the tears from my cheek.

"I love you too."

Jacob let go of me and returned to his pack. With a howl in unison, the pack hunched their shoulders and transformed, exploding into huge wolves.

All except one.

Jacob stood in the middle of the pack, his face scrunched up in agony, his limbs trembling. He looked to be in physical pain, straining as hard as he could. And yet his form stayed resolutely human.

The other wolves looked at him, confusion in their huge black eyes.

Jacob opened his eyes and held out his hands in front of him. He shook his head, screwed up his face again and yet still nothing happened.

A burst of love and excitement exploded inside my chest as I realised what this meant. He couldn't transform. Jacob was, and always would be, human.

Happy ending to a chapter for once! Haha, hope you enjoyed. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! (They make me so happy)

Next update soon, I promise! xxxxAnnie