I own nothing…this fabulous world and everything in it belongs to the very talented Stephenie Meyer…I do however, own this particular story…whatever that means!

Author's Note: If you got an email with a chapter update, my apologies...posted the wrong chapter! Here's the appropriate one...in the correct order. Also, if you're interested, please re-read the last chapter...in my haste to post, I uploaded an earlier version of the correct chapter and I've corrected my error...answers a question I've gotten about Bella's feeding preferences...if you've got the time! On with the story!

Chapter 24: Goodbye

Time was running out on me. It was past four and I would need to leave soon. I needed to hunt and prepare for work with the coming day. But, there was still more of the story to tell. Pushing forward, I continued yet again, trying to organize my thoughts to make the story as succinct as possible, and still be as complete in the details as were necessary.

"I was unaware of the date, but I knew that it was Christmas time. I would find out later that it was Christmas Eve, but by then, it didn't matter anymore. I needed to talk to Jacob and try to figure out what I was going to do. I picked up the phone in my classroom and dialed the numbers, struggling to find the words to say to Jacob before he picked up the phone."

"Hello."

"Jacob, I…"

"Bella? Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to pick up Grace this morning. Paul and the others have been looking everywhere for you…are you alright?"

"Jake, I…"

"Bella, you scared the hell out of us. I've been worried sick and Grace misses her mother. Where are you right now? Do you need me to come and get you? Are you hurt?"

"Jacob, please listen to me. I don't know where to start, but I need to see you. Just you. Can you do this for me?"

"Bells, what happened? Where are you? I'm coming to get you right now. I'll bring Grace, and you and I can talk."

"NO! Do not bring Grace with you. Please, Jake, listen to me. I need to just see you. I can't explain it over the phone. Leave Grace with Emily or even…Meghan. I need to talk to you alone first."

"Bella, you're not making any sense. Why can't I bring Grace with me? Are you in danger right now? We'll come and get you. Nothing will hurt you – or us, for that matter."

"Jake, please. Just come to the high school. I'm in my classroom, but I'll meet you outside. Please. I'm fine...just come by yourself. I just need to talk to you alone. You need to trust me. Please?"

"Fine. I'll be there in about ten minutes. Meet you outside?"

"I'll be waiting."

"I went outside to wait for Jacob. Ten minutes had never seemed so long or so very short before. I could smell him within minutes. He was in his wolf form, running toward me. The smell was…overbearing. Like a drowned dog. I knew it had to be him. What else would be in that area at that time of night?"

Every member of the family, with the exception of Carlisle and Esme, who looked disapprovingly at their children, snickered at my words. Once they saw the seriousness of my expression, they quickly regained a calm demeanor, which I took as a sign to go on.

"He phased back in the trees, before approaching me. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and before I knew it, my newly improved sight could see his nose scrunching up from the smell. Jacob once told me how sweet you all smelled to him…too sweet. No doubt, he smelled me. My 'new' scent, but at the moment, he thought it was another…creature; someone close by, intent on hurting us. I saw him look around, trying to find them, while he closed the distance between us."

"As soon as he was close enough, I could see it in his eyes. He took in my appearance, starting with my red irises, my pale skin… for a moment, confusion took over his face, his muscles rippling, as he tried to comprehend what he was looking at – but then, the confusion cleared - he knew. He phased in front of me instantly. I dodged his claws just in time, as he came flying at me. He growled, his vicious howls filling the advancing night, as a light snow started to fall. But then…"

"Bella, what happened? Did he hurt you again?" Edward pleaded with me, a soft insistence in his voice.

I looked at him, taking in every beautiful angle of his face. I hoped that my face was smooth enough to not show what I was really feeling. For just a fleeting moment, I let myself believe that he still cared about me. That he still loved me, like I thought he had all those years ago. Why couldn't he still love me? What had I done?

The look on his face was so tender, so gentle. If I hadn't been so good at restraining my emotions, my actions for the past few years, I would have thrown myself into his arms and buried myself in his chest. I would have covered him with kisses, unable to stop myself, and finally cross those boundaries that he had set so many years ago for my protection. Protection that now, sadly, was no longer necessary. And, he no longer wanted me…that was clear.

I dragged myself back from my flight of fancy to take stock of the room around me. I had the rapt attention of every Cullen, as they listened to my story unfold. I had gone into an almost perfunctory mode, telling the story as quickly as possible, desperately trying to not allow any emotion to take control tonight.

"No, Edward. I was able to duck just in time. He kept coming at me, until I finally called out his name," I answered him, unable to keep my gaze away from his face.

"Jake! It's me. It's Bella. Please…"

"That did it. He phased back, running into the trees that surrounded the school. But, by then, it was too late. The rest of the pack had heard him and was arriving. I could smell them, hear them. I'd never felt so afraid in my life," I paused, my voice catching. "My life, or whatever it was now, was about to end. All I could think about was how I had to protect Grace. Jake and the pack had failed me, but I couldn't. I wouldn't. She wouldn't be lost to this existence or worse. She would survive. She would grow up and have a wonderful life. I wasn't going down without a fight."

"The pack approached me, with Sam at the center point, their teeth snapping, their growls growing more and more fierce. Jacob came flying out of the trees, once again in his wolf form, and stood in front of me. I could tell they were communicating, but I had no idea what they were saying. Before I knew it, another wolf, a smaller one, had taken a flanking position at Jacob's side. At that moment, I knew it had to be Leah. I'd only seen them all in their wolf form once, except one other time with Jacob and Paul, when they saved me from Laurent. And even then, the pack wasn't complete. It wasn't safe for them to phase in front of us, but in times of extreme emergency, it was necessary."

"Laurent? When…" Emmett interrupted.

Edward hissed, glancing sideways at his brother. "Not now, Emmett."

Edward nodded toward me, encouraging me to go on, so I did.

"Before I knew what was happening, a large wolf, one that I knew was Jake's pack brother Paul leapt into the air and aimed right for me. Jake jumped in the way, knocking him over and they fought on the ground, snapping and snarling at each other. Leah never stepped away from me, her growls becoming more ferocious by the minute."

"Suddenly, everyone stopped. Every pair of eyes unexpectedly turned to Paul and two of the wolves that I knew were Quil and Embry, took off after him. They chased him in to the woods, the howls growing louder and more menacing, until the sound of them started to fade. Sam ran back to the forest, where he phased back. The rest of the pack stayed in their wolf forms, including Jacob and Leah, who still stood in front of me, as if to protect me from the rest of them."

"Sam came forward, flanked by his brothers, before he spoke to me," as I remembered every word that he uttered. The look on his face was, for once, not smooth, but instead was frustrated, mingled with resignation, as he assumed his customary pose of standing with his arms resting, crossing his broad chest.

"Bella… I'm not sure what to say. Paul was supposed to be protecting you, looking out for you. I am sorry this has happened. Jake is certain that you are not a danger to any of us, and I believe that Leah shares his opinion. However, as pack leader, I can't share that belief. We can no longer allow you to stay in this area. You have only one option. You must leave tonight and never return. If you come to the reservation or insist on staying in the area, we will destroy you. And as difficult as this may be for you, you may not feed in this area on any human. You must restrain yourself. Otherwise, you will leave us no choice. Do understand that we are being generous in this? Please leave tonight. Jake will explain everything else after we leave, but we won't be far. It's our job as protectors and we won't hesitate to do just that if you force our hand."

"The pack returned to the surrounding forest. I could smell them, could hear them, but before I had time to react, Jacob was coming out of the trees, back in his human form. His face full of sadness, tears in his eyes, while his shoulders lay limp. He approached me, carefully, with his hands up in front of him, to signal that he wasn't a threat to me."

"Bella, how did this happen? Who? When? Where were you? Paul was supposed to be protecting you, but… How could this happen? I promised to protect you; keep you safe. Was it her, that vile leech we've been tracking for years?"

"It was then that things started falling into place. He had never told me that it had been Victoria who had started the war those few years back, that she had continually come after me. He had kept all this from me, in order to protect me and help me feel safe."

"Jake, Victoria did this. I couldn't stop her. She came to my classroom and threatened Grace. She thought that I would kill her, and then you and the pack would take care of me afterwards. She's gone, and I don't know where she is. She can't hurt our baby, Jake. She can't hurt my Grace. You've got to protect her. Promise me! Promise that what happened to me won't happen to my baby. Or worse…" I couldn't finish, as the final words caught in my throat.

"Bella, I promise I'll protect her. I won't ever let anything happen to her. I won't fail this time. I promise. I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I trusted the wrong person. Paul was supposed to…but he was upset. This is all my fault. I failed you again."

I continued my story, filling in the details that I had missed. Jacob told me everything. When Paul's mother had been killed years earlier, he had blamed me. She had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and Victoria or one of her followers had killed her to start the war. The war that had kept us all in lockdown and in a terrified state had been because of me; Victoria had recruited others to try to get through the wolves, and then get to me. She had never given up.

Paul's mind had been twisted by the death of his mother and he blamed me for everything. He hated me and felt that it was my fault that the vampires kept coming to La Push, even the ones that weren't part of Victoria's coven. And then, when Jacob imprinted, he was even angrier. In Paul's mind, if Jake had only waited, Victoria could have killed me sooner. If Jake had met Meghan earlier and not been so insistent on being with me, I wouldn't have been on the reservation and everyone would have been better off.

None of it made sense, except to Paul. He had purposely left me unattended that night, especially after he picked up Victoria's scent. He knew it was only a matter of time for him to wait before she caught up with me, killing me and ending all this nonsense. He knew I was at the high school and told everyone that I wasn't there when I went missing, so they wouldn't search for me at work. Then, if she didn't kill me, he could and no one would be angry with him. He would just be doing his job at that point – a job, I'm sure he would have enjoyed, tearing me apart, piece by piece, then burning me in some symbolic way of cleansing the earth of my very existence.

The only reason I was never harmed by him in the first place was that he had been ordered by both Sam and Jake to keep his hands off me, early on, when he had made his feelings about me known to anyone who would listen.

He was able to keep his thoughts about me at bay when he was in his wolf form. He had become rather adept at hiding certain thoughts from the pack, including his loathing of me. But, that night, he spilled everything after he phased, thus the reason for Quil and Embry taking off after him. They had always been my friends, even after my split with Jacob. They had always been there for me.

I was almost out of time. I needed to leave very soon. I wouldn't get to everything tonight, and the rest would have to wait. I was starting to feel a bit exhausted, if that made any sense. I had been through so much in one day. Morning and evening classes. Running into the Cullens, and then sharing my story, which was so emotional and twisted it'd left me completely drained. I fleetingly remembered how tired I used to get when I was still human.

Not to mention seeing Edward again. Someone I had thought was lost to me so long ago, someone that I never dared hope to see again. Someone I was still completely in love with. Now he was sitting directly across from me, listening to my sad, pathetic story.

I could smell him – so much so that it was almost as if I could have tasted his scent in the air. His beautiful eyes were fixed on me, but so what? My story would do nothing to change his feelings for me. If only…

I was so lost in my thoughts, it was some time before I heard Alice calling to me, "Bella, what happened next? Bella? Bella, can you hear me?" she questioned, before grabbing my pant leg and insistently started to pull on it, like a five-year-old trying desperately to gain their mother's attention.

"Oh…I'm sorry. I just got lost there for a moment." I shook off my thoughts and attempted to smile. "Well, Jake told me everything. He kept apologizing. He was so upset, but still on his guard, like he couldn't trust me, which to be honest, he couldn't entirely. My thirst was intolerable by that point and I knew I had to leave. Jake and I were natural enemies now, and I was absolutely unwilling to put my baby's life at risk. I couldn't trust myself around her. I turned to leave, making him promise one more time that he would take care of Grace, protect her with his very life if it came to that, when he started toward me."

"His hands were extended, as if to hug me goodbye, when my instincts kicked in. He wouldn't touch me…it's as if my mind took over, telling me he would try to kill me if he got that close. The fear started elevating, but then my anger kicked in. I was angry at him. I blamed him for everything, even though this tiny little voice in the back of my head kept telling me that this was just how things were meant to be for me, and that none of this was his fault. I had always had a knack for attracting anything unusual, anything dangerous."

But, in those few moments, I realized that I had lost it all. My life was over. And, the worst part of it was I lost Grace. I had no choice but to say goodbye. I couldn't even see her one last time." My voice cracked and I felt my eyes begin to glisten. Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself before I continued, "My anger turned to rage and when he took another step toward me, it happened."

"What happened?" Alice whispered.

"He took another step toward me, and I blocked him, sending him flying through the air, right across the parking lot."