Drowning

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews, Nikki. The russet toned wolf was Billy. I kept him the same colour as Jacob's wolf as they are members of the same family!

Part Twenty Four

"They saw me." Billy told Harry as he ran a hand through his short hair. "The bitch was right near them. If I hadn't been patrolling in that area…" He couldn't continue, the very thought horrified him. Jacob was supposed to have been at home studying, not at the beach having a cook out. Billy was livid. He tried so hard to keep tabs on his son's movements. He was thankful the twins were away at college now; at least they were out of the red head's range.

"It will be alright. You chased her off. They're fine." Harry tried to reassure his friend, but deep down he was worried too. She was testing them now at every opportunity. At first they had hoped she had gone for good, they saw no sign or sound of her for years, only having to deal with the occasional nomads they came across, and they were easily despatched. But then all of a sudden just under a year ago, she came back, and had been hovering around ever since. She was up to something, which was obvious, it was as if she was scouting the limits of their territory and gathering information. She never attacked directly, but snuck around instead.

"It's not fine. You know that." Billy muttered agitatedly. He flopped onto the old couch and stared into the distance. "You've seen how much muscle the boys have packed on in the last few months. They are going to change I know it. Sam especially is huge now. I didn't want this for them." He lamented.

Harry sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He was half the size he used to be, in the intervening years since Bella had healed him he had stuck rigidly to his diet and was now as fit as he used to be when he first phased. "Then perhaps we should warn them. Get them prepared for what might be coming. It will make the transition easier. It will be better than being kept in the dark like we were." His tone had an edge of bitterness to it as the memory of his first painful phasing entered his mind.

Billy shook his head. "NO, I will not have Jake's life ruined with worrying about what might not happen."

"But the size of them?" Harry reminded him.

"No, there is still a chance that it can be avoided." Billy had said his final word on the subject. Harry couldn't gainsay his Alpha, so had to abide by his decision, even if he didn't agree with it.

"But dad the creature was huge." Bella said for the hundredth time. "And the woman she fell right into the water. We didn't see her resurface."

Charlie sighed heavily. "We checked out the area, kiddo. There is no evidence of anything, no footprints; a creature the size you have described would have left paw prints the size of dinner plates." He sounded so disbelieving that it irritated Bella considerably. She clamped her mouth shut and left to go to her room. Charlie watched her go, shaking his head as he did so. Teenagers and their vivid imaginations, he thought to himself. When Jacob had told Billy, his friend had laughed about it. He had said he and Harry had checked and they found nothing. As far as Charlie was concerned, that was the end of the matter.

Around midnight Bella was disturbed from her sleep by the sound of her window being pushed open. She stared into the darkness and held her breath, she knew it was probably Jacob, but still you could never be sure. She watched as a large shadowy figure climbed into her room. When she saw the flash of white teeth as her visitor grinned at her, Bella knew it was definitely him. For such a big guy he sure could creep about silently. He no longer used the key hidden under the mat. Charlie had caught him using it in the distant past and had banned Jacob's late night visits, or thought he had. He never gave a thought to the large tree growing outside his daughter's room.

"You really shouldn't be here." Bella chided Jacob as he lay down beside her on top of the covers.

"I couldn't sleep." Jacob was no longer smiling. His expression had turned serious; he was obviously worrying about something.

Bella knew him so well. She turned on her side and really studied him. He had changed so much in the last year, especially physically. He now looked older than she did, even though he was fifteen, he was often mistaken for someone in his early twenties. He was carrying muscle that would take a normal person years to obtain, it wasn't just Jacob who had grown but Quil and Embry too. Even young Seth had shot up recently. It was a puzzle, and with some of the odd things that had been happening lately she was beginning to wonder if there was something supernatural about it. After all she was very familiar with that considering her own hidden talent. "What are you thinking about, Jake?" She asked him eventually when the silence stretched on and he didn't say anything else.

"Everything." Jacob turned his head to face her, his dark eyes showed his anxiety. Gone was the playful teenager and in his place was a boy who seemed mature beyond his years. It was only when they were alone, often at night, that Jacob would show this side of himself. When they were surrounded by others, especially Quil and Embry, he was always joking about and seemed to take nothing seriously. "Dad won't answer my questions, he is gone so often. I hear him sneaking out at night only to be gone hours and then come back in the early hours. When I confront him about it he puts it down to my overactive imagination. Seth told me Harry is the same. He and Sue are rowing constantly about his weird absences; she thinks he's having an affair or something. Then there's this whole thing about that wolf we saw and the woman who got chased off the cliff. Dad told me there was no evidence to show it had been there, but me and guys found some huge paw prints. We're being lied to Bells, and I don't understand why."

Bella bit down on her bottom lip. Everything he said she felt too. Of course Charlie wasn't sneaking about, but she was at the reservation so often she saw a lot of what Jacob was referring too. She didn't have an answer to give him. Sam had called around earlier that day, he was a grown man now, twenty one years of age and deadly serious. Because his dad was still in prison Sam had taken Joshua's place on the council and was now privy to a lot of secrets that he had hitherto been denied. Having this new responsibility had changed him considerably. Bella had told him about what she had seen and asked his opinion. Sam's eyes had darkened when she questioned him and all he had said was. "I don't want to lie to you, Bella. So it means I can't say anything at all." His eyes had pleaded for her understanding, and she had reluctantly dropped the subject.

It was all a huge mystery and like Jacob it irked her that they were all being kept out of the loop, even her father it seemed was denied all knowledge of what Billy and the council elders knew, and he had been friends with Billy since childhood. "I wish I could say something that would make you feel better, but I am as clueless as you are."

"You would never keep a secret from me, would you, honey?" Jacob's words made Bella flinch. She felt a lump come into her throat, she was keeping a huge secret from him, at times she longed to confess all, but something was holding her back, Sam's warning's about too many people knowing, and worry over whether Jacob would think she was a freak or just a liar. "I love you." There he'd said it again, the three big words. When he had first said them to Bella she had assumed he had meant he loved her like a sister, but the older she got, she finally realised he meant them in a completely different context. The way he was looking at her now, his dark eyes bright and lambent and with a soft expression on his face. His hand reached out and he tentatively touched her cheek. "I really, really love you." For a guy he wasn't shy about showing or saying how he felt.

"I love you too." Bella said automatically, because of course she did, he was her best friend, a huge part of her life and she couldn't imagine him not being in it. In fact the very thought of losing him made her feel ill, but they were both so young, Jacob was still only fifteen. They were not old enough to declare undying love, they hadn't lived yet. She saw the light in Jacob's eyes fade and he sighed heavily.

"If only you meant it." He rolled onto his back and put an arm across his face so she couldn't see his expression.

"Jake, please don't do this?" Bella begged. She hated it when the conversation got heavy like this. "Please?"

"Just forget it, Bells." Jacob refused to speak anymore. Bella felt heaviness in her chest as she closed her eyes and tried to seek sleep. Eventually she must have dozed off because when she woke again Jacob had gone.

Billy chased the red head in and out of the trees. This was his territory; he knew every nook and cranny. So how was it the bitch managed to evade him every time? His jaws snapped at her heels and she twisted in front of him, laughing maniacally when she avoided his bite for the umpteenth time. Again she led him to the top of the cliff; before she dived off she turned to face him. "Soon." She hissed through her venom soaked teeth. "Someone you love will die very soon." She laughed again as she leapt over the edge.

Billy skidded to a halt, his claws just about stopping him from falling over the edge. Her words reverberated around his head like a sick echo. She spoke as if what was coming to pass had already been predetermined and it made his blood run cold. He was yanked out of his depressive thoughts by a sharp pain in his head. He became still as Sam's desperate voice entered his consciousness, calling for help. It had happened at last, they had another member. Sam Uley had joined the pack.

A/N-thank you for reading!