Chapter 26. I rather think this may be an epic chapter. Well, it is to me. And a lot of you have been guessing that "this" was going to happen! And a lot of you have been waiting for "that" to happen. Well, here it is. As a note though, I really love this chapter.

I still don't own the Twilight universe. :(

Please enjoy my take on it though!


JPOV

Something was wrong. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was an itch between my shoulders. The smell of snow, cold and sharp, filled my nose though there wasn't a flurry in sight. Scanning the woods, I saw nothing. All the small animals had scurried into their holes for the winter.

Leah and I had come across the scent of a human that was fresh along with a different scent that I wasn't familiar with but burned my nose. I hadn't liked how far into our territory it was considering that that particular area wasn't a prime hunting spot for humans. The Cullens always hunted in that area, including Nessie. I'd stayed there for a while just watching.

After a while of absolutely nothing, I'd gotten back to running. Now, my shoulders were itching. It reminded me of the night that I'd been carrying Nessie back home. I'd felt like I was being watched.

Yeah, I'm getting that feeling, too, Leah said. Every time I pass that spot, I feel like I'm being watched, but I never see anything.

I whined a little in unease. How's everything up there?

Cold, but fine. No sign of that one wolf. You said he was white, right?

Yeah. I forgot Nessie didn't get a chance to show you. I can't quite remember what he looks like. But I'd know him if I saw him.

It's alright. I'm sure I'll recognize him from what I can see from you.

Well, keep a sharp eye. I don't like the feeling I'm having.

Guys, I felt it too the other day when I was running, Christa finally chimed in. I was wondering where she'd been.

What do you mean? Why didn't you say anything?

I felt her flinch at my tone. I wasn't running patrol. I just thought that it was some weird thing at the time. It wasn't until you said something that I put it together. I'm sorry, Jacob.

I breathed deep. Technically, it wasn't her fault. It's alright, but for future reference let me know anything weird that you catch.

Yes, sir.

Stop with the 'sir' stuff, Christa. It's just Jacob.

Ok.

Jake, Leah said. Your phone is ringing.

Sure enough, when I paid attention to my surroundings instead of inside my head, I heard my phone. I must have heard in subconsciously and she must have heard it in my mind. It was the generic tone meaning that I didn't know who exactly was calling me. I let it go to voicemail, but it just started up again.

I'm phasing back to see who it is. They won't stop calling.

Go for it. We'll be alright.

I phased. There was no need to worry about clothes, but it sure as hell was a little chilly out here. I unwrapped the phone from my ankle and checked the screen. Confused at the name, I answered.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Black-,"

"Jacob, just Jacob." I'd been telling the old man that for months.

"Jacob, we have a problem up here."

I grew suspicious at the lack of panic in his voice. "Problem? You don't sound like you have a problem."

"Well, we do. We need you up here as soon as possible." That voice was calm as a summer creek. And old as dirt.

I sighed. "Fine, but this better be important."

"Oh, it is, Jacob. It is." And the bastard hung up. Nice manners.

After tying the phone back, I phased out again.

What's up, Jake? Sean asked. He'd paired up with Christa.

Hey, man. That was the chief of the Makah rez. He said they have a problem up there but the man was calm as a freaking rock.

You need back up?

Nah. You stay down here with the girls. Keep running the patrol. Something's off.

Sure thing. Hurry back though. It might start snowing soon, and I don't want my pack leader up there alone all night.

Thanks.

I'd started running as soon as I'd phased. It wouldn't take me long to get to the outskirts of the reservation. Sure, I was tired, but my mind and body were both in alert mode. Adrenaline washed through me, keeping me awake. So I put on a burst of speed. I wanted to get back to Nessie as soon as possible.

Before I knew it, I was passing that damn cabin that they'd had me stay in. I didn't get very far after that. A group of men were standing in a huddle, clearly waiting on me. Some of them were sketchy standing there with their hands behind their backs. It was then that I realized I recognized the human scent on the wind down in our territory. And I didn't like the meaning behind it. The other scent was still a mystery. Standing before them at my full height, I was very close to being taller than them. I raised my hackles in warning before I phased to human.

"What do you want? What is this?"

The tribe chief stepped forward. He was surprisingly agile for an old guy. His dark eyes were as sharp and alert as twenty-year old's.

"Jacob, when Sam called to ask us if your little half-breed friend could come to help with negotiations, you or Sam never mentioned that you were courting her. That you were going to take her as a mate."

Narrowing my eyes in his direction, I couldn't help but notice the way he'd used the past tense. Or the way that he sounded so sure about it, as if he knew things that were going on in my territory that he shouldn't.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I growled out.

Those old eyes flared with hatred as they flicked down to the mark on my chest. "She's half of what our enemy is, and you want to mate with her? You want to create yet another half-breed with her? How unstable would a child between the two of you be? What would you bring into this world?"

I stepped forward. "Nessie isn't like that. She's not like the cold ones that came across our tribes long ago. She's sweet. And she cares for my people, my wolves. You have no right to tell me who I can and cannot mate with. If you don't want the peace treaty or anything to do with us, that's fine. But don't insinuate anything against her or her family."

"Or what?" he demanded in a cold voice.

When I stepped forward again, a few of the men shuffled uncomfortably. Some of them reached behind their backs. But my eyes stayed on the chief. Technically I was supposed to be chief of the Quileutes. This was a stand-off between the leaders.

"You don't want to push me on this, old man. Or my pack. You won't like the outcome."

"Is that a threat?" he asked with small smile.

My eyes scanned the men at his back. "Consider it a warning. Your only warning."

Then, I did something stupid: I turned my back on him. But it was also to show him my confidence. He wasn't the only one who had power. I was an Alpha werewolf with a loyal pack and a loyal set of soon-to-be in-laws.

I was stepping into the tree line when I heard the shot ring out. A moment later, my right leg gave out on me in a wash of pain. On my way to the ground, I phased instinctively. The pain was intense and I couldn't help the whimpers.

Another shot rang out, but missed me by a mile, the shot hitting a tree. I tested my leg. It hurt like a sonofabitch, but I could put weight on it. It wasn't that I could if I wanted to. It was that I had to. My one thought was to get back to the house, to Carlisle…to Nessie.

A third shot rang out, but I was already running, dodging back and forth. Running in a straight line would help them.

I ran and ran, hoping that they weren't following. I needed to stop or at least slow down. My leg was throbbing. I skidded to a stop behind a tall, wide tree. Not wanting to risk it, I didn't phase back. I just tried to stretch out my leg. There were wounds on both sides. I knew that meant that it was a through and through. The bullet wasn't in my leg, but the wound was bleeding pretty badly. Blood had pooled in the leaves already. I knew that running wasn't good for blood loss. My upped heart rate would cause me to bleed a lot faster, but I had to get back to the Cullen house.

I needed to hold Nessie. After hearing that old bag threaten her, I needed her in my arms.

Getting back on my feet took more energy than I was comfortable with, but I pushed myself.

I pushed myself to get back to her.

RPOV

Paul and I had reached our prime hunting spots. A funky scent was on the air along with human, but that could just be a passerby. Paul wasn't really that worried about it.

We came across a clearing with a herd of deer. Splitting up, I whispered, "I want the buck," to him before he took off around to the north of me.

The hunt and kill was perfect. Paul made it a quick kill, snapping the neck and tearing the artery open for me.

"Thank you," I said. And I dug in.

I hadn't realized how thirsty I was until I'd smelled the blood. It was sweet and smooth going down my throat. Sitting back, I pulled the buck into my lap. His antlers dug into the ground, propping his head off my lap.

"You should slow down and breathe, Ness. That stag isn't going anywhere." Adam stepped into the clearing grinning. Derek wasn't far behind with an identical grin.

I took a few more gulps and was stuffed. Pulling back, I slipped out from under the buck and stood up. There was blood on my hands so I wiped them on my jeans. I had plenty pairs of them to replace this one.

I grinned at them as I wiped the blood from my face. "Hey, guys. Fancy meeting you out here," I said as nonchalantly as I could.

"Yeah, fancy that," Derek said with a smile at Adam.

Our smiles were cut short when Paul came into the clearing growling. This one wasn't a playful or hunting growl. This one was a warning. Instantly, Adam was standing in front of me as Derek disappeared into the trees.

I sniffed the wind as it blew into my face. That weird human scent was back and stronger. All went quiet as Paul went the opposite direction of Derek into the trees.

In the far distance, there was a sound like a gunshot.

"What the hell was that?" I whispered.

Adam shook his head in answer.

Then, suddenly, there was utter chaos. Paul growled and snarled viciously out of sight as Derek yelled. Adam turned and hugged me to him, covering me with his body.

Two seconds later, I heard a dull thud. Adam's body jerked and something poked my shoulder. Adam's weight was thrown on me. Down we went. I sat down hard in the grass with Adam on top of me. As soon as I could see over him, I found that an arrow was sticking out of his back. What had been poking me was the arrowhead that had ripped through his chest. The left side of his chest.

Not daring to move him, I patted his other shoulder. "Adam?" I whispered in a shaky, high pitched voice.

He didn't answer.

I patted him harder. "Adam? Adam! Talk to me. Please talk to me." He grunted in response, trying to brace an arm on the ground and lift himself up.

I held down his good shoulder. "No, don't move. Just stay there."

"Nessie, is Derek-?"

Running a hand through his hair to calm him, my voice hitched. "He's-he's fine." I think, I finished in my head. I hope.

That must have been what Adam was holding on to hear, because a moment later, his arm gave out, and he fell back into my lap. Completely limp.

Panic ate at me. I slapped his shoulder this time. "Adam?! No, wake up!"

Tears started streaming down my face as he remained silent. Derek came through the trees hauling someone by the collar of his shirt in one hand and a bow in the other. When his eyes caught sight of us, fear and pain were the first emotions to cross his face. But right after it was hatred and rage. In a move so fast I missed it, he changed his grip on the man to the front of the guy's throat. I could see the muscles in his hand tense as he squeezed.

Before I could say anything, my father was kneeling beside me. I had no idea where he came from but I cried harder at the sight of him. I wanted to hug him and cling to him. Instead, I stared at him not daring to move the arrow in Adam's chest.

"Dad, is he-,"

He shook his head. By his expression, I could tell that he was listening to Adam's thoughts. "No, he's alive."

My heart started beating again and my body went weak.

He slowly pushed Adam to his right side off my lap so that he could examine the arrow. I wiggled my legs out of the way so Dad could have room to move.

"I'm pretty sure it missed his heart." At that, Adam's eyes opened and I took my first deep breath since he passed out.

Derek's hand was still squeezing. I jumped to my feet as Uncle Jasper appeared beside the very angry werewolf. Waves of calm flowed through the clearing. Derek glanced at Jasper, growled, and pushed him away. Clearly, Derek did not want to be calm. I rushed over to them putting my hand on Uncle Jasper's arm to get him to step back.

Then I moved that hand to Derek's shoulder. "Derek, you need to let him go. Adam is ok. He's still alive, and I'm sure that he wants to see you. Please." The tears kept coming and my voice got high and squeaky again. "Derek, this man knows something. We won't know it if you kill him. Please, Derek. Please. Jacob and Dad need to question him. Let him go, let him pass out. You're too good to have his blood on your hands."

I wasn't sure what else to say or that he'd even heard that until I heard a faint gasping coming from the unknown man. A moment later, he fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. Derek looked down at him with a cold glare. It promised a lot of pain after we were through questioning him. And then he walked away. Uncle Jasper knelt by him and then nodded up at me. I hurried after Derek to Adam's side.

"Is he going to be ok?" Derek demanded.

Before Dad could answer, Paul let out a long, angry howl. As Jacob had said, howls were reserved for those that were hurt. After his howl died down, others in the distance picked up where he left off.

"He will be if we can get him to Carlisle. He's losing a lot of blood. But I know it didn't hit his heart. Its beat is too steady."

Derek went to pick Adam up, but Dad stopped him. Derek growled at him. Dad growled back.

"If you move him with that arrow still sticking out as much as it is, you'll have a slow trek through the woods. If you snag it on something, it could do more damage. Do you want to be the one to kill him?"

A heartbeat passed and Derek eased back.

"Jasper," Dad called. "I need some steady hands."

I stood up, pulling Derek with me. I took his hand in mine and squeezed.

Uncle Jasper came to kneel beside us. "What do you need?"

"Hold the arrow steady near his body. We've got to break off the end of it so we can get him through the woods. I don't want to risk taking it out all the way."

"Where is Carlisle?" Derek demanded. I would have shushed him for his tone, but it was a question I also wanted an answer to.

"He'll be busy attending someone else shortly."

"What?"

Dad didn't answer him. Instead, he measured the end of the arrow, told Jasper where to put his hands, and then snapped off the end of the arrow. When Adam grunted in pain, Derek's fingers squeezed mine. I opened my mind to him, trying to send him calming thoughts. Adam was going to be ok. Carlisle would fix him, make him whole again.

Beside me, Derek took a deep breath. And then suddenly, he was standing in front of me. But he wasn't looking at my face. His eyes were on my shoulder. I looked down to find my sweater torn and blood seeping into it.

"You got hit," he said.

I swallowed the fear, shaking my head. "It's just a scratch. I'll be fine." But of course, as soon as I saw it, it started hurting. It burned and stung when I shrugged.

Behind Derek came another grunt. I saw his eyes flinch. When he turned we both saw that they'd pushed the arrow a little through the front so that they could snap off the arrowhead. Dad threw the pieces to the ground in disgust and sat back. Adam's eyes were closed. I assumed he'd passed out again.

"Dad, what did you mean about Carlisle treating someone else?" I demanded. And then a thought occurred to me. "Did Jacob come home?"

He didn't meet my eyes. Instead, he'd closed his as if he were in pain. "You should go home, Nessie."

My heart rate accelerated. The fear came back in a rush, and I thought I was going to faint.

"Is Jacob ok?" I whispered.

"I don't-he's…"

And then it hit me. The gunshot at the very same time Adam was hit with an arrow. Two shots at the same time?

"Oh my god!" I yelled, heading for the trees. "That gunshot!"

"Nessie!" Derek yelled after me.

There was no more talking. I rushed into the trees. Tapping into my vampire speed, I nearly walked on the water of the river near the cottage when I reached it. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I wasn't alone. Two wolves ran beside me, barking, growling, and yipping as we ran. One of them was Leah, the other Christa.

Quickly, the girls fell behind as I dodged roots, jumped over logs, and ducked low-hanging branches. I didn't even know if I was still breathing. The fear racing through my blood made me numb and cold at the same time. I felt like my blood was moving slowly through my veins even though my heart was pumping a mile a minute.

I prayed hard that Jacob was still breathing. As long as his heart was still beating, we'd be ok. I'd be ok. But if something happened to him, god help the bastard who'd hurt him.

The house was visible through the trees, lights shining and winking through the branches. Racing to the edge of the trees, I kept going when Christa and Leah stopped so that they could phase. I leapt over the stairs to the kitchen door and burst through it.

I stopped, taking the time to gather my breath.

From the direction of the dining room, I heard a hiss and, "Geez, doc. Take it easy." My heart beat again at the sound of that husky voice.

"You pulled the skin apart when you were running. You need these stitches or it'll scar."

There was another hiss. "No, what I need is Nessie."

I walked to the door of the dining room.

Jacob was lying back on the dining room table, arm slung over his eyes. Carlisle was sitting in the chair with a needle and thread. Just as I walked in, Carlisle clipped the thread and tied the knot on the stitches.

I swallowed hard as Jacob shot up off the table, worry and fear in his eyes. My eyes were glued to his leg. Blood had dripped down from the wound to land in a puddle on the floor.

"Nessie!" As Carlisle moved around, cleaning things up, Jacob jumped off the table. When he landed, he must have forgotten about the wound because he flinched and took some weight off of it.

Instead of making him come to me, I crashed into him. Throwing my arms around his waist, I clung to him as the tears started up again. He wobbled for a second before regaining his balance.

This wasn't enough. I needed to kiss him. So, I leaned back, pressed my hands to his shoulders, and jumped. His hands caught me under my butt and held me to him. But he couldn't hold my weight and stay standing so he sat back down on the table. As soon as I was on the same level as his lips, I consumed them, grabbing at them with my teeth. Sliding over them with my tongue. He picked up on my franticness and matched my greediness with his own.

His hand snaked up into my hair to press into the back of my head, forcing my face closer to his. I really wasn't even sure that we were breathing, but we didn't care.

Eventually, though, we had to come up for air.

"Are you ok?" he asked hoarsely, stroking my back.

I choked out a laugh. "You're asking me if I'm ok?" I pulled back. "You got shot, didn't you?"

He gave me a look. "How did you know?"

Taking a deep breath, I wiped my eyes. "I heard the shot."

He brought his hand down from my hair to slip across my neck. But his wrist hit the scratch in my shoulder, making me hiss.

Pulling back with a confused look, he inspected my shoulder. When he found the wound, he growled so viciously that I could feel it even though my arms were resting on his shoulders.

"You're bleeding, too."

I repeated what I'd told Derek. "It's a scratch. I'm ok."

"Carlisle!" he called, ignoring me. In a flash, he was off the table and had sat me in his place.

My grandfather appeared with his doctor's kit. He lifted the edges of the hole in the sweater to investigate the wound.

"Nessie, can you get the sweater off?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I can. It didn't cripple me." I was fine until it came time to lift my arms over my head. The hiss came out before I could stop it. So did the whimper when I ripped the sweater away from the edge of the wound.

As Carlisle went to work, Jacob seemed to remember something. "Nessie, what happened? Who was that howling? Was it just you that got hurt?"

I winced when Carlisle put an alcohol wipe to the scratch. The tears that flowed weren't just from the pain. Seeing Adam like that had shaken me. I'd never actually seen real violence before. Even when the Volturi had come all those years ago, a fight hadn't broken out. Now, I'd witnessed Caden getting attacked by his own pack leader, Adam getting shot in the back with an arrow, and Jacob's very own shot wound.

Jacob's hand came up to caress the tears away. "Nessie," he said softly. "Please talk to me. Tell me what happened?"

It would have been easier to show him, but I wasn't sure if I could get my thoughts to cooperate.

So I took a deep breath. And started from the beginning of my outing, spitting out short factual sentences. "I went up to the cabin to get my sweater. We'd left it up there. Adam and Derek were staying up there for some r and r. I told them that Paul and I were going hunting. They said they'd meet us out there. I'd fed when they showed up. But Paul and Derek had gone on alert. There'd been this weird smell. Human mixed with something else." He growled at that, but quickly calmed himself down to let me finish. This was going to be the hardest part to tell.

I swallowed and continued. "We heard the gunshot, though it was far off. Paul started growling, Derek was yelling, and Adam had wrapped himself around me. Two seconds later his body jerked and we fell to the ground." The tears came harder, make me shudder. Carlisle had to stop cleaning. He moved so that Jacob could step in front of me, wrap his arms around me, and press my face to his chest. I clutched at him. "There was an arrow sticking out of his back. There was so much blood. Derek, he-he found the guy that had done it and was choking the life out of him. I had to talk him down. I was so scared he was going to kill him, put that bastard's blood on his hands."

He stroked my hair and rocked me. "It's ok, Nessie. You're safe. I'm so, so sorry."

"I really hate to interrupt, but I'm about to have another patient."

I hopped off the table a moment before the door burst open. Derek came in the room with Adam in his arms. Adam was still passed out. His skin was white, lips pale. If I listened closely, though, I could hear his heart beating.

As Derek laid him on the table, Dad came in and around so that he could hold Adam's shoulder up off the table. Jacob and I scooted back so that his back was against the wall and mine was against his chest.

"I wasn't sure if it was ok to take out the rest of the arrow, so I left it for you," Dad said.

Carlisle looked at it carefully for a moment, listening. Then he nodded. "It's ok. Slip it out for me."

Dad had Jasper come around to hold up the shoulder so that he could slide the rest of the arrow through the wound. Adam's body jerked. Derek ground his teeth and flexed his fists. Reaching over, I took his hand again. This time his was covered in blood.

It took a couple hours for Carlisle and Dad to fix Adam up, but they did it. His heart had stopped a couple times forcing Derek to silent tears and prayers. But each time, Dad got it started again. There was blood everywhere.

The entire time, I held Derek's hand as Jacob rubbed my shoulders anxiously. The pack trickled in. Sam and Leah were leaning on the wall on the other side of the table. Shelby and Seth stood just outside the door to the dining room holding each other. The others had dispersed in or around the house.

Finally, Carlisle pulled off his surgical gloves and straightened up. He came over to Jake. "I've done all I can do. But if he gets enough rest and doesn't overdo it, he'll be fine." His eyes glanced at Derek and then back to Jacob, letting me know that he knew about the connection. "There may be scarring, but I expect him to make a full recovery with the right care. He can take my and Esme's room."

"I'll take him," Derek said.

Carlisle nodded. "I've pumped him up with morphine, but it'll wear off quickly. Let me know if he needs more."

Derek nodded. When he picked Adam up gently, everyone stepped back. As he passed, the wolves all touched Adam in some way. It was a comforting gesture that packs were known for. Esme showed up in front of the stairs to show Derek the way to the room.

A moment later, Mom was walking in the door. "Hey, why is there a guy tied to the tree?" And then she actually saw the table and the blood everywhere. "Oh my god! What the hell happened?"

Again, I put on the waterworks and flung myself into her arms. Jacob came up behind us to hug us both. I didn't know where she'd been, but it was clear Dad hadn't filled her in on what was going on. He'd left in a hurry.

"Jacob, why are you limping? What happened to you? And why was my daughter bleeding?" she demanded as she wrapped me tight in her arms.

"I think we all need to know what's going on," Sam said.

There was a murmur of agreement through the house. Jacob pulled away from us and limped into the living room. There was a gasp among the wolves and Rachel let out a small yelp as they caught sight of the blood-stained gauze around his right calf. I had yet to let go of my mother. And she had yet to loosen her grip. After Dad had washed the blood off of him, he came to take Jacob's place, wrapping his arms around us.

"Nessie isn't up for sharing again. So, I'll tell you what happened with me and Paul will tell what happened to them."

Holding Mom, we all listened as Jacob told us about the call from the Makah chief, his threat, and the gunshot. When it was Paul's turn to share our little adventure, I couldn't stand it. Pulling away from Mom and Dad, I gave Jacob an apologetic look, blew him a kiss, and went upstairs. I stopped at the second floor. The door to my grandparents' room was ajar.

Knocking softly on it to let Derek know I was coming in, I pressed it open slowly. He was lying in the bed wrapped gently around Adam's prone form, his lips pressed against the wound in Adam's shoulder. I stepped in, closing the door behind me with a soft click.

"Hey," I said softly. "How's he doing?"

Derek sat up, careful not to shake or bounce the bed. "Still out, but his breathing is even as is his heartbeat."

His eyes were red from crying and tired from worrying. "That's good. How are you holding up?"

He scrubbed his face with his hands, taking in a deep breath. "I'm ok. Now that I know he'll be alright, I'm fine." His eyes narrowed in my direction. "How are you? Carlisle clear you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it just needed to be cleaned out."

He nodded. "Good. I saw that Jake was limping. What happened?"

"He was shot," I choked out. Those three words pulled at my heart. I didn't like thinking about anything hurting him.

"Jesus. What the hell is going on?" he demanded in a whisper.

Before I could say that I didn't know, another howl rose up from the woods. It was kind of far away, but I'd heard all of the pack's voices before. That wasn't one of them.

Instantly, I knew it was Caden.

JPOV

Paul had just finished telling us what had happened over vicious growls from the pack when another howl ripped through the night. I looked over at Sam, who shrugged and shook his head. Yeah, I'd thought all the pack was at the house, too.

A few minutes later, Emmett came through the kitchen door and a frown on his face. "Some kid's here to see Nessie and Jacob."

I startled but Edward nodded. "I recognize him from Nessie. It's Caden."

Temporarily forgetting my injury and my limp, fury washed through me as I flung myself out the door. Flurries had started spitting down, but none of them touched my skin. I was trembling and had to fight against phasing.

A kid about eighteen was standing with his back to the door, staring down at the man tied to the tree. I'd worry about the unconscious guy later. My attention was on the blond kid who was supposed to be helping us.

He turned as I approached. His scent burned my nose, making my head pound, as it washed over to me on the wind.

"Caden, right?" I demanded. Before he could answer, I said, "Jacob. Pleasure to meet you," cranked my arm back, and busted him a good one in the face.

His head rocked back as his ass hit the ground. He held his face in his hands and blinked several times. Blood seeped through the cracks in his fingers.

"I guess I deserved that," he said in a thickly accented voice.

"You deserve a lot more than that. What the hell is going on? And be honest with me. Today's not a good day to piss me off."

"Clearly," he mumbled, getting to his feet. "Look, I heard a gunshot go off. I was coming out here to make sure that she was still alive."

I glared at him. "Well, she is. No thanks to you."

"Caden?" Nessie's voice asked from the doorway behind me.

Caden's face visibly relaxed. "Thank god. I thought something bad had happened."

"Excuse me?" she demanded in an icy tone. It made my eyebrows shoot up. I'd never heard her voice so cold.

I really had to try to hide my grin as she came to stand in front of him, her arms crossed over her stomach. But I didn't hide my growl when his eyes took in the fact that she was only wearing a tank with her arms pushing up her breasts even more.

"Would you like to keep your eyes in your head?" I growled out.

His eyes glanced up at me for a moment and then went back to her. He ignored me. "Look, I thought they'd gotten you, or-,"

She hauled back and punched him in the face just as I had. There was a crunch and another burst of blood as her fist connected. He didn't fall over this time, but his head did snap back. "You bastard. Something did happen. Jacob was shot in the leg and Adam was shot in the chest with an arrow by that," she pointed at the unconscious guy, "piece of shit. An arrow that was meant for me. And you want to tell me that nothing bad happened?!"

This time, I couldn't help my proud smirk. She was gorgeous.

"I came here to warn you. When I found out, I couldn't just run out here immediately to tell you. I had to wait or they'd suspect. I didn't realize that they were moving immediately. They still don't trust me."

"Fancy that," Nessie said in a sarcastic tone.

"Tell us what," Edward said in an icy tone to match his daughter's.

Caden's eyes glanced at all of us. He spit blood out on the ground before he started talking again. "Your friends in the north are not your friends. They were approached by someone. Someone who whispered all these nasty things into their heads." He gestured to the man against the tree. "They've been following you, spying on you."

"Who approached them?" I asked.

He shook his head. "That I don't know. Tristan is the only one who talks to our 'boss'. I've tried to listen in, but all I can hear is that it's a woman. If anything happens we're supposed to blame the humans. We're supposed to say that they lied to us. But that's not true. Tristan, or this mystery woman, lied to them."

"They shot Jacob!" Nessie yelled. "I don't care who told them what." She walked up to him and poked him in the chest. "You'd better get us some useful information before we find it out the hard way next time. The safety of my family and my pack means more to me than my own life, and I'm finished cowering in fear."

Those damn eyes of his studied her. "You do have a temper, don't you?"

She stepped up into his face. "You wanting to protect your crappy cover with that pack almost cost me Jacob and Adam. I hate that I feel this way, but your life means nowhere near what theirs do to me. If you don't think that you can go back and get better information, then you might as well stay here and run around blind like the rest of us, waiting for something to happen."

He stepped into her personal space. "I told you that I didn't know how long it would take for me to get back in."

She didn't back down. "Yeah, well, your pussyfooting around nearly cost two of my wolves their lives, one of them being my mate. I don't hold that lightly. Any threat to my pack raises my hackles, if you know what I mean."

"Hackles?" He spat at her. "I wasn't aware you were one of us."

"I'm Jacob's mate. That makes me alpha female. They expect me to step up, and that's exactly what I plan on doing. That's what a proper pack does. Or have you forgotten that?"

Her words meant something to him. I could tell because they'd taken the anger from him. He studied all of us, eyes landing on me. "I'm sorry that I nearly cost you your people. I'll give it one last go with Tristan. If I can't get in with him, I'll come back somehow and beg for your forgiveness."

"Why don't you get cleaned up first?" Leah's voice came behind me from the doorway. Eyes turned to her, and instantly all the wolves knew that look in her eyes.

Edward chuckled as I cursed loud and vicious. "Good grief, Leah. Him?!"

She shrugged. I sighed and turned back to him. He was watching us carefully. I watched his eyes flick to Nessie, to me, then to Leah. Somehow, I thought he was putting together the pieces, like he knew that something had just happened. That one of my wolves had just imprinted on him, making him untouchable to my pack.

I jerked my head to the door. "Get cleaned up."

He shook his head, eyes still on Leah. "Not a good idea. I can use this to my advantage," he said, gesturing to his face.

An evil smile crept over my lips. "Well, maybe I should beat the crap out of you. Then you can tell them that the people they're accusing you of helping don't trust you either and preferred to beat the shit out of you."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" he sneered back.

"Enough!" Nessie yelled. She pointed a finger at him again. "I thought you were rooting for me and Jake?"

"I was until I found out the hard way that he's an asshat. You lied to me, telling me what a great guy he is."

"Stop it," she snapped back. "Get out of here. I'm tired of looking at you right now. I just want to spend time with my male. The male that you helped me start a relationship with, I might add."

He grimaced, but nodded. "Of course." He glanced at me. "I'd offer to shake your hand, but you might punch me again. Twice was quite enough."

Caden took one last look at all of us, eyes lingering on Leah, and then took off into the woods at a jog.

The clearing was silent for all of two seconds as we watched him go. On the third second, I whirled around and faced Leah.

"You imprinted on him?!"

Edward chuckled again. "Now it gets interesting."

"Shut up, Edward. How could you, Leah?"

She jumped off the porch steps and faced me. "You know I couldn't help it, Jake. Just like you couldn't help it with Nessie. Or Sam with Emily. Or Jared with Kim, who happen to be sitting in the living room fresh from their honeymoon. That's why I wasn't out here at first, dumbass."

I scrubbed my face with my hands hard. "Great, just freaking great. Now we can't beat the crap out of him."

"Oh, yes you can," Leah said to everybody's astonishment. She laughed. "I don't know the guy. He could be a serial killer for all I know. But if everything turns out and he ends up here, you know that something will happen. I won't be able to fight that kind of a tie with him that close."

When I growled, Nessie took my hand in hers. "Enough, guys. Let's all just go inside and calm down. That's all we can do until he comes back."

"If he comes back," I heard Emmett mumble.

She shushed him and started leading me into the house. I tugged on her hand for her to stop. She turned to me with a question in her eyes.

"Your pack, huh?" I asked, grinning.

She grinned back and shrugged. "It just sort of slipped out."

Pulling her to me, I wrapped my arms around her waist. "Yeah, well, I like it."

There was an appreciative rumble from the pack as I pressed my lips to hers. She pulled back to hiss, though, when her shoulder pressed into my chest.

"Come on, guys. Let's all go home and get some rest. It's been a rough day."

Sean came over to clap me on the back. "You think a couple of us should stay up here?"

I shook my head. "Nah, I think we'll be ok for tonight. But the patrols still need to happen." I turned to Leah. "You run down at the rez until this mess is over, just in case."

"Understood."

"Well," Sean said. "I'm going to stay up here with the Cullens to watch the house."

"Me, too," Christa said.

Jordan stepped up. "I'll stay, too. Seth has a late patrol anyway so I gotta stay with Shelby."

"Um, what are we going to do with that guy?" Shelby asked, pointing to the guy still tied to the tree.

Bella spoke from where she stood beside him, glaring down at him. "We'll deal with him. I'm sure Derek will want some moments with him. But first we've got to get information out of his brain."

Her tone and words scared me. Bella had never been into torture and blood, but in a way, I could understand. That man had almost taken Nessie from us. If Adam had been slower, she wouldn't be here. And I knew that Bella would have gladly ripped him apart to drink all his blood slowly while he was still alive to watch for taking her only child away from her. In a way, Bella had become a different person when she'd become a mother and a vampire.

And I understood the urge to beat the ever-loving shit out of the guy. He'd nearly taken my reason for existing. Out of all the threats to her over the past months, this attempt was the closest to success.

Edward moved her side to glare down at the man. Bella's eyes met mine. We had a moment of complete understanding and nodded at the same time.

We said all of our goodnights outside the house. Nessie and I waited until the last of the wolves and their mates left except for Seth, Shelby, and the guards.

Shelby had come to stand next to Nessie, gripping her hand tightly. When everybody had left, she'd gently touched her best friend's shoulder. Seth had come to stand next to me, eyes scanning the woods.

"Are you ok?" Shelby whispered, tears in her eyes.

Nessie nodded, taking Shelby's other hand in hers. "Yeah, I'm seriously ok. Jacob is still breathing and Adam is healing. I'm worried about him though."

Edward came to stand beside us. "He's actually awake. And he wants to see you. He won't take any more morphine until he does."

Before I could blink, Nessie was racing for the house. I followed her, not really wanting to be apart from her. I caught up to her and took her hand, forcing her to slow down. If she seemed anxious going in, it was going to make Adam anxious and he didn't need that.

The door on the second floor was ajar when Nessie knocked on it. We went through the door hand in hand to find Derek sitting beside the bed and Adam lying there, watching the door.

"Hey," Nessie said tears and a smile in her voice. "How are you feeling?"

"I just had surgery on a dining room table and survived. I'm peachy."

That made the three of us laugh. He tried to laugh but ended up coughing and grimacing in pain.

He looked terrible. His skin was white and pasty. His lips were thin and paled out from being pressed together in pain. Oh, I knew what he was going through. I'd had the same look when Carlisle had had to re-break my bones ten years ago.

"Hey, man," I said, bringing his eyes to mine. "I seriously owe you one. A big one."

His eyes flicked to Nessie, giving her a silent message, before flicking back to me. He shook his head. "She's my alpha female. It's my job to protect her."

"Nonetheless, I owe you."

The way he reached his hand out, I knew it was for Nessie. She gently crawled across the large bed and took his hand.

"You're ok," he whispered.

She nodded. "Yeah, you saved my life, Adam. I'll never forget that."

"Neither will I," I said.

He nodded and closed his eyes in exhaustion.

"I think it's time for more morphine, Adam. Nessie and I will get the doc and leave you be, ok?" He nodded. "Get some rest. We'll check on you tomorrow."

"Thank you," he whispered before his eyes pinched with pain.

"Doc, get up here."

A moment later, Carlisle was standing beside the bed with a needle while Nessie came to stand beside me, gripping my hand tightly. We both stayed until Adam passed out again. If he could handle that kind of pain from saving my mate, then I could damn well watch him go through it. I owed him that at least.

Once he was out, Nessie and I went to her room without another word. We didn't need any words. Both of us had been terrified out of our minds today. We were just happy to see each other breathing. She took off her tank, flinching as the movement pulled at her shoulder. Standing only in her bra, she went into the closet to change into some pajama bottoms. Me seeing her in just her bra only once made her completely comfortable with the action. Smiling, I went in the closet when she came out to change out of the cut-offs that I'd hopped into when I'd gotten back so that Carlisle wouldn't have to see me naked again.

She didn't put on another shirt, and I understood. It was her way of telling me that she needed us to be skin-to-skin tonight. I knew because I felt the exact same way. I needed her as close to me as I could get her without being inside of her. Though I did want that right now, I couldn't bring myself to get in the moment. I just needed her in my arms.

Once we were in the bed and she was in my arms, all we did was stare at each other. My hands rubbed up and down her back while she stroked my chest. We could have been lying like that for minutes, hours, days, or months and I don't think either of us would have noticed.

And that's how we fell asleep: staring into each other's eyes, whispering 'I love you' until we lost consciousness.

RPOV

Jacob was wrapped around me when I woke up the next morning. His chest was pressed to my bare back, and I could feel his heart thud against his chest. His arms were wrapped around my waist, making my skin hot.

I knew he was awake because his lips were pressing kisses into my shoulder and up my neck. Rubbing his arms, I leaned my head into the pillows so he'd have better access.

"Good morning," he whispered against my skin.

My stomach tightened and I shivered violently, causing goosebumps flow over my body. "Morning," I whispered back.

We didn't talk after that. His lips slid over my skin, across the back on my neck. I rolled over so that I was facing him so that I could claim his mouth with mine. But he hissed when my leg rubbed over the bandages of his right leg.

"Sorry," I whispered against his lips.

"S'okay."

I pushed at him with my hips to let him know that I wanted to roll us. He took the hint, tightening his grip on my waist and pulling me with him when he rolled onto his back so that I was on top. He brought his hand up to brush my hair back and it was my turn to hiss when his forearm hit the scratch in my shoulder.

"Sorry," it was his turn to whisper.

I smiled against his lips. "S'okay."

He chuckled and captured my lips. Definitely no more talking after that. Though we were both wearing pants, I could feel the hard length of him press into the most secret part of my body through my pajamas. The tightness there lessened a little when I moved my hips, creating friction. His hands clamped down on my hips, keeping them still. But he moved up, keeping the friction. I wasn't entirely sure that he knew he was doing it.

I pulled back, not sure if I was liking what was happening or not. I liked the feeling, the tightness loosening. But this was imitating the act a lot more closely than anything we'd done previously.

"Jake, stop. Please."

Immediately, his body stilled. The length of him was still hard under me, but his hips were still. He pressed his head back into the pillow, breathing hard, eye closed.

"I'm sorry, Nessie. I don't know what got into me."

Stroking his cheek, I smiled. He opened his eyes to watch me, pressing his cheek into my hand.

"I know. You want me. We could have lost each other yesterday. Our bodies are wanting us to be together just once, but our hearts are telling us that we still have time."

He smiled. "Your heart told you to stop making out with me?"

I grinned. "Yeah." I kissed his lips. "I refuse to believe that we're out of time. And right now is not our time. You stopped us last time I was attacked because I was scared. You didn't us to happen that way. And I don't want us to happen this way. Besides, we need to check on Adam."

Jacob stared at me for a moment before nodding. He kissed me and rolled us again. He laid me on my back while he propped himself on his arm.

"Good point."

I needed to tell him about them first. His acceptance of them could be his payback if Adam was right in thinking that Jacob wouldn't approve. I doubted he was right, though. Jake understood what it was like to be separated from the one he loved.

He stroked my lip. I hadn't noticed that I'd put it between my teeth. "What is it?" he asked.

I sighed. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Ok. Did something else happen that you didn't tell me?" His eyes turned worried.

My hand slid up his arm in a soothing gesture while my other hand slipped over his chest and the mark I'd left there.

"Well, yeah, but nothing dangerous. It's about Derek and Adam."

He leaned in to kiss me. "Nessie, please just tell me. You're freaking me out every time you pause."

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. "Ok. Well, yesterday, I told you that I went up to the cabin." He nodded. "Um, well, I kind of walked in on them."

"You walked in on them? Doing what?"

That brought a blush to my neck and cheeks. "Uh…um," I sighed again, forcing myself to get this over with. "They were having a very intimate moment." When he was still looking at me like he was waiting for me to tell him something worth my nervousness, I said, "With each other."

His eyes widened as those dark brows went to his hairline. "You mean, they…they're-,"

"Together," I finished for him.

The expression on his face told me that he was thinking furiously, trying to process that two of his wolves were lovers. Two of his male wolves. He pulled away from me to lie on his back and stare at the ceiling.

I rolled onto my side and stroked his arm. Letting him think, I came up with a bunch of arguments to use just in case.

As it turned out, I didn't need them.

"Huh," he huffed out. "Why didn't they tell me?"

I let out the breath I'd been holding in relief. "Well, they were scared."

"Of what?" he asked turning to look at me.

"That you'd tell them they couldn't be together. That you'd tell them it was more important to mate with a female and carry on the gene."

He looked at me like I'd grown a very ugly second head. "I'd never do that."

My fingers came up to trace around the dark bruise on his chest. "That's what I told them, but I promised them that I'd talk to you about it."

He brought my hand up to his lips. "Thank you. For taking care of them." His other hand came up to move my hair out of my face. "Let's go check on them."

I kissed his lips. "Good idea."

Five minutes later, we'd changed into more decent clothes and walked down the stairs to my grandparents' room. I made sure to knock before going in. When we walked into the room, Derek was darting off the bed, but I smiled and shook my head. When his eyes shot me a question, Jacob chuckled.

"She told me, Derek. And it's ok."

He looked surprised. "Really?"

Jacob shrugged. "Of course. I'm not going to make you do something or be with someone that you don't want to do or be with. That would be like rape. Passing on the gene is important, but being happy is even more important. Not to mention that I think we have enough wolves to pass on the gene. We'll be ok."

Derek sank back onto the bed in relief, his hand going to Adam's hair. It was a gesture that Jacob used with me when we were cuddling up in bed.

"Thank you," Adam rasped from the bed.

I hadn't realized that he was awake. But now that I was looking at him, I could see that he looked a thousand times better than he had last night. Crawling up on the bed, I took his hand.

"Hey, you. How are you feeling?"

He coughed a little before saying, "Why the hell does everybody keep asking me that? I'm alive, I get to be with Derek, and my alpha male and female are ok. I'm pretty damn ok."

"You should have told me," Jacob said.

Adam's eyes dropped. "Sorry, Jacob. I just couldn't bear for you to tell me that I couldn't be with Derek. I love him."

Jacob nodded. "Adam, if anybody understands what it's like to be separated from someone you love, it's me. As I told Nessie, I'd never do that. It's shocking as hell, but as long as everybody keeps doing what they're doing to keep their private thoughts to themselves in wolf form, then I have no problems."

They both chuckled. "I think we can do that."

Derek nodded, his fingers inching toward Adam's. "We've been hiding them for months."

I could tell Jacob started to get uncomfortable with the touchy-feely from them, so I crawled off the bed and pressed my back to his chest.

"We're gonna leave you to get some rest. Let us know if you need anything, ok?" I told them.

Adam looked at Jacob. "You have yourself a damn fine female, Jacob."

Jake's arms wrapped around me. I felt him nod. "Oh, I know I do. Trust me," he said, kissing my shoulder. "I know."


I really have nothing to say here, except please review. I really do appreciate them. As an aspiring author, they help to tell me what my strengths and weaknesses are. I cannot believe I made it to twenty-six chapters and you guys are still wanting more. That means a lot to me. Thank you! xoxoxoxoxo