Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
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Sitting on her front porch after work and before Charlie got home, Bella sipped a cup of tea. She had spent her lunch break calling Phoenix on a hunch she and Jared had thought up. If she had been a faery her whole life, then she would have had to be protected wherever she was. She had thought back to when the nameless female vampire had killed those men in Arizona who had been suspected of being skin walkers. Bella hadn't known any of those men so she then tried to remember who in her life carried some of the characteristics that Jacob did like speed, strength, heightened senses, and a noticeably higher body temperature. All those characteristics led Bella to Rory, her mothers ex-boyfriend. Rory had been in Bella's life since the minute she and her mother had moved to Phoenix. Acting as a true friend to Renee and a second father to Bella as a child, walking her back home from school or picking her up at the botanical gardens or the public library when she decided to skip school. Rory was honestly surprised when Bella had called him out of the blue and asked him directly is he was a werewolf, working on the presumption that if he wasn't Rory would just assume she was joking. Regardless Rory answered her truthfully and confirmed her suspicions. He had gone on full alert when she told him why she was asking and barked out that he would be there to fight for her safety along with some of his pack. Pack speaking, Bella hadn't spent much time with Jacob in the last few days because the pack was too busy training that they couldn't spend time with their mates. Bella shouldn't feel neglected when she knew he had no other choice but she did feel bad that Emily, Angela, and probably Rachel were feeling neglected.
As if reading her thoughts from a distance, Bella heard the familiar rumble of Jacob's beloved motorcycle. She smiled and set down her tea cup when he stopped the bike on her the curb in front of her house.
"Shouldn't you be making sure you lot don't die?" She asked when he swung his leg off the bike and approached her.
Jacob kissed her soundly and sat next to her on the porch bench. "We can handle any blood suckers any day." He gloated. "Besides, I wanted to talk about something a bit more important then vamps."
"What?" Bella asked hesitantly.
"That night," He answered softly. "The full moon."
"Oh." Bella said with flamed cheeks, why did he want to talk about it now?
"Yea."
"You think it shouldn't have happened?" She asked in a frightened voice, Jacob shook his head fiercely.
"No that's not true." He said adamantly. "Not entirely."
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"I wanted to be with you, around you, inside of you since I first found out you were coming here." He explained with made Bella sigh in relief and blush even more if possible. "But not like that, I wanted it to be slow and easy, not fast and rough."
"But it wasn't-"
"I saw the bruises," Jacob cut her off gently. "In the morning, I saw my hand prints on your hips, legs, and your arms." He sounded angry at himself.
"But I wasn't hurt." She told him. She had been a little sore sure, but not hurt.
"Then why couldn't you talk to me afterwards?" He demanded sharply pinning her with a stare so intense it made Bella squirm.
"You wouldn't talk to me." She pointed out in a small voice.
"I didn't want to scare you. I was torn between being angry at myself and wanting nothing but to be inside you again." He admitted. "And phones work both ways, Bella."
Bella was quiet a few moments before speaking.
"I felt bad for taking advantage of you." She admitted which made Jacob openly laugh a deep, barking laugh.
"How on earth did you take advantage of me, little moonbeam?" He asked as if the whole concept was impossible, making Bella a little peeved.
"You told me what the full moon did to you," She explained. "You told me to stay out of the woods and I didn't listen because I was impatient to wait for the right time because with everything that was and is happening I didn't know when or If the right time would even come."
Instantly, Jacob's expression hardened. "You were impatient because you thought I was going to end up dead?"
"No, I thought I was." Bella admitted which, if possible, hardened Jacob's expression even more.
"What?" He growled out animally, Bella didn't answered. "You thought you were going to die a virgin?"
'That's not all it was about," Bella insisted. "I wanted to be with you, that way if something happened to either of us we would both share that memory."
"Well that wasn't exactly the memory I wanted us to share." He snapped and Bella paled. "And we make memories each time we're together."
"I know." She muttered but Jacob continued as if he didn't hear her.
"I remembered the song you would always hum when we were in the garage, whenever you thought about Daxton or Phoenix you would rub or scratch your scar. Whenever you're thinking really hard about something you'll twist your hair. I remember that white shirt you wore to La Push the first time we went together, it had golden thread on the hem. And I remember when you're nervous or don't know what to say, like you are now, you bite the inside of your cheek."
In an instant, Bella released the side of her cheek.
"Every minute I'm with you I make memories that will last forever." He finished holding her small hand in against his chest over his heart. Bella felt the steady, if fast, beat of his heart under her palm.
"How would you have wanted our first time?" She asked, Jacob smiled mischievously.
"You'll see."
"When?" Bella asked eagerly, Jacob pulled her under the security of his muscled arm and tucked her into him.
"Soon," He promised. "Half the fun of sex is the anticipation or having it."
"Tease." She purred lightly and settled herself against him. "I make memories too."
"What?" Jacob asked with a furrowed brow.
"I remember you would keep strawberry soda at your house even though I know they don't sell it in town. I remember whenever we went for a walk, before we were together, you would stay close enough to me that you made me feel safe but far away enough that I didn't feel crowded. I remember you would touch my hair too."
"You noticed that?" Jacob asked. "You never said anything."
"I didn't mind," She confessed. "I would touch yours too, when you had hair anyway." She gave his hair cut a pointed look.
"Hey it's a bit distracting to have a lion mane and you're a wolf." He pointed out lightly, Bella tensed a bit as her cell phone rang from her pocket.
"Hello?" She asked when the ID didn't give her a name.
"Bella," Chandler, Jacob's body froze a moment as he no doubt heard the voice.
"Stop calling me." Bella demanded before she hung up the phone, a second later it rung again and Jacob picked it up.
"What?" He demanded, Bella didn't hear the conversation but watched as a shadow came across Jacob's face.
"Do not call her again." He seethed before he hung up the phone and handed it back to her.
"What did he say?" She asked in a slightly put off voice. Instead of answering her straight away Jacob wrapped his arms around her to hold her closer to him.
"Jacob?" Bella questioned after a few moments of silence and pulled herself out of his warm embrace. "What did he say?"
He was silent another minute as he looked at her before he spoke. "He told me that you will die."
What? "What?" She asked.
"In a dream he had, dreams he said always come true, he saw you die."
"He's lying to you." Bella told him although she couldn't bring herself to fully believe the words.
"He's either telling the truth, lying, or threatening you." Jacob growled out. "Either way I don't like him."
Bella smiled and tucked herself back under his arm. "I'm not going anywhere." She promised.
"At least," She thought. "I hope I'm not."
Jacob kept his hand locked on Bella's waist the next day as they watched Rory Storm's pack enter the Grille. Their were only five of them, which was a pretty suitable number he suspected if all they had to do was protect Bella for years. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he did suspect both Bella and his pack knew, he was still visibly shaken by what that guy Chandler told him. Part of Jacob told him to ignore it, write it off as a threat meant to shake him but a bigger part told him that it wasn't a lie or a threat. He didn't want Bella out of his sights and he didn't intend to stay far from her.
"Bella." Rory greeted with a huge smile that made Bella move away from him to enter the arms of a man who had acted as a second father to her.
"How are you Rory?" Bella asked after the two had separated.
"I'm great Bella, but I do wish I would have seem you again under more...positive circumstances." Rory answered with a pointed look aimed at Jacob and Bella apparently remembered his presence.
"Rory this is Jacob Black my..." Jacob loved the look on her face as she was unsure of what to call him but Jacob had a good idea.
"Fiancee." He supplied and shook the older mans hand, Bella stared up at him with confusion and shock in her beautiful eyes.
"What?" He asked her innocently. "It's true."
"The hell it is." Bella protested and Jacob would have taken the the statement as a shot to his ego if the current situation aloud it.
The discussion and decision was kept light and basic at the Grille just in case someone over heard them they would assume they were talking about a role playing game. It was the stuff like who they were going to fight and why, fighting Daxton's little 'army' because he wants to turn Bella and kidnap her to be with him. After the facts, Jacob backed off to let Bella and Rory time to catch up. It was more than obvious that Bella held great affection for the man who, unbeknownst to her, protected her for many years.
"I thought she would be mine." Jacob turned to the were behind him on full alert to the possible threat. It was Aaron, Rory's nephew and pack mate.
"Well she's not." She said sternly, Aaron smiled and held his hands up in surrender.
"I know man," He responded. "I'm not saying I'm going to go after her."
"Then why make the comment?" Jacob asked now weary of the slightly older, possibly stronger, wolf before him.
"Because I see how you two are together," Aaron told him gently. "She was never like that with me."
The comment made Jacob feel a little better. "What was she like in Phoenix?"
"You mean before that asshole came into her life?" Jacob nodded. "She was quiet but not in the timid way, more like she assessed the situation before deciding whether or not talking would do any good. She was intelligent, you could see it in her eyes even as a young kid. She was thoughtful too and very empathetic. Once when she was twelve Bella called my uncle to come pick her up from the hospital and told him not to call her mom. Uncle Rory freaked of course and sped over but Bella was completely fine."
"So why was she at the hospital?" Jacob asked, eying his imprint who sat at the bar with Rory enjoying a soda.
"She has apparently walked into the emergency room with this homeless man who couldn't speak English but she knew he had heart pain. The doctors who initially blew her off finally checked the man out and discovered a clot that would have eventually killed the man. During the whole thing the man kept calling Bella 'healing spirit' in Hopi."
"Wow." Jacob said actually impressed, Aaron nodded.
"Yea she's incredible." He stated before he walked over to his uncle and Bella.
"She's something alright." Jacob whispered to himself with a full smile on his lips.
It surprised Bella how easy sleep had come later that night and soon after her head hit the pillow she was in dream land.
Green, again with the green? She was surrounded with forest and grass in her waking life so why does she also tormented by the annoying color in her dreams? This time she was next to the lake on the Quiluete rez, actually she was sitting on the dock with her toes in the water. It was warm, the sun beaming down on her skin which was barely covered by the bikini she wore.
"This is peaceful." Came a sickening familiar voice from behind her a second before a jean clad Chandler sat next to her on the dock. Bella paled and wished she had something to cover up with, a second later she felt a fabric under her hand. It was a blue sarong that she happily wrapped around her body.
"Go away." She deadpanned.
"No need to cover up on my account." Chandler said in a cocky tone.
"Bite me." Bella snapped.
"Love to." He responded with a smile, Bella rolled her eyes.
"Why are you here?" She asked. "Just because you can be or is there another reason?"
Chandler sobered up in an instant. "I wasn't lying to you boyfriend."
"About me dying?" She asked, he voice a little higher in pitch them it had been seconds before.
He nodded. "I saw it."
He was referring to the 'visions' Fae can get when their powers are strong or danger was imminent.
"When will it happen?" She asked, Chandler looked at her sharply.
"You're not nearly as frightened as you should be." He all but snapped.
"Why do you care anyway?" Bella asked rudely. "I die and you get a better shot at stealing the Tuatha Dé Danann text."
"We're from the people who have what is basically opposing political views, I don't want you dead." He insisted and Bella sneered at him.
"Oh that's right," She remembered sarcastically. "Without me, who will carry on the 'pure' line?"
Chandler shrugged innocently and didn't respond, instead he looked around to their natural surrounding.
"Let's go somewhere a little more my style shall we?" He offered.
Bella felt a tug in her abdomen and instantly was aware that she was no longer in control of her sleeping mind. One second her toes were submerged in the lake and the next she was bracing herself against the harsh winds nipping at her. She wasn't in a sarong and bikini anymore and instead was dressed in a pair of jeans, black and white stripped top, and a pair of white sandals. Chandler smiled down at her in jeans and a fashionable tee-shirt as the sun beamed down on them. Bella looked around to find them both on a metal structure of some kind over looking a busy metropolis. Cluttered streets, the middle of the city was if old buildings surrounded by new developments on the out skirts. The streets were a mix of people, vendors, and cars and off in the distance Bella saw a landmark she had only seen in pictures. Realization struck her like a lightening bolt and Bella spun back around to look at the top of the structure they were on.
"We're in Paris?" They were on the Eiffel Tower.
"Yep," He answered proudly as he took in his astonished gaze. "You'll still technically in bed asleep but this is really Paris."
"Why?" Bella asked in a breathy voice as she continued to look at their surroundings.
"To show you what I can offer." He told her, his breath on her neck when he stood behind her. "I can give you the world, freedom, anything you want."
"Jacob gives me everything I want." She pointed out before she turned to face him. "And he doesn't ask for anything in return."
"Except your submission." Chandler retorted quickly. "He can't give you what I can. He'll be stuck where he is, with his pack." He practically spit out the last word.
"Love is about sacrifice." Bella told him although he spoke the truth.
"It doesn't have to be," He whispered a he cupped her face. "Tell me where you are, where you live and I'll come for you, take you away from werewolves and vampires."
Looking deep into her eyes, Chandler dipped his head to kiss her. Bella contemplated letting the kiss happen when a vision of Jacob stopped her dead. Pulling away from his knowing gaze Bella glared at him.
"I want to wake up. Now!"
Bella's eyes snapped opened and she shot up in her bed. She was alone and like always she wished she wasn't, wished Jacob was here. Pulling herself into a sitting position against her head board she grabbed her charm bracelet from her night stand and held it. Was Chandler right? About Jacob having to stay with the pack and in Forks he was right. Bella hated to admit she had always wanted to go away to school, possibly study abroad but she hadn't thought much about it since she and Jacob got together. She would be a senior this year and even though Jacob had techincally graduated from high school already, he didn't talk about college or life after Daxton was dead. Maybe she shouldn't bring it up today, or tomorrow, maybe she should wait until all of this was behind them all. Rory was here with his pack (a familiar group of face she never suspected were werewolves) and she felt the odds were in their favor. So why did Chandler see her death? And most important.
Could she stop the inevitable?
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Review! The Final Chapter is on the Horizon!
