A/N: Hello All! Thank you for the support over the last couple of weeks. I have been hard at work writing and have about 28 pages done. I figured you'd like it if I could get several chapters up quickly.

Read and review!-MLL

BPOV

The next morning I awoke to find the spot beside me empty but still quite warm. I heard humming coming from the shower so I figured out where Jake was. I pulled a sweatshirt over my camisole and wandered downstairs to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast.

A few minutes later, as I was spooning the scrambled eggs onto the plates next to the bacon, Jake came downstairs and kissed me. "Good morning, Beautiful." He picked up the plates and carried them to the table for me.

I followed with the orange juice and a couple of glasses and heard a soft knock at the back door. "Come in, Jasper."

He entered and nodded to us as we sat down to eat. "Carlisle called. He said that he has some help on the way. They'll be here on Tuesday."

"Help?" I asked.

"Yes. We have some cousins from Denali. Kate and her sister Tanya are coming to help. Kate has offered to see if she can help you learn to control your talent."

Jacob was confused. "Cousin?"

I laughed. "Sort of. The coven in Denali also hunts only animals. So you could say they are related by blood."

"Animals only?" Jake asked. "Okay then. They can come but Carlisle has to make sure to explain the treaty to them."

Jasper laughed. "Bella made a blood joke! Emmett will love that one." He grew serious then and said, "Jake, I am sure he will. You can talk to him about it when you meet with him later today."

I finished my breakfast and put my plate in the sink, and started washing the dishes. Jake came over and took a dish from my hands and kissed my forehead. "I've got this. Go take your shower so we can head over to La Push.

I stood on my tiptoes to give him a kiss, and then turned to head upstairs. "See you this afternoon, Jasper," I said as I headed to the stairs and my hot shower.

JPOV

I finished the dishes and cleaned the rest of the kitchen so that Bella didn't have to do anything except cook dinner for Charlie tonight. I knew he loved beef stroganoff, so I found the appropriate cut of meat in the freezer and set it in the refrigerator to start thawing, all the while discussing with Jasper the status of the pack's readiness for the fight ahead.

"Tell me honestly, do you think we're ready?"

"I think you'll do okay. It would be better if we could figure out a way to practice with each other, so your pack could get hands on experience but I'm not sure either side would go for it," said Jasper.

"I know what you mean. We get the whole thing in theory, but I can see your point. It would be an invitation for disaster if one of us actually hurt you."

"Well unless you add fire, we can't actually be destroyed, but being torn apart would hurt like hell. That and Bella would totally freak out, and handling a repeat performance of the other day is not on my top-ten list. Though, now that I think of it, Emmett mentioned once that he would love the chance to actually wrestle. Not counting Carlisle, who is the most accepting being I have ever met, he's been the first of us to really take to you."

I thought about it for a moment. Jasper was right. If we could figure out a way to safely practice hands-on, it would be so much better. Could I do it? As Alpha, if I was the first to try, the others might follow. I knew Seth would do it in a heartbeat. He really liked Emmett and the others and I'd caught the same thoughts in his mind not too long ago. "Jasper, I'd be willing to practice with you or Emmett if you thought it would be safe."

Jasper blinked. "You would?"

I nodded. "Yes. Are you up for it? Do you really think Emmett is? I mean, while we can't really destroy you, it would be easy for you to kill one of us. We'd be taking the bigger risk here."

"Let me talk to him about it and I'll let you know when you come to the house for the meeting later today."

I nodded. "Sounds good." I looked toward the ceiling where I'd heard the shower tour on. "I think I've got things under control here. Why don't you head back and spend some time with your family. We're going from here to La Push where there will be 7 other wolves to watch over her. I am guessing you'd like to see Alice?"

He nodded. "If you're sure...while this is the longest I've been away from Alice, but she'll kill me if anything happens to Bella when it was supposed to be my watch."

"I'm sure. Go find your mate. I know I'd be nuts if I was away from Bella for that long. Thanks for everything, Jasper."

He nodded as he headed for the door and then he was gone. I remembered he'd driven us over here, but when I looked out the window, the car was gone. Someone must have come and gotten it in the early hours of the morning. I was so tired and worried about Bella then that I hadn't noticed.

I wandered into the den and flopped into the chair, reclining it to lie back and think. Could I really practice with the vampires? They were my natural enemy. Talking to them was one thing, and occasionally shaking hands was okay, but full-on body contact practice? I had gotten to know Emmett better recently, and he really was what Bella had described him as; Baloo from Disney's "Mowgli." Sure he could be fierce when he was defending those he loved, but he was really just a huge, happy go-lucky guy.

I thought back to the sessions we had been holding, where we watch and comment on what we are watching, and remembered a discussion I had had with a teacher once. She'd handed out these study guides right before Christmas Break and we were supposed fill in the answers and study them and come back ready to discuss it before the exam. Instead of returning to school with a filled out packet of paper, I'd built models and examples of all of the questions. When she asked why I'd done it that way, I'd said that it was easier to remember things by the way they felt in my hands. She had laughed and said I was a tactile learner. (I had aced that test.) Later, when I started working on cars and discovered I had a talent for it, I figured it must be that tactile thing: when I got to put my hands inside the engine, and I could literally FEEL what was right and wrong with it.

So, even though I do better hands-on, could I safely get that close to a vampire? Could I trust him? Could I trust myself? I heard Bella humming upstairs and suddenly knew my answer. Yes. I could do it. Carlisle was right. Hunting animals did seem to give them their humanity back, where the one called Laurent was all killer. I had even stopped referring to them as "it" or other non-being terms and thought of them as people. These vampires were different. They were a part of Bella's life, and therefore part of mine. Bella loved them and I could see that they cared about her very much.

I sat up, shocked as the next thought materialized in my mind. I realized that I cared about them too. Where did that come from? Was it true? The events of the last several days played out in my head. It was Rosalie who had called me and told me to come. Rosalie. Of all of the Cullens, she had been the most resistant to the alliance. Then, when I had arrived, every one of them was standing with the wolves, ready to attack should Edward attempt to harm Bella. All of them; even Carlisle and Esme. Jasper's effort of the last few days was the definition of heroic, especially because his instinct is to use his talent to help, and he had to sit on his mental hands and endure hours of mental anguish for us. Yes. This wasn't just an alliance any more. I cared for them. They were part of Bella's family.

I groaned. The pack was going to have a field day with that information the next time I phased.

"Are you okay, Jake? What's wrong?"

I opened my eyes to find Bella watching me from the foot of the stairs. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about pack stuff. They're not going to be happy with something I just figured out." I stood and walked over to her. I could see the question in her eyes and waved her off. "Oh, you'll hear about it later, I'm sure, so don't ask. Are you ready to go?" She nodded and I kissed her and then took her hand as we left the house. I put her in the truck and slid behind the wheel.