CHAPTER TEN

(JPOV)

Alice looked alarmed when I went silent at her statement, my gaze roaming over the too perfect porcelain features her petite face held as I processed what she was trying to tell me. Despite the relatively calm exterior I was putting forth to her right now, my insides were screaming as a renewed fire began to spread out to my limbs from her closeness.

She knew what was coming and when, and if it was the last words she ever spoke here on this earth, I was going to get it out of her.

No matter what.

"You got one thing right, I'm not the person I was. The impressionable teen from years ago, that person doesn't exist anymore. If it's made me hard, so be it. Whatever game you're playing and whatever tale of lies you're spinning, it comes to an end. Right now. I know there's far more to this that you're not saying and if you don't start telling me the truth, I'm not gonna give you the chance to go back to your cozy rich life in Denali. Choice is yours, but my patience is wearing real thin, so I suggest you hurry."

Alice looked to me with clear disbelief then, her smirk of challenge not going unnoticed when she casually twirled a short lock of her dark hair around her fingertip and gazed behind me.

"So you were lying before? You are going to summon the others to chase me down. What if I told you that it would be the biggest mistake you could ever make in doing so? Would that change your mind?" She hurriedly questioned.

"I won't summon any of them. This is between you and me. That's how it started and that's how it'll end, Alice. If something's coming for Bella-"

"You mean when something comes for Bella." She sternly corrected me then with another loud hiss. "Our kind have rules, Jacob. Rules that are not to be broken. It's no secret that I have the gift of visions. They allow me to see the projected path that people are on in their life. It's always subject to change, of course. Up until we left, this gift gave me a way to see Bella's future, too."

"...but it changed-"

"Indeed, it did. When my family and I left Washington- my visions of Bella didn't stop immediately, but they weren't the same. They were faded- spotty almost- full of holes and then they vanished entirely. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get them back. The last vision I had of her was years ago. On the cliffs."

I narrowed my heated gaze at her with this and inwardly cringed, as I pondered back on how shattered Bella was back then. That incident had proven to be a real turning point for her and as scary as it was, when I pulled her from the water that day, she resurfaced as someone new. It was what started a real change in her- a change for the better. It had been a blessing in disguise. Memories of that time filled my head as I reflected on those days.

I could still remember how small and fragile she looked to me when I drove her home, and walked her inside Charlie's house. As terriefied as I'd been that night of nearly losing her to the water, I was more angry than I'd initially let on, and once she was safe, and in a pair of dry sweats, I dropped the facade and got real with her. More real than I had ever been before.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I half yelled, seeing her doe eyes go wide at my tone, while I paced there in front of her. She sat down on Charlie's sofa and drew her knees up to her chest before offering up any kind of explanation.

"I wanted to see if I could do it myself- you said that it was a real rush!" She eventually defended. "I'm sorry!"

Her words were full of emotion when she raised her voice and peered up at me with a desperation that made it hard as hell for me to stay mad at her - but I was. Her reckless and thoughtless actions couldn't simply be ignored.

"A rush? You could have died, Bella! Were you even thinking of Charlie? Can you imagine what that would've done to him!?"

"The waves were stronger than I thought they'd be, Jake. I didn't think they-"

"No! You didn't think at all! They tossed you around like a rag doll." I retorted. "If I had been any later- Damn it, Bella...-you could've-"

Bella's eyes welled with her tears that spilled over, as she looked away from me and stormed off into the kitchen. I followed after her.

"You don't understand, okay? Just please- go home. I don't wanna do this- Not with you!."

She gestured for me to go then but I didn't budge, as I stood in the kitchen with her, stubborn and unwilling to let this drop.

"How do I not understand? Huh? Try me!" I snapped, trying to keep my head about me but failing to do so.

"You don't know how hard I've tried to forget everything and move on but I can't. I feel like this huge hole has been punched through me and there's nothing left! When I'm with you - it's doesn't hurt- it's better-but when I'm alone- I can't stand it! I know you have responsibilities with Sam and the pack, but I just couldn't stay here in this house for one more minute today. I needed to feel something- anything! I made a stupid choice! It was selfish! I see that now."

Her admission cut me deep, like a jagged knife, as I stared back at her. The girl who meant far more to me than she could ever know. The girl who'd just thrown herself off a damn cliff, and into the crashing waves below without a thought of how her actions would devastate everyone around her.

"That's why you jumped today? And the bikes..-" I harshly questioned, as the reality of it all took hold. "I suppose those were part of your need for adrenaline these days, right? Wow- you really suckered me for that one, didn't you?! I should've seen it! What an idiot I've been!"

"It's not what you think!" She tearfully yelled.

"No, it's exactly what I think, Bella!" I bit back, turning on my heel to put some distance between us, before I blew my cool and lost all control with her too close. "How could you do that!? Tell me you weren't trying to-"

I swallowed hard then, half choking on the words that I couldn't even bring myself to say to her right now.

Bella flinched away from me and shook her head at this, refusing to meet my gaze. That was all the answer I needed.

I took hold of her by the shoulders with a shake that forced her eyes back to mine.

"He left you, Bella. Abandoned you in the woods. He didn't care about your feelings or what was best for you. All he cared about was himself. You've spent months of your time missing a person who walked away from you. I've watched you disappear into something that's empty and hollow, and I can't do it anymore. Open your eyes, Bella! Your actions have consequences and they affect other people! Not just you!"

I released her and left the house without another word.

That night was one of the longest ones I'd ever had. She called me, more than once, but I didn't answer. I couldn't.

Sleep evaded me and when midnight came and went, I headed back for the woods and ran in wolf form until dawn broke. It killed me to stay away from her like that, in ways she would never know, but I didn't cave and when I returned from my night patrol that morning, she was there waiting for me on dads front porch.

I took one look at her from afar and knew she hadn't slept either. Her eyes were bloodshot and red rimmed when I trudged across the front yard, and stopped there at the base of our rickety old steps.

"I called-..." She softly stated.

"I know-..."

"Billy let me wait here for you. He said you left hours ago?"

"Had patrol."

I was being short with her and it was ripping me apart, but I had to make her see that this had to stop. It couldn't carry on the way it was. I wouldn't play this game anymore.

"I couldn't sleep last night." She nervously admitted.

"I know the feeling."

I watched her timidly start to wrap her arms around herself, and I closed the distance between us, catching swift hold of her before she could finish the dreaded action that I'd come to loathe in all these months.

She stared up at me as I lost my resolve, and in that moment all I wanted to do was kiss her. The very thing I'd thought about doing for weeks now, but held myself back from acting on for fear that she wasn't ready, or worse, that she wouldn't want that with me.

I drew in a deep breath and released her with a heavy sigh.

"What you said- before- it was the truth. My reasons for throwing myself off that cliff yesterday don't even come close to outweighing the possible consequences of it. You saved my life, Jake. I shouldn't have been there in the first place. I know things have to change and they will. I just hope I didn't lose you in the process?"

My head snapped up at this and I cursed under my breath, before I reached for her against my better judgment. I pulled her to me and whispered my earnest reply.

"You'll never lose me, Bells. Not ever."

"I'm sorry, Jake."

"I know."

Alice's hiss suddenly tore me from my reflective haze then when she spoke again in a taunting fashion.

"Clearly, you remember that time with vivid detail as well, I see? She was drowning and you saved her, right? Pulled her from the water? Those are the last few visions I ever had of Bella. It was maddening to me. To be that blind."

I fought the urge to crack a smile of my own at this, because I already knew the reason why her clear vision had failed her all that time ago.

I'd heard something in the legends many years ago about the protection of any imprint from the alluring gifts of the cold ones, but I had yet to see it play out in person until right now.

"Ever figure out the mystery?" I sarcastically asked, noting the way her eyes narrowed at me in response.

"You know exactly what the mystery was. Don't be coy. It's unbecoming on someone such as yourself. She never truly belonged with us. She belonged with you, but something tells me you already knew this. The imprint was already at play. This doesn't change what I said about there being rules."

"What rules-..." I angrily snapped, quickly approaching her as she grew to be as still as a statue.

"Humans aren't allowed to know of our kind. Under any circumstance. Those who do are meant to be killed so they don't utter it to anyone else."

Heat rolled off my shoulders and down my back, as I stared at her with a low growl coming from me.

"...-and who enforces these rules?"

"The Volturi."

"Tell me who they are." I demanded from her.

"They uphold our laws. Some of them more than others."

"Meaning?" I countered.

"My family and I have been watching them closely since we left Forks, and since our departure, nothing has peaked their interest. We assumed this meant Bella would be safe given her separation from us, but more recently Carlisle received word from Aro. He is their leader. He rules us all in a sense. His letter was detailed and vey descriptive. He informed us that he'd had an unexpected visitor to their lair in Italy many months ago. A woman with fiery red hair and a crimson stare like theirs to match."

"Victoria." I forced out to her, as my tremors came back with a vengeance.

"Seems we left a few details unfinished in these parts when we vacated Washington? Have you come across her?"

"I destroyed her."

Alice appeared unsettled at this, her pale face flinching some as she peered around at the forest.

"Did she act alone?"

"No, she created an army that ambushed us. We defeated them."

"...-but not in time. Not before she got word to Aro. I suspect she knew what she was heading for with all of you. That's why she went to the Volturi. One way or another, she wanted Bella to pay for James and this was her sure way of making that happen. Aro isn't to be underestimated. None of them are. That is the real reason why I came here."

I pushed down the tremors, fighting against them the best I could so I would remain on two legs as she met my gaze.

"You've seen them?"

"I have."

"How many, Alice?" I ground out.

"Two for right now. Jane and Alec. You would be wise to heed my warning and get ready. Jane has the face of a child, but I promise you, there is nothing sweet or innocent about her. She can cripple you with one glance, her power is unmatched by many. She is lethal all by herself, Jacob."

Alice's eyes flickered to our left and went wide as she backed herself up when Sam emerged from the surrounding trees, followed by Gentry, Leah, Seth, Quil, Embry, Jared and finally Paul.

They lined up there and looked my way as the snarls poured from them.

"If you coming here was a trap...-" I angrily warned her, as she moved herself further away from us, ready to take off at any second.

"It wasn't. Like it or not, we'll have to work together to keep her safe. It's the only way. I can anticipate their moves before they make them and you need my visions for that. Without it, there's no way of countering an attack of adequate strength and size."

Sam huffed as the others became more hostile, all of them advancing on Alice and ready to strike as she lingered there.

"How do we know we can trust you?"

"I wouldn't risk myself like this for nothing. I might be arrogant but I'm not stupid. I know if I cross you, you'll never let me leave Washington."

"Agreed."

Gentry roared then and rose himself up on his haunches as Alice peered up at his size in true disbelief.

"Bears, too? Any other shifters you're hiding, Jacob?"

"Guess you'll have to wait and find out." I retorted, as she turned on her heel and flew out of sight with a blinding speed that left us all looking after her.

Sam only nodded once and they all tore off after her with snarls that echoed off the trees above us.

Gentry hung back and phased to human form as he came to stand next to me, his alarmed gaze matching my own as we looked on after them.

"What does this mean, Jake?"

My reply to him was barely audible and came in only one word.

"War."

A/N: Hi guys! ;-) So glad I was able to update a chapter for you today. In all honesty, I've been struggling to post lately with balancing new schedules, but no worries, new chapter coming your way soon! Thank you for reading and please leave a review.