A/N: A quick thank you to everyone who added this story in their alerts and/or added it to their favorite list. It truly means a lot to me.

Chapter 12- The aftermath

Bella's POV-

"I don't believe this. How could you?" Jake scoffed in disbelief, his glare thick on Billy- all of us gathered here in this small house, the same question on each of our lips.

Billy sighed, shaking his head. "What did you expect me to do? Order to attack them on spot?"

"Yes!" Jake waved his hand in air, exaggerating the word for the rest of us. "Wasn't that the very purpose of the meeting?"

"Jacob," Billy chided. "Be mature. I know that you are young still, but I wish to be assured that after me, my tribe is in capable hands. Violence is no solution, you should know that, and definitely not when the decision is taken in haste."

"Dad, they broke the treaty." Jake spoke, almost as if talking to a two year old incapable of understanding anything more difficult than the five direct words spoken- a tone that definitely did not sit well with Billy.

"Jacob Ephraim Black!" Billy frowned. "You may not agree with me, but I am and will remain your father. Your generation has too much freedom, it seems. My father would have blown a gasket if I dared to have spoken to him in that manner, and his father was even stricter, if you can believe that. My father could not dare to even raise his voice in front of him. Your generation has way too much liberty to be completely manner less and disrespectful."

"Dad," Jake rolled his eyes, sighing, the need to speak back almost apparent on his face, though he did manage to resist, thankfully, or we would have been the victims of a very long lecture on manners from the man himself.

I shook my head, a small smile on my face. Billy was one of those who never really adapted to the changing times. His thoughts….his beliefs were all old school, and more often than not- he referred to his own childhood and growing up experiences as the memo to go forward.

Now, not saying that that is bad, but it can be a bit of a contrast between Jake's modern ways of handling stuff and Billy's old school theories- learnt from his forefathers, and they from theirs. If Billy was a by the book person, Jake was a complete rebel- breaking all the laid out rules and making new ones for himself, a fact that did not really sit well with Billy.

Though, it was surely entertaining to be in the same room as them when they started on a tirade- each highlighting their view point for the other to see.

"I do agree with Billy, though." Sam pointed out from his place on the old couch in our living room, bringing our topic back to the point- as was almost always his job to do. "I would feel safer if I was confident that Emily and my other close ones are in no danger of being attacked."

Paul gaped at him- his expression in no way leaving his opinion to question. "That is fucking cowardice. You are all cowards. This was our chance. They broke the treaty. We could have easily ended them, having a proper reason to do so."

"I agree with Paul." I stated, putting forward my view point from where I sat with the only other girl- and wolf girl- in the room, Leah.

While part of me was aware of the reason why Billy did what he did, another huger part of me was rather enraged that such a brilliant opportunity had been taken out of my hands, losing it even before I really had it.

"Bella," Billy sighed, almost as if he weren't expecting me to speak this out loud.

I shrugged in response. It was the truth, and why was he so surprised was a question to me. I hated that kind. Everyone knew of this. I would readily jump at any opportunity of killing those filthy bloodsuckers that presented it in front of me.

I had always hated the fact that we had a treaty with them. This had been our chance, a chance that was stolen even before I got it.

The dream of ending the abnormal eternities of ten vampires had been too good to be true, and I hated this very fact, cursing the reality that I was supposed to face.

I should have been happy right now- relieved, in fact, that this world was lighter of ten of those disgusting creatures, but no, Billy had to be the mature one in the situation. The one who stopped us from having all the fun!

It was just not fair.

"I hate to say, but I agree with Paul and Bella. We lost a great opportunity today." Leah shrugged.

Sam sighed at her. "Leah, just because you want to oppose me- don't choose the wrong side. Even you know that starting a war is no laughing matter."

"Excuse me?" Leah gaped at him. "What makes you think that you are as important in my life that I will specifically sit and plan ways to piss you off? Get off your high horse, Samuel Uley. My life does not revolve around you. I stopped being that brainless, years ago."

Sam sighed audibly. "You know that I did not plan to hurt you. You have to let it go."

Leah scoffed in disgust. "I let it go years ago. I don't give two fucks about you or your beautiful imprint. Go jump off a cliff, for all I care."

"Now," Sam raised an eyebrow at her in warning. "Say bad about me all you want, but not a word about Emily."

"Seriously," Leah laughed, humorlessly. "That is all that grabbed your attention- a minor reference to someone who hardly matters in my life? It is disgusting, Sam."

"Leah…." Sam started to speak.

"Can we please come back to the topic?" Jake sighed, his tone one of pleading. "I am sure we have not gathered here to discuss the past relationship of Sam and Leah."

"Jake is correct, for once." Paul gave a brief nod. "Ah! The Doom is here!"

I hid my smile, watching as Jake glared at Paul, Paul smirk irritating him even further.

I sometimes wondered of who would turn out to be Paul's imprint. We had a theory that she was not from La Push- or Forks- or probably just did not live in the area at the moment. Reason for so being that Paul had almost met the eyes of each and every girl in the area, Forks included- his reputation as a Casanova well acquired. If she would have been a current resident of either, he would have already imprinted by now.

Anyway, I could only hope that the 'she' in question had not heard about his debatable reputation, or Paul was definitely having a tough time ahead of him.

"I guess- if everyone is giving their opinion- I agree with Sam. All of us imprinted ones do." Jared stated, Quil nodding his head from the side in complete agreement.

Quil had imprinted on Emily's younger sister, Claire, a few weeks back. She lived on the Makah reservation with her parents- her fourteenth birthday just celebrated, and while she knew of Quil and liked him as a friend, their feelings for one another were nowhere near that of the other imprinted couple's, a fact that Emily was extremely thankful for.

Now, Quil was hardly a year older than Claire- for the record, but still fourteen was a bit too young to be involved in a relationship of this much intensity, the future completely laid out for you. It was scary, indeed- and I could understand where Emily was coming from. I too would have been worried if I had a younger sister whose life was preplanned entirely from this young.

Though, I had heard from Jake that Quil did not want to be romantically involved with Claire till they were both mature enough, sure that this was what they wanted from life. He was even thinking of seeing other people for the time being- a feat unheard for an imprinted wolf- wanting to be confident that his feelings for Claire- whenever they appeared- were not due to them having no other choice in life.

"The question here is not between imprinted and non imprinted." Embry spoke up, almost in a whisper. "And, anyway, what will we even gain from debating over this spilt milk? The deed is already done. You may not agree with it, or even like it, but Billy has announced his decision, and we have no other option but to comply with it."

"Embry is correct," Billy gave him a look of pride….a look that was not missed by Jake.

While it was not openly stated, many believed that Embry was Billy's son- from his brief affair with Tiffany Call. A little over a year before Jake was born, Billy and his wife, Sarah, had had a brief falling out. They had reconciled, conceiving Jake and renewing their vows, but the deed had been done and Embry, too, had been conceived. It wasn't ever openly spoken about; Tiffany Call maintained that Billy was not the father. She had been intimate with other men immediately after Billy had gone back to his wife, realizing that they had been too hasty in their decision to separate…making it almost a question of who really was Embry's father.

Though, I had a feeling that Billy believed Embry to be his, never openly proclaiming it due to Tiffany's straight away refusal in admitting so.

Anyway, while everyone was aware of this, no one really spoke about this openly…not that Embry was comfortable with speaking on this topic. He was content in accepting that he was the child of a single parent, his mother who had raised him alone.

"They broke the treaty, does no one realize this?" Jake repeated, raising an eyebrow in question.

Billy sighed. "Even if they did, what were we supposed to do? I don't want a fight, and they were not willing to leave peacefully. The best solution was to try to negotiate. Dr. Cullen knows that they are on the wrong side- one of theirs broke the treaty, forcing them to have a weaker stand."

"That is perfect." Paul stated, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "They break the treaty and we still don't do a damn thing about it, sitting here like the useless cowards we are."

"He did it to protect her." Seth pointed out.

"I did not need or ask for his protection." I growled out, frustrated on the fact that I had had to repeat this very same statement several times today. It had been a long day, I realized. "I had handled it. I did not ask for the help, especially not from him."

"Bella," Billy sighed. "Why don't we call it a night? It has been a long day. You look tired."

I sighed. I was exhausted. I had not had a moment of peace since 'it' had happened in Port Angeles. As soon as Jasper had walked away in the opposite direction after killing those men, my phone had rung- Jake was worried and equally afraid that I had left him so many missed calls. I had told him everything- my voice a mere whisper of fear and worry- and he had instantly left from there to come and pick me up, talking to me throughout the hour long drive.

I am aware that driving and talking on the phone at the same time is not advisable, but Jake had argued that with his supernatural reflexes, he would be able to easily manage, and keeping me sane and away from facing a full blown panic attack was more of a priority at the moment.

I had sighed, but had gratefully accepted his words- recognizing the truth in them, walking back to my truck and waiting for him to arrive.

As soon as he had arrived, hugging me tight, we had left for the res- where everyone was waiting for us, Jake already having informed them of what had happened tonight. The treaty had been broken, and this was a very damn big thing.

I had jumped at the opportunity of calling for a meeting, happily at that.

I hated Jasper and his kind. I would gladly see them dead, even lighting the fire if given the opportunity to.

Of course, sadly, all my dreams had turned out to be nothing more than that- a mere dream that had no possibility of ever being fulfilled.

I wanted to shout, or even cry.

It just wasn't fair.

I had waited for this day since years…and in a way- it was almost anticlimactic- with Billy declaring that he wished for peace and hence there would be no fight.

All this built up led to what- absolutely nothing!

"I need to….um….I need to get away." I frowned, surprised by my words, though knowing the truth in them. I could not sleep, at least not right away. I needed to clear my mind before I could even think of relaxing or falling asleep.

"Right now," Billy raised an eyebrow in question, disbelief and worry in his voice.

I nodded my head. "I know it is late…or early, as you look at it, but I need to get away for a while. I will just go for a run or something. I will be okay."

"Do you need me to come with you?" Jake asked.

I sighed. Jake looked even more tired than me, having fought a bunch of vampires before leaving to come and rescue me, the whole drama of the broken treaty added onto it. He needed to rest. He had a long day tomorrow- well today.

"No," I shrugged. "I will be okay. I doubt any vampires will be out there- not that I cannot handle any attack. You all need your rest. I will be back before you know it."

"I am going to be patrolling." Sam declared. "Holler if you need me."

"Sam," I sighed at him. I was aware that it was not his turn to patrol- he had already done his share the previous morning. He was taking a second shift of the day, partly the reason for so being me. "Go home, Emily must be worried."

He gave me a small smile. "She is sleeping, she told me that when I called her up to inform her of the meeting. And anyway, she is used to me being out like this, patrolling throughout the night. When it was just me, Jared and Paul- each of us took two entire nights in a week."

"Yeah, those had been long, boring nights." Jared grinned, shaking his head.

"I definitely don't miss those." Paul added. "Though my head felt a much saner place before these three stooges invaded it with their insensible antics." He said the last part smirking at Jake, Quil and Embry- only to be at the receiving of their loud verbal protests.

I sighed, ignoring them, meeting Sam's eyes instead- determination clear in them. He was not going to change his decision. He had made up his mind.

I gave him a brief nod, deciding to not be out for long. That was probably the least I could do for him, anyway.

Everyone soon started to vacate the room, leaving for their respective houses. It was almost four in the morning, and no one had the capacity- or wish- to sit and chat any longer.

Billy and Jake made their way towards their bedrooms, while I left the house, a warm jacket keeping me comfortable. I sometimes wished I had the warmth that came with being a shape shifter. I could have certainly done with it. I detested the cold and the rain, and that was definitely a bit of a discomfort when you lived in the wettest place in the country. But, still, this was home.

That would never change.

I had no fixed destination in mind. I had earlier planned to walk to First Beach, but as soon as I passed a lesser walked upon trail, I knew I had my answer. It was a simple enough trail, thankfully, minimizing my risk of injury, and it led to this beautiful cliff from where I could get an amazing view of the sunrise- which fit, considering it would be almost the time for sunrise by the time I made it up there.

Sam whined at me in question, making me turn and look at him- not as surprised to see him there.

I shrugged in response, giving him a small smile. "Walking up the trail, you know where it ends. I will be fine. Don't worry about me."

He seemed to ponder over my words, finally deciding that there was no harm in letting me do what I wished to do, turning back and walking in another direction- his eyes though conveying to me that he would still be around, in case I needed him.

I started to follow the trail- the light of the morning sky guiding me ahead. This was one of the safer trails, one even Billy and Charlie had been comfortable with letting us travel on alone back when Jake and I had been kids, and knowing the route by heart did help, letting my thoughts run free.

I was not happy with Billy's decision, needless to point out, but what other alternative did I even have?

I could not- and would not- go against his decision.

And so, as it stood, the matter was closed.

There would be absolutely no consequences faced for their- his- actions.

I had not even asked for his help.

What made him think that I needed it?

He was so infuriating.

Handsome- indeed, but definitely infuriating!

"What is Bella Swan to you?" A voice reached my ears, not quite next to me, but still in listening range.

I raised an eyebrow in question. Who was this? I did not recognize the voice.

Why were they talking about me?

What were they talking about?

Now, naturally, I should have ignored it- keeping my head on my work, but when does curiosity listen to anyone, and damn- I was curious.

I wanted to know of who this was, why they were out at this point of time- and why were they talking about me.

And, as they say- curiosity killed the cat!

So, off I went in the direction of the voice, my curiosity pulling me through.

"What…what do you mean?" another voice questioned- this one slightly more familiar- my steps almost there.

"You very well know what I mean." The first one stated. "I am no idiot, Jas. I know you almost as well as you know yourself."

"You are crazy." The second one commented. "She is my target. That is it. I am going to kill her and leave this dinky town forever."

My feet stopped in its place instantly- my eyes wide in disbelief- only to start walking again, a new haste now in my step.

I wanted to know who this was.

I wanted to know who the wolf in the sheep's clothing was.

"Really," the first one asked, quite not believing the other one's words.

"Of course," a scoff accompanied the word. "What did you expect?"

I was almost there, the voices loud enough to make me sure of this- and sure enough, I could see two figures in front of me- their eyes focused on one another, not even noticing my presence.

Huh!

This was a surprise.

I had quite not expected this, though why was I surprised was a question.

Of course it would be their kind!

How could I even have thought otherwise?

Who else could it be- but the bloodsuckers?

"I hope you realize what is in your head before it is too late, and you have to choice but to repent." Said the first one- I did not quite know his name- turning his head and instantly meeting my eyes, an immediate frown settling over his face.

He kept staring at me, the other one- Jasper- too turning to look at me now, obviously curious to know of what his friend was staring at- his eyes immediately widening in shock when he saw that it was me who stood in front of them.

So, was Jasper the one planning to murder me?

Why?

I did not even know him- personally.

I had never even met him….and if he really wanted to kill me, why hadn't he done so when I was out alone in Port Angeles?

No one would have even suspected that it was him.

Now, while I had no death wish, I was a curious soul- these questions bothering me.

What was he to gain from my death…or was it something personal like it was to me?

"Oh fuck," said the second one, finally, groaning.

Jasper nodded his head in agreement, continuing to stare at me.

I opened my mouth to speak- their full attention on me.

I had tons of questions to ask, my gift ready to strike, in case I needed it.

I was definitely not going down without a fight.

They had no idea of who Bella Swan really was.

A/N: So, like some of you would have guessed- this chapter was really not supposed to go this way. Bella was not going to be the one to hear into their conversation- originally, but after reading some of the reviews and falling into the 'what if' trap, I decided on taking the story down this path….