Emily and Sam turned up later that day for our usual Wednesday run, a sharp knock on my door alerting me to their presence, followed by my best friend bounding in with her usual enthusiasm.

"Hey" I greeted her, accepting her familiar embrace. Thankfully no matter how much life decides to confuse me or throw in my direction, Sam and Emily are a constant.

"Hey sweetie" she greeted me "you ready to go? Sam will be here in a second, he's just doing a couple of laps around your house. Paul told him about you running into the Cullen's"

"Oh, yeah" I pulled on my trainers "it was okay though, I mean it was really weird, but they didn't seem inclined to harm me"

"I don't think the pack see it that way – Paul was all for coming here and dragging you back to La Push when I saw him just then. He hates the idea of you being in Forks alone" Emily raised one eyebrow at me, clearly wondering about the progression of our relationship after the vague text I sent her earlier.

"I'm fine" I insisted "but I'll be make sure to thank Sam anyway. It does make me feel better knowing they haven't been here without me knowing"

"Oh believe me" my friend's voice raised as she huffed a laugh "if he caught even the vague smell of vampire around here Paul wouldn't be the one you need to worry about. Sam would have you thrown in his truck and down at La Push before we could ask him what the hell he thinks he's doing"

"I don't doubt you there" was all I said as we stepped outside, locking the door behind us "now are you ready to run?"

Emily and I puffed along the trail, Sam as always following a few paces behind us, usually remaining silent. Once again, I stress that it is exactly how I imagine having a personal bodyguard to be. As soon as anything so much as moves beyond the treeline Sam has already done a preliminary check, his entire body tensing as he waited, his attention evenly split between Emily and whatever threat could lay beyond.

Not that anything is ever there. I mean we've spotted a deer a few times but that's about the extent of it. God forbid we ever suggest running alone though, Sam would have a fit.

I briefly asked Em if she thought he would ever get less protective, which was met with an immediate no from both parties. Apparently the instincts these wolves have literally scream at them to protect any imprint. They're too strong to ever consider ignoring – especially when its their own.

That's why the six of us are such a tight-knit bunch, all three boys feeling a brotherly pull towards each member of the pack, as well as their respective imprints.

Sam had already informed me they would all protect us with their lives.

I personally thought that abrupt and serious information was a little too heavy for a Wednesday night jog, but told him how much I appreciate it all the same. Truth be told since running into the two Cullen's yesterday I can't shake the feeling that I'm being watched.

Paranoia, I'm sure. But it's still there.

Which is admittedly why I'm hopping aboard this bodyguard business with gusto. I feel a lot better knowing that any vamp who wants to get to me needs to go through three wolves first. The difference being that whilst coming after a human may be a bit of fun to a bloodsucker, to the wolves, their imprints are their lives.

Which is why I have no doubt they would win.

"So what happened with Paul?" Emily asked as she puffed along next to me, approximately a mile into our run. I had wondered how long it would take before her questions began. Usually we don't talk much when running, often due to being exhausted, but today she clearly couldn't hold it in.

I had texted her the second I got back to the office this afternoon, practically demanding that she and Sam come over as soon as I got off work. All she knows is that Paul had messaged and that I had met him for coffee. The rest I decided to keep to myself until I saw her face to face, I feel like I need the immediate reaction of both her and Sam.

"How about we make it to the top of this hill, stop, and then I'll tell you?" I asked, my lungs already screaming at the thought of having to recount my tale, tackle steep inclines and run another four miles. We are getting a lot fitter, yes, but we're not superhuman.

Thankfully she seemed to think this was a good idea, clearly having similar thoughts to my own. That and this hill is definitely the worst bit of the entire route. It's not dramatically steep, however definitely enough to let your legs know they're in pain. And it lasts for what seems like forever.

Forever to Emily and me at least, Sam often just sprints up and waits for us at the top.

Eventually we made it, Emily and I both breathing heavily with the exertion but not entirely winded yet, proving once again that nearly four months of running has done wonders for us.

"Sooo…what happened then?" Emily asked as we sat on the forest floor, which is thankfully dry enough to not cover us in mud completely "you went for coffee and…?"

"He basically told me that he's given up staying away from me, and he does actually like me" I admitted, not trying to fight the smile that cracked onto my face in response to my friend's obvious excitement

"Oh finally!" Emily practically exploded "about bloody time…so you guys are together now then?"

"No, we're not" I ignored their flabbergasted faces, looking down at my nails "not yet anyway"

"Why? What's stopping you?" Emily asked

"I guess I just don't understand what has brought on this sudden change. I mean, why has he suddenly chosen to be so brutally honest now?" I frowned as we sat in our little circle, Sam producing water bottles out of the rucksack he always takes with him.

To begin with I thought he was ridiculously overbearing, until he explained it's more for his benefit than anything. He needs to carry around a spare pair of clothes in case of any sudden shifting. He would need to change back to drive Emily home after all, and quickly decided the idea of doing it naked wasn't a fun one.

"Honestly I have no idea" Emily sighed, stretching her legs out in front of her "but I do believe him"

"So do I" I admitted "I could tell he meant every word, but that doesn't make it less confusing. Do you know anything Sam?"

My friend sighed, leaning back on his hands as he regarded me thoughtfully, his long legs stretched out in front of him

"Honestly Gem, I think what happened at the party was a massive slap in the face to him"

"What with Katie?"

"Yeah. He felt that you were hurt by it, in whatever capacity, and that finally got his ass into gear. No matter what he may have thought about the bond, to upset your imprint is the worst feeling in the world". At this point his eyes flickered to Emily, who put her hand on his arm gently, sending him a loving smile, before turning her gaze back to me

"That does make sense Gem" she nodded "Paul is very closed off about his feelings in pretty much every way, other than around you"

"You should see him on patrol" Sam groaned dramatically at this point "thinking about you constantly, wondering how to next talk to you or when he will see you again. And he is going to be fuming when he realises I've told you that"

"I think that's cute" I smiled lightly, before pointing at Sam "so no getting mad when you see this Paul, Sam had actually done you a big favour"

"So what are you going to do about it?" Emily asked, brining my attention back to my hopeful looking friend "are you going to get together or what?"

"It's not that simple Em" I sighed "I like Paul, a lot. No denying it. But to me being able to trust someone is the most important thing in the world. So that's just something we need to work on"

"You know Paul would never betray you, he's completely devoted to you and would never cheat on you with anyone" Sam obviously felt the need to defend his pack brother, even going so far as to ignore Emily's glare

"I know" I replied evenly "I trust him implicitly in that sense"

"Then what is it?" Emily asked curiously

"Honestly? I need to know that he is going to be there for me always, and I mean in every sense. I'm not going to be happy and light-hearted 100% of the time, that's not possible especially in my line of work. But at the moment I'm concerned that as soon as anyone upsets or hurts me he's going to fly off the handle and not cope. I mean, what if I have a bad day and he's so worried about making it worse he shuts me out again? Or worse, runs off to hunt down whoever gives me shit"

Silence from my two friends, who if anything looked a little surprised at my outburst. Not that I blame them, I'm not really one to overshare my inner thoughts and feelings, even to Em.

Sam recovered first, reaching over and putting a hand on my knee, smiling at me reassuringly

"I know that Paul will put your happiness and wellbeing before anything. If you wanted him to stop, I think he would find a way" he paused, before continuing "Equally if you wanted anyone punched, believe me Paul, Jared and I would be lining up to do the honours. Just give him a chance"

"Of course I will" I replied with a smile, before standing "thanks guys"

"Any time sweetie" Emily smiled "shall we run?"

"Fineeee" I sighed as I brushed the mud from my leggings "four more miles to go!"

Third Person POV

"Ugh, I can't see her anymore, those mutts are in the way" Alice practically stamped her feet in irritation, leaning into Jasper who kissed the side of her head. He had to stamp on his own instincts to destroy the creatures that were causing inconvenience to his mate. In this case being the dogs who do nothing but prevent her gift from working and cause a stench to the area

"Why are you so focused on her anyway?" Edward asked "she's human after all"

"So is Bella" Jasper snapped back "yet you have no issue bringing her into our lives"

"Bella is nothing like-"

"Because Gemma is obviously the key" Alice cut her brother off, as though it were obvious "she's connected to the wolves, but I can't see how. But they value her that much is obvious"

"So?" Edward asked

"So, she is how we keep Bella safe, if ever the need arises. She is also how we force them to let her become one of us. The girl lives here in Forks, after all. It's easy to reach her"

"Bella isn't becoming one of us, Alice" Edward clenched his fists, only to immediately relax them as Jasper radiated calm into the group

"I've seen it Edward" she rolled her eyes "it's going to happen. And this is how"

"What do you mean, darlin?" Jasper held Alice's hands gently in his own

Alice's eyes darkened as she once again focussed back in on the human girl, only getting glimpses of her this time, getting ready with two of her friends. To a bar, Alice saw.

"We can leave her alone for now, but when the time comes, when we need something from the wolves, she's the obvious target"

"We can't kill a defenceless human" Edward stressed "Carlisle would be so disappointed in us"

"I'm not on about killing her Edward. Only ensuring that the wolves know their place. As long as they agree to our terms, the girl will be safe"

"The wolves won't stand for blackmail if she really is under their protection, for whatever reason" Jasper commented "it would be all out war"

"First of all we just need to work out how deep her connection with them goes" Alice's eyes went distant once more "there will be an incident tonight. Gemma panics and then a decision is made, preventing me from seeing more"

"What decision, Alice?" Edward asked curiously, as though the prospect of forcing the wolves to act as further protection for Bella intrigued him. Whilst he didn't like the thought of them being anywhere near her, he liked the idea that the Cullen's could have control over the wolves, to the extent that they would protect his mate against everything.

Bella is, as always, his absolute priority.

"I don't know. But I know where she is heading, so I say we watch – from a distance of course. So that no one knows we are around. I can't see why we would have any need of them for the time being, Bells is perfectly safe. But I'm not willing to gamble with her life"

Edward and Jasper shared a look, knowing that regardless of their decision there would be no stopping Alice. At the end of the day they would keep Bella safe at all costs, if they have to use a human to ensure extra protection for Edward's mate, so be it.

And so, they nodded their agreement.

They would go.