Jacob PoV

Another week passed.

The tension in the pack was getting more and more out of hand. Fights broke out for no reason and even Sam had difficulties breaking them up and keeping everyone quiet. As I had foreseen it, even the constant patrols didn't work anymore. They just exhausted us and added to the tension that was already there. So Sam tried to have only the minimum of guards at patrol while keeping the others busy with exercises and training.

Jared, his second-in-command tried to help him as much as he could but I could see that his nervous were running thin as well. I tried to escape by visiting Bella as often as I could. She always helped me to calm down simply by cooking me lunch or dinner or listening to me when I told her again of the bad situation at the reservation. It was always me visiting her. The mood at the reservation was bad and it was too dangerous for her to be among the wolves now. Even Sam had sent Emily away, visiting her sister up north. The other inhabitants of the reservation stayed inside as much as they could. Even the ones who didn't know they were surrounded by werewolves felt the tension that was lingering in the air.

It was one of these evenings after I had dined with Charlie and Bella and sat with her on the couch while Charlie was busy fixing something in the bathroom that she informed me of a decision she had made. A decision I didn't like. At. All.

"Jake, you love me, right?"

I frowned. Where was she getting with this? "Yes, of course, you know that I love you with all my heart." I kissed her on the forehead.

"And you know that I love you and would do everything to keep you and your brothers safe."

Okay, now I began to worry. "Bells? Where are you going with this?"

"Jacob, I've seen what's happening down in the reservation. How not knowing what Victoria will do gets to you and the others. It worries me, a lot. I thought long about how I could help. And this afternoon, I found the answer." Her voice was firm but the look she gave me was full of uncertainty. She didn't know how I would react to her next words. This couldn't be good.

"What's your solution?" I asked slowly. I didn't know if I wanted to hear the answer but I had to.

"What's the biggest problem you have? What's the main problem?"

She looked up while her hand linked with mine. White skin against brown skin, light against dark, female against male, small against big. She trusted me. And I trusted her. She wouldn't do anything that would endanger us or the other werewolves. Ever.

"Well, the main problem is that we don't know what Victoria's plan is. The more time passes the bigger her plan might get."

"Right. So we need to find out what her plans are. But neither any of you nor me or anyone else can do that. Except one."

Realisation dawned on me. I remembered one time she had told me about the blood-suckers. About their special abilities. How the blond one could play with your emotions, how the other one could hear your thoughts and how the small female sometimes saw the future.

"Bells..." She would never do that. Not Bella. She would never turn to them for help after everything they did to her. "Please tell me you didn't do what I think you did."

"No, not yet. But I will. I have to. It's the only way of finding out what Victoria intends to do." She firmly held my hand in hers, looking at me with a pleading look. "We need her. You know this."

"We don't need them. They are our enemies, we fight them, we don't turn to them for help." My voice became cold. Everything in me rebelled against the fact that she was right. We had to find out what she was up to. And only the small female was capable of finding out what it was. Because she could see the future.

"Jake..."

"No, Bella. Just no. We'll never ally with them."

"But you don't have to. I will try to contact her, only her. Her family will never know. I know her and if I ask her to keep it a secret, she will. Please Jake, you've always trusted me, with everything as I have trusted you. Please, trust me in this one. I need you to trust me. Please."

"Bells, you don't know what you are asking of me." I might not feel the same hatred against them as Paul did but asking them for help went against everything I had been taught and believed in my whole life. And now she was asking me to choose. Choose between her and her decision and my pack. "Sam will kill us both if he finds out about this."

"But he won't. I'll tell her to be really careful and if you help me we can make sure she gets to me without being spotted by one of your guards. She'll stay in my house and as soon as we have what we need, she'll leave. No harm done."

I looked at her. For a long, long time. I saw the desperation in her eyes. She wanted to help me, help us. For that, she was willing to call the person who had betrayed her, had left her and made her into a broken shell. She'd just build up her life again and now she risked everything. For me. For us. How could I not help her if she risked so much for us?

"But we don't even know if it will work."

She smiled. She knew she had won. "No we don't. But it's our only chance."

I stood up. I was too anxious to be sitting any more. Instead I walked forth and back through her living room, running my hand through my hair, trying to calm down a bit. "And what is your plan exactly? You don't know where she lives nor her phone number nor anything. How will you contact her?"

"I'll find a way." Then her face became tense and she grimaced. "There is just one more thing..."

I sighed heavily. "What else? Do you want me to greet her and bring her over the border myself?"

"Yes... But Jake..." She hesitated for a moment. Then she added. "You have to leave me alone for a few days for the plan to work."

I stopped as if I had run straight against a wall. "What?" I almost shouted. Bella shot an alarmed look in the direction of the bathroom and I tried to lower my voice. "Why?"

"Well, the last time Alice was here she said, I had disappeared for weeks. I thought about that and figured it must have something to do with you. Maybe she can't see me when I am with you. Or with any of the pack." A painful look appeared on her beautiful face. "I don't like this either but with some luck it will be only for a few days." Bella stood up in front of me. With her hands she cupped my face and rose to her toes to place a small kiss on my lips. "I love you Jake, so much. I want you to be safe. I have to do this, there is no other way. Please, help me. I need you. Please."

Oh Bells, one day you'll be my undoing I lowered my head until our foreheads touched and I could caress her cheek with my thumb. "Alright, I won't come here. But if I hear nothing from you in four days, I'll come and check."

She smiled. "Thank you, Jacob."

"Don't thank me yet, Bells. We don't know if this plan of yours actually works."

"It will!" She sounded so sure when she said this. Even I had to smile a little. "My brave, beautiful and stubborn Bella. I will miss you."

"I'll miss you too." She kissed me, a bittersweet kiss and when we parted, she had tears in her eyes. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too."

We stayed together a few more minutes and when I left I felt like I had left a huge part of my heart behind.