Jacob PoV

As I feared the arguing began the minute, we all had phased.

We'll never fight alongside vampires. It's against the rules of nature

They are our enemies. This offer is meaningless.

They'll turn on us the first chance they get.

You can't trust them.

We can win this fight on our own. We don't need them

This fight is not like anything you'd ever seen. This was Jared, the only one except Sam to keep a calm head. It's not like hunting one or two rogue vampires. She has created a whole army of bloodsuckers. They are young and they are wild and strong. We can fight them and bring a lot of them down but without help we'll lose

The leeches won't help us. They'll most probably be happy when we are all dead and they can come back to claim this territory

And then? Without us the whole town will be unprotected, like a free hunting place for every rogue bloodsucker to come

It's our duty to protect the people from them. If it means to ally with some to defeat the rest, we have to do it. They are not all evil, I tried to reason

How can you say that? Only a dead leech is a good leech

They've lived here for years and never has one of them bit anyone. They live on animals not on people. They are different

Different? How can one bloodsucker be different from the other? They are all bloodsucking monsters and they will turn on us as soon as the threat from the red-haired one is eliminated

We have to make a pact then. With rules. We'll be allies, but only for this fight. After that, they'll leave again like nothing had ever happened

Come on Jake, do you really believe this crap? Once they come back, they'll stay and everything will be just as before. Sooner or later they'll betray us. And what about your precious Bella? Don't you think she'll go back to them once they come? She has lived with them once, why not again?

Shut up Paul or I'll swear...

ENOUGH! The Alpha had spoken and everyone hushed at once. We had by now arrived at Sam's empty cabin and gathered in a circle around it. Sam stood in front of us, his huge, black wolf-body outstanding everyone. I understand your concerns. Wolves and vampires have fought for centuries and will continue to fight to the last. But Jacob and Jared are right. We need them if we want to win this fight. She'll come and bring an entire army. The female has spoken of 36 but who knows how many more she'll turn before she decides to attack? We are outnumbered here and we need their help. If they come, we'll set the conditions. We fight with them to defeat Victoria once and for all. After that they'll leave again and we go our separate ways. It's the only way and so I've decided to let them come

Every protest was hushed when he looked sternly at each one. Then he turned to me. Jacob, you'll go and stay with Bella. If anything new comes up, contact me at once. One the bloodsuckers arrive we'll meet with them and set the conditions

I nodded. What about Charlie?

I'll make sure he'll leave town for a couple of days until this whole thing is over

I didn't ask about how he wanted to achieve that but I knew he had his ways. I shot one menacing look at Paul who growled in response then I ran off, the thought of seeing Bella again making me almost fly

We sat on Bella's bed, me resting against the headboard while she lay between my legs, her head against my chest. Our hands were resting on her stomach, fingers linked together. I had tilted my head back and closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of having her in my arms again.

Charlie was not yet home, probably still watching sports with my dad but even if he were home, I wouldn't have moved. After having to stay away from her the last few days I needed to feel her beside me. Bella had taken a shower and changed her clothes and the sheets while I had opened the windows but still the faint smell of vampire lingered in the air. It smelled of blood and death and it made the wolf in me growl with anger and bloodlust. But the scent of her flowery shampoo and the fresh linen was stronger.

I felt her stomach slightly rise and fall again as she breathed evenly. Has she fallen asleep?

But Bella proved me wrong when she spoke up. "Do you ever want to have children?"

I frowned. Where had this come from? "I don't know. I've never thought about that really. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. With all that fighting and the possibility of death, it came to me. As you said, I've never really thought about it. First I didn't care and then I thought I'd never have the chance."

Because he couldn't give you any...

"And now?" I asked softly, placing a kiss on her brown hair.

"I think so. One day it would be nice to have a few little feet running around." She turned her head a little so she could watch me. "Do werewolf children automatically carry the gene that transforms you?"

So she had thought not only about having children but having children with me. It meant she saw a future for us together. The thought made my heart beat a little faster. "Not automatically. Sometimes it skips a few generations before it turns up again."

"So I wouldn't have to worry about a stall full of little wolves?" she asked in all earnest. The thought of a bunch of little wolves running around wildly while she was standing helplessly in the middle made me laugh so hard that tears came to my eyes. She must have seen the joke in that too because she began to laugh too.

"Don't worry, the gene only triggers when we are in our teens. And even then, only when there are vampires around", I assured her, still chuckling.

"So we would only have to stay clear of vampires and everything will be fine?"

"I guess so. So, you thought about having children with me then?" I teased her, unable to hold back.

Bella blushed a little but nodded. "Don't you want to have children with me?"

I kissed her on the side of her head and smiled. "Of course I want to have children with you one day. It just surprised me you came up with this now."

"I had a lot of free time the last few days and I thought a lot of what future I'll have. What I want from life and how my next years would look like."

"And did you come up with anything else than having children?" I was getting curious. I had never really thought about my future before, had only lived in the present but maybe I should. I wasn't alone in this world anymore. I had Bella and as pleasant as the present might be, it wouldn't last forever. She'd finish school and go to college, then get a job maybe. I knew these things weren't in the cards for me which left me wondering how I'd fit in all this. What did I want from life?

"A few things. Mostly normal stuff, like going to college, get a job, start a family. I'll stay in Forks of course." She shot me a loving look. "Maybe work as a nurse at the hospital."

"That's a good plan. Mostly the part of staying in Forks." I grinned.

"What about you? Are you going to hunt vampires forever?" Now it was for her to get curious. I shrugged. "No. You see, as long as we phase we stay young and strong forever. But most of us don't want that because it would mean outliving all your friends and family. If we decide not to phase anymore, we age and die like every normal person. So no, I won't live the life of a vampire hunter forever. Maybe a few years more."

"So you can decide to give all this up?" Bella seemed surprised at my revelation. "I thought it was a part of you, you can't escape?"

"The wolf will always be a part of me and it is hard to give him up. But I have a pretty good reason to do that." I pressed a light kiss to her lips.

She sighed. "And after that? After you've decided to give this all up?"

"I don't know yet. I haven't thought about it. I cannot leave the reservation the next few years anyways, so why should I think about doing something else? Right now I am a vampire-hunting werewolf, that's my job." Hearing this, Bella shot me a strange look but in the end she let the matter drop. I knew she wasn't happy with what I'd said. She didn't want me to stay in the reservation, running around day and night, chasing vampires. But what else could I do? I'd given up school entirely and college had never been an option for me anyways. Working as something else had never occurred to me. I knew, for a normal sixteen-year-old teenager this was the time to think about their future but I wasn't normal, was I?

Tires screeched and an engine roared and was cut down. Charlie was home.

With a sigh I pushed Bella away a little so I could stand up. "I should go" I said. "Charlie wouldn't be happy to see me in bed with you. But I'll stay close by and come back once he's asleep, alright?"

The key was turned in the locker and the door opened. "I'm home!" Charlie called to announce his return. I went to the window and opened it just enough that I could go through.

Bella watched me as I did my usual ritual of climbing down the tree and jogged away to the forest. I'd stay there and wait until the lights turned out and it was safe for me to return. I could hear Bella and Charlie talking but I was too far away to hear anything else than minor fragments. I didn't matter. If it was anything important, Bella would tell me afterwards. With a sigh I stretched down on the mossy ground and closed my eyes for a bit, waiting and waiting and waiting.