Jacob PoV

When I saw Bella leaving my side to confront Jared about his rude behaviour, I thought my heart would stop. How many times had I told her that it ALWAYS was a bad idea to anger a werewolf? And yet, here she was again, talking to Jared and Sam like an angry mother telling off her children. I could practically see the veins in Sam's head pounding, ready to burst.

My body had gone full defence mode, ready to strike the second any of them made a move against Bella. But I was already on Sam's bad side by defying him so often that I didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble. So, I stayed where I was, although my wolf urged me to step up to her side.

Luckily, Carlisle had interceded before things could get too ugly and Sam had finally left. But not before he had commanded me to come with him.

We will go to my house to come up with an attack plan and discuss tomorrow. That goes for you as well, Jacob

Shouldn't I stay here with Bella and the vampires? Just in case anything new comes up?

We already know everything we need. It's time to come home, Jacob

I don't think that's a good idea. They won't be able to reach us in an emergency

Jacob, I know this is hard for you, but this whole thing has been going on for too long. You are starting to lose focus. You forget what and who you are. Just because you love her doesn't mean you have a free pass about everything. The bloodsuckers have always been and will always be our enemies. You were born to hunt them not to cuddle with them

I know who I am, Sam. I know what my duty is. But in this case Bella is right. They are different. Laurent, Victoria, they are evil. They must be destroyed. But the Cullens are different. They've never hurt any human and have always respected the treaty

Cullens? Different? Just listen to yourself Jacob. You are already talking like one of them Paul said They are vampires, bloodsuckers, leeches. There aren't good ones and bad ones, Jacob. We need them right now to clean up the mess they've made but after that, they are welcome to go to hell

Shut up, Paul I sent back

Don't you tell me to shut up, Jake.

Paul, Jake, cut it. You are brothers, quarrelling will only lessen the strength of the pack. Jacob, you'll come, now

I felt my body already starting to move as it obeyed the Alpha. But, for the first time, I tried to defy his command. I didn't want to go, I didn't want to face them, see the hatred in their eyes, the unspoken word traitor and vampire lover.

I had felt the tension grow each time I phased to fill them up on the newest happenings. The others, who had already been on the edge, were starting to complain about the Cullens and the non-happenings. It hadn't helped when Collin and Brady had suddenly phased, most probably as a reaction to the many vampires nearby. I hadn't told Bella anything yet because it would only make her feel guilty but the two phasings had only worsened the situation. Most of the pack were starting to show their hatred openly, wanting the vampires to leave since Victoria obviously wouldn't come and the vampires were lying. Even the more reasonable ones like Embry, Quil or Seth hadn't dared to oppose them.

I felt more and more at home with Bella and more and more distant to the reservation. Yes, I missed my dad and even my old house but the thought of going back there, to resume my old life of going on patrols during the night, sleeping during the day and sometimes visiting Bella in the meantime had started to fade more and more each day. I know that life as it was now couldn't go on forever but it made me think about what I wanted my life to be in the future. I maybe only sixteen on paper but I felt a lot older, a lot more responsible than a normal sixteen-year-old would be. I thought about the future, mine's and Bella's and I found that I didn't see it like this. I didn't want to watch from the sidelines while Bella graduated, went to college while I ran patrol and watched movies with the rest. This wasn't what I wanted my life to be and right now it felt like I would go right back in this life if I followed Sam's orders.

So I took every bit of strength I had in my mind and stayed put.

Sam recognised that Jacob? What are you doing? I told you to come, right now

No. I won't leave her

Jacob, I am your Alpha and as this I command you to come back. Now

No

A heat rose in me, not unlike the fever that had taken me right before I had first phased. My wolf and I fought a strange battle. On the one side was the loyalty to our Alpha, the law that you had to obey him no matter what. On the other side was the urge to stay, stay right here, at her side. My body felt like it was torn in two and with a painful yelp I went down, my feet kicking helplessly in the air.

I thought I heard voices, alarmed voices that called my name, asked me what was wrong but they mingled with the voices in my head, the voices of Sam and the pack. The wolf growled and bit and kicked and snapped. A sharp pain ran through my skull, tearing it in two, separating it from everything else.

And then it was over.

Just as suddenly as it had begun, everything was alright again. My body, though still weak, held my weight as I stood up on shaky legs. My vision was still blurry ad I couldn't see anything else than mere shadows. I shook my fur and with my front paw wiped over my nose.

"Jacob? Are you okay?" At first I thought that this was the voice of one of my brothers, Quil maybe but soon I realised it was coming from outside my head. And that was when it hit me.

Quiet.

Everything was quiet.

I heard the birds in the trees, the wind blowing and branches snapping as someone stepped on them but apart from that? Total silence.

I had become so used to the constant chatter inside my head every time I had phased that it came to me almost like a loss.

Just to try it out, I called Sam? Leah? Quil? Someone there? Hello?

But still, utter silence. What had happened? Why couldn't I hear them anymore? Had it something to do with the fact that I had disobeyed Sam's orders? But how could this be? He was the Alpha, I had to obey him whether I wanted to or not. But then...

I shut the idea in the back of my mind. I would deal with it but not now. My vision had cleared and I was finally abele to see something more.

"Jacob?" I turned my head and saw the red-haired one, Alice standing on my right, arms outstretched, her body tense. Did she think I would attack her? When I looked around I realised that everyone of the Cullens stood the same way. They all had their eyes fixed on me, their bodies tense as if they waited for an attack. One of them, a young blond one (was his name Jasper?) had a nasty looking wound on his left arm. He as standing right in front of Bella, who looked at me in shock and terror. My heart stopped for one minute before I realised that she was not afraid of me but for me. I admit, it must have looked really scary when I had dropped like a marionette without strings and started to convulse.

To show them I was not a threat anymore, I laid down on all fours and lowered my head, something that would have been impossible a few weeks ago. But Bella trusted the vampires so much and I trusted her and this gave me the strength to defy everything that I had once believed in and lay down in front of six vampires who seemed like they were ready to attack at any moment.

"Jake!" I heard Bella scream and somehow she managed to dive under the arm of the blond vampire and run to my side. The shouts of the other vampires she ignored as she buried first her hands then her head deep in my fur.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed having her at my side and finally, finally, having this moment only to ourselves.