The Alpha Female

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

The Alpha Female

Chapter 28

Bella stared both warily and incredulously at Bree following her statement. This newborn vampire wanted to help her and Jacob get an upper hand on Victoria? She wanted to help get one over on her? Blinking Bella asked suspiciously, "How do I know you're not working for Victoria and trying to fool me right now?"

Bree fidgeted for a moment before saying, "I don't like this life. There is nothing appealing about it and my choice on whether I wanted it or not was taken from me. Riley, Victoria's partner, coaxed me in by asking me out on a date and when I thought we were going to kiss, he knocked me out instead. When I woke up later, Victoria was standing over me and she bit me. And in doing so, cursed me with this dreadful existence. I'm not me anymore; I'm scared of me, of what I am. The Bree Tanner I know me to be died the night Victoria bit me. Now I'm just a bloodthirsty shell of myself simply existing. I have no purpose anymore, but I'd like to think that I can have one by helping in your endeavors to stop Victoria."

It was quiet for a moment before Bella finally spoke. With a nod she asked, "Would you like to come inside? Or would it be better for you out here to avoid my dad?"

"Out here, if that's alright. I don't want the temptation."

Nodding in understanding, Bella called back inside the house that she would be outside and shut the door behind her as she stepped out on the porch. Standing in front of Bree completely now she said, "I'd like to hear any information that you have, if you have any. It would be good to relay it to Jacob. But we're also dealing with the betrayal of one of our Pack members as well."

The vampire nodded and said, "The one Victoria is using for information, yes I know of him. Is…is he in a lot of trouble?"

"Unfortunately, and Jacob isn't going to show him any mercy about it. I'm trying to find a way to spare Paul's life if possible. Jacob is very adamant about ending his life about what he's done."

"Unless Victoria kills him first. I'm sure that once she's gotten everything she needs from him, she'll kill him before your Jacob has a chance to."

That wasn't something Bella had thought about, but now that Bree had said it she wouldn't put it past the vengeful redhead. Victoria would use Paul for all he was and then get rid of him when his use was up. She felt like she should let Jacob know about it, but knowing how her boyfriend felt about Paul currently, he probably would find Victoria killing Paul a blessing to the Pack. She still needed to see what Charlie thought from a neutral standpoint, but she'd have to ask him about it later if possible. For the time being, she wanted to get as much information from Bree as possible about Victoria and her plans.

Looking at Bree Bella said, "Let's talk more tomorrow, okay? You can come back here or I can meet you somewhere, if you're comfortable being in public, that is."

"I…I can try. I mean…" It was obvious Bree didn't particularly like the idea of being in public while trying to gain control of her bloodlust.

Not wanting the idea to overwhelm the young vampire, Bella calmed her down before saying, "Just come back here tomorrow then, and we'll talk in the woods behind my house."

"Okay, thank you. I'll be going now, I have to make sure Riley and Victoria don't realize I'm still alive."

Confused by her statement, Bella asked her what she meant. Bree blinked for a moment before saying, "Victoria showed up with that Cullen vampire and they suddenly started to kill all of the newborns Victoria had created; even Riley got in on it. I was fortunate enough to get away before they realized I was missing. I'm not sure why when she had put so much effort into making all of us, but she destroyed all of us, all of them but me."

Bree then bid Bella 'goodbye' and took off into the night, leaving the brunette to stand on her porch in shock. Victoria had destroyed her newborn army? But why would she do that? She thought she was going to use them to attack the Pack and get to her. Unless…

Unless she found out that we knew about it and is now changing her plans, Bella thought. And the only way she would know about it is if Paul had told her.

Realizing this, Bella rushed back inside and to the kitchen where Charlie was still sitting. She ran to the phone and picked it up, dialing the Black's home number and listening to it ring. She hoped someone picked up, because she really needed to tell Jacob this new bit of information. The phone rang and rang in her ear, Bella believing that it wouldn't be answered. When the phone stopped ringing and she instead heard Billy's voice on the voicemail, she hung up and turned back to her father.

"I know I just got here, but I need to go back to the Reservation," she told him.

Charlie frowned for a moment before asking, "Do you want me to take you?"

"You don't have to, I ran here after all."

"I know, but I'd feel better if you let me drive you. Especially with everything going on and you being in the middle of it and an obvious target. Also, you're pregnant and I don't want anything happening to you or my unborn grandchild."

Bella felt her heart warm in her chest hearing Charlie's concern. She knew her dad knew she was capable of protecting herself now, but he still wanted to protect and look out for her as best as he could, and it made her love and appreciate her father all the more. Smiling Bella accepted and it wasn't long before they were out of the house and in the police cruiser on their way to La Push.

Embry watched Jacob pace back and forth to dispel his anger over his argument with Bella. Jacob hadn't been too pleased that Bella was against the decision for Paul to die for committing treason, but he couldn't blame Bella for her opposing opinion. He too wasn't for Paul's death, but he also wasn't stupid enough to believe that Paul would show remorse for what he had done. Paul had always been the wild card in the Pack and he was very unpredictable. And this time, his unpredictability was leading the Pack to slaughter in his attempts to get rid of the Alpha Female.

Sick of watching his friend pace, Embry spoke up saying, "Jake, calm down. You can't be upset with Bella about this."

Jacob stopped pacing and sighed before saying, "I'm not upset with her about her opposition to what we've voted upon concerning Paul. I'm upset with myself that I lost my temper with her briefly. I know Bella is against it and I know I should be too, but I also have to think about the well-being of not only the Pack, but the tribe as well as Bella and our baby. I know it would be simpler to just banish the prick, but I can't take the chance that he'll come back to finish what he started and actually kill Bella. I'm not willing to take that chance."

Nodding in understanding Embry said, "Well, at least we can plan accordingly to knowing of this redhead's newborn army. I'm just sad about the fact that Paul doesn't even realize he's being used."

"He's even more of an idiot if he hasn't realized it yet. All she's doing is stringing him along to pull information out of him about us. But so long as he sticks by her and doesn't know of our plans, then that gives us a bit of an advantage over their plans."

"And what about Cullen helping Victoria? You know he's only doing so to get Bella back."

"His frozen ass is mine to kill. Both him and Paul will die by my hands."

A dark look came over Jacob's face as he said this and something in his brown eyes shifted, making Embry look at him warily. He felt as if his Alpha was planning something or going to, and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. That, and it was obvious that Jacob probably wasn't going to take Bella's feelings into account. Bella, her being the Alpha Female, was his partner in every aspect and according to Old Quil, was also supposed to be his voice of reason if he ever began to stray from reason. He only hoped Bella would be able to be that voice for Jacob before it was too late.

A black wolf walked up to them from the darkness of the woods and Jacob greeted, "Sam."

Sam phased from his wolf form back to human and put on his cutoff shorts before saying, "I saw Charlie's cruiser headed into La Push while I was patrolling. Bella was in it with him."

Surprised to hear that Jacob said, "I wasn't aware that Bella had left."

Embry rolled his eyes before saying, "You guys had fought before you left. She probably did so to cool her head as well."

"Maybe, but she had an anxious look on her face when I glimpsed her," Sam said in reply.

Hearing that his mate was anxious about something, Jacob took off running through the woods back towards his home, knowing that was where Bella and Charlie were heading. It wasn't long before he emerged from the trees at his house, Charlie's cruiser pulling up in front of it about the same time. As Bella got out of the cruiser, he ran up to her and wrapped her up in a hug before asking, "What's the matter, honey?"

Not really surprised at Jacob's sudden appearance, Bella hugged him in return and said, "I thought you were upset with me."

"I can never be mad with you for long, Bells. Sam saw you guys coming and said you looked anxious. What's the matter?" He suddenly got a whiff of his beloved and frowned smelling the scent of an unknown vampire on her. "And why do you smell like a leech? Did you encounter one?"

Charlie, having gotten out of the cruiser and was listening, stepped up to them and said, "We had gotten an unexpected visitor and she gave Bella some information that she believes that you could do with."

Just then Billy opened the door to his home and said, "Alright, come inside you all. Let's discuss this in here."

Jacob, Bella, and Charlie all walked inside the little red house, joining Billy inside and they all moved to the kitchen to sit at the table. Once they were all settled Billy asked, "What is going on?"

Bella swallowed before saying, "Well, Paul has betrayed us and is working with Victoria. Jacob took a vote with the Pack and they voted for his death."

Billy looked at his son before saying, "Yes, I'm aware of that. Sam and Leah stopped by while you both were gone to fill me in."

"It's not up for discussion, dad," Jacob said stubbornly.

"That's fine, it's your choice as Alpha. But what else has happened?"

"A vampire named Bree Tanner suddenly showed up on our doorstep to tell me that she wanted to help aid us in our fight with Victoria," Bella answered. "Victoria created her and she hates her existence now. But that's not all that she wanted. She also told me that Victoria and Edward have completely destroyed the entire newborn army."

Jacob's eyes widened in shock before saying, "What?"

Nodding Bella said, "Yes, and he was able to get away before they realized she had done so. But in telling me this, it made me think that Victoria had taken that action because she found out we knew about her army."

Charlie nodded and said exactly what Billy and Jacob were thinking. "Paul told her that you all knew."

"Damn it!" Jacob shouted in rage, slamming his fist against the table.

"Son, calm down," Billy said.

"Calm down? Paul is ruining everything for us! Knowing about the army gave us some leeway to be a step ahead, and now he's ruined it!"

Billy have his son a stern look. "You can't let your emotions get the better of you, Jacob. Think rationally about this. The redhead knows about your knowledge of the vampire army and took action to make sure to be a step ahead of you. By this point, it seems to me that she will stop at nothing to make sure she is ahead of you."

Bella nodded and said, "I agree, which is why I want to suggest something I was thinking about while on our way here."

Jacob looked at his girlfriend and asked, "And what's that, Bells?"

Taking a deep breath Bella said, "Along with the help of Bree—if you choose to believe and trust her—we stop waiting for Victoria and Edward to make the next move. I think we should take this fight to them rather than wait for them to bring it to us. I'm sick of sitting around and waiting while they continue to mess with my life, mess with our lives."

A tense silence followed the brunette's words as the three men at the table stared at her. She had spoken with fierce determination and her chocolate brown eyes shone with a fire that they didn't think they had ever seen before. Jacob immediately had reservations about what his mate had said, but he also found he agreed with her. So much was happening and had happened already, and they were just waiting around trying to think of something to do to counteract the redhead's plans. Perhaps it was time they stop waiting and just take her head on. Her, as well as Cullen and Paul.

Taking Bella's hand Jacob asked, "Are you sure, honey? Do you really think it is best if we do that rather than plan things out?"

Squeezing Jacob's hand Bella said, "Jake, we can't continue to keep trying to keep up with Victoria and her ever changing plans. Just us knowing about her army has thrown an wrench in her original plans and it's probably pissed her off. We need to strike while we can."

Billy tilted his head and said, "It might not be a bad idea."

"I still don't want you to get hurt, kiddo," Charlie said in concern.

"I'll be alright, but I have to do this, dad. I can't keep sitting around like I'm afraid. I can do something, I can help now. And I'm going to, no matter what. Victoria is not going to terrorize us anymore."

"And what of Cullen? What will you do about him?"

Jacob gripped Bella's hand tightly saying, "I'll take care of him."

Bella looked at Jacob and said, "No, you won't."

"What?"

"You won't take care of him Jacob, because I'm going to."

Bella's mind was made up completely about that. If anyone was going to get rid of Edward Cullen, it was going to be her. He was a chapter of her life that was trying to overstay its welcome, as unwanted as it was. She had welcomed that chapter into her life, and she needed to be the one to end it at all costs.