Ricochet

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

Chapter Ten

The long drive leading up to the Cullens mansion opened up into a meadow as Jacob approached. He was in his human form now, but the reeking stench of vampire still hit him like a rotten egg in the face. Still, it wasn't as bad as smelling it through his wolf nose. In his human form he was able to tolerate it better.

As the large, graceful house came into view, there seemed no sign of life. Jacob paused a few meters away from the front entrance to study the building. The whole structure was rectangular and well-proportioned, painted a faded white. The southern wall was almost entirely made of glass, with a view of the Calawah river. It was certainly not what you'd imagine for a vampire's crypt.

Of course, Edward Cullen knew he was there. Jacob quickly took one big gulp of air-it would be worse inside the house-and leaped up the porch steps in one graceful bound. The front door opened before his fist touched it, and Edward stood in the entrance, his expression stern.

"I've been expecting you."

Jacob was annoyed at how calm Cullen sounded. He was expecting to be greeted with the same anger that was festering within himself, but then Cullen was a dead thing. Jacob took another deep breath through his mouth. The reek pouring through the door was overpowering.

"You should come inside so we can talk." Edward said in the same detached tone. He stood aside to give Jacob plenty of room to slip past him.

Jacob was reluctant to go inside, but he didn't want Edward to know that. But then remembered that point was moot, because the bloodsucker was probably reading every thought that was inside his head.

Edward closed the door behind them, then led Jacob further into the house. He kept walking, never checking to see if Jacob was going to take advantage and spring at his unprotected back and rip his head from his shoulders. Jacob struggled to shake the satisfying image from his mind.

"I already know you want to kill me, Jacob Black." Edward said patronisingly. "But we both know you're not going to do it. It would hurt Bella. And I know you don't want to do that."

Jacob growled under his breath. "Get out of my head, bloodsucker."

"That's difficult. You are practically shouting your thoughts at me."

Jacob stopped walking when they reached the huge, open plan living room. It was surprisingly open and bright, with few internal walls, with a wide central staircase to the left and a raised area with a grand piano in the centre to the right, as well as a rarely used dining room and kitchen. Jacob had seen it all before the last time he had been inside the house, just before the newborn battle.

Edward slowly turned around to face Jacob. Even though his facial expression remained impassive, his strange amber eyes gave away his true feelings. They burned in their sockets, trained like laser beams on Jacob. They were the eyes of a man who would have enjoyed nothing more than to watch his love rival burn at the stake.

Jacob remained silent as he glared back at Cullen. He didn't bother disguising the hatred in his own eyes.

"You came here to demand that I leave Forks." Edward said, reading his mind again.

"Got it in one, bloodsucker." Jacob ground out.

"You know I'm not going to. As long as Bella stays. So do I."

"Like hell you do." Jacob struggled to control the fine tremors in his hands. His wolf was pushing him to shift and take Edward out. He clenched his fingers together into fists, tightening his jaw in an effort to control the strong urges inside him.

"As I see it, Jacob Black. You really have no choice in the matter." Edward continued with a small smile. "The treaty still stands, does it not?"

Edward's confidant assertion grated on Jacob's nerves. He was desperate to fight, to wipe that smug superiority right off the bloodsucker's face. "I don't care about the treaty."

"Oh, please, enough with the posturing!" Edward sneered. "You will not go against your own pack, no matter how livid you are with me and the situation you now find yourself in."

"Fuck you, Cullen!"

Edward let out an irritated sigh. "Predictable response from one of your kind."

"It is the only type of response that your kind deserve." Jacob turned the insult back on Edward.

"Are we going to talk or not?" Edward snapped petulantly.

"I'm not here to talk. Or make a deal." Jacob said acidly. "I want you gone. I don't want you in my son's life."

"And I don't want to be." Edward stared at Jacob; his words as quiet as a breath. "The boy deserves to be with his own people. He deserves to be with you- his father."

Jacob was perplexed. This wasn't the answer he was expecting. "Then you'll go?"

"Not until Bella decides it is time." Edward gave another sigh, full of exasperation. "I was angry when Rosalie interfered and took CJ, but now I see that it was for the best. A boy with his genes cannot flourish around vampires. Unfortunately, there was no tearing Bella away from him. She loves him deeply."

"Of course, she does." Jacob retorted. "She is his mother."

"And she is my wife." Edward countered through clenched teeth. "As much as it pains me to say it, we both need to take advantage of the opportunity that has fallen into our lap."

Jacob was too enraged to speak. He may not be able to read the bloodsucker's mind, but what he was thinking was obvious.

"Deep down Bella knows that one day she is going to have to face the inevitable and give up her son. When CJ was first born, Carlisle and I tried to persuade her to put him up for adoption. But she was stubborn, as soon as she held CJ in her arms as a baby, there was no way she was ever going to let him go easily. But its time. And I think the transition will be made easier knowing that CJ will be cared for and raised by you."

Jacob felt nauseated. The leech was a complete narcissist. The cold, calculating way he spoke about CJ, as if the boy was nothing but unwanted baggage getting in the way of his perfectly happy ever after. The cold way he dismissed Bella's feelings for her own son as if they meant nothing. Jacob knew there was no way Bella would ever consider giving up CJ, or leaving him behind, even with his own family. She loved him with every fibre of her being. She was his mother. Cullen was seriously deluded if he thought he could persuade her to hand over CJ and leave without looking back.

"You're wrong." Edward answered Jacob's thoughts. "When the time comes, she will do the right thing and leave him behind with you."

"You really are a piece of shit." Jacob shook his head in disbelief. "You disgust me. And when I tell Bella what you have planned, she'll feel the same. You see I know her better than you. I always have. CJ will always come first. She will never leave him…ever."

Edward stared Jacob down for a moment and his face was frenzied under his thin layer of control. "You are basing your assumption on the Bella you used to know. Remember, she always chose me, Jacob Black. Every single time. And she will choose me again. Nothing has changed, she will still turn. Alice has seen it…"

"Bullshit!" Jacob exploded. He sucked in a sharp breath as if someone had punched him in the gut. Something wasn't adding up here. Why was Cullen so confidant that Bella would stay with him? There was something he was missing, something he didn't know.

"You're right." Edward answered his thought again. "There is more."

"What?"

"I expect she will tell you herself." Edward said stiffly, his expression freezing over again. "I have put forward my proposal. Bella and I will leave as soon as CJ is settled with you and not a moment before."

Jacob couldn't think about what Edward was suggesting. It was too much. Impossible. Wrong. Sick. "You don't know Bella at all. You're twisted."

"Once you know the full story, things will become clearer. You will agree that Bella leaving CJ behind with you is the best for all concerned."

"I should kill you right now." Jacob seethed.

"But you won't." Edward murmured. "Right or wrong, you wouldn't want to hurt her."

"We'll see." Jacob warned. He was barely hanging on now. He needed to escape into the fresh air. The leech's stench was messing with his mind. He couldn't fight his wolf much longer. "Don't get too comfortable, Cullen."

Before he lost control completely, Jacob stormed out of the house without looking back. When he reached the outside, he felt the lack of breath through his body, that feeling of tiredness and lethargy. For as his lungs worked hard to bring in the much-needed oxygen, even then he felt as if he was drowning in the air. The only way to feel better was to get fresh air, to phase and run like the wind while he centred his thoughts.

Jacob stripped down and quickly started running. He blurred into his wolf mid-stride. Of course, when he really needed the silence inside his head, it was denied him. They were waiting. His pack. His brothers.

"Jacob. Jake." Eight voices chorused inside his mind.

"What the hell is going on, Jake?" Sam, the Alpha, ordered. He was furious. "Why didn't you warn us the Cullens were back?"

A/N-thanks for reading!