When school was over, I caught up with Edward while he was on his way to his car.

"Edward, wait!" I called. Hoping he wouldn't take off before I could reach him. He was kind though and stuck around. "I'm so sorry you had to hear that. I was so distracted I didn't even realise we'd arrived at the class. I never meant to hurt you."

"I know, but you did. I have to go."

"Edward, please."

"No, I really do have to go. The meeting?"

"Right, well… just please don't hate me." I practically begged. I meant it, I wanted to be able to be friends with him, and hoped that someday he would find who he was meant to be with so that would be possible.

"I love you Bella, I could never hate you." He hopped into his car and drove off for the meeting.

I hated doing this to Edward. He was a good man, despite everything, he had amazing morals. How were things ever going to be easy between us? I walked toward my truck and saw Jessica leaning against it.

"Hey so, I'm feeling really like, chill about everything so I was hoping whatever else there was I could learn today. I mean, I just kind of want to get it over with ya know? That way life can kind of go back to normal."

"There's this meeting between the pack and the Cullen's. I need to go but maybe after?"

"I can come. I'll be good, really. I survived school with vampires, and a party with werewolves." Jessica said. Making sure no one was close enough to hear. "I can do this."

"Well, alright. Hop in." I pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward La Push, the familiar rumbling of Jasper's motorcycle could be heard behind us.

"Is that Jasper and Alice?" Jessica asked. Looking in the passenger side mirror.

"Yeah, so there's this bad Vampire named Victoria, Her mate was after me and Edward killed him. Now she is after me to punish Edward. So I kind of have my own personal body guards. The Cullen's follow me to the treaty line that was mentioned in the story, and a wolf takes over. Usually Jake if he's able. Crap. I have no idea where they planned the meeting."

I pulled over and waited for Jasper to park before hopping out and walking over to them. "So, where is this meeting being held? What time?"

"20 minutes. Quillayute Airport. Turn right where La Push Road T's with Quillayute Road. It's about 15 minutes away. It will be on the right." Jasper said.

"Thank you." Jasper tipped an imaginary hat and waited for me to drive before pulling back onto the road. Exactly as Jasper described, 15 minutes later and an old airport hanger was on our right. Jake and the pack were already standing around, Edwards car was off to the right and he was chatting with his family as I parked the car, followed closely by Jasper and Alice.

Jake's face lit up when he saw me but scrunched when he saw Jessica hop out.

"Hey. I thought we were waiting to bombard her with more information?" he said, coming up to me.

"She insisted. She's been fine all day so she says she's ready."

"Good enough for me." He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek then jogged back to his pack.

"Ok, so where to begin. I told you about being under protective services, uh. Oh! So Victoria has decided to form a small but dangerous army of newly changed vampires to get to me since obviously nobody plans on letting anything happen to me and 1 against… uh however many people are here, is just too much for her. The 2 sides here are going to attempt to put away their differences and work together to stop the threat before anyone gets hurt."

"So you're like, literally under protective services." Jessica seemed scared but she was handling things well so I continued.

I could see Embry move closer to us in the corner of my eye. "So, the rest of it, there is this thing called imprinting. When a wolf sees essentially their soul mate, something happens and they imprint. Now this does not mean that this soul mate has to be in a relationship with them but it does mean that their wolf is drawn to this person. Many times it does end in a relationship but the biggest factor is protection. They would protect their imprint with their life. I'm Jake's. Leaving to protect them from this army wouldn't even be possible, even if I wanted to. Which I don't just to clarify. I fell in love with him before he changed to the wolf for the first time. Sam and Leah imprinted on each other but were already in love. Jared imprinted on Kim who had feelings for him but he never realised his feelings until later. And…"

Embry stepped forward, into our view. Jessica looked up at him. "I imprinted on you."

"You're saying you're… my soul mate? I'm sorry but, I don't even know you." I could see the hurt on Embry's face and had to step in.

"No one is asking you to fall in love with him, or even be with him. Just, get to know him and understand that he wants to keep you safe."

"Ok. I can do that."

"Thank you, Bella." Embry said, then sat down next to Jessica until he was needed for something.

Jessica and Embry chatted quietly to each other while the Cullen's talked to Jake and Sam. Eventually Carlisle spoke to everyone. Jasper had an experience with newborn vampires and would gave tips to help the pack, and even the other vampires deal with the situation with hopefully minimal damage on our side. After a bit of talking and some tips and tricks, the wolves sat around, watching the vampires spar. At one point, Jasper called Alice over and I tensed.

"Bella." Jasper began. "I know you worry about her. I'm going to show you why you shouldn't"

Jasper lunged for Alice and to my human eyes it appeared as though he went right through her. She didn't move yet he didn't touch her. I heard a gasp come from Jessica as she watched, seeing the vampires in all their glory for the first time. The pack, except for Embry was sitting around as wolves, taking in the lesson. Eventually I watched only Alice and noticed that she actually was moving, a sidestep, or step forward or backward that was perfectly timed left her out of reach every single time. She must be seeing where he plans to go before he goes there. Even with the wolves nearby, she managed to see her little circle of space clearly. I had no idea what the range on the werewolf blackout curtain was but maybe after they were done, I should find out. And maybe I should talk to Alice about that theory she had about me being a shield. Would it be possible to train that part of me as a human or would it only be possible as a vampire?

I focused back on the sparring match. Jasper's skill against vampires and Edward's mind reading ability left their matches at a tie, every single time. The newborns would have the strength but Edward would definitely have the upper hand since they don't have Jasper's skill. Esme and Rosalie held their own as well, though Jasper's skill meant he usually won in the end. I could see they were definitely not helpless. As the evening sun hit Jasper just right compared to where I sat, I noticed scars all over his skin, shining in the diamond reflections of the light as it hit him, similar to my own crescent scar left behind after James attacked me. I made a mental note to ask Alice about it at school so he couldn't hear.

At the end of the night, Jake decided that everyone should learn the Cullen's scents to not confuse them during the fight, or at the border, which apparently happened with Emmett last night. None of the pack except Jake was comfortable around the vampires in human form since they didn't have their large jaws to protect them if something happened but he was phased to hear the thoughts of his pack members, except for Embry who chose not to phase so he could talk to Jess. Embry went behind my truck, undressed and phased to join the pack at sniffing the Cullen's.

Jessica looked in awe as Embry emerged from behind my truck. His wolf form was beautiful. All of theirs were but the rest were far enough away from us that you couldn't really tell their size or individual features. As Embry walked past, Jessica got a glimpse at just how big he was, and how soft his fur looked. He was closer than Jake was after he phased at the party. She looked amazed at the wolf in front of her and I had hope for their future.

The wolves, one by one, walked toward each member of the Cullen family and sniffed, their lips unwillingly pulling away from their teeth as they snarled from the smell hurting their noses. Jake told me it was a sickeningly sweet burn, like someone poured sugar into a fire and the hot sugar crystals floated into your nose.

I watched as each wolf took their turn, and my gaze went to the beautiful reddish brown fur that I knew to be Jake. His fur was longer than the others, shaggy in comparison as he let some of his hair grow out this past month. He was taller than the rest and his stance was casual, somehow exuding nonchalance over what the rest obviously considered an ordeal.

The enormous russet-colored wolf seemed to feel my gaze, and be looked up at me. I stared back at him and could tell there was wonder and fascination on my face. It was still so unreal watching Jake as a giant wolf.

Jake's muzzle fell open, pulling back over his teeth. It would have been a frightening expression, even to me. Except that his tongue lolled out the side in a wolfy grin.

I giggled.

Jake's grin widened over his sharp teeth at the sound. He left his place in line, ignoring the eyes of his pack as they watched him. He trotted past Jasper, Edward and then Alice to stand in front of me. Jessica moved a bit further away. I could see everyone, vampire and wolf alike, tense as he got much closer than any of them felt a wolf should be to someone so easily hurt.

Jake crouched down on his front legs and dropped his head so that his face was no higher than mine, staring at me.

"Hey, Jake." I reached my hand out and touched the red-brown fur on the side of his face.

His black eyes closed, and Jake leaned his huge head into my hand. A thrumming hum resonated in his throat.

The fur was both soft and rough, and warm against my skin. I ran my fingers through it, learning the texture, stroking his neck where the color deepened. I hadn't realised how close I'd gotten; without warning, Jake suddenly licked my face from chin to hairline.

"Ew! Gross, Jake!" I complained, jumping back and smacking him, just as I would have if he were human. He dodged out of the way, and the coughing bark that came through his teeth was obviously laughter.

I wiped my face on the sleeve of my shirt, unable to keep from laughing with him.

It was at that point that I realised that everyone was still watching us, the Cullens and the werewolves-the Cullens with perplexed and somewhat disgusted expressions. It was hard to read the wolves' faces.

And then there was Edward, on edge and clearly disappointed. I realised he'd been hoping for a different reaction from me. Like screaming and running away in terror, right into his arms where he thought I belonged.

Jake made me the laughing sound again.

The other wolves were backing away now. Not taking their eyes off the Cullens as they departed. Jake stood by my side, watching them go. Soon, they disappeared into the murky forest. Only two hesitated by the trees, watching Jake, their postures radiating anxiety. I didn't know the way the others looked but I knew I didn't see them in the clearing that day and figured Quil, Leah or Seth were there, likely Leah and Seth since they seemed to stick together a lot.

Jake ran into the trees and I waited, knowing he was going to come back on two feet. A few moments later, Jake jogged over to where I was standing, smiled, then turned to the Cullens.

"We have a lot to discuss, but there's time. Mostly, we need a plan. If either of you," Jake looked to me then Alice, "get a better idea of how and when they will strike, we need to know right away. Deal?"

"Deal." Alice said and I nodded. I knew we were good for the party though. I wouldn't have went along with it if there was any reason not to.

As Jake spoke with Alice and Edward, I sent him a text, knowing he wouldn't see it until he was gone.

/I miss you. Can't wait to be in your arms again./ I wanted to say more and thought about it for a moment, I decided to take the plunge and say how I was feeling. /Can't wait for you to be inside me again. I need you./ I hit send before I convinced my fingers to erase it all. My phone seemed to be refusing to send the message, must not have good reception out here.

"We'll be practicing as much as we can. If nobody sees anything new, we meet May first, Sun up, which will give us at least two weeks to figure out what we should do to prepare."

Carlisle agreed and everyone started to go their own ways, those in vehicles walking past us to leave, except Alice and Edward who stuck around. I was expecting Alice, but not Edward as well.

"Hey, baby. Miss me?" Jake asked, winking, which made me giggle again. "When do I get to see you again?"

"Crap. I work, tomorrow and Wednesday then doing the project for Bio with Angela. I won't be able to see you until the weekend again. Also Angela asked if we'd join her and Paul on a double date. I said yes."

"So I don't get to see you for a whole week and my time has to be shared with another couple? I want time with you…" Jake glanced over at Alice and Edward, then mouthed the word "alone."

"I know, Jake. I miss you too, but I think it will be fun. A real date? I'll pay."

"Bells, there is no way in hell you are paying for our first date. I have some money saved up. Was going to use it for the rabbit but, I mean. I never have time anymore and even if I did, no way I'll ever even fit in it since my growth spurts."

"No, you are not allowed to just give up on that car. Not on my watch, bucko." Jake laughed at me, then agreed to let me pay.

"You're adorable, you know that?" Jake whispered then kissed me on my nose. I blushed and tried to hide it. "Yup, absolutely adorable. I have to go. I assume they'll be keeping an eye on you?" I nodded, not knowing why they stayed but assumed it was two people watching me from now on, just in case.

/DING/

Jake reached for the pocket of his jeans but I grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Look at it later. Please?" I shifted my eyes toward Edward. Jake nodded, said goodbye and jogged off toward the trees.

"Bella." Alice said in her sing-songy voice. "You wanted to ask me something?"

I thought for a moment, did I? Then remembered. "Yes! I was hoping you could train me, to use my shield thingy.

"Of course. I will. We can get started right now, or. Yes. That works better. Let's go."

"Where to?"

"Your house." Edward was the one to reply.