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"Why would they be a problem?" I ask.

I think back, trying to recall any moments of tension or hostility between the Cullens and my La Push friends, but there's none.

There's a possibility it could be Quil, considering he's always been a jerk, but that's another discussion for a different time.

My memory is slightly hazy, as if I'm seeing things underwater, but I remember things perfectly.

It's just a few faces and locations that are murky.

Despite that, I remember everyone getting along well … really well, in fact, considering everything you read or watch, say vampires and werewolves should be mortal enemies or some shit.

Which, in my opinion, is kind of ridiculous.

Why should they be enemies? Who else but another freak of nature would understand you?

But I digress and focus on the current situation, especially since Edward hasn't answered my questions and Jasper wouldn't stop asking his.

"What's going on?" Jasper demands, his voice rising the longer he's unanswered. "What's wrong?"

"You and your loud mouth!" I snap. "Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"You both shut up!" Dad says, entering the room. He settles next to Jasper on the couch, a grunting sigh leaving him as he does so.

I stifle a laugh against my fingers, putting on an innocent expression when he shoots me a dark look. In response, he rolls his eyes with a bemused shake of his head.

I want to ask where Rose is and how she's doing, but before I can utter a word, she walks into the room, dabbing at her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

"What's going on?" Dad asks, looking between Jasper and me.

Jasper scowls. "That's what I'd like to know, but no one will tell me."

"I can't say what I don't know, can I?" I counter, raising an eyebrow and pointing at him before pointing at Edward. "I'm not the mind reader here."

Edward's head rolls toward me, looking equal parts irritated and apprehensive. "I can't read minds over the phone."

Shooting him a big grin, I rest my chin on my palm. "And you still can't read my mind," I tease with a sing-song quality.

"Thank the heavens for small favors," he mutters.

I cackle at his phrasing. "You sound like an old man."

"An old man you're dating. Who's the weird one in this relationship?"

Pretending to ponder, I run my fingers through his hair, lightly scratching at his scalp. "Mmm. I'm gonna say you. Still, you're old enough to know better. I'm young and naïve and innocent."

Edward snorts before erupting in laughter. "How you said that with a straight face, I'll never know. You probably haven't been naïve and innocent since you were in the womb."

"There you go again. Weirdo."

"Okay, enough," Dad gruffly inputs, shifting in his seat. "Let's not remind me of the age difference between my daughter and her boyfriend."

"We're both seventeen," Edward replies with fake innocent.

"Yeah, both in age and maturity," I add with a firm nod.

Edward scoffs while Dad rolls his eyes once more. "That, I believe. Back on topic, what's the issue?"

Jasper sits up straighter, his face curious and intent.

"We haven't told Jacob about Bella."

A feeling of dread slithers down my spine, freezing me at the sight of Dad's eyes widening in alarm and Edward only nodding solemnly in return.

I refuse to believe that they'd hurt the Cullens; there's too much friendship between them for it to fall apart because of something like this, but what do I know?

From Billy's stories, I know the wolves and the vampires haven't always had an easy-going and friendly relationship.

At one point, they were both set to stay on separate sides of a boundary line because Billy's ancestors felt that all vampires were evil and couldn't be trusted.

I believe the only thing that kept them from attacking the Cullen was that their diet was so obvious, thanks to their golden eyes.

Even with that, they were still seen as monsters that needed to be watched carefully … and they definitely weren't to be trusted under any circumstances.

From what I could piece together from the bits I've heard from Jacob and the Cullens, these boundaries and distrust didn't disappear until recently—when Jacob's mother died.

The Cullens had helped Billy and tried to help Sarah after a vampire had made their car crash but couldn't save her because of the severity of her injuries.

When they had helped Billy avenge his wife's death, a solid trust was formed, along with friendships that have lasted for years.

Now, with my transformation, would that be ruined?

I don't see how it could; they didn't seem to care about my mother being turned, so why would they care about me?

"What's that look for?" I question, looking between Dad and Edward. "Is it going to be … a problem or something? Did they not know about me being bitten?"

"No. And it's going to be an all-out war now. They let your mother's transformation slide, but this one, I'm afraid they won't let go so easily. They'll come for us, and we won't go down without a fight," Edward says, his tone serious.

My mouth drops open in shock, as does Rose and Jasper's. Dad apprehensively shakes his head, keeping surprisingly cool for someone who just heard that their best friend and his family and friends would be attacked.

I can't believe Edward is saying this; I thought he had gotten along well with Jacob and the others. I could go as far as to call them friends … good friends.

So why would Edward talk about hurting them?

Granted, I know he said they wouldn't be happy, but why would you want to hurt someone you consider a friend?

Furthermore, why would they attack us for something out of our control; I was dying anyway, and without Mom and Edward's intervention, I'd be a handful of ash in a tacky urn on top of the fireplace.

I'd hate to be in the middle of this, but if I have to, I'll slam all of their heads together until they pull their heads out of their asses.

"Are you serious?"

Firmly, Edward shakes his head, trying to suppress the smirk at the worried expressions everyone is sporting.

"No. We haven't called them yet to tell them you've woken up, that's all. They're completely in the loop with everything; they're your friends and ours too. We told them everything as you were turning. They kept a watch on Renee and my siblings as they got your mother out of state during her transformation and they did the same with you."

Irritation flares throughout me, and it's only fueled by my dad's throaty chuckle, and the annoying shouts my cousins scream out, their voices cracking as the speaker on the phone fails.

Not caring how much force I use, I shove Edward's shoulder. He must have been expecting it because instead of his body falling into the floor, he slides gracefully, one hand planting itself on my hip with the other trying to grasp my flailing hand, effectively pulling me onto his lap.

"You are such an asshole! I thought you were going to kill them!"

Edward laughs, the sound light and carefree as he tries to calm me down. "You should have known better! You know how close we are to them."

"You sounded serious," I grind out, my annoyance slowly fading.

I can see how he'd thought it would be funny in a way; after all, I have the same slightly dark sense of humor. I suppose that's why he and I get along so well.

Despite the fact that I can see the humor in the situation, my irritation doesn't fade fast enough.

I glare down at him, one hand balled into a fist while the other repeatedly flicks at the top of his ear.

He jerks away from my finger with a slight scowl. "Will you stop?"

"Only if you quit being an asshole."

Childishly, his bottom lip protrudes out, and he gazes up at me through his lashes. His fingers flex on my hips, simultaneously gripping me tighter and pulling me forward until we're lined up in the right spots.

Taking a sharp, deep breath through my nose, I try to keep my face neutral and unaffected, while on the inside, I'm screaming for more.

"I'm sorry," he breathes, rising into a sitting position until his lips are ghosting over mine. "Do you forgive me?"

The breath I had been holding releases in a gust as I start to grind against him, looping an arm around his neck. My fingertips glide over the hair at the back of his neck before sliding up and tugging gently.

Edward's eyes roll into the back of his head, and a low groan rumbles through his chest. Holding me tighter still, his lips blindly seek out mine, pulling my bottom lip between the two of his and sucking lightly.

The sensation sends a shiver throughout me, and an involuntary gasp pulls from my chest.

Edward takes the opportunity to tentatively slip his tongue inside, gently massaging against mine.

His hands tighten on my hips and start to rock me over him smoothly, gliding back and forth over his obvious arousal.

I'm fully aware of everything happening during this moment, from how my breathing starts to accelerate to match Edward's, and how little motivation I need to move over him now.

I find myself rocking against him with little encouragement.

My other hand pulls at the back of his shirt, hearing the seams strain and rip under the pressure of my grip.

Edward grunts in approval, his own fingers tugging at the fabric of my shirt, seeking skin-on-skin contact.

Footsteps just outside the door pull my attention away from what's happening right now, and Edward takes the opportunity to move his lips to my neck, biting and sucking and nipping at every inch he can reach.

Turning my eyes to the door, I see Emmett and Garrett peek inside, their faces both amused and repulsed, while Garrett looks slightly upset.

Just as they see me looking at them, they disappear from sight, their footsteps retreating.

"I told you they were making out again," Emmett gloats. "You owe me fifty bucks."

Garrett groans and the sound of something soft hitting hard flesh can be heard. "I had such high hopes he'd have a stronger will than that."

Emmett snorts. "He's my brother who has his first real girlfriend he cares about; I knew he'd be like this. It's disgusting, but I knew it."

"Ugh. He seems so together and aloof! I thought … whatever," Garrett mutters. "A new wager, then. A hundred says they go all the way, all of us being in the house be damned."

Emmett laughs, the sound loud and gleeful—reminding me of an evil child that knows he's going to destroy his victim, no matter what they do.

"You don't know Bella. Two hundred says—" he breaks off at my warning growl, muttering a quick "never mind" before the sound of a door opening and slamming can be heard.

Edward pulls away from my neck, his eyebrows furrowed together as he searches my face. "What? What's wrong?"

I'm completely baffled at his obvious ignorance, wondering how he missed the entire exchange with his brother and Garrett … but I suppose he was rather distracted.

The thought has me smirking, knowing this is just something else to use to my advantage in the future.

"Nothing," I murmur, settling myself heavier on his lap, smirking when he groans lowly, his arms snaking around my waist to hold me tighter to him. "I just … I'm so … distracted by you," I breathe against his lips.

He hums, the sound vibrating against my lips, and involuntarily, I shiver. It results in Edward groaning again, his lips heavy and persistent against mine.

I return the kiss with equal fervor before pulling back, reminding myself to take slow and even breaths.

"You know what I really want to do now?"

I swear his eyes darken as he focuses on my lips. A cocky grin slowly appears on his face as his tongue peeks out, swiping across his bottom lip.

He leans forward, running his nose over my jawline to my lips.

"I think I—wait," he stops, pulling back suspicion evident in his eyes.

To my disappointment and amusement, the onyx color slowly fades, being replaced with flecks of crimson and gold.

"Are we on the same page here?" he asks, eying me with a mix of doubt and hope.

"You mean calling my cousins back after you broke the phone?" I counter, raising an eyebrow at the shattered remains of plastic and glass a few feet away.

He groans, falling back down to the floor and covering his eyes with his forearm. "I knew it. I knew it!"

I snicker, placing both my palms on the center of his chest and leaning over him. "Aw, come on. It's not that bad."

He doesn't remove the arm from his face as he scoffs. "Says you. You don't have blue balls right now."

"Just because I don't have the same equipment doesn't mean I'm not as equally affected," I tell him, flicking my fingers at his chin.

This makes him uncover his eyes and give me a skeptical glare. "I don't believe you. You're too mean … and you tease me too much. There's no way."

I shrug a shoulder, keeping my face neutral. "Believe what you want; I may be dead, but I'm not dead."

The skeptical look doesn't waver from his face. "Are you telling the truth?"

Meeting his gaze unblinkingly, I raise an eyebrow. "I don't know. You tell me."

He stares at me for a long moment, his fingers flexing on my hips. He cocks his head from right to left and back again, his lips pursed as he tries to read my face.

Or my mind.

Either way, he's not getting anything from me.

I snicker, and he rolls his eyes. "I knew it. I knew you were screwing with me. You're a newborn; there's no way you'd be distracted by sex. Not to mention, you're a giant pain in the ass."

"What does me being a newborn have to do with anything?" I ask, choosing to forget the giant pain in the ass comment.

For now.

He's not wrong, but he still needs some payback for that.

"Newborns typically only care about feeding and learning to adapt to their new senses. Anything else comes much later."

"Aw," I playfully coo, patting his cheek. "Poor baby. How will you survive? I know, picture Emmett in bikini underwear … or your parents doing the tango."

I wink at the last word and laugh when he groans, flopping down onto his back, throwing an arm over his eyes.

"You're evil."

Shrugging again, I jump off him, standing over his prone body with a small smirk. "Stop being a big baby. You survived this long without any action; you can survive a little more. And did you forget we're still in a house full of people? Not. Going. To. Happen, Romeo. Besides, I think we should have a few more successful dates before anything like that happens."

Suddenly, he sits up, grabbing hold of my hand tightly. "That's not … that's not all I want from you, Bella. It's not just about sex for me."

His expression is fearful and uncertain, his eyes wide and eyebrows lifted high on his forehead. He swallows thickly, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

Intermittently, his grip loosens and tightens as he continues to stare at me, silent and still like a statue.

Paying closer attention, I even notice that's he's not even breathing.

He seems to be really worried about this. If I were any other lovesick teenage girl, and if he any other horny teenage boy, I'd be concerned.

But I know the truth.

I know he wants me, it's pretty obvious, and while I like my desires to be a secret from him, I can't lie to myself. I do want him, but the moment has never been right.

Especially now.

That doesn't mean sometime in the future it won't be the right moment, but that doesn't mean I'm going to jump in bed with him on a whim either.

I may be impulsive and reckless, but I'm not going to do anything until I'm completely sure … and as much as Edward pisses me off, I really enjoy his company and care about him a lot.

I might even love him, even though we haven't technically dated that long, but I feel something for him I can't deny.

Internally, I smack myself because I sound like one of Mom's cheesy romance movies.

"Bella," he stammers out with an uncertain whisper, effectively knocking me out of my head.

I'm so annoyed that it takes so little to distract me; I just hope it passes, and soon, because this shit is getting old really fast.

Interlacing his fingers with mine, I squeeze his fingers once before leaning down toward him.

"Edward, if I were worried about it, I wouldn't be here … and I would have kicked you in the balls a long time ago. Or gotten Alice to do it," I quickly amend when he raises an eyebrow in question.

"Anytime you want, Bella!" Alice tells me.

Edward shoots a dark look toward the door before returning his attention toward me. "With everything that's happened … between us … physically, and with everything today, I thought you'd think—"

"I don't. But once more, not in a house full of people who can hear every little thing."

"Have some self-control!" A female voice calls out, followed by the sound of a door closing. It's definitely familiar and one of the new faces I've met since my awakening.

I think for a moment, immediately seeing Tanya's face pop up in my head.

"Make good use of the showers," she continues, playful ribbing clear in her tone.

"Mind your own business, Tanya," Edward snaps. "You're not one to talk."

"He's not wrong," Kate drawls.

Ignoring our audience, I bend down so I can stare into his eyes. "Don't worry, okay? We're good. If I ever feel like you're pushing too hard, I'll let you know. Trust me."

"I believe it," he mumbles with a playful roll of his eyes.

"You better … and besides, you're cute and all, but honestly?" I scrunch my nose as if I smell something rotten and shrug my shoulders. "Not that much. In the moment, sure, but otherwise? With your teenage angst and your personality? Ugh, no."

Our audience erupts in an uproar, the sound of their combined laughter rattling the windows and seemingly shaking the walls.

"You're such a jerk," he tells me with a straight face, but I'm not fooled by it at all.

I cackle, standing once more. "Ditto. Now, I need another phone to continue the call you so rudely interrupted."

His mouth drops open as his eyes widen to comical proportions. "M-m-me? Me?"

"Yes, you. Thank you for admitting it. Now, where's your phone?"

Before I'm done, Mom glides into the room, looking equal parts unimpressed and unamused. In her hand is another cell phone, and she waves it in front of our faces.

"Do not break this one."

"Edward did it," I childishly proclaim, flinging a finger in his direction.

"I did not! You were the one who tackled me."

"Because you were being an asshole!"

"It was a joke," he drawls, turning his head to left and right and back again as if he's trying to loosen up the muscles.

Deciding to lessen the tension, I nod, nudging his thigh with my foot. "It was mildly funny."

"Did your sense of humor come back?"

Bringing a hand up, I pinch my fingers together, so there's a little sliver of space between them. "This much. But don't go into comedy for a full-time gig, okay? Your dry personality completely takes away from any humor."

"It was fine before I met you."

"Aw," I pretend to gush, clasping my hands over my chest before flipping him off. "It's funny you really believe that."

"I like her," I hear Tanya say, followed by Kate and Irina's approved murmurs.

Edward chuckles, his smile soft and tender as he stares up at me.

Mom steps beside me, looking as if she's going to hand over the cell phone in her hand, but at the last minute, she snatches it away, holding it an arm's length away.

Glancing between the two of us, her expression is stern and firm, but she can't keep it up for long. Joy and light return to her features, brightening up her face even more.

She's beautiful, and I pity Dad because I'm sure she's had a few more admirers since her transformation.

"Don't break this one," she repeats. "This is Esme's, and I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate you breaking her phone like you did mine."

Smiling sweetly, I lay my head on her shoulder. "Sorry, Ma."

She shakes her head, pushing my head with a giggle. "Sure, you are. Now, I'm going to hand this over to you. Behave."

I start to reach for it, but she hands it over to a gloating and smug Edward.

"Why do you get it?"

"Because you were holding your mom's phone too tightly, and it cracked on the sides. I'm actually surprised it lasted as long as it did."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Mom says, pointing a finger at the both of us. "Behave."

She leaves the room, gently closing the door behind her. It makes me wonder why she did such a thing, considering a closed door doesn't really impede our hearing; I can still everything—and everyone—with crystal clarity.

I suppose it's the action a closed-door represents; solitude and privacy, as opposed to it actually working that way … especially in a house filled with vampires.

With a shocking amount of grace, I sit on the floor, folding my legs underneath me with fluid ease. I blink rapidly, astounded I had done such a thing without stumbling or losing my balance.

Edward chuckles, the corners of his eyes crinkled as he stares, shaking his head at my recent marvel.

"Stop laughing and call them back."

He gives me a salute before his fingers fly over the screen. "Yes, Ma'am. Here," he holds it in front of me, so I can easily see the screen.

Immediately, the speaker buzzes with a low ring, the screen dark with my father's name across the top in bold letters. My eyes drift down to the bottom right, where my face can be seen.

My features are definitely sharper and more defined, but overall, I still look the same.

Just paler.

With ruby eyes.

And with my hair all one color.

I scowl at that, focusing on the screen as I hear it ring.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! The next part is done so it'll be posted quickly. :)

Stay safe, friends.