CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

(BPOV)

If there were no magic and no monsters.

How different things would be.

If only...

Jacob read my face with one long look, his gaze dropping down to the floor where my cell lay there by my feet.

The pit in my stomach felt unyielding and it made me nauseated with the echo of Aro's voice still haunting my mind.

"That was Sam." Jacob managed, reaching down to retrieve my cell before handing it over to me.

I tucked it back in my pocket and saw his knowing gaze follow my motions, the both of us struggling to say anything else as the harsh reality settled in around us.

My hands were still trembling when he reached for them and pulled me into his strong arms, his embrace easing some of my panic while he held me close.

"I know-"

"They picked up several new trails, Bells. All of them intertwined somehow. Sam is trying to get to the elders now. He thinks something is coming."

"I- I- kn-know what's coming." I admitted to him, as he pulled back and cradled my face in his warm hands. "-or whose coming. I made a deal with the devil himself."

"You made a promise you were lured into." He countered.

"Not then-... but now." I corrected. "I made a deal."

Jacob narrowed his gaze and studied mine further.

"Who was on the phone with you before I came back inside?" He prompted then.

"Aro...-he's the leader of the Volturi. He made me a proposition. He thinks I'm meeting him just before dawn by the river, where the borders edge is to La'Push. He told me if I met him there, if I went with him willingly, he wouldn't attack the Reservation. He wouldn't attack the pack. Edward paid him a visit. He knows everything. All about the wolves, Jake. Edward laid down his own demands while he was in Italy. He wants me there to change me and he wants you enslaved as a part of the Volturi's guard. It's his way of getting vengeance. I only agreed to make him think I was willing to go along with whatever plan he put together so we could buy more time. I don't know if it will work, but I figured it was worth a try. He seemed to believe me."

Jacobs gaze darkened at this, his body tense as he worked to keep the tremors under control for a bit longer.

"You were smart to deter him the best you could."

"I hope it helps. I wish there was more that I could do."

"It might give Sam just enough time to get back here with the elders before they have the chance to close in. It's a long shot, but there is a chance and that counts."

"How many does Sam think are coming?" I asked. "Could he tell by their scent alone?"

"More than we're ready for." Jacob gruffly admitted. "They've been to your house, Bells. Went through your things. It's a damn good thing you and Charlie were here."

I couldn't stop the panicked gasp that left me from hearing this.

"If we'd been home-"

"I know, honey. But you're safe here. You are. I'm gonna head for the woods and phase. I have to be ready and I want this house guarded. If they're coming for you, they'll have to go through me first."

He swiftly pulled his shirt off and glanced toward the living room where Charlie and Billy were still chatting amongst themselves.

"I'll tell them Sam needed your help with something at his house. I'll make something else up if I have to."

"Okay, Billy will help you cover if needed. It's almost midnight, with any luck, they'll crash soon till the morning. As soon as I know something, anything at all and it's safe, I'll come back and check in with you. Please, stay right here, honey. I need to know you're alright. Don't come looking for me if I don't come right back. I don't know how long this will take. I need to be connected to the pack mind so we're ready should they strike tonight or in the early hours of the morning."

"I won't budge till you come back. I promise...- but just- come back okay? Please...-"

The tearful worry was audible in my voice now and he met my gaze with fierce sincerity.

"There's nothing that could ever keep me away from you. Nothing. I'll fight hell itself first."

He kissed me then, his lips pressing to mine with an urgent promise of what he'd just said to be nothing but the truth.

"Kiss me and then come back...-" I whispered against his mouth, repeating something I'd said to him on the mountain tops just before he left to fight in the newborn battle. I remembered how scared I was then and the fear I had felt worse now. "Come back."

Jacob pressed me into him, his lips still ghosting mine with his reply.

"I fought for you then, honey. I'll fight even harder for you now. I'll come back. I promise."

He turned and left then, his shape disappearing soon into the darkness of the night as he bolted for the woods.

I closed the door and jumped when Billy wheeled himself over closer to me, his knowing gaze looking me over with suspicion.

"Bella, what's going on?"

I got down to his level and whispered my reply to him.

"The Volturi have come. Sam is trying to get the help of the elders. Jacob is phasing and staying close by until Sam gets back. They came looking for me. Went to out house."

Billy's eyes were wide when I pulled back and drew in a steadying breath.

"Sam is sure?" He whispered in reply.

"Yes."

I didn't bother to elaborate on things any further, not with my father so close in hearing range, but Billy got the point with another look his way. He soon wheeled himself back around to head for Charlie who was growing ever curious as to what all the commotion was about right now.

Thankfully, Billy distracted him by offering to play a card game until they grew tired enough to call it a night. This seemed to keep my fathers attention off of me and onto the game in front of him. I was ever grateful for the distraction and offered Billy a faint smile of gratitude.

Every noise and creak of the old floorboards in their house made me jump and by the time Charlie finally fell asleep, I was up pacing the floors and waiting to hear any word from Sam or Jacob.

I kept a slight grip on the charm that dangled loosely on my charm bracelet, my mind filling with memories of the first time I'd ever seen Jacob.

We were just little and his mother had brought us to First beach for the day during one of the Summers I was staying with Charlie. Sarah had insisted on packing us a big lunch and soaking up as much sun as possible. The waves were huge that day and she warned us to stay close to the shoreline, always watching to be sure we weren't wondering too far. Jacob dug up as many seashells as he could find and gave them all to me, his sunny smile even then as a small boy, utterly infectious to behold. When the rain suddenly came later in the day, we rushed to pick up and Sarah ran us to the car, but by the time we had made it to the parking lot, we were all soaked from head to toe. Sarah looked at us both and tilted her head back in loud laughter, as she dropped our beach bags and took our hands while we jumped in every puddle there was before heading home.

I smiled silently now at the memory.

He had always been my Jacob.

Had always been the one who knew me best.

He was my safe place. My sanctuary in the storms of life.

He made me wish for a future that I had never dared to dream of before.

I loved him with every part of me.

He had to come back.

They all did.