Chapter Eight:

Jacob returned to the pack. He was feeling exhilarated. Spending time with Bella had made a world of difference. He felt more focused and more importantly even more determined to find the vampires they suspected were in town. He couldn't resist anything happening to his girlfriend. His girlfriend. Jacob couldn't get the word out of his head. He was happier than he could ever remember.

Walking up to Sam he saw that unlike himself Sam didn't seem happy at all.

"What's wrong?" Jacob stiffened as he looked around at the small group. They too were apprehensive.

"We caught the scent of more vampires." Embry announced.

"More? How many is more?" Jacob asks with alarm.

"At least two." Paul replied.

"Where?"

"On the outskirts of town but still out of our boundaries." Sam spoke at last.

"What are we going to do?" Jacob looked around the group for a solution.

"WE aren't going to do anything just yet. We have to wait until they cross into our lands." Sam reminded the pack of the rules.

"This sucks!" Quil scoffed while throwing another log into the tiny fire pit.

"I agree." Jacob sighed heavily.

"We need to double up on the patrols for now. We need to locate where they are staying but in our human forms. We have to be extra cautious. I don't know if they have a way to pick up our scents when we are in human forms." Sam warned them.

"Okay." The guys agreed in unison.

"Embry take Quil and you guys go back in that direction and stay close. I will send someone out to relieve you guys in a couple of hours." Sam gave the order.

Jacob watched as his two best friends nodded in agreement and raced into the woods.

Paul stretched his arms over his head.

"This is going to be a long night. I think I will take a quick nap." Paul walked away from the group.

"I agree with Paul. I will be back later." Jared walked away.

"How did your trip go?" Sam asks once it was just the two of them alone.

"It went well. She is a smart girl. She began to ask me a ton of questions in regards to the physical changes she could see and of course, she also picked up on how the other guys have the tattoos and haircuts. I told her we were in like a gang of sorts." Jacob chuckled nervously.

"A gang? Really?" Sam rolled his eyes playfully and let out a thick laugh.

"I'm not ready to tell her. I got to thinking about how she might react once she knows everything. Plus I want to know how she feels about me now as I am." Jacob explained.

"You are the wolf now. Bella accepting you or not won't change that. Aren't you worried she will be madder once she learned you have been hiding the truth from her?" Sam ask.

"I don't know. I'm not ready to risk it. I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes. I think it's wise to take it slow and easy. I don't want to overwhelm her."

"I understand but remember this Jacob, trust is the key to a successful relationship. If she can't trust you then she might resist the imprint." Sam warns him.

"She can do that? She can break the imprint?" Jacob cried out in fear.

"I don't know. We are learning new stuff every day. The council is keeping a log of it and doing their best to find anything they can to help us use our gift to keep us safe."

"I love her and I just….I can't lose her. I don't know what would happen to me if she wasn't in my life." Jacob sighed heavily as his heart pitter-patter swiftly.

"It's okay Jacob. You are right. You should take it slow. You two are still teenagers. You both have time to accept this blessing and learn how to make it work for both of you." Sam patted him on the back gently.

"Good." Jacob half smiled up at his Alpha.

"What about the others? Are you ready for me to share with the others about "imprinting" and how you and I have already have?" Sam ask.

"Yeah. It's best they know in case it happens to them. But can you get them to remain quiet about me and Bella? I want to be the one who tells her first." Jacob pleaded.

"Sure. That's fair enough." Sam agreed.

"Who are you sending to locate the vampires?" Jacob wondered out loud as his mind went back to the threat that still lingered not far from his Bella.

"I was thinking about you and Embry."

"Oh." Jacob was surprised he trusted them to go into town. Normally he preferred the older guys for such tasks. He felt they had more self-control.

"Paul is too riled up these days. I need Jared close by should something go wrong. Quil is a good guy but I don't know if he could control his wolf if he came too close to a vampire in town. You and Embry have already proven you guys were able to remain calm when you caught the scent of a vampire." Sam answered.

"Okay." Jacob agreed with his decision.

"Go home. Get some rest. I will send you two into town tomorrow." Sam smiled sadly at him.

Jacob suspected that Sam was worried about the future. The vampires would no doubt cross into their lands and they would have to fight them. Sam didn't like the thought of losing any member of the pack. He was the Alpha and it was his responsibility to keep them as safe as possible. Jacob didn't envy his burden.

Jogging home he quickly climbs into bed and falls fast asleep.

Edward woke up early the following morning and found his family sitting in the kitchen wearing matching frowns on their beautiful faces.

"What's wrong? Did Rosalie run out of coffee?" Edward joked as he opened the fridge and poured himself a fresh cup of rabbit blood from the plastic container.

The family was learning of ways to store the animal blood so they didn't have to frequent the woods more than necessary.

"Alice had another vision last night. The couple is heading here. Apparently their friend was killed closed by and they are looking for revenge." Carlisle started with his prepared speech.

"We knew their motive but wow, here? I didn't see that coming. Makes things easier for us." Edward said and then put a straw in his cup as he savored the sensation of the blood flowing down his throat.

"Yes it does help us plan for their attack however, we still don't know who killed the other vampire. If we aren't careful we could make ourselves a target for this killer. Then there was something else she saw in her vision." Carlisle paused as he glanced at the rest of the family before continuing.

"Bella was in the vision. Alice isn't sure what role she will play but she saw Bella with large shadows behind her." Carlisle prepared himself for an outburst. Edward was a worrier. He was also a protector of the innocent.

"What?" Edward nearly choked on the blood.

"I just saw a quick image of her. There were these dark tall shadows behind her. Then I saw James and Victoria looking at her. That was all." Alice placed her hand over her dead beating heart to vow that she was not lying.

"That is crazy. Dark shadows? The vamps looking at Bella? I mean I knew she was different but ….I know she isn't a vampire." Edward shook his head as he began to freak out quietly. He didn't like the thought of harm coming to Bella. She was a nice girl and she made him laugh. He missed having such a carefree person in his life.

"When will they be here?" Edward ask.

"I don't know the exact date but I think any day now." Alice answered honestly.

"What do we do in the meantime to keep her safe?" Edward looks directly at Carlisle as he asks the question.

"We will take turns watching her from a safe distance. We don't need the sheriff's daughter complaining to her Dad that we are stalking her." Esme offered.

"Fine." Edward quickly agreed.

"Really? WE have to guard a human?" Rosalie cried out in disgust.

"Yes. We always do our best to protect the humans near us." Carlisle ordered.

"Whatever!" Rosalie stomps out of the room.

"Remember Edward we don't want to scare the girl." Esme called out to Edward who was already following Rosalie's lead and heading out the door to get to school to keep a close watch on his friend, Bella.

"I won't." Edward called back.

The remaining family members all look at once another and cringed. They knew he was already heading down a dangerous path. Edward liked Bella and he would no doubt do whatever it took to keep her alive, even if it meant revealing who they were.

"Watch him like a hawk," Carlisle ordered the family.

They all nodded before leaving to begin their usual day.

Charlie walked up to the horrific car accident scene and felt nausea. The entire family was dead. He now understood why his deputy was puking when he arrived. The couple and their two small children were dead on their arrival.

Two things struck him as odd right from the start. Where was this other vehicle they should have struck? There was a big dent in the front of the car but the car was parked on the side of the road. None of the trees nearby look as if they have been struck by the vehicle. Was this a case of a hit and run?

The second thing that was weird was the fact that none of them were wearing seat belts but they weren't thrown from the car, especially the fragile small children. What happened here?

"This is unbelievable." The coroner declared, his face was as pale as the deceased.

"It's definitely odd." Charlie agreed.

"I don't see any bruises on any of them. You would think there would be broken bone and blood everywhere but there isn't. This is...I don't like ...I can't explain it." Jeff threw his arms up in the air and exhaled loudly.

"So you don't have an exact cause of death other than the obvious?" Charlie stated.

"No. I have to take them into the office and check them over from head to toe and send out some blood work." Jeff shook his head.

"Okay. Let's try to keep this between us. As far as everyone here on the scene should think is that their deaths resulted from a possible hit and run." Charlie warned him.

"I understand." Jeff continued to take deep breaths.

"Cool. Go ahead and get their bodies loaded up." Charlie turned toward his men and began to ramble out orders as he tried to remain calm and look unaffected despite the fear he felt deep in the pit of his stomach.

Bella stayed after school to help Angela with the Winter Festival. She feared she wouldn't be much help but Angela insisted they volunteer to help paint and decorate the booths. It was nice to spend some time with a friend outside of school and she knew it would kill some time before Jacob would come over to see her.

Once she got home she was pleasantly surprised to see Charlie had beat her there. He was rarely home before seven most nights.

"Hey, dad." Bella called out as she dropped off her bag and keys on the table.

A second later Charlie was standing in the kitchen glaring at her.

"What's wrong?" Bella noted that Charlie had a beer in his hand and his expression appeared to be almost hostile.

"Where were you?" Charlie demanded.

"I stayed after school to help with the Winter Festival booths." Bella answered quickly.

"With who?" Charlie continued to question her.

"Angela. She asked me to help out. What's wrong? Why are you upset?" Bella's voice trembled as she studied her father's odd behavior.

"Oh. Sorry. I just... you need to let me know when you aren't coming straight home." Charlie stated but his voice was less stern.

"I will," Bella promised.

Charlie walked back to the living room and plopped down in his recliner and took a long drink.

Bella sat down on the couch and stared at her father.

"What happened?" Bella suspected something bad happened. Charlie was normally cool-headed and laid back kind of guy.

"Nothing." Charlie replied softly.

"Come on Dad. I can tell something has happened today to upset you." Bella pleaded.

"There was a bad wreck out on the highway out toward LaPush. The whole family was dead. A couple and their two small children." Charlie answered before gulping down the rest of his beer.

"Oh. I'm so sorry. I imagined that is hard to see." Bella felt her heart break for the family.

"Looks like it might have been a hit and run but ….I don't know something wasn't right about the scene." Charlie shook his head as he tried to push the terrible image of the dead children from his mind.

"What do you mean?" Bella pushed for more information that might explain why this particular car accident had her father drinking at five o'clock in the afternoon.

"None of them were wearing a seat belt and yet none of them had one mark on their body." Charlie revealed.

"That is strange." Bella agreed.

Charlie looked over at Bella and realized he was revealing too much information to his teenage daughter. Not that Bella was the gossipy sort of teenager but still, for now, he wanted to keep this to himself until he got word back from the coroner about the actual cause of death.

"It's ...don't say anything to anyone." Charlie ordered her.

"I won't." Bella promised.

The sound of a knock at the door interrupted their awkward conversation.

"It's probably Jacob." Bella states with excitement in her voice as she jumps up off the couch and rushes to the front door.

Opening it she is happy to see she was correct.

"Hi Bells." Jacob's voice is thick and yet sweet. Bella felt her heart burst with joy. She wanted to wrap her arms around him but she wasn't comfortable showing public affection when her father was nearby.

"Hi, Jacob." Bella replies back while smiling from ear to ear.

"Is now a good time?" Jacob asks as he steps inside the house.

"Sure. Just give me a minute."

Bella walks back into the living room.

"Hey Dad is it okay if Jacob and I go upstairs to my room?" Bella asks politely.

"Sure. Leave the door open." Charlie ordered.

"Will do." Bella practically jogs back to Jacob's side and takes his hand and leads him upstairs to her room.

She makes a point of leaving the door open but it doesn't stop her from grabbing Jacob's hand and pulls him onto her bed. Sitting side by side she stares into his deep chocolate brown eyes while her heart paces madly.

"I've missed you," Bella admits.

" I have missed you too." Jacob admits as well.

"How was your day?"

"It was normal." Jacob answers feeling slightly guilty.

"Mine was until I got home. Dad is having a hard day." Bella reveals.

"What's wrong?"

Bella debates if she should tell Jacob what her father had shared with her, after all, she did promise to keep it between them. However, Jacob didn't live in town and wasn't the sort of person to gossip around town.

"Don't say anything to anyone but Dad said there was a terrible wreck out toward LaPush. A family died from what he thinks was a possible hit and run. He said it was weird because none of them were wearing seat belts and there was no physical explanation for their deaths." Bella reveals.

"Really? Wow. That's so sad." Jacob felt the pit of his stomach drop. Much like Bella and Charlie, he feared there was something fishy about his accident.

"I know right. So Dad has been home drinking. Which isn't like him at all." Bella admitted.

"I'm sorry sweetheart." Jacob leaned in and placed a tender kiss on her lips.

Bella felt as if she just stepped into a volcano. Her whole body was on fire. She was melting like lava.

Jacob caught a whiff of her arousal in the air. His manhood hardened.

He didn't want her to see his arousal. He wasn't sure what to do next.

"Umm...how was school?" Jacob mumbled with a heavy breath.

"It was okay. I stayed to help Angela with the Winter Festival booths. Do you think we could go together?" Bella heard herself blurt out unexpectedly.

"Sure if I don't have plans on that day." Jacob agreed.

Bella suddenly got the urge to kiss Jacob again and relinquishing all fear or shyness she just took charge and cupped his face in her hands and leaned in and kissed him. But unlike the earlier kiss, she slipped her tongue between his velvety lips and explored his mouth. It was warm like the chocolate on a hot fudge sundae. Sweet, thick, and warm. She got this incredible urge to push him back on the bed and climb on top of him and continued kissing but she barely manages to get control of her hormones. She didn't want to scare him away. Not to mention if Charlie walked in on them it would no doubt piss him off. She didn't want to risk getting grounded.

The buzzing of Jacob's phone brought Jacob back to reality. He was supposed to leave Bella's house and meet up with Embry to drive around town to see if they could catch the scent of the vampires that were living in town.

"Crap." Jacob pulled back reluctantly.

"What's wrong?" Bella moaned as he pulled his back.

"I have to meet up with Embry for an assignment." Jacob answered, relieved it wasn't entirely a lie.

"Oh." Bella pouted.

"I will try and come over tomorrow. Hopefully, I will have more time." Jacob offered.

"K." Bella stood up.

Jacob smiled affectionately at her as he recognized the disappointment in her eyes.

"How about I call you later?" Jacob offered.

"I would love that." Bella clapped her hands happily and then felt her face flush when she realized how immature she was acting.

"Cool. Bye Bella." Jacob leaned down and kissed her one last time on the lips and forced his body to turn and walk away from her.

It was difficult but he managed to leave the house without throwing her down on the bed and dry humping her. The physical closeness was intense. Each time he saw her it was harder not to just grab her and make love to her. He wanted to take things slowly but he suspected much like himself Bella was just as horny as himself. He was completely surprised when she made the initiative to kiss him. His Bella was normally timid and old fashion. She would let him take the lead but this Bella, well, she was no doubt struggling from the effects of the imprint also. The feelings were always there but now they were just like a hundred times more intense.

Embry was already parked a couple of houses away as Jacob jogged over to him.

"Let's get this over with. I need to talk to Sam as soon as possible." Jacob informs Embry as he jumps into the passenger side.

"Cool." Embry puts the car in drive and heads to the outer limits of the town to start their search.

Edward rolled down his car window as he caught a horrible scent of what reminded him of a wet dog. Looking around for the cause he saw a young guy leave Bella's house and jog down the road. He wondered who this guy was? He didn't go to school with them. He appeared to be a native. Was he a LaPush native? But more importantly, was this the same guy that Jasper saw the night before? Who was this guy? What did he mean to Bella exactly?

He felt a sudden sense of jealousy course into his veins. It was ridiculous. Bella wasn't his girlfriend and she could never be. She was human and he was nothing more than a monster. Still, it frightened him just how much this human girl made him feel so alive after being dead over a hundred years.

Maybe his family was onto something. His feelings for Bella were dangerous to him, her, and his family. He could never let Bella know the truth about him. It would not only cost her life but his as well.

He decides that maybe he should offer to let the other family members watch her in the evenings, he sees her enough during the day, and then maybe he wouldn't be having these silly human emotions any longer.

James scrambled around the woods until he found the object that held Laurent's scent. It was a torn piece of material from Laurent's jacket. Nothing else could be found, just one patch of material lying on the ground. His emotions were all over the place.

"What is that smell?" Victoria sniffed the air with a repulsive look on her face.

"I don't know. I've never smelt anything like it." James growled as he held onto the material and stared around ready to attack anything that moved.

"Is it human?" Victoria asks as she sniffs the trees around them and continues to smell the same scent that was on the tattered material.

"I...I don't know what it is. I just...it can't be an animal. I've never heard of a bear or any other animal killing a vampire." James scoffed in disgust.

Victoria felt a strange feeling enveloped her. They weren't alone. Something far more dangerous than themselves was out there and her survival instincts were warning her they needed to flee.

"We should go." Victoria suggests.

"Why? I want to kill this bastard or whatever it is tonight." James shouted furiously.

"Until we know exactly what we are up against I say we leave. Look, whatever it killed Laurent is strong. Laurent was twice our age and he was much stronger than us. If he died we could die." Victoria offers her wisdom.

"Laurent was alone. Together we are very strong. We could kill it." James boasts.

"I know you are right but right now my instincts are warning me we should go. Remember I have keen instincts. That's how we have survived this long." Victoria urges him to push away his anger and pain and listen to her warnings.

"Fine. Let's go but we will return tomorrow. It's time to get revenge for my sire and I can't wait to sink my teeth into it and drain it dry." James vows loudly as he makes a complete circle as if he is speaking to an unseen audience.

"Tomorrow. Come on let's go." Victoria grabs his hand and together they race back to their safe haven.

"You made it home early." Alice notes as she plops down next to Edward on the comfy expensive couch.

"Yeah. I was bored." Edward replies nonchalantly.

"Really. You bored, never." Alice teases as she plants a sisterly kiss on his cheek.

"Where is Jasper?" Edward notices that her shadow isn't nearby.

"He is sleeping upstairs." Alice answers. "So who took your place?"

"Esme offered. She is working on her book and said she could do it in her car on her tablet." Edward replies.

"True. That woman can type just about anywhere." Alice chuckles.

"Why do you think I am so intrigued by Bella, in particular?" Edward decided to confide in her about these strange feelings he was experiencing for the first time.

"I think you need to find yourself a vampire girlfriend and get laid and these feelings will go away naturally." Alice half-jokes.

It was true, unlike the rest of the family, he didn't have a mate.

Alice stiffened next to him. Her eyes widen and she stares off into space.

Edward recognizes the signs. She was having another vision.

He sat quietly and waited patiently for her to come out of her trance.

"They found proof that Laurent was killed here but they still don't know who but they suspect it's not a human." Alice winces as she rubs her heads.

"Not human? What the bloody hell?" Edward laughs nervously.

"They suspect that the enemy is too strong to be a mere human." Alice reveals.

"We have lived here on and off for many years and had no trouble." Edward scoffs at the ridiculous idea.

"I agree but that's what they were thinking." Alice states with a slight smile.

"Well, hopefully, they are wrong. The last thing we need is a potential threat to us while we are hunting them."

Alice agrees with him but unlike Edward, she felt the raw fear that Victoria felt when she searched the area. Vampires don't get scared easily, especially not sociopaths like this couple. The thought of such a creature made Alice shiver inwardly.

"I'm going to bed. But heed my warning brother. WE need to be cautious and watch our backs at all times." Alice warns him and then heads upstairs to bed.

Edward continues to stare at the burning logs and plays with the idea of finding a possible mate once they leave Forks again. However, he doubts anyone could hold a candle to Bella. But he would have to try at the very least. Desiring a human never boded well for his kind, not now or ever.

Authors Note: Hope you are all doing well. Sorry for the delay. Hope you are enjoying the story. If I stick to my outline, (lol) then the last chapter should be 14 or 15. So not much further til the end. Thank you guys again for the wonderful feedback. It really helps me get motivated to write when I know other people are waiting on me especially when I find myself wanting to read instead of writing. Have a great day! Xoxo August