Chapter 25 – Revelation

"A shape shifter? What's the difference?" Jacob jerked his hand out of my hold, using some effort and folded his arms. "Viktor was only able to change back into his human form after centuries of practice and determination. Whereas, Jacob and his pack can elect to change whenever they wanted." Edward and Darius were staring at each other, "Darius, if you don't mind, we're going to go home. You may hunt, but give our home a large berth. We don't want to draw too much attention." Darius nodded and ran off. Jacob's eyes flowed after him, "Can I kill him?" I smacked his arm, "It's better to just leave him alone. His little family would cause too much hell." Nudging Jacob's arm, Edward and I prepared to run. Jacob ran back into the trees. After the snapping and resetting of bones, he came back in his wolf form. Jacob kneeled down on his front knees and whined. I giggled, "No, thanks. I'm a bit faster than you now." He stood up, eye to eye to me. He rolled his eye and sprinted ahead of me. Edward chuckled, "He really thinks he could out run you." This was going to be fun, "Let's prove him wrong."

Edward and I sprinted through the trees, passing Jacob in a few seconds. He huffed as he tried to push himself faster. Soon we were at my house. Jacob slowed to phase back. EJ leapt onto Edward's back as they went into the living room, while I went into the kitchen. I knew Jake would be hungry. Jacob came into the house, topless. I took out the ingredients for fried chicken. I started frying the chicken, when Jacob came into the kitchen. He wasn't comfortable being around Edward. Though his scent was like a human, Jacob still didn't like Edward for leaving me. Jacob was part of the search party that was looking for me the night Edward left. Edward groaned and I went into the living room, "What's wrong?" He shook his head, Jacob's thinking about you the night Sam found you. Why didn't you ever tell me about that? I shook my head, Not important. Jacob looked around the corner, "Something wrong?" Making a face, I smacked him in the back of the head, "You know what you're doing, now stop it." He laughed, "Just testing. I wanted to see if it was really possible."

Setting a plate down hard on the table, I looked at him, "Knock it off, Jake." Edward came into the kitchen, "Jacob, there's something I want to say to you." Jacob looked at him, "What is it?" a note of petulance in his voice. Shaking his head, hearing the distain in Jacob's voice, Edward continued, "For keep Bella alive when I didn't." Jacob just stared at Edward in disbelief. I was even more surprised than Jacob. Why would Edward be apologizing? Looking into his mind, I saw his last memory of me as a human. My eyes turning red and my face crumbling from him telling me goodbye. "Trust me; I didn't do it for your benefit." Edward pursed his lips, "I know, but I'm still grateful. You kept her safe." I put the chicken on the plate on the table, "Ok, enough apologizing. I want to know what Darius was talking about. Why did he say Jake wasn't a werewolf?" EJ sat in my lap and took a piece of chicken. "Because he's right. Jacob is more of a shape shifter." Jacob and I shared a glance. "What he means is Viktor and his kind are 'real' werewolves. A werewolf cannot help it when he changes and after a certain amount of time, they cannot change back." Jacob snorted, "So you're saying we're not considered real? We have taken on our fair share of vampires." Edward held up a hand, "I would never say that. That's what Darius implied. It's just that, to Darius, the mere fact take you on the form of a wolf is coincidental."

I offered Jacob a room to stay the night. He literally ran across the country to come find me. Jacob was still uncomfortable with Edward, but he couldn't resist EJ. EJ probed him with questions about me. Jacob let it slip about the motorcycles and I froze. "Motorcycles?" Edward questioned. I gritted my teeth, "Did I forget to mention that?" Edward glared at me, "Yes, yes, you did." Jacob snickered, "Someone's in trouble." I pursed my lips, "Shut up, Jake. By the way, how was your birthday?" Jacob's eighteenth birthday recently passed. "Didn't do much. Billy's been sick." I gasped, "What's wrong?" The concerned was clear on Jacob's face, "I don't think he'll last much longer. Rebecca is trying to come home to see him too. He needs surgery." Jacob was too proud to admit it, but I knew the concern. He couldn't afford to pay for Billy's surgery. Jacob went to bed after talking about the last few months with Billy.

Esme and Carlisle came over, with Nina and Madison. "Emma is hitting it off with Lita. They're playing together." Esme explained, setting the girls down with EJ. Carlisle offered to go to La Push to see what he could do for Billy, only if the pack would allow him on the reservation. "You think it's wise to let the wolves know about us?" I bit my lip, "They're going to know soon enough. As soon as Jacob is close enough, they'll hear his thoughts and he will show them everything about this trip. As wolves, they hear each other's minds. They can't keep each other out even if they tried." Edward looked at me, "Well, Jacob won't let them do much. He still cares about you." Esme and Carlisle stayed for the rest of the night, entertaining the kids. Edward and I were in our bedroom. Alice had just finished furnishing it for us. In bed, Edward held me close and was quiet. This was comforting. Ignoring everyone in the house, I closed my eyes and we were back in Forks, in Charlie's house, staying quiet while Charlie was in his room. I was human again, listening to Edward's breath come and go as he held me close.

Soon, he tilted my head back to kiss me. His hand held the back of my head, tangling his fingers in my hair. He parted my lips and held my body tighter. I can't lose her. Not again. My arm twisted around his neck, giving into my desires for him. Even when we're both immortals, Edward still worried about me. Having an old adversary hunting our family would worry him. Holding him closer, I remembered my concern when the wolf clawed at him. I knew it wasn't going to hurt him, but still. I had just gotten Edward back. We had to find a way to stop Viktor. What if he had gone off to warn others of his kind? That he came across a large coven of Daywalkers? How many wolves would turn up at our doorstep? We couldn't let that happen.

Jacob offered to stick around a little longer, but I was trying to convince him to go home. If Viktor returned, he shouldn't be caught in this. "Bella, why is this Viktor trying to hurt you?" I smirked. Was he really missing the obvious? "Jake, Daywalker. You know, werewolf and vampire." He nodded, "Right." This made me feel better. Jacob still saw me as a human, as Bella. I think it has something to do with my scent, it was still human. "Viktor isn't going to be living much longer. 3000 years is a long enough life, don't you think?" Jacob looked at me and I saw my reflection in his eyes. My face was angry. It wasn't Bella, it was the face of a vampire. "Bells, he's a wolf. He could hurt you." I laughed out loud and he scowled. "Jacob, I hurt him. I got my arms around him and damaged a number of his bones. There are eight of us." He raised an eyebrow. "Darius doesn't count." A thought suddenly struck me. Thinking about the recent events, it felt like lightening struck my brain.

I was motionless as I thought about my theory. Both Darius and Viktor were 3000 years old. They have fought each other, but what if, after centuries of fighting, they became allies? Viktor and Darius had something in common; a common enemy, Aro. Viktor hated vampires. He thought being a werewolf was a curse and it was because of the evil vampires he sought to become one. Aro sent the wolves after Darius and his kind. Aro used the wolves. Viktor lost some of his children and Darius lost his mate. Aro was the link between these two immortals. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. "That's it," I whispered through unmoving lips. "What?" I looked up, "We have to find the others." Jacob phased, then we ran side by side. Everyone was hunting together, deep in the mountains. We came across their path and I pushed myself. I was impress that Jacob could keep up with me so easily. But I wasn't really trying to race him; we had to find the others.

The land started to incline and their scents were getting stronger. Soon, I saw Jasper and Madison, "Jaz!" He whirled, from the sound of panic in my voice, "What is it?" He must have sensed my tension, because his eyes fell on Jacob. "Where is everyone? We may have a big problem." Jasper eyed Jacob again, this time more speculatively. "Jaz, it's not Jacob." Edward and Emmett appeared behind Jasper. "What's going on?" Emmett bellowed. "I think we're being set-up." Edward took my hand, "What do you mean?" Sighing, I explained my theory.

"Don't you think it's a bit too coincidental that Darius shows up right after we deal with Viktor?" Edward's eyes were hidden in the shadow of her furrowed brow, "He was tracking him." I shook my head, "If you're tracking someone, knowing how dangerous they are, wouldn't you step in before any damage is done? Darius shows up right as Viktor leaves. And it has been weeks since Viktor left. He was injured severely, but by werewolf standards, he should have been completely healed by now." Jacob nodded in agreement. "And, even if he's biding his time, Viktor would have retaliated by now. He would want revenge." Edward glanced at Jacob, then back to me, "You believe Darius is using Viktor?" I shook my head, "To an extent. I think they're working together. I think the dinner was a test. A test of our fighting skills." Emmett stepped forward and the others were behind him, "Why would he do that?" EJ leapt onto my back and I kissed his small arm. "Viktor and Darius have a common enemy, Aro. So, the enemy of my enemy is my enemy or the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I believe they've formed an alliance and are trying to recruit us for their army. They want us to fight the Volturi with them."

Everyone became statues, all their eyes fixed on my face. Jacob huffed and stepped closer to me. "No, Jacob," Edward finally spoke, "that would be unwise. And this isn't your fight. We don't know how many followers they have." Edward was right. We don't know how outnumbered we were. But maybe someone else did. "Well, we could find out." Carlisle stepped forward, shadowed by Esme, "How?" "Dr. Perry."