Jake slammed me down onto the hood of an old car in the garage. The weight of his body had me pinned. His hands caught my wrists and held them over my head. The heat searing through his skin was more intense than usual, almost blistering mine, threatening with every touch to consume me.

Our lips didn't part for an instant. When his hands moved down to explore more of me, I grabbed little fistfuls of his hair (it was getting longer now; I liked it) and held his mouth to me. I would never let him leave. My capacity for hunger and greed seem to deepen with every inch of my body he searched. A hand slipped under my shirt and I arched my back to surrender to his touch. His heat poured into me and burned away every unwanted thought, every unwarranted scar.

He tore away from my kiss and sank his teeth into my throat. It only grazed, of course; he never broke the skin. Still, electricity coursed through me with a thrilling mix of terror and lust. My legs wrapped themselves around his hips as he scattered kisses up my neck. He nipped my earlobe and I shuddered. The fingertips on my breast clawed at the edges of my bra, itching to tear the fabric out of his way.

I gasped for air. "This is getting a little..."

"Yeah..." Jake breathed into my neck. "Do you wanna stop?"

My legs tightened their grip on his waist and I shut his mouth with another kiss. He was little more hesitant but his hand took the hint. Beneath my palm, I felt the muscles of his bicep ripple with the effort to be delicate. His fingers slipped under the lace and brushed over my nipple with a deliriously light touch.

"Jake! Time to go!"

Jared - at least, I think it was Jared - was at the garage door. I hid my face in Jake's neck until he was gone. I could feel myself blushing but with my skin so flushed already, it probably didn't matter.

We untangled our bodies and looked into each other's eyes. After a moment, the giggles escaped us but we settled in comfortable silence. Jake helped me up off the car. Something had been digging into my back and already it was getting sore. My hair was clinging to the back of my neck. All over, I was sticky with sweat.

"This is sure to give off the right impression," I laughed.

Jake pulled me into his arms with a reassuring squeeze and kissed my forehead. "You smell like a werewolf. No one will notice."

I smiled up at him. His eyes were full of softness and warmth, admiration, maybe even love (that dreaded force), and they poured it all down on me. My heart beat a little stronger. I wasn't afraid of him. He was my Jake right now. I wished we could've stayed here forever.

We walked out of the garage hand in hand. A pack of wolves was waiting. They turned their backs to us as we emerged and headed into the forest. They were already in wolf form? I turned to Jacob, expecting him to change. It would take them minutes, maybe just seconds to reach the meeting place: the border at the center of the woods. My mood dropped. I'd never keep up...

Jake lifted my chin and winked. He turned around and crouched down. My smile returned and I still had to jump a little to climb onto his back. His hands hooked under my thighs and I crossed my arms over his chest, holding on for dear life instinctively. He took off at a steady sprint. In an instant, we were surrounded by green, tearing through the forest at faster-than-human yet still tolerable speed. My laughter bounced off the trees.

We came to a stop just shy of a small clearing, hidden from view on higher ground. Through the tree trunks around us, I could just about out spot the rest of the pack, surprisingly well camouflaged. They were still waiting, growing impatient. Jake pulled off his shirt in one smooth motion and dropped it to one side. His hands went to his jeans next and stole every ounce of my attention. He kicked off his boots and slid his pants down his legs. They were strong legs, perfectly toned, the skin a beautiful copper. I couldn't keep myself from moving closer to him. My thumbs traced the waistband of his shorts.

"Do you really have to phase?"

We shared another long, deep kiss. His hand cupped the back of my neck as his tongue danced with mine. And then without warning or permission, he ripped himself from my grasp.

"Alpha's orders," he said, pulling away and taking a good few steps back. "Plus, I need to be ready to protect you."

"I don't need protecting." He shot down my defiant act with a look. "At least, not from them. You're gonna have to trust them for this to work."

"The deal isn't to trust them."

With that, his body shuddered and erupted with fur. I'd never watched him phase whilst actually knowing what was going on. It was a stunning sight. Power swelled from deep inside him and came rushing forward, transforming him into a beast that could handle such strength. Its fur, the same russet shade as the boy's skin, was longer now than when I'd seen it last and as it caught the light streaming down through the canopy, as he stood so tall on the mossy rocks, he looked positively regal.

The pack was whole now and ready. Together, with slow and purposeful steps, they moved forward. I followed suit, fumbling my way down the hill. Spread out beneath us was a small open space amidst the trees. There, the Cullens were waiting. As one, their eyes all shifted to me. Confusion furrowed their brows and they exchanged questioning glances. They scanned the pack again, realizing now that not one of them was in human form. Alice was the only creature here who seemed remotely happy.

"Bella!" she bounded over to me. Turns out, that invisible line wasn't exclusive to us and the moment she crossed it, vicious snarls escaped from the animals nearby. Like lightning, she shifted into a defensive posture, staring down the wolf (Paul, of course it was Paul) like nothing else existed. The tension almost crackled through the air between them and I stepped forward, blocking their line of sight.

"Guys, come on," I urged, disturbed by how quickly things had changed.

I watched Paul back down with the shadow of a black wolf in my peripheral and then turned to Alice. As if nothing had happened, she was all sunshine and smiles and pulled me in for a hug. Her vice-like grip was cool and, though it crushed my lungs a little, refreshing.

"You smell awful," she whispered cheerfully in my ear.

There was another snarl as I held her for perhaps a moment too long. As I pulled back, I caught a glimpse of her smug expression, pointed at them, before it disappeared and she turned her attention to me.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm..." - what would you call it? - "a liaison, of sorts. I'm here to liaise."

"Oh, how cute! They don't trust us."

Alice skipped back to her family, playing up the innocence of her appearance as if to mock the wolves' caution. Somehow, it only made her look more lethal. I saw Esme share a troubled glance with her husband while her undead brood exchanged hushed comments too quiet or quick for me to hear. Whatever it was, it sounded indignant. Once everyone assumed their positions, I approached Carlisle with Jake on one side and Sam on the other.

"Bella," Carlisle greeted me with a gracious smile.

I smiled back wholeheartedly. "Hi, Carlisle."

This was the first time I'd seen him since he stitched up my arm. The phrase "a lifetime ago" fit perfectly; it felt like a whole other life, a past self. He, on the other hand, looked exactly the same.

"Sam," he addressed the black wolf with a respectful nod. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us. And..." Carlisle didn't know this brown wolf.

"Jacob," I introduced.

I caught a flash of recognition in Carlisle's eye. He must have heard enough stories by now. And now that I was looking closer, I thought I saw a hint of... disappointment? Sadness, perhaps, to see the pack on such high alert. Carlisle didn't deserve to be mistrusted. He was the best person I knew. I felt like we were insulting him to approach like this, with bodyguards flanking me. He was a doctor, for crying out loud! He would never hurt me.

"If they really feel we're this much of a threat, they shouldn't have brought you," Edward offered his ever-helpful criticism. "I can interpret for them."

Growls erupted from the wolves at my sides. I would've growled with them if I could but I had to settle for glaring at him.

"They don't like that idea."

"Come on, Edward. Play nice. They had to give her something to do," Rosalie, of course it was Rosalie, interjected. "What else does she contribute besides causing this whole mess?"

Esme shushed her more wayward daughter as if it would put the words back in her perfect mouth. Or make them less true. I wasn't linked up with the pack (even Edward, a natural enemy, was closer to them in that respect than me) but I could swear I heard them laughing in my head. To think he heard it, too, only compounded my humiliation. I focused on steadying my breath and keeping my hands from shaking. I went over the speech in my head and changed the order, bringing my part to the front when I probably shouldn't. It was dumb pride, I knew. But I needed to feel crucial.

"My dad is in close contact with the Seattle Police Department. He'll have access to everything they know about the pattern of the attacks, the locations, as well as the schedule for their patrols. I know how to get to his files at the station. It could help you find the newborns and avoid getting noticed yourselves."

"Thank you, Bella," Carlisle said. "There's no need to put yourself at risk."

"There's a lot more at stake than me getting grounded."

This felt really good... I'd always hated speaking in front of people but my voice was so steady right now and almost carried. I was sort of buzzing off it. Not that I liked what was going on, but talking about how to fix it, being part of the solution... It felt right.

Now, I had to do what I was brought here to do. Speak for them.

"The pack has agreed to work with you on the condition that you leave Forks."

The reactions were immediate, confused and hurt. Rose was especially perturbed. So much so, Emmett had to hold her back. I could feel a pair of eyes boring into me and I turned my attention to Alice to avoid them. She returned my gaze with a pained look. Truthfully, my own heart sank a little, too.

"Very well," Carlisle didn't contest their wishes.

I nodded and swallowed my sadness. I had to go on.

"They also want the terms of the treaty to extend to any area you move into while you're working together. Basically means the no biting or feeding rule, no killing humans outside of Forks."

"Like we were planning on doing that anyway," Rosalie sniped.

"Rose!"

"Of course," Carlisle agreed.

Ever so lightly, Jake nudged me. It was a show of encouragement and I stole a glance at his wolf's eyes, brimming with pride. I was doing well.

"Okay. So, lastly," I tried to remember word for word the speech Sam had given me to say. This final piece was crucial and I wanted to channel the authoritative air he'd so naturally given off when he said it. "They won't risk more lives and they can't take wolf form in public. We need to devise a battle plan that draws the newborns out of the city. The fight needs to be as inconspicuous as possible. For that to work, we need you to tell us everything you know about newborns, what makes them different, and ideally, we need their exact number."

I looked to Alice, pouring all my faith into her gift, and she nodded. No matter how the wolves' magic interfered, we couldn't afford for her to let us down. Thinking back on it, I wasn't sure when I started using the word "we."

Carlisle looked at Jasper then and for some reason seemed to defer to him. They switched places as Jake and Sam started moving away, shepherding me with them. I knew my part was over and I fought off the twinge of disappointment. I'd done what I could and didn't mess it up, that should be enough.

Jasper's southern drawl filled the area in a way I doubted my voice had. "A newborn vampire is the most dangerous creature on the planet. Firstly because the blood of their human body fuses with their muscles, giving them untold strength, and secondly because their thirst is unrelenting and excruciating. A mature vampire can comfortably go two weeks without feeding; your average newborn can last about two days. There's also no telling what enhanced abilities some of them may possess."

Jacob and Sam rejoined the ranks, completing a unit that I was no part of. I merely drifted off to the side and sat on a log.

"When confronted, they act entirely on instinct. And they won't stop until their opponent is destroyed. The key to taking down a newborn is to catch them by surprise. Do not let them anticipate your next move. Now, with the help of my lovely assistant" - Alice, armed with a wicked grin, stepped forward - "We'll demonstrate some of the better techniques for dealing with newborns if you don't want your spine ripped out through your throat."

The stupid log was damp! I sat miserably as moisture seeped into my jeans. I could fight if they gave me a chance. But in truth, I was useless, forgotten and ignored.

"Let's begin."