Edward's POV:
What was happening? How could no one see this coming? Not even Alice! How come it just sprang up like this? Out of the blue. A fly in the windshield of Rose's BMW. It hit me just as hard as Bella's scent had that first day back in Biology. Knocked me off my feet. I couldn't decide what to do.
Should I let her suffer a little longer? No! I could never do that to her on purpose! Then again, if I decided to change her, she would endure much greater pain. But it would be for a much shorter time... What was I thinking? I could never do that to her! I just couldn't bring myself to it.
But she's dying. A part of me was arguing back as I ran along the quiet country road. I was killing myself inside to decide what to do.
How could Bella ever think that I wouldn't change her because I don't want to be with her? I do. I honestly would give up anything and everything to be with her forever. Except her mortality. The song "Big Yellow Taxi" started playing in my head. Don't it always seem to go, you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone... Bella didn't understand what a wonderful life she had being mortal.
But I couldn't let her suffer and die like that. I couldn't do it.
I approached the house I was looking for and barged straight in. I sniffed the foul air and walked to the little room in the hallway. I threw open the door and in one swift movement, I had my hands around the throat of Jacob Black.
"Let go of me, you leech! You'll regret this, I swear it!" He choked out the words and I threw him against the wall. He got up quickly and before I knew it, he had turned half wolf. I attacked him before he had a chance to complete the transformation.
"YOU! Bella wouldn't be in this predicament if it wasn't for YOU! Bella has brain cancer and it's YOUR FAULT!" I screamed at him as I smashed his head into the wall several times. I didn't have anyone else to blame. I just knew, deep down that somehow, Bella would be completely healthy if Jacob had never given her this terrible disease.
I threw him to the opposite wall and he crashed down onto his bed, a limp human boy. He struggled to get up and as I watched him, I realized that this was not the way to let out my anger.
I was usually much more even tempered than to do this sort of thing. Bella would never forgive me if she knew I had killed her best friend. I pulled out a drawer from his dresser and threw it at his as he stood up and started the transformation again. This knocked him to the floor and I ran out of the house.
That's right, you better run. You'll regret the moment you decided to come over here. You broke the treaty, and now it's a war. His thoughts meant nothing to me as I ran back to the hospital. I just wanted to see Bella once again.
My temper subsided as I approached the hospital; I knew I would need to be calm to talk to Bella. On my way inside, Emmett approached me with a very slight hint of anguish in his eyes, something even impossible to find in an alternate universe where Emmett was a coward. I had no idea what to expect from him, but his next thoughts made me turn around and run again. Only not out of fear this time, out of a new and more fierce rage.
Alice just saw you. You just messed up things so bad for us. Edward, you know I love a good fight and you know I'm not the least bit afraid we'll lose the war you just started, but Alice saw some things. Yes, Edward, I worry for your safety.
"What are you talking about? What did Alice see? She couldn't have seen me dead. There is no way I will let a few dogs murder me. Emmett, you're not ever one to doubt any of us. What happened to you?" Emmett and I were running now towards a field where we could talk this out. I couldn't believe Emmett doubted himself. He was normally so self-confident. Then again, it wasn't himself he doubted. It was me.
"It's not that. And you know I am more than ready and willing to continue in this war. I just don't think you should be involving yourself too much. Bella needs you alive, Edward. Not dog food. I'm thinking worst case scenario here. I have all the confidence in the world in you. But when has Alice been truly wrong?"
"I cannot believe you have such little faith in me." I was bubbling with anger now. I couldn't think of anything to do other than punch Emmett in the gut. He flew across the field and took out three or four trees as he slammed into them. Of course, he didn't take that so well and once he got to his feet, he hit me back. But he had every right to. Besides, I didn't hit him because I wanted to fight him, I hit him because of all my bottled up anger.
"You see how angry I am?! There is no way this anger isn't on my side!" I flared. "I'm going to fight now. No need waiting for the full moon tonight. Now is as good a time as ever." I ran back towards La Push and Emmett ran beside me.
"I'm not worried about you. I know you can handle it. I just want you to think before you do some real damage." Then, I could tell all the doubt he may have had in me before, the little there was, was entirely gone. Now, he was his usual excited self. "Let's get this going! I'm ready for these dogs to play fetch with their best friend's bones! Faster!" He sped up, but I kept pace with him easily as his self-confidence sky-rocketed.
One by one. I don't even need Edward's help. I can take them all. Oops, sorry Edward. Didn't realize you were listening. I would love your help in this. I don't see how I can do it without you... He sarcastically responded to my smug grin and sheepishly clapped both his hands over his heart grinning like an innocent baby.
We slowed as we approached the reservation.
"I don't believe I was the one to break the treaty," I straightened; revealing myself to whomever looked in our direction. Emmett grabbed my wrist and pulled me back down to crouch behind the bush with him. "I do recall Black broke it over a year ago. We just took too long to react. But if we ambush them like this, the war will be necessary." I stood and pulled Emmett to his feet. We walked from behind the bush and straight to Jacob Black's front door.
Emmett stopped me just as I was about to knock. "Wait a minute, what do you mean Black broke the treaty first?"
"How do you think Bella found out what we are? She's smart, yes, but she didn't come up with it on her own. She said Black mentioned us on that trip to First Beach. That got Bella looking into it and that's when she knew. Black told Bella about us. Indirectly, yes, but that's how she found out. He broke the treaty."
A hundred emotions crossed Emmett's face, and a thousand more thoughts crossed his mind. Wow. I could have killed him the moment I was officially introduced to Bella. She's known about us because he told her. We could have killed all of the pack by now, had I known that.
"Yes. You could have. It just took me a while to realize this. The Treaty said that we do not go on their land or bite a human and they do not attack us or speak of us. That dog inside told Bella about us. He broke the treaty and our coming on their land is now voided away. It doesn't matter anymore. The treaty does not exist." Most of this was just me thinking aloud, but Emmett listened and nodded along.
"Yeah! We have every right to be here! Now I really am going to kill them all." "No. We're going to handle this like calm, adults. We are way too old to be floating around acting like thirty year old men with long held onto grudges."
I knocked and Billy Black answered the front door. He gave us both a grave look from his chair, narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low, grim voice. "Coming here was a bad idea, gentlemen. You broke the Treaty and now you've caused a war. We will not handle this in broad daylight. But we will act upon your mistake."
"No way, old man! You're wrong! Your stupid kid broke the Treaty first. We just brushed it under the rug. And now we're here handling it before it gets insane." Emmett was getting more excited with each word he spoke.
"Please, Mr. Black, I do not want to cause trouble with you all right now, but I do not want you to think that if this comes down to a fight, we're not waiting until you all are at your strongest. We are going to give you our best shots as soon as necessary. That's beside the point. I would like to talk with the leader of the pack. Sam Uley, I think?"
Billy's look became darker and colder and suddenly, Jacob showed up behind him. "I'll tear them to shreds as soon as you give me the okay, Dad."
"No, no, son. That won't be necessary for right now. Please call Sam and the rest of the pack immediately. While he is doing that, would you mind explaining to me the accusation you have laid against my boy?"
"Are you going to invite us in?" I spoke politely, but standing in the doorway was no way to handle the situation at hand.
"No. Here and now, or we will just assume you have lied and end you all now."
Emmett couldn't contain his eagerness for a fight. I had to calm him down and sit him on the chair on the front porch so that he would keep his mouth shut.
"If you remember the Treaty, you know that it calls for both sides to follow guidelines. We do not bite a human in the area or come on your grounds. You do not attack us, or speak of us. Your son has told Isabella Swan who we are."
"As if she didn't already know. I tried to warn her you weren't safe to be around. Jacob probably just threw the word leech around and well, Bella's smart. She could figure it out."
"No, sir. That is not the case." I could tell Billy Black was stunned by my manners, so I continued to use them. "That trip to First Beach that several of my peers took several months ago, when Bella first moved here, do you remember that?"
"Yes, but that is irrelevant in this scenario."
"No. That is when Jacob told Bella that we were vampires. She then did some research and came up with nothing. So, she came straight to me, and asked me herself. I did not lie to her, I had no reason to. But that, Mr. Black, is when the Treaty was broken."
He was dumbfounded and just started across the street. "Why are you here then? That was a year and a half ago. If it mattered, you would have come to us then."
At that moment, Sam Uley and his followers walked up to the porch, surrounding Emmett and I.