I'm sorry if this one has little grammatical inconsistencies, my beta has sick children to take care of. I'm excited to post the next chapter and reveal my 'twist'. I'm sorry if this chapter seems like a tease but I wanted Sam to have his time to get the 'battle plan' down. I am hoping to get to a total of 70 reviews before then so please take the time to review after you're done reading.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight series. Stephenie, I hope I did Jacob justice.

Saturday finally arrived and the second I woke I was already anxious. I hadn't slept well the night before and I laid in bed for hours trying to go back to sleep. It was eight o'clock in the morning and I knew I had an entire day before me. I had to find something to do before I drove myself crazy. I went to the bathroom to take a shower and caught my reflection in the mirror. I ran my hands through my new haircut. The sides had been cut short with the top a little longer and it was now sticking up in spikes. I had to admit, the cut suited me. Damn I look good. My reflection smiled and his white teeth shone against the smooth russet skin.That thought made me laugh. I'd never been narcissistic in the past but I liked how I looked.

I finished my shower and threw on a pair of boxers and jeans with the knees torn out. Billy's door was still shut so I assumed he was still in bed. I figured I would let him sleep. He had been so stressed out this last week. I don't know if he was just worrying about me or about the meeting as well but he wasn't eating much and he looked completely worn out. He was really quiet as well and that worried me. I'd have to give Charlie a call tomorrow and see if he could convince Billy to get together.

I ate a quick breakfast that consisted of an entire box of frozen waffles and a half gallon of milk. I scribbled a short note letting him know I'd be at Sam's because I'd come in after Billy had gone to sleep and I didn't want him to worry about where I was. I threw on a black tshirt and my boots before heading out the door.

It was misting outside, a fog covering the area around the house. Everything was still and it seemed almost too quiet. You're just working this up inside your head. I went out to my garage and threw a leg over my motorcycle. It was my favorite way to travel and even rain wouldn't stop me from riding it. When you're practically invincible you aren't scared by much.

It was a quick ride to Sam and Emily's place. Their place was still quiet and so I figured they were still sleeping as well. I decided I would just go out to the workshop and get some work done. Sam gave us all an idea of what he wanted done. The arch would be made out of oak with intricate carvings of roses, vines, and wolves. Billy had taught me how to do such things so I knew Sam wouldn't be upset with me working on this alone.

It felt great being able to put my skills to good use and I knew Emily would love this. Only part of one pole of the arch was smooth and ready for carving so I got down on my knees and started there.

I don't know how long I worked there before Sam came out. I was concentrating so hard on what I was doing that I didn't even hear him come in until he put a hand on my shoulder. I had finished about a foot of wood with one wolf and two roses, vines connecting all three images. Sam's eyes were still sleepy as he yawned but when he saw what I had finished he clapped me on the back.

"That looks amazing, Jake. You'll have to show me how you do that sometime."

"You'd be better off learning from Billy. I don't know if he has ever shown you some of the things he made for my mother but it is pure art."

Sam yawned again before sipping from his mug of coffee. "How is Billy and the leg? Is he ready for tonight?"

"To tell you the truth, I haven't been home much the past week. I assume his leg is better, he hasn't said anything about it. I think he is stressed, maybe worried about tonight." I felt guilty that I didn't have more to tell him.

He nodded. "I'm sure. Come on, lets go inside. Emily is making pancakes."

I contemplated just going back to work. "I already ate breakfast."

He looked at me, surprised. "You're going to pass this up? Emily will be disappointed," he said as he laughed.

I gave in. "On second though, Emily's pancakes do sound good."

The kitchen smelled mouthwatering and Emily's food did not disappoint. Soon enough, more of the pack started to make an appearance. We were all meeting here to discuss how tonight was going to go down before we left. Quil was one of the last to arrive around noon, having picked up Collin and Brady on his way.

Quil came over and pointed to my head. "Its about time you got rid of that girly 'do," he teased.

"At least that was the only part of me that was girly," I joked back. "We can't do anything about your face." I grabbed him around the neck and that started a wrestling match.

Sam wanted us to all have some "fun time" before the drama and tension of tonight so we spent the afternoon playing soccer. It continued to be overcast with some light misting and some drizzling. We didn't let that stop us. The teams were divided up pretty evenly with Sam and me as captains. I was a decent player but didn't have the knowledge of the game to be great. Seth, on the other hand, had a talent. He dodged and dribbled like lightening. The kid, though only two years younger than myself, made me feel like an old man. If I wasn't what I was I knew I'd have ended up stiff as hell the next day.

At one point Quil had accidentally kicked Paul in the shin pretty hard when he was trying to score. Paul's face got red against his russet skin. "Damnit, Quil. Normally people kick the ball, not the person. Why don't you watch the hell out." He was now up in Quil's face and Quil wasn't backing down.

I cleared my throat and yelled, "Mmmhmm. Cumquat!" All eyes turned to me with puzzled faces, except for Paul. He cracked a smile and then broke out laughing.

Embry was the one to ask, "what the hell is that supposed to mean?" I couldn't speak. I was doubled over laughing and couldn't breathe. Between what I had said and Paul and my reaction, everyone broke out laughing.

I was lying on the ground with tears rolling down my face when Paul walked over to give me a hand up. When I was in a standing position he clapped me on the back and whispered, "thanks man."

I just smiled and pulled him into a half man-hug. "No problem."

We went back to our game and around dinner time decided to throw in the towel. Sam's team had won 5-2. Paul was on Sam's team so we didn't have to worry about him being in a bad mood. Leah was actually smiling for once, having scored two of the goals herself with Seth's assistance, while Jared gave Embry crap for being the worst goalie.

Sue had sent along a smorgasboard of food with Leah and Seth so between that and Emily's cooking we had a very filling dinner. Afterwards we all went back outside to discuss what would happen at the meeting.

Sam set orders for tonight. "We've already discussed and agreed to the conditions of the treaty amongst the elders and ourselves so we won't worry about that right now. I'm more concerned with 'security' so to speak. Jake will carry Billy to the clearing, Quil will carry Quil, and I will carry Sue. The three of us will stay in our human forms next to the elders during the meeting and the rest of you will remain phased. You will fan out behind us, making a half circle. Jared and Embry, you two will be on the ends closest to the coven. Paul, you will be next to Jared, then Seth, Brady, Collin, and Leah you will be next to Embry." He looked around to see if everyone understood and they all nodded. "This is going to be difficult. We are going to be closer to them, and for a longer time, than we were when observing how to fight the newborns. It is going to be extremely important that everyone remains well under control. Do any of you think that will be a problem? Please, don't be afraid to speak up."

No one responded so Sam went on. "If, for any reason, you feel that you're going to lose control I expect you to let Embry know. If you need a quick break, depending on the situation, it might be possible. If someone else observes one of us starting to lose control I expect that you, Embry, will take action." Embry and the rest nodded their understanding.

Sam continued. "If, god forbid, something should go wrong…Jake, Quil, and I will each take our elder and fall back. I expect that you will converge around us until we can make it to the tree-line. After that, we will phase and then Seth, Brady and Collin will fall back to protect them for as long as possible. If necessary, I may ask you three to simply return to La Push with the elders. Is that understood?" The three youngest wolves nodded their heads vigorously, happy to have a specific role in the 'plan'. "I don't expect there to be a problem but it is better to be prepared." He stood as he finished.

I spoke up next. "Sue should be picking up Billy and Quil as we speak. We will leave while it is still light out and hope to reach the clearing by dusk."

That wasn't far off now. We would most likely be leaving in less than an hour. The tension in the air grew and everyone was quiet. Sam went inside to spend some time with Emily before we had to leave. She had her fears that he or others may not come home and no matter how ridiculous that thought was he couldn't talk her out of it.

I just laid in the grass and closed my eyes, humming to myself. I was trying not to think of what might happen tonight, how I might feel. I didn't want to work myself up. I must have dozed off because Embry was shaking me to wake me up.

"They've arrived, its time to go," he said.

Everyone was huddled in a group in front of the house. Billy, Quil, and Sue all wore their raincoats to protect themselves against the cool mist. Billy's face looked drawn. He was very pale and seemed to have a light sheen of moisture covering his face and neck.

"Dad, are you feeling ok?" I frowned, worried that he might not be up to this.

He looked up at me with tired eyes. "I'm fine. Lets get this over with."

I hesitated and looked over to where Quil and Sam were picking up their respective charges. "Lets go," Sam ordered.

I picked Billy up and followed the rest towards the forest. The pack surrounded us in their human forms with Embry and Jared in the lead. Paul and Leah flanked us with Seth, Collin, and Brady picking up the rear. It was going to take longer than if we were all in our phased selves but no one complained about the pace. Everyone was quiet during the run, staying alert for signs of trouble or the scent of vampires.

Billy rested his head on my shoulder and closed his eyes. I tried to keep my stride smooth so I wouldn't jostle him. He felt like a child in my arms and I immediately felt very protective.

We caught the scent of them well before we reached the clearing. The sickly sweet smell made the hairs on the back of my neck and my arm stand up. I would compare it to the feeling of static electricity if anything. We slowed to a stop. Sam turned around with Sue in his arms to face the way we came as the male wolves stripped down to phase. Then he turned back around as Leah went to the back of the pack to do the same. Being the only female, we tried to respect her physical privacy as much as possible. She returned to Quil's side and we forged on.

The clearing came into view and we could see seven pairs of golden eyes and one beautiful chocolate pair watch our approach. They spread out on either side of Carlisle and he took a step forward to greet us.

"Thank you for coming."

If any of you have seen the commercials for Orbit gum ("cleans a dirty mouth") that is where I got the idea to use the word cumquat...its the woman screaming at her cheating husband and his mistress. "Pickle you cumquat!", "Who you calling a cumquat you lint licker!" Yes, I am easily amused.

As I said above, I'm hoping to get a total of 70 reviews before posting my next chapter. I'm going to try as hard as I can to hold out for that too. The most I've ever gotten was 8 reviews for a single chapter. Hey, I've got goals! Please take a second to write the review...tell me you love it, tell me you hate it, tell me you giggled. I would love it.