I hugged him in my sleep and my dreams had finally become exactly that: wonderful, normal dreams.

I woke up early the next morning and, to my dismay, Jacob was already gone. He'd left a note on my night stand that read, "Dearest Bella, I've gone back to the pack to further refine our plans. Meet up with me on La Push beach this afternoon? Love, Jake."

I imagined him in wolf form patrolling the Quileute border alongside Leah. He was so fast, but she was always faster. I felt safe, so safe in fact, that I fell back asleep and pretended that Jacob was my guardian angel.

It was strange. Knowing that Jacob could imprint at any time, yet I felt no fear about when. I knew that he loved me, and this blinded me to the fact that he could leave me for his soul mate at any moment.

I pulled my blankets around me tighter, pretending they were Jacob's body. I smiled in my sleep and quickly fell into a deeper, more restful slumber.

I awoke a few hours later quite rested and began to make some breakfast. I saw Charlie asleep on the couch. Jacob wasn't kidding, I thought as I recalled how he told me it was going to be a late night at the station.

I tried to be as quiet as possible as I looked for some cereal to go with my bowl. I winced as I stepped on one of the creakiest boards in the kitchen. Charlie mumbled in his sleep and promptly woke up.

"Huh? Where...?"

I stayed still hoping that he'd go back to sleep; I was sure he needed it. He didn't think so.

"Bella?"

"Hey, Dad."

"What time is it?"

"Nine o'clock."

"Nine! Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Well, it's Saturday, so I slept in, and you looked pretty tired, so I didn't feel like it."

"The boys must be worried, no not worried, flooded with work. I need to get down there."

"Relax, Char – I mean, Dad, I'm sure they'll understand that you've been busy, uh, sleeping."

"I gotta go!"

"Which is something everyone needs," I said through gritted teeth.

He stood up and I saw that he hadn't even taken off his holster.

"See ya later Isabella."

I was just about to pour my milk when I watched him stumble towards the door. I vaguely wondered when he came back last night. I rushed towards the door and blocked his path.

"I don't have time for your games," he said exasperatedly.

"You're not leaving this house until you've had at least 8 hours of sleep. When did you get back?"

"Around 4. Why?"

"You're going back to work for another 20 hours on 5 hours of sleep? I don't think so."

"Bella..."

I pointed at the stairs, "Bed!"

He crumpled under my command and trudged up the stairs. This was almost funny as I was taking better care of him than he was. I suddenly felt sad at the thought. I watched him until I heard the bedroom door close and turned back towards my breakfast, it was only now that I noticed that the color of the cereal exactly match Jacob's eyes. My heart skipped a few beats and suddenly I was flooded with images of La Push beach.

I couldn't wait to go.

I wolfed down my cereal, made some finishing touches on my homework that wasn't due until next Wednesday, and began to clean house. All just to keep myself distracted until the afternoon arrived.

Every time I slowed my pace even a little bit, my heart would speed and so would I. I had to maintain control until I saw him. I just had to.

6 agonizing hours later, I climbed into my truck and started the drive down to La Push. I knew when I'd crossed into Quileute land because Seth could be seen in the shadows keeping pace with my truck in his wolf form. I couldn't help but feel that he was trying to tell me something. Victoria flickered across my memory. I shivered but quickly pushed it away.

I finally pulled into the beach's sandy parking lot, but before I could get out, I was instantly surrounded by wolves. Jake was in front of my truck with his front paws on my hood. Something was definitely wrong here. I was supposed to be meeting Jake for a romantic walk along the beach. I was, instead, meeting the entire pack for something else. I pulled my legs up to my chest and just sat like that for a bit as I watched the wolves turn their backs but continue to hold their positions.

Then I saw it.

The red hair. The cat-like gait.

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach and tasted bile in the back of my throat. Even if I backed out and drove away, Victoria would have no problem catching up to me, and breaking through my thin, glass windows.

I closed my eyes and just wished that she would go.

I heard growling ripple throughout the pack. One of them had clearly seen something new and was spreading the word. I didn't envy anyone who could hear the thoughts. The growling was escalating into semi-barks, and I opened my eyes just enough and what I saw made me faint.