The character names from the Twilight series are owned by Stephenie Meyer. However, select characters and ideas presented in this story are property of A Thousand Red Petals. Please do not copy, reproduce, or translate without permission.

"Then go ahead. Ask away." I made a gesture towards him, similar to an announcer turning the audiences' attention to the performer. I wanted the chance to explain…but I needed him to ask. Just to see if he still cared.

"What the hell happened to you?" Ryan growled softly at Jake's rude tone, but I shrugged it off. I doubt my own reaction in his position would have been any different. I was honestly thinking the same thoughts towards Jake. I had no doubts no he was part of the werewolf pack.

"Weren't you there? Didn't you see Laurent attack me? I saw the wolves. You're pack was about three seconds to late. He attacked me – Laurent did – and Serena got there just in time to save me. I'm alive because of her"-

"No, you're a vampire"- Jake's voice turned into a snarl – "because of her."

"What's the difference, Jake?" I tried so hard to keep my voice from breaking or cracking, "I can talk, walk, breathe. I'm living my life because she saved me. Can't you be happen that I'm alive? That your best friend"- I caught myself, but it was too late.

I had forgotten, maybe because the thought of Jake was unbearable, that Jake and I ended on a sour note. I blamed our falling out on Sam Uley, a symbol of rebellion to the once innocent boys of the La Push reservation. I was heartbroken that Jake had fallen into that trap, but wasn't here to make him feel guilty.

Too late.

His face went hard, and his nostrils flared. Even from the distance apart we were, separated by the wolves, I saw the guilt in his eyes. "I never meant to do that, Bella. I had no choice. I didn't choose this."

Now I was confused. "What do you mean?" My mind flashed back to the missing people reports of the T.V., the stories about wolves who mercilessly killed people. Was Jake really that – a killer?

"The…transformation. It's part of my blood and heritage." Jake's voice seemed defeated, and his anger façade seemed to drop. He rubbed his hands over his face and shuffled his feet through the sand of the beach. A wolf in front of him turned his head and nuzzled it lightly on Jake's leg. "Thanks." Mumbled Jake, still looking worn and tired.

"Listen," Jake spoke louder, obviously addressing the crowd of wolves and vampires, instead of just myself, "Give Bella and I a minute. We have a lot to discuss. Just…we'll see you all soon. Talk, you know?"

The wolves nodded their heads, and slowly moved backwards, eyes still on the vampires for a sign of attack. I turned my body to face my family, giving them a nod of reassurance. Serena met my eyes, giving me a warning glance, before turning herself around and running off in the opposite direction of the wolves. She jumped over the river, and the rest of my family followed suit, each one of them brushing my arm as they left.

I turned back to the wolves. "You can go now."

They all turned around themselves and ran off, the black one taking the lead. Jake and I watched them go, before turning back to each other.

"Explain."

Jake's voice told me there was no choice. I talked about the Cullens and the vampires in Arizona. I briefly went into detail about James, just explaining that he held a grudge, as did his supposed mate, Victoria. Jake stayed quiet as I went into detail about her escaping, and Laurent's departure from Forks.

The next part was tricky.

I skipped the part about the Cullens leaving, and went straight to the day in the woods. I talked about the attack (Jake actually tensed up at that part), and reassured him that Serena's intentions were good. "The wolves came and chased away Laurent, and she was there. She bit me, ran through the forest with me, and met the rest of my family in an abandoned home. I became a vampire there, and, well, we moved away.

"See, Serena and my family, before I joined, heard about the, uh, vegetarian lifestyle"-

"The what?"

I rolled my eyes at Jake's interruption. I guess he hadn't really changed that much.

"We only drink animal blood. Not the blood of humans. Like vegetarians. They only eat tofu and vegetables; they don't eat protein. Kind'ove like how we don't drink human blood. It's as inhumane to us to drink human blood as is it to vegetarians to consume animal meat. Does that make sense?"

Jake's expression had been dumbfounded, but had tightened up again as I brought up human blood. The animosity between us was back. "Yes." He said tightly, not really meeting my eyes. He clenched his jaw, "Go on."

"Well, Serena heard about the vegetarian lifestyle, 'cause, you know, the vampires that used to be here…" I trailed off awkwardly, not really willing to bring up the Cullens. Jake seemed to sense my discomfort, and waited for me to continue, his stance still stiff and upright.

"She wanted to learn more." I continued confidently, finally moving on from the awkward tension that hung in the air like a thick cloud, "So, she, and Ryan, Ana, and John, all located here. They didn't set up a permanent establishment, really, but they got a good start. They were already practicing the vegetarian lifestyle, and could blend in so…yeah."

Jake nodded, moving his feet a bit as he considered everything. He finally turned back to me. "What about the humans?"

"What humans?"

"The dead ones." My confused expression might have broken him a bit, because he continued on in a less accusing tone, "The ones dead in Seattle. We've seen the reports on the news. We aren't in the dark you know."

I've heard the stories. You vampires "slip-up" all the time. Don't try to fool me, Bella; I know that it wouldn't be that much of a big deal if you guys decided to try something off of the deluxe menu instead of drinking Bambi's blood all the time"-

"You think we're behind the attacks?" I asked incredulously. Had I not just explained to Jacob that drinking the blood of humans was something we refrained against? We weren't newborn vampires – we were older, and more experienced. Surely he'd know that.

But he didn't. Tightening his jaw, Jacob replied stiffly, "Do you see any other bloodsuckers around here?"

For some reason, all though I had brushed off his other insults out of guilt, this one struck a nerve with me. Even though Jacob had crossed many lines in this conversation (the Bambi dig, to name one), I felt a sudden anger boil up in me, tightening my muscles and nearly forcing me into an attacking crouch. While I swallowed it down quickly, praying I wouldn't do anything I would (eventually) regret, I couldn't help my even tone.

"I'm not a newborn, Jacob. None of my family members were bitten yesterday. We've been around humans; we can deal with the scent of their blood. We didn't do this. Someone else did." The bite in my voice must've broken him. Quietly, Jake sat on a nearby rock, putting his head in his hands and rubbing his eyes. I regretted my angry tone, knowing that it only made sense for it too be me or one of my family members causing a human family to mourn. I softened my tone, and kneeled down to face him. It was the closest we'd been since we saw each other not long ago.

"Jake, listen." I put my cold hand on his knee, and he flinch. Quickly retracting it, I continued, "We think – well know - that another vampire, or group of vampires, are raising heck in Seattle. We don't know why, but we're going to find out soon. We may need your help. All of the wolves help. Please."

I know I shouldn't ask this of you, and you have a right to tell me to go to hell"—

Jake laughed bitterly, lifting his head to look me in the eyes, "Actually, I don't. Sam is the alpha. Whatever he wants to happen with the pack happens. Even if I didn't want you here, it wouldn't be my choice."

"That's stupid."

"It's tradition, Bells. I may not agree with it, but that's how life works. You're not going to agree with everything that happens, right?"

"Right." I murmured back, as I helped him get to his feet. I still felt something between us, like a cloudy haze that prevented us from having a reunion like they do in those cheesy movies Serena liked to watch. But I ignored it. Kind'ove.

"Do you really not want me here?" The girl with all of the insecurities came back as I asked this question, hoping that a glimpse of my weakness and desperation would go through to Jacob. I couldn't lose him over this.

Jacob let go of my hand, and we finally faced each other. I knew after this we would go our separate ways and wouldn't see each other until we met up to plan battle strategies, where our relationship would be strictly business.

"No. I'll never want you gone, Bella. Like, I'm not gonna lie, I hate the fact that you're a vampire. But, sometimes life just sucks, and we got to deal with it. So, I'm dealing with it. OK?"

"Okay." I said, giving him a soft smile, which he returned. I turned around and leaped over the river, but before I started to my new home, I called over my shoulder.

"Hey, Jake!"

He turned around to face me. He was clearly walking back to the pack, hands in his pocket and bare feet shuffling against the sand. His face was somewhat surprised as he answered, "What?"

"There's a clearing not far from here. It's by the"-

"There are only a few clearings in this forest, Bells." He flashed me a cocky grin, "I know which one you're talking about."

"Good." My voice was eager, and I started bouncing on the balls of my feet, for some reason excited. When did I ever get excited to fight? "Meet us there tonight."

Jake nodded, and smiled. "I'm sure we can fit that into our schedules. Werewolves are a hot commodity today." I laughed; glad to see his sense of humor was back, "Later, Bells."

With a careless hand motion in the air that was probably some sort of wave, Jacob turned around and left the riverside, his stride more confident and cocky then before. Shaking my head at his cockiness, I left the riverside, determined to make it home before Serena really began to worry.

Seattle, Washington

"I don't see, or hear anything suspicious, Carlisle."

A small sigh erupted from the mouth of Doctor Carlisle Cullen, as he rubbed his marble-smooth forehead and leaned against wallpaper wall that extended about ten feet. The floor creaked as he adjusted his weight to his right foot, and he looked down at the beaten floor, chuckling softly. His adopted son, Jasper, stood still as Carlisle chuckled, not adding any more details until Carlisle stopped.

"I can have Emmett go back out"-

"No, don't worry about it. Go see Alice." Carlisle, in a millisecond, was off the wall and placing a reassuring and on his son's shoulder, "I can take care of everything else for now."

Jasper nodded, and, what seemed like a blink of the eye, was gone. Only a vampire's ear could hear the whistle of the wind he left or light creak his fast feet made on the dirty floors. Carlisle sighed one more time, finally alone. Or so he thought.

As though a wish come true, his wife's pale arms wrapped around him, her breath on his neck. He could only imagine the concerned look on her face as she smoothed his hair – sadly, he couldn't see it: the dirty broken windows prevented any reflection from passing through.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly, still focused on his blonde locks. Carlisle turned to face her, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her close. She snuggled into his chest, but he could still feel her expecting an answer.

He whispered so quietly, he almost didn't expect her to hear the words that had been reeling through his mind like a nagging thought that could never leave, "I think it's time we called Edward home."

Esme stopped breathing for a second, and Carlisle felt her body tense up. He half-expected her to start dry-sobbing, but she didn't. Instead she swallowed, and answered back. "I don't want to disturb him."

"I was thinking the same thing. But, you saw the news. There's something wrong in Seattle. I don't want any more humans to die."

"Neither do I. But how can Edward help?"

"Maybe he can catch a stray thought from the newborn. Or newborns." Carlisle looked down at Esme. "I hate bringing him this close to Forks, where Bella could still be, but we need him. We're not the same, without him."

Esme nodded, looking determined. "I need your phone, Carlisle. I think he'll only answer to you." Carlisle nodded, taking out his Blackberry and handing it to her. Esme quickly typed in a number and put the phone to her ear, letting it ring. "This is a call we should've made a long time ago."

Carlisle nodded and waited. His hearts lifted when he heard the distinctive sound of his son's voice, silky and smooth, with a heavily concealed Chicago accent:

"I was waiting for your call."

A/N: Note, the Cullens don't know Bella is dead. Alice never had that vision of her jumping off a cliff, so Alice never went back to Forks. Edward is still moping. They're also in a rundown building to stay inconspicuous. Just FYI.

I'm so sorry this is so late. I lost my inspiration for this story, but now it's back. I actually wrote a thousand words of this chapter, left it for a month and a half, and because of a reviewer decided to get back on track.

Reviews are like magic

Thank you every one for your continual support.