Chapter 7
I Don't Even Wanna Think About This!

Author's Note: Just a little pointer. Jacob and his pack do not know they are shape-shifters and not werewolves yet, so they will still be referring to themselves as such. Also, the first part of this chapter will take place where chapter 4 left.

(Jacob's PoV)

"Son, you're mutilating the lettuce," my father said.

It had only been a few minutes since I had returned from Paul's house, and I couldn't focus on anything else other than my sudden dislike for my pack-mate.

"Why don't you do it then?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"What's the matter with you?" Billy asked, "You've been in a foul mood since you walked back into the house."

"Oh, like you have no clue, Dad," I said. "When were you going to tell me about Paul and Rachel?"

My father looked up at me, though I couldn't see any surprise in his face.

"Oh," he said, "I should have realized when Sam came by and left with Rachel."

"Sam has nothing to do with this!" I said, "This is between me and Paul."

"Son, I realize you are upset," Billy said, "But you must understand..."

"What do you expect me to understand?" I asked. "Paul imprinted on my sister! She had no control --"

"You're wrong," Billy said.

"Oh yeah?" I asked, "How do you know?"

"I think I know a great deal more than you do, Jake," Billy said, "For one, she had more control than you think she did."

I scoffed.

"Well, if you don't believe me," Billy said. "Then obviously, you don't know as much about imprinting as you think."

"Oh, and you do?" I asked.

"I may have never been able to phase into a wolf, Jake," Billy said, "But when the Cullens returned, I was aware that you probably would be a part of the new pack.. And because of that, I have dedicated my life to our tribe's secret."

"You explained this to me the first day I phased, Dad," I muttered.

"And obviously you have forgotten about it," Billy said, "If your grandfather, Ephraim, was still alive, he would give you a piece of his mind. But because he isn't, I'll give you a piece of it."

I sighed. I had heard all of this before. I didn't need to hear it again. I just wanted to rip Paul a new one!

"Sit down, Jake," Billy said.

I narrowed my eyes at him, but I decided to sit down. If only to get this over with.

"When I was your age," Billy said, "I knew nothing about my father's secrets. He kept it from me. He believed that if I found out, I would be too terrified. I used to think our tribe's legends were just neat bed-time stories and just that. I believed there was no possible way creatures such as vampires could even exist."

My father sighed and his eyes became distant, as he if he was looking into his past.

"When I was old enough," he said, "much older than you are now, he told me the truth about our tribe and the existence of vampires. Your grandfather hated vampires. It wouldn't surprise me if he was the one who coined the term 'leech' when referring to them. Because that is what he thought they were. He thought their only purpose in our world was to feed off of the humans."

"But grandfather was the Alpha of his pack, was he not?" I asked, "And if he was, he would have been the one to make the treaty between our tribe and the Cullens."

"He was indeed responsible for the treaty," Billy said, "but do you know why he started it?"

I shook my head. He pointed at himself.

"Me," he said. "Well, maybe not just myself, but I was in his mind. It was the next generation of our tribe he was worried about. He wanted to make sure we thrived on to create more generations."

"He wanted to make sure there would be werewolves," I said, "Ii the vampires ever decided to break the treaty."

"Yes," Billy said, nodding.

"But the Cullens don't harm humans," I said. "Even back then, they didn't. Surely, he knew that?"

"He was cautiously optimistic," Billy said. "Though I could also say he was cautiously pessimistic as well. As I said, he hated the vampires. He believed the Cullens would someday break their own vows of 'vegetarianism' because in his mind they were still Cold Ones in every way."

"The treaty," I said, "It never went into specifics about harming humans, did it?"

"I know what you are thinking, Jake," Billy said, grimly, "And no, your grandfather was very serious about that part of the pact."

"He never thought about the fact," I said, "that a human may want to become a vampire by their own decision,"

"No," Billy said, "Unfortunately not."

"So," I said, "If Bella becomes a vampire..."

"The treaty set down by Ephraim Black would therefore be broken," Billy said, nodding.

"And there is no way to get past it?" I asked.

Billy looked into my eyes.

"There is one option," he said.

Just as I was about to ask him what this option was, I was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening.

"We're here!" Rachel called from the doorway.

"Behave, Jake," Billy muttered.

"Sure, sure," I said, mentally crossing my fingers.

As my father went to greet Paul, I started to think about our discussion. How could something that started off with an argument about imprinting get into all of that? And my father didn't even get into his imprinting theories, though I knew what they probably were.

Imprinting wasn't all about control. I knew that well enough. If my sister didn't return Paul's love for her, he would have just been best friends with her, and respected her. So as much as I hated to admit it, somehow my sister had feelings for Paul.

Then there was the actual reason for imprinting. Imprinting existed to make sure our line extended. The thought alone disgusted me, especially when it had to do with my own sister.

"My goodness, the salad!" Rachel said, with a loud exasperated sigh that interrupted my thoughts, "Who mutilated the lettuce?"

"That would be your brother," Billy said.

"Jake, you are so useless," Rachel said, walking over to the bowl.

"It was supposed to be your job!" I growled, "But you weren't here to do it."

"Jacob Black, don't start it," Billy said.

I scoffed and walked out of the kitchen. Paul was sitting on the couch. I sat beside him, deciding that if I wanted to punch him at any time, it would only be too easy.

"So..." I muttered, loud enough for only Paul to hear, "What are we going to do about this?"

"Jake, I know you want to fight me," Paul said. "And you know how it will end up. So can we figure out how to do this without it ending up in violence?"

"Why did it have to be my sister?" I asked.

Paul looked over his shoulder at my sister. He looked back at me and shrugged.

"I think it was always your sister," Paul said.

"That isn't helping your case," I muttered.

"We can't control who we imprint on," Paul said. "You'll understand that when it happens to you."

"It will never happen to me," I growled.

"You only believe that," Paul said, "because you're in love with the vampire girl. Obviously you never imprinted on her, so when you realize you can't have her, you'll see it my way. That's what Sam says anyway."

"Oh, I'm sure he's the expert, isn't he?" I asked, with a scoff. "In love with Leah one day, and all over Emily the next."

"Exactly!" Paul said, "We have no control over it. It's like a magnet, Jake. I don't see anyone else besides your sister. At least not in a romantic sense."

"Do not talk about romance and my sister around me," I warned him.

"Oh, Jake," Paul said, grinning, "You feel this way now. But when you imprint, you'll know exactly what I am talking about. It's like... nothing you've ever felt before."

"I hope I never find out," I said.

"You really need to get over that girl," Paul said. "You know as well as I do that she's going to end up like the rest of the Cullens, and you also know the repercussions it will cause."

"If you're trying to calm me down," I said, "You're failing miserably."

"Jake, you weren't here for two weeks," Paul said, "Between the anticipation of how soon it will be before the Cullens break the treaty, and the fact that there are now we have a couple of boys under the age of thirteen who are now a part of our pack, it has become pretty hectic around here. Sam has enough on his plate without having to look after kids. The Elders have been at his throat for days now. They believe he is losing his touch."

"His touch?" I asked.

"The fact that he's the Alpha of the pack," Paul said, "means that he's supposed to be the leader of this tribe. He's the one every young boy in our tribe looks up to, because he is whom they want to become. The mothers of the two new wolves are really worried, Jake. Of course they don't know about what the boys have become, because Sam wouldn't let them know. Sam is now blaming the Elders, because they aren't making his job any easier."

"What's his opinion on the fact that Bella is about to become a vampire?" I asked.

"He has mixed thoughts," Paul said, "At first, he went to the Elders to see if they could modify the treaty. They told him he didn't have the right to ask them. He wanted to confront the Cullens and see if he could get them to change their minds about changing Bella. But the Elders won't let him cross the treaty line. He feels his Alpha powers are beginning to leave him with every refusal from the Elders. And because of this, he has become more serious in his judgments. He is watching over every member of the pack, making sure we're ready for anything. He wants us to be healthy in case the Elders make the decision for us to start the war with the Cullens."

"I don't want there to be a war," I said, "Maybe... maybe I could talk to the Cullens."

"How do you know it isn't already too late?" Paul asked, "How do you know the leech's idea of a honeymoon isn't to change Bella right then?"

"Bella was sure she wouldn't be changed on her honeymoon," I said.

"And you believe her?" Paul asked.

"Of course I do," I said.

Paul sighed.

"You're going to change your mind a lot about her," Paul said, "when you've imprinted on someone else."

"That is why I won't imprint," I said.

"You have no clue, Jake," Paul said, shaking his head, "It's not like it's a life-choice. When it comes, it will come. And you won't be able to stop it."

Three days later, the conversation I had with Paul was still in my mind. Bella and Edward hadn't come back from their honeymoon, and I was left wondering when they would return, if at all. I also wondered what kind of condition Bella would be in.

Whenever I thought of Bella as a vampire, I couldn't help but think of the newborn vampires I had battled on the outskirts of Forks. They were strong, bloodthirsty and uncontrollable. I still found myself thinking about that every now and then.

Yesterday morning, I had woken up covered in sweat. I had a nightmare that I was fighting newborn vampires again, and all of a sudden one of them had turned into Bella and she ran right at me, her eyes glowed with a red tinge, and her mouth was red with blood. I woke up just before she had lunged at me.

Would Bella become that way when she was first turned? Would she even recognize me anymore? Would I recognize her? Could I live in a world where she existed looking like that? If not, could I kill her or watch her be killed?

Running on all fours around the forests of La Push was starting to become a daily habit again. Most of the time it was just to give me some time to myself, but of course when other pack-mates were phased as well, I couldn't get a single thought to myself.

Jake, if you are done moping to yourself, Sam called out, Can you come and see me?

Do I have to, Sam? Jake asked.

You heard me, Jacob. Sam said.

I bet you missed that, didn't you, Jake! Seth said, laughing.

Shut up, Seth. Sam said.

I ran toward Sam's scent and found him a few minutes later. He wasn't alone. Two wolves I didn't recognize were standing at attention behind Sam. One reminded me of a dalmatian: white with black spots all over. The other was almost a blonde color.

This is Heath, Sam said, nodding to the dalmatian.

Heath nodded. What's up? Sam said, indicating the blonde.

And Daniel,

Daniel nodded but didn't say anything.

So these are the runts. I said.

Heath growled.

Easy boys. Jake is second in command, Sam saidI snorted. I hardly felt like second in command anymore.

Jacob, I'm sure Paul has caught you up on some things, Sam said, looking at me, And you can probably tell that I've been busy lately. So I need you to do something for me. I want you to train these two as best you can. Paul will help you.Oh, perfect pair,Leah said, with a snort, Yes, the training classes will consist of Paul and Jake getting at each other's throats.Sam said, Why don't you do it Leah? You can replace Paul.I rolled my eyes. Oh man, not Leah! Anyone but her!Seth asked, with a laugh.

If you are so worried,

Ha! How about that big mouth of yours now, Leah?

I'm up for it. Leah said, ignoring her brother, I've been wanting to shut up the runts anyway.Heath and Daniel growled, and I grinned. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. Leah seemed to be of the same opinion I was about the runts, anyway.

Good, get your tail over here then, Sam said.

I'll be there in a minute, your highness. Leah said.

Cool it, Leah, Sam said.

He sighed and looked at me.

Look, Jacob, Sam said, Usually, I would leave this up to someone else. But you have always been one of our greatest fighters. You don't just go straight into a fight like Paul. You think about it. I always thought you were the brains of the bunch.... besides me.I heard Leah snort. She sounded close continued, ignoring Leah, I need them to be ready for whatever will come our way.I knew he was talking about the treaty being broken in the near future. I also wondered what else Sam had up his sleeve. I knew a couple other pack-mates including Sam himself who could do just as good of a job as me. Was he trying to keep me occupied? Did he know what I had been planning on doing?

I need you to be able to train these two as fast as possible,

I am here, O Chosen One, Leah said, as she walked up behind me.

Sam rolled his eyes. Good luck, you two. I need to go speak to the Elders.Leah scoffed.

Yeah, good luck with that,

As Sam walked off, Leah looked at me.

You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, do you? She asked me.

The truth? I asked. No.Sit back and watch the master, Leah said.

I scoffed. Wouldn't that be mistress?She rolled her eyes and looked at Heath and Daniel.

Okay. I believe Sam and Paul have been through your most basic training, right?" Heath exclaimed, Let's get down to the good stuff.Leah asked. Did Sam and Paul ever teach you anything about the vampires?Heath and Daniel looked at each other.

Oh yeah!

Good stuff?

Nope. Daniel said, shrugging his big shoulders.

We've fought vampires. Leah said. Newborn vampires. They are the worst. They attack without fear. They can come up behind you before you even know it.Daniel said, I mean.... I'm guessing you did pretty well, given you are still here.I said. From the Cullens.Heath said in disgust.

But... surely, we're no match for them?

We had help.

You actually helped the vampires?

Yes. Leah said. Which means they know everything about our techniques.

Then how could we ever defeat them, if we got into a fight? Daniel asked.

Oh, come now, Daniel! Heath said, Look at us. We're huge! We're stronger than them. We are better.Leah said, That simple statement will be your downfall. You underestimate them. Which is why we are here to teach you.I sighed. I didn't know if I could be a part of this. They were talking about killing the Cullens. I didn't care about the rest of the bloodsuckers, but Bella? I couldn't imagine hurting her. There had to be a way to be able to talk to them.

That right there,

I would go when Leah was too busy with the two runts to notice me. Suddenly, she ran at them with no warning. Heath dodged out of the way, but Daniel got the full attack from Leah. She pounced him and tumbled head over heels over him. I suddenly found my opening. I ran right for Heath, but then leaped over him and into the forest. I didn't stop running.

I returned home and phased, then dressed in a suitable outfit. Whatever that was? What was a suitable outfit for confronting a bunch of vampires and asking them to not let Bella transform? I dressed in jean shorts and a shirt, and headed out the door.

Boy, was I about to get in trouble!

======================================
Cliffhanger! Whew, some of this chapter was tough to think of, then the last bit just came to me all of a sudden.

Hope you liked it! More to come!

Feedback would be awesome!