All you recognize belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

This chapter took a bit longer than expected because so much happens in it! Hope I did this justice. hehe. This chapter is another that gives the story its M rating.

I want to thank my readers, especially those of you who review. I love getting them and reading what you all think of the story. Your words are so kind and encouraging. If you haven't reviewed-please do! It only takes a moment.

Another thanks to my beta, DannoCH, who is the bomb at turning my fragments of copy into real, sensical sentences.

Enjoy!

.

Chapter Fifteen

Second

.

I must have looked awful. My hair was still tangled in the ponytail Alice had set yesterday, but now half sodden with shower water and sticking to the sides of my face. Tears streamed down my makeup-smeared cheeks and I imagined how red and swollen my eyes must be from crying. The breath that came was short now; coming and going in those hitched and sudden gasps that seem to stick in your throat after you've had a good cry. Or the kind that come when you see a vampire naked for the first time.

The term breath-taking just doesn't do it justice. Physically, Edward seemed to mirror me, only in exact opposite. Where my hair clung, his defied gravity. His eyes were golden and alert to my puffy, bloodshot ones. His body stood strong and tall across from me as though chiseled from stone. Hot water pelted off the taught muscles of his chest and shoulders; where my body had curled in on itself as rushing water beat down upon me. We differed so drastically and yet, as my eyes wandered along the full length of him for the first time…I realized that didn't matter. We were exactly crafted for the other. Made to fit. Perfectly.

"You came," I mumbled, wiping at my eyes as Edward climbed over the lip of the tub.

He drew the curtain shut, keeping his face turned to me. I heard the soft clink of the curtain rings meeting the tile wall. We were sealed together in here now. Steam was already beginning to build around us.

"You asked me to trust you," he answered.

"Is that the only reason? Because I asked?" I swallowed, waiting. I wanted to hear that this wasn't just all me; that I hadn't whined my way into making him do this. I wanted…I wanted him to want this just as badly as I did.

"Of course not," he said evenly, his eyes softening, "I came because I wanted to. The thought of you in here, alone and naked, made me ache to touch you. Like this…"

He reached out a hand to me, placing it at the nape of my neck and swept slowly along the column of my throat. His touched ignited the prickling bubbles once more, coursing them through me and bringing my body back to life after months of dormancy. With that I knew the tingling I felt was not only my desire. It was the half of me that recognized the missing part to its whole. Edward.

He combed his fingers into my hair, up to the elastic band that held my ponytail in place. Edward fingered the band for a moment and then snapped it. My hair tumbled down my shoulders, becoming instantly weighed by the shower so that it clung to my bare back.

Edward leaned forward, his mouth barely touching the shell of my ear. "First, you must promise me something."

"Anything," I rushed.

"You must tell me if you are uncomfortable or in pain. If I hurt you… in any way…" His consternation caused his voice to waver at the end, as if every doubt he had were trying to break through his wall of intent.

"Shh," I hushed and cupped my hands to his face so that I could look at him, "You won't. You won't."

"Bella…"

I gripped him tighter. If he told me he couldn't…if he told me to stop…I would simply explode.

"It's alright," I assured him and guided him carefully back with me under the shower. Water thrummed in my ears, rushing down the length of our bodies, finding the small sliver of space between us. It trickled past my navel where I felt the twisting and tingling want for him there. I placed myself up on my toes, matching my lips to his once more. I wanted him so badly it almost hurt. Wanted, not needed. And, to me, that was all the difference.

He put his hands to me, wintery fingers clutching me at the shoulder as he deepened his kiss. His tongue met mine as he let his hands travel down my arms and across to my chest. Without being aware, I pushed myself harder against him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he continued to trace my body as if to learn every curve by heart.

When he broke apart from me, leaving me gasping under the cascading water, he ducked his head under my cheek, kissing me there. And again, at my collarbone. He kissed a trail down each breast to the concave of my navel, then continued south as he peppered each inch of my skin with his lips until finally he was… Oh God…there. There, between my legs, using his hands to spread my hips and placing his face between them.

"Edward!" I gasped as I felt his mouth brush the sensitive skin.

He did not answer. He laved the spot, taking me into his mouth and parting me open with his tongue. He kissed it, sweetly and cool and wet. I fisted my hands into his hair, tugging at each new flick of his tongue. Water streamed my body and it was as though he was drinking it from me.

Oh God. Oh, oh God. This was different. So different! There was never a feeling like this in the world. Never something so good. So intense. He kissed and sucked and my every nerve was alight. I felt it building. Those tiny bubbles were gathering at my core, each one vibrating with excitement as Edward brought me closer to the edge.

"I want you," I moaned. Not in that lustful, heated way. It was more than that. I want you, Edward. You. You. I pleaded that he would know what I meant before I shattered in his hands.

He did. Edward reached his hands up, placed them firmly along my upper arms and pulled me down too so that we were both together, kneeling on the floor of the tub. Water crashed around us.

I held his eyes, confused at what he was doing, and saw his cheek lift slightly in a smile before he turned me around and put his chest against my back.

"I don't know what to," I started nervously, unsure of what to do next. It was this time that Edward quieted me. Hushing me close to my ear as his fingers swept my hair from my neck.

Anxiously, I parted my legs for him and he guided himself to my opening, waiting only a second there before pressing himself inside of me. One hand of his remained between my legs, holding me there as he pulled in and out of me.

Slowly. Slowly. He pressed his stomach to my back and his fingers into my slick folds. I moaned, rolling my head onto his shoulder. He kissed my cheek as he pushed into me again and I felt him fill me to my core.

This was how you made love. With Edward. Only he could do these things to me, make me feel this way. Slow and insistent. This was making love.

He panted against my cheek, increasing his speed and rubbing between my legs with his long, thin fingers. My heart hammered inside of my chest and it was as if I could not catch air. Faster he moved and faster the fizzing bubbles prickled inside of me. I tightened, gasping once more when finally, finally I came. Release ran through me like the water, flooding and draining until I was left limp against him.

"Bella," Edward whispered. "Isabella." He said it over. I felt his body go rigid behind me as he held me to his waist, clutching my hips. The sound of a loud pop! exploded through the air, followed by the clatter as something crashed to the floor.

I put a hand behind me and felt for the back of his head, holding him to me. There was only the flow of water, the pounding of my heart, our panting breaths, and the echo of these words in my head….

I want you.

I want you.

They never made it to my lips, because the second I opened my mouth Edward was there. He kissed me sweetly, breaking away and whispered to my skin.

"I shall love you forever. Do you know that? You have my soul, as damned as it may be, until the end of my days."

.

.

We held each other afterwards, letting the shower rain on us for what felt like a long time. The skin on my hands had pruned by the time I realized I should let go.

I remained silent, not wanting to break this moment with words. I was still basking in what we had done… and what I had felt. I chanced a look down at my own body and saw bluish blossoms on my lower stomach, placed exactly where Edward's hands had been.

Blushing, I covered them quickly with my hands. The bruises were already forming and the less Edward saw of that the better. He wasn't watching me though. He had scooped up a bottle of shampoo that had fallen to the floor and was examining it. The thing had burst open, allowing orange shampoo to bleed from a wide gash on its side.

"What happened to it?" I asked. I had washed my hair yesterday with that same bottle-intact.

Edward paused. "I…bit it."

"You bit the shampoo?" Immediately I checked back to the bottle. It did appear to have been torn by extraordinarily sharp teeth. The sound of its demise must have been the loud pop from before.

"I'm sorry about that," he muttered.

"Don't apologize for anything," I answered, taking the container from his hands. It could have been worse. It could have been my heart mangled and broken. Citrus shampoo oozed onto my fingers and I used the product to wash into my hair, tossing the bottle aside without another thought.

Edward said no more on the matter, opting to lather soap in his hands and run them down my body. Together we washed the grime from yesterday off of me, and the last of Alice's makeup and hairspray spiraled down the drain.

When I was rinsed, he shut the water off and helped me from the tub. I wrapped my arms around his neck, hiked myself onto the tips of my toes and kissed him on the lips. Without even thinking of it, I smiled up at him. Amazingly, he smiled back.

We were speechless as Edward dressed into the clothes from the day before. He listened for Charlie and, when the coast was clear, slipped from the doorway, being sure to plant a quick kiss to my forehead before leaving.

He was giving me privacy to dress, although I had no inclination to don the purple frock again. So I wrapped myself in a towel and walked to my room. It was empty. Edward had probably anticipated my desire to wear fresh clothing. He was allowing me a human minute to prepare for the day.

But instead of dressing, I flopped onto my bed, pressed my face into the pillow, and grinned freely, letting myself enjoy this moment.

It had been perfect. It had been…right.

.

.

Settling on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved henley, I took my time getting dressed. Edward was neither in my closet or lurking in a corner. I had checked the room thoroughly, even stooping to look under the bed.

I slipped my feet into an old pair of Converse and brushed the knots from my hair. I felt strangely put at ease, forgetting for a moment the threat of Laurent, and that soon Edward, his family and I would have to discuss the details of our plan. For now, I took the simple pleasure in sending my first text message to Renee with the new phone, careful to leave out the details of what just occurred. Then thought to myself that I might just head downstairs for more cinnamon toast, if Charlie hadn't already finished off the entire loaf.

That's when I heard the shouting and my brief, blissful moment was gone.

I jumped up from my computer chair, stumbled over the towel on the floor, and flung my bedroom door open.

The sound was clearer in the hallway. It was a straight line from the top of the stairs to the front door, which was open. The men's arguing voices seemed to be coming from outside.

I recognized Charlie's at once. Then Edward's. At first, I thought maybe Charlie had discovered Edward in the house and had thrown him out. But then- oh shit- then I heard rasping, angry shouts that I knew belonged to Jacob Black.

Oh no.

I barreled down the stairs, my mind racing. What was Jacob doing here? What was happening outside?

The second my feet landed on the floor, I bounded for the doorway. Rain was coming down hard now and created a sort of veil over the trio of men in Charlie's front yard. I burst into the torrent, my fresh clothes instantly soaked.

Jacob was holding Edward by the collar of his shirt. That short length of distance was all that remained between them. Both of them glared into the other's face; lips curled, teeth exposed. They looked ready to kill. Charlie was standing beside them, a hand on each of their shoulders and his head turning back and forth nervously to look at the other. He was yelling something at them over the beat of the rain.

"Step away from each other!" Charlie ordered. Neither of them moved.

Edward looked furious. Perhaps it would have been him clutching viciously at the hem of Jacob's shirt… if Jake had been wearing one.

"Get your hand off of me," Edward snarled. Jacob only balled his fist tighter.

"Stop!" I cried and Edward's eyes flickered to mine. He looked stricken that I was suddenly out here in the rain and he threw Jacob's hand off of him and came to my side at once.

"Bella, get in the house right now!" Charlie called but I ignored him. I was suddenly seeing red. There Jacob stood, shirtless on my father's lawn, looking like the epitome of health and already raring to instigate another fight with Edward. Rain dripped from his newly cropped hair. It was the focal point of my rage. I charged towards him.

"You!" I screamed, pointing a finger at him, "You had me so worried! I thought the worst things! You put us all at risk! You put yourself at risk! You! You!" I gasped roughly, trying to catch my breath again. Cold rain sank into my bones, making my teeth clatter.

"I'm here to talk to Charlie," Jacob answered. His eyes glanced over me for the briefest moment as he turned to my father.

"And what do you have to talk to Charlie about?" I demanded.

"Nothing that has to do with you."

"I think it certainly pertains to Bella," Edward spoke from behind me. His arm curved around my waist and pulled me beneath his shoulder, shielding some of the rain.

"Do you have to do that in front of me?" Jacob roared, turning on Edward and me, "I think I might hurl."

"Let's all calm down," Charlie said and put a hand to his eyes to shield the rain, "Edward, I'm not sure why you're here. You know Bella is grounded. I suggest you go home."

Edward twitched, his hand clamping to my hip.

"Then Jake should go too!" I countered, "I'm not allowed any visitors." I shot Jacob an angry look, but he was not looking at me directly. His eyes were on Edward's hand at my waist.

"Actually, he said he was here to see me. He's my visitor. Jacob, let's go inside and get out of this damn monsoon." He turned to Edward, "You, go. Don't make me call your parents."

Edward ground his teeth but obediently let his arm around me fall as he dipped his face to my ear and whispered "Never too far."

He took off in a slow jog towards the road. I imagined he would simply double back as soon as Charlie was out of sight. My body shivered as I watched Edward disappear. Deciding it would serve better to get out of the rain, I followed Jacob and Charlie back inside. My Converse squished through the wet grass leading up to the door.

The three of us emerged into the house dripping wet. Jacob shook the rain from his hair as I ran to the kitchen to fetch hand towels. We each dried our faces and Charlie welcomed Jake to the kitchen table to sit down for a hot cup of cocoa. Then he looked apologetically to me, since he had no clue how to prepare such a thing.

Reluctantly, I began warming milk on the stovetop, making sure to clang and smack the pot around a bit so that Charlie knew I wasn't entirely thrilled about our sudden guest of honor.

Charlie winced as I slammed the pot on the burner but then turned to Jacob and gave him a once over. "Can I, um, get you anything? Another towel or…a shirt? You must be freezing."

Jacob shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine. Warm blooded." He made a point to look at me as he said that last part. I rolled my eyes back at him.

"Alright," Charlie accepted, "I know I'm drenched, so let's try to make this quick so I can change. What did you need to tell me?"

"Yes," I snapped, stirring the milk so it didn't burn, "What was so important a phone call wouldn't suffice?"

Jacob dutifully ignored my comment. This time it was Charlie who shot me a warning glance meaning be nice.

To my surprise, Jacob's entire demeanor changed. His defensive front faded as color rose to his cheeks. He put a hand to his eyes and I saw that it was trembling.

"Mr… Mr. Clearwater. Harry. He died early this morning." The words choked themselves from Jacob's throat. "Heart attack."

Instantly, my own guard came down. I let the spoon fall into the bubbling milk and darted to the table. Charlie was sitting in silent shock and I went to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. My other hand hesitated at my side. It twitched outward in Jacob's direction. I was so unsure of us, I didn't even know if I could touch him. But then Jacob reached out and grabbed my hand, enveloping it in his trademark warmth. He squeezed tightly and ducked his head into the crook of his arm to hide his face.

I stood with both hands outstretched, one to my father and one clasped desperately by Jake, listening to the rain, to the boiling milk, and to Jacob's tortured breathing. Finally, Charlie interrupted this trance.

"Harry is my age," he uttered in disbelief, then shook his head, "Was my age. That's just…too young for a heart attack."

"Dad, Jake, I'm so sorry," I mumbled, unsure of what to say. Jacob was clearly heartbroken. I knew his father was close with the Clearwaters, but I had no idea something like this would hit him so hard.

"Sue?" Charlie questioned and Jacob lifted his face from his arm.

"At the house with my father."

"And the kids? Seth and Leah?"

Jacob twitched awkwardly and then wrenched his hand free from mine. He pushed his attention to the window and gave no response.

"Well," Charlie said, rising to his feet, "I'm going right over there. I just need to change into something dry. Jacob, thank you for coming here and telling me face to face. Bells," he turned to me, "Stay home and rest. I'll give Sue your condolences."

"You can't leave!" I cried, "You said you wouldn't."

Charlie's eyebrows knitted together. "You know how close I am with the Clearwaters. I'm going over there to pay respect to a good friend and provide assistance to a mourning family."

"I know. I'm sorry but just… don't go. Don't go out there. Stay here with me. Please." My insides flipped at the thought of Charlie traveling alone unprotected. It would allow Laurent a perfect opportunity to go after him.

"I can't believe you're acting like this. I'm going, Bells. That's that." He pushed the chair away from him and headed toward the hallway.

"Wait! Wait," I breathed, thinking on the fly, "Jacob! Will you take my father to the reservation? Stay with him there?"

Jacob's dark eyes turned to me; they were narrowed into suspicious slits. "Why?"

"I'm perfectly capable of going on my own. If you're afraid of being alone today, Jacob can stay here with you. I'll allow it until I come back."

"No!" Desperation was creeping into my voice. I didn't want to alarm Charlie, but Jacob's stoic disregard was getting to me. I bent low to him, putting my face to his. He flinched his head in the opposite direction, so that I couldn't touch him.

"Please," I hushed quickly, "Go with Charlie and protect him. Laurent—the dark one—he's after me. If Charlie's alone, Laurent will go after him too. Jake, please."

"What are you saying to him?" Charlie called; he was standing in the opening between the kitchen and the hallway. Water dribbled from his shirt to the floor.

For a moment the three of us only looked to the other. Charlie confused, Jacob pensive, and myself in full-blown paranoia.

"It's nothing," Jacob said finally, "I'll take you to the reservation. Gotta check in over there anyway. Go ahead and get dressed. I'm ready to leave when you are."

I heaved a sigh of relief and settled my forehead to the table. Charlie muttered something under his breath and I heard him climb the stairs up to his room to change.

"Thank you," I said, reaching my hand out for Jacob to hold. He left it, giving no answer except for his strangled, heavy breaths, which sounded as though he was trying to control his emotions.

"So Emily was right? That piece of shit dark one is after you?"

I nodded into the table.

"Shit!" he cursed and slammed his fist hard into the table; it shook from the force. "I should have listened to her when she first told me. I blew her off. And then I left you there! I fucking left you both there to die. Some fucking Protector I turned out to be!"

"You didn't know," I eased, looking at him now. "I didn't believe her myself until…"

"You punched her in the face? Yeah, I heard about that. Emily came to see me. She said she tried to warn you but you clocked her one instead. Shit, Bells, you're so fucking stupid!"

"Excuse me?" I said, pushing my seat from the table, "I kind of saved her life."

"It's not about her! It's him. Always him! You're still with that bloodsucker even when one of his kind is out to eat you alive. You don't fucking get that every single one of them deserves to burn."

"Don't say that. I wouldn't have escaped from Laurent if it wasn't for the Cullens. Alice saved my life; I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her and Carlisle."

"Wrong. If it weren't for them your life would never need to be saved. You know how much better off we'd be if they never existed? My people wouldn't become animals, you and me, we'd of had a chance at a normal life, and Harry Clearwater would still be alive."

"I thought you said it was a heart attack."

Jacob scoffed and kicked one of the table's legs with his foot.

"It was. His heart was weak to begin with and when his kids phased…it was just too much for him."

"His kids?" I asked in disbelief, "You mean…"

"Shifters, yea," Jake answered, his voice dropped as he ran a hand over his face, "Jesus, Seth is only fifteen."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. At first, there had only been three wolves. I remembered vividly that day Sam came to our home to lecture Jacob after my accident. There were three of them. Then Embry joined them…then Jacob. One by one the teenagers of Quileute reservation were changing from their ordinary selves to…something darker.

"Even Leah?" I asked, biting my lip.

"We're just as shocked as you are. She's the first female shifter in the history of our tribe. No one saw it coming. Sam and I, we even thought Seth would be safe for a few more years, maybe never have to go through it if we got rid of the dark one. But…." He gritted his teeth, "Your precious Cullens came on our fucking land. That was it. Within an hour Leah and Seth were in wolf form. Sam had to go help them through it and explain what was happening. They were terrified and I couldn't even be there for them. I'm the damn alpha and I couldn't even help my own pack because I was still…"

He drifted off, turning back once more to the window to watch the rain. It was then that I finally took a good look at Jacob. Remembering what Edward had told me about his injury, I surveyed the bare skin of Jacob's arms and torso. It didn't look too bad at first glance, but up close you could tell that something wasn't right with the way Jacob moved. It was a little slower, like each effort caused him pain. Slowly, I began to notice the discrepancies in the shape of his body. There were bumps and bulges from what looked like misplaced bones. Where they jutted from their proper setting, the skin had gone almost white, as if it would tear through. He looked as though he had been taken apart and put back together, only this time the pieces didn't fit.

Like Humpty Dumpty, I thought, disgusted with myself.

"You should have let Carlisle help reset your bones, Jake." I shifted closer to him, pulling my chair along the linoleum floor so that it was by his side. Heat radiated off of him and it reminded me of how he used to keep me warm during the cold ours we spent in his shed.

"My brothers did it just fine," he grunted and shifted uncomfortably in his chair, "Once your boyfriend had the good sense to leave."

"Jake, I don't think you're supposed to be this lumpy. Let Carlisle help…"

"I'm not going to let some vamp touch me."

He was still so angry. At the Cullens. At me. My hands rubbed along the denim on my thighs. I wanted to touch him and soothe the pain I felt so responsible for.

"Does it hurt?" I asked.

He kept his eyes locked on the cascading rainfall, speaking to the window and not to me.

"There are worse things."

It was though he and I were constantly at war. Back and forth we sparred with loaded words that marred the other. It had to stop.

"I was so worried about you," I said truthfully.

He laughed darkly. "You've got a funny way of showing it."

"Well, I was angry, too," I conceded, then added "Still am, actually."

"Yea, because I interrupted your little love fest."

"No! Angry because you almost got everyone killed, including yourself!"

He turned to me, frowning and clenching the muscles of his jaw. "I saw the necklace. He was wearing it when I caught up at the border. There was no way in hell that I was going to let him wear it. So I tried to tear it off," then Jacob chuckled, "or break his neck. Either would have worked. It was at that point when the big lug got lucky and pulled me off. I see now you're wearing it again. Not sure what that means."

He paused, running his hands over his face. A protruding bone shifted from his shoulder. "Not sure what to believe anymore. You lied to me. I asked you yesterday if anything was going on with you and him and you said no. But he was wearing your necklace—the one I gave you-and I come here and he's got his rotting hands all over you."

We were charting into inevitable territory and I didn't know if I was ready for it. "There wasn't anything going on then. Not when you and I…did what we did, anyway."

He snorted loudly, his voice now dripping with accusation.

"So it happened overnight? That's priceless. We're together six months and you give me nothing. The corpse shows up and-"

I jumped to my feet. "Nothing? I gave you everything! I put everything I had into our relationship and it still wasn't enough."

Jacob rose to his full height, towering over me so that I was face to face with the dent of his collarbone. "You could've tried harder!"

"I tried!" I cried, "I tried to love you but it just wouldn't work. It wasn't meant to."

He kicked a chair this time, it knocked over onto its side.

"And a vampire is meant for you? It's not natural!"

"Neither is sprouting fur and a tail but I don't hear complaints about that, Jake."

He pushed toward me, bending low so his face was close to mine.

"Don't you dare think for one second that I like being this way! You think I want to be this …thing? Have an animal inside of me? I can feel it, always, clawing to get out. I never wanted this. Never. But at least I have a heartbeat." He grabbed my hand and pushed it to his chest so that I could feel it. "I'm flesh and blood. You can't say we don't work. You felt it yesterday, I know you did. You said it was different now."

I swallowed nervously. Heat spread through my open palm. It was time. I promised myself I would tell Jacob the truth…no matter how painful or awful it was.

"Jake—I need to tell you something," I breathed. I went to move my hand from him, but he held it there.

"Don't," he said, squeezing my hand, "Don't take that from me. You said it was different. That it wasn't a mistake."

His heart continued to beat against my hand. He would not release me no matter how I pulled to free myself. I didn't want to feel his heart. I didn't want to feel what I was doing to him. His chest rose and fell, quickening with his breath, as his eyes searched mine wildly.

"It was different," I explained, "I didn't understand why at the time. I was confused and scared and you were there, in flesh and blood as you say, and I felt myself wanting that…connection with you. It didn't feel wrong because I wasn't trying to force a start for us. This one…it was an end. I get that now. It wasn't a mistake. It let us finish, so we can move on."

"Move on," he repeated, drawing the words out so they sounded nothing like the way I had intended. "What if I don't want to move on? There's still the part where I love you more than anything."

"Do you?" I asked him, looking up into his brown eyes, "I don't think so. Not anymore. You call this love? The way we argue and fight like this every time we're together? I think you hate me…and I don't blame you after everything I've done. I'm sorry for all of that. I really am. But Jake, I can see the way you look at me. Like you want to love me but you can't anymore."

His eyes flickered as if something ignited behind them. I had only a second to register the change in him before his hands were at my shoulders and dragging me to him. He forced his mouth onto mine, but I shut it closed, refusing to let him in.

"You want me to show you?" he ground into my mouth, "Kiss me back. Open your mouth and kiss me back."

I groaned in clear refusal, twisting to get away from him. "No, Jake."

He moved with me, turning my shoulders so that we were aligned once more. He kissed my tight, drawn shut mouth, trying to open it with his lips.

"Kiss me back, damnit." His teeth scraped my lips.

The blaring alarm startled us both. It screeched through the house and Jacob dropped me at once. His nostrils flared as pushed past me to the stove, where the boiling milk was burning and sending up smoke.

"What's going on?" Charlie called, racing down the stairs and into the kitchen to join us. I had already grabbed a towel and started to swat the smoke from the alarm, which continued its deafening wail.

"The milk burned!" I yelled over the alarm. Charlie took the towel from me and wafted the ceiling with it until the house fell silent.

Jacob had removed the scorched pot from the stove and tossed it into the sink. He looked at me from across the room, his dark eyes apologetic. Yet there was a vein in his neck that was pulsing.

"I'll be in the car," he said gruffly, continuing to stare openly at me. I pleaded with my own eyes that he take good care of my father while on the reservation. However it appeared to be lost in translation as Jacob strode from the kitchen, tugging at his shorts.

Charlie let out what could have been either a laugh or groan. "Were you two fighting again down here? I don't know what I'm going to do with you, kid. These boys…I mean, I remember what I was like when I was young but….Bells, the way they're acting around you…it ain't right."

I laughed shakily, putting a hand to my chest to slow my own racing heart. Charlie didn't even know the half of it.

"Sorry. Things are kind of weird right now."

"I can see that," he said, his gaze drifting to the burned pot, "Wish I didn't have to leave you here. You know I wouldn't go if it wasn't Harry. He's family to me. Listen, no more visitors, got it? Just take it easy and try to rest."

I nodded, knowing I was probably breaking his rule right now if Edward was back in the house.

"I have my cell on me if you need me. Take care." He came to give me a hug, but realized I was still wet from the rain and put a hand to my shoulder instead before turning to go.

"Dad?"

He paused. "Yes?"

"Stay close to Jacob, will you?"

"You got it," he said and walked out of the house. I watched the Rabbit pull away, taking an old friend and my father away from me and out into the open where Laurent waited.

Please protect him, I thought to Jacob. I kept watching the road long after they were gone. The rain had lightened but didn't stop. Something cold wrapped across my waist. I put my hand to it and squeezed.

"I could have killed him."

I sighed. "He's just hurt."

"That's no excuse—"

"It's alright," I said, patting Edward's hand, "I can't be too mad. He's going to watch over Charlie for me."

Edward leaned down into my wet hair, "Soon he won't have to. I called my family. They are coming and together we will formulate a plan to rid the earth of Laurent. Then, we won't have to deal with him ever again."

Whether Edward meant Laurent or Jacob, I didn't know.

.

A/N: I know for the majority of the Twilight books, Jacob and his pack are referred to as werewolves, only later to be revealed as shifters in the Breaking Dawn. I decided to just use shifters because it's accurate and less confusing.

Hope you liked it. If you did: show love and review! This story is approaching its final chapters. Stick with me!