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Chapter 4

I was on the reservation when we found out that Victoria was on her way and wasn't alone. The pack and the Cullens were at a mutual agreement that they would work together, being that their goal was the same: to protect their loved ones and kill Victoria. Everyone seemed okay with the agreement with the exception of Jacob and Edward. They hated each other for different reasons. Jacob hated Edward for my past, and Edward hated Jacob for my present and future.

There wasn't enough time to come up with a plan. Someone mentioned getting me as far away from the fight as possible, but it was too late. According to Alice, we had no longer than 10 minutes.

I was standing with the pack as Sam and Jacob spoke to the Cullens, coming up with a strategy to destroy the threat as quickly as possible.

"Everything is going to be ok, Bells." I looked up as Embry slung his arm around my shoulders, giving me a reassuring squeeze. I smiled half-heartedly.

"Ya Bell, we got this. The red head doesn't stand a chance." Jared chimed in, smiling widely. I smiled again. I felt so lucky to have these guys in my life. They really were like brothers to me.

I listened to their conversation for a few more minutes before returning my gaze to Jacob and the Cullens. Edward was looking directly at me, but I didn't seem him. I only saw Jake. He was looking at me now, the expression on his face made my stomach drop. I'd never seen him so scared.

I saw Edward and Alice making their way toward me, but I ignored them. I needed to be with Jacob.

I ran toward him, jumping into his awaiting arms, and hugged him close. In the back of my mind I knew that we had an audience and everyone had suddenly become quiet, but I couldn't find it in me to care. I needed Jacob to know how much I loved him.

"Please be careful," I begged, pulling back slightly to take his face between my hands. I smiled at him as I leaned in to press several gentle kisses on his lips. "I love you."

I could feel him smiling into the kiss. "I love you, too Bells." I tightened my legs around his waist, needing to be as close to him as possible.

"They're almost here." Alice informed everyone. I desperately wanted to ignore her, but I knew that I couldn't.

"Bella, I-" Jacob started but I silenced him, placing my finger on his lips.

"Just kiss me, babe. Kiss me and come back to me." I didn't have to wait long before he crashed his lips to mine. I felt his arms wrap around my back tighter as he kissed me.

I protested when he pulled away too soon, leaning my forehead against his, taking deep steadying breaths. I didn't notice I was crying until I felt him gently wiping away my tears.

"Go to Leah. Please be careful, Bells. I love you."

I nodded, choking back a sob. I kissed him again, deeper than I ever had before. I felt like hours went by before he put me down. I was painfully aware that it had only been seconds. I hesitated, looking up into his eyes for a long moment before smiling. This wasn't the end for us. I knew it, and I could tell by the love and dedication in his eyes that he knew it too.

"Bella?" Leah's voice was gentle, I felt her grasp my hand and I knew it was time.

Still looking into Jacob's eyes, I forced myself to let go of his warm hand and allowed Leah to guide me away from everyone. I briefly made eye contact with the Cullens, each of them looking at me with different expressions on their face. "Take care of yourselves." I whispered, knowing they'd hear me.

Leah and I stopped walking on the opposite end of the clearing. I stole a quick glance to wear the pack and Cullens were standing. Jacob was phased with his brothers now; Leah joined them just seconds later. She stayed in front of me, effectively blocking my view of the others. I was grateful. I didn't want to see anything.

It hadn't taken Victoria long to find us. Fortunately, the fight didn't last long; she'd been unprepared to face the Cullens and the wolves.

My own stupidity was the reason that anyone got hurt. I'd foolishly thought it was over, and all I did was take one step closer to Jacob when someone had grabbed me from behind. I didn't have to look back to know it was her.

She was mocking me, telling me that getting through both the Cullens and the wolves shouldn't have been as easy as it was, and that I'd made it too easy for her. She almost sounded disappointed. I thought for sure that I was going to be sick.

I didn't see much of what happened next; everyone was moving too fast. The only thing I did see was Jacob being thrown into a tree a few feet away from me and Victoria bite down into Edward's neck. The wolves made quick work of destroying the newborn that had injured Jacob, and no more than 30 seconds could have gone by before the Cullens had Victoria torn to shreds and Carlisle by Edward's side.

Now I'd heard that a vampires bite could severely harm or kill the wolves, but I was unsure of how that affected other vampires. From the looks of it, a giant portion of Edward's neck was missing. I quickly looked away, feeling my stomach turn.

This led me to where I was now. Standing there, watching the two loves of my life suffering, because of me.

Alice was watching me, calling for me that Edward needed me. Leah was calling me, Jacob needed me.

I felt like we were playing tug of war and I was in the middle.

I hated that whichever way I went I was going to hurt someone. I was tired of people suffering because of my decisions. But this decision wasn't hard, I knew where I belonged.

The choice was already made for me when I looked at Jacob and saw his sad eyes staring at me. My heart gave a painful tug as I noticed the tears streaming down his cheeks. I glanced back toward Edward, apologizing softly before hurrying to Jacob's side. I cringed when I saw the blood on the ground below him.

"Bella?" I could feel tears filling my eyes for the second time that day, but I blinked them away. I needed to be strong for him.

"I'm here." I reassured him, leaning down to kiss his lips softly. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." His smile in response was all I needed to reassure me that I had made the right choice.

"Bells?"

"Jacob Black. You better not be out of bed." I yelled from the kitchen, shaking my head. His voice sounded close.

"Babe come on. I'm fine. You've been in here for a while, I missed you." I laughed, turning to face him. He gave me his best puppy dog face, standing in the doorway of his small kitchen. I rolled my eyes at him.

It was 5 days after the fight and according to Carlisle, Jacob was almost completely healed. I couldn't help fussing over him. The night of the fight, I had to listen to Jacob screaming for almost an hour as Carlisle reset the bones on the right side of his body. I'm pretty sure that had been the worst hour of my life, and that was obviously saying something.

"Fine, but at least sit down." I motioned to one of the chairs at the dining room table. "Dinner's almost done anyway." I grabbed the oven mitts, pulling the lemon chicken out of the oven and set it on the table in front of him. "Charlie! Billy! Dinner will be ready in 5 minutes."

One of them grunted in response, I wasn't sure who. I laughed, shaking my head. Men and their sports.

"Come here," Jacob murmured, grabbing my hips and pulling me down onto his lap. I was only able to worry about hurting him for a second before he buried his face into my neck, kissing me gently. "I miss you." He whispered, his warm breath tickling my skin.

I shivered, leaning into his chest. "But I'm right here," I responded, breathlessly.

He shook his head, trailing kisses along my jaw, to the hollow behind my ear. "You know what I mean," He scooted my over on his lap; I gasped as I felt the bulge in his shorts.

"Jacob," I turned my head, moaning as he caught my lips in a hard kiss. I buried my hands in his hair, holding him in place.

"Father in the room."

I laughed as Jacob groaned, turning to watch Charlie open the fridge to grab another beer. "Dinner's ready. Can you tell Billy?" I kissed Jacob on the cheek before standing to take the baked potatoes out of the microwave.

I jumped a second later when I felt Jacob behind me, kissing my neck. "You're all mine later. No interruptions." I shivered for the second time, turning my face to smile at him.

"Promise?" I grinned, leaning over to kiss him softly.

"Father in the room, again." It was Billy this time. Jake groaned as I laughed. I wouldn't admit it, but I loved that Billy and Charlie teased us. It made me happy that they were as happy for us as we are.

Two days later, I was walking to the treaty line with the wolf pack. Seth was the only one human, holding my hand as we followed the rest of the wolves to meet the Cullens.

When we got there, the Cullens were already waiting. I was relieved to see that Edward looked completely healed. Jacob was almost 100%, but was still achy. It had taken him over an hour to convince me that he was ok to phase. I was still unsure. He was sitting on the other side of me and I didn't miss the looks on the Cullens' face as I absentmindedly ran my fingers through his soft fur. It was no secret that they didn't approve of my being so close to werewolves, but I loved the pack. It didn't bother me whether or not they were phased or not, they were still a bunch of overgrown puppies to me.

"Bella! I didn't expect to see you here." Esme greeted, smiling warmly.

I smiled back. "Hi Esme." I stayed in between Seth and Jacob.

One by one, Sam, Jacob and Embry phased and pulled their shorts on. Paul, Jared, Leah and Quil remained in wolf form. Seth gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before joining his brothers in front of me. I could tell they were keeping their guards up. No matter how much the Cullens had helped, they were still their enemy.

"Sam, I just want to thank you and your pack for the help that you offered us. I'm pleased that no one was injured too severely." He smiled at Jacob, who nodded in return.

"Will you and your family be staying?" Sam asked, getting straight to the point. I had to admire Sam for being so polite. I could tell that the rest of the pack was on edge, though Sam seemed to be completely relaxed.

Carlisle smiled. "My family and I have missed Forks; we plan to stay for a little longer."

Sam nodded, ignoring the growling coming from the Pack behind him. I turned to look at the ones who were phased, surprised when the growls calmed down.

"The treaty still remains. Though, we ask that there will be no problems with Bella's home," Sam started, looking toward me. I nodded, encouraging him to continue. "It is best for all involved that all uninvited visitors respect Bella's privacy." He gave Edward a pointed look. Jacob and I were very much in agreement that we didn't want Edward coming to my room at night, or at all.

Edward hissed. I could see Jacob beginning to tremble.

Carlisle held his hand up, silencing Edward. "Of course,"

"Carlisle-"

"Edward, we have to let Bella make her own decisions."

I took a step closer to Jacob, though I stayed behind him.

"Bella, he's not in control-" Edward started to say, but I ignored him. Jacob growled low in his chest, but stayed where he was.

I wrapped an arm around Jacob's waist, hoping to calm him down. I could practically see the anger vibrating off of him. I smiled into his shoulder when he calmed down and grasped my hand.

I didn't have to look at Edward to know he was staring at us.

Sam cleared his throat. "Then we are in agreement. I also want to thank your family for your help and for protecting Bella."

Carlisle nodded, looking at me with a kind smile. "Of course. Bella will always be a part of our family."

I watched as Sam and Carlisle shook hands and everyone turned to leave. I offered the Cullens a smile and a wave. I tried to ignore the pain in the eyes of Alice and Edward, but it was difficult.

Jacob froze suddenly and I wasn't surprised to see Edward standing in front of us in the next second.

"Bella, please. You're making the wrong choice." His voice was pleading.

I didn't have to look at Jacob to know he was angry; I was surprised I wasn't angry myself.

The rest of the Cullens were standing behind Edward now, and I could hear the pack behind me.

"I'm sorry, Edward. But you made your choice and I've made mine. It's him. It'll always be him, every time." I reached back for Jacob, smiling when I felt him grasp my hand tightly. I'd never felt as confident about any decision in my life as I was about this one. "I'll always care about you," I paused and smiled at the Cullens. "About all of you, but the pack is my family now. Jacob is my family now." I met Carlisle's eye and he smiled.

I waved once more to the Cullens before turning to face the pack. I smiled at each of the boys before me, receiving winks and smiles in return. They truly were my family.

I smiled up at Jacob when he looked at me, and leaned up to kiss his lips softly. "Let's go home, babe."

My heart fluttered in my chest at the wide smile on his face.

We turned together to walk back into the trees, his arm around my shoulder, and my arms around his waist. I held him close as we made our way to my truck.

It had been a long few weeks and I was desperate to be alone with my wolf. I couldn't wait to try on that nursing outfit I bought with Leah after Jacob got hurt. He was going to love it.

But that, my friends, is an entirely different story.

The end.

A/N: I'm sad it's over! Thank you guys so so much for all the great reviews & story/author/favorite alerts. Seriously, it means SO much to me that you enjoyed this story. I'm listing this as 'Complete' for now, but I'm thinking about posting an epilogue. That wont be for a few weeks, though. Would you guys like to see whats going on with Jacob & Bella a few years down the road? Let me know :)

Also, if you are interested I will be starting a new Jacob/Bella story very shortly called 'Make It Right'. I got the idea after listening to 'Make It Right' by the Jonas Brothers (dont judge me! hahaha) If you like them, check out the song, if not- look up the lyrics, it's a great song! I'm going to start working on that soon. So if you are interested, add me to your author alert! :) Again, thank you so much! Be on the look out for the Epilogue!

If you'd like, leave me a review and let me know what you thought about the last chapter. I love hearing from you guys. :)

XOXO,

Katie