I wanna hold you when I'm not supposed to
When I'm lying close to someone else
You're stuck in my head and

I can't get you out of it
If I could do it all again
I know I'd go back to you

When Alice shows up at her door after the ominously vague text of put on something nice, Bella is rightfully wary. But when Bella sees her standing there, swaying side to side, playfully impatient, in her lacey dress from the dance, she relaxes. Things make a little more sense, and butterflies flap their wings in her chest.

Alice says nothing, even when Bella greets her, and holds up a small bouquet of wolfsbane and sunflowers. The joke is not lost on Bella, who is weirdly bashful when she takes it, and sniffs. "Please sneeze," she hears the pixie whisper.

"Okay, there it is," Bella laughs. "You smartass."

"What? It would be wonderfully ironic, wouldn't it?" Alice chimes with a tilt to her head. Bella sighs, her adoration for the beautiful punk princess that is her best friend only ever strengthening. "Well, come, come. We'll be late, at this rate."

"Please stop rhyming."

The Rolls is waiting for her again this time, Alice blurring up to open the door. At Bella's raised eyebrow, Alice's smile brightens. "She lost a bet, this was my condition."

"I thought we weren't supposed to bet against you?" Bella asks with an amused air.

She blinks and Alice is in the driver's seat, checking the mirrors. "And yet some of you still try. God only knows why."

"For real, the rhyming thing is creepy and you know I hate it when you do it."

Alice holds the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically. "Spoil all my fun, then. All I ever do is love you, Bella."

"And I love you but I'm still not playing Creepy Stephen King Rhymes with you," she fires back while she buckles up. Alice watches her happily as they drive down the road and God, she's suspiciously quiet tonight. "What?"

Deceptively delicate shoulders shrug. "I'm just surprised you can throw around the term love so casually. You don't seem the type."

"First of all," Bella points at her, "there's nothing casual about it. I do love you, Alice. You're the second most important person in my life. And, you know, shit happens so it's good to let people know you care about them. I'm not embarrassed that I have people to love. Some people don't."

Chilly fingers pinch her cheek until she swats them away. "Aww, that's so sweet, Bella! I love you, too."

"You said it first, that's not too. You - god, Alice."

"I still love you, it can be too."

"Not if you say it first! Then it's just love. I also love you, so I get too."

"You don't make the rules of love, Bella!"

"It's the rules of grammar!"

"It was a brand new sentence, there is wiggle room!"

Bella presses her palms against her forehead and groans. "Oh my god, why do I even love you?!"

"Because I'm pretty and funny and soft and your favourite person."

"I hate you."

Alice leans across the console to press a kiss against Bella's cheek… jaw… area, and they bounce on a bump. "Jeez, I really can't see with you in here," she mumbles in surprise and reaches up to wipe the lipstick smudge on Bella's face. "Now it looks like we were kissing."

Bella flips the visor down and turns her head, looking at the purple smear of lipstick on her jaw. "You're so weird," she tells Alice and rubs at it.

"You're also the second most important person in my life, Bella," Alice declares and turns down the road that will eventually lead to their driveway. She glances over at Bella. "Which is not an easy realization to come to. I've known my family for a long time."

The wolf blinks. "I'm… sorry?"

"Don't be, I'm certain they understand. I've never clicked so well with someone before. Even Jasper had to use his ability in the beginning. I am… overwhelming."

"I think you're electrifying."

The smile she gets is so full and warm, and a little… flattered, maybe? "Thank you, Bella."

But it's kind of awkward for Bella. Yeah, telling someone you love them is easy and nice to do, but actually being affectionate is difficult. So she shrugs and looks out the window. "We're not really recreating the dance, are we?"

"Almost none of us actually got to enjoy it, that night," Alice replies casually. "And we were waiting very patiently to ask you to dance, so."

"By we, you mean you, right?"

"Bella."

"Alice."

She huffs playfully but says nothing else when they finally reach the driveway. It's… pretty. Lights strung up between posts all down the length of the driveway, to a porch that's beautifully decorated. Bella hopes the rain doesn't ruin anything, and quickly follows Alice inside, trying not to get wet.

The foyer matches the driveway, with more lights put up. None of the regular lights are on, and the mansion glows, the atmosphere is soft and quiet. Music plays in the distance and Bella can't tell if it's Edward or the sound system until violins join.

She tugs at her bowtie nervously until Alice laces their fingers and leads her down the hall.

At the end, stepping into the living room is a lot like stepping into the twenties. An old jazz club feel settles around the room, vintage record player in the corner where Edward selects the next record. He smiles at Bella, wiggling his fingers in a wave, before focusing on his task again.

Which proves difficult with Emmett lounging back on the red leather couch next to the player, leaning back to reach up and play with Edward's tie. Edward smiles softly but continues shuffling through records, and Emmett tips his cap to Bella.

Jasper and Esme stand by the fireplace, his fingers hooked into suspenders. He talks more animatedly than Bella has ever seen, while Esme nods along. "And I swear, Emmett throws it straight across the lake!" he finishes with a grin and Esme laughs.

In the corner, Carlisle puffs on a pipe and watches his family in content. His eyes are old and kind and feel like home, to the point that Bella's heart aches. She longs to have something like this, she longs to stand back and look at her place, her home, her family.

Is that what they are to her? Is this her family…? What is she to Rosalie, exactly? Do -god- do vampires have Imprints?

Alice squeezes her hand until she looks down at the pixie, and concern stares back at her. "Are you okay, Bella?" she whispers for a modicum of privacy.

Useless, but Bella is touched to see that the others in the room pretend they can't hear. These vampires are so damn thoughtful all the time.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Bella rasps back and clears her throat. "Seriously. I'm just super fucking emotional sometimes? I'm still getting used to it, so, uh, beware the up-flares."

Her arm is hugged tightly to Alice's chest. "That's okay, Bella. I think it's endearing."

"Okay, liar," Bella mumbles and wipes her eyes with a watery chuckle. "It's alarming, is what it is."

"Maybe a little, but it's still okay."

Bella scoffs. "So where's Hale?"

"Waiting for Alice to release my girlfriend," comes that low, sultry voice that always has goosebumps rising along Bella's skin.

She shivers and turns, grin already stretching across her face.

The unbridled joy on Bella's face takes Rosalie's breath away and leaves her reeling. Never, in all her years, has anyone ever reacted to her like this. People light up, they get excited, but it's the anticipation of waiting to look at her. The excitement of seeing her.

Bella is still impatiently waiting for her, and Rosalie swears the wolf is about to start wiggling. She's… she's happy to see Rosalie. To be with her.

It helps untangle the knots in her stomach and smoothes out the scowl on her face until she's smiling softly. Even Alice's hand in her mate's doesn't bother her anymore. Not when she's convinced the room could catch fire and Bella wouldn't notice.

Rosalie steps into the room and lightly crosses her arms over her chest, circling the edges to scrutinize the wolf. "You certainly took your time getting here."

"I had to pull down the barricade I set up against Alice's alarmingly vague text," Bella replies.

The pixie huffs and leaves to join Esme and Jasper by the fire.

Bella is by her side in a heartbeat, and warm palms rest on her hips. Rosalie tilts her face up by her chin. "How do you have lipstick under your jaw?"

"Alice-"

"We kissed!" Alice chimes brightly.

Golden eyes roll to the ceiling. "Yes, I can see that. I'm merely surprised you missed."

"Cars are bumpy," Bella pouts. "But I did dress up this time, so that's a win for me."

"Dork."

"Dork lover. Liker. Oh no," Bella gasps and covers her mouth.

Later, she'll demand to know if Edward did it on purpose, but for now, Rosalie cannot believe the record literally scratches and the music stops. She clenches her jaw until she hears the soft cracking of her own skin and is forced to relax. Or rather, forced to force herself to relax.

Carlisle swallows absently in his corner and grimaces, coughing out the smoke from his pipe. He beats on his chest once, Esme patting his back the next second, and rests his hands on his knees. "Oh, gross. It's in me, now. Stuck in me. Forever. Why did I think this would be fun?"

"Carlisle, you're a doctor. You know that's not true," Esme murmurs and rubs his back.

He looks up at her miserably. "But it feels true and gross."

Always helpful, Bella yelps and hops in place when Emmett reaches into her back pocket for her gum. He bounds over to his father and pops a piece of minty gum in, crouching down to look at him. "Chew it and swallow the minty breath!"

"Am I the only adult around here? Is this house truly full of children?" Esme asks herself while her husband fiercely chews the gum and swallows air. "You are a man of science!"

"Mint cleanses, right?"

Carlisle grips Emmett's shoulder and straightens up. "Thank you, son." His eyes travel to Esme. "My own wife."

"What?"

"Would just watch me wither away."

Esme pinches the bridge of her nose. "God help me. Not even Edward is this dramatic."

The boy whips his head up. "Excuse me?"

Rosalie sighs and resists the urge to mimic her mother and pinch her nose. But only just barely. She's glad that Bella, at least, looks amused by it all, and reaches out to tuck some of that wild hair behind the wolf's ear.

Brown eyes lift back up to her and it's a moment. Honestly, she'll never grow tired of how smoothly, how simply she is pulled into a moment with Bella. How easy it is to share something with her. How comfortable it is to simply be with her.

There are no words to express what that means to Rosalie, so she settles for a kiss and hopes her actions convey the message. Alice coos off to the side, so she has to be doing something right, and she can feel Bella's smile against her lips.

The absolute radiance beaming back at her when she pulls away threatens to make a dead heart beat again. "Whatever am I going to do with my awkward, bumbling, bowtie-wearing wolf?" she asks rhetorically.

"Anything you want," Bella promises and blushes almost immediately after. "That sounded dirty, like sex stuff. I was going for the romantic approach - also, also the sex stuff, too, my interests are varied so I - uh, please… please make me stop talking. I can't stop. I'm nervous. And thinking about the sex stuff. Everyone can hear me. Is Esme looking at me? I wanna die."

Rosalie shakes her head lightly. "That was painful."

"Imagine saying it," Bella groans and drops her forehead against Rosalie's bare shoulder. "You still smell really good."

Deciding the poor girl had enough, Edward flips the record and music fills the room. The others slowly break off, back to their own things, and the room relaxes. Bella lifts her head to look at Rosalie and the vampire has to look away. It really is too easy to get lost in Bella, and while that's okay as she sleeps and they cuddle, waking hours require attention. More or less, she can't decide, but it's only fair to stay in the moment. "Edward insisted we do this for you. He was… sorry that a human experience was stolen from you, and the part we played in that."

"It was Sam's fault, not yours."

She nods once. "I'm quite aware but my brother is fond of his guilt. Penance? Even more. Allow him to repent, it's easier that way."

"You must know them really well."

"Who?"

Bella motions around the rest of the room, her eyes lingering on Carlisle and Esme who sway to the music in the middle of the room. "Your family," she says softly and breaks her gaze to look back at Rosalie.

It's a fair guess, and Rosalie leads them away from the wall. She places one of Bella's hands on her hip and holds the other. The wolf clearly doesn't know how to dance, as she stumbles after Rosalie, but the effort is there and Rose can remember the request from that night. "Better than anyone else on the planet," she agrees quietly.

"That must be nice."

"Knowing someone so well?"

"Loving someone so well. Being loved by someone so well," Bella admits. She adjusts her fingers and looks down at her feet, falling in step with Rosalie's simple movements. "I'm not sure my dad knows what my favourite colour is. He didn't even realize I failed a grade until I gave him the papers in the middle of the summer. And my mom?" She blinks a few times and shakes her head. "I don't even know what it's like to have a mom."

When Rosalie glances around the room, there are encouraging golden eyes looking back at her. An empty space, ready to be filled. A spot waiting for a wolf.

She looks back down at her mate. "I'm sorry your parents aren't what you deserve, Bella."

"Ah well. You can't choose your family, and all that."

"Bullshit. That could not be less true. The family you choose is stronger than any biological bond, Bella," Rosalie says firmly. She catches Bella's eyes, and her heart flutters at the hope in them. Maybe… maybe this is what Bella wants? Maybe she's actually good for Bella? "There is power in choice."

And Bella nods. "I know, I do… I've just never been given a choice before."

"Bella," rage claws up her throat and she swallows harshly against it, scraping together her patience, "what does Sam-"

The wolf's pocket lights up when her phone rings and Bella smiles sheepishly. "Sorry, lemme just silence, uh…" She stares down at Leah's name for a moment before pushing a button and silencing the phone. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I… nothing, Bella. It can wait," Rosalie replies. Her nerves come back with a vengeance and she very suddenly feels awkward for some reason.

Bella's phone vibrates and lights up again. Her brows furrow. "Why is she calling me?" Another push of the button silences it and she looks up at Rosalie. "I think she mostly hates me, so this is weird."

"Perhaps you should-" The phone rings again. "-answer it?"

With a sigh, Bella holds the phone up to her ear. "Seriously, what do you-"

"Get your ass down to the border before I kill you, Bella. I swear to God, if he hurts Seth, I will kill you. We begged you to leave the leeches alone. Move, now, I don't hear running!"

Bella steps back and plugs her other ear, and Edward stops the music. "Wait, what? Leah, what happened?"

"Sam is dragging Seth down to the border, Bella, and I'm - you better pray - if he so much as scratches my brother, I will kill both of you. Get down to the border, now!"

The colour drains from Bella's face and she staggers back into the coffee table. "I… I…"

"Bella, please move! I have to catch up, just please be there. Fix this. You promised, Bella. You promised he wouldn't be hurt."

The other line disconnects and the phone slips from Bella's fingers. Esme catches it before it hits the ground and sets it on the table, her hand on Bella's shoulder. "Honey?"

"Fuck!" Bella whimpers and holds her face. "Fuck. This wasn't… no. No, no, no."

"Bella, we have to go stop him-" Alice tries.

The wolf looks up in disbelief. "No! I can't - no, Alice. If I go down there, he'll make me kill him. He'll make me kill Seth. I-I can't… but if I don't go, he'll make someone else. Oh my God. Oh my god, is he going to kill Seth? Fuck. I didn't mean for… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Oh, Seth."

Quicker than anyone is expecting, Bella darts out of the living room and down the hall to the front door. There's moment enough for the others to look at each other, but Rosalie is a blur the next, and they follow quickly after.

She catches up to her mate quickly - really quickly, surprised to find that Bella hasn't shifted. But perhaps that gives Sam more sway over her, or the wolf more control. So she tears her dress up the side of her thigh and stops in front of Bella, holding up her hand.

The wolf is frantic words, an air of chaos. "Don't try to stop me, Rosalie."

She shivers, still not used to her name rolling off of Bella's tongue. "You're pitifully slow and I am not, get on my back."

"I…" It's clearly not what she's expecting and the gratitude that shines in her wet eyes is… no, focus, Rosalie. Why? Why is she having such a hard time not getting lost in Bella tonight?

It was an important night. You were going to ask her-

"Thank you," Bella says quietly and awkwardly shuffles closer. "Should I, uh, just…"

Golden eyes roll to the stormy sky and Rosalie is swinging Bella onto her back. "Hold on," she says over the wind whipping at them.

The storm's storms rolling in. She can smell it.

.

.

.

By the time they reach the border, the rain has soaked them, and the sky lights up every few minutes with lightning. The Cullens stop short, just clear of the trees, and look on at the wolves.

The wolves who watch as Sam and Jacob Black have a yelling match. Jacob stands before Seth, who kneels on the ground, hugging himself tightly against Leah's leg. He shivers, or maybe quivers, with fear or from the chilly wet air.

Sam is outrage while Jacob is determination, and Rosalie isn't sure where her mate stands here. What her role will be. What Bella will bring into the conflict. She hopes it is the compassion she watches Bella give freely, day after day. The patience she expends with every interaction with each Cullen. The mercy she shows to ignorant humans, and Rosalie's emotional shortcomings.

But fury glows in those yellow-specced eyes and Rosalie suspects she has her answer.

Bella jogs closer, holding her hand up to the Cullens who anxiously wait to follow. "Sam, please stop this!"

He doesn't even look at her. Merely lifts his arm to point at her and snarls, "Kneel!"

All her patience shrivels up when Rosalie watches Bella grunt and drop to her knees in the wet earth. Esme's outrage echoes throughout the woods and Carlisle has to hold her hand to keep her from flying across the border.

Emmett brushes his fingers against the back of Rosalie's hand. "Breathe," he whispers. Patience. Be patient. Act, no not react.

Act. Do not react.

Rosalie breathes in deeply through her nose, wiggles her fingers. She will be calm. She will remain civil and level-headed.

Jacob steps towards Bella helplessly. "You shouldn't be here," he groans. "I was handling it!"

"She caused this," Sam interrupts. "She should be here. She should watch firsthand what her actions have wrought."

Bella lifts her head with no small amount of strain. "Fuck you, Sam!" she snarls.

"And still she doesn't care," he sneers. "Seth, come here."

The boy whimpers and Leah grabs onto him, feet digging through the mud as he drags her along with him to stand by their Alpha. "Please," he whispers.

And Leah spits acid. "Don't you touch him, Sam. Don't you dare touch him. I will kill you-"

"Enough!" he commands and the Cullens watch her jaw clamp shut, angry tears in her eyes. Edward steps closer, black eyes glaring at Sam. "Do you see, Jacob? It's spreading. Her insubordination is spreading. I'm losing control of my wolves, which puts every single human at risk. We are their guardians, but how can we protect them if we're sabotaging ourselves? We must be unified."

"I understand this, Sam, but what you're doing-"

"I am ruling through fear. Yes, I know," he agrees gently. Sam locks his hand down on Seth's shoulder and some of the wolves flinch. "I tried compassion. I tried patience and understanding. I begged her to fit in. To be better than she is. I gave her chance after chance, and now she's fucking a leech, Jacob! Don't tell me I'm wrong in my actions, when fear and violence is the only way to get through to them!" He stomps through the rain, grabbing the front of Bella's vest and hauling her up to her feet. "This is your fault!"

At once, seven silent vampires are at the very edge of the border. "Release her. Now," Rosalie demands firmly.

"We will ask only once," Carlisle warns him.

And Sam scoffs. He looks at the rage in their faces, the contempt in hers, and shoves her backwards to the ground. "What do you see in them, Bella? I… I truly cannot see past the death. Walking corpses. What do you see when you look at these vampires?"

Rosalie drags her eyes from him, down to her mate. Awe stares back at her, and despite everything, Bella smiles. The corners of her lips twitch up and the dark, sharp anger in Rosalie's heart is snuffed out like a weak flame. Hope replaces it, a warmth so smooth and gentle she can feel it all the way to her fingertips. Bella sucks in a breath and shrugs. "Life," she replies. "Mine. Ours? A future. Something to fight for, something to try for. I see the Cullens. I see Rosalie Hale."

Fate is funny. Cruel and devastating, most of the time, generous and forgiving rarely, but always… funny. The universe has a sense of humour.

Sam sighs, his shoulders drooping. He scratches the back of his neck and nods, dropping down to sit in the wet grass. Tired. He looks so tired, so worn out. So done. "I hate to admit it, but that's beautiful, Bella. I don't see it, but I understand it." He laughs weakly. "You can't tell a heart what to do, eh? Can't tell it not to love, can't tell it not to break."

The others eye him warily. "Sam…" Jacob ventures hesitantly.

"No, I know," he scoffs. "Can't tell it not to break." A sigh heaves his shoulders and he scrubs his hand down his face. "And you're breaking mine. You're breaking mine and you're gonna break Seth's."

Leah groans, grabbing for her brother.

Bella's head snaps up, her eyes wide. "Sam, no-"

He waves toward the young boy. "Yeah. Yeah, this is how you learn, Bella. See where your actions have brought you. See Seth's heart, broken and bleeding, in your hand."

Bella gulps in air like a fish out of water, and the dread in the air is palpable. "Sam, no. Please!"

"Now, Bella."

Two of the wolves in the trees howl, a mournful wail echoing up towards the stars. Bella's muscles burn and ache, and her body forces itself to her feet. "I won't," she grinds out between her teeth. "I won't, I won't, I won't."

Carlisle runs his hands through his hair, disbelief as he paces along the border. "Sam Uley, this is madness! Stop this, at once! I beg of you!"

"Couldn't leave my wolves alone, Pale Face? You just had to come back here?"

Leah stands before her brother, fierce determination, a glare on her face hard enough to crack steel. She jabs her palm against Bella's shoulder and shakes her head, tears streaming down her face.

"I won't," Bella chokes out, even as she snatches Leah's wrist in her hand, yanking to the side, hooking her ankle. Down into the wet grass she goes, and Bella stands before Seth.

Sam places his foot on Leah's back. "Stay down. Nobody else moves."

Rainwater drips down their faces, off their chins. Jacob snarls and yells at Sam in the background, while the Cullens shout and holler their fury. Bella squeezes her eyes shut, face up to the sky, fists clenching so tight her knuckles pop.

"It's okay," Seth says shakily. When Bella's dark eyes open again, he nods. Tears mixed with rain, a watery smile. "I know it's not you, Bella. I know. Leah knows, too. Just, uh, don't let this ruin her."

Her hands grab him, one squeezing his collar painfully, the other over his heart. "Seth," she snarls and the specs in her eyes glow, they light up with the spirit of her wolf. "Run! Please!"

"I can't." He shakes his head sadly. "Watch-" he grimaces as her fingers slowly dig into his skin, and his heart races. Fear jolts his system and he gasps lightly. "Watch out for them, okay?" He speaks quickly, urgently. A message to get across before it's too late. Before he can't. "Watch out for Leah, for my mom. You have to, if I can't. That's all I ask in return. Bella."

Emmett pounds his fist against his chest. "Stop this! Tell her to stop! This isn't right!"

"We need to cross," Jasper growls, rolling his shoulders. His eyes trained steadily on Sam. "We need to cross, Miss Esme. We need to stop him."

Sam points at them with a scowl on his face. "Cross and start a war. Cross and be hunted down, like the rats you are!"

And Esme desperately tries to catch Bella's eye, but the wolf has her back to her. "Bella, you can fight this! You are in control of your own body!"

Amber eyes rest on her mate's strong back. Rosalie ignores the others, focuses on the deep beating in her chest. Inhale chaos, exhale peace. She's two seconds from tearing out Sam's spine, but there is a lesson life has taught her. There is a realization she has discovered. And she will not let Sam force her decision.

Because it is a war he wants. She's not sure if the others can see that.

"Don't let him take your choice, Bella," she says gently. Gentle but strong, firm. Her voice carried across the wind.

And Bella's fingers stop. Her bloody fingertips lift off of Seth's chest.

But none of that matters.

Not when Jacob tackles Sam off his feet.

.

.

.

Things happen… fairly quickly after that. Nobody is really sure what to do because technically - technically the pack is rightfully Jacob's and this feels an awful lot like a challenge for Alpha. Which means none of the wolves can move, especially considering Sam's last command was Don't Fucking Move.

So everyone gets a front row seat to the admittedly pathetic wrestling match between two boys who very clearly have never had to fight before. No matter who wins, their image of authority will be damaged.

Especially when Jacob slaps Sam, who scratches at his face.

Alice turns to Carlisle with raised eyebrows and nods to the fight in a perplexed way. His shoulders hitch up with his hands and… the Cullens are lost.

Hands on her hips, Esme shakes her head and watches on.

The boys roll through the mud and up close it's a little more intense. Between the two of them, it is teeth and claws, snarling and snapping. A fight to the death, with honour and glory on the line. The rain beats down on them and Jacob swings, but Sam yanks him to the side by his shirt.

The fabric tears, exposing Jacob's wet, muddy abs. Blood drips from his nose, and lines Sam's teeth. They are godly warriors, each strike against the other's body punctuated by a crack of lightning.

Emmett crouches down when Sam awkwardly somersaults backwards on his shoulder, getting a face full of earth. "Get him, kid! While he's down, get your knee between his shoulders," he advises Jacob. "Come on, buddy. You got this."

Children scrap in the mud and the Cullens try to wait patiently.

But the wolves don't care as they skid and collide. Ancient spirits of the forest, battling for Destiny. Sam clasps his hands together and brings them down on Jacob's back as he attempts to tackle again. They are wolves, born for war. Fighting ingrained in their bones. Hunters and predators out for their chunk of flesh.

Sam squeezes his arm around Jacob's neck. "Yield!" he bellows.

Jacob scratches at his arm, at the slippery mud. He snarls and swings, kicking at the ground.

"Yield to me, pup!" Sam orders fiercely. "You will all yield to me!"

The fight in Jacob weakens. His muscles begin to relax against their will. Submission floods him.

Rosalie twitches forward.

Bella grips Sam's right shoulder with her left hand and his jaw with her right. Angry tears roll down her cheeks, and fury glows in her eyes. "I will not," she tells him darkly, her voice rough and scratchy.

His eyebrows jump in surprise a moment before his head is wrenched sideways and his neck is snapped.

She lets his body fall to the ground, water splashing up at her and Jacob.

There is no sound besides the heavy rain. There is no motion besides Jacob's heaving chest. They all stare at the ex-Alpha's body laying in the puddle. The sky lights up in a flash, dark the next.

Seth's knees buckle as Sam's command fades. Some of the wolves shift back now that they are allowed to. Leah works her jaw a few times.

They all gape up at Bella.

Who stands above Sam's body, dripping with rain, fists trembling at her sides. Her glare is something to behold, her rage divine. Brilliant and breathtaking. She glares down at his body and snarls, beats her fist against her heart, and roars her feral fury. Jacob shakes his head as he looks up at her, and she stares down at him. "Dobby is a free elf…"(3)

"Bella," Rosalie calls softly. Her hand up, beckoning her mate back to her.

The wolf scrapes her knuckles off her chin and staggers back from Sam… from the body. She looks at Rosalie with wide eyes, and back down. Jacob skitters over, shaking hands hovering over Sam's back. "What… what have you done, Bella?!" he whispers up at her.

She looks around at the other wolves. Surprise and disbelief colouring their faces. She shakes her head and looks back down at him. "You were - you were weak, Jake. He was winning. I can't… I couldn't let him win. I couldn't just give him back all that control!"

"You killed him, Bella!" he yells and shakes Sam's body. "You murdered him!"

She flinches back. Rosalie growls deeply and steps to the very edge of the border. "Stop that. She saved your ungrateful ass. She did what you could not. Bella, please come here."

Bella's chest heaves and she sucks in breath like a drowning man. "I'm not a murderer, Jake. I didn't… he deserves it! He - you, don't look at me like that! The only way this day ends is with me killing someone and he did that. He forced it! It was him or it was Seth."

Jacob shakes his head. "There is always another way-"

"No. Fuck that. Sometimes there's just one. Just one shitty way."

"Do you even regret it?!"

She tugs at her hair, flinging a hand down toward him. "No! Okay? No. I would do it again and again and again. Always him. Never Seth. Never any of you."

Her patience wanes and Rosalie steps over the border, but the wolves' reaction is instant. All of their heads whip up and they glare at her, even Bella somehow knows, and looks over. Jacob snarls. "Get back!"

"Can I just," she points down at the invisible line, "she's hurting, can I cross? Please?" she grinds out.

A large grey wolf leaps over in one mighty bound, forcing her back across the border to her own side. He snaps his large jaw, barking loud enough to make the vampires wince. Jacob pushes himself up to his feet. "No. Never. You are never allowed to cross, under any circumstance. Get that through your diamond-crusted heads. You don't belong here. And…" he regretfully looks over at Bella. At his old friend. "And neither do you."

And she laughs. A short, sharp burst, maybe a little hysteric. "Is that right? I don't belong anymore because I freed us? Jake?"

"Because you killed our Alpha!" he snaps.

Bella sighs and shakes her head. "That's great. That's fantastic. I'm banned from the Res because you were too weak to save us. Great. Charlie is gonna be pissed."

"No, Bella…" Jacob says softly. He looks at the others, watching them bow their heads, and back to her. Realization dawns on her face and he hangs his head. "You're banned from Forks, too. From our lands. From everything we are bound to protect. You can't stay here."

"What do you mean-"

Paul and another wolf block her from stepping closer to their new Alpha. Glares on their faces, lips curled back over canines. Snarling beasts, warning her.

She shakes her head. "This is my home!"

"You can't stay!" he repeats loudly. "Bella, you killed Sam. You think that's somehow alright just because we're wolves? You think laws don't apply to us? You think our rules don't apply to us? If you stay, you… killing a pack member is punishable by death, Bella. If a leech did it, we would burn their entire coven."

"I'm not a vampire!"

"No, but you killed him for them!"

"No, I - are you fucking kidding me?" Bella snarls and the wolves growl. "Shut the fuck up, Paul, I swear to God, I'll-"

"Kill him?" another wolf shouts from the trees.

Rosalie laces her fingers behind her neck and breathes deeply. "Bella, please, please come back across the border."

"Just… hold on…" Bella waves at her weakly and looks back at Jacob. "You would kill me? Ignoring how hypocritical that is, you would actually kill me?"

Alice blurs up next to her sister. "He wouldn't get the chance, Bella! Come with us."

Jacob is the epitome of regret, every fibre of his being echoing with sympathy. "Bella, please go with them. If you stay, you know, I can't promise you anything. I can't promise your safety. The council can't. Everyone loved Sam."

"They were afraid of him!"

"Either way," he shakes his head, "either way, Bella. He was important. I can keep them from going after you. I can work out a deal, I can. You'll be safe. But not if you stay here."

She scoffs. "Not if I'm in my home. Because you couldn't-" She clicks her tongue and looks up at the sky that has finally stopped pouring down on them. Her muscles burn, her eyes sting, her heart aches, but she is free.

She is free.

"Do you understand what you did, Bella?"

Her eyes drift open and she looks at him lazily. "Do you?"

"Leave for me," Leah says. They look over at her, at Seth tucked under her arm. The light in her eyes, the stress melting from her face. How breezy she feels, and fluidly she moves. "Bella, you truly can never comprehend how thankful I am to you. I mean it. I owe you more than my life. But the council will make Jake make us hunt you down. Please. Please do me one last favour and spare me from that. Spare Seth from that. Run, far and fast."

Bella looks around at the faces of her pack. Her ex-pack, and can feel the flimsy connection break. Some look grateful, and others look like they want her head.

Leah glares at them and looks back to her friend. "Go, Bella! Run!"

And in a split second, her life changes again. She and the Cullens are gone.

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3- HP obviously.