Disclaimer: I am not Stephanie Meyer. I do not own Twilight.

Chapter Eighteen

The week seemed to go by incredibly fast and insanely slow all at the same time. I wanted Saturday to come so I could talk to the Cullens, but I was constantly dreading being found out.

Each day, a new member of the pack took a turn on Bella Watch. Each day, Jake took me to school and picked me up. Each day, he seemed to have an easier time at letting me go.

When Friday rolled around, I finally told him I wouldn't be in Forks Saturday. We were on our way home when I sprung it on him.

"So, listen, I was planning on going into Port Angeles tomorrow for a little bit. I know we were just there last weekend, but I really liked the little book shop Angela, Leah, and I went to and wanted to go back," I explained casually.

"Are you going alone?" Jake asked, watching the road.

"I was planning on it, yes. Why?" I asked, frowning.

Jake stared out the window, his mind turning as he thought about how much trouble I could get into in Port Angeles. He finally decided not much.

"Alright, but I want you to check in every hour. And if something happens or you start to feel uneasy, you come straight home and call me on your way," Jake requested.

"I can do that," I agreed, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

Jake sighed and took my hand in his, bringing it to his lips for a gentle kiss. I smiled at his sweet gesture, feeling the warmth travel all the way through my body.

"Will you come over tonight?" I asked as he pulled into my driveway.

"Don't I always," Jake chuckled.

I smiled and kissed him once more, feeling a little guilty about deceiving him.

"I'll be over once Charlie's asleep," Jake promised, climbing out of the truck and disappearing into the woods.

I watched him leave before hurrying into the house. Charlie wouldn't be home for a few hours, so I had time to take care of dinner and some school work. I set out everything on the kitchen table so I could watch dinner and do my homework at the same time. I didn't want to do anything complicated, so I settled on making a casserole.

Two hours later, Charlie came home from work and we settled down to dinner.

"No Jake tonight?" Charlie asked in between mouthfuls.

"No. He had to run patrols. I'll see him tomorrow, though, when I get back from Port Angeles," I told him.

"Port Angeles? Weren't you just there last weekend?" Charlie frowned.

"Yeah, but I found this cute little book store and really want to go back," I explained, giving him the same story I gave Jake.

"Alright," Charlie grunted, shaking his head.

"Are you going fishing tomorrow?" I asked.

"Probably. I've got the day off. Harry said something about it," Charlie answered.

"That's good. We're almost out of fish. We're down to only half a freezer full," I teased.

Charlie laughed and agreed.

I drove into the parking lot of Port Angeles Harbor and cut off the engine. There was a small bag beside me with books inside. I hadn't wanted to completely lie to Jake and my dad, so I'd stopped by the book store before coming here.

There were people walking along the decks in between boats, but I didn't see the Cullens. Figuring they would show up once they saw or smelt me, I climbed out of my truck and walked down to the water's edge beside one of the rows of boats.

The little beach was about a foot or more below me and not large enough to be considered a beach at all. Washed up bottles and wrappers littered the small section of sand along with bits of seaweed.

I was so caught up in watching the little waves roll in that I didn't notice they had walked up to me until one of them spoke.

"Bella."

I turned quickly to see Alice standing with her family behind her.

"Alice," I smiled and moved to hug her.

Alice smiled brightly and hugged me back. I had missed her so much that I felt tears start to form as we held each other.

"I'm so sorry about everything," I mumbled.

"Oh, no, Bella. We're sorry. We never should have left like that," Alice denied, pulling away.

"Bella, I'm glad to see your wolves let you come," Carlisle smiled, coming forward to hug me as well.

"They actually don't know I'm here. Otherwise, they never would've let me," I admitted.

"They're keeping you hostage?" Edward growled.

"No! No, they're just worried about what'll happen if I'm around you guys. Just like you are apparently worried that I'm around them," I sighed.

"Yes, we have been concerned. Would you mind telling us what happened after we left?" Carlisle asked.

"I told you most of it the other night," I reminded him.

"You told me there was something else," Edward butted in.

"Yes, there is something else, but it's not something I want to discuss with you in front of your whole family," I frowned.

Edward scowled and shoved his hands in his pocket, wondering what I was talking about.

"Look, I basically came here because I need the wolves to know that you won't hurt me. I'm the Omega. I'm supposed to bring peace between the two groups. It's my job to see to it that you all come together under a peaceful union. And we have to do it soon," I insisted.

"Why?" Carlisle asked.

"I had a dream a few weeks back and I think it's going to come true very soon," I told them.

"What did you dream, dear?" Esme asked, coming forward.

I bit my lip as I looked at her. I'd missed her mothering figure more than I'd realized. As the tears welled up, she moved forward to hug me.

"Oh, Bella. You'll always be a part of our family," Esme whispered, stroking my hair.

"I can't be," I sobbed.

"Why not? Because of your loyalty to the pack? Bella, you can love more than one person. Why not more than one species?" Esme pointed out softly.

"They'll see it as a betrayal. I have to make them see you aren't bad before I can ever begin to accept you back into my life again. My loyalty is to the pack. If I wasn't here for the pack's benefit, I wouldn't be here at all. Everything I do now, is for the pack," I informed them.

"Sounds little controlling if you ask me," Emmett muttered.

"It's not. I would've done the same thing for you," I glared.

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked.

"I was bonded to this family before you left. I would have been your eirene aggelou, 'peace bringer'. But you all left and the bond was broken. That's why I was so desolate when you left. As an Omega, I have to be bonded to something. When you left, the bond was broken and it broke me. It wasn't until I bonded with Sam that things started getting easier. I still felt an echo of my bond with Edward, though, which made it harder to move on. I was finally able to do it after a few days of being bonded with the pack," I explained.

"Interesting. I've heard of the eirene aggelou, but they have been hunted to a near extinction. The Volturi had them all wiped out and saved the only remaining one for themselves. It makes the transition into a vampire much easier if one is around," Carlisle told us.

"Well, that explains why the Volturi are interested in coming after me," I huffed.

"Bella, do you think your wolves will let us help them when the Volturi come?" Alice asked.

"I hope so. That's why I'm here. To form ties between the two species," I said.

Alice nodded, looking thoughtful.

"You've given me a lot to think about, Bella. I hadn't realized the bond between you and the pack was so similar to the bond we form with our eirene aggelou. I will, of course, call Sam and apologize to him for the insinuations made," Carlisle offered.

"Thank you, but you might want to wait a few days before doing that. They're going to be pretty pissed that I came to see you guys. In fact, I'd better go before they realize how long I've been gone," I apologized.

"Of course, Bella. We understand," Carlisle agreed.

"It was wonderful to see you again, Bella," Esme murmured, hugging me.

"You, too, Esme," I gulped, trying not to start crying again.

"Bye, Bella! See you in school!" Alice called, waving as she walked away.

Edward stayed behind, his arms crossed, as his family made their way to their cars. I waited until they had driven off before confronting him.

"What?" I asked.

"What did you want to tell me?" Edward asked softly.

I sighed and felt all my anger evaporate. Edward was still hopeful I would leave Jake for him and I was about to dash those hopes. Just because I didn't love him anymore didn't mean I wanted to hurt him.

"Edward, I'm so sorry all of this happened. If things were different…" I trailed off, not knowing how to finish that sentence.

Edward relaxed his stance and came forward to take my hands.

"Bella, I still love you. You know that. I have loved you every day that I've been away from you. You were constantly on my mind. There wasn't a second that I wasn't thinking about you," Edward proclaimed.

"Edward, please. You're just making this harder than it has to be," I sighed, trying to pull away.

He held fast to my hands and forced me to look up at him.

"Please, Bella. Come back to me. Give me another chance. You can break the bond with the pack the same way your broke it with my family. We can bond you to us again. Carlisle knows how to do it. You could be with us forever," Edward offered.

"I can't. I'm sorry, but it's not possible," I told him.

"Anything is possible for us, Bella. All you have to do is tell me you still love me and we can break your bond to them. I know it," Edward insisted.

"That's just it, Edward. I don't love you anymore," I whispered.

Edward dropped my hands and backed away from me as if I'd burned him. His eyes were tortured as he looked at me.

"No. Please, don't say that," Edward pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but it's true. I won't lie to you, Edward. After you left, I started spending time with Jake and he healed me. I became whole again because of him. And once I finally let you go, he imprinted on me. I can't leave him," I said, not sparing him at all.

It needed to be done. I hated that I had to hurt him, but any other way would be far more cruel. The straight out truth was always best in cases like this. A clean break.

"I… Bella, you don't have to choose him," Edward cried, coming forward again.

"It's too late, Edward. I've already chosen him," I differed.

"No," Edward whispered.

"Edward, you have the rest of eternity to find some one else. You'll get past this and find some one so much better suited to you than me. I know it. I can feel it. Fate has something great planned for you," I assured him.

He was shaking his head before I'd even finished.

"You're wrong. I'll spend the rest of eternity cursing myself for ever leaving you. I'll never find anyone that even comes close to you," Edward murmured.

I fought against rolling my eyes at his overly dramatic statement. I mean, really. The guy had to get over it!

"Look, I have to go. I'm sorry it happened this way, but I'm not sorry it happened. I'm happy, now. Hopefully someday you will be, too," I said, turning to walk back to my truck.

I felt the familiar push inside my head and knew Jake was trying to make contact with me. I realized I hadn't connected with him in over an hour and he was probably worried about me.

As I climbed into the truck, I opened myself to him. Before he could say anything, I played out everything that had just happened, leaving out nothing. I thought back to everything I'd done this week to keep it a secret from him and the pack. I aired all my dirty laundry and hoped he'd forgive me.

I had closed off my mind again after showing Jake everything. I didn't want to hear his tirade about what I'd done and he needed time to cool off before he saw me. The time it would take me to drive back to Forks would give him plenty of time. He'd also be able to gather his brothers and inform them of what I'd done.

Knowing Sam would want to have a meeting with me and the rest of the pack, I drove straight through Forks and into La Push. I pulled into Sam's driveway and prepared myself for the lashing I was going to get from the entire pack.

As soon as my door opened, I was surrounded. They weren't even going to let me get inside. I looked around the small semi-circle holding me against the truck and noticed that Jake wasn't amongst them.

"Where's-"

"He's are your house incase you tried to escape coming here. Emily's calling and he'll be here soon enough," Sam interrupted, glaring at me.

"Go ahead, Sam. Just get it off your chest," I sighed, leaning against my truck.

"What the hell were you thinking, Bella? Going off to meet an entire coven of vampires by yourself? You could've been hurt or killed! What would we have done, then? None of us would've been close enough to do anything about it! You endangered yourself for no reason! I told you not to meet with them! I can't believe you would go against your family like that!" Sam yelled.

"Are you done?" I asked calmly.

I knew the only way to get them to listen was going to be keeping myself calm and allowing my Omega abilities to gradually calm them as well.

"I have half a mind to break the bond right now, Bella! You went against my orders and endangered your pack! That goes against the Omega's duties. You are supposed to make sure the pack stays protected! How is going to your ex-vampire family keeping the pack protected?" Sam threatened.

"Hold it right there, Sam! I didn't not betray my pack! The only reason I went to see the Cullens was for the pack! It's my job to bring peace between the two species! How can I do that if you won't even trust them not to hurt me?" I snapped, losing my calm.

"How was going to them helping the pack?" Sam growled.

"We need them! The Volturi are coming for me. They fully intend on killing me now that they know what I am. They exterminated all others of my kind and kept the only surviving one for themselves. If the pack goes against them alone, we'll be killed. We need the Cullens and the support they offer in order to win this upcoming battle. So don't you dare tell me I wasn't thinking about the pack's safety when I went there today!" I shouted at him.

Sam took a step back and glared at me, trying to see if I was telling the truth. Without preamble, I shoved my way into his mind and showed him everything that had happened. Through his mind, I projected my thoughts into the rest of the pack, showing them exactly what I meant. I went a step further and showed them the dream that foretold of the pack and Cullens working together.

When I was finished, they all had lost most of their anger.

"I did it for the pack, Sam. The pack is always my first priority," I murmured.

"I still don't like the fact that you went behind my back, but I can see why you did it. Next time, just talk to me about it. I'm sure we could've figured out a compromise instead of you just running off like that," Sam sighed.

"I will. I'm sorry," I mumbled.

Sam reached forward and ruffled my hair, giving me a small smile.

"It's alright, pup," Sam said.

I laughed and flung myself against him, giving him as tight a hug as I could, letting him know how grateful I was. He stumbled back a little in surprise before patting my back gently.

"Thank you, Sam," I grinned, backing away from him.

Sam nodded and turned to walk into the house. The rest of the pack followed him, each of them giving me a smile or a wink or something else to let me know I was forgiven. Seth came up and gave me a hug, gently chastising me for fooling them. I laughed and pushed him along. I knew they all forgave me.

Except Leah.

She stayed behind when the others went inside. I glanced over at her to see her glaring at me, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Leah-" I started.

"Don't. You just stand there and listen. You know how seriously I take my job, especially when it comes to protecting you. The fact that you just went off without telling someone is so completely selfish. And then you don't even stick around to explain to Jake? Do you have any idea how frantic he was when you just shut him out? He's been worried as hell for the past hour thinking something had happened to you. Real nice way to treat your boyfriend and imprint, Bella. And a real fantastic way to treat your friends," Leah snapped.

"Leah, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to hurt you or anyone else. I knew no one would let me go if I said anything. I didn't want you to get in trouble with Sam, either. I would've told you and taken you with me if I thought it would've helped or worked out, but we both know it wouldn't have," I insisted.

Leah continued to glare at me and I shifted, hoping she'd forgive me. Leah and I had a different relationship. We weren't exactly best friends, but we were close. Our relationship in the pack structure kept us close together. That, and the fact that I had helped her start the healing process of getting over Sam, had really made the difference in our friendship. I didn't want to lose her over something as stupid as this.

"Please, Leah. Don't let a bunch of bloodsuckers come between us," I pleaded, giving her a small smile.

Leah snorted and looked away from me, but I could tell it was to keep from smiling.

"Says the leech lover," Leah huffed.

She looked out of the corner of her eye and me and smiled. I smiled back, knowing I'd been forgiven. She nodded once before walking into the house.

"By the way, Jake's almost here. My guess would be… thirty seconds," Leah informed me before closing the door.

I looked at the closed door for a moment or two before walking around to sit on the tailgate of my truck. I hopped up and swung my legs, waiting for Jake to appear.

True to Leah's word, he came barreling out of the woods about thirty seconds after she'd disappeared into the house. He stopped when he saw me, just watching to see what I would do.

I bit my lip and looked back at him, uncertain of his feelings about the whole thing. I reached out and patted the spot beside me on the tailgate, hoping he'd take me up on the offer. Slowly, he walked towards me, his ears perked forward. When he reached the edge of the truck, he sat in the grass and watched me.

"Giving me the silent treatment, Jake? I think you just lost a few years," I teased.

Jake didn't move, simply continued to stare at me. I sighed and looked down at my hand on the truck.

"I guess I deserve it. I did go off to meet a coven of vampires without telling you. I even lied to you so you'd let me go. I'm sorry I lied to you, but I'm not sorry I went. I had to, Jake. For the pack, I had to go. I never meant for everyone to get so worried. I was just doing what needed to be done for the pack. And for us," I mumbled, glancing up at him briefly.

He tilted his head at my last words, wanting an explanation.

"Edward still hoped I'd go back to him. I had to show him there was no way, that I was too much in love with you to ever consider going back to him," I said.

I bit my lip again and waited for Jake to do something.

He stood up slowly, looked at me one last time, and then turned to go into the woods.

"Jake!" I called, jumping to the ground.

He didn't come back and I felt the ache in my chest start to throb painfully. He didn't forgive me. He was leaving me. He didn't love me anymore.

I felt tears start falling down my face as I stared at the place where he'd disappeared, praying that he'd return. There wasn't so much as a rustle to indicate he was coming back to me.

I fell to the ground on my knees, clutching my chest as the pain rippled through it. I was sobbing uncontrollably the throbbing gradually increased. I knew I was crying out, but couldn't find it in myself to care enough to stop.

"Bella? Bella! Honey, I'm here!"

I felt warm arms wrap around me and pulled me against a solid chest. Instantly, the pain above my heart evaporated as I inhaled Jake's earthy scent. I clutched at him and continued sobbing as he held me close, running his fingers through my hair.

"Shh, honey. I'm here. I'm right here," Jake murmured, placing kisses on top of my head.

"I thought you left," I whimpered, pressing myself more firmly against him.

"I can't leave you, Bells. Not even if I wanted to. I love you too much. I promised you nothing would ever make me stop loving you and I meant it, honey. Nothing. Not even you lying to me to help out the pack," Jake assured me.

"You're not mad?" I asked, pulling away to look up at him.

"Hell yes, I'm mad. But not at you. I know you did what you did because you had to. I saw everything you showed Sam. I understand why you went. I'm mad about the fact that I wasn't smart enough to see through your charade and about the fact that the leech was still trying to take you away from me," Jake growled.

"I told him off," I informed him.

"I saw. I've never been so proud of anyone as I was of you when I saw that," Jake admitted, nuzzling my neck.

"So you forgive me for lying to you?" I asked, wanting to make sure I was completely off the hook.

"Before you even did it," Jake murmured.

He pulled back and kissed me, brushing his lips against mine in the most gentle of caresses. I sighed and pressed my lips more firmly against his. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, hungering for his heat.

"You know, my dad is with yours fishing and they won't be back till after sundown. My house in completely empty," Jake said suggestively.

"We should go remedy that," I whispered, giving him my best sexy smile.

Jake grinned and scooped me up into his arms, practically running towards his house.

Yay! Another chapter!! So, what'd you think? Pretty good, right? Nice little bit of drama between Edward and Bella, I know you all wanted it. And then the whole pack drama. Jeeze! Lot of drama in this chapter! Hahaha! Hoped you enjoyed and I'll see you next chapter!!