So sorry to miss last week's chapter, real life intervened. We're back on track now, and there shouldn't be any more delays! Thanks for all your reviews, you really make me so excited to keep posting this.

Charlie stows his gun with a worried expression on his face, and disappears into the other room to call Billy.

I mumble about taking a hot shower as I dash up the stairs, flinging my bedroom window open and peering out into the dark night. I strain to make out the edge of the forest, hoping for movement, for reassurance. Nothing.

I tug off my damp clothes, dumping them in the hamper and looking around for the red sweater I wore to school the day before. I could have sworn I left it lying over the back of my chair, but now there was just a fluffy blue scarf Alice had loaned me. Charlie must have decided to do laundry. No doubt the red sweater will have turned all of his white undershirts a fantastic shade of pink.

I check my phone for the hundredth time. Nothing. The silence is making me frantic. I text Alice: 'Where are you? Can you come here?'

There is no response.

Charlie calls from the bottom of the stairs, and I hurriedly twist a towel around my head before emerging from my room.

"Bells, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm much warmer now. Thanks Dad. Did Billy...um...is everyone at the Rez okay?"

Charlie gives me a slightly puzzled look.

"It was just a wolf, Bella. Billy and some of the young guys will come tomorrow and we'll see if we work out where it's coming into town from. You should get to bed now. That's enough excitement for a school night."

I wish him a good night and shut my bedroom door. When I turn around I let out a startled gasp. Alice is perched on the end of my bed.

"Crap! Don't SNEAK UP on me like that!"

"I'm sorry, Bella. I just thought I should come as soon as I could."

My frustration snaps into fear.

"What happened? Victoria was...God, Alice! Jacob and Quil were..." I can't get the words out. My tongue trips over itself, desperate for reassurance. Alice leaps up and is at my side in an instant, wrapping her tiny arms around me.

"Shhh, Bella. It's okay. Everyone is okay. Here, sit here, and I'll tell you everything." She draws me back to sit on the bed, and pulls my quilt around me, continuing to stroke my back through the thick fabric.

"After I got off the phone from you this evening, I went to tell Carlisle and the others about meeting the wolves. All of a sudden, I saw Victoria in the forest. The vision was muddied; there were...holes in it. I guess, on account of the wolves."

I think about Jacob's giant form powering over me; the dreadful snarls and shrieks that followed. A shudder runs through me.

"We all ran to where I thought I'd seen her, but my timing was off and she'd got ahead of us, so we began to follow her trail. Too late, I realized she had been heading to you, to your house. The trail was so fresh. God, Bella, I was so worried about you. If she'd hurt you, and I hadn't worked it out in time, I'd never have forgiven myself."

Alice's beautiful face is contorted in pain and concern. I want to comfort her, but I need to know what happened.

"Alice..."

"Sorry, yes. So we ran along the Quileute boundary line. It's like Victoria knew exactly where we could and couldn't go. Suddenly she burst into the stream bed from the other side, with two wolves right behind her. Emmett lunged for her, but she was too fast, and he collided with one of the wolves. All of a sudden there were half a dozen of them snapping and growling, and Rosalie leaped in front of Emmett and we were in this horrible stand-off."

She lets out a little sigh, letting her arm drop from around me and twisting her hands in her lap.

"It took Jasper a few moments to get everyone calmed down. Victoria got away."

I know I should feel the disappointment that she does, but the relief is almost overwhelming. Everyone I care about is alive. That's what matters. Unless...

"Alice, Charlie shot at the wolves. Did he..."

Alice shakes her head. "I don't know. I mean, we all backed away carefully. And Carlisle asked them to honor the meeting tonight. I'm sorry, Bella, I don't know how many there were supposed to be."

There is a thick lump in my throat. I glance at the clock on my desk. It's after 11:00.

"I want to come."

Alice gets to her feet and paces around my room. "I knew you would want to be there. I just...I can't see anything about tonight. It makes me very nervous."

"Alice, this isn't really up for discussion. Victoria had her hands around my throat tonight. My father could very well have shot my best friend without knowing it. And if your family meets the pack without me, there's every chance it ends badly."

Alice huffs in frustration. She knows I'm right, and she has no vision of the future to prove otherwise.

"Besides," I play my trump card, "Victoria is still out there. I am only going to be safe with wolves or vampires. If you're all in the clearing, then that's where I need to be too."

Alice closes her eyes, rubbing at one with the heel of her hand. It is an incredibly human gesture. I think about how exhausted Carlisle looked last night. How broken Rosalie seemed when she met us at the airport. I have always thought of these immortal creatures as being flawless, invincible. But the strain of this is taking a visible toll on all of them.

"All right. Dress warmer, the temperature is falling."

I grab the scarf off my chair, looping it around my neck as I shove my feet into a pair of boots. Alice scoops me up in her arms, and drops out of my window lightly to the ground, absorbing our impact without making any noise. She pauses to let me clamber onto her back and get comfortable before taking off full-speed into the trees. I screw my eyes shut tight, and concentrate on her cool scent to try and keep calm.

When we reach the clearing, the Cullens are already there. Esme hugs me tightly, running her palm along the side of my face as she draws back, as if to make sure I am in one piece.

"I'm so sorry she got so close to you, Bella," Carlisle says quietly, the anguish evident in his voice. He and Edward might not be blood relations, but they have never seemed more similar than in this moment.

"I'm just sorry she got away," Emmett hisses, scuffing at the ground under his foot.

Suddenly the Cullens widen out into a line, staring at the trees on other side of the clearing. Alice stays at my side, clasping my hand loosely, but even she seems tense and poised.

"Damn," Emmett mutters under his breath. "Did you ever see anything like it?"

Esme and Rosalie exchange a wide-eyed glance.

"What is it?" I whisper urgently at Alice, whose mouth has fallen open. "I can't see!"

Then the moonlight catches the glittering, dark eyes of the wolves, as they emerge quietly from the trees. As tall as horses; muscular and powerful. Only Sam has come in human form, the wolves on either side of him forming a protective phalanx. I almost collapse in relief at seeing Jacob's enormous shape at his right hand.

Carlisle takes a slow step forward. "Thank you for agreeing to meet us."

I drop Alice's hand and dash past Carlisle.

"Bella, wait..."

I ignore Carlisle's admonition, crossing the clearing quickly and thrusting my hands into the thick russet-colored fur at Jacob's neck. "Are you okay?" I ask him softly, and then turn to Sam. "Is everyone okay?"

Sam's expression is cautious and cold.

"Charlie's shot grazed Quil, but he was not badly injured. He has already healed." I look over at Quil's dark brown form. His muzzle open, and his tongue lolling to the side, as if to reassure me. I let out a breath that I hadn't known I was holding.

Carlisle clears his throat. I suddenly don't know what to do. I am torn between staying here, pressed against Jacob's warm fur, and returning to Alice's side.

If Carlisle notices my dilemma, he says nothing. "We asked to meet you because we learned that Victoria had returned, and we wanted you to understand that she is not like us." There is a rumble low in Jacob's chest. The wolf on the other side of him paws the ground aggressively. Emmett crouches in response. Exasperation wells up inside me.

I stalk into the middle of the clearing, turning first to face the wolves.

"Listen to me. Carlisle speaks the truth. Victoria isa bloodsucker. The kind you have been taught about for generations. She is a danger to the town. She is a danger to me. But this family that faces you is not. Your ancestor, Ephraim Black, made a treaty with this family because he knew they were different."

Sam scowls at me, but says nothing. I turn on my heel to face the Cullens.

"And you, you know that I love you all like family." My voice cracks a little on the word. A family I had hoped to join, once. "But these wolves found me, and cared for me, and saved me when you turned your backs and left." All of the Cullens adopt expressions of guilt and regret, even Rosalie.

I turn so that both groups can hear me.

"I know you are natural enemies, but that's a legacy you can overcome. And right now, with this danger so close, I need you to overcome it."

There is a long silence. It is Emmett who finally breaks it.

"I'm...I want to apologize, for crossing the treaty line. I was moving too fast, and I didn't think."

Sam grunts in acknowledgement, and tilts his head slightly. I wonder if he is listening to others in the pack. "We should not have lost focus," he says. "Bella is right. The cold one is more important than the treaty line."

Carlisle gives a small nod. "We are not proposing to set the treaty aside, but we want to work with you to destroy Victoria."

"We do not need the help," Sam says, a note of disdain in his voice, "but we should not undermine each other."

Emmett's shoulders hunch a little, but before I can worry that Sam's attitude will ruin everything, a wave of calm and reconciliation floods across from Jasper.

Sam sighs. "And we do not need you to mess with our minds either. If you want our cooperation, that stops now."

"Fine," Jasper spits, striding forward to the center of the clearing and pulling a large map from his jacket. He crouches on the ground, spreading it out and anchoring the corners with rocks. "Let's stop yammering then and make a plan."

It feels like tight bands around my chest begin to loosen, as Sam comes forward and kneels opposite Jasper. The next hour unfolds in discussion about tactics and strategy. Jasper is in his element as he and Sam run through any number of possible ambushes and traps, Sam pausing frequently to listen to what the wolves around him have to say.

Alice is suddenly beside me. "We should go," she whispers. "You've done what you needed to, and I don't want Charlie to find you gone."

I'm too tired to protest, and give Jacob a small wave as Alice hoists me up and jogs from the clearing.

Alice climbs effortlessly up the tree beside my window, and soon I'm pulling off my boots and stumbling towards the bed. Literally stumbling, as it turns out, my toe catching on something and causing me trip and fall against the mattress. Alice scoops me up in an instant. "Are you okay, Bella? God, you must be so tired."

I shake my head, rubbing at my stubbed toe. I am about to explain that I could sleep for 48 hours straight and still be that clumsy when I see the loose floorboard that is to blame. "See? I'll have to get Charlie to hammer it back down." I press on the board to illustrate my point, and the other end lifts up. "Wait..."

Alice crouches beside me, as I pull the board up, revealing the cache below. Photographs, plane tickets...a CD.

"What is this stuff, Bella?"

The tears flood my eyes, rolling down my cheeks in hot tracks. All this time. I've walked back and forth over these boards, and all this time my things have been right here below me. There was never a clean break, I think, my mind whirling and my heart desperate for Edward. He hadn't been able to walk away from me cleanly at all. No wonder it never healed properly.

Alice draws me into her arms, and I sob quietly, the photo of Edward clutched in my hand.

"Hush," she whispers into my hair. "We're going to get him back, Bella. We're going to find a way."