Jacob POV

We chased Icky Vicky to the Canadian border but lost her scent soon after. Her red hair flew in trails behind her as she made her escape and I heard her venomous laugh echo around me as she disappeared into the Canadian wilderness.

Damn the parasite bitch was fast!

Sam had us all regroup to return home to run patrol around our area. He was pissed and resolved not to let her escape again if she came back. We would have to double our efforts. As for me, I just wanted to separate from the pack for awhile to get me out of their heads and to keep them out of mine. It irked me that I had to ask Sam for permission to take an alternate route home. He knew my state of mind, though, so he let me go.

It felt good to run on my own. Felt good to have the wind blow through my hair…err…fur. I had to get away from the Sam, Emily, Leah triangle debacle. Well, not a triangle really. There was just Sam and Emily. Leah remained on the outside looking in, sulking and just being generally pissy about the whole thing. Sam couldn't help that he imprinted on Emily. That's how it went with us wolves. Unfortunately, since Leah turned wolf, we all had to be subject to her angst. I had had enough. I had my own shit to deal with; a certain Bella, Jacob, bloodsucker triangle. Only I was the outsider looking in. A sudden horrible thought entered my mind just then making me stop in my tracks. Oh, God. I was the "Leah" in that particular scenario. Ugh!

The sun was setting when I finally reached the reservation and phased back into my human form.

"You okay?" Seth asked me as I neared my house. Seth was a good kid, the youngest wolf so far and was generally well-meaning. It was unfortunate that Leah was his sister.

"I could be better." I answered him as honestly as I could without going into a tirade over Bella.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Maybe later." I told him not really meaning it as I made my way into my house.

Grabbing a piece of fried chicken leg from the fridge and taking a hearty bite, I went in search of my dad to give him the bad news about Victoria getting away in case he hadn't already heard. I finally located him talking on the phone in whispered tones. He did not look very happy; in fact he looked down right disappointed and even a little angry. I watched him from the doorway of the living room surprised he hadn't noticed me or the sound of my feet stomping around the house.

"I wish I could tell you congratulations but…..yeah you know how I feel…thanks for letting me know anyway." Billy put the phone back in its cradle and just seemed to stare into space after that.

"Hey dad, what's wrong?" I asked still chewing on the chicken.

Billy looked up startled. "Son, I didn't see you there." This statement coming from a man who could see the smallest wiggle on a fishing line had me worried.

"Who was on the phone?" I was no genius but it wasn't hard to figure out my father's odd mood was based on whoever was on the other end of that call.

"Did you get that she-devil?" He countered ignoring my question. Okay, Now Billy was being evasive. What the hell?

His question almost threw me off balance but I recovered nicely. "Nah…that was a bust…next time though." I tried to sound confident. "Don't avoid the question, dad. Who were you talking to? I know something's up."

Billy inhaled his breath so deeply; it was almost like all the air was being sucked out of the room. He motioned me over to him with a wave of his hand and patted the seat next to him.

"Sit down, son. I have some news to tell you that you're not going to like."

Uh oh, this was not going to be good. Billy usually didn't dole out disclaimers before he spoke; he just said what was on his mind.

"That was Charlie on the phone." He started with a sigh.

Charlie? My head was reeling. Was Bella hurt, was she missing, did he leave her again? All sorts of possibilities ran through my mind.

"Bella and Edward are getting married." All sorts of possibilities except that one.

I heard tinny buzzing in my ears that escalated louder and louder until it was deafening. A red haze swam before my eyes before in turned into a vision of Bella in a wedding dress letting the leech pierce her flesh with his fangs.

"When?" I managed to choke out, feeling the word strangle me. Please let it be years from now, I begged to an unseen force. Even as I pleaded, I knew the uselessness of it. Knowing Bella, I would be lucky if the wedding wasn't the day after she graduated.

"Mid-August, I believe. Charlie wasn't too detailed."

Mid-August…okay, so I still had a few months to come up with something. "I…ah…I gotta go Dad." I told him running for the door, nearly stumbling in my rush to escape Billy's steely but sympathetic gaze. I had to find Sam. I didn't know all the details of the damn treaty but certainly Sam could see where this was headed once they were marri…no, I couldn't even think the word. It's not going to happen.

I didn't even bother knocking on Sam's door, just barged in. I was past caring at this point.

"Jacob, what's wrong?" Sam asked alarmed. I wondered if my eyes looked as wild as I felt.

"I need to talk to you…alone" I told him acknowledging Emily's presence in the room.

"I'll be right back." He told her giving her a kiss. I decided to wait for him outside at that point. I couldn't be a witness to their displays of affection, not when my own love life was in such turmoil.

"Take your time." Emily called out as Sam closed the door behind him.

Sam looked at me with his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't look pleased that I interrupted his domestic bliss. "Would you mind telling me what this is all about?"

"Bella is marrying the bloodsucker." I spit out the offending words.

Sam shrugged. "So?"

So? I thought, So? Was he that dense that he couldn't figure this one out on his own?

"She's mine" I told him through clenched teeth.

He gave an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "She is not yours. Bella has made her choice."

"It's the wrong choice….Can't you see where this is headed? He is going to turn her…make her a bloodsucking leech just like him…just like they all are"

"If and when that happens we will deal with it…and not one moment before"

"It'll be too late by then!" I shouted. That would mean I would have to kill Bella too. Did I even have the strength or the will to do that? Could I let another from the pack do that? There would be no way to find out. I would stop it before then. I had too.

"Marriage does not break the treaty. You know what does. I have told you before I will not risk any members of my pack for the sake of your misplaced love."

"What if I go to the elders?" I asked him belligerently hoping they would see the logic where Sam obviously could not.

Sam didn't look too concerned. "You could try if you want but you'll get the same answer."

I would try then. There had to be something I could do. "Thanks for nothing." I grumbled walking off.

"Jacob." He called out to me. "When the elders turn you down…You cannot, I repeat cannot go after them yourself nor will you do anything to any of them, including Bella to taunt them into breaking the treaty themselves. That is a direct order."

Damnit! I thought. Trust Sam to pull rank like that and virtually tie my hands. "What if I do?" I stubbornly asked. Seriously, what could they actually do to me?

"We won't back you and you would be excommunicated for such a grievous offense." Sam was blunt and to the point. He would do it, I knew. He was the Alpha and disobeying him, going against such a blatant command would make me no better than a traitor, in the eyes of the pack anyway.

Nodding, I backed away and was off once again. This time I didn't know where I was headed. Could I live with being cut off from everyone and everything that I knew? That was the question I needed to answer before I decided anything.

Bella POV

I should have known they wouldn't leave it alone. It had been two weeks since "the incident in the locker room" and subsequently 2 weeks since Victoria had made a special guest appearance. I had been so happy that they listened to me, for once. Nothing more had been said as wedding planning took precedence over everything…well Alice handled most of that with Esme and Renee often called them for updates and to give her input of course. That happiness faded a bit, however, when I came home one rare sunny day to hear my father grumbling to himself in the kitchen.

"Damn stupid kids".

"What's up Dad?" I asked as I poured myself a glass of soda.

"You know a kid by the name of Jeff Carpenter?" He asked as looked up from the daily paper at me.

What now? I thought. "Uh, yeah. He's new. Why? Did he do something?"

"You could say that." Charlie said somewhat amused. "His parents called in this morning. Apparently he was asleep in his car and woke up screaming."

"Okay." I said drawing the word out. I had never heard of a parent calling the police over their kid's nightmares before. "Overreact much?"

"The car was stuck in a tree." Charlie deadpanned.

The sip I had just taken of my soda came spewing out of my mouth all over Charlie. "Sorry" I mumbled giving him a paper towel and getting one for myself. "Any idea who did it?" I asked innocently. It seemed that revenge truly was a dish best served cold. Edward and his brothers were going to get an earful from me later. This had Cullen written all over it. I could just see Emmett bent over laughing his brains out when Jeff opened his eyes. They would have all been there watching from afar, even if it was a sunny day.

"Nope…no idea how they got the car that high up in the damn tree either. Poor kid was petrified." Charlie slid the afternoon edition of the paper over so I could see the front page. Sure enough, there was Jeff with a terrified expression on his face leaning out the window of his car which was clearly stuck in a tree. "Don't know how this made the front page or who got the picture. Though by the time I got there a large crowd had already formed. Poor Kid."

I tried to keep from laughing at the image of the big tough guy screaming like a baby when he realized his predicament. No wonder he wasn't at school today. By tomorrow, the "poor kid" would be lucky not to have this article complete with embarrassing photo plastered all over his locker, maybe even all over the school. I really should be angry. Edward disregarded my wishes to leave it and him alone. I had to admit to myself that although I wasn't pleased, I wasn't outraged either. Did I really believe Edward could let it be? If I had to be honest with myself, the answer was a resounding "no". I was just surprised he waited this long to act.

"You got some mail today." Charlie said breaking into my thoughts motioning to the counter where he kept all the mail. There was a thick manila envelope under the usual assortment of bills and direct mail offers. The first thing I noticed was the Dartmouth logo and the New Hampshire return address. It was too big, too thick to be a rejection notice. Sonofagun, I thought quickly undoing the metal clasp and taking out the contents.

Dear Ms. Swan:

It is with pleasure that I inform you of your acceptance into Dartmouth College…

I scanned the rest of the letter in a state of suspended belief. The only question I had was did I get in on my own merit or did I have a little "assistance"?

"What is it?" Charlie asked coming behind me to read over my shoulder.

"I'm going to Dartmouth." I said turning to face him.

Surprise and elation lit his face. "My baby got accepted to an Ivy League school!" He shouted as he picked me up and swung me around in a move that would have rivaled Emmett. This shocked me more than the acceptance letter did. Charlie never exhibited emotions this way. He had a faraway look, however, when he finally put me down. "But it's on the other side of the country. I'll never see you."

"Of course you will. Edward and I will come back as often as we can." It wasn't really true, though. I most likely would have been changed by that point and given the unpredictability and blood thirstiness of newborns, I couldn't risk seeing Charlie until I was over that hurdle. I wouldn't even be able to attend Dartmouth for the first year at least. It would provide a good cover for leaving Forks.

"Oh, Bells, I know how it is. I was young and in love once too, you know." He said with a grin to give some levity to his words. "Two newlyweds just starting a life together in a new place. Not that I'm complaining and I know your intent is in the right place but to be honest, as much as I'd like for you to visit all the time, realistically, I don't expect it."

Charlie cleared his throat and turned away from me so I wouldn't see the liquid emotion in his eyes. 'Now why don't' you get out of here and tell your fiancée' the good news?"

I smiled. This time he didn't grimace or make a face when saying the word fiancée'. "Sure thing Dad. I love you." I gave him a quick peck on the cheek before I ran for the door.

"You too kiddo, you too."

I drove my truck through the long winding roads to Edward's. I was still trying to master handling the new steering wheel and column that Rosalie installed, complete with an airbag. Apparently, Edward had put her up to it not wanting to take any chances where my safety was concerned.

Taking the acceptance letter with me, I ran into the house and skidded to a halt when I came upon the scene before me. It was obvious I had interrupted an intense discussion that most likely had ceased as soon as they heard my loud engine come up the drive.

Edward turned to stare at me intently. "Bella, I have some bad news."

That phrase, the way he said it brought to mind many horrors but as I looked around the room I saw they were all there, all seemingly hale and healthy. I was just about to let myself feel relief that Victoria had not come back to harm any of them until my eyes focused on Edward again and I looked at him, really looked at him. His mouth was set in a grim line and there was a tightening of the muscles around his eyes but it was the expression in them that stopped me cold. They look so tortured, so pained and in that moment I realized my worst fears were coming true…again. A flashback to a heart-wrenching scene in a forest not so long ago. Broken promises, hurt, pain, abandonment.

Jacob was right all along. They were leaving Forks…leaving me. The acceptance letter fell from my hand and I watched it drift slowly to the floor. The hole in my chest that had just about sealed shut was now ripped open, if possible wider than before.

"No." I mouthed unable to create the sound to complete the word wanting to wrap my arms around myself to hold myself together. I didn't even register the perplexed looks on their faces as I did the only thing I could think to do at that moment. I turned…and ran.

XXX

I know…evil cliffhanger. Reviews are always nice (hint, hint)