A/N - I am totally blown away by the number of people who have been reading these past four chapters. Honestly, it's a little intimidating and it puts the pressure on to ensure that I try my best to deliver a well written story. Based on what I've read in the reviews, I'm assuming I'm doing well so far...

I'd love to hear more about what my readers are thinking(productive criticism please). I enjoy reading the reviews...sometimes it gives me inspiration to add a scene or a situation based on how the readers are perceiving the story.

Thanks so much!

Another day passed and Jacob still hadn't called. When Harry had given Bella the lame-assed excuse of mono for Jacob's illness, she had called the Black's house the moment Harry and Charlie had left to go fishing. To Bella's surprise, there was no answer. She later discovered from Harry that while Billy was most likely visiting with Old Quil Ateara as he usually did, Jacob was probably asleep. Harry stated that Jacob had been sleeping a lot lately, as part of his mono diagnosis. Still, a part of Bella wondered if Jacob was as sick as Billy and Harry had described. Harry simply encouraged her, just as Jacob had told her when he had last spoken to her almost 4 days ago to wait for him to call her.

She waited for another two days before she couldn't take it any longer.

There was no reason why Jacob couldn't just pick up a phone and talk to her. It was a slow afternoon at Newton's Outfitter's store when she called the house again.

The phone rang three times before she heard Billy's voice answer. Unfortunately, his tone seemed to change once he realized that it was Bella that he was talking to.

He sighed.

"Uh, no, Jacob's not here," Billy told her.

That surprised Bella. If Jacob was so sick, shouldn't he have been in bed?

"Turns out that we were wrong and it wasn't mono after all," he added. "I think he's gone up to Port Angeles with a bunch of buddies of his. They were talking about catching the double feature this afternoon and hang out there. Jake'll likely be home late."

"Oh," Bella simply said, her voice sounding more than a little confused. "Well, could you let him know that I called?"

"Sure thing, Bella."

The phone line suddenly disconnected before she could even say goodbye. Something in Billy's tone made her disbelieve everything he had just told her.

As much as she wanted to drive over to La Push to find out for herself, that would have to wait until after her shift was over.

She spent the rest of the afternoon stocking shelves, and she had a lot of time to herself to think.

Too much time in fact.

Bella thought of the many phone calls she had made over the past week. It was beginning to feel as though Jacob was avoiding her for some reason. She completely understood that he had friends that he wanted to spend time with and she respected that, but at the same time, Bella would've appreciated a phone call just to let her know that he was doing better. She was worried about him, regardless of whether he was finally doing better. Something just didn't sit right with her.

At one point during the day, Mike decided to prop open the door out onto the sidewalk, bringing in some warm late spring air into the store. The sound of the passing traffic grew louder, as did some boisterous laughter coming from across the road.

When she heard it, Bella couldn't help but look out the front window. From where she stood, it was obvious that they were a group of Quileute boys walking down the sidewalk across the road. Having seen one that looks familiar, Bella moved around the displays to get a better look out the front window.

There he was - Sam Uley.

Bella held back a scoff as she watched the man as he was flanked on all sides by other boys of similar stature. She easily picked out Embry as he followed right behind Sam while the boy walking beside him suddenly caught her attention. There was something familiar about him. She couldn't see his entire face but the way he walked reminded her so much of Jacob that she felt her heart quicken.

It couldn't be.

Bella found herself leaning further into the window display to get a better look when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, miss?"

An older gentleman, wearing a bright yellow rain jacket smiled politely at her, two fishing reels in his hand.

"I'm wanting to buy a new spinning reel. I was hoping you could help me figure out the difference between these two."

"Sure," she told him, taking a quick glance back out the window to see that Sam Uley and his gang had already disappeared around a corner near the intersection.

For the rest of the afternoon, her mind couldn't help but wonder if that really was Jacob Black that she had seen with Embry, following behind Sam Uley. Surely it couldn't be; he had been so adamant about not being sucked into his cult. Still, Bella had to find out what was going on.

Bella had found that she starting to really miss Jacob; not just his company but hearing his voice, his laughter, his eyes as they seemed to swallow her, his smile...everything.

When her shift ended, rather than heading home, she went to La Push. Bella wasn't exactly certain where she was going, as it seemed that she wouldn't be getting any solid information on Jacob out of Billy.

As she drove along, her breath suddenly hitched when she saw a boy with a baseball cap sitting on a bench in front of the general store. For a moment, she wondered if she had found Jacob but soon discovered that this boy was a bit more stalkier and his hair was much shorter than Jacob's. As she approached, she recongized him as Quil, although he had gotten bigger since the last time she had seen him.

Bella slowed down and pulled up in front of the store.

Quil seemed to be deep in thought, his elbows resting on his knees as she climbed out of the truck and walked up to him.

"Hey Quil."

He looked up, surprised to see her, although his expression was bleak and his forehead was creased with worry.

"You okay?"

"Oh, hi Bella. Yeah I'm...I'm doing all right. What are you doing all the way out here?"

"I've come to see Jacob."

A dark smirk appeared on Quil's face as he scoffed.

"Good luck with that."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw him today, from a distance. He ignored me...like he couldn't give me the time of day."

Bella paused, sitting down on the bench beside Quil. He slid over slightly, offering her more space.

"I thought...I mean, wasn't he supposed to be sick?"

Quil sighed. "If he was, he certainly isn't anymore. He looked fit as a fiddle. Better than that, actually. The guy is buff; like Embry and the other's in Sam's damned cult."

Bella felt her heart skip. She was hoping that she had been wrong about what she had seen in town.

"Sam Uley? You saw him with Sam Uley?"

Quil nodded.

"I tried to follow Jake earlier - I saw him with Embry," he replied. "I know they saw me. They just disappeared into the trees. They weren't alone either. Sam and his crew were with them. I was stumbling around in the woods for an hour, calling for Jake and Em before I finally found the road and walked back home."

Bella digested what Quil had just told her.

"So, Sam did get to him."

Quil stared at her. "You know about that?"

"Yeah, Jake told me before..."

"Before," Quil sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Now, he's as bad the others. Following Sam around like a puppy dog. Makes me wonder if it's drugs or something. But I really doubt it. I don't think it's something that Jake would get into. His Dad, my grandpa - the elders wouldn't all be thinking that Sam Uley was the best thing that happened to the Rez if drugs were involved. Sam could shit rainbows and they wouldn't even bat an eye." He paused and snorted. "It's crazy how everyone seems to forget about what he did to Leah Clearwater."

Leah Clearwater. Bella remembered that name and recalled knowing her when she was younger. Leah was a few years older and kept to herself, but from what she remembered, she was a nice girl.

"That's Harry's daughter, right?"

Quil nodded, glancing around them, ensuring that no one would be nearby to listen. It was public knowledge on the Rez but it wasn't something that was shared with people outside of La Push.

"Sam was going out with Leah for a while, then all of a sudden, her cousin Emily comes to visit and bam! They break up and Sam hooks up with Emily, like the very next day. That was less than a year ago and now he's engaged to her. It's fucking crazy! Yet no one thinks any less of him. It's like..."

Quil paused as his eyes zeroed in on a truck pulling up in front of the store beside Bella's pickup. His eyes darkened slightly as he took in the figures in the front seat. Quil sighed and looked concerningly at Bella before he quickly stood up.

"I have to get inside and get back to work," he told her softly, glancing over at the truck as it came to a stop. "I'll catch you later, Bella."

Bella nodded, suddenly wondering why Quil felt the need to up and leave. When she saw the occupants climb out of the truck, she understood.

Sam Uley stared at her before glancing at the closing door that Quil had just darted through. Bella didn't even notice that the other truck occupant had walked up to her until he was standing over her where she sat, casting a shadow over her.

"So, you're Bella Swan."

Bella looked up at Paul Lahote, feeling his eyes as they seemed to scan her entire body. He stood extremely close and she couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved by not just his size but the way he looked at her. His eyes were dark. Paul took a long, deep breath and smiled as he exhaled.

"Jake was right. You are hot."

"Paul!" Sam snapped, instantly causing Paul to turn his head towards him. Sam didn't say another word but Paul glanced once more down at her and winked before he headed into the store.

With a sigh, Sam walked over to her calmly. He knew why she was in La Push and for both her and Jacob's sake, he had to get her to leave before Jacob knew she was on the Rez. Although Jacob had gotten much better at controlling his anger, Sam didn't want to take any unnecessary risks when it came to people that Jacob was closest to.

Sam watched as she stood up, still nearly a foot shorter than he was, but it was the pent up anger that he saw in her face as she glared at him that made her seem taller.

"What did you do to Jacob?"

The words and the accusatory tone dripping off of them fell out of Bella's mouth as soon as Paul had disappeared into the store.

Sam sighed and took a deep breath before looking into her eyes.

"I didn't do anything to him," he replied. "Jacob is fine."

"Then let him go," Bella begged. "You don't need him."

Let him go?

Sam knew of the rumours that Jacob had told her prior to his phasing. Jacob had believed just as Embry had, that he would have sucked him into his cult somehow. It was no wonder that Bella was so livid. She didn't know the truth and could never know the truth.

"It has nothing to do with what I need," Sam told her, shaking his head. "It's what Jacob needs right now."

"What Jacob needs? He doesn't need to be a part of some strange cult that forces him to ostracize everyone he cares about."

Again, Sam took a deep breath, and set his jaw. He wasn't going to let her unfound anger cause his own to flare.

"You can't understand."

"Then, help me to understand!"

"I can't. It would be best if you just went home and waited for Jacob to call you rather than coming out here."

Bella snorted.

"Don't give me that bull shit, Sam! It's been nearly a week. I know enough to know that you'll never loosen his leash long enough for him to call me. I want Jacob back!"

He could see the angry tears in her eyes, the desperation within them. Sam could also see how much she cared for Jacob as she spoke, the same love that he knew Jacob shared for her. He didn't want to do this to her; to either of them.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he told her weakly. "I know that this is hard to understand but being apart from him is what is best for both you and Jacob."

"Don't you fucking dare tell me that this is something that is good for me!" she shouted, her hands clenched in anger at her sides. "You don't know me!"

Sam took a deep breath, finding that he was really needing to calm himself down and he also needed to end the conversation quickly.

"I know you more than you think," Sam said ominously, his tone dropping, as a deep menacing growl came up from his chest. "Go. Home."

The sudden ringing of the opening store door caused Sam to turn towards it to see Paul walking out towards him. He was chewing on a pepperette and carried a full paper bag of food on his shoulder. While Paul glanced amusingly from Bella to Sam, Bella's eyes still stared at Sam, an expression of shock and fear glazed over them as he walked away from her.

Paul chuckled once they were both seated inside the confines of the pickup.

"Damn," he said in awe, looking at Bella as she slowly made her way to her truck. "The leech lover nearly caused the great Sam Uley to go wolf."

"Shut up, Paul," Sam grumbled, quickly backing the pickup back onto the road, the tires shooting rocks behind it as it peeled away.

Bella climbed back into her truck, a mixture of confusion and fear settled within her. She was all the more convinced that something was wrong with Jacob. After hearing Quil's account of what had happened that day and her conversation with Sam, she knew without a doubt that she had to get Jacob away from La Push. Knowing that she wouldn't have any luck tracking him down with the remaining amount of daylight, Bella took Sam's suggestion and went home.

"What did she say? How did she seem?"

Sam had been playing twenty questions with Jacob since he and Paul had returned back to Emily's house. While Jacob was upset to know that Bella had been in La Push and he hadn't had the chance to see her, his anger melted quicker than Sam had expected. Instead, he flooded Sam with questions.

"She was concerned for you," he said, sitting at the table, feeling Emily's hands on his shoulders. "And frustrated about everything."

"I can relate to that," Jacob mumbled, taking a muffin from the plate on Emily's table. He glanced over at Paul as he chewed. "Did the asshole here say anything to her?"

"Hey!" Paul exclaimed, feigning offence, before he smirked. "I was a perfect gentleman. I love the smell she gives off when she's feeling intimidated."

Jacob glared at Paul, growled and bared his teeth at him.

"Jake! Don't worry. Paul didn't touch her," Sam assured him. "And I told her to wait for you to call before coming back to La Push."

Jacob snorted, turning his attention back to Sam. "And when the hell is that going to be?"

"Soon."

"That's bull shit!" He exclaimed. Jacob pounded his hands on the table, causing Emily to gasp. Knowing that Jacob frightened his imprint, Sam quickly stood up, keeping Emily protected behid him.

"Outside!" Sam shouted.

Jacob looked disgruntly at Sam before stalking his way out the door, the muscle beneath his skin on his back tremoring as he walked. He pushed open the screen door, allowing it to slam behind him. Paul simply chuckled, taking another bite of his muffin.

Emily watched wearily as Jacob left the house. She squeezed Sam's hand.

"Sam, it's fine," she told him softly.

"No, it's not. I will not let him loose his temper around you. He needs to learn to control it if he ever wants to see Bella again."

"Maybe it's her that he needs," Emily suggested, brushing her hand soothingly up his arm. "To calm the beast within."

Sam sighed, knowing what she was implying; Bella could be his imprint.

"She's not Quileute."

"The girl is as pale as a bloodsucker," Paul added, his mouth full of muffin.

Emily smiled weakly.

"You don't know what fate has in store for him, for any of them," she told Sam.

"I'm just trying to protect him."

Emily reached up and put her hands on his face. She knew what he had gone through following his breakup with Leah. As much as Sam loved her, Emily knew that he was still upset with himself for hurting Leah. Leah hadn't deserved what happened to her and now their relationship with her cousin would never be the same. The last thing that Sam wanted was to see any of his brother's experience the same pain.

"He knows that," she told him. "But you have something he doesn't. Me."

Sam nodded before heading outside. He expected to have to phase in order to track down Jacob but to his surprise, he was standing on his driveway, his hands on the back of his head as he looked up at the stars above them.

Sensing Sam had come out to join him, Jacob spoke.

"Tell Emily that I'm sorry."

"You can tell her yourself."

Jacob shook his head. "I will later. I'm going to start my patrol early and go for a run; get some fresh air and clear my head."

Sam nodded. "See if Jared and Embry have had any luck tracking the leech that killed those hikers a few days ago. While you're out, pull your perimeter out into Forks by the Swan's place."

Jacob quickly turned, surprised to hear Sam give him the particular direction. The mystery of the dead hikers just north of Forks had kept them occupied for quite some time and with the Cullen's presence nearby, they had to keep their distance from Forks.

"What?"

"Until we know what's going on with the Cullen's being here, we're reinstating our patrols near Forks and that includes Bella's house."

"You're lifting my Alpha order?"

Sam winced. "Not entirely. Just loosening it a bit. You aren't to approach Bella, or speak to her and you're to stay within the forest. Understood?"

Even though he felt the weight of that new order on him, a broad smile appeared on Jacob's face. He nodded.

Sam hadn't seen him such an exuberant smile on Jacob's face since before the kid had phased.

Jacob quickly slipped his shoes off and kicked them towards Sam before tugging his shirt over his head, throwing it towards Sam who caught it in the air. Sam anticipated having to watch Jacob strip in his front yard, but to his surprise Jacob began to sprint towards the woods and with a leap, he phased mid-air, his cut offs shredding instantly, leaving the fabric flittering to the ground. Sam could only shake his head and marvel at what Jacob was capable of. Phasing on the fly was still new, even to him and took a considerable amount of practice.

Sam walked out and began to pick up the pieces of denim off the ground. When he turned to return back to the house, Emily was waiting for him on the porch, smiling.

"Tell me that I just did the right thing," he pleaded, coming up in front of her.

Emily simply smiled and kissed him.

Once again, Charlie was working late.

The bear sightings had become more wide spread over the past few days. He also had a case of missing hikers that kept the station busy.

Because of everything going on, Bella wasn't expecting Charlie to be home until late; at least nine at night. She kept herself busy, listening to the radio as she made a late supper. Her day had been emotionally draining and she found that she needed to unwind.

Reaching up on her tiptoes, she turned on the music on the radio above the fridge and soon found herself humming along with an old 80's tune. She forgot how much she loved music and wondered why she even considered avoiding listening to music in the first place.

Edward, her mind quickly reminded her.

But Edward was never the source of her love of music. She had loved music long before she met him.

With a smirk, she reached up and turned it up louder before she went to empty the garbage outside. The music was loud as she made her way out the back door and went around the side of the house to the garbage cans lined up along the wall behind the garage.

Bella mumbled the lines of the song that she could hear playing inside as she pulled open the garbage can lid and tossed the bag into it. As she turned to head back inside, her eyes glanced at the treeline and she froze. Bella was certain that she had seen a flash of colour breeze pass the trees.

Pausing, Bella watched and listened, her heart beat faster and louder. A sudden wave of chills raced down her back before she quickly turned to head back to the house.

She came around the corner to race up the steps to the back porch when she saw him, standing between herself and the door.

Laurent

"Bella," he said sweetly as he slowly sauntered down the steps towards her. "I was hoping to catch you here."

The way he said it, caused a unsettled feeling to rest in her stomach.

Bella smiled, although it was a bit ridiculous to be elated to have a vampire in her yard that had at one time been a part of a coven that tried to kill her.

"Well, I do live here. I thought you had gone to Alaska."

He stopped a few feet in front of her, and cocked his head to the side.

"I did," he told her. "Their lifestyle just didn't agree with me."

Bella suddenly noticed his blood red eyes in the darkness and felt an ominous feeling wash over her. Still, she did her best to convey pleasantries.

"Then, what are you doing here?"

He sighed unnecessarily and looked out towards the trees.

"Just visiting. I went out to the Cullen's place and it looks like someone has been there recently but I found the house to be vacant. It appears they have moved on."

Laurent waited with curious eyes.

"They have," she confirmed. "But Alice, she's was here recently, visiting like you."

"But only Alice?"

Bella nodded.

"I'm surprised that they left you behind. Weren't you some sort of...pet of theirs?"

Bella winced at the unintended insult. Still, she smiled.

"Something like that."

"Do the others...visit often?"

The way he spoke caused a fear to rise up within Bella. She felt the need to lie, despite the assurance that Edward told her that they'd never return.

"Now and again," she said lightly. "I'll mention to Carlisle that you stopped by. He'll be sorry that he missed your visit." She paused for a moment, deciding it was probably best to throw in a couple more lies. "But, I probably shouldn't say anything to Edward...he's got quite a temper, as you know. He wouldn't be happy to hear that you were here, inquiring about them. He's still touchy about the James thing."

"Is he now?" Laurent asked, skeptically.

Bella simply nodded, afraid that any answer she gave would give away her bluff.

"It's a shame they're gone," he said with a sigh. "I came here as a favour to Victoria and I was anticipating having to return to her with news that you were still under their protection."

"Victoria?" Bella breathed.

Laurent nodded before he sighed once again.

"She wont be happy about this."

"About what?" Bella asked, eager to keep him talking and hopefully distract him somehow, long enough for her to do...something. What? She didn't know.

"About me killing you," he breathed in a seductive purr.

Bella took an instinctive step back, her heart racing in her chest. She thought about running but realized that it wouldn't do a thing. Laurent would get her before she even turned.

"You see, she wanted to save that part for herself," he added. "She figures it's ony fair since Edward killed her mate, that she should kill his."

Bella shook her head. "But I'm...I'm not Edward's mate."

Jacob's face suddenly came to her mind; his smile, his eyes, his warmth.

Laurent shrugged. "Irregardless, I'm going to have to kill you. I'll make it quick, I promise. Victoria wants to kill you slowly, painfully. You'll be thanking me for this."

Bella stared at him in horror, her hands shaking in fear. She watched as Laurent inhaled and hummed at the sweet scent that wafted his way in the wind.

As he slowly stalked closer towards her, Bella breathed the only name of the person she wanted to see once more before she'd die.

"I love you, Jake," she whispered with her eyes closed, her heart pounding loudly in her ears as the words slipped easily from her mouth.

Seconds passed as Bella waited for the swift agony that Laurent promised...