Disclaimer:
All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind- scary place that it is sometimes. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephanie… though it's a shame she never did anything more with the wolves… ah well.. There's always fan fiction

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Chapter 7

Alice broke down and told both the wolf pack and her coven that Victoria had made three newborns two days after the confrontation between Edward and Brady. She told them Victoria was also traveling with Laurent who- while he didn't want revenge for James in the way Victoria did- was looking for a fight all the same. He felt it was wrong that the Cullen's had gone against them, that they should have helped James kill Bella when they had come through in the first place.

Edward felt betrayed in the worst way possible. Bella was meant to be his and his family was protecting her from him- of all people. He couldn't understand why Bella would refuse him the way she had. He just didn't understand why she would choose to tie herself to a wolf. The reservation riff raff could offer her nothing- he could give her the world if she so wanted it.

He sighed and watched her laughing with her friends at the lunch table in the cafeteria. It had been three days since Alice had told the mutts what Victoria had planned. It was a full week since he had yet again demanded that Bella be turned over to him so she would come to her senses. He was trying to find a way to get her alone and push his luck yet again with the thrall. It was his only hope of having her at his side like she was meant to be. So lost was he in his inner schemes that he almost missed Alice's vision. He saw his future literally fade to nothing. To say that he was shocked, awed and a little afraid was the least of his feelings.

"What does the vision mean Alice?" He hissed low enough that the humans in the room couldn't hear him. He didn't take into account the wolves were listening with one ear, even while laughing and joking with Bella at the same time.

"She's going to choose him. Victoria will die by Jacob's hand and Bella will stay with the wolves." Alice said with resignation.

"No! she'll see that we're the better choice!" Edward hissed.

Alice shook her head. "You saw what I did. If you go after her, you die. Please, Edward, don't be so disillusioned that you risk your very life. We can't help you if you take her."

"Then don't help. Bella WILL be mine. I just have to make her see it." Edward said with steel determination in his voice. Brady looked to his pack mates and rolled his eyes. They had heard the rantings and ravings of the lunatic every time they had seen him thus far.

"You guys ok?" Bella asked. She had noticed their lack of attention.

Brady nodded. "Yeah… pixie said something funny and now the tick is pissed." He shrugged.

"Language!" Bella scolded playfully and laughed when he looked away chastised.

Jacob smirked. His chosen mate kept the pack in line just as she was always meant to. "That's my girl." He chuckled in her ear. He grinned when she blushed.

"Sorry Bella. I know you like them… but…" Brady stopped short when he saw her raised eyebrow. "You don't like them?"

"Not those two…no. They're not family to me. Family doesn't do what they tried to do. What they've BEEN trying to do! Family is meant to protect one another." Bella knew they could hear her and inwardly smirked when she saw Edward ball his hands into fists from the corner of her eye.

"Hey… so… to change the subject… its Friday night. Movie night at Bella's house?" Quil suggested.

Bella grinned. "Yeah, I don't think my dad would mind. Maybe he could stay with Billy. They're going fishing tomorrow still, right Jake?" She asked.

"As far as I know yeah. Are you sure he'd be ok with us being there all night alone?" He teased.

"So invite the rest of the pack and the imprints too. Tell my dad it's been a rough week and we want to relax a little?" Bella suggested.

Embry shook his head. "You need to stop hanging out with Paul and Jared. You're getting better at telling little white lies Bella bean." He teased.

"Paul will be so proud." Quil teased.

Bella rolled her eyes and threw a carrot stick at Quil's head. She shook her own head in amusement when he caught it in his mouth. "You like eating sticks don't you Quil." She laughed openly at the shocked look on his face.

Jacob and Embry chuckled. "Yeah. You've been around the pack too long."

"I have my moments." Bella shrugged.

Seth rolled his eyes. "You're as bad as Leah I swear!" Collin and Brady readily shook their heads in agreement. They all smirked as the Bella rang interrupting whatever it was that Bella was going to say.

Jacob sighed and walked with her to her next class- Latin IV. "I don't want to leave you." He pouted.

"Aw. Is the big bad wolf gonna miss his girlfriend?" She teased before laughing quietly.

"Not cool Bells. But I'll have you know I ALWAYS miss you when I'm not near you." He leaned in closer to kiss her cheek. "My wolf misses you too, you know." He admitted.

Bella smiled. "Well, both you AND your wolf are more than welcome to come home with me today after school. Dad will still be at work. And the house will be quiet." She hinted as she dragged her fingertip teasingly down his chest.

Jacob growled under his breath. "Don't start something we can't finish here and now Bells. That's cruel and unusual punishment, even for you." He huffed.

"Alright. Alright. Go to class Jake. I'll see you after school." she promised.

Jacob grinned. "I can't wait." He all but purred.

Bella made her way into the classroom and sat in the back of the class with a smile firmly in place on her lips. Not even Jessica or Lauren could turn her smile into a frown at the moment. Angela brought her out of her happy bubble when she poked her in the side. She smiled and asked her again if everything was alright.

"I'm alright Angie. I think I'm actually better than alright." She said with a grin. As a matter of fact, I'm having a movie night tonight with a few friends, why don't you come over too?"

Angela smiled. "I would, but Ben and I are going out tonight. We should do something next week though. I'm glad that you're happy again Bella. I didn't like seeing what Edward had done to you." She said honestly.

Bella smiled and nodded before their attention was called back to the fore of the classroom by their teacher. The rest of her afternoon classes went as smoothly as her Latin class did. By the time she reached her truck, she was well and ready to leave. She was stopped short however when she heard her name being called. When she turned around, she almost wished she had kept walking. Jessica and Lauren were on the prowl and it seemed for the moment Bella was the most opportune prey.

"So Bella. I heard that you're having a party tonight." Jessica said while looking at her nails. "Were you not going to invite us?"

"Hmm… let me think… no. Not that there's a party in the first place. I invited a few friends over to watch a couple movies that's it. And before you ask, no, you're NOT invited." Bella sneered.

Lauren scoffed. "You have friends? I'm shocked."

Bella inhaled and counted to ten in her head to try and quell her growing temper. "Look… as LOVELY as our little chat has been… I DO have someone waiting for me. My boyfriend doesn't like to be kept waiting. If you'll excuse me." She said before turning on her heel to head towards her truck.

She stopped short when she heard the whispers from behind her back. "She doesn't really have a boyfriend. I bet she's just doing his homework for him. He looks to good to want her." Good old Lauren. Bella thought dryly.

"How much do you want to bet he's just using her for sex?" Jessica sneered.

"Not even close. Last time I checked she's still a virgin." The male voice shocked her. Then again, Mike had been trying to get into her pants for a long time only to fail at every attempt. It was no wonder he'd be an instigator for rumors spread behind her back.

She reached Jacob and sighed as she all but fell into his arms. She pulled his lips down to hers and groaned when she felt his hands snake their way around her waist. They were broken apart by wolf whistles and cat calls from their friends. Bella merely rolled her eyes and told them to find their own girls to harass.

Quil grinned. "Yeah, you're a wolf girl alright. All feisty and just… yeah… hi Jake." He snickered when his friend leveled a glare in his direction. "So… anyways… are we still on for tonight?"

"Yeah… just… don't come over for an hour or two. I need to clean." Bella told them.

Embry shook his head. "I think you must have the cleanest house in all of Forks, Bella. That's all you do is clean." He teased.

She shrugged. "Yeah, well… I have a great many years to make up for." She sniffed.

They shook their heads and hopped into their cars. It was a short drive later that found Bella parked in front of her house with her lips locked firmly against Jacob's. He grinned and pulled her closer to him across the bench seat with one hand as the other fumbled with the door handle. When the door was opened, he got them both out of the truck without breaking the kiss. If any of her neighbors were present, Bella would be in for an earful later when Charlie got home. Now, however, all she was worried about was that she couldn't get enough of the gorgeous wolf in front of her.

The door was closed behind them after they finally made it into the house after fumbling with house keys and door locks. Jacob moaned deep within his chest when he felt Bella's nails rake across the skin of his back through the thin material of his tight shirt. He tore his lips from hers in order to gasp in the air his lungs so desperately screamed for. With the door firmly locked once again, he walked them both to the couch and fell down across the cushions. Bella giggled when she was pulled on top of him.

"Wanna know a secret Jake?" Bella purred seductively into his ear.

His lips were wet with the tip of his tongue before his teeth assaulted the bottom one between them. "Tell me." He whispered.

Bella moved to straddle his waist, sitting up so she could stare down at his body. "I've been thinking about you all afternoon. Ever since I told you we'd have the house to ourselves for a few hours. Wanna know what I was thinking about?" She asked as she ground their hips together slowly.

Jacob gasped and moved his hands to the waistband of her jeans. "Tell me. Please." He all but whimpered quietly. If the pack saw him here and now, he'd never live the moment down.

"I want to feel your hands on my skin." She purred. Her eyes dilated when she felt his fingertips barely brushing the skin under the hem of her shirt. "I want to see your face when you see my body. Wanna feel you under me. I want you to claim me Jake." She barely whispered the last sentence before she suddenly found herself on the floor pinned under the weight of a very riled and very dominant male wolf. She shivered as she stared up at him.

"You're playing with fire Bella." The deep timber of his voice coupled with the already husky lust filled whisper only added to her state of arousal. Jacob ran the tip of his nose up the column of her neck, pausing to nip gently at a particularly sensitive spot.

Bella's hips rose to meet his and she moaned under him. "So don't let me get burned Jake! But please, don't tease me either." She whined.

Jacob grinned and slowly peeled her shirt from her body. Laying beneath him in a black and pink lace bra, she had never looked more sensual to him. His fingers ghosted up her lightly toned torso on the way to her breasts. He had to thank the pack mind- in particular Paul- yet again for never censoring each others thoughts. He watched her face as he slowly moved to the front clasp of her bra and hesitated until she gave a small nod of approval.

"Bells… you're so damn sexy!" He groaned.

Bella fought the urge to cover herself with her arms. No other guy had ever seen her like this. Even Edward had frowned upon anything to do with seeing her in more than a tee shirt and jeans. Her self doubt fell out of the window when Jacob's lips landed on her already hardened nipple. His fingers tweaked and rolled the other one as she moaned softly in pleasure.

"Jake…" She didn't know exactly what she was asking him for, all she knew was that she wanted whatever it was he was offering- including himself.

Before they could take it any further, the door was being shouldered open by an angry mob of wolves, each of them snarling and snapping. It was all Bella could do to squeak in shock before Jacob had a blanket thrown over her body. He turned on his pack and glared.

"What the fuck?!" He hissed to them.

Paul sighed. "Sorry man. Seth said he heard something in the house… other than the two of you." He told them while avoiding looking at Bella. He really didn't want to piss Jacob's wolf off anymore than he already was.

"I'm guessing you two were lost in each other. It reeks of pheromones down here. Collin said he thought he saw someone climbing out of Bella's window a little while ago. When he looked back though, it was gone so he thought he was seeing things." Embry added apologetically.

Jacob sighed. "Turn around guys. Let Bella get dressed and we'll go check it out." He stood and helped Bella throw her bra and shirt back on, kissing her forehead when she was finished. Together, they walked up the stairs with Bella tucked in the middle of them.

"Bells, let us know if anything is out of place." Quil told her lightly. He was trying to keep the stress down with a friendly smile, but she could see the worry in his eyes.

A cursory look around the room told her nothing had been taken that would be immediately missed. As she moved her gaze over her dresser, she frowned. A diamond tiara, a silver necklace, a jeweled ring and a diamond heart charm bracelet were sitting in the center. She walked towards it and shuddered when she saw what they were sitting on. Printed onto two thick card stock pieces of paper were a picture of her face and one of her left hand and wrist, and each item was perfectly placed on top. For you my love, for eternity. was written in the uppermost corner. She gasped.

"Bella?" Embry hedged into the room and looked over her shoulder. "Oh damn. Ok, come on honey. Let's all go back downstairs, ok? We can have the pack over and watch a movie before we go to meet for the first training session." He cajoled her now trembling form.

Bella was down the stairs and in Jacob's lap surrounded by her friends no less than 30 minutes later. Each of the wolves had taken the time to look at the pictures before they were destroyed. Bella told them she would pawn the offending items and then use the money to help those on the reservation- it would be a surefire way to upset the vampire intent on controlling her for eternity.

Jacob sat quietly seething. It was getting harder and harder to ignore every last trespass of the leech against his mate. He was trying hard to do right by his father and honor the treaty set down by his great grandfather, but it was damn hard. His kissed Bella's temple as she curled into his comforting heat. In light of the strained atmosphere, Kim had brought over a random comedy movie from her vast collection of DVD's.

For the next two hours every member of the pack was in and out of the Swan household as patrol shifts changed while the wolf girls sat with their respective wolves. Jacob rarely left Bella's side unless it was to go to the bathroom or quickly refill their drinks. His wolf was still incensed that a leech had snuck in while they had been so caught up in their mate downstairs. Sam's throat being cleared brought him from his dangerous and angry thoughts. Without a word, the pack began cleaning up, righting the furniture that had been pushed around to accommodate their large bodies.

It was agreed that Bella would stay with Emily and Kim at Leah's house. After all, there was no better place for her to be than on the reservation. She grabbed her back from the hallway and waited while the last of the dishes were place back in their respective places. She grinned when Jacob wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to nuzzle her neck while they waited.

"How are you holding up Jake?" She asked quietly.

Jacob sighed. That was a loaded question. "It's getting hard to abide by the treaty Bells. My wolf just doesn't understand how I still have this much control of my anger. But I don't want to start something with the Cullens and still have to worry about the red headed tick after you too. Believe me. Once this is over, you and I are going on a very much needed vacation." He promised her.

Bella turned in his arms and sighed. "I know its rough on you. You and your wolf both. I know your doing the right thing in waiting to put Edward in his place. But I also don't want him to think you're weak because of it. I don't want him to think he has a chance in hell of winning me back at all." She admitted.

He moved a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled sweetly down at her. "Don't worry about that. Everything will work out like it's supposed to. We're meeting with them tonight. They're going to tell us everything we need to know to take these bloodsuckers down and when I get back, you're coming home with me and not leaving my bed." He grinned cheekily.

Bella giggled quietly. "Is that right? Someone has things all planned out." She teased.

Jacob smirked. "And someone is ready to claim his mate." He whispered hotly in her ear.

She gasped when his heated breath danced over the skin of her cheek. A serene smile graced her lips as her eyes closed in concentration of the feel of his skin on hers. "Hurry back baby." She teased.

"To you? Always." it was a promise he would keep.

Sam rolled his eyes and turned to Bella when she walked out of the house finally. "Took you two long enough." He teased causing the other wolves to snicker.

Jacob rolled his eyes and helped her into the cab before capturing her lips with his in a deliciously demanding kiss that almost literally stole her breath. The pack as a whole merely rolled their eyes. Emily and Kim stared opened mouthed, not as used to the acts of dominance. They shook their heads and climbed into Kim's SUV. Sam and Jared kissed their respective mates lips before stepping back to let the car back out of the driveway.

Bella's beast of a truck roared to life erasing the quiet that surrounded the wolves still in her yard. She waved to Jacob before backing out of the drive shortly after Kim had. When the wolves were sure they were safely on their way to the reservation they took off towards the clearing. They were comforted when they heard Brady and Collin say they would run along side the cars the entire way to the treaty line. If anything tried to get them, the pups would give who ever it was hell before anything would happen to the girls.

Jasper's head cocked to the side as he felt waves of worry wash over three of the ten wolves present. He watched patiently as Sam collected himself and transformed back. It still awed him to see it happen at all that way. "Thank you for coming." He finally said.

Sam nodded. "My wolves are going to stay phased unless it's proven that they need to be in their human skin." He told him firmly.

Jasper nodded. "It's understandable. Alright then. Let's get started, shall we?"

For three hours the pack watched, listened and learned what they needed to know about a vampires weak spots and how fast they were able to move as newborns. Jasper told them also that if a vampire's limbs were torn from its body and not burned, they could reattach themselves. However, if a limb was torn from the body and burned, a new one would grow back eventually, taking about a year to completely reform. Sam shuddered. It sounded too much like something from a science fiction movie.

By the time they were finished, Jacob was itching to see and hold Bella. He raced everyone back to the reservation and went directly to the Clearwater's back yard. With a sigh, he pulled on his cutoffs, nodded to Seth and made his way inside. Without preamble, he gathered Bella's bag and then made his way upstairs to the guest bedroom. He stopped her just before she could climb into the bed, swept her off of her feet with one hand on her upper back and the other under her knees, and walked out the back door.

"Jake? What's going on?" She asked as he walked a well worn path to his house.

Jacob grinned. "I told you. You're not leaving my bed tonight." He said smugly.

"If you insist." She said tiredly. She barely acknowledged being placed in his bed, much less falling asleep wrapped in his arms after his shower. All she knew, was he had kept his word to her and come back to claim the mate his wolf saw as his. It would be a long day tomorrow, but for now, she was content to just sleep in the arms of her boyfriend.