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
Author's Note:
Thank you all for the awesome reviews, follows and favorites. I'm sorry this took longer than I thought to get out. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter… but it's there. This story is almost done- hasn't gone exactly how I saw it in my head, but for the most part, I'm really happy with it over all.

Chapter 13

Carlisle and his family were shocked to see the wolf pack climbing out of their cars just two short hours after Alice had come home from school. No other imprints were with them- just Bella and ten wolves to play body guards. He had to wonder again how she managed to surround herself with supposedly cruel and ferocious monsters of folklore and not be afraid of any of them. She obviously didn't see any of them that way, but sometimes he was still shocked to speechlessness by her inherent ability to see beyond a persons mere looks and actually see them for who they were inside.

"Hello Bella. What can I do for you?" He finally asked when she was close enough to the front door.

Bella smiled cordially. "You can point me in the direction of Alice and stand out of the way please. I have a few things to say to her." Her response was rather cold and aloof. It shocked him to hear it.

"Of course. She's waiting for you in the living room." He moved aside and allowed her to walk by. "Are your friends coming in too?" He asked slightly nervously.

Quil growled. "We're not staying out here bloodsucker! That's our alpha f-"

"Hush! Embry, Quil, stay by the door inside. Brady, Collin, Seth, stand outside and watch. Jared, Paul, Sam, Leah and myself will be right by Bella at all times." Jacob said with no room to argue.

Carlisle paled slightly. "I see you've taken your birthright." He muttered.

"Is that a problem for you?" Jacob growled.

Bella sighed. "Let's go please? The sooner I say what I need to, the sooner we can all go home."

Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett met them as they entered the vast space of the open floor plan that was the downstairs living room. The furniture was all but destroyed. Raised eyebrows were all the reaction the Cullens got from Bella and her wolves. Carlisle had expected slightly more from her, and couldn't understand why she wasn't trying to make them stay. She had told them once they were like her second family- back before the wolves.

Rosalie sighed and moved to stand in front of them to answer the unasked question. "We're not coming back this time. Jasper, Emmett and I… we're leaving. As in… we're not going to be Cullens. Jenks… our… accountant has divided our amassed fortunes for us. Here's my email address, phone number, and oh… if you and Jacob ever feel up for it… we're going to Montana. The ranch house is on acres and acres of private property… and Jasper's friends Charlotte and Peter are going to be there too. Oh Bella, don't cry…"

She sighed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm still going to miss you. And maybe after things settle down… well… it's not that far away."

"It's only like 11 hours or so." Emmett grinned.

Bella shook her head and hugged them briefly. "You take care of each other. And Jasper… you'll be ok." She told him cryptically.

Alice danced into the brunettes line of vision. "Won't you even pretend to be upset? We're leaving, Edward was killed. How can you be so calm?" She wondered.

Leah snorted. "Stupid deranged pixie. Why must you act so insulted?" She muttered.

"I asked them to bring you to see us because I was sure you'd need us to comfort you. You're not even remotely upset like the rest of us are. How can you not be upset?" Alice huffed, ignoring Leah's comments.

"I'm more upset, Alice that you would threaten my family. The wolves did nothing more than protect me from a vampire who was trying to end my life." Bella told her, her voice quiet, and her eyes full of anger.

"Edward loved you! He wanted to be with you! You turned away from him, Bella! You watched him die! Those mutts deserve to be put to sleep, every last one of them, for destroying my brother the way they did!"

Bella's temper flared causing the wolves to almost whimper at her anger. She balled her fists and closed her eyes to try and quell the anger she felt before looking at her former best friend. She shook her head and gathered her thoughts to her before trying to talk- it was something she had learned after all the fights with Paul. Anger only begets anger, and in a room full of supernatural beings, anger was never the best way to go.

"You may think you're doing your family a favor by threatening the lives of the wolf pack, but I'm telling you right now, it's not going to happen. The reason I'm not upset is simple. I don't love Edward. I fell out of love with him after he proved to me that I wasn't really worth his time when he left me in the woods. I told you that when you tried to make me go with you after his hair brained idea to commit suicide in Italy. Just leave, you've done enough damage. Don't attack the pack, it'll only end badly for you."

Alice squeaked in indignation as she stared at the human before her. Bella had her arms crossed over her chest, her hair hanging loosely around her shoulders and behind her, Alice noticed the wolves smirking. She resembled some sort of female protector and it only caused Alice to scowl more.

"Those wolves would be better off being put down. Maybe then you'd come to your senses. Murderers, the lot of them!" She muttered petulantly. "Look at what they did to my brother! He was trying to rescue you and they tore him apart for his efforts! I'll kill them one by one when they're least expecting it!"

Bella shook her head sadly. Alice would never learn. "I'm telling you now Alice, come near my friends, the pack, the treaty line, any place I am right now, with as mad as I am towards you and I'll make a home made flame thrower out of a bottle of hair spray and a lighter and use you as a mobile target!" She growled, venom dripping from her words.

Esme gasped in shock. "Bella? Where is this anger coming from?" She wondered.

"It's directed towards anyone who would think about harming my family. Unfortunately for Alice, the pack is my family."

Alice huffed. "They're just dogs Bella."

"Enough you deranged little pixie! I'll show you who's better off-" Paul started.

Jacob put an arm out to hold him back and Sam placed a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down Paul. The leech knows what happens if she openly attacks any of us- including Bella." Jacob growled, his threat clear.

"I'm sure we can find a way to solve this peacefully. After all… there is still the treaty to consider." Carlisle said with a gentle hand on his daughters shoulder.

Jacob sneered. "Speaking of treaties… it's null and void. While Edward paid for it with his life, he still threatened to harm not only a member of our pack, but my mate as well. As per the treaty laid down by my great grandfather, none of your coven was to attack a human within the borders of Forks or the reservation." He said while casually inspecting his nails.

"Surely we can work something out, Jacob." Carlisle stuttered out. He had never expected that.

Sam growled. "You would have burned the very day that Edward tried to kill Bella. Or as soon as all of us were completely recovered. We knew though, that it was only Edward who had wronged us. He paid with his life. Now, however, the treaty is forfeit."

Esme gasped in shock. "You would kill us, after all our help with Victoria? After the peace between us?"

"Every last one." Paul growled. "No offense." He sniffed towards Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie. They merely shrugged. It was understood, Bella was their family. They'd die to defend her.

Bella sighed. "They let you live because I asked them to. The longer you stay, the higher the risk that more boys will phase. It's because of you that the pack was needed in the first place. Please, just leave."

"I'll give you until Monday. After that, any of you left here… well… the boys are always looking for an outlet." His threat was outright and if the situation hadn't called for it, Bella would have smacked him in reprimand.

With a final wave goodbye, Bella and the pack were on their way back to the borders of La Push. She sighed and leaned in towards Jacob, who had offered to drive her truck. Jacob, for his part, stayed quiet. He could see the emotions dancing across her face. It had been easier for her to face her past and lay it to rest than she had realized, but it still hurt. He smiled when he felt her hand slip into his. As upset as she was, she was still with him and it made saying goodbye that much easier for her.

~*~*~*~

The rest of the school year seemed to fly past the wolves and their studious mates. Fall and winter gave way to an easy spring. While Jacob was busy with his part time job in the local garage, taking his own classes to test out of his own senior year early as well as running the pack, the girls had been busy studying for their final exams as well as figuring the cost to open their own bakery in a year or two.

While the occasional vampire did still pass through, it was relatively quiet for the moment. Bella and Angela were now spending their final weekend together down on the shores of First Beach. They'd be graduating tomorrow evening before celebrating their well earned freedom from school- at least until they started their college courses. It left all of the girls, restless for it to be over with.

Kim was the only one not with them. She was stuck at home sick and moping because she'd be missing the time spent with the pack. Leah couldn't wait to leave, and Nicole wanted to see her friends and sisters nervously walking across the stage. It was then turned on her, that they'd pay her back when it came time for HER to graduate- something that had her gulping and laughing nervously.

They were accompanied by Amy Holt- the JV Forks High cheerleading captain. She and Seth had been dating for the past few months, and none of the pack could stand her. Seth simply claimed she was nice enough when she wasn't hanging out with Lauren and Jessica. It was learned- much to Leah's horror- that Seth and Amy were also fooling around and so he was given less flack about his pick of girlfriends.

Rachel was reluctantly engaged in a conversation with Amy, the demon spawn as Leah called her, and praying the boys would come back from cliff diving soon. The girl put Rachel to shame with her snobby personality. She thanked the spirits yet again that Bella had knocked some sense into her before it had been too late. Life in the pack would have been miserable for her if she hadn't been set straight.

They all had to stifle a laugh when Amy jumped and screeched loudly. A howl in the woods almost directly behind them had more than scared her. It was either Brady or Collin letting the pack know it was time to change shifts.

Emily eyed her curiously for a moment. "Is everything ok Amy?"

She had nothing against non natives- Nicole, Bella and Angela were all well loved members of the pack- but this one in particular made her skin crawl. Her bleached blonde head was full of glitter from the glitter spray she had used right before meeting everyone on the beach and her make up was entirely too caked on for a 16 year old to be wearing. She rolled her eyes mentally- who wore make up to the beach?

Leah made it her personal mission to torment the girl as much as she could before she left in the coming month and a half. She arched an eyebrow at the girl when she whimpered. It was sad to say, none of them really liked her all that much. She was rude, dramatic and conceited. Bella, Bella killed her with kindness. She took every subtly veiled insult and smiled- something that Amy could not stand.

Angela did her best to not sneer at the girl when she asked why the howl had sounded so close. The pack knew it was bad when even she wouldn't say anything nice to her.

Nicole did nothing to hide the disdain she felt for the girl. "It's probably in the woods. Seeing as we're in the shade of the trees, it's more than likely close to us." She said with a teasing grin.

Leah smirked. "Don't worry. I'm sure it's not hungry enough to come onto the beach right now. But if it is, everyone knows blondes are normally the first to be chased and eaten. Especially those that can't get away fast enough."

Angela clamped her lips together and looked away. Both she and Bella had to bite the inside of their cheeks to keep from laughing openly. Nicole shrugged- she was a blonde too, having just dyed her hair- and took a sip of her water. Emily and Rachel shoved their noses into books to try and hide the smirks on their faces. It was too easy for Leah to be cruel sometimes.

Amy gaped at them. "They would actually attack us? You just let them live here on the reservation?!"

"Why wouldn't they?" Angela finally asked. She had schooled her voice to sound genuinely curious.

"Well… I mean… but… are you sure they won't come out?" Amy asked a little too fearfully.

Rachel arched an eyebrow. "You mean to tell me you're scared of the big bad wolf?"

She was saved from answering by the arrival of the boys. They had come back to the small group of girls after diving from the cliffs. Amy jumped up and made a bee line right into Seth's startled arms. The wolves watched as each of the girls scoffed. Paul grinned and shook his head. There was something to be said for their mates- they were vicious in their own right.

"Sethy! We heard a wolf right near the beach! I was so scared!" Amy cried. "The girls said it wouldn't eat us! But it was SO close! You never said there were WOLVES on the reservation! I wouldn't have come here if I had known that! Do you know how dangerous they are?!"

Sam and Jacob smirked. If she only knew how close to the truth she was. Collin and Brady, who had joined the pack on the cliffs for the final jump, merely chuckled.

Bella scanned the pack and noticed that Quil, Embry and Jared were missing. She arched an eyebrow to Jacob when he sat beside her. "Where's Jay?"

"With Kim. She called him to say she's feeling a little bit better now that she's had some of Emily's soup that she dropped off earlier. He went to spend some time with her and he said to tell you she's sorry for not coming." He told her before kissing her shoulder. They were sitting in a loose circle enjoying the close proximity to one another as well as the stillness and serenity of the air around them.

Amy sniffed and lay her head on Seth's shoulder after he settled into the sand with her on his lap. "Are you sure she's not pregnant? She's not showing yet, but I wouldn't put it past her to end up pregnant. Wouldn't it be funny if it wasn't Jared's baby?" She mused. It was the wrong thing to say as the girls went on the offensive.

"And just what does THAT mean?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sam watched Emily's shoulders square. All around him, the other girls were doing the same thing. It was intriguing to see just how tough the wolf girls could get and he raised an eyebrow at Seth when all of them turned their heated eyes onto Amy. She didn't stand a chance if she kept talking without thinking. He almost felt bad for Seth.

Amy shrugged. "I've seen her hanging all over your boyfriends. Are you so sure that she's loyal to Jared?"

"Just WHAT are you implying, Amy?" Angela asked with a sneer on her lips. Embry tried to quell her temper by nuzzling her neck but it wasn't helping too much.

Amy shrugged. "It's nothing that bad if you were willing to forgive them. But I know I'd never forgive the person I was dating for cheating. Let alone with a close friend of mine." She answered with a shrug.

Paul turned Rachel's head towards his to seal her lips in a kiss. Given the chance, she would have strangled the girl otherwise. Seth inwardly groaned and sighed. "Amy, that really wasn't nice. You don't know her."

Bella and the other girls watched with mild interest as Amy's head shot up off of Seth's shoulder. The wolves, who were sitting with their respective mates, noticed the tension growing and watched on eager to see who would break it first. Collin and Brady were making a quiet bet between them that Seth was going to be single by the end of the day- happily so.

Amy glared at her boyfriend, not knowing that she was poking a sleeping predator. She stood and stormed a little ways down the beach out of hearing reach of everyone- so she guessed. Seth only cursed under his breath. He had had a feeling something would happen today, but the girls had insisted he bring her with them as a way to show her that she had nothing to worry about from them.

Sam grinned. "You better go and see what's got her so upset."

"Do us a favor, break up with her… please." Emily begged only being somewhat playful.

His sister, however, didn't hold back from letting her opinion be known. "Stupid ass drama queen just doesn't like Seth defending someone else probably." She quipped.

Seth rolled his eyes at her. He walked over to Amy and sat beside her. "What's the matter Amy? You've got everyone worried about you. Are you upset about something?"

Amy turned her head towards him and glared. "You're defending another GIRL! Yet you won't come to my rescue when you just dump me with friends of yours that I don't even know so you can go jump off a cliff all day long! I had to put up with them talking about things and people I didn't know anything about and not to mention…your sister HATES me!"

The pack chuckled lightly from their places in the sand. Seth was doing an amazing job of keeping the wolf in him on a tight leash. It didn't like the way the little brat of a girl was yelling at them. She was bold, but she'd be less bold if she knew just what he was capable of. Jacob was about to intervene, he could see the wolf prowling inside the iron cage that was Seth's will power. Before he could say anything, Bella rested her hand on his and shook her head. She had faith that he could handle it.

Seth took a deep breath and forced his body to cooperate. He rubbed a soothing hand down Amy's arm and kissed her cheek. "Kim is a really good friend of mine, Amy. She's a good friend to all of us here, and I don't think any of us like that she's being badmouthed and judged. My sister doesn't hate you, she just doesn't know you. You said you wanted to get to know my friends, I didn't think there would be anything wrong with you staying with them for a few hours. But I can see why they got mad at you for talking about Kim like that." He explained.

"That's just it, Seth! She's a friend! She's not your girlfriend, Seth. I am. Do you know how bad it looks to them that you don't spend any time with me at all? You're never around anymore, and the only time I've seen you is in school! I'm beginning to wonder if you're not sleeping with one of those other girls over there too." She huffed.

Seth stared at her in shock. "What? Amy-"

"And it's hard to believe that you say those girls are really important to your friends when Bella Swan is included in that group. I've heard horror stories about her and Edward from Lauren and Jessica. She makes her way around with all of the guys in school. And she parades Jacob around in the parking lot like a piece of meat! I've seen her after school with him! They're disgusting together!" She had no clue how close his wolf was to breaking free at that moment. Bella was his pack's alpha female. He couldn't believe this was the girl he'd been dating for the past month.

"Where is all of this coming from? I've never known you to be this jealous." He sighed.

Amy blanched. "You think I'm jealous?! Of them?! Seth, I may not like that you're friends with those girls, but I'm not jealous- not of THEM! I'm pissed because you're supposed to be with ME! Not with anyone else. You're always spending time with your friends. I can't believe you'd think I'd be jealous of those girls! They're not even that pretty! I mean… they're…"

"Just stop. Please. Amy, those are my friends. You may not be jealous, maybe that was wrong word to use, but damn it, don't bad mouth them like this!" Seth growled.

Seth's wolf growled and pawed at the steel trap door of his mind. He wanted to be free to show the little girl beside him a lesson in keeping her mouth shut. He'd never betray his brothers that way. He was saved from any embarrassing mishaps when Paul jogged over to him. His yellow eyes slowly faded once again to brown and he wiped a hand over his face to try and wipe away some of the built tension.

"Hey, Seth, the guys are gonna play some football, you in?" Both he and Seth noticed the open lustful once over from Amy.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a few. Amy, you want to go back over to the girls and watch us?" He asked.

Amy stood with a huff and shook her head. She never noticed the way Leah was holding Bella and Rachel back, nor did she noticed the glares from Emily. "I'm going home. Seth, I'll call you later." She said stiffly.

Bella had to bite back a litany of phrases as Amy walked past them with her nose stuck in the air not even sparing them a backwards glance as she stomped angrily off of the beach. Her proverbial hackles had raised when Jacob told them what had been said. She had jumped up then with the intent of going over to see if everything was alright and pretending to overhear what was being said. It wasn't until she had started talking about Kim and the other girls that Bella had even been mad. When what was said about Bella came out, Rachel was quick to go to bat for the girl.

The wolves had looked on in amusement as Leah struggled to calm down both the alphas mate and his sister. There was definitely something to be said about the wolf girls- they were made of stronger stuff indeed. Emily sighed and stood with Angela and Nicole following her lead, making their way over to the two girls to give them soothing hugs.

"Don't let her get to you. We all know the truth. And IF Kim is pregnant- which I think the pack would have known if she was by now- then we'll help her out like the family we are. Now come on, lets head back to the house for some downtime before we eat. You have to be well rested to deal with the pack tomorrow." Emily told them.

Bella groaned and eyed them. "You guys are gonna embarrass the hell out of me huh."

"Yes ma'am!" They chorused.

Bella and Angela rolled their eyes. "Thrills."

~*~*~*~

Bella sighed and rubbed her temples for the hundredth time since walking through the doors of the gymnasium. It was apparent now that Amy and Seth were no longer together, and while the pack couldn't have been more happy, Bella was now miserable. Amy had gone straight to Lauren and Jessica. Sitting in her seat next to Jessica waiting for her name to be called, she couldn't avoid the heated sideways glares sent her way from the blonde haired girl.

She almost missed it when her name was called as she made her way onto the makeshift stage. Thunderous roars of elation and loud applause followed her as she shook the principle's hand and took her seat again. With the ceremony over, their class was given a final congratulations and they were dismissed into the care of their families.

Bella grinned when she was lifted above the crowd by Jacob. His pride in her, as well as that of the pack and her family was seen in their eyes. Pictures with her dad, Billy, old Quil, even Sue were taken all before her friends from school could even make their way to her. Charlie grinned down at her, the only regret being that Renee wasn't there to share in her joy too.

"I'm so proud of you, Bells. You did it!" Charlie grinned.

Bella smiled, thanking the spirits, the gods, fate and any other holy deity that she had stayed home when Alice had come to swiftly carry her off. She could have missed out of seeing her dad become a grandfather, leaving him to wonder if he could have done something more to rescue his little girl. Instead, she got to see her and Jacob married, her pregnant, her after she had her first child- he got to see her live.

"Bella! Hey… I just wanted to say congratulations. We finally survived high school." Mike said trying to throw an arm around her shoulder.

Bella smiled. "That we did. I'm just glad it's over till I start my classes online."

"So you're staying here then?" Mike asked her with a raised eyebrow.

Jacob walked up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist. "Yeah, she's staying here till I finish my summer courses. I'm testing out early so I can be done with school too." He said.

Mike nodded. "Well… that's um… that's cool, I guess." He said not really knowing how he felt about it. His crush on Bella had never gone away.

"Hey, Mike, um… I'll see you around. My friends and I are going out to celebrate." Bella told him as she walked off.

Jacob grinned. "He still likes you."

"Are you jealous, Jake? Of him of all people?" Bella teased.

A snort was her answer. "Not likely. The marshmallow doesn't have anything on me." He said with a grin.

"And there's my cocky wolf man.." Bella almost purred as she pulled him closer for a kiss.

Jacob grinned. "Well, this cocky wolf man has a question for you…"

"What is it?" Bella asked while titling her head to look up at him.

He rubbed the back of his neck and watched their dads laughing and teasing one another. The pack had made themselves scarce, either that or they were pretending to not listen in. Jacob sighed. "Move in with me?"

Bella blinked at him. She was quiet for a long while before grabbing his hand in hers to start walking towards their family and friends. "I'll make you a deal…"

Jacob's wolf perked up. She hadn't outright refused him. That had to be a good thing. "Ok… what's the deal?" He asked her.

"You have to wait until you test out and pass. It gives you time to be less distracted by me, and it'll give you time to make room in the house for me too." She told him when he shot her a raised eyebrow.

"I can live with that. Dad already said I could add on. So that's what I'll be doing in my spare time. Well that, and working." He teased.

Bella grinned. The only damper on her good mood was the knowledge that in a month, Leah would be moving away for school. She sighed and got into her truck with Jacob, Angela and Embry. They were off to have dinner in Port Angelas. She could worry about saying goodbye to her friend later, tonight was about spending time with friends and family- celebrating her decision to live.