Hi! Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. But here is chapter 15. It was difficult to write, or rather, to decide whether or not to put it in this story instead of the third, but I rather liked it here. A lot of you were asking for drama and whatnot, so here it is.

*Disclaimer*

Please enjoy!

RPOV

"Man, Ness. This ring is frickin' awesome," Jacob said as he came up into the kitchen from the bedroom. We'd taken turns for the shower. I'd gone first so that I could get breakfast ready while he was taking his.

As predicted, we'd each had marks on our skin from the night before. Neither of us complained about them. And neither of us would change what had happened between us. Jacob had told me this morning that he'd felt something connect us last night. I'd told him I'd felt the same thing, and now, we truly felt like we had married ourselves to each other. We still wanted the wedding, though. Not to mention that Aunt Alice had started to plan it to happen in a couple months. Probably in October. I'd told her that a Halloween wedding better not include the color orange.

I turned to him now with a smile. "I'm glad you like it."

"I love it." He came up to wrap his arms around my waist as I washed the dishes I'd used. "It's perfect, just like you."

I turned my head so that he could kiss me.

"Food smells good. I'm starving."

Waffles with real butter and syrup, bacon, and hash browns were lined up on the counter. Once I was done with the dishes, I helped him take all of it to the table. We ate in companionable silence, occasionally commenting on the food or rings or weddings. It was nice and quiet.

"So," he said. "You wanna unpack today?"

I shook my head and swallowed the orange juice I'd just sucked back. "No, in all honesty I need to hunt. It's been a while. And I gotta check in with Aunt Alice about the wedding since you wanted to push it up. You need to check in with the pack." When he pouted at me, I pointed my fork at him. "There's still a threat out there. We had our slice of heaven last night. Let's not push our luck."

Instantly, his face sobered. "Right. Man, being locked up with you makes me forget things like that."

I smiled. "That's why I'm here to remind you."

A moment later his phone rang out.

"Dammit," he grumbled.

I laughed as he got up to grab it off the charger and answer it.

"You're kidding me," he said. "Well, hell. Is he ok? Oh, ok, that's good. No, we're fine, but we'll be heading down to the house soon. Yeah." Loooooong silence. "Damn, another one? Three?! Jesus. Wait, what? He just collapsed?" Another long silence as if someone were explaining something. I got up to slide my arms around his waist. His free hand came down to rub my arm. "Shit. Is he ok? Yeah, absolutely. He wants to see Nessie?"

My blood ran cold. What the hell happened? And who was it this time? Jacob scrubbed his face and then returned his hand to my arm.

"Yeah, we'll be down there ASAP. Hey, how's Shelby?" He nodded and sighed. "Good, that's good. Yeah, see you in a few."

He hung up, threw the phone on the counter, and turned in my arms to wrap his around me.

"What happened, Jacob?"

He sighed. "Good news or bad news first?"

"Bad," I said. Hopefully the good news would cheer me up a little after the bad.

He took in a deep breath and let it out into my hair. "Derek and Adam found three torn apart deer in the woods. Completely shredded just like the others."

The color drained from my face. "What? Three?"

I felt him nod against my hair. "Yeah. When Caden showed up, Adam said he looked like he'd been trying to remember something. As soon as clarity hit and he was about to say something, he dropped to the ground, screaming and holding his head like it was on fire. And then he just passed out. The moment he woke up, which was about five minutes ago, he asked to see you."

"Then we need to go, but what's the good news?"

Whatever it was made him chuckle. "Lucas finally joined the pack."

I pulled back to look at him. "Really?"

"Mhm. And he imprinted on Morgan instantly. According to Embry, Morgan took care of him all night." He said that with an impish grin.

I rolled my eyes. "They're going to be as bad as us."

He laughed. "Probably. He's a man's man and she's…well, she's just as aggressive."

"That's true. Are they at the house?"

He nodded. "They're on their way up. Seth called a meeting."

Pulling away from him, I went to clean up our breakfast. Jacob helped and together we got the kitchen spotless. We decided to leave the blankets on the living room floor, but washed the ones we'd been directly on top of and below. I also needed to change shirts because I'd grabbed one of his tanks to throw on while I made breakfast.

"And it looks better on you than me," he whispered into my ear. Oops, I was projecting again.

Laughing, I shook my head and went for the stairs. Five minutes later, I waded back through all the boxes to the stairs in my favorite purple sweater. I met Jacob at the door and he locked it behind us, making the security alarm beep. We both looked back at the cabin and then smiled at each other. This was our home. Man, that was a strange yet amazing thought. He took my right hand in his left, and I could feel the solidness of the ring on his finger. The pride made my stomach tighten and my eyes water.

"You ok?" he asked, sensing my tears.

I nodded and held up his hand. "I just like this- a lot." And kissed his fingers.

"I like it, too. I also like to think about you sliding it back on in front of everybody when we get married."

I laughed. "The thought of you in a fancy tux just for little ole me is quite a dashing thought."

He pulled me to him in the middle of the woods. "It'll only happen once, so you better remember it. But the thought of you in a fancy white dress already takes my breath away. I just might pass out when I see the real version."

A grin stretched my cheeks. "As long as you say 'I do' first."

"Absolutely."

He was about to lean down to kiss me when a shiver went up my spine. That shiver jolted throughout my whole body. Something wasn't right. Suddenly, I felt like the most sinister thing in the world had its eyes on me and was boring a hole in my chest. I couldn't quite seem to get a good breath.

"Nessie?" Jacob asked.

The feeling that danger was so close to us had my knees collapsing.

"Nessie!" He caught me before I hit the ground, but that still didn't help any air get into my lungs.

And then the pain hit.

My entire body went on the fritz as my lungs finally found air and used it to scream. My brain star-bursted on me as I tried to focus on Jacob's face. But the only thing that came to me was the shadows of my nightmares. A cloaked figure stepping out of the woods. That same shadow in a burning cabin. And when a face started swimming to the top, a new pain speared down my spine, paralyzing me.

Dimly, I could hear Jacob cussing and talking to someone on the phone. My body became weightless when he picked me up. But other than that, my head was like scrambled eggs. There was no awareness or focus.

My eyes were rolling in the back of my head when the world went black.

JPOV

I ran as fast as I could through the woods with Nessie in my arms. She was barely breathing and I knew something was following us. If it had just been me, I might have faced off with whatever it was. But with my life in my arms, there was no way in hell I was risking her heart stopping. So with that, I forced my legs to go faster.

Two minutes later, two wolves, Derek and Adam by the color, joined us. They flanked me, and whatever had been chasing me eased back. I felt the presence fade away into the trees. I took my first deep breath when Nessie jerked in my arms. Her first deep breath was a shrill whistle down her throat. It ended with a sigh and her face buried in my chest.

The two wolves followed me all the way to the porch of the Cullen house where they then turned around and sat down on their haunches, eyes scanning the woods.

"Thanks, guys," I said before I darted for the door. Edward opened it two seconds before I hit it.

"What happened?" he demanded.

Instead of telling him with my mouth, I just replayed it for him. When Nessie had gone stone-still in my arms, I knew something was wrong. Her eyes had scanned the woods, narrowed, looking for something in the shadows. Unfortunately, the woods were thick and provided multiple hiding spots. And then I'd heard her breathing hitch before her knees collapsed. Though I was surprised, I'd managed to catch her. And then she'd screamed as her body shook violently. My heart had momentarily stopped with the sound. It was so full of pain and agony that I couldn't stand hearing it come from her, the woman I love.

"Were you able to catch a scent?"

I shook my head as I laid my female on the couch with her head in her mother's lap. My hand smoothed her hair but my eyes had gone to Bella's. Worry and an aching sadness were there in her now-topaz eyes. Back when she and Edward had been in the get-together stages, all the pain she'd endured had been emotional, but really nothing that would physically hurt her. Nessie's rough chapters of life were ten times worse, mentally and physically dangerous. And I knew that Bella was wishing all of this had happened to her instead of her beautiful daughter. Trying to put all the reassurance into my eyes that I could, I squeezed her hand when it went to replace mine on Nessie's hair, and then turned back to Bella's husband. His eyes were likewise attached to the still form of his daughter.

"Where's Caden? He said that he had something to tell her. Since she's out, he can tell me."

Ripping his eyes away from one of the most precious gifts he'd ever been given, Edward nodded and went for the stairs. I followed him all the way up to what had just yesterday been my and Nessie's room. When he opened the door, I knew Nessie had been right in saying we needed to take the bed even though we really didn't have anywhere to put it. Carlisle and Edward had transformed the space into a working hospital room. And I was pretty sure that there were more medical supplies set up in Shelby and Seth's old room.

"Wow, you guys work fast," I muttered.

He shrugged. "We've learned to never ignore Alice's visions. Plus, we never sleep. Have to occupy ourselves somehow."

Caden was in the hospital bed with a tube in his arm. He looked like death warmed over. In the space of one day, he looked like he'd lost half his body weight. Those prominent cheek bones looked like they were about to poke through his skin. The amber eyes were dull and sunken in. Leah was beside him, urging him to eat. He gave the food a nauseated look before she sighed and put it on the table.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked coming into the room to stand beside the bed.

He swallowed hard, looking as if the thought of having to talk was going to kill him. "Where's Nessie?" he croaked out, the accent barely there.

"We had an incident on the way down here. You show me yours, I'll show you ours."

Closing his eyes, he settled back further into the bed. "When Seth called me up to the newest slaughter location, some bells rang in my head. I'd told you that I hadn't recognized the scent the first time. And at first, I hadn't. But it ate at me, like something was telling me that I really did know." He paused to take a deep breath and gather his strength. "When I went up there today, I realized what it was, or rather, who it was."

"Who?" I demanded.

Amber eyes opened to glare at me. "Her name is Nyla. You probably saw her that night at that cabin while you were in the woods with Tristan. She's always on his tail, watching over him. She wants him to mate her, to make her the alpha female of the pack. Nessie met her that night, landed her a solid knock-out blow."

Pride filled my chest at the thought of Nessie winning a fight like that. I wanted to know the details so I could praise her on it, but I didn't let that stop this conversation.

"That's why you wanted to talk to Nessie, but what made you pass out? And why is her scent different than what we've come to associate with your kind?"

Leah had taken his hand in hers, rubbing his knuckles soothingly. He seemed to find comfort in the touch because his eyes closed at the contact while his breathing started to become smoother. Man, they really loved each other.

"I don't know what made me pass out, not for sure, but I have a feeling it was me trying to remember that night. There's something missing in my memories and I tried to fight the pain to uncover it. Instead, it kicked my ass. Still I fought it when I hit the ground." I could hear his teeth grind. "I don't like the thought that someone or thing has been messing around with my mind. There was something else there that night. But all I can remember is massive amounts of pain, and then it cutting off abruptly. As it is, Nyla's scent is different because she was born to two of my kind, not bitten or scratched. The disease is diluted."

I was about to say something when a vicious growl echoed through the room. Surprised, I turned to see Edward baring his teeth, mad hatred in his eyes.

"What? Edward, what is it?"

Then, he said the one word that made my blood run cold.

"Jane."

A heartbeat of silence was followed by Leah letting out a scream behind me. Spinning around to face the bed again, I saw Caden's spine arched off the bed, his limbs straining and a silent scream leaving his lips. His mouth was working the air roughly in and out of his lungs, and his eyes were peeled wide.

A second later, the door flew open. Adam was standing there, naked as the day he was born, eyes taking in the scene. "Leah, touch him. Climb up on the bed."

"Why?" she asked, tears flowing down her face.

"The imprint. It will help him. At least, if what he and I have talked about is correct, it should."

Without another word, Leah climbed up onto the bed, straddled his legs, and took his face between her hands. He was still arched up off the bed, eyes on the ceiling, mouth still open.

"Caden? Caden, please look at me," she barely whispered.

But it was enough. His eyes moved to her face, his breath rushed back into him, and his big body eased back down onto the bed. Leah stayed on the bed but moved to lie down beside him. She pulled him to her so that his head rested against her heart. She was still crying as she stroked his dirty blond hair.

"How did you know that would work, Adam?" Edward asked.

Adam nodded as his big shoulders released the tension. "Caden and I have been theorizing about the imprint. Ever since that night with both Shelby and Caden, we've been thinking that the imprint isn't just a one way road. The imprints are just as much tied to the wolf that did the imprinting. Both Caden and Shelby were imprints and healed much faster than they should have with Leah and Seth touching them."

"Going with that theory, why didn't Nessie wake up with them?" I asked, thinking there was something wrong with my tie to her.

Adam shook his head as if he knew where my thoughts were. "I think Edward was right when he said that she'd never been through something that traumatic before. Her mind was protecting her by keeping her under. It had nothing to do with you, Jake. Shelby and Caden have lead rough lives in different ways. They've already developed that coping mechanism whereas our alpha female hasn't."

"That name," came a croak from the bed. "I heard that name." Caden closed his eyes. "Jane," he whispered.

Edward and I both nodded, glancing at each other. If Jane had been there that night, that meant that the Volturi were indeed involved.

"You remember her now?" Edward asked. His eyes were focused, but not on anything or anybody in this room. He was digging in what Caden was looking at in his mind.

Caden nodded. "As soon as you said her name, everything became crystal clear." He shivered in Leah's arms. "Who is she?"

"A bitch from hell," Emmett growled out from the doorway. Most of the Cullens had come up when Leah had screamed.

Edward nodded in agreement, but said, "She's part of what we'll call the Royal Guard of the vampire royalty, the Volturi."

"I've heard of them," he said. He seemed to be returning back to normal fairly fast in the arms of his lover now that he had her close and his memories back. His eyes were filling out with alertness.

"I'm not surprised. They're the ones that have been hunting your kind to extinction on that side of the pond. Jane is one of their most prized jewels. She can dig into your mind and cause that pain you were talking about by just looking at you. Her brother is just as bad. He can make you lose all of your senses."

"There are two of them?"

"Puts new meaning to 'terrible twos'," Emmett said.

Edward frowned. "I'm surprised that he wasn't with her."

"Maybe she's acting alone," Rosalie said.

This was just like before. We were all in brainstorm mode, trying to figure out what their problem was with us now. Before it had been a case of mistaken breaking of their laws, but this time? We hadn't done anything.

I frowned. "To do something like this, wouldn't she need permission from one of her masters? One of the top three?"

Alice shook her head. "I've been watching all three of them since the last time they were here, remember? Because of how Caius was acting. I didn't trust him, so I broadened my spectrum. Not a peep from him or the others."

From the corner of the room, Carlisle looked like he was thinking something over.

"What's up, Carlisle?" I asked.

He took a deep breath. "Jane wouldn't go out on her own without her masters' permission. There must have been some sort of order given. And I'm willing to bet that it was Caius given that the Children of the Moon are involved."

"But why wouldn't I have seen that decision from him?" Alice asked.

Jasper put his hands on her shoulders and massaged them. "It could have been planned before they came the last time. Caius could have told her that if a battle didn't happen, then she was free to do as she wished."

"What about Alec?" Esme chimed in from beside her mate.

Carlisle pulled her close. "It's doubtful that he'd want to be parted from his sister, but one of them would have had to stay behind. Both of the Volturi's prized possessions leaving at the same time would be suspicious to the others. Especially if Aro doesn't know, and given his decision last time, he wouldn't tolerate someone going behind his back when he gave his word to leave us alone. I haven't received any form of warning. Not to mention, Alice had been watching him before they came the last time. I'm inclined to agree with Jasper."

"But he didn't do that, did he?" I said with a growl. "He pretty much said that they'd be back to check on Nessie."

"Check on, yes. Attack?" The doc shook his head. "Not a chance. Alice, tell them what you showed him that day."

The good doctor shared a look with Edward, who had shot him a stare.

Alice took a deep breath. "The reason he backed off was that he knew he and his brothers, and most of the guard, were going to die. I'd had a vision of his two choices. If he decided to go to war with us anyway, even after knowing what Nessie really was, they were going to die. We'd still have losses on our side, but they would be annihilated because of the wolves. If he chose to go home, he and his own would survive to live another day. He'd truly intended on just calling on us in a few years to check on my dear niece."

"And Caius hadn't been happy with that decision. Neither had Jane," Jasper said. And he would know with his emotion reading.

"So what?" I asked. "They planned a Plan B behind Aro's back?"

"I think the most important question is," Edward said. "Is how did Jane manage to talk the Children of the Moon to come after us?" He finished the question with a glance at Caden.

Caden sat up a little. "All I know was that Tristan was told that there was a coven of vampires here that had wolves as their guard dogs and were hunting us down, having their people come there to kill us."

"So they basically fed you their story, but made us the bad guys instead. Fabulous," I drawled.

The room went quiet after that, everybody lost in their own thoughts. Caius had Jane after us. And according to Carlisle, Aro didn't know. Kind of made me wonder what he would do if he found out that his brother and precious asset were plotting behind his back, staining his name and good word.

I was just about to make my third circuit around the room with my pacing when I heard, "Jacob?"

Snapping my head around, I found Nessie standing in the doorway with a worried and very confused look on her face. The moment I saw her, the vice that had been around my heart without my noticing loosened.

"Thank God," I whispered going over to her. I took her into my arms and the tightness completely disappeared. Kissing her hair, I tucked her close to me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face into my chest. "Are you ok? You scared the shit out of me."

She didn't answer my question. Instead, she squeezed my waist and then looked around my arm to the bed. "What happened to you?"

I gave him a warning look. Why? He'd gotten the look in his eyes that said that he wanted to ambush her with Jane's name just to see what happened. No, she'd know what was going on before we subjected her to that.

So he said it out loud. "We need to tell her," he said to Edward.

"Tell me what?" Nessie's eyes flicked from him to me. "Jacob, what do you need to tell me?" The scent of fear wafted from her pores, stinging my nose.

I cleared my throat. "There's been a development that we were and weren't anticipating."

Caden cut in. "I remember," he said with meaning. "I remember it all…with a name."

"What?" She looked back up to me again. "How is that possible?"

"Don't know. But your dad said the magic name."

"Well, what is it?" she demanded.

I shook my head. "Nessie, the reaction you may have will be painful. I just watched it."

Her hands clenched into my shirt. "What do you mean?"

Carlisle stepped forward. "The name is like a trigger. It seems as though you and Caden were right in saying that your memories had been tampered with. When this particular name had been said, it seemed to trigger all the memories in Caden."

Nessie clung to me as she thought about it.

"Nessie," Caden called to her. I turned with her still in my arms so that she could still lean on me and see him. "It will hurt, I promise you that. But also, my brain feels tons better now that all of that is out in the open. I don't feel so lost in my own head."

I glared at him in a warning, but he was right. She deserved to have the choice.

That seemed to decide her. She nodded. "Fine, let's do it. I want my memories back."

It was hard to believe that we were just talking about saying a name to her and not performing some long science experiment. But my fear was very real. After watching Caden get suspended up off that bed the way he had made me want to stick earplugs in her ear just in case.

"Jacob?" Edward asked. "You have a hold on her?"

"Absolutely." I leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I won't let you fall. I swear."

She pressed her face into my chest and breathed in deep. "I know," she whispered back.

"Nessie," Edward called. When she looked over at her father, he said, "Her name is Jane. Do you remember her?"

RPOV

Jacob's arms tightened around me as if expecting me to go into convulsions, which might be accurate. Everyone was staring at me worriedly, even Caden. Though his expression was mixed with resolve and a belief in me that was so solid I could feel it. Mom came in to stand in the warmth of Dad's arms.

Jane. I remembered her from back when the Volturi had come that last time. She had scared me the most, as had the blond Caius. The two had looked at my family with such violence that had they had the power to kill with a look, we'd all have dropped where we'd stood and been set on fire in time for them to be back in Italy before our ashes stopped smoking.

With those memories though, I focused on her face. Dark red eyes that were sharp and quick. Blonde hair was nearly as pale as her snow-white skin. And as I watched her lips form the word "pain", I saw that face in a completely different setting.

Instantly, I flashed back to the cabin that night. I was sitting in the chair when she'd turned that gaze on Caden, who had been chained and hung from a rafter. He'd screamed through the gag. In my mind, I watched as she'd turned to me.

And the pain that shot through me in the here and now was not just Pain but PAIN. My mind scrambled, placing her face in all the shadows that had taken residence in my mind. The agony was so intense, however, that there was no screaming to be had. My lungs stopped working as my body went into a fit of complete paralysis.

It felt as though my body was still, but on the inside? I was screaming my head off, banging around inside the bars my body created. I was stuck inside myself as the vision of Jane warped and fitted herself into all the nooks and crannies that she'd cut herself out of.

And then, I saw the girl. Abigail. That's what Jane had called her. She'd been the one to do the erasing though she hadn't wanted to. I'm sorry, she'd mouthed at me before cleaning herself and Jane from my memory. Although given that she was gifted, she could have been a lot more thorough. I'd make a solid bet that she'd only partially erased the vampires, making it so that my and Caden's minds would cough them back up eventually, like now.

When all of the replacing was done, all I could do was let my knees go weak. As promised, Jacob caught me and held me to him. And I heard the strangest sound. It sounded like sandpaper on wood. Wondering who the hell was doing woodworking at a time like this, I looked up and around. Everyone was staring at me, and that's when I realized that the sound was coming from me. It was air rushing down into my lungs and then back out. In and out, in and out.

Jacob's eyes were worried, but more than that they were scared and agony made them water while he swallowed hard. A peek into my mind let me know that my mental block had crashed into rubble at the invasion. He'd witnessed and felt everything I had. It was amazing that he was still on his feet.

He let the tears fall down his cheeks.

JPOV

I was vaguely aware that I was crying. But I didn't care. Just looking through Nessie's mind at what had happened to her, my heart broke into a thousand pieces. That bitch had used her ability on my mate, causing her pain. And then Caden while he'd been strung up like a side of beef.

I wanted to rip that bitch apart, but at the moment, I couldn't muster the fury. Instead, I just wanted to go lie down in our bed with my female tucked into my side, blankets cocooning us in together for a few days. I wanted to love her with everything I had just to even try to erase that pain.

And at the same time, I wanted to race to the bathroom and throw up the breakfast she'd made.

Sure, we'd been through the whole thing where she told me that it had been her fault for not going on with Seth, and that I'd had to take care of Jordan's body that night, but still. It was my job as her male to protect her. As soon as Seth had gotten there to that clearing, I should have checked on her, but I hadn't. And right then, I knew I'd never forgive myself for that.

Slowly, Nessie brought a shaking hand up to my face to stroke the tears off my cheek. "It's ok, Jake. I'm ok," she whispered. Her voice sounded as if she'd been screaming at the top of her lungs for hours. It was rough and broken, shaky just like those gentle hands.

"Jacob," Edward called from across the room.

It felt like a sin to move my eyes away from Nessie, so it took me a minute to get the strength to look up at her father.

He motioned with his head to the room next door, Seth's old room. "Go next door. We turned it into a recovery room. There's a king-sized bed in there."

"Dad, I'll be fine. I just need a moment."

He shook his head, but another voice came through first.

"Don't you dare be stupid, Nessie. Go lie down."

I managed to turn with her in my arms so that we could see the doorway. Shelby and Seth were standing there, arms wrapped around each other. Both had worried looks on their faces. The worry turned to fear, though, when Shelby caught sight of our faces. Clearly, we looked like we were death warmed over. It's good to know that I looked as bad as I felt.

"I need to hunt," Nessie barely managed to whisper.

Shelby shook her head, her eyes watering as she clung to her mate. "Hunt later. Please, Nessie."

"Ness." Caden's familiar, and strangely comforting, accent was back in full swing.

Nessie gripped my arms before she managed to balance some of her weight onto her own legs. Not much, but enough to get some leverage to turn a little to see the wolf in the bed.

"Listen to them. You've just had a major shock to your system. Once you have a lie-down in the arms of your mate, you'll feel better." He looked over to flash a smile at Leah. "I know I do. And frankly, you look as dead as I felt fifteen minutes ago."

Chocolate brown eyes stared at him. If there was anyone in this room that she would listen to right now, it would be him. He was in the exact same position she was: his memories had been jacked with, his brain stirred around with a spoon labeled under "pain", and now, he'd been force-fed reality by one name. Only he knew exactly how she was feeling. Even I didn't after sharing her thoughts. The version I'd gotten had been muffled.

Those deep eyes traveled around the room, landing on each of her relatives. Last, they landed on her parents, and an aching sadness hit her hard. And that was when I realized that I had taken up so much of her time that she hadn't really gotten to spend any with them. She might have been my woman, but she was still their little girl, their life-altering miracle.

Edward gave me a pair of dark eyes. He needed to hunt as well. But they were also dark with emotion. Like me, rage boiled in him at what had happened to his little girl. Nessie was the only child that would ever happen to him and Bella. Hell, she was the only child to happen to the Cullen clan. She was utterly precious.

He swallowed hard. "It's ok, Jacob. We understand."

I shook my head as I pulled her closer to me. What I needed to say really didn't need to be said out loud, so I just had to think at him.

It's really not, Edward. It's not ok. From the moment I imprinted on her, I'd taken up her time. Everywhere she'd gone, I'd followed. We'll fix that. She'll spend way more time with you. She's your little girl. You and I both know that we barely won that tiff with Volturi all those years ago, and now I've taken your time from the three of you. Not anymore. I can't be the only man in her life.

Ok, so it might have looked like we were just staring at each other, but the moment Edward nodded, Bella looked from one to the other of us.

"Whatever it is, Jake, we're all going to be ok."

I looked at her. Really looked at her for the first time in years. She was still the woman that I'd crushed on, but now, she was just a really good friend. I'd barely spent any time with her after Nessie was born. She and Edward had gone off while Rosalie and I had fought over whose arms Nessie got to sleep in. Not to say that they hadn't spent time with their daughter. They had, but not much now that she was grown.

But Bella and I were going to become family according to the human world. She was going to be my mother-in-law, but that didn't mean we couldn't be friends. We used to hike, ride motorcycles, and crawl around bonfires on the rez.

When had all that changed?

"Go," Bella said. She hugged her husband hard. "Take care of her. We'll be in later to check on you both."

We stared at each other for a couple heartbeats before I nodded, swung Nessie's legs up into the crook of my arm, and went for the door. Everybody parted to let me through; Shelby stroked Nessie's hair before rushing over to open the door to her old bedroom.

Brushing past her, I went for the king-sized bed that had been moved in. It had the same kind of equipment surrounding it that the hospital bed did but it was more comfortable. A recovery bed as opposed to an emergency bed. Shelby came forward to pull down the blankets. After I tucked my mate onto the mattress, I felt Shelby's hand on my arm to grab my attention.

Turning around, I met a pair of very serious bright green eyes. "Jacob, are you ok?" she whispered.

Shrugging her off was my first instinct, but she was genuinely concerned for us, for me. And she was, for all intents and purposes, she was my sister. Shelby and I hadn't really been tight from the get-go, but looking at her now, I figured today was a day for revelations. Though she could be a pain in the ass and nosy as all get-out, she did it only because she cared. Her dominance came from years of being hated by her own father, making her her own person who wouldn't take shit from anyone now.

Taking a deep breath, I hugged her. She embraced me back, squeezing. "Yeah, Shelbs. I'm good. I'm just…"

Her small hands stroked my back in those useless little circles. They did nothing to change what was happening, but those circles let you know that you weren't alone, that someone was there to catch you if you stumbled, if you could no longer be the strong person you had been only because you needed a chance to be emotional for just a moment in all the chaos.

"I know, Jake. I know. We'll figure this out. You don't have to be the only one to protect her. She's important to all of us." She pulled back to search my face. "You're as tired as she is. Lie down with her. Bella and I will be back to check on you later."

I gave her the best smile I could muster. "Thanks. We'll probably be asleep. Just the muffled images I got exhausted me."

Shelby's green eyes went to the bed and she smiled. "Looks like it. Nessie's out cold."

Looking over my shoulder, I saw that she was right. Nessie was sprawled out on the bed. As we watched her, she curled into a ball with a frown.

"Looks like she's cold, too," Shelby whispered with a suggestion in her tone.

Nodding, I disengaged from her to walk around to the other side of the bed. She watched as I slid into the bed fully clothed and spooned myself behind my mate. Though my body temp hadn't changed, I felt chilled to the bone, goosebumps popping up on my skin as I sidled up behind her. Once she was firmly in my arms, her body uncurled as she pressed back against me.

As if my body realized that we were now in a position to pass out, my eyelids became heavy as a four hundred pound weight. Before they slammed shut for good, I caught Shelby's form moving around to shut the drapes and then go for the door.

My mate sighed, her hands moving up my arms as her body let loose the tension against me.

With the exhaustion on emotions I didn't want to look too closely at, I feel asleep with the intense feeling that this time, it was Nessie protecting me.

Ok, so not much to say now. But I will go further into how Jacob was feeling in this last sentence in the next chapter. Some of you are probably pulling the head-to-the-side doggy-question "huh" look. But never fear, I'll let ya know. Luv you guys! xoxoxoxoxo