Hey, guys and gals! Yes, I know I have been gone for a while. And I love you? A lot? I beg your forgiveness. And give you chapter 31! Woo-hoo! Not much to say about it, I suppose. A lot of you may hate me at the end of it, but, hey, at least I'm back. :D And I WILL NOT be gone for another month. I swear it. We'll finish this story if it's the last thing I do. But I do REALLY like this chapter for some reason. Anywhozzle, love you guys and all of your "please update soon" reviews. The guilt factor has worked. You guys are good. Bwahahahaha.

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Please Enjoy!

A couple days later-Saturday

JPOV

On edge. I was definitely on edge. The weather had gone from cool, to hot, to frigid in just a couple days, and purplish-grey clouds were rolling in. I could see them through the break in the trees over our cabin. I didn't smell snow either. Thunder rumbled overhead, and lightning flashed. A thunderstorm. Those were rare around here. I gathered up some more wood from under the porch for the fireplaces. After this armload, there should have been enough in the house to last through a three day long snow-in.

Nessie had been acting weird, too. Moodier than normal, she snapped at the most innocent of questions. Only the kids were safe. Everyone else was fair game, but she didn't want to be social either. And she'd been getting up in the morning before me. Such a small detail, but a very important one.

"Jacob?"

Bringing my eyes back down from the skies, I saw Nessie in the doorway. She was calm today. Nobody had come to visit, and I hadn't tried to talk to her all that much. We'd just sat on the couch and watched whatever she wanted to watch. I'd learned from being around women before she and I had gotten together that guys should just nod and say they understood. And I did just that. Whatever she wanted, I got for her. A man preparing for a pregnant mate much, huh?

"Yeah, babe?"

"You ok?" she asked quietly.

She was in short shorts and a white, V-neck flimsy shirt. No bra. Neither one of us had prepared to meet up with anybody let alone leave the house. Her hands were lying one on top of the other and her chin was resting on them as she watched me.

I smiled. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Liar." Her voice stayed soft. "You're worried about the storm. Aren't you?"

I took in a deep breath and kept with my promise not to lie to her. "Yeah, I am. I don't like it. And I'm definitely uneasy."

We stared at each other for a long moment. Something big was going down either tonight or tomorrow. These few moments were probably the most peaceful we were going to have. I wanted nothing more than to just cuddle up on the couch with her in my lap, as close as we would get without me getting inside of her. I didn't want now to be about sex. I just wanted to be close to her in this peaceful quiet. Violence was never quiet or peaceful. And not only was the sky going to rain down on us, but so was blood and violence.

"Come inside, Jake. I want you to hold me, please."

Kicking into gear, I picked up some more wood and bustled into the house. I dropped off the wood in the master bedroom, the last to fill, and went back upstairs. She was standing next to the couch, arms wrapped around her torso. Coming up behind her, I wrapped her up in my arms. We just stood there for a couple minutes before I scooped her up against my chest and sat down with her in my lap, just how I wanted. She rested her head on my chest with a sigh, linking the fingers of our left hands together, pulling my arm all the way around her. Our rings rubbed against each other. I'd never admit it to her, but I was scared. Scared of all the things that could happen. I could lose her. Or abandon her. Or we both could die.

Silently, I handed her the remote and kissed her temple. She turned Netflix to Supernatural, one of our current favorites. It freaked her out a little sometimes, but I always told her that her werewolf would protect her. But instead of actually listening to the show, she grabbed the other remote to turn down the volume, then snuggled back against me.

"Jacob?"

"Yeah?"

She didn't answer, just sat there and played with my ring.

I kissed her head again. "I know, baby. I know."

There hadn't been any more attacks or murders. As Caden had said multiple times, things were quiet. Ethan had managed to get a call to Caden, saying that he had a group of at least twenty-five wolves that were ready to follow him. All they needed were orders. He'd tried to hide it, but the news affected Caden. I could relate. The fact that people were that loyal, that they would follow you, made you swell with pride and appreciate the man that others had raised you to be, the man that you'd become through hardships.

Some members of the group were double agents and had some seriously valuable information that could help us lock down those groups that were scanning the perimeter for our supposed escape. We needed Tristan off his game. If we could take out most of the soldiers he didn't keep close to him, it would throw him for a loop and possibly get him to stumble and screw up.

Most members of the rebel group were spread out among the teams. Ethan and Caden were setting up a trap. Edward, Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie were working non-stop on a concrete room underground near the house. Pretty much a jail. We'd give them a choice of what we could do with them. I didn't like the thought that we would have to threaten death, but this was war. They were trying to take away my family when we'd done nothing to them.

We were waiting on another word from Ethan saying when they were going to move. Tristan was still waiting for the storm to hit. According to the weather station, the clouds and storm would be around for a couple days. It could be any time that the storm actually touched down. Tonight, tomorrow, or the next day. Nessie was supposed to go down to the rez tomorrow morning. Today when I'd seen the clouds roll in, I told her to go in the morning. Embry was going to try to get Tricia to go down. Her and Walker's parents would be in Seattle for the weekend so they were safe. Bella had talked to Charlie. He'd talked to Sue, who would go down to the rez. But as expected, Charlie wasn't going down. He refused. But everybody else was as safe as we could make them.

Surprisingly, I did have some pull with the rez police. They issued that the citizens needed to stay in town for the next few days unless absolutely necessary by decree of me. Which was awkward as hell to hear. But it worked.

They were as safe as they were going to be, but somehow, I still felt a stone of terror in my stomach. Caden had gotten a scent off the dead girl. He'd asked Ethan if that person was one of his "loyal" rebels. Ethan had said no and that he wasn't surprised. Tristan had been letting the wolves go hungry. More feral was more dangerous.

More feral also meant more lethal.

TriciaPOV

Embry was in my room again. Mom and Dad were out of town for their anniversary. As soon as they'd left, Embry had knocked on the front door. But it wasn't for anything fun. A grim expression lined his face and he looked exhausted. Right now, he was pacing my room, looking for something.

I plopped on the bed, watching him. His big, tan body looked off in my white and light grey with pale pink undertones room. I decided that if we ever lived together, our room would be warm to match him. I hoped we actually made it together. I already felt strongly for him.

He opened my closet door, turned on the light, and rummaged through the contents on the floor.

"What are you looking for? I can tell you where it is."

He shook his head. "I want to find it."

I rolled my eyes and flopped onto my back. "Whatever. What's wrong with you anyway? I didn't even get a hello kiss."

There was silence, and before I knew what was happening, he'd gripped my hands, pulling me to a sitting position. Kneeling in front of me, he cupped my face in his hands and leaned in toward me. My heart was in my throat with his closeness. The smell of him enveloped me as he pressed his soft lips to mine. I'd never been kissed like this before. I'd never kissed someone and it felt like there should have been fireworks exploding around us. Butterflies erupted in my stomach as he deepened the kiss, his tongue tentatively invading my mouth. I gasped at the entrance. Always before he'd given me kisses and pecks on the lips, never deepening. However, the progression seemed off. As much as I enjoyed it, there was something desperate with him tonight as if he were worried.

With a feeling of loss, I broke the kiss. "Embry, what's wrong?" I said with a hoarse voice.

Closing his eyes, he pressed his forehead against mine. "I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"Something big is going to happen within the next couple days. I need you to go down to the rez so I know you're safe."

I just stared at him as best I could with our heads pressed together. "You don't mean big as in good, do you?"

He shook his head. "No. Please, Tricia. Go down there with Nessie. She'll keep you safe."

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and moved closer to him. Spreading my legs, I pulled his body between my knees. He was scaring me and I wanted to be as close and safe to him as I could.

"What about you?" I asked.

He leaned back so that he could meet my eyes. "I have to stand with my pack. But I swear, I'll come back for you."

I gripped his neck hard. "Embry, you're making this sound like a life or death type of deal. Is that what this is?"

His grip on my waist tightened in response which was my answer, I supposed. "Please." The word was tinged with desperation. "Our enemies are going to go after those people we love, that we care about. You have to go down there."

Out of all of that, only one thing stuck with me. The corner of my lips tilted a bit. "Love?"

A ghost of a smile echoed as he nodded. "Love."

"I thought we were just dating."

"We are, but that doesn't mean that I can't feel something."

My smile turned into a grin. "I know I should be scared, but I'm glad I'm not the only one with feelings. I thought I was going nuts."

His eyebrows shot to his hairline. "You...you have feelings, too?" It was his turn for a hoarse voice.

I nodded. "Yeah. I was just thinking that if we ever live together, our room will be painted colors to match you."

"Our room?"

I shrugged. "I can hardly be away from you right now and we just met. If we live together, I refuse to sleep away from you."

His eyes roamed my face as his hand stroked my hair back. "You are so...amazing."

"Tricia?"

I let out a surprised yelp when Embry stood up, whirled around, and pushed me behind him. Peeking around his arm, I found Walker standing in my doorway. Confusion gave way to utter rage on his face. A face that was bruised. They were that nasty yellow-ish green color that meant they were almost healed. What had happened to him?

"What are you doing here?" he spat at Embry.

Embry let out a low growl. It was a warning.

Ok, this would get ugly if it didn't get toned down. I stepped out from behind Embry but stayed close so as not to undermine his dominance.

"Walker. What are you doing here?"

He never looked at me. Just kept glaring at the other man. "This is still my home, too, Tricia. I was coming over to ask you to go down to the rez but apparently, he beat me to it. Among other things."

He started forward, and I rushed up to him. "Please. It wasn't anything, ok? He kissed me, that's all. Nothing else was going to happen. We're going slow."

That grabbed his attention. Hurt and anger was there when he looked down at me. "You two are together? Does Dad know about this?"

Lying seemed like a bad idea, but it was the only one I had that wouldn't result in Walker telling Dad making them come home early. "Of course he does," I said in my most irritated voice. "He doesn't like it, but I don't care. I like Embry and I'm going to date him."

Walker's teeth ground together as he glared at Embry. "I want to talk to you. Privately."

After a moment, Embry nodded. Both boys walked out with my brother glaring at my boyfriend, if that was the right word since we'd only been considered "together" for about two days. Walker closed the door behind him, and I rushed for it. Maybe they'd stay in the hallway so I could hear them. As gently as I could, I pressed my ear to the wood.

Hot damn. They'd stayed in the hall.

"...fight about this later. And trust me, I'll enjoy it. But right now I want her safe," Walker was saying. "I'm guessing you already asked her to go down to the rez?"

"Of course I did. I take care of what's important to me."

My heart warmed.

"Yeah, so do I. And you know how I feel about her."

There was silence for a moment as if Embry were trying to figure out what to say or if he should say it at all. After a couple of breathless heartbeats, he said, "You do realize that you were imprinted on, don't you?"

"What?" was Walker's shocked response. "Who?"

Embry made an exasperated noise. "You are so blind. How I made it at eighteen, I don't know. Oh, wait. I was too busy being a wolf and protecting my lands. Open your eyes, Walker, and answer your own damn question."

It sounded like Embry had started walking back to the room when it went silent.

"Tell. Me," Walker demanded.

A low growl that should never have come from a human throat moved under the door and made me shiver.

"Get. Your hand. Off. Me."

"Tell me, Embry. Tell me who."

"No. It's not my thing to tell. I just wanted you aware of the situation. Aware of how much you're hurting her by making her watch you pine over a girl that you're not really in love with, by ignoring her or treating her so poorly."

Another beat of silence. Then, "Christa? But...no, she said her imprint wasn't around any-,"

"Excuse me while I go treat my imprint like a queen."

As the hall went silent again, I ran and threw myself back on the bed, wildly bouncing around as Embry came back through the door wearing a scowl.

"Well, that conversation didn't go well, I presume," I said as nonchalantly as I could. It didn't work because I was still breathing hard.

Embry gave me a look. "Please. You were listening at the door."

I sighed. "I just need to know what's going on with the two of you so I know when to expect some big blow out."

Kneeling down in front of me again, he pulled me back up and wrapped my arms around his neck. "We'll be fine. Things just need to get put in the proper perspective."

Over Embry's head, I saw Walker lean into the door. "You really don't love me, do you?"

I shook my head, feeling myself wilt a little at the sadness in his eyes. "No. Just as a brother. You're my brother, Walker, and always have been. That won't change. And I don't want you to believe it's Embry. No matter what or who comes into my life, you are my brother. Always."

He swallowed hard and nodded, not meeting my eyes. "Ok. I understand."

And then he was gone.

I looked down at Embry. "What was that about?"

Sympathy rode his features as his thumbs pressed into my hipbones. "I think he might have realized how wrong and how cruel he's been. Do you remember Christa?"

I nodded. She was a beautiful girl who didn't look as if she had any Native blood in her, but she must have because she was part of the pack.

"She imprinted on Walker, but didn't tell him. She's been thinking that it needs to be you to put him in his right mind, but it's tearing her up when he goes on and on about how he loves you."

"How do you know what she's been thinking?"

He took in a deep breath. "When we phase, we can hear others' thoughts as long as they're in wolf form, too. Most of the time we know to ignore it. We just can't help seeing everything."

"Oh. She must be lonely and very pissed off with him."

He shrugged. "More sad that he can't see the obvious."

I shook my head. "He's such a jerk."

Embry shook his head. "Not a jerk. He just didn't have all the information that he has now. Knowing Christa imprinted on him is a game-changer. Especially since he feels the pull of her."

Before I could answer, his phone chimed. Sighing, he pulled away, stood up. Once he managed to dig it out of his pocket, he glanced at the number and frowned. Putting it to his ear, he said, "Walker?"

I straightened up. No way was Walker calling Embry to just chat after what just went down. Something was up. Embry's body tensed, his entire being going absolutely still.

"Walker, what are you talking about? What did you do? Where are you? I'll come get you." Silence. Embry shook his head viciously. "No, Walker. You don't have to do that. Just come back and talk to her."

Apparently, Walker had hung up because Embry pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. Fear and confusion flooded his eyes. I was up off the bed in a hot second.

"Embry, what's going on? What's happening to my brother?"

He swallowed hard. His eyes were focused on something that wasn't in this room. "Pack your bag for a few days. We need to go see Jake." Finally, he turned to look at me as I opened my mouth. "No arguments. Just please do as I asked."

With no arguments from me, I flew into action.

RPOV

Jake and I were cuddled up on the couch when someone pounded on the door. We shared a glance before I moved off his lap so he could get up. I knew that I'd been cranky for the past few days. I'd also been cramping really bad and trying not to let it show. Jacob hated to see me like that, and I hated seeing the lost, helpless look on his face when I told him there was nothing he could do besides put his warm hand over my pelvis.

As Jacob opened the door, he had to move aside or get run over by Embry who was closely followed by Tricia and Christa.

"We got a problem, Jake," Embry said. He dropped a medium-sized travel bag on the floor and started pacing. Tricia was hugging herself, watching him, and looking like she wanted to wrap her arms around him. Christa just looked confused. A moment later, Caden walked through the door with eyebrows raised.

"What the hell is going on?"

Embry whirled around to face everyone. "It's Walker."

Caden shared a look with Jacob, who had crossed his arms over his chest. "What about him?"

"He's gone."

The entire room exploded with a chorus of "What?!"

"What do you mean, he's gone?" Jacob demanded.

Embry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I went to see Tricia, to get her to go down to the rez. I kissed her and Walker walked in. He caught us." When Jake glared at him, he rushed on in exasperation. "Not like that. But anyway. He and I had an argument." At this point, he looked over at Christa. "I'm so sorry. I know you wanted to be the one to tell him, but I thought if he knew that maybe it would give him some perspective."

She took a menacing step forward. "What did you say to him?"

Embry held his hands up. "I just told him that he'd been imprinted on. Not that it was you. He guessed that part."

"And?" she said through gritted teeth.

"And then he got scarily calm and asked Tricia if she really didn't love him. When she said no, he said he understood and he left. I thought he'd come back to here to the Cullen house. But I got a call not long after. It was him."

"What did he say?" Caden asked.

Embry looked at Christa. "He said that I needed to take care of Tricia, and that he needed me to tell you that he was sorry. I tried to get him to come back, to talk to you, but he said that he couldn't face you right now."

"Well," I chimed in. "He can't have gotten far. Tristan is having the town's perimeter run."

Tricia shook her head, her eyes red from trying not to cry. "Trust me, Walker has honed the fine skill of sneaking in and out. Dad even put cameras all over the house to catch him." She shook her head again. "Not even a shadow from him. If he wants to, he'll get out of Forks."

Embry went over to her and wrapped his arms around her. At first she stiffened as if she were mad at him. When he felt it and started to move away, she gripped his shirt, pulling him to her so she could collapse against his chest. He held her tightly.

"I am so sorry," he whispered.

"So, what do we do?" Christa demanded. "We have to look for him, bring him back."

Caden shook his head with a sympathetic expression. "No." When she whipped around to glare at him, he put his hands on her shoulders. "He doesn't want to be found. Tricia knows him better than anyone else. If she says we won't find him, then we won't find him. And even if we did, he'd be useless to us. His head isn't in the right place for a strategic fight. We'd have to worry about protecting him as well, which we don't need. I promise you that after we survive the next couple days, I will help you find him." His brows furrowed as he thought of something. "Although, he will come back. I'm sure of it."

"How so?" Jacob asked. He'd come to stand next to me, his arms going around my waist. I leaned back into him with a sigh, letting the heat and warmth sink into my body, relaxing it. He kissed the top of my head.

Caden shifted on his feet as all eyes went to him. "Ethan believed I wasn't being coerced into helping you because I'd told him that I'd found my true mate in Leah." He made it sound like it explained everything when it really explained nothing.

"True mate?" I asked gently. He was clearly uncomfortable, and so far everyone who had asked questions had been demanding.

He turned to me with relief and nodded. "It's similar to imprinting. But not as powerful. It's just a feeling, an impulse to always be near that one person. I'd known that Alora wasn't my true mate, but I'd mated her anyway. But the moment I saw Leah, I knew. I knew my whole life had been lived to make it to that one moment."

Reaching down, I drew Jake's arms tighter around me. "And what does that have to do with Walker?"

"He's new to our kind, but he feels the pull of Christa. She imprinted on him. She's his true mate. He just doesn't know what the feeling is or what it means." He looked back at Christa. "That's why he ran. He can't face you after how he's been treating you. The girl he thought he was in love with admitted to his face that she doesn't love him. And he finds out he was imprinted on. It must have had a big impact on him. Christa, I saw the two of you the other day at the store when we met Ethan. You stayed close to him. And he stayed close to you, watching you, watching other males. I can almost guarantee that if another man had hit on you or even given you an appreciative glance that Walker saw, that man would have paid dearly for it. My kind of wolf is extraordinarily protective and enormously possessive."

Christa hugged herself. "Well, that's all fine and dandy, but I want him back. So let's go get him."

Caden shook his head. "We don't have resources right now. He doesn't want to be found at the moment so it would take all of us searching. We have a home to protect."

"But they could have caught him," she yelled, throwing an arm out as if encompassing the entire wood. "If they did, we won't know."

"And what if they did? What are we going to do? Right now, Tristan has the upper hand until we can get those patrol groups chained."

"Have we gotten the call yet?" Jacob asked. His voice rumbling through his chest vibrated into me, further relaxing me.

Caden turned back to us, but kept pinning Christa with glances as if he were making sure she wasn't going to run out the door to find her man. "Actually, yes, I did on my way up here. Ethan said they're moving heard about your decree for the rez. Since everybody will be tucked down tight for the night, he figures it'll be easier to take over the town. And before you ask, yes, I called Edward. The cement cell is finished and the silver chains are ready."

Tension sang through Jacob. "And Ethan's in position? What time are they moving?"

The answer surprised nobody. "Midnight."

Jacob's chin rubbed in my hair as he nodded. "Right. Nessie, you and Tricia go downstairs to pack a bag. You're both going down to the Cullen house for the night. I don't care how grumpy you are. Your parents can deal with it. Tricia, I'm sorry but you can't go back to your house tonight. They watched you and Embry come here, so they're probably preparing to catch you alone. Especially since it's getting on toward midnight. They're getting into position to take over the town."

The girl nodded, still hugging herself. When she bit her lip and her eyes watered, Embry crumbled, clutching her to him. He bent over to kiss her hair.

"It's ok. You'll be safe with the Cullens, alright?"

Her electric blue eyes, glassy with unshed tears, lifted to his face. "It's not me I'm worried about."

Everybody's faces melted, and my heart softened toward her even more.

Smiling, Embry brushed her hair out of her face. "I'll be fine. Caden's trained us to deal with them."

Determination coloring her expression, she gripped his shirt to pull his face to hers. "You'd better come back to me. Or I swear I will find a way to bring you back and kill you all over again. Do you understand me?"

We all chuckled, knowing exactly how she felt.

Embry cupped her face gently. "I can't make a promise to you that I don't know that I can keep, but I will promise you to try my damndest to come home to you. We'll paint that room, how's that?"

She choked out a sob and laugh as the tears won the battle, falling down her cheeks. But as we all watched her, she took in several deep breaths, wiped the tears away, and smiled at him.

"Sounds perfect. Now, I'm gonna go help Ness pack a bag or two. You and the pack need to talk apparently." Rising up on her tiptoes, she planted a soft kiss on his lips, squeezed her eyes shut tight as if in pain, and ripped herself away from him to come toward me.

I pulled away from Jacob after he gave my waist a squeeze. Turning, I rose on my own tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. "Good luck," I whispered.

"Thanks," he whispered back, and pressed something into my hand. Looking down, I found his ring in my palm. I hated that he had to take it off, but during the day we'd found a solution. An old chain necklace wrapped twice around my wrist and was just loose enough for me to slide his ring over my finger with my ring. With the chain tight on my wrist, it didn't fall off. I'd thought about just wearing it as a necklace, but I wanted to be different, and to be able to see the ring whenever I wanted.

He undid the clasp on the chain, slipped the ring on and redid the clasp before slipping it onto my finger. "Keep it safe."

There were already two hysterical women in the house. There didn't need to be three. Besides, I was the alpha female. So, taking a deep breath, I forced the tears back, straightened my shoulders, and grinned.

"Duh, Jake." With one more kiss, I reached back to grip Tricia's hand. Her fingers were cold and gripped mine tightly.

"Come on. I think we're about the same size. If not, my aunt Alice will undoubtedly find you something. Let's let the puppies talk, shall we?"

And I pulled her down to my room.

JPOV

We all watched as the girls disappeared down the stairs. Nessie was being strong. I knew her well enough to know she wanted to break down, but she'd pulled it together for the other women, which made my heart swell with pride. Tricia had also pulled herself together enough to pull away from Embry, to be strong for him. Which made me think of him and question his usefulness.

"Embry, I know you worry for her, but I need your head in the game."

He shook his head. "I'm more clear-headed than I've ever been. I'm here a hundred percent."

The scent that I'd come to associate with truth floated from him. Good. If he'd lied to me, I would have called him out. It would have stung his pride, but he'd have been angry enough to concentrate.

I clapped my hands together. "Alright, guys. Once the girls get their stuff together, we'll head down to the Cullen house to group up. That being said, remember, there are only five of us circling the rez. Stay together and sharp. Stay tight and alert. Again, remember that we need to herd these guys close together. Caden can't be in several places at once to disprove Tristan's story. He needs easy access to the other groups."

Caden cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Actually, I talked to Ethan about Lucy. He said that if she were to meet with some of the groups it would help. They all protected her from Tristan."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's why she's in our medical room with stitches in her body?"

He gave me a look. "He was the one who killed the woman. Lucy tried to stop him. It's a miracle she's not dead."

"I thought you told me the scent wasn't Tristan."

He rolled his eyes. "It wasn't. Somehow he managed to give off a scent other than his own. Or that wolf was with him, masking his scent."

"Is that possible?"

"Yes, actually."

Scrubbing my face with my hands, I felt irritation bubble up in my chest to come out as a growl. "Great. That makes me really happy."

Caden laughed. "It should, as a matter of fact. The very fact that he's hiding his scent means he's worried. It means he's been thinking that he's not as invincible as he first thought when all this started. I think you worry him, Jake."

"How do you know that that's what he's thinking?"

Instantly, his face sobered up, the smile disappearing. "As I've told you all before, Tristan and I used to be very close. He was the honorary godfather of my son, we were so close. I know him, how he acts and reacts. But that also means that he knows me."

"What does that mean?" Embry asked before I could.

"It means," Caden said, "that Tristan knows that if I find a man lacking in worth to lead, I'll either leave or take his place as leader. The fact that I'm still here and Jacob is alive means that Tristan knows that I don't think Jacob is just another pretty face. He's worthy of the title of leader, and I will follow him. My loyalties have changed. Through a break in Tristan's insanity, he's seeing and finally understanding that."

A shuffling sound came from behind me. I turned to find Nessie and Tricia standing there with a couple of overnight bags.

"Is that good or bad for us?" Nessie asked.

She'd brushed out her hair and braided it into a long rope down her spine. She'd also changed her clothes. Jeans and a dark grey long-sleeve tee led down to the black tennis shoes. While she walked back over to me, Tricia went straight for Embry's arms where he pulled her against him tightly. The two of them were startling contrasts from each other. He was dark and broad while she was pale and dainty. But somehow they managed to make it work.

"Very good for us, luv," Caden said continuing the conversation as Ness cuddled up into my side. "And I'll tell you why before you ask. Tristan has a hard time coping when things don't go his way. He knows now that we aren't backing down which was what he was trying to get us to do. So, he's chicking out and having a panic attack."

"Alright, look. Let's just get Nessie and Tricia down to the Cullen house. We're running out of time. We'll deal with all of this later. Right now, we have a plan to execute," I said.

Embry and I both moved at the same time to grab the bags for the girls. Once I had Nessie's, she tucked herself back into my side. Embry and Tricia just stared at each other while the rest of us held our breath and waited. After a beat of silence, she moved to stand under his arm, which he wrapped around her tightly.

All of us trooped down into the woods. The clouds overhead were a deeper purple. The storm was brewing, and quickly. Those "elite" groups of Tristan's were probably moving into place as we walked. The rez was on lockdown, and the folks of Forks would be hunkering down in preparation for the rare storm invading the normally cool atmosphere. The air was warm and charged. Flashes moved throughout the clouds. Sky lightning.

"You pack enough?" I asked Ness just for something to say.

She nodded against my chest. "Yeah. We packed for Lucy, too. And enough just in case we still have to go down to the rez tomorrow if everything doesn't work out tonight."

When we'd made the plans for the girls to go down to the rez, we hadn't known that the plan would happen tonight. If all went well, there wouldn't really be a need for them to go. Tristan wouldn't be stupid enough to try to invade us with only a precious few on his side after we captured his teams. Besides, the plan was supposed to have happened while they were down there. There wasn't any time to get them safely to the rez now anyway so the next safest place was the Cullen house.

Leaning down, I kissed the top of her head. "Sounds good. I love you."

I felt her smile as she turned her face into my body to place her own kiss over my heart. "Love you, too."

I really hoped that wasn't the last time I ever heard that from her. Everything was planned out, but so many things could still go wrong. The something-bad-is-going-to-happen feeling clenched my stomach into hard knots as the Cullen house came into view.

ShelbyPOV

I paced the picture window in the Cullen house like I usually did when I was nervous. Seth's hoodie covered me pretty well. Which was good. I wasn't sure how I felt about everybody knowing that the baby had had a serious growth spurt inside of me. Seth had noticed it first when I'd gotten out of bed this morning. My stomach had a more pronounced bump than it had last night. So pronounced that I knew it wasn't normal. Carlisle had said to come down to the house for an exam before everyone else started showing up. Edward had been there, but that was ok. I just didn't want Nessie or Jake worrying over me. They had a pack to worry about.

According to the doctor, the baby was perfectly healthy. And big enough to that he could determine the sex and tell us should we want. I didn't want at the moment. My main concern was his telling us that the gestation was starting to speed up, the wolf genes kick-starting. Right now it was on the slow side, meaning there was every possibility of it speeding up even more. I could give birth before Nessie's wedding if that happened. And I totally wasn't ready for that. I was still getting used to being pregnant.

Strong arms wrapped around me as the large group moved through the bushes. Soft lips kissed my temple.

"It's going to be ok, Shelby. I promise. Maybe tonight when we get back Carlisle can tell us what it is."

"No!" I shouted, then, "no," quieter. "I want to be surprised."

I turned in time to see his face fall a little. "Oh."

"I mean, if you wanna know, that's fine. We can know."

He squeezed me a little and rubbed my swollen belly. "No, it's ok. All I care about is the two of you being healthy. If you wanna wait to know, then we'll wait."

I pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Thanks."

The front door opened and closed, the foyer and living room flooding with voices. Seth held me tighter to him when I started shivering. Jake's arrival meant that Seth would be leaving me in a matter of moments to meet up with the rest of the pack. Looking over, I saw Nessie and Jake saying their goodbyes as well as Caden and Leah, and Embry and Tricia. As I turned to face Seth, my belly brushed his flat one, and the baby kicked hard. For the first time. Seth must have felt it, too, because his mouth quickly covered mine as I gasped. Through the kiss, the baby kicked. When Seth backed up enough so that we weren't touching, things calmed. Holy. Crap. That had been intense.

"Seth," Jake called. "Come on, man. We have work to do." His voice was rough with emotion. When we looked over at him, he nodded to me. "Hey, Shelbs."

"Hi, Jake. Good luck out there." Letting go of Seth, I went to Jake who held his arms out to me. I really hoped he didn't feel the large bump between us. I wasn't ready for them to know yet.

"Thanks, Shelbs." He kissed the top of my head. "Take care of Ness for me. Please."

"Not a problem. You know I got this handled."

He grinned at me as we both pulled back. Nessie came to stand beside me as Seth came to kiss me one more time.

"See you soon," he whispered against my lips.

And then all the men were gone. Nessie tried to pull me into her arms, but I pulled away, saying I had to use the bathroom, and disappeared into the one in the hallway.

Locking myself in, I fought to hold back the tears. And lost.

JPOV

My group and I stood on the edge of town, Caden and Adam standing at my sides, waiting for Ethan and his group to face off with us. Seth and I had separated the pack into their groups. We'd managed five in total, which is what Caden estimated for Tristan's pack. My group, except for me, Adam, and Caden were all phased out, fanning out around us.

Midnight had come and gone thirty minutes ago, but Caden had assured me that they'd find us. Glancing at him now, I could see he was nervous. He hadn't seen these wolves in months, and didn't know which of them were loyal to him.

"Where are they?" Adam whispered. Fat raindrops found their way through the tops of the trees to plop down on us. Despite the warm air, the water was nice and cold.

The brush ahead of us rustled before anyone could answer. The two wolves in front of me hunkered down and raised their hackles in a low snarl.

"We're right here," said an accent similar to Caden's. A tall man with jet black hair and a full beard stepped out from behind the shrubs. His leather trench coat matched his hair, but those pale amber eyes that were latched onto mine didn't. "What's curious is that you would come against us." He held his arms out wide, eyes never leaving me. He looked familiar but I couldn't pin from where. "We simply mean no harm, only want to take this land peacefully. No blood need be shed."

Slowly, the man's group of wolves came through the bushes posed very much like mine. Low to the ground and hackles raised. Ethan came out in human form behind them all, staring. And I realized why the other guy looked familiar. Ethan was a clean cut version of the Mr. Leather Coat.

"Let me guess," Caden said, stepping up beside me. "Tristan preached that to you."

The man's eyes widened, mouth gaped open. "Caden...what-I thought-but…"

"Hello, Beau. I never thought Tristan would pair you with Ethan, the two of you being brothers and all."

Looking over at him, I found him grinning. Beau did the same and came forward. My wolves, Cody and Ross, growled and snapped, keeping him back.

"Easy, guys," I said.

They backed up until their flanks were against my legs, now protecting only me. Beau came forward again and wrapped Caden up in a bear hug.

"I never thought I'd see you again. Tristan told us you were dead. Ethan told me otherwise, but I didn't know what to think."

"It's alright, brother. Tristan is a persuasive bastard."

Movement in the other wolves grabbed my attention. As I watched, some of the wolves moved away from the others to create a circle around the others. Those that weren't moving looked on at the two men with hatred. About six wolves were in the center of that circle.

Snarls and growls erupted from the left.

Caden pulled away from his friend. "I must move fast for this to work. The others have to see me alive. Ethan told me there are those on the fence. I have to go."

Beau nodded just as one of those wolves snarled and growled behind him. Cody and Ross snarled back in warning. In the blink of an eye, the cinnamon colored wolf lunged. Beau spun in his heel, fist raised, to meet the wolf. His fist connected in the wolf's throat, and the beast dropped like a stone.

"Stay down, Tomas," Beau said with a glare at the others. "Tristan lied to us. It is a betrayal. Caden is alive and well. You are outnumbered. Do not try to escape." He turned to look at Caden. "Go. I will stay. Ethan, go with him."

Ethan and Caden took off for the sounds of fighting. I moved up and my wolves helped surround the antagonistic group in the middle. Their ears had dropped, but they still snapped here and there as they were circled.

I walked forward to stand with Beau. He held out his hand.

"Beau."

I took it. "Jacob."

His dark eyebrows raised. "Ah, so you're Jacob." His eyes roamed me from top to bottom. "Good."

"Good? What does that mean?"

A mysterious smile. "Nothing to worry about."

With narrowed eyes, I said, "So you follow Caden?"

A nod without hesitation. "Absolutely. Caden is a good man, and he's saved my life more times than I can count. I owe him beyond anything I can give him. My loyalty is all I have. He is loyal to you. That's good enough for me."

At that, some of the wolves yipped and barked as they continued to circle the others. No scent of a lie wafted from him.

"Awesome. What do you say we move these guys?"

"Where?"

Edward, I called mentally.

A moment later, he and Rosalie appeared to help herd the wolves through the woods. All the sounds of fighting and snarling had died down. Hopefully the other groups that Caden had gotten to were moving toward the cement cell. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward nod with a frown. Frowns from him were never good things.

Immediately, he was at my side. "Go back to the last group. A fight's about to break out. The leader is against Caden and won't let the other wolves move."

"Maybe I should go," Beau said.

I was already hustling down the path. Half turning, I said, "No, you stay with your group. I'll handle this. This is the last group. We'll get it."

Turning, I phased and ran as fast as I could. In my wolf form, I could feel the pressure of the storm bear down on me, making my fur crackle with static. The woods were quiet, as if the animals knew a battle was being carefully waged in these woods.

When I got to the edge of the small clearing where the last groups were to meet, I found that this was the largest group my wolves had to go against. And more of this group was against Caden. My wolves faced off with a line of Tristan's while Caden's supporters were being barred by another line of Tristan's. Christa was in this group and I could see that she was facing off against another female.

Mentally, I found the other members of my pack that were free.

What's up, Jake? Embry asked.

Trouble with the last group. I need all wolves and vampires that are available. This is the biggest and most aggressive group. Get here asap.

Roger that. Edward heard you.

Good.

The leader and Caden were facing off at each other, baring their teeth. Lucas was next to Christa, protecting her though he faced his own enemy. It struck me again how large Lucas was. A hulking male who overshadowed his opponent. And because I was watching him, I hadn't noticed that one of the enemy wolves had turned to attack Caden's legs, collapsing them. The leader of the group moved in claws raised as Caden tried to struggle against the large wolf pinning him. He had absolutely no leverage, arms and legs pinned at awkward angles.

I needed to act now. There was no waiting for backup even though I could see my wolves speeding through the woods to get here.

Almost there, Jake, Morgan huffed. Do what you have to.

Of course, she was concerned for Lucas, her male. But also, Christa, her best friend. In my head, though, Leah was the most ferocious. She snarled and growled as she flew past the others. Her man was in the most danger. Her could see my dark outline through the trees, but she wouldn't get there in time. Those dagger claws were swinging down toward Caden, and she screamed in my head.

With a fresh gush of fury, I launched through the trees and hit the leader from the side, tackling him to the ground. He'd managed to turn so that he landed on his back. I phased back on the way down so that maybe I could talk to him.

"Don't, man. Killing him isn't worth it," I said, pinning the man. I was taller and broader than he was so it was kind of easy. He wasn't a leader in stature, but those eyes burned with hatred and cold calculation. "Tristan lied to you. Isn't that the ultimate betrayal to you guys?"

He snarled in response, but before he could actually say anything, the clearing exploded in snarls, growls, and teeth everywhere. Leah went after the wolf pinning Caden, threw it off, and stood over her man snapping and snarling. Caden wrapped his hands in her fur. Within moments, Tristan's followers were outnumbered and pinned to the dirt.

"It's over," I said to the male beneath me.

The smile he gave was more like a baring of teeth. "It's never over."

And that's when he drove his claws up and under my ribs. First, shock numbed my mind. But a moment later, pain slammed into me, making me gag as I tried to breath. I could feel those claws dig into me, digging for my heart.

"Jacob!" I heard someone scream.

All that mattered, though, were those claws ripping through my body, tearing me up. The only thing that was numb was my brain, but the wolf's instincts didn't need me anymore. Immediately, the wolf flooded me, ripped me apart, and a moment later, I was staring out of wolf eyes.

And my teeth were ripping. Ripping just like those claws tried to do. Skin and flesh filled my muzzle, slid down my throat. Nothing made sense to me until my eyes connected with the other wolf's. They were wide, terrified and surprised, as my teeth snapped bone. With the snapping came utter nothingness in those eyes. No more emotions as his head lolled to the side. The hand at my chest fell away, limp with death.

Slowly, realization sank into me, and my stomach churned. Stumbling on four legs to the edge of the trees like a drunk, I phased back, fell to my knees, and threw up. Blood and thicker things came up which only fueled more upchucking.

And once that was done, my brain felt the need to point out the blood pouring down my body. Next, searing pain made it hard to breathe and grey spots ate at my vision. Looking down, I found four rips in my flesh just under my ribs. The hole in my body was huge. With a wince I turned to look at the guy. His hand up to his wrist was slick with blood.

The grey in my vision turned to black, and I felt my body start to slow down. The adrenaline was fading fast. Replacing it was a shaky weakness that let me know things were bad, and possibly going to get worse.

It felt like I moved in slo-mo as I fell backwards. I didn't really remember the fall. All I knew was that I ended up in someone's lap.

"Jacob?" a hysterical female voice said. "Jacob!" They shook me.

Forcing my brain and eyes to work, I looked up to find Leah leaning over me. It was her lap I'd been pulled into. The thought that Caden would kick my ass for this made me want to laugh. The pain reminded me that that wasn't the best idea.

"Jacob, please. Don't close your eyes. Stay with me. Please!" Something wet fell on my face as she leaned over me. Tears. She was crying.

Closing my eyes seemed like a great idea. I was tired. So very tired. And the black spots were taking over my vision. Seemed as if I shouldn't fight it.

"Edward! Carlisle!" Leah screamed. "Come on, Jake. Nessie needs you. I need you. Please, don't leave."

"Nessie," I managed to croak out. Her name tugged at something in my chest, which hurt like a bitch.

Leah smiled, her eyes shining with hope. "Yes, Nessie. You have to stay awake for her. She'd be pissed if you went to sleep without her. Remember? You have to protect her."

She was telling me things that should have made me fight to stay awake, but the darkness was winning. It was something thick and sludge-like. I'd tire myself out faster by trying to fight it. So it made sense that I shouldn't. And I didn't.

The last things I remembered before the darkness swallowed me was Edward's voice trying to pull me back, and the image of Nessie sliding my ring on her finger. And then I was swept away from the light.

*clears throat* Alright, I'm ready for the beating about another cliffie. Start throwing the punches. But alas! This is not the end of the story. Just the start of the drama! I will say that I'm not sure if there are anymore lemons in this one, but we'll see. I've got my fingers crossed! Love you guys and gals! MUAH! xoxoxoxo