This chapter dedicated to LemonyCricket: Thank you for your incredibly heart warming review. Your type of review is the reason why I keep writing. You won't have too long to wait, I promise! I'm going to try and finish this fanfic within the next two weeks, guys. It'll probably be way less than that, but I want to actually give you guys time to READ and review the chapters. Haha. I'm already working my next idea for my next fanfic. I'm going to be working on two pieces at the same time; the sequel to this story, and then another one, that I'm getting SUPER excited about.

Speaking of... I'm posting a little something to tease you guys. It's under Inevitable Evening. Check it out. There's more info when you go to it.

Thank you, everybody. Especially my readers who have been there since the beginning. You've carried this story on your shoulders and carried me with it. With no further ado...

Chapter 37 –Strategy

Sam's POV

I reached my hand out to Emily as we came together. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly. Even though I had talked to her on the phone, I had known she was ok... I had caught on to Jacob's fear and worry. The thought of him losing Bella, it reminded me of losing Emily. The thought still drove me crazy instantly.

We pulled away and I looked into her eyes. She gave me a small smile and then went to Jake, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"We need to talk. Get her back to the house," she said. I took in a breath and the stench nearly drowned me. I whipped around and glanced around the forest line. Nothing... Nothing, nothing... How had I not noticed it before...

There.

I saw him then, standing at the top of the cliff, like he owned our land. I looked him straight in the eye as he saw me. Red eyes. Deep, blood red eyes. I felt my whole body ignite on fire. I gritted my teeth and stepped forward. In a flash, he was gone.

Shit, how had this happened. Seth and Embry were on watch, how had he slipped by? So close to our home?

"Sam?" Emily called behind me. I turned around and saw her standing maybe 5 steps away from me. I quickly composed myself and closed the distance between us. I grabbed her arm gently, pulling her close.

"Go with Jake and Bella. I need to take care of something," I said, looking into her eyes. Without a question, she nodded and turned around to follow Jake. I turned away and ran to the forest line. How had he gotten past us? Only two wolves were out patrolling, but they should be covering the area non stop...

How had I not noticed him sooner? His smell was so strong once I had-

Once I'd stopped worrying about Emily. Damn it, the fear was infecting us all. We needed to stop letting it get to our heads. It was becoming an obstacle we couldn't afford.

I reached the forest and undressed before shedding my human form.

I know, and then, when he had him in a choke hold, he just –BAM! Right on the ground! I heard Seth jabbering excitedly.

Update, I thought, interjecting the two's conversation. I tried not to think of the fear, of the worry. Of Edward.

Not much, chief. Just wandering around, no sign of nothin', Embry's thoughts came. After another second, he thought again. What's up? You seem on edge. Did something happen?

A lot has happened, Embry. I need you two on high alert. I just saw Edward looking over our homes, at the cliff behind Jacob's. I let my thoughts seep into them. I felt the failure, and the guilt slip over the both of them. I couldn't let it get in the way. I'm sending Paul and Quil out to keep watch with you guys. We can't let that happen again. His eyes-

I didn't need to finish. I couldn't keep the image from flooding through my mind. Both of the boys gasped.

He's-... He's feeding from humans? Seth asked. I could hear the irritation and the fear in his thoughts.

It would appear as much. DON'T let up on your duties. One of you go check out the cliffs behind Jacob's. The other, scout the halfway point. Paul and Quil will be with you shortly. Let them know what's going on.

With that, I grabbed my clothes in my mouth and turned tail. I ran along the forest line. I made my way to Paul's, which took about half a minute. I shifted and then dressed, hurrying. I'd only been gone about five minutes so far. Emily probably hadn't even made it back to the house yet, what with Jake carrying Bella.

I went to Paul's window and knocked on it, quickly. There was a shuffle, the sound of someone falling out of bed, and then a face in the window. Paul threw the window open and spoke.

"What's up, Sam? I thought I was going to get a break-"

"I need the strongest wolves out right now. There's been a problem. Meet either Seth or Embry at the cliffs behind Jake's. As soon as you shift, they'll tell you what's going on. I don't have the time right now," I said, already taking a step back. He gave a nod.

"Is there anything else I can do?" he asked, looking about ready to jump out the window. I stopped for a moment. I still needed to tell Quil.

"Can you get a hold of Quil and tell him the same? I need you two out there asap," I said. He gave a quick nod and then jumped out of the window.

"Don't worry about a thing, Sam. You know with the four of us out there, nothing can happen," he said. I smiled at him and then pointed in Quil's direction.

"Quickly," I said. He cocked a smile and then took off in the direction I sent him. I went the opposite way, heading back to my own home. Would they be there by now? I started running, not wanting to leave them alone a second longer than I needed to. Not wanting to be alone, myself, longer than was needed.

I jumped the last step to my porch and opened the door in one swift movement. I was met with the three of them sitting on the couch. Jacob still had Bella in his arms. They obviously hadn't been there very long.

"Sam," Emily said, getting to her feet and coming over to me. I hugged her again, unable to quantify the amount of tension she helped release. I buried my nose in her hair for a moment, just relaxing in her arms. Too many thoughts were plaguing me. There was too much to do. It was overwhelming.

I pulled away and she grabbed my hand, bringing me over to the couch. I sat down beside her and Jake looked up at me. His eyes then shifted to Emily.

"What happened?" he asked. I also turned to look at her now. She bit on her lip.

"It's really not that bad... We were talking with Charlie and I asked him if there was anything going on at work. He immediately got serious, like it was one reason why he was there in the first place. He told us that there have been accounts of missing people and deaths in the towns East of Port Angeles. It all started with a death in Port Angeles," Emily finished. I reached my hand out and brushed her hair. She smiled at me.

"S-someone's after me again. Jake, someone's killing again, and this time, it's because of me. I don't even know who it is! It could be Victoria, The Volturi... Some other vampire that Victoria knows..." Bella said. I let out a little breath. All the pieces were coming together. I didn't want to face what the puzzle was telling me, but it was too prominent now.

Jacob was hushing Bella, running his hand over her back, trying to ease her fears. I got to my feet and his attention fell on me. Emily was looking up at me also.

"Jacob, we need to talk."

Paul's POV

So what the hell is going on? I asked, immediately after I shifted. My clothes lie forgotten on the forest floor, along with Quil's. We looked at each other.

I'm going to the cliff side. Spread out along the perimeter, I ordered. Quil gave a nod of his wolf head and bounded off. I turned the opposite way and began running as Embry filled me in.

How the hell did you guys let this happen? I demanded, feeling all the fury that Sam wouldn't have let himself feel. To have been faced with a red eyed bloodsucker... I would have torn him to pieces in a second.

Seth and I just got caught up. We got lazy. We didn't think the idiot would be stupid enough to come back onto our terrain, Paul, Embry explained. I gave in. None of us thought a vampire was that stupid. There was seven of us. How could he ever hope to get past us?

Just don't let it happen again, I growled out. Even though Bella was causing us extra rounds, extra time and no sleep, I couldn't help but feel protective over her. She had finally come to Jake. And she was bringing leeches with her. What could I have hoped for more? I would finally be able to attack one of those asshole parasites because of her. It made the wolf in me jump with happiness.

In a matter of minutes, I was at the top of the cliffs. The stench had hit me about a two miles ago. It had only gotten stronger as I got closer.

Jesus, how did you guys miss this? I asked, wishing I could cover my nose with my paw.

I've already covered the top of the cliff. I'm heading the way he went out. It doesn't seem like he was worried about us following him, he made a straight line- Wow, Embry cut off.

What is it? I asked, taking off in his direction.

He must have been pissed, Paul. He knocked an oak over. I quickened my pace so I would reach Em faster. I saw him up ahead and trotted over to his side. The oak wasn't the largest, but it was large enough to leave the vamp in pain. What an idiot.

Keep a look out, Seth, Quil. We don't know if he doubled back further away, I demanded. Their words of agreement weren't encouraging. It seemed as if the vamp jumped straight out of the area.

What do you think he's doing, Paul? I mean, he came here... Sam saw him. Why didn't he attack?

I don't know. How am I supposed to know how a leech thinks? I asked, pacing around the tree. I was frustrated. We had let him get away. We didn't know what his plans were. Was he just going to yank us around? Keep us on our guard until we got too tired or relaxed, and then keep popping up to taunt us?

Even a leech has better things to do that that- Em began.

He lost his future leech bride, Em. Of course he might do it. Jake reeling her in broke him. You know he's insane. What better does an insane psychopath have to do than taunt his enemy? I began bounding off, following his trail.

Spread out. We'll double back and see if Sam is ready for a meeting after a full check of the area.

Jacob's POV

I gritted my teeth as Sam told me he spotted Edward. He told me how he ran off. Sam told me how he had dispatched two more members of the pack to be on duty. I closed my eyes and ran my hand over my face. I had failed yet again.

"Don't blame yourself, Jake. I even missed him at first. I was too worried about Emily, and she wasn't even the one in emotional agony," Sam said, resting his hand on my shoulder. We were in his room. I'm glad he hadn't told me this in front of Bella. I didn't know if I wanted her to know. She had too much to worry about.

"Jake... There's one more thing..." Sam said. I looked up at him. What else could there be? How could this get worse? Edward wasn't going to leave Bella alone.

"His eyes, Jake. They were blood red. They're brown when he feeds from animals," he said. My heart stopped and then thudded loudly in my ears. He had fed from a human? My hands clenched into fists. I stood from the bed, where I had been sitting with Sam.

"How can this be?" I asked, after a moment of pacing. I turned to face him. I felt my sanity slipping. All of us stood on guard, waiting for one of the Cullens to slip up and chomp on a human. Now it had finally happened. But deep down, I don't think we had ever expected it to.

"Losing Bella must have really sent him over the edge. I don't know. I want to talk to Carlisle. I still need to talk to the pack about what's happening. I need you to make sure Bella's ok, and I don't know if you still want her talking to Alice-"

"I'm not going to tell her what's going on right now. It's too much for her. And if I'm not going to tell her, then there's no reason for her to not see Alice. I'll be there. I will protect her," I said, standing my ground. Sam smiled a little and got to his feet.

"Yes, you will. I have faith in you," he said, then he glanced at the alarm clock by his bed. 1:48. "But if you're going to make it, you'll need to leave within the hour. You need to make sure Bella is better by then. While you're gone, I'll talk to Emily and the pack. We'll rework the schedules and make it so there's at least three wolves out at all times."

I nodded my agreement and swallowed, running my hand through my hair. We would work around this. There was nothing Edward could do to get to Bella. He'd never get pass me, and even if he did, my pack would never let him near her. I smiled at Sam and he patted me on the shoulder.

"Thank you for spotting him, Sam. It means a lot to me," I said.

"We'll talk about everything later. I have a lot of ideas, a lot of worries... But I'll talk them over with the pack while you're gone and when you come back, we'll all work something out," he said. I nodded once more and he opened the bedroom door. I led the way out, going straight to Bella.

There was no doubt that I had over reacted. She wasn't hurt, she wasn't unable to walk. But I had carried her here anyways. It was just a small comfort, feeling that I was helping her. I rested my head against hers now. She did the same.

"Jake, I'm worried..."

"Don't be, Bells. We have everything covered... We'll investigate the disappearances and killings, and see if they have anything to do with Forks," I said, running my hand through her hair. She pulled back and looked up at me, her eyes filled with mourning.

"I just know they do..."

"You can't know that, Bells. And even if they do have something to do with you... There's people dying out there every day because of vampires. Like you saw in Italy. Not every human being's death is your fault, baby. If you live thinking like that..." I trailed off, rubbing my thumb over her cheek and smiling a little. "You'll go crazy and take me with you."

I saw a small smile break through her depression. I tilted her chin up to make her look directly into my eyes.

"I need you to trust me..." I said, softly. I watched her smile become brighter and she moved her hand to interlock our fingers.

"I always trust you, Jake," she said. I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. I made my way to her lips and kissed her again. I felt the electricity shoot up my spine and pulled away, not wanting to take it further on Sam and Emily's couch.

As I thought of them, I turned around and saw them talking in the corner. I got to my feet and pulled Bella up with me. Emily turned to me and I saw the flicker of fear in her eyes. It disappeared the second she saw Bella. A bright smile flittered over her features.

"You're alright, Bella?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Em, for getting me out of there... I really appreciate your help," she said. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to me.

"We're going to head back to the house, so Bella can get changed for her meeting with Alice," I said. They both nodded and we walked to the door.

"See you later, guys," Sam said, shutting the door behind us. It took us about fifteen minutes to walk to my house. We walked quite slow, since Bella's ankle was still sore from her encounter with the leech. We were smiling, talking, playing. For a moment, it was as if we were normal.

"Hey dad," Bella said, as we entered my home. Charlie smiled up at her from more left over food on the couch. She stifled a laugh. "I'm meeting Alice at the diner. We have some things to talk about."

A look came over his face. It was confused. He loved Alice. She was the best thing, in his mind, about Bella having dated Edward. But now, she was the woman beater's sister. I don't think he knew how to approach it.

"Don't worry, Charlie. I'll be going with her," I said, flashing him a bright smile. I watched him visibly relax.

"Well, alright then," he said, lifting his fork up in approval. I watched Bella smile. Then she grabbed my hand and led me to the bedroom. As she went in, I stood at the door and watched her tug her bag onto the bed so she could get a better look at what was inside.

"You want me to go wait in the living room?" I asked. Her head popped up and she stopped rummaging through the bag.

"Of course not... Stay with me," she said, dropping a pair of pants she found and walking over to me. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. Before I could stop her, her arms were wrapping around my neck, her body going up against mine. I took in a deep breath, watching her. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to my neck. I groaned out a little and slid my hand into her hair in the back.

"Why must you urge me on?" I asked, sliding my other hand down her side and pulling her closer to me.

"You've wanted it, don't deny it," she murmured against my skin, leaving it tingling.

"Yeah, but you were distressed. I had to behave myself," I said, grinning. She laughed a little.

"Well, I hope you can't resist now," she said. I smiled and recalled my earlier conversation with Sam.

"I talked to Sam this morning... He said it doesn't get easier. I'll always want you. I'll always want to take you against the wall," I said, turning her around and pinning her against the door. I grabbed her hands and put them above her head, using one of my hands to keep them there. "I'll always want to claim you..."

"Claim me, hmm? How about not where anyone can see?" she asked. The wolf inside me lifted its head in anticipation. I put my forehead against hers and used my free hand to pull her shirt down, uncovering her breast. I breathed out as I revealed it. She wiggled in my hold.

I looked into her eyes and then lowered my head, pressing my lips to the top of her breast. Her hands tried to break free of my hold and after a moment, I let them. I used both my hands to press on her shoulders, keeping her pinned to the door.

"Mmm, Jake," she purred, wrapping one of her legs around me. I started sucking on her chest, hard. In moments, she had me thrusting against her. I finally pulled away from her chest, gasping for breath. I briefly spotted the hickie before I went to her lips, kissing her roughly. I let go of her shoulders and her arms wrapped around my neck.

Her nails raked through my hair and I growled out, pulling her away from the door. I brought her back with me, towards the bed. I fell backwards and brought her down on top of me, straddling me. She ground her hips against me and refused to move her mouth away. Her body was pressed against me too much that I couldn't slide my hand between us to rub her.

"Bells- God, just let me-" I didn't need to finish my broken sentence as she lifted her hips a little. I snaked my hand down and started rubbing against her, roughly. She moaned out softly, resting her forehead on my chest. I used my free hand to lift her head and bring it back to me. This was too primal for me to ignore. I needed her. I needed her now. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest.

Her lips crashed back against mine again and she moaned into my mouth. I wanted to get my fingers inside her. I wanted to feel how wet she was. I needed to make her-

Knock, knock, knock. "Jake? Bella?" my dad asked.

I jumped, pulling my hand away from Bella. She rolled off me and stood up quickly, fixing her shirt and brushing her hair back.

"Y-yeah, dad?" I asked, my voice cracking. My heart was racing, if possible, faster than it had while I was trying to screw Bella through her pants.

"... I just wanted to remind you that you only have about ten minutes before you should leave to meet Alice," he said. By his tone of voice, I could tell he meant something wholly different. Something along the lines of 'her father is here, Jacob Black. You leave that for later.' I looked to Bella and she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she smiled at me.

"I'll be ready Billy, thank you!" she called out. I heard my father grunt a little and put a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.

"Oops," she said, coming over to me and sitting beside me on the bed. I reached my hand up and tucked it into her hair, pulling her close so I could kiss her. Her lips were sweet and pure now. I nudged her nose as we pulled away. She bit on her lip a little and looked up at me.

"Later. Get dressed," I said. She smiled and let go of her lip. She stood and I laid back on the bed, placing my arms behind me as a prop.

A/N : Don't forget to check out 'Inevitable Evening!'