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Chapter 11

Never Trust Vampires

The alarm wakes Jake up from his mid-morning slumber. He stretches, and the body lying over his chest shifts and soft hair tickles his side. Jake pulls the small naked body further up his chest so he can bury his nose in her neck. Bella mumbles and wiggles in her sleep but makes no other moves. She nuzzles into the crook of his neck and settles.

Jake wraps his arms around the lithe body atop him, enjoying the feel of life cradled between their bodies. He breathes deep the scent of home even if it is only for short bursts of time. She is with him, curled around his body, and for a few moments he can pretend they were in their home, in their bed. The good dreams never last long enough to satisfy the soul. If he opens his eyes now the spell is broken and reality is a harsh wake up call. What he wouldn't give to make this moment last for all time, but his mate and child need him and his pack. Duty, a charge life unfairly bestowed upon him fucking everything up, taking everything from him wrapped up in a big 'fuck you'.

He breathes once more from the comfort of a life that always remains just out of his grasp. "Bells," Jake mumbles as he peppers kisses along her hairline.

Bella stirs against him, and he tightens his hold before he secures the mahogany curtain fanned across her rosy cheek behind her ear. He could wake up like this every day of his life and never tire of seeing her beautiful face first thing in the morning, or of making love to her every night. She is meant to be his; he's known it from the moment they met.

"Bells," he says as he takes her lax lips with his in a lazy kiss.

Her lips sluggishly move against his as he pulls her deep from her nap. She sighs into his mouth, and Jake takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He sweeps his tongue across her bottom lip before reaching in to explore her moment makes everything click into place for him. Jake -n- Bells makes sense.

He begrudgingly pulls his lips from hers. Hazy brown eyes stare up at him from hooded eyelids. Jake offers his signature smile. "I have to go soon Bells," Jake says as he traces her bottom lip with his thumb.

Bella stretches and gives a wide yawn, and she snuggles against his chest to trace her fingertip over his heart. "You have to go home? To your wife?"

Jake squeezes his eyes shut and throws his arm over his face. "No. I need to talk to Carlisle about the Volturi and what they are planning to do about it. Then, I'll need to check in with the pack and Dad."

Bella slides off his side and sits up. She pushes her hair out of her eyes and stares at him with her lip trapped between her teeth. Her mouth opens and closes for a moment before she shakes her head and crawls over him. The sheet follows behind her as she escapes. He watches her go before scrubbing his hands over his face and rising to dress in his discarded cut-offs.

Jake grabs Bella's phone off of the nightstand as the bathroom door closes. He sits back on the bed and types out a message to Embry and pushes send. Bella exits the bathroom and disappears again into the closet.

"Jake," she calls to him.

"Yeah, Bells?" Jake answers and tosses the phone on the bed beside him.

"You said that girl's father meant to leave her," she says coming out of the closet dressed in a loose sweater and yoga pants. Her pale skin and ruby red toes are highlighted against the black flipflops. "Leave her where? What does that mean exactly?"

"Apparently, Dad and the chief of the Shoshone tribe in Idaho, wanted to join together for reasons I really wasn't paying attention too," he admitted sheepishly.

Bella draws her eyebrows together and folds her arms across her chest. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

"Because," Jake sighs. "It happened literally right before I came to see you."

"When did you -" Bella puffs air from her lips and shakes her head as she blushes. She covers her face with her hand. "Sleep with her," she mumbles through the crack of her fingers.

Jake rakes a hand through his shaggy hair. "Jeez, Bells, you really wanna talk about this?"

Bella quietly stares into his eyes and nods her head. "While you were.." Jake rotates his wrist at the implied statement.

Bella looks away and runs her hands through her hair. She disappears into the bathroom again and closes the door behind her. Jake gets up from the bed and walks to the door. He rests his head against the warm wood and listens to her sniffles. His eyes close against the heartbreaking sound barely breaching his hearing.

"Bells, honey, I'm sorry," he says while stroking the wood of the door with his fingertips as if it were her skin instead. "We've both made mistakes, and I was a selfish prick who used some random girl to ease my pain. But fuck, Bells, you ripped my beating heart out when you left with the leech.." Jake groans and bangs his head against the closed door.

"Bells, I screwed up marking you even though I knew my situation has changed, but I don't regret it." The soft thud on the other side of the partition lets Jake know she had pressed herself against the door. Jake draws closer to the barrier and his voice drops into a whisper. "You're my choice, Bells. Always."

The click and rattle of the knob has Jake taking a step back as it slowly swings open. Bella stands with one hand on the door with dried tear tracks falling from her puffy red eyes over her reddened cheeks. Jake balls his fists against the urge to go to her and comfort her, but he wasn't sure where they stood. Instead, he waits in silence for her sentencing to be passed down onto him.

"Where does that leave us?" Bella clears her throat and asks.

Jake shrugs his shoulders. "You decide."

"I don't want to let you go but.." Jake stares at the crown of her head as she ducks from his gaze. "It's not fair to your wife, and unborn child."

Jake closes the gap between them in one long stride and lifts her chin to search deep into her soulful eyes. "Don't say that Bella. My marriage is just a piece of paper. Nothing more. I don't love her or want her. It's you. Only you," he says and kisses her.

Jake pulls back and watches her eyes flutter open and before she could say anything else, Jake captures her mouth in a sweet embrace. She wraps her arms around his waist and he steps into her, tightening his arms around her. Their kiss is full of passion and commitment. They pull back together only when breathing becomes important, and Jake brushes the back of his fingers down her face. He should have never let her go the first time, or the second; it was a mistake he won't make a third time.

"Jake -"

He threads his fingers through hers and squeezes. "Please, Bells, let's be selfish. I want to hold on to us," he pleads.

"Even if things don't turn out like we want? Jake, what if I never get to leave, or worse! The Volturi decide to turn me themselves."

He snorts and shakes his head. "Bells, I told you once we were made for this," he says around a small smirk. Bella offers him a smile in return.

"C'mon, honey, Em's already pissed at me and we are late," Jake says and pulls her from the house.

Bella squeals when he swings her into his arms. Her arms wrap around his neck and he squeezes her a bit tighter to his body. He sprints towards the treaty line.

"Why's Embry mad at you?"

Jake chuckles and shakes his head. "Because I threw his girl out during their alone time," he emphasizes his point by wiggling his brows in a suggestive manner.

"Jacob!" Bella chides

"What? I apologized," Jake gawks.

Jake slows as they near the line. He places Bella on her feet, making sure she is steady before he lets her go to hold her hand. They exit their cover of trees to face the three mildly irritated wolves. Sam stands feet shoulder width apart, arms crossed with his thick brows drawn on his stoic face. Embry leans slouched against a tree, one leg propped up on the trunk with a stick stuck between his lips. Leah target practices with small pebbles against a large tree several feet away.

Leah drops the palm full of rocks and pivots on her heel towards Jake and Bella's approach. "About time Black," she chirps in his direction.

"Jake. Bella," Sam nods in their direction.

"What is she doing here?" Leah growls, pointing towards Bella.

Jake bristles and his eyes flash with danger. Embry pushes himself from his resting spot to stand between Leah and Jake. "Leah," Embry says, his voice is low but full of warning.

"What Em?" Leah shifts her weight and her arm swings out towards Bella. "Just because he marked her doesn't mean I have to like her. She's a selfish bi-"

Jake drops Bella's hand, shifting her behind him, and prowls toward Leah. He collides with Embry's outstretched arm but doesn't look from his intended prey. "She's my mate and you'll respect her as such, Clearwater."

"Jake." Bella's cool fingers soothe the bunched muscles in Jake's back. She sidesteps to Jake's left. "Let Leah say what's on her mind."

"Bells-"

"No, Jake, we need her focused, and obviously she's anything but."

Leah's eyes soften for a moment before they hardened again as her snarl veers to Bella. "You're a selfish bitch. If you had just let that fucking tick off himself we wouldn't be here. This is your fault, Mrs. Cullen. Why can't your coven of leeches save your pathetic ass?"

"I'm not asking for me. I'm pregnant."

"Well, I'm not saving some blood sucking half breed-"

"My child," Jake growls.

Leah's teeth snap together and her eyes narrow as she peels her stare from Jake and onto Bella. "Marriage is a sacred vow, you know."

Bella's face brightens red but she maintains eye contact. "Only if you believe in the constitution of it."

"Finished?" Jake asks, cutting off further debate on the subject.

"Jake, what are we doing on Cullen land?" Sam asks, shifting everyone's attention. "What about the treaty?"

"I think the treaty was void when Cullen decided to rip Bella's baby from her stomach without permission," Jake growls.

"Not to mention you knocked up his wife," Leah interjects into the conversation.

"What guarantee do we have that they won't attack us as soon as we step over the line?" Sam asks.

Jake's face pinches with bloodlust and his lips curl with a menacing smirk a wolf can only feel for its enemy. "Because if they were going to attack me, they would have already."

"Ch'iidii Jake, do you even think about the pack?" Sam asks aghast.

Jake's jaw tightens against the accusation. Of course he thought about the pack. They were a constant buzz in his soul. He couldn't forget them, their lingering presence chips away at his sanity consistently. It is the curse of the born Chief and Alpha of the Quileute people. A burden if anyone gave thought to ask him his opinion on the matter.

"C'mon. Something tells me the bloodsuckers are waiting on us," Jake says, taking Bella's hand.

Jake leads the quiet group towards the Cullen Manor. The muscles in his back tense the closer they get to the stench of prey. He could hear the constant nagging Sam is silently doing. His eyes are drilling holes in the back of Jake's head making him edgy. Leah doesn't have Sam's common sense to keep her thoughts bottled, but she has enough wits to keep it to a low murmur.

The front door opens before Jake takes a step onto the first stair. Carlisle greets them with a pleasant smile plastered on his pristine face foreboding the worst.

"Jacob. I was expecting you," Carlisle says as he steps to the side to let them pass.

"Sure you were, Doc," Jake comments as he walks through the door and up the stairs without invitation.

Jake scans the large living room to take inventory of everyone's placement making sure to leave him and his wolves with a quick exit should things go south. The massive white couch sits unoccupied in the middle of the room with the leeches spread around it. Alice sits perched on the arm of the couch closest to the group. Jasper is behind her still as a statue, unreadable. Emmett's casual stance of crossed arms and goofy smirk contrasts his mate's tense posture. He notices the lack of open hostility towards him from the blonde, making his brow quirk and the blonde joke on the tip of his tongue die.

"What can we do for you Jacob?" Carlisle's whimsical voice cuts through the tight air as he places his arm snug around his wife's shoulders, drawing her close.

Jake reaches to his right and wraps his arm around Bella bringing her closer to his side. The pack mirror his action as they step closer, surrounding Bella on all sides but careful to keep her visible. Especially, to the fixated stare coming from the back corner of the room. Bella's arms minutely tighten around Jake's waist causing restrained growls to echo through the room. A wave of calm washes over the nest, breaking Jake's glare with his coiled, silent foe in the background.

"Cut the shit, Cullen, you know why we are here. The Volturi -"

"Is none of your concern, mongrel," Edward hisses and springs.

Painted sheetrock chips scatter to the floor and a crack zags its way up the wall and across the ceiling, raining plaster onto the wooden floor as Emmett holds Edward by the throat inside the wall. Rosalie guards her husband's back while Jasper steps in front of Alice. Jake pulls Bella behind him and the wolves tighten their formation. Carlisle steps forward placing himself between Jasper and Jake while keeping Esme behind him.

"Edward -"

"They've got us surrounded," Jasper says from the corner of his mouth to Carlisle never taking his stare from Jake's.

"Son, you have to remain calm," Carlisle says.

"Is that necessary dog? We aren't going to attack you," Rose growls.

"Could've fooled me," Jake jabs in retort.

"He broke the treaty. You marked my mate."

"You broke it first Cullen," Jake quips with mental images of Bella's disfigured body holding a half breed spawn.

"The sex was consensual," Edward fires back.

"Not the abortion," Jake roars, hushing all the commotion in the room.

"Jacob there were medical reasons to why the abortion was necessary to ensure Bella's health," Carlisle says, bring back his attention.

"It was a violation to her person, Doctor, but that's not why I'm here. As a permanent resident of Forks, Washington and living participant in a treaty before my time, you've broken a trust barrier."

"We've never bitten a human, Jake," Carlisle reassures him.

"But you've harmed one. More specifically the horde of bloodsuckers that are planning to play in my fucking backyard!"

"It was Bella's wish -"

"Bella doesn't have a say. This is our land these leeches will trespass on," Jake states.

"They'll be on our side of the treaty line," Rose interjects.

Jake looks to the blonde with narrowed eyes. "I was told they won't honor the treaty."

"You're right Jacob. I should have contacted you the moment we received word. I apologize," Carlisle says.

"So, whats the plan?"

Carlisle's mouth gapes open but the pixie peeking from behind the war veteran speaks first. "I haven't seen them make the decision yet."

"So, we wait?" Jake shakes his head and chuckles. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Jacob, there isn't much else we can do," Carlisle says.

"We could hide Bella, get her out of here."

"There isn't anywhere Bella could go that the Volturi won't be able to track her," Jasper says in his southern drawl.

"So, we do nothing," Jake says.

"What would you have us do, dog?" Rosalie asks.

Jake clenches his jaw and turns back to Carlisle. "I want permission for myself and my wolves to cross the boundary line."

"You can't -"

"I wasn't asking," Jake growls at Edward before brushing him off to focus on Carlisle. "I'm not leaving Bella unprotected."

"She'll be-"

Carlisle holds his hand up to quite Rosalie's outburst. "Of course," Carlisle agrees.

"And you'll let me know when the decision is made, or whatever," Jake adds.

"I'll contact you the moment we know something, Jacob." Carlisle says with reassurance.

Jake nods and leads the procession outside. Over two hours later and he isn't any closer to knowing what in the hell is going on than he was before the meeting. Those stupid leeches were sealed tight prepared to wait for the assholes to come knocking on the front fucking door. The pixie tick assured them the head dick has yet to make the decision to arrive, rendering her power useless to Jake along with the rest of the resident bloodsuckers. Sit and wait is what they asked of him, to sit on his goddamn hands and fucking wait for these human drainers to taint his lands.

Jake bristles as the call of the wolf vibrates through his tense frame. He needs to phase and roam his territory and make sure everything is in order. The wolves walk silently behind him with Bella running every few steps to keep up with his determined strides.

"I was told by a vampire once not to trust vampires," Bella says, gaining the wolves' attention.

"I don't," Jake says.