EPOV

It was nearly dawn when Carlisle texted me.

We need to talk. Call me when you get a chance.

Unfortunately, I knew what he needed to talk about. I glanced over at Bella- she was still deeply asleep. I silently made my way over to her hamper, and lifted out the shirt she had been wearing earlier. Tentatively, I held it up to my face, wrinkling my nose as the odor hit me again: there was no mistaking it. Definitely werewolf, although like before, I noticed the smell wasn't totally inhuman. I replaced the shirt and closed the hamper, glancing at Bella again before I slowly slid the window open, and climbed up onto the roof to call Carlisle back.

"Edward?"

"Yes. What did you find?"

"We've confirmed the scent. The treaty line is thick with it- I would guess that means they're actively patrolling now."

"I don't understand. How could we have missed it before?"

Carlisle hesitated for a moment. "I truly don't know, son. Listen, there's more. Alice spent most of the night skirting the borders, mapping out her blind spots. They were shifting at the edges like before. Judging by the frequency and location of the shifts, we're guessing there's at least three of them. Jasper thinks there might be more- there's no way to tell."

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. Why did Bella and I have to meet in this town, of all places on earth? Of course, with her luck, she was born here. The one town in the entire country with vampires and werewolves… I shouldn't be surprised, really. I was just lucky she hadn't been born in Volterra.

"Edward, listen. If we could get you close enough, perhaps you could hear one of the Quileutes thinking about the pack. We need to learn as much as we can."

"How am I supposed to do that, Carlisle? Waltz up to the treaty line, and ask if one of the elders could politely come stand close enough so I can read his mind? While I'm at it, maybe I'll ask if they would kindly refrain from phasing anywhere near my girlfriend!"

"Calm down, son."

"I'm sorry, I just… this has been a difficult week. Of course I'll help. What do you have in mind?"

"I suppose you could just spend a lot of time around town, hoping that one of the elders will walk by…"

"Or what? Spit it out."

"Well… Bella is already friends with Jacob, and his father is technically in the chief role, so if you could get them to come over to her house-"

"You want me to use her as werewolf bait? Are you out of your mind?"

"It's not like she wasn't just over at their house yesterday."

"That was before I knew that the reservation was infested with werewolves!"

"Edward, hear me out. All you have to do is listen to Billy's thoughts while they're in the house. Maybe get Bella to bring up our name, to get him thinking about-"

"No."

"Just think about it. Billy is obviously in a position to know as much as any of them, and if Jacob is there, you could verify whether the scent you picked up is his, or if he just picked it up from someone else."

I hated it when he was right. "Okay, you have a point. But was the scent on the treaty line the same as before, or was it like the one I was telling you about?"

"No, it was exactly as before. This precludes our genetic degradation theory. The scent you picked up has to be from a tribal member who is in transition."

"All right, I'll think about it. And I'll talk to Bella. Can I tell her the rest now?"

"I suppose. Best leave out our theory about Jacob, though.a

"For now. Until I can prove that he's a dog."

"Edward, that's inappropriate."

"Sorry. I'll keep Jacob out of it. Call you later."

I ended the call, resisting the urge to smash a hole in the roof. I couldn't believe this. There had been werewolves this whole time! And now my father wanted to get Bella involved. Could this week get any worse?

I climbed back in through the window, to find Bella stretching and smiling at me.

"I've never seen you climb down to the window before."

"I had to take a call," I said miserably. She frowned at my tone, and nodded for me to continue. "It was Carlisle. He spent the night out near the reservation, and he picked up the scent of werewolves… fresh scent."

Her eyes widened. "So there are still werewolves in La Push!"

"We're as surprised as you are. That scent was definitely not there when we first came to Forks two years ago. And he said the scent was heavy at the treaty line- this means they've been actively patrolling."

"How many?" she asked in awe.

I was dismayed at how she was taking this in stride, and I felt even worse about the idea of involving her. She had no idea how to keep herself safe! No, I would not ask this of her.

"We don't know. At least three, but it could be many more. They've never wanted to talk to us. The only way to learn anything is for me to get close enough to… you know."

Bella stared at the floor for a moment. "Well, Jacob wouldn't be any help. Billy might, though. I'm pretty sure he knows everything…" Her brow wrinkled in concentration for a moment. "Hey! I've got an idea! Why don't I have Charlie invite them over for dinner sometime, and you could stick around, and if I could get Billy to think about the right things…" She looked up at me hopefully.

Why was I not surprised?

"It sounds like a great idea," I sighed.

Bella started getting ready for her day, but I didn't want to leave. Only one more day of this restraining order nonsense…

My thought was interrupted by the phone ringing, but I didn't bother to follow the call in Charlie's thoughts. I was too busy kissing Bella goodbye for the day. We were interrupted, however, by his gruff voice yelling up the stairs.

"Bella! Phone!"

"At this hour?" she grumbled as she went to get the phone. "Jessica seriously needs to dump Mike. They've had more drama this summer…" But I could tell from Charlie's smug thoughts downstairs that it wasn't Jessica.

"It's Jacob," I muttered.

Bella's eyes lit up, and a huge grin spread over her face. I gritted my teeth, trying not to let her see what a slap in the face that was.

"Perfect! I'll ask him if he and Billy can come over tonight!" She picked up the phone. "Hey, Jake!"

"Hey! How'd you know it was me?"

I didn't mean you had to do it tonight, I mouthed to her. Couldn't she be a little less excited to see him?

She ignored me. "Well, none of my other friends call at ungodly-early hours, so I figured it might be you."

"Oh, sorry. Actually, it was either this or call you ungodly-late last night. I need to talk to you... about something. While my dad isn't awake, I mean."

"I'm listening."

"Listen, I'm doing this as a friend, okay? Last night after you guys left, my dad was all grins. I guess when you and I went outside after dinner, he and Charlie had a little Cullen-bashing party. He was bragging about how he had gotten Charlie 'on the right track' even though he never actually said anything he wasn't supposed to… whatever the heck that's supposed to mean. I swear he's off his rocker."

Alarmed, I quickly focused my attention on Charlie downstairs. Sure enough, he was replaying his conversation with Billy last night. After Jacob and Bella had headed out the kitchen door, Billy had watched them go wistfully.

"Bella's such a sweet girl," he said to Charlie. "Jacob's head over heels, you know. Shame about her and the Cullen kid."

Charlie slammed his napkin down on the table. "All right, what? You keep hinting about how terrible they are, and yet you never tell me anything useful. Believe me, if you've got something concrete, I'd be more than happy to make this restraining order permanent."

"Oh… it's just a feeling," Billy said cryptically.

"A feeling that all the elders happen to have?"

"Something like that."

"About what, exactly?"

Billy stared down at his plate. "They just aren't like other people, Charlie. They're not normal. Haven't you noticed how…" He sat up straighter in his wheelchair, a determined grimace on his face. "Haven't you noticed how young Dr. Cullen is?"

Charlie frowned again. "Okay, so he was a kid genius and finished med school early. Is that a crime?"

"Never mind," Billy grumbled. He began paying close attention to the fish on his plate, pushing it around with his fork. "I'm just saying, you let your daughter spend all her time with him… with them. How much do you really know about them?"

Charlie didn't have an answer for that one, and the rest of the dinner passed in uncomfortable silence.

I waited for Charlie's thoughts to continue the story, but he was already moving on to his fishing plans for the day. Meanwhile, Jacob was continuing the story to Bella.

"You should see him, Bella – he's determined to break you guys up. And he keeps winking at me, like I'm in on it. Like he thinks we're some kind of vampire-slayer family. It's creeping me out."

"It's creeping me out, too," Bella said angrily. "Why can't he just leave it alone?"

"Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads up, in case Charlie gets back on the warpath. Might want to make sure that phone is hidden, you know?"

"Thanks, Jake… you're a real friend, you know that?"

"So… since I'm a real friend, can I say something?"

"Shoot."

"I know Edward's not really a vampire, or abusive or whatever but… I dunno, Bella, it just seems like fate doesn't want you two to work out, you know? Maybe it's just not meant to be."

Bella's eyes narrowed. "And you're saying this as a friend, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, thanks, I guess. But I think I'll take my chances. So, last night was fun, right?"

"You bet!"

"Why don't you and Billy come over for dinner tonight? We haven't had you guys over in forever."

"Hey, that sounds great! Hold on, let me ask Dad."

Bella pulled the phone away from her ear to wait, and I gave her a weak smile of encouragement. In a moment, Jacob was back.

"He said as long as there's no salad involved, we're in. Six okay?"

"Sure. See ya, Jake."

She hung up and turned around to give me a conspiratorial smile before heading to her closet. "So, six o'clock. I wonder what I should wear to my first reconnaissance mission?"

I frowned at her. "It's not a joke, Bella. Mortal enemies, remember?"

"Well, Billy and Jake obviously aren't werewolves."

"I know. But don't dress too nicely – now that Charlie knows you're up early, he's taking you fishing."

"Not again. This had been the longest week ever," she complained, flopping backwards onto her bed. Unfortunately, her aim was off and she clipped the corner of the mattress on her way to the floor.

In a flash, I was next to her, cradling her head and shoulders an inch above the floor, where I had caught her. She blushed and relaxed into my arms.

"Too bad I can't tell Charlie how non-abusive you really are," she muttered as I righted her and set her back on the edge of the bed. I just smiled and gave a deep bow, ending with my lips brushing against her ear.

"Have fun fishing," I teased, jumping back to avoid the pillow aimed at my face.