EPOV
I followed Bella and Charlie to the lake, and after they were situated in the boat, I decided to give them some privacy. I had been following Charlie's thoughts anxiously all morning, waiting for him to show me more of the conversation with Billy last night, but there didn't seem to be any more, and Charlie's thoughts now were all about the fishing trip.
I ran home, to find Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett working outside in the front yard. Jasper was mowing the lawn, and he was grumbling to himself about how he was obliged to walk too slowly, the motorized blades unable to keep up with the speed he wanted to go at. He was thinking about asking Rosalie to see if she could do anything about it. Emmett and Carlisle were on the edges of the yard, collecting fallen branches from the woods that surrounded our property.
I felt relieved at the domesticity of the scene; things were finally returning back to normal. The restraining order would be lifted tomorrow, and although we would be more cautious about the number of hours we spent together, I would no longer be confined to hiding in Bella's room or behind her backyard all day long. Tonight, I would learn what I could about the wolves, although I doubted the information would ever be of use. We had no intention of ever confronting the wolves; and now it seemed they had been here all along, without bothering to confront us, either. My main goal was to determine the number of wolves in the pack; everything else was just details.
There was the small matter of Jacob Black; but I had a feeling that he wasn't a threat, at least not in that sense. He seemed so immature and human, and it was obvious no one had informed him about the werewolves. It was hard to imagine him phasing into a powerful, lethal creature- the thought was almost laughable. If he was truly in transition, surely the other wolves would be spending time around him, and he would know more. He would have true werewolf scent all over him, if that were the case – but Carlisle was probably right, and he had just picked up the transitional scent from someone else. It was a shame, really. I would still ask Bella to steer clear of the reservation – now that she understood the risk, surely she would honor such a request. But I really had no business interfering with her and Jacob's friendship. I couldn't deny that it bothered me, but once I confirmed Jacob's humanity tonight, I would no longer have any reason to ask her to stay away from him. If only they weren't so infernally relaxed around each other…
Jasper turned his head to look at me and steered the mower in my direction. "Well, if you're that jealous, you can have it," he laughed, pushing the machine into my hands.
"Seriously, Edward," Emmett jeered from across the yard. "It's time you did some work around here. I know you've been stuck in Bella's bedroom all week. Get yourself a tan for once."
"You're hilarious, Emmett," I muttered as I tackled the grass on the side of the house. We all worked for another hour, and then stretched out on the grass together to enjoy the heat. I idly wondered how many other vampires had spent their morning mowing the lawn.
"Edward, I've been thinking about our conversation earlier," said Carlisle. "You were right- I have no right to get Bella involved in our problems. We'll find another way."
"It's too late," I sighed. "She's already got them coming over tonight. In fact, it was her idea."
Emmett laughed. "Bella is so weird. Who else would purposely get in the middle of a decades-old feud between werewolves and vampires?"
I rolled over and kicked him in the side. "I happen to think she's courageous," I told him. "I just wish she wasn't already mixed up with the Quileutes. But after tonight, I'm going to ask her to avoid the reservation, anyway."
Carlisle opened his eyes and frowned over at me. "And you think she's going to listen to you?"
"Of course. I've explained the volatile nature of the wolves to her, and with her luck, she would probably end up standing next to someone while they're phasing."
"Yeah, she does have a knack for that kind of thing," Emmett said. "Danger magnet. I mean, just look at who she's dating!" Jasper snickered beside him.
I ignored them both. "Anyway, Carlisle, I'm going to ask her to do it as a personal favor to me. She'll understand."
If you say so, he thought doubtfully.
"Twenty bucks says she won't listen," drawled Jasper lazily. Emmett grunted his agreement.
I sat up and glared down at my brothers. "And why not?" I demanded.
"Because she has a strong independent streak, and she doesn't like being told what to do," said Jasper confidently. I should know. And I think we both know the other reason. I've never seen you so jealous before!
I wouldn't dignify that with a response. I wasn't jealous... not much, anyway. I was protective. It wasn't my fault Jasper couldn't tell the difference.
.
.
.
I was already in Bella's bedroom by a quarter to six, but she was occupied downstairs talking to Charlie while she prepared dinner. It smelled awful; it was the second time this week she had Charlie's favorite stroganoff. I had only gotten to see her for a few minutes when they had returned from fishing- long enough to tell her about Esme's invitation to dinner the next day. Bella was asking Charlie's permission now, and I carefully watched his thoughts as he answered her.
"Yeah, I guess it's okay. And tell her I'm sorry about the accident, and I hope she feels better." I wonder if she really did go to the hospital or not. Billy seemed to think that was a big deal.
"Thanks, Dad. And don't worry, I promise not to spend all my time with Edward the rest of the summer. I'm determined to beat you in Rummy, and I really should spend more time with my other friends." I hoped that this was just her attempt to keep him relaxed. It seemed to be working, anyway.
They chatted while she finished cooking, and soon I heard the approaching thoughts of Billy Black and his son. Billy was looking forward to the dinner, and Jacob was wondering whether he should ask for Bella's new cell number.
Jacob got the wheelchair ready for his father, and after he had hauled the chair up to the front door, he held the door open while Billy wheeled in. When Jacob entered himself, I couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary; but then I was upstairs, behind a closed door, and the stench of the food was heavy throughout the house. I carefully opened the bedroom door and crept halfway down the stairs.
From my new position, I was able to get a stronger whiff of the people in the kitchen; and hovering over the familiar scents of Bella and Charlie, and the sickly-sweet smell of Billy's diabetic blood, was the unmistakable odor I had smelled before. Werewolf, mixed with human. So, Jacob was preparing to phase! My muscles tensed instinctively, and I gripped the handrail until I could calm myself down. My body wanted to attack immediately, but I knew I could never obey that urge. Treaty aside, attacking Jacob would only put Bella in danger. If I forced him to defend himself, I might actually cause him to phase for the first time. I smiled grimly at the thought of how easy it would be to kill him, as he was now; even if he managed to phase, he wouldn't know how to use his new body. I wondered if my bite would be poisonous to him yet…
I forced myself to relax and sat down on one of the steps. I would not attack. I was here to gather information, and I needed to focus.
They were sitting down to the table now, and for a while, the conversation held little interest for me. Charlie was entertaining everyone with stories from his years of police work, and Billy chipped in with a few comments about tribal politics. I paid close attention to his mind while he talked, but he wasn't thinking anything useful to me. Jacob's mind was less than useless; it was infuriating. He was almost totally focused on Bella throughout the meal, and my annoyance was quickly shifting into a burning hatred. I would tell her about him tonight—treaty be damned.
Bella's musical voice pulled me out of my fantasy; she was addressing Jacob. "So, it's like dinner party weekend. Your house last night, here tonight, and I'm heading over to the Cullens' tomorrow!" Her tone was innocent, and I silently applauded her strategy. Sure enough, Billy scowled.
If only I could tell Charlie the truth! He'd never let his daughter hang out with a bunch of bloodsuckers. How much more can I say to him, though? I should talk to Harry… maybe the council will let me give him a few more tips. If it wasn't for that cursed treaty, we could have had the pack take care of this last year when they started phasing.
This was the kind of thing I needed to hear. I leaned forward, frowning as Billy pictured three young tribal members, first in their human form and then in their wolf form. A quiet snarl rumbled in my chest at the second image, and my muscles tensed again, aching to attack. Billy was thinking about how the three pack members were kept so busy with their patrols that they time for little else. If it wasn't for those Cullens, those boys would be living a normal life, he thought angrily.
What was this? Why was he blaming us? It wasn't our fault anyone had phased.
Of course, it was different when I was their age. I was so sure I would phase, even though my father never had. I was such an idiot back then- I actually wanted it. Figures there weren't any vamps around to kickstart me. Well, it's too late for me now. Jacob, on the other hand…
Billy's thoughts focused on his son now. He looked at Jacob with love and pride, and wondered if he was on his way to phasing. It was obvious that he wasn't sure; Jacob had recently had quite a growth spurt, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Billy seemed torn- he was fiercely proud of Jacob's potential as a protector of his people, but he also wanted a normal life for his son. I picked one name–Sam Uley—out of his mind as he thought about discussing Jacob at the next council meeting.
Not that I would wish it on anyone, but if we could get a few more wolves, the pack would be large enough that we wouldn't need a stupid treaty. We could drive out those demons once and for all.
Bella interrupted his thoughts. "So, Jake, how about a tour? You haven't seen my room since I've been back." I froze when I heard this; were they coming up here? Why would she want him in her bedroom, of all places?
"Yeah, sure." Jacob wore an idiotic grin as he stood up. Awesome. And Dad's actually behaving himself tonight. Keep it cool, Jake, keep it cool…
They were headed toward the stairs now, and I scrambled to get out of the stairwell and back into Bella's room just in time. I dove out the window, quietly shutting it behind me, and ran into the trees behind Bella's house, climbing up into an old pine so I could have a good view of Bella's room.
Jacob entered the room and looked around. "Just as messy as I remember it," he said cheerfully. At least her room's not covered with pictures of him, he thought smugly. I don't know what she sees in him anyway. His only memory of meeting me was at the prom, and he recalled his impression of my paleness and sour mood – which of course had been caused by his presence there.
He walked around the room, touching things as he walked by them. Why did Bella want him in there? He was desecrating her room just by being in it. I could only imagine the awful smell he was imparting on everything.
Bella was standing by him now, and they were looking through her CD collection. I noted with chagrin that he had grown even taller than before—taller than me, and his muscular development had taken off, as well. Billy was deluding himself—this was no ordinary growth spurt. I bared my teeth as he looked down at Bella with approval. I knew I should've made my move that first day at the beach. Well, I can wait. Cullen's such a freak she's bound to ditch him eventually. Hopefully the restraining order gave her a little perspective. I wonder if she would give me her cell number…
He flopped down into her computer chair. "So… must be nice having a cell, right?"
"Oh, Edward just lent it to me for the day."
"Wait, he gave you his phone just so he could keep tabs on you? That's weird, Bella."
She glared at his presumption. "It wasn't like that… I hadn't been feeling good that day, and he was worried about me. He's really sweet like that."
"Oh." This sucks. She's obviously still into him. Well, I can wait. Friends for now.
As their conversation drifted to other topics, I began to relax a little. Jacob's thoughts toward Bella were annoying, but I had to admit they weren't terribly inappropriate. It didn't matter, anyway. After I told Bella the truth about him, they wouldn't be spending any more time together.
"So, it seems like your dad is behaving himself tonight," Bella whispered dramatically.
"Yeah! For once. He's been super weird lately."
"I just don't get it, how can he really believe that stuff? It's not like anyone else believes it, right?"
Ah, I saw why she had brought him upstairs now. She was hoping to get him thinking about the werewolves.
"Well, see, that's the weird part. All the tribal elders seem to agree with him. They're so normal in every other way. They'll have their council meetings, and talk about regular stuff, and then they have a closed session where all the rest of us have to leave. I guess that's when they do the werewolf stuff."
"They don't let anyone come in? It seems like if they really believed that certain guys were werewolves, they would invite them to the secret meetings."
They both laughed at this, and they joked around for a while, guessing what bizarre rituals were taking place after the tribal members left the elders. It was obvious that Jacob didn't even bother to attend the regular meetings. I didn't understand this. If there was even a possibility that he was preparing to phase, why wasn't he in on the secret? I had been hoping to learn the names of the other two pack members, but it appeared I wasn't going to get them. I shifted my focus downstairs again, but Billy and Charlie were deep in a baseball debate.
Now that I had learned everything I was going to, I was anxious for Jacob to leave. Bella's room was getting more saturated with his odor every minute, and they were getting even more relaxed together. They were talking now about the possibility of getting a group of friends together for another beach trip. Jacob's thoughts were drifting into lustful territory now, and it was all I could do to stay in the tree as he wondered what it would be like to kiss her. He was wishing the beach trip could be just the two of them, but he didn't think she would go for it. I almost wished he would try something, so I could have an excuse to break in through the window and kill him. Of all the cowardly, disgusting…
"Jacob!" Billy called from downstairs. "I'm ready to go!"
"Well, catch ya later," Jacob said as he stood up to leave. He walked toward Bella and gave her a quick hug, which she willingly returned. I was glad I hadn't brought Jasper–even I couldn't deny the jealousy that burned through me when that filthy mutt dared to put his arms around my Bella.
Well, never again.