AN: I know! Poor Bella and Jacob, both wishing so desperately that Jacob was human and they could just leave the supernatural behind. I really enjoyed writing this chapter and the next, so I hope you enjoy reading it. Thank you so so so much to all my reviewers (see how quickly it made me update?)

serenity1006: thank you for your review! I'm sorry about the lack of fluff, too many things pushing Bella and Jacob away from each other. I totally agree about imprinting, and that's why I wanted Jacob and Seth to turn against it, having free will taken away is such an awful concept. But I also don't think Bella would ever be truly happy with Jacob if that fear lingers over them. Don't worry, I promise there is a solution!

Twin268: I updated! Haha, I promise reviews only help me to update faster. I wish Bella could just have faith in him, but in her years away from Forks, she has learnt to be independent and look after herself and she can't throw herself into a relationship when the fear of the supernatural is still there. I promise it will be happy ending if that helps!

AdoreShayaJay: So glad you're loving it!

4Gracie04: Thank you for your review! I also love the idea of the Cullens taking over, I hate how in the book everyone just seems okay about the fact that they commit mass murder all the time and no one ever tries to stop it.

BellaGirl: not for long I promise :)

xxTeamJacobxx: I agree! Thanks for the review

J: He has a purpose I promise, thanks for the review!

Coolfun: Such a hard thing for her to get over, she's so afraid of losing him again! Thanks a million for the review xx


Chapter Twenty

Jacob's POV

I stood on the pebbly beach, gazing out at the stormy, grey sea, listening to the waves crash violently on the sandy shore. Seagulls screeched overhead and a distant of rumble of thunder signalled an approaching storm. I let the cold raindrops splash onto my face, and I zipped my warm puffer vest up tighter, almost missing the ferocious heat I'd experienced as a wolf.

A crunching of stones made me turn my head, and Seth walked towards me, bare chested despite the November chill.

I looked away, back to the dark ocean and he stood beside me without speaking.

We had been back in Forks for two weeks now and I knew that more than anything, Seth wanted to return to Seattle and Karin. They spoke to each other daily and the others complained of his constant love-struck thoughts. Now Seth had imprinted, he had no fear of phasing and in his own words he 'still had five years to catch up to Karin'.

"Does Sam want me?" I asked finally, breaking the silence.

Seth shrugged. "You're Ephraim Black's descendent," he said simply. "You know Sam wants you by his side during these discussions."

"It doesn't matter who my great-grandfather is, I never wanted Alpha and Sam knows that."

"Jake," Seth began, his voice pleading, resting a hand on my arm. "You're here anyway, just come back to us."

I shook my head. "Not yet."

"Bella's not going to change her mind," he muttered.

I turned to glare at him, shoving him away from me. "If I phase, then I've lost her forever, and I'm not ready to risk that."

I stormed back up the beach and through the tree line, breathing hard. Two weeks had passed since that fateful night. My life had gone from perfect to nothing in mere hours. I'd finally had the girl of my dreams, and now she wasn't even talking to me. I hated myself.

Arriving back at my house, I swore when I saw Sam sitting on the porch steps.

"What do you want?" I asked rudely, wanting more than anything to be alone.

"The Tonkawa tribe are arriving this afternoon. Kara, their chief, wants to speak with all of us."

I sighed and nodded, knowing this was important. If this upcoming fight was the reason that I was going to lose Bella, I needed to at least show some interest.

"Remind me, who are the Tonkawa again?"

Sam rolled his eyes and followed me up the front steps and into my house. I went to the fridge and grabbed a soda, offering him one too.

"The Tonkawa are the original tribe of the Greater Council and the oldest shapeshifters. They're a Texan tribe, descendant from coyotes. Kara is their chief."

As it turned out, the Greater Council was a chain of Indian tribes, all descendant from animals, and all shape-shifters. They'd all had their own encounters with the 'cold ones' and the promise of a "fight to end all fights" had appealed to most of them.

So far, La Push reservation was housing more than ten tribes from different parts of America. There were the Shoshone bears from Idaho, the Pawnee buffalo from Nebraska, the Ute eagles from Utah, the Paiute crows from Missouri, the Haida elk from Alaska, the Kalapuya mountain lions from Oregon, the Apache snakes from Arizona and a handful of others that I couldn't remember or keep track of. The Apache tribe were the largest, with their numbers over twenty. They were an arrogant group who kept to themselves and camped on the outskirts of the reservation, only interacting with us when necessary.

The Cullens had done their part to gather reinforcements for the upcoming battle and the presence of more vampires in the area was having effects on the kids on the reservation. More and more Quileutes were phasing and Sam had added another five to his pack.

His pack. Interesting choice of words – I no longer thought of them as our pack or my pack.

Sam cleared his throat and I looked at him, realising that I had been standing in silence, lost in thought.

"Bella is coming down today as well."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"The Cullens told me, they are also meeting with Kara this afternoon."

I felt a buzz of anger tingle across my skin as he mentioned the bloodsuckers' name. So, she was in touch with them, was she? Even though she refused to talk to me.

"You need to phase, Jake," Sam said quietly.

"Not yet," I replied. "I can't, not yet."

Bella's POV

"Come on!" pleaded Karin standing by my open front door, her hands on her hips, an impatient look on her face.

I nearly smiled at her desperation to get on the road, but pain stabbed through my chest as I realised the sooner we were on our way, the sooner I would see Jacob again.

I missed him with every fibre of my being and had to restrain myself daily from calling him, pleading him to take me back. Deep down I knew I was making the right choice in an impossible situation. When he imprinted, we would both be thankful we had ended it when we did. Jacob wouldn't have to feel guilty about leaving me and he could live happily with his imprint. And me? I would survive. I would eventually move on. One day. Maybe.

I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder, glaring at Karin's impossible sunny disposition. "Fine," I grumbled. "I'm ready – but we're stopping for coffee first."

When we were finally on the highway, wind screen wipers on full, I felt some of the tension leave my body. As much as I was afraid, I wanted to see Jacob desperately.

"Do you think Seth will be happy to see me?" Karin asked, sounding just like a love-struck teenager in high school.

"Over the moon," I replied drily, knowing that soon Karin would be fully informed of the wolf pack, vampires and imprinting. Part of me felt guilty for dragging her into this, but part of me felt so jealous that she would be tied to Seth forever. Their love was unbreakable.

But I hated that I was putting her life in danger. Alice had been keeping me updated about the vampires who were arriving in Forks, ready to stand with Carlisle and his family against the Volturi. Karin was human and her life would now be so much more dangerous.

I was relieved that Henry had decided to stay in Seattle and to do some sightseeing, instead of joining us on our trip to Forks. After that disastrous night, I expected Henry to be on the first plane back to the UK, but he'd decided to stay and travel around. Part of that was due to my break up with Jacob, and I knew he hadn't fully given up hope that I would turn to him in a moment of weakness.

So far, he'd not had any luck, nor was he going to.

The drive was long and difficult, with the sheets of pouring rain pounding the car, and my windscreen wipers had difficulty keeping up. Karin lightened the mood with her endless playlists of 90s music, and I was glad for the rare chance to laugh as we sung along to N*Sync and the Spice Girls.

We finally arrived in Forks and had lunch with Charlie, who was over the moon to see me and smitten with the beautiful Karin. When I thought Karin would finally burst with eagerness, we left home and made our way to La Push, the butterflies in my stomach rapidly increasing in nervous anticipation.

The rain had finally stopped, and the sun shone weakly through the grey clouds as I pulled into gravel driveway outside Emily and Sam Uley's house, and cut the engine. The lush forest surrounding the house was deep green and dripping from the recent downpour. The air smelled fresh and cold.

Seth burst out the front door, ran to Karin and scooped her into his arms, twirling her around in the air and kissing her deeply before setting her back down on her feet. Sam had followed Seth outside, followed closely by Quil, Embry, Paul and Jared. They hurried over to greet me, with naked chests and bare feet as usual. I was embraced in hot werewolf bodies and couldn't help but smile at my reception.

"Where's Jake?" I asked as soon as Quil had released me and I followed them back inside.

"Sulking," Embry said with a laugh. "He's still refusing to phase."

I shook my head and winced. "It's my fault," I muttered. "Where's Leah?"

"She's out with the new wolves," Quil explained, pulling out a chair for me at the well-scrubbed table. "We've had five more kids phase with all these vamps around."

I swore quietly. Sam came into the house then, followed by Seth who had his arm wrapped tightly around Karin's shoulders, and explained that Emily was visiting his parents with their kids. Sam and Emily had a small child and a new baby.

"So," Karin said, when there was finally a lull in conversation. "Aren't you all freezing?"

The pack swapped mischievous grins and laughed. "I think it's time you told her, Seth."

Seth kissed Karin's hand then rose to his feet, pulling her outside after him. The rest of us rose to follow.

Standing in the middle of the grassy patch outside the Uley's house, Seth kissed Karin swiftly then jogged away from her so that he stood near the tree line. He peeled off his t-shirt and kicked off his shoes.

Karin turned to look at me questioningly.

"Just wait," I mumbled. "It gets weirder."

A look of concentration flooded Seth's face, he hunched his back and then exploded into the sandy coloured wolf. Karin fell to the ground and scrambled backwards. Seth instantly turned back into his human form and I averted my eyes as he pulled on his shorts and ran over to her.

Laughing, the rest of the wolf pack headed back inside and I nearly followed them, but needed the fresh air, suddenly finding it very hard to breathe.

Seth pulled Karin to her feet and hugged her tightly. "I can turn into a wolf," he said matter of factly. "I first phased three years ago, when I was 15. My sister is part of the pack too, and Sam is our Alpha. We exist to defend our tribe from…others."

"Okay," Karin breathed shakily. "Okay, sane me would be running for the hills right now. And yet crazy me doesn't want to go anywhere. What the hell is going on, Seth? Why am I not completely freaked out by this and why am I so crazily in love with you when I barely know you?"

He swallowed and cupped her face in a large hand, delicately kissing her lips. I looked away. "When we met, I imprinted," he said.

"What the fuck," Karin whispered, her voice breaking with emotion.

I glimpsed back at them. Karin had her forehead pressed against Seth's, her eyes squeezed tight. Her hands were clenched tightly on the fabric of Seth's shirt. The moment was so intimate I needed to look away. My eyes filled unconsciously with tears and I wiped them away stupidly.

"It's kind of like a soul mate thing," Seth whispered back to her.

I had to get out of there. I quickly walked away from them and made my way through the trees. Finally breaking through the tree line, I walked onto the pebbly beach, breathing in the salty air.

I couldn't stop the voices screaming in my head. Soul mates. I started to run, my feet pounding on the sand. Everything hurt. I ran faster and harder, my heart pounding in my ears, my breath coming fast and hard. I wanted to run away from it all. Leave everything behind, but no matter how fast I ran, the pain stayed with me.

Of course, I tripped and fell hard, crashing into the rocky surface of the ground with my hands outstretched. I lay there, shaking, feeling the sting in my palms and letting the tears flow openly down my face.

Slowly, I sat and looked down at my hands. They were grazed badly and bleeding. I cursed my stupidness and clumsiness.

"Bella?"

I looked up and swore silently. Of course he would be there.

Jacob stood over me, clad in jeans, a long sleeved black sweater and a warm puffer vest. His hands were buried deep in his pockets and he looked concerned. When he saw I was bleeding he hurried over to me and took my hands gently in his own, carefully examining them.

"Come on," he said quietly, helping me to my feet. "Let's get you cleaned up."

He wrapped an arm around me and I couldn't help but lean into him as we walked through the trees back to his house.

"When did you arrive?" he asked as we walked.

"Less than half an hour ago," I told him. "Seth just told Karin what he is. Showed her actually. I just needed to get away."

Jacob nodded. "Being around people who've imprinted can be a bit intense."

"That's an understatement," I muttered.

We finally broke through the trees and his red weatherboard house came into view, Jacob's Rabbit sitting in the driveway. The place looked just as it had over four years ago when I had last been here.

I remembered the moment vividly, Jacob in so much pain after the battle with Victoria and the newborn army. His joy when I told him that Edward and I were over, that I was going to stay human. Then explaining that I was leaving to the UK.

And now here we both were again. So much time had passed, and yet our dilemma seemed to be the same.

Jacob led me inside and I sat at his kitchen table as he fished around in the cupboards, searching for the first aid kit.

"So you're here to meet with the Greater Council this afternoon?" he asked, focusing on cleaning and bandaging my hands and not meeting my eyes.

"Yes," I said quietly. "The Volturi are coming because of me, so Carlisle and Sam thought that I should meet the Greater Council."

Jacob exhaled and shook his head. "I wish you didn't have to be involved at all," he muttered. "It's so dangerous."

I shrugged, what choice did we have?

"I miss you Bella," he said, so quietly I nearly missed it.

"Me too," I replied and he finally looked up to meet my eyes. I felt my insides turn to liquid as his deep chocolate eyes burned into mine.

"Can we un-pause for just a few minutes?" he asked, desperation in his voice.

Without hesitation, I nodded and he leant forwards, careful not to bump my hands, and cupped my face in his palm, rubbing his thumb along my cheek. Then our lips met, and we kissed, hungrily, desperately.

The front door opened and we jumped apart like electricity had jolted through our veins. I raised a bandaged hand to my mouth and felt tears prick my eyes.

Billy had arrived home, Rachel pushing his wheelchair through the doorway. We greeted each other and caught up, but my lips continued to burn with the memory of Jacob.

I spent a quiet, rainy afternoon with Jacob's family. Rachel had found an old Scrabble board and begged us to play with her. As we sat playing board games, I felt my heart breaking, knowing this was the future I was missing out on. When I gave up Jacob, I gave up this. I gave up his family and this life.

All afternoon, I wasn't given a moment of privacy with Jacob, and part of me was glad – I wasn't sure I was able to control myself around him, and I knew that I had to stick with decision. I couldn't make this harder for Jacob than it needed to be.

I was relieved when Sam came for us and followed him down to the beach where they had started a roaring bonfire. The wolves might be warm in nothing but shorts, but I was freezing, pulling my beanie down further over my ears and zipping my coat up higher.

No other members from Sam's wolf pack were there. Instead, a number of people I had never met before sat around the fire. They all had jet black hair, and their skin ranged in shades of russet, tan and brown. These must be the chiefs of the Greater Council.

Carlisle, Edward and Alice were standing on the far edge of the group and I hurried over to them, letting Alice hug me gently. Just like the Cullens, I felt like an outsider with this group of majestic people.

A woman with high cheekbones, a strong arched nose, and straight jet-black hair hanging down to her waist stood and raised her hands for silence.

"Welcome," she spoke, her voice deep and melodic, "to the first meeting of the Greater Council in over a century. My name is Kara Nilhailai, chief of the Tonkawa people. We meet under challenging circumstances, but as one, we will rise together in courage and ferocity to defeat those who threaten humanity."

Introductions were made between chiefs, and Sam and Jacob were introduced together as the chief and alpha of the Quileute people. Then the Cullens were introduced, causing a stir amongst the others.

"You did not choose your fate, just as we did not choose ours." Kara rumbled in her beautifully deep voice. "We accept your way of life and thank you for your alliance in this fight against our enemies."

They discussed details, plans and knowledge. When my name was brought up, there was a hushed whispering amongst the others and I kept my eyes on the sand by my feet, defiantly ignoring their murmuring voices.

Eventually, plans were put into place, training with the Cullens and visiting vampires was decided and the group rose as one.

"We're having a bonfire party," Sam said, once he'd strode over to me. "You should come along."

I wasn't sure whether or not to accept, but a night sitting at home alone with Charlie wasn't appealing. I nodded in agreement and followed Sam and Jacob back up the beach and along the road to Sam's house.

Emily had returned with her children, four year old Maxim and five week old Sarah, who she thrust into my arms as soon as I walked through the door.

I held the tiny baby awkwardly as she squirmed and Emily laughed, readjusting my arms until Sarah was nestled peacefully and comfortably into my body. She was a beautiful little thing, with a thick shock of jet-black hair.

Sam helped Emily load the car with food for the bonfire party, and the other members of the wolf pack came and went. Finally, feeling very unhelpful, I sat on the couch, still cuddling the tiny baby and Maxim crawled up beside me, one sticky fist clenching a tattered picture book.

"Read?" he demanded, snuggling in beside me and popping his thumb into his mouth.

I took the book from him and flicked it open, reading quietly to him, so as not to wake Sarah. I heard a laugh from the doorway and looked up to see Seth, his eyes dancing wickedly at me in the role of babysitter. I wondered if I looked as awkward as I felt. Jacob stood behind him and I met his eyes.

In that moment, something inside him seemed to break and his face crumpled. He turned and walked out of the room.

Maxim nudged me with his pudgy elbow. "Don't stop," he whined.

I continued reading, my voice thick with unshed tears.


AN: Hope you enjoyed. That was super angsty wasn't it? Oops! Next chapter is written, and I just couldn't keep Bella and Jacob apart for much longer, they've been tortured enough so I do promise a bit of fluff (and maybe a bit of spice) next chapter. Also, I'm really trying to improve my writing style, so please let me know what you think - anything that really bugs you or you think I should change? Reviews make me update faster :) :) xx Annie