AN.. Sorry this took a few days longer to get written and

posted than I had anticipated. Pesky RL.

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Chapter 10

Planning to Win

Leah POV

I was a bit surprised when I noticed several members of the pack phasing back to their human forms. Sam and Jacob strolled out easily into the clearing first, followed by a few nervous man-child types. At least, that is how I viewed my wolf-pack brethren.

Bella walked in just head of the pack, presumably giving them time to dress. Jacob jogged slightly to catch her up, putting an arm around her waiste and drawing her close to his side. It was an overtly territorial display. I shook my head, feeling badly for Jake. He was obviously fearful that Edward would re-claim Bella. I suppose Bella's original response to the innocent display of affection between us earlier had a part to play in his possessive behavior.

Alice rolled her eyes as the two approached. She was clearly unhappy with the recent changes. I guess I could not blame her. I had learned enough while talking to Bella this past evening to know that her relationship with the Cullen family was not limited to Edward. She truly loved all of them, and had no intention of ever considering any of them as less than family. I couldn't help but wonder if there was any way that I would ever get close to any of them. I couldn't have imagined being in close proximity to a vampire just two days ago, and here I was considering building a relationship with not just one, but a whole family of them.

Carlisle and Sam stood off to the side, talking leader to leader about the training schedule. Edward and I stood in a semi-circle with Bella and Jake, and Esme. Esme was watching the faces in front of her intently. I had a hard time meeting her eyes. Everything was so strained, and I felt so guilty about it all. It was all so overwhelming. I could feel tears begin to pool in my eyes, but I fought them. I blinked them back, and cleared my throat.

I heard a heavy sigh from Edward. He and Jake had their eyes locked on each other. Edward reached for my hand, and gave it a squeeze. Don't worry, Leah. This is going to work itself out. Take a look at Alice. Edward told me silently.

I looked over at Alice, who was looking at me with her head cocked to one side, and an almost sad look on her face. What I didn't see was the outright contempt that she was displaying just moments before. My eyes snapped back to Edward's, looking for some explanation.

"I thought you couldn't see the wolves, Alice!" Edward looked excited.

"I didn't think so either… this is a first." Alice admitted quietly. She seemed to be sizing me up.

"What did you see?" asked Jasper.

"Not the time… you have a training session that you need to get going, already." Alice said flatly.

Jasper nodded, and called everyone to attention. After a few words, he broke everyone into teams. Tonight, however, he asked if some of the wolves would like to get in on the mock battles. Sam, Jacob, Seth, and I were the only ones that felt comfortable enough to try it. I got paired with Emmett and Rosalie.

The whole exercise was enlightening, and exhausting. By the end of the evening, we all had learned so much, we really felt like we were prepared for the battle. It was Jasper that drew our attention to Bella sleeping beside a large tree in the center of the field. She had been sitting all by herself for a little over two hours. She must have gotten bored out of her mind.

"We need to decide what we are going to do about her during the fight." Jasper said pointedly.

"You know she's not going to let us keep her away." Jake spoke up.

"That is entirely out of the question." Edward said matter-of-factly.

"I don't think that she is going to cow-tow to your every whim anymore." Jake countered.

"It's hardly a whim, and I am sure that she will listen to reason."

"Are we even talking about the same person?" Jake laughed boisterously. "The Bella I know is stubborn and opinionated, and always ends up getting her way."

"She always listened to my reasoning." Edward said sternly.

"That's because you are possibly the world's bossiest "Know-It-All", Edward! How often did you make a decision for her against her better judgment where yours ended up being better for her?" Alice interjected loudly, eliciting nods from the entire family and several of the wolves.

Edward sighed heavily, and looked at me. He looked like an old man, and my heart felt heavy for him. I knew that he still loved Bella, and was truly concerned for her safety. His eyes were imploring me to agree with him, but I knew that I could not. The girl that I knew through Jake, and the one that I had spent several hours in deep conversation with was too concerned for everyone around her to allow us to exclude her from the situation entirely. I knew that she was really worried about us all. If something happened to any one of us, and she had not been here, doing whatever she could to be involved, there is no way that she would ever forgive herself. She had a tendency to take the proverbial weight of the world on her shoulders.

"Edward, I think that we need to involve her in this conversation." I told him as gently as I could.

"She's right, Edward. What's more, you know that she is." Esme added, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Edward held his hands up in surrender. He knew that he was greatly outnumbered. I kinda felt badly for him, he looked miserable. He walked over to where Bella was sleeping, and crouched beside her, gently waking her. He reached to help her up, and she looked warily at him, then to the rest of us in the field. She made her way over to us on unsteady feet, stumbling several times so that Edward had to hold her harm to keep her from falling. What would have appeared intimate and endearing just two nights ago now looked forced, and unnatural.

Jasper broached the subject cautiously. He kept glancing at Edward and Jacob out of the corner of his eye as he asked Bella where she would feel most safe during the battle. Bella looked around her nervously, obviously sizing up the opposition, and searching for words.

"I want to be where my family is." Bella said hesitantly, licking her lips. "You all are going to do battle for me, to keep Charlie and me safe. Any one of you could get hurt. I keep hearing you talk like this is going to be easy, and over with quickly. So, I want to be here with you."

"How is that going to help us Bella? If you are here, then we will we worried about you and our attention will be divided." Jacob bellowed.

"No! Your attention can be on them entirely! I was thinking about this all night.. well, untilIfellasleep,butstill.." she gushed, trying to get her thoughts out before she could be interrupted again, but I knew that if I was having a difficult time understanding her, there were others with the same difficulty. I decided to save her from another outburst from either suitor.

"Bella, please, calm down, and tell us your thoughts… after you take a breath. I promise, NO ONE will interrupt you before you are finished." I glared between Edward and Jacob as I said it.

"Thank you, Leah." Bella took a deep breath before continuing, clearing her thoughts. "I heard Jasper talking to Carlisle about how to lure them here to the clearing. Obviously, they have been given my scent to follow. Why not use that fact to our advantage? If I walk from the direction they are coming, and lead them here, then go somewhere else, we risk one or more of them catching my trail leading them away from here, and then I am still vulnerable. If, however I leave a trail here, and they find me in the middle of the clearing… say, on this boulder." She indicated a large rock formation near the center of the field. "Then they will be so focused on me, and trying to get to me in their bloodlust, that they will not be as focused on the battle. And, if you are all positioned strategically… And if this fight is going to be the cake-walk that you all keep claiming that it is going to be, then they won't get anywhere near me!"

There was silence in the field as everyone considered what Bella said. I could practically see the "wheels turning" in both Jacob and Edward's minds as they tried to formulate an argument against her reasoning. As the moments ticked by, it became increasingly apparent that her logic was sound.

"Bella, your strategy seems fairly sound. You really do pay closer attention than we all give you credit for." Jasper's face, and voice reflected his awe. "I think tomorrow night, we will formulate a strategy around this idea…"

"And it is going to work! I see victory!" Alice clapped.

"So, we are done for the night?" asked Sam.

"I would say so!" Carlisle stated happily, his face serene as he wrapped his arms around his wife. "Let's meet here again tomorrow night?"

"Agreed." Sam said, shaking his hand.

The field began to empty rapidly as everyone went off to their respective homes. After a few minutes, all that remained were Edward, Bella, Jake and me. Jacob and I had phased back to ourselves after the fighting was winding down, and the discussions picked up. Bella was leaning heavily against Jake, her eyes were drooping, and she was yawning frequently.

"Take her home, Jake. She needs her rest." Edward said quietly, averting his eyes. I knew that this was going to be difficult. I knew that Edward's feelings for Bella ran very deep. I could not help the pang of jealousy that I felt at his struggle. A part of me was already hopelessly "in love" with Edward. I knew that it had more to do with imprinting than genuine emotions, but differentiating the strands of the tangled web of my genuine feelings and the forced emotions of the imprint was increasingly difficult. A part of me still wished that Edward would tell me to go away from him, and that he would run off with Bella so that they could have their "happily ever-after". Of course, where would that have left Jake and me?

"Where indeed?" Edward mused. He looked into my eyes and took my hand as Jacob walked away carrying a sleeping Bella to her home. "Do you really wish I would go away?"

"No. Not that you would go away. I wish that you could have your heart's desire." I said wistfully. "I feel like I have taken that away from you."

"Leah, listen to me." he said in a commanding tone, his eyes still locked on mine. "It is going to take some time for me to stop thinking so protectively towards Bella. I have been obsessing over her happiness and safety for about a year and a half. I cannot shut that off like a light switch. That said, I want you to know that until Jasper pointed out Bella sleeping and all alone, I had not thought of her for over an hour. Not once. You, on the other hand; I could not keep my eyes off of you!"

"Me? I was a dog!" I guffawed.

"You were amazing! Your speed and skill far outshine almost all of your pack mates." He grinned. "I think you could take Sam in a fight even. Jake might be harder for you to take down, but you could most definitely outrun him!"

"You say the sweetest things." I rolled my eyes. His hand came to my face gently, cupping my cheek.

"Leah, I was captivated by you tonight. All night. Human, wolf, doesn't matter! I could not keep my eyes off of you."

"Take me home, vampire!" I laughed.

"No." he stated, to my surprise. "Well, home yes, but to my home tonight, if I may?" he asked, his voice unsteady for the first time since we met.

"Okay." I said simply, allowing myself to trust him. Finding I did so implicitly.

As always,

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