Disclaimer - This is based off of the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. She created the characters and the basic plot, and this is my spin on it. These are my words about her world. Stephenie Meyer has all of the rights to her characters and the parts that were taken from her plot.

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I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to finish. For some reason, I had trouble getting through it. I just didn't feel a connection to the story line like I usually do. I struggled to get the beginning of this chapter. The ending was much easier to write - probably because I cannot wait to get back to Sam and Bella. Anyways, here it is.

Chapter Ten

The three girls turned an entire loaf of bread plus another half that hadn't been used yet into grilled cheese sandwiches. Bella hadn't even understood where all the lettuce for the salad had come from, but Leah had continued to pop up with more and more to add.

When the table was set up to display the meal they'd just created, Bella looked around the kitchen in dismay. "Your mother is going to have a heart attack," she exclaimed. "We used, like, everything in your kitchen."

Leah shrugged. "No, she'll be okay. Trust me, she's used to making three back-to-back trips to the grocery store. The impromptu feeding of the pack isn't uncommon around here."

Bella shook her head, chuckling. "They really eat all of this food every day for dinner?"

Leah snorted. "They eat all of this food every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

Kim sighed. "And they still maintain their sexy figures." Her eyes drifted and Bella knew she was picturing Jared.

Her own image of Sam popped into her head. His chiseled abs, his toned biceps . . . his pronounced jawline . . . everything about him was gorgeous. So perfect that Bella didn't think she even deserved to stand next to him. She was plain and ordinary. He was completely the opposite.

"I wonder if Brady and Collin are hungry now," Bella mused. She peeked out the window, once again straining to make out the shape of the giant wolf, but failed. "Maybe I'll go see."

As Bella moved towards the front door, Leah's hand shot out to grab her arm. "Wait a second," she said. "You can't go out there. Paul said specifically for us to stay inside no matter what – until they came back and phased human." Her eyes widened. "And you do not want to see how angry they get when we put ourselves in harm's way."

Kim bit her lip. "But what if they're hungry? I'd hate to think that they're stuck out there in the dark with their stomach's growling." She glanced towards the back door where the other wolf stood tensely on the porch. The blinds were closed, but the light of the moon provided the outline of his shadow against the sliding glass doors.

"They're big boys," Leah insisted. She let go of Bella's hand when she shifted her weight backwards, away from the front door. "They won't starve, I promise. Besides –" She lifted her hand to brush away a strand of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail and into her face. " – Sam probably ordered them to stay outside and make sure we're safe. If that's the case, they definitely won't come in. They can't disobey Sam."

"Can't or won't?" Bella asked.

"Can't," Leah repeated. "I don't really understand exactly what it is, but there's something in Sam's voice, some kind of effect of his authority as Alpha. Seth says that when Sam tells them to do something, they just can't refuse. It's physically impossible."

"That's weird," Bella said frankly.

A shrill cell phone ringtone suddenly rang out and echoed around the tiny kitchen. Kim skittered over to the table and pulled the phone out of her purse. She glanced down at the screen for a second. "It's my mother," she gasped. "I told her Jared was taking me out for dinner and I'd be back later. I guess she thinks this is later." She closed her eyes and leaned her head back in dismay. "What do I tell her?"

"Ask if you can stay over at my house," Leah instructed. "We have no way of knowing when they'll be back. Leeches can be hard to catch sometimes."

Bella's stomach clenched. Sam, she thought, lifting her eyes to the moon. Come back, please. I'm freaking out here, and I don't know how much longer I can hide it. "I should probably call my dad," she said aloud. "He's been wanting me to get out and hang out with friends lately. I'll tell him we went out to Port Angeles for dinner and shopping or something." She made the call, all the while thinking how strange it felt to openly lie to her father. It wasn't something she made a habit of doing, and she didn't like it. Charlie wasn't a strict father. He had the necessary rules that would keep her safe and healthy and he left most of the decision-making to Bella, and now she was completely taking advantage of that.

Bella couldn't decide of the uneasy feeling in her stomach was due to that, or just left over from Sam's absence.

Leah was covering the sandwiches with paper towels when Bella hung up after giving Charlie her excuse for not being around for dinner. "It's not like this'll keep them warm," Leah sighed, "but they'll eat them cold. They'll scarf them down so fast they won't even notice."

Bella frowned. "I guess we made them too early, huh?"

Leah shrugged. "Let's go see what movies are on Lifetime." Despite the panic that was squeezing her stomach, Bella laughed. Leah just did not seem like the kind of girl who would watch Lifetime movies.

The atmosphere around them, for the most part, had been basically calm and lighthearted even with what was happening out in the woods. Of course, it couldn't remain that way.

The three girls sat, flicking through the channels on the television, when it happened.

The giant crash of a glass window breaking exploded around the room, sending all of them jumping out of their seats. They spun around to see the window next to the Clearwaters' front door completely shattered. Shards of glass were scattered all over the floor around the dining room table. Their eyes searched desperately for the cause, but there was nothing – no baseball, no broken tree limb. Nothing that one would expect to see lying on the ground when a window is broken. It was like it had been broken by the air.

Or by something that moved too quickly for human eyes to see.

The girls stood motionless for a second, each breathing heavily and shaking all over from the shock.

Bella's ears, slightly ringing from the unexpected loudness of the crash, cleared up to allow the furious snarls of a werewolf in battle to be registered by her senses. Something was wrong – very wrong.

A howl rose over the snarls and yelps that echoed around the yard outside. A howl that radiated terror, horror, and fury. And with that, Bella knew. Paul had been wrong; the vampire wasn't deterred by the scents of the pack at all. It was encouraged by them. It had found them, and was passionately fighting Brady for a chance to end their lives.

A scream fought its way up Bella's throat, her hand flying to her neck in surprised panic. Next to her, Kim's eyes were wide as she watched Leah leaned over the couch, trying to inspect the damage without getting too close.

Bella's mind was numb. Suddenly she couldn't stand not knowing what was going on out there, and her feet carried her without consent. Kim's hand reached out to grab Bella's, but Bella shook it off. "Bella! What are you doing? Be careful," she cautioned frantically.

"I have to see," Bella heard herself say. "I have to see. I have to see Sam."

"Stop, Bella," Leah called. "Get away from there! It's too dangerous!"

Bella pressed her hands carefully against the wooden door, leaning around the small curtain to stare out into the night. She stood far enough away from the broken window to keep herself from getting cut. Of course, she wasn't safe from any objects that could go flying through that window, but she wasn't thinking about that at the moment.

Her heart pounded in her ears as she squinted out into the night. From where she stood now, the snarls and growls were much louder and far more menacing. As she stared long enough, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and everything became clear.

Two wolves were a few feet away from the house, standing with their legs planted firmly into the ground. They kept their heads bowed low, staring straight forward. Bella followed their gaze to a person standing about fifteen feet away. With skin as pale as he had, the vampire almost glowed in the dark. He stood casually, relaxed. Arrogant. His face was inclined towards the house, towards the front door.

Towards Bella.

Bella felt their gaze meet and gasped, stumbling backwards away from the window. If this vampire's goal was to instill fear into them, it was working.

"It's only Collin and Brady," Bella sobbed. "And a vampire."

"Come back here, Bella," Leah demanded. "Get away from the door! That leech tried to fly right through the window to get to us!" She ducked in front of the couch, yanking Kim down with her. Peeking around the side to look at Bella, who was leaning shakily against the wall that separated the kitchen from the dining room, she added, "It'll try to get in here again, and next time Brady and Collin might not be able to hold it back."

Bella sobbed again and slid to the floor. She crawled unsteadily over to them and sat down next to Kim, leaning her back against the area of the couch that popped up to make a footrest. They huddled together – three girls who hadn't even known each other three weeks earlier who were now grasping each other like they'd been the best of friends since preschool.

"Sam wasn't out there," Bella cried. Hot tears welled from her eyes and burned her cheeks on their decent down to her mouth. "Sam's not here. Oh, God, Leah, where is he?"

"There's probably more than one leech," Leah whispered, her voice defeated. She twiddled her thumbs in her lap. "That's the only way this leech could have gotten anywhere near this property without having the rest of the pack on its heels."

"It's a male," Bella breathed. "Jacob told me last night that they thought the one they were tracking was a female."

"So they're a team," Kim whimpered. She tossed her head back, eyes closed. "And we're dead."

"No, we're not," Leah scolded. "The pack won't let anything happen to us." Her tone wasn't very confident. It sounded like she was trying to convince herself that that was true.

Bella leaned her head back against the couch in defeat. She felt like she was going to be sick. "I can't stop picturing him," she admitted in a whisper, eyes squeezed tightly closed. "I keep seeing him, standing in my kitchen, leaning against the counter, smiling at me. God, he has a beautiful smile – it's honest and real and –" She held back a sob. "I didn't get any time with him! We just . . . we just got together for real and now – now he's out there fighting –"

"Stop talking like he's already dead, Bella!" Leah scolded. Outside, another round of growls rose up and all three froze, but apparently the Collin and Brady were able to keep him back because nothing else was broken. A few seconds later, everything went silent again and Bella knew they were having another stare off, each waiting for the other to make his next move. After the violent outburst was over, Leah waited a few seconds before continuing. "You guys have no idea what these wolves are capable of. They're going to be fine." Her hand, to Bella's surprise, reached up to rest comfortingly on Bella's knee – a gesture of friendship Bella would have only expected her to give to Kim. "I can't imagine having to deal with this a day after finding out about all of this craziness. You guys are still processing and learning about what really happens around the Reservation, and now you're huddled in my house in the middle of the woods while to sixteen-year-old boys who have transformed themselves into werewolves are standing outside defending us from a vampire who wants to kill us."

Kim's eyebrows shot up, her back straightening in alarm. "Collin and Brady are only sixteen?" she exclaimed.

"Shhh," Leah hushed her. "You didn't know that?"

"No! Oh, my God! They're gonna get killed out there!" Tears automatically sprung to her eyes, her cheeks going pale.

Leah yanked on a loose curl that hovered around Kim's nose to interrupt her. "Keep it together! Any minute now, Jared is going to stride through those doors and he's gonna come straight to you, and do you want yourself to be a snot-nosed, teary-eyed panicking mess when that happens?" She didn't wait for a response. "No! You don't. So breathe deeply, rest your head back and take a nap." A pause. "We're going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine."

Maybe Leah's constant repetition and deep belief in her words actually willed them to become true. Or maybe God decided to be merciful before Bella threw up her last meal all over the Clearwaters' living room. Or perhaps the intense, desperate hope that had been inside all three of their hearts had really, really paid off.

Bella didn't care which one actually made it happen, but it did. It was sudden and startling, but in a good way. Unexpectedly good – a phrase Bella had never thought she would use.

A howl echoed around the edge of the forest – clearly not from Brady or Collin. And then another one followed. A third joined in a few seconds later, and then it was a chorus.

A chorus of howls and snarls ricocheted around them, but Bella didn't need to hear the pack to know that they'd finally arrived. She could feel him – Sam. She could feel him outside, feel his power and his strength and his confidence suddenly surrounding her, enveloping her in a safety cocoon, slowing her heart rate and probably saving her from getting high blood pressure before her eighteenth birthday.

As she heard the loud, thumping footsteps of the pack as they surrounded the house, she finally felt like she could breathe again.

Bella heard a growl that sounded more human than wolf – the vampire – which quickly pinched off to a sound that reminded her of the time Phil had been swinging his baseball bat around the kitchen and had whacked the granite counter by mistake, cracking it in two.

A silence lasted for only a moment before a series of enthusiastic, satisfied yowls erupted from the wolves. They were rejoicing.

That was it. All of Bella's worries and fears, her nausea and her high blood pressure – all of the stress of the past two hours of her life was ended in four seconds.

The three girls sat there, disbelieving and hesitant, until the excited, celebratory yelps morphed into human hoots and hollers.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Paul's shriek was muted by the walls of the house but no less wholehearted.

Jacob's voice was closer than Paul's. "Take that, you bloodsucking bastard!"

Quil and Embry were laughing with each other.

And then Sam burst through the Clearwaters' front door, and nothing else mattered.

His eyes, wide and frantic, searched the room. His jaw was tense and his hands were clenched at his sides. When his eyes landed on Bella, still huddled in front of the couch sandwiched between Leah and Kim hugging her knees to her chest, his entire body slumped in relief.

Bella flung herself into his waiting, open arms and immediately locked her own around his neck, pressing her face tightly into the side of his neck. Unable to control herself, she felt relieved tears prickle her eyes and spill over down her cheeks. She sniffled.

"Oh my God," she gasped, grasping the hair at the nap of his neck. "Are you okay? Tell me you're okay!"

"I'm okay," he rasped. His voice must have been raw from all the howling. "I'm better than okay – I'm fu – freaking amazing."

"Are you sure?" Bella pulled back to press her hands against his cheeks, scanning his entire body for any sign of injury. He looked okay. Well, he looked better than okay. His arms had apparently gotten quite a workout and were very, very toned and the absence of his shirt showed off his perfect abdominals. His body was just as perfect as it had been when he'd last left her.

"Bella, Bella," he said to regain her attention. She looked up and met his warm gaze. He grasped both of her hands in between his own and held them up to his chest. "I'm fine. We're all fine. Both vampires are dead, and we're safe for now."

For now. Bella didn't let that worry her – yet. She just wanted to hold him and have him hold her.

Seth pushed around Sam's body and ran to his sister, embracing her. Bella watched as Leah pulled away to analyze his body for any damage. She grasped his face between her hands and shook her head at him. "You scared the crap out of me," she whispered. "How am I supposed to tell mom if you get eaten by a vampire?"

"The leech won't eat me," Seth mumbled, even though Leah was obviously kidding. "Besides – this is what I do, Lee. This is what I am. Mom knows that."

Leah rolled her eyes, but Bella could see the relief in her facial features. "I know."

Movement caught the corner of Bella's eye and she spun to see Kim practically swallowing Jared whole. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and his hands rested neatly on her butt. He held her so her head was above his and he head to reach up – probably a rare situation. They were engaging in an extremely competitive battle of the tongues. It was such a passionate encounter that Bella felt a blush surge to her cheeks and she turned away.

She looked up at her own imprint to see that he was staring at Jared, too. His eyebrow furrowed and his fingers pressed tightly against the small of her back. Bella reached up to mold her hand to his cheek and his eyes immediately shot down to her. "What about you?" he whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, stealing his line. Suddenly she just wanted to kiss him. So she did.

When their lips met, an electrical shock zoomed through the both of them. Sam instantly pulled her closer so she was pressed right up against his body. Her arms reached up to once again wrap around his neck and his hands lowered to her butt. Sam deepened the kiss and leaned down even farther to devour her. When she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore, she pulled back and rested her head against his chest, rubbing her hands over his muscles. His chin rested on the top of her head.

"Oh, God," Jacob said from the doorway. "If I'd known it was one giant suck-fest in here, I would've stolen Bella's truck and went to McDonalds."

Bella laughed and peeked around Sam's arm to look at her best friend. "Are you okay, Jake?"

Jacob snorted. "I'm fantastic, Bella. Didn't Sam tell you? I pulled the head off of the female."

Bella paled. "You what?"

Sam growled low in his throat. "She doesn't know how vampires are killed," he snapped.

Jacob's eyes widened in momentary panic. "Oh. Sorry, Bells," he said, giving her his innocent eyes.

Bella looked up at Sam. "You have to rip their body parts off?"

Sam nodded gently. "We have to tear them apart and burn them. They can be put back together if they aren't turned to ash."

Bella's heart sank. She wasn't sure how she thought vampires were killed, but that certainly wasn't the way she'd imagined. "That sounds dangerous," she whispered.

Sam placed a finger under her chin. "The entire pack is fine – except for Brady. We think he sprained his ankle, but that's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" Bella squeaked. "He's hurt!"

"Do you remember what I said about our accelerated healing?" He waited for Bella to nod. "He'll be healed by midnight."

Bella poked her head out the front door to look at the rest of the pack. Outside, it was already dark. Bella didn't notice the giant bonfire in the Clearwaters' backyard until she exited through the front door and the smoke had reached Bella's nose. She spun around and at first thought the house was on fire before Sam explained that they were burning the vampire that had tried to attack them.

Bella wanted to ask about the other one – the female – but decided that she'd had enough for one night. Instead, she called out, "We made dinner, so everyone into the kitchen and eat up!" That was all it took to get them all running like bats out of hell inside the house.

Once everyone had a sandwich in hand, Sam beckoned the pack to gather around him. He greeted Jacob with a curt nod. Bella stayed right by his side, finding herself unable to lose physical contact with him. "I'm going to drive Bella home, and then I'm joining the night shift with Paul and Quil. Paul, you take the north side. Quil, stay down by the river." They both nodded in agreement and Sam turned his attention back to Jake. "I want you to relieve Quil at the first sign of daylight. And Jared – where is Jared?" He tucked Bella closer to his side mindlessly and leaned them back against the counter.

They all turned to look around for him, but neither he nor Kim were anywhere to be seen. Quil laughed. "They're probably having sex in Seth's bed."

Seth did not think that was as funny as the rest of the group did.

"Jared can have afternoon patrol," Sam continued, still chuckling a little. "Seth, you take over for Paul in the morning – same time as Jacob."

Bella watched him as he gave orders to each and every pack member. His voice was so authoritative and confident. He held his chin high and demanded respect, which he received from everyone looking on. Something about his power, his position of authority, was extremely arousing to her.

"Brady and Collin," he added, "you can take tomorrow off." He turned to make eye contact with both of them. His hand tightened around Bella's and he pulled her closer. His expression softened and he rubbed his thumb absently against Bella's cheek. "You've done your Alpha a great service today, being so willing to risk your lives to protect my mate. Thank you."

They both seemed to be embarrassed by the praise and mumbled a response. The tops of Brady's ears turned pink as he stared down at his shoes. Collin tried not to make eye contact with anyone. "She's the Alpha's mate," he said as if that were an obvious explanation. "Of course we protected her."

It was the first time she'd really heard anyone refer to her like that – like it had some sort of extra meaning. Paul and Jacob had said that being the Alpha's mate was special, but now Bella truly felt like she was for these two sixteen-year-old boys to so bravely defend her.

"Where should we look for you if there's a problem?" Seth asked innocently.

A few of the others chuckled, to Bella's confusion. It seemed like a good question. The Alpha was clearly the most important person in the pack.

"You howl, you idiot," Paul snickered. He reached out to snatch another sandwich – his fourth.

"We have the pack mind," Quil reminded him a little more kindly.

When Sam spoke, all eyes flew to him in surprise. Clearly the Alpha did not explain his own actions very often. "I'll be in Forks. That is –" He lowered his head and met Bella's gaze. "If Bella will have me?"

Bella nodded vigorously and wrapped her arms tighter around his waist. After an afternoon of not knowing whether or not he would return to her safely, she was not letting him out of her sight any time soon.

He pressed his thumb against Bella's bottom lip, and the gleam in his eye told her he was thinking of pressing his lips to hers but didn't want to with the entire pack surrounding them. "I'll be in Forks all day tomorrow, spending the day with Bella. So don't need me." He grinned to let them know he was kidding. "Okay – try not to need me."

Leah walked into the kitchen and placed her cell phone down on the counter. "My mom just called – she said she and Dad are with Billy and Jacob's house. I told her everyone's okay and the leeches are dead." She looked pointedly at Sam. "My dad wants to talk to you."

Bella's heart constricted. Harry Clearwater did not bring forth positive emotions in her. Above her, Sam nodded. "Tell him I'll speak with him later."

"He said to come here tomorrow," she said hesitantly, probably because his tone had such a strong sense of finality. He didn't sound like he was willing to negotiate, and he definitely wasn't taking orders from anyone.

"I'm spending the day with my imprint tomorrow," he snapped. Bella rubbed his chest, unsure of what to do when his temper flared. It wasn't Leah's fault her father was so demanding. "The situation is under control for now. There isn't an immediate threat, and no one was hurt in battle. The discussion can wait until I find a convenient time."

Leah, wisely, didn't say anything in response.

For a second, everyone silently chewed their grilled cheeses. Bella nibbled on her own, through her stomach still wasn't up to par. Embry broke the ice. "I saw to rabbits humping in the woods this morning," he announced.

Quil gasped. "No way! I saw to squirrels going at it on a tree branch the day before!"

The comedic reliefs – making light of uncomfortably tense conversations at all times of the day.

Jacob loped over to where Bella and Sam were standing and leaned next to her. "Do you still want my dad and I to come over to watch the game tomorrow?" he asked hesitantly, peeking up at Sam cautiously.

Bella smiled. "Of course! Charlie is always excited when he can watch the game with someone who actually watches the game. Come down for dinner. I'm making fish."

Jacob licked his lips. "You sure you two don't want alone time or whatever?"

The most awkward moment ever. "We'll have all afternoon," she said.

Jacob grinned.

Bella couldn't help but think that they'd all dodged a giant bullet that evening. And they weren't out of the woods yet – no pun intended. They all seemed to be expecting something more, something bigger and more dangerous. Bella feared this was only the beginning.

Get ready to delve deeper into the connection that Sam and Bella have in Chapter Eleven! FINALLY! We're going to see their relationship really move forward.

Thank you all for your continued support. I love each and every one of you. Please, please leave me a review to let me know what you think. I write best when I have lots of feedback.

See you in Chapter Eleven.