Grace was waiting for the other shoe to drop all week. The pack was clearly keeping their distance and Grace didn't have it in her to face them right away. The only person who was texting her was Quil. He told her Seth had recently joined the pack, to which Grace sadly acknowledged. He also told her that Sam was clearly pissed and was trying very hard to keep them all in line, but something felt like it was pulling them in different directions around the rez.

SMS Text— 3:32 p.m.: Grace

It's me.

It's gotta be me that's causing the confusion.

SMS Text—3:34 p.m.: Quil

Then come back.

What's the worst that can happen? Sam rips you a new one and we all just move on.

Problem solved.

SMS Text—3:47 p.m.: Grace

Not quite.

I walked into the lion's den. I conferred with vampires.

They know about me and all of us.

SMS Text—3:49 p.m. Quil

So what.

They were bound to find out eventually. Just come back.

SMS Text—4:01 p.m. : Grace

I will. I promise.

Grace stared at the text message and then wrote out: "How's Jake?" but then quickly deleted it. He wasn't talking to her, that's how he was. Bella hadn't been much help either. Her correspondence with Jake was just as unreliable. They had resorted to passing notes between them using Charlie and Billy as conduits like in middle school. At least it was something.

Paul was a fortress. He was icing her out and she knew it made him crazy. Quil reported that his anger was out of control and that he was constantly getting into fights with the new recruits. Sam was sending him out on rounds alone because he couldn't be around the others for very long before snapping. He wouldn't answer her texts either. Typical.

Just get through this week, Grace told herself. She really needed to catch up at school. Spring break was fast approaching and even though they were grounded, Bella and Grace were doing their best to look forward to the time off together.

Edward stayed in their room every night. Grace didn't mind it though. His presence signaled that all of the weirdness that had begun since she moved here was real. She could take solace in that fact at the very least. By the end of the week, Bella was sleeping regularly, Edward tucked in by her side, as Grace stayed up late most nights, wrapping up homework and staring out into the forest to catch a glimpse of glowing yellow eyes. By Friday, she saw just one pair appear behind the treeline and it took everything in her not to wander out into the dark forest and embrace whoever was there waiting.

"It's Jacob," Edward had said softly to Grace.

"I thought so," Grace breathed. With that, she tucked herself under her covers and tried to drift off to sleep knowing that a wolf had come back to her. It was a start.


That Saturday morning, Grace offered to drive Bella to Newton's for her shift so that she could have the truck. She said she was going to head to the rez, but a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach told Grace that this was a lie. She planned on just driving around aimlessly, or heading to Port Angeles to get some distance.

As she rounded a curve in the isolated and wooded road to Newton's with Bella, Grace suddenly slammed on the brakes.

In the middle of the road stood Jacob. His face was set in a determined stare and Grace wasn't sure if it held anger or contempt. Bella's eyes were wide.

"Pull over," Bella said breathless. Grace did and she hopped out of the truck sprinting toward him and launching herself into his arms. Grace gripped the steering wheel tightly and kept her eyes on Jacob's. He didn't look at Bella at first, his eyes stayed trained on Grace, sitting placidly in the driver's seat. And then his face cracked into an achingly endearing smile as he wrapped his arms around Bella and hugged her back.

When they pulled back from the hug, Grace heard Bella ask what he was doing here. To her question, he looked over her shoulder, directly at Grace and said her name. A dreadful feeling dropped in the pit of her stomach. Bella looked over her shoulder at Grace and watched her for a moment before turning back to Jake to interrogate him.

Grace weighed her options. She could bolt right now, whip the truck around and try to make it to Port Angeles or Seattle where she could get swept up in a crowd and disappear for a while. But Jacob's gaze assured her that wherever she went, he could find her.

Don't be a chicken. She told herself.

Grace popped open the driver side door and stepped down from the truck. Even as Bella continued talking to Jake, his eyes darted to Grace time and time again.

Grace approached the pair looking on either side of the forest for an ambush, but none came. Bella had her hands shoved deep in her pockets and when Grace came up to stand next to her, she looked at Jake again, sorrowful and said "Okay." and walked back to the truck.

"Wait, Bella," Grace said, turning, but Jake caught her by the arm.

"Get in the car." He motioned to his Rabbit waiting on the side of the road up ahead.

"Jake what the hell," Grace said, trying to shake her arm from him.

"Get in the car, or I'll put you in there myself," He stated pure and simple. His eyes commanded something that she couldn't quite place and she looked behind her to see Bella pulling back onto the road and passing them to head toward work. Grace let her mouth fall open in protest and then set her lips in a hard line glaring at Jake.

"I'm not moving until you tell me what's going on," Grace crossed her arms, stubborn as usual. Jake smiled and rolled his eyes.

"I will. On the way. Get in the car, Grace. I don't want to have to ask again," Jake threatened.

"Look at you acting all Alpha," she said nonchalantly. But Jake was having none of it. He gave her a hard look and then just as quickly leaned down and threw her over his shoulder marching back toward his car. "Jake! Let me down!"

"I asked nicely." Jake said as if this was somehow a justification. Grace groaned and as he placed her in the passenger seat, buckled her in, and shut the door on her, she watched him bewildered, but grateful for the close proximity. He smelled like cedar, sweat, and something sweet. Her fingers twitched with the need to run her hand across his face, through his hair, and wrap around his arms. But she miraculously stayed still and when he loaded himself on the driver's side, he looked to her and said, "See. Was that so hard?"

"Can you tell me what's going on now?"

"How about you tell me. You're avoiding the rez and the pack's in disarray. You don't see anything wrong with that?" Jacob retorted. Grace folded her hands in front of her and looked out her window.

"I'm not avoiding anything." Grace said quietly.

"Bullshit," Jake said. Grace turned to look at him.

"What about you? I haven't seen you in weeks. That doesn't have to do with any guilt you're feeling about kissing Bella is it? Didn't want to face me either?" Grace shot back, annoyed now.

"Are we really going to talk about who is kissing who at the moment?" Jacob returned, a teasing smile on his lips. Grace blushed profusely. "I'm just returning you to where you belong. With us." He paused and looked over to her for a moment, "With me."

Grace's breath caught in her throat. Jacob continued, "We don't work without you. And no amount of hearsay or talk of betrayal will change that."

"So they think I betrayed them, then?"

"So what. They're anger is the least of your worries. We've got a bigger problem on our hands." Grace looked over him expectantly.

"Which is?"

"More members of the tribe are phasing. Younger and younger. I don't want this burden to be put on anyone else," Jake said quietly.

"I hear you," Grace said thinking about Seth. "I think we should work together with the Cullens to solve it."

"The Cullens are the one causing it!" Jacob started.

"You don't know that," Grace shook her head.

"Grace, you can't be that stupid. They're bloodsuckers, they pose a threat, and our blood responds to that!"

"Jake." Grace's voice was level, hard, sure, "They are not a threat. The treaty defines that clearly and if you want to fight about this, I want to wait until we're with everyone so I don't have to take more than one beating at a time."

"I think you're going to be surprised." Jake said as he pulled into the cove of Sam and Emily's bungalow. Grace took a deep breath and stared at the open front door. "Come on. I'll be with you," Jake assured her. She threw him a small smile and then pushed her door open, ready to face her fate.

When she closed her door, announcing her arrival, she heard a whooping and whistle come from inside. A smile pulled at the corner of her mouth as she watched some members of the pack spill out the open front door.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is!" Embry laughed.

"If it isn't our own Benedict Arnold," Jared teased. Grace rolled her eyes.

"And you?" Grace nodded to Quil. "What's your quippy little saying?"

"Me? I got nothing," Quil said with a sly smile, "Except that, ooh brrr, is it getting cold out here?"

"Subtle," Grace said. Jacob was standing behind her, leaning on the hood of his car and thoroughly enjoying the show. Seth, Leah, and Paul came out of the house now, followed closely by Sam. Grace tightened, trying to brace herself for what was to come.

Sam looked at her with what she could only assume was anger, but when he came down the steps toward her, his face changed. He stood in front of her now and Grace kept her head up, not wanting to retreat or back down. An Alpha was the ultimate authority, but Grace felt like she was the key to holding them all together. That had to count for something.

"What you did was reckless, selfish, and put us all in danger," Sam started. Grace let him continue without interjecting or trying to correct him just yet. "I can't even begin to understand what was going through your head walking into a den full of vampires. But if you do that again, we'll be forced to come in and get you. It took all I had to hold them back that night," he gestured to everyone around him, but Grace's eyes fell on one person in particular.

Paul was clearly shuddering, trying to keep his cool and his eyes never left Grace's. Everything in her told her that all he wanted was to either scoop her up and pull her to him or rip her to shreds...metaphorically speaking.

"Acknowledge that you got the message," Sam said in his Alpha voice. Grace shifted uncomfortably and behind her, she felt Jacob mirror her movements.

"Loud and clear," she responded. Sam nodded and gave her a withering stare before turning to head back inside. Something in Grace rose up and she couldn't stop the words from spilling out of her mouth, "But the Cullen's pose no threat. And Bella is my family. I'll do what I have to to protect her."

Behind her, she heard Jacob give out a small laugh. She looked over her shoulder at him and requested his gaze, "What's so funny?"

"I can't believe you're defending her is all," Jacob huffed.

"Like I said, she's family."

"No, no, no, I got that."

"Well, some us just have stronger loyalty than others I guess. Others who get their feelings hurt because a girl who has a boyfriend doesn't kiss them back." As it came out of her mouth, she flinched and closed her eyes. Jacob tightened and stood up.

"She wants to become one of them. You know what that means don't you?" Jacob said through gritted teeth.

"Wait, what?" Quil interjected.

"Jake." Grace warned.

"She wants to become one of them. A vampire. And that means that once they bite her, all bets are off. And we do, what we're trained for, what we're created for," Jake said. No one tried to stop him and Grace just listened.

"I know what she wants. And I'm working on it." Grace said quietly.

"You really are something you know," Paul said suddenly from the porch. "Who's side are you on again?"

"I'm not on a side, Paul," Grace turned back toward him.

"Oh really? Because it seems pretty clear from where I'm standing whose side you're on," he spat back.

"Well you're wrong," Grace said calmly. Paul shuddered and banged his fist on the porch railing. "Anyone else?" Grace looked to each member around her. No one made eye contact. Except for Leah. Grace could clearly interpret how she was feeling. Grace nodded at her once, acknowledging her hurt and moved on. "Okay." As she spun around to look back at Jake, she heard an explosion behind her. Paul bounded toward the forest and all Grace could make out was a blur shaking fur and anger.

"Jared," Sam said over his shoulder. And in a flash, Jared was after him.

"So that's still a problem, then," Grace sighed.

"You need to talk to him. Alone. He's been a real mess lately," Quil said.

"Jesus." Grace muttered under her breath. All at once, Grace was overcome with exhaustion as she looked towards the woods. There was no way she could recast at this moment.

"Let me take you home," Jake said softly behind her, placing a warm hand on her back. Grace nodded and turned back toward the car.

Jake stayed quiet on the drive back and Grace let herself nod off. When they got back to her house, Jake helped her out of the car and got her inside. Charlie must have been called to the station because his car wasn't there. Instead of letting her walk up the stairs, Jake muttered "Screw this" and scooped her up under her legs and cradled her. Grace was too tired to protest. When he gently placed her on her bed, Grace put an arm over her eyes to block out the sun.

"Are you okay?" Jake said, concerned.

"Mmhmm, just tired." Grace mumbled.

Jake gently removed her shoes and let them fall to the floor with a soft thud. His breathing picked up as he gazed up the length of her laying on the bed. The sunlight had peeked around from the clouds and washed over her in golden afternoon light. Jacob clenched his hands into fists and told himself to leave, but watching the gentle rise and fall of her breath and the soft light glittering across her black hair he found it hard to obey. He sat down on the edge of her bed and watched her drift off to sleep.

And when that didn't feel close enough, he placed a hand on her calf and watched her for longer. And as the sun started to get low in the afternoon, he found himself next to her, draping an arm across her body, his head bowed toward her shoulder. He had missed this: being this close to her filled something in him that he couldn't explain. Her warmth echoed his own and when he was close to her like this, the rest of his life seemed clear. He saw flashes of her constantly whenever she was near enough to him to feel her warmth. These flashes felt like shadows of a life they had lived so many times together, but all of the images were brand new.

He reveled in these moments where he remembered her in a way he had yet to see: beside him, holding his hand, dressed in white lace; clutched to him in a rainstorm and throwing her head back and laughing; under him, breathless and sweet and wanting. He let those images guide him toward sleep, holding fast to Grace and burying his face in the crook between her shoulder and neck.

When Grace woke up, she felt immensely warm. Her body was draped across Jake and in the darkness she could just make out his broad shape. He was on his back, both arms wrapped around her with his head leaning down toward hers. Grace's leg was draped over him, her head resting comfortably on his chest with her hand wrapped up around the side of his neck. She lifted her head to look up at his sleeping face and smiled for a quick moment before she realized where she was.

She sat up and gently shook him, muttering a soft, "Jake." He opened his eyes slowly and when sleep finally left him, he got up with a grumbly "Oh." and made his way toward the window.

"I'll see you soon," he whispered to her before he jumped out of the window and took off toward the forest. Grace placed a hand on her neck to feel the rush of warmth leave her and stayed perfectly still staring out toward the forest for a long time.