CHAPTER 7

Surprised at his declaration, I followed Jake's gaze and saw Alice come out from the shadows of the forest, stopping about 20 feet from the tree line.

Jake turned back to me, "I forgot to tell you she was coming early enough to see me. We need to get a good track on her scent, so we don't mistake her for another vampire if any of our plans get messed up."

Jake took my hand as we headed toward her, and I could feel him trembling.

"Are you okay with this Jake? You didn't seem to think you'd be able to handle being around her this morning."

We were about forty feet away from her when Jake stopped and turned to me. "A lot has changed since then Bella… my motivations are different now." He brushed his fingertips across my cheek and jaw, and it made me shiver. "But, just to be safe, I had Sam give me an Alpha command not to harm her unless she attacks me. I don't want to risk doing anything that will hurt you or our relationship."

I gave Jake a grateful look. I knew how much he disliked the Alpha orders, having his free-will removed. "You never cease to amaze me, Jake."

He gave me a half smile, still trembling. "I need you to wait here so your scent doesn't get mixed up with hers. I would be able to distinguish the difference, but I'm not sure the other guys could so easily. I'm going to go phase since my sense of smell is more acute as a wolf." He kissed me on the forehead. "I'll be right back."

He addressed Alice as he walked toward the woods, his voice tense

"Just stay right there. I'll come as close as I need to in order to get your scent."

Alice nodded.

Jake ran into the woods and reemerged a minute later as the red-brown wolf, stepping slowly, sniffing the air. I could tell they were both on edge; Jake's stance appeared tense, and Alice was like a statue. After a bit he looked over to me then back to Alice, shaking his head and snorting, taking several steps back.

Alice called out to me, without looking. "Bella, I think he needs you to move further away. I'd imagine your scent is more potent to him in this form than he expected."

"Oh, okay." I was surprised he could still smell me over Alice's scent from so far away. I walked all the way back to the car and climbed inside to make sure my scent wouldn't interfere this time.

After a little bit longer, Jake turned and went back into the woods.

As soon as Jake disappeared into the trees, Alice dashed over to me as I got back out of the car.

"Hey there," she said. "So, I left my car parked on the next street down. I'm going to go get it and give you two time to say good night. I'll be able to see when Jake leaves and I'll come back then."

"Okay. See you in a bit."

Alice dashed away just as Jake was coming out from the woods and he jogged over to me. Putting his arm around me we turned and headed to the house.

"You guys seemed to have thought of everything. Way more than I would have thought was necessary. I appreciate it so much that you are all going to this trouble for me."

"You're worth it," he smiled at me. "And I sure hope we have thought of everything. It's kind of a touchy situation and a lot could go wrong. It helps that she's the only one of them here."

Stopping at the steps to the porch, Jake pulled me into his arms.

"So, you can recognize my scent, huh?" I asked curiously. "Like, you can tell the difference between me and other humans?"

"Yes, your scent is clearer and stronger to me than any other… human or otherwise. I could probably pick you out of a gymnasium full of people, blindfolded, even in human form." Jake got a mischievous look in his eyes and a cocky little smirk curled his lips. "I can also sense changes in your emotions and your hormones."

I felt my face flush red-hot. "Oh my gosh. Are you serious?"

At his nod, I buried my face in his chest and gave him a little punch in the side. He chuckled at my reaction, which I'm sure that's what he was going for. I was also pretty sure that it meant he was aware of a lot about the workings of my body and mind.

"I can't believe you just told me that," I mumbled into his shirt.

It also helped explain why it seemed he could read my mind sometimes, although he was able to do that sometimes before he was a werewolf, so there was probably a little more to it than heightened senses.

Jake laughed again, enjoying my reaction far too much, then continued.

"Alice was right too; I was surprised by how potent your scent was to me as a wolf. Now that I think about it, it's stronger to me now, in human form, than it was this morning. Maybe it has to do with our connection getting stronger. I'll have to ask Sam to see if he experienced that at all with Emily."

I had lifted my head away from Jake's chest again. "Well then, I guess that mean I would lose if we ever played hide-n-seek," I said.

Jake laughed long and loud at that. "You wouldn't stand a chance." As his laughter subsided his expression changed to one of sorrowful longing. "I'm going to miss you so much until I can see you again on Tuesday."

"I know, me too. Call me tomorrow evening if you get a chance. It will help just to hear your voice."

"Okay, I'll do that. And I'll be around. Our patrols will bring us near to wherever you are pretty frequently."

"That's comforting." I laid my head on his chest again.

He held me tight for a minute then sighed. "I need to get going. We are all on patrol tonight… with the new arrangement we have a lot of ground to cover that we haven't been able to check on for several days." He gripped my chin gently to turn my face up to his and kissed me softly.

He stayed until I was inside then I watched as he walked back to his car and drive away. I was struck again at the ease and gracefulness of his movements.

"That you Bella?" Charlie called. He sounded like he had been dozing on the couch for a while.

"Yeah, it's me, Dad." I went to stand in the doorway to the living room, waiting for Alice to get here.

"Did you have a good evening?" he asked.

"Yes." I smiled, remembering all the laughter. "I haven't laughed that much in ages. I really like Emily, she's so easy to be around. How about you?"

"It was a long day. Sue really has her hands full with that daughter of hers."

"Yeah, Jake mentioned something about her not handling things very well."

"No, she's not. She's just so full of anger… like she blames herself for her dad's heart attack. I hope she's able to come out of that soon. For all of their sakes."

"That sounds rough." I felt very sad for Leah.

There was a knock at the door, and Alice came flitting in when I opened it, an overnight bag slung over her shoulder… always one to remember her "props." I gave her a big hug.

"I'm glad you're staying here again tonight." When I let go and looked at her again her nose was wrinkled, but she quickly relaxed when I moved away. "Sorry… I think I'm going to be taking lots of showers while you're here," I said with a sigh.

"Don't do that on my account. It's not that bad unless you're right up next to me. Save the showers for before you go see Jake," she said with a wink, and I blushed, then we both laughed.

"Hey there Alice." Charlie called from the couch. "I'll be heading to bed soon, so the couch will be free before long."

"Hi Charlie. Don't even worry about it. Bella and I have a lot to talk about." She grinned at me.

"We'll be up in my room Dad."

"Alright," he called as we headed up the stairs.

"Do you really want to hear about my time with Jacob? It won't be weird for you?" I asked once we were in my room, thinking maybe she just said that for Charlie's benefit.

"Of course I do!" Alice exclaimed. "And it will not be weird for me. I love my brother, but he made his choice. And I could not be more pleased that you have been able to move on Bella. I was so concerned for you when I got here but look at you now… you are glowing. You are my friend and I want you to be happy. And you just spent the day with the boy you love… and had your first 'official' date. I want to hear all about it!"

I smiled big and went through all the details of the day… well, almost all—I left out the conversation about the voices and the size the pack has grown to. One of those I didn't want her to know about and the other wasn't my information to share. I told her about our drive and the dinner and all the laughter… and about the crazy intense kiss.

"I'm still getting tingly just thinking about it." I was practically giddy sharing everything with her. It was so nice to have someone to talk to and share this with. And she seemed to be genuinely excited for us.

"It sounds like it was a great night. I am so thankful you have found someone who cares for you so much Bella. And someone who can watch over you and protect you. Even Sam seems to care a great deal about your well-being."

"Yeah, Sam looks at me as kind of a little sister. And I already feel a sisterly connection with Emily. Reminds me of our friendship," I said, taking Alice's hand.

"That's good too. It's good to have a girlfriend to share things like this with… especially someone who knows all the mystical details of your life. I'm so relieved you have so many caring people in your life. Hold tight to them Bella."

"I will. I just wish you could stay and continue to be one of them."

"I know, but it really wouldn't be a good idea for me to stay. I'll still be one of your people though, just from a distance. I don't want to continue being a source of tension between you and Jake and his friends. Plus, I miss Jasper and my family too much. We can stay in touch though. And I can come back and visit every now and then. But let's not worry about that right now. Let's enjoy the time we have together for now."

We continued to chat, and I made sure I had everything ready to go for school the next day. I also took a few minutes to respond to an email from Renee, telling her all about my new relationship status with Jake. Charlie let us know when he went to bed, so we'd know the couch was free.

"I have an idea," Alice said after Charlie went to his room. "You will probably sleep much better if you stay in your bed, so why don't I just hang out up here tonight and we can pretend we shared the bed. It's big enough that we could, if I actually slept. And I will be just as comfortable in your rocking chair as I would be in the recliner."

"Hmmm… my bed would be more comfortable than the couch. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!"

It had been such a long, crazy day. I was tired, but I also felt totally amped at the same time. If I didn't go to sleep soon though, it wouldn't matter where I slept, I would not be very well rested in the morning.

Alice was in the bathroom, pretending to get ready for bed, since we couldn't hear Charlie snoring yet. I went to my window, looking into the shadows of the trees, wondering if Jake was nearby. A movement near the back corner of the yard caught my attention and when I focused my gaze that way, there he was, standing just at the edge of the trees, my red-brown wolf… Jacob.

I immediately had a huge smile on my face and raised my hand to greet him. He did a little jump in place then lowered his chest to the ground, leaving his tail wagging in the air, and I laughed. I waved one more time as he slipped back into the shadows of the forest.

"What are you doing Bella?"

I jumped and spun around to Alice standing close behind me. I hadn't heard her return.

I laughed and pointed to the place where Jake was just a moment ago. "It was Jake. He must have been checking on the house and saw me come to the window, so he came out of the trees enough for me to see him." I explained, with a big grin still on my face.

Alice settled herself in the rocking chair, and I felt light as air as I climbed into bed. I fell asleep with a smile still on my face, thinking about my Jacob, both man and wolf.