-Bella-

I dream of Jacob's memory, seeing everything through his eyes. My cold body lying in his arms, blue lips against pale skin, feeling the panic swell inside of my chest and spread through my body as I desperately will myself to breathe again. I watch my face slowly turn into his mother's, my hair growing as it splays against his arms, dark tendrils against his tan skin. The pain hits me like a train, as I look into her dead eyes. I thought that I knew what death looked like until I saw this memory. The vacant look in her eyes, as they stare back up at mine. I wake up gasping for breath, feeling as though I am drowning. Jacob's warm hands are wrapped around my waist as I lay on the back of the cold truck, a blanket draped over us both. I lay there for a moment, taking in the cool air as I remind myself that I am alive, that I feel everything around me. The warmth of Jacob's skin, the sun's rays as they caress my skin-gently reminding me that I am still human. I turn and notice his eyes watching me intently.

"Sorry, love. I was going to wake you but you woke yourself before I could. What were you dreaming about?" He desperately searches mine, looking for any hint before I turn away-guilt washing over me.

"I was dreaming about what you saw last night...what I made you see again." Pulling in the air I muster the courage to go on, still not looking at him. "I didn't realize that was what I was going to see. I didn't mean for you to hurt like that...I didn't...I didn't think that I was strong enough to be able to do that to you, I thought it wouldn't work."

"How did you do that? Was that something that Jasper taught you?"

"Yeah...that and that I can pull somebody's good memories too. I can share my thoughts, and protect other people the way that I protect my own mind. I'm sorry, Jake. I'm really sorry." His fingers press against my jaw as he slowly wills my eyes to meet his.

"Don't apologize, please." His eyes are closed, almost as though they're in pain. "Knowing that you went through that pain with me hurt worse than feeling it again. You're right here, Bella. You're in my arms, right now. You needed to do that, and I am glad that you did. You need to know that you're strong enough. I know that I treat you like you're fragile because I am so afraid of losing you. But you, you are an absolute force of nature and you never fail to surprise me with the strength that you have. You may not be able to break things with your hands or turn into a Wolf-but you have more strength than anybody else that I know. You need to realize that too." Tears fall down my cheeks as he stares into my eyes. I had never felt such compassion before. I was strong, I was strong enough to do this. I wasn't some weak girl that I always thought that I was, I wasn't some miserable human whose only use was to be the miserable distraction. I was the warrior now, a human shield who could incapacitate some of the same monsters that used to scare me so bad I couldn't sleep. I was the monster now too, and I realized that now.

I press my palm against his hand, leaning my face into the warmth of his skin. "Thank you, Jake." He leans in and kisses me, soft and sweet. I breathe in the scent of him, pine, and something else I can never describe as anything other than Jacob. We lay like that for a while, our backs pressed against the metal, a tangle of limbs. I watch the trees move in the wind and wonder how many things they have seen, how long they have been rooted into the ground as they watched the time go by. "What do you think his plan is?" My question blurts out of my lips before I even realize that I thought it.

"Honestly...I don't know. I don't know what scares me more the fact that he used to be so predictable...or that now he isn't." His hand plays with my hair, dragging his fingers through as he lightly tugs the little knots. "I don't know what his plan is, Bella. It may not look like it, but we're all nervous. We don't know what to be prepared for fully." He pauses. "I think that you should come to our bonfire tonight." I tilt my head up towards him, rubbing my nose against his stubble.

"If you want me to, I'm there." He beams down at me as he wraps his arms around me.

"I want a few other things too, Mrs. Swan." He nibbles at my ear and I giggle into him as he pulls me towards him.

-Jacob-

I genuinely didn't know what scared me more, the fact that Edward had a plan or that I now had something to lose. I always had her to lose, but the more time that I spend with her, I realize how much more painful it would be if something happened to her. I keep reminding myself that she is strong and able to protect herself now even if it isn't the same way that I can. I wasn't lying when I told her that she was a force of nature, what she did to me last night was unbelievable...I still don't understand it. I shiver off the memory.

"Jake, what happened last night?"

Bella. She has been training and she just tested something on me.

"You had us all worried." Seth's voice was childlike in my head.

I know, I'm sorry. I didn't think about you guys seeing all of that and then me just disappearing.

"Well, you seemed fine when Sam went to check on you.."

He what?

"Seth, drop it. Not talking about that." Sam's booming voice echoes in my head.

Oh god, what did you see?

"More than I should have, but definitely enough to know that you were fine."

"Ewe, Jake."

"Seth." Sam's warning barks with just enough bite for Seth to go silent.

"Guys..." Leah hesitantly speaks up, I had forgotten about her for a moment. She usually drones on and on about Sam that I didn't realize that she was unusually quiet for her. "I wanted to bring somebody to the bonfire tonight...and also, Sam could I talk to you?"

I cut them out and push along the perimeter feeling my muscles flex with each step. I resented being like this at first, it didn't make sense to me. The first time that I had phased was surprising to me. I had still had my hair long, I wore it long for a while until I finally decided to cut it, I hated the shagginess of my fur when I would be like this. I kept it because I knew Bella liked it that way, stupid as it sounds. When you Imprint their decisions affect you more than you would have ever realized. I didn't realize that it would feel like this, but it seemed that the more that Bella loved me back and the more time that I spent with her, it was addicting. She was like this magnet that pulled and drew me towards her, and no matter how hard I fought I couldn't stay away for long. The way that I feel when I am with her is insurmountable, the only pull that is strong enough to keep me from her is the one of the pack. No matter what I am doing, if they need me I am here. I can't stop that. I'm thankful for the pack, I'm also thankful that I let Sam take over, I knew that I had the right to lead, but it wasn't for me. I wasn't supposed to be a leader. Not that I am a follower, but the idea of having so many of my friend's lives at stake with every decision that I made was too much to ask of myself. Knowing how much it would destroy me, I stepped back and let Sam stay in charge. He was better at it than I was anyways. My thoughts dissipate as I realize that I am South of where our normal perimeter run is, and just as I am about to head back, I smell the godawful stench of Vampire.

My eyes scan the trees above me as I sniff, following the trail of the bloodsucker through the forest. The others hear my thoughts and start towards me. I pause, listening as I stand alert and ready. "They told me to be scared of something out here, but you don't look that bad. I bet I could take ya." I turn as a young male drops from the trees behind me. His eyes are blood red against pale skin. A white blood-stained shirt stands out against the stark contrast of the black coat he is wearing against the faded blue jeans. The poor kid looked like he was trying to dress himself from two different styles. I snarl at him, drawing my tongue against my lips. Why does it have to be a kid? He didn't look any older than I was, maybe even a year or so younger. His dirty blonde hair hangs into his eyes as they study me. He had a cocky attitude, never seeing anything like me before and still feeling like he would be able to take me on. Dropping low, he changes his stance, making a hissing noise as he drops into an almost cat-like position. Hands at his sides, feet shoulder-width apart as he squats down. I lunge towards him, my teeth catching a piece of his jacket as he dodges out of the way. He laughs, a high-pitched almost nasally sound. "That's all you got?"

He's starting to piss me off. I wait, watching him as we circle each other-never breaking eye contact. He smiles and lunges towards me. I side-step and spin towards him, grabbing his arm in my teeth. I pull the cold marble and it shatters from his body. I spit it out at his feet, watching as his expression changes from confidence to a shadow of fear. He snarls angrily, and jumps up towards the trees, grabbing on top of one he pushes it towards me, I watch as it starts to fall moving ever so slightly to be out of range. He hops from tree to tree fleeing from me, hoping that the dropped tree was enough of a distraction. He doesn't get very far without his left arm, in fact, he seems to get slower and slower the more that I follow him. I hear heavy paws against the forest ground behind me as we chase the bloodsucker through the forest. Gaining traction, I snarl; thinking of all of the things I get to do today.

-Bella-

Something didn't feel right, I didn't know if it was the impending doom of what was to come-the unknown that we were all waiting for, or if it was the strange sense that somebody was watching me all day. I couldn't put my finger on it, and the scarier thing was that neither could Alice. Her visions kept changing, I was able to see them the more that I practiced, when she would have them I would focus on what she was thinking and I would get glimpses into what Alice would see. It was a strange thing and I couldn't help but wonder if this is what Edward felt like when he was reading minds. The more that I thought about him, the angrier that I got. I couldn't tell myself that what we had meant nothing to him, because he left and came back promising me an eternity that I no longer wanted. I saw what the grief had done to him, but it wasn't Edward anymore. When he used to kill, he killed because he told himself that he was helping people; killing the murderers and rapists, but now-innocents. These were people that did nothing wrong and he was using them for his own personal vendetta. I was left questioning whether I really knew him at all, or if I was so blindsided with the fact that he was something entirely and completely unlike anybody I had ever met before. Then again, so was Jacob. I didn't expect to feel the way that I felt about Edward for anybody else, or for the feeling to be stronger. With Jake, it was easy. I didn't have to apologize to being...human. The more time that I spent practicing and using my shield I reminded myself that I was just as crazy as they were. I turn towards the woods, the chilling feeling of eyes watching me creeping down my spine.

"Edward?" My voice caught in my throat and I realized that it betrayed me. I was supposed to be strong, I was supposed to be able to do whatever it takes. Yet, here I am with a voice just as broken as I felt. I didn't get a response and the longer that I stared into the green undergrowth, the more ominous it looked.

"Bella." I jump, whipping around at the startling voice. Jasper stood there, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." I glance back at the woods one more time before turning towards Jasper. "I'm fine...just thought somebody was there." We wander back towards the house in silence. Jasper was never really one for talking, and quite frankly neither am I. Yet, I was wondering what the whole point of his memory was, what exactly I was feeling alongside him. "Jasper? Can I ask you something?"

He turned his head towards me, peeking out from underneath his dirty blonde hair. "You're wondering about the memory that you saw the other day?" I nod at him, nervousness creeping through me as I wring my hands together. I listen in detail as he described a beautiful woman named Maria turning him, how he was in charge of training and disposing of newborns. He stopped and pulled his sleeves up, showing me the scars.

"This is how you have so much training with them?" I run my fingers over the teeth marks that match my own carved into my arm. "This is horrible, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He rolls his sleeves back down as he watches me curiously. "I'm not proud of my stance in the war, I'm not proud of the things that I did. But, everything that I went through led me to Alice. I will spend an eternity remembering everything, that is my punishment-the guilt that I will carry around with me for the rest of my existence. It's also why it was harder for me to...conform to the ways that the Cullen's-well we- do. I was doing something that I was used to. Pain, the killing. It isn't something that I enjoyed doing, it wasn't something that I wanted to do. But, I got used to it. It became to me, what breathing is to you."

"I guess that I never really looked at it that way before."

"Not many do." He shrugs his shoulders, and we continue on in silence. I wonder what all of this means, the army that Edward is gathering, everything. I know that Vampires hunt like any other predator, singling their prey out before they attack. Sometimes feeling stronger in numbers, but something wasn't adding up. Edward could've killed me in my house, it would have taken him a split second. Even to bite me, and yet he didn't. He had numerous moments in the months leading up to right now. Why did he wait so long? What was his plan?

I feel Jasper calming me, washing his aura over me. As we approach the house, I remember the first time that I ever came here, I had pulled up and was surprised at how many windows were here. Now, when I approach it isn't Edward that I hope is waiting for me. Jacob sits on the porch, his tan legs spread out in front of him as he lounges on their front step. He enjoys spreading his wolf scent on as many surfaces as he possibly can just to annoy Alice. Although he won't admit it, I think he genuinely likes her. He looks unusually happy today, his usual demeanor exuding nothing but stress, with everything that's going on he hasn't seemed to be able to relax. He springs to his feet when I approach and stands with his hands in his pockets waiting for me to get closer. I raise my eyebrows at his strange behavior.

"What is going on with you?"

"Hey to you too, Bell. Jasper." He gives a curt nod in his direction. "I was out doing my patrolling like normal, and I caught scent of a Vampire. Turns out, there was one lurking around in the woods today. We took care of it, but he was with them."

"Wait, Jacob you can't just casually throw that into a sentence. And with who? Edward?"

"Yeah. And, sorry I know I got a little bit carried away." He runs his hands through his dark hair. He needed a haircut. "He mentioned about how he was warned not to come out here by himself. The only people that know that we're out there is you guys-" He nods in Jasper's direction. "-and Victoria. I know that it doesn't seem like progress, but now we know that whatever is coming, they're not going to come separately. I don't think that the one we got today was even supposed to be out here."

"Is this supposed to be good news?" Jasper asked.

"Well, considering we were running on nothing but circumstance, now we know for sure that they're putting together a small army. Also, that when something happens it is all going to go down at the same time. It won't be this small attacks randomly."

"You're sure that today wasn't some form of distraction? Or that this wasn't going to be something that will happen regularly?" I ask him, fear creeping back into my blood.

"That wouldn't make sense, Bella. I think that Jacob is right. Edward knows about my past, he knows how hard it is to control a large group of newborns. It wouldn't make sense for him to send them all out unchained, he will expect us to be unprepared. He probably doesn't know that we're all together, here. Unless he has been watching us, but then Alice would have seen that. I think that it's going to happen soon. Newborns are unpredictable, which means that if you found one this close that they're probably already heading back this way."

"Bella! Jasper!" We all turn to the sound of Alice's musical voice. She stared at us with wild eyes, her hands shaking as she stared at us. "They're coming."