I jolted awake, breathing heavily. What just woke me? A dreadful sound of snarling and growling shook my bedroom windows.

"Crap!" I whispered out.

Jumping out of bed, I threw my shoes on and rushed downstairs quickly but quietly. If my dad had not woken up from the noise, I did not want him waking up to me running outside to the noise. I ran to where the noise echoed from within the woods. While running, I turned my cell on. Ignoring the 208 missed text messages, I called Carlisle.

He answered on the second ring. "Hi Bella, I believe Edward is trying to- "

"Come get your son before he is killed!" I interrupted him and then hung up.

At that moment, I broke into the clearing in the forest, one that had never been there before previously. A russet gigantic wolf was wrestling and fighting Edward, and so far, the trees had taken the brunt of the fight.

"Enough!" I yelled to be heard over their snarling. When they paused, they kept their focus on each other but waited. "What do you two think you are doing? Do you want to wake up the neighbourhood? Do you want the police to find you? Either one of you? Huh?"

They relaxed their fighting stances some but still did not look towards me.

"Edward, I told you I was staying at my father's tonight. You knew that. What are you doing here?"

The wolf smirked, so I picked up a rock and chucked it at his head. He yelped on the contact and finally they both looked towards me, eyes wide and mouths hanging open.

"Jacob, I will deal with you in a minute. Now shush. Edward, answer me and don't you dare try to lie. Why are you here when you knew I was staying with my father?"

He closed his lips and did not answer. I crossed my arms and waited, shifting my weight to the left leg, and jutting my hip out some. The wait must have been about five minutes with me matching his stare, arms crossed, eyebrows raised and pursed lips. Then, he sighed and came towards me, trying to take me into his arms. I maintained my stiff posture.

"Bella, I just want to keep you safe. It is not safe to be out here alone."

"She's not alone, us wolves are keeping her safe from you leeches." Jacob had transitioned back to human, wanting to speak as well. I glared at him, keeping my eyes trained on his face, having noticed he was still fully naked. He smirked and waggled his eyebrows at me. "Like what you see Bells? Stare as much as you like."

The growl that echoed from the vampire near me had me putting my hand out on his chest. "Calm down Edward. He is not worth looking at. He is of no interest to me and from what I know, none for any of the women on the reservation."

This time Jacob started growling. I deliberately huffed and rolled my eyes looking back towards Edward. I could hear rustling, so I assumed Jacob was getting dressed, but it really did not matter to me. I needed to know why Edward insisted on not trusting me to take care of myself. Why he felt I needed a babysitter.

"Edward, you still have not answered my question. I am going to ask you one last time, and remember, what you say right now will greatly impact your change at any future of having any type of relationship with me – including friendship. So be honest. Why are you here?"

I heard the snort form Jacob but still did not feel he was worth my time of day when I needed to know the answer to this question. This was truly the most important thing Edward can ever say to me. And depending on his answer, I would know what needed to change and what could stay the same. I was already done with the illusion the family demanded of the two of us. I knew this was not going to work without trust.

"Look Bella, you are human. You could be hurt. Until we get rid of the untamed guest, I cannot let you be out here alone. You need protection."

"Bad answer. You can go on home now Eddie. I am staying with my dad. In fact, I am moving back in. I will contact you tomorrow to arrange having my stuff brought back here."

His eyes flashed black, and I could almost sense the vampire lurking behind his façade before a sing-song voice danced through the trees. "Oh Edward, there you are. Come now, Esme wants us all home tonight. Hi Bella, sorry about this. You enjoy your time with your dad. We can come get you and bring you back on the weekend, does that sound okay?"

"For Pete's sake, pixie leech, she just said she is moving back in with her dad. Take a hint. Both of you."

Calmly reaching down, I picked up a rock and chucked it towards Jacob's head. He just barely noticed it to block but it was still satisfying to know he was once again surprised.

"You can shut up and leave. NOW!" I yelled. His eyes were huge, and his mouth hung open some, but I didn't care. Turning back to the vampires in the clearing, I was just as firm. "Both of you can shut up and leave as well. I am going to spend time with my dad. I will be moving my stuff back in with him. I am through with you Edward. All of you," I turned and included Jacob in my statement as well, "have no right to control me, or force me to do anything. Now go home before you wake the neighbourhood."

With that, I turned and marched back home. Edward was calling after me, but Jacob answered with a growl. I knew he was back in his wolf form. I had finally had enough. The fighting picked up again but did not last long. I presumed that Alice took her 'brother' back to the Cullen mansion. A howl rose up behind me just as I got to my back door.

I entered quickly, turning to shut the door and lock it. I was just in time as Jacob was there, on the back porch with his hands reaching out for the door. The lock would not keep him out, but I hoped he would honour what it symbolized.

"Hey, where were you? What were you doing out at this hour?"

My dad's voice had me jumping and I slammed against the wall, holding my chest, and trying to slow my breathing and heart rate. "Oh dad, you scared me. I didn't know you were still awake."

He raised an eyebrow at me and waited. I knew he would notice that I had not answered his question. He was the Chief of Police for a reason. He was darn good at recognizing when people were avoiding the truth. I sighed. "I heard a racket and went out to scare whatever it was away. I was afraid it would wake the whole street up."

He responded slowly, weighing each word carefully as he spoke. "You. Went out there. In the middle of the night. Because you heard a noise? Even after I had warned you about wild animals terrorizing the local area, including the woods? That you were just in?"

I swallowed and shrugged my shoulders. "I know. It was stupid of me. Especially when you put it that way." I mumbled the last part, dropping my gaze and kicking my foot some.

He shook his head and left the kitchen, heading for the stairs. "You should go back to bed. We can discuss this better tomorrow. After we both have had sleep and coffee. You obviously do not think logically at this time of the night." He called over his shoulder.

"Sure."

I followed him up and crawled back into bed. The howling continued and for once, it simply annoyed me. Pulling the pillow over my head, I closed my eyes and soon was back asleep.