"We know you're home, Jacob! Open the door!" Bella yelled as she pounded her fist against the finished wood of the garage door. A light drizzle had begun once we parked her truck, raindrops steadily bouncing off our jackets.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jacob's voice hissed angrily from behind us. We spun around to face him, only to be taken back by his appearance.

His long hair had been cut into a short crop, his face hardened as he glared at us. The menacing vibes rolling off of him sent a chill down my spine, and I involuntarily took a half step away from him; my heart nearly dropped into my stomach as I realized in the brief moment, he reminded me of Reed when he was angry at me. A few feet behind Jacob stood Sam and the other guys - Paul, Jared, and Embry; each of them staring at Bella and I with disinterest as Jacob glared at us.

"Go away," Jacob spoke again before either of us could think of something to say.

Silently, Sam started to head for the house, the others following. Jacob had turned away, ready to go after them when Bella found her voice.

"What happened to you?"

Her voice cracked, causing Jacob to stop and turn back toward us. The others stopped to wait on the porch for him. They were just out of earshot, but I knew they weren't planning on leaving Jacob alone.

"Sam got to you, didn't he? What did he do?"

"Sam's trying to help me, don't blame him." Jacob glared at her.

"Then who? Who do I blame?"

"How about those filthy, reeking bloodsuckers you love? The Cullens." Jacob sneered at Bella, disgust and anger lacing through his tone.

"Don't talk to her like that." I snapped, my eyes flashing as I stepped in between them.

"Stay out of it, Autumn. This doesn't concern you." He snapped back, not quite meeting my eyes.

"Of course it concerns me. She's my best friend, and you're acting like a cold-hearted jerk!" I yelled at him.

"I... don't know what you're..." Bella said quietly, taken back by surprise at the mention of the Cullens.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." He cut her off, ignoring my insult.

"The Cullens are long gone. How are they to blame?" I asked, trying to take the attention off of Bella when I noticed Jacob shaking with anger.

"They started all this by existing. Goddamn leeches..."

"Jacob." Sam's voice carried across the yard.

Jacob glanced at Sam, who gave him a look. His tone of voice said "that's enough." Jacob took a deep breath, visibly trying to calm himself before he spoke again.

"I can't be friends with you anymore. Either of you."

"Jake, I know I hurt you. I should have been more up-front but... I needed you, I still do. I don't know what that means yet, but if you give me time..." Bella pleaded, her voice almost giving out as she held back the tears.

"Stop. Don't do that. It's not you."

"'It's not you, it's me?' God." Bella shook her head, turning away.

"Are you really pulling that card, Jacob?" I scoffed.

"It's true." He insisted. "I'm not... good. Not anymore. "

"You're wrong." Bella said.

"It doesn't matter. This is over."

"I can't take losing my best friend, too."

"You already have." He said distantly, almost monotone.

"Don't say that... you promised..."

"Go home, Bella. Don't come back."

Jacob spun around and practically ran away from us, joining the guys by the house, who all disappeared inside. We stood there in the rain, unsure of what to do next.

By the time we reached Bella's house, we were soaked to the bone. Our clothes clinging to our skin, we walked through the front door, where Charlie was waiting for us. As soon as he saw Bella's face, he grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Billy called, said you and Jacob had a fight. But, hey, you guys will work it out, I'm sure of it."

"I'm going to change."

Bella turned and headed up the stairs, her expression all too familiarly pained. Charlie sighed in defeat, his shoulders slumped.

"What really happened?" He asked quietly.

"We did get into a fight with Jacob," I admitted. "He hasn't been himself lately. Heck, he doesn't even look like himself! His hair is this short buzz and he's hanging around Sam Uley all the time."

"Sam's a good kid."

"Charlie, from what Bella told me, Jacob was terrified of Sam and his friends. Now he's following him like a lost puppy? Something doesn't add up there."

"No, I guess it doesn't." Charlie sighed. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"Honestly, I don't know." I bit my lip. "Jacob brought up the Cullens, threw it in Bella's face."

"What the hell... what is his problem?"

"Come on, Charlie. Jacob has a crush on Bella. Or had, anyways. He's always been jealous of... him... and that was his way of making sure Bella never came around again. Because she doesn't look at Jacob the same way. Her heart is already taken, even if she tells everyone she's moved on."

"You're right. I can't believe I didn't see it before."

"That's not your fault." I reassured him. "I'm going to go home and change, and I'm coming back to stay the night. I'm not leaving her alone after today."

"Okay." Charlie nodded. "Your mom can come over for dinner if she would like."

"I'm sure she's already preparing a casserole to bring over for you to try." I smiled. "I'll see you soon."

I left Charlie in the hall and headed back out the door. As I walked down the sidewalk, my skin began to prickle and I suddenly got the feeling someone was watching me. Glancing across the street, I scanned the shadows of night and sped up my pace. Mom's car was in the driveway and I let out a breath of relief when I saw her watching for me from the window. She opened the door just as I reached for the knob.

"Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine. I'm going to stay at Bella's tonight, and Charlie invited you over for dinner." I hollered as I ran to my room to pack a bag.

"How did it go with Noah?" Mom called up the stairs.

"Um, it went good." Once I had everything, I bounded back down the stairs, taking two at a time. "He was giving me some space over the weekend."

"So you talked things out?"

"Um..." I hesitated. "Not exactly."

"Not exactly?"

"I kissed him. In the middle of the hallway before school started. And he asked me out at lunch."

"What did you say?"

"I said yes... oh crap! I never answered about Friday night, though." My eyes widened in horror. "Bella and I left before I agreed."

Mom raised an eyebrow.

"I saw Jacob standing outside the school. He took off, and we went to his house. He got into a fight with Bella... brought up the Cullens... Mom, he was horrible to her. Told both of us he can't be friends anymore." I rushed, pulling my phone out of my bag and texting Noah, yes Friday at 7 is good.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry." Mom hugged me. "I made a new casserole, let me grab it."

"What is it?" I asked, distracted by the incoming chime alerting me to Noah's response.

See you then.

"Loaded baked potato and chicken casserole."

"Sounds delicious." I breathed in as Mom walked back into the front hallway. "Smells good too."

"I think you'll like it. Now let's go."

Charlie had the door open as soon as we stepped onto the front sidewalk, his smile almost reappearing to normal as he came to meet us.

"Let me get that." He said, taking the dish from Mom. "It looks good, Jules."

"Thank you." Mom beamed. "It's a new recipe I found."

"I'm sure it's delicious. Autumn, will you go get Bella? She's in her room." Charlie grimaced. I nodded and headed upstairs.

"Bella?" I knocked on her door; it was locked and I knew it was to keep Charlie out. "Come downstairs. Mom made a casserole for dinner."

"I'll be down in a minute," came her soft reply. Her voice cracked from crying and my chest tightened with pain.

"Okay."

A few minutes later, Bella appeared in the kitchen, her eyes red and puffy despite the fact she had splashed cold water on her face. She quietly sat down at the table and picked at her food. Charlie and Mom shared a concerned look but didn't say anything.

The sight of Bella broken and hurting was a sense of deja vu and my blood boiled, anger coursing through my veins. I had half a mind to go back to Jacob and punch him; instead, I sat at the Swans' table, keeping an eye on my best friend in case she fell apart again.

After dinner, Mom helped Charlie with the dishes while Bella went to bed. Within minutes of curling under her comforter, Bella passed out, soft snores coming from her bed. As carefully as I could without waking her up, I made myself comfortable on the floor on top of the makeshift bed of blankets I laid out. Staring at the moon, I didn't fight as my eyes grew heavy, shutting the world out.

"Pssst. Autumn... wake up."

Thud.

"What the..." I bolted upright, startled out of my sleep. A pillow fell beside me and I looked up to see Bella sitting on her bed, fear in her eyes.

"I think something's outside." She whispered frantically.

As soon as Bella stopped talking, I heard the noise that must've woken her up; a high pitch screech coming from her window. It reminded me of nails on a chalkboard and I shivered.

"What do we do?"

I scrambled to my feet and grabbed the bat that Bella kept behind her door as I insisted after the incident in Phoenix. Putting a finger against my lips, I slowly walked toward the window as Bella stayed on her bed.

"Bella! Ouch... damn it. Bella, open the window!" Jacob's voice whisper-yelled from the yard.

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, I lowered the bat as Bella leaped from her bed and threw the window open.

"What the hell are you doing?" She whispered back.

"I'm trying to keep my promise. Get out of the way."

"Jacob, no!"

Bella ducked away from the open window just as Jacob launched himself into the room. Landing softly on his feet, he held his breath; Charlie's snores wafted down the hall, signaling the coast was clear.

"I know you're mad at me, but I had to come. I needed to talk to you. Alone." Jacob told Bella, not realizing I was in the room until I scoffed.

"I'm going to get some water." I walked out of the bedroom, not looking at Jacob and not realizing he was avoiding my gaze anyways.

Padding down the hall as quietly as I could, I fumed internally on my way to the kitchen. How dare Jacob show up like that, especially in the middle of the night? He didn't deserve to be in Bella's life after he spat venom toward her about the Cullens. But I knew Bella would forgive him easily, just to keep him around.

How unfair was that?

Gulping down my water like my life depended on it, I placed the cup next to the sink and slowly walked back upstairs. Jacob's voice softly floated toward me as I neared the bedroom.

"You already know, Bella! Just think... the day at the beach. What do you remember?"

"You... told Autumn and I about the Quileute legends," Bella said slowly. I could tell she was still half asleep when she began to mumble.

"What do you remember about that?" Jacob urged on.

"I don't know. Jacob, I'm exhausted. Can't we finish this in the morning?"

"You'll figure it out. I know you will. And Bella," I heard him walk toward the window, "I'll understand if you don't want to see me after you do. Just... call me, okay?"

"What about Autumn? Don't you want to talk to her?"

"It's better if I just go..."

"You know she has a date on Friday night, right?" Bella mumbled. "You keep being dumb about your feelings for her and you're going to lose her for good, Jake."

"See you, Bells."

Without another word, Jacob climbed out the window and disappeared.

Once the ache in my chest had dulled, I took a silent deep breath and walked back into the bedroom to find Bella sitting on her bed.

"You okay?" I asked her. She nodded.

"You?"

"Yeah. I'm okay."

Sharing a look of understanding, we returned to our beds and fell back asleep, both troubled by what Jacob had said. As the world faded into darkness, my brain pulled up a hazy memory, triggered by Jacob's mentioning of the beach.

"What did your friend mean by the Cullens don't come here?" Bella asked once we were out of earshot of the group.

"You caught that, huh?" Jacob looked out to the island, not meeting Bella's gaze. "The Cullens aren't allowed to come onto the reservation."

"Why not?" I asked.

"I'm not technically supposed to say anything..." Jacob's voice trailed off as he debated internally.

"We'll keep your secret," I promised, hoping he'd tell us.

After a few moments of silence, he turned to us. A huge grin broke across his face.

"Do you like scary stories?"

"I love them," Bella grinned.

Beckoning us to follow, Jacob walked over to a fallen tree and sat on the roots as Bella and I sat down on the trunk, both of us eager to hear his story. Taking a deep breath, Jacob began.

"Do you know any of our old stories, about where we came from — the

Quileutes, I mean?"

"Not really," we admitted, expressions of guilt scrolling across our faces.

"Well, there are lots of legends, some of them claiming to date back to the Flood — supposedly, the ancient Quileutes tied their canoes to the tops of the tallest trees on the mountain to survive like Noah and the ark. Another legend claims that we descended from wolves — and that the wolves are our brothers still. It's against tribal law to kill them. Then there are these stories about the cold ones." Jacob lowered his voice, glancing over his shoulder as if to make sure no one was listening.

"The cold ones?" Bella tilted her head in confusion.

"Yeah. There are stories of the cold ones as old as the wolf legends, and some much more recent. According to legend, my own great-grandfather knew some of them. He was the one who made the treaty that kept them off our land." He rolled his eyes, almost disbelievingly.

"Your great-grandfather?" This time I asked, scooting closer.

"He was a tribal elder, like my father. You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf—well, not the wolf, really, but the wolves that turn into men, like our ancestors. You would call them werewolves."

"Werewolves have enemies?"

"Only one."

I glanced at Bella, who looked as intrigued as I felt.

"So you see," Jacob continued, "the cold ones are traditionally our enemies. But this pack that came to our territory during my great-grandfather's time was different. They didn't hunt the way others of their kind did — they weren't supposed to be dangerous to the tribe. So my great-grandfather made a truce with them. If they would promise to stay off our lands, we wouldn't expose them to the pale-faces." The way he winked at me as he said that caused my mind to go into overdrive. I sat there silently as I processed what he said.

"If they weren't dangerous, then why... ?" Bella asked as she tried not to struggle to understand.

"There's always a risk for humans to be around the cold ones, even if they're civilized like this clan was. You never know when they might get too hungry to resist."

"What do you mean, 'civilized'?"

"They claimed that they didn't hunt humans. They supposedly were somehow

able to prey on animals instead."

"So how does it fit in with the Cullens? Are they like the cold ones your great-grandfather met?"

"No." He paused dramatically. "They are the same ones."

He must have thought the expression on our faces was fear inspired by his story because he smiled, clearly pleased with himself before continuing

"There are more of them now, a new female and a new male, but the rest are the same. In my great-grandfather's time, they already knew of the leader, Carlisle. He'd been here and gone before your people had even arrived."

"And what are they?" Bella finally asked. "What are the cold ones, exactly?"

Jacob smiled darkly at her question, looking from Bella to me and back.

"Blood drinkers," he replied in a chilling voice. "Your people call them vampires."

Sunlight peeked through the curtains, warming my face as sleep faded into consciousness. Rubbing my eyes, I noticed Bella had already woken up, a troubled expression on her face. Her eyes searched mine, and Jacob's visit along with last night's dream flooded into my senses. A light bulb popped into my head, and I knew Bella came to the same conclusion.

Jacob Black was a werewolf.