After a long, rough night of keeping an eye on Bella - and Edward, for that matter - morning came way too soon; the sunshine slowly illuminated the room, warming my face with its rays. Yawning as I stretched along the length of the soft bed, it took me a few seconds to remember where I was. Sometime in the middle of the night, despite my half-asleep protests, Jacob had carried me to Edward's room, the only place with a real bed.

The thought of Jacob chuckling at my sleepy pouting made me smile. Lingering in the warmth a little longer, I focused on breathing as I reached out telepathically to my fiancé.

Good morning, Leaf.

Jacob's voice sounded rough, as if he had just woken up. He had a long night too, watching over Seth and being on high alert in case Sam decided to attack.

"Good morning, Jake. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

No, I've been up for a while. We have a new situation...

Flashes of images shot through my mind and I gasped, nearly falling out of the bed.

"I'll be outside in two minutes."

I'll be waiting.

Muttering a quick spell to stop the link for now, I quickly clambered out of bed and changed into clean clothes Jacob must've grabbed from my house. Grateful for the soft pink shirt and my favorite pair of jeans, I grabbed a matching pink scrunchie from the small suitcase propped on the ottoman at the foot of the bed; in record time, I threw my hair into a ponytail before racing down the stairs and out the front door, earning curious glances from the Cullens.

There at the edge of the tree line stood Jacob in human form, with Seth a few feet away in wolf form...

And Leah sitting next to him.

"Meet the newest pack member." Jacob called out as I reached the last step on the porch.

Morning, Autumn. Leah's voice floated into my mind, her tone a bit smug as she glanced at Jacob.

"Morning, Leah." I returned a warm smile in her direction, tilting my head as I silently asked her permission to see her thoughts. Dipping her head low to the ground, Leah let out a soft yelp and closed her eyes.

Jacob and Seth both waited quietly as I shifted through the memories, learning what they already knew. I gasped in understanding when I realized why Leah left Sam's pack; she was getting away from Sam's pity and not wanting her around. Despite her imprinting on Chloe, Leah was still hurt that he didn't want her around. Even as a friend and a pack member.

Something caught my attention about her discussion with Jacob earlier this morning and I rolled my eyes, huffing.

"Leah, Seth... could you give Jacob and I a minute?"

Leah and Seth shared a look before nodding and taking off into the woods, Leah taunting Seth to see who's faster as they resumed the perimeter established last night. Jacob shook his head as he watched them disappear before turning towards me, his smile faltering as he took in the angry expression on my face.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"How could you tell Leah you didn't want her around?" I crossed my arms over my chest, internally satisfied by the reddening cheeks.

"I was stressed out!" Jacob said defensively. "I didn't want to have a pack of my own in the first place!"

"Well, you have one now! Whether you like it or not, Jacob, the Alpha runs in your bloodline. You claimed it the moment you stood against Sam. Of course, the Clearwaters were going to join you... Seth is like a younger version of you - he knows the difference between right and wrong. And Leah..." My voice trailed off as I struggled to take a deep breath.

"Leaf, are you okay?" Jacob asked, worry seeping into his eyes as he rushed over to me. I placed a hand on his chest to push him away far enough to look him in the eyes.

"Sam didn't want Leah around, Jacob. And that broke Leah's heart because he was her best friend despite their dating status. It's almost the same thing you went through with Bella before you imprinted on me." I answered quietly. "It's how I felt when I found out Reed slept with Chloe."

Jacob grew quiet as he mulled over my words, his face morphing into an expression of understanding and guilt. I patted his chest gently.

"We all want somewhere to belong, Jake. Leah's place is in this pack, along with you and Seth, and me. And Chloe. We're a family now. And you need to apologize to Leah."

I turned back towards the house, meeting Carlisle's curious gaze as he lingered in the doorway. I offered a small smile as I walked past him.

"Jacob, do you have a minute?" Carlisle asked behind me as I crossed over the threshold, feeling my heart shatter into pieces as I processed Leah's thoughts.

Thank you, Autumn.

I smiled to myself as Leah's voice whispered in my mind, the gratitude lingering behind her words. She had heard everything I said, just like I intended. As Leah pulled away from my thoughts, I realized I had made my way to the living room; hovering just outside the doorway, I met Edward's blank stare as he glanced up from Bella, as if he was on autopilot, just going through the motions.

Carlisle and Jacob appeared behind me, both watching Edward carefully just like I was. Glancing at Jacob, I knew he was thinking the same thing: this was going to kill Edward as much as it was going to kill Bella.

"She has to eat something." I heard Rosalie murmur out loud, her tone matter-of-factly. "Starving herself isn't going to help her get better."

"But nothing is working, Rose." Edward snapped. "It's feeding off of her just as fast."

As the two siblings bickered about Bella's appetite, I studied my best friend laying on the couch. Her physical appearance had gotten worse since last night; her pale skin was a paper contrast to the darkening purple splotches spread randomly on her body. Her face almost looked like it was ready to cave in on itself, her eyes a dull brown. It was obvious Bella's body was in need of nutrients, and fast.

My eyes drifted to her stomach and an old lesson from Biology about the human body popped into my head. If Bella was hungry, that meant the baby was. If human food wasn't enough to replenish them both...

Was the baby more like Edward, and needed blood?

Edward's eyes snapped to Jacob before shifting to me, a light bulb flickering in his eyes.

"You two may be onto something." He mumbled, his eyes widening in shock. "I can't believe we didn't think of that before."

"What?" Rosalie asked, her eyebrows furrowing together.

"Bella," Edward turned to his wife, ignoring Rosalie completely. "I think Autumn and Jacob just had an idea. We'll try it, but only if you're comfortable with it, okay?"

"What were you thinking?" Bella looked at us curiously.

"The baby is more like Edward than you," I said slowly, turning to Jacob to see if he had the same idea. He nodded before continuing.

"It's looking for something to sink its teeth into."

"Ah," Carlisle said as our realization sunk in. "That might work... but it won't want animal blood."

"We have some O negative set aside for Bella." Rosalie chimed in, her voice hopeful as she shared a glance with Bella. "You know, just in case."

"Like I said, only if you're comfortable," Edward murmured, stroking Bella's hair back away from her face. She looked around the room before her gaze landed on her stomach; smiling, she met Edward's eyes and nodded.

"Okay. Let's try it."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Rosalie disappeared into the kitchen, Edward right behind her. As cupboards opened and closed, Bella turned to me.

"How did you know?"

"Biology class from freshman year. A mother's body provides nutrients for the baby to grow. If you're not getting any because you can't eat, neither is the baby." I shrugged. "Human food wasn't working for you."

"Not clear, Rose!" We heard Edward hiss just as Rosalie began to walk into the room. She stopped and looked down at the cup in her hands before she realized what he meant, disappearing again and returning ten seconds later.

Handing the cup to Bella, Rosalie moved out of the way so Edward could kneel beside her. Bella eyed the straw warily and I realized what Edward had meant about not clear. A solid white lid covered the cup, so Bella didn't have to see the blood inside.

"It's okay, Bells." I said softly, joining her on the couch. "You don't have to do this if you're not ready."

"I know." She sighed. "But I'm starving, so I bet he is too."

Taking a shaky breath, Bella lifted the straw to her mouth and took a sip, closing her eyes.

"That... actually tastes good." she admitted a little guiltily, avoiding Edward's worried gaze.

"That means it's working." Rosalie said excitedly.

"Your pulse is getting stronger," Carlisle added, checking Bella's wrist. "A good sign."

"Does this mess up my count?" Bella asked jokingly to Edward, causing his face to break into a small smile.

"No, it doesn't count." He said softly, his eyes shining with gratitude as the color returned to Bella's cheeks. Kissing her forehead, Edward resumed his kneeling position as Bella slowly sipped away on her cup.

Tears slipped out of my eyes as I watched the life come back to my best friend with each sip she took, my heart pounding as I realized she wasn't going to die any time soon.