AN: HI! Finally an update? Yeah, my muse finally cooperated when it came to this story and I've got a new chapter for y'all. Now I'm going to start speeding things up just a little. Certain characters are going to start changing and things are going to progress steadily from here on out. So I hope y'all like and I look forward to hearing what you think of this chapter

Here we go!

Chapter 5: Lunch, A Date and the

First Betrayal

After parking the car, I took a few minutes to try and calm myself. The encounter with Sam had gone better than I had expected, but the encounter with his Beta had left me furious, worried and with a bitter taste in my mouth. Jacob Black was a threat, a big threat that I had to take care of quickly. I would not allow one of my own to destroy Bella and Jasper's happiness, or my own.

Jasper asked, "Are you okay Peyton? You've been quiet for a while now." Nodding, I turned to him and said, "Yeah, just tryin' to relax after that detour. Sam was cool, but Black set my teeth on edge. We're going to have to watch out for him." Bella asked, "Do you really think Jacob would do something to keep Jasper and I apart? What about you and Charlie?" "Going off his emotions, yes I do. He's hurt, angry and jealous as hell. If those emotions get any stronger, or he makes any wrong moves, I'll have to alert Sam. Jasper, be on your guard."

He nodded and we got out of the car. I was still on edge from Jacob Black's venomous words, but I pushed it aside as Charlie came out of the house to greet us. As we walked up to greet him, I took a second to notice the way he looked at both Jasper and Bella. The way he smiled at them both convinced me that not only was he content at seeing the happy look on Bella's face, but he had also given his full approval to their relationship.

As we neared the front door, Jasper fell back to me and asked in a whisper, "How am I going to eat human food? I can't fake it that well." I grinned and quickly put him in a chokehold, grabbing his bare wrist and pushing my 'human' gift into his body. Skin contact was the easiest and least suspicious way to pass my gift to him. The chokehold was also the only way to make sure that Charlie and Bella never had any reason to doubt us or our feelings for them.

Releasing him I said, "There you go cousin, no fakin' necessary. Enjoy." At Jasper's raised eyebrow I said, "I gave you some help, so enjoy eating human food until you turn Bella." He laughed and we joined Bella and Charlie, who had already gone inside the house. We walked inside to find Bella chasing Charlie out of the kitchen. As Jasper and I laughed, Charlie chuckled and said, "Okay Bells, I won't touch the kitchen." Motioning for Jasper and I to sit, Charlie turned to me and said, "It's nice to see you again Miss Whitlock."

I snorted and said, "Please Charlie, call me Peyton. Anytime I hear Miss Whitlock, I think it's my grandmother calling for me." Charlie laughed and said, "Fair enough. So how are you liking Forks so fair Peyton?" I shrugged and said, "No different from any other small town. It is a welcome change from Italy, so I'm happy to be here just because of that." He nodded and then asked, "How are the Cullens treating you?" I laughed and said, "Like I'm one of their own. Esme is treating me like a daughter and the others like a sibling. Well, almost all of them."

Charlie rolled his eyes and asked, "Eddie boy doesn't like you I take it?" Snorting, I said, "He thinks I ruined his 'relationship' with Bella." Charlie snorted in disgust and said, "I never liked that boy. Hated what he did to Bella. No offense Jasper, but every time she went somewhere with him and your family, she ended up getting hurt." Jasper and I both knew he was talking about the incident in Phoenix with the nomads and the most recent injury on her birthday. Not that Charlie knew the truth about what happened in Phoenix and he only knew the story I had made up for what had happened at her party.

I said, "He won't be a problem anymore Charlie, you have my word." Before he could say anything else, Bella came out of the kitchen and said, "Lunch is ready." Jasper and I followed Charlie into the kitchen and sat at the table. Bella sat in Jasper's lap as we ate, feeding him from their shared plate. Clever girl. Charlie didn't seem irritated at their seating arrangement, which again told me that he approved of their relationship. Bella had fixed grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch. It was a perfect meal for vampires, especially for one who hadn't touched human food since before he was turned.

After our meal was finished, Jasper and I cleaned up while Charlie and Bella caught up in the next room. As I dried a plate, Jasper asked, "How are you handling things?" I smiled and said, "It's okay so far. Now that I know it's him, I can relax a little. To be honest, I want to get to know him outside the bond. I want whatever happens between us to be more than the supernatural. Once I know we have something beyond the mating bond shit, I'll tell him everything else. Is that wrong?"

Jasper shook his head and said, "No, it seems the right thing to do, but how will you tell the truth later?" Sighing I said, "Probably just take him to a secluded spot and tell him. It will have to be after the meeting with the Elders, since I need their 'permission' to change him anyway. Besides, certain things have to change so I can turn him safely." Jasper nodded in agreement and asked, "Shall we join them and see what Fate will do to us next?" I laughed and followed him into the living room.

Bella and Charlie were watching the baseball game and Bella was laughing at Charlie's cursing at the screen. Jasper joined Bella on the couch, while I took the only other chair which was placed near Charlie. We watched the game for a bit, interrupted only by text messages from Alice and Esme. There was something going on back at the house that needed our attention. With Charlie's permission, Bella packed a bag for the night and left with us. Since tomorrow was Saturday, Charlie didn't have to worry about school.

Bella, Jasper and I said goodbye to Charlie and as we walked to the car, Charlie asked, "Peyton?" I turned to face him and he asked, "Would you go out to dinner with me tomorrow?" He was blushing as he asked and I smiled at his nervousness. I nodded and said, "I'd love to Charlie." He smiled back and said, "Great. Does 8 o'clock sound good?" I giggled and said, "Sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled and then headed back inside. Once the front door closed behind him, Jasper started laughing and said, "Aww, my cousin has a date." I flipped him off and got in the car.

As we drove back to the Cullen house, Jasper couldn't stop laughing and teasing me about my date with Charlie, leaving me no choice but to threaten to tell Bella some his most embarrassing human moments to get him to shut up. As we pulled up in front of the house, both Jasper and I could feel the tension and fear coming from inside the house. I could also detect two familiar scents coming from inside. One was Sam, which had me curious. The other was Felix, whose presence really had me curious.

Jasper, Bella and I carefully walked inside, protecting Bella first and foremost. Felix's presence in Forks had me worried because despite the fact that the Kings had 'given' me two years to ensure Bella's change and my mate's, I knew they weren't above shortening a deadline to suit their own needs. As we walked in though, I could sense that he wasn't here on Volturi business. Seeing Alice wrapped in his arms and the happy look on both their faces confirmed that.

Jasper and I relaxed a little as Alice 'introduced' us to to her true mate. Afterwards I asked, " So Felix, what are you doing here?" He smirked and said, "Besides joining my mate? You're not going to like the reason." "Try me." "Aro wants regular progress reports on things going on here. He knows you're waiting for the girl to graduate before you turn her, but he's more curious about how long it's going to take you to find and turn yours. He's also curious about the Cullens. Their numbers, their diet, everything. It's really weird. Major, what's going on?"

Sighing, I sat and motioned for him to do the same. Once we were all seated, I said, "Aro is threatened by Carlisle and this family. Vegetarian vampires are a threat to him because they've been able to merge into human society so well. The fact that this family keeps growing is also threatening to him. However, what he doesn't realize is that the animal diet has its drawbacks. The biggest one is that it suppresses all the instincts needed for a vampire to truly survive. A prime example of this would be Jasper and Bella's delayed bond. If Jasper had not been on the animal diet, he would have been able to claim Bella much easier and sooner. Despite his public tolerance of the Cullens and other vegetarian vampires, he's threatened and hates abnormal vampires. He's going to do something sometime in the future."

Felix nodded and asked, "So what is your plan?" "Felix, I just found my mate and I'm just getting to know him. So his change is a long time coming. As for Bella, that is between her and Jasper. I have no say in their relationship and it's insulting that he thinks that I do. Right now, my plan is to get to know my mate better outside the supernatural bullshit and bide my time with everything else. Aro can go to hell for all I care." Felix chuckled and said, "Well, I'll do what I can to help. As will Marcus and Caius. They've finally seen how power hungry he is."

I nodded and turning to Carlisle, said, "You might want to contact the Denali coven. If you're a threat, so are they and they are a smaller coven. Aro will probably start with them to get to you." He nodded and as he left to make that call, he said, "Sam is waiting in the back for you. He said he needed to talk to you about something. He sounded urgent." Nodding, I walked outside to find Sam pacing and feeling anxious. I walked up and asked, "Sam, what's wrong?"

At my question, another emotion came forward: anger. Before I could assume it was towards me, Sam said, "I've got good news and I've got bad news." Rolling my eyes I said, "Give me the bad first. I'd like this day to end on a good note somehow." Sam nodded and said, "Well, the Elders know everything, including your plan to change diets." "How the fuck did that happen?!" "Jacob went rogue. After I ordered him not to reveal anything about our first meeting, he went and declared himself Alpha and then told the Elders."

My own anger flooded and I heard Jasper growl as he felt it. This was not good at all. Thanks to Jacob Black, the Elders had every right to strike against the Cullens and myself. This also made getting their permission to change both Bella and Charlie even harder to get. Shit, that was probably his goal. I had sensed a small amount of obsession coming from Black, but had brushed it aside because I believed that it was just a deep crush the boy had.

Attempting to calm down, I asked Sam, "What's the good news?" "I was able to convince them to still meet with you and the Cullens and hear you out about changing the treaty conditions. I suggested that there was a threat coming that would endanger not only the reservation, but also the whole town of Forks. That made them reconsider and agree to a meeting. They'll also listen to you requests to change Charlie and Bella. Them hearing you out is all I can promise you. They want to meet the weekend after the next full moon." "What about Black?" "The Pack and I will try and track him. Since none of them followed so we've got that advantage against him." I nodded and he phased and left.

Great. So not only do I have the Volturi breathing down my neck, but now I have a rogue, bratty Alpha to deal with and a suspicious Council to convince to my way of thinking. Oh, and let's not forget that I've got my date with Charlie tomorrow night to stress about. After all, it is my first date.

Could anything else 'exciting' happen?