A/N: I have no beta. All mistakes are my own.

It's not mine.

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BPOV

After the confrontation I had with the Cullens in Orlando, I was feeling unsettled. Regardless of the fact that I told them off, I instinctively knew that I hadn't heard the last of them. Edward's insistence that I get back together with him gave me pause for concern. The fact that Alice even tried to lie about it set me off.

My team and I had flown back to Washington two days after the competition and one day after our play day. Master Joon rewarded our hard work with a day of play. We spent that entire day and Disneyland. We were there from the time they opened until the time they closed. It was a dream come true for all of us since we lived on the other side of the country and never had an opportunity to go before.

After we got back, I headed to my house in Forks to get some much-deserved sleep. Since Charlie married Sue Clearwater and moved down to the reservation to live with her, he gave me the house. While I did miss him, I was happy to have the house to myself.

I took the opportunity to redecorate when Charlie was officially moved out. The house needed it in the worse possible way. Everything was outdated from the refrigerator and stove to the curtains and carpet. Even the paint on the walls was faded, and the wallpaper in the kitchen was peeling. Time was not very kind to the house. However, I loved this place and wanted to put in the time, money, and effort to get it fixed up. I even managed to have an addition added to the house which made the bathroom, living room, and kitchen much larger.

The master bedroom was the last room I had done, and it was well worth it. The walls were painted a soft beige with the wall directly opposite my bed painted a warm brown. I chose that as my accent wall because I love brown and found it both warm and comforting, and I like it is the first thing I saw when I woke up.

I spent a great deal of money on my bedroom furniture with the majority of it being spent on my bed. Comfort was my scheme, so I bought a king-sized bed as I had always wanted. It was a lush pillowtop that just hugged every curve when I laid down on it.

Since my bed was fit for royalty, I had decided that my bedding would have to be as well. I bought the highest percale thread count of Egyptian cotton sheets I could find. They felt like the softest silk against my skin. My comforter was plush and warm, and I had more pillows than you can imagine.

Suffice it to say that when I returned home from Florida at eleven-thirty at night, I fell face-first onto my bed and immediately fell asleep. I slept for a grand total of thirty-six hours. By the time I woke up, I had missed twenty calls on my cell most of which were from my dad.

Now I'm sitting on my brand new couch, trying to concentrate on answering the emails that filled my inbox. It was a struggle since my mind kept wandering back to my confrontation with the Cullens. Something about it has me on edge.

While I always knew I would see them again, I was just shocked by how it all went down. I knew Edward would make some lame excuse, and he didn't disappoint in that area. I think what is getting to me is how Jasper called Alice out on lying to me to try to manipulate me into getting back together with Edward.

That was something I never expected. Jasper always seemed to be in the background before. He was there but never really participated in anything, apart from the baseball game, when I was at the Cullen house. It always bothered me that his family didn't seem to want him to interact with them. I understand their concerns about him hanging out with a human, but that doesn't explain how they ostracized him when I wasn't there.

To be honest, the moment I officially met Jasper at the Cullen's house, I couldn't help but see how gorgeous he was. Yes, he did look incredibly uncomfortable, but that didn't take away front he fact that Jasper Hale was sex on legs, and a part of me was jealous of Alice for having such a manly man as her mate.

Sure, I thought Edward was attractive but in a teenager type of way. Jasper exuded very mature, adult vibes that were sexy as fuck. Poor Edward only came off as a good-looking teenage boy compared to Jasper. Jasper was all man, and he knew it.

Jasper's muscular body was made for sin, the kind of sin you want to repeat. He had incredibly broad shoulders that were perfectly muscled. I once caught a glimpse of him shirtless, and that man did not disappoint. I remember my tongue hanging out of my mouth over that. Jasper Hale had six-pack abs that I could spend a lifetime letting my tongue get acquainted with.

Let's not forget his perfectly biteable ass. Good Lord, that man was fine and every inch of him was male perfection. Just the thought of him was enough to have me creaming my shorts. Unfortunately, he was spoken for, and I had Edward at the time.

So, I kept my mouth and legs shut. I did love Edward in a way, but looking back now I realized it was just a crush. It was the first time a guy liked me at least that's what it seemed to be at the time. I allowed myself to get in way over my head.

Seeing Jasper had my attraction to him smacking me in the face again. The fact that he called Alice out on her shit had me wondering. What was going on with the Cullen clan?

I knew for a fact that if I wanted to get answers Jasper would be the one to tell me. Emmett might be willing to spill his guts to me, but that's only if his blond bimbo of a mate isn't anywhere near him at the time. In order to save time, I was going to ask Jasper. The only problem I have at this point is how am I going to even get to him to ask.

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock at the front door. I put down my laptop and got up to answer. When I swung the door open, Jacob's dorky grin greeted me. I rolled my eyes and motioned him to enter.

"Hey, Loca, Charlie asked me to come check on you since he's left over a dozen messages, and you haven't gotten back to him," he informed me as he plopped himself down in my captain's chair and lifted his bare feet onto my coffee table.

I shut the door quickly, mentally kicking myself for forgetting to get back in touch with Charlie. "Hello to you too, Loco," I replied with a smirk. I reached forward and smacked his feet off of my coffee table. "Get your nasty appendages off of my fine furniture."

He wisely obeyed and eyed me warily. "What's going on? You never forget to call Charlie back ever since that time your truck broke down on the highway during that blizzard, and your dad almost lost it when it took so long to find you in the near white-out."

"Brother, you are not going to believe what happened at my competition," I told him as I pulled my feet up onto the couch and crossed my legs into a lotus position.

"I know. You won. Your dad proudly announced it to everyone down at the rez," he said laughingly.

"No, not that, but now that I know Charlie did the proud parent act, I'm going to avoid the rez for a few days." I had a gut feeling my dad was going to do that. He was always so proud of my accomplishments that he sometimes went embarrassingly overboard.

"So what the hell happened that has you too distracted to call your dad back?" he asked again.

"Weeeelllll, I was finishing up my second to final sparring match when I looked up and noticed the Cullens in the audience," I told him bluntly.

"The fuck! What the hell were those leeches doing in the Sunshine State of all places?" he yelled as he jumped up and stomped into my kitchen to help himself to a bottle of Coke in my fridge.

"I know, right? Of all the places I would have thought I would be safe from them, I never would have even thought they would show up in Florida." I shook my head at my lousy as fuck luck.

"Okay, tell me what happened and no skipping over parts like I know you like to do," he said while pointing his finger accusingly.

So I began to spill my guts about what happened. The longer I spoke, the angrier Jake got. He hated the Cullens for what they did to me, and he sure as hell wouldn't trust them within a mile of me.

"You know what really sucks about all this? I won my final competition and my celebration got cut short because those self-absorbed bastards wanted to have a little heart-to-heart with me. They actually acted as if nothing happened and like they didn't abandon me," I told him angrily.

"That's not surprising. Edwin always came off as a self-absorbed jackweed. He literally acted like everyone should be bowing down to him," Jake said with a sneer. He finished his Coke and got up to throw the empty bottle away and grab another from the fridge.

"Why do you insist on calling him Edwin," I asked in amusement.

"I do it because he's an asshole that doesn't deserve even an ounce of respect."

I snorted at that. "I can't argue with you. He was self-absorbed. You know what they say about hindsight. After they left, I began to notice what a controlling, selfish, asshole he was. He always made demands of his family, and Carlisle always gave in to him. It was like dating a toddler," I said with a shudder. We both sneered at the thought.

"So what are you going to do about contacting Jasper?" he inquired as he chugged his second soda down. I stood for a moment and walked to the kitchen. I opened my fridge and pulled out an unopen two-liter bottle of Coke and walked over to Jake. I thrust it under his nose. The way he chug-a-lugs soda had me getting used to always having cold two liters on hand. He grabbed it from me. "Thanks, Chika!"

I plopped back down on my couch and went back into my lotus position. "Well, I don't want Alice to see anything I decide. So I have an idea. Since Alice has admitted that she can't see you wolves, what if I carry something of yours on me at all times?" I told him and waited for his opinion on the matter.

"Hmm… The idea has merit. It would have to be something that can maintain my wolfish essence if you will."

"Essence?" Seriously? That sounds too sexual, but I get where you're coming from. What if you let me shave off a patch of hair from your wolf. I could then braid it into a bracelet or something," I said deep in thought. "I mean, I probably could get away with using your human hair, but my gut instinct tells me that your wolfy fur has a great deal more of your 'wolfish essence'. I want every advantage I can get to block our that backstabbing, Tinker Bell reject."

He snapped his fingers and sat straight up. "That's it. I know just how to do this. Come on. Do you still have those trimmers of Charlie's lying around?"

'Uh, yeah, I think so unless he took them with him the last time he came by," I nodded.

"Go grab them and come out back. I'm going to shift. We're going to make that bracelet tonight."

I managed to find my dad's trimmer and met Jake out back. Before he shifted, he told me to shave off the fur around his neck where it was the longest. I took an even strip that could be easily hidden by the rest of his fur.

I ran back inside with my prize clutched tightly in my right hand while Jake went behind a tree to phase back and redress into his customary shorts. I grabbed an Italian ice from the freezer and sat back down in the living room. Jake came back in a moment later and reclaimed his spot.

"So how do you want to do this?" I asked him, my curiosity peaked as I ate my frozen confection.

"Do you have any small beads like you use for arts and crafts or jewelry making?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, I have a ton of them in all sizes. I just recently got into jewelry making," I informed him proudly and was very happy to have the items we needed on hand.

"Bring some to me. I'm going to make you a traditional indigenous American beaded bracelet. This way, there won't be anything suspicious about it. Everyone knows we're best friends."

I sat back and watched Jake get to work on the bracelet. I swear he could do it blindfolded. He was really good at it. While he was making the bracelet, he gave me a brief history of Indigenous American beading. I was impressed and even joked about him joining me when I was making bracelets. He agree and also offered to teach me their traditional method. He enjoyed beading and never felt like it demasculinized him in any way. It was a way for him to connect with his tribe's histories.

By the time he finished, I was in awe. The bracelet was stunning. He had chosen to use my favorite colors which were purple, black, and green. You would never be able to tell that it was made using his wolf's fur. His beadwork was flawless and the pattern he had woven into the bracelet was perfect.

"Jake, this is perfect. Now I can go about my business and make plans, and Alice won't see a thing. This also means that Edward won't be able to pick anything up in her thoughts." I quickly slipped it on my right wrist, loving the way it looked. "Jake, you could totally make money on your skills. I'd pay you for some beaded items. You are that good," I informed him with a nudge of my foot.

He grinned in appreciation. "I'm glad you thought of it. I think it's disturbing that the leech likes to watch your future. Talk about being a control freak," he finished with a shudder of revulsion.

"You think that's bad. Eddie boy has to know what everyone is thinking at all times. He will toss a fit worthy of a toddler in their terrible twos if he doesn't get his way."

"Remind me again what the hell it was that you saw in him because he isn't even your type," Jake pointed out.

I scrunched my nose up silently agreeing with Jake's comment. "I have a theory about that. Mind you, it's just a theory and I have no way to prove it at this time. Do you remember when I said that Edward would always dazzle me, and I would lose my train of thought," I asked him.

"Yea and you said it was annoying," he replied while leaning back in his chair and crossing his ankles.

I nodded, "Yes, I did. My thoughts are that the 'dazzling' effect he used on me was a vampire's natural gift if you will, that is used to draw their prey in," I finished and watched as Jake's face reddened in anger.

"That sick son of a bitch!" he yelled angrily. "It makes complete sense. He was luring you in. I swear to the spirits of my people that if they ever give me the opportunity, I will shred him apart and burn each piece while saving his head for the very last so that he can watch his own body turn to ash."

"Aww… I'm touched. Just make sure I'm there to watch. I do so enjoy free entertainment," I said jokingly while rubbing my hands in glee. Jake's answering grin had an edge of darkness to it.

"Bells, you are my soul sister. You have always been my sister in all but blood. What that piece of shit and what his sorry excuse of a family did to you has earned a vicious payback. The entire pack wants nothing more than to tear that so-called family apart," he said with a cruel smirk.

"By entire pack are you including Leah and Paul?" I asked my curiosity getting the better of me. It was no secret that those two hated me.

"I know it's difficult to believe, but they have had an epiphany of sorts and are now backing you."

I rolled my eyes. "Give me details. Who smacked them upside their heads. I know damn well that they didn't have an epiphany come out of anywhere. They were both convinced that I willingly dated Edward and that my decision is somewhat responsible for you guys becoming wolves."

He raised his arms in surrender. "Okay, you got me. It was Sue. She was fed up with their animosity towards you, and she really let them have it."

"Sue is a sweetheart. I'm so happy that my dad married her. She takes good care of him," I said quietly.

"They take care of each other which is what they both needed," Jake agreed.

"One day, I hope that I am that lucky and marry a man that worships me and makes me feel truly loved," I sighed.

"Loca, women like you are never meant to be alone. You just have to have patience. It will happen when it's meant to."

A/N: Initially, In her Defense was meant to be a one-shot. Even though it was marked complete, I kept getting reviews and PMs asking for more. So here we go.

I cannot promise to have a regular update schedule. My family and I are dealing with serious issues. Please be patient.