Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

MY HEART SQUEEZED in my chest from guilt. I knew things had been bad for me since the Cullens left and I knew I had struggled… was still struggling… I had lived it after all. The early morning sunshine filtered through the trees behind the house and fell on me in a dappled pattern as I lay on the couch, listening to Charlie in the kitchen telling Alice about how things had been for me. To hear it all laid out at one time from someone else’s viewpoint—someone who loved me dearly—it made me look at everything differently. Add to that my nearly drowning on the same day of Harry’s passing… I was a horrible, selfish person.

Sure, I’d been devastated when they’d left… when he had left, and it had hurt terribly, like a part of me had died. It still hurt. Being abandoned by someone who you thought loved you was not an easy thing to deal with, but hearing everything Charlie said, it struck me suddenly that I was not alone. I had tried to deal with it all on my own, but I have never been alone. There were other people in my life who cared for me and wanted to help me, but I had been so caught up in my own heartache that I hadn’t realized how I had pushed them away and was hurting them. Even Jake, who’d I’d let in more than anyone else, I continued to hold at arms-length. I probably hadn’t hurt anyone as much as I’d hurt Charlie though.

I had started to realize all of this yesterday, but my brain had been too fried after my near-death experience, I mentally hadn’t been able to get to this place of honesty. If Jake hadn’t been there, Charlie would not only be dealing with the death of his best friend, but also his daughter. The thought sent a shiver down my spine. Thinking back over the past few weeks, I’d actually been vaguely aware of what I was doing for a while, but facing it had hurt me too much, so I didn’t allow myself to admit it.

And now I’d done it to Jake too, because there was no doubt that I had hurt him and possibly ruined our friendship by choosing a Cullen over him… by choosing a vampire over him.

Well, there was nothing I could do about Jake at the moment, that would have to be dealt with later, but I could do something about Charlie. I could take the first step in making amends for my thoughtless and careless actions.

My aching body protested as I got to my feet with a groan and a stretch, then headed to the kitchen, a bit of urgency in my steps. When I got there, I hesitated in the doorway, both Alice and Charlie looking up at me in surprise.

“Morning Bells,” Charlie said, then took in my expression. “What’s wrong?”

I glanced at Alice who was giving me a look of concern, then crossed to where Charlie was standing at the sink, wrapped my arms around his waist, and hugged him tight. He stood stock still for a moment then put his arms around me and squeezed me back. This wasn’t how we normally were with each other, but it felt right in this moment.

“I’m sorry, Dad.”

“Bella, what in the world—”

“I’m sorry for eavesdropping, but more importantly, I’m sorry for everything I put you through these past months.” My voice was thick with barely contained emotions as tears began dripping from my eyes. “It wasn’t fair to you. I was only thinking of myself. I felt so alone and thought I was alone, but hearing everything you just said, and then with Harry… It just made me realize that I’ve been so selfish and that I’ve never been alone. You’ve been here, and Jake, and even my friends at school. I’m just sorry it’s taken me so long to see.”

“Sweetie, of course you haven’t been alone. You don’t have to worry about me, though. You went through something hard, and it hurt you. Everyone handles these things differently, especially if it’s the first time you’ve had to deal with something like this. I’m your dad… I’ll always be here for you. Always!”

The conviction in his tone was comforting. Charlie took me by my shoulders and pushed me back a bit so he could look into my face, and I could see the conviction reflected in his eyes. I sniffed, took a shuddering breath, and swiped at the moisture wetting my cheeks.

“I just… I mean, I just am…” I stumbled over my words. Taking another shaky breath, I tried again. “Thank you, Dad. Just, thanks for everything.”

He ripped a paper towel off the roll on the counter and handed it to me with a crooked smile. I wiped my nose and the rest of the tears from my face, noticing that Alice was no longer at the table. She must have slipped out at some point.

“Bella, I’m your dad. That’s my job. I’m just thankful that you have been doing better, and I want nothing more than to see you happy, sweetie.”

“I know. I just…” I sighed, “I know.”

He patted me on my shoulder, and I could feel a little bit of an awkward tension come between us. Neither of us knew what to do after my emotional apology. A laugh suddenly burst out of me and after a pensive moment, Charlie laughed too. It was short-lived, but it broke the tension and felt good.

“Well, I need to get going,” he said, giving me another little pat. “Gotta get back down to La Push to help Sue Clearwater.”

I gave him a nod and a small smile then watched as he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

Alice and I spent the day talking, mostly about her family… all but one. They had relocated to Ithica, NY. Carlisle was working nights and teaching part time at Cornell, where Jasper was studying philosophy. Esme was keeping busy restoring a seventeenth century house in the forest north of the city. Emmet and Rosalie had gone to Europe for several months on another honeymoon. And Alice had been doing personal research, concerning the information I’d accidentally uncovered for her last spring. They had all been visiting Tanya and her sisters in Denali for Cornell’s spring break (all but the one), when Alice got her vision of me.

Charlie got back after dark and turned in early. He was headed back down to La Push first thing in the morning for Harry’s funeral. I stayed on the couch with Alice again.

IT WAS EARLY THE next morning, the sun still hadn’t risen, when I heard Charlie tiptoeing to the door, trying not to wake us up as he left for La Push. Alice and I both feigned sleep and let him go.

I decided to use the day to catch up on my chores. Since I’d been spending so much time down in La Push, things had started to pile up and I thought perhaps coming home to a clean and organized home might help Charlie feel a little better. I just wanted to help him in whatever ways I could.

As I started work in the bathroom, which had by far suffered the most from my neglect, Alice leaned against the doorjamb, and we chatted about people and things happening at school. She didn’t show it, but I could feel her disproval when she realized how little I could tell her. I was a little disappointed in myself as well.

I was literally up to my elbows in Comet as I scrubbed the bottom of the tub when there was a knock at the front door. I looked up at Alice in surprise, who looked back at me with a matching expression. Her’s quickly turned to irritation.

“I have a pretty good guess at who that is,” she said.

My eyebrows shot up. “Guess?” Alice didn’t guess.

She shot me a look. “Yes, guess. If I’m right, it explains a lot about why I couldn’t see you after you jumped. It also means that I should leave for a little while.”

I gasped as I connected the dots. “You can’t see the wolves.”

“Yes, that’s the conclusion I have come to as well.”

Another, more demanding knock sounded.

I turned in the general direction of the front door and called out that I was coming as I rinsed off my arms.

“I’ll be back in after a while, Bella.”

I sighed, hating the reason behind the necessity for her leaving.

“Alright, I’ll see you soon.” She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek then left through the back window in Charlie’s room.

I went down the stairs as quickly as I dared, anxious to see Jake and try to make things right again between us. I flung open the front door to find him standing about six feet away and my heart clenched in my chest as I took in his demeanor. He was tense, his nose was wrinkled, and his hands were trembling. Otherwise, he was calm, and his face was the smooth mask that reminded me of Sam… I thought I’d seen the last of that look. I felt a pang of guilt, knowing it was my fault it was there. He looked past me, attempting to see into the house.

“She’s not here, Jake. She had some errands to run. It’s just me.”

I noticed him relax slightly, but he didn’t make any move from where he was, and his hands were still trembling. I opened the door a little farther.

“I’m glad you’re here, Jake. Will you come in, please? I want to talk to you… and you obviously have something to say as well.”

He looked back to his car where it was idling in the street. Embry and Jared watched with sour faces from inside the vehicle. Embry’s head moved almost imperceptibly from side to side, advising Jake not to go in. That irked me a little and I rolled my eyes and then glared back at them.

“You scared of me now, Jake? You’re going to lose some serious age points for that.” I tried to make my tone as light as possible to break some of the tension. It worked a little. Jake huffed out a little laugh and a flicker of a smile flashed briefly across his lips, but almost immediately disappeared and the mask was back. He suddenly stormed up the porch steps and pushed past me into the house. I leveled another glare toward the two in the car as I shut the door.

When I turned around, Jake was staring that the mess of bedding on the couch.

“Slumber party?” he asked.

“Something like that.”

Jake turned and headed into the kitchen. I sighed deeply and followed him, watching for a moment as he paced back and forth in front of the short counter.

“I can’t stay long, Bella, so I’ll make this quick.”

My heart sank a little. “Okay.”

He didn’t say anything right away, just continued to pace. Finally, I stepped in front of him to get him to stop.

“Just talk to me Jake,” I said quietly.

He looked down at me and for just a brief moment I saw my Jake looking back at me. He quickly looked away before speaking.

“One of the Cullens is staying here with you.”

“Yes, Alice Cullen.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “How long is she here for?”

“I don’t know, we haven’t talked about it. A few days, I guess… maybe a week?”

“Do you think you could… please… explain to her about the other one—Victoria?”

I paled. “I told her about that.”

He nodded. “You should know that we can only watch our own lands with a Cullen here. You’ll only be safe in La Push. I can’t protect you here anymore.”

“Okay,” I said in a small voice.

He looked at me again, then looked past me, out the back windows. He didn’t continue.

“Is that all?”

He kept his eyes on the glass as he answered. “Just one more thing.” He paused again, for so long I almost said something, but he finally continued. “Are the rest of them coming back now?” His voice was cool and quiet, reminding me again of Sam’s always calm manner. Jacob was becoming more like Sam… I wondered why that bothered me so much.

Now I didn’t speak. He looked back at me with probing eyes, and I swallowed hard before responding.

“No, they aren’t coming back.”

His expression didn’t change. “Okay. That’s all.”

After a few moments, he stepped past me, toward the kitchen door, but I grabbed his hand to stop him, just before he got out of reach.

“Wait, Jake. I wanted to say something.”

He stopped, but he didn’t turn back toward me. I dropped his hand and leaned back against the counter for support. I absolutely hated how we’d gotten to this tense place in so short a time. And it was all my fault.

“I just want to say I’m sorry, Jake.” My throat started to close up as I fought back tears, making it difficult to speak. “I’m sorry for hurting you the other day. I’m sorry my choice hurt you, but I knew it was one of them, and I had to see them. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you, though, and I feel horrible about that.”

I swiped at the tears that were rolling down my cheeks and watched as all of the tension melted from Jake’s stance, and he sighed. When he turned to face me again, his calm expression was gone, and he now looked unsure and forlorn.

“Don’t cry Bells.” He wiped a tear away from my cheek with his knuckle. “I’m sorry too. I broke my promise to you again. I knew how you felt about them. It shouldn’t have taken me by surprise like that.” His face twisted a bit, and I could see the revulsion in his eyes, which broke my heart a little.

“Let’s not worry about it, okay?” he continued. “She’s just visiting, right? She’ll leave, and things will go back to normal.”

“Yeah, but can’t I be friends with you both at the same time?” I asked.

He shook his head slowly. “No, not really. You can be her friend, and you can be my friend, but you… love her, so I’d better not get anywhere near her. I’m not sure that I’m even tempered enough to handle that.”

“Well, I think you are,” I mumbled.

A sad smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “I appreciate your vote of confidence honey, but I don’t know that I’d want to test it.”

“Does this mean you’ll still be my friend?”

“Of course. I’ll always be your friend, no matter what you love.”

I felt his arms wind around me, and I leaned against his chest, still sniffling. “This sucks.”

“Yeah, it does.” Then he sniffed my hair and said, “Ew.”

“What?!” I demanded. I looked up to see that his nose was wrinkled again. “Why does everyone keep doing that to me? I don’t smell!”

He smiled a little. “Yes, you do—you smell like them. Blech. Too sweet—sickly sweet. And… icy. It burns my nose.”

“Really? That’s strange because they smell wonderful to me. But why would Alice think I smelled, too?”

That wiped his smile away. “Huh. Maybe I don’t smell too good to her, either.”

“Well, you smell wonderful to me too. You both smell fine to me.” I rested my head against him again.

Ugh, what a mess!

I wanted Alice to stay and never leave, but I also knew she eventually would leave. As much as that would hurt, it would be a million times worse if I were to lose Jacob.

There wasn’t an easy answer, but we had forgiven each other. He had some understanding of my friendship with Alice and was still going to be my friend, even if we couldn’t see each other while she was here.

After we’d stood holding each other in silence for a little while, he freed one hand so he could cup my chin and tip my head up to look at him.

“I’m gonna miss you, Bella. Every second of every day until she leaves.”

“Yeah, me too.”

We stared at each other for several long moments, his hand smoldering against my cheek, with matching expressions of wistful sadness on our faces. I didn’t want him to go, even if it was for a short time, I didn’t want to have to stay away from him.

After a few moments, when neither of us looked away, the expression on Jacob’s face began to change. He lifted his other hand to brush his fingertips along my cheek, trailing them down to my jaw. I could feel his fingers tremble—not with anger this time. He pressed his palm against my cheek, so my face was trapped between his burning hands.

“Bella,” he whispered.

I was frozen.

No! I hadn’t made this decision yet. I didn’t know if I could do this, and now I was out of time to think. But I would have been a fool if I thought rejecting him now would have no consequences.

I stared back at him. He was not my Jacob, but he could be. His face was familiar and beloved. In so many real ways, I did love him. He was my comfort, my safe harbor. Right now, I could choose to have him belong to me.

Alice was back for the moment, but that changed nothing. True love was forever lost. The prince was never coming back to kiss me awake from my enchanted sleep. I was not a princess, after all.

Maybe it would be easy—like holding his hand or having his arms around me. Maybe it would feel nice. Maybe it wouldn’t feel like a betrayal. Besides, who was I betraying, anyway? Just myself.

Keeping his eyes on mine, Jacob began to bend his face toward me. And I was still absolutely undecided.

My mind began racing, trying hard to find a way to make this decision. Like small rays of light, memories started to surface. First, I remembered the delusion from two nights ago in my truck, which had told me to be happy. Then I recalled the night of my very first delusion outside the bar in Port Angeles and the two options I had determined would explain the voice: 1) I was crazy, or 2) it was my subconscious giving me what it thought I wanted. Either way it was not actually him speaking to me. But maybe, just maybe, it was me, telling myself what I should do… what the right choice was. Maybe I already knew the choice I wanted to make but had been unwilling to admit it to myself.

A clarity I hadn’t had in a long time came to me and in an instant, I became certain of three things.

First, Jacob might deserve more than I could give, but he has made it clear over and over I am what he wants, and he is not going to give up on me. Jake has always been there for me, helping me pick up the pieces, helping me feel whole again, helping me find life again. Always. Not even becoming a werewolf and a command from the Alpha had kept him away.

Second, I knew I could not survive without Jacob. I would never have the strength to push him away, to make him leave—and I didn’t want to.

Third, and perhaps the hardest to come to grips with, the hardest to even bring to conscious thought—Edward doesn’t want me, doesn’t love me. Even if he cares for me at all, he abandoned me and left me broken and alone.

A fog that had been engulfing me suddenly lifted, and the right choice became perfectly clear – I would commit all I had left, and give it to Jacob. Edward doesn’t want me, but Jacob does, and I will do everything in my broken power to make Jacob happy. I could do this—I had to do this. What’s more, I realized, I WANTED to do this. I want to be with Jacob; to make him happy and call him mine.

With the decision made, I felt great relief and then a nervous excitement. I’m going to kiss Jacob. Butterflies kicked up in my stomach and my heart lept in my chest and raced forward, all in anticipation now… the uncertainty gone.

“Jake…” I whispered, and in that one word I tried to convey all the meaning of my decision.

He hesitated inches from my face, still gazing intently at my eyes, his hot breath caressing my skin. Jake could always read me so well, and as he comprehended the change in me, intense love and hope flashed across his face before he closed the small remaining distance. His lips very gently and hesitantly pressed against mine. When I responded to him, kissing him back, he took in a sharp breath, and his lips became more urgent. He wrapped one arm around me and pulled me closer, bowing my body into his, binding me to him.

This kiss was vastly different from any I had ever experienced before. Jacob’s lips were soft and hot, molding to mine; and my lips were moving with his in strange ways they’d never moved before—because I didn’t have to be careful with Jacob, and he certainly wasn’t being careful with me. I matched his urgency as I clutched at his strong back, trying to pull myself closer to him, relishing the feel of him pressed against me.

Jacob’s heat wrapped around me like a comforting blanket and his pleasing forest and ocean scent filled my nose. Everything else in my world fell away—it was just me and Jake and the heat. In this moment there was no more pain and no more loss. It all was consumed by the heat and forgotten, leaving only this intense feeling between us.

A new clarity began to nudge its way into my mind; these feelings were something new and different, but also somehow deeply familiar because it was intricately connected to the bond of a friendship between two people who knew each other like no one else in the world, and accepted each other completely. This was love… I was in love with Jacob. But it hadn’t formed in a sudden burst of flame (I had felt that kind before), it had grown slowly, almost unnoticed—a smoldering ember that had matured unseen, with Jacob’s care and careful tending, and was now a blazing fire that could no longer be ignored.

I had thought Edward’s was the truest of true loves, but I was wrong; and my love for Jacob was not a weak echo of the other. I had been wrong about so much. I couldn’t have known… how would it have been possible for me to know. I had only known one love until this moment. And now, as the feelings I found hidden in my heart for Jacob washed over me, I realized this was just as true, and even stronger than the other; I was shocked and overwhelmed by the power of it…shaking me to my core. The new emotions consumed me, and tears began to flow down my face.

Jacob finally broke the kiss when his thumb grazed over my cheek, and he noticed my tears. He looked at me with concern, still holding me close and both of us trying to calm our breathing.

“What’s wrong Bella? Did I hurt you?” he asked as he gently tried to wipe the streams of tears from my face. “If I misread what you wanted, or went too far, I’m sorry. It’s just that I never dreamed… I mean I didn’t expect…”

Words wouldn’t come, so I shook my head and leaned into Jake, my arms still wrapped around him. I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I didn’t know how to deal with them or contain them. It had been so long since I had allowed myself to have any strong feelings for anything, and now all the love I had for Jacob was crashing over me and I couldn’t control it.

Jake held me, quietly waiting while I worked to gain control over my emotions. After several minutes had passed, I was able to calm myself, though there were still tears in my eyes.

When I looked at Jake again – his expression was pained and unsure. I gently touched his cheek.

“I love you Jake,” I said softly, my throat still tight with emotion. “I’m in love with you… I didn’t see it before. I’m so sorry I’ve been hurting you. I’ve been wrong about so much.”

The pain and uncertainty melted away from his face. His eyebrows lifted, but his expression was warm.

“I still have some things I need to tell you,” I continued, “things I need to explain, before you decide to be with me. It wouldn’t be fair to you if you didn’t know everything.”

Jake placed his hand over mine, pressing it into his cheek, and shook his head slightly.

“Be with you? Bella, all I want is to be with you; with every fiber of my being, you are what I want. There is nothing you can say or do that would change my feelings for you.” He paused, then asked hesitantly, “Are you saying that you… that you want to be with me? As more than a friend?”

“That’s exactly what I want. I want more, I want to be with you. I have been so blind. I’ve been so focused on my pain and what I’ve lost that I didn’t see the truth of my feelings for you.”

As I said these words, I watched as the fullness of Jake’s love for me broke across his face and shone fiercely in his eyes. It took my breath away, realizing he had only shown me a small part of it before this moment.

The blaring of a car horn came outside, causing me to jump and interrupting our moment.

“Crap, horrible timing guys,” Jake growled as he looked over his shoulder toward where his car still sat with Jared and Embry waiting. “I’m sorry Bella, I’ve gotta go.” He put one hand back against my cheek, “I know you want to spend time with…your friend, but will you come down to La Push later? I can call you after the funeral.”

“Yes, I would like that.” I realized I didn’t want to be away from him for one second, especially now, and tears pricked at my eyes again. “I wish you didn’t have to go so quickly.”

All traces of the bitterness and anger were gone as he smiled at me.

“I know, but I’ll call as soon as I can,” he promised.

I laid my head on his chest and wrapped my arms around him to make the moment last just a little longer. He squeezed me tight and kissed the top of my head before releasing me and bounding joyfully out of the house, so different than the way he had arrived.

Chapter Text

JACOB POV
**********

AS I LEFT BELLA'S and jogged out to my car, I was weightless. I managed to school my face and hide the smile that wanted to spring forth, but I couldn’t hide my altered mood. Both Embry and Jared gave me looks when I slid into the passenger seat.

“What happened?” Embry asked.

“Just drive,” I said seriously, “we’re going to be late. I got the answers we needed.”

Embry got the car turned around and headed back toward the Rez, but they weren’t going to let it go.

“Yeah, that’s great,” Jared said, “but what’s with the change in your mood?”

Who was I kidding? There was no way I was going to be able to hide what happened. It was the single greatest thing to ever happen to me… the thing I’d been dreaming of for months, maybe even years, if I was honest. I let a small smile spread across my face as I answered.

“I kissed Bella, and she kissed me back.” Both of their mouths fell open.

“What the hell man,” Jared exclaimed, “she’s still a leech-lover. She chose one of those bloodsuckers over you just two days ago.”

Embry cast him a quick look of disbelief.

My smile had disappeared, and I glowered at Jared. “Watch what you say, Jared. She’s still working some things out, but I think she’s finally waking up to how messed up her relationship with Cullen was. She has to get there on her own though. Anyway, she didn’t only kiss me. She also told me that she’s in love with me. She absolutely would not say that if she didn’t mean it.” I still couldn’t believe it had really happened and saying it out loud felt like a dream.

Embry gave Jared another look then glanced over to me and gave my shoulder a teasing shove. “I’m happy for you, Jake. At least now we won’t have to listen to your depressed butt being all mopey.”

“No, we’ll just have to see images of him making out with her.” Jared shuddered then leaned back against his seat. “It still doesn’t feel right, but I hope for all our sakes that it works out, Jake.”

“It’ll work out. It may not feel right to you, but nothing has ever felt so right and so real in my life. Something else happened while we were kissing, but I can’t make sense of it. It was kinda like what I’ve seen and felt through your memories, Jared, and through Sam’s, from when you each imprinted. It was like the shift started, or maybe more like it wanted to start, but then it just died away.”

“Probably just wishful thinking,” Jared said.

“Maybe, but one thing I know for sure, my feelings for her are definitely magnified.”

“Yeah, your dream girl just kissed you,” Embry said, “of course you’re gonna feel more.”

I just shook my head at him and smiled. Maybe he was right, but it felt like something more than that. I wanted to share the moment with Sam when we phase later and see what he thinks. He’d be more objective than Jared, I felt pretty sure.

We made it to the funeral with time to spare, thankfully. Afterwards, we headed to the Community Center for a lunch some of the tribal ladies had prepared for everyone. It was a long, hard morning, not only because of saying goodbye to such a great man, but I found that being away from Bella was like ten times harder than ever before. Maybe because we didn’t really get to talk after we kissed, and she confessed her love to me. Does that mean we’re a couple now? I would assume so. Sam and Emily came to the same conclusion as well, seeing as how they invited us over for dinner that night.

As soon as we were done eating, Sam and I headed out to do some perimeter checks since no one was on patrol during the funeral. I was glad to have some time alone in wolf form with him to get his thoughts about that feeling I got and the new strength of what I felt for Bella.

I agree with you Jake… it does have that initial feeling like what we experienced with imprinting, but that just doesn’t make any sense. I also can’t deny that your feelings are stronger for Bella than before. However, you have been hoping and waiting for this to happen for so long… it’s a good possibility you’ve just had a really strong reaction to what happened. You definitely did not imprint on her, though.

Oh, I know… I never meant to imply that I had. Jared thinks it was just wishful thinking and maybe he’s right. I guess I just wanted to hear that I wasn’t completely delusional to think it felt similar to imprinting, if only for a moment.

No, I don’t think you’re delusional.

We ran the parameter for another hour or so before Paul and Jared relieved us and I headed home to call Bella.

**********
BELLA POV
**********

I WANDERED AFTER JAKE toward the door he’d just exited and watched as his car drove away. In a bit of a daze, my heart aching from his sudden departure after my revelation, I stood there looking at the empty street. Now that I was alone and not so overwhelmed by the emotions, I started processing what had just happened.

I’m in love with Jacob. I hadn’t seen it coming, but I could not deny it. When I made my decision right before he kissed me, I knew things would change for us, but I had no idea I would uncover this magnitude of feelings for him. I touched my lips and closed my eyes, remembering the kiss… the soft, tender heat… and a kind of electric shiver went through me. I never thought I’d be able to feel so strongly about anyone ever again and it made my head swim a little.

How had I allowed myself to be so blinded? Pining for my supposed “Romeo” whose love had been as fleeting as a dream, when there was another love right here with me, as solid and committed as the moon to its orbit. I had been trying to hold onto a love that no longer existed… to hold onto someone who no longer wanted me. How had I been so foolish and selfish? Why was I still giving my love to someone who doesn’t want it and who brought me nothing but pain in the end?

In that moment I realized the cruelness of Edward’s actions, making me believe in a love between us and then leaving me like an unwanted object, discarded when he no longer found pleasure in it. I will no longer give him any part of me… he didn’t deserve it. But Jacob does. Jacob deserves more than I could ever hope to give him. He has been right beside me for so long, giving me his love while receiving almost nothing in return, helping me to heal.

I could feel it then—the healing. The hole was gone, as if it had never been there. My heart was no longer broken. There was no scar, no reminder of the trauma, and no more pain. The thought of Edward no longer hurt. There was a distant feeling, sort of like missing an old friend or the remembered sadness of a lost love, but not the gut-wrenching, world-ending pain it was before. I got my prince after all, and his kiss broke the spell of pain that had been holding me captive.

“Bella?”

I jumped, coming back to the present, then glanced around. Alice, who I hadn’t heard come in, sat in the recliner across from me, studying me. When did I sit down on the couch? I didn’t remember moving from the front window.

“What happened?” Alice asked. “You were a million miles away just now. And something’s different…” She trailed off, her eyebrows bunching as she continued to analyze me.

My cheeks heated in both excitement and embarrassment as I met her gaze. I was a bit hesitant to share this new information with my friend, knowing she may not approve.

After a moment, I went ahead and shared my news, speaking quietly. I couldn’t keep the tender smile off my face.

“Jacob kissed me… and I kissed him back.” I unconsciously touched my lips again, and Alice’s eyebrows shot up.

“You what?” Her tone was disbelieving and had an edge of reproach. “What were you thinking, Bella? Young werewolves are so unpredictable and volatile.”

Her accusation brought out a surprisingly strong defensiveness in me. “Don’t judge him like that. You don’t even know him, Alice.” It came out harsher than I intended, so I softened my tone a bit before continuing. “I love him, and he loves me, and he would never hurt me. He has way more control than you’re giving him credit for.”

“Calm down, Bella. I’m just worried for your safety. You have obviously been around Jacob a lot lately and nothing has happened, but it just takes one time of him losing control…”

I looked away, Emily Young’s misshapen face flashing through my mind, diffusing my anger a bit. “I know the risk,” I said quietly, looking back at Alice. “But I trust Jake completely. It comes much easier for him… probably because he has the wolf bloodline on both sides of his family. He thinks it makes him less human, which I don’t agree with at all, but it definitely gives him much better control. I’ve seen it. I’ve also heard the other guys talk about what a “natural” he is. He already has almost as much control as the oldest of them, Sam, who phased the first time over a year ago. He would never hurt me, Alice.”

“It’s just…” She paused. “I mean, I don’t understand how this happened so suddenly.”

“It actually wasn’t sudden.” I gave her a small smile. “My feelings for him have been growing for a long time now, I just didn’t see it before. I was too focused on my pain and what I’d lost to see it, or to even see that it was possible. Jake has been there for me and I’m not sure what would have happened to me if it weren’t for him. My heart doesn’t feel broken any more… like it never was broken.”

“That’s quite the claim Bella.” She hesitated before continuing, studying me some more. “So, you don’t miss Edward anymore?”

I considered this for a minute, and I felt only irritation at what he’d done to me. I shook my head, opting not to tell her about my irritation, though I’m not sure I kept it from showing in my eyes.

“Maybe a little… but more in the way I miss Carlisle or Esme, or you when you’re gone.”

“Hmmm…” was all she said, then her eyes went distant for a few moments.

“What? What is it? Did you see something?” I asked, suddenly concerned.

“Very little, only flashes.” She sighed in resignation. “But you are always happy and full of life. I can no longer see very much of your future at all. Which would make sense if your future is with Jacob. This is quite unusual Bella, and maybe a little risky, but I can see you are very certain of your path now.”

“I don’t feel like it’s a risk at all. Certainly healthier than living the broken life I have been living… if you can call it living. I know you’re just concerned for me, but you have no more reason to be worried about my safety with Jake than he does about my safety with you.” I raised a brow and gave her an emphatic look, trying to make her see they both had unwarranted biases.

She put her hands up in concession… whether she agreed or not, she wasn’t going to press the issue any further.

“It’s definitely a big shift, and a lot for me to process… and not what I expected at all. But it feels like…” I paused trying to think of the right words. “Home. I feel like I’ve found my way home after being lost for a very long time.”

Jacob was my home. That realization rang so true deep inside me… down in my soul. I had never felt anything like it before… such surety. No mater what happened or where life took me, as long as I had Jacob there, I could handle anything.

She shook her head. “It is incredible. As much as I have reservations about the whole thing, I can’t deny that you look so different than you did even right before I left an hour ago. I would say you look like your old self, but it’s different even from that… happier, more content.”

She sighed then continued. “Well, this certainly changes things. Maybe it would be best if I left now.” She started to rise from her seat. “I know it will make Jacob and the rest of them much more comfortable if I weren’t here.”

I jumped up and grabbed onto her arm to stop her… not that I actually could stop her.

“No, I don’t want you to leave yet. Though I don’t feel like I need you to be here like I did before, I want you to stay for as long as you can. I still love you Alice, and I’ll miss you when you’re gone. I wish very much that Jake could see how wonderful you and the rest of your family are. He doesn’t really like it, but he understands about my feelings for you. I’ll just have to split my time while you’re here, because I can’t stay away from Jake the whole time. I already miss him so much. But you just got here, and I don’t know when, or if, you’ll ever come back. So, I really would love to spend a little more time with you.”

She gave me an uncertain look. “If you’re sure it won’t cause problems for you, I guess can stay a few more days.”

“It won’t. I’ll figure out some kind of schedule to be able to see you both.”

“Alright,” she relented, “I called Jasper and Rosalie yesterday to let them know my vision of you drowning was incomplete and you are still alive, so they knew I was planning to stay awhile longer. I also need Carlisle to call me when he gets back. But I can’t stay for too much longer. I miss my Jasper too.”

“Of course,” I agreed readily and threw my arms around her. “Thank you, Alice!” She hugged me back with a trill little laugh.

“You go back to school tomorrow?”

“Yes,” I answered with a heavy sigh, “but for today, Jake is going to call when he gets home from the funeral, and I’ll go to see him then. I don’t have any more homework I need to do, so we can spend some time together until then. I do want to finish the cleaning though.”

Alice agreed to the plan, and I went back to working on the cleaning while she watched me work and we chatted some more. At some point while working in the kitchen my thoughts started to drift. I was enjoying being with Alice, I had missed her so much, but I also found myself anxiously glancing at the clock. I was missing Jake and wanted to be back with him, back in his warm arms. The thought caused excited butterflies in my stomach and made me smile… and blush. It also reminded me again of the frustration of the situation that my two best friends couldn’t stand to be around each other... afraid they might kill each other. I shook my head.

“Hello? Bella? What are you thinking about? You’re obviously not listening to me anymore.” Alice said, slightly irritated.

I looked up at her apologetically, “I’m sorry, my mind was wandering… I was just thinking about Jake.”

“Oh, well that would explain why you were blushing. But not the sad look on your face.”

“I just hate how my two best friends can’t stand to be around each other. I don’t want my time with you to end, but I am also missing Jake terribly… I’ve always missed him when we were apart, but this is more intense than ever before.” I sighed sadly, “There just isn’t any easy answer.”

“I’m sorry that you have to be so torn, Bella. Truly. But if he doesn’t feel comfortable being around me, then it definitely would not be a good idea to push it.”

“I know.”

Once I finished the cleaning and had some lunch, we hung out on the couch while I waited for the last load of laundry. About an hour later, as I was putting the laundry away, the phone rang. My stomach jumped in excitement as I ran to answer it.

“Jake?”

“Hey Bella. I’m home now. Can you still come down?”

“Yes, I’ll head down in just a little bit.” I had what I was sure was a ridiculous eager smile plastered to my face.

“Okay, I’ll see you soon.” I could hear the excitement in his voice as well, so I felt a little less ridiculous.

I hung up and turned to Alice. “Sorry to leave while you—”

“It’s fine Bella,” she cut me off. “I will be at my house. Let me give you my cell phone number, in case you need to reach me.” She quickly scribbled her number on the pad of paper by the phone and I pocketed the slip of paper.

She agreed that she would come back over when I got home and spend the night at my house, and with a quick peck on the cheek, she flitted out the door.

Chapter Text

A short time later, after changing into clean jeans and a red long-sleeved top, I was headed to Jake’s. The sky was overcast and gloomy, like most days in Forks, but it didn’t stop the excitement that curled in my belly at the thought of seeing him again. Would he hold me again… kiss me? It was all so new and strange to think about how much had changed since just this morning. I hoped there wouldn’t be any awkwardness between us.

Then I remembered I still needed to tell him about the voices, and I began to get nervous, my mood shifting to match the weather a bit more. What if he couldn’t handle it. The thought of losing Jake now was unfathomable and it scared me. It would destroy me. No, I couldn’t think like that. I told myself that he loved me and accepted every other crazy thing about me, so why would this push him away? But I still doubted.

By the time I pulled up in front of Jake’s house I was a bit of a mess. Excited to see him, but unsure about how to act and nervous about what his reaction to my confessions would be.

Jake ran outside when he heard my truck and pulled my door open as soon as I put it in park. My cheeks heated, feeling suddenly shy as I swung my legs around to get out, but he pulled me into his arms and the shyness vanished. This was right where I’d been longing to be again since this morning, and it felt completely natural.

“I missed you Bella,” Jake breathed, relief evident in his voice.

“Me too,” I said, feeling just as relieved as he sounded.

“Sorry I had to leave so quickly this morning.”

“It’s okay.” I looked up at him and his nose was wrinkled.

I realized I probably still smelled like Alice. I smoothed my hand over my hair, as if I could wipe away the scent.

“Sorry. Maybe I should have showered before I came down.”

I tried to step away, but he held me tight.

“It’s alright Bells. It’s not that bad and it’ll probably fade in a little bit.”

“How was the funeral?” I asked quietly.

He sighed, “It was sad, of course, but it was a nice service, and everything went well. Still hard to believe Harry is really gone.”

He gently pushed my hair back. “This is something else that doesn’t quite feel real.” His fingertips brushed along my jaw and cheek, sending shivers of pleasure through me. “I’m afraid I’m going to wake up to find it was all a dream.”

“Nope, not a dream.”

I laid my head on his chest again and we just stood there holding each other for a while. I never wanted to leave again. I didn’t feel complete when I wasn’t with Jake.

He finally broke the silence. “Anything specific you want to do today? I’m free all day.”

I swallowed hard, suddenly nervous again. “Jake, there’s something I really need to tell you about… a sort of secret I’ve been keeping that may affect the way you feel about me.”

“That’s not possible,” he replied, looking down at me lovingly. “Nothing can change the way I feel about you Bella.”

“Well, I still need to tell you. It won’t be fair if you don’t know everything.”

He studied my face for a few moments before nodding. “Okay, we can go inside to talk, my dad was heading over to the Clearwater’s house so he should be gone for the rest of the afternoon.”

I got settled on their small couch while Jake grabbed us some waters before joining me. I didn’t say anything at first, listening to the sound of the clock ticking on the wall. When I finally spoke, I could hear the uncertainty in my voice.

“You may think that I’ve gone completely insane once you hear this… I won’t blame you if you do… and you may be right. So, I’ll understand if—”

“Bella, honey, just tell me. It can’t be that bad.”

I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around my legs. He began rubbing my back, waiting quietly for me to continue. My heart was racing as I took a deep breath and began.

“Okay. Back before I came down to La Push with the motorcycles, when I first started to wake up out of my zombie state, I went to Port Angeles with a friend. While we were there, I put myself in a kind of risky position with some guys that were hanging out in front of a bar on a dark part of the street.”

“What?!” Jake interrupted with a shocked and scolding tone, obviously not anything close to what he was expecting to hear.

I held up my hand to stop him before he could say more. I knew it would just get more unbelievable from there, but I powered ahead.

“I know, I know… don’t ask me what I was thinking because honestly, I wasn’t. I was waking up, but still very much lost.” I stared down at the floor, unable to look at Jake. “So, I was standing there, in the middle of the street, just a few yards from a bunch of strange men, when I…” I paused, taking another deep breath, and then spewed out the rest in a rush, “when I heard Edward’s voice in my head, crystal clear as if he was standing right next to me, telling me to stop, turn around, and not to do anything stupid.”

I hadn’t been able to look at Jake’s face, but he had stopped rubbing my back and I noticed that his hands were both in his lap and they had started trembling slightly. That was not a good sign… I nervously looked over my shoulder at him. He was staring at me with a look of astonished dismay on his face. I didn’t know if it was about my stupidity or about the voice…or maybe both.

He didn’t say anything, and looked away from me, jaw clenched and hands balled into fists. I looked away too, but I just needed to get this out, so I decided to continue, keeping an eye on his trembling hands. “And that wasn’t the only time I have heard his voice. Any time I am in danger or doing something stupid or reckless I hear it.” Jake leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, head bowed, and I saw the tremors starting to go further up his arms, so I continued, trying to get it out quickly. “I think it’s my subconscious trying to warn me, or help me, when I’m in trouble, or potential trouble. It just happens to use Edward’s voice to communicate with me.”

“When all has this happened?” he asked quietly, and his voice was calmer than I expected… reminding me of Sam again. It didn’t bother me as much this time for some reason.

I swallowed hard and spoke quietly. “Besides that first time, I heard it when I was in the meadow with Laurent, the first few times learning to ride my motorcycle, when I jumped off the cliff…” I paused before saying the final one, “and then a few times when I was close to you and you were mad, after your change, Edward’s voice warned me not to get you too upset. I didn’t understand that one until later and it only happened the first two or three times I was near you when you were upset.”

Suddenly Jake was off the couch and pacing. The trembling now went up both arms and into his shoulders. Tears began to prick at my eyes as I started to worry that this was going to be too much. He wasn’t going to be able to deal with this level of insanity and I was going to lose him after all.

He paused his pacing and faced me, his fists moving to press against his temples. “Is that why you wanted me to fix up the motorcycles? So that you could hear his voice?” he asked, struggling more to control his anger.

I could barely speak now. “No, I hadn’t figured out yet what caused me to hear his voice. I wanted to ride the motorcycle so that I could break a promise that I had made to him. On the day he left, he made me promise him that I wouldn’t do anything reckless or stupid. In turn, he also promised me that after he left, it would be like he had never existed. He had broken his promise, so I wanted to break mine.” I was having trouble breathing and I realized that there was a new hole threatening to rip through me, one that only Jake could cause this time. I refused to acknowledge it… this couldn’t be the end when we were so close to being together.

The tremors had gotten worse, and I couldn’t tell where they stopped anymore. Jake had started pacing again while I talked, and he wasn’t saying anything. I wanted to go to him, to try to calm him down, but I was afraid I might make things worse at this point, so I stayed put.

The tears started to run down my face again as I considered how close I might be to losing him, still trying to ignore the new ache in my chest. When I spoke, my voice was barely above a whisper. “Jake, please calm down. I’m so sorry that I have hurt you, or if I made you feel like I was using you, but it isn’t like that at all. I mean, that very first day, I guess it was a little like that, but just in the sense that I was asking my friend to do me a favor to help me feel better. After that it was just me wanting to spend time with you because it was you. It wouldn’t have mattered what we were doing…the other things were secondary to that.

Jacob suddenly stopped pacing, looking at me in surprise, and the tremors seemed to be easing. “Using me? Bella, I don’t think that.” There was a hard edge to his voice. “That’s not why I’m upset. I’m just so mad that bloodsucker ever had that strong of a hold on you. Making promises there was no way he could keep, causing you to do all of these dangerous and risky things and think you’d gone crazy.”

His voice calmed a little and he looked at me, pain in his eyes. “I remember how you looked that first day when you came down here. Your eyes were so empty, no color in your face, and you just looked so lost…a ghost of a person. It broke my heart… every time I see you in pain it breaks my heart. It was weeks before you even started to look human again. I’ve also seen Sam’s memory of the night he found you in the woods. It kills me to think of what that bloodsucker did to you and all the pain you have suffered, and are still enduring, because of it. I won’t hold it against you that you were trying to find any way you could to help yourself feel better.

“I guess I’m a little jealous too,” he sighed, “knowing that you’ve been seeking out his voice for comfort, but I don’t blame you for that either. You’ve been grieving, and this was how your mind decided to cope.” He shrugged, as if it were no big deal, “It’s not your fault this has been happening.”

My chest immediately relaxed and began to swell again with my love for him as I wondered how he could be so understanding. I did not deserve him.

“Until the day I jumped, I had not sought out any danger in weeks, because just being with you had been enough… more than enough really. The only reason I sought it out then was because I was going crazy with worry for your safety and needed something to comfort me. I think because we’ve had to be apart so much lately that it just became too much to bear; being apart from you, AND worrying about you all the time, I couldn’t handle it.”

He suddenly strode back to the couch and pulled me into his lap, wrapping his arms tight around me, my head tucked against his neck. “I’m sorry I’ve had to be away from you so much lately, and that it’s been making things harder for you. I wish we could just catch that redheaded leech so our lives could get back to normal… or whatever normal is going to look like now,” he snorted and shook his head.

I looked up at him. “So, you’re not mad at me? You don’t really have an issue with the fact that I hear his voice? You don’t think I’m insane and need to be institutionalized?”

“Well,” he began with a crooked grin, “I know that you’re crazy… I’ve known that for a while.” He chuckled lightly. “I mean you’d have to be at least a little crazy to be okay with all the weirdness that’s in your life!”

I couldn’t argue with him there.

“I do not, however, think you need to be locked away in a looney bin, and I am definitely not mad at you. Nothing that has happened to you has been your fault.” Jake stroked my hair.

I laid my head against his shoulder. “I’m actually thankful for the crazy, in some ways, because that’s what brought me to you… brought us together. I absolutely cannot fathom my life without you now Jacob. Ever since that first night, after spending the day with you in your garage, that was the first time since Edward had left that I didn’t have a nightmare or dream at all. Just your presence after one day affected me in such a powerful and positive way. His voice may have been a comfort to me, but it’s your love that has healed me.”

“You were having nightmares?” he asked quietly, sadness in his voice.

I closed my eyes, “There are many nights that I still do,” I whispered. “Whenever I don’t, it is always somehow directly related to you. The other day, sleeping here on your couch with you on the floor right next to me, I had totally normal dreams… my dreams are never normal. It was like your breathing was a lullaby, soothing me into a peaceful sleep.”

Jacob moved so that he could look at me again, and he had a strange questioning look on his face. “You said my love healed you… and you aren’t responding to his name like you usually do, like you are in pain…”

I understood what Jacob was wondering and I nodded. “Yes Jake, your love, or my love for you, whichever, has healed my heart. The pain is gone… my heart is complete again… as if it never were broken in the first place. I don’t really understand it, but I am so thankful.”

Jake’s eyes filled with relief, and he smiled at me tenderly. “I am so relieved for you Bella. It has been tearing me up inside knowing how hard everything has been for you. Just promise me something please,” he said quietly.

“Anything.”

“Please continue to be honest with me and tell me when you’re feeling overwhelmed by my absences or anything else… or if you hear his voice again. It doesn’t matter, I just always want to know if you are hurting, whatever the reason is.”

“I promise,” I replied, gazing into his eyes, wondering how I got so lucky.

Jake smiled down at me. His fingers brushed against my cheek as he bent down to place a brief, tender kiss to my lips, then rubbed his nose against mine.

After looking at me for a moment, he sat up a little straighter and breathed in deeply. “So, what do we want to do now?”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought past that conversation because I wasn’t sure how it was going to go.”

Jake barked out a short laugh. “It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting you to tell me!”

“Well, do you have any ideas for something to do?”

Jake looked thoughtfully out the window. “Oh, look, I think the sun has come out.”

We went outside and sure enough, the clouds had cleared, and the sun was shining bright.

“Hey, do you want to go for a drive?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, a drive sounds nice.”

“Let’s take my car… not so noisy,” he grinned at me.

I rolled my eyes at him but didn’t argue. We headed for his garage where his Charger was waiting. I was so relieved to have that discussion behind us and excited to just get to spend some time together.

Chapter Text

Jake held my hand as we cruised around the countryside with the windows down. I hadn’t felt this free in a very long time and I didn’t pay any attention to where we went. Most of the drive I propped my feet up on the dash and watched the sky through the open window, the sunlight flickering through the leaves. Or I watched Jake as he drove, smiling and whistling. It reminded me of the way he was before he became a werewolf, and it filled my heart with joy.

We had been driving in an easy silence for a little while, just enjoying the time together, when Jake finally spoke.

“So, I almost forgot, but Sam and Emily invited us over for dinner tonight, just the four of us. Kind of a proper first date since we can’t really go out right now with your life being threatened and all. What do you think, you up for it?”

“Yes actually, sounds like fun.” I smiled over at him. “Guess I’m an official “wolf-girl” now.”

Jacob laughed a deep, hearty laugh, his eyes shining. It made my heart full, and content and I couldn’t help but laugh too.

“I need to let Charlie know and make sure he’s got dinner. He doesn’t even know about the change in our relationship.”

Jake glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and smiled sheepishly, “Actually, he does…”

“What!?” I exclaimed. “Did you tell him?”

“Not on purpose,” he said defensively. “He overheard me talking to Sam and my dad about what happened this morning. I wasn’t trying to make a big announcement or anything, though that’s really what I felt like doing.”

I gave him a warning look.

He put a hand up. “I didn’t; I just said I wanted to. Bella, you have to understand how long I have wanted this… it’s the best thing to ever happen to me.” He pressed a kiss to the back of my hand. “I just couldn’t keep it completely to myself. I’m sorry if that upsets you.”

I sighed, “I’m not upset really. I don’t care who knows… or if everyone knows. I’m excited about this too. I just didn’t expect for you to spill the beans to Charlie. Actually, now that I think about it, you’ve kinda done me a favor… taken the pressure off a little. Talking to Charlie about my love life is pretty low on my list of favorite things to do. So… what did he say?”

“He seemed quite pleased actually… he congratulated me,” Jacob admitted, giving me another sheepish grin, and I let out a short laugh and shook my head at my father’s response. Jake continued, “And he didn’t really seem all that surprised. I don’t think my feelings for you have been much of a secret. Anyway, he heard Sam and Emily invite us over for dinner, so he said if you wanted to do dinner with them, then to tell you not to worry about him and he could take care of himself for dinner.”

“Ha. His idea of ‘taking care of himself’ and mine are very different.”

“He’s a grown man, Bells. He took care of himself just fine for years before you came to live with him, I think he can handle one night.”

“Yeah, well, unless there are leftovers in the fridge, he’ll get his dinner at the diner.” I sighed, shaking my head at the thought of how much he used to eat there. “I should have time to run home long enough to fix him something before we go to Emily’s, shouldn’t I?”

“Sure, sure. We can make that happen.”

There was another lull in the conversation. When Jake spoke again his voice was more serious.

“Not to put a damper on things, but I need to ask you a question.”

“Okay,” I said, wary about his sudden change in mood.

“Please don’t be upset with me… I’m not looking to start a fight. I just need to know if your… friend is still going to stay for a while.”

My immediate reaction was irritation that he brought this up again. But Jake seemed sincere that he didn’t want to argue, so I suppressed that before answering. I didn’t want a repeat of our tense conversation from this morning.

“Yes, she is, but I think only for a couple more days.” I could tell this frustrated him, but he kept his composure and nodded. “She actually offered to leave as soon as I told her about what happened between us, but I really don’t want her to leave yet, because there’s no way to know if she’ll ever visit again, so I asked her to stay. She doesn’t want to cause issues between us Jake, or with any of you. I know it’s hard for you to accept, but she is not your enemy.”

I could tell Jake was trying very hard to keep his cool as he responded adamantly. “Bella, you have to understand how ingrained it is in us that they are the enemy. It isn’t just a simple dislike or bias against them, it’s in our blood. We only exist because they exist. Their primal instinct is to hunt and kill humans, just like ours is to protect humans from them. Even if they’ve decided to drink animal blood instead of human blood, they are fighting against their deepest desires and needs. So, I am not trying to be a jerk about it, and I am doing my best to be understanding of your feelings for them, but it’s not easy for me. I just don’t know if I can trust their restraint to win out against their instincts every time. It only takes one slip up… one lapse in control. Please don’t expect us to be friends with them, because it’s just not possible.”

He suddenly pulled over to the shoulder of the narrow back road we were on and parked the car. He turned toward me, pressed my hand against his chest, and looked into my eyes as he continued. “There is nothing in my life more important than you, Bella, and it makes me so nervous not being able to watch over you while she’s here. Your safety is my number one concern and with her here, my hands are tied when you’re not on our lands.” He caressed my cheek with his other hand. “The thought of anything happening to you is just…” He shook his head and looked away, at a loss for words. “What if the redhead comes… will your little friend be able to protect you?”

I looked down, thinking about tiny little Alice fighting Victoria all by herself and I couldn’t answer positively that she could defeat Victoria. “I honestly don’t know Jake. I know she would do everything she could to protect me, but by herself, I don’t know what would happen.” I looked back up at him. “I really appreciate how hard you’re trying Jake… I had never thought of the situation from that perspective before. It still makes me sad though.”

“I know, and I’m sorry you’re still being pulled in different directions. There just isn’t any other way.”

I didn’t know if I was willing to accept that. Especially since Alice was the only one of the Cullens even in the area, there had to be some sort of agreement… some sort of compromise they could come to.

“Jake, why can’t you protect me in Forks? I mean, that’s not their land… it’s not even close to their home.”

“No, it’s not, but according to the treaty, Forks is neutral territory. So, while we can be in town, we aren’t allowed to hunt in the area, and neither are they. Which means, no wolf form and no protection for you.”

I started to get excited for the idea I had forming in my head. Hopefully I could get Jake on board with it. Jake was giving me a wary look at the excitement he could see on my face.

“Since Alice is the only one around right now, and she’s only staying for a few days, what if you could work out a new temporary agreement with her.”

Jake started to speak and looked like he was going to shut me down, so I quickly put my hand over his mouth and continued.

“Hold on, just hear me out. If I’m at home, then she’ll probably be with me, unless you’re there, of course. Otherwise, she’ll be at her house. As far as I know, the only other time she’d need to go anywhere would be to hunt. So, what if you guys can agree to some sort of schedule, just for the next few days she’s here, so you can continue your patrols to protect me as you were before she came? She cares about my safety too, you know, so I feel certain she would be open to the idea. Would you be willing to at least try to work something out with her? Do you think Sam would?”

A slightly disgusted look passed over his face at first and I could see the muscles working in his jaw, but then he looked away, thoughtful.

“I don’t know, Bella. I’m not sure you understand what you’re asking of us. She wasn’t even around when the treaty was made, so I don’t know if Sam’ll go for this.”

“I’m not asking you to change the treaty. Just to implement a sort of amendment to it for a few days. I have her cell number, so if Sam is willing, he can call her tonight while we are at Emily’s house.”

Jake gave me a dubious look. “Not exactly a topic of conversation I was hoping for on our first date,” he said, smiling wryly at me… a little frustration coming through. “I guess if Sam is willing to consider it, it couldn’t hurt to try to work something out.” He sighed and bowed his head a little. “The only reason I’m even considering it is for my own sanity… the more protected we can keep you, the better I will feel. I don’t know if that will be enough motivation for Sam.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth at this small victory. Jake gently captured my face between his large hands and looked at me intently.

“I love you, Bella. You mean more to me than my own life, and I will do everything I can to keep you safe. Even if it means making a new deal with a Cullen.”

He brought his lips firmly against mine, heat radiating from the contact and curling in my belly, stealing my breath. When he pulled away just far enough to see me, he met and held my gaze, caressing my face with his thumb. After several more moments he pressed a kiss to my forehead before turning to drive again.

Our conversation turned to lighter subjects and came easily. It made me ponder what life could have been like if all the myths and legends weren’t true. What if Jake and I were just normal teenagers? No vampires, no werewolves, no treaty, and no mortal danger. How simple life could be.

After a few minutes though, I started to recognize the scenery around us, right before we pulled into the parking lot of First Beach. This caused me to think back to the last time we were here, and I was reminded the myths and legends are in fact true and Jake has the dangerous job of helping to protect us all from them. It also reminded me of something else…

“Jake, I have something I need to tell you that I just remembered. It’s about the day I jumped off the cliff.”

He looked at me, waiting.

“When you were carrying me away from the beach that day, I saw what looked like a flame on the water. It was only later I realized it was Victoria’s hair. She did exactly what you feared she would, and she was in the water, watching us!”

He sucked in his breath sharply. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “I’m positive. My thoughts were just too muddled that day to figure it out. Coming here reminded me.”

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and his hands began trembling.

“That was way too close! We’ve got to figure out a way to get this bloodsucker. I cannot lose you, Bella.”

“Stay calm Jake.” I gently touched his face. “You can’t do anything about it right this second.”

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, putting his hand on mine to press it against his cheek, and the trembling stopped.

“I was already thinking I would really rather you stayed away from the beach when I’m not with you, but now I’m not sure you shouldn’t be here at all. Are you okay with that?”

“Absolutely.” I shuddered at the thought of how close she had gotten to me. If Jake hadn’t been there…

“Good. I know there isn’t a lot to do in La Push,” he continued, “but I’ve been thinking about it. Maybe you could hang out at Emily’s place more. She told me before that she enjoyed your company the other day and would love to have you over whenever you’d like. What do you think?”

I thought about the last time I spent part of a day at Emily’s without Jake there. I felt quite certain the aura between she and Sam wouldn’t bother me anymore, but I decided I should tell Jake about it anyway, just in case.

“That sounds like a good idea; I like Emily a lot. Complete honesty though… last time, when I spent part of the afternoon with her, when Sam came to check on us, I couldn’t handle the aura of love between them… it was just too much for me. I don’t think it will affect me the same way now, but I can’t say with absolute certainty.”

Jake smiled at me and brought his fingertips to my cheek. “Hopefully it won’t bother you at all now. Thanks for telling me about it though.” He looked around thoughtfully. “I guess we should get out of here. I actually have a couple things I’d like to do before we go over for dinner. Would you want to take your truck home and let me pick you up in a little while?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Jake took me back to my truck and I headed home. I needed to get Charlie’s dinner and I wouldn’t mind freshening up before our ‘date’.

Chapter Text

Charlie’s cruiser was in the driveway when I got home. I prepared myself for the inevitable conversation about my relationship with Jake.

“That you Bella?” Charlie called from the living room when I walked through the door.

“Yeah Dad,” I replied.

“I wasn’t expecting you until later,” he said, glancing at the clock. I took a seat in the recliner across from him as he sat up, muting the TV. There were a few moments of awkward silence, and I could see the wheels in his head turning, wondering how to open the subject of Jake with me. I let him off the hook and spoke first.

“Jake said you overheard him talking to his dad and Sam today.”

He gave me a small, crooked grin, clearly relieved. “Yeah, sorry about that. He didn’t realize I was standing so close to them.” He paused, really looking at my face for the first time since I’d sat down, and his smile grew. “You look… really good Bella. Happy — happier than I’ve seen you in a long time.” He paused again, studying me some more before shaking his head and continuing, “Jake’s a great kid and he’s been a really good friend to you. I can’t say I’m surprised… if you ask me, he’s been crazy about you for a while now. You’re lucky to have each other. Heaven knows you deserve some happiness after everything you’ve been through.”

“Thanks Dad, I am very happy. I don’t know what I would have done without Jake.” I smiled. I really was so lucky to have him. I shook my head and continued. “So, we are having dinner with Sam and Emily tonight, as you heard. I just came home to freshen up a little and make sure you had something to eat for dinner.

“Don’t worry about me sweetie. Sue sent some food home with me today, so I’m taken care of for the next few nights at least… in case you have plans.” He gave me a knowing look. Between Jake and Alice, I probably would have plans of some sort most nights for a while.

“Oh, well, that was nice of her.”

“She’s got food coming out of her ears over there, so she was happy to send some our way.”

“Alright then. I think Alice is coming back over to stay the night again when I get back home, as long as that’s okay with you. She’s only going to be here for a couple more days, so want to make the most of the time.”

“Sure thing. Alice is always welcomed here.”

“Jake will be here in about an hour, so I’m just gonna go freshen up a bit.

I went to the kitchen first to call Alice and let her know the plan for the evening. I also wanted to make sure she was okay speaking with Sam to try to work out some sort of compromise. She agreed to talk with him but wondered if it would just be easier if she went ahead and left. Maybe it would be, but I convinced her to stay. There was no way of knowing when she would come again.

I decided I had enough time to take a shower. Now that I was aware of how offensive the vampire scent was to Jake, I didn’t want to take the chance of anything still lingering on me.

When I got out of the shower, I blow-dried my hair and was pleased with the outcome. I rummaged through my closet and decided on a light-weight sky-blue sweater and dark jeans.

I was just finishing brushing my teeth when I heard a knock at the door, and I suddenly got butterflies in my stomach. I told myself I was being ridiculous, it’s just Jake. But everything had changed, and he wasn’t just my best friend anymore. He was my… what? Boyfriend? I guess that’s what he was to me now, though that word really didn’t do our relationship justice. He was so much more to me: protector; healer; savior; safe harbor. Those were just a bit too much for normal everyday life. Boyfriend would have to suffice… but also still my best friend.

“Bella, Jake’s here,” Charlie called up the stairs.

“I’ll be right down,” I called back, giving myself one last assessing look in the mirror. Not too bad… at least I had some nice color in my pale cheeks from the nerves. I took a few deep calming breaths then headed downstairs.

Charlie and Jake were standing in the front hall talking and I nearly missed a step when I saw Jake. He had done away with his normal cut-off shorts and t-shirt (or no shirt) for the evening. He was wearing jeans and a casual white button-down shirt, untucked, with the sleeves rolled up just past his elbows. The top few buttons of his shirt were undone, leaving part of his muscular chest exposed. His hair was even styled in short messy spikes. He looked… freaking gorgeous. I was stunned and I was pretty sure my face showed it. It felt a little like I was really seeing him for the first time.
He stopped talking when he saw me and gazed at me intently and I could have sworn there was something like pride shining in his eyes. A huge grin spread across his face, melting my heart and making my insides do flips.

I smiled back, feeling suddenly shy again. What was wrong with me! It’s not like I haven’t spent nearly every available minute with him over the past several months.

He took my hand as I reached the bottom step and the warmth of his touch spread up through my entire body.

“You look beautiful Bella,” he said, his voice husky. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, he held out a bouquet of wildflowers to me.

“Awe, thanks Jake. They’re pretty.”

I took the flowers from his hand, then he pulled me into his warm embrace, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. He breathed in deeply, probably enjoying the absence of vampire scent. I embraced him back, overwhelmingly aware of Charlie standing nearby, watching. After just a few moments, I reluctantly withdrew. I was pretty sure I was going to end up with permanently red-stained cheeks from all of the blushing I was doing.

“I’ll just put these in some water,” I said, going into the kitchen. I got down a vase and placed the arrangement in the center of the kitchen table before returning to the hall.

“You ready to go?” Jake asked.

“Yep,” I replied, then looked at Charlie. “See you later Dad.”

“Okay, you kids have fun,” he said with a decidedly proud smile on his face.

When we reached his car, Jake opened my door for me, waiting until I was in so he could shut it behind me. He settled in the driver’s seat and took my hand in his before pulling away from the curb. I happened to look back at the house as we drove away and I saw Charlie watching us from the front door, still smiling. It seemed he was extremely pleased with this new development in our relationship. The thought went through my head that if Charlie could have hand-picked a boyfriend for me, it probably would have been Jake.

I returned my attention back to Jake and smiled at him. “You look very handsome tonight. It’s been a while since I have seen you in anything but cut-offs and a t-shirt… or no shirt,” I laughed.

“What? You don’t like seeing me in all my glory?” He gestured to his entire torso and gave me a little smirk. I just shook my head at him.

“I’m not going to answer that.” He didn’t need any help with his ego, and no matter how I answered it could be taken the wrong way.

Jake threw back his head and laughed.

We drove in silence for a little while, my mind going over all that had happened that day. Suddenly I had a thought about what I had shared with Jake that afternoon and the fact that all the guys will probably know about the voices before long and my stomach sank a little.

“Hey Jake, can I ask you a question about your shared thoughts with the pack?”

“Sure Bells, you can ask me anything you want about the wolf stuff.”

I was just wondering… is it possible for you to keep anything a secret from the rest?”

“Sometimes, but it’s not very easy… unless it’s a super small detail.” Jake looked thoughtful. “Why, is there something you don’t want them to know?”

“Well, I was kind of hoping the whole “me hearing voices” thing could stay private. But it doesn’t sound like that’s really possible.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, but no. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep that from surfacing at some point. I can sometimes keep thoughts away for short periods of time, but anything more takes a lot of effort. Like singing show tunes constantly or something equally ridiculous and annoying. You know how your mind will just wander through thoughts, processing them while you’re doing other things, there is really no way to avoid it over a longer stretch of time.

“It’s such a weird thing, our shared thoughts… hard to describe. But it isn’t just the thoughts we share, it’s also the feelings and emotions tied to them. So, they are all very aware how special this morning was for us, and it will be the same for our conversation this afternoon. They’ll understand how much it meant that you shared those things with me… and they were meant to be private. I don’t think any of them would ever bring it up to you.”

“That makes me feel a little better, I guess.”

“None of us really like the fact we can’t keep anything to ourselves. Doesn’t mean they’ll always keep their mouths shut or not tease you about stuff at some point, and they’ll definitely give me crap about stuff, but they’ll be respectful of the super private stuff… or they should be. I know it sucks. I hope it never makes you feel like you can’t tell me something.”

“I’ll try not to let it. I hadn’t even considered it before, but I had never shared quite so openly with you before.” I brought Jacob’s hand up and pressed it against my cheek, closing my eyes and enjoying the heat against my skin. “Did they say much about this morning… have you even phased since then?”

“Yeah, we had a quick pack meeting in wolf just a little while ago. They gave me some grief if I thought about when we kissed. I have waited so long to be able to kiss you and hold you without making you uncomfortable, so it’s been in my thoughts a lot today.” Jacob smiled apologetically and rubbed his thumb on the cheek his hand was pressed against. “You know, we don’t just share emotions tied to thoughts, but how we feel about people and just our mood in general. So, if one of us is happy, or hurting, we all feel that too. It’s a lot to deal with sometimes, but it causes us to be sensitive to the people that other pack members feel strongly about. It helps us care more because we understand better what those people mean to that pack brother. It also makes us feel more protective of them. It took a bit for a couple of them to come around, but now, not only are the guys happy for me… for us… they also feel more protective of you Bella, and they want you to be safe and happy too. Especially Sam.”

I let our hands fall back to rest on the console between us, threading our fingers together again. “So it’s like I inherited a bunch of protective brothers?”

“Basically.”

“And what do you mean ‘especially Sam’? Why does he care more than the others?”

“Well, he’s felt sort of protective over you ever since he found you in the woods. Like a big brother. He didn’t really understand the urge and he obviously couldn’t ever show it or act on it since he didn’t know you at all before that night… he didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea if he checked up on you. He was relieved to get to see you sometimes when you were with me before the change… to see you coming back to life. It also pleased him a little when you figured out our secret… almost like he was proud,” Jacob chuckled. “Even though he had ordered me not to tell you, because that’s the rule, I think he felt maybe you should know. Plus, he’s the Alpha, so he feels a bigger responsibility for all of us. And now that you and I are together like this, ‘us’ includes you, so his desire to protect you is nearly as strong as mine. He also feels like he can finally fulfill more of a big brother role with you because of our relationship. So, don’t get weirded out if he acts a little protective of you or says something brotherly to you.”

“Well, that’s actually really sweet. A little weird maybe, but sweet. Makes me feel bad about the way I used to think about him.”

“Nah, he won’t hold that against you. You were only reacting to the information that you had… the info that I had given you, and that was all wrong. He understands.”

We pulled up to Emily’s house a short time later. Her little house was so warm and inviting. When we walked in, we were hit with the delightful aromas of dinner. Sam and Emily were both working in the kitchen, getting things set out on the table. They came over to greet us when we walked in.

“Hey guys,” Emily said. “We’re so glad you could make it tonight.” She gave me a big hug. “It’s good to see you again Bella.”

“Thanks Emily, it’s good to see you too,” I said, returning her hug. “Thanks for having us over. It smells wonderful!”

“Hi Bella” Sam greeted me as he put his arm around Emily. “We’re all really happy for you and Jake.” He was acknowledging our new relationship… almost like he was accepting me into the family.

“Hey Sam… thanks.” I felt my cheeks heat again, and looked up at Jake, who smiled down at me. When I looked back at Sam and Emily, they were watching us with pleased looks on their faces.

“Anything new?” Jake asked.

“No, everything’s still quiet for now,” Sam answered.

“Well, I don’t know about you all, but I am starving!” Emily said. “Everything is ready. What do you say we eat?”

The food was delicious, and the conversations were light and easy with lots of laughter. I really enjoyed spending time with Sam and Emily. They were so kind and welcoming to me… it felt like family.

After dinner, when there was a lull in the conversation, Jake looked at me with a knowing, reluctant expression on his face before turning to speak to Sam. “So, not to put a damper on the evening, but there are a couple of things we want to discuss with you Sam.”

“Alright,” Sam said, leaning back in his chair. “You don’t think they can wait until the morning?”

Jake glanced at me, then shook his head and looked back to Sam. “No, I think it’s best if we not wait. First, Bella told me something today that was a little disturbing.” He looked down at me again. “Do you want to tell him?”

This took me a little by surprise, but I nodded and turned to Sam to tell him about seeing Victoria in the water.

Sam’s eyes widened and flashed with concern. “Are you sure? You were pretty out of it that day.”

“Yeah, that’s why I didn’t put it together until later. But I’m positive now.”

Emily stared at me anxiously, then looked up at Sam.

“Well,” Sam said thoughtfully, concern and frustration in his voice, “that’s not good… way too close for comfort.” His lips drew together in a straight line as he considered. “Seems your instincts about her circling around were spot on Jake. I’m so thankful he found you in time Bella… on both fronts,” he said indicating both to save me from drowning and Victoria.

“Me too,” I said gravely, and a shiver ran through my body.

“Bella and I have already talked about her staying away from the beach for now,” Jake informed Sam. “I thought it was a good idea before I knew about the leech being in the water and seeing us there, but now it seems like a necessity.”

Sam nodded in agreement, “Good. I never liked how much time you spent alone there anyway.” There was the protectiveness Jake mentioned coming through… it made me feel safer somehow. “But I know there isn’t a lot to do around here.”

Emily spoke up for the first time since the conversation had shifted. “I told Jake this already Bella, but you are welcomed to stay here as much as you want to. It will be nice to be able to keep each other company while our guys are out working.” She smiled up at Sam, but I could see the worry lacing the edges of her expression.

“Thanks Emily, Jake had mentioned that, and I really appreciate it. I will definitely take you up on the offer. Billy has been great to let me stay at his place, but he’s not much of a conversationalist.”

Everyone laughed lightly and agreed.

“And I can help you keep these guys fed! It’s got to be a lot of work.”

“That would be fantastic. It’s like a full-time job sometimes.”

We all laughed again and when it had faded, Jake continued with the other issue to discuss.

“So, Bella had an idea today. I’m still not 100% sure how I feel about it, but it may allow us to continue to watch over her when she can’t be down here on the Rez while the little female Cullen is still here. Especially since Bella’s going back to school and work tomorrow.”

Jake shifted in his chair and cleared his throat before continuing.

“She was wondering how you would feel about reaching out to the blood… errr, Alice,” he glanced down at me, and I smiled gently, knowing this wasn’t easy for him, “to see if we can reach a temporary agreement that would allow us to continue to patrol the areas around wherever Bella is.”

I could see the doubt and indecision on Sam’s face, so I quickly added, “I spoke with her a little earlier and she is very willing to talk with you and try to figure something out that everyone is comfortable with. I have her cell phone number. She didn’t mean to disrupt everything like this when she came… and she will only be here for a few more days.”

“Gah,” Jake suddenly exclaimed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table, his head in his hands. “I’m sorry to even ask you to do this Sam. I’m only considering it because I know I’m going to be going crazy if we aren’t able to keep watch over Bella for the next few days.” He obviously wasn’t as comfortable with my idea as he was trying to appear.

I put my hand on his arm. “I’m sorry Jake,” I said, almost whispering. I was starting to feel guilty about insisting Alice stay. I just wanted to spend a little more time with my friend… I didn’t know if I’d ever see her again.

Jake looked over at me then he sat up straighter and pulled me against him, resting his cheek on top of my head and I wrapped my arms around him. “It’s alright Bella,” he said quietly.

I realized then that Emily had her hand on Sam’s arm and was looking at him intently. After a moment he turned back to us. “This is definitely not an easy situation; I don’t like the idea of leaving you so exposed either Bella.” He paused, seeming to still be undecided. After one more glance at Emily he finally sighed, “I guess it won’t hurt to see what kind of arrangement we can come up with… no promises though,” he said, looking at me. “Let me have her number and I’ll go ahead and call her.”

“Thank you, Sam.” I gave him a small smile as I handed him the paper with Alice’s number on it and made a silent wish that they could work something out.

Chapter Text

Emily and I started cleaning up the dinner mess while Jake and Sam went to the living room to call Alice.

“I’m sorry to bring the evening down like this Emily. I’ve had a really nice time tonight.”

“It’s fine Bella. Everything is so hard and uncertain right now, and some things just need to be dealt with whether they are convenient or not.” She smiled at me and squeezed my shoulder. “If an agreement can be reached, Sam will figure it out. We all want you to be as safe as possible.”

We had finished cleaning up and were sitting at the table, talking quietly, when we heard Sam hang up the phone. My stomach was in knots as we headed into the living room where the guys were to get the verdict.

Emily went to sit on the arm of Sam’s chair, and I joined Jake on the couch. Both guys seemed tense, which didn’t help my anxiety any. Jake put his arm around me as Sam spoke.

“So, it seems we have come to an arrangement with Alice. She agrees that she may not be able to take down the red-head all by herself, if it ever came to that, and wants to make sure you are protected, Bella.”

I smiled and let out a small breath, some of the tension leaving my shoulders. I could tell Jake and Sam were still a little edgy though.

“What does your schedule look like this week Bella?” Sam asked.

“Besides school, I have to work Monday and Wednesday right after school and then again on Saturday morning.”

“Okay,” Sam continued, “since we haven’t been patrolling the area for several days now, Alice is going to give you a ride to and from school and work, at least for tomorrow. You and Jake can work out when you’ll come down to La Push, but just let Alice know because that will determine a lot of how this will work. So, once the plans are made, if anything changes you will need to make sure you are communicating with her and Jake, so we all can stay on the same page.”
I nodded in understanding, and we came up with a plan for the week. On the days I worked, I would just go home after work and Alice would be at my house for the night. On the days I didn’t work, I would go straight from school to Emily’s house to spend the afternoon and evening. Basically, if I was home, Alice would be there with me, and if I wasn’t home, she would be at her house. And based on where she and I were, would determine what patrol routes the pack would cover. They had even worked out certain times for Alice to go hunting.

When we were done planning, the guys left to go inform the rest of the pack and work out the details with them.

“I feel better,” I said as Emily joined me on the couch, “though I still feel kinda guilty for asking them to do this.”

“I think it’s rather impressive you got them to work together with her. I may not understand your friendship with them, but I don’t feel quite the same way about them as the guys do. Just knowing you makes me feel better about them… not that I want to strike up a friendship with them myself or anything.” Emily laughed.

“Thanks Emily.”

When the guys came back, Emily and I had been sharing stories from when we were growing up and we were laughing hysterically. My stories were mostly of all the trouble I’d get into because of my clumsiness. It was actually quite amazing that we were forming a friendship, since we were both fairly shy and reserved, but being with Emily is what I imagined having a sister would be like. Kind of like being with Alice, only more because Alice sometimes wasn’t able to fully comprehend what it was to be human anymore.

The guys stood there watching us laugh for a few minutes and I noticed the expressions on their faces lighten as their moods improved from watching us. Both of them finally broke out in smiles and chuckled lightly, enjoying us having fun together.

“If you haven’t already told Jake that one, you should.” Emily said, still trying to catch her breath.

My face and belly hurt from smiling and laughing so much. “I don’t think so. That one might be just for you… I don’t think I have ever told anyone else that story before!”

“Well, now I really want to know,” Jake said, as the guys sat down in the armchairs.

“Ummm… nope, sorry, I don’t think so,” I giggled and shook my head.

The rest of the evening was light-hearted and fun. I was sad when it was time to go, but I had school the next day and wanted to leave some time to spend with Alice before I needed to go to bed.

“I guess I’ll see you on Tuesday, Emily,” I said as we headed to the door.

“Oh, that reminds me,” she said as she grabbed something off the table by the front door and handed it to me. “Here is a key to my house. I teach a late class sometimes, so you may beat me here on those days. I don’t always lock the door with the guys coming and going so much, but this way you can always get in if you need to.”

My eyebrows went up in surprise as I took the key from her. “Are you sure? I don’t mind waiting on the porch for you.”

“Nonsense,” she said, “this way you can come here whenever you need to, even if it’s unexpected and I’m not home. Think of it as your home away from home… us wolf-girls need to stick together.” She smiled and gave me a knowing wink. “And here is my phone number. Feel free to call any time for any reason.”

“Wow. Thank you so much Emily. I had such a great time tonight. We will need to do this again sometime soon!”

“I would love that,” Emily said as she gave me a great big hug.

I went out to the porch where the guys were talking. Jake looked down at me. “You ready to go?”

“Yep,” I replied.

We said our goodbyes and waved as Sam and Emily went back into the house.

When we reached the car, instead of opening my door, Jake turned me around to face him. He caressed my face and smiled down at me.

“I loved seeing you laugh like that tonight, Bella. I haven’t seen this much light in your eyes since that first night we walked on the beach over a year ago, when I told you all our tribal stories.”

“I haven’t felt this free in a very long time… maybe never,” I admitted. “And when I’m with you, Jake…” I placed my hand on his chest and looked deeply into his eyes. “I feel like I’ve found my home. I owe it all to you. You are the reason I can laugh and love again. You are the reason I don’t hurt anymore. I love you, Jake.”

The expression on his face changed as I spoke, and it caused my pulse to quicken.

“Oh Bella,” he breathed, his voice husky and full of longing. He bent down to kiss me, pressing my back against the car, his body pressed up against mine. Suddenly he picked me up and set me on the trunk of the car, not breaking the kiss. His hands were on my back and in my hair as he pulled me closer, my knees straddling his hips.

This was so much more intense than anything I had ever experienced before, and the thought that maybe we should stop flitted through my mind, but I was so caught up in the newness of it all, it died before I could fully process it. This is what a real, breath-taking, toe-curling kiss was… and I loved it!

My hands found their way under the edge of Jake’s shirt, then slid up his back, delighting in the feel of the strong sinewy muscles under his silky skin. Between the heat coming from Jake and the heat he caused to course through me, my body had become a roaring fire; my head was swimming and drawing breath had become a struggle.

Releasing my lips, Jake immediately trailed kisses along my jaw and down my neck, as I gasped for air. His hot breath caressed my skin and sent shivers through me. He stopped at the hollow of my neck and began kissing and nipping at the sensitive skin there, driving me crazy with pleasure. I was tingling and trembling all over. All coherent thoughts had left my mind, and I heard myself moan his name softly.

Jake growled quietly, his mouth returning suddenly to mine. He grabbed my hips to pull me closer, gently squeezing and sparking more fires in my belly. At the sound of my whimper against his lips, Jake sucked in a breath. He kept our bodies pressed together with a hand on my low back as the other skimmed down my thigh, grasping the crook of my knee and pulling my leg part way up against his side.

I lost all sense of time and space, desperately clinging to Jake as he continued to kiss me passionately, continuing to stoke the fire inside of me into an inferno, our bodies pressed so close. My desire for Jake was inexplicable and I had never experienced anything near this level of intensity. Barely able to breathe, I may have been reaching my limit.

In tune with me as always, Jake slowly eased his grip on my body and our kiss gradually became calmer and softer. His hands moved up to gently caress my face and neck, finally ending the kiss to press his forehead against mine while our breathing recovered. My head was still swimming, and I held on to him for support. He pulled me against his chest then, resting his cheek on top of my head. It was another little while before either of us spoke.

“Oh my gosh, Jake,” I said, my breathing still a little ragged, “that was… I can’t even think of a word to describe what that was.” I still felt light-headed and tingly all over.

“I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry if that was too much Bella. It just felt so good to kiss you and touch you. I have wanted to for so long now, and your scent is positively intoxicating… I definitely let it get a little out of hand and had trouble stopping.

“I don’t know if it was too much, but it was definitely more than I’ve ever experienced before. I’m not sure I really wanted you to stop though.”

He pulled back enough to look down at me. “Yes, it was very intense and stopping was the right thing to do, whether we wanted to or not. I think we’ll need to be especially careful not to let ourselves get carried away. I don’t want to move too fast with you physically and risk messing anything up.”

“I know, me neither.” Without the threat of my life being in danger like it would have been with Edward, nothing was off-limits for me and Jake, except what we made off-limits. Even though this was only the first day of being an actual couple, there was so much connection between us already because of the friendship we shared, and the strength of our feelings for each other. Things had the potential to move way faster than we wanted if we didn’t set some boundaries.

“So, I don’t know what your feelings are about this,” Jake said, “but I have always felt strongly about waiting for marriage to become intimate with someone. I know being physical too soon can ruin a relationship, and I don’t want that to happen with us. I don’t want anything to get in the way of what we have, Bella. How do you feel about it? Are you okay with holding off?”

I felt my cheeks heating as I considered the topic. Jake smiled gently at me and rubbed his thumb across my flushed cheek.

“I don’t mean to embarrass you, honey. I just think it’s important we talk about it before it becomes an issue.”
“I know, you’re totally right. I’ve honestly never given it too much thought. I’ve only had one other serious relationship, with Edward. This never came up, for obvious reasons, so I’ll just follow your lead, Jake. If you feel strongly about waiting, then I’m completely fine with that. We can still kiss though… right?”

“Yes,” he said with a laugh, “there is no way I can handle not being able to kiss you. I will obviously need to do a better job keeping myself in check, but this is the first time I’ve ever felt strongly enough about anyone for it to even be an issue. I promise you, Bella, I will always respect you and protect you in all ways, even from myself.”

He gave me another soft, chaste kiss and sighed. “I guess I should be getting you home now.”

He helped me down off the car and helped me climb inside. Once he was in, I angled myself toward him in my seat and just watched him as he drove, my head relaxed against the headrest. After a little while he felt my gaze and glanced over at me.

“What?” he asked softly.

I smiled. “Did you know you’re sort of beautiful?” I was remembering when I said those words to him before, on the way to the hospital after the first day I crashed my motorcycle.

He grinned and reached over to take my hand, lacing our fingers together, remembering too. “A lot has changed since that day, huh?”

“Yes, it has… and I am so thankful those changes brought us to what we have now.”

“Me too,” Jake said quietly.

After just a few moments of silence, I spoke again. “I have a question for you.”

“Okay.” He gave me a curious look.

“Would it be possible for me to see you phase? Sometime when you’re not running off to protect me? Or is that against the rules?”

“You want to see that? You wouldn’t be scared?” He sounded surprised.

“Why would I be scared? It’s still you, right? You aren’t out of control as a wolf, just sometimes you have trouble keeping yourself from phasing? Am I wrong?”

“No, you’re right.” He smiled at me. “You really are something else, Bella. Yeah, I could show you that sometime.”

“Oh, good!” I was excited to not only see him phase, but to get a better look at the wolf Jacob. It had become such a big part of who he was that I didn’t want to miss out on knowing and understanding more about it.

“But you can’t see me phase back to human form,” he said suddenly, and there was a slight tinge of pink in his cheeks. Was he blushing?

“Why not?”

“Well, we don’t magically have clothes on after taking our human form again.”

My eyes got big, and I gasped, then laughed. He shot me a look of annoyance at my laughter. I tried to suppress it. “I’m sorry, Jake, I don’t mean to laugh, but I never thought about that!” I was not doing a very good job quieting my amusement. “I guess it’s a good thing you are all guys then.”

He didn’t say anything and got a weird look on his face. I was finally able to get my giggles under control.

“Jake, I’m really sorry I laughed. Please don’t be upset, the thought just took me by surprise.”

“It’s not that, Bella,” he said, then sighed. “We aren’t supposed to say anything yet, but I don’t want you to find out later and think I was trying to hide anything from you.” He paused and glanced over at me. “It’s just, we’ve had a couple more additions to the pack recently… and one of them is Leah Clearwater. It’s totally unheard of for a girl to phase, but so is having a pack of eight! Except for the very first one, all the other packs have only been three at a time, and always males only.”

I stared at him wide-eyed again, not sure how to respond to that. Finally, I just said, “Well, that’s got to be awkward for all of you. Poor Leah… I’d imagine it’s most awkward for her! And now having lost her dad…” I trailed off.

“You have no idea. There is a lot more going on than just having a girl in the pack, but it’s much too long of a story for tonight.”

“You said a pack of eight… who are the other two?”

“Quil for one.”

“Oh no! I’m sorry Jake.”

“Don’t be! He’s thrilled about it. And it’s good to finally have him be a part, and to be able to share what has been going on with him. It was harder knowing it was coming, not being able to change it or explain it to him.”

“Of course, Quil would be excited,” I said rolling my eyes and Jake chuckled. “And who’s the last?”

“Seth Clearwater, Leah’s little brother.”

“Oh wow! He’s so young… isn’t he like 14?” I was in shock.

“Yes, definitely one of the youngest in our histories to phase.”

“I wonder what in the world caused them both to phase,” I pondered, not really expecting an answer.

But Jake surprised me when he answered quietly. “Leah was arguing with her parents and phased right in front of them. Harry missed all the signs because he, like the rest of us, thought only male descendants would inherit the gene. That’s what caused Harry to have his heart attack. And then Seth phased that same night because of all the turmoil going on around him. So, Sue is dealing with a lot right now.”

I just sat there in stunned silence, not knowing what to say.

“The whole situation is pretty messed up,” Jake continued. “Leah blames herself for Harry’s death, even though there was nothing she did wrong. So, she’s not handling anything very well right now. Just make sure you don’t say anything to anyone about knowing.”

“I won’t,” I promised, as we pulled up in front of my house. “Are you going to get in trouble for telling me?”

“No, it wasn’t an order, but they aren’t going to be super excited either. I just didn’t want anything to potentially be a problem between us, Bella. You are way too important to me to risk that.”

I smiled at him. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness Jake, but I trust you more than that.”

He returned my smile, but just as quickly it faded into an almost scowl and his hands started trembling. He looked over his shoulder, out the window, and toward the trees, then turned back to me. “Alice is here.”

Chapter Text

Surprised at his declaration, I followed Jake’s gaze and saw Alice come out from the shadows of the forest, stopping about 20 feet from the tree line.

Jake turned back to me, “I forgot to tell you she was coming early enough to see me. We need to get a good track on her scent, so we don’t mistake her for another vampire if any of our plans get messed up.”

Jake took my hand as we headed toward her, and I could feel him trembling.

“Are you okay with this Jake? You didn’t seem to think you’d be able to handle being around her this morning.”

We were about forty feet away from her when Jake stopped and turned to me. “A lot has changed since then Bella… my motivations are different now.” He brushed his fingertips across my cheek and jaw, and it made me shiver. “But, just to be safe, I had Sam give me an Alpha command not to harm her unless she attacks me. I don’t want to risk doing anything that will hurt you or our relationship.”

I gave Jake a grateful look. I knew how much he disliked the Alpha orders, having his free-will removed. “You never cease to amaze me, Jake.”

He gave me a half smile, still trembling. “I need you to wait here so your scent doesn’t get mixed up with hers. I would be able to distinguish the difference, but I’m not sure the other guys could so easily. I’m going to go phase since my sense of smell is more acute as a wolf.” He kissed me on the forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

He addressed Alice as he walked toward the woods, his voice tense

“Just stay right there. I’ll come as close as I need to in order to get your scent.”

Alice nodded.

Jake ran into the woods and reemerged a minute later as the red-brown wolf, stepping slowly, sniffing the air. I could tell they were both on edge; Jake’s stance appeared tense, and Alice was like a statue. After a bit he looked over to me then back to Alice, shaking his head and snorting, taking several steps back.

Alice called out to me, without looking. “Bella, I think he needs you to move further away. I’d imagine your scent is more potent to him in this form than he expected.”

“Oh, okay.” I was surprised he could still smell me over Alice’s scent from so far away. I walked all the way back to the car and climbed inside to make sure my scent wouldn’t interfere this time.

After a little bit longer, Jake turned and went back into the woods.

As soon as Jake disappeared into the trees, Alice dashed over to me as I got back out of the car.

“Hey there,” she said. “So, I left my car parked on the next street down. I’m going to go get it and give you two time to say good night. I’ll be able to see when Jake leaves and I’ll come back then.”

“Okay. See you in a bit.”

Alice dashed away just as Jake was coming out from the woods and he jogged over to me. Putting his arm around me we turned and headed to the house.

“You guys seemed to have thought of everything. Way more than I would have thought was necessary. I appreciate it so much that you are all going to this trouble for me.”

“You’re worth it,” he smiled at me. “And I sure hope we have thought of everything. It’s kind of a touchy situation and a lot could go wrong. It helps that she’s the only one of them here.”

Stopping at the steps to the porch, Jake pulled me into his arms.

“So, you can recognize my scent, huh?” I asked curiously. “Like, you can tell the difference between me and other humans?”

“Yes, your scent is clearer and stronger to me than any other… human or otherwise. I could probably pick you out of a gymnasium full of people, blindfolded, even in human form.” Jake got a mischievous look in his eyes and a cocky little smirk curled his lips. “I can also sense changes in your emotions and your hormones.”

I felt my face flush red-hot. “Oh my gosh. Are you serious?”

At his nod, I buried my face in his chest and gave him a little punch in the side. He chuckled at my reaction, which I’m sure that’s what he was going for. I was also pretty sure that it meant he was aware of a lot about the workings of my body and mind.

“I can’t believe you just told me that,” I mumbled into his shirt.

It also helped explain why it seemed he could read my mind sometimes, although he was able to do that sometimes before he was a werewolf, so there was probably a little more to it than heightened senses.

Jake laughed again, enjoying my reaction far too much, then continued.

“Alice was right too; I was surprised by how potent your scent was to me as a wolf. Now that I think about it, it’s stronger to me now, in human form, than it was this morning. Maybe it has to do with our connection getting stronger. I’ll have to ask Sam to see if he experienced that at all with Emily.”

I had lifted my head away from Jake’s chest again. “Well then, I guess that mean I would lose if we ever played hide-n-seek,” I said.

Jake laughed long and loud at that. “You wouldn’t stand a chance.” As his laughter subsided his expression changed to one of sorrowful longing. “I’m going to miss you so much until I can see you again on Tuesday.”

“I know, me too. Call me tomorrow evening if you get a chance. It will help just to hear your voice.”

“Okay, I’ll do that. And I’ll be around. Our patrols will bring us near to wherever you are pretty frequently.”

“That’s comforting.” I laid my head on his chest again.

He held me tight for a minute then sighed. “I need to get going. We are all on patrol tonight… with the new arrangement we have a lot of ground to cover that we haven’t been able to check on for several days.” He gripped my chin gently to turn my face up to his and kissed me softly.

He stayed until I was inside then I watched as he walked back to his car and drive away. I was struck again at the ease and gracefulness of his movements.

“That you Bella?” Charlie called. He sounded like he had been dozing on the couch for a while.

“Yeah, it’s me, Dad.” I went to stand in the doorway to the living room, waiting for Alice to get here.

“Did you have a good evening?” he asked.

“Yes.” I smiled, remembering all the laughter. “I haven’t laughed that much in ages. I really like Emily, she’s so easy to be around. How about you?”

“It was a long day. Sue really has her hands full with that daughter of hers.”

“Yeah, Jake mentioned something about her not handling things very well.”

“No, she’s not. She’s just so full of anger… like she blames herself for her dad’s heart attack. I hope she’s able to come out of that soon. For all of their sakes.”

“That sounds rough.” I felt very sad for Leah.

There was a knock at the door, and Alice came flitting in when I opened it, an overnight bag slung over her shoulder… always one to remember her “props.” I gave her a big hug.

“I’m glad you’re staying here again tonight.” When I let go and looked at her again her nose was wrinkled, but she quickly relaxed when I moved away. “Sorry… I think I’m going to be taking lots of showers while you’re here,” I said with a sigh.

“Don’t do that on my account. It’s not that bad unless you’re right up next to me. Save the showers for before you go see Jake,” she said with a wink, and I blushed, then we both laughed.

“Hey there Alice.” Charlie called from the couch. “I’ll be heading to bed soon, so the couch will be free before long.”

“Hi Charlie. Don’t even worry about it. Bella and I have a lot to talk about.” She grinned at me.

“We’ll be up in my room Dad.”

“Alright,” he called as we headed up the stairs.

“Do you really want to hear about my time with Jacob? It won’t be weird for you?” I asked once we were in my room, thinking maybe she just said that for Charlie’s benefit.

“Of course I do!” Alice exclaimed. “And it will not be weird for me. I love my brother, but he made his choice. And I could not be more pleased that you have been able to move on Bella. I was so concerned for you when I got here but look at you now… you are glowing. You are my friend and I want you to be happy. And you just spent the day with the boy you love… and had your first ‘official’ date. I want to hear all about it!”

I smiled big and went through all the details of the day… well, almost all—I left out the conversation about the voices and the size the pack has grown to. One of those I didn’t want her to know about and the other wasn’t my information to share. I told her about our drive and the dinner and all the laughter… and about the crazy intense kiss.

“I’m still getting tingly just thinking about it.” I was practically giddy sharing everything with her. It was so nice to have someone to talk to and share this with. And she seemed to be genuinely excited for us.

“It sounds like it was a great night. I am so thankful you have found someone who cares for you so much Bella. And someone who can watch over you and protect you. Even Sam seems to care a great deal about your well-being.”

“Yeah, Sam looks at me as kind of a little sister. And I already feel a sisterly connection with Emily. Reminds me of our friendship,” I said, taking Alice’s hand.

“That’s good too. It’s good to have a girlfriend to share things like this with… especially someone who knows all the mystical details of your life. I’m so relieved you have so many caring people in your life. Hold tight to them Bella.”

“I will. I just wish you could stay and continue to be one of them.”

“I know, but it really wouldn’t be a good idea for me to stay. I’ll still be one of your people though, just from a distance. I don’t want to continue being a source of tension between you and Jake and his friends. Plus, I miss Jasper and my family too much. We can stay in touch though. And I can come back and visit every now and then. But let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s enjoy the time we have together for now.”

We continued to chat, and I made sure I had everything ready to go for school the next day. I also took a few minutes to respond to an email from Renee, telling her all about my new relationship status with Jake. Charlie let us know when he went to bed, so we’d know the couch was free.

“I have an idea,” Alice said after Charlie went to his room. “You will probably sleep much better if you stay in your bed, so why don’t I just hang out up here tonight and we can pretend we shared the bed. It’s big enough that we could, if I actually slept. And I will be just as comfortable in your rocking chair as I would be in the recliner.”

“Hmmm… my bed would be more comfortable than the couch. Are you sure?”

“Absolutely!”

It had been such a long, crazy day. I was tired, but I also felt totally amped at the same time. If I didn’t go to sleep soon though, it wouldn’t matter where I slept, I would not be very well rested in the morning.

Alice was in the bathroom, pretending to get ready for bed, since we couldn’t hear Charlie snoring yet. I went to my window, looking into the shadows of the trees, wondering if Jake was nearby. A movement near the back corner of the yard caught my attention and when I focused my gaze that way, there he was, standing just at the edge of the trees, my red-brown wolf… Jacob.

I immediately had a huge smile on my face and raised my hand to greet him. He did a little jump in place then lowered his chest to the ground, leaving his tail wagging in the air, and I laughed. I waved one more time as he slipped back into the shadows of the forest.
“What are you doing Bella?”

I jumped and spun around to Alice standing close behind me. I hadn’t heard her return.

I laughed and pointed to the place where Jake was just a moment ago. “It was Jake. He must have been checking on the house and saw me come to the window, so he came out of the trees enough for me to see him.” I explained, with a big grin still on my face.

Alice settled herself in the rocking chair, and I felt light as air as I climbed into bed. I fell asleep with a smile still on my face, thinking about my Jacob, both man and wolf.

Chapter Text

When the new day dawned, there was a slight drizzle falling, but I was rested and refreshed after another dreamless night. Perhaps the nightmares were gone for good, just like the hole in my heart.

I wasn’t necessarily ready to face the day though. School… ugh; and then work. I normally didn’t mind school at all, but lately there were so many other things going on in my life the priority level of school had fallen a few notches. Not to mention how I still felt more out of place after my self-inflicted alienation when the Cullens left. And I wouldn’t even get to see Jake today. At least Alice would be staying again tonight. It was going to be such a long day. It may not do a lot to help with that out of place feeling, but I planned on making a couple of key apologies today, after my revelations over the weekend. I sighed and hopped out of bed. Might as well get it started.

“Good morning, Bella,” Alice sang joyfully as she came into the room, fully dressed and looking perfect.

“Hey,” I grumbled.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Just thinking about how long this day is going to feel.” I needed to snap out of it… I could hear the pout in my voice.

“Well, the day has potential for improvement.” She winked at me with a twinkle in her eye.

My mood instantly lifted. “Really? Did you see something?”

“Sort of. I don’t want to say anything more and get your hopes too high in case it doesn’t work out. Nothing seems to be firm at the moment.”

I sighed. “Okay. I guess the chance of something good is better than nothing.”

When Alice dropped me off at school it seemed as if every eye were on us as I stepped out of the car. I ducked my head and walked as quickly as possible into the building.

The morning went by just as expected, long and tiring. At least the drizzle had stopped, though the sky remained overcast and gray. I made sure to get to Calculus early so I could hopefully speak with Jessica. It was kinda hit or miss whether she spoke to me willingly on any given day. She had never fully forgiven me for that night in Port Angeles, so I had multiple things to apologize to her for.

Today, however, she started talking to me before she even reached her seat.

“Bella! Was that Alice Cullen that I saw drop you off today?”

Leave it to a bit of gossip to put Jess in a friendly and talkative mood. This probably would work in my favor… soften her up with a snippet of gossip before apologizing.

“Yeah, it was.

“I knew it! Lauren said I was wrong, but I knew that was her behind those dark tinted windows. Plus, who else has ever driven a car like that in town?” She settled herself in her seat and leaned in toward me, lowering her voice conspiratorially. “So, what’s she doing here? Are they all back? Will they be returning to school?”

Just a couple days ago, questions like those would have sent pain ripping through my heart.

“No, Alice just came to visit for a few days. No one else is here.”

Jessica looked decidedly disappointed at this news. I don’t know why she would care one way or the other, so it probably would just make for juicier gossip if it was more than just a visit.

“I bet you’re relieved Edward isn’t coming back.”

I shrugged. “A little, I guess.” It definitely was best that it was Alice and not Edward that had showed up unannounced, but I don’t think it would make a difference anymore if he were to show up. I had finally been able to move on, and I couldn’t be happier about it!

“You guess?” She dug through her bag as she continued. “After the way you were when they left, him coming back would probably be totally awkward, at best.”

“You’re probably right.” It may not hurt, but I was ready to move off of this topic and get my apology out of the way. “Hey, I had something I wanted to say to you.” She turned her attention fully back to me. “I just wanted to apologize to you for the way I was back then, after the Cullens left… and for that night in Port Angeles. I know it’s long overdue, but I’ve had some revelations recently into just how messed up I was, and I sort of pushed everyone away and shut everyone out of my life. So, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for doing that to you.”

“Oh.” A look of surprise was quickly replaced by one of smug reproach. “Well, yeah, you were pretty messed up. I could understand it for a while, especially since they just left out of the blue, but you didn’t have to just shut us all out. I mean, it’s not like they died. He broke your heart, sure, but you didn’t need to go all tragic on us. And that night in Port Angeles? Well, you really scared the hell outta me! I mean, who does that! It’s like you had a death wish, or something.”

I was internally rolling my eyes and cringing because, though I may have deserved a little of it, I didn’t see an end to her barrage, so I put my hand on Jessica’s arm and she stopped midstream to look at me.

“I know, Jess. I wasn’t behaving rationally, and that’s why I’m apologizing to you… because I realize that now.”

“Oh,” she said again. “Well, that’s good… I mean, that’s good that you realize. And nothing bad actually happened, right? So, it’s all good Bella. I’m just glad you’re through all of that and doing better.”

She finally smiled at me as the final bell rang, and Mr. Varner started class immediately, so I was saved from having to continue with the conversation. After class her attention had gone back to Alice visiting and all seemed to be good between us.

By the time lunch rolled around, I was dragging and just ready for the day to be over. I had considered apologizing to the table as a whole, but that stressed me out too much… especially since that would include Lauren. So, that just left one more person who I wanted to make a point to apologize to.
Angela gave me a wide smile as I sat down next to her.

“Hi Bella. How was your Spring Break?” she asked.

Well, let’s see; I have a killer vampire hunting me, I jumped off a cliff and nearly drowned, my best friend, who is a werewolf and is now my boyfriend, saved me from drowning, he and his other werewolf friends are trying to get the killer vampire before she gets me, and Alice Cullen came unannounced for a visit. There was almost nothing in that list that I could tell Angela… or anyone else, for that matter.

“Not too exciting. I spent a lot of time down at La Push with my friend, Jacob Black. Then, Alice Cullen showed up for a surprise visit on Friday and is staying for at least a couple more days. It’s been really great to catch up with her.”

“Oh wow!” Angela’s eyebrows raised as she took that in. She hesitated for a few moments, looking unsure, before gently asking, “Did any of the other Cullens come?”

I gave her a small smile. “No, just Alice.” I suddenly realized what a good friend Angela had always been. Jessica was somewhat of a fair-weather friend and had asked about the other Cullens out of a desire to get all the good gossip, but Angela was asking out of her concern for me. Her gentle, knowing question reminded me of how much she saw and understood without me having to say anything. Why have I never gotten closer to her? Spent more time with her? Probably because of all the vampires and other crazy in my life, I guessed. Well, that and the fact that we are both shy, but it bothered me that it was just another thing I hadn’t been consciously aware of before. I decided right then that I wanted to try to get to know Angela better and maybe grow our friendship more. Starting with my apology… and sharing my biggest news, that I had avoided mentioning to Jessica. But I didn’t want to do it here in front of everyone.

I lowered my voice and leaned in closer to Angela to ask if she’d walk with me after lunch so I could tell her without the other listening ears. She smiled and nodded, understanding my desire to not share everything with the whole table.

We moved on and I asked both Angela and Mike, who had seated himself on the other side of me, how their Spring Breaks had gone. Angela’s family had gone on vacation, so she shared some of the places they visited and things she saw. Mike just worked and played video games with Eric and Tyler. I caught snippets of stories others at the table were telling of their week as well. Suffice it to say, everyone had a much different week from the one I had!

When lunch was just about over, I caught Angela’s eye and inclined my head toward the door, signaling her to leave with me. She leaned over to say something to Ben, who nodded and stayed behind as she got up to follow me out into the mostly empty hall.

Never one to be pushy, Angela waited for me to speak first. I started off with my apology, basically the same as the one I’d given Jessica.

“Bella, you don’t need to apologize to me. I understand that you were hurting. They all left so suddenly, it had to be hard to deal with. I’m just relieved to see you doing so much better. In fact, if you don’t mind me saying, you look better than ever today. I don’t ever recall you looking so… I don’t know, relaxed maybe, or happy. I can’t put my finger on it, but you look great.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised that Angela noticed my improved spirits, even if I was feeling a bit mopey about not getting to see Jake today. I let an excited smile spread across my face as I answered.

“Well, there’s kind of a reason for it. So, do you remember my friend Jacob Black?”

“The guy from La Push? Wasn’t he the one who showed up at prom last year?”

I let out a little laugh at the memory. I had kinda forgotten about that.

“Yeah, that’s him. We’ve been spending a lot of time together over the past few months and he’s really been my best friend for a while now. He’s helped me so much to finally move on after what happened last year and how I didn’t deal with it very well.” My cheeks began to warm as I continued. “Well, we sorta kissed yesterday. He’s liked me for a while, but I only just realized that I like him too. And now we’re officially a couple.” Saying it out loud was kind of a rush.

Angela’s eyes went wide, “Really Bella? That’s great! I knew something was different about you today. I would love to hear the story sometime… if you don’t mind sharing.”

“I don’t mind sharing, but it’s kind of a long story.”

“I understand. Maybe we can hang out sometime soon and you can tell me about it. And hey, maybe we can go on a double date.”

“I would really like that.”

The hall was starting to fill up and we both still needed to get our books for our next classes.

“I guess we better get to class now,” I said. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, later.” We both waved as we went our separate ways.

The rest of the day went much like the morning and just seemed to drag on. Relief hit me when the dismissal bell finally rang. I still had to suffer through a few hours of work, but I’d get to see Alice for a little bit first. I realized though, as much as I was excited about seeing Alice and having her spend the night again, the thing I was really looking forward to was seeing Jacob again tomorrow. I was struck by just how intensely I missed him.

Lost in thought as I reached the edge of the parking lot, I absently began looking around for Alice’s car. What I saw instead, just a short distance away, was Jake, leaning against his motorcycle! Everyone was giving him a wide berth and curious, wary glances.

He had already spotted me and was watching me with a playful smirk. I suddenly forgot about all the curious watching eyes and a broad smile crinkled his face as I called out his name, dropped my bag, and ran to him, throwing myself into his arms.

Jacob caught me easily and held me tight as I clung to his neck.

“Miss me?” he asked as I dangled from his arms.

I laughed and pressed my face into his neck. “I think my answer is pretty obvious.”

“Yes, well, you’re lucky I have good reflexes.” He breathed in deeply then set me down, keeping his arms around me.

“What are you doing here? Not that I’m complaining in the slightest, but you do know I have to go straight to work, right?”

“I know but I missed you too much. I just couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see you. I spoke with Alice earlier and she was cool with staying home so I could come give you a ride to work. I know it’s not a lot of time together, but I figured it was better than nothing.”

“It’s definitely better than nothing, but that’s a long way to come just to give me a ride.”

“You’re worth it.” He caressed my cheek as he gazed down at me, and I felt myself blush. I ducked my head and snuggled my face into his chest, hugging him tight and breathing deep. I enjoyed the smell of him, musky and woodsy with a hint of the brine of the ocean. Interesting… I don’t remember ever noticing his scent so much before.

He rested his cheek on top of my head, and we just held each other for a bit longer.

I finally sighed as I reluctantly left Jacob’s embrace. “I do need to get going so I’m not late.”

When I turned around to retrieve my backpack, I saw Angela standing with Ben a little way off, smiling brightly and holding my bag for me. She started walking over to me. It was then I also noticed everyone else staring at us! Some had even stopped and were literally gawking with their mouths wide open. I could tell from the heat that crept into my cheeks my face probably looked like a tomato.

I met Angela’s eyes as she reached me.

“Well, I guess everyone knows now,” I said.

She nodded, smiling, and handed me my backpack. “That was definitely a quick way to ‘announce’ it to the whole school. Good thing you didn’t want to keep it a secret.”

“Yeah, good thing.” I let out a small nervous laugh and shrugged. There was nothing I could do about it now. Actually, I didn’t really mind the fact that everyone knew… maybe even enjoyed it a little. I could do without all the staring, though.

I turned back to Jake, standing right behind me. “Jake, this is my friend Angela and her boyfriend Ben,” I said gesturing to them, “guys, this is my boyfriend, Jake.” I liked calling him my boyfriend… and I could tell by the look on his face he did too. “We want to try to do a double date sometime.”

Jake smiled, “Sure, sure… sounds like fun.”

I turned back to Angela. “Well, I need to get going. I have to get to work. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay, have a good night, Bella.”

I slung my backpack onto my back and waited for Jake to kick-start the bike, then climbed on, wrapped my arms around him, and lay my head against his back. He took off out of the parking lot, weaving effortlessly through the cars. I quite enjoyed the heat from his body, as well as the feel of the defined muscles under his shirt as I held on tight.

The drive to Newton’s was far too short. Jake parked and killed the bike’s engine so he could get off to embrace me again. As he wound his arms around my waist, I looked up at his face and noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

“Have you slept at all?” I gently touched the dark area under one eye.

“No, not yet. That’s where I’m headed now, but I just had to see you first.”

“Well, be careful driving home then.”

“I’m always careful. Careful is my middle name.”

“Pfft, yeah, sure it is.” I laid my head on his chest again. “And I’m the Queen of England who never trips over her own feet.”

A chuckle rumbled in my ear that was pressed against him. I wished I didn’t have to work today. I was sure this overwhelming need to be with Jake would fade after we’d been together for a while, but for the time being, it was still so new.

“Sam, Paul, and Quil will be on patrol for the rest of today, then I’ll be back on with Embry and Jared late tonight. I should be able to be at Emily’s when you arrive tomorrow though.”

“That’ll be nice.” I looked up at him once more and sighed. “Alright, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

He bent down to kiss me, letting it linger for just a little while. I couldn’t resist pressing a little closer to him, soaking up as much of his heat as I could before heading into the store.

There were enough customers coming and going to make the time at work go by fairly quickly… much faster than the school day. When I came out of the building at the end of my shift, Alice was waiting for me in the parking lot. I was in much better spirits after seeing Jake, even if it had been brief.

“You look like you’re in a better mood than you were this morning. Anything interesting happen today?” Alice asked, with an innocent look.

“Yes, but I know you’re fully aware.” I smiled at her. “Seeing Jake after school was definitely the highlight of my day! But I want to know about this conversation you apparently had with him.”

“Well, I kept getting visions of your afternoon pick-up, and they kept changing. Sometimes I was picking you up and sometimes I couldn’t see anything. At first, I thought he just wasn’t sure if he’d be available, but then I realized he was probably struggling with whether or not he wanted to call me, so I took matters into my own hands and called Emily’s house—she is super sweet, by the way, I can see why you like her so much. Anyway, she was able to get a message to him and he finally called to arrange to pick you up instead of me.”

“Thank you so much Alice. It was a nice surprise. It also ended up being some good entertainment for the student body.” I grimaced a little, as I told her about my reaction when I saw Jake and she laughed, her bell-tone ringing pleasantly in my ears. “The only person I had told before then was Angela. It’s also weird to me how everyone looks at Jake, though. They won’t go near him and look super intimidated by him. Almost scared.”

“Well, firstly, your welcome. I love surprises, as you know, and even though I know you have adverse feelings for them, I figured you wouldn’t mind this one.

“And, secondly, to someone who doesn’t know Jacob like you do, he looks really intimidating or even dangerous. He’s sort of meant to look that way by nature. No one else can see his heart like you can… at least not until they get to know him.”

“Yeah, I guess. It’s hard for me to see… to me he’s just my Jacob.”

We had a quiet evening at my house, just hanging out and chatting after I finished my homework. Jake called just before bed to let me know it would be fine if I drove myself the next day and to make sure I knew not to make any stops on my way to La Push after school. It had been longer than usual since Victoria had made an appearance and the guys were getting kinda edgy.

I had a little more trouble falling asleep that night, my mind busy thinking over what Jake had said about a visit from Victoria being due. My dreams were full of hair like fire and blood-red eyes. I never felt scared though. Whenever the red showed up, there was also russet fur, dark brown eyes, and sharp wolf fangs, keeping me safe.

Chapter Text

I got a lot of weird looks and stares the next day at school, but I really couldn’t blame anyone. In just a little over a year, I had gone from being the new girl, to the strange girl who was dating a Cullen, to the silent, broken girl, to the girl dating a scary looking Quileute giant.

After school I hurried as fast as I could to get down to La Push. This was one of the few times I was frustrated with the slowness of my truck. The closer I got, the crazier the butterflies in my stomach were. I hoped Jake would already be at Emily’s.

When I got there, Emily met me on the porch and my stomach sunk… something had happened.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, my voice tight.

“Nothing’s wrong Bella, everything’s fine,” she reassured me, speaking quietly.

I breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh, good… you had me worried for a second.”

“Sorry. I just wanted to catch you before you came inside. Jake just got here about 30 minutes ago and he passed out on the couch almost immediately. I’ll leave it up to you if you want to wake him or not.”

“Oh. Do you know when he’s supposed to be back on patrol again?”

“I don’t think until after you leave tonight.”

I nodded. “Okay, I want to let him sleep then. Can I just sit at your kitchen table to get my homework done while he sleeps?”

“Of course you can. Second home, remember?” she said, smiling.

“Right, second home… that might take some getting used to.”

Emily mostly sat at the table with me, reading or working with her loom, while I did my homework. Hearing Jake’s even breathing and occasional quiet snoring was comforting and brought a smile to my face.

When I was done with my homework and Emily was starting to get dinner ready, I decided to go ahead and wake Jake up. The whole pack was coming over, so it was going to get loud soon anyway. Plus, I was anxious to see him.

I knelt down by his head and just watched him for a bit. He looked so peaceful and worry free… more like the Jake from before he became a werewolf and started feeling like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, trying to keep me safe. It made my heart ache a little and long for those days again. Maybe once Victoria was taken care of that could return… at least to some degree.

“Jake,” I whispered softly, stroking my hand over his forehead and hair. “Jake, wake up babe.” I put my other hand on his large bicep and shook his arm gently, still stroking his head.

He awoke with a start and shot straight up, almost knocking me over.

“Bella! Hey honey… I must have dozed off.”

I got up on the couch next to him and snuggled into his side as he put his arm around me.

“You did more than doze. You’ve been sound asleep for nearly three hours.”

“Really?” he said, shocked. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You obviously needed the sleep. Emily said you passed out almost immediately when you laid down. I had homework I needed to do anyway, so I just let you sleep and got that done. Now we have the whole evening to spend together.”

“I guess I did need it. I didn’t get quite what I needed yesterday because Quil had to go help his grandpa with something, so I covered for him.”

“I’m so sorry Jake. When was the last time you got a full night’s sleep?”

“I don’t really remember. Probably the night before that horrible movie we went to with that marshmallow friend of yours.”

We both laughed, remembering the ridiculous movie and how sick Mike got that night.

“That was maybe one of the most awkward movie experiences I’ve ever had,” I said, still laughing. “At least at the beginning when you and Mike each had an arm on the arm rest next to me, just in case I wanted to hold either of your hands. It got better when you started making fun of the movie.”

“The biggest difference there was if it had just been you and me, you would have held my hand… I seriously doubt it would have been the same if it had just been you and him.”

“I seriously doubt I would have ever gone to a movie alone with Mike… or anywhere, for that matter.”

Jake squeezed my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. “That’s because I’m not a marshmallow.”

I laughed again and I poked Jake’s rock-hard stomach, “No, you definitely are not a marshmallow.”

We headed into the kitchen, and I helped Emily get dinner ready. Emily and I even put Jake to work shredding cheese. It was absolutely amazing the amount of food that was required when you’re feeding a pack of werewolves! I decided then that I was going to try to make a point to help Emily out with this task as much as I could. She never complained, of course, but it was still a lot of work for one person.

The guys started showing up before long and the house was bursting with loud banter and laughter. They all greeted me with smiles; Quil even scooped me up in a big bear hug, squeezing the breath out of me.

“Hey, easy there, man, don’t break her.” Jake said, punching him on the shoulder after he’d put me down.

“What?” Quil asked innocently. “She’s not made of glass.”

“You’re also not used to your new strength yet!”

“Oh, right,” he turned to look at me, suddenly concerned.

I doubled over, pretending to gasp for breath, “Yeah, I’ll be alright,” I said wheezing a little. He looked uncertain and a little worried until I smiled up at him.

“Ha, ha, very funny.” He breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t crushed me as everyone else laughed.

“You know Bella,” Paul called out, with a wide, wicked grin, “it’s really nice of you to take pity on our boy Jake here.”

“Pity?” I gave him a confused look as I processed his expression, then looked at Jake who was staring at Paul with a forced and irritated grin on his face, and I figured it out just as Paul spoke again.

“Yeah, you know, pitied him enough to finally give in and date him.”

Sam smacked Paul on the back of the head.

That extreme protectiveness for Jake flared in me again, so while Paul was still talking, I walked over to Jake. I put one arm around his waist and reached up with the other to pull his head down to me.

“You mean pity him like this?”

I pressed my lips against Jake’s, and he immediately figured out what I was doing… and took full advantage, as I’d hoped he would. He pulled me firmly against him and kissed me deeply. He even slid his hand down to my tush and gave it a good squeeze, causing me to let out a little squeal of surprise against his mouth. It also caused warmth to flood through me.

All the guys started whooping and laughing.

“That doesn’t look like pity to me,” Jared laughed.

“Man, Paul,” Embry mocked, “I bet you wish someone would “pity” you like that!”

When Jake let me go, he was laughing. I jabbed him in the side with my knuckles and gave him a little look for the tushy squeeze, but I was laughing too… and a little breathless. We may have been playing around, trying to prove a point, but that had actually been quite the kiss, and I’m not sure I could be in Jake’s arms, kissing him, without my body responding.

I had at least accomplished my goal. When I looked over to him, Paul was smiling with his hands up in surrender.

“I give. Well played Bella… well played. I guess I’ll have to find something else to give Jake crap about now.”

Dinner was ready and things quieted down for a little bit while the guys shoved massive amounts of food in their faces. It was astonishing… truly.

Seth and Leah were the only ones not there—Jake told me later Sam wasn’t having them run with the pack quite yet. They were still grieving over their dad, plus he was working with them, especially Leah, to be able to better control their phasing… not to mention how young Seth was and trying to keep him in school to at least finish this year out.

As usual, Emily and I stood leaning against the counter to eat, watching the happy chaos.

Jake finished eating quickly then came to me and leaned over to whisper in my ear. His hot breath against my skin sent a shiver through me.

“Come outside with me.” He took my hand and led me out the door… teasing calls trailing behind us.

“I think she’s going to go pity him some more,” someone called, though I couldn’t tell who, as the door shut behind us.

“Sorry for squeezing your rear earlier,” Jake said as he led me toward the nearest tree line.

“I didn’t mind,” I laughed, “I was hoping you’d take full advantage, and you certainly did. It just surprised me is all.”

“Thanks for doing that. Paul has been relentless with the pity thing… maybe now he’ll let up.”

We were quiet for a bit while Jake led me into the woods where there was no trail and we walked straight through them for several minutes. I stumbled several times, but Jake took my hand and kept me from falling.

“Jake, what are we doing?” I asked after we’d been walking for a while.

He stopped in a little clearing and looked around.

“This should be good.”

“Good for what?”

I looked around too, curious why he’d brought me here. It looked just like most any other clearing in the middle of the woods… trees and ferns, and more trees. The only truly notable feature was a large opening in the trees above the clearing. It allowed a ton of light to shine through the forest canopy, even though the sun was making its way toward the horizon.

He turned to me. “You still want to see me phase?”

My eyes brightened. “Yes! You want to do it now?”

“Yeah. I wanted to try to do this when I wouldn’t have anyone in my head, so it could just be me and you.”

“I like that,” I said smiling and excited.

“Okay, you stay here.” He jogged across the little clearing and threw down a pair of shorts I hadn’t noticed he was carrying, then took off his shoes and shirt and faced me. “You ready?”

I nodded, trembling a little from excitement. His face got serious, edged with some anger, and the skin on his entire body started trembling in big waves. He started to appear blurry around the edges, like there was steam coming off of him. Then, in the blink of an eye, his form grew about five times bigger, fur burst out everywhere, and he fell down onto all fours in his wolf form.

When he first landed, he was snarling, but that quickly faded into a placid, almost puppyish look. He immediately lowered himself down to lay on his belly with his head on his front paws and looking right into my eyes.

It happened so quickly, it was both exhilarating and alarming. After a moment Jake let out a quiet whine and I realized my eyes were huge, my mouth was hanging open, and I hadn’t moved yet. He probably thought he had scared me, so I quickly shut my mouth and grinned wide.

“That was amazing Jake!” I reached my hand out. “Can I touch you?”

In answer, he immediately stood up, trotted over, and laid back down in front of me, his head held proudly aloft this time. I tentatively touched the top of his muzzle and ran my hand up to the top of his head, which I could barely reach, my other hand on his cheek. He lowered his head a little and leaned into my touch. His fur was both soft and wiry under my hand. I moved my hands up to feel one of his ears and the fur there was much softer.

I stepped just past his head, burying my hands in the fur on his neck and looked into his eye as it followed my movements. I could only see Jake looking back at me and I smiled tenderly at him.

He suddenly started making a sort of thrumming noise that vibrated under my hands, making my fingers tingle. The sound was similar to a cat’s purr, but more earthy, and much deeper. The smile on my face widened.

I moved to stand by his shoulder, which reached to about the top of my chest, still trailing my hands through his fur. Leaning into him, I laid most of my body across his muscular shoulder and wrapped my arms as far around his neck as they would go. I closed my eyes as I rested my head on him to listen to the thrumming sound. The sound and vibration were incredibly calming and soothing. I sighed deeply, breathing him in, his scent the same as when he was human, forest and ocean brine.

His heat, the vibration, the sound and smell of him; he filled my senses and had a calming effect on me. I remained pressed against him for a long minute, enjoying it all.

Finally, I took a few steps back to see more of him. “Can you stand up so I can see your full size?”

He got up and raised his head to its full height. I was utterly amazed at how enormous he was. I took a few more steps back to get a better look at all of him. The top of his shoulders were over six feet, well above my head, and I could barely reach his chin. He wasn’t just the size of any regular horse, but I remember seeing some draft horses once, I believe the breed was called Shire, and he was at least as big as those… maybe bigger.

I moved back to stand right in front of his chest and ran my hands through his fur again. I loved touching him. Bending over a bit I ducked my head, and I was actually able to walk under him. I continued to trail my hand through his fur and circled around his front leg to the other shoulder and then went back to stand in front of him. He lowered his head to my level, and I put my hand on his muzzle again. He took a small step forward and pressed his forehead gently into my chest and I stroked around his ears. It all felt so intimate and thrilling. I was really thankful there wasn’t anyone else in his head right now. I found myself wishing I could be though… to have that connection with him… maybe a voluntary one though, not one that was open constantly.

“You’re incredible Jake!” I said in awe. Getting a close look like this, I could see the strength that lay inside of him. “So majestic and powerful.”

He lifted his head up suddenly and shook it, then he trotted away from me, back to where his clothes were, and turned his head to look at me over his shoulder.

“Oh right!” He was going to be naked when he shifted back.

I turned around and walked a little farther away.

“I won’t look I, but I’m going to wait here. I’m afraid I might not be able to find my way back without you.” I didn’t hear anything, so I wasn’t sure if he had heard me. “Jake?” I asked.

Did you like that?” he asked softly from right behind me.

I jumped, gave a little yelp, and twirled around quickly. I hadn’t heard him come up behind me

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!” He pulled me into his arms.

“Man, I will never get used to how quiet you are!” I said trying to recover my breath. “Yes, I liked that a lot. I knew you were big as a wolf, but to be able to stand next to you and get a good look gave me a new perspective. I’m not saying I won’t worry anymore, but it does make me feel better. It really is incredible that it’s you inside the wolf. And that whole big wolf somehow fits inside of you. And that noise you made was so calming.”

I realized I was rambling a little and I took a breath. “All of it is just so wonderful!”

Jake was smiling, but right behind the joy was a yearning I didn’t quite understand.

“For a second, right after I phased, I thought maybe I had made a mistake showing you because you looked frozen in fear.”

“No, not scared, I was just shocked by how quickly it happened. I will admit it was a little alarming because your face did have an edge of anger to it right before you transformed, and you snarled a little right after, but I wasn’t scared. Thanks so much for showing me.”

“You’re welcome. I was excited you wanted to see it.”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I? It’s a huge part of who you are, though I still prefer this.” I looked up at him and placed my hand on his cheek, gliding it down his neck to his chest and on to his stomach. As I moved my hand along his body, I followed along with my eyes. The familiar heat began deep in my belly as I felt the hard muscles under his shirt. I thought I heard a change in Jake’s breathing.

When I looked back to his face, his expression had changed to a deep desire, and I understood the yearning in his eyes before. I marveled at what he could do to me with just a look as my breath caught in my throat and my heart started racing. He pulled me in tighter and one hand slid up my back his fingers winding into my hair, and he kissed me with an intense hunger that I quickly matched. Wanting more, we began to explore with gently caresses. Travelling over his chest, my hands slid around to his shoulders and slowly went down the length of his back, outlining every muscle on the way with lingering fingers. The hand that had been in my hair caressed my neck then moved across my shoulder and down the side of my body, both hands gripped my hips and pulled me tight against him, then moved torturously slow back up my sides. Everywhere he touched left a trail of fire and my body was trembling, my whole world spinning.

Gradually our hands stilled, and the kiss became more tender, slow, and long, doing almost as much to my insides as the forceful passionate kiss. When at last we stopped, we held each other silently, hearing only our breathing and the sounds of the forest around us.

Jake finally spoke softly, “I feel more connected to you now than ever, just when I think my feelings for you can’t get any stronger. Having you touch me as a wolf, unashamed and loving, taking in your powerful scent, it was intoxicating and overwhelming. Your complete acceptance of me, as both man and wolf, is astounding Bella.”

“I love you Jake… all of you. You once said to me you were afraid you were going to lose yourself, but from what I’ve seen, the wolf is just as much you as the man, so I don’t believe that’s possible. When I look in your eyes, I see Jacob, whether you are man or wolf, it’s Jacob inside… my Jacob who I love beyond comprehension.”

He kissed me again, gently.

“Do you want to head back inside?” Jake asked. “Everyone’s going to wonder where we went to.”

“Sure.”

We started walking back to the house, but after the third time I tripped in about 30 seconds, Jake swept me up in his arms to carry me out of the woods. I started to protest but realized I rather enjoyed being in his arms, plus I don’t think my legs were quite recovered from the kiss, so I just went with it.

Seeing the moment of protest flash through my eyes, Jake said, “I figure it’s safer this way. You seem to be stumbling more than normal Miss Swan.”

“Well, it’s your fault. I don’t know if you realize what you do to me when you kiss me, Jacob Black.”

“I have a pretty good idea… don’t forget I have super senses.”

I blushed at that reminder. I did forget most of the time.

“You’re not innocent either you know,” Jake continued, grinning a crooked smile. “You do crazy things to me just by being near me, not to mention when we’re kissing and your body is pressed to mine. Your scent has become somewhat overpowering and it’s taking me time, and not a small amount of effort, to get used to it and not let it rule my actions. What’s crazy is it keeps intensifying every day. Not a lot, but enough that I notice it.”

“That is weird. Did you ask Sam about it?”

“Yeah, he said that did happen to him with Emily, but not quite the same way as with you and I.”

We reached the edge of the trees and Jake set me back on my feet, but he didn’t start walking again. It was nearly dark, but he looked off into the distance, down the wide-open space that stretched out behind Emily’s house, bordered by forest on either side, seeming deep in thought.

“Jake?”

He looked down at me then, his expression serious. “There is something I need to tell you Bella… a part of this whole wolf thing.” He gripped the back of his neck with one hand. “I maybe should have told you already, but I’m nervous about what you’ll think. I am really not being fair to you by keeping it from you though, especially after how honest you have been with me. Do you mind walking with me for a while?”

“Of course not. Any time I can spend with you is my favorite time.”

Jake gave me a wane smile and brushed his fingertips across my cheek, “I would have to agree with that.”

I was a little nervous about what he had to tell me that changed his mood so quickly. He took my hand and led me slowly along the edge of the tree line. I prepared myself for the worst, but hoped it wouldn’t be bad.

Chapter Text

WE WALKED FOR SEVERAL minutes in silence as the light was fading around us. My mind was racing with what he could possibly be about to tell me that would make him so nervous. Finally, he spoke.

“So, to make this particular wolf thing easier to understand, it will probably be best if I tell you Sam and Emily’s story. But it’s a long story, and very… strange. I hope I can explain it right.

“Okay,” I said, “I’m not in any hurry.

He paused, looking like he was collecting his thoughts again. Taking a deep breath, he began.

“So, you know that Sam was the first to phase. He had it so much harder than the rest of us, because he was the first, and he was alone, and he didn’t have anyone to tell him what was happening. Sam’s grandfather died before he was born, and his father has never been around. There was no one there to recognize the signs. The first time it happened—the first time he phased—he thought he’d gone insane. It took him two weeks to calm down enough to change back.

“This was before you came to Forks, so you wouldn’t remember. Sam’s mother and Leah Clearwater had the forest rangers searching for him, the police. People thought there had been an accident or something…”

“Leah?” I asked, surprised.

His voice changed, became heavier. “Yeah. Leah and Sam were high school sweethearts. They started dating when she was just a freshman. She was frantic when he disappeared.”

“But he and Emily—”

“I’ll get to that—it’s part of the story,” he said. He inhaled slowly, and then exhaled in a gust.

I supposed it was silly for me to imagine Sam had never loved anyone before Emily. Most people fall in and out of love many times in their lives. It was just that I’d seen Sam with Emily, and I couldn’t imagine him with someone else. The way he looked at her… well, I realized it reminded me of the way Jacob looked at me sometimes, even before we kissed. This thought caused a warmth to flow through me and I looked lovingly at Jake as he continued.

“Sam came back,” Jacob said, “but he wouldn’t talk to anyone about where he’d been. Rumors flew—that he was up to no good, mostly. And then Sam happened to run in to Quil’s grandfather one afternoon when Old Quil Ateara came to visit Mrs. Uley. Sam shook his hand. Old Quil just about had a stroke.” Jacob paused to laugh.

“Because of the heat?” I asked.

“Yeah, Sam’s hand felt like he’d left it sitting on a hot stovetop. So, Mr. Ateara went straight to the other elders. They were the only ones left who still knew, who remembered. Mr. Ateara, Billy, and Harry had actually seen their grandfathers make the change. When Old Quil told them, they met with Sam secretly and explained.

“It was easier when he understood—when he wasn’t alone anymore. They knew he wouldn’t be the only one affected by the Cullen’s return, but no one else was old enough. So, Sam waited for the rest of us to join him…”

“Wait,” I interrupted, “what do you mean ‘affected by the Cullens return’?”

“Well, the werewolf gene is triggered when we are the right age, and we smell a vampire. Mine was probably triggered at your house actually—that’s the first time I remember smelling them, though I didn’t realize that was what I was smelling at the time. I thought something had spoiled in your kitchen.” Jake laughed quietly.

“So that’s what you meant the other day when you said you only exist because they exist. I didn’t realize you meant that quite so literally.”

“Yep, if they hadn’t come here, there would be no werewolves,” he paused to look at me longingly, “and you and I might have actually had a chance at a normal relationship… a normal life together.”

“Normal,” I said wistfully, “wonder what that would feel like…” Honestly, I longed to know what that would feel like, but we may never get to know.

“The Cullens had no idea, you know.” I continued. “They didn’t think werewolves still existed here. They didn’t know coming here would change you.”

“That may be, but it doesn’t change the fact that it did. It makes it that much harder to accept them. If it wasn’t for my relationship with you and our concern for your safety Bella, there is no way we would have compromised with one of them like we have.”

My guilt for putting them in that situation flared up again. “I’m sorry Jake. For the change it caused in you all and for the compromise you were forced to make for me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous Bella. First of all, them being here and the effect that has on us has nothing to do with you and it’s certainly not your fault! And second, it was our choice to make the arrangement… you just made the suggestion. And it was a good one. It’s working out well so far. I don’t know what state of mind I would be in if we hadn’t been able to continue to watch over you… which would affect the whole pack.”

“It’s just that it wouldn’t have been necessary if I hadn’t insisted Alice stay. That doesn’t upset you anymore?”

“Well, it isn’t my favorite thing, but you came up with a way to make it work, and still see me… so you’re forgiven.” He shot me a teasing smile.

“Gee, thanks,” I said, pushing him away with half-hearted effort, still holding onto his hand.

Jacob sighed, his face getting serious again, and continued with his story. “So, this is the really weird part.”

“I’m a pro at weird.”

“Yeah, I know.” He grinned, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes and faded quickly, replaced with a look of concern… he continued. “So, Sam knew what was going on, and everything was almost okay. In most ways, his life was back to, well, not normal. But better.” Then Jacob’s expression tightened, like something painful was coming. “Sam couldn’t tell Leah. We aren’t supposed to tell anyone who doesn’t have to know… you know that. And it really wasn’t safe for him to be around her—but he cheated, just like I did with you. Leah was furious that he wouldn’t tell her what was going on—where he’d been, where he went at night, why he was always so exhausted—but they were working it out. They were trying. They really loved each other.”

“Did she find out? Is that what happened?”

He shook his head. “No, that wasn’t the problem. Her cousin, Emily Young, came down from the Makah reservation to visit her one weekend.”

I gasped. “Emily is Leah’s cousin?”

“Second cousins. They’re close, though. They were like sisters when they were kids.”

“That’s… horrible. How could Sam…?” I trailed off, shaking my head, not wanting to believe Sam could be like that.

“Don’t judge him just yet. You know Sam better now… he’s not like that. Let me finish, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Have you ever heard of imprinting?”

“Imprinting?” I repeated the unfamiliar word. “No. What’s that mean?”

“It’s one of those bizarre things we have to deal with. It doesn’t happen to everyone. In fact, it’s the rare exception, not the rule. Sam had heard all the stories by then, the stories we all used to think were legends. He’d heard of imprinting, but he never dreamed…”

“What is it, Jake?” I asked nervously… feeling like this was maybe the point of the whole story.

Jacob glanced at me, then looked far off into the distance. “Sam did love Leah. But when he saw Emily, that didn’t matter anymore. Sometimes… we don’t exactly know why… we find our soul mates that way.”

“What way? I don’t understand Jake. Like love at first sight or something?”

“No, it’s more powerful than that… more absolute. This is another reason I was hesitant to tell you. It’s so hard to explain.” He paused for a minute, thoughtful. “It’s more like… gravity moves. When you see her, suddenly it’s not the earth holding you here anymore. She does. And nothing matters more than her. And you would do anything for her, be anything for her… You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that’s a protector, or a lover, or a friend, or a brother.”

I stopped walking and stared at Jake in disbelief. When he met my gaze with an anxious look in his eyes, I had to look away and stared at the ground instead.

“But you haven’t… I mean you didn’t… on me?”

“No,” he said quietly, “you would have known if I did.

I was stunned to silence… so many different thoughts running through my head. But one came to the forefront of my mind and tears threatened to come at the thought.

“So,” I started but had to pause, swallowing hard against the knot in my throat. I took a deep, shaky breath and tried again, my voice quiet and strained, my eyes staring blankly at the ground, seeing nothing. “So, someday you could possibly… imprint,” I choked on the word, and it came out as a whisper, “on someone? And you would… leave me… like Sam left Leah.” I could barely hear my own voice. I was fighting the tears… I didn’t want them to come… I didn’t want there be a reason for them to come… I didn’t want to be right.

I could feel Jake’s eyes on me, though I continued with my unfocused stare toward the ground; I couldn’t focus my eyes on anything… focus would bring clarity and I didn’t want to understand… this couldn’t be right.

He spoke quietly, his voice also strained. “It’s unlikely, but yes… it could happen. Like I said, it’s not that common. Sam and Jared have imprinted, but that’s all out of eight of us.”

“Is there no chance… I mean, could it still happen with me?” I didn't necessarily want to be imprinted on, or to have Jake imprint, but at this point it seemed preferable to the alternative.

“According to the legends, it always happens the first time we look into her eyes after we have gone through the change. So, no, unless the legends are wrong, if it were going to happen with you, it would have already.”

Jake hesitantly brought his hand up to my chin and gently lifted my face to look at him. Unwillingly, I finally focused my eyes on his face and immediately wished I hadn’t. I saw my pain mirrored in his eyes and it did me in; the tears I had been holding back started flowing down my cheeks and I turned and walked a few steps away from him, hiding my face in my hands.

I couldn’t look at him… I didn’t want to see the evidence in his face of what I now knew was the truth. As much as he loves me and may want to spend his life with me, he might end up leaving me someday and there was nothing either of us could do about it.

I felt Jake close behind me. “Bella, talk to me honey,” he said as he tentatively put his hands on my shoulders.

Everything else about this whole wolf thing I had taken in stride, even embraced and enjoyed parts of it, but this was too much. To have Jake love me so fiercely and to figure out I was in love with him, a powerful healing love, only to discover fate, or the universe, or whatever, could rip it away from me… we couldn’t stop it, we couldn’t change it. Unfair didn’t even begin to describe it!

My chest began to ache, my heart ready to fall to pieces again, a new hole threatening to rip open. I couldn’t breathe. I wrapped my arms around myself… an act I thought I was done with… one Jake knew all too well. I stumbled forward and I felt his arms go around me from behind. He was speaking to me, but it sounded far away, the words muffled and incomprehensible. Blackness started to close in on me as I gasped for air. I was slipping away… falling, even though Jake was holding me up. I felt Jake’s arms lift me and cradle me against his chest, right before the blackness overtook me.

Chapter Text

**********
JACOB POV
**********
I KNEW THIS WAS going to be hard for her to hear. I wished there were a way to avoid it, but I also knew it would be immeasurably worse if I ever did imprint on someone else and she was blind-sided by it, like Leah had been. No, I definitely could not have kept it from her, even if she decided to walk away from me. Oh, how my heart ached at that thought!

Damn the Cullens for ever coming to Forks and damn this whole wolf thing. Why couldn’t things just be normal? Why couldn’t the stupid myths and legends be just that… why did they have to be true?

I tried to get her to talk, to hopefully help her calm down, but she wouldn’t respond.

I felt so helpless standing there, watching her fall apart all over again. Only this time I was the cause. When I saw her wrap her arms around herself, all of my hopes started to shatter… I was going to lose her. I just got her, and I was going to lose her.

I did what I had always done and wrapped my arms around her as well. I couldn’t stand the pain she was in, and I felt tears trickling down my cheeks, my heart breaking right along with hers, just like always… no, this was worse.

She started to go limp, and I realized she was passing out. I scooped her up like a small child and held her against my chest. Turning, I ran back toward Emily’s house, speaking to Bella, trying to get her to come to.

As I approached the house, I could hear voices and laughter coming from inside. A multitude of heads turned towards us when I burst through the back door, going silent when they saw Bella’s limp body in my arms. I headed straight to the sofa, gently laying her down and kneeling beside her, stroking her forehead.

“Jake, what happened?” Emily said, coming up beside me and gently placing her hand on Bella’s head, Sam right behind her.

“She fainted,” I said. I looked up at Sam and Emily, trying to control my emotions, and I whispered, “I told her about imprinting, and she didn’t handle it very well.”

“Jake…” Emily’s pained compassionate voice was like a dagger to my heart. Her understanding of the situation made it all much more real.

She turned and quickly went to the kitchen, coming back shortly with two damp cloths, placing one on Bella’s forehead and one on her chest, just under the collar of her shirt. Feeling Bella’s hands, she turned to me. You may want to back up for a minute Jake.” She put her hand on my shoulder again. “She needs to cool down.”

I didn’t understand what Emily meant, but I trusted her, so I nodded as I stood up and took a few steps back. The weight of the worry was too heavy, and I sunk to the floor underneath it, elbows on bent knees, and head in my hands.

I knew it was a possibility… that Bella might leave me, but I had so much faith that our love was strong enough, that I hadn’t really let myself think it would actually happen.

Sam came and sat in the armchair near me. “You did the right thing by telling her Jake,” he said quietly.

“I know. Doesn’t make it any easier.”

“What did she say?”

I suddenly noticed how quiet the house had gotten and realized everyone was gone except for Sam and Emily.

“She didn’t really say anything. She asked a couple of questions as she processed the reality of what it meant that I had not imprinted on her… that I could potentially imprint on someone else. She started crying and having trouble breathing and then she fainted.”

Emily was speaking softly to Bella, kneeling next to her, trying to get her to come around.

“Don’t despair yet then,” Sam said, putting his hand on my shoulder, “give her a chance to finish processing it before you assume the worst.”

“I don’t know Sam, you didn’t see her. She was acting just like she used to… when she was in pain before, unable to breath and wrapping her arms around herself. Only this time I’m the one that caused the pain…” my voice cracked, and I couldn’t say anything else. Sam squeezed my shoulder.

After a couple more agonizingly long minutes, Bella groaned and started to move around a little. Emily continued to talk to her and removed the damp cloths from Bella’s head and chest.

“Emily,” Bella said, finally opening her eyes. Before I could get up, I heard her sob again. “Emily, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Emily moved to sit on the couch and gathered Bella to her chest and hugged her, Bella’s eyes squeezed shut.

Sam spoke again, too quiet for the girls to hear. “Let’s give her some time to talk it out with Emily.” He gave my shoulder a pat, then stood and waited for me.

I hesitated, but knew Sam was probably right. Allowing her time to process this was the best thing to do. I rose and we left silently.

**********
BELLA POV
**********
WHEN I CAME TO, I was back in the house and Emily was there, talking softly to me, coaxing me back. The concern etched on her face reminded me what had caused me to pass out and I was overcome. I squeezed my eyes shut, tears falling once more. Emily pulled me to her and hugged me tight.

After a couple of minutes, she loosened her hold on me. “Would you like to try to sit up,” she asked gently.

I nodded and slowly repositioned myself until I was sitting sideways on the couch, my knees drawn up to my chest, and my arms wrapped around my legs. Emily sat in front of me, turning to face me with one leg resting bent on the couch.

“Do you want to talk about it, Bella? It might help you work through it. It’s quite a strange concept to comprehend.”

“Jake told you what happened? That he told me about imprinting?”

“Yes, he told us.”

I looked around, and when I didn’t see him a shot of worry went through me. Whatever happens, I wanted to see him again… talk to him.

“Where is he?”

“He and Sam just stepped outside to give you some time and space. I can leave too, if you’d prefer.”

“No!” I desperately grabbed her hand. “Please stay.”

“Of course I’ll stay.”

I nodded, relieved and thankful I had someone to talk to. I knew I’d need time alone to process everything before I made a decision, but it was so unbelievable, I needed more information. All the time I’d spent debating the right thing to do to come to the decision to give a relationship with Jake a chance, and I was missing an important piece.

I didn’t blame Jake. What purpose would there have been in him telling me about imprinting before? It’s not like I’d ever given him any indication I might feel this way about him, considering I didn’t even know myself. But I wanted to try to avoid making another under-informed decision.

My tears had mostly stopped, so I wiped the remaining moisture from my cheeks, took a deep breath, and raised myself up a bit, preparing to get as much information as I could. I tried to think of the best questions to ask. Just how common was imprinting? How certain were they that imprinting couldn’t still happen between me and Jake? Was there any way to avoid imprinting or could someone get out of it once it happened? What in the world was the purpose of it?

As all of these questions spun around my head and I sorted through them, a sudden heavy weariness came over me. I didn’t want to ask any of these questions. I didn’t want to learn any more about supernatural things, whether they were beings, or forces, or magic… or something else I couldn’t even fathom. I was just so tired of trying to keep up with it all. At every turn, the supernatural world just messed up everything again and again.

I slumped forward, letting the weariness show. “This is so unfair,” I whispered, knowing I sounded like a defeated child and not caring.

“I know it is sweetie,” Emily said with gentle understanding in her voice. She understood better than anyone the situation I found myself in… other than perhaps Leah.

“Why? Haven’t we been through enough?” I dropped my forehead against my knees. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to leave him, but maybe it would be better to let go now, before we get any more attached.” The thought of it made me sick.

“We don’t really know why imprinting is a part of the magic that comes with their transformations. The legends are all very vague, and in our experiences so far, it certainly seems like it has more potential for harm than good.

“You do have to remember that it is not a certainty he would ever imprint on anyone. Throughout the histories, it has not been common for imprinting to happen… it is actually considered the rare exception.

“It’s true that there is a risk for heartache sometime in the future if you stay with him, but you have to decide if your relationship with Jake, your love for each other, is worth that risk.

“Sam has felt the love Jake has for you, felt the connection and Jake’s devotion to you. It matches what Sam feels for me. He is actually surprised Jake didn’t imprint on you.

“And Bella, I hope you realize you are not the same person you were before. You and I may have only met recently, but I was aware of you. You’ve had such a transformation of healing over the time you’ve been with Jake, but nothing more so than since you were here just last week. You have gone from someone who was tortured inside, lost and barely surviving, to someone who is full of light and life and free from the pain. And the only thing that changed was you seeing the love you had for Jacob. Not just any love will heal you like that, so I believe your love for Jacob matches his for you.”

“But, Sam loved Leah, yet imprinted on you…”

“Yes, but things are different for you and Jake.”

“You can’t know that for sure, Emily.”

“I can’t explain it, but I have—” She cut off abruptly and got a pained look on her face. “What I want to say is you and Jake are me—” Another sudden stop and she now looked pained and frustrated. She let out a long deep sigh. “Just trust me when I say that things are different for you and Jake.”
I wanted to ask her what was wrong, or what she meant, but I honestly couldn’t handle anyone else’s issues right now. I wouldn’t be any help to her anyway… not in my present state of mind.

“I obviously can’t tell you what to do,” she continued, “but make sure you consider what you will be giving up if you decide to end things with Jake, and not just the potential future heartache you might be avoiding.”

I felt so drained. I glanced over at the clock on the wall and heaved a shaky sigh. “I need to head home. I’m going to need some time to think through all of this and decide what’s the best thing for me to do.”

Emily stood up with me and wrapped me in a tight, warm hug.

“Call me if you need to talk any more. And Bella, please know, whatever happens, you don’t have to face anything alone. I will always be here for you, whatever your decision is. I promise.”

A tight knot returned to my throat. “Thanks, Emily. That means a lot to me.

The night air had cooled considerably since the sun had gone down, and when I stepped out onto the front porch, I rubbed my arms as a shiver ran through me. Jake and Sam were standing a few yards away from the porch, facing away from the house. Sam turned first and when he saw me his face fell a little, and his lips pressed into a thin line. My expression must have given away that I didn’t have good news. He squeezed Jake’s shoulder and came toward the house. Jake didn’t move.

As Sam stepped up on the porch next to me, I looked up at him apologetically as he laid his hand on my shoulder. He gave me a sympathetic look, then headed into the house.

When I looked at Jake again, he had turned and was watching me. His brow was creased with worry, and one look at me caused his countenance to fall even more. His head dropped, and he suddenly seemed smaller.

“You’re ending things… aren’t you?” he asked as I approached him. The sadness in his voice was almost more than I could bear. There was a bitter edge to it as well, reminiscent of his voice while in my kitchen just a few mornings ago. The new hole that had started earlier widened a little more. I didn’t want to hurt him, and I definitely didn’t want to go through another heartbreak, but I just wasn’t sure what the right answer was.

“No, Jake, I’m not ending things. I’m just not sure what I want to do now. I need some time to think, now that I know about the imprinting.”

I was standing in front of him, and he met my gaze and took my hands in his, a bit of hope returning to his eyes. His voice was softer when he spoke again.

“Bella, I may not have imprinted on you, but the strength of my love for you is as if I did… Sam and Jared both agree. Jared and Paul were against us at first, but they both came around as soon as they felt it through our wolf bond. Nothing matters to me more than you, I would do anything for you. Even before you realized your love for me, I would have been your friend and protector until the day I died if that’s what you needed from me.”

“I know it Jake… I can feel it and see it in your eyes. It’s that love that woke me up and brought me back to life. And, honestly, I’m not sure I would have wanted you to imprint on me… especially not when you first transformed. I just don’t know if I can handle living with the worry of losing you hanging over our heads. That at any time you might leave for someone else just because some magical instinct forces you to.”

“But you’re willing to lose me by choosing to walk away now? Just so you don’t have to face the worry about that potential, but unlikely, loss later?” There was no malice or judgement in his question, just frustration and an edge of desperation.

I absolutely hated this!

“I don’t know what I’m willing to do, Jake. I’m tired and I feel so defeated. I feel so beat down at every turn lately and I’m so very tired. I just need a little time to process it all. I promise I will decide soon, and I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to push. Of course, you need time… I understand.” Jake cupped my face with one large hand, and I couldn’t stop myself from leaning into his heated touch. “Just promise me you won’t overthink this Bells. There is so much more possibility for happiness together than chance for heartache. I don’t want to lose you just to avoid some possible future loss.”

“I’ll consider it all, and I’ll try not to overthink it.” I don’t know why it ever surprised me anymore how well he knew me. I was absolutely prone to overthinking things, but with a mother like mine, who hardly thought about anything before diving in head-first, it had become a self-preservation instinct. “I need to go. I’ll call you as soon as I’ve made a decision.”

“Or if you need to talk it out anymore,” he added hastily. “If you have any questions, please ask before you decide.”

“I will.”

Jake leaned down to place a kiss on my forehead, leaving his lips pressed against my skin while he took a slow, deep breath. I fought back the tears threatening to fall again. As soon as Jake pulled away, the absence of his touch made my heart clenched. I needed to leave before I totally broke down.

As I drove away, I glanced up to see Jake perfectly framed in the rearview mirror, watching me leave. His posture looked as defeated as I felt and the crack in my heart widened further as the tears I’d held back fell once more. I wasn’t feeling very confident that I would ever be able to make this decision.

Chapter Text

TRY AS I MIGHT, I couldn’t avoid thinking about the situation on the way home. I really wanted to have a good night’s sleep before I tried to figure anything out. That was just wishful thinking though… I seriously doubted I would be getting any good sleep tonight.

What would be the best thing to do… the right thing? Perhaps ending things would be best… that would be the rational thing to do, right? Why put myself through the constant worry of him leaving and having no control? Wouldn’t it be better to take control for myself now? Avoid potentially years of being nervous every time Jake met a new woman.

Maybe… but the thought of having to go one single day without seeing Jake, or speaking to him, or simply knowing he was my Jake, was unfathomable. No more sunny smiles, no more teasing banter, no more walks on the beach or motorcycle rides. No more holding his hand, or being swallowed up in his warm hugs, or having my breath taken away by his soft, or sometimes intense kisses.

A loud scream of frustration suddenly burst from my depths, and I banged my palms on the steering wheel… hard. It stung, and I was sure I’d have bruises there later, but I needed to let it out somehow.

I hated this so much! Why couldn’t something just be simple for once! I hated imprinting and everything it represented – the taking away of someone’s free-will. Even if the choice was a good one, it was still forced. But now that Jake and I had fallen in love and wanted to be together, the thought of losing each other also being forced was sickening.

By the time I parked the truck in front of our house, my head had started to ache from the frustration and worry. I thought briefly about not having Alice come over, but she was heading back on Thursday, so I only had two more nights to spend with her. Maybe spending some time with her would help take my mind off it all, though that might be a tall order for anything save some powerful sedatives.

**********
JACOB POV
**********
WATCHING BELLA DRIVE away last night sucked so hard. As soon as her taillights had disappeared around the bend, I had phased and followed behind her. It was time for me to be on patrol anyway, and I had to at least make sure she made it home safely. Even over the noise of her truck, I heard her bellow in frustration about halfway there and I had to fight hard to keep from responding with a howl of my own pain and frustration. Once she’d made it home, I’d stayed in the trees around her house until the tiny Cullen female arrived, then I made myself stay away after that and let Embry and Jared make the passes by her house. It would be too hard to hear her or smell her… or even be near her right now (even though that is exactly what I wanted to do.

I had stayed out long past the end of my patrol shift and ran aimlessly through the wilderness. Being in wolf form dulls human emotions, so it helps ease the heartache, but it doesn’t take them away completely. I had run well past the Canadian border before turning back, and then I’d only gotten a few hours of crappy sleep this morning before dragging myself back out of bed and heading out to my garage. Through it all, Bella’s defeated, tear-stained face haunted me.

Even now, I couldn’t get the image out of my head as I rolled out from under the car I was working on. The little business I’d started last summer was doing great and I was thankful for the work to distract me today. Well, it wasn’t an official business yet, but it hopefully would be by the end of the year. I was forced to turn people away every week because I didn’t have enough time to get to them all, so I would have the work to support it when I was finally able to make it happen. With Mr. Veer, who owned the only mechanic shop on the Rez, now semi-retired, a lot of locals were forced to take their vehicles to Dowlings’ in Forks, and he charged way more than he should.

I had planned on going to the local college in Forks to get some more training when I graduated, but that may have to wait considering it was looking like I wouldn’t even be able to finish high school this year. Everything had become so much more complicated. First, becoming a werewolf, and then that damned red-headed leech showing up, and then finding out she was after Bella.

Bella. I wondered how she was doing today. I wanted so badly to run to the forest around the school and see if I could catch even just a small trace of her scent. I shook the idea out of my head. I was trying to keep my mind off of her as much as possible, so that would be completely counterproductive.

Unfortunately, the cars I had lined up to work on at the moment were almost all oil changes or other simple work that didn’t take a lot of thought for me to complete. This left a lot of brain space for other, more depressing thoughts and did little to help distract me from my worries.

A movement at the garage door drew my attention. Leah was leaning against the edge of the large opening, her arms crossed. I grimaced inside as I turned back to my work.

“What do you want, Leah? I’m not in the mood for your crap today.”

“I just came by to see how you were holding up.”

I rolled my eyes. “Since when do you care?” She hated me because of my friendship with Bella, and it had only gotten worse when she discovered that we were a couple.

“I don’t hate you, Jake, despite what you think. It’s that leech-lover you’re infatuated with that I can’t stand.”

I ignored her. She could say what she liked, but I could feel the anger when we were phased. Although… she was already exceptional at hiding her thoughts, so it was hard to determine exactly what the anger was aimed at most of the time. She wasn’t perfect though, so I know that at least some of it was for me.

“You should be relieved, you know.”

I set the tool I was using down with a loud clang and glared at her. “What did you just say?”

“You should be relieved. It would be better to end things now, before you two get any more attached.”

I shook my head and picked the wrench back up. What made her think I wanted to talk about this right now… especially with her.

“I mean the best thing,” she continued, undeterred, “would have been to not get into this type of relationship with her to start with, but that ship has already sailed, so… Ending things this way will be better than the alternative. For her to have to watch you leave. For her to see you happy with someone else. Sure, you’ll feel bad, but you won’t be truly heartbroken. That’ll be reserved just for her.”

“You don’t think I know that?” I snapped at her. “The fact is, we’re past the point of being able to spare either one of us heartache if we were to end things now. Besides the chances of me imprinting on someone and the same thing happening again,” I gestured to her, indicating I was speaking of what happened to her, “are so small—”

“That’s according to those blasted legends that turned out to be history. Guess what, according to those, I shouldn’t know a damned thing about being a wolf, nor should we have so many, but here we are. Just proves that those legends are only part of the story. We don’t really know what the hell to expect, do we Jake?” When I didn’t respond she continued. “You should’ve never kissed her… never pursued that with her.”

I sighed. I don’t know why I was even continuing this conversation, but this is a thought I’d had frequently since last night. Not that it did me any good… there was nothing I could do to change that now.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have, but how was I supposed to know how completely it would alter her state of mind… how much it would change for her? If anything, I thought she would just begin to consider something more with me, and once she was open to the idea, I would have told her about the imprinting, and she could have decided and then, if she didn’t want more, we could have remained friends.

“But that’s not what happened. Hell, I don’t even understand what did happen. Regardless… with where we are now, she’s not just going to walk away and be alright again. You’ve been in my head. You know this.”

“You need to let her go, Jake. Don’t let it happen again.”

“I don’t know why you’re pretending you care so much about the heartache of a person you can’t stand.”

“I wouldn’t wish what happened to me upon anyone… not even her.”

I just shook my head. “It’s in Bella’s hands now. Whatever she decides, I will respect her decision. No matter how much it destroys me… and potentially her.” I had had enough of this conversation. “Unless you have pack business to discuss, then I suggest you leave. I’m done talking about this.”

Leah opened her mouth as if to say something more, but I gave her a malicious warning look and her mouth snapped shut. She turned and left without another word.

Maybe she was right. Maybe I should just go ahead and end it myself, but I knew I would never be able to bring myself to do that. Maybe I was selfish. But something deep inside me told me that there was more there between me and Bella. This wasn’t just some teenage crush, and this wasn’t some wild infatuation that would fizzle out. There was a depth to our relationship that wasn’t normal for most people. So much more than Bella was even consciously aware of. There was so much from our childhood that she somehow didn’t remember. Someday I hoped to be able to help bring those memories back, but I’ve never wanted her to feel like I was trying to manipulate her into a relationship because of that. I have always wanted her to come back to me on her own. We were so close… so damn close.

**********
BELLA POV
**********
THE MORNING DAWNED gray and dreary, a perfect match to how I felt inside. I had slept horribly, just as I’d predicted. According to Alice, I had mumbled restlessly in my sleep almost all night. If any of it revealed my inner turmoil, she didn’t mention it.

While waiting for her to come over, I had checked my email and found a new from Renee, but she was gushing and excited about the news of my relationship with Jacob, so I had to stop reading it. I’d deal with it later, once I had a clear head… and an answer.

Having Alice there had done a better job distracting me. When she wanted to hear about my day, I told her almost everything but left out the whole part about imprinting and the decision I needed to make. Even if I hadn’t been in turmoil over what to do, I didn’t think the wolves would want me to share that bit of information with the Cullens. She could tell something was wrong, but she let it go when I said I didn’t want to talk about it.

Alice left soon after I got up since I was driving myself to school today. My mind tried to resume its incessant working as I took a hot shower. It was as if my brain was determined to make this decision right now, whether I was ready to think about it just yet or not. By the time I’d finished my shower and pulled on a sweatshirt and some jeans, I’d managed to get my thoughts under control. My stomach was in knots as I headed out the door, so I didn’t even try to eat anything.

I spent the long and tiring day trying to reign in my thoughts, doing everything possible to keep my mind occupied with anything but the decision that I needed to make. I took unnecessarily extensive notes in every class, studied or read during any down time between classes, and listened with rapt attention as Jessica rambled on about all the random school gossip.

I managed to choke down a granola bar at lunch. Angela, of course, noticed that something was bothering me and quietly asked if I was alright. That gentle caring question almost broke my resolve and my heart ached terribly. From the compassionate look that came across her face, it was obvious she saw the pain flash in my eyes, so she didn’t push when I said I couldn’t talk about it.

After school, I went to work and it was so slow… in fact, we had almost no customers and it was much harder to keep my thoughts in check. I had cleaned and straightened over half the store’s shelves, just to keep busy, when Mrs. Newton decided to send me home early.

Under different circumstances I would have been thrilled because it would have allowed me a little more time with Alice, but I knew I didn’t want company right now. I was relieved though, because I needed to be alone so I could think this through with no distractions. The last thing I wanted to do was drag this out and leave both me and Jake hanging in limbo.

When I got home Charlie wasn’t there yet; he and Billy had gone to Sue Clearwater’s for dinner. I dumped my bag in my bedroom, but then immediately headed outside. Inside I felt trapped and claustrophobic. I needed to get out in the open and feel the cool spring air on my skin.

I went to the woods at the side of the house and followed a narrow trail. When I had gone far enough to be hidden from sight but could still see the house through the tree limbs, I found a fallen tree, covered with moss, and sat down.

I leaned back, resting my hands behind me on the thick tree trunk, and looked up into the thick canopy above me. The green of my surroundings, the feel of the moss under my hands, and the motion of the leaves above, rustling in the slight breeze, were once an irritant. A reminder that I was no longer in my familiar surroundings of the Arizona desert. In these past months of being with Jacob, they had become a comfort to me… mostly because they reminded me of him. So much had changed because of him.

Jacob. What was I going to do? Stay with Jake and never be truly secure in the life we would potentially build together? Or leave and hurt us both now… rip off the Band-Aid, so to speak, to save us from a worse heartache later. Ugh, this hurt so much to even think about, but I couldn’t avoid it. I needed to play each scenario out and determine what they each truly meant.

What if I chose to end our relationship now? It would hurt… a lot. But by going through that now, I could save us potentially years of worrying about everything being torn from us at any moment. Endure heartache now to keep from wasting time, always wondering, never knowing if our future would be secure or not, and avoid the even worse broken heart that could happen later.

What would the cost be though? Besides losing the boy I now knew I loved and my best friend, already a big price to pay, I would also surely lose myself again. My heart had already begun to crack, just waiting for this path to be walked so it could rip a brand-new hole right through the middle of me. I would be utterly destroyed, and this time there would be no one to hold my hand and love me through it.

But then, what would happen if I stayed? If Jacob and I continued our relationship and hoped for the best? To stay together would mean that we would live every day with the threat of it all being stolen from us at any time. We could never know for certain that our lives together would be forever, if forever is what we chose. Even if the chances of Jake imprinting were small, could I live with the constant worry of “what if”? Wondering if today might be the day that Jake would see ‘her’, and everything we had would be blown to hell with one look. Was I willing to take that chance?

He may never actually imprint on anyone, though. From everything he and Emily said… from everything the legends told of, the chance of him imprinting was small. Was I willing to forfeit what we have and the future that we could have, because of a small chance of losing it someday?

To stay with Jake may come with risk, but it would also mean more of the joy and happiness that I’d experienced with him ever since that first day I showed up at his house with the motorcycles. It would mean more caresses and kisses, sweet looks and warm touches that we’ve enjoyed in these last few days since I realized I loved him.

There were additional things to consider as well… other things that would come along with choosing a life with Jake. Through him, I had gained a whole slew of new friendships. I would lose those too, if I were to end this. I had never felt like I belonged anywhere before, but in just a few days’ time, I had begun to feel like I had truly found my place, no longer feeling out of step with those around me. I had found my people, my group… my family?

So, if I stayed with Jake, I could have more… so much more of EVERYTHING! We could have a long happy life together… love and laughter … marriage… kids… I’d never given much thought about marriage or being a mother before, but the idea of it with Jake brought me joy. Beyond that, I could belong. I could have a life full of friendships like I had never had before, and I became acutely aware of just how much I wanted that, how much I have been craving that… all of that!

Was I really willing to throw away a chance at a full and happy life with Jake, just to avoid the possibility for heartbreak in the future? Especially when doing so would cause certain heartbreak now?

Some things that Jake and Emily said to me last night flashed through my mind:
Emily: “You’ve had such a transformation of healing… not just any love will heal you like that”
Emily: “True that there is a risk for heartache… you have to decide if your relationship with Jake, your love for each other, is worth that risk.”
Jake: “There is so much more possibility for happiness together than chance for heartache.”

I had been so focused on the ‘logical’ response, and what I should do, that I had forgotten possibly the most important question to ask: What is it I WANT to do?

That answer was easy—I wanted to be with Jake. I wanted all the friendships that I’ve made through him. I wanted his love. I wanted him. I wanted US!
Yes, our love is worth the risk… being with him is worth the risk… HE is worth any risk.

Besides, there are always risks in life. Nothing is ever guaranteed. No matter how well you planned things out and no matter what decisions you made, everything could change in a heartbeat. Hadn’t I learned that last fall? Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. You just have to love and appreciate the things you have, while you have them.

Like a lightning bolt, the answer hit me. In the same moment, I also had the profound realization that I could be truly dense sometimes. How could I not see there was really only one option. Why would I choose the path that led to certain lose and pain when there was one that gave us a chance together, to have happiness and love and everything life can offer? No matter what, a chance at a life with Jake was worth any risk. Our love was worth any risk.

A huge weight lifted off my heart and the cracks disappeared. I knew, without a doubt, I was making the right decision.

I jumped up off the log and started to go as fast as I dared back toward the house. I needed to call Jake immediately. No, I was going to go to La Push and try to find him… this news needed to be told in person. Plus, I needed to be swallowed up in the heat of his arms… and apologize for even considering there was another choice.

An ice-cold hand grabbed my arm. I screamed and I pulled hard against the grip. My knee hit the ground when I lost my balance, but the grip stayed firm as I went from relief to terror in the blink of an eye… I shouldn’t have come out here, Victoria had found me.

“Why are you out here in the woods!”

Wait, I knew that voice. I looked up as granite hands hauled me to my feet.

“Alice! I thought for sure Victoria had found me.”

“Well, not yet, but she’s on her way here right now, so I’ve got to get you out of here. I’m taking you to La Push and the wolves are on their way.”

Victoria! The terror filled me again and gave me the sense of emotional whiplash. The world shifted around me, and my lungs emptied, unable to get a breath to refill them. I stumbled behind Alice as she drug me out of the woods and across the yard toward her car.

Jake! I needed Jake, needed his protection. I tried to call for him as the immediate and intense need consumed me. I wasn’t able to get enough air in my lungs to make a sound, so the cry never got past the confines of my mind.

Alice had her cell phone pressed against her ear, but she was talking to me. I was barely able to comprehend what she was saying.

“I didn’t know where you were. I started to head to your job, but thankfully my visions still work some of the time because I saw you were near your house. Why didn’t you call me when you got home like we agreed? We could already be on the way.”

I couldn’t get enough breath to answer, but she began speaking into her phone anyway.

“She’s coming to Bella’s house,” a pause, “She got around the wolves somehow and I just now found Bella,” another pause, “Yes, I can see her, but can’t tell where she is, I just see trees.” We had reached the car and Alice opened my door for me, but before she could stuff me inside, she said, “We’re too late, she’s here.”

As the last words were spoken, faster than my mind could process what was happening, the car disappeared from in front of me. A flash of red, a hard impact, and I was flying through the air. Another impact and my flight was stopped abruptly. A final impact, several loud cracks, and my world went black.

Chapter Text

**********
JACOB POV
**********
As I pulled into the garage with the last car I had to work on, I wondered what I was going to do next to try to distract myself. I hoped to hear from Bella any time now, and my heart had been racing for probably the last half an hour, nervous and anxious to hear from her.

I had just shut the engine off when I heard a voice calling my name. I climbed out of the car and realized it was my dad. I ran quickly out of the garage and headed toward the house. Dad was sitting on the front porch and as soon as he saw me his deep voice echoed loudly through the space between us.

“Jake, Emily called. It’s Bella, you need to go now…”

The urgency in his voice caused my heart to falter. Bella!

Howling in the distance cut through the evening air, emphasizing the urgency.

I was immediately sprinting toward the woods, one moment on two legs, the next on four.

Sam was in my thoughts as soon as I phased. Jake! You need to get to Bella’s as fast as you can.

I was already headed in that direction at full sprint.

Pictures flashed through my mind. I saw the pack finding the red-head’s trail as she was headed to Forks. They were chasing her away when she took to the trees, higher than seemed feasible for the trees to be able to support her weight. Jumping from tree to tree, the pack lost sight of her, and she was gone.
We’ve picked her trail up again, Sam continued, and she is still headed to Forks but on a different path now. Quil and Paul are on their way straight to Bella’s house and the rest of us are following the trail in case the leech is going somewhere else. You will probably beat them to Bella’s, but you need to hurry. The leech had too much of a head start and we aren’t sure how far ahead she is.

Damn, I thought and dug deep, increasing my speed even more.

Sam continued, Seth was heading to Emily’s to get a message to Alice to bring Bella down to La Push, but I don’t know if he’s gotten ahold of her yet.

I pushed myself harder, running faster than I ever had before. He must have, because Emily called my house not long before I heard your howls. I felt a flash of confusion from Sam… something about the timing between the howls and phone call not making sense, but he wasn’t going to focus on that right now, so I put it out of my mind.

Without slowing down as I neared the highway I listened and didn’t hear any traffic, so I took a chance and bolted across blindly before turning south toward Forks.

As I was nearing Bella’s, I heard her call my name, but it didn’t sound distant; it sounded like she was inside my head… even clearer than when I heard the pack’s thoughts.

How was that possible?

I didn’t have time to contemplate it. From a short distance away, I heard the sound of crashing metal, a scream that suddenly cut off just as several smaller, quieter cracks reached me. My stomach turned—was that a bone breaking?

Lots of hissing and snarling assaulted my ears, just as I burst out of the woods and into the yard on the north side of Bella’s house and took in the scene in an instant.

The front end of the black Mercedes was wrapped around the tree in the front yard and smoking.

Alice and the red head were going at it. Alice was doing a good job staying out of reach of the other bloodsucker and keeping her away from Bella, but she wasn’t able to land any significant blows.

Bella was lying motionless between the tree and the house, her left arm twisted in an unnatural position, a dark stain spreading on the ground around her head. My stomach turned at the sight.

Blood! Oh god! Lots of it! Is she… no, I can hear her heartbeat… still strong. She’s so pale…

Focus Jake! Sam’s command cut through my thoughts. We’re on our way there now.

I shook my head and focused on the red head, my anger flaring, letting my fighting instincts take over and pushing the image of Bella out of my head.
Alice was crouching over Bella now, snarling at the red head.

Growling loudly, I launched myself over them and landed right in front of the red head. As soon as my paws had hit the ground, I dug in my claws and lunged for her. My teeth caught the edge of her jacket, tearing off a piece as she dodged away, snarling. She turned to counterattack just as I spun to face her again.
We’re almost there Jake! Quil thought. We can hear you now.

The red head and I both lunged and this time my teeth clamped down on her arm. With a twist and a jerk of my head, the creature let out a horrible scream as I snapped off her arm at the elbow. I jumped away and turned quickly to face her again before she had a chance to leap onto my back. With disgust, I flung the piece of her arm away and heard it land near the trees.

The red head was seething, but she hesitated as Alice and I both had our attention on her.

Quil and Paul surged out of the woods to the south of Bella’s house, barreling forward at full speed, heading directly at her. When she saw them, she hissed in frustration and turned to run. I lunged at her again just as she was turning. My teeth snapped closed on empty air, barely missing her other arm. She headed back into the forest to the north, Paul, Quil, and I right behind her. I didn’t want to leave Bella, but I also wanted to kill this horrible creature who had hurt her. I didn’t make it very far, though, before I felt an incredibly strong pull to go back to Bella, causing my legs to slow on their own, the image of her lying broken on the ground crashing back into my mind.

Go back to Bella, Jake, Sam thought, we’ll stay on the red head. We’ll be intersecting with Paul and Quil any second now.

I continued trying to push forward though, confused at my body’s unwillingness to obey. Both Sam and Jared had similar confused thoughts at the same time… a pull like that only happens with the one you imprint on.

I wondered what the hell that meant, but I wasn’t expecting an answer right now. The memory of Bella’s voice in my head returned.

Did anyone else hear her? I asked, more to myself, but they all confirmed they did not hear her, not even through my thoughts.

I had made it nearly a mile away, though it had only been about 30 seconds, and every step had become torture. As much as I wanted to get that filthy leech for what she had just done to my Bella, I couldn’t fight it anymore. The desire to be with Bella was overwhelming everything else now, and I realized it was not something I could go against, no matter how hard I tried. I felt a shift inside and realized all I wanted now was to be next to Bella. That was my sole purpose, and I no longer felt any desire to pursue the bloodsucker.

As soon as I turned to head back to Bella, I found I could sprint again, and every step brought relief.

I quickly found the small tub of extra clothes Bella had put in the forest nearby the house for me—I hadn’t stopped earlier to take off my clothes in my haste to get to Bella—she had even added a used pair of shoes in there… I smiled sadly and my heart ached.

My Bella. That was how I had referred to her just a moment ago, but I didn’t know if that was still true anymore. Had she made her decision yet? Would she choose to stay with me?

I didn’t have time to think about that right now. No matter what her decision was, it wouldn’t change my feelings or actions in this moment.

I shook my head to clear it once more then phased back to human. I threw on a pair of shorts and the shoes. Grabbing a shirt, I sprinted over to where Bella was lying unconscious on the ground. Alice was crouched next to her, holding Bella’s hand. I could see the tension in Alice’s neck, straining away from all the blood that was saturating the ground. Bella was still losing blood and even more pale than before.

Just as I reached them, I heard someone else approaching from the street and smelled a new vampire. My head snapped toward the sound, and I leaped over Bella to put myself between her and this new threat, my body tensed and trembling. Before I could phase again, I registered the Cullen leader dashing through the yard toward us. So many warring emotions immediately flowed through me: anger caused by the scent and perceived threat of the new vampire; relief that it was the doctor, and he could help Bella; fear because of the amount of blood… what if the doc wouldn’t be able to control his thirst; uncertainty because I knew he did this all the time, but did he really never lose control?... This wasn’t just some random stranger; this was my life laying broken on the ground.

I was trying to control my instincts to attack, but a growl slipped out of my throat before I could stop it and my stance was not welcoming.

The doc stopped short, holding up his hands, an old-time doctor’s bag hanging from one.

“Are you Jacob Black?” he asked.

Alice must have told him about me.

“Yes,” I said harshly through clenched teeth, the growl still in my voice, warring inside myself to maintain control.

“My name is Carlisle Cullen and I just want to help Bella. I need to get the bleeding stopped…she has already lost a lot. I promise I will take excellent care of her… and I will not harm her in any way.”

I shook my head, trying to get a grip on my emotions… I knew Bella needed help right away. A few deep breaths, concentrating on Bella, and I’d almost reigned it in, only my hands were trembling now.

“I know,” I said, my voice reflecting my gained control, but my teeth were still clenched from the effort. “I won’t stop you.”

The doc nodded and walked by me warily, our eyes staying locked on one another. Alice moved aside to let him get to work, going a good distance away. I imagined she needed some relief from the smell of blood. I was suddenly impressed by the restraint she had shown.

After a few more moments, I finally felt in control enough to move and turned my attention back to Bella, going to kneel across from the doc, on her uninjured side. I was still trying to calm my shaking hands, but the scent of the vampire so near was making it difficult.

The doc gently prodded around Bella’s most obvious wounds, lifting her shirt to reveal horrid bruising already forming on her back, and I winced at the sight of it. I saw her fingers move ever so slightly in response to the doc’s request to squeeze his hand… she was at least somewhat conscious! I wanted to touch her, comfort her, but I wasn’t sure where was a safe place to touch her and not cause more pain.

“Talk to her, let her know you are here, even if it doesn’t seem like she can hear you.”

I nodded and took her hand when the doc let go of it… that seemed safe. My damn hands were still shaking though and that wasn’t going to help anything.
“Bella, I’m here honey.” I could hear the worry in my voice. “We’re going to take care of you. You’re going to be alright now.”

I glanced up at the doc and he nodded. “That’s good, she’s relaxing. Her heart rate just lowered considerably. Try to calm your tremors if you can Jacob.”

Damn it, I was trying. I was having enough trouble fighting the urge to get away from the vampire… or attack him. I just needed to focus on Bella… she needed me, and I didn’t want to leave her.

Bella suddenly let out the most dreadfully agonizing moan and whispered my name. It was so quiet a normal human wouldn’t have been able to hear it and it was laden with so much pain. It struck me right through the heart and my tremors ceased immediately. Nothing remained but concern for Bella.

I leaned down closer to her face and spoke tenderly. “I’m so sorry honey, I know it hurts.” Emotion knotted in my throat and pricked at my eyes. I stroked my fingertips softly over her cheek. “Stay strong baby.”

“Bella, the morphine should kick in soon,” the doc told her in a gentle voice. “Just try not to move right now.”

I kept my face close to hers. “I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere Bella. Do what the doc says. I promise I’ll stay with you.”

A small, horrible thought crept into the back of my mind. It wasn’t important enough to entertain in this moment, so I pushed it away as soon as it surfaced. However, it would probably haunt me until I could talk to Bella again.

What if she didn’t want me to stay with her anymore?

Chapter Text

Sirens wailed in the distance.

I continued talking to Bella as the doc kept working, her features eventually relaxing as the morphine must have kicked in. By the time the ambulance pulled up a couple of minutes later, the doc already had the head wounds cleaned and stitched up and had been able to straighten Bella’s arm back out. That was very unpleasant to see… and hear.

They got her arm and neck braced and got her loaded into the ambulance. I paused at the back of the ambulance, considering the size of the small space. Everything inside me demanded to stay with her, but I was afraid my massive frame would just get in the way.

The doc looked at me from inside the vehicle. “Do you mind if Alice gives you a ride to the hospital Jacob? She will stay right behind us.”

I hesitated, trying to decide if I could tolerate that. The last thing I wanted was to be in the way, and that was the most logical answer to getting to the hospital with Bella. After just a few moments, I nodded.

“The keys are in the ignition Alice.”

The pull to Bella had returned and increased as the ambulance pulled away. Alice did indeed follow right behind them though… even running a red light to do so. The pull remained mild, and I was guessing that maybe it got stronger the further away from Bella I was.

“Does Charlie know yet?” I asked after a bit of silence.

Alice nodded. “I spoke with Emily to let her know what happened. She said Charlie was somewhere in La Push and that she would get a message to him, so I would assume he’s been told by now… or will be very soon.”

“Good. So, what actually did happen?” I asked, not able to keep the frustration out of my voice. It wasn’t directed at her, necessarily, and she ignored it when she answered evenly.

“You want the “official” story,” she did the motion for quotation marks in the air with one hand, “or the real one?”

I barked out a small laugh and she gave me a little crooked smile. Yeah, I guess we would need to have a cover story. Might have a bit of an issue if we tried to say a vampire did it.

“Both,” I said.

“It was a hit and run. That’s the “official” story I told the officer that arrived right before the ambulance. Bella had just gotten in the car and before she could shut her door a car sped by and clipped the back of the Mercedes, sending it into the tree and ejecting Bella out the open passenger door. That’ll send the police on a bit of a wild goose chase trying to track down the black sedan that I said hit the Mercedes, but since I couldn’t remember any other details of the vehicle, they’ll have to let it go after a while.”

“That’s pretty good. Charlie’s going to have a hard time letting that one go, though.”

“I know, but that was the best option I could see. So, what really happened was Vitoria hit the car out of the way to get to Bella and then shoved Bella to knock her away from me. She then dashed over, grabbed Bella mid-air, and slammed her into the ground.”

I winced… this bloodsucker was going to die.

“She was bending down over Bella when I tackled her away, and I didn’t let her touch Bella again,” Alice continued. “I don’t know why I couldn’t see her specific location to know how close she was until it was too late. You were fairly close, judging by how soon after you arrived, but I don’t think you were close enough to block my visions at that moment. It was like she didn’t decide she was going to go after Bella until she was right there.” Alice was clearly frustrated that she had been essentially blind-sided. With her abilities, I got the feeling that didn’t happen very often.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was gaining a new respect for this little vampire… and the doc. I could have never fathomed it before today—these undead monsters caring for anyone, let alone a poor little human girl. I could see now that they did care for Bella very much. Friendship with them may be too much of a reach, but appreciation and respect could be possible.

“Thank you,” I said quietly, “for protecting her until I could get there.”

“You’re welcome. I’m just sorry I wasn’t able to keep her from getting injured.” The frustration was still in her voice.

“If it wasn’t for you though, she probably would’ve…” I trailed off, not able to finish. I shuddered at the thought of how close it was… that I wouldn’t have made it in time. We are going to have to rethink our approach to Bella’s protection.

“I know, I’m thankful I was able to make it when I did, even if it wasn’t soon enough to get her out of there. Of course, if Bella had called me as soon as she got home, like she’d agreed to, then I could have had her out of there in plenty of time.”

“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t she call you?”

“I don’t know. I asked, but she didn’t have a chance to answer me. I found her in the forest just north of the house, which doesn’t seem like something she would normally do.”

Oh no. She might do that if she was trying to do some thinking. Was she out there trying to figure out what to do about us? My stomach sunk at the thought and my hands began to tremble slightly. I squeezed them into fists.

Alice glanced at my hands out of the corner of her eyes, and I felt her tense a little. “What is it?” she asked.

“I think I know why she was out there. If I’m right, it’s my fault.” My voice was tight with irritation.

“Does this have anything to do with why she was so distracted and sad last night?

“Yes.”

I think Alice could tell from my clipped answer that I didn’t want to discuss it anymore, because she changed the subject.

“It’s unfortunate I can’t see you and your friends… it really limits my ability to help track Victoria’s movements. I’m just so surprised I didn’t see her coming in Bella’s direction at all though… at least not until I knew she was nearby, and then I couldn’t see everything that I usually can. She has somehow figured out ways to work around what I can see.”

“How would she know how to do that?”

“Well, last year when James was hunting Bella—you know about James?”

“Yes, Bella told me about that… this had better not become an annual thing.” I said sourly.

“Yes, I agree,” Alice said, shaking her head. “Anyway, Laurent, the one who was in the meadow with Bella that your pack killed, came to us after James started the hunt. He didn’t agree with what they were doing, and he let us know some things about James and Victoria. He was also intrigued by our ‘vegetarian’ lifestyle, so we told him about our cousins in Denali… did Bella tell you about them?”

“No, I don’t think she mentioned that.”

“Well, they’re another coven who follow the same diet as us, and we consider them our extended family. So, he went and spent several months with them, then Victoria found him and spent some time with them as well. Laurent ended up leaving Denali with Victoria and then meet his end when your pack took him down. That’s how she learned more about my powers, and she’s figured out how to play with my blind spots.”

“That sucks.” I said as we pulled up to the hospital right behind the ambulance.

“I’m going to head back to the house to see if I can catch Charlie and in case the officers have any more questions. I’ll be back up later. Please have Carlisle call me if there are any updates before I make it back.”

“Sure, sure,” I said distractedly as I got out and followed the doc and the gurney with Bella into the hospital.

Bella was stable, so he let me sit with Bella in the little ER space the put her in, even though I’m not related. Charlie showed up about twenty minutes after we arrived, and the doc insisted that the nurses let us both stay. I was very relieved, because I didn’t think I would have been able go against the pull to stay with Bella.

They had given her some blood, so her color was returning to normal, though she smelled weird now… that was interesting. She was being kept drugged up so she would stay asleep because of the injury to her head. After several hours, and a lot of scans and tests, they took her to surgery for her arm. Charlie and I walked with her as far as they would let us, and as they wheeled her through the surgery doors, the strong pull to stay with her returned and continued to grow as she was wheeled further and further away from me.

I hadn’t left her side since arriving at the ER, going with them to every machine they had taken her to, and they had allowed it at the doc’s instruction… it was almost like he knew. But going with her now wasn’t an option. I don’t think I’d ever felt anything that brought me so much discomfort. Phasing was close, especially in the beginning, but that was just a flash and then gone… this feeling though, this was relentless.

I stood there at the double doors Bella had just disappeared through, fighting against that pull, telling myself that, it was better for me not to be there, but knowing that didn’t help. I was just going to have to find a way to endure it until I could be with her again.

Charlie had been standing next to me while I had this internal struggle, waiting for me to turn and walk to the waiting room. He put his hand on my arm, “Come on kid, you can’t go with her for this, and we can’t just stand here. We’ll hear from Dr. Cullen soon. She’s out of the worst danger now, or they wouldn’t be doing the surgery yet.”

I nodded, knowing he was right, but it would do nothing to ease my draw to Bella.

When we got to the waiting room Sam and Emily were already there. Emily hugged me warmly.

“I’m so sorry Jake,” she said quietly. She had become like a sister to me over the past weeks and I appreciated her so much for being here right now. I held her tight for a minute, closing my eyes, holding back the tears that suddenly threatened.

“Thanks Em,” I said, releasing her. She looked at me and wiped her thumb across my check… apparently one or two tears ad escaped. She headed over to Charlie and I looked at Sam with the most pressing question in my eye, and he shook his head, his jaw set.

Crap, the filthy leech had gotten away… AGAIN! I looked around wanting to punch something, but there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t destroy, so I clenched my fists tight, then ran my hands roughly through my hair, paced over to a chair and sat down heavily.

Emily had sat next to Charlie and placed her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry Bella got hurt Charlie.”

“Thanks Emily.” He didn’t look at all awkward, as he normally would with someone he barely knew comforting him. Em had a way of putting people at ease and comforting in the simplest ways.

About ten minutes later Charlie was updating Sam and Emily on what we knew so far about Bella’s condition. I couldn’t just sit there and listen anymore.

“I need some air,” I said, rising suddenly and heading toward the door.

Emily grabbed my hand as I passed, and I paused to look down at her.

“She’s going to be alright Jake.” A well of compassion showed in her eyes.

“I know Em… it’s just hard sitting here and waiting,” I said quietly, squeezing her hand. “I’ll be okay. I’ll be back in just a little bit.”

She nodded and squeezed my hand back before letting me go.

I went toward the front of the hospital, but the desire to go to Bella kept getting stronger the further I went. I made it just outside the main entrance and I couldn’t go any further. I stood there for nearly ten minutes, breathing deep and trying to ease the feeling, but it was still just as persistent… almost painful at this distance. It was like someone was gripping my insides and tugging on them over and over again. The further away I went, the tighter the grip was and the more forceful the tug was.

I finally gave in and headed back the way I had come, walking past the waiting room and back to the doors they had taken Bella through for surgery. I found what I hoped was an out of the way spot, next to a water fountain, and eased myself down the wall to the floor. The pull had eased a bit, though it was still strong and made me anxious and irritable.

While I sat there, I tried to distract myself with planning and working out possible strategies. We had to do better, with both Bella’s protection and finding a way to get the edge on this freaking bloodsucker! The one thing I would not allow myself to think about was Bella’s decision about our future. That was a sure way to drive myself right over the edge of sanity while trying to deal with the intense need to be by her side.

I suddenly remembered something Alice had said in the car on the way to the hospital… that leech with the dreads had told them some things about James and Victoria. Maybe something he told them would help us figure out a way to take her down.

“You doin’ alright Jake?” I looked up to find Sam standing in front of me.

“Yeah, I just needed to think… and get as close to Bella as I could. I tried to go outside, but the pull to her was too strong. I’m having a hard time being even this far away.”

He nodded in understanding and sat down next to me.

“We’ve got to rethink the way we are protecting Bella,” I continued. “We were all too far away from her today. The Cullens will be leaving soon… and if it weren’t for Alice and the doc today, the outcome would have been very different.”

“I’ve thought of that as well. When she’s home, we need to have more constant direct protection for her. I just can’t believe the leech got by us like that!”

“I think Alice may actually have some info that could be useful, and not realize it.” I told Sam about my conversation with her in the car.

“We definitely need to ask her about that as soon as we get a chance.”

I nodded, staring at the floor. The pull to Bella was really starting to eat at me. I wanted to pace, but anywhere I went would take me further away, and that wouldn’t help. I remembered the thought Sam and Jared had earlier, so I asked him about it, hoping to at least distract myself some more.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “Well, we don’t know what in the world it means. We only know that it seemed to be the same feelings we have toward Emily and Kim. It’s what we felt right before we imprinted, drawing us to them, and we feel it if we are away from them for too long, though that one isn’t as strong and more easily managed, if need be. From what I could tell, it was identical to what I felt after Emily got hurt.

“None of it makes sense Jake… seriously. By every indication, you absolutely should have imprinted on Bella… no, it’s almost like you did imprint on her, without that initial shift we had. Like something is stopping that permanent attachment from forming. Even the way she looks at you, and acts toward you, it is as though you have imprinted on her… but it has only been since you kissed her, when she realized her love for you.”

“I noticed that too. I loved her before that, and I wanted more with her, but things have slowly changed since our kiss woke her up. Our connection, my love for her, her scent, my ability to read her emotions, and now this pull to her… everything keeps intensifying. I don’t know what I’m going to do if she chooses –”

“Don’t do that to yourself right now, Jake. She was overwhelmed and confused last night, so it was understandable she wanted a little time to process all the implications. She wouldn’t have been so upset about it if she didn’t truly love you.

“I have to tell you, Emily fully believes Bella will choose to stay with you. In her mind it’s a done deal, so much so that I have trouble not believing her.”

“I want to believe that… with all my heart I want that. I hope Em is right.”

“Charlie said you didn’t leave her side the whole time… that you went with them to all the tests and the doc let you.”

“Yeah, he insisted they let me stay with her… like he knew somehow.”

“You should ask him about that if you get the chance.” He paused, a contemplative look on his face. “There are so many things that are different from the legends with this pack. How big the pack is getting, having a female wolf, and Seth phasing so young. There may be a lot about this life that has never been discovered before that we’re going to learn about.

I sighed in frustration. “The whole damn thing feels messed up. Maybe it at least means I won’t imprint on someone else.” I leaned my head back against the wall and shut my eyes. “God, I pray it at least means that! And that Emily is right.”

Sam put his hand on my shoulder, and we sat in silence for several minutes. I watched the hospital workers coming and going through the door. We got a few weird looks, but no one said anything to us about sitting there.

“What about the voice you heard?” Sam asked, breaking the silence. “You said you heard Bella’s voice in your head?”
I had nearly forgotten about that.

“Yeah, shortly before reaching Bella’s house, and right before I heard the car crash into the tree, I heard Bella call my name. It was just once, but it didn’t sound like it was far away, it sounded like it was in my head… clearer than hearing the pack’s thoughts.” I looked at Sam. “Have you ever heard Emily in your head?”

“No,” he said thoughtfully, “but she has never been in mortal danger like Bella was.” He shook his head. “Just so bizarre. Only time will tell what it all means, because it has to mean something.”

We circled back around and went over some ideas for better protection for Bella and strategies on catching the redhead. I tried to keep the conversation going to distract myself from the need to be with Bella until the doc finally came back through the doors.

He saw us sitting there and smiled sympathetically but kept going toward the waiting room. We got up and followed him and saw that Alice was there too. He let us know the surgery went well and he expected her to make a full recovery, including regaining full function of her arm.

He provided us with her room number. Everyone except Alice headed up to go see her.

Every step brought me some relief. Now I just needed Bella to wake up and tell me she wanted to stay with me. I wouldn’t be able to truly rest easy until then.

Chapter Text

WHEN WE REACHED Bella’s room, I let Sam and Emily go in first with Charlie to keep with the Doc’s orders of no more than three visitors at once. Just standing outside the door was enough to calm the pull towards Bella almost completely. Emily’s gentle voice reached me as she talked softly to Bella and a small smile tugged at my lips. The first one I’d had since yesterday.

They didn’t stay long, and Emily promised to come back in the morning with food and a few changes of clothes for me. It was obvious at this point that I wasn’t going anywhere while Bella was in the hospital. Sam understood my need to stay with her and assured me they would handle everything without me until Bella was recovered, however long that may be. With everything going on between me and Bella, I got the feeling he had begun to consider her my imprint, and nothing took priority over the needs of the person you imprinted on.

I thanked them both for everything and then headed into the room.

The small private room was dark except for a lamp on the table next to Bella’s bed, which was centered against the wall on the right side of the room. There was another table and a reclining chair against the far wall across from the door, situated between two sets of windows with the blinds.

Charlie was perched on a chair next to Bella’s bed holding her hand. His features were drawn and there were faint shadows under his eyes. He appeared to have aged quite a few years today and I felt a twinge of guilt for how much worry he’d been put through today.

I stood next to the foot of her bed, so relieved to finally get to see her again. I rested my hand on her leg and at last felt content and calm. I breathed deeply, taking in her altered scent, along with the harsh smell of antiseptic and hospital cleaners, and gazed down at her. Her head was bandaged, and she had dark circles under both eyes. There was a nasty bruise around her left eye and across her left cheek. Her left arm was now splinted and wrapped up tight, immobilized against her chest. It had been both broken and dislocated. She would get a cast once the swelling went down, according to the doc.

“How are you holding up?” I asked Charlie.

He glanced up at me, like he was just noticing me standing there, then sighed.

“I’ve been better. I probably won’t rest easy until she wakes up. I can’t believe we are here again, almost exactly one year after the incident in Phoenix. Doesn’t matter how many times I go through this with her… whether it’s a big or small injury, it never gets easier.”

“I’m sorry, Charlie.”

He looked at me once more and held my gaze. “What are you apologizing for? You weren’t the one driving that car.”

I shrugged and had to look away from him. I may not have caused her injuries, but I should have been there to protect her and keep her from getting hurt in the first place. I should have been able to take down this bloodsucker already. I should have been the one she fell in love with from the beginning and kept her from ever getting involved with the Cullens and their world. I couldn’t say any of that to Charlie though.

“I just feel bad, that’s all. As much as this is killing me, I can’t imagine what you’re feeling.”

“Well, it’s no secret Bella is a magnet for injuries. I always hoped she’d grow out of it, but it seems to have gotten worse. How about you? You look beat Jake.”

It was my turn to let out a deep sigh and I imagined my face probably mirrored Charlie’s. “I feel beat, but I’m much better now I can be with her again… see her. It’s been a rough evening.”

Charlie nodded and was silent once more.

The weight of the last twenty-four hours suddenly slammed down on my shoulders… and my heart. Not only was Bella lying in this hospital bed, unconscious and severely injured, but I didn’t even know where we stood. If she sent me away when she woke up, I don’t know if I’d be able to physically make myself leave.
I shook my head… I couldn’t think about that right now. Not only was I too exhausted, it hurt too much. I crossed the room and dropped down in the reclining chair. Leaning my head back I let my eyes slide shut and was finally able to relax. I hadn’t realized just how tense I had been ever since my dad called me out of the garage.

Well, I was able to mostly relax. I wouldn’t be able to fully relax until Bella told me she wanted to stay with me. And if that wasn’t her answer, then it may be a very long time before I could relax… if ever.

Even with the ache of uncertainty in my heart, it didn’t take long before I was mercifully able to drift off to sleep.

I WOKE UP SOMETIME in the middle of the night, a blanket draped over me. A quick glance around the room told me Charlie was gone, but he’d left a note on the side table saying he’d gone home to get some rest and would be back in the morning, after he went into the station for a few hours.

Feeling more rested, but still with a heavy heart, I lowered myself into the chair next to Bella’s bed. Gently, I took her hand in mine and stroked my thumb over the smooth skin on her wrist, avoiding the IV that was secured to the back of her hand. In the quiet, I was able to process more thoroughly what all had happened the night before; thinking about the inescapable need to be with Bella and hearing her voice call for me in my head, wondering if it had just been my imagination, or had she actually called out to me telepathically?

I had come so close to taking down that bloodsucker. I’d finally gotten my teeth on her, and it had felt good to rip into her, but she’d come way too close to killing Bella. I hadn’t really let myself go there yet. That red headed leech had actually touched Bella. The thought made me shudder and sent a pulse of white-hot fury through my veins. And, unfortunately, the damage to the leech wouldn’t even be permanent. According to Sam, she had retrieved her dismembered arm in her retreat, so she had probably been able to reattach it. At least I knew it was possible to get her.

Reaching up to her face, my fingers brushed over Bella’s cheek, and I smiled a little as she turned her head and pressed into my touch. Trailing them down her neck, and my hand came to rest on her shoulder at the base of her neck.

God, I loved this girl so much. How could I ever live without her? I of course knew the answer… I couldn’t. Imprinted or not, Bella meant everything to me.

Between the thought of Bella nearly dying, seeing her lying broken in the hospital bed, and not knowing if she even wanted to be with me anymore, I was overwhelmed. I had pushed everything I was feeling to the side all day, just trying to focus on the next thing I had to deal with, but there was nothing else in that moment that needed my attention. I finally was able to allow myself to process it all… all the sadness, all the uncertainty, and all the pain.

In the quiet of the hospital room, I buried my face against the arm of the girl I loved, and I wept.

THE SOUNDS OF someone bustling around the room woke me early the next morning. I was still sitting in the chair next to Bella’s bed, holding her hand, and I’d fallen asleep with my head lying next to her arm. I immediately noticed Bella’s cheek was resting on the hand I’d left on her shoulder, and her face was flush from the contact with my hot skin. I smiled at her unconscious movement toward me while she slept and my heart clenched… she had to choose to stay with me, she just had to.

“I’m going to need to get in there, dear.”

I glanced up at the nurse who was standing nearby, frowning at me. Though her words were kind, the look on her face made it clear she was irritated by my presence.

“Of course,” I said as sweetly as possible.

As I stood, I gently removed my hand from between Bella’s cheek and shoulder. Leaning in close to her face, I softly ran my fingers across the narrow strip of her forehead that wasn’t bandaged and murmured to her.

“Good morning my beautiful Bella.”

In response to my voice, she sighed deeply in her sleep, and I smiled again. I moved across the room to the window so I would be out of the way. I looked outside at the falling rain for a moment then leaned against the wall and watched Bella’s sleeping form as the nurse worked around her.

That first day, a few of Bella’s classmates visited, including the marshmallow boy, Mike. He seemed surprised to see me when he came in and was very uncomfortable with me there. The girl who came with him, Jessica I think, rambled on and on to Bella about all kinds of ridiculous nonsense that was going on at school. I had trouble picturing this girl being a very close friend to Bella. They didn’t stay long, thankfully. Angela was the only one who didn’t seem intimidated by me when she visited. She stayed the longest and actually talked with me, asking about my life and how Bella and I had met, commenting on how cute it was that we knew each other as children. She definitely seemed the most genuine and caring in her friendship with Bella and I decided I liked her a lot.

Doc had said he was going to be keeping Bella under heavy sedation for several days to make sure her brain and body got the rest it needed. It didn’t make much sense for her to have a bunch of visitors while she was unconscious, so Angela agreed to pass the word along to their classmates to wait until Bella was awake before any more of them visited.

The guys all visited too, but that was as much for me as it was for Bella, so I didn’t discourage them. Emily brought me food, some books and magazines, and a few changes of clothes, as she’d promised. There was a shower in the private bathroom off of Bella’s room the doc said I could use. He even had them bring in a cot for me. It was too small, of course, but surprisingly not by much and was far better than the little reclining chair.

The floor Bella’s room was on was one big square of hallways and I liked to take a couple laps a few times a day, just to stretch my legs a bit. Other than those brief walks, and when the nurses needed to tend to Bella, I didn’t ever leave her room… and I never left the floor. At first, I worried I might go stir crazy being stuck inside day and night, but I was completely content being near Bella, watching her sleep, holding her hand, listening to the rhythms of her heartbeat and her breathing. The only thing that hindered my contentment was the uncertainty of what Bella’s decision was going to be, but I did my best not to think about that… I would just deal with her decision when I had to.

Whenever it was nice enough outside, I would open the windows in Bella’s room a little to let some fresh air in. If the sun was shining, I would raise the blinds and let the light pour into the room. I knew Bella would appreciate the sunshine and fresh air if she were awake. And, as content as I was, I did miss being outside… the feel of the wind in my hair, the sun on my skin, the forest floor under my paws, the ocean spray on my face. For now, the blinds and windows were enough though.

By the end of the first day, the nurses all seemed wary of me… I sometimes forgot how intimidating I looked. I could overhear them talking at the nurses’ station, though I tried not to. The ones who took the time to get to know me a little thought my constant presence was sweet, the others thought it was creepy… I did look about seven years older than Bella after all. I seriously doubted any of them would believe me if I told them I was only eighteen. None of them gave me any trouble though. The doc had been very adamant that I be allowed to stay.

I felt mostly comfortable with both Alice and the doc now. There was still a deep instinctual feeling of wrongness I had to fight against, but they’d done too much for Bella for me to overlook it. The smell was still hard to deal with. Even though I had adjusted to it some, it was still irritating. Alice had been to see Bella a lot, however she never stayed very long at one time… possibly due to my scent, or the fact that she couldn’t see anything when she was in close proximity to me.

On one of her first visits, when we were alone, I remembered to ask her about her comment about the leech with the dreads telling them things about the red head and her mate. She said I should ask the doc since he was the one the other leech talked to.

At the end of the first day, Charlie and I shared the dinner Emily had brought for me. Even though I could have easily eaten it all, she had packed me three servings, so I could also get by on less. Especially since I wasn’t phasing right now. We chatted a bit about the day, but mostly ate in silence. When he was finished, he leaned back in his chair, and I could feel him studying me as I continued to eat.

“You need a ride home tonight, Jake?”

“Naw. Doc had them bring me that cot so I could stay here.” I gestured to the corner where the cot was set up with blankets and pillows. “He said it was good for her to have someone nearby as much as possible.”

“Yeah, I remember him saying that, but it doesn’t mean you have to be here all the time kid. Your dad probably misses you, too.”

“Sam is going to bring him by tomorrow for a little while. He understands why I’m here, and the guys are all checking on him, so he’s fine.” My dad did understand… maybe not as well as the pack, but Sam had told him everything that was going on with me and Bella.

Charlie wasn’t so sure though. “You know there’s nothing you can do while she’s asleep, right? She’s gonna be okay if you go home and get a good night’s sleep in your own bed.”

Turning to look at Bella, I shook my head. “Charlie, I can’t leave her. I can feel it deep in my soul that, even unconscious, she needs me here. I can’t explain it but leaving is simply not an option.” I looked back at him, and met his gaze, unflinching. “Please don’t try to make me leave Charlie… I cannot do it.”

He sighed. “Alright, suit yourself. As long as Dr. Cullen says it’s fine. Just make sure you stay out of the way and let the nurses do their jobs.”

“I will, you have my word.”

That night, after Charlie left, I was able to ask the doc about the info on the red head.

“Right, that probably would be helpful to know. It isn’t anything quantifiable, like Edward’s mind reading or Alice’s visions, but she is especially adept at evasion and self-preservation. And she is faster than the average vampire. In other words, she’s really good at getting away.”

“Well, that makes sense,” I said sourly. “It always seems like she’s one step ahead of us… just enough to stay out of reach and escape. Sometimes it even seems like she knows our moves before we make them. We have already been rethinking our approach to taking her down and trying to come up with some new strategies.”

“Yes, just waiting for her to make a move and then trying to chase her down is going to be very difficult, as I am sure you have discovered. I’m sorry the information I have isn’t more helpful.”

I nodded, thinking through a few of the options Sam and I had discussed. There was one in particular I wanted to go over with him again and develop a bit more.

“Hey Doc, I’ve got another question for you, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not, Jacob.”

“I’m just curious how come you’ve made all these special exceptions and accommodations for me. Allowed me to stay in the ER and through all Bella’s tests… and to stay here in her room 24/7. I have the feeling I wouldn’t normally be allowed to stay overnight.”

He gave me a small smile. You’re very perceptive Jacob. It’s actually because I noticed right away that the closer you were to Bella, the calmer she was, and her vital signs all improved with your presence. In the ambulance on the way to the hospital, just that small separation from you caused her stress and her vitals were all negatively impacted. As soon as you were with her again in the ER room her stress eased… you hadn’t even spoken or touched her yet. It was like she could sense you there. None of the spikes were alarming, but in her fragile state, anything like that could potentially cause an issue… and I wasn’t sure what an extended separation from you would do to her.

“The most obvious impact on Bella was during her surgery… her blood pressure and heart rate went up so much that I almost sent for you at one point, but then they came back down… not fully, but enough that she wasn’t in danger.”

My eyes had gone wide as the doc was speaking. “Was that about twenty minutes into the surgery?”

The doc looked at me, surprised. “Yes actually… how did you know that?”

“It was about that time I went outside to get some air for about ten minutes or so, but I came back inside and sat right by the doors where you found me and Sam after the surgery and stayed there the rest of the time.”

“That is astounding Jacob,” the doc exclaimed.

“It’s two-sided then,” I said quietly, more to myself really. Looking down at Bella—so beautiful, even with the dark circles and bruising—I gently placed my hand on her bandaged head and rubbed my thumb across her forehead. Suddenly I was overwhelmed by my love for her and had such a deep longing for her to wake up… I wanted to look into those sweet brown eyes and hear her voice.

Bella sighed deeply in her sleep and my heart ached once more. Surely, she’ll be able to feel these new connections when she wakes up and decide to stay with me, since it seemed fairly obvious that she’s aware of them while she’s unconscious. Although, I hoped she’d made her decision to stay before Victoria attacked her. The last thing I would want is for her to feel trapped.

I looked up at the doc when he spoke again, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what did you mean by ‘two-sided’?”

“Well,” I started, looking back down at Bella, “since Bella was injured, I have felt a very powerful need to stay with her. When it first happened, I had just headed off to chase the red head after the attack and my body physically slowed down on its own and everything within me couldn’t stand leaving Bella. And since being here, anytime I leave the room I start getting anxious and the further away I get, the worse it gets… almost to the point of pain if I get too far away.”
“Is that why you were sitting at the door to surgery yesterday?”

I looked at the doc again, leaving my hand on Bella’s head. “Yeah, that was the closest I could get to her. We sometimes have this happen to us—the wolves—where we form an unbreakable connection with our soulmate, which then causes all of these other secondary connections, such as the pull to be with them if they are injured or in danger. We are absolutely committed to them above everything else. We call it imprinting. Throughout our histories it has always happened the first time we look them in the eye, after we’ve gone through the change.” I looked back to Bella. “But it seems to be happening differently for me and Bella. We have all of the secondary connections, and some of them are stronger than the ones my brothers have, the two who have imprinted, but I haven’t made the primary unbreakable one… I haven’t actually imprinted on Bella, like something’s blocking the full connection. I had no idea it affected the other person so strongly… unless that’s just with me and Bella.”

I don’t know why I was sharing so much with this vampire, but it was interesting to discover how much this connection was affecting Bella too. It also might be good for him to know about it, since he was Bella’s doctor.

“That’s fascinating, Jacob… and I’d imagine quite confusing in your situation with Bella. And the fact she is aware of your presence even while unconscious… so much so that her body responds when you are near, even when you are not speaking to or touching her.” He was looking at Bella thoughtfully. “It would be very interesting to see what Jasper could sense around you two.”

I looked at him in confusion for a moment, then remembered Bella telling me something about one of the other males also having a power. “Is he the one who can control emotions?” I asked.

The doc nodded. “Sort of. He can influence other’s emotions, not necessarily control them, and he can also sense the emotions other people are experiencing. He could maybe give some more insight into what is happening between the two of you.”

The thought of becoming at all close with any more vampires was not at all appealing to me. “Maybe we’ll just let the rest remain a mystery… at least for now.”

“Yes, well, I can certainly understand that. I appreciate you sharing so much with me Jacob. As well as your acceptance of me continuing to treat Bella.”

“Yeah, I can hardly believe it myself,” I said, a small smirk curling my lips. “I’m grateful though, for both you and Alice, Doc.”

“We are both happy to be here and able to help. We know it was her involvement with our family that put her in this danger to start with, so we want to do whatever we can to make it right.

“Well, I will leave you be for the evening. Have a good night, Jacob and see you tomorrow.

“Thanks Doc. See you tomorrow.”

The following days were quieter. Besides Charlie, the only visitors were Sam, Emily, and my dad. In the afternoon of the second day, the doc decided the swelling in her arm had come down enough to put on the cast. By the end of the third day, he decided to stop the sedation and allow Bella to wake up. He warned us it could still take a while for her to regain consciousness, so not to be concerned if she didn’t wake up right away.
Charlie stayed late that night, both of us anxious for her to be awake again. He was still sitting by her bed when I passed out around midnight. I knew he was hoping he could be there when she woke up.

I just needed her to tell me she didn’t want to give up on us.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
VOICES. MUFFLED VOICES and dim light. And pain. Where was I? My thoughts were so muddled and slow… and I hurt in so many places. My mind was caught in a black sludge. I struggled against it, trying to make out the indistinct voices and failing. The more I struggled, the more it pulled me back. Nothing in my body would obey and the black void sucked me back in.

I had no concept of time in the darkness, but surfacing again, it began to slowly relent. Everything was quiet this time, but the pain and dim light were back. Why did I hurt so much? My thoughts were still so foggy and elusive, like trying to find sunshine on a cloudy day. I lifted my hand to rub my forehead… or I tried to, but it weighed too much, my arm wouldn’t budge.

The fog in my brain oh so slowly started to clear, so I waited. At least the darkness wasn’t trying to suck me back in this time. Memories of my day started to come again: school and then work; I was distracted all day and then I was in the woods… alone. Why would I… Imprinting… Jake… I had decided. I wanted to stay with him. I was on my way to go see him, to tell him, then Alice was there and then… Victoria!

It all came back in a rush and a whimper finally broke free from my throat. Alice had fought Victoria and then Jake was there. What had happened?
My mind had started working again, but I still couldn’t get my body to respond. I just wanted to open my eyes.

A warm hand slipped into mine and another pressed against my forehead… too cool to be Jake.

I needed to see Jake… I needed to tell him. I didn’t want to leave him. I never wanted to leave, I was just so stunned and confused.

Agitated at my body’s refusal to obey, my heart began to race as the need to speak to Jake grew. Cool fabric caressed my feet as they moved, my body finally started to respond. I tried, unsuccessfully, to sit up. I pushed my voice harder and finally croaked out a sound that was supposed to be Jake’s name, but it came out as a small, desperate, rasping sound.

“Bella, it’s Dad. Calm down sweetie. You’re in the hospital and you’re okay, so just stay calm.”

Finally able to make my eyes cooperate, I blinked against the dim light and gradually Charlie’s face came into focus. He looked tired and his face was lined with worry.

“Hey there, sweetie,” Charlie said, smiling down at me. “Welcome back. It’s good to see you awake again.”

I smiled back at him… or I think I did.

“Jake?” I finally managed to croak out, more audibly this time, my voice a little stronger.

“Jake is here,” Charlie reassured me. “He’s sleeping.”

Jake. I needed to talk to him… tell him what my decision was. Wincing, I lifted my head just a few inches… enough to look around a little.
“Take it easy Bells. Don’t try to sit up, let me raise the bed a little instead.”

Charlie worked the controls and got the head of my bed raised just a few inches then slowly lowered himself down into the chair next to me. He was moving so stiffly, I wondered how long he had been sitting there. As he sat it allowed me to see more of my surroundings.

I was in a small hospital room. There was a half dozen or so arrangements of flowers and balloons placed around the room. Once Charlie was fully seated and had taken my hand again, he leaned a little to the side and finally my eyes landed on Jake, asleep on a cot in the corner. It was almost comical seeing his big frame hanging part way off the edges. Relief flooded through me at the sight of him so nearby. I relaxed and relaxed my head against the pillow. He was here and I could talk to him as soon as he woke up. My eyes slid shut so that I could zero in on the sound of his quiet snoring for a moment.

I turned my head to look at Charlie again and he smiled gently. I smiled back, and this time I know my lips moved because both my lips and mouth were like a desert, dry and cracked. I smacked my lips and worked my tongue a little, trying to wet my mouth.

“Want some water, kiddo?”

I nodded and Charlie produced a cup with a straw from the side table. He helped support my head so I could get a few sips.

“Dad, what happened?” I rasped, my voice still weak, but functioning.

“You were in a car accident sweetie. You’re pretty banged up, but you’re going to be okay. You just need to rest for now.”

I smiled feebly. “What day is it?”

“It’s like 1:00 in the morning on Sunday. We’ve been so worried about you Bella. I’m so relieved you’re finally awake.”

I tried to adjust my position to get a better look at Jake and winced again. My entire left side from shoulder to hip began to throb and burn and I had to give up on moving for the moment.

“Are you in pain sweetie?”

“A little,” I whispered.

“Well, a nurse came in just before you woke and gave you some more pain meds, so it should ease soon.”

I looked at him with wide, anxious eyes. “No, I don’t want to pass out again. I need to stay awake. I need to talk to Jake.”

“He hasn’t been asleep long, so he’s gonna be out for a while.” When I started to protest, Charlie’s expression became firm. “You need to let him sleep Bells. He’s refused to leave, and I don’t think he’s gotten much rest. And more than anything you need to rest too. Your body has a lot of healing to do. He’s not going anywhere, trust me, I tried… so you’ll get to speak to him soon enough.”

“Jake hasn’t left?”

“No. Nothing would convince him to leave you. Just rest Bella. He’ll be here when you wake again.”

I relaxed again as I nodded and mumbled something that was supposed to be “Okay” as the medicine started to pull me back under. Knowing he’d been there the whole time made me feel… something. The fog was returning, so I couldn’t figure out the word… loved? Protected? Peaceful? It didn’t matter, it was a good feeling.

I attempted to lift my head one more time to get a last look at Jake’s sleeping form, but my body had stopped obeying again. My eyes finally slid shut and I drifted back into the black void, the pleasant feeling following me there.

HEAT… CONSCIOUSNESS SLOWLY returned once more and there was heat. My hand, all along my arm, and up into my shoulder was hot. After some effort, but not nearly as much as before, I was again able to open my eyes. I turned my head toward the heat and found Jake next to me this time. My heart lept at the sight of him. He was asleep again with his hand in mine and his head laying on the bed next to me.

I tried to reach across to touch his head, but pain shot through my arm, and it wouldn’t move. Glancing over I noticed for the first time that my left arm was in a cast and fastened firmly against my chest with a sling. That didn’t look good.

Turning back to Jake, I squeezed his hand instead and said his name, still not able to get much sound out.

He stirred and lifted his head to look at me. Relief flooded his face when his eyes met mine and my heart fluttered. He was so handsome, and I had missed him.

“Bella, you’re awake!” He was immediately on his feet and leaning over me, touching my face. “Honey, it’s so good to see your beautiful eyes. I have been so worried about you.” He pressed his lips to my forehead and held them there for a long time. When he pulled back, his cheeks were damp, his eyes lined with silver. “I’m so sorry we let this happen to you.” His voice was thick with emotion, and he continued to stroke my forehead and caress my face.

“It’s okay Jake,” I whispered, “it’s not your fault.”

“No Bella, we messed up. We left you far too vulnerable and unprotected. If Alice hadn’t been there…” his voice trailed off.

“Don’t think like that. She was there and I’m okay. Is Alice alright? Are you okay?” I looked over as much of him as I could see, and he seemed to be fine.

“Yes, we’re both fine. She’s been here quite a lot. She’ll be back tomorrow.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Is it still Sunday?” The clock beside the bed said 10:05 and the world outside the window was dark.

“Yes… I think. They’ve all blended together a little.”

Four days he’d had to wait and wonder. My heart clenched with guilt and regret. I reached up and cupped his cheek, hating that I’d been so delayed in telling him. I wasn’t going to let him wait any longer.

“Jake, I’m so sorry you’ve had to wait so long for this, but I don’t want to end things with you. I was getting ready to go to La Push to tell you when Victoria showed up.” I had to avert my eyes from his intense gaze. “I’m sorry I put you through that. I should’ve realized right away, but I was just so shocked and confused after you told me about imprinting, and I needed some time to process it. I never would ha…”

His lips suddenly pressed against mine, effectively silencing me with a sweet and tender kiss and stealing my breath away. My fingers slid from his cheek and into his hair. After several moments, he pulled back a little then pressed his forehead to mine.

“You don’t have to explain, Bella. All I care about is that you want to stay with me. That’s all that matters.”

“I don’t know why I couldn’t realize it right away. You were right, I do overthink things sometimes. But it’s worth whatever risk there may be. You’re worth it.”

He kissed me again, then took my hand and sat back down, a big, tired smile on his face. “It’s been a very long four days waiting for you to wake up, worrying about you, and worrying about what your decision would be. I can’t begin to describe to you the relief and joy I’m feeling right now.”

I returned his smile and enjoyed the warmth of his hand enveloping mine.

“So, Jake, what exactly did happen that day?” I knew the story Charlie told me was not the real story.

He shook his head and looked down forlornly. “The red head got by the pack, and she was able to get to you. I wasn’t with them; I was at home getting caught up with all the cars I needed to work on. They were able to get a message to my dad and I got to you before the rest, but it wasn’t soon enough. I fought her, but I couldn’t take her down before she turned tail and ran.”

A shudder went through me at the fact that she got away and made me wince at the twinges of pain.

“I did get a piece of the leech, though. I ripped off half her arm.”

“You bit off her arm?!”

“Yes.” A small, pleased smile crossed his face but was gone almost immediately. “Unfortunately, she got it back, so she would have been able to reattach it, but it felt so good to finally get my teeth on her! I will NOT let her get that close to you ever again Bella, and we will find a way to get this filthy leech, I promise you! You will never be left so unprotected again.”

I squeezed his hand tightly. “I know you’ll keep me safe, Jake.”

He lifted my hand to kiss the palm then pressed it against his cheek and held my gaze with an intensity that spoke volumes.

A gentle knock at the door interrupted the moment.

“Sorry to intrude so late, but I thought I heard Bella.”

It was a familiar voice and I remembered hearing it the day of the attack, but never could place it. Reluctantly tearing my eyes away from Jake, I turned to look toward the door and let out a little gasp.

“Carlisle!” I exclaimed in surprise. My eyes darted back to Jake. He stiffened a little as he brought our hands down to rest on the bed, but he didn’t even tremble and the faintest hint of a smile flitted across his lips. Okay, that was a little surprising. I turned my attention back to Carlisle.

“What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were coming.”

He came in the room and stood at the foot of my bed, smiling down at me. “I was coming to help Alice settle a few of our affairs and then I was going to accompany her when she travelled back. I was literally driving into town when Alice called me right before the attack. We have, of course, extended our stay so I could oversee your recovery.”

“It’s so good to see you.” I hesitated a moment, glancing briefly at Jake again, but he was still perfectly calm. “Did anyone else come? Esme or Jasper?” I squeezed Jake’s hand, not wanting my inquiry to upset him. He just squeezed my hand back and smiled at me. I realized I had been a little tense, but I finally relaxed and wondered what had happened while I was out.

He and Jake exchanged a glance before he answered. “No, it’s just me. It’s good to see you too, Bella, though I wish it were under better circumstances. I am very pleased to see and hear you have been doing well otherwise though. Jacob has not left your side… you are very lucky to have him.”

I looked over at Jake and smiled. “I know I am,” I said softly over the lump of emotion that had welled up in my throat and a single tear slipped down my cheek. Jake reached over and wiped it away, letting his fingers linger for a moment.

“So, how are you feeling tonight?” Carlisle asked.

“Like I got hit by a bus,” I said, letting out a humorless laugh and then winced as pain stabbed at my ribs. “I don’t even know what injuries I have, but I know a lot of things hurt.”

Carlisle ran through the list of my injuries, and there were a lot of them. No wonder everything hurt. A mild concussion with some swelling that had receded quickly. Two big gashes on my head that required stitches. My left arm had been dislocated as well as had two breaks in the forearm. And finally bruising down to the bone on my ribs and spine, which were apparently going to take forever to heal and hurt like the dickens.

I’ve been injured before… a lot, but it sounds like this one takes the cake. Even worse than what James did to me, at least in terms of a longer time to heal completely, and longer-term limitations.

“You’ll need to stay in that cast for about 3 weeks, then be in a brace for several more weeks after that. We will need to keep your shoulder immobilized in that sling for a few more days as well. You will also have significant restrictions for a month or more due to the bruising on your spine, but we can discuss all of that later. For now, you just need to stay in bed and rest as much as possible.”

Jake spoke for the first time since Carlisle had come in. “It’s a good thing the doc was there so quickly… you were losing so much blood from the gashes on your head. He had those stitched up before the ambulance even arrived.”

I could tell Jake was appreciative of Carlisle, but he was still a little tense, so he wasn’t completely comfortable with the situation. I was proud of him though.
Jake moved to stand by the windows to give Carlisle space to check me over—and probably to just keep a little distance between them.

After quickly examining my injuries, he adjusted a machine I was hooked up to and asked about my pain. Once he was satisfied, he patted me on my good shoulder and moved toward the door.

“It’s good that you’re awake again, but make sure you keep getting plenty of rest to help you get back on your feet faster.”

I promised him that I would, and we said our goodbyes. Once Carlisle was gone, Jake returned to my side. He kissed my forehead as he took my hand and sat back down in the chair.

I looked at him curiously. “So how are you doing with Carlisle being here and being my doctor?”

“I’m good.” He let out a long sigh. “It’s hard to relax completely, but after seeing him take care of you… There was so much blood Bella, and he didn’t even flinch at it or look strained or tense at all. He stayed calm and kept me calm and was so gentle as he took care of you… I couldn’t help but adjust my opinion of him. It’s not easy to go against my instincts, but I know that at least he is one I feel I can trust with you. Alice too… she fought very hard to keep you safe until I was able to get there. I’m very grateful to both of them.” He looked at me seriously, “but don’t go getting any crazy ideas that I’m going to be buddy-buddy with the rest of them.”

I smiled at him. “This is more than I’d ever hoped for after your initial reactions when Alice showed up, so I’ll take it.”

My eyes were starting to get heavy, and I couldn’t suppress a giant yawn.

Jake brushed his hand over my forehead. “Just get some more rest for now Bella… I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise.”

I nodded and mumbled an agreement as I slipped back into a deep sleep.

**********
JACOB POV
**********
ONCE BELLA DRIFTED back to sleep, I went to lay down on the cot for the night. It was so good to see her eyes and hear her voice, even if it was just for a little while. But most of all it was such a relief to get the answer I had been waiting for. She wanted to stay with me; she didn’t want to end things. I felt like my heart was going to burst from joy.

I wondered how many more days the doc was going to want to keep Bella in the hospital. I was worried about how everything was going to work once she went home if the need to be near her didn’t go away. I might have to find a way to convince Charlie to let me sleep on the couch. I decided I should just wait and see how things developed and figure it out when the need arose.

After lying on the cot for a while, I realized I wasn’t really very tired. I have been a lot less active and getting so much more sleep than usual since being here with Bella. If it weren’t for the contentment of being near her, I would have lost my mind by now being cooped up inside all the time. I marveled a little at how strong of an effect the magic, or whatever it was, had on me. Being still is not normally something I enjoy… or am any good at.

When it became obvious I wouldn’t be going to sleep any time soon, I figured I might as well get back up. Moving to one of the windows, which faced a section of forest, I gazed out at the trees. Strong winds sent large fluffy clouds racing across the star-flecked sky, causing weird looking shadow and light patterns to shift across the ground in the glow from the half full moon.

Before long, I started to get an uneasy feeling and the hair stood up on the back of my neck. I was being watched. Looking harder into the shadows along the tree line I finally caught sight of a large middle-aged man looking up at the building as he took long drags off a cigarette. I could easily make out his features, but I didn’t recognize him. It looked like he was staring right at me though, so perhaps that was what had triggered my unease. I took one last look over the area, then shut the blinds and went to Bella once more.

My Bella. She knew all of our wolf secrets now and still wanted to be with me. She was so incredible, and she was mine.

I gently touched my fingers to her cheek, and she sighed as she moved her head to press against them. I loved it when she did that, which was almost every time now. My heart swelled with happiness at the level of connection we now shared. I wondered how this would translate once she wasn’t unconscious all of the time… would anything be different? Maybe it had always been there, and I just couldn’t see the strength of it before.

After watching Bella sleep for a while longer, I still wasn’t feeling tired, so I decided to go for a walk around the floor.

Stepping out into the brightly lit hallway I gently shut the door to Bella’s room behind me. Directly across from her room was the nurses’ station and seated at the desk was one of the friendlier nurses, Sophie, studying a patient chart. Since I was just killing time until I got sleepy, I decided to speak with her for a bit. I had been trying to get to know more of the nurses so they would feel more comfortable with me around, and so far, it seemed to be working.

“Good evening, Sophie,” I said softly as I approached. I had found that I needed to say something before I got too close if I wanted to avoid startling them. I moved too quietly, and they never heard me coming otherwise.

She looked up and smiled warmly when she saw me. “Good evening, Jacob, is everything okay with Bella?”

“Yes, everything’s good. She’s sleeping soundly. I, on the other hand, couldn’t get to sleep, so I thought I’d walk around the halls a bit. How’s your daughter feeling?” She had left early the day before because her daughter was sick.

Her brow went up, surprised that I’d remembered. “Thank you so much for asking Jacob. She’s doing much better. She just overexerted herself yesterday during recess. Sometimes seven-year-olds just don’t know when to stop.”

I gave a little chuckle. “I’m pretty sure I was like that. Bella would probably tell you I’m still like that.”

That earned me a smile and a chuckle.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to work. Glad to hear your daughter’s doing better. Have a good night, Sophie.”

“Thank you, you do the same.” She gave a small wave as I walked away.

In no particular hurry, I strolled slowly down the brightly lit hall, feeling fantastic after my conversation with Bella. The halls just made one big square, so I usually did two or three “laps” around. On my second lap, the elevator dinged just as I had moved past it, and someone softly called my name. I immediately recognized Alice’s voice at the same moment I caught her scent and turned to her.

“Hey Alice, what’re you doing here so late?”

She had an apprehensive look on her face. “Well, I had a vision of Edward and I wanted to let you know right away.”

My eyes tightened and I remembered the uneasy feeling I got at the window. The elevators were at the furthest point away from Bella’s room, so I turned and started walking briskly back down the hall as we talked, and Alice fell in step with me.

“What exactly did you see?” I didn’t like the look on her face, and I was starting to get a bad feeling.

“He has decided to come to Forks to check on Bella. He hasn’t contacted any of us in over three weeks and hasn’t answered any of my calls since I’ve been here, including tonight. He may be in town already. I didn’t see him actually making contact with her, so he either hasn’t decided how or when he will try, or you or one of the other wolves are there when he does. He also might decide to just check on her from a distance, but the last vision I got he planned to try to speak with her. I just didn’t want you to be surprised by it if he shows up.”

“Thanks for letting me know Alice. I appreciate—”

JAKE! Help me, Jake!

Bella’s scared voice pierced loudly through my head like a lance. I didn’t wait to explain to Alice, I just took off sprinting down the hall. I heard Alice right behind me asking the nurse to get the doc there right away. I smelled a new leech just before I burst through the door to Bella’s room.

There he was, looming over Bella and talking softly to her. Something was off… he sounded wrong. He wasn’t touching her, but Bella was struggling as if she were trying to get away, even though she didn’t appear to be fully awake.

“What the hell!?! Get away from her you filthy leech!” I roared furiously, lunging between him and Bella, knocking against Bella’s bed, causing it to roll toward the wall.

Alice had come in right behind me, and I heard her say something to him as well, but the words didn’t register.

Standing only inches away from him, my entire body quivering with the need to phase and protect Bella, all I saw was red.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
DISCOMFORT SLITHERED DOWN my spine. Not pain, but an uneasiness that slipped into my mind and began to bring me to some form of consciousness. I wasn’t dreaming, but I wasn’t fully awake either. A voice spoke softly nearby, and a faint scent touched my nose. Something inside me remembered these things bringing me pleasure at one time, but they were disconcerting to me now.

I tried to recall where I was as I struggled to open my eyes. My thoughts were all cloudy, jumbled, and confused. A small but distinct longing to see Edward seeped into my mind.

No, Edward left me. I didn’t want him anymore. I was finally healed from that pain.

Another thought crept in: I needed to get away from Jake; I wasn’t safe with him.

No! That’s wrong. This was all so wrong. I didn’t want to leave Jake; I had decided to stay with him. He’s not unsafe, he is my protector, and he keeps me safe. My mind was warring with itself, confused between the disconcerting desire to see Edward and leave Jake, and the feeling of wrongness.

I fought against the confusion and cloudiness… it wasn’t right; none of this was right. As if from a distance, I heard an incoherent mumbling when I tried to command the ominous presence away from me. Pain shot through my body as I struggled to move away from the presence that was so close. I knew I wasn’t getting anywhere, didn’t even know where the threat was to know where I could go, but I struggled harder, more pain tearing through me. A gasp broke free from my throat as a streak of fire shot from my head down my back, clearing some of the fog from my mind.

I remembered where I was.

In the same moment the desire for Edward vanished and was replaced by fear, and a yearning for who I really wanted. Jacob!

JAKE! Help me, Jake! I shouted the thought as I tried to use my voice to call out to him, but no sound would come out.

Moments later, still struggling to get away from the unseen danger, I heard a loud bang then a feral sounding voice growled with loud piercing authority.

“What the hell!?! Get away from her, you filthy leech!” Jake had come!

At the same time, Alice’s shocked voice rang through. “Edward, what in the world are you doing!”

I was in motion as I floated sideways, and then my world was shaking like an earthquake.

“She’s not yours, dog. I didn’t leave just so she could wind up with your kind. She’s not safe with you, and you know it.”

My brain was still so foggy, and everything was burning with pain. Knowing Jake was there, fear was replaced with relief, and I stopped struggling, allowing some of the pain to subside.

“If you know what’s good for you leech, you’ll leave… now.” I had never heard Jacob use such a commanding harsh tone before.

The scent of Jacob reached me, and through the fog I noticed that it begun to overpower the unpleasant smell. I wanted to wipe that other smell from my senses, so I breathed deeply over and over, even though my ribs burned with every breath. I didn’t care; the more of Jake’s scent I took in, the more the memory of the other was wiped away, so I greedily took in his musky smell of forest and ocean. The fog in my head started to lift and my nerves were calmed with every breath. I still couldn’t focus enough to open my eyes yet.

“Edward!” Carlisle had arrived, both shock and disappointment ringing in his voice.

“Surely neither of you are siding with the mutt.”

“That doesn’t matter, Edward, this is not the way to handle anything. Come away, we have much to discuss.”

“You ARE siding with him! I’m not leaving her here with him.”

A low, menacing growl rumbled from Jake.

“Oh yes you are. Maybe if you’d answer your phone, you’d know what was going on.” Alice.

My mind finally cleared enough that I was able to open my eyes. I looked up in time to see Carlisle and Alice escorting a frustrated but compliant Edward out of my room. He locked eyes with me for a moment, just before he passed through the door, and they were tortured and vacant… I vaguely remembered seeing that same look reflected at me in the mirror many times. I shuddered at the sight of it on his face, and the memory of it on mine, then moaned at the pain in my body. All of the parts of me that were battered and broken were aching and burning.

At my miserable cry, Jacob turned his attention from the exiting vampires to me. He was tense and trembling all over, and he carefully backed several slow steps away from my bed, which immediately stopped shaking.

“Are you okay?” Concern, anger, and tension laced his voice. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, I don’t think he touched me.” A grimace creased my face from the throbbing pain. “I was asleep, but I started to feel uneasy. Then afraid. I couldn’t wake up though.” I began gasping every few words from the pain. “I don’t know… exactly what happened… but for a moment… I wanted to… see Edward… wanted to… leave you… I somehow knew… it wasn’t my desire.” I had to stop talking. The pain was too much, and it wasn’t helping Jake calm down to see my pain.

There was so much anguish and anger in Jacob’s eyes. He was really struggling, more than I had ever seen him struggle before. I needed to get to him, to touch him. Something inside of me knew that if I could touch him, he would calm down much faster. “Jake, please come over here to me.” My voice was breathy and strained.

He was concentrating so hard; he didn’t respond at first. Finally, he shook his head and spoke through clenched teeth. “I’m afraid to move… I don’t want to hurt you.”

Carlisle returned with a nurse trailing behind him. He took one look at my pained face and instructed her to give me another dose of my pain meds. Her focus had immediately gone to Jacob and kept a wary eye on him as she moved to do as Carlisle had asked.

“Bella, I am so sorry about this,” Carlisle was saying. “I don’t know what came over Edward or what he was thinking by upsetting you like that.” He shook his head and then seemed to notice the struggle Jake was having and came to stand protectively in front of me.

“Carlisle,” I gasped, “I need… to help Jake… calm down.”

His trembling wasn’t getting any better and he was sweating from the effort to not phase.

“Please help me stand.” Carlisle gave me a concerned look as I continued to struggle to speak. “I know… it will hurt… but my touch… will calm him… I’m positive.”

Carlisle hesitated. The nurse was looking at Jake with wide, scared eyes.

“Please Carlisle,” I begged, “It would tear him up… if anything bad happened.”

Carlisle finally nodded and gently put his arm around my shoulders to help me sit up. Every movement sent pain shooting through me, but I kept focused on Jake. He was all that mattered at that moment.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and gasped as a new pain shot through my back. A low growl came from Jake at my pain, and he shook his head slowly from side to side, his fists pressed against his temples.

“Dr. Cullen, are you sure…” the nurse began to protest, but Carlisle silenced her with a look.

“Sophie, why don’t you go, and shut the door behind you,” he said, his voice and expression had softened. She nodded robotically and, with one final glance at Jake, she scurried out of the room.

Jake was watching me, and his form was starting to blur. Seeing my pain was making it worse. “Close your eyes, Jacob. I’m going to be fine… just don’t look.” I wanted to say more, but there was too much pain in my voice.

He hesitated for a moment but did as I asked, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

I tried desperately not to make any noise as I stood up and leaned heavily on Carlisle to take the few excruciating steps over to Jake. When I reached him, I touched his chest then ran my hand up to his face. His tremors sent waves through my body, worsening my already intense pain. My mouth opened in a silent cry, tears slipping down my face from the effort I was putting forth both to stand with the pain, and to remain silent.

Since I couldn’t speak to him without my pain coming through, I needed to communicate to him that I was okay and no longer in danger. I caressed his face a few times then wrapped my good arm around his waist and held him tight. Carlisle let go of my waist, but I could feel that he stayed close, just in case I needed his help. Jake’s tremors finally started to subside, but not enough. I slipped my hand under his shirt and trailed my fingers up and down his back, then, since I couldn’t use my other hand, I nuzzled my face against his chest. Finally, his control began to return, and his breathing calmed. Soon, only his arms where shaking. I kept rubbing his back and nuzzling my face against his chest until I couldn’t feel any more tremors. With the danger gone, the pain overwhelmed me. I cried out and collapsed.

Both Carlisle and Jacob caught me. After a moment of adjusting, I was completely resting in Jacob’s arms, my head on his shoulder. The entire ordeal couldn’t have taken more than five minutes from when Edward had left, but I was drained.

Suddenly, a strange cooling sensation flowed through me from the top of my head all the way down to my feet, followed immediately by a warmth that started in my belly and radiated outward to all my body. I hoped I hadn’t caused further damage to something, because that did not feel normal, but it also didn’t feel bad. It actually felt soothing. I should tell Carlisle… but I’d do it in a minute because I couldn’t muster the energy right then. Jake’s tremors were gone though, and I’d kept him from phasing right there in my hospital room, so it was worth it.

“I’m so sorry Bella,” Jake said quietly. “I don’t know if that was brave or stupid for you to do that but thank you baby.”

As I lay limp from exhaustion in Jake’s arms, I breathed a sigh of relief. A dull ache went through my ribs at the motion of my lungs. That wasn’t right…
Jacob began to lower me back onto the bed as I processed the strange feeling… the dull ache in my ribs was also in the rest of my injured areas.

Gently placing me on the bed, he started to stand back up and move toward the chair.

I let out a strangled cry as horrible burning pain tore through my body.

“Wait!” I gasped. “Up… up…” I sounded like a toddler as I reached for Jake but that’s all I could manage through the pain. He hastily scooped me back up off the bed and immediately the pain left until it was just a dull ache again.

“What’s wrong, Bella?” Jake asked.

I took another deep breath… just the dull ache once more.

I looked into Jake’s concerned and confused eyes. “It doesn’t hurt. As long as I’m close against you there’s no pain, just a dull ache. As soon as you put me down the pain flared back up.” I lowered my head on Jake’s shoulder again, the fatigue making it difficult to support the weight of it.

Jake looked over to Carlisle who was standing at the foot of my bed now.

He looked uncertain and shrugged. “I don’t know Jacob. It follows along the lines of what we were discussing the other day. The more contact she had with you, the more her stress levels went down. I never imagined you holding her would almost completely take the pain away.

I wanted to ask what they were talking about, but I couldn’t muster the energy.

“Perhaps you can just hold her until we can be sure the pain meds have kicked in.”

Jake spoke with intense conviction. “I will never put her down again if it will keep the pain away.”

The last thing I remembered was feeling Jake sit down on the edge of my bed, then I drifted off into an almost completely pain-free sleep.

**********
JACOB POV
**********
I WATCHED AS Bella’s face relaxed back into a peaceful sleep. It felt good to have her in my arms again. Even though I was worn out now from the effort I had exerted to not phase, I knew I could sit here and hold her for hours if I needed to. The only thing that made it hard was that she smelled bad from the freaking bloodsucker breathing all over her.

I looked up at the doc. He was busy messing with the machines Bella had come unhooked from. He was turning them off and rearranging things, not bothering to hook her back up to them right then… the only thing she was still connected to was the IV. I waited until he was done before saying anything.

“What the hell happened Doc?” I spoke quietly, irritation clear in my voice. “What was he doing to her?”

He came and sat down in the chair next to the bed and sighed deeply. “I didn’t see what Edward did because you were already between them when I got here. What did you see him doing when you came in?”

“He was leaning over her, breathing on her, and talking to her. I didn’t hear what he said, but he didn’t sound right. She was struggling, like she was trying to get away. I never saw him actually touch her though.”

“Hmmm… I’m not sure, Jacob. If he wanted to speak to her, I don’t know why he would try to do so while she was unconscious.”

He said he didn’t know, but I felt like that wasn’t completely true. A light movement of air drew my attention as it brushed over my skin, and I looked toward the windows, remembering the uneasy feeling from earlier.

“I think he was watching her room from the trees earlier.” I motioned with my chin toward the windows. “I had the windows opened this afternoon. Maybe I didn’t get one locked and when he realized I’d left the room, he thought he’d take the opportunity to try to talk to her.”

The doc checked all the windows and found one of them open slightly. He shut and locked it then turned back to me.

“I think you’re partially right, Jacob, but I feel as though there is more to his actions and the motives behind them. I do have one idea, but it is very unlikely, so I’d like to speak with him first. I don’t believe that Edward is quite himself right now, so I should probably go to see how he is doing.” He hesitated. “I am sure Bella’s pain medicine has taken effect by now, so you should be able to put her down without her pain returning.”

I looked down at Bella. “I don’t know if I want to risk it. She really aggravated everything getting up and moving around like that. I want to do everything I can to take full advantage of whatever is giving her this relief.”

“Yes, she did, but you look exhausted… you exerted a lot of effort as well.”

He was right, I was really starting to feel the effects of having to work so hard to bring my emotions back in check after Cullen left. I don’t think I’d had ever had that much trouble before, not since the first time. So, while I could sit here like this for hours, it would not be easy, but I absolutely did not want to do anything that would cause Bella’s pain to return.

Looking at us thoughtfully, he continued. “That bed is actually wide enough for both of you to fit, if you would be comfortable laying down with her. Do you think that is close enough to keep her pain at bay?”

I tensed a little and my heart leapt in my chest at the thought of being in bed next to Bella. The 18-year-old part of me was practically giddy at the thought. With everything going on in my life lately, I hadn’t really thought about it, but it occurred to me that I didn’t exactly feel 18 anymore… I felt sort of trapped somewhere between the age I am and the age my body has matured to. I doubt it had ever been tested, but it seemed to me that our hormones and minds would mature more quickly as well, once our bodies had finished growing. I had been working very hard over the past week to control my desires for Bella, and I had gotten really good at it, considering how powerful and intoxicating her scent had become to me. Better than any 18-year-old should be in fact. Knowing she was injured would make it even easier. I decided that I’d be able to handle it for that reason alone.

“Your guess is as good as mine about keeping the pain away,” I replied. “I’m definitely willing to give it a shot. I’m not sure how Charlie would feel about it if he found me in Bella’s bed in the morning though.” Actually, I was certain that he would not approve at all.

Doc nodded and gave me a small understanding smile. “Well, the way she is drawn to you in her sleep will probably keep her as close to you as she is now. Since we have no idea what’s actually causing her lack of pain, my best guess would be that it will work to keep the pain away. As for your other concern, Alice can keep tabs on Charlie’s plans for the morning and either she or I can come to get you up before he would get here. I will also leave instructions with the nurses to forgo their normal checks on Bella tonight, so you won’t be disturbed.”

I agreed and he helped me get Bella situated. I positioned myself on her right side to avoid jostling or bumping her injured arm or ribs. Doc was right, and as I laid down next to her, she snuggled as close to me as she could get, her head turned toward me. Feeling her small, warm body pressed up against mine was absolute heaven. The pleasure of the moment was tainted by the reality of why I was laying with her, but I still couldn’t help but enjoy being so close.

After he left, I laid there for a long time and watched her sleep, caressing her face and neck. I was overcome with the love that I have for her and the fact that I can call her mine… really call her mine because she had decided to stay.

A new little worry had crept in though. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had been worried that someday Edward would show up and Bella would be drawn back to him. I never thought it would be this soon though. He had been like a drug to her, dark, controlling, and unhealthy, but powerful. If tonight was any indication, then it didn’t appear that he had a hold over her any longer. It was hard to imagine that she would still be affected by him like she used to be, considering everything we had discovered about her connection to me, but I couldn’t completely shake the concern.

There was nothing I could do about it at that moment, so I put those thoughts away for the time being. I wanted to just focus on Bella getting better, and would deal with whatever else may come later.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
THERE WAS HEAT along my right side again as I started to wake up. It wasn’t just heat, there was a body lying next to me! My eyes flew open and in the soft light of early morning, I discovered Jake lying in the bed with me, sound asleep. I was snuggled up very close to him, his arm resting across my hips. I didn’t know why he was lying with me, but I liked… a lot. My heart got all fluttery, and a new warmth flooded through me, that had nothing to do with the heat coming from Jake.

Not wanting to wake him, or have this moment of closeness with him end, I just laid there and studied his face, enjoying the smell and feel of him. Even though I was injured and in the hospital, I was so much more rested than I had been in a very long time. I wondered if it was because Jake was next to me.

After a little while the memories from the previous night started to come back to me. Edward is back… but why? Most of the memories were very fuzzy and I couldn’t figure out what he was doing or why he was by himself in my room. Why had his presence frightened me? Maybe Jake or Carlisle could shed some light on what had happened.

One thing I remembered very clearly was the look in Edward’s eyes when he met my gaze. The thought of it made my heart ache for him… his face and eyes were a nearly perfect reflection of what mine had once been. I thought I’d feel anger toward him if I were to ever see him again, and maybe it was because of that look, but all I felt was pity. What could have possibly happened to him to cause him to have such a tortured look? Another question that would have to wait to be answered.

Still watching Jake’s peaceful face, I hoped that I would be able to stay awake longer today. I missed talking and laughing with him. Maybe I could even go home soon. Although, remembering the pain from the previous night, that may still not happen for a while. Thinking of the pain made me realize that nothing hurt, not even a dull ache anymore. I hadn’t tried to move yet, though. To give it a little test, I breathed in deeply and there was no pain in my ribs. I then remembered how the pain had almost completely disappeared when Jacob had held me. I wondered why… what could have possibly caused that to happen? Was Jake the reason I still didn’t have any pain? Yet more questions that would have to wait for an answer. I felt like I’d missed a lot while I was unconscious.

Suddenly, Alice’s head peeked over Jake’s large frame.

I smiled and greeted her quietly, “Hi Alice!”

“Bella, you’re awake!” she replied in a whisper. “It is so good to finally see your eyes open again.”

“What are you doing here so early?”

“I came to get Jake up. Unfortunately for you… you seem to be enjoying this arrangement.” She smiled and winked knowingly, making me blush. “Charlie will be coming to see you soon and Jake didn’t think he would appreciate finding him in bed with you.”

“Oh! Yeah, that’s a good call.”

“I’ll give you a moment to try to wake him up.” She disappeared from my view.

I moved my upper body for the first time this morning, trying to angle a little away from Jake so I could free my right arm. No pain. Since there was no good way to reach up to his face, I put my hand on the arm that was resting on my hip and shook it gently.

“Jake, wake up.”

He was really sleeping hard, but after trying a couple times, he finally stirred and blinked his eyes open. Looking down at me, he smiled warmly.

“Good morning beautiful,” he said as he caressed my cheek. “How do you feel this morning?”

“Very rested… and no pain so far. Sorry to wake you, but Alice is here, and she said Charlie will be coming soon.”

Jake lifted up onto his elbow and looked around to where Alice was sitting. “Thanks Alice. I don’t need any new holes in my body, and the last thing I want is for Charlie not to trust me.”

“You’re welcome. I need to get going for now, but I’ll be back later this morning. Do you need anything before I go?”

I spoke up hesitantly. “Um, actually, do you think you could help me to the bathroom?”

“Sure! I can do that,” she said with an understanding smile.

Jake looked back at me. “I’m going to stand up first and see how you do with the pain. Are you ready?”

I nodded, trying not to tense.

Jake slowly sat up then swung his legs off the bed and stood up.

Immediately the pain returned, stealing my breath away and I grimaced.

Jake had me in his arms within moments and the pain disappeared again.

“What the heck is going on Jake? Why does my pain go away when you are touching me?”

“We don’t know honey. There have been a lot of weird things going on between us since you got hurt and none of us are sure what it means.”

He carried me into the bathroom with Alice right behind him and set me down gently. Alice was right there to support me, and I could see the worry in his eyes as he backed away toward the door. He hesitated when I gasped as the pain hit again.

“It’s okay Jake. It hurts more the moment it hits me, but then it’s not so bad,” I lied, trying to hide the severity of the pain. I hated seeing the worry on his face.

He gave me a doubtful look, but nodded and left the room, shutting the door. Alice gave me a matching look but didn’t say anything either. I didn’t really fool either of them, I guess.

When I was done, Jake returned to carry me back into the room, the pain disappearing again when he picked me up.

When Alice was gone, Jake settled us back on the bed with me leaning against his chest, then filled me in on everything that had happened since I’d been unconscious. He told me of him hearing my voice, the strong pull for him to be with me, and my unconscious reactions to his presence.

“Just like your scent intensifying to me every day, so many things between us are becoming stronger… and stranger. In fact, so many things between us resemble what happens when one of us imprints on someone, Sam has started to consider what we have as some different form of imprinting.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of info to absorb,” I said, trying to take it all in. “You really heard my voice in your head?”

“Yes, once when Victoria was attacking and again last night when Edward was here. And I don’t have to be in wolf form. Did you call for me either of those times? Have you ever heard my voice?”

“No, I’ve never heard your voice, but I did try to call out for you both of those times. I wasn’t able to speak either time, though, so it was just in my thoughts… I was trying to say it out loud both times.”

There was a small knock at the door, and Carlisle popped his head in a moment later, smiling upon seeing us before fully entering the room.

“Good morning you two. Sorry to barge in like this, but Charlie will be here shortly. How are you feeling this morning, Bella?”

“I’m fine as long as I’m close to Jake, but when he moves away from me the pain returns. It’s improved a bit from last night, but it still takes my breath away.” I told him about the trip to the bathroom.

“Hmmm…” he rubbed his hand over his jaw, considering the situation. “I have been thinking about this most of the night. Would you mind if we tested just how much contact you need with Jacob to keep your pain under control?”

I took a deep breath at the thought of the pain. I was curious for the answers myself though, so I agreed to test it out.

“You don’t have to do this Bells,” Jake said softly.

I looked up at him. “No, I want to. I think it will be good for us to know.”

He nodded in reluctant agreement.

Carlisle had us test out several differing degrees of separation, sometimes with Jake’s hand resting on my hip or back or shoulder, and sometimes with no contact. We discovered that we did not need to be touching, but I did need to stay within a few inches of Jake, never more than a foot away, in order to keep me pain-free.

“This is incredible,” Carlisle marveled when I was settled against Jake’s extra warm body once more. “Your pain level seems to be connected to how close your torsos are to each other. Or maybe your hearts? I think it goes without saying that there is no medical explanation for this phenomenon. It has to be some sort of magical connection… do your tribal legends mention anything like this Jacob?”

“No, nothing that I’m aware of. I will need to check with the tribal elders to see if any of them remember anything.”

“What are we going to do about Charlie?” I asked.

“Well, I see two options,” Carlisle offered. “You can let him see you sitting up with Jake like this, which I don’t think he would find too odd, especially if I am here and fine with it. Or I can give you some medicine that will knock you out for a few hours.

“Regardless of what you choose to do, after what happened last night, most of the nurses are uncomfortable coming in here now, as long a Jacob is here. I would have preferred to keep you a few more days for observation, and to ensure you are getting plenty of rest, but since Jacob leaving is not an option, we will need to discharge you as soon as possible. Also, Alice keeps getting flashes of Edward coming back to try again, even though he has promised not to bother you anymore he is obviously still thinking about it.

A growl grumbled low in Jake’s chest at this information. Carlisle ignored it and continued.

“When you are discharged, it will be necessary for you to have someone to help you with your personal needs that you probably wouldn’t want Jacob or your father helping you with, such as bathing and using the restroom. This would have been necessary even if you’d been able to stay in the hospital a few more days. I am assuming that you now also would like to be somewhere it will be okay for Jacob to be there with you all the time.

“I had intended to offer for you to come stay with us for a short time, Bella… and you would have, of course, been welcomed as well, Jacob. I realize that may not have been agreeable to you, and now since Edward has returned, that is no longer a viable option.”

“No, I definitely would not have been comfortable with that arrangement, whether I was there or not,” Jacob said, somewhat apologetically. “I trust ya Doc, but to live in your home, or have Bella there without me, even for a short time, would definitely be more than I could handle.”

Carlisle nodded in understanding. “Can you think of anywhere else you could stay?”

Jake and I smiled at each other and said “Emily” simultaneously.

“Sam and Emily should be coming up sometime around noon,” Jake said, “so we can talk to them about it.”

“Okay, then that leaves the question of how we want Charlie to see you. In my opinion, he will accept this transitional situation much easier if he doesn’t see you so pain free as you are with Jacob. So, I would recommend going with option two and letting me give you the pain medicine. I don’t like giving drugs when they aren’t necessary, but its only when Charlie is around and until we can get you out of here. After that, you’ll only need something for the pain for the times you can’t be with Jake.”

I sighed in resignation. “I would rather not be drugged up anymore, but that does sound like the better choice, for now.” I looked up at Jake, “At least you won’t feel so stuck here.”

Jake gave me an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me Bells? I’m not stuck here. I’m exactly where I want to be. And I’d rather have you awake and able to talk with me than passed out on drugs, but I agree, that is probably the better way for now.”

“Okay then,” Carlisle said, pulling a syringe out of his coat pocket and setting it on the rolling tray next to my bed. “This is a very fast-acting medicine, so if you don’t mind, I would like to take a look at your back and side first. Are you okay if I do that with Jacob here?”

“Yes, that’s fine,” I said, “if it won’t bother him seeing it.” I looked at Jake.

“I can handle it… I promise I won’t get worked up. I’ll look away if it bothers me too much.”

Carlisle helped me lean forward and unsnapped the back of my gown. Jake gasped quietly.

I looked over my shoulder at him and his face was a little sallow, “Is it that bad?”

“It’s just more than I was expecting,” he said quietly.

I could feel Carlisle’s cold hands gently pressing along my spine and then on my ribs. Even with him pressing on the bruised areas, I still felt no pain.

“Her pale skin makes the bruising more pronounced,” Carlisle tried to reassure Jake, “so it looks a little worse than it is. You hit the ground with a lot of force though. If your arm hadn’t taken the brunt of the hit, you would have ended up with several cracked ribs and maybe some damage to your spine. As it is, you got lucky that there weren’t more severe injuries.”

Carlisle refastened my gown and then reached for the syringe.

“Once you’re asleep Bella, I’ll help Jacob get you settled. This will only take a few minutes to take effect. It’s not a large dose, so you will only be out for about three hours or so. Are you ready?”

I nodded. “Ready. Thank you so much for everything Carlisle.”

He smiled at us warmly as he put the medicine in through my IV. “You are very welcome, Bella. None of us ever stopped caring for you, and it brings me joy to see you happy, and to be able to help you. I am also appreciative that both of you have let me help… my curious nature is enjoying the excitement of discovering the things happening with you two.”

Jacob chuckled at that. I looked up at him, amusement sparkling in his eyes, and I smiled.

“I’m glad we could help satisfy your curiosity Doc,” Jake said.

We all laughed, and I was already starting to feel the effects of the medicine.

I looked up at Jake again, slowly blinking and relaxing against him. I mumbled an “I love you” to him as my eyes slid shut.

“I love you too Bella,” he said, kissing the top of my head.

That was the last thing I was aware of before I dropped off to sleep.

**********
JACOB POV
**********
CHARLIE WAS DISAPPOINTED that he’d missed seeing Bella awake again. I could tell he was missing her. He hadn’t seen her since the very first time she woke up, and I felt kinda bad. It wouldn’t be too much longer though. I felt positive that Emily would be more than willing to help take care of Bella, then he could see her all the time.

Sam and Emily arrived a little before noon. I knew Bella should be waking up soon, so I kept part of my attention on her while I explained the situation to them, including that Edward was back. I let them know what had happened with him the previous night and that I’d almost phased right there in the hospital room. They were shocked to hear that he was back and about my ability to relieve Bella’s pain. Sam seemed especially irritated that Edward had been able to get alone with her, which was no surprise.

“Why in the world is he back?” he asked. “What was he trying to do… what does he hope to accomplish?”

I shrugged. “Doc said he wasn’t sure, just thought he wanted to try to speak with her. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense considering she was unconscious, but I don’t have any better ideas. I haven’t had a chance to talk about it anymore with the doc since he spoke with Edward last night, so I don’t know if he found out anything else.”

I asked them if either of them had ever heard of anything happening like what Bella and I were experiencing. Recently, Emily had started trying to get all the legends written down, so we didn’t have to rely on just a few tribe members trying to remember them all… especially now that so many new things were happening. Neither of them had ever heard any story even close to what Bella and I were experiencing.

As I expected, Emily was thrilled to let Bella stay with her while she recovered. She had such a sweet, loving spirit. I loved that she and Bella were becoming closer.

Bella started to stir and let out a quiet pain-filled moan. I immediately was beside her and gently gathered her into my arms. She was tense when I started to pick her up, but instantly relaxed once I had her resting against my chest. She wasn’t waking up yet but snuggled her face into me and sighed deeply.
“Wow Jake,” Emily said, “she really does respond strongly to you. That’s incredible.”

I sat down on the bed and Emily came to stand beside me. She placed her hand on Bella’s head and looked from her face to mine several times.

“I know this is going to sound crazy, but it’s like I can see a new connection between you. I think this thing that happened with Edward was significant somehow.”

I looked at her skeptically. “Really Em? Are you becoming psychic now or something?” I teased, laughing lightly.

She gave me a wry look. “Ha, ha, very funny. No, not psychic, but it’s… something. I’ve been umm… tuned into you for a while, I just didn’t say anything before. Probably cause I didn’t want to hear your little snide comments.” She swatted me lightly on the shoulder.

I eyed her curiously for a moment. That wasn’t the first odd thing she’d said recently. “Seriously though, you might be onto something because it was right after the whole thing with Edward when I held Bella and her pain went away. Maybe there’s something to that.”

Bella stirred again and was gazing at me with groggy eyes when I looked down at her.

“Hi there,” I said to her, and she just smiled, obviously not quite awake yet. “We have company.” I lifted my eyes toward Emily.

She lazily turned her head to follow my gaze, and her smile widened when she saw Emily, but she still didn’t say anything. Emily smiled back at her.

“Hi Bella,” she said softly, “good to see your eyes opened.”

Bella slowly nodded a couple times then turned her head back to look at me again. She blinked several times, her eyes staying shut longer between each blink until they didn’t open again.

“The medicine clearly hasn’t worn off completely yet,” I said, chuckling lightly at how cute that was. “Can you guys stay for a while? I know she would love to visit with you.”

Emily looked at Sam.

“Yeah, we can stay. I don’t need to be back for a couple more hours,” Sam agreed.

Bella woke up fully about a half hour later. She was excited and grateful for Emily agreeing to help take care of her. They stayed for around an hour and Bella was alert and talkative, relaxing against my side with the head of her bed inclined. Alice came in near the end of their visit and stayed for a little while. It was really something… a vampire and two werewolves spending time together all because of one girl who we all loved.

Just as they were all getting ready to leave Angela showed up. Bella was very excited to see her and have her three best friends all together.

“Thanks for calling to let me know Bella was awake,” Angela said to Alice.

“No problem! You can thank Jake though, he’s the one that asked me to call you.”

Bella introduced Angela to Sam and Emily and let her know the plans for her to stay at Emily’s until she was more recovered.

“I have a favor to ask you Angela,” Bella said after everyone else had left.

“Sure, what do you need?”

“I was hoping you’d be willing to get my assignments for me and bring them to me down at Emily’s a few times a week. I won’t be able to return to school for a while still, but I will have some time throughout the days when I could work on school a little at a time, so I don’t get too far behind.”

“Absolutely I’ll do that for you!”

“That’s so great. I really appreciate it. I think I be discharged this evening sometime, so I’ll call the school in the morning to make arrangements and you just let me know when you are able to come to Emily’s. Ben’s welcome to come with you as well.”

Angela’s easy smile faded a little. “Ben and I actually broke up on Thursday.”

Bella brought her hand up to her mouth. “Oh no, I’m so sorry Angela. Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

“I’m alright. It was my decision, although he said he was feeling it too. We’ve just grown apart and now we’ve decided to go to different schools, so it just didn’t make sense to stay together anymore. I think it hurt him more than he showed though, so I feel kinda bad for him.

“Well, call me anytime if you want to talk… or feel free to visit anytime, I’m sure Emily wouldn’t mind at all.”

Bella wrote down Emily’s phone number to give to Angela. She stayed for a while longer, chatting about things going on at school, then Bella and I were alone again.

After an hour or so to ourselves Carlisle came in to give Bella another dose of the pain medicine before Charlie arrived. Bella was getting sleepy anyway and I knew she had been fighting it for a while. It had been a big day for her… even pain free, her body still had a lot of healing to do.

I let the doc know that Emily had agreed to help with Bella’s recovery and when Charlie got there Carlisle went over the plan for Bella’s release from the hospital with him. Charlie’s only concern was being a burden on Emily. I assured him that Emily was happy and even excited to help and would never consider Bella a burden. Charlie agreed to the plan, so everything was set.

BELLA WAS RELEASED later that evening and Charlie drove us down to Emily’s house. It was so good to get out of that hospital. Sitting together in the back of Charlie’s cruiser, we rode with one of the windows part-way down. The evening air was a little damp and chilly, but we both wanted the fresh air, and with my heat, Bella was comfortable. Alice had packed up some things for Bella and brought them up to the hospital earlier in the day, the bag now setting on the seat beside Bella.

Just as we were leaving the city limits, I got the same uneasy feeling I had the night Edward showed up. Groaning internally, I guessed he was probably watching from somewhere. Feeling certain that he was in my head, and figuring this might be my only chance, I decided to share some thoughts with him. Maybe it was a little spiteful and childish, but there were some things he needed to know.

I let the images play through my mind as I thought back to when Sam found Bella in the woods, and when she first came to La Push, broken, lost, empty eyes, hurting; then I went through a myriad of thoughts, like a movie playing of our time together while she healed, her arms wrapped around herself in pain, me loving her through it, her slowly coming back to life; our first kiss and her face since then, bright, flushed, shining, and full of life… looking at me with adoration and love, kissing me eagerly.

I looked down at her, relaxed against my side, and I caressed her face, letting the love I have for her wash through me. She looked up at me smiling, so beautiful, and she was responding to my touch and the look of love on my face. Her heart had started racing, her breath catching in her throat, and a look of desire coming over her face, matching how I felt. She reached up to run her hand over my cheek and neck.

I hoped the leech was still watching, but I didn’t really care anymore. What I wished for most in that moment was to be alone with Bella so that I could kiss her. I settled for a kiss on her forehead then took her hand, lacing our fingers together, and gazed out the window, so I didn’t get carried away. As my eyes moved from Bella to the window, I caught a glimpse of Charlie smiling our way in the rearview mirror.

I didn’t feel like we were being watched anymore as we crossed over the treaty line less than a minute later … not that I wouldn’t put it past Cullen to break the treaty at this point.

When we got to Emily’s I carried Bella inside. Carlisle had instructed Bella to walk as little as possible until further notice, to protect her spine, which made it easy to excuse carrying her everywhere to keep her close to me.

We got settled on the couch together where Emily had laid out pillows and a light-weight blanket for Bella. I was so relieved to be back on the Reservation, in my home away from home, with Bella safe at my side.

Charlie was staying for dinner and Sam showed up with my dad not long after we arrived. He had visited a few times, but it had been a couple of days, so it was good to see him.

When dinner was ready Emily brought me and Bella each a plate of food and everyone else also brought their plates into the living room, so we could all eat together. The little house was filled with lively conversation and laughter, like always. About an hour after we had finished eating, I noticed Bella getting quiet and not long after she was asleep.

Emily had made up the guest bedroom for me and Bella, but we couldn’t go there until Charlie left. I wrapped my arm a little tighter around Bella to make sure she stayed upright. Emily notice Bella then and smile at me knowingly.

“Well, I hate to break up the party, but I think we need to call it a night,” Emily announced. “It seems the patient has pooped out on us. Charlie, you are, of course, welcome here whenever you want to come visit Bella… and I expect to see your face for dinner every night while she is here… I insist. You too Billy.”

“Yes ma’am,” Charlie teased with a mock salute. “I haven’t thanked you yet Emily, but I really appreciate you taking care of Bella like this. It does me good to know she has such a great friend.”

“I’m happy to do it for as long as it’s needed. I’m just thankful that she is doing so much better.”

Emily gave Charlie a hug. He was stiff for a moment, taken by surprise, but then he relaxed and hugged her back.

“I can give you a ride home Billy and Jake, if you’d like,” Charlie offered.

“I’ll take you up on that Charlie, but I think Jake is staying here,” Billy said nonchalantly, helping to try and ease Charlie’s mind before he had a chance to object.

“Yeah, I’m staying to help whenever Bella needs to move around since Doc wants her to stay off her feet for the next while.”

Charlie hesitated, eyeing me apprehensively. He liked me a lot, definitely more than most fathers liked their daughter’s boyfriends, but I was still a teenage boy dating his daughter, so I could understand his hesitation. I decided to be up front with him and address his concerns before he could make them.

“Charlie, I promise you nothing inappropriate is going to happen. Besides the fact that she’s injured, I would not do anything questionable with her, or that you would not approve of. I respect you too much for that, but more importantly I respect Bella too much. I love her and would protect her with my life, including her virtue.” He would not approve of me sleeping in the same bed with her, so it was a small lie, but if he understood why I needed to stay with her, he might feel differently… and my dad was okay with it, knowing the full truth, so I felt okay with that.

He looked at Billy, “You knew about this?”

Billy nodded, “Yes, Jake discussed it with me, and I trust him to do the right thing Charlie. He’ll keep his word to you.”

Everyone was quiet while he studied me for another moment before nodding once, “I appreciate you being straight forward with me Jake. I’m trusting you with the thing that’s most precious to me in the world, so you had better keep your word.”

“I will… always,” I replied with all the conviction I felt inside.

“Alright Billy, let’s get out of here so they can get Bella settled.”

Emily and I wished them a good night and Sam went to help Billy into Charlie’s car.

I gently laid Bella down in the guest room and left so Emily could get her changed for bed. Moving quickly, I grabbed the bag that my dad had brought for me and headed to the bathroom to get changed as well. I wanted to get back to Bella as fast as possible to limit her pain.

When I returned to the room, the covers were pulled down and Bella was lying in the middle of the bed, groaning quietly her face scrunched up, obviously hurting, but still asleep. Emily was covering Bella with a light-weight blanket… she knew Bella would never need more than that while next to me, and even that might prove to be too much.

As soon as I laid down next to her, Bella calmed and her face relaxed. She moved in her sleep to get closer to me again.

“Look at her move toward you Jake! Isn’t that something.” She looked fascinated at the way Bella was so aware of me.

“I certainly enjoy it,” I said, grinning.

“I bet you do.” She laughed quietly then her face turned serious. “That bruising looks so bad though.”

“I know, I saw it yesterday. Doc said it looks worse because of her pale skin, but I think he was just trying to make me feel better.”

“It’s no wonder she’s in so much pain. We may not know what has caused it, but it truly is a blessing that you can take that away for her.”

“Yeah, I’ve thought about that a lot.”

“Well, I’ll let you get some rest. If she needs anything in the night, just bring her to my room. I’ll leave my door open for you.”

“Thanks again for doing this Emily.”

“You know I’m happy to.”

“I know, but I still want you to know that I appreciate it more than I can express.”

“Well, you’re welcome, Jacob. Good night.”

“Night Em.”

I could hear the sounds of Sam and Emily cleaning up the kitchen and talking quietly through the closed door. If I tried, I could probably hear what they were saying, but I tuned them out instead and just focused on Bella.

Pushing the hair back from her face, I caressed her cheek and neck with my fingertips. She turned her head toward my hand as I touched her then when I took my hand away, she turned back toward my body. Just like Emily, it still left me in awe that she was that aware of me in her sleep.

As I watched her, Bella’s lips started to move. It looked as though she were speaking, but I couldn't hear anything. I moved to lean in closer when her voice became audible. It was just unintelligible mumbling, but I smiled as I realized she was talking in her sleep. Within all the gibberish, I was able to make out my name and the words “love” and “warm”. After a few minutes, the mumbling stopped, and the only sound was of her deep breathing. I continued to gaze at her beautiful face, but it didn’t take long before I drifted off to sleep as well.

Chapter Text

THE NEXT MORNING Bella took one of her pain pills with breakfast so Emily could help her take her first proper bath in almost a week. The doc had recommended a soaking powder to put in her bath to help heal and ease the discomfort of the bruising, which Emily had graciously picked up for Bella. He also said the sling that kept her left arm immobile could come off this morning.

We were reclined on the bed after her bath, to give her body a chance to relax and recover after having to move around so much this morning. Lying on my back, Bella was snuggled up against my side with her head resting on my arm and her now freed left arm draped across my chest. The cast made it lay funny, but she was just relieved to be able to straighten it out.

I was relishing having her so close to me all of the time, and I definitely could get used to waking up with her by my side every morning. Turning my head to press a kiss to Bella’s brow I breathed in deeply, thankful to take in her full scent, untainted by vampire stench or other blood for the first time in over a week. I had forgotten, however, just how potent her scent had become to me, and suspected it had intensified even more, as an unexpected wave of desire took me by surprise as it slammed through me. I hadn’t had to deal with her clean scent in so long that it was too much for me, and a groan escaped my throat.

“What’s wrong Jake?” I could tell by the breathy sound of her voice she knew exactly what that groan had meant.

I gently rolled her onto her back and buried my face against her neck. I knew I was playing with fire, but I needed to breath her in, needed to saturate my senses so I could get used to it once more. She sucked in a breath as I ran my nose up the length of her neck and took another deep breath, then trailed a line of kisses back down to her collarbone.

“Your scent is so clean now,” I said against her skin, my voice husky, as I fought to control myself. “Between the vampire stench and the other blood, it’s been masked while you were in the hospital. The pureness of it caught me off guard. Just give me a minute.”

“Oh, okay,” was all she said, and I could hear her heart hammering inside her chest.

After a few more moments of breathing her in, my lips against her skin, I pulled back to look down at her. As I gently caressed her face, I saw my own longing reflected back to me in her eyes.

“Can I kiss you, Bella?” I whispered, hesitantly. I felt certain that’s what she wanted, but I needed to make sure she was with me, and I wasn’t forcing anything or misreading her.

“Always,” she whispered. “You don’t ever have to ask, Jake. I’ve missed kissing you.”

I brought my lips gently to hers, my hand resting against her neck while my thumb grazed along her jaw, trying desperately to hold myself in check and keep the kiss soft and light. Bella suddenly gripped the hair at the nape of my neck and pulled me closer for a deeper kiss, whimpering against my lips, then brought her leg up, bent against my hip.

Oh man, that didn’t help! I had to be so careful how I held her and moved her, so I didn’t hurt her, but she didn’t seem to have the same concerns and she wasn’t making it easy for me. I groaned again and responded to her request to deepen the kiss, moving my hand down to her hip and very gently pulling her closer. I drug my hand slowly down to her knee then back up her leg, my arm laying along the length of her thigh, squeezing her backside, I held her close.
I don’t know how long we kissed like that, but I finally regained enough control to break the kiss and pulled back, both of us breathless.

“What are you trying to do to me Bella!?” I breathed.

“Kiss you,” she whispered innocently.

I let out one quick laugh, then took a deep shaky breath. She definitely had kissed me! It didn’t seem she was thinking about how fragile her body was right now, but I could never allow myself to forget. I gently moved her leg away, rolled onto my back, and pulled her against my side again.

“I just need to be so very careful with you,” I said, taking another shaky breath, “I’m afraid I could hurt you so easily right now.”

“Oh. Sorry Jake… I guess without the pain, I didn’t think about that.”

“Thankfully, I’m already adjusting to your scent again. Not that it doesn’t do crazy things to me most of the time regardless, but the more adjusted I am, the easier it is to ignore.”

After a bit more recovery time, Bella spoke again. “Earlier, what did you mean by ‘other blood’?”

“Well, when you first got to the hospital you had lost so much blood they gave you a blood transfusion, and it made you smell weird. I didn’t realize I hadn’t told you about that.”

“Really? That’s crazy you could tell a difference.”

“I don’t know if I would have been able to if it was anyone besides you. I’m just so attuned to your scent, any change is going to be noticeable to me.”

We were quiet for a minute then I felt Bella tense beside me, and she began fidgeting with the collar of my t-shirt. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet and hesitant.

“Hey, Jake. I wanted to ask you about the night Edward showed up.” She caressed my shoulder awkwardly with her fingers, her cast getting in the way, as if to sooth me as she spoke. “I don’t want you to try to answer if it will upset you though.”

“It’ll be fine, Bella.” She was always so confident in my control before, but seeing me so close to losing that control seemed to have rattled her a bit and it made me a little sad. The combination of how close he’d gotten to her, how weird he was acting, and how much pain she had been in had just really made it hard to come back down once he’d left… especially since her pain had continued.

“Okay. So, do you know why he was there? Or what he was doing? And how did he get in there by himself… where did you go?”

I sighed and closed my eyes. I knew this would come up eventually and I still felt a little guilty I had left that stupid window unlocked… or that I wasn’t in her room.

“I’m really sorry I wasn’t there Bella. I only left your room a handful of times the whole time you were in the hospital, and I never left the floor you were on, not once.

“I couldn’t sleep that night, so I was just walking the halls for a little while.” I opened my eyes again, staring up at the ceiling. “He was able to get in through one of the windows. I had opened them a few times to let in some fresh air and I apparently missed getting one of them locked that day. He must have been nearby and figured out when I left your room by reading my thoughts.

“As for why he was there, I don’t really know. I asked Carlisle about it right after it happened, and he didn’t know either, though I think he had some idea, but I haven’t had a chance to talk to him about it again. Do you remember anything?”

“Mostly just the way it made me feel. I wasn’t fully conscious, but I started having thoughts that didn’t feel right, like I was thinking them, but I wasn’t… it wasn’t really me. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but it made me uncomfortable and afraid.”

“No, it kinda makes sense. When I first came in the room, he was breathing on you and speaking quietly. I didn’t hear what he was saying because my focus was on getting him away from you and trying not to phase. Whatever he was saying was obviously upsetting you… you were struggling to try to get away from him, causing you pain. Maybe your mind was taking whatever he was saying to you and making his words seem like your own thoughts. You were pretty out of it on pain killers.”

“Maybe. That would explain why they made me feel so unsettled. If that’s the case, it means he was trying to convince me to leave you and come back to him. I don’t understand why he would do that. He’s the one who left, and he wanted me to move on, so now I’ve done what he wanted, why would he try to change it?”

“I don’t know honey. Like I said, he didn’t sound right that night, and Carlisle said he didn’t seem to be himself.”

“Well, maybe Carlisle will know more when we see him on Friday. Or maybe I’ll get the chance to talk to Edward eventually.”

I tensed. “Do you really want to talk to him… or even see him again?” I asked in disbelief.

She sighed. “I don’t know if you saw the look on his face that night, but he looked tortured and empty… just like I used to. It made me feel sad for him, and if talking with me can help, then yes, I want to talk to him.”

I couldn’t believe she was considering this, and she felt pity for him. I wanted to pace, but since that wasn’t an option, I moved Bella away enough to prop myself up on my elbow so I could see her better.

When I answered her, my voice had a harsh edge to it. “No, I didn’t see the look on his face… I was too concerned for your safety! After what he did to you last fall, and then that night at the hospital, you want to try to help him?”

“Yes, I do,” she said adamantly, obviously frustrated at my response. “I at least want to understand what he was trying to do. Despite everything, I don’t hate him, and it makes me sad to think that he’s hurting.”

I looked away from Bella and glared at the wall, feeling hurt and angry… and a little betrayed.

“Jacob,” she said softly, putting her fingers on my face to try to turn my head toward her, her cast getting in the way again. “Please look at me.”

After a moment I reluctantly looked at her.

“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to hurt you. You know I don’t love him anymore, right? I only love you. I don’t want anyone else… ever.”

I closed my eyes. “Yes, I know that.”

“I hate what he did to me, but I’ve moved on and it doesn’t affect me anymore.”

“I know that too and I’m grateful you’re not in pain anymore over him.”

“It’s just… I can’t help but think that if he hadn’t done what he did, then you and I may not have found each other. No matter the pain I went through, I wouldn’t risk changing anything if it would mean I might not be with you now.”

I opened my eyes and looked at her again, shaking my head. “No, I don’t believe that for a second Bella. We were destined for each other, with or without his influence. If anything, his existence in our lives almost got in the way.”

She thought about that for a moment. “Maybe. Either way, I do want to try to help him… or at least get some answers from him about the night in the hospital. Will you be able to find a way to be okay with that?”

“Bella, I don’t trust him. He was hurting you that night. Alice and the doc saw it and he had to see it too, yet he wasn’t stopping. What if he doesn’t like what you have to say and hurts you again… or worse?” I shuddered at the thought of what could happen.

She sighed. “I don’t know. The Edward that left me would have never physically hurt me, but I barely recognized him that night in the hospital, and I guess I can’t be so sure anymore. But he had plenty of time to kill me, if that had been his intention, so I don’t think my life would be in danger. Could we at least talk to Carlisle or Alice about it? See what they think? They will know Edward’s state of mind better than anyone.”

My voice raised a little as my frustration grew. “You just admitted to me it might not be safe for you, yet you’re still considering it? Maybe he doesn’t want to kill you, but what if he gets desperate and tries to change you. Why are you being so stubborn! It’s just too risky Bella.”

“He never wanted to change me… he refused to several times.”

I felt a stab through my heart at the reminder that Bella ever wanted to become one of them. I knew she saw the madness of that desire now, but it still made me ache.

“You can’t go off of anything that used to be true about him, Bella. Whoever he was before, you have no guarantee that’s who he is now.”

“Please Jake. Let’s at least ask Alice or Carlisle what they think. I promise I won’t consider it anymore if they don’t think it’s a good idea.”

My jaw tensed, so frustrated she was being so insistent with this. “Gah!” I exclaimed in exasperation and dropped back on the bed next to her, running my hands through my hair, scowling at the ceiling. “Fine,” I breathed out loudly, “we can ask the doc, but I’m going to hold you to that promise. If he says no, then no more discussion… and if he says yes… well, we will need to talk about it more, because it’s going to take a lot to convince me this is a good idea.”

“I can live with that.” She sounded relieved and I just couldn’t understand her insistence about this, but there was nothing more to be done about it for the moment.

I sighed and put my arm back around her and she moved close against me again, resting her head back on my arm. I hated arguing with her, but this was very unsettling to me. My concern returned about what her reaction to him would be. I said I knew she only loved me, that she had moved on and wasn’t affected by him anymore, but I had to question if I believed it whole-heartedly, without reservations. I wanted to, but knowing she still cared for him at all did not give me the confidence I wished I had. What if the drug he had been to her proved to be too strong? No, I couldn’t think that way. I had to trust in what Bella and I had, that it would be strong enough to overcome him… it did that once before and we were even stronger now.

If the doc thought it was safe for her to talk to Edward, then I was probably going to lose this battle. She would at least not go alone. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea for me to go, though I’m not sure I’d be able to stop myself. Sam would definitely go, and hopefully Embry and Jared too… they would be the best ones to keep a level head in that situation. And I would insist on the doc and Alice being there too. God, I can’t believe I was even considering this! She was too damn stubborn for her own good sometimes.

Her heavy, even breathing alerted me that, while I was stewing in my frustration, she had fallen asleep again. I turned on my side to pull her into my chest and bury my face in her hair, the strawberry scent enveloping me.

We would see the doc again in a couple of days, and I hoped he would discourage her from meeting with Edward… or he could convince me it was safe, though I doubted either was going to happen. She was probably going to meet with the bloodsucker that nearly destroyed her, and I was going to go insane while she was doing it.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
THE NEXT COUPLE OF days were pretty low-key, just allowing me a lot of time to rest. We watched a lot of movies and did a lot of reading, though I frequently fell asleep doing both of those things. We had figured out that I could lay with my head in Jake’s lap, and still be close enough to keep the pain away, but our torsos (or our hearts, as Carlisle had theorized) couldn’t get any further apart than that. We also played board games and cards with Sam and Emily, and sometimes some of the other guys. Or we just spent quiet time together talking. In all honestly, those were my favorite times.

On Thursday, during one of these quiet conversations on the couch, Sam and Emily suddenly appeared in front of us. Sam was holding a large bundle of blankets and pillows and Emily had a picnic basket.

“We have a special lunch planned for you two,” Emily said, both of them smiling at us. “Please follow us.”

I looked at Jake and he shrugged, so he must not have known about this either. He picked me up and followed Sam and Emily out the door.

It was a warm day with only a few clouds in the sky. They headed into the forest area nearest the house, Sam leading the way. We walked for about five or six minutes then came to a little clearing. It looked familiar to me for some reason, though I had no idea where we were. In the center of the clearing was a large bright sunny patch and there was already a pallet of blankets and pillows laid out with what looked like a foam mat underneath, right in the middle of the sunshine. The pallet was several inches thick and big enough for me to lay on, but they started laying out additional blankets that went over the pallet, but also stretched out past it to give Jake somewhere to sit and relax, stacking several on top of each other, to keep the moisture on the ground from soaking through.

I looked up at Jake and he was smiling down at me.

“This is quite the setup,” I said.

He nodded. “Do you know where we are?”

I looked at our surroundings again and shook my head. “I thought it looked kinda familiar, but I don’t have a clue why.”

“This is the clearing I brought you to when I phased for you last week.”

“Oh, yeah… I recognize it now,” I smiled. “That’s pretty cool.”

“Sam must have figured it out from the images he saw in my head.”

“Come get settled you two,” Emily called to us. “I’ll set the food out for you before we go.”

Jake got me settled on the thick, comfy pallet and then sat down next to me. A few minutes later Emily had all the food laid out within reach for us.
“When you’re all done, just leave everything here and I’ll come clean it up later,” she said, smiling down at us.

“Thank you so much Emily, and you too Sam. This was really thoughtful.”

“You are very welcome. I had fun planning it for you. We figured you’d enjoy being outside for a while. Have fun.”

Jake and I ate the yummy lunch Emily had prepared for us. At some point we started feeding bites to each other, laughing and kissing, absorbing the fresh air and sunshine with nothing but the noises of the forest around us.

When we were done eating, we put the empty containers and leftovers back in the basket and lay down on the blankets. Jake propped himself up on an elbow to look down at me, caressing my face and neck.

“How’re you feeling, baby? You need to go back?”

I brushed my hand over his cheek and shook my head. “Hmmm… happy. And a little sleepy. I wanna stay out here awhile longer.” The fresh air, sunshine, and forest sounds were lulling me now that I had a full tummy.

Jake kissed me tenderly a few times then lay down next to me and scooted in close, both of us staring up at the sky through the break in the forest canopy. Big fluffy clouds floated by as we relaxed and dozed in the afternoon sunshine. I wasn’t positive how long we’d lain there, but it was probably about an hour, when I broke the silence.

“Hey Jake?”

“Yeah baby?”

“I’ve been wondering something lately,” I started but then hesitated.

“Wondering what?” he encouraged.

“How come you don’t ever talk about your mom? Is it still too painful for you?” It had been seven years since the accident that took her life, but some wounds, though healed, were hard to be reminded of.

He didn’t answer for so long, and I started to worry I might have upset him. Just as I was about to apologize, he finally responded.

“I guess it’s because it’s always been so hard on my dad to talk about her, so I just stopped trying.”

“That’s understandable. I can’t imagine how difficult it was for him to lose her. Would it bother you to talk about her with me? I would like to know about her. I mean, I know I was around her when I came to visit Charlie in the summers, but I’m sad to say that I don’t remember all that much. Only that I always liked her, and she was always very kind to me.”

After another pause, much shorter this time, he answered, “Yeah, I think I would like to share that with you Bella. A lot of my memories are kinda fuzzy now since I was only eleven, but the thing I remember the most about her was her smile. She had the best smile; it was like the sun breaking through the clouds and shining just for me.

“She was tall, nearly as tall as my dad, and had gorgeous silky black hair. I remember her holding me against her chest, my head on her shoulder, and I would just comb my fingers through her hair over and over. And she never met a stranger, she was kind and friendly to everyone she encountered.

“She used to sit on the floor of our living room, or in the sand at the beach, and play with me and my sisters for hours on end, never tiring of the silly games we’d come up with or our endless questions.

“I remember one time in particular when you were there. I think we were seven or eight; our dads had gone fishing, and Mom took all four of us down to the beach. Rachel and Rebecca, who were nine or ten, were playing at the edge of the waves and Mom was helping you and me build a sandcastle. Or more accurately, she was helping you build a sandcastle and trying to keep me from destroying it because I was being a knight or something, with a stick for a sword. I would come over and place a bucket or cup full of sand every now and then, but mostly I was fighting the bad guys and protecting you and Mom and the castle with my stick sword.

“I kept getting too close to the castle though. Mom did a good job of keeping me far enough away for a long time, but I eventually fell right on one corner of the castle and squashed that part. You were devastated and started crying. My mom just cleaned away the messed-up sand and started rebuilding the broken part and soon you saw you could fix it and went over to help her rebuild.

“It ended up being quite an impressive sandcastle when you guys were done. And then we all watched as the tide came in and washed it away. I can’t remember what Mom said, but she told some story to make that part fun for you too, so you didn’t get upset when the castle was gone.”

I was smiling and giggling through the story, imagining little Jacob with his stick sword, and searching my memories to try to find any bit of that day hidden away. But I couldn’t remember any of it and when he was finished, my heart became heavy and my eyes grew cloudy with tears. Jake sensed the change in my mood and propped himself back up to look at me.

“Why are you crying honey?” he asked gently as he wiped away the bit of moisture that had escaped my eyes.

I smiled at him through my tears. “Sorry. It’s such a fun memory and I just can’t believe I don’t remember it at all. Or that I don’t remember more about your mom. It makes me sad that I had this time with someone so important to your life and I almost can’t remember her at all.”

“You were just a kid Bells. And she was just some nice lady you saw every now and then for a few weeks in the summer. You could never have known you would end up loving that bratty little boy someday.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I sniffed, “but why do you remember it so well then? That particular memory I mean.”

Jake’s cheeks reddened a little and he gave me an impish smile. “Because you were there. That’s most of the reason why I was fighting the bad guys… to protect you. I had such a crush on you, and your visits were the highlights of my summers. I was sad when you stopped coming.”

My eyes got big—I couldn’t believe I never knew that. “Really?! I seriously had no idea, Jake.”

“I knew you didn’t, so I didn’t expect anything to come of it. But it didn’t change my feelings.” Jake shifted the subject back, still a little embarrassed. “And about my mom, you remember the essence of her… you remember her kindness, and above all else she was the kindest person to ever walk this earth.”

“You’re a lot like her, you know.”

Jake looked at me skeptically.

“It’s true! I may not remember her, but I know you, and everything you said to describe her are things I would say to describe you. You’re kind and patient, super outgoing and friendly to everyone. You’re tall with beautiful silky black hair. And your smile…” I paused, touching his lips, and then caressing his cheek. “Well, really it’s all of you, but it radiates most brilliantly when you smile—you’re like an earth-bound sun to me… that’s how I have always thought of you, ever since I got back to Forks last year. You just carry this happiness with you wherever you go and share it with anyone who comes into your orbit. It’s that part of you that really got me through those dark days.”

Jake didn’t say anything. He just gazed down at me with his beautiful dark eyes holding me captive. His fingers grazed across my forehead and down my cheek… pushing my hair back and gliding his thumb slowly across my lips. “I love you, Bella. I think that maybe I have loved you all my life in one way or another. I will never take you and your presence in my life for granted. Never.”

Jake’s words struck a new chord in my heart, solidifying further my own feelings for him and reminding me anew that I truly didn’t deserve him, but I was never letting him go.

“I love you too Jake.” I lifted my head up to kiss him and he leaned down to meet me, sliding his arm under my shoulders to support me and pull me against him. I laced my fingers through his hair, noting in the back of my mind that it had grown out quite a bit from the short crop it was before. He wrapped his other arm around my hips, drawing me close and pressing the lengths of our bodies together. I bent my leg slightly to rest it on top of Jake’s bent leg as he adjusted his arm to tuck my leg in under it.

I have no idea how long we lay together, holding each other like that. Some kisses were long and slow, others short and tender, sometimes just looking at each other—a steady smoldering heat ebbing through me the whole time, never building, just warm and constant and beautiful.

The forest had darkened a bit and there was no more direct sunlight coming through the opening in the trees when Jake suggested we head back to the house. It was probably late afternoon and Angela would be coming by before too long to bring me some of my schoolwork.

Jake gathered me into his arms, and started back to the house, leaving everything there as Emily had instructed.

“I’m going to be completely spoiled by the time I’m all better,” I said as we were nearing the house. “All of this carrying me around and Emily fixing me food. I’m not used to being taken care of like this.”

“It’s good to let others do things for you sometimes. Especially when those people love you and it brings them joy to take care of you.”

I smiled at him and then thought of something else. “Hey, do you have pictures of your mom that I could see sometime? Maybe that would help me remember her a little more.”

“Sure, I think we might have an album or two. We can go over to my house tomorrow and check.”

I wrapped my arms around Jake’s neck, rested my head on his shoulder, and smiled as he carried me through the forest. I don’t ever remember being this happy and content before in my entire life.

Chapter Text

ANGELA SHOWED UP not long after we got back to the house. We spent some time in the living room going over my assignments and getting some schoolwork done, Jake right next to me on the couch. I was so thankful to her for doing that for me.

Emily invited her to stay for dinner and after a quick call to her mom she accepted. Charlie showed up with Billy just as Emily was taking the food out of the oven and we all sat in the living room again so I could relax on the couch.

After dinner, Angela and I moved to the kitchen table to get some more schoolwork done, while Jake stayed in the living room to spend some more time with his dad. My pain was made tolerable by the medicine that Carlisle had given me. I did pretty good for about two hours with just a dull ache, but then the pain slowly started to throb and get worse. Jake must have sensed my growing discomfort because not long after the discomfort started, he came to the table and sat down next to me. I immediately relaxed as the pain left me again.

“Whatcha guys working on?” he asked.

“English paper,” Angela said, eyeing me curiously but not saying anything.

She was so perceptive and observant; she was bound to notice the effect Jake’s presence had on me. I would need to think of an explanation in case she ever asked about it.

“You about ready for a break?” he asked nonchalantly, knowing I needed to be near him and rest again.

Angela pushed back from the table and stretched. “Yeah, I’m pretty much done.” She started to pack up her bag.

I rubbed my eyes. “Well, I’m not done, but I’ve probably accomplished as much as I’m going to be able to get done tonight.”

Jake helped me gather all my books together and put them in my bag for me.

A loud commotion suddenly erupted at the front door as Quil and Embry came in arguing about something. They stopped short and quieted when they saw more people there than they were expecting.

“Hey guys,” Jake greeted them, “what’s up?”

“We wanted to come see how Bella was doing,” Embry said. “Hope that’s okay.”

“Sure, sure, no problem,” Jake replied, moving his chair a little so they could see me.

“Hey Bella,” they said in unison, grinning down at me.

“Hey guys. It’s sweet of you to check on me.”

“You look like you’re doing alright,” Quil said.

“Yeah, I’m doing pretty good, all things considered.”

Quil’s focus shifted for a moment to my right where Angela was sitting quietly, and I realized I’d forgotten to introduce her.

“Oh shoot, sorry… guys, this is Angela, a friend of mine from school. Angela, these are a couple of Jake’s friends. That’s Quil Ateara,” I said pointing to Quil who winked at Angela, and I could have sworn he flexed his shoulders and arms. I just rolled my eyes and continued, pointing to Embry, “and that’s Embry Call.”

Angela looked to each as I said their names, giving a little wave and quiet “Hi.” Suddenly Embry gasped and let out a breathy “Oh!”

Jake and I looked at Embry, as did Quil, and he was staring at Angela with an odd, shocked look on his face. We then looked at Angela who also had a strange look of confusion on her face, then she looked at me.

“Bella, what’s happening?” she asked quietly before looking back at Embry who was gazing at her in wonder, like a blind man seeing colors for the first time. Angela’s cheeks had flushed, but I could see she felt drawn to him as well.

Jake and I looked at each other in disbelief.

“Did he just…” I whispered to Jake who nodded.

“I think he might have,” he replied quietly as he started to rise from his chair and looked at Quil. “Quil, Bella and I are gonna go outside with Embry and Angela. Could you quietly go let Sam know? Don’t forget that Bella’s dad is here.” He gave Quil a pointed look.

Quil put up his hands. “I got it!” Then headed to the living room.

Jake picked me up and I reached back over his shoulder for Angela’s hand.

“Come outside with us Angela, and we can explain everything.” She took my hand and Jake went to the door, Embry following behind Angela. Sam had come from the living room and was right behind Embry.

Jake sat down in one of the porch chairs with me in his lap and we had Angela sit in the other chair. Sam pulled Embry off to the side to make sure we were correct. Angela just sat quietly and watched Embry talking to Sam.

When they came back over Sam nodded. “Yes, he’s definitely imprinted.”

I looked back at Angela, then at Jake. “What do we do now?!”

“Tell her everything,” Jake said.

“Who should tell her?”

“Tell me what?” Angela asked. “Bella I’m starting to get a little freaked out.”

“I’m sorry Angela. Don’t freak out. We’re going to explain.”

“I think you should start Bella since she knows you best,” Sam suggested.

I looked at him wide-eyed and swallowed hard. “Where do I start?”

“Just start at the beginning. It’ll be fine.” He encouraged me.

Embry sat down and leaned against the porch railing across from where Angela was sitting, not taking his eyes off of her, and Sam stood on the top step, arms crossed and leaning against the post.

I nodded then took a deep breath.

“Okay, Angela, what I’m going to tell you will be pretty unbelievable and might feel overwhelming at first, but please just try to keep an open mind and stay calm. Do you think you can do that?”

Angela nodded, shifting her eyes between me and Embry. I began with the legends Jake had told me on the beach last year, leaving out the stuff about the ‘cold-ones’ for now. Then I told her my story and how I found out about Jake and what he is.

Her eyes went large and round. “A werewolf!?” Her expression was complete shock, looking back and forth between me and Jake, but not completely disbelieving. She leaned in and whispered to me. “Doesn’t that scare you, Bella?”

“No, I have never been scared of Jake. And it’s not like what you see in the movies. He doesn’t need a full moon and all of that. He actually shifts completely into a full wolf, not like a hybrid… just a really big wolf.”

Angela rubbed her hand across her forehead for a moment, absorbing that. “Okay, let’s just say I believe that, which for some reason I think I do… what does it have to do with whatever happened to me inside? I felt… something… when I looked at Embry.” She glanced at him then turned back to me.

“Hold on, I’m getting to that.”

She nodded a little mechanically.

“So,” I continued, “Sam and Embry are also werewolves, and so is Quil.”

Angela’s eyes got even wider, which I wouldn’t have thought possible, and she whispered to me again. “How many are there?”

Stifling a smile that she kept whispering, I glanced at Sam, and he nodded. “She’s an imprint, so she can know everything.”

“Okay,” I continued, turning back to Angela. “There are eight wolves total, seven guys and one girl.” I paused, analyzing the look on her face. “Are you okay? I’m getting to the explanation of what happened inside but want to make sure you’re doing okay.”

She had cast her gaze downward and was boring a hole in the porch floor with her wide-eyed stare, her olive complexion pale. “My mind is saying I shouldn’t believe a word of this, but something inside of me is telling me that what you are saying is true.” She looked at each of the guys. “So, all three of you can turn into really big wolves? Like whenever you want to?”

The guys all nodded.

“Have you seen it?” she asked looking at me again.

“Yes, several times now. I have even touched Jake in his wolf form. They aren’t like mindless beasts… they are still themselves and in complete control while they are a wolf. One of them can show you, if you want, but not unless you feel ready.”

She glanced around at all of us, a look of uncertainty on her face at that thought, before turning back to me. “I think I want to know more first. What happened inside?”

I explained about imprinting, the way Jake had described it to me about the gravity shifting.

“It doesn’t happen for all of them, and they have no control over who it happens with. Sam has imprinted on Emily, so you can ask her some questions about that, if you want.”

She looked back and forth between me and Jake a couple times again.

“Has Jake imprinted on you? Is that why you two seem so… connected with each other?”

I looked at Jake a little sorrowfully. “Not exactly,” I said turning back to Angela. “There are some different things going on between us that resemble imprinting, but not in the usual way. I don’t want to give you too much to digest right now, so I’ll save all of that for another time. Embry has imprinted on you though.”

Angela looked at Embry, who smiled gently at her, then back to me. Her face had become nearly impossible to read as she took it all in. She shifted all the way back in her chair and held her head in her hands with her elbows resting on her knees and took a deep breath.

“I think my head is going to explode,” she said quietly. “It’s so unbelievable and yet I know every word is the truth.”

“I know it’s a lot,” I said. “I got all of this information in pieces over time, so I can’t even imagine how you feel right now. Do you have any questions?”

She slowly shook her head in her hands. “I don’t even know what I would ask.” She looked up at me again, glancing at Embry a couple times while she talked. “What happens now? Are we expected to date now… or something more? You said he doesn’t have a choice, but do I have a choice?”

Embry spoke for the first time and Angela turned her attention to him. I was happy to let him take over.

“Yes, you have a choice. And I have no expectations of you Angela. The commitment at this point is all on my side. I will be whatever you want me to be, even if that’s just a friend. You just have to understand that I am 100% committed to you for the rest of my life.” His voice got quieter. “Even if you don’t want anything to do with me, though that would be very painful for me.”

“Painful? Why would it be painful?”

“I’ve been supernaturally linked to you, in a way that is completely unbreakable. Your safety and happiness are now my number one priority, over all others… even the pack. For a wolf, to be separated from the one he has imprinted on would go against his very core nature and instincts.”

“This is just so crazy. I don’t want to cause you pain, but I don’t even know you.”

“I know that, and I’m sure it does seem totally crazy to you. Honestly, it’s pretty crazy to us too. We don’t even fully understand it or know why it happens. I would love to get to know you though, and just see what happens. Like I said, no expectations. I just hope we can at least be friends and you will allow me to watch over you.”

“Embry is one of the sweetest guys, Angela,” I said.

Both of them smiled at me, then a sympathetic look came over Angela’s face. “Oh my goodness Bella, you’ve been walking around with this huge secret. How in the world have you done it!? I mean, it’s a total secret, right? I’m not supposed to tell anyone?” She paused and got a confused look on her face. “How do I know that? Why do I just know these things are true?”

“You know because of the connection you now have with Embry,” Sam said. “It’s a magical connection that we don’t even understand or comprehend completely. And yes, it has to stay secret. You are able to know it all because Embry has imprinted on you, but even Bella technically shouldn’t have found out. Jake cheated a little though, and I’m sure Bella will tell you all about that sometime.”

“You’re handling this really well Angela. Are you still okay?” I asked her.

“I honestly don’t know yet, but I think so.” She looked at Embry again.

“Would you be willing to stay here on the porch and talk with me for a while?” Embry asked her.

Angela nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think that would be okay. I think I would like that.”

“Do you want us to give you some privacy,” Jake asked.

“I think that would be good,” she said, nodding again.

Sam, Jake, and I headed back inside to leave Embry and Angela to talk. Emily joined us in the kitchen and Jake set me on my feet so the four of us could talk together quietly.

“You did good Bella,” Sam said. “Do you think she’s going to be okay with all of this?”

“I’m not totally sure. She’s a very sweet and understanding person, but this will take a whole other level of understanding. She seemed to be taking it all really well though… and she had that sense it was all true. We’ll just have to wait and see I guess, but I think it’s going to work out.”

“So, he definitely imprinted on her?” Emily asked and we all nodded. “I’d be happy to talk to her about it, if she has any questions.” She looked at me apologetically and quickly added, “Not that you can’t answer most of them Bella, it’s just—”

I put my hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay Emily. Jake and I may have a lot of the same connections, but I haven’t actually experienced imprinting, so you would be able to answer her questions better than I could.”

She patted my hand on her arm then we all headed back into the living room, so we wouldn’t cause Charlie to become suspicious of our absence. I was getting kinda sleepy, but I wanted to stay awake until Angela and Embry came back inside.

As the conversations around me cycled through sports teams and recent games, fishing, cars, and local news several thoughts went through my head. I couldn’t believe another of the guys had imprinted and yet Jake and I were stuck in what seemed like some weird limbo. I still hated imprinting, but I couldn’t change it and being stuck like we were almost seemed worse. Now that we had already chosen each other, I found that I might actually prefer the imprinting, especially since it was becoming less rare with each new imprinting.

I was relieved Angela and Ben had already broken up so at least this time it wasn’t wrecking another relationship. I was also a little worried. I hoped things worked out for Angela and Embry, even if it was just a friendship, but I definitely didn’t want her to become so weirded out that she didn’t want to be my friend anymore.

After about forty-five minutes, Angela and Embry came back inside, and they were both smiling. Angela sat on the couch next to where I was curled up against Jake, and Embry sat on the floor nearby. I could tell he was having trouble not staring at her.

Angela looked over at me, still smiling.

“You still okay?” I asked as I sat up a little to be able to speak with her more easily.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m actually doing better. You were right, Embry is very sweet. We talked about our families and just got to know each other a little. He was also able to explain a few more things to me, but I think there is still a lot that I don’t know.”

“I am sure there is. There are things that I am still learning about,” I said quietly. “If you’re able to stay until after my dad leaves, we can speak more freely. He’s the only one here who has no clue. Although, I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to stay up.” As if to prove my point, I had to cover a jaw-cracking yawn that forced its way out. “But please don’t feel like you have to leave if I crash.”

She smiled and nodded. “Okay, I’ll stay as late as I can.”

I leaned back on Jake again and was really feeling the exhaustion start to take hold. He tightened his arms around me and I looked up at him. He smiled down at me and it suddenly occurred to me that the look on his face was so similar to Embry’s look earlier. I reached up to touch his face and he kissed my forehead.

It wasn’t long when my eyes began to droop a little as I looked around at everyone sitting in the living room, laughing and talking together. I was struck with how much I loved my weird but wonderful life, and how much it had changed. Every person in that room was important to me, and someone I loved, each in their own way. And they were all people I would no longer be able to have a relationship with if I had gotten my way last fall and Edward had changed me. I couldn’t even begin to fathom that anymore… it would have been far too much to give up, even without Jake—but when I factored him in, completely impossible. There were no words to describe how grateful I was I didn’t get my way back then. I wouldn’t trade my human life for anything.

Chapter Text

**********
JACOB POV
**********
ANOTHER OF THE GUYS had imprinted. It was the first thought on my mind this morning and I still couldn't quite believe that it had happened. Angela and Embry both seemed to handle it well, so hopefully everything would work out for them, but it was still frustrating. In so many ways what Bella and I had was more special because we came to love each other on our own, not because some magical influence power made us. It still left us vulnerable, open to the potential that I would be forced to leave her someday. I tried not to think about it, but with another pack member imprinting, all the worry and fear of what our future would be came creeping back in. It was looking less likely that imprinting was the rare exception we all thought.

I pushed those thoughts away… it was useless to dwell on them. I focused instead on the beautiful girl pressed against my chest, breathing deeply in slumber. My thoughts drifted to our time in the clearing the day before. It touched me that she had asked about my mom and wanted to know more about her. It had been a long time since I had spoken of her with another person and it felt good to remember and share those things, especially with Bella. The fact she said I was like my mom meant more to me than I think she realized. My mom had been my favorite person in the whole world and getting over her death had been the absolute hardest thing I had ever gone through. Bella remembered so little of her childhood visits in Forks, so someday I would tell her about how much she had helped me heal back then. I may have helped her come back to life after that bloodsucker nearly destroyed her, but she saved me first.

Lying on my side I had a perfect view of her peaceful face, which was turned toward me… my hopes and dreams realized. God, I loved her! While I hated that she was injured so badly, I was thrilled to get to spend all of my time with her. It would end all too soon, so I was determined to soak it all up and enjoy every second.

My thoughts then wandered to the more intimate moments we had shared, and an excited heat curled in my belly. I closed my eyes, smiling, and let my mind play through every kiss and every touch and every look. I could spend days on end like that with Bella and it would still not be enough. Would any amount of time be enough with her? Probably not.

I opened my eyes again to find a pair of rich brown eyes looking back at me, and I laughed.

“What were you thinking about?” she asked, smiling.

“I was remembering our time together in the clearing yesterday,” I said and ran my fingers over her cheek. “Remembering kissing you.”

“Oh…” Her smile became shy, and her face flushed… and I sensed her body responding to the memories, which communicated more than any words could.

I took a big breath and reigned myself in. “So, we have kind of a big day today. Em’s gonna help you with your bath this morning, then we’ve gotta go to the Cullen’s after lunch to get those x-rays done of your arm and get your stitches out. Then, if you’re feeling up for it, we can go by my house to get the photo albums. I asked my dad about them last night and he told me where to find them. But I don’t want you to get too worn out, because tonight I wanna take you to a bonfire up on the cliffs.”

She turned on her side so we were facing each other. “That’s a pretty full day for me, though the bonfire sounds like fun. I may need a nap in there somewhere.”

“I’m sure we can figure something out.”

“Did you tell Charlie about this evening, so he doesn’t come here for dinner?”

“Yes, I let him know last night.”

A small knock at the door drew our attention and we turned as Emily came in with a big, warm smile and a tray full of fruit, bagels, and sausages for us. I helped Bella sit up and put a few pillows behind her so she could lean against the headboard comfortably.

“Emily!” Bella exclaimed in embarrassment. “Breakfast in bed!? This is too much, really.”

“Nonsense,” she said. “I know you’ve got a lot to do today, so I’m just trying to let you relax as much as possible. Your body is working hard enough just to mend itself, no need giving it extra things to do! Just accept it and say, ‘Thank you’ Bella.”

Bella sighed. “You’re right, I’m sorry, I’m just not used to being taken care of like this. So, thank you Emily. I do appreciate it.”

“That’s better,” Emily said, “you’re forgiven and you’re welcome. Your medicine is on the tray. We’ll give it an hour to make sure it’s taken effect before your bath.”

Settled beside me again after getting cleaned up, Bella fell back to sleep quickly. The pain was worse than it had been in several days and it had worn her out. We would need to let Carlisle know, but at least we only had to rely on the medicine for short amounts of time.

After lunch, the four of us headed to the Cullen’s. Sam and Emily were going with us so we could go pick up Bella’s truck afterwards. We didn’t have another vehicle available that would allow me to drive and remain close enough to Bella to keep her pain away.

The doc was the only one there, as promised. He led us up some stairs and to a large room that he called his office, but it appeared to serve multiple purposes. One and a half walls were lined with overcrowded bookshelves. The two far walls were all windows, which let in a massive amount of light, even though it was overcast and rainy. The view outside was nothing but trees as far as the eye could see. The other half of the second bookshelf wall was full of medical equipment and monitors. In the corner where the bookshelves met the windows was a desk with neat piles of papers, and in the middle of the room was an examination table and other medical equipment.

With Bella perched on the examination table, and me standing next to her, the doc got to work taking the stitches out of her head. She didn’t waste any time and took the opportunity to discuss Edward with him. I groaned internally… I had kinda hoped she’d forget, but I should’ve known better.
“Carlisle, I have a few questions I’d like to ask you about Edward, if you don’t mind.”

“No, I don’t mind,” he said glancing up at me to gauge my reaction.

“I’m not going to be able to stop this conversation,” I said, my voice sounding annoyed, and then I sighed, “but I’m also not going to freak out about it.”

Sam and Emily gave me questioning looks and I just shook my head at them. That was the best I could do in trying to be okay with this.

Bella watched my interaction with the others, but ignored it and continued speaking to the doc.

“Do you know why Edward came back Carlisle? Why was he in my hospital room like that and what was he doing? And what has happened to make him look so tortured and lost?”

He took her barrage of questions in stride and continued to work as he answered. “I figured you would be asking these questions soon and I’ll answer as best I can. He came back because he wanted to check on you… to make sure you were happy and safe. Then, when he got here and found out the wolves were back, you were in the hospital, and one of them was with you and not leaving your side, he jumped to the wrong conclusions. He thought Jacob was the one who had hurt you and was trying to control who saw you.”

Sam and I both grunted and made quiet “Psh” and “Hmph” noises at that, but didn’t comment.

The doc had finished removing Bella’s stitches and was tidying up as he continued. “Even though he saw things in Jacob’s thoughts that contradicted what he had assumed, he convinced himself Jacob was somehow trying to deceive him… that Jacob knew Edward was listening and was planting thoughts. So, Edward was trying to get you to see how dangerous your relationship with Jacob was… or rather how dangerous he perceived it was. If he had taken the time to talk with me or Alice, we could have helped him realize he’d gotten it wrong.”

“Wait,” Bella said, looking confused, “how did he expect to convince me of anything if I was unconscious?”

The doc got a torn and pained look on his face as he sat on a stool in front of Bella and answered her.

“I do not wish to cast a bad image of Edward for you all, but you have been through enough because of our family, Bella, so I feel I must tell you all that I know. Although, even what I have is not a definitive answer for you.

“A couple centuries ago, I heard of a rumor… no it was more of a legend… that it may be possible for our kind to learn to use our natural lures, particularly our scent and voices, to manipulate humans.” I tensed, already guessing where he was going with this as he continued. “Besides being curious about the validity of the legend, if it were true, I wanted to learn all I could about it so I could avoid using it myself unintentionally. So, for decades I searched off and on for anyone who might know anything, and I came up empty. I found a few who had also heard of the legend, and some of them had tried to figure out the manipulation themselves, but no one had been successful. I wondered if it might only be because none of them had the self-control to not kill those they were trying to manipulate, but I was not willing to try it for myself and I finally decided chalk it up to legend and let it go.

“Edward has also known of this legend, and during his absence he travelled to many new places. I have begun to suspect that perhaps he sought to find information about it as I did long ago. It’s possible he discovered something or met someone… that maybe he has learned how to do this manipulation himself.

“I firmly believe that he set out to acquire this knowledge with good intentions and just to give himself something to do. Perhaps he wished to avoid using it unintentionally, as I did when I searched all those decades ago. I questioned him about it directly and he denied pursuing any such information, but I have known him a long time, and I do not believe he is being honest with me. The time away from his family has not been good for Edward, and he is not behaving like himself right now. He is more tormented than ever before, and though he seems more himself every day, he is hurting and not always making the best choices right now.”

My hands were trembling ever so slightly as this new information sunk in. Bella seemed relaxed and I don’t think she’d fully realized the implications of what the doc had just told us. I kept my voice even as I spoke to him.

“So, you’re saying that you think he may have learned how to use his scent and his voice to manipulate a human? Could he do something like plant thoughts in a person’s mind with this ability?”

“Yes, theoretically, planting thoughts would be one of the main things the ability could be used for, if that is indeed what he’s discovered.”

Bella looked up at me wide-eyed, finally understanding that this would explain the thoughts that were hers, but yet not hers… and the unsettled feeling she got when Edward was in her hospital room. It would also explain why he was breathing on her and why his voice sounded so strange.

Holding Bella’s startled gaze, I spoke firmly. “I don’t want you anywhere near him, Bella. More now than ever. There’s no telling what kind of crap he could do to you with this manipulation thing, because I’m positive that is what he was trying to do to you in the hospital.”

She had recovered from her initial shock and her face was calm. “Jake, whatever he was trying to do to me didn’t work. Even unconscious I knew the thoughts weren’t mine, they felt wrong.”

“Because I interrupted him. If he’d been left alone with you long enough, he might’ve been successful.”

“Then I won’t be alone with him. Your scent overpowered what little hold he had on me, so—”

“No Bella, I won’t let you do this.”

Her expression hardened and turned defiant. “You won’t let me? Really Jake?” She turned to the doc. “Carlisle, do you think it would be safe for me to speak with Edward? Do you think it would help him if he could talk with me?”

I noticed Sam’s eyes widen at her question. His frustration had been growing while Bella and I were talking. He didn’t like this idea any more than I did.

“You would be willing to speak with him?” Carlisle asked, surprised.

“You can’t be serious, Bella,” Sam blurted, unable to stay quiet any longer. “I’m with Jake on this. Why would you want to speak with him?”

Bella gave us both an icy stare. “I want to speak with him because I feel bad for him. I know what it’s like to be lost and tormented in your own mind.”

“Yeah, and how is it you know that feeling, Bella?” I asked, unable to keep my voice from raising, beside myself with frustration. “It’s because of him! He’s the reason you ever had to endure pain like that. He’s the reason you nearly lost yourself. You don’t owe him a thing and he certainly doesn’t deserve your pity or you risking yourself for him.”

Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly, and she turned her head away from me. I took a deep breath and softened my voice before continuing. “I love how much you care for others, baby, and I know your desire to help him is coming from a good place.” I moved to stand in front of her and gently took her face between my hands to get her to look at me again, both defiance and defeat in her expression. “I’m sorry I got all demanding. The last thing I want to do is try to control you, but this isn’t your problem to fix… and it could be dangerous for you.” I leaned forward to rest my forehead against hers. “Please let this go. Please don’t try to meet with him.”

“Jake…” she said softly but didn’t continue, still clearly torn.

After several moments of silence, the doc cleared his throat from behind me. “If I may, I think I might be able to help you decide.”

I moved back to Bella’s side, putting my arm firmly around her and she leaned her head against me.

“Bella, I don’t believe you would be in danger from Edward,” the doc continued. “He wouldn’t attack you, or even harm you, and if you weren’t alone, he wouldn’t be able to manipulate you, if that is indeed what he’s learned to do. I also think speaking with you could help him. However, I agree with Jacob. Edward made his choices that brought him to the place where he is. As much as I appreciate that you still care for him, you should not take the burden upon yourself to try to fix him, especially considering the strife it will clearly cause between you and Jacob. He’s going to need to work through it for himself.”

Bella let out a big sigh, the defiance leaving her eyes. “Alright, I’ll let this go. I got most of my questions answered by Carlisle anyway.” She looked up at me. “I’m sorry I was being so stubborn. I truly don’t want to do anything that would upset you like I know meeting with him would. I just wanted to try to help him.”

All the tension left me, and I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I know you did, honey. Let’s just let the doc finish checking you out so we can head home. You sound tired already.”

“I am a little.”

The doc got the x-rays taken and he said everything looked good in both the shoulder and the forearm. We let him know about the increase in Bella’s pain that morning. He had me step away from her for a little while so he could figure out what might be causing the increase and if there were any potential problems. It was difficult standing by and watching her be in pain, even though it was only for a few minutes.

When Doc was done with his examination I quickly returned to Bella’s side. She leaned on me heavily and it took a minute for her to breath normally again.

He handed a new bottle of pills to Emily. “She should take these twice a day, whether she has pain or not, until they are gone. I would also recommend icing the areas as best you can a couple times a day for the next four or five days. And then just continue to use the pain medication that you already have when she is going to need to be away from Jacob for any length of time.”

Emily nodded, “Got it. Thank you, Carlisle. Is there anything we’re doing that we should change to help this?”

“No, you’re all doing an excellent job taking care of her. Just being out of the hospital has given her a little more freedom to move around more, and it sounds like she did more yesterday than she had done prior to that, so things just got a little irritated. By the time that medicine is gone, she should have adjusted to the extra movement enough for it not to be such a big issue anymore.”

He gave Bella a pointed look. “You still need to make sure you’re resting as much as possible, and you need to be very careful with anything you do… being pain free sometimes causes you to do things you shouldn’t. And remember, avoid walking as much as possible for now to keep stress off your spine. We would normally have you in a wheelchair, but your situation is very unique in so many ways.”

Bella nodded. “I remember. These two won’t let me forget.” She pointed to me and Emily and gave a tired smile. Her eyes were starting to droop a little, so I went ahead and picked her up to allow her to relax completely.

We spoke just a bit longer about how Bella was doing and her continued care. By the time we left, she was sound asleep in my arms.

“Man, their smell so concentrated like that really burned my nose,” Sam said as we drove away.

“I know. Just imagine how much stronger it would be if they were all there.”

“I don’t want to,” Sam said and we both grimaced.

“It’s worth it though, to get Bella taken care of,” I continued. “This situation with me taking away her pain would be nearly impossible to deal with if a normal human doctor were treating her… she’d probably still be in the hospital, and I would have probably been banned from setting foot in there by now… and that would have been very bad for both of us.”

“Yes, it is really fortunate that he was here and willing to care for her. I’m also glad that she saw reason and changed her mind about trying to speak with Edward.”

“Me too! She brought it up to me several days ago and I wasn’t able to convince her then, so it’s been eating at me the last several days. I was surprised the doc discouraged her.”

“I was too—”

“I wasn’t,” Emily interjected. “It’s obvious that he cares a great deal for Bella and wants to keep her safe… even if it’s from his own family. Maybe even more so because it’s his family. Also keeps Edward safe from his own bad decisions he’s apparently making right now.”

Emily had been quiet through most of the visit, and I hadn’t been able to read her face at all, though I know she was listening intently. There were several times during the Edward conversation it looked like she wanted to say something, but she never commented.

“That’s a good point, Em,” I said. “Whatever his reasons, I’m thankful it was enough to convince Bella.”

Bella was still passed out when we reached her house, so Sam drove her truck back to La Push and Emily drove us in her car, to avoid moving Bella around anymore than necessary. I just wanted to get her back to Emily’s so she could rest, still hoping she’d feel up to going to the bonfire tonight. The photo albums would have to wait until another day.

**********
BELLA POV
**********
WHEN I WOKE UP again, I was laying pressed against Jake’s side; he was on his back, one arm around me and the other behind his head, staring at the ceiling. He smiled down at me when he noticed I was awake.

“Hi baby. How’re you feeling?” he asked.

“Very well rested,” I replied. “How are you doing? You looked so bored just now. I feel bad that you have to just lay here while I sleep.”

“What in the world are you talking about Bells? There’s nowhere I would rather be than with you, whether you’re awake or not. I actually slept a little too and haven’t been awake all that long… and I wasn’t bored, I was just thinking about stuff.” He sighed and adjusted so he was propped up, looking down at me. “Honey stop making yourself feel bad for things that aren’t even an issue. You need to let us take care of you without constantly making yourself feel guilty.”

He was right. I’d been more of the caretaker for so much of my life I had trouble letting others do things for me.

“Sorry I keep doing that. It’s just so hard to get used to being taken care of. I understand what you’re saying though, I’d feel the same way if the situation were reversed.”

“I know it goes against your nature, but things are going to be this way for a while, so you just need to accept it. Maybe even enjoy the attention,” he teased as he trailed one finger over my face and down my neck, to the exposed skin on my chest, sending a shiver of pleasure through me as his fingers drifted lower and lower.

He chuckled as I captured his hand and whispered, “Jacob Black, you need to behave,” but there was very little conviction in my reprimand.

“Sorry Miss Swan,” he said half-heartedly, lacing our fingers together and leaning down to kiss me, letting it linger, another shiver running through me.

He was grinning wide when he pulled back and I gave him a chiding look, but I was flushed and a little breathless and I wasn’t fooling either of us.

“It will be time to leave for the bonfire soon. Do you think you feel up for that?”

“Yeah,” I replied, taking a settling breath, “I’m kind of excited to see everyone. Who exactly will be there anyway?”

“All the guys and Leah, plus Emily and Kim, and then the elders: my dad, Old Quil and Sue Clearwater. Oh, and Angela is coming.”

I got excited at that news. It would be fun to have her there… and to be able to share everything with her. My day had been so full, I had nearly forgotten the imprinting had happened the night before.

“I still can’t believe that happened! How did it go last night after I fell asleep?”

“It went good, I think. Dad and Charlie left soon after you crashed, and Angela stayed pretty late. You seemed comfortable, so I stayed up and we all talked and answered her questions. She asked me about some things she’d noticed between you and me, so she knows about my need to be with you and how I take away your pain. I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t go into a lot of detail.”

“No, I don’t mind at all. I would have told her everything yesterday, but I figured she had enough things to process. She is so observant and perceptive I knew she’d already noticed some odd things between us. Did she get to talk to Emily?”

“Yep. Sam, Embry, and Quil had to go on patrol, so Emily helped me get you to bed and then she and Angela got to talk alone. I have no idea how late she stayed, but it was after ten when we came to bed.”

“Knock, knock,” Emily said from the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt, but we will need to leave soon to head up to the bonfire and I thought you might need a little extra time to get going Bella. No bathrooms up on the cliff.”

“Oh, right… good thinking,” I said.

“Here, this is your next dose of the new medicine,” she said coming over to the bedside. “Carlisle said to go ahead and give you the first two doses close together today.”

“Thanks Emily.” I took the pill and glass of water from her, and we set about getting ready to leave for the bonfire.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********

WE WERE IN THE car and on our way to the bonfire about thirty minutes later, a selection of blankets and pillows in the backseat with us to make sure I stayed comfortable and not sitting directly on the hard ground. We had to park just off the road and walk a little way to get to the clifftop. Well, Jake had to walk, carrying me through the forest.

As we pulled up, I saw Angela with Embry near the trees. They were talking and standing close together, but not touching.

Angela came over when she noticed us, Embry right behind her, both of them smiling wide. Jake set me down so I could give her a hug. He greeted Embry, punching him on the shoulder. Embry feigned like he was going to come after Jake, but he stopped short then looked down at me and smiled, aware of how that could hurt me if he knocked Jake away.

“Hi Bella,” he said to me.

“Hey Embry.”

Sam called Embry over to him then and I turned back to Angela.

“How’re you doing Angela?”

“I’m good. I have this weird peace about everything. And Embry is very sweet and patient with all of my questions.”

“I told you he was.”

The walk to the cliff took about ten minutes. I saw Embry taking Angela’s hand a few times to help her over some rough terrain since there wasn’t a very good path. We got a little ahead of everyone else since Jake was carrying me and I wasn’t slowing him down, but he went at a leisurely pace, so he didn’t get too far ahead.

Before we even emerged from the trees, I could see the orange glow of the roaring bonfire burning bright and casting eerie shadows through the trees. Voices and laughter floated to us, coming from those who were already there. As soon as we came into view a young boy, who I assumed was Seth Clearwater, ran up to us.

“Hey Jake! I’m glad you were able to make it tonight. Your dad said he wasn’t sure if you’d be able to. We miss running with you man, though we all understand why you can’t right now. Is this Bella?”

“Hi Seth,” Jake stopped to answer him, laughter in his voice at Seth’s excited ramblings. “Yes, this is Bella. Bella, this is Seth Clearwater, our newest and most exuberant pack member.”

“Hi Seth, it’s good to meet you. Sorry I’ve been keeping Jake away from you guys.” Seth was obviously a little enamored with Jake and excited to see him. He was still growing, and with his long, gangly build and huge, happy grin, he reminded me very much of a younger Jacob; the resemblance made me smile.

“Awe, no worries,” Seth said. “You’ll be back on your feet in no time and Jake’ll be able to run with us again.”

I felt a twinge of worry at the thought. I was desperate to get better and to not be a burden anymore, but that also meant Jake would be back out there, putting himself in danger all the time again, which I was not looking forward to.

Embry and Angela walked up next to us, holding hands now, followed closely by Sam and Emily.

As Embry was introducing Angela to Seth, I noticed a very beautiful girl who I did not recognize approaching us.

“Seth, quit being a pain and leave Jake alone,” she said, pushing Seth’s head to the side. “He already has his hands full, in case you didn’t notice.”

“Bella, this is Leah Clearwater, Seth’s sister.” Jake announced, sounding a little annoyed.

“Oh, hi Leah, it’s nice—” I started, but she cut me off.

“Save it vampire girl… oh sorry, I guess you’re a wolf girl now?” She had a hard edge to her tone and her eyes were tense and narrow. “Too bad you can’t manage to keep the bloodsuckers away from you. And you can save the friendly act. You and I will never be friends. I don’t trust you and you bring nothing but trouble for the whole pack.”

Everyone around the fire had quieted and were watching us. Jake had gone completely still and rigid, and I just gaped in utter disbelief at her. I got the feeling that if it weren’t for me needing him, Jake would have challenged her right then and there.

“Jeez Leah, what’s your problem?” Embry said defensively. “Bella’s never done anything to you.”

She opened her mouth to say something else, but suddenly Sam was between us and her. “That’s enough, Leah. Bella is a part of this family whether you like it or not, and I don’t want to ever hear a comment like that toward her, or anyone else in this pack for that matter, ever again. Understood?”

Leah glared at Sam for a minute, looking like she might haul off and punch him, then she rolled her eyes and turned to walk away, mumbling “freaking leech-lover” under her breath as she went.

“Sorry Bella, that was mean and rude,” Seth said, embarrassed for his sister’s behavior.

“I’m sorry about that Bella,” Sam said shaking his head. “That was completely uncalled for.”

“It’s okay,” I said, “she’s not completely wrong.” I do still love the Cullens. And trouble did tend to follow me wherever I went. She had more reasons than most to hate them, and lots of reasons to be angry and bitter. Hopefully she would soften with time to heal from it all.

“It most certainly was not okay,” Jake growled, still glaring after Leah.

I touched Jake’s face with my fingertips, the cast getting in the way, coaxing him to look at me and he finally relented. “They were just words Jake… words from someone who is hurting. I have dealt with much worse,” I said, waving my casted arm slightly.

“Doesn’t make it right,” he grumbled, but his tone and face had softened.

“Let’s go get settled,” Emily said, pulling lightly on Jake’s elbow and turning to follow Sam heading toward the circle. Seth ran off to join his mom and sister and Jake walked after Emily with Embry and Angela right behind us.

Billy was situated in his wheelchair at what could be considered the natural head of the circle, that was maybe more of an oval, with Old Quil and Sue Clearwater in lawn chairs on either side of him. Sue had obviously taken her husband Harry’s spot on the council after his death. Everyone else was sitting on the ground, calling out greetings as we walked past. Sam and Emily headed to where Old Quil was sitting, and Jake followed them. Sam sat on the ground near the old man’s chair; as the Alpha he was the fourth elder of the council. Emily helped Jake get me settled, sitting between Jake’s outstretched legs and leaning against his chest as usual, making sure I had plenty of cushioning between me and the ground, then sat between Sam and Jake. We were positioned in front of an outcropping of rocks that rose up for Jake to lean against.

Embry and Angela sat on the other side of Jake and I, and next to them were Jared and a girl I assumed was Kim. After Jake and I were settled, she got up and came over and knelt down in front of us, greeting Jake then introducing herself to me

“Hi, I’m Kim. You must be Bella.” Her voice was quiet and timid.

“Hi Kim, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You too. Sam said you weren’t feeling so good earlier, so I’m glad you were able to come tonight. Are you doing okay now? Can I get you anything?” Kindness and concern shone on her face, and she was very sincere in her offer. I liked her already.

I smiled at her warmly. “I’m feeling much better. And I’m fine for now but thank you for the offer.”

“Okay, good. Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Have you met Angela yet?” I asked her, gesturing toward Angela and she shook her head.

She turned to Angela. “It’s nice to meet you, Angela. I’m Kim, and that’s Jared,” she said, pointing to her wolf-man who greeted Angela with a friendly wave.

Angela greeted both of them, then Kim moved to speak to Emily. I went around the circle, pointing everyone out to Angela and telling her who they all were. The four of us, Emily, Kim, Angela, and myself, chatted for a little while until the hotdogs and homemade skewers were brought out and everyone started roasting their dogs over the fire and eating.

I looked over at Angela. “You’re about to witness something truly astounding!” Jake and several of the other guys laughed at my declaration.

“She’s not kidding,” Paul called from across the fire.

Jake and I couldn’t reach the fire, so Emily, Angela, and Kim helped us out. I only had one hotdog and some chips, but I lost count of how many Jake ate… at least ten, plus possibly a whole bag of chips and most of a 2-liter of root beer—I think I had one cup out of it. It was absolutely incredible how much food these guys could put away.

“You weren’t lying Bella!” Angela said quietly when everyone was mostly done eating. “How are they not all sick… or fat!?”
Embry and Jake laughed at her comment.

“Our metabolism is ridiculously amped up,” Embry explained.

“It’s just a wolf thing,” Jake shrugged.

Each of the guys came over at some point to say hi and make sure I was doing okay. Apparently, everyone had heard about how much pain I was in earlier today. I don’t think I have ever felt so loved and cared for in my entire life. They all made sure to meet Angela also.

I noticed Billy watching Jake and I at one point and he looked pleased with a joyful grin on his face. I hadn’t really spent much time around him since Jake and I became an official couple, just a couple dinners at Emily’s, but it seemed as though he approved as much as Charlie did.

The fire crackled, settling lower toward the sand, and sparks blew up in a sudden puff of radiant orange against the black sky. Leaning against Jake’s super warm body, with the brilliance of the fire, and all the carefree banter, I hadn’t even realized that the sun had set and the breeze coming off the water was much cooler. I was talking with Angela when I noticed her shiver, pulling at her jacket and wrapping her arms around herself.

“How are you not cold Bella?”

Embry, who had been talking with Jared, heard her, and looked over, uncertainty on his face.

“Well, one of the perks of being a wolf girl is having your own personal heater,” I said, patting Jake’s arm, and a laugh erupted out of him.

“Is that what I am to you?” he asked.

“Well, not only that. You’re also great for reaching the top shelf and lifting heavy stuff.”

Jake’s laughter rang loudly, his eyes almost disappearing with his wide smile. It made my heart happy.

“Anyway,” I turned back to Angela, “maybe no one has told you this part, but these guys run about 108 degrees. So as long as I’m next to Jake, I’m never cold. It’s kinda crazy how much it radiates out from them.”

Embry got up the courage to move closer to Angela then, sitting close enough for their arms to touch and her eyebrows went up as she looked over at him.

“Wow, that is warm! I noticed your hands being warm earlier but didn’t think too much of it since we were walking.”

He put his arm around her then. “Is this okay?” he asked.

She shivered and scooted a little closer to him. “Yes, that does feel much better… it feels nice.” Looking up at him their eyes met his gaze held so much adoration it caused Angela to blush.

I looked away to give them their moment and laid my head against Jake’s chest again, sighing contentedly. After a few minutes resting cozy against Jake’s overly warm body, despite my best efforts, my eyelids started to get heavy, and I drifted in the world between sleep and wakefulness.

Jake shifted forward slightly, making me sit up a little straighter, his knee bent for extra support. He brushed my hair back so he could whisper in my ear. “Don’t poop out on me yet Bells. The best part is just about to start.” As he spoke his lips brushed against the shell of my ear and his hot breath flowed across my cheek and neck, making me shiver. He nuzzled my ear with his nose and then kissed my neck, making me gasp quietly and my heart kicked into a higher gear, helping me come out of my sleepy haze. I turned my face to him, and he kissed me gently.

“I’m definitely awake now,” I whispered, and heard a couple light chuckles from around the fire. Sometimes it stunk being around those with super-senses, but I realized I didn’t care one bit that they knew how I responded to Jake. “So, what’s the best part?”

Jake answered quietly, even though most of the ears around the fire were sensitive enough to hear him, “Well, we didn’t just meet to eat through a week’s worth of food. This is technically a council meeting. It’s Quil’s first time, and Seth, Leah, and Kim… at least the first time for them to hear the stories since finding out that they’re all true. Tends to make you pay closer attention.”

“Stories?”

“The histories we always thought were legends,” he said, speaking low into my ear again. “The stories of how we came to be. The first is the story of the spirit warriors.”

It was almost as if Jacob’s soft whisper was the introduction. The atmosphere changed abruptly around the low-burning fire. Paul and Quil sat up straighter. Jared nudged Kim, who had also started to drift off, and then pulled her gently upright. Embry whispered something to Angela, who was now relaxed against his side, and she lifted her head from where it had been resting against him.

******************************************************************************************
Emily produced a spiral-bound notebook and a pen, continuing to work to get all the legends and stories recorded in writing.

Leah closed her eyes—not like she was tired, but as if to help her concentration. Her brother leaned in toward the elders eagerly.

Everyone had quieted and you could hear the distant crash of the waves against the cliffs below. The fire crackled, sending another explosion of sparks glittering up against the night.

Billy cleared his throat, and, with no more introduction than his son’s whisper, began telling the story in his rich, deep voice. The words poured out with precision, as if he knew them by heart, but also with feeling and a subtle rhythm. Like poetry performed by its author.

“The Quileutes have been a small people from the beginning,” Billy said. “And we are a small people still, but we have never disappeared. This is because there has always been magic in our blood. It wasn’t always the magic of shape-shifting—that came later. First, we were spirit warriors.”

Never before had I recognized the ring of majesty that was in Billy Black’s voice, though I realized now that this authority had always been there.

Emily’s pen sprinted across the sheets of paper as she tried to keep up with him.

“In the beginning, the tribe settled in this harbor and became skilled ship builders and fishermen. But the tribe was small, and the harbor was rich in fish. There were others who coveted our land, and we were too small to hold it. A larger tribe moved against us, and we took to our ships to escape them.

“Kaheleha was not the first spirit warrior, but we do not remember the stories that came before his. We do not remember who was the first to discover this power, or how it had been used before this crisis. Kaheleha was the first great Spirit Chief in our history. In this emergency, Kaheleha used the magic to defend our land.

“He and all his warriors left the ship—not their bodies, but their spirits. Their women watched over the bodies and the waves, and the men took their spirits back to our harbor.

“They could not physically touch the enemy tribe, but they had other ways. The stories tell us that they could blow fierce winds into their enemy’s camps; they could make a great screaming in the wind that terrified their foes. The stories also tell us that the animals could see the spirit warriors and understand them; the animals would do their bidding.

“Kaheleha took his spirit army and wreaked havoc on the intruders. This invading tribe had packs of big, thick-furred dogs that they used to pull their sleds in the frozen north. The spirit warriors turned the dogs against their masters and then brought a mighty infestation of bats up from the cliff caverns. They used the screaming wind to aid the dogs in confusing the men. The dogs and bats won. The survivors scattered, calling our harbor a cursed place. The dogs ran wild when the spirit warriors released them. The Quileutes returned to their bodies and their wives, victorious.

“The other nearby tribes, the Hohs and the Makahs, made treaties with the Quileutes. They wanted nothing to do with our magic. We lived in peace with them. When an enemy came against us, the spirit warriors would drive them off.

“Generations passed. Then came the last great Spirit Chief, Taha Aki. He was known for his wisdom, and for being a man of peace. The people lived well and content in his care.

“But there was one man, Utlapa, who was not content.”

A low hiss ran around the fire. I was too slow to see where it came from. Billy ignored it and went on with the legend.

“Utlapa was one of Chief Taha Aki’s strongest spirit warriors—a powerful man, but a grasping man, too. He thought the people should use their magic to expand their lands, to enslave the Hohs and the Makahs and build an empire.

“Now, when the warriors were their spirit selves, they knew each other’s thoughts. Taha Aki saw what Utlapa dreamed, and was angry with Utlapa. Utlapa was commanded to leave the people, and never use his spirit self again. Utlapa was a strong man, but the chief’s warriors outnumbered him. He had no choice but to leave. The furious outcast hid in the forest nearby, waiting for a chance to get revenge against the chief.

“Even in times of peace, the Spirit Chief was vigilant in protecting his people. Often, he would go to a sacred, secret place in the mountains. He would leave his body behind and sweep down through the forests and along the coast, making sure no threat approached.

“One day when Taha Aki left to perform this duty, Utlapa followed. At first, Utlapa simply planned to kill the chief, but this plan had its drawbacks. Surely the spirit warriors would seek to destroy him, and they could follow faster than he could escape. As he hid in the rocks and watched the chief prepare to leave his body, another plan occurred to him.

“Taha Aki left his body in the secret place and flew with the winds to keep watch over his people. Utlapa waited until he was sure the chief had traveled some distance with his spirit self.

“Taha Aki knew it the instant that Utlapa had joined him in the spirit world, and he also knew Utlapa’s murderous plan. He raced back to his secret place, but even the winds weren’t fast enough to save him. When he returned, his body was already gone. Utlapa’s body lay abandoned, but Utlapa had not left Taha Aki with an escape—he had cut his own body’s throat with Taha Aki’s hands.

“Taha Aki followed his body down the mountain. He screamed at Utlapa, but Utlapa ignored him as if he were mere wind.

“Taha Aki watched with despair as Utlapa took his place as chief of the Quileutes. For a few weeks, Utlapa did nothing but make sure that everyone believed he was Taha Aki. Then the changes began—Utlapa’s first edict was to forbid any warrior to enter the spirit world. He claimed that he’d had a vision of danger, but really he was afraid. He knew that Taha Aki would be waiting for the chance to tell his story. Utlapa was also afraid to enter the spirit world himself, knowing Taha Aki would quickly claim his body. So, his dreams of conquest with a spirit warrior army were impossible, and he sought to content himself with ruling over the tribe. He became a burden—seeking privileges that Taha Aki had never requested, refusing to work alongside his warriors, taking a young second wife and then a third, though Taha Aki’s wife lived on—something unheard of in the tribe. Taha Aki watched in helpless fury.

“Eventually, Taha Aki tried to kill his body to save the tribe from Utlapa’s excesses. He brought a fierce wolf down from the mountains, but Utlapa hid behind his warriors. When the wolf killed a young man who was protecting the false chief, Taha Aki felt horrible grief. He ordered the wolf away.

“All the stories tell us that it was no easy thing to be a spirit warrior. It was more frightening than exhilarating to be freed from one’s body. This is why they only used their magic in times of need. The chief’s solitary journeys to keep watch were a burden and a sacrifice. Being bodiless was disorienting, uncomfortable, horrifying. Taha Aki had been away from his body for so long at this point that he was in agony. He felt he was doomed—never to cross over to the final land where his ancestors waited, stuck in this torturous nothingness forever.

“The great wolf followed Taha Aki’s spirit as he twisted and writhed in agony through the woods. The wolf was very large for its kind, and beautiful. Taha Aki was suddenly jealous of the dumb animal. At least it had a body. At least it had a life. Even life as an animal would be better than this horrible empty consciousness.

“And then Taha Aki had the idea that changed us all. He asked the great wolf to make room for him, to share. The wolf complied. Taka Aki entered the wolf’s body with relief and gratitude. It was not his human body, but it was better than the void of the spirit world.

“As one, the man and the wolf returned to the village on the harbor. The people ran in fear, shouting for the warriors to come. The warriors ran to meet the wolf with their spears. Utlapa, of course, stayed safely hidden.

“Taha Aki did not attack his warriors. He retreated slowly from them, speaking with his eyes and trying to yelp the songs of his people. The warriors began to realize that the wolf was no ordinary animal, that there was a spirit influencing it. One older warrior, a man name Yut, decided to disobey the false chief’s order and try to communicate with the wolf.

“As soon as Yut crossed to the spirit world, Taha Aki left the wolf—the animal waited tamely for his return—to speak to him. Yut gathered the truth in an instant and welcomed his true chief home.

“At this time, Utlapa came to see if the wolf had been defeated. When he saw Yut lying lifeless on the ground, surrounded by protective warriors, he realized what was happening. He drew his knife and raced forward to kill Yut before he could return to his body.

“‘Traitor,’ he screamed, and the warriors did not know what to do. The chief had forbidden spirit journeys, and it was the chief’s decision how to punish those who disobeyed.

“Yut jumped back into his body, but Utlapa had his knife at his throat and a hand covering his mouth. Taha Aki’s body was strong, and Yut was weak with age. Yut could not say even one word to warn the others before Utlapa silenced him forever.

“Taha Aki watched as Yut’s spirit slipped away to the final lands that were barred to Taha Aki for all eternity. He felt a great rage, more powerful than anything he’d felt before. He entered the big wolf again, meaning to rip Utlapa’s throat out. But, as he joined the wolf, the greatest magic happened.

“Taha Aki’s anger was the anger of a man. The love he had for his people and the hatred he had for their oppressor were too vast for the wolf’s body, too human. The wolf shuddered, and—before the eyes of the shocked warriors and Utlapa—transformed into a man.

“The new man did not look like Taha Aki’s body. He was far more glorious. He was the flesh interpretation of Taha Aki’s spirit. The warriors recognized him at once, though, for they had flown with Taha Aki’s spirit.

“Utlapa tried to run, but Taha Aki had the strength of the wolf in his new body. He caught the thief and crushed the spirit from him before he could jump out of the stolen body.

“The people rejoiced when they understood what had happened. Taha Aki quickly set everything right, working again with his people and giving the young wives back to their families. The only change he kept in place was the end of the spirit travels. He knew that it was too dangerous now that the idea of stealing a life was there. The spirit warriors were no more.

“From that point on, Taha Aki was more than either wolf or man. They called him Taha Aki the Great Wolf, or Taha Aki the Spirit Man. He led the tribe for many, many years, for he did not age. When danger threatened, he would resume his wolf-self to fight or frighten the enemy. The people dwelt in peace. Taha Aki fathered many sons, and some of these found that, after they had reached the age of manhood, they, too, could transform into wolves. The wolves were all different, because they were spirit wolves and reflected the man they were inside.”

“So that’s why Sam is all black,” Quil muttered under his breath, grinning. “Black heart, black fur.”

I was so involved in the story, it was a shock to come back to the present, to the circle around the dying fire. With another shock, I realized that the circle was made up of Taha Aki’s great—to however many degrees—grandsons.

The fire threw a volley of sparks into the sky, and they shivered and danced, making shapes that were almost decipherable.

“And your chocolate fur reflects what?” Sam whispered back to Quil. “How sweet you are?”

Billy ignored their jibes. “Some of the sons became warriors with Taha Aki, and they no longer aged. Others, who did not like the transformation, refused to join the pack of wolf-men. These began to age again, and the tribe discovered that the wolf-men could grow old like anyone else if they gave up their spirit wolves. Taha Aki had lived the span of three old men’s lives. He had married a third wife after the deaths of the first two, and found in her his true spirit wife. Though he had loved the others, this was something else. He decided to give up his spirit wolf so that he would die when she did.

“That is how the magic came to us, but it is not the end of the story…”

He looked at Old Quil Ateara, who shifted in his chair, straightening his frail shoulders. Billy took a drink from a bottle of water and wiped his forehead. Emily’s pen never hesitated as she scribbled furiously on the paper.

“That was the story of the spirit warriors,” Old Quil began in a thin tenor voice. “This is the story of the third wife’s sacrifice.

“Many years after Taha Aki gave up his spirit wolf, when he was an old man, trouble began in the north, with the Makahs. Several young women of their tribe had disappeared, and they blamed it on the neighboring wolves, who they feared and mistrusted. The wolf-men could still read each other’s thoughts while in their wolf forms, just like their ancestors had while in their spirit forms. They knew that none of their number was to blame. Taha Aki tried to pacify the Makah chief, but there was too much fear. Taha Aki did not want to have a war on his hands. He was no longer a warrior to lead his people. He charged his oldest wolf-son, Taha Wi, with finding the true culprit before hostilities began.

“Taha Wi led the five other wolves in his pack on a search through the mountains, looking for any evidence of the missing Makahs. They came across something they had never encountered before—a strange, sweet scent in the forest that burned their noses to the point of pain.”

I shrank a little closer to Jacob. His arms tightened around me, and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head then rested his cheek there.

“They did not know what creature would leave such a scent, but they followed it,” Old Quil continued. His quavering voice did not have the majesty of Billy’s, but it had a strange, fierce edge of urgency about it. My pulse jumped as his words came faster.

“They found faint traces of human scent, and human blood, along the trail. They were sure this was the enemy they were searching for.

“The journey took them so far north that Taha Wi sent half the pack, the younger ones, back to the harbor to report to Taha Aki.

“Taha Wi and his two brothers did not return.

“The younger brothers searched for their elders, but found only silence. Taha Aki mourned for his sons. He wished to avenge his sons’ death, but he was old. He went to the Makah chief in his mourning clothes and told him everything that had happened. The Makah chief believed his grief, and tensions ended between the tribes.

“A year later, two Makah maidens disappeared from their homes on the same night. The Makahs called on the Quileute wolves at once, who found the same sweet stink all through the Makah village. The wolves went on the hunt again.

“Only one came back. He was Yaha Uta, the oldest son of Taha Aki’s third wife, and the youngest in the pack. He brought something with him that had never been seen in all the days of the Quileutes—a strange, cold, stony corpse that he carried in pieces. All who were of Taha Aki’s blood, even those who had never been wolves, could smell the piercing smell of the dead creature. This was the enemy of the Makahs.

“Yaha Uta described what had happened: he and his brothers had found the creature, who looked like a man but was hard as a granite rock, with the two Makah daughters. One girl was already dead, white and bloodless on the ground. The other was in the creature’s arms, his mouth at her throat. She may have been alive when they came upon the hideous scene, but the creature quickly snapped her neck and tossed her lifeless body to the ground when they approached. His white lips were covered in her blood, and his eyes glowed red.

“Yaha Uta described the fierce strength and speed of the creature. One of his brothers quickly became a victim when he underestimated that strength. The creature ripped him apart like a doll. Yaha Uta and his other brother were more wary. They worked together, coming at the creature from the sides, outmaneuvering it. They had to reach the very limits of their wolf strength and speed, something that had never been tested before. The creature was hard as stone and cold as ice. They found that only their teeth could damage it. They began to rip small pieces of the creature apart while it fought them.

“But the creature learned quickly, and soon was matching their maneuvers. It got its hands on Yaha Uta’s brother. Yaha Uta found an opening on the creature’s throat, and he lunged. His teeth tore the head off the creature, but the hands continued to mangle his brother.

“Yaha Uta ripped the creature into unrecognizable chunks, tearing pieces apart in a desperate attempt to save his brother. He was too late, but, in the end, the creature was destroyed.

“Or so they thought. Yaha Uta laid the reeking remains out to be examined by the elders. One severed hand lay beside a piece of the creature’s granite arm. The two pieces touched when the elders poked them with sticks, and the hand reached out towards the arm piece, trying to reassemble itself.

“Horrified, the elders set fire to the remains. A great cloud of choking, vile smoke polluted the air. When there was nothing but ashes, they separated the ashes into many small bags and spread them far and wide—some in the ocean, some in the forest, some in the cliff caverns. Taha Aki wore one bag around his neck, so he would be warned if the creature ever tried to put himself together again.”

Old Quil paused and looked at Billy. Billy pulled out a leather thong from around his neck. Hanging from the end was a small bag, blackened with age. A few people gasped. I might have been one of them.

“They called it The Cold One, the Blood Drinker, and lived in fear that it was not alone. They only had one wolf protector left, young Yaha Uta.

“They did not have long to wait. The creature had a mate, another blood drinker, who came to the Quileutes seeking revenge.

“The stories say that the Cold Woman was the most beautiful thing human eyes had ever seen. She looked like the goddess of the dawn when she entered the village that morning; the sun was shining for once, and it glittered off her white skin and lit the golden hair that flowed down to her knees. Her face was magical in its beauty, her eyes black in her white face. Some fell to their knees to worship her.

“She asked something in a high, piercing voice, in a language no one had ever heard. The people were dumbfounded, not knowing how to answer her. There was none of Taha Aki’s blood among the witnesses but one small boy. He clung to his mother and screamed that the smell was hurting his nose. One of the elders, on his way to council, heard the boy and realized what had come among them. He yelled for the people to run. She killed him first.

“There were twenty witnesses to the Cold Woman’s approach. Two survived, only because she grew distracted by the blood, and paused to sate her thirst. They ran to Taha Aki, who sat in counsel with the other elders, his sons, and his third wife.

“Yaha Uta transformed into his spirit wolf as soon as he heard the news. He went to destroy the blood drinker alone. Taha Aki, his third wife, his sons, and his elders followed behind him.

“At first, they could not find the creature, only the evidence of her attack. Bodies lay broken, a few drained of blood, strewn across the road where she’d appeared. Then they heard the screams and hurried to the harbor.

“A handful of the Quileutes had run to the ships for refuge. She swam after them like a shark and broke the bow of their boat with her incredible strength. When the ship sank, she caught those trying to swim away and broke them, too.

“She saw the great wolf on the shore, and she forgot the fleeing swimmers. She swam so fast she was a blur and came, dripping and glorious, to stand before Yaha Uta. She pointed at him with one white finger and asked another incomprehensible question. Yaha Uta waited.

“It was a close fight. She was not the warrior her mate had been. But Yaha Uta was alone—there was no one to distract her fury from him.

“When Yaha Uta lost, Taha Aki screamed in defiance. He limped forward and shifted into an ancient, white-muzzled wolf. The wolf was old, but this was Taha Aki the Spirit Man, and his rage made him strong. The fight began again.

“Taha Aki’s third wife had just seen her son die before her. Now her husband fought, and she had no hope that he could win. She’d heard every word the witnesses to the slaughter had told the council. She’d heard the story of Yaha Uta’s first victory, and knew that his brother’s diversion had saved him.

“The third wife grabbed a knife from the belt of one of the sons who stood beside her. They were all young sons, not yet men, and she knew they would die when their father failed.

“The third wife ran toward the Cold Woman with the dagger raised high. The Cold Woman smiled, barely distracted from her fight with the old wolf. She had no fear of the weak human woman or the knife that would not even scratch her skin, and she was about to deliver the death blow to Taha Aki.

“And then the third wife did something the Cold Woman did not expect. She fell to her knees at the blood drinker’s feet and plunged the knife into her own heart.

“Blood spurted through the third wife’s fingers and splashed against the Cold Woman. The blood drinker could not resist the lure of the fresh blood leaving the third wife’s body. Instinctively, she turned to the dying woman, for one second entirely consumed by thirst.

“Taha Aki’s teeth closed around her neck.

“That was not the end of the fight, but Taha Aki was not alone now. Watching their mother die, two young sons felt such rage that they sprang forth as their spirit wolves, though they were not yet men. With their father, they finished the creature.

“Taha Aki never rejoined the tribe. He never changed back to a man again. He lay for one day beside the body of the third wife, growling whenever anyone tried to touch her, and then he went into the forest and never returned.

“Trouble with the cold ones was rare from that time on. Taha Aki’s sons guarded the tribe until their sons were old enough to take their places. There were never more than three wolves at a time. It was enough. Occasionally a blood drinker would come through these lands, but they were taken by surprise, not expecting the wolves. Sometimes a wolf would die, but never were they decimated again like that first time. They’d learned how to fight the cold ones, and they passed the knowledge on, wolf mind to wolf mind, spirit to spirit, father to son.

“Time passed, and the descendants of Taha Aki no longer became wolves when they reached manhood. Only in a great while, if a cold one was near, would the wolves return. The cold ones always came in ones and twos, and the pack stayed small.

“A bigger coven came, and your own great-grandfathers prepared to fight them off. But the leader spoke to Ephraim Black as if he were a man and promised not to harm the Quileutes. His strange yellow eyes gave some proof to his claim that they were not the same as other blood drinkers. The wolves were outnumbered; there was no need for the cold ones to offer a treaty when they could have won the fight. Ephraim accepted. They’ve stayed true to their side, though their presence does tend to draw in others.

“And their numbers have forced a larger pack than the tribe has ever seen. Except, of course, in Taha Aki’s time,” he said, and then he sighed. “And so, the sons of our tribe again carry the burden and share the sacrifice their fathers endured before them.”

All was silent for a long moment. The living descendants of magic and legend stared at one another across the fire with sadness in their eyes. All but one.

“Burden,” he scoffed in a low voice. “I think it’s cool.” Quil’s full lower lip pouted out a little bit.

Across the dying fire, Seth Clearwater—his eyes wide with adulation for the fraternity of tribal protectors—nodded his agreement.

Billy chuckled, low and long, and the magic seemed to fade into the glowing embers. Suddenly, it was just a circle of friends again. Jared flicked a small stone at Quil, and everyone laughed when it made him jump. Low conversations murmured around us, teasing and casual.
******************************************************************************************

Neither Jacob nor I spoke, and Sam and Emily were both quiet as well. I looked around at each face gathered there, coming to Emily last and lingering on her. She seemed to be doing the same thing I had, glancing around the circle of our family, eventually reaching me, our eyes mirror images of worry and sadness for the danger our wolf-men were compelled to put themselves in. We reached out and grasped each other’s hand, holding tight. My Jacob was safe for now, his priorities temporarily shifted, but that would not last forever.

It occurred to me just how precious this family had become to me and that this worry went beyond Jacob. Something had shifted in me tonight and I felt a burden for the welfare of the entire pack press in on me; I knew this was significant somehow, though I didn’t understand it. Kim and Angela didn’t seem to feel it, and they with Emily were the only true imprints. Emily was the Alpha’s imprint, so that would possibly make sense for her to feel it. I wasn’t even a member of the tribe… I was just a pale-face outsider who happened to fall in love with a pack member.

For whatever reason, Emily and I shared that burden now, and I could see that she was glad she didn’t have to carry it alone anymore.

Without saying anything, Sam and Jake nodded to each other, and Jake shifted me around so he could cradle me and stood up. I said goodnight to Angela while we waited for Sam and Emily to gather the pillows and blankets and started walking back to the car.

As Jake carried me through the forest, I was growing sleepy again. The moonlight flashing through the canopy of shadowy trees mesmerized me, and there were two things that circled around in my mind.

The first was Ephraim Black, the Alpha from the last pack who had made the treaty with the Cullens. I kept thinking there was some significance to him that somehow affected me and my life, but it made no sense how something about him could be connected to me.

The other was someone outside the magic altogether. I was trying to imagine the face of the unnamed woman who had saved the entire tribe, the third wife. Just a human woman, with no special gifts or powers. Physically weaker and slower than any of the monsters in the story. But she had been the key, the solution. She’d saved her husband, her young sons, her tribe.

I wish they’d remembered her name…

Chapter Text

**********
JACOB POV
**********
THE SOUND OF BELLA screaming my name in terror jolted me awake. She was still asleep beside me, thrashing and crying out, caught in the grip of a horrible nightmare. I wrapped my arms around her to comfort her, but she started struggling and trying to get away from me.

“Bella, it’s me… it’s Jacob. Wake up baby, you’re having a bad dream. Everything’s okay, you’re safe.”

I soothed her with my voice while I tried to hold onto her without hurting her. After a few moments, the sound of my voice finally reached her, and she stopped struggling. She looked at me for a moment, whimpered my name, then turned into me. Quiet sobs shook her shoulders as she pressed her face against my chest and clung to my shirt.

“What’s going on, Jake?” Emily asked from the door, concern on her sleepy face.

“Don’t leave me Jake. You can never leave.” Bella cried softly into my chest, her words muffled and tight.

I stroked her hair and held her close. “I’m right here Bella. I won’t leave you. Shhhh… baby everything’s okay.”

She finally calmed, but still had a death grip on my shirt.

“She had a bad dream,” I said to Emily, keeping my voice soothing and quiet. “Sorry she woke you. She used to have nightmares all the time, but as far as I know she hasn’t had one since we’ve been together.”

“No reason to apologize. I’m just glad everything’s okay. Let me know if you need anything.”

I nodded and continued to speak gently to Bella as Emily left to go back to bed.

Bella’s grip on my shirt slowly loosened as her body relaxed. I don’t think she ever fully woke up and after another few minutes she was sound asleep again. I just held her firmly against me and continued stroking her hair, certain I wasn’t going to get back to sleep anytime soon.

The room slowly lightened, and I watched the shadows fade as the soft gray light of early dawn seeped in through the windows. I kept Bella pulled close to me, and the color of the increasing light stayed gray, suggesting heavy cloud cover. After a while, a gentle rain started to fall and the pitter-patter sound on the roof soothed me until I finally drifted back to sleep.

**********
BELLA POV
**********
NESTLED AGAINST JAKE’S side, I slowly blinked my eyes opened to find him still asleep. Even though it was raining, the light in the room indicated it was later in the morning than he usually slept, and I wondered why. Then I remembered the nightmare… had that kept him up? I tried to remember what the dream had been about and wasn’t able to recall any details. The feelings it had produced washed over me though, and the immense sadness of loss return, knowing it was Jacob that I had lost in the dream. The tears threatened to return, and I tried to pull myself closer to him.

“Bella?” Jake asked, his voice heavy with sleep, then he tightened his arms around me, sensing my sadness. “I’m right here baby,” he mumbled, not fully awake yet. “Did you have another bad dream?”

“No,” I whispered, calming at his voice as he rubbed my arm gently. “The memory of the one from earlier just came back. Sorry I woke you.”

“It’s alright honey. I’m sorry you had a nightmare. Do you want to tell me about it?”

“I would, but all I can remember is how it made me feel… like I had lost you.

“Well, you didn’t lose me… I’m right here.”

I knew he was safe in my arms for now, but I couldn’t shake a feeling of foreboding the dream also left me with. We were quiet for a while and Jake just held me, rubbing my arm and my back gently. Suddenly Jake’s stomach growled loudly, interrupting the quiet, and we busted out laughing, the mood instantly brightening.

“Maybe we should see about getting you some food,” I said with a grin, the feelings from the nightmare fading away.

Jake scooped me up and carried me out to the kitchen. Emily wasn’t there, but there was a plate of muffins on the table with a note.

Jake & Bella,
I had to go into town to run some errands. Help yourself to
the muffins or anything else you want to fix. And don’t forget
to take your medicine Bella; I left it out on the table for you.
I’ll be back before lunch.
Love,
Emily

Jake grabbed a muffin and shoved the whole thing in his mouth, crumbs falling on me where I was still cradled in his arms.

“That’s nice, ya big slob,” I exclaimed with feigned disgust as I brushed the crumbs off my shirt, trying to hide my smile. “That’s super attractive.”

“Gib me kiff,” he mumbled around the mouthful of muffin then leaned his head closer and tried to pucker his lips at me.

“No way! Gross!” I turned my head and pushed his face away, unable to stifle my laugh, and nearly got a shower of muffin in my face when Jake laughed too. He managed to swallow the muffin and recovered quickly.

“Those muffins aren’t going to be enough for me.”

“No surprise there!”

Still carrying me, he went to the fridge. He shifted me so he was cradling me in one arm to allow him to get out the eggs and some sausage, dumping them on top of me and giving me a playful smirk.

“Hey!” I looked at him in disbelief but smiled in spite of myself. “You could have set me down. I think I can handle walking from one end of the kitchen to the other.”

“Too risky,” he said shaking his head, trying to look more serious and failing.

He crossed the kitchen and set the eggs and sausage on the counter by the stove before setting me on my feet. Moving the skillet that was on the stovetop to the front burner he turned it on.

“Have you ever cooked eggs or sausage before?” I asked doubtfully.

“No, but it can’t be that hard.”

“Well, it’s not hard, but you might not want the burner on high.” I turned the temperature down. “You’ll for sure burn something doing that. Maybe I should do it… I can show you, and you can do it next time.”

“Teach me oh wise Guru of the Kitchen.” He handed me the spatula and I rolled my eyes at him then went to work.

Knowing Jake’s massive appetite, I cracked half a dozen eggs into the large skillet and added the same number of big sausage links. It felt good to be doing something productive after laying around and being waited on for so many days. Jake stayed close behind me, watching as I worked and gave him some instructions. Before long, however, he started slowly brushing his fingers along my neck and had completely stopped paying attention to his cooking lesson. My breath caught in my throat, and I shivered as he pushed my hair back and gently kissed down the length of my neck.

“It’s not good to distract the cook,” I said breathlessly, turning the burner off and moving the skillet away. I leaned my head back and laid it against his shoulder, closing my eyes. He kissed his way back up to my ear, his hands sliding across my belly—every kiss, every touch, slow and drawn out almost to the point of torture. He captured my up-turned lips with his and I could taste the sweet muffin on his breath. Kissing me tenderly, he caressed my exposed neck, one hand still on my stomach, and I began trembling.

Jake turned me around to face him and gently lifted me up to sit on the counter, returning his lips to mine for a moment before slowly kissing across my jaw and down my neck again, then started across my collar bone. My head was tipped back, my fingers tangled in his hair, and my casted left arm resting on his shoulder. Gripping my hips, his lips drifted a little lower on my chest, making me practically mad with new sensations, trembling and breathless.

Awareness slowly dawned on me that we were pushing the boundaries we had set for ourselves. Not to mention I was still injured.

“Jake,” I whispered, gently trying to pull his head back. “Hold on baby,” I continued weakly, “we need to take a breather.” He groaned his disapproval, brought his lips back to mine, and pulled me by my hips closer to him. I whimpered, unable to resist.

The intensity of his kiss slowly began to lessen, and it wasn’t too much longer before he finally relented. When he pulled back, he gazed at me with love and desire burning in his eyes, then took in a long, uneven breath and rested his forehead against mine.

“Sorry Bella. Sometimes it just becomes too much,” he said quietly.

“I know, it’s okay. That’s why we agreed together, so we could both take responsibility for keeping it in check.”

Being so close to me all of the time had to be hard on him, especially with his heightened senses. I was actually extremely impressed with his self-control and appreciated him for it.

After a few more moments with our brows pressed together, his stomach growled again, and we grinned at each other. He stood up straighter and looked over at the skillet. “Is the food ruined?”

I looked too. “Actually, it looks good. It might be a little cold now, but it’s cooked.”

Grabbing a plate, I took an egg and a piece of sausage, and he took the rest. He helped me off the counter and we sat at the table to eat. As I was picking at the last of a muffin, I was looking at Jake and noticed again that his hair was longer. Reaching up I ran my fingers through it then started toying with the silky strands.

“Are you letting your hair grow back out?”

“Yeah, at least a little. I could tell you were sad when I cut it off, so I figured you liked it better long.”

I smiled at him gently. “I don’t know if I necessarily liked it better, but you have beautiful hair, and I did love it long. Why did you cut it off in the first place?”
“The length of our hair determines the length of our wolf coats, so we can’t have it too long. I don’t mind if my wolf coat is a little shaggy though.”

“Oh wow… I guess that makes sense. You don’t have to grow it out for me if it’s inconvenient for you. I’m used to your short hair now and you’re gorgeous either way.”

He blushed a little at the compliment. “Well, I’ll let it grow for now, since I won’t be phasing for a while anyway.”

He suddenly got up and plucked me out of my chair. “Let’s move to the couch. I don’t want you to get irritated sitting on that hard chair.”

“But the mess…”

He paused, assessing the small mess we’d made, then grabbed the eggs and sausage, stuck them back in the fridge, and headed toward the living room. “Everything else can wait for a little while.”

We got settled on the couch, a pillow in his lap for my back to lay across and my head cradled in his arm.

“So, we didn’t get a chance to talk last night since you crashed on the way home,” he said. “What did you think?”

“Oh my gosh Jake, it was so amazing. I feel honored to have been allowed to be a part and hear the legends. Thanks for making sure I could make it.”
He smiled wide, obviously pleased at my response. “I’m glad you liked it so much. It seemed like you really got into the stories. You and Angela are actually the first ‘outsiders’ to ever hear them.”

My eyes got big. “Really? Why? I mean, I know Angela is an imprint, but why was I allowed?”

“My dad, Sam, and I wanted you there and Sue and Old Quil agreed. No one really considers you an outsider anymore anyway and you’re as much a part of it all as anyone.”

“There may be one person who wouldn’t agree with that,” I said sadly.

“Well, Leah is definitely the only one. Don’t pay any attention to her. She’s just going to have to deal with it.”

“I know. I actually just feel sad for her. She’s dealing with a lot of pain and anger, and probably embarrassed and frustrated that you all know all of her issues and she can’t escape them. Plus, she’s the only girl. It can’t be an easy situation for her.”

“You’re much more generous and forgiving than I am. It still makes my blood boil at the way she spoke to you last night.”

“You’re right, she shouldn’t have spoken to me that way, but you should really try to let it go, Jake. I think kindness will go further in helping her move past everything than getting mad and being harsh to her.”

“Hmph. Well, that will be a challenge, but I’ll try. She’s not the easiest person to have inside your head though.” He waved his hand in the air dismissively. “I don’t want to spend our time discussing Leah. So, do you have any questions about any of the stories?”

“Actually, I do. Well, I guess the first one is more of a ‘When were you going to tell me?’—the fact that you aren’t aging anymore.” A little irritation came into my voice. “That was a little shocking. I mean, we’re the same age for now, but I’m just going to continue to age more while you stay the same.” I got a little more irritated as I spoke, thinking about that fact.

“Are you seriously worried about that?” he asked in surprise then shook his head. “I don’t know what your big hang up is about age, but have you actually looked at me lately? Do I look like an 18-year-old to you anymore?”

His question took me by surprise, but I studied his face and thought back to his crazy growth spurt, when it felt like I could see him growing right before my eyes. I remembered the way he had shot up practically overnight and then his long gangly body had filled out with those strong lean muscles, his movements becoming so fluid and graceful after his transformation. I looked at his hand resting on my stomach, and his forearm, and traced over the veins and muscles. They definitely looked more like the hand and arm of a man.

I looked back at his face again… that’s where I had the trouble. I just saw Jacob, my best friend. But if I really tried to examine it with new eyes, he was right, he did not look 18 anymore. All the boyish roundness was gone. His face was lean and chiseled, his jaw strong, his deep-set eyes seemed to even hold more wisdom. It made my heart do a little dance in my chest at the raw masculinity of him. He gave me a crooked grin and raised an eyebrow at me, hearing the change in my heart rate and my face heated; finding it odd that I hadn’t really noticed sooner just how much more mature he looked.

“I guess I hadn’t stopped to think about that too much,” I said and realized my voice was a little breathy too and I looked away from him as the heat in my face spread to my ears and neck.

He chuckled lightly. “Right before and right after our transformation we grow to full maturity in a matter of months. I have the body of a 25-year-old or something around there. I may have only been alive for 18 years, but I’m not an 18-year-old anymore. I think it’s the only reason I’m able to control myself around you to be quite honest… although I obviously still struggle sometimes. It actually creeped out some of the nurses in the hospital because I look so much older than you. It will be like 7 years before you catch up to me and we look about the same age.

“And once I decide to stop phasing for good, I’ll start aging again. I have no intention of outliving you like that honey.” He stroked my face. “I hope to grow old with you and live as normal a life as possible.” He kissed my forehead and I leaned into his shoulder more.

“You said that was the first thing. Was there something else you were wondering about?”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure how to ask it. It’s more of a feeling really... about Ephraim Black. A feeling that there was something about him that somehow affected me, but I haven’t been able to put my finger on why I feel that way. He was the Alpha of the last wolf pack and the Chief of the Quileutes, right?”

“Yeah, and he was also my great-grandfather.”

Jake said that like it was significant and should answer my question, looking at me expectantly, but I looked back at him with a blank expression.

When he saw I wasn’t getting it, he explained. “The role of Chief and Alpha are passed down through bloodlines. We don’t have Chiefs anymore—Ephraim was the last one—we just have the Council of Elders now, but my dad, as the Lead Elder, is the closest thing we have to a chief now, and someday that will fall to me. Likewise, by blood, I should be the Alpha.”

“Really?!” My eyes widened in complete surprise, then I grinned. “Chief Jacob, huh? So why aren’t you the Alpha then?”

“I didn’t want to be in a pack, let alone be its leader. Sam is much more suited to that role anyway, so I relinquished my claim and let him continue to be the Alpha. He made me his Second though, so if anything were to happen to him then I would take over, even if just temporarily.”

My mind was spinning with this new information. Suddenly I remembered the feeling I had the night before with Emily, the burden for the pack that we shared. Did I feel it because I was with the true Alpha? I wasn’t his imprint though, or even his wife, and he had given up that role. It still seemed strange, though it made a little more sense than before.

“Wow, that’s crazy Jake… I had no idea. That’s why the relationship between you and Sam seems stronger than the others, I guess. Do you ever regret the decision to not be Alpha?”

“Only once… when Sam ordered me not to tell you about the wolf thing. That was the hardest time for me since my transformation, not being able to tell you what had happened. No other regrets though. We have a good relationship and he’s a good leader. Sam and I talk over a lot of the decisions he makes when we can.

“Was there anything else that you had questions about?”

I thought back over the stories. I decided not to mention anything about the third wife since that wasn’t really a question, just a connection I felt with her since I was like her, no magic.

“No, I think that was everything,” I said. “You know we really should clean up the kitchen. I don’t want to leave a mess for Emily to have to clean up. I can handle standing at the sink for a few minutes just to do those dishes.”

Jake studied me for a moment, obviously struggling with the decision of if he should let me. “Alright,” he said finally, “but then you’re going to just relax for the rest of the day.” Jake picked me back up and carried me to the kitchen again.

Setting me down, he gathered all the dishes and I just moved with him while he got everything in the sink. I washed and he stood next to me to rinse and place the dishes in the drying rack.

When we were done, Jake got me settled on the bed and went to take a shower, instructing me to rest. I had taken a pain pill with breakfast, and wasn’t feeling too bad, so I decided to at least get dressed. I quickly discovered it was much harder to do without Emily’s help. I was already half naked though, so I pressed through and finished, but it took me longer than I ever thought it would. Once I had accomplished dressing, I laid on the bed to recover from the effort, and that’s when Jake came back in the room. He gave me a disapproving look when he saw I was dressed.

“Bella, you’re going to hurt yourself if you aren’t more careful!” He sighed and shook his head. “I shouldn’t have let you cook and clean this morning… it’s made you think you can do more than you should. I’m not sure you realize how bad your injuries are. Have you actually seen them?”

I shook my head. “No, I haven’t looked.” I wanted to argue with him, but the strong discomfort in my body gave credit to his words.

“Well, I think maybe it will help you to see, since you don’t have the constant pain to remind you. I don’t want you to hurt yourself more or cause yourself more pain by trying to do too much.”

He carried me to the bathroom and set me down with my back to the mirror. He gently lifted my shirt and I looked over my shoulder at my side and back reflected in the mirror and gasped. All along the ribs on my left side and wrapping around to my spine, from my shoulder blade to my waist, it was deep purple, so dark in places it almost looked black. There was almost no yellow coloring yet that would indicate more healing. I got a sick feeling in my stomach at the sight, and I quickly turned away into Jacob’s chest.

He pulled my shirt back down and wrapped his arms around me, gently holding my head against him.

“I’m sorry if that upset you, but you needed to understand how much healing you have to do. And that’s just on the surface. Doc says the bone bruises will be the most painful and take the longest to heal. You need to be patient and just accept your limitations for now.”

I sighed and then looked up at him. “I really had not imagined it was that bad. I will try to remember and do my best to be more careful.”

He leaned down to kiss me, just one short tender kiss, then carried me back to the bedroom. We laid down together, me snuggled up against his side, and I dozed for the next hour or so.

When Emily returned home, I was ready to get up against, so we joined her in the kitchen to keep her company while she fixed lunch. She had picked up some new cushions to put in one of her kitchen chairs to make it more comfortable for me.

The whole pack was coming over for lunch today, so she had a lot to do. I wished I could help her, but she insisted she didn’t want me to do anything that would further irritate my injuries.

“I know you’ve already done several things this morning,” she said, motioning to the few dishes in the drying rack. “You don’t want to overdo it, Bella. Your company is help enough. Trust me, it’s enough just to have someone to visit with.”

“And we just talked about this Bella,” Jake sighed deeply in frustration, then he turned to Emily. “I had her actually look at the bruises this morning.”

“I thought if just did something while sitting—” I started to argue.

“No!” Jake said more forcefully and then softened again at my shocked hurt look. “Honey, it’s all connected. There’s not a single movement you can make that doesn’t involve your spine working. Why do you think the doc doesn’t want you walking? You would be in a freaking wheelchair right now if it wasn’t for me being with you all the time. Please stop fighting us on this. I know it’s hard for you, but the doc would agree with us.” He cupped my face in his big hand and gently made me look at him. “Please promise me. I couldn’t stand it if you hurt yourself more while I’m supposed to be taking care of you.”

He was right, so I finally conceded at the concerned pleading look on his face, and I promised I would listen to them and not argue anymore. I had spent way too many years of my life not depending on anyone else, it was just such a struggle for me. I had to, though, if I wanted to heal faster.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
HAVING A MEAL with the wolf pack was always a loud, joyful, and sometimes rowdy, affair, and today was no different. The craziness I had just witnessed was a prime example. Quil had taken the last chicken leg, only for Paul to snatch it off his plate when Quil reached for another roll. That led to a struggle to get each other in a headlock, sending a fork flying, narrowly missing Seth’s head, and both of them toppling their chairs and ending up on the floor, both of them laughing. It was a miracle that Emily’s kitchen table and chairs had held up against the ruckus day after day!

To avoid the mayhem, Jake and I always sat in the living room to eat… the last thing I needed was to accidentally get knocked around. Emily usually joined us… Kim and Angela too, if they were there. I’ve always enjoyed watching and listening to the pack’s jubilant banter, though.

At one point, as I was watching the guys at the kitchen table, I met Leah’s gaze for a moment, or more accurately, her glare. I tried to smile at her, but she looked away too quickly and I don’t think she saw my gesture. I wished I could figure out what to do, not only to ease the tension between us, but to help her heal.

Embry had finished eating before the rest and he came in to sit with me, Jake, and Emily.

“How was Angela after the bonfire last night,” I asked him.

“Good,” he said with a smile. “She liked hearing about our histories. I had already told her about vampires, but we talked a lot afterwards and she had questions about the treaty, so she now knows about the Cullens. She was pretty shocked with that revelation and is anxious to talk with you about it.”

“I’m sure she is,” I responded unenthusiastically, not sure how I felt about having that conversation with her, though I knew it would need to happen at some point. I silently hoped that she wasn’t too weirded out that I had dated a vampire. I imagined she was going to have a lot of questions about that.

I suddenly shuddered at the thought of the next question, and it came out in a whisper. “Have you told her about Victoria yet?” Jake sensed my anxiety and drew me a little closer to comfort me.

“No,” he answered quietly, “just knowing that vampires exist scared her, so I didn’t want her to scare her more by telling her that there was one hunting her good friend. She’ll need to know eventually, but since she’s only with you down here on the Rez right now, I didn’t see a need to tell her yet.

“She’s handling everything pretty well so far. I think she’s enjoying spending time with me. I know I’m enjoying it. She’s someone I would have liked being around regardless of the imprinting, so I like that also.”

Seth and Quil came to join us then and the subject shifted. I just listened as they lamented about the newest video game that just came out, but none of them had been able to get yet, and smiled to myself.

It was very comforting having the whole pack there together, knowing they were all safe for the moment. Even with all of the loud chatter and laughter I started to doze, leaning contentedly against Jake with his arms around me. When I was well on my way to sleep, but still hanging in that in between world, some quiet talking came through to my consciousness.

“How’s Bella really doing Jake?” one of the guys asked quietly…maybe Embry.

“Better than yesterday, I think. It still takes a lot out of her when I have to be apart from her for even a few minutes. She’s strong though. Sometimes maybe a little too much. She can be her own worst enemy sometimes… trying to do more than she should.”

“How are you doing?” the same voice asked.

“I’m good,” he answered sincerely. “I hate seeing her in pain, that’s the hardest thing… that and trying to protect her from her own stubbornness, but other than that I am enjoying the time we’re getting to spend together. There’s a small part of me that can’t wait to be able to be able to run with you guys again and to finally get that red-headed bloodsucker, but for now it’s over-ruled by the need, and desire, to be with Bella.”

“Has Sam told you about the new plan we’re working on? Trying to figure out where the red head goes when she leaves the area? Seeing if we can track any patterns?”

“Yeah, he did. We came up with the beginnings of it while Bella was in the hospital, but it’s shaping up to be a really good and feasible plan. Anything to help us get an edge on her.”

I continued to hear voices, but no longer comprehended what they were saying as I slipped farther into sleep.

When I awoke again the house was quiet, everyone either off on patrol or gone to rest. Jake and Emily were talking softly and greeted me warmly when they noticed I was awake.

“I’m surprised you were able to sleep with all that racket,” Emily said.

“It was sort of calming in an odd way,” I said, looking at her and she nodded, understanding my meaning. The burden we felt for the well-being of the pack was lessened while they were all here and we knew they were safe.

“I was thinking we could head over to my house,” Jake suggested, “to see if we can find those photo albums. You up for that?”

“Yeah,” I said, getting excited at the idea. “That sounds good.” I was still hopeful that some of the pictures would jog my memory about his mom.

When we got there, Billy wasn’t home.

“Maybe he went over to Sue’s for lunch,” Jake guessed as he sat me down on the little sofa. “I’ll have to dig around in the closet, so you’ll probably be more comfortable here. I’ll hurry though.”

“I’ll be okay,” I said as I settled myself back further into the couch for support and nodded to him.

It didn’t take him too long to find the albums, but I was hurting pretty bad by the time he got back, trying to breathe through it… I hadn’t had any pain medicine since breakfast.

“I’m sorry baby, he said softly as he sat down next to me. “I should have asked my dad to set them out for us.”

“It’s okay, I’m fine now,” I assured him, feeling the relief from his presence.

He quickly figured out which of the two albums was the oldest and we started with that one. The beginning was before he was born, so we flipped through that a little faster, but still enjoyed seeing the pictures of his sisters when they were babies and toddlers. His mom was even more beautiful than I remembered.

I stopped Jake’s hand as he was about to turn the page, suddenly seeing something more familiar. I pulled the page closer to my face to make sure, then pointed to a young woman holding a tiny baby in one of the photos and looked at Jake.

“That’s me and Renee!” I said, surprised. I didn’t expect to see myself in his family’s albums when I was just a baby, and I especially didn’t expect to see my mom. Renee was holding me, and Sarah was smiling down at me, my tiny hand grasping one of her fingers.

“Look at your chubby cheeks and tiny fingers, Bells.”

“I must have only been a few weeks old.” I pointed to his mom’s very pregnant belly and laughed. “Because there you are.”

Jake was smiling wide and took a closer look at the picture too. After a couple more pages we were about halfway through the album and the first pictures of Jake showed up, just a few days old. Under one of the pictures, written in a pretty script handwriting, faded but still legible, was his birth information: Jacob Daniel Black, 01/14/90, 6 lbs 7 ozs, 19 inches.

“You were so tiny!” I exclaimed, “and sooo adorable. It’s hard to believe that tiny little thing grew to be so big.”

On the next page was the first picture of me and Jake together, held by our smiling mothers. We slowed down as we continued to flip through the album, which went until Jake and I were about three years old. Every now and then there would be a picture of me and Jake playing next to each other.

When we started with the next album it seemed to skip several years because we looked to be about six or seven in the first few pictures.

“Dad said he thought my sister had one of the albums with her in Hawaii.”

“You were such an adorable little boy. Look at that smile.”

“And you were a beautiful little girl.” He was pointing to a close-up picture of me hugging a doll to the side of my face. “Your eyes were so big and expressive. I remember you were always so serious, and it took a lot to get you to smile. I always made it a goal of mine to try to make you smile. And if I got a laugh out of you, I felt like I’d conquered the world.”

I shook my head and smiled at him. Even back then he was trying take care of me. Coming to Forks every summer had never been my favorite thing. That’s probably why I had blocked so much of that time from my memories. I felt kinda guilty about it now. If I’d only realized I was missing out on one of the best friendships I could ever hope for, I might have felt differently.

As we went through this album Jake started telling stories about some of the pictures since he was old enough to have more memories of them. Every few pages there was one or two of me, sometimes with Jake and sometimes with Charlie. It was so weird to see myself in Jake’s family photo albums.

We then came to a picture that made me pause again. It was a close up of Sarah and Billy together, but it was her expression that made me stop. Most of the other pictures before this were candid action shots, so she wasn’t even looking at the camera half the time, usually playing or talking with her children. But in this one she was looking straight at the camera, smiling widely, and looked so joyful, her eyes sparkling.

I looked at Jake. “You look so much like your mom, it’s just crazy,” I said. “But your smile is identical to hers.”

“You think so?” he said, looking closer.

“I’m positive. And she was so beautiful Jake.”

Jake lingered on that picture for a while longer, tracing his finger over his mom’s face. He was still smiling gently, but there was sadness in his eyes now.

“You okay?” I asked quietly.

“Yeah, I just still miss her so much sometimes Bells. I wish she could be here to tell us the stories behind some of these pictures that I don’t remember.” He looked up at me and touched my cheek. “I wish she could meet you now and tell you other stories that aren’t pictured here. To be able to share my life with her and have her see that I found love and happiness, even in such crazy times.” He looked back at the picture again, his voice tight with emotion. “There’s just so much she doesn’t get to be a part of… it’s really not fair.”

A single tear rolled down his cheek and I reached up to wipe it away as a few slid down my own face. It wasn’t fair at all. I linked my arm through his and laid my head against him.

“I’m sorry Jake. Do you want to stop looking for now?”

He took a deep breath and shook his head. “No, I’m okay. It feels good to do this. There’s sadness, but there are also so many happy memories in here. Hopefully my dad will be able to talk about her again someday.”

Jake started flipping through the pages again and then he stopped after about four more pages.

“Holy crap!” he exclaimed. “This is it, Bella. This is that day I told you about a couple days ago in the clearing. Mom must have had a friend there that I don’t remember.”

He was pointing to a picture of his mom on the beach, with a partially built sandcastle. There were a lot of pictures, and I was in almost all of them, there in the sand with his mom. Just behind us was Jake with his little stick sword and a little further back were the girls and one other child, presumably the child of the person taking the picture, playing at the edge of the waves.

There was one picture that was closer up of me and Jake’s mom and we were looking at each other and laughing. How I wished I could remember that day, but even with the pictures, I couldn’t pull up any memory of it.

On the next page were two of my very favorite pictures that we had looked at so far. The first was a close-up of me and Jake. He had his arm wrapped around my neck, nearly choking me, and was smiling his big bright smile and I was looking at him sideways, not nearly as enthusiastic about the situation. Jake pointed at that picture at the same time and we both laughed loudly.

“You look very put out to be in such close proximity to me,” he said, joy shining in his eyes again.

“If I only could have known,” I said.

I then pointed to the other picture that had caught my eye. This one was of us with his mom behind the completed sandcastle that we had built. She was kneeling in the sand with an arm around each of us and we all had giant smiles on our faces in that one, Jake holding his stick sword aloft like a conquering hero.

“That sandcastle was pretty impressive,” I said. “I think this is my favorite picture of all of them. Whether I remember it or not, I love that there is this record of our time together as kids.”

“Me too.”

We inspected those pictures for a little while longer then flipped through the last four or five pages.

“Can we take these with us? I think Charlie is coming over on Sunday afternoon to spend some time with me. Maybe he can share a few more stories with us from these pictures while Billy isn’t there.”

“Sure, I like that idea.”

“We should probably head back. Angela will be coming by soon.”

Jake nodded. I picked up the albums and Jake picked me up and headed out to the truck and back to Emily’s.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
ANGELA AND EMILY WERE working on dinner when Jake and I got back to the house. It wasn’t for the whole pack tonight, so it didn’t require as much work as most of the time, but I still hated that I couldn’t help. I was thankful that Angela was willing to help out, though, to take some of the load off of Emily. Jake and I sat at the kitchen table and chatted with them while they worked.

After dinner was cleaned up, Angela and I settled in at the table to get some schoolwork done while Emily, Sam, Jake, Billy, and Charlie all moved into the living room. I did pretty good while I was away from Jake, and the cushions Emily had picked up seemed to make a difference.

“Thanks so much for all of your help getting me my schoolwork Angela,” I said to her as she was packing up her things. “I don’t know what I would have done without you!”

“I’m glad I can do it Bella. I like it here… such a warm and cozy place, and I really like Emily. It’s so kind of her to take care of you like she has.”

“Yes, she is a very good friend to me, and to Jake… more like a sister really.”

“It kinda feels like one big family. Everyone last night was very friendly and welcoming to me. And seeing how much they care for you was so sweet. All except that girl werewolf. She wasn’t very nice. I was shocked at how she spoke to you.”

“Yeah, Leah is going through a lot and in a lot of pain right now, and she’s not handling it very well. I do wish she wasn’t taking it out on me, but I’m trying not to hold it against her.”

“You and Jake seem to be doing good,” she smiled at me. “He’s absolutely crazy about you. Are you sure he hasn’t imprinted on you? Embry was telling me more about what was going on between the two of you.”

“No, he definitely hasn’t imprinted on me… at least not in the normal way that Sam, Jared, and Embry have imprinted on you, Emily, and Kim. It’s true that there is something going on, but no one knows or understands what yet.”

“Well, even so, the way he is with you is so sweet… taking care of you and making sure you’re comfortable. It’s like he knows what you’re feeling as soon as you feel it.”

“Super senses,” I said in explanation, glancing over at Jake. He looked over at me and we smiled at each other before he returned his attention to the conversation in the living room. I knew he had heard everything Angela and I had just said.

Angela had watched our exchange. “No, I think it’s something more. He’s so in tuned with you. I know I’m new to all of this, but I haven’t even noticed Sam be that aware of Emily’s needs.”

I shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. Even before Jake had gone through his transformation, he seemed to be able to read my mind sometimes. Maybe we’ll figure it out someday… or maybe it will always be a mystery. No matter what, I don’t know what I’d do without him. So, are you going to stay until Embry gets off of patrol tonight?”

A dreamy smile crossed her face for a moment. “Yes, that’s the plan.” She paused for a moment, looking at me with a contemplative expression. “Can we go sit on the porch to talk for a little bit? Do you feel up for that?”

I analyzed my pain level for a moment. “Sure, I think I could handle that for a little while.” The porch chairs were cushioned, so that would help.

I looked over to try to get Jake’s attention and he was already looking at me expectantly. I motioned for him, and he came over.

“Watcha need baby?” he asked.

“You weren’t listening to us?” I asked, surprised that he didn’t already know what we were wanting to do.

He shook his head. “No, I heard you call my name. I try not to eavesdrop unless I’m concerned about something. Sometimes I tune in if I hear my name, like a little while ago and just now.”

“But I didn’t say your name out loud just now. You were already looking at me when I looked at you.”

“I told you Bella,” Angela said, poking my shoulder. “Embry said that Jake had heard you call for him before, right?”

“Yeah, but I was in danger then…” I said, my head spinning a little.

“And I heard your voice in my head then,” Jake said thoughtfully. “This time I thought I actually heard you say my name out loud.”

“Maybe it’s because you’re closer together now that it sounded different to you?” Angela suggested. “You guys should really test this out sometime.”

I nodded slowly, a little in shock. I truly thought the only reason Jake had heard me before was because I was in danger. Angela may be right about needing to test it out. I shook my head to clear it a bit and looked up at Jake. “Well, for now, Angela and I want to go out to the porch to talk for a little while. I was just going to get you to take me out there.”

“Sure,” Jake said, still seeming distracted with the thoughts of hearing my voice again. “Let me grab you some blankets. It’s probably pretty chilly… and you won’t have your personal heaters with you.” He gave me a teasing crooked smile and Angela and I both laughed.

A few minutes later we were settled in the chairs on the porch with our jackets and blankets. Jake kissed me on the forehead and went back inside.

Angela waited for me to recover from the pain returning after Jake left (it always hit me hardest for the few moments after he moved away from me) before starting the conversation again.

“Okay, I hope you don’t mind me being a little nosey, but Embry told me last night about the Cullens. I just need to hear the story from you. Did you know what they were? That Edward was… you know…” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “a vampire?”

“I knew you would be asking soon.” I smiled meekly at her and answered a little reluctantly. “Yes, by the time Edward and I started dating I had figured out what they were.”

She absorbed that for a moment. “Didn’t that scare you, Bella?” she asked, still whispering and I could hear the fear seeping into her voice.

“No, I was never scared of Edward. Did Embry tell you that they don’t kill humans? They feed on animals instead?”

“Yeah, but still… how could you risk being alone with him? What if it had become too tempting for him? Or for any of them?”

I spent the next while telling Angela about my time with Edward and his family. How I found out about them, how my blood was so potent to Edward, about James hunting me, how they had saved me from James and from his venom transforming me, showing her my scar. However, I didn’t tell her about Victoria or about my birthday party when Jasper almost lost it.

Only two things seemed to really bother her. First was that I was hunted by a vampire and how close he had come to killing me (I was glad we hadn’t told her about Victoria yet). The other was that I had, at that time, wanted to become one of them.

“Why would you want to do that Bella?”

I shrugged. “I loved Edward and thought he loved me. I thought I wanted to spend eternity with him and the only way to do that would have been to become one of them. I realize now just how much I would have been giving up and how foolish it would have been. I’m so thankful that Edward didn’t give me what I wanted then, because it’s definitely not what I want anymore.”

“I guess love can make us do some pretty crazy things, but even so, that seems rather extreme! Wouldn’t you have had to end all of your human relationships? Your family… your friends?”

I was filled with sorrow at the thought of what I’d come so close to throwing away, and it was reflected in my voice. “Yeah, that would have been part of the deal. That’s why I realize now that it would have been too high a price to pay. I was blinded and very one minded… and very, very wrong.

“I thought that was the only path for me. I have always felt like I didn’t fit in anywhere or with anyone. I thought I was destined for something different and becoming one of them seemed like the right path. I know now that I was destined for something different, but not that. This crazy life with Jake and a pack of shape-shifting wolves is what I was truly destined for. I feel it deep inside… a knowing like I never got when I was with Edward. What I have with Jake is just too special to not be the right path. And I don’t have to change and leave everyone else who is important to me to be with Jake. In fact, with him, I get all these new and wonderful friendships. I never could have imagined my life like this before.”

“Well, I’m certainly glad that you’re still human you. I would have been heartbroken to lose you as a friend. It was hard for me while you were in such a bad place after Edward left. I didn’t know how to help you and I missed you terribly during that time. Whatever happened to bring you back, I am very thankful for it.”

“Jake happened. He was a great friend and loved me through all of that pain. He was so patient with me. He knew I loved him before I did. I was so focused on trying to forget the pain that I almost missed the answer… the cure.”

I told her then about everything that Jake did for me and how our kiss woke me up and made me realize that I loved him and that is what finally healed my heart.

“It feels so good to be able to tell you about all of these things Angela. I hope that you don’t think badly of me now, knowing I willingly dated a vampire… and then a werewolf!”

“No, I don’t think badly of you Bella, even if I don’t completely understand it… the vampire thing, not the wolf. However, I’m really glad I didn’t know about the vampire thing until I knew about all of this other stuff first. What a crazy couple of days it’s been!”

It was a relief to get to tell her everything and still have her as a friend. I was ready to stop talking about me though, so I decided to shift the focus of our conversation. “So, how’s it going with Embry?”

Color rose in her cheeks and she gave me a small smile. “I sometimes don’t know what to think. The way he looks at me, like I’m the most amazing thing he’s ever laid eyes on, feels so strange. But at the same time, I have never before been drawn to anyone like I am to him. And even though we barely know each other, it’s strange how comfortable I feel around him.

“I miss him when I am not with him, and I’m so excited to see him again. It also felt really nice to lean against him last night with his arm around me… and not just because I was cold.

“I think the weirdest part of it all is how completely he’s committed to me, but he didn’t choose to be. It makes me feel guilty, like I’m taking advantage of him.”

I sighed, my frustration about imprinting rising up again. “I know what you’re saying. I honestly hate that imprinting is a thing that these guys have to deal with. It’s like their free will to choose for themselves who they want to spend their lives with is being taken away from them. They’ve already given up so much just by becoming wolves… it makes me mad for them.”

“Jake got to choose though.”

“Yeah, but if he has an imprint out there, one look at her and it’s all over for me. His choice will be void, no matter how much he doesn’t want it to.”

Angela’s eyes filled with alarm and sadness. “Really Bella? That’s just awful. But what about all of these other things that are happening between you?”

I shrugged. “We don’t know. I’d like to think it means he’ll never imprint on someone else, but… we just don’t know. I try not to think about it. I made the choice to stay with Jake, knowing the risk, but I can’t let myself worry about the ‘what if’ or I’ll go insane. We love each other, and that’s what matters.”

I waved my hand in the air, like trying to shoo all the negative and sad feelings away. “Regardless of all that, I don’t think you should feel guilty, though I’m sure that’s easier said than done. You didn’t cause the imprinting to happen to Embry, the magic inside of him did. And, from my understanding, when they imprint something inside of them is fundamentally changed. So, no matter what, you’re what he chooses now. He will only be happy if he can have a relationship with you… and it would be devastating for him, and the whole pack, if you were to deny that. So, hopefully you’re at least willing to have him as a friend, which it seems like you are.”

“I’m definitely willing for that. It’s still early, but I feel like it could eventually turn into more. But I can’t make myself magically like him the same way.”

“Oh, I know that… and Embry knows that too. He’ll be patient with you.” A shiver ran through me… the night air had chilled a lot since we had come outside. “I’m getting pretty cold. You about ready to head inside?”

“Yeah, I think my nose is an icicle.”

“Would you mind getting Jake for me?” I was trying to be good after he got so upset with me earlier… plus the severity of my bruising was still burned into my memory.

Angela stood to go inside, but then sat back down and looked at me. “This would be a good time to test out your telepathic connection with Jake. You should try to call for him.”

“Oh, that feels weird,” I said.

“Weird or not, there is definitely something there. It would be good if you guys understood how it works.”

“I don’t know,” I said skeptically. “I’m not even sure what to do.”

“I don’t know either. Just try to think his name… like you’re calling for him, but only in your thoughts. Like you did earlier… you thought about wanting him to help you and he heard you.”

“Okay.” I said with a sigh. Feeling very self-conscious I closed my eyes and thought about calling for Jake, saying his name in my head. Then looked at Angela and waited.

The front door opened, and Jake came out with an amazed look on his face. My mouth fell open.

“Did you hear me again?” I asked quietly.

“Yes, it was in my head, but it was so clear it was almost like you were right next to me. I think that’s what happened earlier too, I just assumed it was out loud since you were just in the other room.”

“What did you hear?”

“I only heard you say my name.”

Angela clapped her hands excitedly then. “I knew it. I wonder if he can hear it if you think something specific besides his name.”

I laughed at Angela’s enthusiasm. “I can’t believe this isn’t freaking you out.”

She gave me an incredulous look. “I now live a world where vampires and werewolves exist… this is nothing compared to that. And it’s fun and really cool. You should just try it, Bella. Think of something like you’re saying it out loud, but only in your thoughts.”

I turned back to Jake. “Do you want to test it?”

“Yes, I’m curious too,” he answered.

“Okay.” I closed my eyes again and thought I’m getting really cold, then looked back at Jake. “Did you hear anything?”

He shook his head, “Nope, nothing that time.”

“What did you say?” Angela asked.

“I just thought ‘I’m getting really cold.’”

None of us said anything for a minute then Angela encouraged me to try a few more times, but Jake still didn’t hear anything.

“Are you directing your thoughts toward me? Like you’re trying to talk to me specifically? Every time I have heard you, you said my name, so you were specifically thinking of me.”

“No, I guess I wasn’t… they were all just general thoughts. I’ll try saying something with your name I guess, but I’m getting tired, so this is the last one for tonight.”

He nodded and I closed my eyes again and focused. Jake, did you know you’re sort of beautiful?

When I opened my eyes again, Jake’s loving smile was waiting for me. “Yes, you’ve told me that a time or two.” He plucked me out of the chair and kissed me as I wrapped my arms around his neck, warmth enveloping me, inside and out. I hadn’t realized how much I had begun to ache until the pain vanished and I sighed against his lips.

Once we were sitting back in the living room with everyone else, I directed a few more thoughts to Jake, and he heard them all. It seemed that I could telepathically communicate anything I wanted to him. We were both excited about figuring a little more of this strange thing between us. I wondered if there were a distance limit to this link between us. That test was going to have to wait though, since Jake couldn’t get very far away from me without the pull making him very uncomfortable.

An hour later, Embry had returned from patrol, Billy and Charlie had left, and I was lying in Jake’s arms, drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
“I NEED TO GIVE you a nickname.” I set my book down and turned to face Jake who I’d been leaning against on the couch.

He laid his auto magazine aside and gave me a curious look. “What?”

“A nickname.” I slung both legs across his lap, so I was sitting sideways, my feet resting against the arm of the couch on the other side of his legs. “You’re always calling me ‘honey’ or ‘baby,’ so I need to come up with a nickname for you.”

“Pfft. You’re a goof. You do realize those aren’t really nicknames. They’re more, ummm what’s the word…” He twirled his finger in the air, trying to remember, then he snapped and pointed at me. “Terms of endearment. That’s what those are.”

I let out a little huff. “Either way, I want to give you a nickname. You can give me one too, if those aren’t ‘real’ nicknames.”

He just shook his head at me, trying to hide his smile. “Okay fine, did you have something in mind?”

“No, that’s the problem. Let me think. Hmmm…” I tapped my finger on my chin. “What about Squishy? You know, from Finding Nemo, when Dory finds that baby jelly fish? ‘I shall call him Squishy, and he shall be mine. And he shall be my Squishy.’” We had watched a lot of movies over the past week and a half, since we’d been at Emily’s.

Jake shook his head. “You’re gonna have to do better than that.”

“How about Snuggles?”

Jake’s eyes narrowed at me. “Are you even being serious about this?”

I did want to think of a nickname for him, but nothing seemed right, so I quickly fired off a bunch of other equally ridiculous ideas. “Cupcake? Pookie? Cookie? Dumpling? Tater Tot? Boo Bear?”

“Bells!” Jake exclaimed in attempted outrage, but he couldn’t stop from chuckling. “What the hell?!”

“Oh! I know!” A mischievous grin crossed my face. “What about ‘marshmallow’?” I actually kinda liked that one since it had meaning, but I knew he wouldn’t go for it. Of course, he couldn’t stop me from using if I really wanted to.

“Absolutely not!” Jake laughed loudly, though he was still trying to be serious. “That’s the worst of all of them. Those in no way describe me.”

“Yeah, but they’d be good because they’re far from the truth.”

He raised an eyebrow, and a smirk lifted the corner of his mouth. “Two can play at this game, ya know.”

Uh-oh.

“What about Bambi? The fawn version though… you know, when he’s all legs and tripping over himself and slipping on the ice.”

“Ha. Ha. You know, that’s kinda mean.”

“It’s better than Crash. Or Smash. Or Tumble.”

I gave him a look of hurt disbelief, barely containing the grin that was just under the surface. Those actually were kinda fitting for me.

“Okay then,” he continued, “let’s see… Squirt? Munchkin? Itty Bitty? Hangry? Duckling? Panda? Tree? Cheeseball?”

I snorted a laugh. “Tree? Where in the world did that come from? You’re the tree!”

“If I’m your Tree, then you could be my Squirrel.”

I shook my head, unable to hold my laughter in any longer. “Oh no, we are not doing that!” What had I started? This had gone downhill really fast and become absolutely absurd.

He shrugged. “I don’t know… I kinda like it.”

“Maybe we should table this discussion for another time. Give us a chance to think about it.”

He shrugged again. “Whatever you want… you’re the one that brought it up. You just don’t like that I came up with better nicknames than you.”

I scooted into Jake’s lap and gave him a good long kiss, trying to bring a definitive end to the conversation. Plus, ya know… kissing him was always good. When I pulled away, I slipped back onto the couch and quickly spun around to my original position with my back resting against his side and my legs stretched out along the couch, returning my attention to my book. Jake just chuckled again as he picked his magazine back up. I hadn’t meant for that discussion to get so crazy, but I very much doubted that would be the end of it.

It was Thursday morning, exactly two weeks and one day since Victoria had attacked me. Much of our time was spent like this… just hanging out and enjoying time together. We had also started spending a few hours in Jake’s garage most days so he could still get some work done. He’d acquired an old cozy recliner from Sam’s mom to put in there for me to relax in while he worked. We didn’t want him to miss out on too much since he wanted to make a business out of it, if this craziness in our lives would ever settle down.

On Sunday, Charlie had spent the afternoon at Emily’s with us, going through Jake’s family albums and telling us more stories about Jake’s mom and about my summer visits. He and Billy had continued to come over for dinner nearly every night, and the pack was there frequently for food or to just chill—sometimes all together and sometimes sporadically as they were coming and going between patrol shifts and time off. Angela also came almost every day after school, either working on schoolwork with me or spending time with Embry. They were together as much as they were able, and it seemed like their relationship was quickly progressing to something more than friendship. He’d even gone over for dinner with her family, and she’d met his mom.

I continued to have the same nightmare almost every night, but I still couldn’t remember details, just the horrible sad feelings of loss it left me with. My pain seemed to be improving every day, though, and moving around was getting easier when I was apart from Jake. I still needed the pain medicine, of course, but we’d started to test the pain relief it gave me by sitting apart from each other for longer periods of time. The medicine was working for more and more of the time we were separated, and my external bruises also seemed to be fading faster than we thought they would, though they still looked horrible.

THAT AFTERNOON, SITTING on the examination table in Carlisle’s office again, he was studying the x-ray he had taken of my arm, a confused look on his face. He came back over to take another look at the bruising on my back and side.

“This is incredible, Bella. I’m having trouble believing what I’m seeing. You still have a ways to go, but everything seems to be healing at a more rapid pace than I would have expected. I’m beginning to wonder if whatever magic you have Jacob that’s keeping Bella’s pain away is also accelerating her healing. These bruises should still be a lot darker than they are, and I thought you’d be in that cast another week or so, but you’re ready for it to come off today and move into a brace, which you can remove to bathe. I also think you would be fine to return to school next week, if you feel up for it.”

“Wow, really?! That’s good news,” I said, smiling at Jake, though I had some mixed feelings about it. He smiled back, but I could tell that he did too.

“You’ll still need to take it easy,” Carlisle continued, “you can’t drive yet, and you shouldn’t carry more than one or two schoolbooks at a time, so you’ll need to make some arrangements for that, but with how well you’re doing I see no reason you shouldn’t be able to make it through the school day. You should start going on a few short walks every day to build up your stamina and tolerance for the additional movement. No work yet though… and no gym class or hiking over rough terrain. And I don’t want you doing a lot of cooking or cleaning yet. Just focus on school and continuing to get plenty of rest for now.”

“No gym class sounds fantastic to me… I wouldn’t mind if that could be a permanent situation,” I laughed.

Carlisle removed the cast and cleaned up my arm. Having the cast off felt weird and my skin looked kinda gross, but I knew all too well that it was normal and would look better in a couple of days. The brace was so much more comfortable than the cast. He gave me some exercises to do to get the strength back in that arm and also gave me a letter about my limitations to give to the school for when I decided to return.

Jake and I were silent as we headed to my truck and set off back to La Push. I finally broke the silence when we were close to the end of the Cullen’s long driveway.

“I won’t go back to school until your need to be with me has gone away. Just because I’m feeling and doing better doesn’t mean you should be uncomfortable like that.”

“Thanks honey. I would insist you go anyway, but with that pull to you, I know I couldn’t handle being away from you for an entire day. If the doc thinks you’re ready though, maybe it means that pull will go away soon. I don’t want to be away from you, but you need to get back to school and I need to be able to get back to the pack. We should just test it out every day and see what happens.”

Jake tensed suddenly and started looking out the windows, his eyes darting in all directions.

“What’s wrong Jake.”

“We’re being watched. It’s most likely Cullen.”

“Edward?” I asked, shocked.

“Yeah. It seems he’s been keeping watch a lot near the treaty boundary, probably watching for you. So far, no one has scented him crossing the line. I wish he’d just leave… it’s really starting to get on all of our nerves.”

I sighed and shook my head.

“What?” Jake asked.

“I’ll tell you when we get home… errr I mean to Emily’s.” We both laughed at my slip, and I laid my head on Jake’s chest. It really did feel like a second home now. “I’m going to miss being with you all the time.”

“I know, me too.” He put his arm around me and rubbed my upper arm. “I’m happy that you’re doing so much better though. And it has to feel great to have that cast off! Hopefully you won’t swing your arm so hard with it off.” He rubbed his jaw and shoulder where just this morning I had whacked him with my cast in my sleep, though his bruises were all healed now. I gave him a sheepish grin, still feeling bad, even if I didn’t have any control over it.

He just gave me a big grin and continued. “What do you think about what Doc said? About maybe whatever is in me that’s taking your pain away is also making you heal faster?”

“That’s a crazy thought, but why not?” I shrugged. “I mean we have no real idea about why you take away my pain, or can hear my thoughts, so who knows what else it’s doing.”

When we got back to Emily’s Jake shut off my truck then turned to me. “So, what is it you wanted to say back there? I assumed you didn’t want Cullen to hear.”

“Yeah, I didn’t want him to know I was thinking about this. But I was thinking that maybe I should just talk to him.”

Jake frowned at me.

“I’m afraid that he isn’t going to go away until I do,” I clarified.

“Do you want to talk to him?” Jake asked.

“No, not really… not anymore. Even less knowing that he’s lurking like that. It’s kinda creepy.” Of course, looking back, a lot of things Edward did while we were together (and even before we were together) were kinda creepy.

“Okay then. I don’t want you to feel forced into anything just because the dude won’t go away. Especially something that none of us wants you to do in the first place!”

I nodded. “Okay, I won’t worry about it then.” I felt a little relieved, but I also had the feeling I might have to eventually deal with him, regardless of what we did.

When we got inside the house, Sam was there too, and we filled them in on everything. They were excited to see that my cast was off and to hear I was doing so well.

I took a pain pill so we could test the pull. About an hour later Sam and Jake left to try to go for a walk. After a couple of minutes, I was pretty antsy and looked at Emily and shook my head.

“Nope, it’s not gone yet. I forgot that Carlisle and Jake figured out that it affected me too. This is really uncomfortable.” I started pacing slowly, my back and side aching too.

“I can tell,” Emily said. “I know I’ve never experienced that level of anxiety when Sam has been gone. Let’s just go meet them. It’s a nice day, we can all go for your first walk.”

“That’s a great idea,” I said, my voice a little tense. Walking slowly down the road, the anxiousness decreased with every step, just like Jake had described to me. When we could see the guys in the distance as they were headed back, Jake picked up his pace and jogged the rest of the way to me, pulling me against him when he reached me, and we both sighed with relief. The walk was very short, as instructed by Carlisle, but it felt good to move under my own power for a little while.

That night at dinner Charlie was also excited to learn of my improvement and wanted to know when I’d be able to come home. I told him soon, but that Carlisle said I should wait a little longer before trying to take care of myself completely.

ON SATURDAY, IT FINALLY happened. Emily and I left, just the two of us, to go for one of my walks and the pull was gone. When we had been walking for several minutes and I didn’t feel anything, I looked sadly at Emily.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to be away from him,” I said. “I knew it was coming, but it makes me a little sad.”

“I know. My house is going to feel so empty with you both gone. But this is a good thing, Bella. You’re getting better every day and that’s nothing to be sad about. And it’s not like you won’t get to see each other still. You’ll find plenty of time to spend together.”

“I know, it just won’t be the same. And he’ll be back out there, putting himself in harm’s way again.” I sighed, knowing I should be happy that I was doing so much better, but just not able to get there quite yet. “It will just take some getting used to.”

Emily put her arm around me as we turned around to walk back to her house.

“You’d better not become a stranger around here.”

“Not a chance. I promise! This is definitely my second home now. I’ll be here so much, you’re gonna get tired of me.”

“Not possible!”

Jake was sitting on the porch step when we got back and I climbed into his lap, both of us feeling the mixed emotions of what this meant. I was relieved to discover that, even though the pull was gone, he still took the pain away.

“I have so many emotions swirling around right now I don’t even know what to feel first,” I said with my head laying on his chest.

“I feel the same way. It’s gonna be okay though. We’ll just take it one day at a time like we have been.”

“It would help if Victoria wasn’t an issue anymore. I don’t wanna have start worrying about you all the time again.”

“The pack has been working on that. Hopefully very soon we can take care of her for good.”

That night at dinner I told Charlie that I’d be coming home the next day and giving school a try on Monday. He was very excited at this news… both to hear that I was doing so well, and because he was missing me and ready to have me back home.

ON SUNDAY I PACKED up all of my things, leaving a few changes of clothes behind since I planned on being there a lot still, and Jake took me home that afternoon. Emily gave me two casseroles that she had made so I wouldn’t have to worry about fixing dinner for at least a week. I looked at her as if to say it was too much, but I had learned to accept her help and just thanked her for them.

Jake had something special planned for us that evening, so I heated up a serving of one of the casseroles for Charlie’s dinner and sat down with him while he ate, and I waited for Jake. My back and side were starting to ache more, and I realized it was time for another dose of pain reliever. I was going to have to start remembering to take those regularly.

“It’s good to have you home Bells,” Charlie said as he took a drink of water and scooped up another fork full of food.

I smiled at him lightly. “It does feel good to be home.” And it was mostly true.

He could see that I was torn. “I know you’re having some mixed feelings because you’re going to miss spending so much time with your friends, but it means you’re getting better, and that’s what we really want.”

“I know, you’re totally right Dad. It’ll just take a few days to adjust back to a normal routine.”

There was a knock at the door, and I got up to leave.

“I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but I will anyway. Don’t stay out too late. You don’t want to be worn out on your first day back.”

“I won’t, I promise. See you later Dad.”

Jake drove us in my truck back to La Push, going down a road near the coast that I was pretty sure I’d never been on and parked on the shoulder.

“Gonna have to walk from here,” he said smiling.

He grabbed a backpack, blanket, and pillow out of the back of the truck. He handed me the blanket and pillow to carry then put the bag on his back and picked me up out of cab of the truck. After about ten minutes of hiking, we came to the edge of the trees and stepped out into a clearing on a cliff, smaller than the one where we had the bonfire. The sky was mostly clear to the west and the view overlooking the ocean was amazing, the sun slowly inching closer to the horizon.

“What are we doing out here?” I asked as he set me on my feet and took the blanket from me.

“Just spending one last evening together before our lives get crazy again.” He laid out the blanket, placing rocks on the corners to keep it from blowing away.
The breeze coming off the water was chilly, and I was starting to shiver a little. He sat down on the blanket and patted the space next to him. I set the pillow down and sat on it, nestling close to him, immediately warmed and relieved of the ache again.

“Emily packed us a little dinner. I’ve been up here a few times when on patrols and it’s an incredible spot to watch the sunset,” he explained while pulling the food out of the pack. “So, I thought it would be a nice way to spend our last evening of peace that we might have for a while.”

“Is it safe for us to be out here?” As far as I knew Victoria hadn’t made an appearance since she attacked me, so she could show up at any time now.

“Yeah,” he assured me, “I let the guys on patrol know where we were going to be, so they could keep an extra lookout over this way.

When we were done eating, Jake repositioned himself so I was sitting between his legs. He bent his leg and rested his arm on his knee, allowing me to lean back against it at an angle so we could still see each other while we talked and watched the sun sink lower in the sky.

It wasn’t long before the bottom edge of the sun reached the water on the horizon, and the colors were breathtaking, reflecting off both the clouds and the water. We sat in silence, watching the sky darken and the colors change from bright white-yellows to deeper yellows then to oranges and reds with pinks, purples, and blues.

“So beautiful,” I said in awe when there was just a sliver of the sun left peeking above the water.

“Yes, so very beautiful,” Jake agreed quietly, but something about his tone made me look up at him. He was no longer watching the sunset, and I blushed as I realized he wasn’t talking about the scenery.

The look on his face alone caused my insides to respond. Holding my gaze, he started tracing his finger across my forehead and down the side of my face, continuing down my neck. Placing his hot palm against my neck, his thumb running along my jaw, he slid his fingers into my hair.

I swallowed hard at the intensity in his dark eyes as he pulled my face closer to him. When our lips were nearly touching, he stopped, our breath mingling. Then, without kissing me, he softly touched his lips to mine and brushed them slowly to the side, across my check, gently turning my head with the hand in my hair and grazing his lips over my ear. I was shivering again, but it wasn’t because of the cold this time. Breathless, and with every nerve ending ignited, I could barely contain all the feelings he was causing to flood through me.

“So beautiful,” he whispered against my ear and placed a feather-light kiss behind my ear. I shuddered as my eyes rolled back and slid shut. Another feather-light kiss in front of my ear, caused me to exhale sharply and a breathy, almost silent whimper escaped. His lips continued along my jaw to my chin and finally he kissed my lips slow and soft.

As we kissed, I floated in a world of heat and pleasure, my mind wandering through thoughts of Jacob. How I loved him, beyond words; his fierce protection of me; the gentle way he loved me; respected me; his devotion; his commitment; his sacrifices……

Slowly becoming aware that his lips had left mine, I lazily blinked my eyes open, my lips still parted slightly, to find Jake staring at me in adoration.

“Beautiful doesn’t begin to describe what you are to me Bella… and there is no sufficient way for me to express my love for you. But I will never stop trying.”

I wasn’t able to speak for a few moments, so I just gazed back at him and touched my fingers to his cheek.

Whispering, I finally responded. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve your love Jake but thank you for always giving it to me. I will love you forever, though it will never be enough.”

After a few more moments gazing at each other he kissed my lips again, then my forehead, and then pulled me against his chest, laying his cheek on top of my head. It was mostly dark and we would have to start heading back soon, but neither of us were ready to leave quite yet, so we just held each other a little longer.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
REACHING OVER I SMACKED my alarm to end its incessant buzzing then stared at the ceiling for several minutes, missing the feel Jake next to me. My sleep-fogged mind began remembering the night before; his touch, his kiss, his words. I shivered, partially from the memory and partially from the absence of his heat. Not being with him all the time was going to take some getting used to.

Not wanting to rush, I’d set my alarm a little early so I’d have some extra time to get ready. Rubbing my eyes I sat up and stretched cautiously, testing my pain level, which I was relieved to find wasn’t all that bad. The medicine was working… not as well as Jacob, but good enough that I could function and hopefully make it through a day of school.

In the kitchen, Charlie watched me with concern as I moved around carefully while getting my breakfast and gingerly sat down to eat.

“Are you sure you’re ready to go back to school kiddo? You look like you’re in a lot more pain than you have been.”

The pain I was experiencing wasn’t anything compared to what it had been, with the medicine it was just an ache really, but Charlie had mostly only seen me when I was with Jacob and had no pain, so it seemed intense to him.

“I’ll be fine. It’s my Senior year and I don’t want to get any further behind, so I have to at least try. The pain isn’t really that bad. I’m just being extra careful to make sure I don’t irritate anything, so it looks worse than it is.”

I glanced at the clock, anxious for Jacob to get there. After spending nearly every moment with him over the past two and half weeks, I was missing him fiercely. I knew I didn’t sleep as well last night, and it wasn’t just because of the pain. At least I hadn’t had the nightmare again.

Jake got there just as I was taking my cereal bowl to the sink. I heard him greet Charlie briefly, as he hurried to get to me in the kitchen. I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he was next to me, and the ache vanished.

“Good morning, Bella,” he said cheerfully, wrapping his arms around me and I turned into him.

“Good morning,” I replied, tilting my face up to him and he obligingly gave me a quick kiss.

“You ready to go?”

I nodded. “My bag is by the front door.”

Charlie was still in the front hall putting his gun belt and jacket on and we said a quick goodbye as I pulled on my jacket, Jake grabbed my bag, and we headed out the door.

“How’s the pain this morning?” he asked as he put his arm around me and took off down the street. “It didn’t seem too bad when I got there.”

“It’s more of an ache. It’s a little harder to deal with since I’m used to no pain, but I should be okay. I have the pills with me to leave at the nurse’s office.”

Since Jake wasn’t a student at Fork’s High, we had to get special permission for him to be on campus to help me with my bag before and after school. He went with me to the school office so that he could get registered as a frequent guest and I could give my medicine to the nurse. Mrs. Cope seemed almost afraid of him when we walked in, but after I introduced him, his full Jacob smile spread across his face as he turned on the charm, letting that inner sun of happiness shine, and he won her over.

As we walked through the halls to my locker, his arm slung around my shoulders, self-consciousness crept in as I began to notice the gaping looks we were getting. Jake towered over everyone, so it was impossible for anyone to miss him. He just pulled me in closer and kept an easy smile on his face. Once we’d stashed my bag in my locker, I showed him where my last class was so he could try to meet me there at the end of the day, then we headed to my first class.

Standing outside the classroom, I leaned into Jake for a moment, preparing myself for the pain when he left, the students flowing around us were giving us a wide berth. I straightened and turned my face up to him for another kiss. He made this one a little longer than the one at my house, then he backed away from me a couple of steps, pausing when I sucked in a breath as the ache hit. Closing my eyes for a moment, I took a deep steadying breath and then smiled at him.

“Not too bad,” I said, and I wasn’t lying. “I’ll see you after school.”

“See you later baby.”

I turned quickly and headed into class before I gave in to the desire to hug him again. The pain always felt strongest when it first came back after we separated, so another hug would mean another hit of the intense pain, and I didn’t want to do that.

I made it through the morning without much trouble. The hard chairs weren’t very nice to my back, so I started folding up my jacket to have a little padding to sit on an that helped a bit. I would have loved to have some cushions like the ones Emily had for me at her house, but that would be totally awkward to walk around with (and draw way too much attention), so hopefully I could make this work.

Mike had several classes with me and offered to carry my books, which I gratefully accepted.

“It’s good to have you back Bella. You look like you’re still pretty sore though.”

“I am, but it’s so much better than it was. I don’t want to miss any more of my Senior year if I can help it.”

“Well, just let me know if you need help with anything.”

“Thanks Mike.”

“Hey, you still dating that Quileute guy?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant, and failing.

“Jacob. Yeah, we’re still together. You’ll probably see him around since he’ll be here in the mornings and after school. I’m not supposed to carry anything more than a couple of textbooks and I can’t drive yet, so he’ll be driving me and helping me with my backpack.”

“Oh, that’s great,” he said, sounding like he didn’t think that was great at all. I sighed internally… maybe someday Mike would realize I didn’t want anything more than friendship from him.

Going through the lunch line with Angela she had me put my food on her tray, so I didn’t have to carry it. While we were waiting to pay, she glanced around, her face flushed and glowing as she leaned in close to me and whispered, “Embry kissed me last night!”

I sucked in a little gasp and gave her a big smile. “Ooh, that’s exciting. I wondered if something might happen soon. So, are you an official couple then? Are you happy about it? You seem to be.”

“Yeah, we’re official and yes, I’m very happy about it. It’s hard to believe I have such strong feelings for him already.”

“Have you told anyone here at school about him?”

“No,” she said, looking serious. “I don’t want it to get back to Ben… it might hurt him. It’s pretty soon, and I don’t want him thinking that I was dating Embry while I was still with him, because that’s what it might look like.”

“I understand.”

We sat down together at the table. Everyone welcomed me back… well, everyone except for Lauren, of course. After answering all their questions on my accident and recovery, and Jake, everyone moved on to their own little side conversations.

Angela and I talked quietly with each other. I told her about my evening with Jake and she told me a little more about her evening with Embry, being careful about what she said with so many ears close around us. She also agreed to continue to help me study a couple times a week until I could get completely caught up.

As we headed out of the cafeteria together, I was listing off what I could remember of the schoolwork I had left to complete from my absence.

“I still need to make up my last test in Calculus, put the finishing touches on my English pa—”

I was suddenly thrown forward as something slammed into my left shoulder. As if in slow motion, I caught a glimpse of a kid running past, throwing a “Sorry” over his shoulder as he kept going… and then the pain hit. I sucked in a breath as I grabbed onto Angela to at least avoid crashing to the ground. She held onto my arms to help steady me, but as the full force of the pain flooded my body, I fell to my knees, struggling to take a breath, tears streaming from my eyes.

“Oh my gosh Bella, are you okay?” Angela asked, concern creasing her features.

“I don’t know,” I gasped, barely able to get the words out. I attempted to get up a couple of times, but finally gave up and just laid down on the floor, breathing hard. Jacob, I need you, I silently cried out to him. I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to recover very quickly from this.

Angela knelt beside me, her hand on my head, as a circle of curious students started gathering around me. A teacher finally came to break up the congregated students.

“Angela, stay with me please?” I asked softly. The pain had eased slightly, so I at least wasn’t panting.

“Of course I will,” she promised, then leaned close and whispered, “Did you call for Jake?”

I nodded, but I had no idea how close he would be.

The teacher had knelt down on one knee beside me. “What happened here?” he asked. Angela filled him in. “Do you think you can get to the nurse’s office.”

“Maybe? Just give me another minute.”

He nodded and stood up but stayed near, keeping the students moving. I honestly wasn’t sure, but I didn’t want them to resort to calling Charlie… or an ambulance, so I was going to try.

Several minutes later, with Angela’s help, I was finally able to get to my feet and very slowly headed toward the nurse’s office. Thankfully the next class hour had started, so the halls were now empty. I was leaning heavily on Angela, and we had to stop frequently so I could catch my breath and each breath sent more pain lancing through my ribs. I hoped Jake wasn’t too far away because I was realizing I wasn’t gonna make it.

**********
JACOB POV
**********
JACOB, I NEED YOU. Bella’s voice rang through my head.

Embry and I were already heading toward the school as most of the others were headed to Emily’s for lunch, except Sam and Seth who were making one more patrol run. The pain in her voice had me picking up my pace… plus the other two times she had called for me, she was in serious trouble. My stomach turned at the thought.

What’s wrong Jake? Sam asked.

It’s Bella. She just called for me. Something’s not right.

I felt the alarm collectively run through the pack mind.

Okay, Paul you go with Jake too. Sam ordered. You and Embry stay in the woods until Jake figures out what’s going on.

I was sprinting full speed toward the school, beginning to pull away from Paul and Embry a little. They followed behind in silence, staying as close as they could. I began to wonder what could have possibly happened to Bella. It sucked that this link didn’t go both ways so I could ask her, but we were lucky to have it at all. Edward was still around town, so I started to become concerned that it could have something to do with him. Irritation from the others went through me at that thought. I also sensed Embry’s concern for Angela.

I’ll try to check on her too Embry. They may be together.

Thanks Jake.

We’d had a fairly uneventful morning up till now. It was the first time I had phased since the leech had attacked Bella and it felt good to be back running through the forest again. Wanting to feel the wind in my fur and stretch my legs, I’d really let go and sprinted several times already, leaving the rest of the pack in the dust… except Leah, I still couldn’t outrun her.

As soon as I had phased this morning, I’d learned that the red head had been back eight times since she’d attacked Bella! That meant she had increased her frequency by a lot… possibly because she wasn’t finding any fresh scent for Bella was Sam’s guess. Sam hadn’t told me any earlier because he didn’t want to give me or Bella anything else to worry about while she was healing.

When I reach the woods surrounding the school, I dressed quickly and ran toward the main buildings. Sam and I had agreed for me to start my patrol from the school so I could also end it there when it was time to pick Bella up. I’d hidden my clothes in a bag in some bushes… I couldn’t exactly walk around the school bare chested.

As I neared the building, I picked up Bella’s scent and followed it. I found her just outside the doors that led to the office, leaning on Angela who was helping her walk, though they weren’t making much progress. She was in a lot more pain than when I left her this morning and a growl rumbled in my chest.

Angela looked relieved when she saw me. Bella immediately relaxed against me as Angela released her into my arms.

“Jake,” Bella breathed in relief and buried her face against my neck.

“Do you know what happened Angela?” I didn’t figure Bella would feel up for much talking.

“I need my backpack,” Bella whispered.

“Okay honey, we’ll get that,” I said to her. Then to Angela again, “Can you help me get her things too?”

“Absolutely,” she agreed and then filled me in on what had happened as we walked to Bella’s locker.

“Man, that sucks. Stupid little punk,” I growled in irritation, though the kid probably didn’t realize what he had done. “Did she seem to be doing okay before that?”

“Yeah. She was hurting a little, but she was doing good.”

We were at Bella’s locker and Angela was gathering her things.

“I’ll walk with you out to her truck,” she said as she slung Bella’s bag onto her shoulder, and we headed out to the parking lot.

“Would you be able to let the office know what happened and that Bella went home?”

“Sure, no problem.”

Embry and Paul were waiting at Bella’s truck and Embry rushed over to Angela as we neared. He took Bella’s bag from her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes, I was just helping Jake with Bella’s bag. What’re you doing here?”

“I was with Jake… we were patrolling around the school since Bella was here.”

She looked at him confused. “Why would you need to do that?”

Paul spoke before Embry could answer. “Sam and the others picked up the red head’s trail a few minutes ago, so Sam told us to stay with you.”

“Damn it!” Annoyance and anger coursed through me at that news. First day off the Rez and she was already in danger again. Is it ever going to end!? I worried about Bella’s response, but her face was still buried against my neck and her breathing thankfully indicated that she was out cold.

“Angela, could you go ahead and let the office know about Bella? And also…” I paused, glancing between her and Embry, considering. “Also, I think you should come with us, so maybe you could tell them that you’re taking her home or something. We just need you to hurry and then we can explain once we’re on the way.”

She looked from me to Embry, confused. “I agree with Jake,” Embry said. “I promise we’ll explain once we get going.

“Okay. I need to get my books too.” Her quiet answer reflected her confusion and nervousness about our request.

“That’s fine,” Embry said, “please just hurry.”

She nodded and then ran toward the office.

A cold shiver ran up my spine. “You guys feel that?”

“Yep,” they answered in unison, all of us scanning the area… we were being watched.

“That can’t be the red head,” Paul said, “there’s no way she could have gotten here that fast.”

“Cullen,” I scowled, receiving answering growls from Paul and Embry.

“Let’s just get out of here as soon as Angela gets back,” I said. “Embry, can you drive?”

“Sure man.” He slung Bella’s bag in the back.

Paul hopped in the bed of the truck and opened the back window so we could communicate more easily with him, and I got in the passenger seat with Bella.

A few minutes later, Angela came running back, out of breath and looking a little scared. Embry took her bag and tossed it in the back with Bella’s then helped her into the cab and climbed in after her.

“Where’re we heading?” Embry asked me.

“Emily’s,” I said. “Do you know where they picked up the red head’s trail?”

“She was coming in from the East, heading to Forks, of course, about 50 miles northeast of here. It’s a good thing Sam decided to do that last check over that way!”

“Definitely! Maybe the little punk hitting Bella was a blessing in disguise then.”

“Someone hit Bella?!” Embry asked in surprise, an edge of anger tinging his voice.

I set Bella on my lap so I could wrap one arm around her torso and support her head against my chest with the other hand as Embry pulled out of the parking lot.

“It was an accident. Some little punk was running in the hall and not paying attention to where he was going and just happened to slam into Bella.”

“Man, she just can’t catch a break sometimes!”

“Tell me about it.” I muttered, looking down at her and brushing her hair back from her face.

“Did she pass out or something?”

“Yes. That pain wiped her out. She must have really been in a lot of pain because she passed out almost immediately when I got to her.”

“She was in a lot of pain,” Angela confirmed. “She couldn’t even stand up, or hardly breathe, for seven or eight minutes.”

I winced at that information.

Embry looked over at her, concern on his face. My life might be kinda messed up and weird in a lot of ways, but I’m thankful for the band of brothers it has brought me and how much they all care for Bella and her well-being.

“She should be fine Embry. She’s not in pain anymore at least. We’re going to make an exception and allow the doc over the treaty line though. I want him to check her out as soon as he can.”

A low growl of displeasure came from Paul at that declaration, but he didn’t object.

Embry glanced at me. “How do you do it man? She’s not even my girlfriend and I worry about her.” He spoke more quietly then, casting a quick look at Angela. “I can’t imagine what I would do if it was Angela. How do you keep from losing your mind?” She looked back up at him, still confused, but touched by his concern.

“Practice?” I said and let out a humorless laugh. “I don’t know, I just handle whatever problem is in front of me and try to enjoy everything in the times between. I definitely can’t sit around thinking about all the things looking to hurt her or the ‘what-ifs’… that would for sure make me go mad!”

He shook his head, “Well no doubt you’re the right guy to deal with all the craziness that follows her around.”

“Thanks… I think,” I said, raising an eyebrow at Embry.

“I meant it as a compliment!”

I looked over my shoulder to speak to Paul again. “See anything out there?”

“Nope, looks clear… wait…”

My skin crawled as the hairs on my neck rose again and Embry started looking around too.

“I think we’re being followed,” Paul said through gritted teeth.

“It’s probably still Cullen… just keep your eyes open.”

What’s your deal bloodsucker!? I thought, hoping he was listening. Just leave her alone already. She’s no longer your concern!

Angela spoke again, beginning to get frustrated. “So, when are you guys going to tell me what’s going on? Who’s the red head? And are you talking about Edward Cullen?”

Embry looked at her and then over to me. “Jake, can you tell her? You know the stories better.”

I nodded then told her about Edward being back and what happened when he showed up at the hospital, which she handled well. I then told her about Victoria and how she was wanting to avenge her mate and was hunting for Bella. Her face had paled while I told her about that, and Embry had put his arm around her.

“I’m sorry I hadn’t told you about this yet,” Embry said to her. “You’ve just had to absorb so much; I didn’t want to scare you with this too. I had planned on telling you soon, but she’s changed her pattern again. She was just here a couple days ago, so we didn’t expect her back so soon. Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered, sounding numb. “Are we going to be safe in La Push?”

“Yes, you and Bella will be very safe down here,” Embry assured her. “The red head could never track Bella’s scent on our lands because the wolf scent is too strong.”

“What do you mean ‘you and Bella’? What about you?” Her voice rose with new concern.

Embry spoke to her gently. “We have to stop her… otherwise Bella will never be safe.”

Angela looked at him with wide eyes.

“I told you about this part,” he reminded her. “This is what we do—the reason we exist—to keep people safe from the vampires.”

She nodded. “I know that,” she said slowly, her voice trembling, “but now that you actually have to do it, I don’t want you to. I’m scared that you’re going to get hurt… or killed.” She choked a little on the last word.

We pulled up to Emily’s house then. Paul went to check in with Sam while Embry and I got the girls inside. Thankfully, Carlisle had given us an extra bottle of pain pills to keep here for just such a situation. I laid Bella down on the sofa and knelt down on the floor next to her, able to wake her up enough to swallow one of her pills. Embry had Angela sit in one of the armchairs and squatted in front of her.

“I have to go do this Angela,” he said gently, but firmly. “There are seven of us, eight if Jake goes, and only one of her. Our biggest challenge is catching her. She’s more likely to run than to fight. Once we can get her cornered, she’ll be no match against all of us.”

Angela had tears in her eyes, but she nodded. “Just be safe,” she said to him.

“I will be,” he replied as he took her face between his large hands and kissed her gently.

My attention shifted to the door as Paul walked in. “Sam says the red head is making an odd pattern around Forks, probably looking for Bella.”

She’s definitely not going to find her today. There’s no way she could smell Bella’s trail with our scent overpowering it.

“This might be the perfect chance to execute our plan,” Paul continued, glancing at the bag set aside in the corner near the front door. “With the three of us coming at her from the other side we might be able to box her in easier and finally get her. Sam said it was up to you whether you stay or go with us, but Jake, you know we’re stronger with you there… you’re our best fighter.”

I knew what I should do, but I was having trouble making myself leave Bella when she would be in so much pain again. However, we needed to take every opportunity to try to end this. I wanted the red head to pay for what she did to Bella… and I wanted to be the one to do it.

I kissed Bella’s forehead for a long moment and moved away slowly. She became restless and whimpered a little but calmed again when Emily knelt beside her and stroked her head, though her face was still tense with pain.

“I’ll stay right with her,” Emily assured me, “and I’ll call Carlisle like you asked.”

“Jake, we need to go now if we’re going to have a shot at this,” Embry said with quiet urgency, standing with Paul by the door, bag in hand.

I looked at Bella for just another moment then turned and ran out the door with them.

Chapter Text

**********
JACOB POV
**********
THIS WAS WHAT THE pack mind was made for. Perfect unity and coordination in the hunt. To know what we were each thinking and doing immediately. To see everyone’s positions simultaneously.

As soon as Paul, Embry, and I phased, we could see where the rest of the pack was. They were staying on the red head, just far enough back for her to still think she had the upper hand as she continued to work her way around the Forks area trying to find Bella, so we still had time to make this work.

How’s Bella? Sam asked and I could feel the concern coming from most of the pack.

In pain but doing better than at first, I thought, feeling tense about leaving her. She’s sleeping at least.

I’m glad you decided to come Jake, Sam thought gratefully. We’ll have a much better shot at making this work with you here.

We’ve got the bait, I informed him, wanting to focus on the task ahead, and we’re headed to the field.

Good! Sam replied. Now, we just need to get the red-headed leech there. She spent extra time circling the school, so it’s a good thing we already had Bella out of there.

Blessing in disguise… Embry thought, his frustration flaring again at the kid who hit Bella. He’s still a little punk.

I barked a quiet laugh. A little punk indeed!

The trees were our enemy when it came to this leech… that’s how she got around us every time. There was a large field a few miles north of town and that was our target. It wasn’t too far from Bella’s house, which is where the leech was currently heading.

Embry, Paul, and I were quickly approaching the field to set the trap. Alice had retrieved Bella’s pillow for us over a week ago—something that was saturated with Bella’s scent, but I’d never had contact with—and she had vacuum sealed it in a bag to hopefully keep her scent fresh and our scent off of it. We just needed enough of Bella’s scent to get the leech to go into the field so we could surround her.

We reached the field and I quickly phased about 20 yards from the north edge of the tree line and ripped the bag open. Bella’s scent hit me like a sledgehammer, and I had to fight to not let my thoughts and worry for her run away from me. As potent as it was to me, I just hoped it was strong enough to get the leech’s attention. I dumped the pillow out of the bag, careful not to touch it, and let it fall into the tall grass, obscuring it from view. The ground was damp, and the threat of rain hung in the air, the moisture and humidity further intensifying the scent. I phased back as I ran toward the trees again.
Yep, still strong. That should do it, Embry thought, and Paul agreed. It was even stronger to me now in wolf form and made me long to return to Bella.

I shook my head and snorted to refocus. Lifting my muzzle into the air I paused to feel for the breeze to see where it was coming from. I could smell the rain, hanging thick in the air, as well as a faint hint of the ocean. The rain was rolling in from the west, but the breeze was fairly strong from the northwest and seemed to be holding steady.

We need to avoid the northwest corner of the field until the leech has taken the bait, I instructed everyone. Embry, you’re going to be lookout. Stay in the northeast corner, far enough in she can’t see you, but you can still see the southern edge of the field. Stay low.

Got it, Embry agreed and took off to get in position.

Leah and Paul, you two need to be ready to cover that northwest corner, I continued, but don’t make a move until you’re sure she’s going for the bait.

Right, they both agreed. I could feel the frustration coming from Leah, but I ignored it. She hated taking orders, but especially from me and especially when it involved anything to do with Bella.

Paul and I went deep into the trees to the north, far enough that our scent wouldn’t reach the field.

The rest of the pack was going to attempt to herd her toward the field… unless she turned that way on her own. Since she had been making more frequent attempts to get to Bella lately, the pack had been able to test the herding theory as well as track her movements more.

Each time they had chased her, they would subtly change their course to see if she would adjust her path to the direction they wanted. It had appeared to work every time. They also discovered that she often turned north once she was past Bella’s house, so the herding may not even be necessary.

As she got close to Bella’s house a few of the pack dropped back to prepare to make the next move to get in position to the east and west sides of the field.

Once the red head passed Bella’s house she turned north all on her own. Everything was falling into place. This just might work!

The ones who had already dropped back had fanned out, and now they rushed forward to get into position. Sam and Quil were going to come up from the south, so as the leech got close enough to the field they started backing off. Hopefully she would think we had given up since she was headed out of the area.

This was the tricky part. We needed her to keep heading north to pick up Bella’s scent and then go at least part way across the field. With her ability of self-preservation and evasion it was possible that she would sense the trap, so we had to stay back enough to keep her from sensing we were there.

However, the more she had evaded us, the more confident she appeared to become. Our hope was in that newfound confidence that seemed to border on arrogance. Even though she had encountered us repeatedly, she had always been able to get away. She no longer ran away as soon as we were on her trail, but she would continue on and complete her search of the Forks area, avoiding our territory and the area around the Cullen’s home. The only time we had been able to touch her was when she had attacked Bella. She had possibly become too confident.

Plus, we had never attempted this level of coordination in an attack, so she shouldn’t expect it. This might be the only chance we would get to attempt this plan. If she escaped today, she’d know that we weren’t just a pack of mindless beasts and we could lose the biggest, and possibly only, advantage we had over her.

Now we just had to wait.

**********
BELLA POV
**********
I WAS ON THE beach, standing hand in hand with Emily. It wasn’t raining, but there was a storm rolling in over the choppy waves, and the air was thick with it, making it hard to breathe. We weren’t looking over the water, but we were facing up the beach instead, looking toward the tree line fifty yards away. There stood two massive wolves, one black and one red-brown, the wind blowing their fur like prairie grass.

The wolves looked out over the water, focused intently on something. I wanted to look, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the breath-taking sight of the wolves. I tried to move toward them, but Emily was holding me back.

A movement in the water caught my attention and I was finally able to look that way. There were two objects headed for the beach, speeding through the water like torpedoes. Suddenly the objects broke the surface and flew out of the water in a flash of gold and red. Landing gracefully on the beach were the beautiful blonde female vampire from the Quileute legends, and Victoria! They crouched down in a fighting stance, hissing, as the wolves growled loudly and charged at them.

I tried to call out, to stop them from fighting, but the wind stole my words away as soon as they left my lips. I tried waving my arm, attempting again to get Emily to let me go or come with me, but she continued to hold me back, staring in horror as the wolves and vampires collided on the beach in a blur.

I noticed then that I was holding something in my free hand. I looked down and there was an ancient blade in my hand. It was handmade and looked like it had been beautiful at one time. It had an intricately carved wooden handle, inlaid with turquoise and veins of gold. But the handle was now cracked, the blade was rusty, and it was smeared with black. I knew automatically, the way you sometimes do in dreams, that it was the old, dried blood of the third wife… the one who had no special or magical powers, but sacrificed herself to save her family and her whole tribe.

I knew what I must do. I ripped my hand from Emily’s and ran toward the blurred images of the fighting wolves and vampires, prepared to sacrifice myself to save my family… to save the ones I loved. I was running as fast as I could, but I was barely moving, trapped by the frustrating slow run of dreamers. I kept pushing forward, but when I had closed less than half the distance I stumbled to my knees as the blurred figures solidified and I saw the beautiful, powerful wolves lying lifeless on the stony beach. My heart shuddered to a stop and was crushed at the horrid sight… and I was screaming.

I woke with a start, a scream keening from my lips. As my lungs tried to draw in a breath, pain sliced through me and I cried out, the scream silenced, but the tears were streaming. I’d had the nightmare again, and this time I’d remembered it. Jake and Sam. They fought. I had tried to stop it. Just like the third wife, I was ready to sacrifice myself, but I was too late and both of them fell. The overwhelming loss wrenched a sob of their names from the depths of my soul, which caused more pain to shoot through me… more pain than I had felt in over a week. I lay as still as I could, desperately trying to control the emotions, chanting in head “It wasn’t real” over and over. Jake and Sam were fine… it had just been a dream.

Emily was suddenly beside me, her hand on my head, and concern etching her face. “Are you alright Bella?”

I shook my head and tried to speak, but I couldn't get any words past the emotion and pain clogging my throat.

Emily began brushing her hand over my hair, speaking to me calmly, also telling me it was just a dream, but there was an edge of fear in her voice. As I finally got my emotions somewhat under control, I noticed for the first time that I was on my stomach with several ice packs laying along my back and draped over my side. Memories came flooding back—of the kid at school who had rammed into me and of Jake coming to me. But I didn’t remember how I got to Emily’s, and I was confused why Jake wasn’t with me—there was almost nothing that would keep him from me when I was in pain like this.

Angela’s voice sounded near my head. “What’s wrong? Is her pain still that bad?”

“That may be part of it, but she has nightmares sometimes and she’s been having them frequently lately. Never in the middle of the day before, but I think that’s what happened.”

I finally got the sobs to stop and tried to take a deep breath only to end in a gasp from the pain that lanced through my ribs. I looked up at both Angela and Emily, kneeling on the floor near my head. I was getting ready to ask where Jake was, but I could read the worry and fear in Emily’s eyes now. It went far beyond any concern that she would have for me, and the realized meaning caused my stomach to drop as the blood rushed from my head. It was a good thing I was already lying down.

“Victoria?” I whispered tightly.

Emily nodded. “She showed up again, and they all went after her.”
I closed my eyes as the air was sucked from my lungs. My nightmare was playing through my mind again. I kept it to myself and hoped that she hadn’t heard me say Jake’s or Sam’s names when I first woke.

Emily took my hand and squeezed firmly, her other hand still on my head and I felt Angela’s hand rest on my head too. We didn’t try to reassure each other with words because we both knew that the pack was strong, but anything could happen.

“How long have they been gone?” I whispered once I’d recovered a little.

“About twenty minutes,” she said quietly. After a pause she asked the question I didn’t want her to. “You were crying for Jake and Sam when you woke up… do you remember your dream this time?”

I took a while to answer, but finally said “Yes.”

She nodded and didn’t ask anything else, guessing the meaning of it all, considering she already knew the feelings of loss the nightmare always left me with.

Oh no! The knowledge that Jake might have heard me calling for him slammed into me. I hope I didn’t distract him! This could be very bad. Should I risk sending him another thought, to let him know I was okay? I couldn’t even be positive he had heard me. But I was calling his name…since everything started between us, he has always heard me when I’ve done that, so yes, I should risk it. If I didn’t, he could remain distracted and that was not something he needed.

Jake, I’m okay. I had the nightmare again and that’s why I was calling for you and Sam. Please don’t worry about me and be safe. I hoped he got all that. Suddenly, the need to send one additional thought to Jake entered my mind. Beyond logic or reason, my fear and worry subsided, and a blazing determination came over me along with a sudden certainty that the pack could do this. I channeled all of that energy into that final thought: And Jake… take down that red-headed leech!

I shivered as the determination and certainty faded and the fear and worry returned. I had no idea where that had come from, but the only way it was going to end is if the pack ended her, so I hoped it would somehow give him an edge.

I met Emily’s gaze and she had a very strange look on her face.

“What is it?” I asked.

There was a slight hesitation before she asked, “Did you just communicate something to Jake?”

I furrowed my brow. “Yes. How did you know that?” I had told her about what we had discovered the night on the porch with Angela, but I couldn't see how she would be able to tell. I hadn’t even closed my eyes.

“I ummm… well, I just…” She let out a long, tense sigh and opened her mouth to speak again, but Angela answered before she could say more.

“You had a strange, kinda glossy, far-away look on your face. I would have never figured out that’s what it was though.”

Emily’s face instantly relaxed in relief. “It was just a lucky guess.”

I nodded, but studied her face more closely. “Is everything okay, Em?

“Yeah, I’m fine… well actually, no, I’m scared a little out of my mind right now. I’m not thinking quite straight right now. Sorry if I’m acting kinda weird.”

I squeezed the hand that was still holding mine. “It’s alright.”

After a brief pause, Emily changed the subject, probably trying to keep our minds occupied. “So, I called your dad to let him know where you are. And I called Carlisle… he should be here soon to make sure you didn’t reinjure anything.”

I nodded numbly. “Yeah, that kid hit me really hard. I couldn’t stand for nearly ten minutes.”

She nodded as Angela spoke. “I filled her in about that. I was really worried for you. Still am really, but I just have a few more things on my mind at the moment.” She let out a little huff and shook her head slightly. “How’re you feeling now?”

“Just lying here, everything seems to have calmed down, but I wouldn’t want to try moving just yet. The ice packs feel good.”

We talked a bit more about totally random things, but eventually the conversation faltered, and silence enveloped us. Clinging to each other’s hands, we were connected by touch, but each of us were lost to our own worries about our wolves.

Chapter Text

**********
JACOB POV
**********
SEVERAL TENSE MINUTES passed while none of us had eyes on the leech and we just had to hope that she stayed on the course she had been on. Everyone’s thoughts were still, and I could hear the gentle sounds of the forest all around us… a rare thing when we were all in wolf form.

Out of nowhere I felt a stab of pain in my back and left side, and I yelped as my legs gave out a little. The pain changed to an ache and then Bella was calling for me… and for Sam. Was I feeling her pain!? A soft whine slipped out of my throat.

What is it, Jake? What’s wrong? Sam asked.

Its Bella. She’s calling for me… and for you Sam. My thoughts were confused as I tried to figure out what this meant. She should be safe at Emily’s. I also think I’m feeling her pain. I whined again. She’s so sad.

My side and back continued to ache, but now my heart was aching at the sadness coming through… I could feel her, not just hear her, and she was sobbing.

The ache and the sadness faded as suddenly as it had come as Bella’s mind turned away from me. I shook my head, trying to bring my focus back to what we needed to do. But why in the world would she be calling to me right now?

Come on man, pull it together! Paul thought as he head butted my shoulder.

I was still shaking my head, trying to refocus when I heard her again. I huffed a sigh of relief. She’s fine. She had that damn nightmare again.

I could feel both relief and irritation roll through our minds. I knew who the irritation came from but blocked it from my thoughts. I was tuning back into what Embry was seeing when I heard her one more time: And Jake… take down that red-headed leech!

Yeeees! I growled and snapped my teeth, feeling her determined energy, her certainty in us to get this done. It amped me back up, even more than I was before. Let’s do this!

Oh yeah, he’s back! Paul declared.

We all focused back in, watching intently through Embry’s eyes as he scanned the southern edge of the field. As the seconds ticked by, we started to get antsy and worried that she had turned away too soon, but there was a new energy buzzing through us. Bella’s last thought had supercharged me, and it seemed to be affecting everyone.

Then she was there, red hair blowing in the breeze, right at the southern edge of the field. Still as a statue, she crouched and stared across the large open space, her head moving minutely every few seconds as she scented the air and scanned the trees, a wild look in her eyes. Her head swiveled around to the direction she’d come from and for a moment it looked as if she was going to run back the other way. Then she moved. Unable to resist investigating Bella’s scent, she dashed across the field.

NOW! Sam and I commanded loudly at the same moment.

We all pushed forward at full speed to close in and surround her. She reached where the pillow lay in the tall grass and hissed her frustration just as I came rushing out of the trees in front of her, teeth bared and snarling. Recognition dawned across her face… did she remember that I was the one who ripped off her arm? She turned and dashed back to the south but pulled up short when she saw Sam coming at her from that direction. She turned to go east, then west, but was blocked from every side. A ferocious frustrated snarl ripped from her throat, echoing off the trees all around us, but was immediately drowned out when the entire pack answered her with simultaneous growls, sounding like thunder reverberating around the field. Sam and I closed in on her and the others were in two rings around us with Paul, Jared, and Quil in the inner ring and Embry, Seth, and Leah in the outer ring. Teeth barred, we were all snapping our jaws and there was a constant growl bouncing around us… the energy flowing through us was incredible

We started circling her, making sure not to allow any holes and moving the formation closer to the center of the field, further away from the trees to the north. There was still the chance that she would try to leap over us, but she wouldn’t be able to get any run at it, so that would limit her some.

Sam and I stayed on either side of her as she hissed at us, moving with her as she turned, looking for a way out. The two of us each took turns lunging toward her, snapping our teeth at her, but not trying to grab hold of her yet. Toying with her at this point to try to increase her desperation and hinder her judgement. The others just kept the rings moving and were only to attack if she made a run for it, to ensure that we didn’t leave a hole for her to slip through. We were not going to underestimate her ability to get away, or her strength. She was trapped, but she could still do damage to one or more of us before we could take her down if we weren’t careful.

Finally decided to make a bigger move, Sam lunged much closer to her and went for her neck. She jumped back and I moved with her and lunged at the same time, getting my teeth on her hand. She screamed and did an acrobatic flip, aiming for my back. Circling my body quickly around, I wrenched my head, throwing her back to the center and removing her hand… again. I gave it a hard toss to make sure it landed outside the outer ring as I moved back into position to her side. She was raging now, but there was also fear in her eyes.

Suddenly, she took one bounding step and then leaped high over the heads of the rings. I huffed in frustration. There was no way we could reach her at that height, and it was unlikely we’d be able to catch her, though we would definitely try.

Wanna bet!? Leah was airborne a millisecond after the leech left the ground. She’s not getting away this time! The completely vertical height that Leah was able to achieve was extraordinary… I had never seen any of us jump like that! She easily latched onto the leech’s ankle then twisted her body and whipped her head to fling flung the red head back toward the center of our trap.

Overshooting the center, the leech landed hard on Paul’s back. She immediately drover her fist into his shoulder and a loud crack reverberated around us as Paul went down with a howl of pain. Wasting no time, her arms reached around his neck, her goal surely to break it. I was already there and grabbed her waist, biting down hard, causing her to scream in anger and pain, and flung her off of Paul. My teeth had damaged her, but bloodsuckers healed almost instantly if left intact.

Letting the momentum of my toss turn me in her direction once more, I watched as she landed face down. Without hesitation, before she could recover, I sprung at her again, going straight for her head this time. My teeth crashed against her marble skin as I made contact. I braced my giant paw against her back and twisted hard. With a loud metallic screech, I felt the give as her head detached from her body. Sam was right there too, wrenching off her arm, and then we all started tearing her apart, not taking any chances.

When we had finished dismembering the bloodsucker, we looked around at each other in silent wonder. I let out a triumphant barking laugh. We had done it! We had finally taken down the red head. It felt surreal. One threat that Bella was finally safe from… not to mention the unknown innocent people that this leech would no longer be hunting. Several of the others started howling in victory, but Sam quickly silenced them. We were far too close to town to risk that much noise.

Paul!

Remembering he was injured, I quickly phased, not bothering with the cover of the trees, pulled on my shorts and went to him. He had phased back to human and was lying on the ground holding his left arm, grimacing.

“I think the freaking leech broke my shoulder,” he spat out angrily.

“Can you handle running back to Emily’s like this?” I asked him.

“I think so,” he grumbled, struggling to get his shorts on and then stood up, holding onto his arm. Jared offered to run back with him.

“Here,” I said, ripping of a few strips from the bottom of my shorts and fashioning a crude sling to stabilize and partially immobilize his arm and shoulder.
“Thanks man,” he said, and they took off at a fast jog.

Everyone else had quickly gathered all of the pieces of the leech and set them ablaze, a thick, foul-smelling smoke rising from the flames. We knew this might draw attention also, but with it just being one leech, it should burn out quickly. We all stood, in human form now, and watched as the red headed bloodsucker turned to ash, everyone but me talking enthusiastically. Each of the guys came up and smacked me on the back in celebration and congratulations. The relief that I felt could not be measured, but my mind was starting to turn back to Bella and the pain she was in.

I looked around at them all celebrating, my eyes stopping at Leah. As I approached her, she looked at me, her expression souring a little.

“Leah, that jump was absolutely incredible! Thank yo—“

“You can save it. I didn’t do that for you or your little leech-loving girlfriend.”

Irritation flared through me, and Sam started to reprimand her, but I put my hand up toward him to stop him, remembering Bella’s words that kindness might be the better response for her. I took a breath to calm myself and try once more.

“I’m sure you didn’t do it for either of us,” I said calmly and put my hand on her shoulder, “but I’m thankful all the same.”

A brief moment of shock crossed her face, but she quickly covered it up with a glare, shrugged my hand off her shoulder, and walked away.

Huh. Leah normally would have had a comeback and tried to get the last word. Maybe Bella was right.

Anxious to get back to Bella, I grabbed her pillow and the bag it had been in and took one last look back at my brothers and the dwindling flames. I caught Sam’s eye and we nodded at each other, then I turned and ran into the trees to phase and head back to Emily’s.

**********
BELLA POV
**********
WHEN CARLISLE ARRIVED, he became visibly concerned at the looks on our faces.

“Has something else happened,” he asked anxiously.

“Victoria,” was all I could manage to say from my place on the couch.

He gave me an understanding look and after a pause quietly said, “Well let’s get you checked out, shall we?”

As he knelt down next to where I was still lying on my stomach he noticed Angela, who had cautiously moved far away. “Who’s this?” he asked in a calm, gentle voice and smiled at her.

“This is Angela,” I said, “she’s a friend of mine from school. Another of the pack members imprinted on her last week.”

His eyes widened and looked at me, knowing this meant the imprinting was becoming less rare.

“It’s nice to meet you Angela,” he said, looking back to her.

She just continued to stare wide eyed.

“It’s okay Angela. You don’t need to be scared of Carlisle,” I said trying to reassure her.

Emily was beside Angela and slipped her arm around Angela’s shoulders. “Why don’t you and I go for a little walk?”

Angela nodded her head as Emily guided her to the door. It looked as though she may have reached her limit for today.

“I’m sorry Carlisle. This is all so new to her.”

“No need to apologize Bella. Not everyone handles learning of supernatural things as well as you do. I’m sure she is very overwhelmed right now.”

“She has handled most everything better than I would have thought she might, but the worry of…” I couldn’t finish that statement. “Well, today has been hard.”

“Yes, I imagine today is hard for all three of you.”

I closed my eyes and a few tears escaped. Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder to comfort me. “They are strong Bella,” he said quietly. All I could do was nod.
He started removing the ice packs, telling me to just lie still. He gently lifted my shirt, feeling along my spine and ribs, causing me to wince a few times. He helped me to sit up then and tested the movement of my left shoulder.

“There don’t appear to be any new injuries,” he informed me with relief. “Everything just got irritated by the sudden jarring. You may experience some more pain for the next 24 to 48 hours, but it should calm down after that. I will leave it up to your judgement, but you may want to stay home and rest tomorrow and give it another try on Wednesday. It is very unfortunate that this happened on your very first day back. How were you doing before this happened?”

“Good. I was achy, but nothing I couldn’t tolerate.”

“Well, that’s encouraging,” he said as he stood and prepared to leave. “Continue icing the areas over the next couple of days and call me if anything gets worse.”

The front door flew open, and I turned just as Jake came rushing in and straight over to where I was sitting. I let out a cry as soon as I saw him, and my eyes blurred with tears of relief. Collapsing to his knees in front of me, he gathered me onto his lap. I threw my arms around him, buried my face against his neck, and breathed a shaky sigh, followed by a small sob.

He stroked my hair. “We got her baby,” he declared softly against my ear and let out a quiet laugh. “She’s nothing more than a pile of ash.”

I pulled back to stare at him. “Really!?” I breathed and he nodded.

“You’re finally safe baby,” he whispered. With a burning intensity shining in his eyes, he smashed his lips against mine with a fervent eagerness I’d never experienced before, immediately deepening the kiss until all my senses were consumed by Jake and I was clinging to him.

A few moments later, a throat cleared nearby and, lost in the moment as we were, we looked up in surprise to find Carlisle attempting to hide an amused grin. I buried my face in Jake’s shoulder and started giggling.

“Sorry Doc,” Jake said smugly as he shifted to sit up on the couch, still holding me firmly against him. “I was a little one-minded when I came in.”

“Not to worry. I’m thrilled to hear your news!”

“Yeah, the plan worked great. We did have one get injured if you wouldn’t mind hanging around for a bit to take a look at him… if he feels comfortable with letting you, that is.”

“Who got injured?” I asked, alarm lacing my voice.

“Paul, but he’s going to be okay,” he reassured me then looked at Carlisle. “I’m honestly not sure how he’s going to feel about it. We think she broke his shoulder though.”

“I don’t mind waiting. Perhaps it will be easier on the others if I wait in my car and then I can come back in if he wants me to take a look.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Thanks Doc. He’s in human form, so it’ll take him just a little longer than the rest to get here.”

“Not a problem.” Carlisle was half-way to the front door when a commotion sounded outside, and he paused.

Jake set me on my feet, keeping one arm firmly around me as we went to see what was happening. Sam and Embry had made it back. Emily and Angela must have just been returning as well because both couples were embracing in the front yard, and I beamed at the sight.

“It’s alright Doc,” Jake said, looking back over his shoulder. The two of us joined the others in the yard and had hugs all around as Carlisle skirted around us, heading to his car.

“Is he going to wait to take a look at Paul?” Sam asked Jake, motioning toward Carlisle with his chin.

“Well, he’s waiting until we can see if Paul wants him to take a look,” Jake clarified.

Sam nodded. “You’re right, Paul may not like that idea. That’s nice of him to wait though.”

Sam went back to Emily and Jake turned toward me again, the fire still burning strong in his eyes. He kissed me again, with the same eagerness as before, only drawing it out much longer this time until I was breathless and trembling.

Since there was no way I would be easily standing if it weren’t for Jake’s pain relief, the two of us settled back on the couch with me on his lap. I reclined slightly against his arm as he cradled me there. We talked about him hearing me and feeling my emotions and pain, about the feelings I got before the final thought I sent to him, and then what that did to him and how it affected the whole pack. It was hard to fathom how my little thought had reached through Jake and energized them all. Of course, it hadn’t felt like a normal thought, and I still wasn’t sure where it had come from or what had brought it on.

Paul had reluctantly agreed to let Carlisle examine his shoulder while standing in the yard. His shoulder blade was fractured, but it thankfully wouldn’t need surgery. With the accelerated healing of the wolves, Carlisle guessed that the injury, which would normally take six to eight weeks to heal, would likely be good as new in about ten to twelve days. The order for no phasing during the healing time and an immobilizing sling were going to present a challenge to Paul’s self-control, but he grudgingly agreed to meet Carlisle at the hospital later to get the sling.

After Carlisle left, everyone came inside and for the rest of the afternoon stories were told and retold from all different perspectives—Jake, Sam, and Leah being the heroes of the day. I wished that I could have seen the leap that Leah had made, it sounded so incredible.

Jake kept me pulled close against him, not willing to let me move away… not that I wanted to. I often found him looking at me, and that intensity, though it was slightly diminished, continued to burn in his eyes, sending excited curls of warmth through me.

Emily finally kicked everyone out of the house so that she could make dinner, telling them to be back in an hour and a half. Jared and Paul left to head to the hospital to get his sling, Angela was helping Emily in the kitchen, and everyone else just went into the back yard, throwing around a football or sitting and just hanging out, leaving Jake and I alone again on the couch and he pulled me into his lap once more.

“I’m so thankful that you’re finally safe from that bloodsucker Bella.” He pushed the hair back from my face and caressed my cheek. “I haven’t felt this light and worry-free in a very long time.”

“Yeah, the relief is pretty overwhelming. Thank you, Jake, for always keeping me safe and taking care of me.”

“Of course, baby. You can always count on me.”

That intense fire still shone fiercely in his eyes and when he kissed me again, even though it was gentler than before, it was still much more powerful and deep than usual. He drew me in, and I lost myself… drowning in the feel and scent and taste of Jake. His hand was wound tightly into my hair while the other skimmed gently over my back. There was a tension vibrating through him and I knew that he was fighting to hold back, still on a high from their victory.

When we finally came up for air, I smiled playfully and gave his face a half-hearted push. “Easy there, tiger. I’d prefer to keep my hair attached to my head.”

He let out a huffed laugh and released my hair. “Sorry. I don’t know what to do with all this pent up… I don’t even know what it is. Energy? Emotion? I feel like I could take down 20 more vampires and run a marathon and still not feel settled.”

“Yeah, I can tell. It’s the adrenaline, maybe? Why don’t you go outside with the others and tackle some people? Or wrestle someone?” Jake laughed at my suggestion and my heart felt full at the light that danced in his eyes… it hadn’t shone that brightly in way to long. “Just go do something to blow off some steam and celebrate with your brothers.”

“Are you gonna be, okay?”

“Yes, I’ll be just fine. The pain has calmed a lot throughout the afternoon. I’ll just go sit in the kitchen and chat with Emily and Angela.”

“That does sound like a good idea, if you’re sure.”

I nodded, noticing that he seemed genuinely excited about going to ‘play’ with the others.

“Alright then.” He set me on my feet and stood up in front of me, still holding me close, a little smirk growing on his lips as he gazed down at me. “So, is ‘tiger’ my new nickname?”

I burst out laughing. “Maybe. I’ll have to think about it.”

He shook his head, still smiling. “Always overthinking things.”

“Just go, rude boy. I’ll see you in a little bit.”

He kissed me on the forehead then stepped away slowly, making sure I was okay before he headed out the door.

Emily and I had already talked about me staying at her house tonight to avoid jostling me in the car ride home… and of course so I could stay near Jake until the irritation in my back and side calmed down more. Spending an hour away from him was tolerable, but I would get no good sleep if I wasn’t with him tonight. Charlie called when he got off work—he was glad that I was doing okay and agreed that it was a good idea for me to stay put for tonight, but declined the invitation to dinner, wanting to relax at home and watch whatever game was on.

The atmosphere when the whole pack was together was always joyful, light-hearted, and loud, but everyone was so amped up over the victory that it was a whole new level of excitement. I encouraged Jake to eat at the table with his brothers… I really was doing okay with my pain as long as I was relaxing, so he agreed. It was fun to watch him take part in all of the craziness again after so much time of needing to stay right with me. I was propped up in the corner of the couch with my plate of food, joined by Angela, Emily, and Kim. Sue and Old Quil were each in one of the armchairs across from us with Billy between them in his wheelchair.

Eventually each of our guys came and sat on the floor in front of us, the rest of the pack scattered around either on the floor or on a kitchen chair they drug into the living room. When Jake first came over, he bent down to kiss me, and he seemed back his normal self, the expression on his face more reserved and calmer.

The only person I sometimes saw with anything but a smile on their face was Leah. I occasionally caught her looking at the eight of us—four happy couples lined up on the couch—with a mixture of longing and disgust on her face—I was always quick to avert my eyes so that she didn’t see me notice.

At some point, I started playing with Jake’s silky black hair, which had gotten noticeably longer than the rest of the guys, brushing against his shoulders in the back and reaching mid-cheek in the front. I realized that I did actually like it better this way and was glad that he had grown it back out.

Angela asked me about his hair being so much longer than the rest of them. I explained to her why they have to cut it short and why Jake had let his grow back out some.

“Did you used to have long hair Embry?” she asked.

He looked up at her over his shoulder. “Yeah, it was probably a little longer than Jake’s hair is now. Jake’s hair, though, was a lot longer… probably half-way down his back.” He pointed to a spot on Jake’s back to indicate the length, then started chuckling before continuing. “The first time he phased he looked like an overgrown sheepdog. You know, one of those ones that looks like a mop. It was pretty funny looking.” Embry was laughing harder, then the others who had seen when he first phased, Sam, Paul, Jared, and Billy, all joined him in laughing at the memory. Jake mock laughed and pushed Embry’s head playfully, Embry pushing Jake back half-heartedly. If they’d had more room, I’m sure it would have developed into more of a wrestling match.

It was about that time that I realized my position had shifted throughout the evening and my back was starting to ache. I pushed up, trying to adjust myself and a sharp pain shot up my back, causing me to gasp loudly. All conversations went quiet, and Jake had me in his arms in moments.

I sighed deeply once the pain was gone. “I’m okay,” I said to Jake who had a worried look in his eyes. I then noticed everyone else was staring at me and heat rose in my cheeks. “I promise I’m okay. I just tried to adjust my position. With all the excitement, I forgot to take my medicine is all.”

Emily jumped up off the couch. “Oh shoot, Bella, I forgot all about it too.” She hurried into the kitchen to get it for me.

Angela moved to sit on the floor with Embry so Jake could sit with me on the couch

“I’m so sorry sweetie,” Emily said when she returned with the pill and some water.

“It’s not your fault. I should have remembered.” I took the water and medicine from her with grateful smile.

“At least that bloodsucker can’t ever hurt you again Bella,” Seth said, and everyone agreed… all but one.

Leah exhaled in exasperation, looked as though she was going to say something when all eyes turned to her, but instead she got up and stormed out of the house, muttering something under her breath as she went.

A small growl rumbled in Jake’s chest. “She needs to be careful how she speaks to you. I’m trying to do as you asked and be nice, but she’s not making it easy.” I rubbed soothingly on his arm. I hadn’t been able to hear what she said, but apparently Jake had.

Maybe I should have felt anger, or at the very least frustration, at Leah for the way she acted toward me, but I couldn't find it in myself. All I felt was sadness at her pain and the fact that my presence in her life added to it.

“I’m so sorry about the way Leah treats you Bella,” Sue was saying to me, clearly embarrassed at her daughter’s behavior.

I shook my head. “It’s not your fault Sue. It’s not even Leah’s fault really. She’s been through so much and she’s hurting. I’m just a reminder to her of what caused all that pain, so it’s easy for her to take it out on me. I don’t hold it against her or blame her.”

Sue’s eyes were filled with gratitude. “Thank you for your understanding, Bella. I hope she’ll be able to find a way to heal soon.”

“I hope that for her too,” I said quietly.

Jake kissed my head as I laid it against his chest. Everyone had started their conversations back up and I sat quietly, just listening. With my ear pressed against Jake’s chest, the rumble and vibration of his voice as he spoke lulled me into a dreamy, relaxed state. All the other voices turned into a distant droning, and I started to drift off.

I was still semi-conscious as people started to leave. When I heard Angela say that she needed to get going I made a concerted effort to wake up. I managed to say a groggy goodnight to her and offered Embry my truck to drive her home. A short time later I was in my jammies, curled in a ball in the middle of the bed, waiting for Jake to return from his shower.

“You okay baby?” he asked as he lay down behind me and pulling me against him, propped up on his elbow to look at me. I was relieved to see that all the fire and intensity from earlier was gone from his eyes and he was studying me with a calm, loving look.

“Yeah,” I said sleepily, snuggling back into him. “I was cold without you here.” I relaxed and uncurled a little as his presence warmed me. He leaned down and kissed my cheek before laying his head next to me and wrapping his arm around me. I was sound asleep a few minutes later.

Chapter Text

**********
JACOB POV
**********
IT WAS EARLY when I awoke the next morning and I smiled to myself as I remembered that the red headed leech was no more. It had been so fulfilling to be the one to deliver the fatal blow. I had been fighting for so long now to keep Bella safe from her and it had been such a part of our lives that I wasn’t sure what it was going to look like going forward. What will our new normal become?

Bella had turned toward me during the night, and I looked down at her peaceful face as she slept beside me. The only real threat to her now was Edward Cullen. While annoying, he didn’t seem to pose an actual danger to Bella’s life, just a potential risk to our lives together. Of course, I wasn’t willing to totally dismiss him as a threat. As much as I wanted to believe Carlisle, I wasn’t completely sure… and there was that whole manipulation thing. I was also still uncertain how she would react if she were to see him while fully conscious, even if he didn’t attempt the manipulation again. What if she decided to go back to him? It seemed unlikely, and I hated the uncertainty and doubt that I had about this, but try as I might, I just couldn’t totally shake it.
I rubbed my hand over my face, trying to clear all those thoughts as I realized that this was not a topic that I should spend a lot of time considering. The ‘what-ifs’ weren’t going to bring me anything but doubt and pain… and may in fact drive me to insanity. I sighed, turned onto my back, and put my hands behind my head, trying to come up with something else to think about.

Bella moved closer to me, slinging her brace-clad arm across me and I caught it just before it smacked me in the face. I breathed a sigh then chuckled quietly as she started mumbling in her sleep. I brought my arm around under her head and gently placed her arm on my chest. With a dreamy sigh she murmured my name amidst more incoherent mumbling, and it made me wonder what she was dreaming about. At least I knew it wasn’t that nightmare again. She had told me yesterday that she finally remembered the nightmare that had been haunting her for over two weeks. Hopefully now that the red head was gone the nightmare would be to.

I started to try to come up with some ideas of what we could do for the day. The whole pack had the day off. We wouldn’t need such regular patrols since the red head was dead. Bella and I could also go more places and do more things with no vampire hunting her… like go on actual dates. Sometime soon I’d love to take Bella out to dinner somewhere and maybe catch a movie. That made me smile… would have to make sure it was a better movie than the last one we went to! Maybe Embry and Angela could go with us, or Sam and Emily. I was ready to start doing normal couple things together and try to make our lives simpler… I wondered if that would even be possible. I’d like to think it could.

We couldn’t go crazy today though, Bella really needed to rest. I may just have to be content with what has been our normal since her injuries and hang out here. With everyone off for the day that could actually get pretty entertaining.

Bella slept in late, and we ended up spending a quiet day together with Sam and Emily. We mostly just hung out in the living room, played some card games, and Bella took a nap leaning against me on the couch.

The two of us along with Embry headed back to Bella’s house around three o’clock. Angela was coming over and Bella wanted to have dinner with Charlie, however he called while the girls were working on homework to say that he had to work late. We ordered pizza for dinner and moved into the living room to watch a movie.

“So, who chose The Empire Strikes Back for the movie?” Embry asked. “Not that I’m complaining, just seems like an odd choice for you guys.”

“Well, while I was recovering at Emily’s, Jake and I were taking turns picking movies to watch and it’s Jake’s turn. Last time we watched the first one, so naturally we will have to watch them all.”

At her slightly pandering tone, I exclaimed, “Hey, you said you liked A New Hope.”

“I did,” she held up her hands defensively, “but it’s not exactly something that I’m dying to watch more of.” At my wounded look she patted my cheek and added, “I’m sorry, but it’s not like you were raving about Pride and Prejudice. I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the story, but I won’t have any desire to rewatch them like you do.”

I pointed an accusatory finger at her. “That sappy movie was just frustrating. If that Mr. Darcy had just got his head out of his butt and admitted how he felt sooner, he could have saved them a lot of trouble.”

A snicker came from Embry, and we turned to see him giving me a teasing grin and Angela was trying to hide her smile.

“What?!” I demanded.

“You didn’t just watch that movie, you like watched it enough to analyze it.”

I winged a throw pillow at Embry’s head, who easily caught it and flung it right back at me. Thankfully I easily caught it as well… just before it was about to smack Bella in the face.

“You need to work on your aim, dude.” I tucked the pillow beside me again to keep it from being ammo anymore.

Embry gave Bella a sheepish smile and apologized before immediately turning to Angela. “So, Ang, have you even seen the first Star Wars? A New Hope?”

“Yeah, my dad is a big Star Wars fan, and the boys love it too, so I’ve seen them all. I think I like them more than Bella, but definitely not as much as my dad. I don’t mind rewatching them, though. If you’re anything like me, Bella, you’ll like the third one best, though my dad swears the second one is the best of all six movies.”

Embry and I both adamantly agreed that Mr. Weber was correct, and we were discussing the reasons it was the best when the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of the pizza. Angela and Embry got the pizzas and sodas all laid out on the coffee table with cups, plates, and napkins. We all settled on the couch to start the movie, the girls snug between me and Embry.

Near the beginning, there was a scene of Chewbacca working on one of the ships and Bella turned to look up at me. “Chewie kinda reminds me of you.”
I raised a skeptical brow at her. “In what way?”

“Is it because of how much they sound alike?” Embry asked, imitating the way Chewbacca talks. Angela jabbed him in the ribs, and he just snickered again.

“Har, har,” I said. “You can keep your comments to yourself, Chuckles.”

“No, that’s not it,” she said with an exasperated look at Embry before turning back to me. “It’s cause you’re tall and shaggy,” she ruffled my hair a little, “and he’s like a mechanic, right?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I never really thought about it before, but I guess he is like a mechanic. I guess that’s an acceptable comparison. Now, watch the movie or you’re gonna miss something.”

She rolled her eyes, but her beautiful lips were turned up in a small smile. “Okay, okay, sorry.”

Near the end of the movie Bella leaned over and whispered to me, “See, he even fixes stuff like you do.” She was pointing to the screen which had just showed Chewie banging on some part of the engine when he couldn’t get it to work.

I gaped at her in mock horror and clutched at my heart. “You wound me, Bella. That’s truly the lowest of low blows to insult a man’s abilities like that.”
She tried to keep an innocent, serious look on her face, but quickly burst out giggling and buried her face against my chest.

Not surprisingly, Bella ended up liking this movie more than she had the first one, which pleased me immensely. When it was time to go, she and I sat on the front steps as Embry walked Angela to her car to say goodnight.

“You feeling good enough to go back to school tomorrow?” I asked her.

“Yeah, I think I got enough rest today to be okay with that tomorrow.”

“I’ll just take your truck home tonight then, if that’s alright with you.”

“Sure,” she smiled up at me.

Too quiet for Bella to pick up on, I heard Embry’s voice quietly say that he was ready to go, whenever I was. I ran my finger over her face and then gripped her chin as I kissed her lips softly. Skimming my thumb along her jaw I weaved my fingers into her hair. Sensing how she was responding to me, and when an almost inaudible whimper escaped her throat, I deepened the kiss and drew it out a little longer. We were both breathless when we finally pulled apart.

“I’ll see you in the morning honey.”

She nodded and I helped her to her feet and back up onto the porch before giving her one more brief kiss and then backed away from her, watching to make sure she was going to be okay. She always was, but it was the only crappy part of the pain relief I gave her. She recovered quickly, then Embry and I drove away with a final wave out the window.

**********
BELLA POV
**********
WEDNESDAY MORNING DAWNED gray and dreary. I was feeling about as good as I had on Monday when Jake came to pick me up and I was hopeful that I could actually make it through the whole day without incident.

We still got lots of stares from everyone as Jake walked with me to my locker and first class. It didn’t seem to faze Jake at all, but I hoped the novelty of his presence would wear off soon.

When we were getting close to my class Jake suddenly stopped. I looked up at him and then followed his gaze to see what he was looking at. On the wall was a glittery hand-made poster announcing prom.

“Have you thought about going?” he asked as we started walking again.

I groaned in distaste. “No, I had not thought about it. Angela wants me to go, but I can’t dance Jake. I could seriously hurt myself… or someone else.”

“I wouldn’t let you. I’m no Fred Astaire, but I’m not a slouch on the dance floor either. And I definitely can keep you from hurting anyone, especially yourself.”
I gave him a pleading look. “It’s really not my thing, Jake.”

“Come on Bells, it could be fun. Something normal to do! Besides, I’d love to be able to make some new memories to replace the ones from your prom last year. That was so uncomfortable and awkward.”

I sighed as we stopped beside the door to my class. Jake was trying hard to find ways to make our lives more like they could be if we weren’t all caught up in supernatural things. And it would be nice to make some memories like that with him. I looked at him doubtfully. “I don’t know.”

His eyes brightened seeing that I was considering it, and I lost nearly all my resolve at his hopeful expression.

“I’ll think about it,” I said, “but don’t get your hopes up!”

Jake flashed his bright joyful smile and seeing the glimmer of excitement in his eyes I knew I was probably going to cave.

At lunch, Angela was absolutely thrilled that Jake wanted to go to the prom.

“….but I haven’t agreed for sure yet.” I was saying, trying to quell her excitement.

“You need to decide really soon! Prom is in less than two weeks, and we need to go dress shopping right away to make sure we can find something! Hopefully it’s not too late for the guys to get their tuxes ordered.”

“Has Embry said he’d be willing to go?”

“Oh yeah, he didn’t even hesitate,” she paused in consideration, “do you think it’s because of the imprinting thing?” she asked, her excitement dimming slightly. We had decided to start sitting at a table by ourselves so we could talk more freely. Also, Angela wanted to make it easier for Ben to sit with his friends and not feel awkward with her there too.

I shrugged, “Maybe. But either way, he wants to do it, so it’s not like he’ll be upset because of why he wants to do it.”

“True. Still, it makes me feel a little guilty.”

“I totally understand… you know how I feel about imprinting. To be fair to yourself though, I think you’re going to have to get over feeling guilty about it, or you’re going to potentially feel that way the rest of your life! He just wants to make you happy, and whatever does that, makes him happy.”

“You’re probably right. It’s just hard to get used to, I guess. He did say that he would like it better if Jake were there too, so he’d know someone.” She smiled at me hopefully. “Oh, please say you’ll go Bella!”

I didn’t know why I was still fighting it, when deep down I already knew that I was going to cave after the look on Jake’s face this morning. I sighed, “Okay, fine, I’ll go. But I’ll hold you and Jake responsible if anyone gets injured!”

Angela squealed quietly in delight, clasped her hands under her chin, and got a huge smile on her face. I couldn’t help but smile back.

“When do you want to go shopping?” she asked. “I don’t think we should wait until this weekend… especially for the tuxes. Would you be opposed to going tomorrow? Or tonight? Oh my gosh, I’m so excited!”

I was laughing as I listened to her excited babbling. It almost got me excited… almost. What was I doing? This was probably going to end badly.

“I’m game for whatever, I guess.” I shrugged one shoulder. “Torture tonight or torture tomorrow, doesn’t make a difference to me.”

She gave me an exasperated look. “It’s not that bad Bella. At least pretend you’re having fun when we go.”

I released a sigh. “I’ll try. We already planned to do something together tonight, so maybe we could go shopping instead, since we already know the guys are free.” One school night out wasn’t going to do any harm. My teachers were all impressed with how much work I had kept up on while I was out, so they were being extremely lenient with allowing me to turn stuff in late.

Angela quickly agreed and spent the rest of lunch making plans for after school to try to get out of town as soon as possible. I made it through the rest of the day without incident and was excited when Jake was waiting for me outside of my last class. He gave me a kiss and took my books from me as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

“How was your day Bells?”

“It was good. No one ran into me, so that’s a plus.” I paused then sighed. “So, my answer is a reluctant ‘Yes’.”

A confused look flitted across his face before realization dawned on him. “You mean for prom?” I nodded. “Wow, I thought that was going to take a lot more convincing.”

“Well, I made the mistake of telling Angela, so she helped convince me, but honestly, I had pretty much decided after we talked this morning. Even if dancing isn’t my thing, I want to make memories like this with you too. Plus, that smile you have on your face right now… it’s kinda my kryptonite. I have trouble resisting you when you smile like that.”

“Hmmm. Kryptonite noted,” he said then laughed a deep throaty laugh that had me smiling wide.

“So, I know we’d already planned to hang out, but do you have any plans for later tonight?” I asked.

“Let me see, ummm, spend time with you, and… nope that’s it. I’ve already done my patrol shift for the day, and I finished up work on the couple of cars I had waiting for me. Why? You planning for a late night? Got a rave you wanna go to?”

I laughed and shook my head at him. “No, goofball. It’s just that we don’t have a lot of time left before prom, so Angela and I were hoping to go dress shopping today. I guess ‘hoping’ isn’t the right word to use for me, but I can’t go to prom in my sweats, so it needs to be done.

“Anyway, we wanted to leave in like the next hour.” I gave him a hopeful smile. “And you guys need to get your tuxes ordered. Are you up for that? And is Embry off later tonight also?”

“Geesh, when you make a decision you don’t mess around. Uh, yes to both questions. I’ll need to let my dad know. Where are we going to do this shopping?”

“Port Angeles today. If they don’t have anything we like, we may have to try somewhere else this weekend. That’s why we want to get started tonight.”

We met up with Angela and made a game plan for getting out of town quickly. Jake took my truck to go talk to his dad and to get Embry, and Angela took me to the police station so I could let Charlie know. When I told him what I wanted to do, his jaw dropped open and he was stunned silent for a moment, then he turned to Angela and smiled.

“I’m impressed! How did you convince her so fast?”

“Well, it was a joint effort between me and Jake,” she replied. “I actually thought it would take longer, but she apparently can’t resist Jake’s powers. Or maybe I had already worn her down enough.”

My mouth gaped open as she talked and I looked back and forth between their smiling faces, realizing they’d colluded together to get me to say yes. “You were all three in on this!? That’s so not fair!” I wanted to be mad, but even if they did gang up on me, Angela’s and Jake’s excitement was real, so I had trouble being mad about it. “You guys are going to pay!”

“Embry was in on it too. He’s the one that convinced Jake that you guys should go… though I don’t think it took a lot of convincing.”

I rolled my eyes. “He’ll pay too then.”

“Well, here’s my payment,” Charlie said as he handed me his credit card.

I started to push his hand away. “No Dad, I can get my dress.”

He just pushed back, pressing the card into my palm, and closing my fingers around it. “No way. I want to get this for you. You’re the least needy teenager ever and I haven’t had an opportunity to buy anything for you but food since you’ve been here. While I appreciate that, I insist that you let me do this for you.”

“Fine,” I said reluctantly as I pocketed the card then smiled softly. “Thanks Dad.”

I kissed him on the cheek, and he cleared his throat as color bloomed there. “Oh, and Bella, I don’t want you to go crazy, but I also don’t want you to try to get the cheapest thing either. Get something you like that’s reasonably priced.” He pointed to Angela. “You can help make sure she doesn’t shortchange herself.” Angela gave him a little salute then he turned back to me again. “I also think you should get something new to wear for graduation, so if you see anything that will work for that, get it. Who knows if Angela here would be able to ever convince you to go shopping again.”

I opened my mouth to argue with him about the graduation outfit, but he gave me a look that said he didn’t want to hear it. Plus, I realized that I probably didn’t have anything that would be good to wear for graduation either. And getting it taken care of all at once would be nice, so I shut my mouth and just thanked him again.

Next, we headed to my house so I could get my rarely used purse, my pain medicine, and some cash for dinner. Charlie could buy my clothes, but I could buy my own dinner. Then we headed to Angela’s and that’s where the guys were going to meet us.

Her parents were excited to hear that I had agreed to go. Apparently, everyone had been in on the plan to get me to say yes to prom. When the guys showed up, they came inside so Angela’s parents could meet Jake and to visit for a bit. Around ten minutes later, as we were leaving, I heard Angela’s dad comment quietly to her mom, “That one’s even bigger than Embry! What are they feeding those boys down there!”

I had to press my lips together to keep my laugh in and when I looked at Angela, she was trying to hold it in as well. Once we were halfway across the yard, we all started laughing at her dad’s comment as we piled into Angela’s car.

The hour-long car ride snuggled up against Jake was just what I needed to help relax and ease my achy back. I still couldn’t believe I’d been bamboozled into this, but I was extremely excited to get out of town for the evening.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
ONCE WE GOT TO Port Angeles the guys dropped us off at the dress shop and they went to get fitted for their tuxes. As I started flipping through the racks, I realized finding a dress I liked that also covered all my bruises was going to be a challenge.

“You can always get a little jacket or sweater to wear over it if you can’t find something that covers enough,” Angela suggested. “Or we could also try to cover up anything that shows with makeup.”

I sighed and kept flipping through the rack. Shopping was agonizing enough without any added complications.

“Bella Swan!” I froze as a perfect bell tone voice trilled behind me. “How could you go shopping without me!”

I spun around with my mouth agape, then a giant grin spread across my face. “Alice! What in the world are you doing here?” I said as I went to give her a hug.

“I swear I’m not spying on you, but I still get flashes of you sometimes and I saw you two talking at lunch and then here at the store.”

I was staring at her wide-eyed as she nonchalantly talked about her visions… Angela didn’t know about them, as far as I knew. Plus, I didn’t want Angela to freak out with Alice here. When I slowly turned to Angela, she looked a little tense, but not upset or surprised.

She gave me a small smile when she noticed the look on my face. “It’s okay. Embry told me about their extra powers. Definitely explains why your face would just go blank sometimes, Alice.”

Alice let out a little tinkling laugh. “Yes, that’s unfortunately one of the side effects. I hope you’re okay with me being here Angela. I didn’t see you getting upset, but please tell me if me being here makes you uncomfortable. Carlisle said that you had trouble when you saw him the other day.”

“No, I’m alright,” Angela assured her. “I mean, we went to school together for over a year and nothing ever happened, plus I know how you have helped keep Bella safe. That day when I saw Carlisle was just a really hard day. This is all starting to get easier… learning about and accepting new things. Not much can top learning your best friend is being hunted by a vampire.”

“I don’t suppose so,” Alice answered soberly. “At least that’s behind all of us now.” Then she turned to me and put her hands on her hips, her tone turning accusatory. “And you! I can’t believe after all the trouble you gave us getting you to prom last year that you agreed so easily today.”

I shrugged. “I guess Jake and Angela are just more convincing. Besides, I didn’t so much give you trouble as I told you both ‘no’ and then you all tricked me into going. Also, a lot has changed for me, and I don’t think about things quite the same as I did a year ago.”

“No, I suppose you don’t.” She sighed and then smiled and waved her hand dismissively in the air. “Enough about all of that. Let’s shop!” She practically sang the last two words, rubbing her hands together. “Alright, I know you’re going to be fine with finding your dress Angela, so Bella, let’s pick you out some options. Then I have one quick errand to run, but I’ll be back in time to help you figure out which one you want.”

I had forgotten how much like a force of nature Alice could be, and I knew it was pointless to argue with her. Also, she’d probably seen all the dresses I would have chosen anyway, so I accepted what she picked out and headed to the fitting rooms with Angela. I was checking out my second option—a black, silky, form-fitted number—in the tri-angled mirror when Alice returned. I wasn’t 100% sold on it, disliking how much it clung to me.

“You will have to try them all on before you can decide,” she said excitedly.

“Why don’t you just tell me which one I pick?” I pleaded.

“Nope. You’ll like the dress a lot more if you figure it out on your own. Just trust me,” she replied with a wink as she shooed me back into the fitting room. She had picked out six options for me, so I put on the third one—a somewhat frilly dress, navy with silver sparkles throughout the tulle skirt—and went out to the mirror. Angela was there turning and studying her third option as well.

“I think this is the one,” she said with a big smile.

“It’s beautiful Angela,” Alice said, and I agreed.

The A-line cut dress was a pale-yellow color, like buttercream, that was so pretty against her olive complexion. The partially sheer bodice was covered with a swirling embroidered lace applique and rhinestones, with double spaghetti straps. The chiffon skirt flowed from the natural waistline and floated around Angela as she moved, barely skimming the floor.

I tried on the remaining dresses that Alice had picked out for me, not particularly excited about any of them. However, when I got to the last one, I knew it was the one I wanted. It was a deep crimson satin A-line dress with narrow straps. The satin was flowy and silky, so even though it had a slight flare, it hung close to my body and accentuated my curves without being skin-tight or clingy. The bodice was a faux wrap that was gathered on the left side and fanned out going across the front. What I loved most though were the gold crystals all over the bodice that tapered off as they continued down onto the skirt, like stardust falling from the sky. The color against my skin was so pretty, cream and roses. And it came up far enough in the back that just a few bruises were peeking over the top. Those could easily be covered with a little makeup… or possibly healed enough in a week and a half that they wouldn’t even show any more.

Alice was grinning at me, and I realized the smile on my face was huge… I was actually excited to wear this dress… and for Jake to see me in it.

“It’s beautiful Bella,” Angela said. “That color is just gorgeous on you!”

Alice’s face suddenly changed. “Hurry, go change! The guys will be here in just a few minutes, and you don’t want Jake to see your dress until you’re all done up!”

“It’s not like it’s a wedding dress,” I argued with her, but she was gently pushing me back to the fitting room, so I stopped arguing and just changed. My back was aching, and I was anxious to be next to Jake again anyway.

When I came out of the fitting room Alice was there with a white garment bag for me to put my dress in.

“Man, you’re really serious about him not seeing the dress, aren’t you?”

“Yes. It just adds that little extra something when they don’t have any specifics on what you’ll look like until the look is all complete.”

Alice took the dress from me the led me over to the shoes where Angela was already browsing. She collected Angela’s dress as well and took them to the counter to have them held until we were done.

I was looking at a pair of flats when Alice returned, and she snatched the shoes out of my hands.

“No way. Jake is a giant, so you’re wearing heels… no arguments. Besides, if you wear flats your dress would need to be hemmed and you don’t have time for that.” She looked at Angela while gesturing to me. “Tell her.”

Angela gave me a sympathetic smile. “I agree, you should definitely wear heels. Just 2-3 inches, nothing crazy.”

“Any heel on me is crazy! I’ll break my ankle! Or my neck!”

“No way Jake would let that happen,” Angela said.

“I bet I can find a way,” I mumbled, then turned to find Alice holding out a pair of strappy heels with gold crystals all over. They were perfect, of course, so with a deep sigh I relented, taking them from Alice to try them on. I was walking around, slow and unsteady, when I heard the guys’ voices as they came in the front door.

I was suddenly sitting, and Alice was removing my shoes. She put them in the box and closed the lid, then also collected the pretty silver shoes that Angela had picked out and took both pairs up to the counter as well. Angela was laughing quietly at the stunned look on my face when the guys found us.

Jake smiled at me with amusement. “What’s that look for?”

“Well… Alice,” was all I could say, and he laughed, helping me to my feet.

“I told you that’s who it was,” Jake said to Embry. My brow scrunched in confusion, so Jake explained. “Someone paid for our tux rentals while we were in the back getting measured. We could smell her when we came back out, but Embry wasn’t positive it was her.”

“Wait! She paid for your tuxes?” I asked, my eyes wide again.

“Yep,” Embry said with a smile.

“Is she still here?” Jake asked. “I’d like to thank her… that was very generous.”

I looked at Angela, whose eyes were also wide, and we both jumped up and hurried to the counter where Alice was just taking her receipt from the cashier. I regretted the quick movements as a twinge of pain went through my back.

“Alice, what did you do?” I asked her.

“I paid for all your prom things,” she said. “Well, actually, Charlie paid for your dress and shoes Bella, but I bought the rest and a little something for your graduation. Here is his card back.”

I took the card from her, and I looked at her disapprovingly.

“Don’t give me that look Bella. Just consider it a late Christmas present, or an “I’m glad you’re still alive” present, or “I’m glad we’re still friends” present, or a Graduation present… or a combination of all of those things. I won’t get to go to prom with you this time, so just let me do this for you and accept the gifts graciously!

“As for the rest of you, I just appreciate more than I could express that you were all there for Bella when my family and I weren’t.” She cast a pointed look at Jake. “I will never be able to express my gratitude enough for everything you’ve done for her.”

I had a lump in my throat as Jake quietly inclined his head to Alice. Then the other three all made me look like a jerk as they thanked Alice for her generosity and Angela gave her a hug. I sighed in resignation. “I am grateful Alice, it’s just too much. But thank you. I’m so glad you came to help me find the perfect dress. It’s been really good to see you.”

She gave me an approving nod. “That’s better! And it’s really good for me to see you back on your feet and doing so well Bella. I felt really guilty that you got hurt on my watch.”

I hugged her. “Please don’t feel guilty. It all worked out okay.”

She smiled at me. “Well, I must get going. You all have a great rest of your evening.” She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and then flitted out the door.
I winced as another twinge went through my back and side and I rubbed the spot that was aching the most. That was a mistake though as it just made the pain worse, and I gasped. Jake quickly moved closer and put his arm around my shoulders.

“You okay?” he asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I need to get something to drink so I can take my pain medicine. I lost track of time. Plus, I’m starving.”

Jake insisted on carrying me to take the strain off my back, and Embry gathered up our dresses and the bags with our shoes. We stopped by the car to drop off our purchases then went to a little diner that was nearby where we ate and then just hung out and talked and laughed until it was time to head home.

On the drive home I leaned comfortably against Jake in the backseat and realized just how tired I was. It had been a while since I’d gone to a full day of school, not to mention then going shopping and out to dinner.

“I really had fun tonight. Thanks for ganging up on me to convince me to go to prom. Not sure how the actual prom is going to go, but tonight was good.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, sounding and looking completely innocent. “But I’m glad you had fun… I did too. It was great to just do something simple and fun and normal.”

I nodded my agreement. “I hope I didn’t overdo it though. I’m afraid I’m going to be pretty sore tonight.”

“Do you want me to stay with you for a while, so you can at least get some good sleep?”

“Pretty sure Charlie’s not going to go for that.”

“I’ve snuck in your window once before… I could do it again.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that. That’s very tempting, but I don’t know.”

“I can just stay until I’m sure you’re sound asleep. I missed having you beside me Sunday and last night.”

“Yeah, I did too… and it was hard to stay warm. I might need to get an electric blanket.” I thought about his suggestion for a minute. “Okay, but you’ve got to make sure you don’t fall asleep and accidentally stay all night. I would hate for Charlie to find you and lose his trust in you.”

“I will, I promise.”

They dropped me off first. Jake was going to come back over a little later when Charlie should be asleep.

Charlie was in high spirits and wanted to see my dress and he made all of the appropriate appreciative noises when I removed it from the garment bag. When I pulled out the shoebox and the wrapped graduation outfit there was another little bag in there and I found a set of jewelry inside, wrapped in tissue, and I sighed.

“Alice is too extravagant with her gifts,” I proclaimed.

“Alice?” Charlie asked in surprise. “I didn’t know Alice was going.”

“Oh, yeah, she somehow found out that we were going shopping, so of course she couldn’t resist surprising us. And she paid for almost everything! Including the guys’ tux rentals!”

“That was awfully generous of her,” he said, but I saw his face drop a little and understood then why she didn’t pay for my dress.

“You still bought me the dress and shoes, Dad. And thank you again for both.” I handed him back his card.

His face brightened again at that news as he took the card from me. “That explains why you bought heels,” he said, dangling one of the strappy torture devices from his finger.

I nodded. “Yeah. Not sure how that’s gonna go, but Alice can be convincing, and they were just too perfect for that dress to say no. I hope I can stay upright all night.” I stretched and then winced a little. “I think I’m going to head to bed. I’m pretty sore from the day.”

“Alright kiddo. Good night.”

“Night Dad.”

I took a hot shower, letting the water run over my back for a long time to try to ease the ache. It helped, but not much.

It had been a few days since I’d had a chance to email Renee, so I fired up the computer and lay down on the bed to relax my back while I waited for it to boot up. This achy back thing was going to get old really fast, and I was really looking forward to when Jake would get there, very thankful that he had offered.

After I emailed Renee, I took my new dress and outfit over to the closet to put them away. I slid the left side closet door opened and hung them there, so they’d be out of the way since I never used that side. My foot bumped into something on the closet floor, and I looked down to see a black garbage bag setting there with the mess of wires sticking out the top. I sighed, remembering the hurt and anger I had felt that day when I had put all of the gifts from the Cullens in there last fall after my disastrous birthday party. Well, not all of them. Edward had taken the CD he’d made for me. I had completely forgotten about all of them.

I drug the bag over beside my desk and sat down to look through it. Besides the possibly ruined stereo, there was the necklace from Rosalie, and the plane ticket vouchers from Carlisle and Esme (the outfit Alice had given me had been ruined when I bled all over it, so it was long gone). I stared at the pieces of paper for a while, wondering if the one intended for Edward could be used by someone else… and if that would be wrong to do. Studying them a little closer I saw that there were no names on the vouchers, so it seemed like they could be used by anyone. It would be great to visit Renee… and I could only think of one person that I’d want to take with me, but that felt kinda wrong. It also felt wrong to let them go to waste though. And Carlisle liked Jake and had been so supportive of us. I would ask Alice what she thought.

I heard Charlie come up the stairs and go into his room. Just had to wait for him to go to sleep.

I set the box with the ticket vouchers on my desk next to the necklace and heard Charlie come up the stairs, followed by his bedroom door shutting. Just a little longer to wait for him to go to sleep… I wondered if Jake was already outside.

Leaving the bag setting where it was—I shouldn’t have moved it myself in the first place—I lay back down on my bed, pulling the covers tight around me, but unable to warm up. The longer I lay there the more my back started aching, so I did some of the stretches that Carlisle had given me. That helped a little, but I wished Charlie would go to sleep so Jake could come already.

It wasn’t even five minutes later when there was a quiet clattering against my window. I hurried over and looked out to see Jake smiling up at me. Throwing the window open, I took a few steps back and moments later he was through the window, I was wrapped in his strong embrace, and the ache was gone.

I leaned against him and held him tight. “I’m so glad you thought to do this tonight. I don’t think I would have been able to get to sleep at all. I may have overdone it just a little today.”

He was smoothing his hand over my hair. “I’m here now, so you can relax and get some rest.”

“I’m not sure Charlie is asleep yet though.”

No sooner had the words left my mouth than his snoring started.

Jake chuckled. “I could tell he was asleep by his heart rate, but there’s your confirmation.” After a few quiet moments he asked, “What’s that?”

I looked to find him staring down at the garbage bag by my desk.

“Oh right. This might be weird for you, or impossible, so just be honest if you don’t want to. You remember when you noticed the damage to my dash… where my stereo had been?”

“Yeah,” he said curiously.

“Well, in that bag is the stereo that I ripped out of the dash. The Cullens gave it to me for my birthday last year and it was too painful of a reminder at the time. I was wondering though, if it’s not damaged too badly, if you might be able to put it back in? Would that be too weird for you?”

He guided me to sit on the desk chair and then knelt down on one knee beside me. He took the few somewhat mangled parts out of the bag, squinting and turning each piece over in his hands.

“Man, you really did a number on this thing. Some of the wiring will need to be replaced, and I’ll need to take a better look at your dash. I also might need to get a new mounting bracket… that seems a little too damaged, but I think I might be able to reinstall it… and it might still work.”

“Really? You don’t mind? I don’t want you to do it if it’s going to cost very much, but it won’t be weird for you?”

“Why would it be weird? Just because they gave it to you? I’m putting your stereo back into your truck. Besides, it would be nice to have some music while driving that beast… especially as slow as that thing goes!”

“Hey, don’t knock the truck! Some really great guy, I think his name was Chewie, rebuilt the engine for me ya know.”

Jake had been putting the stereo parts back in the bag, but he suddenly snatched me out of the chair as he stood up and I squealed in surprise. Slapping my hand over my mouth, we waited in silence for a few moments… Charlie’s snoring continued, and we both started laughing quietly.

“Chewie, huh? Well, that guy was thrilled to have that old truck taken off his hands, because as much as you love it, he did not. Kinda crazy that he still ends up driving it so much though.” Jake’s tone went a little sour at the end.

“Maybe if that guy was a better mechanic, and didn’t resort to banging on the engine, he could make the truck run faster,” I teased.

Jake’s eyebrows went up in disbelief. “Is that right!?” He held me out, acting like he was going to drop me onto the bed. “Maybe that guy can just leave you to your aches and pains!”

I scrambled to grab hold of his neck and pull myself closer to him. “No, please don’t. This girl likes that guy too much… she really wants him to stay and she’s sorry for insulting his mechanical abilities.”

Jake brought me back close to him and held me firmly, both of us laughing again.

“I’m really glad you’re here Jake.” I combed my fingers through the back of his hair and gazed into his beautiful dark eyes.

“Me too.” He pressed his lips to mine, kissing me softly. “You ready to go to sleep? You’re probably exhausted after such a long day.”

I covered a yawn as he spoke, as if to answer his question.

He kicked off his shoes, pulled back the covers, and climbed on the bed, placing me beside him as he laid down. He reached over me to turn the lamp off, then I snuggled up close to him as he wrapped his arms around me. The last thing I remember was Jake kissing my forehead before I drifted off.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
PAIN ROUSED ME FROM sleep, though my mind was slow to comprehend it. After a bit, I started making an effort to wake enough to get some pain medicine, when I became aware of the lack of a heated body next to me. Of course he wasn’t there, we’d agreed he’d only stay until I was asleep.

Blinking my eyes opened, the early light of a dreary, gray dawn greeted me. Glancing toward the window, my heart fluttered in my chest at the sight of a large form silhouetted there. Jake was still here, slipping on his shoes. I made a little noise of sleepy happiness at the sight of him. His head swiveled toward me at the sound and, noticing that I was awake, he sat down next to me, the pain leaving again.

“Hi baby,” he whispered as he smoothed a hand over my hair.

“You’re still here,” I mumbled, not fully awake.

“Here, take this.” He handed me a glass of water and a pill then helped me sit up so I could take a drink. “I tried to leave several times during the night, but you were still in too much pain, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

I swallowed the pill and set the glass on my nightstand, then wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my face into his chest. His hand skimmed gently down my back, the other lightly pressed against the back of my head.

I breathed him in deeply then slowly let out a contented humming sigh. “I love you, Jake. You’re so good to me.”

“Love you too, baby,” he whispered, stroking the side of my face. “I should really get going though. I don’t want to push it too close to when Charlie could wake up.” Charlie’s snoring droned on from the other room and I nodded in acknowledgement. “You still have over an hour before you need to get up, so that medicine will have time to start working by then.”

“Okay,” I murmured, the sound muffled against his shirt. Reluctantly I let go of him and laid back down.

Pulling the covers up over me, he pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead, and then left through the window.

**********
JACOB POV
**********
I STUCK MY SHOES in the tub of clothes near Bella’s house, tied my shirt and shorts to my ankle and took off toward home. It was a nice surprise to find no one else was in wolf form. Since we had taken down the red head, we’d been able to back off on the patrols a lot and it was a nice break for everyone.

It was so quiet and peaceful… I really enjoyed running like this with just the sounds of the forest around me and no one jabbering in my head. Able to have private thoughts.

We had actually managed to have a mostly normal day with a great evening of shopping and dinner. It had been a lot of fun. I still couldn’t believe we’d managed to convince Bella to go to prom so quickly. Angela had done a good job of wearing her down, but apparently, Bella couldn’t resist me when I smiled. The thought made me smile internally.

The house was quiet when I got home, so I quietly headed to the bathroom to shower. When I came out of my room after getting dressed, my dad was sitting at the kitchen table, eating some breakfast. I grabbed a bowl and sat down to join him.

“Did you have a nice night?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“You stayed a lot longer than you had planned.” He had known I was going back over to help Bella get to sleep. He also knew it wasn’t my intention to stay all night. “I assume Charlie didn’t find you since you’re not recovering from a gunshot wound.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “No, he was still sawing logs when I left. I tried to leave a few times during the night, but she was still in too much pain, and I just couldn’t leave her like that. Her body still has lots of healing to do and she needs the sleep more than I do.”

“You still need some sleep, Jake.”

“I slept plenty. I didn’t just lay there awake all night.”

He was quiet for a bit, seemingly reading an article in the newspaper, but I could tell he had something else he wanted to say. I looked absently at the sports section of the paper laying on the table and just kept eating, pouring my second then third bowl of cereal while I waited for him to get around to it. Maybe I should just start eating out of a bigger bowl.

He finally cleared his throat and spoke again. “You’re still honoring your promise to Charlie, I assume.”

There it was, the question he’d probably been wanting to ask from the start. My dad and I had a very open relationship, and I was thankful for it. He had never pushed me into waiting until marriage, but we’d talked about it. Between some stories he had told me and a few people I knew from school, sex could very easily complicate, or even ruin a relationship… even if you took pregnancy out of the equation. I didn’t think that would happen for me and Bella, but I wasn’t willing to risk it either. Not to mention all the other complications we had to deal with in our lives that normal 18-year-olds couldn’t even fathom.

I set my spoon down and met his gaze. “Yes Dad, I have no intention of breaking that promise. I have so many reasons to keep that promise, and most of them have nothing to do with Charlie. I love her and I don’t want that to become what our relationship is all about or risk it messing anything up… not to mention she’s still healing. Plus, we talked about it in the very beginning, and decided together to wait, so we’re in agreement.”

“Alright, well that’s good son. I know that is important to you, but I also know that in the moment sometimes it can be hard to remember those reasons.”

I swallowed several mouthfuls of water before responding quietly. “I know, and I’m not saying it’s always easy, especially being together so much and with the way her scent effects me.” A shiver ran through me at the memory of the way she smelled, like strawberries and honey and summer rain… and something uniquely Bella that couldn’t be described. “I’m thankful that I’m not dealing with 18-year-old hormones… that might make the situation impossible. I truly am committed to waiting and I really think she is too. Or she’s at least committed to respecting that it’s what I want.”

He gave me a nod, a small smile creasing his cheeks. “I realize you’re not really a kid anymore, Jake, but you’re still my son and nothing will ever change that. I just want you to know that I’m proud of you. You’ve turned into a great young man, especially considering everything you’ve been through in your life.” He paused and a strange look crossed his face. When he spoke again his tone was soft and almost tender. “Your mom would be very proud of the man you’ve become Jake. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to bring myself to talk about her for all these years. I know you have been able to share with Bella about her, and I’m glad for that. I want to… I truly do. Maybe someday soon I can find the strength within me to do that again.”

I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed it firmly. “I understand, Dad. It’s okay.”

He nodded then cleared his throat and started rolling his chair toward his room. “I have something I want to give you.”

I put the cereal away and washed both of our dishes while I waited for him. I looked at the paper again and noticed the front page headline this time: Murders and Disappearances Still on the Rise

The paper was the Seattle Times, dated yesterday.

I had read a few lines of the body of the article when he came back out of his room and held a small, soft, brown leather pouch out to me. Giving him a curious look, I took it from him and dumped the contents out into my hand. My eyes went wide, and I forgot all about the newspaper as I took in the two rings in my hand—platinum, turquoise, and diamonds.

“Those were your mothers. I’m not saying you and Bella are to that point yet, but I know there’s something special happening between the two of you. You’re both older than the years you’ve actually been alive, and you’ve each lived through more trials than some people face in their entire lifetime.

“You have a different kind of magic in you, I think. Something that has never been seen before… or at the very least has been forgotten. It may call for you to go against what society says is normal. I wanted you to know that I’m aware of that and will support you if you need to do something that will seem ridiculous to people outside of the magic.”

I had been standing there in stunned silence, staring at the rings while he talked. Without moving my eyes, I groped around until I found the chair next to me and sat down heavily, still shocked at what rested in my palm.

“I remember these on Mom’s hand,” I said quietly. I looked up at my father and there was silver lining his eyes. “I have thought about what the future might hold for me and Bella and how long we might have to wait to officially start our lives together. Under normal circumstances, waiting wouldn’t be a big deal, but you’re right, we’re not operating under normal circumstances. As much as I’m trying to bring some normal into our lives, and will continue to do so, we’ll never have completely normal lives, I think.”

Something occurred to me then that gave me pause. “What about the girls? Are they going to be okay with you giving these to me?”

He nodded. “Yes, I’ve spoken with both of them, and they each immediately agreed that you should have them. A way to show your future wife that she is a part of our family. They were both excited to hear about your relationship with Bella, by the way. They both remembered her and said how they always liked her growing up… and each of them commented on how cute you two were together back then.” His entire face crinkled with the smile that spread across it as he spoke.

I drew in a deep breath then let it out slowly. This is definitely not how I expected to start my day! “Thanks for this Dad… for being willing to support me, support us, in whatever fate may have in store for us.” After a few moments of silence, I asked about the girls. We didn’t hear from them all that often.

“They’re both doing well. Solomon’s surfing competition tour is in full swing and Rebecca said they may actually be coming to California for a competition this year, so they may be able to make a visit in June. Then Rachel has decided to come stay for the summer. She’s got a job lined up already in Forks and she said she’d be back the last weekend in May.”

“Wow, that’ll be something… to have them both be here!” I glanced at the clock then and realized I needed to get going or I was going to be late picking up Bella. I quickly found a safe place to keep the rings in my room, gave my father a hug, then headed out the door.

My head was still reeling a little as I phased, hoping I would be alone again… I needed a little more time to process this. No such luck, but at least it was just Sam and Embry. They immediately saw the images of the rings that were still swimming around in my head and heard what my dad had said.

Whoa dude! That’s pretty intense. Embry thought quietly.

Sam didn’t say anything, but I could sense the wondering in his thoughts as he was thinking over the words my dad had said to me and he silently agreed.
For what it’s worth, I’ll support you in whatever way I can Jake, he finally replied.

Thanks, was all I said, but I knew he could feel my appreciation. You guys can’t say anything to the girls! I have no idea when we might go down that road, but it’s definitely not right now.

They both quickly promised to keep quiet.

I was running later than I had realized and Charlie was already gone when I got to the house and Bella opened the door as I walked up the porch steps. She must have been watching for me.

“I was starting to get worried.” She wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed tight.

“I’m sorry,” I said, rubbing her arms and kissing the top of her head. “My dad had some things he needed to talk to me about.” I grabbed her bag and we headed to the truck.

“Everything okay?” Concern lined her brow as she looked up at me.

“Oh yeah, totally fine! We just haven’t had a lot of time to talk lately. You feeling better?” I asked as I steered the truck down the road.

“Yes, much. Thanks for staying so I could sleep. I think it made a big difference.

“You’re welcome… it was my pleasure.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her, and she laughed. “If you don’t mind me taking your truck today, I can stop back by your house to get the stereo and start working on that. I might have Quil take a look at it. He’s a little more familiar with electronic stuff than I am.”

“Sure!” Excitement was evident in her voice. “I’m just happy you’re willing to give it a try.”

“I’m not promising anything, but there’s a good chance we can get it working.”

Once I had dropped Bella off and picked up the stereo, I headed home again. I called Quil to see if he could come by to take a look at the stereo with me and he said he’d be over in about 30 minutes. While I was on the phone with him, I noticed the paper again and when we’d hung up, I finished reading the article I’d started earlier, before heading out to the garage. It mentioned the possibility of a serial killer, but something about it didn’t set well with me, I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

Quil agreed with my assessment of the stereo. He spent the morning helping me work on it, with a trip to Forks to get some replacement wiring and a couple other small parts to make sure it was securely mounted.

We went over to Emily’s for lunch with everyone to discuss a new patrol schedule and plan. Afterwards I asked Sam if he had heard about the things going on in Seattle.

“Yeah, it’s been happening for a while, but you’ve had other things to focus on.”

“Something is bugging me about it. You said that you were tracking the red head over the past couple of weeks, to see where she was going? Didn’t you say it looked like she was going to the Seattle area?”

“Yeah, why? She’s dead… what are you thinking Jake?”

“I don’t know for sure. It’s the combination of it all. Deaths and disappearances… and Victoria going there.” I shook my head. “I can’t quite put it together, but I have an uneasy feeling, even if Victoria is gone. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a couple of the guys and head over there to see if we can find anything. I know it’s way out of our area, but I just need to check it out.”

“That’s a long way to go on a gut feeling Jake. But I trust your instincts, so I don’t have a problem with it. Just make sure whoever goes with you knows why and is okay with it… and let me know who you’re taking.”

Embry had already left so I called him and asked him to meet me and Quil over at my garage. When we were all there, I filled them in on the situation.

“I have nothing to go off of except this feeling that I have, so it may turn out to be nothing”

“Your gut feelings very rarely turn out to be nothing,” Embry said, “so I’m in.”

“I’m in too,” Quil agreed.

“Alright then. Meet me in the forest by the school in the morning and we can leave as soon as I drop Bella off.”

The three of us spent the afternoon together in my garage and it felt so much like old times… it was really nice. We were able to finish getting the stereo put back in Bella’s truck and I got work done on two cars that were brought over while we were there. It was actually a really nice stereo and it worked great. I was really glad I’d had Quil’s help though… engines were more my thing.

Bella was sufficiently impressed at our handiwork. She spent the ride home playing with the buttons and setting the radio presets. We needed to replenish her music collection though, since she destroyed pretty much all of it after Edward left.

We spent a quiet evening with Charlie, watching the game that was on while Bella did her homework. I did my best not to think about the situation in Seattle, but I just couldn’t get it out of my head all night.

When we were saying good night, I kissed her extra long and held her extra tight. If there was something going on and that red headed leech had anything to do with it, then Bella could still be in danger. I hoped I was wrong and it turned out to be nothing, but I wasn’t counting on it.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
THE RAIN FELL IN sheets the next morning, the wind blowing hard, practically throwing water at the windshield. Jake was quiet and distracted as he drove down the familiar streets to the school. I studied his face for a while, the only sound coming from the water beating down on the truck and the tires splashing over the wet pavement… he didn’t even seem to notice my eyes on him, which was unusual.

“Is everything okay?” I finally asked, my brow furrowed with worry.

“Huh?” He glanced over at me, looking as though he’d forgotten I was next to him, and gave me a sheepish grin. “Oh yeah, sorry, I’ve just got some pack stuff on my mind.”

“You want to talk about it? Or is it stuff you can’t talk about?”

“I’m not sure yet.” He shook his head. “I at least don’t want to worry you with it right now. It might be nothing. I should know more by the end of the day, I think.”

“Okay,” I said and laid my head on his shoulder. I knew he’d tell me when he could

Throughout the morning, despite my best efforts to focus, for some reason I found myself worrying about Jake and whatever was bothering him. The rain at least cleared off sometime during second period, though the sky remained overcast. I was still distracted as I walked through the courtyard, heading to the cafeteria for lunch, when I noticed lots of people walking slowly or stopped, staring in the same direction. I slowed my steps and followed their gazes then froze.

Edward.

He was standing well past the edge of the courtyard staring right at me, no expression on his face.

A wooziness came over me as my blood abandoned my head and my stomach turned. I didn’t know what I had expected if I were to ever see Edward again, but the slight edge of fear that was there surprised me… I had never feared him before. I walked slowly toward him, stopping long before I reached him, but close enough to hear him.

“What do you want Edward?” I asked flatly. I knew that he had been following me and watching me, so I was pretty irritated at him. I thought about calling for Jake, but wanted to avoid that confrontation, if possible… especially here at the school. Plus, Jake seemed to have enough on his mind this morning.

“I want to talk,” Edward said coolly. “Carlisle tried to keep it from me, but I know that you wanted to talk to me, but then you changed your mind. It seemed as though your mind might have been changed for you, so I thought I’d try to catch you when the mongrels weren’t around.”

“DON’T call them that!” I exclaimed fiercely as I jabbed my finger in his direction and glared at him, anger shooting through me. I just about turned and walked away from him right then, but something made me stay. “The choice to not speak with you was mine and no one else’s,” I continued. “Is that why you’ve been following me around?”

He looked briefly away from me then turned back before answering. “Yes. You don’t seem to get a lot of time away from them. No doubt your decision was heavily influenced.”

“Stop it!” My voice raised, but I was trying not to yell, considering how many people still had their attention on us. “You have no idea what’s going on with us,” I continued, acid in my voice. “You’ve already misjudged Jake once and caused us a lot of pain because of it. So, instead of throwing around unwarranted accusations, why don’t you just say whatever it is you came to say.”

Edward started to speak, but then his eyes moved to focus over my shoulder and his face turned menacing. Mike appeared next to me, and he was returning Edward’s glare. I felt the presence of others behind me and was surprised to find Eric and Tyler standing there when I glanced back.

“You alright Bella?” Mike asked, not taking his eyes off Edward.

“Yes, thanks Mike, I’m fine.” I wasn’t 100% sure that was correct, but I feared Mike’s life could possibly be in danger… Edward never really liked him much. I really appreciated these three coming to my aid, but I need to get them to back off.

Mike looked at me, uncertainty written on his face. I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile and he finally nodded. “Okay, I’ll be watching in case you need help.” He glared at Edward once again as he backed away.

When the three of them were gone, Edward looked to me again and his face finally softened. “Please come talk to me… somewhere more private.” His tone had become gentle and held his hand out to me.

At the change in his demeanor and voice, I hesitated. He sounded like he always used to, alluring and perfect, and a twinge of something clenched inside of me. The memory of what all Carlisle had told us on that first visit to his home office came back to me. He didn’t feel I would be in danger from Edward, and I trusted Carlisle’s judgement, but then there was that whole manipulation thing. Jake was convinced that’s what Edward was doing in the hospital, but Carlisle didn’t seem certain, and I wasn’t sure what to think about it. It also occurred to me that Alice would be able to see this interaction since none of the wolves were here. If Edward meant me harm, she’d already be here, so his intentions must be good. I also felt confident that she would be watching and would intervene if his intentions shifted and she saw any chance of a bad outcome.

Mysteriously, I also felt a sudden need to speak with Edward that I couldn’t explain, and it started to outweigh all other thoughts I was struggling through to make up my mind. Even though I really didn’t want to speak with him, deep down I had a knowing that there was some reason this conversation needed to happen. That decided it for me, and I finally consented with a sigh and a nod.

Before I could take a step, a hand gently slipped into mine and held tightly. I turned to find Angela beside me, staring pale-faced at Edward.

“Hello Angela,” he said to her, his voice kind. He had always seemed to like Angela. I didn’t think the feeling was mutual.

“Don’t do it Bella,” she said quietly, then turned to look at me, pleading with her eyes. “You don’t know for sure if it’s safe.” She was whispering now, fear evident in her eyes and voice.

I squeezed her hand and forced my voice to sound reassuring. “I’ll be fine. This is something I need to do though. We’re just going to talk, and I won’t go far. And Alice can see us, since the wolves aren’t here.”

I started to work my hand free from her grasp, and she gripped me tighter, grabbing onto my forearm as well. “At least tell Jake. Let him know what you’re doing.”

“I will, I promise.” I felt a twinge of guilt because I wasn’t being completely honest, but I wasn’t totally lying either. I had every intention of telling Jake, just not yet, wanting to avoid a conflict if possible… and if I felt the slightest bit threatened, I would call for him immediately. I wanted to get it over with quickly, though, so I didn’t want to take the time to try to explain to Angela… especially since I didn’t fully understand the need I had to do this myself.

I gave her a firm hug and gently extracted myself from her grip. Then, with a small apologetic smile, I left her standing frozen in fear and worry.

Edward and I headed toward the woods nearest the school. I definitely didn’t take the hand he had offered, and I kept a large distance between us as we walked. I knew it really didn’t matter how far away I stayed from him, he could do what he wanted to me, and I would never even see him move. It portrayed my aversion of being close to him though, and that was enough.

We stopped not far into the trees, and an odd stillness hung heavily in the air, as if the entire forest were holding its breath in anticipation of something. It was oppressive and pressed in on me, making me feel a little claustrophobic.

“Thank you, Bella, for agreeing to talk with me,” Edward said, then he sighed and grasped the back of his neck as his expression saddened. “Well, I’ve gone about this all wrong since I got back to Forks.” He began pacing a short distance back and forth in front of me. “I’m sorry about what happened in the hospital, but I thought I was helping you. I’m still not completely convinced…” he trailed off on that thought and shook his head.

His pacing came to a halt, and he faced me again, determination in his eyes. “My purpose in coming today is to let you know that you still have another path open for you. I need to make sure you know that I still love you, Bella. I never stopped loving you.” Edward’s voice was only gentle now and he allowed his emotions to fill his face, love and hurt clearly reflected there.

I had intended on asking him about the hospital and if it were true that he tried to manipulate me, but I was completely taken aback at his declaration. Of all the things I thought he’d say, that was not one of them. To say I was shocked would have been an understatement.

“Love me?” I exclaimed in disbelief and was surprised that the small amount of hurt that sounded in my voice. “You never stopped loving me? Why in the world did you leave then! You left me alone… you broke me. Do you even realize what you did to me?!”

“Yes, I have a good idea.” He looked morosely down at the ground. “Alice showed me how you were when she arrived… and Jacob has shared his memories with me too.” More pain creased his face.

That distracted me for a moment, wondering when Jacob would have ever had the chance to share his thoughts with Edward. Those would have been worse than what Alice saw. I don’t think that I minded, Edward should know what he did to me, but I’d have to ask Jake about that later.

Edward continued, “If I had known how it would affect you, I never would have left. I was just trying to keep you safe from my world. Give you a chance at a normal human life.”

I huffed out a harsh breath as I snapped at him. “What did you think would happen, Edward? That I would be sad for a few days or a couple of weeks and then just move on?” He began nodding, keeping his eyes cast down as I looked at him incredulously. “And now what? You realized the horrible mistake you made and want me back?”

“Yes, to both.” His determination wavered a bit at my negative reaction, but he held firm. “I did want you to move on and I didn’t dream that you would be so devastated by me leaving… and I’m so very sorry for that. But now,” he gestured to me, “as you just stated, I have realized that I made a horrible mistake.” He looked at me again and held my gaze. “Bella, I thought I could do it, I thought I could leave you, but I was wrong. I’m not strong enough to stay away from you and I am miserable without you. I never should have left… I was wrong to leave.”

My head was reeling from these totally unexpected declarations, and I rubbed my hand across my forehead. This was more than I ever would have expected to deal with during this conversation, and I was confused by the sudden uncertainty that I felt. Seeing the hurt on Edward’s face, hearing his voice again, and knowing the truth of why he left and how he still felt about me; I took a minute to truly analyze my feelings. Did I still love him as I once had? The memories of the feelings I’d had for him came flooding through my mind—the thrill, the passion—it gave me pause and I drew in a shuddering breath. I guess I did still love him, but I was also aware that it was not the passionate love that it once was… not the all-consuming love that I was willing to trade everything else in my life for. That love had died and no longer held any power over me to bring me any happiness or pain. Jacob held my heart now.

“Edward, you were my first love, and you will always have a special place in my heart because of that, but you aren’t the one I want to spend my life with anymore. You broke my heart. No, you broke me. When you left, it nearly destroyed me. I would have been destroyed if it weren’t for Jacob. He was there for me—he helped me pick up the pieces and put me back together again. And because of him I was able to do what you hoped for. I moved on.”

A small breath of a breeze touched me through the oppressive air of the forest, caressing my skin and causing wisps of hair to dance around my face.

“But he could leave someday.” Edward took a step toward me, a hint of arrogance in his tone. “Did you know that? Did he tell you that he could be forced to leave you someday?”

I stepped back from him to keep the distance. It occurred to me that he thought he was going to be the good guy, telling me the big dirty secret he was sure Jake had kept from me.

“Yes, I know all about imprinting.” I smirked at him smugly, so thankful to be with Jake, and that he was nothing like Edward.

A look of surprise and defeat flashed over Edward’s face.

“Jake doesn’t keep things from me or try to control and lie to me. He told me, and I made a choice to stay with him. I will not abandon him, or what we have, because someday he might be forced to leave me. That’s a big difference between the two of you… he would never leave me by choice, but that’s exactly what you did.”

As I spoke, my voice had become louder with a harsh edge. The air around me again started to gently move, and I took a deep breath, enjoying the soft touch on my face as I tried to calm myself. Getting mad at Edward wasn’t going to help anything. When I spoke again, my voice was calmer and quieter.

“I know you think that Jake is the bad guy here, but you’re wrong. If he showed you my pain, I am certain that he also showed you my healing… how he loved me through it and how much I love him now and how connected we are. He may not have imprinted on me in their usual way, but there is too much between us to ignore our special bond. Carlisle has seen it. Surely, he has shared it with you, or you have seen glimpses of it in his thoughts if nothing else.”

Edward looked away and didn’t say anything in response. If I hadn’t already been sure that Jake would show him my happiness and love, his lack of response would have confirmed it.

“Edward, I appreciate you revealing your feelings for me and making sure that I know I could return to you if I wanted to, but you’re going to have to accept that I no longer want that path.”

Another breeze touched me, gently swirling my hair. I became vaguely aware that the air kept moving around me in short bursts, gaining in strength each time, but the forest continued to be still and heavy otherwise.

I didn’t have time to further consider that thought as Edward suddenly appeared right in front of me, his scent invading my senses for the first time. I jumped slightly at his unexpected closeness and took a couple of steps backwards, but he stepped with me, staying close. A chill slithered up my spine, reminding me of the feeling I had in the hospital, and I abruptly felt uneasy being alone with him.

“Please Bella,” he said softly, “you have to remember.”

His scent became stronger, seeping into my consciousness and I panicked a bit… perhaps Jake was right about the manipulation thing. I tried to ask Edward about it, but my words were slow and slurred, like I had been drinking.

“Be at peace, Bella,” was his only response.

My thoughts became fuzzy, and I couldn’t process what he’d just said, however my thoughts were still all my own… not like what happened in the hospital when foreign thoughts entered my mind. The anxiousness in my mind calmed. Only inches away from him, I was still uncomfortable, but I was not afraid anymore.

He reached out a tentative hand and gently touched my face. I flinched slightly at his touch, but I didn’t move away. “Please remember…” he whispered. “I just need you to remember.”

The memories of what I used to feel for Edward were forced to the surface again, stronger than when I had brought them to mind a few minutes before. They were boring into my mind, as if they were trying to become reality again. I closed my eyes and let them flow through my consciousness, allowing myself to fully experience them once more… that feeling of knowing was telling me that this was important. Right on the heels of the memories of my love with Edward, however, were the memories of pain and loss, and a single tear slid down my face at those memories—all the pain caused by the loss of that love.

Edward was holding my gaze and I couldn’t look away from his mesmerizing amber eyes. His hard cold finger brushed over my skin as he wiped away the tear and his hand caressed my cheek. He was being gentle, but the contact brought no comfort or pleasure and it made me long for a warmer, softer touch… Jacob’s touch.

The memories of the lost love faded because that’s all they were—memories. While they could bring back the feelings and emotions, there was no strength to them any longer and my mind rejected them from becoming reality again. They were no match against the true reality of the love that existed in my heart for Jacob. I needed no memories to feel that love because it was rooted deep inside of me and flowed through every fiber of my being. It had become a part of me, as vital to my survival as the heart that beat in my chest or the lungs that gave me breath.

Shaking my head, I was able to clear most of the fog away and I opened my eyes again. I took Edward’s hand from my face and slowly lowered it, then let go. Taking two steps back I gave him a sympathetic look for his pain.

“Please don’t try to force this Edward,” I said gently, registering the gentle command he had made for my peace, and realizing he had indeed been trying to manipulate me into feeling something for him again. Just like in the hospital, it hadn’t worked. “I do remember our love, but that is all it is now… a memory. My human life with Jake is more than I ever could have imagined it to be, so full of friendships, family, and love. I can’t believe I almost missed out on all of it, that I almost gave it all up.”

A great depth of conviction grew in my voice as I continued to speak. “I know that I have found my true soulmate in Jacob, the one who I was born to love and live my life with. I am in love with him, and I completely and unreservedly belong only to him. With everything that is in me I have chosen Jake and will continue to choose him for the rest of my life.”

As I spoke those final words, time seemed to slow. A strong warm breeze blew and swirled around me, lifting my hair, hugging my face and body, causing my jacket and clothes to flutter. Though Edward stood so close in front of me, the movement of the air did not touch him. As the breeze curled and flowed around me my love for Jacob surged through me with a new force. I gasped and closed my eyes at the intensity of it and felt a powerful shift inside of me—like my true destiny was whispering to a piece of my soul… a piece that had been forced in the wrong way and was finally being put right. The breeze continued for a few more moments, tapered off slowly, and then the forest was still again. The heaviness of the air was gone, however, and time began moving at a normal pace once more.

Edward seemed to be completely oblivious of what I had just experienced. As I had made my declarations of loving and choosing Jacob, the tortured, lost look from the hospital had returned to Edward’s eyes, void of any of the hope or tenderness that had been there a moment before.

I didn’t have a chance to contemplate anything that had just happened as Edward grabbed me roughly by the arm, all the gentleness gone, and spoke in desperation. “No, you’re wrong Bella. You do still love me. You have to remember Bella.”

The shift in Edward’s demeanor was so sudden it was staggering. This was not the man that I had once loved, but a tormented soul who had lost all hope. He was a broken creature who was trying everything he could to win back the person he threw away… and realizing he was losing. The calm feeling of a few moments before vanished and I was terrified of this creature in front of me. I called frantically for Jake, praying that I hadn’t waited too long.

What in the world have I done?

“Let go Edward, you’re hurting me,” I cried fearfully. I pulled uselessly against his grip, only managing to bruise my arm. The ache in my back and side flared and I stopped struggling so I didn’t hurt myself anymore, and I was trembling with dread.

Through a haze, I realized that Edward’s scent was enveloping me much more deeply than before, and my brain was once again a foggy blur.

Oh no, no, no, no. JAKE! Please hurry! I silently cried to him in terror.

Edward had wrapped his arms around me, and I began struggling against his stone embrace again, even though I knew it was useless and I would hurt myself if I fought him, I couldn’t just stay still… I had to at least try to get away. His scent was everywhere and continued to cloud my mind, my vision blurring. Then his hand was in my hair, and I felt his cold, hard lips on my skin… my cheek, my forehead, my neck, my mouth. His lips did not hurt me, but they were not gentle either.

Growling sounded from a distance, rapidly closing in on us. After a few moments, it was a loud constant rumble right beside us and a little relief cut through my fear. I was still trying to struggle, but my body had stopped obeying; both my vision and breathing were still being affected by Edward and not functioning properly.

“Edward!” cried Carlisle’s familiar voice in shocked horror and the nearest growling cut off suddenly. Then more gently and closer Carlisle said, “If she hasn’t responded to you by now son, she isn’t going to.”

Edward’s lips and arms disappeared, and I was falling backwards, unable to do anything to catch myself. Almost immediately though, another set of arms came around me, stopping my fall. These arms were searing hot in comparison to the ones that had held me captive a moment before, and the heat was most welcome. They gently lowered me to sit on the ground, a supportive arm around my shoulders steadying me. I took long deep breaths to draw in the new scent of forest and ocean, but it was different than the one I was so familiar with, and not nearly as potent. It still worked to clear my head, though the fear was not fading easily. As soon as I was able to move again, I quickly shifted closer to the person supporting me and turned my head into his chest… I didn’t care which brother was there, he was my safety. His arms wrapped more securely around me, the heat comforting me.

“You’re safe now Bella. Are you hurt?”

I recognized Sam’s voice. I shook my head and whispered. “I don’t think so.” The world finally came back into focus and the fear was fading, but I was still trembling.

Sam gently took hold of my arm, turning it to examine it. “Yes, you are hurt.”

I looked at my arm too and saw a giant bruise blooming the entire way around my forearm… much worse than I would have thought it would be.

Sam kept his arm around me as he addressed Carlisle and Edward.

“This is totally unacceptable!” The anger in his voice was almost palpable—no hint of his usual calm, serene tone—it made me shiver, though I knew it wasn’t directed toward me. “He just forced himself on Bella and she is obviously scared… she’s still trembling. I think you should all leave… go home and we can discuss your further presence here later.”

I looked toward where Carlisle and Edward were standing and saw that Alice was there too. Alice and Carlisle looked mortified, each holding onto one of Edward’s arms, who looked distraught and angry.

What in the world did he have to be angry about? I’m the one who was just assaulted!

“We’re so sorry about this Bella… Sam,” Carlisle said miserably. “We will of course go home and wait for you to contact us.”

They left, Edward in tow. Sam helped me stand, continuing to support me as I swayed unsteadily.

“Are you in pain Bella?”

I took a deep breath and winced at the usual ache in my ribs. The trembling was nearly gone though, and I was feeling better now that Edward had left.

“It’s not bad…no more than the usual I think.” My voice was a little shaky and when I moved to look around, a sharp pain stab my side, making me grunt and wince. “Okay, maybe a little more than usual. I think I have a few new bruises around my back, but nothing like what I got from Victoria.” I looked up at Sam as I gently touched where I was hurting, and then looked around me. Jared was standing nearby. “Where’s Jake?”

“He’s on his way, but he knew he wouldn’t make it to you fast enough, so he sent us. Do you want to go back to class, or would you like to leave?”

“I just want to go home. Can you take me to Emily’s?” There was no way I was going to be able to concentrate on anything else today.

Sam smiled when I referred to Emily’s as ‘home’. “Sure thing.” He turned to address Jared. “Tell Jake that Bella is fine and we’re taking her to Emily’s, so he should just meet us there.” Jared nodded then jogged away to phase.

“I need to get my books,” I said.

Sam nodded and kept his arm around me as we headed back toward the school. Lunch was over and the next class period had started, so the courtyard was thankfully empty.

“Thanks for coming Sam.”

“Of course! I will always be there if you need me.”

I smiled up at him and saw that his nose was wrinkled up a little. “Oh, sorry, I must really stink to you now. He really breathed all over me.” I frowned. I couldn’t believe that it was true, and that Edward had tried to manipulate me with some vampire juju.

Sam relaxed his face and gave me a crooked smile. “It’s alright. I can handle it.”

When we got close to the cafeteria entrance, Angela came running out and threw her arms around me, hugging me carefully. “I’m so glad you’re okay Bella. I was a nervous wreck.” She fell in step with us as we started walking again. “Hi Sam,” she said shyly.

“Hello Angela,” he replied with a warm smile.

She gently picked up my arm and studied the new bruise there. “Edward did this to you?”
I nodded and had to look away from her concern filled face, guilt eating at me.

“I was afraid he’d hurt you,” she whispered, no condemnation in her voice, only worry for me. “At least it’s just a bruise, right?”

I nodded again. “That one and maybe some new ones on my back.”

She gasped. “How…”

Sam answered before I could, clearly disgusted. “He forced himself on her… grabbing hold and not letting go, even though she was struggling to get away.”

Angela turned away in stunned silence as we reached my locker. I quickly packed my things and Sam took my bag from me when I was done.

“How are you feeling now? Still feeling unsteady?”

The wooziness was gone, and my nerves had settled so the trembling had stopped as well. “No, I think I’m good now.”

“Can I come with you guys?” Angela asked, looking at Sam. “I don’t feel comfortable staying the rest of the day.” A visible shiver went through her.

Sam’s voice was understanding. “Sure, you can come with us.”

Once we’d collected Angela’s things, we headed toward the parking lot, Jared joining us at the front door. He gave me and Angela a smile of greeting before speaking to Sam.

“I got the message delivered to Jake. He’s a little out of his mind with rage at the moment, so he’s gonna go run it off with Embry and Quil before they head down to Emily’s. He said he’d be there as soon as he could cool off.”

“I don’t blame him at all,” Sam said sympathetically. “I can’t imagine how I’d feel if it had been Emily. I had enough trouble seeing him doing that to you Bella.

“It’s probably a good thing Jake wasn’t here,” I said. “He might have killed Edward.”

Sam and Jared both grunted in agreement.

As Sam drove us out of the school parking lot, both guys rolled their windows down half-way.

“I’m so sorry I stink.”

“Stop apologizing Bella,” Sam said, “it’s not your fault.”

“It’s a little my fault,” I mumbled then sighed. “I just hope I’ll have time to take a shower before Jake gets there.”

I knew that I had to have that conversation with Edward, and I was positive now that I needed to do it alone. I still couldn’t help but feel guilty that I had worried everyone so much, especially Jake. It had to be hard on him to see me like that through the pack mind and be unable to do anything about it.

“You should have time,” Jared said. “Even if he headed straight to Emily’s, it would be a good thirty minutes before he got there.”

“Wow. I know you said he was far away, but I didn’t realize it was that far. Why was he so far away?” My curiosity was piqued considering they could cover a lot of distance in thirty minutes.

“He went to Seattle to see what he could find out about all the unusual activity happening over there.”

“Seattle? Why? What kind of unusual activity?”

“Sorry, I thought Jake already told you… though he did just find out yesterday.”

I shook my head. “I noticed he was distracted this morning, but he said he’d tell me when he knew more.”

“Ah. Well, he probably didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily. So, before we took down the red head, we’d figured out that she may have been going to Seattle, or somewhere in that general direction, and there have been a lot of strange disappearances and murders happening there. It all gave Jake an uneasy feeling, so he just wanted to investigate a little.”

“Oh, okay,” was all I said, not understanding what kind of connection those things could have to Victoria that could still be an issue now that she was gone. I would just talk to him about it later… if he wasn’t too upset with me.

After a short silence, Sam glanced down at me. “Bella, maybe it’s not my place, but will you tell me what happened? How did Edward get so close to you? And why were you in the woods alone with him?”

I sighed and told them how everything had happened… they were all going to find out soon enough anyway through the pack mind. “I know what I did seems careless, but it was something that needed to happen. I am really sorry that I worried everyone so much though.” I didn’t want to get into details with anyone but Jake, especially considering I didn’t fully understand it all myself. I did realize that I was probably fortunate all I got were some new bruises.

“Well, I think you got pretty lucky Bella,” Sam said gently. “It all worked out okay, so don’t beat yourself up about it, but please be more careful in the future. Jake isn’t the only one who cares about what happens to you, you know.”

“I know. I’m not used to having so many people in my life who I can rely on and who worry about me. I’m sorry for putting you all through that.”

Sam mercifully left it at that and when we got to Emily’s, I thankfully was able to take a shower. It was a good thing I had left some clothes there… the guest room had sort of become my room since I had stayed there so much.

Shortly after shutting off the water, I heard lots of quiet talking through the bathroom door and was pretty sure one of the voices was Jake. Butterflies of excitement and worry started fluttering around my stomach at the sound of him. I hurried to get dressed and dry my hair, anxious to see him and hoping he wasn’t too upset with me.

When I came out of the bathroom everyone was there, even Kim. I grimaced inside… I guess they all knew what had happened already. I couldn’t bring myself to meet anyone’s gaze as I scanned the room, not seeing Jake or Sam.

“Is Jake back yet?” I asked Emily when she came over to me. “I thought I heard him.”

She put her arm around me to give me a gentle side-hug and smiled. “You did. He and Sam are out back.” She held onto me for a moment, studying me carefully. “Everything’s going to be okay now Bella… it’s all going to fall into place, so you don’t need to worry anymore.”

“Thanks Emily.” I thought that was a strange thing for her to say, but I was too distracted and worried about talking to Jake to think much of it. Just as I stepped out the back door, Sam was walking up the steps.

“Hey Bella. He’s waiting for you,” Sam said quietly.

My heart began pounding in my chest and my mouth went dry from the nerves. I looked out over the yard and Jake was standing about a hundred feet or so away, his back to me. I couldn’t help but feel like a child going to face her parent after disobeying. I knew that’s not how Jake would treat me, but my guilt was weighing heavily on me.

Taking a deep breath, I headed out to him.

Chapter Text

**********
JACOB POV
**********
BELLA’S TERRIFIED VOICE echoed through my mind just as we were leaving the Seattle area. There was absolutely nothing I could do, and my stomach clenched at the realization. My only option was to send Sam, who was closest to the school, and watch helplessly as the freaking leech forcefully held my Bella in his arms. Rage pulsed through me as she struggled against his grasp then went limp in his arms and Sam wasn’t able to separate them without risking harm to Bella, though I knew he would have figured out a way if Alice and the doc hadn’t showed up right then.

I had felt her pain, just like the day we killed the red head, so I knew he had hurt Bella even before I saw it in Jared’s memory. The freaking bloodsucker was lucky as hell that I wasn’t the one who was there. Absolutely no words existed to describe the fury that had coursed through me, and it took me about half the run home to cool off enough to be able to attempt to phase back.

Embry and Quil, the only ones still in wolf form with me, had run silently at my flanks, giving me the head space to work through my raging thoughts. The images from Sam and Jared played through my mind over and over and I analyzed everything as the anger surged through me. How had he gotten so close to Bella and why the hell she was alone in the woods with him? Did he ambush her or was she close to him by choice? Had he hurt her intentionally or was it just from her struggling?

I was finally able to put the images away and focus more on calming myself when I thought of Bella’s pain. Not knowing just how much pain she would be in, I wanted to get to her as soon as possible, so I turned my mind to more calming thoughts of times spent with Bella. The memory of our first kiss four weeks ago came to mind… so much had happened since then that it felt like months instead of weeks. Thinking of the changes in Bella since then, the light in her eyes, her easy laughter. How much it had changed me too. My old carefree happiness was coming back more and more often, all because of Bella’s love and acceptance. Feeling less like a monster and more human, even now as I thundered through the forest on four legs, trying to control my anger. I couldn’t fathom my life without her.

We had just cleared the northern edge of the mountains when I knew I was calm enough to be able to phase back, and I immediately became anxious to reach Bella as quickly as possible. Turning southwest, I picked up my pace and we made as straight a shot as possible toward La Push.

When we got to Emily’s house Bella was in the shower and the whole rest of the pack was there, spread out between the kitchen and living room. Sam started to fill me in on the details that Bella had given him. I was disappointed to learn that she had willingly gone alone with Edward into the woods and talked to him without calling for me sooner. Not wanting to get worked up again, I headed outside for some air, Sam following right behind me.

I paced away from the house, stopping when we weren’t too far out. Sam was a silent presence of support, waiting patiently for me to speak.

“What was she thinking?” I asked in quiet frustration, finally breaking the silence, not really expecting an answer from Sam. “Talking to him would have been bad enough when she had agreed not to, but to be so isolated in the woods with him.” I shook my head and ran my hands through my hair. “Anything could have happened.”

“I don’t know Jake. Don’t be too mad at her though. I think she feels bad about how it all went down.”

Keeping my gaze focused off into the distance, I crossed my arms over my chest and breathed in the smell of the ocean floating on the breeze that brushed over my face, then let out a long breath. “I’m not mad at her. Just disappointed that she didn’t realize the danger she was putting herself in before she did it. I’m mad at the whole situation… that she was even in that position because this freaking leech just won’t leave her alone. That he’s even here in the first place.”

“Well, the other two looked absolutely horrified at what he had done, so hopefully they will convince him to leave… or at least leave her alone.”

“Hopefully so.”

“So, did you find anything out in Seattle?”

“Yeah actually,” I said, turning my head to look at Sam standing beside me. I had actually been shocked at just what we had found. “That city is full of vampires! We didn’t see any, but their stench is all over the place. We picked up at least twenty distinct scents. I couldn’t believe it. Not in my wildest dreams would I have expected that.”

Sam’s eyes hardened and I could see him working to keep himself calm, his jaw flexing. We had stayed in human form while we were in Seattle and Bella’s voice had come through just before we shifted to wolf, so we hadn’t had a chance to relay the info to the others yet.

I looked away to the distance again. “I want to talk it over with Carlisle and see what he thinks or if he knows anything about why there are so many. I’ll need more time before I’ll trust myself to be near them again though.”

Sam opened his mouth to speak again, but we both cocked our heads toward the house as Bella’s muffled voice reached us from inside.

“I’ll head back in now… give you two some time,” Sam said. “We need to figure this Seattle thing out as soon as possible though.”

I nodded in acknowledgement as Sam clapped his hand on my shoulder and headed inside. I couldn’t think about Seattle right now and he knew it. A couple minutes passed when I felt Bella approaching me, my position and stance unchanging. I could tell she was nervous, and her pain was elevated from this morning, but not too bad.

She hesitated when she was a few steps behind me and instead of coming around in front of me, she took the last couple of steps and slipped her arms around me from behind, laying her hands flat on my chest and stomach, burying her face in my back, and breathing a sigh of relief as her pain went away. I placed my hands over hers, lacing our fingers together, and pressing them more firmly against me.

“How’re you feeling?” I asked.

“Better now.” She turned her head so her voice wasn’t muffled against my shirt. “I’m sorry Jake… I’m so sorry I put you through that.”

“Why Bella? Why did you go with him alone into the woods?”

Her answer was quiet and hesitant. “I… I didn’t do it without quite a lot of thought, and I honestly… I didn’t want to. I knew it was a risk, but I ultimately decided to go because I had a strong feeling that I needed to speak with him. Like that conversation needed to happen… I can’t explain it.”

“You still should have called for me sooner.” I brought her hand up and kissed her palm. “He may not have hurt you or forced himself on you if any of us were there.”

“I know.” Emotion choked her voice, and I could feel her gloomy regret. “I truly am sorry Jake. I knew you would be upset, but something did happen when I told Edward that I didn’t want to be with him anymore and that you’re the one I love and the one I choose. Please forgive me for causing you so much worry and pain.”

Joy and relief swelled in my heart as her words sank in. Bella had chosen me. She had been faced with the choice I had been dreading and she had chosen me. I pulled her around in front of me, turning to meet her halfway and noticing the new bruise on her right forearm. She wouldn’t look up, she just hugged me tight and pressed her face into my chest.

“I forgive you baby,” I said, kissing the top of her head, breathing her in, so thankful that today didn’t end badly. “We got lucky, and everything turned out okay. Hopefully, he’ll be leaving so we won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

She breathed another sigh of relief and we stood there just holding each other for many long moments.

“You said something happened when you told Edward you didn’t want him?” I asked quietly.

“Yeah, it was so strange.” Her head remained resting against my chest while she spoke. “The forest was so still, but several times a little breeze would blow around me. It only seemed to touch me, nothing else around me.”

“That is… strange.” I wasn’t sure what to think of that.

“I also felt something sort of shift inside of me. Like something that had been off was set right. I don’t know what to make of it.”

I didn’t respond, just relieved to have her safe in my arms, and a peaceful quiet settled on us. After several more long moments, I cupped her face in my hand and coaxed her to look up at me. She finally relented to my caresses and turned her face toward me, but her eyes remained downcast, remorse still written on her face. Leaning down, I pressed a kiss to her forehead, then nuzzled my nose against hers before gently kissing her lips several times, trying to get her to stop feeling guilty. When I pulled back, there was a small smile curling the corners her lips and she finally turned her gaze up to mine. As our eyes met, all the world fell away, and I sucked in a breath as the last thing I ever expected happened.

Heat bloomed in my chest… not burning like a phasing heat, but a warm comforting heat, and it spread throughout my body. My mind, my body, my entire being, disconnected from everything that made me who I was—the love of my father and sisters, the memories of my mother, my dedication to the pack, my commitment to the tribe, my hatred for my enemies, my home, my name, myself—all those connections were dissolved in an instant and the only one that remained was to the beautiful girl in my arms. It was no longer a normal connection, fragile and unstable, it was a strong and unbreakable connection, irrevocably binding me to her with a million steel cables. She was now, and always would be, the thing my life would orbit around and nothing else mattered except her happiness and well-being. Her eyes revealed to me the new center of my universe, and the beauty of it was breathtaking.

I had imprinted on my true love, my soulmate, my Bella. All those years of waiting and hoping had been worth it, to bring us to this point. All the feelings that I’d tried to push aside for all of those years we were apart now made sense. This was why no other relationship had ever interested me or ever felt right. I was waiting for her. I’d known for a long time, maybe my whole life, that she was the one I wanted, but to have this confirmation and know that I was right, that we were meant to be together… it meant the world to me.

“Jake, what just happened?” Bella’s face showed confusion but also held a captivated, enthralled look. I hoped she would be okay with this considering how she felt about imprinting.

However, I had no time to answer her or contemplate anything further… I barely had time to register the imprinting shift when a new one started. I looked down, startled, as my chest began actually glowing from the heat inside, a gentle golden light radiating through my torso, down my arms, and into my hands.

Bella gasped at the sight, her eyes wide, and I felt drawn to touch her. I obeyed the urge, laying one palm on her chest and pressing the other against her upper back. A strong wind kicked up, lifting tendrils of Bella’s hair as they swirled around and caressed her face. The warm, golden glow passed from my hands and into Bella, slowly spreading to her entire body until all of her skin was glowing. Her eyes slid shut and her features softened in complete peace. An ethereal aura shone from within and then surrounded her as the clouds above us opened up, allowing rays of sunlight to fall in a small symmetrical pool around us. The heavenly light was far too focused and perfect to be coincidental.

My own eyes closed as this new magical power, a power that had been lying dormant inside of me, grew in strength and flowed through both of us, passing from one into the other and back again, weaving itself into our hearts and souls, strengthening our bond further, changing us. Though my eyes remained closed, I could see the power, where it flowed, and the changes it was causing. I watched as several things occurred in quick succession.

Reaching into my core consciousness, the power drew out the authority that I had put away, accessing the claim on my birthright as the great grandson of Ephraim Black, the last Tribal Chief and Alpha, and the authority took over, making me the head Alpha, but not the only one. Sam’s place remained if he chose to keep it, second only to me, but not completely submissive to me—two packs, two Alphas.

Flowing over all the injuries on and in Bella’s body, including several new ones on her back and sides, it began healing her. All the bruising dissolved, from her skin all the way to her bones, the pink scars on her head faded and left no marks behind, and the broken bones in her arm were knit completely back together, as strong as ever, the pins that had held them together disappearing.

Curling around within Bella’s heart, my power also took root inside of her, though it was different for each of us. In me it was the authority and wisdom to rule the pack and one day govern the tribe, in her it was compassion and healing. However, there was more to it that I couldn’t comprehend, and the full extent of this new magic, and the powers it gave us, would have to be discovered.

The golden light of the magic began to glow brighter, searching for a final connection. We opened our eyes simultaneously and gazed at each other, both feeling the searching power, the pull to one another. Bella reached her arms around my neck, her fingers threading into my hair, and I lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around me, one hand under her bottom, the other gripping her back, and our lips crashed together. The kiss was deep and full of a new consuming passion as our powers collided in a bright burst of the golden light and the strong breeze continued swirling around us with new intensity. That’s when the final shift happened—our minds opened completely to each other, where every thought, every feeling, every emotion, every memory could be seen and felt and heard by the other.

Trying to absorb as many of the swiftly moving memories as I could, I saw them… those memories of Bella’s visits to Forks when we were growing up… the ones she never forgot, right along with the ones that she had locked away and forgotten about. The magic had unlocked them, and she was remembering them once more. Now she would know all the things I’d been longing to tell her about us, as well as her memories of my mom. Bella’s warring emotions came to me through our new bond… this was going to be a lot for her to take in.

The frantic bombardment of thoughts and memories began to slow and became more focused. Like a movie playing through my mind, a selection of her memories of us together since childhood were shown to me, along with the feelings that went with them, and I knew she could see them too: snippets of times playing together as children, at the beach or exploring the woods; the day she returned after my mom had died, feeling her concern for me and her own sadness; the day she became fearful of our feelings for each other, and what it might mean, and ran away; her caring and kindness towards me when she first arrived in Forks last year that grew to a committed loving friendship as I patiently helped her overcome her pain; how that friendship had continued to grow and her love for me that formed within and around it, but it was invisible to her, and the few times she got a glimpse of it, it scared her just like when we were younger; the pain when I couldn’t speak to her after I phased; the relief mixed with apprehension when she discovered the reason; I saw and felt when the love for me revealed itself to her when we kissed that first time, surprising and overwhelming her, but no longer causing her to balk away from it, she accepted it whole-heartedly; and how it had grown and strengthened until this moment. What I saw of her love now stunned me… it mirrored my own so exactly, it was like she imprinted on me. I don’t know how it was possible, but her connection with me was a copy of mine with her, steel cables binding us for life.

At the same time, my memories were being played for Bella… somehow we were able to see it all simultaneously: more little bits of time together as children; my boyhood crush, because I definitely fell for her first; the way she didn’t treat me differently, like a fragile, breakable shell like everyone else did, after my mom’s death; how the news of her impending return helped me fully pull myself back together and gave me hope again; how my feelings returned for her almost immediately when she returned and me realizing that she had forgotten so much about us; the heartache I felt when I saw her with Edward; how I ached for her when she was hurting after he left, remembering the pain I had lived through with my mother’s death; how my love for her continued to grow strong and true as I watched her come back to life, always trying to hide my feelings, but often failing; always willing to give her my love without expecting anything in return, but always hoping; how painful it was when I first phased and couldn’t tell her; the relief of her discovering the secret; the fear of losing her to the vampire or her own rash actions; the utter and complete joy when she kissed me and realized her love for me; the connections that we had made since then that opened up small parts of my power to her while we wondered what was going on; and finally, that unbreakable connection: complete love and devotion only to her.

Our minds closed off again, but not like a shut door. We were permanently united with only a curtain between us that could be pushed aside when either one of us wanted or needed to share with the other, no matter the distance.

Only a few minutes had passed, and we were still locked in our intense, passionate kiss, our focus remaining solely on each other. Slowly, the awareness of our surroundings returned as the wind died down and the light began to fade, and our kiss became less urgent and more gentle, until we finally pulled apart and looked at each other. I was now kneeling on the ground, sitting back on my feet, Bella still wrapped around me.

“What. Was. That?!” Seth’s awe filled voice sounded distantly, but it still didn’t break through our singular focus on each other.

“Let’s go inside and give them some time,” Emily said quietly. For a moment I could sense that they were all there and they had all seen; and then I was aware of them no longer and once again only saw Bella.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
Sunlight filtered dimly through the boughs of the trees surrounding us, the ground and greenery still wet from the morning rain. The woman holding my hand made me feel safe and cared for, and brought out a sense of wonder and curiosity inside of me. She stopped us in front of a large tree and cradled one of the branches in her hand for me to examine. I reached out with my chubby little 5-year-old fingers to pet the soft needles.

“Can you tell me what kind of tree this is?” she asked.

“It’s an evergreen,” I said.

“That’s right. Can you give me the name of this particular evergreen?”

I studied the flat needles that splayed out and looked sort of like a fan with tiny little pinecones and tried to remember the name.

“Cedar?” I asked hesitantly.

The beautiful woman nodded, her smile brighter than the sun on a cloudless day. It made me feel like I was the most special person on the planet.

“Western Red Cedar,” Jake chimed in from beside me.

“Very good, Jake,” she said.

“Ask us another one, Mama,” Jake’s sister, Rachel, said from the other side of the woman, hand in hand with her twin, Rebekah.

The woman led the four of us toward another tree.

~~
The memory faded. The beautiful woman was Sarah Black. I was remembering Jake’s mom! That smile… Jake’s smile… my chest swelled with emotion.

So much was happening—imprinting and healing and new powers—and there were so many memories flying through my head I couldn’t keep up (not to mention the very distracting kiss Jake and I were sharing). Some memories were mine and some were Jake’s, and then some were new to me, but they also felt like mine… like the one naming the trees.

I clung tighter to Jake, a grounding presence in the chaos of what was going on in my mind, and tried to grab hold of some other memories as they flew by… each one lasting for only the barest of moments.
~~

“Whatcha doing Sarah?” I asked as I skipped into the kitchen at the Black’s house.

“Making a lasagna.” She smiled at me over her shoulder, a curtain of black satin hair sliding across her back. “Would you like to help.”

I nodded vigorously and pulled the small step ladder out from beside the refrigerator over to where she was standing at the counter. I loved it when she taught me how to cook like her cause my mom wasn’t very good at cooking, but I really enjoyed it.

She put her arm around my waist as I climbed up the two steps of the little stool to make sure I didn’t lose my balance. Every year I hoped I would finally outgrow my klutziness… I was almost 8 after all, but it hadn’t happened yet. When I was securely in place on the step, she slid the pan of lasagna in front of me along with a plate of cooked flat pasta.

“Do you remember how I showed you to layer it last time?”

I nodded again and started laying the noodles over the meat layer she had just put down.

Jake came running in and peered over the edge of the counter. “Whatcha’ doin’ Bella?”

“Helping your mom.” When I was done, I looked up at her. “Now a layer of cheese, right?”

“Yep.” She handed me the bowl and I scooped several spoonfuls on top of the noodles and spread it around.

“Then the meat sauce,” I said proudly and Sarah gave me her bright smile that made me feel like I could do anything.

~~
That memory flitted away and I grabbed hold of another.

~~
My mind was reeling from the words my mom was saying to me, my 11-year-old brain trying to grasp it—there was a car accident and Sarah Black was hurt really bad… she didn’t make it. The woman who had helped take care of me during my visits to Forks every summer, my best friend’s mom, the one who was like another mother to me, just… gone.

Staring wide eyed at my mom, her watery eyes shining with sympathy, I shook my head. “No,” I whispered, not wanting to believe it. “She… she can’t… I was just there, and she was fine. I was just there…” My voice gave out with a choking cry and my face crumpled as the weight of the loss hit me. My mom wrapped me in her arms as the grief overtook me and great sobs shook my body.

“It’s not fair,” I cried, clinging to my mother’s shirt as she smoothed her hand over my head and rocked me, trying to soothe me. How could this have happened? Why did it have to be her? No more of her sunny smiles… no more cooking lessons or walks through the forest naming the trees… no more movie nights, or cheese parties, or dancing in the living room.

“Jake!” I croaked, suddenly pulling out of my mom’s embrace and looked at her with a sinking feeling in my tummy. “I need to be there… he needs me. I need to be there for him. When can I go? I have to go Mom!”

She put her arm around my shoulders again and brushed my wild hair back. “I know sweetie. Your dad is trying to get you a flight for tomorrow and then I’ll come in a couple of days.”

“You’re going to Forks?”

“Yes. Sarah Black was a very special lady, and she was a good friend to me when I lived there.”

The phone ringing interrupted us. It was Dad with my flight information. I was leaving first thing in the morning. Mom helped me pack. My emotions were all over the place, swinging from a state of a robotic numbness to a sobbing mess. I tried to call Jake, but no one answered, so I left a message to let him know I was coming, though he probably already knew.

Dad picked me up from the airport the following day, hugging me tight. I held his hand on the drive from Seattle and he took me straight down to La Push. When we pulled up in front of the Black’s house, I spotted Jake sitting on the ground near the tree line at the back of their property. I launched myself from the car before it had even come to a complete stop, and I ignored my father when he called after me as I ran toward Jake, stumbling as I went.

My steps slowed when I neared where Jake was sitting, his quiet sniffling reaching me as I drew closer. He didn’t turn toward me, though I’m sure he heard me coming, and I didn’t say anything. I just sat down next to him, linked my arm through his, and laid my head on his shoulder. After a minute, he wiped his face off with his shirt and breathed a great shuddering sigh, then tilted his head to rest on mine.

We sat like that for a long time, not saying a word, just staring into the forest. No words were needed between us in that moment, it was just enough to be there and bear the sadness together.

Footsteps approached from behind us, and a giant blanket was draped over our small shoulders.

“There’s lots of food at the house, if you kiddos are hungry,” my dad said.

Without moving, I replied softly, “Okay, thanks Dad. We’re not hungry right now.”

A few moments passed, then his footsteps retreated back toward the house. When they were gone, Jake gave me a little nudge with his shoulder and as one we laid back and turned on our sides to face each other, wrapping the blanket around us and over our heads, creating a little cocoon. Our knees were drawn up and pressed together, and we looked at each other for the first time. Jake’s eyes were red-rimmed and puffy… mine probably were too, at least a little.

“I’m sorry, Jake,” I whispered, the first words spoken between us since I arrived, as tears started slipping from his eyes again. I reached out and wiped a few away, though I knew I’d never be able to catch them all. He did the same, brushing his finger over my cheek to catch the tears I didn’t even realize I was shedding.

“I miss her,” he croaked almost silently.

“I know. Me too.”

We moved our heads closer, pressing our brows together, gripping each other’s hands, and quietly cried together for the loss of the woman we both loved.
~~

That memory slipped away, and my emotions had started to become a bit erratic as yet another memory surfaced. This one seemed to have more weight… more meaning… seemed to be more significant and more vital.

~~
“Where are we going, Jake? I’m getting tired.” Stumbling beside him for the umpteenth time, his hand wrapped around mine was the only thing keeping me from faceplanting. Walking through the woods was always a challenge for me, but we weren’t even on a trail anymore.

“We’re almost there.” He looked over to me… actually, he looked down at me and then dropped to one knee and patted his back. “Here, get on.”

The height difference between us was new, and I looked at him skeptically, debating whether or not this was a good idea. We’d been basically the same size and height for as long as I could remember, but in the months since my Christmas visit in December, he’d shot up three inches! He’d carried me piggyback last week when I’d twisted my ankle, and he hadn’t struggled at all with my weight, but we were on the level beach that time, not hiking over uneven ground through the woods. He just stayed kneeling there, looking over his shoulder at me expectantly.

I finally sighed out an exasperated “Fine,” and latched myself onto his back. My feet hurt, and even though he always kept me from falling, I’d still scraped up my palm on a couple of trees trying to catch myself, so it was probably for the best. He hooked his arms under my knees and hoisted me up a little higher before taking off again through the foggy forest.

I hated how blasted klutzy I was. I couldn’t even blame it on being an awkward 13-almost-14-year-old (my birthday was in just a couple of months) because I’d been like this as long as I could remember. According to my mother, even crawling had been a challenge for me.

“Why won’t you tell me where we’re going?” I asked.

“It’s a surprise. Embry and Quil just found this place and told me about it a couple days ago. I wanted to show it to you before you leave tomorrow. I haven’t even seen it yet, but they said it was really cool.”

“And you trust their judgement? These are the guys you said think farting contests are cool.”

He barked out a laugh. “Aren’t they?”

I rolled my eyes and made a gagging sound. “Boys are gross.” That elicited another laugh from Jake.

I had spent a little time with Jake’s guy friends, but when I was visiting, they didn’t come around much. Probably too cool to hang out with a girl. I didn’t mind though. Jake was the only guy I’d ever been around that I liked anyway. Actually, he was one of only a few humans, girl or boy, I had ever felt comfortable around… like I could just be me. Of course, when we were a lot younger, I felt a little differently… I thought he had cooties.

“Besides, you know I don’t like surprises,” I complained, cringing inwardly at the slight whine in my voice.

“No, you don’t like your mom’s surprises. Name one surprise of mine you didn’t like.”

I was silent, wracking my brain to think of one and coming up empty.

“Nothing to say?” he continued when I remained silent. “Can’t think of anything? Oh right, that’s because my surprises are always awesome.”

“You certainly are sure of yourself.”

“Only when I’m right.” I thought I detected a smirk in his voice, but the angle from his back was too awkward to see for sure.

“Whatever, you just—” My voice trailed off as a strange droning noise rose above the normal forest sounds of birds and bugs. I strained to listen, trying to figure out what I was hearing. “What’s that sound?”

“That’s the surprise.”

I focused on trying to figure out what I was hearing, the corners of my mouth curving up a bit at the sound of excitement in Jake’s voice. The noise kinda sounded like rustling leaves but was much too constant for it to be the sporadic motion caused by wind. And the forest air was still, not even disturbing the thick fog hanging around us, so that definitely wasn’t it. It got louder as Jake kept walking and I finally determined it was the sound of rushing water. A few moments later the trees thinned, and a waterfall came into view to our left. All along a wide, squat cliff face water poured over the edge in small groupings, splashing into a medium-sized pool before flowing away to our right toward the ocean.

“Oh wow, Jake,” I breathed as he knelt down again, and I climbed off his back. “This is cool,” I admitted.

“So, I still have a 100% success rate for great surprises, yeah?”

I smiled up at him, not even a little sad that he was proven right. “Definitely.”
~~

The memory skipped forward, in the same way that dreams often do.

~~
Sitting shoulder to shoulder on a rock, we had our pant legs rolled up and our bare feet dangling in the crystal-clear pool, watching the water rush over the edge of the cliff. The water was a little chilly, but it was refreshing now that the sun shining through the trees had burned off the morning fog, turning the July day warm and muggy. The golden rays warmed us, and rainbows began to shimmer and dance through the mist that was thrown into the air around the base of the falls.

Leaning forward, I braced my palms flat against the rock we were sitting on to gaze down into the sparkling pool. Jake shifted beside me, and warmth enveloped my hand between us as he placed his hand over mine. I turned my head to look at him, only to bump noses with him, his startled expression matching mine. My heart started racing and a weird feeling I’d never experienced before ran through me and curled inside at his nearness, but I didn’t move away.

“What’re you doing?” I whispered and swallowed hard. He was so close. His beautiful dark eyes silently searched mine for a few moments before he closed the small space between us and pressed his lips to mine. My eyebrows shot up and I hesitated for the briefest of moments then closed my own eyes and pressed my lips back against his.

Oh my gosh.

My brain short circuited.

I was kissing Jake!

I was having my first ever kiss, and it was with Jake! I had no idea if the kiss was “good” or “done right” but it certainly felt right and good to me. It only lasted a few moments before Jake pulled away a little and hesitantly smiled at me. I smiled back, feeling heat rushing to my cheeks.

“That wasn’t what I was trying to do,” he said softly, “but I think I liked it.”

The heat in my face spread and I cast my eyes back toward the water then whispered, “I think I liked it too.”
~~

The memory skipped forward again.

~~
“Wait Bella. Stop. Just listen to me.”

Jake strode after me as I attempted to run away from him and failed as I stumbled ahead instead, my hands and knees all scraped now. He reached out to try to help me up, but I jerked away from him.

“No Jake, don’t. I just need to think… I just need—”

“Bella, would you just stop and listen to me?” he pleaded. “I shouldn’t have said anything—”

“You basically said you wanted to marry me—"

“That’s not…” His brow furrowed and then his eyes went wide as he pulled up short for a moment. “Wait, WHAT?” I didn’t stop, rushing and stumbling forward, and he quickly recovered and followed once more, trying to reach for me again. “Bella, that’s not what I said… that’s not at all what I meant—”

I slammed through the front door of the Black’s house and stormed toward the living room. The startled expressions of Charlie and Billy met me as I stopped in the middle of the room and awkwardly wrapped my arms around myself. Jake rushed in right on my heels and stopped beside me. He glanced at our fathers then turned his attention back to me and spoke so quietly I could barely hear him.

“Bella, come back outside so we can talk. Let me explain… you completely misunderstood—”

I shook my head and looked at Charlie. “Dad, can we go please? I need to get out of here.”

Charlie looked between me and Jake, who I refused to look at even though I could feel his eyes on me.

“Are you sure Bells?” Charlie asked hesitantly. “You leave first thing in the morning—”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Bella,” Jake pleaded with me softly, “please don’t leave like this.” He tried to put his hand on my shoulder, but I stepped away from him.

“I’ll wait for you in the car, Dad. Don’t follow me, Jake.” I had to get out of there before I started crying. I rushed out the door and into Charlie’s cruiser as quickly as I could, locking the car doors as soon as I was inside.

I knew I was being unfair… I knew it, but I couldn’t stop. Jake had started talking about our future and his feelings and… and… and sure, he hadn’t actually said anything about marriage, but that’s where that all led to, right? I mean, we were only 13 for crying out loud. Renee would be so disappointed if I let this continue now. How many times had she told me that no one should get married until they were 30—just look at what happened with her and Charlie—so there was no way Jake and I should be talking about anything remotely resembling feelings or our futures. I couldn’t let it continue.

But it hurt. I had never known life without Jake in it. I may only see him in the summer and a few holidays each year, plus phone calls occasionally, but no one knows me like he does. He’s my only true friend in the whole world. But I couldn’t let it go on… not after today… not after what he said… not after what it made me feel…

NO!

I shook my head to clear away that thought! We’re too young for all of that! I just needed to bury it deep and never, ever think of it again. It could only bring problems.

As we drove away, Charlie kept glancing at me warily. “Tell me what happened Bella.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I mumbled, swiping angrily at the tears rolling down my face.

Charlie let out a frustrated breath. “Did he… did he hurt you, Bella? Or take advantage of you?” His voice became very stern. “You will answer me, Isabella Swan. Did he touch you inappropriately?!”

I gaped at my father’s profile, shocked at what he’d just asked me. His features were strained and his jaw was working overtime as he waited for my answer.

“No Dad,” I answered quietly. “It was nothing like that. We just had a fight… it’ll be okay… eventually.” But that wasn’t entirely true. I didn’t know if it would ever be okay again.
~~

My heart and mind were raw, completely laid bare, as I tried to process everything. There had been other memories that played for me… for us, both mine and Jake’s, showing how our love had bloomed and grown since I’d returned to Forks. I had a vague awareness of the golden light fading, the rest of the pack being there, and then leaving, as Jake and I silently gazed at each other.

The memories had hit me so fast and furiously, it was impossible to take it all in… my memories, mixed with Jake’s… it had just been too much. Every possible emotion began bombarding me, all at the same time: love, joy, and excitement, right alongside grief, embarrassment, and regret… anger… disbelief.

Overwhelmed. I was completely and utterly overwhelmed.

My face was wet from tears I had obviously shed, but couldn’t remember. I didn’t bother to wipe the moisture away as realization hit me of what I had done that day back when we were 13… and had continued to do every day since until I had buried and forgotten a huge part of my life.

I had been an idiot. How had I messed up so much? How had I suppressed and forgotten one of the most beautiful parts of my life.

Why?

Sitting there in Jake’s arms, my limbs still wrapped around him, looking into his eyes so full of concern, understanding, and love… so much love… I felt horrible.

My head dropped forward onto Jake’s chest as sick disgust at myself washed through me, replacing all the other emotions that had been fighting for their place.

“Oh my gosh, Jake.” My voice was tiny and hoarse. “I shut you out. I ran away. We lost so much time together. I almost ruined everything. I’m so sorry. Forgive me Jake… I’m so sorry.”

“Shhh, baby, it’s okay.” His voice was so gentle as he stroked my hair and my back. “There’s nothing to forgive. You were a kid, and you were freaked out… I freaked you out. I should have known better than to say those things to you back then. It’s just, we were by that pretty waterfall, and you were sitting there looking so beautiful, and we had just had our first kiss…”

I lifted my head to look at Jake again, new tears blurring my vision. “But, you… you didn’t say anything that should have freaked me out that bad! You… you… you were only trying to say you cared for me, and how special you thought our friendship was and that you saw it lasting for a long time. Certainly nothing about marriage! I just…”

My eyes grew big as something occurred to me and my voice dropped back to a whisper. “You knew… you knew there was something more…” I dropped my eyes, examining my newly recovered memory. “I think I knew too… that’s what freaked me out… I knew and I ran.” I met Jake’s gaze again. “And you… you’ve known all this time. How did you endure it? Having me leave like that and pulling away… cutting off all contact. Then seeing me with someone else… knowing? I almost ruined everything. Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Bells, stop. Take a breath… take a moment.” He caressed my face, nothing but love shining in his eyes… no judgement, no condemnation. “I know you’re processing a lot all at once. Do you understand what just happened baby?”

I sucked in a long shuddering breath and let it out slowly, nodding. “Yes. We imprinted… on each other. How is that possible? How is any of this possible?” My head slowly shook from side to side, and I started to lean away from him. “I don’t deserve you Jake… I don’t deserve any of this.” I pushed against Jake’s chest and tried to get up, but he held me tight and wouldn’t let me move away. “How can you forgive me? Why do you not hate me?!”

“Bella, stop.” Jake’s voice was so gentle and understanding, it just made me feel worse. I had already known I didn’t deserve him or his love, but this… what I did should have been unforgivable. What I nearly cost us. “It’s because I love you. That’s how I can forgive you and I could never hate you. You were only 13—”

“How can you be so damned understanding!” I was nearly shrieking as I pushed harder against him, but he held me firmly… in no way hurting me, but there was no escaping. I pounded and pushed against his chest with both fists, telling him loudly over and over through my stupid tears that he should hate me and to let me go, but he just took my beating and held on to me. I didn’t really want to get away from him, and he knew it.

I knew my anger was misdirected, for it wasn’t Jake I was mad at, but myself. How could I have done this… how could I have caused both of us so much pain?

Slowly my pummeling fists and angry words lessened then ceased altogether. Left with just my tears, I crumpled against Jake and clung desperately to him. He pulled me close while I cried. I cried over the loss of Sarah Black once more, I cried for my foolish actions, I cried for the time we lost, I cried that I’d almost ruined everything, and I cried for the love I didn’t deserve and had no right to receive, but it was freely given to me anyway.

Once my tears had subsided and I had calmed, I kept myself pressed firmly against Jake’s chest and he finally spoke again.

“I don’t understand how you lost those memories. When you returned last year… once I realized they were gone, I didn’t try to remind you of them because I thought if we spent some time together, they would come back. But then you were with Edward, and then he was gone, and you were hurting so bad. I feared it would have sounded like complete and utter manipulative garbage to you… or if you did remember, it might hurt you more. I didn’t want either of those things to happen, so I waited and hoped someday you’d remember on your own, when you were ready. Then you fell in love with me anyway, without those memories, and it really didn’t matter anymore.”

I took a shaky breath. “I don’t know if that’s what I would have thought or not, but I can see why you would be concerned I would.”

“And, you know I never said anything about marriage, right?”

I lifted my head to look at Jake once more and gave him a sad smile. “I know that… I knew it then too, but what you said, it made me realize there might be something more between us—something more for us in the future—you made me start to feel something more—and I just couldn't handle that. My reaction was rather irrational, but we were only 13 and Renee has always drilled it into me that marriage before 30 was a horrible, awful idea…

“But, I am not my mother. And I’m not scared anymore. A life with you is exactly what I want, Jake, even if I don’t think I deserve it. If you’re willing to give it, I’ll take it. I don’t care anymore what my mom thinks, I would marry you tomorrow if that’s what we wanted. And I’m not just saying this because of the imprinting… I already knew I wanted to be with you… forever.”

I was actually a little shocked at the words I’d just spoken as I realized they were completely the truth. It was not something I would have thought possible just a few short months ago, but now there was nothing I wanted more than a life with Jake. I had known it deep down for awhile, but admitting it out loud felt good and was actually incredibly freeing.

Jake didn’t say anything, but a blinding smile spread across his face and his chest expanded with a deep breath at my declaration. As I gazed into his eyes once again, I noticed something new, something that wasn’t there before. The center of my universe shone there… the thing that would keep me grounded and whole, and I knew nothing could ever change that now. We belonged to each other, connected in a way that was impossible to fully fathom. I didn’t think there was any way to ever love him more than I had a when I walked out of the house just a short time ago, but somehow it had multiplied beyond comprehension.

“Thank you for choosing me, Bella.”

That statement seemed to come out of nowhere and I looked at him with alarm. “Were you afraid I wouldn’t?” I asked, unable to keep the surprise and hurt from my voice. My voice dropped and became barely audible. “Did you doubt my love for you?”

“No, I never doubted your love,” he reassured me quickly, kissing my forehead, “but part of me was still uncertain. I was afraid the power he had over you would prove to be too strong. I hated the doubt, but I hadn’t been able to shake it completely.”

“Jake, there has been no question in my mind from the moment we first kissed—well the most recent first kiss in my kitchen—that you were my future. I’m sorry you were dealing with that doubt. But you don’t have to doubt any more. You saw it, right? My connection to you?”

“Yes, I saw it… you imprinted on me just the same as I did on you.” He smiled at me. “You took being a wolf-girl to a whole new level.” He chuckled as warmth bloomed in my cheeks, then I laughed softly.

“Man, so much happened, my mind is kinda all over the place.” I lifted up my left arm and looked at the brace there. “Guess I don’t need this anymore.” I started to take it off and then stopped and sighed. “I’ll probably have to leave it on for show though… at least at school and when I’m around Charlie.”

“Probably should,” Jake agreed, as he continued to unfasten it where I had stopped, “but you don’t need to have it on while you’re down here.” He slid it off my arm and dropped it on the ground.

I began flexing my fingers and wrist then felt around on my head where the raised pink scars had been, and the skin was all smooth. I lifted the back of my shirt and tried to look over my shoulder then looked at Jake. “See anything?”

He moved me off his lap and sat me on the ground, turning to sit next to me. He ran his hand lightly over my back and side, letting his fingers linger, sending shivers up my spine. His voice was deeper when he spoke. “No, just beautiful, smooth, ivory skin,” he said then pulled my shirt back down. He looked at my face and brushed my hair back, running his thumb back and forth over my cheek then spoke quietly. “I’m still in awe that I get to call you mine forever… and nothing can take that away now.”

“I know,” I whispered in agreement.

Jake leaned in and gently pressed his lips to mine, his wood and ocean scent enveloping me as our mouths moved together, gentle and slow. He pulled back to look at me, tracing his finger along my jaw before bringing his lips against mine again, a soft lingering caress. When he pulled back once more, I drew in a shaky breath and shivered again. He smiled, then pulled me closer beside him.

We were facing away from the house now, looking over the long strip of grassy area stretched far into the distance with forest on either side. Jake stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his hands. I leaned against his side, my head laying on his chest.

The sky was completely overcast now with no hint of the sunlight that had shone down on us earlier. My eyes had been shut, but I had seen the bright glow through my eyelids, and had felt the warmth of it on my skin, different from the warmth that had flowed through me.

So, you can still hear my thoughts, right? I thought to Jake.

Yes, and you can hear me now too.

I drew in a sharp breath at the sensation of hearing his voice in my head and gaped at him. He was smiling a crooked half smile at my reaction.

I swiveled around so we were still side by side, but facing each other; with him leaning back on his hands, I rested my arms on his chest, playing with the ends of his hair barely brushing the tops of his shoulders.

Say something else, I thought.

He chuckled lightly at my enthusiasm. I love you, Bella.

I was still tingling from the new sensation of his voice in my head when I suddenly felt his love for me flood my mind. My eyes went wide, and I sucked in a harsh breath. It completely engulfed me. I closed my eyes as I took it in, and tears rolled down my face, unbidden. I wasn’t crying, but my body didn’t know how to handle feeling the magnitude of his love. I let it consume me for several minutes, then it slowly faded.

“Jake,” I breathed in awe. Opening my eyes to look at him again, I wiped the moisture from my face and took a deep breath. He was smiling at me gently. “How did you do that?” I asked in amazement.

He got a thoughtful look on his face. “I’m not sure exactly. I let myself feel it and then just thought about sharing it with you.”

I nodded and then tried myself. As I looked into his eyes, I let my feelings for him fill my mind and then focused my thoughts toward him, watching his face. His reaction outwardly wasn’t quite as strong as mine, but he’d been receiving my thoughts for a while now and was already able to sense my emotions before, so I figured he was a little more prepared for the experience. I could see it in his eyes though as he drew in a long breath.

Without warning, he captured my face between his big hands, his fingers in my hair, and he was kissing me fiercely. A whimper of surprise escaped my throat and I tensed in alarm for half a moment, then I relaxed into the kiss as the fire coursed through me and I wrapped my arms around him. I guess he felt it more strongly than I first assumed.

A new sensation flowed between us, like sparks and shocks of an electric current that intensified every other feeling within me and made me even more aware of everywhere my body touched Jake’s. Time became irrelevant to us again as our focus re-centered on each other once more. This new supercharged kiss went through many shifts from intense passion to tender affection as we continued to share with each other through the windows of our minds. The security we felt in our commitment to each other allowed us to be completely open and vulnerable with one another in a way I never would have dreamed possible.

Eventually the kiss ended, and we floated back down from the high we had been riding while experiencing this new ability, but the electric charged still seemed to hum between us. Clinging tight to one another, our foreheads pressed together, we slowly loosened our hold and pulled back to look at each other.

“How did you even know that was possible?” I asked quietly, “How did you know we could share the feelings and emotions.”

“I didn’t know for sure, but I have felt your pain or sadness or fear a couple of times when you called for me. And then I could feel your emotions that were connected to your memories earlier. So, I figured it might be possible and gave it a try.”

I nodded and traced my finger along his jaw, the electric sensation snapping through my finger.

“Do you feel that?” I whispered, placing my hand against his cheek, the electric jolts running through my hand and up my arm.

He leaned into my touch and closed his eyes. “Yeah, I feel it.”

A few moments passed in silence when Jake’s eyes popped opened again and he looked up at the sky. “We might want to head inside. It’s about to rain.”

No sooner had he said the words than a large raindrop landed on top of my head, and another splashed on his face.

He grabbed my discarded brace as we jumped up, and the rain quickly intensified. Large drops began tapping faster and faster on the leaves of the forest around us as we ran back toward the house, covering us in sparkling diamond drops before we could get inside.

We were both laughing as we burst through the back door. Jake tossed my brace on the floor and immediately took me in his arms again. After gazing at me for a moment he began slowly kissing the raindrops off my face. My eyes slid shut and my fingers wound through his hair as I delighted in the electrified touch of his heated lips on my cool skin, until he finally claimed my lips once more. I gave myself completely over to him as he deepened the kiss and pulled me flush against him.

The love flowing between us was so complete; it was both new and old at the same time, as if we had fallen for each other all over again while also sharing a love that had endured the test of time. It was thrilling and exciting and gave us a trust and security that was both breathtaking and beautiful.

And it was ours to discover and experience for the rest of our lives.

Chapter Text

**********
EMILY POV
**********
Standing at the back window, I watched as Bella walked out to where Jake was standing. I knew he was upset with her, but I also knew that he would forgive her. Just like I knew their lives were about to change forever. Butterflies were dancing in my stomach from the excitement.

Sam came up behind me, putting his hands on my shoulders, and looking out the window with me.

“You alright Em? I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”

“I’m not worried… they’re going to be perfectly fine,” I said quietly. “Something is about to happen though, and I don’t want to miss it.”

Sam looked around at me from the side and I glanced over and was met with a confused expression.

I smiled and touched his face briefly before turning back to the window. “Just watch. You’ll see what I’m talking about.”

I hadn’t been able to tell Sam about anything that I had learned recently because I couldn’t risk Jake seeing any of it in Sam’s thoughts. Today though, I would be able to share it all with him, as well as with Jake and Bella, and it was going to be such a relief.

It felt like an eternity as the seconds ticked by, but I finally saw Bella look up at Jake. They gazed at each other for a few moments while the imprinting happened… and then it began.

I watched in delight as Jake’s upper body began glowing softly, and after a minute Bella was glowing from head to foot.

“What in the world?” Sam said in amazement.

At Sam’s comment the house began to quiet, and I heard a few quite gasps as the others started to notice.

When I heard everyone moving behind us to come see what was happening, I headed to the back door and went outside, walking just a few steps from the house, Sam right beside me. Stunned and silent, the others joined us, staying back close to the house.

The clouds had parted and there was a perfect circle of sunlight shining down on them. It looked like star dust was falling through the illuminating light, glittering and sparkling as it floated serenely down to land on Bella, causing her face to shimmer. The connections between them, both new and old, flared in arcing golden bands, though I would be the only one who could see those… golden bands shining bright, adding to the light. The existing connections were made stronger and there were also new ones being formed as I watched: the Alpha authority, the healing, and the power to heal; affecting each of them differently but also bonding them together even more completely.

Beside me, Sam made a small sound of surprise as he felt the shift in the Alpha power.

They began to glow brighter, and he picked her up as she wrapped herself around him. When their lips met there was an explosion of blinding light, and it was impossible to look at them any longer. I closed my eyes against it and, though I could no longer see it happening, I knew through the stories that this must be when the telepathic connection was being made.

Once the light had faded, and after Seth’s awed comment, I had everyone go back inside to give Jake and Bella some time together. When we got inside, I gave them a brief explanation of what happened, that Jake had imprinted, and they each had a new power inside of them. I then sent them all away with a promise that more would be explained later and to come back at dinner time.

I was glad that they had all been here to witness what had just happened because it is such a rare and special occurrence. And it was going to change the dynamics of the pack, along with other things, so them witnessing the transformation would make it easier for everyone to accept the changes. But I wanted to talk to Jake and Bella before telling the rest of the pack anything else.

I was relieved that I could now tell Sam about it all. It had been so hard keeping this from him. So, he and I talked about everything while we waited for Jake and Bella to come back inside.

**********
BELLA POV
**********
Jake and I were still lost in each other and our powerful kiss when a throat cleared nearby. We broke apart and looked over in surprise at Emily standing a few feet away, smiling and holding out a towel.

“This might be faster,” she said with teasing laughter in her voice, and heat flooded my already flushed face as I took the towel from her.

“Sorry, we thought everyone was gone… or I did anyway,” I said, looking at Jake who flashed his big, beautiful smile and shrugged innocently. I was pretty sure he hadn’t given it a thought either way and would have kissed me no matter who was in that room.

“It’s quite alright,” she said as she headed back to the kitchen, and I could still hear the smile in her voice.

We slipped off our wet shoes and set them by the door, then I dried off my face and neck, and squeezed most of the moisture out of my hair. Moving to Jake I drug the towel over his long arms and legs, then started on his neck. He leaned closer so I could wipe off his face, meeting his gaze as he watched me intently. I began gently rubbing the water from his hair, but a yearning was growing in his eyes that stole my breath away, the new charge pulsing between us.

He gripped my waist, and I knew he was going to kiss me again. As enticing as that idea was, I thought we’d given Sam and Emily enough of a show for one day. I suppressed my own desire and before he could move closer, I wrapped the towel around his head and face, slipped from his grasp, and sauntered away to the kitchen. Jake’s deep, throaty laughter followed me, muffled from behind the towel, drawing a chuckle from Sam and Emily who were sitting close together at the table, relaxed and smiling as they watched us.

Now that I had moved away from Jake, the aroma of something wonderful cooking in the oven teased my nose. I breathed it in deeply and my stomach growled.

“Whatever you’ve got cooking smells amazing,” I said looking at the clock. We still had quite a while before dinner time. “I’m going to need a snack though… I never had lunch!”

Emily started listing off the leftovers that were available, but I just wanted something simple. My emotions had settled some, but I felt like I’d been through the wringer and needed a bit more time to process before trying to eat anything heavy. Peering into the fridge I decided an apple would do. As I started to shut the door, Jake’s voice sounded through my mind.

Can you grab me one too, please?

My insides jumped, startled by the sudden sensation that was so new and foreign to me.

That’s going to take some getting used to, I thought as I gave him a look and tossed the first apple to him then grabbed another, also getting us each a glass of water.

When Jake and I were settled across the table from Sam & Emily, his arm resting across the back of my chair, I looked at Emily.

“So, everyone saw what happened outside, right?” I asked before biting into my apple.

Now that I was looking at her closer, there was a new excitement shining in her eyes… like she had a secret she couldn’t wait to share. “Yes, it was impossible to miss. How do you guys feel.”

I let out a breath and glanced at Jake to find him watching me. Waiting to let me answer. I mostly just felt excitement coming from him through this new bond of ours. Nothing like the mess of emotions that still swirled inside of me. Could he tell how much I was still dealing with… could he feel it? The way he held my gaze, the gentle understanding showing there, I became certain that he could.

A strange kind of pull started to draw me further into his steady gaze, like I could get completely lost there if I let myself. A promise of peace and calm seemed to wait for me if I would just dive in. I closed my eyes and shook my head to clear it a bit as Jake squeezed my shoulder in a gesture of support. I couldn’t get lost in Jake right now. I wanted to talk out everything that had just happened… and to find out what that look in Emily’s eyes might mean.

I focused my attention back to Emily and tried to answer.

“Well…” I drew out the word, sorting my thoughts for what to say then huffed out a small laugh. “Honestly, I don’t really know how to answer that. It depends on what part of everything that’s happened I think about. Overwhelmed and just sorta fried might be the best way to describe it.” I was staring at the apple that I had momentarily forgot was in my hand. I took another bit before looking at Emily again.

Jake swallowed the bite he was chewing before he spoke, “I guess we should let you guys know what all exactly happened—”

“We actually already know,” Emily interrupted, and we both gaped at her for a moment.

“How?” we asked in unison.

A small smile lifted her lips as she looked between us then settled her gaze on Jake and leaned forward, elbows resting on the table. “Have you ever heard any stories about Dreamers?”

His brow furrowed and he slowly shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“I had never heard them either,” Sam said.

Emily nodded and sighed. “I didn’t figure you had, but thought if anyone had, it’d probably be you. Knowledge of the line of Dreamers has been nearly forgotten. Just like you had all been told the legends of the Quileute since you were young, I have been told stories of the Dreamers since I was a small child, first by my great-grandmother and then my grandmother. Until recently, I thought they were just fairytales that my great-grandmother made up, just like you all thought the legends about the wolves and vampires weren’t real.

“Besides those in the line of the Dreamers, only the Alpha and his imprinted mate have ever had detailed information about them. Though other pack members were aware of their existence through the pack mind, that was still never more than a handful of people who knew, because the packs were always small.

“We don’t know who the first Dreamer was, or how they came to be, but we know there have been at least ten different Dreamers. With each new wolf pack, when the rightful Alpha by blood phases for the first time, the Dreamer gets her abilities. So, sometimes there would be more than one Dreamer, if a new Alpha phased while the previous Dreamer was still living. Alternately, if there was no wolf pack then there was no new Dreamer.

“The full power of the Dreamer is no longer known. She can see things through her dreams and visions, but there are certain other things she can also see by learning how to read a person’s aura, so to speak. Ultimately, the Dreamer is there to help guide and advise the Alpha, when needed.

“My great-grandmother, Charlotte Branch, or Grams as I called her, was the last Dreamer during the time of Ephraim Black. She passed when I was 6 years old. She was able to teach her daughter many things about being a Dreamer, for those in the line can learn certain skills, even if they never become an actual Dreamer. Her name is Joanna Sharp, and she is my grandmother, whom I call Grammy Jo.

“So, now there is a new wolf pack, and there is also a new Dreamer.” Emily pointed to herself. “I am the new Dreamer.”

Jake and I were both leaning forward with our arms on the table now, stunned and silent. Emily sat quietly and waited for us to process everything she’d just told us.

After several moments of silence Jake took a big drink of his water, then cleared his throat. “So that’s how you were able to see the new connections between me and Bella in the hospital?”

“And you knew what was going to happen today, didn’t you? Before it happened?” I asked, remembering the strange comment she made to me before I went out to talk to Jake.”

Emily was nodding. “As well as the day Victoria attacked Bella.”

Sam made a noise in the back of his throat. “I knew the timing of that day never made sense! When Jake said you’d already called, I knew there was no way that could have happened so quickly, but we had too much going on to dwell on it and it didn’t seem important enough to worry about after, with Bella in the hospital. I sort of forgot about it after that.”

“Yeah, I got a vision that day.” Emily dropped her head forward, her voice full of regret. “I just wish I’d seen it sooner, so Bella hadn’t gotten hurt.”

“Hey,” Sam said, gentle but firm, as he lifted her head to look at him with a finger under her chin. “Bella might have been hurt that day, but you saved her life Em. Jake probably wouldn’t have made it in time without you.”

Emily sighed and gave Sam a small smile. “I know. It’s just, the more in tune I become with my ability, the better I’ll be at receiving the visions, but it takes time… sometimes years to develop them. I’m worried I’ll miss something important in the meantime.”

“And no one will blame you sweetheart. Your ability is a gift that has already been able to encourage these two and saved Bella’s life.”

Emily’s demeanor immediately improved, her excitement returning. She waved a hand in the air as if trying to clear away the negative thoughts. “You’re right. I totally know that, and Grammy Jo is constantly encouraging me in that respect. I just get impatient sometimes.” She looked back to me and Jake. “Sorry to bring the mood down. Now, where was I…

“Oh, right. So, Grammy Jo had been coming to visit me quite frequently back when the pack was new… before you’d shifted Jake. She knew about the wolves, though she never told me how she knew. It was nice to share that with her though. Her knowledge allowed the pack to carry on as usual when she visited so the frequency of her visits wasn’t any issue.

“The night after your first shift, Jake, I had a dream about you. I couldn’t remember many details of the dream the next day, only that it was about you, and it left me with a feeling of profound sadness. I didn’t think too much of it until I continued to have the same thing happen night after night and I began to wonder if there was actually something to those stories.

“When Grammy Jo arrived again a few days later the pack was all here, and the moment she saw you, Jake, she looked at me as if she knew. That’s the day I found out it was all true and I was the new Dreamer.

“Over the weeks since then, Grammy Jo has taught me what she can. All of the lessons that her mother had taught her as well as what she could remember of how Grams said she could manipulate her dreams to get more information out of them. Unfortunately, I have needed to figure a lot out on my own, and I am still working on it.

“I wasn’t able to tell you about any of this before Jake since you gave up your claim to be Alpha. I technically shouldn’t have even said anything that day in the hospital, but your new connection was so strong it took me off guard. I also couldn’t tell Sam until today because I couldn’t risk you seeing anything in his thoughts. But now that you’re Alpha, I can tell you everything I know… and I can tell Sam because he imprinted on me.”
Jake’s attention moved to Sam at the mention of the shift in Alpha power.

“About that, Sam—”

“Don’t even worry about it, Jake. We can talk about it more later, but it’s always been yours to take when you were ready. The thought of two packs is kinda crazy, but since there are so many of us now, it might be nice to be able to split it up. And if that doesn’t work out,” he shrugged, “well, I guess we’ll figure it out.”

Jake was nodding. “I don’t know about the being ready part. If you’d asked me before this happened, I would have said absolutely not, but now… it’s almost as if I’ve been made ready somehow.” He shrugged. “I may not have made the decision myself, but I’m surprisingly already at peace with it… well, with the idea of it anyway. I just hope I can actually do a good job at it.”

“You were born for this, Jake,” Sam said, “and you’ve been my Second this whole time, working right along side of me. You’re going to do a great job.”

A moment passed between them, and Jake nodded. “Thanks man. I guess now I’m just curious to know why this new power basically forced me to be Alpha, when I was able to pass it on before. Whether I’m ready for it or not, it’s still weird.”

“It’s to protect you both…” Emily answered, “and to protect the magic. One of the stories that has been kept by the Dreamers tells of the life of an Alpha that was born over three centuries ago. He was gifted at birth with a different and incredibly special type of magic and when that Alpha found his true mate and imprinted on her, his special magic was awakened, and the pair were consumed by light. The Alpha’s mate absorbed some of his magic within herself and she became the Healer, having the ability to heal herself and others. She also became linked in many new ways to the Alpha, including their minds and their aging. They were able to share thoughts, feelings, and emotions with each other telepathically, no matter how far apart they were. Also, once she reached the age of maturity, she stopped aging until the Alpha gave up his Spirit Wolf and then they both started aging again.

“There is only the one known instance of this happening, though there could have been others for it’s believed one of these Alphas is born every five generations. However, the magic lies dormant inside of the Alpha until he imprints on his true mate. Since imprinting has been rare, until now, it made the chances that the Alpha with this unique magic finding his true mate exceedingly small.

“In order to protect the magic, the powers can only come through the Alpha, and the Healer has to be the imprint of the Alpha, so the choice to pass the Alpha responsibility to another must be taken away. Also, to protect both the Alpha and the Healer, they must have a completely unbreakable bond, so the imprinting goes both ways, taking away the chances of one leaving the other. There are powers that have been forgotten through the centuries, but there are some that can only be used with the Alpha and Healer supporting each other.”

Emily paused again. Jake and I had both sat back in our chairs, and I stared down at the table where our bare apple cores set next to each other on a napkin. My brain was pretty close to max capacity for the week… maybe the month, so I was having trouble processing everything completely.

“Wait, back up a second.” I needed to make sure I heard correctly. “I’m going to stop aging? What does it mean by ‘age of maturity’?”

“I don’t know about the ‘age of maturity’ exactly,” Emily replied, “but yes, you will stop aging. If this is based on what would have been considered age of maturity when the last Healer lived, then you have probably already reached it. And, as long as Jake continues to phase, you will essentially be frozen in time together until he stops phasing. Once he begins aging again, so will you.”

Jake blew out a big breath. “Man, this is hard to believe.” He shot me a playful smirk. “Makes all your worrying about age seem a little silly now, doesn’t it?”

I allowed my lips to curve up slightly and let out a little laugh, helping some of the tension leave me. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But how could I have ever known something like this would happen! And I’m a healer?” I turned back to Emily. “Like, I can heal other people?” I had seen that power inside of me, but didn’t think about it being more than healing myself.

“Yes, we believe so,” Emily answered. “You’re only the second ever know of, so we can’t say for certain. You can obviously heal yourself and we are quite certain that you can heal others. The stories also indicate that your powers go beyond healing injuries, though we don’t know what all that will mean. Grammy Jo and I will be able to help you some, but you are both going to need to learn to tap into your powers and to listen to them, for they should tell you when there is something you can or should do.”

This was absolutely unbelievable. I knew that Jake and I had something special, but all of this went so far beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I was no longer outside of the magic, no longer like the third wife. I was completely immersed in it now, in one of the biggest ways the Quileute tribe had seen in centuries. There was still so much that we didn’t know, but it sounded like we could have an extremely long time to figure it out, if we wanted to.
I leaned my elbows on the table and cradled my head in my hands. Jake rubbed a hand up my back in circular motions.

“You doin’ alright, baby?”

“Yeah, it’s just been a really long day…” I looked up at Jake. “A really, really long day, and it’s not even dinner time yet.”

Jake continued to rub his hand over my back, and we were all quiet for a few moments before Emily reached across the table and took my hand.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to tell you about any of this before… wasn’t able to prepare you for what was coming. I promise I would have if I’d been able.”

I gave her a tired smile. “I understand Em. All this stuff, surprisingly, isn’t even what’s got me feeling so overwhelmed. It’s more about all the stuff I remembered today, and the fact that I ever forgot it all in the first place, that’s weighing on me. This stuff just adds a little to that is all.”

She squeezed my hand.

“I just have one more question I think I’d like to get the answer to, if you can… then I might need a nap before dinner.” I let out a light laugh, and the others chuckled along with me. I felt bad for putting a damper on the mood because everything that had happened should be super exciting. And I was excited… mostly. I just needed time to process the other stuff to fully appreciate it all.

“Sure, I will give you any answers I can.”

“Do you know anything about why Jake was able to imprint on me now, after all this time has passed?”

She nodded but glanced at Jake with an apprehensive look. “Yes, I can answer that, and it will answer a lot of questions about what happened between the two of you over the past few weeks. However, it might be a lot for you to hear right now.”

I thought about it for a moment. I really was feeling drained and swamped with so much new information, but I decided I’d rather take it all in at once and process it all together, or everything I could think to ask about at the moment anyway.

“Go ahead. I want to know.”

“Are you sure, Bells?” Jake asked, his hand slipping under my hair to massage my neck.

I looked from Emily to Jake and nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Alright.” Emily took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts before continuing. “As you both know, imprinting is supposed to happen the first time a wolf who has transformed looks into his imprint’s eyes, and once an imprinting has happened, there is absolutely nothing that can undo it. But what you probably don’t know is that there are certain forces in the supernatural world that can prevent an imprinting from taking place, even if the wolf and the one he is meant to imprint on meet.

“So, Bella, when you met Edward and started a relationship with him, it altered your future connection to Jake. The fact that Edward is a supernatural being allowed your feelings for him to override the imprinting between you and Jake.”

Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting. I felt the tension returning, even with Jake still rubbing my neck.

It’s alright, baby. Jake’s voice in my head calmed me a bit and I gave him a small smile as Emily continued.

“Because your relationship with Edward ended when and how it did, your life path was not changed completely and your connections to Jake were still partially intact. Grammy Jo saw it all first, even before Jake phased the first time. Over the course of several of her visits, she sought out ways to see you both together without your knowledge. During those times, she could see that you were Jake’s soulmate, his other half, but that your heart and soul had become confused and there was something wrong with your connection to each other. This blocked the imprinting from happening when it should have. You had to choose Jake over Edward to heal the connection and allow the imprinting to take place.

My heart ached and the sinking in my stomach worsened as Emily spoke. I felt Jake’s eyes on me, and flickers of his concern came through the link between our minds. Maybe it would have been easier if I’d never known any of this, but I wasn’t going to stop Emily now.

“That’s why you felt compelled to speak to Edward today. Something inside of you knew that conversation needed to happen. To heal your connection with Jake, you needed to come face to face with the one who knocked your course off its track, be confronted with the choice between them, and then choose Jacob.”

Tears stung the backs of my eyes at the thought of how I’d nearly ruined everything… how close I had come to losing this path, to never knowing this love and what all a life with Jacob would hold.

“The connection that remained between you two, though broken, was why some of the Alpha powers were coming through while you were injured, Bella. The stronger your relationship became, the more the power was able to manifest itself. The biggest shift happened the night Edward came to your hospital room. You rejected him that night, choosing Jake, but you weren’t fully conscious of the choice, so it was only able to partially fix the connection.”

I shot to my feet, knocking my chair over, and startling Emily.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured as I backed away a few steps. “I need a minute.”

I turned quickly and strode out the front door. Stopping at the top of the porch steps I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes and breathed in the cool damp air, listening to the rain falling all around. Heat enveloped me a moment later as Jake wrapped his arms around me and pulled my back against his chest.
I let my arms drop down to rest over top of his as a shuddering breath passed through my lips. “That’s twice that I almost screwed everything up. Twice that my stupid decisions caused us to lose so much… to almost ruin everything! Tell me again why you don’t hate me? Why you’re not furious with me?”

His love nuzzled against my mind, like a mental embrace, and a few tears slipped from my eyes.

“You know why, baby.” His breath caressed my ear and neck as he spoke. “Besides my all-consuming love for you, how could I be upset over things that you had no clue you were doing?”

“But if I hadn’t run away back then, we would have had a stronger relationship, I wouldn’t have felt so out of place, and I would have never gotten involved with the Cullens. So much that has happened since I moved here could have been avoided. It could have all been different… easier.” My voice dropped off to barely a whisper. “We could have known what it was like to have a normal relationship.”

Jake tightened his arms around me. “Maybe. But we can’t know that for certain. Any number of things could have happened to come between us.”

“No, it appears just my dumb decisions did that. The universe, or whatever, wanted us together, I was the idiot that kept messing things up.”

Jake sighed and took hold of my shoulders to turn me around to face him. “Bella, you have to stop blaming yourself.”

“Who else is there to blame? I don’t see you making a bunch of stupid decisions that keep us apart.”

“I almost did. I almost let my pride and anger keep me away. I was so mad when I first found out that you knew what the Cullens were, yet you still had a relationship with them… that you wanted to become one of them. And then when Alice came back, and you seemed to be choosing them over me after everything you went through. If circumstances had allowed it, I may have never spoken to you again. Thankfully, just as with your mistakes, whatever force that wanted us together didn’t give up and kept pushing us back toward each other. And does it really matter now anyway?”

His palm pressed against my cheek. I moved my hand to cover his and I pushed into his touch as he continued. “I think it’s just amazing that we even had that time together when we were younger. Imprints finding each other at all is something of a miracle, let alone finding each other as children… babies even. The story that we have, the events that make up that story… it’s pretty damn amazing, Bella. More proof of the power of our love, if you ask me… to be able to overcome all of that?” His other hand cupped my other cheek and I looked up into his face. “It’s just damned amazing, baby.” His eyes roamed over my now tear-stained face, the intensity of his assessment making my heart pound in my chest and chasing away my morose feelings.

“God, I love you baby.” I didn’t have any time to respond before his lips were on mine, immediately demanding to let him in to deepen the kiss. Without even a moment’s hesitation, I gave myself over as I wrapped my arms around his torso and pulled myself flush against his body. Fingers were in my hair and traveling down my neck, my shoulder, my spine, then landing on my low back, digging in to pull me even closer. A trail of fire and electric sparks were left in their wake, my entire being humming.

Slowly the world seemed to slip away as our lips moved in synch with each other. The promise of peace and calm that I had felt pulling at me earlier was back, and this time I dove in, getting completely lost in this moment with Jake. The rain became a quiet drone in the background before disappearing altogether, our heartbeats and uneven breathing the only sounds.

The connection between our minds seemed to deepen, and like some sort of reset button, my raw overwhelmed mind settled, and the rough edges were soothed, giving me a peace I’m not sure I’d ever felt before.

The world snapped back to us, far too soon for my liking, the sounds around us returning instantly. It was somewhat jarring, and we quickly broke apart, loosening our hold on each other, and just stared.

“What was that?” I asked.

Jake slowly shook his head. “I don’t know, but I liked it. I don’t feel all the conflicting emotions coming from you anymore.”

I took a moment to assess, and the calming peace thankfully remained, continuing to soothe me. “They’re still there, but I don’t feel overwhelmed by them any longer.”

Jake smiled. “Good. That’s a relief. I don’t want you to feel bad about your past decisions anymore, Bella. Everything is fine now… so much better than fine. It’s just not worth it to dwell on what can’t be changed and, in the end, didn’t mess anything up.”

I smiled… the first genuine smile I think I’d had all day. Jake’s lips met mine again, moving together in a gentle and slow rhythm this time. A promise for the life that stretched before us and the love that would never fade.

Once back inside, we found Sam and Emily moving around the kitchen, working on dinner. When Emily noticed us, she swept me into a hug.

“I’m so sorry Bella. I didn’t mean to upset you. Maybe I should have insisted on waiting to tell you some of that.”

I hugged her back. “No, it’s alright Emily. It was hard to hear, but I’m glad to have it all out of the way now.”

She stepped back and gripped me by the shoulders, studying me, then nodded. “Okay, that’s good. I’ve just been holding all of that in for so long… it was such a relief to finally get to tell you everything.” A pause. “You look better… more relaxed.”

“Yeah, I feel better. I’m gonna be alright. Do you need some help with dinner?”

Emily waved her hand dismissively. “No, we’re going to be eating a little later tonight, so it can all wait a while longer.”

“Sam and I have some things to talk over,” Jake interjected. “I’d like for you both to be a part of the discussion too.”

We sat back down at the kitchen table and the guys moved right into talking over the details of now having two Alphas. Soon they were discussing what the best way to split the pack would be. It made sense to have Jared and Paul stay with Sam while Embry and Quil went with Jake, but they weren’t sure what to do about Leah since she had reason to dislike either option.

I don’t want to overstep, I thought to Jake when there was a lull in their conversation, but you may want to let Leah decide for herself, Jake. Maybe you should give them all the option, even if one pack ends up being bigger than the other.
I really didn’t know what the protocol for something like this was. I didn’t want to stick my nose in where it didn’t belong, but I felt very strongly that Leah would be easier to deal with if she chose which way she got to go.

He turned to me and smiled, caressing my face. “Bella, you’re not overstepping. You’re the Alpha’s imprint now,” a flare of pride and excitement came from Jake through our mind link at that statement, “so you can always contribute your thoughts to these discussions, and I will always consider what you have to say. You and I are a team, but the four of us are also a team. Sam and I will have the final say, but we will always include you and Emily in every decision we are able. That’s why I wanted you both here.”

My face flushed, “Oh, I had no idea.” I was surprised by the authority that now rang in Jake’s voice as he began to embrace his new role.

“I know you didn’t. I should have thought to tell you. So, why don’t you share with Sam and Emily what you said to me, because I think you may be right.”

“Okay,” I said somewhat hesitantly. “I was just thinking that it might be good to let each pack member decide for themselves which Alpha they want to follow. I mostly was thinking about Leah, but it might not be good if you let her choose and not the others.”

“It’s risky,” Sam said, “we may end up with an uneven split.”

Jake nodded. “Yeah, we might, but I agree with Bella. I think we have a pretty good idea of who everyone will choose, except for Leah. Seth is a bit of a question mark as well, but I think everyone will feel better about the whole situation if they have some say. There is so little about this life that we can control, it will help with the transition if we can give them this. We can always change things later, if we need to.” Jake sighed, a bit of sorrow flashing in his eyes. “There are also no guarantees that more won’t phase before we’re done.”

“Hmm… I hope not, but you could be right,” Sam said with matching gloomy expression. After some consideration he continued. “I feel fairly certain that Seth will go with you, but if you’re okay with the possibility of having a 5-3 split then I’m okay with it too.”

Sam and Jake discussed a few more issues, but I began to have trouble concentrating, the exhaustion from my emotional day really wearing on me. I headed into the guest room to hopefully take a short nap and was relieved when Jake joined me. After everything that had happened today, I was feeling a little clingy and he seemed to understand.

I was out cold in no time, Jake wrapped around me like a protective shell… my love… my imprint… my soulmate.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
I woke to Jake’s warm arms still holding me close, feeling refreshed after my short nap, though I was still starving. Voices, laughter, and the wonderful aroma of dinner filtered in through the closed door as I turned in his embrace to face him. His smile greeted me in the soft light of late evening coming through the windows.

“Hey,” I said.

He pressed his forehead to mine. “Hey there. You feeling better? You hungry?”

I nodded and opened my mouth to speak, but my stomach growling loudly answered for me. Jake huffed out a little laugh through his nose, kissed my brow, then moved to get up.

When we emerged from the bedroom, everyone was already there, including Billy, Sue, and Old Quil, and it looked like they had just started eating. The house slowly quieted as each person noticed us and I froze, Jake’s hands moving to rest calmly on my shoulders. There were several moments of silence which seemed to me to stretch out forever. I shifted on my feet… I definitely did not enjoy all of the attention focused solely on us.

Billy finally broke the silence, his eyes dancing with excitement. “Hear we missed quite the spectacle earlier.”

“Oh man, it was insane,” Seth exclaimed.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Quil said.

“I doubt any of us have ever seen anything like that,” Embry added.

“Or ever will again,” Sam mused.

Conversations started to pick back up again as Billy rolled his wheelchair over to me and Jake. He reached his hand out to me and the much smaller hand that I offered him was engulfed between both of his as he smiled at us.

“Emily filled us all in on what took place earlier. I’m happy for both of you. I know it was bit of a rough road getting here, but I knew something special was coming for you. I’m sure it’s a relief to finally have answers to everything that’s been happening.” He caught and held my gaze. “I’m glad it’s you, Bella, as I know Jake is. You two were so close when you were younger… even when you thought boys were gross,” he chuckled, “you always ended up spending most of your time here together.”

He dropped his gaze for a moment, still holding my hand firmly between his much larger ones, then looked between the two of us. “I know you don’t remember much about your time here back then Bella, but you know, I think Sarah always knew.” His voice caught and he looked away again. My vision blurred seeing the moisture collecting in his eyes. He cleared his throat. “I think she could see something special between you…”

I placed my other hand over top of his and squeezed both of them.

“I do remember,” I said just loud enough to be heard over the other noise. His eyes went wide and flew back to mine and then to Jake’s. At his shocked look, I nodded. “I got all of my memories back… the magic unlocked that part of me that I’d shut away.

He squeezed my hands firmly, almost too hard, and this entire face crinkled from the huge smile he beamed at us. “Well, how ‘bout that!” A laugh came from deep in his belly. “I will definitely want to hear more about everything.” He shook his head and released my hands, still smiling wide as he rolled away.

“Let’s get some food before these yayhoos eat it all,” Jake said, and we headed to the table.

Jake joined the guys at the table, and I sat on the couch between Emily and Angela. Throughout the meal Jake and I exchanged many looks at each other. I couldn’t stop myself from seeking him out, my eyes wandering to him frequently, sometimes intentionally and sometimes without realizing what I was doing, but each time he was seeking me out as well.

When everyone was pretty much done eating, several of us started gathering all the dishes onto the counter to be washed. As I rounded the table to get more of the plates, I let out a little squeal when a strong arm wrapped around my waist, and I landed on Jake’s lap. He pressed his face into my hair and breathed in deeply as he ran his nose up the length of my neck. A shiver went through me, and I closed my eyes, enjoying his nearness, but I also wanted to block out the looks from others that I knew were focused on us.

I whispered, “What are you doing Jake?”

A breathy exhale escaped me when his lips grazed my ear as he answered, “Let the others clean up. I need to be close to you right now.”

A small part of me wanted to argue because now that I was healed I could finally help again, but the much larger part of me had been dying to get close to him again, so I pushed my arguments aside. Jake left his face buried in my hair for a while longer and I rested my head on his shoulder as I began absently running my fingers through his hair. Our displays of affection earned us a couple comments about returning to the bedroom, which we ignored, but Embry came to our defense.

“Come on guys, give them a break. They just imprinted a few hours ago.”

There were a few more snickers, but no one made any more comments and conversations continued around us. Jake and I didn’t speak, we just basked in each other’s presence for a while. The need eased after a bit of time and we were able eventually joined back into the conversations as well.

A small flicker of something in my periphery drew my attention across the table, to where Paul was sitting. As I focused my attention on him, he seemed to have sort of a glowing halo around him, like there was a light shining behind him, and as I concentrated on it more, a strange urge grew inside of me. I closed my eyes and shook my head, but the urge stayed and when I looked again, he still had that same halo around him.

Paul must have felt my eyes on him because he turned his head toward me. His brows went up and his eyes widened as he stared. “Are you glowing, Bella?”
I looked down and sure enough there was just a shimmer of golden light emitting from the center of my chest, barely visible through my shirt.

Everyone quieted again as Jake touched his finger to the light, his amazement coming through our mental link. Emily’s hand landed on my shoulder, drawing my gaze up to her.

“It’s your powers Bella. Are you feeling anything?”

I looked at Paul again, and the sling that his arm was still strapped into, and nodded my head.

“Yeah,” I said and swallowed hard, insecurity welling up inside me. “I umm… I think it wants me to heal Paul’s shoulder.”

“Heck yeah!” he exclaimed with a grin. “That would be freaking awesome.”

I had started to tremble a little at the idea of doing this in front of everyone, but then a calm washed through my mind. I closed my eyes and took a deep steadying breath and realized that Jake had sent the calming feeling to me.

You ready for this?

I nodded as another wave of calm flowed through me.

You’ve got this. You’re gonna do great. Jake pushed back from the table and we both stood. Once I was standing beside Paul, Jake a supportive presence behind me, I wasn’t sure what to do.

“Just reach for your power,” Emily said from where she was still standing on the other side of the table, “and it’ll show you what to do. You’ll just feel it.”

I wiped my clammy palms against my jeans then shook out my hands and closed my eyes. I searched inside and immediately found a warm glow deep in my chest and recognized the power. I felt it pulse as I reached for it, and it spread through me a little, then withdrew. I concentrated on it more, thinking about it spreading and the warmth and glow travelled through my whole chest. A few gasps came from around me, but the warmth and light withdrew again. It needed somewhere to go, so I opened my eyes and Paul was staring at me with wide eyes, though I wasn’t sure why since I hadn’t done anything yet.
I gave him a hesitant smile. “Is it okay if I put my hand on your chest?” He nodded. I brought my hand up and then wavered, feeling awkward. He took my wrist and placed my hand on his chest for me.

“It’s okay Bella, I trust you,” he encouraged me, then a mischievous grin drew up his lips. “I promise I won’t bite.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes, my hesitancy leaving me, though I still felt a bit uncomfortable. I took another deep breath and closed my eyes again. I pulled at the glowing warmth once more. This time it continued to spread all the way to where my hands were touching him on his chest and back, then flowed right into Paul.

With my eyes closed, I could see where the power flowed and what it was doing. The light travelled first to Paul’s head, and he let out a breathy “Wow,” as the pain was blocked from his mind. Once that was done, the light moved to his shoulder, and I could see the still broken bone illuminated by the healing power. I gasped at the beauty of it as I watched the bones being knit back together, in complete awe at the fact that the power was coming from me… I was doing that! It just didn’t seem real.

When it was done, and his shoulder was whole again, the light faded and the warmth returned to the center of my chest. I felt more connected to the power, more aware of it now, than I had just a few minutes ago.

When I opened my eyes, Paul was smiling at me as he removed the sling and moved his arm all around. Everyone else was talking excitedly. I had done it!
I returned Paul’s smile, then turned to look back at Jake, but I couldn’t find him as the floor shifted and the room swayed and spun around me. My vision closed in at the edges and several people called out my name in alarm. Firm hands gripped my arms, I blinked, and was suddenly lifted off the floor, cradled in Jake’s arms.

“What’s wrong Bella?” I could hear the concern in his voice and feel it coming through our connection, but I couldn’t focus on his face. My head plopped down hard on his shoulder as I went completely limp, and words did not come easily.

“So……tired,” I finally, oh so slowly, managed to get out. Drifting toward unconsciousness my eyes slid shut and I heard Jake’s voice, muffled and distant.
“I think I can help you.”

Warmth flowed through me again, but it wasn’t from inside of me this time. The warmth spread and filled my entire body and it felt… it felt like Jake. It was Jake… his strength… his power… his love… just, him.

Slowly my energy returned. When my eyes opened again, Jake was glowing with the same warm golden light that I had seen in me, flowing from his chest, down is arm, and into me where his hand was pressed against my sternum. We looked into each other’s eyes and the connection, the bond between us was so powerful… there were no words to describe it.

Just like when we were on the porch, the world began slipping away. The voices that were a distant buzz faded completely and, though I wasn’t feeling overwhelmed like before, the complete peace and calm we experienced earlier returned. It was as if nothing else in the world existed but me and Jake.
This is incredible Jake.

He pushed my hair back and caressed my cheek. You’re incredible Bella.

I pressed his hand more firmly against the cheek he was caressing, just wanting to feel his heat and his touch longer, never breaking away from his gaze.
How did you know you could do that? I asked him.

I just felt the power reaching for you, so I followed its lead.

Did I glow too, when I was healing Paul?

Yes. It was beautiful.

I didn’t know what exactly was causing these times of peaceful solitude with each other, but I wished we could stay lost inside of it forever. The outside world started creeping back in to intrude on us once again and I sighed in resignation, kissing the palm of his hand as he pressed his lips to my forehead.

Jake stood up and set me on my feet. He had apparently carried me into the guest room while I was out of it, to sit on the bed. He pulled me against him, and I stood in his arms, my head on his chest, and watched out the still opened bedroom door as everyone milled about, talking excitedly. I was pleased to even catch a glimpse of a smile on Leah’s face, though I wasn’t sure it made it to her eyes.

I remembered then about the burden for the pack that I had felt that night at the bonfire and it made complete sense to me now. This was our family and together with Sam and Emily, we were their leaders and protectors. It felt odd that in just a few weeks’ time I had gone from an outsider to someone so intricately involved in it all. I wasn’t sure I was ready for all of this.

When we got back out to the kitchen everyone wanted to know what happened to me.

“Well, I apparently use up my energy to heal and Jake can give it back to me,” I answered simply, though there was more to what happened between us, that was the gist of it. Jake started fielding some other questions and I went to help Emily with the dishes… wanting something normal and mundane to do.

“You did good tonight,” Emily said after we’d been working for a bit. “You figured out how to draw your power out faster than I thought you would.”

I smiled at her. “Thanks. I felt like an idiot at first, but you were right, once I found the power and tapped into it, I was able to just figure out what to do.”

“It will get easier the more you use it. Of course, the only thing we know you can do right now is heal, so you’ll have to pay extra attention to other things you might feel the urge to do since you won’t probably have much need to use your healing powers very often.”

“I’ll try to be aware, but I’m not sure what I’m trying to be aware of.”

Before she could reply, a tingly jolt zapped me where our hands touched. The plate I was passing her slipped from my fingers and went careening toward the floor. My other hand shot out to grab it, sending a small wave of soapy water over the edge of the sink and all over both of us. We jumped back then looked at each other in surprise before laughter bubbled up between us. My surprise deepened, however, when I realized that I had actually caught the falling plate!

“Sorry about that,” I said as we grabbed some towels to clean up the spilled water. “I guess I’m still a klutz.”

“It’s alright,” she responded, still laughing lightly. “You caught the plate though, so your reflexes are good.”

“I seriously don’t know how; my reflexes are usually horrible. Normally I would have just helped it along its journey to the floor when I tried to catch it.”
Emily shrugged. “Guess you just got lucky then.”

Nodding, I pondered this for a bit longer, but decided she was probably right, and our conversation went on to other topics as we finished the dishes and I forgot about it. When we were done, we both went to change into dry pants since the water had sloshed all over our legs. I was going to need to replenish my stash of spare clothing soon.

When I came back out, Billy, Sue, and Old Quil were saying their goodbyes. Once they were gone the whole pack sat around the table to discuss changes that would happen moving forward. Angela and Kim stayed along with me and Emily since these changes were going to affect us all to some degree.

I leaned against the counter close behind where Jake was seated at the table as he and Sam explained the situation now that there were two Alphas. Suddenly Jake’s arm snaked around my waist, and I found myself sitting sideways in his lap once again. I was doubly startled because I didn’t recall moving, but at some point I had apparently drifted closer to him. My face began to heat, but Jake just gave me a little smirk and didn’t even miss a beat in the conversation. There were a few smiles around the table, and one scowl, but no one made any comments like they had earlier, and I felt something settle inside myself that I hadn’t realized was agitated. It must be the newness of the imprinting affecting us.

When I tuned back into what was being said, Jake was explaining that each pack member had a choice whether they wanted to switch to Jake’s pack or stay with Sam, but that he and Sam would make adjustments later if it was necessary. They were all given the night to think it over, however Jared, Paul, Embry, and Quil all immediately made the choices that Sam and Jake had guessed they would. Seth was more indecisive than I expected and he and Leah both said they would make their decisions the next day. They talked over some logistics of the patrols, then they left to figure out how everything was going to work while in wolf form, leaving us imprints to spend some wolf-free time together. Not that I necessarily wanted to be separated from my wolf at the moment.

Only our four guys returned about an hour later, joining us in the living room. Jake immediately picked me up, sat in my spot, and plopped me on his lap, that agitated bit inside of me settling once more. I wasn’t necessarily aware of the unease until he returned, which I found interesting. However, I was starting to wonder how we were going to part with each other for the whole night.

The guys told us what all they had discovered, and apparently, it was fairly easy for the pack members to switch packs by simply making the decision to follow Jake instead of Sam. As soon as they made that decision, they were no longer able to hear the members of the other pack. Sam and Jake figured out that they could still communicate with each other, however they could now control the information that was shared. So, within a pack, their thoughts were still open for all to hear, but between packs there was no communication except through the Alphas.

“It’s going to take a lot more coordination to make everything work,” Jake was saying. “So, there are some good things and also some challenges that are going to come out of the split, but hopefully we’ll be able to work it out easily.”

Jared and Kim left at some point and as the conversation continued, I started to get a little distracted, my focus turning to Emily. Maybe I was just getting tired after such a long and crazy day, but whenever I looked at her, my vision blurred, like when you’re looking at something without focusing on it. But when I looked anywhere else, my vision was completely clear. As I let my mind focus on it a little more, I remembered the little zap I experienced when we were doing the dishes. Was that what she was talking to me about earlier, and maybe my powers were trying to show me something?

Without saying anything, I got up and went over to kneel down in front of her. She just watched me curiously as I studied her. Being closer to her, I realized she looked blurry to me because there appeared to be something around her, causing the air to shimmer and the hairs on my arms stood up.

She smiled at me with what I thought might be an expectant look in her eyes. Everyone had stopped talking and they were watching us. I reached out and touched my fingertips to her hand and a strange feeling passed through me… sort of like that feeling you get when you rub a static charged balloon over your skin, and I quickly withdrew my hand.

“Did you feel that?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “No, I didn’t feel anything. What did you feel Bella… what are you seeing?”

I think she knew it was my powers and was trying to encourage me.

“You looked blurry to me, and when I came closer, the air is sort of shimmering around you.” I showed her the raised hairs on my arms. “And I can feel it when I touch you… like static electricity.”

“Touch me again and focus on your power to see if you can determine what it means,” she suggested. I got the feeling that she already knew but wanted me to discover it on my own.

I laid my hand on hers again, feeling the current, and closed my eyes, focusing on the warmth in my chest. I gasped at what I saw and pulled my hand away, not believing it.

“What did you see Bella?” she asked softly.

“I think I saw it wrong.” I slowly put my hand on hers again and closed my eyes once more. I didn’t want to be wrong about this! Focusing on the warmth in my chest again, the exact same thing was shown to me.

I could heal Emily’s scars!

I could make them go away.

I looked at Emily again and moisture was brimming in her eyes.

“You know, don’t you?” I asked her quietly.

She nodded, “I wasn’t completely sure, but I dreamed about it and Grammy Jo agreed with what I thought I saw. She told me to let you discover it on your own so it would help you gain knowledge and strength. I didn’t think you would do it so quickly though.”

“Do you want me to?” I asked her. “Something like this will be hard to explain.”

She let out a choked laugh. “I don’t care about that. Of course I want you to.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Jake, I’m going to need you to keep me from falling over, I thought to him.

He knelt behind me and placed his hand on my back. I think I can do better than that. I’m going to try something.

“What’s going on guys,” Sam asked as I touched Emily’s hand and closed my eyes again.

The heat throbbed eagerly in my chest like it couldn’t wait to be used again. With just the slightest tug, the heat and light spread through me. The power was showing me to do something different from when I healed Paul… maybe because they were scars and not a current injury?

Following the power’s prodding, I reached up and touched the scars on Emily’s face and watched through closed eyes as it travelled to her skin and began to change it.

Emily sucked in a breath through her teeth and my eyes flew open to look at her.

She gave me an encouraging smile. “I’m alright. Just feels really weird.”

I nodded and closed my eyes again. This healing looked different than the healing of Paul’s shoulder, but it was still beautiful. After a few more moments had passed, I heard the other three in the room gasp as they realized what I was doing. Slowly, I moved my hand along her scars as the light guided me.

When I was about half-way through, I realized that I wasn’t feeling drained; my energy was being replenished as quickly as I was using it. I kept my focus on Emily but guessed that Jake was giving me energy at the same time as I was using it… that must have been what he wanted to try.

I lost track of time, so I had no idea how long it took, but I felt positive that I would not have been able to do it all at once if Jake hadn’t figured out that he could replenish me as I went. When I was done, and the light and warmth had withdrawn back into my chest I looked at Emily and she was feeling her face and looking at her arm. The scars were gone, and her skin was smooth and unmarred, no blemishes of any kind left. Her eye and mouth were no longer drawn down; her face was perfectly smooth and absolutely breathtaking. Jake and I stood up and moved away as Sam came over and fell to his knees in front of her, openly weeping. He hesitantly touched her face and her arm then started kissing all the newly smoothed skin from her hand to her face then buried his face into her neck and she wrapped her arms around him, tears falling down her cheeks.

I was crying too as I watched them. I couldn’t believe I had just been able to do that. Jake wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my temple.

“You’re absolutely amazing Bella,” he said quietly in my ear.

I looked at Angela who was smiling with tears on her face—I didn’t know if she even knew the story. Even Embry had tears shining in his eyes as he smiled at Sam and Emily.

Jake’s arms moved away, and I was suddenly lifted off my feet and twirled around. I let out a little surprised yelp. Sam had picked me up and was hugging me tightly, my feet dangling. He set me down and grasped my face between his hands, tears still rolling down his face, but he was smiling now. I put my hands on his and smiled back at him.

“Thank you, Bella. I don’t know if I could ever thank you enough. You have erased the reminder of my greatest failure and I will never be able to repay you.” Then, he kissed my forehead and released my face.

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t feel like I could take credit for it because it wasn’t really me. But that wasn’t right… this power was a part of me now. It was a gift from Jake… a part of him that had become a part of me, and I now carried inside of me.

“I can’t believe that I did that… that I figured it out and did that,” I said softly.

“I can.” Emily hugged me and didn’t let go for many long moments. “Thank you so much Bella. I can’t even express to you what this means to both of us.” She pulled back and held me by the shoulders. “And you’re a natural at this. Just keep paying attention and there’s no telling what you’re going to be able to do.”

Before long, we realized how late it was getting so Angela and I decided to head home. We said goodnight to Sam and Emily, then Jake and Embry walked us out to my truck. As I anticipated, it was much harder to leave Jake, and I found I could barely even stand it. I could tell he was struggling with it too.

“I’ll come to your house first thing in the morning,” Jake said. “We can spend most of the day together, though I will have to go on patrol for a few hours in the afternoon.”

My head moved against his chest as I nodded and held him tight. “Okay,” I agreed quietly, but it didn’t feel like it was going to be all that okay.

He put his finger under my chin and tilted my face up to him before his mouth covered mine and our lips were moving together in a slow, tender kiss that neither of us wanted to end. I sank my fingers into his hair, drawing him even closer as the electric current throbbed between us.

I made a small noise of protest when he finally pulled away, then sighed in resignation and climbed in my truck. Jake was right behind me, blocking the door to keep me from shutting it. His hot fingers slid into my hair, and he pulled me to him, nuzzling against my face before claiming my lips for one kiss goodnight. I savored the feel and taste of him more than ever before.

I love you, Bella.

I love you too, Jake.

My insides felt a little hollow as I drove away. I tried to push the feeling away with thoughts of seeing him tomorrow… it didn’t work.

“It’s a lot harder for you to leave him now, isn’t it?” Angela asked quietly after we had been driving in silence for a little while.

I sighed deeply, “So much harder! It has to just be because the imprinting is so new.”

Angela was shaking her head in contemplation. “No, I don’t think so. Embry and I don’t like to leave each other, but we don’t struggle as much as I noticed you guys struggling tonight. You’re bound to each other in ways that none of the rest of us will ever be. Remember when we talked about how in tune he seemed to be with your needs?”

I nodded.

“I saw that happening on a whole new level tonight. It’s really pretty fascinating to see.”

“Part of that is probably due to our telepathic connection…….it goes both ways now.”

“Really!? That’s so cool! I guess I’m not really that surprised. Is it weird to be able to hear his thoughts in your head?”

“Yes, definitely… it startled me a couple times.” I laughed softly. “We can share more than thoughts. We can share emotions and feelings too.”

“Oh wow. That has to be a pretty cool experience.”

“It is. It’s actually totally amazing!”

The rest of the way to Angela’s house we talked about all the crazy things that happened over the course of the day. And I told her more about the other things that happened after Jake and I imprinted. It was impossible to believe that it all happened in just one day! I started to feel exhausted just thinking about it.

When I got home, I slipped my brace back on my arm before heading into the house. That made me remember that I wasn’t supposed to be driving yet, nor should I carry my backpack into the house. I’d have to remember to ask Jake to bring it in for me in the morning. Pretending to be injured was going to be tricky.

Charlie called to me from the living room when I walked in the house and I went in to see him for a bit. I was surprised to find him wide awake, studying me with a concerned look as I crossed the room.

I furrowed my brow. “What is it, Dad?”

He ran a hand over his head and scratched his neck. “I got a very unexpected call tonight,” he said, still looking at me carefully. “Were you aware that Edward was back in town?”

My eyes went wide. “Edward called here!? What in the world for?”

“He didn’t say, he just asked me to have you call him. I had half a mind to tell him to go jump off a bridge! So, you knew he was back?”

I sighed heavily and plopped down on the recliner. “Yes, I’ve known for a while… I’ve even seen him a couple times. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I didn’t want to worry you. I never dreamed he would call here!”

“A heads up would have been nice, but I’m not really worried about that.” He was studying my face again. “Are you alright Bells?” His face was all bunched up and tense.

“Yeah Dad, I promise I’m fine. Getting over him was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I did get over him. I’m with Jake now, and I’m happy. Nothing is going to change that… especially not Edward.”

He studied me for a minute longer and must have been convinced by whatever he saw because he relaxed and smiled.

“I’m glad to hear it, Bella. Jake has been so good for you. You seem to be happier than you have been since you moved here.”

“I am Dad. I’m probably the happiest I have ever been in my whole life.” A big yawn overtook me, and I really started to feel the day weighing on me… even with the nap. Not to mention that hollow ache of missing Jake had grown. “It’s been a really long day and I’m beat. I think I’m going to head to bed now.”

“Alright. Night kiddo.”

“Night Dad.”

I took a quick shower and was relieved to climb into bed. It really had been a long day! I was having a hard time getting warm, though, and I was restless and feeling an incredible sense of loneliness and need for Jake’s presence. I wondered if he would still be awake and was debating if I should say something to him, but he beat me to it.

You still awake honey?

Jake! I just got into bed, and I was lying here missing you. I don’t know if I can do this.

I know, I’m feeling it too. We need to at least see how we do for the night. Just go to sleep and I’ll be there in the morning.

Okay, I thought reluctantly. Good night, Jake.

Good night baby.

I tossed and turned for a long time. Finally, I was able to drift off into a very restless sleep, longing for Jake.

Chapter Text

Good dreams had been few and far between for me over the past several months. I was more likely to be plagued by nightmares that drove me awake with a scream or to have no memories of any dreams at all.

This was a good dream though… and one I wanted to stay in.

After having so much trouble getting to sleep because of Jake’s absence, and not sleeping well once I did, this dream was very welcome. Mostly because Jake was there and I was lying in his arms, right where I wanted to be… and it felt so real. I was hyper aware of my head on his chest, our legs loosely twined together, the heat of his body, and even the smell of him perfectly mirrored reality. With any luck, I would stay in this dream until morning when I could actually be in his arms.

Once I began to feel my mind waking, I desperately tried to cling to sleep, to make the dream last, but I was slowly losing that battle. As the haze of sleep lifted, the feel of Jake didn’t fade though… in fact, it became stronger.

Awareness flooded my mind suddenly, and my eyes blinked open. I wasn’t dreaming at all. I really was in his arms.

“Jake,” I breathed softly, overjoyed at his presence. I pressed myself closer as his arms tightened around me.

“Good morning beautiful,” he whispered as he stroked my hair.

We laid there silently for quite some time, savoring the comfort of each other’s arms. Jake had always been a comforting presence for me and, for the most part, being with him had always been easy. With my memories returned, I could really and truly say that it had been that way between us since the very beginning. Even when I wanted nothing to do with boys, it had never truly applied to Jake. In fact, the only time things were hard was when one of us (mostly me) had tried to fight it.

And now? Well, the level of ease and comfort we had with each other in that moment was so much more than anything I had ever experienced. Not only was it comfortable and easy, it was just right. Nothing had ever been more right in my life.

I finally broke the silence to quietly ask, “How are you here right now?” My head popped up and my brows scrunched together as I looked at Jake. “Where’s Charlie?”

“Don’t worry.” He pressed a hand lightly to my head to encourage me to lay it down again. “He’s fishing with my dad this morning. He was already gone when I got here, so I let myself in with the spare key. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind.” I snuggled against him once more. “I thought I was dreaming when I first started waking up, but I’m so relieved you’re really here. What made you come over so early?”

“You mean besides the fact that I could hardly stand to stay away from you any longer? You called for me several times this morning.”

“Like, in our minds called for you?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I could tell you were still sleeping, but after the third time I just had to come make sure you were okay.” His finger traced along the edge of my jaw. “You were so restless when I first got here so I tried to calm you, but when I touched your face, you clung to my hand and pulled me down toward yourself. I couldn’t resist your silent plea, so I laid down with you.

“It didn’t feel right being away from you last night, Bella. I had this overwhelming need to protect you, but I thought I might go crazy with the feeling that I couldn’t since you weren’t there.

“It didn’t feel right for me either. Even after the day I’d had and as tired as I was, it took me forever to fall asleep. Even then I don’t think I slept well.”

“I didn’t sleep well either. I nearly ran over here several times throughout the night. I probably would have, but I wanted to see if it might go away if I held out. It didn’t.”

I let out a deep sigh. “I don’t know how we’re going to keep staying apart if it continues to be this hard.”

Jake kissed the top of my head, trailing his fingers down my arm. “We’ll figure something out. Maybe it’ll get easier once the newness of the imprinting wears off.”

“Yeah, maybe.” After my conversation with Angela last night though, I wasn’t so sure.

Jake shifted to his side and adjusted me so that we were lying face to face. As we gazed at each other, Jake caressing my face, I felt the world fall away again. The peace and calm deepened between us.

Are you doing that Bella?

I don’t think so, but I don’t know what’s causing it. It’s nice though. I wish I could control it… I’ve never felt a peace like this.

Me neither.

After just a short while, the world returned once more. I noticed sounds from outside I hadn’t even been aware of before, birds singing, a dog barking, and the wind rustling leaves, all returned. However, just like the other times, the peace lingered.

Jake moved in closer, sliding his fingers into my hair, and pressed several gentle kisses to my lips. When our lips touched, they tingled as if from a multitude of tiny sparks snapping between us, and my breath caught in my chest at the sensation. I realized that it had been there the whole time, a constant low hum just under the surface. Something was growing between us… a need for more. I felt it coming through from Jake as well.

A loud rumbling sounded in my tummy, demanding to be fed. It dissipated the needy feeling and a laugh broke free from me. I looked at Jake, whose eyes were dancing with amusement.

“Your stomach sure has become demanding lately,” he chuckled.

I shrugged and smiled back. “Maybe it’s because I’m a true wolf girl now.” A glimmer of pride at that statement slid into me down our mental connection. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving.” Jake jumped off the bed then helped me up.

I whipped us up some eggs and toast and we talked about what we wanted to do for the day as we sat at the kitchen table and ate. The forecast for today showed no rain until this evening, so we decided we should spend some time down at the beach. It had been several weeks since we’d been there, and as much as I’d tired of it before, I found myself actually missing it.

“I think want to try cliff diving again sometime,” I announced suddenly. Even though the last time was a near disaster, I had actually enjoyed the thrill up until I almost drowned.

Jake met my gaze over his water glass, one eyebrow lifted. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. As long as you’re there this time, then it’ll be perfectly safe. Right?”

He looked at me skeptically. “That and making sure there isn’t a near hurricane level storm rolling in, yeah, you’d be safe. At least way safer than the last time.”

“Okay then. I want to do it.”

He huffed out a small laugh and shook his head. “You trying to prove something?”

“No. It’s just I actually enjoyed the thrill of the jump. It was just what came after that wasn’t fun. Plus, it’s something normal to do, right?”

“Normal for who? Because that doesn’t seem like something you would have been up for before everything that happened.

I paused to consider that before answering. “Maybe through all that crap I went through I discovered some new things about myself.” I let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know, maybe I am trying to prove something. Now that I’m not in danger with a vampire hunting me, maybe I just want to do stuff with you. You know, all the things that were too risky to do before.”

Jake smiled at me gently. “You know I want that too, but you don’t need to do anything you’re uncomfortable with just to prove a point.”

I pointed my finger at him. “Don’t start getting all Alpha controlly on me, Jake.”

He made a ‘pft’ noise then grabbed my pointing finger and brought my hand to his lips to kiss my palm. “I’m not trying to stop you, baby. I just want to make sure you’re doing it for the right reason. I didn’t stop you from any of the crazy things you wanted to do before, and you got hurt… many times. Now, knowing why you were doing it all, I feel kinda bad about that.”

“Jake, I’m not in the same mental state I was then. I promise, even if I do want to prove something, I’m only mentioning the cliff diving because it’s something I want to do.”

He considered my words then, satisfied, he nodded. “Alright then. Maybe we jump from the lower ledge this time though.”

I laughed, but then jumped in my chair at the shrill ring of the phone on the wall. I gripped my chest as my heart hammered away inside. Jake smirked at me, and I stuck my tongue out at him as I got up to answer the phone, which made him full out belly laugh.

It was Angela.

“Hey Ang. What’s up?”

“Oh, you know. I just wanted to say hey and see how you’re doing this morning.”

“I had a bit of a rough night, but Jake’s here now, so I’m doing good at the moment.”

“Oh man, sorry you had trouble sleeping. Well, hey, Embry and I also wanted to see if you guys would want to go to Port Angeles tomorrow for dinner and a movie. We could go to a matinee and then get dinner after, so we don’t get home too late. We were just realizing that with that vampire gone and you all healed up, it’d be safe for us to go do some stuff now. What d’ya think?”

Jake smiled and nodded his approval, since he had no problem hearing Angela.

“Yeah, Jake and I were just talking about that very thing. We would love to. Do you have a particular movie in mind?”

“Nah, you guys can pick the movie and the restaurant. Sort of an imprinting celebration.” Her light laughter flitted through the phone, making me smile.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not a thing.”

“Well,” she drug out the word, “I’m pretty sure you’re the only ones to glow when it happened, so it’s a special thing just for you two.”

“Psh, alright, whatever you think.” Her laughter came through again and my smiled widened. “I have no idea what’s even playing.”

“No worries. You guys just figure it out and let us know tomorrow.”

We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone, turning back to Jake. “We need to do a little research.”

Ever since I got injured, we had been pretty out of touch with the outside world, so neither of us had any idea what movies were out. Jake cleaned up the kitchen so I could go get ready. While I dressed and gathered a few new changes of clothes to take over to Emily’s house later, I turned on my ancient computer to give the slow machine time to come to life.

Once Jake had joined me, we spent some time reading about the movies currently playing in Port Angelas, then watched trailers for the ones we thought sounded interesting. There were three we thought looked good, so hopefully Angela and Embry would agree with one of those (even though she said we could choose, we wanted to have options).

I also took a few minutes to email Renee while Jake lounged patiently on my bed. As I was scanning through her last email, I shook my head, both entertained and horrified at some of the dippier things she had done. It was just like her to forget exactly how paralyzed she was by heights until she was strapped to a skydiving instructor. I sighed, frustrated with Phil, her husband of nearly two years, for allowing her to do that. I would have taken better care of her. I knew her so much better.

“You alright?” Jake asked, coming over to stand behind me. “I can feel your frustration.” He started rubbing his hands across the tops of my shoulders and upper arms.

“Yeah, it’s just my hair-brained mother and some of the crazy things she does.”

I guess I needed to get over that feeling and learn to let it go. My life was here now, with Jake, and I knew I would never again be the one to take care of her like I used to. Always guiding her away from her craziest plans, or good-naturedly enduring the ones that I couldn’t talk her out of. Scatterbrained Renee. I was glad that she had Phil. Even if he indulged her a little too much sometimes, he did a good enough job keeping her safe from herself most of the time.

Jake was still rubbing my shoulders and when I had finished my email and shut off the computer, he dug his fingers deeper into my muscles, relieving some tension I didn’t realized I was carrying. I dropped my head forward and moaned in pleasure as he continued to work out some knots, moving down my shoulder blades.

Hot breath hit my skin a moment before his lips pressed against my neck. I sucked in a breath, my eyes slid shut, and I tilted my head back to rest against his shoulder as he nipped and kissed up my neck and a hand slid across my stomach.

Finally reaching my lips, I eagerly met his blazing kiss. A quiet whimper escaped my throat, and a pulse of need came from Jake as the fire inside of me awakened and took off through my veins with a fury. I was trembling as he pulled me to my feet and into his arms, bowing my body against his, never breaking the kiss. As coherent thought eddied out of my head, Jake’s fingers wound into my hair, and his other hand slipped under the hem of my shirt, hot against my back. Clinging to his wide strong shoulders I tried to pull myself even closer to him.

This was so much more than anything we’d ever experienced before. As our lips moved in rhythm together, the kiss deepened, and the fire continued burning in me. I was lost… unaware of anything else around us. The rush of blood through my body pounded in my ears as my heart raced and another whimper escaped.

We moved and, in a blink, I found myself lying on my bed, Jake braced over me, still locked in a deep kiss, and my legs wrapped around his waist. His hand under my shirt gripped my side, and the weight of him pressed down on me. If I thought my blood was on fire before it was nothing compared to what coursed through my body now.

The force of our kiss intensified. I fisted the back of Jake’s shirt and arched into him as he moved against me. Struggling to get a full breath, I finally had to break away. His lips immediately latched onto my neck, nipping and licking as his fingers stroked over my ribs and my body was trembling at his touch. Jake grabbed the back of his shirt, and he broke away from me just long enough to whip it over his head before claiming my mouth once more.

My hands now danced over his bare back, his chiseled powerful muscles flexing and moving under my fingers. My God, he was so hot… in every sense of the word, and he smelled so good, and this all felt. So. Good. I was feeling things that I’d never felt before… and his hand was moving toward… and if we kept going…

Reality of what we were doing crashed into my mind. I don’t know if I’m ready for this… if we’re ready for this. It’s definitely not what we were planning to do.

“Jake,” I breathed against his lips, moving my hand to push gently on his chest. Man, he was so solid… so powerful. Part of me was definitely ready, but I needed all of me… all of both of us to be ready.

Concern came to me through our bond as he pulled back to look down on me, breathing hard.

“We need to stop,” I practically panted. “We don’t want to do this.”

Disappointment flashed through him, replaced immediately by understanding and a bit of guilt. “Oh, I most definitely want to do this. I love you so much and you’re just so…” He let out a long breath and dropped his forehead down to rest on mine. “You’re everything to me, Bella… and I want everything with you. But, I know what you mean, and I agree… I really do. It’s just… a bit more difficult now.”

I let out a small laugh. “A bit? Don’t sugar coat it, this is a hell of a lot more difficult.”

Jake laughed and his mood lightened.

“And don’t feel guilty about anything, Jake. We haven’t done anything wrong. You didn’t do anything wrong. I was with you until I said stop, and you stopped. I just don’t want to do anything without—"

“…without talking about it with a clear head first,” Jake continued my thought, showing we were on the same page, “not in the heat of the moment.”

“Right.”

We reluctantly disentangled ourselves and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He took my hand, lacing our fingers together, and rubbed his thumb over the back of it.

“Everything changed yesterday.” He kissed the back of my hand. “When I touch you now, or even just look at you, it all just feels like more.” He sighed. “Perhaps we need to reevaluate, but…” He caressed my cheek and studied me for a moment. “When we made the decision to wait, neither of us could have ever dreamed that all of this was going to happen between us. We should give ourselves some time to adjust to our new reality though, before we decide anything.”

I brushed my hand over his forearm. “I agree. We definitely shouldn’t decide anything right now.”

With all the new connections between us and everything that happened when we imprinted, perhaps our reasons for waiting didn’t make sense anymore. But we should be certain before taking that step.

We spent the rest of the morning at First Beach. It was weird being there at first considering we hadn’t been back since I had realized that I’d seen Victoria watching us. In fact, the last time I had spent any time there was the day that I’d jumped off the cliff. What a different mental place I was in that day, so desperate to hear Edward’s voice that I’d nearly killed myself.

Those days were far behind me now. I could walk with Jake, holding his hand or have his arm around me, and I no longer had to question or worry that it meant something different to him than it did to me. It reminded me anew of how wonderful my life with Jake was. Safe and secure.

Looking up the beach as Jake and I meandered hand in hand toward what I considered to be our tree, something occurred to me about one of my newly remembered memories.

“This wasn’t the beach we were on that day we built the sandcastle, was it?”

“No, I’m pretty sure we were at Second Beach. The sand there is less rocky and there are larger areas without driftwood. A much better place for building sandcastles.”

“You know, I remember the story your mom told me that day… the one she made up so I wouldn’t be too sad when the tide washed away our creation.”

Jake looked down at me, his brow lifted. “Really? Tell me.”

I smiled at him as the memory filled my mind and I treasured it. I treasured every one of my newly recalled memories… even the hard ones. This one wasn’t hard though. I remembered sitting on the sand with him and his mom, watching the waves inch closer and closer to our wonderful sandcastle, while Sarah told us the story. It pleased me immensely that I was able to remember it all with so much clarity as I began to tell the story to Jake.

“Deep in the ocean is the Kingdom of Crethian, which is the kingdom of the crabs. It is a beautiful place where there are many wonderful buildings and homes for the crabs throughout the kingdom. The most magnificent of these buildings is the Cerracan Castle where the King and Queen of the crabs live. All of the buildings that exist in that kingdom were created and built by the crabs, except for the castle. That one is very special because it was created on land by humans. But the one that exists today is not the same one that has always been, because whenever a castle is built on a beach, it is judged by the ocean. If the ocean deems that the new castle surpasses the beauty and splendor of the current Cerracan Castle, it calls out to the crab King and Queen. The ocean then collects the sand from the new castle and carries it to the Kingdom of Crethian. There, the ocean rebuilds the castle, exactly how it looked on land. The old castle is washed away, and the King and Queen move into the new one.

“Sarah said that you could know if your castle was chosen by the ocean if the sun was shining while the waves washed the castle away. We stayed there until the entire thing was gone and you know, the clouds stayed away the whole time. So, I truly believed that the ocean had chosen our castle for the crab King and Queen.”

Jake smiled the whole time I talked and laughed at the end. He was quiet for a little bit before he responded, looking thoughtfully out over the water. “I am so thankful that you got all those memories back Bella. It somehow feels like we got a little piece of my mom back, you know? Just knowing that you remember her too… it means a lot to me.”

“I’m glad to have them back too… for sooo many reasons. I remember the blanket fort movies, cheese parties, learning about the trees and foliage and animals of the forest, dancing in the living room… I think I’d rather forget about that though.”

Jake laughed at my disgusted look. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“You weren’t that bad, but I’m lucky no one ever got hurt, though I didn’t seem to care too much how I looked at the time. Sarah was also the one who taught me how to cook, which I am super thankful for because my mom… well it’s definitely not one of her strengths. She always tried to get way too creative and never remembered to set a timer for anything.” I shook my head. “I took that responsibility over when I was only nine or ten years old, I think. We might not have survived if I hadn’t.”

We had reached the tree and sat down close together on the giant root bench. The sky had begun to churn and roll a few miles offshore, threatening a storm. I started to wonder if the forecast had been wrong.

“Man, Bella… no wonder you’re such a good cook. You’ve had lots of years of experience!”

I shrugged. “It was a necessity. I’m just thankful I had someone in my life who could teach me. I also called Sarah every so often to get new recipes, or if I had questions.” My throat had started to tighten, and Jake put his arm around me, pulling me closer. Having all of the memories back was great… no it was incredible, but it felt a little like I was mourning Sarah’s death all over again with how bad I had started to miss her. I cleared my throat and decided to change the subject for now.

“Speaking of my mom, how would you feel about going to Florida with me for a visit?

Jake’s eyes widened and he raised his brow as he looked at me. “When? How?”

“Well, last year for my birthday, Carlisle and Esme gave me two vouchers for plane tickets to Florida. They obviously meant for Edward to go with me, but I talked to Alice about it, and she said that they would absolutely still want me to use them and to take whomever I wanted. They expire soon, so I was thinking maybe we could go the weekend after graduation. Do you think it would be okay if you were gone for a few days?”

“Oh wow. They don’t mess around with their gifts, do they?”

“No, they definitely don’t.”

“Well, I’ll talk with Sam and Embry about it, but I don’t see why we couldn’t work it out. Everyone should be well adjusted to having two packs by then.” He laughed. “I’ve never been on a plane before… heck, I’ve never been much farther from here than Port Angeles before.”

“I’ll hold your hand if you get scared.” I gave him a teasing grin and he laughed. “Seriously though, it’ll be nice to be somewhere sunny for a while.”

The storm clouds that had been gathering were breaking up while still a ways off shore and there wasn’t as much of a chill in the air anymore. It seemed that we had avoided rain for now, however, the sun still wasn’t making an appearance.

“I was thinking about giving Alice a call. Would it bother you if I spent an evening with her sometime this week?”

“Well, it won’t bother me that you’re seeing her. It might bother me that I’ll have to be away from you for that much longer for a night.”

“I know, I thought about that. It’s just that I haven’t seen her much since I got out of the hospital because she always has to babysit Edward, and now that I’m all healed, I don’t know if they’ll stay much longer.”

“I know and I understand… well, I mostly understand.” He smiled at me, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

I realized then that he would probably never be completely comfortable with my friendship with any of the Cullens, even if he trusted Alice and Carlisle not to hurt me. It made me a little sad, but at the same time it also warmed my heart, because he wouldn’t try to stop me from having a relationship with them either.

Jake pulled me from my thoughts when he spoke again. “I need to try to check in with Sam. Will you be okay here for a few minutes while I see if I can catch him in wolf form?”

“Sure, I’ll be fine.”

“I won’t be long.” He pressed a kiss to my temple and then ran off toward the trees. I watched his retreating form and the rippling muscles of his back, legs, and arms flexing with his movements. It was still amazing to me how much power and grace was contained within him.

After he’d been gone a minute or two, a bit of a chill started to creep in without his heat next to me. I rubbed my arms then decided to get up and walk around, hoping to get my blood flowing and warm myself. Strolling closer to the water’s edge, I slowly pacing back and forth. When nearly ten minutes had passed and I felt a bit warmer, I started back toward our tree bench, watching the ground to keep from stumbling. When I was nearing the tree, I looked up and was startled to see Jake standing there, just watching me.

“Oh!” I exclaimed, letting out a breath, my hand fluttering to my throat. “What are you doing!?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just watching you walk.”

I eyed him curiously and realized he had a puzzled look on his face.

“What is it?” I asked him, suddenly feeling self-conscious under his curious gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He shook his head. “Somethings different about you… I’m not sure. It’s like you’re moving different, or something.” He held out his hand to me. “Walk with me?”

“You’re being weird.” I eyed him skeptically as I took his hand and he led me into the trees. There was no path where he took us, so I started paying extra attention to my feet and prepared myself for the inevitable stumbles. Jake let go of my hand and I stopped.

“Keep walking,” he encouraged me.

“Do you want me to do a faceplant?”

“I’ll stay right behind you… but I don’t think you’ll fall.”

“Do you even know me? Of course I’m going to fall. I can barely walk on a path without stumbling, let alone through all of this.” I waved my hand at the thick vegetation with fallen trees and hidden roots and who knows what else lurking under the ferns.

“I do know you Bella… I’ve watched you stumble through the forest—or down the sidewalk—for most of our lives, but that’s what I’m trying to say. I know how you move, probably better than you do, but something has changed. Just trust me. If I’m wrong, I’ll be able to catch you. I promise!”

I sighed. “Fine, but you’d better not let me fall. I may be able to heal myself, but it will still hurt.”

I spoke sternly, trying to sound threatening. He was grinning at me though, and I had to turn around quickly before he saw the smile starting to creep across my own face so as not to contradict my stern warning.

I braced myself and began to carefully pick my way through the lush green under my feet, my arms partially outstretched, ready to catch myself, Jake close behind me. When I had walked for a couple of minutes without a single stumble I stopped again and turned to look at Jake. His smile was even bigger than before, and I didn’t try to hide it this time as a smile spread across my face too.

I relaxed my arms at my sides and stood a little straighter as I started walking again, moving a little faster and with less caution. I began hopping over small obstacles, further testing my seemingly new sure-footedness. I certainly felt more sure-footed than I ever remembered feeling before. I stopped and turned around to face Jake, who had allowed me to get several feet farther ahead of him.

“Your movements are so much smoother and more graceful than I have ever seen you move before,” he said with wonder in his voice. “Almost like the way we move, though not as silently as we do.”

“Do you think this happened yesterday?” I asked.

“That’s the only explanation I can think of. I hadn’t seen you move from a distance until now, so I didn’t notice before.” He looked at me thoughtfully. “You should try running.”

That idea made me nervous, but I was curious to see just how much had changed. I took off back the way we had come, running past Jake, moving faster than I felt I should be able to. It was incredible. I could more easily see obstacles in my path and was able to move quickly and easily to avoid them or jump over them. Bounding over small fallen trees and rocks, I always landed gracefully and could continue on without losing stride. I was nowhere near as fast as Jake, still just a human pace, but a fast human pace.

I couldn’t hear Jake, but I could feel him close behind me. He grabbed me up into his arms and skidded to a stop. I was breathing harder from the exhilaration, but I didn’t feel winded at all.

“Why did you stop me?” I asked as Jake set me down.

“I wasn’t sure if you knew what direction you were headed because the beach is over there.” He pointed to his left and a little behind us.

“Oh,” I laughed, “I guess I’m still directionally challenged.”

“I can’t believe how much more fluid your movements are. It was exciting and beautiful to watch.”

The look in his eyes made warmth curl in my belly and my breath catch in my throat. I reached my arms around his neck and went up on my toes as he bent his head down to meet me. When our lips met, that humming current popped and sizzled against my skin, intensifying the warmth tightening in my belly and stealing my breath away.

When we pulled apart, we were both breathless. Jake took a step back and shook his head.

“There’s that intensity again.” He let out a breath. “We should probably head to Emily’s anyway. I’ll need to go on patrol soon.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

As we headed back toward the beach and my waiting truck, I wondered what else we might discover that happened when we imprinted. I couldn’t help but look forward to it all.

Chapter Text

As soon as we got out of the truck at Emily’s house, Jake’s easy smile faded, his mood souring slightly. He glanced over at me.

Leah is here.

My stomach twisted. This could be interesting. I had never been around her without the whole pack there as something of a buffer.

Feeling my turmoil, Jake put his arm around my shoulders. It’ll be alright. It’s not like she’s going to hurt you.

I gave him a small smile. Not physically, no, but just the fact that she hated me, and I didn’t know why, hurt at least a little. I just had to try not to let anything she might say get to me.

Emily greeted us warmly, but Leah visibly tensed and just stared at us as we entered the kitchen and stopped across the table from where they were both seated.

“Are we interrupting?” Jake asked.

“Not at all,” Emily said, glancing at Leah as she stood without a word and walked toward the door. When she was only about halfway, she turned back and looked past me to Jake… or maybe more accurately, she looked through me.

“I actually wanted to speak with you, Jake,” she said with zero emotion, her expression unreadable. “Did you really mean it when you said we could choose which pack we were in? Even if it makes the packs uneven?”

“Yes,” Jake replied with a gruff tone. “We’re willing to give it a try and see how it works. Why?”

“Seth and I have both decided we want to join your pack. I wanted to make sure you were really okay with that.”

I had moved around to the far side of the table to sit with Emily. Jake looked at me for a moment before returning his gaze to Leah, and I knew he was still frustrated with the way she had been treating me.

Don’t tell her no because of me Jake. You gave them the choice, and you already knew this would probably be the one she chose… and probably the better option for her.

“Look,” Leah said to Jake, right on the heels of my thoughts to him, “I know I’ve kinda been hell to be around and I haven’t made things easy for anyone, and I’m sorry. It’s all just been really hard to deal with, but I promise I’ll try to be better from here on out.”

I could tell Jake didn’t like this situation. She hadn’t yet even acknowledged my presence, let alone acknowledged the way she has treated me. He looked to me once more and a determination entering his eyes before he turned a stern gaze back to her.

“I meant what I said, so I’m not going to deny you your choice Leah, but there are a few things that need to be said.”

Leah shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking uncomfortable under Jake’s hard gaze.

“First,” Jake continued, “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, Bella is. You don’t have to be her friend, or even like her, but you do need to recognize and respect the place she now holds in this pack, because she’s just as much a part of it as any of the rest of us.”

Disbelief flashed over Leah’s face as Jake continued.

“Everything changed yesterday, and Bella is no longer just a pack member’s girlfriend. She is your Alpha’s imprint and our Healer. Even if you chose Sam’s pack over mine, that doesn’t change the fact that she has a permanent and prominent place with us. I’m not saying this because I think either of us are better than you, or anyone else, but surely you can see how your treatment of her is going to be a problem if something doesn’t change.

“Even if you set all of those things aside, the fact is there is no one who has more compassion toward you and what you’ve gone through than she does. You’ve been so busy being angry, for reasons you have gone to great lengths to avoid sharing, that you can’t even see how much she cares. Even now, as you’re ignoring her, she’s defending you to me.”

Indignation had begun smoldering in Leah’s eyes while Jake was talking, but they cooled a bit and flashed with confusion at his last remark, darting between Jake and me.

Jake tapped his head. “Telepathic connection,” he reminded her.

That seemed to take some of the fight out of her, a reminder of our new connection, and she huffed out a big breath then turned reluctantly toward me. Suddenly I could see her pain, visible, like an aura around her and I sucked in a small breath. Something inside of me reached out to her, just like with Paul and Emily, my power eager to heal. But she wasn’t injured… was there something that I could do for Leah’s mental or emotional pain? That seemed odd, but there was a lot of odd in my life. I would have to touch her to be certain. I doubted she would let me though.

“I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you Bella,” Leah was saying to me as I tried to decide what to do. I was pretty sure her apology wasn’t completely sincere, but she appeared to at least be trying.

“I forgive you Leah.” I said to her, and a moment of surprise crossed her face as she heard the sincerity in my voice, but she quickly squashed it.

She turned expectantly back to Jake with a look as if to say “There, you happy?” He looked at her with disappointment at her not so genuine apology and sighed, knowing that was probably as good as it was going to get… at least for now. It was something, anyway. He apparently decided to just move on, and they started talking details about patrols and such.

I was still trying to figure out what to do, somewhat uncertain whether I was interpreting what I was feeling correctly, but mostly concerned about how Leah would respond to me approaching her. Feeling Emily’s gaze on me, I looked to her and she was studying me intently. Her perfect scar-free face smiled at me, offering me some encouragement and reminded me that I was right about what I saw last night, and I needed to trust myself… I needed to at least try.

Leah had turned toward the door again, about to leave. My heart kicked into high gear as nerves set in. I needed to get her to trust me enough to just see if I was right. Jake raised a brow in my direction as he noticed.

“Leah, wait,” I called out suddenly. She paused to look at me with a tense and guarded stare. I got up and walked over to where she was standing.

“Uh… I know you probably don’t trust me,” I started, looking down. Then took a breath and tried to swallow the knot in my throat and looked back at her, stumbling over my words a little. “it’s just… well, it’s just that I think I can help you. I feel drawn to you in a new way today and I think I can help you… with the pain you’re going through.” I lifted my hand out slightly toward her. “If you would allow me to touch your arm, then I—”

“No way!” She recoiled from my hand, not even trying to hide her disgust. “You’re right, I don’t trust you.” She glanced over to Emily. “I appreciate what you did for Emily, but I don’t want anything from you.” She glanced over my shoulder at Jake, “I’m sorry, I just can’t.” She took a few steps back toward the door, obviously eager to leave. “I’ll go get Seth and we’ll meet you.”

Her hands were trembling as she turned and bolted out the door.

My hand fell limp at my side, and I stood there staring at the door Leah had just disappeared through. I was at a total loss for words and saddened that she wasn’t willing to let me try to help her.

“I wish I knew what I did to make her hate me so much.” I said to the empty space in front of me, surprised at the amount of hurt in my voice and the ache in my heart for Leah’s pain.

Jake wrapped his arms around me from behind. I could feel his bitterness probably as much as he could feel my heartache.

“I don’t know why baby. It doesn’t make sense to me. She’s always been extremely guarded in her thoughts about you whenever she’s in wolf form.”

I leaned my head back against Jake’s chest. “I just thought it was because I was friends with the Cullens, but I’m pretty sure there’s more to it than that.”

“I’ve never been able to get her to talk about it either,” Emily said. “You’ve both given her a lot to think about today. I hate seeing her like this. I truly hope she comes around and soon.”

“Things might get really hard for her if she doesn’t,” Jake said. “No one is going to put up with her attitude toward you anymore if it doesn’t at least improve.”

Jake turned me around in his arms and looked down into my face.

“I love the compassion you have always had for Leah, but if she’s going to act that way, maybe she doesn’t deserve it.”

“Maybe she doesn’t, but I can’t help it. My caring for her is stronger than it ever was before, like this power of mine is influencing my emotions… causing me to care more… to feel more strongly. I don’t think I could change it anymore, even if I wanted to. All I want to do is help her.”

“Do you have any idea how you’ll be able to help her Bella?” Emily asked.

I shook my head and looked at Emily. “No, I’d need to touch her for the power to show me. I don’t see that happening any time soon. All I know is that I could see her pain surrounding her and felt a pull to her, like I did yesterday to Paul… and to you Emily.”

“Maybe she’ll surprise us,” Emily said, hopeful, then smiled at me. “So, enough of that for now. Bella, are you planning on staying here while Jake is on patrol?”

I was glad to move on to other things. “Yes, that’s the plan.”

“Okay, I have a few errands that I need to run. I shouldn’t be gone too long, so just make yourself at home and I’ll see you when I get back. There’s plenty of food in the fridge if you guys are hungry.”

Lunch was a great idea. My tummy had been rumbling for a little while. We warmed up some soup and made sandwiches.

When we were done eating, Jake stood. “Welp, I need to get going.” He pulled his shirt off and handed it to me.

“You need to be careful flashing all that muscle around me now,” I teased with a smile as I ran my finger over a couple of his abs. “Don’t want to ruin my delicate sensibilities.”

Jake gave a short laugh and smirked as he moved in closer. “Why Miss Swan, I’m appalled! Are you having inappropriate thoughts?”

I gasped dramatically. “Me? No… never!”

His fingers sliding into my hair, he leaned in and gave me a marvelously slow kiss that sent tingles through me. When he pulled away, he pressed his forehead to mine and sighed.

“Alright, I’ll see you in a few hours,” he said.

“Okay. Be safe.”

“Always.”

When he was gone, the ache returned almost immediately. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the previous night at least. I pressed his shirt to my face and breathed in his scent before folding it in half and draping it over one of the kitchen chairs. I relished his scent, but it did nothing to quell the ache. I needed something to do to distract myself, so I decided to go ahead and call Alice.

I settled on the couch, hoping she’d have time to have a nice chat and be my distraction for a little while. As the phone continued to ring, I thought how unusual it was for her to not pick up on the first ring. Just when I was sure it was going to go to voicemail the ringing stopped and there was silence on the other end.

“Hello?” I spoke to the silence.

“Hello Bella,” a male voice responded, sending unease creeping up my spine.

“Edward?” I asked, confused. Why would he be answering Alice’s phone? “Ummm… is Alice there?”

“No, she went hunting and left her phone here.”

“Oh,” I guess that made sense, but… “well I could have just left her a voicemail. Do you know when she’ll be back?”

“Should be sometime tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, could you please just have her call me?”

“Sure, I’ll do that.” His voice sounded different, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. It wasn’t in the haunted way it had sounded sometimes since he’d returned or in any kind of creepy way, though talking to him after yesterday was giving me some icky chills. I shook my head at myself… it didn’t really matter, I didn’t plan to have much, if any, contact with him again. I just wanted to get off the phone with him as quickly as possible.

“Alright, thank you. Bye Edward.” I moved the phone from my ear but before I could hang up, I heard him quickly reply.

“Wait a second Bella. Would you just let me say something please?”

I hesitated, but then I shook my head at myself again. It’s not like he could hurt me through the phone.

“Yes, what is it?” I said guardedly.

“I just wanted to apologize for what I did to you… for all of my behavior since I’ve returned. I haven’t been handling any of it very well and… well there really is no excuse for any of my actions. I would prefer to apologize in person, but since I know that will probably never happen, this is the next best thing. So, truly Bella, I’m sorry that I hurt you and scared you. I promise it won’t happen again. You’ve made your choice and I will respect it.”

I sighed. I didn’t know if I could trust him to keep his word, but I wanted to and he sounded sincere, so hopefully…

“Thank you, Eward. I accept your apology and I hope that you can find happiness.” And I meant it. Despite everything that had happened, and how little desire I had to ever see him again, I didn’t want him to suffer in sadness through the rest of his existence.

“I’m afraid that may no longer be possible for me, but it’s kind of you to say. I just have one more thing I’d like to tell you, if you don’t mind.”

I suppressed my sigh this time. I really wanted to end the call but would hear him out. “Okay, go ahead.”

“I’ll always be here for you Bella. If Jacob were ever forced to leave you, I mean.”

“Oh.” A knot formed in the pit of my stomach. I certainly didn’t expect that, though maybe I should have. None of the Cullens knew yet what had happened between me and Jake, and I never dreamed that I would be put in a position to tell it straight to Edward myself. I didn’t want to be the one to deliver this news to him. I knew he would find out eventually, but not from me, and not while he was alone. He was clearly struggling, and I didn’t want to do anything that might make it worse… of finally send him over the edge. I decided to just not respond and try to end this crazy call.

“Look Edward, I need to get going. Please just tell Alice that I called.”

There was a long pause and I silently hoped he wasn’t going to insist that I acknowledge his offer. He finally said, “Okay, bye Bella. Thanks for listening.”

“Bye Edward.”

I quickly hung up the phone and stood, shaking off the strange feelings the call had left me with. It had worked to distract me for a bit, but it definitely wasn’t the distraction I had wanted.

The dishes were still in the sink from our lunch, so I washed those and put them away, then looked around for something else to clean. Emily’s house was always immaculate, though, and I still had quite a lot of time before she was supposed to return, but I needed something to keep me busy.

I started by wiping down the kitchen counters, even though they probably didn’t need it, then I moved on to the outsides of all of the cabinets. None of that took me long, so I needed to do something more in depth. One by one, I emptied out each cabinet and wiped down the shelves. This did the trick. My heart still ached, but I was able to keep my mind from dwelling on it. I was just starting to put everything back into the final upper cabinet when Emily returned.

“Bella? What are you doing?” she asked me with a confused smile when she found me kneeling on the counter.

I gave her a sheepish grin over my shoulder. “I hope you don’t mind, but I needed a distraction, so I cleaned all your upper cabinet shelves. This is the last one.”

“Oh wow. No, I don’t mind at all. Is everything alright?”

I let out a humorless laugh as I finished putting the last few things in the cabinet and hopped off the counter before answering.

Sighing, I sat in a chair. “No,” I said forlornly.

At the look of concern on Emily’s face I clarified.

“There’s nothing wrong. Just a new challenge.”

She put the sacks she was carrying on the counter and sat in the chair next to me, an expectant look on her face.

“It’s just that it’s become nearly impossible to be away from Jake again. It’s different from the pull we had while I was injured… that caused me to be anxious and antsy. This is just a strong ache in my heart, but it also made it extremely hard to sleep last night. It feels, I don’t know… wrong, I guess, to be away from him. And he’s feeling it too. It was definitely worse last night than it is right now. Maybe it will fade after some time, but I don’t really think it will.”

I paused and looked at her earnestly. “This part of the magic is getting a little annoying. What does it want from us… to never ever be apart? I love Jake and hate being away from him, but to not be able to choose that for ourselves without having some forced discomfort is getting old.”

Emily had been silently listening as I vented. She smiled at me with understanding. “Has it occurred to you that this may not be the magic? Maybe you’re just really missing each other when you have to be apart.”

“Well, yes, but I’ve missed Jake before, and this is so much stronger. I barely slept last night.”

“It could be that the imprinting is just magnifying your feelings. Your situation is unique because you already loved each other before the imprinting… and you imprinted as well as Jake, so it may just be affecting you that much stronger.”

I was quiet while I considered this.

Emily patted me on my hand. “I think you should just give it some time and see what happens.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s kinda the conclusion that Jake and I had come to as well.”

“Oh, before I forget, Grammy Jo will be here sometime this week and she is so excited to see you both, especially now that you’ve imprinted. Would you mind coming to meet her?”

“Not at all! I would love to meet her.” I felt some excitement at the thought. I was curious to find out what she might be able to see about me and Jake.

“I’ll let you know exactly when she will be here once I know.”

Emily and I spent the rest of the afternoon together. Having someone to pass the time with definitely made being separated from Jake much easier!

Both our guys arrived at the house together. We had some time before Jake and I needed to head back to Forks, so we visited for a while longer. Jake told them what we had discovered about me this morning and they were both intrigued.

“I bet that’s why you were able to catch that plate last night,” Emily said to me.

That hadn’t even crossed my mind. “I bet you’re right. I’ve been a klutz all my life… it’ll be nice to not have to worry about hurting myself all the time now.” I looked over at the clock and sighed, turning to Jake. “We should probably get going. I need to stop by the store to pick up some groceries.”

Jake was nodding, but Sam stopped us before we could get up.

“Actually, before you take off, Em and I have a question we’d like to ask the two of you.”

We looked at them expectantly. They looked at each other and Sam nodded to Emily.

“We were wondering,” Emily started, “if you would both stand up with us at our wedding? If you would be a groomsman and bridesmaid?”

My eyes went wide, and I looked at Jake to see a matching expression on his face as he turned to look at me too. Our joint excitement came through our bond, and we smiled at each other before turning back to Sam and Emily.

“Of course, we would love to be a part of your special day,” I answered then hesitated. “I mean, if you’re sure. We haven’t known each other for all that long, so I don’t want you to feel obligated because of everything—”

Emily waved her hand, dismissing my concerns. “No, that’s not why we’re asking. It’s true we haven’t known each other long, and that’s partly why we haven’t asked sooner, but I’ve thought of you as a sister ever since you and Jake came for dinner that first night. As our friendship has grown, the more I knew I wanted to include you.”

Sam added, “And I’ve wanted to have Jake stand up with me for even longer…”

Then Emily continued, bouncing off each other easily. “…but I didn’t want to choose another girl just to have a third person. I wanted it to be someone special to me.”

I smiled fondly at them both. “I think of you the same way Emily, so yes, I’d be honored. We’re excited for both of you.” I glanced at the clock again. “I’m sorry to do this, be we really do need to get going. Next time I come over you’ll have to give me all the details.”

We said our goodbyes then headed back to Forks.

Chapter Text

Heading down the road back to Forks in my old beat-up truck, I nestled in close to Jake, his arm slung around my shoulders. His thumb rubbed small circles on my arm while I told him about everything I’d done to keep myself busy while he was on patrol. He was chuckling at the lengths I had gone to in order to keep myself occupied, but his smile dimmed and he tensed when I told him about my conversation with Edward. Annoyance flashed through our mental bond.

He squeezed my arm and sighed. “I hope he’s not going to continue causing problems. You should have just told him about the imprinting, Bells. He’s obviously not going to let you go completely, no matter what he said.”

“I know… and I know he’ll find out eventually, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it while he was alone. Honestly, with the way he was at the school yesterday, I’m a little nervous about how he’s going to react to the news. He was fine one second then angry the next… it was startling. He doesn’t seem to be the same person he was before he left last year, so I just don’t know what to expect anymore.”

Jake pressed a kiss to my temple. “You may be right about that. Whenever we meet with the doc, we can tell him and let him break the news to Edward.” I nodded as Jake parked the truck in the lot at the Thriftway. “Don’t forget to put that back on,” he added, pointing to my arm brace.

I sighed as I slid it onto my arm. “I need to ask Carlisle when I can quit wearing it. The sooner the better.”

An hour or so later, with Jake loaded down with all the grocery bags, we walked into my house to calls of greeting from Charlie and Billy. They were parked in front of the TV in the living room where they were watching a ball game… one of many that were apparently on the agenda for the evening.

Jake helped me start dinner. Well, “helped” may be a bit of a stretch as he was doing more sampling of the food and distracting me with small touches and kisses than actually helping with anything. By the time we got dinner in the oven and headed into the living room, my heart was thrumming.

I plopped down in the recliner, my legs curled up into the chair, and Jake sat on the floor in front of me with his head resting on my knees. He was soon engrossed in the game, but it couldn’t hold my interest and my mind soon started to wander over the events of the last couple of days and all of my old memories that had returned. My fingers found their way into his hair, making little braids only to unravel them again. A gentle smile crept across my face as I looked down at him, contemplating how special our relationship was… and had always been. Jake was completely relaxed and seemed to enjoy the contact and I found it extremely comforting. In fact, we had been far more touchy-feely with each other today. I liked it.

The oven timer brought me out of my reverie and beckoned me back to the kitchen. As I rose, I caught Charlie just as he turned away from looking at me and Jake, his lips turned up ever so slightly. Billy was much less clandestine as he gave me a knowing smile before turning his attention back to the television. I could feel the heat creeping into my face as I hurried from the room.

All throughout dinner at the dining room table I kept noticing both Charlie and Billy watching Jake and I and giving each other looks. I just internally rolled my eyes and tried not to dwell on their attention. Whatever they were seeing, it obviously pleased them both.

When we were done eating, Jake and I cleaned up the kitchen then, while the guys watched the next two games, flipping between two stations to do so, I sat at the table and got some of my homework done. I wanted to have it all finished and out of the way since we were going out with Embry and Angela on Sunday. There were only three weeks left until finals and I still had a few things to catch up on from while I was out of commission, not to mention study for the actual final exams. Hopefully the next four weeks would be calmer with no more surprises.

When Jake and Billy were leaving for the night, Charlie and I walked them out to my truck, which they were taking home since I wouldn’t need it again until Jake came over tomorrow. Jake got Billy settled in the passenger seat and his wheelchair loaded in the back then Charlie chatted with Billy while I followed Jake around to the driver’s side to say goodnight.

He leaned back against the truck and pulled me into his arms as I laid my head on his chest. My heart was already starting to get heavy at just the thought of him leaving again for the whole night.

I hate having to leave you. He spoke through our mental link so we could talk privately in front of our fathers. I thought about offering to come back over later, but that’s probably not something we want to start making a regular thing. It’s hard though… I should be with you now… always.

I looked up at him, my chin resting on his chest, and he brushed his fingers lightly against my cheek.

That sure does sound appealing, but you’re probably right. Hopefully this feeling will ease soon… or we’ll get adjusted to it.

He nodded in agreement and kissed my forehead. I have an early morning patrol tomorrow, so I won’t be able to come over until mid-morning. If it gets too bad for you though, just tell me and I’ll be here right away.

Alright. Love you, Jake.

Love you too Bella.

He took my face between his hands and bent down to press his lips to mine, keeping it brief as that same electric current pulsed between us again. Even though it was short, it still stole my breath away.

Jake waved goodnight to Charlie as he climbed in the cab, and I headed back to the other side. Standing with Charlie as the truck roared to life, we waved one last time before they drove away then turned to head back inside. Charlie put his arm around my shoulders and looked down at me.

“Why so glum kiddo?” he asked, noticing my mood. “Didn’t you have a good time today?”

I did my best to smile at him. “Yeah, I just miss Jake when we’re apart.”

“Some separation is good Bells. Makes the heart grow fonder, and all of that,” he said with a teasing grin.

“I guess,” I replied and smiled at him again. “Doesn’t stop me from missing him.”

He sighed. “Ahh, young love.”

That managed to draw a laugh out of me. If he only knew that it was so much more than that. I really wish I could tell him everything.

“You know, Bells, I was watching you and Jake interact tonight—”

“Yeah, I noticed. You’re not as stealthy as you might think. You and Billy both.”

He gave me a crooked smile. “Saw that, did ya? Well, I just wanted to say that I really like how much easier your relationship with Jake seems to be than it ever was with… that other one. You’re relaxed and you smile far more. I just… well I like seeing you like that.”

I tilted my head at him and gave him a more genuine smile. “That’s because it is easier. Everything about being with Edward was hard, but it’s not like that with Jake. He’s the right one for me, so there’s no struggle and no need to question it.”

He paused just as he was closing the door and turned back to me, his look a little more wary.

“He’s the right one for you, huh? I’m not saying I object, but you sound so sure.”

My eyes widened a little, not sure exactly what to say. “I am sure. We both are.” This would be so much easier if he knew about the way Jake and I were connected.

“You’re really young Bells. Have you… you guys haven’t talked about marriage yet, have you?” Charlie was shifting on his feet and rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, not exactly. I mean, it’s been mentioned, but—" I had looked away, but my eyes snapped back when he cut me off, his voice strained.

“Are you two…” he huffed out a breath, red creeping into his cheeks and he couldn’t look at me. “Are you being safe?”

My brow furrowed. “Safe? What do you…?” He couldn’t know about the danger I had been in. Unless he’d figured something out? Surely Billy wouldn’t—

“Are you using protection?” he blurted out, and after another moment of staring at him in confusion my eyes went wide, and I gasped.

“Oh my gosh, Dad! No, we’re not… I mean, yes…” I let out an exasperated breath. “We haven’t done… that, and we aren’t going to. We agreed to wait.” My face was flaming hot at having this conversation with Charlie. I can’t say that I’m totally surprised he asked, but geesh…

He calmed back down and pointed at me.

“So, you’re not…”

“No, we’re not. Now, can we drop this please?”

Charlie relaxed and gave me a satisfied smile. “I really do like Jake… always have.”

I rolled my eyes and let out an exasperated breath. “I’m going to get ready for bed. Good night, Dad.”

“Night sweetheart.”

I was tired, but not enough to get to sleep yet, so I took a long shower then did some more studying in my room. When my brain was too weary to be able to concentrate on anything complicated, I climbed under the covers and grabbed the top book off the pile by my bed and started reading.

Jake talked to me one more time while I was reading. I was thankful that we could communicate that way… it helped ease the ache a little. About twenty minutes later, I was surprised and relieved when it disappeared completely. I was too sleepy to think about what might have caused it and without the ache, it didn’t take long before I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I didn’t notice what time it was, but after dozing off and dropping my book on my face for the third time, I finally turned my light off and drifted into a peaceful, dreamless sleep almost immediately.

**********
JACOB POV
**********
On the drive home I was uneasy and edgy at having to leave Bella again. When my dad noticed and asked me what was wrong, I told him. The need to be with Bella and protect her was nearly all consuming.

“I’m not sure how long I can tolerate it, Dad. It’s much worse at night, though even on patrol today it was strong. I’m dreading the weekdays while she’s at school. And she feels it too.

“This started after you imprinted yesterday?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Have you talked with Emily about it?”

“No. Bella was with her all afternoon, so she might have, but she didn’t mention it if she did.”

“That might be a good place to start. See if she’s had any dreams, or premonitions, or whatever it is she gets.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ll stop by tomorrow when I get off of patrol before heading to see Bella.”

“How’s everything else going? So many things changed yesterday when the two of you imprinted.”

We talked about how it was going so far with the separate packs and the situation with Leah. I also told him about how Bella had healed Emily’s scars and thought she could help Leah. And how Bella was moving differently now.

“Jake, what’s happening with you and Bella right now are some of the most incredible things to happen in our history since the first wolf transformation. I’m proud of you son. You’re handling it all so well… taking it all in stride and accepting your new role.”

“Thanks Dad. I’m trying.”

“When I gave you your mother’s rings, I knew something was coming, but I had no idea it would be like this. Have you considered that might be the answer for you and Bella?”

“Yes, it crossed my mind today. I never dreamed it would come to that so soon. The thing is, with the imprinting, there’s nothing we can do to become more committed to each other than we are already.” I was silent for a minute before quietly continuing. “I’m starting to doubt that my convictions about marriage and waiting to be with her still have value to us, given our new reality.”

He sighed. “Son, I can’t begin to understand everything you’re feeling and going through. You and Bella are bonded to each other so powerfully, and it’s unbreakable, that’s true. But that bond was involuntary. The imprinting happened to you, you didn’t decide it for yourself, despite the fact that it was what you wanted. It may feel pointless, but there is still something equally powerful in making the decision for yourselves and declaring that commitment to each other in front of those who love and care for you both. Don’t let go of your convictions, the parts of you that you still have control over, just because it got harder.”

I looked at my dad as he spoke all the things that were already in my heart, but I had started to doubt.

“Thanks Dad. I needed that reminder. Now I just need to figure out what Bella will say about the idea of getting married, because I’m not completely sure, even though she said she was ready. And Charlie. What do you think he’s going to think about all of this?”

“I don’t know Jake. I’ve been dropping small suggestions that you guys are heading in that direction, but I’m fairly certain that the thought hasn’t entered his mind that it will be happening soon. So, I can’t imagine he’s going to jump for joy at the prospect. Without any knowledge of the magic between you, it will not be easy to convince him that this is the right thing for the two of you right now.”

We were silent for a few minutes as I contemplated the situation.

“What if we told Charlie?” I asked.

“Told him what? That you want to get married? It’s going to take more than just telling him.”

“No, what if we told him everything? About the wolves, about me and Bella imprinting, and all the magic. Everything.”

My dad’s eyes widened at my suggestion. He opened his mouth, but then shut it again and looked out the window, thoughtful. Several silent minutes had gone by when we pulled up in front of the house and I shut off the truck. He was still silent. We didn’t make a move to get out and I just watched him, trying to read his face.

“The suspense is killing me Dad,” I said finally. “What’re you thinking?”

“Well, my first response was absolutely not. Keeping the wolves’ existence, a secret keeps you all safe. But there has never been a situation like this… well not one that is remembered in much detail anyway. It definitely would help him understand, and I would trust Charlie with this secret.” He shook his head and sighed then studied my face for a long moment.

“Ultimately this is your decision, Jake. You’re the Alpha, so no one can tell you what you can and can’t do. I would recommend that you at least discuss it with Sam first, since he’s your Second Alpha.”

I nodded, wondering if this just might work. For the first time, I let myself seriously consider the thought of marrying Bella in the near future, and it filled me with so much joy and excitement. There were so many other things to consider as well, such as supporting ourselves and where we would live, but those things could all be worked out, I was sure of it.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself Jake,” Billy said, reading the look on my face. “You have some things to work through to make this happen.”

“I know. Just letting myself enjoy the thought for a minute. I’m so ready to start my life with Bella, Dad. I hadn’t let myself go there before, thinking it was still farther into the future than this!”

“I understand. Just keep it in check while we work some of these things out. Like I told you, I’m here for you in this and support you completely.”

I gave him a grateful smile then we headed inside and continued to talk over details and how best to proceed to make this happen for us. It was very late when my dad finally headed to bed. I was tired, but not enough to get to sleep yet with the crazy need to watch over Bella pulsing through me. I talked to her for a few minutes; she was in bed reading, trying to wear her mind out the same as me. After we had said our final good-nights I decided to go out for a run to calm and clear my mind.

Thankfully, Sam’s pack was on patrol and there was no one else from my pack out tonight in wolf form, so I was alone with my thoughts. I didn’t really pay attention to where I was going, but after a short time I found myself in the trees beside Bella’s house. Her light was still shining softly through her window. I closed my eyes and tuned out the sounds around me, focusing my attention toward Bella, I picked up her gentle breathing and the steady beat of her heart. Every so often I heard a soft rustling as she flipped the page of her book.

The aching need to protect Bella was gone now. I may not be with her, but I could watch over her from here, so perhaps this could be a temporary solution. I laid down on my belly and rested my head on my outstretched front legs. I wasn’t sure if I would stay all night, but I was definitely going to stay for a while. After just a few minutes, Bella’s light went out and it was no time before her breathing slowed and deepened into the steady rhythm of a peaceful sleep. She wasn’t restless like she had been the night before… and I knew that I felt better being close by. I may not be able to do this every night, but I decided, at least for tonight, I would stay right here.

JAKE! HEY JAKE, wake up man. Where are you?

I slowly blinked my eyes opened to the soft gray light of early dawn. Looking up at Bella’s window, I found the house quiet, both Bella and Charlie still asleep.

Oh! Embry thought in surprise as he saw the house through my eyes. What are you doing there? Everything okay with Bella?

Yeah, everything’s fine. I quickly filled him in on the issue we were having as I got up and stretched. Being close took care of the ache and need to protect her, but I’m not sure it will be feasible to do this every night.

We met up a few minutes later and were quickly joined by Quil, Seth, and Leah. We split up so we could cover more ground. Me and Quil took the North/East path, and Embry, Seth, and Leah took South/West.

Everything was quiet, which had thankfully become the norm lately. That also meant my mind had more time to wander and it wasn’t long before the conversation with my dad went through my head. It was only a brief little snippet of the conversation, but it was enough to get everyone’s attention.

Embry, of course, already knew about the rings, but not that it might be happening so soon. No one else knew though… not even Quil.

Marriage!? Leah practically yelled at me. What the hell Jake? You’re only eighteen!

What business is it of yours, Leah? Seth asked.

You’re just jealous of what Jake and Bella have, Quil commented. You should really just butt out Leah.

I’m not going to waste my time justifying my plans to you Leah. This isn’t something I’m doing on a whim. I’ve talked it over with my dad, and he’s in agreement with me that this is the right path for me and Bella, no matter what anyone else may think about it.

I don’t know why she seemed to care what Bella and I did, but she just couldn’t keep it to herself.

Psssh, what a load of crap, Jake. You’re barely old enough to do it without a permission slip from Daddy.

Leah… A warning edge crept into my voice.

How in the world are you going to even support yourselves?

That’s none of your business, Leah. I was losing my patience with her spouting off, especially after the conversation we had yesterday.

You’re an idiot if you think you can make it work. You’re a high school dropout who doesn’t even have a paying job.

ENOUGH! I roared. Anger flashing through me I slipped into my Alpha timber without meaning to and I immediately rescinded the order. It shut her up though.

I have not come to this decision lightly and I am well aware of the situation and the challenges that we have to overcome. If you want to talk to me about it privately, fine, but I wouldn’t recommend it. And this will not be a topic of discussion during patrols.

I could feel Leah’s own anger and disgust simmering under the surface, but she didn’t say any more and I ignored it. This had nothing to do with her and she could stuff it. The rest of the morning went by with minimal conversation. When our patrol was over, I went home to shower and eat before heading over to Emily’s, thankful to get out of Leah’s head and get her out of mine. I hoped that somehow Leah was able to trust Bella enough to let her help Leah sometime soon because I was so done with her attitude. Even when she didn’t say or think anything, her rotten feelings came through anytime I thought the slightest thing about Bella, which was impossible for me to avoid doing.

I stepped out of the house to find Embry and Quil both waiting for me on the front porch.

“Hey man,” Embry said. “We just wanted to see how you were doing and to let you know that we don’t agree with Leah.”

“Yeah.” Quil nodded. “Even if it seems nutso, we know what you guys have been through and how you feel about each other. Leah does too, if she’d just take her head out of her butt for a second. I mean, with the way your imprinting is so strong, you guys are practically married already.”

“Thanks guys. I already knew that, but it’s nice to hear.”

“It pisses me off too,” Quil continued with a smirk. “She’s ruined any chances I had of giving you crap about getting attached to the old ball-n-chain.”

I barked out a laugh and gave Quil a sharp punch on the shoulder, knocking him enough to force him to take a step back. “I’m sure you’ll find your chance, jerk.”

Quil lunged at me, going for my neck to put me in a head lock. I dodged and after a quick tussle, it ended with my arm around his neck and his arm twisted behind his back.

“Well,” Embry said with a shake of his head as I pushed Quil away with a smile on both of our faces, “if there’s anything we can help you with, just ask. We’re here for you.”

“Yeah, for sure,” Quil said, rubbing his shoulder. “You know, I think my grandpa knows a guy with a house he might be selling cheap. Something that needs some work, but we can all help you out getting it fixed up. You want me to ask him about it?”

“Yeah, that would be great. He can talk to either me or my dad.”

We talked for a few more minutes about the patrols for the week and then I took off for Emily’s house. She and Sam were still finishing up breakfast when I got there. She knew what I was going to ask before I could even get my question out… apparently, she had talked to Bella yesterday, so she shared that conversation with me. The thought that it was just being us missing each other magnified by the imprinting was interesting. That didn’t explain the strong need I had to be with Bella to protect her though, so it may be a combination of things happening.

I also decided to fill Emily in on my dad giving me my mom’s rings, so I could talk with Sam about Charlie without leaving her in the dark. She was obviously good at keeping things to herself. Her enthusiasm at the prospect of Bella and I getting married made me excited for it all over again.

When I told Sam about my plan to tell Charlie everything, he was hesitant at first, but ultimately, he understood and agreed that the situation warranted him knowing what was going on in his daughter’s life.

“Like I already told you Jake, I will support you and Bella. I appreciate your consideration in speaking with me about it, but your dad is right, in the end, it’s your decision. And I trust your judgement. If you and your dad both trust Charlie with this, then I have no issue with it.”

While Sam was talking, Bella had spoken to me.

“Hold on a second Sam, Bella needs me.”

Yeah baby?

Just curious if you knew about what time you were going to get here.

I’m just about to leave Emily’s and then I have an errand to run in Forks before I come over, so maybe another hour.

Okay. Miss you. See you soon.

When I got done speaking to Bella, Emily was smiling at me.

“What?” I asked her.

“Nothing. I just hadn’t seen either of you speaking telepathically with the other when I knew it was happening. I realized I can see your telepathic connection sort of glow when you’re communicating that way. You also got a very peaceful look on your face. I assume everything is okay.”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. She just wanted to know when I was getting to her house. Speaking of, I do need to get going. I’ve spent about as much time away from her as I can tolerate for the day. I want to thank you both for being such great friends to me and Bella. We appreciate the two of you so much.”

“That goes both ways,” Sam said.

Having the support of both my dad and Sam was such a relief. I was very aware of how foolish the path I was starting to head down would seem to many, but I was truly beginning to believe that it was the right path for us.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
CONFUSION FOGGED my brain as I blinked my eyes opened. The faintest hint of light was coming through my windows, and all was quiet except for a few early rising birds chirping in the nearby trees. Guess they’ll be the ones getting the worms today. I groaned and laughed at my own stupid thought then rubbed my hands over my eyes and forehead.

Why in the world was I awake?

Then I felt it… the longing ache in my chest was back. Ugh, I so wish Jake were here. I reached out to the other side of my bed, trying to will him to my side. Man, I was just full of ridiculous notions this morning. I needed more sleep.

I contemplated trying to talk to Jake, but he said he had an early morning patrol, so I didn’t want to bother him. He had enough people in his head when he was a wolf. Besides, my thoughts were confusing me in my own head… trying to form a coherent sentence that someone else could understand might be a challenge.

After floating in some sort of barely awake state for a while, I finally drifted back off but didn’t sleep nearly as soundly as I had through the night. When I woke again around 8:30, I finally gave up and got out of bed. My stomach was yelling at me, and I had some more studying I wanted to get done before Jake came over anyway. I threw on a red long-sleeved shirt and jeans then headed down to the kitchen.

“Morning Bells,” Charlie said cheerfully from behind the newspaper. “Did you sleep good?”

“Yeah, for the most part,” I replied. “Have you eaten yet?”

“No, not yet,” he said, folding the paper down to look at me. “Just coffee so far.”

“Want some eggs?” I didn’t really feel like getting to my schoolwork quite yet.

“Sure! I think there’s some bacon in there too,” he said with a large grin and a hopeful look, drawing a laugh out of me.

I went ahead a fried up the whole pound of bacon before frying the eggs. I didn’t want any for breakfast, but BLTs sounded good for lunch and Jake would be here, so none would go to waste.

When I was done eating and the kitchen was cleaned, I started to lug my full backpack to the dining room table from where Jake had left it for me by the front door.

“Bells, are you supposed to be lifting that much weight yet?” Charlie asked, hurrying over to take my bag from me. “And where is your arm brace?”

Oops, I had forgotten to put it back on this morning. Keeping up the appearances of being injured after being completely healed was going to be a challenge.

“I’m glad that you’re feeling better, but you need to make sure you’re still following Dr. Cullen’s orders.”

“I know. I am feeling a lot better the last couple of days, so I forgot. Do you mind putting that in the dining room for me?” I asked, indicating the bag he was still holding, and I went to retrieve my brace from my bedroom.

Charlie was headed out the door about an hour later, to go help Sue Clearwater with some home repair projects.

“If you need your bag moved again, or anything else, I can get it when I get home later. Unless Jake is able to get it. But I don’t want you doing anything to re-injure yourself!”

“Alright Dad. I promise.”

He nodded and said goodbye as he walked out the door.

I realized that I didn’t know what time Jake was coming over, just that it was going to be mid-morning, which it was now.

Jake?

There was a short delay before he answered.

Yeah baby?

I’m not bothering you, am I?

Never.

Okay. Well, I was just curious if you knew about what time you were going to get here.

I’m just about to leave Emily’s and then I have an errand to run in Forks before I come over, so maybe another hour.

Okay. See you soon.

I was no longer able to concentrate on any studying. I had already gotten more done than was necessary between last night and this morning, so I decided to just go read while I waited for Jake.

Or I tried to read. My mind wouldn’t stay focused on the words on the page and it kept wandering back to that conversation with Charlie last night, of all things. Man, that was embarrassing, but I supposed it could have been worse. He’d brought up marriage. Though I didn’t get much of a chance to respond before he moved on, it got me thinking about it. After we imprinted, I had told Jake that I would marry him tomorrow, if that’s what we wanted. It surprised me at the time, because of how Renee had always drilled it in my head to not marry young, but so much has changed for Jake and me, my surprise made perfect sense. My experience with marriage, no matter when it happens, will be nothing like my parents’, for so many reasons. But now that the thought is in my mind, I want it. I want everything that there is to be had in this life with Jake, and I don’t want to wait.
I sighed and shook my head at myself. I need to stop thinking crazy. I’m sure we won’t wait until we’re thirty, but eighteen? That’s just foolish, right?

I’m here.

Jake’s words in my mind cut off my train of thought. I dropped the book that I was no longer reading, but still held in my hand, onto bed and ran down the stairs. Flinging the front door open I jumped into his arms just as he reached the top step of the porch.

“Whoa!” he exclaimed as he caught me and held me tight. “I missed you too baby.”

I breathed a sigh of relief to be with him again. I wouldn’t bring up the marriage thing to Jake for now. I didn’t want him to think I was any crazier than I was sure he already did… besides, we had enough going on right now without adding that to the mix.

“I got you something,” he said as he headed into the living room with me trailing behind him. He pulled a stack of jewel cases out of the sack he was carrying, took one, and then handed me the rest.

“What’s this for?” I asked, laying the seven CDs he’d handed me out on the dining room table. A couple of them were my favorites.

He slipped the CD he’d kept into the stereo then turned to me. “I know that you got rid of your music collection last fall, so I thought it was time for you to start building a new one. I went by the thrift store in town and found a few I knew you’d like, so I got them.”

“Got rid of?” I laughed at his phrasing of the unfortunate treatment I’d given my previous music collection. “More like I destroyed the entire thing in a fit of rage!”

“Well, I was trying to be nice.” He smiled at me as he moved the coffee table against the wall.

“Jake, you didn’t have to do this,” I said with both appreciation and mild disapproval.

“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I have an ulterior motive though.”

I eyed him suspiciously as he pushed the couch back all the way to the dining table. The soft melody of a slow song had started playing through the stereo speakers and Jake held out his hand to me.

“Dance with me,” he said.

My eyes got big, and I shook my head. “I don’t dance, Jake. You know that.”

“You used to.”

An old, but somewhat unfamiliar, memory flooded my mind. Me and Charlie with Jake and his whole family in their tiny living room, dancing to old crooners from the 50’s and 60’s, like Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, and Billie Holiday… Sarah loved that old music. It was mostly just silly little spins and twirls and lots of swaying. At some point, though, we would all move aside and watch as Billie and Sarah really danced to a song or two, gazing into each other’s eyes with giant smiles on their faces. It was so sweet… and nothing I could ever hope to accomplish.

“I was nine, Jake, and I believe I was mostly just standing on my dad’s feet while he danced… very carefully, I might add.”

He stood, patiently waiting with his hand still extended to me.

“Come on Bells. I know you have an aversion to dancing because you’re afraid you’ll hurt yourself. But you’re not the same now baby. If you can run through the forest like you did yesterday, I bet you can dance without any effort at all.”

He had a point, but after years of avoiding things like this, I was struggling to find any desire.

“I don’t know how to dance though. Those times in your living room don’t really count.”

“Can you just trust me? It’s just the two of us, so is there really any risk here?”

He flashed his warm beautiful smile at me, and my resolve started to crumble. “You know I trust you, I just… I don’t know if I trust myself.”

“You have to at least try. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

When I continued to hesitate, his voice grew quieter and with more longing in it.

“Bella, just let me hold you in my arms and sway to the music with me.”

I sighed. It may be ridiculous, but when he said it like that it sounded much more appealing than ‘dancing.’ I finally took his hand and moved in close to him as a new song flowed out of the speakers. My other hand went up to his shoulder as his went around my waist. He continued to hold my right hand out as we swayed and took small steps, turning slowly in a circle. I relaxed into him and laid my head on his chest, soaking up his warmth, the feel of his strong body against mine, and the smell of him. I breathed deeply and let out a small hum of contentment.

“Is this so bad?” he asked, his thumb rubbing over the small of my back.

“No, this is nice,” I admitted and pulled back a bit so that I could smile up at him. He gazed into my eyes for a long moment, the electric tingle humming between us. I thought he was going to kiss me, but he gently pulled me back against his chest instead, continuing to sway and turn with the music.

“Did you sleep okay last night?” I asked. “Because I slept amazingly well for most of the night.”

“Yes, I did, actually. I’m pretty sure it’s because I was nearby. I slept in the woods close to your house and left for patrol shortly after dawn.”
I lifted my head again and looked at him in surprise. “Jake! What made you do that? It couldn’t have been comfortable.”

“I had gone for a run to clear my head and sort of just found myself here. When I realized that need to protect you was gone and you fell sound asleep shortly after, I decided to stay. Besides, I can sleep comfortably pretty much anywhere when I’m in wolf form.”

A new song had begun, and Jake smiled mischievously at me. “I want to try something. Just follow my lead.”

Before I could respond, he put his hand on my hip and gently pushed me away from him a little. Images began to play through my head of us dancing—really dancing—moments before Jake led me through the same steps. Suddenly, we were spinning and twirling in the small space in my living room. With my newly coordinated body, I was floating. And I… I was loving it. A smile spread across my face of its own accord, and laughter bubbled up out of me. And the joy that was on Jake’s face and flowing from him through our bond took my breath away. I loved him so much, my heart felt like it would burst.

He finally pulled me back in and started swaying with me against him again.

“I told you that you could do it. Did you like it.”

I was a little breathless from the thrill of it all, and my voice gave away my disbelief in what I’d just done. “Yeah. I loved it, Jake. I would have never thought that would work.”

“That’s why I didn’t give you any warning.” His eyes were shining so bright.

“But, wait… when did you learn how to do all that? I don’t recall you being able to do that when we were younger, and that’s nothing like how you danced last year.”

“Well, last year I was all awkward because of that huge growth spurt I was going through, not to mention the giant cast you had on your leg. I also was nervous about why I was there and then there was Edward glaring at me.”

“He wasn’t glaring at you.”

Jake snorted. “Oh yes he was! You may have been oblivious to it, but you know damn well he was reading my thoughts and could probably even hear every word we said. Not to mention he was probably jealous and frustrated as hell that I was touching you. He was definitely glaring at me.”

Huh… Jake had a very good point. I had to admit that he was probably right, and he could see it all over my face.

He shook his head. “Anyway, you know how my mom loved all that old timey music, and you might also remember she loved to watch the old musical movies, like Singin’ in the Rain and Guys and Dolls. Then, my dad used to say that one of the best ways to woo a woman was to dance with her.”

“You don’t have to woo me, Jake, you’ve already got me.”

“Psshh, I will never stop wooing you, baby. I’m not going to slack off just because some mystical force linked us. You may never want anyone else, but I don’t ever want our love to weaken. My dad never stopped wooing my mom. They would go on dates and dance with each other in the living room and things like that all the time. As you know, I would dance with my mom sometimes, though I was the one doing most of the spinning back then.” He chuckled softly at the memory then looked like he was going to say something, but he hesitated.

“What is it?” I asked gently, thinking it was something about his mom.

He sighed. “Okay, I’ve never told anyone this before, so you can’t make fun of me. When I was 14, I could knew I was forgetting things about my mom. Dad would barely talk about her, you didn’t come visit that summer and were avoiding my calls, and the girls were kinda bitter about it all; her death, Dad’s semi-depression and declining health, having to take care of him and me… so they wouldn’t talk to me about much of anything.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

Jake shook his head. “No, baby. That’s not why I’m telling you this.” He brushed his thumb against my cheek. “We’ve already been through this… you have nothing to be sorry for.”

I nodded and Jake continued.

“Anyway, I was trying to find any way I could to keep her memory alive and I saw a flyer posted at the Community Center that someone was offering free dancing lessons for Seniors on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I initially just went to watch, just to remember that time with Mom, but there were five ladies and only two men, so they tried to get me to join in to give more ladies a chance to have a partner. I finally agreed when they promised not to tell anyone outside of that room. I don’t think they completely keep that promise because several more ladies showed up a couple weeks later, but none of my friends ever said anything to me about it. So, for about six months, I spent an hour every Saturday and Sunday morning learning to dance simple ballroom dances. I’m no Fred Astaire, but I’m not terrible either, and I’m thankful I have that little bit of knowledge of something that my mom loved so much.”

“Jake, I would never make fun of you for that.” Knowing what this meant to him, made it extremely special. I had a feeling this wasn’t the last time we would do this.

Jake’s wide grin returned, obviously pleased. He had wrapped his arm around my waist and continued to sway and turn with me. I laid my head on him again as he curled our entwined hands against his chest.

“I love the person I’ve become with you Jake. I’ve always felt so out of place in this world, never able to relate to other people. But not anymore. I have found where I belong.” I lifted my head to look at him. “I once told you that you were my home, and that is even more true now than it was then. Your world is where I belong. And now, I feel like I’m finally discovering my true self… the person I was always meant to become.”

Jake brought his hand up from my waist to caress my face.

“You don’t know how happy that makes me Bella. You’re my home, too.”

He kissed me gently then we returned to swaying to the music, thoroughly enjoying just spending the time in his arms.

We were quiet for a while before Jake spoke again. “So, Sam and I are meeting with Carlisle soon.” He glanced at the clock. “In an hour actually. I was hoping you would come with me. I know that Sam told you about my little trip to Seattle on Friday and we’re going to be discussing what I found out and what Carlisle makes of it.”

“Oh, okay. I’m interested to hear what that’s all about. Where are we meeting.”

“At his office at the hospital, so we don’t have to worry about Edward hanging around.”

“That’s good. I’m not quite ready to see him again yet. Even if you and Sam are both there.”

“I don’t blame you. I would prefer to avoid that as well. For both of our sakes.”

When the final song on that CD ended, we turned off the stereo and put the living room back together, then had some lunch before heading to the hospital. I hoped Carlisle would be able to give us some answers.

SAM WAS WAITING for us by the front door when we arrived at the hospital. Jake told me on the way over that Same had met with Carlisle the day before and sorted out the issue of them staying. Once everyone had calmed down, and now that my injuries were no longer an issue, they just asked that Edward steer clear of being around unless I was with Jake or another of the wolves. At least for now.

We made our way to Carlisle’s office. Alice was there too, and I hurried over to give her a hug as the guys greeted each other. I really had missed her.

As I pulled out of our hug, I was struck by the feeling that something was off. It wasn’t anything that felt bad or dangerous, just… different. I couldn’t quite place… what…

Oh my gosh, it was their scent! They smelled different to me. Not unpleasant, but a bit harsher than before. How was it Jake had described them? Sickly sweet and icy? It wasn’t nearly that bad, but it was a sharp sweetness and kinda tangy. Oooor, maybe that was what the wolves smelled, but wasn’t as off-putting for me with my lesser sense of smell.

“Bella did you hear me?” Alice waved her hand in front of my face and when I’d focused back to her eyes she continued. “I said I’m sorry I missed your call… and sorry that Edward ambushed you by answering my phone.”

“Oh, sorry, I zoned out for a second. No, it’s totally fine Alice. It’s not your fault.” I sat down between Alice and Jake in one of the chairs in front of Carlisle’s desk. Alice’s voice was different too. It was still a pretty, high-pitched tone, but it no longer had that musical quality to it that used to enthrall me. I made a mental note to tell Jake about it later but wanted to keep myself focused on my conversation with Alice, so I continued. “I just hadn’t seen you in so long and wanted to see if you’d like to spend some time together one evening this week.”

“I would love that!” she replied excitedly. We decided on her coming over Tuesday and staying the night.

“You look like you’re feeling much better Bella,” Carlisle observed. “I can check on how your recovery is coming along while you’re here, if you’d like.”

I looked at Jake and Sam. We hadn’t discussed if there was anything they didn’t want to share.

“There have actually been some developments we should let you know about,” Jake said. He told them about the imprinting, about my healing, that he is now Alpha, and that there are two packs, but didn’t mention about our new powers or the telepathy.

“I’m just wearing the brace for show now,” I added.

Both Carlisle and Alice were silent for a minute, shocked looks on their faces.

“Well, that’s wonderful,” Carlisle finally said, smiling. “That certainly explains much of what was happening between you. It must be such a relief.”

We both just smiled. Alice, sitting next to me, reached over and squeezed my hand.

“I am very happy for you Bella.”

“Thanks Alice.”

“You should only need to keep up appearances for another two weeks, I would say,” Carlisle offered. “I would doubt anyone would question it after that.”

“She has prom next weekend,” Alice added. “Would it be weird if you gave her special permission to leave it off for the night?”

“No, that would have been acceptable. Especially with as quickly as you were already healing.”

Alice and I smiled at each other… I hadn’t even thought about that, so I was glad she asked.

“I think we might want to go ahead and discuss the other matter,” Sam interjected, looking at Jake. “We want to make sure we have ample time before you and Bella need to leave.”

“Right.” Jake explained how the pack had tracked Victoria and figured out that she headed toward the Seattle area when she left Forks and what they had discovered when they went to Seattle the previous week. He also shared his concerns about the two being linked somehow.

“We were aware of the situation in Seattle,” Carlisle replied, “and we have been following it fairly closely. With what you found it seems even more likely that our concerns may be correct.” He looked at Alice who nodded. “You’re certain there were twenty distinct scents?”

“At least,” Jake answered. “There could be more since we didn’t actually go into the city.”

I started to get anxious with this new info. Twenty vampires in Seattle who may have been connected somehow to Victoria? That was a very unsettling thought. Jake took my hand, lacing our fingers together and squeezing it reassuringly.

It’s nothing to get worked up over right now Bella.

Calm flowed through my mind as he spoke, and I relaxed again.

“We believe the vampires that you have discovered are newborns,” Carlisle continued.

“Newborns?” Sam asked.

“Yes, newly turned vampires. When our kind are first turned our thirst for blood is almost insatiable. If not properly taught and guided, a group of newborns much smaller than twenty can do considerable damage and be extremely unruly and impossible to control.

“The idea that you present about this being connected somehow to Victoria is intriguing. Knowing she was possibly in that area makes it seem like too much of a coincidence to not give that some consideration.”

“With her dead though,” I asked, “even if they were created by her, what are the chances that they’re a threat to us now?”

“That is very hard to say,” Carlisle answered.

“I haven’t been able to see anything that is going on there,” Alice said. “I was watching Victoria’s decisions before the pack took her down but never saw anything of significance. If she was involved, then she had to have someone else helping her to keep me in the dark. Someone who was making the decisions, so she had to at least have one other vampire working with her that was not a newborn.”

“What could she possibly have hoped to accomplish,” Sam asked, “by making so many new vampires and wrecking such havoc, except drawing a lot of attention?”

“I feel quite certain that she did not intend to draw so much attention,” Carlisle answered. “In the vampire world, there is a group called the Volturi. They are self-proclaimed leaders and law enforcers, for lack of a better description. Their main purpose is to make sure the existence of vampires stays a secret, so the situation must have drawn their attention by now. We are actually surprised that they have not yet stepped in and put an end to what is happening. As far as what she was trying to accomplish, I really don’t have a guess right now.”

The atmosphere of the room shifted, and Jake’s hand was suddenly gone from mine as both he and Sam tensed. Jake’s hands and arms started trembling, his face hardening and jaw clenched. Both Carlisle and Alice looked toward the office door with shocked expressions of concern. Before I could process what was happening, someone spoke from the door.

“I have a guess at what she might have been doing.”

Edward

Springing out of his chair, Jake was across the room in less than a heartbeat, towering over Edward and glaring down at him. In the same moment Sam was standing beside Jake with his hand on Jake’s arm.

Edward took a step back.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, bloodsucker,” Jake growled through clenched teeth, as a large, powerful ripple went through his body.

“Easy Jake,” Sam said soothingly. “You need to stay calm.”

I wished that I could give him my calm, as he had done for me, but I wasn’t feeling very calm at the moment. Talking to Edward on the phone was one thing, but I wasn’t exactly ready to see him again so soon, let alone be close to him. I knew I might need to help Jake though, so I steeled myself and went to him.

“I’m sorry,” Edward said calmly with his hands raised in front of him. “I just came to see Carlisle. When I realized you were here, I was going to wait out of sight until I knew that you were gone. But I overheard your conversation, and I may have some information that can help.”

“Edward had no idea that any of you would be here,” Carlisle said apologetically. Neither he nor Alice had moved, I assumed to keep from aggravating Jake further.

“Maybe you and I should step into the hallway, Edward,” Alice suggested. “You can share your information, and then you can go.”

I was beside Jake now, my hand resting on his trembling forearm as another wave went through his body. I could feel his anger and struggle down our bond. I placed my other hand on his chest and put myself partially between Jake and Edward, not liking my close proximity to the latter.

You need me to help you calm down Jake?

No, I’m alright. I just need a minute.

He was still glaring at Edward, but he’d begun taking deep breaths to calm himself and I could see the trembling easing, not going so far up his arms.

I’d feel better if you were behind me.

As his thoughts came to me, he moved to adjust our position so I would be behind him, then several things happened simultaneously.

Edward barked out a warning for me to get back as he reached out to me.

I put my hand out to Edward to tell him no and heard other voices telling him to stop.

A large wave went through Jake under my hand as he moved to keep Edward from touching me.

Everything blurred as I became weightless, flying. There was a loud crack, an explosion of light, a moment of horrible pain, and the world went black.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 43

**********
JACOB POV
**********
“OH MY GOD! BELLA!” Alice cried out from behind me.

The leech’s shirt was in my hand as I lurched forward and slammed him into the concrete wall with a loud resounding crack. My entire body was vibrating with the urge to shift and take this bloodsucker out. I needed to get a handle on myself and get to Bella, but the rage in me was too much.

“What the hell did you just do leech?!” I slammed him against the wall again. Hard. Tiny fissures crept over his temples and cheeks.

He didn’t say anything or try to fight back as I seethed in his face. His gold eyes, full of fear and regret, just held my hard stare, then flicked briefly behind me to Bella and back again. His fear wasn’t of me, I realized, but of what he’d done. Something else was in that wild stare… he was willing to accept whatever I decided to do to him, even if I killed him. I think he almost wanted that.

“Be careful moving her Alice,” the doc said urgently.

Sam’s hand clamped down on my shoulder. “Jake, you need to get control of yourself. Bella is going to need you.”

“I know,” I said through clenched teeth. The look on the leech’s face had taken some of the fight out of me, but I was far from in control. Maybe I’d give this leech what he wanted.

A loud growl ripped from the depths of my soul as I threw my fist toward his pale face with all my strength. He flinched as my fist slammed into the wall right next to his head, small chunks of concrete and dust fell on his shoulder as he glanced at where my hand was beside him then back at me, still silent.

I allowed Sam to pull me away, because I wasn’t sure Bella would forgive me if I actually hurt him. I wasn’t even positive if I could do much damage to him in this form. It wasn’t something that had ever been tested, as far as I knew, but I filed away the fact that I’d made his body crack.

I turned from him and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths to calm down. After only a few moments had passed, I felt more in control and only had a slight tremor in my hands. I finally looked down at Bella and my heart constricted.

There was blood smeared on the floor around her head. The doc was very carefully moving her to hold a towel against where the gash must be, murmuring quietly to Alice.

“I think she may have a neck injury.”

Her chest was glowing, the warm light radiating up through her shoulders and neck, her face peaceful. It would have been beautiful if it weren’t for the fact that it meant she was hurt. In the moments it took me to absorb what I was seeing, her light began to flicker and fade and her face scrunched up into a grimace as the pain returned.

“Her light Jake… she’s struggling,” Sam said.

“I see it.” I was already in motion, kneeling down next to her. “I’m okay now. Move aside Doc.

“I need to stop the bleeding and finish stabilizing—”

“No Doc, not this time.” When he hesitated, I reached around him and pressed my hand to her chest, drawing out my own heated light to send into her. “She’s trying to heal herself and she can’t do it without me. I don’t want anyone else touching her right now.”

Wide-eyed, Carlisle looked back and forth between us then slowly nodded his head as he stood and moved away.

I shifted closer to her, caressing her face, which had relaxed again as soon as her light had strengthened, but her skin felt clammy. I took her hand in mine and it was ice cold. That didn’t seem like it was a good thing, but we knew so little about this magic.

“Stay with me, baby,” I whispered as I stretched out beside her, partially covering her body with mine to give her as much of my heat as I could. Then I closed my eyes to shut out everyone and everything around us and reached out to her mind.

I’m here honey. You still with me?

Her consciousness was there, though somewhat weak it was growing stronger as I wrapped mine around hers and she grabbed hold, pulling herself back up.

Jake?

Yeah, it’s me.

What’s going on? What happened?

You’re working on healing yourself. Edward tried to move you away from me because he thought I was going to phase, but he ended up throwing you into the wall. Damn idiot.

Oh, shoot. That’s not the first time he’s done something like that.

She showed me a memory of her last birthday at the Cullen’s house. As I watched, the blond leech lost his shit and tried to attack Bella, then I couldn’t believe it when Edward sent her flying. Well, I guess I could believe it since he’d just done it again right in front of me. That guy seriously needed to learn to control his strength with Bella. Then I saw how badly she got hurt when she landed on the table full of glass. That wasn’t helping me keep my cool.

Let’s put that memory away for now baby. I need to stay calm.

Oh, sorry. I’m not sure why I felt safe with him after that, but it was only a couple of days later when they all left, so it didn’t really matter.

I’m sorry you were put in the position for him to do it again. I almost slammed my fist into his face.

Bella made a happy humming sound. I thought that was a strange reaction to what I had just admitted, but I realized her healing was done and I was just refilling her now.

I can feel your warmth next to me now. Are you laying down beside me?

Yeah, your hands were like ice. You mean you couldn’t feel me before?

No, just your mind. I think I’m waking up.

I didn’t want to think about what her lack of feeling me beside her might have meant. Probably nothing good. Thank God for this healing ability. A small hand touched my cheek. I opened my eyes to find Bella smiling up at me.

“Welcome back, beautiful.”

Her face suddenly twisted into a grimace then her mouth popped open, and she started taking shallow breaths through it, then she buried her face in my chest.

Ugh, the smell of blood makes me nauseous.

Relief washed away the concern that had briefly risen in my chest. I slowly got us both on our feet while Bella continued to breath against my chest, trying to use my scent to chase away the smell of blood, I assumed. I used the towel I’d been holding to her head to try to get as much of the blood out of her hair as I could.

I also became aware of the others in the room again. Edward was right where I’d left him against the wall. Sam was beside us, his hand on Bella’s shoulder as she smiled at him. Both Alice and Carlisle were kneeling again, cleaning the blood off the linoleum floor with more towels and bleach, shoving the soiled towels into a trash bag.

Bella pulled away from me and looked around to watch the two vampires working.

Better? I asked, my arm around her waist.

She nodded then looked down at herself. “Where was I bleeding from?”

“The top of your head,” I answered. “You’re going to need to wash your hair to get it all out.”

“You lost a lot of blood in a very short amount of time,” Carlisle said as he stood and tied up the trash bag. “Your ability to heal is quite amazing, Bella. It’s possible you could have had a neck injury without it.”

His voice was quiet and sorrowful with this last statement. I was fairly certain that’s exactly what had been wrong with her, and I shuddered at the thought.

Bella’s hand came to rest on my cheek. “I’m okay, Jake.”

I smiled at her and brushed my fingers over her jaw. “I know.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead. I also knew that she wouldn’t have been without the healing.

“I’m so sorry that happened Bella,” Edward finally spoke from behind me.

Bella tensed under my hands, and anger shot down our bond from her. I turned with her as she stepped around me to stare down the leech still standing near the doorway, looking like he wanted to run away.

“You’re sorry?” she said, deathly quiet, then her voice shot up to nearly a yell. “You’re sorry!?” She started to move toward him, but I wrapped my arm around her from behind to hold her back.

“I’d feel better if you didn’t go near him Bella,” I said.

She didn’t fight me as she continued. “When are you going to figure out that I’m not in any danger from Jake, or any of the wolves? Jake has not one time even come close to hurting me… none of them have. You know who has hurt me? You, Edward! You have hurt me over and over again. Before you left, when you left, and since you’ve been back, you just keep hurting me.

His face was a strange combination of remorse, frustration, and anger. Hopefully, he was angry at himself because he had no one else to blame.

“I was only –”

“Only what?” She spat the words at him. “Trying to help? Protect me? For all your attempts at protecting me, you have failed almost every time. The problem is you’re trying to protect me from things that I don’t need protection from. Jake is my life, and I am his. The wolf pack Is. My. Life.”

That’s right baby, you tell him how it is! Pride swelled in my chest at her words, and I sent that to her down our bond. The fact that she was finally speaking her mind to this bloodsucker pleased me immensely.

She rubbed her forehead, and her tone softened a little as she continued. “In case you haven’t heard it in someone’s thoughts yet, we’ve imprinted. So, Jake is my only future. I will marry him someday and we will build a life and a family together. It’s what you wanted for me… to have a human life. Now, please, let me live it without interfering.”

“But you could still choose differently. Someday, you may realize –”

“No Edward.” Her voice only held compassion now. I liked it better when she was yelling at him. “The imprinting for us goes both ways. Being with Jake was my choice, but it has become a permanent choice. Not only would I never want to change it, but I am also unable to change it. Beyond that, I’m also permanently linked to the whole pack. So much more happened than just the imprinting. You have to let me go.”

A look of defeat crossed Edward’s face and I could see that he still didn’t understand. “I only ever did what I thought was best for you.”

“I know that, Edward. But it’s not your place to make those decisions for me. It never really was, but it definitely isn’t now.”

The leech shifted on his feet as he stared a hole into the ground then let out a long surrendering sigh. “Alright, Bella. I won’t… I won’t interfere anymore.” There was still some hesitancy as Edward responded, but he seemed to at least be beginning to accept reality.

Bella drew in a small, sharp breath and I looked down at her.

Jake, I can see his pain, his heartbreak. He has the same aura, like Leah. I can heal something in him. I think I can break his connection to me.

Oh no. We are not doing that today. She would have to touch him and there is no way that I can allow that right now. I shook my head at her, even though she wasn’t looking at me.

Not here. Not today. We don’t even know what exactly you’d be trying to heal, and I can’t tolerate you touching him right now. It’d be more than I can expect from my control today. At least wait to see if you can convince Leah to let you heal her first, so we know more.

She hadn’t taken her eyes off Edward, and I could feel the internal struggle she was having between what I’d said and fighting what her power wanted her to do. She finally relaxed and nodded.

Alright, I’ll wait for now. If Leah is too stubborn about this for much longer, I may not be able to wait… my powers may not let me.

Fine. We’ll figure that out if it gets too hard for you. I brushed the back of my fingers over her cheek to let her know I understood.

As Bella and I had our mental conversation, a tense silence had settled over the room. Finally, Edward let out a big sigh.

“So, if you would be willing to accept my help in the issue of the newborns, I can tell you what I know. I can at least help protect you from that threat.”

“I for one want to know, now that we know Bella is okay.” Sam said, speaking for the first time since Bella had woken up. “The more information we can have the better.”

I nodded, somewhat reluctantly, “I agree.”

“Okay,” Edward said. “About a month or so after I left last Fall, I needed something to occupy my time, so I decided to try my hand at tracking. I chose Victoria as my target, to try to help get rid of her and make Bella safe. I was horrible at it, always trailing behind her by a day or more, but I did manage to follow her all the way down to Brazil.

“On her way though, she spent a great deal of time in the South.” He looked at Carlisle and Alice. “There are still newborn armies all over down there. They are smaller and mostly used for defense now, it appears, but the practice is still being used.”

“Are you thinking that is what Victoria was doing?” Carlisle asked. “Trying to build an army to overwhelm us so she could get to Bella?”

“Yes,” Edward replied. “After hearing what the wolves have discovered, that was my thought.”

“But if I haven’t seen anything about this in my visions,” Alice said, “it doesn’t seem likely that the one who was making decisions for Victoria was aware of who her target was.”

“Maybe not,” Carlisle said, “but it hasn’t even been a week since the pack took her down, so they might not even realize she’s dead yet. At this point, I think we are just going to have to stay vigilant and wait to see what happens.”

Carlisle looked at me, Bella, and Sam who had just been listening.

“Do you have any questions about this new information?” Carlisle asked us.

“I think I got the gist of it,” I answered. “The red head was building an army by creating new vampires so they could attack and distract you all to get to Bella. She obviously didn’t factor us into the equation.”

“She probably didn’t realize that the situation between Edward and Bella had changed so much,” Alice said. “I’d say it’s a safe bet that she didn’t figure out what Bella had come to mean to all of you. Not until the day you killed her anyway.”

She looked at Edward then. “If she had any idea that you were tracking her, she probably assumed that was the explanation for your absence here.”

“I’m fairly certain she was very aware of me,” Edward admitted.

“So, do you have any suggestions about how we should proceed from here?” Sam asked.

Carlisle answered, “Unfortunately, there isn’t anything I see that we can do for now but wait until they make another move. Going on the offensive would be nearly impossible and most likely disastrous.”

My jaw clenched. “I do not like the ‘wait and see’ approach Doc.”

“I’m sure you don’t Jacob,” Carlisle said sympathetically. “I don’t really like it either, but I don’t see any other way for now. If the deaths and disappearances stop, we can assume that the knowledge of what Victoria wanted to do died with her. And if they keep happening, then we can assume someone is trying to continue what she started.”

“From what you said of the newborns, they aren’t going to just stop killing,” Sam said, also frustrated. “So, it could take weeks, or even months, to figure out what their intentions are.”

“Perhaps not,” Carlisle said. “If the killings continue, it’s possible that they will make a decision that will allow Alice to see something. Or they will make some other move that will alert us to their intentions.”

“If it continues for too long,” Alice said, “we may be able to make a trip to Seattle and see if there is anything we can find out from the vampires themselves. We just have to be careful about doing that because of how extremely volatile and unpredictable newborns can be.”

“Alright,” I said, glancing at the clock on the wall, “thanks for helping us work out what might be going on. We need to get going but let’s keep in touch and keep each other informed of any new information.”

“Absolutely.” Carlisle said. “And I’m sorry we couldn’t come up with a more immediate solution.”

“It’s okay Doc,” I said, “it’s not your fault. I appreciate all your help.”

Edward, looking dejected, moved well out of the way to let us pass as we headed out the door. A grimace crossed his face when I put my arm around Bella and pulled her close to my side. He may understand our relationship now, but that didn’t mean he liked it or that it was easy for him. I just hoped he did what he said and stopped trying to interfere.

**********
BELLA POV
**********
When we got to the parking lot Jake and Sam talked a little while about increasing the patrols again until they could be certain I wasn’t in any danger. I didn’t like the sound of that because it meant more time away from Jake. And since we had no way of knowing when the threat would end, it meant the increase would be indefinite for now.

Jake and I left the hospital and headed back to my house. We were supposed to leave soon with Embry and Angela to head to Port Angelas. I needed to take a shower and change before I could go anywhere.

When we got to my house, I called Angela to let her know we were going to be delayed and asked if they could meet us there instead. She agreed and I went to get in the shower.

The water ran red and then pink for several minutes as I washed the blood out of my hair. I had to shampoo three times before the water was clear again. More than ever, I was so thankful for my healing powers. Without them, who knows how badly I would have been injured.

I couldn’t believe that Edward had showed up and hurt me like that… again. When I was showing Jake the memory of my birthday last year, it occurred to me that even though Jasper had been a threat to me that day, Edward really should have controlled himself better… and the same went for today. I hoped that I actually could break that connection he had to me so he could truly let go.

As I stepped out of the shower, I could hear Jake talking to Angela and Embry. He had apparently filled them in on the events of the afternoon.

“I’m so glad she finally told that bloodsucker how it is and quite coddling him,” Embry said. “I know she felt bad for him, but he did it all to himself.”

“Yeah, it was pretty satisfying to hear her let him have it,” Jake replied. “She still spoke kindly to him at the end, more so than I would have liked, but she was very clear on where she stood. I think he finally gets it, even if he’s having trouble accepting it.”

“I sure hope so. It sounds like we have enough things to worry about without needing to be concerned about him lurking around and following Bella.”

“I still can’t believe he knocked her into the wall like that,” Angela said quietly.

I wrapped a towel around myself and started gathering my discarded clothes. Ugh, I had gotten blood on the back of both my shirt and pants. I sighed, knowing that they were probably ruined. Shoving them in a trash bag, I went to my room and buried them at the bottom of my hamper to deal with later. Charlie definitely wouldn’t look in there, but I would have to figure out the best time to dispose of them so he didn’t accidentally see the evidence of this accident that he would never know about.

Once I was dressed and my hair was dry, I went back downstairs where Angela wrapped me in a huge hug.

“I’m so glad you’re alright Bella,” she said.

“Yeah, me too,” I said with a humorless laugh, hugging her back, then I went to Jake where he was sitting in the recliner. “I’m super worn out.” I curled up in Jake’s lap and he held me tight.

“Well, I don’t think we’re going to make the matinee movie anyway,” Jake said, rubbing my back, “so maybe we should just stay in town tonight. We could go get something to eat at the diner and then come back here and relax for the evening.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” I said.

We all agreed with that plan and left for the diner. When we got back to the house, Charlie was home and the five of us watched an old comedy that he had on video.

I hated that the wolves were having to go back on high alert, but I was determined to continue to find and enjoy every little bit of normalcy that we could get.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
“WE SHOULD PROBABLY get going soon, Jake.” Snug in the recliner in Jake’s garage, I looked up from my math book to his jean-clad legs sticking out from under the blue pick-up truck he was working on.

The week had gone by fairly quickly and I couldn’t believe it was already Thursday. As planned, Alice had come over to spend the night on Tuesday, then on Wednesday I had gone over to Angela’s house to help her address her plethora of graduation invitations. I had no need to do such a thing, although if even a few of the pack members came, I’d have far more people at graduation than I ever would have imagined.

“Yeah, I only need a couple more minutes. I’ve just about got this one ready to go.” He emerged from under the truck on his rolling creeper, stood, and stuck his head back under the opened hood. I couldn’t help but admire the way his shoulder and back muscles moved under his snug-fitting black t-shirt, and my eyes strayed down to his tight backsi—

“Bella?”

My cheeks flared hot as my eyes flew up to Jake’s face and I realized I’d been too distracted ogling him and had missed something he’d said. He was smirking at me over his shoulder, sparks flashing in his eyes, and I gave him a sheepish grin. “Sorry. What’d you say?”

“Can you start the truck up for me?” Barely contained laughter sounded in his voice.

I hopped up, set my book aside, and quickly moved to the driver’s side door, my face heating even more as he tracked my movements.

A few minutes later he put the hood down. “Alright, everything looks good. You can shut it off.”

I turned off the ignition then went to pack up my bookbag that was setting between the recliner and Jake’s work bench, where he’d moved to wipe off his hands on a towel. I squeaked when he suddenly gripped me around the waist and hauled me up to sit on the bench, crowding into me. With our faces inches apart, his dark eyes stared into mine with intensity as he ran his thumb over my jaw and cheek, and I shivered.

“Did you enjoy what you were looking at?”

Holding his steady gaze, I swallowed hard and smoothed my hands over his chest. “Yeah, it was pretty nice.”

“Just nice?” His hands were on my thighs on either side of his hips and my heart was thrumming a mile a minute.

I shrugged one shoulder with what I hoped was a nonchalant expression and didn’t reply. Mostly because couldn’t… I could barely breathe.

“Liar,” he murmured with a crooked grin.

I huffed out a breathy laugh and Jake swallowed it up with a firm kiss. My arms wound around his neck, and as our lips moved against each other, his hands slowly travelled up to my waist then back down to my thighs before pulling back to look at me again. I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off.

“I know, I know, we need to go.” He sighed but didn’t make any move to get me down.

Studying his face, I noticed just how pronounced the dark circles and weariness on his face had become. I traced a finger along each cheek bone under his eyes. “I hate to see you so worn out.”

The wolves had increased their patrols once again, as Jake and Sam had discussed on Sunday. Jake was also still working to build his budding auto repair business and spending as much quality time with me as possible. Add in the fact that I was sure he was running extra patrols when it was supposed to be his time off, and that he was sleeping in the woods outside my house, and it had all started to take a heavy toll on him.

“I’ll be alright Bella. I don’t need as much sleep—”

“Jake, don’t. It’s not only about the amount of sleep you’re getting this time, and you know it. Even when you’re sleeping, you aren’t sleeping well. You’re either restless because we’re away from each other, or you’re trying to sleep with the rest of your pack in your head, or Sam’s pack keeps you on edge with their frequent passes near my house. Maybe you can get by on less sleep for a while, but not when the sleep you are getting is crappy.”

He had turned his face away from me and was looking out the garage door. “It’s just the way it has to be right now.”

I was unwilling to accept that. It wasn’t going to get any better any time soon, unfortunately, so something had to give. I was not going to sit by and watch him run himself into the ground.

I took his face in my hands and made him look at me again. “You have tonight off, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Come stay with me. It feels like forever since I’ve had you next to me all night, and I miss it. Maybe if you could get one or two good night’s sleep a week, that would be enough.”

“That’s so tempting,” he groaned and rested his forehead on mine. “I don’t know though. I’ll admit that I’m worn out enough that I’m afraid I won’t hear Charlie if he comes to check on you.”

“He doesn’t…”

“Yeah, he does baby. If he goes to bed after you or gets up before you, he almost always peeks in to check on you.”

Huh. I had no idea.

“I’ll really be okay Bella.” He pulled back and smiled at me, trying to reassure me, but I wasn’t buying it.

“Well, this isn’t over… I’m going to figure something out. But we really do need to get going.”

Jake set me back on the ground and we headed out to his Charger and set off toward Emily’s. Grammy Jo had gotten into town that morning, so we were finally going to get to meet her, and I was pretty excited about it. That also meant the option of me and Jake staying at Emily’s was out since Grammy Jo was using the guest room for a few days. There was an answer, I just had to keep looking until I found it.

GRAMMY JO WAS everything I thought she’d be, and more. She practically lept off the couch when Jake and I walked into Emily’s house, her short and petit yet plump frame bounding the first few steps toward us, making her seem almost child-like. Her white hair was cropped short, and I had to suppress a giggle as I thought how much she looked like a little pixie, full of life and energy and reminding me of Alice. I loved her immediately.

She slowed as she got nearer to us and put her hands to her cheeks, both etched with wrinkles, shock and excitement gleaming in her eyes. As she met us at the edge of the kitchen, she not only looked at us, but also at the empty air all around us. As I watched her scanning the blank spaces between us, I was taken by her eyes; the same deep brown of Emily’s eyes, so dark they were almost black, and you couldn’t tell where the separation between iris and pupil was. But it was the wisdom in them that captivated me; I lost myself in the endless pools of knowledge and understanding… seeming to be too much for one person to contain.

She looked at Emily who had followed her from the living room.

“I told you it was unbelievable,” Emily said to her grandmother. Then she turned to us to explain, “She can see all of your connections, and it’s quite a marvelous sight.”

“I never dreamed this would ever happen again, let alone in my lifetime,” Grammy Jo said in awe, turning to us again.

“Jacob,” she said warmly and held out her hands to him. He grasped them in his much larger hands, and she smiled. “No longer a boy, are you? A man now, with a man’s burdens on your shoulders. You are so strong in heart and mind and body… a perfect Alpha.” She moved one hand through the air between me and Jake, pointing her finger. “And look how sweet you are to your imprint… your Healer. So in tune with both your own powers and her needs. Magnificent… truly!”

Turning to me, she let go of Jake’s other hand and held both of hers out to me. I lost myself in her deep eyes again. “And Bella,” she said as I took her hands. “Such a power!” she exclaimed in excitement.

I blinked a few times. For just a moment I thought I saw a flash of golden light in her dark eyes, like a shooting star on a moonless night.

She smiled at the look on my face. “You saw it, didn’t you? In my eyes?”

I nodded. “What was it?”

“It’s the magic. It’s not active in me like Emily and the two of you, but it’s still in my blood and I can tap into it. It shows me things, tells me things I wouldn’t know otherwise. Helps guide me and helps me guide others. Only those with the magic in their blood can recognize it in others.

“And you, my dear Bella,” she continued, bringing one hand up to my cheek, “you’ve already tapped into so much of that magic within yourself… a very fast study indeed. I’m so pleased to see your heart set right and healed of that horrible pain. There is so much happiness in you now.”

She removed her hand from my cheek and reached back out to Jake. He didn’t take it right away and I glanced over at him. He was smiling at me with pride and adoration shining in his eyes, bringing heat to my cheeks. After a moment he noticed Grammy Jo’s hand and took it in his again. She closed her eyes this time and drew in a sharp breath. “What a strong, pure love. I’ve never seen anything like it. This is more than just the imprinting.”

She opened her eyes and looked back and forth between us as she continued. “I don’t know if the two of you are aware of this, but your imprinting is unique because it was not completely involuntary. Even if the vampire had not interfered, your imprinting comes from the magic that was inside of Jake and would have required you to choose each other first regardless. Because of that, your bond is stronger than any I have ever witnessed before… even your core bond that existed before the imprinting happened is powerful. If there were no magic, no imprinting, no supernatural elements to your lives, you two would have still had a powerful love. With the magic though, there is absolutely nothing that the two of you cannot overcome together. It will give you an intimacy and understanding of each other that you could not possibly fathom, and I cannot describe.

She dropped our hands and made a few motions in the air between me and Jake.

“So much to read… so much yet to discover…” she said more to herself as she began to circle around us.

I looked at Jake again. I like her.

Yeah, I do too.

“Do you mind if I tell you some things that I see?” she asked us as she came back in front of us, and we turned our attention back to her. “And I can teach Emily as I go.”

“I would actually love to hear what all you see,” I answered. “Maybe it will help us learn something new.”

Jake was nodding his head. “Yeah, I agree.”

She clapped her hands in excitement, reminding me of Alice again and my smile grew a little more.

“Bella, as Healer you will have more compassion for others and feel things more strongly than ever before.”

I kinda already knew that, considering how strong my feelings toward Leah were.

Grammy Jo continued, “And Jake, she will need you to help her deal with those emotions, taking them from her sometimes and giving her peace and calm sometimes.”

She didn’t say anything to Emily, but she was pointing to spaces around us as she spoke and looking to make sure Emily saw it to. Emily just nodded and remained quiet.

“How do you know that?” I asked Grammy Jo, then looked at Jake. “It’s already happened for us some. Jake has been able to calm me down several times.”

“That’s good. You’re both doing an exceptional job at figuring your powers out without guidance. Keep staying sensitive to them, and you may be surprised by how much power you have inside of you.

“And I know these things because I can read some of your connections… the magic helps me see. That’s what I’m pointing to, showing Emily what I’m seeing. Once she has developed her abilities more, she’ll be able to see much more than I can, but I have more practice at it than her at this point.”

She and Emily smiled at each other then she turned back to us. “Have you experienced a deep peace between you yet, allowing you to block out the distractions around you?”

We both nodded as I answered, “Yes. It’s like our own little place of solitude. It seems to come on so randomly. I thought I made it last longer one time but couldn’t be sure.”

“Actually, you’re causing it every time, Bella, even if you don’t realize it. It’s happening because you need something… a moment to block out something overwhelming you, or because you need Jake to help you deal with your emotions, or just to have a more focused connection with each other. You can learn to control it and make it happen at your will, or even block it from coming, if you need to. The greater your need, the deeper you can go into your place of solitude, as you called it. You can only go there together though. You will both depend much more on each other, but Bella will especially depend on you Jake.”

“Do you care if I try to do it now?” I asked her, not wanting to throw anything off of what she was seeing.

“Oh! I would love it if you did!” she replied, her wide smile causing her eyes to crinkle. “I want to see whatever you’re willing and able to show me.”

Jake and I turned to face each other, looking into one another’s eyes. I pulled at the warmth in my chest, but that wasn’t right. Before I could make anything happen the world started to fall away on its own.

I can’t figure out how I’m doing it, I thought, a little frustrated. I couldn’t stay frustrated though, we were now completely in the solitude, so it wasn’t possible.

You’ll get it. We’re here now. Anything feel or look different?

I focused on the solitude and the peace it brought, still looking at Jake.

Close your eyes, Jake suggested.

That usually makes it go away.

Might help you focus now that you know you can control it. Can’t hurt to try.

I nodded and closed my eyes. After a few moments I felt the solitude start to fade, but Jake was right, that allowed me to get a feel for it and I was able to grasp it with my mind and make it stay, still not exactly sure how…

Suddenly there it was! A faint golden shimmer, wrapping completely around me and Jake, hugging tightly to us, like a forcefield or a shield. I could feel the pulse of it now, trying to close back into my mind. I was able to get a better hold on it and pushed it back out from my mind. It became brighter, more golden in color, and thicker. I opened my eyes, and I could still see it.

Jake was smiling at me, and he gently touched my face. I knew you could do it.

Can you see it?

He shook his head. No, I can only feel it, but I could tell when it started to fade and then got stronger again.

I held the solitude for a few more moments, then let it slip away.

“Well, that was something to see!” Grammy Jo exclaimed when the solitude was gone. She turned to Emily again. “Had you seen them communicate telepathically like that yet?”

“Once, when just Jake was here, but not both of them,” Emily answered her grandmother, then turned to us. “I’m getting to learn so much by watching the two of you while Grammy Jo is here, so I’m very grateful to you both for coming over today.”

“We’re happy to be here Emily,” I said.

“So, I was telling Grammy Jo about the issues you two were having about being apart from each other, and she had some insight about that for you.”

“Ah, yes. Even more so now that I’ve seen you both together. So, it’s actually not just the magic that’s causing your discomfort when you’re apart. You’re in love so the ache of being separated is stemming from just simply missing each other, true. However, the magic is amplifying the feelings you’re having. So, what would normally be just a small ache of missing each other, has turned into discomfort that will keep you up at night.”

Jake looked at me then back to Grammy Jo. “But when I’ve gone near to Bella’s house at night, even if she didn’t know I was there, the ache went away, and she was able to sleep.”

“That is the magic, for certain. It has connected you in ways that you aren’t even aware of. So, she may not consciously know you’re there, but through the magic, she can sense it unconsciously. It’s an integral part of you both now and has fundamentally changed you both, so there are many things that just are, or just will be, because of the magic, whether you’re aware of them or not. And the need you feel to protect Bella is also from the magic, but it is so tangled up in your desire to be together that it’s causing you more discomfort than it would otherwise.”

I looked up at Jake. “At least we have some answers.”

He smiled at me. “Yeah. Hopefully that means it’ll get easier as we get used to everything. We’ll just have to deal with it until then.”

I nodded, touching his face and I frowned. He looked like he was going to pass out at any moment.

“Why don’t you go lay down on the couch while we get dinner ready?” I suggested to him. “You could at least get a couple hours of good sleep.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll do that.” He rubbed his thumb over my cheek then kissed me on the forehead before heading into the living room. He had told me earlier that he wanted to make a pass around the perimeter of La Push before dinner, so the fact that he didn’t argue with me said a lot.

Emily and I headed into the kitchen to start dinner while Grammy Jo disappeared into the bedroom.

“Is he doing okay?” Emily asked when we could hear him snoring softly a few minutes later as she opened the first of several packages of chicken.

I dumped a bag of potatoes in the sink and started washing them. “Not really. At night he insists on sleeping in wolf form in the woods by my house so we can be close, so I can get good sleep.” I shook my head in displeasure. “So, he’s either got the rest of his pack in his head or Sam’s pack is constantly waking him when they make their passes by my house. Then, if he tries to sleep during the day while I’m at school, he struggles to even fall asleep, let alone stay asleep. Either way, I don’t think he’s had even a solid hour of uninterrupted sleep all week.

“He’s also still working on as many cars as he can and just trying to spend time with me. I try to help combine those as much as possible by hanging out with him while he’s working, but it’s not enough. On top of all that, I am certain he’s doing extra patrols when he’s supposed to be off. The whole unknown aspect of what’s going on has him nervous and even more on edge than when Victoria was hunting me. He tries not to let me know just how worried he is, but I can sometimes feel it through our mental link.”

“I’m sorry Bella,” Emily said, trimming fat off pieces of chicken before placing them in a large roasting pan.

“I tried to convince him to come stay with me tonight, but he’s afraid he won’t hear it if Charlie came to check on me, and the last thing we want is for Charlie not to trust us… not with everything else that we’re dealing with. I don’t know what else to do.” I dumped the last handful of potato chunks in a large stock pot with the rest and moved it into the sink to fill it with water.

“Would Charlie be okay with Jake sleeping on your couch? That would have to be better than staying in the woods in his wolf form.”

“Maybe, but what reason would we give? Charlie likes us to have some separation, so it would have to be something other than we want to stay close to each other.” I helped Emily rub seasoning onto the chicken, each of us starting from one end of the pan and working toward the center.

“What about staying at Jake’s? You could tell your dad that you’re staying here.”

I shook my head. “I appreciate that, but we don’t want to put Billy, or you, in the position to have to lie to Charlie. Billy probably would, but Jake and I wouldn’t feel right about it.”

“I’m sorry I can’t offer for you to stay here.”

We took turns washing the chicken and seasoning off our hands.

“It’s totally fine Emily. It’s great to have Grammy Jo here. I’m so thankful that you have her to help you figure out how to use your abilities. I think you got the most complicated part of the magic!”

“No kidding! Just getting a dream or vision and seeing connections is easy, but learning how to interpret them is a little more tricky. I’ll get it though.”

“I know you will.”

Grammy Jo appeared next to Emily again. “Did you tell her about your dream yet?”

“Not yet. I was waiting for you to get back.”

“Alright, well here I am. Now would be a good time while your Alpha is otherwise occupied.”

I was looking back and forth between them. “You had a dream? Like a future-type dream?”

Emily nodded. “Yeah. It was just last night.” She put the pan of chicken in the oven and set a timer, then turned to me, wiping her hands off on a towel and leaning against the counter and I leaned back against the kitchen table.

“In the dream, Jake was standing on a cliff top, looking out over the ocean. You walked up beside him then someone wrapped a white blanket around your shoulders… I couldn't see who, but I don’t think that matters. The golden light of your magic shone around you and then you both shifted into wolf form.”

I gasped and my eyes widened. “I shifted!?”

Emily laughed. “Yeah, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to become a wolf. That’s not what the dream was telling me.”

The air rushed out of my lungs in relief. That was definitely not something I wanted to deal with. Besides, I wasn’t a Quileute, so that wouldn’t make any sense at all.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to freak you out. No, I am very confident that you shifting in the dream is indication of a new power that has yet to be unlocked, but not shifting… something else.”

“That’s good. Another power, huh? So, was there anything else significant in the dream? Any idea how to unlock the new power?”

Emily nodded then looked at Grammy Jo who took over.

“The magic inside of you and Jake is a very powerful gift, as you are discovering. Because of that, it has protections built within it, which is why it required a choice from each of you and will only manifest itself between two people who are committed to each other. It’s also why the full strength of your magic will not reveal itself until that commitment has been made complete.

“The white blanket placed around you and Jake in the dream is signifying the covering of your weaknesses and sorrows from your lives while apart from each other… apart from the other half of your soul. It is a traditional Quileute ceremony performed during weddings. Through the covering, it represents you moving forward together into your new joined life with peace and fulfillment. The completion of the commitment looked different in the time the magic was first born, but the essence of that commitment was the same as what a marriage is today. And we are positive that what the dream is telling us is that to unlock your full powers, you and Jake will need to make that full commitment of marriage.

My eyes had gone wide again as it became clear to me where the story was headed. My mother’s words sounded in my mind: ‘Smart people never get married before the age of 30.’ I shook those thoughts out of my head. They were both unwelcomed and untrue… at least for me and Jake.

Grammy Jo continued, “So, while marriage is required for the final step in completing your bonds, that doesn’t mean it needs to happen now. There is no time limit on this final step, but taking it will make you the absolute strongest you can be, both together and separate, and will allow the magic to reach its full potential.”

Emily spoke again. “There was also a message for you in the dream, Bella. It wasn’t given to me in words, but more of an impression. With what you told me about your mother’s feelings about marriage, I thought this would come as a revelation to you, but now…” She squinted at me and then nodded with a small smile lifting her lips. “Now though, I think it’s more of a confirmation for you.

“In essence, the message is that you are not your mother and you never have been. You have always been stronger than her. Plus, if you look deep inside yourself, you’ll discover that you never genuinely believed what she told you was right. She was speaking from a hurt and confused heart and that is a dangerous place to get guidance from.”

Hearing this was like a balm to my soul. I was so thankful that I had come to this realization on my own and that the message from Emily’s dream was just a confirmation, as she had said, but it was a very welcomed confirmation. I definitely knew that I wanted to marry Jake much sooner than thirty, but I never really considered it being any time in the next few years, let alone the next few months. But, did waiting for even one year before getting married even make sense for us at this point, considering how bonded we were already? Not to mention how hard it was to be apart. I wanted some time to think through this alone, but I couldn’t deny that the idea of marrying Jake sooner excited me and set my heart aflutter.

“Now, we don’t expect you to say anything or make any decision right now,” Grammy Jo reassured me. “You’ll want some time to think it over, as well as talk to Jake about it, so let’s not have any more discussion about that today, okay?”

I just nodded my head. Yes, I needed to think about it, but I also needed to make sure I didn’t overthink it, as I was prone to do.

“Could you not tell Jake? Let me tell him about it?”

“Of course!” They both agreed.

We took our time to finish preparing dinner so Jake could have as much time to sleep as possible. Thankfully Sam was the only other person coming over until later in the evening, so the house stayed quiet.

After dinner, Jake and I were sitting on the couch together, his arm around me and my legs draped over his thighs, talking quietly. I wasn’t quite ready to talk to him about the marriage dream and message, so I didn’t bring that up yet. He had just leaned down to kiss me softly when I sensed someone standing in front of us and there was a quiet clearing of a throat. When we looked up, Grammy Jo and Emily were standing there, smiling. My cheeks were already warm from Jake’s kiss, but they flared hotter upon seeing them.

Grammy Jo leaned forward a little and gently held Jake’s face in her hands. “Sweet Jacob, part of taking care of Bella is also taking care of yourself. I realize you’re dealing with some obstacles right now, but you need to do whatever you can to get good sleep.” She tapped him on the forehead and stood up straighter before continuing, Jake’s cheeks also tinged pink. “So, you and Bella will stay here tonight, in the guest room, and I will stay with Emily in her room.”

“Oh, Grammy Jo! We couldn’t possibly ask–”

She stopped me with a raised hand. “Well, you’re not asking me… I’m offering.”

“And we won’t take no for an answer,” Emily added.

“Now, go call your father child, to let him know you’re staying here.”

I was so relieved. I jumped up and pulled both Grammy Jo and Emily in for a tight hug, thanking them. When I glanced back down at Jake, he also looked relieved.

Charlie wasn’t at all surprised that I wanted to stay. I hadn’t been down here all week, so he figured I was just missing my friend. Which was true, just not the reason for staying. I had my backpack with me, and I still kept some changes of clothes and a toothbrush here for emergencies, so I wouldn’t even need to go home to get anything before going to school in the morning.

A few hours later, as I was lying in Jake’s arms with my back pressed against his chest and listening to his steady deep breathing, I thought about the dream and the message for me a little more.

I am not my mother.

I knew that. I had always known that, even if I’d only recently put it into words and realized exactly what all it meant. She was flighty and scattered and had trouble staying committed to anything long-term that didn’t allow her to be spontaneous. That was why Phil was so good for her. He was a nice compromise between spontaneity and security, helping her to not feel trapped.

That was also nothing like the way I operated. So, I needed to decide for myself what I wanted. At only 18, I certainly knew what many people would think if we got married. At least some would undoubtedly think that I was pregnant. That frustrated and discouraged me, but was that enough of a reason to say no.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the feeling of Jake pressed against my back, his arm around me, and his heat warming me. He had fallen asleep almost immediately after we’d laid down. I sighed in contentment. I loved him so much and I knew I would spend the rest of my life with him, whether we were married or not. And being married would certainly help with the separation issues we were having… and that wasn’t even taking into consideration what new powers we may be able to unlock.

My mind started to drift, and I was having trouble focusing. I was too tired to think about this anymore tonight. As my mind sunk into sleep, my only thoughts were of the joy I felt being in Jake’s arms.

Chapter Text

**********
JACOB POV
**********
BELLA HAD BEEN RIGHT. I may be able to get by on a lot less sleep now, but I still needed more than what I had been getting. I just had too many warring needs inside myself, and the ones that insisted on Bella’s safety always won out over everything else. If we just knew more about the vamps in Seattle, maybe we could figure out more of what needed to be done… or if there was even anything to worry about anymore. The not knowing was almost the worst part of it all.

Bella stirred at my side, burrowing in closer to my chest and pulling me from my thoughts. It was just barely dawn and I was amazingly rested. I tightened the hold I had on my girl a little, so thankful to her, Emily, and Grammy Jo for making this happen. With the amount of sleep I’d just gotten—good, sound sleep—I would be good to go with just intermittent sleep for the next 4 to 5 days anyway. By then, hopefully a solution would present itself.

I dozed for the next hour or so, focusing on Bella’s steady breathing and heartbeat, until it was time for her to get up. I shifted her away so I could prop up on my elbow and look down at her. Stroking her face and neck with my fingertips, I gently coaxed her out of dreamland until she was finally looking up at me with her warm brown eyes.

“Good morning beautiful. Happy Friday before Prom.”

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and laughed quietly. “I don’t think that’s a thing.”

I shrugged and smiled at her. “Well, that is what today is.”

“You look like you’re feeling a lot better.”

“I definitely am. I think if we can make this happen once or twice a week, that should be enough to get me by for now. Plus, having you next to me is always a goal of mine.”

I brushed my fingers along Bella’s face once more and pulled her close to kiss her. When I relaxed my hold on her and pulled back, she shivered. I loved feeling how I affected her… and knowing how she affected me.

“I should start getting ready.” She took a steadying breath and reluctantly slipped out of bed.

ONCE I’D DROPPED BELLA off at school, I headed home. Embry, Leah, and Quil were on patrol this morning then Seth and I would take over after lunch. My dad was sitting in the kitchen when I came in.

“This came for you yesterday.” He handed me an 8X11 envelope as I sat down at the table.

‘GED Testing Services’ was on the return address. I glanced up at him as I tore the envelope open. Inside was a letter stating that I’d passed my GED exam and right behind it was my diploma. I smiled and handed the papers to my dad.

“One thing off the list,” I said as I got out a spoon and the serving bowl that I had taken to eating my cereal in. “This probably needed to happen, no matter what else was going on. Being Alpha, it would have been hard to keep any kind of good attendance if I’d tried to return to school. So, this was a relief on more than one level.”

“Congratulations Jake… and I agree. I’m pleased to see that you’re taking this so seriously.” He paused for a moment, watching me shovel Cheerios into my mouth before continuing. “So, Charlie will be coming over early tomorrow to go fishing. It will probably be your best chance to talk to him without Bella knowing.”

I set my spoon down with a quiet clink and looked at my dad, a lump forming in my stomach. For the first time in a long time, I felt like a teenage kid again. This was the one thing that I was dreading most. I didn’t want to put it off, but the thought of it happening in less than twenty-four hours was a little daunting.

“I’ll be with you the whole time, so he knows I’m supporting you in this. But you don’t have to do it tomorrow if you’re not ready Jake.”

I shook my head and picked my spoon back up. “No, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. It’s the only part that’s got me really nervous, so I’d rather just get it out of the way as soon as possible.” I forced myself to begin eating again, even though my appetite was significantly diminished with thoughts of how that conversation might go.

“Alright. Tomorrow’s the day then. What do you have going on today?”

“I need to finish up those two cars out there, as long as Embry was able to drop off the parts that came in yesterday. Then I have patrol this afternoon and will probably end up at Bella’s this evening. Don’t forget that Mrs. Campbell and Mr. Baker will be dropping off their cars this afternoon. It’ll probably be while I’m gone.”

“I haven’t forgotten. I’ll be here.” He gave me a crooked smile.

“I really appreciate your help, Dad. With everything going on, this would be so much harder without it.”

I was still having to turn work away, which I hated, but with my limited time and space, I didn’t want to make promises I couldn’t keep. And if it weren’t for my dad helping meet with people for drop-offs and pick-ups, and Embry picking up ordered parts when they came in, I’m not sure I could make this work right now. Embry had also helped me finish a couple of the vehicles since the patrols increased again. He was going to have to let me start paying him.

“You know I’m happy to do it son. That reminds me, Mr. Veers called yesterday. He wanted to talk to you about working out a deal for you to share his shop and then for you to take it over completely when he’s ready to retire fully.”

My brow raised. “Really? That would be amazing. I could accept some of the work I’ve had to turn away if I had access to a lift. Not sure how that whole pick-up/drop-off thing would work if no one’s there, but it’s worth talking to him about it!”

SETH AND I MET for patrol after lunch, and we spent most of our time in the area around the school since that was where Bella was. I went home with just enough time to shower before heading back to Forks in my Charger to pick her up after school.

When she got into the car, I handed her the envelope that contained my diploma.

She looked at me curiously as she pulled the papers out of the envelope. Her eyes went wide as she examined the contents.

“Jake! When did you do this?! I had no idea you were even considering it, though it makes sense why you would now that you’re Alpha.”

“I took it on Monday. I was pleasantly surprised to get the results back so quickly.”

“Well, that’s great! I’m happy for you… and proud of you.” She smiled at me warmly.

We had a pretty quiet evening at Bella’s house with Embry, Angela, Jared, and Kim. Before they all arrived, Bella told me about the conversation she’d had with Emily and Grammy Jo and about Emily’s dream. I could tell that she still wasn’t completely sure how she felt about all of it, and I didn’t push her on it. It did seem quite timely considering the conversation I was preparing to have with Charlie the next morning.

Thankfully, everyone was ready to call it a night fairly early. Since I needed to be up before dawn to meet with Charlie, I wanted to try to get some good sleep… although, if I was being honest, I wasn’t sure I would really be able to sleep at all.

“Is everything okay Jake,” Bella asked me as we were saying goodnight on her porch. “You seem a little on edge.”

“Yeah, I’m totally fine,” I said with as much conviction as I could manage. She hesitated for a moment, but either decided to believe me or to let it go.

“I’m going to try to stay at home tonight,” I said, “but you let me know if you need me.”

“Okay. I’m sure I’ll be fine.” I gave her a look and she added with an eye roll, “But, if I need you, I’ll let you know.”

THE PALE LIGHT OF DAWN had started to filter through the thin curtains in the living room where I waited for Charlie’s arrival with my dad. He would be here any minute. As I feared, I hardly slept at all, and not for the ache of separation from Bella this time. I ended up making a couple passes around both Forks and La Push, just to pass the time once I realized sleep wasn’t happening.

“Jake, sit down.” My dad was watching me as I pace across the short length of our living room. “You’re going to wear a hole in the floor.”

I sat on the couch for a total of ten seconds, my knee bouncing incessantly, before I jumped back up and began pacing in the tiny space again. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been this nervous… or if I’d ever been this nervous before. It wasn’t just about telling Charlie what I was, or about showing him. It was about what came after, the reason for doing this in the first place. What if he didn’t understand? What if he said no?

I don’t think Bella would let that stop her if she wanted to marry me, but it would make it all so much harder. And I wasn’t sure if I could bring myself to even ask her to marry me if Charlie didn’t approve… not right now anyway.

My dad caught my arm as I paced past him for the hundredth time and made me stop to look at him.

“Calm down Jake. It’s all going to work out.”

“You can’t know that. He could totally freak out and never want me to see Bella again.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “It’s not going to be that bad Jake. Charlie cares for you like a son and he knows how good you and Bella are together… he’s told me so himself. It’ll be a lot for him to take in, but he’s heard some of our stories about being descended from wolves and he’s a very open-minded guy.”

There was a knock at the door and a moment later Charlie walked in. He stopped short just inside the door when he saw me there too.

“Oh, hey Jake. Wasn’t expecting to see you up so early. Or is this up so late?”

I let out a nervous laugh as my dad let go of my arm.

“Up late, I guess.”

Charlie’s expression changed to one of concern, picking up on my nervous energy. He glanced back and forth between my face and my father’s.

“Is everything alright? You look like you might be sick Jake.”

I took a deep calming breath as my dad answered Charlie.

“Everything is fine, but Jake and I do have something we want to talk to you about… and something we need to show you. Outside.”

“Alright,” Charlie said warily, eyeing both of us.

I pushed my father in his wheelchair out the door and as far toward the woods as I could then picked him and his chair up and carried him the rest of the way into the trees, checking to make sure Charlie was following.

The ground was damp from the misty rain that had fallen overnight, the air still thick with moisture. When we had gone just a short distance into the trees, I set my father down on the edge of a small open space and asked Charlie to stand next to him as I walked a safe distance away.

“What are we doing out here guys?” Charlie asked.

“You know all the stories of our tribe’s histories that you’ve heard over the years Charlie?” Billy started. “The ones about our people being descended from wolves?”

“Yeah, I remember them. Your ancestors supposedly used to be able to transform into giant wolves. Pretty crazy legends. What about – wait, Jake what are you doing? Put your clothes back on.”

“They aren’t just stories Charlie,” I continued, standing before my hopefully future father-in-law in the buff. “They’re all true, and that magic still runs in our blood.”

“Brace yourself, Charlie,” my father said.

I pulled out the heat and anger of my transformation magic. My body rapidly went through the trembling to the rippling waves before the heat tore through me and I landed on all fours, snarling.

Charlie’s eyes went wide, and he stumbled backwards. Losing his balance, he landed on his rear, catching his upper body with his hands behind him, and scrambling backwards until he was pressed against a tree a few feet from where he started.

Just as when I phased for Bella, I quickly calmed the anger and lowered myself to my belly and rested my head on my front paws, looking Charlie in the eye.
His wide gaze was darting quickly between me and my father, shocked and unsure how to react. Seeing my father remain calm, he slowly calmed himself and got back to his feet.

“Jake?” he asked, looking at me.

I lifted my head and nodded.

“Yes, that’s still Jake in there,” Billy said.

“What the hell?!” Charlie exclaimed then looked at Billy again, pointing a finger at me. “Can you do that?”

“No, it doesn’t happen for every generation. There are certain things that trigger it, and it hasn’t happened since the time of my grandfather, Ephraim Black. Would you like to touch him?”

Charlie’s eyes went wide again… or wider than they already were.

I inched forward on my belly to encourage him. He held his ground, looking unsure. I inched just a little closer and my father reached out and put a hand on the side of my head, both of us looking at Charlie.

“You don’t have to. Just might help you remember later that you weren’t dreaming.”

I dipped my head down and Charlie cautiously edged a little closer before reaching out hesitantly and placing his hand on top of my head then quickly removed it.

“This is insane. How long has he been able to do this?”

“Since this past spring. That’s why he had all those crazy growth spurts, and why he is as big as he is. Once the magic is triggered, they grow and age to maturity in a matter of weeks, so Jake is no longer an 18-year-old kid. He’s closer to 25 years old in every way.”

Charlie was nodding as I trotted back to my clothes to phase and dress.

“Yeah, I can see that, about the age. Jake has always been mature for his age, but I’ve been extremely impressed by it since he and Bella started dating. I thought it was just because I was getting to know him better.” He scrubbed his hand over his face then froze with his hand on his cheek. “Wait! Does Bella know about this? Has she seen it?”

“Yes,” I said, walking back over to them as I pulled on my shirt. “She has known pretty much since it first happened… since before we started dating. She’s seen me transform several times now as well. But there’s a lot more going on that you need to know about.”

“There’s more going on than you being able to transform into a giant wolf?!”

“Yeah, quite a bit, actually. Let’s go back inside though. You may want to sit down before hearing the rest.”

Once we were back inside and settled at the kitchen table, I told Charlie everything else. About the powers that started to manifest while Bella was injured, us imprinting, how many wolves there where, that Sam and I were Alphas, the place Bella now held within the packs, and the powers that she now possessed. The only thing I didn’t tell him about were the vampires. I wanted to leave that part up to Bella, which I felt very certain that she would not want him to know.

Charlie had asked a few questions, but mostly just listened quietly. As I finished, he sat silently, staring at his hand on the table.

“And Bella is okay with all of this?” he asked softly.

“As much as any of us are. The magic doesn’t exactly ask permission, but she chose to be with me, knowing the supernatural parts of my life. She also knew about the imprinting, and we were both actually relieved when that happened.”

He looked up at me. “Relieved? Why?”

“Well, imprinting usually happens the first time we see our soulmate after we’ve gone through our first transformation. That didn’t happen for us. Because my magic is so different from the rest of the pack, there were other things that had to happen first. But we didn’t know that the magic in me was different, and based on all of the stories and what had happened for the others, that left the chance that someday I would imprint on someone else. Which would essentially force me to leave Bella.”

“And you stayed with her, knowing that could happen?” Charlie became irritated at the thought.

“I told Bella the risk and let her decide. She chose to stay with me.” Charlie seemed to accept that, so I continued. “I know this is all a lot to take in. I wish there were some way that I could show you how strong our bonds are. We loved each other before the magic, and I truly believe we were destined to be together even if the magic had not been triggered in me. But with it, with the imprinting, there is absolutely nothing in this world that can ever break the bonds between us. We are committed to each other, 100% committed, for the rest of our lives. Nothing can change that.”

He was silent for a minute, looking at me, clearly undecided what he thought about it all. “If this is all supposed to be a secret, why are you telling me?”

There it was, the moment of truth. I sucked in a large gulp of air and then breathed it out slowly. Glancing at my dad, he nodded at me in encouragement, and I plunged ahead.

“Because of our connection to each other, it is nearly intolerable for me and Bella to be apart from each other for extended periods of time. There are also certain things the magic expects from us, and we have discovered that to be able to best support each other, and to make the magic in us and between us as strong as possible, we need to take one more important step.” I held Charlie’s gaze with all the intensity I felt in my commitment to Bella. “I’ve told you all of this in order to help you understand. Charlie, I want to marry Bella, and I’m hoping that you’ll give me your blessing to do so.”

Charlie just stared at me for a moment and then burst out laughing. When neither my dad nor I joined him, the laughter died in his throat.

“Wait, are you serious? You want to get married? When?”

“Yes, I’m very serious. I want to marry Bella as soon after she graduates as possible.”

His eyes went wide, then his brow furrowed and his face started to go through several shades of red. He stood up suddenly and walked toward the door, stopped before he reached it then turned around and came back. He looked as though he was going to speak several times, then went back toward the door again.

My stomach dropped, certain now that he was not going to be okay with this.

“Charlie, I —” my father started.

Charlie swung around suddenly, cutting him off and glaring at me. “Is she pregnant? Is that what’s going on here?” He came right up to me, pointing an accusing finger and poking me in the chest.

“No, definitely not!” I replied adamantly. “I swear Charlie. Bella and I haven’t been together in that way… not even close. We made an agreement with each other from the very beginning to wait, and we’ve been faithful to that commitment. I promised you when she was injured that I would protect Bella in every way, and I meant it.”

Charlie eyed me suspiciously for a minute, then he finally relaxed a little and the color in his face began to return to normal.

“And you’re okay with this?” he asked gruffly, looking at my dad in disbelief.

“Yes, I am. I support it completely.”

From my pocket, I pulled out the small, round, natural wood box I had made. The pale wood seemed to almost glow in the low light of the kitchen. On the lid I’d carved the form of two wolf heads twined together, their noses touching. One was painted a red-brown, the color of my fur, the other a light brown, the color of Bella’s hair. I set it on the table in front of Charlie.

Looking at me, obviously still reeling a little as he realized how serious we were, he sat back down and picked up the box. The lid was attached with a single peg that it rotated around horizontally. Charlie slid the lid to the side to reveal my mother’s rings nestled into a black ring pillow inside.

He looked back up to me and then to Billy, his face softening.

“These were Sarah’s rings, weren’t they?” Charlie asked quietly.

“Yes, they were.” Billy cleared his throat, trying to stamp down the emotion that strained his voice a little. “I gave them to Jake not long ago when I realized what was happening between him and Bella was something different… something extraordinary. I had no idea at the time that what was happening was quite this extraordinary. There’s only one other known instance of this happening in all our histories, and I didn’t even know about it until after Jake and Bella had imprinted and the magic was already awakened in them.”

Charlie closed the box and set it back down, then leaned back in his chair, running his hands through his hair. He looked up at me, studying me for a long moment. My heart was pounding, and my palms were clammy as he began to speak.

“Jake, you know I’ve always liked you, and I know that you’ve been good for Bella and have always treated her right. You have made her happier than she has ever been. I’m just concerned about you getting married so young. I know you say you’re no longer eighteen, and I only have to look at you to see that physically that’s true. But there are so many other things to consider—"

My dad cut in. “Charlie, I wouldn’t let him start down this path if I wasn’t sure they would be okay. There are still some things to work out, but we have set a lot of things in motion already.”

“I passed my GED test this week,” I interjected. “And I’m already on my way to opening a mechanic shop. I actually started working on that last summer, and Mr. Veers, who owns the auto shop here on the Rez, is retiring and we’re working on a plan for me to take that over eventually. I’ll go to the local college to get more training just as soon as I’m able.”

“We’ve also found a house for them,” Billy continued. “It needs work, but it’s sound enough to be moved. We’re going to put it at the back of my property so Jake can still help me out when I need him… I’ve already got the permits for it and the utilities will be run as soon as we’re ready for them. The other pack members are going to help him fix the house up.”

“Charlie, I would never do this if I didn’t think I could take care of Bella and support us. We’ll find a way for her to still be able to go to college, if that’s what she wants, though she’ll have to go somewhere close by now… or do something online. I know it’s going to take work and some sacrifices, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”

Charlie just looked back and forth between us as we provided him with all the details. When we were done a crooked half-smile slowly crept across his face.

“Well, I can’t say that I ever thought it would happen quite like this. And I am still in shock from everything you’ve thrown my way this morning… transforming wolves and magic and powers.” He shook his head in disbelief before looking at me and continuing. “But you have always had a good head on your shoulders Jake, and you seem to have thought of everything I could object to. I guess all that’s left to do now is to get Bella to say yes.”

My mouth popped open, and my brow went up as what he just said sunk in. “So, you’re okay with this? You’ll give us your blessing?” I asked with reserved excitement.

“Yeah Jake. I’ll be proud to have you as my son-in-law.”

I breathed a big sigh of relief and dragged a hand over my face, then took Charlie’s hand and shook it vigorously, before pulling him in for a brief hug.

“I never in a million years dreamed it would be this soon,” Charlie continued when I had released him, “but I’ve secretly hoped it would eventually happen ever since you two started becoming such good friends again. You seemed to have rescued Bella and brought her back to life in so many ways. For that, I will never be able to thank you enough… but this is a start.”

“You have no idea how relieved I am,” I said, finally able to relax. “I have been so nervous about your reaction.”

“Do you know when you’re going to ask her?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll know when the time is right though… when Bella is ready. Between my heightened senses, the connections that Bella and I share, and the magic within us, there is so much that I just know when it comes to her. I can feel her emotions and sense her moods. I’ll just wait until I know.

“Well, if that’s all true, about you being able to sense her emotions and moods, you’ve got a great big giant leg up over every other man ever. That’s going to go a long way in helping you have the happiest marriage on the planet! Don’t ever take that for granted… that may be the most wonderful power you have out of all of them!”

Both Charlie and my dad were laughing by the time he was done speaking. I just smiled and chuckled lightly with them. Even before I had the help of any magic, I knew how to make Bella happy, just by paying attention. That’s how I was able to help her heal and get her to fall in love with me in the first place. He was probably right though… it would make Bella’s continued happiness that much easier for me.

Charlie and Dad left a little while later. It was still pretty early, so they had plenty of time left to get some fishing in before lunch. I was exhausted from being up all night and stressing over that conversation. I felt like I’d nearly undone all the good the full night of sleep with Bella had done for me the night before, so I laid down to get a few hours of shut eye before I had to go on patrol and then get ready for Prom tonight.

Before I drifted off, I talked to Bella for a bit. She hadn’t been awake for very long. She was going to get some things done at home before heading over to Angela’s house where she would stay until Embry and I picked them up tonight. Hopefully it would be a good and fun night for all of us.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
Saturday morning arrived and I smiled at the pale sunshine filtering through my window. Even though Jake hadn’t been near overnight, I felt well rested. Perhaps staying together the previous night had helped.

You awake, baby?

My heart leapt with excitement in my chest at Jake’s words in my head and my smile grew. I hadn’t even had a chance to sit up yet.

Yeah, I just woke up a couple minutes ago.

I thought so. What’re your plans for the day?

I ran through what I hoped to get done before going to Angela’s. Jake sounded so much more like himself, without any of the tension from the night before coming through. Hopefully whatever had been on his mind had gotten worked out.

Once we’d said our goodbyes, I rolled out of bed and pulled on some yoga pants and a t-shirt and threw my hair up in messy bun. After a few hours of cleaning and laundry I had a quick lunch, showered, then headed over to Angela’s house, backpack and Prom attire in tow. We were going to spend the rest of the day together, studying and then getting ready for the dance.

“Are you excited for tonight?” Angela asked as we were getting settled at her dining room table with our books.

“I’m not sure how I feel. Part of me keeps asking what in the world I was thinking and wants to run for the hills. But I think I’m also excited. Now that I apparently don’t have to worry about my klutziness, there isn’t as much to be concerned about at least.”

“Well, I’m definitely excited! I can’t wait to see Embry in his tux. He’s gonna look so hot.”

I laughed at Angela’s declaration. “You know, I don’t think that had even crossed my mind, I’ve been so worried about the actual dancing part.”

She gave me a sly grin. “You’re thinking about it now though, aren’t you?”

I returned her mischievous smile. “So hot…” I swooned with my hand on my forehead and fanned myself with a notebook. We both burst out laughing.
“Why are you still so worried about the dancing part? From what you told me of Jake’s little experiment last weekend, the dancing is going to be effortless for you now.”

“Whether or not I can do it is not the issue… it’s how uncomfortable I’ll feel. I have been avoiding anything remotely athletic my entire life, so it’s not easy convincing my brain that all the sudden it’s all good.”

“Maybe tonight will be a good chance for you to try to get past that. Either way, I’m just so happy that you’re actually going!”

We shifted our focus to studying for the next few hours. I had finally been able to get caught up in all of my classes, so the next couple weeks I just had to focus on finishing up the last few big assignments and studying for finals. When Emily showed up several hours later, that was our signal to switch gears and start getting ready. She was in charge of getting me ready, and Mrs. Weber was helping Angela.

Emily didn’t go nearly as crazy as Alice did last year, but she used a lot of stuff on my face before she even touched any make-up. Once my face was done, she moved on to my hair. She pulled back the sides in loose braids, meeting at the back of my head with a pretty gold and jewel hair clip. The rest of my hair was loosely curled and hung down my back in wavy tendrils.

Angela’s hair also had the sides in loose braids, but all of her hair was then pulled up into a bun, secured low on the back of her head.

Dress and shoes on, I pulled out the jewelry that Alice had bought for me. I hadn’t really taken a good look at them before but they, of course, went perfectly with my dress. The golden earrings had stars that dotted over my earlobes but attached to the back of each earring was a waterfall of stars, each one dangling at the end of different lengths of chain. The gold necklace had six stars of different sizes linked together in a random pattern and hung from a delicate chain. Two of the stars had clear crystals encrusted all over them and the necklace hung just a couple inches above the neckline of my dress.

Looking at myself in the mirror with the gold crystals on my dress and the gold stars and crystals on the jewelry, I was suddenly struck with the realization that all of it reminded me of the shimmering golden light of our magic.

Emily came up and stood behind me, looking at my reflection over my shoulder and smiled.

“You look stunning Bella. Jake isn’t going to know what to do with himself.”

“Thanks,” I said, returning her smile. “I was just thinking about how much this all reminds me of our magic.”

“Yes, I had the same thought. The connections that I can see between you and Jake are made up of the same golden light. I wish I could show you a glimpse of it.”

Mrs. Weber peeked her head around the corner of the open door. “Bella, your dad is here. Would you like for me to bring him up to see you?”

“Oh, yes, thank you Mrs. Weber.”

Emily excused herself and left the room as well. Angela was insisting that we make an entrance by walking down the stairs individually after the guys had arrived, so I had to stay upstairs until then. Not something that I would have agreed to a couple weeks ago but figured I could probably handle it without hurting myself now that I was more sure-footed. It was definitely something that Alice would approve of.

I was kinda sad that she couldn’t be here today, but she was adamant that she shouldn’t be. “I want the night to be as perfect for the four of you as possible,” she had told me on Tuesday. “Even though they would understand, my scent could possibly be an irritant to both Jake and Embry for the whole night. And I don’t want that. Just make sure to take plenty of pictures.”

“Wow Bells!” I turned to find Charlie standing in the doorway, his hands in his pockets and a gentle smile gracing his face. “You look beautiful… and so grown up. I hardly recognized you.”

“Thanks Dad,” I said, my cheeks getting hot. Was it my imagination, or was he was looking at me differently? I couldn’t figure out what the look on his face meant. Maybe it was just because I was all dressed up, but I felt like there was something more to it. It was like he wanted to say something else to me.

“Everything alright, Dad?”

Before he had a chance to respond, we heard the guys arriving downstairs. Butterflies suddenly took flight in my stomach and my cheeks flushed even more. Angela ran into the room, a little breathless.

“Hi Chief Swan,” she said to Charlie then looked at me. “You ready?”

I nodded and looked at Charlie again.

He gave me another small smile. “It’s nothing Bells. You really do look amazing sweetie.” We had a moment of awkward silence then Charlie pointed back out the door. “I’ll just head back downstairs. Don’t want to mess up your grand entrance.” He raised his eyebrows at me, knowing there was no way that was my idea.

A few minutes later, Angela was descending the stairs, leaving me upstairs fretting by myself. I waited the instructed amount of time, took a deep breath, and started for the stairs, feeling so silly and self-conscious. Why in the world had I agreed to any of this?! Even without being so klutzy, I just knew I’d find a way to make a fool of myself.

As I got a few steps down the stairs I started scanning all the smiling faces at the bottom; Mr. & Mrs. Weber, Charlie, Sam and Emily (he was grinning like a proud big brother… he must have come with Jake and Embry), and Angela and Embry. A camera flash went off just as my eyes finally came to rest on Jake. Suddenly there wasn’t anyone else there and it was just me and Jake.

His black tux was pretty standard with a low-cut vest and white shirt, but he wore no tie, and the top two buttons of his shirt were left undone. It all fit him flawlessly and showed off his strong, lean, muscular build. His silky black hair hung free around his face, barely brushing the tops of his shoulders. ‘Hot’ didn’t even begin to describe how fantastic he looked. I couldn’t really think of a word that accurately described Jake with is deep eyes and strong jaw and the way confidence and power radiated from every inch of him, but it stole my breath away.

The look of absolute adoration on his face as he watched me step after step made the butterflies in my stomach go mad and my already pounding heart skipped irregularly in my chest. I could hardly believe that this was my reality… that he was mine.

I took Jake’s outstretched hand as I reached the bottom few steps, never looking away from his face. His eyes slid over me, sparks flashing in their depths, before coming back to hold my gaze.

“Bella, I… you look… I mean, you’re just…” he paused his stumbling words, pressed his lips together for a moment and cleared his throat. “Gorgeous. You look absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous.”

“Thanks,” I said softly as I stepped a little closer and placed my hand on his chest. “I can say the same about you.” I tugged gently on the collar of his shirt. “I like the no tie look. It suits you.” Then I saw what was around his neck and I froze. Resting against his collarbone was a beaded necklace. I lightly traced my finger over the alternating white cylindrical beads and dark brown round beads and my throat constricted.

“You remember it?” he asked.

I nodded and whispered, “Of course I remember it.”

The memory of the little shop in California that Renee had taken me to flooded my mind. I had taken forever to look at all the loose beads available before I’d decided which ones to get, then fretted over the pattern I wanted to make so I was sure to get the right amount of each bead… two cylinders and a round repeated across the length of the necklace. It was the first gift I’d ever bought with my own money that I’d earned from babysitting… and it was the last gift that I’d given Jake before I’d run away from him.

Jake gently brushed his thumb at the corner of my eye, pulling me from the memory, and I realized my eyes were burning, a few unshed tears hanging at the corners. I sucked in a breath to get control of my emotions and dabbed the tears away so I didn’t mess up all the hard work Emily had put into my eye makeup. Then a short laugh bubbled up from my throat.

“I can’t believe it still fits you,” I exclaimed softly.

“I had to extend it in the back with an extra strip of leather. I wore it all the time after you gave it to me, until I outgrew it. I would have started wearing it again sooner, but I didn’t want to risk destroying it when I phased. Hopefully there will be no phasing tonight.”

Both of us smiling, he gently brushed his fingers down my cheek, and brought his hand to rest against my neck. Continuing to hold each other’s gaze, we were still oblivious to anything going on around us.

A hand gently touched my shoulder, finally drawing my gaze reluctantly away from Jake. I turned my head to find Emily standing next to me smiling.

“Earth to Jake and Bella,” Embry was saying, and I saw Angela elbow him in the side, both of them laughing softly.

“Mrs. Weber wants to get some pictures of you guys,” Emily said as she pressed a tissue into my hand.

I dabbed the rest of the moisture from my eyes as we headed into their living room. We spent a good twenty minutes posing while Mrs. Weber took a ton of pictures; the four of us together, each couple, just the girls, just the guys, with Charlie, the four of us with Sam and Emily… just about every combination you could imagine. Alice would be pleased, but my cheeks hurt when we were done.

When it was finally time to leave, everyone followed us outside. A damp chill hung in the air, but it thankfully wasn’t raining. Mr. Weber was graciously letting us use his nice white Escalade SUV and we all climbed in, waving as we drove away.

When we reached the school, before we had a chance to head inside Jake stopped us.

“Hold on a minute,” he said, leading us to the edge of the parking lot by the trees. “Someone’s here to see the girls.”

“Alice!” I exclaimed when I saw her standing at the edge of the trees and a huge smile broke across my face. I had to stop myself from running to give her a hug.

“Bella, Angela, you both look amazing… all of you look fantastic,” she called to us, a matching grin on her face.

Jake lifted our joined hands, inviting me to do a turn. I hesitated but went ahead and turned in a slow circle under his arm. Alice clapped joyfully and hopped up and down a few times.

She said something else more quietly and I couldn’t hear her, but then Jake nodded his head toward her and said, “You’re welcome,” so I figured she probably thanked him.

“Did you do this?” I asked him.

He nodded. “I knew how bummed you were that she wasn’t going to be there to help you get ready. I tried to get her to just go be with you, but she refused. So, I thought this would be a nice compromise.”

I reached up on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, Jake. This was very thoughtful.”

“You guys better get going,” Alice called. “Have fun!”

We waved to her and then headed toward the school.

When we first got inside, we drew a lot of attention. Most everyone was pretty used to seeing Jake around, but now there were two giant men, so it seemed to rekindle everyone’s interest. Thankfully Angela had the foresight to let Ben know that she was dating someone new, so he wouldn’t be blindsided by it, but there was mild surprise on his face when he saw Embry.

Jessica hurried over to us with Mike trailing behind. They were apparently back together… again. He didn’t look thrilled, eyeing Jake a little, looking like he still disapproved. I sighed inwardly… maybe he would always disapprove of anyone that wasn’t him.

At first, I was very hesitant to dance at all, still fighting my old fears. As the first slow song played, Jake took my hand and led me onto the dance floor, my stomach doing flips and my palms clammy.

He pulled me in close against him and placed his finger under my chin to tip my head back, making me look at him. “It’s just me and you. Forget about everyone else.”

I nodded and held his gaze as we slowly began to sway and turn with the music. Jake never looked away from me and soon I had forgotten all about the gymnasium full of students and we were back in my living room, just the two of us.

After that, I quickly became comfortable with the slow songs, loving to be in Jake’s arms. Ever so gradually I became more and more relaxed about fast dancing with Angela and Jessica and a few other girls Jessica had pulled in, but I didn’t know very well. Realizing just how easily I was able to control my body now, I watched the dance moves that the others did and copied some of the movements, slowly discovering what I liked. Jake and Embry stood back and watched at first, rapt looks on their faces. It didn’t take them long to join in though, and, not surprisingly, they both moved with an almost unnatural fluid grace.

Since Jake had started helping me rebuild my music collection, I had begun listening to music all the time again. Angela had also joined in on the effort, and between the two of them I now had over 30 CD’s in my music library… both old and new albums from a wide variety of genres. Recently, I had heard a new song that made me think of everything Jake had done for me and what he meant to me. I had hoped that they would play it tonight, but as the evening went on, I was starting to think they may not. I finally worked up the nerve and headed over to see if the DJ had the song and would be willing to play it.

**********
JACOB POV
**********
I WATCHED AS BELLA walked toward me, coming from the DJ booth. She had amazed me over and over again all night at how differently she moved. Throughout the evening she had become more and more confident and adventurous in her dancing, really starting to embrace the change she had gone through.

When she reached me at the edge of the dance floor, I took her in my arms and kissed her forehead, starting to move with the slow music again. Something had shifted between us tonight, further strengthening our already strong bonds. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I wondered if it had something to do with her growing confidence.

The next song started, and Bella spoke to me through our mental link.

I requested this song. It makes me think of you and what you did for me and what you mean to me Jake. I don’t know where I would be without you, but it wouldn’t be where I was supposed to be. You brought me out of my darkness, and through you I have become the person I was born to be. Thank you for everything you have done for me.

Pulling her more tightly against me, I listened closely to the song just as the lyrics started. I vaguely remembered hearing it recently on the radio and I thought it was a new one by Jennifer Hudson. I swayed with Bella and caressed her face, holding her gaze as I continued to listen and we moved together.

I was in the darkness
I was out in the cold
Seemed nothing could heal this
This hole in my soul
You reached out your arms to me
Held out your heart to me
Pulled me back from the edge
Thought I’d reached the end.

When I was drowning
When I was so confused
You, you, You pulled me through
I was in the shadows
Lost, nothing left to lose.
You, you, You pulled me through

You gave my faith back
Faith was so hard to find
You gave me my life back
You were my lifeline
The love that you gave me
Is love that has saved me
Your strength is what made me strong
You held me and I held on

When I was drowning
When I was so confused
You, oh you, You pulled me through
I was in the shadows
Lost, nothing left to lose
You, you, You pulled me through

Out of the dark
Into your arms
Into the light
Your love saved my life

When I was drowning
When I was so confused
You, ooh you, You pulled me through
When I was drowning
I was so confused
Yea you, ooh you, yea you, You pulled me through

It really was like the song had been written just for us. About half-way through, I leaned down to whisper to her, my lips brushing the shell of her ear and a shiver rushed through her.

“Do you trust me?”

Her heart began beating faster and the heated flush of her cheek radiated against my skin as she anticipated why I was asking, but she nodded. When I pulled back to look at her, a smile curved her lips and her eyes were shining.

Just follow my lead.

I began with the same steps that we did in her living room a week ago but continued turning and spinning and moving with her. Her eyes were wide and there was a slight tremble in her hands, but she stayed right with me. I was showing her the next steps in her mind, so she had some idea of what was coming. Sometimes I spun Bella by herself and sometimes I held her close to turn and glide across the floor with her pressed against me.

It was no time before her smile grew and her laughter rang out, amazing me further. Her face remained flushed a deep red, but the uncertainty left her eyes and her whole face shone full of joy and love. Trusting me completely we moved as one and she took my breath away. It was a ridiculous cliché, but it really was a magical night for us.

As the song was ending, I dipped Bella back and kissed her. When I brought her upright again, it became apparent that everyone had stopped their own dancing. Some were smiling and nodding at us while others had slack-jawed looks of shock, but almost all were watching us. Bella’s expression turned slightly horrified, and she looked up to me for help. I took her hand and led her off the dance floor toward the punch table. Angela and Embry intercepted us halfway, but we had successfully removed ourselves from the spotlight of the rest of the students.

“Oh my gosh Bella, that was completely amazing!” Angela gushed. “I thought you said you didn’t know how to dance!”

“I don’t.” Bella sounded breathless. “That was all Jake, I just followed along.”

“Those were some smooth moves man.” Embry smirked. “Where in the world did you learn to do that?”

“My mom and dad, from when I was little.” I didn’t tell him about the lessons at the community center.

Embry smiled with understanding. “That’s totally cool.”

“Thanks. It’s nice to keep those memories alive, ya know… and make new ones using them.” I caressed Bella’s face as she smiled up at me, her eyes sparkling. It felt wonderful to have her trust me so completely. She was ready… I was sure of it.

The rest of the dance flew by, and soon it was time to leave. The four of us headed to the diner, which was staying opened late because of Prom. We shared some appetizers and spent some more time hanging out together. None of us seemed to want this night to end.

We ended up staying until the diner was closing and we were finally forced to head home. As we were walking to the car, I slowed to let Angela and Embry get a little ahead of us.

“Do you want to go home yet?” I asked Bella as we walked, my arm around her.

“Not really,” she said, looking up at me. “Why? Do you have something else in mind?”

“Yeah. Would you want to go down to La Push with me for a while? We can drop these two off, and then have a little time to ourselves before I take you home.”

“I’d like that.”

When we dropped Angela off, Embry walked her to the door, and they shared a long kiss goodnight. We switched into my Charger then headed down to La Push. After dropping Embry off at his house, I drove us out to First Beach… it felt like the right place to go.

As we strolled down the beach, there was a chill in the night air, a steady breeze blowing the tangy smell of brine in off the water. It lifted Bella’s hair off her shoulders and swirled strands around her face. She shivered even though she was tucked up close to me, so I wrapped my jacket around her shoulders. I chuckled lightly at how tiny she looked swimming in the massive coat when she slipped her arms into the sleeves.

“Don’t make fun. It’s not my fault that you’re the size of a tree.”

I laughed harder at that, but helped her roll up the sleeves when she held her arms out toward me.

We walked along the beach awhile without saying anything else, just enjoying the time together. Looking out over the water, outwardly I seemed calm, but my stomach was a ball of nerves, and my heart was pounding, trying to decide the right thing to say. I’d had to make sure our mental link was closed for the moment so Bella hopefully didn’t pick up on my nerves.

The clouds in the dark sky were surprisingly sparse, illuminated by the nearly full moon hanging over the water. Silver light shone down on us and glittered on the waves rolling across the sand.

Unable to wait any longer, I suddenly stopped walking and turned to face Bella, pulling her close, my hand against her cheek, and gazing into her eyes where her love for me was shining brighter than the moon above. I lost myself in their bright depths, temporarily forgetting what I was about to say… and do.

When I’d stayed quiet for a little too long, Bella gave me a questioning look. “Jake?”

I shook off the trance-like feeling and stroked my thumb over her soft, smooth skin. “Bella, I think I have loved you all of my life, in one way or another. These last few months have been the craziest of my life, but also the most wonderful. Having you there with me through everything made all the craziness so much more bearable and brought happiness into what could have been a very hard time. I can’t imagine going through any of it without you.”

She was smiling sweetly up at me as I continued.

“You are my soul mate, my true match, the one I have been destined for since my first breath, and I promise to continue to love and protect you until my last breath. We already have a bond that can’t be broken, but I want to proclaim my love and devotion and commitment to you for all the world to see, and bind myself to you in every way possible.”

I took the small box out of my pocket and placed it in Bella’s palm. She examined it and ran her finger over the carved images on the lid.

“Jake, this is beautiful. Did you make it?” she asked with a curious, wonder-filled look.

“Yeah. I made it to keep these safe,” I said as I slid the lid open, and Bella gasped. I took the diamond ring out and closed the lid again before getting down on one knee. Grasping her left hand in mine, I held the ring up to her.

“Bella Swan, will you marry me?”

**********
BELLA POV
**********
I WAS STUNNED AS Jake held the diamond ring up to me. He was asking me to marry him! This was insane! Wasn’t it? Maybe? Or maybe not.

My automatic reaction was still tainted with my mother’s view, but I already knew that wasn’t for me. And with everything that Emily and Grammy Jo had told me the other day, this was right. This felt right. So, yes, maybe it was a little insane to be taking this step at eighteen, but our entire lives were kind of insane. Nothing about our relationship had progressed like a ‘normal’ relationship would, so why should this part be any different. Ultimately, I wanted this… I wanted the same thing Jake did. I wanted to tell the whole world what we already knew – that we belong to each other for all eternity.

“Yes, Jake… yes, I’ll marry you.” My smile felt like it was tearing my face in two as a tear slid down my cheek.

His own beautiful smile spread across his face with relief in his eyes. He slid the ring onto my finger then grabbed me in his arms as he stood back up and swung me around, kissing me eagerly.

The whole night had been a dream and it felt so fitting to end it like this. Jake proposing to me here at the beach where we had first reconnected last year and spent so much time together over the past months… over so much of our lives. It was perfect.

I was so thankful for Jake’s presence in my life. My heart had swelled as he professed his love to me, speaking things that were also in my heart. I had no idea what was coming when he handed me the box, just amazed at the absolutely beautiful intricate carving on the lid. I wondered when he had ever found the time to make something so amazing.

When Jake had set my feet back on the sand, I looked down at the platinum ring again, noticing the inlaid turquoise through the center of the band and marveling at the three glittering round diamonds across the middle. “It’s beautiful Jake” I said, opening the box to get a better look at the other ring as well. It was also platinum with the inlaid turquoise, just without the diamonds. I looked back up at him, “They’re both beautiful.”

His smile became more tender. “They were my mom’s,” he said, his eyes suddenly lined with silver.

“Jake!” I exclaimed in breathless shock as I looked at the ring again then back up to him. “I don’t know what to say.” And I didn’t. I could find no words. Nothing I could think of adequately reflected how incredibly special I knew this precious gift was. “Thank you,” I whispered, since I could think of nothing else. “I will cherish them always.”

The fact that Jake had his mother’s rings, also meant that Billy had played a part in this, and he obviously approved. That thought brought up all kinds of other worrisome thoughts and questions about how we could make this work. Most of those thoughts I managed to push away… they could be dealt with later. But one wouldn’t go away, because I would have to face it either tonight or in the morning.

“What in the world is Charlie going to say? You have to be there when I tell him Jake. I don’t think I can do it on my own. He’s going to think I’m pregnant or something!”

Jake pulled me into his arms again.

“He already knows honey. Or, rather, he knew I was planning to ask you soon. My dad and I talked to him this morning. We told him everything. About all of the magic, the imprinting, our powers, everything. I even phased in front of him.”

My eyes widen as Jake was speaking. “Oh my God, you phased in front of him!? Wait, I thought you couldn’t tell anyone!”

“We can only tell those who we imprint on or who absolutely need to know. My dad and Sam agreed that this was the right thing to do. Besides him being your father… the Healer’s father, he’s also the Chief of Police in Forks, so it makes sense for him to know on multiple levels. Plus,” Jake shrugged, “I’m Alpha, there really isn’t anyone who could stop me… it was my decision to make.”

“Wow! Just… wow! How did he take it?”

“He was definitely in a little bit of shock, but he took it in stride for the most part. You were right though; he did question whether you were pregnant at first. That probably got him more worked up than anything.”

“I knew he would go there first… even though I just told him a few days ago that was impossible. What did you say?”

“I told him the truth. That we haven’t been together in that way, so there was no way you could be pregnant.”

I looked deep into Jake’s eyes. “I love you, Jake. Thank you for taking care of that for me.”

“Yeah, well, I think you maybe owe me one. It was the most nerve-wracking thing I have ever done!”

“I can’t even imagine. It’s going to be weird having Charlie know about everything. It’ll be nice to not have to lie to him or hide things from him so much though.” My brow furrowed with concern. “Wait, does he know about the Cullens? Did you tell him about vampires too?”

“No, I didn’t feel that was necessary, so I wanted to leave it up to you whether or not to share that bit of info. I didn’t figure you would be too thrilled if he knew you dated a vampire. Plus, it’s not really our secret to tell.”

“No, that’s probably best left untold. Besides, the Volturi, the group that Carlisle told you about, they don’t take too kindly to humans knowing of the existence of vampires. Keeping themselves concealed from humans is actually their number one goal, so I wouldn’t want to put him in any potential danger. It’s bad enough that I know and all of you know. It’s unlikely that they would ever find out, but still. Why risk it if it isn’t necessary.”

Jake nodded as he tucked a few loose tendrils of hair behind my ear. “Alright, now that’s settled, why don’t we skip anymore vampire talk for tonight. We did just get engaged after all. There are plenty of other things we could talk about, like when we want to have the wedding, who we want in the wedding, where we want to have it. Or I could tell you where we’ll be going for our honeymoon.”

“You already have a plan for the honeymoon?!”

“Yep. My dad has a friend who has a cabin about an hour southeast of here, and he said we could stay there for two whole weeks if we want. I’m not sure if I should be gone that long, but we can at least go for 4 or 5 days… maybe we could even manage one whole week.”

“That’s amazing Jake! You have thought about so much already. This is what prompted you to get your GED, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. It was something that I would have done eventually anyway, but this kinda spurred me to do it right away.”

A shiver suddenly raced through me; I wasn’t exactly dressed for standing on the beach in the middle of the night. It had to be well past 2:00 A.M., and I was barefoot. Even pressed against Jake with his jacket on, I was getting chilled… especially my feet and legs.

“I should probably be getting home. I wouldn’t be surprised if Charlie were waiting up for me. Or trying to… he’s probably fallen asleep on the couch, which is not good for his back.”

“Okay, there’s just one thing I want to do first.”

Jake leaned down to press his lips to mine, pulling my body tight against his. He kissed me until I could no longer breathe, and fire was coursing through my veins. The cold on the breeze and in the sand could no longer touch me as I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers twined into his hair, and I melted into his arms.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
MY NEW RING GLITTERED on my finger as I held my hand aloft to admire it, unable to stop the smile that grew on my lips. I had slept in late and was in no hurry to get up as the mid-morning light filtered through my bedroom window. It was gray and dreary, but nothing could dampen my mood today. I’m not sure how long I had continued to lie there when there was a light tapping on my door and I turned toward it as Charlie peeked his head in a moment later.

“Hey there sleepy head. Finally decide to rejoin the land of the living?” he asked.

I snorted at the unintended irony of his comment as I sat up and pulled my knees into my chest and he sat down on the side of my bed.

“Yeah, we were out pretty late. I think it was close to 3:00 A.M. when I finally got to sleep.” I looked at my clock which read 10:12. “And I didn’t sleep in that late.”

He chuckled. “Pretty late for you. Did you have fun?”

“Yeah, it was a lot of fun! I actually danced and no one got injured.”

His eyes widened. “No injuries, huh?”

“Not a one.”

There was a long pause and as he studied my face, it occurred to me there were other things he wanted to say… just like before Prom. Then it dawned on me that he wasn’t sure if I knew that he knew yet.

“So, Jake said he talked to you yesterday morning. How’re you feeling about everything?” I shifted my arms to wrap around my legs as I spoke, causing Charlie to look down. He took my left hand in his and sighed, examining the ring.

“I’m not really sure yet Bells. I see you said ‘yes’… he sure didn’t waste any time.” He released my hand and looked at my face. “How do you feel about it all? Is this really what you want? That’s the most important thing to me.”

“I’ve never been happier, Dad. Jake makes me happy. And yes, this is really what I want, more than anything else in the world. Sure, there’s a part of me that wishes there were no werewolves or magic. But really, I’ve never felt more myself or more at home than I do with Jake… even with the magic. It’s what my life was meant to be, I know it deep inside.”

“It’s just, everything has happened so quickly. You don’t feel pressured into this, do you?”

“No, not at all,” I said adamantly. “Jake would never pressure me into anything.”

“So…” Charlie sighed, “you’re getting married…”

I nodded. “Yep…”

“Do you know when yet? Have you picked a date?

“No, we didn’t talk about the details yet.”

“Did Jake tell you where the ring came from?”

“Yeah. It’s pretty special.” I smiled at him. “So, what did you think of Jake as a wolf?”

Charlie blew out a big breath and laughed a single humorless laugh, gripping the back of his neck, “Well now, that I still haven’t fully processed. I’m not sure I’ve fully processed most of what they told me. How have you done it Bella? How are you so okay with it all?”

I shrugged. “For starters, I didn’t get it all dumped on me at one time. I’ve learned about it in little bits over months. And then the magic is inside of me too, so it helps me accept it all more easily.”

“Inside of you, too,” he said, sounding distant. “Yeah, I forgot about that part.”

“Do you wanna see?”

He looked at me skeptically. “That’s not necessary Bells…”

I pointed to a small cut on his hand that looked pretty new.

“I did that yesterday when I was cutting a fishing line. Nothing to fuss over.”

“I know, and I normally wouldn’t worry with something small like that, but,” I placed my hand on his shoulder and pulled at the kernel of heat in my chest, “it will allow me to show you.”

His eyes went wide and he tensed as the light shone in my chest and traveled down my arm to his shoulder. He flinched as it began flowing down his own arm and cursed quietly. After a few moments, he relaxed a little and let out a small sound of awe as he lifted his hand to watch the golden light and his fading cut.

“It’s so warm,” he breathed.

The light withdrew back into my chest again and faded then we sat in silence for a few moments.

“That’s… well, that’s really something, Bella.” His brows furrowed as he met my eyes. “It doesn’t hurt you, does it? Like, you don’t feel the person’s pain or anything… do you?”

“No, it just feels warm like it did for you. It can drain my energy, but I don’t feel any negative effects from just your small cut. When I healed Paul’s broken arm, I passed out, but then we discovered that Jake could give me his energy, seemingly unlimited energy, and I felt fine after I healed Emily.”

“Healed Emily…” he said slowly, and I could almost see the gears working in his head, then he gasped and his eyes flew opened wide again. “Her scars… that was you? You did that?”

I nodded.

“That is…” He looked away. “Bella, this is just all so unbelievable, but also undeniable from what you and Jake have shown me.” He shook his head and rubbed his brow. “I still don’t understand how you’re so calm with it all.”

I took his hand and he looked at me again.

“Jake is why. He’s my rock and I’m his. It might have at least something to do with the imprinting, but we’re doing it all together… supporting and helping each other… grounding each other.

“I love him, Dad. With all my heart I love him, and I want to be with him. I’ll take whatever comes with that, so long as I get to be with him.”

He studied me, looking like he was trying to come to terms with what I’d just said, then he nodded. “I already suspected how you felt about each other Bells but seeing you two together yesterday before the dance, the way you looked at each other, it left no doubt in my mind about how you both feel. I’m happy for you, I really am. I just wish you didn’t have all these other things to deal with.”

We talked for quite a long time about all of it. It was probably the longest and most open conversation we’d ever had. Being able to share these things with Charlie made me feel closer to him. And talking about it seemed to help him process everything more and he looked a little more relaxed when we were done.

“You’re going to have to call your mother to let her know about the engagement,” Charlie said. “I don’t envy you in that. Hopefully she doesn’t take the news too badly.”

“I know… that could be an interesting conversation,” I replied.

“Good luck with it.”

I laughed. “Thanks… your good luck wishes will be so helpful.”

He patted my knee. “Welp, I’m off to help Sue with some things.” He stood and headed to the door, pausing just before he reached it. “You heading down to La Push later?”

“Yeah, probably here in the next hour or so.”

“Alright. See you later sweetie.”

After Charlie left, I spoke to Jake through our mental link, and we made plans to meet at his house before heading over to Emily’s together. First, I was heading to Angela’s to get my things… and share my news with her. Thankfully, someone had brought my truck home for me yesterday.

Angela was absolutely beside herself with excitement as she examined the ring and I told her the story of how Jake proposed. She agreed not to say anything to her parents or anyone at school yet. I didn’t want to care about what other people would think, but some would assume things, and I didn’t like that.

Jake met me outside when I got to his house, wrapping me in his warm embrace. It reminded me of the early days when he would come hurrying outside as soon as he heard my truck, greeting me with his smile of sunshine, and the memory warmed my heart.

“How’s my fiancé doing today?”

“Hmmm…” I hummed with contentment. “Excellent. Even better now that she’s here with you.”

Jake kissed me lightly before we headed inside. Billy was sitting in the armchair watching TV and he quickly flipped it off when he saw me, a huge grin spreading across his face and wrinkling his eyes. I’m not sure I had ever seen Billy smile quite like that and in that moment, I saw that Jake shared more of his father’s features than I’d ever realized.

“There’s my future daughter-in-law! Come here and let me see how the ring looks on you.”

“Hey Billy.” I went to him, smiling, and he took my hand, holding it gently. After several long moments he looked up at me.

“It suits you, Bella.”

As I met Billy’s gaze, I sucked in a sharp breath and my free hand flew to my mouth as my smile faded.

“What? What’s wrong?” Billy asked, looking down at himself then back to me with a furrowed brow.

Jake touched my back. “What’s going on, Bella?”

My eyes stung and I shook my head, unable to speak. The air shimmered around Billy, and I could feel the pull of my power wanting to be set loose. My hand drifted down to my throat and my voice was strained as I tried to speak through the lump that had settled there.

“I can heal you, Billy. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before, but it’s undeniable now.”

Billy’s mouth dropped open, and we were all silent for several moments. In the silence, Jake’s hand gently gripped the back of my neck as a plethora of emotions hit me through our bond: shock, wonder, awe, excitement, love, pride, even a little incredulity, though I knew it was not disbelief in my ability but rather that this could actually be happening.

Billy cleared his throat, his voice quiet and gruff when he spoke. “Heal me? What exactly can you heal? Can you… can you make me walk again? Or just the diabetes?”

“I don’t know for certain… but I think…” I released a shaky breath. “I think I can heal all of it.”

This would change so much for Billy… and for Jake too. It would be one less thing Jake would have to worry about and would essentially give Billy his freedom back. For someone in a wheelchair, he had remained remarkably active, but he still had to rely on others for so many things.

“Is it hard on you, Bella? You passed out when you healed Paul.”

“Not as long as I have Jake to replenish my energy, but Billy… it wouldn’t matter what it did to me, there is no way I wouldn’t do this for you.”

His eyes misted over a little and his throat worked as he swallowed hard. When he spoke, his voice was raspy and strained. “Okay. Do you need me to do anything?”

“No, you just have to sit there.”

He nodded and I moved to his side, Jake right behind me, his hands on my shoulders. I placed my hands on Billy’s back and sternum, closed my eyes, and the power practically rocketed through me and into Billy. Unlike with Paul and Emily, as the light entered Billy, it didn’t concentrate in any one area, but it spread throughout his entire body. One by one, each of his cells lit up as the magic entered them, changing them to function the way they were created to work, until his entire body was filled with the light of the magic.

Billy gasped. “It’s so warm.”

I opened my eyes to look at him. He had lifted his hands in front of his face and was gazing at them in wonder. The light was emanating out of his entire body from his head to his toes.

“Wow, Bells.” Jake’s breathy whisper came from close behind me right before his lips pressed to the crown of my head. His next words were spoken against my hair. “You’re incredible, baby.”

The light began to fade from the top of Billy’s head, like it was draining downward until only the lower half of his body was glowing. I closed my eyes to see that the damage to the nerves in Billy’s legs was now being healed and some strength was being returned to the muscles.

Billy let out a breath. “I can feel. I can feel my legs and feet again. Oh my God. The numbness, the pain and tingling… it’s all gone.” He let out an amazed laugh. “I can even feel the strength returning to the muscles!”

I opened my eyes again and smiled softly at him. “Yeah. You’re going to be able to walk again. I think you’ll have to work to get your full strength back, but you should have enough to get around a little to start out with.”

The light was slowly fading from Billy and returning to me. After another minute or so, Jake’s light also faded when my energy was refilled. It still left me feeling a little drained, but only about the same as if I’d gone on a long walk, so nothing abnormal.

The look of wonder on his face when Billy looked up at me made my heart squeeze.

“How’re you feeling, Bella?”

I let out a surprised laugh. “Me? I’m fine. How are you feeling?”

“Amazing!” He held out his hands. “Help me up, Jake. I don’t want to expect more from these old legs than I ought to.”

Jake moved to stand in front of his father, a look of concentration on his face. There was no way he’d let Billy fall. They grasped each other’s forearms and Jake slowly helped pull Billy into a standing position, doing all he could to support as much of Billy’s weight as he was able from that position.

After a minute, Billy met Jake’s focused gaze and spoke to him quietly. “It’s alright, Jake. You can let go… I’ve got it. I’m not as strong as I used to be, but I feel steady and I’m sure I’m not going to fall.”

As Jake slowly let go of Billy’s arms and his full weight settled onto his own legs, a smile spread across his wide, crinkly face big enough to rival Jake’s. I couldn’t help but smile along with him and when Billy took a step, then another and another, and didn’t even wobble, Jake relaxed and his own bright, beautiful smile beamed from his face. With solid, sure steps, Billy walked to the front door and back again without so much as a tremble.

As he was walking back toward us, I also noticed in that moment just how tall Billy was! Jake still had several inches on him, but Billy was at least 6’1” or 6’2”.

“Don’t overdo it, Dad.” Jake had been taking care of his father for many years and the concern for him came through our bond and showed in Jake’s eyes, though he was still smiling.

“I’m not. I promise. I’m not gonna go out for a jog or anything, but I feel amazing… strong. Definitely stronger than I should after so many years in that chair.” He turned his attention to me. “I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am for you, my dear girl.” He strode to me with surprising speed and wrapped me in a giant bear hug, then snagged Jake and pulled him into the embrace as well. We stayed like that for several minutes and when Billy released us, both of them had watery eyes, but my face was soaked, crying tears of happiness through my smile.

After just a few more moments, Billy cleared his throat and swiped the moisture roughly from his eyes. Jake also wiped his eyes and, noticing my tear-streaked face, he tucked me back into his side.

“Well, Frank will be here soon. He was going to take me into town to run some errands. I think I’ll still have him take me and maybe I’ll stay in my chair for now. Until I can work on getting more strength back, I won’t try to go very far under my own steam.”

“You might want to go to the doctor too, Dad. It’d be good to get confirmation that you’re in the clear since we don’t know a lot about Bella’s power. He can also probably put you on a good routine to get your strength back without doing too much too fast.”

Billy frowned at Jake and looked like he might argue, but then he let out a big breath. “I guess that can’t hurt anything. Besides, I already have an appointment scheduled for later this week, so I might as well keep it.” He lowered himself back into his armchair. “Whew. My leg muscles may be stronger, but the old ticker and lungs aren’t used to moving my big body around so much.”

A knock sounded at the door.

“Alright then.” Billy rose again as Jake got his chair for him and took it to the door where Billy settled into it and Jake opened the door. “I’ll see you kids later.” Billy smiled tenderly at me one last time before rolling himself out the door.

Upon shutting the door, Jake turned to stare at me for a moment before crossing to me and sweeping me up into his arms, then plopping down on the couch with me in his lap.

“I cannot believe that just happened.” He took my face between his hands. “You’re so amazing, Bella. I’m so very thankful for you.”

Before I could respond, he pressed a painfully gentle kiss to my lips, slowly deepening it. His love and awe toward me were so evident in every moment, even without the bond between us. I couldn’t stop the trembling heat that overtook me, sending me soaring. My fingers dug firmly into his shoulders, trying to keep myself grounded.

This was the life I got to look forward to. A life full of love and passion and fun… a life full of Jake. I could have never fathomed it in a million years. It was more than I ever would have hoped to dream for, let alone have as my reality. I couldn’t wait to bring it to its fullness by becoming his forever partner… his wife.

When the kiss ended Jake pressed our brows together as we waited for our breathing to return to normal.

“So,” he started, pulling back to look at me, “we have a wedding to plan. I don’t know about you, but I want it to happen sooner rather than later, because I cannot wait to be your husband.”

A small shiver ran up my spine at those words. “How soon were you thinking?”

He looked to the side and pursed his lips in contemplation. “Hmmm… tomorrow?” He looked back with a mischievous grin and a laugh burst out of me.
“Just kidding… mostly. But I don’t want to wait very long at all. I was thinking two to three weeks after your graduation.”

“Oh wow, that is soon. Not that I’m against the idea! Let’s see, graduation is on June 3rd, which is only three weeks away… man that doesn’t seem possible. We were also wanting to go to Florida. Do you still want to do that?”

“Yes, absolutely! Getting away from all of the madness here for a little while… somewhere I don’t have to worry constantly about your safety, will be amazing. And since you’ll be gone too, it’ll take a little pressure off of everyone else here.”

“Alright. I probably should talk to my mom first then, to find out when would be a good time for us to visit, before we set the wedding date, but maybe June 24th? That’s six weeks from now. Or July 1st?”

“Is that enough time to plan it? I want it soon, but I also want you to get the wedding you want.”

I shrugged. “I really have no idea. I’ve never spent a lot of time dreaming about what I want my wedding to be like. Honestly, it doesn’t matter when we get married, I’m going to get the wedding I want because I’m marrying you.” I poked him in the chest for emphasis and smiled at him. He caught my finger and brought my hand up to kiss my palm.

“I must say, I feel the same way baby.” Jake glanced up at the clock. “We should head on over to Emily’s. I want to try to talk to Sam before he goes on patrol.”

“Do we have time to eat some lunch before we go?” My stomach rumbled as I was speaking as if agreeing to that idea.

Jake chuckled. “I swear your appetite has increased since we imprinted. Yeah, we should have time for something quick.”

Thirty minutes later, our bellies full, we were out the door and headed to Emily’s house.

**********
EMILY POV
**********
THE SMELL OF DINNER cooking in the oven filled my little house. I loved caring for all these crazy guys, and feeding their ginormous appetites was one of the best ways I knew how. It was nice to have help from the other imprints now, but I would have continued to do it all by myself if I’d had to. It was such a great little family.

Oblivious to the world, Jake and Bella were still sitting together on the floor while everyone else milled about. The whole pack was going to be here tonight—most already were—plus the elders and even Charlie. I enjoyed listening to the hum of conversation and commotion around me as I washed and chopped vegetables for a huge salad. Dinner would be ready soon.

I glanced over my shoulder when the front door opened. Sam and Jared came around the corner, just returned from patrol, and Sam headed straight for me. His arms wound around my waist, and he brushed a soft kiss against my cheek. I sometimes still couldn’t believe how us being together had come about.
My vision went suddenly black, and flashes of light danced before me. Distantly, there was the clatter of the knife I’d been holding as it fell to the counter, and Sam’s voice speaking, but I didn’t comprehend it.

I was having a vision!

Everything was blurry, like looking out of a car window when you were speeding down the highway. Slowly a few images became clear… trees and ferns and the flashes of light were rays of the evening sunlight breaking through the leaves in small patches. I was seeing the forest as though I was passing through it at a great speed.

Like a camera motion in a movie, my view swung out and around until I was seeing back the opposite direction, flying ahead of a figure that was sprinting toward me at the same pace as I was moving backwards. My view had been through their eyes just a moment before.

The figure was blurry, but one feature was crystal clear and stood in stark contrast to everything else… bright red eyes.

They’re coming for Bella!

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
As we walked up to the porch at Emily’s house, Jake informed me that Leah was there.

I sighed. Oh well… at least there were more people there this time. Angela’s car was parked out front, so Embry was probably there as well. And Grammy Jo was still visiting.

When we got inside, we headed to the living room where everyone else was. Leah was seated on the couch between Emily and Grammy Jo, Kim was on the far end of the couch on the other side of Grammy Jo, and Angela was in one of the armchairs with Embry sitting on the floor in front of her. As we got closer and everyone was calling out greetings, Leah didn’t even look at us, and I could practically see the tension rolling off of her. However, she stayed put and didn’t make any move to leave like she had last time. Grammy Jo took her hand and squeezed it before greeting us.

I had planned on sharing the news of our engagement… Angela knew, which meant Embry knew, but no one else did. I wasn’t expecting Leah to be there though, so I hesitated and looked up at Jake.

Should we wait?

It’s up to you. She’s going to find out eventually anyway.

Emily suddenly gasped and all heads turned toward her, but she was looking at me with an excited smile on her face.

“Bella! Is that what I think it is?” She hurried to my side and grabbed my left hand, pulling it up to her face to examine my ring. I guess we wouldn’t be waiting.

I smiled and nodded, actually relieved that the decision was taken out of my hands.

Emily threw her arms around me and then reached over to pull Jake into the hug.

“I’m so happy for you guys,” Emily said.

In the next few minutes, I found myself embraced by Grammy Jo and then Angela, Embry, Kim, and back to Emily before Jake rescued me and tucked me back into his side, my head spinning.

“This is certainly exciting,” Grammy Jo said. “I didn’t expect it quite so soon, but it’s a very good thing indeed!”

Emily clapped her hands together then held them in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling. “Ooh, everyone is coming over for dinner tonight, even the elders, so we can turn it into a bit of an engagement announcement slash party, if you’d like. Bella, you should call your dad to invite him as well.”

I held my hand out, waving off the idea. “Oh, you don’t have to do—”

“Nonsense! Everyone will want to celebra—”

“This is ridiculous… unbelievable!” Leah shot up to her feet, her anger palpable.

My smile faded as I looked at her… the red aura around her pulsed and glowed brightly. I felt drawn to her like last time, only the pull was much stronger this time. The more I used my magic, the stronger it seemed to be getting.

“Now Leah –” Grammy Jo started to try to sooth her, but Leah cut her off.

“No! I can’t believe you’re all okay with this.” She huffed out a bitter laugh. “Not even just okay with it, but excited about it! This is just wrong on so many levels.

“Leah!” Emily scolded.

“No,” Leah bit out, “I refuse to hold this in any longer! I don’t understand how I’m the only one who can see how wrong this is… how messed up.”

She turned an accusing finger at Jake, and I felt him tense, but he stayed quiet.

“Why would you even want to be with her? You can spout your crap about imprinting, but you wanted this. You chose her! Even though she wanted to be one of them and she will still defend them if it comes to it. They’re the reason we are this way. It’s their fault we have to deal with all of this in the first place and she loves them still.”

Leah had started pacing in front of the window at the back of the room, not really speaking to anyone in particular anymore. We all just watched and listened in silence, letting her get it out. I knew deep down that this is what she had been needing to do… holding it in had just caused it all to fester and eat away at her happiness.

“Not only that,” Leah continued, “but she’s just been accepted with open arms by everyone… even our magic. She gets it all, the Alpha, the magic, to keep her leech friends, to get married and have children someday.” She paused a moment at that, with the fate of her own ability to bear children still in question since she started phasing. She quickly recovered and continued her tirade. “She doesn’t care about any of it. She was willing to throw it all away, by choice, and become one of them. It’s just by dumb luck that she got what she has. She doesn’t appreciate it.”

Tears of anger were brimming on her lashes and my own eyes were burning. Her words stung, reminding me of how close I had come to messing everything up. I had been willing to throw it all away, and I regretted that so much. She was wrong about one thing though… I appreciated everything that I had, more than it would have ever been possible if I hadn’t almost lost it all.

As Leah continued her ranting, she paused her pacing occasionally, giving pleading looks to the others around me, before resuming her pacing. Even though her words stung, my heart ached for her, and I fought the tears that threatened, afraid they might upset her further.

“If that bloodsucker hadn’t left town when he did,” Leah kept going, “she’d probably be one of them by now. We wouldn’t have our true Alpha or our Healer. She doesn’t deserve that title or the magic. She doesn’t deserve anything she has. But you all just embrace her and love her and protect her, totally forgetting what she really wanted.”

Leah turned her anger on Jake again, talking furiously to him over my head. I squeezed his hand, hoping he could keep his calm at her berating him.

“You were her second choice Jake. You know that, right?”

“Watch yourself, Leah,” Jake gritted out.

“No, I will not… not anymore, not about this.” She gestured to me, though she wouldn’t look at me. “Her first choice was gone, left her high and dry, so she just took the next best thing.” She waved a hand flippantly at Jake. “Do you think she would’ve ever chosen you if he hadn’t left? Do you think you would’ve been able to steal her away? You’re deluding yourself if you do. You’re nothing but sloppy seconds to her. She couldn’t have her first choice, so she’ll just settle for this guy here who is paying attention to her. He makes her feel good, so she’s just gonna use him to help her get better.”

She turned away again and resumed her pacing. Jake was vibrating behind me, his emotions shut off from me, but I was sure he was barely hanging on to his cool. I pressed myself into him and he moved so I was in front of him, my back to his front, and wrapped his arm around my chest in what I hoped was a reassuring gesture.

“I do envy her for that. At least she has someone devoted to her, even though she comes nowhere near to deserving it.

“And now she has us befriending them. I mean, you’ve been to their house,” she pointed to Jake. “…you and Sam. And you’ve let them on OUR lands. Completely ignoring the treaty that was made to protect US and OUR people. But this little outsider comes in and says we should be friends with them and so we are. Friends with bloodsuckers. The ones who ruined our lives.”

Leah stopped again and made a grand gesture with her arms toward Jake again.

“Our leaders. What do we have to choose between? Leech lovers, both of them. So, it’s either the man who chose a leech lover over his people, or the man who broke my heart and didn’t look back.”

Leah’s voice cracked and faded as she spoke of Sam breaking her heart and I couldn’t keep the tears back any longer. I could feel her heartache as if it were my own and I wanted nothing more than to take it from her.

Grammy Jo glanced at my stricken face and then went to where Leah had stopped pacing in the middle of the room and took hold of her face. Leah flinched back, but Grammy Jo held firm and made Leah look at her.

“Child, you are placing blame on Bella for things that are not her fault. They’re not anyone’s fault. You’re angry and have a right to be angry because many unfair things have happened to you. But you have looked for, and found, someone to blame, just so you have somewhere to focus your anger, but it’s not right. Bella is not your enemy or an enemy of your people. She’s as much a victim as you are… a victim of the supernatural that exists around us and which we cannot control.”

Leah’s face hardened and she opened her mouth to speak again, but Grammy Jo made a tsking noise and placed a finger on Leah’s lips then continued.

“Yes, it’s true that if the vampire had not left when he did, Bella may have chosen to continue down the path that he set her on, but she did not choose that path without being influenced. She thought she was acting in her own free will, but he had ensnared her in a way that he didn’t even know he could.

“In some ways, she was even more a victim. You were brought into this life as a shapeshifter by the magic inside you,” Grammy Jo lovingly placed her hand on Leah’s sternum. It may not have been of your own choosing, but you were born with that embedded in your DNA. Bella’s choice to walk the path toward becoming a vampire was heavily influenced by a supernatural being and not because it was inside of her. The biggest difference, though, is that your magic lets you choose to continue this life or let it go. Once Bella was on her supernatural path, it would have been nearly impossible for her to turn away from it while he was still present in her life.”

Grammy Jo sighed and took Leah’s hands in her own. “I see in your eyes that you don’t believe me. You’re unable to imagine being ensnared by one of them because you cannot see them the way a human does… without your extra abilities. I don’t know what all Bella can do for you, but you owe it to yourself to let her help you. It’s our magic that lies within her, and the magic chose her for a reason. She did not seek it out and Jake did not seek it out… they were completely unaware of its existence. But the magic within her… our magic… your magic, seeks you out now. Let it help you. Don’t reject it because of your feelings about the one who wields it.”

I could see that Leah was uncertain now. Her aura still shown bright red with her anger, but she was trying to control it… trying to work past it.

Grammy Jo continued to try to get through to Leah. “The healing and peace it can bring you is all that matters. Stop running from it, Leah.”

Her full attention focused on Grammy Jo, Leah locked eyes with her. Tears were slipping down Leah’s cheeks and she was struggling to hold back the other emotions that she had kept buried under her anger for far too long. She finally swallowed hard and nodded silently.

Grammy Jo led her to one of the armchairs, keeping hold of Leah’s hands as she sat. “Now close your eyes child.”

Leah obeyed and Grammy Jo glanced at me and gave me a sharp nod, indicating for me to begin.

As my hand gently landed on Leah’s shoulder, she flinched, her already tense body looking like it would spring away at any moment, but she stayed where she was.

At this point, the power inside of me was like a caged beast throwing itself at the confines of my chest to be set free. I closed my eyes and when I released it, the warmth and light barreled through me and into Leah. Immediately, I saw a golden band of light extending from Leah, but it ended abruptly in a jagged edge, like a bridge that had been torn apart in the middle and looked sharp enough to cut. This is what I could heal… or more accurately, take away. Her friendship with Sam would remain, but the pain of a lost love would no longer exist.

Understanding washed through me. This wasn’t just about a broken heart; this was about a connection that had been destroyed because of something supernatural… that was why I could help her, why the magic could heal it. However, it wouldn’t be as simple as a physical healing. The magic needed to help heal the anger in Leah, to help her let it go, because it was the anger that was blocking her ability to heal and move on from that broken relationship.

For a moment it was as though the magic were speaking to me, but I didn’t understand. Finally, I realized it was asking for my permission. It wanted to show Leah everything I had experienced since the moment I first saw Edward. It was asking my permission because in order to show her this part of my life I would have to relive it all. I would have to experience all of the emotions, the love, pain, fear, emptiness… I would feel it all, as if it were happening to me all over again.

I sucked in a breath, unsure if I could handle it… what would it do to me to relive all of that? I needed to decide quickly. If I didn’t do it now, I may never get another chance to help Leah… she may never let me.

Jake…

I let him in my mind so he could see what the magic was asking of me.

I want to help her, but I don’t know if I can do this.

Oh baby. I’m so sorry. You’re strong enough. I know you can handle this, but you’re the only one who can decide. I’m right here with you… every step.

His hand was already on my back, giving me back the energy I was using. I felt his arm wrap around my waist as well, pulling me against him.

I closed my mind off from Jake again… there was no reason he needed to go through this too. I took a deep breath and gave my permission. The magic directed me to move my hands to Leah’s head and then it took over.

One by one my memories were pulled out and played through my head like a movie. I could see Leah there, a spectator inside the memories. I was surprised to see that Grammy Jo was also there, watching alongside Leah. They were able to speak with each other and I knew that Grammy Jo was able to interpret some things for Leah, giving her better understanding.

But I was alone. Reliving these parts of my life I wished had never happened. They were the parts that had nearly cost me the life I was meant for.

The beginning wasn’t bad. Experiencing once more the excitement and shock of discovering what Edward was and then the confusion when he was fighting himself on what he should do. Then there was the whirlwind once he decided to be with me, that he didn’t have the strength to stay away. This is when I began to see new things that I had been blind to before. I could see how he unwittingly drew me in, trapping me with his beauty, his scent, his voice. He had no idea that he was manipulating me and making me love him. I would have never loved him on my own. I should have heeded his warnings to stay away when he was telling me of how he was made to lure humans in… the perfect predator. It was not meant to lure us for love, it was meant to help them feed. But because Edward was able to resist his nature and not feed on me, it made me infatuated with him and eventually fall into some form of love.

The movie went forward to James and the hunt. The ballet studio and almost dying… almost being turned. So much fear, I cried out. Distantly, I felt Leah jump beneath my hands and Jake held me tighter, but I was locked in the memory. It was so real. The pain of the gashes and cuts, my head, my leg, of the venom. The excruciating pain seared through me, and I cried out again, screaming at the burning in my veins.

In my pain, I had let Jake back into my mind, and he could see and feel what I was going through, and he gasped. I was writhing in Jake’s arms, and he was the only reason I was still standing, one arm around me the other holding my head against him, still replenishing my energy. I somehow managed to keep my hands pressed to Leah’s head.

“Maybe she should stop,” Leah said to Grammy Jo.

Somehow, through everything I was experiencing, I was able to respond. “No,” I yelled, then clenched my teeth and spoke more quietly. “I can do this.”
I was pulled fully back into the memory… Jake was still there. Edward was sucking the venom out and I slowly relaxed. Carlisle was tending to my multitude of wounds with Alice and Edward helping. I could see details that I wasn’t aware of before. Jasper and Emmett were in the background, tearing James apart and setting the pieces on fire. The memory faded as the morphine kicked in and my past-self had passed out.

Leah’s disbelieving voice sounded distantly once more. “They were… they were helping her… they protected her.”

I closed my mind to Jake again, wanting to save him from the pain of what else might be shown.

Don’t shut me out baby. I want to see everything… and I want to help you go through this.

I hesitated, but it was easier to let him in and I had nothing to hide, so I opened my mind once more to Jake as the next memory started.

I was in the hospital. Edward kissed me and my body responded strongly… too strongly. It wasn’t natural. My heart literally stopped beating… the monitor I was connected to confirmed it. Then he was talking like he was going to leave me, and I began freaking out. I experienced again the fear and anxiety that the thought of him leaving brought, like an addict being cut off from their drug source, my breathing was labored, and my head spun. He determined that day in the hospital that he would eventually leave me… somehow, I could see this now, in the set of his face, perhaps. He strung me on for months after that, knowing he wouldn’t stay! I felt anger from Jake as well as my own hurt and anger at this realization.

The movie went forward to Prom, how he had tricked me to go, though it was ridiculous that I didn’t figure it out. I was so blind to everything around me while I was with him, with such a singular focus on becoming a vampire so I wouldn’t lose him. I begged him to change me that night. How could I not see? I had never fit in anywhere and was so desperate for that feeling of belonging that I allowed myself to believe I belonged with him… that I would have to die to find my place.

The summer went by quickly, slowing here and there to show how my feelings for Edward grew. He did care for me, but he continued to manipulate me, to control what I did and where I went, all under the guise of protecting me. My feelings for him were getting deeper day by day, but still unknowingly influenced by who he was… what he was.

The next memory we landed on was my birthday. More manipulation to get me to the party that finally convinced Edward it was time to leave. The paper cut; Jasper losing it; Edward losing control and pushing me into the table; Carlisle remaining calm and tending to my wounds… again.

Jake did not like having to visit this memory again.

Images flashed through fairly quickly after that to get to the day in the woods when Edward actually left me. The pain came on slowly as my past-self realized what he was saying in the memory. The confusion over what had just happened, thinking he would return for me any moment and tell me that he was wrong and could never leave me.

My body tensed and trembled as I fought the desire to wrap my arms around myself, just like I used to, when my past-self realized that Edward wasn’t coming back, that he’d abandoned me in the middle of the woods, and the hole in my chest was ripped open.

Jake’s arm tightened around me. I’ve got you Bella. It’s not real. Feel me against you. I’m real, and I’m right here. Jake was holding me together once more.

Oh, the emptiness. My past-self wanted to cry but I was too numb. I had clung to the numbness, it was easier.

“Edward,” I murmured his name, softer than a whisper.

Sam found me, carried me home. Then, the nothingness. Day after day of nothing. I wouldn’t let myself feel. The only time I felt anything was in my dreams. I gave myself the nightmares by not allowing myself to feel any other time. The full-on tantrum when my parents tried to send me to Florida. I started living again… or at least going through the motions of living. Rage when I ripped the stereo out of my truck; rage when I destroyed my CDs; everything else was just numbness, going through the motions. And nightmares.

Friends quit trying, teachers quit expecting anything from me, and Charlie was distraught, not knowing what to do.

Months and months of numb emptiness.

Tears began running down my face as I cried quietly while reliving these memories… not only for myself, but for Charlie too.

Then the night in Port Angeles. The guys outside the bar. The voice in my head.

I started to wake back up and it hurt. The only relief was the voice.

The promise. He had broken his promise and I was going to break mine!

Motorcycles at just the right time and place.

And Jake.

He saw through the emptiness… he saw the person that was still inside. He’d been in that emptiness before when his mother had died. He knew I could come back because he did.

He saw what hurt me and kept those things away. No music, no mention of Edward or the Cullens. He gave me space and brought me what joy he could… he was just there for me.

I began to smile again. Began to laugh again. The color returned to my face; the light returned to my eyes, though both were dull compared to what they’d been before… or what they were now.

Somewhere along the way, I began to love again. There was no one moment, it just grew slowly, bit by bit. Jake saw it, but I was blind to it.

The voice… always seeking the voice to comfort me. If I’d only known that I’d had the answer inside of me… my love for Jake.

Crashed motorcycles, trips to the hospital, homework, and hikes through the woods.

Then Jake got sick and quit calling or seeing me.

A new hole in my heart, right next to the still raw old hole.

Tears were streaming down my face as I held back the sobs while Jake continued to hold me up. His own sadness came through to me… and his love.

It’s almost over baby.

A new memory… the meadow and more emptiness because it held none of the magic it did when I was there with Edward.

More fear as Laurent showed up, then the wolves were there and I was running through the woods, stumbling and falling again and again.

My body trembled in Jake’s arms.

Another memory and more sadness at the horrible conversation with Jake in La Push. So much anger and hurt. Jake’s late-night visit to my room, the dream, and then I finally figured it out… I knew what had happened to him.

Things got better, but now Jake was risking his life to keep me safe from Victoria. I hadn’t needed Edward’s voice in weeks, but now I did. It had all become too much.

The exhilaration when I jumped off the cliff and heard his voice again. Nearly drowning and the feeling of relief that the pain would be over. So selfish.

Jake saved me. Coming back from nearly drowning hurt, but I was even more relieved that I had not died because of what it would have done to those who cared for me if I had drowned. Jake’s eyes were wet; what I’d thought was rain were actually tears. He’d been crying because he thought he’d lost me.
Alice returned and I hurt Jake by choosing to see her, when I didn’t know for sure it was even her, so desperate to have some connection back to Edward. I felt guilty and torn between two people I loved who hated each other. Jake’s reaction was so harsh when he came to my house two days later.

The next memory slowed down, like it was happening in real time.

My first kiss with Jake. Not just the kiss, but my thoughts leading up to the kiss and my epiphany during.

Somewhere inside of me wanted to be embarrassed, but I pushed it away to deal with later.

Every thought was replayed, every emotion and feeling experienced again, leaving me breathless and overwhelmed with those first feelings of love for Jake.

The final two memories were of Edward trying to get me to leave Jake while I was asleep in the hospital and my conversation with him in the woods outside the school, when I rejected Edward and chose Jake.

The memories finally stopped. The broken band of golden light that had once connected Leah to Sam was gone… somewhere in all of that it had been destroyed.

The warmth and light retreated back into my chest once more. My hands dropped from Leah’s head, and I sagged back against Jake. Though he’d been replenishing my physical energy, I was mentally and emotionally exhausted.

It’s over now baby. You did it.

Jake sank down to the floor with me, scooted back to lean against the wall, and pulled me into his lap, holding my head against his chest.

My emotions were so confused. I could still feel the fear and pain and emptiness right along with the love and joy. My mind was still opened to Jake, and I was too tired to try to close it, so he could see and feel the mess in my mind.

“I had no idea you went through all that Bella,” Leah said in shocked amazement, coming to kneel before us. “Why would you share that with me?”

I looked at her without lifting my head. “Because it would help you heal… the magic pulled out the memories, not me.”

Jake added, “Bella had to agree to allow those memories to be shared with you though.” He wanted Leah to understand that I’d chosen to help her.

“Did you know what it was going to do to you?” Leah asked. “Did you know you were going to have to experience all of that again?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“But after the way I’ve treated you, why would you be willing to relive that for me?”

I lifted my head this time and held Leah’s gaze as I answered. “All I’ve ever wanted to do was help you heal Leah. From before I even met you, I knew you were hurting. You’d been put into an impossible situation after suffering horrible losses. I’ve known for quite some time that you were projecting your anger onto me just so you had someone to blame, and more than anything I wanted to help you get past that. This was my chance, so I took it.”

Leah took my hands. “Thank you, Bella, for allowing me to see… for allowing the magic to work through you and help me to start healing. I still have a lot that I’ll need to work through, but at least I won’t be projecting my problems onto you now.”

She turned her gaze to Jake. “I’m so glad you didn’t listen to me Jake, because I was dead wrong. I can see now just how real the love between you two is and how strong your bonds are, beyond just the imprinting. I’m so sorry for the way I’ve treated you both.” She looked back to me. “And this time I mean it.”

I squeezed Leah’s hands. “I had already forgiven you.”

“Bella needs to recover now,” Grammy Jo said, her hand on Leah’s shoulder to urge her away. “Go ahead into your solitude now dear. Jake can help you sort out your emotions.”

I smiled up at her and closed my eyes, pulling Jake with me as the world fell away and we were floating together. I felt distant from him at first, like I was under water, and he was drifting on top of it. Slowly I came to the surface as Jake cleaned up the mess in my mind. I wondered how in the world he knew how to do that, but it didn’t really matter. As my emotions became calm and orderly, I felt my love for Jake come to the front of my mind. I opened my eyes to look at him and found him watching me. I was cradled in his arms and lap like a child.

I smiled and let out a small laugh. That was pretty crazy, wasn’t it? I’m so relieved Leah finally let me help her.

Me too. I’m glad Grammy Jo was here to help convince her. How’re you feeling?

Much better. Thank you for helping me through that. It couldn’t have been easy for you to see some of those things.

Jake brushed his fingers over my cheek and along my jaw.

I’m glad I could help you. Some of it was hard, but I really enjoyed seeing our first kiss through your eyes… experiencing it as you realized your love for me. It was a gift.

My cheeks warmed and Jake rubbed his thumb over the blush that bloomed there, then leaned down to place a chaste kiss to my lips and pulled me against him, my head tucked up under his chin. I wrapped my arms around his middle and snuggled into his chest. He just held me, waiting for me to be ready to leave the solitude.

I’m so tired, I just want to stay right here and take a nap.

Jake chuckled quietly. Don’t forget that we’re sitting on the floor in Emily’s living room. Everyone will start arriving soon, if they haven’t already.
I sighed deep. Yeah, I had almost forgotten that.

We can come here again later, if you still need to. Jake kissed the top of my head, and I let the solitude slip away. As the world returned, the noise came with it, and it had gotten loud around us. Almost everyone had arrived, including Charlie, who was sitting on the far end of the couch talking with Billy sitting in his wheelchair next to the couch, both of them glancing over to us.

“There they are,” Billy called as Jake and I stood up. “Let’s hear it for the happy couple. Congratulations on your engagement.”

My face, ears, neck… my entire head went hot as everyone cheered. Despite my embarrassment, it felt good to have the support of everyone. Even Leah was smiling… and this time it went all the way to her eyes. I could see true joy there as she held my gaze for a long moment before I was drawn away by Seth coming over to congratulate us.

We made our way around to everyone, showing my ring and telling the story several times. The only ones who hadn’t made it yet were Sam, Jared, and Paul, but they were still on patrol, apparently.

Seated on the couch between Charlie and Jake as we were finishing eating, Charlie had some questions about how everyone was tied together. I explained about the elders (which he pretty much already knew about) and that Emily, Angela, and Kim were all other imprints. Jake hadn’t told Charlie about the Dreamers, so I didn’t either, just saying that Grammy Jo was visiting and knew about everything as well.

“For something that’s supposed to be a secret, there sure are a lot of people who know.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, that’s mostly because the pack is so large. Most of these guys’ families have no clue, though.”

Jake plucked Charlie’s and my empty plates off our laps, pressed a kiss to the top of my head, and went into the kitchen. As I watched him walk away, I spotted Sam, Jared, and Paul beside the kitchen table and the restless look about them caused a kernel of unease to unfurl in my belly, but when Charlie continued, my attention shifted back to him.

“That must be hard for them. So, do they all look like Jake when they, ya know,” he cleared his throat, “become wolves?”

I laughed, amused at his curiosity. “Not completely. They’re not all the same color and their sizes vary a little. Jake is definitely the biggest and the only one who is that red-brown color. Sam’s fur is black and the rest of them are different shades of browns, grays, and silver, some solid and some with markings.”
He nodded as he took it all in. “This is a really great group of people you’ve got here Bella. I can tell they all care about you and Jake.”

I looked around the house at all the smiling faces then looked back to Charlie and shrugged. “We’re a family. And you’re a part of that now too. We all look out for each other.”

I glanced back toward the kitchen in time to see Jake and Embry heading toward the front door with Sam and Jared. Before I could react, Jake paused to look back over his shoulder at me.

We’ve gotta go check something out and we’re trying not to draw too much attention.

I nodded and he was in motion again, disappearing out the door.

We shouldn’t be gone long. I’ll let you know if something changes. Can you tell Angela for Embry?

Alright, I can do that. Be safe.

Always.

After answering a few more questions for Charlie, I excused myself and went to find Angela. She was at the kitchen sink, getting started on the dishes.

“Would you like some help?” I asked.

She looked up at me as she scrubbed a plate. “Aww, you don’t have to do that. Just enjoy your impromptu party.” She glanced around. “Where’s Jake?”

“Well, he and Embry had to go check something out with Sam and Jared. He asked me to let you know.”

She lowered her hands to rest on the edge of the sink, the plate and dish brush hanging limply in her grasp. “I hope everything’s okay. I wonder if this has anything to do with Emily’s vision.”

“Emily had a vision?”

“Yeah, while you were recovering from helping Leah.” She went back to scrubbing the plate in her hand. “That was pretty cool what you were able to do for her, by the way. How’re you feeling?”

“I’m doing pretty good, just a little drained.” I took the plate from her when she handed it to me, settling into the familiar routine while we talked. “I’m probably going to sleep pretty hard tonight. Do you know what Emily’s vision was about? Or where she is?” I glanced around the house but didn’t see her anywhere.

“She and Grammy Jo went outside as soon as they were done eating. And, no, I don’t know what the vision was about. Sam and Jared had just gotten back from patrol when it happened, then they grabbed Paul and the three of them left without another word. She didn’t want to say anything until they got back. The only reason I even knew anything was going on was because she dropped a knife when it happened and cut her finger, so Sam called me over to help.”

“I wonder why she didn’t say anything to me or Jake.”

“Well, I don’t know for sure, but I can think of a few reasons. By the time you two came out of that um trancy thing you do—”

“Our solitude?”

“Yeah, that. By the time you came out, Sam’s pack had already gone, everyone else was here, and dinner was ready. Since this was sort of your all’s night, she probably didn’t want to concern either of you until Sam found out more.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

We worked on the dishes in silence for a minute then Angela changed the subject, though I couldn’t completely pull my thoughts from what Emily’s vision could have been about. That kernel of unease that started earlier from seeing Sam’s pack so restless began to grow. Maybe it was nothing, but that was unlikely and there was only one conclusion I kept coming back to, and it was not a pleasant one.

At least one new vampire was back in the area.

Chapter Text

JACOB POV
**********
A new vampire… and on the Rez. This wasn’t good.

Noses sniffing along the ground and into the air, Embry and I took in the new scent, definitely not one we were familiar with. Thankfully, it was just one leech, but he’d gotten far too deep into our territory. Usually, the concentration of our scent at our borders seemed to deter them. Even the red head had only skirted around the edges of La Push, except for that one time she was in the water after Bella jumped off the cliff. But this guy was cutting straight through.

I’m just speculating at this point, Sam was saying as he and Jared paced restlessly around us, their paws silent as they moved, but it seemed as though this blood sucker had a purpose. He was definitely focused on something, to the point of distraction, because we practically ran right into him before he reacted.

He seemed to be startled by us, Jared added, but not surprised. Not the way most would be at the sight of two giant wolves.

Yeah, I noticed that too, Sam continued. The most concerning part to me was that as soon as he realized we were going to engage him, he took to the trees… just like the red head used to do. So, he could be just some random vampire wandering through, but I don’t think that’s the case.

Damn, I thought, my lips curling back, barring my teeth as a growl rumbled deep in my chest, an answering growl coming from Embry. And you said Emily had a vision?

Yeah, that’s why we came back out after we’d just finished our patrol. She saw a vampire running through the forest, right here near the highway…
I looked over to where the 110 snaked through the trees like a black river in the moonlight, just a stone’s throw away from where we were… from where the leech had been.

At first, she saw through his eyes, Sam continued, and then she said it switched as if she was looking at him head-on. She said he was after Bella. There was nothing in particular that specifically showed her that in her vision, but it was an impression she got while experiencing the vision.

I lifted my head high, examining the trees and little bit of the dark sky I could see above as I considered the situation. With Emily’s vision, it seemed unlikely that this was just a coincidental random leech, but I wanted to make sure we covered all possibilities.

Alright, Embry and I will go talk to the Cullens’ after we take the girls home. We need to make sure they don’t know this new leech, or if they’ve encountered him at all. Do you and Jared want to come?

Absolutely, Sam agreed quickly.

With the new vampire’s scent logged in our memories, we headed back to Emily’s. Bella knew something was wrong, but I wanted to wait until we weren’t around Charlie to let her know what was going on.

Embry quietly gathered Quil, Seth, and Leah to take them to the spot so they could get the scent of this leech, then Embry returned while the other three stayed out on patrol. Everyone else started leaving soon after, so it wasn’t long before Bella and I were in her truck headed back to Forks, following Embry and Angela in her car.

“So, it’s not over then,” Bella said after I’d told her everything, her face pale and eyes lined with worry.

“No, it doesn’t appear that way.”

She swiped away a tear as it slid down her cheek and I pulled her closer with the arm around her shoulder.

“I knew it probably wasn’t,” she said quietly, “but I’d hoped that maybe…”

“We’re going to watch over you baby… you know that. At least we know now that there is a threat, instead of just guessing. We’ll figure out what this one’s plans are and stop him. Someone will be around your house or wherever you are at all times. We won’t let what the red head did to you happen again.”

“I know you won’t, Jake. I just don’t want us to have to deal with this anymore.”

“I know, baby.” I so badly wished I could take this all away from us, but since I couldn’t do that yet, I wanted to keep her mind focused on anything and everything good as much as possible. “I do have a bit of good news.” She looked at me, hope filling her eyes, and raised one brow. “I talked to Sam and Embry about both the Florida trip and the honeymoon, and neither of them have any problems with covering things while we’re gone. They’re both really excited for us.”

She gave me a small smile. “Well, that’s something, anyway. I’m looking forward to this Florida trip even more now.” She looked back out the front window. “It’s hard to reconcile all these warring emotions between the worry and fear of this new vampire threat with the excitement and joy of graduation and marrying you. I don’t know which emotions to deal with.”

“Well, that’s easy. Your focus should obviously be on how much you adore me and can’t wait to marry me.”

She laughed and dropped her head as she shook it side to side. “Obviously, that’s the answer. Don’t know what I was thinking. Actually, I did think of something about the wedding that we should decide soon but haven’t talked about yet.”

“Oh yeah… what’s that?” I was glad to see she was so willing to allow herself to be distracted.

“Who we want to stand up with us, and who we want to perform the ceremony.”

“Ah, yes. I’m assuming you have some ideas.” It excited me that she was already thinking about plans for the wedding. Knowing how she used to feel, I’d had a lingering concern she wouldn’t be eager about it.

“I do. I think your dad should perform the ceremony.”

A jolt of pleased surprise shot through me, and a smile unfurled across my face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I think I remember that he used to perform weddings when we were kids, right?” At my nod she continued. “So, if you like that idea, we should at least ask him.”

“I definitely like that idea. And I think Dad will really like it as well.” That was probably understating it a bit… I was sure he would be thrilled and honored that we wanted him to do it. Especially since it was Bella’s idea.

“Great! So, I think I know this answer, but who would you like to have as your groomsmen.”

I’d already thought about this, so the answer was easy. “I definitely want Embry to be my best man and then Quil, of course. I would also really like to have Sam. Is that too many?”

She smiled up at me. “No, it’s perfect… and the answer I was expecting.”

“Who do you want?” I pulled in behind Angela’s car in front of her house, waiting for Embry to walk her to the door.

“Angela as my maid-of-honor, and Emily.”

I drew my brows together. “But aren’t we supposed to have the same number of people as each other?”

She shrugged a shoulder. “Yes, I think that’s how it’s usually done, but I don’t really care. I want you to have who you want, but I don’t want to have another girl just to make it even. That would make it less special.”

I studied her for a moment and smirked. “You’ve really thought about this.”

“Of course I have. I may not have thought out every small detail since I was five like a lot of girls do, but I still have ideas for certain parts.” She glanced over to the house where the front door had just shut and Embry was turning toward us, then turned back to me and lowered her voice. “I want to ask Embry and Angela about being in the wedding at the same time, so don’t say anything until we’re all four together. Same for Sam and Emily.”

I nodded in agreement as Embry opened the truck door and climbed inside with a quick hello and I pulled away to take Bella home. When we got to her house, Embry waited in the truck while I walked her up to the door. He and I would be leaving on four legs, but he wanted to give me and Bella some semi-privacy to say goodnight.

“Seth and Leah will be here any minute now to take the first watch,” I said, pulling her against me at the bottom of the porch steps. “I won’t leave until they get here. Then Embry and I are meeting Sam and Jared to let the Cullens know what’s going on and see if they’ve encountered any new vampires in the area.”
Bella wrapped her arms around my waist and held tight, laying her head on my chest.

“I just wish that you could stay with me tonight.”

“I know, I do to, but I’ll be nearby as much as possible. We’ll have two people watching over you at all times, but others of us will still be running patrols. None of us are going to get much time off for a while.”

Bella sighed, “I hate that you all have to stretch yourselves so thin like this again.”

“You know that we all want to do this. Every single one of us wants to make sure you’re safe, more now than ever before. So, it’s worth a little sacrifice.” I cupped her face in my hands and made her look up at me. “Please don’t worry about us, just let us look out for you.”

“I don’t think it’ll be possible to not worry, but I’ll try.”

I bent down to kiss her. Our lips had barely touched when I my head snapped up, scalp prickling and hairs standing on end on my neck and arms. We were being watched.

“What’s wrong Jake?” Bella balled her fists into the back of my shirt.

I didn’t answer but continued to hold her close as I scanned the tree line then remembered that Sam said the new vampire went up the trees, so I scanned nearer the treetops.

“Embry, up high straight to the north,” I said quietly.

“Yep, I see it now,” he replied, already out of the truck and running towards the woods, phasing before he even reached the tree line.

A howl cut through the night and within moments there were three answering howls and shortly after more joined in.

“Is the vampire here?” Bella asked in alarm.

“Yes, but not for long. The whole rest of the pack is coming. I’m staying with you until we know it’s clear. Let’s go inside so Charlie doesn’t start to worry.”

Charlie opened the door just as we reached the porch. “There you guys are. I heard howling. Was that you Jake?” he asked. When he got a good look at Bella he added, “Is everything alright?”

Bella looked at me with concern. He can’t know about the vampires Jake.

I know. I don’t plan to tell him that.

“Let’s go inside Charlie and I’ll explain as much as I can.”

Once in the living room, I pulled Bella down to the couch next to me while. She was trembling and would not let go of me… that was okay, I wasn’t ready to let go of her yet either. Charlie stood near the recliner, rigid with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Before I tell you anything Charlie, you should know that I probably won’t be able to tell you enough to satisfy you, but most likely just cause more questions and concern. So, are you sure you want to know?”

He looked from me to Bella, taking in her pale complexion and wide eyes, then back to me.

“Yes, I want to know what’s causing Bella to be so scared.”

I hesitated, giving Charlie a chance to change his mind. When he continued to look at me with a steady gaze, I sighed.

“Alright, what I can tell you is we aren’t the only supernatural creatures that exist in this world, and most of them are very dangerous. These other creatures are the reason that we, the wolves, even exist. Our magic created the first shapeshifters to be protectors and that’s what we’ve continued to be. Unfortunately, some of these dangerous creatures have chosen to come after Bella. We’ll have her covered 24/7 until we can catch them.”

“Wait, what? What other creatures? Why are they after Bella?”

“We can’t tell you Dad. There are some secrets that aren’t ours to tell and could put you in a lot of danger if you knew them.”

“Well, I’m not okay with that,” Charlie said loudly, his face morphing through several shades of red. He paced across the room then turned back toward us. “I want to know what’s put you in danger, Bella.” He pointed at Jake but spoke directly to me. “Is it because you’re all mixed up with the wolves that these creatures are after you?”

“No Dad, this was set in motion before there were any wolves. Jake and the others are the only reason I’m still alive.”

“How? Why?” His attention turned to Jake. “I want to help protect my daughter, Jacob. You need to give me some more answers right now.” He stabbed his finger toward the ground.

“Charlie, please believe me that I would if I could, but that’s absolutely out of the question. I warned you that you’d only have more questions. Besides, you honestly wouldn’t want to know… please trust us.”

He didn’t look convinced and opened his mouth to say something, but I quickly continued.

“As for you helping, there is no weapon that you have that could harm these creatures, so you’d only manage to get yourself hurt or killed. Only another of their own kind, or the wolves, can kill or even damage them. The pack will protect Bella, and you, with our lives, if necessary. You have to believe me and accept that.”

Charlie continued to hold my gaze, his face still red, but he’d stopped arguing with me.

“I’m sorry Charlie. I wish I could tell you… or better yet, I wish I could make all the supernatural things just go away, but they’re here to stay, and we just have to do the best we can.”

I could tell he didn’t like it, but he seemed to be beginning to accept that there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

A quiet yip sounded outside.

“Leah and Seth are here,” I said, my attention returning to Bella, cupping her face in my hand. “I need to go, and I’ll check in with you later.” I tapped my head to indicate I meant through our mental link. “If I don’t see you again tonight, I’ll be here to pick you up for school in the morning.”

She nodded as she thought to me, Please let me know what happens as soon as you can. Then out loud she said, “Be careful Jake. I love you.”
“I will, I promise,” I said, answering both her spoken and unspoken words. “Love you too baby.”

Cradling her face in my hands, I kissed her deeply, not caring that Charlie was right there. All I was concerned about in that moment was making sure she would be okay once I left. Stretching the kiss out a bit longer, I gave her my calm, then pulled back to look into her eyes for an extended moment. I held her gaze until her grip loosened from my shirt and I could see she was more settled. I pressed a final kiss to her brow then got up to leave.

“Jake, wait,” Charlie said before I reached the front hall. He took a couple steps toward me, looking and sounding calmer. “You said yesterday that it’s hard for you and Bella to be apart from each other, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not going to pretend to understand everything that’s going on between you and Bella, but I talked to Billy earlier, and I can see how you two interact…just now and whatever was going on at Emily’s house. And well I just… well, I just wanted to say that the couch is always available for you, if that would be helpful. I think I’d feel better knowing you were watching over Bella too, along with whoever else you have looking out.”

I let out a long breath, a small amount of tension leaving me. “Thank you, Charlie. You have no idea what that means to us.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Bella said softly. “That will help a lot.”

“Alright, well just use the key outside whenever you need to. And Jake… I do trust you. It’s just hard, not being able to help. She’s my baby girl and she’s pretty much all I’ve got left. Just make her safe again.”

I put my hand on his shoulder and held his steady gaze. “I promise Charlie, I’ll always do everything I can to keep her safe. There’s nothing more important in my life than Bella.”

He nodded and I looked at Bella one more time. She gave me a small smile and then I left.

AS SOON AS I phased, I saw that the others had chased the leech out of the area, headed northeast, just like the red head used to do, more indication that this wasn’t a random vamp. Sam, Jared, and Embry were already on their way back while Quil and Paul were continuing the chase to make sure the leech didn’t double back.

When we reached the Cullen’s house, Carlisle and Edward met us on the porch.

“We heard the howling earlier,” Carlisle said. “I hope everything is alright. Would you like to come inside?”

“Not tonight, Doc,” I said. “Where’s Alice?”

“She went back East where the rest of the family is. We’ve been trying to decide if we should head back as well or have everyone return to Forks.”

That surprised me. We’d been expecting them to leave town any day, since Bella was all healed up. I had mixed feelings about the rest coming, but… “Well Doc, not that we want more vampires in the area, but after what happened today, we maybe could use your family’s help… if you’re willing.”

I looked at the three with me and they all nodded in agreement. We were going to be spreading ourselves pretty thin until we could get this new threat taken care of. And if it was anything like the red head, it wasn’t going to happen quickly.

I turned back to the two vamps on the porch. “We came across a new vampire today. The same one twice actually. Once in following the highway deeper into our territory and again hanging around Bella’s house. We are fairly certain that this is one of Victoria’s creations. We wanted to see if you’ve encountered any new vampires lately and to make sure this guy isn’t a friend of yours. Although, if that’s the case, he’s acting pretty suspect, and he should be asked to leave.”

“No, we haven’t had any visitors,” Carlisle replied, “and if we ever do, we’ll be sure to let you know right away. I also have not come across any new vampire scents either.”

Edward was suspiciously silent, and I eyed him as he shifted on his feet.

“I’ve encountered a new vampire over the past few days,” he finally admitted.

I narrowed my eyes at him and clenched my fists, trying to still the slight tremor that had started in my hands. “You didn’t think that might be worth mentioning to us?” I asked with a growl.

He sighed deeply. “I was going to tell you, but I was trying to see if I could get more information first. Whenever I’ve come across him, he’s appeared to be watching Bella’s house, but from very far away, which confused me. He seemed to be able to sense when I was near enough to hear his thoughts, so I never got more than a word or two until yesterday. I still didn’t get a lot of details, but Bella was definitely in his thoughts… well, he thought of her as “sweet blood”, but that’s how her blood smells to us, sweet.”

Anger flared in my chest, and I could sense the tension coming off of my three brothers as well. I took a few deep breaths to keep myself in check.

“Why would you not tell them Edward?” Carlisle asked. “Or at the very least tell me so that I could relay the information?”

I knew why. “Were you following her again?” I kept my voice quiet, but the threat in the tone was clear… enough that Sam moved closer to me.

“I’m sorry,” he said, raising his hands slightly in a defensive posture, “but I can’t stay completely away from her. She’s like a drug to me. I wasn’t interfering, just keeping an eye on her. Especially when you weren’t around Jacob.”

My arms trembling, I took a step toward the porch. Then Sam was there, his hand on my chest and body angled toward me without fully turning his back to the house. Embry and Jared had moved closer as well, but my eyes stayed fixed on the blood sucker.

“It’s not worth it Jake,” Sam said, keeping his voice low.

I knew it… I knew this leech wouldn’t be able to keep himself away. But he’d at least kept to a watchful distance and not approached Bella again. Another set of protective eyes on her was never a bad thing, as long as that’s all it was. I let out a long breath and looked at Sam as I ran a hand through my hair. Now that Bella had healed Leah, perhaps we needed to revisit the thought of her doing the same for Edward. I didn’t necessarily want her to do it… not if she would have to relive everything again, but from what I saw, that seemed to be specific to healing Leah’s anger. If it helped this guy move on though, it might be worth it. Anyway, it wasn’t worth getting worked up about right now. He was keeping his distance and we had bigger concerns.

I shook my head slightly to clear it. “Alright, we can talk about that more at another time. Please, just don’t keep anything from us anymore. Let us know right away if you encounter this leech again, or any other new ones. This guy wasn’t deterred by our scent from coming onto our lands, so we need to take this threat seriously.” Who knows how far that leech would have made it if it hadn’t been for Emily’s vision.

“We will,” Carlisle said, eyeing Edward who nodded in agreement. “And I’ll talk to the rest of the family about considering more seriously coming back to Forks. We’ll let you know once a decision has been made. Do you require any assistance right now?”

I took a moment to consider that. It would be nice if we had one more pair to take a shift watching over the house at night. Especially since they didn’t need sleep. I looked at Sam, Jared, and Embry again to get their input.

“It would be helpful,” Sam said, knowing what my question would be.

“Helpful, but is it the best idea?” Jared wondered.

“I agree with both thoughts, Jake,” Embry said. “You’ll just have to decide whether or not you’re okay with it.”

My protective instincts were flaring with the thoughts of allowing him to be so close to her. However, with the new offer from Charlie to sleep on their couch whenever I needed, I would be able to stay close enough to appease that need, so I decided I could handle it as long as I was there. I wished I could trust Edward not to approach her, but I didn’t want to take any chances at this point.

Edward tensed and his head snapped toward me then he went as still as a statue. “You’re engaged?” he asked in a quiet, pained voice.

My mouth dropped open a little as I looked at him and I wondered which of us had thought about it. Oh well, it didn’t really matter who it was.

“Yes, we are,” I answered.

Carlisle looked from Edward to me, his brow going up and his mouth agape. He recovered quickly and put a supportive hand on Edward’s shoulder, before turning to me again.

“Congratulations Jacob,” Carlisle said, “and please extend our congratulations to Bella as well.”

“I will, thank you. And about you helping out, would you be willing to take the overnight shift watching over Bella’s house?”

“Yes, we can do that,” Carlisle said. “Just tell us when.”

“Covering the overnight shift would be most helpful, so come at 1:00 and plan to stay until she leaves for school. Does that sound okay?”

“Yes, whatever you need.” Edward had apparently recovered from his initial shock and sounded a little more enthusiastic than I’d like, but I’d be there the whole time. If there was one thing I could count on him for, it would be protecting Bella, so long as he stayed away from her otherwise.

“Great,” I said. “We’ll just take it a day at a time for now and see if this leech starts to show any patterns. Thank you both for your help.”

We phased again as soon as we left the Cullen’s house and paused a few miles away when Sam pulled up short.

I think it might be best if we combined the packs for the time-being, Jake. At least until we know more about this new vampire.

That’s probably a good idea, I agreed. This part of the shifter thing always made my human-self feel a little uncomfortable, the part that was all wolf instinct, though it felt a little more normal every time we did it.

Sam lowered himself part-way to the ground in front of me, his lips and ears drawn back, muzzle pointed up toward me, all a show of his willing submission. His mental connection opened to me, allowing his surrender to my authority to come through. I accepted his submission by allowing him to touch the underside of my muzzle with his nose. With everyone in wolf form, I immediately I became aware of the minds of the rest of his pack.

There had been no one to teach us how all of the shifting of pack dynamics worked, but our instincts had guided us as soon as we’d made the decision to join the packs the first time. Combining the two packs created an odd dynamic because Sam still kept his Alpha designation, he was just making a choice to submit to me temporarily, which also kept our Seconds and Thirds in their positions, my pack taking precedence over Sam’s. In order to remove the Alpha title from Sam, and combine the packs more completely, I would have to forcefully dominate Sam, but I couldn’t fathom a scenario when that would ever need to happen.

Paul and Quil joined us just as we split up to do a thorough check all around Forks and La Push, making sure there were no more leeches lurking about. Just before 1:00, I met with Seth and Leah so I could make sure the transition went smoothly when the doc and Edward showed up. Leah may have gotten over Bella’s relationship with the Cullens, but she still didn’t trust them… although I felt she had some respect for the doc, after seeing him care for Bella multiple times in her memories.

The day had been long and tiring. Between waking up early to complete repairs on a few cars, going through Bella healing my dad then Leah, helping her deal with her jumbled-up emotions, and then the encounters with the bloodsucker and patrols, I was beat. The house was covered, the entire area had been thoroughly checked out, and Paul and Quil were continuing patrols throughout the rest of the night, so I set the patrol schedule for the next day, sent everyone else home to get a few hours of sleep, and headed to Bella’s house. I was very much looking forward to sleeping under the same roof as her tonight.

I had spoken to Bella earlier to let her know that Edward and Carlisle were taking a shift and that I would be taking Charlie up on his offer to let me sleep on the couch. She had been relieved to hear that they were helping take a little of the burden off of the pack… not that I ever found taking care of her safety a burden. I wasn’t at all surprised, though, to find Bella curled up on the couch and sound asleep when I got to her house.

A gentle smile tipped up my lips as I silently came to stand by the couch, listening to her mumbling in her sleep. It sounded like she might be having a conversation with her mom. Her dark hair was splayed across the pillow and partially draped over her face, a stark contrast to her pale skin that shone luminescent in the moonlight coming through the windows. For several minutes, I just watched her sleep, marveling at her beauty.

Her breathing suddenly became a little uneven and her body restless. I crouched in front of her and gently pushed the hair back from her face, taking in the pretty flush of her cheeks and sweep of her long, dark lashes. She calmed at my touch, turning her face to nuzzle against my hand. I finally gathered her to me to carry her upstairs to her room. As I stood with her cradled in my arms, she stirred and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“Jake,” she whispered, “sit with me? For just a little while. Please.” Her voice mumbled a little through her sleepy haze.

“Sure baby.” I sat down on the couch and held her against my chest. “How’re you feeling?” My hand rubbed soothing circles along the length of her back.

“Mmm… better… with you. Still anxious… a little.”

“Did you want to go into our solitude?”

She didn’t even answer, just wrapped the solitude around us then hummed in contentment as the peace washed over us. I may have needed it as much as she had, I realized. We didn’t speak. Didn’t need to. I continued to rub my hand across her back and buried my face in her hair, taking in her beautiful scent of strawberries, honey, and summer rain.

It was hard to judge time while we were in that space, and I think I dozed a little. When awareness of the world around us returned, Bella was sound asleep once more, one of her hands twined into my hair. Her breathing was deep and even and she didn’t stir at all this time when I stood and carried her up to her bed. Tucking the covers in around her, I gazed at her beautiful face for a bit longer, yearning to stretch out and lay beside her. Finally, I sighed and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead, then headed back down the stairs.

**********
BELLA POV
**********
A FAMILIAR SCENT TEASED my nose. My mind somewhere in the state between sleeping and waking, my brow wrinkled as I tried to place it. I was only aware that it didn’t belong in my room… not anymore.

My eyes slowly blinked open, still heavy with sleep, and there was just a tiny amount of pre-dawn light filtering through the gray skies outside. I was about to turn over when a motion by my window caught my attention. I was startled by a shadowy figure standing against the dim light coming through the glass panes. It must be Jake. I opened my mouth to speak to him, but wait… the scent hit my senses again and something clicked. That wasn’t Jake’s scent, that was Edward’s. Why was Edward in my room? He was supposed to be watching from outside. My heart began a slightly heavier rhythm in my chest as I sat up a little.

“Edward?” My voice was a sleepy whisper.

The silent figure turned and took several slow, measured steps toward my bed. Their face began to come into view, indistinct and heavily shadowed, but it definitely wasn’t Edward either. Another step and one feature became clear… a pair of vivid red eyes!

My blood ran cold, and the breath was sucked from my lungs. Scrambling back, I slammed into the headboard, my mouth opened in a silent scream as the figure moved closer until it was inches from my face. Red eyes gleaming, a wicked grin spread across its blurry features. Jake’s name shrieked from my throat as my voice came back to life.

Vice-like arms went around me, pinning my arms to my sides. I thrashed against their hold and screamed Jake’s name again. The arms were strong and immovable, yet also… gentle?

“Bella! Bella, it’s Jake! I’ve got you baby. Wake up and stop fighting me.”

Jake’s voice and scent broke through my consciousness, and I suddenly snapped awake. Confusion gripped me as I looked into Jake’s face for a moment before reality hit and a sob burst out of me. I wrapped my arms around Jake, fisted his shirt, and buried my face against his chest.

“Shhh… it’s okay Bella.” He held me tight. “It was just a dream. I’m here now honey.” He stroked my hair and began rocking me like a child. I clung desperately to him as relief slowly flooded through me. It had felt so real.

“She okay?” Charlie’s voice sounded quietly from the door. I didn’t turn, just kept my face pressed against Jacob, my body shaking as tears flowed down my face.

“Yeah, she’s okay. It was a nightmare.” Jake’s voice was full of barely controlled emotion and pain.

“Are you okay Jake?” Charlie asked.

“I will be… just give me a minute,” he whispered, pulling me closer and pressing his face into my hair as I continued to sob in relief.

Jake just kept rocking me and after a little more time had passed Charlie spoke again, sounding concerned and uncertain. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.” His footsteps retreated and his door clicked shut.

After another couple of minutes, my sobs eased, and I realized that tremors were washing through Jake in waves. I didn’t even ask, I just pulled us into our solitude. In no time we had both calmed and I pulled back to look at him.

I’m so sorry Jake…

He took a deep breath and pushed my hair back from my face, his thumb stroking my still damp cheek. It’s not your fault Bella. Your fear and anxiety came through and woke me up. I was halfway up the stairs when I heard you scream, and I thought the leech had somehow gotten past me and was here. I thought I was going to lose you. I knew that couldn’t be, I would have smelled him long before he got to you, plus Edward and Carlisle are outside, but you were just so terrified. We’re lucky I didn’t phase running up the stairs. It took everything in me to hold it back.

In my nightmare, he was here. And when you first put your arms around me, I thought it was him grabbing me. It was so real Jake.

I could tell how real it felt to you. Your mind is really able to come up with some convincing images, but thankfully it was just a dream. He took my face between his hands and pressed his forehead to mine. We may want to check what time it is. Time passes so weird while we’re in here.

I nodded and let the solitude slide away. It was definitely brighter outside but glancing at my clock I saw that I still had over two hours before I needed to get up.

“Will you stay with me please?” I gave Jake a pleading look. “I doubt I’ll be able to get back to sleep, but I don’t want to be alone.

He didn’t even hesitate, just shifted around until he was leaning against my headboard. I curled up against him and wrapped my arms tightly around his middle. Closing my eyes, I pressed my ear against his chest to listen to his heartbeat and breathed in his calming scent.

The sudden sound of my alarm jerked me upright. Startled and confused, I reached over to switch it off. I actually had fallen asleep again. Turning back to Jake, I found him watching me with an amused smile.

“Don’t make fun.” I place my hand over his face and pushed his head away.

He gave me a look of pure innocence. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” His voice, however, was barely concealing the teasing humor beneath the surface.

I shook my head as I leaned into him and hugged him tight, then groaned and reluctantly got out of bed to get ready for the day.

“I’ll be downstairs,” he said as he stood then kissed the top of my head and I watched as he headed out of the room and down the stairs.

An hour later we were in my truck with Embry, heading to Angela’s house. With a new vampire around town, they didn’t want to take any chances with her either. It would no doubt be the first day of many with very little rest for the pack.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
The school day passed without incident, and the ache of being away from Jake was a little easier than I remembered it being the week before… or perhaps I was just more adjusted to it. Sometime near the end of my last class, it went away completely, and I knew Jake must be near. I was only partly surprised to find him waiting outside the classroom door when I stepped into the hall.

“Hey!” I moved into him as he took my books from me. He brought his hand to the back of my head and pressed a long kiss against my forehead, heaving a great sigh through his nose. When he pulled back, I studied his face and dark eyes. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just hate how exposed you are here at school.” He put his arm around me, and we headed toward my locker. “I would stay by your side all day if I could.”

“I can’t imagine any vampire would try anything here with so many people around,” I tried to reassure him.

His lips pressed into a thin line and he shook his head. “According to everything we’ve been told about normal vamp behavior, you’re probably right. I’ve been thinking about it a lot though, and Doc’s also expressed concern that everything happening in Seattle isn’t normal behavior. Now that we know they’re still after you, who’s to say they won’t try something unexpected.”

“I hadn’t thought about that.” A kernel of unease formed in my belly as I unlocked my locker and began filling my backpack.

“I just don’t want to assume anything, not where your safety is concerned.” Jake took my fully loaded bag from me and slung it over his shoulder as we turned toward the front exit. “I’ll be relieved when the school year is over. Then the only place you’ll still be so exposed will be at work. You still need to go by and talk to Mrs. Newton today, right?”

I gave him a tight smile as we walked out of the school building, that kernel of unease beginning to unfurl and grow. “Yeah, I told her I’d be by today, but maybe I shouldn’t…”

Jake pulled me to the side, out of the flow of students heading to the parking lot and took my face in his hands so he could lock eyes with me. “I didn’t tell you any of this to worry you or get you to change any of your plans. I’m just sharing my concerns and thoughts with you.” His thumbs brushed over my cheeks. “I could be wrong, but I want you to know what I’m thinking, in case I’m not, so you’re aware.”

I took a deep breath, my smile more relaxed as some of the unease left me. “Okay. Thanks, Jake. It means a lot that you don’t keep me in the dark.”

Embry and Angela met us at the truck, then Jake drove us to Newton’s so that I could talk to Mrs. Newton about returning to work. She was happy to see me doing so much better after my accident and agreed to only two days of work per week until after graduation. I let her know that I would have a couple of trips coming up, but that I would have to give her the details once the trips were finalized.

When I was done at the store, they took me and Angela to my house then left immediately to run patrols for a few hours. I was surprised to see the cruiser parked in the driveway when we arrived.

We found Charlie in the dining room. “Hey Dad. What’re you doing home so early?” I curiously eyed several unfamiliar chairs that he had turned upside down on the dining room table.

“Oh, hey Bells. I told Sue I would fix these old chairs for her. It was slow at the station, so I took the afternoon off to work on them. I also may have taken a little nap.” He grinned at me like he’d gotten away with something. “I’m going down to Sue’s for dinner, but I ordered pizza to be delivered later for you kids. You’ve had a lot going on, so I thought you deserved a night off from cooking Bells.”

“You didn’t have to do that Dad, but I appreciate it.”

“It’s not a problem. Now, I’m going to load these chairs in the car and head on down to La Push.”

Angela and I helped Charlie carry the chairs outside, then we spread out at the dining room table to get our homework done and do some studying for finals. When we’d had enough of that, we moved to relax on the couch while we waited for the guys to get back.

“How’re you doing with this new vampire running around?” I asked Angela once we were settled.

“I’m a little nervous, but I’m more worried about you. You’re the one they’re always after. How are you holding up?”

“I’ll be honest, I’ve been better. That nightmare this morning was very unsettling… it was just so real. And knowing that guy has been watching the house…” I shuddered. “I just wanted to say to you how sorry I am that I’ve brought all this danger into your life. I feel like I’ve become a danger to everyone around me.”

“Bella, you haven’t brought danger into my life… you’ve brought love into my life. A greater love than I ever thought was possible. Without you, I don’t know if I would have ever met Embry. It may not be the same as what you and Jake have—I don’t think anything in this world could compete with what the two of you share—but it’s so much more than a normal love.

“And it’s not just what I have with Embry, but with you and Emily and Kim… and with the whole pack. We are all a family and I love my life and wouldn’t change a thing about it.

“The danger is just a byproduct of this crazy world we live in! No one blames you. You couldn’t control what happened to you while you were with Edward, and you can’t control whatever is causing this new vampire to come after you now. You didn’t do anything to cause this other than just being a human in a world filled with supernatural things beyond our control.”

“Yeah, but if I hadn’t become involved with Edward—”

“Bella…” Angela took my hand and I looked at her. “You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened with Edward. You know it wasn’t your fault… we all know that. If Leah can come around to that fact, then surely you can find a way to let it go. And I have faith that the pack will be able to take care of this just like they took care of Victoria. Plus, we have the Healer now.” She smiled and poked me playfully on the shoulder. “That takes a little of the risk out of everything.”

I sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right. Trust Jake, trust the pack, and trust the love we all have for you.”

I gave her a small smile. “Thanks Ang.” Sometimes it was still hard for me to accept that I meant so much to others. I had spent so many years making myself sort of invisible, my mind had trouble always remembering that it was all real.

“Good… and you’re welcome.” Angela’s eyes brightened as she bent a leg up onto the couch and turned toward me. “Now, can we talk about wedding plans!? Have you guys set a date yet?”

My smile widened a little. “Yeah, we got to talk some yesterday.” I groaned and dropped my head against the back of the couch. “I actually still need to call my mom to tell her about the engagement… and talk to her about Jake and I visiting her. We need to get the dates for that trip settled before we decide on the wedding date.” Lifting my head again I looked hopefully at Angela. “You wanna be my moral support while I call her?”

Angela hopped up and held out her hand to me. “Of course!”

We settled at the kitchen table, and I took a deep breath as I dialed my mom’s number, my heart beating a fast rhythm in my chest. She picked up on the third ring.

“Hey Mom.”

“Bella!” She squealed and Angela’s eyes widened as I flinched at the grating noise. “It’s so good to hear from you, sweetie… it’s been far too long. How are you? Are you catching up on all your schoolwork? Are you excited for graduation? How is that new boy of yours? Is he treating you right? Charlie said he was, but you know how men can be; they don’t always pay the best attention. I want to know everything about him and everything that’s been going on with you.”

I let out a laugh at her onslaught of questions. “Wow, ummm, I’m not sure what to respond to first.”

“Sorry, I’m just so excited to hear from you.”

“It’s alright, Mom. Well, I’m doing really well and yeah, I’m all caught up with school. And graduation can’t get here soon enough, in my opinion.”

“I can’t believe my baby is getting ready to graduate high school. We haven’t gotten our plane tickets yet, but Phil said he’d get that taken care of this week.”

“Actually, how would you feel if Jake and I came to see you instead?”

“What? You want to come here to Florida? When?”

“Well, we were thinking of coming the weekend after graduation and staying for five or six days, if that suits for you.”

“My baby is going to come to visit me?! I will make it work, you just let me know the dates and I’ll take as much time off as I can. I have a bunch of vacation days saved up.”

My mother’s excited voice was so loud and shrill I had to pull the phone away from my ear and Angela covered her mouth to muffle her giggles. We figured out the dates and then I listened for a while as she listed out a dozen or so things she wanted to do while we were there. I let Angela listen in for a little bit, her eyes dancing with amusement. I wanted her to get a feel for what my mother was like in person rather than through my stories.

“Are you sure you don’t want me there for your graduation, Bella? We already have the weekend free and have set aside the money for the tickets.”

“Actually, I have some news to tell you and I’m hoping you can come a different weekend instead.” I glanced at Angela, and she gave me and encouraging nod and smile. “Jake asked me to marry him… and I said yes.”

There was an intake of breath on the other end of the line, and then silence. “Mom?” I braced for a lecture.

“Just processing,” she said quietly. “Are you sure this is what you want Bella?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“Well, um…” She let out a breath. “I’m sorry, you just caught me off guard.” She laughed and most of the brightness returned to her voice. “I’m not surprised this is happening. Your dad and I used to speculate whether you two might end up together when you were younger, you were so close. Then when you started seeing each other this past spring, I was almost certain this would happen… just maybe not this soon.”

“So, you’re not disappointed or upset?”

“Heavens no, Bella, I am so happy for you. I just needed a moment to absorb the news. You’ve always been so responsible and steady, and you’ve never made rash decisions like me. Yes, I know I’m too spontaneous sometimes, but that’s not you. If you say this is what you want, I know you’ve thought it through and are certain.”

There was silence again for a few moments and then I heard what sounded like a muffled sniffle.

“Mom, are you alright? Are you crying?” I grimaced at Angela, worried that my mom wasn’t being honest with me and was actually really upset that I was making a mistake. A few more excruciating moments went by before she spoke again.

“My baby is growing up so fast… too fast…” Her voice was weepy and the sniffles had started happening in earnest. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I’m truly overjoyed for you. Getting married!” She gasped. “When? Have you set a date?”

“We were waiting until I got to talk to you about our visit there to decide, but it’ll probably be June 24th. I need to talk to Jake again to be certain.”

“So soon!” The tears were gone, and her excitement was back in force. “That’s not much time. Is there a reason for the rush?” Her voice almost sounded hopeful, and I had to laugh at the difference in her reaction at the possibility of me being pregnant verses Charlie’s.

“Not the reason that you’re thinking. No grandchildren yet.”

Angela’s eyes went wide and then she had to smother her giggles again.

“Oh.” Her voice was decidedly disappointed. “Well, that’s probably for the best.”

Thankfully she was sufficiently distracted and didn’t ask again for the reason we were getting married so soon. We talked for quite a while longer, and she definitely didn’t seem to have any reservations about my getting married so young. It was very much a relief.

When I hung up the phone, I looked over at Angela and blew out a relieved breath.

“Your mom sounds like a riot.”

“Yeah, she’s something else for sure. That went way better than I thought it would.” Angela knew all about what my mom had always said to me about marriage.

We settled back on the couch and Angela wasted no time getting back to wedding talk.

“Okay, so you have a probable date for the wedding.”

“Yeah. It’s only six weeks from now… do you think that’s crazy? Is it even possible to get it planned that quickly?”

Angela laughed. “Well, it’s a little crazy, but that’s kinda par for the course, don’t you think? I mean, your fiancé can transform into a wolf, and you have the power to heal people Bella! You can’t gauge your lives by normal standards anymore. Anyway, we have time to make it work. There’s a lot to think about though. Do you have any idea where you wanna have the ceremony?”

“I was thinking about the beach,” I said with uncertainty, “but the weather is so bad most of the time that the likelihood it would rain is pretty high, so I don’t know if that’s the best idea.”

“Not in the summer. June and July have way less rainfall. And you can always have a backup plan, like a tent or canopy or something. If that’s what you want, you should at least try. That beach has a lot of memories for you two. Isn’t that where those pictures of you as kids were taken?”

“Yeah, we spent a lot of time there as kids actually. Then that’s where we reconnected last year and have spent so much time together down there… even if it wasn’t all under the best circumstances. And, of course, that’s where he proposed.”

“I think it’s a great idea!”

Angela and I spent the rest of the time talking about ideas. I was so thankful to have her help. She thought of so many small details that would have never occurred to me. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to bring myself to make all of those decision, so I may need to let her and Emily take over all the small stuff.

About an hour had passed, and we were deep into discussions about table setting ideas for the reception, when the front door suddenly burst open. Angela and I both let out startled cries and jumped up from the couch as Jake and Embry rushed into the living room.

They took in the sight of us then made quick work of prowling through the rest of the main level, before bolting up the stairs.

“Jake, what’s wrong?” I called after him as Angela and I followed up the stairs as fast as we could.

He didn’t answer, he just headed straight to my room. When we reached my doorway, Embry was standing in the opening watching Jake moving around in my room, sniffing the air, the window, my bed. Embry moved to the side to let me through, then wrapped his arm around Angela’s shoulders.

“Jake, what’s going on?” I asked, stepping toward him. Fear had started to creep into my voice.

He came back to me and held me gently by my upper arms, a slight tremor in his hands. Bending down a little to be more on my level before finally speaking, his voice gentle. “That bloodsucker was in here.”

The air left my lungs, and I swayed a little in his grip, the edges of my vision starting to close in.

Jake must have guessed how I would respond, which would be why he’d held onto me before telling me. And if he wasn’t sharing his calm with me, it meant he wasn’t very calm either. He gently lowered me to sit on the floor and told me to put my head between my knees and breathe. I did as he instructed and he stayed down on one knee beside me, rubbing a hand over my back, though his hands were still trembling.

“What the hell man?” Embry finally asked. “How did the freaking leech get in here?!”

“Her window was unlocked is my best guess,” Jake said quietly. “I don’t think we can leave Bella alone at all anymore. We should also call Carlisle to let them know.”

I lifted my head and looked at Jake. “Do you know when he might have been here?”

“I didn’t notice anything when we dropped you off, but I didn’t come up to the house. It smells like it was probably sometime this afternoon while you were at school.” He looked more closely at my face, “You okay? Your lips are still white baby.”

“Charlie was here all afternoon,” I whispered hoarsely, my throat tight.

Jake rubbed my arm, “He’s okay though. Whoever this leech is didn’t hurt him.”

I took a deep breath, “Why is this happening Jake? Is it ever going to be over?”

“Yes. We’re going to figure this out and put an end to it once and for all.”

Jake put his hand under my chin to get me to look at him again. I pulled us into our solitude for the fourth time in less than 24 hours. Jake pressed his forehead to mine and as the peace washed over us, his hands stopped trembling and my breathing calmed, warmth returning to my face. Once we were both calm, I let the solitude slip away again. Jake helped me up and we headed downstairs so he could call Carlisle.

Both Carlisle and Edward showed up a little while later and I led them up to my room, Jake right behind us while Embry and Angela waited downstairs. It felt very strange to have Edward in my house again, but especially odd for him to be in my room again.

Jake stayed close with his arm around me as they walked a few steps into the room and breathed in the scent for a moment.

“No surprise, but I don’t recognize the scent,” Carlisle said.

“That’s the same vampire I found snooping around the area,” Edward said. “Before we came in, I found the scent outside, starting from Bella’s window, and followed it to the next street over where it disappeared, so he must have come in a car this time.”

“He’s probably trying to conceal where he’s going,” Jake said. “He doesn’t realize that we’ve already figured that out.”

“That sounds likely,” Carlisle said. “I’m surprised that he risked coming inside the house. The wolf scent is pretty overwhelming all around and inside this house.”

“I was actually wondering about that myself,” I replied.

“He’s been watching the house for a while now,” Edward said, “so he probably had a good idea of when it would be safe to attempt to come inside. The real question is why? Why risk it at all?”

There was a brief pause, then Jake looked down at me.

“Bella, do you notice anything missing or out of place?”

I went past Carlisle and Edward, Jake right behind me, and started looking around my room more closely.

“I’m pretty sure I had a sweatshirt that I’d worn several times hanging over my chair this morning.” But it wasn’t there anymore. I went to the hamper, and it wasn’t in there either. I looked around again. “Oh! My pillow is missing!” I got down on my hands and knees to look under my bed and on the other side of the bed. “I know for certain I had two pillows this morning and now there’s only one.”

Jake pressed his lips together. “I think he was after your scent Bella. Your pillow is what we used to lure the red head in when we killed her because it was saturated in your scent.”

Oh no. My eyes went wide, and I rushed over to my hamper and dumped the contents out on the floor. The bloodied clothes were gone.

“I had some clothes at the bottom of my hamper that had blood on them, from when I umm, hit my head in Carlisle’s office.” I glanced at Edward who winced at the reminder, then focused on Jake. “I was going to find a way to throw them out when Charlie wouldn’t see them, so I stuck them in a trash bag at the bottom of my hamper and they aren’t there anymore.”

“This is very disturbing,” Carlisle said. “Between your pillow and the blood-stained clothes, he has a very nice sampling of your scent.”

“He still has all of those newborns,” Edward said, “he needs them to be able to find you too. But when and where?”

“Man, I hate this!” Jake exclaimed, running his hands roughly through his hair and gripping the back of his neck. “I wish we could just go find all of these bloodsuckers and end them.”

“I know this is hard, Jacob,” Carlisle said sympathetically, “but you know that would be unwise.”

“Yeah, that’s what you’ve said. Hard doesn’t even come close to what I’m feeling right now. Doing nothing while Bella is in danger is nearly impossible for me to handle.”

I put my hand on Jake’s arm and he gave me a flat smile as he pulled me into him.

“I spoke with the rest of our family today,” Carlisle continued, “and they all agreed to come back to Forks. I think it would be good if we get together with you once they have arrived to discuss how to proceed. Edward and I will continue to assist with watching over Bella in whatever way you need us.”

Jake was nodding, but I looked between Jake and Carlisle in shock and spoke before Jake had a chance to say anything.

“Everyone is coming back? Even Esme? And Rosalie?” The idea of one excited me… the other put me on edge.

“Yes. We have all been separated for too long. We were trying to decide if we should head back East or if everyone should return here. When Jacob told us of what was happening yesterday, we made the decision to come back here and help take care of the problem and to protect you, Bella. Our presence in your life is what started this threat, so we feel obligated to help take care of it and make you safe again.”

I smiled at Carlisle and then turned to Jake. “Are you okay with this?” I asked quietly.

He shook his head and sighed, then looked apologetically at Carlisle. “Sorry Doc, but it’s not my favorite idea. However, I’d rather have the rest of your family here than a bunch of red-eyed bloodsuckers.” Then he looked back at me. “And it means more protection for you, so we’ll make it work.”

“It’s alright Jacob,” Carlisle said. “I realize it’s difficult for you. Please believe me when I say we all still care for Bella’s well-being. And I promise we only want to right the trouble we unintentionally brought into your lives.”

“I believe you Doc. And I trust the two of you and Alice to protect Bella. It’s the only reason I can bring myself to work with the rest, even though it won’t come as easily with them.”

The doorbell rang and a moment later I heard Angela and Embry at the door.

“That’s probably the pizza Charlie ordered for us,” I said.

“Well, we’ll leave you,” Carlisle said. “Try to enjoy the rest of your evening. Do you want us to cover the house again tonight, Jacob?”

“Yeah, if you wouldn’t mind covering the same time again.”

“Absolutely. And I will let you know when the rest of the family has arrived.”

Once Carlisle and Edward were gone, we all sat down at the dining room table to eat. Though I had pretty much lost my appetite, I forced myself to eat a slice. We were all quiet at first… still processing the fact that this vampire had come in my house… into my room. Jake and Embry eventually started talking about the plans for the next week and how to incorporate the Cullens into the whole thing. They both saw the benefit of having their help, but neither one of them felt very comfortable having them watch over me without at least one wolf present, even with my assurances that I trusted all of them.

It wasn’t long before Angela was able to steer the conversation back to the wedding plans. I think the guys were happy to let her distract them with a cheerier topic and they were both grinning at her enthusiasm. She excitedly relayed much of what she and I had talked about earlier, asking Jake what he thought often.

“Honestly, whatever makes Bella happy will be fine with me,” he finally said, caressing my cheek. “I do really like the idea of having it at the beach.”

“Actually, we have a question for the two of you,” I said, looking at Jake who nodded, then we looked back to the two of them. “We were wondering if you would be our Best Man and Maid-of-Honor?”

“Absolutely,” Embry exclaimed as Angela squealed “Yes” and jumped out of her chair. With a huge smile on her face, she clobbered me with a hug and squeezed me tight.

When they left about an hour later, I went to take a shower and Jake came up to wait for me. I didn’t want to be alone in my room yet, knowing that vampire had been in there. I knew I was well protected with two wolves watching outside and Jake staying on the couch, but I felt so exposed in there now.

Once I’d climbed into bed, Jake sat with me, gently stroking my face and hair, until I had drifted off to sleep with the hope of a dreamless night.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
The Cullens didn’t waste any time and were all back in Forks before I even got out of school the next day. Jake and Sam, along with their Seconds, Embry and Jared, met with them that evening to discuss the situation and figure out shifts to watch over me and Charlie. I was dying to see Esme, but Jake wasn’t comfortable having me around them just yet, so I agreed to wait.

By then, the whole pack had seen through Jake’s and Leah’s thoughts the way the Cullens had saved me from James. It helped ease some of the tension, but they had also all seen what happened on my birthday, so it didn’t take away all of their unease and they were especially wary of Jasper.

I returned to work on Wednesday after school. Jake only left my side while I was at school or work, and he stayed in the woods nearby wherever I was as much as possible when he couldn’t be with me. We spent most afternoons in his garage so he could get work done and evenings were usually spent at Emily’s house. Charlie came down to La Push as much as possible in the evenings as well, either joining us at Emily’s or going over to Sue’s house. Having him at least partially in the know was helpful in taking some of the strain off the pack.

“One more week done,” Jake said as we were slowly walking away from Emily’s house, down the long open strip past her backyard. It was Friday evening, and other than the Cullens returning, it had been uneventful since Monday. The light of the setting sun was barely filtering through the thick grey clouds at the opening in the trees to the west, far ahead of us. With the trees on either side and reaching out above us, it was quickly getting dark around us.

“Yep, just two more weeks until graduation. And then Florida! It will be good to get out of town for a while and see my mom. Are you still feeling okay about being gone?”

“Yeah, I’m actually excited about it. Getting you away from the danger for a few days will be a relief. I’m more nervous about the fact that we haven’t seen anything from that new leech all week.”

“Well, he had two close calls with the pack the last time he was here, so maybe he’s decided to back off.”

“Maybe, but for how long? Makes me think he’s planning something and trying to get us to let our guard down. Of course, if that’s what he thinks, he is sorely mistaken.” Jake stopped and pulled me against him so we were facing each other. His fingers trailed over my cheek as he looked down at me intently. “I will most definitely not be letting us slack off on your protection.”

A shiver went through me at the intensity in his eyes and I whispered his name as I reached up to caress his face. My love for him swelled in my chest, and the hum of the electricity between us began to grow as we looked at each other. He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against my hand, tingles running over my skin. I moved to thread my fingers into his hair and gently pulled him closer. He bent willingly, his lips pressing to mine in a soft, controlled kiss, both of us working hard to not let ourselves become overwhelmed.

Though it had indeed become more tolerable to be apart overall, the draw to one another had become so powerful and seemed to be growing every day. It was both exhilarating and frustrating because we had to fight it so much more than ever before. Even though we had been together almost constantly all week, this was the first time we had been alone in several days.

I reveled in Jake’s heat wrapped around me and the warmth unfurling in my belly, my heart racing and no longer able to take a full breath. We lingered there for as long as we dared, holding firmly to each other. When we finally broke away, we were both trembling and my every nerve ending was thrumming. We pressed our foreheads together as we waited for it to fade a little.

“Five more weeks,” I said quietly. Just five weeks until we would be husband and wife and would no longer have to fight this. A small shiver of excitement went through me at the thought.

“Looking forward to making you mine, in more ways than one,” Jake said with a playful grin, and I hummed in quiet agreement.

A howl cut through the evening air, interrupting our moment.

“Duty calls.” Jake sighed as he scooped me up to run me quickly back to the house, depositing me on the back stoop. A quick kiss on the forehead, then he disappeared into the forest.

My emotions a jumble of love, desire, and concern, I took a deep cleansing breath before stepping through the back door. Emily, Angela, and Kim were seated around the living room, and we all exchanged nervous glances as I entered.

“So, Bella,” Kim said with tempered cheerfulness as I sat down on the couch next to her, “how are the wedding plans coming?” I hadn’t seen her all week, and the distraction was welcomed for all of us.

“Emily and Angela have been doing a lot of the planning, helping me figure out what needs to be done. For the big things, so far, we’ve been given permission from the council to have the ceremony at the beach and we’ve lined up the florist and then the baker for the cake. These two would be better at filling you in on what they’ve been up to.”

Emily and Angela took over, discussing the small details that they had sorted out. Alice had called me earlier in the week and insisted on taking care of getting my dress, so I had very little that I could share about that. I think she and Emily had been talking over the phone about it though, so hopefully she wouldn’t go overboard.

It wasn’t quite 30 minutes later when Jake came back, his hair dripping and his bare chest glistening from the rain that had started not long after he’d left. The look of him took my breath away.

“Bella, we need you. Two new kids phase while they were fighting, and they hurt each other pretty bad.”

“Two of them?” Emily exclaimed. “Who are they?”

He grabbed my jacket from the hook by the door and looked at Emily with a sadness in his eyes I hadn’t seen for some time. “Brady Fuller and Collin Littlesea.”

Emily gasped. “They’re only thirteen!”

“Yep.” Jake shook his head. “I was afraid this might happen with all of the Cullens returning and this new bloodsucker running around.” He held my jacket out to me. “Here, put this on. It’s really started coming down out there.”

I slipped my arms into the coat and put my hood up. Jake swung me into his arms and looked back at Emily. “We’ll be back soon.”

As Jake ran through the rain with me cradled against him, the electricity grew between us again, though it was thankfully dampened some due to the seriousness of the situation. The desire to nibble on his ear or kiss his neck was strong, but I restrained myself. I couldn’t keep from staring at his beautiful face though.

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and gave me a small lopsided smirk. “Behave yourself Miss Swan.” It’s like he could read my mind… well, maybe he did? Sometimes I let my thoughts and emotions through without meaning too.

“I’m trying, Mr. Black, but it’s not always an easy task.” I closed my eyes and took a deep shaky breath, deciding that focusing on something else would help distract me. “Do you know these two kids very well?”

His smirk faded a bit. “Yeah, pretty well. Collin is my cousin. His mom is my Aunt Connie, Dad’s sister.”

“Oh, wow Jake. I didn’t know you had any cousins.”

He laughed lightly. “He’s the only one. Dad has three other sisters as well, but none of them ever married or had any kids. Did you ever meet them when we were kids? I can’t remember.”

I shook my head thoughtfully. “I’m not sure. I don’t think I did. At least, if I did, I don’t remember them.”

“Well, I guess it’s about time that you met them. Sorry I haven’t thought about it sooner. There has always been so much going on, it never really crossed my mind. Collin’s mom, Connie, has a twin, Jennie, then there is Nora, the oldest, and Emmie is the youngest. Rachel will be home from college next week, so between that and our engagement, it might be a good time to have a little family reunion.”

“I would like that. Are they all pretty close?”

“Yeah, the girls all are. They used to be closer with Dad, but after Mom died, he kinda pushed them away… kept them at arms-length, so to speak. And then when he had to go into the wheelchair, I think he was embarrassed because he couldn’t be the helper and protector he’d always been before, so he distanced himself even more. They still try to keep in touch, but it’s hard for him. Maybe now that he’s out of the wheelchair he can work on mending things. This might be a good excuse to help him take that first step.”

The rain seemed to be letting up a little, less water hitting against my jacket even at the speed Jake was running. I had to marvel a little at his ability to run so fast over the muddy, uneven ground with my extra weight and carrying on a conversation. He never missed a step and wasn’t even winded. I never forgot how strong he was, but whenever I saw evidence of it like this, it still always awed me a little.

“What about Brady?” I asked.

“Well, he’s a little bit of a mystery. His grandmother is Harry Clearwater’s aunt, but no one knows who his parents are. The grandmother, Lucy is her name, if I remember correctly. Anyway, she left when she was like eighteen or nineteen, and when she returned twenty-five years later, she had Brady with her. He was just a baby and as far as I know she has never told anyone about his parents. Brady and Collin have been best friends for as long as I can remember.”

“They’re best friends? But you said they were fighting.”

“Yeah, the anger in us flares majorly right before we phase for the first time, as you know. Remember how I flipped out on that Mike guy?” I nodded then he continued. “Neither of them even remembers what started the argument that led to the fight. They were throwing punches when they phased, so they got each other in the face. Brady’s eye is pretty bad, and Collin has some wicked gashes across his face. That’s why I came to get you. Even though we heal quickly, I’m hoping that you’re healing can keep them from having any permanent damage. Plus, the sooner they’re healed the sooner they can calm down and try to phase back to human. Sometimes it takes days, or even longer, for us to calm down enough.”

“How long did it take you the first time?”

He gave me a small smile and looked a little embarrassed. “Just a little more than an hour.”

“What!? That’s incredible Jake.” I felt a swell of pride for my beautiful Alpha man. The other guys have always talked about the amount of control Jake has. I don’t know why he would be embarrassed about that.

“That’s why I thought I might be less human… because everything came to me so much more easily than the others.”

I frowned at him and traced a finger along his jaw. “You don’t still feel that way, do you?”

“No baby, you helped me overcome that. The way you look at me when I’m in wolf form, I know that you still see me, and not some mindless monster. That made all the difference.”

I smiled and pressed my forehead to his temple. “Good, I’m glad.”

“We’re getting close.” Jake picked up his pace a little.

I had paid no attention to where we were going, distracted as I was by looking at Jake, so I had no idea where we were. I began to hear some pitiful sounding whines and quiet howls still a little way off. My heart immediately started to ache for them, they sounded like they were in a lot of pain and frightened.

“Poor kids,” I whispered, “this has got to be so scary for them.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty freaked out. If Sam hasn’t been able to calm them down, I may have to give them an Alpha command to make it safe enough for you to get close to them.”

I could hear the distaste in Jake’s voice. He hated giving those commands and taking away someone’s free will. So far, he’d only had to do it twice, that I knew of, and this would be less of an intrusion on their will than those instances, but he still wouldn’t like it.

The rain had stopped for the moment, and there were a few breaks in the clouds… enough to allow the bright moon to shine intermittently through the trees. The moonlight allowed me to see through the darkness much better as we came out into a rather large clearing, and there were wolves everywhere. I had never been around so many of them at once and it was quite an awe inspiring, and somewhat intimidating, sight.

I immediately recognized Sam, Seth, Leah, and Embry. There was one other wolf, and I wasn’t sure who he was. I knew it wasn’t Quil… the coat color was a similar brown, but he wasn’t stocky enough to be Quil.

Is that Paul or Jared? I thought to Jake, a little embarrassed that I didn’t recognize him.

Don’t be embarrassed. That’s Jared. Paul is a dark silver color. He and Quil are still running patrols to make sure our border stays secure while we deal with this.

Jake set me down a safe distance from the two smaller, more gangly wolves lying on the ground, squirming in obvious pain. I turned my full attention to them, smiling at them softly. I wished that I could communicate telepathically with these two like I could with Jake.

“I’ll be right back Bella. I think I need to be in wolf form for this.”

I grabbed Jake’s hand before he could run off, sensing that wouldn’t be necessary as my power pushed in my chest, trying to get to the injured wolves. I held the gaze of the wolf who must be Brady, his left eye swollen shut. His dark ashy brown coat was nearly black around his eye, covered in both crusty dried blood and still oozing fresh blood. It looked pretty nasty, and I silently hoped he wouldn’t lose his sight.

“Hold on Jake. I want to try like this first.” Brady was still whining softly, but under my gaze he had stilled. I could feel the tension in Jake but seeing how much calmer Brady had gotten since we arrived, he agreed.

“Just, go slow Bella and be ready for me to pull you back.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Hey there Brady,” I started, kneeling down on the wet ground where I stood. Brady was laying mostly on his side, but his head was lifted, and I saw something flicker in his good eye… surprise, I think. “My name is Bella, and I can help you. I know you’re scared, and I’m sure that eye hurts, but I have a special magic inside of me and if you lay really still, I can make your eye better. Can you do that? Blink your good eye twice if you can do that for me.”

Brady glanced nervously at Jake then over to Sam in his wolf form, who I assumed assured Brady to trust me. He finally looked back to me and blinked his good eye two times.

“That’s great Brady. Very good job. I need you to lay on your right side with your head down and then I’ll need to go behind you. You won’t be able to see me, but I’ll keep talking to you and tell you everything I’m doing, okay? Blink two more times if you understand and are okay with that.”

He didn’t look away from me this time and blinked two more times.

“Okay, great. One more thing,” I took Jake’s hand again, “Jake will have to come with me, but he won’t touch you, only I’ll touch you, okay?”

He blinked two more times.

“That’s really good. Okay, I’m going to move behind you now.” I continued to speak softly to Brady as I stood and slowly went to kneel right behind his shoulder, Jake right behind me. I noticed that Collin had also quieted and was watching me with interest. The gashes crossing diagonally across his face glistened in the moonlight from the blood still seeping out of them. His eyes were spared, but his nose was a mangled mess.

“Alright Brady, I’m going to put my hands on your shoulder. You might see a soft golden light and feel some warmth, but don’t be afraid, that’s my healing magic. The first thing it will do is take away your pain before it fixes your injuries.”

I told Brady again just as I placed my hands, the warmth and light pulsing eagerly in my chest. When I released it, the power shot through me faster than ever before, and the pull from me seemed to be greater than any other time I had used it. Jake’s replenishing power kept pace with it though.

I closed my eyes and watched the light flow to Brady’s eye and weave it back together. I don’t know that I would ever get used to the beauty of it. Seeing fullness of the damage, I felt certain that he would have lost that eye if it weren’t for my healing, but I was equally certain that my magic would heal it completely, just as it did for Paul’s shoulder and Emily’s scars… and Billy’s diabetes, which the doctor had confirmed at his appointment on Thursday.

When the injuries were healed, I opened my eyes and the wolf still lying on his side before me blinked up at me, watching me intently out of his perfectly reformed eye. The light didn’t immediately retreat as it usually did however, and I felt the magic doing something new. I closed my eyes again and watched as the light showed Brady something that I didn’t quite understand. It was communicating with him, and I felt tension leave his body. After that, the warmth and light returned to me, and I moved my hands away from Brady. Jake immediately lifted me to my feet and pulled me back several steps while still continuing to refill my energy, which seemed to be taking longer than usual.

Brady quickly lept to his feet, stopping for a minute to watch me, then scampered off to the woods, Seth and Jared right on his heels.

Sam was staring at me, a strange look in his wolf eyes, though I couldn’t figure out quite what it was. I smiled at him then turned my attention to Collin and went through the same process as I had with Brady. I felt the same stronger pull and the magic again showed Collin what it had shown Brady after I had healed his face, his nose once more whole and unmarred. Once Collin had retreated into the woods in the same direction as Brady, the remaining wolves all followed.

I turned to Jake and laid my head on his chest, feeling mentally drained. He was still glowing, and his replenishing magic was still flowing into me.

“You were awesome as always, Bella.” He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head, the golden light illuminating a small area around us. “It was like you tamed the beasts. I can’t believe how calm they both were for you.”

“Thanks. I don’t feel like I did anything special. I just talked to them. The magic did most of the work.”

“Maybe, but some of that calm came before you ever touched them. You spoke to them as frightened boys, not as freaky monsters. You weren’t scared of them, and you helped them realize that they’re still human inside. I’m sure that made a big difference. It’s similar to what you did for me, and you didn’t have any magic then.” Jake put a finger under my chin to lift my face toward him, the golden light still reflecting softly on his face. “You helped me be more at peace with my shapeshifting side and made me realize that it didn’t make me any less of who I am.”

His voice was soft, and I became aware of the electric charge between us again. It was something that was always there, just sometimes we were less aware of it, or able to distract ourselves from it. The desire that flared in my belly was mirrored back to me in Jake’s eyes… much stronger this time. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a ragged breath as Jake kissed me on the forehead and pulled me against his chest again. Sometimes we indulged a little and sometimes it was better to resist completely.

“The pack is returning,” Jake said quietly, and the light finally faded from us.

I realized I was hearing voices and when I turned toward the approaching figures, I was surprised to see all of them emerge in human form… including Collin and Brady. Judging from the soft exhale of breath beside me, Jake was just as surprised.

Both boys were extremely tall for 13… had to be nearing 6 ft. They were both long and lean and had the beginning of the sinewy muscles that all the wolves developed. Their faces still showed the roundness of youth though. I suddenly felt a twinge of sadness for those two boys. They were going to lose so much of their childhoods as they grew to men over the next few months.

“How in the world?” Jake asked in wonder at the sight of the boys.

“Bella showed us how,” Collin said.

My eyes went wide as I looked from Collin to Brady to Sam. “Showed you how to do what, exactly?”

Sam answered for them. “You showed them how to access their transformation power. But they were only able to make it work because you had calmed them down. Bella, from the moment you arrived they began to calm down. While you were healing them, it also took away their fear and allowed me to better communicate with them. You’ve made this transition a hundred times easier for these two than it was for any of the rest of us… except maybe Jake.”

“Thanks for helping us, Bella,” Collin said.

“Yeah, thanks Hadós,” Brady added.

“Hadós?” I wrinkled my brow at the unfamiliar word.

“It means ‘elder sister’ in Quileute,” Jake informed me. “It’s a sign of respect.”

I smiled at them warmly. “You’re both very welcome. I didn’t even know I could do that.”

The trees around us suddenly began to move and sway, and the ground began to shift, the forest surrounding me going blurry. I reached out a hand toward Jake, but I missed. He caught me before I could fall and cradled me in his arms.

“Let’s get you home baby,” Jake said. “That took a greater toll on you than normal.”

“Yeah, my brain feels fuzzy.” My voice didn’t sound quite right either.

The dark of the night engulfed us and all I could see was Jake. The moonlight that had shown in the clearing was now hidden by cloud cover once more. At least it hadn’t started raining again.

We were quiet on the way back, Embry staying with us. I wasn’t sure where the others had gone. I rested my head on Jake’s shoulder, my arms wrapped around his neck, and relaxed in his arms. Breathing in the scent of him, I sighed in contentment.

I think I dozed a little… maybe dreamed of Charlie.

“Is she okay?” Charlie sounded so concerned.

“I’m fine, Dad,” I told him, but he didn’t seem to hear me, then Jake answered.

“Yes, she’s fine. She healed a couple of kids and it drained more from her than usual. I can’t wake her, but her mind is calm, so she should be fine after a good night’s sleep.”

More words were spoken, but they became increasingly garbled and distant. The dream finally faded, and a peaceful darkness overtook me.

Chapter Text

**********
BELLA POV
**********
I WOKE WITH A START and jolted straight up, unsure where I was. Blinking into the nearly dark space around me, my disoriented brain was slow to focus. With the help of the small amount of light coming through the windows, I finally figured out that I was in my bedroom, in my own bed, but I don’t remember coming home. The last thing I remembered was being in Jake’s arms running through the forest in almost complete darkness

A hand touched my back and I jumped and squeaked in surprise. Spinning my head quickly to the left I recognized Jake’s form lying beside me in the darkness, just able to make out an amused grin spreading across his face at my reaction. My eyes went wide as my head swiveled quickly over to my wide opened bedroom door, Charlie’s snores echoing through the walls, and then turned back to Jake whose smile had grown.

“Relax baby. Charlie knows I’m in here.”

Somehow my eyes managed to widen even more and then my face crumpled in confusion. “Wait, what? He knows you’re in my bed with me?! And he’s okay with that?”

“Well, he wasn’t thrilled about it, but it became necessary.” Jake tugged on my arm to pull me back down next to him and I went willingly, snuggling against his side. “You passed out on the way back to Emily’s and I couldn’t get you to wake up for anything. I brought you home, planning to sleep on the couch, but you kept calling for me. I would sit with you until you’d settle but each time I left your room, it wasn’t long before you were calling out for me again. Charlie resisted at first, but after it became obvious we weren’t going to get any sleep if it continued, he finally relented and acknowledged that you needed me to be with you.”

“Wow. Having Charlie know what’s going on with us certainly makes things easier. Even still, I’m surprised he allowed this.”

“Oh, well, he made it clear that it was just for the one night and your door had to remain open.” Jake chuckled and started running his fingers over my hair. “He realizes our need for each other goes deeper than normal relationships, even if he doesn’t fully understand it, so I don’t think he would actually deny us being together if that’s what you needed. It’s hard for him, though. He knows his time with you under his roof is limited, so he’s just trying to hold onto it as long as he can. He doesn’t want to let his little girl go.”

I absently spun my engagement ring around my finger as I considered what this all must be like for Charlie. “He’s been so great about everything, sometimes I forget how hard it must all be for him to grasp.” I sighed then shifted to look up at Jake’s face, resting my chin on my hand against his chest. “I wonder why the healings last night took so much more out of me.”

Jake nodded and hummed thoughtfully. “I was wondering about that myself and thought it over quite a lot last night. I think it’s because you didn’t just heal them physically. You also helped them in other ways. My power only refills your physical energy, so when something takes more of a mental toll on you, you have to recover on your own. It’s also possible that healing the boys in their wolf forms took more from you as well.”

I considered that for a moment. “That would make sense. You know, I think Brady would have lost that eye if I didn’t have this healing ability.” I shuddered at the thought.

Jake pulled me in a little closer. “I wondered about that too. I’m so incredibly thankful for you, Bella. For so very many reasons.”

Propping myself up on my elbows I looked at Jake’s handsome face and the sincerity there. A flood of emotions washed through me anew… whether from me or from him, I couldn’t say for certain, but it didn’t matter.

“I love you, Jake,” I whispered, sliding up so that our faces were closer together, his intense eyes locked on mine sending tingles through me. “This life feels so unreal, I sometimes question my sanity.” He smiled gently at me. “But no matter what, I know I never have to question this. You. Us. Our love for each other.”

His thumb brushed over my jaw, and I closed the small distance to touch my lips to his for a brief chaste kiss. As soon as our lips touched though, the electric current between us flared and we both moved to deepen the kiss, his fingers in my hair and an arm coming tight around my ribs. After only a few moments we caught ourselves and before it could get more intense, we pulled away from each other, already breathless.

“Damn that’s hard to fight,” Jake breathed in frustration.

“Yeah, no kidding.” I flopped over onto my back, so we were lying side by side. “At least we won’t have to fight it forever.”

Jake took my hand in his, lacing our fingers together. I turned my head toward him to find him smiling at me. A bashful smile curved my own lips and my face heated. As we laid next to each other in silence, I began to drift back to sleep with the feeling of Jake’s thumb brushing over the ring on my finger, a reminder of what was soon to come for us.

My alarm blaring at me jarred me out of sleep once more and I groggily reached over to shut it off. Jake was no longer lying next to me, and muffled voices drifted through my still open door. With a groan, I forced myself out of bed and into the bathroom to get ready for my second day back to work. The shower helped wake me up, then I quickly dressed and headed down to the kitchen.

Jake and Charlie were sitting at the kitchen table discussing something sports related, which I immediately tuned out. It brought a smile to my face though, to see how easy it was for them to spend time together.

“Morning Bells,” Charlie said as I approached the table. “How’re you feeling?”

“Morning. I feel great. Sorry that I kept you guys up last night though. I have no memory of any of it.”

Jake slipped an arm around my waist when I reached his side, and I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before getting myself some cereal and sitting at the table with them.

“It’s alright,” Charlie was responding as he watched our interaction. “I don’t really understand all this stuff between you two, but I’m glad Jake was here to help you sleep.”

I smiled at Charlie, suddenly aware that I’d had no awkward feelings with that small display of affection with Jake in front of Charlie. It had felt so natural that I couldn’t bring myself to care. And Charlie didn’t seem to mind either.

“Yeah,” I replied, “we don’t fully understand everything either. Thanks for letting him do that though. It means a lot that you trust us.”

Our conversation moved on to the plans for the day. Jake had two cars that he needed to finish working on and one more that he hoped to at least get started, so he was having Embry and Leah keep watch while I was at work.

Charlie was heading down to Sue’s for the day. He’d been spending a lot of time with her, and I watched him a little more closely as he spoke about her. I had a sneaking suspicion that they were becoming more than just friends and I wasn’t completely sure what to feel about that. Even though I didn’t know Sue very well, I liked her, and Charlie deserved to have someone special in his life. If it made him happy, I decided I could be okay with it.

NEWTON’S WAS SUPER BUSY with both locals and tourists. The constant flow of customers made the day fly by, but it had also been super hectic. That’s why, with about an hour and a half left in my shift, I was ready for it to be over.

Much of the reason for my desire to leave was due to the particularly needy group of nine out-of-town hikers who had been completely unprepared for the May weather in the area. Their lack of knowledge made me realize how much I had learned since starting work at Newton’s, but it was also trying my patience. Why go on a long camping trip to an unfamiliar area without making sure to educate yourself on the weather? So, Mike and I had worked together for the last hour or so to make sure they had everything they would need. And it seemed like they needed everything!

Pushing my way out of the back storeroom, overburdened with sleeping bags, I inwardly groaned when the bell over the front doors jingled. I struggled not to drop anything and glanced up as Mrs. Newton greeted the new customers. Something about the two guys who had walked in made me uneasy, sending a chill up my spine. After a moment I shook my head at myself. I needed to get a grip. We were all a little on edge since that new vampire had showed up, followed by no activity all week.

“You alright Bella?”

I jumped at Mike’s voice beside me and spun toward him, dropping one sleeping bag and whacking him in the head with another.

“Ooph. Hey, watch where you’re swinging those things,” he scolded with a light-hearted smirk as he took them from me.

“Sorry.” I let out a tense laugh. “You startled me.”

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Nothing. I’m fine,” I hedged, but couldn’t shake the uneasiness as another chill slid down my spine. I glanced back over to where the new customers were. They didn’t really seem to be looking at anything on the shelves. Instead, their creepy, leering gazes were on the large group of tourists we’d been working with. I stopped breathing as one of them drew in a long breath through his nose and a wicked grin spread across his face as he exhaled. My mouth went dry, and my heart began pounding in my chest… I had seen a look like that before… last spring, in a dark, empty ballet studio in Arizona.

“Bella? Hey, Bella!” Mike was shaking my arm and I realized that he’d still been speaking to me.

“Um, I’m sorry Mike,” I choked out, hardly able to make any sound. “I’m suddenly not feeling too well.”

“Yeah, I can see that. I was just saying why don’t you go take a little break.”

I nodded, looking back to the two pale figures again. They had started to slowly make their way to the back of the store, and as I got a better look at them, I had no more doubts. Two pairs of vivid red eyes stared straight at me, confirming my fears.

Jake! Vampires… in the store…

“Yeah, I think I will take a break now,” I finally whispered to Mike.

Show me Bella, Jake’s shocked voice immediately came back.

I opened my mind to him so he could see what I was seeing. The vampires were moving in my direction, their steps unhurried, evil smirks on their faces. I had no doubt that they could hear my heart racing and could tell that I knew exactly what they were, and they seemed to be enjoying my fear.

Mike said something else to me, but I didn’t hear him. I was frozen in place as my mind reeled with what I should do, but the fear coursing through my veins was making me incapable of coming up with a solution.

Jake had said he thought these new vampires might do something unexpected, but I’m not sure he ever thought it would be something like this. How did they get past Embry and Leah? And how were they so controlled around all these people? They couldn’t be newborns, or they would have just started murdering everyone in here.

Go out the back door and head straight for the woods behind the store. Embry and Leah will be there.

Jake’s steady, sure voice grounded me and, along with the strength he sent through to me, allowed me to make my limbs move and do as he instructed. I walked as quickly and calmly as I could manage to the side door at the back of the building, not wanting to draw attention and cause Mike or Mrs. Newton to be concerned and follow me outside. As I pushed the door opened, I glanced back to see that Mike had stopped the vampires to speak with them. It wouldn’t hold them up for long, but it might give me just enough time to reach the trees… and I prayed that they wouldn’t harm Mike or anyone else inside.

As soon as I was out the door I sprinted across the back lot, more thankful than ever for my new and improved speed and that I was no longer a klutz since imprinting. It wasn’t quite enough though, and just as I reached the tree line, as if out of thin air, the vampires appeared before me. I skidded to a stop, nearly crashing into them.

“Where do you think you’re going, Sweet Blood?” the taller of the two asked me.

“You didn’t think you could outrun us, did you?” the second vampire mused. I took a step back as he leaned toward me. He breathed in deeply, then released a feral sounding groan. “You smell even better in person. It’s too bad we can’t have a taste. You really will be a treat.”

I winced and my skin crawled as the shorter one ran his icy finger down my face. Where were Embry and Leah?

Just as quickly as they had appeared in front of me, they disappeared in a blur of gray and I was knocked backward, falling to the ground, and smacking my head on something rock-hard. I didn’t lose consciousness, thankfully, but my vision blurred, and stars danced across my view.

I took a moment to assess any injuries as the warmth of my healing magic started. From a distance, the twisting metal sound of a vampire being dismembered reached me, followed by a yelp of pain that was cut off.

My head was the only injury I detected, so I slowly brought myself upright. Everything around me was swaying and spinning, so I had to close my eyes and rest my head on my bent knees to keep from passing out. I contemplated suppressing my magic to conserve my energy since Jake wasn’t there, but I wouldn’t be going anywhere until my head cleared anyway, so I let it flow through me. Hopefully no one could see me from the store.

More sounds of destruction rang through the air, a little closer this time. Then everything went quiet.

Jake?

Almost there, baby.

“Bella, I’m so sorry,” Leah’s voice was close beside me, her hand coming to rest lightly on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, my forehead resting against my knees. I gently probed around the back of my scalp to discover a sizable bump that was quickly receding. I didn’t smell blood though, so at least I didn’t have to deal with that.

“It’s okay, Leah,” I spoke into my lap, unable to lift my head yet. “I know they were crowding me, so you had limited space to work with. Did you get both of them?”

“Yeah, they’re both destroyed. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I tried lifting my head to look at Leah and reassure her, but immediately regretted the action and had to put it down again when a wave of nausea washed over me. I probably had a concussion.

“I just knocked my head on the ground. I’ll be fine though. I already feel better than I did a couple of minutes ago.”

“I’m here,” Jake’s voice was right next to me, his hand on my back as he crouched behind me.

I breathed a sigh of relief as a surge of energy flowed through me.

“I’m sorry, Jake. I tried not to hit her.” Leah sounded so distraught, I reached out a hand toward her and she took it.

“It’s fine, Leah,” Jake said, his voice kind. “You did the right thing. No permanent damage done. Go help Embry gather the pieces. Quil and Seth will be here any minute to help you dispose of them. Tell Embry to come find me when they get here.”

I squeezed her hand, and she squeezed mine in return before letting go and moving silently away. Jake wrapped his other arm around my middle and pulled me closer to him, burying his face in my hair. His heat enveloped me like a comforting blanket, and we were silent for the next couple of minutes while the healing finished. When I looked up as the light was fading from both of us, worry lined Jake’s face and I reached up to press my palm against his cheek.

“I’m okay now.”

His face relaxed some and he helped me get to my feet then wrapped his arms around me again and sighed. “We have no idea how they got past Embry and Leah.”

Trying not to think too much about what just happened, I laid my cheek against Jake’s bare chest with my arms tucked in between us against his firm abdomen. A little shiver went through me, but I definitely wasn’t cold.

“Maybe they drove here?” I offered. “You guys thought the vampire that was in my room might have driven.”

“Hmmm… maybe. If these leeches start driving everywhere, that’s going to make them much harder to track.”

I tilted my head back to look up at his face. “Were either of these the vampire that was in my room?”

He shook his head, his lips pressed into a thin line. “No. Two new scents. At least they’re dead now.”

“You were right, Jake, about these new vampires doing something unusual. This definitely isn’t normal behavior, to attack in the middle of the day with so many people around. Also, I don’t think these were newborns. At least not brand-new ones. They didn’t seem to have any trouble controlling themselves around all the people in the store. But they called me Sweet Blood, just like Edward said the other vampire did, so they must be connected.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely not adding up with what Carlisle has told us. We’ll meet with the Cullens again and get their take on all of this. You’re almost done with work for today, right?”

“About an hour left on my shift.”

“Okay. They probably won’t make another attempt today, but I’m not going to take any chances, so I’ll stay out here with Embry. Let me know when you’re ready to leave.”

He held me tight and gave me a lingering kiss, reluctant to let me go. After another assessing look at me, he finally released me. As I turned to head back into the store, he jogged off into the trees.

AN HOUR AND a half later, I was sitting in my truck, sandwiched between Jake and Embry as we pulled out of Newton’s parking lot. We were stopping by to pick up Angela and then heading down to La Push for the rest of the day. Sue had invited the four of us along with Charlie and Billy over for dinner and I was really looking forward to it. Leah and Seth would be there as well.

The original plan was to hang out at Emily’s for the afternoon. However, with the vampires showing up at Newton’s we didn’t want to be separated from each other and Jake still had some more work on a car to finish up, so Angela and I decided to hang out in the garage while Embry helped Jake with a couple of the repairs.

I always loved to watch Jake work in his garage. It reminded me of a simpler time. I may have been a shell of the person I am now, but we were blissfully unaware of the supernatural that was now a part of our daily lives.

When the guys were all finished, they went to get cleaned up. The air was damp, but the temperature was pleasant, so Angela and I perched on the steps of Jake’s small front porch while we waited. We were deep in a discussion about our final English assignment for the year when a car pulled up in front of the house. I didn’t recognize the driver, but Billy was in the passenger seat. He opened the door and stepped out of the car. My heart warmed every time I saw him stand and walk. He had been diligently doing the exercises that the doctor had given him and going on long walks and he was getting stronger every day. Though he always took his wheelchair with him when he went to town, he rarely had to use it anymore, so long as he paced himself.

He strode confidently over to us as his friend got his chair out of the trunk. “Hey Bella. Angela. What are you two up to?”

“Just waiting for Jake and Embry,” I answered, squinting a little from the muted sunlight as I looked up at Billy.

“You’re looking good, Mr. Black,” Angela said.

She was right. Billy looked great. His coloring was better, and he looked like he’d already trimmed down a little. His doctor had advised him to continue to watch his diet to make sure the diabetes didn’t return, and Billy was taking it seriously. I felt pretty sure that it was gone for good, but I couldn’t say with one hundred percent certainty, so I kept that to myself. Instead, I’d made some diabetic friendly meals to freeze for him to help him out a little, along with a couple of sugar-free desserts. He seemed determined to take full advantage of the new lease on life he’d been given.

“I feel fantastic! And I don’t think I’ve eaten this good in ages, thanks to all of your amazing food, Bella. Sure wish I’d had you to cook for me before now.”

I felt a pang of guilt in my chest that I hadn’t thought to cook for him before, but I pushed that aside and smiled warmly at him. “I’m happy to help you out! Let me know when you’re running low, and I’ll make some more.”

“I’ll do that, only next time I’ll get the groceries… don’t want you spending all of Charlie’s money to feed me. Maybe you could also cook here and teach me a few things.”

“I would love that.” I fought against the sudden lump in my throat, thinking of how it was Sarah who taught me and now, because of the time she’d invested in me, she was still able to take care of Billy in some small way, years after she was gone.

Billy’s friend approached with the wheelchair in tow while I fought to get my emotions under control and trying not to let them go through to Jake so he wouldn’t worry.

The new man was a few inches shorter than Billy, stocky with a thick neck, barrel chest, and a belly that protruded just a little. He had the same russet skin and straight black hair that was common for the Quileute’s, but his eyes were a striking golden hazel. He reached Billy’s side just as Jake came out of the house.

“Hey Dad! Frank. Here, let me take that for you.” Jake stepped past where Angela and I were seated to take Billy’s chair from the other man. When he turned back toward the house he paused for a moment and studied my face. My emotions now reined in, I gave him a small smile knowing he must have felt something through our bond. Satisfied with what he saw, he nodded then returned inside to put the chair away.

“Frank,” Billy said, his chest puffing out a bit, “have you met my future daughter-in-law yet?”

The man’s kind eyes widened a little as he looked at me with new interest. “No, I don’t believe I have.”

“Well, Frank, this is Bella Swan, Charlie Swan’s daughter and Jake’s fiancé.”

I stood to shake Frank’s hand, meeting his curious gaze and smiling.

“Bella,” Billy continued, “this is my good friend, Frank Hawkins. He’s been helping me get around since Jake’s been so busy lately.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hawkins,” I said.

“Please, call me Frank,” he corrected.

I tipped my head in assent. “Nice to meet you, Frank.”

“And this is Bella’s friend, Angela,” Billy added. “She’s dating Embry Call.”

“Ah yes,” he said as he took Angela’s offered hand. “I believe I’ve seen the two of you coming and going from his house a few times. I live just a little down the road from he and his mother. I try not to be the nosey neighbor, but I live alone since my Francine died a few years ago and our two children are away at college. It’s hard not to notice some things when there’s no one else around to give my attention to. I do also try to keep an eye on things for Tiffany since it’s just her and Embry, especially since he’s been so much busier lately.”

“Oh, well it’s nice to meet you,” Angela replied sweetly. “And I’m sorry for the loss of your wife.”

He waved a hand of dismissal, his cheeks coloring a little. “Thank you. I miss her fiercely, but she was sick for a while, so her passing, while hard, was also somewhat of a relief.”

“Well, I’m sure Tiffany and Embry appreciate you keeping an eye out for her.”

He looked a little embarrassed at Angela’s kind words, and he quickly changed the subject. “My son, Mark, just returned home a little over a week ago. He’s not that much older than you kids. He just graduated from Washington State University and is coming back to teach at the tribal school starting next year. He’ll be working at Cool Water Rentals for the summer though.”

“That’s right,” Billy said as Jake came back out of the house and stood behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “I forgot he was coming home this summer. When was the last time he was able to come visit?”

“Let’s see.” Frank looked up and tapped his finger on his chin in thought. “Not since summer before last, if my memory serves me correctly, so almost two years now. And he was only able to stay for a week that time. It sure is nice to have him home to stay now.”

I saw a look flash over Billy’s face, his lips thinning and pressing together for just an instant as he glanced over my head at Jake. The look was gone as quickly as it came, but there was definitely concern in it. I glanced up at Jake, but his expression didn’t show any reaction.

“What about Amber?” Jake asked. “Will she be able to visit this summer? She’s still got another year of school, right?”

“Well, she’s trying to graduate early, so she took classes last summer and will again this summer to hopefully be done after next fall. So, she won’t be home this summer… unless it’s just for a short visit. Say, Jake, I hear congratulations are in order. How’d you manage to snag such a sweet, pretty thing?”

My face flared with heat as Jake’s arm wrapped around my front.

“Thank you,” he replied. “I don’t really know how I got so lucky.”

Stop it! I scolded Jake.

Nope. I speak only the truth.

“Well, you be sure and hold onto her.”

“Always.”

Embry showed up while we chatted for a few more minutes. Once Frank left and Billy had gone inside, Jake spoke to Embry.

“I got ahold of Doc and they’re available anytime today.”

“That’s good,” Embry replied, “though I doubt they’re going to have any new info.”

“Maybe not, but it’s good that we all stay informed.”

“When are you going?” I asked.

“I was able to reach Sam at Emily’s, so he’s going to get Jared and meet us now. We’ll drop you girls off at Sue’s and be back there in time for dinner.”

“Oh,” I exclaimed excitedly, “I want to go with you.” I was dying to see Esme and it had been almost two weeks since I’d gotten to spend any time with Alice.

“Not today honey. This isn’t a social visit. We just need to focus on discussing what happened today.”

“Well, I mainly just want to see Esme,” I pressed. “So, I can catch up with her while you guys talk to the others.”

“No Bella.” Jake’s voice was firm. “That will just need to wait until another day.”

“Jake, they’ve been back nearly a week and I haven’t gotten to see any of –”

“Bella, I said no!”

I jumped at Jake’s near yell and took a step back in shock. He never raised his voice at me or ordered me around and I wasn’t sure what to say. My eyes burned and I tried control my emotions as I just stared at him, noting that Angela and Embry had wandered several yards away from us.

Jake sighed loudly and ran both of his hands roughly through his still damp hair and looked up to the sky before gripping the back of his neck.

“Bella, I’m sorry.” Looking back down to me, his hands fell to his sides, his voice and expression pained. “I didn’t mean to yell at you. It’s just, after today…” He swallowed hard. “I just can’t handle you being near any more vampires right now. I know it’s not the same, but I’m still uncomfortable with the Cullens that have just come back and I just… right now I just need to know that you’re somewhere safe and nowhere near any vampires. I promise we’ll set up a time for you to see Alice and the other one, Emers—”

“Esme,” I corrected quietly.

“Yes, Esme. Please baby, don’t fight me on this. I’m not trying to tell you what to do, and I hate denying you something you want, I just need for you to do this for me. I nearly lost it today when you told me there were vampires there. The first day that I’ve been away from you since this new leech showed up and bloodsuckers come looking for you. And then, when you showed me, and the way they were looking at you…” He trailed off and closed his eyes. “I was…” His eyes opened again, and the intensity in them took my breath away. “I would have never forgiven myself if anything had happened to you.” An agitated wildness came over his face. “I just can’t… I can only handle so much, and I don’t think I can trust myself right now if you… if you were to… if anything…”

His hands were balled into tight fists and trembling, and it was then that I realized in my excitement at the thought of seeing Esme again, I had missed what he was feeling. Or maybe he had been blocking it from me. Either way, it was coming through loud and clear now, and he was spiraling in thoughts of what might have happened today at the store. He had stayed so calm earlier that I hadn’t realized how much it had affected him and that he was blaming himself for not being there. I quickly closed the distance between us and wound my fingers through his hair to pull his forehead down against mine.

“Okay… it’s okay Jake,” I reassured him then pulled us into our solitude.

I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how upset you still were about today. I can wait.

He took a long, ragged breath and silver lined his eyes. When he squeezed them shut, a single tear slipped free.
I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I just… if anything had happened… I can’t fathom my life without you Bella. I don’t think I could continue—

I know Jake. There is no me without you or you without me. My life will end the day yours does. There will be no recovering from it. There is us together, or there is nothing.

Yes… us or nothing. I love you so very much.

His arms wrapped around me tightly, bowing my body firmly against his, the heat consuming me inside and out as his lips greedily claimed mine. There was no trying to fight the electric desire this time and we couldn’t care less about the time passing or who might see. Pouring all of our love for each other into that kiss, wrapped in our special place together, we found the reassuring connection that we so desperately needed in that moment.

Chapter Text

Sorry I don’t have a chapter for you, it’s just been a really long time since my last chapter, and I wanted to give you all an update. Posting this may be bending the rules a little, since I think we’re only supposed to post if it’s a chapter in our story, but I also think that’s to keep people from getting spammed with junk, which is not what this is, so hopefully I don’t get in trouble.

Things obviously didn’t go how I’d hoped they would after the last chapter I posted. Once I missed the November goal I was attempting to reach, the holiday busyness was upon us. In December, my mom started to get sick… lots of pain in her upper back and shoulders. The doctor couldn’t figure out what was going on and her mobility was getting worse, so I finally went to stay with my parents for awhile to help them for a while. Long story short, after a few weeks taking care of her at their home, she ended up in the hospital with what they finally determined was stage four cancer. After many more long weeks of my brother and I taking turns staying in the hospital with her 24/7, she passed away in early March.

Needless to say, I got almost no writing done through this time, and my heart just hasn’t been in it since. My mom and I were very close, and I so often find myself reaching for the phone to call her. She was the person I talked to for just about everything, my sounding board, my reading buddy, and the person I talked out story ideas with. I still can’t believe she’s gone and I miss her so damn much.

Anyway, this story still talks to me and I absolutely still want to finish it… and I know she would want me to as well. Though I have no timeframe in mind, I have started working on it again, but I need to go back to the beginning to get myself refamiliarized with the details of what I’ve already written. I may make some edits/improvements on some parts as I go (no major changes or anything). I may take the time to update the chapters on this site as I go (or at some point)… and I may not. I only tell you this because I don’t know how the notifications work, so if I do decide to post any changes, you may get notified when I do so, but you may not.

Alright, I’ll end this little note there. I hope that you decide to stay subscribed for when I can get to posting again. Comments of encouragement will be greatly appreciated as I find my way back into writing. And thanks again for choosing to read my story out of all the ones available!