Disclaimer: All characters are the property of the beautiful and talented Ms. Stephanie Meyer. Thank you for bringing these wonderful characters into our lives.

**Just realized that this chapter is pretty long. I really didn't mean for it to be but I guess I had a lot to say :x. I don't think the next chapters will be as lengthy. This is my first Fanfic so please review and let me know what you think!

Chapter 1

Jacob's POV

My greatest fear had just come true. I felt as if I couldn't breath. The ground beneath my feet was uneven. Weird, it had been perfectly fine a minute ago. Everything was spinning. I couldn't decide whether or not I wanted to puke or hit something. Maybe both. Well, there was really no point in hitting something. Everything the Cullen's owned was so nice; though money wasn't an obstacle for them. Still, it would be rude if I broke something. I should be more focused on how I could break him. Now I couldn't decide if I would rather punch him in his face or break off the hand that was holding on to hers. As I stood there with my fists clenched and weighing my options, I felt an inexplicable calm fall over me. My nausea disappeared and my hands relaxed. Subconsciously, I realized it must be Jasper's doing. There are times that I actually enjoy his little emotion-controlling trick, but right now it frustrated me that he wasn't letting me feel what I wanted to feel. After surveying the room however, I realized that it might not be for my benefit alone. Edward had a look on his face that I was all too familiar with. Back in the days when I had been competing with him for Bella, I had been on the receiving end of that look many times. That was a long time ago, before my whole reason for existing came into being. Now if only she would get rid of this loser holding her hand.

Nessie is 7-years-old now in human years. As predicted back in the day, she's reached her full maturity. After the face-off with the Volturi, we moved to Alaska for a few years. Life was good there for a while. Bella and Edward went to high school again and I mostly stayed home and took care of Ness. Eventually she started school too and I went with her. We were inseparable. I was her best friend and confidant. We were partners in crime. She grew into an incredible young woman. She shared her mother's love for reading and her father's love of music. Alice tried to get her to love fashion and clothing but she would pick jeans and a t-shirt over designer anything every time. She loved the outdoors. Most of our time was spent outside. Much to my delight she was fascinated by Native American history. Most kids ask for fairytales about princesses before bedtime. My Nessie liked to hear a good Quileute war story before drifting off to dreamland. Every day she grew more beautiful inside and out and every day I fell more and more in love with her. I'm convinced that I would be in love with her even if I hadn't imprinted her.

Of course she has no idea that I've imprinted on her. I'd decided a long time ago that I wasn't going to make her choose me. I wanted her to be able to love who she wanted to, even if I didn't have the same luxury. Once when I was running with the pack, I heard Leah accuse me of being a coward. She thinks that I choose not to tell Ness about me imprinting because I'm still insecure about myself; that Bella permanently messed me up some how. Though if that were the case, wouldn't I tell Ness so I could claim what was rightfully mine, or whatever? It's been almost 10 years of sharing a mind with Leah and I still don't get how she thinks. Either way, I could never claim Ness. If I learned anything from my messed up love triangle with Bella and Edward it's that everyone should have a choice in who they love. Even though I still believe all of that, I have to admit telling her about imprinting would make this situation a lot easier.

About a year ago, we all moved back to Forks. Charlie had gotten sick and we all rushed home. He has a pretty aggressive form of cancer and Bella wanted to be with him for the end and all. There had been talk about turning him but the family, Bella included, eventually decided against it. Immortality wouldn't suit Charlie. He belonged in the natural flow of life. He'd never be happy to stand on the riverbank with the rest of us while everything passed by us for all of eternity. As much as he loved Bella, he didn't have someone to spend forever with. It was his destiny to slip into the peaceful beyond just like it was ours to let him go. Anyone who says that immortality doesn't have its disadvantages must have never loved a mortal.

Being back in Forks had its pros and cons. It was nice to be back at LaPush. Sam and Emily have a beautiful baby girl and it's good to be back with more wolves. I missed the feeling of camaraderie while I was in Alaska. Bella seemed happy to be back despite the situation with Charlie. All in all, it had been a good move but there were some issues that needed to be addressed when it came to the school thing. We hadn't been gone long enough for the Cullen's to go back to Forks. Too many teachers would remember them. Edward and Bella decided to make the commute to Port Angeles. Emmett got a job at an auto repair shop. Jasper decided to switch it up and go to the University of Seattle to study American History. The girls decided to open a boutique in Port Angeles much to the town's delight. I decided to stay on the reservation mostly. I had had my fill of school for a while and wouldn't mind a break. The only problem was Ness. A week after we arrived in Forks, she announced that she would not be commuting with her parents, but attending Forks High School.

"I'm not a child anymore! I've never even gotten to go to school by myself! I've always had to go with my entire family watching my every move. I want to take advantage of this and be a normal teenager."

"You're not a teenager," was Edward's reply through clenched teeth. "You are 7-years-old Renesmee."

"I beg to differ," she scoffed. "I dare you to find a 7-year-old who looks like me, or has my intelligence, or maturity…"

"You're right since you're acting like a 5-year-old."

"Really, Edward, that's enough," Bella interjected. "We can't keep treating her like a child. She didn't grow up the same way you or I did. She's entitled to some freedom. If she wants to go to Forks, she can go to Forks. It was hard for her to leave Juneau to come here. No, darling, I know it was. But she didn't complain once. She rarely asks for anything and this is such a small request. Renesmee, come September you will go to Forks. End of discussion," she said with finality in her tone that Edward knew better than to question.

Nessie thrived at Forks. No one questioned her about being a Cullen; people had long ago decided it wasn't worth it to ask questions. She got involved in theater and starred in the schools production of Romeo and Juliet. She made friends and had a vibrant social life. Despite her newfound popularity, she still managed to spend plenty of time with me. She loved cliff diving and going to bonfires on the reservation. She created a strong bond with Leah that made me nervous but I gave Leah an order that she couldn't say anything to Ness about imprinting or my feelings about her. We were happy.

That brings us to today and the whole me trying to decide to puke or punch and Edward's evil glare. I was at the Cullen house waiting for Nessie to get home from school. Generally, I'm here when she gets home, I help her with her homework, we eat dinner, and on weekdays we hang out at the house and watch T.V. or a movie or something before she gets ready for bed. We generally spend Fridays at LaPush with the pack and Saturdays with her school friends. We've gone to a party or two but Ness decided pretty early that it wasn't her scene. We'd developed a pretty comfortable schedule so I was getting nervous when she was almost two hours late. She had mentioned she was going to stop at the Lodge with a friend and get a coffee or something after school but I had figured that would take half and hour tops. I was just about to go out looking for her when Bella emerged from the kitchen with a confused look on her face.

"What's up, Bells?"

"Renesmee is home," she replied with the perplexed look still on her face.

"Oh good. Now I don't have to go stalking around town for her. I wonder what took her so long."

"Jacob. She's not alone."

"What do you mean? Who's with her?"

"I'm not sure. I don't recognize his scent."

"Wait. What? Did you just say his scent?"

At that Edward came down the stairs at vamp speed, his mouth in a tight, straight line. It had been a while since I'd seen him look upset like that. Probably since Ness said she wanted to go to Forks instead of Port Angeles. He turned to me.

"You need to be warned. He's here to ask me if he take Renesmee to the prom as his date. She's excited about it."

My mouth fell open. That's about when the whole nausea thing started. Then they walked in.

Ness looked gorgeous as ever. Her bronze hair flowed in all its natural beauty to the middle of her back. She was wearing an old pair of jeans and her worn out combat boots with a comfy grey t-shirt. I felt a swell of pride in my chest when I realized she was wearing my leather jacket. Of course that kind of deflated once I realized she was holding his hand.

I half listened as she introduced him to the family. Carlisle and the rest of the clan were pleasant as always, though Emmett made a point to flex his biceps a little and squeeze the kid's hand just a little too hard when they shook hands. I'd have to remember to thank him for that later. Bella was warm and polite as a mother should be. Traitor. It's times like this when I almost wish she were still an awkward human with limited social skills. Edward's mouth hadn't left its rigid position since (I think his name was Joe?) walked into the room. He shook his hand but glared directly at him. I couldn't help but chuckle a little internally at that. Edward and I weren't often on the same side, but in this, I was pretty sure I had a strong ally.

Nessie finally reached me and introduced me to my new enemy.

"Joe, this is Jacob Black. Jake, this is my… this is Joe."

I looked at Ness and raised an eyebrow at that. She didn't know what to call him? Not a good sign.

"Black? So you're not related to Ren?"

"Do I look like I'm related to Ness?" I scoffed, making sure to emphasize her name. I had nicknamed her almost as soon as she was born and had never been fond of any other shortening of her name. Turns out I hated it even more coming from his mouth. That was around when I decided I needed to punch something.

"Jacob is just an old family friend," Ness interjected while glaring at me. I have to admit, that hurt. Being glared at and dismissed as "just an old family friend" was enough to make me want to whimper in a corner. Instead I stood a little taller and made sure my face was still hard as steel.

"Oh how rude of us, keeping you in the doorway! Come in come in! So what brings you all the way out here, Joe?" Bella asked, attempting to diffuse the situation.

"Well ma'am, I actually came here to ask you and Mr. Cullen a question," said Joe as he sat on the couch with Nessie, still holding her fucking hand. Seriously, were they stuck together or something? "I already asked Ren," my face soured at the sound of the nickname again, "but I wanted to get your approval as well. The senior class has its prom in May and I would be honored if you would allow me to accompany her as her date."

At that point I was fairly certain I was about to break the doorframe that I had propped myself up against for the conversation. Bella noticed from the corner of her eye and gave me a look. Over the years, we've managed to get the whole communicating without words thing down pat. This look was lined with sympathy but at the same time, she was warning me not to ruin this for Ness. That's when Jasper's little wave of calm came over me and I started to feel better. That and I looked at Nessie's face. She looked so damn happy. Nervous, excited, and happy. Just like that, I could be angry anymore, not when she looked like that. At the same time, I couldn't stay there. I silently left the room and slipped out the backdoor. I was peeling off my shirt when Leah came up on the porch.

"Going somewhere?"

"Can't talk. Gotta run this off. Leah," I turned and looked her straight in the eye, "don't phase for at least an hour. I need some quite time."

With that I jogged off the deck and into the woods to finish undressing. As soon as I had shed my clothes I phased and started running. Running has always been my favorite escape. I immediately started to feel better. I could feel the earth beneath my paws, the burn in my legs, the fresh air in my lungs. As soon as I thought my head was clear I felt Leah pop in, "Sorry, Jake, I know you said don't phase but Bella and Nessie are asking for you and I figured you'd want to know."

I sighed, "Alright. I'm on my way back."

Then she was gone again and I turned around to start making my way home. The closer I got to the house, the tighter the grip of dread grasped my heart. The run had been a temporary high, but it hadn't provided me with any answers. What the hell was I gonna do?