Under my skin

A/N: Hi guys. Here is my latest story. Hope you like it. The first chapter was inspired by:

Paramore - Decode

GoldFish ft. Diamond Thug - Deep of the night

Rag 'n bone man - Human

Linkin Park - Somewhere I belong

Jonas Blue - Perfect Strangers

Disclaimer: Twilight is the sole property of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 1 - Crashing into my life

JOPV

The collective pack mind from wolves scattered all over the forest, came to a standstill when a loud crash echoed from just outside the forest. And then suddenly everyone's minds registered the same thing - someone had crashed on the road either to or from the reservation. In a swift and smooth move envied by most of the pack, Jacob's wolf transitioned back to man. He tugged loose the shorts tied to his ankle and shrugged on the tattered cut-offs - his 'phasing shorts' as he liked to refer to them. The rest of the wolves followed suit, all ready and anxious to go investigate.

"Let's go." Jake jerked his chin toward the thick stand of trees obstructing the view of the main road just behind it. "It didn't sound good." A shared apprehension of what they would find there, resonated through the whole pack.

Jacob let his senses lead him and his pack toward the edge of the forest, where just minutes ago he'd heard the crash come from. He bobbed and weaved through the thick green foliage and dense forest with lithe movements, followed closely by the others.

The closer Jake got, the more ill at ease he became. His supernatural senses picked up the familiar rusty scent of blood that had started to permeate the thick, damp air surrounding them. It had a sweeter tinge to it - female, most likely. A woman had crashed.

Shit!

A black pick-up truck lay on it's side on the shoulder of the road, engine still running, as Jacob emerged from the woods, flanked by his pack. The passenger side door facing upward was dented and scratched. So was the roof. The vehicle had obviously flipped and rolled. He detected no movement from inside the truck. Not a good sign.

Water splattered against Jacob's strong russet, calves as his feet hit the wet asphalt, taking brisk, determined strides toward the truck. He yanked open the right side door - currently the only accessible one - and leaned in to see if the driver was still in the truck. She was, thank god. He sighed in short-lived relief, because the girl - or more accurately, woman - wasn't moving. Blood poured freely from a deep cut on her forehead, soaking her dark hair and t-shirt. Her skin was very pale, and large bruises had already started blooming against her cheek and jaw.

"Fuck!" Jacob cursed in frustration, running a hand through his damp, black hair and stepped back for a moment to think strategy. The easiest way to get the woman from the truck was to get the truck back on all four wheels. He needed a point of access. So with lupine strength, Jacob pulled the vehicle into it's upright position - the dark haired woman swaying limply to the side with the movement. Jacob took four large strides toward the driver side, pulling at the door. It was stuck. That was just his goddamn luck, wasn't it? No fucking surprise there. Jacob sighed in annoyance and tugged at the door again - harder this time - ripping the whole door from the frame and discarding it next to him with a loud clunk and a wayward wobble. He looked up to find the pack divided into two groups on either side of him, not paying him any mind, but rather cautioning the incoming and outgoing traffic. Smart. At times it still blew his mind how in sync they were as a pack; as a team. Fast, tactical and precise.

Jacob focused his attention back on the woman in front of him, shaking her arm roughly to try and wake her. "Miss. Can you hear me?" He got no response. She was unconscious. Fanfuckingtastic!

"Paul?" Jacob yelled over his shoulder to where his Beta and best friend was standing. "Can you have the truck towed to Sam's auto shop once I get the girl out?" He asked.

Paul came jogging up toward Jacob, ready to help as always. "No problem." He agreed as he came to a stop next to Jacob. He leaned in closer to the truck, peeking inside and let out a low, worried whistle as he spotted the woman. "Doesn't look too good, does she?" He glanced back at Jacob with deep concern.

Jacob shook his head at his friend. They needed to get help before the woman bled out on the front seat of her own truck. And there was only one person that could help them right now. "I'm going to take her to my mother. Hopefully she can help." Jacob said as he reached in through the hole where the door used to be and pulled the pale-faced woman from the vehicle and into his arms. He cursed the fact that he didn't have a shirt he could use to stop the blood. "Ask Embry to phase and go get my truck. It will be the fastest way to get her to my house."

"Will do, Chief." Paul said and sped away toward Embry, standing on the closest side to the Reservation. "And ask him to bring along something that I can use to stop the bleeding." Jacob added toward Paul's back as an afterthought.

What was he supposed to do now? Just stand here with this pale face in his arms while she soaked his body with her blood?

Jacob mentally rolled his eyes at her. She had probably sped and had lost control of her truck on the wet road. Typical. The pale faces had no respect for Quileute land or for the danger a wet road held for humans with below average reflexes. He didn't hate white people. He just found some of them rather arrogant and self-righteous. They looked down their noses at the traditions and cultures of the Native Americans and often made fun of them for their chosen lifestyle. It was a sore point for Jacob. He was very proud of who he was and now he had to deal with a girl who would probably be ungrateful as they day were long for what they were doing for her; the way they were going out of their way for her. If he'd been smart (which he clearly wasn't), he would have called for an ambulance and sent her on her way, because the fact of the matter was - this girl wasn't his problem. But like the idiot he was, he tried to play the good guy - something he hadn't been in a very long time. How was it that he always got himself into uncomfortable situations like these?

Jacob looked up at the cloudy sky as a light drizzle misted down onto his face and evaporated the instant it made contact with his preternaturally heated skin. He escaped out from under the dark clouds toward the thick cover of trees to get them out of the rain. It didn't bother him much, but she would probably end up catching pneumonia with everything else. He wondered if she had a cellphone in her pocket or an ID, so they could get a hold of her parents or a boyfriend? She wasn't wearing a ring, so he assumed she wasn't married. Calling around for a next of kin was really not how he'd planned on spending his Friday night. He had a whole list of other pressing issues to deal with right now. Way more important shit than escorting a pale face to safety. Looming vampire attacks and exploding pups ranked at the top of that to do list of his.

Jacob looked up as he heard the familiar rumbling of his Dodge pickup in the distance. Embry had really not wasted any time - something he was truly grateful for at this moment. About a minute later, he saw his truck round the corner and started to walk toward it, trying hard not to jostle the tiny woman in his arms too much.

As the truck screeched to a halt next to him, Jacob spotted his mother in the passenger seat, gauze and bandages ready to go. Good.

His mother was the local doctor on the Reservation and she'd know just what to do.

"Is she conscious?" His mother greeted him as she hopped out of the truck.

"No. She hasn't so much as moved since I pulled her out of her truck. I think she's lost quite a bit of blood." He jerked his chin toward his shoulder where the woman's head rested. His skin was soaked with blood, some of it already dried into dark red crusts, thanks to his unnatural body heat.

"Head wounds tend to bleed a lot." His mother explained. Her long, skilled fingers and keen hazel eyes made quick work of assessing the woman's limp body hanging from Jacob's arms. "We need to get her home. Her left leg is broken. It's not an open fracture, but she'll need a cast. And I'll need to get a IV up for pain medication and fluids." His mother searched the woman's jean pockets and pulled out a purse and a cellphone. She flipped through the purse, in search of god knows what? A drivers licence perhaps? "She's not wearing a medicalert bracelet and she doesn't have a card in her wallet that suggests that she's allergic to anything either, which is good. I can give her any medication she needs. Her name is Bella Swan. Twenty four years old. She's from Seattle - quite a long way from home." His mother informed him. "Let's get her into the truck and get going."

Jacob nodded. His mom was in full doctor mode now and he'd learned over the years to just follow the orders she handed out in said state, without argument.

Jacob carefully laid the woman down on the back seat, over the towels that his mother had placed there to protect the seats, and watched as she got in next to the girl. Jacob eased himself up into the passenger seat, grabbed an extra towel that his mother held out to him, and wiped the blood from his body. The rest would just have to be scrubbed off in the shower.

"Embry, you'd better step on it so we can get home as fast as possible." His mother commanded in a firm voice and Embry nodded, slamming down on the gas and making the truck spin slightly on the wet road before finally taking off.

The rest of the pack dispersed into the woods, probably phasing back into wolf form to go about their business. Leah was in charge now, which meant no fucking around. She always meant business, for which Jacob was really grateful at this moment. He needed his pack focused, since danger lurked close by. They couldn't afford to be distracted for even a second - that one second could cost people (his people) their lives. Jacob turned away from the window and ignored them, directing his attention back on the road and the task at hand. He would deal with the shit storm of finding vampire scent in the woods, later. This girl was seriously messing with his duties.


JPOV

After a proper shower, Jacob had tried to access the woman's phone - who he now knew as Bella Swan - but couldn't get past her password. Fucking perfect! So for now, the pale face had to stay with them until she woke up. His mother had an IV running and had already put a cast on her leg. All they could do now was wait...

Jacob walked into the living room, where his parents sat. His father's arm was wrapped around his mother, while she rested her head on his chest. Her eyes popped open at the sound of him entering the room. His parents were one of the lucky couples for whom love had worked out. Some days he envied them; wished he had been worthy enough to have a love like theirs, but then again, he mostly prayed that he'd never find himself in love with any woman, again. He never wanted to be vulnerable again. Never wanted to offer his heart up to any woman, like he'd done before. Love was a fucked up thing. It only weakened and distracted you and he was done with it. He'd had his fair share of weakness and pain and he could certainly live without it. He had quite enough to keep him busy, thank you very much.

"I'm heading off to the pack again." He told his parents. "I'm not gonna babysit a pale face while there is danger lurking in the woods."

His father got up from the couch, concern written all over his face. "Is there a threat?" He asked.

Jacob observed the strong man before him, who had not so long ago still been the pack leader. The Alpha. He'd finally stopped phasing about two years ago when he felt that Jacob was ready to take over. That being said, his father was always there to offer advice, guidance or help when he needed it. He was the type of man who never judged or criticized, which made it easy to admit when he didn't know what the hell he was doing.

"Yeah. We picked up a scent this afternoon." Jacob sighed in frustration. "For now I think it's only one leech. I don't know if it was just passing by, but I'm not taking any chances."

"Go. We'll call you when she's awake." His mother added.

"Good. I wanna know what she was doing near our land."

"Oh, Jacob. Please don't interrogate her. She's been through enough." His mother pleaded with him. "And if your father is right about her being Chief Swan's daughter, it means she's lost both her parents not too long ago."

"Chief Swan? As in Chief of Police?" He asked, dumbfounded. He vaguely remembered the dark-haired man with the bushy mustache and kind eyes.

"Yeah. He and his wife died about five months ago. They were good people. Didn't know them personally, but Charlie always helped us when we needed him." His father answered.

Jacob nodded. The girl had some shitty luck, that was for sure. But it still didn't mean he was going to let her off that easy.

When Jacob finally reached the woods, he phased into wolf form and seeked out his pack mates. Paul's mind was clear as day. He was back and had taken over from Leah - dividing the rest of the wolves into pairs to patrol the woods. All of them understood the threat of a possible vampire attack. He knew there were more vampires not far away. It was the only reason to explain all the kids phasing while still so young. Save for Collin and Brady, who were both seniors now, there were four more boys who'd just phased a few weeks ago. Kyle, Argent, Reese and Perry were only fifteen. God knows how they were going to get through high school if they had to patrol every day. Jacob hastily filed away his concern for their education, ready to worry over it when he was in bed later that night. For now there were more pressing issues to deal with.

Satisfied that everyone was sorted, he headed over to Paul, feeling like the world was resting on his shoulders.

"How's the girl?" Paul asked. "She awake yet?"

"No. Still out cold. Couldn't even get her fucking phone unlocked to find a number for her boyfriend or her parents. Though my dad thinks that she might be the late Chief Swan's daughter."

"How's that?" Paul wondered.

"Found her ID in her wallet. Her name is Bella Swan."

"Oh shit! That's terrible. Chief Swan has gotten me out of a lot of shit over the years. Back in my wild days. He was one of the good ones."

"Pale faces, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Well she's not my problem. I told my parents I'm not gonna babysit her." Jake shrugged mentally.

"Don't you think that's a little harsh?" Paul asked, always trying to be the voice of reason.

"No. Why?" He still struggled to get to grips with Paul's more sensitive side as of late - ever since he'd imprinted on Leah. He used to be wild, untamed and uninhibited in his post-imprinting days and some days Jacob missed the angry version of Paul. These days, it seemed that he, himself had taken over the role of being the angry one.

"Because she's done nothing to you." Paul advocated. "And her father has only been good to the tribe. We owe it to him to help his daughter."

Jacob sighed. "So what you're trying to say is that we should let her stay with us until she's all healed?" He was sure there were other options to consider that he just hadn't thought of.

"Yeah. Do you really want to send her off to god knows where with a broken leg to fend for herself?"

"She probably has a boyfriend. He can take care of her. As soon as she wakes up, I'm gonna find out." Jake was determined to find a way to get her out of his parents house as soon as possible.

"Okay, fine. It's up to you, mate. I'm not gonna fight with you about this." Paul conceded.

"Quit making me feel guilty about this." Jake complained. Paul had the uncanny ability to make him feel like a petulant teenager. (Which he wasn't, of course)

"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty, but I wonder if this hatred toward the girl doesn't have more to do with your anger toward Lira for cheating on you?" And there Paul went again, hitting the nail on the head.

"Women are all the same." Jacob supplied with annoyance at Paul's accurate and invasive estimation. "They are all after money or status and as soon as they find out that you're nothing more than a contractor with his own fledgling remodeling business, they run for the hills."

"No, Jake. They aren't all like that. Not all women are like Lira." His best friend disagreed with him.

"Whatever." Jacob shrugged mentally. They obviously weren't going to agree on this, so perhaps it was best to just let it go for now. Focus on something else.


JPOV

"Is the girl awake yet?" Jacob asked as he returned home three hours later, sweaty and tired - but totally ready for a full-on interrogation. He wanted answers.

"No. Not yet." His mother looked up at him from the couch where the light of her reading lamp bathed her in a golden hue, and shook her head. "But she's starting to stir now. I don't think it'll be long." His mother put her book down, removed her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes, before unfolding her legs from under her and getting up from the couch. "Will you go sit with her while I get some pain medication ready for her?"

"Why me? Why can't dad go sit with her?" He complained. The only thing he wanted to do right now was jump into the shower and then into bed. He was worn out from the day he'd had and sitting with the girl was not very high up on his list of possible things he felt like doing tonight.

"Because I asked you." His mother answered simply. "And because you were the one who found her. She's your responsibility now." His mother gave him a stern look, daring him to challenge her. He knew that look very well. He needed to tread carefully, but instead, Jacob threw caution to the wind and refused his mother's demands.

"No she's not." He disagreed. "And as soon as I can get her to phone a relative or a boyfriend, we can send her on her merry way and forget today ever happened."

His mother shook her head at him. Her scornful look didn't go unnoticed by him. "Since when are you this cold and uncaring?"

Jacob shrugged his shoulders, but wisely escaped down the hall toward the girl's bedroom. "Bella. Her name is Bella." He mentally reminded himself. He wasn't in the mood for "I don't know who you are anymore" from his mother. Sometimes he didn't even know who he was anymore, either. He was Alpha. And that was that. The rest was all unclear to him. But what he did know was that it didn't matter to him anymore. He didn't have to know who he was - he had nobody in his life to be whole for. What a blessed relief.

Jacob startled when he walked into the guest bedroom to find the girl awake. She looked a little bewildered, hair matted and cheeks pale. The bruises on her face were really prominent now and for just a moment he felt himself wondering if she were in pain.

"Where am I?" She looked frightened now, as her eyes assessed him. It wasn't the first time that a woman found his sheer, muscular size intimidating and threatening. He could smell her fear and he loved it. He wanted to intimidate her as much as he could. Scare her away - back to wherever the hell she had come from.

"You're on the Reservation. La Push." He supplied and tried his best not to roll his eyes at her. For some reason this girl seemed to bring out the very worst in him. "You were in a car accident." He finally looked down into her warm, chocolate brown eyes and that was it. The one thing that he'd hoped and prayed to god would never happen to him, just did.

He imprinted on her. On a fucking pale face. Jesus Christ! Was this really his luck?

He forced the overwhelming emotions of concern, devotion and need down with all his might. He was not going to let the imprint decide for him. He had a choice, god dammit. Didn't he?

He was happy on his own and in control of his own destiny. He didn't need a woman to make him happy. And certainly not a pale face. Intrigued as he now was by her, he pushed it aside and focused on the task at hand - removing her from his life. His wolf bared it's teeth at Jacob for trying to send his imprint away. Jacob - the man - couldn't give a flying fuck what his wolf wanted him to do. The supernatural had already interfered with his free will by forcing him to turn into a furry, four-legged, feral predator...and now this! A mate chosen for him, not by him. It simply didn't appeal to him.

"Yeah, I remember the truck swerving and flipping over. But nothing after that." She said, bringing him back to the present. She was completely unaware of what had just happened.

Jacob gritted his teeth to keep himself from moving closer to her. His wolf wanted him to comfort her; tell her who she was to him, now. Her sweet, melodic voice was hypnotic and he kicked hard against the pull of the imprint. He knew exactly what to expect. He'd seen it over and over in the pack mind. Everything about her was designed to pull him in; tempt him. From her voice to her body. And he absolutely refused to give in.

HE. DID. NOT. WANT. THIS. EVER!

Somehow he found that he hated her beyond a shadow of a doubt for walking into his life and fucking with his mind and his free will. But hatred he could handle. It was a familiar emotion for him and he could easily identify with it. It was much simpler to despise her, than feel what the imprint compelled him to feel.

"I tried to find the number for a relative or a boyfriend - give them a call to let them know what happened to you, but your phone was locked." He spoke dispassionately, steering his thoughts in a different direction. Toward his goal of getting her out of here.

"There is nobody." She breathed in annoyance, though her eyes flashed with hurt. "My parents died recently and I lived in Seattle. All my friends were there. But I moved back into my parents house last week."

"So you know nobody here?" Fucking marvelous. Just what he needed.

"Not really. It's been years since I've been here."

"Great. So tell me, little girl, what were you doing on your way to the Reservation? You've lost nothing here."

"Don't call me that. I'm not a little girl." She warned. She looked like an angry kitten. "How cute", He thought sarcastically and shrugged.

"I was just taking a drive. To clear my head. I wanted to go to the beach." She spoke the last part through gritted teeth. "Did I break a law?"

"You wanted to go to the beach? " He asked skeptically. "On a rainy day? I'm calling bullshit!"

"I don't mind the rain. It's peaceful." She muttered and looked away from him.

"You're a very strange person, Bella Swan." Who wanted to go to a beach on a rainy day?

"And you're an asshole." She deadpanned without batting an eye.

"Glad to see you're awake. You had us very worried. " His mother bustled into the room, effectively putting an end to their bickering. "I'm going to give you some more pain medication, Bella."

Bella smiled at his mother.

"I'm Sarah, by the way. Jake's mother." She pointed to him as she introduced herself. His mother injected a small syringe full of clear fluid into her IV. "You've broken your leg. But I'm sure you've noticed." Sarah laughed at her own little witty comment.

"Thank you for helping me." Bella smiled at his mother.

"Don't thank me, sweetheart. Jacob here is the one who found you and pulled you out of the truck. "

The girl looked stunned for a moment, mouth agape. Obviously she hadn't expected him to be her knight in shining armor. Her beautiful face was even more bruised now, her one eye almost swollen shut. But still he found that she was pretty. Very pretty.

"What the fuck?" Jacob admonished himself mentally. He needed to get a grip on his thoughts and emotions before it derailed him. If he didn't keep his head about him, he would surely lose his will power and seriously fall for this girl. And that was something he refused to let happen.

"Thank you." She spoke in earnest. "I appreciate your help." Her sincere gratitude caught him a little off guard, but he recovered quickly, steeling his emotions.

His mother sneaked quietly out of the room, like the devious woman he knew her to be. He knew exactly what her plan and he wasn't falling for it.

Bella took a sip of the water that his mother had placed on her bedside table, avoiding his eyes.

"Are you hungry? " He found himself asking for some unknown reason. But to be honest, the sooner she ate and got her strength up, the sooner she would be out of his hair.

"No." She shook her head and rested back against the pillows. "Just tired."

"Then go to sleep. We'll sort out where you're going to stay tomorrow. There must be somebody in Forks who'd be willing to let you stay with them."

"Gee, thanks. How kind of you." She muttered sarcastically, but closed her eyes.

Jacob sighed. He knew he was being a dick, but he couldn't seem to help himself. He needed her as far as possible away from him, before it was too late.

A/N: What did you think? Do you like the idea of Jacob pushing Bella away and being so cold? I like me some angry Jacob. He's so often portrayed as an overly happy person. And I find that I quite like him all dark and mean.