AN: This is my first Jared and Bella pairing. The wolves in my story are more animalistic than portrayed in the movies. Kim does not exist and Bella doesn't replace her character. New Moon never happened. While Bella did find out about Edward being a vampire, she steered clear of him and The Cullen's. After seeing Jacob phase she does know that they are wolves, just not about imprinting.

Welcome to The Beta's Mate.

Chapter 1: Watchful Gazes

He watched the girl with careful eyes. She sat with Jacob laughing about something he was whispering in her ear. The wolf didn't like the close proximity the two shared, but he understood they had a friendship. She looked up and met his eyes and just as quickly she looked away blushing. Jared liked her blush. It meant she was human. When he found out that those dastardly Cullen's were in town and the mind reader had feelings for his mate, he was quite pissed. But there wasn't much he could do abut it.

He imprinted on her the night she found out about the pack. Everyone accepted her as everyone knew she belonged to him. Jacob respectively stepped aside but refused to let their friendship disappear and Jared had no problem with that as long as baby alpha knew where he stood with his little Swan. He watched Bella walk inside and Jared pushed away from the tree to follow Bella inside. He decided to get close..just a little. He leaned against the door watching as Bella rummaged through the fridge with a concentrated expression on her face. "Dammit, where does Billy but the- ow!" Bella stumbled backwards as she hit her head on the freezer door and before she could hit the ground Jared had her in his arms.

"Oh! Sorry...uh Jared? Right?" Jared chuckled and nodded positioning her upright. "Thank you. Sorry, I'm a bit of a klutz." Bella could feel his warm hand seeping into her skin. "I see that. If I let you go, can you promise not to fall?" His warm breath fanned over her face and Bella blinked a few times as her mind clouded over. "Y-yes. I should get back outside. Thanks again." Jared let go of her waist and watched as she stumbled outside totally forgetting about what she came for. Seconds later she came back inside and Jared raised a brow. "Do you know where Billy keeps his sodas?"

Every night Bella always glanced outside her window for any sign of the sparkling pale creatures that drain people for their blood. Finding out that Edward was a vampire wasn't the scary thing, it was knowing that he could end her life at any time he pleased and knowing that her blood called out to him like no other. She knew though that the wolves would protect her no matter what.

She always watched for a wolf outside but lately she craved to see just one. Bella didn't understand why but she wanted to see Jared out there. Looking out for her. He was huge, not as big as Sam but just about. Bella knew he had dark brown fur and dark gray around the eyes. Sometimes she found herself thinking about him a lot. It was like a need to see him. Bella wanted to talk to Jake about it but she didn't know how. Maybe she should just go to Jared?

Bella caught a glimpse of brown yellow eyes and she couldn't help the slight feeling that made her want to run downstairs and touch the fur. Instinctively she knew it was Jared and she walked back to her bed and laid down. She felt calm and she fell into a deep sleep.

Jared watched his mate leave the window and in minutes her breathing evened out and Jared sat watching the house.

"You're going to tell her soon, right?" Sam's voice spoke interrupting the young wolf's thoughts.

"Of course. I just need to get close to her. I don't want to scare her."

"If Bella can handle vampires and wolves, I'm sure she can handle imprinting." Jared agreed and Sam let him be. He sat under her window all night just watching for any sign of danger to his mate. He made plans to get closer to his Bella and his wolf happily agreed. She would be his soon and nothing could stop it.

"Drop it. She's an imprint." Billy glared at Old Quil not liking the tone he was using. Old Quil sneered and stepped forward. "Doesn't mean shit Billy. That girl is not Quileute and never will be. We need stronger blood lines! Not some mixed white!" He spat. Billy glared. "You will not talk about her like that! Wait till I let Sam hear of this. He will not tolerate this and neither will Jared. You know what, you go ahead and try to split those two..when Jared unleashes his wrath upon you, I hope he shows you no mercy."