Letting Go
CHAPTER ONE – Jacob
Jacob's POV
Prologue
It was hard. Harder than I'd expected. Letting go. But somehow, I had to. For her, for Bella. It would cause her pain, if she knew how much I missed her, how much I pined for her. Because, when all was said and done, I still loved her. I loved her even though she had married that leech. Even though she had chosen him over me. Chose to let him bite her, let her heart ice over and stop beating, chose to thirst for blood and become a mortal enemy of me, the person who loved her more than she would ever know.
But then again, he was everything that I wasn't. He was beautiful, rich, and strong. And he loved her too. If Bella were here, she'd tell me to stop the doom and gloom. She would probably hit me too.
God.
I had to stop this. For my own sanity, and that of the pack. According to Leah, I was driving everybody crazy. But who listens to Leah, honestly? She's a bitter harpy, even more so now she could turn into a bitch in the literal sense of the word.
Sam said I would find an imprint. I refused to believe him, refused to believe I could ever love someone as much as I love Bella. I've seen him and Emily, the way they look at each other. The way they love each other. Complete, absolute. Like the way that bloodsucker and Bella look at each other. The way Bella and I shouldhave been.
No. Bella is happy with her… husband. God, that hurts to say. I should let go. I have to let go. But I can't. I can't accept it, I can't face the fact that I lost her. Forever and for always, she's lost to me. I have to move on.
I heaved myself up from the dead tree I was sitting on. Our tree, Bella's and mine. I stood looking at it for a long moment, and then turned on my heel, closing my eyes. No use - the image of us sitting there together was burnt onto my retinas. I hit the tree line running and phased easily with a sharp ripping sound. Damn. Forgot I was wearing shoes. Billy's gonna kill me; that's the third pair in a month I've ruined.
I came loping out of the trees and stopped dead, panting in annoyance as Quil and Embry bounced up. Hey, Jake you're in for it! Quil had seen the remains of my shoes. Yeah, man. Billy's gonna kill you! Embry chimed in. You're gonna go barefoot for the rest of your life!! They found it amusing – it pissed me off. GET OUTTA MY HEAD!! I roared at them, and sped up, the easy, languid lope becoming a run. They kept pace easily. You know man, one of these days you're gonna bust your brain yelling at us, Embry thought. Yeah, like I care, I snapped at them. Ooh! Jakey-wakey's in a tizz!! Leah's sharp voice sounded in my head. PISS OFF LEAH! YOU ARE THE LAST FRIGGIN PERSON I NEED IN MY HEAD RIGHT NOW! I was close to breaking point. I phased back easily, revelling in the silence and privacy of my own head. The familiar trees whipped past as I headed straight home at a speed that would put a turbo engine to shame. I skidded through the front door and stopped, staring straight into a pair of green eyes.