Jacob.

Nothing makes me feel freer than this, than running as fast as no human would ever be able. It's the silver lining to all this messed up werewolf crap. The speed is unbelievable and the rush of adrenaline that pumps through my legs is like nothing else.

But why are you running away Jake?

The little voice in the back of my head asked again, and I pushed it away, I didn't want to think about that right now. However it was an inescapable seed of doubt, that once planted could not be ignored any. Its burning presence that made my inside twist themselves into knots that made my heart ache and my stomach wretch. I ran harder and faster my paws smashing into the ground and tossing a cloud of dirt back in my wake. As my feet methodically drummed into the ground my mind began to drift, back to almost two months ago. The details of that one instant, the slight turn of her head and the fraction of a second it took for our eyes to meet and my life to change irrevocably.

"Jake, please." Her voice filled with pleading desperation echoed in my ears and I flinched as her soft hand lifted my face so she could see my eyes. For the briefest moment I felt entirely lost in her deep brown eyes her soft lavender lids hid her endlessly deep irises from my intent gaze for only a fraction of a second and yet when my dark eyes meet hers once more I knew I would never feel lost again. Nothing else mattered with her standing here, nothing ever would so long as this girl, Isabella Swan stood before me. Everything I had held sacred was no less important, the love for my farther, and my brothers, for Rachel and Rebecca for my Mom it did not dissipate in the slightest it was merely surpassed tripled, doubled, quadrupled by the avalanche of emotion that cascaded around me as I gazed into her eyes, Bella's infinite chocolate eyes.

"Jake!" Embry's voice echoed through my head loudly and the memories of that afternoon cleared foggily from my minds eye, smoke wisps winding and weaving back into my subconscious

"Jake man you've gotta tell her." Embry begged I could hear his footsteps they were gaining momentum, he was running towards me. I cursed myself for forgetting where I was and for thinking that Em would or even ever could ignore my melancholic thoughts for very long, he was a better brother than I deserved.

"No." I argued adamantly and although I knew he couldn't see me I shook my muzzle vehemently as if my show of physical stubbornness was going to aid me in this battle of opinion.

"She will understand Jake, she took the werewolf thing well, like crazy well actually. You and her you guys could be happy really and truly happy if you would both just give yourselves a chance to actually let it all work itself out. Trust me man it wont be that bad, besides you already loved Bella its not like this imprint thing changes anything."

"Em! It changes everything and you know it, I will NOT take away her choice like that. Yes I loved her before, and she didn't feel the same way. If I told her now though she would know in the long run that she doesn't have a choice. I couldn't live with myself knowing she wasn't with me by choice, that I took her ability to choose me on her own away from her. Besides she's always going to be hung up on.. on.. him." Even in wolf form my body convulsed at the thought of him, the leech who had left her for dead in that forest, the leech who had left her for dead here in Washington with that psycho red-head stalking her at every turn.

I could hear the conviction in my words replayed back in Quil's mind as he phased in joining in with Embry trying to convince me that I was 'blowing it out of proportion' and that 'Bella already loved me' and while I hoped and wish and desperately needed their kind and reassuring words to be true, to kid myself into believing them was not a luxury I was able to lay claim to.

Bella:

I was alone, again.

For the thousandth time that afternoon I paced back towards the back window looking out over the lush green forest separating Forks and La Push. I scanned the greenery in vain for I could see nothing but the gentle sway of the trees obscured by the thin haze of rain that was by now a constant in my day-to-day life in Washington. I could hear no more than the soft tweet of birds no wolf howls nor stampeding paws registered on a decibel that was audible to my 'human ears'. Jacob was out running patrols, and I begrudgingly knew that my weaker human senses wouldn't have a hope of detecting him as he speed through the deep green forestry.

I made my way back to the living room falling heavily back onto couch and letting my thoughts wander as my head rested against the lumpy sofa arm. Six weeks had passed since that day in the rain in La Push, when for the second time in my life the bounds of reality were shattered before my eyes. It seemed that life had stopped making sense altogether at this point and I had no choice but to go with it, despite the ridiculous, improbable, impractical and life destroying nature of it all.

I could see the frustration building within him as his eyes darkened angrily I pulled his face towards mine so that his eyes, despite him all of a sudden being about a foot taller could, meet my own and angrily confused brown irises. There was something else hidden within his mysterious dark eyes, it was a pain I had never seen in Jacob before, a pain however that I recognised. A hopeless longing a sickening need that caused the unlucky victim actual physical pain. It was a pain I had, had the good fortune not to feel for at least a month now but seeing it there in Jacob's eyes repulsed me and angered me to a new extreme. Who had done this to Jacob, My Jacob, My Sun?

I shook my head a little at the stupidness of my long winded and angry thoughts, as I turned to look back at Jacob I could have sworn I sore him grimace but the pained look had left his eyes or subdue itself slightly and for that my breathing relaxed ever so slightly.

"Jake, please" I whispered my voice cracking slightly my eyes begging and my tone pleading. I could not loose him, not Jake too. I wouldn't survive it, of that I was almost certain. I withdrew my hand from his burning cheek, how could he still be running such a high fever, surely he should be in hospital or even d-dead at this point.

"I can't tell you Bella. LEAVE!" Jake hollered at me his voice was full of pain and anger, its harshness brought goose bumps to my skin and tears to my eyes as I felt my stomach lurch and for one frantic moment all the wind rushed from my lungs and my body jerked backwards as if his rejection had physically burned me.

"Not here." He whispered in an undertone I could scarcely hear. As the words left Jake's mouth his eyes softened and he was my Jacob once more, and he was asking me, no he was begging me to understand, to play along.

"FINE!" I screamed opening my car door; As I looked away from Jacob squinting through the rain I could see them standing partly hidden behind the trees stood Sam Ulley and four other enormous boys they were waiting for him, for Jake.

"I'M GOING HOME!" I yelled again slamming the truck door and desperately hoping Jacob understood my screamed instruction.

"FINE. Don't Come Back" Jacob shouted his booming voice curled into a nasty snarl and even though I knew his words were an act they stung to hear all the same.

I waited at Charlie's house for hours, I cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom, vacuumed the living room, and did 2 loads of laundry before I started out on Charlie's dinner. I choose lasagne purely because I new it was the most time consuming. Two hours later and a steaming casserole dish filled with the layered pasta dish however there was still no sign of Jake and I felt angry tears spring to my eye.

There was a game on that night so Charlie ate his food in the living room in front of the flat screen. I gave him a small smile before wearily climbing up the stairs to my room. It was too early to even attempt sleep but I didn't care I took a shower which regrettably did nothing to warm me or take away the pain I knew was coming. The sting of Edward's rejection paled in comparison to that of the wound Jacob's broken promise had left me with. I felt as if the sun had disappeared everything seemed cold and dark. The look in his eyes as he had screamed at me to leave plagued me every time I closed my eyes and as I recalled the anger and pain in his voice I clutched at my stomach and sprinted to the bathroom my throat burning as I wretched over the basin sink. Returning to my bed fatigue hit me like a tonne of bricks and my red dry eyes found some small solace in the darkness of my cold and empty mind.

What felt like mere minutes of unrestful sleep later my eyes snapped open in alarm. My blood ran cold and my heart stop as I heard the sound that had awoken me once before the sound of something, I presumed nails, scarping down my window, in an instant memories came flooding back to me. The trio of nomads at the field where we, no they had played baseball. There was James but I knew he was dead. Then Laurent, he had been here but those giant wolves had chased him away three days ago. Would he come back? Would he risk those, those animals in the woods or had he killed them too? And even if the wolves had savaged him there was still the third nomad. My blood froze, fiery red hair, feline features, her mouth curled up into a vengeful snarl. Victoria.

"Bella!" I heard the husky voice outside the window and confusion racked my brain. How was that voice here and then a thought ripped through me, what if she or he or whoever had Jacob? I threw of the hundreds of blankets that covered me, my mind still frozen with fear I almost sprinted to the window, even if this led to my death or kidnapping or whatever I felt entranced I had to understand what was going on I had to see him.

"Jake." I whispered and the fear and pain that had paralysed me dissipated as I saw him dangling precariously from a tree, his feet on my window frame. I pushed the window open and Jake pulled himself with a surprising element of grace through the window.

"May I ask why you are trying to get yourself killed by falling off the side of my house." I hissed my arms folded across my chest protecting my still icy body from another onslaught of pain.

"I had to keep my promise." He said softly his voice riddled with pain.

I dropped my arms at once; he had come back, my Jacob. I threw my arms around his feverish neck and buried my face into his suddenly muscled shoulders his long toned arms wrapt around my waist tightly. I felt warmth flood through my veins as if I was stepping out of the shadows and into the sun after long months of winter. My brain finally caught up with me and I realised three things, not only was Jacob still too hot to be maintaining healthy bodily functions, secondly that at some point in the two weeks since I had sat with Jake in the movie he had grown, I mean he had always been tall but now he towered above me his head resting atop mine easily and my eyes level with the top of his shoulders that had also greatly expanded both in width and muscle. Finally it was with a loud yelp that my brain finally registered possibly the most obvious fact that Jacob Black was standing in my bedroom window at 3 o'clock in the morning half –naked.

"Explain." I growled pushing away from burning well-defined abs and folding my arms across my chest once more, blood rushing to my face in a telltale blush that I desperately tried to hide between my haughty demeanour.

"Bells" he pleaded. And I felt my resolve crumble.

"Jake, please." I begged him, my arms falling against my sides limply as I sat on the edge of my bed looking up at his now towering, and I had to admit beautifully sculpted, frame.

"You can trust me, please just tell me." I whispered trying to keep the tears that were threatening to cascade down my checks at bay.

He nodded nervously chewing on his lip and I almost laughed, it was such a natural and common reaction however seeing this new huge, strong and semi-naked Jake do it felt oddly comical.

He opened his mouth to speak and the shut it again before pulling me from my bed and gripping me tightly in a bear hug for a brief moment before releasing me.

"Just remembered that I'm still Jake ok." He informed me looking intently into my eyes.

"Promise me that I will still be your Jake, annoying and mechanically superior, older, faster, wiser all of it." He begged and my mine tripped over the way he said 'Your Jake' a small smile graced my eyes as I nodded and his shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Ok." He whispered his eyes never leaving mine as he explained it, all of it, everything. The Wolves. The Pack. The Cold Ones. The fact that they were protectors of the people and lands of La Push..

I clasped a hand over my mouth in shock as realisation dawned upon me. He looked at me fearfully worry and panic flashing through his eyes; he dragged my hand away from my mouth.

"Bella please tell me what you are thinking." He begged his voice was a mixture of fear and ager.

"That was y-you in the forest... Laurent." I gasped.

He nodded. "Dead" he spat angrily squeezing my hand reassuringly.

"Y-you, you all…" I whispered in alarm.

He gave me a sad look and nodded.

"Does every freaking fairy story have to come true." I cried out and Jacob barked out a laugh hugging me to his side and pressing his warm lips against my forehead.

My eyes snapped open in frustration. I chastised myself for getting stuck down on Memory Lane when Jake and the others were off being all-heroic and endangering themselves. But I was lonely and there was no way of denying that. Ever since discovering that Victoria (also know as the red-headed blood sucker) was on a mission of vengeance centred on killing me, the entire pack had stepped up patrols especially Jake. There were 7 wolves in total, but I knew that number was subject to change at any moment, depending on the number of vampires in and around the Forks and La Push area; Sam Uley was the alpha and the oldest wolf and like Jake said I had been very wrong to assume anything about Sam, at only 20 years old he was a kind, true and very honest man. Then there was Paul, who had a temper like nothing I had ever seen, and Jarred who were both 19 years old and had been the second and third La Push Boys to 'phase' back about a year ago. Jake, Embry and Quil and now Seth Clearwater made up the remainder of the pack. However Seth being only fifteen years old was the youngest member of the Pack by at least two years a fact that worried both Sam and Jacob greatly.

I longingly remembered my spring break days from a few weeks back. Spending every minute of every day down in La Push, either with Jacob, who I was constantly worried about, or Emily Sam's kind and beautiful, yet badly scarred, fiancé. When there was no one else around to 'babysit' me I would just walk along the tide line at First Beach waiting for Jake to come back from his patrols. Generally speaking I had just let my mind wonder aimlessly over the water the sea glasses the smooth white sand or the rough white caps dotting the horizon, however after a few days of observing Jake's new lifestyle I dedicated my days thinking up schemes in which I could make him rest or at least slow down for a little while.

Jake and Billy had both apologized a hundred times for 'ruining' my vacation. It had been mandated before school even broke up that because of Victoria's ability to evade capture it wasn't safe for me, or Charlie, to be spend much time in Forks where the Boys had no mystical werewolf jurisdiction. I argued against Billy and Jacob's constant apologies having to continuously remind them that I actually enjoyed my time on the reservation. It didn't take long for the three of them to realise how truthful that statement was as the first night down in La Push when I was 'too tired to drive home' and Charlie 'may have had one too many' I slept the entire night through without waking up or screaming once. As the days and nights 'accidently' crashing or Jakes couch progressed I felt more at safe and whole within my skin that I had in months, I was talking and laughing animatedly more and more and I had finally begun to feel like the real Bella, the old Bella, the alive Bella.

Now however school was back in session and things were far more complex in terms of ensuring mu safety. For obvious reasons I couldn't drop out of school and spend every day in La Push, although Jake was all for that idea, and Charlie was getting more and more suspicious whilst Jacob was becoming more and more concerned and restless. I missed him immensely we hadn't been able to hang out as 'Bells and Jake' in weeks. His prolonged absence from my life was beginning to have a negative effect on my psyche, my nights were becoming long and disrupted again dreams of injured wolves plagued me and I spent prolonged amounts of time watching at the window for any sign of wolf-ish movements in the forest outside.

Shaking my head and trying to rid myself of the negative thoughts that seemed to follow me like a shadow I glanced up at the clock reading 2:39pm and smiled the knowledge that Jake was coming to pick me up in an hour and 21 minutes made my spirits soar. Racing back up the stairs overjoyed that I had finally managed to pass the day; I jumped into and out of the shower and actually blow-dried my hair. I was both excited and anxious to see Jake again, there was no denying that we had grown closer still in recent weeks yet I couldn't shake the feelings of guilt that flood through me knowing that his feelings for me were changing, and even worse that I was letting them. I shook my head again, letting my hair cascade over my shoulders pooling in long mahogany waves against my spine, and pulled on a pair of snug denim jeans and a dark blue fitted blouse, trying to block out the memories associated with this particular article of clothing.

I trotted down the stairs happily knowing that Jake would be here soon to pick me up so we could head down to La Push for the night. I tried in vain to block out the thoughts of how quickly our relationship was changing, how much more I depended on him and how desperately I missed him when we were apart. Wandering through the kitchen my mind was of in another world, but my brain shut down when I saw a flash of fiery red hair in my peripheral vision, I whirled around, my heart beating unnaturally fast my breath caught in my throat as all the colour drained from my face.

Victoria.