Jacob Black paced back and forth by the border, deep in thought. Despite Sam's instructions that he patrol the area, Jacob was in his human form and far too distracted to even recognize a threat if there had been one lurking nearby. Jacob couldn't focus, his mind raced with thoughts of him.

The whole situation was completely ludicrous of course, and Jacob desperately wished that he could take back the events from that afternoon when he had visited Bella at her house in Forks. He had been there of course. How was Jacob supposed to know that his world would get flipped upside down just from a mere glance in his direction? It was just as Sam had described it. All of a sudden, the only thing anchoring Jacob to the earth was him.

At first, Jacob had been too shocked to do or say anything. Bella had looked concerned as if anticipating a fight, while his eyes—those horrible, beautiful, terrible topaz eyes—had widened in disbelief at the thoughts that were suddenly running a mile a minute in Jacob's head. Imprint…leech…need…oh fuck. At the realization that he could hear everything going through his mind, Jacob had panicked, tearing off back to La Push and leaving his motorcycle in Bella's driveway. He had phased without thinking, the shock and horror of what had happened pushing him to transform.

Almost immediately the thoughts of his pack mates bombarded him, and he realized his mistake a second too late. Before anyone had the chance to even identify where he was Jacob had shifted back, taking the long way home to avoid running across any of their paths should they try to intercept him.

His efforts were all for naught, however. When he burst through his front door, still stumbling into a pair of dirty jeans he had snagged off the porch, he was confronted with the image of Sam Uley sitting at his kitchen table, patiently waiting for him. There were two steaming cups of tea sitting in front of him. He gestured to the chair next to him.

"Sit, Jacob." Jacob obeyed the alpha's command without a second thought, though he was terrified of what Sam had to say to him. Was he about to be banished from the pack? Exiled from La Push? He opened his mouth about to defend himself when Sam calmly raised his hand, silencing him. "Calm down, Jacob," Sam commanded softly. Jacob felt the tension leave his body. "Have some tea." Jacob reached for the cup and took a careful sip, his eyes not leaving Sam's face. The older man took a sip from his own cup as well, studying Jacob's face carefully. There was quiet for a few more seconds before he began to speak. "It appears we have quite the dilemma on our hands," he said, still quiet. Jacob snorted at the gross understatement, but didn't say anything. "We will, of course, have to arrange a meeting with the Cullens." Jacob's eyes widened at this.

"You're not kicking me out?" he asked, incredulous. Sam gave him a disappointed frown.

"Honestly Jacob. You're family. And an Imprint is beyond our control, as evidence by my own experience with it," Sam's face soured a bit at this before he composed himself once more. "No, you are not going to be kicked out of our pack. I will not deny that it does prove to be a bit of a complication, given our history with their coven. However, I believe their leader is not without reason. I think we could come to some sort of accord." He took another measured sip from his tea.

"I don't want to 'come to an accord'. I want it gone."

"If only it were so simple," Sam replied with a wry grin. Jacob growled in frustration. "Jacob, this is not something you will be able to fight. It will only cause you pain and misery if you try. Our best option is to meet with the coven and revise the truce so that you both can travel easily between our territories. Tomorrow we shall meet them at the border to discuss everything." Sam stood, seeming to think the matter quite settled. Jacob lashed out, gripping tightly on Sam's sleeve and looking up at Sam pleadingly. However, there was nothing the alpha could do to fix the turmoil raging inside of Jacob. He rested a reassuring hand on Jacob's shoulder. "This must have happened for a reason, Jacob. You wouldn't have Imprinted on him if it wasn't meant to work out…somehow." With that, Sam took his leave. Before stepping out, however, he turned back to look over his shoulder, "Patrols tonight," he reminded him, before closing the door quietly behind him.

Jacob slumped in his seat, his tea gone cold. What a mess. He was glad to have Sam's support, but the whole situation just seemed so wrong. Jacob had no clue how this situation was supposed to play out, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be easy. Not easy at all.

Two hours later and here he was, refusing to phase and pacing at the border. His mind was no less rattled than it had been when Sam left, his uncertainty and fear winding him up and making him more and more agitated. There was a rustle in the bushes and Jacob looked to see Leah's wolf ambling towards him, a clearly amused glint in her eye.

"Don't," he warned, knowing that it was useless. Leah was a bitch and he knew she was going to milk this for all it was worth. However, he wasn't going to make it easy for her and stubbornly remained in human form. She couldn't mock him if he wasn't in the mind link. He almost sighed in relief when she stalked back to the bushes but his anxiety came back tenfold when she re-emerged dressed and in human form.

"You know, in a funny kind of way, this is pretty perfect isn't it?" Jacob turned to her, eyebrow raised in question. "Bella's going to flip," she said gleefully and Jacob groaned. Bella. His best friend. A girl whom, until very recently, Jacob had believed he loved.

"This isn't going to end well," was all he said in reply before continuing his pacing. Leah fell into step next to him.

"Imprinting rarely does, it seems," she said quietly. Jacob glanced over at her.

"I was expecting far more ribbing from you." Leah shrugged.

"This is sure to provide some entertainment. It's been incredibly boring around here with the Cullens being so well behaved and no rogues creeping around. I'll be sure to bring some popcorn tomorrow." With that, she went back to the bushes where she undressed before phasing back again. She took one last look at Jacob before turning and running off back into the woods. Jacob sighed and turned back to the border, staring off into the darkness of the woods in the Cullens' territory. What a mess.


When Jacob awoke the next morning, he had a few blissful seconds of oblivion before he remembered what had transpired the day before. He groaned, rolling over and wishing he could just stay in bed all day. He didn't want to get up, didn't want to phase, didn't want to face him so soon. Unfortunately he had to do all three, and he rolled out the comfort of his sheets, carelessly grabbing a pair of jeans and foregoing a shirt. He was going to be in wolf form anyway, might as well make the load he had to carry lighter.

He entered the kitchen cautiously, praying that he wouldn't have to face his father yet. However, Billy Black was seated at the table, turning to look at Jacob. There was silence for a moment before his father spoke up.

"This can't be easy for you, Jacob," he said kindly, albeit somewhat gruffly.

"You know Dad, it's really really not. But it is what it is." Jacob shrugged, resigned to his fate. Although he wouldn't really know what that fate would be until the pack met with the coven at the border. Jacob didn't know him enough to guess how he would react to all of this, and decided that fretting over it would only start up a panic. With a nod to his father, Jacob left the house, phasing on his front porch. Voices assaulted his brain immediately.

'Well look who finally decided to wake up'

'You Imprinted on a leech?!'

'I do not envy you, man'

'A goddamn fucking leech?!'

'Shut up Paul. Jake, we're almost to the border. Hurry up.'

'I'm coming, I'm coming.'

Jacob dashed through the trees, dread washing over him as he got closer and closer to the border. When he was about three miles out, he smelt it. The sickeningly sweet stench of vampire assaulted his nose and he sneezed, trying to rid his senses of it, to no avail. Indeed, the closer he got the stronger the smell became and before he knew it he was arriving at the cluster that was his pack, a wall of fur shielding him from what was on the other side of the border. Determined not to play the coward, Jacob wove through the bodies of the other wolves until he was shoulder-to-shoulder with Sam.

For the first time since his revelation yesterday, Jacob came face-to-face with him. The vampire who had started this whole mess. The one who was responsible for the chaos and havoc that roiled inside of him.

Edward fucking Cullen.

"Hello to you too, Jacob," Edward said, neither his voice nor face giving away any emotion. It wasn't until a second voice spoke up that Jacob realized Edward was not alone. The doctor was here as well, though Jacob hadn't even noticed him when he first arrived.

'Only got eyes for Cullen, eh Jakey?'

'Piss off, Leah'

Edward smirked before returning to his cool, impassive expression.

"Hello Jacob," the doctor greeted cordially before turning back to Sam's hulking form. "What can we do for you?"

"Jacob has Imprinted," Edward spoke up, "…on me." The doctor looked confused.

"Imprinted?"

"Apparently Imprinting is some sort of soul-mate-seeking mechanism in the wolves' DNA," Edward explained.

'YOU ARE NOT MY SOUL MATE!' Jacob roared his thoughts at Edward, who merely quirked an eyebrow at his outrage before turning back to Carlisle.

"It has caused quite a stir amongst the wolves, as it's hardly normal for them to Imprint on vampires," Edward continued, translating Sam's thoughts for the doctor.

"I see," the doctor replied before turning to Jacob. "How can we make this as easy as possible for you, Jacob?"

'Piss off' Jacob received a glower from Edward and he cowed under the gaze, feeling suddenly ashamed. An uncomfortable tightness started to form in his chest.

'Already whipped like a little bitch, eh?'

'I will murder you, Paul'

'Quiet' Sam ordered, then turned his attention to Edward and the doctor, 'We would like to revise the terms of the treaty. As Jacob's Imprint, Edward is allowed full access to the La Push territory'

Edward relayed this information to the doctor, who looked thoughtful.

"I'm surprised you would allow it, considering our history. This Imprinting must be quite serious if you're willing to adjust the treaty so drastically."

'Edward is a member of the pack, vampire or not. In addition to his immunity from the treaty, he is also under our protection'

Edward snorted at this, clearly finding the wolves' presumption to "protect" him to be laughable. He translated Sam's thoughts to the doctor, omitting the second half of it. The doctor smiled.

"Jacob is welcome to come to ours as well. I extend the same offer to all of you, as long as the intentions of your visits are civil." He focused back on Sam, "I would like to discuss this Imprinting in greater depth at some point." Sam offered only a stiff nod at this before turning to leave, his job done. Jacob and the rest of the pack made to follow after him.

"Jacob wait," Edward piped up. The wolf stopped in his tracks, damning himself for so immediately following the command. He turned to see Edward's amused expression. The vampire looked down thoughtfully at the invisible line that separated his coven's territory from La Push, before stepping over it and coming to stand next to Jacob. When he saw that none of the other wolves were making a move to attack him, he turned to Jacob and grinned. Jacob's breath hitched at the sight. He had been trying to ignore his own reactions to Edward so as to keep as little information as possible from his Imprint's mind-reading ability. However, having that radiant grin directed at him made his stomach flutter and he suddenly understood why humans found vampires so irresistible.

"Irresistible am I?" Edward remarked cheekily. Jacob shook his head, attempting to clear his mind and push all thoughts of Edward into a mental box to lock away before turning from the vampire to stalk off. He was determined to go home and crawl back into bed. He was surprised to notice Edward keeping in step with him, clearly intending to follow.

'Can I help you?'

"Now that you mention it, yes. I'd like to know more about this Imprint. Perhaps you could enlighten me." Jacob snorted.

'Perhaps not. Go away.'

"Jacob, stop." There was an edge to Edward's voice and Jacob froze, seemingly unable to move. Damnit, another command. Jacob turned furious eyes on Edward, who merely smirked in response. "So I seem to have some degree of control over your actions. Interesting." He took a step closer to Jacob who, due to the order, could not move away.

'Won't Bella wonder where you are?' Jacob tried to distract Edward from trying to investigate the Imprint. That was just too embarrassing to handle right now. Edward stiffened at Jacob's comment.

"Bella is currently with Alice at the house. She knows where I am."

'Well, better not keep her waiting. Run along home bloodsucker.' Jacob's head started aching, a faint pounding echoing in his ears. He couldn't be around Edward right now. Not with all the volatile thoughts flying through his brain. He needed to get away from the mind-reader so he could just sit down and think.

"Fine, wolf." Jacob winced. Edward's voice was cold and indifferent. "I will be back however. Don't think you can hide this from me for long." With that, Edward turned on his heel and headed back towards his side of the border. Jacob bounded away before Edward had the chance to change his mind and order him to stay put again. He raced home, trying to ignore the inquisitive thoughts of his pack mates and the mounting panic that was building inside his chest.

When he arrived at the house, he phased back and quickly entered the front door. He didn't bother to see if his father was home before speeding down the hall to his room, closing the door behind him.

The pain hit him all at once, like a punch through the chest. Shame and regret flowed through him at his treatment of his Imprint. Jacob fought the urge to run back and apologize profusely for being so rude. Fire coursed through his veins and he let out a startled scream at the sharp pounding in his head. Jacob heard a voice muttering pitifully, before he realized that it was his voice.

"Sorry sorry I'm sorry—oh god—please! I'm sorry! Sorry sorry sorry SORRY!" Jacob was vaguely aware of his bedroom door being opened and felt strong hands guiding him to his bed. He continued to thrash and writhe, gripping at his head and chest, the agony unbearable.

Jacob heard voices but couldn't register what was being said, his only focus on the feeling of his heart constricting tightly before expanding, crushing against his ribs and forcing air from his lungs. He gasped desperately, the lack of oxygen making the pain in his head worse. A howling sounded in the distance; the sound pierced his brain and made lights pop in his vision. He was going to die. He was going to die in absolute agony because he had been too pigheaded to even think about how the Imprint would react to his less-than-kind words to Edward.

"So…rry…" he choked out painfully, before whimpering as another onslaught of fire boiled his blood. His vision started to darken and he knew he was dying. He wanted to succumb to the darkness, at least then the pain would stop.

Suddenly, something cold and hard pressed against his forehead and to Jacob's relief, the pain in his head lessened. He whimpered and nuzzled into whatever it was, hoping it would cease the fire in his veins and the pain in his chest.

"Sorry…so sorry…I'm sorry…please," he muttered.

"It's ok…don't worry. Everything's all right. Just relax." The voice was like a soothing ointment, and Jacob felt the last dredges of pain melt away. He sighed in relief as the cold stone caressed his forehead and pushed back his sweat-soaked hair. Jacob cracked his eyes open and saw a pale blurry figure hunched over him. He knew instantly that it was Edward. "That's right. I'm here. You're going to be ok."

"Sorry…I'm sorry…" Jacob rasped, reaching up to grip at the stone resting on his temple. Oh, it was a hand. Edward's hand. Jacob held it tightly before bringing it to his chest. He felt fingers rubbing gently over his heart and he sighed in contentment.

"Everything is going to be all right, Jacob," was the last thing the boy heard before he succumbed to unconsciousness .