Chapter Two

Filthy, reeking bloodsucker! Jacob thought bitterly. He felt hot red anger boil within him at the sight of the creature – an anger he hadn't felt in years. A deep, thunderous snarl ripped through the air as he gnashed his powerful jaws, aching for the chance to kill. He crouched low for a moment, preparing to spring when –

"Oh God… Jake?"

He stopped dead. Though spoken in a low whisper, the words reached his sensitive ears with ease. There was no mistaking it. Somehow, this filthy monster knew his name! He took a step back, unsure, as his deep black eyes roved over the vampire's form.

It was female, not very tall, with long chocolate brown hair that spilled perfectly over its cold white shoulders. Its stance seemed fairly relaxed, no hint of an attack… that surprised him. Surely it would have smelled him coming. One tiny hand lay limp at the side while the other was raised, cupped lightly over the creature's mouth as if in surprise. He saved its face for last. It was blindingly beautiful, of course – he could admit that. But he knew that it was merely a way of attracting victims, nothing more. The porcelain white of its skin was flawless, smooth and glowed faintly in the dim sunlight. And its eyes…

Jacob took a step forward, in spite of himself. No… that's impossible! He shook his massive head side to side in disbelief. The creature's sparkling, golden eyes bored into his, almost pleadingly. Only once had he ever seen vampires with eyes like these. He stepped forward again, despite the sickening smell. His eyes roamed the face a second time, searching. Its features were perfectly symmetrical and ideally proportioned, but this time, he could see past it.

He replaced the liquid gold with two pools of warm brown. Instead of flowing, full and lush, the gently waving hair was held up in a messy ponytail with a few missed strands hanging down the back. The face was still beautiful, but not like this; no artificial perfection, but genuine beauty. Rather than parting in surprise, the full, rosy lips were pulled back into a grin, perhaps laughing at some joke he had made as they sat together in his garage. He felt his now racing heart ache longingly at the memory.

NO! With a few quick strides, the giant wolf retreated several feet, a low growl rumbling deep within his chest. Don't let it trick you… No matter whatever or whoever this leech used to be, it had crossed the boundary line, trespassed on his land. Jacob remained frozen in place, unsure whether to run or attack. Instead he merely stood there, waiting for the monster to make a move.

XXX

Bella fought her aggression with all of her strength as the enormous werewolf came into view. Only one…? She had been expecting the entire pack. Bella bowed her head slightly, staring at the ground. A direct look in the eye meant a challenge, and that was the last thing she wanted. Fighting her instincts, she dropped her hands limply to her sides and began thinking of what she should do. Maybe if they see I don't plan to fight, they'll listen… Should I use Jacob's name? Will they trust me then? … What if he doesn't live here anymore? What if they've never heard of –?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a fierce snarl ripping through the wolf. For a moment, she was able to identify with Jasper; she could almost feel the waves of hatred and aggression shooting toward her. Bella raised her eyes slowly, looking directly at the werewolf for the first time. It had deep, red-brown fur, a bit shaggier than most others of its kind. It was unusually tall as well – several feet larger than a full-grown horse. Its shining black eyes, though narrowed in anger, were still the creature's most human feature. And something in them was inexplicably familiar… She felt her mouth drop open in shock.

"Oh God… Jake?"

His sudden reaction to her words was confirmation – she was staring into the eyes of Jacob Black.

As her old friend came closer, looking her over, Bella continued to stare in disbelief, a thousand thoughts rushing through her head. Has he really been phasing all this time? Or maybe he's left his family at home to become a wolf again, just because of me. Will he stop aging, like before? What will they think? Why did he come alone? Where are the others? What if something happened to them – an attack? Is he the only one left…?

The entire time, Bella studied his face carefully, searching desperately for some clue. Instead, she was met with a sign of recognition. After several tense moments, Jacob staggered backward, horrified. Her body almost shook with the force of the growl that echoed through the air. This was the reaction she had feared. There was total silence for several moments, their eyes never leaving each other. Bella knew she had to say something. With a deep breath, she slowly stepped forward, unsure of how to begin.

"I'm sorry about this, Jacob." She said finally, coming to a stop about ten feet from him. She longed to move closer, but his bitter scent and hostile demeanor prevented her from doing so. "I promised myself I'd never bother you again. But I had to, I…" Her voice trailed off. This was more difficult than she had anticipated.

Jacob had not moved an inch the entire time she had spoken. He continued to stand, still as a statue, with no reaction to her words. She decided to try a direct question; something that would require a response.

"You have no idea how wonderful it is to see you," she paused. Though Bella had undoubtedly retained more of her humanity than the rest of her family, it had been years since she had felt this level of complex, human emotion. It was extremely overwhelming. "But why are you here? Shouldn't you be at home, with your family?" She waited for several moments, but there was still no response, nothing.

"Where are the others, Jake? Where's the rest of the pack?" Again, she was met with total silence. Bella let out a long sigh. After all these years, he was still just as stubborn as always. "Please, Jake. Won't you change back and talk to me?"

Jacob did not react for several moments as he quickly weighed his options in his head. He could simply run home and leave her— No… 'It' he corrected himself mentally— but he would never allow himself to act like such a coward. He could continue to stand there, pretending he could not hear the words being thrown at him, but that would be childish and foolish; something Leah would have done.

His third option was to simply attack; to rip the bloodsucker to shreds before it could say another word. But he knew, deep inside, that he could never bring himself to harm this creature. Its clever disguise brought back too many memories, which prevented him from taking any action. This only served to anger him further. With no other option, he quickly darted into the trees, returning to his original form.

For a moment, Bella's heart sank at the sight of Jacob's retreat, but she knew almost instantly that he would return. Sure enough, a few moments later, a human figure emerged from the trees, naked from the waist up. Her beautiful golden eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of him. The surprise and confusion she had felt when she had first seen him was nothing compared to the horror she felt upon seeing him in his human form.

The first thing she noticed was that he had not aged a day since the last time she saw him, thirty two years before. He remained just as ageless as she was. So it's true… she thought miserably. It could only mean one thing: he was alone. All this time, she had expected him to be married, to be aging alongside his family… but now she understood - he had nothing in his life worth growing old for.

And yet despite her disappointment, it was not his physical age that had truly shocked her. That much she could handle. But the look in his eyes when he stepped out of the trees was like nothing she had ever seen before.

In his human form, it was usually so much easier to see the depth and expression of his piercing gaze. But what she saw at that moment was… nothing. His eyes were cold, dark, and lifeless. There was no expression, no feeling, just a vast emptiness. And yet underneath it all, Bella could sense an underlying hatred, a vicious fury lingering behind his gaze. His mouth was set in a hard, angry line across his face as he stared at her with his blank, unfeeling orbs.

This was certainly not her Jacob, but it was not Sam's either. This was a harsh, bitter, unfeeling Jacob. A monster. The sight of him was one of the most frightening things she had ever seen. "Oh, Jacob…" she whispered brokenly. "What's happened to you?"

For a brief instant, he was startled by her question. It was a few moments before Jacob decided to answer. "Why should you care?" He asked tersely. "Besides, I don't know what you're talking about." He addressed the area just above her right shoulder; it hurt too much to look directly into those ocher eyes.

"Don't lie to me!" Bella demanded, taking a step closer to him. The coldness of his reply had angered her, hurt her. She was beginning to dislike this new Jacob more and more. "You've changed, Jake - into something almost…" She searched for the right word. "Inhuman." The look on his face made her instantly regret her words.

He laughed bitterly at the irony of the accusation. "What right do you have to lecture me about being 'inhuman'!" Jacob spat the words at her, trying to calm the fresh wave of anger ripping through him. "Just look at yourself…" He turned away from her, disgusted.

This time, it was Bella's turn to be angry. Without warning, she closed the distance between them in a few quick strides. Her face was mere inches from his as she spoke, trying to block out the foul odor that filled her nostrils. "Why won't you look at me!" She demanded. "I'm right here, Jake! It's me!" She sighed heavily. "Can't you see that?"

Jacob cringed but did not move away. He couldn't decide which stung him more – her sickening smell or the obvious pain in her voice. Maybe I'm just being stupid… Maybe I should give her a chance…

Very slowly, he lowered his eyes to meet hers, searching for some trace of the girl he loved behind that perfect porcelain mask.

"Please…" She begged him desperately.

The emotion in her voice was so pure, so sincere, so human. And as he gazed into her eyes, he could nearly see it. In that moment, she was almost human again; almost his. "Bella…" Jacob spoke her name for the first time with quivering lips.

Bella closed her eyes at the sound of her name. Yes… she thought blissfully. She was finally getting through to him. With just the smallest hesitation, she reached out her hand to grasp his. The incredible difference in temperature was alarming at first, but neither showed any reaction. Gently, Bella lifted his palm to her mouth and kissed it lightly with her cold lips before resting it against her smooth cheek. She held it there, letting his soothing heat warm her skin.

Jacob closed his eyes and breathed deeply, struggling with himself. He knew it was foolish and weak to allow her to do this to him, and yet he felt no desire to fight it. A smile threatened to reach his lips when he noticed the tiny wooden wolf charm resting against the ivory skin of her wrist.

She noticed his eyes lingering over her bracelet and smiled lightly before her face once again turned serious. "Jacob, we made a promise that we would always be friends, no matter what… that we would always love each other…" A small sigh escaped her lips. "I've been keeping my promise… but what about you?" Bella eyed him questioningly.

Wordlessly, Jacob let his hand slide down the side of her cheek and down the flawless skin of her long neck. Bella shuddered slightly with pleasure, ashamed of herself and glad that Edward was not watching her. Jacob's large hand finally came to a stop a few inches below her delicate collar bone. He held it there and closed his eyes, unmoving.

Beneath his palm, Jacob could feel the gentle rise and fall of Bella's chest as her breathing began to slow down. But that was all he felt – There was no movement or sound from her cold, dead heart. His eyes snapped open, just as empty and lifeless as before. It was too good to be true… He thought helplessly as the perfect illusion fell to pieces around him. Without speaking, he backed away quickly, holding his now trembling fists against his head. Why is she torturing me like this!

Bella extended her hand toward him, startled and hurt by his sudden withdrawal. "Jacob! What's wrong? What happened?" She took several nervous steps in his direction.

"No!" Jacob shouted, his face contorting in pain. "I have to go." He continued to edge closer to the trees.

"Please, stay!" Bella continued her approach, frantic. He couldn't leave her like this. "What about your promise?"

Jacob paused a moment and turned to face her, his eyes burning into hers. "My promise," he whispered bitterly, "Was until your heart stopped beating. It's too late now." With one last look of contempt, he broke into a sprint and disappeared into the darkening wood. I'm sorry…

"Jacob, please!" Bella raced after him in vain, but it was hopeless. Silence filled the darkening clearing; she was alone. With a moan of grief, she sunk to her knees and held her face in her small hands, wishing she were able to cry, just once, so she could release the crushing pain that surged within her.

And for the second time in her entire existence, she truly felt like a monster.

A/N: I hope everyone doesn't feel like Jacob's being out-of-character. I just feel like thirty years' worth of anger and bitterness would turn him into kind of a cold person (But I PROMISE that the real Jacob's under there! We've just got to find him!) And yeah, I realize that sounded pretty final and everything, but don't worry! The story is only beginning! Believe me, Bella's just a BIT more persistent than that… she won't give up so easily! Hope you're enjoying the story! Don't forget to review!