CHAPTER 1

Seattle Washington, Three years later

"Do you have everything, Leah?" Emma asked coming into the now empty bedroom.

"Yeah, at least I think so" Leah smiled at the girl who had become such a good friend. Emma became her roommate about a year ago when Rachel went home for the summer and never returned. She had fallen in love with Paul Lahote of all people. Leah personally couldn't understand why she couldn't return to finish her last year of school. When she asked her she told her it hurt too much to be away from him so she would finish her degree on-line. Leah just snorted at that, the fuck? No man was worth giving up your life.

She eventually got over the whole Sam and Emily debacle but it left her permanently scarred. She was deathly afraid of getting hurt again. Sure she dated but she never let anyone get close. It was just for fun, the minute they wanted more it was over. She was done and moved on.

"Are you nervous? You haven't been home in three years. I'm sure a lot has changed or are you more worried things didn't change enough?"

"I'm terrified." Emma knew all about her past and Leah couldn't deny she was scared. She had accomplished so much in the last three years. Two days ago she graduated at the top of her class with a Bachelors Degree in Science and Nursing. She always wanted to follow in her mom's footsteps and become a nurse. Between regular classes, night school and summer classes she had accomplished her goal in three years. Now she was doing the one thing she swore she never would. Going home. Leah didn't know what she was more afraid of? Seeing them together living their happily ever after or that people would only see the girl she once was through pitying eyes and not the strong, successful, independent woman she had worked so hard to become.

"What am I doing,Emma? I should just stay here and get a job, a better job that will pay me more than Forks Community Hospital. I love that I got hired at the birthing center but I can't for the life of me remember why I'm doing this."

"You're doing this for you and your family,Leah, you're doing this for your dad. You would never forgive yourself if something happened to him and you didn't get to spend time with him or say good-bye." She was right, her dad had been diagnosed with coronary artery disease and Leah needed to be near him and her family, but it didn't make it any easier. The pain was gone, it took her a long time to put her heart back together and when she thought of them now she felt nothing, nothing at all. But out of sight was of mind, what happened when she saw them? And she would. It was a small Reservation and that bitch was technically family. Sure she eventually got over the heartache but she never forgave either one of them and never would. The "mature" part of her would argue that they had done her a favor, but the broken hearted teenage girl who got tossed aside without a second thought would always win that argument because she was scared, she had been hurt.

"You're right, I can do this, and everything is going to be fine!" Resolved, Leah turned around and gave Emma a big hug, "Thank you so much for everything, I am going to miss you and your craziness, Chica. Promise me you'll keep in touch." She hugged her back and looked up at her with tears in her eyes.

"I will, I promise. You bitch, you're making me cry again. For fucks sake your only going to be three hours away. Get your ass going and call me when you get there" Just then a very hung over, very naked man exited Emma's bedroom glaring at them. Leah couldn't help but tease him one last time.

"Take care of her Brody, and thanks for letting me kick your ass in beer pong one last time." He flipped her off and stumbled into the bathroom. She just laughed at her friend's boyfriend's obvious pain. She couldn't feel sorry for the guy, it was all self induced. They had surprised her with a going away party and he could never accept defeat, well at least not until he passed out.

Emma walked her to her car and gave her one last hug before Leah reluctantly climbed into her poor Honda Pilot that was busting at the seams with all of her crap. Taking a deep breath she started the car. Her last thought as she pulled out of the the driveway was how thankful she was for the three-hour drive ahead of her. She needed the time to mentally prepared herself for what was to come.

~TAP~

La Push, Washington

Embry pushed open the garage door and laughed at his best friend who was cussing under the hood of his newly acquired, Black, 1967 Camero SS. It was his latest project and what had started out as a labor of love quickly turned into a source of epic frustration; he'd fix one problem only to find another.

"Hey Jake, what are you fixing now?" grabbing a beer out of the mini-fridge he sat down on the old couch.

"This fucking piece of shit…." Jake stood up and ran a greasy hand through his hair before turning and apologizing to the piece of shit in question, "I'm sorry beautiful, but you're driving me fucking crazy."

"You do realize you're talking to a car right?"

"Shut the fuck up, Em, she's a delicate piece of machinary and when I'm through with her she's going to be so hot your gonna bust a nut with envy. What are you doin' here anyway? Shouldn't you be with your imprint" he said the last word with disgust. Embry had imprinted on Bella's friend Angela almost six months ago and they rarely spent any time together anymore. He'd be the first to admit it, he was bitter. If Jake hated imprinting before, he really hated it now. Not only did it take away your choices, it apparently took away your best friend as well. Imprinting and the threat of it were literally ruining his life.

"She's doing something with Bella" Embry ignored the low growl coming from his Alphas chest. If the car was making Jake frustrated, his relationship with Bella was going to put him in the fucking Looney bin before he was nineteen. That chick was so hot and cold it made Embry's head spin. He couldn't imagine what it did to Jake. "Uh oh, what's going on now or do I even want to know?"

"We're back to being "best friend's" again. I don't get it. One minute she wants me, the next minute she doesn't. I'm not going to lie man, this shits getting old." He wiped his hands on an old rag and grabbed a beer before joining Embry on the couch. "I don't think I can do it anymore, Embry. I think I'm finally done. Not to mention the fact that I really need to get laid."

"What? You and Bella haven't—" he was shocked, he thought they had crossed that bridge a long time ago.

"Fuck no! She gives new meaning to the word tease. We've gotten close but then she always puts on the breaks. Fort Knox has nothing on her fucking virginity. She says she's not comfortable giving herself to me because I could imprint and leave her. And then she throws my past in my face which just causes another fight. I don't get it, what does it matter who I fucked? She was with that god damn blood sucker. She gave up any say in what or who I did when she ran back to him."

Embry looked at his old friend. Something had changed. Something about him was different. For as long as he could remember Jake had been in love with Bella Swan. When that leech left her to die Jake put her back together one piece at a time and just when things were looking up for them he came back. "He had to, Bella was in danger and it was all his fault blah blah blah." She dropped Jake like a hot potato. Broken hearted and pissed off he immediately became Paul's wingman. Jake went through so many girls he had become a legendary man-whore in his own right. After the Newborn War was fought and won, with Jake almost becoming a casualty, she told him she loved him but not enough. She was officially choosing Edward and becoming a leech, but the joke was on her. She dumped Jake only find out Edward and his family were leaving again. He never intended to stay; he was just fixing the mess he had created. No matter how much she begged, he refused to change her. "He loved her too much to make her a monster and he was leaving her to live a happy human life, even if it was with a 'dog'". Bella crawled back to Jake and of course he forgave her and took her back with open arms, much to everyone's disgust. Especially Paul's.

"Are you going to be ok, Man?" he was worried, something was off with his friend and he couldn't even offer him any hope. He knew Bella still talked to the bloodsuckers. Her and the Pixie were as close as ever. Deep down he knew she was just waiting for Edward to change his mind, stringing Jake along in the meantime because she didn't want to be alone. There were a lot of benefits to an imprint. Angela told him everything.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't pay any attention to me. I do love her, Em. I just wish we could move on from all this supernatural bullshit and live our lives. It would have been so much easier if I just imprinted on her." He noticed that, for the first time ever, Jakes words lacked conviction.

"I don't know what my problem is; I've just been so short tempered lately. I think I just need to run, my wolfs agitated and I can't figure out why and he just keeps getting worse."

"Is he upset about Bella?" he knew what Jakes wolf needed. The same thing all their wolves needed to be happy and content. Pack, food and mate. It really was that simple. He never realized how much he needed his mate until he imprinted. They kept their wolves grounded and under control in ways he never imagined. Jake was the Alpha. His wolf needed his mate more than the rest of them, but if it wasn't Bella who was it? The even bigge question was if he ever did imprint would he embrace it or fight it tooth and nail out of spite?

"What? No, not really. He could care less. No, that's not true he likes her fine, just not as much as I do." He gave a sarcastic little snort.

"Hmmm, that's interesting."

"What?"

"Nothing, just find it weird. My wolf loves everything about Angela. Her scent, the way she feels, the way she tastes. Its almost like he can't stay away. He always wants to be near her. He's addicted to her."

"That's just the imprint. Stop looking for shit where it doesn't exist. Fuck this." He threw his empty beer bottle in the trash and took off his shirt. "I'm going for a run, you coming?'

"Yeah, lets go." They walked into the woods, took off their shorts and phased. Embry was more than a little intimidated; Jakes wolf was different. Bigger, stronger, and more dominant. And he was restless. Power rolled off of him in waves making his own wolf cower. Jake took off without another word and Embry could do nothing but follow and try to keep up.

When they got back behind Jakes house and were pulling on their shorts they looked at each other and smiled. "Is that what I think it is?" Embry asked sniffing the air.

"Yeah, Bella's lasagna. I guess were making up again. Come on, if my nose is right Angela's here too. Lets go eat, I'm fucking starving."

Dinner was excellent as usual. They all sat around and talked about the next days bonfire. Once the kitchen was cleaned up Embry and Angela left and Billy went to his room to carve. A smiling Bella pulled an annoyed Jake into his room, took one of his t-shirts out of his drawer and started taking off her clothes.

"Bells, what are you doing?" She was confusing the fuck out of him.

"Getting ready for bed. Why?" He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"JESUS CHRIST, BELLA, MAKE UP YOUR FUCKING MIND!" She turned around in shock and looked at him. He had never yelled at her before much less used that kind of language. He knew how she felt about him cussing.

"Really, Jacob? You have to use bad language to make a point? And why are you yelling at me? What did I do now?" her eyes started to fill with tears; of course they did she knew it worked, every single time. And of course he immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry, Bells, but you have me so messed up. What do you want from me? Just last night you told me you didn't want to be anything more than best friends, and now your getting ready for bed. Newsflash, Bella, best friends don't sleep together."

"I'm know and I'm sorry, but I was wrong ok. Can't we just forget about last night?" She walked up to him in nothing but her plain white cotton bra and panties, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. "I love you, Jacob. I'm just so scared. I can't lose you, you don't understand...it would kill me. Why do we have to have a label? Can't we just be Jake and Bells? Take it a day at a time with no strings attached and no pressure?" He put his face in her neck scenting her and for the first time in his life she smelled wrong. The familiar scent of strawberries didn't make him feel better like it usually did, if anything it put him more on edge. He stiffened in her arms and gently pushed her away. Seeing the hurt in her eyes he gave her a soft kiss.

"Get into bed and wait for me ok. I'll be back in a little while; I have to run a quick patrol. I love you, Bella, and if this is what you really want then we can try it. No labels, no strings, no pressure." With a tired sigh he pulled off his shorts, gave her another kiss and jumped out the window. He ran a quick patrol getting control of his wolf and then crawled into bed. His mind was all over the place, what was going on? He looked at Bella sleeping peacefully in his arms. He scented her again with the same result, it was all wrong. He finally gave up. He was tired. He'd try to figure it out tomorrow. Right now the love of his life was in his arms and he was going to enjoy it. If his wolf didn't like it he could go fuck himself.

The dream was familiar; he had had it repeatedly over the last couple of years since he first phased. Every time it became more and more vivid. So detailed he knew her body better than he knew his own. From the freckle behind her left ear to the small tattoo of a russet wolf—his wolf—right next to her right hipbone. But it never told him the one thing he wanted, no needed to know. Who she was. He never saw her face; it was always an erotic tangled mess of intertwined bodies. Just snippets of flawless russet skin, long black hair, a perfect body made just for him and beautiful hazel eyes full of love as they looked at him. When Bella left him for the leech he became obsessed with finding the girl in his dreams, but he never did. He had been with so many different girls. They were never her, something was always wrong. Wrong eyes, wrong hair, wrong body and they all had the wrong smell. He knew her by scent alone and she smelled mouthwatering. The perfect blend of cinnamon and vanilla.

This time it was different; tonight her scent was overwhelming, like she was really there. He kept his eyes closed tight hoping that this would be the night he would finally get to see her. He felt it all, every kiss, every touch. The feelings she invoked in him were indescribable. All he knew was he never felt more complete than when he was with her in his dreams. He watched as delicate russet fingers trailed down his chest, tracing every peak and valley of his abdominal muscles, teasing him until his body was on fire. He heard her sigh wistfully before her hand gently wrapped around his now painfully hard erection and he watched in fascination as she slowly stroked him. Only she could make him feel this good.

Then it started to change. As she increased the speed of her strokes the russet hand was replaced with a small pale one and her scent started to fade, concealed under the overpowering smell of strawberries. He watched in horror as the hands kept changing between russet and pale, he couldn't move. His wolf was furious that the pale hand was ruining their dream and then without warning he came biting his lip to keep from crying out.

He opened his eyes to see Bella smiling up at him, her hand still slowly stroking his softening member. There was a time when waking up to Bella like this topped every fantasy he ever had, but now he just felt disappointed and to be honest a little bit guilty. She leaned over and grabbed his t-shirt off the floor cleaning them both up before crawling back up his chest to kiss him.

"Good morning, Sunshine!"

"Good morning. Not that I didn't enjoy it but what was that all about?" Aside from a kiss she never initiated anything physical in their relationship. It was always him that pushed and begged for more. He was more than a little surprised that she voluntarily gave him a hand job.

"You were moaning in your sleep. I figured you were having a good dream and I thought I'd help you out. So…who were you dreaming about?" Oh shit, this wasn't good.

"I don't know. I remember seeing and feeling your hand and smelling strawberries." she knew she smelled like strawberries to him, he always told her how good she smelled so his answer was the right one, at least in her eyes. He didn't lie, he just left out a few details, what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her and he honestly didn't know who his dream girl was or if she was even real. "What time is it?"

"Ten o-clock, want me to make you some breakfast? It's really nice out; maybe we can hang out at the beach today before the bonfire?"

"Yeah, why don't you call Embry and Angela and see if they want to meet us there while I hop in the shower. Then we can make breakfast, go to your house to get your stuff and be having fun in the sun by noon. Sound like a plan?"

"Yup." she gave him one last kiss before pulling on her jeans and heading to the kitchen.

He sat there for a minute trying once again to gather his chaotic thoughts. He couldn't figure out what was up with his wolf or even him for that matter. These dreams had to mean something. He needed to talk to the Elders tonight at the bonfire; hopefully they could give him some answers. With a heavy sigh he grabbed his swim trunks and headed for the shower.

Dressed and ready to go he walked towards the kitchen just as Bella was answering the phone. "Black residence…Oh she doesn't live here any more, she moved in with her boyfriend...Do you need her cell number...OK, no problem, Bye."

"Who was that?" He asked as she hung up the phone and he dove into his food.

"I don't know, someone looking for Rachel." They finished eating and after cleaning up their mess grabbed a couple of towels and left. Neither one of them were aware of how drastically, in just a few hours, both of their lives were going to change.