Chapter 1

Jake had one of the strangest movie experiences of his life. It wasn't a date with Bella because Mike made sure of that. But the way Jake and Bella laughed together made it feel special. Despite all the time spent with Bella he still felt nervous and it seemed that it was making his heat worsen. He frowned and nibbled his lip as Bella opened the door to get out of his Rabbit. There was more he needed to say, and he had to bite the bullet and do it. Jake reached out and grabbed her wrist, just enough to keep her with him.

"What is it, Jake?"

"There's something I want to tell you, Bella . . . but I think it's going to sound kind of corny."

She sighed. "Go ahead."

Before Jake lost his courage, he stated quickly. "It's just that, I know how you're unhappy a lot. And, maybe it doesn't help anything, but I wanted you to know that I'm always here. I won't ever let you down—I promise that you can always count on me." He took a breath, hoping that didn't sound as stupid to her and it did to him. "Wow, that does sound corny. But you know that, right? That I would never, ever hurt you?"

"Yeah, Jake. I know that. And I already do count on you, probably more than you know."

A smile stretched across his face that would only be for Bella. Her words were perfection, exactly what he needed to hear. He felt relieved until, Jake saw the regret she tried to mask flash across her face. His emotions jumped to anger and something inside of him ordered him to leave.

"I really think I'd better go home now."

Bella bolted from his car. "Call me!" She yelled as Jake pulled the car away from her house.

Jake knew Bella's greatest fear was that he would leave her. He had Edward to thank for that. When the Cullens first left, Jake didn't understand why everyone around him celebrated. They had bonfires every night for a whole week. He thought back to the night that Charlie had called asking his dad for help because Bella went missing.

A blaring horn brought Jake back to the present and to his side of the road. It was his fault, and he deserved to be honked at, but it fueled his anger. Jake suddenly hated Edward with a passion that he had never experienced before.

Edward had made Bella love him when Jake couldn't! Edward had gained her trust when Jake couldn't! Edward had left her, and Jake was suffering the consequences that should have been his! Edward destroyed her!

With a vengeance Jake's foot slammed on the gas and he went faster than he had ever gone before. Within minutes, Jake was home. He parked the car, slamming the door behind him. The car rocked from the force. Jake felt his hands shake. With long steps, he reached the front door. Unknowingly, he bent the metal in his fist as he opened the door and slammed it as well. The house shook from the force.

"Jacob Black! Don't you dare take your frustrations out on this house!" Billy said from the living room.

"Dad, now is really NOT a good time!" Jake didn't look at him as he stormed down the hall towards his room.

"Son, you look at me when I am talking to you," Billy yelled.

Jake turned around quickly, returning to the living room. As he entered the room, his anger rose to the point he couldn't see straight. Jake looked his dad directly in the eyes and Billy immediately backed up into the kitchen.

"Jacob, please calm down. You are overreacting. Did something happen? You don't look so good?" Billy rambled, while he continued to back up.

Billy was the one who wanted to press the issue tonight, of all nights, and NOW he was retreating. Jake didn't think so.

Being this frustrated was over the top and irrational, but he couldn't stop it. He wanted to respond to Billy's questions and be able to explain himself, but nothing made any sense.

Jake tried to take another step closer, and it felt like all the muscles in his body started contracting. He felt his arms and legs shake uncontrollably. Had Jake not known he was in perfect health, he would have thought that he was having some sort of seizure.

Fear gripped him and Jake looked to his dad seeing equal fear all across his face. Jake didn't want his fear, he wanted his help. Never in Jake's life would he ever hurt his dad and seeing his father's fear added fuel to his already heated emotions.

Jake reached his hands out, grabbing his head. It hurt, not like a headache, but more from information overload. It felt like his brain was trying to teach him a new trick and he couldn't understand, like someone spoke a foreign language to him, but expected him to know every word perfectly.

Suddenly, all oxygen left his lungs as Jake screamed like he had never screamed before. Heat soared through every crevice of his body and he thought he was going to burst into flames. Then in a split second his head hit the ceiling of their house and his screams had turned into a fierce roar.

What the hell just happened? He wanted to yell, but instead one long howl escaped from his lips.

If Jake thought his dad looked scared before it was nothing compared to the complete terror that was on his face now. But despite the terror there was no shock.

Was he expecting this!?

Billy turned his chair and grabbed the phone resting on the kitchen counter. He just about jumped out of his skin when it rang.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Billy, it's me, Bella—did Jake make it home yet? He left here about twenty minutes ago." Jake felt surprised he could hear Bella's voice perfectly through the phone. It was wonderful to hear, making him want her more.

Billy told Bella that Jake couldn't talk right now, explaining that he wasn't feeling very well, and would call her if they needed anything. He epmhases for her to stay away and wait for someone to call her.

Jake wanted to talk to her. He reached out to Billy. As he moved his hand, instead a large paw moved. Quickly his dad displaced his chair further back to not be hit.

At that moment Jake looked down and saw massive amounts of fur and four legs under him. Jake panicked and started moving around in circles, knocking over the kitchen chairs and almost broke the table in half.

Billy had a death grip on the phone and started dialing like his life depended on it. Jake heard it ring five times and with each ring he could see the anxiety increase on his dad's face.

"Hello," a female said.

"I need Sam! Tell me he's there," Billy pleaded.

At the mention of Sam's name Jake felt the growl that developed deep in his chest escape from his mouth. At the same time his lips moved back, exposing his razor sharp teeth. Sam had been stalking him for weeks. Everywhere Jacob looked Sam was lurking in the distance. It creeped him out and annoyed the hell out of him. Not to mention, he somehow got Embry to join his sick cult.

He heard the woman call to Sam and the shuffling of small feet, she must be running.

"Billy, are you okay?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Billy took a deep breath. "I don't know what to do." His voice shook with fear.

"Where is he?"

"In my kitchen."

"Have you spoken to him?"

"No."

"He is still your son, he will understand you. Try to get him to go outside and I'll send Embry over."

"Thank you." Billy hung up, and took a needed breath.

At the mention of Embry, Jake relaxed, and the growling stopped. But he still did not understand what had happened to him. The cult. Was he in it now?

"Jake, are you ok?" Billy asked, his voice smooth like speaking to a small child.

Apparently asking stupid questions was a genetic trait. Jake didn't know how to answer, but he figured that he could move his head, so he shook it right to left.

"Are you hurting?"

To his surprise, he wasn't, and shook his head again.

"I need you to come outside."

Jake turned to the door. Suddenly, he heard voices. He turned his large head around trying to find who was speaking.

"Son, you are hearing the wolf pack. They will help you from here," Billy said.

The wolf pack! You mean there are more of us?

Billy opened the door and Jake pushed the screen door with his snout, squeezing his large shoulders through the door frame. With each step Jake took the ground shook.

It wasn't long before the different voices in his head seemed to lose some of the clutter and Jake could distinguish one speaker from another.

Sam directed the others, it was wise of him to not speak to Jake. Then both Paul and Jared made their introductions. It wasn't like he didn't know who they were, but they seemed like different people now. Then his lifeline spoke and he was never more glad to hear Embry's voice.

Hey man! Good to see you again, Embry said.

They met together in the trees just past Jake's garage and indicated for him to follow them to a more private area so that they could fill him in on the details on what was now to be his life.

Between Paul, Jared, and Embry, they explained to Jake that the legends were true. They weren't a gang like he had once thought, but werewolves and together they protected their tribe from all threats, but more specifically from vampires.

It was then Jake realized what the Cullen family were, and he hated them all the more.

Jake couldn't believe that his Bella had fallen in love with a vampire, not really just one, but a whole coven of them. He refused to believe that she actually understood what they were.

That's not true, Jacob, Sam said, interrupting Jake's thought.

You don't even know her, Sam. Jacob glared back at him, instinctively circling towards him.

I don't have to know her. Your father told me that he tried to warn her and she made it clear to him that she didn't need his advice and that he should mind his own business. Your father was quite confident Bella knew exactly what monsters she was dealing with. She's lucky that leaving her lost in the woods is all that filthy bloodsucker did to her. Sam countered.

A furious growl erupted from Jake's throat as his body lunged towards Sam. He was going to tear him to shreds and even heard the satisfying crack of bone splintering.

The searing pain in his own shoulder registered that it had been Paul who, while protecting his alpha, had charged into Jacob's shoulder.

Jake laid whimpering on his side as Embry leaped to protect his best friend. Sam! Do something!

Sam's lips were back exposing his razor sharp teeth. He felt a righteous anger at Jacob for attacking him and at Embry for challenging his leadership. As much as he didn't want them to see it, he knew that they were right and he should have stopped Paul.

Stand down! Sam ordered Paul.

Paul stomped his paws against the hard dirt, and let out an exasperated howl.

Then Sam lowered his head to Jacob, who laid on the ground. Let that be a warning to you Black. Do not underestimate me again!

Jake was convinced that none of them knew Bella like he did, even Sam. Regardless of whether she knew they were vampires she had still grieved over them. It made Jake sick to know that she could have lost her life so easily to any of them.

If Jake thought his head hurt before he phased it was nothing compared to the massive amount of information he received afterwards. As Jake laid in the dirt, his pack mates let him into their minds, seeing their memories. He learned the process of phasing back and forth. It seemed extremely complicated, and it didn't surprise him that it often took new wolves days or even weeks to figure it out for the first time.

They had to use their mind to take the raging heat and focus it back inwards. It was similar to a pop-up book and all the pieces had to bend properly so that it could close and reopen again without tearing the design.

Jake went to his usual happy place and began to think of Bella and felt the pieces of his body shifting and resizing down to his human self. In an instant, he was naked and groaned, feeling the pain in his shoulder. Except it wasn't just his shoulder that hurt, all his muscles had been stretched beyond anything close to normal and he couldn't walk.

He didn't know exactly how being a werewolf was going to affect his relationship with Bella, but he knew it couldn't be good. He was a monster, and he hated it.

It took Sam, Embry, and Jared a moment to phase back because they were shocked Jake was able to do so.

"Take him back to mine and Emily's place," Sam ordered.

"Are you sure he is safe?" Jared asked cautiously.

Jake remembered seeing Paul and Embry phasing suddenly. It took them both weeks to be able to maintain their shape and even after months Paul was still quite unstable.

Sam growled. "I would never put her in danger again. Emily will know to be careful."

"I can stay with him," Embry volunteered.

"No, I need you to go back to Billy. Let him know that Jacob is fine," Sam instructed.

Embry nodded and ran back to the Black's home. Paul, Jared and Sam put on their shorts and lifted Jake back to Emily's house. Every part of Jake's body hurt as he moaned and gritted his teeth as they carried him inside.

His eyes were clouded with tears and his eyelids felt heavy. He heard muffled sounds and felt what had to be the mattress of a soft bed before his eyes rolled into his head and he passed out.

Author Note: I hope you are enjoying the story. Check out my first novel at JJLiniger dot com.