Chapter 2

Polar & Painful

(Jacobs POV)

With a big sigh I plopped down and rested my head on my paws. Just a few more hours of patrol duty and my first week of wolf-work would be complete. I could go home and get some much needed sleep. The best part of sleep these days was dreaming of Bella. It was the only private time I got to spend with her, without the pack interrupting me, shooting off their immature comments. And in my dreams I could be near her without fear of tearing her to shreds if I phased too quickly. In reality however, I didn't have a choice. Alphas orders were followed whether I liked it or not, and Sam's orders were to stay away from Bella. He says it's for her protection, I know he totally right because he knew firsthand what could happen.

Still, it didn't make this separation any easier, I was totally crushed. The worst part wasn't my pain, but Bella's. She'd straight out told me once that she needed me. She called again this morning, a couple times on my cell then to the house. Billy answered and told her I was at the movies. Yeah right, I wish I was at the movies, holding hands with Bella and watching her blush. I never called her out on this or anything but I caught her scoping out my arms a few times and when I did she'd turned beet red, ah Bella, I missed her so much. I missed her chocolate brown eyes; the smell of her strawberry shampoo – holy snaps – I'm getting to good at this day dreaming thing, this one was so freggin vivid. I swear I could really smell her scent.

Wait… it really is Bella's scent. It's not here where I'm at but in the pack mind, Paul's to be exact. He's picking up on it somewhere about a mile northwest from here. What the hell is she doing way out here? She must've started up the search for that meadow of hers because the path Paul was picking up on would've been the next line of the web we were working. Then Sam picks up a different scent about a half mile to the east of Paul. Muthafucka! It's a leech scent; if we could smell Bella so could it. Panic makes me pick up speed.

"Calm down Jake, focus!" Sam commands "don't jump to conclusions. We're on Cullen territory, they're not here but for all we know they have a new member, or sent a friend sent to check on their house, we don't know anything. What we do know is there's a treaty; we make a decision when we find out who's here and why."

I can't believe what I'm hearing. We don't know anything, Hmph, the hell we don't. We know Bella is out there and that stinkin' leech was getting closer and closer to her.

"Follow my lead Jacob!" Sam snapped in alpha tones. I wanted nothing more but to head straight for Bella. I felt an urgent need to get to her but Sam's order had my muscles betraying me and I end up merging towards him against my better judgment. As we got closer and began halting at Sam's command, we heard two voices in conversation. WTF!? Bella knew the vamp by name and was talking to him. It took all the strength from the alpha domination to make me slow a stop. We heard her ask what he was doing here. Mm hmm, the Cullens were involved all right. I just knew this was their fault - fuckers!

As they both come into view, heat flooded through me, but it was a new kind of heat, not one of anger, this was something I've never felt before. Everything inside me came undone. All the lines that held me to my life were clipped off like strings to a balloon bundle. All the love for my family, my pack, my tribe, even for myself all became disconnected, yet I was not left drifting. There was a new string that held me in place. Not a string but a million steel cables all tied me to one thing, to the very center of the universe, to Bella Swan.

I never thought I could lover her more but apparently I could. So this was it...this is imprinting. She was officially my everything, and there she was standing in harm's way. The packs strategy changed immediately, protecting the object of a brother's imprint was priority. In any case, their conversation ended and Sam got the confirmation he needed when the leech admitted was going to kill her. Sam led the charge, as we were passing Bella I saw her eyes closed and she looked as if her life was flashing before her. I wondered briefly if I'd flickered thru her memories at all. As if in answer to my question a faint whisper escaped her lips.

"I love you Charlie, Renee. Goodbye Jacob, my Jacob." I slowed and little then Sam orders changed for me to get Bella out of here while he and the pack hunted the leech. He must think I'm too distracted, which might have insulted me any other time but today I was relieved to have one of the pulls give way. The alpha control and the imprint pull were polar and painful up until then. I turned around and just as I got to her she opened her eyes, her heart beats quickened so much I seriously thought the girl would go into cardiac arrest. She wobbled a back and forth just before she fainted.