Hey readers, sorry for the long wait. I've been preparing to move and it's taking longer than I originally thought to pack up my stuff. This chapter was just a little rushed, so I might update it again later since I have to pack up my computer after I post this chapter. I just wanted to give you readers something to pass the time so you wouldn't think I'm holding out on you on purpose. I hope that you will find this chapter up to par with my previous ones though. I tried my best.

Also, I decided to start another story, one that takes place in the first book. It's called Lycanthrope, and you should check it out when it gets posted and let me know what you think of it. It will be posted around or before the next update for this story (this story will continue!). I'll put a short summary at the bottom of this chapter.

As always thanks for the reviews! And also thanks to those who've reviewed before for doing so again. To those that I sent PM's to, I'm sorry if they annoyed you. I'm still pretty new to this stuff and was just excited. I'll try and behave.

Oh yeah, just to let you know I always noticed something when it comes to imprinting in SM's books. So far all of the characters who have imprinted have done it when they were in human form, so I'm making that a rule in my story. So those of you who are voting for Jacob or any other character that she's seen, yes they still have the chance to be imprinted on by Bella since she hasn't seen anyone in her human form yet since her change. So everyone still has a chance…. With that said, this will be the last chapter for voting on Bella's relationship. After this, things are going to be picking up so I won't be able to put it off any longer. Don't forget, the votes can be for any character or an OC. Just specify the character… or in the OC's case the creature (for full info, check bottom AN in Chapter 2). Anyway, enjoy chapter 3!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer does. I just enjoy playing with her stories. HAHAHA!

"Jacob it's me, Bella!" I tried to yell, but all that came out was several cat cries that
sounded out of proportion to my immense size. "Jake I'm the cat! It's Bella, Jake! Please
see me…!" It was no use. I wasn't getting through to him that way. I tried to speak to him
using my eyes, trying to get something through his anger. Jacob, see me. It's Bella, just
look in my eyes. Jacob you're making a mistake! Soon all that I was able to think was his
name, repeating it over and over. I was going to die, and it was my best friend that was
going to kill me.

3. POWER OF CHANGE (BELLA'S POV)

I started backing up as fast as I could, but was soon stopped when I felt the side of a
huge boulder meet my back, and froze.

I stood there, paralyzed with fear, as Jacob sped towards me. He was so fast that he was
almost a blur to my enhanced vision…almost… I could still easily make out his wolfy
face, and I wish that I couldn't. His eyes were full of blind rage and his ears were laid
back flat against his skull. There was saliva dripping from his exposed dagger-length teeth
as his hot breath, easily seen in the early morning chill, left a trail behind him—like some
kind of demonic train. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, making every detail seem
clearer.

I had a strange sense of déjà vu as another time came to mind… a happier time. I
remembered when I'd almost been crushed by Tyler's van and how it had been like this—
frozen with fear, noticing every detail with crystal clarity, the sense of death waiting to
take me. But this time, there wasn't anyone that was going to save me…. I was alone.

Jacob would soon be right on top of me. I could practically feel his teeth tearing through
me. "No Bella! Get out of there!"

Ah, my beautiful hallucinations were back, not surprising since I was staring death in the
face. It's the least that he owed me. "You can't die! Think of Charlie, think of what it
will do to him. And what about Jacob? What do you think he'll do when he finds out
he's the one that's killed you?"

He was right, it would probably kill Charlie, and it would definitely destroy Jacob. But
there was nothing I could do—there was no time to move. I felt surprisingly resigned as
faces began to swim through my mind; Charlie's, Renee's, my friends from school,
Jacob's human face, the Cullens, and of course Edward—where it remained. Goodbye, I
love you. I put all of my feelings into those four little words as I said goodbye to
everyone whom I'd never see again, and waited for death…hoping that he'd make it
quick.

Suddenly, I noticed something pass through Jacob's eyes and he lowered his head,
shaking it back and forth. But he didn't lose any momentum and I doubted he was going
to be able, or willing, to stop. Edward growled, and at the top of his imaginary lungs
yelled, "Bella, jump!"

My body reacted immediately. I could feel every muscle in my body tense as it ducked
quickly to the ground. Then my powerful hind muscles exploded and I found myself
rocketing forty feet into the air. For a few seconds I was flying, and there was nothing
but me and the open air—and it was probably the most amazing and terrifying thing I'd
ever felt.

"Bella?"

I flinched in surprise. I'd become used to hearing Edward's voice in my head—and had
even sought it out numerous times before—but I wasn't prepared for the voice I heard
now. It wasn't the velvety musical voice of my Edward hallucination. No, this was the
confused—and possibly shocked—voice belonging to Jacob Black. Somewhere close
behind me, the forest exploded with sound.

I heard a crashing-slash-crunching noise that sounded like two vampires slamming into
each other at full speed—and yes, I know what I'm talking about—followed by the
sound of a mini avalanche coming from behind me. Then gravity regained its hold on me
and I was plummeting back towards the ground.

I was yelling, or crying out, at the top of my lungs as the earth quickly came to meet me. I
braced myself for the impact I was sure would break my legs, but then remembered my
newfound strengths and felt confident—for once—that I would be fine. I landed easily
and quickly turned around to see what had happened.

When Jacob was looking down, he didn't notice me jumping over him and must have run
head-on into the huge boulder that was now not much more than a pile of rocks and
pebbles. He was lying on his side, half buried in debris, and wasn't moving. A feeling of
dread went through me and before I knew it I was digging him out, careful not to extend
my claws. I finally stopped when I had most of his body, and all of his head, exposed
and began looking him over.

He was breathing—which instantly made me feel better—but his breathing was coming
out heavy. I'd been afraid that he was dead. I could hear his heart and it sounded
strong—though that could have easily been my new hearing making it louder to me than
it really was.

I nudged my head against his, causing a small whimper to come out of his mouth; there
was a deep, cut on the top of his head where I'd touched him. His bone was visible so I
could see that he'd cracked his skull a little. It was bleeding freely, but otherwise he
looked to be intact. I meowed at him, trying to get a response, but it didn't. He was out
cold.

I could feel tears coursing down the fur of my face and didn't even flinch when my
tongue shot out of my mouth and began removing the dust and other leftover debris from
his wound. I could taste the blood, but otherwise it didn't affect me like it did earlier—
probably because I was so worried about Jacob… I'd wait until later to think about it and
lose my non-existent lunch.

As I was licking I noticed that the profuse bleeding had all but ceased, and then stopped
soon after. I pulled away and watched as first the crack in his skull mended itself,
followed quickly by the torn flesh until all that was left of the severe-looking wound was
a fading pink line. If I'd still had the ability to talk, I knew that I would've been struck
speechless.

With the wound gone I was hoping, and dreading, that he was just going to jump up and
shake it off, but that didn't seem like it was going to happen. I guessed that he was going
to be out for a while still. I bent over and continued licking his face clean and was
debating whether I should stay and wait to make sure he did wake up or whether I should
make a run for it. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to decide on either course of
action.

I again heard something coming from direction where Jacob had came in. I could make
out four feet, but they weren't the even striding sound that I had heard when I'd heard
Jacob. These were uneven, and not as forthcoming in their speed, though they were still
fast enough. I'd been so focused on Jacob's wounds that I hadn't even noticed their
approach. But it was too late, I could already see them. It was Sam and one of his
gang…no…pack.

They were both human, wearing nothing more than shorts. They were both looking back
and forth between Jacob and me with a look that progressively went from shock and
worry, to a burning hate. I was almost glad to see Sam's usual calmly superior mask crack
as his face showed caution—and maybe fear?—mixed in it with it as well… he thought I
was dangerous, and I got the feeling that the fear wasn't aimed at himself, but at Jacob's
fate. They probably thought I'd killed him.

Seeing Sam brought to mind the last time I'd seen Jacob. I remembered that heated
discussion we'd had when Jacob had tried to tell me what had happened to him. I
remembered the intensity of the almost all-consuming hate I'd felt at Sam before. I felt
my body shake from the thunderous growl that escaped my mouth, followed a loud hiss,
and saw Sam take a cautious step back. But the shorter guy that was with him didn't
seem to notice, and took a step forward, trembling in anger. Then there was a rippling
feeling in the air and the sound of fabric tearing, and a dark silver wolf exploded from
where the man had been. Sam soon followed suit and there was that black wolf from the
meadow.

Damn it, not again. I thought as the silver wolf started towards me, slowly picking up his
pace, readying to attack at any second. But Sam turned and barked loudly at the silver
wolf whose legs buckled underneath him before he slowly stood back up. It looked like
he was fighting some invisible force, fighting to come after me, but unable to succeed. He
continued to fight while those intelligent eyes conveyed how much he wished to tear me
to pieces.

Sam then went and started coming towards me, growling menacingly.

SAM'S POV

After Jake had lost it, I'd ordered everyone to Phase back so that we all wouldn't be
consumed by his rage. The weight of it had been enough to make everyone's legs give
out. I myself was barely able to stay standing. I'd never felt anything else like it.

As soon as Paul and I had Phased back, we pulled on the shorts we carried around with
us and bolted as fast as we could for the clearing we'd seen before Jacob's meltdown. It
was slower going in this form, but we were built for speed and endurance and could still
have easily outrun a fleeing deer. Our fear for our pack brother pushed us to our limits.

I was afraid for Jacob. I'd seen the beast he'd been chasing down through his own eyes.
There was no mistaking what it was… an enormous black mountain lion, easily as big, if
not bigger than I was. Where had it come from? What was it doing on our territory and
how'd it get passed our perimeter in the first place? I'd caught the trail it'd left, and it
was obvious that it wasn't a normal cat, it smelled… wrong somehow.

I didn't feel animosity towards it beyond what it had possibly done to the Swan girl—
and a lot of that came for, and from, Jacob. He loved that girl, and I felt horrible
forbidding him from being around her, but it was for her own protection. I've seen and
experienced what happens to humans when we lose control. All it takes is a fraction of a
second, and that person could be horribly scarred, like my beloved Emily, or even worse,
they could die. I knew that if that happened to Jacob it would kill him, or if she somehow
survived it would slowly torture him to near madness. If it wasn't for Emily's forgiving
heart, I probably would have met that fate, but it would have hurt her far more for me to
be gone.

Now it didn't matter. Jacob was gone after seeing her bloodied and torn shirt, and
something inside me told me he'd never come back… or forgive me—not that I deserved
any forgiveness.

I also feared for Charlie. I've only known him from a few encounters since I'd tracked
Bella, lying broken in the woods. I still can't forget how she looked. If it weren't for the
fact that she was talking—and that I could still hear her broken heart—I would have
thought that she was dead.

She was so pale and wouldn't move, and when I'd picked her up it was like I was
carrying a limp corpse. I was glad that the leeches were finally gone, but looking at her I
wished that they had stayed just so I could kill them. They'd kept to the treaty and
hadn't bitten anyone, but seeing Bella's state, I would have thought that killing her
would have been more merciful.

I still remembered Charlie too, after the long hours of searching he'd began to resemble a
corpse as well. His voice was hoarse from yelling out Bella's name for so long. I could tell
that he had been fighting back tears for quite some time—and I knew that he'd let them
flow at one point because I could smell traces of salt water on him. I'd seen the note left
by "Bella" that he was carrying with him and that's when I'd decided to risk Phasing and
find her, but I'd been expecting a dead body… not a dead heart that was still pumping
blood.

Now here I was again, looking for a body that would probably never be found and
closing in on the monster that was responsible.

Soon Paul and I heard a sharp crashing sound that I almost mistook for thunder, if it
wasn't for the surprisingly clear sky above us. I looked at Paul and we both seemed to be
thinking the same thing… something had happened in the clearing.
A few minutes later Jacob's scent and that of the monstrous mountain lion became
stronger. We were almost there.

We stepped into the clearing ready to phase and help Jacob out, and froze at what we
saw. Jacob was lying there surrounded by rocks. He was covered in debris and the scent
of his blood was in the air. The beast was bent over him, and I was afraid that it was
eating him. I couldn't help the shock of it. This thing had beaten Jacob, my second in
command, the best fighter I had, and now it was looking at me and Paul.

It seemed to be taking in the sight of us, probably measuring its chances against two
humans. Then its eyes focused on me and I saw hatred fill them. Its ears laid back against
its skull as it growled and hissed at me. I took a step back; the hatred it was sending my
way was palpable despite the distance it was at in the large clearing. I felt Paul Phasing
before I saw him.

He was shaking uncontrollably and soon I was standing next to a horse-sized werewolf. I
knew what he was going to do, and I wasn't going to allow it after what I'd just noticed.
I Phased immediately, and said goodbye to my new shorts, and barked at Paul, using an
alpha command, "Paul, stand down! NOW!" I felt bad when his legs buckled as he was
crushed by the command that he so desperately wanted to ignore. I could tell he was
fighting it, and he wasn't happy with me at all, "What the hell Sam? It killed Jacob! I'm
not just going to stand here while it gets away!"

Despite Paul's brashness, harsh words, and short temper, he did care about what
happened to his pack brothers and I could feel the bleak despair he felt at not hearing
anything coming from Jacob's mind. I stepped up next to him, trying to calm him a bit,
"Paul, listen closely." He saw where my thoughts were leading and concentrated on his
senses… it didn't take long.

"What the…" he paused and took in a steadying breath, "He's still alive." I could feel
him settle down a bit as he realized what I was planning, but I could tell he still didn't
like it. "Dude, you know how retarded that is? Take back your order so I can help!" I was
tempted to do that, my idea was a long shot, and it could put me in the same situation
Jacob was currently in, but I knew Paul. He wouldn't be able to think straight if he lost
his temper again and I knew that it was still tainted by Jacob's previous rage.

Paul let out a mental snort at my assumptions, "Thanks for the vote of confidence 'oh
mighty and fearless leader.' I'm so glad you think of me that way." I sighed mentally,
"And thanks for proving my point Paul. Now shut up…" and just in case I added in the
alpha's double timber, "…and if it seems like I'll get really hurt, then jump in and save
my butt. But, it better be an emergency.Our top priority right now is Jacob." Paul gave
me a mental salute, "Sir, yes sir!"

We'd been keeping our eyes on the mountain lion, expecting it to jump on Paul while
he'd been struggling, or even to try and flee, but it didn't move except to move slightly
closer to Jacob, which didn't sit right with me. My first thought had been that it was
protecting its meal, but that didn't feel right somehow. It was still staring almost
exclusively at me… like it was protecting Jacob from me; as if I was a bigger threat to
him than it was… weird, but not important.

I stepped towards it menacingly and gave an equally menacing growl. I was hoping to
tempt it into a fight, keeping it occupied, while Paul would go around behind it and drag
Jacob out of the area so he wouldn't get hurt when we fought full out. I knew it wasn't
going to be easy. This thing had to be strong if it was able to knock him out with the
force we'd heard earlier.

It didn't return my menacing snarls, but it still firmly held my gaze. I chanced a quick
glance at Jacob again, and when I looked back the monster cat was looking at Jacob too.
Then it did something I didn't expect, its tongue slid out and almost lovingly licked his
head as if he were one of its young then slowly began to walk away from him. Its hard
eyes were still following me, when suddenly they softened a bit giving the illusion that
they were human—I'd never witnessed any animal eyes do that before—as it casually
looked to Paul, and motioned its head towards Jacob as if encouraging him to take him
away.

We were stunned into immobility, what the… what was this thing? It was too
intelligent—which meant that we'd already underestimated it. Paul agreed with my
thoughts, "Sam, I think it wants me to get Jacob… do you think it's a trap?" I stood there
and quickly contemplated what we'd just witnessed, and decided it didn't matter.

"Maybe it wants you to focus all of your attention away from me and it… so that we'll be
easier targets." Paul didn't like this idea, and I was quick to agree with him. I had to take
this thing down, and fast. "Just get Jacob out of here and get back fast." Paul nodded
and took his eyes away from the cat and started cautiously towards Jacob.

I turned my attention back to the cat and was surprised at how close it'd gotten to me
during our conversation—apparently I was its target. I snarled at it, and it stopped
moving…. It was time to end this.

I broke out into a sprint, hoping to catch it off guard. It flinched before crouching into a
defensive position and hissing at me. I lunged, my teeth parted as I readied for what I
was sure would be a debilitating strike, only to close them on thin air. I skidded to a halt
and quickly looked around where it had been crouched, only to find the clearing empty.

"Sam! Above you!" Paul yelled at me as I saw through his eyes the mountain lion coming
back down from what looked like a good fifty feet in the air. I could see the early
morning light gleam off its extended claws as it descended towards where I was standing
and I couldn't help admiring the beauty of it… before I realized it was about a second
away from landing on me. I quickly jumped back, but still got caught by one of its razor
sharp claws which left me with a cut that went from above my left eye down the side of
my face.

I yelped in pain—it had barely grazed me but it was deep enough that blood was running
into my eye, nearly blinding it. Already I could feel it healing, but it wouldn't be soon
enough. I leapt again at the cat, being more wary of its movements, and was rewarded
with it trying to sidestep away from where I'd been originally aiming. I didn't let it.

I'd been expecting this and was quick to change my course to grab it by the tail. It cried
out in pain and tried to pull away from my grip, but to no avail. I kept behind it so that it
couldn't get to me easily, but somehow it managed to strike me several times, though to
my surprise it never used the claws that it seemed so ready to use before. That didn't stop
the blows—it felt like getting hit by a speeding truck--from nearly knocking me senseless
several times.

Paul had just got Jake passed the tree line and I could feel his mind stirring into
awareness. His thoughts were still too jumbled for us to make out, but it still was a huge
relief that he seemed to be coming to. I was so caught up in my relief for my fallen
brother that I didn't notice when the monster cat reared up its back legs until it was too
late. It kicked me so hard that I felt myself fly across the clearing until I was stopped
abruptly by a tree, which immediately knocked the wind out of me as well as breaking the
tree in half. Thankfully it didn't land on me.

I heard Paul, who came bursting out of the woods, yell in my still-dazed head, "Sam, you
okay?" I had to focus hard—I still hadn't caught my breath and the fog in my head
wasn't helping—to get the message across, and even that came out like a whisper, "I'm
okay, just knocked the wind out of me, give me a sec."

Through the haze I could feel another familiar presence slowly seeping into the pack
mind, "Jacob! It's about time dimwit!" Paul called out, relief evident in his thoughts.
"Welcome back Jake." I said weakly as I started scanning the clearing, trying to get my
eyes to focus. Jacob had come around and was staggering back into the clearing…
"Unngh… Bella…?"

Paul sounded solemn, which was rare for him, "No Jacob, we haven't found the bod… we
haven't found her yet." Jacob shook his head, looking around the clearing drunkenly, his
thoughts were still a jumble, and there seemed to be none of the rage anywhere, just
confusion and worry. "No… cat…where's… Bella?" He wasn't making any sense. And I
didn't have time to worry about it. We couldn't let that thing get away, "Paul, go."

He read the direction of my thoughts and immediately went into a crouch. Just as he was
about to attack the mountain lion from behind—who was looking my way and looking as
if it was shaking in fear—Jacob saw what was happening, "NO!"

Jacob launched himself at Paul and bit down on his hind leg just as Paul was in midair.
Paul yelped and went down hard, and Jacob, who'd continued to hold onto his leg,
started dragging Paul away from the mountain lion. I was too shocked to order Jacob off
of Paul, who was now struggling and trying to attack Jacob. "Ow! Jake what the hell do
you think you're doing!? Agh, damn it you…!"

Paul continued with a string of dog related profanities, but Jacob didn't reply. His mind
was racing with flashes of what had happened before we'd arrived in the clearing. Paul
barely paid attention to it as he twisted his body and began taking swipes at Jacob, who
took them without even trying to dodge—you could hear every blow and every whimper
of pain that came from him. I was trying to figure out what the hell was going on when I
remembered the lion, whom I was sure had ran away by now. I looked over to find that I
was wrong.

The mountain lion had heard the commotion behind it, but hadn't used the time to get
away. It just stood there, looking like it was as confused as the rest of us. There was
something else there too, I could see fear in its stance and I could also sense some kind of
struggle going on inside of it… I knew somehow that it wanted to help Jacob, though I
wasn't sure exactly how I knew this. Then just as I was about to take control of the
situation, I saw the answer to my questions just as Jacob yelled at the top of his mental
lungs, "Bella! Run!"

I was struggling to my feet, but I'd dislocated my shoulder and it was slowing me down,
as I saw the mountain lion—I still couldn't believe that it was Bella— reluctantly turned
and, giving me one last tear-filled look, ran into the woods. In Jacob's head, I could hear
crying, but it didn't belong to him or Paul, it belonged to the girl we'd nearly killed
today… Bella Swan, the werecat.

Okay, so as usual I have to ask… how was it? I hope Sam's perspective was good. He may have seemed too out of character, but I didn't think so. I just wrote how I thought a confident-leader-type would react (aka, shocked and unsure of anything new and unknown) and he ended up the way he is. You even see him keep trying to regain control of the situation, only to be knocked for another loop. Also, I'm not really good with this kind of writing (meaning writing fighting sequences) so I'm hoping it works. There will probably be more interesting ones in the future; this is more to show off some of her newfound power and to get the idea of the extents of her physical prowess.

I wanted to give you readers something so you didn't think I was giving up on this story. The next chapter will possibly be the beginning / rekindling of her love life depending on the final vote tally. So get in your vote if you haven't done so yet! And again, please check out Lycanthrope which will hopefully be posted between now and the next chapter, I think (hope) you'll like it.

Here's a short summary of Lycanthrope (tell me if you think it sounds interesting… and yes it deals with "real" werewolves):
AU-Twilight. Jasper & Bella are twins. Something happens to them on their 18th birthday that Changes them, but is it for better or for worse? They move to Forks & meet the Cullens. Will they get along & find love or will their differences tear them apart. JxA & ExB

Here are some fun cougar/mountain lion/puma facts that relate to my story, courtesy of Wikipedia:
1. The cougar is on average as heavy as the leopard. Despite its size, it is not typically classified among the "big cats," as it cannot roar, lacking the specialized larynx and hyoid apparatus of Panthera. Like domestic cats, cougars vocalize low-pitched hisses, growls, and purrs, as well as chirps and whistles. They are well known for their screams, referenced in some of its common names, although these may often be the misinterpreted calls of other animals.

2. Despite anecdotes to the contrary, all-black coloring (melanism---black panther) has never been documented in cougars.(This is why I thought of making her a black one, it just adds to the irony. That and it's one of those 'I'd like to see one' kind of things).

3. (For these ones, just supersize the numbers and you'll get the idea of Bella's stuff)Cougars have large paws and proportionally the largest hind legs in the cat family. This physique allows it great leaping ability. An exceptional vertical leap of 18 ft is reported for the cougar. Horizontal jumping capability from standing position is suggested anywhere from 20 to 40 ft. The cougar can run as fast as 35 to 45 mph. It is adept at climbing, which allows it to evade canine competitors. Although it is not strongly associated with water, it can swim.