Chapter 2

Jake had more dreams than he had ever had in his life. Sometimes there were images from the other night of Paul's or Jared's first phase or them together chasing some leech with blazing red hair. Other times, it was of Bella and himself riding their bikes or walking in the woods. He knew he was dreaming when he saw Bella riding the back of a large reddish-brown wolf.

When Jake slowly opened his eyes, he had the strangest sense of déjà vu, the sun was in the exact same place from when his eyes closed, the day before. It felt like so much longer than a day had passed. He had never slept for 24 hours before, but that was the only logical solution.

He reached out his arms and legs and felt like he was going to die. The muscles had been so stretched that they felt like he had run a marathon without any training, and his entire body seemed like one huge cramp.

"Ooh . . ." escaped his trembling lips.

"Don't try to move," Jake heard, but didn't recognize the voice. It sounded soft and peaceful, almost angelic. Despite being told not to move, his curiosity got the better of him and he slowly bobbed his head in search of the calming voice.

He saw a woman with thick black hair that hung down into her face. Her skin appeared slightly lighter than his own, but still kissed by the sun. She held a wooden tray in her slender arms.

For a moment, he thought she might be smirking about something with one side of her lip curled. He followed the slight imperfection to a scar on her cheek that could have continued, but was covered by her long tresses. It made him wonder what was hiding beneath her hair.

"Give me just a minute and I'll help you to sit up," she continued.

Help me? Why do I need help? Jake wondered to himself.

She set the tray next to the bed and Jake ran his fingers over the native quilt that covered his body. Everything from the day before seemed to be a blur, and he wondered if becoming a werewolf was maybe a dream. He looked at his bare shoulder and saw deep purple bruises where his shoulder bone had been crushed from Paul's impact. It wasn't a dream. He really did change into a beast with four legs and a tail.

I need to get out of here!

Jake pulled his legs over the edge of the bed and tried to sit up. The blankets were bunched in his lap and it took him a lot longer than it should have to realize he wasn't wearing any clothes. Immediately, he tried to cover himself back up, but his muscles were so worn out that they might as well have been made of jello. He slumped over face first into the pillow.

The woman stifled a giggle, but his sensitive wolf ears heard it loud and clear. She reached over and grabbed his shoulders, pulling Jake up to a sitting position. He was like an overgrown infant who had no control over his movements. She pushed his shoulders so that his back rested against the wall.

"Where am I?" Jake asked.

"You are at my house. My name's Emily," she said, watching him closely.

"Emily," he repeated out-loud. He remembered Sam mentioning her name, and he glared thinking about him.

Her sudden movement away startled him and he saw fear in her eyes. First his father and now her, everyone seemed to be scared of him. He felt the irritation, wash over his body and small tremors in its wake.

"Calm down, Jacob. Please," she said, still standing at a distance. "I have some food and drink for you, but I can't help you unless you are calm."

Jake nodded and closed his eyes taking a deep breath. The tremors dissipated and he felt blanketed by his own heat. With his eyes still closed, he felt the tray be placed in his lap. The quilt covered most of his skin, and he opened his eyes.

On the tray sat a large bowl of oatmeal and blueberries, a glass of cold milk, and a banana-bread muffin.

"Thank you," Jake told her and lifted his hand to eat. His movements were slow and at times, his hand would shake, the muscles weak and uncoordinated.

"You're welcome. Would you like help?" Emily asked.

Jake felt torn between wanting to do it himself, it was simple, and feeling so starving that he thought he might actually eat the bowl as well. "Hm, sure," he finally answered.

Emily sat down on the edge of the bed and lifted the spoon to his mouth. Jake ate quickly, and she struggled to feed him fast enough. He didn't slow down until after he finished the third bowl of oatmeal, had six muffins, and drank a whole gallon of milk.

"You ready to stand?" Emily asked.

"Well, uh, where are my clothes?" Jake asked, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

"I assume you shredded them. Don't tell Sam, but your's won't be the first birthday suit I've seen. Jared and Embry both stayed here for weeks afterwards, and Paul wolfed out more than should be humanly possible, and keeping him dressed was getting expensive..."

"Your secret is safe with me," Jake said seriously. He didn't know why she didn't want Sam to know, but Jake wanted as limited contact with Sam as he could manage. "How are you so certain that he won't come back and catch us?"

"There was another sighting of the Red Head. It will be hours, it always is," she answered.

Jake saw the worry on her face and he could tell she cared and maybe even loved Sam. The Blacks and Clearwaters were close, therefore Jake knew Sam had called off his engagement to Leah to be with another woman. At the time, he hadn't paid close enough attention to remember her name or even how Sam had met her. Jake thought it strange how his father and Leah's parents supported Sam's decision.

Emily moved around in front of him and took the tray, disappearing into the other room. Jake assumed that she took it to the kitchen since it was the same place she went to when getting him more breakfast. She came back and placed her hands under each of Jake's elbows, taking all his weight as he tried to stand. To say he was surprised that she could keep him from falling, would have been an extreme understatement.

"Holy cow, woman," he mumbled.

"Told you," she said with a prideful smirk. Her biceps showed her strong muscles as she flexed against his heavyweight, but yet she still appeared smooth and womanly. Her strength added to her natural femininity, making her even more attractive.

With help, Jake made it to the bathroom, and then landed back on the bed, the small amount of movement tiring him out. He released a deep sigh. "I feel like a wuss."

"No, it's like this for them all. You are actually doing better than all three of them combined."

"Really?" Jake said, feeling a moment of pride, which was quickly swallowed by a long yawn, followed by a sleepy smile. With a full belly, he knew that he would be passed out within minutes.

"Yes, take care Jacob," she said and closed the door behind her.

Jake's eyes closed at the same time and he slept just as hard as he had the first time.

He assumed that when he awakened again, it would be in a calm and quiet house and by the same sweet tranquil voice that he had earlier, but he was badly mistaken. He heard a strange buzzing sound and felt the vibrations stroke over the top of his scalp.

What was that? Jake wondered. Ouch! he added as he felt something yank painfully on his long hair.

After another strange, vibrating migration over his head, he felt long loose strands over his back and knew instantly what was happening.

"NO!" Jake yelled, knocking the hand holding the offending hair clippers away from his head. He looked around the bed at the discarded chunks of his hair. "What the hell are you doing?"

"It's for your own good, Jacob," Sam reasoned. "You can't phase with such long hair. Your human head affects your wolf's hair as well."

"No," Jake continued to shake his head, showering his chest with stray hairs. His body shook with rage, filling every part of him. "How dare you!"

Jake arose, giving no thought to his nakedness or that he might not have the strength to stand on his own. The only thing that surprised him was that he found himself to be a head length taller than Sam. Anger and adrenaline gave him unsurpassable strength. As Sam backed up towards Emily, it was not only for her safety. Sam was truly scared of him as he should be.

The last time a blade had run over Jake's head had been the day of his mother's funeral and since that day he had continued to let it grow. Jake wanted to lash out, but he couldn't find the words to express the feeling of betrayal that consumed him.

He imagined that Sampson had felt the same when he told his beloved Delilah the secret of his strength was bound in his hair. As a result of that betrayal a man of great strength was reduced to a slave.

Jake would not allow the same to become of him. He felt the animal within him wanting to break free. The wolf wanted revenge for what harm had been done to his human. With eyes filled with anger and resentment, he turned to Sam.

"Hand me the clippers," Jake demanded.

Sam paused for a moment, but then moved quickly to Jake, keeping one hand behind him towards Emily. "Stay back," he reminded her unnecessarily.

A moment later, the clippers rested in the palm of Jake's large hand. His thumb flicked the switch, and the blades began to fight against each other, anticipating the next batch of hair that would run through. Jake closed his eyes and used his other hand to feel his head to know where to continue what Sam had started. With each stroke over his head a new tear slipped from his eyes and rolled down his cheek.

Hair covered Jake's body and the floor at his feet. He gave a final glare to Sam, tossed him the clippers and stomped to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

"I can't believe he didn't phase." Jake heard Sam say through the door.

"I can't either," Emily agreed. "He's so different from the others."

"I still want you to stay away from him. It's too soon, anything could happen," Sam insisted.

Jake took another deep sigh and started the water, not bothering to wait for it to heat before stepping under the icy liquid. It felt strange to have water hitting his bare back instead of being cloaked by his hair. He used too much shampoo and the water never seemed hot enough. One of the many changes he had with his skin being 108 degrees, showers were never going to be hot again or he would need a hotter water heater.

He stepped out of the shower, looked through the cabinets until he found some basketball shorts, pulled them on and went to the kitchen. Neither Emily nor Sam were anywhere to be seen, however placed on the kitchen table were two large pizzas with a note from Emily.

It said, "I'm so sorry. Sam wants to see you first thing tomorrow."

Jake found a plate and sat in front of the TV while he ate. He didn't see anyone else enter or exit the house the rest of the evening.

The following morning Jake awoke to the sound of one long howl. He stumbled out of bed and quickly walked out the front door. It was still early, and it appeared that the sun was thinking about peaking across the horizon.

As he approached the sound of the howl, he became nervous, Jake had never phased on purpose before. He started thinking about the other night and the only correlation that he knew of was the anger.

However, he had been furious at Sam when he cut his hair, and yet had kept his shape. As he thought about it, he knew that was different. Jake had maintained his shape because that was what he decided to do, now was the time to let it go. Within seconds Jake was on four legs again and his shorts were in pieces.

Dammit Jacob, think maybe you can remember to strip first, Sam corrected.

Sure, thing Boss Man. When you said first thing in the morning, you weren't kidding, Jake thought, his annoyance at Sam unmasked.

I need to show you our patrol routes and there are some other pack things we need to discuss. Then I'm going to bed, I've been working all night.

Okay, I'm ready.

Follow me, Sam said, and broke into a sprint.

Running was fantastic, the closest Jake had ever come to it was on his motorcycle, but even that was not fast enough. Any tenderness in his shoulder from Paul was quickly forgotten. They kept a steady pace as they hurdled over fallen trees and his paws fell in love with the feel of the earth under him. Jake felt amazed at the clarity of his eyes, how he could see every detail on the leaves of the trees and the smallest of sounds were magnified and easy to identify.

As they galloped Sam showed Jake from one edge of their land to another. Once they had crossed all four corners Sam began to tell him about the treaty. Of course, Jake knew the legends and the moment Sam started speaking, his mind wandered to Jake's walk with Bella on the beach when he told her the scary stories.

You WHAT!?! yelled Sam, stopping abruptly. His eyes were pitch black and full of rage.

On instinct, Jake's legs buckled under him in submission.

Tell me ALL, NOW!

Jake instantly replayed his full conversation with Bella to Sam

I can't believe you, Jacob Black! You broke the treaty! Jake could tell Sam wanted to growl, hit, or bite, but was too shocked to do any of them. I never did understand how Bella figured out what they were. But you told her!

For the first time, the ramifications of what Jake had done, hit on a whole new level. He wanted to shift the blame to someone else, Sam would be preferable, but there was no way to do that. Immediately, his stomach twisted, and he started throwing up.

I'm sorry, Jake thought. He wasn't really sure if he was speaking to Sam or to Bella, but the pain in his chest told him it was probably Bella.

You can never speak to her again. Sam's voice trembled with authority.

Sam, that is not going to be reasonable. Her dad is best friends with mine, I'm going to see her. Jake felt a sliver of hope that Sam could be reasoned with and see the truth and logic behind his words.

Not anytime soon you aren't.

What do you mean? Jake asked, filled with worry.

Sam began running again and Jake followed along.

I was already going to discuss Bella with you today, but that was before I knew you cannot be trusted with her. Sam said, with disappointment in his eyes.

That's not fair, it was different then.

How is that?

It wasn't true then. I didn't understand. Jake was pulling at straws, but he had to try something.

And what if Bella wants to know if it is true? She knows that vampires exist, how much do you really think it will take her to figure out the rest of the story is true as well.

That is not going to happen, Jake said, trying to build confidence in himself as well as Sam.

Damn right it's not!

It didn't seem like a battle Jake would win any time soon and he truly felt sick over his betrayal. It didn't feel like just a betrayal of his direct family or the whole Quileute tribe, which it certainly was, but Jake also felt like he had betrayed Bella. But who in their right mind would know that the Cullen family were vampires and have any type of association with them? Jake telling her should have protected her not thrown her into their arms.

Look Jacob, there are other reasons that you are not to be around Bella, Sam said with certainty. The reasons that I actually came out here to talk to you about. When the gene gets triggered, then it is like we become a ticking time bomb that is ready to explode at any time, but it is like our body doesn't know how. It takes skill and practice to be able to phase when you want to, and even more importantly, to 'not' phase when you need to. You could easily hurt someone.

That might be true for you and the others, but not for me, Jake said with confidence.

I thought the same thing once. Sam's eyes were so sad. Pay attention.

It irritated Jake that Sam treated him like a child when Sam was only four years older than him. Regardless, Jake couldn't ignore the images that filled his mind.

Sam started thinking, Jake saw him walk inside a small house and there was a woman inside. She was absolutely beautiful with clear tan skin and long black hair that accented her graceful neck. Jake immediately recognized the house and the woman as Emily. He felt Sam's love and devotion towards her, and he had no doubt to how important she was to Sam. The images were so clear that it was like Jake was there and it was his memory instead of being Sam's.

Mixed with love and devotion, Jake could also feel the desperation in Sam. Emily was rejecting Sam, and that she wanted him to leave. Suddenly, memories started swarming around as words mixed together and he saw Sam reach out his hand to her.

Jake didn't have time to feel the anger that must have risen up in Sam before he saw this beautiful woman clasp to the floor in a puddle of her own blood. Jake thought for sure Sam had killed her, but instead, Sam showed him the same woman with deep red scars down her face and shoulder.

That was what she was hiding behind her hair! Jake could barely breathe, from the swarm of emotions that had overcome him. Jake knew that this was serious, but despite the graphic representation given, he still felt deep in his soul that he would never hurt anyone. He knew Sam would know his thoughts, but he wasn't stupid enough to express his doubts on purpose, so he remained quiet.

If that weren't enough that isn't the only reason that you should stay away from Bella. Sam said, his eyes filling with pain and regret.

This time, Jake saw Sam walking down the beach and he heard the most amazing laughter coming from someone obviously female. She had an amazing body, long smooth tan legs encased in cut-off shorts that were worn low on her hips, showing her tight stomach.

Jake felt like he should be embarrassed looking at the tiny bikini that supported her full chest, especially since he had known Leah Clearwater all his life. Leah ran, and Sam lift her in the air, kissing her passionately. She was extremely excited, telling Sam there was someone he just had to meet.

Suddenly, Jake felt his gut drop to the ground as he later saw the same girl in the sand curled up in a ball with her arms wrapped around herself like if she were to let go she would explode or crumble into a million pieces. She lifted her head and Jake dreaded to think that another scar would be there, but instead he saw the same empty look on her face that Bella had when Sam had found her in the woods.

Jake laid his head to the ground, wishing for anything to remove the images from his head. He couldn't make sense of it. What did becoming a wolf have to do with breaking Leah's heart?

Why? Jake breathed.

I didn't have a choice. Sam said, his voice thick from disgust at himself.

I don't understand.

Leah brought me to meet her cousin, Emily, and I imprinted.

You, what?

Sam took a deep breath and started telling Jake about imprinting and the gravitational pull that he now felt towards Emily. He explained that through the accident, it brought him and Emily together. Jake could feel their love for one another, as he saw Sam place a kiss on Emily's forehead, her scarred cheek, ending at her mangled lips.

In that moment, Jake knew Sam was right about Bella. He never wanted to put her in physical or emotional danger, which seemed certain. Jake was going to have to keep his distance from her.

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