Chapter 4

Thanks so much for the continuing reviews! A short & sweet one. Any thoughts on plot?

I drank in his voice, let it soothe me. My eyes opened slowly to see him approaching the table. He bent down, a feat for his enormous stature, and gave me a tight hug from behind. I gently placed my hands on his arms, wrapped around my neck, feeling Embry's eyes on me. As Jacob stretched up again, I smiled awkwardly at him. His eyes bore into me, as though he were checking every feature on my face, reassuring himself I was exactly the same as he has last left me. I blushed slightly under his fervent gaze. Embry's bored tone broke the bit.

"Geez, Jake. You sure ACT like you imprinted on her enough." My Jacob laughed warmly at the comment, sending my heart fluttering for just a moment before swatting Embry in the head on his way to the food.

"Actually, I've noticed that, too," Emily said thoughtfully. "Wonder why-" At that point, Sam gently pulled her up from her seat and crushed her to him. He ran his finger along her scarred cheek and bumped his head sweetly with hers. It was their moment. I looked away, focusing instead on Billy's entrance. He waved and I smiled, watching him join his son at the stove. I watched Jacob's back. His muscles flexed slightly as he scooped his breakfast onto his plate, piled high with Emily's comfort food. He wore a smile, making my face mirror his. I couldn't help but want to have this future with him, surrounded by his family. The room was so warm, what with all the human-wolf hybrids inside, and it struck me suddenly as such a sharp contrast to the family I would have had, the Cullens. Each moment with them was like one of those brisk autumn days where you needed a scarf and sweater to even be comfortable. It was in that moment, looking around at their circle, that I truly let my vampires go.

Jacob's feverish skin felt nice in the chilled air. His hand held mine firmly as we meandered along the beach. We hadn't said much, a comment or two on the weather, when I thought of a question. I stopped and he automatically turned towards me, searching my eyes. I fought another blush. How is it he could make me feel like that with just a look? He hooked our free hands together and waited patiently. I took a breath and relaxed my shoulders, a motion which me mimicked.

"You remember what Embry and Emily said in there? About how you act like you imprinted on me, even though you didn't?" He nodded. "Why do you think that is? Why haven't you imprinted yet?"

Jacob mushed his face in thought, looking past me. After a minute he merely shrugged.

"I dunno, Bells. I used to think about it a lot, but then I came to the conclusion…" He stepped closer to me, putting one hand on the small of my back, the other loosely placed on the back of my head. "That I will never imprint how the others have. When I first met the love of my life, her heart was someone else's. She couldn't be mine," he tucked some hair behind my ear gently, his voice lowering. "So I had to wait. The…well, they screwed everything up. They were unnatural and they messed with your life and that messed with mine. You're a part of me, Bells, honey. I…I could never feel this way for anyone else, OK?"

I shivered despite his heat. His arms instinctively moved around me, his hands moving up and down my back slowly. Those big eyes looked down at me, misted over. Before I could think about it, I leaned up to him, then chickened out and laid my cheek against him. Of course he knew, and laughed loudly, the sound rumbling in his chest. It felt good, and I felt my heart swell, filling with a desire to keep him happy, to keep that sound going.

"Bella, you're hilarious, but it's nice to know how you're feeling."

I rolled my eyes.