Lost in Translation

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thanks for the kind reviews. Nikki

Part Three-Forcing Through Change

Jacob had hunted everywhere he could think of and found no sign of Bella. She must have left, there was no other explanation for it. He had finally tracked her scent leading away from the council chambers; it had been hard picking it out at first as it was intermingled with so many others. But when he had caught her sweet scent he had followed it only to have it peter out in the middle of nowhere. This could only mean she had been picked up by someone or been given a lift home. As she had originally come with him, she couldn't have driven herself. Jacob couldn't believe she had just left like that. He understood it must have been a little intimidating for her being faced with the frostiness from the imprints and a few others. The elders made their irritation well known, but Jacob didn't care and had hoped she wouldn't either. He had deliberately ordered the pack to remain silent so as not to cause commotion. He had known that Embry and Quil had been chaffing to greet her; Leah too had expressed her annoyance at being ordered to be quiet. Jacob had thought it was for the best. He felt under the spotlight enough as it was, and didn't want anything to make the situation more tense than necessary.

Sam came up silently behind him followed closely by Leah. "Did you find her?" He enquired softly, his eyes full of sympathy. "Lee and I couldn't find any trace." His eyes turned to look at Leah, a rare glint of affection lighting up his whole face.

Leah returned his look with a slight smile before her expression turned serious. "I did see her talking to Billy when she got outside. I heard Emily whispering something to her when she was inside. I don't know what my dear cousin had to say, but whatever it was, Bella seemed a little distressed. I would have gone over to join her, but you did command us all to be silent." She reminded him pointedly.

"Which I now hugely regret." Jacob ran a hand through his hair agitatedly. "I'm an idiot." He knew how fragile Bella's ego was, he should have handled things differently. But he had been under a lot of stress the last few weeks as the build up to the ceremony gathered pace. There was so much riding on what happened today. Lives depended on him taking complete control; two of them were standing before him right now. "I need to leave and talk to her."

"I would speak to your dad first." Sam suggested. "Maybe he knows something." He paused a moment before continuing. His expression darkened as he glanced behind him and looked at his imprint. Emily was lording it over the other women, as if she was some sort of matriarch of the pack. He turned back to find Leah eyeing him speculatively. "She doesn't seem to realise its gone." He glanced back again as Leah put a hand on his arm.

Jacob studied the two of them for a long moment. He could see the tension written all over Sam. He had a big confrontation coming up, and Jacob didn't envy him at all. However Sam had Leah, she would keep him strong and focused. They were together as they should have always been. Jacob had taken the imprint away. It was what he had been working toward all this time. He was now in total control, control over everything, that included the will of the imprints. The one thing that had haunted the whole pack since it had been formed was the fear of imprinting. The disastrous consequences of Sam's shocking imprint with Emily had rocked all the pack, and it had only spiralled further when Quil had imprinted on two year old, Claire. It had nearly destroyed Quil completely. As for Jared, it had not been surprising that Kim had snared him too. After all she was another distant relation to Emily's family. Claire was Emily's niece; the pattern couldn't be ignored. Something about Emily's family tree drew the wolves toward them like moths to a flame. The pack were not sure what, and after lengthy discussions, they could only conclude it had something to do with fertility. However there was still more to be explored.

Jacob pulled himself back into the moment as he began to search the crowds for a sign of his father. He finally found him near the council chambers in a heated discussion with Old Quil. Jacob frowned as he wondered what the disagreement was about this time. It couldn't be Bella, she was no longer here. He wondered if had something to do with Katie. "I can see him over there." He put his hand on Sam's shoulder and nodded at his former Alpha. "Emily has no power over you now. Your will is your own. Be happy." He smiled briefly as he leaned across and kissed a shocked Leah on the cheek. He laughed darkly as she shot him a mock glare.

Sam joined in the laughter. "Thank you." He said when the laughter died. He turned to look at Leah before reaching out to take her hand. Her eyes were a little over bright as if she was holding back tears. "I hope you find Bella soon."

Jacob shot them both a grim smile before he hurried off to talk to his father. He passed Emily on the way. She was still holding court with the other women. A smile lit up her face as she greeted him. "Ah the man of the moment." She hailed him, waving him over to join the group. "The ceremony went well, didn't it? Katie did a fine job tutoring you. Where is she by the way? You are not neglecting her surely?" She said slyly, causing the other women to giggle.

"I want to thank you for making Bells feel at ease." Jacob replied coolly as he approached. "With a welcome as warm as yours it was no wonder she took off." He got grim satisfaction in seeing Emily's smile fade. She now looked uncomfortable. "What did you say to Bella by the way?" He crossed his arms and glared at her intimidatingly. The other women had fallen silent as they sensed the sudden tension.

"I merely informed her that I wouldn't have the skills to keep her up to speed on what was being said during the ceremony. She obviously felt out of place. I cannot understand why you brought her with you today." Emily said haughtily. She was having trouble looking him in the eyes. "She probably felt it best to leave, and under the circumstances I think it best. After all she cannot expect us to accommodate her now after everything." Emily stopped speaking when she saw Jacob's eyes narrow. He was angry, angrier than she had ever seen him. He looked every inch the Alpha that he was. His eyes were smouldering and she began to glance around frantically for Sam. "I am only saying what everyone else is thinking." She finished lamely when she couldn't locate Sam.

Jacob threw her a look of disgust. He was done with this pathetic woman. He was glad that Sam was finally free of her, although she did not have any idea. She was about to get the biggest shock of her life, and deservedly so. "What goes around comes around." He sneered before turning his back on her.

When he reached his father the discussion with Old Quil seemed at an end. The elder was being led away by one of his numerous relatives. He was leaning heavily on his stick and seemed weary. Billy was staring after him with an inscrutable expression on his face. Jacob couldn't tell whether his father was upset or not. "What was that about?" Jacob asked, startling Billy, who hadn't heard his approach.

Billy swivelled his chair around and rolled it forward so he was closer to his son. Jacob hunkered down so he was on the same level as his father. They stared at each other for a moment before Billy averted his eyes. "That was an old man being forced to face up to the fact that times have changed." He glanced behind him at Old Quil's bent figure.

"Katie?" Jacob questioned.

"I suppose you knew." Billy said wryly. "You know the elders had high hopes of the two of you becoming an item?"

"How could I not?" Jacob's tone was bitter as he glared at his father. "Is that why you all went out of your way to make Bells feel like an interloper?" He felt hurt and betrayed that his father had been complicit in this conspiracy.

Billy matched his glare. "What are you accusing me of here?" His face showed how offended he was by his son's words. "I know how you feel about Bella. I was only worried about her, and I was right to be. She came out of that hall in a right state. You were a fool to bring her here, today of all days. If anyone is to blame look at your own actions. How do you think it must have looked to her? Sitting through a ceremony she had no chance of understanding, and amidst a group of people who were still feeling hostile toward her because they see her as a threat to their perfect plans."

Jacob felt like he had been slapped. Every word his father spoke was true. He just hadn't thought of it that way. He had brought Bella with him simply because he wanted her there, it was an important moment for him, and because he wanted to make a statement. He wanted to show all his detractors that this was the woman he intended to marry, whether they were against his choice or not, he wanted to show them he would not be cowed by tradition or some old legends from the past. Times had changed and he intended to initiate them. The last Alpha had been shackled because life had been different then. Maybe imprinting had been a necessity, but it wasn't now. Taking on his role as Alpha had given Jacob powers Sam had not been hitherto. Sam had been a stand in, he could never have wielded the power that Jacob now held. Jacob now suspected it was part of the reason he had imprinted so quickly after phasing, and with Leah a wolf herself, there was no chance it would be her. Emily had been the next replacement. But now those bounds had been taken away. Jacob had seen to that.

All these thoughts were fleeting as his shoulders slumped a little and his anger seeped away. His face softened as he looked at Billy's crestfallen face. He had unintentionally hurt his father because he had selfishly been thinking of his own wants and refused to see the bigger picture. "You are right. I am sorry." Jacob put a hand over his father's as he apologised.

Billy sighed and patted his hand in empathy. "I understand the pressure you have been under. I know this was a big move on your part. It is not easy to embrace change." His thoughts went to Old Quil as he spoke. "Let alone invoke it. We have stuck to the old ways for so long that we fear what we do not understand."

"How is Katie?" Jacob asked suddenly. He had been so preoccupied with finding Bella he had completely forgotten about her. He felt a smidgeon of guilt, she had been a good friend over the past few weeks. It can't have been easy to open up to her rather traditional family.

"I am not sure." Billy sighed again. He felt older than his years. It was times like this he missed Sarah the most. She would have handled the situation with Old Quil a lot better than he had. It wasn't the elders fault, he was from a different generation. It was true what he had implied, that the elders had been hoping for a match between Katie and his own son, even though he himself had pointed out it would be an impossibility. He knew Jacob was besotted with Bella Swan.

"I'll try and find her. She may have left to go and see Amanda. I know she wanted to come with Katie when she told everyone, but Katie thought it would be too much of a shock to bring her lover with her." Guilt swamped him again.

"You do that." Billy agreed. "And I better have another talk with Old Quil. I was rather harsh with him. He loves Katie very much, she is his favourite granddaughter. He was just shocked is all. When you find her tell her he's very sorry. He wants to understand." Billy patted his son's hand again before turning away to follow after the old man.

It took Jacob a while to find Katie. She hadn't left but was hiding out at the back of the hall. Her eyes were red rimmed from where she had been crying. As soon as she saw him she began to weep again. Jacob held out his arms and she stumbled into them blindly. He hugged her gently as she sobbed on his shoulder. "He doesn't understand. None of them do. I wish I had never come home." She mumbled as her body shook with the force of her tears.

"And kept hiding from your family your whole life?" Jacob pointed out softly. "How would that have worked?" He rubbed soothing circles on her back. "You've always been strong. It was a brave thing to open up to them the way you did."

"They want nothing to do with me." Katie said mournfully. "I'm a pariah."

"I just spoke with my dad." Jacob told her. He pulled away and cupped her pretty face in his hands. She looked so forlorn it made his heart ache in empathy. "Your grandfather is sorry for his harsh words. He was shocked that's all. My dad told me that when I found you I was to tell you to go and see them."

A small ray of hope shone from Katie's eyes. "Really?"

"Really." Jacob smiled at her as he released her face and took her hand instead. "Come we'll go and find them."

Katie returned his smile gratefully. They walked around the side of the hall and out into the open. Katie paused and turned to face him. "Thank you, Jake. You've been a true friend. You don't have to come with me. I'd like to speak to my grandfather alone."

"Alright. If you're sure." Jacob dropped her hand before leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. They both turned when they heard the sound of an engine rumbling to life. Jacob's heart thudded in his chest. He knew that sound. He raised his head to find Bella staring at him through the open window of her truck, with hurt shining in her beautiful brown eyes. Before he could react she put her foot down and took off, the tires leaving dust motes in the air in the truck's wake.

A/N-thanks for reading!