"Time is moving on our side
How could I miss you to another guy
Pull of the ocean and the roaring tide
Is bigger than my eyes or my design" 'Where are we going to go there?' – Mat Kearney

--

A few hours later, Jacob woke up spread out on the Cullen's couch. At first, he woke slowly from some unknown disturbance. However, his attention was soon turned to the view outside. The sun was setting and twilight was covering the thousands of acres outside the Cullen's window. The sky was a peculiar shade of dusky purple and pale red. It is beautiful, Jacob thought to himself as he took it all in. How the trees swayed in unison from the slightest breeze, the canvas of a hundred million greens that danced to Mother Nature's will. He sat up, his eyes on this masterpiece that sat before him when …

"Sleep well? Came a soft voice and Jacob jumped off the couch and whirled around to find Alice sitting on the other end of the couch, seeming completely at ease despite Jacob's reaction to her.

"Holy crap, Alice," he breathed raggedly, running his fingers through his hair, trying to regain control over his erratic breathing. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"I know," she returned matter-o-factly, "I can hear. Do werewolves' hearts normally go that fast?"

"Not when pesky little vampires disturb them," he snapped back at her and turned back out the window. Twilight was gone, everything was darkened as if someone dimmed an oversized lamp. Jacob took a deep, steady breath, calming his wild heart and turned back to Alice who was looking at him innocently. "I'm sorry, you just scared me."

"I do that sometimes," she said with a mischievous grin that Jake couldn't help but smile at.

"How's your arm?" he gestured, sitting down on the couch next to her.

"It's been better," she said as she looked down and examined the arm in question. "Carlisle did a really great job patching me up but he said it may be months before I completely regain mobility, but at least its there, I guess," she said with slight disappointment in her tone.

"You sound unhappy about this?" Jake returned confused.

"Well, now I don't have a legit excuse to go on that one-armed shopping spree," she said with a soft sigh. Jake couldn't help but respond with laughter. "I brought you something," she said, reaching into a bag, leaning against the side of the couch. She pulled a piece of dark blue cloth covered in mud and grass. "This was my sleeve from the attack, unwashed and ready for you."

"Sweet, thanks Alice," he said as he took the piece of cloth and examined it.

"There was a big tug-o-war over my arm so his hands were all over that sleeve," she said with a slight grimace at the memory.

"Do you remember anything about him? Hair, color, clothes … did he say anything?"

"I don't know" she sighed in slight frustration. "It's all a blur … I can remember he was wearing all black, a little taller than me … but he had a deep voice," She said in an obvious effort to remember anything from that event. If there was one thing Jake knew about Alice, it was the feeling of not knowing everything.

"About telling you something, like to pass on a message?" Jake pushed, he needed details desperately. Alice bent over and rested her face in her hands. For a moment, he would've thought she was having a vision if she wasn't rocking back and forth.

"Give me a second," she said to the floor, "he said … he said …" than she softly gasped and quickly looked at Jake. "One by one."

It took Jake a moment to realize what Alice had said and just how quiet it was in place housing 9 vampires.

"Alice, where is everyone?" he breathed, his hands clutching the arm rest of the couch very tightly.

"Um," Alice said before closing her eyes. "Carlisle will be at the hospital all night. Esme and Jasper will be coming down stairs in 10 minutes. Edward and Bella will be in Seattle all weekend. Rosalie and Emmett are … they're … "

"With Nessie," Jake finished his sentence before bolting out the door. Jake was in such a hurry that he didn't see Leah about to knock on the front door. The two tumbled down the front steps of the Cullen's home before finally falling into a pile of tangled arms and legs. It took a moment or two before Jake realized he was laying on top of Leah as she was looking up at him, giving him a seething look.

"What the hell, Jake!?" Leah let out in frustration but he remained motionless. It was her. The girl who had been plaguing his thoughts with notions of love, betrayal and questioning imprinting and the legends he grew up listening to, a legend that had existed amongst his people for centuries. All these emotions and questions swirled around this girl.

"Jake?" Jake heard Leah's voice as it broke though his subconscious.

"Wha?" He asked as if coming out of a daze.

"GET OFF!!" She yelled before finally shoving him off of her. Jake rolled off her with a thud as Leah hurriedly stood up and wiped the dirt off her cargo pants. Jake stood up as well but not before catching Alice's inquiring eyes peering out off a near by window.

"What's your hurry?" Leah snarled as she continued to wipe off the debris that had accumulated on her clothes.

"The attacker … the attacker is after the Cullens… one by one," he breathed, letting the sentence hang in the air.

"So?" Leah asked, not catching the hints Jake was dropping.

"Ness is with Rosalie and Emmett, they don't know," Jake said and the image of the ones he loved, yes, Rosalie included, were out there unprotected hit him. Without another word, Jake ran into the woods and phased. He soon heard Leah's paws hitting the forest floor behind him and he knew he wasn't alone.

Adrenaline pumped through Jake's veins as all possible situations ran through his head like a never ending movie reel. The attacker coming at her from behind, kidnapping and her small body being shredded limb from limb were all possible. The thoughts of questioning imprinting and complaining of having no choice in the ones he loved were far from his mind. Jake felt the pull of his connection with Nessie tighten and he pushed his legs harder. He sniffed the air wildly, hoping and praying for any trace of their scent to be hanging in the air.

Fear began to seep into him. His breath quickened and he felt his heart drop to his stomach as a cold, hard panic began to set in. What if he was too late? What if she was already gone?

Finally, the welcoming sting of a vampire's scent hit his nose. Rosalie, it was strong and fresh. 5 minutes old, perhaps, His heart leapt out of his chest and he had to laugh at himself momentarily. Who knew the stench that came from vampbarbie could bring him such a wave of relief.

It was coming from the southeast. He quickly changed his path and was now following the scent as it as continually became stronger.

How could he have questioned this, his connection with Nessie? He was the big brother she needed and nothing about his dedication to that wavered.

Nessie's squeals broke through Jake's thoughts. Whether it was a squeal of fear or excitement, he couldn't tell.

He could see a flash of a head with very familiar blonde hair and pushed harder. He soon arrived at an open field where a disheveled Rosalie was detangling leaves and twigs from her hair. Jacob's eyes searched wildly and found Emmett walking towards him with Nessie in his arms.

"Thank God," he breathed as he took two large steps and swept Nessie out of her uncle's arms, cradling her against his chest.

"She's okay," Emmett told him solemnly as he moved over towards Rosalie to help her detangle a rather large twig from the back of her head.

"What happened?" Jacob asked in an exasperated voice. How could he be so stupid? Why was he not watching her even closer when such a danger was so close?

"They didn't get close to her," Emmett reassured him, "They jumped on me and tried to take me out." Jacob quickly looked at him up and down; he seemed fine, not a scratch to be seen on him. Rosalie, however, was looking more and more angry with each speck of dirt she found in her beloved head of hair.

"How did you fight them off?" Jacob asked as he set Nessie down, she was beginning to squirm under his strong embrace.

"Actually ..." he said, his eyes leaving Jacob and landing on a thoroughly irritated Rosalie.

"Stupid, vile, inconceivable ..." she trailed off in an obvious effort to think of more insulting adjectives. "That THING jumped on him from behind and tried to take Em's head off. I grabbed that … SCUM and threw him into a nearby tree," she gestured to a tree that was laying on its side, all its roots unearthed and broken. "I went after that … that … COWARD, but he had already gotten away." She breathed angrily, detangling the last leaf from her hair.

"Auntie Rose is scary when she's mad," Nessie murmured as she hugged Jacob's leg. "Jake, who's that?" she pointed to somewhere behind him. He turned to find Leah standing in the woods, still in wolf form, watching him and Nessie. Leah's shadowed facial expression, though in wolf form, was the saddest he had ever seen.

"Um, er …" he said glancing back at Nessie. "That's … that's my friend." He turned his head again and Leah was gone. He was so wrapped up in making sure Nessie and the Cullens were okay he had forgotten Leah had tagged along.

"Come on, sweetheart," he said, tugging on Nessie's arm as he pulled her back up into his arms and once again cradling her against is chest. "Let's get you out of here."

---

Jacob spent the remainder with Nessie, keeping himself busy and his mind somewhere else. Despite his numerous efforts, Jake couldn't get his mind off of Leah. He had promised himself not to hurt her, at least not to the extent Sam had but he had broken that promise several times over. That was his mother's spirit in him, always worrying about other people and putting their well being and happiness above his.

Leah was a companion, a friend, and someone Jake could always turn to. How could he ruin that? How could he test the strength of that kind of bond?

These thoughts and self doubts plagued him until it was time to leave the Cullen residence to meet with the other pack members.

He was soon running again, that familiar feeling of freedom was pumping through his veins and he felt at ease once again. A million shades of green rushed by him as the smell of pine and wet bark filled his sensitive nose. He could stay like this forever, enjoying his surroundings instead of dwelling on the complex issues that involve girls, love and destiny. But all too soon, he reached the designated field and knew that he would have to change back to the human form he was beginning to hate.

Quil and Embry were waiting there for him. A quick glance around the field told him that she had yet to arrive. Embry acknowledged him with a quick nod of his head but avoided eye contact. However, Quil sauntered over to him, slapping Jacob's bare back and letting out a barking laugh.

"Ready to tear apart some leeches?" he smiled, excitement evident in his voice. Jacob gave him a weak smile before taking a spot on the edge of the field, hiding himself from immediate recognition from the other pack members. He wanted some time to himself to think about what he was going to say to motivate the members, some so new that they were complete strangers to Jacob.

He watched as more and more wolves and humans entered the field, some looking as excited as Quil while others looking as nervous as Embry. Seth walked onto the field with his head held high and proud and he was quickly followed by Sam who almost immediately met Jacob's eyes before continuing to the center of the field.

Then she came. Jacob wasn't sure why but his breath got caught in his chest. Her eyes were hard and red, it was obvious she had been crying but was trying to hide that weakness with a hard exterior. She didn't notice Jacob and he quietly thanked whoever was responsible for that miracle. She kept her head low, her long, dark locks fell in her face as she made her way to the group of men in the center of the field. Jacob's eyes turned to Embry, who at that moment had spotted Leah and made a beeline to her. They were close enough to Jacob that he could hear their conversation unseen.

"Leah," he breathed, reaching up and rubbing her bare arms. She kept her head bowed but quickly wiped away stray tears. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said all too quickly, "nothing it's just something stupid." Her voice was broken and Jacob could feel his heart tighten at the sound of these words.

"Come on, you can tell me," Embry pushed, his voice soft and tender. Leah took a small sniff and lifted her head to meet his concerned gaze. Another tear fell and Embry quickly wiped it away, leaving his hand cupping her cheek.

"It's just," she began, breathing in deeply before continuing, "life just takes odd turns, you know? You just, you never know what may be round the corner. You can think something is definite or meant to be and … it's not. Something … something impossible comes into the picture and ruins it. Ruins your happiness and the life you had built around it."

Jacob stared at the two, taking in every word Leah had just said. He had no idea, he had no idea these feelings of infatuation weren't just infatuation but something else, something deeper. He had hurt her just like Sam. Guilt closed around his throats and it suddenly became very hard to breathe.

"I'm not catching what you mean, something impossible?" Embry replied, confusion written all over his face. Leah softly laughed to herself, shaking her head but locking her gaze on him.

"I just don't understand why when I think I can finally be happy, the rug is always pulled out from under me," she told him, her voice breaking slightly at the truth in her own words. Embry ran his fingers through her hair as he tucked a strand behind her ear and she bowed her head.

"I want to be your happiness, Leah," he told her tenderly. "I'm not going anywhere, I don't want to go anywhere. I'm here to stay. Got it?" He held her face to his and waited. Her eyes were turned down for a moment before looking up and reaching his. They stood still for a moment as Jacob watched. Everything around them was still, the deafening silence seemed to pound against Jacob's ears as he tried to tear his eyes away but failing. He didn't want to watch this, he felt intrusive in their private moment. He could feel his eyes begin to water as Embry reached down and brushed his lips against Leah's, kissing her deeply before pulling her closer into a tight embrace. Jake looked down at the ground, his hand wrapped tightly around a branch he had no idea he was holding. He let go and saw the branch was morphed, the imprint of his fingers remaining in the bark. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he choose? He loved Nessie but could he have two loves in one life?

He looked back up and they had their backs turned to him, talking to the others in the group. Deep inside, he wanted run, he wanted to get as far away from this place as he possibly could. But he knew, deep down inside, that he couldn't possibly tear himself away from this place. His roots ran so deep here, he couldn't leave any of that to risk. He had accepted a responsibility and he was going to live up to that responsibility whether it left his heart in shattered pieces or completely take his life.

He couldn't keep running; he was their leader, their alpha. He Cullens had become so much more, more than bloodsuckers, more than leeches, more than enemies to his kind. They had evolved, as much as the pack had, and were now partners in keeping their land and the people who live here. He couldn't run like some scared boy trying to escape the boogeyman. He was going to stand up, girl problems or not, and fight for what was his and everything that means something to him.

"Okay," he said loudly as he stood up and confidently walked to the middle of the field. "Let's get started."

Author's Note: Thank you so, so, so, so much for your interest in my story. I apologize for the lateness of the chapter (hey, being a senior in college is not a walk in the park!) but your comments either supporting or threatening (update your story or I am kicking down your door and making you) helped me find the time to write this chapter. Hopefully, with the two weeks I have left of this term, I'll be able to push out a couple more chapters. I would also like to thank my friend Vonnie for quickly editing my story. Vamp pack, represent!

Thank you once again! - Nicole