Thanks so much for all the awesome reviews! Keep 'em coming. I'm glad you all like the story. Make sure that you check me out on Simply Twilight and Twilighted, both links are on my profile! I've got another great story on ST that I'm doing with another author, if you like Jacob Black and steamy sex scenes, you know you wanna check it out here: ?sid=269&warning=8

Thanks! As always, Stephenie Meyers owns everything Twilight. I wish I was that cool.

Chapter 6-Bella

I called Charlie, letting him know I was going to be later. He was silent, then agreed reluctantly. I pulled off to the side of the highway and laid my face in my hands. Edward…he was hurting so badly. I felt an emptiness in my chest without him. The idling engine drowned out the sounds of my sobs. I had to go back. I had to make this better.

The sound of the trilling phone startled me. I grabbed it.

"Alice?" I asked with surprise in my voice. Why was she calling me? "I was…"

"No, Bella! Keep driving. Don't come back, it will only make it worse. You've made your decision. Don't come back because you feel bad," she commanded.

"Alice, how did you…" I was confused. I thought she couldn't see me any more.

"I was able to see your future again," she said. I was shocked. But that didn't make any sense.

"I was just going to come and try to make it better," I argued. I needed to make this better. I needed to fix this. The image of Edward's broken face flashed through my mind.

"I saw you in a wedding gown and with red eyes. If you come back now, you are forfeiting your life with Jacob. Is that what you want?" she demanded.

"I don't know," I whispered.

"Bella, go to Jacob," Alice said. The other end of the line was silent while I considered my life. What did I want? Did I want the sun, or the darkness? Edward offered me eternity, Jacob offered me life. Their faces flashed in my mind, so unalike in features, but the looks on their faces were the same: full of love for me. Whose Bella did I want to be?

Edward had an idealized perfect woman pictured in his mind that he tried to turn me into. Jacob already knew I was the perfect woman for him. And I was the perfect woman for him.

"Good. I'll talk to you soon. I love you."

"I love you too, Alice. And…thanks." I felt freed from myself. I aimed my truck in the direction of La Push and drove as fast as I could, which admittedly wasn't very fast. I had always laughed it off when Edward complained about the slow speed of my beloved truck, but right now, I cursed it just as he had. I couldn't get back to the man I loved fast enough.

The part of me that still loved Edward was dying inside. I knew that he wouldn't give up and that he would spend the rest of his existence pining over me. I knew that. And perhaps, in a way, I'd spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been with him. When old age crept up, I'm sure a part of me would wish that I had become forever frozen at eighteen when I had the chance.

The other part of me was stronger than that small part of me. The other part of me knew that I loved Jacob Black and that I wanted to be with him, to have his children, to grow old with him.

What happens when he imprints? The smaller part of me asked, almost mockingly. What if you aren't really the perfect woman for him? Why did this small part of me have the silky voice of Edward? Well, what would happen if (when) he imprinted? I didn't really understand imprinting, but I got the idea that he couldn't be away from the one he imprinted on. He couldn't stay with me. He'd have to be with this faceless person who I hated with all of my being already.

It wouldn't matter if we'd been married for fifteen years and had three kids. He'd still leave me.

This realization hurt. It hurt a lot.

But, the stronger, bigger part of my heart replied that it didn't care. If I got a week or a lifetime with Jacob Black, my heart could rejoice in that time I spent with him.

Jacob. I never would have thought. I'd known him all of our lives, but I hadn't ever believed that he would be the one for me. When I would stay with Charlie in Forks, I'd spend time with Jacob and his sisters Rachel and Rebecca. That is, until I was fourteen and told Charlie I wouldn't come up here again. I hadn't thought of Jacob until I moved back, and now I was head over heels for him. Who would have guessed that the one for me was really there all along?

I smiled as I pulled into the driveway. I knew that if he were awake, Jake would have heard me. The lights were off in the kitchen and living room; Charlie had told me that Billy had gone over to the Clearwaters. I hurried up the stairs, trying desperately not to trip. I pulled open the screen and pushed the front door open.

"Jacob?" I called. I was suddenly nervous. Now that I wasn't tied to Edward, I didn't have anything to stop me from being with Jake. I made myself put one foot in front of the other down the hallway and opened his bedroom door.

I stood there for a second, looking at him. He was amazing. His dark hair was growing back; it was starting to hang in his face. His russet skin was stretched over his bulging muscles. He was so tall that he had to lie horizontally on his bed to be comfortable. His black eyes were watching me. I could see the questions in his eyes, his eyes. They looked so like Edward's this evening. Did he doubt my love for him that much? I felt the tears threatening to spill. Why were these tears coming? I tried to speak, but only a sob came out.

He held out his arms, and I leapt across the room onto the bed next to him. He wrapped his arms around me as I cried into his shoulder. I felt his fingers in my hair, trying to soothe me. This show of love just made me cry harder. Why had I made him suffer for so long when he was the one who truly loved me? He loved me, and I loved him.

"Bells?" he asked, his voice sounding off, kind of clogged.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I apologized, trying to sniffle back my tears.

"Sorry?" He sounded confused and nervous.

"I can't help it," I cried, burying my head into his neck. The warmth reassured me, and made me feel a bit stronger.

"Can't help what?"

"Can't help crying," I half-laughed. I sounded like crap and probably looked like crap too. This thought made me get teary again.

"What are you crying about?" he asked, sounding alarmed.

"His face. He was devastated. It hurts me so much to see him in pain like this. It is a reminder of what your face looked like when I told you in the woods that I was going to be with Edward." I sobbed. I was taken back to that awful day a couple of months ago, the pain in his face, the smile that he forced to show me that he was still "my" Jacob. I really thought that Edward was the one for me, and I almost ruined my life with Jacob.

"So, you're really going to stay with me? He didn't change your mind?" He sounded surprised. I was shocked out of my tears. That was why he sounded so strange? He thought that I was going to leave him? Thought that I could leave him? I couldn't believe it. I looked up at him, tears staining my cheeks and said,

"Yes, Jake. I'm going to stay with you. No one can change my mind now." I scooted up and placed my lips on his. His lips were warm against my cold, wet ones. Feeling brave, I ran my tongue along his lips, and his tongue touched against mine. I felt a shiver run through me, though it had nothing to do with being cold. I eagerly discovered his mouth, enjoying the euphoria that I was in. I felt his warm hands move from where they were tangled in my hair down my back, and his fingers slipped under my shirt and across my stomach. I moved my hands across his back, loving the feel of his hard muscles under my skin.

I felt his fingers undoing the buttons of my shirt. Once he was done with the last button, his scorching fingertips grazed over the top of my bra, touching the skin above it. I felt my heart pound faster, and I felt a gasp squeeze out of my lungs. He paused, breaking our kiss. I opened my eyes to see what he was doing. Our eyes met, black to brown.

And the world stopped.

I forgot what we were doing. I forgot where we were. I forgot Edward, the whole Cullen family. I forgot Charlie, Renee, Angela, and my other friends from school. I didn't think about Jacob's family or the pack.

There was no one else in this world, other than Jacob and me. It was if there had been a terrible accident, wiping everyone else off the Earth, leaving Jake and I to be the luckiest survivors ever. I felt everything that I ever felt for anyone else suddenly dim in comparison to the feelings I had for the man in front of me. It seemed like I was in the middle of an earthquake, a tornado, and a hurricane all at the same time as I came to the conclusion that Jacob had been right all along, it had been him for me. We were imprinted. He was my soul mate, just as he had been telling me all along. And I had resisted and resisted, not understand that being his would be the best thing that could ever happen to me.

I felt my eyes widen as I looked at him. It was as if I had never really seen him. He was beautiful. I remembered telling him that once, and he had laughed it off. But he truly was. And he was mine.

Looking back into his perfect coal eyes, I realized that this was happening for him too. He was looking at me as if I was a totally different person.

"Bella," he whispered, raising his hand to cup my face. I leaned into his warmth.

"Jacob," I whispered back, amazed at what was happening.

"I love you," he said reverently.

"And I love you," I replied, feeling the same awe I heard in his voice. Our lips met for the sweetest, most loving kiss I could have ever had. He hugged me to his body and smiles came across our faces.

"We imprinted," Jake said, sounding smug.

"We did," I agreed, snuggling up to him.

We laid there in happiness, unable to express with words how we felt. I wondered if it was possible that the others who had imprinted felt like this too, but I dismissed that thought. No one could ever love their mates as much as Jake and I loved each other.

In the distance, I heard a phone ring. I was put out that the ringing was interrupting my moments of bliss with Jacob. Sighing, he reached over me to answer the phone.

"Hello? Oh, hey Charlie. Yeah, she's here. Hold on," Jake said, handing me the phone. I put the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Bells? I was just wondering what time I could expect you home." I glanced over at the clock. It was eleven o'clock. I sighed.

"I'll leave here in just a few minutes. I should be home in about a half hour."

"Okay. I'll see you when you get here."

"Okay, bye." I gave the phone back to Jake so he could hang it back up. Sighing, I turned over onto my back.

"How am I supposed to leave you now?" I asked, watching his fingers walk up my belly.

"We have forever," he said. I smiled at that thought.

"True." I stood up, immediately missing the warmth of his body. He watched as I buttoned my shirt back up.

"Can you come back tomorrow?" he asked me.

"Of course. I'll be up after breakfast." I leaned over to kiss him, and he caught my arm as I pulled away.

"I love you, Bells," he said.

"I love you, Jake," I said, and then I walked out of the door. I already felt everything trying to pull me back into that room where my love was, but I forced myself to get into the truck and head back into Forks.

I was amazed by the events that had transpired that day. I woke up this morning wrapped in Jacob's arms but happily in love with Edward. The battle in the woods changed my life in more ways than one. I no longer had a crazed vampire on my tails, trying to avenge her mate's death with my own. I also wasn't in love with the man I thought I was in love with this morning. I had made the decision to live, not to die. And my life had been changed…I was now irreversibly bound to Jacob.

Pulling into the driveway, I noticed the living room light on, with the reflection of the big screen shining on the front window. Smiling to myself, I stepped into the house. My dad, sprawled across the couch, sat straight up.

"Bells! Hey! How'd it go tonight?"

"Good, Dad, it went good."

"So…"

"So I'm with Jacob now."

"Good!" A smile spread across his face, and I felt my lips curl into one in return. "So, what are you going to do now? Are you still going to go to the University of Alaska?" My face dropped. I had written the check for the first semester's tuition, and it was supposed to go into the mail on Monday. But I wouldn't…couldn't leave Jacob.

"I don't know yet, Dad. I need to figure stuff out."

"Bells…" he hesitated. "Don't only make your plans based on Jacob and where he's going to be. He has got another year or two of high school. You need to think of yourself."

"Thanks, Dad. I'll think about it, and I'll let you know." He hugged me.

"I'm going to finish watching the game. I'll see you in the morning." I smiled and headed up the stairs to the bathroom where I took a shower. I imagined the warm water to be Jacob's fingers coursing over my body, which of course made my entire body blush.

Stepping out of the shower, I dried myself off and brushed my teeth, cursing myself for forgetting to grab my pajamas. I wrapped myself securely in my towel, just in case the game was over and Charlie was upstairs. I darted into my room without being seen. Closing my door, I shivered. It was chilly.

The window was open.

Of course it was. I had always left it open for Edward, even when he was gone. I sighed. It was time to close the window.

I walked through the darkened room to the windowsill and looked out. Tonight, I knew there were no vampires or werewolves patrolling my house. I was safe. With a heavy heart, I reached up and closed the window.

And gasped in fright at the surprised choking sound behind me.