Author's Note: Thanks to my reviewers, I now know that loca is not Quileute, and is in fact Spanish. I think we all had a good laugh at that one!

Attention: SUNSHINE just got nominated to for the best Jacob/Bella pairing on Fanfiction! It's on www . non-canonawards . blogspot . com. I am literally freaking out here. I really want to know who nominated me. So whoever it was, you better fess up in a review so I can shower you with love! (:

Chapter Seven:

EARLIER IN THE DAY

She was on her porch step, nose stuffed inside of a book and her mind drifting into her fairy-tale land. It was the first time that she was really thinking about a topic other than Jacob since yesterday.

She read the marvelous novel Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, getting lost in the love of the married Anna and the young virtuous Count Vronsky of Imperial Russia. "He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking," she read the line aloud.

And thoughts of Jacob flooded back into her mind. He'd not been gone for a very long time, yet she longed and yearned to see his sunny smile and warm touch. And the talk of the sun in the line of the book made her think of the silly old nickname that Jacob took pride in calling her.

Sunshine.

Boy, was she far from sunshine. The only time she felt bright and happy was with him. The rest could be considered a shithole. She could be considered a shithole…of emotions and innuendos and naivety.

She closed Anna Karenina and set it on the wooden floor. She wrapped her arms around her bare knees and rested her chin upon them. She was bored. She'd have to go to work later that evening and all she wanted to do was spend her time with the man she almost killed with her truck.

He saw her for who she was, and she was thankful for that.

A rustle from the woods diverted her attention from him long enough that she stood up and ran in and grabbed her father's rifle, the one he'd given to her to protect herself while she was alone in the woods.

It wasn't loaded, but she was hoping that she really wouldn't need it. A twig snapped and more rustling leaves sounded. She breathed softly, backing up onto the porch. It was midday, and most deadly animals were sleeping.

"Watch it be just a small rabbit, you ditz." Bella hissed at herself, pointing the rifle towards the sound. "Look at you carrying around a rifle like a tough girl." A tough girl was exactly the opposite of what Bella was.

When she focused back on the woods, she noticed two beautiful yellow something's glistening from the darkness of the tree line. She squinted her eyes. What was it? The more she squinted, the more she could see the black of giant pupils and the yellow irises.

She gasped and jumped back. Those yellow something's were an enormously large creature's glowing yellow eyes, staring straight at her. She loaded the gun quickly and pointed it, backing up slowly. The creature stepped forward slightly, a giant paw dancing on the borderline between the edge of her yard and the dark tree line.

Bella whimpered, her hands shaking under the heavy weight of the rifle. The 'click' of the full ammunition on the gun startled the creature. It stood a little taller, making it easier for her to see what it really was.

Reddish brown fur blowing in the wind.

A giant snout, with big gleaming yellow eyes.

Huge freakin' teeth.

The eyes followed her fingers to where her pointer lay on the trigger of the gun. It growled, then turn and ran back into the forest where it belonged. Bella hadn't realized that she'd broken into a nervous sweat until she felt droplets of sweat running down her cheeks.

She set down the gun carefully before wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. She'd never seen something so utterly large and terrifying before in her whole life. She knew that there was a possibility of bears and wolves in her part of the world, but she'd never seen something like that. Ever.

She grabbed her Anna Karenina and her daddy's rifle before heading inside. She was done reading outside for the day. She would stay inside where it was safe from mysterious reddish brown monsters lurking in the dark haven of the forest.

Bella shut the door behind her and locked it well.

6 HOURS LATER

"Did you hear about the bear attacks going around?" Angelina asked her, wiping her wet hands on her apron. Bella shook her head. The redhead chewed her gum and checked the time. "We've got five minutes, Bella. I'll tell you quick before Mike comes back."

The tiny brunette nodded and followed her friend around the corner and into the back where the beer was stored. It was pretty cold in that room, and Bella found herself instantly shivering. "Can't we go any place else to chat?"

Angelina put her hands on her voluptuous hips and frowned. "Do you want to hear the stories or not, missy?"

The smaller girl blushed and nodded. "Fine, go ahead. But…tell me for I become a Popsicle."

The redhead sat down on a beer crate and rubbed her hands together to try and warm them up. "On Monday of this week, there had been four bear attacks. You knew that right?"

Bella nodded her head. "Yeah, I heard. It's horrible, isn't it?"

Angelina agreed. "Horrible, horrible. Anyways, the people turn up real bloody with chunks ripped out of their bodies and bites all over their skin. They're hitchhikers. At first the police thought it was a serial killer, but the damage done to these people look like those at the hands of a ferocious beast—a bear."

Bella stared at the wall, trying not to focus on what those poor human beings looked like so mauled like that. "I think I saw a bear today."

The redhead gasped, her red-nailed fingers flying to her mouth. "Oh my goodness! You saw the bear? Where did you see it?"

The brunette's head pounded as she remembered the incident from the afternoon. "It was by my house," she told Angelina. "I pointed at it with my rifle and I…I was gonna shoot it, but it got scared and ran away."

"That's crazy," Ang's thick Boston accent flowed over her cherry red lips. "Was it big? I bet it was a huge fucker."

The smaller girl flinched. Bella hated hearing curse words because her family had never used them (including never letting her use them), so the sound of a curse word was just vile and she thought it was completely unnecessary.

"I…I almost thought it was a wolf. It had the long snout and the eyes, and the tall, pointed ears. Its paw was enormously large with claws and teeth razor sharp."

Angelina rolled her eyes and hung a red fingernail on the tip of her bottom tooth. "Right, sweetie. A bear that looks like that? Hogwash. I'm pretty damn sure it was a bear. Maybe your senses were getting a little foggy, huh?"

Bella shrugged. Even though she was pretty sure of what she saw, she didn't bother argue with her only female-friend. "Guess so."

Outside the beer room, Mike's booming voice could be heard calling for Angelina. "Guess that's our call, sugar." The busty redhead dragged small, petite Bella out of the beer room and went to Mike's aid.

"Serve the last table over there," the boss said. "Then you can go on home. Oh, and Isabella?"

Her head snapped towards Mike, ready and waiting. "Yes sir?"

"You can go home now," Mike said, pointing towards the door. "I don't want you keeping Angelina away from her duties."

Bella's face brightened instantly. "B-but Sir—"

Her boss obviously did not want to hear it. "Have a good night, Isabella."

Her shoulders slumped as she began to untie her apron. The bar was getting to be a little more crowded (Bella considered it was because more drunkards came to the bar at nighttime versus the earlier evening shift) and Macie was about to take over Bella's shift to work the late one from nine o' clock to midnight.

Angelina grabbed Bella's skinny wrist before she could grab her coat from the rack. The younger girl gasped when she saw the redhead. "You'll get in trouble if you don't serve that table," Bella whispered.

Angelina rolled her big blue eyes. "Do you think I really give a shit about what old man Mike of the Wilderness says? I could care less. Anyways," she pulled the younger girl in for a hug. "You drive home safely. Don't get attacked by animals, you hear me? And if you see that bar, either call your daddy the police chief to come and shoot it or you grab your rifle and do it yourself."

Bella chuckled. "Okay."

"Angelina!"

"Guess that's Mike," the redhead sighed. "Bye Bella." She turned on her heel and stomped back inside. "I'm coming, you old coot!"

0o0o0o0o

It was ten o' clock when a knock sounded at her door. She'd gotten home about a half hour ago, and she was watching The Notebook, crying her eyes out about how beautiful and sweet it was. She paused the movie and dabbed at her eyes and nose with the tissue. She was kind of pissed that someone was interrupting her date with the movie, her tissues and her bowl of buffalo-wing flavored pretzels.

But she put on her happy face, restoring her eyes back to their normal glint. She swung open the door to see a half naked Jacob Black leaning against the frame of her doorway. "Sunshine," he greeted. He scanned her with his eyes before standing up abruptly. "Have you been crying?" he asked immediately.

She did a mental eye-roll. Stupid female hormones. She shook her head. "No, of course not," she lied.

He gave her a funny look. "Is this a bad time?"

"I said no," she sort-of snapped, sort-of whispered. "Please…don't keep on standing outside there like that. Come in. Have some…um, buffalo pretzels."

He stepped inside her house, clad in only a snug pair of cutoff jean shorts that reached his knees, washboard abs and slick copper skin visible in the firelight. He grinned at her in the darkness.

Quickly Bella realized that it was improper for a half-naked male and her standing in skimpy shorts and a showy tank top. She flicked on a light with record speed and gave a meek smile.

"What's up?" she asked.

He gulped and scratched the back of his head. "Nothing. Just wanted to check in. I missed you." His face turned bright red when her jaw dropped at his words. He quickly regained his composure. "Um, I missed having your sunshine in my dull-ass life."

She gave a small smile. "Me too."

He sat down on her couch. "So…I guess you've heard about the bears, huh?"

She shrugged, sitting at the other end of the couch. She wrapped a fuzzy red blanket around her shoulders and stared at him. "Of course I did. Who hasn't?"

Jacob rubbed his hands together softly. "You scared of the big bad monster, sunshine?" he teased.

She laughed, even though she didn't think it was quite funny at all. "Petrified," she corrected him. "I am absolutely petrified, Jacob Black. I won't go outside and read on my porch anymore. I heard about the grizzly attacks on those poor innocent people."

His face fell slightly, but he stopped himself before she could see his expression. "Yeah, I know. I did too. It's horrible, isn't it?"

Bella nodded vigorously, her eyes becoming wide and sparkling greatly. "Guess what I saw this morning? I think I saw the bear!"

His face paled. "You, um, saw the bear?"

She nodded again. "I did! But it didn't look like a bear at first. It was absolutely terrifying, I'll tell you. Gleaming yellow eyes, sharp teeth, reddish brown fur and a body size that was out of this world."

His face and demeanor darkened. "You were afraid, weren't you?" His eyes darkened and his lips turned into a frown.

She noticed, but she wasn't sure why he was so upset. "Of course. I almost shot it. It was probably going to attack me! I wish you were there to see it too."

His sweet chocolate brown eyes were now a deep coal black color and his jaw kept clenching up and unclenching. "It wasn't going to hurt you."

Bella stared at him with interest. "How do you know?"

"I can bet my money on it."

"Are you alright?"

He felt like he wanted to smash something into tiny pieces. He wanted to run into the woods and never ever come back. He was so ashamed…to be the monster she was petrified of, even though the killings weren't at the hands of him and his pack.

Jacob couldn't lose it in front of her. He couldn't hurt her like Sam hurt Emily. It would tear him down everyday; her bearing the physical scars that came at the hands of him and his rage. He gave her a blind smile.

"I'm okay now that I'm here. I missed having my sunshine around me. Things are a lot duller without you," he murmured, his tone teasing but his heart true.

She blushed. "I missed you too, Jacob. Even though we saw each other yesterday." They both chuckled. She offered him the bowl of popcorn. "Do you want some?"

"Sure." He took the bowl and devoured handful after handful of popcorn. Bella watched him in awe. He pointed at the television set where her movie was paused. "What are you watching?"

"The Notebook," she replied, watching him eat with fervor.

"My sisters watch that romantic shit," he snorted.

She began to laugh when a piece of popcorn fell out of his mouth. "Holy crow, you're hungry!"

The truth was, Jacob had just gotten off of patrol and headed over to her house to see if the "bears" had been lurking around the area. He hadn't eaten since noon that day. "I am very hungry," he told her proudly. "Haven't eaten dinner or anything in between since noon."

Her eyes widened. "Well that's not good for you."

He shrugged his massive shoulders. "I can live off of popcorn," he murmured

I can live off of you, is what he meant to say.

"Do you want something else to eat? I have a bag of chips. Or I made some chicken noodle soup for lunch this afternoon. I have tons and tons of left-overs from that!" He nodded at her and watched as she scurried off to the kitchen to fetch him the soup.

A breeze was carried in through the window as Jacob dug into the popcorn again. He smelled something sweet, and his eyes instantly snapped open. "Hey sunshine? Do you smell a really strong sugar scent here or is it just me?"

The brunette waltzed into the room with a warm bowl of soup and handed it to him. "No, all I can smell right now is that delicious chicken noodle soup I made. Far from sugar, huh?"

He tried to ignore it. Maybe it wasn't what he thought. He shoveled a spoonful of soup into his mouth and winked at his sunshine, wordlessly telling her that the taste was spot on. Another breeze wafted in through the window. It was sweet, oh so sickeningly sweet. He set down his bowl of soup and searched his mind.

No one had picked up this trail.

Jacob Black was beginning to get nervous. Jacob Black was beginning to get anxious. Jacob Black was beginning to get scared.

"You…you sure you don't smell that?" he asked just one more time. He was praying that she'd left some freshly made sugar cookies out or sprayed some perfume.

She shook her head again and tilted her head, sniffing the air a few times. "No. Not at all."

He rubbed his forehead. "This can't be happening right now," he groaned. Jared, Sam, Quil and Paul had retired to go home an hour ago. They were probably in bed at this very moment. Leah and Seth were at their father's bedside in the hospital. Harry Clearwater had been recovering from a heart attack for a week now. Embry said that he was going to head over to The Garage and lock up for him. Jacob was on his break time at the moment, and was done his shift in a half hour.

So that meant that the youngest pack members, Brady and Collin, were manning the patrol shifts that night. And if he knew anything at all, the two young boys were very inexperienced and their noses weren't perfectly sharp yet—neither were their reflexes. If a leech came across them in the woods, both boys had a fairly good chance of being badly injured.

Lord knew what would happen if both wolves were separated, or attacked by more than one leech.

The smell was so strong at that very moment and it scared him so badly. He searched his mind for the voices of the young boys.

Brady! Collin! Are you there? Are you on the leech's trail?

There was still no answer.

Sam! Answer me! Jared, Paul, Embry? Quil?

Still nothing. He was completely alone tonight. And his wolf was chopping at the bit to escape his human skin and tear what ever it was apart into little pieces. Keeping Bella safe all at the same time was definitely another priority that he had at the top of his agenda of things running through his jumbled mind at the moment.

Thunder rumbled outside. Lightning flashed across the sky in bright streaks and rain began to pour down. It wasn't supposed to rain tonight.

Rain could easily mask the scent of a leech. "I've got to go," he said abruptly, jumping up and darting towards the door.

She tried not to pout. "You…um, didn't finish your soup."

The scent was getting less and less and he wanted to track it down and shred it apart for coming so close to Bella's house. "I have to go," he murmured.

He opened the door and was prepared to dart out into the cold. But a soft voice stopped him in his tracks. "Please don't."

He spun around and marched right to her, grabbing her face in his huge hands and cradling her chin with palm. "Bella, oh sunshine…there's so many things I wanna tell you. So many things I wish you knew. You gotta be safe, you hear me? I gotta protect from those things—those bears—and even myself. I've even got secrets myself, sunshine."

She shook her head, her lashes beating wildly as she tried to find the right words to say. "I-I…I don't understand." Then her small hands wrapped around his wrists and felt his heated skin. "You can tell me anything."

He broke away from her and walked away slightly, his hands tugging at his hair desperately. "I wish I could explain, but I literally can't." The scent was strong again. He had to go quickly. "Be safe, you hear me?"

Then he darted out the door, whispering something so softly and subconscious that she barely caught it. And he ran so fast down that wet porch-step that she didn't have enough time to reciprocate his words. "Jacob!"

He was gone, disappeared into the night. So she stood breathless on the porch, his name dying on her lips, his words still rotating in the back of her mind. A strong gust of wind shoved her forcefully backwards.

Out somewhere in the woods, a lone wolf's cry could be heard echoing through the forest. She backed up near the door and grasped the handle behind her.

"Love you too."

0o0o0o0o

Sooooo? What did you think of this chapter? It's a lot being thrown at you, but I really want to know what you thought about Jacob's secret and those unheard words!

To whom it may concern: if you nominated me for the non-canon awards, fess up in the review section. I'm so excited. I love you all so much!

Courtney xx