Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. It belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I also don't own the title for this chapter. I borrowed it from a Justin Bieber song. The song is called Never Let You Go. Yes, I am thirty-two and I like Justin Bieber's music. That doesn't mean that I would go to jail for him. I don't think he's that cute, Selena Gomez can have him.

He stood over her watching her as she slept. He could think of numerous reasons why he shouldn't be here. Jacob was at the top of his list right after the fact that he didn't have a right to be here because she was with someone else.

He reached out tentatively to touch her arm with a feather light touch. She turned away from him in her sleep. He placed his hand on her shoulder and he immediately felt her tense beneath him.

"I am giving you three seconds to get your hand off of me before I scream." she said in a tense voice.

"Please don't." he said quickly.

"Two seconds." she warned.

He pulled his hand away with a sigh.

"How did you know that it was me?"

"We were together for seven months. Did you think that I wouldn't recognize the touch of your hand?" she asked as she turned to lie on her back.

"You and I need to talk."

"It can't wait until tomorrow? I have to be at work at seven."

"Every time I talk to you someone else is with you."

What he had said was true. She made it a point to never be alone with him for longer than a few minutes. The Cullen's and Jacob had been reluctant to leave her alone with him. He wasn't himself and no one knew what was going on.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" she asked with a sigh.

"I want you to consider giving me another chance."

"You know that I can't." she said giving him a stern look.

"How long have you been with Jacob?"

"Three months."

"You can't possibly feel anything for him, not that soon."

"Yes, I do."

"Do you love him the way that you love me?"

"I don't love you anymore." she said with a sigh.

"So you're throwing our entire relationship out the window because I made one mistake?"

"It wasn't a mistake. If we hadn't broken up then, it would have eventually happened."

"Why? You are my mate; doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"I am going to tell you something, and when I do I am not saying it to hurt your feelings."

"Alright."

"I may be your soul mate, but you are not mine."

"And Jacob is?"

"Yes. There are things that you don't understand."

"Then explain them to me." he said calmly.

"I am Jacob's genetic match. We are together so that he can pass the legacy of the pack on to the next generation."

"Is that the only reason that you are with him?"

"No, it isn't. I realized something while you were gone. My life doesn't revolve around you. There are more things in life than being with you. I want more than you can give me."

"You want to be human."

"Yes, Jacob makes me feel alive. Not that you didn't, but there are things that you can't do that he can."

"He can give you a normal life."

"As normal as life can be with him. He is wonderful; he treats me like an equal."

"I never meant to control you. I was trying to protect you."

"There are other ways of doing that. You didn't protect me, you smothered me. I tried to talk to you about it, but you never listened."

"What else does he do that I didn't?"

"I don't want to get into this with you right now, or ever. I've already told you too much."

"Do you know how much you are hurting me?"

"I can't help the way that I feel."

"When a vampire mates, we mate for life. I will never feel this way about anyone else."

"I'm sorry." she said quietly.

There was a noise outside and Edward went to window to look down. He shook his head before pushing away from the window.

"Who is it?" Bella asked.

"It's me." Jacob said as he climbed through the window.

"Edward you should leave." Bella said quietly.

Edward nodded before throwing one leg out the window.

"Never take for granted how wonderful she is." he said, glaring at Jacob.

"Don't worry, I'm not you." he said through clenched teeth.

Edward climbed out the window and Jacob shut it silently behind him. He gripped the window sill as Bella started to cry uncontrollably.

"What's wrong? Did you not want him to leave?" Jacob asked.

"It's not that."

"What in the hell was he doing here Bella?" he asked as he turned towards her.

"I didn't invite him, if that's what you're asking." she said as she wiped her eyes.

"You didn't ask him to leave." Jacob said as he folded his arms over his chest.

"I thought that he deserved to have some closure."

"That isn't what he wants, and you know it." Jacob said as he dug his palms into his eyes.

"There were also some things that he needed to know."

"Like what?"

"That nothing could ever happen between us, I don't even know if I can be friends with him right now."

"Then why are you crying?" he asked as he sat in her desk chair.

"Because I am hurting the both of you and it is killing me. Every time I see him, I can't help but notice the sad way that he looks at me or that he is jealous of you. And then you constantly think that I am going to go running back to him. I can't even talk to him on my own without you getting jealous. Do you think I like being pulled in different directions?"

Jacob raked a hand over his face in shame. He hadn't realized that he was putting so much pressure on her. He stood with a sigh and slowly made his way over to her. She stared up at him once she had composed herself.

"I should have known something was wrong. Esme called me his mate last night and I corrected her. But I didn't think about after that."

"You couldn't have known that he would come over here. I told you that he wasn't stable. Do you believe me now?"

"Yes. How did you know that he was here?"

"Sam heard the two of you talking while he was patrolling the forest behind the house. He called me." he said as sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm surprised that you were able to keep your temper." she said as she put a hand on his arm.

"I didn't want to wake your dad up." he said with a shake of his head.

"Will you lay with me?"

"I can't. I told Rachel that I would be right back. She'd rat me out if I stayed here."

"Come over tomorrow?"

"I'll be here first thing in the morning." he said kissing her forehead.

"I love you." she said as he stood.

"I love you too." he said as he opened the window.

"Jake?" she called before he could go through the window.

"Hmm?"

"You're stuck with me, can you handle that?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"I'll manage." he said with a smile of his own.

She laughed as she shook her head. She fell back against the pillows not wanting to go back to sleep. She worried about Edward and all the things that he was doing for her. He still loved her and thought that saving her life would make her come back to him. Every time he talked to her Jacob got hurt. She would have to put some distance between her and Edward, for everyone's sakes.

XXXX

Hannah had been looking for Embry for half an hour. She had been by Quil's, Jacob's, Sam's and finally his house. Sam hadn't seen him all day and his mother was surprised to find out that a girl that she didn't know was looking for her son. She hadn't been able to get in touch with Jacob or Quil either.

She had a feeling that the three of them were together. Maybe they had gone cliff diving. She made her way up the steep incline hearing noise coming from the top. Halfway up she heard someone behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see Jacob jogging up the incline.

"Is Embry up there?"

"No. I haven't seen him since this morning." Jacob said with a shake of his head.

"I can't find him anywhere."

"He was called in to work a couple of hours ago to fill in for Mae. He should be home by now."

"I just left there. Has he never had a girlfriend?"

"One, why?"

"Did she ever come over to his house?"

"No, she's my cousin, so she stayed with me."

"His mom gave me the third degree when I went over there."

"You met Nadine? Fun." he said sarcastically rolling his eyes.

"Is she always like that?"

"No. She's just protective of him because he's an only child."

"I felt like I was being interrogated."

"I can call him and ask him to meet you at my house."

Hannah nodded as she shoved her light brown hair out of her eyes. Someone came down the incline and she looked up to see who it was. Quil came to stand next to her while Jacob was on the phone. Less than a minute later he hung up.

"He's home now, and his mom just left for work. He said that you could go over there."

Quil picked her and tossed her onto his back before she could answer Jacob. He took off through the woods and she could hear Jacob's laughter bouncing off the trees.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked in protest.

"If you walked it would take you ten minutes to get there. This way, you'll be there in less than a minute. Hold on tight."

"You are so dead when you put me down." she threatened.

"I would be more worried about Embry hurting me than I would you." he said with a laugh.

He set her down in Embry's yard a second later. Embry opened the door shooting daggers at him. Quil grinned before waving goodbye. He took off in a streak of white and black as Hannah tried to catch her breath.

"Hey." Embry said from the porch.

She waved, not trusting herself to speak. Her heart thudded in her chest as she tried to control her breathing. Embry took the steps two at a time until he was standing in front of her. He leaned down to her level to meet her gaze. She gave him a determined look before wrapping her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist before standing to his full height.

"I'm sorry." she said quietly.

"It's okay." he said rubbing her back.

"Can we go inside?" she asked pulling away to look up at him.

He pulled one arm from around her as she pulled her arms from around his neck. He led her into the house and quietly shut the door behind him. They walked silently into the kitchen where she sat at the table and he sat on the counter. She looked down at her hands, nervously wringing them together.

"You can sit over here." she said meeting his gaze.

"I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Come and sit over here Embry." she said with a small laugh.

He was sitting in front of her less than two seconds later. Her gaze met his and she gathered all the courage she had.

"I want you to know that what happened the other day was not your fault."

"It wasn't?"

"No. I had visions of my parents fighting and then my dad leaving and I panicked. I don't want to be like that."

"I've met your mom; you're nothing like her."

"I did a lot of thinking yesterday and I realized that I wasn't being fair to you, or myself."

"So what did you decide?"

"I want to be with you." she said as she looked at him from beneath her lashes.

He wasn't sure that he had heard her right, so he looked down at his hands showing no emotion.

"Embry?" she asked putting a hand on his.

He looked up to see her watching him with concern.

"Have you changed your mind?" she asked.

"Hell no." he said with a laugh.

She nodded with a smile. He linked his fingers through hers before she squeezed his hand tightly.

"We need to talk about what's going on. I want you to be honest with me, and I'll always be honest with you."

He nodded in agreement. She was right; hiding things from her wouldn't help things. He had never lied to her and he never planned on doing it in the future. She let go of his hand before walking around the table to sit next to him. He gave her an unsure look as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"It would have been uncomfortable if I leaned over the table to kiss you." she said before leaning in.

He cupped her neck before meeting her half way. When their lips met he felt all of the air rush from his lungs. Fireworks exploded in front of his eyes. The kiss was gentle at first but by the time she wrapped her arms around his neck to bring him closer he was ready to explode. Her tongue brushed against his bottom lip gently making him groan. He opened his mouth to her and it was like a switch went off and everything else around him went away except her. Was it supposed to be like this?

Her hands went to his chest and she pushed him away gently. He looked at her expectantly, nervously chewing on his bottom lip.

"I didn't expect it to be like that." she said with a shaky laugh.

"You felt it?"

"Yeah." she said with a nod.

A flash of black caught his attention outside the kitchen window and he looked over her shoulder curiously. Sam stood in the front yard in wolf form. His eyes widened in surprise as she watched him curiously.

"I'll be right back."

"What's going on?"

"My neighbor's dog is in the front yard."

"Can I do anything to help?"

"Stay in here. He's pretty big, and he doesn't like strangers." he said as he made his way to the front door.

Sam went around the side of the house and Embry met him there after he had phased.

The redhead is back. She was poking around at Jake's.

Give me a few minutes. Hannah is here.

I'm going to chase her off. Have someone take Hannah back to Jake's. Meet me in the forest.

Embry quickly got dressed again before pulling his phone out of his pocket. He dialed the last person he called not knowing who else to call on short notice. He came back in as he was shutting his phone.

"I have to go. But Seth is going to walk you back to Jake's."

"Is everything okay?"

"I'll tell you about it later. Right now I really have to leave." he said as he came to stand in front of her.

He brushed his lips to hers gently hearing Seth knock on the door. Embry reluctantly pulled away before opening the door. Seth came inside and Hannah stared at him with wide eyes.

He was not the eleven year old that she remembered. Embry brushed past him while Hannah gawked at him.

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Are there any boys younger than you that have joined?"

"A couple."

"I've missed so much."

"Leah's a part of the pack too."

"You mean she's gotten meaner?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"And more stubborn."

"Wonderful." she said rolling her eyes.

"Are you ready to go? I'm sure that Sam has taken care of the problem at Jake's."

"Something happened at Jake's?"

"Nothing serious, his house wasn't broken into." he said with a laugh.

"I don't know." she said unsurely.

"Paul is going to stay there until Billy comes home."

"I guess I'm ready."

The three minute walk to Jake's seemed like it took an hour. Hannah was walking in a fog while Seth was quiet. Paul and Rachel met them in the front yard. Rachel pulled Hannah into the house while Paul and Seth talked in the front yard.

"What happened?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know." Hannah said with a shake of her head.

"I mean what happened with Embry nimrod."

Hannah smiled bashfully as she avoided Rachel's gaze.

"You didn't sleep with him did you?"

"No, I'm not you." Hannah said with a sly smile.

"Don't judge me." Rachel said as she rolled her eyes.

Hannah had been the first person that Rachel had told when she had slept with Paul on their first date.

"I apologized, he accepted my apology, we made out… I was the opposite of you."

"He kissed you? That doesn't sound like the Embry I know. He usually over analyzes that kind of thing."

"I kissed him." Hannah said with a shake of her head.

"Is he a good kisser? I've always wondered."

"Why would you wonder if Embry is a good kisser?"

"Because he seems like he would be." Rachel said with a shrug.

"I can't believe that I am having this conversation with you. Your boyfriend is outside and he can hear us."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know about him."

"I'll pass." Hannah said with a laugh.

"Will you please tell me about Embry?"

"Yes, he is."

"I knew it." Rachel said with a shake of her head.

Hannah shook her head as Billy pulled up in the yard. Paul and Seth helped him out of the truck before Seth went home. Rachel opened the door and let them in as Hannah walked into the kitchen. Rachel and Paul went back to the bedroom and the door was shut behind them.

"Where's Jake?"

"He's still at Bella's. He'll be home later." Billy said as he flipped through the channels looking for something to watch.

"When am I going to get to meet her?"

"I have to go over there tomorrow. You can come with me."

Hannah nodded, wondering what was going on. She hoped that Embry was okay, wherever he was.

XXXX

Jake paced Bella's room with his phone clutched in his hand. Sam or Embry should have called him by now. Sam had called him four hours ago to tell him that he had found Victoria snooping around his house. How the hell had she found out where he lived? How did she even know to go there? He was always careful not to leave any trace of Bella's scent in the house. He would have to be more careful.

"Do you think that maybe she could have followed me there one day and you weren't there?" Bella asked to break the tense filled silence.

"Maybe. I have never been so glad that somebody wasn't at my house in my entire life." he said with a sigh.

"Sit down. You're making me even more nervous than I already am." she said reaching out for him as he passed her again.

He sat down beside her and she placed her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist before pulling her closer. His phone rang and he quickly slid it open. It was Embry.

"What happened?" Jacob asked as soon as he put the phone to his ear.

"We found out where Victoria's been hiding. The Cullen's were right, she's got people working for her. There had to be at least two dozen of them."

"Did they see you?"

"I don't think so. We were far enough away that they couldn't smell us."

"What did you find out?"

"Victoria isn't telling them anything. They don't have any clue what's going on."

"Good. That way they won't know what they're getting themselves into."

"They think the Cullen's are the enemy."

"To Victoria they are. Edward killed her mate."

"She's feeding them lies."

"Let her. The less prepared they are the better advantage we have."

"That's what Sam said. He wants all of us to meet him in the clearing at midnight."

"Alright."

"Is Bella okay?"

"She's fine. She's calmer than I am."

"I'll see you later."

Jacob hung up a few seconds later and Bella turned her head to look at him.

"Everything is fine." he said reassuringly.

"You would tell me if something bad had happened?"

"Yes." he said with a nod.

They were silent as the news from Embry sunk in. They needed to prepare themselves just in case there were more than Embry and Sam had seen. It wouldn't hurt to be over prepared.