AN: Another chapter, because you guys rock!
Jacob's POV
I hated him. I knew it wasn't fair or even logical, but every time I saw Paul, I wanted to tear his eyes out. I was thrilled when Bella said that she wanted to just be friends with him, but I still had to hear his mind. Not to mention, he was always covered in her scent. I could tell from his memories that Bella was slowly giving into the imprint. Sam had told me to let it be, that I couldn't change fate. As much as I wanted Bella to be happy, I wouldn't be able to rest until I spoke to her and laid all my cards on the table. She had to know that she had options. Paul was on patrol today, so I knew it would probably be my only chance to talk to Bella alone. When she got home from school, I was already in her driveway.
"Jake." She hesitated, but smiled nonetheless. I could tell that she and Paul had been tip toeing around me, afraid I would blow at any minute. To be fair, I did once.
"Heya, Bells." I wrapped my arms around her, pressing my nose to her temple. I had to suppress a growl when I caught Paul's scent mixed with her own. "I just wanted to come by and talk to you… we haven't really had a chance since everything went down."
This time, her smile was the bright familiar smile that could only be described as Bella. "Do you want something to eat?"
"Sure, sure." I returned her smile and followed her into the house.
"Jacob!" Charlie was even happier to see me than Bella was. "Haven't seen you around here in a while... You been working out, son?" He eyed my muscles through my thin tee. He hadn't seen me since before I phase, so about fifty pounds of muscle ago.
"Yeah. There was nothing else to do while I was stuck home sick."
"Wish I looked like that after I was sick." Charlie mumbled before returning his gaze to the game on T.V. "I'll be heading out to go night fishing with your father in a few minutes. Try not to stay too late." He gave me a warning glare, but I let it roll off my back.
"Relax, Dad." Bella called from the kitchen. I said my goodbye's to Charlie before joining her.
"If only he knew Paul was in your room a few nights ago." I said, watching for her reaction. A blush slowly crept up her neck and onto her cheeks.
"He told you about that?" She frowned and crossed her arms as I sat at their small kitchen table.
"No, I saw it in Embry's mind while we were on patrol." Angela had agreed to go on a date with him, and it was all Embry could think about. "Look, Bells, I actually came here to talk to you about something."
"…Oh?" She bit her lip and sat at the table across from me. I tried to ignore the worry in her eyes.
"I know things have been weird ever since Paul imprinted on you." The words felt like acid in my mouth. "I just… I wanted you to know that just because you're his imprint, doesn't mean that you have to be with him. What I'm trying to say is that you have options… That you have me."
"Oh, Jake…" That didn't sound good. "You know I love you-" Here comes the but "- but, like a brother." Ouch. "You've been with me through so much. I couldn't imagine getting this far without you, but I could never feel that way about you.
My anger flared. If it wasn't for the stupid imprint, Bella would have seen me like that. She wouldn't have given Paul a second glance, and after a while, she would have grown to love me. It was bad enough that this stupid curse had taken away my best friend for a month, but now thanks to it, I was losing her forever. Paul didn't have any right imprinting on her! I was the one that she called after the leech left town. I was the one that taught her how to lift weights and spotted her when all she could bench was the bar. I was the one she should be with.
"Why would you choose him over me?" Then words came out harsher than I meant them to be, and I could tell by the shock on her face that she was surprised. I couldn't seem to stop my shaking as my anger overflowed. "He's been with half of LaPush, you know. Hell, half of Forks and probably Seattle too! What makes you think he would stay true to you? He'll use you and break you just like Edward did."
Shit. Shit .Shit. Shit .Shit. Shit .Shit. Shit .Shit. Shit .Shit. Shit .Shit. Shit .Shit. Shit .Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Why did I say that? It's not true – the imprint wouldn't even allow Paul to look at another woman. I was just so angry I wanted to say whatever I could to make her change her mind about me. I regretted it immediately. I felt even worse when a tear ran down her cheek.
"Bella…"
"Get the fuck out of my house Jacob Black, or I swear to God, I'll neuter you!" She screamed.
I didn't hesitate. I ran through the kitchen door and into the woods. Paul was going to kill me.
"Jacob, you haven't eaten anything all day." Emily frowned as she wiped her hands on her apron.
She kind of took on the role of pack mother, and we all loved her for it, but I just wanted to be left alone. No one knew what happened with Bella; I had avoided phasing. There would be no avoiding it though. Emily was having the whole pack (imprints included) over for dinner. Everyone but Sam, Paul, Bella, and Angela had already arrived. Jared was sitting in the corner armchair with Kim on his lap, laughing at something that happened at school. Embry was running around like a chicken with his head cut off as he searched for his 'lucky shorts', as if someone would want those. Quil was whining about having to watch Claire, Emily's little niece that was coming to visit tomorrow. He and I were the only ones without an imprint, which to Sam meant we had enough free time to babysit. And me? I was trying to get sucked into the couch before Paul showed up.
"Where the fuck is Black!?" A booming voice came from outside. Too late. It was so loud that even Emily and Kim heard him.
"Uh-oh, someone's in trouble." Jared laughed, knowing Paul's anger very well. If only he knew how angry he was.
Emily's front door slammed against the wall, quickly followed by Paul stomping down the hallway. When he entered the living room, I felt fear for the first time in a long time. He was shaking so hard, it looked like he was going to phase right then and there. His shorts weren't even buttoned, but I think we were all grateful that he even put them on.
"You're a dead man. Not even Sam can save your ass. You know the rules about fucking with an imprint!" He breathed.
He moved quickly to me, pulling me from the couch by my shirt and slamming me into the wall. I felt it give out under my back, and all I could think about was how pissed Sam was going to be when he got home to find a huge hole in his living room.
"Take it outside!" Emily screamed, her anger almost as scary as Paul's.
Before I could catch my bearings, Paul had pulled me by the shirt again and pushed me towards the door. When we reached it, he threw me unceremoniously down the front steps. I stood up just in time to get a right hook to the face. Part of me felt like I deserved what I got, but my wolf was screaming at me to fight back. As future alpha, I had this need to be better than everyone else.
"Paul, calm down." I panted, my shoulder's starting to shake. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bella hop out of her truck around the same time everyone else stepped onto Emily's porch.
"I will not calm down, you son of a bitch!" With that he phase, tearing right out of his clothes. I followed suit knowing that if I didn't, Paul might actually kill me.
Bella's POV (a little earlier)
"Seriously Bella, why is it that the longer it takes you to get ready, the less clothes you put on?" Angela smiled from my computer desk. Ever since she had agreed to go out with Embry, she had been obsessed with learning everything she could about LaPush and the natives.
"I don't know, I guess I'm just indecisive." I sighed as I smoothed down my dress.
"What's up with you today?" She frowned and turned to face me.
"Well, Jacob came over earlier. He wanted to talk to me – more like convince me that he was the better option. He got angry when I said that I just saw him as a brother, and said that Paul would just use me and break me like Edward did. I can't believe he actually made me cry."
"That jerk!" Angela didn't have long to react, because outside a loud howl cut off anything else she was going to say.
I ran to the window just in time to see a large silver wolf running into the treeline. "Paul…" He must have heard me. "We have to get to LaPush!" I turned and grabbed my keys, Angela hot on my heels.
I pushed my poor truck to its limit as I raced towards Sam's house. When we were about a mile away, the hood started to smoke. Angela said I should slow down, but all I could think about was the tension in my chest. It wasn't like the usual tension, it was like I could feel Paul's anger and hurt. He felt betrayed by Jacob – his pack brother, but I think the fact that Jacob hurt me was the thing that really pushed him over the edge. It looked like I was finally about to see Paul's legendary temper.
I pulled into Emily's yard just in time to see Paul punch Jacob across the face. "Paul, stop!" I pleaded as I jumped from the cab, ignoring the smoke still pouring out. Angela ran to the porch where the others were. She was immediately in Embry's protection.
"Bella, don't get too close!" Emily called as Paul phased. I heeded her warning, knowing that she knew first had what happened when you got too close to an angry wolf.
"Should we do something?" Quil asked with a frown as I stood helplessly by my truck.
"No use. Paul's pissed." Jared shook his head, a tiny girl huddled by his size. "You don't mess with an imprint."
I watched with horror as they clashed mid-air, Paul's teeth sinking into Jacob's shoulder. Jacob let out a loud yelp before snapping at Paul's face, his top lip pulled back in a snarl. Paul jumped back and Jacob took the opportunity to bite at his front leg. Paul growled as he fell to the ground on his back, Jacob standing over him.
"Paul!" I took a step forward, but commanded my legs not to move any further. Jacob looked up to meet my eyes, and Paul took the opportunity to bite at his neck.
Before I could say anything else, Sam ran past me in a blur. "Stop it!" There was something in his voice that made both wolves, and the ones on the porch, wince and back off. "Harry Clearwater just had a heart attack. Leah and Seth are phasing."
"What? That's impossible." Jared exclaimed as the boys ran down off the porch, all previous tension forgotten. "Women can't phase."
"Well, we'll see what Leah thinks of that." Sam snapped back. He exchanged a look with Emily before taking off into the woods, phasing half way there.
Paul stood and looked in my direction, torn between following the others and staying with me. "Go." I nodded knowing that his pack needed him.
He nodded back before following Sam's path. "Bella, why don't you come inside?" Emily called from the porch where the other imprints stood. At least I wasn't in this alone.
AN: Whew! Like 3 updates in one day! Your reviews are awesome inspiration!
