Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or these characters
"Bella! Bella!" Jacob shook her forcefully, trying to rouse her from her deep sleep. She sat up, rubbing her eyes groggily.
"What Jake?" She asked when she opened her eyes and took in his panicked expression.
"Victoria." He breathed, and she jumped up with inhuman speed. She shoved her feet into her sneakers, wrapping a hoody around her and following Jake outside the tent. He put her up against a tree, protectively guarding her with his body as the redheaded leech broke into the clearing. Her wicked blood red eyes immediately zeroing in on Jake and Bella.
"Stay here." He ordered through clenched teeth. He crossed the clearing, phasing midair and growling and snarling furiously, his giant jaws snapping, his giant wolf body crouched low, ready to attack. The bristly russet fur on his back and hind legs was standing straight up and he and the vampire circled each other. Well, she tried to circle around him, trying to get to Bella, but he cut her off each time. He was quicker, faster, and stronger. He could take her.
He could see in his mind from his link to the pack all of his brothers were engaged with several other bloodsuckers. Like she brought a whole fucking undead army or something. The loud screeching of metal being ripped apart echoed through the dense woods.
In an instant the wolf and the vampire lunged for each other as an ugly bloody battle began. She struck him, hard in the side, her vicious claw digging cruelly into his flesh. He was hurt. A wounded sitting duck. His jaws still snapping as he started to retreat.
Bella's eyes were frantic, and she was never more aware of her heart pounding in her chest or her blood pumping in her veins. Suddenly she caught sight of Jake's pocket knife, the metal sparkling in the early gray light of morning. She snatched it up, a plan forming rapidly in her mind.
Before she could think twice, just as Victoria was closing in on Jake, Bella sliced the knife across her upper forearm sideways. The thick red liquid oozed out of the shallow cut, the smell of rust and salt making her stomach churn violently. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply through her nose. When she opened her eyes, only a second later, she locked eyes with Victoria's. She was practically salivating as she smelled Bella's fresh blood, her eyes wicked as the bloodlust caused her distraction. That split second was all it took for Jake took raise a giant paw and swipe at her head, knocking it clean off her body. The head rolled until it stopped just in front of Bella's feet, the wild red hair brushing against her shoe.
Her eyes stayed trained on that grotesque head, eyes still open. Jake phased back, quickly gathering up the parts of Victoria and starting fire to burn the pieces. A moment later the rest of the pack appeared in the clearing, most phasing back to their human forms, unashamed of their nudity. Huge billowing clouds of purple choking smoke filled the air.
Jake walked cautiously over to Bella, who was trembling and shivering fiercely. He scooped her up in his arms, Quil jogged over, offering him a shirt to wrap Bella's arm in. It was still slightly bleeding but most of the blood had dried. He wrapped it around her arm, and him and Quil shared a meaningful look.
"I got it, dude. Go." Quil said and Jake nodded a silent thank you as he walked towards the car. He leaned down to whisper softly in Bella's ear.
"It's okay, honey. I gotcha. She's gone. Forever."
He drove towards that tiny red house on the edge of the land he had been born to protect. He took her home.
It was late in the afternoon when everyone convened at Emily's quaint house on the edge of the forest. Her house seemed to just blend in with the surrounding nature, like it was just as much a part of the green vibrant forest as the trees and the moss.
Bella was sitting in a chair at the wooden table, just quietly observing the conversations and interactions around her. Her eyes drifted to Sam and Emily, then to Jared and Kim, and finally to Paul and Rachel sitting across the room on a too small orange sofa. It was hard to see the connection in each of the imprinted couples. The wolves themselves looked at their imprints with a certain amount of adoration and devotion. They each held hands, seemed to sense each other without even turning to look. Not that they didn't fight. They did. But, still it was easy to see their bond, like the tattoos they wore proudly on their arms.
Her eyes drifted to Jake, who was leaning against the kitchen counter, intently watching Bella. He didn't need to ask to know what she was feeling, what she was thinking. He crossed the room and kneeled down in front of her. With their height difference he was just barely eye level with her on his knees. He took her face gently, tenderly, in his two rough warm hands, leaning forward, his eyes locked with hers, and whispered fervently to her moist lips.
"I love you." He said earnestly.
"I know." She replied without missing a beat. He was a little surprised with her confidence, and so he pressed a little further, making sure she understood. Making sure she wasn't hiding her feelings. He wouldn't let this come in between them. He was sure he couldn't take losing her.
"Nothing…" He emphasized the word, leaning even closer until their noses were touching and licked his lips. "…nothing, honey could ever take me away from you. You are my soul mate. I don't need any wolf hocus pocus to tell me that."
His right hand left her face, and reached down to grab her hand a pressing her palm into the skin of his chest, right over in strong steady heartbeat.
"I know it, in here," he whispered thickly, his eyes shiny with unshed tears. She could feel the emotion of the moment overwhelm her, two tears trickled down her cheeks. In that moment the whole world disappeared. They didn't care that everyone in that room had heard what they said. Jake caught her tears with the pads of his thumbs and slowly and sweetly brushed his full lips over hers, joining them, cementing his unspoken promise.
A/N: Big thanks to my new beta-who by the way is absolutely awesome-jkane180. Thanks, babe, your comments and suggestions and correcting all my mistakes was just so awesome and it really made this story so muchbetter, so much more readable! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Special thanks to enchantressinblack and wordslinger: Thank you so much for your support and encouragement, it really means a lot! Big huge wolfy hugs!
Don't worry it's not over. Next chapter: Jake has a secret and Bella badly wants to know. How can she get him to tell her? Hmmmm...