Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 10

I wanted to wake up from this awful dream. I wanted this nightmare to be over. I couldn't lose Jacob; I couldn't be without him.

"Please, Jacob, don't leave me. What about your promise?" My sobs were louder than my words, and my throat was aching, and tight.

"Damnit Bella, why are you making this harder than it has to be?" Anger filled Jacob as he spoke, but it wasn't anger toward me.

Jacob was struggling with an internal conflict; and it was tearing him apart. If I kept pleading, maybe he would break and come with me. But before I could even begin, he was walking away.

"Bella, I love you," he said before he got into his car.

I felt lost, desolate, wounded, betrayed. Every emotion I was feeling turned to fury and every nerve in my body raged with anger.

I crawled into the back of Emily's car and watched Jake drive off, taking pieces of me with him.

"You have to tell me. I have to know what's going on." I demanded.

"We're going to Port Angeles to keep you safe." Embry said.

"I'm not talking about that. Jake. What's wrong with Jake?"

Silence.

Quil glanced at Embry before he spoke.

"Bella, you should really hear this from Jake."

"What if I never see him again?"

"Don't talk like that. All of this will soon be over."

"Quil, don't you dare patronize me. You know what's going on and it's unfair of you to keep it from me."

"Bella, relax. Jake will figure it all out and everything will be fine. He loves you too much to let anything come between you."

What could possibly come between us?

"Did Jacob… did he…imprint?" I asked fearful of the answer.

"No, he did not imprint. You really shouldn't worry about it right now. Jake gave us strict orders to keep you alive, because I assume he wants to see you again.

I really hated not knowing what was happening but I didn't argue with Embry. I had some sense of relief just knowing that imprinting wasn't the problem.

I guess I should have been worried about the man chasing me and living to see another day. But I couldn't get my mind wrapped around what had just happened with Jake. I was silent the rest of the trip. It didn't take long to get into Port Angeles. Werewolves drive almost as fast as vampires. Almost.

We arrived at the Olympic Lodge, and to my shock, the place was amazing. Charlie must have paid a fortune for a room here.

Quil checked in and came back out with two room keys. Looks like Charlie wasn't over his trust issues after all.

Our rooms were on the second floor, overlooking the pool. And after a quick check, I was released from the wolves' custody, to sleep in my own room.

I was exhausted. I decided I'd take a quick shower and go to sleep. I unzipped my bag to get out my pajamas and on top of my things was a white piece of folded paper.

I sat on the bed and while I unfolded the paper, some money fell out. I counted it to be $500.00. I continued with the folded paper and saw that it was a note from Jacob.

Bella,

I'm sorry that it has to be this way. So much is changing for me, changes that I can't control.

You know my ancestry. You know my heritage. You know the importance of the pack. The tribal meeting the other night was about me. The elders are ready for me to take the place that I was born for. Everyone has agreed that I'm the alpha of the pack.

I don't really want it and I'm still trying to figure it all out. It's different from being just a wolf, the sacrifices and the responsibilities are much greater. Please, honey, please just be patient with me. I promise to get everything figured out, so we can always be together.

Take care of yourself. I'll see you as soon as I can.

Love,

Jacob

PS

In case of emergency, use the cash.

I couldn't believe it. This didn't seem like such bad news, even though I didn't know much about the alpha. It couldn't be much different from just being a wolf. Could it? What was Jacob so upset about? After everything we've been through, this seemed like a conquerable obstacle.

After my shower, I tried to sleep, but I was wide awake. I turned the TV on to kill the silence. I grabbed the picture from my bag and just stared. It was so hard to believe that the little russet skinned boy in that photo was a werewolf. I smiled back at the Jacob in the photo, feeling warmth shoot through my veins. I was missing Jacob, terribly. I craved his warmth, his embrace, and his lips.

I had only been asleep about an hour, when I heard a gut wrenching siren blaring. I opened my eyes to find Embry standing over me.

"Bella, we've got to get out of here. There's a fire in the lobby."

I grabbed my bag and Embry was practically dragging me to safety. I could smell smoke in the corridor. The stairwell was crowded, but Embry pushed our way through.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"A diversion."

"Quil?' I asked out, out of breath.

"He's gone to get the car. We've got to get out of here."

We made our way outside. I wanted to ask Embry if Bruce had found me. But between the sirens and the sobbing sounds, I decided to wait until we were in a more secluded location. I was sure I already knew the answer.

Quil was running toward us, when we reached the parking lot.

"Bella get in the car and wait."

I didn't protest. I ran for Emily's car and hurled myself into the backseat. I had barely regained my composure when the front passenger door opened. I was relieved for a brief moment, knowing that we were leaving.

"Hi Bella."

I looked up to find that the person getting into the car was not Quil or Embry. It was Bruce. He climbed over into the driver seat and started the engine. Of course, Quil would leave the keys in the ignition.

"What do you want from me?" I screamed. "What did I ever do to you?"

The car jerked into reverse and I hit my head on the ceiling. Once we began moving forward I crashed into the middle console and ended up in the floor of the backseat.

I had given up on the "waves" analogy in my head. I was sure by now I was tied to a concrete slab that had settled at the bottom of the ocean floor, never to surface again.

We hadn't gone very far, when Bruce turned the car into an old garage. He grabbed the keys from the ignition and pulled me out the driver's side door.

At first I fought back, but it was useless. Bruce had at least a foot and a hundred pounds over me.

Once we were inside the garage, Bruce turned on the lights. He was familiar with the place and had obviously been here before. In the back corner, sat bags and boxes full of sporting equipment, bought over the last few months at Newton's. He grabbed a rope from one of the bags and tied my arms behind my back. Then he was gone.

My arms were numb and my neck was writhing in pain. My head pounded and I had been sweating. I wasn't ready to wake up, but I needed to move. My eyes opened and I didn't recognize any of my surroundings.

Bruce. He had moved me, but I didn't know where to.

My arms were still tied behind my back, and my feet were now tied together.

"You're beautiful when you sleep, Bella," his voice echoing in the empty room.

"This was all so easy. Charlie practically handed you over to me when he sent you to Port Angeles," he said, with insanity spilling from his eyes.

He was taunting me, teasing me. But I didn't break. I didn't utter one word. I needed to stay calm. He walked over to me and sat me upright.

"You know Bella you and I have a lot in common."

"I doubt it," I spat out, so much for calm.

"No we do. We seem to love people or things we shouldn't."

A/N: I love reviews. I draw inspiration and encouragement from your opinions.