I do not own any of Stephanie Meyer's characters.

Here's an early New Year's gift for all of you readers out there! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Hopefully this makes the last chapter make more sense because it gives you more background information on what exactly changed Jacob's mind. As an anonymous reader pointed out, it wouldn't be fair to current readers to post chapters based on people favoriting/following my story and me as an author. I'll be posting new chapters every week, but I'll post them sooner if I get 3+ new comments! Just remember that the feedback you leave me helps when writing and I definitely take your opinions into consideration! I hope you enjoy the story and have a Happy New Year!

- Iaurrhim :)

JACOB'S POV

Even though she had knocked the plates out of my hands, I couldn't bring myself to be angry at her. I was on the edge with her talking to Bella, but it seemed innocent enough. I went back to get some more food for us and bumped into Leah on the way. She must have been in an extra bitchy mood today.

"Watch it, Black," she hissed as she reached over me for some food.

"That time of the month again, Leah?" I asked calmly with a smirk on my face. "Or are you just being your normal pleasant self? I can't tell."

"You better not hurt her, Black," said Leah as she walked past me and made her way to sit down on a log near the fire.

"Hurt her? Why would I hurt Bella?" I asked curiously following her. "I'd never do that."

"You idiot," she began. "I do not, nor will I ever care about Bella Swan. She's a stuck up, attention seeking bitch who sweet-talks everyone and manipulates people into getting her own way. She pretends to be all innocent when she's really just fucking up everyone's lives. I'm talking about, Kara. You hurt her and I kill you. No regrets."

"Don't talk about Bella like that," I responded angrily. All I could see was red.

"Then grow some balls and realize what you have in front of you. Not Bella, but Kara. You pride yourself on being smart, don't you?" she asked. When I didn't answer, she nodded for me. "Yes, you do. And when you realized that when you thought you had a chance with Bella and Kara came into the picture, you immediately pushed her away. It's completely understandable but irrational."

I glowered at her. "Well, at least I have someone who loves me. Bella loves me. That's more than I can say about you," I responded back heatedly.

She gave me a hard glare, but I could see my words got to her. "She loves the bloodsucker. She'll never love you the way you want her to," she snapped back at me. With that, she got up from her seat and stormed away from me, probably trying to get as far away as she could.

I went back to the table to get the food for Bella and me. I packed food on the plates unconsciously as I thought about what Leah said. It bothered me that she was right. Her hatred of Bella was justified and the way she described everyone, especially me, holding Bella up to a pedestal was correct. It was a great injury to my pride that Leah of all people was right, but I still held on to the hope that Bella would wake up and realize that I was the one for her. The fates must have messed up when they made me imprint on Kara because Bella was the one for me…wasn't she? She had to be. I had love her ever since I first saw her when we were kids–ever since we played in the mud together. That love couldn't just go to waste.

I'll prove them all wrong. I'll prove that I can reject the imprint. I'll prove that Bella is in love with me and not that bloodsucker. I balanced the plates on my arm and made my way over to Bella when I noticed a crowd had formed around her. I could hear Kara's voice raising and I pushed through the crowd. Shit, Bella was crying? Damn it.

I turned towards Kara with a newfound anger. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Kara?"

My anger only seemed to fuel her anger. ""I'm doing something it seems you can't do. Standing up for you," she responded furiously.

I stepped in front of Bella to protect her from Kara's words, but I couldn't help notice how right it felt to stand closer to Kara. "There's nothing to fight about."

"She's using you, Jacob. Can't you see that?" she said hopelessly.

That's what Leah had said. I looked around and noticed that the pack agreed with what she said. Deep in my heart, I knew what she said was right, but I wasn't about to tell her that. Bella and I had a history, and I couldn't just forget about that. "Just shut up, alright. The only thing I can see is Bella. I'll never see anyone else so stop trying to make it happen," I shot back. The words felt bitter as they came out of my mouth but I didn't stop there.

She took a step back in shock. "I was just trying to help, Jacob. I don't know why, but I care about you and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Yeah? Well don't. I don't want you," I lied.

I looked at her heartbroken face and I felt my pulse get quicker. I was about to take back what I said but she spoke first. "You both need to head over to IKEA and assemble yourselves a better attitude and some damn self-respect. While you're there, say hello to Edward, Bella's boyfriend, just to remind you in case you forgot, and tell him I said hello because he'll probably be there trying to assemble himself a better girlfriend," she said before giving Bella one last glare and walking away.

I started making my way towards her so I could attempt to apologize but I was cut off by a whimpering voice. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Jake. Can you take me home now?"

I turned around and looked into Bella's brown eyes. I never noticed how dull they were. They didn't have golden flakes in them or tinges of green. They were just…plain brown. No life in them. I looked back at where Kara used to be only to notice that I was too late.

She was already gone.

I turned back again towards Bella. "Sure, sure. I'll take you home," I said distractedly. At this point, all I could think of what a huge mistake I had made. I was a damn idiot is what I was. I don't want you.

What a huge fat lie.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

It had been over a week since I'd seen Kara. After I had dropped Bella off at home, I immediately went for a run since it was my turn to patrol for the night anyways. I was greeted by the very pleasant thoughts of Paul.

You're an asshole, Black, thought Paul.

Coming from you? That's gold, Paul. Shut up, I replied back.

Fine. If you don't want her, I'll gladly have her. She's a woman after my own heart. Plus, she's easy on the eyes. I mean, have you seen her ass? And those–

I cut him off before he could finish that thought. I lunged at him and managed to get in a few good swipes before he bit down on my shoulder.

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you didn't want her?

I shook him off my back and managed to get the upper hand as I pinned him down firmly. I placed my teeth around his neck and bit down lightly to force him into submission.

Of course I want her, damn it. She was made for me.

I felt Paul stop fighting back so I pulled my jaw away from his neck and raised my head to look at him. I replayed my conversation with Leah in my head for him to see and then responded.

I was going to run after her…but I couldn't leave Bella alone.

You have to let Richard go, Paul thought.

What? What the fuck? Richard? Who the fuck is Richard?, I thought curiously.

Paul tensed. Never mind. That's besides the point. Look, just forget about the bloodsucker. Forget about all of them. Focus on Kara. Focus on your imprint. You've dug yourself into a deep hole and with her attitude, you're going to have your work cut out for you for the rest of your life, Black.

Rest of my life with Kara? That doesn't sound so bad, I thought, finally releasing Paul.

Yeah, for now. But good luck getting her on your side again, he thought before shifting back.

I was left alone with my own thoughts after that. Leah was supposed to be patrolling with me tonight, but I hadn't seen her since the bonfire so I had a feeling I'd be patrolling alone. I inwardly berated myself at what had gone down today because not only did I piss of Leah and the rest of the pack, but I made my imprint feel like shit. I felt awful.

I had to be more careful around Kara if I wanted her to let her guard down. She probably thought I hated her and that I loved Bella.

I didn't love Bella though…not really. I finally realized that I had always just loved the idea of her; the idea of being in love. But of course, I had to be myself and fuck it up when it was right in front of me. Good going, Black.

Ugh. I decided to stop by Kara's house during Patrol when another voice popped up in my thoughts.

Don't you fucking dare, Jacob Black.

Well I was in deep shit. Leah, I–

Don't say another word. Just leave her alone.

I need to–

Leave. Her. Alone.

Leah, I–

I know, she thought with a little more sympathy…but give her some space. You really messed up this time, Black, she thought, reverting back to her usual cold demeanor.

I know, I thought. I know.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

It had been over a week since I'd seen her. Every time I was about to make my way over to her house either during patrol or just in general, someone from the pack would stop me (usually Leah). After she had told me off, the pack had all taken a liking to her. I was proud that she stood up to me but I wanted to apologize. I needed to…I needed to explain myself to her and I needed to make her understand.

Time was finally on my side again as today was the first day of school. I knew I'd see her today and I was just counting down the seconds. I racked my brain for an idea to see her before lunch but unless she was in one of my classes, there was no way I'd see her. La Push High was by no means a big school, but I had a feeling she'd be able to easily avoid me. She seemed like a quick thinker and although she wasn't quick on her feet, she seemed perfectly capable of being able to sneakily avoid me.

My classes passed by in a blur and by the time lunch came around, I was more than disappointed. I had been feeling like shit for the past week or two and every time I closed my eyes, the image of her was seared into my eyelids. I had recently started throwing up, and that paired with my recent loss in appetite wasn't exactly pleasant. I guess I deserved it for what I did to my imprint, but I couldn't deal with it anymore. I needed to see her.

I sat down at the lunch table and waited. I spotted Embry and Quil walk into the lunchroom and I could feel my hope rising. They sat down and I immediately bombarded them with questions. "Have you guys seen her? Is she here today? Do you have classes with her? How can I get her to sit here?"

They looked at each other and then back at me and responded simultaneously. "Dude, calm down."

I shot them both a glare. "I need to see her."

"Turn around," replied Quil.

I turned around and my breath was taken away. Just like that, I felt better. Just seeing her made my heart race and my hands started feeling clammy. I could feel my body slowly repairing itself and I could feel my health slowly being restored the more I looked at her. It's like I finally felt whole again. I could see her talking to Embry and Quil but I didn't pay attention until I heard something that sounded oddly like Embry asking my Kara out on a date.

The bastard was blushing. "Oh, well…it would just be you and me."

I glanced at my imprint and noticed the blood rushing to her cheeks. That should be me she's blushing for. "Like a date?" she asked innocently. She took a moment to look down at her lap and then looked up and responded with more confidence. "Why, I'd be honoured to go on a date with you, Em. I'd love that," she said grinning at Embry. He grinned back at her and quickly sent me a wink.

Before I could even stop myself, I let out a soft "no." I glared at Embry and saw that him and Quil could barely contain their laughter. They were messing with me but Kara…she said yes to a date with Embry. "No," I repeated again, this time louder than the last. No way in hell was Kara going on a date with anyone other than me from now on. Her past was her past, but I was her future and she was mine.

I looked at Embry and then back at Kara. "No," I said calmly, even though I was fuming silently on the inside.

My little spitfire turned towards me and all hell broke lose from her. "No? Excuse me, no? Who the hell are you to tell me what I can and cannot do? No? You can take that 'no" and shove it up your ass, Jacob Black." She then turned to Embry and Quil and chastised them like a mother chastising her two children. "What're you two so happy about? Huh? You better stop smirking unless you want me to wipe those smirks off of your faces myself."

At this point, the rest of the pack members at the table were just switching back and forth from looking at her and me, waiting for the next words to be exchange. I had yet to respond to her, but she went off again to finish her rant and turned back towards me. "You can't just pick and choose when you want to talk to me and when you want to be a part of my life and who I get to hang out with and who I don't, okay? If I wanna go out with Embry, I can. If I wanna make out with Embry, I can. Hell, if I want to make love to Embry, I can. And guess what? You have absolutely NO say in that. Get it? Got it? Good," she said hotly before turning around and beginning to walk away from me.

Sex with Embry? Did she really just say that? I couldn't even control my anger as I stood up, scooped her up over my shoulder in one quick swoop, and made my way out of the lunch room. The heat from her skin and the rhythm of her heart were enough to keep me from phasing, but I couldn't stop the images that came to mind from what she said. I ignored her screams and her cute attempts at trying to stop me from taking her as I made it my mission to take her as far away from Embry as possible.

I carefully placed her into the passenger seat of my precious 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit, put her seatbelt on, and pressed on the gas. I drove and drove, trying to calm myself down and trying to stop myself from thinking of the most painful ways to kill one of my best friends. The tension in the air was so thick that it couldn't be cut by a chainsaw, but my little spitfire managed to ignore that and be her sassy and sarcastic self. "So, how have the first 5 hours without Bella been? I'm assuming you watched her when she was sleeping?" she asked angrily.

Oh, if only she knew "I have managed. How have the first 5 minutes without Embry been?" I said bitterly.

"I've managed," she said. "So…why the hell did you drag me away from my food and from my friends again? I'm really interested in what you have to say," she said sarcastically.

I gripped on to the steering wheel. Her friends? She means Embry, who she apparently wouldn't mind making love to…I should be making love to her. I should be the only one to love her like that.

"Where are we even going, Jacob? Seriously, what the hell?" she said raising her voice at me.

What the hell? Well, let's see. You are my world. You are what tethers me to this earth and you just said you wouldn't mind going on a date with my now ex-best friend and that it isn't my business if you want to sex it up with him. What the hell? Yeah, what the hell. "You're not going on a date with Embry. You're not kissing him, and you're most definitely not…not having sex with him," I replied calmly. "You're my imprint. You're mine," I added whisper under my breath inaudibly.

She started ranting on again. "Again, why do you care what I do and who I do it with? You've made it very clear that you want nothing to do with me. Plus, you're hopelessly in love with Bella, so why are you even giving insignificant little me who figuratively pales in comparison to her a glance? Hmmm? If I wanna sex it up with Embry I can. Hell, if I want to sex it up with Paul, I will! In fact, I think I'll do just that when–"

I couldn't take it anymore. I steered the car towards the side of the road and slammed on the brakes as I got out of the car as quickly as possible. I stomped over to her side of the door, gently unbuckled her seatbelt, got her out of the car, and boxed her in against the car.

"I'm only going to say this once," I said feeling myself shake. I could control the phasing only because I was looking into her mesmerizing eyes and because I knew that she was with me and not Embry…speaking of which. "You are not Embry's. You are not Paul's. You are not anyone's but mine."

She responded immediately. ""Oh, hell no. I'm not anybody's. I don't belong to anyone. I am my own person. Plus, you have Bella," she replied back bitterly, tearing her eyes away from me and looking down at her shoes.

Bella. I hadn't even given her a second thought since the night of the bonfire. I looked at her dejected face and I could feel the sadness and frustration rolling off of her in waves. I lifted one of my hands and took her chin in my hand so I could look into her eyes again. "I don't want Bella," I said, painfully realizing just how much I had hurt Kara."What you said was right. You were right. I was never in love with her…I was just in love with the idea of her. I'm not anymore," I said, hoping to quell her fears. I wanted her to trust me. I knew this was a lot to take in and I knew it was sudden, but I was hoping she'd understand.

"Then what do you want, Jacob? Just tell me what you want and leave me alone," she asked defeatedly.

Silly little imprint. My silly little imprint. "I want you."

She froze at my words and I thought she was thinking about what I had said. I thought she would understand.

I thought wrong.

In a matter of milliseconds, I was on the ground clutching at my family jewels and she was sprinting away from me. If I thought she looked good standing in front of me, then she sure looked great running away from me.

Well, shit. Paul was right. I definitely have my work cut out for me.