A few days had passed since the trip into Port Angeles. Jo hadn't seen much of her cousins. Both Seth and Leah had said that they had to work more since they had the day of their trip off. Before Jo could have even asked about what they did, the pair walked out the door. Jo did happen to note that she saw them jump into the back of Paul's pick up as he drove past the house. She realized then that it had been a while since she had seen Embry, Jared, Paul or even Jacob for that matter.

Jacob consumed Jo's thoughts more than she wanted to admit even to herself. It wasn't like her to become so infatuated with someone so quickly after meeting them. It worried her somewhat. Her jealousy of Bella and her relationship with Jacob was on her mind quite often. Jacob haunted her dreams as well. More than once she would wake and wish that she could instantly fall back asleep to live in that imaginary world. She hadn't seen him in nearly a week and yet, one would think that with the time she spent thinking about him that she saw him daily.

On the suggestion from Dr. Cullen, Jo did go jogging almost daily through La Push. Each time she went, she seemed to be able to go further and faster. And each time, she went past the Black's place. Jo was trying to build up the courage to go and just knock on that door. Thinking about Jacob and their silent car ride home from Port Angeles was one thing, spending time alone with him was another step that she wasn't sure if she was ready for yet. For something so simple, it seemed daunting to her. To open her heart up again to someone was a big deal. She knew that Jacob was interested in her and in the end, she regretted turning him down like she had. That evil green-eyed monster jumped onto her shoulders when she saw him talking with Bella Swan and now she had a job and was staying in La Push, all because of him.

The job.

Jo had to laugh at how desperate she had become. While her Aunt Sue had errands to run in Forks, she had dropped Jo off near downtown in order for her to drop off resume's at the local businesses that were hiring. In the end, the only place that would even consider her due to her lack of prominent retail experience was the small 6 lane bowling alley. But at least it was something. When she had told her Aunt what she had done, Sue was overjoyed. In Sue's mind it meant that Jo was actually considering sticking around La Push indefinitely.

"I'm happy that you've decided to stay with us," Sue had said happily as she drove down the road to head back to the reservation. "I know Seth, Leah and the others will be thrilled."

"Can we keep this between us for now?" Jo asked, pleadingly. "At least until I have the position."

Jo didn't have to wait long. It appeared that the bowling alley was just as eager for the help and had left a message on their voice mail when they had returned home, asking when she could start.

It sounded silly to think, let alone say. Never in her life would she think that she'd base a life decision on a guy; a guy whom she barely knew. Yet, just thinking about Jacob sent warm butterflies through her. Those same butterflies urged her to stop jogging while her brain told her to keep going. It was an awful mental fight that she endured every time she jogged past the Black's house. Except today, she ignored what her head was telling her.

Jo slowed down her pace as the red wooden sided home came into view. She saw Billy's pick up in the front yard as she began to walk closer to the house.

Suck it up, Jo! Just knock on the damn door!

Jo walked up to the front door, pausing for a half a second before knocking.

Part of her wanted to just run off, praying that no one was home to hear the knocking. Except someone was home. Jo could hear a gruff voice coming from inside the house telling her that he was coming. Finally, the door opened and Billy's eyes looked surprised before a large smile came to his face.

"Jo Clearwater! This is quite a surprise! It's good to see you," he said, before glancing at her appearance. Jo had grabbed Leah's running shorts and wore an old t-shirt that had once belonged to Emily. She had rolled the short sleeves up onto her shoulders. Her face was flushed. Sweat was beading on her forehead and around her hairline where her hair had been pulled back into a messy ponytail. She must have appeared to be exhausted as Billy offerred to get her a glass of water.

"No, I'm fine. Really, Billy," Jo said, causing the man to pause, and frown. "I was just wondering if Jacob was home."

The smile quickly returned to his face upon the mention of his son's name. He had rather hoped that she would seek out Jacob at one point.

"You're here to see Jacob?"

Jo nodded. "Actually, I told him that there was a chance that I'd be going for a jog sometime this week and I was wondering if he was wanting to join me. I have to work out my leg muscles again."

Billy nodded, glancing at the ugly red scaring on her left lower thigh.

"I'm sorry Jo, but Jacob isn't home," he said, looking back up at her.

Her initial excitement dropped when Billy told her that. He could even see it in her face.

"But I can let him know that you stopped by."

Jo nodded and forced a smile. "Sure. I'm just doing another quarter mile up the road and then I'm turning back. If he gets in before then, he's welcome to join me."

Billy smiled. "I'll be sure to tell him."

With that, Jo waved and turned to walk back up towards the road before setting herself into a pace. After a few minutes, Jo slowed down to a brisk walk once again and put her hands on her hips. When her eyes glanced into the dark woods along the side of the road, she paused. A flash of colour had caught her eye followed by the faint crunch of leaves. It was brisk, but she was sure that she saw it. Although her deep breathing was loud in her own ears, she was certain that she had heard something coming from beyond the thicket that grew near the road.

"That had better not be a bear," she mumbled to herself, quickly thinking to herself what her Dad said to do if she was ever to encounter a bear in the woods.

"Do I play dead or run like hell?"

Glancing quickly down at the ground for something to protect herself with from whatever creature had made the noise, she only saw stones. Jo bent over and grabbed a handful before whipping them at the bush. She instinctively backed up, waiting for whatever was back there to either run away or jump out at her. Jo knew that if anyone saw her, they'd be laughing out loud at what she was doing.

When she had no response from beyond the bush, Jo glanced in either direction down the deserted road before crossing onto the grass towards the edge of the forest.

Don't be a snake. Please, don't be a snake.

Jo hated the reptile with a passion. Mice and rodents, she could handle, but no one could ever pay her to touch a snake. They were cold and scaly. There had to be a reason why the devil himself had taken on a creature as vile as the serpent within the Garden of Eden. They were disgusting.

She gasped when a squirrel ran through the bush and into the forest. Jo chuckled as she watched the animal chatter in annoyance at her before it quickly darted up a tree.

Jo pushed through the thicket and into the forest, her eyes following the squirrel as it raced into the canopy high above her. The sunlight fought for control and danced on the forest floor, creating beautiful shadows. Jo had seen the tall trees around La Push and Forks, but to see them within a dense forest made the place seem mystical. They moved together in the wind, causing the birds to fly about. The sound of the complaining squirrel in the distance sounded like he was singing along with them.

Jo moved further into the woods, watching the birds as they circled above. For a moment, she considered going back to the main road to continue her jogging, but it was such a beautiful day. The cool breeze on her flushed skin was refreshing. She decided to go just a bit further into the woods. After all, it woudn't hurt.

She quickly turned her head when she was certain that she saw a flash of something dart past in the distance. With a sigh, she cursed.

Her Dad had made up so many stories about how dangerous and scary La Push could be, her mind couldn't help but go back to her childhood and remember all those fables he had told her.

"The shadows around La Push where I grew up have monsters hiding within them," her Dad had told her once while on a camping trip when she was younger.

What had happened then was that Jo would be compelled to sleep between her Mom and Dad in fear that those monsters would come and get her.

"As long as you're here with me, you're always going to be safe, my sweet Josephine," her Dad had told her, while running his hand through her dark hair, allowing her to finally fall asleep peacefully beside him. The last thing she'd hear would be him speaking softly in Quileute to her, assuring her that she was safe and loved.

Jo smiled at the memory as she ran her hand along a passing tree. She looked up at the canopy above her, and chuckled.

"So many shadows and not one monster, Dad," she said softly. "I can't see why you wanted to leave here and were so determined to never return."

With a sigh, she took another step forward when she was certain she heard something coming from behind her. Jo quickly turned to find that there wasn't anything there. She had to laugh at how her imagination seemed to be playing into the memories.

"It's just some silly stories," she reminded herself.

Knowing that she had walked a good distance into the woods, she turned back the way she had come and paused when she came up to a tree.

Why do all the trees have to look the same?

Every direction seemed to be the same to her; trees. Listening for cars in the distance didn't help. She looked up, hoping to find some sign of familiarity. Jo could have kicked herself for coming into the forest. Perhaps this was the warning her Dad meant when he said that there were monsters hiding in La Push. It was simply to keep people from getting lost in the woods.

"Damn it," Jo cursed, as she turned around with her hands on her hips, trying to gauge what direction she should walk in first, when suddenly a hand tapped her on the shoulder.

Jo spun around and shrieked, nearly jumping a foot in the air before her foot slipped on the soft, wet moss. An arm shot out and wrapped around her back, stopping her fall. Instinctively, Jo grabbed ahold of the other arm in front of her to steady herself before she looked up and saw a face smiling down at her.

"Whoa, I've gotcha."

Jo simply stared. The face that she had seen so often in her daydreams and while she slept was closer than he had ever been. For a moment she wasn't even certain that he was real until he spoke again.

"Sorry about that," Jacob said, sincerely. "I didn't mean to scare you. Are you all right?"

It took a moment to register with Jo what he was saying. Her eyes were glued to his, seeing them darken slightly as he spoke. Jo could feel the intense heat radiating off his hand and strong arm that were firmly wrapped around her back. She cursed her betraying hormones and the return of those butterflies in her stomach.

Jacob ensured that she was standing on solid ground before he let go of her, but he didn't want to back away from her, not yet.

"I'm fine," she replied, before she puffed confidently and stepped back, taking in the view before her. Jacob stood in front of her wearing just cut off shorts and shoes. Her eyes lingered longer on his extremely toned chest and abs. Her insides were doing flips and the last thing she was going to do is admit to him that her imagination had run away with her and she had ultimately gotten lost.

"You didn't scare me. You just caught me off guard and I slipped."

"Sure," Jacob stated, smiling knowingly as he crossed his arms in front of him. He had been watching her ever since she had left the Clearwater's. His wolf was keeping an eye on her as she jogged, when she came up to his home and then curiously as she made her way into the woods. In fact, Jacob had hoped that he would have a chance to see her while he was doing patrols in the area. He had informed Paul and Sam that he would be phasing out due to Jo being lost in the forest. For a moment, the pair didn't believe him until they saw the imprint through his mind as she wandered aimlessly through the woods.

Jacob was thrilled when he had been pulling on his shoes after he had phased back. It had been days since he had seen Jo or talked to her. As he contemplated how he should approach her, he went with the simplest and quickest way. Jacob just didn't think that it would be enough to scare the living daylights out of Jo. He did get one thing though - he had been able to hold her, even if it was for the briefest of moments. Her discovered that her scent was overpowering up close and her could stare into her eyes for hours if he could.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked her, noticing that she was struggling to quickly put the few strands of fallen pieces of hair back into the elastic that held her pony tail away from her face.

"Jogging," Jo told him, plainly. She wasn't about to tell the guy that the only reason she was in the woods was because she thought she saw something. She was falling for him and he didn't need to know that she was a bit of a weirdo who chases shadows in the forest.

"Through the woods?"

She shrugged and nodded like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Of course. Why not?"

"For one thing, it's not the safest, especially alone. There are no paths out here," Jacob told her, looking around. "There are roots, uneven ground, not to mention dangerous animals."

Jo smirked. "And Quileute boys ready to freak out unsuspecting hikers."

"Yeah, that too."

Jacob smiled back at her, deciding that he rather liked it when she was smiling at him. She had a teasing dimple on her left cheek that he suddenly decided he'd like to kiss. He knew that if she were ever to ask him, he'd do so willingly; that and much more. Letting out a light sigh, partially in frustration that his wolf was demanding more than he knew was acceptable, he clenched his fists and relaxed them before he spoke gently.

"If you're looking for someone to jog with you, I'm free right now," he told her, clapping his hands together once. If anything, he hoped that a bit of exercise would take his mind off of the agony of holding himself back.

Jo shrugged, mentally arguing with her mind before her mouth disobeyed and out came, "Sure."

"Let's head back to the main road," Jacob suggested, as Jo nodded to the idea.

Jo took a step forward, presuming that she was heading in the right direction when Jacob spoke up. "Uh, it's this way."

She turned and saw that Jacob was facing what she originally thought was east. Jo looked up at the sky, searching for the sun's location through the trees above before she scoffed and smiled as she walked up beside Jacob.

"Next time you decide to take a jog through the woods, make sure you have a compass," Jacob told her.

"I guess this is what happens when you don't grow up in La Push," Jo stated as they began to move through the woods together.

Jacob shook his head. "Not necessarily. Most people on the rez would get lost in these forests regardless if they grew up here or not."

"So, what makes you so special? Do you have some sort of Jedi super power?"

Jacob smirked and chuckled. His laugh was deep and Jo found that she rather liked hearing it. "Something like that I guess. We Quileute boys spend a lot of time in the woods. We know it like the back of our hands."

Jacob held up his hand towards her and smiled, before he ducked under a large brush. When she noticed that his larger form was getting held up by the bush, Jo smiled and pushed ahead of him.

"I'll race you back to the road," Jo called out happily, before beginning to sprint.

"What do I get if I win?!"

Jo turned mid-run and laughed at his cockiness. It was obvious to her that he didn't think she'd have a chance. Although from her point of view, she had a good head start.

"Meet you on the main road, Jake!"

Jacob smirked as he pushed himself through the bush, stood up and began to run. She had called him Jake for the first time and it sounded like music to his ears. She was starting to relax around him. Although he couldn't see her ahead of him, he could still smell her in the air and hear her increased heart rate and breathing as she ran. He'd recognize it anywhere.

Jo pushed herself harder than she had in days. She wasn't about to allow Jacob Black the satisfaction of beating her. She could feel the flesh around her scar pull but as long as it wasn't painful, she wasn't about to slow down. A dozen yards to her right, she suddenly saw Jacob run up beside her. She caught his smirk before he moved ahead. She knew there was the thicket to push through before making it onto the road. Hoping that he'd get caught up in it, Jo kept moving. Her smaller size would allow her the chance to crawl beneath it through the grass to make it to the road first. What she wasn't anticipating was that the thicket seemed to not even slow him down. Jo pushed through the thick brush and met his triumphant smile as he stood on the side of the road, his arms crossed in front of him. It wouldn't have been so bad except he didn't seem to be out of breath and while Jo was sweating like she had just run a marathon, Jacob didn't even appear to have just gone on a run. He didn't even break a sweat.

He saw the exhaustion written on her face as she moved up onto the road. Jo was catching her breath as Jacob spoke.

"Are you all right?"

He chuckled when she didn't answer him, but instead Jacob watched as she held up her index finger silently asking for a moment to catch her breath as her chest was heaving. Jo bent over and ran her hand over the ugly scar on her thigh, massaging it before looking up at Jacob.

"What are you? A freakin' gazelle?"

Jacob smirked as he watched her. "Wrong animal. Those live in Africa and we're in Washington."

"Smart ass," Jo quipped with a smirk, before she stood back up straight. Except, she ran her hand over the scar once more.

"You shouldn't have run that hard," he said, walking up to her, watching as she massaged it again. "Your leg is bothering you."

Jo waved him off and stood back up with a smile. "It'll be fine. It's not hurting me. It's just tight. Dr. Cullen did say that it may take a few months before I'm completely back to normal."

Jacob smiled as they began to walk down the side of the road back towards the way Jo had originally came. "In that case, I'm willing to join you on any jogs that you may consider doing, especially if any of them consist of jaunts into the woods."

Jo smiled as a thought came to mind.

"I never did ask you, what were you doing out in the woods in the first place?"

"Besides looking for beautiful lost women?"

Jo smiled and nodded. A blush came to her cheeks. Her mind didn't even register that he knew that she had been lost.

"Dad told me that you had stopped by. I quickly ran to catch up with you."

It wasn't a complete lie. He had overheard her brief conversation with his Dad before he found her.

"You were following me?"

Jacob rubbed his hands together, slightly nervous for admitting that he had been following her. Finally, he nodded as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Jo looked over at Jacob as they walked. She could see that he felt somewhat embarrassed to have admitted that, but at the same time, Jo was grateful that he had followed her.

"Thank you," she told him, causing Jacob to look back at her. Her elbow bumped into his arm as they walked. "If you didn't come after me, I'm sure I'd be halfway to Forks by now."

"Actually, you'd be at the beach with the direction you were going," Jacob corrected her with a smirk.

Jo let out a mock scoff. "That doesn't sound so bad. A day at the beach sounds great."

"But it would have taken you another two hours of walking that way to get there."

Jo shrugged, just as the Black's home came into view. "I guess I really should invest in a good GPS or a compass. My Dad taught me how to use one years ago. I'm sure I could figure it out again."

When Jo began to jog once again, Jacob paused and watched her go, a smile coming to his face before he followed after her. When they reached the wooden porch, Jo caught her breath as Jacob told her that he'd go inside and get them something to drink. Jo nodded and sat down on the step as Jacob closed the door behind him.

"Jake? Is that you?"

Billy's voice floated from down the hallway before Jacob saw his father roll out of the living room.

"Yeah, it's me," Jacob replied, reaching into the cupboards to pull out two glasses before he turned on the faucet to fill them. "I was just running back with Jo."

"I thought you were out on patrol," Billy said, watching his son curiously as he filled the glasses.

"I was," he told him. "Jo was lost in the woods. I was just coming back with her."

Billy nodded, considering his words. "Did Sam tell you? About Jo's father, Michael?"

Jacob turned off the faucet and looked at Billy before he nodded. "He did. I'm not too concerned about her phasing though. Even if she did, she wouldn't be alone."

Ever since Sam had revealed to the pack that Michael Clearwater had been a shapeshifter, he seemed to be keeping a closer eye on Jo. If anything, their run through the forest proved to him that they had nothing to worry about. She had been in La Push for nearly a month and there was no physical evidence that she'd be phasing like her cousins had.

When Billy suddenly cleared his throat, Jacob looked over at him from where he stood at the sink.

"You do know, that because you and Jo both carry the shape shifting gene, there's a pretty good chance that any children you have, especially sons, will most likely be like you."

Jacob groaned and rolled his eyes. "Jeez Dad! I just met her less than a month ago and you're already talking grandkids?!"

"You know, it's going to happen someday, Jacob," Billy argued. "I was just thinking how rough it was for you when you first phased. Your children would have you to look to for guidance and for me, that's comforting to know."

"That's only if the blood suckers stick around for that long."

Billy nodded as he agreed. No one knew how long the Cullen's would remain in Forks, and even then, the possibility was always there that they'd return one day and affect the future generations.

"Just don't wait too long," Billy teased with a smile, much to Jacob's horror. As much as he knew his Dad was teasing, he knew how much he was anticipating the time when he'd have grandkids. Jacob had heard countless times as he spoke on the phone asking his sister Rebecca, when she'd finally settle down and have a family. It seemed that the tables had now shifted and considering that he had found his imprint, it was even more likely that they'd settle down sooner than later.

Jacob was perfectly content on taking it slow. He quickly grabbed the two glasses of water and headed towards the door.

"Sure Dad, I'll get right on that," Jacob quickly retorted sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

Jacob found that talking with his father about his future children had the same uncomfortability level to that as getting 'The Talk' that he had received from him when he had been a preteen. At the moment, Jacob's primary focus was simply on spending time with his imprint, getting her to trust him enough before he opened up the can of worms that would involve altering her entire world when it came to everything from imprinting, to showing her that the legends surrounding their tribe, were true.

Billy smiled at his son's eagerness to leave the room. He wasn't certain if it was due to the fact that he brought up grandchildren or if he was simply eager to return to his imprint waiting for him outside. Regardless, the thought of grandchildren brought a smile to his face.

"Here you go," Jacob said, once he pushed open the door. He handed Jo the glass before he sat down on the steps beside her.

She smiled her thanks as she took the glass for him and took a drink.

They sat in comfortable silence for a minute. Jacob set down his empty glass beside him before extending his legs out comfortably over the steps. Jo could feel the heat practically radiating off of Jacob's bare arms beside her. Oddly enough, as overheated as she was, the warmth was nice and she found herself not wanting to move. But it was getting late and she knew that she had to be getting back home before Sue sent Seth or Leah after her.

"I should keep going," Jo told him, handing him the empty glass. "Aunt Sue is going to be getting concerned if I don't show up soon."

"I can walk you back the rest of the way," Jacob suggested, standing up in front of her. His height towered nearly 6 inches over her.

"You don't have to. It's not that far to go."

"I want to," he quickly said. After a moment he added. "I like spending time with you."

Jo felt her insides flutter once again as he spoke to her. Finally, she nodded. A large smile came to Jacob's face as he told her that he'd quickly go inside and let his Dad know where he was going. Meanwhile, Jo turned and headed towards the street while she waited for Jacob. An odd feeling came over her. She was almost giddy with excitement. She ran her hands over her face. She was falling for Jacob and she knew it. It had been a while since she had been in a relationship with a guy who was interested in getting to know her and someone who she looked forward to simply being with.

When the door opened, Jo turned and saw Jacob jogging towards her. As he came up to her, Jo met his pace and began to jog beside him. As they went, she glanced over at him.

"You have to tell me your secret," she said as she jogged alongside him.

Jacob quickly looked over at her.

What did she just say?

Surely she didn't mean what he thought she meant. Still, Jacob asked.

"What secret?"

"To running," Jo explained as though it was obvious before she looked at the road ahead of them once again. "Because, while I'm jogging along looking like the pathetic before image of a runner, you're looking like the after shot of some sort of cover model for a runner's magazine."

"Give yourself some credit, Jo. You've been injured and I've been running for a while."

Jo smiled. "Well, my new goal is to beat you at a one hundred meter sprint, but you'll have to be carrying both Paul and Embry on your shoulders to make it fair."

Jacob laughed out loud at the image that her statement conjured in his head.

He didn't even realize that they had made it up to the Clearwater's home until he saw Jo a few feet ahead of her turn off into the driveway. She slowed down to end the trek with a walk towards the porch. Her shoulders and chest were heaving once again, but she had a smile on her face as she made it up the three steps.

"That was fun," she said, turning to him.

Jacob stood on the ground in front of her, finding that at that level he was eye to eye with her. He walked up to the porch, finding that Jo was meeting him at the edge.

"It was," Jacob agreed, smiling at her.

"You know, I may take you up on your offer to join me next time I go jogging," she told him.

"It would be my pleasure."

For a moment, neither spoke and Jacob was feeling a pull towards her. He looked into her eyes, watching as a smile came to her lips. His inner wolf was yipping with excitement knowing that Jo was most likely feeling it as well. As Jacob's eyes darted quickly to her mouth before he looked back at her eyes...he paused when he suddenly heard...them. All previous thoughts of closing the distance between them and placing his mouth on her pink lips quickly disappeared knowing that the pack was hidden just beyond the bushes in the woods across the street from the Clearwater's home. He never thought he'd care about someone seeing him kiss Jo, but for the first time in his phasing life, Jacob wished that he could at least have one intimate moment to himself.

He smiled sheepishly at Jo, knowing that she wasn't aware of what was going on in the woods that only he could sense and hear.

"Are you busy on Saturday?" he suddenly asked softly.

Slightly confused as to what had just happened, Jo's cognitive ability seemed to quickly return.

"Uh, I think I'm busy," she replied.

Jacob nodded, feeling the anger rise up in him. He wasn't upset with Jo but at circumstances that seemed to be getting in the way. Still, he pushed it down and smiled at her.

"I'll take a rain check then," he told her.

Jo smiled and nodded before Jacob said goodbye and turned to leave the property.

Jacob jogged along and waited until he knew Jo was back inside the house before dashing into the woods. He was pissed off. Without pausing to change, he phased as skin quickly turned into fur and the remnants of his pants and shoes were instantly shredded. With a low rumbling in his chest, he growled as he stalked up to the group of wolves who'd been watching him and Jo from afar. He had instantly saw their memories the moment he phased, realizing that they had been watching them since they had returned to his own house.

'How come I didn't see them until now?' Jacob thought.

'Probably because you were too distracted with your imprint,' Jared replied upon hearing the unspoken thought.

Not only was Jared present, but everyone was there except for Leah, Seth and Quil. It made sense to Jacob - their patrol times were later that evening.

'Damn Jake!' Paul called out in his mind, before coming up to him. 'Why didn't you kiss her when you had the chance?'

They all knew why yet Paul enjoyed bugging Jacob about it. They knew how sexually frustrated Jacob's wolf had been since he had accepted the imprint. Yet, only Paul seemed brave enough to tease the natural alpha male about it. Embry stood back, not willing to voice his opinion in the matter and Sam simply watched, waiting to see if he'd have to interfere before a fight broke out.

'You know why!? You jerks were watching and I wasn't about to kiss Jo while I had an audience literally breathing down my neck,' he growled back him.

'Probably doesn't help that the last girl he kissed is now a vampire,' Jared chided softly to Embry beside him.

Jacob growled at him, curling his nose and baring his teeth upon hearing the thought, even though it wasn't directed at him.

'Wow, Jake,' Paul quipped. 'Maybe you need to get laid just so you can get those emotions under a bit more control.'

Jacob snarled and backed up, intent to pounce on the other wolf. Paul had gone too far in his opinion. Sam tended to agree with Jacob.

'Enough!' Sam called out from where he stood, watching the pack's interactions. "Paul, get back to patrolling the eastern side of the La Push. Jared, go with him."

He wasn't about to send Jacob with Paul. He'd have to break up a fight before any perimeter checks were done.

Jacob stared at the pair with intense annoyance before they darted off into the woods. Sam walked up to Jacob, eyeing the younger male.

'Jacob, I'm sorry about that,' he thought to him. 'I heard their thoughts and raced over just as you phased. Embry was trying to get them back to patrolling.'

Jacob didn't reply but simply nodded to his leader before looking to his best friend.

'You will get another chance,' Embry told him. 'Jo likes you.'

'Thanks Em,' Jacob replied, although he wasn't feeling any better.

Embry walked up to him. 'I've got your flank.'

Jacob glanced at Sam before running off with Embry close to his heels.

Sam took a quick look towards the Clearwater's home, before chasing after them.

Three and a half weeks since she left, and glass still littered the kitchen floor. The man sat numbly at the kitchen table, staring at the mug of cold coffee in his hand. Beside him, a stack of unpaid bills and junk mail began to get bigger. Dirty dishes rose in the sink and spilled onto the counter. It had seemed that since the day that Jo had left him, everything came to a crashing halt. He didn't intend to loose his temper, again. He had his good days and then he had his bad days, and unfortunately, it had been a bad day. He had tried so hard to hide his sins from her, the things that made him vile and repulsive, even to himself. But Jo being the woman that she was, had gotten too close. She was curious and had asked him too many questions. Threatening her didn't even seem to work. She still left him. He wasn't afraid of what would happen if she had gone to the police; no one would believe her story. The truth was, he felt lost without her; a piece of him was gone. Jo kept him sane in his crazy world. It wasn't always that way. She was always supposed to be a simple pawn in a larger game; vengeance against an entire tribe of people, an entire kind of people. He knew who she was and what she could become. He could almost smell it on her; the magic. Her father had a similar scent. He had left it behind the day he had killed his companion - his first love. That was ages ago, and although time stood still for him, it hadn't for the wolf who had taken the life of his wife. This was long before he fell in love with that man's daughter - Jo; long before he embraced who he really was when the moon was full.

When the door suddenly opened, he looked up.

"Holy shit, Lucas! You're still sulking."

"Go to hell, Jack!" Lucas quickly retorted, pushing the chair out from the table to stand up.

Jack walked into the house, stepping carefully over the shards of glass. His boots still crushed a few pieces as he attempted to make it across the room. He had heard how Jo had smashed the vase over Lucas' head before she left him for dead and took off without a trace, before he came back to his senses. Since that day, Lucas seemed to drown himself in not only his sorrows, but alcohol. Jack knew that it was important that they found her. Although she didn't know much, she had seen enough.

"Did you have any luck in finding her?" Jack asked.

Lucas turned and gave him a pointed glare.

"What do you think?"

Jack ran his hand through his short hair before looking at his friend.

"I think you need to realize that Jo's not coming back and we're not going to be able to track her down now that she's been gone for so long. Her scent is gone. You should have changed her when you had the chance."

"Don't you think I know that!?" Lucas suddenly exclaimed, frustrated at the man telling him things he already knew.

"I knew that it was just a matter of time," Jack stated with a sigh, as he sat down at the table. He picked up the pieces of mail and sorted through them for his friend. "Every time we came back from a few days of hunting, you'd end up bringing something back and this time, you left your shit out for her to see. What happens if she goes to the cops, huh?"

"She won't,"Lucas replied, confidently. "I scared the crap out of her and I'm sure she thinks that I'm coming after her next. Jo won't be saying anything to anyone. Hell, no one would believe her anyways."

When the door opened again, both men stared up at the large, burly man. He ran his fingers through his brown beard before regarding both men before crossing the pieces of glass that covered the kitchen floor.

"Nothing?" he asked the pair.

Both Lucas and Jack shook their heads while he pulled his ball cap from his head and whipped it down at the table.

"Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed angrily before glaring at Lucas. "You had one job! Jo was our only key to tracking down the rest of the family of that bastard who killed Ramona."

"Hank, we've looked everywhere," Jack told him. Although Ramona was Hank's sister, he seemed more intent on getting revenge than Lucas was. After all, Ramona was his wife. "I have a few more of my guys searching out towards Chicago, but I think she went further west than that. We lost her scent around Lansing. Perhaps we should go back out to Montana where her father and his family had initially been when Ramona was killed."

Hank looked at Lucas as he considered the idea. He could see how the man was not only angry at himself for loosing the one token they had to get revenge, but also for the woman he had inadvertently fallen in love with. It made their objective all the more difficult.

"We have to track down her father's pack and destroy them before word gets out about our kind. If word gets out about us, the vampires will come back for us and destroy us like they nearly did a century ago," Hank said. "We need to find Jo Hannigan."

A/N - Yikes! So, what did you think!?

I tossed my little note at the bottom instead of at the beginning. I highly doubt that you would want to read a bunch of mumbo-jumbo from the author right at the beginning...I certainly don't like to...I usually skip it and go right to the story. I'm posting this a day early as a 'please forgive me for being late this past week' so to speak. I usually send out personal messages to the reviewers, but I didn't get a chance to this week. It's been busy.

For those who may ask, I can assure you that Jacob and Jo will have another chance...they'll have a good number of chances. :)

If you've made it this far and actually chose to read my final thoughts, all I'll ask is this...please review!

Muah!