EDITED: So I did in-fact notice that one part did not coincide with the other chapter like i expected it didn't. So I edited!

Hey, so this kind of took me forever, and I'm sorry. If anything doesn't coincide with the other chapters please tell me and I will fix it. Thank you. R&R!

14. Dem Wolves do Howl

-Conclusions manifest,

Your first impression's got to be your very best,

I see you're full of shit and that's all right,

It's how you play and guess who gets there every night,

Well now that's over…

-Headstrong ~Linkin Park

I found myself standing in front of the mirror, combing out the tangles in my long brown hair, and taming the slight waves that always came with the humidity, which was abundant today. I looked in the counter under the sink and pulled out the tiny makeup bag that Alice had placed there, a lifetime ago. Riffling through it, I pulled out the tiny tube of ivory concealer and dabbed it under the purple blotches beneath my eyes. I was so awkward at this; it'd been months since I put makeup on. I hadn't dared touch it, when Edward left. It collected dust in the notches in the leather; not disturbed until today. I had to look good…for Jacob. Even if I was still mad at him for kissing me, and for refusing to see me all that time. I still wanted to look good for him.

I looked in the mirror, into the pale girl's reflection and searched for answers in the girls' dull brown eyes. I just wanted to talk to Jacob, but some part of me ached to impress him, to get him to notice me. My heart had sunk so deeply when the mysterious man-like-Edward, appeared in my room. I wanted it back in place, to stop the hurt that still gnawed at it. It was ridiculous that I still ached for the man that turned me down in the most miserable way. I felt incredibly selfish and stupid for still wanting him. But I couldn't help it; I had thought he was the one. That kind of let down, wasn't going to be taken easily, no matter how much pain it continued to cause me in dwelling.

Part of me wanted to move on, maybe. Jacob kissed me. I knew he always loved me, but now it was obvious. But then part of me could not help in comparing him to Edward. They were different, completely different. I loved Edward and I loved Jacob. Jacob could heal my deadened heart, but did I want him to? He wants me, he is right there in arms length; mine for the taking. The makeup would make him like me even more right? He'd think I was beautiful, a covetable object maybe.

I smiled at my reflection. The makeup really brightened up my eyes, made the dull brown look lively, it made me look pretty, and it made me feel pretty too. I would try. I would try to accept Jacob I determined. We'd go on dates, to the movies, kiss each other; love each other.

I wiped the makeup off.

Down the stairs I walked, down to Charlie's outstretched arm that held the door open for me. I threw up my hood as it had started to downpour and walked to the idling cruiser. I got in with a sigh and shut the door with slightly twitching hands, Charlie right behind me.

"Everything all right?" He asked, his eyes out the back window as he pulled out of the driveway.

"Never better."

He sighed himself and flicked his gaze to me, as he drove down the street, "You know you suck at lying right?"

I smiled slightly and hid my widening grin from him, "And I wonder who I inherited that trait from."

He chuckled, "Oh not me. A policeman has to lie a lot."

"Does he now?" I smiled at him, "I think that's against the job description. You know, you're supposed to help people, lying doesn't help people much."

"Sure it does! I had to convince a crazy that, I saw the giant bear too. That sure helped him. Trust me."

"Whatever you say Charlie." I returned my eyes to my lap, thankful that the topic of conversation had switched from my nervousness.

He chuckled and focused on the slick road ahead of him.

I looked out the window, lost in thought. Staring into the never-ending array of gorgeous greens that were the trees, I contemplated exactly what I was feeling. I wasn't really sure. Yes, I had scrubbed the makeup off, so hard that my eyes were not even redder. The truth was, that no matter how badly I didn't want to hurt anymore. I still had hope that Edward wasn't gone forever.

That worried me. Before, I couldn't even think his name. I'd always subconsciously referred to him as 'him'. But now, I thought his name freely. I don't remember when I made that switch. I remember slowly thinking his name, but it certainly didn't come easy.

Ah, it was when Jacob came over when I was released from the hospital. It was a mindless transition.

And it scared me. I didn't want to lose him; I didn't want to forget like he swore I would. I was determined to hold onto the feeling of his ice-cold skin on my mine. How smooth and toxic his voice was when he whispered in my ear. That little lopsided smirk that I loved was slipping from my mind. I tried to think of them, to bring them back to the foremost of my mind. But they pushed back and away from me. He was right; I was losing him. I couldn't picture it quiet right, it was fuzzy, like a grainy image.

I let out a squeal of frustration only to recognize that it was the tread of the tires pulling onto the rough gravel of the Black's house. We were here.

I swallowed back bile and pushed away the thoughts of Edward back into the deepest depths of my mind, where they wanted to be. I needed to concentrate, and well…Edward was distracting.

I dropped my eyes to the gravel, both to protect them from the rain, and to avoid eye contact with Jacob. I wanted answers, but that didn't necessarily mean I wanted to face him.

Charlie walked ahead of me and stood at the dingy white door, splattered with streaks of mud. He waited until a figure opened the door and held it open for him.

The figure and I, stood facing each other, staring. It took me a few moments before I realized that I had stopped moving, feet from the door. The rain poured down on me, drenching me from head to toe.

The figure chuckled and moved into the light, it was Jake. "Come on Bella, I don't bite." He smiled, a smile so similar to my sunny Jacob smile.

"I hope not." I absentmindedly scratched at the spot where the bite lay.

He frowned. "Bella…I need to talk to you."

"I know. So do I. That's why I came here." I moved forward toward the door, but he stopped me in my tracks, with a hot hand on my forearm.

"No," he spoke slowly, "Not here…I need to talk to you…alone."

"No…I want to stay inside." I brushed past him and trudged to the door, I placed a hand on the cool doorknob only for it to jerk out of my grasp. Jake's scorching hand was on my arm again. He pulled me to him and turned me around to face him, I instinctually looked down.

"Bella…" he grabbed my chin and tilted it upwards so that he could see my eyes. I yanked away from him again and returned my eyes to my feet. I realized Jacob wasn't wearing any shoes. Man, his feet were huge…you know what they say about big feet…"Bella." He repeated, shifting his feet uncomfortably to get my attention. I hadn't even realized I was staring at him.

I looked up at him, into the warm pools of chocolate brown, "It's raining Jake."

"Thanks tips." The corners of his mouth drew up into a sly smirk.

I was surprised at how easy this was. It was like the Jacob that had visited me at home after I came back from the hospital was gone. My old best friend had come back and I wouldn't question it. The anger that I had completely dissipated, it was obvious that he had completely forgot about kissing me, forgot about the awkwardness that had surfaced between us, and I didn't care. I didn't want to even bring up the Jake that I had briefly seen, the angry, resentful Jake that never smiled. I didn't have to be alone anymore, he was back. My heart soared and I couldn't help but smile. I punched his arm lightly, but he didn't even budge, "I know its raining Jake!"

"Thank god. I was getting worried Bella, I thought you'd lost it."

I rolled my eyes and started to walk in the direction of the forest, knowing that he'd follow. I plunged my hands into my pockets, craving the relief of body heat. Somehow my needs were met, as I felt Jacob's scorching hot body flooded my own with warmth as he walked beside me. I lifted my ice old hands from my pockets and wrapped them around his forearm. His body stiffened instantly, and he stopped walking, "You're cold…"

My fingers dropped away from his arm and returned to their place in my pockets, "Sorry."

We walked silently; the only sound in the forest came from the gentle swaying of the trees, the patter of raindrops bounce off of the treetops and the crunch of dried leaves under our feet. A log lay on First Beach. Its mossy underside lay facing the sky, while it's side –stripped of bark- faced the ocean. I walked over to the log and pulled off a strip of remaining bark on the log and set it on the moist sand. I lowered myself onto it and pulled my hood over my head to protect my hair and face from the sea mist that rolled off of the water.

Jake sat on the bark beside me, and looked out into the horizon, at the tumbling and crashing waves that stretched on forever. He looked down at me, a smile on his red lips, "Beautiful."

I smiled at him and looked back out at the ocean, "It is beautiful isn't it?" The sunrays peaked out from behind the clouds over the cliffs in the west, and illuminated the tops of the waves as they drew closer to the cliffs. The effect that it gave was serene and out of this worldly.

I could feel his gaze on me, so I returned my eyes from the ocean to him, "I wasn't talking about the water." He whispered.

I laughed, I actually laughed, "Are you trying to hit on me Jake?"

He smiled at my laugh, but it was a weak one that didn't reach his eyes. He was.

"I'm still not over Edward you know."

He sighed and ran a hand through his wet hair, "Why?"

"What does that mean? I'm in love with him Jake. I love him."

"No you don't…" He mumbled.

"Yes I do Jake."

"He left you Bells, he's gone. He doesn't love you, if he did he wouldn't of left."

I shook my head mechanically, to shake off the rush of emotion, "I'm not talking about this with you."

"Yes, yes you are. This is exactly what I wanted to talk about." He moved so that he sat in front of me, "Do you remember what I told you a few nights ago?

"You're a werewolf." I wanted to talk to him about this, but I was still surprised at how easily the words rolled off my tongue.

He breathed an audible sigh of relief, "You remember."

I nodded.

"Are you scared?" He bared his teeth at me, "Aren't you afraid I'm going to kill you?"

I simply shook my head with a smile on my face, "No, you haven't yet, and you saved me, why would you save me if you were just going to kill me afterward. And Edward was a vampire."

He said nothing for a few minutes then, "What! YOU KNOW," He yelled, the birds in a nearby tree cawed at us and flew off.

"I know," I replied simply.

"HOW!"

"I figured it out. I told him and he filled in the pieces." My heart ached just thinking about the moments in our past that we shared together.

"But he never told you about me?"

I shook my head, "No he never mentioned you…it was you in the meadow wasn't it?"

"What? When you were dying from when the leech nearly killed you? Yeah it was me."

I nodded and traced the outline of the scar on my forearm, the one that James had given me almost a year ago. The first time that I had almost died, and the second time that I'd almost ever died from a vampire was all done from the same vampire. "Edward killed him," I said while still looking at the scar.

"Who?"

"James, the vampire you killed."

I could see him from the corner of my eye, he was staring at me confused, "Did you just hear yourself? If he killed him then obvios-"

"I know Jacob-" I interrupted, "But he killed him, he told me. And it was James in the meadow, I know it was."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I don't know Jake!" I had to get it off my chest. I had to tell somebody, but Jacob was the only one that I could really talk to. I wanted to tell him all about the vampire that had come to my room. The one that told me that it was James that had attacked me, like I had expected all along, but never truly believed it. I looked back at the scar on my arm, and stared at it. Edward had told me that he killed him, said that he watched the body turn to ashes on the ballet studios floor. But then Jamison had told me that, the attack from James was a warning that they hadn't killed him, that worse was to come for me. How had Edward seen the body go to ashes if James was still alive. Nothing fit together! One of them had to be lying. But it was James, now that my suspicions had been confirmed, I was sure about it. It was James that had nearly killed me in the studio and the one that had nearly killed me in the meadow, "I-I.."I wanted to tell Jacob all of this, get an opinion. I wanted him to tell me I was crazy, that he was really dead all along. Something. But my mouth just couldn't form the words that I wanted to say. The words sat on my tongue, waiting to be thrust from my mouth, but I couldn't. I said nothing else.

He lay back on the sand; the sand immediately clung to the strands of hair on his head, "Well he's dead, I won't lie."

I looked back out at the ocean. The sun had sunk down to a break in the clouds on the horizon, which sent pink streaks out onto the water, making the water look even more beautiful. We sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes.

"I imprinted on you."

I looked down at him when he spoke. The rays of pink graced his features with their soft light. I had never really noticed how kind of beautiful he was. He was not Edward beautiful. Edward was angelic and surreal in beauty, while Jacob was raw and human. Jacob paled in comparison with Edward, but he wasn't any less. He was equally beautiful, just in a different way. He caught me staring and pulled me down to him. I fell on top of him, and scooted off of him nearly instantly. His features sang with disappointment.

"What's imprinting?"

He sat up and leaned on his elbow, "Imprinting is like a wolf finding his soul mate. When he imprints the one that he imprints on becomes his whole world. That's not figuratively either. As soon as he looks…or she looks into the imprints eyes, it's not gravity holding him to the earth anymore, it's her. The wolf can be anything the girl needs. A friend, a brother, or a lover. He'll never leave her and they share an unbreakable bond. One that they both can't resist." All of his features lit up when he spoke. His eyes sparkled and he smiled that sunny Jacob smile, the one that always put a smile on my face, but not this time. I just stared at him, "And I imprinted on you."

I continued to stare; I was speechless, "What if that's not what I want?"

The smile slipped off his face and replaced with an expression that I presumed one that a boy who just watched his puppy get killed, "But…you, I-I…" He couldn't get the words out, he just stared at me, "Bella you don't understand."

I stood up, "I understand perfectly fine! I have to write off my life, just because I'm perfect for you. But guess what Jacob Black, you're not perfect for me, Edward is. And just because he's gone now, doesn't mean I will just give up and move onto you. I don't work that way." I walked back into the forest, no sound of his footsteps indicated that he was following me. I felt empowered and slightly ashamed for my actions. I know that he had always been in love with me, but making up an absurd lie just to get him me to love him, wasn't going to make me love him in return. I did to him, exactly what he did to me at the movies all those months ago. Left me alone and confused. I had missed him terribly, now he could do the same. After all, he hadn't even made an effort to see me, until I had almost died.

I stalked through the forest, feeling the crunch of the deadened leaves and greenery under my feet. I didn't trip once. I walked to the squad car parked in front of Billy's house and got into the car, and slammed the door behind me. I started it up and pulled out of the driveway and onto the road and drove quickly off.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins from yelling at Jake, making my heart beat quickly and beads of sweat to form on brow. Since when had I become so badass? I stole a squad car, yelled at my best friend and now I was speeding down the highway with said squad car. I liked it.

Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' came on the radio and I cranked up the volume. I howled along with the music. My howls perfectly matched the howls from the realistic howls in the music. Howling perfectly must come with being a badass.

From the corner of my eye I seen flashes of white appear in the ditch. But I ignored it. It was getting late and I had been driving for quiet some time by now, with the music blaring, it was fairly normal for your vision to mess with you.

Again. In the dark trees, a flash of unmistakable white; I watched it until it disappeared. Suddenly a crushing force slammed into the truck. Before I even knew what had happened I was pressed against the roof, blood streaked over my cheeks and into my eyes. I gasped for a lungful of air, only to be rewarded with a lungful of dust and gasoline smelling odors. I was in an immense amount of pain, I wanted to scream for help, but my throat wouldn't corporate.

The mangled door of the cruiser flew off and a man with glowing pale skin smiled down at me. His fang like teeth gleamed in the moonlight.

Missy :)