The next day we went to the reservation to sift through the remains of Jacob's house. Only the bedrooms had fire damage; the kitchen and living room was destroyed by the water. The important things were salvaged; pictures, documents, and such. I could barely keep myself together and this wasn't even my house. I couldn't imagine being as composed as Billy was while looking through my destroyed home. But he stayed strong; even smiled a few times. How could he not be filled with rage and hate? Jacob kept to himself mostly; though he did display small outburst of anger by kicking or hitting something. I wished I could take this all away from him and make it better. That was beside the point though. The fact was that Sam and his crew ruined Jacob's life and they weren't going to go unpunished.

As Jacob packed up Billy's truck with the last of the salvageable items I saw Sam standing at the edge of the woods watching us. It sparked anger in me and I threw down the burnt piece of wood I was holding and started toward the trees. When Jacob saw what my plan was he grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I struggled against him but he didn't loosen his grip.

"Let it go." Jacob said through his teeth.

"I won't let it go." I said looking up at him.

"Please, Katie. I lost this… I won't lose you."

My heart sank and I finally let tears spill from my eyes. Sam took everything from Jacob; I couldn't just let him walk away after that. Jacob pulled me toward the truck and pushed me inside. He drove us to Forks; where Billy's friend Charlie lives. Billy would be staying there until they found a handicap accessible apartment. Charlie was nice and bared a striking resemblance to Bella which Jacob explained owes to the fact that Charlie is Bella's father. I didn't realize she'd been turned into a vampire so recently.

"This is Bella's old room." It looked like it hadn't been touched in years; a thin layer of dust settled over everything. "I think Charlie still hopes Bella will come back home some day."

"Does he know?" I asked quietly.

"I think he does but he won't admit it to himself. She still visits him a lot, he's got to notice that she hasn't changed one bit in eight years."

I sat down on the bed, sending the dust into the air. Jacob sat next to me and took my hand.

"How are you doing?" He asked me.

"Me? This has nothing to do with me. What about you?"

"It's just a house, Katie. We'll find another place to live."

"You loved it there so much." I said. "It was everything to you, wasn't it?"

He held a small smile. "It was. But I found something more important to fill my time with."

"Jake." I looked up at him. Of course he was looking at me with his warm, dark eyes.

I lost all sense of control and plunged into him with my lips. He smiled against my kisses.

"What?" I asked pulling away from him.

"I was just thinking about how much I wanted you to kiss me and… you did." He smiled again.

"What else were you thinking?" I asked flirtatiously.

He kissed me softly. One of those teasers that was bound to lead to something more and it did. He guided me down on the bed, still sending up dust. I had to quickly break away from Jacob's lips as not to sneeze in his mouth. Of course that would happen to me. But Jacob just laughed and kissed me again. His hand wandered over my body. I shivered more than once when his fingers brushed over my stomach. His movements slowed to a crawl as he traced up my torso. My breath hitched as he gently grasped my breast. OK. Hello, second base. I wasn't prepared for what it would feel like, I felt hot… that made me laugh inside. Jacob opened yet another door for me.

"Oh." The bedroom door opened but quickly shut again. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, Bella." Jacob said sitting up.

"I should have knocked. I'm sorry."

"How about being a little less silent when you're walking down the hall?" Jacob smiled.

"Now, that's something I can't help." She said. "How are you doing?"

"Good." Jacob nodded. "I was just showing Katie around."

"Sure." Bella said with a smile and glided toward the window. "This rooms seeing more action now than when I lived here."

"So, what's up Bella?" He asked her, avoiding the uncomfortable statement.

"Oh. Edward wanted to let you guys know we're leaving for a few days. There's been a lot of mountain lion sightings near a town up north."

"Sweet." Jacob said.

"Jake, we were wondering if you'd mind coming over tonight so we can give you your Christmas gift."

"Christmas gift? I didn't get you guys anything." He seemed surprised.

"We don't need anything, trust me." She smiled then she looked at me. "Have you given Jake his gift yet?"

"No, I haven't." I said with a sideways glance.

"You know what it is?" He asked Bella.

She smiled warmly at me. "You'll love it Jake."

"He'll be there in an hour." I asked her.

"That would be great." Bella smiled. "I should go say good bye to my dad."

Jacob never took his eyes off me. I felt my cheeks burning. With a small smile I looked into his eyes.

"So when are you going to give it to me?"

"After you go to Bella's."

"You're not coming?" He asked.

"I wasn't invited."

"Oh c'mon. You know you're always welcome there."

"I know." I nodded. "How about you meet me back on campus when you're done there?"

"You have to go back to school already?"

I laughed. "I have a couple of days but I have to get my schedule and my books."

"Ugh. This college thing is for the birds." He wrapped his arms around me again.

"Well, if one of us is going to be the protector the other has to earn a living somehow." I pointed out.

"We can just stay as wolves for the rest of our lives."

"And how do expect me to feed our babies if I don't have any thumbs?" I asked humorously.

He smiled and kissed me.

The campus was buzzing with returning students. Logan chastised me for not calling him but shut up when I mentioned the airport incident. He still wouldn't tell me what he was doing there. My dorm neighbor, Jen, popped her head in a few times. She was the same as ever, bubbly and full of energy. After getting my new schedule I went into the packed bookstore. It took almost an hour to get out of there so I called Logan and asked which books he needed to save him the trip. But when I got to his room he didn't answer his door or his phone.

"Excuse me?" I said to the back of a tall light brown hair man.

He turned around and I could see that he was very handsome with green eyes and angular features; he actually kind of reminded me of Edward only less perfect.

"Hi." He smiled down at me. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for Logan Danvers." I said. "Do you now him?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "He's in 8B right over there."

"Oh. I know. I'm his sister. I was just wondering if you knew where he was cuz he didn't answer his door."

"His sister. Um. He didn't say where he was going. Is there something I can help you with?"

"No. I just have to give him his texts." I said.

"My name's Jeremiah." He said smiling.

"I'm Katherine." I said and shook his hand. "So, could you just tell him that I have his books and I won't be delivering them?"

"Of course. Yeah." He nodded and I walked back toward the stairs to exit the building. "Hey, Katherine?"

I turned, Jeremiah was walking toward me.

"Yeah?"

"Are you busy later?"

"I'll be sleeping at some point." I shrugged.

"Do you want to go out for a drink?"

"Oh. Um. I really shouldn't; my boyfriend wouldn't be too happy about me going out for a drink with another guy."

"Boyfriend. Right. I should've guessed you wouldn't be single." He said looking at the books stacked in my hands. "Those look heavy. Do you mind if I help you out there?"

"That's alright. I got it."

"Oh don't tell me you have super strength too."

My eyes widened momentarily.

"Logan can life like a hundred fifty pounds no problem."

Great Logan. What else are you going to show off to your buddies? I couldn't very well "show off" too. I smiled and handed over the pile pf books. I could see his muscles flexing under the weight.

"Thanks." I said and started down the stairs.

We walked across the green toward the girls' dormitory building. He kept up the small talk; I was more focused on getting in out of the cold. He followed me to up the stairs, past all the by-standers with their mouths hanging open. These girls must think I'm a huge slut bringing different guys around so much. I fumbled with my keys while Jeremiah gabbed away about some History class and opened the door wide to let him in first.

"Thanks. Just put them on the desk." I said walking in after him. I was startled to see Jacob standing by the window. "Jake. Hey."

"Hey, Katie. Who's your friend?" Jacob said hotly.

"This is Jeremiah. He lives on Logan's floor." I said. "He helped me bring over the books from the bookstore."

Jacob gave me a look like he knew I was lying then turned to Jeremiah.

"I'm Katie's boyfriend."

"That would explain the hostility." Jeremiah said under his breath to me, not knowing Jacob would hear him perfectly well.

"Well, thanks. Jeremiah." I said holding the door.

"Sure. I'll see you in History." He said.

"Yeah." I nodded. Was that what he was going on about? "Bye."

I closed the door as he left and turned back to Jacob who seemed to be boiling inside.

"What the hell was that?" He asked.

"Exactly what I said it was."

"I know you can carry those books yourself."

"But he doesn't. I was just trying to play my part. Logan's been an idiot and showing off he can lift so I couldn't very well make Jeremiah think I was the same. It might raise questions."

"I don't think that would raise questions."

"Girls don't usually carry around fifty pound loads without having trouble with it, Jacob."

"And he just happens to be in your history class?" He said accusingly.

"Yeah." I said getting bothered by his attitude. "What exactly are you accusing me of here, Jake? Cuz I'm pretty sure I've done nothing wrong."

"Every time a guy talks to you, you make friends with him pretty quickly. I don't think that's nothing."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well… it makes me wonder, sometimes." He admitted.

I practically threw my hands into the air, I was so angry. I turned out of the room and left down the hall.

"Katie." I heard Jacob call me.

I continued out the door and onto the green. He caught up with me quickly, grabbing my hand but I ripped it from him and turned to face him.

"Don't touch me." I warned.

"Katie, c'mon."

"No." I said quietly, I wasn't going to make a scene in front of the whole school. "I agreed when you said you wanted to help me out for that first week, I didn't say anything when you continued to follow me to all of my classes after I'd healed but I won't let you dictate who I can and cannot talk to."

"You're--."

"I'm finished Jacob. If you don't like it… you can leave." I hesitated on that last part. Did I really want him to?

He huffed and walked past me. It took a lot for me to not to turn around and go after him. I swore to myself and walked back to my dorm room. It was cavernous without his presence. I immediately regretted telling him off. I knew Jacob didn't carry a phone so I search through my contacts to someone I knew would see Jacob.

"Yes, Katie?" Edward's voice carried over the line.

"Hi. Will you tell Jake to call me when you see him?"

"He left the see you an hour ago."

"Yeah, he was here… we had a fight and I kind of overreacted." I said. "I just don't think he should be jealous about me talking to other guys. I mean I'm not hitting on them and I don't think I flirt or anything and he's getting all possessive…"

"…OK." Edward wasn't the person to talk to about this.

"Is Bella around?" I asked.

"Hi, Katie. What's up?"

I sighed loudly. "I don't know what to do about Jake."

I told her the whole story; starting with buying my brother's books.

"Just give him some time to cool off. He's scared of losing you. Unfortunately Jacob has had his share of heartbreak and it left him scarred. I don't think he actually intends to treat you like you're only his."

"Thanks, Bella." I said.

"So are you going to come down to see the new place?"

"What new place?" I asked.

"Jake didn't tell you? We bought an old factory outside Forks and we're renovating it for the Pack. So they don't have to move away from their families."

"That's incredible." I said.

"I know. It was Esme's idea. She said she'll miss them all too much if they have to move away."

I was speechless and felt even worse than I had before for being so quick to get angry with Jacob.

"Will you have Jake call me please, when you see him?" I asked her.

"Of course."

"Thank you."

I couldn't concentrate on anything. The part of me that felt badly about blowing up at Jacob was making itself known. I decided to get out of my dorm. I pulled on my jacket and headed into the cold. As soon as I walked out the door to my building I smelled it; blood, thick and fresh on the breeze. I tried not sticking my nose out in front of me to sniff but my dignity had taken a back seat. I got a few wary looks from the passerby but no one truly interested in what I was doing. It followed it to the edge of the woods when another scent mingled with it. A werewolf, one I'd smelled before. I rushed back to the dorms but to the men's this time and pounded on Logan's door. This time he opened it.

"We have a problem." I said giving him a look when I saw that he had a girl in his bed.

"Kat, I'm--."

"It need you Logan." I said. "It's Kyle."

He nodded is head and turned back to the girl. "Sorry, I gotta go do something. I'll call you."

"Loga--." We were half way down the hall before she could finish.

"Where?"

"In the woods." I said as we stepped into the cold. "Do you smell it?"

"Blood." I said under his breath.

We followed it back to the edge of the woods and walked through the trees. We'd only gone twenty feet when we found the source of the metallic stench.

"Fuck." I said, suddenly feeling drained.

He was probably only my age; possibly younger. His clothes were torn in places and drenched with blood. And he was still alive. His eyes were half open with a pleading look.

"He-Help me."

"What happened?" I asked kneeling next to him.

"A w….. a wolf."

I already knew before he said it. I could see the bite marks through the ripped cloth.

"Logan." I looked up at him. "He bit him."

Logan punched a tree, it splintered slightly. This was one of the things we hated about being a werewolf. We couldn't bring this man to the hospital, or fly him back to New York, nor did we have the facility to guide him through the Change… I pulled out my phone again and redialed Edward's number.

"Hello, Katie."

"Edward. I need your help." I said quickly.

"What is it?"

"It's kind of a long story but someone's been bitten, I need to use your house to try to guide him through the Change."

"Uh… yeah."

"Thank you. We'll be there in an hour."

"Would it be easier if we came and got you?" He asked.

Twenty minutes later we were in the basement of the Cullen's house. It was like any other basement, only they'd cleared a space for a cot with a chair next to it. Edward put the young man on the cot and I sat down in the chair next to him.

"What's your name?" I asked him when he was mostly conscious again.

"Caleb." He breathed.

"OK. Caleb. I want you to pay attention to the sound of my voice." I started as Jeremy had with me when I went through my first Change.

I spent hours in that chair, doing everything that I could remember Jeremy doing. I requested that no one disturb me because if Caleb got distracted then it could be lethal to him. I knew Edward would be keeping tabs on us. I did everything I could to coach him through but by about three in the morning I could see him giving up. I encouraged him but he'd lost his will. Caleb made the decision that he'd rather die than go through the pain. I held his mangled hand and tried to sooth him into sleep. I felt glued to the chair and only became aware of anything when someone touched me. I looked up to Logan.

"You did everything you could."

I walked away from him. I didn't want to be comforted. I didn't even bother putting a jacket on as I walked outside, past all the vampires in the living room. I stripped on my way through the snow and Changed quicker than ever. I just had to get away from there.

I ran for hours? Days? I didn't care about time. Someone died because I couldn't help him. Though people who have been bitten rarely actually make it through the first Change, I still felt responsible. After two days on the run I collapsed. Nothing mattered. I didn't know where I was or what time of night it could be. I just laid there in an open field waiting to feel something other than despair. Caleb's eyes were a constant in my mind. He was probably a student at my school but what was he doing in the woods? And what would make Kyle Delaney come to Washington? The latter was easy to answer. Me. If he somehow got wind that I was away from the Pack he'd pounce at the first signal. This wasn't good. Kyle had haunted me for most of my adolescent life. I first saw him when I was fifteen, after my first Change. He'd attempted to kidnap me. That was when we found out just how serious it was that there was another female werewolf in existence. After several attempted kidnappings by several different werewolves my parents stopped letting me out without an adult, they pulled Logan and I out of the social activities we were signed up for, I was shut in the house for almost a year. Of course the moment they let me out again, there he was waiting again. Kyle tried a second time to take me and almost got away with it had it not been for my defense training and my Dad. But Kyle got away; even in his attempts there after. He somehow got away every time.

I was snapped back from my memories by a scent on the wind. I looked into the darkness to see a large dark mass approaching me. I let my head flop back onto the snow when Jacob stepped into the moonlight.

"Katie."

I paid no attention.

"I'm sorry."

He walked nearer to me but I stood up and walked away again. I just wanted to be alone, right? I could see the hurt in Jacob's eyes as he sat down in the tall grass.

"I'll be here when you need me." He said and looked into the sky.

I stayed where I was, finally feeling the cold, and shivered. He was over me almost instantly in his wolf form. He settled down and curled around me. I immediately felt how drained I really was. Against his heat and scent I began to drift to sleep.