I don't own Twilight.

Part II — Jacob Black

My father dug out blankets that hadn't been used in years. My favorite one as a kid — with train engines spotted all around it — was right on top and I was fingering the material lightly. Whenever I was sick, this blanket made everything feel better.

Too bad, nothing could possibly make me feel better.

Let's make a checklist:

1. My best friend and Imprint, Renesmee Carlie Cullen is the most amazing girl in the entire world. Not only have I completely fallen in love with her, but she remains to be everything that is good in the world. Side note: She was kidnapped by the Volturi and there is no way that I'm going to save her. Which brings us on to point two …

2. My second-in-command, my Beta, and one of my closest friends, Leah Clearwater is nowhere to be found. It's like she disappeared off of the face of the freaking planet. Side note: That's all my fault, by the way. I had called her out, called her selfish, and used her greatest fear against her and now she's gone.

3. The Triplets of Death, AKA three of the most ruthless vampires of the Volturi, know that I was planning on saving Ness, so they basically threatened everything I love in order for me to keep my little mouth shut. Side note: It worked.

4. I've been sitting here for three days, all alone. Side note: I deserve to be.

November

December

January

February

March

Sometimes, I like to believe that the good Lord above has given me the gift of numbness. Over the past four months, I've been able to survive not having any one.

The pack didn't leave me. Seth is still headstrong and loyal to me. He's always offering to go somewhere, see some movie, or just do something just to get me to leave my house. I always refuse. The other guys leave me alone to my misery.

I hardly went into my wolf from for fear of running into conflict. There wasn't a point of arguing with anyone about why I had just basically stopped living the past four months. There was no point in their pep talks because it didn't matter.

Nessie wasn't here.

Leah was gone.

And I was all alone.

I got up out of bed and my legs groaned in protest. My head started to spin so I sat back down on the edge of my bed and quietly rubbed my temples, swearing curse words that would surely put me in hell. Of course, I assume that's where I'm going anyway.

Right now, it doesn't really matter.

There's this picture of have of Nessie that I keep on my nightstand. She was around 'five' years old when I took it. She was dressing up as Papa — as in Carlisle — for the day with her many jeweled bracelets and fake doctor supplies. Bella had taken a picture and sent it to me over email. They had gone to Alaska for a few months and I had to stay behind.

I remember saving it to my flash drive and rushing over to Leah's just so I to beg if she'd print it off of her computer. She had and …

Well, never mind. I guess it doesn't really matter now.

My stomach rumbled so I went to the kitchen. I could hear Dad watching a basketball game in the living room. We didn't really talk much now. After that day so long ago with the Triplets of Death, I'd given him back the ring. I couldn't keep it.

Renesmee might not even be coming home. I grabbed a bag of chips and a soda and headed to the back porch. It was raining so I sat under the roof and ate slowly, looking into the woods. "Hey," said a voice from behind me.

I looked up, not surprised to find Wendy leaning against the doorframe. She was smiling lightly. Though her voice was carefree, her golden eyes were hard. Since the day after my confrontation with the Triplets of Death, she had visited me every few days, probably making sure I didn't commit suicide or something.

Austin came occasionally but he got a job after they realized that if they wanted to stay in order to see Nessie come home, they had to actually stay here. And they only brought so much money from their home in Arizona.

I nodded in reply and continued to stare out at the open field. A couple deer were standing, their heads swaying to and fro as if looking for danger. It didn't really matter if they sensed any that is because the vampires were faster.

They would catch them.

She tossed me a brown paper bag I hadn't noticed she was holding and came to sit down beside me. She didn't look at me; instead, she watched the deer with a practiced look.

"There's a cheese sandwich and some chips in there," she said. "I can't cook worth a crap so it's cold. I used to like meatless sandwiches when I was human." She glanced at me and I nodded, smirking.

I unwrapped the paper and it crinkled loudly in the quiet atmosphere. I grabbed the sandwich out of the plastic baggie and took a big bite out of it. Though it wasn't cooked, it still wasn't too bad and settled my stomach.

Swallowing, I looked over to her and dropped my hands, setting the sandwich down on my lap. "So, what's up?" I asked.

Her look sent shivers down my spine. She was staring at me with sad eyes; I felt like I was plunged into a golden river and was drowning. "Jake, it's been four months of waiting. You would think that she'd be released by now."

Her face appeared in my mind before I could stop it.

My teeth started grinding together. Bile rose in my throat and anger ran through my veins like acid. "I suppose" was the only thing I could say without saying something wrong.

She rolled her eyes.

"It's wrong for us to be sitting around here doing absolutely nothing to help her," her voice was colder which was such a contrast to her normally sunny personality. "Four months she's been all alone with enemies. And we've been sitting around, making cheese sandwiches, and staring at photographs for too long."

I looked at her and she gasped lightly; she could probably see the pain I tried to hide from everyone, the envy for her hope I couldn't conjure up.

Four months without seeing Renesmee was too long for anyone here. But especially for me. She was my Imprint; she was everything to me. She was just as important to me as breathing, as eating, as drinking, as living.

She was gone … and I knew that if she didn't come back soon, she'd never come back. Perhaps she was happy with the Volturi; maybe she found some good there. Perhaps they already killed her.

I swallowed, forcing myself to stop.

"I know," I whispered. She rested the palm of her hand on my knee in comfort. I could feel the icy contrast of her skin through my sweat pants. Shivering again, I looked over to her. My dark eyes rested on hers and we stayed like that for awhile.

Finally, she spoke.

"We must do something," she told me.

"There is nothing we can do," I immediately contradicted. "If we breathe wrong the Triplets will kill her. At least this way there's a chance she's still alive."

I could hear Wendy's teeth clamp down together. She looked at me with loathing, though I knew it was for the truth, not actually me. Wendy wasn't the type of person to hate something or someone.

"But you don't want to wait around," she concluded.

No, I answered internally. Out loud I said, "Yes, I must wait around. I must go on, day after day without my Beta and without Renesmee. It's the only way that she will survive. I tried to confront the Triplets and they threatened everyone and everything I loved. I can't put those people in harm's way again."

Wendy stared at me.

"That's not what I asked," she said. "I didn't ask if you had to wait around, I asked if you wanted to. There is a difference, last time I checked."

She smirked and I looked away, back to the field. It was raining slightly; I could see it in the trees. There was a slight pitter-patter on the roof. Rushing water went out the drain by the house and into the grass. However, we remained dry under the porch.

"I know," I answered. "I course I don't want to sit here twiddling my thumbs while Nessie could be in pain, could be in danger." I was puking words and I so desperately wanted to stop. I had never shared my pain with anyone since Leah disappeared from La Push four months before. I hadn't wanted to. I still didn't want to but I couldn't manage to stop.

"I want to save her," I said, "like Prince Charming. I want the noble steed, the shining armor, the sword." When I glanced, she was smiling lightly. "But that won't happen, Wendy. This is reality, not some fairy tail. Taking action will only condemn Nessie to death."

Frown.

Then, as if finding some kind of resolve, she started to nod. "Well," she wiped her palms on her jeans, a practiced human movement. She stood up and headed to the door. "I suppose I'll talk to you later, Jake."

I didn't stand up after her. She knew her way out, I reasoned. There was no reason to burden myself.

"Yeah, see ya."

She turned around sharply, as if to stomp away. Then, as if rethinking, she turned back around and stared at me neither with hate nor love. She was blank, emotionless. And somewhere inside me that frightened me. Wendy was never just nothing.

"The day before you left our house that time so long ago when you were actually taking action with protecting Ness," she said, "she asked me if I knew some of the signs that indicated you were really in love with someone. I asked her a bunch of questions I used to ask myself about other guys. Does he like to spend time with me? Does he want me around his friends? Does he notice other girls?"

My eyes widened, showing more emotion than I had in months. So this is where she came up with those absurd questions. All those questions seemed to be the type she never had to ask because we were so close. Because she was everything to me.

"And then I met Austin," she went on. If she had noticed my reaction, she didn't say anything. "And I realized that those questions didn't matter because if you were really in love with someone, the answers would be automatic. Yes. The only thing that mattered at that point was whether you lived to see him smile."

Don't worry, she's not going anywhere.

"And when I asked her she said yes."

Yes. She said yes.

"She loves you, Jake. Not like a sister would love her brother, or a niece would love her uncle, nor a daughter would love her dad. She is truly, I-want-to-be-with-him-forever in love with you." Her face had lit up with radiance from her words.

She was encouraging me to do something and I wanted to. More so than I had in months.

But I couldn't.

"And I can see that you love her with more passion than a normal werewolf." Someone obviously explained imprinting to her, though I hadn't. "You're not tied to her just because of imprinting. You're tied to her because you've double, no, tripled knotted the strings together."

Then, like a flash, she was gone and across the treaty line.

That night, Friday night, I needed a distraction.

The pack had continued to go to the pizza parlor in the middle of town every week for a pie and a night out. They had invited me on numerous occasions but I always turned them down because I didn't think I could handle it. Since Nessie had turned 'twelve' she had been going with us to the parlor. Now that I didn't have her, I didn't want to go places that reminded me of her.

Since that was everywhere, I decided to avoid the places I wasn't required to go to.

However, mulling over what Wendy had told me on my bed was getting old … and painful. So, I called Seth up and asked if they were still on for the pizza parlor.

"Duh!" he replied loudly, a smile evident in his voice. "Of course we're going. Why would we be? The weather?" He laughed at his own joke. I glanced out the window and saw the water splashing against the window.

I chuckled humorously and Seth went quiet at the other end of the phone.

"So, are you going to go?" he asked.

I started to nod but realized that he couldn't see me. Wow, I was getting stupider by the day. "Yeah, I think so," I replied. "I need to get away for awhile. Go somewhere, hang out with friends, you know. Stuff. Fun stuff."

There was an audible gasp at the other end of the receiver. "Someone alert the media!" Though he was yelling his voice was muffled like he was yelling at someone in the room. I bet he's at Sam's, I thought. All the guys still hung around there.

"The Jacob Black is going to make an appearance tonight at Joe's Pizza!" Seth continued yelling. I rolled my eyes.

There was a cheer in the background.

"Okay, that's enough," I growled. "Shut up, Seth."

"Shutting."

I smiled lightly. I told him this often and he always listened. Though as a human he had more freedom from me, his Alpha, he always listened to me with unlimited loyalty. It warmed your heart in a way. However, in other ways, it was annoying as hell.

"I'll see you later then," I said.

"Yeah, okay. We'll meet there around eight."

I hung up the phone and tossed it back on my night stand. Glancing at the clock, I knew I only had about an hour until I had to be there, but I was pretty content just lying here, staring at the ceiling. After all, when I wasn't running my shift, I was lying here and staring at the ceiling.

Wouldn't want to break tradition, after all.

A good fifteen minutes later, I finally started moving. I got up, replaced my sweats for a pair of loose jeans; my old, holey shirt I swapped for a plain, hole-free blue t-shirt. On top of that I put a brown jacket. I raked a hand through my hair, checked myself in the mirror.

Happy with myself, I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.

I drove the Rabbit there because I wanted to stay dry and if I went in wolf-form that never would have happened. When I pulled into the parking lot, it was packed with the guys' cars. They all must have had the same idea as I did.

I ran inside the place and shook most of water out of my hair before I was pounded by my pack. They grabbed my clothes and wrestled me, pulled my hair but it didn't bother me.

They were my pack. I was used to it.

We all got settled more or less. Seth, Paul, Embry, Quil, a couple of wolves I didn't know well enough to name, and Sam all sat around a big table. They sat me down at the head of the table and passed a pitcher of soda.

They had already ordered so I watched while they chatted about random things including the upcoming basketball tournament and their Imprints.

Rain fell relentlessly outside. Seth tried to talk to me but I kept my answers short and after a while, he gave up. I didn't want to seem so rude but I was perfectly fine with just sitting here, surrounded by my pack, my friends.

A while later after the food had been devoured, Sam got up, his seat screeched loudly on the floor. He said something about going home because Noah, his son of about two years, was waiting for him to tuck him into bed.

I smiled lightly, standing up with him.

"I think I'm going to head out too," I said and grabbed my jacket. The boys nodded and all shook my hand roughly.

Seth slapped my shoulder and whispered, "See you on patrol tonight?" I nodded and smiled at him. He was such a sweet kid. I had always liked Seth when we were human and his loyalty to his friends and the pack never ceased to amaze me.

Outside, the rain had calmed down a bit. March wind nipped through my jacket and, despite my heat, I shivered.

I bid Sam goodbye and headed over to the Rabbit. The door opened with a whine like it did since I bought it when I was fifteen. Inside smelled like old leather, dirt, and rusting metal.

Pulling the keys out of my jacket pocket, I stuffed it into the ignition and turned. It groaned in protest but started. Good little Rabbit, I thought, proud of my car. It had been with me through everything.

It was like a companion, though it was an inanimate object. When I had turned into a werewolf for the first time, it was my precious Rabbit that I worked on hours on end to accept my fate. When Bella picked Edward over me, I drove for a long time in here, mulling over my life, my choices.

When Nessie was 'four' years old, she wanted to see the ocean from a really high place. And with her parents' permission, I had driven out to the cliff Bella had jumped off of nearly ten years ago.

She looked over the side and begged me to take her diving someday. Of course I said I would and I had kept my promise. I said when she was eighteen — the real eighteen or not, I hadn't really specified — I would take her. But not a day sooner.

She had complained but eventually accepted it. Every few months, when she had another birthday, we'd go and sit there and talk for hours. Then we would head over to Emily's and she'd get her birthday party over there. There was always cake and ice cream and at least big ten smelly guys, Leah, and all of the Imprints. We had a big campfire and told ghost stories until midnight: the latest Nessie could stay out.

Good times, I mused, pulling out onto the highway. Water sprayed from big potholes and up onto the window but I wasn't worried about hitting anyone. This road was totally abandoned.

Memories plagued my mind again.

Nessie wanted to find our own special Cliffside because we couldn't go the big cliff everyday. So, after a long afternoon of exploring, we'd found the one over looking the ocean, with high waves and soothing sounds.

She used to go there everyday until we had to move so she could actually go to school. Every few months, we'd move somewhere new and she missed the Cliffside all the time. But finally, when we came back for her sixteenth birthday along with Sue and Charlie's wedding, we sat out there all night, talking about random things that I could never remember but meant everything in the world with me.

The Cliffside was the place she went when she was upset.

It was the place she told me about Michael, and where she told me about her break up with Michael. It was the place she loved to sit and stare down at the water. It was the place when I realized how much one person could mean to another.

Before I knew where I was going, I pulled into the Cullen's driveway. Lights were on in nearly every room and all ears perked when I stopped the car. I hadn't been here in a few weeks and I'm sure my presence had disrupted the Force or something.

I parked the car and before anyone could talk to me — Bella and Edward included — I was out and running to the Cliffside. That was the most I had ever thought about Nessie in a long time and the emotion I felt was unbearably painful.

Swallowing roughly, I collapsed on the ground. I felt a big root stabbing my back but it didn't hurt too bad. Out here, no one could hear me. Not the Cullens and not the Triplets.

I heard the waves crashing and water spray up on the rough rocks. The moon up above was covered partially by the rain clouds. I watched thoughtfully and made my mind focus on my surroundings out not on the past.

"You know, you're getting pretty predictable," said a voice from behind me. It was feminine and vaguely familiar, though I hadn't heard it in a long time. I didn't plan on looking to see who it was though. I was tired of people. Maybe she would just go away if I didn't respond.

The woman sat down beside me. She must have known me because her knees knocked against mine in a familiar way. "This is the first place I looked. And I wasn't even in wolf-form to smell you or anything."

I looked over.

A curved face stared back at me. Dark eyes caught mine and I could see them reflecting in the moonlight. Her full lips parted at seeing my face in a smirking manner.

Leah Clearwater was the one sitting net to me.

"Miss me, Alpha Omega?" she asked.

My head cocked to the side in confusion. Then, I rolled my eyes and looked back out at the ocean. She snorted but joined me. For a long while silence enveloped us in its tranquil presence. And then I spoke.

"Where the hell have you been, Leah?"

"What, no jokes?" she countered, knocking her knee against mine. Our feet were dangling over the edge. Below, the waves crashed relentlessly. She noticed I wasn't going to reply and then said, "Okay, awkward silence over. I went up North for awhile. I was looking for the real werewolves."

My head whirled and for a second, the blood made my head pound. I ignored it and looked at her dumbly. "You — did — what?"

She laughed and looked at me.

"You sound like its crazy. After I left, I ran around for a long time, sometimes human and sometimes werewolf. I can see why you wanted to break away from Sam's pack — well, besides the vampire thing. It's nice not having voices in your head. It makes everything a lot more peaceful."

I chuckled under my breath. The good thing about Leah was, I guess, that she didn't mind telling you how it is. She didn't mind making you feel bad because you probably deserved it. And I totally deserved everything she threw at me.

"Did you find them?" I asked.

She nodded. "I found one. His name was Luke. He took me back to his pack and, after I transformed in front of them, they finally believed me. It seems there aren't even any female werewolves either. I am definitely one-of-a-kind. At least that's what every guy there told me. They all thought I was hot." She winked and laughed.

"Yeah, you're a real catch," I smirked.

She rolled her eyes.

"They taught me some stuff and let me stay with them. I decided that I liked being away for awhile and stayed longer than I planned to. By the end the Alpha, Roland, wanted me to become his wife but I told him no. That I had someone waiting for me out there, somewhere."

Her Imprint, I thought.

"But the offer was still nice," she concluded and looked back out of the ocean. "And I've been thinking about a few things since I was gone …"

Her face was serene but her eyes were troubled. "I think I know a plan to defeat the Triplets." I opened my mouth to explain what that was impossible but she cut me off with the wave of her hand. "I know what happened," she said. "I stopped by the pizza parlor and Seth told me all about it. I know that you've given up everything. Your hope is gone, your ambition is gone. And it's all because of little old me."

I shook my head. "It's not your fault," I said hardly.

"I know," she replied, "but if I had stayed with you, we could have made through it. I was just so angry because everything had been going so well that I didn't stop to think about what you were going through. I just didn't understand. And I still don't understand."

Last time I saw her we got in a screaming match. I had said horrible things to her about the fact that she had no one and that she was all alone. The familiar feeling of guilt rose in my throat, choking off my words.

After I recovered I said, "I apologize." She glanced at me. "I'm sorry about what I said to you. It was wrong and totally uncalled for."

She smiled. "You're forgiven," she said quietly. "And I'm sorry that I called you a bastard without leadership. It wasn't true. I was just angry." I nodded and told her the same she had told me.

"Now that that's out of the way," she laughed. "I need to tell you that sitting around and waiting is totally not my style." She turned around; her left side now faced the ocean. Her long hair blew in the sudden breeze. "We can't sit around and wait until Little Princess returns from the underworld. We've got to get her now."

My head started to shake. "We can't, Leah."

"What do you mean 'we can't'? We are more than capable in fighting three vamps without them letting the Volturi know. We can do it. We just have to think of a plan first."

I couldn't will myself to hope for a plan. I couldn't do it. I couldn't risk my family, Nessie, or the Cullens like that. If any of them got hurt, it would kill me. Because it was would be my entire fault.

"We have to wait. I want to save her …"

"Then go get her!" Leah yelled at me as I stared at the dark ocean below. "You can't just keep waiting! You've been through so much, Jake!" She grabbed my chin with her rough hand and pulled so I looked her right in the eye. "You were lucky enough to imprint on someone … go get her. She's needs you. She's waiting."

I looked at her.

It was in that moment that I realized that the past four months had been useless if I was ever going to see Nessie again. Alice had said her future wasn't good; did that mean that she could see it, all the way to the end? Yes. It meant that I hadn't gone after her.

And, in that moment, I wanted her future to be unknown again. Because that meant she was with me. It meant she was safe. It meant she was home.

It was in that moment, when I was staring into Leah's eyes with such intensity, that I realized moping around wasn't going to save Nessie. The only way she was ever going to home was if I went out there and got her.

If we went out there and got her.

My head started nodding automatically. She smiled under my gaze. "There he is," she whispered. "There's my little Jakey poo. Finally. I didn't know if I could bring you back from the zombie stage."

I grinned and it hurt my cheeks in a good kind of way. "What's on your mind?"

She broke her gaze. "I'll tell you," she said her voice full of uncertainty, "after you take me back into the pack. I don't have to be Beta or anything. I just don't want to be alone again. Though it was nice, it being quiet and all, after a while, the silence makes you crazy."

My smile warmed with her words. "Welcome back, Beta," I said.

She looked up at me through her lashes and her eyes read confusion. "I didn't pick anyone else to take up the role," I explained, "so it's free. If you want the position, you can have it." She nodded once and then I turned my body completely to face her.

"Okay," she said, "here's what I'm thinking …"

A/N — First off, look up the song "Running Away" by Midnight Hour, the song I named the chapter after. It's a beautiful song!

So, not-so-funny story. As soon as I updated on Wednesday, I started to freak out a bit. I promised you all this chapter earlier than I usually update. And then I realized that I couldn't find my precious flashdrive that I had been saving all of the files of the next three chapters.

I searched and searched and searched … and couldn't find it.

Long story short, I nearly made myself sick with trying to find the dumb thing and it happened to be down a hole in my bag. Like the silky part ripped a little and it fell in there. Oh gosh, I nearly died. XD.

Anyway, the chapter! Did you all enjoy it?! I enjoyed writing it! Haha, again, no previews this time just because I'll be updating Sunday!

Please review!

-Liz