*Ever More*

Jacob's POV

This time when she ran away from me, I didn't even try to stop myself as I followed. I couldn't stop my body from being pulled in her direction. I haven't seen her or have been this close in over a month and trying to resist the constant urge to be near her was too much, even for me.

So I didn't have to think about anything at all as my legs moved and I was running in the direction that she went.

I had been an asshole, a complete and utter asshole. I had been avoiding Naomi like it was her fault the elders were being dickheads, like it was her fault they had an issue with us being together.

She didn't deserve the way I had treated her and I deserved everything that she had said to me.

But with that being said, it still didn't keep me from wanting rip out Paul's throat. She was MY fucking imprint, and even if she didn't know that yet, he damn well did and he still chose to put his hands on her.

She was mine and only I was allowed to touch her like that.

My body quivered every time my mind played back flashes of what I walked in on. I have wanted to kiss those lips for weeks now and feel that soft skin underneath my finger tips and to see Paul doing that exact same thing made it that much harder to bear.

The truth was, I could no longer continue to be away from her, the pain had gotten to be too much and it was turning me into an emotional monster that could not and would not be contained. I was in a constant uphill battle with the council that had me wanting to tear them all apart limb from limb.

They were trying to take everything for me. Wasn't it enough that I was condemned to a life in LaPush until I gave up my position as Alpha, and seeing how it was my birthright, that shit was never going to happen? Yeah, I had started my own business and yes it was successful, even more so than I ever dreamed.

But I had never gone to college; I never had the chance to truly experience what most people my age would have been dreaming about since high school. I got my GED a few months after Bella left but that was as far as higher education went with me. Being a werewolf was already hard enough on your social life, but when you became Alpha that really only left you with only a few options.

I had given up my entire life for my tribe since I was sixteen years old. I had never asked them for anything. I took my fate for what it was and made do with what I had, taking up my rightful duty as Alpha in stride. The one time, the one fucking time, I finally had something worthwhile happening in my life; they couldn't let me have that. After everything that I had given up, they couldn't even let me be happy. To say that I was more than pissed off was an understatement. I didn't risk my life everyday out here for nothing. I didn't stay up way into the night and half the morning to make sure that all was well just so the council could give me their asses to kiss.

No, I was done being the puppet. I wasn't Sam; I didn't hold the council on a holier-than-thou pedestal. The only council member's opinion that matter to me was my Dad's and even he couldn't understand what was wrong with them.

I could somewhat understand their reasoning if Naomi was just some random, normal girl that I had just met. But not only was she my imprint, my goddamn imprint, she herself was a wolf, so she knew all about who I was and the stories of my ancestors. She knew what to expect and was happy either way. But that wasn't enough for them, not only did they want to control what I did but also who I loved. They didn't even give a shit if she was my imprint or not because as Alpha I had an image to up hold and honor.

That image could kick fucking rocks. I was going to do whatever the fuck I please, and I was going to start with making things right with my imprint.

By the time I reached Naomi, she had already phased back and was pulling a tank top over her head and she was exposed to me for a quick second. I was rooted to the spot with an extremely intense urge to touch her and my fingers twitched a little with the need to do just that.

I recovered just in time though to stop Naomi from leaving the trees and I grabbed her by both arms and pulled her into me, her back hitting my chest. She struggled for a minute but then quickly calmed down and I knew she could feel the imprint just as strongly as I was now. I buried my nose in her hair and took in a deep breath, filling my nose with her scent. I almost wanted to bottle up the smell and keep it hidden and too myself.

I moved my nose from her hair and slowly moved down to her neck, smiling when I heard her heartbeat pick up. At least I could still get a reaction from her. I wondered for a minute if she would allow me to kiss her here and no sooner had the thought crossed my mind, I was doing it, gently trailing kisses from her neck to her collarbone. I grinned like an idiot when her breath hiked.

"Please honey; give me a chance to explain". I whispered into her ear and I felt her tremble against me.

Naomi didn't speak for a long moment but she was breathing more deeply now. I wasn't going to push her though, when she was ready to talk, she would. I was perfectly content with just holding her close.

"Why have you been avoiding me Jacob? What have I done that was just that bad"? She asked me quietly and on the last couple words, her voice cracked.

My heart broke.

The hurt I heard in her voice was because of me. The way she was feeling was because of me. I have never felt more like a dick than I did right at this moment.

I turned her around so that I could look at her and was floored when I saw the tears silently falling down her face. Seeing her like that was like someone stabbing a knife through my heart. I never wanted to make Naomi feel this way and the fact that she was made me sick to my stomach.

I used my thumb to gently clear away the tears streaks from her cheeks and then took a moment just staring at her. She wasn't looking at me but I didn't care, I just wanted to look at her face. I would never get tired of just staring at her face.

"Sweetheart look at me". I urged her quietly and very slowly, Naomi lifted her eyes to meet mine.

I gave her a smile and moved some hair from her face.

"I have been an asshole". I started. "I have completely ignored how my absence might affect you and for that honey, I'm sorry. I have been fighting so hard for us that I got caught up and forgot what was really important, who was really important".

Naomi tried to turn her face away from me again but I grabbed her chin gently and kept her staring directly at me. I needed to her to understand.

"There is no excuse for my actions and I don't think I will ever be able to truly show you how sorry I am, but under no circumstances do I want you to believe that me acting this way is because of you, you have been a fucking breath of fresh air for me and I now that I have a taste, I can't let you go".

Naomi still hadn't uttered a word, but she wasn't crying anymore and I could feel her hands move to my waist. She was touching me, which was a good sign.

"Do you believe me"? I asked quietly and to my immense relief she gave me a very soft nod.

I wanted to kiss her but I thought that was a little too much too soon, so I settled with just bringing her close and placing a kiss to her forehead. I felt her hands come up and clasped my back slightly and it took everything in me not to lose it just from her touch alone.

"I have missed the shit out of you and I'm so fucking sorry for acting like a dick". I said, my face buried in deep in her hair. It was so thick and soft. I swear I could close my eyes right now and slip off into a peaceful sleep without trouble.

I pulled away slightly and tilted Naomi's chin up a bit with my finger.

"Please say you'll forgive me". I said quietly bringing my lips close to her own, so close that her sweet breath blew across my face but only enough so that our lips were barely touching.

Naomi gave me a tiny smile and my heart fluttered. I almost didn't want to hope too much for the best.

"I forgive you Jacob". She said quietly and my face broke out in a huge grin and I couldn't help wrapping my arms around her and spinning her in a huge circle.

She laughed and I didn't know how much I missed that sound until I heard it again. When I sat her back down on her feet, her arms remained wrapped around my shoulders. We stood close and I couldn't help but to stare into the beautiful cinnamon colored eyes that stared right back at me. I felt the imprint pull at me hard and I wasn't sure if it was that or if it was me, when I suddenly leaned forward and crushed my lips to hers, catching her off guard with the abruptness of it.

But she didn't stop me and I couldn't have hoped for more.

Naomi laced her fingers into my hair and I responded with enthusiasm, moving my hands to her hips gripping them slightly. I wanted, no needed to make things up to her, really make things right and at this moment all I wanted was to take her home and keep her there, so that I could show her just how much I regretted leaving her alone.

After a minute, we broke away and I just held her, I honestly didn't think I had it in me to allow her to be away from me. I was glad that Naomi had forgiven me and my bullshit, but there was still something I needed her to know.

I needed to tell her about the imprint. And I had absolutely no idea how to do that.

Telling Naomi about me imprinting on her scared the shit out of me because I didn't know what her reaction was going to be. I knew she deserved to know what had happen but the fact of the matter was I just wasn't ready to tell her.

But I had to man the fuck up and just lay it all out on the table.

Slowly, I pushed Naomi away gently by her arms and gave her a reassuring smile when her eyes met mine questionably. I sighed.

"There is something I have to tell you, sweetheart". I said quietly.

Naomi gave me a small nod, urging me to continue.

"What is it Jake"?

I had to smile when she shortened my name. She only called me Jacob when she was mad at me. This meant I was finally on her good side.

Of course that might last too long.

I took in a deep breath.

"The more I'm away from you, the harder it is. Sometimes the need to see you and be near you is so great that I literally have to fight with myself, otherwise I would be at your side all day and all night".

I closed the distance I had created earlier between us and I took both her hands in my own.

"I'm not going to lie to you, at first I tried to ignore it, but now I can't, I honestly really can't".

Naomi was biting on her bottom lip and looking at me with confused eyes.

"I don't understand Jake, what are you trying to tell me"?

I braced myself, it was now or never. I just kept telling myself that she had the right to know.

"What I'm saying honey, is that you are it for me. You are my world, my reason for living, my reason for even existing. You are my everything".

I swear Naomi had stopped breathing and ever so slightly she took a step back. Bad sign.

"Are you saying…."? Naomi stuttered and then stopped. It seemed like the words had gotten stuck in her throat.

I gave her a very subtle nod.

"Yes honey, I'm saying you're it. It's happened. You're my imprint".

Naomi took in a sharp breath and took a few more steps backward, away from me. This was a very bad sign. She placed a hand over her chest almost as if she was trying to calm down her own heartbeat. Her eyes avoided my own as she spoke to me.

"When did this happen"? She questioned softly. I ran a hand over my hair, loosening my ponytail in the process, before I answered.

"Almost two months ago, when you came into the kitchen and saw me kiss Bella".

When her eyes finally connected with my own, there was fire dancing in them and her small frame shook.

"So you mean after all this time, you kept this from me? Why didn't you tell me Jacob"?

There goes the use of my full name again. I knew I was in deep shit then. I took a step towards Naomi and was relieved when she didn't move away.

"I wanted you to make your own choice; I didn't want you to be forced into anything".

I reached out to grab her hand but she snatched it away from my grasp.

"You wanted me to make my own choice"? She asked again. "Jacob, you took away my choice when you decided to keep this a secret. You made my choice for me".

Her words stopped my heart and I felt like shit. I hadn't thought about it in that sense and in more ways than one she was completely right. I tried to reach for her again.

"Honey, I'm sorry, I wasn't really thinking clearly at all when this went down. Everything fucked my head up bad and at the time I really thought it was a good idea. Obviously I know now that it wasn't".

My hands wrapped around her arms and I attempted to bring her close to me again but she moved out of my embrace, a look of pain on her face.

"How do I even know if you really want to be here right now? How do I know that the reason you're here right now is because you want too and not because the imprint is telling you too"?

I shook my head. She just had to know that I was controlling this imprint and NOT the other way around. Things were being done on my terms.

"No honey, that's not even….." She cut me off when she suddenly held her hand up.

"Just stop, Jacob. I need some time ok? I can't even wrap my head around it all. Just give me some time".

I didn't say another word. I just gave her a quick nod. Naomi stood there and looked at me for a long moment before she turned on her feet and started walking away. She stopped right at the edge of the forest and looked at me over her shoulder.

"This is pretty fucked up that I forgave you and still found out you had been keeping things from me. I don't know what to believe now. But I honestly thought we were better than that Jake. I thought no matter what we were going through, we could always go to each other. I guess I was wrong".

She didn't give me a chance to tell her that she wasn't wrong because she was gone that fast. I wanted to hit something. I stopped myself from doing that, but I did let out a frustrated yell.

It was like I take two steps forward only to get knocked right back. I didn't know what to do anymore. Fate was just completely set on making my life hell and so far that evil bitch was doing a fine job.

I couldn't fucking win for losing.

A/N: As always thanks for reading and please review, it will make this author very happy and giddy inside. Plus its my birthday!