CHAPTER THIRTY - SEVEN

(JPOV)

The harsh breeze was brisk and the feel of Fall's changing season was strong in the air as I ran to meet Leah for Patrol. Having her back with us over the last three weeks had proven to be a challenge at first. Her thoughts slipping to places they shouldn't and her apologies sincere and heart felt for it. Being privy to each other's thoughts wasn't always a bonus when it came to pack life. Some things should be kept to just yourself and not spread around to your fellow brothers.

Leah and I couldn't avoid each other, it was impossible. I was her Alpha. She was one of my own and had saved Bella and Paul from Violete that night. Her arrival had been unexpected and key to their safety. I owed her greatly for it. I cared for her well being just as much as any of the others. Awkward at first or not, it was my duty.

I arrived at the lumber yard to see her already in wolf form and patiently waiting.

"Ready?" I asked.

She huffed and arose from her waiting stance. "Yea. Thanks for letting me swap shifts."

"No big deal."

We took off for the East side river's edge. The sun shining brightly through the clouds as we ran.

"How's Bella?" She soon asked, her speed near matching my own.

"She's ok." I replied, my thoughts flooding with the memory of her and how timid she'd become at just leaving the house.

Leah read this from my mind and pitched in her two cents. "Maybe she should get some help. A counselor or something."

I huffed and glanced in her direction when we stopped by the river for a drink. "And tell them what?"

"True. I hadn't thought of that." She laughed. "Well she needs to talk to someone. I mean girls gotta get out of the rut she's in."

Talk to someone... Yeah.

We hadn't even talked yet.

This weighed heavily on my shoulders as we ran the border. Leah trying to gain ground and race me. Her light hearted spirit refreshing. I pretended to lag behind a bit and then passed her with a rush of wind.

"You ass!" She laughed.

"Hey now!." I chuckled in reply, whirling around to face her. "You should know better than to take me on."

"Oh please... Ego much?" She teased, stopping herself next to me.

"I've always been faster than you. No ego here. Just fact."

"So full of yourself. That hasn't changed."

"You have though." I replied, glancing her way.

"Me?"

"You seem happy, Lee."

"I am. It's nice to be back for a little while."

"So tell me about this guy that Seth talks about so damn much?"

"His name is Joshua and he's pretty awesome."

The genuine tone she said this with made me know it was true.

"Good." I replied and took off for the West side. Leah running on my heels and a comfortable silence settling over us.

The hours passed and soon night was lingering just around the corner. We ran to the lumber yard where we were set to meet Brady, Jared and Collin for the trade of shifts.

"They better not be late." I huffed Leah's way, glancing around the cluttered yard and waiting.

"Meeting Bella?" She asked.

"For dinner... an important one." I sighed.

Leah stopped pacing, turning her wolf form my way. "Important?"

I nodded once and explained. "Charlie's having a hell of a hard time with all this. He's not himself. Hardly speaks to me or dad now. It's rough on Bells. She wants to get it all out in the open tonight. Have a real heart to heart."

Leah's look grew weary. "Have you thought about what this means for the two of you?" She asked.

"Charlie's stubborn, but I think he'll come around in time. I've known him all my life."

"Having to keep this hidden sucks. Trust me, I get it."

"You haven't told Josh? I thought you were somewhat serious with this guy?"

"We're getting there and that's exactly why I don't rush to tell him. He's never gonna see me the same. I mean-" She went silent for a moment, her thoughts growing eerily quiet and her gaze suddenly adverting mine.

I hedged her forward, wanting to know what the hell she was trying to say. "What?"

"It's really no secret that because of what I am, I can't have children. I can't give him that treasure in life. Why the hell would he stay? What man would want a woman with all this bullshit?"

"The right guy, Leah." I huffed her way.

"You mean the imprint wolf voodoo crap? I'll pass."

"Careful..." I cautioned, my eyes meeting hers.

She huffed loudly in response. "That's different. You and Bella had something before Jake. You have loads of history. You've loved her since you guys were little. That's entirely different. It's not even remotely the same."

"True, but remember that if you tell this guy and he runs, than he's not meant for you."

"That's easy for you to say. You have Bella. Losing her doesn't plague your thoughts anymore."

"You couldn't be more wrong." I bit back, my tone growing harsh.

Leah recanted and corrected herself upon hearing it. "Okay, I shouldn't of said that, but you can protect her from that threat, Jacob. From the threat of the Volturi. What's left of them anyway. Does Bella know tha-"

"No." I cut her off. "And I wish I could keep it that way."

She nodded once and sunk down on her haunches waiting with me for them to arrive.

"I won't say anything but you need to tell her, Jacob."

"I will."

"You did what you had to. What you were born to. It's who you are."

I turned and faced her, feeling like an ass for not telling her this before now. "You saved them, you know. If you hadn't gotten there when you did-"

The thought choked me as the vivid images of her blood on Sam came back to me.

Leah huffed and nudged into me. "She's family. I know we've had our differences in the past. But you love her and she finally came to her senses. Saving her was no different than saving any one of you. And for what it's worth.. I'm glad to see you happy now. I hope Bella knows that she has nothing to worry about. What we shared was insignificant and driven by hurt. You're still one of the best people I know. It means a lot to me to know that you're leading Seth. I worry less when I'm gone."

"Thanks." I replied, seeing her meaningful gaze meet mine. "Seth has really grown this last year. He's more diligent ... make one hell of a leader himself one day..."

"What? What do you mean? One day? You're Alpha. Are you thinking of passing it down?"

"Maybe someday. If and when Bella and I have kids of our own. One day."

Colin, Jared, and Brady were later than they were supposed to be and my temper flared a bit when Seth phased in to tell me they were lagging behind a bit. I told Seth to get ahold of Paul and give Bella a heads up about patrol running late for me. He agreed and phased back out as I mentally cussed them out for being tardy. OF all fucking nights.

They all soon emerged from the tree line and met us. I instructed them to stick to the East side and headed back with Leah. Her teasing nature returning before we broke apart at the town line of La' Push.

"Come on Alpha! Bet I beat your ass there!"

"You don't know when to quit do you?" I snickered back and took off like a bat out of hell after her. I had to admit she had become faster since the last time we ran and it stunned me a bit to find her keeping up with me easily and not lagging behind like most of the others would when I ran full tilt.

As it turned out, I did beat her there, but only by a fraction of time. I turned to her when she skidded to a stop, cussing that she had lost again.

"You' been running more?" I asked, perplexed to understand where the hell this new found speed came from.

"Not really. Just natural I guess."

"You're faster... a lot faster."

She huffed in pride and playfully nudged into me before taking off for her house. "Better watch out Black, I'll be running laps around you soon enough."

"Yeah, Yeah. Don't bet on it, Clearwater." I replied as she ran off, kicking dust behind her while she went.

I bolted for home myself and changed for dinner with Bella, which I was already an hour late for.

My father came home just as I was getting ready to leave, his look stopping my hurried steps by the door.

"Bella here?" He asked in a low tone.

"No, she went home for a while today. Think she wants to talk over dinner with Charlie at their house."

"I'm not sure it will do you any good, son." He dreadfully sighed with a shake of his head.

"Why?"

He sighed again and wheeled himself away from me.

"What are you not telling me?" I asked, following him to the kitchen.

"I got an unexpected visit from him at Sue's a while ago."

"I thought he was working?"

"He was... they sent him home, Jake. He's angry- real angry. As long as I've known that man, I've never seen him this mad, and I've seen him go through a lot."

I set my keys down on the table, intuition already telling me where this conversation was headed. It was something I'd feared and half anticipated, should Charlie ever learn the truth about me.

I met my fathers gaze and saw it there. The concern for me. He gave me a look I recognized well. It was the very same damn look he gave when Bella had agreed to marry that leech and when she'd run off to Jacksonville for two years.

"Son... I-"

His response was cut short when Paul came in through the half opened front door. His look mirroring that of my father's.

"You were with Bella?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"I went over to tell her you'd be late. She's a mess, Jake. Her and Charlie really got into it."

"Fuck." I sighed, grabbing my keys and heading out.

"Jacob!" My father yelled, catching me before I shut the door. "Keep your head about you, my boy."

I sped over to her house, hating that she had dealt with Charlie alone. I hadn't been there. I had failed her again.

"Fuck!" I yelled, slamming my hand down on the steering wheel as I pulled in to her driveway, seeing her bedroom light still on upstairs. I cut the engine and heard Bella's yelling first. The sound of it strained and pleading.

"You can't say that! You don't know-"

"I know plenty!" Charlie yelled back. "I know he's not who he professes to be and he isn't safe for you!"

"Jacob would never-" Bella countered.

When I reached the porch, I heard Charlie's yelling escalate further. My insides reacting to the sound of him yelling at her. I took a calming breath and remembered what my father had said just before I left.

Keep my head about me.

I was about to knock when the front door opened and Bella's red rimmed eyes met mine. She ran down over the steps and straight into my arms, her petite frame shaking from her tears. I pressed her tightly to me.

"I'm sorry. I should've been here sooner, honey."

Charlie's storming foot steps abruptly approached the open door and his face twisted in disgust when he saw her with me.

He rushed out over the steps and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from me and causing a low growl to spill from me in response. It was instinctual and I reigned it in the best I could.

"Get away from her!" He yelled, looking at me like I was now his enemy.

Bella pulled out of his grasp and begged him to see reason.

"Dad! It's still Jacob. Don't you see that!"

"You wanna know what I see?" He scoffed, taking a step toward me. "I see a young man I used to know who lied to me for years! As far as I'm concerned, I don't know who you are anymore, Jacob. But I can tell you this much, I don't give a shit how old she is, I don't want you with her. Not in my house!" He yelled.

I could feel it- the growing pull between man and wolf. The wolf beginning to mask the man.

"You claim you love her?" Charlie hedged.

"I do love her." I bit back.

"Then walk away. You really want her to end up like Sam's wife? Huh? Look what happened to her! You really love my daughter Jake? Then let her find someone who's ordinary! Not someone who could kill her if he lost his temper too close! As far as I'm concerned, that makes you no better than Edward Cullen was for her!"

His words struck me like a brick to the chest and my anger began to get the better of me.

Bella stepped in between us, seeing Charlie inch closer to me. I pulled her around and placed her protectively behind me as I addressed him. My words fueled by his ignorance.

"You know nothing about what I am. Nothing!" I spat. "I would lay my life out for her. She is everything to me. What happened to Emily was unfortunate Charlie, and Sam pays for that every fucking time he looks at his wife, but Emily loves him anyway, because she knows the heart of who he is. The same way Bella knows me."

"Do you hear yourself right now? Holy shit! So you're willing to place my daughter in harms way?"

"I would never hurt her. Not for anything in this world. You don't kn-"

"I do know!" He yelled, getting in my face. I took a step back and felt Bella's shaking fingers lace with my own. "I was there Jacob. I remember it all and I want her nowhere near this! Any of it! The Cullen's are-"

"NEVER COMING BACK!" I yelled, feeling the rage pour over me like liquid fire. I pulled my hand from Bella's and watched Charlie back himself up as I stalked forward. "I killed them... all but Carlisle and Esme. I tore Edward apart... piece by fucking piece and I watched him burn with the sick bitch who nearly killed Bella that night. I watched him cower and crawl for escape, trying to save his pathetic life and I took thrill in hearing him scream when I ripped him apart. I drew it out, wanting him to suffer and turning his own demented game on himself. "

I continued to stalk forward and spew the ugly truth.

"I tortured him and made him beg for his very twisted existence, but I tore his throat out anyway and then I moved on to Alice and finished her off. I watched them burn and piled the pieces of their remains in that heap of leech. Right there beside Jane and her brother Alec. Aro got away with his one good arm but I'll find him soon enough and rip him to shreds, too. Carlisle and Esme are banned from Forks. They can never step foot back on this land or my own without permission and it's a permission they won't be granted. They are the only ones who left that battle. THE REST ARE ALL FUCKING DESTROYED."

My hands were shaking as my tremors began with my confession. Charlie reached his front step and gripped the railing for support, looking like he might heave but I went on anyway.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for Bella. I'd kill them all again tomorrow and with great pleasure. He deserved to burn and burn he did. Maybe that makes me a monster. I don't give a fuck. I will always protect what is unequivocally mine. You know nothing of that commitment. You think I'm no different than Edward? If she had chosen that leech- if she had married him- he would have changed her into one of them. She would have hungered for human blood. Thirsted for it. She would have no longer been the Bella you raised. All of who she is would have been erased. He had every intention of turning her into a cold and soulless demon. So don't you dare compare me with the likes of him! Not Ever!"

The tremors became over powering as I succumbed to the raging wolf that threatened to claw me up from the inside out. I moved away from them both and phased right there. A ferocious roar leaving me, as my paws hit the ground. The sound of the roar dying out when my gaze fell on Bella. Her wide eyed and fearful expression making me force some of that anger back down. I huffed and watched as Charlie stared at me in horror.

I saw Bella approach me, her steps slow and timid as she went. I could see her fear and it killed me to think that she may be afraid of me now. She soon reached me and Charlie yelled. "Don't! Bella!"

She ignored him and ran her small hands through my fur as I stepped forward and brushed her cheek with my muzzle.

"I love you." She breathed to me. The sound of it strained with emotion.

Charlie looked as white as a sheet when Bella turned and spoke to him.

"I love him. No matter what he is, or what form he takes. He's still Jacob. My Jacob."

Charlie was silent as he went back inside, his eyes still wide. Bella turned and kissed the side of my head. "Phase back and take me home with you?" She asked, her eyes desperate. I huffed and retreated into the woods while she went inside and packed a bag. She emerged and gave me a pair of jeans I'd kept as back up at her place, for times like now when I'd shredded the ones I'd worn.

I tossed her bag in the back and headed for home with her. The ride was silent and though her hand took mine, I worried what she was really thinking. She now knew that I'd killed Edward and Alice.

When we arrived back at my place, it was dark and my father was no longer home. A note stuck to the door told me he had gone to the Clearwater's for dinner. I unlocked the door and felt Bella's hand retake mine when I turned on the light in the living room. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying and she looked lost. I took her bag from her and set it on the floor. Her stare fixed there.

She sighed once before reluctantly meeting my gaze. "I feel... numb." She whispered.

I drew her into my arms, placing a kiss on her forehead and then her cheek. She leaned further into me and her lips brushed mine. The small gesture enough for my hold on her to tighten. I captured her lips, kissing her slowly and drawing a breathy and needy moan from her. The feel of her fingertips trailing my bare back and her tongue meeting mine had me removing her jacket and pressing her back to me. I ached to drink her in. To get lost in just her.

My hands roamed up her shirt, caressing the bare skin of her back and feeling her grind against me. She kissed me with abandon, her tongue caressing mine as her hands went to the buttons on her blouse. She released me and got flustered from trying to undo them all. I placed my hands over hers as she reached for the top of my jeans. Buttons went scattering to the floor as I ripped the offending shirt off her, seeing her eyes light with a lust and an audible gasp leave her when I drew her up in my arms. Her legs around my waist and her mouth hungrily seeking mine. I inhaled and could smell her sweet arousal as I laid her on the bed beneath me. The smell of her intoxicating... Alluring... all consuming.

I kissed her thoroughly before working my way down her perfect form. I reached in behind her and unclasped her black bra, eager to swirl my tongue around her pert nipples. I wanted to taste every inch of her, to feel her creamy smooth skin beneath my tongue. I could never get enough of her.

I ran my tongue down to the hem of her panties and eagerly stripped her of them. Leaving her completely naked before me. I trailed open mouthed kisses from her ankle to her inner most thigh, hearing her breathy cry when my tongue ran over her sweet wet folds. Her taste like a high I would never stop chasing. She writhed and squirmed and moaned while I worked my tongue over her. Her erratic heartbeat and moans becoming like a bedroom hymn for me.

My name fell from her lips again and again, as her back arched and her face flushed with beautiful rose color. The very sound of her was enough to have me rock hard and aching to be sheathed deep in her. To feel her tightly wrapped around me.

I pried myself away from her just long enough to strip off my boxers. She propped herself up on her elbows and watched me take them off. Her eyes roaming over me and her breathing ragged. I felt my dick twitch at the sight of her eye fucking me. My hands roamed up her body, caressing her hips and kneading her breasts as I settled myself between her naked thighs.

I hovered above her, seeing her eyes meet mine when I rubbed the tip along her slick folds. She brought her lips to mine in an urgent kiss, as I slid within her, feeling her wrap around me. I watched her intently, seeing her face flush with heated color as our bodies moved together.

I took my time with her, wanting to stay skin on skin close with her for as long as I could. Her breasts pressed against my chest and her legs wrapped around me. I was drowning in her and wanted to stay that way.

Her every sound, her every cry making me pick up my pace a little more. Her plea washing over me when she cried it. "Harder... please Jacob."

I inched her down further away from the headboard and trailed my fingers down to her sex, seeking and finding her sweet spot while creating a new rhythm with her.

"Ugh.. Jacob."

Her body one with mine, sweating our confessions and getting entirely consumed in each other. Her climax soon rolled through her, leaving her breathless and her thighs trembling against me. She clung to me as I continued my relentless rhythm. Her cries of pleasure echoing through the house.

My pace became punishing and I watched her closely, seeing her eyes hold mine as my release hit me. I pulled her body flush to mine and felt her legs shake all the more when I stilled. Her fingertips ran through my hair and my head came to rest between her breasts, hearing the loud pounding of her heart against my ear.

I felt her kiss the top of my head just as my eyes closed. She was and would forever be mine.