Wolf Boy

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-thank you for the awesome reviews!

Part Thirty-Three

Jacob burst through the door looking murderously angry as he bounded toward Riley with his fists clenched. Bella knew she had to intervene quickly, this could all go dangerously wrong if Jacob lost control completely and phased in the house.

"Jake, everything's fine. We were just talking. Right, Riley?" She explained, her voice faltering on his name.

Jacob looked at her, shock clear across his face. He grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him as he glared at Riley. If looks could kill Riley would have been a burning spot on the floor.

Bella gripped Jacob's arm, squeezing gently to get his attention. "Everything's fine, Jake, just calm down. I need you to trust me on this." She fought the urge to just let Jacob kill Riley anyway-one less bloodthirsty vampire could only be a good thing-until she focused on what that would mean if he did.

Jacob frowned, his dark eyes never leaving Riley for a minute. "Why are you listening to him, Bella? This isn't the first time you've been fooled by a vampire." He reminded her pointedly.

Bella flinched at his harsh tone. She knew he wasn't deliberately trying to upset her. He was hurt, confused as to why she was so ready to defend another one of his mortal enemy. The truth was she had been fooled before-Edward had done a number on her she very nearly hadn't recovered from-but something about Riley's story had the ring of truth about it. He could so easily have given in to his bloodlust and killed Lily, he could have killed her. And after being on the receiving end of Trent's unprovoked assault, what Riley said made complete sense.

"Please, Jake, just hear him out. Let him tell you his side of the story and then decide for yourself." She pleaded. She was beginning to feel a little weak on her feet.

Jacob noticed her swaying slightly and he reached out to steady her. "He is what he is, Bella. They'll say or do anything they can to survive. He knocked Jared out cold. It was lucky the blow didn't kill him."

"Jared was the one who was watching the house?" Bella was forced to sit down. "Is he alright?" Now she knew why no wolf had come straight to her aid and how Riley had gotten into the house undetected.

"He'll recover." Jacob said grudgingly as his eyes narrowed in Riley's direction. "Did you really think that your bullshit lies would fool me?" He sneered.

"I could have killed your friend but I didn't." Riley answered coldly. "I could have killed her but I didn't. I could have killed Lily but I didn't. Doesn't that stand for something? I didn't choose to be turned. Just as I suspect you didn't choose to be a shifter. This was the only way I could get your attention. If I tried to approach you any other way you would have all simply killed me before I could even talk."

Jacob scowled, hating that the blonde leech was right. The pack would have killed him without hesitation. He took a deep breath, regretting it almost immediately when he got a whiff of leech stench clogging up his nostrils. "You stink." He growled at Riley.

"You don't smell too pleasant yourself." Riley responded sarcastically. "But your wet dog smell is actually doing me a favour right now. It's masking Bella and Lily's intoxicating scents. It eases the burn." He closed his eyes and swallowed thickly, before opening them again to look directly at Jacob when he was under control again. "Are you willing to hear me out?"

Jacob wrapped his arm around Bella's shoulders, holding her tightly to his side. Lily was still curled up on the recliner. Her cries had lessened to quiet sobs. He would never forget the fear he felt when he found out that Bella was in danger. It was the worst feeling in the world and he couldn't help but be frustrated that she had placed herself in harms way again. He loved how compassionate and caring she was, but bringing Lily back to the house had been a bad move and could have proved catastrophic if Riley hadn't had a whole other agenda.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concern colouring his voice as he looked at Bella.

She nodded, smiling weakly. Jacob could tell by her face that she understood his frustration with her. He could read her so well just like she could read him. "I'm totally fine." She promised. "I just need to sit down. You can take it from here, just stay calm."

Jacob gave her a small smile in response. She may feel guilty about her part in it but she still had the confidence to lecture him about keeping his temper under control. "You rest and keep an eye on Lily while Riley and I talk in the kitchen." He said gently, pressing a light kiss on her forehead

"Okay." Bella whispered as she flashed him a relieved smile. Jake would sort everything out, he always did.

Jacob listened in stony silence as Riley repeated the exact same story that he had told Bella. He didn't gloss over anything or excuse his actions towards Lily. "I broke her out of the secure unit. I used her to get to Bella. I'm not proud of that."

"And you say you love her?" Jacob spat sarcastically. His hands balled into fists as he fought the urge to rip Riley's head off.

"Loved! I said loved!" Riley's jaw was clenched so tightly that it was surprising his teeth didn't crumble under the pressure. "If you want the harsh truth, I wish I had never met her. She's ruined my life just as much as her sick, twisted brother has."

"The girl is ill. Anyone can see that!" Jacob growled.

Riley winced and looked away. "Your compassion toward her will kill you like it killed me. It will kill Bella too if you don't deal with Trent and Victoria." He warned, turning his head to glare at Jacob. "The two of them have made an unholy alliance. Now that Trent is no longer useful to her as a human, Victoria will change him. He's a psychopath just like her last mate was."

"Shit." Jacob cussed as he began to pace to burn off some of his pent-up energy. He remembered the stories that Bella had told him about Victoria's last mate, James. The evil bloodsucker had nearly succeeded in killing Bella, he had broken her bones, taunted and stalked her into submission until the Cullens timely intervention. If Trent was half as evil as that bastard they were in trouble. "If she has turned Trent what does this mean for you?" He asked Riley.

Riley laughed derisively. "I'm sure you can use your imagination."

"You could just be bullshitting me." Jacob stopped pacing and glared at Riley angrily. "Aren't psychopaths meant to be good liars? What assurance can you give me that any of what you are saying is true?"

"I can't give you any." Riley said, shrugging. "You can send me on my way. You can kill me if you want. I know I'm not strong enough to defeat you on an even playing field. But just remember if you do then you will lose your only chance to take Victoria down once and for all. Do you really want to risk it?" He asked.

Jacob and Bella had just returned from La Push. After his conversation with Riley he had collected Bella and Lily- first taking the distressed girl back to the secure unit at the hospital where Riley had broken her out of- and then driving the rest of the way to the reservation so he could speak to Sam and the rest of the pack. The meeting had not gone well. Sam was furious that Jacob had let Riley go without giving him a chance to talk to the vampire himself. It all descended into a heated argument until it was brought to an abrupt halt by the arrival of Jared. His recovery from Riley's knock out blow had proven swift, much to everyone's delight. Seeing him well again doused the flames of the more volatile members of the pack and Jacob was finally able to persuade them and Sam that he really had no choice but to let Riley go.

"This could be our only way of ending Victoria for good." He said, staring around at them all. "Would you really expect me to let that opportunity go?" He asked.

Now he and Bella were back in Forks again, parked outside her house. Jacob cut the engine while his hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He took a few deep breaths in an attempt to keep calm. "You can't keep doing this to me, Bells." He muttered.

Bella winced and looked at him apologetically. She had known this was coming. "Jake, it worked."

"Do you have any idea how freaking stupid that was, Bella? Think about it, what if it didn't work? What if Riley had given in to his bloodlust? What if he had decided to hurt you? Or worse!" He shouted, slamming his hand on the steering wheel in frustration.

Bella flinched. He'd shouted so loud it echoed in the car making it even louder. "Jake, I'm sorry. I don't know what more I can say." She said, pleading with him to understand her reasons. "I was blindsided by seeing Lily again. She was in such a state I couldn't leave her all alone on the sidewalk.

Jacob didn't say anything, he was still really angry.

"I know I did a stupid thing." She continued in agony. "But if I hadn't taken Lily back to the house then we wouldn't have encountered Riley and finally gotten to the truth."

"It may have worked, Bells, but what you did was freaking idiotic. Just because it worked doesn't mean that what you did was right. You're still recovering for goodness sake!"

"I know and I'm sorry." Bella's face crumpled as she reached for him. "Please forgive me, Jake. Please, don't be mad at me."

Her body felt like it had run a marathon, but she wasn't in any physical pain, just emotional. The reality of what she had done was sinking in now. She knew she had been stupid. She tried not to imagine all the things Riley could have done. She shuddered slightly and pushed the thoughts away. It was over now, nothing happened. She had been lucky.

Jacob pulled her into a hug, kissing her cheek. "You were really brave, Bells. Stupid but brave. But don't you ever dare do anything like that again." He said fiercely.

Bella nodded as she sank further into his warm embrace. She closed her eyes, needing to go to sleep; she was physically and emotionally exhausted.

A/N-thanks for reading!