Prepare for something HUGE towards the end of this chapter! I think this tactic will help a certain someone deal with his past and help him move on. But let me know what you think!

Chapter 7

Jacob POV

School was really important to me. But it was getting more and more difficult to juggle my homework and studies with my patrol schedule. We were all meeting with Sam later to discuss this. The principal of our school knew about the wolves and usually helped us with extra time on our homework or extra classes when we needed them. But something had to change because we were just getting exhausted. Not only that, my grades were dropping, and I hated that. I always did well in school when I was a kid, I got straight A's. But now I'm patrolling all night and going to school with no sleep, it was starting to have an affect on my grades. My Dad didn't blame me, he knew how tough it was for us.

"Son, you ready to go?" Dad called from the porch. We were going to talk to the principal of my school about how he can help, because he knew I was a good kid and a good student, but it didn't show in my work. He also knew about our patrol schedules, so he didn't blame us for our grades going down.

"Yeah coming Dad" I grabbed my Dad's keys off the hook and helped wheel him into the truck. It was difficult for my Dad. He never usually left the house unless there was someone available to drive him where he needed to go, or it was within wheeling distance. That was another thing I wanted to talk to Sam about. I needed more time with my Dad. I wouldn't say I was neglecting him, but I was hardly ever around and well, I missed spending time with my Dad. Sue me.

"I don't know how Principal Myers can help any more than he already has, but we'll see what he's got to say. We'll have to let him know about any changes to the patrol schedule later" Dad said as I pulled onto the main road. When we got there, Principal Myers met us in the parking lot and helped me get my Dad out of the car.

"Thanks Principal Myers" I said. I kicked the wheelchair brake with my foot, and we were on our way up to school. Principal Myers took us into his office and sat us down.

"Now, Jacob, when your results came back for your recent piece of homework I was quite shocked. Look, I know you're trying your best to juggle your studies with your patrol schedule, but unless changes are made to the latter, your education will suffer. I must say that your education is just as important as being a protector of the tribe. Mr Black, do you agree?"

Dad nodded his head "Yes, I do agree, Principal Myers. We have arranged for a meeting with the Alpha later to discuss changes that need to be made. I know it's not only my son that is suffering between failing and exhaustion, but there are also other's too-"

"-ah yes, Mr Cameron, Mr Ateara and Mr Call are also in the same boat as you Jacob. Now, here's what I'm suggesting we do. If you can arrange to patrol three times a week in the mornings, then we can offer you a night class at the school, the tribal studies teacher, Mr Newick, also knows of your special conditions- " he cleared his throat "- so he has offered to run these evening classes for you. The other two days of the week, well, if you can arrange for evening patrol then you can take your studies in the morning with the rest of the school"

I looked at my Dad and he nodded enthusiastically.

"Wow, uh, thanks Principal Myers" I said.

"That's alright Jacob. And as you know, summer vacation is still a long way off, but when it comes around, we can offer summer classes for any members of the pack that are struggling with their education, call it catch up sessions. Mr Newick is also willing to come in and take those classes. So, how does this sound to you?"

"I think it sounds amazing! If I can get my patrol schedule sorted then I can get my grades back up, what do you think Dad?"

Dad beamed "I think it's a great plan son, I'll be sure to thank Mr Newick in person" he told Principal Myers.

"Well he was more than happy to take up the job, he knows how important these kids' education is and he wouldn't hear another word about it" Principal Myers chuckled.

My education was so important to me because I wanted to earn my GED to be able to get myself a career. I didn't want to be stuck in some dead-end job for the rest of my life. I wanted to make something of myself! Sure, I was a shapeshifter but that's not all I wanted to be remembered for. This was important to me, and finally, with this extra help I might just get there.

"Thank you so much Principal Myers, this is going to make a really big difference" I said.

"Well I know you're a hard worker Jacob and I, as well as your father, want to see you succeed. So, you let me know as soon as possible your new patrol schedules and we'll go from there" he said.

When we got home, Dad called Sam and asked him to come straight over. This needed to be done as soon as possible and I didn't think Sam would have a problem with it. There hasn't been any vamp activity for so long, but I thought it highly unlikely that Sam would stop the patrols altogether. That would be way too risky. Besides, it was Sam's way of taking care of our tribe. Even if there were no threats to speak of, not patrolling would make him a lousy leader. If only we could watch over the tribe in spirit form instead! It would be so much easier!

"Sam on his way?" I asked Dad, who had just put the phone back on the receiver.

"Yep, he's just finished patrolling with Jared, Embry and Quil so they'll be with him"

"Paul is next for patrol. Man, I hate saying this, but we need more wolves!" It was true, we did need more wolves. Six protectors of a tribe of just over 300 people was a big responsibility, and whilst being born with the shifting gene was a blessing, it took over your life. None of us could get jobs because of our patrol schedule, but with more wolves in the pack, it would make our lives so much easier, as selfish as that may sound.

"Well, I hate to tell you this son, but your cousin Colin is showing signs of phasing real soon. I was trying to keep quiet about it but he's gonna need the pack to take care of him when he finally does phase. His poor mom is going through hell right now- "

"-Aunt Connie knows about the wolves right?"

"Oh, your aunt knows, but there isn't anything she can do. Her baby is in pain, every mother's worst nightmare"

Colin was my cousin from my Dad's side, though he hasn't seen his sister, my Aunt Connie, for years, we always saw Colin when we could. He was only 13 years old! How could he be phasing now? From what we knew from our legends, the gene only activated the phase if there was a threat from the cold ones, and ever since those damn Cullen's moved back here, the phase has been happening. Colin didn't deserve to phase so young! He was only a couple grades down from me in school. I would have to make sure to mention this to Sam and to Principal Myers. My cousin's education would not be affected by this, not under my watch.

"Sam's here Jacob" Dad called from the kitchen. I opened the door, and the guys came in and sat around the table. Sam had brought a notebook with him.

"Okay, let's try and get some arrangements in place as soon as possible, Colin looks like he's going to phase any minute and I want him out of the way from his family, lest they get injured. Okay, Jacob, what did your principal offer you?" he asked, so I briefly told him.

"Okay, that's perfect actually. So, you, Jared, Quil and Embry can take Monday, Wednesday and Thursday morning patrols, 3am-12pm and Tuesday and Friday evening patrols, 6pm-3am. Paul and I can take the evening shifts on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and we'll also do the morning shifts on Tuesday and Friday, but until we have more wolves in the pack, it's going to be a couple all day shifts for us both on weekends, which of course we don't mind, if it means you guys are caught up with your school work" he finished and started writing down the new shifts. This was great. This not only gave me plenty of time for schoolwork, but it meant I could spend some time with my Dad as well.

"This works perfectly for us, thank you Sam" I said.

"Your education is important and hopefully with this new schedule you'll all be able to get your GED's. We'll take another look at the schedule once Colin has phased and we've trained him up a bit"

"Yeah I was hoping to go see him today" I said.

"I think it's a good idea we all go and explain to him what's going to happen. It'll make it easier for him once he's finally phased. You all remember what it was like for you when you first phased -" Sam said, and I remembered only too well. I thought I'd gone mad and took off in the woods for days. Once Sam found me, he explained the legends etcetera, and that's when I started learning to control the phase.

"-we could head over now?" I suggested. Sam agreed.

"See you later Dad" I said as we all left out the back. Sam called Paul to meet us at Colin's house in five minutes.

But none of us were expecting the sight when we arrived. We all thought Colin would be tucked up in bed, with a high fever and shivers, but my aunt hurried us through to the back of the house.

"I think he's about to phase! I told him to get outside, look at him Sam!" she yelled, and saw we did. Colin, still in human form, was writhing around on the ground, screaming out in pain. Sam and I ran over and tried calming him down. It was always painful to phase when you were panicking.

"Colin, listen to me! You need to calm down and the pain will go away. Connie, grab me a towel -" he called to my aunt and she ran inside to get one and threw it straight at Sam.

"Oh Taha Aki, what's happening to him? The phase wasn't this hard for you boys!" My Aunt cried, Embry pulled her back to stand by the back door and put an arm around her for comfort.

"It's alright Connie, he's just panicking. If we can get him to calm down, it'll be so much easier for him. But nothing will really make the pain go away until he's fully phased-"

"-Sam, he's never going to calm down enough, we'll just have to wait for it-"

"-there's always a way" Sam muttered under his breath, talking more to himself it seemed. Sam pulled Colin up to lean into his chest, and wrapped his arms around Colin's, to keep him still. Then he started whispering something into Colin's ear and the effect was immediate. Colin closed his eyes, his arms and legs stopped flailing and kicking out and he became silent. I looked over at my aunt Connie, who was beside herself with worry for her son, and came rushing over.

I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back "No Aunt Connie, it's still too dangerous. Go inside and grab him a pillow. It's safer if he stays out here until he's phased. Sam's going to stay with him and so will I. He'll be okay" I said, giving her a gentle push towards the house. She nodded at me, putting all of her trust into me and did what I said.

I went back to where Sam was cradling Colin on the ground and knelt down next to them. I took Colins hand, which was red hot, and gently squeezed it. I wanted him to know he wasn't alone through this. I always wondered how Sam ever managed to do this alone. He was the first to phase in this generation, and no one had told him what was happening to him. He went completely mad. Emily's face is proof of that.

"Colin, your mom is going to bring a pillow out for you so you can rest for a while out here. Once you've calmed down enough, I'm going to Alpha Order you to phase, so you won't feel the pain again, okay?" Sam said to him gently. Alpha Ordering to phase was a last resort for new wolves and it was rarely done. The rest of us phased naturally, but Colin was younger than us with his first phase, so an Alpha Order was the easiest way to go. Sort of like ripping the bandaid off quickly.

"What's happening to me?" he cried. Sam looked at me and nodded. He was giving me permission to tell my own cousin about us.

"Okay, this is going to sound crazy Colin. But you know the legends of Taha Aki saving the tribe by transforming into a wolf? Well, the legend is true. Taha Aki passed the gene on through his sons, and it travelled down three genetic lines. The Uley's, the Blacks and the Ateara's. You've got the shifting gene from the Black line, like I did. So, what's happening to you right now is the gene is being activated. It's being activated because our enemy is close by. The cold ones from the legends are the Cullens that live in Forks. But we have a treaty with them that states they cannot come onto our land at all, and they are not to hunt, kill or turn humans whilst the wolves live. You sort of understanding a little bit now?" I said, and he looked at me with helplessness in his eyes.

"I'm turning into a wolf?"

"Yeah, you are buddy. But it's alright. We're all wolves too. Sam here, and me. There's also Paul Lahote, Jared Cameron, Quil Ateara and Embry Call. We're the pack for this generation, you bring us up to 7-"

"-but why does it hurt so much?" he asked, groaning slightly.

"It's hurting so much because for some reason you've panicked, and your wolf is trying to burst free before you're ready. The high temperature, the shivers, the sweating, there all the symptoms of the phase. There's nothing to worry about right now though, oaky? You're safe" I reassured him and used to towel to wipe his face.

"I remember why I freaked out. I was lying in bed watching some TV, trying to distract myself from how crappy I was feeling and then I smelled this horrible smell and it made me crazy. It was like a mixture of bleach and sugar; it was stinging my nose and throat-"

That smell that my cousin described was what vampires smelled like to us wolves. No wonder he freaked out, his wolf obviously thought there was danger and tried clawing his way to the surface before Colin's body was fully prepared.

"Yeah, that's the smell of vampires buddy. But they aren't anywhere near here or in the tribe. You've probably just picked the scent up from the wind. Forks is only 15 miles away" I told him.

"Oh. I didn't mean to freak out, I couldn't help it. When my mom came in to help me I just started throwing stuff around my room and then she told me to go outside"

"Yeah that's alright. It's a completely normal reaction. The anger you experienced before we got here was your wolf trying to find the danger. But don't feel bad for your Mom, she's tough you know" I reminded him.

"Yeah she is. Thanks for staying with me Jacob. I've missed you" he said, squeezing my hand back. Aunt Connie came back with the pillow and we placed it under Colin's head and told him to get some rest. I went back into the house with my aunt.

"You were in here for ages Aunt Connie" I said.

"Well, I would have been a lot quicker if Grandma Inola hadn't shown up. I've never seen her this upset before Jacob" she whispered to me, and I was surprised to see Grandma Inola sitting in the living room, crying. I ran in and knelt down to see her.

"Grandma, what are you doing here?" I said gently, taking her hands. They were cold and shaking.

"It's Paul! There's something wrong with him Jacob!" she said hysterically. I'd never seen her like this, and it worried me. Grandma Inola was usually so chill.

"What do you mean? What's happened?"

"I told him to take a nap because he just looked exhausted but when I went to wake him up, oh Jacob! He wouldn't wake up! I tried everything and he didn't move a muscle! - "

"-okay, okay, hey, it's alright. It's okay" I said, sitting next to her and holding her in my arms. I needed to get Sam now.

"Grandma Inola, is he still at home?" I asked her.

"Yes, I left him in his bed and walked straight to your house. But your father said you had come here, so I walked here because I didn't know what else to do! Oh Jacob, please tell me my grandson is okay!" she cried out. Aunt Connie came back in and knelt down in front of her.

"Grandma Inola, the boys are going to go and see Paul. You stay here with me and have a nice cup of tea and a rest. That was a lot of walking you just did -"

"-I'd walk a million miles for my grandson Connie, I'd walk a million miles" she cried into me. Aunt Connie looked at me with the same look she had in her eyes when she told me what had happened to my mom. No, Paul was fine. He was probably just in a deep sleep. Yeah, that'll be it, he's fine.

"Okay, Grandma, I'm going to go over there with Embry and Quil and you stay here with Aunt Connie and rest. We'll come back as soon as we've figured out what's going on, okay?" I said, kissing her forehead. I hated seeing Grandma Inola hurting. The last time she was like this was when her husband died. I didn't want her going back to that place. Not when she worked so hard to get out of it. Though Paul was mainly the reason she did, but he wasn't here to help her now.

"Oh, thank you Jacob. You make sure he'll be okay! I've lost my daughter, then my husband and I will not lose my grandson as well" she cried as I let her go. Aunt Connie sat with her and comforted her as I went out back to find Sam, Embry, Quil and Jared with Colin.

"Jacob, where the hell is Paul? I must have called him a dozen times -" Sam started but I held my hand up. A strong gust of wind blew through us at that point and I had to close my eyes to stop them stinging. Sam put his hand up to his face to block his face too. Then it stopped as soon as it had started.

"What the hell was that?" Sam asked, but there were more important things to worry about.

"I don't know, but listen, Grandma Inola is in the house. She showed up saying Paul wasn't waking up from his nap and she's beside herself. I'm gonna go over there and check on him. Embry and Quil need to come with me-"

"-go! I'll stay with Colin. I don't think he'll phase yet, he's more relaxed now. Jacob, come straight back when you know something" Sam said. Me, Embry and Quil phased in the woods and high tailed it to Grandma Inola's house. We phased back, dressed, and went straight in. Everything was deadly quiet in here. I couldn't even hear Paul breathing. My stomach dropped. Please be okay, he has to be okay.

"Jacob, in here" Embry said, opening a door just off of the kitchen. We went straight in and saw our brother lying on his bed, pale and not moving.

"Paul- " I whispered, kneeling down next to him. His skin was cold to touch. I opened one of his eyelids and saw his eyeball sitting still, no sign of movement.

"Jacob, is he -?" Quil started but I shushed him. He wasn't going to say it. I wouldn't let him say it. I got to work, checking Paul for any sign of life. Because he couldn't be dead. He couldn't be.

"Jacob, we should call Sue, she's a nurse" Embry said, and I agreed. He went to make the call whilst Quil knelt down with me on Paul's other side and started checking him as well.

Sue arrived within 10 minutes of Embry making the call and got to work immediately. She hadn't seen anything like it before, but she felt certain that Paul wasn't dead.

"He has a heartbeat, but it's very, very faint. You boys wouldn't have been able to hear it. He's dehydrated so I've set him up on a saline drip and he's also on this monitor here, so I can keep an eye on his blood flow and oxygen levels, which are also very low. Embry go and open all of the windows in the house. Let's get some fresh air in here, see if that helps" Embry nodded and went to do just that. I rubbed my face with my hands, feeling helpless.

"Sue, do you have any idea what's wrong with him?" I asked in a broken voice. Please Taha Aki, keep my brother alive!

"Honestly? I've never seen anything like this in my whole nursing career. He has a faint pulse, low oxygen levels and he's dehydrated. These symptoms don't have an illness that I know of, but I'm going to do some research. Where is Grandma Inola?" she asked, and I told her what Grandma Inola did.

"Oh, that poor woman! Why didn't she call us instead of walking all that way? I'm going to stop by Connie's and check on her, I bet her knees are hurting her after all of that walking" she said, and she started packing up her nursing bag.

"What should I do for Paul? What can I do for him?" I asked desperately. I couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

"You can call Bella and get her over here. Maybe having his imprint next to him will bring him back from wherever he's gone" she said, patting my shoulder and leaving the room. I knew she was right, but I wherever Paul had gone, I doubted Bella would be able to bring him back. We knew he was struggling, but we didn't know it had gotten this bad.

"You want me to call Bella?" I asked Paul, stupidly. Obviously, he didn't reply.

I took my cell out and dialled her number. I only hoped this would help him.

Bella POV

School was much more bearable now Lauren and I were friends. I actually enjoyed hanging out with her, Jess and Angela. Our little girl group was the only thing keeping me going. I hadn't heard from Paul at all since he dropped me home yesterday, despite numerous texts and calls. I stopped after the fourth text though, I didn't want to seem desperate.

"Hey Bella, shall we go grab some coffees at the diner?" Angela asked, as we all climbed into her car.

"Yeah sounds great" I said.

The diner was quiet today. Melinda seemed pleased to see customers and showed us to one of the booths at the back of the room.

"Now girls, what can I get you all?" she asked, and I ordered four cappuccinos and four chocolate chip cookies. Well, you couldn't have coffee without a little something to eat. It'd be rude not to. Melinda went back to the kitchen.

"So, Bella, what did you do after school yesterday?" Lauren asked. I had told Angela all about Paul, with the exception that we were imprinted for life. I thought that would be a breach of the tribal secrets.

"Well, Paul took me to meet his grandma yesterday"

"Aw Grandma Inola? Jacob told me all about her! She's the sweetest woman on the entire reservation, according to him" Lauren said.

"Yeah she was really sweet and she seemed to like me"

"Of course she liked you Bella! Everyone likes you - eventually" Angela said, looking at Lauren for the last part. Luckily, she laughed.

"Yeah yeah, I know I made a mistake with all of that! But the important thing is that we're all friends now" she said. Jessica was being strangely quiet and was busy tapping away on her phone.

"What's up Jess?" I asked, just as Melinda bought our coffees and cookies over.

"Thanks Melinda" I said, taking a sip and rolling my eyes back. Why was the coffee here so much better than what I mad at home?

"Oh, it's Mike, he, well, he's asked me out" she said, beaming.

"Woah no way! Way to go girl!" Lauren said. Whilst I congratulated Jess, I felt there was something strange in Mike asking Jess out. Was he only doing that because he finally understood he had no chance me with? If that were true, he didn't deserve to go out with her. I wouldn't stand by and let Jess get hurt. Though in saying that, it wasn't my business.

"I know! Honestly, when he asked me I thought he was joking! But he asked if I wanted to catch a movie with him tonight and obviously I said yes!" she said. She looked excited about it, so I wasn't going to go saying anything. I just gushed with her like the rest of the girls, albeit half-heartedly.

I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I missed Paul. I know it had only been yesterday since I'd last seen him, but ever since telling me about his past on the beach and meeting his grandmother, I finally felt like I knew the real Paul. He struggled with accepted what happened to his mom, and I got that. I just hoped he called me soon, if only to help with my chest pain. My phone vibrated in my pocket. Speak of the devil and the devil shall come, I thought. But it wasn't Paul. It was Jacob.

"Hey Jacob"

"Bella. You need to get down to La Push right away. It's Paul" His voice sounded different. He sounded worried.

"Paul? What's happened Jacob?"

"He, well- he took a nap, only he never woke up-"

"-WHAT!" I yelled through the phone, standing up and grabbing my bag.

"Angela, please please, I need you to give me a ride to La Push, I'll give you money-" I asked her desperately. But she had already got up and grabbed her keys.

"Don't be silly, let's go" she said.

"Jacob, I'm on my way right now. What do you mean he never woke up?" I asked. The pit of my stomach felt like ice. Paul couldn't be dead. He couldn't. I'd feel it, surely?

"Listen Bella, I know it's worrying, but please try and stay calm. Sue has seen to him and he's alive-" A liquid warmth ran through my body, all the way down to my toes. He was alive!

"- so why isn't he waking up?" Angela was speeding onto the highway.

"We don't know, that's the thing. We're at Grandma Inola's. Just get here as soon as you can and I'll explain it more" he said, before hanging up.

"Angela, you need to go faster" I said, pushing the dashboard with my hands, trying to will the car to go faster.

"I'm at maximum speed Bella, we'll be there in 5 minutes" she said, with a worried glance at me.

Grandma Inola's house came into view 5 minutes later and before Angela had even stopped the car, I threw the door open and ran straight in.

"Jacob!" I called out, slamming the kitchen door open. He popped out from a door off of the kitchen and pulled me in. Paul was lying on his bed, hooked up to machines. Oh Lord, look at him!

"Oh Paul, what's happened to you?" I said to him, sitting on the bed and taking his hand. He was cold. Why was he cold?

"Jacob, aren't you guys supposed to be warm all the time?"

"Yeah, that's the thing we're not understanding. Sue is doing some research as we speak; she said his symptoms don't match any illness she's heard of before. She thinks he's gone somewhere-"

"-gone where?" I asked, pushing my fingers through Paul's coarse black hair. Even his head was cold to touch. It felt wrong.

"We're not sure. Quil and Embry have gone to my Aunt Connie's house. Grandma Inola turned up about an hour ago saying she couldn't wake him. I've never seen her so upset before" Jacob said in a small voice.

"What can I do Jacob?" I asked. Because there had to be something I could do. I needed to do something for him.

"Sue thinks that you just being here might help him come back from where he's gone"

"Where do you think he's gone Jacob?"

He sighed loudly "Honestly? I think he's left his body and he's stuck somewhere. He can't get back. But I didn't wanna tell Sue or anyone else in case they thought it was a load of bull. I'm going to do some research myself and find out-"

"-what, like the spirit warriors?" Was Paul spirit walking?

"I'm not sure Bella, but I can't give another reason for what's happening to him"

"I'm going to have to call Charlie-"

"I can do that Bella. I'll invite him over to watch the game with my Dad. He can stay at my place tonight. He's not working tomorrow is he?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"Thank you Jacob" I said, trying my best to manage a small smile.

"Alright, well, I'm gonna go check on my cousin Colin, we're trying to get him to phase-"

"-Colin is phasing? I remember when he was born. How old is he now?"

"Thirteen. He's the youngest in history to phase, we think. But I left him with Sam and Jared so I'd better head back and check on them. If you need me, give me a call and I'll come straight over okay?" he said. I got up and gave him a hug. Because I needed one, and I think he needed one too.

"Love you Bells" he murmured into my hair, before leaving me alone with Paul. I sat on the bed again, just smoothing his hair.

"Paul, please come back, I'm here now. I'm not leaving until you come back" I whispered, though he remained still and silent.

A/N: How did you find this chapter? I wanted Colin to phase before Leah and Seth, unlike the books, because I thought it would make it a bit different!

What do you think is happening to Paul? Let me know in your reviews! Thanks for reading! Much love xx