Jacob PoV
I was so relieved to see Bella awake that I smelled him only after she'd gone back to sleep. She hadn't said a word, her throat must still hurt like hell, but the look in her eyes was more than enough for me. She had cried a bit and to be honest I was on the verge of tears as well, but I managed to hold them back. I had held her hand, kissed her, told her how much I loved her and that I would be there when she woke up again.
She had smiled and closed her eyes and breathed evenly. I had kissed her once more before I left the room. It was three in the morning and apart from a nurse who was busy reading a book, no one was there. I followed his scent through the clinic and outside to the parking lot.
I didn't expect to see him there but there he was, leaning against a lamppost, arms crossed, looking on the ground.
He didn't raise his head when I approached him, but I knew he had noticed my presence. I stopped a few feet away from him. "What do you want?" I asked coldly.
"Talk" Finally, he lifted his head. His dark eyes met mine. I frowned. Emmet and the rest had golden eyes. Why didn't he?
"I don't know what there is to talk about."
"I wanted to thank you. You and the rest of your group for keeping Bella save when I didn't."
"We didn't do it for you. It's our job to hunt and kill bloodsuckers like you." If my harsh words had hurt him, he made a very good job of not showing it. "I know I deserve your hatred and hers too. But I came here to fix my mistakes as best as I can."
"No, you came here because you feel guilty. You want her to forgive you so that you can feel good again. But I won't let you. As I said before: Stay away from her. She fought so hard to forget you. I won't let you remind her of what is better left forgotten."
"I hurt her bad, do you really think I don't know that? Alice told me that she tried to kill herself and that's something that will stay with me for the rest of my life..."
But I interrupted him. "She didn't try to kill herself. She wanted to see you. She told me that every time she did something stupid, she saw you telling her to stop. She risked her life just to see a ghost from her past. You were like a drug to her, an addiction that took months to heal. I won't let her get addicted again." I knew it wasn't for me to tell him all these things, but I wanted him to know the truth. I wanted to show him how bad he had hurt her because maybe it would be enough to drive him away for good. "When I met her, she was like a ghost. I had known her as a happy, living person before and when she came to see me after you ran away like a coward, I almost didn't recognise her. She was so broken... But Bella is strong, and she survived and now she has a new life, a better life, a life that makes her happy and smile again. You won't take this from her."
"I don't want to. Believe it or not, I love her, and I want her to be happy. I won't try to make her love me again, but I want to explain. I want to explain to her why I did all this. I want to apologise for everything. Just once. Then I'll leave, I promise."
If he thought his words would soften my heart, that I would let him see her only once, he was very much mistaken. She didn't need him anymore and if she saw him, it would destroy everything we had both worked so hard to build. She was strong, yes, but not strong enough for this. "No. Stay away. This is the only warning you'll ever get. Try to get near her and I swear, I'll kill you with my own hands, bloodsucker." I didn't even want to utter his name. For me, he was exactly that, a bloodsucker. Not a vampire, not a Cullen. Just the lowest of the lowest, on the same level as Victoria.
"I see..." he murmured, looking me thoughtfully in the eyes. "Can you then at least tell her that I was here? I won't ask anymore of you, just this. Tell her, that I am sorry for hurting her." When he saw my cold look, he added: "Please, Jacob."
I knew how difficult it must be for him to say these last two words. Ask a werewolf for help. I sighed. "Maybe I'll tell her that you were here. But no promises."
"Thank you" he replied solemnly. "I'll get going on. I am sorry for intruding earlier. I promise you; it won't happen again."
"It better not" I growled. My wolf bared his teeth, wanting nothing more than to attack him and end this threat but I managed to hold him back by telling him that it would only hurt Bella if she knew that we'd killed him. I didn't wait for him to leave. Instead, I went back into the clinic to where I belonged.
I didn't look back.
Sorry for the short updates, the next ones on Monday will be longer, I promise. Only 40 more pages to go; so, buckle up for the grand finale!