The Alpha's Bride—Jacob + OC

Jacob Black was forced into a position of power when he first started phasing. Now he's been an Alpha to the La Push wolf pack for almost twelve years, and almost everyone on the reservation are hoping that he'll get married and produce an heir to the wolf pack and to the tribe.

Almost everybody on the reservation (at least those "in the know") still believe that having an imprint (or even just a wife) is essential to continuing the legacy of the Quileute heritage. Jacob, on the other hand, is still suffering from having his heart broken by a woman who left him for a vampire. On one night, Jacob and all of the guys from the pack heads to Las Vegas to celebrate a bachelor party for one of his pack brothers. What he didn't expect was that he would end up getting married to a girl that he not only just met the first night...but who is also his imprint.

Sara Carnegie comes from a well-off family from New York, but made a move to Washington to study teaching and hoping to work with children with special needs. She went through a bad break-up, and immediately put her heart and soul into her studies. Her friends, however, wanted to take her to Vegas to get her mind off of everything and to live life. What Sara never expected was to marry a complete stranger, and wake up in bed with him the next morning.

Sara wants an annulment, but Jacob wants more time with his imprint. With reluctance, Sara agrees to take her classes online and move with Jacob to La Push to at least make their marriage work for the next six months of it.

Could Sara love Jacob for who he is, or will she run the moment she discovers the truth?

A/N: Hello again, my fellow readers! I apologize for the delay in posting another chapter. With finals and Christmas coming and going, I didn't have time. Since New Year's is coming up soon, I still might not be able to update any new chapters, but I'll try my best.

Now, back to the story at hand...yes, Sara is falling for him, but how can a love be strong enough for two unlikely people? Well, in this chapter, this will be a Thanksgiving-themed one (and there will be a Christmas one; albeit a late one), and you'll see the dynamic begin to grow between them. Plus, you'll get to see Sara's vulnerable side even more. Enjoy!

Chapter 17

Jacob's POV

It's been almost a month, and honestly, I'm very excited about Sara coming home. Well, I'm happy that she'll be home for Thanksgiving, but I know I'll be upset when she goes back to Seattle. After spending a week in Seattle with her, we both agreed that we should live together. However, at the moment we couldn't, because Sara had classes on campus. It wouldn't be fair for her to drop all of her classes so late, only to retake them again next semester.

So, after spending our last night talking about it, we both agreed to have Sara finished her semester before coming to La Push to live permanently. Once she comes to La Push and settles, Sara would then take classes online and only go back to Seattle for exams and for her graduation.

It was a sacrifice to make, but I knew for her that she wanted her degree, and after this semester ends, she only had one more before she got her graduate certificate. I'm proud of her, though, and I'm happy for her.

Over the past month since I'd came back home, we would constantly call each other or even text and email if we couldn't call. I secretly hoped that it's the imprint that's pulling her in, but I don't want to jinx it. I'm just still afraid of losing her, but I know I just have to have faith...and I hope she does as well.

Waiting for her at the airport in Port Angeles felt like eternity. The memories of the first time she came to La Push came rushing back, as I waited by baggage claim for her. Once I finally caught a glimpse of her dark hair, I felt whole again. I could tell that the feeling was mutual when her smile lifted, and she skipped toward me. Once she was in my arms, it was as if we were the only two people in the world.

I pressed my mouth against her temple, taking in her floral scent. When she pulled away, I asked her about her ride. "Well, I guess sitting next to an old geeser who wouldn't stop snoring so loudly can take a lot out of you."

Chuckling, I carried her bags out to the truck; one she hasn't seen before. "Did you buy yourself a new car?"

"Actually, I rebuilt it."

"You did?"

I nodded. "It's been a work-in-progress for the past month or so. You like it?"

"Yes, I've never ridden or drove a pick-up truck before."

"Well, maybe you can take it for a spin today." Tossing the keys to her, I could tell that she was excited.

"Are you serious?"

Opening the driver's side door, I bowed to her and said, "My lady." I couldn't stop smiling the entire time, while Sara drove us back to La Push as I navigated. It brought joy to me, just watching her get all excited over driving a pick-up truck; something that I've been working on for a while. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to do with the truck once I started rebuilding it, but as I watched my wife enjoying herself, I think I have a feeling of what I could do with it.

By the time we'd gotten home, there were a few cars already parked at my place. Then again, it is Thanksgiving day, and it was a miracle that Sara made it to join me, along with everybody else for this special day. Well, at least of them. "Wow, how many people were going to be here?" She asked me once we were out of the car.

"My family and some close friends. You'll know Sam and Emily, so you'll be fine."

"I don't know, Jake."

I noticed that her voice was cracking a bit, and though I didn't really know why, I didn't want to push her to tell me what's wrong. Taking her free hand in mines, I brought it to my lips and kissed her knuckles tenderly again. "You'll be fine. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

I didn't realize how wrong I was. As soon as we walked into the house, all of the girls dragged Sara away into the kitchen, while the guys took me outside for some beer and football. I felt really bad about letting Sara hang out with the girls by herself, but since I knew my sister was here, I just hoped that Sara was alright. I felt a hand slap against my shoulder, and I turned to see Sam, Paul, and Jared walking by and sitting down with me. I saw Quil and Embry talking to my father and to Sue, while Seth, Collin, and Brady tried to sneak some food from the kitchen.

"Hey, you alright?" Paul asked, as he held his sleeping son in his arms.

"Yeah, I guess. Just thinking, that's all."

"You sure about that, or are you thinking about your little wife in there?" Jared laughed, but I knew that if I said the same thing to him, he would growl like I was doing now.

"Look, you don't know Sara..."

"Neither do you. I mean, did you ever asked her about her family at all? All you know is that she has two brothers and three sisters, and that all of them are either married with kids, a newlywed, or are engaged. Did you even asked her where she's from, or what her parents do for a living."

"It's not easy asking my imprint questions when she's not ready to talk about it."

"Yeah, but still."

"That's enough, Jared." Sam immediately cut him off. He turned back to me, and asked, "Did you tell her yet?"

I knew what he was asking, and honestly, telling your soulmate-slash-wife over the phone that you're a shapeshifter sworn to protect his people, and that she's also your everything would probably not go well. "No, not yet. I'm just not sure she's ready yet."

"I could understand if she's not ready, since she hardly knows you and you with her. But are you ready to tell her?"

I wanted to say yes, but I couldn't. Before I could give Sam my answer, I heard my sister coming outside. "Hey Jake, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"What's wrong?"

"It's Sara." Immediately, I jumped up, thinking she was hurt. "She's okay, well, physically. I think we may have caused her to cry when she left the kitchen."

I rushed to Rachel, taking hold of her shoulders. I knew that Paul was growling at me, but I wasn't hurting her. I was just worried about Sara. "Rach, what happened?"

"I don't know. When we started asking her about her family, she couldn't speak. She left before we could stop her. I'm so sorry,"

"It's not your fault, Rachel." Sam said, as he pulled me away from my sister before I could hurt her (which I never would, but as an alpha male, there's no telling what I might do if something happened to my mate). "Do you know where she went?"

"I think she went upstairs," she answered. I thanked my sister, as I rushed inside and headed up the stairs. As I got to the top of the steps, I could smell tears from the bedroom, and I knew instantly she was hurting. Rushing in, she let out a gasp, and immediately rubbed her face. Trying to not let me see her crying, but I could scent a tear from a mile away.

"Jake, I'm okay. Just go back downstairs, okay?" I didn't listen to her. Instead, I sat down on the bed beside her, and pulled her body into the safety of my arms. I felt her hands move around my waist, as she hung on so tightly. I didn't mind it.

In fact, this was the first time that I've ever seen Sara so vulnerable, and it was a nice feeling for me. It meant that she wanted me to hold her when she cries, and it was nice being needed. Pressing a kiss to her hair, I said to her, "It's okay, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Did the girls say something that upset you?"

"No, they're wonderful. It's not something they did,"

"Then what is it?"

She pulled away, and looked at me. "There's something I haven't told you yet, and I wanted to wait until after dinner. But, I guess your friends were concerned about my family and whey they're not coming."

"You never really talked about your family, and I assumed that maybe you wanted to wait to tell them about us." It was true; Sara has only told her siblings about us, and of the five of them, three of them were supported, while the other two were on the fence. I thought that Sara wanted to wait until Christmas to tell her parents about us, and I wanted to give her space to do that. I guess I was wrong.

"Well, I did tell them. The night before,"

"You mean, before you got on the plane?"

She nodded. "What did they say?"

"My father disowned me, and my mother doesn't really know what to do."

"Oh God, Sara...I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."

"No," she said, as she ran her thumb on my cheek. "It's not your fault, Jake. It's mines. If I had told them sooner, than they would've been understanding, or at least supportive somewhat. I just made them mad by not telling them sooner."

My hand was on her knee, gently squeezing it in a way to comfort her. She noticed it, and smiled at me. "It's okay, I knew that I never really fit in with the family, no matter how hard I tried. It's hard being the black sheep in the family,"

"How long have you felt this way?"

"Far too long,"

Looking into Sara's eyes, I could see that her walls were beginning to break down before me. I think this was what I needed, for her to be vulnerable, and to allow me to care for her. I'm upset for her that her parents are unable to accept who she is, but no matter what, I'll put her first...as well as any children we have. I probably sound crazy, already thinking about having children with her, but with her, anything is possible. I kissed her forehead, and whispered, "Well, you have me now, and my family and friends. They're now your family, okay? No matter what, I'm here for you."

She giggled, then kissed me fully on the lips. Her soft, pouty lips were like drugs for me, and I just couldn't get enough. When she pulled away, she whispered her thanks to me. Smiling, I asked her, "You ready to have dinner with our family and friends tonight? I gotta tell you, there might not be any food left."

She nodded, and took my welcoming hand in hers as we headed downstairs. Now, I have no doubt, and I believe she doesn't doubt me either...