A/N: Danke for all of the reviews. I tried to get extremely far in this story before I posted it so fear not, it will end… Mwhahahaha mwhahahahahahahaha hahahahahaha ha ha *cough* er, this story will one day be complete. :D And now, on with the show.

Why Do I Love You?

Strong, vise like stone arms wrapped around Jacob's body, stopping his momentum as he sailed through the air. Casually the arms tossed him backwards, away from the cliff. Jacob landed on his side, skidding to a halt, and then bound to his feet preparing for a fight. Edward crouched across from him, mimicking his attack pose, but as soon as Jacob recognized him his anger melted away and Jacob straightened immediately.

"Stupid careless mongrel," Edward growled. "Do you have any idea what would have happened if you'd died?"

'Barely even a drop,' Jacob thought smugly, 'I wouldn't have felt a thing.'

Edward growled, reading Jacob's thoughts, but relaxed his pose. "You need to be more careful. If something had happened to you… Bella would be heartbroken."

The sun had set, Jacob wasn't sure when, and the rare break in the clouds allowed the unfiltered moonlight to beam down on Edward's skin. The pale light made Edward even lighter, making his skin luminescent. He was perfect, Jacob realized, the perfect lure. His skin was beautiful, smooth, opaque; his thin lipped smile was the darkest shade of violet, his golden hair the color of sunrise, his long equine nose, slender, straight. The only flaw being the acidic scent radiating from him, burning Jacob's nostrils painfully. Edward frowned and took a step backwards, away from Jacob, towards the bluff.

'Can't I have any thoughts to myself?' Jacob thought sullenly.'This isn't easy for me, you know?'

"It's not exactly a walk in the park for me," Edward said. Jacob huffed and Edward sighed, his shoulders slumping forward dolefully. "You were going to try to fix this, you were going to try and stop it, can you?"

'You were listening?' Jacob wondered. Had he thought that when he was near Edward or back when he was in La Push? 'How long have you been listening to me?'

"Not long," Edward answered. "You didn't stop it then?"

'Would I be here if I had?' Jacob thought morosely.

"I suppose not," Edward said.

Edward sighed loudly and stared at the ground, giving Jacob time to appraise him properly. Edward was lean, with the hint of muscles pulling at his clothes and he was tall, not as tall as Jacob but who was? His eyes, even being an unnatural shade of topaz, were absolutely stunning, even in the dark. Even his scent had gotten better, less acidic, easier to deal with. Jacob thought it might have been dulling his sense of smell but he could still smell everything else. He could smell tuna in the water below, the herd of deer a couple of miles to his left, Seth and Leah as they raced towards him―

Jacob whole body tensed and he froze. Edward's face registered what Jacob assumed was an equal amount of fear to his own but in an instant Edward had it concealed behind a mask of stone. Jacob could hear them now, now that he wasn't so absorbed in admiring Edward, hear Seth and Leah in his head. He could see what they saw, feel what they felt. The forest whipped around them, blurring into a mass of dark green in their speed. They were talking about him, he realized, about everything Jacob had just thought. They discussed splitting up, one coming to intercept him the other going to gather the pack. They were disgusted, horrified, and afraid for Jacob. They were worried about whatever the vampires had done, wondering how they'd cracked the secret of imprinting so that it could be used against the pack. How better to defeat them than to tie Jacob to one of their own? Seth and Leah were running full tilt; it wouldn't be long before they made it to the bluff.

'That's right buddy,' Seth thought optimistically, 'don't worry, we'll be there in no time.'

Before the thought had fully formed in Jacob's mind he was human and moved closer to Edward. Edward's eyes locked on his own and bored into his skull. "You need to go," Jacob said forcefully.

"What about―"

"Don't worry about the damned treaty," Jacob snarled. "I'll make sure it still stands. You haven't done anything wrong." Edward looked like he wanted to argue with Jacob, the dark cloud of emotion that crossed his face a warning, but he glanced worriedly over Jacob's shoulder and whatever argument he'd begun in his head was silenced. "Go," Jacob demanded.

Without a word Edward stepped backwards, off of the cliff. Jacob watched as he fell gracefully, bounding elegantly from jutting rock to jutting rock until he reached the bottom. Without a backwards glace Edward raced along the ground until he was out of sight. Jacob turned back to face the forest, he could hear Seth and Leah gaining on him, and quickly phased back. Once in his animal form Leah and Seth played through his memory as he told Edward to leave. They felt his desire to save Edward, to get him away from any impending danger, the revulsion clear in their minds. Leah and Seth reached the cliff and skidded to a halt, glaring at Jacob.

'What the hell Jacob?!' Leah demanded.

'He can't help it,' Seth said. 'When you imprint―'

'Shut up Seth!' Leah barked. 'You can't imprint on a Vampire, a male vampire! It makes no sense!'

'There's a reason,' Jacob thought. 'It may not be clear now, or even make sense, but there's a reason that my life is for Edward.'

Leah growled ferociously, a low, guttural snarl so feral Jacob had trouble believing it had come from her. She glared at Jacob, debating whether it was better to rip his throat out now or get Sam and let him do it. She decided on tattling and turned tail, heading back into the woods. Jacob sat and locked eyes with Seth, holding the young wolf's attention but not actually watching him. Soon they would know, soon the whole pack would be in his head, digging through his memories, his feelings, and judging him. Soon he'd have to defend Edward, defend himself, and defend their… relationship, whatever it was or would be. He didn't want to leave the bluff, let them come to him; at least here Edward's scent remained.

It was all happening too fast, the imprinting, his pack finding out, soon they'd be upon him and he'd be all alone to face their onslaught. Edward may have been his whole world now but that didn't make him Edward's. Jacob would be whatever Edward needed of him, friend, confidant, slave, lover (even if he wasn't sure he wanted to), and they both knew it. Jacob knew it whole heartedly, because of that place, because he'd come to a bluff he'd never been to before despite living so close and found Edward there. He knew it because he had been drawn there, drawn to Edward, drawn by the part of Edward that was now a part of himself and would not be denied. Jacob's body and mind acted of their own volition now. Surely before he never would have encouraged Edward to leave, he never would have allowed Edward to leave. Before he wouldn't have actually wanted Edward to leave, as though Edward's safety and wellbeing were more important than his own, and they were.

There had to be some way, a way to turn back time or erase the imprint altogether, go back to hating Edward Cullen.

'Good,' Seth added, 'keep thinking like that.'

Seth meant it, meant for Jacob to fight but it was for naught, Jacob was gone. Even that brief moment of revulsion had cost him, had gripped his insides and squeezed them until they were exploding inside of him. Jacob couldn't fight it, this imprint was the North Atlantic Current and Jacob was feebly struggling against it. The Titanic was sinking to the depths beneath his feet and Jacob's weak doggy paddle wasn't keeping him afloat it was only tiring him out. A vacuum of pressure pulled him down, demanding he sink into submission, and everyone demanded he stay away. In the back of his mind, far away, Jacob could hear the scorn, feel the derision, in the rest of the pack but he ignored them. They couldn't feel what he felt, not really, they could stop listening to him, stop feeling what he felt, phase back into human form and forget. All Jacob had now was this need for Edward, he couldn't go back, and there was nothing to go back to.

'It's just an imprint,' Jacob thought glumly. 'It's not as though I'm in love with Edward, not like he's in love with me. He can't stand me, not even now.'

The others reached him, taking up defensive positions around him, blocking all exits but the high cliff behind him.

'Be reasonable, Jacob,' Sam started. Jacob snorted with laughter; clear even in his wolf form. As if reason was an achievable goal after imprinting. 'We'll talk to the elders, see if there's a way to reverse … this. We'll fix this. I just need you to chill, have a little patience.'

Jacob shook his head sharply in defiance and as soon as he did it Sam was on his feet and in Jacob's face. Sam was angry; Jacob could practically see it rolling off of Sam in waves. Jacob thought, idly, of jumping off of the cliff, wondering if he could make the elegant descent that Edward had, but quickly discarded the thought. Thinking of it brought Edward's escape to the forefront of his mind and soon they were all watching with him as he told Edward to leave, as Edward escaped, tainting his memory of the event with their anger.

'You will go home,' Sam ordered using the voice, 'you will not speak with any of the bloodsuckers. You will not leave the Reservation under any circumstances.'

Jacob felt the weight of Sam's command on him and he let the voice drain away his resistance. This felt like the best solution to his seemingly overwhelming problems. It was better not to think, not to have to think, not to have to try and fight against what was happening. It was so much easier to just blindly obey Sam's orders and let all his confusions melt away. In a fog Jacob felt himself raise, the pads of his feet moving over the ground pushing him away then pushing him faster, moving him quickly through the forest and away from the pack. Jacob allowed his mind to blank out, to move on automatic, and barely registered the revulsion the others felt at his robotic transformation. Soon they phased into human form, so they could speak in private, so they could be unburdened by his thoughts and feelings, and Jacob was alone.

Once they were gone there was nothing inside of Jacob, just a hollow numbness in his head, the sound of his paws as they impacted the hard earth, and the now constant tug on his consciousness, the small urge tugging on his awareness. It tried to pull Jacob's thoughts down a dark road, a road that he didn't want to travel, a road to Edward. Luckily, in his controlled stupor, Jacob's random thoughts of Edward lulled into a dull throb of ache. It was unbearable, Jacob decided, to have no control over his own actions. If it wasn't Edward's grasp on his mind it was Sam. Jacob had no control over his thoughts, his body, or his emotions. He hated it, hated having nothing left of himself for himself, no place for him to hide. He had no free will, no free thought, no free space in his mind. There was nowhere for Jacob to hide himself.

Jacob made it back to the reservation and onto his porch without being seen. He phased quickly and ducked inside, going straight to his room, his father didn't even stir in his bed. Jacob threw himself across his bed, ignoring the way is scraped the floor, thudded against the wall, and groaned in protest to his harsh treatment. There was no place left for him, no sacred space that was all his own. He tried desperately not to remember what he'd been told about imprinting, trying not to remember that the object of an imprint had little choice but to accept. With such love and devotion aimed right at them how could they resist, it was difficult to believe that one day Edward might feel for Jacob what Jacob felt for him. It was terrifying and, deep inside, exciting.

There had to be a reason why he'd imprinted on Edward, some sick cosmic joke Jacob wasn't in on. There had to be some way to reverse it, to pull back the last shred of personal self Jacob had and keep it safely hidden. All of those times he had tried to imprint on Bella, not really knowing what he had been asking for, he thought of how foolish he'd been. He'd thought it would connect them and erase Edward from her life and her heart. He had wanted it so badly. Now things had changed so drastically. Jacob's thoughts pulled towards Edward violently and he wondered absentmindedly if Edward was okay. Had he made it home safely? Was his pack out there now, planning an attack on the Cullens? Did Edward need anything, need him?

Sleep. The voice in Jacob's head ordered him and Jacob did, falling into an uneasy sleep easily.

That night was the first night Jacob dreamed of Edward Cullen. It started with the smallest of fragments from his memory; glimpses of Edward's face, his eyes, his smile, or his skin glittering in the moonlight. Over the following weeks it elevated drastically. Each day, as Jacob's longing for Edward went painfully unfulfilled, Jacob would grow increasingly anxious pacing his small room. By night his mind filled with images of Edward, so much so that Jacob often longed for sleep only to quell his need for Edward in some minute way. Things Jacob had only seen Edward do in his peripheral became the center of his unconscious mind's attention; the grace of Edward's movements, his lean musculature, his full head of copper hair, his thin lips, high cheek bones, equine nose, the care he always took with Bella. This, alternately, would lead his mind down other paths.

What if Edward just wanted to keep him as a pet, a play toy for him and his family? Even if Jacob knew that that was all Edward would want of him Jacob would still go, his need to make Edward happy too strong now. What if Jacob had to play nurse mate for Edward and Bella for the rest of her life or, if Edward decided to turn her, for the rest of eternity? Could he? Could he bear it or would he allow himself to grow old and die rather than continue to watch them together? Could he allow himself to die if Edward never would?

On some nights, nights when Jacob would wake with a start and a choked sob, he dreamt of kissing Edward. He dreamt of setting fire to Edward's cool skin with his touch, his lips, his tongue. He dreamt of pressing his bare body against Edward's, wondering if the difference in temperature would even them out. He dreamt of Edward's rock hard body above him, those ice cold lips kissing his feverish shoulder, Edward's sickly sweet breath ghosting over Jacob's skin, and the words that frightened Jacob into violent alertness, Edward's somber; I love you.

It had been nearly a month and nothing about Jacob's imprinting had gotten easier, things were only getting worse. After one week Jacob had been forbidden to phase after he'd connected to Leah and learned that Bella had been calling to get a hold of him. Frantic was the term Leah had used. Bella called every day, frantically. Jacob's first thought had been of Edward, of course, which is where Sam's problem began and ended. Was Edward using Bella to try and reach him? Had Edward told Bella about the imprinting, that he was furious and disgusted with Jacob, and she was calling to demand he explain himself? All of the thoughts and emotions he had been successfully hiding behind a wall in his mind after imprinting had suddenly burst free and Jacob had inadvertently dumped them into Leah's mind then from her to the pack. Every humiliating, paranoid, desperate, needy, devoted, manic thought he'd been repressing about Edward Cullen and every emotion attached to it all poured into their collective consciousness. Sam had pulled rank, again, and forbade Jacob from phasing unless Sam himself told him to. Two and a half weeks later and Jacob was going out of his mind with boredom. Every day it seemed like Sam had some new and ridiculous rule or some new gimmick to "break the trick of the false imprint", as the counsel said. Nothing worked and every day not seeing Edward, not knowing if he was okay, not being near him, hurt Jacob more.

Jacob stopped, mid pace through his small room, and turned towards the door. Rule number thirty-four: do not leave your room during the day, put in place when Bella had shown up at Jacob's house and demanded to speak with him. The rules were unbearable, no one came in and no one was allowed out. Jacob was a caged animal in a zoo no one wanted to visit. Why wouldn't they let him go? He had to go, to leave, to see Edward. No one had disallowed Paul the right to come over and sit with Mary until she went to bed, day after day. Jacob inched towards the door, slowly, fighting against the voice's control. He moved determinedly, unwilling to spend another minute in his room alone.

Come to me… please.

Jacob's body shook with the urge to leave, to obey the silky smooth voice in his head, to do whatever Edward required of him, even if it was just his ghost in Jacob's head. Jacob didn't know if that voice had always been Edward's, it had only started after he'd imprint so it might have been, or if the recent weeks of separation had made it become Edward's voice out of Jacob's sheer desperation to be near Edward. Always it pleaded with Jacob. The voice begged Jacob to leave the house, to leave the reservation, to come to him. Always the urges were accompanied by images of random places around Forks or near the reservation. Most recently it had been the Cullen's estate, for an entire week nothing but the large house and visions of Edward's concerned face entered Jacob's mind.

Jacob reached out and touched the doorknob, feeling the pull of Sam's edict halting him from doing any more. All of Jacob's muscles burned with desire, needing to turn the knob, wanting to turn the handle so badly but having none of the ability. Jerkily his hand constricted on the door knob while fighting Sam's command. Sam was his friend, his Alpha, and on some level Jacob knew he was probably right. Jacob understood that if it had been any other member of the pack that had imprinted on a vampire Jacob would agree with him. Jacob would advocate the same thing. But this was different, this was Jacob's life, and Jacob could not continue to feel so incomplete, not when completion was only a few miles away. Jacob gripped the door knob tighter, feeling the metal begin to dent in his palm, then in one supreme burst of head clearing energy he turned the knob and swung the door open and off its hinges.

Suddenly the rope around Jacob's neck was gone, Jacob no longer felt compelled to obey any of the orders Sam had given him, and the absolute, undiluted need to be near his imprint ripped through him. Vaguely he saw Billy, Mary, and Paul as he ran through the house, simultaneously phasing and escaping the house through the front door. Jacob padded to the edge of the forest then ran into it with a speed he hadn't known he possessed. He headed straight towards the Forks border. Knowing where Jacob was going, and why, would the others honor the treaty? None of the original conditions had been broken but did it still apply anymore? Didn't Jacob's imprinting and defection change everything? Jacob tried to listen to the pack, to eavesdrop on their plans, but he heard nothing. Surely they had phased, they had to be chasing him, but the only thoughts in his head were his own. His steady breathing filled his ears, the pace of his run, the silent glee from his inner Edward repeating; 'He's coming, he's coming' over and over.

'Yes I am,' Jacob thought with no small sense of euphoria.

He was so excited, so engrossed in listening to the happiness of his inner Edward's voice, that he didn't notice as one of the others caught up to him. He didn't have time to react until after the long, sharp, hard teeth clamped down on his shoulder bringing him to the ground and it was too late. They tumbled and rolled over each other, the other wolf keeping his jaw clamped firmly on Jacob's skin. Once they were on the ground, instead of letting go, the other wolf shook his head ferociously, ripping Jacob's flesh further. Pain rippled through Jacob, shooting from his shoulder through his entire body. He knew that he had to get up, had to get away before the others reached him, but he couldn't bring himself to move and the other wolf began to shake his head again.

A/N: Sorry, I love putting Jacob's life in jeopardy and ending the chapter, don't I?