A/N: Hey all, I'm back! I do have a good reason for my long absence, in the form of a miserable and difficult surprise pregnancy and the past six months being pretty sleep deprived thanks to my adorable little one. Finally starting to gather my scattered brain cells enough to write again, managed to finish this chapter and start the next part, also working on my other story, Bound to You. Updates will probably be sporadic for awhile, right now I work on it whenever I can snatch a few minutes during the baby's nap. Hopefully I'll have the next part written soon. Enjoy!

Run to You Part 1

Jacob's paws thudded into the ground in a steady rhythm as he raced through the forest, instinct leading him towards La Push, and allowed his mind to spin over the events of the last few days. He had realized after leaving La Push that he had no idea where in Alaska he would find Bella so he had detoured to her house and searched her room for her college applications. Finally he had found her stack of papers and even a note about the Denali coven, making him sure that's where he would find her. On his way back through La Push he had also grabbed a pair of stashed shorts since he had shredded his and then took off north, determined to reach the leeches' lair as soon as possible.

Fortunately, while his wolf was just as eager to find Bella, it kept its survival instincts forefront in their mind as well and forced him to hunt, drink and sleep throughout the journey. When Jake had protested, it reminded him that he most likely would be ripping Edward to shreds for one reason or another and he needed his strength. The wolf had finally won out and he had taken longer than he'd planned to reach Alaska, also having to run mainly at night to avoid being seen. Eventually he'd reached the outskirts of Denali and followed the strong scent of the leeches to a large house in the woods, much like the Cullen's house in Forks. His hackles rose slightly and he let out a low growl as he replayed the memory in his mind…

Flashback, two days earlier…

Jacob stared at the house hidden in the woods, large glass windows reflecting the scenery of the snow covered woods, preventing anyone from seeing into the vampires' lair. He strained his ears, hoping to tell how many of the leeches might be home but it seemed that they gave up the pretense of being human when they were in a secluded area like this, he couldn't hear them taking the unnecessary breaths he normally did. He could hear some of them moving around but it was impossible to tell who it was and how many vamps were occupying the house. He couldn't remember how many were in the Denali coven but he supposed it didn't matter, with the Cullens alone he was outnumbered. He just hoped he had enough time to rip Douchward to shreds and burn his head before the others killed him.

Shaking himself he stepped out of the tree line and let out a long howl, hearing all the movement in the house cease for a moment. He paced back and forth impatiently and growled under his breath, eyes trained on the door. He heard the soft, near silent footfalls and the hushed whispers of a few of the Cullens before the door slowly creaked open and Carlisle stepped out with his hands raised in a non-threatening gesture.

"Jacob. I'm surprised to see you here. Is something wrong?"

Jacob growled and snapped his jaws angrily, his pacing increasing as he glared at the vampire. Carlisle may have helped him after the newborn, but at the moment he saw only an obstacle between him and his target.

"Jacob, if you can I need you to shift back to human. I don't have any way for us to communicate with you now that Edward is gone."

Carlisle's words stopped Jacob in his tracks and he snarled as he took a few steps toward him, his fur bristling as the big burly vamp and the wiry one that taught them to fight appeared to flank Carlisle, watching him carefully. He backed up, not wanting to pick a fight before he had his chance to tear Edward apart, his guard still up as he considered his options. Finally with a low growl he backed into the woods until he was hidden from sight and shifted back, wincing slightly at the raised level of pain after several days of being in one form. He tugged his cutoffs from his leg and yanked them on, striding out of the woods as he fastened the button, the falling snow practically sizzling on his overheated skin as he glared at the three vampires. "Where is he?"

Carlisle raised his hands in a placating gesture and glanced behind him as the door opened and the three Cullen women stepped out on the porch. As they stood behind each of their respective mates Jacob locked eyes with the little pixie, Alice if he remembered right and he growled out, "Where is he? Where does he have Bella?"

Her mate, Jasper, hissed angrily and tensed as he prepared to spring until the pixie placed a hand on his arm and smiled sweetly as she murmured something in his ear. He glared at Jacob again but relaxed under her touch while Carlisle stepped forward. "Jacob, I'm not sure what you mean. Edward is not here, he left us to go traveling over a month ago, but I assure you that Bella is neither with us nor him."

Jacob crossed his arms angrily and glared at the coven leader, spitting out his words angrily. "Liar. She isn't in Forks, she disappeared at the same time you all left town and her scent stopped at your house. I assume he already turned her so I believe he and I have some unfinished business."

His eyes darted to the pixie as she stepped forward, her mate much calmer after her ministrations and she cocked her head at him slightly as she frowned. "Carlisle is telling the truth Jacob, Bella didn't leave with us and she isn't with Edward. She broke off the engagement after the battle and asked that he not see her anymore, despite being heartbroken over your rejection."

Jacob clenched his fists and took a steadying breath, guilt panging through him as he looked her in the eyes. "That wasn't me. I would never have said that to her, especially after…that was my Pack, they were trying to protect me from getting hurt. They saw her ring and assumed she was going to tell me about it so they kept us apart, told me that she never wanted to see me again."

He knew his pain was reflected in his eyes and Alice's face softened slightly as she frowned harder. "It's true that Bella did come to us after the battle, but not to take Edward back. She asked me to help her leave Forks, she felt that she needed to get away from everything that happened here and figure out her life. Edward didn't know about it, we made sure he was away when she left and that he wouldn't know where to find her. He left shortly after that to travel in Europe again and I've been keeping an eye on him."

Jacob's mind raced and his legs suddenly felt weak as he sank to his knees in the snow, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. Bella was alive! And she had still left the leech, even after she thought Jake had abandoned her for good. A cold touch on his shoulder made him look up and he saw the pixie smiling down at him sympathetically. "She's in Phoenix Jacob; she went to her mother's old house and has been living there all summer."

He swallowed hard and nodded, his mind already racing as he planned how to get to Phoenix as fast as possible and how to convince Bella to return home with him. Alice's touch jerked him out of his thoughts again and he frowned at her worried look. "Jacob, if you aren't with Bella and none of your packmates are with her…her future has been disappearing for a while, and I haven't been able to see her in three days now. I thought maybe it was one of you keeping an eye on her but if not…"

Jacob surged to his feet as he let out a growl of anger, ready to phase and head south as quickly as possible. His wolf was snapping at the barely leashed control Jacob had over him, and he could feel his body trembling violently. Alice backed away cautiously into the arms of her mate and Jacob gave her a jerky nod of thanks before turning and dashing into the woods, barely making it into the trees before he exploded into the wolf and allowed the pull home to take over his senses, letting loose a long howl…

Jacob shook his head slightly as he came back to himself, his wolf huffing at the lingering memory of the leeches. His stomach rumbled loudly and the wolf turned its thoughts to hunting, picking up the scent of a herd of deer about a quarter mile ahead, growling when Jacob tried to ignore the pull to hunt. He wanted to get to Bella as fast as possible, but the wolf stubbornly insisted on the food, knowing after they got to La Push they still had a long journey to Phoenix and they needed to keep up their strength. Begrudgingly Jacob finally relented and let his instincts take over as they chased down an older looking doe, granting her a quick death as his jaws snapped around her neck. He let the wolf focus on eating, even after all this time he still wasn't 100% comfortable with the eating it raw, letting his mind wander to the other issue he had to deal with.

The confrontation with Sam and the resulting usurp of the Alpha status had shaken Jacob almost as much as the fact that he had nearly killed his packmate in his rage. He felt a flash of shame well up in him, knowing that he had let down his pack and his people, even if it was to find Bella, and there were sure to be more than a few people who would be unhappy with him when he returned. He cringed thinking of how he would have to face his father, for everything the last few months and now the running away, knowing how disappointed Billy would be.

He was sure that Embry and Quil had taken care of him in Jacob's absence, his friends wouldn't want to let him down and he owed them just as big an apology as Sam and Billy. Actually he owed the whole pack an apology, both for his behavior the last several months and for abandoning them under Leah's charge. He wondered just how bad of shape the Pack would be in, with Leah running things and Sam most certainly still recovering from their fight. He wondered again why he had picked Leah as his Beta, surely Sam or Embry or any of the other senior wolves would have been a better pick than the moody female. His wolf growled in disagreement, content with their choice and Jacob grudgingly agreed that Leah, while angry and confrontational most of the time, would keep everyone in line and be a good second.

He finished his meal and trotted over to the nearby stream, using the water to clean the blood off before drinking his fill and turning towards home once more at a run, the pull in his chest lessening ever so slightly with each rhythmic beat of his paws against the earth, his thoughts once again honed on his goal. "Bella."

Jacob sighed as he stopped at the edge of the woods, his sore paws fading to the back of his mind as he drank in the sight of home. Through the driving rain he could make out that the little red house was dark, except for a dim light that he knew came from a small lamp in his bedroom. Since he had first phased, Billy had always left a light on for him when he had night patrols, despite Jacob's protests. When he had tried to talk his dad out of it, siting that he could see just fine in the dark and had no use for it, Billy had simply stated "It's staying, for two reasons. One, so that when you go to bed and turn it off, I know you got home safe. Two, so that you will always find your way home, no matter how dark it may get."

Now, seeing that his dad had still continued the tradition despite how Jacob had acted all this time he felt a pang of guilt. He wondered whether he should go talk to his father now, but decided to wait until he brought Bella back and he could deal with everything then. He turned towards the garage and slowly crossed the yard, mentally going over what he would need to take with him on his journey as he seamlessly phased back to human before he reached the double doors. He pulled one open, the sound covered by a loud rumble of thunder and he slipped inside before closing it behind him, shaking himself to try and get some of the water off.

A small sound, almost lost amid the raging storm outside, caught his attention and he froze as he swept his gaze over the dark room. As he did, he noticed another faint sound, one that was forever imprinted in his memory, just as the scent of vanilla and strawberries hit him. He blinked, convinced that the exhaustion was catching up with him and causing him to hallucinate, when from out of the darkness came a sound that drove him to his knees.

"Jacob."

A/N: Well, what'd you all think? I'm not really happy with this particular chapter, it's more filler than anything. We're getting close to the really good stuff though, so that'll be more fun to write. And of course reviews always help, so let me know your thoughts. Thanks for reading! :)