Chapter 1

Left Behind

If he recognized the dilemma back then, he might have made a different decision... Assuming he could have made a different decision. A catch twenty-two of no escape. Like the polar icecaps, his imprint-will to do right by Nessie stood the opposite of his imprint-ability to get it done.

Jacob bounced from rock to rock, climbing to the edge of the slanted cliff. Reaching the top, he trotted out of the woods and lowered his hind legs into a sitting position. Staring out over the calm, dark ocean, he wondered how badly he screwed himself.

At the time of the agreement, Jacob never imagined the torture of getting along without Nessie. He might have even been dying a slow death for all he knew. Nobody knew for sure what would happen if a wolf separated from their imprint. He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep, and he couldn't figure out for the life of him, why the hell he agreed.

He snorted. Horse shit!

His gut knew why. Growing fast, Nessie deserved to spend those few childhood years bonding with her mom and dad. He wanted to give her that. Though a noble sacrifice, it didn't lessen the difficulty of not being able to see or protect her. It seemed he lived in quicksand now, hardly able to move through the day, sometimes. Deciding on what to do, he let out a low howl, abruptly spun around, and made for Forks.

He thought an occasional conversation with her might help him out, but like an idiot he didn't get a phone number from Bella beforehand. He didn't even bother to know their whereabouts, because he honestly intended to give them space and their time with Nessie. Being forced to face the facts, he changed his mind. He wasn't doing well, by any means, and Bella and Edward would have to understand.

Magnifying his misery, he missed the drama and danger he faced over the past year. The docile life he settled into bored him to hell. At some point, his friends had learned to live without him, unless this was their way of teaching him a lesson. Whenever he wanted to do something, Quil said he was busy, and Embry's mom had grounded him for life. Even Billy made plans that didn't include his own son. Serves me right, he thought, slipping on his trunksandjogging out of the trees.

His heart sank when he got to Charlie's finding him gone, but he told himself something he'd been telling himself practically every day now, which was to hang in there until tomorrow.

Sulking away, he headed back the way he came when the twanging sound of box guitar caught his attention. The country-style music, not his favorite genre, registered loud and clear. Pausing and perking his ears, he picked out a girl's voice, singing along with a strumming guitar. And she sounded kind of nice. Paying attention to her plucking away, it took him a moment to realize he was trailing in the sound's direction, wanting to see the voice.

Rounding the corner of Charlie's block, a gust of wind blew a blend of vanilla and lavender up his nose. A few houses down the street, he spotted its source. On the porch of a split-level house sat the girl, handling the guitar. Before he could get any closer to her, a gruff voice shouted, "Raven!"

An image of the owner's voice as being a middle-aged, overweight guy with tattoos on his fat covered muscles popped into his mind.

"Ugh, why can't he leave me alone?" Jacob heard her gripe. She stood up and entered the house, taking the pleasant aroma with her, answering, "Yeah, Dad?"

When he neared, he couldn't help but stare. On the lower floor of the home, he saw inside a bedroom. A dark-haired girl approached the window, and though it was evening, he got a clear view of her. Because of the golden tone of her skin, he thought she was Native American but wasn't sure. She could have been Mexican, or maybe not. He'd never seen her around Forks before. Not that he knew everyone in Forks, but he was good with faces.

Supposing she saw him staring at her, he waved. She just shut the window and closed the curtains. He grimaced. Probably thought I was a peeping Tom.

The door to the house flung open and the girl's dad stomped out, carrying garbage and looking almost exactly the way Jacob pictured him, only with dirty blond hair. Jacob decided the girl was neither Native nor Mexican.

Catching Jacob gawking, the man glared at him. Jacob turned his head, wrinkling his nose at the repulsive scent of trash mixed with awful-person wafting toward him. The guy gave off a bad vibe.

Going back to Charlie's the next day, it excited him to see Charlie home. But the feeling died when Charlie said, "Bells hasn't called yet, but it hasn't been that long, Jacob, and I know they're halfway around the world somewhere. When she does, I'll let you know."

Now what?

He figured Edward probably told him not to give him the number, and feeling bitter, wondered if Nessie and Bella would be furious if he gave Edward a good-sized crack in the nose because of it.

Overcome with an urge to smash something or morph and destroy anything he could rip apart with his teeth, he forced himself to take a calming breath. Allowing himself to go berserk and sprint through the woods like a rabid wolf never helped before, and he had no reason to believe it would help this time. He needed to talk to Nessie, his only sanity.

Rounding the corner, someone smacked into his shirtless chest, ricocheting off. His arms shot out, and he caught her before she hit the ground. "I'm sorry," he said, steadying her.

"No. It's my fault," the girl muttered, turning her face away from him as he let go of her. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was running."

Jacob noticed a bruise below her eye, and he spotted tears. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She avoided looking at him, jogging away.

Jacob knew the bruised girl was the same girl he'd heard playing guitar and singing, and he heard the same rough voice from the other night, bellowing, "If she thinks she can disobey me and get away with it, she's got another thing coming!"

A female voice responded. "She's just going running, Mike. I know what Raven did was wrong, but she's already been hi... punished for that. She doesn't go anywhere else, and what's wrong with running?"

"That's not the point, Abby. Raven disobeyed, and she should be grounded. Do you want me to parent her or not? She's probably got a boyfriend somewhere around here. I bet that's where she's always running off to!" the man grumbled.

Jacob's temperature rose. "Douche bag," he mumbled, feeling a fair amount of aggression toward the prick. He hated bullies.

When he crossed the street, entering the woods, he whiffed it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood as a wave of adrenaline burst through him. Exploding into a sprint, he followed the sickly, sweet stench burning his nostrils and making him want to kill. But the stench vanished so quickly, he wasn't even sure he whiffed it. Confused and disappointed, he slowed to a trot and headed back to La Push.

A/N Thanks for reading. I enjoy and look forward to comments on the characters or situation or any tips you might provide. Can't wait to hear from you!