What did it matter to ya
When you got a job to do you got to do it well
You got to give the other fella hell

But if this ever changin' world
In which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
Live and let die

Live and Let Die, Guns N' Roses, from the album Use Your Illusions, released in 1991

When Bella phased next to me, I could feel the raw emotion and anger coming from her, like a tidal wave. I had never seen that much emotion come from her, ever. The fact that she had managed to hold it together for that amount of time was commendable in itself- especially with her being so new to the whole idea of being a werewolf. It took a strong person to do that- and Bella was stronger then anyone here.

The minute she turned sharply, growling with the kind of emotional significance that said 'Do not mess with me!' and was sounding more and more natural by the second, I pushed my paws into the ground hard and hurtled after her. I was not going to let her go through this alone. Not again.

The steady stream of her emotions was flowing into me like electricity through a wire, and it only served to reaffirm how strong she was, coping with all these emotions constantly. Through the Pack's mind, I pretty much got a live feed of what was happening with the Cullen's as I tried to keep up with my Imprint.

She suddenly skid to a stop and snarled with such venom that it almost made me take a step aback. I wasn't even aware she could hold that much animosity. But upon realising that it was me, she simple cut of her growl and returned to running, flicking a head back. She wanted me to follow. Who was I to refuse?

"This is what your son did to her!"

Echoed through my head, presumably projected by one of the pack. I allowed one part of my mind to concentrate on that as I pursued Bella, who was taking us through a very weave-y path through the forest. Sam had been the one to hurl that at the Cullens- he had become protective over Bella: as a matter of fact, most of the Pack had.

There was something about Bella that just made everybody want to like her, and it wasn't just because she was my imprint. Nobody deserved to be treated the way she was, especially by someone who claimed to love her. That was a betrayal of the worst kind.

"He turned her into a dog?"

Apparently one of them was really stupid. I didn't care enough to find out which one had said that. Just that he was a dumb-ass. Once we'd broken off the woods, I realised where we were heading- the cliffs. Somehow everything circled back to the cliffs.

She slid to a stop at the top of the cliff, and sat back, throwing her head back into the air, emitting a soul shattering howl that pierced through the silence with ease. I joined in with my own howl, but it was nowhere near as emotional as Bella's own. I couldn't even hope of replicating the emotions she was feeling, but I could empathise. Maybe that was all she needed.

"We had to do this to save her life. Without this, she would have died. And then you have the audacity to come back just to ask for her help when she was, quite literally, left for dead! But that doesn't mean anything to you, does it? Not as long as your precious mind-reader Leech is safe!"

Sam again. Definitely. All of the others were still phased, and Sam's injunction was the only thing stopping them from mauling the Cullens. Like I said, protective. As much as I hated to admit it, the decision of whether to help them or not was Bella's alone. I could dislike it or like it as much as I want, but it was her decision in the end. We just had to stand by her, unlike what the Cullens did.

"Mine."

Bella rumbled to me, scenting me as she rubbed against me. The tone was dual edged, her behaviour lacking human mannerisms. I straightened up, my fur still on edge from earlier. The entity that was my wolf, forever present at the back of my mind, was pacing, uneasily close to the surface.

He didn't like that Bella was this heated up, wanting nothing more then to tear them apart brutally. I agreed, but for the sake of Bella, didn't attempt to. She was my priority. In an instinctual soothing motion, I ran my tongue through her fur in an attempt to calm her down from her agitated state. I had a feeling it was her wolf mostly in control for now.

"Yours"

I affirmed, nosing into her side, and butting her body with my head. We laid down, head on paws as she snuggled deeply into my side. We spent our time like that for a few minutes as I both comforted her, and listened to the ensuing argument between the pack and the Cullens.

I very pointedly tuned out the Cullen's cries of attempted defence, because any compassion they had of mine (which was very little in the first place) was lost the minute they only cared about Bella when she suited their needs. What kind of person- no, walking corpse- could hurt someone like that? Let alone my Bella.

"Bella?"

I asked, as we watched the sun. The wind was mellowed, as if it was shy, and her stream of violent emotions had dimmed to some extent. Her brown eyes shifted from the sun to my own, as she flicked me with her lulled tail and her patched fur.

"Young One has allowed me in control, Mate, as she interprets the emotions that course through her. I do not wish for any harm to come upon you or her. You may calm your worry."

So it was her Wolf in control. It was normally a very bad thing..but then again when someone else had gone feral, their wolves hadn't communicated with anyone. At all. This was new. Very new. Worryingly new. And apparently, I just became the epitome of the 'rule of three'..damn English class.

"But have you ever tried to communicate with your wolf? We naturally draw strength from one another, but when you give a wolf no reason to trust- your human side may trust, but your wolf side will not unless you give them a good reason."

Why was Bella's wolf so philosophical? And rational. It was odd- her voice was disjointed in different places, almost sounding like she was uncomfortable speaking the language. Bella-Wolf stood up and shook her fur out, and I followed suit. She had a point that I had never exactly had a conversation with my wolf, but he was very blunt when it came to trying to control me.

Funnily enough, I quite liked being in control of my own head. Bella-Wolf huffed swatting me with her tail as we descended back down, the conversation between the pack and the Cullens drumming around the back of my head.

"Do not worry yourself with the Not-Pack. That is our burden to bare. Try coming to an understanding with your wolf, and perhaps the instances of the 'control' issue would be minimised. Try it now- I will be here to intervene if he tries anything. You have my word."

If Bella was carrying the burden of the Cullen's, then I wanted to help her. The fibre of my makeup literally centred around protecting her from perceived threats- and the Cullen's were very much a perceived threat. Plus, talking to my wolf did not seem a smart idea- what could he do to Bella? I could feel him pacing in that little cage at the back of my mind, contained in an attempt to reign in my alpha instincts.

Plus, how was I supposed to know if Bella-Wolf was being honest, and it wasn't a manipulative attempt to cause havoc? Bella-Wolf chuffed this time, ramming into me with her slight form. I attempted to ram her back, but she neatly dodged out of the way, before tucking back into my side.

"You seem not to believe my words, despite the honesty ringing out in them. Little One would like to speak to you- perhaps she can convince you where I failed."

Sensing the pack mind, it seemed to distort around where Bella's mind had occupied, before changing. Looking at my imprint (it pleased me to call her that) her form seemed to slacken some, displaying a more weary look rather then the rigid, angered structure she had been occupying.

"Bells?"

I was really struggling to reign in my instincts of wanting to sniff her, lick her, make sure she was safe as she could be. God, that sounded weird when I thought about it.. especially considering that we were humans. Normal people weren't this overprotective with their girlfriends...is that what we were?

A question for another time. Really, she hadn't even left me, but the sheer distress and..tiredness that radiated from both her person and the bond was enough to stagger me. I could feel Bella's shield shimmer and settle around us, before the feeling of calm was roaming around the shield wildly.

"Jake.."

She sounded so tired all of a sudden. After what the Cullen's did to her, especially their lack of care towards her, I didn't blame her for being tired. I would want to sleep. So much was riding on her shoulders: school (which she had been missing. Charlie had put her out on sick leave.), the shock of being a wolf, and the Cullen's needing her help? It would be traumatic for anyone.

"My wolf.. she's telling the truth. They want the best for us, not to control us. She..she protects me, even when I, myself, don't realise it. I trust her implicitly- and you know how much that takes me now. Just..for me, try to talk to your wolf? And after, we can go see Charlie..and talk about what just happened."

Bella knew I would do anything for her. I physically wasn't able to deny her anything; even something that terrified me as much as talking to my wolf. It sounds like a stupid fear, but all I had was visions of what could happen if I lost it. Images of Emily and Sam flooding my mind, only Emily substituted for Bella. But still..

"I'll try Bella.."

"That's all I ask."

She hummed, before I closed my eyes and delved deep into my own head. It was weird- almost surreal- because it was almost like I was just imagining myself travelling my mind. The colour scheme was rather bland, but soon enough I approached the iron bars that caged my wolf. Said wolf paced up to the bars, and poked his nose through the gap.

"I think we have some things to talk about."

I blinked back to attention, to find myself lying down next to Bella once again. It was disorientating coming back to my surroundings, especially as the surroundings before had been pale grey hues and steel bars. Honestly- and I wasn't afraid to admit it- Bella was right.

I had come to talk to my wolf, and I realised how misconstrued our bonds with them were. When his instincts warred with my own, it wasn't him trying to control me, but his attempt to protect me. Needless to say, after finding that titbit of information, I couldn't find it in myself to disbelieve him.

There was something about him, and Bella's words, just made me heed him all the more. So, it was safe to say, I hastily tore down the barriers I had erected, and the sight of my wolf running around happily before licking me heavily was one I could never forget.

"I see you heeded Little One's advice. Come, we will head pack to Father-Pack. Bella will take point a short distance before we arrive."

I nodded as Bella (because really, Bella and her wolf are one. See, I learned something from my wolf!) broke into a run, and I followed behind her. There was something freeing about running, especially that I no longer had to worry about my wolf taking over. He was happy, watching from the background of my own mind, comfortably and with an eye on our bond. If Bella could alleviate one of my fears, then surely I could do the for her. Right?

"Hey Dad."

Bella called out, as we walked into my humble abode. She was dressed in a casual clothes that was most fitting of her usual style, and I had a shirt on for once in my life. Something told me Charlie wouldn't be best pleased if I wasn't wearing one.

Craning my ears, I could make out the two calm heartbeats in the other room, and we walked through, seeing my Dad and good ole Charlie sitting together watching whatever game was playing. I tended not to keep up nowadays, having better things to do in my (limited) spare time.

"Hey Bells. What have you guys been up to?"

The flinch in Bella's brown orbs was far to easy for me to see, and I was certain my father had caught it as well. But Charlie had no way of knowing what he was stepping into, and as far as he knew, Bella had just been hanging out with us. In this instance, him knowing would make it easier on Bella...she wouldn't have to hide her trauma. But I know that she would take his well-being over her own any day. It was just her character.

"I'm fine..I'm just going to head up to Jake's room for a bit. Let me know when you're ready to leave."

Her voice was tight, and her emotions was barely hidden. She moved towards my room, and I edged closer to her, trying to discretely obscure her from Charlie's gaze. Fortunately, if he detected that something wasn't right with Bella he didn't show it, allowing my dad to smoothly change the topic away to something simpler.

"Yeah that's fine Bells. There's what- half an hour of this game left? We'll head home after."

Bella nodded, and we went into my room, and all of a sudden I was embarrassed over the state of it. It wasn't particularly clean, nor was it organised. Truth be told, I haven't exactly spent much time in it other the past few days, with the pace of everything happening. Sitting down on my bed, with Bella close next to me, we finally discussed what we had been wanting to discuss, out of earshot from our dad's.

"So.. what did the pack say?"

I was unsure of exactly what to say, because while I didn't want to hide anything from her, I also knew that it was going to hurt. Ripping it off fast would hurt, but so would doing it slowly. What would be the best way to go about it.

Sighing, I rubbed my eyes, knowing that I had no way of delaying the inevitable. She would learn either from the pack mind or from someone else if I didn't tell her, and I was the best person to do it. She trusted me like nobody else..she would know that I was telling her the truth.

"Sam.. well, he had his usual protective streak going. You know what he's like..he was incredibly defensive on your behalf. You'll be glad to know it didn't come to a full out brawl, even if the pack wanted to."

Judging by the rampant emotions flooding the pack mind when I had been chasing after Bella, they were all too willing to tear them piece from piece. I hardly blamed them in all honesty, because I was right there with that anger.

Out of habit, I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself. Whether it helped or not, I couldn't tell you, but it had become habitual at this point. A small smile- so small, it might as well have been my imagination- emerged briefly on her face, before it disappeared quickly.

"Yeah..it's sweet."

She paused, wringing her hands awkwardly, in an almost shy nature. I could feel the sadness and lingering anger once again, but it was shadowed over by another, stronger emotion: that of fear. She was afraid, of what, I didn't know. I reigned in the croon threatening to escape (because I was extremely self conscious of Charlie, even though I was sure he couldn't hear), and settled for bunching up next to her closely.

"..What else did they say?"

This was the part I was most dreading. The deadline. They had given her until the end of tomorrow to decide, before they ultimately would attempt to cure him anyway. With or without her blood. I rubbed the top of my forehead in an imitation of a migraine, even though I was well aware I couldn't get those any more.

Suddenly, the frame picture of myself and Bella when we were little was the centre of my attention. My arms were draped around her, and Bella was smiling with a gap in her tooth. It was the year before my mother died.. and you could see how happy we were together. It was back when things were easier, we were innocent, and there was no talks of wolves or vampires. I longed for those days.

"Jake.."

She prompted softly, and without even looking at her I could tell her soft brown eyes were staring at me, presumably wavering. God..I loved her. I hadn't told her nearly enough. She didn't deserve any of this..not the being half beaten to death by her ex, ill or not, being forced to make the decision whether to save him or not, fuck, all of this.

She should just be concentrating on school, and I'm aware of how awkward this sounds, considering that I'm younger then her. But, whether I was aware of it or not, I had been ready for this role all of my life, with it being literally told to me in the form of a story. But Bella? She was just a normal girl, who had everything going for her until her boyfriend got sick, and caused her to become one of us.

"They've given you a deadline."

I took a deep breath in again, trying to still my racing body and be prepared for the potential phasing of Bella. She had proven to have good control despite how new she was to this, but with Charlie downstairs, it could be disastrous if she was to phase now. Somehow, I had a feeling that it wasn't how she wanted her secret to go out.

"..until the end of tomorrow."

"Oh."

A one word answer wasn't what I was expecting. Nor was the lack of any distinct shake or tremor. She was as cool as an ice cube..and if it wasn't for the telltale glint in her eyes, I wouldn't have guessed that she had allowed her wolf into the forefront of her mind.

"How are you feeling?"

I prompted, trying to coax her into answering me but without pressuring her. I didn't want her to feel forced to tell me, but I wanted to know how she was feeling so I could help..I didn't want her to suffer. Vowing heavily, I promised that no matter what her decision was, I would stand by her. Even if I didn't agree.

"Does it make me a bad person if I don't want to help? Because he's ill and I don't forgive him? Am I a bad person?"

Alarm bells were ringing in the back of my mind (although that could easily be my wolf, he's pretty vocal when he wants to be) as I slowly, gear-grindingly, interpreted what she said. Her eyes were flicking downwards in a sense of submission, and I could practically sense the anxiety rolling off of her in waves.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to me, embracing her with the best of my ability. Pushing soothing thoughts through the bond, and trying to let my natural scent swirl around her in an instinctive move (according to my wolf it was a soothing gesture wolves did between their mates, and at this point, I was inclined to attempt it), and did my best to tell her that, she was, in fact not, a bad person.

"No. You aren't."

I stated firmly, thoughts about mangling Edward being sent into the depths of my mind. Because as much as I wanted to do it, it would hurt Bella deeply. The mere thought of hurting Bella was like slapping both me and my wolf on the nose, and cowed us significantly.

"It makes you human Bella. He hurt you, you can't expect yourself to forgive him. Hell, you can't even expect yourself to owe them anything. You heard it yourself- the way I see it, they only seem to care about you when they need you. Whether you decide to help them or not- the sheer deliberation is more then they deserve- the pack will stand behind you. We would maul them for you."

Bella still looked unnerved, and stress lines were evident on her face. Her brown eyes were wavering with emotion, and her emotions flowed freely. Opening her mouth to say something, she was abruptly cut off by a holler from downstairs.

"Bella! You ready to go?"

She stood up, and I with her, as we moved towards the door. She closed her mouth, before turning to face me one last time at the door. Almost as if she was torn. Before leaving, she moved towards me, blushing slightly, before kissing me on my cheek, her warm, plump lips meeting my hot (in the TEMPERATURE sense. I'm not vain you know.) cheek. I blinked rapidly, in disbelief, as she swiftly began to exit.

"Thank you Jake..I love you."

She added on at the end, her voice a whisper, exiting before I could shake out of my stupor. And I was left standing, shocked, no hints of murder lingering in my mind, and almost definitely confused, with one thought in my mind.

"She loves me?.."

Author's Note

Hi! How is everyone this fine week? I'm doing okay myself, even if I nearly managed to amputate my thumb the other day by slipping with a knife. But, I'm in tact, thumb and all. Which is a good thing, because I often use my thumb for the bar.

I'm also currently listening to the 'Circle of Life'...why? I have no clue. I haven't even seen the Lion King in years, but meh. It's a good movie in my humble opinion.

So, here's today's question. I'm pretty unoriginal here but: What is something that you look for in a song, and what are your favourite songs?

For me, I quite like it when they have a strong drum beat, guitar sections, and there isn't too much auto-tune going on. I've been told I'm pretty fussy. An example of noteable songs include, 'In the End' Linkin Park 'Sweet Child O Mine' by Guns N' Roses, and 'To the Moon and Back', by Savage Garden.

I'd better skedaddle (I really like the word), because I need to feed myself. I'm starving.

Anyway, see you next time!

~Cait