A/N: Hello again everyone! I hope the weekend was good to you all! Life had kept me very busy over the past few days but here is another update for you to enjoy. Thank you all for your awesome reviews! Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter. I love hearing from you :-) HAPPY READING!

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

(BPOV)

Billy couldn't take his eyes off Jacob as we sat in the living room and had lunch. His sorrowful gaze would flicker between Jacob and myself often and it was hard to bare witness to his pain over all this. Leah tried to keep the mood light by starting a conversation about her recent College applications and what a lengthy process it had been for her. The diversion proved to be short lived and the air soon became rife with tension again the moment the fleeting topic died out. Jacob was so uncomfortable, on edge to the point where his breathing had become ragged and his body stiff next to mine.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, his eyes meeting mine with such panic in them that I immediately placed my plate of food down and took his hand, pulling him up off the couch with me and heading outside so he could get some fresh air.

I offered Billy and Sam an apologetic glance and noticed how Billy's eyes narrowed in suspicion at us as we went by.

Jacob threw the front door open, sucking in a sharp breath when the cool air surrounded us. His free hand went to his chest and his face contorted in pain as he sunk down on the porch steps, his hands shaking when he tried to speak to me.

"I can't- breathe- in there, Bella."

"It's okay. We can stay out here as long as you need to." I assured him, kneeling down on the lower step in front of him. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to him with a shaky breath.

"I don't- know any of them and they - keep calling me Jacob. Like that name is supposed to mean something to me. I don't know what they expect from me."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing closer to him as he tried to pull himself together. I thought back to all the times the roles had been reversed here and it had been me who was having a hard time just breathing every day. I wouldn't have made it without Jacobs solid presence back then. He had been my source of comfort and my sanctuary.

Jacobs hold on me was nearly crushing. He clung to me like a lifeline... in the very same way I had held onto him in my darkest time.

"You're still my Jacob... You'll always be my Jacob." I breathed to him, feeling his grip on me loosen some as he pulled back to meet my gaze.

"Your Jacob..."

"Yes... My Jacob."

His eyes became glossy and his stare grew distant when I spoke this to him. Something had lingered in his mind from my words and I stilled there in his arms in response, watching the concentration on his face now. Several moments of silence passed before his eyes met mine and he spoke in a hushed whisper to me.

"The beach- First Beach... We've been there before? When we were little- ... I've always been yours."

I cradled his face, feeling my breath hitch from his sudden memory. "We went there a lot when we were young, Jacob. Do you remember?"

"...My mother took us? We were there until the sun set." He replied.

"We picked seashells and you used to-..."

"-Chase you... up and down the beach."

I nodded to him, placing a kiss on his full lips and feeling him return my passion with his own.

His warm lips molded to mine and my body hummed from the feel of his tongue brushing against mine. A low moan rumbled through his chest.

"I've loved you since we were kids, Bella." He side, resting his forehead against mine.

The sound of the house door opening made us pull apart as a worried Sam approached us.

"Is everything okay out here?"

"Yes... We're fine. Jacob just needed a minute. I think this is all too much right now. He needs more time." I clarified, rising up from the steps and smiling kindly to Sam.

"Take all the time you need." Sam replied. "You know we'll all be here when you're ready."

Jacob nodded to Sam in understanding and reached for my hand, his warm fingers lacing comfortably with mine. Sam glanced down between us, noticing our hands and his eyes were clear with sympathy when they met my own.

"I will come back." Jacob suddenly said, his tone sounding more even and confident than before. "As Alpha. Thank you for filling in for me until then."

"Absolutely." Sam replied, seeming surprised at his words.

"Can we leave?"

"Yes. Just let me say goodbye to your dad."

He released my hand and watched me retreat into the house where Billy waited by the door. He looked agitated when I stepped inside to tell him goodbye.

"Billy- I'm sorry. Jacob is just - Overwhelmed."

"That is not my son." Billy replied, his eyes full of anger with his words.

"He's confused... He's lost a lot of his memory-"

"No, Bella-" He interjected sharply, pointing toward the front door again. "I'm telling you that is not Jacob. I can feel it."

I stared at him in disbelief and confusion as he pulled me gently down to his level so we were eye to eye now.

"Whatever happened to Jacob when he was under all that time... left him with only half of himself. There is another dwelling in him now."

I gasped, standing upright and hearing Sams disbelieving tone carry in through the room.

"Billy! What are you saying?" He demanded.

"I'm saying my boy is not who he was. He has another spirit warrior fighting for dominance in him."

The pack drew near then, gathering around us as they came inside from Patrol. Each of them wide eyed when they heard Billy's suspicion.

Sam knelt down in front of Billy, placing his sturdy hands on his wheelchair with a narrowing gaze.

"That's not possible-"

"You're naïve, Sam." Billy accused. "I know what I sense. What I feel when he is near me and I'm as sure as the sky is blue that I'm right about this. "

"What you are suggesting hasn't happened in years and years Billy. Not since-"

"The legends. I know, Sam. You'd be a fool to dismiss this. Jacob may look like himself, but I assure you... his memory is not the only thing he stands to lose more of."

"How the hell could something like this even happen?" Leah asked, tugging on Sams arm as he rose up.

"I don't know."

"That's not fucking possible!" Paul huffed. "Have you been hitting the bottle again, Billy?"

"I know what I see!" Billy yelled back angrily, causing me to jump.

"So you're saying someone else is dwelling in Jacob?" Embry asked with clear panic.

"Not just anyone. I believe Taha Aki's spirit has found residence in Jacob."

The entire pack went mute from this. All of them looking like they'd seen a ghost.

"Who - Who is that?" I breathed, feeling the ice trickle down through my veins as I thought of the possibility of this being true.

"Taha Aki was one of the greatest spirit chiefs. He was known for his wisdom and for being a great man of peace. He was the first shape-shifter of the Quileute Tribe. He is the one who passed the genes onto our family. Well, one of the three anyway."

"What does he want with Jacob." Leah asked. "Why choose his body to be a host so he could come back after all this time?"

Sam ran a hand through his hair, tugging harshly at the roots as he tried to process what Billy had just said.

I felt as if I couldn't breathe. My mind going entirely blank as Billy continued on.

"If Taha Aki is dwelling within Jacob... He will fight him for a permanent place to dwell. He will not want to leave Jacobs body. It is the perfect host for him. Jacob is young and strong and a leader." Billy suddenly stopped talking, his eyes snapping up toward the front door with an agonizing expression on his face. I followed his gaze, seeing Jacob lingering in the doorframe.

Tremors took hold of him, causing his shape to blur right before us.

"Jacob!" I yelled, running toward him and only making it to the porch before Sam caught me by the waist. He hauled me away from him as Jacob tore off for the woods. His clothes shredded as he exploded into his wolf and bolted through the dense tree cover. I sagged against Sam, feeling my body tremble as I stared after him.

"I'm sorry, Bella." Sam whispered, holding me upright. "I couldn't let you near him. Jacob would never forgive himself if he hurt you the way I hurt Emily. That's a regret no one wants to live with - Trust me."

I let out a sob, feeling Sam wrap his other arm around me and draw me near to him.

"Is It true, Sam? Could it be true." I asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

Sam sucked in a tired breath and turned me around to face him. The look on his face alone being enough to tell me that he himself feared it was true.

"Yes, Bella. What Billy says... could very well be true."

I tried to keep myself from screaming. My insides now feeling torn apart, like fine glass shards were running through my veins. My chest ached when he continued on.

"I don't know anything until I can confirm this with the council, but if Taha Aki is using Jacobs body as a host, he won't be able to dwell there with him. Jacob will have to fight him for his own humanity. For the right to stay in his own body. Billy made a good point about Jacob being the perfect host for him. He is young and eager and strong. Taha Aki won't leave."

"I could - lose him? Is that - a possibility, Sam?"

Sam nodded slowly in reply, seeing the agony wash over me from his words. He pulled me into a firm hug and I struggled to catch my breath.

I could lose him... Forever.