Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 12

Jacob quickly stood up, bringing Bella with him, looking at Leah with a somewhat guilty expression. Bella knew that Jacob's guilt stemmed from not telling the she wolf that his feelings for her were platonic and that he didn't intend to hurt her, which was now apparent that he inadvertently did.

"Leah," Jacob started, but stopped talking when Leah shook her head. Leah glared at the couple before her, angry tears standing in her eyes. She should have known that Jacob would never have feelings for her the way she did him. For him, it was always Swan. She could have sworn the leech lover was gone on her honeymoon by now, but instead she finds her here all over Jacob. It also didn't pass her notice that she Swan was no longer wearing the bloodsucker's engagement ring. Putting the clues together, she knew that the leech lover abandoned the wedding and her bloodsucker, ran to Jacob, and Jacob welcomed her back like nothing had happened. Shaking with rage, she turned heel and ran off from the beach, hoping she'd make it to the wooded area before phasing.

"Leah!" Jacob called after her, knowing she wasn't going to stop. Turning to Bella he said, "I'm sorry Bells, but I got to make her understand."

Bella nodded and said, "It's okay, Jake. She's your Pack mate and she doesn't know you Imprinted on me. Go on, I'll head back home."

Jacob nodded and kissed Bella's cheek before running off after the she wolf. It didn't take him long to reach the woods wear he found the shreds left of Leah's clothes. Stripping out of his own clothes, he tied them to the black strap on his leg before phasing, his ginormous paws hitting the ground in a run. As he followed Leah's scent, he heard the voices of the other members of the Pack in his mind.

"Leah, what's wrong?" Embry asked.

"Leave me alone, Embry!" Leah screamed at him.

"Stop being bitchy for a moment Leah, and let us help you," Paul said.

"Leah, stop running and talk to us," Sam said, his voice holding a type of concern that he still only held for Leah. Don't get him wrong, he loved Emily, but Leah was also his first love and he still cared about her.

Jacob kept running, hearing the members of the Pack that had already made themselves known also give chase after the female of their Pack. He was a bit behind them but he was soon catching up. He soon caught up with Sam and began running in stride next to him as they ran all over the woods surrounding La Push, still chasing Leah. They both never really liked chasing Leah in wolf form because she was so much faster than them, but they could keep up.

Sam, while concentrating on catching Leah so they could talk, asked, "Jake, what happened?"

"Leah caught Bella and I kissing on First Beach," Jacob said truthfully. He ignored Paul cursing at him for still being with "that bitch" as he so put it, and focused on just Sam for a while.

"And that upset her?" Sam asked in confusion.

Jacob made a noise of confirmation before saying, "Leah has a crush on me, Sam. And I never got the chance to tell her that my feelings for her were platonic. But I was going to, okay? And I was also going to tell her that even if I wanted to be with her, I couldn't."

Sam slowed down his run until he stopped, making Jacob stop as well. Sam stared at his Beta for a while before saying, "You Imprinted."

"Yeah, I Imprinted on Bella," Jacob replied.

Just then, an anguished howl filled the air, the sound hurting Jacob, Sam, Paul, and Embry. They all knew that the feminine howl was Leah, and they all once again started chasing her to try and find her.

"You Imprinted on that sorry whore?! Fuck you,Jake!" Leah screamed, her voice filled with hurt before she cut herself off from the Pack, letting them know she had returned back to her human form.

Jacob sighed sadly as he slowed down just near the edge of the woods near his own home. Sam did the same and sat next to Jacob. He knew that Jacob, like him, didn't mean to hurt Leah. The only difference here was that Jacob's feelings for Leah weren't returned already, while Sam's had been before he Imprinted himself. He phased back to his human form, Jacob doing the same, and they redressed themselves before walking towards the little red house in silence.

Entering the house, they found Billy watching a soap opera on the television. The man looked up at them with a smile, but the smile fell when he saw the expressions on their faces.

"What happened?" Billy asked them. The Pack brothers sat on the couch and told Billy everything that had just happened. Billy listened quietly, nodding his head in thought as they finished. He had to admit, he hated seeing Harry's daughter hurting from not being able to find love or having her feelings thrown right back in her face. It was hard enough watching his own son suffer from unrequited love, but what Leah was going through was so much worse. Imprinting was getting in her way, the gods not letting her have any happiness for she was getting in the way of the other Pack members happiness. But Billy firmly believed that Leah would one day find her own Imprint and happiness. If not here in the Quileute tribe, then somewhere else, but she would find it.

Leah was in her room, crying as she found new clothes to put on. Putting on clean undergarments, she wiped the tears from her face as she looked in her full length mirror. She looked an emotional wreck, but she didn't care at the moment. Her feelings for Jacob weren't ever going to be returned, especially now that he was with that leech lover.

Oh, how she hated that bitch! All she did was cause trouble for Jake and the Pack. And now she thinks she can just waltz back into Jacob's life just because she abandoned her wedding yesterday and have Jacob Imprint on her. Not if Leah had anything to do with it. Chief Swan's daughter had another thing coming, and no one was going to stop her.

Putting on a clean pair of jeans and a belly-t, she put on a pair of socks and he combat boots before leaving her house, ignoring Seth's calls for her to wait. She had grabbed the keys to her car before she left the house completely, and got into her car, starting the engine and pulling away from her home. She was hell-bent on getting to Forks and giving Bella a good piece of her mind, along with a few hits just to make herself feel better.

She sped out of La Push and onto the main road that would lead her straight to Forks. Once she did make it to Forks, she cursed every single stop light that stopped her. It was almost as if some deity was trying to stop her from ever reaching the Swan house. When the red light finally turned green, she sped under it quickly, leaving the other cars behind her. It wasn't until she turned a corner did she finally stop, but not because of a stoplight this time.

Just as soon as she turned the corner, the front of her car connected with a body, making the body roll onto the hood of her car. Leah yelped in surprise and slammed on the break, sending the body flying off of the hood and onto the road from the sudden lurch.

Leah covered her mouth in shock as her eyes widened from the realization from what she had just done. Immediately putting the car in park, she got out of the car and rushed to the front, finding the person she had hit sitting up and rubbing their head.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you!" Leah said as she knelt down in front of the person. The person, a man, looked up at her and gave her a strained smile. He had skin the same color as Leah's, silky black hair that was stopped just past his shoulder, grey eyes, and a beautifully chiseled jaw line. His chin had a slight cleft in it and it fit his features perfectly. It was obvious he had muscles on him, but not as much as any of the boys from the Pack. All in all, he was very handsome.

The man looked at Leah and said, "It's alright, I should've been watching where I was going," he said as he allowed Leah to help him to his feet.

Leah looked over him worriedly, looking for any signs of injury. Finding none on the surface, she asked, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No, I'm fine. It's not the first time I've been hit by a car," the man chuckled. He looked at the young woman that had almost run him over, finding her very attractive on sight. Holding out his hand, he said, "My name is Kai, by the way. Kai Whitfield."

"Leah Clearwater," the she wolf replied, shaking his hand. The way Kai's grey eyes were looking at her made her blush a little before she let go of his hand, saying, "I should probably still take you to the hospital. Get in the car."

"Really Leah, I'm fine."

"Please? I'd feel much better if you still got checked out. I'm already feeling guilty about hitting you as it is."

Leah watched as Kai smiled and shook his head, agreeing to go to the hospital if only to ease her conscious. They both got into Leah's car and she drove them back into town towards the hospital, her quest to go after Bella forgotten.

Bella waited anxiously in her room as she waited to hear from her boyfriend. She had seen the way Leah looked and it made her feel bad. She knew Jacob needed to try and diffuse the situation, but knowing Leah she wouldn't listen and would probably blow off everyone and turn even bitterer.

Sitting on her bed, she began to play with her wolf charm, hoping that she would get a call from Jacob soon. After waiting for thirty minutes and still no word, she grabbed her cell phone, intent on calling him. However just before she did, a tap on her window caught her attention. Bracing herself to see Edward, she was surprised instead to see Emmett. Bella beckoned the brawny vampire inside and watched him open the window and climb into her room.

"What's up, Bella?" Emmett said with his usual smile on his face. Bella smiled and gave the cuddle bear like vampire a hug. Pulling away, she asked, "What's the occasion? You're not mad that I left Edward, are you?"

Emmett laughed and said, "No, I'm not. I was honestly surprised that you didn't ditch him earlier after we came back. But I guess after everything we put you through, I thought that you thought it would be better to just stick around."

Bella couldn't really blame Emmett for that. So much had happened to her because of Edward that it really did seem like there was no other option but to join the Cullen family coven. She felt Emmett sit next to her on her bed and he wrapped an arm around her, giving her his silent comfort. After a few minutes of silence, he said, "I'm actually here because I was asked to check on you for Rosie."

"That's nice of her. She sent me a text last night letting me know that she's moved into an apartment in here in town. That was fast," Bella said after a slight giggle.

"Yeah, she said a lot of things yesterday when we were discussing you ditching Eddie and why. But in short, she basically called Eddie a jerk and told Carlisle he wasn't fit to be a coven leader. And after that she packed up and left, but not before leaving me a note to bring her shoes," Emmett said, finishing his statement with an amused shake of his head.

Bella felt a bit guilty at the moment, feeling as if she caused a rift in the family and the only ones on her side right now were Rosalie and Emmett. But she also couldn't help how she felt. It took her so long to be honest with herself about what she really wanted and she'd be damned if she allowed herself to be guilt tripped back into another relationship with Edward. Their relationship was hazardous at best. She hated herself for letting her parents' relationship flaw her opinion of what romantic love was, but being with Jacob helped her see that love wasn't infatuation or obsession. Ironically, that was what her supposed love for Edward was.

Looking up at Emmett, Bella asked, "Are you going to move in with Rosalie?"

"Of course I am! I can't be apart for too long from my Rosie!" Emmett exclaimed with a grin. Bella laughed at his happy expression, knowing he was right. Emmett absolutely adored his mate and didn't want to be apart from her for too long. The two of them continued to talk, moving their conversation downstairs as Bella decided to make some lunch. It wasn't until Jacob showed up did Emmett leave, but not before making Jacob promise to take care of her. Bella chuckled at the playful banter the two of them shared before Emmett left.

Jacob walked up behind his girlfriend and hugged her from behind, breathing in her sweet scent past the scent of the friendly leech that had just left. Holding her close he whispered, "I love you."

Bella smiled and whispered, "I love you, too." Bella was so happy at the moment; nothing could ruin it for her.

In the throne room of Volterra Castle, Aro, Caius, and Marcus all sat waiting for their ambassadors to return and inform them of Carlisle's son's wedding and that him and his new bride were on their honeymoon. The throne room was silent other than Jane and Alec talking quietly, though it was loud to the vampires around them. Moments later the doors to the throne room opened and the two ambassadors that had been sent to Fork, Washington walked inside. They bent down on their knees before the three royals and waited for Aro to tell them to rise. Once he did they stood and waited for their king to speak.

"I presume that young Edward and Isabella have had their nuptial, yes?" Aro said expectantly, a slight smile on his face.

The female ambassador shook her head with her red eyes looking into Aro's, saying, "No sir, they did not marry."

"The one they call Bella began crying before reaching the altar and ran away from the ceremony with the blonde female of Carlisle's coven," the male ambassador stated after his partner.

Aro stood in silence, surprised at the news he had just received. Carlisle had been so sure when he told him that Isabella was serious about Edward and their engagement. He wondered what changed, and why Carlisle hadn't contacted him as soon as the wedding appeared to be a failure.

"Brother," Marcus' voice softly said. "What do you propose we do about the situation?"

"The promise Carlisle presented us with has not been kept," Caius said afterwards.

Aro stood still for a moment before an ominous smile slowly spread across his face. Turning to face his brothers he said, "I believe it is time to pay a visit to Fork, Washington and visit our dear friend."