Jacob POV

She sighed and her cool breath tingled along my abdomen. It felt so amazing, having her in my arms. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen when she was human, and now? Now she was simply breathtaking. Her smell was washing away; the burning was almost completely gone now. She smelled faintly of flowers.

I felt her body stiffen in my embrace as she spoke. "Jake," her voice was barely a whisper, "I'm thirsty." She shut her eyes tightly. It was my turn to go ridged. She had just fed not too long ago, could her thirst really build up that quickly? Bella pushed herself up, easily breaking my grasp on her, standing roughly – her eyes still closed.

She hummed to herself; an unfamiliar tune touched my ears as she took a few steps away from me. I pulled myself off the ground and to my feet quickly, reaching for her sleeve. She yanked it away before I could grab her, not bothering to open her eyes.

"Bella," I breathed. I took a step forward, offset by her step back. "Bella, please, don't be afraid." She was scared, I could smell it. She hummed louder and her body jerked sideways – she was about to run. I flung myself forward wrapping my arms around her tightly, using all the strength I had to hold her there.

"Jacob," she snarled, snapping her teeth at me from over her shoulder. "Let me go, you're not a meal," she growled audibly. She was pushing her thirst back, just long enough to get away from me.

"I'm the only way the pack will let you live! You have to Bells; I'm the only food for you! You already know it won't kill me; I'm stronger than you think," my words were hurried in my attempt to cage her longer in my arms. Her feeble struggle paused, as she considered my words.

"So," her jaw was clenched as she spoke and her eyes were a dark color – almost black. "Sam knows this?" I nodded. "Does he approve?"

"Yes. No one in the pack wants to hurt you, that's why we searched for an answer besides tearing you apart while you were chained up; we don't want you dead," I loosened my grip on her body, and I felt her relax for a moment, but she went stiff seconds later.

"Does it hurt when I bite you?" Her eyes were shut tight once again, her face contorted with questions – questions that had no answers good enough for her.

"Nah, not too bad; it's just like being poked with a fork," I lied quickly.

"What do you think about it?" Her eyes were wide now, darting between my arms and my face. Her irises were dark with barely any trace of the chocolate brown I used to get lost in, or the dark – rich – amber eyes I was falling in love with all over again. The battle inside of her rang in her words – and the decision rested on my answer.

"I think I'm willing to do anything to keep you around, I still owe you a lifetime of servitude," my smile was genuine, even though I didn't feel it quite reach up to my eyes.

"Please forgive me," she whispered. Before I could move she flipped her body within my embrace and had her cool lips to the hollow point of my neck. I felt my skin rip and give away as her teeth sunk into me. The coolness disappeared rapidly as I felt a fire on my shoulders, spreading to my arm and the crown of my head. She crushed her body against mine and my arms fell limp at my sides.

She was the only thing holding me up and my head spun. Her body was cold against mine, despite the fire I felt throughout me. My knees gave up as another minute passed, her bite on my neck the only thing holding me upright. I weakly pressed my hands against her stomach. My vision blurred and I felt like I was falling, but couldn't be sure if I really was.

I think I felt Bella pull away from me, because the coolness vanished. The burning – however – remained as I braced myself against the tree behind me. My palms sinking into the moss covered bark. Faintly, I could see Bella looming in front of me, red splotches dotting her mouth. My stomach lurched.

The world in front of my slowed from it's swaying, and I managed to focus my eyes long enough to see Bella swipe her sleeve over her mouth – washing away any traces of my blood. My hand made its way to my neck, and I for the first time I felt the blood running down my shirt and back. My clothing clung to my body, held in place by my sticky, hot blood. I heard myself moan, but it sounded more like an echo.

"Jake?! Jacob!?" Bella's frantic voice was the last thing I heard as I slid down, my back scraping along the tree. I felt the wet moss once more as my body made contact with the ground. I felt dizzy, but not dead. I was nearly indestructible; the venom in my system would no sooner enter my system then be attacked by my white blood cells. I shut my eyes, blocking out the swinging world in front of me – which happened to be making me nauseous.

"Just give me a sec," I choked out, regretting my words. I threw my hand over my mouth as I felt the contents of my stomach lurch forward again. I threw my body into the moss to the side of me as another lurched pushed the chunks and liquid out of my body and onto the ground in front of me. I opened my eyes momentarily – another mistake. I saw blood dripping off my shoulders and neck into the pile of throw up. Mixing and mingling with the chewed food and soda – the image caused another pitch in my body and again I threw up into the moss.

More carefully this time, I wiped the puke off my mouth and pulled myself away from the now steaming mess before me. Bella was at my side, stroking my hair, pulling it away from the sheen of sweat on my face. Her hand was moving up and down my back – the coolness was comforting. She was mumbling apologizes very quickly.

I attempted to free myself of my shirt, pulling it almost all the way off before my range of motion ceased – the wound on my shoulder stung as I moved. I hissed in pain, stopping mid-movement. Bella took over for me, pulling my shirt the rest of the way off of me and tossing it away into the distance. I rested my head against her shoulder and closed me eyes. I took deep and even breaths, regaining my strength and demeanor steadily.

"Bella," I whispered, "next time, not the neck," her body quivered under mine – in agreement. She continued to run her delicate hands through my hair as the night wrapped itself around us. She hummed to me as I floated in and out of a much needed sleep; with my angel at my side.