Title: Fallen
Author: Lazalot_Anreads
Beta: None
Characters/Pairings: Bella/Jacob
Rating: NC-17
Challenge: None
Summary: Bella is just starting to heal when she is raped, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the road near the reservation. Jacob finds her.
Notes: Rape, New Moon AU
Chapter 005
"I'll do it," Jacob said decisively. Just then he heard a car coming up the drive and both his and Embry's eyes widened at the same time. "SHIT! He's HERE!" Jacob slid out from behind Bella and, with a last kiss to the top of her head, got to his feet. "Stay with Bells," he told Embry, and went out to meet his destiny.
Sam didn't wait for an invitation; he just walked right in. Jacob found him just inside the front door, his nose in the air. "What the HELL is Bella Swan doing here?" he demanded. "Billy told me that you and Embry were alone."
"Samuel Uley," Jacob said, his head held high, "I challenge you."
The formal words and the meaning behind them took Sam off guard, but he quickly pulled himself together. "Outside, then," he said coolly, and led the way out into the front yard.
Luckily, there were no neighbors. They both stripped down and phased into their wolf skins. Then they started to circle each other, sizing each other up even though both knew that they were evenly matched.
[Why are you doing this?] Sam asked.
Jacob knew that if he was going to win this thing, he couldn't waste his energy on trying to control his thoughts, so he didn't bother. [See for yourself,] he replied.
So Sam looked at his memories of the past couple of days. Immediately, he got up on his high horse. [You should have taken her to the hospital and called her father IMMEDIATELY! What were you THINKING?]
[I was thinking about what was best for Bella,] Jacob answered. Then he lunged.
They fought for what felt like hours before Jacob finally got his mouth around Sam's throat, but in actuality it was only about fifteen minutes. They did a lot of damage to each other in that short amount of time, though. Once the Alpha power had shifted to Jacob, the phased back into their Human skins. Both were bruised and bloody.
"You're making a mistake," Sam said, cradling his broken wrist.
Jacob ignored him. "I order you to keep everything you know about Bella, Embry, and myself a secret, even from your Mate. I order you to keep the power shift a secret as well, and to act as if you were still Alpha until I get back."
"Fine," Sam snarled at him, and then he left.
Later, after Jacob had healed and taken a shower, the three of them ordered four large pizzas and chilled out in the living room in front of the lit fireplace. "Man, I am SO glad that you're Alpha now, Jake," Embry commented in the middle of his fifth slice.
"What makes you say that?" Jacob asked. He was already full, having eaten twelve slices himself. "Sam's not all THAT bad."
Embry shrugged. "It just never felt right to follow his lead. Plus, he would never listen to me when I'd try to get my shift changed. He assumed I wanted to party or goof off or whatever when I actually had something important to do, like study for a test. You know I'm failing out of ALL of my classes except gym?"
"But that's BULLSHIT!" Jacob blurted out. He couldn't believe it. "All he had to do was look in your thoughts to see that you really wanted to study. It's not like you could have possibly LIED to him! What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to keep studying my ass off, that's what." Embry's tone was matter of fact. "Taking two weeks OFF from school might actually be the only thing that saves me from failing our junior year."
"I could help you, Embry," Bella offered shyly. She grimaced. "Once I can see again, that is."
Embry was touched, but he knew that Bella needed to focus on herself and healing from what had happened to her. "Thanks, Bella, but I think you'll probably be pretty busy."
"I guess." She sighed despondently. "I just thought it'd be nice to think about something else for a change."
Embry looked at Jacob, who nodded. He grinned. "Well, I'll tell you what. When you're feeling better, Jake and I will take you out somewhere. Your pick. Anywhere you want to go."
Bella smiled. "Anywhere? Hmm …"
"Oh no! Now she's going to have us do something really LAME, like go to the ballet!" Jacob said teasingly. "Thanks a LOT, Em!"
Bella giggled, and the boys shared a grin. "Jacob Black! I would NEVER go to the ballet!" She tried to pretend that she was really offended, but her smile gave her away.
They joked around for a little while longer, both boys doing their best to make Bella laugh. Eventually, though, Embry said his goodnights and headed off to bed, leaving the two of them alone. A comfortable silence fell.
Bella was the one to break it. "So I was wondering … what did Embry mean earlier today, when he said that you could claim me as your Chosen?" The question had been haunting her all evening, but she hadn't wanted to ask it in front of Embry.
Jacob made a face that he knew she couldn't see. He'd been half expecting the question since his friend had brought the subject up, but that didn't mean that he was looking forward to answering it. What was he supposed to say? The last thing he wanted to do was make Bella uncomfortable.
He was silent for too long. "Jacob?" Bella frowned. "Is something wrong?"
Jacob sighed. "Not wrong, baby, just difficult. You're probably not going to like this very much."
"Just tell me," Bella suggested. "Maybe I'll surprise you."
"I sure hope so," he muttered, then cleared his throat. "When a Werewolf claims someone as their Chosen, they are basically saying that they plan to Mate with that person, but that they have to wait for some reason. So then the other Werewolves in his Pack watch over the Chosen until she becomes the Werewolf's Mate. Embry wants me to declare you as my Chosen so that the Pack will look after you without asking too many questions."
Bella swallowed hard. "Let me guess. A Chosen becomes a Mate when she has s-sex with the Werewolf, right?"
"Yes, but I would only be declaring you as my Chosen to protect you," Jacob rushed to explain. "I wouldn't EVER try to take you as my Mate!"
An awkward silence fell as Bella thought that through and Jacob looked everywhere but at her. It went on and on, lasting until they both wished they could just leave the room to escape it. They couldn't, of course; Bella still couldn't see and Jacob would never leave her.
Bella tried to hold the tears back, but a few escaped her swollen eyes anyway. Jacob caught the scent of salt in the air and finally looked at her. Her shoulders were shaking and she was holding her hands over her mouth, trying to hold her sobs at bay. He felt terrible.
"Oh, Bells, I'm sorry!" Jacob tried to pull her into a hug, but she wouldn't let him. He sat back on his heels, feeling sad and useless. "I didn't mean to make you cry."
Bella uncovered her mouth. "Y-you don't w-want me anymore!" she blurted out. She started to cry HARD.
"WHAT?" Jacob thought back over his words and could have kicked his own ass. "I didn't mean that I don't WANT you to be my Mate! There's nothing I want MORE! I just didn't want you to think that I would, you know, try something … funny."
"R-really?" Bella's tears began to slow down and Jacob said a silent prayer of thanks. It broke his heart to see his Bella cry, especially when she was crying over something he'd said or done. "Y-you really w-want ME?"
Jacob tried to wrap his arms around her again, and this time she let him. He pulled her close. "Of course I do. But I would NEVER take advantage of you, Bella. EVER."
"I KNOW that!" Bella snapped, pushing him away. She looked in the direction she thought his face was in. "You don't have to keep telling me that! Jacob, I KNOW that you would never do ANYTHING to hurt me, okay?"
"Okay. Can I hold you now?" He was pouting and he knew it. He hated having Bella upset for any reason, but having her upset with HIM was agonizing. "Please?"
"Lets take a shower first," she replied. "It's getting late. I mean, it MUST be getting late; Embry already went to bed a while ago."
"Sure, sure." Jacob got to his feet and helped her up, then led her down the hall to the bathroom.
Later, when they were clean and cuddled up in bed, Bella asked, "So, are you going to do it?"
"Do what?" Jacob frowned at the back of her head, confused. They were laying in the spooning position, her back to his chest.
"Are you going to claim me as your Chosen?" As soon as the last word passed her lips, Bella froze and held her breath.
Jacob felt her tension and wondered what he should say. What answer was she waiting for, hoping for? He decided his best bet would be to ask. "Do you WANT me to claim you as my Chosen, Bella?"
Bella exhaled and started breathing again. "Only if you MEAN it, Jacob."
Jacob laughed happily. "Of COURSE I mean it, Bells! Do YOU mean it? Do you REALLY want me to claim you as my Chosen, for REAL?"
"I-I don't know if I'll ever be a-able to M-Mate with you," Bella warned him with a shaky voice, "but yes, I DO want to be your Chosen, for REAL."
In the same breath, Bella had managed to both break and heal his heart. It took him a moment before he could speak normally, but once he could, he said the only words that mattered. "I, Alpha Jacob Black, choose you, Isabella Swan."
Bella smiled. "Good. Because I, Isabella Swan, also choose you, Alpha Jacob Black."
Jacob's breath caught. Though her words hadn't been necessary to cement the bond, they carried a strange sort of weight. It was almost like she was REALLY claiming HIM as HER Chosen, too. But that was impossible, so all he said was, "Thanks."
She giggled. "I feel like we just got married."
"Nah, to get married we'd have to kiss." Jacob smirked.
Bella rolled in his arms so that she was facing him and tilted her head back. "So kiss me, then."
Jacob froze, stunned. There was no way Bella Swan had just asked him for a kiss, and yet he'd heard it with his own ears. "WHAT?" he finally asked, his throat tight. "Did I hear you right?"
"If you heard that I want you to kiss me, then yes, you heard right." Bella was amused. "Will you?"
"Will I what?" He wanted to make her say it one more time, just to be sure. He had to be sure.
"Kiss me, fool!" Bella pinched his nipple lightly. "NOW."
So he lowered his head and lightly, carefully pressed his lips to hers. He kissed her so, SO tenderly, bringing tears to her eyes that she refused to let fall lest she ruin the moment. She kissed him back just as sweetly, her heart aching with love that she knew she couldn't even begin to fully express.
Bella let her lips part, hoping Jacob took the invitation to a deeper kiss. He didn't, so she brought her own tongue into play, tentatively licking his lower lip.
He broke away, breathing hard with suppressed passion. "Are you sure?"
"YES! Jacob, I am NOT going to break!" she informed him, frustrated. "Now shut up and kiss me like you MEAN it!"
So he did.