Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything, I just make the characters do the things I want them to XD. No money is being made from this work.

"So, you haven't told her yet." It wasn't really a question.

"No. I don't really know how. I don't want to scare her off or anything." The others were keeping out of the conversation, although I could tell they were listening. Of course, everyone knew about my imprinting by now. Paul and Jared hadn't even met Bella yet, and they were very curious.

"How did you tell Emily?" I asked Sam. He thought for a moment.

"At that point… I think I was still figuring it out on my own. I just came out and told her that that's what I thought was happening."

I groaned a bit. This was very frustrating, trying to figure out a way to tell Bella. Oh, hey, by the way, I imprinted on you. That just means I love you and I can't live without you. If I was being honest with myself, not much had changed. I had been in love with her for a while now. Now it was just supernatural love. Great.

Sam chuckled in my head. "You'll figure it out eventually. She obviously cares about you."

I smiled a bit. "Yeah. Now if we can just keep her alive and away from this redheaded leech…" I growled.

"Yeah. No sign of her yet… maybe she gave up for today?" Paul suggested, chiming in for the first time.

"Maybe. I'm not willing to take any chances, though," Sam replied, his nose to the ground in an attempt to catch the disgusting scent of the vampire. "We'll keep going for a little while longer, just to make sure." There was a murmur of general ascent among the pack.

We ran in silence then, concentrating on the hunt. My mind kept going back to Bella, though, wondering what she thought about all of this. We had so much to talk about.

"Focus, Jacob," Sam said gently. After that, I tried to commit myself fully to the mission—unsuccessfully.

An hour later, we returned to Emily's house, pretty defeated. Not one sign of the bloodsucker.

Bella, Emily, and Embry were in the living room, watching some movie. My heartrate kicked up when Bella looked at me and smiled.

She got up and hugged me, smiling. "Good to have you back. Embry must have been getting awfully bored with just us girls around."

I snorted. "Embry, not want to be surrounded by girls?" Especially Bella.

I looked at Emily and Embry, still sitting on the couch. "Thanks, guys." Emily smiled at me.

"Anytime. Vampire girl and I seem to get along pretty well." She grinned.

I smiled, then turned to Sam. "I'm gonna take her home." Sam nodded.

"Nice seeing you again, Bella."

Bella smiled a little bit. "You, too. See you guys later," she added.

And I have to say, it made me smile when every single member of the pack waved and said "Bye, Bella!"

Bella and I jogged out to her truck, getting soaked on the way. I got in and slid into the passenger's seat.

"So, did you have fun?" I asked.

Bella nodded. "Emily is very nice. Um…" she paused, looking uncomfortable. I looked at her, waiting for her to tell me what was on her mind.

"What… what happened to her?" she asked me, biting her lip. I knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Being around werewolves can be dangerous sometimes. Sam lost his temper for a split second and Emily was standing too close. He beats himself up about it, even now."

Would this make her not want to be around me? I didn't know if I could handle that. I needed her.

"Bella." She looked at me, curious.

"You know I would never hurt you."

Bella smiled a bit. "I know that, Jake." She leaned over and gave me a hug.

"Wow, you're warm," she commented. I laughed.

"Wolf thing."

Bella pulled back a bit, resting her head on my shoulder. "Does it bother you? Being a wolf?"

I thought for a minute. "Not anymore. Not since you know." I looked down at her. "I missed you, Bells."

"Missed you too, Jake," she said. She sounded sleepy.

I smiled. "Come on. Let's get you home."

She started the truck and drove back to Charlie's, telling me about the time spent with Emily and Embry. Sounded like she had fun, although she blushed when I said the reason she enjoyed it so much was because she was with Embry. That earned me a slug on the shoulder-- which I didn't actually feel.

We got to Charlie's, and I walked her in, waving at Charlie. He asked if I was staying, and I glanced at Bella. She looked exhausted.

"Nah," I said in reply to Charlie's question. "Bells looks tired. Maybe she'll let me come over tomorrow. Or maybe she'll just want to hang out with Embry some more," I teased, dodging another punch.

Charlie laughed. "Alright. See you tomorrow then." He walked back into the living room, where I could hear a baseball game on the T.V.

Glancing down at Bella, I could see that she didn't want me to go. I smiled.

"Be okay if I snuck into your room tonight?" I whispered to her. She looked surprised, but not angry. Definitely a good sign.

"I still have stuff to talk to you about," I explained. Had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I didn't want to be away from her. Nothing to do with that at all.

She nodded. "See you in a few?"

I kissed her forehead. "Yeah. Just let me get this bike back to La Push and I'll be back."

I opened the front door, facing the pouring rain. "See ya, Charlie!" I called. Then, hauling my bike out of the back of Bella's truck, I made for La Push, hurrying in an effort to get back to Bella as quickly as I could.

A/N: Any reviews would be appreciated… I really feel like I'm not writing Jacob correctly. Thanks for reading, more soon!