Chapter 4

Every pore of his body leaked with anger, that's how irate Jacob Black was, and Selene was uncomfortable to say the very least. Every nerve ending of her body was ignited and she didn't understand why; being this close to him was making her head spin. She really had to be losing her mind because Jacob didn't know her and she didn't know him…much. So why was she suddenly wanting to pull the car over on the side of the road and just jump in his arms? Selene wasn't THAT direct and never would be so she kept on driving, the wistful thoughts of having him this close to her sweeping her away.

Jacob had his eyes closed tightly shut, trying to think about anything and everything to calm him down. The last thing he wanted to do was phase in this woman's car, whoever she was. He hadn't even realized who was driving him to La Push because all he kept picturing in his mind was Bella with those golden eyes like the Cullen's. Her pale complexion and marble skin, the roses in her cheeks completely gone, her beating heart no longer thudding…It made Jacob sick to his stomach and that just made the anger grow more intense, his teeth gnashing together. He really wanted to just rip Edward Cullen apart limb by limb, even if he'd already imprinted on someone else.

He was still in love with Bella; the imprinting didn't change that, though Jacob could already feel his pull toward his imprint. Every time he thought about that bloodsucker stopping Bella's heart, it just added fuel to the fire. Jacob knew he had to calm down before he ended up destroying this car and hurting the driver.

Paul was smarter than Jacob gave him credit for, though he'd never admit it, not even when they were phased. Sometimes it really sucked being in a pack because, when phased into his wolf form, the fellow members could hear all of Jacob's thoughts. It was a huge invasion of privacy, one that Jacob would never get used to as long as he lived.

Selene finally found her voice, though it came out a small squeak. "Umm could you give me directions please?" She asked very softly, almost inaudibly, not daring to look in his direction. "I-I don't know where I'm going…"

The moment her sweet voice, no matter how soft it was, filtered the car, something happened to Jacob. All the anger instantly drained from his huge body and Jacob could actually think clearly, no longer seeing red. It was her. He didn't even have to look to know exactly who was driving him to La Push and could already feel his heart rate quicken.

He'd watched her the previous night, even after she went to sleep. He ended up climbing the tree of the house just to see her through the window, not able to leave. The way her beautiful long brown hair fell over her shoulders and bunched up on the pillow, the way her eyelashes fanned her cheeks, her body curled up on the bed with her hand beneath it, snuggling. Jacob had wished it was him she was snuggling with, especially when she kicked the blanket off to reveal a simple white nightgown that seemed to radiate every part of her body, the material clinging to every curve.

Had Paul known somehow that Jacob imprinted on Selene Swan?

"Turn up here." His deep voice finally replied, pointing toward the upcoming road through the darkness. "See it?"

"Yes." She murmured, his voice sending shivers down her spine, forcing her to break out in goose bumps. Selene was suddenly cold as she flipped the heater on; keeping her eyes locked on the road and turned left a moment later. "I've never been here before, so you'll have to give me directions from this point on."

Jacob could only nod, wishing she would just talk to him for hours on end because he could honestly listen to her talk all night. It baffled him how intense his feelings were already for Selene and he'd only imprinted on her last night! He was definitely going to have to talk to Emily and Sam about this because Jacob wasn't sure what to think or feel anymore. Emily would be able to talk sense into him and Sam would make him listen to reason on what happened because right now, all Jacob could think about was Bella becoming a bloodsucker.

Of course, that also didn't stop his attraction to Selene from growing with every second he was this close to her in her small car.

"So…you're Bella's sister, right?" Jacob asked, trying to make some kind of small talk because the silence was deafening.

"Half sister." Selene corrected, refusing to think of Bella as her full blooded sister. It was bad enough they had the same blood through Charlie. "If you can even call it that." She added as an afterthought, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter.

Jacob could clearly tell that the topic of Bella was very sore to Selene, deciding to change it because he didn't want to hurt her. He could feel the bitterness rolling off of her in waves and Jacob wondered just why Selene felt that way toward Bella. His curiosity was peeked off the charts and Jacob wondered what everyone would think once they did find out about him imprinting on Bella's sister…

'I'm not telling them.' He thought, deciding it would be best to keep this to himself for the time being. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her, not to mention with how upset and heartbroken he'd been over Bella lately, the pack would probably think he was just using the poor girl to get over Bella. "Damn it…" He whispered, staring out the window, the silence once again ensuing between them.

"Sorry, I just…Bella and I don't see eye to eye a lot. We hardly know each other and I don't want people getting the wrong impression." Selene explained, having heard Jacob curse under his breath, a frown stretching across her lips. "I know she's probably a…sore subject for you too…"

"You have no idea." Jacob muttered loud enough for her to hear, clenching his fists tightly as he closed his eyes, trying to push the anger away. "I still can't believe she actually married that bl-" He stopped himself from calling Edward a bloodsucker, scowling, knowing Selene probably didn't have a clue what her half sister was about to do. "That guy…"

"I know, they don't seem right for each other at all." Selene stated, chewing her bottom lip nervously. "There's something about that entire family that just rubs me the wrong way, but I can't put my finger on it. I just know that Bella is making a mistake by marrying him."

Jacob looked over at Selene as she took another left, heading down to the reservation where he lived with his father, Billy Black, and his sister Rebecca. "You honestly think so?" He asked, wondering if Selene would ever figure out that the Cullen's were nothing more than murdering bloodsuckers.

"I know so, Jacob." Selene said without hesitation, her eyes practically smoldering with burning curiosity. "And I also know Charlie thinks the same thing as me."

Arching an eyebrow when Selene called her father by his first name, Jacob wondered what that was about as well. Selene was one big mystery to him, a puzzle he wanted to solve; a case he wanted to crack more than anything. "Charlie?" He questioned in a deeper voice, watching her tense slightly, though he couldn't help smiling a little. "Sorry, just curious since he is your dad, right?"

"Technically he is, but I don't think of Charlie that way." Selene said truthfully, never one to sugarcoat how she felt, even though she was incredibly quiet. "I've never called him dad before and probably never will."

"Why not?" Jacob pressed, pointing to the small red house that looked somewhat beat up on the outside, and Selene pulled into the driveway. "I shouldn't have asked…"

"No it's okay." Selene assured, cutting the ignition because she wasn't finished talking to him. "I don't really know the reason why I don't call him dad. I just feel like one big burden to him. He had a one night stand with my mother and I was the result of their night of passion." Sighing heavily, Selene stared straight ahead and then lowered her gaze, clasping her hands in her lap. "She died when I was five years old and…Charlie took me in without hesitation…after having a DNA testing done to find out for sure if I was his. He's a great man with a big heart, but I've never considered him my dad."

"Even though he is." Jacob's heart went out to her, not believing she was actually opening up to him like this and wondered why they hadn't talked like this before. Bella…Jacob suddenly frowned, remembering briefly how Selene would sneak downstairs to grab a glass of water or do something whenever he was over at the Swan house. 'I'm such a damn moron…' He thought, not believing he actually let this beauty bypass him because of Bella. "Charlie is a great guy, you're right about that. One of the best sheriff's Forks has ever had."

"I'm inclined to agree with you on that." Selene smiled for the first time, slowly looking up from her lap, especially when Jacob's very hot hand landed on hers. A small gasp escaped her lips, causing her head to snap up as green locked on dark brown, her breath completely stolen. "Your hand…"

Jacob was completely mesmerized by those deep emerald pools and couldn't pull away from them to save his life. No matter how hard he tried, it wasn't happening. "My hand?" He chuckled huskily and tore his gaze away from her for a second, suddenly cottoning on to what she was trying to say, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Uhhh…"

"Are you okay?" Selene's smile disappeared as she scooted closer to him, after unbuckling her seatbelt, reaching a hand up to press against his forehead. He was burning up! "Oh my god, Jacob…"

"I'm fine, fit as a fiddle." He assured her, pulling away from her touch because it was just igniting him more, especially from how soft her skin was. "Selene, don't worry about it."

"Jacob, you should be in the hospital right now with that kind of body heat…" Selene pointed out; suddenly very confused because he didn't look sick in the slightest, though he was literally burning up. His hand scorched hers, though he wasn't sweating or gave the slightest indication he had a fever.

"Look it's not a big deal alright?" He snapped somewhat, voice heated with both regret and sorrow, pulling away from her fully.

Jacob hated this new lifestyle he was forced to live with for the rest of his life, though it did have some perks. For instance, he never got cold and could run faster than a speeding bullet phased or not. Not to mention he healed incredibly fast, remembering the time he'd been over at Bella's catching the scent of a bloodsucker intruder...back when he thought he still had a chance with her. He'd accidentally cut his hand. It healed before Bella could even start bandaging it, remembering the blood making her nauseas.

Selene blinked and immediately became quiet, knowing she'd upset him more than what he already was. Was it so terrible to be concerned about him? Apparently so, Selene suddenly felt very uncomfortable, just wanting to get out of there and go back home. This had been one hell of a night and she could already feel a headache coming on, tears stinging her eyes.

Jacob groaned as soon as he noticed how upset she was, knowing she didn't have a clue why he was so hot to the touch. He reached a hand out and nearly whimpered when she pulled away, gripping the steering wheel once again after starting the ignition. That was his cue to leave her vehicle, but Jacob didn't want to. He was too intrigued by her and wanted to know everything about Selene he possibly could.

"Selene…"

"Good night, Jacob." Selene dismissed him, staring out the window as she tried in vain to keep the tears in, very emotional after watching Bella make the biggest mistake of her life.

Jacob sighed heavily and nodded, wanting to apologize for snapping, but he knew he'd have to wait for another time. "Good night, Selene. Thanks again for the ride." He then slipped out of the vehicle reluctantly and watched as she pulled out of the driveway, flying down the road like a bat out of hell. "Shit…"

"Well there you are." Leah's voice sounded behind him, causing Jacob's head to instantly drop, really not in the mood for this.

"Go away, Leah." He ordered, not even turning around to acknowledge her. "I'm going to bed."

"Uh no you're not."

"Oh really? And why is that?" Jacob snorted, already heading up to the house, scowling darkly when Leah stepped in front of him.

"Because it's your turn to patrol tonight. Sam wants to talk to you first about what happened at the wedding." Leah practically spat, hating to even say the name of her former lover, but he was the alpha.

"Sam can wait, I'm exhausted and…"

"Jake…" Leah sighed heavily, hating to be the bad guy, but whatever the alpha wanted he usually received. "You have a lot to make up for, remember? You left the pack, you left your family; you left everyone behind because you had to heal. Well now it's time to pay and Sam is ordering you to patrol."

As if on cue, a very loud and distinct howl floated through the night, causing Jacob to curse violently under his breath because he couldn't ignore it. If he wanted back in the pack, which he still wasn't sure about, then he would definitely have to play by the rules. Leah watched as Jacob flew into the woods, phasing as his clothes shredded everywhere, hoping he was going to be alright. Honestly, she wanted him to be alpha, but knew Jacob would never take over Sam's position, especially after leaving the pack high and dry for his own selfish needs.

Jacob arrived a few minutes later and stood in front of a pure black wolf, his own russet color standing out in the darkness, plopping his rear on the ground with his head lowered. What is it Sam? Jacob asked telepathically, closing his eyes because he could feel Sam's anger toward him. Look, I know what I did was wrong at the wedding, but…

You're on patrol for the remainder of the week and I want you to keep a close eye on the Swan residence. Bella will be nowhere around, but something is telling me we have to keep an eye on that house. The Cullen's have a lot of enemies and they'll target Bella's family, anyone to hurt them. Sam's voice boomed through Jacob's head, causing his head to instantly lift, their eyes locking.

Without a word, Jacob took off through the woods with Sam watching, an eyebrow quirked in confusion.

He left awfully fast… Leah commented, walking up to her alpha, trying to keep crude thoughts of Emily out of her mind. Did you need me for anything else tonight, Sam?

No, nothing. Go rest, Leah, you've earned it. Sam walked away from her without another word, knowing Emily was waiting on him back at her house.