A/N: This chapter was hard for me to write in many ways. Confronting Jacob's anger and self doubt was something I knew would have to happen, but it was still depressing to write. I hope that it comes across as something very meaningful, because it was. I also didn't want the ritual to be silly, because I feel like sometimes they are written that way. This is the first part of Jacob's awakening in this story, and I hope that you enjoy it.

And REVIEW! This story means nothing without it's readers.

Disclaimer: all contents belong to their respective owners. in otherwords, i am not SM. if i were, i would not be on . i would be living in my mansion with taylor lautner.

It was one of those moments where everyone was talking, screaming, arguing, and yet no one was listening to anyone else. No plans were being made - only blame could be thrown around, and no one would agree on which theories might actually be correct, and there were no real solutions being offered.

"It's your fault she's in this position to begin with, leech," sneered Jared, his handsome features twisted in contempt.

"Really," came Rosalie's disgusted snort. "Because if I recall things correctly, she was taken from… wait? Where? Oh yeah - your land."

Quil bristled at her implication, baring his teeth at the blonde beauty. "And who do you think kidnapped her? Embry?" He stared at her incredulously.

"You watch your mouth, dog," warned Emmett, his large frame rising from his chair. His fists clenched and unclenched, his anger hitting a dangerous new level.

"Who are you calling dog, blood-sucker?" demanded Leah. The vampire might have been several inches taller and wider than her, but it didn't stop her from getting within inches of his face.

His hand came up and Sam leaped from his seat and he pushed Leah back, his chest bumping against Emmett's. "Don't you fucking touch her," he growled, daring the other man to continue the fight.

"Stop it!" screeched Alice from her place on the couch with Jasper. "This is not helping!"

"And what do you propose we do, O Wise One?" Paul snapped sarcastically. "Since you can see the future, can you tell us how we're supposed to fix this mess your family made by introducing Bella to the world of leeches?"

"You think she would be safe with a pack of mangy beasts?" Emse's voice was tired, but her rage was very thinly veiled. Heads whipped in her direction, surprised that the usually calm maternal figure was so obviously furious.

"Fuck you," spit out Embry, and his dark eyes glowed with anger.

He took a step forward, fists tight at his sides, but Sam held him off with one arm across the chest. "Don't bother," he drawled. "Wouldn't be much of a fight, anyway."

Rosalie hissed at him. "Yeah, since we all know how pathetic you mutts are. Thanks for saving us from wasting our time."

Quil's eyes narrowed and he took a deep breath, shaking his head in disbelief. "You stupid little-"

"Enough."

One word.

That was all it took.

Thirteen sets of eyes jumped to the voice, only to find a surprising pair of men filling the doorway.

Edward and Jacob stood there, their faces stoic and determined, and apparently not at all amused or impressed by the pathetic display of dominance before them.

"Who died and put you in charge?" snipped Rosalie, referring to the command Jacob had given only seconds earlier.

"Listen to him, Rose, or I will make you regret the day you ever opened that beautiful mouth," warned Edward, his tone warm with anger and bitterness. "Jacob and I have come to an understanding, and I except you to shut up and pay attention." Rosalie's gaze flicked to Carlisle in shock, but when she found no argument from him, she accepted her brother's orders, but not without rolling her eyes first.

"Jacob?" Sam asked softly. "Should you be out of bed?"

Jacob's gaze settled on Carlisle, who nodded in response to Sam's question. "I did not expect his injuries to heal so quickly, but they have. I have noticed an incredible increase in his healing abilities these last few days. His ribs and arms are in 100% condition, and as long as he is careful with his head, I see no reason why he can not resume his activities within the pack." Carlisle paused, looking around at the crowd. "Especially considering the circumstances."

"An increase?" Jared said, puzzlement evident in his voice. "Why would you suddenly be able to heal better?"

Sam coughed and shifted uncomfortably. "Um… I wanted to say something, but thought it was best if Jacob did it."

The pack's confused faces turned back to Jacob. He sighed and straightened his spine, and gasps rippled through the room as its occupants took in his new frame, which had grown up at least 6 inches in height and 6 more across the shoulders. His movement sent a shudder through the wolves, and before the vampires knew what was happening, all seven pack members lowered themselves to the floor in front of him.

"What the-" Emmett began, but Edward raised a warning hand, and Emmett shut his mouth, his expression confused and uncertain.

Jacob closed his eyes. His pitch was low, dark, powerful, and it carried the weight of hundreds of years of Quileute legend. "It happened long ago that Q'waeti' journeyed all over the land setting the people aright and instructing the people that would come in the future how they should act. Q'waeti' instructed the people how to build houses." Sam came forward first, moving on his hands and knees, his eyes closed and his face reverent. He bowed his forehead to floor inches from Jacob's feet, and then rose up off of his hands. Jacob's fingers came down to meet him, once to touch the pulse point in Sam's neck, and then again over Sam's heart. Then Jacob's head nodded in recognition, and Sam moved back again, but Jacob did not stop his speech.

"One day Q'waeti' came upon Beaver. Beaver was sharpening his stone knife, and Beaver was very stingy. Q'waeti' asked what was Beaver doing. Whereupon Beaver said: 'I am sharpening my knife in order to kill Q'waeti',' said Beaver. Then Q'waeti' took what Beaver was sharpening and stuck it on Beaver's tail. Then he said: 'You shall always have this stuck to your tail, and live in the water. You will just slap the water with your tail and dive when the people come.'" Then it was Jared's turn, and he mimicked the same movements - bowed first, and then accepted the touches to his neck and chest, his facial expression identical to Sam's - calm, subservient, and awed.

"Then one day he came upon Deer. Deer was sharpening his shell knife. Thereupon Q'waeti' asked Deer what was he sharpening it for. Whereupon Deer said: 'I am going to kill Q'waeti',' said Deer. Then Q'waeti' seized the shell that Deer was sharpening. Then he stuck it on Deer's ears. He said 'When you see people you shall run frightened and stop, and look back.' Then Q'waeti' went on his way."

The vampires watched in silence, respectful of the ceremonious dance in which the wolves were now participating. Even Rosalie looked humbled, and she remained quiet.

After Jared came Paul and Embry, and there was nothing awkward about their movements, as if instinct alone guided these events, as if these wolves had participated in this ritual for thousands of years. "Not long afterward he reached Q'wayi't'soxk'a River. But he did not find any people. Then Q'waeti' spit on his hands and rubbed them. Doing this he rubbed off the human dead skin into the water. Thereupon many people appeared. Then Q'waeti' said to the people whom he had made: 'You shall dwell here,' said Q'waeti'. 'Your name shall be Q'wayi't'sox.'"

The story continued as Quil, Leah and finally Seth took their turns, bowing before Jacob carefully, their foreheads each touching the same spot as the wolf before them. A heavy weight filled the room, and an aura of light seemed to surround the group of natives gathered at one end. "Then Q'waeti' reached the Hoh people. He saw that these people walked on their hands carrying their smelt nets between their legs. At that time all the Hoh people walked on their hands. They were called the Up-side-down people. Since that time the Up-side-down people were known as the first people who had existed. Then Q'waeti' turned right side up the ones who walked on their hands. 'You shall use your feet to walk,' said Q'waeti' to the former Up-side-down people. 'Go and fish smelt. You shall catch much fish when you fish smelt." Ever since then there is much smelt at Hoh."

Jacob's timbre changed, his voice deeper and more passionate. His eyes remained closed, and then raised his palms and face to the sky. The pack mimicked his gestures while they remained on their knees before him. "Then Q'waeti' went on and reached the Quileute land. He saw two wolves. There were no people here. Then Q'waeti' transformed the wolves into people. Then he instructed the people saying: 'The common man will have only one wife. Only a chief may have four or eight wives. For this reason you Quileute shall be brave, because you come from wolves,' said Q'waeti'. 'In every manner you shall be strong.'"

"In every manner you shall be strong," murmured the wolves, eyes still closed, bodies still positioned towards Jacob, as they waited, unmoving, for the ritual to be complete.

"Xabá £ibíti áìowla!" Jacob was loud, his tone demanding leadership, understanding, authority, obedience, passion, forgiveness. There was a moment of silence and then the room felt like it was rocked with an explosion, although no sound was heard. The floor rumbled beneath their feet, the walls trembled with power, and the building shuddered as if it meant to crumble, but if Jacob and the wolves felt it, they did not acknowledge it.

The vampires stared, their mouths agape, their faces filled with confusion and wonder. All except Edward, who kept his gaze carefully focused on the floor.

"Xabá £ibíti áìowla!" came the enthusiastic cries of the wolves, and then the mood suddenly changed, exploding with love and relief as they rose from the floor, surrounding Jacob with hugs, claps to the back and shouts of laughter.

Rosalie blinked first. "What the hell was that?"

The rowdy natives turned to stare at her in surprise, almost like they had forgotten that a crowd of their mortal enemies were still in the room. "Jacob just asserted himself as their true Alpha, and they have accepted him," came Edward's smooth reply from his position in the doorway. "By reminding them of their creation, and their people's need for the strength and solidarity of the wolves, they swore their allegiance to him, as well as to the protection to one another."

Rosalie's forehead wrinkled up for a moment while she thought. Edward watched her, then shook his head in disbelief. Rosalie shrugged and she smiled at him unapologetically. Edward rolled his eyes. "She still doesn't understand," he explained exasperatedly to the room.

Jacob stepped forward. "I realized today that if I wanted to protect Bella, I also needed to protect myself and my people, which I haven't been doing a very good job of recently. I've been selfish. I was afraid of the responsibility of becoming Alpha and I thought that just letting Sam do it would be better. But what I hadn't thought of were the consequences - I'm a direct descendent of Ephraim Black, not Sam. And while Sam is an excellent leader-" He turned to smile at his friend, who quickly returned the expression. "He was not meant to be Alpha. Only I can lead this pack, and it's about time that I start doing it." His gaze flicked to Rosalie. "The story I told was that of our creation, of the origins of many tribes like ours." He raised one hand to explain the ritual, his hand tracing over his neck. "When I touched their pulse points, it was a sign of dominance, because if you take your prey at this spot-" he snapped his fingers. "Instant death. In this way, they acknowledged that they are subservient to me." His fingers moved over his chest. "By touching their chest, I showed them the place they hold in my heart, and to remind them of my place in theirs. It's a gesture of love and it bonds us together as a functioning group." Jacob's eyebrows lifted questioningly. "Does it make sense now, Rosalie?"

She stared at him dumbfounded, unable to respond. Edward's chuckle caused Jacob's gaze to jerk in his direction. "She's surprised that you called her by name instead of leech or blood-sucker."

Jacob laughed in response. "Leech," he sneered at her, humor alight in his eyes. "There. Does that make you feel better?"

If it had been possible, Rosalie might have blushed. Her head whipped to Alice. "Did he just… tease me?"

The tiny pixie girl laughed. "I think maybe he did, Rose." She gave her blonde sister a wink. "It's called a sense of humor. Perhaps you should considering investing in one." Her comment made the wolves laugh.

Esme interrupted the moment when she said, "I'm glad that we have been able to come together in this way, but can we decide what is to be done with Bella? She has been gone a week and we are no closer to finding her."

Jacob nodded and looked at Edward, gesturing between the two of them to show the agreement that they had come to. "We've been discussing that. I think we can all agree that Victoria is behind this, since the pack found her on the reservation the same night that Bella went missing. It would only make sense that she used the earlier attack to distract us from her real mission, which was the kidnapping."

"What does she want with Bella, anyway?" Quil asked, his forehead wrinkled in thought.

Edward sighed. "Not long after Bella learned about my family's…. dietary habits, we came across a small nomadic coven. James took an intense interest in Bella, which I most certainly did not approve of. My reaction to him sparked an obsession in him, and we had to kill him in Phoenix to protect Bella. Victoria was his mate, and we believe that she seeks vengeance for his death. I believe that when this began, Bella and I were an official couple, and she saw Bella as my weakness. I do not know if Victoria knows that Bella does not remember us as vampires or you as werewolves. I'm not even sure if it would matter to her or not." He stopped and cleared his throat. "My concern is this - we do not know what her plan with Bella is. Whether she means to turn her or kill her… or when."

Seth gasped. "You mean, she might be…" He shook his head vigorously. "No, she can't be."

"I believe that she is alive," Jacob said softly, placing his large hand gently on the younger wolf's shoulder. "I think I would…. know if she was not."

Alice's lip trembled and Jacob wondered if she would have cried had she been capable of it. "I can't see her! Victoria keeps changing her mind! But I'm pretty sure she's still alive." She twisted the hem of her shirt between her small hands. Jasper rubbed her arm soothingly. "She knows us too well to let her thoughts give her away."

"Is there any way for us to track Bella somehow?" Paul asked uncertainly.

"Like how? We lead you around Washington State on a leash like a search dog?" Emmett's words were humorous, but his tone was the complete opposite. "I'm not sure that would go the way we want."

"I have some contacts in the Seattle area that I could call," Carlisle offered. "Perhaps they have had some interactions with Victoria and could have some information."

"And what will that cost us?" Jacob's voice was cool and clipped. "I'm not willing to bargain with these creatures."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. If Carlisle was offended, he didn't let on. "I don't think that's something you need to worry about, Jacob," he replied smoothly. "I would not involve you, if it came to that."

Jacob's eyes narrowed, but his tone was still calm. "I wish I could say that I appreciate the offer, Carlisle, especially after everything you've done to help me, but I don't think that I'm comfortable with that."

Leah moved from her position next to Seth and cautiously scooted closer to Jacob. He turned to look at her questioningly, and he watched as she poked him with one finger in the bicep. He gave her a small growl. "What was that for, Leah?"

She stared at him with wide eyes, her expression full of mock innocence. "Where is Jacob and what did you do with him?"

Embry smirked. "Yeah, Jake. You're usually not this…. calm." He turned to look at Jasper. "You're not doing some of your funky voodoo vamp shit, are you?"

Jacob's dark eyes became heavy with anger. His jaw tightened, and his fists clenched dangerously on the couch cushion he had rested his hands on. "I've done my damnedest these last few days to get my priorities straight. Just because I'm not resorting to rage as a way to communicate does not mean that I've forgotten how we got in this shit hole to begin with." He was literally vibrating with fury and he spun around to point his trembling finger in Edward's direction. "Edward's done nothing but play games throughout this entire fucking mess. He's gone out of his way to make me miserable - There's nothing that I wouldn't do for Bella and everyone fucking knows it. Don't think he hasn't used that fact to his advantage when it comes to manipulating his relationship with her."

Alice gasped and opened her mouth as if to defend her brother, but Jacob turned his wrath in her direction. "He's pathetic, and you know it. It's all right there in front of your abnormally sparkly fucking faces and yet no one can see it. It's called opening your damn eyes! Why is it that we seem to think that there's something heroic about suffering?" His eyes rolled dramatically towards the ceiling and he laughed out loud, although nothing about it could be interpreted as humorous. "There's nothing noble about self-destruction here. Nothing." Jacob's voice cracked and he almost gagged, his shoulders shuddering in revulsion. "You think it makes you better to sulk and let the pieces that make you human fall away bit by bit? Is that what you want? To be a simple, empty shell of the person you used to be? Is it easier for you to pretend that way? Sadness is the heaviest weight that we could ever begin to carry and to decide to exist in it is disgusting. Who do you think we're helping by behaving this way? No one wants your martyrdom. It's sick and it's weak," He spat out. "One would hope after that after this many decades you could grow a pair, but apparently that's too much to ask."

Jacob was like a freight train that it ran out of steam. The words stopped and his body slumped against the couch. Leah moved to touch him, as if to apologize somehow, and he raised his palm to stop her without looking up. "I don't want your comfort or your pity, Leah." He shook his head and sighed. "Next time, leave it alone." With that, he turned on his heel and left the room, leaving everyone to stare after him, stunned into silence by his tirade.

"Couldn't just let it be, could you?" Edward asked softly. He shook his head, and a smile appeared that that was filled with irony, guilt, and bitterness. "We're in this position because of me, and it's up to me to fix it. When Jacob and I need your help, we'll ask. Do you get it now? Do you understand yet? When you finally figure out it, let me know. But until then, stay out of it. All of you." And then he followed Jacob's lead and carried himself swiftly out of the room, hoping that finally, everyone would comprehend the cost of this endless war.