Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight Saga or any of the characters in the story.

You guys are seriously the most awesome people in the universe. I never thought I'd get this kind of reaction for this story! As for the delay, that is totally on me. I've been lazy and this chapter was sort of a bitch to write, only because it's been so hot here and all I've wanted to do is drink margaritas on the beach! So I'm terribly sorry for that! But thank you for your incredible feedback and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Happy reading!

Chapter Eighteen

Bella woke in the morning with a smile on her face as she immediately remembered what had happened before she had gone to bed. Of course, she was still completely mortified that Jake had heard her masturbating, but now she knew to be more careful. However, that thought quickly led to others that flipped her smile completely upside down.

Why had he stopped her? Clearly she hadn't given any indication that she was not ready. She was an adult who was not sexually inexperienced all together. In fact she was highly anticipating Jake having his way with her. She knew that it would be completely unlike any of her past sexual escapades. Although those weren't anything to truly compare to. However, the more she thought about why Jake had denied her the more upset she came to be.

What exactly did he want from her before he would give in to his instincts. Did he want her to change? Surely that wasn't it considering he had imprinted on her exactly as she was. He'd told her that she was his perfect match... His soul mate. So what was there left for her to do for him?

As she showered and got ready for work her mind continued to chew on her thoughts. There seemed to be no logical answer for her questions. He was a hormonal teenage boy who was also a werewolf, and apparently he had imprinted on her. There was no other explanation for how he could show so much restraint. There was no reason why he should want to wait. She knew that she was his soulmate and she had accepted it, so what else-

Bella's mind froze completely, as did her hands while she had been buttoning her lavender colored blouse. She felt her heart rate stutter as understanding cleared her thoughts like a heavy fog lifting to reveal a brick wall directly in front of her.

He was waiting for her to fall in love with him.

Standing in her bedroom with her shirt half buttoned, Bella realized that Jacob Black was waiting to make love to her because he wanted her to love him. He didn't want it to only be about mating, or fucking, or getting off. He wanted it to be the two of them sharing their love and showing it to one another in mutual adoration. The realization left her stunned.

Her knees felt weak all of a sudden and she sat down on the edge of her freshly made bed. Did Jake already love her? The answer, she knew, was most likely a yes. She could see the complete adoration in his eyes. Bella made no mistake since she knew that the imprint also had a pull to her, but primarily, it was an instinct to protect her. That did not mean that he had fallen in love with her the second they'd met, but then again perhaps she was wrong. But that still did not answer her own question.

Was she in love with him yet? The thought made her heart twinge in her chest, but not in an uncomfortable way. He made her smile, and the way he looked at her left her feeling utterly safe, without a doubt in her mind that she was completely protected. Not to mention the way that he made her feel when he kissed her. The undeniable attraction towards one another left her breathless before he had even truly touched her. There was also no denying that she too, cared deeply for his well being. Even the very thought of him being hurt sent a shot of pain through her heart.

Bella's thoughts consumed her as she sat on the bed until her phone began to ring in the other room. Getting up, she walked in a haze towards the living room where she'd left it and answered it.

"Hello?" her voice sounded distant.

"Hello, Isabella. I didn't receive any notice that you were taking a sick day, and I wanted to make sure that everything was alright," Mr. Molina's voice came over the other end of the phone. Bella's eyes grew wide as she glanced at the clock on her cable box. It was almost eight o'clock. She had literally sat through the beginning of school.

"Oh my gosh! My alarm went off late and I totally lost track of time! I'm on my way right now!" Bella replied frantically as she began rushing around her house.

"Okay, Isabella. But please don't make this a habit," he said.

"Of course not! I'm so sorry!" she said and then hung up quickly. She threw on a pair of heels and grabbed her bag off the kitchen table, practically sprinting to her car.

She wasn't stopped by anyone on her way to the reservation although she was going well over the speed limit. The parking lot was practically full and she snagged a parking spot next to the edge of the forest. Jumping out of her car she walked as fast as she could across the parking lot, bursting into the school and walking towards her classroom.

As she entered the room everyone began to quiet down and she set down all of her things on the desk.

"I'm sorry for being late everyone," she said, totally flustered about what she was going to do. She didn't want to look up and see Jake quite yet. Not after this morning's revelation.

"Does this mean that she is going to get written up? Gonna get sent to the principal's office to be punished," a boy commented to one of his friends from his seat, but his voice was loud enough to carry through the entire room. Bella blushed crimson, completely embarrassed by what the boy had suggested and that she had broken her own rule and that one of her students was calling her out on it. Her mouth opened as she tripped helplessly over her own words. Her palms were sweating and tears of frustration stung at the corners of her eyes as she heard a couple other boys laugh along with the one who had made the comment.

"Hey, Kenmore. Why don't you shut the fuck up?" came a deep, commanding voice that silenced the entire room. Bella glanced up from the spot on the desk she had focused in on. Her eyes landed on the dark features of an angry looking Jacob. Jake was glaring over at the small group of boys that had been laughing who were now trying to slump down in their seats to avoid Jake's wrath.

As Jake turned his head back to face the front Bella's heart picked up speed in her chest when his dark brown eyes met her own. He loved her. He loved her. And she... Well she could feel warmth surrounding her heart at the thought of him. Or loving him.

As she continued to just look at the man who was destined to be with her forever she could not think of how to respond. There were so many things she wanted to say in that moment, but when she opened her mouth, only one thing came out.

"Mr. Black, if you could please restrain yourself. There's no swearing in my classroom."

-8-

The day flew by relatively fast and soon Bella found herself packing up her books to go home. As she put away the last folder into her bag she sighed. All day her thoughts of Jacob's love had plagued her. It wasn't unpleasant to think that he truly did love her, not in the slightest bit. But there was something that made her heart sputter in her chest every time she thought about him. There was something in the back of her mind bugging her, but she could not bring it forth no matter how hard she tried.

As she left the school there was no sign of Jake and in the back of her mind she assumed that he would be running a patrol for the pack until later. While driving back towards her apartment she made the decision to stop at the grocery store in order to get a few items she needed.

Pulling into a spot she glanced at the darkening sky. It looked like a large storm was gathering in the clouds and she wanted to make this quick. She grabbed a small basket once inside and started up and down the aisles trying to find the items she needed.

Turning the corner into the fourth aisle, Bella looked at the shelves to see if she needed anything. Reaching up for a jar of pesto sauce she heard two people walking past her with a large cart. She turned around to continue down the aisle a loud gasp came from in front of her.

Looking up her eyes landed on a pair of beautiful people. There was a woman, whose caramel hair was pulled into an elegant chignon off of her neck which was adorned by an expensive but delicate string of pearls. Her eyes were a strange golden color as she stared, wide eyed at her. Bella's eyebrows furrowed as her eyes slid to the boy standing next to her.

The expression on this boys face, made Isabella's heart start beating wildly in her chest with fear. It was the face of an animal that was calculating the slow and certain death of its prey. His hair was the color of a new penny, and his face, while undeniably beautiful, was hideous with the animosity that raged through him. Unlike the woman his eyes were pitch black, and flat, so very unlike the black of Jacob's eyes during an intimate moment between them.

Jacob. And just like that, the only thought in her mind was to get to Jacob. Her fear was something that only he could fix. Bella instinctually began to back away slowly from the two beautiful people, towards the entrance of the aisle and the front of the store. She kept her eyes locked on the emotionless black ones of the boy with the penny colored hair. She could see him watching her every step, waiting for a weakness so that he could strike. But she was not about to give him an opportunity.

As soon as she was outside of the aisle she dropped her shopping basket to the ground and ran for the door. Her heart was erratic in her chest like a bird attempting to escape its cage, as she sprinted out into the cold, whipping wind that signaled the rapid approach of the storm.

She wrenched her car door open and drove out of the parking lot without a backwards glance. Her tires squealed when she pulled into her driveway and rushed into her house. Dropping her back on the floor next to the door she kicked off her shoes and ran towards her room, ignoring the urge to run into the open bathroom and lock herself inside. Pausing for a moment she felt in her chest the small ache easing quickly out of her bones. He was coming to her. Jake was coming to protect her.

Opening the window that he had fallen through the night before, Bella leaned out the back, scanning the darkening forest. Her eyes settled on some movement by the tree line and her heart leapt in her throat with relief. But that relief quickly turned to dread as the pale face of the boy from the grocery store came into view. His eyes were still feral as they locked in on her face.

Gasping with fear Bella fell backwards onto her bedroom floor before scrambling to shut the window again. Her eyes glanced out towards the tree line and she saw that the boy was no longer standing there. Terror gripped her heart as she began backing up towards the opposite wall. Her eyes glanced around her entire room, scanning through the tense silence that had settled over her. Bella had never truly feared for her life before, but she did not doubt for a moment that her life hung precariously in the balance right now between life and death.

Edging herself towards the hallway she began to think that she would be able to make it to her car once again. She could drive to the reservation and seek refuge with Jacob. She needed to find Jake.

Determination suddenly flowed through her as she backed out of her room with careful, measured steps. Adrenaline from the fear flowed freely through her veins as she waited for the inevitable. That boy was in her house, she knew this, and she knew that he was watching her every move.

Once out in the hallway again she moved a bit quicker towards the kitchen and the front door. It wasn't until she reached the archway of the kitchen door that she froze. Her eyes landed on the closed door of the bathroom. Closed. Not open. As it had been when she had gotten home.

Panic rose in her throat just as bile did and turning her head to the side, she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor of her kitchen. She was going to die. She was absolutely sure of this fact.

And then out of nowhere, Bella's front door flew open, rain spraying everywhere into her apartment. She could not control the scream of fright at the noise of her door flying open, but she was overcome with happiness when her eyes landed on Jacob Black standing in her doorway and looking more angry than she had ever seen him before. Before she could even say anything he was beside her, his eyes glancing over her body as his nostrils flared, taking in the scent of the air around them.

"Jake, he's in here..." Bella whispered to him in a ragged voice and it seemed to snap him out of his moment of protection. Her eyes glanced back to the bathroom and a moan of horror escaped her lips. The door stood wide open now, and she could hear the wind whipping around in from her bedroom.

"Get her out of here, take her to my house. And don't let her out of your sight," Jake's voice was deep and left no room for questioning in its forcefulness. Bella did not entirely understand until she felt Jake's hands pass her gently off into another pair of large tan arms. She looked up into the face of Embry Call. He did not look like the sweet boy from her classroom in this moment. He looked ready to rip off somebody's head. Bella gripped at Jake's hands as he attempted to let her go.

"No!" she protested weakly, unable to form a real sentence, but he grasped her message well enough.

"I can handle myself Bella, and I will come back to you. But let me settle this first," his voice was gentle but held the timbre of power deep within it. Bella knew that there was no changing his mind and she finally relented, stepping close towards Embry. His body was just warm like Jake's as he pulled her rapidly out of her apartment and outside. There was a large red pick up waiting by the curb and without saying a word Embry lifted her into the cab before getting into the passenger side and pulling away from the house. Bella looked back at it and felt the ache in her chest grow exponentially larger with the worry she felt added to the mix. Silent tears streamed down her face for a reason she could not quite identify and she felt one of Embry's hands grab ahold of her own.

"Jake is a good leader, he knows what he's doing. He will be find. Back before you know it," he tried to reassure her, but his voice was tense. There was an edge to it that Bella did not like in the slightest. She did not reply to him and kept her eyes on the foliage that passed them. She flinched at the thought of that pale faced boy emerging like a ghost from the woods, coming to get her with his dull black eyes. And the idea that her mate would be hunting him down, did nothing to ease her terror.

Was it worth the wait? Leave some feedback if you care too! I hope you liked it, thank you for reading! :)