Sorry, I had to re-post this because I forgot to make this part 2. I couldn't think of another title and it kind of felt to me like a continuation of the last chapter.

Chapter 18 – The Truth: Part 2

NPOV

Jacob loves me? I was completely shocked by what Seth had told me, but then somewhere deep inside me I realized that I had always known. How could I not have known? Like Seth had said, all the other Imprints were madly in love with each other. Why would it be different for us?

Now I just had to work out how I felt about all this. Could I love Jacob in that way too? Did I already love him? Of course I knew that I did love him; he is my best friend in the world so it's only natural that I love him. But was I in love with him?

I looked up at Seth and was surprised to see him smiling. "What are you smiling at?" I laughed nervously. "Aren't you supposed to be upset about all this?"

That made him chuckle quietly. "Honestly Nessie, as much as I love you, I have been waiting for this to happen since Jacob said he was ok with us dating!" I was so relieved to see that he was happy. At least this wasn't going to be awkward for us. Maybe I'd just found a new best friend to replace Jacob since he was… What was he going to be now?

To say that he would be my boyfriend now seemed weird. I knew that "boyfriend" would be the answer I would have to give, but it was so much more than that. Now that I knew the truth, I felt utterly stupid for not seeing it before. "So, what happens now Seth?" I asked, not sure whether I should go and find Jacob or let him calm down first.

"I go and find my Imprint!" Seth announced with a smile that made me pray for a moment that he would find her soon. Seth really did deserve to find happiness with that perfect someone that was out there.

"I don't want to sound completely self-absorbed Seth, but I was talking about me!" I replied with a giggle.

"Oh, um, yeah… of course. Sorry! I just feel really happy for you and I truly believe that this has all happened for a reason. My Imprint is out there and soon I'll get to meet her and then we'll all…" he struggled to find the words, staring off into space for a moment before his giddy smile returned and he finished, "We'll all just be happy Ness!" He grabbed me into a big bear hug, lifting me up and spinning me around.

His positivity was rubbing off on me and I was just beginning to believe that everything would be okay when out of nowhere I was knocked to the ground. Confused, I looked up to see my dad pinning Seth to the ground at the edge of the cliff, his hands around his throat.

"I TRUSTED YOU SETH!" he screamed, and I could see from Seth's bulging eyes that he was unable to breathe.

"Daddy, no!" I shouted, running over and pointlessly trying to pull him off of Seth. As expected, my Dad's rock-like didn't move even an inch, he simply growled louder. He seemed almost frozen and I got the impression that he was actually trying to control himself so that he wouldn't do Seth any permanent harm that he may regret. Thank goodness he and Seth were friends or this would've been so much worse.

Deciding there was no other way to stop him, I gently placed my hand on his face and began to replay the night's events. Of course I skipped the part where Seth had me up against the rock and my shirt was off. I just showed him that I had dragged Seth up there and tried to move things further between us. Then Jacob interrupting us kissing and Seth pleading with him before he took off. I showed him how Seth had made me see the truth of my feelings towards Jacob.

Slowly his grip began to loosen and Seth began to splutter as he gasped for breath. "Edward I'm so sorry!" he pleaded, not realizing that Daddy knew that he had done nothing to apologize for.

"No Seth, I apologize." Daddy said standing us and then helping Seth to his feet. "I only saw things second hand from Leah's version of Jacob's memory. I should have known he would blow things out of proportion." Daddy turned to smile at me, adding "I should have known to trust you more than that Nessie."

His belief in me made me feel guilty and I tried to hide my thoughts as I wouldn't reveal the parts of tonight that I had left out. Me being the aggressor, telling Seth that I wanted him sexually. Even the thought that I had done those things, whispered those words to Seth suddenly made me feel sick with guilt. What had I almost done to my Jacob?

As a look of disgust flashed onto my father's face and I realised that my mind had slipped, so I decided to just be upfront about it and keep moving before he could think about it too much. "Look I'm sorry Daddy, but I thought it was what I wanted and needed. I was wrong." I had to focus harder on shielding my thoughts as I realized that it is what I want and what I need, just not with Seth. "Daddy, I know you're cross but right now all I want to do is talk to Jacob okay. Can you just hold off on being angry with me until morning?"

"I'm sorry but either way you are not going to be talking to Jacob for a while." He said, making me angry that he would try to keep me away from my Jacob at a time like this. Maybe I hadn't hidden my thoughts just now. Arching an eyebrow at me as if to ask what had hadn't managed to hide, he continued "Nessie, I'm sorry but Jacob's gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Where would Jacob go? Surely he would be back in the morning. We could talk to then. But my reassurances to myself stopped when I saw my dad turn to Seth and nod sadly at something that he had silently asked, causing Seth's face to screw up in a mixture of anger and grief. "What aren't you telling me?" I demanded.

"I'm so sorry to tell you this Nessie, but Jacob has a habit of running away when things don't turn out according to plan." Daddy answered, like that would explain everything. Noting my frustration with his answer, he continued. "He's run away Nessie. He relinquished he place as Alpha to Leah and gone."

"NO!" My dad put his arms around me as I began to cry. I couldn't believe that he would just leave like that? Surely he would stay so that we could work it out. Seth had told him that nothing was going to happen. How would I ever get him back?

"Don't cry sweetheart," Daddy tried to comfort me. "You mom and Leah went after him. I'm sure once he's calmed down he will listen to reason and come home." I could only hope and pray that he was right. I silently asked if he would just take me home, and he swept me up in his arms, inviting Seth to return with us to wait on any news.

Seth ran off quickly to phase and followed us back to the cottage. When we arrived, Seth was only moments behind us, fully dressed in his clothes from earlier. From his expression he had been blamed for all this by his sister, but all he would say was that Momma and Leah were on the trail and hoped to catch up with him soon. Thank goodness that they were both faster than Jacob. I felt slightly relieved and curled up on the sofa next to Seth to wait out the night. Soon Seth's steady heartbeat had lulled me into a fitful sleep.

I don't know how long I had been sleeping when suddenly the door flew open and I sat up quickly, calling for Jacob but it was just my Aunt Alice. I watched in confusion and she had a silent conversation with my dad, before he said "Nessie, you stay in this house with your aunt and wait for us to come home, ok?"

"No Edward, let her go too!" Alice demanded before I could even argue, then turned to me. "Nessie, I'm so sorry. I didn't know exactly what is going on; you know I can't see clearly when the wolves are involved. All I knew was that Bella needed Carlisle. He left with Jasper and Emmett to follow them, just in case." She paused for a moment, looking to my dad to check whether or not she should continue. After a moment she looked back at me with fear in her eyes… "Emmett just called. Jacob was attacked by some nomads. It's not good Nessie."

BPOV

Please Jacob, wake up! I was trying my hardest not to panic as I looked at his lifeless body on the forest floor, but I was failing miserably. Not only did I need to work out how I was going to save the life of my best friend, but I also had to process the fact that I had just been involve in my first ever physical confrontation with another vampire and that with Leah's help I had killed two women. I had no regret over killing them; I would kill as many as it took to protect my family but it was a strange feeling but it had left me with a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I watched as Leah checked over Jacob, inspecting his wounds and pulse. "Bella, we need help! Do you have your phone?" she asked, snapping me out of my daze. I shook my head, realizing in my rush to get dressed and go after Jacob I had forgotten to pick it up. "Run and do something then. Think things that will get to Edward or Alice!"

It was as good a plan as any, so I ran quickly away from them, lifting my sheild and thinking as hard as I could for a few moments before heading back to Leah. "I hope that worked." I said nervously. "What do we do now?"

"You need to suck the venom out," Leah said with a look of disgust.

"No Leah, I can't! I'll kill him! I… I just can't." I just could not feed on my best friend. What if I lost control and accidentally killed him? Nessie would never forgive me. I would never forgive myself. I felt a pain in my chest that I hadn't felt since I was human and realized that even after all this time I still loved Jacob more than just as a friend.

Leah left Jacobs side and walked over to me and surprised me by pulling me into a big bear hug. Leah and I had never been close, but over the years we had formed an unlikely alliance. "Bella, I know you still love him," she said, shocking me that she knew something that I had only just realized myself. "But you have to do this or he is going to die! You are the only one who can save him now."

That was just the pep talk that I needed to kick me into action. I ran to him and started assessing the wounds. He'd been bitten five times, four on his legs and once on his shoulder. I decided to treat his shoulder first as it was closest to his heart. As I bit down over the wound I nearly pulled back at the taste of his blood and the venom mixed together, it was like drinking paint stripper. Thankfully it had only been a quick bite and there was very little venom in his blood here, so I could move on to his legs within seconds.

I could feel Leah hovering and knew she would be battling her instincts to protect Jacob. Watching me as I appeared to be feeding on her Alpha would be hard for her to see so I was glad it was Leah with me and not one of the younger, more volatile wolves. I had to stop and listen to his blood pumping around to his body to decide which wounds to tackle next, managing to draw the venom from three bites in his left leg out of only one wound.

Finally I was finished and collapsed to the ground next to Jacob, feeling physically ill for the first time since my transformation. I put my arms around his neck and held him, stroking his fuzzy ear, whispering for him to be strong and pull through this for Renesmee and me. His heart was still beating but it was very weak. Leah curled up on this other side and hugged him from behind, using her new Alpha tone to order him to recover from this and take back his role as her leader. It made me realize that Nessie and I were not the only ones who loved him this strongly.

After what seemed like hours, I heard the sound of running feet, too fast to be human. Leah was on her feet and phased in a flash, ready to protect Jacob. It was far too soon for any help from home to arrive and I was frightened that we may encounter more trouble.

My worry was short lived though as I caught the scent of my adopted father and brothers a moment before they burst into the clearing. When I saw them I almost collapsed again with relief. Jasper ran to me, wrapping me in his arms and attempting to comfort me, sending me waves of reassurance and calm. Carlisle went straight to Jacob's side and began to check him. "Bella what happened?" he asked quietly.

Leah answered for me, now back in her human form and quickly putting on her shorts and vest. "He ran like he always does. He had finally decided to put an end to this nonsense with Seth and Nessie, but when he found them they were…" she paused, realizing that she was about to give intimate details about Nessie to her family. "… they were together. So he ran. He gave up his role as Alpha to me after he had ordered my to leave him. I went to get Bella and we've been tracking him for several hours.

"He must have picked up the scent of these vamps and decided to have some fun, but there were three of them and he couldn't take them all. He should have been able to take them easily but for some reason... He'd killed one of them, the male, but by the time we got here, the two women were just toying with him. He was already unconscious." I watched in envy as tears streamed down her face. I would love so much to be able to cry again.

"He's alive at least." Carlisle stated, not filling me with any hope.

"Bella sucked out the venom. She saved him." Leah told him proudly, smiling at me.

Carlisle looked up at me in shock, suddenly looking even more worried than before. "He is not out of the woods yet Leah. He has several broken ribs and I believe his right leg to be seriously fractured." He told her gravely. "Bella, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine Carlisle, just take care of Jacob. Please don't let him die." I pleaded, still feeling weak.

"Bella's not fine." Leah insisted, making everyone's eyes dart to me in shock. "She collapsed after she sucked out the venom and only moved again when she heard you coming. Look at her, she's sick!"

Suddenly Carlisle was at my side and running his hands over me as if looking for something to indicate my state of health. "No Carlisle, I'm fine. Vampire remember? We don't get sick." I said, trying to laugh it off.

"No Bella, Leah is right," Jasper said to him. "You're all over the place. Carlisle could it be an effect of the wolf blood?"

Carlisle looked stunned at the idea. "I suppose it could." He agreed. "No one has ever had more than a taste of the wolf blood before and survived to tell of its effects. It would make sense that the wolves would cause us damage as they exist primarily to kill vampires. How much did you ingest Bella?"

"As little as possible." I replied. "I was too worried about doing him more damage so I took only enough to rid him of the venom."

"Good Bella. You did a wonderful job and I believe you have saved his life." Carlisle told me proudly. "For now I think it best we find somewhere local to stay so both of you can rest and recover. I'd like to keep you monitored for a while, Bella.

"Emmett, would you call home and let them know what is happening please. Edward and Renesmee should probably join us here. Jasper could you and Leah finish disposing of the remains, and then find somewhere to buy Leah some more appropriate attire?" He shot her an apologetic look before explaining "I don't want to draw any unnecessary attention to us. It is too cold here for you to be in shorts." Leah just nodded in acceptance and set to work with Jasper.

We turned to Emmett as he finished his call home. "I spoke to Alice. Edward and Nessie will be leaving soon soon," he explained. As Emmett is the biggest of us, Carlisle asked him to carry Jacob. Emmett easily lifted Jacob's lifeless wolf form over his shoulders and we set off to the nearest town.

Within minutes we had found a secluded holiday lodge just outside of town where we could rest. Jacob was placed on the floor in the master suite, while I took one of the smaller rooms. I had wanted to stay with him but Carlisle had reasoned that it was safer if Jacob didn't smell vampires when he first woke up and therefore Leah would take care of him.

I was left on my own for a while so I simply lay in the bed and pretended to sleep. I felt cold and tired. It was such a strange feeling for me after all these years of strength and power. In an odd way it made me miss being human more than ever before. To be able to actually feel again. I just wanted to curl up and sleep it off.

After an hour, Carlisle came to tell me that Jacob had phased back to human but was still unconscious. Apparently that was a good sign as it indicated that his bones had likely healed completely already.

Now we just had to wait for the venom to leave his system completely. And Nessie to arrive.