AN: thanks for the reviews; and many thanks to Georgia Dawgette my super-beta...
7.
When Bella arrived downstairs, she saw that Jared had taken a seat on the sofa. She contemplated for a moment where to sit, then, to her utter surprise, almost involuntarily her feet lead her towards him. She sat down at his side, and put her head on his shoulder.
Jared tensed, then after a moment put his arm around her, and held her closer to him. "What exactly do we have to talk about?"
Bella gnawed at her lip. "We need to discuss how we should reveal this to everyone. I'll deal with the Cullen's, but I want to be there when you tell Jake."
Jared growled. "Not a chance, Isabella. Jacob will probably phase, and try to kill me. I won't risk your life; beside I think it would be best if we tell everyone after the fight."
She looked at him. "But we don't know when it will happen. It could be months! Can we really keep this hidden for that long?"
He took a deep breath. "My mind is safe when it comes to the pack, and I know from Jake's memories that Cullen can't read yours. Hold on, why hasn't he confronted me yet? He must have seen this in my thoughts."
Bella smiled. "Apparently he can't read your mind either. He said that he sees just fragmented thoughts. Edward told me that you like how I smell." she blushed deeply after that admission.
Jared put his nose in her hair and inhaled. "Hmmm your natural smell is not the only thing that I like."
She felt warmth spread through her body, and she struggled to move from his side. He tightened his hold. "Where exactly do you think you are going?" he growled, and before she could react he was kissing her again. She put her hand around his neck and tried to get him closer.
Jared didn't hesitate to pull her up and onto his lap. She snuggled even closer and she could feel how aroused he was through her clothes. She moaned, and he deepened the kiss further. After a moment though, he put distance between them again. "I'm very dangerous Isabella. You should be careful not to test my wolf too much. Once he is out, there will be no turning back."
Bella shivered. She didn't know if it was from fear or anticipation, but one thing she knew for sure, eventually the wolf was going to claim her. "How do you think we can hide this bond between us?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "I handled it well when you were all over Jake, and I didn't say anything when you fell in Cullen's arms at the border. Maybe in then future try not to be so physical with Jake, my wolf doesn't like sharing and we both are very territorial." His eyes had darkened again and he got closer to her. "The important question though, is can you?"
She shivered, as his scent overwhelmed her the only thought her mind would process was that he was very sexy; she liked to know that he was territorial, it gave her the feeling of belonging to him. She forced her mind to clear and then huffed. "Of course I can keep the secret! I keep the secrets about vampires and werewolves, with the imprinting there is no difference. What do you take me for?"
He chuckled. "Let's see, first you throw yourself at Jake, and I saw in his memories that you almost gave us away at the beach. Secondly, you break up with Cullen after promising to marry him. Right now you could have sat anywhere in this room, and yet you came to curl up at my side. Have I missed anything?"
Bella was startled though he had a point. It just felt so natural to be at his side, it seemed to her like she had always been there. It was comforting, but at the same time dangerous. "I'll manage." she said softly. "I'll have to tell Jake that I broke up with Edward though."
"He'll be beside himself with joy." sighed Jared. "And I'll be the one to backstab him, and take away the girl of his dreams."
Bella put her head on his shoulder again, and placed her hand over his heart. The soft thump of it under her hand comforted her, it was so different than what she was used to, she wondered how she could have dated a man with no heartbeat and never have been bothered by it. "I'm sorry Jared. On top of that you have to deal with what has happened to Kim."
He disengaged himself from her, and stood up. "I loved her very much. It wasn't passionate like with you, it was more placid but it still ran deep. It's still there, my love for her, but the imprint pulls me to you." He looked at her. "I have to go; I'll see you tomorrow at the bonfire."
Bella knew that Kim was a painful subject for Jared, and she regretted having brought it up. Eventually, they would have to talk about her, but obviously now was not the time. She nodded, she recalled that Jake had told her they were having a party to ease some of the tension, and she had agreed to go with him. "Ok, see you tomorrow then. I'll be there with Jake."
Jared looked at her intensely and seemed to hesitate for a moment, then swiftly he was at her side once again, he gave her a brief kiss on the lips and quickly left.
Bella was once again alone. She wondered if it was possible that her life just could become more complicated than it already was. She had broken up with Edward, the man she was ready to die for. In addition, she was half in love with Jake; and now that she wasn't engaged anymore many would assume it was because she wanted to be with him. On top of that she was developing profound and very confusing feelings for Jared.
She sighed, she didn't have the luxury of taking a night to ponder all the monumental changes occurring in her life. Now came the most difficult and painful part of this whole mess; she took the phone and dialed Jake's number. "Hello?" his gruff voice answered.
"Jake, hi. I just called because I needed to tell you something." she closed her eyes. "I ... broke up with Edward today."
The silence on the line was scary. "Jake?"
"Bella?" replied the surprised voice of Billy. "What happened? Jake ran out of the house at full speed!"
Bella bit her lip. Clearly, Jake was coming to her. "Err nothing Billy, he is just coming here. I have to go, bye." She ran up the stairs careful not to trip. She needed to change and remove Jared's scent from her body. She couldn't let Jake see the bite mark either. She changed and put on a hoodie; maybe more layers would ease the discomfort in her shoulder, the bite was a bit painful to the touch.
"Bella!" She heard Jakes' voice downstairs . She just had the time to look up, before she was enveloped in Jacob's arms.
"Hurg... can't breathe Jake." she managed to say, while her shoulder was painfully reminding her that she now belonged to someone else.
"Sorry Bells. I... is it true? Did you really...?" his hopeful warm eyes were hurting her heart so much. How can you give someone hope, and then crush him in the worst way later on? She needed to do her best to ensure that he would have as little hope for a future between them as possible. Hurting him further was just not an option. Knowing Jake's feelings though, was there really anything that could convince him to give her up?
She nodded. "This doesn't mean that I choose you Jake." she said seriously. "You know that I love you, but just a few days ago you told me that the most important thing for you was that I remained human. That I can promise you; but I can't offer anything more than my friendship."
His eyes shone with happiness. "For now it's enough. I mean, you need to recover. I'm here Bells. I'm not going anywhere. I can wait."
She took a step closer. "Jake, I'm not asking you to wait. I think that when I decided that I couldn't be with Edward, I made my mind up regarding you as well. I can't be yours. It doesn't feel right, when you imprint I know you'll understand..."
"Imprint? What do you know about it anyway?" he shook his head. "Besides, I won't imprint, and even if I do, I know that I'll be stronger than it. I want to be with you, and I'll prove it to you that we belong together."
Bella sighed, there was no way he would be convinced by what she was saying, and she couldn't share with him her firsthand information about imprinting. In a way her feelings for Jake were still there, her heartbeat always increased near him and she felt comfort when he was with her.
The imprint couldn't remove her feelings for either Edward or Jacob, however, the passion and desire that Jared stirred wasn't there with either of them. Though she had noticed that Jake still affected her more than Edward did, however that was probably because he was similar in body temperature and warmth to Jared. "Let's just take this a step at a time. We are friends, best friends, okay?"
Jake laughed joyously. "Sure, sure! Does that mean that you'll hang around more with the pack? Everyone loves you Bells, and I'm sure you can help Jared in his recovery."
Poor Jake, he didn't have any idea how true that statement was. "I'll see what I can do. But I'm still going to hang around with the Cullen's. They are my family too."
Jake smiled. "At the moment you could even make out with Quil, and I wouldn't mind."
"Ewww Quil? No way, if I had to choose a wolf, I would go for ... Embry." Every part of her had wanted to say another name, but she knew that it wasn't the time, eventually everyone would know.
"Embry? Nahhh Bells. He isn't your type at all. Actually, I could see you much better off with Jared." Jake said pensively. "He reminds me of you. If he didn't have his imprint bond with Kim, you two would have made an interesting couple. Ahhh... it's a shame that the only wolf you'll be allowed to kiss is me though." said Jake jokingly.
"Down wolf-boy. I just told you that we are friends. The no kissing policy stands." She added, still upset about how accurate Jake's musings had been about her and Jared.
"Darn, and here I thought I could sway you to my way of thinking." Jake growled playfully.
She laughed. "Nu-uh. Friends with NO benefits. I guess I can allow you a few hugs here and there, but no more!"
After a while, the conversation moved away from these potentially dangerous topics and they decided to spend the rest of the afternoon together watching TV, and when Charlie arrived home they all had dinner. If only everything could be this easy, Bella thought as she watched Jake and Charlie chatting over dinner.
When Jake left, Charlie's voice stopped her when she reached the first step. She sighed, hadn't she had enough confrontations for one day?
Charlie Swan watched his daughter carefully. "So Bells, you and Jake are back in track?"
She was speechless for a moment before asking, "What exactly do you mean?"
Her father shrugged his shoulders. "Well, before Edward came back I thought it was pretty obvious that you and Jake eventually would end up together. It was just a matter of time, I knew in the end you would stop being stubborn."
Bella opened her mouth and closed it, she felt like a fish out of water. "Charlie... Dad... Jake and I... we aren't... I mean... oh... I have feelings for ... Gah!" What exactly could she tell her father without giving away everything? "Dad, I love Jake like a brother, it's true that I broke off the engagement with Edward, but not because of Jake. I'll tell you when the right guy comes along, but I want to make clear to you now that it's not going to be Jake." She then turned and ran into her room.
Finally she was going to get some peace and quiet. Bella had survived her embarrassing conversation with her father, and she had managed to kick Jake out. He seemed to cling to her as though he thought that if he let go she would change her mind. She sighed, she didn't have that luxury anymore. She was Jared's, whether she wanted to be or not no longer mattered.
She turned on the light and was startled by the sight of Edward sitting in her rocking chair. "What are you doing here?" she asked impatiently.
He was watching her closely. "I had an interesting talk with Alice today; do you want to know about it, love?"
Bella grimaced. "I don't think you should call me love anymore. I meant every word I told you before, Edward." Looking into his desperately handsome face, a part of her wanted nothing more than to try and find comfort in his arms once again.
His eyes were fixed on hers. "I'm sure we can talk this through, Bella. I'm okay with postponing the wedding and your change for a while. We can go to college together and after that we'll see how you feel about the future."
She shook her head, college and Edward had been her two dreams for so long that she was struggling to let them go. "No, Edward. I told you that I don't want to be with you anymore. I'm sorry, you know that a part of my heart will always be yours, but ... I don't belong with you. I ... I'm not in love with you anymore."
Edward gasped. "I don't believe you. Only this afternoon you were trying to convince me to sleep with you."
Bella closed her eyes, was that just this afternoon? It seemed an eternity to her. Jared's dark eyes appeared in her mind, and she snapped her eyes open. "I think that I was just trying to convince myself that the feelings I had for you were still there, but I know now that I was wrong. I ... you have to let me go." Those feelings were still there, but now they were buried under the magic of the imprint.
He stood up and walked towards her. "Bella, you don't mean that. I know that my actions today upset you greatly, but please, give us another chance." and then he eyed her carefully. "Your heartbeat..."
She looked at him questioningly. He went on, "Usually when I walked towards you, your heart rate would increase, and it didn't just now."
Bella looked down; she was so tired of it all. "What can I say Edward? Alice saw me disappearing from her visions. We both know that means I clearly don't belong with you anymore."
His eyes narrowed. "So what, you've finally relented and picked Jacob?"
"No, Edward. Jake and I are just friends. I won't be jumping from one of you to the other. At the moment I'll just wait and see how things go. Honestly, right now finding love is the last of my problems." whispered Bella.
There was no use in adding anything else. She knew she couldn't discuss imprinting with him, and when he found out about her and Jared she knew he would question her sanity. "I love Jake; but I don't think it could be anything more than friendship between us."
Edward walked towards the window. "We are not over, Bella. I'll be back for you, always. I need you. I understand that you need some time and space, but know, love, that I won't give up on you." He left quickly without giving her the time to reply.
Bella sat down on the floor. The day had exhausted her beyond belief. Edward wasn't going to give up and neither was Jake. Honestly she had already known that, they both loved her too deeply to accept defeat so easily. She wanted to see Jared, and just have him hold her in his arms once more. Also, his snarky ways would distract her from the day's chaos, and his warmth would bring her the peace and strength she needed to go through with everything that would be thrown her way.
Well, she wasn't just going to sit here and do nothing about it, she really needed to see Jared, so that's what she was going to do. She slowly tiptoed downstairs and opened the kitchen door and softly whispered. "Is there a wolf out there? Could you please phase for a moment?"
After just a few seconds, Seth came out of the forest. "Hello Bella, what's up? I heard the news! I'm so happy that you got rid of him! Err I mean... You know, I always rooted for Jake."
"Thanks Seth, I was just wondering if everything was alright with you guys. How's Jared?" she asked timidly trying not to appear too eager.
"Oh, he'll be patrolling around here in an about a hour or so, he seems to be holding up, but with him you never know. Pretty complicated guy that one. Everything's pretty quiet tonight, Bella. Though it's probably better if you get inside now. I'll see you tomorrow at the bonfire." Seth gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and left for the forest again.
She turned back and went inside hoping that Jared would read Seth's mind. She really needed him to make an appearance in her room tonight.
At 12.30 she couldn't wait any longer, she opened her window and whispered into the night. "Jared, are you there?"
After a moment Jared came out of the woods. "What's up Isabella? You couldn't even wait until tomorrow to see me?
She put out her tongue.
Jared growled. "I wouldn't show that to me if you don't want me to put it to good use."
Bella blushed, and he chuckled. "What's up?"
"Edward came back again." she said.
His demeanour changed and he was immediately serious. "Move away from the window. I'm coming up."
She took a few steps back, and he jumped in. Bella ran straight into his arms, and took a deep breath. His scent centered her once again.
"Did he hurt you?" he asked gruffly.
She shook her head. "No, he was just trying to convince me to get back together with him." His hold on her tightened, but he said nothing. "I told him no; but he said that he won't give up on us. He thinks that he has to compete against Jake."
"You need to be careful Isabella. As I told you before, you are human and you can easily be hurt. We need to discuss with the leeches new rules regarding his contact with you, I won't have Cullen just barging in on you anytime he wishes." growled Jared.
Bella sighed. "And how are you going to do that without making people suspicious?"
Jared kissed her hair. "I have been thinking about it this afternoon. I'll talk to Jake and suggest that seeing as the leech isn't your boyfriend anymore he shouldn't be allowed in here anytime he wishes. I'm sure Jake will agree."
"I really hate that we have to lie to Jake. You should have seen him this afternoon. He was so happy. And my father is already jumping for joy at just the thought that I might have chosen Jake." she whispered brokenly.
"I saw in Jake's mind his happiness about your break-up. It shined so brightly." Sighed Jared. "I also saw that you tried to tell him to let go. How did your dad react to you telling him that a relationship with Jake just wasn't going to happen?"
Bella sighed. "Well, Jake didn't really believe me, no matter what I said; and Charlie told me how he had always known that I was going to eventually choose Jake."
Jared sighed. "I'm sure when he meets me, he'll pleased. I'm not a bad catch."
Bella smiled softly at his attempt to make the best of an awful situation. "I'm not so sure about that." She joked.
Jared took her chin with his hand, and when her eyes met his, he asked, "Care to explain why you would consider kissing Embry?"
She opened her mouth to answer; but he was quicker and they were kissing once again. Their tongues battling for power, finally she relented and let him dominate the kiss.
"See, I told you that tongue of yours could be put to better use." He chuckled. "No more talk about kissing anyone but me Isabella. Now sleep, I'll see you tomorrow... and I'll keep you safe." when he was on the windowsill he added, "At least from the others."
She shivered at his words. Her dangerous wolf was everything she never knew she wanted and more.
She blinked, and he was gone.