AN: thanks for the reviews and thanks to my beta/co-author Georgia Dawgette.
11.
Jake gave her a nod, and turned to go into the forest to phase back. Embry took him the pair of jeans that Emily had brought out.
When Jake came back there was still an eerie silence surrounding the group. He marched towards them with an angry scowl on his face. "You don't have any right to treat her so badly, Jared!" shouted Jake looking ready to continue his fight with Jared right where they left off.
Bella looked at Jacob puzzled. "What are you talking about Jake?" Of all the things she thought he would say this was the least likely.
Jake's troubled eyes locked with her. "He orders you around like you're his... his slave. I finally saw his thoughts, and how he acts towards you. It's deplorable! Show me your shoulder Bella." he commanded.
Bella felt her anger surge; he didn't have any right to embarrass her and Jared this way in front of the whole pack... "I am not going to show you anything, and don't you dare order me around." she spat, and she heard a few surprised gasps, however she wasn't done yet. "What we do together is our business."
Jake was clearly surprised by her outburst. "Bella, this is not you. The imprinting must have clouded your mind; but I can help you though. You can fight it, we can still be together."
Jared growled, and Bella turned to look at him. Jacob was ignoring the glares Jared had been sending his way. "Jared let go of me, please? I need to talk to Jake."
Jared shook his head. "No Isabella. I won't have you near him until I'm sure that he won't harm you. And Jake, try to be more respectful of the bond she and I share."
She sighed, understanding that Jared did have a point and turned back to Jacob. "I've told you that I love you, Jake. I always will. But the imprint is strong. It's not just a mental link, it's physical too. My feelings for you aren't gone; you'll always have a piece of my heart. However, whatever we might have been is gone, I love you as a friend, a very good friend... my best friend, but that is all it could ever be. This bond isn't something I would have ever chosen, and you have to understand that neither Jared nor I wanted this. However, even if Jared never imprinted on me, I still think I would have stayed with Edward, and become a vampire." Jared's hold tightened a fraction, and wanting to comfort him, she absently began to run a hand along his back as she continued. "If this had to happen, it would have just made sense if it was with you; that would have been so much easier. But, it didn't happen. I do need you in my life, though, but all I can offer is my friendship and the kind of love we've always had, family-love."
Bella knew that she needed to make him understand. "Jake, I care about you, and you have done so much to put me back to my former self. But the truth is that I couldn't live without Edward, if it weren't for the imprinting my feelings would have always led me back to him. I can't tell you that he was right for me, but he was my choice, a choice that I didn't make lightly. You deserve a woman that can love you the way you deserve; I could never have been able to give you all of my heart. You are not second best, you are a wonderful man and I'm sure you'll find someone to love."
Jake shook his head but didn't reply. She knew that right now it was still impossible for him to imagine caring for someone that wasn't her, but eventually the reality and seriousness of their situation would sink in.
He took a step towards her. "Would you have accepted the bond like you have with Jared, if I had been the one to imprint on you?"
Bella smiled sadly, her heart breaking a little bit more at his question. She loved Jake, but after the imprint she knew that without some magic between them, her love for him would have never been enough. "Honestly? I wish imprinting didn't exist, I believe that you all should be able to chose your own partner, and if you made a mistake that should be your responsibility. Maybe in the past something went really wrong and the imprinting was created, but I don't like it one bit. To answer your question though ... You can bet on it. I would have accepted it fully, like I'm trying to do with Jared... But Jake, you have to let me go..."
At her words, Jacob fell to his knees, his head bowed towards the ground, and started to cry. "I have never loved anyone like I love you, Bella. Never wanted anyone else. Why can't I have the only woman I ever wanted?"
Jared let his hands fall from around her, and she looked up at him and he nodded. She took the steps that separated her from Jake, and knelt in front of him. He enveloped her in his arms."Bells." he whispered.
"I'm here. I'll always be your Bells." she cried. "Please Jake; you know that imprinting is ruthless. I tried to fight it, as did Jared. But it can't be broken. The only thing I can tell you is that our bond is so strong, because we both had intense feelings for other people. My love for you is one of the things that binds Jared and I closer together, we needed a strong magical push to even acknowledge our need for each other."
Jake looked at her. "So you love me very much." He tried to smile, but it was obvious that his heart was broken. Who would be there to fix him? She knew she couldn't be the one to do it, and a small flick of jealousy pricked her heart. However, she pushed that feeling away, hopefully he would find someone to love him the way he needed very soon.
"More than much." she replied and smiled back. If only she could tell him how much she had loved him! She had been blinded by Edward, and discovered too late that Jake was the natural choice she should have made.
Jake looked up at Jared, and asked, "Can I...?"
Bella didn't know what he was talking about, and looked at Jared too. He had a pained expression, she saw him fist his hands, nod, and then turn his back. "Make it quick." he grumbled.
She was distracted when she felt Jake taking her chin, and turn it towards him. He then crushed his lips on hers. At first, Bella had been too shocked to respond, but then she smelled him. It was her Jake, her sun. The man who had fixed her when nothing worked, the only person who had been able to guide her out of the darkness. This was her only chance to really show him how much he meant to her, it was a bittersweet goodbye. So she closed her eyes, and although her heart was screaming in pain, she ignored the overwhelming urge to pull away and kissed him back. After a moment the pain was too intense and she fainted.
... -
When she opened her eyes, she was back in Emily's guest-room. How long had she been out? All she could remember was a few seconds of Jacob's kiss, and the pain, she recalled the pain, but why had that caused her to black out? Could the imprint have been responsible for that? Did it prevent cheating with physical pain? This was seriously weird, though Bella was certain that she would never ever think about kissing anyone but Jared from now on. She never wanted to feel like that ever again.
It surprised her that the magic would go to that length to prevent damage to the couple. She sighed, definitely kissing Jake hadn't been a good idea but it wasn't like she had any choice, he had taken her by surprise. Though she now knew that she and Jake were never meant to be, it was awful and sad, but at least now she knew to whom she really belonged.
Looking up she saw that Jared, Sam and Jacob were watching her, with worried expressions on their faces. Jared spoke first, "How do you feel?"
Bella took a stock of her body. Nothing seemed injured. Why was she on the bed? "I feel okay. What happened back there?"
Jake seemed sheepish, Jared pained and Sam looked furious. "The imprinting happened! You can't go around kissing other people Bella! You could have hurt yourself and Jared!" said Sam.
So she had been right, but she didn't like Sam's condescending tone, after all this wasn't her fault. "I wasn't the one that initiated the kiss!" she spat back, and when she saw Jacob's wince she added softly, "The pain was worth it though." His eyes shined down at her with unspoken love, and she tried to communicate with her eyes that she knew and she felt the same. "Not that I wish to repeat that."
Jake's smiled ruefully. "Well, now I can say that my kisses are almost deadly!"
Bella laughed. "And that they are so good that make a girl faint!" she held a hand out to him, and Jake walked over to take it. "Jake I'm so sorry..."
A growl from Jared made her let go of Jacob's hand. She blushed, maybe it was better not to touch another man with her mate in the room. Beside she couldn't imagine what Jared was going to do after seeing her kissing someone else. It was one thing for it to happen before he told her about the imprinting, but now… she wasn't sure what to expect and she couldn't imagine how the wolf might react…
Jake's expression sobered. "I'm sorry too, but I'll try my best to get used to this. At the very least I'm glad you aren't with Edward."
Her heart gave a painful throb at just the mention of the other man who held a piece of her heart, the one who didn't have any explanation for why things so drastically changed between them. He had been left in the dust and treated like a piece of scum. She sighed. "Yeah, and I can't even tell him why we can no longer be together."
"He must have been devastated," said Jake. And for the first time, she saw Jake sympathizing with his enemy.
"He almost attacked me today," said Jared, coming over to sit on the bed and taking Bella's hand. "I went to her school, and we had a very public fight. I think he may have caught glimpses of us in bed together. It pissed him off."
Bella felt something relax in her heart when Jared had touched her, but then remembering what happened earlier she glared at him. "And it was totally out of your control that he saw those glimpses." She replied sarcastically.
He smirked. "Of course, I couldn't keep them hidden."
Bella felt something tickle in her mind. "You are an awful liar."
Jared laughed, and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "We can't lie to our imprint."
After a moment of silence, Jared glanced up at Jacob looking very serious. "I want to make clear that what happened outside was a one time deal. Jake, bro, you know I respect you, but touch my mate again and I won't just defend myself in the next fight."
He turned his dark eyes on Bella then. "And you, Isabella, don't misunderstand what happened today, I won't tolerate you even looking at another man much less touching him. I can provide everything you need and more."
Bella nodded, maybe she was out off the hook. But then holding Jared's intense gaze she realized that he would wait until they were alone to finish their conversation, she shivered partly in anticipation and partly in worry.
Sam cleared his throat, and her attention turned to him. "Bella, Leah would like to talk to you. Would that be okay?"
Bella nodded, and she signaled them to leave. Jared stayed a bit longer and eyed her carefully from the door. "Are you really okay?"
She smiled softly, he definitely would scold her later for the kiss but right now his first concern was for her wellbeing. "Yes, don't worry. And Jared… I'm sorry… I can't imagine what you are feeling but I want you to know that…"
Jared shook his head. "Not now Isabella. I don't want anyone hearing our conversation. We'll talk later." He turned away and left.
Bella sighed, she just had the time to take a deep breath before she saw Leah entering.
The female werewolf's expression was very serious. "How... how are you?" she asked softly.
Bella was taken aback. Usually Leah was really rough and bitchy. "I'm okay."
Leah walked closer. "Did it really hurt so very much?" she asked gently.
Ahhh, now Bella understood. "Yeah, I thought I was going to die. My heart recognized that I loved Jake, but if felt totally wrong. No, it was more than just wrong, it was like my heart was screaming for Jared. It's not something that can be fought."
"Really?" Leah asked quietly, and Bella felt the need to answer all of her unspoken questions.
Bella nodded. "Leah, Sam couldn't have done anything about the imprint, he had to be with Emily. There was no way he could have done anything but break-up with you."
Leah sighed, and lowered her body to the floor. "Thank you. I am sorry for what happened to you, but seeing what would have happened if... well at least now I can put this mess behind me. I've always thought that if you really love someone enough... you do love Jake, don't you?"
"I love Jake and I was in love with Edward. I had two different men who held my heart, and still I could do nothing." whispered Bella.
"Does he mistreat you?" Leah blurted out surprising Bella.
"Hmmm no, he doesn't treat me badly. I just think that Jared is trying to adjust to the whole situation too. Imagine him; imprinted for a long time with sweet Kim, sure that they were always going to be together. And then bam! Surprise! You get Bella Swan. I guess it made him a bit wild." said Bella. "His wolf side is a bit scary but it... ah... excites me too. So I think we will be fine... more than fine." she added blushing. She forced her mind not to dwell on the feeling of his body on hers. Desire started to burn through her again in both her mind and body, and she fought very hard to keep her concentration on Leah.
Leah smiled. "You tell me if I need to kick his ass though."
Bella laughed. "Sign up, you are behind Jake, Sam and Emily, but I think you'd be the one I'd come to. The guys say that you're scary when you're pissed."
Leah laughed. "I guess I am. Bella ... thanks again."
Bella smiled, she knew she had made a new friend. "You're welcome."
Leah shook her head. "You are really something else Bella. Please don't say anything, but I actually think that you are more suited to Jared than Kim. I think our wolves need a strong willed partner, a fighter. Emily seems sweet, but when she gets angry she is worse than me. Kim was very docile; I wondered why Jared imprinted on her. Though I guess it was what they both needed at that time." Leah paused for a moment before getting up off the floor. "I better go, later there's going to be the bonfire. I'll see you then."
Bella closed her eyes when Leah opened the door. After she hear the door close, a new voice startled her. "Can I please see the bite Bella? I want to check that it's healing properly," said Emily.
Bella nodded and took off her t-shirt; as long as there would be no lecture involved she would let Emily look after it. Emily disinfected it, but before she put another bandage Bella asked, "Emily do you mind if I take a look at it?" Emily nodded and Bella went to stand in front of the mirror, she saw a dark area between her neck and the shoulder. Bella took a closer look, and she saw that there were four little scars already forming from Jared's canines.
She shivered, thinking that now she really had a permanent reminder of her bond with Jared. Then she heard a soft, "Thank you Bella."
When she turned to look at Emily, she saw that her friend was crying quietly. Bella felt confused by this suddenly emotional Emily and asked, "For what?"
Emily dried her eyes. "For finally giving peace to Leah. When you fainted and Jared almost did too, I think she finally understood the bond between imprints. She will be able to move on now."
Bella knew that Emily's heart was heavy because of the pain that Sam's imprinting continued to cause Leah. Rationally, everyone knew that Emily and Sam could not fight the imprint, but until today, before Bella and Jake's kiss, nobody had really understood completely how deep the tie between imprints went. "Emily, it wasn't your fault. Imprinting just happens, and Sam loves you deeply."
Emily reached the door. "I know he does, but I can't stop thinking that maybe if it didn't hurt so damn much he may have stayed with Leah." she opened the door and closed it behind her.
Bella felt guilty for not saying anything to comfort Emily, but she realized in that moment that she really didn't understand very much about imprinting. Jake had answered some of her questions months ago when she had been curious about the strong connection between Emily and Sam, though all he had really told her was that imprinting identifies your soul mate and then something truly strange about reproducing. She wasn't sure how much of that she really believed. Not long ago she would have said with certainty that Edward was her soul mate. But now that she saw the flaws in their relationship more clearly, she really couldn't be sure. Being in love with Jacob didn't seem right either, but that didn't mean that Jared was the answer. Right now she knew that she wanted to be with him, but as for soul mates and that nonsense, time would be the only way to answer those questions.
Bella closed her eyes still needing some rest, but the sound of her phone had her opening them yet again. "Hello?"
"Bella! What happened today at school? Edward is out of his mind! He says that you are ... involved intimately with one of the wolves... but it's not Jacob, is this true?" shouted Alice.
"Err... Alice... it's complicated." Bella said. "Ah... well... His name is Jared." she finally said.
"So it's true? You have been cheating on my brother... and what about poor Jacob?" said Alice.
"Now he is poor Jacob... but when I was with your brother he was the dog? And just to be clear, I had already broken up with Edward when Jared and I became involved!" spat angrily Bella. Well, they were broken up for most of what went on between her and Jared... details, details.
"So in less than two days you break off your engagement, forget Jacob and jump into bed with one of his friend?" spat Alice.
Bella gasped. "Alice! I... it's not really like that," she took a deep breath; she couldn't speak about the imprinting, but she needed to find someway of explaining this mess that didn't make her sound like a total slut. "Actually, I already knew Jared, and I was always fascinated by him." she grimaced, this was clearly not going to help. "In the last two days we got closer, and I realized that he was the best choice. I really like him."
Alice gasped. "How can you like him so soon? And what about Jared? Wasn't he with someone as well? Has he already forgotten his girlfriend?"
Now it was starting to get tricky. She was focused so intently on trying to find a way to explain that her connection to Jared wasn't trivial, and didn't realize that he had entered into the room until he took the phone from her hand. "Listen to me carefully leech, because I'm going to say this just once. Isabella and I are together now; I don't give a damn about you, your brother or your leech of a family. My life and hers are our own. My feelings for my ex aren't your business. Now, I suggest that you either show the love you say you have for her, or stay the fuck out of her life."
Bella heard some murmur on the other side of the line, and Jared seemed even angrier. "Edward Cullen is out of the picture! She belongs with me, she's MINE. So you had better warn your family. I won't tolerate anyone trying to get between us."
Other animated murmurs from Alice through the phone followed Jared's declaration.
Bella's heart had missed a beat when he claimed her as his, how was it possible that when Jared was around all she could think about was him? She took a deep breath, and decided that she would have the same reaction if the roles were reversed. Jared was hers now, and she wouldn't give him up for anything.
Jared went on shouting into the phone."Let's just be honest here, it was your family that put Isabella in this situation and now, it's just as much your responsibility to get her out of it. Victoria is your fault as much as Kim's death. I don't give a damn if you like me or not. You will work with us to kill that leech and the newborn army; and then I hope you will get the fuck out of here," snarled Jared, and then shut the phone.
"Feisty, that damn pixie," said Jared nonchalantly, as he tossed the cell phone on the bed.
"Jared! Alice is my best friend and you just insulted her! How could you do that!" she shouted angrily.
His eyes darkened. "She had no right to speak to you that way or question how you feel about me, and she shouldn't care about my business either."
Bella was furious. "Did you really have to be so rude? She was upset! I just broke her brother's heart!"
Jared took her by the wrist, and pulled her off the bed towards him until their bodies were just barely touching. "Isabella, don't make me angry. You really don't want to see what will happen."
Bella bit her lip, and warmth started to spread through her body, causing her anger to melt as she started to forget what they were arguing about. "Hmmm..." she replied.
Jared noticed the change in her, and his hold immediately softened. With his thumb he started to massage her wrist, and Bella moaned. "You know that our previous discussion is not over..." He started to kiss her neck and she began walking backwards toward the bed taking him with her. He growled and she sighed softly.
They jumped when they heard a shout. "Hey! We have super-hearing here! Can you tone down whatever it is you are doing?"
Bella blushed, and put her head on Jared's chest while he wrapped his arms around her. He chuckled. "We really shouldn't be alone in a bedroom together... you drive my wolf crazy."
"Just your wolf?" she whispered, wondering where her boldness with him was coming from.
"No, not just him," said Jared softly, nuzzling her hair and placing a kiss on her forehead. Then he took her hand. "Let's go in the living room, the pack will want to make sure that I'm not taking advantage of you."
She let him lead her out the door, grateful that for the time being all she had to do was follow his lead.
AN: next chapter Sam and Bella have an interesting talk...